No more Yoshinoya. EVER.
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Monday, 9 February 2009
Sitting between the past and the future...
Isn't that what everyone is always doing? Looking at how we got here and where we want to go? Pulling desires into being and trying to visualise the bridge between the how and the now. I've got a lot of pots on the stove, and I'm cooking up something wonderful... but at the moment it all looks like gruel.
As we continue to hurtle voidwards, and looking at Australia with increasing distain, I wonder if there is any way we can get off that island and live elsewhere... and I don't mean Japan. Japan is a project that has met it's half way point almost, and as each day passes I begin to realise that I'll never be here for this time again, and this is my last time doing this, I get a sense of reverse nostalgia before I've even finished what I'm feeling nostalgic about. I'm feeling myself imagining looking back, and wondering how to make the sweetest moments to think back upon.
I don't know if either of us would be content with living in an Australian suburb, in a mouldy rental house, working a dead end contract job (wondering if my aunt was right and I don't have a full-time job because I'm an unpleasant person to be around), wondering when we're gonna end up on welfare, never secure enough to have kids or buy a house because everything is so transitory. I just don't know if I can face that life anymore. I think I want something more. And I don't know if Australia can deliver it. I don't know, I've got that feeling like my home can not give me what I want, and no where else is my home...
...thoughts come and go...
As we continue to hurtle voidwards, and looking at Australia with increasing distain, I wonder if there is any way we can get off that island and live elsewhere... and I don't mean Japan. Japan is a project that has met it's half way point almost, and as each day passes I begin to realise that I'll never be here for this time again, and this is my last time doing this, I get a sense of reverse nostalgia before I've even finished what I'm feeling nostalgic about. I'm feeling myself imagining looking back, and wondering how to make the sweetest moments to think back upon.
I don't know if either of us would be content with living in an Australian suburb, in a mouldy rental house, working a dead end contract job (wondering if my aunt was right and I don't have a full-time job because I'm an unpleasant person to be around), wondering when we're gonna end up on welfare, never secure enough to have kids or buy a house because everything is so transitory. I just don't know if I can face that life anymore. I think I want something more. And I don't know if Australia can deliver it. I don't know, I've got that feeling like my home can not give me what I want, and no where else is my home...
...thoughts come and go...
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
Boring, Bomb, Bambi...
A beer and some okonomiyaki (Osakan style savoury Japanese pancake) by the Dotomobori River. Life is kind.
Welcome to another relatively dull blog. Apologies in advance. What is there to tell you? I'm struggling for ideas. When you're not angsty, it just doesn't flow the same way as when you're raging.
In the last month we have been saving like mad, working our arses off, moving house, trying to make back the losses we sustained on the dead computer/moving house/Hakuba trip in December/January. It doesn't make for pretty pictures, or enlivening banter to publish. It makes for quiet moments of contentment though, satisfied that you're slowly reaching the places you want to get to. I've had a few of them recently (between the annoyance at having a lot of stuff to do and no time to arrange the house properly.) I am very, very, VERY happy to be OUT of Apollo Properties clutches. I really disliked being misled about the condition of the apartment before we arrived, and I have not been impressed with the cut of their jib ever since. They are disorganised, tardy, and unhelpful. The new agent is cheerful, efficient and kind. She helped us get a futon for free. And every time she comes to collect the rent, she brings me omiyage (a compolsary gift, Japanese style - usually dry biscuits from holiday destinations). Kawaii? Honto ne.
What there is to report:
- I have made friends with a couple of my students, and I've given a them a link to this page (hello Eishi, hello Yai, hello Kayoko).
- I have saved enough money to secure my computer on 12 February, and boy, am I happy about it. Wikipedia project Hobart Music 1995-2002 will be back in the swing soon. Looking forward to writing all your bios...
- Tom and I have purchased curtains, a shelf, a kitchen cabinet, a table, some chairs, a couch, a rug, a vacuum cleaner, a futon, a washing machine, a fridge, and a stove. The total sum of 30 000 yen ($390 AU) was paid for the lot. How good is that?
- I will be picking up a (huge) van (!) and driving for the first time in 7 months on 27 February to pick up the furniture from a "Sayonara Sale" in Osaka. For all of ye in Osaka "STAY OFF THE SIDEWALKS!" because that's where I intend on driving.
- We had a nice time at an Australia Day barbecue, drank too much, and revelled a bit hard. True blue, Aussie over indulging. I love it. First time to get three sails to the wind this year. I'm such a mild mannered reformed type these days...
- Our friend Richard stayed with us for a couple of days before he went back to Australia. We ate ramen with him to see him off. When the new computer arrives, I will start posting in the ramen diary again.
- Tom and I have been jamming with the intention of bringing Thrall to a live version again soon, but with me playing drums this time. I am rusty and shit at drumming at the moment, and will need to put in some serious training time before I will be up to the task of playing to anyone else. Loving making music again. It's the best thing about the new house. It's on the same street as the rehearsal studios we've been using. It's awesome.
- I went for a job as a trainer/assistant trainer. I'm hoping I get the assistant trainer job, because the trainer job might be a bit much for me - Tom has told me that he is seriously unhappy with the idea of me putting in more hours at the office. But hey, we'll see how the cookie crumbles before we start making any plans based on that one. I think I went well in the interview, I'm beginning to feel a lot more confident in interviews these days, and I don`t go to pieces like I used to when I was younger.
There you go. That`s about all I can think of at the moment. I'd love to hear from you if you're reading this. I have been doing my best to send the odd card, but if you don't send cards back, I will give up on you. After all, two way streets are only useful if more than one person is traveling on them.
Friday, 2 January 2009
A Fresh Start
Ah, relaxing at home... it's a good feeling. Outside it's cold and wild, but in here, it's toasty warm. Tom's been working on some new songs for his second album. I've been knitting. I finally made something for myself, a nice blue scarf with a bit of a fancy knit in it. It's really pretty, and not itchy in the slightest. I'm going to unravel the alpaca scarf that was such a mistake, and turn it into something else. It's nice to amuse ourselves with little homely tasks, and after our big trip to Hakuba, we're enjoying being home more than usual.
We finished work on Christmas Eve at 11:10, and did nothing in particular for most of the day on Christmas. I made a couple of phone calls, and we went and had a couple of glasses of wine and nibbles with our lovely friends Kate and Adamo. The next morning we were on the train by 8:30am. We took the local and rapid trains up to Hakuba. It took 10 hours there and 8 hours back. The train rides were beautiful, particularly in the snow storms around Lake Biwa/Hikone, and across the mountain plains of Nagano toward Matsumoto. But it was too long to be on the train for three days of being there, and we were very tired, stiff and cranky for most of the time. It was sad to admit, but I can't take up snowboarding seriously. I just don't have the perseverance, patience or physical resilience to take up that kind of sport. I'm too old. Not really such an uplifting thought for most, but I'm not phased by it. I'm not too old for most things. Just too old to throw myself gleefully down mountains. It's too much like hard work, and I'd rather just go for a walk, look at some cultural properties, or eat some nice food. It's fair enough. I'm not only too old. I'm old enough. Old enough to know when to give up! So, after two days of snowboarding, I gave it a rest on the third day.
I'm really glad I got the opportunity to go up the snow. I realise that not many people from the kind of socio-economic background we're from get to go up the snow. It's really expensive, and it takes a lot of practice to get to be a good skier or snowboarder. I enjoyed being out amongst the trees, and looking at the mountains. When it gets below zero, the moisture comes out of the air, and it doesn't seem to penetrate the clothes the same way. It's nice, and it's conducive to getting a bit of exercise. If I was a toff, I'd be totally into it.
On the way back we dropped in on Matsumoto. The castle was nice, but it was closed for the New Year on our way past. I should have gone on the way up, but I didn't know it was going to do that oh-so-Japanese-thing of closing for three days either side of 1 January. The city itself was a sweet little hamlet, and there is a Yayoi Kusama Museum. I think I might try and make it back to Matsumoto when we come over to Eastern Japan at the end of our time in Japan.
Hakuba and Matsumoto
So, over the next few weeks, we'll begin moving into our new house!
It's, as our friend John so eloquently put it, "on the border between nerdy town and sexy town" in Nihonbashi. Nihonbashi has a main street that is known as "Den Den Town" ("Den" being short for "Denki" which means "electricial energy") - other than Akihabara in Tokyo, Den Den Town is the biggest conglomeration of electrical retailers probably anywhere on earth. It is also filled with purveyors of smutty comics, maid cafés, and little record stores. It's a good neighbourhood for us two, I think.
However, we've been paying rent on two houses for the last month, and it's stretched us right to the limit of our finances, between the snow holiday and the new house, I'm extremely poor. The new house isn't furnished, so I am going to have to find about ¥50000 for furniture next pay, unless we can find a few Sayonara Sales that are offering washers, hoovers, and fridges on the cheap. However, I'm still on target to get the new computer in February, and because the new house is cheaper, we will eventually end up saving money. Nice. Also, the new house is going to be much more convenient than this one for work and for play, and so I expect that we will start getting out and about more. I'm very optimistic about it.
Last night, we went down to Sumiyoshi Shrine and celebrated the New Year in Japanese fashion. Rather than the austere gathering of serious worshippers that I was expecting to find, I was surprised by a group of ridiculously dressed youths, ambling about the shrine en masse. There were stalls bunched up down every walk-way, selling okonomiyaki, takoyaki, sweet bean snacks, toy guns (there were about 5 stalls with the toy guns - I didn't understand it), games of skill (like shooting cans or knocking down pins with a baseball), fake jewelry and what-not... it was like being at The Royal Hobart Show!
Laugh! I almost did...
Japan Guide entry regarding Japanese New Years
The idea of Japanese New Years (Oshogatsu) is quite different to the Australian version. In Japan, New Years Eve is spent cleaning your house, eating a special mochi soup called "ozoni" and buckwheat noodles, and visiting either the shrine or the temple (depending on your favourite flavour), and putting energy into prayer for a good year. The old year and the new year are seen as being totally separate, and one should make preparations on the 31st to ensure that the start of the year is free of worry and stress. It's lovely. I prefer it to the home-brain-surgery-drunkenness version back in Australia. And so, here is my moment to look forward and to look back. Last year we achieved a lot. We started the year by being thrown out of Uncle John's house, we spent those lovely couple of months with Emma and Adrian, we drove back to Tassie, stayed with Sal in her lovely house in South Hobart, moved to Japan, adjusted to our new lives, travelled quite extensively (Himeji, Akame Shiju Hattaki, Matsumoto, Hakuba, Tokyo, Nagoya, Nara, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Okayama) and we're still in a good position to do some more travelling. We're moving forward with our wedding plans, and I'm sure the end product will suit us just beautifully. We'll soon get our new contract at ECC, 2009 is upon us, and I'm thinking this might be a good year.
Goodbye Year of the Rat. Hello Year of the Oxen. Let's get the good times rolling!
We finished work on Christmas Eve at 11:10, and did nothing in particular for most of the day on Christmas. I made a couple of phone calls, and we went and had a couple of glasses of wine and nibbles with our lovely friends Kate and Adamo. The next morning we were on the train by 8:30am. We took the local and rapid trains up to Hakuba. It took 10 hours there and 8 hours back. The train rides were beautiful, particularly in the snow storms around Lake Biwa/Hikone, and across the mountain plains of Nagano toward Matsumoto. But it was too long to be on the train for three days of being there, and we were very tired, stiff and cranky for most of the time. It was sad to admit, but I can't take up snowboarding seriously. I just don't have the perseverance, patience or physical resilience to take up that kind of sport. I'm too old. Not really such an uplifting thought for most, but I'm not phased by it. I'm not too old for most things. Just too old to throw myself gleefully down mountains. It's too much like hard work, and I'd rather just go for a walk, look at some cultural properties, or eat some nice food. It's fair enough. I'm not only too old. I'm old enough. Old enough to know when to give up! So, after two days of snowboarding, I gave it a rest on the third day.
I'm really glad I got the opportunity to go up the snow. I realise that not many people from the kind of socio-economic background we're from get to go up the snow. It's really expensive, and it takes a lot of practice to get to be a good skier or snowboarder. I enjoyed being out amongst the trees, and looking at the mountains. When it gets below zero, the moisture comes out of the air, and it doesn't seem to penetrate the clothes the same way. It's nice, and it's conducive to getting a bit of exercise. If I was a toff, I'd be totally into it.
On the way back we dropped in on Matsumoto. The castle was nice, but it was closed for the New Year on our way past. I should have gone on the way up, but I didn't know it was going to do that oh-so-Japanese-thing of closing for three days either side of 1 January. The city itself was a sweet little hamlet, and there is a Yayoi Kusama Museum. I think I might try and make it back to Matsumoto when we come over to Eastern Japan at the end of our time in Japan.
Hakuba and Matsumoto
So, over the next few weeks, we'll begin moving into our new house!
It's, as our friend John so eloquently put it, "on the border between nerdy town and sexy town" in Nihonbashi. Nihonbashi has a main street that is known as "Den Den Town" ("Den" being short for "Denki" which means "electricial energy") - other than Akihabara in Tokyo, Den Den Town is the biggest conglomeration of electrical retailers probably anywhere on earth. It is also filled with purveyors of smutty comics, maid cafés, and little record stores. It's a good neighbourhood for us two, I think.
However, we've been paying rent on two houses for the last month, and it's stretched us right to the limit of our finances, between the snow holiday and the new house, I'm extremely poor. The new house isn't furnished, so I am going to have to find about ¥50000 for furniture next pay, unless we can find a few Sayonara Sales that are offering washers, hoovers, and fridges on the cheap. However, I'm still on target to get the new computer in February, and because the new house is cheaper, we will eventually end up saving money. Nice. Also, the new house is going to be much more convenient than this one for work and for play, and so I expect that we will start getting out and about more. I'm very optimistic about it.
Last night, we went down to Sumiyoshi Shrine and celebrated the New Year in Japanese fashion. Rather than the austere gathering of serious worshippers that I was expecting to find, I was surprised by a group of ridiculously dressed youths, ambling about the shrine en masse. There were stalls bunched up down every walk-way, selling okonomiyaki, takoyaki, sweet bean snacks, toy guns (there were about 5 stalls with the toy guns - I didn't understand it), games of skill (like shooting cans or knocking down pins with a baseball), fake jewelry and what-not... it was like being at The Royal Hobart Show!
Laugh! I almost did...
Japan Guide entry regarding Japanese New Years
The idea of Japanese New Years (Oshogatsu) is quite different to the Australian version. In Japan, New Years Eve is spent cleaning your house, eating a special mochi soup called "ozoni" and buckwheat noodles, and visiting either the shrine or the temple (depending on your favourite flavour), and putting energy into prayer for a good year. The old year and the new year are seen as being totally separate, and one should make preparations on the 31st to ensure that the start of the year is free of worry and stress. It's lovely. I prefer it to the home-brain-surgery-drunkenness version back in Australia. And so, here is my moment to look forward and to look back. Last year we achieved a lot. We started the year by being thrown out of Uncle John's house, we spent those lovely couple of months with Emma and Adrian, we drove back to Tassie, stayed with Sal in her lovely house in South Hobart, moved to Japan, adjusted to our new lives, travelled quite extensively (Himeji, Akame Shiju Hattaki, Matsumoto, Hakuba, Tokyo, Nagoya, Nara, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Okayama) and we're still in a good position to do some more travelling. We're moving forward with our wedding plans, and I'm sure the end product will suit us just beautifully. We'll soon get our new contract at ECC, 2009 is upon us, and I'm thinking this might be a good year.
Goodbye Year of the Rat. Hello Year of the Oxen. Let's get the good times rolling!
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Three down, one to go...
Em does love a good castle.
Inuyama Castle (犬山城 Inuyama-jō)
Himeji Castle (姫路城 Himeji-jō)
Matsumoto Castle (松本城, Matsumoto-jō)
These three castles make up 3/4 of the National Treasure Castles of Japan. Hikone Castle will complete the set...
Inuyama Castle (犬山城 Inuyama-jō)
Himeji Castle (姫路城 Himeji-jō)
Matsumoto Castle (松本城, Matsumoto-jō)
These three castles make up 3/4 of the National Treasure Castles of Japan. Hikone Castle will complete the set...
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
The Sun Disappears... Light Returns...
Well, in the land of the computerless, I've stopped compulsively checking my email seventy times a day. Probably for the best. I wasn't really achieving much by constantly baying at my own little window to the world, and I was actually making myself more anxious for my effort. I am now acutely aware of just how much I was completely addicted to my computer. Giving up smoking was easier than giving up computing. And as this blog post is testament, I am still not reformed!
I've dropped out of my Japanese class. I'm disappointed in myself for not finishing it, but it was robbing me of 3 hours of being with my Tom, and at least 2 hours of sleep... on top of the train fares to get there and back, it was turning into a burden I couldn't sustain. I've resigned myself to a bit of self-study for now, until I find a better way of learning some Japanese. I don't feel particularly driven to learn lots of Japanese, as I have very little aptitude for languages other than English, and once we've finished our time here, I doubt I'll be using much Nihongo in my day to day life. I'll resign myself to partial comprehension and a bit of conversation. It will just have to do.
As the title of this post suggests, we are beginning to find a little bit of peace here.
With the crash of the Aussie dollar and the downturn of the Australian Economy, we have assessed our situation here far more favourably. With our yen now being worth almost twice what it was worth when we arrived, and a worsening employment situation in Tasmania, we have canned any plans for coming back for at least the next few months, and possibly the next year... though I know not to put too much faith in plans...
Osaka is cheap, and with Tom focusing on amassing a huge amount of musical equipment, and me focusing on getting a new computer, we have come to the conclusion that we are best to just stay put for now, and keep working for ECC Kansai. I have been given my last set day on my schedule (at last!) and with Tom only substitute teaching one day a week, our general discontent levels have dropped quite substantially.
Although we have decided to stay in Osaka, we are looking at moving out of this apartment next year, somewhere closer to the main drag, and hopefully less dusty, cramped and expensive. The real estate market here is daunting, and being a foreigner, it's hard to find a good deal. But time, as they say, is on our side.
I have saved some money for a replacement computer, but then Tom lent the money from me to buy a very rare amp that just happened to be in the local Ishibashi music equipment store. So, that puts us in the poor house with a church mouse for at least the next couple of weeks. The soonest the computer could be acquired is January - that would have been true whether Tom had borrowed the money from me or not... and if we need to move house before then, the computer may be pushed further into the future. I am trying not to get anxious about it... the operative word being trying... I really like having a computer, and I'm finding not having one to be a little upsetting. But if that is the sum of my woes, then really, life isn't that bad. And it feels like things will continue to be on the up.
The cooler weather is far more pleasant than the boiling, steamy summer. We have had some opportunities to get out and about a bit and see some more of the seasons:
Arashiyama and Daikakuji
Ginkakuji
Updated - Kiyomizu Dera
Updated - Urban Osaka
And Japan continues to be crazy:
Sometimes you continue to wonder...
We're off to Nagano for Christmas, and I'm going to have a crack at skiing. Hopefully it will be a good crack at skiing and not cracking bones. I'm also going to see if we can come past Matsumoto Castle on the way home, and maybe drop into Nagoya on the way past... but it will all depend on all of those things that things tend to depend on... ra, ra, ra...
Hoping that December is bringing you Australians some lovely warm weather, and that you all have pleasant Christmases, no matter how you choose to spend them. Until next time...
I've dropped out of my Japanese class. I'm disappointed in myself for not finishing it, but it was robbing me of 3 hours of being with my Tom, and at least 2 hours of sleep... on top of the train fares to get there and back, it was turning into a burden I couldn't sustain. I've resigned myself to a bit of self-study for now, until I find a better way of learning some Japanese. I don't feel particularly driven to learn lots of Japanese, as I have very little aptitude for languages other than English, and once we've finished our time here, I doubt I'll be using much Nihongo in my day to day life. I'll resign myself to partial comprehension and a bit of conversation. It will just have to do.
As the title of this post suggests, we are beginning to find a little bit of peace here.
With the crash of the Aussie dollar and the downturn of the Australian Economy, we have assessed our situation here far more favourably. With our yen now being worth almost twice what it was worth when we arrived, and a worsening employment situation in Tasmania, we have canned any plans for coming back for at least the next few months, and possibly the next year... though I know not to put too much faith in plans...
Osaka is cheap, and with Tom focusing on amassing a huge amount of musical equipment, and me focusing on getting a new computer, we have come to the conclusion that we are best to just stay put for now, and keep working for ECC Kansai. I have been given my last set day on my schedule (at last!) and with Tom only substitute teaching one day a week, our general discontent levels have dropped quite substantially.
Although we have decided to stay in Osaka, we are looking at moving out of this apartment next year, somewhere closer to the main drag, and hopefully less dusty, cramped and expensive. The real estate market here is daunting, and being a foreigner, it's hard to find a good deal. But time, as they say, is on our side.
I have saved some money for a replacement computer, but then Tom lent the money from me to buy a very rare amp that just happened to be in the local Ishibashi music equipment store. So, that puts us in the poor house with a church mouse for at least the next couple of weeks. The soonest the computer could be acquired is January - that would have been true whether Tom had borrowed the money from me or not... and if we need to move house before then, the computer may be pushed further into the future. I am trying not to get anxious about it... the operative word being trying... I really like having a computer, and I'm finding not having one to be a little upsetting. But if that is the sum of my woes, then really, life isn't that bad. And it feels like things will continue to be on the up.
The cooler weather is far more pleasant than the boiling, steamy summer. We have had some opportunities to get out and about a bit and see some more of the seasons:
Arashiyama and Daikakuji
Ginkakuji
Updated - Kiyomizu Dera
Updated - Urban Osaka
And Japan continues to be crazy:
Sometimes you continue to wonder...
We're off to Nagano for Christmas, and I'm going to have a crack at skiing. Hopefully it will be a good crack at skiing and not cracking bones. I'm also going to see if we can come past Matsumoto Castle on the way home, and maybe drop into Nagoya on the way past... but it will all depend on all of those things that things tend to depend on... ra, ra, ra...
Hoping that December is bringing you Australians some lovely warm weather, and that you all have pleasant Christmases, no matter how you choose to spend them. Until next time...
Foreigner's Koens
1. If a gaijin sits down on a subway, is it any different to anyone else sitting down on a subway?
2. If a gaijin is not present to observe gaijin-ized Japanese behaviour, does anyone behave any differently?
3. Is it me you hate, or the world?
Meditate on that.
2. If a gaijin is not present to observe gaijin-ized Japanese behaviour, does anyone behave any differently?
3. Is it me you hate, or the world?
Meditate on that.
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