A three part “photoblog” on my October 2006 visit to Tokyo. Continuation from Part II. More pictures ahead!

A three part “photoblog” on my October 2006 visit to Tokyo. Continuation from Part I. More pictures ahead!

In October of 2006, I had the opportunity to visit Japan, a country I had wanted to visit for awhile now. So, as part of my post-graduation travels, I booked a trip to Tokyo to experience the unique Japanese culture meshed with urban life. I also got to visit such popular tourist spots as Mount Fuji (Fujisan), the Ginza district, Takeshita-dori street in the Harajuku area, Tokyo Dome City, etc. Picture heavy post below!

This is the first, in what I hope to be many more, essays and non-fiction short stories inspired by authors like David Sedaris, David Rakoff, David Foster Wallace (that’s a lot of Davids!), Sarah Vowell, Augusten Burroughs and the like. So ta-da, new category added! I’d love to have enough to, maybe one day, publish them and follow in the footsteps of the aforementioned authors.

The title of this essay may be misleading. No, I am not some pervy type who frequents such establishments while on the prowl for man-flesh. Quite the contrary, as indeed, I am a strip club virgin, so to speak. Well, I was prior to this recent experience, where I had an interesting forway into this somewhat seedy side of nightlife.

As a continuation of this post, this is second in a series of posts documenting the drudgery of job hunting in today’s job market as a new graduate.

After a temporary stint working at my alma mater, performing duties that I did not find entirely challenging nor aligned with my career goals, I’m again back in the job market and attempting to land my first “real job”. My career goal is not necessarily set in stone because, frankly, it’s kind of hard to know whether something truly is your calling if you’ve had zero experience in that industry. Nonetheless, I’ve trudged on with optimism and learned some things here and there.

The Bridge is a controversial film that documents the “suicide phenomenon” at The Golden Gate Bridge. In the span of January through December 2004, filmmaker Eric Steel continously filmed this bridge, known to be a mecca of sorts for those who want to end their lives, and was able to capture 23 of 24 suicides on film. It features real footage from these real suicides and suicide attempts, along with interviews with grieving family members, friends and witnesses to those suicides. The keyword here is “real”. It’s unlike comfortably watching a Hollywood movie with its professional stunts as a detached viewer, knowing it is all “just for show”. At first glance, it sounds kind of morbid and in many ways, it is. We are, after all, witnessing the final moments of someone’s life and this is all presented as a form of entertainment. But there seems to be some morbid curiosity innate in all of us, a curiosity about death, and this film really addresses that curiosity.