shopping: best friend's advice

When people go on vacation, they tend to do usually 1 of 2 things.... get lost or spend a lot of money. Sometimes, when you're luck pisses on you, you do both. Since this wasn't my first time around Nara/Osaka, I didn't get pissed on, but had troubles spending an insane amount of money on something that I really didn't need. I'm not sure what it is, but when you're on vacation you justify every purchase with, "Well, how often am I on vacation?" or "Can't go on vacation and come home empty handed, right?" Be warned, these are dangerous words to live by because this philosophy can empty every last yen in your pocket!

The only question left to be answered is naturally, what was it that I purchased? To answer this questions, let me do so by asking a question so you can get an idea of how ridiculous even I thought this was. So, when was the last time you spent $1,000.00 USD on a camera? For the majority, a $300.00 dollar 'point & shoot' will do the trick and perform superbly. Now, forget about the camera all together and allow me to rephrase my question. When was the last time you spent $1,000.00 USD on just a camera lens?!?!

Ken knew that I was into photography, but up until this point he's never seen any of my photos. He has no idea what kind of pictures I took or what kind of camera I used. I remember when we were about to leave the house and check out scenic Nara, I grabbed my camera and the moment the strap touched my shoulder, simultaneously I heard the words, "What are you a journalist?" I looked at Ken with a smirk and smiling eyes. Deep down I knew this was coming. "Hahaha, I know... I take my camera everywhere," I said in defense. Casey didn't hesitate, "Yo, this isn't Afghanistan." We all laughed and yes I felt a bit embarrassed. This was the first time for them to see me with a camera and they savored the moment. After that, every time I touched my camera I would hear the words, "reporter dong" or "Afghan."

The next day we went shopping in Nara and this wasn't your typical shopping trip.
"So this store has a lot of used lenses?" I asked Ken.
"Yah, this is the biggest camera store in Nara," he replied. "Maybe it has what you're looking for."
I told him the price of the lens I was hoping to find and surprisingly, 10万円 (approx. $950 USD) for a lens carried no shock value. I thought he would think I was crazy for spending $1k on a camera lens but it was the exact opposite. He was actually somewhat supportive.
The camera store was quite busy, which allowed us to browse without being pestered. Quickly spotting the "中古" or "used" section, I set my coordinates and made my dash.
"Damn, they don't have it," I said with slight disappointment.
"What about new?" Ken suggested.
After having one final look-over, I sighed and casually made my way over to the new lens section while quietly pouting. Being in a camera store for me is much like taking a kid to the toy store. Eyes light up and you can hear the excitement in their voice and once they are there, they never want to leave. My eyes carefully inspected the glass shelves for the one lens I was hoping to find. Suddenly, I connected with a black, sleek, cylindrical shaped object that was unexpectedly identifiable from the other lenses behind the glass. I wasn't sure if it was my eyes that were playing tricks on me, but in an instant the lighting around this one lens changed and became more softly focused. It was like God was showing me the holy grail. I was in heaven. I swear it even had a halo around it but in red. My eyes grew bigger and I reached out with my pointer finger and exhaled these words while wrestling to maintain my coolness, "Yep, they got it."Ken had not more than a peep and said, "This?"
"This?" "This" echoed in my head as I was about to lose it. How could he just say, "This?" as if it were just a mere tool for mortal beings. I coerced myself into paying no attention to Ken because his innocent soul was still green to the camera world. I could only muster out a "Yah......" for a reply.

I normally don't carry $1k on me where ever I go, so we had to leave the store and hit up an ATM. This gave me a chance to talk to Ken and see what he had to say. As you can see, I was already 'dorked out' for the lens, but I was interested in hearing a different perspective from someone who didn't have much attachment to cameras and photography. Somehow, what Ken said made perfect sense to me. In this very moment, he showed me what our friendship has accumulated into with just a few words.

"Well, you know it's up to you, but I know you and I know you want this so you might as well get it."
I replied with, "Might as well get it? What do you mean?"
"You always want the best stuff, that's how you are dong."
"You think so?"
"Yah, look at snowboarding or anything else you're really into. You always do a lot of research and end up getting the best stuff."
A bit confused I uttered, "So is that bad?"
"No, you should get what makes you happy. Why spend life doing things that don't make you happy? This is your hobby right? You sound really into it and I just know you will be happy getting this."
It was like Ken stepped up to the plate and hit a home run and I was that wild fan that runs out on the field cheering his heart out only to get tackled by security. Deep down, it was exactly what I was wanting to hear but just afraid to hear it. He was right. Why go through life not being happy? If it's your passion, why not be passionate about it? Through his words I found encouragement and support. In Ken's own way, he was telling that there is nothing wrong with being passionate about photography. I don't mean to imply that money buys passion or money buys photography skills, but because he knows my character so well, he understands that if i commit in making this purchase, then I will devote myself in being the best photographer I can be. If I make it anywhere in the world of photography, it will be because of my friends, but also mainly because of Ken. His words on that day are words I will from now on carry with me. To me they translate into....be you.....be happy...believe in yourself.

With my newly found inspiration, we headed back to the camera store where the next task was to negotiate price. Since the lens was already on sale, 2万円 down from original price ($180), the salesman had the upper hand. After 20 minutes of battling, I saved 千円 ($9.00) and got a free UV protector. I grabbed the bag, bowed, and walked out the door.


The lens: My impressions

Anyways, let me introduce my new toy, which I must note, almost all the images on my blog are/will be taken with the new lens I purchased in Nara at Kitamura Camera, the legendary Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM. I apologize for the super "dorky" intro, but honestly I'm really excited about this lens. Canon 'L' series lenses are considered the best in the business and the professional standard. Not to take any credit away from Nikon or any other glass maker's pro series lenses as I'm sure they are great too. This was my first 'L' lens and maybe my last lens purchase for a while since I already had the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. This means I have lens coverage from 24mm to 300mm (in 1.6 crop factor 38-480mm!!).

My first impressions of the 24-105mm lens was the size and weight when I attached it to my camera, Canon Rebel XT/350D. The lens looked huge! It was massively round and seriously looked bigger than the camera body. Not only did it look awkward but it weighed more than the camera body! 485g vs 670g!! In terms of handling performance, I would imagine it feels much like a Chevy Corvair: dangerous at any speeds. The camera was extremely unbalanced because of the infamous tiny grip. My grip even started making creaking noises every time I tilted the camera. I would go as far as saying that this setup is the Antichrist of the Rebel XT and the 50mm 1.8 II, which felt harmonious in every way, size, build, weight, and IQ. Within a few seconds, I stopped caring about how it looked and felt. I flipped the on switch with my thumb and I pointed the camera and shot.

Beauty is only skin deep. The biggest cliche of cliches, but this is how I feel about this setup. Function over form, never judge a book by it's cover, yada yada yada, I could go on but I think you get my drift. It may look awkward, handle funky, but the picture quality is amazing. Whether or not spending $1k on 1 lens is justifiable, it really is up to the individual. If I find myself shooting more and enjoying photography more, then this will be the best $1,000 I will ever spend because photography is something I will enjoy for the rest of my life.

Osaka Part 3: Clubbing in the Big City

Ken came home around 9pm that evening which gave us about 2hrs to lounge before our night out. Prior to my arrival, I distinctly remember asking Ken over the phone, "So what are we going to do Friday night?" (Which was my first night in Nara)
"Club dong," he said.

My eyebrows were raised. It has been sometime since I was at a "real" club. I emphasize "real" because Aomori has a few clubs, but with a max capacity of about 30 people whom are too shy to really dance. At the time, I did not realize it, but being a frequent Seattle club junkie back in college and moving to the countryside of northern Japan marked the beginning of my own demise. When I first found out where I was to be placed on JET, I was excited but you could also hear a hint of disappointment in my voice. Aomori? Where is that? I thought I would be bored out of my mind and would move to a bigger city after a year of being in Japan. Unaware, Aomori fixed its teeth deep into my soul. My life, my world was slowly being reprocessed with a mix of culture and molasses. My desire for an active night life transformed into a new appetite for fresh, invigorating experiences. Somewhere along the line, I had an internal revelation that flipped how I viewed the world right-side up. I can't mark the time or day of when it happened, but there I was searching for some sort of answer to keep me going in the right direction. My first year in Japan could have been a lot better if I would have realized it sooner, but masked by my ignorance, I tried to make everything in Japan more like my world back home. Instead of adapting to change, I was trying to make the environment adapt to me and that quite frankly is impossible. I realized it was I that was at error and not Japan. After all, Japan has been itself for thousands of years and I was in Japan for merely one.

How I saw the world quickly changed and in my second year, everything became in some weird delicate way a lot more relaxed and easier. I just felt a lot happier even though the one thing that was once major in my life was gone. The night life urge flat out disappeared. The process was complete and I was reborn.

We sat down on the express train bound for Osaka at 11:30pm. We all wore our "Club Gear," which is attire I would never consider wearing back home for a club night. Jeans and a t-shirt, but damn it was my favorite t-shirt so how could you go wrong? We cracked opened the beers we bought at the 'konbini' and politely drank it on the train. Ken refused because he's not a fan of beer.
"Why are we going to this club, it's just all gaijin," said Casey.
"Dong it's all you can drink, all night for 3500 yen," replied Ken the bargain shopper.
"Damn, it's one of those places?!" I said with surprise.
In the back of your mind you can already imagine what kind of night it was going to be. Gaijin club with all you can drink all night for 3500 yen?! We got off the train and made a short stroll to the club from the station. It's amazing how much a city changes as the night enters the evening gates. The mighty city of Osaka mysteriously turns into a trash dump with a quick blink. Garbage already started filling the streets along with regurgitated stomach acid and raw fish.

We got to the club front door and with a quick ID check and pat down, we made our way inside. The first thing I noticed was that this was actually a nice respectable place. The bar was well lit and had the normal wall rack of liquors. Warning flags quickly flew when I noticed the guy/girl ratio was 5:1, not in our favor.
"Shiiiet, what is this? There's no girls here," Casey quickly complained.
Ken's response was too natural to be unpracticed.
"Oh, its 'obon' so thats probably why," he said.
"Damn, lets just get our drinks," I said heading towards the bar.

It looked like a good mix of people. It wasn't dominated by one certain crowd which was nice to see. The atmosphere was just how I had remembered it. The cigarette smoke, the alcoholic beverages in the hand, the smiles, the laughs, the effort people go through to impress others. Everyone was in their Sunday best. I really felt a bit out of place, but after a few drinks I forgot I even cared in the first place.

It was really cool to talk to Ken and Casey in person after almost 2 years. The more we talked, the more we drank and after a while the alcohol did it's job and we made our way out of the cubby hole and on to the dance floor.
"Shieet, that Hennessey is tearing me up," Casey shouted.
"Of course! You just downed like a triple in 10 minutes!" I said.
Ken wasted no time and quickly separated from us to find his own fun. I hardly saw him all night until it was about time to go. The evening went by quicker than I had imagined it would. With a little bit of small talk and dancing here and there, it suddenly became 4 a.m. I found Ken speaking to a few girls and he introduced me, but honestly I had no interest to meet more people I would never see again. I quickly said, "Hi," and then asked Ken if he saw Casey.
"What? He isn't here? Where did he go?" he asked me.
"Yo, I don't know...Haven't seen him for like an hour," I said.
We both went hunting for Casey without any luck.
"Dang, he disappeared again?" Said his brother.
"What again? Does he always do this?" I asked ken.
Not looking surprised Ken said, "Yah, he just disappears and doesn't say anything."

15 minutes later we left the club without Casey. We sat down on the curb unwilling to go home until we found the missing brother.
"Try calling him, he's not picking up my calls," Ken suggested.
Quickly looking through my phone list, I punch in Casey's number and waited, "Hello?"
"Casey, where the hell are you? We're waiting for you in front of the club. Hurry up!" I shouted.
"Casey? Casey who?"
You could hear the irritation in my voice, "Dude, stop f*ckin around and get your ass to the club."
'Click', I hung up the phone and looked at Ken. "Man why the hell is he lying and trying to play like its not him? What's wrong with your brother?!"
Ken laughed and said two words, "Horn dong," which translates into horny son of a b*tch.
Not giving up I called Casey again and he was playing the same role, "I don't know who you're talking about."
This time, I had enough. I was tired, sweaty, smoky, and drunk. I no longer had the patience to play games. "If you're not Casey, then why are you up at 4:30 a.m. in the morning, huh?!
"I'm getting ready for work."
The volcano was about to erupt. "Work?? You don't even have a job! Get your ass to the club and let's go!"
Ken laughed even more. I couldn't help but to laugh as well. Suddenly, I stopped laughing and wondered for a split second if this really wasn't Casey. That split second turned into a lingering few seconds and gradually, my arrogance realized that if this wasn't Casey, then I was being a true asshole. Before I got off the phone I said, "If this isn't Casey, then I'm sorry for everything," and quickly hung up the phone.
I asked Ken to show me Casey's number on his cell phone and I compared it with the number I got. "0-9-0...........oh sh*t," I said laughing.
Ken looked at the phone number and they were different. We both lost it. I had Casey's old cell phone number which was most likely redistributed to some unlucky victim. I felt horrible as we walked towards the station.

We were both dead tired but awake enough to not miss our stop. "Next, Yamato-koizumi, Yamato-Koizumi," was repeated over the intercom. As we walked home, Ken looked at me with the most seriously eyes I've ever seen on him and says, "Dude, what am I gonna tell Maureen?" (Ken&Casey's mother).

I don't ever remember laughing so hard in my life.

Osaka Part 2: I'm home!

Ken's house was a very nostalgic sight to see. A great mix between Japanese traditional housing and western style decor all tastefully juxtaposed together into a lovely place I call my second home. It was nice to Ken's mother, Maureen, who hasn't changed one bit. I guess some things never change and for once this is a good thing. Maureen's warm smile instantly drew me to give her a big hug. It's not often I hug one of the Yamashita's, but oh well...some things do change I guess.

Casey took me to his room to drop off my backpack and we set up the mini bed which is where I was to sleep for the next week. Casey was already complaining about the heat in his room and he was right. It was extremely hot. "Beep", the A.C. flashed on and started to blow cool 27 degrees C of air across the room. The funny thing is, 27C in Aomori is considered hot! 27C in Nara, was like a quick dip in the pool....so good.

After 2 hours of chatting to the Yamashita's in the family room, Ken came home and it was like his PS3 was specially equipped with "Ken motion sensor detector device" and automatically turned on the system as the door shut behind him. He ascending the stairs, opened the door, dropped the bag, "beep" was heard, and then grabbed the controller. Of course, Casey and I naturally gravitated towards his room.
"Yeeeeeea", was our greeting.