4 things...

I love a good mememe, I think I did this one a while back, but my answers may change.

Four jobs I’ve had
PO clerk
Police liaison and call centre manager
Pub manager
Waitress

Four movies I can watch over and over
Napolean Dynamite
The Life Aquatic
Grease
Delicatessin

Four places I’ve lived
Wallasey, Merseyside, UK
Birmingham, UK
Kanagawa, Japan
Tokyo, Japan

Four TV shows I love
The Office (UK)
Spaced
Sex and the City
This Life

Four places I’ve vacationed
Sydney, Australia
Goa, India
Croatia, Europe
Wales

Four of my favorite dishes
Veggie cooked brekkie - fake bacon, Quorn sausages and so on
Christmas dinner (with fake meats)
Sushi
Nabe

Four sites I visit daily (well I visited today)
http://www.hotmail.com/
www.flickr.com
http://www.google.com/
www.blogger.com

Four places I would rather be right now
London
UK (lincoln, Liverpool, Wallasey, Bristol, any location which has a cluster of friends or family)
Australia (Tour with Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide to see my buddies.
Europe
Actually I'm a teensy bit homesick at the mo, so the break in Japan will do me good, but what I really want is some good old fashioned chats with my Mum, Dad and Bro and access to my friends for advice and counsel and drinking and closeness.

Four bloggers I am tagging
Nix
Rinaldo
Jo
Timorousbeastie

So there you go - a nice little indulgence for the New Year.

Happy New Year!

We're off to Hyogo-ken for New Year with the family for 5 days. So have a wonderful New Year and let's hope 2007 is a great, peaceful, productive and positive year.

How many ears does Mr Spock have?

3 - the right ear, the left ear and the final front-ear.

Have a banana.

Anyway, Mr Sugi was putting out the rubbish the other day and what should he spot a man putting in the garbage? A huge bag of Star Treks. HUGE BAG. There were about 10-15 box sets in there and as Mr S has seen them all and Mrs S is not remotely interested in Star Trek, we have acquired them. I thought I would not be interested either, but now I cannot stop watching. I have dates with Jean Luc Picard every day. I make it so.

Last night I went out drinking with 2 GFs so today is a fuzzy of head day. I met Mrs S and Sas in the park then went for lunch with them and Ms Pixie joined us. We arranged to meet at the crepe shop in Harajuku 'La Felice'. Ms P went to a different crepe restaurant and called to ask where we were, we were in the other one and had ordered. We all had a chat and a crepe or two. I can really really recommend La Felice. Mrs S and I have been going there for about 5 years. The crepes are fantastic (buckwheat, savory and fabulous sweet ones too), the cafe au lait is delicious and is served in bowl, the kir are fantastic and there is always a cute French waiter. The ambience of the place is just lovely and they play cool music. If you want to visit this place it is near Anna Sui, just behind Chanel (or is it Dior?) and near the Starbucks just off Omotesando. It is on the corner and is painted red. Go there, it is a great place.

So now I am wasting time, watching Star Trek the Next Generation and Scotty has just reappeared. Ooh Data is clocking him and he's talking about synthetic scotch. I need to go make dinner now...

Ooooh Mama

Today it was 20 degrees centigrade. It is December 27th. In the Northern Hemisphere. This means it was warmer today than my wedding day in England. In August.

AM A GENIUS.

LOOK > Over there. On the right. I did it. Finally I managed to add my fave Blogs to the sidebar. I am very happy. I just had to get out of bed, have a go and allow myself a few hours to get it right. But I managed it first go.

The sun is shining. I feel my head beginning to ease its way out of my rear. I may even make it out of the house today. Baby steps. I have a list. I will eliminate everything from the list. I can now eliminate 'add Blogs to Blog' from the list.

It is very very windy so I should do washing tout de suite. Ah, by the end of the week I will be making elaborate plans that I will never follow through on again and be back to my usual self. I will prepare a feast for my neglected husband tonight. But not before going out to celebrate by buying some birthday presents and maybe even treating myself to a little something. Hello Shinjuku. Are you ready to rumble? My silky smooth vibrated hair is coming.

Must book leg wax. It's a jungle down there. Must book haircut. It's silky smooth but the ends are like a haystack.

Today's music is The Cure. Just watched more Star Trek. There's a reason why I am watching lots of Star Treks.

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season.

Boxing Day

So Christmas is over. My hair is silky smooth from the vibrating hairbrush Kei gave me and I have been eating and drinking for days. I am wathcing the most shocking pile of offensive rubbish on the TV. I can't even be bothered to give details. It involves boobs and bums a lot and male comedians.
Christmas was on Saturday - we decided to celebrate our Christmas dinner on that day round at April and Toshi's and as usual, April put on a lovely spread.


And we enjoyed watching Sas open his gifts as well as getting some good ones ourselves.



Sasuke has chicken pox, but put on a good show nonetheless. Poor little fellow was so itchy and spotty.

This Christmas has been very unchristmasey. I have just not been in the mood. I am cross with myself for letting myself slip into Christmas apathy as I love this time of year, it's such fun and it really is just what you make of it. But I'm just not on good form right now. It has been an amazing year and I am hoping to regain some momentum to close the year on a positive note, but sometimes, you just feel a bit low and this is one of those times. Head up arse, trying to figure our best exit procedure. Husband is an absolute star. He lets me get on with it and gently encourages me. Who could not love a man who gives you a vibrating hairbrush for Christmas? I'm bit homesick this year too. I am being all the things I hate. So today I stayed in bed until the afternoon then watched Star Trek episodes while trying to clean up a bit, but motivation is very low indeed. So tomorrow I resolve to get up and get active in the morning and feel useful and get back on track. Be positive and remember that all is well, all is good and sometimes a tiny blip on the radar is just that, a tiny blip on the radar. It is time to get back to feeling possibilities. I love feeling possibilities. Ooh just vocalising it started something. Can't wait to get away for a few days and find refuge in the bosom of my husband's family. And take a break from Tokyo.


It is stormy today. I has been raining hard hard hard all day and now it is thunder and ligtning. We received a package of live scallops (hotate) through the post so now Kei is getting them out of the shell. It is a real job, but they are good. Last night Kei took me for sushi to our local sushi shop. We love it there. Their sushi is TOP NOTCH and we tucked in to the finest cuts. Then we opened out pressies and had a mini bottle of champagne and watched a few episodes of Fawlty Towers (Thanks Matt)

I actually had Christmas lunch at the Meguro Tavern with April, Toshi, Sasuke, Keving and Kate and it was fantastic. They had a proper veggie option of fake meats and I love fake meats. Love em. And cheese and port at the end. And I love me a drop of port too. Kei had to work as Christmas day is not a national holiday here in Japan. We bumped into the Shentons there.
I was supposed to see them Christmas Eve, but unfortunately as Sas had the pox, we decided it was best for me to stay away just in case I spread it around the babies, of which there are many. I haven't had Chicken pox and thus far haven't shown any symptoms, so should be OK.

The first thing I saw on Christmas morning was a sad sad sight.
This bear, a giant among bears found himself in the rubbish truck. On Christmas day.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Dear Santa

One and All
Originally uploaded by sigsy.

Dear Santa for Christmas this year I would like a kick ass camera, preferably a Nikon D80. Dear Santa I have been a good girl. Yet am poor. Please dear Santa let my Christmas wish come true.

From Sarah Louise Francesca Furuya age 35 and a quarter.

PS we have no chimney - come through the air con. It doesn't really work anyway.

YOU

This man is the shit
Originally uploaded by sigsy.

Bored in the Bank

I'm in a bank and bored. So I think I'll have a Starbucks calorie laden festive coffee. Then teach someone. Then go home and hope the husband is home so I'm not bored at home.

I don't feel like cooking. Or tidying up the void of our home. There is a lull in enthusiasm. Roll on our little break.

bored.
bored.
bored.

coffee.
teach.
Home.

Today started out well...

9.30 meet April go shopping for Christmas dinner

11.30 Hot yoga with friend

1.30 Leisurely lunch with friend

3.30 Mosy on home to check email and get ready to go out

4.20 GET MESSAGE FROM LOVELY PRIVATE STUDENT ASKING WHERE I AM FOR 4PM LESSON AAAAAAAAHHHHH.

4.21 walk around the house swearing like a tourettes

4.22 email apology and offer a new time for no charge.

4.23 AM so wracked with guilt consider praying

4.30 sign in and Blog it instead.

4.34 Still wracked with guilt - no response from student. God I feel awful.

This is what happens when you get caught between diaries and think you have a day off.

But it's not all Bad!

Acrylic painting 5ft by 4ft
Originally uploaded by mangolozolo.

I then went on to Shinjuku, still a bit weepy, did some successful shopping then headed out to my private student. After that I went to dinner in Hiroo with some lovely ladies, headed up by Louise. All of them recent Mums, they were lovely company and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Food was good too. Cicada in Hiroo.

Then I got home and just behind me followed my husband. He reached into his pocket and produced - the cards that were too small. He had called the Post Office and ridden up to the central place and recovered them from mail jail, or wherever it is that too small cards go. I was so happy I had to Blog it.

Then after I came home and logged I experienced what is the wonderful thing about Christmas, old friends come back to the fore. And this picture is a painting by one such friend. The endlessly talented Conor Wilson. You should check him out. Seeing his paintings again took me right back to the 1990s where we all lived in shared houses and I went out with one of his friends, the delightful, hilarious skater Mr Davis. It was a great time of life, answering the phone to Uri Geller, spending days and nights in hedonistic pursuits and having access to some of the finest curries on the planet. The soundtrack would be 'Black Sabbath' and 'Biggy Smalls'.

It's been a funny old week with a few things happening at work that threw me off centre. But there are the little things. The things that creep up and surprise you. Like messages from friends. Like lovely dinners with good people. And perfect gestures from the person you need the most...

Today I cried in the street...

Yesterday I bought loads of lovely Christmas cards. They were all tiny, some of them pop ups no more than 6cms square. So lovely. Last night I spent all evening writing and addressing them. Today I posted half of them and, as I only had enough stamps for those few, went to the post office. There was one that had a few more tiny cards inside so I decided to weigh it. But as the PO clerk saw it she made the international gesture for 'not possible' then measured it and it was too small to post. TOO SMALL TO POST. All 40 of the cards I had written, half of which were in the post box outside were TOO SMALL TO POST. I explained to the girl that i had already posted cards outside and she drew me a picture. Of a post box. And a stick man. With an arrow pointing at the stick man and the 'man' drawn. She then added the detail 17.15-17.45. Then she said speak. I deciphered this to mean that I should wait for an unspecified time outside the Post Office from 17.15. Wait for the man. Tell him my story, presumably with stick drawings and rescue my too small post.

I started to cry and left. It was 16.55. I openly wept jumbo tears in the street and decided I was not going to wait around to further humiliate myself with some strange interaction with a poor old embarrassed PO worker and took up an alley and called my husband and relayed the story to him. Then decided I was definitely not going to wait outside the Post office and took off to Shinjuku and to the rest of my evening instead.

John and Yoko

John and Yoko
Originally uploaded by sigsy.

On Friday night we went to my work Christmas party and it was 60s and 70s theme. We went as John and Yoko and took the prize!

You have gotta love this Blog

http://burgerlog.blogspot.com/

A boy freaking

My friend just came out of a relationship where they weren't treated very well. Here is the plea for new blood. Written on a mobile phone no less. And this isn't all of it. I really wanted to record it and blog the recording because the delivery was amazing as well as hilarious.

"Who is this boy you speak of (*^_^*) ? i just came out of a f#cked up relationship ...uggh boys. I need a nice sweet boy who is normal.oh.... and who worships me, knows how to cook or at least where the fantastic restaurants are, and isnt a polygamist... a boy with traditional values about relationships yet open and eager to speak about untraditonal topics.... ruggedly cute but not too cute... mild quirks so i can recognize him in a crowded place (wherein by the way he will be comfortably and respectably chatting with others while subtley acknowledging to me that he is thinking about me and aware of where I am) which is my hot foreplay for the psyche. Timing. A man with good taste in booze , but doesnt flap on about this taste as he is almost unaware of it because it is just part of his character.who teaches me humbly. ....a man who is honest, loyal, and funny....loves travel and wants to travel with me.... likes great dinners pahhhties with friends but likes cuddling with ice cream and me just as much. A faux extrovert introverted guy who has the ability to share thoughts honestly and openly...You know, all my friends love him at dinner parties because of his natural charm and his lust for life but staying home with Godiva white chocolate raspberry swirl ice cream,(shit do they still make that??) and me excites him too.well as you can see i havent thought about this much ....hm maybe I just need a good conversation for now with somebody who is f#"$%&g REAL. that was kind of fun going all harlequin on your ass though.. anyone will do i suppose. "

By the way - he pretty much described himself there. Love ya.

Sasuke - Lord of Rap

All hail Sasuke the Lord of the Rap - once again proving his talents. Check it out - look at his angry rant his earnest mouthings. He is THE GREATEST!

PIL - Rise

Heartachingly nostalgic. I saw them in 1991 at a Sports Centre in Birmingham. I don't remember much about. I truly think this is an amazing song. The melodies, the loops, the lyrics and John Lydon.

Table love and sad goodbyes...

Why is it I can't be bothered at the moment? I had a dream this morning that I was with my ex boyfriend from when I was 19 and I was not with my husband. I was really upset in my dream and had no idea what had happened. It was the last dream that I had as I was waking and I woke up kind of panicked and was so pleased when I realised it was just a dream and I still loved my husband and was still with him. No offense ex boyf if you happen to read this. Which is unlikely. You were lovely. I just hated that I had f-d my marriage.

We got a table and chairs in the flat. And it has in no small way transformed it. It has made my life better. I have somewhere to prepare food. We can sit down and enjoy a meal together and have a chat and listen to music. We could have done that before, but we ended up on the tatami watching TV most of the time. Now we have time to ourselves. Having a table really does introduce a heart to the home. Thanks C and G. So as we were sitting there tonight eating our nabe, catching up and listening to the Ipod on shuffle, Kei says 'you were right' 'Why?' 'It is nice having a table'. Astounding. This is the man who usually rains on my little parades, pisses on my bonfires and is endlessly cynical about the little things that improve the quality of my life. Like a table and chairs.

I have said goodbye this week to 2 sets of friends. The lovely Paul. Going back to US to NY.

Alice and her family heading back to England.

And of course C and G and L. Back to UK for a couple of weeks before heading off to Melbourne for a new life Down Under.

Heartbreaking, but also part of life's rich tapestry. Pass the prozac.

All good though. So there were sayonara parties. Sayonara dinners. Renting cars and moving stuff and just hanging out together. And I just haven't had the motivation to keep the Blog up to date as even though I have time off I am as busy as ever because all the personal things I have been putting off due to working have come home to roost and my non work days have been filled with other stuff. Blimey. Not that I'm complaining, that's simply how life is managed here in me.

Other than that I have still been uploading to Flickr like mad, there are some vintage things in there now. Check it out...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sigsyintokyo/

Tragic

I am home alone.


Watching Home Alone.

The Last Day at School

Yay. It's the last day of school today. I really feel the need for a break to sort out my flat. It has been a pretty hectic few weeks. There have been events and outings and sickness. And this entry is near pointless but I thought I should make it.

Apologies for wasting your precious time....

"Every year I trip with my family"

Yes - it's test time again. The time of year when I marvel over how kids, whose text book contains the phrase 'invoked retaliatory measures', meet me with the stunning reply of 'HEH?' when I ask the complex question 'How are you today?'. You see I added the word 'today' to the stock phrase 'How are you?' thus unfairly throwing them into a state of shock and confusion.

Interesting though was that today I found out that one girl's father is a diplomat and she lived in Isreal for 4 years.

Another chap revealed that he is hearing impaired and showed me his hearing aids. He has them in both ears. He also shared that he is worried for his future. He wanted to be a lawyer but there is some rule in Japan that prevents him from being one. He wasn't able to explain further, but it was interesting nonetheless.

I also found that there are an awful lot of kids who like to trip with their families. Tripping with my family. Good God what a thought.

Espionage, death by magnet and 'What Happened to the Princess of Clothes?'

In reading the BBC News today I was intrigued.

Firstly this story of the Russian spy who was poisoned and was radioactive is an espionage story of massive proportions. Straight out of 24 or James Bond. It is fascinating. Now radioactive traces have been found in various locations that he had visited.

Fridge magnets can kill you. If you have a weak heart. I got a fridge magnet as a gift from my friend's Mum and Dad. It seemmed like such a nice present at the time. In retrospect...

Al Fayed wants the Diana case opened again. Dear God let it lie. Let it lie. Here's you're inquest:

The Princess of Clothes got in a car with her boyfriend and was driven to her death by a man who was pissed. The pissed man was driving too fast through a tunnel with a bend and with a fleet of photographers who between them couldn't define the word ethic or privacy in hot pursuit.

Simple. Pissed driver. High speed car chase. Tunnel with sharp bend. How much inquiry do you need?

There - that's the News today from one stark staring barking yapping mad island about another. Love them both.

U2

So I recovered after 2 days off work and managed to make it to U2 . It was great. Really great. They were great. There was a 'nice' atmosphere. I'm happy because now I'm an ole lady a wild concert would have freaked the bootlegs off of me. And I was with me 7 month preggers mate.
So the tameness was more than welcome.

I dance like your Aunty Jan might at a wedding. Imagine Aunty Jan. She wears skin tight blue jeans tucked into her suede heeled knee highs. She wears a shirt and a waistcoat. When Status Quo comes on she starts tapping her thighs and jiggin a bit. Swap the skintights for Gap bootlegs, the shirt for a Shanghai Tang long sleeved tee and the boots for a pair of sheepskin Merrells and you've got me at the beginning of the the concert. Rubbish. By the end I was rockin the free world like I was back in 1994 when I could dance the floor off the Que Club and I would show my belly button ring.

I cried. When they sang 'One'.


I got so excited I involuntarily jumped in the air. They played classics. They played newies.


They did not disappoint. Bono can still belt them out. My God 2 and a half hours of running around and singing-I get tired after 2 karaoke songs in a row.



One of the 2 encores included 'Mysterious Ways'. That was just amazing - I had forgotten how much I loved that song. The graphics were amazing as well. So much energy.



I would NEVER show my belly ring now.