Things I Miss About LA
- the mahi-mahi burrito (baja style) from La Salsa
- drinkin' wine and playin' NBA Jams for Super Nintendo with my best friends
- having stuff in English
- movie theaters that seat like 1500 people and make you go deaf
- watchin' laker games
- having a car
- clubbing in Hollywood
- watching "Family Guy" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
- Costco
- 24-pack of beer in bottles for
- $18 (see Costco)
- beer from countries other than Japan
- a good martini in a glass the size of my head
- no snow in the city, but then driving 1.5 hours to go snowboarding
- drinks the size of a trash can and free refills!
- eating Mexican food at 3 am
- Georgio's pizza delivery
- forced air heating
- living in the same time zone as your friends
- using feet, miles, and Fahrenheit as units of measurement
- dinner at Islands (Island fries with ranch dressing)
Things I Don't Miss About LA
- sitting in traffic on the 405
- taking a deep breath of carbon monoxide-infested LA air
- the 60 minute commute to work
- doing anything and finding a million people there with the same idea
- crazy winos potentially with guns
- those damn SUVs everywhere
- corporate America (insert double-barreled fingers here)
- the massive piss I have to take after drinking 4 trashcan-sized cups of whatever at a restaurant
Things I Love About Japan
- speaking complete nonsense in Japanese and having people still be ultra nice to you
- T-shirts with really bad Engrish on them
- people who get really excited when you speak Japanese to them
- walking down the street at 2:00 am in downtown Tokyo and not feeling like I'm gonna get shot or raped or both
- people who don't know a word of English, but think it's cool when you speak English
- okonomiyaki, takoyaki, and gyoza
- messing with the NHK guy
- asking a simple question at a store and having 6 people scramble to help you
- not having to give anyone a tip...ever
- acting like I don't speak a word of Japanese when in fact I understand most of what you just said to me (see NHK guy)
- having random people ask if they could take a picture with you
- getting a haircut, then also getting a shiatsu massage and a drink
- using foul language and slang and having people not know what the hell you are saying
- my cell phone has a PDA, a digital camera, a TV, DVD player, email, a color screen, Internet access, and a time machine
- getting free drinks at bars
- heated toilet seats
- it's considered cool to have a big nose here
- clubs and bars that don't close until 5 am
Things I Don't Love About Japan
- having to speak Japanese to get anything done
- 12-pack of beer in cans for 3000 yen (about $28) OUCH!
- why does everyone have to smoke??
- do they have to write EVERYTHING in Japanese??
- buying a postcard and having it wrapped in 6 bags, then having the receipt wrapped in 8 bags
- watching a show about "the rules of using chopsticks," and realizing that you have broken every single rule and done every possible taboo thing
- that damn metric system
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