Doutour

Today, I decided to stop by one of my favorite hangout spots Doutour Gourmet Coffee Shop. Ohhh I love this place!! They have the best coffee ever!! It's better than Starbucks. However, there is a downside; it is usually always busy and noisy and often hard to find a seat.

At Doutour you will see all walks of life sipping on coffee; the young, the old, and the grumpy. Nevertheless, it's a great place to go and do some work or simply to chit chat with your friends over a nice hot or cold drink.

Expresso with marshmallows and carmel on top. My fav!!

Fun!! Fun!! Fun!!

This past weekend, I was convinced to go out on the town with my friends. So, I ended up in Shinjuku and Roppongi for the night!

First, we started our loooonnnnnnggg night out in Shinjuku (one of Japan's busiest prefectures) on the rooftop of an eighth floor building. Man, wasn't it nice!! Once we made it to the top floor, there were several restaurants aligning the rooftop of this building. The sight was spectacular. There were tons of restaurants to choose from such as; Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Indian, and Malaysian restaurants. All of this while the moon sat right above us as we ate and listened to music.

Several Umeshu's later, we left and went to Roppongi to party the night away. I didn't get home until after 7:00 the next morning. Whew!! What a night!! (Umeshu is a Japanese drink made from unriped plums. It's sooo good! It has a sweet and sour taste.

My New Fixation....Japanese Manicures

Today, while I was supposed to be working (shh!!), I went into one of Fuchu’s many beauty stores. Beauty stores here in Japan are filled with tons upon tons of beauty supplies (every girls dream right).

Since I have been here in Japan, I have really become fascinated with how they do their nails (its not like how they do it in the States). Here in Japan, rather than just using nail polish, they also use nail stickers. Nail stickers and nail artwork are very popular here in Tokyo. I have seen some really cute nails and some "what were you thinking nails".

Now, with all of that being said, many of my co-workers are taking classes on how to do nails and one of them has promised to do mine. Woo Hoo!!! So, within the next month or so I will be posting pics of my nails, but for right now here are a few pics of my co-worker's nails and other randoms. LOVES IT!!

Mr. ExtraorDANary @ Starbucks!

Today, while at Starbucks in Fuchu, I sat right beside this black guy without even noticing it. I didn't realize he was sitting across from me because he was speaking in Japanese (very impressive). It wasn't until I heard that same voice start to speak in English, so of course I turned and looked and there he was Mr. ExtraorDANary.

Well, it turned out, he was teaching a Japanese lady how to pronounce certain words in English. Anyway, as you may already know, I am a major stickler when it comes to the pronunciation and enunciation of words.

So, while I was diligently doing some work and sipping on my nice hot cup of "Brazilian" blend coffee, I overheard the guy explaining how to pronounce the word "Extraordinary" but the wrong way!! A little disturbed and wanting to correct him, I had to bite my tongue and say "KMD, let the man do his thing." He told the lady to pronounce the word as {Ex-tra-or- DAN- nary} instead of {Ex-tra-or-DIN-nary}. I know!! I know!! No Big Deal Right??

Well, this made me think about how many foreigners come to the U.S. not knowing how to speak English correctly and this is the very reason WHY!!! I mean it's just like one of my co-workers, teaching the kids that the letters "Th" together at the end of a word makes a "F" sound. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? See, it's these sort of things that just bug the crap out of me. Geeez!! Come on Native English speakers, lets get it together!! For real!!

Hmmm I Wonder.....

Well, it was back to work for me today. Oh my goodness, it was tough this morning to get out the bed after two weeks of staying up late and laying in bed all day. Where did the time go? Argh!!

Anyway, today while on the train, I realized that many Japanese people rarely have a smile on their face or even look happy. Why is that, I wonder? Maybe because it's so early in the morning, but wait, they don't smile in the evening either. I wonder if it's because most of them don't have anything to be happy about? I wonder if it's because some of them don't have god in their life? I don't know!! It's really strange though.

I do know this much, I thank GOD for who I am and what I have. And YES my friends, that alone is enough to keep me smiling EVERYDAY!

Five Starrs

I really love this song "Never Forget You" by the Noisettes. This song reminds me of something that Amy Winehouse would have sung. Loves it!

All White Affair

Me and the girls leaving out right before the party

Do you remember me mentioning in a previous post that I was going to be attending an all White Affair? Well, I ended up going. However, I didn't buy the white unitard I was planning to wear. I decided to just wear something I already had in my closet. Aren't I glad I did that!! The party sucked!! Nonetheless, the music was great (via Alex) and the decor was nice, but the crowd was LAME (maybe because it was an on base party and not one in Tokyo).

The 4th of July

When I woke up this morning it sooooo didn't feel like the 4th of July. There was no Matt Lauer, Al Rocker, or Meredith Vieira hosting the 4th of July parade on television. Not to mention, I didn't even smell any BBQ in the air. UGH!! THIS SUCKS!! . I know!! I know!! It's not the Japanese's Independence Day, but I wish it was.

Well, eventually as the day progressed, I cheered up. Originally, Alex and I were suppose to go over his friend's house to celebrate, but we changed our minds. We decided to BBQ here at the house. YIPPEE!! However, we didn't have all that we needed to do a BBQ, so we stopped off at "Joyful Honda" ( basically a two story Super Walmart) for groceries.

What is the 4th of July without a bottle of Sake.......
Sushi anyone??
In Japanese grocery stores, they always have food neatly prepared for you to grab and go for lunch or dinner. Some things look tasty while others look questionable.

Trying to snap pics while pushing the cart. Move out the way girl!!

Chicken aisle......woo hoo!! Wings here I come.

Alex looking at the seafood. This man cuts and scales the fresh fish for you. It's actually pretty interesting to watch. Mmmm........No fish today!! We gotta get some chicken in our lives!!

Well, even though the morning started off a little sketchy, I had a great 4th of July here in Japan. I had my bbq wings, shish kebabs, baked beans, corn, honey rolls, and dessert. What more could you ask for here in Japan for the 4th!!

As Promised!

Okay, so I told you all I would post pics of my night out with my boss and let you know how everything went. Well, I can say without a doubt, we had tons of fun and plenty of laughs. First of all, we went to a really snazzy bar for drinks and chit chatted for awhile (you know, girls talk). However, the fellas (Alex and my boss’s husband) had something different in mind. They went to an electronic store around the corner (MEN!). After, drinking my watered down “Sex on the Beach,” we left and headed to the Okama Bar.

Upon arrival, we were greeted at the front door by the "ladies of the night". My first reaction was "OMG, these are NOT MEN!?!?!?!!" THEY HAD BOOBS!! These men looked every bit of a woman (with the exception of two older ones). Not to mention, after a few more drinks, they began to look even more like women lol!!

Anyway, there were quite a few people in attendance and some that seemed as though they were regulars. After being seated, each Drag one by one came over to our table and socialized with us before show time. They spoke what little English they knew and the rest was translated by my boss and other co-worker. During this time, I couldn’t help but notice that one of the “ladies” kept starring at me. “Oh geeezz, what now” I said to myself. Within seconds of that thought, the “lady” announced to my table that I looked like Beyonce (hahaha!!!). Me? Beyonce? Lol!! So, guess what?? Without any delay, the lady broke out into the famous Beyonce “Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, oh " dance lol!! It was too funny.

Nevertheless, we had a great time and the show was excellent. There was plenty of choreography and drama on stage to keep us entertained the entire night. We had a grand ol time!!

Waiting at the bus stop.
This is the one that said I look like Beyonce lol.

So, we had to touch her boobs to see if they felt real lol

Can you tell which one is the man lol?

Hahaha!! My boss told them it was Alex's birthday lmao!! They took him on stage!

Panties came flying across our table. What a laugh!

One of the drags that you could definitely tell was a man.Drinks at Snazzy restaurant (Boss and co-workers)
Heading downstairs to Okama Bar

Boss and husband

Famous Drag in Japan. He is 50 years old and has 9 kids and is married (my jaw dropped)!

Me?? Go Where?? Are You Serious?? Oh Geez!!

Unfortunately, today is a rainy day. I haven't really felt like doing much of anything (this includes hanging out with my boss). Rainy days always make me feel blah and lazy!! Also, according to my co-workers, it's still springtime (Are you serious?) here in Japan and I am on Spring Break Vacation (ahahaha WTH!!). Seriously though, it's not considered summertime here until the end of July, so it has been raining every other day (May showers in freaking June & July). Arrrgh!! I usually like rainy days, but not consistently!!

Anyway, I am typing this post before I leave out today. My boss has been trying to do something with me and a few other co-workers and Alex for the last week and a half, so I finally gave in and said "okay". WHO TOLD ME TO SAY OKAY??

At 7:30 tonight, I am going out to eat in Tachikawa and later to an Okama Bar (An okama bar is one where the staff are predominantly male, cross dressing homosexuals) to see a drag show called Amon !! ARE YOU SERIOUS?? WOW!!! I will leave you with that much! WOOO HOOO!! This shall be interesting and fun!!

PICS COMING SOON! Click here to see site