Longing for Anonymity

Sometimes I wish I could blend in better over here, like tonight on the train home for example. I find myself the target of drunken salarymen and weirdos on the train, because I stand out (hey, I'm 5'9" and light haired). I really don't mind the occasional conversation with someone wanting to practice their English (for example, the nice man at the dry cleaners the other day), but I am sick of the people who rudely invade my personal space. For example, there was a drunken salaryman on the train tonight that kept saying "you speak English, you must be Russian" to me (in Japanese of course). It makes me feel uncomfortable, because even though I try to politely ignore them, they often get increasingly pushy and make me look like I am being totally rude. Not to mention, it makes the others around me uncomfortable (my two co-workers tonight for example). I know I signed on for this in a sense when I moved over here, but sometimes, it frustrates me.

But, there are also positives to being here. Here is a picture of the skyscrapers from the 45th floor observation deck of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Are you ready for this Mom and Dad? This is what you will be seeing in a few short days when we go to Shinjuku.

And finally, a little piece of home that I stumbled across the other day. Here's a picture of the new Schwinn Madison frame set. I know it is named after the track event, but it made me smile when I was totally frustrated trying to the travel agency on Monday (found a bike shop instead though). :)