Nilsrant.

Operation Finland Underway

2006-12-06T09:04:00.000+09:00

www.operationfinland.blogspot.com

Ever wondered what would happen if I went insane?

Now you know.

Words from a Property Investor

2005-10-14T11:52:00.000+09:00

Word, word, word.

There you go. There are my words.

Having handed over the cheque for the final deposit on my apartment, I can now strut around as a property investor.

Let's face it though - who really needs a reason to strut?

One property down - lots to go.

Almostvoyerism

2005-09-14T10:55:00.000+09:00

This morning, when I should've been working, I found this website:

PostSecret.

I'm not sure exactly what it was about it, but the whole concept appealed to me. Probably not to the point where I would bother sending a postcard the US, but I like it nonetheless.

That is all.

Popping my Funereal Cherry

2005-09-06T13:28:00.000+09:00

No, this isn't a post about my first experience with necrophilia. Relax. Sit back. Put away the Vaseline.

I attended my first funeral today, for Maggie Grey - my favourite university lecturer, and while I am sure that it was a very 'nice service' or whatever compliment you are expected to bestow upon such events, I did develop a couple of thoughts on all things funerary.

Funerals, in my incredibly limited experience, are odd things. I don't fully understand their purpose. I find it hard to comfortably celebrate someone's life whilst they are lying in a polished wooden box in the front of the room. At the same time, I don't think I could tolerate the more traditional funerals, complete with heavy religious overtones and regular invocations of God.

Why have these ceremonies at all? Nobody enjoys them, and the 'guest of honour' (so to speak) is beyond caring. I'm not saying that friends and loved ones shouldn't have an opportunity to say goodbye and get some grief out, but the idea of turning the whole process into some kind of ritual strikes me as peculiar.

Perhaps that's just me.

My weekend was a bit more uplifting - I attended a 60th birthday/Father's day event (for my Father, funnily enough) in Dorrigo. The only downside was the 4.5 hour drive there and back. The upside? Well, I borrowed Katrina's car. You know, just to blow out some cobwebs before she gets back.

There are some great winding roads between Grafton and Dorrigo - with little enough traffic that you are only occasionally concerned with things like 'staying in your own lane' and never concerned about trivialities like 'police' and 'speed cameras'. The kind of roads that appear in sports car commercials, with sweeping curves and beautiful scenery whipping by. Fun by the bucketload.

Of course, now I need to wash the bloody car again before Friday (when she gets back). I guess that's really a small price to pay...

Hey Man, Now You're Really Living!

2005-08-27T15:57:00.000+09:00

I bought an apartment today, and it was everything I had hoped for and more.

Well, OK, it wasn't really anything more than I was expecting, and technically I have only reserved it - I am signing contracts on Monday. Regardless, that sucka is mine!

After a drawn-out inner dialogue (well, argument really) I decided to grab some lunch from Red Rooster, which is pretty much totally irrelevant, except for the fact that I picked up a copy of Rave Magazine (which was free and just lying around on a counter there).

Granted, the magazine is about 50% advertising, but it is a great source of information on local gigs - past, present and up-coming. It was timely too, because it did inform me that tickets for the Eels went on sale today. Being the loyal fanboy that I am, I bought some without hesitation.

On a side note, I bought the Eels' latest album, the sublime double CD 'Blinking lights & Other Revelations'. It has a similar ambience to 'Electro-shock Blues' and a couple of really pretty instrumental interludes. I cannot wait until their show in October!

The problem is, that I saw about half a dozen other gigs that I now want to go to, including (but not limited to) The Mountain Goats, Electric Six and Reel Big Fish. Looks like I am going to need a comission, and soon!

Anyway, Rave is great and you can download the latest issue from their site in PDF format to find out all about gigs in south-east QLD.

Saab Wars: Revenge of the Nils

2005-08-24T18:42:00.000+09:00

In a slighly surprising, but wholly satisfying conclusion to this little story, I received an email today informing me that a cheque equal to the value of the costs I incurred repairing the mistakes of the people who installed my alarm will be in the mail shortly.

Win!

Let's Push Things Forward

2005-08-23T20:40:00.000+09:00

It may well be attributed to an overdose of Kiyosaki and similar stimulants, but I have finally got off my arse and established the whole company/trust/separate bank account trifecta as of today, with the impending purchase of my first investment property to take place this weekend.

The unit in question is in a refurbished hotel/apartment building in Broadbeach and should be able to give me a return well above most of the local property - in fact, it should work out about cash flow neutral - which is nice. Because I am technically buying for a trust that I have a controlling interest in, rather than for myself, I can also get paid a commission on the sale.

The tough part now? Finding a second property to meet my lofty standards - I know that they exist, the hard part is getting to them first...

SAAB Wars: The Saga Continues

2005-08-17T21:39:00.000+09:00

I went to Lismore today.

I don't reccomend it, but the SAAB guys there are very good, and their labour costs are much lower than many of the metropolitan mechanics.

The source of my SAABs electrical woes was discovered, and low and behold, it is not of the SAABs own making. Turns out that the aftermarket alarm that I had installed was done so poorly, with exposed wires causing the old indicator unit to short out. Needless to say the aftermarket alarm was ripped out, and I am presently on the warpath with the 'good' people of Gold Coast Car Sound in an attempt to get them to pay for what essentially they broke.

I will keep you all updated with this one, because I am damned if I am going to pay for someone elses mistakes. I am only going to send them a nice letter at this point, but I am more than happy to get the Office of Fair Trading involved should they decide against acquiescing to my requests.

It promises to be an interesting confrontation...

Back by Popular Demand!

2005-08-15T20:40:00.000+09:00

...If by 'popular demand', you mean 'my girlfriend asked me to post more so that she knows what I am up to.'

OK, well, it pretty much been work, work, work. I have one fantastic listing, and I am confident that I will get a contract on it this month - which will make me very happy.

In the ongoing saga of my car, my indicator is still messed up, simply because my local mechanic didn't have the diagnostic equipment neccessary to link up to SAAB Europe and sort out the electrical bug. For some reason, there was an 18-month period of where the electrics were slightly different (only on my model) and my local boys could treat any other model under the sun, except mine.

With Gold Coast SAAB no longer in existence, and the Brisbane mob a bunch of overcharging incompetents (to paraphrase my mechanics) I am going to the next-nearest guy, who comes highly reccomended.

The downside? He's in Lismore. So, it's a roadtrip for me on Wednesday - all to get my bloody left indicator firing properly. For some idiotic reason, I still love my car, and am glad that I didn't get a Corolla or something boring and pedestrian like it. SAAB POWAH!!

I am still eyeing off a nice late 80's or 1990 model 900 Aero for my next vehicle, which is probably a good indication that I am both in love with my SAABs and stark raving bonkers. Ah well.

In other news, it seems that damn near everyone is turning 21 this month (well, ok, only a couple of people, but still) so my next few Saturday nights will be taken up with merry-making and fun. It will make my next few Sunday open homes a little less fun - but Sundays are high traffic days, and I don't have enough sales on the board to neglect them just yet.

That's it for now. I have been posting heaps on my other blog, but it's purely work-related and probably a bit less interesting... or not... You be the judge.

Why do I want one of these? I don't know.

Just wait until I can afford to buy and restore an early 70's Sonnet.... Then there'll be strife...

My Growing Respect for Mechanics

2005-08-04T19:36:00.000+09:00

My lovely little SAAB is down at the mechanics. The indicators were playing up (on the blink, so to speak) and after a few days, it is still being sorted out. Why? Electronics. The sheer amount of electronic and computerised bits and pieces that mechanics these days need to know about blows my mind. Keep in mind my car is 11 years old, I shudder to think what kind of knowledge you would need to work on something high-end and new.

The only real positive to come out of my car being out of action is that I get to drive Kat's 300ZX. I must say, my opinion of that car has grown over the last few days - that's not to say that I ever had a low opinion of it but, well... while there is a lot that I love about my SAAB (and I am already thinking about buying another one, when I decide to replace my current car) my love of acceleration, that no doubt makes it impossible for myself, and any other male under 25 to reasonably insure anything with a large engine or turbocharger, is quite well satiated by a 3 litre six.

The fact that the car is not mine though, means that I treat it with a lot more care and drive a lot more sensibly than I probably would if it belonged to me, which is probably a good thing. I speed enough in my own car, and while it isn't poky, a speed machine it is not. I think I will save that last point on my license for something memorable.

In other news, I am trying to contact the Finnish Military in order to get myself exempted from military service. I sent them a letter when I was eligible (had turned 18) and thought it was all done and dusted, but apparently not, so I'll have to give them a call in a few minutes to see what I need to do to avoid being drafted should I decide to set foot in the country.

On a side note, having never really had much to do with Finnish people except my mother (strangely enough), I never realised just how unbelievably sexy the Finnish accent is when they speak English.

Very hot indeed. (Well, at least the receptionist at the Military authority's is...)

Another Month Gone

2005-08-02T09:19:00.000+09:00

It is with a casual wave that we bid July adieu for another year. It was a big month, with me starting my new job, and Kat being overseas, but in a lot of ways, it wasn't.

Work is progressing at a rate bordering on satisfactory, which is really a cop-out way of saying that I could be working a bit harder, making a few extra calls and knocking on a couple more doors each day. All in all though, I am not unhappy with my decision to go into real estate sales.

It's also been well, different, having the house to myself. After living by myself for a couple of years, I had become used to living with Kat, but now that I am on my own again, I have to say that I am enjoying it. It's not that I don't enjoy living with my girlfriend, but with my new job kicking off and all my routines changing around, it is a good time to be living on my own.

Not much else is going on, I am not really finding (or making) the time to catch up with as many people as I would like to, and I am slowly developing a mental list of wines that I do and don't like, but that is about it. For the record, nothing feels sillier than drinking wine and watching the footy.

To see my work-related blog, just click here, otherwise stay tuned for an update in a few weeks time...

All By Myse-e-elf...

2005-07-04T16:06:00.000+09:00

What's going on in my life? All kinds of wacky things! Here is a brief update:

1. I started my new job today! One of the reasons for my brevity in this post is because I have started a new blog documenting a bit about my life in real estate - feel free to check it out by clicking right here.

2. Kat is gone! Well, for 9 weeks at least. She will be at the UN in Geneva for the next 3 weeks, before doing some backpacking around south-eastern Europe. It's strange to be living by myself again, and I am sure I will get used to it and be comfortable with it by the time she returns and makes me get used to living with someone else all over again.

3. Sunny Coast Madness!! After a brief stop in Collingwood Park (near Ipswich but slightly less bogan) to visit Lauren and Pete in their brand new house, I headed up to the Sunshine Coast to spend some time with my sister Rebecca and her daughter (ie my niece) Ashlee. Once again, I love being the uncle - you can quite comfortably fulfil whatever parental needs you might have whilst still maintaining only minor responsibility for the few days every few months when you are with your sibling's children.

4. War of the Worlds is a definitely-worth-seeing film. Especially if you can catch it at the cinema. I saw it with Loz and Pete on Friday night and was really quite impressed. Granted, I went in with low expectations and my usual 'The movie is never as good at the book' attitude, but still found it to be a great film. Spielberg did a great job with converting the story to a present-day setting, and Tom Cruise was more than acceptable in his leading role. Oh yeah, and it had aliens, robots and explosions - which also do wonders for ANY film.

5. I am not going to Splendour in the Grass partially due to work, partially due to the lineup not really doing it for me and partially becuase Kat and I were going as a bit of an anniversary thing, and she will be in Switzerland instead. Want to bid on my tickets? Go for it!

The White Shoe Brigade!

2005-06-06T11:05:00.000+09:00

Well, it was only a matter of time before I was going to change jobs. I wasn't really planning the move for a couple of years, but my employers clearly had other ideas. We are running out of stock and switching from two sales offices to one - as a result someone has to go. Being the junior member of the sales team, 'someone' is me.

What now for our brave and intrepid hero? A job in general real estate, apparently. I have secured employment with an agency in Broadbeach and will be kicking off there on the fourth of July. I should be finishing up here in a week or so, which gives me a couple of weeks to relax and get things in order.

I must admit, that everything is suprisingly amicable, given just how pissed off I have the right to be - I just don't see the point in burning bridges. At least, not until I stand to benefit from it. Despite the fact that I returned from Japan for my current job, and despite the assurances of a nice, high earning potential and some good job security I have been given the old, ugly axe.

Not to worry, I will be able to earn more in my new position (and with luck will be able to get a few hefty commissions off my current employer).

A lot of people, upon hearing that I am going into general real estate have asked "Is that what you want to do?" To be honest, I have no idea - I haven't worked in this field long enough to know whether or not I hate it. In the meantime, the money should be enough to keep me happy and provide me with what I need and want. I can't really see myself being a real estate agent ten years down the track, but we shall see.

Return of the Prodigal SAAB!

2005-06-06T08:09:00.000+09:00

It's been a while since I have posted anything on here, and I actually have a bit of 'news' and a couple of things to rant on and on about, so here goes nothing:

I have my car back. At last. A big shoutout to Glenn and all the guys at Euro Tune in Miami - you did a bang-up job. A lesser and derisory shoutout to whomever it was at TNT Couriers that decided to send the WRONG spare parts to BRISBANE and keep me from my car for an extra week. I hope you get hives. On your buttocks.

Everything is running sweetly and smoothly, without looking at the speedometer I can barely tell the difference between travelling at 90 kph or 130 kph. This will get me into trouble one day, but until then I shall rejoice. It finally feels like I have a new car, and that feels good.

SAAB POWAH!!

I'll be back to rant a little more later.

Eating Endangered Species Will Get You On Radio

2005-05-16T08:25:00.000+09:00

Many people over the years have decried my consumption of animals that we don't normally view as food - whale in particular.

Finally, after all this time, I have had the opportunity to share with the nation my love for all things cetacean and on my plate. Jay and the Doctor were discussing the issue this morning on JJJ and when they asked for callers it only seemed right that I voice the real issue at hand. Whales taste good - simple as that.

It is their own fault that they should evolve in such a way to make them delicious and nutritious - you won't get any sympathy from me, you whale-watching tree-huggers.

In other 'news' (aka happenings in my life), my car is in the 'shop having it's engine tinkered with - specifically having the timing chain tensioner replaced. Ho-hum. Be prepared for a review of a certain Gold Coast mechanic once the job is done.

In other other 'news' I am switching jobs in roughly six weeks - basically we are running out of houses to sell and there won't be enough work around for the entire sales team. Ho-hum once again. A job in general real estate is waiting for me if I want it - it will be a matter of something better coming along between now and then. We shall see.

In more fun happenings, I went out with Kat and some friends (and friends of friends) on Friday night - despite the fact that my roster has changed and I now work Friday to Tuesday. After some predrinking we headed into Broadie for a few at Element (under the Aria building along the main drag) before going up to Quest.

I haven't been into Quest for years, simply because it used to be a crappy hip-hop playing dive (at least that was my memory of it). Things have changed and the club is a bit swankier (the music too has improved markedly) and they now have 'shows'. I am not sure what they are normally like, but in the case of their new show "Tabu" they involve women dancing around in underwear. It wasn't fantastic, but there certainly were a few redeeming features.

ANZAC Day Long Weekend Super King-Rad-Awesome Post!

2005-04-26T09:00:00.000+09:00

Going into the weekend, even with the knowledge that it was going to be 3 days long, I was feeling pretty morose. The source of all things saturnine and sullen was the knowledge that my SAAB was going to (and still does) require a bit of work - meaning that not only can I not drive it, I am going to have to part with some money. Bummer. Nothing like a snapped timing chain tensioner to kill your buzz.

As a result of the aforementioned troubles I resolved that I would have a quiet (read: inexpensive) weekend.

By about 4pm Friday afternoon I thought "Fuck that shit. No mechanical melodramas are going to prevent me from enjoying myself - party on!"

Friday:
After some rushed preparation (ie. me rushing Katrina to get ready after springing the change of plans on her) we made it up to Brisbane and were happily esconced at O'Malley on the Queen Street Mall with a few of the LanSmash crew and some jugs of beer. There is nothing like a large quantity of the amber nectar to make you feel better about everything - it also turns out that one of my friends may know a guy who can do the work on my car quite cheaply. Win.

It's been a while since I have indulged in a good drinking session at a typical pub. Throwing back some beer, half-watching the All Blacks get soundly thrashed by the Wallabies and talking crap while losing control over the volume of my voice (it's an alcohol thing). By the time we wandered out (sometime after midnight) I was pretty convinced that I had made the correct decision by throwing caution somewhat to the wind.

Saturday:
Somehow we managed to be awake at a reasonable hour on Saturday morning, and as you are almost obliged to do whilst being hung over in Brisbane, we went into The Valley for a nice greasy breakfast. Not only does the Royal George (RG) serve beer from about 9am, they also make some especially tasty burgers. There is nothing like a greasy burger for breakfast. It's unbeatable.

Sated, we wandered through the Valley markets before heading into the city. Once we had established that there wasn't a great deal that we wanted to see at the movies, we wandered through a few shops (well, I wandered, Kat actually looked at stuff) before heading back 'home' (aka. Kat's mother's apartment).

After a nap we were ready to hit town again, so after grabbing a bite to eat, armed with concert tickets, we headed to The Zoo. I must say, that as far as venues go in Brisbane, I much prefer the Tivoli to the Zoo. The layout overall is far more conducive to watching some live music. The one advantage the Zoo has is that it is set up very well for you to have a few drinks during the gig.

The gig itself wasn't too bad. Nicole Thibault opened, with her one-woman keyboard/synth/electronica/vocalism. As far as opening acts go, I've seen much worse. (Jerk, who supported Marilyn Manson when he was in Brisbane, for example).

The middle act where a fairly eclectic 5 or 6 piece dubbed The Golden Circles. While they provided some good background music, as far as getting the crowd ready for the headline act, they could've done a bit better. A lot of their songs seemed pretty similar, which shouldn't be happening when you have such a range of instruments to choose from. I guess that's why they were only the supporting act.

The main event came on eventually (after some technical issues) and just in time too - after the wait and the lacklustre second act I was feeling pretty zonked out. I have been following Architecture in Helsinki for a little while now, having bought their first album and enjoying their second (which Kat picked up a couple of weeks ago) and when the opportunity to see how they stacked up as a live act came along, I was pretty content to part with the $18.

Not bad at all sums it up pretty well. Architecture have a pretty unique sound, in part because they are an 8-piece with a fairly wide array of instruments and also because their vocalists have very distinctive voices. As a band they were relatively energetic and this helped to pull the crowd up a bit, although due to the nature of their music they only really rocked out on one or two tracks.

Definitely a worthwhile concert. If you are looking for something a little different, full of elfin vocals and some potent brass, they are definitely worth a look.

Sunday:
To make up for getting up early on Saturday, we got up a bit after 11 to meet Steve and Dawn for lunch. After a good feed at Eagle Street Pier, we headed into the city to have a bit of a wander around, Dawn and Kat did some shopping, Steve and I wandered around talking crap and offering commentary. There really are some hideous clothes out there.

Dinner was a much-anticipated event. Apart from the fact that we were catching up with Amanda, I was looking forward to getting my laughing gear around a Pig'N'Whistle Beef & Guinness pie. These things are all that is, ever was, and ever will be Pie. Crisp, flaky pastry, huge chunks of tender cow and thick gravy. Mmmm, pie.

After a bit of a feed, a chat and being assured that I had the right demeanour and paisley shirt to fake being an upholstered piece of furniture, Kat and I took our leave and headed back into the The Valley to be snobby cocktail bar patrons. The Bowery has a lot going for it - charming semi-derelict-while-unflappably-fashionable interior, extensive cocktail list, equally extensive range of beers and prices just unreasonable enough that the general bogan bar-going riff-raff tend to stay out.

Not much of that mattered though, we were there for the jazz. I am not sure how organised the gig was, as at times it appeared to be a 'bring your piece of brass and join in' kind of jam session. Nevertheless, the (when we left) 8 guys jamming away on an assortment of horns, guitar, bass and drums made an impressive team. Live improv jazz can be very difficult to do at all, let alone do well. If nothing else, the night highlighted how many talented, yet totally unheard of musicians there are out there, while incredibly untalented folks continue to do well on the charts. Such a waste.

Monday:
Finally, the business-end of the weekend was rolling round, and we had only one thing left to do - grab a little Aussie flag and watch the ANZAC March. Katrina's grandfather, who fought (and spent a long spell as a POW) in WW2 was among the thousands in the march, and among the select group of people drinking beer back at the apartment later that day. For me, it was the first large ANZAC ceremony I had been party to, and I was stunned by the number of people who turned out to line the streets. I was also a little confused, bemused and amused by the small group of young Japanese girls taking photos of the old troop carriers as they drove past.

After a few beers, we packed ourselves up and headed back down the coast in preparation of another week of work. All in all, a great long weekend.

I could use another one.

Artichokes, Yellowfin and Manga

2005-04-14T13:43:00.000+09:00

Kat and I went out last night for a meal, a nice meal. Whatever that means. Because it has won awards, and is a short cab ride away, we went to Oskars in Burliegh Heads. The evening can be summarised by 'Mmmmmm, tasty.' If you are on the Gold Coast with some $ to burn and want a tasty feed, check these guys out. The coconut creme caramel was so utterly delicious that it is probably illegal in a number of countries.

One thing I love about restaurants is the opportunity to eat food that you will practically never have either the skill - or more importantly - the time to make yourself. When was the last time you saw someone whip up an artichoke, spinach and caramelised onion tart in their own kitchen? Seriously, who could be bothered? Can you make a tart on the barbecue? No? Sorry, not interested.

I once made ravioli at home, from scratch (ie, I made the actual pasta and everything) and while it was tasty, it was undoubtedly not worth the time and effort. For those of you out there who want ravioli, here's a few words of advice: Go to a restaurant or buy the stuff from a shop.

Summary - Oskars make good food.

On to the manga! I must admit, despite my long-running ties to Japan, I have never been a huge fan of manga or anime. Just not my thing. From time to time, I do run across something that I like though. Nadesico was, for me, quite an entertaining anime series. However, that's not my topic for today.

Today I am going to breifly extol the virtues of Paper Eleven. Is it manga? Yeah. But not what one normally expects. It is exceptionally minimalistic, very dark, relatively abstract and quite entrancing indeed. It is only about half-completed at the moment, with 6 of 11 chapters completed (about 180 pages), but definitely worth a look if you have a few minutes.

Pictures of Walls

2005-04-13T16:22:00.000+09:00

From time to time I find a website that I genuinely like, but am totally unable to explain why. Pictures of Walls is one such site. The name of the page doesn't have some kind of amazing existential and obscure-Pink-Floyd-reference type meaning. It is literally a bunch of photos (153 at last count) of walls. Not just any walls though - graffitied walls.

I am not sure why, but I have always been a bit of a fan of graffiti. Let me clarify this by breaking graffiti into several basic categories - tags, art and ravings.

Tags, for the most part, are utter shite. Simply a squiggle of paint on a surface somewhere - they mean very little to all but very few, they are generally ugly and have no real merits whatsoever. I don't consider this graffiti, tags are just vandalism with paint cans. Some tags can transcend this, but I would file these in the 'art' category.

Art can be anything from obscure faces peering from walls to some of the coolest pictures you will ever see. Anywhere. Period. There is some great stuff out there if you look - you would be amazed at what you can see on the average train journey. Even though I have, for the most part, left my arts-student, left-wing past behind, I do enjoy some of the political and social commentary out there too. This kind of stuff isn't so bad in my opinion, and generally looks more interesting than the average blank wall.

Ravings however are something that I love. Usually the only positive thing about visiting a public toilet (alone) besides the relief is the writing on the walls and doors. Seriously. But these things appear everywhere. Normally smaller and less obtrusive than the tags and art, you can find anything from real pearls of wisdom from spraycan-wielding sages to some of the most random and amusing bits of reading on Earth. No really. Nothing brings up a grin more than a bit of cheekiness on an otherwise dull wall.

All that I just blathered about aside, check out Writing on Walls. No, seriously. It rocks.

Half-Arsed Review: Ben Folds - Songs for Silverman

2005-04-12T15:43:00.000+09:00

Greetings and welcome to a half-arsed album review!

Purchase of the latest Ben Folds album was, for me, a mere formality. Arriving home to find that my girlfriend had purchased it for me was really a nice surprise. Thanks Kat.

So, Songs for Silverman. As albums go, it's pretty good. As Ben Folds albums go, it is ok. A neat little 11-track package. To be honest, I was hoping Ben's cover of Dr. Dre's 'Bitches Ain't Shit' would make it on as a secret track (it made it as a b-side somewhere along the line), but there was no such luck.

What is right with this album? Well, lots really. Ben Folds is brilliant musically and he has some solid support - as always. (A certain Al Yankovich does backing vocals on 'Time'). The album is full of beautiful songs - 'Gracie' being one of the sweetest. The overall beauty of the album however, is (in my humble opinion) its downfall.

One thing that I have come to love about Ben Folds (and Ben Folds Five) albums is the amazing contrast he can put on an album. In the past few releases, for every bittersweet ballad, there was something a bit rawk to balance it out. Songs for Silverman lounges in a mellow cocoon, only venturing out for the opening track 'Bastard' and the occasional loud chorus here and there.

While it is a beautiful album, Songs for Silverman felt a little reserved. Perhaps Ben is mellowing. His recent live performance would not indicate that in the slightest, but it is possible. The days of screaming "Give me my money back, you bitch!" appear to be gone, and this is very much reflected in this soft and sweet new offering.

The album came out in Australia yesterday. Go pick it up, it's landed.

Gung-ho Ganja-puffing Granny

2005-04-09T13:04:00.000+09:00

I love news. News is great. Especially news like this:

A 66-year-old British grandmother with a taste for marijuana casserole has been spared jail despite admitting she had shared cannabis-laced cookies with fellow pensioners.

Patricia Tabram from East Lea in the northern tip of England, who said she uses cannabis to alleviate pains in her neck and back, pleaded guilty to possession of the drug with intent to supply.

Judge David Hodson said he would not make a "martyr" of her when she returned to Newcastle Crown Court for sentencing.

Instead, she received a six-month suspended prison sentence.

The white-haired, bespectacled granny was unrepentant, and said she would keep cooking with pot.

"I had it this morning in my scrambled eggs and I'll have it again for lunch. I'm not giving it up," she told Channel 4 news.

Tabram has become a symbol for Britain's legalise marijuana campaign.

On her website, www.grandma-eats-cannabis.com, she promises soon to provide free recipes, as well as tea towels and mugs for sale.

Last year, Britain downgraded cannabis from the same class as cocaine and ecstasy to a lower class of illegal drug, which means police are not expected to arrest people for possessing small amounts but can jail them for supplying it to others.

Police said they raided Tabram's home after a tip-off in May last year and found 31 cannabis plants along with hydroponic cultivation equipment. In a later raid they found 47 bags of "skunk", a particularly strong form of the drug.

The set-up at Tabram's home "bore all the hallmarks of any sophisticated drug dealer", police said in a statement.

Thanks to The Australian for that grab. Of course, this little note would not be complete without a link to her site - www.grandma-eats-cannabis.com

Brilliant.

Blenderization

2005-04-09T11:21:00.000+09:00

We bought a blender today. 1.5 litres of creamy banana smoothie later things are lookin' pretty good. However, I am half-expecting a downward spiral. Nine Inch Nails style. About two months ago we bought a BBQ. We ate barbecued food about every second night for a month. With the addition of this blender, I see a lot of blended beverages in my future.

In other exciting news, I should be picking up my new car today - the money is sitting at home, waiting to change hands. In an interesting twist, Ray (who is a professional Elvis impersonator) the guy I am buying the little SAAB off has a mate opening an LJ Hooker up here, and I have been offered a job. I declined, I am pretty happy where I am right now, but I will see how I go. It's always nice to have a backup plan.

Reclaiming the Weekend!

2005-04-06T12:59:00.000+09:00

It's official - I will once again be a member of the '9-5 Monday to Friday crew'. Starting the weekend after this one. My brief ride on the mechanical bull of wholly unpredictable rosters appears to be coming to an end.

To tell the truth, I kind of liked having Mondays and Tuesdays off, because (for all intents and purposes) it is a weekend without having to worry about shops being closed and everywhere being crowded. Still, my social life stands to benefit and that is never a bad thing. The whole "I can't have a big Friday or Saturday night because I am working the next day" claim was wearing a bit thin - moreso, I suspect, with me than my friends.

It is with no particular emotion at all that I have noted the death of Pope John Paul 2. One would almost think that having attended 5 years of primary school at the esteemed St. Augustine's primary I would have developed some kind of leaning in the very least - but truth be told I am more interested and amused by the myriad of news reporting and general hype that has come with the need for a new Pope.

One of my personal favourite articles related to a story about the most influential Catholic leader in the Philippines being unable to attend the ceremonies in the Vatican due to illness. Sure, it sounds dull until you realise that the name of the gent in question is Jaime Sin. Yes, that's right. Cardinal Sin. Oh come on! That is funnier than you are giving credit for.

I am still standing by my claim from the other night that Ben Folds would be a great Pope. Sadly nobody seems to be listening.

There are numerous other political and social issues that have dominated the headlines during my haitus from blogging. I can't be bothered to comment much, since (as a general rule) I didn't give a damn. I will however offer this link. It's possible that laughing at it will condemn your soul to Hell - but don't worry, I'll be there to keep you company.

More Regularly Scheduled Programming

2005-04-05T08:50:00.000+09:00

I have been neglecting this site of late, and I am resolving to get back into it. (At least, that is the decision I made now that I have a couple of things to talk about.)

1. It's NEEEEWWWW CAAAAR!!

Well, second-hand anyway. I will be taking possession of my '94 SAAB 900S this weekend and am thorougly looking forward to it. I may even be motivated enough to post a picture or two of it. It will be sad to say goodbye to the work Commodore and corresponding free petrol, but you have to let these things go (or at least have them taken off you according to the terms in your employment contract).

2. Ben Folds

It is no secret that I am a bit of a Ben Folds fanboy. What can I say, the man is awesome. I was fortunate to catch him on Sunday night at the Tivoli in Brisbane. I love the Tiv, it is a fantastic venue, especially if you get in early (or have your girlfriend get in early) to secure a good balcony seat.

The support act was Gelbison (well, a 2-man stripped-down version of them). For me they have always been one of those bands whose name you are familiar with but you couldn't hum a bar of any of their songs. I was impressed. They are horribly underrated in my opinion, and for a pair of guys with nought but a MIDI keyboard and some guitars, they were stellar. They even managed to crack a few jokes and put together a cover so brilliant that I gained new respect for the theme song from 'Home and Away'.

No matter how great the support act was, nothing could've competed with Ben. He was accompanied by a very talented drummer and a bassist with a great SoCal accent and a prediliction for the word 'fuck'. You barely noticed them. The things that Ben Folds is capable of doing with (or perhaps 'to' is a better term) a piano are simply spellbinding. He played a fair bit of his new CD (which is on my 'to buy' list) as well as some of the great old nerd anthems like 'Underground' and 'There's Always Someone Cooler Than You'. He had the crowd singing in 3-part harmony. He, in short, rocked.

It was awesome. There is little more to be said on the topic. He remains one of the best live acts I have ever witnessed, and I would unquestioningly rate him as one of the greatest musicians out there. Incredible stuff.

3. 21

Well, it's a few weeks old now, but I did it. I survived to 21. Massive shoutouts to all who attended the bash at Magic Mountain, you can find some photos of that over on Blade's blog - check them out. I must talk to that boy about the use of apostrophes at some stage too....

It was a nice, intimate gathering of a couple of dozen people and I, for one, had a great time. I was surpringly less hung over than I expected to be the morning after, but I guess that is something I can make up for next year. Nevertheless, it was great to catch up with everyone - I really need to get a bit more social, but things invariably happen on my weekends that prevent me from catching up with as many people as I would like. The fact that my weekend has been Monday and Tuesday for the most part has made it difficult, but I believe I am going back to the 'normal' Saturday and Sunday for a while, which will probably make these things a bit easier.

It is perhaps time for me to do some work, but look forward to a few more regular updates here to let you all know what's going on.

Alive and Thriving

2005-03-08T15:07:00.000+09:00

It's been a while since my last post. In fact, I haven't put anything down here since my return to Australia. Unfortunate though it may be, I have been busy.

It's kind of hard to know where to begin a recap of the last few weeks, which is why the next few paragraphs may be somewhat lacking in continuity and coherence. Just strap yourself in and pretend that you are enjoying the ride.

Life is good. Those three words are a justifiable summary of things at present. Since my return, I have moved in with Kat, which is going surprisingly well, considering how much I was getting used to living by myself. The fact that we haven't had any major dramas in the last few weeks bodes pretty well for the relationship in general as far as I can tell. I will probably return to discuss the de facto life at a later time.

Work is surprisingly good. I tore through the coursework for my REIQ qualification (ie the piece of paper that lets me sell whopping great chunks of real estate) and now just have to wait for it to be marked and for the Office of Fair Trading to register me. I should have this within two months, if all goes well.

I am surprised how much I am enjoying work, and returning back to my old company reminded me that work doesn't have to be mindless drudgery for forty hours a week, but can actually be (dare I say it?) fun. I have been splitting my time pretty equally between Sales, Marketing and helping out the girls in the legal department, but go full-time into Sales from Monday. While I am not totally sold on the whole roster thing (I get two days off in every seven, but which two will depend on the roster) I am looking forward to getting a few sales notched up.

The fact that work have been nice enough to furnish me with a phone and the shiny new ASUS laptop that I am typing this post on is also great. They have even extended me the honor of a company car (mid 90's Commodore) for my first three months while I get my act together and buy my first car. There is a SAAB out there with my name on it, and a reasonable pricetag. I will find it, mark my words.

In the meantime, I really need to stop abusing the fact that I drive something with a fair bit of muscle and start obeying speed limits. I would hate to lose my licence before I even purchase my own car....

My boxes of stuff that I lovingly packed began arriving this week, as my pile of worldly possessions grow. Later this week I will be picking up a shiny new LG sound system for the living room and with that stowed away, I should be pretty much moved in. Scary, scary stuff.

I have also discovered a newfound love in my life. The BBQ. Four gas burners of ultimate goodness. I am not sure if Kat is sick of eating barbequed food yet - if she is, she has yet to say so. There are still many, many things that I have not yet barbequed, so the novelty is a long way from wearing off from my point of view.

I am surprised how little I found to write about, considering how busy I have been, but rest assured, once I find a little more time to write these things, there will be plenty more raving and ranting to be had.

In closing: It's good to be back.

Zero Hour

2005-02-07T19:50:00.000+09:00

Well, here I am at Narita International Airport one more time - probably the last time for a while.

I'm still undecided as to just how I feel about coming back to Australia, although with 90 minutes until my flight it's too late to change my decision. Part of the apprehension probably just stems from the unavoidable fact that a fairly significant, albeit quite short, chapter in my life thus far is moments from conclusion.

It must be said that I like Japan, and I thoroughly enjoy living over here. If it hadn't been for the sub-par occupational aspect of the experience, I would probably be hard-pressed to make the decision that I have.

My last few days were really little more than a series of parties, interspersed with some packing and cleaning. Friday night was spent with a few select members of my circle of friends that I have met through work. After throwing back a few pints at a bar above Tamachi station, we made our way to a restaurant to eat, drink and be merry.

Saturday, after doing some packing and cleaning, I headed into Yokohama to meet up with Natsuyo and Ayaka. After a final visit to Yokohama Hard Rock Cafe (and subsequent sitting around feeling stuffed with food) we wandered towards Yokohama proper, stopping (not very) briefly for some pirikura. (You know, those silly photo booths that the Japanese are crazy about and I really don't understand). Yeah. Some of that.

Having fulfilled my 'acting like a Japanese schoolgirl' quota for the day, we found a karaoke place, and I engaged in some rare sober karaoke. Well, it started sober anyway... after three hours of the stuff I was delightfully tiddly. I didn't notice how bad my singing was, at least.

Yesterday, I made a final trip into Ginza to meet Belinda and Anne for lunch. We headed to a really nice shabu-shabu restaurant and, once again, I gorged myself. (I don't want to think about how many kilos all this eating and drinking has added to my waistline. I still fit into all my pant though, so I guess it can't be that bad).

We then proceeded to wander around Ginza and look at a few shops (the sales are still going, but having packed, the last thing I wanted was to buy more crap to carry home). I said my farewell and made my final trip to Shibuya and, more importantly, Hub.

I was meeting Mike and Natsuyo came along to say hi to him too. I didn't have a problem with this, but I found out a few minutes beforehand that Mike had one of his random girls along for the night. After convincing Natsuyo that I didn't give a rat's ass if she listened to Mike's pleas and behaved herself or not, we made ourselves comfortable and started drinking. After surprisingly good behaviour, Natsuyo headed home and Mike, Random and I found another bar.

Several hours later, we went our separate ways as Mike had to catch the shinkansen back to Niigata. (And I guess I had to get up and finish packing and cleaning.)

Today went fast. Once my bed was picked up and carted off, I cleaned my little flat, sent a final box of stuff home and at a final meal of noodles at the noodle shop beside Maita station. There was something almost symbolic about flicking the breaker switch and stepping out into the evening air as I left. One of those moments that I will probably remember for a while. The mental "goodbye Japan".

So here I am, on the cusp of the next act of the Nils show. In some ways, even though I would argue that it isn't, returning to the Gold Coast and Nifsan almost feels like a step backwards - but I guess that when you don't have any particular destination in mind, direction becomes meaninless anyway. I am looking forward to finally being able to spend some time with Kat and catch up properly with all my friends back home. I might even make the effort to visit my family a bit more too.

That is probably a good idea, because as of the 1st of February, I became and uncle again. My eldest sister, Emma has gifted me with a nephew, Jack William, and another argument against having a child of my own. I don't mind the partial responsibility that comes with uncle-hood, I am sure it's less stressful than playing the full-time parent game.

Congratulations Emma and Craig.

Well, I might wrap this up and start wandering towards my departure gate. I thought I should get this written on the off chance that QF360 plunges into the black Pacific sometime tonight.

Let the next stage begin.

Beautiful and Terrible Freedom

2005-02-04T18:02:00.000+09:00

In five minutes, I am going to go downstairs and I am going to walk out the door into the cool night air.

Here endeth my career at Nifco Inc.

Fuck it feels good.

Planning

2005-02-03T08:52:00.000+09:00

Well, I was going to pack my suitcase and be a bit domestic last night, but that didn't happen. Even the best laid plans of mice and men are discarded in favour of beer and sashimi.

That said, the beer was cold and refreshing, and the sashimi was fresh and tasty. I do still have the problem of needing to get my furniture ready to move (ie, take remainings things from desk, shelves and drawers) in about 20 minutes flat when I get home from work this evening.

I think I can do it.

Rasterize this!

2005-02-02T14:35:00.000+09:00

Raster have redesigned their site and posted a couple of new packs for the general public's browsing pleasure. I don't normall bother mentioning this kind of stuff here, but there is some exceptionally tasty art to be had, for those who want it.

Linkage!

Not long now....

2005-02-02T13:25:00.000+09:00

Well folks:

2.5 days and I have finished working in Japan.
5.5 days and I am on a plane.
7 days and I am working a new job.

Just about everything in between will consist of me going out and drinking with friends.

I had the offical work going away party/dinner last night will the folks in my department. It wasn't a bad affair, as I don't mind the people I work with. The fact that we had lots of tasty food and plenty of alcohol, none of which I had to pay for, really capped off a good night.

I even got a going away present - a bottle of vodka. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be much of an issue, except that suitcase space is at a premium and I have a considerable amount of alcohol in my house that needs drinking before I leave. I suspect this latest addition to the collection may wind up being a parting gift to one of my drinking mates....

Much of the beginning of the week was spent doing some final packing. All that I want to send home, has been sent, and now all I need to do is stuff my remaining gear into my suitcase. Hopefully it will all fit.

With my departure bearing down on me, (I bought my train ticket to the airport today) I am having time to mull over my Japan experience, which, I must admit has been a lot of fun. If I had a better job, I wouldn't want to be leaving. It is a shame, and I am going to miss the amazing convenience and quirky differences that just come part and parcel with life in Yokohama. I don't doubt that I will relish living on the Gold Coast again, but at the same time, if I see a cheap airfare back here, I might have to take a holiday....

The majority of my furniture will be picked up tomorrow evening, leaving me with little more than a bed, washing machine and fridge for my last few days. I suspect that in some disturbing way, my tiny room may even seem, dare I say it, large with the removal of all my stuff.

The fact that I can consider my little closet anything even remotely approaching 'large' suggests that maybe it is time I took a break from Japan after all...

The First Drink of the Day!

2005-01-29T13:51:00.000+09:00

Joel Veitch and his cohorts over at rathergood.com have put together a new band, dubbed '7 Seconds of Love', they have put one of their first songs up on the site, and, well, it rocks.

For some delicious ska, complete with monkeys and flying beer cans - go have a listen to "The First Drink Of The Day".

Speaking of alcohol, I had a pretty tidy night out last night with Tony and Belinda from work. For my 2nd-last Friday night in Japan for what will probably be a while, we hit up an izakaya down a crazy hidden little street out the back of Tamachi. The fact that it was so well hidden meant that it wasn't crowded and still had a very traditional feel to it. It rocked, and by the time we wandered out of there a few hours later, we were so full we could barely move. Good times.

I have also managed to sell off all my large pieces of furniture, which has been a great relief. By Thursday I will have a bed, and not much else adorning my room. I have managed to get the bed picked up the morning before I leave so that I am not forced to spend a night on the floor without my doona, which is also a good thing.

Thursday night saw a guy from Japan Post drop by to pick up a few boxes of stuff. Four boxes to be exact. With a combined weight of somewhere in the 70-kilo range, I am surprised he turned down my offer to help him carry them downstairs.... Now I just have to hope that they make it back to the Gold Coast safe and sound.

I also had a chat to some of my mates down in Nagoya this week, as I will (unfortunately) not be able to make it down there before I skip town. Turns out that Fuku-chan got married and is about 4 months from becoming a father, which is a little scary. A surprising number of people I know, around my age bracket are becoming parents or spouses, and while there isn't neccessarily anything wrong with that - thinking of myself as either a husband or father still freaks me out a little bit.

Sorry Kat, you will be hanging out at least a little longer for the rock.

Well, on that note, I am going to wander downstairs and forage around for something tasty to put in my mouth.

Less than 10 days to go...

The Bigger Picture

2005-01-24T16:50:00.000+09:00

Happy Monday!

Nothing like having two weeks of work left, but no actual work to do. I'd stop coming in, but then they would probably dock my last paycheck - and we can't have that happening. I guess I will mooch around and be bored for a while.

There was more mooching to be had on my weekend, which was pretty uneventful. The highlight being the fact that my packing efforts are well underway. I figure I will be sending five boxes of 'stuff' (ie. CDs, DVDs, books, clothing and assorted miscellany) home, and as of the moment, 3 of them are packed and sealed, ready to go.

My efforts to get other people to sell my furniture for me are going well, and just about all the big stuff is accounted for now. All I need to do is negotiate prices. The fact that I would probably have to pay to get rid of half of it if I wanted to throw it away will weaken my bargaining position somewhat, but I shall see how I go. I am meeting some prospective buyers (aka. guys that I go drinking with from time to time) for some drinks tonight.

Perhaps the main reason behind this post is the fact that the world, or at least the way the media reports it, has some serious problems. Allow me to refer to an article in The Australian today:

Kitten torched

January 24, 2005 A KITTEN was doused with petrol and set on fire the day after two teenagers were charged over the torture of another kitten at a Sydney railway station.

RSPCA chief inspector Don Robinson said the 10-week-old kitten was found today cowering under a house in Mount Druitt, in Sydney's west, with second degree burns to 30 per cent of its body.
Despite treatment, it had only a 50-50 chance of surviving, he said.
"A witness has told us they saw two male youths on Saturday night pour petrol on the cat and set it alight," he said.
Mr Robinson said he was keeping the exact location and time of the attack secret while the RSPCA and police worked to identify the attackers.

The kitten, named William after Braveheart's William Wallace, had probably been hiding under the house since the attack.
William is being kept at the same animal shelter as Shelley, the kitten tortured at Seven Hills railway station, also in Sydney's west, on Saturday, January 15.
Three boys were caught on closed circuit TV (CCTV) stoning, stomping on and twice running over an eight-week-old kitten with a bicycle about 2.30am (AEDT), police said.
The stray – later named Shelley after the police officer who rescued and later adopted her – was kicked onto the train line after being brutalised and left for dead.
Shelley suffered a broken leg and internal injuries.
Two teenagers, aged 15 and 18, are due to appear in court next month charged with aggravated cruelty. They face a maximum $22,000 fine and/or two years in jail if convicted.
A third teenager, also aged 15, escaped charge but will get counselling.
Meanwhile, in Victoria, police are questioning four teenagers today over the abuse of a cat in Shepparton on Saturday night.
The three-month-old cat suffered a broken pelvis and internal bleeding when it was kicked, swung by the tail and thrown to the ground.
Police believed the attack could have been an attempt to copy the torture of Shelley a week earlier.

For one, society has a few issues if teenagers are running around torturing kittens. But that's not my point. There will always be the odd weirdo/psycho/unbalanced sliver of society doing twisted things like setting cats on fire.

What bugs me is the overwhelming media attention that these types of crimes have been receiving lately. Domestically, people are being abused, killed and cheated, people are starving, poverty-stricken and greviously ill. Look beyond our borders and there are wars raging and natural disasters abounding. In the greater scheme of things, who gives a fuck about kittens? Really.

Wouldn't we be better off drawing attention to the plight of ill/abused Australians PEOPLE? I mean, good on the RSPCA for all their work - their hearts are in the right place - but human society, and Australian society specifically has slightly larger problems than a bunch of barely-pubescent louts playing with fire and furry animals.

Are we that desentisied to human suffering?

It remids me of the scene in American Psycho where Patrick Bateman stabs the homeless man and proceeds to stomp his dog to death. You don't blink when the homeless guy gets snuffed out, but the killing of the dog makes you cringe.

Science's Search for the Holy Grail

2005-01-20T11:22:00.000+09:00

Slashdot frequently has links to things that interest me, and today is no exception. The offering was a link to this article at the Technology Review website.

The article itself is about a certain Aubrey de Grey, who believes all people should have the right to choose how long they live. No, I am not talking about euthanasia or abortion - I am talking about life extension. de Grey believes that he has identified the 7 factors that cause humans to age, and ultimately die. He also believes that these 7 factors can be overcome within decades - that people alive today could well live to be centuries, or even millennia old.

As a bit of a science fiction geek, I find this stuff facinating, and the fact that de Grey has won some support within the legitimate scientific community is equally amazing, reducing somewhat the crackpot factor that tends to accompany people prophesising the kind of things he does.

The article, written by Sherwin Nuland, a bioethicist who interviewed de Grey - and beleives that the societal and emotional repurcussions of massive extension of the human lifespan is a negative thing - covers the issue from a few angles, and makes for a thought-provoking read. Check it out.

Become a terrorist - get a private jet!

2005-01-19T14:49:00.000+09:00

In response to an article posted on the ABC World News site this morning:

Bringing Mamdouh Habib back to Australia from the US military prison on Guantanamo Bay in Cuba could cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock has confirmed.
Mr Ruddock says details of Mr Habib's repatriation are still being finalised and it remains unclear when he will be released from Guanatanamo Bay.
Mr Habib has been imprisoned at the military detention centre by the United States for more than three years.
Mr Ruddock says for security reasons it is not possible for Mr Habib to fly to Australia on a commercial flight.
Mr Ruddock has told Southern Cross Radio the cost of chartering a flight could be high.
"Back of the envelope cost that I've heard of is that you could be looking at something like $7,000 an hour and it takes something like 40 hours to get him back," he said.
"They are the sorts of things that are being said."

So Phillip, what you are saying that the Australian public will be funding a private flight valued at up to $300,000 to bring home a guy who spent 3 years in Guantanamo without charge? How in the name of all that is chocolate-coated and holy did the responsibility for the plane ticket fall squarely on the shoulders of Mr. and Mrs. Australian Taxpayer? They didn't arrest him and hold him without charge! With the amount Uncle Sam has spent on the infamous War On Terror, surely they can spare a few quid to get the man out of their hair.

People claim that Mr. Habib may still be a security risk. Firstly, if he is truly a terrorist I am surprised that nobody found anything to charge the guy with during his three-year stint in Guantanamo. Secondly, Let's be realistic - he is a portly little guy who has spent the last three years in an isolated prison cell without any outside-world contact aside from the occasional chat with his lawyer. Just how dangerous can he be? With two sets of handcuffs and some heavy sedatives, you could probably check him in as oversize baggage!

That $300k could probably make a meaningful difference to a few people if spent on education, healthcare, the environment - in fact, just about anything except chartering a private jet to fly suspected terrorists back into Australia.

This entire situation is just plain wrong. In the name of justice, I hope that the inflight movies are all shit.

The Week in Review

2005-01-17T16:38:00.000+09:00

For someone practically doing nothing at the moment, I have been quite busy. Naturally, work has nothing to do with this. One thing that happens with four (currently three) weeks until you leave a country for an unspecified length of time is that you are obliged to go drinking with all your friends. Lots.

As a result, last Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights, I found myself in various locations, with various groups of people, drinking an assortment of alcoholic beverages.

It's been, for wont of a better word, great.

Tuesday night I broke the news to my local yakitori shop that I would soon be leaving, a move that resulted in a rather unpleasant hangover on Wednesday morning... a couple of the guys are helping to buy and sell some of my furniture though, so I suppose the headache was worth it.

Friday I caught up with Anne, Toni, Song and Belinda for what was probably my penultimate night out with my Thai mates for a few years at least. I managed to find a reasonably priced Izakaya on the 39th floor of the Yebisu Garden Tower in Ebisu. This was surprising, as the whole district is quite upmarket. So, after a few large ales from the Ebisu Beer Station on the ground floor, Belinda and I met up with the Thai crew and got stuck in to a rather large meal of various things on skewers.

Unable to locate a karaoke bar afterwards (much to everyone's surprise) we went bowling instead. I can admit that I am a particuarly inept bowler at the most sober of times, so needless to say my performance was somewhat uninspiring. The fact we were all drunk helped to mask this, a little anyway.

I managed to catch the very last train back to Kannai, arriving there at around 1 am, determined to find a taxi. Unfortunately, every damn cab heading in my direction was occupied, so I wandered down the road, frequently checking for a hail-able ride. Rather than actually get a cab, I wound up wandering the full half-hour home. I guess the cabs are busy in the wee hours of Saturday morning....

Saturday night was supposed to be a quiet, relaxing affair. However a couple of my local friends called me up and suggested that I meet them at a local izakaya instead. Naturally, I obliged. Much food and drink later, (and after watching one of my drunken friends try to get the waitress to agree to a date with my other, slightly less drunken friend - moderately successfully - he got her number) we headed to the yakitori place, just as it was closing. Being the regular customers that we are, it was more drinks all round and I vaguely remember heading home around midnight.

On the seventh day, I rested.

Of course amidst all the fun and games, there have been all the annoyances that accompany moving, I need to contact all my utility providers to get them shut off on the day I leave, and arrange for the final bills to be paid after my Japanese bank accounts are closed. I have booked my flight home (I will be arriving in Brisbane on the 8th) and once that is paid for, I will need to organise to get that money refunded, which will no doubt cause a few minor problems around here.

Then of course, there is the issue of packing. Let's face it, nobody likes packing. It is a tiresome chore and having lived in about eight different places since leaving home at the start of 2000, I am well and truly sick of it. Regardless, I will take an afternoon off in the next few days to collect some boxes from the post office, organise to have them picked up, and proceed to pour my worldly collections into them.

You would be amazed how much detritus you can accumulate in a single year. I blame Amazon.com, HMV and Tower Records for a large part of it. There is also the problem of selling of my furniture.... most of the smaller stuff (microwaves, stereos etc.) is fairly easy to get rid of, however my utterly wonderful bed is proving to be somewhat more of a challenge. I guess I could just enlist a friend to carry it down to the canal under the cover of darkness and send it to sleep with the fishies.... I think that my crappy spare mattress and rug will be donated to the homeless guys I see when I go jogging...

Then, of course, there is the problem of getting my final bits of money, pension payments et al back from Nifco. While, in theory, it should be an easy process, it is shaping up to be a right royal pain in the arse. Time will tell just how big an issue this is going to be.

Well, my ranting over and done with for the moment, I should get back to, ummm, not much really... Expect more of the same over the next few weeks...

Smugly Pleasured

2005-01-12T17:15:00.000+09:00

DONE! My resignation has been handed in.

Now all I can do is grin like an idiot until I get to my local yakitori bar after work....

Then I can grin and drink.

Smug Pleasure

2005-01-12T15:58:00.000+09:00

There is something incredibly empowering about having a signed letter of resignation on your desk, just waiting for your boss to return from a meeting so you can hand it to him. It's like a sugar high for the soul.

It is pretty much official. The 4th of February will be my last day here at Nifco. That night, Belinda (who shares the same last day), myself and a large group of our collective mates will hit town in what should be a rather rowdy last hurrah.

I cannot wait.

Having successfully reduced my one month notice period means that I plan to fly back to Australia on Monday the 7th. This date could change slightly, depending upon flight availability, but for the moment, it is the goal.

That's only 26 days away.

Not that I'm counting.

Release: Continued

2005-01-11T16:53:00.000+09:00

Well, this has been one of the better days I have had at work here. I have written a letter to Mr. O (currently in the US) informing him that I plan on resigning and I spoke to my rather surprised bosses about the matter.

It seems that they may try to come up with a counter-offer or something to keep me here, I hope that they do because it will feel mightily good to turn it down. The job I have committed to was offered to me by my old boss, Ian at Nifsan (which Nifco has divested of since I worked there last) in Sales. It's not the most glamourous position out there, but the comission is attractive, and I can admit that for all the stereotyping that the members of the White Shoe Brigade recieve, the potential for earning money in real estate sales is not something I am going to sneeze at.

At least not yet.

Once I hear back from Mr. O, I plan on handing in my offical letter to the company and kicking off my one month's notice. I imagine this will be setting a rather large cat amongst the pigeons in our quiet little office, but I guess that's all part of the fun.

At this stage, I am aiming to be back in Australia sometime during the week starting February the 15th, so stay tuned.

Release

2005-01-11T10:02:00.000+09:00

Well, ladies and gentlemen. This is it. This is the end.

During my twelve glorious days of holidaying back in Australia (which I will probably flesh out further in a later post) one thing, above all else, happened. I was offered a job on the Gold Coast, starting as soon as I can hand in my one month's notice here, and get out.

After some serious though, I made up my mind.

I took the job.

As such, you can expect me back in Australia from around the middle of February. More details will follow, but I am currently too busy writing letters of resignation to go into them.

More to follow...

Despair

2004-12-27T11:18:00.000+09:00

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.

Surf's Up

2004-12-27T10:42:00.000+09:00

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

2004-12-27T09:41:00.000+09:00

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!

... I don't belong here...

2004-12-26T19:05:00.000+09:00

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.

Happy Non-Denominational Holiday Season!

2004-12-23T10:59:00.000+09:00

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.

Envious of the Homosexual

2004-12-20T09:16:00.000+09:00

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.

Really I was only after a drink...

2004-12-15T09:17:00.000+09:00

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!

The Strokes Style

2004-12-14T14:47:00.000+09:00

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.

My Eastern European Swerve

2004-12-14T14:43:00.000+09:00

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.

Electronic Warfare

2004-12-13T15:33:00.000+09:00

Nabbed this from The Register, regarding the Playgirl Virus:

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 find to be a facinating sign of the times that, along with whatever else Vlad "the mad" Putin (my favourite Russian politico) is doing to bring the Chechens down, they are sending them viruses to neuter their communication capabilities.

I thought it was interesting, anyway.

Go Vladimir, WOO!!

Notmuchery

2004-12-13T15:15:00.000+09:00

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.

Respite

2004-12-06T09:27:00.000+09:00

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.

Mild Anticipation

2004-12-03T15:40:00.000+09:00

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.

Yearning

2004-11-30T14:58:00.000+09:00

Oh, how I long for something of interest to report! Alas, my life has been pretty dull of late. In fact, the highlight of my weekend was probably the purchase of a new mouse for my laptop.

Don't get me wrong, it is a fucking awesome mouse, and worth every Yen - but hardly exciting news.

The countdown has well and truly begun - exactly 4 weeks until my last day of work for the year, and 29 days until I touch down in Brisbane for 2 weeks of holiday.

I have also, for perhaps the first time in my life, made a meaningful New Year's resolution. I will change jobs, and by Zarquon, I will do it before my birthday (27th of March - send presents and/or money). I still haven't worked out exactly what I want to do, or where (chances are I will remain in Tokyo) but this particular corporate outpost is slowly sending me insane. It's either change jobs or go postal, and I don't relish the idea of going to jail and enduring a human booster shot from a big guy named Molly, so the mass-murder idea is on the outs.

Malaise

2004-11-25T09:32:00.000+09:00

You know that feeling when you had too much beer and not enough sleep the night before? I do, and let me tell you it is not the kind of feeling to instil in you a sense of productivity.

I went out for dinner with Ayaka last night in Machida, to the Izakaya where Natsuyo is currently working (I say currently, becuase she is due to quit at the end of next month). Being the patient friends that we are, we sat around and ate and drank while she worked, then we all bailed and hit up Hub.

Ahhh, Machida Hub. It has been about three years since I have been there - and not a great deal (read: bugger all) has changed. Except maybe a slight upward price revision. After sending a few more beers down to keep the other ones company, some fried chunks of potato and some conversation, we hit the road (as we needed to make the last train home).

The entire night was pretty much a carbon copy of dozens of nights during my study abroad over here, and it was great to relive it. Although, it is a little scary how easily I could just slide back into the old routine of going to Hub and getting sloshed every other night. The joys of student life.

For some reason I still managed to summon the energy to pour myself out of bed and make it to the office this morning. God knows why. This whole 'responsibility' thing is entirely overrated, I really need to find a way to recieve paychecks while behaving however the hell I like and having no regard for things like 'duty' and 'expectations'.

Maybe I should try politics....

Happy Labour Day, Corporate Nazi Whores

2004-11-23T13:05:00.000+09:00

How I failed to rant about this earlier, I have no idea, but here goes:

Guess what day it is in Japan today? Labour Day! The day traditionally set aside for workers to have a day off - as a reward for their efforts every other day of the year.

Heaven forbid the company that I work for be pretty much the only one in the entire damn country that ignores minor things like national holidays. Admittedly, the trains are far less crowded, and the commute is a lot more pleasant - but on the flipside there is hardly anywhere open for lunch and just about every business barring convenience stores and the train stations are closed. I bet the situation would be different if our HR department wasn't composed entirely of people with no lives outside the walls of our little corporate bastion.... and it is such a nice day outside today too.

... and people wonder why I want to quit my job.

Picture Hosting and Inconvenience Stores

2004-11-23T08:49:00.000+09:00

My picture hosting problems have been solved, with a little help from Ben a.k.a. MasterCyl over at -=Lansmash=-. Now all I need to do is get my pictures uploaded and redirect some links. With some luck, I will get around to this tonight.

In other news, I have learned an imporant lesson this week on taking things for granted. My local Lawson convenience store, situated an incredibly convenient hundred metres down the road from my flat is undergoing refurbishment this week - pretty much eliminating any utility it once had as a place for me to play consumer. After such a long and happy relationship, for this week I have been forced to choose between the close, but less appealing Family Mart a little way across the road and the large, but distant 7-11 further down the street. Both of which require more walking, and therefore less convenience. Woe betide me. Kinda.

It disturbs me somewhat the degree to which I have become dependent on having a 24-hour store a mere minute down the road from me - I have no idea how long it will take me to get over the withdrawl should I return to Australia.

Boomtown Rats Style

2004-11-22T09:26:00.000+09:00

Anoint me again as one of the slavering masses. Allow me to add my voice to the clamouring cacophonic cry of "I hate Mondays!" One minute, you are warm and comfortable, lying in bed - before you know it, you are once again planted in front of your desk harbouring resentment for the middle management.

On the plus side, my weekend was a good one - if somewhat quiet. Really, the only event worthy of a mention was the (rather lengthy) spell spent at Torihide (my local yakitori bar). Many people claim that alcohol improves your foreign language ability - to a point. Let it be known that I agree with them. Let the records show that my threshold is about 5 beers. By the time I was into my sixth, I noticed my ability to converse in Japanese regressing - my comprehension didn't suffer greatly, I just lost the ability to give much a reply. I was still perfectly capable of making it to the video store and renting Shrek 2, however.

I am not sure it if was the alcohol, or the fact that it was an enjoyable movie - but I did enjoy watching Shrek 2. To the point where there is now a slightly less-than-legal copy sitting atop my small pile of less-than-legally copied DVDs. One thing I thoroughly enjoyed about the film, (similarly to the original Shrek movie) was the soundtrack. It is pretty well-known that I am a bit of an Eels fanboy, and the musical genious of Mr. E (aka Mark Oliver Everett) has featured in both films. However, what really won me over was the addition of Tom Waits. Sure, he might sound like he has been gargling gravel every morning for the past twenty years, but I just can't help but enjoy his music. His cameo as the pianist in the seedy bar (The Poison Apple, from memory) was utterly tops.

Let it also be said that Cameron Diaz is a far less annoying actress when heard and not seen.

I am also going to use this relatively public forum to unleash my frustration with translating companies. Invariably, whenver we produce something in-house in Japanese (text for annual reports/operating manuals and the like), we outsource the translation for some exorbitant amount - which is fine. My translating skills aren't good enough that I could do it, and there are few in the company who, I belive, could. The problem I have is when these 'professionally translated' documents come back and I have to proof read them. What irks me even more is the fact that I have to correct puncutation/grammar/sentence structure every second fucking line. For the amount we are paying, our translations should come back written with such aptitude that even the most pedantic person would have trouble finding fault - yet here I am, once again, correcting the mistakes of people paid far more than me. Just quietly, that shits me. Shits me right off.

I read Engrish for fun, I don't expect to have to deal with it at work.

Spacing out

2004-11-19T16:12:00.000+09:00

It is truly remarkable how little work I have accomplished today. The fact that nobody seems to care really only gives me an incentive to continue. The challenging part about being slack at the office is finding new things to look at on the internet. There's a lot of stuff there, but finding interesting things that you can view in the office without arousing attention from the higher-ups does offer some challenges.

Thus far I appear to be coming out on top.

I spent a bit of yesterday afternoon reading up on Irezumi, which is traditional Japanese tattoo (the hardcore, full-body "I am a human canvas" kind of stuff). Facinating stuff. I shall leave you a couple of links if you wish to pursue the topic much futher. I find the idea of having one's skin tattooed in its entirety intrugiung, and (dare I say it) attractive on some level deep in my subconscious. Of course, the cost and time commitment - not to mention the difficulty in finding an Irezumi tattooist to do the work makes the whole thing completely impractical. The fact that you couldn't flick a 'tattoo on/tattoo off' switch also turns me off the idea. Sure, it might be cool now - but give it 10 years. Or less. Tattoos are probably a less-than-clever idea for the occasionally impulsive. Myself included.

My impulses are much better suited to situations where questions like 'Do you want another drink?' are being posed. Last night I met up with Natsuyo and Ayaka in Yokohama for a rather lengthy stay at the Wara-wara Izakaya near Yokohama station. You know the one. Japanese as a language - in it's correct form, isn't overly difficult if you leave out the written side of things. There are numerous rules and few exceptions - unlike English, which is just a thrown-together linguistic clusterfuck.

One beef I do have with the Japanese language is the numerous forms that words can take, and should take depending on whether you are adressing a friend, a subordinate, a superior or the Emperor. Casual Japanese isn't that difficult, except of course that there are words that girls can (and do use) that guys do not (and vice versa, to a lesser degree). So, when trying to understand two Japanese girls in coversation, you do not merely need to understand Japanese, or casual Japanese - but you have to try to decipher the J-girl dialect. The fact that they talk a mile a minute only serves to make this task more difficult. Trying to do this after a full day of work (or at least, full day spent at the office) and a few beers will only confuse you.

That said, the night was fun, and I was only moderately tired with a mild hangover when I dragged myself out of bed this morning.

In other news, I don't really have much other news. That is all.

Getting the Picture

2004-11-18T08:37:00.000+09:00

Yes, I am aware some of my images on the blog are broken. I am in the process of hunting down a decent place to host them. It may even wind up with a small transaction between me and the owner of another website. For the moment, you will have to be content with my words alone, words which assure you that I shall try to resolve this issue over the weekend.

In other news, my path of whore-like book consumption (seriously, I am accumulating reading material at a frightening rate - this normally wouldn't be a problem, except that I don't have much room for another bookshelf in my flat, but anyway) has led me to another utter gem by Charles Stross. The Atrocity Archives (his first published novel) is one of the best books I have read in years - and that is based upon the first two chapters which I read on the train this morning. If you enjoy sci-fi, find this book and read it.

Mixed Blessings

2004-11-16T16:23:00.000+09:00

Well, it has been over a week since my last update here - and with good reason! I have spent it doing a training course at our Sagamihara factory. It wasn't particularly riveting, but amusing at times as the other participants (Tim, our Detroit Sales Manager and John, our UK Prouduction Manager) came to terms with Japanese culture - corporate and otherwise.

It was also a good chance for me to hone my rather woeful translation skills (the amount of specialised plastics, manufacturing, sales and accounting vocabulary I had to look up was phenomenal), but the fact that I was translating of course resulted in me paying a little more attention to what was being said than I normally would have - which I guess means I may have got something out of the experience. I dunno. At the very least, I did get out of the office for a week - not to mention a few free meals.

I also did the gracious host/tour guide thing on Saturday and took Tim and John into Tokyo (it was their first time in Japan) and it gave me a chance to play tourist a bit too, which I don't bother with very often. We checked out the Sensoji Temple in Asakusa - which is pretty cool, as far as temples go, made a brief stop in Akihabara to look at the latest in electronics, wandered through the ever-crowded, narrow lanes of Harajuku, marvelling at the outlandish garb some young Japanese find themselves clad in and finally hit up Shibuya. I imagine that for someone who hasn't see it before (I can't even remember my first time) that Shibuya Crossing on a Saturday night is pretty impressive. It's certainly nothing like back home (where 'back home' could be pretty much anywhere outside of Asia), and the guys were pretty stunned by the sheer volume of people filling the streets.

To cap off the day, I mixed two of the best ingredients for a fun night out - in the form of Hub happy hour and dinner at The Lockup. (I always tell people that Lockup is somewhere you have to go, at least once - I have lost count of how many times I have been there.) Somewhat sozzled, we made it to the station and caught suitable trains back home.

The night before (and I am jumping around chronologically here for a reason, I promise) I caught up with a few of the current and former girls from work. Anne and Mayuko being the former ones - much of the dinner conversation was spent bitching about work - which is pretty much a staple topic for people who have/do work here. Turns out that life on the outside is a little better, and with Mayuko assistant VP at a bank in Tokyo, one of Anne's friends 1 week from starting a job as a recruiting agent and various other opportunities abounding in this fair city, I admitted that I was pretty much ready for a change - a change with a higher salary, of course.

Having said that, out of the blue, I return to work in Tokyo this morning - my boss comes over and hands me a sheet of paper. Before I really get a chance to read it, he explains that I will, from now on recieve semi-annual bonuses (issued in December and June), effectively adding over 10% to my annual salary. Obviously, this is awesome news and I am utterly stoked. I am at a complete and utter loss however to understand why or how the hell my pay jumped so sharply. Have I done anything extraordinary? Nope. Do I really do anything? Well, sometimes... Admittedly, I have just completed my first full year of work here, but I know perfectly well that my raise is considerably better than the basic annual increase, so I don't know what's going on.

If these guys are trying to positively reinforce my current work habits, they should make sure I am actually doing work to begin with. Although, on the flip side, I will definitely be sticking around to recieve my December bonus. I may need it to cover moving costs and a deposit on a new flat.

However, as the title of todays little (or long) rant may suggest, it is not all the proverbial peaches and cream. Due to some mysterious reason, that Yuki didn't want to talk about in front of the other people in the office, my next planned trip to Australia has been, sadly, cancelled. While it is a bit of a bummer, I was consoled with the fact that I will probably score a trip early next year. Not to mention the fact that I am still coming over in six weeks anyway, so I guess I can stick this one out. I mean, it's only another six weeks and thirteen hours to wait. Not that I'm counting.

Pictures from the Motor Show

2004-11-09T11:20:00.000+09:00

As promised! Sure, they aren't brilliant quality, but I'm sure you will all get over it.

Toyota's Future Truck Concept:

Toyota's Hiace Concept - The Sound Satellite:

(Note: DJs and Dancing Crowd do not come standard)

This not-so-little sucker from Hino (Toyota's truck subsidiary) is due to compete in the 2005 Paris-Dakar Rally:

This little baby from Toyota, dubbed the PM, is basically where they see transportation going in the future. Single-person transportation, overly colourful with all sorts of electronics, telemetrics, holographic displays and just about anything else you would see on the bridge of the Enterprise. The concept itself if a year or two old now, but due to the huge crowds that normally surround it at motor shows, this is one of the first times I have managed to take a decent picture of it.

I shall conclude this little presentation with some wonderful engrish, courtesty of Mitsubishi-Fuso. They are releasing a new range of heavy trucks called the "Super Great" range. On it's own, that name made me smile. Apply it to a dump truck, and whaddya get? Amusement, for one:

Monkey Sperm and Female Infidelity

2004-11-09T10:59:00.000+09:00

Some of what I am about to say has to do directly with this article, which I lifted from The Australian this morning.

It's not every day I have an opportunity to read and/or write about testicle size, so I though I should make use of it - who knows when it will happen again.

The article relates to a study done on the sperm count and testicle size of a dozen species of primate. Humans included. Basically the findings were that the more promiscuious the females of a given species, the higher the sperm count of the male - because during sex his sperm was in direct competition with the sperm of rival males. As a result, male chimpanzees, whose female counterparts are apparently the filthy harlots of the primate world have a very high sperm count and massive balls for their body size. Gorillas on the other hand, with particularly faithful females have comparatively diminuitive gonads.

Humans, it turns out fall somewhere in between. I will conclude this little discussion with two select paragraphs from the article:

"It is likely that our female ancestors cheated on their spouses often enough to leave men with room for doubt about their paternity."

Are women just as inlcined to infidelity as men are constantly painted to be? There are certain genetic clues pointing towards a 'yes'. I could probably name a small sample of my female friends to give weight to this argument - but I am not going to.

I will leave you with a more thorough explanation of why a high sperm count is neccessary in species with promiscuious females:

"Making more sperm is not the only way of boosting a male's chances of fertilising an egg. If his partner might be cheating on him, he can improve his prospects by producing sticky semen that coagulates in the vagina, creating a "chastity belt" that stops rival sperm from getting past."

I went all the way to Chiba for sports cars and beer, and all I got was beer!

2004-11-08T15:54:00.000+09:00

As it turned out, the motorshow on Friday was commercial vehicles only (ie. trucks/vans/buses and the like), so I missed out on seeing the sports cars I had looked forward to. There were a few models (surprisingly the tyre companies had amongst the most attractive ones) and there was also plenty of beer. When you take into account the fact that it got me the afternoon off work, with pay - I guess I still came out on top.

Unfortunately, I have not uploaded any of the photos yet, but there were one or two vehicles that took my eye. Both Toyota, as it happens. The first was an utterly gargantuan crewcab ute (that's a pickup truck, my American friends). While still only a concept, this thing was about the same size as a Hummer. Utterly ridiculous and impractical for pretty much anything, which probably means it will sell really well in the US once the rap stars begin buying these things and pimping them out.

The other vehicle, which was really rather spiffy, was a concept vehicle for the new Toyota Hiace (which, in Australia at least tends to be your standard, white, tradesman's van). This one however, was slightly larger than it's plumber-carrying brethren, shiny purple with retractable plasma screens and an interior that folded out into mixing decks and a bank of speakers and lights. Dubbed the 'Sound Satellite', it was by far the coolest thing at the motor show, and once I get them uploaded, I will provide pictoral evidence that this thing exists.

My Saturday was fairly cruisy, and only moderately eventful. I did a bit of wandering around Sakuragicho and hit up the cinema in the World Porter building with Aki, one of Mike's old ex-girlfriends. I find it a little odd that I end up hanging out with his exes, (well, OK, only two of them - which is just a drop in the bucket really) but if nothing else, Mike seems to be good at dumping/getting dumped by girls who live in Yokohama and can show me around.

Anyway, back to the cinema, after some deliberation (Mike also has a knack for choosing girls with practically no decision-making ability - maybe that's how he get's so many...) we ended up seeing Secret Window, complete with Johnny Depp, Philip Glass soundtrack and based on a Stephen King novella (as well as the chick who played Rosie, the hooker, in Payback - a classic movie of the 'Arsekickery' genre). I really didn't mind this film, it was a pretty typical King-style suspense/thriller and while a little slow in parts, overall entertaining. It was also a poignant (well not really) reminder of how useful, but under-used the humble shovel is as a weapon. Not enough shovel-related combat in movies - or real life for that matter. I want to see the next issue of Lynch Mobbing Monthly with the words "Shovel - It's the new pitchfork" emblazoned on the cover. (There are actually less shovel-related killings in this movie than you would think from my previous few sentences, but I felt that it desevered a mention).

Somewhere in there I made the fatal mistake of going into the HMV. It is no secret that I have pretty much zero self-restraint when it comes to purchasing music - and 4 CDs later, (my point well and truly proven, yet again) I had sated my uncontrollable urges for music. The latest and greatest additions to my collection: Fatboy Slim - Palookaville, Ben Folds Five (self titled), Chemical Brothers - Come With Us and Tom Waits - Real Gone. All four are worth a listen.

Anyway, post-film we headed over to the Red Brick Warehouse (the Aka-Renga Soko, for those playing the Japanese game). I had only ever heard of this place, never actually been in there - as it turns out, it is nothing more than an old (red brick) warehouse from the 1900's which has been converted into a small mall. It was pretty funky inside - some effort had been made to keep the 'old warehouse' feel, and there were some pretty cool furniture stores in there as well. One thing I have noticed in my time here, is that you can buy all sorts of cool furniture over here - if you are willing to pay an arm, a leg and sign away the soul of your first-born. Of course, the fact that I have pretty much zero space for any new furniture, regardless, turns the average furniture-shopping experience into little more than 'sitting on sofas to see if they are as comfy as they look'. For the record - quite often, they are.

Anyway, where was I? Trying out sofas... Well, after all the pseudo-furniture shopping, we wandered into Kannai and hit up an Izakaya that Aki assured me was good. Well, I can't fault her on that. It was. Next time I am in Kannai and looking for dinner, I will probably go back. While I can't remember the name (I just can't, it has nothing to do with the several beers I knocked back once inside), I can remember eating some damn tasty food. The shabu-shabu was particularly good, the fact that they trust you with a portable gas stove in a licensed restaurant and let you cook your own food makes me wonder sometimes, but I guess there can't have been any serious accidents before, otherwise it would probably be illegal.

I headed home after dinner, and despite being tired as hell, had the urge to watch Kill Bill 2 again - so I did.

Sunday I pretty much just lazed around, slept, ate and listened to my new CDs. The new Fatboy Slim album is highly reccomended, for those who are into that sort of thing. The new Tom Waits album, likewise.

Working Hard

2004-11-05T11:52:00.000+09:00

What's better than going to the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show?

Doing it in work time on a Friday afternoon with one of your friends from the department downstairs. Looks like beer o'clock to me! The fact that the place will be packed with the latest and greatest cars (not to mention a wide array of models draping themselves on said cars) just makes it that little bit sweeter.

Report, with photos, will follow.

Lions do not respond positively to religious zeal

2004-11-04T13:40:00.000+09:00

In a move that could have won him a Darwin Award had it gone a bit further, a man leapt into the lion enclosure at Taipei Zoo in an attempt to convert the animals dwelling therein to Christianity.

After shouting "Jesus will save you!" following by "Come bite me!" one of the male lions felt it only prudent to oblige, biting the man on his leg and giving him a good old scratching.

Before things became too entertaining however, the lions were called off the attack by zoo workers brandishing hoses and tranquiliser guns.

Reuters has the story here, along with video footage of the event, which I must admit, I found more than a little entertaining.

Apparently the prediliction for eating christians has stayed with the lions since their Roman employment, centuries ago. I'm surpised Dubya hasn't tried

The plot thickens....

2004-11-04T11:31:00.000+09:00

It appears that the F900iC is available with the bilingual option, which is a bonus.

Titan black however, appears more of a lame grey.

Can't win 'em all...

I don't really need a new mobile...

2004-11-04T10:08:00.000+09:00

However, today's Slashdot brought my attention to the fact that the nice people at Sony have developed the FeliCa, a contactless IC card system. Basically, electronic wallet, ID, train ticket, credit card - the whole shebang, all in one. That on it's own isn't really enough to inspire much in me. Sure, it's nifty, but why should I care?

Very simple. In the form of their F900iC handset, DoCoMo have added this nifty little feature to their latest mobile phones. As someone who uses train passes several times a day, and someone who is frequently fishing into his wallet for cash/cards, the sheer utility of something like this is enough to make me take notice.

Naturally, the phone will come with a fatty-boombatty camera, internet capabilities and all the other bells and whistles that Japanese mobile phones have considered 'standard' for aeons. In fact, if it turns out these little babies can play the bilingual game, I just might find myself signing up. Even without the benefits of my mother tongue, they look mighty appealing. The phone even comes in 'Titan Black'. I don't know exactly what colour that is, but I bet it looks impressive.

Of course, the fact that my year-old, baby blue AU is still doing a perfectly serviceable job as a mobile communications device really begs the questions "Do I need this?" The answer, unsurprisingly, is a resounding 'Nope, definitely not.' But that, as well all know, does very little to reduce the allure of the latest and greatest... I plan on doing a little shopping on Saturday, should I pass a DoCoMo shop, I may find myself stopping in for a chat...

Looks like another few years of Bush...

2004-11-03T17:12:00.000+09:00

Well, the last vote hasn't exactly been counted yet... but with Ohio looking like it will fall to Dubya, it would appear at this point that the world can expect another few years with him as 'leader of the free world'... whatever the hell THAT is supposed to mean.

I can't say I like the man, but on the plus side, he isn't anywhere near as funny-head-shaped as Kerry - and John Howard won't have to waste any time sucking up to a whole new US administration...

Still, things could be better.

Well, I know I am feeling cultured

2004-11-03T09:06:00.000+09:00

Happy culture day everyone! Yes, that's right, today is culture day in Japan - and a public holiday no less. Unless you work for bastards, in which case you find yourself in a similar situation to myself - at work and resenting it. Evidently, the phrase 'public holiday' has yet to sink in with the nazis in the personnel department.

The fact that I seem to have come down with a mild cold and would much rather be at home resting and relaxing than sitting in one of the very few occupied office buildings in the greater Tokyo area has done nothing to improve my mood.

So what's new with me? Well, not a great deal to be honest.

The weekend was only mildly eventful, I caught up with some friends from my study abroad trip three years ago, Natsuyo and Ayaka (my and Mike's ex-girlfriends, respectively) and Chichi, who I met but only vaguely remembered. It was less akward than you would expect, and quite amusing in several regards. I will always remember Ayaka as (although a 2nd year uni student) having the appearance, and mental age of a 13 year old. I did a massive double take when I saw her with short hair and wearing a suit. I don't know what happened to her in the last three years, but 'professional' is never an adjective I would've used to describe her back then.

Natsuyo had changed much less, although I was relieved to hear her taste in music had improved. I still rue the fact that I dated somebody who both enjoyed the music of, and vehemently maintained the heterosexuality of the Backstreet Boys. What can I say? I was young and naive.

After a bit of shop-wandering, we grabbed some drinks at Hard Rock Cafe in Sakuragicho and went to the cinemas to see Collateral. It was a little predictable, but overall a pretty enjoyable film. Worth watching, but I wouldn't buy it when it comes out on DVD. Rent and copy maybe, but not buy.

Lately, I have become a bit of a dirty pirate. Such is the bane of having a DVD burner, I suppose. I have, however, resolved to get myself a copy of the Kill Bill box set. I rented the second one on Monday night, and was reminded how cool it was. Pai Mei reminded me of Chuin, master of the House of Sinanju in the (probably cult classic - or simply forgotten) Destroyer books. Next time I am online looking at books, I might have to track some of these down.

As for the last few days of work, as predicted, I have become rather busy again, having spent a number of hours in the last few days talking to Mr. O about the Aussie business, being lumped with dealing with our UK and US operations (while Tony is 'living it up' in the frozen wastes of Northern England), and complying with requests from my superiors to do something about the sheer volume of files that these two subsidiaries generate.

The beautiful part - today should be a fucking holiday.

Well, I'm done bitching. Here is some wisdom from the White Ninja:

Bwa Ha Ha!

2004-10-29T13:44:00.000+09:00

And now some political humour, courtesy of The Australian.

Dubya: Movie Villain of the Year

2004-10-29T09:10:00.000+09:00

Well, voting is closed in Total Film Magazine's annual search for the year's 'best' movie villain. And the winner is....

None other than George W. 'Leader of the Free World' Bush! Dubya won the award for his portrayal in Mike Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, overcoming adversaries as varied as Kill Bill 2's Elle Driver, Spiderman's lastest (and I might I add, underwhelmingly soft) nemesis Doctor Octopus and the nefarious little Gollum.

.

Erotic Origami

2004-10-28T16:04:00.000+09:00

Work has been very slow over the last few days. Mr. O skipped town to Korea for a week or so, taking with him my 20-page report regarding the recent trip to Australia and pretty much obliterating my workload for this week. Hence, I have been spending extended periods of time sifting through the wonderous thing that is the internet. Boy, they've got a lot of cool stuff on that internet!!

Anyway, I found myself bored and surfing through some articles on The Register. Among them was this article about the 'erection' of the world's biggest (10 foot) origami penis in London.

One thing I like about The Register is the useful links that accomany each article - you never know where you will end up! It could well be somewhere like Origami Underground, which proclaims to be " The place to find erotic origami on the web." (I will take their word for it.)

What I found really defied all description. This site has intricately folded pieces of paper in just about every suggestive, erotic and downright pornographic pose imaginable. People claim that I have too much free time because I am always surfing the net.

Makes you wonder what kind of lazy-ass job the creators of erotic origami do for a living...

The Dead Horse

2004-10-27T11:52:00.000+09:00

Tony, my esteemed colleague who sits opposite me has been doing a bit of research in the leadup to him spending another month at our floundering UK plant. In his travels on the information superhighway, he chanced upon "A Guide To Implementing the Theory of Constraints". While much of the site is serious business, pertaining to production management and the like, there was one section he found, and forwarded to me, which I have included below. On it's own, it is only moderately humorous. I can accept the fact that some people will read it and fail to find it funny. However, for people (like Tony and myself) working for a company that has a penchant for sado-necro-beastiality (that is to say "flogging the dead horse"), hilarity ensued.

Dakota tribal wisdom says that when you discover you’re riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount. However in business we often try other strategies with dead horses, including the following;

Buy a stronger whip.

Change riders.

Threaten the horse with termination.

Say things like, “This is the way we have always ridden this horse.”

Appoint a committee to study the horse.

Arrange to visit other sites to see how they ride dead horses.

Lower the standards so that dead horses can be included.

Appoint a tiger team to revive the dead horse.

Ride the dead horse “outside the box.”

Buy a commercial off-the-shelf dead horse.

Create a training session to increase our riding ability.

Reclassify the dead horse as “living-impaired.”

Compare the state of dead horses in today’s environment.

Change the autopsy report to declare that “This horse is not dead.”

Kill all the other horses, so this one will look the same.

Name the dead horse “Paradigm Shift” and keep riding it.

Ride the dead horse “smarter” not harder.

Hire outside contractors to ride the dead horse.

Harness several dead horses together for increased speed.

Do a time management study to see if the lighter riders would improve productivity.

Declare that “No horse is too dead to beat.”

Call the dead horse a “joint venture” and let others ride it.

Provide additional funding to increase the horse’s performance.

Do a cost analysis study to see if contractors can ride it cheaper.

Purchase an aftermarket product to make dead horses run faster.

Declare the horse is “better, faster, and cheaper” dead.

Form a quality circle to find uses for dead horses.

Declare that “This horse was procured with cost as an independent variable.”

Get the horse a Web site.

Promote the horse to a supervisory position.

Yippie-aye-o-kai-aye, motherfucker.

That Quake

2004-10-27T11:24:00.000+09:00

As it turns out, that recent quake hit a 6.0 on the richter scale, about 250 km NW of Tokyo. No wonder we felt it.

It even made it into the Australian news!

Unceremonius Dumping

2004-10-27T11:01:00.000+09:00

Autumn (or 'Fall', for those of you who feel the need to unmercifully mutilate the English language) appears to have been unofficially dropped from this year's calendar. Summer, having long outstayed it's sweltering welcome was barely waning when I left the country just over a forthnight ago. Upon my return, it is becoming clear that Winter is calling all the shots now. (Ok, granted, temperatures are still only ranging between 10 and 20 degrees C, but it's not even bloody November yet!)

I must admit, I am a fan of Autumn. Clear, blustery days, multi-hued foliage and a collective sigh of relief at the departure of Summer. It would appear that (in Japan at least), myself and other Autumn enthusiasts have been well and truly shafted.

As if to let me know that I am onto them, the forces of nature just blessed our office building (and probably a fairly wide nearby area) with a pretty decent tremor. Enough to get some of the Japanese staff here reaching for their bright orange 'Emergency Kits' (consisting of a hardhat, some non-perishable food and god-knows what else - I haven't been issued with one). Of course, it is probably just one of dozens of aftershocks following the recent large quake up in Niigata. I have resigned myself to the fact that anything capable of pulling this building down around my ears will lay waste to enough of Tokyo that pretty much everyone is screwed to the point where an orange cloth bag will be of little comfort.

That is assuming I don't wind up freezing to death first.

Beers, Van Helsing and Earthquake Avoidance

2004-10-25T21:22:00.000+09:00

My last few days in Australia were tops by all accounts. Buffet dinners, burgers at the Hard Rock Cafe (which is exactly what restaurants would be like in heaven, except more expensive), fish and chips on the beach at Burleigh and a few quiet beers in front of the telly while watching Van Helsing.

Let me say a few words about Van Helsing. In my humble opinion, it was poor. Not 'beggar child on the streets of Calcutta with torn clothing and holey shoes' poor. More like 'an overhyped movie with a couple of big-name actors that you expect a lot from, but in fact find that the coolest part of the movie is the closing credits' type of poor. In the films defense, the closing credits were pretty well done. The are a number of reasons why I didn't like the film, and Hugh Jackman and David Wenham's ridiculous accents are only minor ones. The story itself was devoid of merit, Frankenstein's monster redefined 'whiny, irritating bitch' and Van Helsing's magical crossbow with unlimited ammunition that came from nowhere infuriated me.

My last night in the country also involved a few slightly rowdier beers at Barsoma in the Valley. It was Troy, Franger and a bunch of other people's birthdays, and a small group had made it out to celebrate. (There was a house party component, but Kat and I didn't end up making it.)

Oh, somewhere in there I actually did some work too....

The night was generally pretty nice and cruisy, with a sprinkling of jeering laughter when Jezza managed to turn on his charm and both repulse and annoy our waitress, who turned out to be the manager's wife. It was worth it for the verbal dressing-down he recieved. After a number of Stellas and a deftly stolen Corona, Kat and I headed back to Lady E's place and crashed.

The next morning was an early one, and accompanied by tired groans. Despite the lethargy, we made it out to Brisbane International in time to stand in line behind a school group of Japanese students. Who were travelling in their school uniforms. On a Sunday. There are just some things about the Japanese I never will, and probably don't want to figure out.

The flight itself was relatively uneventful, but in order to annoy me, JAL felt the need to subject me to Van Helsing for a second time. When I am king, they shall be first against the wall. Radiohead style.

Anyway, I made it back to my flat, exhausted and crashed.

I woke in the morning, prepared for work and as I walked out the door my phone rang. It was my mother calling to see if I was OK. I asked why.

Turns out that Niigata prefecture (a good few hundred clicks from where I am) was the lucky recipient of one of the strongest earthquakes in recent Japanese history. With over twenty dead and 2000 injured (according to this morning's Japan Times) I am not inclined to argue.

Evidently, I survived - and (slightly dissapointingly) so did my workplace. Much to my surprise, I had actually done a fair amount of work while I was in Australia, and found myself with about 25 pages worth of notes to type up and compile into a report. It should be ready sometime tomorrow. Maybe.

I'm OKAY!

2004-10-25T09:18:00.000+09:00

Well, I have made it back, safe and sound. I will post something a bit more substantial later on when I get a moment.

I should report that despite large typhoons and some of the worst quakes in years, both my house and my person are totally unscathed.

Expect something a bit less brief regarding the final few days of my last Australian jaunt in the next day or two.

Landed Down Under

2004-10-18T14:46:00.000+09:00

Well, after a few days back in the country, I have to admit that it feels good to return. Even if the weather has spontaneously decided to piss down rain all day. I am a little surprised as to how much has changed at work since last time I was here (this time last year). I guess a lot can happen to a large property development in that kind of time-frame. It will certainly look impressive upon completion.

In true Japanese company fashion, I landed Friday morning and (barring a minor incident involving my girlfriend's car, a hill and a towtruck) headed straight into the office. It turns out that despite the fact I was tired as hell (I lack the ability to sleep well on planes - managing to get 3-4 hours only that night) I had timed the return well - work was throwing a party for a couple of staff who were leaving that afternoon. So, after a few hours of catching up with all the staff during work time, I spent a few hours catching up with my Australian beer consumption and attending a barbeque on the verandah at work. Good stuff.

All this of course, paled in comparison to my Saturday. After being suitably impressed by Lady E's (my GF's mother) new apartment on the river in Bris Vegas and catching up with Lauren in the City, Kat and I watched Shaun of the Dead at the Myer Centre Cinemas headed out to party at the Geekhouse. I must admit, that I was suitably impressed by the film. In many ways, I would describe it as an English cousin of the utterly fantastic and generally underrated Australian movie Undead. If you get the chance, check it out.

Anyway, as predicted, it was a great night, full of alcohol, conversation, Soul Calibur 2 and the occasional bit of controversy (as well as several conversations about vaginas). It was great to catch up with all the guys after so long - I should try to do so more often in the future. At some stage, I might put a photo or two up. I'll see how I go.

The next day, armed with a slightly queasy stomach and a greater knowledge of cervixes and thrush, Kat and I hung around to watch Dawn of the Dead (another great zombie movie, although I must admit that I preferred Shaun of the Dead myself). Once the credits had rolled, and John carelessly sacrificed a beer to the footpath, we did some shopping in Queen Street and headed back home.

Sometime during the night, a stupid amount of rain arrived, saturating everything in sight and making my day at the office a little less interesting, with luck it will let up soon, but I believe it is forecast to stick around for a while. Still, regardless of the weather, it's great to be back on the Gold Coast, if only for a few more days.

Live from Narita International Airport!

2004-10-14T20:06:00.000+09:00

I have nearly an hour to kill before my flight, but I daresay this will be a brief post. I don't really have a great deal to say. I must admit, I was suprised how quiet Narita was tonight, I guess late flights on weeknights tend to attract less passengers. I prefer it like this. I think Japan would be utterly wonderful if half the people here migrated. To the moon. Permanently. Cut down all the crowds and lines and congestion, and this place would go off like a punk rock frog in a polka-dot sock.

I was actually expecting to be a little more enthused about this trip, but right now I am a bit sleep-deprived (something that won't improve on the plane - at least I have an exit row seat) and I know that I have to work at least half a day tomorrow, regardless. Still, it will be good to be back on Aussie soil for a few days.

Well, I think I might go and play with my laptop and update the tracks on my MP3 player before I board.

I'll see a few of you in the next few days.

John Denver Style

2004-10-14T10:35:00.000+09:00

Well, in the next 12 hours I will be leaving, and it shall be on a jet plane. I managed to endure the crowded train journey to work with my suitcase and laptop in tow. I am forever thankful that God blessed me with a penis, and consequently the ability to travel for 10 days with relatively little luggage. The people on the train were probably happy about it as well - the luggage part, I mean.

So, here I am, sitting at my desk tying up the numerous loose ends that need to be dealt with before I go away. Boy, I can't wait until I have my own secretary.

As for my travel plans - (for those who actually read this blog) - I will be at the Geekhouse in Briz Vegas from 6.30 on Friday, armed with a plethora of Pocky. John and the boys (bless their little hearts) have gone to the trouble of throwing some kind of hoe-down together for me, and I am greatly looking forward to it. Pizza, Beer and Soul Calibur. Ahhh... the memories.

I'm sure at some stage in there, I will actually have to go to work and do all that kind of thing, but I intend to make the most of this little company-funded trip.

I have made prior mention of the demolition work going on over the road, and they are really getting stuck into it now, what used to be a fairly normal looking office building is now resembling a bomb site. If I remember, at lunch time I will snap a photo of it and post it - I would do so now, except that I think my bosses would get wise the fact that all this busy typing has approximately zero to do with my job.

Oh well. I suppose I should get back to my loose-end-tying.

Look forward to the next post, as it will be from Australia! Woo! (Ok, I know that makes absolutely no difference to the reader, but hey, I don't care.)

ANOTHER Trip to Australia?

2004-10-12T13:26:00.000+09:00

You heard it here first folks, not only will Australia be once again blessed by my presence from the 15th-24th of this month, but I'll be back in early December too!

At this stage, I have no dates, but I need to be in attendance at a Board Meeting on the 2nd and 3rd of December. It is pretty likely I will fly in on the 1st and back out on the 5th, but that all has to be sorted out. Either way, I should have a free Saturday night in there somewhere...

Two trips in such a short span of time. My, Australia. Aren't you lucky!!

It's Official. Japan is Trying to Kill Me.

2004-10-09T13:56:00.000+09:00

As uncharacterstic as it is for me to post outside of work hours, I have a couple things to mention to the world, and a whole lot of free time in which to do it.

Firstly, allow me to address the attempts on my life:

Earthquakes - quite frankly, as someone who is not used to seismic activity, these things freak me right the hell out. The other night there was a relatively large one, it rated a 5.8 at the epicenter ( a few hundred k's away), but did an adequate job of shaking my room and knocking one or two things off my shelves. Of course, when you are lying in bed, trying to get some sleep and forces of nature are throwing your shit on the floor it doesn't bode well for a good night's sleep.

The other, more recent (and particularly overt) attempt will occur today, as Typhoon Ma-On (a category four typhoon) sweeps through Japan. Reportedly, the strongest typhoon in a decade. Whoopee. Category four is sign blowing over, roof tearing kind of wind, so that is going to be fun for all concerned.

Stupid weather.

To make matters worse, the typhoon has DIRECTLY caused my social events for both this evening, and tomorrow night, to be cancelled. Bastard.

Speaking of social events, Belinda, Takuto and myself went out for a few beers after work last night (I forget how many a few equals, but it was a repectably large number). Not content to merely eat and drink, we went to a bar and played some pool - which was great except for the fact that Belinda and I are inept at the game, and Takuto, well, isn't. Regardless, a fun time was had by all and I made it home on the last subway train.

In other news, my trip to Australia is CONFIRMED for the 14th to the 24th. I arrive in Brisbane about 7.30 am on the 15th and will fly out around 8.30 on the 24th.

I will try to catch up with as many people as possible while in town, but with at least one party and a possible visit to the Indy, I can't promise anything. Stay tuned for more exciting developments in this area, assuming I am not buried under debris or blown away before then...

Two Trees Do Not Constitute a Political Issue

2004-10-07T10:56:00.000+09:00

I have no problem with the fact that, at times, I come accross as as insenstive arsehole. Which is why, I don't mind broadcasting my opinion of this article over the Internet. For those of you too lazy to click the link:

Trees on Latham walk 'to be felled'
October 07, 2004

THE giant Tasmanian trees visited by Opposition Leader Mark Latham would be destroyed within months under Prime Minister John Howard's forestry plan, Greens leader Bob Brown said today.

"The 83m-high Gandalph's Staff in the Tolkien Forest, along with the Cave Tree which can accommodate 30 people in its hollow, will be a pile of woodchips," Senator Brown said.

"These 500-year-old trees which were given nationwide publicity when the Opposition Leader visited the Styx Valley, north-west of Hobart, are due to be cut down this financial year and will be if John Howard wins on Saturday."

He said the trees and the wildlife they harboured were national heirlooms.

"Their safety is in the hands of every voter," Senator Brown said."

Bob Brown, is attempting to make some kind of political issue over a pair of (albeit large, and undoubtedly picturesque) trees. It is narrow-minded thinking like this that really makes me wonder how the Greens have enjoyed their recent upswell in popularity. Let's think, for a moment, what these trees have done for education, health care or national defense. Oh, that's right! Not a goddamn thing! If the area that they grew in was of any national significance, it would have been labelled accordingly, probably long before Howard's reign began.

Granted, they may bring in a few tourism dollars here and there, but let's look at the bigger picture here folks, what kind of party can base a political argument on the continued existence of a pair of trees? Do I inherently WANT them to be woodchipped? No. But using their imminent destruction in a political point-scoring move is stupefyingly, brain-sizzlingly, cross-eyed-insectly retarded.

The election is on Saturday Bob. If you are going to get into political arguments, can you please make sure they pertain to something of, at least, marginal importance. I hear a lot of people are interested in going to school and recieving health care. Why don't you try those issues for starters.

I Love My Work.... for a change

2004-10-06T11:43:00.000+09:00

It's official, I am the happiest I have ever been while on the job. Why? Am I bipolar? No!

Am I getting a business trip back to the Gold Coast from the 14th to 24th of this month?

Much more likely.

The kicker? It may become a bimonthly ritual, as Mr. O feels there is a need for someone to make regular visits to our Aussie operation, and 'someone', in this case is 'me'.

Fucking brilliant. I never thought it was physically possible to be THIS happy about work.

Sake, Sleeping and Shimokitazawa

2004-10-05T14:46:00.000+09:00

As weekends go, my last one wasn't bad at all. Friday night was a bit milder than expected, as my plans for a night of drinking and playing pool with a Takuto and Belinda from work were postponed. However, this didn't stop me going to my local yakitori haunt and getting liquoured up on sake with a couple of the regulars.

Unfortunately, the weather changed for the worse over the weekend, and last weeks temperate, sunny days have been replaced by cold, wet and generally unpleasant rain. Being housebound, I attempted some cleaning, but spent most of my time either asleep or reading a book. I did venture out for my Japanese lesson, which was spent working my way through a few newspaper articles.

While that may sound like a pretty elementary thing to those of us from an English-speaking background - reading a newspaper here is a real pain in the arse. Positively infested with Kanji, it will be a few more months (at least) before I am tacking the local paper with any kind of gusto. Ah well.

Sunday was a fairly boring day, the night however was quite a lot of fun. It was Danielle's birthday, so I met her, Dawn along with a whole slew of other people that I had (but mostly hadn't) met before and we went to a bar in Shimokitazawa. Not just any bar, some kind of odd, under a tent, with a live classical guitarist and a double bass type bar. It was pretty funky, and after a few drinks everyone seemed to be having a pretty good time. Or maybe it was just me.

Either way, by the time we finished there, sang some karaoke and drank a little more - I was able to chalk it up as an overall fun experience. Shimokitazawa, while about an hour from my place, seems to have some pretty cool bars and restaurants. I may return at a future date to do a little selective sampling.

Blue Jumpsuits? Sign me the hell up!

2004-09-30T13:20:00.000+09:00

Lunch today was great, I went out with a few people from work and a good feed. Nothing beats it. I am becoming somewhat of a conoisseur of the local restaurant scene as a result of my steadfast refusal to eat at the company cafeteria. I would rather chug a bucketful of lark's vomit than subject myself to the twisted interpretation our cafeteria workers have of 'food'.

My elitist epicurism aside, getting to Wabisabi for lunch involved a short walk outside. It is not often I will say this, but the weather in Tokyo today is utterly sublime. The sweltering heat of Summer has worn off, the frequent Autumn rains had departed and the icy grip of Winter had not yet taken hold. It was warm, and fine, with the occasional cloud and a pleasant breeze. Meanwhile, I am locked in an airconditioned office, looking wistfully out the windows at this glorious day. I don't mind rainy days, or cold days, or really hot days at work. But days like this, I just can't bear to be inside.

Days like today should be spent on balconies, listening to the radio and throwing back alcoholic beverages while watching the world pass by. The fact that I am putting up a second post today should indicate just how busy I am at work, and how neccessary my presence is in the office today.

It is days like today, I look over at the demolition teams bringing down the buildings across the road, in their white hard-hats and blue jumpsuits, toiling away. Normally, I would think something like "That job would suck. Imagine having to work other there in this heat/cold/rain."

Today? I would like nothing more than a blue jumpsuit, a sledgehammer and a dose of autumn sunshine.

Malaise

2004-09-30T10:17:00.000+09:00

Yup. That just about sums it up. After an exceptionally busy day yesterday, dealing with Mr. O, the Nifsan business in Australia and trying to get acquainted with the details of our new UK opeation I barely had time for lunch, let along time to spend typing here. Contrastingly, just over one hour into my work day today, malaise and a general air of 'I can't be fucked' has descended and all I want to do is book one of the meeting rooms with the soft leather chairs and go for a nap. It's not that I am exceptionally tired, just that I can't be bothered to do much else. I can see myself spending pretty much the next 7 or so hours finding ways to kill time.

As it turns out, the lastest and greatest plan for the new UK factory is being presented to the Board as I type, so hopefully sometime this week, I will be let in on the results of said meeting and have a slightly better idea of what is going on. We have a new boss being transferred to our departement on Monday, who I have learned will be playing a fairly large role in this UK business, and I am expected to work with him. I only hope he is slightly more competent than the average memeber of management around here, otherwise it looks like this new project will be a 9-way clusterfuck from here to Herefordshire. Not that the complete and utter failure of this project would surprise me. In fact, I would probably be smugly satisfied if it did. I have after all been doomsaying it from the start. Of course, the fact that my name will probably be attached to it in some way, shape or form would significantly reduce my satisfaction.

The again, I am probably just bitter because they have sidelined my pet project in the Czech Republic in favour of a second UK factory. Ho-hum.

Outside of work, life has been decidedly uneventful. I visited my usual yakitori restaurant on Monday night and guzzled down some Nihon-shu (sake). I normally opt for beer, but I think I could develop a taste for it. Smoky bar-dwelling aside, the only other thing that has really been capturing my attention of late is a particularly delectable book.

Iron Sunrise, by Charles Stross, while almost Peter Jackson-esque in appearance is undoubtedly one of the best works of modern sci-fi I have read in a while (granted, I haven't been reading huge amounts of fiction of late) but it is superbly written, and offers a slightly different twist on the future of human society when compared to most sci-fi writers. With the exception of Peter F. Hamilton's superlative Night's Dawn Triology, I have found modern writers in this genre to be very similar, and uniformly drab. Iron Sunrise on the other hand is engrossing enough that I have nearly missed my train station once or twice.

With Burt Rutan and SpaceShipOne likely to scoop the Ansari X-prize this Monday, and Sir Richard Branson's recent acquisition of their techonology to create the Virgin Galactic fleet of commercial air/spacecraft, the future is looking closer than we often think.

Tea and Crumpets?

2004-09-28T16:36:00.000+09:00

Well, it is semi-official:

My name has been handed down from the powers that be on the 10th floor and placed on the list of people officially involved in setting up our 2nd factory in the UK. What does it all mean?

I'll get back to you on that one.

Chances are it will involve a 1-2 week jaunt to somewhere near Birmingham to check out factory sites, meet the locals working on the project and (probably) sample the local ales. All in all, it probably won't be too bad - aside from the jetlag and long, economy class flights.

The real test will come a little later when I could well wind up in the team sent over there for the six-month duration of the 'setting up' period. While a change would be welcome, six months, probably including a fair whack of English winter, living out of my suitcase could get a bit trying. It could also completely destroy my plans of coming back to Australia to belatedly celebrate my 21st in late April/early May. Which would, needless to say, piss me right the hell off.

We shall see how that goes.

To make matters worse, the Birmingham Beer Festival was 2 weeks ago, so I have already missed it. Bugger.

A 1-Day Weekend

2004-09-27T13:09:00.000+09:00

OK - here comes a rapid recap of the last few days - I don't have the energy to write anything too in-depth at the moment...

Thursday Night:

After meeting Kat, Dawn and Danielle (who had spent the afternoon shopping in Ueno) at the station near work, we follwed standard Bond Uni tradition (as alumni, we feel it is neccessary to uphld university values wherever possible) and we went drinking again. At an izakaya in Kawasaki this time.

This one was made more challenging by the fact that the menu was totally Japanese, and I became translator for the night. I guess it worked well enough, we ate well if nothing else. The minor issues of the staff laughing at us, and Dawn and Dan getting blatantly busted trying to swipe chopsticks from nearby tables just made the night more interesting.

After a brief wander, and a short pit-stop at Mr. Donut (mmmmm... donuts) we squeezed in about 90 minutes of (particularly vociferous and energetic) karaoke before heading home.

Friday:

Very little happened today. I went to work, came home and we had some really good noodles for dinner. (There is a great little noodle place right next to my station) and I gorged myself.

Saturday:

My company likes to boast that it's employees work a certain number of days each year, so to combat problems like public holidays, occasionally we are called in to work on Saturdays. Needless to say, this is a stupid policy, and I hope that the people who devised it die from haemorrhoid infections. So, I bit the bullet and served my 8 hours at work for the day.

A few happenenings... uh... happened.. at work today - I will expand on those a bit later (as in, some other time). Long story short - I may or may not end up spending six months helping to set up a new factory somewhere in the Birmingham area of the UK in the near to mid future. We shall see.

Dinner however, was great. We went to one of my local izakaya, sat down and started ordering - as they 2 guys next to us debated (in Japanese) where we were from. By the time the food arrived, they had started talking to us. Turns out they were brothers and lived in the area, so we stayed and chatted with them for a while, partly because they were good company, partly becuase they were buying us drinks. Eventually we headed home, and they paid for our meal. There might be no such thing a free lunch, but free dinners are certainly attainable.

Sunday:

Inevitably Sunday rolled around - not just any Sunday, but Kat's last day in Japan for a while. For the most part, it was fairly uneventful. I burned a few DVDs and CDs and we ate a hearty lunch of assorted Japansese junk food and Strawberry Fanta (which tastes EXACTLY like Strawberry Chupa-Chups).

In the evening, we headed into Yokohama station and said our goodbyes as Kat took the bus to Narita airport. I have just recieved an email informing me that she made it home, so I am guessing the final leg of her trip went off without a hitch.

And so, after my one day of weekend, here I am, back at work for another week. I just learned that our company has decided on a factory site in the UK, and it is quite possible I will end up going over there for a week or two at some stage in the next month or so. Fun times.

Apologies for this rather uninteresting post, I shall attempt something a bit more readable next time round.

Immigration Policy

2004-09-23T13:29:00.000+09:00

Immigration always appears to be a bit of a political hot potato, especially back home in Australia where we are concerned about all those pesky foreigners coming in, taking our jobs, abusing our welfare system and the like.

I have long been an advocate of the simple, yet effective "No visa? Climb into this large catapult" approach myself. Or the slightly more controversial "Put the immigrants in a giant hamster wheel to generate electricity. Once they have run a pre-determined distance, give them a visa" approach.

The Japanese, unsurpringly do neither of these things, yet Japan remains a very mono-cultural society. How do they do this? Very simple: Beaurocracy. By tying the entire system up with oodles of red tape, only the most tenacious, well-connected and generally skilled/valuable people will make it through. Let me tell you a story:

Once there was a guy working in Japan. Let's call him Nils. After waiting for weeks for the correct forms to come through and his company to fill them out, Nils set off for the local immigration office. Upon arriving at the crowded office, he collected and completed the neccessary paperwork and took a number. The queue was exceptionally long, so during his wait, he had one of the nice ladies at the Information Desk look over all his paperwork to ensure it was in order. The nice lady looked at it and said:
"You live in Yokohama?"
"That's right" he replied.
"I'm sorry, but there are different forms for people living in Yokohama and those living in Tokyo."
"Are you serious?"
"I am afraid you will have to go to the Yokohama office instead. Sorry."

The guys in the HR Department at work who sent Nils to the Tokyo Immigration Office were most apologetic. They of course, could do nothing about the fact that Nils had wasted an afternoon doing pointless shit.

As he needed his visa extended, he took the next available afternoon off and went to the Yokohama Immigration Office (maybe one hour away from the Tokyo Office). He filled out the forms all over again - noting the very few and very minor differences from the Tokyo forms - waiting an hour or so and filed the papers. He will get to return in 2-3 weeks to finish the process.

Some of you might think that it is totally stupid, pointless and illogical to have a system running like this. I certainly do. It does however make it much harder for people to obtain visas and stay in the country, which, I guess is what they are trying to do here.

In totally unrelated happenings, I went out for dinner and a few drinks with Danielle, Dawn and Kat last night, after they spent the afternoon watching chubby men in g-strings pummel eachother. They assured me it was entertaining, as we noisily invaded an izakaya in Tamachi and proceeded to stuff ourselves with food and drink. Unfortunately, despite the invitiation to go into Shibuya and make it a big night, I wussed out so that I could get some sleep and feel relatively alive at work today.

Of course, by being at work today I am once again going against the grain of Japanese society. Why? It is Autumn Equinox Day - a national holiday. Unless of course, your company has some kind of indescribable, deap-seated loathing for holidays and forces you to come to work. It is nice, in the sense that the trip to work was not crowded and I could stretch my legs out a little on the train. However, when you consider that a majority of the Japanese workforce slept in, and is probably having a nice, relaxing day today the joy of an uncrowded train station is really a meagre comfort.

Bastards.

Thanks Disney! Now I'm a Sociopath!

2004-09-22T13:12:00.000+09:00

I will address the title of this post in due time.

It's been a few days since I have added anything here, due to the fact that I don't like spending non-work time updating my blog. I figure if I am going to spend my time writing stuff like this I should be paid for it. The fact that Monday was a public holiday, and I took yesterday afternoon off really cut down on my blog-writing time.

Anyway, a brief update on my life:

Friday night Kat and I went back to Shibuya and hit up Sonoma and the Ruby Room. I have only eaten at Sonoma once, and it is one of the best places to get some tasty western-style in Tokyo. The fact that it has a small club/live music house upstairs just adds to the appeal. Unfortunately, the Ruby Room was dead until after 10 when the DJ fired up and we needed to catch a train home that evening. I really need somewhere to crash in central Tokyo....

Sunday we rose early (well, earlier than most people do/should wake up on Sundays) and made the trip to the Magical Kingdom of Tokyo Disneyland. I am not sure excatly what is magical about it, or even who the monarch is supposed to be - he was presumably the one who had decided to deck the entire park out in Halloween decorations (Less than six weeks to go!!).

I went to Tokyo Disneyland the first time I came to Japan, back in 1995 and enjoyed it thoroughly. I was of course, 11 and much more easily amused and less irritable. That probably explains why this time around I was ready to get a little bit Uma Thurman in the 'House of Blue Leaves' scene in Kill Bill by the end of the day. Suffice to say, if I had a large bladed weapon at my disposal, we wouldn't have spent much of the day waiting in lines. It is almost as if standing in line is the Japanese national sport and Disneyland is the ultimate training ground. The ticket purchasing, fast-pass and food and beverage situations need a bit of an overhaul in my opinion.

The fact that it was crowded, and Japanese people lack the ability to walk at a reasonable speed only added to my growing bloodlust. Twisted thoughts would fill my head every time I watched a 747 fly over on it's was out of nearby Narita International Airport. Twisted thoughts involving explosions, plane crashes and people on fire running around comically. I am convinced they only cancelled the evening's fireworks to frustrate me even more. There was no inclement weather, I could see stars for crying out loud! The people at Tokyo Disnyeland are just bastards.

One point of interest was the rampant consumerism going on there. By walking out of there at the end of the day without a large bag of merchandise or some kind of ridiculous headwear, we were clearly major non-conformists.

I will probably write something about the rest of this week's happenings in a day or two. I have some pressing work to pretend to be doing.

I was poked by a monster and denied pie

2004-09-16T13:00:00.000+09:00

With the unpleasantness of the uneccessarily long and boring few days of my company's Global Management Conference behind me, I met Kat in Shibya for dinner.

Not just any dinner mind you, dinner at The Lockup. I have extolled the virtues of this eatery many times before. The food is acceptable, the drinks can come in a variety of receptacles, beakers and test tubes included, you often find yourself eating your meal inside a barred cell, and once in a while the resident monsters conduct a jailbreak - only to be vanquished by Japanese girls in skimpy 'police' uniforms. I wish I could find some better pictures of the place on the net, but I am unable to. Next time I am there I will have to remember to take some. Suffice to say it's a great place.

Usually.

Kat and I had a pretty good meal and were waiting on our final order - dessert. Apple pie with vanilla ice cream to be precise. After waiting for a while, plaintively repeating the word "Pie", the lights went out, the alarm came off and an overdramatised Japanese voiceover informed us that the monsters had escaped. For the diner, this generally means that a bunch of the staff have donned halloween costumes and are roaming the twisting corridors of the restaurant making noise and scaring people. Ordinarily I would put scaring in inverted commas, however some of the Japanese girls really lose their shit when this happens. (Which is needless to say hilarious.)

So there we were, pie-less, monsters running around causing all kinds of pandemonium. Then one of them stops by our table, makes some kind of arm-waving gesture and a throaty guttural noise and was about to continue on his merry, monstery way, when he stopped, a glint in his eye. Quick as a flash he reached over, pinched the side of my ribs and ran off. Fortunately, a few moments later a girl in a small police uniform put a cap in his ass.

Actually, that wasn't so bad. The worst part was when we had to wait for ages AFTER the monsters had been defeated to get our pie.

Mmmmmm. Pie.

Another Weekend of Food and Drink

2004-09-14T13:55:00.000+09:00

Everything I do lately seems to relate in some way or another too meeting my seemingly constant needs for sustenance. Last weekend was no exception.

Friday Night: I had seen a Hawaiian-style restaurant advertised, and a few weeks ago walked passed it outside of business hours. Intruiged, with Kat in tow I took a closer look. Then we went inside. Then we ate and drank our fill of Hawaiian goodness.

Cocktails with half a tropical garden sticking out the top: Check
Waitresses in Hawaiian-print dresses: Check
All kinds of funky things stuck on the walls: Check
Tasty food: Check

All in all, it was a pretty cool place. The servings were large and tasty and the music didn't get too irritating as I suspected it would. If you are ever in Kannai and want some Hawaiian vittles, I recommend you pay a visit to Sun Aloha.

Of course, one cannot complete a Friday night with mere Hawaiian cuisine alone! At least not with a Jazz bar about a block away. So off we toddled to this little bar which was about 50% jazz bar/50% record collection. I am talking wall to wall vinyl - and not the flooring. The fact that it was run by a guy who can be (and was) described as "a Japanese Harvey Keitel" was a mere bonus.

I was surprised to learn that the clientele was mostly middle-aged women, but at the same time the drinks menu was comprised of whiskeys, bourbons and imported beer. Not being a huge fan of bourbon, I worked my way through a few of the local, and overseas brews. The only disappointment being the inclusion of Fosters. Australian for beer, my arse. Of course, there were many beers I was unable to sample, so I believe a return trip is in order....

Saturday (after a late start) we went into Sakuragicho, and wandered down to the waterfront park. The gaggle of skaties that are normally larking about on boards and bikes had gathered for some kind of skatie pow-wow, so we wandered on to the Cosmos Clock Ferris Wheel - once the tallest in the world, it is still an impressive structure at 100 metres in diameter, and it takes about 15 minutes to go all the way around. Which, incidentally is probably a little under half the time we stood in line for the damn thing. Although, with a planned trip to Disneyland in the near future, training for the 'endurance standing in a line' event is probably a good thing to have.

Once again, it was ultimately food and drink that had brought us to the area - with the Yokohama Hard Rock Cafe only a short walk from the ferris wheel. This of course means more cocktails, potato skins and a fatty-boom-batty bacon-cheeseburger. Awwww yeah. The addition of other patrons, including the unambigously gay white male couple sitting nearby - not to mention the badly-dancing staff made it an entertaining and satisfying night. The drinks really helped.

Sunday, surprisingly did not revolve around food and drink. Instead, we went into Harajuku to visit the Meiji Jingu Shrine, to honour the Japanese war dead who kept Kat's grandfather in a POW camp and then stood around for a few minutes looking at all the quirkily dressed kids who hang near the shrine entrance. We then wandered around the funky/retro/kooky clothes shopping district before walking into Shibuya.

Shibuya contained two places of interest on Sunday, the first being the aptly named Tower Records (all 7 stories of it). I managed to walk out with only 2 purchases - which was a particularly strong display of restraint on my part.

Our other port of call was one of the numerous, and growing Hub franchises nearby. With 75 minutes of happy hour remaining, we timed our arrival quite well (naturally, it would have been better if we had arrived with all 120 minutes of the somewhat deceptively named happy hour at our disposal, but you can't win them all). An hour it may not have been, but with half-price cocktails and mixed drinks, it was happy. Of course, with my pending return to work the next day and a dramatic rise in drink prices following the end of happy hour, we high-tailed it outta there and made our way back home.

I am quite inclined to bitch about work again at this point, but this post is pretty huge in itself, I will save that discussion for another time.

Free food, free drink and the Premier of Queensland

2004-09-09T16:45:00.000+09:00

I never really realised how much I missed pavlova until last night when I ate some. That is good stuff. So was the free roast Australian beef and free triple-distilled Smirnoff Vodka. It almost made listening to the Honourable Peter Beattie, Premier of Queenlsand, Minister for Trade waffle on about QLD-Japan relations, give some serious plugs to a few select investors and generally give me a reason to throw back the screwdrivers.

It was some kind of annual do that the QLD Government trade arm throws on to encourage further investment in 'The Sunshine State'. Mr. O gets invites to tons of these things, and figured that as he was out of the country, and I was a Queenlander, I might like to go in his stead. To me this translated at "free food and drink" and I was sold.

I was even lucky enough to meet the premier and shake his hand. He is a lot shorter and more rotund than I had previously though. Like a cross between Mr. Plod of Noddy fame and a Babushka Doll - only with a little more hair.

Without the speeches, it would have been a fantastic night.

Bird-themed Weekend

2004-09-06T11:21:00.000+09:00

Friday night dinner with Anne and Belinda was a pleasant affair. It was good to catch up with Anne, even if it did remind me that she has made the (rather intelligent) decision to leave Nifco - and seems happy working at the Thai embassy. Of course, if I was being given 10 day business trips to Thailand, complete with hotel accomodation, I would be pretty contented too.

Toriyoshi Dining was a nice venue for catching up, and the food was decidedly good. However, I must admit that I still favour the smoky, beer-house style bird-on-a-stick to the more refined yakitori we enjoyed Friday.

Of course, no night in Shibuya is complete without a bit of karaoke, so we sang badly to a very eclectic mix of songs (Nirvana, Mr. Big and Snow all made appearances) for an hour or so before playing the 'catch the train home' game. In true, irritating fashion Kat and I made it back to Yokohama just in time to miss our subway train. After some coarse language on my part, we made it home.

With miserable-ass weather forecast for the entire weekend, we were unable to engage in many of the activities we would like to while Kat is still in the country, so after sleeping late we went in Yokohama, Kat bought a few souvenirs and things like that and we ate some ice cream. One thing you appreciate over here is good ice cream, because it is few and far between. Japan is a land of soft serve, and while soft serve ice cream isn't inherently bad, in the ice cream heirarchy, it languishes somewhere at the bottom. Haagen-Dasz is where it's at.

Perhaps the most notable item bought in Yokohama was my ticket back to Australia for the end of the year. It is now official: I shall be back in the country from the 28th of December until the 10th of January (mostly in SE QLD, but I will make it up to FNQ for a few days). Mark it in your calendars dear friends!

Anyway, to continue the bird-theme, (not intentionally mind you) Kat and I headed out to Free Birds, a hawaiian-mexican influenced bar/restaurant about 15 minutes walk from my place. The walk is generally a pleasant one, but can be ruined by several things. Perhaps the most relevant one being torrential fucking rain the kind of which I have never seen in this country. It was not a mere shower, the heavens did open up, and it did PISS DOWN. We did have umbrellas, however we both were pretty much saturated from the knees down by the time we made it to Free Birds. (On a side note, there were no birds there, let alone free ones. False advertising suit is in the pipeline).

The food was an acceptable attempt at almost-mexican, the coronas were cold and the tequila was... well.. like tequila. We made a note to return, preferably when the weather is slightly better.

Sunday was another day of miserable weather, which pretty much labelled it as a 'stay in bed, eat junk food and watch DVDs' kind of day. We did venture outside, but only to visit the video store and procure alcohol and food. On an irritating note, my local video store does not have copies of Battle Royale 1 or The Ring 1 (the original Japanese version - not the Hollywood remake) on DVD. (Why carry both sequels on DVD but not the originals?! WHY!?) Damn me and my lack of VCR. I will head into the Tsutaya DVD/CD rental megastore near work sometime this week.

And now, here I am, stuck at my desk for another week. Well, it is 10 minutes until lunch time, there may even be an afternoon edition, depending upon how bored I get.

Friday, and high class bird

2004-09-03T11:45:00.000+09:00

Mere words cannot express my love for Friday. The knowledge that tomorrow and the day after it I will be able to sleep in. Brilliantly justifying plans to go out and get sloshed. If only we could drink at work, I would already be well on my way there.

Tonight should be an interesting one, it is my friend Anne's birthday and we are going out for dinner in Shibuya. To a yakitori place, an upscale yakitori place. Yakitori is essentially grilled bird on a skewer, but the places that serve it serve numerous other skewered things and even some small dishes that are skewer free. There is a great little yakitori restaurant near my station. It is not upscale. You could probably even refer to it as 'a dive'. There is seating for about a dozen and it is dirt cheap, but the food is great and the people there make it an enjoyable place to be.

For me the idea of upscale yakitori is somewhat of an oxymoron. It is perhaps due to my many experiences of getting drunk in seedy little yakitori bars all over Japan, but I am looking forward to tonight's culinary experience. Albeit with a little trepidation.

A full report will follow.... when I get around to it.

I could do this job from home

2004-09-01T14:32:00.000+09:00

You know those days at work where you are really busy, but at the same time you are getting into your work and enjoying the challenges it presents?

Me neither. I have been told they exist. Then again, at various times of my life I have been told Santa Claus, God and cute girls from Nagoya exist too, but I have never encountered them either.

With the top-ranking two of "the Three Wise Men" (as I have affectionately dubbed my bosses) absent, I don't even have an incentive to appear busy. Instead I have been tinkering with the HTLM here (with mixed success), reading the newspaper and surfing the internet to pass time. Just another regular day at the office.

The only noteworthy happening today has been my invitation to a reception for The (supposedly) Honourable Peter Beattie, which is being held by Queensland Government Trade and Investment Office. Originally the invite was to the Chairman (Mr. O), but he is overseas and suggested that I attend in his stead. Why not? I don't mind sitting through Premier Beattie droning on about trade with Japan, provided there is free food and drink at the end of it.

On a related topic, Kat and I went to the franchise Izakaya down the road last night for dinner. The food and drink itself was in no way remarkable (sure, it was tasty - but not remarkably so) but one thing that was noted (by Kat, not myself) was the amount of interest the Japanese show in (white) foreigners. They compliment your language skills, ask where you are from, if you are working over here - the whole shebang. I haven't done much interernational travel outside of Japan in the last decade or so, but Kat (who has done significantly more) was surprised by the whole thing. I thought it was pretty standard operating procedure myself.

Vincent Vega, it seems, was correct. "It's the little differences".

The Downfall of Modern Society

2004-08-31T13:39:00.000+09:00

Well, after some slightly less-than-competent tinkering with the template, I have beaten it into a form that I find more pleasing. Once I actually learn a little about the whole 'web publishing thing' I hope to improve upon today's effort. Don't expect that any time soon.

Politics is funny business, and to be honest, I haven't really given much attention to any given election back home. However, with the first Australian Election since I turned 18 (legal voting age) looming large, I have started to give it a lot more thought than ever before.

The fact that I am not registered to vote, and don't plan on changing this situation while I am living here in Japan is of little consequence.

Now, my problem with the whole situation is this:
I would consider myself a relatively informed voter. I follow the news, read about the policies of the various parties and feel that I am well enough educated to use this data (should I register) to cast a fairly valid and informed vote.

I would however, seriously question the ability of a majority of Australia's voting population to do this. One thing that we have, that many countries like the USA do not, is mandatory voting. If you do not register and vote, you are breaking the law. (There is a convenient loophole for those living abroad). What this means is that there is a large number of uneducated people, with no real understanding of the voting process let alone what they are voting for participating in every election. Ideally, you would want an election to include everyone's opinions. Ideally of course, everyone is informed and understands what is going on. This is clearly not the case.

What's more, the situation won't improve by itself. Think about the people you know who will be turning 18 over the next 10 years. Do many (any) of them seem like the sort of person that should have any say in the way an entire country is run?

I am of course, not going to propose that only people with IQs above a certain level, or tertiary educations or any other particular trait are eligible to vote, that is clearly unfair. Instead, when you cast your vote it should also be mandatory to supply a short (verbal or written) reason as to WHY you are voting the way you are. If your submission meets basic criteria (acceptable grammar/spelling, logical, coherent argument etc.) your vote will count, if not it is simply nullified. Thus the relatively informed votes are the ones that matter, and the opinions of the uninformed, which would only negatively affect the election process are discarded.

It's bad enough that stupid people seem to be breeding faster than everybody else. We should do all we can to curb their power now, before it is too late.

It Begins...

2004-08-30T16:51:00.000+09:00

In what promises to be an interesting (to me at least) multifaceted experiment, I have chosen to go down the path that many have trodden before me and start a blog.

For the most part, this will provide me with another way to kill time whilst at work. I imagine that eventually it will also remove the need for me to type lengthy, regular emails to family and friends. The amount of posting that goes on here will probably reflect in a very accurate way, the amount of time I am wasting and work, and I daresay the content of my posts will probably indicate just how I feel about the whole situation. Over time it may even inspire me to learn a bit about HTML and I might have a tinker with the barely customised template I am using.

As I said, it should be interesting. If only to me.