Told myself I'd stop drinking for good, for a while, and focus.

That japan was all green tea and rice, rice fields and deep breaths of cold air, raw fish and karate - discipline.
It would be different from New York, different.

" No no, I'll have something different - just no more shochu.."
"Right. I got you. Double Vodka Tonic 2 limes. Yeah?"
"Nono - Double Vodka rocks, 2 limes."
"Yes sir."

Yessir.

--


East Village, October 04.

Hipster Tommy. Tonight he's all Members Only, slouch, and Nike Air Maxes. A single yellow feather earring rests against his greasy hair. Girls love his skinney legs and record collection, his pins. He bobs his head to the beat, thin white heroin fingers wrapped around vodka tonic 2 limes - we have just gotten off work at 2:30AM.

Something incredible - a song - wild, rough, frenetic but irresistably dancable makes it into the DJ's rotation - something I've never heard before - lo-fi and glitchy, yet poppy, with a wild female vocalist chanting in what sounds like Portuguese. I glance at the DJ, and quickly judge his background from his full sleeves of tattoos, amphetamine eyes, filterless cigarette, glass of brown liqour.. Lifer, ex-hardcore kid/ex-raver, will die in 10 years time, or find god near the bottom.

A thin girl, figureless but not unattractive - with ribbons in her wild hair, a red streak painted over her eyes and an uncanny resemblence to a Blade Runner android - bounds into the dancefloor, clapping and jumping, spilling her drink and dancing in the puddle. I almost forget about the song.

Turning to the DJ
"What is this - I've never heard-"
"This?" The DJ looks at me smiling, points a heavily ringged finger towards the Android on the floor.
"This -" he says "-is that. Hongkong Counterfeit, its called."

Just then, the thin girl bounds over.

"Hi -llooooo.." she says to me and the DJ. And then "Good song eh!! I love it!" And she bounces back.

Hipster Tommy steps over to me -

"Cem man, you were just talking to Katia Katia!"
"Katia Katia?
"Dud, shes a 20 year old transvestite from Moscow - this is her track - Hongkong-"
"-counterfeit. I know. I know."



--

The walls are bending down on me, I'm a lurching -

Gayest party in all of Nagoya - how Will and I got here, I don't recall, I don't care frankly. 2 heavy Japanese lesbians make out in a dark corner while machismo Brazilian autofactory employees grind away against flabbergasted and helpless Japanese guys on the main floor.

The Grand Dame of Nagoya crossdressers, vanilla fags, and homosexuals all, a 6 foot 2 tranny named Maddox and I are locked into conversation as I sip my vodka rocks 2 limes. We curse at eachother in Egyptian Arabic - Ms Maddox spent some years in Cairo fucking boys in filthy back alleys apparently, and has some fun information to share.

"Yes, I loved LOVED Cairo, I miss it, but frankly Japanese are much cleaner and really more attractive. I mean have you ever seen so many STRAIGHT men with manicures? I mean really - you can't even imagine how Japanese FAGS treat their hands - they are like god damn works of art I tell you what.."

Will is stumbling around after a 21 year old dominatrix with a spider tatto on her a=hand - so drunk he can barely talk in English..

Smoke, smoke, blue lights and spilt beer -

And I'm out on the street, leaning against building near a homeless Japanese guy sleeping in a box. The homeless in Japan leave their shoes paired neatly outside their boxes, just as if they were entering a house. I slide down the wall, awaking 10 minutes later

shaking
listening to Will on my voice mail:

"Aghhhwhera'fuckare - fuckareyou man, thestwo dominatixesare' blownin' smokein my facean'olturkey tits here wherea fuck areyou?"

Look I
See
Look - I have no idea.