the trombonebleu thread

A bit slow on the uptake it seems, I'm just now posting here. Perhaps I should read a bit closer.

33, 31 of those years living in Dallas, managed to escape nearly two years ago now. Live in the commuter belt north of London Village. Yes, I've played trombone since I was 10 and still going...

Love to travel, and done lots of it: all over the US, Canada, UK, Europe, Japan, Australia, and so much more to see...

In fear of writing too much, you can just ask me shit, else I'll write a book of useless information....

 

where did you visit in Japan?
I used to live in Shin-Kemigawa, Chiba.

 

August of 2003, I visited Osaka and Tokyo and went to Summersonic

August of 2004, I went to Osaka, Tokyo, The Real Man Festival? in Chichibu, and Kyoto, which was my favourite...

 

Oooo never went west... but I still have lots of time.

What was your favourite part of Tokyo?

 

Kiddyland!

Actually, I didn't get to see a whole lot of it to be honest. I spent a lot of time in the vintage clothing shops (which are the best I've ever seen), Kiddyland (!), and the Hie Temple, which was right next to the hotel I was staying in. Sorry, I don't know the parts so well. Never had a bad meal though...

 

hehe, I can say I had a few...fish flakes! Yuck!

If you go again, I definately recommend you check out the Ramen museum... a museum of noodles! Tis wicked

 

More memorable for me is Osaka...I was in a fairly big earthquake there and almost got caught in a typhoon while in Kyoto...

I steered clear of the fish flakes. But you can't hide from vending machines!

 

Hehe I love the venders... used to have a beer machine down the road from my house. Twas very convenient

Ahhhh earthquakes... gotta love em. It was always very exciting in Chiba, particularly because if the BIG ONE happens...then most of Chiba will sink into the sea as it is built on reclaimed land.

 

a lot of the people I was with were scared. It was at night and I happened to be asleep and thought the people downstairs were being rowdy. when the aftershock came the next day, I finally realised what was going on. apparently the buildings were swaying and people were taking pictures...

Another thing was all the bicycles parked on the sidewalk sans locks. Amazing...

 

yep... no need for real security in Nippon. You can leave your windows open all night and nobody will break in!

Also, it's safe to walk around anytime at night. I used to walk home on my own at about 3am and never felt threatened.

 

but wow, the humidity!

 

Aye, yes... always carry that fan!

 

So what you to these here shores?

 

the biggest reason is my wife is English. And it was a lot easier for me to get into the country here than it was for her to get into the US.

But then, I've always had that nagging feeling this country was made for me and I it. When I first came over here in 2002, I knew immediately it's where I wanted to live. So my lifelong hunch was right. Texas never really agreed with me. This place does.

 

What agrees with you most about Britain? Is there anything you don't like about it?

 

I think, more than anything, is the conversation style. I find that I can have a conversation with someone a bit more on my level, whereas in Texas I always felt like a weirdo because I didn't know what happened on last night's episode of Friends...plus, being a musician and music lover in general, this is a much better place to be. I can see whoever I want because they all play London at some point, and I can generally find the music I want to find...and overall, people seem to be a bit more politically aware here, whereas in Dallas they're either asleep or not interested in rocking the boat no matter what...

Sure, there are things I don't care for, but they're minor. The weather changing every hour takes some getting used to. Chavs. Tesco. Asda. London prices. But they're minor things compared to my overall satisfaction of living here.

 

How do Texans react to people who aren't staunch conservatives/Republicans?

 

depends on which Texans you're talking about. The majority are staunchly conservative and don't like having their views slighted in any way. But there are a lot of liberals too, strewn about in various places but many have feelings of isolation and the need to keep it to themselves in some places lest they be hassled. Austin is a different story; an oasis in the desert. But that's what I mean about political discussion; the majority have this opinion about politics (stemmed from religious belief more often than not) and any debate on the topics is seen as borderline heretical. In other words, they spout beliefs fed to them but don't know how to defend it so they just start calling people names.

This isn't true of everyone, but it's becoming more and more common.

Also, most Texans aren't aware of anything outside of Texas. I have family members that have never been outside of east Texas, much less the state...a bizarre and frightening way of life IMO...but they seem happy enough.

 

Are you yourself religious?

 

No.

Like most Texans though, I was brought up in a very religious home, which turned into something very suffocating. When I was old enough to start asking the tough questions, I simply got lectures on "devil's thoughts" and such. That didn't sit well with me and I left that far behind as soon as I was able. Never really bought it though.

That's not to say I don't think there is a human spirituality out there, because I certainly think there is. I just stopped trying to continually define it and just try to live it.