#I also got very very tough Army jungle combat boots | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

63824peace · 4 years

Text

Thursday, 17th of november 2005

I see a lot of news and gossip articles about the Hills these days. A lot of Information Technology venture corporations occupy the Hills, such as Livedoor, Rakuten, and Cybird.

Younger celebrity entrepreneurs and businessmen began calling this place "the Hills" after they brought all the success to this area. If I remember correctly, though, there was some disagreement a couple of years ago when they completed and opened Roppongi Hills. The faction headed by the Mori Building had pushed the name Roppon-jin.

Roppon-jin isn't particularly cool, but I'm not excited about "the Hills" either.

Anyhow, I don't like the impression of the Hills given by the mass media. They say: "Everyone drives a luxury imported car! They live in high-class apartments! They wear hot, brand-name accessories! They stuff themselves at top notch restaurants!"

The press's excessive competition for more sensational stories resulted in a misconceived stereotype about the Hills. KojiPro's offices sit in the middle of Roppongi Hills. We look like the stereotype too if you go by the gossip's claims.

HIDEOBLOG readers understand that we don't fit the mold of the "celebrity entrepreneurs of the Hills." We're more like Nippon's salary-men. We catch the train during morning rush hour; we love eating from a fast food menu; and we kick back with a drink after a hard day's work.

I don't like the name "Information Technology industries." Whenever people hear the name they think, "Oh, they don't really do anything," or "They never create any new information."

Innovative pioneers flourished during the twentieth century, and I understand that their time has passed in the twenty-first century. Still, I want to create for a living. That's why I deliberately call our industry the "Entertainment Technology industry."

I'm not a Hills celebrity. I'm a workingman at the Hills, along with my HIDEOBLOG. I suppose that my dreams bear similarities with notorious, celebrity aspirations though.

I went to the restaurant Umaya in Nishi Azabu for the first time in a long while. I had the chef's daily special, Shabu-shabu.

I don't like raw eggs very much, but I took one anyway so I could record it in HIDEOBLOG. I've never eaten one of Umaya's free sample raw eggs before. This sort of thing has happened more frequently since I started HIDEOBLOG. Thanks to HIDEOBLOG, I've been able to enjoy foods that I never enjoyed before.

I borrowed Miyuki Nakajima's album Tensei and listened to it. As usual, it rocks!

I like the eighth track, Inochi-no-relay. Its lyrics coincide perfectly with the MGS saga's theme: "What should we pass on to future generations?"

We have finally settled on the location for December's ultimate OOOO Training. I'm glad that we found a place in time. We had initially planned to hold it at Nasu's Training Institute. Wild monkeys and bears roam the area in December though, so they wouldn't let us. There would have been too much snow this time of year anyway.

Toyopy and Colonel had looked for good location, but they couldn't find anything. They made slow progress. I'm really glad that we found our place, even moreso because it's 150,000 square meters large. That's three times the size of an 18-hole golf course.

It sounds awesome. I'm looking forward to training. I'll need to take care and not get lost though, since the site is so large.

Shin-chan and Toyopy just returned with their newly purchased equipment. They went to the ever-helpful Phantom Higashi Kurume Shop. They looked pretty proud of themselves; they had gotten some rare, hard-to-find shirts.

Toyopy's explanation was too technical for me to follow, so I can't describe it here. I'll let Toyopy explain it directly:

1: Multicam Combat Shirt.

I just bought what I could find this time, since the exact size that I ordered hasn't arrived yet. Crye Associates collaborated with the U.S. Army to develop this shirt. It has what we call a Multicam Combat Camouflage Pattern.

It isn't officially used by any army, but it's still really popular. It's an all-in-one camouflage pattern designed to work in desert, jungle, and urban environments. The pattern is pretty complex, and it uses a lot of colors. They engineered the pattern specifically for its multifunction use, so you won't find many designs like it among common fatigues.

The sleeves and the collar bear similarities to normal fatigues, but they made the torso from state-of-the-art fibers that quickly absorb and dry sweat. (It has this feature in case we wear body armor over the Multicam Combat Shirt.) The elbows are well-padded too.

2: Oakley Factory Pilot Gloves.

Even Mr. Zakiyama down at the Phantom recommended these. Oakley makes sunglasses and outdoor supplies, and these are a pair of their motorcycle gloves. They're made out of carbon and Kevlar.

These have become really hot among military equipment enthusiasts, ever since everyone saw footage of special-ops units wearing them. Lots of soldiers these days use high-quality outdoor and sports supplies sold directly to the public.

3: Converse Stealth Assault Boots.

Converse developed these assault boots. The company is most famous for their line of basketball shoes.

These boots use a side-zipper. They're perfect for me, really, since I love boots even though I hate to lace them. The ankle and toe segments are quite soft, so they feel more like a pair of sneakers rather than boots.

U.S. East coast military surplus shops frequented by Navy SEALS carry them.

So that's the word from Toyopy.

I liked the Converse Assault Boots too, so I ordered a black pair. I'll wear them with the camouflage pants I got at Estnation.

The writer Mr. Gakuto Mikumo came to my office in the early evening. We ate supper together in Nishi Azabu at the restaurant Sabakuro. Mr. Ryogo Narita (a light novelist and one of Mr. Mikumo's gaming buddies) also joined us. We shared three delightful hours.

About five years ago I read the book M. G. H. Rakuen-no-kyozo. It had won the first Japanese Sci-Fi Rookie of the Year Award.

The story opens with the discovery of a smashed up corpse inside a zero-gravity space station. Why is a crushed corpse in a zero-gravity environment? How was the crime committed? Where is the murderer?

It's a sci-fi mystery thriller set inside a closed space station in the near future. The novel was the perfect marriage of Isaac Asimov's novel The Caves of Steel and James Patrick Hogan's novel Inherit the Stars.

The novel interested me, and I got excited. I became curious about Mr. Mikumo.

That was my first experience reading one of his novels. I read Kaitei-misshitu right away after that, followed by a novel adaptation of The Rumblefish.

I have a habit (well, a selfishness, really) of wanting to meet writers whose work I admire. So I used a connection to set up several interviews and dinner meetings, but plans always fell through because of tough schedules. I invited him to contribute an article for a booklet included with the limited edition of Anubis, and even then I didn't have a chance to meet him personally.

After five years, I finally met Mr. Mikumo in person and had a chance to talk with him. He really is a good person. No one who dreams of outer space is bad.

I felt the alcohol hitting me a bit, so I decided to head over to my little hideout in Nishi Azabu. I met up with Okamura and Kenichiro without heading back to the office.

My hideout's usual bartender speaks the Kansai dialect. I had wanted to listen to his speech and ease my thoughts a bit. Unfortunately, he had to tend bar in an affiliated pub tonight, so I couldn't see him.

Stores opened their doors to Beaujolais Nouveau today.

I heard that only the Japanese become so excited over a release party for wine. I wanted to drink some of the wine before the day ended.

Tomorrow the wine will flow in the Beaujolais Nouveau's home country, France. I should have bought some when I ran across it at noon.

According to the news, Japan has imported the largest amount of wine this year than at any other time in history.

I had missed out on the Beaujolais, so I drank a couple of sidecars to make up for it.

0 notes