Flying low

When I reached home this evening, I discovered my flies were undone. I’m trying to think back to how long it could have been undone, but I can’t think. It’s not something I have done before. Oddly, it actually felt good. Liberating. It certainly wasn’t intentional. Oh god does that make me a perv or flasher or something? It makes me wonder, do all the people who I see flying low do so deliberately?

What if everyone in the whole world were flying low at the same time by accident. Does that make it acceptable?

hmm

Brazil

I get my deforestation done in a little salon a few doors down from the office. Over the past couple of days, I’ve spotted the lady who does my bits wondering around and I find it really weird. My knee jerk reaction is to duck for cover, or hide behind someone. It was cool in Dobuy when the people who did that kind of work were nowhere to be seen. But it feels like this woman is following me… arrghh!

Being polite

My primary objective whilst visiting Kyoto was to really embrace the Japanese culture and become at one with it. What better way to accomplish this than to partake in one of the nations’ favorite pastime…Karaoke! It would have been rude not to.

I ditched my work colleagues and ventured out to a party. Don’t get me wrong, I do like my work colleagues, however they are not always reliable when it comes to having a good night out (when I want to).

During a rather dull networking party, I came across a couple of guys I’d met a few nights ago at another boring party. Resigned to the fact that we were not going to bother mingling anymore (because everyone had hairy ears), we starting throwing back the Moet. I suggested Karaoke, to which we all agreed.

One of the guys was joined by his nerdy colleague; a spitting image of Ben Stiller, very straight laced, law grad and highly enthusiastic, he was completely in ‘networking mode’ started asking me questions. I told him I was a cleaner in a bid to stop the questioning. A ‘networker’ is no longer interested when the person is of no importance. Needless to say, the questioning stopped.

Anyhoo, hours later we were all belting out classic tracks and ruining any good song you could imagine, however Ben Stiller was the source of my entertainment all night. He found the diva within and hogged the mic all night. Choosing songs like ‘Careless Whisper’ classics by Phil Collins and any other male vocalist, he was singing like he was in stage. It would have been impressive had he been able to sing, but he was quite bad. On occasions he would grip his fists, digging deep to hit those high notes. We were rolling all over barely able to breathe in fits of laughter.

Icing on the cake was when he made a note of the make and model of the machine as he wants to buy one for his lounge!

Thoughts in Kyoto

I hate that cyclist’s cycle on footpaths and seem to have right of way.

They are soo polite here; their mobile phones have “polite mode” which means “silent mode” elsewhere.

Constantly seem to be painfully hungry. I LOVE sushi but hate junk sushi!

Japanese toothpaste doesn’t have enough fluoride in it and it tastes awful.

Bowing to everyone two or three times quite easily becomes a habitual norm (for me anyway). I hope I don’t get twatted when I return to London.

So can’t be bothered to say thank you after every sentence.

Wonder what would happen if I pretended I had tourette’s on the tube?

I’d so love to let rip a fog-hornesque burp while walking down the street.

Why are there so many people carrying bows and arrows?

Stoned

I am in the land of the rising sun, in a city I have longed to visit again since I left. I just cannot seem to peel myself away from my bed and I am constantly parched drinking four or five bottles of water a day. I don’t want to talk to anyone. All I want to do is stay in my dingy little room with no mini bar and haven’t even turned on the TV. On the 9th floor with a kinda sorta view, but I just keep the musty brown curtains drawn preferring the dark, whilst stealing the odd cigarette in the portaloo toilet.

What is wrong? Is it THAT thing? Surely not, I’m quite sure it’s not. I’ll just go back into bed and have a think about this one.

Sand and stones

I was so pleased to meet a local cab driver that spoke English. Obviously I started bombarding him with the most inane questions;

Me: Where is a good place to see nice rock garden with sand and stones.
Cabby: Ah Ryoanji Temple. Buta mosta Japanese do not understand philosophy of sand and a stones.

Me: Where can I see a Geisha?
Cabby: Go to Gion district for around 5pm as that is when they start their 'work'.

Me: *really really wanted to ask.. so are they basically whores?* So is it a good job for girls and something they want to be when they grow up like pop star or astronaut?
Cabby: (laughing) Not really. Rich men use them for companions
Me: *Do they perform sexual favors?* What do they do?
Cabby: Make tea, sing special songs and perform dance and companion.
Me: *Ahh so they are whores!*

Me: I really like your flag
Cabby: Most a Japanese don’t like flag because of what happened in war.

Okay, time to stop for now. I have him for another three days, so best not wear him down.

Doors of cabs open and shut without you having to lift a finger. They really don't like touching things or people at all which suits me just fine!

Feeling Japanese

If you thought British people were polite, Japanese really take the biscuit with sugar on top. 60% of an encounter involves saying thank you and good-bye… the rest is irrelevant. I found gentle amusement as I was going about my work chores and eventually rather enjoyed the excessive inadvertent display of gratitude. Soon as I walk into a shop I say hello to everyone and thank the cab driver a squillion times when disembarking. A complete contrast to Dobuy where I found myself calling the cab drivers “crooks” before slamming the door shut.

Found in translation

I love it how they muttered politely to me in what sounded like thanking me for each purchase made as they checked through my bottle of water, toothpaste, chopsticks and sushi. Well they start each sentence with Arigato, so one can only assume they are possibly thanking you for “buying the bottle of water, toothpaste, chopsticks etc”. When it came to the toothpaste, I had to gesticulate as though I was brushing my teeth and then point to what looked like a tube of toothpaste. The lovely lady giggled and looked down bashfully and nodded. Bless her. Well I had to be sure as there were no clues as to what was in the tube. Well apart from the fact it was placed next to toothbrushes :-P

Navigating Kyoto is far less intimidating than it was six years ago. It makes jumping on a train to a remote part of a far east fishing village and become a fisherlady far more tempting!

A blink of an eye.

I actually did forget my password this time!

Made an ever so brief trip to Dobuy after having left in a torrid cloud of irritation 1.5 years ago. Incredibly anxious with mixed feelings, I couldn't understand why I'd been avoiding returning and why I was secretly dreading going but knew I had to.

Did the usual; sunned, shopped, socialised, drunk too much followed by puking and pampered self with a good few hours of people watching and laughing for good measure. While i was sat there getting my hair done with the beautician I frequented on a weekly basis for 3.5 years. Chatting to her felt like I’d never left...in some ways it was a little comforting.

It was a very short trip, but a moment longer would have bored me senseless. I had the time of my life there for a blink of an eye...