oaa group photo

today i walked in the nisei week parade. it's the first time i'm not a spectator but an actual participant. i walked with the okinawa association of america, of course. yes, i wore a happi coat like them. no, i didn't take pictures of myself! (i fucking hate happi coats! i hate the way they look, i hate the name, and it does not make me 'happy'.) ok, i took one picture in the restroom(!) of the japanese american museum but i'm not showing that one 'cos you can totally tell i'm standing in a public restroom. i guess it's the kind of thing everyone should do once, turn the tables that is, not take pictures in restrooms. if you're a spectator, be a participant and vice versa. although being a participant was kinda boring because i just walked around holding a flag, not doing much else. i was more curious to see what the other groups were doing. twiddle thumbs and her mom were there. after i waved to them, i didn't expect to see anyone else i knew so i just kept looking straight ahead. the person in front of me seemed to know a lot of people as i kept hearing his name being shouted from the sidewalks. i just keep walking. then suddenly this person runs up from behind me, taps my shoulder, and says hello. damn, it is someone i know! it's my mom's friend from boston that i just met when we were there. i turn around to look from where she came and her partner was there too. wow. maybe other people i was walking with was surprised i knew someone too. hahahahaa

my view of the parade

i was pretty irritated participating in the parade. there were some things that were pissing me off. maybe i shouldn't voice my criticisms but...i hate waiting around. we just hung out there forever doing nothing, waiting for our turn in the parade. it's a good thing i knew i'd be wasting time, which i hate, so i brought along a book. i didn't think i needed to be there so early but i complied. i didn't need to get into any costume other than put on a coat. i didn't need to rehearse anything. at the last minute, they wanted to sing a song and teach it to all of us. then they scrapped that idea. please people, be organized ahead of time, not this half-assed last minute shit. also, i feel like every group that participates in this parade shows a piece of themselves that they are famous for. what is okinawan famous for? what do japanese think of when they think of okinawa? well whatever you came up with, that is not what we did for the parade. that's why i felt disappointed. i think the group has done okinawan things before but this year it was not so. they did 2 dances and that's it. they were pretty bland dances. sure they were dressed okinawan style but the music did not sound okinawan. it'd be nice if a couple people had some drums and sanshin to march along next to them. or better yet, i think a whole group doing a nice eisa would make quite an impression! nice meaning that they were dressed for it, well rehearsed, and had the proper drums. just like in okinawa.

front of nebuta float

as we were walking, i became irritated with a group in front of us. it was one of those princess court floats. it had broken down near the end of the parade. instead of getting off the float and continuing on foot (the show must go on), they just stood around waiting to be rescued (damsel in distress). bloody hell, you're so close to the end! can you not walk in those heels? just do it! the parade was special this year because a float came from japan. i was so eager to see this and knew we'd miss if it i stuck around with the group from start to finish. so once our segment had finished with the parade, i helped to pack up what i could and once i could tell i was no longer needed, that everyone was standing around and making small talk, i left. there's no point in loitering. i realized that the float i wanted to see had just started down the parade route. i ran over there but there was such a crowd gathered. it was a float from aomori for the nebuta festival. they're lit up, very colorful. they made this one just for us, for the los angeles parade. i didn't get good shots of it, too blurry.

back of nebuta float

i met up with twiddle thumbs and her mom and since it was the end of the parade and we were at the beginning of the route, we decided to rush over to a restaurant we like before they get crowded when the parade finally ends. it was already quite a line at the restaurant but we were seated right away. it got much more crowded after we were seated. this restaurant is on the street the parade ends on. we were waiting for our food and i kept a lookout for the float to come by so i could take proper pictures of it. i went outside and waited. i took some photos and video clips. then i went back in the restaurant and ate. a nice way to end the day. i was so hungry too. i ate the whole plate and i usually only eat half of it and save the rest for later. sitting there, eating japanese food in a japanese restaurant, while the parade went by in the windows facing the street, i really felt like i was in japan for a brief moment.