Picnic in the Park

AM

Least: By 10:00am, I found myself lamenting the fact that I don't have two days off in a row. Today's plans included a boozy picnic in the park, however, the spectre of work on Monday seriously inhibits my involvment in merry making. Some people can tolerate arriving to work with a serious hangover, but I cannot. Work is already less than fun, so a hangover can only make mattters worse. Next year I'll lobby for two days of in succession - fingers crossed


Most: At close to 11:00am, I put into action a plan that I had literally been dreaming of for weeks. I looked underneath the malfunctioning washing machine. I soon discovered that a crucial hose was very twisted and preventing effective drainage. With a simple twist, our washing problems were solved. No longer will be ever have to sit and watch a load that's on a 48 hour cycle. Victory.

PM

Least: Between about 1:10pm and 2:20pm, I had to kill time at the south end of Nagai Park. The picnic I was attending, was delayed because of an accident on the Midosuji line and my friends were not arriving until after two. The problem with waiting in Nagai park is that it is full of strange old people who, given the chance, will happily come and talk to you, even if they don't speak English. My plan to avoid such horrors was to keep on the move like a fugitive. I rode around the park at least once, ate some of my lunch, took a photo of some red flowers (right), then hunkered down on a stone bench. The howling wind didn't make may wait any easier and I was relieved when my people finally arrived.

Most: From about 2:30pm, I sat on a blue tarpaulin and enjoyed a festive picnic at the aforementioned Nagai park. The picnic was a 'potluck' so we ended up with about sixteen square metres of delicious food. Although rain threatened, it didn't arrive until after dark and did not interfere with our revellry. The highlight was either the brief hide and seek game or when a couple of picnickers decided it was time to don my Boss's full-body Stitch constume. Laughs all round.

The Great Onigiri Mystery

AM

Least: At about 9:00am, the pneumatic wheelnut tools were chattering at full volume. With a steady stream of luxury cars keeping te mechanics busy at Ujita Auto Salon, there is always some disturbance coming through our window. Later in the day, after the cars have been tuned, the revving starts and occasionally, the receptionist calls the boys downstairs using an over-amplified intercom. It is amazing to see the number of cars rolling through that business, but the noise it makes is a crashing bore.

Most: Close to 11:59am, I found myself taking photos from Rosie's new Etsy site. Although I dare to suggest that some of the items are visually abhorrent, it doesn't seem to prevent people from buying them online. The most interesting outfit to date has been a mustardy suit that looks as if it was created for a science fiction show from the 1970s or 1980s (Buck Rogerss?). It will be interesting to see how quickly it sells and even more interesting to find out who buys it.



PM

Least: At 3:11pm, I sat in my usual Tuesday train carriage, an was greeted by some filthy looks from the man and woman sitting next to me. The man looked me up and down a few times and muttered something in Japanese, but it was clearly impolite. I noticed that despite his effeminate umbrella, he had home needled tattoos on his knuckles and hands. He was either a former gangster, or simply an arsehole - most likely the latter.

Most: Sometime after 1:00pm, I munched into one of the two onigiri that I had bought for lunch. Buying onigiri can be an adventure, especially when they do not that the picture of the delicious triangle's internal delights. Today, I was lucky. As I destroyed the snack, it became clear that I had bought an onigiri with perfectly rare white fish with a delicate soy-based dressing surrounding it. This was in stark contrast to its companion, which was what we in Australia would call, a rotten plum. Despite this set back, it was a vaguely interesting meal.

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Footnote: One of the delights of today, was relating the story of a 20 year old student who told me yesterday that the last present she bought was a Stitch costume for her cat. She said that although the outfit was a little small, her cat (named Stitch) looked great in it.