Living in Jersey City...

...has it's various advantages. One of them being the fear factor. The fear that at any moment a guy is going to mug you. It's not that where I live is dangerous, or even remotely scary. It's a rather affluent neighborhood, if there is such a thing in JC. It's just that other parts of this city are so scary they would make even the most hardened criminal at Riker's run like the cops were chasing him again. Not to forget the reputation JC has as being a twin brother of Newark...the car theft capital of the Universe. Let us not also forget the proximity JC has to downtown Detroit *cough cough* I mean Newark.

Walking down the streets of JC can be intimidating for some, if not most, people. They look a bit intimidating all filled with their minorities and stuff. At night gangs of harmless, but scary and unruly looking, black guys walk the streets. Instead of guns and 40's in their hands they have cups of dunkin donuts coffee and muffins. I am not racist, but I am encouraged by the groups of people walking around at 11 at night in suits, and riding the subway without fear. By seeing groups of 20 something, harmless looking, professional people like me...by that I do mean white people. So instead of letting you read into it I just said it. I say that it's good to see white people because that is a sign of a safe neighborhood, not because I hate other races haha. It is kind of scary walking down Newark Avenue at 2am in Jersey City and seeing a group of blacks in hoodies..in Newark that's an instant muggin. In JC they open the door at the deli for you. I guess you need something to keep you on your toes considering there are no earhquakes here.

I routinely buy coffee (only 50 cents) for one homeless guy only because it is cold out and he has no place to go...he always opens the door for everyone at the deli down the street and I feel I atleast owe coffee to him. Everyone else ignores him, and if I give him money he will prolly use it to get high and/or drunk. Coffee is the way to go.

During football games I go down the street to the bar and it's filled with 20-something professionals and ghetto thugs watching football. But everyone is having fun. There was a fight between a Jets fan and a Steelers fan...but only cause the ass hole Steelers fan kept signing "Wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round..." the whole game anytime Bettis got the ball. I am surprised he wasn't killed. Had he not been a huge back guy and been me...it woulda been lights out by halftime. Being that it is a "Jets" bar, I am the only Giants fan in there. Everyone lets me hear about it everytime I watch a game there...that is till Doug Brien kicked like a freshman in High School.

Finally, living downtown means I live near Newport Mall. Which I just found over the weekend. Newport Mall is awesome! It's huge!! Way better than any shopping mall I went to in Japan. Hundreds of stores on 4 levels...it is a behemoth. Anything you could possibly want to buy is in that mall...except a Japanese work visa.

For all the obvious advantages to living in JC (PATH Subway, proximity to NYC, view of NYC, convenience of a large city, no gun shots near my place at night because I am two blocks fromthe Police Station, and so on) it is not Tokyo. I miss Japan sooooooooooooooo much. I ache with every bone in my body to get back there. Miho or no Miho. I still want to be over there. It's such a great place, a warm place...it is 10 degrees F outside right now in JC. I WANT TO LIVE IN JAPAN!!!!!

Shouga nai...