The shoe saga
Shoe shopping. Sometimes it’s blissfully easy. Walk into the shop, spot the perfect pair immediately, the fit’s great, on sale, boom. Done. And sometimes… well. Consider the whole day a writeoff. For me, shopping for shoes is a ‘take the day off’ adventure. I have very small feet. And small everything else, to be honest. […]
Sakura night fever
Japan’s cherry blossom season is coming to an end. It’s been a fun two weeks, and it always feels quick. Even Christmas in Japan lasts longer than the sakura petals do. This was my first full sakura season, and all I can say about it is… FINALLY, the madness is dying down. Most of my […]
Gawd, save us all
“This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but with a whimper.” The Hollow Men, a poem by T.S. Eliot, seems uncomfortably accurate today. Article 50’s finally been triggered, with all the ‘excitement’ of a soggy continental breakfast at a Campanile hotel. (You should probably try one of those while you still can.) […]
The older man and the beer can
Festivals in Japan tend to bring out the worst in some people. The kinds of people who carry four cameras and a stepladder, and don’t see a problem with that. For example, this is from Aizen Matsuri last year: But stay alert, my friends. People will try to ruin your day even when they’re not […]
The Vagina Monologues, Osaka
I’m not totally sure how this happened, but I nearly made it to the ripe age of 30 without having seen The Vagina Monologues. Smack on the wrist. Luckily for me, my friends put on a performance this month. Shows are generally overseen by the V-Day feminist organisation, giving people the freedom to run their […]
The Office Sunset Blues
Take a good look at this photo. Go on, I’ll wait. Once you peer past the stacks of paperwork, the confusingly shredder-shaped dehumidifier, and the dual-monitor setup – that’s a pretty damn nice sunset, right? This photo was taken from my work desk. It was something like 5.15pm. Painfully close to clocking out and grabbing […]
