Remembering the past.

I brought a couple of trinkets with me to remind myself of the country I left. The first is a set of army insignia (sergeant major of the United States Army), the second, a one-piece United States Air Force insignia of a master sergeant, and the final, a patch remembering the officers of the New York Police and Fire Department and the Port Authority Police Department. I sit here typing sick, but, I remember that I'm strong, thanks to what I've been through in the United States.

Further, the country music I'm listening to gives me a sense of patriotism and everything that America represents, not just some lame rap music that encourages promiscuity and adult-themed behavior. . . . You think that doesn't have to do with anything but having encountered the music representative of Japan, the teenage-attracting, "boppy" music, I've decided to focus on something more contemporary and realistic-sounding. Sure, country singers' voices sound a little awkward but it's the message that counts, for sure. Different subjects of love, life in America, and music in general, are brought up in these country albums and it gives me a little nostalgia for that which is the New York/New Jersey area. However, considering that I'm an inquisitive person at heart, exploring Tokyo (or rather, Minami-Nagareyama, Chiba) will satisfy me enough.

Alas, time is the issue. Ice hockey requires my complete attention and basketball is certainly time-consuming and fun. School starts in a couple of weeks and I'm already thinking of what to do for school. . . . Speaking of, I forgot to register for the semester! wtf, man. Ah, well. Something I just remembered. I'm thinking of overworking myself for senior year. Besides studying for the GEDs, I've got to get a part-time job; hmmm, maybe working at Ice House might help a bit. I know how to skate, and hockey is basically a huge portion of my life. Ah, but coming back to the subject, it seems that there won't be time to relax on my end. I'm glad that I'm a little sick right now so that I'd get to type this entry, eh?

Yesterday, I went to Kamakura for a reunion. It was beautiful, not to my surprise. The cherry blossoms were there and I was able to meet a crapload of people from CIEE, most of whom have intriguing personalities. I'm glad to have done that, 'cause my shoulders were hurting from the kintoree (weight training) the other day. They still do. However, I'm not giving up my expedition to make myself stronger and confident; accordingly, hockey's still priority as far as I know.

Today, I'm planning to stay home until late afternoon, where I hope to meet a few friends for another karaoke session. I just refused to go to Roppongi last night because of the crazy things that happen there. I'm also not particularly interested in "clubbing" or that nature, though I admit that it's a good place to hook up with attractive girls and doing other stuff like that. I like to let them come to me, that's all. Here's to patience (raises glass filled with asahi beer)!