Empty orchestra

Friday after a long day of school, Phil and I went to a showing, hosted by the film club, of short films about 9/11 from around the world: Bosnia, Israel, Mexico, England, Japan, India, ... It was difficult because most of the movies were not in English and had Japanese subtitles. I tried really hard to read them, and I think I would have been moderately successful if I could just read faster. And a couple of the movies were pretty interesting. The one from Mexico was almost entirely sound. The screen was black while you heard different clips from the day: radio broadcasters, witnesses, even a woman on the plane who left (something like) this message on her family's answering machine: "Hi, Honey. I guess you're not there. Well, I just wanted to let you know I love you. We're having a little trouble on the plane, just a little trouble. But I'll see you soon. Just wanted to tell you I love you. I love you, Honey. Bye." Intermittently footage from New York would flash on the screen, mostly of people jumping from the towers. Pretty powerful stuff, especially since I'd never really seen/watched 9/11 footage. Another one I thought was really powerful was from America (Sean Penn). There was this old-ish man living alone in an apartment, only he doesn't act like he's alone. Every morning he wakes up before "her" alarm clock, washes his face and shaves, puts away the empty dress that was lying on the bed beside him, chooses a new one according to the season, lays it out neatly on the bed... The film is basically him going about his day in this apartment, eating, chatting with "her," reminiscing with "her" about their mutual acquaintances... There's a pot of flowers dying on the window sill. He tells "her" they need light to wake up, just like him. They should have taken that place in the country. Then one night he's asleep, the television is on, showing the WTC falling. From outside his apartment window, you see light begin to fill his room, you see the flowers on the windowsill miraculously perk up. The beam of light travels across the floor, up the bed, over his face. He blinks himself awake and sees the flowers blooming on the sill. He jumps out of bed and picks them and brings them back over to "her." "Look! Look!" he's shouting, "Your flowers!" Then suddenly he realizes he's talking to an empty dress. He grabs the cloth in his hand and pulls it to his face as he starts crying. "You should have been here to see this. You should have been here." We're taken outside the apartment window again. We can see him crying inside, the flowers in one hand. And the wall of his apartment building, to the left of his window, brightens with sunlight...
as the shadow of the second tower falls.

After that, Phil and I met Gordon (a kid from Georgetown) in Kichijoji. We ended up going to a Karaoke place, 2500JPY per person for two hours of karaoke and all you can drink. Isha (from Phil's and my Japanese class, who also comes from Georgetown) and her friend Wataru (from Virginia) met us there. It was pretty fun. Phil's really good, gets really into it, and even though Gordon had at first insisted he wouldn't be able to do it, he got pretty into it too! However, I don't know that I'll go again, unless it's with Phil, because... well, I first picked Madonna's Material Girl, thinking that it would be a good sing-along. But then when I started singing, Isha started exclaiming and "complaining" that I could actually sing, and she therefore wouldn't sing with me. *sigh*
Well, at least Phil told Chris and Stu that I can sing, and now there are plans for me to help them record this Wednesday in Kichijoji. We'll see how that goes... I'm kind of curious to see what they've written, seeing's how Stu (guitar) worships Pearl Jam and Chris (bass) likes Cursive.

Yesterday I wandered around Harajuku again with Phil and Maria-san. They're two very cute kids, though Maria-san is definitely a little too into the "cute" and "hot" whatever for me. It was kind of a pointless day. I didn't get the footage I intended for my Shoji Class project (about body language) because 1) it was a little too rainy 2) the camera was weird, the way it filmed (or didn't) the light 3) I didn't really have the balls to interview anyone and 4) when I did try to interview someone, they just ran away/ignored me. But some guy asked to take my picture again. *shakes head* So weird. And I enjoyed just being with Phil and Maria-san and observing them if nothing else (we also experienced a small earthquake, the first I'd noticed, though Maria-san said there'd been like 10 since school started). On the trip home, Phil and I talked about cosplaying at the manga/anime? convention in December and even stopped at Yuzawaya (I think that's what it's called) in Kichijoji to check out fabric (man, the place was *huge*)... I'm excited at the prospect; now I just have to pick a character. ^_^