K: So, recently I’ve been thinking – by recently I mean since we recorded our last episode – of what the heck does – so, several words. Metropolis. Mecropolis. Country. City. And town. Oh, and village. Mean to you. You meaning Chad Musick. Because I have no clue. Like, our last discussion, you were like, “no, that’s a metropolis.” Like, what are you talking about? I went all superhero. What are you on about, man? Do we live in a city, town, country, where do we live?

C: We live in a city. 

K: Okay, and what makes it a city versus a town? Versus a village. Versus a necropolis – metropolis? Necropolis?

C: Those are both words, but metropolis is the one you’re looking for.

K: Okay. What’s the difference between a metropolis and a necropolis? 

C: A mecropolis is a big city. 

K: Okay. What’s a mecropolis?

C: You just said the same thing twice. A mecropolis is still a big city.

K: What’s a metropolis?

C: A metropolis – it is the city that superman came from. 

K: Okay.

C: But a metropolitan area, or a metropolis for short, is usually a large city and the surrounding areas.

K: Okay. So, we do we live in a metropolis?

C: We do live in a metropolis.

K: Okay.

C: We live in the Nagoya metropolitan area. And we live inside Nagoya city.

K: Okay. So, in the United Sates, when we lived in California, and we lived in Santa Clara city, did we live in a metropolis?

C: We lived in the San Jose metropolis. Yes. 

K: The Santa Clara county?

C: Yes.

K: I don’t understand anything you’re saying to me.

C: San Jose was the bigger city, so even though the county was named Santa Clara

K: Yeah.

C: We lived within Santa Clara city and Santa Clara country.

K: Yeah.

C: It was the San Jose metropolis. Also known as Silicon Valley. 

K: Yeah. Okay. I agree with it being Silicon Valley, but Silicon Valley isn’t just San Jose. It’s San Jose, Santa Clara, Campbell, Los Gatos; it’s a bunch of cities.

C: The San Jose metropolis. 

K: It’s Santa Clara county plus a couple of neighboring counties.

C: But not all of the counties, it’s only the densely populated areas.

K: Mm. I disagree with that as the native Californian. 

C: Okay. You could do that.

K: Yeah. I could do that. I think that the Silicon Valley expanded under the Clinton era to include a much broader space because

C: Definitely

K: Silicon Valley was where people were doing tech, so just tech companies.

C: Right.

K: And then during the bust, it shrunk back down. (laughs)

C: Right. I moved to California in 95. 1995, not 2095. And San Francisco was

K: Not 2095 because we’re going to be going strong.

C: People are still going to be listening to the archives.

K: Yeah. Way to keep it going. Get that positivity on board.

C: Thank you.

K: Yeah. Absolutely. In, like… so, you said 1995 because you don’t want to be confused with 2095. 

C: Which is only 75 years from now.

K: Yeah. Okay. And are you still going to be alive and kicking?

C: No, but somebody’s going to inherit the podcast.

K: So, do you think like Rasta’s kids or Rasta, who’s going to keep it going?

C: Probably his kids and then his grandkids.

K: Because we’re going to be doing the Musicks in Japan forever as long as there is a single, solitary Musick in Japan. 

C: Correct.

K: They’re going to experience the generation of our lineage. I guess it would be your lineage.

C: And it’s got to be at least two, not one. Because if it’s only one, then it’s the Musick in Japan. 

K: Yeah, no. It’s the Musicks. 

C: Right.

K: And Rasta’s already decided that whoever he marries is going to take his last name. 

C: Good for him.

K: Yeah. He’s decided that.

C: Interesting thing. In Japan, you have to take one name or the other. 

K: Yeah. It’s against the law. So, he’s decided he’s not going to do that. And, so… yeah. He’s -0 so it is going to be the Musick lineage. Which I think is pretty cool because you don’t have to have sons. 

C: Yeah.

K: Like, daughters – you can pass your name on to your daughters.

C: Yeah.

K: And I think even if they don’t have the last name Musick, if they have our bloodline in them, then they are a Musick.

C: Yes.

K: Which is interesting because neither Rasta nor I have Musick genetic material in us. 

C: That’s correct.

K: Heh heh. Heh heh heh heh. I do from time to time. 

C: And that joke is still going to hold up in 75 years.

K: Yes, it is. With the heh heh heh heh and everything. Because they’ll have listened to like backdated to all of the archives because if they’re listening to this episode, they’re listening to all of them because they’re super fans. They’re going to listen to thousands and thousands of episodes because we are freaking riveting.

C: Yes. So, anyway. When I moved to San Francisco, it was not considered to be part of Silicon Valley. 

K: No. And I still don’t think of it as even though there’s a lot of tech companies there.

C: Right. And San Francisco, in my opinion, is not a metropolis. It is not a metropolitan area.

K: Okay.

C: Because it is so distinct from all of its neighbors. 

K: Is it really, though?

C: It really is.

K: Really? Do you – well, it is distinct. Yeah… it is. It is.

C: Yeah.

K: Well, it depends. If you’re going north, it becomes a little bit more ambiguous where San Francisco starts and stops. But going south, it feels very definitive.

C: And going west, it’s very definitive because you cross Golden Gate or the Richmond Bridge. You cross one of the bridges.

K: But going north, I don’t think it’s as definitive.

C: I think

K: Isn’t San Francisco a county?

C: Yes. San Francisco is its own county. The county and the city have the same boundaries. 

K: Oh. Okay. Didn’t know that. Trip on that. So, when I first moved because I moved – for all our Musick Notes, sorry for repeating this because you all know. And for our new Musick Notes, we’d like to invite them into the orchestra and make sure they’re up to date on all the info.

C: Help them tune in as it were.

K: Ah. There you go. You’re so much better at this whole – what is it, similes? No, metaphors. Musical metaphors.

C: Yeah. I have my whole life.

K: Yeah, you have. True. You have been a Musick your whole life.

C: I have, yes.

K: Aahh. Sacre bleu. I’ve only been a Musick for 20 years even though we’ve ben together longer than 20 years.

C: Yeah.

K: This year is our twentieth anniversary. 

C: Yeah. 

K: What is the twentieth anniversary?

C: Special.

K: (laughs) I’m going to google that. 

C: You should.

K: I said we don’t google during the show, but – I can’t remember what we were supposed to be googling last time. Last time, I was like, “I’m going to google that.” I got so fired up. By the end of the episode, I had lost the plot. I didn’t even know what we were talking about.

C: Yeah.

K: So, for me, I lived in Okazaki. Now, what do you consider Okazaki?

C: Okazaki is

K: What do you consider Okazaki 17, 18 years ago?

C: So, Okazaki 17 years ago, it was only 15 years ago, Okazaki 15 years ago…

K: Mhm.

C: Was a medium-sized town. 

K: Okay.

C: I would not call it a city.

K: Okay. And you came to visit me. 

C: I did.

K: And you listened to the cows at night with me.

C: Yes.

K: But it was still a mid-sized city town to you?

C: I didn’t say city. I said town.

K: Okay. What’s the difference?

C: To me, the difference between a town and a city is that a town doesn’t necessarily have all of the things that you would want to fully entertain yourself, to be cultured. Like, if you don’t have, let’s say, movie theaters and museums – because I know Okazaki has movie theaters.

K: And it has a museum, and it has a cultural center.

C: But I still feel like its cultural life is elsewhere. So, there’s

K: What do you mean?

C: So, there’s Okazaki castle, which is famous.

KL: Yeah.

C: As the home of Ieyasu. From the Tokugawa era.

K: Mhm.

C: But I feel like, if you’re in Okazaki, you know that you’re going to end up going to Nagoya for events and things. 

K: How so? How do you know that?

C: Well, because I’m psychic.

K: (laughs) So, I’m eating chocolate. I’ll confess. I don’t know if you all can hear it or not.

C: We can all hear it.

K: Chad’s giving me a look. I can’t help it. I can’t help it. I started eating chocolate right before we recorded. It’s so good. I told myself, “I’m just going to have two pieces and then I’m going to stop.” But it’s so good. It’s got – because I’m eating coffee flavored chocolate. 

C: Yes.

K: And this piece has coffee grinds dispersed throughout it. It’s so good. What’s the name of this brand? I’ve never had this coffee – this chocolate before living in Japan.

C: The name of the brand is Morozoff.

K: It’s so good. Is it Japanese?

C: I think it’s Japanese.

K: So, I’m moving the mic away from my mouth as I crunch because there’s crunchy bits, but I’m not moving the mic away from my mouth as I suckle. 

C: Mhm.

K: I’m trying to.

C: Okay.

K: It’s so good. I have to eat this one last piece, and then I’ll stop.

C: Okay, so, for example, Okazaki is a town because it would be hard to get such cholates in Okazaki. 

K: No, it would not. You just go to Aeon. 

C: But do you though?

K: What are you on about? Yes.

C: Do you though?

K: Yes, you just go to Aeon.

C: Okay, I guess for me, the distinction I draw between a town and a city is the quality of the public transportation.

K: Yes. That’s all it is. Because Okazaki, you have to drive. I mean, they have buses, but they don’t have – I don’t know. Do they?

C: They do not have any subway or train system. The train stops

K: They have like one stop in Okazaki. They have two?

C: They have two stops. They have Okazaki stop on the JR line, and they have HigashiOkazaki stop on the meitetsu line.

K: And they have a pretty decent city bus system.

C: Yeah. Better than I grew up with. So, this is what I think is interesting about town versus city and all that. I grew up mostly in Fairbanks, which has got 40,000 people in the city itself. Another 40,000 in the outlying areas. But only one bus. 

K: What?

C: It’s only got one bus. They have more than one bus, but it’s only got one bus line. I think they’ve got two buses. 

K: Okay. I was like, “What do you mean they only have one bus?”

C: I think they have two buses. And one runs clockwise and the other one runs counterclockwise.

K: Oh my gosh. You all living in Fairbanks, please feel free. Let him have it. Tell him. 

C: Yeah. Let me know all about the new Fred Myers that’s now like 30 years old. 

K: The new Fred Myers?

C: Yeah. Because when I was living there, there was a Fred Myers in a place called river mall.

K: What is Fred Myers?

C: Fred Myers is a grocery and department store that is in the pacific northwest.

K: I thought you were all pissed off that Walmart came and shut down Fred Myers. 

C: No. Walmart didn’t shut down Fred Myers. K-Mart – because Walmart is there now – but K-Mart came while I was there but drove a lot of the small business out of business. 

K: Ah, okay. Yeah, so, you were – I remember you being really happy when K-Mart went out of business. 

C: Yeah.

K: But K-Mart’s back just like Toys-R-Us. Toys-R-Us went out of business, and now Toys-R-Us is back. I don’t know what’s going on with the retail world.

C: Those names have power. Those names are worth money.

K: Apparently. They’re not worth anything to me. So, I remember shopping in K-Mart when I was a kid and being so embarrassed. And, now, as an adult, I’m like, if you’re in K-Mart… I’m not embarrassed that I’m seeing you there, you shouldn’t be embarrassed that you’re seeing me there, and we should be friends on the playground. Like, come on now. 

C: (laughs)

K: We’re at K-Mart together. That should bond us. I remember seeing someone from school and thinking, “oh my god they’re going to tell everybody that I was at K-Mart.” But I felt way more comfortable shopping at thrift stores than I did shopping at K-Mart.

C: Yeah. I used to go shopping at Ross almost every day.

K: Yeah because by then I didn’t care. And Ross old the cheapest flo-hos ever. 

C: Yeah.

K: Because I loved my flo-hos. And… the ho – for me. So, they’re platform flip-flops. 

C: Yes.

K: That’s a flo-ho. It’s a flip-flop but it has a platform bottom, so it was kind of like wearing heels, but it’s still wearing a flip-flop. I love my flo-hos.

C: So, before I moved to Alaska – I moved to Alaska when I was 9 – I was ten.

K: So, where have you lived in Japan? What cities do you know in Japan?

C: In Japan, I have lived in Nagoya city.

K: So, okay. 

C: And I lived briefly in Tokyo.

K: So, Odawara versus Hakone. So, I think of Odawara as a city and Hakone as a village.

C: I think that’s pretty accurate. So, Odawara is a few hundred thousand people, and Hakone is kind of a resort village outside of Odawara. 

K: Yeah. And it’s about two and a half hours away – it’s like three hours away from Nagoya.

C: Yeah. By public transportation and bus.

K: Yeah. So, I love Hakone. Everybody knows.

C: Yeah.

K: And – but, I always… every time we go to Hakone, I think, “this is going to be the trip I actually go to Odawara.”

C: Mhm.

K: Because we go to Odawara station.

C: Yeah, we pass through there.

K: Yeah, and there’s so much interesting stuff in the town of Odawara. There’s a ton of stuff to do. And, for some reason, we just never make it down there.

C: Yeah. I think because it’s an hour away by bus – by private bus, not

K: (laughs) Yes, by private bus that only runs once an hour. But we could take a public bus.

C: Only runs once a day. We could take the public one.

K: We could take a public bus; we don’t have to ride the bus.

C: Yeah. 

K: I love the buses in Japan. I don’t think they’re super comfy, but I think they’re super clean and super practical.

C: Yes.

K: I love the fact hat you just get on. I love the fact that you get on at the back of the bus and get off at the front of the bus. That makes so much more sense to me. 

C: That depends on the bus. Nagoya city buses are mostly you get on at the front of the bus and get off the back of the bus. 

K: No. You get on at the back of the bus, and you get off on the front of the bus.

C: I think it’s been a while since you rode a bus. I ride the bus on a much more regular basis than you.

K: I do not remember when I was riding the bus out to that one school – I do not remember getting on at the front. 

C: Because you were not riding the Nagoya city bus. 

K: What was I riding?

C: You were riding a meitetsu bus.

K: that’s not a Nagoya city bus?

C: No. It’s a different company.

K: What about when I went out to that other – when I went to that other city? (laughs) What about when I rode the bus in Kozoji?

C: You were riding the company bus, weren’t you?

K: No, I was not. I was riding the public bus. 

C: Then you were probably riding the Kozoji bus because Kozoji is not Nagoya.

KL: Okay, so city versus town, Kozoji versus Nagoya. I feel like they’re both city.

C: I feel like they’re both city, but Kozoji is much smaller.

K: Yeah. I like Kozoji.

C: Mhm.

K: And… what if – there’s one in between Kozoji and Nagoya. That I can’t think of.

C: It depends on which direction you go. 

K: If you’re going from Ozone to Kozoji, there’s that one city. 

C: Are you thinking of Moriyama?

K: No, not Moriyama.

C: Because Moriyama is

K: It starts with a T. 

C: Starts with a T? I don’t know. Tajimi?

K: Yeah. Tajimi. 

C: Tajimi is beyond Kozoji.

K: Okay. So… what do you think of Tajimi?

C: I don’t know. You and I have been there a couple of times but just passing through to go to the paper lantern festival, which we’ve talked about before.

K: Yup.

C: So, I haven’t really spent much time there. 

K: And what do you think (clears throat) so, what do you think of Niko? 

C: Niko is definitely a village. So, Niko is… northwest of Tokyo.

K: Yeah.

C: Hokkaido. We’ve talked about it before. 

K: So, how is Niko definitely a village? 

C: Niko is definitely a village because they have worked hard to maintain their village status. 

K: (laughs)

C: Like… the buildings are traditional architecture, the roads are very narrow, there’s not a lot of public transportation. 

K: So, again, it’s just about public transportation. You’re making up arbitrary rules about city versus country.

C: For me, that’s always what it’s about.

K: Yeah. It’s just about public transportation.

C: Yeah. 

K: So, you don’t really have a definition of city, village, mecropolis, metropolis, any of those things.

C: See, now

K: You’re just making up random rules that sound good to you based on public transportation access.

C: If we want to get technical

K: Yeah, I want to get technical. Get into it. 

C: Okay. In Japan, there are what are called designated cities. And, so, there’s a list of cities maintained by the federal government because yes, Japan has a federal government,

K: Why are you saying that like that would be a surprise to anyone? That the Japanese – that the Japanese and Japan has a federal government.

C: Because most countries don’t.

K: What are you talking about, now?

C: I’m going to move on from that.

K: No, you’re not. What are you talking about?

C: I’m talking about most countries don’t have federal governments.

K: What are you talking about?

C: That’s all I’m saying. I’m not talking about anything else.

K: What does that phrase even mean to you? Educate me. 

C: Most countries have a national government, but they don’t have sub-governments with significant powers of their own. 

K: So, are you saying like how the state autonomy in the U.S. – state sovereignty in the U.S. – there’s prefectural sovereignty in Japan? 

C: No, but there is a lot of decision making and rulemaking that happens at the prefectural level. So, the prefectures in Japan don’t have the right to have a law that contradicts the national law, but they can set their own special rules and things. 

K: So… oh my gosh. I’m getting so confused. You are making all these made up things that are not true. 

C: I am not

K: You’re like making up all these made up things that are not true, that you’re like, “this is what I think, so I’m just going to put the propaganda out there.” And the people are just going to fall for your propaganda about there being differences between cities, towns, and in country versus city and it not being about a vibe. It’s just all a vibe, dude.

C: It’s all a vibe? Okay. 

K: Yeah.

C: Because the Japanese government disagrees, but if it comes between your opinion and that of the Japanese government, obviously you’re the one who’s right. 

K: Wow. That wasn’t defensive or heavy-handed at all. But it’s just a vibe. It’s just a vibe. I’m like, “you’re saying all this rambly stuff” and I’m telling everybody – I’m giving them an alternative fact.

C: Okay, so you quizzed me about all these Japanese places, so Santa Cruz. 

K: What about Santa Cruz?

C: What is it?

K: It’s a vibe, man. It’s a state of being.

C: You’re saying it’s a state.

K: No. I’m saying it’s a state of being. Like, Santa Cruz, it’s a vibe.

C: Okay. So, is it a city?

K: It could be, if that’s what your vibe is when you’re there. If you have a city vibe when you’re there. If you have a country vibe when you’re there. If you have a town vibe when you’re there. Wherever your vibe is. Wherever your head space is at. Wherever your headspace is at.

C: Interesting.

K: Yeah.

C: Okay. 

K: So, what, you’re testing to see like, “aha, sacre blue, you don’t mean it’s a vibe.” 

C: No, no

K: So, for me, I felt like Santa Clara was a town. To me. 

C: Okay.

K: I know it’s called Santa Clara city, but for me, it was small. It was cozy. It was quaint. It had a town vibe. 

C: Okay. 

K: And, where was that place we used to go to? Carmel.

C: Yeah. Carmel-by-the-sea.

K: Yeah. Carmel-by-the-sea. Which is different from Carmel. And Carmel-by-the-sea had a little village-town. Like… village-town. Little bit towny, little bit village vibe. But Carmel proper is definitely a city and very political and very conservative.

C: And they maintain that vibe with their zoning regulations and everything.

K: Yeah. So, for me, going – for Nagoya, I think of Nagoya as a factory town.

C: Nagoya is a manufactory town. It’s got the highest per capita manufacturing output in Japan.

K: Yeah. And I view Gifu as a town. 

C: Yeah.

K: Just, like, a little town that’s got some urban sprawl and a couple of attractions.

C: Yeah. Got its castle. Got some hot springs. 

K: Yeah. And then I view, like… Okazaki – I don’t have fond memories of Okazaki. It was a really hard time in my life, so I view Okazaki as a hard town.

C: Mmm.

K: Like a hard – I’m sorry Okazaki, I have to say it

C: It’s like the Skid Row of Nagoya?

K: Yes. Yes. Because that was my experience. I was in some low-rent low-rank. I wasn’t in any of the – so, Okazaki to me is divided into two parts. Like, the really wealthy part of Okazaki, and then the really poor part of Okazaki.

C: Mhm.

K: And it feels like I was just on the wrong side of the tracks. I was in the really poor, desolate, barren, lonely, cold, empty, insect-infested, flying-cockroach part of Okazaki. That’s the part of Okazaki I was in. 

C: That is the part of Okazaki you were in because I visited.

K: Yeah. And then there was this other part of Okazaki that had like Sonic City and really nice restaurants and a metropolitan art museum and really upscale stuff. And I think it’s really funny because my best friend at the time was native Japanese, and I explained to them that I was in – I explained to them my thoughts, and I was really proud of myself because I did it in Japanese – of how ghetto and trashy I thought Okazaki was. And that’s when they took me to the library and the national art museum. And they wanted me to go to all these different really nice restaurants.

C: The children’s museum and all of that.

K: and I was like, “wow this is some really upscale stuff going on in Okazaki.” But it still has a big ass ghetto side of it, too, and I lived in the ghetto.

C: I think that’s so interesting in Japanese cities that’s contrasted with U.S. cities, at least. Is how

K: The ghetto is nonobvious?

C: Yeah. How heterogenous the cities, the city regions are.

K: Yeah because you always talk about the fact that my office is in the ghetto. It’s like down the street from two brothels, but if you can’t read Japanese, you won’t know that.

C: Yeah. 

K: It’s across the street, but it’s also across the street from a dentist’s office.

C: Yes.

K: And it’s around the corner from a really nice floral shop. 

C: And a chiropractor, and

K: And across the street from two different temples. 

C: Yup.

K: and… it’s… right across the street from the earliest blooming, and longest blooming, cherry and plum blossom trees. It’s down the street from two different parks. So, it depends on what side of the street – so I feel like my office is right in between some really ghetto stuff, like sex shops and brothels, and then on the other side is wholesome familiness.

C: Yeah. So, it’s interesting how closely 

K: The two can exist?

C: Yeah. So, for example, we live across the street from a factory. 

K: Yeah.

C: which the factory we live across from is seven hundred acres, so that doesn’t really tell you much. The fact we live across the street from it.

K: Yeah.

C: But we also live within walking distance of a university, and a big park, and 

K: And everybody knows we live near Nagoya Dome.

C: Yeah. And the dome. Yeah.

K: Which is like… at first, it felt super fancy because people made such a big deal because we could “miemasu” miemasu, like you can’t help but see it. You can’t help but see the dome. And when it snows, every once in a while, it is quite gorgeous.

C: Yes.

K: Really beautiful when the dome is covered in snow. But it is not fun when I’m trying to do my fifteen minutes from office to home and there’s an event going on at the dome, and I am opposite traffic. Because everyone’s trying to leave and get to the station. Because my obvious is right near the station but in the opp- and then towards the dome is home. 

C: Well, and

K: So, I’m going opposite flow, and I just get really hostile.

C: Every March, so it’s not March anymore, but every March is the women’s marathon.

K: It’s March. No, it’s not March. 

C: No, it’s not March.

K: I’m sorry. I don’t know when I live. I don’t know when this is.

C: It hasn’t been March for a couple of weeks now.

K: I’m not sure that it’s not February. 

C: Mmm. 

K: Emotionally, for me, I feel like February’s never going to end. Just, honest with you guys, we’re not recording this in February. No, we’re not. 

C: (laughs)

K: But it just feels like February is never going to end. 

C: But the women’s marathon happens every year, second week of March. 

K: Yeah.

C: And, so

K: Which is a pain in the rump

C: Because it shuts down

K: It shuts down every street near our house. Like, we can’t go anywhere. 

C: And every big street near your office.

K: Yes.

C: So, the whole route

K: I warn everybody when the marathon’s going. “Don’t forget, it’s marathon weekend.” And everybody’s late. And they’re like, “oh my god, I’m so happy you have parking.” And then sometimes, I have to go down and kick people out of the parking and be like, “yo this is my parking. You can’t just park here.” 

C: Okay. I rent this.

K: Yes. Like, I paid for this. So, that’s annoying. So, maybe we should do city or town, or village based on how annoying it is.

C: Mmm. Yeah.

K: Because I feel like Asahi-kawa in Hokkaido is definitely a big city that still has that small town, cool, quaint vibe.

C: See, and I don’t think it’s that big. I think it might be a hundred thousand people. 

K: Really?

C: Yeah.

K: It had one of the best museums I’ve ever been to.

C: Yes. The cultural museum is excellent.

K: Absolutely recommend it if you go to Hokkaido. And I think it’s much better than Sapporo.

C: Yeah, but we haven’t been to Sapporo, so that’s just opinion. 

K: Yeah. Hello. That’s what this show is.

C: Oh, that’s what it means when you say, “I think.” That it’s your opinion.

K: Yeah. Hello.

C: Okay. Trying to keep track of that.

K: My thoughts. Thinking my thoughts, man. So, for me, everything’s completely a vibe, and you have all these weird things that all seem to go back to publica transportation

C: They really do.

K: And you’re trying to ascri- trying to disguise it as something other than public transportation. 

C: They really do. I might be a little bit obsessed about public transportation.

K: Because you can’t drive.

C: Right. 

K: So, for me, during the height of all of the corona virus stuff, I was really really super grateful that I’m so close to my office, and I didn’t have to ride public transportation because I’m super susceptible to illnesses. Because of the lupus and hereditary coproporphyria. So. There’s that.

C: Yeah.

K: And I’m happy to not have that. So, weird, interesting thing. I’ve always said “there’s that” but I am obsessed with the whole 90-day Fiancé show. And Darcey from Before The 90 Days says, “there’s that.” And just now, every time I say it, I just have Darcey in my head. Shout out to Darcey. Love you, girl. You are good T.V.

C: (laughs)

K: She is good T.V. – every episode she is on, I am glued. There is going to be drama, there is going to be raw emotion. She just puts her heart out there. You know. And then I love her confessionals – they’re so just like, you can’t tell whether or not I’m pissed or in love during this confessional. And I’m like, “yes I can. I can tell exactly” – I feel like I can tell. Because they have them wear the same thing to the confessionals, and I’m like, “ohh. Somebody’s been rocking knocking boots.” 

C: Yeah. (laughs)

K: It’s a song.

C: Okay.

K: But I stopped singing it because it’s an R Kelly song. And I am anti-R Kelly.

C: Yes.

K: He has been cancelled. 

C: Plus, we don’t want any copyright strikes. 

K: Yeah, and nobody – that was closer to small town road than the actual song I was singing.

C: (laughs)

K: So… the other day, I sai – I quoted New Edition. And I loved it because the client was like, “is that New Edition” and I was like, “yes. It is. Thank you. Ahh. The crowd goes crazy.” I say it to the clients all the time. And I say it to my siblings all the time. And they were the only person to ever clock it. They were like, “wait a minute. Did you just quote” and I’m like, “yes I did. Thank you very much.” Because songs have meanings, man.

C: Songs do have meanings. 

K: (laughs) 

C: Songs are poems you make with your mouth.

K: Yes, they are. I feel like I’m all hopped up on caffeinated chocolate. 

C: I feel like you are, too. You’re quite chocolatey.

K: Yeah, and I’m like, I want some more, and there’s one more of the really great crunchy kind. And then I have four of the bean kind. And two of the caramel kind. But I look at – yeah, you have about as much cholate left as I do. And the big debate is do I get more chocolate tonight or not? I don’t know. But I’m like, stuck in these rhythms of food. And I think I’m stuck in a chocolatey rhythm. 

C: You’re stuck in a chocolatey rhythm? Okay.

K: (laughs) Like everyone is mass-buying toilet paper. Which is making me sad. We need more toilet paper. But I want to mass-buy chocolate.

C: Mhm.

K: I never saw any – there were people that – during the height of the Corona virus thing, there were people posting online on our twitter and stuff, like blank tissue shelves. I never once experienced any of those. But let me just preface it by the fact I cannot remember the last time that I was in a grocery store.

C: Yeah. You sent Rasta to do the shopping. 

K: And he didn’t report any missing stuff.

C: He di- he reported it to me, and I said, “don’t tell your mom.” 

K: Okay. 

C: “Because she’s just going to be upset by it.”

K: Okay.

C: Because when I told you there was going to be shortages

K: Shortages of what?

C: Of toilet paper.

K: Don’t say that, Chad. That is so rude. Like, why are you saying that to me?

C: I told you there was going to be shortages of toilet paper, and you said

K: But there aren’t any. I haven’t run out of toilet paper.

C: No, you haven’t.

K: What’d I say?

C: You said, “don’t tell me that. Don’t say that to me.”

K: (laughs)

C: “Don’t talk to me about that. I can’t handle that.”

K: Why are people hoarding

C: And then you said, “we need 36 rolls. This is not panic buying. We just need 36 rolls.”

(laughter)

K: Was that my number? 36 rolls?

C: Yes, it was.

K: (laughs) Why 36 girl? Like… I think that I wanted, you know, a month and a week.

C: Yeah.

K: And I don’t know why I have it fixed in my head that we go through a roll of toilet paper a day. Which we don’t.

C: Not even close.

K: But I am completely convinced, and when I wake up in the morning, and the roll isn’t gone, I’m like, “wow, that was a low toilet paper day.”

C: (laughs)

K: And then, on days when the – when the toilet paper runs out, it’s so random to me. So, on a day it runs out, I’m like, “oh my gosh, I used so much toilet paper today.” 

C: Mhm.

K: That’s my lived experience.

C: That is your lived experience.

K: I just don’t understand toilet paper, but we use coreless toilet paper because I’m a good human. Mmm. But I also use PET, so I’m not a good human.

C: Yeah. 

K: But I think it’s the right thing to do.

C: Yeah. We do what we can.

K: Oh my gosh. I saw this article that was very traumatizing. The United States is not recycling the plastic. It’s just storing it in warehouses. 

C: Interesting.

K: Yeah. At least, that’s what the yahoo news feed picture said.

C: Okay.

K: I didn’t click on the story, so I have no idea what the story is. I just know it was enough to freak m e out and make me not want to click it.

C: so, PET is useful stuff. When I 

K: Okay, how is PET useful?

C: You cut it up into chips, and you can make fiber out of it. 

K: Yeah.

C: So, when I was 16, I had a job at a carpeting store that we sold carpets made out of it. 

K: Yeah.

C: And… when we had a house in California, our carpet was actually made out of that. 

K: Yeah. And I loved it. 

C: And the company I work for now

K: We had the most beautiful colored carpet.

C: Yeah, we did.

K: It was gorgeous green. It was a little richer than a Kelly green. 

C: Yeah. 

K: Little bit deeper.

C: Yes.

K: What color was that?

C: I think they call that forest green.

K: mm. Yeah. Forest green. Thank you. I couldn’t remember for the life of me.

C: The company I work for now makes backpacks out of recycle PET bottles.

K: Something I’ve been wondering about the other day, I saw a T.V. show – completely random digression. I saw a T.V. show where the person had blue counters, and I was so judgmental. I was like, “blue counters? Who’s ever going to want to buy their house with blue counters?” But we had red counters.

C: They weren’t red, they were pink. 

K: They were a pinkish red.

C: Yes.

K: They were kind of mauvey. 

C: Kind of mauvey kind of rosy.

K: Yeah. They – so, they h ad a handwash on them, so they weren’t all consistently one color.

C: Right. 

K: And they were handmade. So, they weren’t all consistently one shade.

C: Yes.

K: Very flossy. Handmade imported Italian hand painted tiles.

C: Yes. With pink grout.

K: Yes. With pink grout. So, the grout matched.

C: Yes.

K: And I was grateful for the grout. But our house her in Japan is nowhere near that fancy. 

C: No, it’s not.

K: It’s like a completely different standard of living. I was explaining – I want to say a month or two ago, I was trying to explain housing to my niece. Because we were talking about housing prices, and she was like “it’s two thousand for a two bedroom.” I’m like, “I have no idea what that means. Two thousand USD? I have no idea what means.” Because a two bedroom in Japan varies wildly. Like, it can be a two room apartment with a kitchen; it can be a two room apartment with a kitchen and a small little dinette area; it can be a two room apartment with a kitchen, a dinette area, and a living room area of varying sizes. So, I always do number of people. It can be a two bedroom, but the dining area can seat up to eight. Or it can be a two bedroom where the dining area can barely seat four.

C: Yeah. Yeah.

K: And it’ll still be considered a dining area.

C: Yeah, it would be. 

K: Yeah. So, you have to really look at floor plans.

C: When I was in Tokyo because – not the job I have now, but almost seven years ago now – I worked for a month in Tokyo training at a job.

K: It was the saddest month of my life.

C: It was very sad. But the

K: You came home every weekend, and it was so miserable. I absolutely hated it.

C: But I had an apartment there for a month

K: Which I hated.

C: And it was 160 square feet.

K: Yeah. And I tried to make it as homey for you

C: Right.

K: We still have the pan that I bought you. You were like, “I don’t need anything. It stinks, and I hate it here.” And I’m like, “no. I’m going to go up there and make it homey for you” and we walked around and found places for you to eat and all of that. But it was still a really horrible month.

C: So, that’s not even

K: Which served no purpose.

C: No. But that’s not even a legal apartment size in most states. I’m not sure there’s any U.S. state that you can have an apartment that’s only 160 square feet. 

K: Yeah. (laughs) And no windows – there was one sliding door. 

C: Yeah.

K: And there are apartments smaller than that in Tokyo.

C: Yes.

K: Where you have a loft bed that you can’t even sit up in that is above – like, go on YouTube and do “tiny apartments Japan” and you will get like – there are people who seriously can’t lay flat from their front door to their back door.

C: Right.

K: Like, the length of their body is greater than the length of their apartment. So… I – sometimes, I like to google tiny apartments in Japan. Just to make myself feel superior because I’m petty like that sometimes. Because I think, “why would you move into that apartment?” Like… girl, no. Boy, no. Like that.

C: I was there because my employer was paying for it.

K: Well, you were there because that’s not where you really lived, and you were only going to be there for a month.

C: That’s true. Yeah.

K: And you thought it wouldn’t be that bad, and you said, “it’s going to be miserable no matter where I am because you’re not here.”

C: Exactly.

K: I was like, “I agree with you.” And then you were like, “it won’t be so bad because it’s around the corner from a ramen shop.” 

C: And then you said, “do you want to commute home every night.” And I was like, “first of all, no I don’t want to travel six hours a day. And second of all, I don’t want to spend five times my salary on train tickets.”

(laughter)

K: To be fair, there are people who make that nasty wicked commute. And you have done it a couple of times. 

C: Yes, there are. I have done it a couple of times.

K: And you didn’t like it. I’m so glad you don’t work for a company that’s in Tokyo anymore. 

C: Yup.

K: Hey, girl, I still love you. Owner of the company.

C: (laughs)

K: But we’re happy we don’t work for you no more. But you know. Because we’re in a better situation. 

C: Yes. 

K: So, back to the whole city, town, village thing. Now that you’ve had some time to marinate. Get over the whole shock of the realization – sometimes, when the truth hits you, it’s like you get struck by lightning. 

C: Right.

K: Do you get that it’s a vibe?

C: I get that it is a “vibe” and by “vibe” I mean density of public transportation.

K: Yeah, so like Berkeley. What’s Berkeley?

C: Berkeley is a city.

K: Yeah. And Berkeley is a vibe.

C: Yes.

K: It’s just pure vibe.

C: Yes. It is several vibes.

K: Now it’s more city. When we were younger, I was shopping around back in the days when you thought you wanted to work at Birkenstock. Because that was an interesting time in our life.

C: I never wore Birkenstock. I always wore Clark sandals. 

K: Yes. Because you thought you wanted Birkenstocks, and I took you to the Clark store instead because I told you Birkenstocks are not actually that comfortable.

C: Yeah.

K: And you were always grateful to me for that.

C: I was.

K: You were like, “thank you.” Because I’m like, “look, you don’t want to be told – your toes should not be forced to go anywhere.”

C: Right? My toes should stay where they belong. In my socks.

K: You did not wear socks with your Clarks. Don’t even try that.

C: (laughs)

K: Because we did like a whole foot regeneration and

C: Yes.

K: (laughs) Foot regeneration. (laughs)

C: Yes. I was missing feet.

K: No, your feet were not okay. Your feet were not okay.

C: No, they weren’t.

K: I didn’t know how you were walking around with your feet because those dogs were barking, man. I felt really bad for you when I saw the condition of your feet.

C: It was really painful. Yeah. 

K: Yeah. Because you had deep calluses that had splits in them.

C: Yeah.

K: And I was like, “this is not okay.” You’re like, “but it’s going to be painful to fix.” I’m like, “watch, after we fix it, you’re going to be so happy.” And you were like, “that was the most excruciating two hours of my life.” But the next day, you were like, “oh, this is what it feels like to not have calluses.” 

C: But it took six months for them to go away permanently.

K: Yes, it did. We had to do it more than once. I still wish we had done a before and after. I think we could have got good money off of Doctor Sholes. 

C: Yeah. Maybe. Even though I didn’t use Doctor Sholes, but maybe.

K: No, we used a Doctor Sholes foot bath and Doctor Sholes scrubber.

C: Good point. Yeah, we did. You’re right.

K: Yeah. WE used Doctor Sholes products.

C: Yup.

K: So, I feel like if we had taken a before and after, we could have made some good money off it.

C: Yeah. 

K: Yeah. I’m lamenting the money that could have been.

C: They would have footed the bill for that.

(laughter)

K: I think that Nagoya is an interesting town to come visit and hang out in. I think we have some really cool things, but I think you have to be really into… culturally Japanese things. Like, I think doing shibori is just amazing – an amazing experience that you can have here in Nagoya. Where that’s Japanese tie-dying. That’s super amazing. Never been to Nagoya Castle because I think Himeji – if you’re going to do a castle, Himeji. 

C: Yeah.

K: Unless you’re doing a castle in the Fall time, and then for me it’ll always be Osaka castle.

C: Yes.

K: Because the nighttime viewing is just so stunning.

C: it is.

K: And… I don’t know. For me, city or town. Like, not a big deal. Not a really… hotbed – but it got a little tense between us for a minute.

C: I grew up in Fairbanks. And that was not a big place. And it was three hundred fifty miles from the nearest place that’s bigger, so very isolated.

K: (laughs)

C: So, I think there’s a difference between

K: So, isn’t the place that’s bigger the space in between the two towns? Isn’t that bigger than both towns?

C: It is bigger than both towns.

K: And, so, by then you’re defining town by grocery store?

C: No. I was thinking of Anchorage.

K: Yeah.

C: Which has

K: So, what’s in between Fairbanks and Anchorage? Is there a grocery store in between those two?

C: There’s Delta Junction between the two of them.

K: Okay. So, is Delta Junction a town?

C: Delta Junction is a town, yes.

K: Does it have a grocery store?

C: Yes, it has a grocery store.

K: So, I guess I define – is it inhabitable by whether or not there’s toilet paper. 

C: Yeah?

K: (laughs)

C: Okay. Interesting.

K: Which is always answered by whether or not there’s a grocery store.

C: Yes.

K: so, I want to get into a little bit about our differences of opinions. And if you all want to hear about that, then you can check out the take two. So, talk to you later.

C: Bye.

K: Bye.