orange you happy to see me!

Its the end of the semester so trying to juggle final presentations, assignments etc.
Here's some birthday flowers. Orange must be in season, got them separately.

Will post rest of overdue pics when I am done being studious.

Happy (belated) birthday to me

Yes, 27 and none the wiser...

and if anyone is actually ardently following my 'pic-a-day' update that is to happen every few days...
the reason it hasn't happened in the last few days is because... as small as my apartment is..
i cannot find the cable that will allow me to download the pics from my camera to my laptop.

there.

I'm not lazy, only messy.

But I do have nice snaps to share and talk about.  really, I do.

until then, then.

Fiji sighting!

This whole 'pic-a-day' thing is turning out to be brilliant idea.

I was early for my part-time teaching job today (Business English conversation to a bunch of people at a toilet manufacturing company).

To kill time/feed appetite and escape the cold I stopped by Starbucks for a drink. Usually I would not admit to using Starbucks, and probably only ever do once in 3 months or so. And in very desperate situations. This was one of them. It was very cold outside and I had a craving for a Matcha latte (green tea latte) which I love so much that it deserves its own post. So yeah, don't judge me.

Sitting upstairs, overlooking the street and sipping on the warm goodness, being thankful to be out of the cold for another 30 minutes or so... blankly staring out the window...and screeeeeech. *slams breaks on vision*
blinkblinkblink....try to try to focus on the familiar blue with an even more familiar four letter word...FIJI!!!!

Quickly reach into bag and jerk out camera and start snapping like a crazy person.

Tada!

OMFG....my first FIJI Water van sighting overseas!!! (its like being at the movies back home when you see the Fiji Water logo/bottle/van, but being IN the movie)

This one is slightly blurry but the slogan on the back was interesting:

Yes it really is from (either they ran out of paint, or we are supposed to read the FIJI on the side of the van, or its a new trend in advertising that I am too thick to get.)

either way, FIJI Water sighting woohoo!!

(also, I always wondered why despite being so famous they never have FIJI Water in vending machines here. I even emailed the company information section after my first year here inquiring as to why that was. They sent a lackluster reply with no additional information saying: We do supply FIJI Water to Japan. endofstory.)

Fight the fondling

I've seen this sign around town a few times, no not the 'ladies toilet' one... the little warning next to it which basically reads: 'beware of gropers'. Yes, gropers (or chikan as they are known here).

As safe as Japan is, this is one of those disturbing stories you hear of.
Its especially common in packed trains during the morning commute when some men try to cop a feel. I've heard stories from friends of friends, mainly Japanese women who have fallen victim to these a-holes on the train.

The worst part is that most Japanese women silently suffer through it, I assume thats why you don't usually hear of foreign women being groped, we'd turn around and kick balls while screaming commuters ears off. Although, because the train is packed in so tight, its usually hard to identify who the groper was, and that's how they get away with it.
A friend of mine, naturally disgusted by the story mentioned how perverted and sick one would have to be to consider sexually harassing people at 7 in the morning on the bleary-eyed, sleep deprived commute to work. Seriously. The only thing I can think of in the morning is either how I should be asleep or on a coffee drip (not to be confused with drip coffee).
So there you go, that's the 'beware of gropers' pic of the (yester)day.

And while on that issue, I have realised that although I am able to take a pic daily, it was a tad ambitious of me to think that I could upload/blog about it on a daily basis too.

So here's the new plan, I take a pic daily, but put it up when I can.

kthanksbye.

Sweeeeeeeing!

I love swings. (and you can keep the swinging jokes to yourself. thanks.)

I think it stems from reading 'The Swing in the Summerhouse' by Jane Langton as a child.
It tells the story of a gazebo-like summerhouse with a swing that allows you to transport into alternate worlds as you jump off of the swing mid-flight.
Each archway gives you a different adventure, and one is forbidden because of a risk of no return.

Luckily I never tried jumping off any swings that did more damage than a scraped knee. What can I say, I was a gullible child with a vivid imagination.

So yeah, still love swings, and I love Tokyo for allowing me to indulge in them.
Smack-bang in the middle of a concrete jungle and yet there's a park every few blocks with a few monkey-bars, a slide and swing set thrown in.

And I love how safe and quiet this city is, which allows me to go sit out in the park, on a swing, at odd hours of the night when I cant sleep.

This is not the closest swing to my house, its about 10minutes away on the bike.
The one closer to my place is nicer in the warm weather, and located on a hill so I can see over a bit of the city when I am in mid-air.

And yes, I'm a little less gullible now. Only a little.