lately

I usually write about something that has occured, usually there is a trigger and I think let me write about that. Today there isn't or wasn't a trigger but I thought I would just figuratively pen my thoughts.

So I did read back the first few days of my blog while I was in japan and memories flooded back, i even remembered what i didn't write in the blog and there was a lot.It made me want to go back but I'm in no situation to. I always look for jobs in japan just to see if "the one" of jobs appears but it doesn't there was a job that i applied for and I basically got it or got some work from it but ill explain that when it comes to fruition. I got my prime lens for my CAMERA which is good for taking portraits. I've got a couple projects on the way but I think key thing is to take the camera out with me everyday. my last day in the office so I'm VERY HAPPY about that first proper free time I've had since I was in ASIA.

Best things happened lately is my mrs making things happen and she is bein proper blessed i like people around me shining.
Other of my friends are making it happen www.thestartupcrowd.com and my boy has a commercial up on www.reed.co.uk/youdecide called the condition
there are loads more but everyone on their own projects thumbs up. I'm going to have to follow to.
www.djbcreative.com and www.femismiles.com the framework has started so let me build on it. Reminds me need to purchase a CD for my mac to get it up and running. If i have nought to say its all just my thoughts but I wont be publishin this one facebook - :P

Discovering Dogs

Firstly I would like to say this post is sponsored by Phil Humber. Providing slightly geeky witty banter since 2008.

Have I ever told you I was a Dog Person? Do you know that I like Dogs?

Well in the words of Biggie, If you don’t know ,now you are adequately informed.

When I say dogs I mean REAL dogs, dogs that can do things or at least , look like they can do things. I am not talking about Chihuahuas and other toy dogs , In my eyes they are not REAL dogs they are accessories and or toys. if you can carry it in your hand bag along with your chap stick then it doesn’t get my real dog certification.

Because I know my girlfriend is probably fuming about the last section of the post. I would like to add that some of these little dogs are cute but not for me. I don’t want to sound childish but some of those dogs are for girls!! :P.

As a man I don’t care how macho you are, walking down the street with a rat-dog on a lead will make you look a Queen (not the royal kind). If that’s the look you’re going for then go ahead, but if not leave the toy dogs for the fairer sex.

My opinion …my opinion

Anyhow on Saturday the 12th November, ( otouto no tanjoubi)
My brother ,his friend,my other brother , my girlfriend and I (I’m sure there is a more grammatically correct way to say this) went to Discover dogs, which does what it says on the tin. It’s for dog lovers and owners alike. They claimed to have over 200 different breeds of dog just hanging around and although I didn’t count them I will take their word for it. It was like a dog petting zoo , in fact it was a dog petting zoo with a few stands where you could buy dog related products. It was really good fun kids were free, as in you can bring under 12’s for no entry fee not as in they were giving away children for no charge.

I always thought I wanted a Husky because I like wolves and huskies are beautiful and wolf like but in reality the Alaskan Malamute is for me, it is larger than the husky and with a more relaxed temperament but the deal breaker for Huskies is that they do not call to heal.

As in if you let a husky of its leash, it will run and when you call it it will ignore you like the US government did with Katrina.

I have dreams of me calling out my dogs name , which will either be 大好(Daisuki) or 京都 (Kyoto) and it running towards me.Making me seem well cool
I learned all this at Discover dogs, SO my girlfriends likes a dog called the Brussels Griffon which looks like an Ewok from star wars, my 23 year old brother is a sucker for Dalmatians which makes sense as he brainwashed himself watching 101 dalmatians as a child literally everyday. My youngest brother is a fan of the Malamute as he likes what I like and his friend likes Kings Charles cavaliers.

if you like dogs I would definitely going to Discover dogs next year.
Anyway up until now I wouldn’t have minded a flat but when I get my own place, my malamute will need a garden.

I speak PIDGIN

This as with one of my previous posts starts in the mens room of a central London establishment, the man in the toilet resurfaces, this time he justs asks me where I’m from as in origin. I reply to him in my private school educated working class English accent that I’m Nigerian.
To which his eyes light up WHERE? WHERE? WHERE?
I tell him Kogi and Ibadan but I was born here.
The guy is like so You don’t speak Yoruba at ALL Looking at me like I was nothing.
I wanted to shout at him like (SHARRRAP WHA ARE YOU DOING CLEAING TOILET), in a serious African accent reminiscent of the jokes I shared with Kwaps in Japan.
But instead
I was like of course I speak Yoruba , in reallity I can blag Yoruba for about 2 seconds but I understand it though as with most british born Naija boys and ggirls. He tried to test me with the most basic of phrases to which I reply in my full Nigerian accent. I earn the toilet mans approval but now I can expect full blown Yoruba jisting so when I see him in the toilet today- yeah its weekly- I will no doubt all but lose his approval.
Anyway as you should know Je parle ein biss chen Nihongo. I speak some Japanese and a little bit of a couple of other languages.
I’m just indicating that I am learning Yoruba and Pidgin Englishwhich I basically know but I have to practice. I’m so into other cultures so I want to learn and discover mine. I have native speakers to practice on Ooodles of over acted films thanks to Nollywood and failing that, if I get on a bus there WILL be a Yoruba woman talking loudly on her phone somewhere that I can listen to for practice.

cause for a delay

I'm sorry Ladies and Gentlemen but the Jubilee line service is experiencing major delays because there is somebody under a train at Wembley. This paints the picture that there is a protester like person who is deliberately holding up the jubilee line eastbound service for their own cause. In reality a poor soul has decided that there life is too much, that they can't live anymore and I don't like they way this poor human is reduced to an obstacle and not a living breathing person. -I know that once they are under the train that they are not a living breathing person any more , but I hope you understand my point. They are being put into the same category as the wrong kind of snow , faulty signals and leaves on the track and in my opinion this isn't right. To be honest I think I am hearing that there is a person under the train more and more these days, which is depressing I can't help but think about the repercussions the relatives, the friends the witnesses the driver even. On hearing the common announcement that my journey home was being delayed because somebody was under the train, I was this close (imagine me holding my thumb and index finger poised in a way that they were separated by the size of a cashew nut, that close) to giving a rising dragon uppercut to my fellow commuter, who commented that it was a selfish thing to do.

I agree it is inconvenient to wait an extra 10 minutes for the tube , but somebody just died, somebody decided to jump in front of a tube to a gruesome but quick death, like where is the compassion these days. God forbid somebody you know where to meet this fate that somebody were tortured by so many demons that they snapped and leaped on the northern line.
I'm just urging you that next time you hear that there is somebody under the train that you don't just shrug it off as a minor inconvenience but spare a thought for what got this person under there and if you are of the disposition pray for their soul

The man in the toilet

The title reads like a horror story for little kids that has them afraid to sit on the toilet , and to be honest the truth is not far from this. In venues all around the UK lurks the man in the toilet, the man in the toilet has fully grown party goers apprehensive of making any kind of deposit in the bank of toilet. They say sometimes as you leave you can hear him " No spray ,No lay" he chants "No soap ,no hope" he wails .Ghastly isn't it.

Where do they get the lines from really? because they all say the same thing ,do they receive it in there training manual? is there a group seminar where the chief Man in the toilet presents new lyrics to the other toilet men? Freshen up for the Punani! for real. I mean if you didn't "freshen up for the punani" at home there isn't much hope for you in a dirty seedy toilet now is there.

All this advice would be pretty good before you leave your house , you could have no soap no hope on top of your door which would probably prevent some of the B.O ravers on the dancefloor.

Anyway on the other hand I know none of the toilet men really want to be toilet men but times are hard and money needs to be made, but those lines aye- they have to go my friend

i don't drink much so i usually donate a pound to the toilet man fund in exchange for peace and quiet and a chuppa chups.
it is a good idea to have a man in the toilet to keep it clean and so you can top up your deodorant or your aftershave or just to get some gum or whatever is useful and for this service i would pay a fee you know a smart pound makes sense.

How much do they make anyway?

BUT to give me towel paper to dry my hands which is the only way i can dry my hands ,because you somehow sabotaged the hand dryers and stole all the towel paper does not deserve money. I can wash my hands all by myself. I've been a big boy for a while.

Ps you got these guys in India, well at least mumbai airport and in Bangkok and probably all over the world with rhymes galore
I

Okay ,now i'm really back

So only a week after I arrived back from the UK me and a couple of my boys separately went to Thailand spending our time in Bangkok and Kho Phangan and now we are back, I'm not going into great depth on the holiday right now becasue erm WHITSIT you understand, well not really it wasn't that kind of holiday but lets say I may randomly mention a few things that happened at some points. But when somebody says there are Ladyboys in Thailand and that it is seedy believe them because it is, I swear I saw more thai ladyboys out there than actual thao females and I never even went to Pattaya and I know the going rate of a good time in Kho phangan and No I did not ask. Great time and I need to go again and see more thailand.

I had my first day of work yesterday which nearly finished me off, yeah first day after 4 months is hard.
Also found out that the designer roll on you get in those christmas packs no matter what designer they are, do not work properly, Thank God I had back up because yeah, that wouldn't have been a great first impression. I've had a lot to write but havent dragged myself to this page to write them but I'll see if I can continue to express my self throught this page. I tell you for one thing my mind was so clear in Kyoto and coming back there is this cloud which takes over my head blocks my vision and my thoughts. I think they call it gloom or maybe I just suffer from a form of SADS seasonal bla bla bla, but i's not seasonal it's regional.

now that I'm back

I think to write this post is to accept that I am sitting in GMT in LDN on my ASS.
I was greeted at the airport by the lil brother running towards you at the welcome gate whch you see on the films. It always fills everyone with emotion when you see it but it is the best welcome home you can get. Obviously I have the brother who didnt run, but we know the sentiment is there.

trains are delayed 5 minutes of arriving tubes are broken down, this line is closed, that line is on vacation. In my whole time in Japan I had one late subway train and i think that was due to a suicide. Couldn't be helped. I've generally caught up with the timing but still feel tired I am awake now at 7.30 which used to be my 15:30

usually when you wake up from a dream though you can never get back point is it feels literally like my time in Japan wasa dream I mean it's all memory now, 2 months has passed and I'm back to London and nothing has changed everything is basically in its same place, except for the keys to my bike lock :( The truth is I dn't need Di caprio to jump into my head and recreate this dream.

If i go back to reading from the post i wrote on the day I left, up till now what would I do, if one tink I'll try and document what goes on in the london.

not sayonara more like mata ne

Just to end it, just to finish it off. It's my last few hours in Kyoto, I get picked up at 5.45 am and go to Osaka Airport for 7 30 to fly to UK and I'll arrive on Monday evening. All very clinical all very painful. I am going to be very happy to see people that have been missed but not places. Like I'll keep it brief as I need 4 hours sleep im not looking to miss my pickup.
I loved it more than I imagined, I never got sick of it. I do hate cockroaches and Smoking in public places but I think this is the one for me. I have the N2 Japanese exam which I really want to take in Winter so I'm going to track that process . need to step up my level more and more. I have improved a lot since I've been here. WOuld like to thank those that made the trip a lot more comfortable Kwapeesh and Ryuukyuuchan and my mother and father. School and accomodation and financial balancing in times of need. Erm yeah I start work on 1st of August.I'll get back to ths when I arrive in cooler UK .
SAD

Intruder

He picked the wrong house I just wasn't in the mood it was late I had just come home from my friends house literally around the corner, what are the odds aye??
Basically I have no idea how he got in because the door was locked , there is a garage linked to my house so maybe he worked in his way through some trap door,but either way I don't care. In Japan crime rate is pretty low and people don't usually break into peoples houses, another tick on the Pros list. I'm going to assume that he was intoxicated or on something because he actually thought I didn't notice him and to be honest I didn't at first but the idiot tried to hide like he was a fly or something. The space under the stairs is pretty big I mean i can fit but I would stick out. He wasn't as big as me but (no homo) the idiot looked like he could lift his body weight several times over, i could see ridiculous strength, i think pound for pound he could take me but I was a lot larger and I wasn't in the mood for a long drawn out fight.

i pretended I didn't see him and he bought it (intoxication maybe) I went upstairs to wear I keep my weaponry.
I carefully walked down the stairs like i was going to toilet and just as i got to the bottom of the stairs. I went for him couldn't even walk straight he tried to go for me but i sidestepped and he stumbled then the bloody Cockroach went under the fridge but I'm sure he's dead that spray is effective.I went in with that spray but kept a distance in case he made a last ditch attempt at my life

Yeah cockroach!! I've seen like 2 this week but I hate them. i wish I was raised in Nigeria for a few years so they wouldn't bother me s much but boy I can't live with them. It ain't my fault either this house is old and dark and stuff so don't think I'm a mess because I don't have no cockroaches at home. it's an old wooden house summer thing i guess.

OTOKO NO KO-Mr Black

I'll upload a picture when I get it , yeah I had to take a picture with this dude.
He started speaking to my boy Francis and I thought it was a Nigerian brother just because he had a head shape similar to some of my uncles. But when this dude turned round he was full scale Japanese boy with super tanned skin, like the same colour all over but this colour was brown, like black man brown. Japanese people are not known for the darkness of their skin granted it is summer and people can get dark but this was extreme. I wonder what his parents thought, I wonder what his friends think what girls think and most of all I wonder what he was thinking. Did he wake up one morning and think MTV has made me believe that the next step on my cool list is to become black or at least look it so off to the tanning salon I go.

Did this work? was he now cool? did people cross the street when they saw him? I'll never know unless I see him tonight

I'm sure he must go to the salon like some people go to the gym. In a weird way it was a little bit flattering but i mean like 3% and the the other 97% was weird and hilarious.

This dude gave all the high 5's and man hugs and bought us both drinks , which I must say is very unblack, black people don't buy each other drinks ( is that self hate).Don't get angry it's true I've met people and they've bought me a drink before even knowing my name this has happened on many occasions but none of these occasions has it been a black guy. The only black guys who buy me drinks are my friends, friends that know they'll see me again and I will be buying them a drink later. Fair enough I mean I'm not buying you a drink unless I know you, I don't have that disposable income and you know I'll be giving you that eye contact a hour later like remember that drink i bought you an hour yeah- payback time son. Thirsty throat. I'll probably do that cup to mouth action and hope he doesn't think I'm doing something else

But back to the point , some guys love the dark skin so much that they super tan, Yes I know some people just want to tan as they think tanned skin looks healthier and not because they want to be black, but this is an example of I wanna be like you oooh oooh

I will never mean to generalise a people many people can have different reasons for doing the same thing
so this is Mr Black coolest kid in the block until we came to town.

what I thought about monkeys

I'm going to blame the racist abuse I received from a young age for the ignorance I am about to embrace you with.
I always generally thought that monkeys lived in Africa and that was that, I mean I know I've seen the Jungle book and the King of the swingers is a monkey but I think that being called a black Monkey and being told to go back to the zoo, to climb a tree and the millions of things the NF boys would say made me believe that monkeys were only in Africa. Does that make sense to you, don't care it's my excuse

I know there are places in Japan where monkeys will jump into hot springs with you but I just thought they were imported monkeys ,still to think that monkeys were an inhabitant of Japan didn't really register, until the other day when I was with my friend and they told me that the part of Kyoto they live in sometimes you can see monkeys, like monkey monkeys. I was shocked, i was confused but most of all I was excited. I mean the monkeys were wild and dangerous but I wanted to see Japanese Monkeys. Monkey magic, Monkey power

Turns out there is a little monkey park Arashiyama monkey park in Kyoto so to speak on top of a "mountain" and you can feed them from inside an enclosure costs about 100 yen (one pound ish) for some feed and they ll take the food from out of your hand through a caged fence. I've never fed monkeys before like that ( not to my recollection ) but it was so cool, especially the young ones which still looked cute and not scary, occasionally a monkey would switch on another monkey for some reason but who knows.let the monkeys fight aye ( heard that one before).There was a monkey that would tap the cage to get your attention and then stretch its hands for a nut or an apple or whatever you had. Such a human thing to do. They were fascinating to watch, I want a monkey but just a cute one, like baby size. Can we do this??? make it happen

One scary thing is that , you are told not to look at the monkeys in the eye. I had images in my head of a monkey having an Are you looking at me moment? I did not want to have a hungry monkey on my hands-I did not look any monkeys in the eye. these things no taller than my knee had me looking at the floor like I had been given a dirty African slap.

On leaving the monkeys started going ape (haha) and one jumped out of a tree right next to me. I got a little scared but maintained my composure ,remember everyone thinks I'm cool and I want that to remain that way

OTOKO NO KO - The Architect

Just going to make a note on a couple of the Japanese dudes as in males that we've come across during the week.
We have Mr Speech. Mr Black? and Mr You're SO cool.

Mr Speech could be the most interesting. After last weeks international party on the hottest day and night so far, we went to Mc D's to get a meal and oddly enough there was a grey man dressed in business attire ( grey i mean Grey hair but it was white as far as I remember) Oddly enough this guy was in business attire and he strangely looked like the japanese version of the KFC colonel. This was odd because what was the colonel doing in Mc D's. I half expected Japanese Ronald to come and sort him out.
Anyway this guy I should have named him the architect (matrix) because after letting myself and Francis know he could speak English he then basically word for word as far as I know reeled of the Abraham Lincoln Gettysburg address, Four score and seven years ago... yeah that's all i know. It was pretty impressive but unnecessary. After he finished and we expressed our shock and surprise he then decided to start another speech,-my heart sank. Luckily Francis received a phone call from a friend we had to meet outside so we were ale to escape form the the architect colonel well actually Francis pulled off the best acting skills i have seen in a while he had me convinced that we were leaving Mcdonalds to meet a friend outside who we were meant to meet up with, It was too well executed, there was a full range of emotion and dialogue in the imaginary phonecall that he received.

So this is an example of the I want to practice my English with you person, i don't mind too much because that's me in London, pouncing on Japanese tourists

air vent

Literally running into my last week in Japan, tomorrow will be my last full Monday. SO I tried to fill in the week as much as possible, learning how to make okonomiyaki to just hanging out by Kamogawa and meeting some friends.
I haven't updated in a while and been awfully busy. I hadn't spoken to my brothers for a while but managed to get through to them yesterday which was cool. Just found out Haye lost to Kinchko which sucksbut im so glad I did not stay up for it.

I don't think I can do anything until September when I come back as I will be broke like a joke for a while so (shrugs) but I definitly want to spend a lot more time inside with my nearest and dearest ( i don't use these rhyming phrases much usually)

I'm not actually in a fun mood today, I mentioned dreams on my status a few days ago and the one I had last night has jus affected my mood, I have to turn that around asap. There is no time to waste and not because its my last week but because you never know when it's your last week (period). I think you have those moments of realisation and this is one of them. I almost wanted to shout out a really crafty facebook status to maybe vent to release how I feel but that gives everyone I know a glimpse into what's going on Inside. I reserve that for this blog and personal conversations of which I have way too few. Through this blog I realise I do have a lot to say but I sometimes struggle when it comes to deliver expressive peaces of information verbally, so at the most point the only time I say something will be in the form of a witty one liner to get a few laughs. Which is cool- but I never really express, I don't get that angry I don't lose my temper often and even if i do it's not expressed often well.
I feel better just with that, but I still need todo something physical, macho up some push ups or run kamogawa again.

4-30 -well 5.00 now

When i climbed into bed at 23:30 something I did not think I would make it till 00:00.
It's not the heat, as it's only 27 degrees right now at 4.30am. It's not the mosquitoes as so many have fallen to my thunderclap, I am the mosquito slayer today. I believe it is the fact that 2 weeks from today I should be on the plane back to sunny/rainy Heathrow London and there is a bright side to returning home don't get me wrong but there is a dark side the size of the moon waiting for me. I can remember the ,minutes, hours, the days, the weeks , chasing the gold that doesn't pave the streets

You know what, i just had to jump out of bed as the engine of another mosquito is wreaking havoc on my ears, i am going to cover my head and sleep.

My chain of thought has been broken and I have a day ahead of me tommorw. Jikan ga mottai nai.
As i said 2 weeks, put on a brave face, take the long trip.

his blog has been therapy for me though. If you read this though I urge you to go to the beginning and just read my extracts there are only a few. I'll do the same and see If I have been true to me.

On another note I just listened to a podcast I used to listen to and could barely understand a word but now I can understand it a lot better. That put a smile on the sleepy face.

Any other random things I can say, oh yeah I made a flyer for that restaurant I told you about that I went to that was real cool. That's what the whole client thing was about.

Oh yeah I was gonna mention that it's hard work and passion that drive success, shout out to my Mercredi , Jabz ,Morals ,Neeks inspirations in there own fields. Reaching out to Skillaz, A.D . Captain Kwapeeeeeesh make it happen in Ghana The Mayamada familia lol. Dream chasers I salute you. If you're not dreaming ,wake up. Exactly.
Oi Bruce wayne- whats up?

If i forgot you it's 5 am allow me
So much for no chain of thought, Brain dump

i can feel it in the air

It feels like you are sitting in a Sauna, very cliche but I am being very Literal, the wind feels like the breath of a fire breathing Dragon. My house is made from Wood and I'm sure that when I go to get a glass of water, i literally lose all the water I just drunk in the form of perspiration by the time I get back up stairs.

Was there any point mentioning the wood? (shrugs)

I say perspiration but I mean sweat, like a sweaty horse running a race in a sauna.

I mean I can deal with it now and deal with it by i mean sit at home with the AC on, but it's going to get hotter. Basically when I live here, I don't know what I will do in Summer, I'll turn up to my place of work in a vest and hope i'm not noticed.I don't like to have to do anything in hot weather so that will be a struggle. Look out for that blogpost in the future.

Yesterday was hotter, we went to an International party but I spent my time conversing with the AC. It's not really about being inside on a day like that but as I mentioned the fresh air was like a kiss from Charizard so, between molten rock and a hard place of fire it is.

I know it's hot in London but I've been a few places in the world and this is taking the biscuit just a little and it's not even deep summer. I feel sorry for those of you here in August, Ganbatte Kudasai.

Its nice to go sit by Kamogawa, which I did at somepoint this afternoon. Sometimes you get a little warm breeze, not cool but warm air feels like a handshake with jack frost at times like this.

I'm gonna see how many pounds of sweat i'll lose tonight.

If you're fat, on second thoughts fat is a bad word.f you are concerned about your weight,this is my advice, come here and just live for the summer, walk around a bit. You will lose pounds I seriously mean it.

Oh and I have to plug Sure roll on, even after all the above sweat talk. STILL Fresh ish

Hai Sensei

If you don't know know you know.

If you speak English as your native language you are pretty much qualified to be an English teacher in Japan and many other countries around the world. We English speakers are lucky that we already have a trade.

Anyhow I took one of my friends private lessons today just to see how it is. (I did it on a volunteer basis as I am not able to work here on my visa as a tourist , so i state, that I did not receive payment) It went pretty well for me I can see the appeal of being paid to basically talk and assist language learning. I mean I do it in England all the time with my Japanese exchange partners and friends and to have the opportunity to be paid for it seems to be a no brainer. But at the same time I am not doing it and working a Job in London that I "love so much" (these quotes are air quotes) there is no love.

I turned up in My polo and boat shoes, basically the smartest things I brought with me to a mutually agreed location.

What was funny was that I told the guy I would be wearing a red top and i was about 180 cm tall and I'm sure he was aware that I was black. In kyoto this would be enough to dstinguish me from 99% of the population, BUT when I step into the mutually agreed establishment. There is another black guy about my height wearing exactly the same shade of red top I am wearing.
I don't know what the chances are that the both of us would be there at the same time same place same colour x 2 but I'm sure it's pretty one in a million.

Anyway I got spotted by my student who was early and we got the formallities out of the way and began.

This was in fact the longest conversation i've had in English for a long time, even when I speak with my English speaking friends it is not an hour of straight back and forth. I made sure there was never a dull moment, and when i say dull moment I mean I made sure English was coming out of my mouth or the other guys.

I love talking with people so it was an experience and fun for me, I mean if you wanna pay me for it. I won't say no.

the attraction

Like, when I got here I got attention but not too much.

I pretty much expected it but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
I guess I was just another foreigner in town something different ubt nothing special and that was fine. i wasn't looking for their attention so no problem

But as soon as it started getting hotter and I started wearing the sleeveless and wearing the shorts it all changed.

I guess there is something about me. I personally can't see it but I guess I don't look at myself the way they do.I mean this doesn't happen to me in London

I mean now even if I take a few minutes to sit down I can feel there eyes on me , some of them are brave enough to even approach me.

And at night it gets worse, I just want to rest and I get harassed and there is next to nothing I can do about it. It could be my size , my colour or just the way the sun reflects off my head but boy

I wish these Mosquitoes would leave me alone.

TakoYaki Party

Tako = Octopus (yes octopus)
and Yaki = Fried( I think)
Therefore everybody gets dressed up and dances dressed up as fried octopi (ok toe pie) Yeahhhhhh
and there you have it end of blog post with a little MatheMagic.

NOt so simple, Takoyaki is ,.and this is just my knowledge, which has been greatly broadened today, octopus balls ( not testicles
,octopus surrounded by a ball of flour et al. We used ginger and something green and a bit of something that looks like rice crispies and tako yaki sauce amongst other things.

Imagine how good my recipe book would be, yeah get some yellow stuff, milk, red bitsmix it for a bit and then heat it up.
That would be my recipe for victoria sponge.

There is a takoyaki machine which is like a (HOLD ON... i had to take down a mosquito the size of a golf ball that was heading straight for me) anyway its basically a machine which looks like a hot plate crossed with a cupcake tray but for round things. That's as good a description as I can give :D

Anyway had a couple friends and my housemates all cooped up in a thin and narrow kitchen, stuffing our faces in between sessions of octopus ball making. I pretty much sucked at making the balls, but aced the preparation as you can see by the above picture, not sure which one I will use. though so this may not be relevant.

I am full to the brim with octopus and flour and cheese, and had a great time, if i have the space which I do not i will take the tako yaki machine home :)and have a go in London. So that was my evening, it's dark and quite hot- so will go to sleep and hope I don't get bitten by the mosquitoes that are waiting for me.

mata kondo ne

let me make my mistakes

i'll learn from your mistake if the result was severely negative, i know fire will burn I know jumping off high places will lead to broken bones and taking loans from sharks will bite but if it's not as clear as that I think I will learn for myself.
Me and you are not the same, when I look in the mirror I don't see your face.
My point? I hope you have it.
What happened to you may not happen to me so on and so forth.
This sounds like a reaction to a conversation but it's more of a realisation.
I'm not 19 but I'm not 90, they say now is the time as tomorrow can not be promised by no one but he who gave me this day.
(Are you still with me)

I think i'm starting to realise that the decisions I do or do not make will impact my future If I am blessed with one.

Kyoto has him now

samurai spirit

I'm always asked why I started learning Japanese, it is the most asked question of me except for WHERE FROM? (where are you from?)
most people assume it's for the women and for most people that answer may be right, but not for me.

From young like most of us I was interested in the ways of the East, as a world so far way from anything I could experience in London, I mean China town probably is as close as I got to Far east culture in London and I'm sure it is not that good a representation. I\ve always been interested in The Wise Old Man from Kung-fu films, the shaolin monks and the Kouga Ninja.

One group trumped them all, these were the samurai. If I could be a samurai I would. The pride , the honour, the discipline, the armour the swords. It was and is a main factor to why I leaned over to the Japanese side. I don't know specifics who, what, when where why but I love Samurai.

Secret- i didn't come to learn Japanese I came to learn the way of the samurai, i ran to the hills but I couldn't find them

So anyway by chance my new flatmates, invite me to their friends bad called Shi Shin, samurai cafe and bar. not a second thought every other bar in Japan is called samurai this or Dragon that BUT this place was the one.

This guy Tomo and his friend restructured an old kimono shop into a time machine, when you step in the door you are transported to a restaurant from the edo jidai or maybe they just created a restaurant from the edo jidai. Either way it looks really authentic and I'm sure I said Kono toko ga suki ( i like this place) on at least ten occasions The cushions to accompany the lowered tables are embroidered with patterns of the times, the tables contain mini Japanese zen gardens. The armour of a samurai warrior along with replica katana( Tomo explained that a bar and swords don't mix well.)watches over the diners.

Long story short, i told them I'd do them a flyer so I took tons of photos the next day and will work on that soon thought of a business concept i may have to try out here :D

Grave of the fireflies -火垂るの墓 Hotaru no Haka

I have a general disregard for insects bugs and all creepy crawlies, and I go about dealing with this disregard in a very non African way. slowly walking away scared in the opposite direction. I would easily be bullied out of my room by a spider smaller than my wrist watch leaving my mum or girlfriend or anybody to help me get rid of it. This is one way I feel like I fail as a man. (Hold that though it will be relevant in a minute)

Yesterday was a good day .Binboo na seikatsu. Life of a poor man. it always happens we overspend the first half of the month and then scrimp the second half. Cost of living in japan is quite high if everything is new and you want to do everything and you want to go out, but if you cook and do free things like go for walks with friends to riverside temples then you can save some money. Convenience store drinks and takoyaki can serve as lunch.

SO yesterday I went to a shrine based in the land between the Kamogawa river delta, it took like an hour to walk whilst talking and it was 28 degrees yesterday so water breaks were definitely needed. Was a really fun and FREE time entrance fee was non existent but I paid my fee in Mosquito bites which are troubling my ankles making them swell a little , I look like a girl with CANKLES, you know what cankles are right？ well my ankles look like a girl with cankles ankles.

Ankles aside I look like me.

Now here is where the opening para becomes relevant, there are a few places in Kyoto where you can see fireflies HOTARA and you can see fireflies all over the world but because i loved the Studio Ghibli film grave of the fireflies and because Japan is so beautiful and because firefly season is just starting at about half 8 last night, the journey was made to a canal north Kyoto where the fireflies usually appear in abundance. there were only a few around but it was still fascinating to see . i ha vent seen fireflies since I was a young boy in the Cub scouts and I didn't care then. But I care now ( a bit) and i prayed that I could catch one and I did , It was a small thing to happen but it meant a lot to me and I was excited as a 26 year old man because I had a disco fly in my hands.(shrugs)

I'll be back in 2 weeks when I'm told there would be hundreds.

Level 4 Mamachari

So I've been here a month and a bit, time is running out. so i've basically entered my fourth stage in my trip, which is my own room.

1st Francis's for a week +,
2nd Homestay
3rd Francis for a week
4th Own room


It is not huge, I'm using my suitcase as a makeshift desk, I Park my bicycle in my boys house across the street, which i could literally jump.

And I say my bicycle like it is my bicycle but it is not my bicycle it is my boys bicycle, he has at least 2 bicycles. Balling.It's not about Maybachs out here it's about Mamacharis.(google is your friend and note picture) We don't ride mamacharis though we are rolling on Mountain bikes with the kick stand attachment. mamacharis are col though you have the basket for carrying your conbinience store shopping.

Anyway the couple that I live with are young 26 and 28 and are quite friendly, they got excited about my level of japanese and I'm sure they were very happy that I was the BFG and not Big angry Foreigner. I've spent most of the day just chilling used the kitchen to make a west african egg stew with Korean Kimchi in the mix. I didn't do a great job. I know there is something missing but for the life of me I do not know what. Friends finish work soon so will probably treat myself to something nice to eat before having my first nights sleep in this room I think it would be a 6 tatami room. Enough space for pushups so I'm happy.

Tomorrow I think i will be out all day polishing up the linguistics

Okay I need to buy something to make this room smell less , i want it to smell sweet and stuff but I don't want air freshener. HMmmmm what to buy??

i don't know what I want to do for a living but I know where I want to be while I'm living.

This is a short blog post, if you don't understand it then I can't help you.

I Run Kamogawa

If you know me a little, you may know that I like water, I mean I'm not a great swimmer but I like being by lakes, the sea, rivers ponds, even a bucket of water will keep a smile on my face.
In London i live like 2 stones throw from the river Thames, like literally you throw a stone walk up to where it lands,pick it up, throw it again it should land in the waters deep.

I usually cross tower bridge and London bridge and then return to my dwelling place very sweaty faced and exhausted but with a sense of accomplishment and that sort of thing. Now being 5895.882 miles away from my post code( and yes I just spent 10 minutes on http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-distance-calculator.htm working it out) I am fortunate enough to be very close to a smaller but more scenic river the Kamogawa river in Kyoto. Pretty pretty and I ran along it yesterday and the day before and I will again today maybe.

First day I ran though it was so hot like 28degrees and blazing sun , I nearly keeled over due to the heat but it was such a good run. And I saw some serious wildlife , Huge fish in the river. I am going to stick my neck out and say they are koi but they may not be. The other day me and the Mrs walked by a otter type thing called a Kawauso and there are always Cranes and a huge bird called the Tonbi -Japanese black kite which isn't actually black but hey.They are spectacular to watch and they will swoop down and steal your food. I ran past a snake in the grass, it was pretty long as well. I wanted to take a picture but it was too fast and i was too scared. I saw another snake swimming but this is when I was studying later on when the killer sun had taken some time off behind the buildings.

the sun seriously tried to scorch my hairless head so i need to take a cap next sunny day, lately its been cloudy but still hot in the high 20's enough to really make you feel exhausted. Okay it's nearly 10 I need to run now or I will just make myself a sandwich and be done with any chance of exercise.

Schools out

日本語を勉強するために日本行きました。
I came to Japan to brush up my Japanese and enjoy a place I love and this involved attending a popular school called the human academy which sounds like a weird institution where body parts are harvested for the socialist elite, like in Never let me go.

So Friday just gone was my last day at school after attending for a month and I was pretty much devastated when it ended (for real) , I built a nice rapport with my international class mates the awkwardness of being new boy was over and I was getting into the swing of things. I couldn't afford to go to school any longer but if i could I would be there now or at least on my way class starts at 9.20 :(.

Somebody want to sponsor me please huh?

After University I didn't think I would want to study any more but this didn't feel like studying I think im a have to do this again after my japanese level 2. I loved languages at school getting good grades at French , German and Latin I am still puzzled as to why I didnot follow langauges through to A-level and degree level.
.
no point looking back, it's onwards and upwards


I managed to buy a plain fan from a 100en shop, a sensu which is one of those fold out fans you see Geisha using. I got all my classmates to sign it and I will keep it as my little souvenir, it is priceless now. I had classmates from China,Taiwan,India,Ukraine,Hawaii,Bolivia,The Phillipines and Korea sign it and my teachers

Robosquare

When it came time to make the decision as to what degree to study for I chose Computer Science, why because I liked robots and gadgets and all those things. There was a module in my degree which included AI Artificial intelligence, which I am very interested in but i did not choose it as my programming skills were non existent so I chose E-business which was a lot easier resulting in my final 2:1 (almost a 1st) degree.

Anyway the point of that introduction was to introduce you to a GEM that we found in the Fukuoka tower building, on the 2nd floor lived an army of miniature robots ranging from the cute Hello Kitty Robot which speaks to you in Japanese and AIBO the robot dog to the necessary robot that helped locate survivors after 9/11. The robot I wanted to buy would have left me living in a trash can like that guy in sesame street, so I bought a miniature Tamorobot which is attracted to light. Basically a glorified children's toy but i like it.

My inner geek turned up to Robosquare big smiles discussing in Japanese with the Otaku sales clerk on the best use I could get out of my own personal robot. My smile turned to a frown when I realised i would need to be able to program to make some of the larger robots do something more interesting than walk forward and turn right.
Damn the level of programming instruction at XXXX University that I attended. All is not lost I can write algorithms and then pay a programmer to write the code, The only language I'm interested in learning is 日本語

Fuji San

I will upload my own picture when I have the chance but I just wanted to mention Mr Fuji, Japans greatest mountain and pretty damn beautiful I must say. Although Fuji is not even half the size of Mt verest it still gets a place on my wall of pretty big things.

Me and the Mrs rented Jitenshas aka push bikes and cycled around lake kawaguchiko. I say around like we circumferenced it, but we did not we cycled for a while got hungry and cycled back but that had us out and about forthe best part of 4 hours. We took the same rope car that we took last year but thistime we could see Fuji. Yeah we came here last year but it was so cloudy that we could not see this Godzilla mountain. Mountain is elusive but this has been the best day weather wise for a while -take note this is the start of the rainy season- 25 degreesand blue skies.
have to go and catch a bus to the station so we can roll to tokyo. Have to say bye bye to the Mrs, return to Osaka, move out of my home stay, go to kyoto and sort out my flat and all by 2morow evening. Ganbarimasu.

clean room

I had a friend arrive in Japan on Earthquake day or thereabouts, My Mrs will arrive here, well has arrived and this is meant to be Typhoon day, and me well I arrived on a weekday, Exactly bad luck comes in threes right.
As usual when my Mrs comes a round I look at my room and think yeah, i need to clean up, even though i cleaned up yesterday. I am just one of those guys, not dirty but messy. There is a difference you WILL NOT find fungus in my room or Tuesday's cornflakes on my pillow , but you will find boxers on the chair. Traveling halfway across the world you will expect to come to a clean room. I don't want her to look like the girl in the picture. Obviously I don't want her to transform into a 8 year old girl but it's that facial expression I don't want to see.So I will remove the boxers and put everything in the sliding door cupboard :D and keep it clean at least for the arrival.

Don't be mad if I don't blog much I will be gallivanting around Japan getting wet as yeah rainy season has very recently started. Rainy season kai.雨が大嫌い. I think by the time rainy season is over I will be over the rain in London. in reality most things you do are inside so it is just the getting there and a bit of preparation before it. Saying this I didn't prepare well and finding a rain jacket in any size other than small in Uni Qlo is pretty much impossible.you know when you go into the same shop like 3 times thinking your size will magically appear. yeah. it doesn't work


I'm also tired, taking the Shihatsu train two days in a row will do that to you but I thought I may as well make myself tired for when my Mrs arrives as she will definitely also be tired. Am I not so thoughtful. I didn't think so. Champions league match kick of was at 3.45am I could not keep my eyes open I was falling apart just like Man UTD - ooooooooh.

nanimo nai

I'm not a journalist but I think I can string a sentence together, and if I'm going to be paid for it, I think I can string a sentence together well. This blog is basically a mind dump a straight to "paper" deposit of my thoughts in no direct order.

nothing really exciting happened yesterday (wednesday).i had a test on chapters 50-60 but I started school midway through chapter 56 so it wasn't the best situation to be in. I tried my test and will learn from it. Walked with a guy from school achi kochi here and there and had a burrito near Shinsaibashi. It was dirty hot the kind of heat where u dnt want a backpack on your back, the kind of heat where u wish your beard wasn't so bushy, where you would like to sit down in front a fan all day. No fan, plentY of backpack and excess beard is the way I would describe myself on this day in particular so it will not feature in my top 10 daysof comfort

I had a dream last night and I was home I had just arrived home, I was happy to see my family but it wasn't the time I was not ready. I realised I was dreaming because I noticed that I didn't transfer during the flight stage of the dream. Point is I was so happy to realise that I was still in Japan but it made me miss my Family more than I do now. Not like I don't miss anybody else but this was based on the dream.

Influenced

I was tired I was thirsty and I didn't know what to drink, but this , this is prove that I am influenced , if i was going to have an energy drink, I wanted one that would give me this kind of power, the power to turn me into a Super Saiyan.For me there was no other choice. Even the can looks like pure energy extracted from the centre of a super nova by claws of steel.

10yen is less than 10pence

Picture the scene. I am in Tesco, and i drop 10p and it falls and rolls towards the giant fruit baskets, i try to stop it but am unable to reach it in time, it is lost forever, a single tear escapes and makes a run for freedom down my cheek, no one is there to help me, the tesco store clerk sniggers and points behind my back, my money is lost forever.

Now same scene in japan, you have for arguments sake Ryu the shop worker , teenager he sees my situation, he pokes his head around the side of the fruit baskets, he moves them here and there he desperately searches for my 10 yen, i reassure him that there is no hope and that I can somehow live on without the 10yen, I smile politely and tell him 大丈夫 and I thank him. After searching for what seems like minutes Ryu reappears apologising for not finding the coin i dropped. I reassure him it's okay and I leave the shop 10yen poorer.

This is just a little testimony to the Japanese way of doing things. We do our best for you mentality.

Anyway the story doesn't end I 'm about to step into the car and I turn around and there I see Ryu running out of the store in my direction, he arrives where I am standing slightly out of breath and reveals a less than shiny 10yen piece.
I believe the yen is from his own personal stash of yen, but either way I am blown away

Wow I think Only in Japan would this happen.

Onsen for the first time

Onsens are usually a problem for the tattooed gaijin or nihonjin for that fact but we had no trouble,
you have to leave your shy at the door though, memories of embarrassing communal showers at school came flooding back, it is nice and relaxing hot springs reminded me of my time in Dominica but in Japan there was a lot of full frontal nudity. But hey we all have the same equipment. So you wash yourself on the side of the onsen make sure your clean and then u enter the Onsen , nice and hot relaxing water, perfect after a long night and then day of brutal football, helped the muscle ache a good deal.

Awaji Island and the reasons i don't play football

Friday after school sees me making my way to my friends place in Kyoto so that we can get an early night sleep for the football match in the morning we have to wake up early so what's better than going out all night and leaving yourself with about 45 minutes of deep sleep to prepare you for the day, adding this to the fact that you have as much skill with a football as a baby hippo will equate to a poor result.

Noted i slept most of the journey and missed crossing the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the wrold, but with a grand total of 2 .5 hours sleep I was ready to take on the Gaijin football world. We played 4 won 1 drew 3. I had my fair share of mistakes but more good plays than bad me thinks.

Tetsuo meets Tetsujin

I'm not an Otaku, I'm not a geek but today I went to see Tetsujin -Iron man, the real Iron man in Kobe, he is hench, he doesn't say much he is pretty much a super big poser but hey, so am I sometimes.

Kobe is a town I've never seen but have been to and had the best steak date of my life.

Anyway I saw the lovely harbor land and the sea and the shops and all the new buildings as in 1995 there was a major earthquake in Kobe, the earthquake happened in the early hours of January 17, 1995. It had a magnitude of 7.3 and killed more than 6,400 people. Damage was estimated at $100 billion.

Enough facts , a lot of Kobe is new and rebuilt and there is a town called IjinKan which reminded me of my brief time in Barcelona.
Kobe is a port town so there were a lot of foreign settlers with their own buildings.

I met Totoro outside the Ghibli shop , you may see a picture of me with him one day maybe in the future, gwa

ooh and akashiyaki, like takoyaki but yeah better- have a go.

Noticed my Japanese getting better I mean I've been studying for 2 weeks (here) almost and I'm understanding more just need to get my head around some more grammar- I'm just hoping that the learning doesn't stop when school finishes.

月曜日's cheesecake

Picture is of Rikuro Ojiisan's cheesecake shop in Namba, just bought the cheesecake, me and my homestay enjoyed a slice or 2 of cake and tea, delicious :D Different to the cheesecake i've grown to love but still a a happy customer. Took my camera out so I could take some snaps, i want to snap people but , i think it's weird to photograph strangers and then i think it's weird to ask.

Saturday I was a bouncer well not really but I helped out at an international party which was cool, a nice place where you get to meet people who learn English so you can gengokoukan good place to have conversation with the all so elusive Japanese person. Yes elusive even in Japan.

I did some studying for the school day which was today, for a class which I understand well. it's amazing how much you can learn when you actually enjoy what you're doing. Yes I've often said I would never go back to school but a masters in japanese and something or just a course in Japanese would be fun for me and fluency would make me super asset, so yeah im thinking about it hard.

Sunday was recovery because last trains finish at 11 and if you go out you have to wait for the first train at 5am. So you can dance all night till the trains start or you can go and sleep in Mcdonalds or some other establishment.

This wouldn't happen in london. Remember happy slaps , indeed I haven't seen so many good happy slapping opportunities in my life, but no matter how tempting it may look, happy slapping is very wrong but cruelly funny and I would never do it :D

I've just been informed that my younger brother is counting down the days to my return which is extremely touching, i'll have to bring him out here if he is anything like me which he is- basically he's almost everything like me, just lighter and less hair on the face but more on the head- anyway if he is anything like me he'll love it.

I need a shave, i wanna shave my head but i’m not sure if Ill do a good job, i need a barber. Patchy head is not a good look in my eyes.


Have I mentioned that they need to ban smoking here, like in public places, well ,yeah they do.

no place like home

now this Post has no relation to me being in Japan at the moment, anyway let me start.

Where ....From? is a question i'm often asked in Japan to which I reply IGIRISU- (england). Then there is the shock exclamation because people that haven't been to England think black people don't exist outside MTV and charity adverts. I'm sure people expect me to say AFRICA somewhere or even USA.

I digress , the blood in my veins is thanks to colonialism from a west African country named Nigeria.
Although I am Nigerian by blood, birth or whatever I don't feel very Nigerian. I often get the you don't look Nigerian comment- which is another story. I do look Nigerian as am Nigerian, this is what Nigerians look like.

If the BNP got into power in England which is very possible I'll be sent back HOME (Nigeria) f I go to Nigeria , I need a Visa, if I went back to Nigeria I would be called Oyinbo (white guy) immediately even though I am the same as any other Nigerian genetically speaking generally. Like sometimes I get the feeling that I don't belong anywhere. It annoys me when Nigerian say say I'm not Nigerian because I was raised and born in the UK. I hate that if I say I'm Nigerian there is a stigma attached and a shock reaction.

our name has been tainted by a minor percentage of our people BUT i hate the fact that negatively spreads at the speed of light.

At the end of day I'm a child of God placed on the earth.
Some people are scared of different things but I embrace it, i love the difference in people cultures and language, which is why I am on the other side of the world i guess.

Anyway my point is even though I know London is multi cultural bla bla,

there is no place in the world where I don't think I will feel like a foreigner even in my homeland.

New School Old School

Have you seen the Japanese series Drama My Hero My Boss? No!
well in short the gangster son of a Yakuza boss has to go back to school and graduate in order to take over from his dad.
He is a big 30 and he has to pretend he is a school kid again.
That's how I feel!
You remeber the awkwardness of walking into a classroom, and halfway through a semester, all the little groups of friends are formed.

I walk into class with a big Ohayou Gozaimasu and get response from half the class, then slump into a seat at the bag of the class, only to realise that I was in the wrong room :( Gwa

I promptly leave the class , as discreetly as I can but there are giggles there are always giggles.

My classis next door , I was given the wrong class number- Thanks admin worker.

So two lessons go through with little trouble, my heart skips a beat everytime i answer a question. As I have studied mainly by myself some of the stuff they are teaching I havent learned and vice versa so I stumble. but I get back up

But when I think it is all safe-- It's time for a TESTO on the last ten chapters-

sucks, just my luck, anyway test shows I need to play catch up but that's fine. I'm not sure if i said this yesterday but if I had the money I would come to a Japanese school until I was Pera Pera there are guys of big ages who come to the school so I gots time.

Went for lunch with this guy from Hawaii and a guy from DC then roamed Shinsaibashi for about an hour before making my exit back to Esaka in the rain. I should study but I have tomorrow for that. I'll relax for a while and get ready for la Bachata tonight. I'll get some studying done mind you- It's my goal

My Hero My Boss check it out.

day of rest

So I literally did nothing today, well I went to the local library to do some preparation for school tomorrow.
Have to wake up at 7 so gonna keep this brief,
I had a crazy nap which threw my balance out and my host big sister, she's too young to be my mother had a friend round and I enjoyed trying to chase the conversation and got involved,
Got me thinking to get a Japanese flat mate once I return to the big bad England--bleugh.
We drank the fortnum and mason tea and enjoyed the shortbreads i procured from London which was kinda delicious.
Organised a meet up next week for Kaiten sushi which should be good.
I have plans everynight form tomorrow till Monday which is good but I think I need to stop making plans as plans cost money. I need a job but my visa status wont allow it.
Tomorrow is a Bachata party which should be cool.

Enjoying yourself Ari??

Yes I am

Blending in

There are foreigners in Japan
plenty but few of them stand out as much as I did on the rush hour train this afternoon. Yes there are differences between the typical Korean or Chinese/Cantonese person from the typical Japanese such as bone structure etc but what makes me different is noticeable from a mile away.
It causes the gawps and stares from some people and the smiles and waves from others.

I moved into my residence for the next month which is a nice apartment in Esaka, northern Osaka with a couple who rent out their room for foreigners like myself who want to experience real Japan. we cal this a homestay.
I was met by my host at Esaka station and escorted minutes away from the station to a nice APAATO building. took the ERIBAITA o the 3rd Kai which is our 2nd Kai as the Japanese don't have a ground floor (oooh spooky)

Today was my level test for a japanese language school 214 questions which graded me as intermediate. i sampled a couple of classes and have agreed to start on wednesday 3 times a week for a month, which is what I could stretch to financially.

how much can you cover in a month i wonder. Ganbarimasu I think.

I am shattered I have a full diary from tomorrow I think and my legs are killing from football the other da. Tomorrow I am going to study and rest, study and rest. My futon is already spread out so, now im a roll into bed i mean Futon and watch Naruto.

Yaye internet is back

where am I..

Looking around me I would believe i was in a basement club in a caribbean Island but then i focus on the clientele who are 99% Japanese ,please believe.

I am in Rub a Dub jamaican reggae bar in Kyoto where you can get anything from curried rice to ackee and saltfish. For real and you will get some real reggae music played by Bedi who is from Indonesia but looks and sounds like a sibling of damian marley.

spent a portion of the last 3 nights in this eatery.

Had a few Jerk sausages especially after 2 hrs of 5 a side soccer in Osaka which finished me off physically.
Today was hot bordering on 30 degrees, spent my day walking by the river and diving between STA BA and a Kissatern an old school coffee house- im tired after hitting the town. From tomorrow it's homestay in Esaka and school--oooh oooh oooh

AINT NO PARTY LIKE A...

So yesterday was eventful.

Jazz festival with not much jazz and not much festival.

best part was having a conversations one with a 10 yr old boy who told me he dreamed of being a shinkansen driver, pretty cool aye.
Went to a house party of a Professor, Dj Photographer and just enjoyed that vibe, bar one terrible thing happening to me which i will not share.

House was live, kinda setup i would love.

Saw a couple of examples of how not to handle your drink and the fact that you can take a dude out of Kingston but not kingston out of the dude, some any racist guy against your own brothers. Just dumb.

MC D's breakfast yes please Captain.

38 years and PuriKura

IT IS Relatively early I am in Bed at 1am and I went to Osaka from 1pm to meet my friend that I met at a language event in England. Had enough time to eat some okonomiyaki and do some Purikura which is the most feminine ditsy thing you can do. No doubt if you go out with girls in Japan you will do Purikura.
think a normal photo booth, then add, pixie dust, rainbows and gumdrops
I went in though, gave it 110% .

no homo though

Went to a BBQ all you can drink language party in Osaka with my boy Francis afterwards and then chilled at various bars got good news from my mrs and dodged going to Karaoke (although I wanted to go) and grabbed Takoyaki in time for the train back to Kyoto.

met a guy who had been here for 38 years
i could not blame him
at all
he was so 'shiawase' happy

I quote- i love kansai'

お誕生日- My Birthday

Today is my birthday and I am by myself ,I don't feel like I celebrated my birthday by myself because I celebrated it in Wales just over a week ago with my Mrs.

I just slept for like 12 hours straight which is double my normal sleep time.
I blame the clubs that close when the sun rises. And my social life which seems busier than it was in London @ the moment anyway.

I hit Osaka to try and do some shopping and just hang out with one of my friends which was cool. I love Kaiten Sushi we need to sort it out in Endland without it being overly expensive.

One thing struck me on the way to and from yodoyabashi though. No mater how busy it was nobody wanted to sit next to me, and I know I didn't smell but the coldness I feel from some people gets to me. You know that if I was Japanese the space next to me would have been filled by anybody but because I am Gaijin and not a small one at that people are hesitant. I try not to let it get to me, but my skin is not thicker than anybody elses really and it got my back up a bit.

But on the contrary there are a lot of really warm people flashing smiles and giving high fives and the over friendly DUDEs at clubs gawping at your muscles. TABOO.

I think I will go to my river spot and read a book for a couple of hours. Before I go to El Rumbita to ZOuk and Salsa my evening away.

tsukareta

Yesterday , `Ended up at Salsa Candela the first night of the salsa festival, was a pretty cool experience was nice to see the Hoohah from the DJ and Bar manager when I stepped in the building. Just need me some Zouk and it's all over. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

That is a result of faling asleep on your mac, because you're so tired. Checked out the Ginkakuji in Kyoto and waled along the kamokawa river which is my favourite spot to chill in kyoto at the moment and watch the Tonbi- eagle like birds fly about.

Surprised at how good Francis Sans cooking was and then crashed for a few hours before we hit butterfly a club in kyoto with perhaps the best entrance corridor I've been through. My days start with Muesli but end in Kebab, so I'm tryna balance it out.
Today I'm off to Osaka and back. So Mata kondo ne.

Tomorrow is my birthday , how will that feel

Eagle landed has

Thank God I'm here I got in to my boys house at little after 1 am Japanese time.

Just to note I've never been to China but the scrutiny I got at Beijing on a transfer was enough to put me on for a second.
I am waving the race card. me and my british passport were checked and checked again. (twice).

Anyhow I'm here. I have the most JJC suitcase in the world and I am not using it again forever, I hope.

Today is such an important day , because it is the royal wedding JOKES, couldn't care too much seeing as I left the continent.
Kyoto has a salsa following and they have a little salsa congress starting today so I will attend the opening party :D

now let me wash the smell of travel off my skin, with my african (fish net) sponge

mata ne

Today has come

It's half an hour till I leave my family home, lord willing the next time i step through the doors of what has come to be my sanctuary by the river will be sometime in July. I am off to Japan for the third time in just over a year because I obviously love it. I will try and track my progress on this very blog and I will be taking millions and millions of pictures so I need to set up a little site for that.
I want to come back with great linguistic skills of the japanese kind, and a greater appreciation of life and hopefully the confidence to stick 4 fingers up at my current employer ( that is 2 on each hand) and find what I'm looking for. (shrugs) I knpw who I am so I don't really need to find myself but I need to find a direction.

Besides missing my friends ,family and my Loved one. I am really really excited.

I always used to cry at the airport when I was younger so will try and not repeat my childish like ways, but i am genuinely sad to say goodbye.

Lord keep me safe, and look after all those I leave behind especially my mum, my junior brothers and my sweet Melody

がんばりますよ。

Fail Blog

Today is fail blog day, i didn't post within a week of my last post as I promised myself hence the title fail blog. FAIL BLOG , I failed to BLOG lol

Anyway today is my brothers Birthday Mr 9 year old today. I got him a customised Sonic the hedgehog tracksuit courtesy of http://www.km-toilet.co.uk/t/tmain.html
Check her out, he loves it and is probably wearing it at school now, showing of to his friends.We all do it when we get a new thing be it shoes, car oe even partner lol

Anyway this week is the week of changes I'm not going into depth but for one I applied for time off from work and am now awaiting a decision which will just determine whether I am employed or not come autumn this year.Biggest critics my mum and dad no about my plans so that was my only concern,

Kizomba classes have been going well the friends I have coming down seem to enjoy it and I'm glad I've been able to share it with them . I have enough moves to remain original for about a 1/3rd of a song but I think my enthusiasm gets me through the rest of the song. I'm glad that there is an activity that me and my Mrs can do together and to be honest there is only one person I want to dance "Too close" withanyway so it's all good. That is an inside joke.If you want to understand then get your BUm down to KIZOMBA at the Abbey on mondays lol. I'm broadcasting it like it's a public blog but one day it may just be and anyone who looks through the archives can come.


Next two months are limbo for me and I think this year hings will change drammatically or just progress positively but I put it in Gods hands and pray that I'm guided in the right direction. I'm really looking for my place in this world of ours.

Till next week maybe baby, don't be lazy.

にせんじゅいちねんです - It's 2011

Every blog I write begins with me apologising about the time gap between the previous blog, but not this one. I'm through apologising you know what I'm like already

I don't know why I don't blog often as I do I like it, it is very therapeutic. I am a guy who makes a lot of noise but I don't say much I discuss facts but not feelings. so I should blog more often.It just occured to me that maybe I am scared of what I may bring forth in this cyber substitute for a psychiatrists chair.I may one day publicise this blog and my weaknesses may be unconvered. What if I become a superhero as planned then my enemies would have a vast array of psychological ammunition to terrorise me with.This is serious business.

Anyway since my last post, I have been to Japan again I went from the mid-end of Novemebr for Kouyou season and had a good good good time. The only problem is I don't think I've returned properly. Oh yeah I got on the flight home ,Oh i remember that, but I feel as if there is a part of me chilling by the river in Kyoto speaking some really good bad japanese with the locals.Honestly though most days I feel like Im in a dream living outside of my body except for when I'm with my Mrs and family and some friends. Maybe these are the sign of a man missing something.

I'm sure when i go to Dominica I will cheer right up. Yeah DOMINICA

MAN UP!! :(

SOmething new KIZOMBA- aye i feel that dance, I had my first lesson in London taught by a Brazilian who fell in love with the African dance when she moved to Portugal (so sweet). It is such a nice dance, especially because the music is quite good. If you don't know about Kizomba check it out. I am an official Afro Latino dancer and I aim to up my Kizomba game over the next few months.

anyway don't put off tomorrow what you can do today-so im booking two tickets to Japan as we speak one way ( I wish)

Let us see if he can blog next week aye! In fact I WILLLLLLL