Oncoming Bicycles

Thursday 29th October 2009

AM

Least: At nearly 11:15am, I rode down to the Kohyo supermarket to buy some lunch. On the way, I groaned audibly as time and again I had to swerve to avoid oncoming and erratic cyclists. I'm not sure why, or if it's actually true, but people seem to ride on opposite sides of the footpath to where they ride on the roads. I wish that someone would make a cute cartoon about it to teach people to at least be consistent.


Most: At about 11:25am, I waded through the mothers to the fish section of the supermarket. To my joy, they had a special on sashimi. For a paltry 500 yen I bought two trays of incredibly good fish. I'm still amazed every time I buy fish at the amazing quality and price. I wish that the same situation existed in Australia.

PM

Least: Just after 8:50pm, Rosie confirmed that pizza was to be on the menu. By the time I arrived home however, a dark uncertainty hung over the ordering process. We could not find a menu anywhere. Even on the Dominos website, it was impossible to find a number to call for delivery. It seems that in Osaka they still require customers to call the specific number of each store. After a forensic look at the site we did find a number, however it seemed to be for some other service. Thankfully, they gave us a number for the Sumiyoshi branch and the evening was saved.

Most: By 10:00pm, the doorbell rang and the pizza had finally arrived. To my astonishment, the pizza boy proceeded to give me the pizza, take the money then bow continuously as he took off his at. This cartoonish display left me puzzled as to how to react. I just said thank-you and inhaled the pizza. The longer I stay here the stranger Japan and it's people seem to get.

Pizza is the Best Medicine

Wednesday 14th October 2009

AM

Least: At 8:05am, I once again woke in a flu-ridden fog. Although I slept well, I felt as if I'd been hit by a truck and there was no question of going to work sick again. The boring this was however, that without sick days like in most other jobs, I was forced to take a day off as 'leave without pay'. I would much prefer to take a day off when I feel like a human being rather that a stinking pile of virus shells.

Most: At just after 10:00am, I felt the exhilaration of taking a day off work. Suddenly, now that my time was my own, everything I did was more enjoyable. My time was no longer overshadowed by the thought of having to shower and dress up for an evening of teaching and stuffing tissues. I also found that the simple act of doing absolutely nothing instead of worriying about the time became the most interesting and satisfying thing about the morning despite my internal battle against the flu virus.


PM

Least: By 3:00pm, the flu was really taking hold of my sanity. Wave after wave of sickness sapped the remaining daylight hours and the next thing I knew it was dark. It also dawned on me that I hadn't left the house, not even to the extent of exiting the front door to check the mail. Being housebound it about as boring as it gets, even if you're in the crazy land of Japan.


Most: At close to 8:00pm, my lobbying to order pizza had paid off and food was waiting at the door. It as amazing how much better I felt was wolfing down the fatty wheel of dough, tomato, cheese and salami. The pizza had a stronger effect that any of the ineffective treatments that  I had ingested since Saturday. It would be incredible if someone could put the power of a pizza into capsule form - as long as it retained the taste.

Fevers and Pizza

AM

Least: By 10:00am, the silence in my san-Rosie apartment was becoming too much. With a fever running my mind into madness, I wished I'd had someone to complain to. No-one in their right mind would be awake before 11:00am on a public holiday, so even complaint riddled sms messages weren't satisfactory. I settled on shouting at the pigeons and at the tear in the bin liner that let fishy juice out. I can see how isolation can drive people to madness.

Most: By 11:59pm, I looked back at my morning and found it as empty as possible for a public holiday. If I was serious, I would've at least had a hangover. The most interesting thing, unfortunately was that my cheesy phone alarm infiltrated a dream in which I was watching the moon landing from an incredibly high peak. The faux-classical music interrupted the guide just as he was saying "You can now see the vapour-trails - they're 2000 feet thick and...". I wonder what he was about to say. The alarm that robs me of sleep every morning, may also have robbed me of something interesting to write in this space.

PM

Least: Sometime after 1:00pm, I began the mind-numbing process of cleaning the house. For some reason our three-room cubby is the lintiest (the lint removing business is big in Japan) place on Earth. I'm not sure where it comes from, but I blame the previous occupants - they must've owned a lot of fleecy clothing or never vacuumed -probably both (I know who they are). Being without an effective mop, I settled on a soapy towel to clean the kitchen floor, an idea that turned out to be boring and backbreaking. The pain of cleaning briefly made me forget my raging fever but I'm still not sure which is worse.

Most: By 6:20pm, my mind was turning to pizza. After failing to understand the on-line ordering process, my eyes turned to my silver phone. The problem is that my Japanese is poor to the point that I can't really work out how to order food over the phone. The pizza-drive was strong enough though, for me to attempt a phone order from Dominos anyway. I'm sure the poor guy on the other end of the phone would've been groaning ("Oh dear, I got the foreigner") but I persisted. After some shockingly awkward pauses and flipping through the phrasebook, my conversation came to an end without an assurance of pizza. Amazingly, at 6:40pm, the pizza man arrived at the door carrying almost what I ordered - the only thing wrong was that I got a massive bottle of Coke instead of a Zero. The delivery man appeared to be asking me for a coupon, which I didn't have - so I paid through the nose. Incredible.

______________________

Food Note: For lunch, I had a meal of pre-grilled sanma from yesterday's Life Supermaket experience. I heated it up in the fish-grill and soused it in ponzu dressing. The result was delicious and little different from the ones I bought fresh and cooked at home.

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.

Never Watch TV While Poaching Eggs

AM

Least: Between precisely 9:40am and 9:52am and 10:14am and 10:34am I roasted on train platforms in Mikunigaoka and Hineno repectively. It was punishment for taking a slightly later train from Tezukayama. The ten extra minutes at home this morning was repaid three-fold by JR. As the sweat ran down my chins, I couldn't help but notice the condensed breath and sweat of luckier and cooler commuters pouring from the corner of each carriage as it flashed by the station. Another lesson.

Most: While I waited for my eggs to poach at around 8:30am, I watched an animated TV show that, as usual, involved massive monsters in combat. The interesting thing though, was the fact that the trading cards carried by every kid in Japan were built into the story. The cards were used as a means to pitch differently rated piles of steel against each other. I was thinking that this is what kids might imagine whilst doing battle for cards in the playground - cool. The poached eggs were ever so slightly over done.

PM

Least: Between 12:00pm and about 8:00pm my stomach was granted a lone onigiri, a few sugarless breathmints, a bite of weird cake and two kinds of mineral water. As soon as I arrived home, my brain told me to order a large american style pizza with a regular crust. According to the pizza-clock, I ate until 10:50pm - two slices left. Before I finished the second slice, I could feel something of a bile-rush in my stomach. After I finished the last slice of the evening, I knew I wouldn't sleep well. I didn't.

Most: Between about 8:40pm and 10ish deciding to shirk a school releated party in Sakaihigashi, I sat down for a night in to contunue my spaghetti western voyage. While the bile working overtime on the pizza, I sat for a couple of hours to watch 'A Fist Full of Dollars'. The massive body count and the cracking dialogue were just interesting enough for my brain to forget telling me that I'd eaten too much on an empty stomach.

General Hospital

大きな地図で見る

AM

Least: By 9:00am I was beginning to think about drycleaning. Like many businesses in Osaka it doesn't open 'till 10:00am. I just wish they could all open and close an hour earlier. Drycleaning isn't in the least bit interesting - unless you ask the local cadres of the Laundry and Dry Cleaning Club.

Most: At approximately 5.40am I rode with Rosie over to the local hospital (see above) Her 'upset stomach', apparently caused by yoghurt had got no better since the same time yesterday. The emergency ward was as grimy as those in Australia but without the drunken maniacs trying to tear the place apart. The nurse was helpful and the Doc racked his brains for a solution. We left the hospital with three paper bags full of medication, including some sachets of white powder with unknown powers. Interesting!

PM

Least: Between 2.45pm and 8.45pm I worked with little more than a few swigs of mineral water to keep me going. My hunger turned every second into an hour. I just hope the tatami-sized pizza that I just inhaled treats me well in tomorrow's am.

Most: By 12:00pm, Rosie was beginning to recover from her malady. The strange medicines appeared to be working and the chalky sachet hit it's mark. I cooked Rosie a bland lunch then had a nap, interrupted only by the alarm clock. Methinks the world owes me about 11hrs sleep.