September's update

Well, September just whizzed by. I have been keeping very busy, putting together new curriculums and teaching new classes. The humidity in Japan has finally ceased and I can honestly say that I think I have lost the taste for good Gin – but more on that later.

I spent a couple of days early in September hanging with homeboy Araya Solomon in Tokyo. We went dancing at some club full of goofy foreigners. As usual, he introduced me to a bunch of people from around the world, with some of which I somehow found at least a second degree of separation. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: Araya knows everyone on the planet!

Before we got home at 5am, we stopped for some awesome Ramen and gyoza at Araya’s regular place, where the cooks sing Beatres songs like “You say you wanna levorution…werr you know, we arr wanna change the world…”

Then a few hours later on Sunday afternoon, we met up with Kotaro Watanabe for an all-day breakfast at some Canadian owned café, which despite the prices and lack of atmosphere, was pretty cozy. We spent the rest of the day chillin’ and watching the hand drummers and freestyle dancers in Yoyogi Park.

The third weekend in September was a long weekend in Japan, and POT, my regular drinking establishment, had a BBQ and camping hootenanny, and they asked me to open up the DJ line-up.

Check out the flyer (click to enlarge) – on the left-hand side, in the orange area – they list me as DJ Jes (sorta like Jef, as in Renfroe). I told them to use the name Wes, as in Wesley, but I guess they misunderstood. When you use hand gestures and broken Japanese and Engrish to communicate, I consider myself lucky to have gotten my name on the flyer at all.

I spun my mix of soul, rock and reggae from 4 to 5pm to approximately six people and the three guys who were putting up the tarps because of the rain. As like most of eastern Asia, it’s the heart of typhoon season in Japan. The BBQ was sparsely, yet spiritedly attended by about 30 people, and despite the weather, it appeared all were having a good time! There was load of great music, tasty food and plenty of groping! All of which I had to stop pretty early on because I had pickled myself with an imported bottle of Bombay Sapphire and some homegrown sess. I tell you, riding the Ralph express in a tent, during a typhoon, is one of the most unpleasant experiences of my life…mostly because I forgot to zip up the tent flap before I crashed, leaving me to marinate in 10 cm of water!

Tomoko Kobayashi and her friend Yoko returned from their short visit from Toronto. They spent their final few days hanging with my family, celebrating my sister’s birthday. I was very happy/depressed when I called Toronto and many of my peeps were all together laughing it up and hitting the town. A big smile goes to my brother The Doods and my “cuzz” The Voltaire, who are the self-proclaimed Paul Newman and Steve McQueen of their own little world – and I think they’re the only two people in that world.

A Canadian autumn – especially in the area of southern Ontario where I grew up, or in the Laurentians of Quebec, where our family now has a house – is a beautiful sight. At the risk of sounding maudlin, as I spend another autumn abroad, I’ll once again truly miss the changing colours of the maple and oak trees, the beginning of hockey season, the crispness of the morning air, and the great food of the harvest.

But don’t get me wrong…I’m sure hanging out on the Pacific Ocean in October, eating sushi and watching pretty Japanese ladies in wetsuits surf, is pretty damn good, too!

Namaste

Jess