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In Kunitachi:

The fortune-teller that disappeared a while ago is back, now that the weather is a lot colder. Mind you, she did move a few meters away from her original spot for reasons unknown. I wonder how easy it is for her to read people’s palms during the winter because many people don’t leave home without wearing warm gloves.

The monorail line passing through Kunitachi station seems to be nearly done. I wonder how this will change this dainty little town.

In Kokubunji:

The little landing near the train platform in Kokubunji Station’s Seibu Line where the pigeons usually stroll around has been crowded out by a new set of public lavatories and a glass-encased waiting room for people waiting for the train in the now cold weather of Tokyo. I used to love staring at the pigeons in the landing as I waited for the train, especially during the Spring when the male pigeons would puff up their chests in an effort to capture the fancy of the ladies walking around. I hope the pigeons are keeping warm right now, wherever they may be.

In Kodaira:

The stinky old building I have to endure every time I walk towards the grocery store has been mysteriously covered with an equally mysterious blue sheet of cloth. I don’t know if they are going to finally tear that place down, or whether the old building is just trying to stay warm during this unusually cold Winter in Tokyo.

In Cyberspace:

I’ve been blogged about (well, my musician alter-ego in this case)here! <----- (click for the link!!). Now I know that all the writing is in Japanese, but the pictures explain a lot. The pictures are from the small Oud performance I gave in Tokyo with Kawol. I must say that it was one of my best experiences playing music on stage. The audience and setting were not inhibiting at all and Kawol’s attitude towards music and his ability to communicate with the others definitely made a big difference. I found this to be a big relief after going through late 2006/early 2007 having to deal with a particular musician from the Mediterranean with serious ego insecurities (among other issues). What I enjoyed most during the performance is the fact that Kawol is one of those musicians who doesn’t have any rules. He’d play beautifully compounded riffs on the guitar and sing either really obscure covers of songs that are nearly forgotten (but shouldn’t be) or his own songs (which, in my opinion, are very beautifully written - both in terms of the lyrics and in terms of the music). My background in music is slightly more rigid and classical, and so I had to learn on the fly as I tried to catch up with Kawol, but I think we faired out with some good music. I hope to have more chances to experiment with music the I way I did this time.