en-us http://www.keithwatanabe.net/index.php Keith Watanabe's Website http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2008/2/16/185e3055b67505cc9d964f14665f43ac.html bizarre dreams as of late. Today, I dreamed that I was a soldier with a ton of artillery and escaping to Las Vegas. I can't remember the exact details but I recall at one point being in my mom's room (usually many of my dreams are me inside my house in LA trying to escape). There was some invasion of sorts, don't know what exactly, kinda like the movie Red Dawn. I recall hispanic gangsters around myself and my friend (I think it was Kris) as we were trying to get out of the area. We managed to hope through the back window (another recurring aspect in my dreams where I attempt to escape) and landed in the tomato bushes in the back garden. Of course, the details of moving between points are really fuzzy and obscure, so at the next stop, we ended up by my truck. We started loading our arsenal onto the truck. I had an M-16 Assault rifle, a pistol, an Uzi, a dual action hunting knife and a machine gun with a ton of ammo strung to my backpack. We got aboard and for some strange reason, I was in the passenger seat while Kris/my companion drove off. I guess he's the better driver. We high tailed around and aimed for the freeway at which point I discussed the best place to go. For some reason, I pointed out that Las Vegas was our destination. Then we headed off and I woke up.

These past few weeks I had other kinda related dreams where I was escaping something. For instance, I remember I had committed some crime in the US and was in a lake or forest near LA. I began swimming in an attempt to enter the Pacific Ocean. However, I realized I was going the wrong way (east) and had to turn around. So I pathetically swam slowly towards some unreachable point. Don't know exactly where I was heading and what I would do once I reached the Pacific. I mean, in reality, how far could I swim?

In another dream, I was in Tokyo at one point and with a woman. Can't remember whom exactly. It might've been Mio or maybe Reina Miyauchi. I was having a conversation with her, talking about how the US would be nicer. We ended up teleporting, of all things, to a small city in the US. I think it was some place in Wyoming. We ended up at a gas station on a hill while all these one story buildings surrounded us. However, the notable thing for me was how sunny it was. In Tokyo, you can't see the sun because these skyscrapers and multistory buildings block your view; simply put a nice change of scenery.]]> Sat, 16 Feb 2008 21:20:54 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2008/2/16/185e3055b67505cc9d964f14665f43ac.html http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2008/5/2/8b8ef38de6cc3d1439b09c6413fdc62e.html
The funnier thing is that several people recently utilized that term to described me. Those EXACT words. Coincidental? Obviously not! But of course, the bigger question is why would people within a week's span use such terminology to depict someone like myself? I guess you could say that I've seen a lot of odd things in recent times, especially since switching jobs to Shibuya, although not all experiences are exclusive to Shibuya (but I do see an incredible amount of odd people). Here's some interesting examples:

• Last Saturday, I met up with my friend to hang out in Shinjuku. Walking back to the East side from Kabukicho (where we had dinner at a nice Indian spot closer towards the Okubo side), I spotted some odd looking person wearing a kilt. Probably was more of a skirt because this guy (yes, a dude) was dressed up in a cosplay sort of way. He must've spotted me because just before I had mentioned him to my friend. I managed to avert my eyes just in time as my friend started to exacerbate in mental anguish at a rather disturbing image that I happened to just avoid. I guess this freak had pulled out his thing and flashed my friend! My friend will probably suffer indefinite mental trauma as a result, but naturally I was the person to point this oddity out.
• Walking to work this evening, I saw this guy in Omotesando station just twitching as he walked towards the Ginza-sen/Hanzomon-sen Shibuya platform. Now, I know I tend to look odd at times while walking around Tokyo (mostly banging my head or lip syncing lyrics to some tunes on my iPod), but I often see people who look like they're about to collapse into an epileptic seizure. Fortunately, he went to the other half of the platform that I WASN'T on.
• My friend Dan and I were over at Cold Stone Cremery in Shibuya Mark City. While waiting in line, this odd kid just saunters over towards this area, points to the ceiling and shouts something that most of us attempted to ignore. After grabbing our ice cream, the guy did it again, this time in front of the workers who were doing their little gay onara song. Well, shows those workers not to do a gay onara song around there!
• Sometime during the winter as I was walking from work on the bridge that goes above Roppongi Dori, this odd guy passes me up and starts shouting, "Headphones! Headphones!" I gave him a queer look and quickly moved on. Although I was wearing headphones (I normally do while walking around Tokyo), why would he just pick on me compared to other people wearing headphones and call me out?
• A few weeks ago, I was going to work at Nogizaka station and heard this odd moaning sound coming from the opposite side of the station. As the trains came along, the moan subsequently increased in volume. I kept thinking to myself, "Please don't come near me." But apparently this odd guy (who I barely could see) was sauntering towards my direction. It was as if this guy was attempting to mimic the volume and noise of the echoes from the trains. Of course, as I get on my train, he gets aboard too, not in my car fortunately. But I realized he was aboard that particular train because once I exited at Omotesando, I heard this nutcase again.
• One of the joint companies who works with my current company is quite large and thus by law forced to employee a certain number of disabled people. You'll see some deaf, or wheelchair bound people frequently in the building. Now, the weird thing that got me was seeing this guy by the elevator playing with his hands. He had this non-sentient facial expression. I was like, "Dear God, please don't make him stand near me." Naturally, the freaking elevator (which is perpetually overcrowded) gets bundled with this people and this guy stands near me of all people!!!! Why me?????? At that point, I knew someone, somewhere is fucking with my life.
• Back around Christmas, as I was walking home from the Akasaka Mitsuke station, I was traveling up this particular road and saw this guy crouched over what looked to be his buddy toppled over from debauchery. Concerned, I walked somewhat closely towards the scene in an attempt to sneak peak if the guy on the floor was okay. Well, turns out that the guy on the floor wasn't just a single person, but two people. An older gentlemen was bundled VERY tightly with a coworker (presumably considering it was nomikai season). The guy above him was shaking the guy, as if saying, "Hey, get up! Get up!" But the particular thing was that the older gentlemen clutching the person beneath him had his lips FIRMLY planted on the other guy's forehead. I think the guy underneath him was trying to detach himself rather futilely. Yeah, that one creeped me out too.
  
• Sometime in the winter, while walking home from the Roppongi station, near the corner where I walk downhill towards my home in Akasaka, I saw this older gentleman (not the same guy as above) on his knees just fall face first flat on the ground. I mean, no hands to brace him or anything. What was worse was that this guy had these glasses on and you could hear a loud *SMACK!* when this guy hit. I guess that smack was enough to bring him to his senses as he stood up removed his glasses and revealed a nice red, trickling stain just above his nose where the frame was left indented at the bridge area. Too much alcohol kills.

I could go on. I mean, the amount of weirdness I see in a given week is overwhelming. On a typical week, I might see between 3-4 incidents, quite often in Shibuya, sometimes in Roppongi (naturally, those incidents grow in Roppongi on Fridays and Saturdays, which is why I attempt to stay in my nest before the vampires and werewolves emerge from 9 pm onwards). Quite often, these incidents involve a large degree of alcohol, which is forgivable so long as I retain a harmless, yet amusing firelight story (as in the cases above). Unfortunately, a lot of those weirdness incidents tend to be someone puking on the street (underage drinking, etc.).

However, the more disturbing incidences occur in spots like Akihabara, Shinjuku or just being on the train. I swear to God that the train system in Japan is a blessing and a curse because you tend to see a lot of nutcases that seem to roam freely (and most probably somehow and quite possibly by accident get set loose from the countryside). Akihabara's weirdness stems from just all the expressionful cosplayers. The girls I don't mind so much and think they're cute. Now, it's when the guys start wearing Sailor Moon uniforms when I need to expediently retreat to a toilet to disperse with such horrendous images.

At times, I kept comparing my situation to what it must be like living in UC Berkeley for a good several years. I heard similar stories crop up. You hardly see these kinds of things at more conservative zones like UC Irvine or my little hometown in LA. But Tokyo, my god. This place is just nuts. And it seems like those nuts tend to congregate around me!]]> Fri, 02 May 2008 13:23:09 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2008/5/2/8b8ef38de6cc3d1439b09c6413fdc62e.html