March 25, 2005
Provisions gotten; fingers crossed
We went to Osaka today to buy magazines and to Kobe to buy soup. These are the kind of errands I run, and Stuart is lucky enough to run along beside me. We got UTNE and Vanity Fair, the latter with three near-naked women on the front which will be a little embarrassing to read on the train. Unless they are animated, naked women on the train are inappropriate. We also went to The Sanrio Gallery to check out three floors of Hello Kitty Fare. My favourite section was the appliance department, stocked with your Hello Kitty rice cooker, kettle, toaster, dehumidifier etc. Serious.
We came home to find a note from the post office, who had tried to deliver something from the British Embassy at 4:00pm. We jumped on our bikes, as you do, and raced to the post office at super speed. Unfortunately the man could not give me my package. I don’t know why. He kept pointing to a sign in Hiragana as explanation, but that wasn’t very helpful. So we will hope for the best, and I’ll go to fetch it tomorrow.
In book news, I’m consumed with magazines and will soon be starting “Travels with my Aunt” by Graham Greene.
March 24, 2005
Karaoke and the state of things
We have a new habit of listening to R. Kelly “Ignition” on Wednesdays, as the refrain goes- “It’s the freakin’ weekend.” It has caught on and now my co-workers who share my days off have taken to spending Wednesdays singing “Bounce, Bounce, Bounce, Bounce, Bounce.” R Kelly brings me to the matter I want to discuss, the sad decline of my taste in music. I blame it all on karaoke. I’ve never been amazingly cool, but still my musical tastes have been somewhat reputable. But I will quote you the songs that will remind me of 2004/5- our year in Japan. 1) You’re In my Heart- Rod Stewart 2) That’s the Way it Is- Celine Dion 3) Breathless- The Corrs 4) Kc and JoJo- All My Life 5) All I Want for Christmas Is You- Mariah Carey 6) Africa by Toto 7) These Dreams by Heart 8) Take on Me- A-Ha 9) Always Be My Baby- Mariah Carey 10) Reach by S-Club 7 etc. This isn’t cool. It’s terribly the opposite. It’s all to blame on karaoke, which has become my favourite leisure activity but which is terribly debilitating. I have lost the ability to make conversation, though perhaps this is from overuse. It’s all I do all day. But still. Surprisingly good karaoke songs are 1) At the Zoo by Simon and Garfunkel, 2) Bohemian Like Me- Dandy Warhols, 3) Live Forever- Oasis. I really like to sing Bad Bad Leroy Brown but Stuart disagrees with its coolness. I forgot to mention “Turn me On” by Kevin Lyttle and “You Make Me Wanna” by Blue though I can’t blame these on karaoke. I love these songs with passions worthy of something else.
March 24, 2005
The Drumming Game
Gratuitous picture, because I can. Here we are in the Games Centre doing one of the many things we love best.
March 24, 2005
And so it begins
Welcome to the new incarnation of Pickle Me This, perhaps the late-twenties version. At Pickle Me This, you’ll be able to read about my latest palavers, current events gleanings, new poems and idle thoughts.
Lately, I’ve been consumed by Tracey Gold’s recent drunk driving charge. Tracey Gold is married to Roby Marshall, whose parents’ were the rather iconographic “Blind Faith” couple. His father, a self-made man high on eighties excesses and low on gambling debts had his wife murdered in the mid 1980s. The son lives a pretty understated life it seems, though his wife is a former sitcom star with her own share of problems. Also notable in the news, the University of Western Ontario is granting an honourary degree to the altogether worthy Dr. Henry Morgantaler. Sidney Blumenthal on the Terri Schiavo case. Over at the Guardian Book Section, the brouhaha over Ali Smith and Toby Litt’s comments that women’s writing is “dull, depressing and domestic.” They’ve definitely made a whole lot out of nothing with this I think, but it’s generated some interesting commentary.
Last night started with a whole lot of alcohol and so today wasn’t as productive as it could have been. We had an excellent lunch at a restaurant in town once I’d roused myself from my duvet. And tonight, we made it to the gym though I was really doubting it would happen. The Foreigners Hit the Gym causes great distress to gym staff, who undoubtedly were concerned we’d wear our shoes in inappropriate places. They followed us around fretfully, talking all the while though they knew we couldn’t understand. We had to fill out forms which we couldn’t read, which also was a real laugh. Doing things properly is very central to the workings of Japan, and so no one was just going to point to the form and just tell us what boxes to check, but the result of this is that the staff stood before us, gaping and gasping with discomfort until we just picked any old box on the sheet and then they were visibly relieved. Who knows what we signed up for.
We’re off to Osaka and Kobe tomorrow for supplies. You know, soup, magazines and Mexican food.
