my knee says its going rain on thursday...

morning all.
quick note.
my mum and dad came and said a cheery hello over the last 10 days. we threw them on a plane out of Hiroshima airport on sunday after fun-filled days and sake-filled nights celebrating the best 30 years of their lives. i'll post piccies soon.
highlights included; beer, introducing them to my old host family for the first time, antique shopping binges, sake, strolling in the Japanese wilderness, backing into a wall, more sake, the mayor of my city giving them tickets to see kabuki at a 1600 year old stage on a sacred island shrine (!!), whipping them at rulos game, watching mum, dad and nic running across a national highway taking pictures of rice paddies because the light was "just right" and then backing into a wall, birthday goodtimes, hanging with the biggest wooden buddha dude in Japan and bunches of other stuff.
on a slightly odder note:
i was informed yesterday amid much giggling that one of the female workers in the city hall follows me when i walk past her because i "smell the best out of everyone in the building"...
...this scares me.

yours, smelling "stalker-tastic" and looking over his shoulder,

berin.

Hmmmm...

tenuous, reserved, a shade nauseous and a very, very, very curious...

woohoo...

next stop...30.

he dug a hole...

bwilliant...

http://grad.icmc.usp.br/~cipriani/bighole.php?lang=en

interestingly, we discovered a new watering hole last week where you write in chalk on the toilet walls - they are all blackboard-type-stuff - (Paul, whats the technical terminology? No wait!! Tom!! Pop quiz...) and all I could think of to write - in my state at the time - was exactly

"he dug a hole"

i thought it was prophetic.

rock n roll folks.

b

slow

My, that was a slow moving typhoon. I came home from work at midday and hung around all day playing playstation waiting for it to hit, finally on the evening news they said it would start getting hairy at 11pm.
At 10:58 there was such an enormous gust of wind that the house felt like it was being lifted and the roof starting saying "oi".
So it blew and it rained and it rained and it blew. And all through it there was one lonely cricket outside, croaking away, in the typhoon. Bonus points for trying I guess.
So. We're all a-ok.
Off to walk the grounds and inspect the damage.
Tata
Berin.

Hi.

Hi.
Hi.
Slowing down on the blog front lately. Other stuff happening you know. Round and about like.

Anyway.

I voted on Friday. Yep. Voted. From afar. I'm sure there are others in far flung parts of the globe who are going through the same thing at present and I am also sure they will come to the same conclusion.

It was odd.

I have always been somewhat in awe and proud of the secret ballot and found the political process a wonderful thing. However...I am somewhat confused about the notion of a "secret" ballot when I had to fax my voting paper to Wellington, along with my name, address, phone number, cell phone number, previous address in New Zealand, Date of Birth and every other identifying feature apart from "winning smile".

It was somewhat of an uncomfortable feeling.

Still, looking forward to election day. We have one here in Japan a week beforehand so that'll be good for practice like. Things have already started in earnest with small cars stuffed to overloading with smiling old ladies in fluorescent jackets and white gloves, with E-N-O-R-M-O-U-S speakers on top driving 8kms an hour around the place with a loop tape of some old chap with his fingers in lots of pies exhorting you to vote for him, him, him for the future of Japan. They generally start at about 6am. Including the weekends. Grrrr. Damn waving old ladies.

Starting to cool down a shade (like from 38 degrees to 35), although that might be the SUPERTYPHOON coming in from the Pacific. We'll let you know how that pans out. We had a rolly old earthquake at teatime just to kick off the "forces of nature" theme so I await with baited breath the next turn of events.

Mum and Dad get here in a week and a bit. looking forward to that. trying to organise some sort of an itinerary, and it's coming together nicely. Might be having the Margot St. Reeve Duo visiting next year sometime too, so everyone else better get their bookings sorted - we're filling up fast.

See you folks.

b.