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Leaving Ikebukuro

Goodbye, Ikebukuro.

In a few days I will be moving away from the only area in Tokyo — hell, make that Japan — that I’ve lived in for my entire stay in this country (close to 15 years).

Ikebukuro.

We first moved here because it was the area where my wife’s university at the time was located. We’ve stayed in Ikebukuro all this time because we found it convenient to be there. Sure, it’s not a popular spot for people to go to (at least for those living in Tokyo), but with one of the biggest stations in the city, lots of shopping options, and relatively decent rental prices compared to other parts of the city, it made sense to stay.

But the urge to go somewhere else has been there for a while.

The latest place we’ve been living in — for the past four years — is an old house, and at the end of December we found out that our contract, which expires in June, would not be renewed.

OK, where to next?

For privacy concerns, I’d rather not say much about where we are moving, but I can tell you that we are incredibly excited, and it’s going to mean a very different lifestyle — for the better.

On Monday, April 1, is PauseTalk Vol. 69, and it will mark my last night in Ikebukuro as a resident.

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This Is Not Jean Snow

This is not Jean Snow. Well, not the one anyone reading this post would think they know.

I was taken by surprise on chat today when someone I know popped up, asking me what he should wear for the recording of the video. Video?

Huh?

It didn’t take long for him to figure out I had no idea what he was talking about, and he then pointed me to this Facebook event page, for the making of a “Harlem Shake” video in Shibuya.

I fucking hate “Harlem Shake.”

If you look at the event page, the creator is a “Jean Snow.” Surely there are other Jean Snows in the world, you say? Yes, of course. But a “Jean Snow” in Tokyo, organizing something that is media-related? And look at that “Jean Snow” profile page — it was created on March 7, the day the event was created, and it has no other info, no friends, nothing.

Some fucker took my name.

I have reported the event to Facebook, and I tried reporting the profile as someone impersonating me, but the Facebook mobile verification keeps failing for me. Some of my friends have reported this profile as someone impersonating me, and if you are my friend on Facebook, I would appreciate you doing the same.

I do not like someone using my name to promote something they are doing without my knowledge, and I especially don’t like it when it’s associated with something that I have no interest in.

This is the Jean Snow who lives in Tokyo.