Well, its been a while. Not much has happened, been studying and thats about it. I have been meaning to try this for a while, but never got round to it, last time it was raining. But this weekend, I finally did it, its a bit fast, and you cant really make out much unless you have been there before. But its a start….

Just got back from the all you can eat BBQ place, I am beached and in real pain. Sitting still hurts, moving hurts, even breathing hurts. Not breathing might hurt a bit more. But only a little. I think I have just found a comfortable seating position.

Im not exactly sure what I had to eat but I know that I wouldnt need to eat again today, maybe not even tomorrow.

So why the memory card ? Well, I got my camera out to take a picture of the feast that lay before us only to find that I left the memory card in the computer. There is no onboard memory so I dont have any photos, but Im sure most people have been to an “all you eat” buffet before, well, this one was pretty much the same, aside from the fact there was a small Barbeque pit in the middle of the table, and a selection of raw meats for you to cook to your prefered level of burnt. Or prefered level of charcoal, or as was the case with us, prefered level of getting the meat stuck to the girl, then causing a little fat fire… mmm tasty.

I feel a food coma coming on……..

Today was my Birthday. As you can see I had a nice cake, albeit a small one, but it was very nice. It was supposed to be a surprise but the cat was let out of the bag, however its the thought that counts and it was appreciated.

The teachers clubbed together and bought me a gift card that I can use in a wide range of shops, from the 7/11 to HMV, some restaurants, book shops, and even an Onsen. Actually, I think I can even use it to buy petrol, handy.  Its called a QUO card, and here is a full list of the places I can use it

The card, as you would expect being in Japan, has some cute puppies on it.

I went to the dentist yesterday. I asked at customer services what the procedure was, as I cant speak enough Japanese to explain what is wrong to a dentist. But luckily there is a dentist just around the corner that employs a kiwi, (someone from NewZealand).
I dont have anything majorly wrong, well apart from the wisdom tooth, but that’s coming out in December. What a joyfully Christmas it will be. But anyway, my gums have been really tender since i got here, red and sore. So I thought seeing as I had joined the National Health Insurance Scheme I may as well make use of it.
So I arrive at the dentist, put my slippers on, and attempt to get seen. The receptionist doesn’t speak any English, but i was warned about that, but when I asked about the Kiwi dentist, she had no idea what i was talking about. She disappears and a few minutes later a Dentist appears, he doesn’t look very Kiwi like, that’s because the Kiwi doesn’t work there any more. But this guy speaks some English and eventually he seems me.
Its pretty normal dentist stuff, he asks what wrong I tell him, he has a look, calls out some numbers to his dental nurse, and then says “you have very pretty teeth”, and then puts his hand on my knee. Just kidding, obviously that would only be appropriate on a crowded train. But he says that I have good teeth, which coming from a Japanese dentist isn’t really high praise. He asks if my parents have dentures, give my teeth a quick swab with something. And then asks if I brought a new Toothbrush with me to Japan, because that’s the problem, its too hard.
So there is nothing wrong, I got a new tooth brush and its all good.

Those are not my teeth…..

I finally got round to buying a bike. And what a bike…As I’m in Japan its a Mama Chari, and what a mama she is. She creaks a bit, I think the bottom bracket bearing have seen better days, the light if you can call it that, flickers when it wants to, but it does have a switch on the handle bar to turn it on or off. It does have 4 gears which is quite handy, its not exactly the Himalayan foothills, but its still nice to have them, especially going through the underpass.
However over the last few days the nut securing the pedal arm has come loose, so I need to see if I can borrow a socket to tighten that up, I think the dude next door has one, he seems to be quite into cycles.
The name of the previous owner is still on the bike, and on the front mud guard you can see the guys phone number too. I might give him a call, see if he wants to meet up with the old girl, take her for a spin for old times sake. Or I might not.

more pics after the jump….
…continue reading: Mama Chari