10 things

Is it really lame that I love the movie '10 things I hate about you' ? The story isn't particularly that great and Heath Ledger was never one of my favourites dead or alive, (although he was pretty hot in a singlet) but I think I like the main chick, Julia... Morris? No, that's an Australian comedian. Stiles...? I can't be arsed checking, but that girl. She just seems less fake than some other actors, or maybe she is acting like she is less fake which makes her a good actor...? I digress.
I like the movie and haven't seen it for ages, trip to tsutaya might be in order. That's a big lie, I just want an excuse to get on the scooter.
So here are my 10 things I love and hate about Japan.

10 things I hate about Japan

1) The racism. Not towards 'cute' whities like myself but towards other asian races, especially Korea and China, but that's a rant for another post.

2) The lack of rule bendism. Bendism is never going to be a word... But staff or officials will never bend the rules for you here, I like it in some ways, but only when it suits me! hehe

3) Predictability. Again, this is something that I like in some ways, but everything here seems to be quite predictable; service, people's response to behaviour etc. Maybe uniformity is a better choice of words...?

4) Air quality. Being from a coastal city in Australia I crave windy clear days with blue skies and puffy white clouds.

5) Crowds. I could not be short here, it would drive me nuts, the fact that I am 6ft tall and usually tower over the hoards of people is great.

6) 'Cuteness'. Sometimes it all just gets too much.

7) The 'lucky girl' sprite ad on TV. Following on from #6, has anyone seen this commercial?? It has a 'cute' J-girl singing horrible horrible english lyrics in a voice that makes me want to rip my ears off. Lyrics include; "handsome guy watching me!" "big money hitting me" I AM A LUCKY GAAAAARRRRLLL!"

8) Lack of greetings. I'm famous in our little neighbourhood for saying hello when I pass people I vaguely know, it shouldn't be something special, it's just good manners for me.

9) TV and over-acting in movies. As addicted as I am to some shows and dramas here, it's only for lack of anything better. The shows aren't that bad themselves, but they are ALL the same shit just done in different ways.

10) The fact that it's not really my home. Cos there's no place like home.

10 things I love about Japan

1) The food. The fact that this was on my list, let alone number 1, shows just how Japanese I have become. I still prefer Jasmine rice to Japanese rice but I shouldn't say that out loud because I'm sure there's a very old Japanese law stating this is a hanging offence.

2) Non- agressive people. Okay the drunk ranting salary-man is an exception, but people are a lot more calm here than in Aussie, especially drivers!

3) Being different. I like to stand out, it's an interesting conversation starter.

4) Spring and Autum. I love them in Aussie too but there is something special about cherry blossoms, and the boozing that comes with them.

5) The fact you can get/ drink beer anywhere and anytime and not look like a total bum. My personal favourite is beer at the movies.

6) Safety. Yes, yes, Japan is getting more dangerous blah blah blah, but I still say it is a hell of a lot safer than most places I've been as far as violent crime goes. Of course if you're a granny, don't pick up the phone because it's likely to be a con artist pretending to be your grandson needing money.

7) Efficiency. In my 4 years living here, even as a foreigner who's Japanese was pretty shite to begin with things still seem to work, nothing is impossible. Trains are also on time, a miracle in Australia.

8) Customer service. I can say there have only been a few times I've been miffed with the customer service here and even those are pretty minor compared to the crappy service back home.

9) Sleeping culture. It's not considered lazy to just take a nap when you're knackered, you just sprawl out on the tatami and have everyone step on over you.

10) Slippers. Weird choice perhaps, but I HATE having bare feet or getting my feet dirty. In Japan I am constantly wearing house slippers and love it.

We're going to Ryota's dad's house for his Grandma's one year memorial service tomorrow. She died last year so the monk will come to the house and do the chanting gig.
I was dreading sitting on my knees for an hour straight when I realised I can use Ashton to get out of it, little shit will probably sleep the whole time but I'll be pinching his fat rolls to wake him up so I can go outside I think.
It killed me last year but I had to stand (or sit) my ground because everyone expected that it was impossible for the foreigner to sit on her legs for so long. They were right, I couldn't walk for about an hour after.
There may be shochu fuelled family biffs tomorrow, Ryota's dad's side of the family are always having an argument of some kind. I hope so, I need some excitement this week. I'll let you know!