A Chronological Encapsulation of a Taiko Night Out (Saturday, March 12, 2005)
STARRING:
Chaz Curry, Richard Jong, Dan Lim, Dave Mattias, Natalia Yamashiro, Hiroshi, brother Steve, and the Taiko Center of Los Angeles
Students arrive at the Prof’s place fashionably late, “Asian time-style.”
The gang finally meets Natalia. She is of Japanese ancestry and grew up in Argentina! (The guys will eventually meet her boyfriend Hiroshi at Schurr High School.)
Chaz is lost. The guys worry about him because his cell phone dies as the Prof. tries to give him directions. Fortunately, he arrives with plenty of time to spare. Despite the dire condition of his car, the Prof. is forced to drive everyone to the high school for the taiko concert.
While maneuvering through the Schurr parking lot, the Prof. disappointingly perpetuates the “Asian driver” stereotype by driving against the flow of traffic.
The Taiko Center of Los Angeles concert goes well, but some of the guys don’t entirely “get” the collaborations with the dancers from Riverside Community College. However, they do like the energy and skills of the young female drummers in TCLA.
Feeding off the energy of the performance, Dan, Chaz & Dave go camera crazy and take all sorts of ridiculous photos with/of the musicians and their drums! (the Prof., Natalia, and Hiroshi were truly embarrassed by this display of exhibitionism.)
As the gang left Schurr, they looked for a place to eat in the surrounding area. Their first choice, ABC Café, was closed due to a “not enough space to enter the kitchen” violation, so they headed out to Noodle Planet instead.
At Noodle Planet, the dinner conversation ranged from William Hung to Asians living in South America. Out of nowhere, the Prof. made a remark about a defensive white student who once took his class and didn’t much appreciate his use of the term “white” when referring to people of European ancestry. Thereafter, whenever anyone had the inclination to use the term “white person / people” in conversation, they jokingly offered Chaz their apologies in advance.
Dinner ends at midnight. The gang head back to the Prof’s place to pick up their cars. Natalia, Hiroshi, and Chaz leave soon after.
While lounging in the Prof’s living room, Dave, Dan, and ‘the living legend’ have a long discussion about familial dysfunction, Star Wars trilogies, Sri Lanka, letters of rec, Dan’s yin to Dave’s yang, contemporary Japanese architecture, karaoke versions of Lionel Richie songs, and the pros & cons of Kobe (the ball player, not the city).
(Brother Steve walks in and retreats to his room.)
The night officially ended at 3:30 a.m. as Dave yelled at the TV screen when the aforementioned Kobe hit a 0.9 second game-winning shot against the Carolina Bobcats. Dan and the Prof are bewildered at Dave’s expressive display considering that the game is a 9 ½-hour-old rerun.
Chaz Curry, Richard Jong, Dan Lim, Dave Mattias, Natalia Yamashiro, Hiroshi, brother Steve, and the Taiko Center of Los Angeles
Students arrive at the Prof’s place fashionably late, “Asian time-style.”
The gang finally meets Natalia. She is of Japanese ancestry and grew up in Argentina! (The guys will eventually meet her boyfriend Hiroshi at Schurr High School.)
Chaz is lost. The guys worry about him because his cell phone dies as the Prof. tries to give him directions. Fortunately, he arrives with plenty of time to spare. Despite the dire condition of his car, the Prof. is forced to drive everyone to the high school for the taiko concert.
While maneuvering through the Schurr parking lot, the Prof. disappointingly perpetuates the “Asian driver” stereotype by driving against the flow of traffic.
The Taiko Center of Los Angeles concert goes well, but some of the guys don’t entirely “get” the collaborations with the dancers from Riverside Community College. However, they do like the energy and skills of the young female drummers in TCLA.
Feeding off the energy of the performance, Dan, Chaz & Dave go camera crazy and take all sorts of ridiculous photos with/of the musicians and their drums! (the Prof., Natalia, and Hiroshi were truly embarrassed by this display of exhibitionism.)
As the gang left Schurr, they looked for a place to eat in the surrounding area. Their first choice, ABC Café, was closed due to a “not enough space to enter the kitchen” violation, so they headed out to Noodle Planet instead.
At Noodle Planet, the dinner conversation ranged from William Hung to Asians living in South America. Out of nowhere, the Prof. made a remark about a defensive white student who once took his class and didn’t much appreciate his use of the term “white” when referring to people of European ancestry. Thereafter, whenever anyone had the inclination to use the term “white person / people” in conversation, they jokingly offered Chaz their apologies in advance.
Dinner ends at midnight. The gang head back to the Prof’s place to pick up their cars. Natalia, Hiroshi, and Chaz leave soon after.
While lounging in the Prof’s living room, Dave, Dan, and ‘the living legend’ have a long discussion about familial dysfunction, Star Wars trilogies, Sri Lanka, letters of rec, Dan’s yin to Dave’s yang, contemporary Japanese architecture, karaoke versions of Lionel Richie songs, and the pros & cons of Kobe (the ball player, not the city).
(Brother Steve walks in and retreats to his room.)
The night officially ended at 3:30 a.m. as Dave yelled at the TV screen when the aforementioned Kobe hit a 0.9 second game-winning shot against the Carolina Bobcats. Dan and the Prof are bewildered at Dave’s expressive display considering that the game is a 9 ½-hour-old rerun.
posted by blurp2000 at 3:21 PM
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