Pimptastic!

So it's natsu yasumi around here (that's "summer vacation" for all you monolinguals out there) and where I come from, summer vacation from school means 2 and 1/2 months of complete hibernation of all critical thinking and intelligent thoughts. In Japan, on the other hand, it seems that it's businsess as usual even during summer vacations. Teachers as well as students still come to school every day. Granted the atmosphere is much more relaxed and there are no classes, but the mere fact that we are required to come to school at all is almost too much for my educated-within-the-American-school-system brain to comprehend. Just yesterday there was quite the upheaval in the staffroom because of the behavior of one of the students and his small act of summer vacation-induced rebellion. The student was brought into the staffroom, where he was promptly surrounded by at least 5 or 6 teachers (during the course of this episode, at least 3 other teachers came in to join the fun) and yelled at in turn by all of them. Seeing how this was the most exciting part of my day, I listened intently for an clue as to what henious crime this student had committed. Since I couldn't really understand anything being said, I had to rely on my powers of deduction. After about 30 minutes of yelling and interrogation, I was convinced that the student had either stolen something, vandalized something, gotten drunk after raiding mom and dad's liquor cabinet, or maybe all three. From my jr. high and high school experiences, these seemed the most logical assumptions about what would warrant this type of ass-chewing. After all the teachers had thoroughly exhausted themselves from yelling, the student was sent out of the staffroom. I then asked one of the Japanese English teachers that I work with what had happened. In the end, all of my theories were completely wrong. The real crime? The student showed up to school without wearing his school uniform and attempted to eat an ice cream cone inside one of the classrooms (the contriband cone is still being held inside the evidence locker AKA the staffroom freezer) While not the outrageous display of teenage rebellion I had imagined, I guess for a Japanese jr. high school student, it's pretty ballsy behavior. He might just be my new favorite student...

Anyway, what does any of this have to do with the title of my post? Well, since I have been sitting here all week with nothing to do except sweat profusely, google chat, and search for things on the internet, I have found all sorts of interesting things to keep me busy. So today I spent a good 15 to 20 minutes on the website http://www.white-wolf.com/pimp/index.php?line=generator creating my new "pimp" name. I highly recommend this site....and here, in no particular order, are some of the highlights:

Bamboo Chute Katie Flowin' (I thought this one appropriate given my current location)

Tricky Mc Clintic Sweetness

Whiskey Lips Mc Clintic Super Suede

Fine Ass Mc Clintic W. Bushmaster

Uncle Katie White Chocolate

Super Suede Mary Stud

Warts K. G-Man

Skillz Katie Tricky

Maestro K. Snake Eyes

Homeboy Mc Clintic Devious

Vicious Mary Macktastic

Kicks K. Loco

Macktastic Katie Superfly

Short Katie Rothstein

Kitty: a dedication (part 2)

As a continuation of "Kitty Appreciation Week", I wanted to include a shot of Kitty without the headgear. Make no mistake...viking horns are going to be THE fashion accessory of the season...but Kitty still looks hot without them.

Kitty: a dedication

I just wanted to give a shout-out to my number one blog fan. Without the support of dedicated readers like Kitty, the zeigeist that is "The Fool's Progress" would not be what it is today. I salute you...

Biya Gahden

Last Friday my friends and I were invited to go to a beer garden. We were all interviewed for a local college radio program that features foreigners that live in the area. In appreciation the host of the show, Roy, had the party for us (that's him in the center). As is typical of most drinking parties here, there was waaaay too much food. We also had the party on what I swear was the hottest and most humid night of the year. Yes, there's nothing like sitting outside dripping with sweat as you try to eat your weight it little appetizers. However the cold beer kept things tolerable... After we finished at the beer garden, we decided to do a little karaoke. One of the women who volunteers at the radio station with Roy informed us that he was a Japanese pop star in the 60's! Apparently Roy was in a "boy band" and was quite the heartthrob in his day! As a special treat, Roy sang one of his biggest hits for us at the karaoke place. I closed the evening of beer and karaoke by singing a (pathetic) rendition of "Afternoon Delight" by the Starlight Vocal Band. I thought it would be an amusing crowd-pleaser...but I was wrong. I guess without the irony it's not as funny. Lesson learned for the future...

Where I'm at...

In just a few days I will celebrate my one year anniversary in Japan...so I thought this might be a good time to point out where I have been for the last year! Japan is divided into prefectures, which are kind of like states. I live in Ishikawa prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast. The capital is Kanazawa City and my town, Nonoichi, is basically an extension of Kanazawa. Yes, my friends, I live in suburbia... For all you geographically challenged individuals out there, I have included a map so you can get a visual of my location in relation to the rest of Japan.
Even though my town is quite small, I unfortunately live about as far away from my schools as possible without living in another town. This wasn't a problem...until I got my bike stolen from the local train station about a month ago which, incidentally, was not my fault. I was lulled into a false sense of secturity by the low crime rate here and therefore didn't lock my bike at the station...and left it there overnight. Little did I know that just below the wholesome surface of Nonoichi lies the bubbling underbelly of a crime syndicate filled with bike thieves and shoplifters. But I digress. Here's a shot of the local bus in Nonoichi (called the "Noti") that I now take to school in the morning:
So cute! Kawaiiiiiiii!!! They come in 3 cute colors and have their own cute little cartoon mascot (like most everything in Japan...must...have...cartoon...mascot...!) My students think it's hilarious that I ride the Noti. I don't see what's so funny, but maybe it's some sort of inside joke that I'm not getting? Anyway, they all stare into the bus window as it passes and if they see me on it they wave and laugh hysterically. Just don't get it...

The supermarket

Going to the supermarket is always an adventure here. Usually I try to refrain from taking pictures of all the strange (and sometimes revolting) things that I see for fear of looking like a dumb "gaijin". For some reason, though, I couldn't resist taking a picture of the giant fish head on display...