Monday, December 27, 2004
Despair
Yes, clearly I have nothing better to do today than surf the net and post on my blog.
www.despair.com is a delightful place for the corporately opressed, like myself, to chuckle and snigger. Then realise how much the site reflects our work life, and feel desperately empty inside.
www.despair.com is a delightful place for the corporately opressed, like myself, to chuckle and snigger. Then realise how much the site reflects our work life, and feel desperately empty inside.
Surf's Up
I find it slightly, and perhaps darkly, amusing that on the same day that the world is reporting on the devastating tsunamis that swept through S.E. Asia, The Australian is running a feature on the nation's top ten surf beaches.
Ate, Drank, Was Merry
There is something decidedly un-festive about working the 24th, 27th and 28th of December. Christmas loses a lot of its holiday appeal and becomes a mere weekend. That said, I did try to make the most of it.
Christmas Eve in Japan is not a family event. Instead, to futher capitalize on the commercial nature of the season, somewhere along the line, the 24th of December was deemed a night to traditionally go out with someone of the opposite sex to pour money into the hospitality industry.
Being that my girlfriend lives about 7000 kilometres away, there existed a significant challenge in taking her out for a meal. Most of my friends were either working or spending the evening with their significant others, and I knew a few people who would be spending the night at home, alone. Suffice to say, this is a crowd I did not want to be associated with. I did what any sensible person would - I located my nearest single female friend (Aki) and told her we were going out to dinner.
After a couple of phone calls (it is a little difficult to get a booking on the 24th) I managed to wrangle a table at the Sirius Sky Lounge - which resides on the 70th floor of Japan's tallest building, Yokohama Landmark Tower (nearly 300 metres up). All the window-side tables were long since booked, but at least they had some live Jazz.
I am going to stand by my restaurant choice as a wise one, because the food was absolutely delicious. I am also eternally amused by just how polite (normally polite) Japanese people become, when they work as staff at a 5-star restaurant. It's almost comical. The gal jazzing away on the piano did a pretty good job of it too. More and more I am wishing I had room for a keyboard so that I could get back into it. Hopefully next time I move I will be able to get a little more space.
After eating some of the best chocolate cake I have ever had (seriously, this stuff was awesome), we hung around for a bit and looked out the window. Generally when you see pictures of Yokohama, you see three things, the big ferris wheel, the three Queens Towers buildings, and Landmark Tower. Standing at the top of the skyline looking down is an interesting experience. The ferris wheel looks tiny from 300 metres up. Nothing else really comes close in size to Landmark Tower. I guess the name is kind of fitting, huh. While the view was, well, about as good as you can get in Japan without boarding some kind of aircraft - I would be decidedly uncomfortable to be sitting 70 storeys up during an earthquake.
Stepping back out into the cold night air at ground level was a bit of a shock, helped by the fact that the entire area was completely crowded. I went out with Natsuyo for Xmas Eve in the same area three years back, but I don't remember the crowds being the same. Wall to wall people, only without any walls. Everywhere was just full of people, with lines trailing out of every doorway. This was decidedly unwelcome as we wanted to grab a drink or hit up a movie. In the end we headed back to my flat to watch Kill Bill 2 and try to put a dent in my alcohol supplies. We succeeded in the first part, anyway.
I awoke Christmas Day without it feeling anything like any other day. Which is a shame, I guess. I opened my presents - a Santa hat and a set of candy shot glasses from Katrina and a calendar from my father - and went back to bed. I eventually got up and bummed for a while, watched a movie and made the obligatory phone calls to family before getting ready to head back out.
I had arranged to have a Christmas dinner at Sonoma in Shibuya with Anne, Belinda and Simone (Belinda's sister, who had arrived the night before). While I don't think I have ever actually had a 'traditional' turkey and mashed potatoes Christmas Dinner before (anyone else who grew up with vegetarian parents could empathise here) I was damn well going to do it now. The food, as usual was exceptional, and Simone finding a hair in her soup gave Anne the opportunity to complain to the management (which brought her unbelievable glee) and blessed the rest of us with a free bottle of Californian chardonnay. All in all, it was a great meal.
Afterwards, despite Anne's longing to go into Roppongi, we (well, really I) convinced her that as we were already in Shibuya, with plentiful bars and entertainment options, we might as well stay. So we took Simone out for her first karaoke experience. Two hours and I'm not quite sure how many drinks later, we caught our respective trains home. I slept really well that night.
Sunday was pretty uneventful, I played around on the Internet, watched some Indiana Jones (Last Crusade) and set about packing my suitcase.
48 hours and I will be back on the Gold Coast.
Can't bloody wait!
Christmas Eve in Japan is not a family event. Instead, to futher capitalize on the commercial nature of the season, somewhere along the line, the 24th of December was deemed a night to traditionally go out with someone of the opposite sex to pour money into the hospitality industry.
Being that my girlfriend lives about 7000 kilometres away, there existed a significant challenge in taking her out for a meal. Most of my friends were either working or spending the evening with their significant others, and I knew a few people who would be spending the night at home, alone. Suffice to say, this is a crowd I did not want to be associated with. I did what any sensible person would - I located my nearest single female friend (Aki) and told her we were going out to dinner.
After a couple of phone calls (it is a little difficult to get a booking on the 24th) I managed to wrangle a table at the Sirius Sky Lounge - which resides on the 70th floor of Japan's tallest building, Yokohama Landmark Tower (nearly 300 metres up). All the window-side tables were long since booked, but at least they had some live Jazz.
I am going to stand by my restaurant choice as a wise one, because the food was absolutely delicious. I am also eternally amused by just how polite (normally polite) Japanese people become, when they work as staff at a 5-star restaurant. It's almost comical. The gal jazzing away on the piano did a pretty good job of it too. More and more I am wishing I had room for a keyboard so that I could get back into it. Hopefully next time I move I will be able to get a little more space.
After eating some of the best chocolate cake I have ever had (seriously, this stuff was awesome), we hung around for a bit and looked out the window. Generally when you see pictures of Yokohama, you see three things, the big ferris wheel, the three Queens Towers buildings, and Landmark Tower. Standing at the top of the skyline looking down is an interesting experience. The ferris wheel looks tiny from 300 metres up. Nothing else really comes close in size to Landmark Tower. I guess the name is kind of fitting, huh. While the view was, well, about as good as you can get in Japan without boarding some kind of aircraft - I would be decidedly uncomfortable to be sitting 70 storeys up during an earthquake.
Stepping back out into the cold night air at ground level was a bit of a shock, helped by the fact that the entire area was completely crowded. I went out with Natsuyo for Xmas Eve in the same area three years back, but I don't remember the crowds being the same. Wall to wall people, only without any walls. Everywhere was just full of people, with lines trailing out of every doorway. This was decidedly unwelcome as we wanted to grab a drink or hit up a movie. In the end we headed back to my flat to watch Kill Bill 2 and try to put a dent in my alcohol supplies. We succeeded in the first part, anyway.
I awoke Christmas Day without it feeling anything like any other day. Which is a shame, I guess. I opened my presents - a Santa hat and a set of candy shot glasses from Katrina and a calendar from my father - and went back to bed. I eventually got up and bummed for a while, watched a movie and made the obligatory phone calls to family before getting ready to head back out.
I had arranged to have a Christmas dinner at Sonoma in Shibuya with Anne, Belinda and Simone (Belinda's sister, who had arrived the night before). While I don't think I have ever actually had a 'traditional' turkey and mashed potatoes Christmas Dinner before (anyone else who grew up with vegetarian parents could empathise here) I was damn well going to do it now. The food, as usual was exceptional, and Simone finding a hair in her soup gave Anne the opportunity to complain to the management (which brought her unbelievable glee) and blessed the rest of us with a free bottle of Californian chardonnay. All in all, it was a great meal.
Afterwards, despite Anne's longing to go into Roppongi, we (well, really I) convinced her that as we were already in Shibuya, with plentiful bars and entertainment options, we might as well stay. So we took Simone out for her first karaoke experience. Two hours and I'm not quite sure how many drinks later, we caught our respective trains home. I slept really well that night.
Sunday was pretty uneventful, I played around on the Internet, watched some Indiana Jones (Last Crusade) and set about packing my suitcase.
48 hours and I will be back on the Gold Coast.
Can't bloody wait!
Sunday, December 26, 2004
... I don't belong here...
I came across this utterly brilliant animated film-clip to Radiohead's 'Creep' (acoutsic version). Thought I would share the love.
Click here for the goodness.
Click here for the goodness.
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Happy Non-Denominational Holiday Season!
Before I launch into this rant, read the title, and feel all warm and fuzzy for a second. Pretend that I care deeply about that message and be moved.
On the flipside, I would like to say the following:
Fuck Christmas. Fuck it right up its festive arse. There was a time, when, as a child I would look forward to the 25th of December with glee. Much of it was related to the fact that I was an only child, and as a result Christmas = Presents. Of course, there was still the 'holiday feel'. You know what I'm talking about. The feeling around that time of year that differentiated it from every other month.
That feeling is dead. I worked on Christmas day last year and, if it didn't fall on a Saturday, I would do it again this year too. Now, Japan is not a Christian country, and therefore, I should not be expecting to have Christmas treated specially, should I? I would agree, if the entire country didn't bend at the altar of Christmas Consumerism for an extra large helping. There is an overabundance of Christmas deocrations, music and shopping - but no actual Christmas. It really takes the fun out of the holiday.
Of course, the Japanese also celebrate (and take more seriously) the traditional holiday of New Year. When I was a study abroad student, I did the traditional thing, ate the rice cakes and associated special new year food and visited a temple on January first to cleanse my soul and pray for a good year to come. The other thing that comes with New Year, are the 'Nengajou' - New Year cards. They look like postcards, and you can buy blank ones, or cards with messages prewritten (for those, like me, who can't be bothered writing a message in Japanese). The difference between western Christmas cards and Nengajou is this:
You are not obliged to send anyone Christmas cards.
Nengajou on the other hand, you are expected and obliged to send one to your bosses and everyone in the department you work with. Not because you like them, but because society demands that they send them to you, and therefore, you must send one to them. Meanwhile, the post offices and convenience stores selling these things sit back and laugh. It is beyond pointless. Granted, I don't mind some of the people in my department, but find the idea utterly deplorable that I HAVE to send people cards to avoid looking like an arsehole.
It gets worse for some other people - my friend Tony, for example, has to send cards to everyone in his current AND past departments. By the end of your career, think about how many of these pointless fucking pieces of paper you need to send out. Tony was telling me of a guy he knew who held a medium rank in the Yakuza. At New Year, he would recieve literally SACKFULLS of the damn things, because nobody wanted to end up on his bad side by not sending him a card.
The final thing I will bitch about is political correctness, and its overwhelming urge to fuck with everything that once was, or could ever be fun. I recieved a card from a British government investment agency. To keep things safe, they cannot mention or in any way allude to any particular event this time of year. No mention of Christmas, New Year, Hannukah or anything like that.
Instead I get the words "amibious, creative, joyful, warm, vibrant, prosperous - our wishes for (investment area) 2005." That is NOT a holiday greeting, that is a politically correct fuck up the arse. After seeing mine, Tony didn't bother opening his, wrote 'return to sender' on it, and posted it back.
In conclusion:
Fuck Christmas, fuck nengajou and fuck political-correctness.
Enjoy your holidays.
On the flipside, I would like to say the following:
Fuck Christmas. Fuck it right up its festive arse. There was a time, when, as a child I would look forward to the 25th of December with glee. Much of it was related to the fact that I was an only child, and as a result Christmas = Presents. Of course, there was still the 'holiday feel'. You know what I'm talking about. The feeling around that time of year that differentiated it from every other month.
That feeling is dead. I worked on Christmas day last year and, if it didn't fall on a Saturday, I would do it again this year too. Now, Japan is not a Christian country, and therefore, I should not be expecting to have Christmas treated specially, should I? I would agree, if the entire country didn't bend at the altar of Christmas Consumerism for an extra large helping. There is an overabundance of Christmas deocrations, music and shopping - but no actual Christmas. It really takes the fun out of the holiday.
Of course, the Japanese also celebrate (and take more seriously) the traditional holiday of New Year. When I was a study abroad student, I did the traditional thing, ate the rice cakes and associated special new year food and visited a temple on January first to cleanse my soul and pray for a good year to come. The other thing that comes with New Year, are the 'Nengajou' - New Year cards. They look like postcards, and you can buy blank ones, or cards with messages prewritten (for those, like me, who can't be bothered writing a message in Japanese). The difference between western Christmas cards and Nengajou is this:
You are not obliged to send anyone Christmas cards.
Nengajou on the other hand, you are expected and obliged to send one to your bosses and everyone in the department you work with. Not because you like them, but because society demands that they send them to you, and therefore, you must send one to them. Meanwhile, the post offices and convenience stores selling these things sit back and laugh. It is beyond pointless. Granted, I don't mind some of the people in my department, but find the idea utterly deplorable that I HAVE to send people cards to avoid looking like an arsehole.
It gets worse for some other people - my friend Tony, for example, has to send cards to everyone in his current AND past departments. By the end of your career, think about how many of these pointless fucking pieces of paper you need to send out. Tony was telling me of a guy he knew who held a medium rank in the Yakuza. At New Year, he would recieve literally SACKFULLS of the damn things, because nobody wanted to end up on his bad side by not sending him a card.
The final thing I will bitch about is political correctness, and its overwhelming urge to fuck with everything that once was, or could ever be fun. I recieved a card from a British government investment agency. To keep things safe, they cannot mention or in any way allude to any particular event this time of year. No mention of Christmas, New Year, Hannukah or anything like that.
Instead I get the words "amibious, creative, joyful, warm, vibrant, prosperous - our wishes for (investment area) 2005." That is NOT a holiday greeting, that is a politically correct fuck up the arse. After seeing mine, Tony didn't bother opening his, wrote 'return to sender' on it, and posted it back.
In conclusion:
Fuck Christmas, fuck nengajou and fuck political-correctness.
Enjoy your holidays.
Monday, December 20, 2004
Envious of the Homosexual
My title has a point. Really. What's more, I will get to it, but first, Friday night:
Friday night was a good night. Anne, Toni, Belinda and myself were going to hit some bars in Roppongi and have a good time.
I must confess that I dislike Roppongi. It is the party district where a large proportion of the foreign community goes. It has western-style bars and clubs, complete with the type of clientele one usually finds at aforementioned bars/clubs. Stupid Americans who cannot hold their piss, skanky girls and the ubiquitious creepy foreign guys who seem so prevalent over here. (NB. I am NOT one of those.) Of course there are a few Japanese at these places as well, but normally those who come to see the skanky white girls or pick up a drunken American, or get hit on by one of the creepy guys. The average age of these people is probably 30, which is another reason why the entire district is not particularly appealing to me. Not to mention the fact that most of the clubs play shitty pop and/or equally deplorable rap/hip-hop. Give me Shibuya any time. Anyway, Roppongi-related ranting aside, that's where we were headed.
Anne and Toni weren't going to meet us until 9-ish, so Belinda and I went into Shibuya for a while first. We needed to pay a deposit to keep our reservation at Sonoma on Christmas Day, and we needed dinner. After scoping a few places, all of which seemed to be full (it was, after all, Shibuya on a Friday night) we found a slightly less-crowded izakaya (ie. there were two empty seats) and had dinner. The menu was entirely in kanji, and while our Japanese is OK (Belinda's is considerably better than mine), we struggled a little, and generally just picked random things we could half-translate. It was interesting, a little suprising at times, but overall (and most importantly) tasty. I'd like to go back, but next time I am taking a Japanese person with me.
After dinner, we headed into Roppongi - as usual Anne was late. I believe it is a Thai custom to never show up on time, but it is something I have become accustomed to. Eventually, she arrived and we went to Heartland - a bar named after Kirin Heartland beer, situated at the bottom of the Roppongi Hills complex (which incidentally, houses a few companies that I wouldn't mind working for). The beer itself is quite good, and because of the location, was reasonably cheap. Toni and another of Anne's mates, Abi (a Sri Lankan Canadian guy) rocked up and we proceeded to eat, drink and be merry. The occasional creepy guy hitting on the girls provided ample entertainment for the evening.
After a while, it was decided that we should go somewhere else and chill out. I was pretty comfortable myself, but whatever, I went along with it. We ended up at Muse, a lounge bar/club for thirty-somethings which Anne likes, but I am a little indifferent to. On the plus side, we had a couple couches to ourselves, so I was able to relax and enjoy my beer while the girls went and danced.
Sometime in the wee hours of the morning. I can't exactly remember when, we headed back into the freezing night air and caught a cab to Song's place. Song is a friend of Anne's who is working for the Thai National Bank. He has expat status in Japan, and all the perks that go with it. He is also a relatively stereotypical homosexual guy. Onto my envy.
As part of his expat job, his company has furnished him with a fully, uh, furnished house in Hiroo (a nice suburb near Roppongi - with rent rates that look like phone numbers). I didn't say flat though, did I? I said HOUSE. 3 fucking bedrooms, two goddamn bathrooms, a living room about 150% the size of my entire apartment and a kitchen and laundry to match. Yes, he lives there by himself and the nice Crown Royal Saloon he drives, they gave him that too. Although it will probably be traded in for an SLK next year. Petrol, electricity and other utilities? All included in the deal. In short, he has the kind of setup I would happily kill for. Bastard.
Anyway, after a brief tour of the house, we crashed. The next morning we got up late, lounged around a bit, displayed sickening envy at Song's setup and eventually went out for some ramen for lunch. After lunch, I headed back up to Ootsuka to pick up Kat's Christmas pressie and have another look at rentals up there. I have pretty much decided that when I move, it will be one of the first places I look at for a new place to live.
After all that excitement, I went home and had a nap.
Sunday was spent largely bumming around the flat, watching movies and chilling out - as I am prone to do on Sundays. The afternoon saw me heading into Yokohama to do my Christmas shopping however. Let me lay it down simply: I hate, loathe and despise Christmas shopping. The fact that they don't even CELEBRATE the holiday in this heathen place doesn't deter the Japanese from decorating everything up to the nines, piping Christmas carols through every available audio device and generally engaging in the same ridiculous mass consumerism that you see in the West. Sunday afternoon was probably not the best time to do this shopping, as Yokohama was packed with people, but I was there, and I was going to get that damn shopping done.
Two hours later, having successfully avoided bloodshed (by the narrowest of margins) I made it home and dumped the shopping on my floor. Where it will likely stay until I pack it and bring it back to Australia.
Eight and a half days, and counting.
Friday night was a good night. Anne, Toni, Belinda and myself were going to hit some bars in Roppongi and have a good time.
I must confess that I dislike Roppongi. It is the party district where a large proportion of the foreign community goes. It has western-style bars and clubs, complete with the type of clientele one usually finds at aforementioned bars/clubs. Stupid Americans who cannot hold their piss, skanky girls and the ubiquitious creepy foreign guys who seem so prevalent over here. (NB. I am NOT one of those.) Of course there are a few Japanese at these places as well, but normally those who come to see the skanky white girls or pick up a drunken American, or get hit on by one of the creepy guys. The average age of these people is probably 30, which is another reason why the entire district is not particularly appealing to me. Not to mention the fact that most of the clubs play shitty pop and/or equally deplorable rap/hip-hop. Give me Shibuya any time. Anyway, Roppongi-related ranting aside, that's where we were headed.
Anne and Toni weren't going to meet us until 9-ish, so Belinda and I went into Shibuya for a while first. We needed to pay a deposit to keep our reservation at Sonoma on Christmas Day, and we needed dinner. After scoping a few places, all of which seemed to be full (it was, after all, Shibuya on a Friday night) we found a slightly less-crowded izakaya (ie. there were two empty seats) and had dinner. The menu was entirely in kanji, and while our Japanese is OK (Belinda's is considerably better than mine), we struggled a little, and generally just picked random things we could half-translate. It was interesting, a little suprising at times, but overall (and most importantly) tasty. I'd like to go back, but next time I am taking a Japanese person with me.
After dinner, we headed into Roppongi - as usual Anne was late. I believe it is a Thai custom to never show up on time, but it is something I have become accustomed to. Eventually, she arrived and we went to Heartland - a bar named after Kirin Heartland beer, situated at the bottom of the Roppongi Hills complex (which incidentally, houses a few companies that I wouldn't mind working for). The beer itself is quite good, and because of the location, was reasonably cheap. Toni and another of Anne's mates, Abi (a Sri Lankan Canadian guy) rocked up and we proceeded to eat, drink and be merry. The occasional creepy guy hitting on the girls provided ample entertainment for the evening.
After a while, it was decided that we should go somewhere else and chill out. I was pretty comfortable myself, but whatever, I went along with it. We ended up at Muse, a lounge bar/club for thirty-somethings which Anne likes, but I am a little indifferent to. On the plus side, we had a couple couches to ourselves, so I was able to relax and enjoy my beer while the girls went and danced.
Sometime in the wee hours of the morning. I can't exactly remember when, we headed back into the freezing night air and caught a cab to Song's place. Song is a friend of Anne's who is working for the Thai National Bank. He has expat status in Japan, and all the perks that go with it. He is also a relatively stereotypical homosexual guy. Onto my envy.
As part of his expat job, his company has furnished him with a fully, uh, furnished house in Hiroo (a nice suburb near Roppongi - with rent rates that look like phone numbers). I didn't say flat though, did I? I said HOUSE. 3 fucking bedrooms, two goddamn bathrooms, a living room about 150% the size of my entire apartment and a kitchen and laundry to match. Yes, he lives there by himself and the nice Crown Royal Saloon he drives, they gave him that too. Although it will probably be traded in for an SLK next year. Petrol, electricity and other utilities? All included in the deal. In short, he has the kind of setup I would happily kill for. Bastard.
Anyway, after a brief tour of the house, we crashed. The next morning we got up late, lounged around a bit, displayed sickening envy at Song's setup and eventually went out for some ramen for lunch. After lunch, I headed back up to Ootsuka to pick up Kat's Christmas pressie and have another look at rentals up there. I have pretty much decided that when I move, it will be one of the first places I look at for a new place to live.
After all that excitement, I went home and had a nap.
Sunday was spent largely bumming around the flat, watching movies and chilling out - as I am prone to do on Sundays. The afternoon saw me heading into Yokohama to do my Christmas shopping however. Let me lay it down simply: I hate, loathe and despise Christmas shopping. The fact that they don't even CELEBRATE the holiday in this heathen place doesn't deter the Japanese from decorating everything up to the nines, piping Christmas carols through every available audio device and generally engaging in the same ridiculous mass consumerism that you see in the West. Sunday afternoon was probably not the best time to do this shopping, as Yokohama was packed with people, but I was there, and I was going to get that damn shopping done.
Two hours later, having successfully avoided bloodshed (by the narrowest of margins) I made it home and dumped the shopping on my floor. Where it will likely stay until I pack it and bring it back to Australia.
Eight and a half days, and counting.
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Really I was only after a drink...
Following the free food and drink (not just any drink, but some nice Czech beer) at the Czechinvest event last night, I headed home to find an email waiting for me. An email wondering if I felt like tying a few on at my local Yakitori shop. Not being one to turn down skewered pieces of bird and shouchuu I happily obliged.
A couple of hours later, it turns that I may be able to bring in some extra money giving English lessons to my friends and their kids... I mean daughters... I mean twin daughters... Praise Zarquon that they are only 14. I hope they are ugly.
The extra money will be nice though, considering it will probably only take a couple of hours out of my Sunday afternoon - and it's not like I do anything on Sundays anyway. Assuming all goes according to (very rough) plan, I should be getting into it sometime next month.
After the yakitori place, one of my mates and I hit up a different bar on the way home (granted, the 'way home' is about a 5 minute walk, but we made a slight detour). Umi Bar (meaning "sea bar") is pretty cool, I have walked past it before but never stopped in. More like a western-style bar with a distinct tropical island-esque nautical theme. They guy working there seemed pretty cool, and there was a decent range of alcohol on offer behind the bar. It will probably be revisited.
One thing that I will regret about changing jobs is that I will have to move house (as I currently live in a company-owned room). I have grown quite fond of Maita and the surrounding area. On that theme, I checked out rental rates in Ootsuka yesterday after my Bulgarian seminar (I was up there finding a Christmas present for Kat) and for such a conveniently located station, the rent is pretty reasonable. The area itself seemed OK too, but it is a good hour-long trek from Yokohama. I guess it depends on where I end up working - but I would like to be near the Yamanote line (which is one of the main train lines in Tokyo, doing a loop through just about all the major areas) and Oostuka is pretty much slap bang in between Tokyo and Shibuya station (about 20 minutes to either of them) making it pretty appealing from that standpoint.
I wouldn't mind staying in the Yokohama area, of course, but a lot will depend on where I end up working.
The fact that I should've been at work while all this was going on pleased me. Looks like the company is paying me for my Christmas shopping and house-hunting time as well!
A couple of hours later, it turns that I may be able to bring in some extra money giving English lessons to my friends and their kids... I mean daughters... I mean twin daughters... Praise Zarquon that they are only 14. I hope they are ugly.
The extra money will be nice though, considering it will probably only take a couple of hours out of my Sunday afternoon - and it's not like I do anything on Sundays anyway. Assuming all goes according to (very rough) plan, I should be getting into it sometime next month.
After the yakitori place, one of my mates and I hit up a different bar on the way home (granted, the 'way home' is about a 5 minute walk, but we made a slight detour). Umi Bar (meaning "sea bar") is pretty cool, I have walked past it before but never stopped in. More like a western-style bar with a distinct tropical island-esque nautical theme. They guy working there seemed pretty cool, and there was a decent range of alcohol on offer behind the bar. It will probably be revisited.
One thing that I will regret about changing jobs is that I will have to move house (as I currently live in a company-owned room). I have grown quite fond of Maita and the surrounding area. On that theme, I checked out rental rates in Ootsuka yesterday after my Bulgarian seminar (I was up there finding a Christmas present for Kat) and for such a conveniently located station, the rent is pretty reasonable. The area itself seemed OK too, but it is a good hour-long trek from Yokohama. I guess it depends on where I end up working - but I would like to be near the Yamanote line (which is one of the main train lines in Tokyo, doing a loop through just about all the major areas) and Oostuka is pretty much slap bang in between Tokyo and Shibuya station (about 20 minutes to either of them) making it pretty appealing from that standpoint.
I wouldn't mind staying in the Yokohama area, of course, but a lot will depend on where I end up working.
The fact that I should've been at work while all this was going on pleased me. Looks like the company is paying me for my Christmas shopping and house-hunting time as well!
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
The Strokes Style
Last night, I totally forgot to mention last night.
Good fun. I managed to get a tiny bit of shopping done (ie, some DVD-Rs so that I can continue to mercilessly pillage my local video store and illegally copy their movies) and a new shower curtain, because, well, I needed one.
After my little shopping adventure (in the sense that choosing a shower curtain constitutes an adventure) I met up with Ayaka and after some token indecision, we headed to an izakaya for some vittles. I prophesised only a week or two ago that I would revisit the Doma Doma near Yokohama station, and lo and behold I did.
Mmmm... Tasty.
Our two hours being up, they kicked us out and we went to Tavern - which has rapidly become my favourite bar in Yokohama, even if there were a bunch of louts shouting at the Premier League on the big screen. After a drink there, Ayaka realised that she had a coupon for cheap drinks at a new Irish pub nearby, so we tracked down The Green Sheep, and proceeded to make use of aforementioned coupon. As we made our way there, I noticed a couple of pretty interesting looking bars and restaurants nearby, which I think I will check out next time I am out in that part of town.
The Green Sheep itself was pretty quiet, I guess word about it hasn't got out much yet (well, and it was a Monday night) but the drinks were refreshing, and while we were still stuffed from dinner, they did appear to be serving our fellow patrons some fairly appetizing looking dishes. I have long had trouble finding a good bar/restaurant review listing for Yokohama, and the way things are going, I might start my own. I certainly seem to be doing the required bar/restaurant sampling a fair bit of late.
Hmmm... If I can work out a way to get free food/drinks and/or money out of it, it might be a goer.
Good fun. I managed to get a tiny bit of shopping done (ie, some DVD-Rs so that I can continue to mercilessly pillage my local video store and illegally copy their movies) and a new shower curtain, because, well, I needed one.
After my little shopping adventure (in the sense that choosing a shower curtain constitutes an adventure) I met up with Ayaka and after some token indecision, we headed to an izakaya for some vittles. I prophesised only a week or two ago that I would revisit the Doma Doma near Yokohama station, and lo and behold I did.
Mmmm... Tasty.
Our two hours being up, they kicked us out and we went to Tavern - which has rapidly become my favourite bar in Yokohama, even if there were a bunch of louts shouting at the Premier League on the big screen. After a drink there, Ayaka realised that she had a coupon for cheap drinks at a new Irish pub nearby, so we tracked down The Green Sheep, and proceeded to make use of aforementioned coupon. As we made our way there, I noticed a couple of pretty interesting looking bars and restaurants nearby, which I think I will check out next time I am out in that part of town.
The Green Sheep itself was pretty quiet, I guess word about it hasn't got out much yet (well, and it was a Monday night) but the drinks were refreshing, and while we were still stuffed from dinner, they did appear to be serving our fellow patrons some fairly appetizing looking dishes. I have long had trouble finding a good bar/restaurant review listing for Yokohama, and the way things are going, I might start my own. I certainly seem to be doing the required bar/restaurant sampling a fair bit of late.
Hmmm... If I can work out a way to get free food/drinks and/or money out of it, it might be a goer.
My Eastern European Swerve
Well, what can I say? I am getting that particular swerve on. I had a seminar on investing in Bulgaria this morning, which while it wasn't amazingly interesting had a few perks
- I didn't have to wake up till 8am (vs. my usual of 6.30)
- I learned that Bulgarian accents are HOT!
- I got free food and (some rather acceptable) Bulgarian wine for lunch
- I got into the office around 2pm
All in all, not a bad morning. Especially when you consider that I was getting paid for it.
In keeping with the theme, I am buggering off at around 3.30 to see the friendly chaps at Czechinvest in Yokohama. There is some kind of function to welcome the new Japanese coordinator, and farewell the old one. What does this mean?
- More free food and drink
- I will probably get home earlier than usual
- I will have spent a total of 1.5 hours at the office today
Eastern Europe rocks, and don't let anyone else tell you different.
- I didn't have to wake up till 8am (vs. my usual of 6.30)
- I learned that Bulgarian accents are HOT!
- I got free food and (some rather acceptable) Bulgarian wine for lunch
- I got into the office around 2pm
All in all, not a bad morning. Especially when you consider that I was getting paid for it.
In keeping with the theme, I am buggering off at around 3.30 to see the friendly chaps at Czechinvest in Yokohama. There is some kind of function to welcome the new Japanese coordinator, and farewell the old one. What does this mean?
- More free food and drink
- I will probably get home earlier than usual
- I will have spent a total of 1.5 hours at the office today
Eastern Europe rocks, and don't let anyone else tell you different.
Monday, December 13, 2004
Electronic Warfare
Nabbed this from The Register, regarding the Playgirl Virus:
I thought it was interesting, anyway.
Go Vladimir, WOO!!
An email virus that poses as pictures of a nude glamour model actually contains malicious code designed to launch denial-of-service attacks on websites run by Chechen separatists.
The Maslan-C worm spreads via email with the subject line '123' and an attached file called 'Playgirls2.exe'. It also spreads across network shares. Running the infected attachment further spreads the email worm as well as turning infected PCs into participants in a distributed denial-of-service attacks. This attack is timed for the first day of each month. But since Maslan-C has infected few victims it is unlikely that its programmed actions will succeed in swamping targeted websites.
"These websites play a key role in the propaganda war between the Chechen rebels and the Kremlin," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Clearly whoever has written this virus wants to make it harder for the Chechen separatists to publish information about their cause on the internet. Whether you agree with the intention or not - spreading a virus to do this is clearly criminal behaviour."
I thought it was interesting, anyway.
Go Vladimir, WOO!!
Notmuchery
Well, here I sit, metaphorically trudging my way through another Monday.
My weekend was acceptably relaxing, if lacking in entertainment (not that lounging around watching Indiana Jones DVDs isn't entertaining). I did manage to get out of the house on Saturday and caught up with Natsuyo in Shibuya. I was planning on hitting up Sonoma, because I had a hankering for some tasty (and authentic) western cuisine - but of course a party of 45 or so had booked the whole damn thing out.
Naturally, we did the next best thing - which consisted of tossing the original plan entirely out the window and going to an izakaya. One of the hard things about going out in Shibuya, is that unless you have set goals on where you want to go and what you want to do you inevitably end up swamped by choice. This is confounded by the fact that on a Saturday night, the entire place is packed with people. Anyway, after a bit of aimless wandering and "what do you think of that place?"-ing, we found a great little izakaya, which I will probably go back to - for both the great food and jazz music (ok, and possibly because the girl working there was a hottie). What?
Satisfactorily sated, we wandered down to Hub, which - due to the fact there was a soccer match on - was totally packed. Once again, another fine plan shot down. After futher wandering, we found a pretty acceptable bar (I remain unsure as to why there were mirrors on the ceiling) and hung out there for a bit.
A bit lacking in adventure and excitement, but a good night nonetheless.
I am looking forward to tomorrow, as I have managed to get myself invited to a couple of seminars (a morning seminar on Investing in Bulgaria, and an evening function to meet the new head of the Czech Republic Investment Agency) I don't think the events themselves will be overly stimulating, but they allow me to sleep in, get home early, spend only 1.5 hours at the office AND should have free food and drinks. I am particularly anticipating the sleep-in. Especially as I am hanging out in Yokohama with Ayaka tonight.
Lately I have been forcing myself to get up and go to work, it usually takes a few minutes of inner monologue after my alarm goes off in which I have to try and present a solid reason as to why I have to be at work on that given day. Thus far, I have always had something (albeit usually minor) that needs to be done. I can't imagine this trend continuing forever though.
My weekend was acceptably relaxing, if lacking in entertainment (not that lounging around watching Indiana Jones DVDs isn't entertaining). I did manage to get out of the house on Saturday and caught up with Natsuyo in Shibuya. I was planning on hitting up Sonoma, because I had a hankering for some tasty (and authentic) western cuisine - but of course a party of 45 or so had booked the whole damn thing out.
Naturally, we did the next best thing - which consisted of tossing the original plan entirely out the window and going to an izakaya. One of the hard things about going out in Shibuya, is that unless you have set goals on where you want to go and what you want to do you inevitably end up swamped by choice. This is confounded by the fact that on a Saturday night, the entire place is packed with people. Anyway, after a bit of aimless wandering and "what do you think of that place?"-ing, we found a great little izakaya, which I will probably go back to - for both the great food and jazz music (ok, and possibly because the girl working there was a hottie). What?
Satisfactorily sated, we wandered down to Hub, which - due to the fact there was a soccer match on - was totally packed. Once again, another fine plan shot down. After futher wandering, we found a pretty acceptable bar (I remain unsure as to why there were mirrors on the ceiling) and hung out there for a bit.
A bit lacking in adventure and excitement, but a good night nonetheless.
I am looking forward to tomorrow, as I have managed to get myself invited to a couple of seminars (a morning seminar on Investing in Bulgaria, and an evening function to meet the new head of the Czech Republic Investment Agency) I don't think the events themselves will be overly stimulating, but they allow me to sleep in, get home early, spend only 1.5 hours at the office AND should have free food and drinks. I am particularly anticipating the sleep-in. Especially as I am hanging out in Yokohama with Ayaka tonight.
Lately I have been forcing myself to get up and go to work, it usually takes a few minutes of inner monologue after my alarm goes off in which I have to try and present a solid reason as to why I have to be at work on that given day. Thus far, I have always had something (albeit usually minor) that needs to be done. I can't imagine this trend continuing forever though.
Monday, December 06, 2004
Respite
Now THAT was a weekend.
Friday night I caught up with Aki in Yokohama, and after some signature aimless, indecisive wandering we managed to find an Izakaya with a relatively small number of people waiting to get in. I am amazed that even with the sheer number of places to eat near Yokohama station, you need to get in line to get into pretty much every single one on a Friday night. It was worth it though, because the food was quite tasty indeed. I'm not sure how widespread the 'Doma-doma' chain of Izakayas is, having only been to one in Kannai and Yokohama, but both times I have been impressed with the food, so I will keep on going back.
Sated and searching for something to do we contemplated making the 15 minute journey up to Kawasaki so we could visit a Hub - for some reason Yokohama doesn't have one yet, and this is a situation that needs some serious rectifying. However, I remembered Tavern, a similar English-style pub that Mike and I patronised a few years back. At the time, they had Lamb-burgers, which were 10 different varieties of awesome on a bun, but sadly the lamb-burger no longer exists. Tavern however, does. To be honest, I don't really remember the previous visits - hardly surprising considering my drinking habits during study abroad - but (while a bit crowded) Tavern stacked up well against Hub - and I will strongly consider a repeat visit there too.
Of particular note was the fact that they had XXXX on the menu - and being the true Queenland bogan that I am, I just could not resist the allure of the orange can. Considering how much of that stuff we drank in my first year at university (before swearing off it, because we just got sick of it) I got a bit of a kick out of it. I am not sure if it was the alcohol or nostalgia I was tasting, either way, it tasted good.
Saturday was Dawn's going away party in Mizunokuchi, and while it is a bit of a trek to get out there, it is usually worth it. It certainly was this time round.
Dawn had tracked down an izakaya in which you have a private room, complete with karaoke system. Karaoke box and izakaya in one - double the goodness. Along with Danielle and another dozen or so Nova English teachers and assorted Japanese friends/students we piled into this room, and after a few drinks the karaoke got started.
By the end of the night, (around 2 am) everyone had piked, bar Dawn, Danielle, a couple of particularly good value Japanese guys and myself. Voices became a little hoarse, after prolonged rowdy karaoke and we decided to call it a night - I think the fact that Dawn had to be up at the crack of, uh, dawn to get to the airport played a part in that decision. At this point, the typhoon that would injure a few people and knock Tokyo around a bit was only getting warmed up - we walked home in the freezing rain.
I kipped on the couch for a couple of hours before giving dawn a hand with getting to the bus stop, as I was heading that way anyway. One thing that hampered the journey was the complete and utter impossibility of finding a taxi early on a Sunday morning. It's not like Australia where you can call and book one, we didn't even see one that we could hail. Being that the weather had done a backflip of political proportions and was warm as hell (in winter, at 6 in the goddamn morning) and Dawn had a fair bit of luggage, we stopped at a Shell station to see if they knew any cab companies operating, and if they could call us one.
It turned out they couldn't, so they did us one better, and one of the guys gave us a lift to the station. Just about all the rumours you hear about the Japanese being helpful and friendly are true. I was waiting with the luggage, so I don't know how Dawn sweet-talked him, but it worked. With Dawn waiting by the airport bus, I headed home and made it to bed around 8am.
I woke up a few hours later and bummed around for a while, wandering to Matsuya for some breakfast/lunch and noting that it was about 25 degrees, where the day before it would've been all of 12 or 13. Along with bringing down all kinds of leaves, branches and debris, the typhoon messed up the weather patterns in Tokyo something fierce for a few hours there.
I would've been content to simply lounge around for the rest of the day, but instead I met Anne and some Thai and Japanese friends of hers and we went to the Thai Embassy in Meguro for the annual King's Birthday celebration. As far as celebrations go, there was nowhere near enough alcohol, but an abundance of free (and very tasty) Thai food, so I guess that made up for it. The ceremony itself didn't appear to be anything too fancy, people lit candles and sang to the King's health at one stage, but for the most part, it was simply a social event in the sprawling gardens out the back of the embassy. Quite nice really.
I also managed to organise to meet Tony, one of Anne's Thai friends, on Wednesday. The nice part about this is that Tony works for a recruiting agency, and with some luck, will help me get out of my current situation. I will keep everyone posted on how that goes.
The offical function ended around 8.30 and people started heading home. Not wanting to pussy out at the end of a great weekend, I headed into Shibuya with Anne and we hit up Hub for a few drinks. One thing Hub does is the 'Strong Bull', which is a pint of Vodka redbull, but as well as the redbull, they add a bit of draught beer. The taste is a little interesting, but it has grown on me, and it is delightfully fizzy.
After downing a couple of those, we decided to call it a night, and I made it home in time to get a reasonable night's sleep. Reasonable in the sense it was long enough, although entirely unreasonable in the sense that I was awoked by my alarm in order to come to work. Can't win 'em all, I guess.
Friday night I caught up with Aki in Yokohama, and after some signature aimless, indecisive wandering we managed to find an Izakaya with a relatively small number of people waiting to get in. I am amazed that even with the sheer number of places to eat near Yokohama station, you need to get in line to get into pretty much every single one on a Friday night. It was worth it though, because the food was quite tasty indeed. I'm not sure how widespread the 'Doma-doma' chain of Izakayas is, having only been to one in Kannai and Yokohama, but both times I have been impressed with the food, so I will keep on going back.
Sated and searching for something to do we contemplated making the 15 minute journey up to Kawasaki so we could visit a Hub - for some reason Yokohama doesn't have one yet, and this is a situation that needs some serious rectifying. However, I remembered Tavern, a similar English-style pub that Mike and I patronised a few years back. At the time, they had Lamb-burgers, which were 10 different varieties of awesome on a bun, but sadly the lamb-burger no longer exists. Tavern however, does. To be honest, I don't really remember the previous visits - hardly surprising considering my drinking habits during study abroad - but (while a bit crowded) Tavern stacked up well against Hub - and I will strongly consider a repeat visit there too.
Of particular note was the fact that they had XXXX on the menu - and being the true Queenland bogan that I am, I just could not resist the allure of the orange can. Considering how much of that stuff we drank in my first year at university (before swearing off it, because we just got sick of it) I got a bit of a kick out of it. I am not sure if it was the alcohol or nostalgia I was tasting, either way, it tasted good.
Saturday was Dawn's going away party in Mizunokuchi, and while it is a bit of a trek to get out there, it is usually worth it. It certainly was this time round.
Dawn had tracked down an izakaya in which you have a private room, complete with karaoke system. Karaoke box and izakaya in one - double the goodness. Along with Danielle and another dozen or so Nova English teachers and assorted Japanese friends/students we piled into this room, and after a few drinks the karaoke got started.
By the end of the night, (around 2 am) everyone had piked, bar Dawn, Danielle, a couple of particularly good value Japanese guys and myself. Voices became a little hoarse, after prolonged rowdy karaoke and we decided to call it a night - I think the fact that Dawn had to be up at the crack of, uh, dawn to get to the airport played a part in that decision. At this point, the typhoon that would injure a few people and knock Tokyo around a bit was only getting warmed up - we walked home in the freezing rain.
I kipped on the couch for a couple of hours before giving dawn a hand with getting to the bus stop, as I was heading that way anyway. One thing that hampered the journey was the complete and utter impossibility of finding a taxi early on a Sunday morning. It's not like Australia where you can call and book one, we didn't even see one that we could hail. Being that the weather had done a backflip of political proportions and was warm as hell (in winter, at 6 in the goddamn morning) and Dawn had a fair bit of luggage, we stopped at a Shell station to see if they knew any cab companies operating, and if they could call us one.
It turned out they couldn't, so they did us one better, and one of the guys gave us a lift to the station. Just about all the rumours you hear about the Japanese being helpful and friendly are true. I was waiting with the luggage, so I don't know how Dawn sweet-talked him, but it worked. With Dawn waiting by the airport bus, I headed home and made it to bed around 8am.
I woke up a few hours later and bummed around for a while, wandering to Matsuya for some breakfast/lunch and noting that it was about 25 degrees, where the day before it would've been all of 12 or 13. Along with bringing down all kinds of leaves, branches and debris, the typhoon messed up the weather patterns in Tokyo something fierce for a few hours there.
I would've been content to simply lounge around for the rest of the day, but instead I met Anne and some Thai and Japanese friends of hers and we went to the Thai Embassy in Meguro for the annual King's Birthday celebration. As far as celebrations go, there was nowhere near enough alcohol, but an abundance of free (and very tasty) Thai food, so I guess that made up for it. The ceremony itself didn't appear to be anything too fancy, people lit candles and sang to the King's health at one stage, but for the most part, it was simply a social event in the sprawling gardens out the back of the embassy. Quite nice really.
I also managed to organise to meet Tony, one of Anne's Thai friends, on Wednesday. The nice part about this is that Tony works for a recruiting agency, and with some luck, will help me get out of my current situation. I will keep everyone posted on how that goes.
The offical function ended around 8.30 and people started heading home. Not wanting to pussy out at the end of a great weekend, I headed into Shibuya with Anne and we hit up Hub for a few drinks. One thing Hub does is the 'Strong Bull', which is a pint of Vodka redbull, but as well as the redbull, they add a bit of draught beer. The taste is a little interesting, but it has grown on me, and it is delightfully fizzy.
After downing a couple of those, we decided to call it a night, and I made it home in time to get a reasonable night's sleep. Reasonable in the sense it was long enough, although entirely unreasonable in the sense that I was awoked by my alarm in order to come to work. Can't win 'em all, I guess.
Friday, December 03, 2004
Mild Anticipation
Let's hear it for Friday afternoon! With another week drawing to a close, and only 3 and a bit more until the holidays, 'tis the season for anticipation. For a bit of a change, I have a pretty full weekend ahead, if all goes to plan, I will be hitting town (well, Yokohama) tonight and tomorrow night - all ready to spend the bonus that we got paid today (or at least some of it).
Sunday, through a felicticious twist, I scored an invite, through Anne, to a free evening of food and drink at the Thai Embassy in Tokyo - apparently it's a celebration to commemorate the King of Thailand's birthday - but once you hear the phrase 'free food and drink' your attention dives off as you think about the joy that those four little words will bring you.
Work has been characteristically slow this week, and I am further enforcing my desire to leave (while slowly fixing up my CV), although I was thrown a slight curve ball this morning in our departmental meeting, when it was revealed that the Board were reconsidering an Eastern European operation, and my name (along with one of the slightly more tolerable members of the brass) was down for a business trip 'next year'. Of course whether anything eventuates entirely remains to be seen. That said, I would be keen for a free trip to Europe. At the same time, I have no faith in this company to successfully see the venture through, so from a practical point of view the trip will be a total waste of time.... I shall keep my ear out, but it's not going to stop me wandering around, handing out my resume.
Talking of things resume-ish - one thing that I have always avoided doing (and now, probably have to) is putting some kind of Goal/Amibition section in my CV. I have never been able to conjure something up both relevant and meaningful. "I want to be retired by 35 with sufficient passive income to see me through, and a select team of experts and beautiful woment finding new ways to be nice to me." just doesn't seem to cut it. Ho hum.
1 hour and 40 minutes until the weekend.
See you on the other side.
Sunday, through a felicticious twist, I scored an invite, through Anne, to a free evening of food and drink at the Thai Embassy in Tokyo - apparently it's a celebration to commemorate the King of Thailand's birthday - but once you hear the phrase 'free food and drink' your attention dives off as you think about the joy that those four little words will bring you.
Work has been characteristically slow this week, and I am further enforcing my desire to leave (while slowly fixing up my CV), although I was thrown a slight curve ball this morning in our departmental meeting, when it was revealed that the Board were reconsidering an Eastern European operation, and my name (along with one of the slightly more tolerable members of the brass) was down for a business trip 'next year'. Of course whether anything eventuates entirely remains to be seen. That said, I would be keen for a free trip to Europe. At the same time, I have no faith in this company to successfully see the venture through, so from a practical point of view the trip will be a total waste of time.... I shall keep my ear out, but it's not going to stop me wandering around, handing out my resume.
Talking of things resume-ish - one thing that I have always avoided doing (and now, probably have to) is putting some kind of Goal/Amibition section in my CV. I have never been able to conjure something up both relevant and meaningful. "I want to be retired by 35 with sufficient passive income to see me through, and a select team of experts and beautiful woment finding new ways to be nice to me." just doesn't seem to cut it. Ho hum.
1 hour and 40 minutes until the weekend.
See you on the other side.
