the loblolly pine is my favorite tree

you know the hotel bar they used in the movie "lost in translation"? that little jazz bar? i drank there. a friend of mine, joe mama, is leaving, so crusty mcfuckstain and i took him there for a goodbye cocktail. getting there was like indiana jones and the temple of booze. we had to solve some riddles, fight some pygmies, i had to use my bad ass animal tracking skills, we had to swing on vines across chasms when the rope bridge broke, etc etc, but we made it, and it was worth it, totaly.

we know where it is, it's on the 52nd floor of the park hyatt in shinjuku, and we knew what building the hotel is in (the hotel is in a huge ass office building), but once inside the building, we had to ascend to the bar, which proved a bit daunting. after a series of escalator rides that lead nowhere, we got on the trail, and had to walk a circuitous path, through a small boutique deli/bakery, through various lobbies, through some extremely cool and wierd library, or a room that looked like a library, it was like like the map room in lara croft's mansion, take two different elevators, and finally, we were there. it was spectacular.

the elevator doors opened and i swear i heard that "ah ahhh" angels sing on tv when someone opens up a treasure chest or gets a good idea. we were greeted by over freindly ass kissing staff, and, since we were there before 8 p.m. we didn't have to pay the $20 per person cover charge (bonus!). we rat pack-ed it, martinis and manhattens, (we each only had one, all drinks cost 17 dollors) listend to piped in jazz, took pictures sitting at the table and of the drinks (artistically crafted and swank as swank can be) , looked at the commanding view, etc etc. it was a real moment. and that was the thing....it was a moment.

the business guy (round eye gaijin) a few tables over eating and drinking, he most likely barely took notice of his surroundings, it was another hotel restaurant/bar for him. he was on an expense account, or he was used to the prices, but he probably didn't think anything of a $17 dollar drink, or a jazz bar on the 52nd floor. he was most likely used to that level of lifestyle, and it had become common place, everyday.

when you get a mcludicrous burger and super size fries at mcdonald's, it's not a noteworthy event, you are just getting a burger. you don't notice the tile floors, the smell of the cooking oil, piped in crappy music, whatever. and why should you? it's a common event. that is what this place is to some people, a common event. so "success" has it's price, you get so used to a certain quality that you no longer take pleasure in it, or appreciate it, it becomes routine, it loses it's "holy crap look at us!" feeling. i'm sure a daily diet of that tends to warp the sense of self being and worth and causes some to lose touch with the hard cold reality.

or maybe they do take pleasure in it, and it is not routine. maybe they enjoy it and appreiciate it as much as regular people do. i mean, really, swanky or not, it *is* just a bar on the 52nd floor.