Notes to Myself

Hair Stat

Chapatsu (according to my dictionary) means hair dyed brown. Every shade of brown is used and of course reds and even blondes. Besides the natural black colour, personally I quite like brown/red hair on Japanese people. You probably know how popular this is in Japan, but let me tell you a little stat - in one of my classes the other day, out of the 20 or so students, I counted only two with black hair. This sort of stat differs depending on the strictness of the school and you will notice that students in the final and third year of high school tend to suddenly revert back to black hair when they apply for university places.

This Way That Way

This is one of those things that really drives me mad. You are walking along. Someone is walking towards you. You both have some kind of clashing or identical personalities at that moment in time and both move out of each other's way but end up moving in the same direction. Then this happens in the opposite direction. Then back the same way. You feel stupid.

But, for once it wasn't me this happened to. I actually witnessed it happen between two people in front of me. I was still frustrated by the situation and even felt embarressed for them. What a sucker!

Size Difference

Yesterday I bought a Nike T-shirt in Medium size! No more hunting down XS!
Ah, I love this country!

Street Hawkers

My last note triggered another memory. A lady, aged about 40-50 or so was happily cycling along. She seemed gentle enough, a kind of motherly type, with her back basket holding a bunch of flowers. To my horror I heard a hawking noise before a gobby piece of phlegm hit the floor!

Spitting seems far less of a no-no here in front of people than back home where it's more of a young-person trend. I see business men here do it all the time. I am not saying I never spit - sometimes I do. But normally I would only do it if I have a cold, am close to choking and no one is around...

First Indications

I haven't been so surprised in a long time. Cycling along, I kept my distance from the obaasan cyclist in front. As she approached a turn... she indicated with her hand. Well I never - that's the first time I've seen a cyclist indicate in my 11 months in Japan.

Unrinal No No

It was at the station. I hate to use the facilities there if at all possible, but if you've got go, you've got to go. This reminds me of the tokyo toilet website detailing the cleanliness of station toilets throughtout tokyo. My friends and I laughed so hard at this website during our uni-days. You'd better learn the ways of the squat before you try it out.

Anyway, I got sidetracked. At the station toilets... Now, this is a first. The guy next to me along the 'urinal isle' was doing his thing... but... while using his keitai or mobile phone. I know that keitais are used everywhere these days, but that my friend, is just going one step too far. And please wash your hands before you leave!

Credit Due

Though these students were probably intentionally trying to be funny, I have to say that they were amusing. So, credit where credit's due... their work will live on here for a while. These are extracts from some mini-speeches about future dreams:

...I did not dream I would meet you today. I have no dreams and want to be utterly careless in life...

...I like cats. I want to go to China to eat cats. I want to feed on big cat. Long live the cat.

Forums Return

After much trouble and strife the forums have been repaired. Well, there may be some problems lingering so please tell me if you have any difficulties.

The forums aren't used much, but please drop by. Even though registration is a simple process there is a forum for non-members or guests to post in. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you ;)

[Note: the forums section may no longer be available]

Asleep Standing

Yes, I've tried it! A packed train, a long day and with only room to stand it was time to test my abilities. Just in case I did manage to fall asleep I locked my hands on the ring I was hanging onto so that if I fell I wouldn't hit the floor. Hmm, good thinking... Incredibly, though I thought I was awake, I was asleep. I wouldn't have realised this had I not suddenly felt my legs give way. i can tell you I woke with quite a shock, just in time for a recovery. The thing is that this cycle repeated about 4 or 5 times - it was a bit tortuous. I must have strained that poor ring ;)

Familiar Feeling

Today I had a familiar feeling. What was it? I was shifting uncomfortably in my seat and feeling irritated. It was... humidity! Today marks the first day of the year for real humidity and a mixture of 25 plus temperatures. In fact, this evening is so hot and uncomfortable that I am using my air conditioner for the first time of the year. I am not looking forward to summer at all. I wonder what the rainy season will feel like, but I should find out soon.

Hardcore Gamers

I stumbled on numerous hardcore gaming centres the other day in Tokyo. Filled mostly with young men with some serious gaming ablilities I was impressed to say the least.

Actually, I've been to a couple of them before, including Club Sega in Akihabara. I stopped by Akihabara to browse some electronics (have you seen the CyberShot P10?!) and popped into Club Sega. By far the most popular game these days is Guilty Gear XX: Reload. Damn, that game is so beautiful, but it's hard to see what's going on with so many projectiles and characters flying about. I wish someone would teach me how to play. But there are still also two Street Fighter III: Third Strike machines - for those of you who are interested.

Anyway, I didn't put a coin anywhere near a slot. Actually, the first time I went to Club Sega I didn't get totally destroyed thanks to the plentiful number of rounds given - in some game centres you get more than the usual best of 3 rounds - bargain! But the other day was only my second time to go to Akihabara. So, next it was on to Shinjuku...

Kumo Return

Ick. It is that time of the year - some time during the weekend hundreds of spiders appeared and covered all of the hedges on the way to school with wooly undefined webs.

I remember some absolutely huge spiders last year. These ones look medium size. So far.

Safe PC

As I sat in a cafe with my laptop open in front of me I felt a little afraid. It's expensive after all. Apart from feeling a bit too flashy - though I shouldn't as its not so unusual these days is it? - I started thinking about being back in London.

Back at home I'd be nervous even carrying a laptop around; I would never ever think of showing it in public. Perhaps it's just my perception of being safer here, perhaps not. Do you feel safe with your laptop in public where you come from or where you live? Anyway, just a thought.

Books in Mind

Not yet even understanding the basics of simple Japanese text I thought it would be a good idea to check out the childrens' section of a book shop. With good intentions for learning a little Japanese I stood next to young children and mothers, browsing some of the books.

The Three Robbers	The Hungry Caterpillar
Where the Wild Things Are	Max Model!

To my delight and surprise I found some books which truly stirred memories and emotions from deep inside my tired little brain. These books were some of my favourites as a child and I can't describe the feeling it gave me to see some of the pictures inside them - I felt like I recognised them but almost on a subconcious level. Bizarre.

Anyway, do you know these books? Did you read them? If not I thoroughly recommend them if you have kids - or if you don't!

Apologies Readers

Oh, at last I am able to post entries again - it has been a while hasn't it? I am grateful to my host for fixing these problems for me and hope that everything will be running as smooth as silk soon.

The forums still appear to be non-functional, but I will ask what the problem seems to be. Store up all your thoughts until they return!

"Dear readers - I am sorry about the non-functionality of late. My hosting providers migrated to the site to another server and made a number of changes. Unfortunately this has led to a number of major problems disabling all scripting. Please be patient while I work on this problem. Thank you for visiting."