osaka daze

Family portrait!

2009-04-30T15:57:00.002+09:00

Happy New Year! (Chinese that is)

2009-02-23T17:15:00.003+09:00

A little late I know but heres a pic of my little cutie :D

The big 3-0.

2009-01-15T10:52:00.002+09:00

Well, its my birthday. I have turned 30 years old today and.......don't really feel any different. My 20's were fab - especially my late 20's and I can only hope that my 30's are just as good. Wish me luck everyone!!!!

Merry Xmas everyone!

2009-01-07T17:34:00.003+09:00

Where's the freakin' snow?!

2009-01-03T00:38:00.003+09:00

There are certain things I expect in life; good manners from strangers, toast to land on my floor on the buttered side if it falls, and for snow in winter!

Living in Kansai is really pissing me off. I can't celebrate Christmas or Hogmanay without the white stuff on the ground; it's one of my must-haves. With this in mind, I'm heading north for a few days to hunt for the stuff. Wish me luck.

And the prize goes to...

2009-01-01T11:15:00.014+09:00

Osaka Jock here.

There's a free monthly magazine in Kansai called Japanzine. Every year they have a photo competition to encourage amateur photographers to submit their works for all the world to see and judge.

It seems that one of mine was chosen to be in the January issue. Yeah! I'm a little surprised by this, as everyone else's seem so beautiful and of a much higher quality than mine. I guess it just comes down to personal taste...

Here are a small selection of the pictures I submitted. Enjoy, and please leave a comment about them if you have time.

The one with all the statues is my favourite. Someone spent hours knitting hundreds of hats and scarves for all them. When you consider that these statues are for the souls of dead children, it does seem a little creepy.

Thundercats hooooooo!

2008-12-24T17:43:00.001+09:00

Plllllbt!

2008-12-19T05:45:00.002+09:00

My little Boo

2008-12-19T05:42:00.002+09:00

A Halloween Bear

2008-12-19T05:38:00.003+09:00

What a cute little bear!

Noa in her Exersaucer!

2008-09-26T04:46:00.002+09:00

She loves this crazy contraption. And I love it cause it keeps her busy!!

Sooooo, I had a baby!!

2008-08-08T04:10:00.004+09:00

Here are some pictures of little Noa Quinn Tang. She was born on June 20th, 2008 at 6 lbs exactly. She was 3 1/2 weeks early so I can't imagine how big she would have been if she'd been on time.

Gion Matsuri

2008-07-16T10:09:00.008+09:00

Summertime in Japan is full of festivals and celebrations designed to help you forget about the unbearable heat and humidity. One of the most famous in Kyoto is the Gion Matsuri. It consists of 2 dozen floats (or Yamaboko as they're know - 山鉾) being paraded through the heart of the Shijo area of Kyoto (which is odd when you consider that Gion is on the other side of the river next to Shijo). Each float represents a specific area in the city and people take great pride in decorating them and wearing amazing traditional costumes.　

I had some free time on Tuesday, so I decided to check it out and take a few photos and movies to show you.

I was on the train the other day...

2008-06-09T01:56:00.003+09:00

I work out in the middle of the countryside in Nara prefecture. Sometimes I see really funny pictures beside the railway stations and tracks. This one is a prime example of why I don't trust doctors in Japan. Ouch!

I think I understand the kind of medicine this clinic specializes in.

Zombie

2008-06-06T09:37:00.002+09:00

This blog is not dead. Some of us survived the great exodus from Osaka and remain, fighting the good fight against boredom and being sober. Osaka Daze lives again!!!!

Ko Pha Ngan

2008-01-18T12:55:00.000+09:00

Ko Pha Ngan. What can I say about it? A beach paradise. We checked into our bungalow which was located on the slightly quieter west side of the island, and rented a motorbike to get around on. Our bungalow was right on the beach - literally you opened your door and there was sand outside. The beach had several hammocks and beach chairs available for anyone to use and we did! The food at the bungalow was awesome and cheap. We had a couple days to ourselves as Matt and Steph were still in Borneo, and Adair and Sarah hadn't come from Bangkok yet, so we just laid back and relaxed. The beach was gorgeous. The water, a clear clear blue. The weather was sunny and perfect for just laying around but not so hot as to burn.

Everyone managed to show up on the island at the same time on the same day! What a coincidence! So Rich and I headed to the pier to pick everyone up. The bungalows next to ours had an available spot so we were all right next to each other - how convenient! Rich and I decided to go fishing that day. Our bungalow manager found a local fisherman who was willing to take us out on his little longtail boat. We fished for a couple hours and I managed to catch 3 fish! Rich didn't catch any, but he was far more interested in trying to keep the contents of his stomach IN his stomach. He got quite seasick and we headed back with 6 fish (3 that the fisherman caught). The bungalow restaurant was more than happy to cook them up for us and we dined on our catch that evening. It was an early night for us.

The next day we went snorkelling in Ko Mah on the North West side of the island. Its famous for having lots of coral and cool fish. Its connected to the main island by a sand bar. We spent most of the day there, and Rich and I headed back because I had a massage booked for 5PM at my bungalow. Wow. It was awesome! Gao was my new best friend for the next 5 days as she came to my bungalow every evening to fix various problems with my back and shoulders.

The days kind of blur together here. Basically we biked around a bit on our motorbike, hung out on the beach and just relaxed and got massaged until the big night! New Years Eve!!! Ko Pha Ngan is famous for its full moon parties which draw as many as 30,000 people every month to the big beach extravaganza. There were 60,000 people at the New Years Eve one. It was crazy!!!!! DJ's playing various types of music, food stalls and paint tattoos were available all up and down the beach. Drunk (and high) people were dancing everywhere and preparing for the countdown. Fire Dancers and glow sticks lighted up the evening as the tide washed in. People lost their shoes, wallets, clothes and other belongings on the beach and to the ocean. It was a crazy, awesome, wonderful mess! Rich and I headed back around 3AM but the party was going long after dawn, we heard from our friends.

We woke up the next day to the cries of our friends swimming outside our bungalow. They had been dosed sometime during the night and were still going strong. They had swam all the way out to the rocks and had climbed up to the top and were shouting at the top of their lungs :D We took some pics and headed back to bed for a couple of hours. We just chilled the rest of the day (recovery) and prepared to head back to Bangkok the next day....

Really leaving on a jet plane

2008-01-14T10:58:00.000+09:00

Well I have been forced to face reality (as there are suitcases stacked up in my living room) and I get on a plane today :O Oh my god!!! I can't believe we're actually doing it! I will be over the Pacific Ocean in about 8 hours! *hyperventilating* OK I'm OK now. Alright, well I'll be blogging from the other side soon - so see you then......

Phuket

2007-12-30T13:54:00.000+09:00

So we made our flight into Phuket - which was a bit ghetto (we flew Asian Airlines) as they forgot to give us our immigration forms on the plane. We landed and were trying to go through and the immigration guys were clearly irritated with our whole flight. They kept telling us we should have gotten then on the flight - to which we replied that we knew that but they didn't give them to us. Please give us one now. Eventually everything was sorted, but we were on a tight schedule. Our hostel was only going to hold our room for us until 11ish and we were rapidly approaching the critical hour. We managed to get a cab into the city and made it to the 7/11 to make our call to them and *PHEW* we made it! Our room was really nice and clean and had a big balcony to chill out on. We decided to go to the beach the next day and just chill. We saw there was a Thai Boxing match that night (which was Christmas Day - Merry Xmas!) and bought tickets for that evening as well. We watched some great matches and went to bed - preparing for our snorkelling trip the next day.

We were picked up super early the next morning and taxied to a boat that took us out to Ko Phi Phi - an island famous for being beautiful and having great snorkelling. It was a little touristy, but the trip was great. Rich chickened out a little and couldn't go snorkelling - he tried!!! But he couldn't stay in the water for very long. After some lunch and chilling on the other side of the island, we met an Indian couple that were very nice. We ended up taking a video for them and exchanging emails! After that, we took our boat back to Phuket and just relaxed for the night. The next day we had an early start - we were taking a bus/boat ride in to Ko Pha Ngan......

Malaysia continued...

2007-12-29T12:36:00.000+09:00

SO the next morning, we got picked up at our hotel by our personal tour guide! We got into a small car - not what we were expecting, and our guide told us all kinds stuff as we drove the couple of hours out to the elephant rehibilitation centre. We stopped a few places along the way. First stop, the famous Batu Caves. The caves are famous for 2 reasons: the first being that they are thousands of years old and made of limestone. The second being that the Hindu's build a temple in the caves feeling the holiness from them. Every year in January they hold a huge ceremony there where they poke spears through their skin and pull various things up the mountain to the top as penance (sadly we were not there to see this). We didn't climb up to the top, but we did get to see the temple grounds on the ground level which was really awesome and even got blessed by the Hindu priests there. Next stop was a small Batik shop - Batik is a type of cloth decoration that uses silk, wax and dying. We saw some hand made Batik being made and bought a few souvenirs there. Then onto the Centre. When we arrived, we walked down to the bottom area where you could see 5 elephants wandering about and looking back at us on the other side of the fence. We got to see them being washed, then we got to feed them, ride them, and pet the baby elephants. The river was too high to ride them in the water :( but otherwise it was really awesome! There was a small museum inside the centre that talked about Asian elephants and the centre. They also played a short video for us detailing the mission behind the centre. It was a really great time and I would recommend it to anyone going to KL!At this point KL starts to kinda blur together. We had to change hotels the next morning as the one we were in was full. So we moved to a place in China town! Oh the craziness! Our hotel was not nearly as nice as the one we wer e in before AND in was located right on one of the main noisy streets. However, there was alot of atmosphere everytime we walked outside. Street hawkers trying to sell all kinds of stuff and various Chinese style street foods. We did some shopping (which is crazy cheap in SE Asia) and got ready for our return to Thailand. I bought some cheap shoes for the beach and a really pretty beaded shirt. We managed to book a flight to our next destination AND our accomodations and then just kicked back for a day. We spent 2 nights at the hotel there and then headed out on a flight to Phuket. Back in Thailand...

On to Malaysia!

2007-12-22T22:05:00.000+09:00

So we took a train from Bangkok to a small place called Alor Setar which is just across the border of Malaysia. The train was awesome and there was much tomfoolery. It was like a transformers train - this can only be described in pictures which will be posted later. So we arrived in the middle of nowhere after our overnight ride and were pleasantly surprised at so many things. People were super friendly, they spoke awesome English, and the mosque was gorgeous!! Before we hit the mosque we stopped at this little noodle shop and ate lunch. It cost us a whole $4 for all of us to eat and have a nice drink of coffee or cola. I mean $4 all together. And it was delicious. After lunch we felt rejuvenated and started walking around looking for the mosque. Some friendly locals sent us in the right direction and WOW! After going in, an Indian Malay guy chatted with us for awhile. Our mission accomplished, we were off to our next destination!

2 buses later (and gypped of about 8 ringgits each) we made it to KL! We decided to live it up a little and find a nice hotel for the night (since most of the cheaper ones were all booked anyways). We tossed our stuff in our room, had a shower and headed out to the city. We found some good food and some live music and passed some time there. Then after spending waaaay too much time in an internet cafe, we hit the hay. Steph and Matt hit the bar.

The next day, we wanted to go see some cool caves, but our hotel booked the wrong tour for us, so we decided to hit little India instead as well as finish off some booking errands at the train/bus stations. Little India rocked!!!! Again, we ate for about a dollar each and were stuffed when we left. Our two groups split up and we met up again a few hours later at the famous KL Tower. Its the tallest radio tower in SE Asia - 4th in the world. The view from the top was amazing! You could see the whole city including the twin petronas towers which are the tallest twin towers in the world. We split up again, Matt and Steph to do some more bookings and Rich and I hit a small restaurant for a couple of hours. After checking some mail online, we hit the hay excited about the next morning.......

Banging Kok!!!

2007-12-18T14:07:00.000+09:00

So we arrived in Bangkok and have been rushing around doing all kinds of stuff. Its true that its a city that doesn't sleep! We went out clubbing on a Monday night and it was packed everywhere.

So far we've seen - the Royal Palace and surrounding temples, Chinatown, the downtown backpackers tourist district (which was crazy), taken some ferries, argued with cab drivers about fares, bargained for stuff, and seen the huge golden reclining Buddha. Not to mention, the ladyboys and strippers clubs. Some of those post-op boys you would be very very hard-pressed to know if they were a boy or a girl!

The motorcycle taxis were alot of fun - you can zip through rush hour traffic on the back of one of these. Touts are constantly trying to get you to go to their shop/temple/whatever via their tuk tuk driver that gets a commission for bringing you there. You get very good at either saying no politely, but firmly enough they know you mean it or ignoring them completely.

The only bad thing so far is the pollution - I have developed this cough which I am sure is due to the smog in the city. All in all lots of fun! I can't wait to explore more - we head further south tomorrow to Malaysia. Our first stop is a small muslim town (Alor Setar) just across the border. It was the old capital of Malaysia. We want to experience a little conservativeness after all the lady boys :D

To be continued.....

Silly Star Wars Skit!

2007-12-11T23:07:00.000+09:00

Oooooh Alliteration. Anyways, watch this video and you will crack up.

Lack of blogging

2007-12-09T23:33:00.000+09:00

So, we've been crazy busy this last week. I'm still trying to get everything done before we go on vacation! I was hella sick this last week. Sinus infection and a throat infection. Richard has Bronchitis and a sinus infection but now that he's taking medication he's feeling a lot better. I'm feeling much improved now as well though my runny nose and occasional cough is still dragging on a little. Well enough of that!

Next Saturday we hop on our plane to Thailand! Yah! I'm going to have a fab time!!!! I can't wait - it will be like 30 degrees and I will be wearing my bikini at least some of the time. Woo hoo! Its really freezing in Osaka right now - so cold I actually decided to buy a pair of boots today. I can wear them when we get back to Canada next month too :D So there will be beaches, elephants, markets and cheap massages. I can't wait to kick back.

The only thing is I'm quite sad this week.....its my last week at my school and I'm going to miss working there. I quite like my job and coworkers and of course all my little kids! I'm going to miss them! I felt really horrible telling some of my moms last week that I wouldn't be coming back after the Christmas break. :( I know the new teacher will be great with them but I will miss them nevertheless.

A week of ups and downs.

Time is short!

2007-12-02T16:35:00.000+09:00

So we have begun the arduous packing and cleaning process. This is where you realise that you have way too much crap in your house that you don't need and then start wondering what the heck you're going to do with it all.....

Hmmmm, so a few boxes will be sent off to Canada and some things will be put in our suitcases and some will be donated, and some sadly will be tossed out! It seems we don't have a lot of time to figure out stuff either. We go on vacation from December 15th-January 4th, and then only have about a week after that to sort out everything before we head back to Canada. Yikes!!!!!!!

So it finally happened.....

2007-11-22T21:10:00.000+09:00

We have decided to take the long trek home to Canada. It has been an extraordinarily awesome time living here in Osaka and I regret nothing! However, it is time to head home. It was a really tough decision. We thought long and hard about what we wanted to do and due to recent events, we decided the best thing would be to go back to Canada. We will be leaving for the home country mid-January. I am going to miss Japan, and my friends here, and my job, and my kids like CRAZY!!!!!!!

A new exercise video

2007-11-20T23:49:00.000+09:00

Teamwork

2007-11-04T22:35:00.001+09:00

My new kids!

2007-10-20T13:58:00.000+09:00

Are sooooooooo cute. I've been teaching them since the beginning of this month. We were prepping them for Halloween - showing them some costumes etc so they don't freak out at the Halloween party.

Sorry guys! Had to remove pics due to company policies!

A few goodbye pictures

2007-10-06T18:24:00.000+09:00

I can't really post any pictures of my old kids BUT I can post these super cute letters that they wrote for me on my last day. I randomly picked a couple of pages from the book and took pictures so you can see how cute they are!

2 sad Goodbyes and a new class.

2007-10-01T23:29:00.000+09:00

So, the teacher whose class I was covering came back on Friday. I have been teaching her kids for 2 months and have gotten a little attached to the little buggers. They to me as well. There were some hugs and some cake and some awesomely cute little booklets with pictures and stuff that the kids drew and other little treats from the other teachers at Higashi Osaka. It was a sad day.

Then it was the Adelle Sayounara weekend. I'm a bit bummed. She got on her jet plane and flew back to England today - Rich went to the airport with her. I wasn't able to come as I was working.
On the cool and new side, I started teaching my new class today. I am no longer a cover teacher as I was offered a nursery class at another branch. They are adorable little buggers and only one cried all day. For brand new students this is an amazing feat. (They are 1-2 years old)

So basically this week was a bag of mixed nuts. I'm taking them as they come out of the bag...

She waits

2007-09-22T10:40:00.000+09:00

She waits in darkness.
Solitary.
They come.
Straining against invisible bonds.
Scratching and scrabbling, swallowing.
In the end, she waits.
In darkness.
Solitary.

Sports Festival!!!!

2007-09-14T15:07:00.000+09:00

Well, its finally here. I have been training my kids for 3 weeks now - and tomorrow is the big day. We will perform our dance to the Cha Cha Slide, and run in a sack race and a dress-up race. The kids are excited and so am I. I hope they do really well. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is getting up so damn early in the morning. I have to be in Yao at 9AM. Yao is not near my house. It involves taking a bus, the subway, the Kintestsu train and either another bus or a good 15 minute walk. Either way, I'm thinking its going to take at least an hour to get there. Wish us luck!

Tyson the Skateboarding Dog

2007-09-02T15:43:00.000+09:00

This dog is my hero.

Check out his moves here.

Richards new do!

2007-08-28T00:08:00.001+09:00

Check out the fantastic stylings of me - my husbands hair dresser. Hot bitch that he is!

Human Tetris

2007-08-18T17:18:00.001+09:00

Funny!

2007-08-17T15:11:00.001+09:00

Keep on truckin'

2007-08-16T00:30:00.000+09:00

I've often commented to Karaoke Queen and Osaka Otaku about the insane pimped out trucks we see here in Osaka. Well, I was lucky enough to be walking home night when I had my camera, and this little beauty was parked at the side of the road. Score.

These kind of trucks are normally going so fast they often look like a blur when I try to take a picture, but I was fortunate this driver stopped to grab some beers at Lawsons.

The thing is that this truck is pretty tame in comparison to the others. I've seen others that look like they were rejected from the movie Transformers because they would be too badass ! I'm going to start a pool of photos of this kind thing in the future. Wish me luck.

Catching up Part III

2007-08-15T00:13:00.000+09:00

As KQ's handle implies, she loves Karaoke. So when Scottish, as opposed to English (Lou), Louise's mum came for a visit we hit Obou in Kita for a night of singing. We chose to get the all night all you can drink soft drink (mixer) package. The gin and vodka in our bags were well appreciated by all.

Soon after we attended Dawn's Sayounara. We started at Slices for some pizza and then we headed to Cream bar for drinks and karaoke. We had to write the songs on slips of paper! How old school.

After partying with a lot of people, it was nice to relax at an intimate get together. This was a good way to describe Marina and Stephen's sayounara. We went to a place in Shinsaibashi for some great Italian food.

You'd think with everyone leaving that our circle of friends is shrinking. So we made some new friends. There was fresh blood and we broke them in with some Karaoke. We went out to Rainbow Karaoke with the newbies. They loved the drinking and singing.

Damn! So many people coming and going so what is one to do? Well, some friends of ours decided to have a party! We made our way to the Apaato party at Lou and Heather's place. There was a cake made for them and there were two rooms, one for some innocent fun while the other was reserved for naughty fun.

To break up the monotony of partying we decided to do some good old sightseeing. Originally it was a hike for me and Adelle, but Jamie really wanted to come to Fushimi Inari. Ikuyo came along as well and we had a great time even though it was hot.

After we hiked around Fushimi Inari we had plans to meet someone. Someone Jamie met through Facebook. That's how we ended up meeting Erika. Ikuyo came along for the All-you-can-eat shabu shabu (hotpot). It was easy to see that Ikuyo and Erika seemed to hit it off.

Once we had a day or two of rest we had a July BBQ on our rooftop. Usually we invite lots of people but this night was a smaller affair since people had to work and such. Some people wanted more notice. In any case we had the BBQ and finished it off with some marshmallows over the coals.

The BBQ was at the beginning of the week. To end the week I ended up meeting Jamie's co-workers. KQ works for an international preschool so I got to meet some of the people she'll hang out with. We went for drinks downtown and ended the night with Karaoke. Yes, again... we can never get enough!

Another week went by and we had another awesome weekend. This time we attended the Shin-Imamiya Party. The hosts were Steph, Mala, and Te Rae. They had so many people crowd into their apartment and the AC failed. No-one minded as it went into the morning. In fact Steph, KQ and I went for breakfast that morning.

Well, after breakfast, instead of sleeping, the three of us decided to go to Isonoura beach. We tried to convince others but they like their sleep. The girls rode the waves on some rented body boards and hung out in the sun. This was how KQ got burned so badly.

So now you know the hardship we've been through :)

Another Rocking Do!

2007-08-14T22:41:00.000+09:00

I am sooooo rocking this haircut!

Yah!

Vindicated!

2007-08-13T22:36:00.000+09:00

So remember how I said that a certain person kind of screwed me over? Apparently 2 other people that were employed at the same place quit! I feel alot better knowing that it really wasn't me and that the place of which I speak kinda sucked. Yah! Oh, I know it's a bit petty but I am dancing a little inside :D

Catching Up Part II

2007-08-13T01:13:00.000+09:00

Next our friend Ryan, a fellow Canadian came to visit. We met him in Canada before coming to Japan. It was in the transition period after we moved down to Kelowna from Vancouver. KQ worked with him at a clothing shop. Anyway, he was visiting from Canada to make a second trip to Japan to see his girl Midori and they were passing through the Kansai region.

We let them stay at our place and took them to different places around the area. One day we took Ryan and Midori to Kiyomizudera temple and the Gion Matsuri. It was crazy crowded. We also met our friend Chieko, who KQ taught in Canada while getting her Teaching Engrish Certificate.

The next day I took Ryan and Midori to Nara. There we met up with Midori's friend Chiaki. I discovered Midori's love for interacting with nature. She had no problems playing with the deer or the cicadas.

After Nara we met up with KQ in Umeda. We were to go up to the top of the Umeda Sky Building. However, Midori spent time with her sister, who had been up the tower too many times to take her sister who had never been and probably will never in a long while.

Cedric's Parents parents came by after Ryan and Midori left for Fukuoka. Ced and Michiko took us and our friend Ikuyo to a great Oudon restaurant. It was yummy.

More to come...

Catching up. Part I

2007-08-12T01:18:00.000+09:00

Hey!

It's been awhile. I've been so busy posting pics of our nefarious nights out at my own blog that I have neglected my duties here. I think the last major event that was mentioned here, excluding the new job and Scotland, was Lana's visit.

Well, after the trio left we were snowed under by a deluge of birthdays and sayounara parties. First there was Kirsten's down town sayounara. We hit a few different places as the night progressed. It was sad a little but we drowned the sorrows pretty well.

After that there was some beach fun. I was working so I missed out. It sounded like fun except for the beach police, who interfered with any fun activities that happened. No frisbees!

Like many others Kirsten needed a second sayo because who can leave Japan without one last night of drunken Karaoke?

Kirsten's departure didn't stop the fun machine as we had to hit the town for Adelle's birthday. We did it in style and hit two hotspots and danced the night away.

A few days later Jamie and Adelle expressed their creativity at an Art drawing thing. A guy we know opened an Art Gallery called SoHo and he holds various events for local artists.

The sayounaras just wouldn't stop. Ashleigh was a co-worker of mine and she was returning to New York. We went out for a small and intimate farewell dinner at a new to us Mexican restaurant.

More to come from Otaku...

Burned......

2007-08-06T15:37:00.001+09:00

Ouch. I am soooooo burned. I hit the beach yesterday and came home looking like a lobster. I will be buying some new sunscreen as the one I have is obviously useless!

Ouch!

Going back home.

2007-07-23T06:31:00.000+09:00

I returned to Scotland a few days ago and found it was still where I left it. Nothing had changed at all and the local people were still doing what they do best: being cheery in dreadful situations and conditions. I'd forgotten how poor some areas in Scotland are until I cam back and had to drive through them. I makes me appreciate the amazing opportunities I have living in Osaka.

Anyway, back to my little adventure. I'd just arrived at Heathrow with the lovely Sabs Batool (my partner in crime on this flight), when I met my parents waiting for me and the gate entrance. They'd been waiting for 3 hours and told me they were going to drive me back up to Glasgow. Eight hours in my dad's Mercedes going at warp 10 back up north. Rock on. What's a further 8 hours on top of a 14 hour flight...

After two days of weird sleeping patterns I decided to go hiking in the local hills. The weather was fair and the path was an easy 6 hour walk through gorgeous countryside. Needless to say, I took loads of pictures. Please enjoy these as I'm going to Edinburgh (Dun Eideann) and Falkirk tomorrow to take some more.

What is it with me and bus drivers?

2007-07-20T18:58:00.000+09:00

So today was going sooooo well. I finished my week at my new job and am feeling pretty good about it. I was taking the trek home when it happened. First I walked to the kintetsu station. Then I grabbed a train there and get off at Midoribashi to catch a bus from there. Unfortunately, the bus only goes to Imazatou so I had to catch another bus there. So this is when it happened. I forgot to get the little transfer ticket from bus to bus. They are free, so it wasn't a matter of forgetting to pay, or not paying enough or anything like that - I had already paid for the whole trip by the time I'd exited the subway - you can buy your subway to bus transfer there which costs you a whole 100 yen. Once you get on a bus, you can transfer from one to another almost indefinitely without paying any extra as long as you push the little button that gives you a transfer. So when I got off my first bus, I dropped the little slip into the money box - forgetting to get the little transfer ticket in the process. Big mistake. I realised it as I got on the second bus, but by then it was too late. So I decided to do the right thing and explain to the bus driver what had happened. Usually when this sort of thing happens in Osaka (at the bus or train station), they tell you to please be more careful next time or something like that and you apologize and the matter is finished. Except that this guy turned all Hitler on my ass and told me that I had to pay another 200 yen (the price without subway transfer or anything) when I got off. My whole trip is really expensive - 540 one way - so I wasn't going to stick any more money into their little box for a small paperwork error. I got the feeling that perhaps I was just the icing on the top of a very bad day or something for him, as I felt more than a little animosity headed in my direction. Or I could've run across the bus driver who hates foreigners. Really it could have been anything. I told him that perhaps I could speak to his manager? They must have little walkie talkies or something on those buses. Nope. He won't even consider it as 'the manager' will say the same. Well, we will never know if you don't contact him will we? He didn't contact him of course. So, I told him I wasn't going to pay because I had already paid 540 yen for my trip. I felt kinda bad for him cause he was obviously pissed about it, but I wasn't going to pay just to make him feel better. The bad bit is, that it's my regular route and I don't know how the guy doesn't recognize me in the first place. I must have taken his bus before and I'm seriously the only white person for miles who lives in our area AND takes the bus. And I will continue having to take that route to get anywhere really! I just hope he doesn't hold it against me. *sigh*

I have a new job!!

2007-07-13T01:07:00.001+09:00

I am now a kinderkids teacher. I am so happy I can't even explain. I turned them down when I took this other job 3 months ago and when I called them yesterday and asked if they would still consider hiring me, they told me to come in for a quick re-interview. SO the next day I hop on the train, walk into the building with my resume in hand, talk to the manager for about 10 minutes and she says, "When can you start?". I start next week on Tuesday. I've only heard good stuff about these guys from people who have been working there short and long periods of time. The pay is good, the vacation time is even better. And I won't be getting the probationary salary due to weirdness of holidays in August. Full salary baby! And lots of cute ass little ankle biters running around everyday.

An unfortunate epiphany

2007-07-10T15:41:00.000+09:00

I have come to a time in my life where I fully realised that people are not nice. I had, thus far, in my life believed that most people have this little spark in them that tells them what is wrong, what is right, what is fair, and who the good people are, and what the right thing to do is.

This has been blown to little itty bitty pieces this last couple of weeks. I won't go into details, but I will say that I have been screwed. I was used.

I feel like the rose coloured glasses have come off and I don't like what I see. People are greedy and cruel, dishonest and generally untrustworthy. It makes me a little depressed to think that these people are out there and that I have to interact with them. It makes me angry to think that they feel they can do whatever they want and use other people like this.

I am usually the person who says, maybe they're just having a bad day. Maybe they didn't mean it like that. Maybe there are extenuating circumstances. I try to go about life with the mantra of: Be nice to others, put out the good vibes and they will come back. Help people when you can. Get help when you need it. Most people are good in their heart of hearts. Work hard and be rewarded. Set goals and you can climb over a mountain to do it. I think in general that I and most other people are nice, helpful, reasonably intelligent and productive persons.

Now, I am NOT the perfect person. Far from it! I'm loud, and usually fail to think of other peoples feelings when I speak. I argue with my husband frequently. I don't recycle (here in Japan). I am easily excitable, and am too honest for my own good sometimes. This is called hoof-in-mouth disease. I can be overly analytical and thus a bit anal retentive. I hate rude people. I mean being rude on purpose to hurt someones feelings etc. I spend too much money on shoes. But I'm a person who can forgive. I may get angry fast, but I cool down just as quickly. I yelled at Richard the other day, I remember being mad, but I couldn't tell you at this point what the hell I was mad about. And people have done things that have hurt me, but I have forgiven them and let them back into my heart because there was lots of room in there for everyone.

That said, this is different. This is a slow burn deep inside my chest. I don't think I've ever felt quite like this before. I wasn't angry at first - I tried to rationalise what had happened and even made excuses for them. I even told myself that I wasn't angry and it was for the best. And then, the glasses fell off. And then, the burn grew. I started to think about how I couldn't believe someone could actually do that. And why! And that they were still doing it to someone else! Then I realised that these people were everywhere!!! Doing it to someone else!!!

I keep wishing I could just put them back on, but now its too late.....

The visit!

2007-07-02T23:36:00.000+09:00

Richards sister came and we went nuts. We travelled all over Kansai for about 10 days. Here are some of the best pics.

We went to Kyoto, Shirahama, USJ in Osaka, Kobe, Hiroshima, Miyajima, and Nara in 10 days. It was jam packed.

忙しい、忙しい

2007-06-15T23:23:00.000+09:00

I've been neglecting Karaoke Queen's blog of late for a very good reason; I'm going home to visit my family in Scotland. I've been busy buying plane tickets, organizing re-entry permits, calling home, saving money, etc.

One of the things I'm worried about is how much things will have changed when I return. (I'm not looking froward to seeing my recently married, pregnant ex-girlfriend!) It's gotten to the stage where I have to practice listening to scottish internet radio broadcasts, just so I can remember all I've forgotten in the time I've spent here teaching bloody American english. Alas...

On the positive side, my japanese has improved a lot in the last 6 months. So much so, I can now understand the cops when they try to bust me for having a stolen bicycle (never proven!). And I can explain that it's present condition is a result of me kicking the crap out it when I lost the key for the lock.

僕; かぎをなくしていたんです.
警察官;そうですか。

The good news is that I'm going back to the Shirahama onsen resort next week for some much needed R'n'R. I can't wait. Staying at an hotel full of cute girls. I'm so gonna try out my new skills there . Hehehehe.

A Film Exhibition in a strange location

2007-06-14T00:20:00.000+09:00

There is a place called 'Festival Gate' in Osaka. It is a mall that was built a few years back with some really funky architecture that was popular for a couple of years and then kind of became a ghost town. It even contains a roller coaster that doesn't run anymore. We went to see a Film Exhibition there with a few friends....

A funny video

2007-06-05T22:38:00.000+09:00

I know these are mean but I do think they're quite hilarious. Check out this one and if you like there are more on Youtube. ROFL.

A coffee and a smile!

2007-05-30T21:40:00.001+09:00

Some odd signs....

2007-05-30T00:26:00.000+09:00

I love me some Engrish. Here it is! Can you decipher them?

A visitor!

2007-05-30T00:16:00.001+09:00

Someone we know came to visit us in Osaka - well, not to visit us specifically, but she managed to squeeze us in with all the work she had to do! She is like a Program Co-ordinator for the ESL program at the University that I did my practicum at. Anyways, we went for breakfast (very early!!) in Shinsaibashi and had a laugh.

The guy on the right is Yuusuke. He was in Osaka for a wedding, but lives in Nagoya. He was a student at the same time I was at the university. What a coincidence!

New Haircut

2007-05-20T23:53:00.001+09:00

So I bit the bullet and just chopped it all off. It wasn't the plan when I went in, but then it happened. Its kind of longish in the front and reeeeally short in the back so I can spike it sky high. I think its bitchin! Thanks Keiko! (my hairdresser)

Russ's Sayounara

2007-05-13T12:23:00.000+09:00

Sayounara's are always sad. So that's why we try to have as much fun at them as possible! A good friend will be moving back to England next week. This was the send off.

The Morgans Bday!

2007-05-10T01:29:00.000+09:00

Here are the pics! 2 days of insanity!

The wonderful world of Hanami

2007-05-03T14:09:00.000+09:00

SO the thing to do here in the spring is ...of course... go flower viewing (or hanami as it is called in Japanese). Basically the idea is that you go hang out in a park (that has lots of cherry blossoms) with your closest (and not closest) buds and get completely blitzed in the park. Thats what I call a holiday. Companies also are highly involved in this holiday. I kid you not when I say that Japanese companies send the lower peons down to the park in the earliest hours of the morning to grab the 'best' spots to get stupidly drunk and inappropriate with their workmates. The big bosses then can saunter down any time they like to view the lovely blossoms floating down from the trees with a whisky bottle in one hand and Ms Kimura's (the accounting ladies) thigh in the other. Our version was definitely a little tamer. Here are some pics.

No worries!

2007-04-27T20:24:00.000+09:00

I got the results back from the doctor today. He said its a dermafibroma. Not cancerous. SO yah for me! And, I have joined the evil world of facebook. So stop by and see me there.

Cutting Edge

2007-04-19T01:08:00.000+09:00

So a small scare. I found a small lump in my thigh about a year or so ago. I had it looked it around that time and was told not to worry as it seemed benign - probably just a blood vessel or something. But, they also said if anything changed at all (size, colour etc) that I should get it looked at again. I went in today to the doctors office as it had turned a kind of pinky/red recently and gotten a little hard. They ended up taking it out right away and it has been sent in for testing. 3 stitches later, I'm back at home and taking a 5 hour nap. I had no idea that even small surgeries make you that tired! I'm sure its fine (as the doctor here seems to think its nothing) but a girl can't but help and worry a little bit.

Steak and Chilli Cheese Fries

2007-04-14T18:43:00.000+09:00

This is a notice to all steak lovers.

On Thursday 19th April, I plan to lead a small group of like-minded people on an expedition to Outback in Nishi-Umeda at around 4p.m. All are welcome, so leave your name in the comments to sign up for the most expensive (and succulent) steak in all of Osaka！

ステーキが好きですか。
Outback SteakHouseは西梅田にあります。

The divider is so comfy!

2007-04-14T17:51:00.000+09:00

After a long Friday night of drinking, Kenji decided to take a little nap in the street.

Random Keitai Pictures

2007-04-14T00:29:00.000+09:00

Sleeping Salaryman

Poor guy looked knackered. I guess that's why his friends left him behind and waved to him from the inside of last train of the night.

Remember, Tommy Lee Jones love you and wants you to try him as often as possible - OK? He cares about you...

I know he's supposed to be jumping for joy, but he still looks like he just ripped one almighty fart.

Club Soire is the place to be. It's only a 5 minute walk from the Pig n' Whistle pub in Osaka. Tell Kouji that Scottish Steve sent you ;)

I will hug the first person I see to wear this T-shirt.

Mystery Cat Bus!!

2007-04-10T23:20:00.000+09:00

I stole this from the Daily Mail

Mystery cat takes regular bus to the shops

Bus drivers have nicknamed a white cat Macavity after it has started using the No 331 several mornings a week.

The feline, which has a purple collar, gets onto the busy Walsall to Wolverhampton bus at the same stop most mornings - he then jumps off at the next stop 400m down the road, near a fish and chip shop.

The cat, nicknamed Macavity, has one blue eye and one green eye

The cat was nicknamed Macavity after the mystery cat in T.S Elliot's poem. He gets on the bus in front of a row of 1950s semi-detached houses and jumps off at a row of shops down the road which include a fish and chip shop.

Driver Bill Khunkhun, 49, who first saw the cat jumping from the bus in January, said: "It is really odd, the first time I saw the cat jumping off the bus with a group of passengers. I hadn't seen it get on which was a bit confusing.

"The next day I pulled up on Churchill Road to let a couple of passengers on. As soon as I opened the doors the cat ran towards the bus, jumped on and ran under one of the seats, I don't think any of the passengers noticed.

"Because I had seen it jump off the day before I carried on driving and sure enough when I stopped just down the road he jumped off - I don't know why he would catch the bus but he seems to like it. I told some of the other drivers on this route and they have seen him too."

Since January, when the cat first caught the bus he has done it two or three times a week and always gets on and off at the same stops.

Passenger, Paul Brennan, 19, who catches the 331 to work, said: "I first noticed the cat a few weeks ago. At first I thought it had been accompanied by its owner but after the first stop it became quite clear he was on his own.

"He sat at the front of the bus, waited patiently for the next stop and then got off. It was was quite strange at first but now it just seems normal. I suppose he is the perfect passenger really - he sits quietly, minds his own business and then gets off."

I nearly peed myself laughing. A cat who takes the bus. Kind of like the crows that used to hop across the street at the crosswalk at UBC. They'd wait for the light to turn and then hop across the freaking street instead of flying. Lazy bastards :D

So Hot...

2007-04-08T13:04:00.000+09:00

Karaoke Queen feeling up Osakaotaku.

Sad Kermit

2007-04-06T21:44:00.001+09:00

More sleeping beauties.

2007-03-31T18:14:00.000+09:00

Well, I'll just keep myself occupied while wait..ing....for....my..coffeezzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......

HAHAHAHAHA! I love that he fell asleep WHILE playing with his DS. I bet he was doing English brain training or something. I would've loved a shot of his screen but that was a little too over the top even for me :D

Sumo pics!!

2007-03-31T18:12:00.000+09:00

Otaku posted some pics and a video of the event. Here is a link to them. Woo hoo! Fat guys pushing each other around!

Open schoooooool - done!

2007-03-28T01:05:00.000+09:00

Yah! We finished our open school today. It went really really well! We even had 3 students sign up already. We have a week to go before the school officially opens for everyday clasees, but I'm excited. I am exhausted - used up alot of nervous energy making sure everything went well but feeling generally content. Whew!

The new job

2007-03-24T02:34:00.000+09:00

So the new job pretty much started today. We had our first day of open house this morning and it went well. I'm really tired but happy. Blogging postphoned until next week when I will have some time. All those little ankle biters are gonna keep me busy!

The Picture Server is online

2007-03-19T18:06:00.000+09:00

Now that we have internet again the picture server is back online. Sorry about the slow load times, but I'm still optimizing the gallery software.

http://rjtang.gotdns.com

For those outside Japan the transfer rate may be slow.

Internet!!!

2007-03-18T17:40:00.000+09:00

Yah!!!! We finally have internet!!!! It only took them 2 and a half months!!!!! But its here now!!!!!! Can you tell I'm excited? Otaku is even more excited than I am. He made me hook the modem up on my own when it arrived just to check if the line worked. Sooooo, now I will be able to post some stuff that I have been delaying due to extremely slow signal. I swear I will be posting some pics soon for Sumo and Canada and all the other crap we've done since January. Aaaaaah. Its good to be connected.

Dancing

2007-03-16T21:15:00.000+09:00

I don't know about you, but this brought a big old smile to my face. It's a great reminder of why I love travelling...

I have new hair!

2007-03-16T19:02:00.000+09:00

I am not one of those people who gets their hair cut/coloured very often. In fact it can be 6 months or more before I even enter a salon so its exciting for me when I get my hair cut. The winter totally trashed the ends of my hair this year. Japanese winter is not kind. Its humid outside, and with no insulation etc, your house is freezing. So you have to run a heater 24/7 to feel warm - an electric heater which dries out the air. And your hair. Also, an unexpected consequence of buying a new jacket - there are zippers near the top along the collar that my braids kept getting stuck on. Every now and then I would hear a *shrip/snap* where my a few hairs would break after getting stuck. So I cut off a good 5 inches of hair and darkened it to cover my grey hair *sigh*. But the new colour is great and I like the cut. I even got a few bangs. What do you think? I'm not wearing any makeup so be kind!!

Hong Kong Day 3

2007-03-16T01:39:00.000+09:00

Hong Kong DISNEYLAND!!!!!!!!!!

I told you I was dreaming of castles and talking mice :) So they even have a special train that you take to get there. They created a subway line specifically for Disneyland. Cool ne?

So we rode our Mickey Mouse inspired train there, paid our fare and then romped like little kids around the park. Some pics of some fun things you can see there.

Some of the rides that you can go on like the Jungle Cruise.

The Winnie the Pooh Ride - so cute! Doesn't Rachel look smashing in the Eeyore hat? :D

The Tarzan Treehouse which you have to ride a raft to get to.

Then there was a big street parade. Lots of neat floats!

They also have some really neat shows - like the Lion King. We also went to an interactive Lilo and Stitch show. I am now Stitchs new girlfriend. Sorry Otaku - you've been outed by a little blue alien. He named a planet after me.

Then they have some great fireworks every night over the castle. Magical!! They start with a kind of light show on the castle

Then crazy ass fireworks!

All in all, we had a fab day. We made our way back to the city and crawled into bed and due to 2 nights of no sleep.....I crashed and slept like a baby :) Next - our last full day in Hong Kong....

Fight Club

2007-03-16T01:24:00.000+09:00

Every few weeks or so, a group of friends and I descend on a small park in Shitennoji for an interesting form of exercise...Sword fighting with Shinai (bamboo swords). Our audience is made up of a few curious homeless guys staring at the stupid gaijin whacking each other senseless for fun.

I began my training a few sessions ago and I'm looking forward to my first unsupervised session.If all goes well, I'm seriously thinking about taking this up as a full-time hobby

A few months back, I bought a bokken, a solid wooden sword used in Aikido, and have named it Frankie after a notorious Scottish gangster (he had a reputation for making fun of the cops).

And remember people, don't try this unless you are only a 5 minute walk from one of the most famous Japanese sword makers in all of Japan. I know that doesn't make any sense, but there's a famous store in Shitennoji where you can buy this stuff! So cool....

Japanese culture.

2007-03-14T14:22:00.000+09:00

God, I love YouTube so much...
At last, we can all learn the correct way to eat sushi in Japan!
hehehe

Hong Kong Day 2

2007-03-12T23:20:00.000+09:00

So Day 2. After not alot of sleep - I am sleeping alone for the first time in a looooong time and obviously this makes it a little difficult for snoozing - we head down to see the waterfront during the day. There are plans to go and see some of the more famous famous buildings in the city as Rachel (my travelling partner in crime) is obsessed with them. Here are some daytime shots of the promenade area.

We took the famous Star Ferry across to the Hong Kong Island side. Apparently there was some controversy recently over this. They built a new dock and people were quite upset about the destruction of the old one. It was a quick ride to the other side. Then we went to the IFC2 (International Finance Centre) which is the tallest building in Hong Kong.

There was quite a view from the top. All of these clustered buildings are apartments. Apparently, about 80% of the population lives in this one condensed area.

Then we walked around to see some more interesting buildings.

We decide to take a bus up to Victoria Peak. Its the highest point in Hong Kong where you can get a great view of the city. Its about a 45 minute bus ride to get all the way to the top. We enter one of the peak buildings to find.....

Yep, its an EA. I took these pics for Timmie. We went up to the viewing deck to find an amazing view of the city. Again, it was amazing how condensed the apartments are. Crazy!

We went back in and did a little browsing and found Bruce again. Turns out theres a Madame Tussauds.

We were waiting for nightfall. To see this....

What a great view! We decided to grab a bite to eat at a place where we could continue to enjoy the night lights. There were several nice restaurants with a city view.

It was a little pricy but soooo worth it. The food was fantastic! And that was one helluva martini. We took a special tram back to Central. I kid you not, we sat at a 45 degree angle going down the hill and the floor was curved in half circles at every seat to accomodate people standing - to help them from falling over. We walked past some familiar sites that now looked completely new in the dark!

And we saw a cool boat in the water.

Then it was back to our ghetto looking hostel (which as you can see has a much nicer - if very tiny - interior) and headed to bed.

From some reason we dreamt of magic castles and talking dogs.....I wonder why?

To be continued.....

Some classic Jimmy Kimmel

2007-03-12T03:21:00.000+09:00

Some funny ass Japanese stuff

2007-03-12T03:19:00.000+09:00

I don't know what's wrong with these people that they would agree to do this show, but I am secretly thanking them as I laughed my ass off watching it :D

Kobe Part 2 (a little late I know!)

2007-03-11T01:23:00.000+09:00

We took a tram up to the top of the mountain. A spur of the moment decision that we were extrememely happy with afterwards. The ride was great (except that Rich is a bit afraid of heights) and the view fantastic.

The view from the top! Here we are :D

At the top there was a cool garden. Tropical flowers and other pretty greenery.

Then we walked down through the herb park where a lake awaited us.

We continued down the path to find a waterfall at the bottom. Gorgeous! Look out for wild boar!

Then it was time for Dinner. Our friend Tai met us at the Jamaican place and we stuffed ourselves.

AND it was Steves Birthday. So after dinner, we all headed back into Osaka to have a little cake and ice cream. Link here for pictures of that :) All in all a very productive and fun day!

Hong Kong Day 1

2007-03-11T00:45:00.000+09:00

So we landed in Hong Kong Airport and decided to take a bus into the city as it was less than half the price and seemed to take about the same amount of time as the train.

The ride was about 45 minutes. We saw some interesting stuff along the way...

Yes, there is Yoshinoya in China! So after we got into the city, we checked into our hostel (got a little ripped off) and dropped our stuff off. The first thing we decided to do was, of course, start eating some of that famous Hong Kong food! So we found a restaurant with some very interesting menu choices.

Mmmmm, snaily sea creature thingy. Actually we just went for some dimsum but seriously there was some weird stuff displayed in the tank.

By the time we finished eating, it was getting dark outside. Since our hostel was so ridiculously close to the water, we decided to take a walk down to the shore to get some pics of the famous skyline. Wow!

I was going to load a video of the cool ass light show that they do everynight that involves all the buildings across the water on Hong Kong Island, except that I seem to be having some compatibility problems with youtube and blogger right now AND youtube is being a bitch right now and not letting me upload the video at all.......grr....... I'll add a link when everything is working again.

Now this promenade is also famous because its the avenue of stars. Its like China's Hollywood. There are stars and handprints in the cement and a few other touristy things along the promenade.

Woo hoo! Bruce Lee! We were still feeling energetic and took a walk to the night market at the next station. We passed a 24 hour McDonalds and we couldn't resist popping in for some french fries.

Check it out - a McDonalds meal is like $25. HKD of course are not worth much :D

We finally made it to the night market! It was a sea of stuff in makeshift tents. It goes up and down every night. There was touristy stuff and not so touristy stuff. Copy bags and watches and sunglasses, small silk purses, electronics and other stuff. A plethora of purchasing! And of course nothing is the price it says. Part of the experience is haggling with the vendor to get the best price possible. I ended up buying a D&G Bag in a very nice green leather for about $40 Canadian. Yah!

Then we headed down the street and found a section of restaurants open quite late offering yummy treats! They had live seafood that was literally asphixiating in front of us on a table. Obviously we were intrigued and were enticed into one of the places for a $10 beer and some snacks.

When we finished eating we realised it was after midnight! Time for bed. We headed back to the hostel and went to sleep.....

Back Home

2007-03-10T02:16:00.000+09:00

Made it back into Osaka today. Am TIRED! Holy crap! It was a really busy 4 and a half days. But a great one. I go now too my bed after a long bath at the sento. Posting later......

PS - A big thanks to Sakamoto who took care of my baby while I was gone. Otaku has been having some problems the last few days. (Too much coffee/coke/buying crap food at work which gave him gout!) I told him to stay away from the damn coffee and Yoshinoya and drink some water! Anyway, thanks to Sakamoto, AND to Sarah who took him to the hospital this morning for a checkup. Check Otaku's blog for the whole story.

Sakamoto

2007-03-09T21:48:00.000+09:00

Sakamoto-san is Karaoke Queen's old boss and one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. Having heard about how he helped out Osaka Otaku's problems of late, I though that this guy deserves a entire post dedicated to him and all the crazy things he does.

He seems to have this thing against cute Japanese cartoon characters.

And against sea life too.
Here he is in full-on nice guy mode.And here he is in crazy-I just-met-you -in-a-bar-and-your-my-best-friend mode.

Sexy legs

In all seriousness, Sakamoto is a cool guy who goes above and beyond the call of duty for his friends, clients (of which I'm very grateful) and humanity in general. Here's to him:CHEERS!

Hong Kong Update

2007-03-09T02:10:00.000+09:00

Currently, I am blogging from an internet cafe in Hong Kong at 1AM. Holy cthings I've crap, its been a really busy 4 days!! We head back to Osaka tomorrow - but before we fly out at 3PM, we're still hoping to hit another temple and see the big outdoor buddha. I think I'm just going to sleep for a week when I get back home. The trip has been fantastic! I've had a great time and bought lots of souvenirs for people.

List of things I've done so far:

Navigated our way to the hostel avoiding the plague of guys outside who want to 1) sell you something (fake bags/watches/massages) or 2) send you to whatever hostel they represent regardless of the fact that you have a reservation somewhere else

Get a little ripped off by the hostel, but really only by $5 a night so who cares.

See the AWESOME city skyline. We walked down to the waters edge past some cool ass buildings and walked along the promenade and saw the light show that involves buildings across the bay.

Eat some fantastic Hong Kong food. All over. Various prices, various styles, but all good.

Do some shopping at the night market.

See some landmark buildings on Hong Kong Island.

Use the very clean and very efficient MTR system here in the city.

Go to Hong Kong Disneyland!! Yah! Its the smallest one they have (still under construction) but its still the magic kingdom.

See 1000 buddhas. Really, there is 1000. And a really cool ass temple.

Buy some really cheap, and some not so cheap souvenirs. Temple prices are always inflated.

Get harassed every day by the SAME guys standing outside the hostel. Again and again. "I have cheap bag!"

Speaking of bags, buy a D & G bag for a ridiculously cheap price.

Avoid getting my socks wet in the bathroom - the shower and toilet are in the same room. On the plus side, its private. There is Mickey Mouse on the half see through doors. Perhaps this is what triggered the Disneyland Trip. Is my hostel in cahoots with Disney???

Find this internet cafe where the guy who runs it is half Japanese. Talk about weird. Nice guy!! And meet a random Dutch guy who I'll probably keep in touch with. He seems nice.

AND

Have a generally fantastic time!!

Whew. Thats all I can manage. I need to hit the hay! I also took about a million pictures (had to buy a memory card) so I be posting those eventually too.

Have a good night everyone!

Happy Birthday to me!!

2007-03-04T03:50:00.000+09:00

OK, I know my birthday was in January......BUT......I didn't get my present then. My Birthday and Christmas present this year from Richard is:

DA DA DA DAAAAH!

A trip to Hong Kong in the Spring. Yah! So I will be taking a quick trip to Hong Kong on Monday. Veeeery exciting! Its just what I wanted. I booked a cheap ticket with a local agency and Rachel and I will be getting on a plane in 2 days!! I can't wait. Of course Hong Kong is most famous for its incredibly rude inhabitants, and its f&$king fantastic restaurants!

Real Chinese food. Dim sum. My mouth is watering already......

The real Garfield

2007-03-02T00:28:00.000+09:00

OK, I'm in a little bit of video overload, but this was too funny not to post. I'm sure when I told people that my cat watches TV - like WATCHES TV - they're like 'yeah, whatever'. Here is a video of someone elses cat just like mine. All he needs is a cold drink.

Cool Art

2007-03-01T16:22:00.000+09:00

The Hole - video powered by Metacafe

I discovered this video on another guys blog while just surfing. Watch the whole thing as its not what you expect! Too cool!

A sappy picture

2007-03-01T14:40:00.000+09:00

OK, this picture and story is a bit sappy, but shoot me, I'm an animal lover and this story was too cute. It (and the picture) was sent to me by Brandy.

OK, so this person finds a fawn. Probably the mom has been hit by a car or something. So they take it home. The plan was to bottle raise it until they could transport it to some friends of theirs who have successfully freed 2 previous fawns into the wild. Heres the cute part. They already have a dog. A BIG dog. Who apparently loves the little fella!

Isn't that soooooo cute!!! OK, I'm done now. Back to your regular scheduled programming. No more fluffy animal stories for at least a month. :D

SUUUUMOOOOOO!

2007-02-27T00:26:00.000+09:00

So its that time of year again! Sumo season! We didn't go last year and I really regretted it, but we were just too busy. This year we're going to go with a bunch of other peeps. Reserve some box seats, bring some food and drink, and absorb some Japanese culture. I'm really excited about it! The tickets are a little expensive, but I think they're worth it. We'll probably never go again and its something we can talk about for years. SUMO!

Happy Birthday Becs!!

2007-02-24T00:45:00.000+09:00

I can't remember exactly what day it is - I'm a bad friend I know! - but I know you're a pisces and thats now!! So Happy Birthday!!

Hiroshima, Part 2

2007-02-23T22:46:00.001+09:00

Though it wasn't my intention, most of these pictures have hardly any people in them. This was purely chance. The memorial was crowded with people from around the world.

As we all know, Hiroshima has a tragic past, one that we must never forget. These pictures speak for themselves.

These trees were 1800 metres from the hypocentre of the explosion. They were exposed to the same heatblast and radiation as the other surviviors. At the time, people thought it would take over 75 years before life would grow back. These trees began to bloom within a few years, and so they were transplanted here to serve as a reminder of hope for the people at that time.

This is a memorial to one of the survivors. She was only two years old when she was exposed to the radiation, but seemed unharmed. She grew up a healthly girl until she was diagnosed with cancer at age 11. In hospital, she made paper cranes and wanted to make up to 1000, but never got the chance to finish them... To this day, people make paper cranes and offer them as a prayer of peace.

This place doesn't pull any punches. It exposes you to the horror of atomic weapons and the continuing tragedy to this very day.

Okay folks, this post has kind of been a little down. But it was important to share it with you; it's left a permanent impression on me. In an age where we all live behind the comfort of sanctioned TV and radio news reporting, it becomes too easy to forget about the victims of conflict, regardless of the weapons used. Even to this day, have we learnt the lessons of Hiroshima?

Engrish

2007-02-23T22:29:00.000+09:00

Employees on the Osaka Subway carry special spitting fish to discourage people from smoking. It's a shame then they didn't invest in the Babel Fish species to help with translation problems.

That's discrimination against non-stuff! Stop this crime people, only buy stuff from stores that stock both varieties; STUFF and NON-STUFF.

"Ehh?!"

Hiroshima

2007-02-23T21:14:00.000+09:00

I'm a member of a group known as Fight Club. No, we don't feel the need to punch each other senseless, but using swords...that's a different story. One day, Jessi came up with the idea to travel somewhere new, so off we went to Hiroshima and Miyajima for some new adventures.

Look, I know it's pronounced AHSE, but that still didn't stop the jokes coming thick and fast.
Going into the ASS. Eating out of the ASS. Entering the ASS store. Etc...

I'd like to introduce Mr Conehead: "We come from France."

Hello Kitty seems to work in many locations throughout Japan. I hope the pay's worth it.

Spank! Behold, the world's biggest paddle. That'll leave a red mark.

And here it is, an icon that defines this World Heritage site; the giant red torii. It's much bigger than it looks. A hell of a lot bigger!

Now let's play a new game:Autobot or Decepticon?

Man versus wild beast!

Anpaman lies on the path to salvation. Especially on the way to a Temple.

And here's the Torii with the tide out. Notice the 2 people on the bottom right corner; you'll get an idea of the size!

I guess he liked the salty taste...

Welcome to the school for the study of ESP. I guess you have to be able to read Japanese to get the joke...

Ouch!

2007-02-23T16:19:00.000+09:00

So I crawled out of my bed today. Feeling better than yesterday. I caught a cold last week - but just a small one I thought. A little bit of a runny nose, a little cough and sore throat and then it went away. For 3 days. Then WHAM! Full blown cold. Plus a migraine. Just for fun. So not only is my nose running (but can't blow it cause I'm too congested), I'm coughing, and every time I cough, I feel like my head is going to explode. Uuuuuugh. Luckily today, the migraine is gone - just a mild headache at this point. Still can't breathe due to the congestion and whatnot. Thank god!

My otaku was fabulous to me. He brought in the darker curtains and set them up, gave me my bottle of ibuprophen to take the edge off and a bottle of water before he left for work yesterday. I love you baby!!

You men may want to stop reading here if you are sensitive to those women like things.

So I think the reason I have the migraine is related to me stopping the pill. Remember we're trying to have a baby? I quit it mid November (just didn't buy anymore). I got my usual visit right after and one more in December. Then......nothing. Until yesterday. My hormones are all whack!! And my boobs shrunk a little. That's just mean. They say it can take up to a year for you to balance out completely after taking the pill for a long time. (9 years - pretty long time) I really hope this is a one time deal and I don't have to deal with this next month....

My new furry imaginary friend

2007-02-21T01:44:00.000+09:00

Check out my new cat. Her name is neko (japanese for cat). If you click on her, you can play with her. And if you click the 'more' button you can feed her etc.

Kobe - a rather large post - Part 1

2007-02-20T00:02:00.000+09:00

So we went to Kobe for a little sightseeing and a little Jamaican food. Apparently, the only place in Kansai you can get Jamaican is in Kobe. Luckily for us Osaka folk, its only a 20 minute right on the super rapid. Yah! Our first leg of the trip was mostly us goofing off and wandering around Kobe. We had a coffee in a little cafe and then were going to find some cool sights to see. Here are some pics from part 1. We passed some cool new buildings *the city is very new as it fell down in the 90s during the big quake* and a cool little asian temple gate. The fountain was really neat. Carved dragons that spouted water. AND there are flowers on the street. Reminded me of Vancouver actually.

Part 2 tomorrow.....

Happy Birthday Steve!!!

2007-02-19T00:24:00.001+09:00

Here's a very Happy Birthday to our favourite Scottish guy!

Chilli Night at Sarah's

2007-02-19T00:21:00.000+09:00

Real Texas Chilli. With a real Texan. Then some real karaoke and drinking!

Fun Fun!

Koujis Bday!!

2007-02-15T19:26:00.000+09:00

And there goes another one. This one is our dear friend Kouji (who is obviously Japanese) and the old owner of Dunk.

Here we are living it up at his new gig Soire.

Hope it was a great bday Kouj!