The Thief

AM

Least: At nearly 8:15am, I woke with an unusually sore throat. The sore throat was combined with a general feeling of fatigue and a minor headache. Clearly, the flu is stalking my cells waiting for the best time to strike. So far this year, I have been in remarkable health, which I put down to a change of job and diet. I suppose when the immune system finally crumbles the swine flu might just be the first ratbag through the door. I just hope I get all possible flus before I go to Malaysia in December.

Most: At just after 10:30am, I peered over the balcony to see an elderly woman being detained by two staff from the Drug 11 across the road. Shortly after, a bicycled policeman arrived to investigate what I assume was a medical shoplifting offence (the pharmacist was holding several boxes of medication). The police began asking questions and taking down statements, then became infuriated at the woman's apparent refusal to cooperate (see above). With the policeman yelling into her face, a police car arrived to take her away. As I watched through the iron bars from the balcony, she steadfastly resisted getting into the car, despite all the screaming and cajoling by the jacks. Finally, another police arrived and prised her from her spot and moved her closer to the car. The woman apparently thought she could talk her way out of it until she was manhandled into the back seat of the police car. Incredible and slightly sad scenes.

PM

Least: At 4:30pm, I made the mistake of visiting Life supermaket on a Sundau afternoon. There were literally hundreds of men, women and children shopping like mad in a storm of chaos. It was actually difficult to navigate without bumping into people or tripping over kids. The incredibly stupid Life theme song, being played on tape-decks scattered through the place only added to the mayhem. A valuable and boring lesson.

Most: At about 1:45pm, I once again visited my favourite conveyor sushi restaurant in Namba. Today, the place was extremely busy and I had to wait to be seated. Part of the reason for the sushi-mania was probably caused by the long weekend, the other reason was that the restaurant was offering three pieces of sushi per plate instead of two. Not one to miss out on a bargain, the locals were going bananas over the sight of  cut-price food. Today, even the whale bacon only made it around one lap before being wolfed down. As usual, I ate one plate too many - but I just had to try the sanma (file photo above)!

The Tank and the Tricycle

AM

Least: At about 9:00am, I made the fightening discovery that I was nearly out of coffee. My morning challenge was to make an effective brew with less than the permitted amound of ground coffee to make a decent cup. With my mind filled with ratios and various brewing-time scenarios, I poured the recently boiled water into the plunger. Given that the coffee amount was at critically low levels, I allowed for a longer than usual brew. Despite my pseudo-scientific efforts, the results were not impressive. I ended up drinking an unacceptably weak coffee at low tide. My lesson is to keep a reserve tin of UCC coffee in case of emergency. At least if I ever die of coffee withdrawal I can be interred in their shrine at Koya San (above).


Most: Sometime close to 7:30am, I woke in the middle of a strange dream that work had infiltrated. I was roaming around a lush and large campus looking for my class. The place where my class was supposed to be had been overwhelmed by drunken college types who reluctantly moved away after being shouted at. Strangely, the breakthough moment came when I saw a battered battle tank driving up some stairs, dropping metal as it ploughed through the concrete. As it turned out, the tank driver was a student's mother arriving to pick her up. It seemed that driving tanks on errands had become something of a trend to show off your battle scars. I never found the class and now I sit bemused that my most interesting moment was in my sleeping hours.

PM

Least: Between 12:10pm and 12:30pm, I discovered that railway employees shared some common and boring features the world over. After going to the 'travelling today' desk to buy shinkansen tickets and refused service, Rosie and I entered the dreadfully long 'travelling in a few days' queue. The number of very old and tight people in the line didn't help, but the staff were moving as slowly as any of the single finger typists at the Flinders' Street V-Line office. Each transaction took far too many minutes and the clerks repeated every step more than enough times. Twenty minutes later we finally got our tickets to Shin-Yokohama I hope the wait was worth it.

Most: At nearly 5:00pm, I was staring aghast at an ancient man riding a tricycle (see file photo right) in Life supermarket. The old man was a sorry sight with an oxygen tank in his trike tray and tubes up his nose. Although he was carrying a massive walking frame, the tricyclist thought that the fastest way to the booze section was on wheels. Upon detecting the trike, the staff quickly stopped the offender in his tracks and assisted him in parking his vehicle outside like everyone else. By the look on the faces of the staff they knew this man well. I'm sure he'll be back attempting the same wild ride to the booze pile next week.

Curbing My Enthusiasm

AM

Least: At 9:40am, I clunked down the stairs with two bags of carefully selected bottles and cans. The fact that this very minor event was identical to that of last and all other weeks reminded me of how days can blur into weeks and weeks into a year. Time is travelling too fast and I think it is the mundane things that are to blame. Sometimes it is difficult to remember which day is which, until the wacky sound of the rubbish truck tootles through the window. Remembering which week we're in is another matter.

Most: At close to 11:35am, I once again found myself battling middle-aged women in the supermarket. To my joyous surprise, I was able to buy a tray of sashimi and a tray of katsuo tataki for 500 yen. It would be difficult to imagine being able to obtain the same delights anywhere else. Japanese people find it hard to believe that Australians eat so little fish and that it is so expensive. I wonder if we ate more like otters, if the price of high quality fish would go down. It will be very difficult to readjust whenever I return.


PM

Least: Between 2:45pm and 8:45pm, I robotically worked through no less than seven English lessons in a row. There were few if any highlights, but the lowlight was sitting in a room for forty minutes with apparently high level speakers who were determined to say nothing. One was a bike shop owner and other was a hotel receptionist and both seemed depressed about something. The most they spoke on a single sentence was about the ruined Japanese economy. The rest was short phrases with me continually trying to jolly them along. Easy but boring money.

Most: At about 9:45pm, the doorbell told me that my massive pizza had arrived. Rosie and I settled down for a quiet night in with a bottle of Soave, the pizza and Curb Your Enthusiasm. I had heard people speak about Curb You Enthusiasm in hushed tones before but the more episodes I see the better I think it gets and I actually found myself laughing kneeslappingly. After about five episodes I decided that I was too wine-blurred to fully appreciate further viewing so I slumped into a cheer, blissful sleep.

The Early Lunch and Late Dinner

AM


Least: At about 10:20am, I found myself still bleary and in the Life supermarket bike parking area. For some reason, maybe micro-geographical, it is the hottest place in Osaka. As soon as I rolled around the corner into the sea of shopping bicycles, it was as if I'd stepped into a hot, boring oven. Downstairs in the supermarket, the competition for aisle-space was hot too - with the hoonish old ducks stopping at nothing to get their wares. There seemed to a run on horrifically filled crustless sandwiches.

Most:  At 11:40am, I began cooking okonomiyaki for an early lunch. Thankfully, the packet of flours, seaweeds, and prawn-bubbles made the job pretty easy - I just had to add chopped cabbage, eggs and flour. For the flavour layer, I added mushrooms for Rosie and leanish pork on mine (above). The real trick to to be able to flip them over without destroying thier structural integrity. Okonomiyaki is always in danger of being bland, so it is crucial to had plenty of worcester sauce on standby if another squirt is required. Bonito flakes are a must - mayonnaise is optional. Being a work-day it was a little disappointing not to be chugging down a beer with our meal - maybe tomorrow.

PM

Least: Approaching 11:00pm, I sat at Nakamozu atation and watched an Out Of Service train arrive, empty and depart. In the excruciating time between that disappointment and my train, no less than three trains passed me by. It felt like Melbourne, but with the trains clearly labelled, my rage was kept to a minimum. The most uninteresting of trials become far less enraging when their outcome is entirely predictable.

Most: Just after 8:45pm, I walk out of my pink workplace and down a flight of stairs to a vast barn of an izakaya. Despite the occasional whiff of oil and smoke, I had never contemplated that such a complex had existed less than a metre beneath my feet. The feeding trough catered for all tastes, ranging from repellent pizzas and bakes, to silky sashimi and three kinds of grilled offal. I settled for the grilled vital organs and semi-dried squid. The beer was great too. My new awareness though, will make working upstairs drag on that little while longer.