Drinkies and fishies and monkies, oh my...

Look! My fishies have a home, not just any home either, a big arse playboy mansion type home!!

Ryota must have sensed my anxiety yesterday because when I got home last night this big arse tank complete with pump and rocks, and food and stuff was in the genkan! I'm definitely more excited to try and look after them now, at least if one of them do die, we can just replace it! That grimy little box we had them in was just way too 'kawaisou', even if I do use the most annoying word in the world myself.

Last night I met up with Green eyed Geisha and her beau for dinner and drinks in Osaka. I have to say I was a little nervous before I went, GEG is the very first blog I ever read about Japan, I was addicted to her dry sense of humour and wit from the very first time I read her and it was a little intimidating to meet her in person after reading for so long! But I can say without a doubt that she is just as charming, hilarious and lovely as I could ever have imagined, I had a great night and wish we could meet up more often. (My MIL was also nervous when I said I was meeting a 'blog person,' she said if it was a dirty old man with a fetish for gaijin I should call her immediately, and Grandma suggested I take BIL as an escort!) Another reason I was nervous I guess is the fact that being with someone with no kids was like reverting back to my old life, possibly being in my old Osaka stomping ground reminded me of those days too. Part of me wanted to fuck the last train off and go and get fucked up at an izakaya until 8 in the morning, but responsible me took over and had me home not too late and/or sozzled.

Being a gaijin is all about identity and when you have a halfuu with you, there is no hiding what you are, no mystery. You are nothing but a mother, in Japan for the long run.
But when you're simply a girl who looks different to everyone else people wonder what your story is, Has she been here long? Does she work here? Is she a tourist? Does she want to teach me English for free? Is she Russian?? I don't know which one is worse: being put in the mother box, or being surrounded in mystery with no clear role... Something to ponder anyway. If I realised one thing, it's that I really really miss living in the city. The bright lights, big haired girls and convenience of every kind on every street corner, from hair brading salons to blow job shops, I miss it!!! (Well, not the blow job shops so much but...) This point was cemented firmly when on the way home from our car park to the house, a big slimy frog jumped out of the rice paddy in front of us. Lucky the fucker didn't get my foot, it would have been kicked into the next prefecture.

Oops, almost forgot the last bit of the title... This week is Obon, so we had to pray for Grandpa's soul this morning, the monk was doing his chanting gig when I slipped in quietly after I'd been running. (much to Grandma's dismay!) The monk finished his little drum banging, chanting spiel and actually physically jumped when he saw me, turned to MIL and said: "What the fuck, who is she?! I can't speak English!!" He was so panicked, I think he just got a shock because he's known the family for so long and had never met me, he started sweating even more (I didn't even know that was possible) and still wasn't even assured when I introduced myself IN JAPANESE!! Ryota's uncle who is very very blunt said to him: "What the hell is wrong with you, haven't you ever seen a gaijin before?! If you're so fucking freaked out you should go to her English school and learn something!" Fucking love uncle, even with his rough, scary voice and portable oxygen tank!

OK, I best go stare at my little fishies for a bit, I swear they know it's me, whenever I peek in, they go to one side of the playboy mansion to greet me!