Stumbleina

No Excuses

2007-06-26T15:16:00.000+09:00

I haven't blogged in bloomin ages - the reason? a little social interaction site i like to call facef*ck (ie facebook.com) that is more addictive than crack on crisps
so if you want to read about my random vents and mumblings -i'm so sorry - you're just gonna have to join that

It's not everyday someone writes a poem about you...

2007-03-28T13:24:00.000+09:00

...but i wish it was.
I'll miss you Lisa! x

You Really Should Enjoy The View

2007-03-19T15:20:00.000+09:00

No low emotions rolling tonight
Young heavy hopefuls staying the night
So stick around and wait for the day.
Craziness kills lazyness N happiness
Takes bad bets no one gives a fuck U see we're all out of our little heads.

Really Vietnam

2007-03-13T12:43:00.000+09:00

<
It was perhaps a bit of bad planning on my part to have vietnam at the end of our trip-after the crystal-sea-great-shopping-cheap-posh-hotels-great-food of Thailand, to land somewhere as propher Asia as Vietnam was a bit of a shock to the system.
Crossing the road was an extreme sport, there seemed to be more motorbikes then people, food was being prepared on the floor everywhere, it was a bit overwelming. The stay was made a lot more interesting by Dave's aunt taking us 6 hours out of Ho Chi Minh City to where she lives-here we saw a propher viet community complete with snake for lunch in the alley behind the family buisness

Onto the Calmness of Chaing Mai

2007-03-08T08:43:00.000+09:00

...After Bangkok Chaing Mai was like cold water on burns- quiet, peaceful and natural. I went on the recommendation of Ellen and Loz (thanks guys!) and didn't regret it, the city which is built around old castle walls-there's something eternally comforting about having a square to navigate around when you're on holiday and doing the "which way on the map" dance everyday. I am quite possibly the worse person in the world at this (thanks for your patience, 2nd worse person in the world at it dave ;))

The countryside really reminded me of Japan. natsukashii ne...

The elephant trekking was-uh-interesting. I'm not sure if we chose the wrong tour or what but the chains and the way they were treated really disturbed me. I've heard good things about the conservation park. Go there. Seriously. It was an unforgettable experience though. not entirely for good reasons though unfortunately. apparently i was breathing like a 20 a day smoker on the elephant. I'm not that brave when it comes to big animals.

God the food was good. And one of my favourite parts was cooking school. A hilarious camp Thai man showed us how to make a mean thai curry from scratch as well as other delicious things. I heart spicy things on sticks for 10baht.

...Its hard to believe that this was once all ingredients

Bonkers on Bangkok

2007-03-07T15:16:00.000+09:00

...I'd heard that Bangkok was several things-dirty, crowded, sleazy, exciting, fun, polluted, extreme- and it definitely lived up to each and every one of those things.
Somewhere between rip off ping pong shows (about as erotic as a polystyrene) being hassled to buy "sexy movieees" having bird feed thrown on me and demanded to pay for it, seeing the 12th gold temple of the day and almost getting whiplash from a tuk tuk I began to understand that Bangkok teams with life-its never ever quiet, its never ever clean, its never ever calm and its never ever boring. Everywhere you go the sights, smells and sounds are an assault on your senses, which can be exhausting but is ultimately invigorating.

Interlude Back to Sydney...

2007-03-07T14:54:00.000+09:00

...where I experienced the spangly adrenaline fuelled liberation fest that is Mardi Gras-the streets were buzzing with greased up scantily clad boys and girls on a rampage in the name of queerdom...go for the dykes on bikes, stay for the party afterwards

in the words of michel scott "its called mardi gras, not gay shame festival!"

Story of the week

2007-02-28T10:12:00.000+09:00

my mate emma and her boyfriend lewis were having a pie in a sydney pie shop at about 4am on friday night pissed up. lewis was being cheeky so emma jokingly shoved his hand which was holding a pie into his face-unfortunately the boiling pie filling exploded onto his face leaving him rather unhappy at the time although i hope he saw the funny side as apparently on saturday morning he had burn marks on his face-certainly makes a good story "how did you get those burns?" "ah my girlfreind shoved a pie into my face" Gold

The Weirdest Thing I've Ever Eaten...Ever!

2007-02-15T11:28:00.000+09:00

Balut: Odder than bull spunk, more disgusting than sea cucumber, more obscure than horse meat...we have a winner- fertalised duck egg...which is pretty much a duck featus in Vietnam!! I was trying to be hard but felt pretty damn sick...it had little partically formed claws and stuff! (i didnt eat it all...) o_o

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut

It's a Jolly Holiday Innit

2007-02-12T13:57:00.000+09:00

So I went on holiday from my holiday in Australia. How greedy am I!
One of the incentives was the supercheap flights. The lack of meals and comfort stuff is a bit of a pain in the arse though.

Sunset above the clouds
Then we reached Phuket. It seemed to be populated with European rich families. Needless to say we stuck out a bit. The beaches were amazing...

...and the food even better. Thai food in Australia is amazing but the super freshness of propher thai food knocks your socks off. It helps that it costs like five quid for a feast too

Washed down with cheaper than chips beer and cocktails we were onto a winner (although our stomachs and liver weren't thanking us)

The beaches on the island were bloody good but they were mere prawn crackers with the phi phi islands coming up...

The beach were they filmed the beach has to be hands down the nicest beach i've ever seen. Shame there was so many bloody tourists there.

The snorkeling was almost to good to be true-crystal clear water with a huge variety of tropical fish inches from your nose. You can see some green fish in the pic if you look closely. Snorkeling off the boat I was a bit of a maud and wore a life jacket but later off the beach i gained confidence and realised how easy it was. Saw some great underwater sights like a fish that glowed red and one that made clouds of dust by diving into the ocean bed.

We also visited "monkey beach" where the little critters would get their legs damp to get bananas off the tourists. This would begin our foray into seeing the exploitation of animals for tourism (we also saw elephants, snakes, lizards etc. This should be another post with a title like (Asia: Theatre of Cruelty)

Fully rested, well fed and burnt from the beach we headed for Bangkok to sample some Thai city life...

Jessica Alba? Really?!

2007-01-05T07:34:00.001+09:00

Kat's Cut Out and Keep Guide to DRINKING GAMES(Part 1)

2007-01-03T10:02:00.000+09:00

after careful deliberation i have come to realise that my sole purpose on this earth is to create and force people to play drinking games.

So here's the first in a conclusive series profiling the best drinking games for your own personal (mis) use:

#1-"Thumb-master"

Origins:I was originally taught this by my friend nat who got it off her mate Sheena. It was later modified by another Nat i met in Cairns. so thanks girlies. ^_^

You will need: a pack of cards, various alcohol (and reserves as you get through it quick) an empty glass

Good for: getting you in the mood quickly before a night out, separating the hardcore from the fools

Directions: Sit around a table or on the floor with a pack of shuffled cards and an empty glass in the middle. The first person to go will pick up a card and follow its rules as explained below. go round clockwise until you get bored/someone passes out.

Card directions:

A- get out of jail free card. Once you draw an ace, you can keep it for later or use it immediately. it can get you out of any command or forfeit.

2-5 You must drink this many gulps of your drink yourself

6-9- Give out this many gulps to other players in the game. BUT the maximum is 5 per person. so if you get 9, you can give person A 5 and person b 4 etc. You can give drinks to yourself.

10-Pour some of your drink into the empty glass in the middle. As much or as little as you like. the person who draws the fourth 10 has to down the cocktail. You might want to keep them at the side so you know when the 4th is drawn.

J- Make a rule. The rule cannot be "i never have to drink" or "i drink half" etc. You can't change the directions of the cards either. good rules are things like "don't say any names or you have to drink" or "cheers before you drink etc" The rules apply for the whole game.

Q- One word story. A story is told with each person saying one word at a time. The person who drew the queen must start. for example:
"once"
"upon"
"a"
"time"
"bob"
"went"
etc. the first person to say a word that makes the story make no sense has to drink.

K- Thumbmaster card! You stick this to your head with a bit of spit or tuck it into your tshirt or whatever so everyone can see it. now you have to power. you put your thumb on the table or floor as discreetly as possible and everyone must follow by placing their thumb on the table. The last person to realise and do it has to drink. you can decide whether they must drink one gulp or just their whole drink depending on how fiendish you want the game to be. when someone draws the next kind they become the thumbmaster.

Enjoy! ^_^

advices onegai!

2007-01-02T10:54:00.000+09:00

i'm spending 2 weeks in thailand (phuket, chang mai and bangkok) and a week in vietnam. I know a lot of you international jetsetters who read this will have already been ther and done it so any adice re where to, go what to see, what to eat etc most appreciated ^_^
xox

2006 Recapped

2006-12-20T10:43:00.000+09:00

1.) Where did you ring in 2006?
is it terrible that i cant remember? oh yeah i was back home and i had a rather average night due to the night before, my bday, being a belter. i was in a crappy pub in dukinfield trashed on shots hugging people i bearly knew. not much change from a normal night really.

2.) What was your status by Valentine's Day?
i was single. japan held little action.

3.) Were you in school (anytime this year)?
not really. i've had japanese classes.

4.) How did you earn your keep?
i earned a very nice keep in japan as a JET before embarking on poverty in aus being a scummo traveller/worthless temp

5.) Did you have to go to the hospital?
nope. only to work there which was ok. lucky.

6.) Did you have any encounters with the police?
nah i'm a good girl

7.) Where did you go on vacation?
korea, tokyo, kyoto, sydney and cairns!

8.) What did you purchase that was over $500?
flights to thailand

9.) Did you know anybody who got married?
freind of the family samantha! congrats!

10.) Did you know anybody who passed away?
luckily no not personally

11.) Have you run into anybody you graduated high school with?
nope, not much chance of that happening half way round the world...

12.) Did you move anywhere?
yep, to sydney

13.) What sporting events did you go to?
japanese baseball which was fun because of the beer! and sumo. thats about it. i mignt go to aussie rules sooner or later even though its a ridiculous game

14.) What concerts/shows did you go to?
we are scientists, ohhlala, wolf and cub, pink tuscadero...thats about it! pathetic!

15.) Are you registered to vote?
no

17.) Where do you live now?
newtown baby

18.) Describe your birthday.
its yet to come! no plans as yet...

19.) What's the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2006? hmm many things probably...change my plans for a boy, work in an old folks home, work for 20th century fox, work in a cafe again...

20.) What is one thing you regretted this year?
couldnt go back to engerland

21.) What's something you learned about yourself?
i can adapt. also i care about starting a career

22.) Any new additions to your family?
yep, my cousin rachel had a baby called ruby

23.) What was your best month?
august was pretty cool. amazing time in tokyo with the girls and spills then being a lady who lunched i sydney
oct was cool too, went to lots of gigs and did cairns with sarah

24.) What from pop culture will you remember 2006 by?
too bloody much. weird japanese stuff like bennie k, aussie stuff like eskimo joe, crap reality tv i love like biggest loser, the good old english bands i discovered like fratellis, the young knives, long blondes. my best movies were little miss sunshine and thank you for not smoking

25.) How do you plan to ring in 2007?
probably in my new place with a few pals and far too much drinkies

Odd....

2006-12-18T15:57:00.000+09:00

weird things that have happened recently:

~i was alarmed by a story about the big day out taking ebay to court over selling their tickets (i'm going to sell some on ebay) when i clicked on a story online the reporter was Kathryn Roberts

~Today I'm working at an office doing data entry and the password is kathryn (name of girl whose computer i'm using)

~I bought a bed on ebay this weekend for my new place (photos coming soon!) and found one for $30 (ridiculously cheap, like 2500yen) to be picked up lierally 2 minutes away from my new place on the day i was moving in!

Is the universe trying to tell me something?!

Finally!

2006-12-07T13:14:00.000+09:00

...I am going to Thailand! I've wanted to go for bloody AGES.
The plan is Phuket and someislands, Bangkok, Chang Mai then Vietnam for a few days. Suggestions and tips welcome (thanks loz and ellen!) Dave and I are leaving on Jan 19th . (^_^) 'Citing!

NewTown-New House!!

2006-11-30T10:40:00.000+09:00

Recently I've been staying at Dave's and trying to find my own room in a shared house or flat....

I haven't blogged about my search for a room to live in Sydney as it is mostly dull and depressing-I've been travelling around the city after work visiting various hell holes and meeting an assortment of weirdos for the most past (one classic "you won't see much of me, I'm on the internet 18 hours a day") OR some absolutely lush places that have at least 20 other people interested (hence making it like some kind of surreal job interview)

I've had dissapointments left right and centre but yesterday my long and ardous search was over when i came across a wicked little yellow house in Newtown (my favourite area of Sydney) occupied by two fab funky girls and a doggie (!) We hit it off and they offered me the room a couple of hours later. I'll move in in just under 2 weeks. Back of the net!

The weekend...

2006-11-28T11:32:00.000+09:00

...was manic. I'm still recovering.

Take a cast of about 15, throw in 2 bottles of whiskey, 48 cans of larger, bowling, shopping, beach swimming, a swanky club in Kings Cross, a grotty bar in Coogee and not much sleep at all and you will find yourself with a very tired (but happy)Kat. ~_~

Say Cheese-u!

2006-11-27T11:42:00.000+09:00

Hannah's recent blog about the Japanese attitude to photographs got me thinking...and researching. Check out this interesting article on poricura culture:
http://www.asiaquarterly.com/content/view/138/40/

portrait of kat

2006-11-23T13:30:00.000+09:00

i love japanese kids drawings (see marko's blog for a belter)
this is a picture a "special" kid did of me when i was leaving japan. pretty goo likeness eh?

I find it weird anyway...

2006-11-21T13:23:00.000+09:00

I am back in the Western world which means I can go to see a good movie any night of the week, eat stuff without fear of some unrecongnisable matter being hidden inside of it, and not fear the wrath of the neighbourhood if I don't seperate my rubbish HOWEVER there are little oddities about this place down under that definitely mark it out from good old Blighty...

~People walk around without shoes. Without flip flops either, i'm talking skin to pavement action. And this isn't just hippie types, a lot of people do it and apparently its not weird. This is do-able because its clean here I spose, back home you'd stand on glass/vomit/rusty nails.

~ People say "how are you going?" here instead of how are you. This doesnt make any sense to me. How am i going where? By hovercraft?

~Australian "football" is the most ridiculous game I have ever watched with the exception of Japanese sports days. Its like an combination of every other game you could possibly think of with a bit of violence and silly hopping thrown in. whats the score? twelfty to three thousand.

~People have a lot of time to talk to you in shops. Especially in the country. Not just five minutes. More like a week.

~On most backpacker nights out you're lucky not to pull.

~A lot of the backpackers are Irish and talk like Spiral off Big Brother.

~An alarming number of small children seem to have corkscrew curly blonde hair

~An alarming number of immigrants seem to cling on to their strong accents as if for dear life despite being here since childhood. That or they have exaggerated horrible aussie accents.

I mean its not as wacky as Sea Slugs for your lunch and Hello Kitty sausages but this place defintely has its quirks...

This morning one of the residents of the old folks place i'm working at smeared toothpaste all over her face thinking it was foundation

Although thats not a quirk of being Australian, thats just being a old mentalist.

Sculpture By the Sea

2006-11-20T12:04:00.000+09:00

Yesterday I walked from Bondi to Coogee ( I have a burnt nose to prove it) to see the exibition of sculptures stratigically placed along the coast. Despite the crowds and heat it was fab! Couldn't help noticing that the coast itself was more spectaclar than a lot of the art though...

Excellent Website

2006-11-16T12:16:00.001+09:00

You really should check this out;
http://www.pandora.com/
Bloody brilliant idea-you type in a band or song you like and get a radio station made for you based on recommendation of stuff you will probably like that's in the same vein. I've been listening to it all day. Magic. ^_^

Excellent Website

2006-11-16T12:16:00.000+09:00

another fab quiz from jess

2006-11-16T09:58:00.000+09:00

What's Your Ending?

You are Tember Fie!
Take this quiz!

Quizilla |
Join

| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Best of Sydney

2006-11-13T10:24:00.000+09:00

Best of Sydney
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

(inspired by Alex)
Best Food; The food here is amazing-everythings so fresh and multu-cultural. In Japan I longed for British food-now i know why it's got such a bad rep. I've had amazing Lebenese, Turkish, Korean (better than Japan. Cheese in the bibinba-mmm)and Greek (notibly) The salads here are outdtanding. But my absolute favourite is probably the Thai food here. I've also been cooking loads and experimenting in the kitchen. I can make a mean lasange from scratch nowadays. ^_^
Best Shopping; I must say that I love all the tacky H and M-esque high street shops, especially Espirit but my prize goes to all the fab vintagy second hand shops in Newtown-found an excellent dress for $8 and a hilarious Charles and Di t-shirt for $10
Best Sightseeing;The walk between Coogee and Bondi is amazing-glorious beaches. The walk over the harbour bridge is great too for panoramas of all of Sydney
Best Animal;Has to be koalas. They're bloody furry and have a cooly superior look. Them and fairy penguins but I prefer penguins that look more like humans.
So there you go! Anyone fancy a Aussie Holiday?

my new role in life eloquently put

2006-11-10T09:36:00.000+09:00

your a joker Kat. Workin in a mental asylum in oz msning whoevers available, then passing their info and revelations on to the next msner! You're the central electro node to the worldwide e-gossip waltzer ride.

(by Keith)

Complete Bollocks

2006-11-03T14:09:00.000+09:00

What You Really Think Of Your Friends

Holly is your soulmate.

You truly love Lucy.

You consider Mark B your true friend.

You know that Liz Shaw is always thinking of you.

You'll remember Hannah for the rest of your life.

You secretly think Sam is creative, charming, and a bit too dramatic at times.

You secretly think that Loz is colorful, impulsive, and a total risk taker.

You secretly think that Keith! is loyal and trustworthy to you. And that Keith! changes lovers faster than underwear.

You secretly think Tash is shy and nonconfrontational. And that Tash has a hidden internet romance.

What Do You Think of Your Friends?

haha. a testimony to how shit internet quizzes are. apart from the stuff about keith haha
holly i havent seen in about a year and is a freinds girlfreind
loz is about the opposite of all of those adjectives
tash is a mentaller

Temping: The Agony and the Exctasy (but mostly the agony)

2006-10-31T14:23:00.000+09:00

Its back to reality in Sydney now while I earn some pennies so I can go and see Ellen and meet Sarah again in Melbourne. Temping is a good way to earn fast bucks without demeaning myself to a scummy cafe or whatever.

It is-however-a corporate minefield. You are the shit on the office shoe sole. For a start you're dealing with someone who is already annoyed with the person you're replacing as they've probably a) rang in with a hangover b)are on some swanky holiday or c) have been sacked for nicking money/sleeping with the boss/delete as (in)appropraite. You get forgotten, you get ignored, you get expected to pick up a complicated job in 5 minutes, you get shafted for tax and you never know to expect.

On the plus side you meet loads of people, get to know the city you're working in, if a job is rubbish its over before you know it, you get to read peoples emails (haha!)and you can get away with allsorts cos you don't actually work there.

Case Study: Good Job
I was working at a propher glam media company for a while. I got to hear loads of scandel with all the B-List Celebs they work with and the phone system was really sophisticated and took no effort. Everyone was nice and funny and told me the best places to go in Sydney. I had internet access and a view of the park. It was sweet.

Case Study: Testing Job
At the moment I'm working in a sodding Old Folks home full of absolute nutters-old people who talk to flowers, move at 2 miles an hour on frames and delight in telling you their life stories. The actual job as a receptionist is straigh forward-what is difficult is placating the old bids who love complaining about just about anything from the food (i don't blame thme it looks ming) to having their teeth stolen in the night (!?)
The scariest thing is this is a low care home...high care homes must be like an asylum on crack.

its an obsession

2006-10-25T14:53:00.000+09:00

DSC02609
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

more aus pori!

2006-10-25T14:52:00.000+09:00

aus pori!
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Aussie Pori!

2006-10-25T13:06:00.000+09:00

DSC02610
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Kat on...

2006-10-15T09:58:00.000+09:00

Backpacker Culture

When i was in Sydney i didn't feel like a backpacker at all-and quickly learned from my normal freinds that backpackers generally had a reputation for being;
a) stinky
b) promiscuous
c) lairy/tarty and, unfortunately
d) theives!

This didnt really seem like a world i wanted to enter...however upon me and Sarahbelle arriving in Cairns, i have embraced the backpacking life with both hands and feet-and i love it! I've come to learn that it basically means being a drifter, an open minded person with no real life plans apart from enjoying yourself which is pretty damn cool in my book...everyone has interesting experiences they want to share with you, noone is judgemental and , vitally, everyone is up for a bloody good time. yeah there are the idiots who think they're on an 18-30s holiday in Faleraki but they're a minority. Me and S have been enjoying our hostel so much that we havent even been out on the town in Cairns-the party is just outside our dorm door!
As well as the drinking and bonding with a fab crowd, we have
~cycled about 20klms to the nearby botanical gardens (gorgeus!) and northern beaches
~explored the rainforest and waterfalls at kurunda (we got soaked in the rain but it was worth it!)
~chilled at the local lagoon where i learned how to swim properly and not like a old dog trying its best
~i found a job at the night markets
~sarah went diving in the reef

Yes, being a boho traveller and living out of you rucksack is mint (mine is hideously 80s in green, pink and yellow-love it!) the only downside is that i must be an official girl beacuse i miss my boyfreind. How lame am i? Answers on a postcard

Living la vida loca in Cairns

2006-10-12T16:02:00.001+09:00

We have arrived in our second location on this haphazard whirlwind tour-Cairns. Seasidy and touristy-like Blackpool but with Crocodiles and good sanitation. The people at the hostel are wicked (esp the people from northern Britian-i feel at home-woo!) and theres plenty to keep us busy-surrounding rainforest, hikes, the reef, bbqs, 2 hour drining sessions....you get the idea. ^_^

sarahs first day in aus!

2006-10-04T21:41:00.000+09:00

sarahs first day in aus!
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Kat and Sarah's STD Tour of Australia...

2006-10-04T16:48:00.000+09:00

...is about to commence! (and STD stands for Super Tremendous Debauchary don't you know. haha)
Sarah arrived today and I suddenly feel like I'm on holiday rather than living and working in Sydney. We're staying in Kings Cross at the moment-a kind of seedy but fun boho area and will fly to Cairns next week. In the meantime I"m going to try to show Sarah "my" Sydney and give a goodbye for now to all the fab people people and places that have made the last few weeks amazing...I'll be back! ^_^

Oblisation

2006-09-24T13:28:00.000+09:00

so i've been temping...its pretty weird as every day is like your first and people are all nice and welcoming until they realise you're only there for a short space of time! you can then almost see the light going off in their head "ah no need to make freinds with this one then, what a waste of charm..."
i've got a job in the x-ray dept of a hospital at the mo and i can keep it for as long as i want which is pretty sweet. you can imagine my regal british tones over the moniter. i have to answer the phone, work the switchboard ect. people ring up with random requests. everyone who works there is jaded and old but pretty funny. theres a cool french girl and a mad polish women both of whom can hardly speak english. keeps it entertaining.
which brings me onto the subject of oblisation-you know, those pointless conversations with people where none of you really listen to the other person but you just feel like seenas yout share the same carpet square 8 hours a day you should converse. as i ask things like "so where in sydney do you live?" with a "I'm nice honest" look on my face, i can't help but repeat "i dont care i dont care i dont care" in my head...

Jap-chic!

2006-09-18T19:48:00.000+09:00

(in Supre, a big Australian dept store)

pori cura, my new love for new town and fucking stinky hostels

2006-09-15T14:05:00.000+09:00

Ok so on the job front i am kind of sorted. Hooked myself up with a temping agency who have promised me lots of work in offices thats pretty well paid. probably not as colourful as the cafe but hey, its above board and i won't get sacked for ringing in sick (i'm not yet tired of telling people that story)

In my living news I am now in a bloody scummy hostel in central Sydney for a week as nat's parents are in town. I must have climatised to the civilised, clean suburbian life of my freinds here in Aus as when I arrived last night i was disgusted by the smell, the squalor, the scuffed carpets, the drunkeness going on- you know, the whole backpacker culture (if you can call it that.) Its cool though, I'm getting back to my scruffbag student roots. Its quite embarrasing how many Brits they are. And what loudmouth wankers most of them are too.

I have had a lovely morning walking around the city looking at shops and museums ect. The highlight *by far* was discovering a whole range of pori cura machines (the japanese weird sticker booths) just around the corner in China town! Sooo happy. Will definitely continue that obsession then.

My favourite haunt in Sydney has become New Town, a studenty, vintagey type area a bit like camden back home in London or even the Northern Quater in Manc. A new, *ahem* freind is proving to be an excellent tour guide of the dingy pubs, live venues and ethnic restaurants. Going to a Lebanese restaurant tonight. Chufty badges all round.

I had a lot of offers from Nat's freind to stay at their places this week. All I can say is I'm a fucking tard for turning them down. A week of shared showers, nasty matresses and drunk hooligans singing at 3am. Wish me luck.

Oh and did I mention I love Sydney?

Sacked!!!

2006-09-10T12:41:00.000+09:00

I got sacked!!!!

It's pretty funny actually. Last night I got wankered at Ken and Nat's housewarming...not ridiculously drunk but pretty damn merry. I thought I'd be able to get up and do my 9-5 shift but I woke up and was sick at about 7.30 and felt like a pig had shat in my head so i called in sick...this was pretty bad of me I know but I'm never sick after drinking so it was probably something I ate...anyway the cafe owner was pissed off with me and told me not to bother coming in again!

Actually I was thinking of trying to find a better job as it is hella strenous (involves running up and down stairs several million times and always full) and I heard I could get better pay and hours...looks like the decision has been made for me!

I've never been sacked before! >_< Good job it was a casual job i didn't really care about.

I'm thinking he'll come to regret that decision this week as the other waitress is on holiday...their loss! Looks like I'm job hunting again...

Oh, the party was fab by the way. Photos to follow. ^_^

We were just rowing around the harbour...

2006-09-07T10:52:00.000+09:00

Sigs0012
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

...and look what happened!

Home...for now

2006-09-06T12:14:00.000+09:00

home...for now
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

I'm so lucky to have generous freinds who let me stay at their plush Sydney apartement. Top left is the street its on (with nat's car parked under the tree), top right is the apartement block, nat and ken's place being bottom floor right, bottom left is the living room/kitchen and bottom right is the view. Sweet, eh! ^_^

People Are Strange

2006-09-05T22:54:00.001+09:00

...like seriously.

My waitressing (i use this term loosely) has enabled me to meet quite a random mix of Sydneyites. Well, I use that term loosely too not only beacuse i'm not sure if it's a real word but also because I am beginning to wonder if there is actually any Australian people in Sydney-every 5th person is painfully British for a start.

My favourite character by far is the ex-model I metioned in an earlier post. She's had an incredible life and seem to find everything "wonderful" and "astonishing"...apart from her train wreck marriage and estrangement from her kids that is. Strange that she told me all about her personal dramas then after informing me that she had a new job, added "I won't tell you what it is yet luv, some things you have to keep to yourself." And that secret affair story you told to a waitress you don't know from adam is normal sharing then...?

Another regular is a trendy mum who works in TV and is often with a hip friend for lunch (with a heavy side order of alcohol) and her daughter, a 5 year old really cute and sweet little girl with impeccable manners. I ususally can't stand kids that talk crap to you, obviously used to receiveing a enthralled audience from their doting parents but this one is actually a gem. After congratulating this women on raising such a freindly and pleasant kid she told me she loved the restaurant but had issues with the owner as he once nastily told her to leave "the fucking rude prick" she asserted in full hearing range of her daughter. Mother of the year status in my eyes revoked.

A group of 3 came in late the other night and had me in hysterics. They were still in their work clothes and i guessed they had been out on the lash after they greeted me with bright eyes and slurred words. My suspicions of sozzlement were confirmed when the girl in the party knocked the salt, pepper, table number and candle clean off the table in one limb flailing swoop. one of the guys then asked me to get her some water while he went for some more wine. Sensible. They were pretty funny chatting with the kind of volume, honesty and conviction that only comes with being absolutely out of your skull drunk. (think Cindi at the pub quiz ~_^) One of them was British and told me he recently proposed to his girlfriend whilst he was throwing up and she passed him a drink of water (romantic!) and that he thinks Sydney is the best city in the world. (insert dodgy cockney accent) "Its got the beaches, the people, the clubs, the scenery, the shops, the resaturants..." actually he may have a point there...

Dear Katastrophe Waitress

2006-08-31T11:13:00.000+09:00

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!

2006-08-31T10:44:00.000+09:00

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!!!

aus stuff

2006-08-28T23:29:00.000+09:00

aus stuff
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Sydney Coastline

2006-08-28T10:51:00.000+09:00

Sydney Coastline
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

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

Sydney is my Bitch!

2006-08-28T10:39:00.000+09:00

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.

I've Arrived!

2006-08-26T11:31:00.000+09:00

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. ^_^

"Honto ni owari ne!"

2006-08-18T10:32:00.000+09:00

...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.

Sayonara byebye to crazy dressing

2006-08-17T15:48:00.000+09:00

DSC01946
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

ninjas!

2006-08-17T15:43:00.000+09:00

ninjas!
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Sayonara byebye to Dangerous Liasons

2006-08-16T16:54:00.000+09:00

DSC01910
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Sayonara byebye to Yamaguchi Scenery

2006-08-16T16:51:00.000+09:00

DSC01738
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Sayonara byebye to Engrish

2006-08-16T16:46:00.000+09:00

DSC01952
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Tokyo Rocked

2006-08-16T16:43:00.000+09:00

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

2006-08-16T16:38:00.000+09:00

DSC01954
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

The Final Days of Kat's Japan Disco

2006-08-04T12:22:00.000+09:00

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^

Whirlwind

2006-07-22T16:07:00.000+09:00

The last couple of weeks have been nuts. For ages I was thinking "ahhh another ________, plenty of time!" Then all of a sudden it was my last day at school and I had 4 days left in my aparto! ARrrgh!
At the moment I'm sat amidst the semi-organised remnants of my life in Japan-*note to self-don't buy so much crap and never throw things away.* I will have about 15 rubbish bags to take to the tip tomorrow (at least). I'm a fool!
I knew I was seriously putting things off when Keith and Mark were surprised that I hadn't booked my flight! So it's sorted now-I will leave Japan (boo!) on August 8th from Narita. I'll leave the Guch on about the 30th so I hope I get to see all you Japan peeps before then ^_~
In the meantime catch me chewing my own hair and talking to the praying matis that crawls around my walls and has become my confidont. This is so not fun. ^o^

Things I Will Miss About Japan #11-Reading Other People in Japan's Blogs!

2006-07-22T16:00:00.000+09:00

Seenas I have quite a few computer hours a day (usually) I always have time to check the other Yamaguchians blogs. In this ken, out of about 75 JETs, about (i think) 32 of us have blogs-this is pretty impressive! It means I can catch up on whatever everyone has been up to, or read their accounts of our shared experiences. In general JETs are quite a creative, funny bunch so its usually entertaining stuff. Weird photos, Engrish anicdotes, only in Japan stories, gossip, trip reports and loads more. Plus we're all nosy buggers and love knowing about each others lives I reckon! So heres my own personal ***Blog Awards***:

Funniest Blog:**Louise's "ZenZen Wakarimasen"**(almost as funny as Lu in real life. Almost.)

Best Pictures:**Ellen's "Turning Japanese"**(yes we all know Ellen is pretty damn good at the old photography lark! A lot of people are good here though...maybe because Japan has a photo oppertunity at every turn! Shes got a great eye though)

Best Written Blog: **Jessica's "Obsessions Anonymous"** (I like her diction yo!)

Most Informative Blog:**Cindi's "Jagaimogirl"**(as well as telling us about stuff, she actually takes the time to explain it-be it bugs or japanese traditions. you can tell shes a mum. )

Most Natural Blog:**Sarah's "Japanese Adventure"** (It doesnt need photos of jazzy effects, just her opinions and experiences, like it)

Most Filthy Blog:**Matt's "Japanese Mash"**(No holds barred here, Matt lets us in on all his corrution of his co-workers! honto ni daikon?!)

Most Honest Blog:**Lauren's "Where in The World?"** (whilst its easy to fall into the trap of jazzing up your stories and steering off the mark, Loz's blog is just like her-straight downt the line but a bit cheeky! I like the frankness)

Most Intellectual Blog:**Marko's "chibimarukochan"** (he's a clever sod. i like a bit of intellectualism)

Most Reliable Blog: **Alex's "Alpot's Charmed Life"**(you can always rely on old potterchan to update and keep us informed! nice recipes too)

Best Newcomer: **Hannah's "J-Mouse"**(keep updating hanachan! i like your dry wit and you have enough amusing anicodtes ^_~)

Most Stylish Blog: **Christine's "Tales from a broad"** (digging the new layout missy!)

Keep blogging everyone! Even if all you have to repot is "i ate jam on toast today", hey, we're interested! ^_^

I Love this Photo...

2006-07-18T14:49:00.000+09:00

Christine looks like she's a bit special and Louise is her care worker! ^_^ (sorry chris!)

A to Z

2006-07-13T19:49:00.000+09:00

A - Available: not to all ^_~
A - Age: 23
A - Annoyances: japan's current nasty humidity, not being organised enough. oh, and when people speak for their child or dog. "ooh i like that" ect, you know. what is that?!
B - Best Friend: (s) too hard, too many
B - Beer: i like newky brown and stella, me
B - Birthday: dec 30th-the worst day to have a birthday ever
C - Crush: RUSSELL BRAND-oh yes, the tight trousers and dickensian diction. love him.
C - Car: nah
C - Candy: you mean sweets? jelly tots and wine gums
D - Day or night: night
D - Dream Car: i'm so not bothered by cars, sorry. a pink one?
D - Dog or cat: i like dog!!!!
E - Easiest person to talk to: loz and nat
Eggs: soft boiled with toast soldiers-oh yes!
E - Email: pufkat@hotmail.com (i came up with the name in the height of my pokemon obsession. i wanted it to be jigglypuffkat but strangely that was taken)
F - Favorite Month: mays quite nice isn't it
F - Favorite color(s): green and pink and black
F - Favorite Memory: being a "goth hippy" at school and uni years. and japan. its all good.
G - Gummy Bears or Worms: gummys
G - Giver or taker: gaker
G - Gum: is alright but i'm not keen on the japanese stuff. and i cant remember the one i used to buy back home! aaargh i've been here too long
H - Hair Color: boring brown
H - Height: 5'7 ish
H - Happy: i'm a happy girly but a bit stressed about moving
I - Ice Cream: hell yes. banana choco and most haagan daz
I - Instrument: guitars. preferably with boys attached to them
I Idol: Morrissey, Milhouse
J - Jewelry: i always loose earrings!! but i like silver and plastic stuff
J Job: only 4 more days to go in my current one!!!!!!!
J - Jail: cant say been as yet
K - Kids: i love j-kids...not so sure about the whiteys
K - Kickboxing or karate: karate yo!
K - Kindergarten: isnt it kindergarden? or NURSERY!? bloody americans when will they learn
L - Longest Car Ride: haha with sarah to tottori which took like 3 weeks! nah...ctually about 10 hours to torquey when i was little. my mum got ill and kept saying things like "stop going round corners!"haha. it was not fun.
L - Longest phone conversation: hours. like seriously. maybe to loz or nat or sam.
L - Last Kiss: couple of weeks ago. gotchas a great place.
L - Lyric: "i shouldn't even be here, much less/drinking myself into excess" -WAS
M - Milk Flavor: milk. you idiots.
M - Most missed person: pals back home and my bro
M - Movie Last Watched: royal tenenbaums for the millionth time
N - Number of Siblings: one
N - Number of Tattoos: none. i would love a star on my wrist tho
N - Name: surely you know by now
O - One Wish: that i had a remote control to slow down, speed up, pause and rewind time. how cool would that be!!!
O - One Fear: spiders
O - One regret: not going to okinawa
P - Pet Peeves: when people take ages to come and get their plate when you've just cooked for them. and lateness
P - Part of your body you like best: nose
P - Part of your personality you like best: memory
Q - Quote: "no way you spastic, you're a mentalist!"-Alan P
Q - Quillows or comforter: what?
Q - Quick or Slow: depends
R - Reasons to cry: sayounara japan! ;_;
R - Reason to smile: going to thailand and austrailia soon!
R - Rain or shine: shine
S - Song Last Heard: right now i'm listening to "The Scene is Dead" by We Are Scientists
S - Season: spring
S - Shoe: yes please
T - Time you woke: 7.40
T - Time Now: 8.02pm
T - Time for bed: 10 or 11ish
U - U love someone: pals
U - Unpredictable: to an extent
U - Underwear: cotton with cats on them
V - Vegetable you hate: cauliflower
V - Vegetable you love: recently got into aubergenes and i love peppers
V - Vacation spot: come on thailand!
W- Worst Habit: picking the skin off my fingers-gross i know
W- Where are you going to travel next: Yamaguchi city tomorrow!
W- Weather right now: HOT
X - X-Rays: teeth
X - X-Rated Porn: bring it on
X - X-tra special someone: marko-seenas i had to say bye to him yesterday!;_;
Y - Year you were born: 1982
Y - Year it is now: 2006
Y - Yellow: is the colour of snow you should never eat
Z - Zoo Animal: PENGUINS!
Z - Zodiac Sign: Capricorn
Z - Zoolander: is bloody funny

Just for Louise...

2006-07-10T13:37:00.000+09:00

as the arctic monkeys debate rages on, i know lou will enjoy this...

Just ridiculous

2006-07-10T11:39:00.000+09:00

hello kitty weiners-with "i love you" printed on them!

First if the Lasts

2006-07-07T20:25:00.000+09:00

Last Friday was my last day at Nishi Chugakko, one of my favourite schools.
It has 3 badass kids that never come to class, just sit in the corridor looking hard. Apparently they threw a slipper at my predeccesor (!) but they've always been alright with me. It annoys me that no-one does anything about this and lets them terrorise the other kids but apart from that its a pretty cool school...I met my best j-pal Kayo there when she was a teacher last year and one of my fav teachers, Nishihara sensei is the Kyoto.
So today I had a fun lesson writing tanabata in English with the kids. As the class finished Nishihara made a nice speech about me being a good ALT and stuff which i was smiling along with until i realised some of the kids looked really sad...then she started choking up and stuttering her words and I felt awful. What made it even worse was one of my favourite girls was getting all angry and burst out "NAN DE???" (why?!) and looked like she was going to punch someone. Then a student stood up and read a really nice speech to the tune of "We always looked forward to your lessons. You are very kind. We will never forget you." ect. i managed to not cry but i felt like i was crying if that makes any sense.
The next class was more fun. At the end the kids all said something nice about me in turns, stuff like "you are nice" "you are cute" to "i like you hair", "I like your voice" and (all together) "we will miss you!" Bless. That was really nice. When I left they presented me with a massive (A5) card with lots of cute letters on them and origami (*^_^*) The teachers said some of the kids never speak in English class except when I'm there and get really angry if I visit and don't get to go to their class! I was pretty taken aback by all this praise as its not like I'm ALT of the year or anything...it makes me feel a bit guilty as if I would have really given my all to the job I guess I could have made a huge difference in their attitude to English. Next year I'm not being replaced by another JET, they're going to get someone freom INTERAC instead which means the kids won't see them so much...a real shame I think.
On a final note when I left some students gave me (awkward) hugs and one of them said "Welcome to Japan!" I've taught them well...

Chinpokomon!

2006-07-04T20:54:00.000+09:00

This episode of South Park is hilarious-complete with Engrish and Japanese penis jokes!
(if you cant be arsed watching the hole thing, just go to the 13th minute to see the kids speak japanese in class)

RaNdOm ^o^

2006-06-29T11:14:00.000+09:00

Recent Happenings...

-I seem to be putting off the process of leaving with a vengence. I haven't booked my ticket yet and I'm making a very half-arsed attempt at packing. sabishiku naru ne...

-I am witnessing my gaijin leaving freinds get past point the point of caring when being polite to the j-folk. It's hilarious.
missionary women: "Why did you come to Japan?"
Neal: "Well I heard that ninjas were still around and I had to see for myself."
Gold.

-I am loving the OC Season 3. Marissa is turning into a crackwhore! haha. Does anyoe else think that surfer dude Johnny is fit as?! (wouldn't kick woodchuck or whatever his name is out of bed either-mmm greasy!)

-Everyone should go to see baseball in Japan-you don't have to understand or even watch the game, its just a great oppertunity to get drunk cheaply in the sun in the afternoon and chant wildly ^_^

Huzzah!

marco being coy(to the cute seller)and me calling him a coy-carp (hiroshimas baseball team are the Hiroshima Carps). hahaha. i thought this was the funniest thing anyone ever said at the time.

Warts and All

2006-06-21T16:25:00.000+09:00

Seenas a certain Mr Wilkinson has pointed out that a somewhat clean version of events is often portrayed on my blog, I've decided that before I leave, I will come clean about the seedier side of my adventures in Japan:
Coming soon... adventures in dating a small fry yakuza, bruises you cant explain to your students, having a female stalker and when props are needed in I Have Never.
Why do these things only seem to happen to me?!?

Things I Will Miss about Japan #10-Feeling Like I'm really Doing Something Worthwhile

2006-06-20T21:54:00.000+09:00

This weekend was top fun from start to finish: Curi-chan's bday brought yukattas, way too much beer and dangerous liasons, camping was lovely and jazzed uo by the formation of a dance troop followed by onsen and great Japanese food with lots of fab freinds. ^_^
I am often aware that I have a very enjoyable life here. It's not always easy, but it is often rewarding and I feel like I'm really living.

Getting all dressed up J style

Happy bday Chris! nonde nonde...ect

no j-boy is safe from me and sarah..haha

new and old pals

nutters!

"its like we're back to the stone age!"

I don't know where I got the idea that I don't like the outdoors...

.....

Sparkle Motion Woods! (guess whose idea it was...)

Some (more) random photos of late...

2006-06-20T21:11:00.000+09:00

Wouldn't everyone look better if they wore clip on bear ears all the time?

Lu is not impressed with the selection of j-porn at the local love hotel

i took this picture of a weird bondage doll and it came out with evil eyes! kowaii ne!

Images of Mad Japan

2006-06-15T17:57:00.000+09:00

The Shortcut to Sincerity

2006-06-13T18:39:00.001+09:00

Recently me and Marko realised that if you put your cheeks together in photos, it looks like you're the bestest mates in the world, like ever!

Heres the photographic evidence...

And it works even better if you open your mouth!

Things I Will Miss about Japan #9- Speciality Food

2006-06-13T13:28:00.001+09:00

I love the fact that Japan has special types of food for each place you visit. They're often delicious and at least interesting. It makes trips more fun as you know you have to try the local delicacy-if only because everyone will ask you about it later! Not only is this food beautifully presented and individually wrapped, its also sometimes seasonal and often culturally significant.
My time here in Japan I have visited Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kurakawa, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Yakushima, Tokushima, Ehime, Matsuyama, Oita, Saga, Kagoshima and Tottori- phew! (Not to mention all over the 'guch) And I've enjoyed trying their different specialities-even if they were gross (not really a fan of any of the sweet bean paste stuff) It's forced me to broaden my pallette (who knew I would love takoyaki-octopus balls!)
Above is a picture of famous Japanese local specialities depicted through the meduim of cartoon cats.

Open minded?

2006-06-12T10:20:00.000+09:00

You Are 68% Open Minded

You are a very open minded person, but you're also well grounded.Tolerant and flexible, you appreciate most lifestyles and viewpoints.But you also know where you stand firm, and you can draw that line.You're open to considering every possibility - but in the end, you stand true to yourself.

How Open Minded Are You?

I think my openminded-ness (is that a word?) has at least doubled since i've come to Japan. A lot of prejudices and conceptions I had before have been inverted, or altered, at least explored. (even secret nasty ones I wouldn't ever admit to having)

Things I Will Miss about Japan #8--Singing Japanese songs at Karaoke! (or trying to...)

2006-06-06T21:54:00.000+09:00

Through J-pals and the sheer frequency of my visits to Sound Street Yanai, I have (somewhat) been able to sing the following songs. They're cheesy, silly, nonsensical and brilliant
I had a vague idea to what the lyrics were about but the full tranlsation on these videos blew my mind!

Koda Kumi: Cutie Honey

Morning Musume: Love Machine

Orange Range-Hana (flower)

"Dark", "War" and "Cabbage"...

2006-06-06T13:42:00.000+09:00

I had some interesting lessons today where the third year students at my base school wrote poems. They never fail to crack me up when they do this kind of creative writing but it was also quite a disturbing insight into a 14 year old Japanese students phyche.^.^
Some were simple and strangely cutting. I think Erin said it best when she commented that some of the most touching things she'd ever heard were written by japanese students as they cut through the wordiness of the native speaker to express the heart of the matter:

Today
Good Weather
Get Up
Good

Clouds
The white
And the grey
Floating in the sky
Mystery

Dream
Noone knows
was drowned in dream
Calmy

Some were a bit baffling...

Cabbage
Out of
Blue worm comes
"pi pi" father warm
Cute

Some were slightly disturbing...

Dark
Broken mind
Sad hard afraid
Fear from dark of
Fearful

Some were really quite moving...

War
I fear
Children baby elderly
Nucleur dissapear flame scream
Cry

and this is my personal favourite...

Toilet
Bad smelling
Giving wiping washing
I feel very good
Wonderful

Things I Will Miss about Japan #7- Living Close to a (beautiful) Coast!

2006-06-06T10:22:00.000+09:00

"Blackie" mmm grey and dingy

When I was little we my family used to have weekend trips to Blackpool. The name kind of gives it away. Its good British seaside fun-littered with sex shops and hen/stag parties, overpriced food, tacky souveneers and grime. You're frankly a mentalist to go in the sea, not only beacuse its freezing all year but also beacuse its MINGING full of oil and waste and god knows what else...

Oshima-mmm gorgeus!
So one of the things I love about Japan is its beautiful coastline. The beaches are clean and pretty against the rocks and mountains-not a syringe in sight!

Weekbender

2006-06-05T20:00:00.000+09:00

Eurovision party! Thanks to Lauren's bro we weren't deprived of the cheesefest this year!

Mark and my neighbours dog. kawaii! it didnt wee on him like it always does to me!
href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5006/1106/1600/mark%20dog.jpg">
Saki and Mark get friendly

We bury Hana!

Sakichan wants a job at a medievil them park...

Words cannot express how much I love my new ipod nano...

The Plan

2006-05-31T09:43:00.000+09:00

The end of my time here is coming faster than Japan's public transport. As always, I'm totally disorganised. Denial is a very useful coping mechanism.
One thing making the whole blurred process of speeches, flight arrangements, packages, selling, emotional goodbyes and enkais less overwelming is being excited about the next adventure- Australia! Me and Sarah-chan have decided to put off the inevitable going home and having a real life process by being scummy backpackers in Oz for a while. I've actualy wanted to so this for years, it looks bloody fun trekking across the country and seeing all the sights. Plus one of my best pals from uni, the lovely Nat is living in Sydney at the moment so I'm going to start my trip by staying with her and her fab boyf Ken for a bit (while Sarah goes home to see her family-wish I could do this but I can't afford the flights there and back) Yosh! Hope we can recreate our uni days of watching soaps in our pgyamas and dissecting evey aspect of our loves to the nth degree ^_^

Heres me and Nat when she came to Japan last year.
Luckily for British me I can work over there-casual stuff like bar work and fruit picking to finance the partying. I plan to stay anything from 5 months to a year, depending on cash and how much fun it is. I reckon Sarah wil be a mint travel companion as shes a) more sensible than me without being a killjoy "no kat you dont need to have that 12th beer..." b) up for doing mad stuff and c) will happily talk to strangers. I hope to provide energy and good ipod mixes to the partnership ^_~ In Oz I am looking forward to the following:
1. Clubs and pubs
2. Everyone speaking English
3. Nice weather
4. Mint shopping
5. Beautiful scenery
6. Nice beaches
7. The Neighbours set!!!!!!!!! (quite tragic. i bloody love Neighbours)
8. Big selection of food
9. Not having a propher job
10. Meeting loads of amd randoms
11. Gigs
12. Telling people I used to live in Japan!

ガーム　Game!

2006-05-27T10:39:00.000+09:00

Heres how it works-you answer the following questions in an anonymous comment and i try to work out who you are-lets play! ^_^

1. Whats your favourite sweets/candy?
2. Whats the first thing you said this morning?
3. What music would drive you insane played over and over again on a road trip?
4. What music wouldn't drive you insane played over and over again on a road trip?
5. Don't tell anyone but...
6. If you had to eat ONE food only for the rest of your life what would it be?
7. Happiness is...
8. Favourite TV sitcom character?
9. Which happened more recently-you watched a DVD or cooked?
10. Sexiest person in the world is...
11. Look to your left. What do you see?

and heres my answers, if you're interested...
1. chocolate. preferably cadburys
2. alright lauren
3. dreary shit like james blunt
4. indie/rock/pop
5. ...my cats breath smells like cat food
6. crisps
7. ...a beer garden and a sunny afternoon
8. has to be alan p. "lynn has your mothers death just hit you?"
9. watched a dvd-godfather 2
10. ...carl barat and kate moss
11. a fax machine, a chair, hair straightners

could you have guessed me?

The most accurate test I've done in ages...

2006-05-27T10:12:00.000+09:00

I took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test!

"Over-imaginative and given to fantasy or day-dream..."

Click here to read the rest of the results.

oh.my.god.

2006-05-23T15:56:00.001+09:00

The new Big Brother in the Uk. What a bunch of absolute mentalists.

"kat looks like"

2006-05-22T21:28:00.000+09:00

This is piss funny. If you type in "(your name)looks like" (has to be in brackets) into google and you get random, funny and and sometimes fitting results...

kat looks like a normal person
Kat looks like the Lara Croft of the high seas
Kat looks Like quite an able Guitar player but it is really hard to judge
Kat Looks like a dickhed!
Kat looks like she's climbing up, though she's really coming down
kat looks like one bad motor scooter!
Not some one you wanna f*** with. :cool:
Kat looks like Michael Jackson with tits
Kat looks like an awesome person to hang with
Kat just...rocks. Plain and simple, but oh so elegant and fabulous. ...(thanks!)
Kat: looks like a fun book!

Let's Sumo!

2006-05-22T20:16:00.001+09:00

After the dissapointment of no paintball we embraced the fighting spirit nonetheless...

chuffed

2006-05-17T13:35:00.000+09:00

My friend Lucy wrote this email to me-

"Kat you know more about music than anyone in the world. I lup you. "

She is mint.

2006-05-15T20:18:00.000+09:00

Which fucked-up genius composer are you?

Shane MacGowan... unconsciously brilliant. You can intelligently debate any topic from theology, history, literature and philosphy... though only while you're out of your skull on booze.
Take this quiz!

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Things I Will Miss about Japan #6-- Yanai!

2006-05-09T09:06:00.000+09:00

Ah good old 柳井! When I first arived here I wasn't too impressed...it seemed in the middle of nowhere, there was no nightclubs, insects were making funny noises outside...but as i got used to the place, I came to realise that Yanai is fab-its the perfect size, being small enough to have the inaka charm and a sense of community yet big enough to have decent restaurants and a connection to civilisation. Thw white wall street is stunning and I love the 金魚ちょうちん (goldfish lanterns) that crop up all the time, especially when theres a festival! I was really lucky to be located here, I don't think I would actually change it with anywhere else in the ken (although i do love Hagi and Yamaguchi-shi too)
I'm beginning to sound like a tourist board but Yanai has a great selection of restaurants-yakiniku, yakitori, tonkatsu, pasta, chinese, sushi, curry and -woo!- foreign stuff too at Gotcha-Yanai's chief attraction i must say-one of the few places in the guch that's trendy and attracts a crowd of young j-peeps ^.^ The beach isn't bad either.
Oh and I spose I was pretty lucky in the selection of JETs that live close by too :-p
Sometimes when the sun is shining and its all green here I walk to my base school and think that I have a pretty damn idyllic life...I pass all the cute shogakusei (primary school students) who dilligantly say Good Morning to me and it's beautiful. It's ridiculously safe and quiet and pretty without being boring-basically about as far from my hometown Dukin"someone gets stabbed every few days"field as possible! Although i sometimes wished I was closer to the Osaka area, living in Yanai has let me visit Shikoku and Kyushu reasonably easily and its definitely given me a taste of authentic Japan. ^_^ I will defintely be back to visit, but in the meantime, I know Yanai itself is one of the things I'll miss the most.

Week 'O Gold

2006-05-06T15:11:00.000+09:00

I was a bit concerned that I didn't have any plans to go anywhere in Golden Week as I thought I'd be bored shitless but I actually had a great time! I was in a fab mood due to the lovely weather and did lots of nice wholesome activities like visiting Flower Land with my freind Keiko, four hour karaoke stints, picnicing, cooking, visiting Ooshima, having an "arts and crafts" day (dont ask...) and watching lots of movies (*^_~*) Hurrah for time off for no reason. In honour of my last golden week here is my top 5 favourite gold things:
1. money
2. tinsel
3. foil containing chocolate
4. ghetto gold jewellry
5. eyeshadow

Final "To Do" List

2006-04-28T12:55:00.000+09:00

When I got here I made a list of stuff I wanted to complete while i was here. I'm pretty pleased with the amount of mad shit I've done in the last 20 months.^o^ This, roughly,was my list:

-Go to watch Sumo (done in fukuoka, much shouty fun)
-Mail in Japanese (done several hundred of times, probably badly)
-Learn all the level 3 kanji (pretty much done^_^)
-Try shodo (done and enjoyed in a class last year)
-Dressed as a maiko (done with my pals in kyoto. i'll spare you the photos. pretty fun though)
-Party in Tokyo (done and done)
-Visit Shikoku and Kyushu (yep. both fab trips)
-Go to a mixed onsen (done in kurakawa. of course i had a peek)
-Get drunk on sake only (done, bloody nasty hangover)
-Try natto (done. seriously ming)
-Wear a yukatta (done to the party last year-bring on the next!)
-Read some manga (done with the help of a dictionary/japanese person!)
-Visit other Asian countries (does korea count?)
-Sing Japanese songs at karaoke (done...again badly. I'm not being modest)
-Go skinny dipping in the Japanese sea (done on Oshima last summer)
-Try Japanese pottery (done in hagi last year...my bowl was pretty pants)
-Pull a Japanese boy (its not that hard)
-Stay in a love hotel (don't get excited...unrelated to the previous one-it was with sarah!haha)
-Go to Universal Studios (sooo much fun)
-See a Japanese band live (done many times at summer sonic. madness.)
-Go to a tea ceremony (done...zzz)
-Be able to read all the menu (done more or less I reckon)
-Have sushi/sashimi for breakfast (done. as bad as it is any other time of the day)

************************************************************

I will leave this crazy island I've come to call home in about 3 months. In the meantime I hope to accomplish the following:

-Stay in a Capsule Hotel.
-Wear a yukatta to a summer festival
-Play Pachinko
-Eat Fugu (surely i owe it to yamaguchi ken)
-Climb Mt.Fuji (!)
-Host another Gotcha party
-Get good references for future jobs (surely Japanese people are the ideal people to give you a perfect reference!)
-Try a curry donut
-Go to some sort of comic/manga event
-Go to Okinawa (hmm looking unlikely)

Any more suggestions please suggest!! onegai shimasu!

Things I Will Miss about Japan #5 RICE!!

2006-04-24T13:57:00.000+09:00

If you would have told me that I would become enthusiastic about rice before I came to Japan or even a year ago then I would have chocked in disbelief. I mean I've always enjoyed it as an accompanyment but I've always thought of it as the filler, what you havewith your delicious meat dish or whatever. When I first arrived in Japan I wasn't too keen on the starchy, sticky, short grain rice here. It was soo plain and stodgy. And they seemed to give you it by the bucketload. I missed flavoursome long grained basmatic rice. O_o I also found it bloody ridiculous that a lot of japanese people say their favourite food is rice. I felt like this was like saying your favourite food was air. God I can waffle on a lot about rice. It's important here! They've brainwashed me!
As I've been here for about 20 months and have eaten rice at least once every day I now have to admit that...I LOVE RICE! I even crave it. How Japanese am I!?I love the smell of it freshly cooked and its the main thing I look forward to in school lunch. And its not just me! Loz has admitted similar affiliation!
Another thing thats makes Japanese rice mint is that its impossible to f*ck up when cooking. I even burned it recently and it was still yum-mmm bibinba!
I will surely get withdrawl symptoms like a junkie for crack when I leave this place! Eek my soul will suffer! I even like onigiri (rice in seaweed you can buy everywhere as a snack) although I'm not as nihonjin as Smac who craves it even when drunk (give me a kebab anyday)

Some "interesting" facts about RICE:
-Some Japanese car companies are named after rice! Toyota means "bountiful rice field" and Honda means "the main rice field" (right alex...?)
-Rice is a staple food for over half the planet.
-In Japanese folklore, legend has it that soaking rice before cooking it releases life energy, and the person who eats the rice will have a more powerful soul.(maybe this explains why they shovel it into their mouths as if theres no tomorrow)
-There are about 120,000 varieties of rice known to exist.
-Rice is the only cereal Japan is self-sufficient in.
-The average Japanese consumer pays an average of five times more for rice than the average U.S. consumer.
-At various times in Japanese society,rice was an instrument of trade, functioning as hard currency. Rice measured the wealth of the daimyo (lord) and provided payment for samurai.
-Throughout the almost 4,000 7-Eleven stores in Japan, fast food sales figures show rice snacks continuing to outpace bread snacks.

And for those who don't live in Japan:
-A lot of people have rice for breakfast (mental)
-The smallest packet of rice in the supermarkets are usually about 2kg. They make you eat more rice!!
-The word for cooked rice is "gohan" and this also has the general meaning of meal.
-"Mochi" is pounded rice made into a cake. Its weird and sticky and people love it here. I draw the line there.

RICE: It's More Than Just a Food

What Temprement are You?

2006-04-23T18:34:00.000+09:00

You Have a Choleric Temperament

You are a person of great enthusiasm - easily excited by many things.
Unsatisfied by the ordinary, you are reaching for an epic, extraordinary life.
You want the best. The best life. The best love. The best reputation.

You posses a sharp and keen intellect. Your mind is your primary weapon.
Strong willed, nothing can keep you down. Your energy can break down any wall.
You're an instantly passionate person - and this passion gives you an intoxicating power over others.

At your worst, you are a narcissist. Full of yourself and even proud of your faults.
Stubborn and opinionated, you know what you think is right. End of discussion.
A bit of a misanthrope, you often see others as weak, ignorant, and inferior.

What Temperment Are You?

Things I Will Miss about Japan #4 Anime/Logo Characters!

2006-04-18T13:48:00.000+09:00

This is such a post close to my heart I feel a list coming on...

1. Warumono (from the Aronzo series)

Sinister. funny. uses interesting japanese instead of weird english.

2. Hello Kitty

The classic choice.You can seriously get her on anything.(pens, stickers, condoms...)
3. Rirakuma

Love the "bothered?" expression.He looks stoned and is always drooling and surrounded by tissues (!) arf
4. Gloomy Bear

Bloody brilliant. you get him out of the box...he slaughters you. a nice anicdote to all the sickly cute stuff like dogs in make up (!)
5. Doraemon

Another classic choice. I actually read this manga a bit and its mental.
He's a bloody robot cat from the future! Whats not to like?!
6.Kuromi

I love the whole goth/cute thing here. like skulls with pink bows on them.

Who's your favourite?!

Note:On the Culture of かわい(cute):
"Cuteness is not just a fad in the fashion cycle of Japanese pop culture; it is more of a ‘standard’ aesthetic of everyday life” (McVeigh)
I'll ignore the implications in japanese society that basically state that you have to be dumb and infant like to fit into this whole ideal of aesthetics (and indeed femininity) and just enjoy the variety for the next few months ^_^
This is a really interesting site about japanese fashion as cultural commentary:
The Fruits of J fashion:Reading resistance on the Streets of Harajuku

"I like it!"

2006-04-17T15:29:00.000+09:00

We asked the staff of Big Echo to come and join our party. I don't think anyone expected them to take it so seriously! It was nuts, they took full advantage of our nomihodai and eventually abandoned their jobs alltogether! The night ended with the dude who downs his pint sharpish getting his knob out and walking down the street with his pants down his ankles. Ah Tokyo...

私の趣味(My Hobby)

2006-04-14T10:20:00.000+09:00

Everyone bullsh*ts on job applications right? Its pretty much a given. They're expecting to hear "I am commited, professional and motivated." If you told the truth, ie "I will abuse this position for all its worth, make an art out of sciving, and not really give a rats arse." They would'nt appreciate your honesty. I worked in the Human Resources Dept of a hotel once and one applicant wrote "Cos the DS made me." under the question "Why are you applying for this job?" *snigger* Needless to say he didn't get an interview.
When it comes to the "Interests and Hobbies" bit you can really excell yourself in the gentle art of stretching the truth so thin it would slip through a door crack. Thinking about it for a job I'm applying for now, I realised I only really have one consistant hobby. (I don't think obsessing over dirty indie bands really counts) I've been upholding this particular passtime for about 8 or 9 years. I put a lot of money and effort into it. I try my damnest to enourage others to partake. In my humble opinion, its the best hobby a girl can have.
Can you guess what it is?

Rock the Vote!!

2006-04-11T10:20:00.000+09:00

this is just a reminder to my fellow yamaguchian JETS-if you havent already, please nominate for the zenzen awards! why its a postively electric extravaganze of judegement! ^_^ and it will be all the more fun if more people participate. so far we've received about 25 nomination forms...we need more!!
you can find the original email in the yahoo group-send your form to
votezenzen@hotmail.com
or i'll hunt you down and sing smap songs in your ear!!

Tottori Sand Dunes

2006-04-10T18:00:00.000+09:00

So its spring break and you're bored. you fancy seeing some of Japan. Whats the solution? road trip!!

This was so worth 7 hours driving!^_^

Obligatory sakura photos

2006-04-10T17:39:00.000+09:00

the alphabet according to my music player

2006-04-10T14:56:00.000+09:00

tagged by angela...X X X

So apparently I have to go through my media player and put down the first band for every letter without just choosing the coolest one. thats fine as all my music is damn cool ^_~ (even if its in an ironic way)

A- Art Brut
B- Be Your Own Pet
C- Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
D- Dandy Warhols
E- Elastica
F- French kicks
G- Graham Coxon
H- Hot Hot Heat
I- Idlewild
J- Junior Senior
K- Kaiser Chiefs
L- Lostprophets
M- Mike and the Mechanics (ok that is slightly embarrasing)
N- No Doubt
O- Oasis
P- Panic!At the Disco
Q- Queens of the Stone Age
R- Razorlight
S- Sparks
T- Test Icicles
U- Used
V- Violent Femmes
W- White Rose Movement
X- XTC
Y- yeah yeah yeahs
Z- Zebrahead

My name is...?

2006-04-10T14:44:00.000+09:00

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet and current street name)
Dave Nishiushiro

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on mother's side first name, favorite candy)
Irene Boost

3. YOUR "FLY GIRL/GUY" NAME: (first initial of first name, first two or three letters of your last name)
K Ro

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite animal, name of high school maskot)
Detective Penguin ???

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Elizabeth Ashton (now thats got a ring to it!)

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (first 3 letters of your last name, last 3 letters of mother's maiden name, first 3 letters of your pet's name)
Robbes Pip

7. JEDI NAME: (middle name spelled backwards, your mom's maiden name spelled backwards
htebazile kciwseb

8. PORN STAR NAME: (middle name, street you lived on)
Elizabeth Capesthorne

9. SUPERHERO NAME: ("The", your favorite color, last product advertised that you remember on TV (or favorite) )
Pink Pocky

tagging- Lauren, Cindi, Matt, Dan and Angela ^_^

frenimies

2006-04-02T21:39:00.000+09:00

*The Ultimate Friend Survey*
Girls
Whose your best friend?:	flowka (^_^)
Most outgoing?:	all the buggers! ...prob sarah or tash
Funniest?:	paul/keith/chris
Most caring?:	lauren
Friendliest?:	nat/simbo
Most trustworthy?:	caz
Who do you tell everything to?:	nat/sam
Who do you look up to the most?:	marco-he's wise!
Loudest?:	steph-an image of her yelling "oishisooo!!!" from a car window at an old man sticks in my mind!
Most annoying?:	my brother chris. although he's annoying in a funny way
Smartest?:	emma in an evil genius pretending to be dizzy way ^_~ and paul who actually has a massive brain
Prettiest?:	liz w, angela and mark b are all super purdey but all my pals are hot
Sluttiest?:	hughesy ^_~
Gangsterest?:	essex dave-he has bandanas
Best house?:	nat-mint view from her HK one and I've heard the Oz one is cool too
Best clothes?:	lucy. mint tights.
Nicest?:	in the pure, kind sense of nice, Holly
Craziest?:	"crazy aiji" in japan. clues in the name
Daredevil?:	tibetan dave will do anything for 50p
Nerdiest?:	my j-freind kayo studies waay too much
Most musical?:	pat
Most athletic?:	keith, master of spacker footie
Most dramatic?:	never a dull moment with charlie
Best singer?:	lauren "and all that jazz" campy
Worst singer?:	hmm after that purple rain fiasco marco!
Most embarrassing?:	i usually embarrass them...
Coolest family?:	keiko
Most boring?:	they can all go on a bit. joking! i dont have boring friends!
Whose your second best friend?:	pip (^_^)
Take this survey \| Find more surveys You've been totally Bzoink*d