Currently Listening Twentythree By Tristan Prettyman see related

February 1, 2006
Today it is raining hard.  I started to take the bus from Sagisu Roku Chome to Nodahanshin and then just transfer to the 91a bus.  It is cool because today I didn’t have to walk in the rain, or so I think.  So on Monday’s I am usually on the bus for about 45 minutes and sometimes I doze off and wake up somehow in time for my stop.  Not today.  I wake up, take a look out the window and realize that nothing looks familiar.  I start getting this bad feeling that I have missed my stop.  I glance at the time and it is now 8:20 am.  Now I know I am late.  In English I attempt to ask the bus driver where my stop, Shoumbashi, is.  He rambles on in what seems to be the quickest Japanese phrase in the country and kind of coaxes me out the door.  So there I am standing in the rain contemplating what I should do.  School is about to start in about 20 minutes and I haven’t a clue as to where I am.  Many situations began to run through my head.  Should I attempt to catch another bus to my stop?  Should I go into the local conbini Lawsons and ask for directions?  Should I call school and let them know I am lost.  As I stood there with my umbrella thinking, I saw some school girls.  I was hoping they were from my school.  I walked up to them, took a look at their book bags and felt a sigh of relief.  They were from Taisho Nishi, my school.  I ended up following them for about 15 minutes until I recognized the area.  I just had to laugh it off.  Actually, I was surprised this hasn’t happened earlier.  I am sure it will not be the last.  Just another adventure in the motherland. 

After class I quickly headed back to Nodahanshin to catch the Tozai line to Kobe.  This time it was OK to fall asleep because my stop is at the end of the line and somebody would wake me up to kick me off the bus.  Anyway, I was headed to Kobe to play some basketball.  It is actually pretty hard to find a place to play here in Osaka and in Japan for that matter.  One of my friends had found a number of a guy who was starting a team.  I figured what the heck.  So after about 30 minutes of confusion as to what train to take I am finally on my way.  After I exit at Rokko Michi Station my next adventure begins.  So this guy Daniel told me that the gym was on the fourth floor of a building right outside of the station.  I figure it cannot be that hard.  How can miss a gym.  Ha.  To make a long story short, I walk about for another 20 to 30 minutes going in different buildings looking for a gym.  I ask people where the Bball court is and people just laugh.  Really, they laughed, “Ha, there is no basketball court around here.”  Just when I am about to give up the search and go home a guy approaches me and asks if I am here to ball.  I am not quite sure how he knew it was me.  Well, I told him I was a short asian guy, which doesn’t really narrow down the search. I am just glad he found me.