Random End of Year Pics

All hail my new jacket and pants. In Tokyo this stuff aint cheap, 5-bills right there. Poor planning once again!


Crepe world in Harajuku.


In Harajuku there are weirdos who decorate their fanboy cars to give tribute to some J-Pop star (Ayumi something).


Yet another random museum in Shibuya.


Random girls cooking at my apartment.


The boyz! Gatricks cute kid in the middle, cute and well mannered boy. Makes you want to have kids.

Farewell Tears [Abayo Namida] 2007

2007 I bid thee farewell. Stealing some ideas from VJ, I am writing my farewell to 2007 note.

My friend ABong says when comes to "sampling sushi" its about quantity over quality. I tend to argue for quality. I rather have one top quality than 10 mediocre. But everyone got their different ideas when it comes to sushi. And people who are married tend to think more towards quantity maybe?

I have a few goals in mind for 2008.

1. Wake up earlier and get to work earlier. Requires change of lifestyle.
2. Get to the gym regularly and lose the extra 5-7lbs of fat. I got a few good years left, I should maximize them.
3. Finish what I start. I have a habit of bailing on things instead of finishing them. Finish strong in 2008.
4. Focus at work. Really focus. I am in a prime position, I can make it big if I focus.
5. Find some hotties. Need to work on my gaming tactics for this.

What I did well in 2007.

1. Reconnected w/ some old buddies and explore SF alot more. Also exploring Tokyo alot now.
2. Found a great job in Tokyo and really interviewed the hell out of the city and wound up w/ pretty much the best I could ask for at this point in time.
3. Was able to keep finances cashflow stable in the black during in these dire times.
4. Investments were quite good, despite a serious scare in August.
5. Been more active, lots of snowboarding, tennis, etc. Traveled alot too.
6. Determined to live life so I made a big move to Tokyo which has paid off well for me.

What I did not do well in 2007.

1. Got out of shape. I think I gained 3-4lbs. I started the year in better shape, was going to the gym at a ridiculous membership cost of $125/month [which for tokyo is not that high].
2. Wasted a ton of money. My outflow was probably an extra $30k compared to the year before.
3. Focus at work. I pretty much accomplished nothing at work the whole year across 2 jobs.
4. Improve myself. I can't say I really improved my knowledge of anything or my skills.

Wow that sounds like a downer. Oh well live and learn!

Mad Game

I went out w/ this girl tonight that I'm not really into, but likes me a little.. she's a nice gal. Had a nice time. I didn't do anything other than get cozy w/ her, because I don't want any bad feelings and don't want a bad rep. At times I wonder why I don't just go for it. But I don't know its just how I am maybe. I think taking her out may be giving the wrong impression though, that is kinda bad.

Anyways Fri night I went out w/ a few hardcore playas who I met thru a friend. This one dude has some major major game so I was watching very closely as he displayed his club skillz and showed me how to operate. I am a noob so I sucked at trying to emulate him but it was interesting. I saw the game as it was meant to be played. All others who go to clubs and pick up chicks are lucky or esp good looking or something because this dude Ari was just all game.

So breakdown of Ari's game:
- he says its all about spiking their emotions and moving in with physical contact on the spikes.
- spiking is done w/ random bullshit like a weird intro/opener, fake palm reading, dissing, kinda pushing the girls around (lightly), and really just blowing them away w/ random crap
- he kind of has a routine of stuff he goes thru to generate the spiking/buzz. as i said, palm reading, guessing their job or where they live, etc that is all somewhat bizzare but I suppose exciting and interesting to the girls so they are like "wow this dude is interesting"
- combined w/ all this jazz he puts on alot of touching. during the spikes he moves in w/ hand holding, arm around them, he pulls them in, etc. he said u gotta get physical because touch is another big emotional spike for them if you know how to touch the right way.

Anyways it was interesting.. what I learned is that to be a club playa you gotta really focus on the game. Kinda realize that I am not into that bullshit, but I also realize that if you focus on it you can definitely be good at it. This dude scored that nice w/ a pretty cute gal. The dude is a weird lookin guy, nothing special, not rich, not tall, skinny, etc. He's all game. Interesting eh?

On the other hand, maybe some guys got it, some don't!!???

We are screwed

Wow u see the news w/ the banks. We are getting smashed. Other than GS the allmighty and us, the other banks are downright getting destroyed. I am lucky I didn't join those other losers but the future is still questionable. Interestingly the MS and BSC chiefs did not take a bonus. That basically means all the staff people are also getting jacked on bonus. But its good to see they are setting the precedence at the top. At our company the CEO got a phat bonus and I think for the most part bonuses were flat.

Anyways.. so the RMBS market is collapsed. Its imploded. I work in this market... ugg... not good. I came to realize this today after talking to the hater next to me. He said its dead for 2 years and even though the J-RMBS market is not affected entirely its questionable whether, in this market crunch, the new business head is going to want to invest in this market and keep it going. You see, when I joined the RMBS market was roaring and Japan was a new frontier in RMBS. Now.. its questionable. It may be worth investing a small team now so that when the market returns we are ready to strike big.

Oh well if not I'll try to get into rates or another derivatives team. Lots of hiring.. but it'd be nice to stay in the Analytics (Research) P&L....

Man I have so many pics of me w/ random girls on facebook.. its a bit scary. So many single girls in this town. Its sickening.

Inside J-girls part 2

Oddly enough I had an encounter w/ a different pair of j-girls tonight named K&A. K&A I met thru Vig as well, as he is the source of many j-girls. I am doing some rekon now and finding out about their motivations.

What they told me is.. they like guys who are assertive and control the situation a bit. Ie, they don't like dudes who have no opinion on where to go eat, what to do this weekend, etc. They like to follow the lead it seems. Assertive dudes rule women which is well documented (in general).

Note, they also pointed out the same observation that M&M pointed out to me not 18hrs earlier, which is that they don't like guys who are so obviously looking for girls. Shockingly, they also pointed out Vig again as the example of a dude looking hard, and me as the counter example of the guy not looking. Maybe Vig and I need to split and merge to find the right blend.

Again the paradox of the situation which I pointed out to them is that they want an assertive guy, but not too assertive to be obvious in what he wants, but assertive enough. So its a fine line. Too much assertion and u are a desperate loser, too little and they wouldn't know you exist! Whats a simple man like me to do? Hah just find younger girls is one solution.

I must seem like a trustworthy dude 'cause usually this shit comes up w/married guys like Pagrig who they trust. Apparently I am falling out of the potential mate category w/ these girls and moving into trusted friend mode? Hmmm.. not sure but who cares these girls are cool as friends.

Also noted girls aint digging touchy-feely in public. Girls watch each other.. thus at past parties when anyone got a little close the other girls all noticed. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm....

Into the mind of a J-girl

So I go to this gal MA's party, this is a gal who was hot for our old friend Booby when she met him 6 months ago. Some other expat gals I know where there.

Well that part was not too exciting. But I go and run into 3 girls from the past.

First up, the rack. She is a gal Vig met at a party and apparently she is friends w/ the VB gals so good thing Vig didn't try to hit that. Funny thing is she was wearing the same shirt I saw her last time in! Damn that is like the 3rd girl we've known that is always wearing the same damn clothes all the time. One gal Gay wore virtually the same outfit like 4 times in a row and we are talking different days of the week, venues, etc but always same outfit. I think 5th time we caught her offguard and she had a different top on, but same jeans. Whats up, tokyo girls u need more clothes.

Next I see our old secretary duo M&M as we cross paths going in/out of the elevator and they both scream when we all realize its me. Funny I was laughing getting into the elevator thinking shit, these girls again.. I seem to see them all the time and Tokyo is a big town.

Anyways there is big-M and little-m. M I notice reminds me of J-Kado from HS. I was smitten w/JK back in the day. Big-M is not quite as cute as JK but has the same nice body. I danced w/ her a little and she got the dance moves too w/ that smokin body.

Little-m is really cute (note I have a pic of her in my blog somewhere), and the history of the situation is that she kinda dissed us. I recall I asked for her and her friends cards and she claimed to not have one, which I feel is ridiculous but whatever. Then a while later Vig e-mails her to say hi and invite her to lunch since they work at the same company and he gets no response. She was a bit drunk tonight so I interrogate her Tombo-style to find out whats up w/ that.

So she says something along the lines of, why is he e-mailing me, whats his intention? I say, what do you mean, what do you think it is? He maybe is interested yep. So we banter about how Vig seems like a playboy maybe and I think ok maybe thats the problem? Then later M&m tell me how Vig was too forward, like he was too obviously looking for a GF (or to hit it) and they didn't like the neediness and obviousness they felt.

She also talked about how she likes guys who she really connects with mentally which she said is hard to find. I said yeah, thats true esp if you don't answer dudes e-mails and give them a chance so you can get to know them.

Interesting eh? Seems its so true, the paradox of dating... these girls want to be hit on, want to find a boyfriend/husband, and the guys want to meet and ask them out, but you can't be too direct or they think you're desperate, and while the girls are desperate they don't want to seem too desperate either. Amazing how it ever works out there in the game.

Thats why there are books written on "the game" -- because people are programmed by society to react in odd ways during courtship. They ignore a nice guy who is probably a great catch because they were too direct and showed they really liked them. Instead they want a guy to be a little interested but not that interested, but enough to spark their interest.. so on so on. weird let me tell ya.

Anyways it was fun conversing w/ these two M&m gals. Big-M was grinding it up w/ some white dude earlier. Litttle-m was talking to some fat 20yo punkass who I pushed out of my way to talk to her. Haha, too bad for that loser. I totally cock-blocked his ass.

Note I didn't drink tonight. If I go to clubs again I am going to avoid drinking, it makes it easier to a) remember girls, b) remember what happened, c) stay focused.

Another year lived, another less year left of life

"The Package" and VIG.


We all got a clock thats ticking.. when it runs out nobody knows.

I love Dr. House.. that is one badass show. I saw the episode where he exposes his history of his leg.. man what a great episode. I live for better House.

So I had thoughts on my dating progression this past year. Basically it has been pretty lame. I think I've gone on many dates w/ girls and have gone thru the motions of dinner, wine-ing and dining, and then at the end, after all that, the doors are wide open for me at times, but I usually say "naaaaah" and move on. Its not that I just like the challenge and am bored, its that I'm not into any of these girls.

Now part of me thinks.. hey I'm single I should hit everything in sight. That side of me motivates me to date everything in site. But then my deeper side prevents me from enjoying myself entirely. Never quite "all-in" in either direction, know what I mean?

Well for 2008, I have a new gameplan. I haven't formulated it entirely but it will be finished and documented by the new years start I think.

Snow

Hardcore activities.. Fri night had dinner w/ Vig.

Sat 530am woke, showered, got to the @7am bullet train, @830 was at the base camp in Niigata (Kagura mountain). Due to a hellish line didn't get to the slopes till 10am. Left slopes at 3pm, back at Tokyo at 520pm home at 6pm. 715pm met w/ friends to go to a mixer, got home at 130am.

700am woke up to play tennis. Had brunch after, walked around... now i'm home.. doing laundry. Need to power nap. I'm fading out soon.

Snow was quite good by Tahoe standards because Tahoe is mostly packed powder/machine groomed (ie, very icey, not much powder). Plus very convenient to get there via bullet train (optimally 2hrs door to door).

Cost is about $110 to take the bullet train round trip. Taxi to slopes is about $25 (+ $25 return). Lift tickets only $36. So a full day trip is about $200. (+$22 if you want to ship your board instead of carry).

Last of 2007 parties

The party circuit is tiring. I think I'm ready to retire for a few months. No more parties. Yep its time to close shop for the cold cruel winter and start 2008 with a bang!

At work.. I am feeling the need to focus. Bonuses are announced next Tuesday. Our boss has already told us many times to lower expectations due to the horrible year in banking.. I wonder how people will react. Those who have been here have been riding a great 3-4 year run by the banks. So I dunno...

I forget if I mentioned we met some JAL stewardess at a coffee shop. Vig and I were hanging out and this girl was kind of listening in so I waved to her and we all started talking. Interesting isn't it? Too bad she's not super hot. But she is super young like 22 or 23. Thats like hitting 2 birds with one stone know what I mean ? Goes to show the sickeness of men, they are infatuated w/ the idea of dating certain profiles of women like a stewardess, a student, really young girls, older girls (and MILFs), etc etc.

What can I say.. humanity is doomed? Nah, I'm trying to be positive. It is all good!

Christ I can't believe it.. Ravens almost took down Pats. What chokers!!!! They had the game!