After the ice caves, we had enough time to wait for a mini bus to take us back to the hostel. during that wait, i happen to see a happy japanese baby boy with his mother at a small restaurant. his mother was a cutie therefore i tried to grab the boy's attention. so i waved at the boy and he waved back. he responded to me with proper gestures. at this time, i was riddled at how intelligent this kid was, even at the age of 2 or so. he acted as if he was a 12 year old. he was obedient and courteous, where i later observed how most of japanese toddlers are.

by night fall, we arrived at the shinkasen station on route to our next stop: osaka. during our trip, we sat next to a japanese student of whom i offered my sesame rice cake to. after breaking the ice, we found out that she was a graduate from Brown Music school in Massachusetts. Brown music school happens to be the top music school in the states, where musicians such as john mayer graduated from. she happens to play in an orchestra. i think the trip lasted for about 2 hours and finally we got off in osaka.

since it was late night, my first impression of osaka is of vacancy. seemed like no cars nor people were on the streets except in the shinkasen station. it was quiet and time went by real slow. we hiked to our hotel about 15 minute walk from the station and happen to conclude our night at a traditional japanese restaurant adjacent to the hotel. our waitress was dressed in a kimono and i instantly fell in love with her beauty. perhaps, she was the most beautiful japanese lady i have ever seen.

day 5: again, with the help of keith's expertise, without getting lost, we find our way to our first tourist attraction: the osaka castle. it was funny in that once we got of the train, we were amongst thousands of school girls. i thought i was in a dream. there were no guys to be found, not that i am complaining but we were basically lost in a sea of women. and they were also walking in the same direction as we were. later i discover their queue led them to a convention center, of what i do not know of. keith and i went to the other direction towards the osaka castle.

the castle looked more of a pagoda. i think the word "castle" is better utilized in Europe. the pagoda was 8 stories tall, with the option of us using the elevator or stairs. looking at the line for the elevator, it was an easy decision. we started at the 8th floor and descended down 1 floor at a time learning about the artifacts and history about the castle. just like every other castle, to sum it up, it defended the good guys from the bad guys.

after roaming the castle grounds, keith mentioned how the osaka aquarium is one of the biggest ones in the world so we planned on that. finding the train station was the hard part, i think we walked about 3 miles in circles before finding the train station. that is best part of going on a vacation: getting lost accidentally and not complaining about it.

After the ice caves, we had enough time to wait for a mini bus to take us back to the hostel. during that wait, i happen to see a happy japanese baby boy with his mother at a small restaurant. his mother was a cutie therefore i tried to grab the boy's attention. so i waved at the boy and he waved back. he responded to me with proper gestures. at this time, i was riddled at how intelligent this kid was, even at the age of 2 or so. he acted as if he was a 12 year old. he was obedient and courteous, where i later observed how most of japanese toddlers are.

by night fall, we arrived at the shinkasen station on route to our next stop: osaka. during our trip, we sat next to a japanese student of whom i offered my sesame rice cake to. after breaking the ice, we found out that she was a graduate from Brown Music school in Massachusetts. Brown music school happens to be the top music school in the states, where musicians such as john mayer graduated from. she happens to play in an orchestra. i think the trip lasted for about 2 hours and finally we got off in osaka.

since it was late night, my first impression of osaka is of vacancy. seemed like no cars nor people were on the streets except in the shinkasen station. it was quiet and time went by real slow. we hiked to our hotel about 15 minute walk from the station and happen to conclude our night at a traditional japanese restaurant adjacent to the hotel. our waitress was dressed in a kimono and i instantly fell in love with her beauty. perhaps, she was the most beautiful japanese lady i have ever seen.

day 5: again, with the help of keith's expertise, without getting lost, we find our way to our first tourist attraction: the osaka castle. it was funny in that once we got of the train, we were amongst thousands of school girls. i thought i was in a dream. there were no guys to be found, not that i am complaining but we were basically lost in a sea of women. and they were also walking in the same direction as we were. later i discover their queue led them to a convention center, of what i do not know of. keith and i went to the other direction towards the osaka castle.

the castle looked more of a pagoda. i think the word "castle" is better utilized in Europe. the pagoda was 8 stories tall, with the option of us using the elevator or stairs. looking at the line for the elevator, it was an easy decision. we started at the 8th floor and descended down 1 floor at a time learning about the artifacts and history about the castle. just like every other castle, to sum it up, it defended the good guys from the bad guys.

after roaming the castle grounds, keith mentioned how the osaka aquarium is one of the biggest ones in the world so we planned on that. finding the train station was the hard part, i think we walked about 3 miles in circles before finding the train station. that is best part of going on a vacation: getting lost accidentally and not complaining about it.

the train station took us right next to the aquarium and like other major japanese cities, there was a huge ferris wheel amongst the bay. the aquarium featured every biome of the world's oceans including a makeshift rainforest which i dont know why cuz it has nothing to do with marine aquaria. things in particular that we saw were: penguins, a massive manta ray, hammerhead sharks and a room dedicated to jellyfish. we decided to hop on the biggest ferris wheel of japan and just took in the night view of osaka. it was an amazing sight looking at the skyline and those twinkling red dots that are standard on top of buildings.

im currently sitting in the lexus dealership waiting for my car to get serviced. ive been here since 10am and they told me that everything would be finished by 5-6pm. mother bitch!! good thing car dealerships are designed so homely where i have a computer all to myself, an abundance of food, and even a starbucks! since the stock market is closed today (martin luther king is the greatest!) its my only chance i had to fix my car. the annoying check engine light comes on automatically at 45K so even if your car is in impeccable shape, lexus wants you to spend $500 just to turn that stupid light off. so hell, might as well go all out and do the whole 50K service.

soooooo tokyo was awesome. it took a while for me to actually appreciate that place because usually when i get off the plane in another country, ie france or italy, im already feelin it. but japan took a little while...

day 1: the flight was comfy. i chose american airlines because my last experience on it going to heathrow was pleasant; full of leg room, good food, good movies. i sat next to this 23 year old UCLA graduate who is flying to seoul to work as an english teacher. he met a korean exchange student at school and flew back to live with her. how romantic. the rest of the flight, i breezed through half of my series 7 book and took no nap at all. yes i like to study. after 13 hours, i was in tokyo, 5:30pm on the 30th of december. as i went through customs, the officer asked where i was staying at. so i said "kabuki-cho". next thing he mumbles "Very dangerous" so i asked why and he didnt know how to say it in english. he pulled out a picture and pointed to a girl wearing lingerie. i thought ohhhhh keith chose the red light district. nice. besides the customs officer speaking a tad of english, 1 thing i noticed right away is no one else spoke a hint of english and now my friend is telling me to book a bus to shinjuku station. i am not good at taking the bus even in los angeles and now he is telling me to find my way to a station in an alien country without english? what i also noticed is that there was a "magna-doodle" right next to every service counter (and later finding out magna-doodles were everywhere in japan). a magna doodle is a board where you can write messages using a magnetic pen and erasing the board instantly. so i used the magnadoodle and wrote "shinjuku station". so she presented me with a price and the bus stop. after a 45 min ride on a bus with HID lights, i was at the world's busiest subway terminal. i was bumping into everyone during rush hour and immediately got lost in a sea of men in suits and girls in hooker boots. my next problem was trying to find keith. i made a call on the pay phone and just my luck i turn around a corner and bump into him. what luck.

from here on, i can let keith do the work. he can speak, read and write japanese and most importantly, hes white! we walked about 15 mintues to our hotel where we had seperate single rooms with a bathroom just a little bigger than a porto-potty. the bathroom also had a hi-tech toilet with a heated seat and a sprayer!! without wasting anymore time, keith and i went to explore the district of shinjuku. this place had it all, neon lights, food traffic, nightlife, male/female strip clubs, shopping, and restaurants. we decided to find a place to have dinner and although it may sound easy, finding a good place to eat is tough as i have noticed in my past travels. its just that you want to find a place with a good atmosphere in a good location and also with a good amount of people. believe it or not that combination is hard to find. after about an hour of walking in cirles, we found this place that had fried fish and tempura. meal 1 done. it was not big not small, but very good. by the time we finished, its already about11pm and since im on vacation, why not have a session at a bar? once again, we walked around and decided to finish the night at this scotch bar. it was decorated as if you were in a scottish bar with wooden accent and rows of different types of scotch. ive never had scotch before so i requested a scotch for the average guy. he prepared a shot of glenfiddich. as i watched him prepare the drink, it seemed like he was preparing it for the president. he put so much care into it where he made sure the glass was spotless, he measured the scotch exactly a shot, he used a perfectly spherical ice cube, and stirred the drink with a clean, glass rod. he then handed me the drink and said "arigato". shit, i didnt even pay him yet. scotch is a very unusual drink. it tastes like paint but that taste doesnt come about until 10 seconds after you swallow. its the fumes or soemthing that runs up your nose and makes you feel funny. i think its an acquired taste. next thing, i looked at my watch and its midnight. so im thinking shit, it would be 7am in los angeles and here im having scotch for breakfast!

day 2 (new years eve): we woke up at around 930am and hopped on the computer to plan out our daily agenda. the first stop was at the electronics district. many folks come to japan to get their first hand on the latest technology. we went to this store if i remember correctly had about 9 distinct floors. cameras, computers, tvs, radios, cell phones, gaming systems, toys, appliances etc... like keith said, it was fry's electronics on crack. after that, we took the subway to harajuku, a district that highlighted japanese pop culture. coincidentally snoopy town was also there so i did a little shopping and got my sister souvenirs, who is a huge peanuts fan. harajuku is basically an alley way with each side lining up with japan's j-rock fashion stores. the younger japanese typically sported a heavy-metal type of style at the moment but not for long because japan is always in the most updated fashion sense. just imagine asian bret michaels walking everywhere. tight jeans, boots and heavy jackets all in black. after that mind blowing experience, we took the tube to ginza, a district that resembled new york's prestigious 5th ave shopping. although i like to shop, im not here to shop for something where i can find at the beverly center. so instead, we walked around and settled down at the first starbucks of japan. with a plaque, its engraved with pride that you are actually stepping foot in japan's first starbucks. after ginza, we hopped on the subway for a short trip to roppongi hills. replace "roppongi" with "beverly" and you get the idea. its japan's residential area for the socially inclined. with plush malls and luxurious lofts, and my first time ever seeing 2 bodyguards pushing a shopping cart for their master. thats what you call mega-baller.

it was new years eve and we went back to get ready for nic fanciulli. it was going to be held at WOMB, which is the top 10 club in the world. we got off the station at shibuya, the famous area that is always shown on tv where you see masses of people crossing on the crosswalk. it dawned on me that it was smaller in person. i guess people are really tinier in japan contrasting its actual size. we arrived in womb after passing through small alley ways and places called "love hotels" where you can rent a room for half hour blocks. nice! it costed us 5000yen for nic fanciulli which equals to about $40 US dollars. it wasnt packed at first but when 1130 came around, it was absolutely insane where everyone was pushing each other and every part of your body is touching every body else's sweat. countdown was over...oout we go. didnt even get to enjoy the musik.

day 3: today we planned to take a bus to mount fuji, but that wasnt until 4pm. so all the time before, we decided to explore shibuya more after the buzz kill that ruined our new years eve. we stopped at NHK studios which was japan's tv network. there i was happy to discover domo-kun. it was a the mascot of NHK TV that looked like a brown monster with spiky teeth. i decided to buy a doll-sized version for my bed at home.

4 o'clock came and i slept through the 2-hour bus ride. it was already night once we got to the town of shikouza which was on the foothills of mt fuji. we checked into this extremely neat private hostel where the room was designed traditionally like a japanese dojo. there werent any seats, so you had cushions and kneeled next to a foot high table. the door was a sliding rice-paper door and the floor were made of straw bounded tightly together. as for our beds, we had rollout matresses on the floor and had to prepare it each night. for dinner we went up the street and ate at a place called "skylark". it was japan's version of dennys but with a touch of japanese style such as enoki mushrooms on steak, miso soup and breaded fish etc... i ate like a king!

day 4: we woke up to an amazing site. in front of us was this towering mountain that was shaped so perfectly like a cone with the top half snowcapped. the day was beautiful with clear skies and sunshine which made mt fuji stand out more. the streets were lined with snow after a 2 day storm last week. i was in a winter wonderland. we walked 15 min down the street to the foot of the tram stop. this tram took us to a peak where we can take in the whole view of mt fuji and the 5 lakes that are surrounding it. after taking numerous pics with domo-kun, we took a $40 taxi ride 2 miles up the street to the caves. these caves were actually lava tubes that vented mt fuji as it erupted in the past, so im thinking since mt fuji is still active, lava can run through these caves at any moment. even if it did, i wouldnt feel much. i read on the guide that the caves pretty much keep a constant temperature 365 days a year. therefore, icicles in the cave are always kept frozen. by night fall, we took the bus back to tokyo and off we go on a bullet train to osaka......

holy mother bitch! i havent wrote in this shit for a long ass time! the month of december has been nice to me (as i hoped). when shit stops happening at work, you appreciate your position more and feel accomplished when the day is over. i finally realized how important my job is and how many brokers count on me to get their big paychecks, all im asking in return is a compliment from time to time or since its christmas, something "liquid". not liquid perishable, but a business term if you know what i mean. so lets see what i got: $50 shell gas card, $25 gap gift card, $25 borders gift card, free pizza, sees candies, more sees candies, and what i asked $XXXX bonus. im happy. just in time for my japan trip.

the christmas party landed on a crummy day. it was pouring like a mother by the time i had to pick up letty. she was beautiful, wearing purple and she pulled it off nicely. it reminded me so much of prom. oh how i miss the good old high school dances. the beverly hills hotel was flawless. talk about high class perfection, everything was full service. your car pulled up to an immaculate red carpet which led up to the lobby. inside, frosted xmas trees decorated the same room marilyn monroe used to grace, and the fireplaces were lit contrasting the bittercoldness outside. hues of pink, red and gold gave a nostalgic feeling of the 1950's entertainment heyday. in the waiting room, we were served cocktails and hor d'ouvres. it was weird meeting the spouses of my co-workers because i would have never thought how fat jewish men can end up with young hot women. again, money talks. when the music came on, our crew (employees under 30) tore up the dance floor and we formed a circle taking turns in the center. i cant believe i participated. but it was fun. i didnt want the night to end but it did. so off to the next stop: standard downtown for randy's party.

due to the rising gas prices, my sister bought a toyota prius, the hybrid car that looks like a futuristic machine. i took it out for a spin and its everything toyota has to offer. i like torque, but this car doesnt have any. its combined power is only 110 hp, with a not so impressive 13 second 0-60 acceleration. so i worry for those emergency situations where you need to step on the pedal to avoid an accident, the power might not be there.

november is my bad luck month. shit happens unexpectedly, from my motorcycle accident, to rocky relationships, to shit at work, i sometimes wonder why it all happens this month. its been a bad month at work, especially the past 3 weeks. ive been getting in trouble for the littlest things. but in this business, the littlest things count. my dad was right once again. he says one day, all the little things are gonna catch up to you and all my flaws are going to to be exposed and bite me in the ass. i hope this is just a life lesson i can learn and hopefully i can pick myself back up in december.

halloween (work story)

due to the fact that we had lack of pumpkin carving contestants, i was forced against my will to participate in it. i walked into the kitchen and see my name written on the list by my supervisor. i gave in just because im the new hire, and wanted to gain new exposure to all the other high status brokers. it looks like i was up against 6 other participants who are all women in the higher age class, and including JANICE! she was on my tail. she vowed to her mothers grave that shell try and topple me in everything. not that extreme, but in that same context after i flipped her off in front of my coworkers. because i was the only guy in the contest, i was the underdog because these women are mothers that carve pumpkins for their kids every year for the past who-knows how-many years. they are experienced. i told them i never even touched a pumpkin before rather carve one. they only thing i knew about carving, is you cant use a traditional knife, you had to get a pumpkin carver that resembled a dull knife. i went to the supermarket hoping to get one for a dollar and they ran out, but instead i found a electric one for $5. it resembled a mini-jigsaw. i thought it could help me save some time due to the fact it would be 1 more thing in my already hectic work schedule. luckily, i found a 30 minute gap in my schedule to really do my carving. the night before i planned on carving a barfing pumpkin, but i saw georgeanna already took my idea. i couldnt carve the same, or else i would definitely lose for sure. so i had to think really quick because time was running out. we had till 12:30 to cast in all the ballots. so this is what i carved:



as everyone walked by to see, their first reactions were of shock because it sorta gave off a message of what this guy has in his mind. they were like "simon, you need help." or "simon, that is the ugliest pumpkin i have ever seen." or "simon, you are going to end up like those killers." in my mind i knew i lost because fuck, why are these old fuckers taking this so serisously. this is just a contest, and by the way, i didnt want to be in it anyways. other pumpkins were of cute "typical" designs a "typical" mom would carve, and fucking janice carved a smith barney logo. what an ass-kisser, because last year she won and she didnt wanna go down this year. at 1pm they announced the winner and i wasnt even in the conference room to know the results. i had so much work piled up. i heard on the loud speaker "simon, get your ass to tthe conference room. you won first." so i walk in and the whole company was clapping and all. i felt pretty accomplished and won myself a $100 to any westfield mall. new kid on the block wins the contest!

after work, me and some friends went to the west hollywood halloween parade since i have never been. all i gotta say is, it is well worth the experience. being west hollywood and right in the smack dab of boytown, you got homosexuals everywhere. i dont hate on homosexuals, as long as they dont try to do anything to me. and during the first 5 min upon arriving, i got hit on 3 times by dudes. good thing leti was there. there were so many people dressed up that, there was every costume you can think of. we left around 2am, and waking up in 3 hours didnt seem to phaze me.

i got ryan seacrest's check for his managed account:

work story after work story.....

on thursday, my coworker, janice, sets up this happy hour weve been anticipating the past couple weeks. weve been having this friendly feud for a while. everytime i walk by her she looks at me and gives me this disgusted look as if i cant hold my liquor. she makes fun of me saying asians cant drink and just because she is czech, she says she can drink 11 shots of tequila. so on thursday, we go to cabo cantina and drink after drink i match her until she gave up and left. little did she know, she was right. i cant hold my drink for shit. therefore that whole day at work for 8 hours, i ate a whole loaf of bread and 30 slices of ham without her knowing. in reality, i was pretty messed up, and trying my best to look sober. she kept talking shit and flipping me off so therefore i talked shit back and flipped her off jokingly. the word here is jokingly because the next morning at work, i walk in and everyone was like "OMG WHAT DID YOU DO TO JANICE!!???" basically i got giggles from the women, and hi-fives from the men. evidently, her and her big mouth told everyone i was an obnoxious jerk who was rude and alcoholic. she cries to everyone: "I CANT BELIEVE SIMON GAVE ME THE BIRD!!" boohoo boohoo. its like grow up bitch everyone flips everyone off these days and laugh it off. youre 25 years old and work for a fortune 5 company. and im just reciprocating the favor. i see her at her desk and i give her this big smart-ass smile and flip her off a couple more times and she just rolls her eyes at me. i finally corner her in the lunch room and made everything diplomatic again. wow im barely 2 months at work and i already made smith barney tabloid again! i cant wait till xmas party when there will be open bar because last year set new records where i wonder if i can this year.

speaking of christmas party, this year, smith barney will hold their party at the beverly hills hotel. im really stoked because ive never been and i have a nice date to accompany me and witness the debachery i am going to cause.