Stumbleina

Traumas, Tribulations, Travels and Tomfoolery Down Under

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Dear Katastrophe Waitress

New JobI was hoping I'd never have to be a food slave ever again but it seems like the obvious option seenas I'm only in Sydney another month before Sarah-chan gets here and we enbark on a ranpage of Aus.
Last week, armed with a folder of Cvs and a clean shirt I set off looking for a new job. It didn't take long. I saw "waitress wanted" scrawled in a bit of ripped paper on the window of a restaurant around the corner from where I'm staying and enquired within-they asked if I could start that night, I said yes and wallah! I have a job! I was expecting it to be hectic and annoying but actually I love it!
Its in a small Italian cafe. Reasons why my job rocks are as follows:
~ It has 9 tables which means I always know whats going on order-wise and I can chat to people easily. A lovely change from 200 at a time in my old hotel job.
~ The place is run by a lovely Armenian family who are sweet, funny and great cooks.
~ The food is fresh, varied, cheap and unpretentious. I get to eat mistakes. It's damn good.
~ Its cash in hand and way more per hour than I'd make back home.
~ MTV is on all the time. This is kind of a mixed blessing as I can watch Jessica Simpson, Shakira, Pussycat Dolls and Nelly Futardo only a certain amount of times before I want to stab myself in the neck. However! They let me change it to a VH1 type channel last night and I was entertained by "Top 100 rock songs of the 90s" last night. Yosh.
~ The people who come in are-at worst a bit rude but at best entertaining, funny and full of reccomendations of things to do in Sydney. They ask about my acccent. I make them guess. Its a game that hasn't got old yet.
~ Theres a few regulars that are real characters. One women is absolutely gorgeus-6foot tall, long blonde hair-she told me she used to be a model in the 60s she doesn't look a day over 40. She is in the midst of getting a new place after being thrown out by her family. She tells me super personal stuff quite willingly. She's a delight.
~ A cute Japanese girl works in the kitchen so I can chat about J-land with her and practise my J-go too. Yea.
~ The other waitresses are entertaining characters too-an over confident Canadian girl and a cute confident 17 year old Aussie. Strange how quickly you make freinds when you rely on each other.

We be scientists!


We be scientists!
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

God I missed gigs in Japan. Sweat, noise, dancing, jumping, beer, lights, guitars, shouting, singing, cheering, encores-love them!!!

Monday, August 28, 2006

aus stuff


aus stuff
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Sydney Coastline


Sydney Coastline
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

...and apparently this isn't even the nicest part of NSW!

Sydney is my Bitch!


view from the zoo
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Since I arrived in the land of Oz I have done the following:
-Cycled over the harbour bridge
-Visited Sydney Zoo
-Visited Hunter Valley Winerys
-Walked from Coogee beach to Bondi
-Shopped at about 15 various markets
-Drank on manly Wharf
-Visited Luna Park (old style amusement park)
-Visited China Town
-Taken a Boat Tour
-Explored "the Rocks" (touristy old style area)
-Been to a hip downtown club you needed an invitation to get into where everyone was on coke
-Drank at the scummy studenty/backpacker clubs
-Had a manicure and pedicure (haha! i'm such a lady who lunches)
Thanks to nat and ken knowing the place well after being here for a year and a half and being willing to drive me around, I feel like I've "done" a pretty big chunk of Sydney. I love the place. It reminds me of England just enough for me to feel at home with the added foreigness to make me feel like I"m on holiday. Its varied, cosmopolitan, international, exciting and hip. I could seriously live here.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

I've Arrived!


DSC01972
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

"...parting is such sweet sorrow..."
I've been meaning to blog about leaving Japan and getting to Australia for a while now. The thing is it's BLOODY IMPOSSIBLE to put all the the highs and the lows and the tos and the fros of leaving my life in Japan into words. Some things I am more than happy to leave behind. Some feel unfinished, some things I know I'll always miss.
The good news is I am utterly content and having a fabulous time in Australia so far. I'm living in a gorgues suburb with good freinds, have (just) got a fun and relatively easy job and am loving the scenery, nightlife, shopping and, well everything.
I'm a lucky fucker I know.
More to come. ^_^

Friday, August 18, 2006

"Honto ni owari ne!"

...This is what the customs dude said to me when he took me gaijin card away. I am no longer an foreigner in Japan. Strangely enough my last night in Japan kind of reminded me of my first night in Japan...a lot of wondering if i'd made the right decisions and unsure of the next step...this is partly due to the juxtaposition of an amazing week in Tokyo!
Me and the sisterhood (ha!) crammed in a helluva lot of activity, the motto being "I see a boundary-I eat a boundary!" ( well this was my motto anyway...certainly helps explain why i was throwing myself around people singing "you were always on my mind" at 10pm in Shibuya!) We did the kitsch stuff-ie disneyland, a ninja restaurant, the massive toy shops, harajuku. We did the (kind of ) traditional stuff-ie a rickshaw ride, visiting onsen world (a delight!)having propher japanese food for the last time. And then we did the debauched stuff-playing spin the keitai in a posh bar, nomihodai karaoke, drinking in public, drinking before noon, clubbing till 5.
We got to meet a host of interesting strangers, as well as old favourites like Lee, Matt(he certainly got his money worth!) and my old uni pal stevie ^_^ I guess the week was all the things I love about japan-anything can happen and it almost always did with hella fun results.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Sayonara byebye to crazy dressing


DSC01946
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

ninjas!


ninjas!
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Sayonara byebye to Dangerous Liasons


DSC01910
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Sayonara byebye to Yamaguchi Scenery


DSC01738
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Sayonara byebye to Engrish


DSC01952
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Tokyo Rocked


Sarah and Lu get on down
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Kyotos got the culture, Osakas got the crazyness and, yeah, we all love the Guch. But when it comes down to it, Tokyo is the place to be in Japan and we all know it. Absolutely epic last week in Japan. Lou's face says it all...

Goodbye To My Staple Diet For the Last 2 Years


DSC01954
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Friday, August 04, 2006

The Final Days of Kat's Japan Disco

Packing. Partying. Karaoke-ing. Happy goodbyes. Sad goodbyes. Couldnt really care less goodbyes. Heart wrenching goodbyes. Last Shinkasen. Last trip to Kyoto.

Disneyland. Harajuku. Shibuya. Ninjas. Neon. International food. International people. Clubbing. Madness.

I need to sleep for about a month after all this. ^o^