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aibanokokuhaku January 27th:
I woke up early in the morning, cleaned myself up, packed up my belongings, and checked out of my hotel. I felt tired, sick, and was beginning to deal with bouts of nausea and vertigo. I knew it wasn't a virus, rather, I had pushed myself too hard and was suffering from exhaustion. I spent the day taking the bullet train to Nagoya, then a local train to Tsushima, as I was going to stay at a friend's house. I got to her house, and after maybe an hour of idle chat and a gift exchange (my birthday was this day but hers is February 4th so we always swap around my birthday), I took a bit of a nap and drank a ton of fluids, hoping I'd be fine by the next day. I also notified the online KISSES I interact with that I wasn't sure of my condition and that I'd be wearing my medical whistle just in case. I overwork myself from time to time, honestly.
January 28th:
I woke up early, dressed myself in the same manner as for Osaka, and made my way to the venue, which was a short walk from Kanayama Station. I took my time and got to the line at about 12:00 this time. The goods sales started at 14:00 on this day, so I wouldn't consider myself early. In fact, instead of being 1st-15th, I was finally a bit farther back in line for a Kishidan event, as in 35th...out of the couple hundred people who would try for autograph tickets. It was savagely cold in line but I was happy to get a chance to meet another member-- this time I produced Tommy's slip!
I didn't know how well I would handle being out in the cold, so I headed back to Kanayama Station and spent about 90 minutes alone in a Saizeriya (family restaurant). I had warm food and got warm drinks at the drink bar in a tiny booth packed away in the back corner of the restaurant. Near the restaurant, a giant gob of nicely-but-plainly dressed girls were doing their own meet-and-greet with some idol group called Super Dragon. Just walking by them to get back to the venue at about 16:00 felt odd. I spent the last hour before the hall opened chatting with KISSES. One regret I have is that DJ AZMA (a famous DJ OZMA impersonator) was there and I wasn't assertive enough to get to take a photo with him. I should have tried harder.
Again, the concert was similar to the previous two times. I had a middle-aged friendly lady to my right who chatted me up and helped me cheer for Ranma-chan even though she was a Show-yan fan. This time my seat was floor 2, row 3, seat 16, so even though I was 2nd floor, I was near the front of it, and the people in rows 1 and 2 sat down a lot for some reason, and being on the lefthand side meant I was in front of Ranma chan. Despite the distance, with my bright orange on and unique way of moving and whatnot, I am sure I was noticed, though Ranma chan doesn't give much indication that he is looking at anyone in particular most of the time. The roulette spinner was a middle school girl, so even though she missed hitting "Spotlight" even with Hikaru's help, in the end Show-yan moved the roulette to "Spotlight" and they played it anyway, probably because the fan was so young. How sweet. Show-yan didn't overly gab, but his speech felt so much more final-- Nagoya was originally the last show on this tour, but they added Nakano (Tokyo) on February 10th, which I can't go to because I have work.
After all of that, we got in line for autographs. I talked to a lady behind me in line who works as a kindergarten teacher. She was happy to hear that I also teach young children. We got along well and I was concerned about her ability to catch her last train home, but she said she'd be fine. I hope she made it home OK. Anyway, I got to meet Tommy-chan, and he is such a sweetheart. I noticed other people at this signing were, unlike at the last one, kneeling in front of the tables so that they could make eye contact with the members. I did this, putting myself on my knees.
My fingers rested on the table and I cocked my head to the side slightly like a child, and then began to ramble almost incomprehensibly. "Since I was young, I've always liked punk rock..." Tommy's eyes darted up to mine. "Hmm?" he said inquisitively. In a very Midwestern accent, I switched to English on accident, saying, "Punk rock. Like the Ramones, Sex Pistols..." He understood, "Ah! Punk! Ok!" and nodded to let me finish my original thought. The break in what I was saying lead to a disconnect. I didn't make much sense maybe, as I finished it with, "So I'm really looking forward to your future lives!" I figured he might not understand the moment I said it, but he seemed to be able to fill in the blanks, that I could see how he was inspired by good music and how it reflected in his playing. He was smiling. He did something I hadn't anticipated-- he slowed down his writing as slowly as possible, and then he asked me a goddamn question. "Have you ever seen the Sex Pistols in concert before?" I was taken aback so I switched to a more formal negative response. "No, I haven't." He finished writing and looked up, flashing his trademark grin. "Well, I've gone and seen them before!" He said it in a very macho way "ore ga itta koto aru da ze!" I could feel my pupils dilating at the thought of how cool it is that he's seen them, most likely during their final tour in 2008, so sans Sid, but still very cool. So my response was to gasp and say "kakkoii (that's so cool!") and he reached out and gave me the best handshake I have ever received from a Japanese person. Yes, he is hecka tall (6'6"?) so his hands are huge, but he applied the perfect amount of pressure and grip, and his hand was warm without being damp, and his shake was gentle but sure. It felt so perfect (and so oddly American). I really wish I could meet him more organically and talk with him about music, but that will probably never happen. I thanked him quickly and headed back for my friend's house. Here's Tommy's signature:
January 30:
Not too related but I figured I would mention it here real quick.
This didn't happen until I came back to Kanto of course, but I went to the doctor in Omotesando that morning for some chronic issues, but I had time to kill afterward so I went and saw Yukki at the Naka-Meguro Tears of Swan shop again. I bought one of the zippered beret hats. I could have chosen a two-tone one with my favorite member's color, but I went with solid black so that it would match my winter coat, like this:
I didn't spend too much time in the shop, as Yukki was super busy making something and I figured more customers would come in soon since the shop was having a sale, but as usual, Yukki was cheerful and kind.
---
Since my current company is closing at the end of this month, I probably won't be seeing Kishidan again until this summer, but in the meantime, I'll make posts about goods I have or translations from time to time, so stay tuned!
I woke up early in the morning, cleaned myself up, packed up my belongings, and checked out of my hotel. I felt tired, sick, and was beginning to deal with bouts of nausea and vertigo. I knew it wasn't a virus, rather, I had pushed myself too hard and was suffering from exhaustion. I spent the day taking the bullet train to Nagoya, then a local train to Tsushima, as I was going to stay at a friend's house. I got to her house, and after maybe an hour of idle chat and a gift exchange (my birthday was this day but hers is February 4th so we always swap around my birthday), I took a bit of a nap and drank a ton of fluids, hoping I'd be fine by the next day. I also notified the online KISSES I interact with that I wasn't sure of my condition and that I'd be wearing my medical whistle just in case. I overwork myself from time to time, honestly.
January 28th:
I woke up early, dressed myself in the same manner as for Osaka, and made my way to the venue, which was a short walk from Kanayama Station. I took my time and got to the line at about 12:00 this time. The goods sales started at 14:00 on this day, so I wouldn't consider myself early. In fact, instead of being 1st-15th, I was finally a bit farther back in line for a Kishidan event, as in 35th...out of the couple hundred people who would try for autograph tickets. It was savagely cold in line but I was happy to get a chance to meet another member-- this time I produced Tommy's slip!
I didn't know how well I would handle being out in the cold, so I headed back to Kanayama Station and spent about 90 minutes alone in a Saizeriya (family restaurant). I had warm food and got warm drinks at the drink bar in a tiny booth packed away in the back corner of the restaurant. Near the restaurant, a giant gob of nicely-but-plainly dressed girls were doing their own meet-and-greet with some idol group called Super Dragon. Just walking by them to get back to the venue at about 16:00 felt odd. I spent the last hour before the hall opened chatting with KISSES. One regret I have is that DJ AZMA (a famous DJ OZMA impersonator) was there and I wasn't assertive enough to get to take a photo with him. I should have tried harder.
Again, the concert was similar to the previous two times. I had a middle-aged friendly lady to my right who chatted me up and helped me cheer for Ranma-chan even though she was a Show-yan fan. This time my seat was floor 2, row 3, seat 16, so even though I was 2nd floor, I was near the front of it, and the people in rows 1 and 2 sat down a lot for some reason, and being on the lefthand side meant I was in front of Ranma chan. Despite the distance, with my bright orange on and unique way of moving and whatnot, I am sure I was noticed, though Ranma chan doesn't give much indication that he is looking at anyone in particular most of the time. The roulette spinner was a middle school girl, so even though she missed hitting "Spotlight" even with Hikaru's help, in the end Show-yan moved the roulette to "Spotlight" and they played it anyway, probably because the fan was so young. How sweet. Show-yan didn't overly gab, but his speech felt so much more final-- Nagoya was originally the last show on this tour, but they added Nakano (Tokyo) on February 10th, which I can't go to because I have work.
After all of that, we got in line for autographs. I talked to a lady behind me in line who works as a kindergarten teacher. She was happy to hear that I also teach young children. We got along well and I was concerned about her ability to catch her last train home, but she said she'd be fine. I hope she made it home OK. Anyway, I got to meet Tommy-chan, and he is such a sweetheart. I noticed other people at this signing were, unlike at the last one, kneeling in front of the tables so that they could make eye contact with the members. I did this, putting myself on my knees.
My fingers rested on the table and I cocked my head to the side slightly like a child, and then began to ramble almost incomprehensibly. "Since I was young, I've always liked punk rock..." Tommy's eyes darted up to mine. "Hmm?" he said inquisitively. In a very Midwestern accent, I switched to English on accident, saying, "Punk rock. Like the Ramones, Sex Pistols..." He understood, "Ah! Punk! Ok!" and nodded to let me finish my original thought. The break in what I was saying lead to a disconnect. I didn't make much sense maybe, as I finished it with, "So I'm really looking forward to your future lives!" I figured he might not understand the moment I said it, but he seemed to be able to fill in the blanks, that I could see how he was inspired by good music and how it reflected in his playing. He was smiling. He did something I hadn't anticipated-- he slowed down his writing as slowly as possible, and then he asked me a goddamn question. "Have you ever seen the Sex Pistols in concert before?" I was taken aback so I switched to a more formal negative response. "No, I haven't." He finished writing and looked up, flashing his trademark grin. "Well, I've gone and seen them before!" He said it in a very macho way "ore ga itta koto aru da ze!" I could feel my pupils dilating at the thought of how cool it is that he's seen them, most likely during their final tour in 2008, so sans Sid, but still very cool. So my response was to gasp and say "kakkoii (that's so cool!") and he reached out and gave me the best handshake I have ever received from a Japanese person. Yes, he is hecka tall (6'6"?) so his hands are huge, but he applied the perfect amount of pressure and grip, and his hand was warm without being damp, and his shake was gentle but sure. It felt so perfect (and so oddly American). I really wish I could meet him more organically and talk with him about music, but that will probably never happen. I thanked him quickly and headed back for my friend's house. Here's Tommy's signature:
January 30:
Not too related but I figured I would mention it here real quick.
This didn't happen until I came back to Kanto of course, but I went to the doctor in Omotesando that morning for some chronic issues, but I had time to kill afterward so I went and saw Yukki at the Naka-Meguro Tears of Swan shop again. I bought one of the zippered beret hats. I could have chosen a two-tone one with my favorite member's color, but I went with solid black so that it would match my winter coat, like this:
I didn't spend too much time in the shop, as Yukki was super busy making something and I figured more customers would come in soon since the shop was having a sale, but as usual, Yukki was cheerful and kind.
---
Since my current company is closing at the end of this month, I probably won't be seeing Kishidan again until this summer, but in the meantime, I'll make posts about goods I have or translations from time to time, so stay tuned!
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Date: 2021-03-11 05:48 am (UTC)THE HANDSHAKE. YES. PERFECT. I love this. Thank you for sharing~!