More?



Yes, I'm thinking of finishing up.  Or continuing.  New blog is potentially called Tokyo 2.
I am pretty sure everyone is hanging on these words!!!

New Spectrum

Since I announced I was finishing up my blog, I was literally inundated by two requests to continue.

In light of the pain that I am clearly inflicting by not sharing my thoughts any more, I'm considering starting a new blog.  If I get similar levels of interest, and inundation, I may soon announce a new, improved, far more hard core blog.  One with swear words, good ideas, stuff like that all mixed togerther.  You name it.

Organ Donor

Yet another "what I had for dinner last night post".  Yawn.

Was not sure where to go when a friend suggested this Shochu bar.  Shochu is like Sake, but stronger.  A spirit rather than a wine.  Normally 25%, dangerous but not deadly.  The bottles look the same, the liquid looks the same.  This particular bar (little place where you sit at the counter and behind is a guy with a charcoal grill) has over 120 types of Shochu.  It's made from either potato, wheat, or rice.  It tastes good, although you may not think so.  Just drink it with ice, or maybe soda water.  Bit like a vodka soda.

Shochu top fact:
In Okinawa people drink Shochu a lot with water, and people in Okinawa are the longest living community on earth, 110 years old is not uncommon.  So it must be good for you.

Anyway, here is what I had for dinner.

That on the right is raw (yes, RAW) chicken liver. At the top you can see some crushed garlic. Put a little garlic on the liver, dip it in the sauce and eat. It tasted pretty good. But I had to drink a lot more shochu to keep my mind off what I was doing.

The other items going clockwise are chicken intestines (thankfully cooked), some kind of stomach muscles as best I could understand (raw), and chicken thigh (raw also)..
 
Followed by:
 

This is garlic cloves (boiled with some sauce, and raw squid (kind of smelly), my least favourite.
 
Afterwards went to a sports bar for the Spain match.  They did not win, I think they're a bit like England when it comes to the big occasions.

Went home and tried to watch the late match (3.30am local time).  Completely missed it and woke up on the sofa this morning.  Had an 8 hour meeting with an interpreter today.  Just finished work now, it's 8pm.  Time to watch some more football!

Tsuyu

Japan rainy season (Tsuyu) has started.

Warm, humid, wet.  Everyone seems lethargic all of a sudden.  Or it could be lack of sleep from the world cup.

This weekend I am getting out of town.  Far out to a place called Aomori,it's the northernmost part of this Island, should be completely remote, very different pace of life, language, scenery, economy, food, you name it.  3 hours by bullet train!

Shibuya

Annabel sent me this.  I dont shop in Zara, but the video is worth a look if you are interested in Tokyo style, the camerawork is amazing.

Nicely captures a slice of life walking around Shibuya (near where I live).  I should know, I've spent enough time gawking at Japanese girls there!  :)

New Zara Store promo vid on Youtube

In other news... an eruption of blogging!

This is a post of some semi-random musings on the volcano Eyjafjallajokull.

"Hah!  Easy for you to say...."

Twitter:

Am following a number of Twitter sites including @Eurocontrol, who are very open about replying to information of what is going on in European airspace.  Also the mildly amusing @Eyjafjallajokull, who may or may not be the official Twitter account of the volcano itself.  (Bio: "I'm a lava not a fighter")

Conspiracy nuts:

NATO conducting one of the largest exercises in Northern Europe, combination of operations including Operation Brilliant Mariner, using air sea and ground forces in UK, Netherlands, France, and Germany, started 12 April and scheduled to finish 22 April.  The same day the airspace over the exact same countries is due to reopen.

Other stuff:

Here is a link of a bunch of people trying to pronounce the name of the volcano.

The name Eyjafjallajokull scores 47 points in Scrabble!

My NZ passport has flown from Heathrow to Germany and then to Hong Kong!!

DHL Airwaybill # - xxxxxxxxxx - Detailed Report



April 16, 2010 15:35 Lambeth - UK Shipment picked up
April 16, 2010 18:57 Lambeth - UK Departing origin
April 16, 2010 18:59 Lambeth - UK Processed at Lambeth - UK
April 16, 2010 20:50 Lambeth - UK Departed from DHL facility in Lambeth - UK
April 16, 2010 20:59 London-Heathrow - UK Arrived at DHL facility in London-Heathrow - UK
April 16, 2010 22:25 London-Heathrow - UK Departed from DHL facility in London-Heathrow - UK
April 18, 2010 12:38 Leipzig - Germany Processed at Leipzig - Germany
April 19, 2010 02:59 Leipzig - Germany Shipment on hold
April 19, 2010 12:53 Leipzig - Germany Departed from DHL facility in Leipzig - Germany
April 20, 2010 10:20 Hong Kong Hub - Hong Kong Arrived at DHL facility in Hong Kong Hub - Hong Kong


How?? Presumably not by sea....  Wont try to explain why I simultaneously sent my NZ passport to be renewed in London and my British one in Tokyo.  Both done and returned inside of 2 weeks, including volcano...

Finally.......

The last wish of the Icelandic economy was to have its ashes scattered over Europe.

So, what`s it like? (2)

I am getting a bit bored of this blog.  Which is probably natural.

It was originally set up to avoid the annoying group/spam/distribution e-mails which inevitably follow when you go overseas, drawn out updates clogging up mailboxes worldwide.  This way I put my thoughts (supported by a formidable cross section of technology: 3 Twitter accounts, 7 e-mail accounts, Skype, 2 mobile phones, 3 laptops, camera, Facebook, Linkedin, my own Youtube channel, lots of pen and paper) as they are relevant to me, without too much worry about audience impact, people can browse if they wish.

My guess, is that my audience (you) are probably at a similar, yawn, kind of stage... so soon I will wrap this little baby up.  Maybe a few more posts, a brief summation of the meaning of life, that kind of thing.

I have to think about whether to start a more public blog after that or leave it.  I have contemporaries, you know, inspiring business related stuff.  Profile building.  I dont think I will.

To relieve the boredom, here are some things that have happened to me in the last month....

• My 17th visitor has stayed (my mum) since I've been here
• I walked smack into the glass door of McDonalds at 3am, cut nose, black eye, chipped tooth (nice)
• Stopped going to the local McDonalds out of embarrassment
• Made some cute Japanese friends
• Wished I had been more able to meet more Japanese friends
• Went to Hanami party (cherry blossom viewing) where I discovered that the Hanami party is more about drinking alcohol than viewing cherry blossom
• Went to some more Hanami parties
• Worked a 16 hour day, a 60 hour week, worked a Saturday and a Sunday, had conference calls at 10pm, had 35 meetings in a week.
• Took a chill pill and didnt work so crazily, for a day or two...
• Restructured my sales team and started the process to hire 3 more people including one to poach from UK
• Ate sushi in the Tsukiji fish market, the biggest fish market in the world, and possibly the best sushi I have ever eaten (and I have eaten a lot)
• Changed my Japanese teacher and I am learning twice as fast as before
• Started reading as well as speaking
• Went to Sydney and gave my niece a mini-Kimono and the little shoe things that go with it
• Went to new restaurants - Indonesian, Italian, American, French, English, and... um, Japanese
• Drank lots of beer, sake, and wine...
• Ate amazing food every day
• Got lesson off my mum on how to read music and planned to buy second hand electric piano
• Had my apartment loo changed to an electric one with sounds and gadgets
• Started bowing out of courtesy to people I dont even know
• Went to the gym a lot because the weather was a bit crap for running

..... Found myself more incumbent, involved, and interested to the point that I dont feel like an observer anymore....

:)