Internet vs Television

Thursday 24th September

AM

Least: At about 9:00am, I woke an realised that I still didn't have the internet and that I had to go to work. The short break, while nice, was hardly relaxing. The internet problem consumed the whole boring morning, first with a call to our service provider, then a call by Rosie  to NTT. NTT had an English line, however each painful and useless step had to be translated into in Japanese the back into English with a reply. The incredible lack of imagination of the people at NNT meant that even when we had discovered a possible solution, they continued on their same robotic path. They organised to send a team around to help, which we later cancelled.

Most: At close to 11:00am, our internet connection came back to life. It is amazing how much the world turns on the internet when you're not connected. Messages were piled up and AMPM was three days in arrears. I also noticed that Sydney had suffered the indignity of a dust storm and that 33% of Japanese men sit down while urinating. What a wonderful age we live in.

PM

Least: At about 6:30pm, I once again found myself being harangued into attending a workplace function at Nakamozu. The aggressive pitch of the boss, left little room to refuse and demanded a phone call if I couldn't attend. It is particularly galling, considering if I went I would probably have to pay for food and drinks, while acting as a caucasian English test dummy for creepy students. Further, to attend, I would have to make a detour on my way home from Wakayama on Saturday. That is not going to happen and there will be no phone call.

Most: At close to 9:30pm, I arrived home and unlike most nights, I did not turn on the TV. Having traded the crappy TV in for a HDD LCD monitor, I no longer have the tempation to watch the complete drivel that is Japanese TV. If I don't get sucked into the crazy world of online gaming, I should have much more time on my hands to read or actually go outside. I've almost forgotten already what I used to watch, and that was only days ago - and I think that speaks volumes about the rock bottom quality of television in Japan - they don't even have a sticom.