Daylight

So, I woke up this morning at 4:00. I didn't realize it was 4:00 for a little bit because the sun was out and I heard a lot of PMF people walking around the hallway. When I did realize what time it was, I investigated. I think Japan or the time zone in which it exists is in a funny position. The sun should just not be out that early. It fooled everybody. The windows in my room don't have blinds, they just have doors that completely block out the light. Maybe I'll take advantage of that tonight. I fell back asleep for a little while, but couldn't sleep past 7. So, I went down to breakfast, 3 times, because there was nothing else to do until our bus left at 10:30. We went to the Art Park, which is where we're going to rehearse and perform our Sapporo concerts. Its a pretty amazing place. The concert stage is an outdoor one, similar to the one at Tanglewood. They have these crazy concrete sculptures everywhere too. I saw a Hula competition going down on the stage this afternoon. Little five year old girls, performing perfectly in unison. Something about the discipline in this culture astounds me. 30 little Japanese girls can perform like that, but no one can seem to let people off the elevator before trying to push their way in. We had our orientation meeting this afternoon. Everyone's really nice. They have about 12 photographers that follow everybody around and take pictures (no, really?), yeah, pictures. I also received my first per diem, which is 3000 yen, a little more that 30 dollars American. This festival must have the largest funding of any festival I can think of. (There wasn't even an application fee to apply) Well, after exploring our Art Park, I came back to the hotel. Turns out, spongebob is the most entertaining show I've found on television. This holds true in America as well, but when its in Japanese, I can still understand what's going on. Something about the way the show is animated. I went into town with a couple bass players, and we got some food at the cheapest place we could find, that wasn't my decision. But, now my per diem will cover my beer, which by the way, can be purchased right outside my room from a vending machine. You don't even have to tip that guy. Anyway, my audition's tomorrow, as is everyone else's, but no one seems to care. That's a good thing.

Quote of the Day: "Pass the immodium."