Although not horrible, my first haircut experience in Argentina was not a great one.

I searched online, found a hairstyle that was similar to what I had, and then asked some of the younger Japanese-Argentinian about places that could cut what I wanted. I found a stylist and showed pictures of what I wanted. Then my hair was cut.

(Copy&Paste from my first online convo after the cut…)

(7:49:24 PM) kenji: i went to get a haircut…
(7:49:30 PM) kenji: first time since moving to argentina
(7:49:35 PM) kenji: i showed them a picture
(7:49:51 PM) kenji: and now i have a faux-hawk…
(7:49:57 PM) alan: haha
(7:50:00 PM) kenji: i don’t know how it happened…
(7:50:10 PM) kenji: i showed them pictures of my hair before it got long
(7:50:27 PM) kenji: and got pictures of the same hairdo from a japanese site
(7:50:31 PM) kenji: front, sides and back
(7:50:38 PM) kenji: but somehow i have a faux-hawk
(7:51:03 PM) kenji: sides buzzed down with the middle long
(7:51:05 PM) kenji: front to back
(7:51:13 PM) kenji: i don’t know how it happened T_T…

Two weeks ago the group attended the New York Anime Festival for some Artist Alley fun. I provided the hotel which happened to be the Sheraton Towers right by Times Square and on the same block as the world’s greatest chicken & rice food cart.

Anyways, here are some of the pictures I took home w/me.

Greetings from South America’s little Europe—Buenos Aires! The prices of electronics are double to triple what they are in the States, and the streets are littered with… litter… and dog poo. But at least there’s a cafe on every corner, and I can find anything from an electric transformer to a ceramic toilet seat within a block away. However, the convenience in this city is deceiving. A sushi and wine joint is a short walk away, but try to find one of those little poles that you extend between two walls to hang a curtain and you’re at a loss. I spent a good hour cutting, drilling, and installing a wooden pole into my bedroom so that we could hang a curtain. Which turned out to be great because five minutes after I was done, I pulled too hard on the rope that adjusts the wooden blinds that protect the outside of the window and broke it. Needless to say, there are small tidbits about this new country that I still have to get used to.

My first three days have been pretty busy, and they’ve mostly been spent running around looking for apartment things like cups, decorations, and US to AR transformers. Things to make my new apartment feel like home.

I’ll address things in detail later on as they come at me, but for now this little update should satisfy my urge to talk about what I’m up to.

Last note:
Some asked me why I moved. Well, I had planned to move for a while now, but not this soon. When I first got back to the States I had hoped to continue school there, but my family voted and decided that I should stay close to my fiance in Argentina. So I readied myself to leave after Thanksgiving. Then my fiance left the states, and less than a week after she got back she found out that she was pregnant. So my family voted again and told me to move as soon as possible. So here I am. The good news is that this won’t change my plans. I’ll still finish school here in Argentina, and we have her family nearby to support us when we need it.

Bring it on parenthood! I’m not scared of you!

I went to get my hair cut at Enzo’s the other day. I ended up leaving the place w/purple highlights. XD

LG Versa (VX9600) or Blackberry Storm?

I currently have the LG Versa, but it keeps freezing on me. This would be OK if it wasn’t so not OK.



PS. I’m in NoVA bitchez!

OH YES HE DID

Guess this means video games invoke violence whether you play them or not.

I’M BACK COMING TO AMERICA YES

FOR GOOD…

…or at least until I graduate.

Itinerary:
April 14th
Depart Tokyo, Japan (NRT) - 4:00pm
Arrive Washington, Dulles DC (IAD) - 3:35pm

I decided (or it was decided for me) that coming back home and finishing school in the US would be best. I’m currently filling out transfer applications and boy is it fun. I’m actually really glad that almost everything in the States is online now. Back before I left, college apps were done on paper or by phone, and Japan still embraces the paper-everything system, so doing something so daunting with such ease is a head relief since I’m extremely busy with moving out of my apartment and my girlfriend’s visa crap. (Argentinians can’t go anywhere in this world without getting interviewed and paying hefty fees.)

As for my concentration, I’ve decided to take a turn away from IT, economics, politics, and international affairs and pursue photography at an art school. However, most of the AICAD schools have already passed their application deadlines, so my only glimmer of hope is VCU, which I hear will be difficult to get into. Hopefully, being a transfer student with good grades will give me an edge, but my college knowledge—or lack thereof—really gives me doubts on my chances. I’ve always been pretty pessimistic about a lot of things I do, but one friend told me to keep a positive mindset or the negativity will show in my portfolio.

Anyways, I look forward to being home, while at the same time dread leaving my tiny island home. But hey, I hear Obama is working to legalize marijuana and get universal heatlhcare on track, so yay!

Since coming to Japan, I’ve met a lot of people from all over the world. From surprisingly free spirited Chinese-North Korean girls to German guys acting like American frat boys looking to “conquer Japan with their penises.” All these meetings have made me more open minded about a lot of things, but for the purposes of this entry, I’ll only address one. About two years ago I became friends with a guy from Nevada who had switched from a technical major to English, and who could trail out words better than anyone I can think of. Well read, adventurous, and the only guy who road a skateboard through our small Japanese campus—you could tell just by talking with him that he wasn’t a conventional person. Anyways, he and his friend have begun a country-wide trip around the States. Not impressed? Well, they’re doing it on their bikes. Not motor bikes, but bicycles, and camping on the road as they go. They’re currently in their first week, and have just arrived in Vegas after biking—on bicycles—through the fucking dessert.

Here’s a quote from his blog:

Getting to Las Vegas was not so bad and it was a very strange feeling rolling into the city after spending so much time in the desert. I felt a little more feral, a little less civilized. I had not yet reached the point were I wanted to chuck a spear at a car and follow its oil trail off into the desert where it would die and I could chop it up for clothing and shelter, but I felt a little more out of place amidst the rush hour traffic of a large city coated in dust and neon lighting.

-Joel (http://www.honestexpression.com)