There is clearly something wrong with me

I am 35 years old. As of a little bit ago, I have moved house for the 26th time during my time on this planet. My memory might be a little shaky at the start, but I'm pretty sure this list is accurate.

Commies to the left of me, Christians to the right

Upon moving to my new neighborhood, I rather flippantly called it a "barren, suburban hellscape". Part of that was probably born out of frustration at being so far from... anything, really. It's a 90-minute commute to campus, with the train station alone at least 15 minutes' walk from the apartment. It's akin to commuting between Grand Island and Lincoln five days a week.

There's also the fact that the most notable buildings in the immediate area are a recycling center, a building supply store, and a wastewater treatment facility. Affordable rent in Tokyo still comes at a cost.

All that said, poking around the neighborhood has produced a few interesting findings. Pictorial evidence of said findings is below the jump.

Teetotal like you mean it

Here's the thing: I don't drink alcohol. I don't make a big deal about it or judge those who do imbibe; it's just never been something that interested me. This makes me an odd duck among expat journalists, of course, as we're expected to drink, smoke, have the occasional illicit drug experience, and cavort with women. I don't care, but it has led to some sideways glances at social gatherings.

In truth, I've been cutting out quite a few beverages from my life. I've been in the new apartment for about a month and haven't had a caffeinated beverage this whole time. Yes, I'm going off caffeine. Yes, again. Don't judge me.

I haven't even had non-caffeinated soda save for two glasses of ginger ale (assuming that counts). Part of it is down to another self-improvement kick. Caffeine is a stimulant, after all, and cutting back wouldn't be a bad idea seeing as heart trouble is not uncommon in my family. Even though the evidence behind the claims that drinking diet soda leads to weight gain is inconclusive at best, I figured eliminating it would be a good idea all the same. There's also the cost savings to consider. I have to make what little savings I have stretch until December 2017, so every bit helps.

So if soda and non-carbonated drinks are out, what's next? Find out below the jump.

The nickel tour, Tokyo edition

A brief tour of my humble abode. It's a bit more spacious than my lodgings for my first four months in Tokyo and the rent is much cheaper, but the trade-off is being way out in the western suburbs and a 90-minute door-to-door commute to campus. Let's just say I probably won't be falling behind on listening to podcasts for a while.

Another day, another drink

Coca-Cola Orange. Surprisingly enough, it doesn't suck. Still a bit too syrupy for my tastes, and I'm not a big fan of drinking one's calories, but it's far from the worst fruit-flavored cola I've ever tasted. (That honor belongs to Pepsi Blue.) 5.5/10, might buy if it's on sale.

The Chocolate That Should Not Be

I know, I know. "Another blog post about food in Japan? Just give up already." Again, I beg your indulgence. I saw something recently that threw me for a loop, and if I don't say something it's going to drive me batty. Plus, my day is almost entirely made up of eating, sleeping, studying, and listening to podcasts, and the latter three don't make for good blog posts.

I'm toleratin' it

I try not to make a habit of eating at American chain restaurants while I'm overseas. It can get expensive, the quality isn't always great, and more often than not there's a local place that is just as good, if not better.

That said, sometimes nothing else will do. This weekend was one of those times. I'd just finished a walk through the Meiji Shrine grounds and was in the mood for something quick and unhealthy. Unbeknownst to me, though, the Burger King and KFC near my closest train stop are undergoing renovations and will be closed for two weeks.

That just left the old standby, McDonald's, a couple blocks away. As it turned out, it was quite the opportune time to grace the Golden Arches.

The land that forgot Diet Coke

I know, I know. If there's one thing more cliche than someone new to Japan talking about small accommodations, it's someone new to Japan talking about the wide variety of food and drink you don't find anywhere else.

Just deal with it. I've been here two weeks already and there's something I need to get off my chest.

One week of remedial Tokyo

It's Saturday, which means the start of a three-day weekend -- Coming of Age Day is Monday -- and the end of TUJ's week-long orientation. It was equal parts an introduction to the university, preparation for the coming semester, and a primer for life in Tokyo. It was a bit of a whirlwind at times, but I'll sum up the highlights as best I can below the jump.

My friendly confines

Unless they have some first-hand experience with the city, mentioning Tokyo to those in the general populace evokes a certain handful of images. Expensive? Sure. Tons of people? You bet. Raw fish, fast trains, and all manner of assorted weirdness? You could say that.

Another topic sure to come up is Tokyo's cramped spaces and the challenges they pose in finding housing. We're not all crammed into capsule hotels, thankfully, but admittedly there is a kernel of truth to this, too. I'm getting my first taste of this as I settle into what will be my home for at least the first few months of my time as a Tokyoite.

On the road again, again

I've noticed something of an ebb and flow during my recent moves. See if you can spot the trend.

They're coming to Tokyo -- Todai!

Combing the wires tonight, I saw that the NCAA baseball tournament is about to get underway. Even in years with no local interest -- like this one -- the tournament gets good coverage back in Nebraska as the College World Series has become a fixture on Omaha's calendar.

I hope people enjoy the CWS. I haven't for some years and probably won't again, due in large part to Mike Fahey earning life-long enmity for reasons detailed here and others elsewhere. Instead, I'd like to highlight another college baseball story -- one that should give a little inspiration to underdogs everywhere.

Oh, Japan

One of the fringe benefits of being an expat is having the ability to observe your home country from the outside, or at least through the prism of a non-native perspective. Being "outside the bubble" can help strip away popular narratives and other cultural assumptions that otherwise would go unquestioned.

Often, this different perspective can be helpful in placing complex issues in a more complete context. At other times, though, it can put one's home country in a more unflattering light. As an American, there are aspects of my country's culture (cherishing freedom of expression, being a driving force of scientific advancement, the marriage of chocolate and peanut butter, etc.) that I quite like being associated with by foreigners, but there are other aspects that create a peculiarly strong gravitational attraction between my forehead and the desk. I can't help but wonder what non-Americans must think of me and my people when stories emerge of, for example, churches giving away free guns, steak dinners and tattoos as an enticement to come hear about Jesus' love.

That brings to mind another question -- what makes expats from other countries cringe when their homeland hits the international news? For many Australians whom I've known and befriended, it can be largely summed up in two words: "Tony" and "Abbott". Malaysian expats must be loving all the attention their country has received in recent days. Even our sensible, well-adjusted friends up in Canada have their own domestic embarrassments for which to answer.

Then there's Japan.

Who says there are no happy endings?

Sports will break your heart. That's what it does. For all the inspiring underdogs and feel-good stories it produces, only a vanishingly small number actually complete the journey and win the Big Game/Trophy/Tournament. That's not to say there is no value in sports other than winning, of course -- there's camaraderie, physical fitness, handling adversity, learning teamwork, winning and losing with equal grace, just plain having fun, etc. That said, no one watches "Hoosiers" to see Hickory High give a good accounting of themselves before making way for bigger schools with more realistic chances of a state championship. We want to see the underdog finish the job and revel in Eternal Glory.

Sunday brought one such story. The Rakuten Eagles beat the big, bad Yomiuri Giants (Japan's answer to the New York Yankees) to win the Japan Series in seven games and claim their first league title. This is great news for a few reasons: 1) The Eagles play at Kleenex Stadium. Seriously. 2) Ace pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, likely the next big Japanese prospect to make the move to Major League Baseball, won an unearthly 30 straight starts this season with a 1.08 ERA before losing in Game 6 of the Japan Series. In a nice touch, Eagles manager Senichi Hoshino brought Tanaka back to close out Game 7, giving the pitcher a chance to end his time with the club with a good performance as well as a championship.

The main reason to celebrate Rakuten's title, though, is that it's a welcome bit of good news for a region that is still recovering from the tsunami/earthquake/nuclear meltdown on March 11, 2011. Clean-up efforts by the company largely responsible for the mess are hardly worthy of the name and Corporate Japan seems determined to maintain the status quo regardless of the reality outside their gleaming offices, so every little lift helps.

The Eagles are the only professional baseball team located in the Tohoku region that was devastated by the March 11, 2011, disaster. The team's home stadium was severely damaged by the earthquake.

More than two years after the disaster that killed nearly 19,000 people, the region is still struggling and progress in recovery efforts is slow. More than 280,000 people remain living in temporary housing. Leaks of radioactive contaminated water at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant have been keeping people on edge. Sendai is only 36 miles from Fukushima.

''This is a great present for the people of the Tohoku region,'' Rakuten manager Senichi Hoshino said. ''I hope this victory will be an inspiration to the evacuees. There will be many tough days ahead but tonight I hope we can all enjoy this win.''

Yes, it's just sports. No, the Eagles winning won't fix the mess left by Tepco and the Japanese government or get the people of Tohoku back in their homes. But dammit, these people have been all but forgotten by a government more concerned with protecting their friends in the nuclear power industry than the people who helped vote them into power in the first place. If a nearby Sporting Club wins a championship and provides them a bit of respite in the process, who are we to complain?

Currying favor

You don`t need me to tell you Tokyo is an expensive place. If I do come to live here, keeping down costs will be imperative, and one kind of spending that will bear minding is my curry habit.

I am nothing if not a curry fiend. Any excuse to have curry is a good one, so while wandering around Minato after the Temple info session last night, it only made sense I would stop at a place calling itself an Indian curry restaurant and cafe. Eating at GaNapati was almost a zen-like experience ... in that the main fare tasted like nothing.

I ordered a vegetable curry with a medium level of spice and a serving of butter rice. After initially sampling each and then mixing the two, I still failed to find any discernable flavor. Visually I could tell I was eating curry, but if you had blindfolded me and then put what I ate in front of me, I might as well have been eating porridge. The two gentlemen of South Asian persuasion in the kitchen were very nice, but going back to GaNapati is not high on my Tokyo to-do list. The bowl of curry rice I got at Tokyo Dome was more enjoyable and about half the price.

Otherwise, the TUJ info session did little to move me from my stance that this is the place to go -- provided I can sort out the whole financial issue. The professors I spoke to and e-mailed with were great, the staff I met yesterday were very helpful and the whole TUJ community seems fairly tight despite having the students spread throughout Tokyo and the main campus taking up six floors of an office tower. Now I just have to convince Uncle Sugar to lend me some money to finance this new adventure.

Back in the Big Durian, it looks like little has changed. The government still cannot get its act together, even when it has the right idea, and now FIFA has joined the Indonesian Football Association (or PSSI, its acronym in Indonesian) in kicking the ongoing problems further down the road. If the warring factions in Indonesian football are still at odds after almost two years, what makes FIFA think another three months will make a difference? Also, what could the PSSI possibly have shown FIFA to convince it that there was progress to be made? From what I have seen and heard, fans in Indonesia are coming around to my initial position that nothing is going to meaningfully change until FIFA brings the hammer down on the PSSI and bans the country from international play. Only then will the money men behind this whole fiasco be forced to own up to their bad behavior and work in the best interests of the game rather than their pockets.

That was all expected, though. What bugs me most is that I was out of town and unable to give my friend, whom I recruited to Globe Towers, a proper send-off. She deserved better treatment than what she received from the higher-ups, but they have clearly shown where their primary concern lies and it sure as hell is not with the people.

Repeat engagement

I am back in Tokyo, taking a break from the Big Durian (which apparently has not burned down just yet). I try to avoid repeat visits when going overseas, but this trip is as much business as pleasure. The weather is cool, breezy and overcast -- in other words, tailor-made for me.

After sleeping for 12 hours to shake off the jet lag, yesterday was spent talking to professors at the local campus of Temple University. That only took until 3 p.m., though, so I had the evening free. My plans were few and the folks I wanted to meet were busy, so I tried to weasel my way into the Yomiuri Giants season-opener against the Yakult Swallows. The Tokyo Dome was pretty packed, but for 1,000 yen I got a standing-room only ticket.

I had to peer around a pillar at times, but I was able to watch a gem of a pitching performance. Masanori Ishikawa was dealing all night for the Swallows, throwing 8 1/3 innings of hitless ball and allowing just one guy to reach first on an error. Two one-out singles in the bottom of the ninth chased Ishikawa and spoiled his no-hitter, but someone named Tony Barnette came out of the pen to finish the job.

Like my previous NPB outings (Seibu Lions vs. Rakuten Golden Eagles, Hiroshima Carp vs. Chunichi Dragons), I had no rooting interest between the teams. Instead, I took to pulling for the gaijin on the field. There were a couple Americans in the starting lineup, one I had heard of (Lastings Milledge) and one I had not (John Bowker). Milledge did little of note at the plate while hitting third for the Swallows, while Bowker got the second of the home team`s two hits in the ninth.

This evening will also be free-form after the info session at TUJ. Yokohama F Marinos are playing Kashima Antlers just south of Tokyo, so I could rush down there after the meeting provided I can get to the shinkansen in time. I also have a bit of shopping to do, but that can wait. Most importantly, though, I have to restock my supply of these beauties:

500 milliliters of Coke Zero for just 100 yen -- basically two cans for the price of one. How great is that?