I've been back in the good ol' city of Brissy for 3 days now and one of the things I'm really gonna miss about being a tourist in Japan is the number of things you can get away with just because you're a tourist [and because we can hehe]. I've compiled a list of the absurd things some, most, or all the people I was with in Japan did while we were there:
1. Took photos with all the typical people you find in Japan [geishas, sumo wrestlers, school kids, samurais, Harajuku girls, cosplayers]
2. Took penis and pissing photos with some of Japan's landmarks
3. Took photos of people who slept weirdly on the train
4. Took photos of funny Engrish signs and funny Jap signs and posters
5. Constantly changed Kal's Facebook and MSN status to really inappropriate things [this is more because we could, not because we were tourists muahahahhahaa]
6. Listened to music out loud in public
7. Sang Linkin Park songs at the top of our lungs while walking back to the hotel quite drunk
8. Sang 'Gee' by Girls Generation at the top of our lungs at karaoke even though the only words everyone could properly sing to was 'Gee Gee Gee Gee baby baby baby baby'
9. Ninja ran through a busy train station
10. Ninja ran across Shibuya crossing [one of the busiest intersections in the world]
11. Played Big 2 on a busy train using the aisle for the discard pile
12. Played Big 2 sitting on the sidewalk while waiting for a bus
13. Played Big 2 in an onsen
14. Played Big 2 sitting on the floor at Narita airport
15. Played Big 2 and mah jong at coin laundries
16. Played mah jong with 4 people on the top bunk of a bunk bed
17. Constantly yelling out inappropriate Jap words and phrases in public like お元気ですか？['o genki desu ka? which is meant to mean 'How are you?' but stupidly, I told the guys it meant 'How you doing?' and it kept getting brought up as a pick up line >_<"], 気持ち ['kimochi' which means 'It feels good'] and おっぱい ['oppai' which means 'tits' for those of you playing at home]18. Pretending we knew Jap by adding です [desu] at the end of every English phrase or word [e.g. telephone です, bill です, yes です]19. When we didn't know a Jap word or phrase, acting out the word or phrase or by drawing pictures [this is a LOT funnier than what I make it out to be]
20. Paying for things which only cost a few hundred yen [equivalent to less than AU$10] with 10000 yen notes [equivalent to about AU$120]
21. Paying for meals which cost about AU$200 with lots of coins [and by lots, I'm talking about using at least 50 coins ranging from 1 yen to 500 yen]
22. Made up English subtitles for Japanese dramas on TV
23. Created Asian roadblocks in busy places24. Stood on the train in one straight line staring in one direction, then would periodically change directions throughout the train trip
25. Jogged in and out of the train in a straight line
26. Crab walked out of the train in a straight line
27. Ghost walked in a straight line at the train station
28. Trying to bypass people who work at the train station with expired Japan Rail passes
29. Used Japanese pick up lines at the clubs
30. Wore 浴衣 ['yukata', meaning a traditional Japanese robe] and 下駄 ['geta', meaning Japanese sandals] everywhere from the theatre to the restaurant... we even wore them to sleep on some nights!!
I know there's way more to add to the list but we either didn't get around to doing it, we didn't think about doing it or I've just forgotten to write about it here. Feel free to add to the list and I'll have to make sure I do it or the people I'm with do it next time we're in Japan or in another foreign country hehe
On a related note, I wanna thank the group I was with in Japan for most or all of the trip [Go, Charles, Jess, Djay, Steph, Kal and Nick] for making the Japan trip the awesome time it was. It's been a lotta fun bonding with and getting to know you guys, doing all the touristy things, eating great food, sharing millions of jokes and payouts, and you guys know the rest... you were all there with me hehe I look forward to seeing all the photos and vids again and we'll have to have some kinda Japan trip reunion soon!!
I was looking at my blog from 4 years ago [Holy crap, I've been blogging for THAT long now???] and it's funny reading over stuff I've done or things I said back then hehe It also shows how much I've changed and grown up in the last 4 years. It hasn't been an easy process, but now that I look back, I don't think I'd change much, if anything at all. If I did, I know I wouldn't be the person I am today and not to be too full of myself or anything, but I think i cleaned up alright =P
This is me then.
In 2005,
1. I went through phases of being addicted to something. There was a Scratchies phase, reading manga, reciting Russell Peters quotes, going to the casino, the list goes on.
2. I was going through the awkward transition of uni life.
3. I hung out at Replay a lot.
4. I tasted alcohol and went clubbing for the first time. It was what all the cool kids [well, everyone turning 18 at the time] were doing.
5. I rambled on a lot.
6. I got out of my 3ish year relationship. And I realised just how naive I was about the concept of 'love'.
7. I was hooked on TVB dramas. I dunno how I found time to go out.
8. I was always bitching about my finances. Then again, I bitched about a lotta things.
9. I was learning how to drive.
10. Even though some friendships started to blossom at this time, others were really put to the test.
11. My love for coffee started.
12. I started my job at Myer.
This is me now.
In 2009,
1. I still go through phases of being addicted to something. This year has consisted of phases of mah jong, Mrs Field's cookies, DDR, poker, pool, going to concerts, footy tipping, Restaurant City, chai tea from 3 Monkeys, reciting quotes such as 'It don't matter!' and 'BL la!!', Max Brenner and Korean music, just to name a few.
2. I've settled into uni life and now all I wanna do is graduate and get out!!!
3. I hung out at Replay a lot in the first half of the year, then the name changed to Timezone and I rarely go in now.
4. I'm pretty much over the alcohol and clubbing phase. Don't worry, I still drink and I still go clubbing. It's just not really my scene now.
5. I still ramble a lot. But I save it for my blog and for friends that I vent to.
6. I've been single for almost 2 years. And I really think I've forgotten what it feels like to be in a relationship and to care about someone in THAT way. Oh, and the 'love' thing? It's disappeared from my vocabulary. And no, I'm not talking about the love I have for my family and friends or the love I have for material things like my iPod touch, my clothes or my laptop. I'm talking about the word that people seem to use so fast and loosely these days. So if you care to bring that 4 letter word back into my life with any deep meaning it might have left, I put forward the challenge to anyone. I dare you. In fact, I double dare you.
7. I haven't watched a TVB series in so long. But never fear, the obsession shall start again once I'm back from Japan 'cause I'll be too poor to do anything else =P
8. I don't bitch about my finances anymore but I have found many other replacing topics to bitch about.
9. I'm on my opens and sometimes I still feel like I'm learning how to drive.
10. Once again, as it seems to be the case every year since I've started uni, some friendships have really blossomed and others have really been put to the test. The friend slutting has got to stop =(
11. My love for coffee has been cemented and nobody can ever take that away from me. Unless Gloria Jean's decides to close down. Which I hope it never does!!!
12. It's 4 years later and I'm still at a job that I only wanted to be in temporarily. It's gotten to the point where all the nice perks of the job have long gone and all I want to do is find a new job.
So, there we have it. Old school Angie has been revamped into the 2009 Angie you all know and love now. But from reading where I'm currently at, I think I'm due for another revamp. So watch out everyone!! New and improved, smarter and more sophisticated, sassier and classier, that'll be me soon enough =)
Starting to get into the studying groove. I actually want to do half decently this semester [half decently meaning no 4's!!!] so if it seems like I'm MIA, I'm most likely just cooped up at home. Or at uni. Or I've died trying.
Either way, I leave my beloved readers with my 22 quick rants for this month. Good luck to those who have exams!! The light at the end of the tunnel will come soon enough =)
1. I saw a car that had the personalised plate with my initials AND my birth year. Should've stolen it. The plate, not the car. Actually, maybe the car too.
2. Is it so hard to say what you mean and mean what you say?!
3. Say hello to 1 of the Social Directors of BSA for 2010 =P
4. Damn you Warringah!! Should've won *sighs* But congrats to Shocking... thanks to you, I got half my money back!
5. An early congrats to you. And just to let you know, I will literally cry and cry and cry when you leave me =(
6. Practise what you preach. Like seriously.
7. It'd be so funny if we worked out in real life. Like seriously.
8. I really want to play 4 rounds of mah jong now. Or even 8 rounds. Like seriously.
9. Far out, another choice to make.
10. Best wishes in Melbourne. Gonna miss you terribly especially during the Christmas period =(
11. 幸福掌握在你手上...
12. 14 days to go...
13. 21 days to go...
14. Killing me softly with Red Bull, coffee, hundreds of pages of notes, hundreds of pages of legislation and barely any sleep... killing me softly...
15. Frick, 1 more subject than I thought. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
16. Multi-language exam mix ftw =)
17. MUST PAY OFF CREDIT CARD BILL IMMEDIATELY!!!
18. Must burn off this ever-increasing fat after 15th December.
19. I'm so happy for you and hope that things will work themselves out.
20. Sleep is especially good when the time you're awake is spent studying.
21. Maybe I should move too. Moving's so hot right now.
22. I want to reconcile the violence in your heart
I want to recognize your beauty's not just a mask
I want to exorcise the demons from your past
I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart...
