Medal games

Medal games. Of all the stupid money wasting habits in Japan, I had to get addicted to this one. You get neither the possibility of winning money as is with pachinko and it doesn't give you nearly the satisfaction of smoking. Yet there I was again last night, wasting another 2000 yen.

Imagine going to Vegas and playing blackjack with chips but knowing that you'll never be able to trade the chips in for anything. You have to pay to get the chips originally, but there's now way to get anything back for them. This is the premise of the medal games you find at Japanese arcades.

You basically play these games just for the fun of playing. They're all set up the same way: each game has you put some medals (small tokens) in with the possibility of getting more medals out. Many of the medal games are actually casino style games. An arcade in Shibuya actually has a large digital roullette table where about 8 players can play at once. Other games have you put the medals in at the top with the hopes that they will push some more medals out of the bottom. They also have games/events that you can set off if the medal drops in the right place. The ultimate goal is to hit the jackpot and win several thousand medals at one time (keep in mind the medals can't be traded for anything). It's all very high tech and surprisingly fun.

If you do manage to win a bunch of medals, the only thing you can do with them is put them in a medal bank. The medal bank is a machine that counts and collects/dispenses the medals from your account. You need to enter both a password AND have your finger print scanned to access your medals. These security measures greatly confused me at first because they made me think the medals were actually valuable in some way.

The machine I've been addicted to lately are the mario bros. game . The mario bros. game is basically a lot like the mario party games. If the coins fall in the right place they will release a ball into the bottom of this spinning cylindical contraption. The ball will then fall into a hole which determines how many spaces mario will move around the board. If he lands in the right spot then you get your chance at the jackpot. How fun is that?!

A day in the life

Long time no blog! I've been having computer troubles since I've been back. My laptop decided to crap out in the airport when I was on my way back to Japan. I've decided to make it up to you guys by writing an in depth, time stamped account of an average day in my life in Japan.

7:30AM - Woke up freezing cold, as usual. Quickly turned on the heater and rushed to the shower.

7:45AM - Got out of the shower and rushed over as quickly as possible to the room that had been heating up. Got ready for work and surfed the Internet.

8:20AM - Arrived at work. Handed back the train pass I used to go to elementary school to the maintenance guy. Sat down at my desk, turned on my computer, drank my morning cup of green tea and decided to write this blog.

8:30AM - Had the morning meeting. Stood up, bowed and said "good morning" in unison with all the fellow teachers. Didn't understand what they were saying during the meeting (didn't really pay attention either though). Meeting concludes with the vice-principal thanking us for our hard work shoveling the snow yesterday.

8:35AM - Began surfing Internet

8:41AM - Responded to an email from my grandma about a distant relative I have living in Tokyo. I'm supposed to get in contact with him tonight but I have no idea what to say.

8:43AM - Got an edible souvenir from the PE teacher. I actually hadn't noticed he had been gone. I was wondering why it was so quiet this past week...

8:51AM - Finish my green tea and swap it out for some heavily sugared Earl Gray. Eat the edible souvenir which is called "premium excellent chocolate". Tastes like normal chocolate. Resume surfing Internet.

9:00AM - All the teachers return from their morning homeroom/announcements class. I decided to look busy by cleaning my desk. Shred more papers than Watergate.

9:05AM - Teachers all head off to class again. Resume surfing internet. Say good morning to the school librarian when she walks in.

9:07AM - The girl with red glasses comes in and starts crying. She sits in the teachers' room for about 2-3 hours everyday crying/whining/complaining to the head teacher for 3rd year students. She really gets on my nerves (especially because she seems to be paranoid of foreigners and gasps and/or stares at me whenever I walk by her). I'm not sure how she gets away with missing so much class time just to complain.

9:22AM - Get up briefly to stand by the heater. The girl with red glasses is still going at it.

9:50AM - Girl with red glasses bursts into tears.

9:54AM - I become the staff room hero when I show the music teacher how to turn on the laminater.

9:58AM - Get my stuff together for class (1st year students with the younger English teacher)

10:05AM - Go to glass. I repeat a few words and phrases from the text book and then just stand in the back of the glass while the teacher explains the grammar.

10:55AM - Get back from class. Stare at Mt. Fuji for 10 minutes while waiting to teach the second year students (with the older, incompetant English teacher)

11:05AM - go to glass. The teacher gives them worksheets so I just wander around the class and goof off with the students

12:00PM - get back from class. I have no more classes today so I have about 4 hours to do nothing. Back to the Internet.

12:20PM - get up to check the lunch menu for today. Actually looks edible from what I can read of it.

12:34PM - get tea

12:55PM - lunch time! I go and help the teacher in charge of the lunch distribution keep the kids in line

1:05PM - I sit down for lunch and eat quietly as the other teacher chat away in some moon language. Lunch was cream filled bread, chicken, boiled cabage mixed with sausage and thick buckwheat noodles. A mercifully edible school lunch.

1:30PM - Finish lunch. Realize how boring my day is thanks to blog, ask for afternoon off to go home and sleep.

Happy New year!

Well, it's my first blog of 2008. I have absolutely nothing new to report. I've just been sitting on my parent's couch for the past few days. I've even watched a few TV shows about Japan. How lame is that?! I also went to the dentist yesterday. It's crazy I tell you!

Anyway, I'm back to Japan in one week and then I can go back to having crazy adventures (likes sitting at my desk all day! Woah!). Until then, all I can do is stare at the empty land behind my parents house.

On a side note, this is the 100th Captain Surly Pants. I'm gonna drink a beer to celebrate.

Happy 2008!