Kasabian in Japan

He's one fast learner,

It's Ike "the fist" Turner!

Re-arrived Christmas flavored hellos to you all!

After two weeks slithering around the land of my birth dousing myself with all solids and spirits that had the misfortune to cross my path I'm finally back sushi-side. Umm.. Hurrah!

Apparently this is visiting season as next weekend my dear ole chum Colin sidles into Osaka, my aunt Shena in March, Gridzer in April and Meaghans sister and chum in May. In case you were thinking about making the trip out then... piss off. Japan's full.

As is our spare room (please enjoy sleeping on a bed of our rolled up laundry guys, any brown stains are totally gonna be chocolate.) Once the last visitor goes home, it'll be a matter of weeks before I myself will be ducking out of this sweetest of gigs and back into the financially secure European way of life that has continued on apace since I left. I assume.

Oh a grand thank you to all the people who willingly (or otherwise) got their pictures taken by me so I could show some of my kids what white folks look like. Rest assured thay thought all of your names were ridiculous. Then again, such criticism is originating from 11 year olds called "Teppei" so I wouldn't lose an entire nights sleep over it.

Ireland was much as it always is although I did find myself being propositioned by more european females than I ever recall. I guess more accurately they were propositioned to me by their unctious male companions but I'm still taking the complement! (which I guess is that I looked like a "sure thing" or just someone so lonely that I might start making a scene if someone didn't say SOMETHING to me.... yayyy...)

One was some campy Swede (or Nordic of another type) pushing his admittedly rather dour friend upon me. Another was in a chipper the following night as the opening stages of World War 2 were played out in microcosm. A knowing Pole and a nervy Dutch girl were trying to limit the damage of speaking to some obnoxious German who was putting the moves on her. In keeping with the metaphor, I (the Irish guy) tried to keep out of the whole fucking mess only becoming embroiled when the German shoved me towards the Dutch girl and shrieked "KIISS WITH TONGUE!!!"

I quickly complemented Nijmegen University, whipped my burger off the counter (from the bitterly swearing Pole) and slinked off to the airport.

Pictured: Hitler on the tear on Dame Street

My trip back here was uneventful except that 5 seats ahead of me were Kasabian, heading out to their Japanese tour. Having never intentionally listened to them or nursed them as children I had little introduction-fodder so sat back and tried to get some sleep. I will say though that a cat-hat is not proper attire for a 12 hour flight to Tokyo... though to be fair in Tokyo itself you're basically gonna look like a fusty old local.

<withering sigh>

They were all in jeans skinny enough to make your ears bleed and gimpy little shirts. What a shower of fancy-Dans! The following 24 hour were spent trying to keep awake long enough to get on-get off the relevant trains and after leaving Ireland at 7 in the morning I was safely in bed at 8 in the evening. Albeit the following day.

Since then myself and the Megger have been making full use of the sudden excess of previously sparse resources (coffee, Barrys etc) and I resultantly have been a teeth chattering caffinated wreck. Another new addition to the house was a chess set I bought with the intention of drawing Meg into the cerebral dichromatic world of pinch nosed Russians and clock slapping. So far it's just led to a whole lot of Meg threatening to flip the board and to plug my face with some of the more invasive pieces.

As we exchanged gifts it became vastly apparent that I had underestimated the scale of things egregiously. Not telling specifics, my present to her was actually designed to fit inside her present to me.

In other news one of our fellow expats here got hisself another Japanese girlfriend who we met at dinner on Saturday night. Predictably the girl is a wisp of a thing and hopefully will be comfortable losing a lot of weight as she is currently dating a human food-hoover. I realise this is a little rich coming from fatty fat fat fat over here but I can only just about occasionally come up to the lowest hem of his level. Anyway we had to watch her as she attempted to lick the occasional piece of raw fish (scant reward for the effort involved frankly) that was already shooting towards his gaping maw. Or mawing gape. Ooh yes, the second one.

Alright then, I'm off to sneeze my way through another few days of school and then piddle off to tear a hole in Osaka with Colin who should be flying in on Saturday morning from lemon-Seoul.

In the meantime off diddily off off!

See yee on the merry morrow,

Kasabian in Japan