I just got home. Took that disgusting TobuTojo line train from Ikebukuro. My biggest fear is not earthquakes or a train crash, it's some damn drunk standing over me while I'm sitting on the train and puking on me. I'm 46 years old. I've lived in Tokyo for 7 years and I've seen more puke and vomiting in 7 years than I did in 39 years before that. Is that not strange? Maybe it's not. A lot of foreigners that I know pretend like it doesn't exist. Today I was walking with my girlfriend. Hell, we couldn't even take a walk together. One of us had to walk behind the other because of the damn bicycles ringing their bells wanting us to get out of the way. EXCUSE ME! I thought sidewalk meant....side....walk! Hell, even in my hometown...back in the mountains of West Virginia (which other Americans, I meet, think is such a backward place) they outlawed the use of bicycles on the sidewalks 25 years ago. There were too many accidents happening. What's with the Tokyo city government? And while I'm on a rant, what's up with this "thing" in Tokyo about "image" in the music business? I play in a famous hotel club here where they have given me hell for using Japanese musicians. If I use blond-haired blue-eyed or black musicians they are tickled pink (that means very happy for all of you ESL students). They think it's "cool". I said it's racist. No, no..they said it's just an image "thing". I said...yeah...like in 1955 in America, when a black guy went into a diner to get some pancakes and was told he couldn't eat there because this is a family place and we want to present a certain image. Then, I get silence. The other day. I was sitting inside a Starbucks. I look outside and see a couple of tables with young women and their dogs. They had their damn dogs up on the tables! One woman was feeding her dog with a spoon and then putting the spoon back in her frappacino and then putting it in her own mouth. My god! You know? 30 minutes later...I would hate to sit down at that table and have a nice drink and a snack where that dog had it's ass and licking itself. I can't understand Starbucks management. One woman brought two small dogs in a large purse (handbag). She had the bag lined with towels. She takes the dogs out and puts them in the chair and proceeds to shake the towels over the table! Do you really want to sit down at that table 20 minutes later and eat? Why is it that I can sit on a completely full train/subway and have seats on either or both sides of me empty? Do I look sooo dangerous? Did I forget my deodorant? I don't think so.........