Where is Derek?

Hey yall, I’ve been real busy this weekend. Hanging with my boy Jon and his cousin Jo, Checking out Julia’s cheerleading competition. Sending Jo off by partying it up on Friday, my party on Saturday and dinner with my family on Sunday. When I have more time I will put up a photobucket slideshow for you guys to see. Right now I am still in denial that I am going. I must admit I have mixed emotions about everything, excited, nervous, sad and happy. Everything is coming at me all at once and with the support of my family and friends. Remember yall, tommorrow is my first day in Japan. Video, video, video! Watch me getting lost in the train system. Watch me try to speak English to the native Japanese. Watch me wander the streets of Tokyo. I am leaving biatchezzz! Yeah, tomorrow’s blog will definitely be packed with stuff so check it out. Later, D.

Sitting here, freezing my as off, on my last Saturday in NYC, my brother Darren has been a lot of help to me. I don’t know actually when, my brother and I drifted apart, I must admit, I wasn’t the best big brother in the world but today, I finally realized he’s not a kid anymore. Instead of meeting my agent at Shibuya and going to my apartment, I have to stay one night in Tokyo, so my brother, Darren found me this decent hotel near all the action, called Hotel Tateshina in Shinjuku. The funny thing is that I have to lug my dayum bags with me through the streets of Tokyo, looking like the biggest effing tourist in the neighborhood. Dayum, you know how I don’t like that. But I will change the way I think and see it as a rite of passage. I am laughing right now because I can imagine the look on the Japanese people’s faces when they see another gaijin entering their country, but for those who know me, I’ll be smiling all the way to the hotel.

Today, I am eating, talking and listening to my father and brother. I can’t believe over 5 month ago, it was 4 years that went by before I started to talk to them again. I am thankful that God humbled me and showed me the errors of my ways. I have always been the black sheep of the family but as I prepare for my trip, my family, though filled with its faults, has pulled together and made me feel good about going. All the advice and the concerns that flood my ears, is a pain in the ass but will be missed when I am gone. I know this is all because I am going away for a while and if I didn’t go, things would be the same but I realize that I AM going and things are changing. I am opinionated, head strong and individualistic and I am going to the corporate world filled with conformity, rules and responsiblities. I need this. I believe Japan will bring balance to my chaotic life. But enough of this serious talk, Japan awaits.