So there's no way that I can explain in detail about what has happened since my last update, so in summary:


- I went to Okinawa
- I visited Nagoya a few times
- Tyler and Jason Jason came to visit on different occasions
- One of my neighbors' apartments burned down
- I heard about how an ex-hudson coworker shot and killed his wife, then shot himself in the head
- Shinobu finally released the album "Strange Spring Air" we recorded before I left to Japan
- I played music for a few months with some friends in Japan
- I went to Thailand with Cliff for a week for my 27th birthday (old)

I really enjoyed both vacations, wish I was still on vacation. I was getting pretty bummed about a lot of stuff at work, and going to Thailand really cleared my head. Going to a culture that doesn't really care about anything, and then coming back to a culture that is so rigid and diplomatic takes some adjusting.

I'm supposed to play two shows in Tokyo next month with Bob and Adam's band, "Bears." They're going to show me the songs a day before the first show. Very reminiscent of how we usually do things in Shinobu. I'm not too worried about learning the songs on such short notice, but I'm more concerned with not really having played drums for such a long time.. but I really do miss having a group of friends who I can relate to and play music with. Nowadays, my days have consisted of working, drinking, occasionally going out, and a lot of sleeping. It just seems so..normal.

After coming back from vacation, I have been thinking a lot about what I want to do after I get back home. Originally the plan was to go back to school to school to get a masters and teach microeconomics / macroeconomics in community college, and teach ESL to supplement my income. But the more I think about it, it seems to be more of a safety option, rather than something that seems completely appealing to me.

But, I think money is starting to become more of a bigger concern for me now. After working at this company, and the last company, I've realized that I don't want to work for a company that has absolutely no consideration for their employees or has no idea what they're doing. I need to get out of my routine, but I need to feel some sense of accomplishment and enjoyment from my job. I've been considering a few other things, starting a business idea with a close friend back at home, or maybe living in a cheap country like Vietnam or Bangkok while teaching English online (hopefully making about the same salary I do now) so I can save enough money for some investments.

But I guess I have some time to think about it.

I haven't been taking many pictures lately, but here's a video I took in Thailand.