Actually, this is one of a number of items on my long term to-do list that I've been neglecting for about the last decade. Here's how getting a blog ranked against some of the other items.
- Pass JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) Level 1. Did that last winter. Was surprised and possibly even disappointed with the result, as I hadn't dedicated any time to studying for it at all. I always figured by the time I had Level 1 I'd be better than I currently am. That's one Holy Grail soiled.
- Get my damn teeth sorted. After years of abuse by British dentists leaving my teeth battered and worn, the very thought of having another one near my mouth made me shudder terribly. An unfortunate incident last Golden Week involving one of my teeth, an expired nerve, and a great deal of relentless pain encouraged me re-assess my priorities, and by luck the local dentist happened to be rather good. 4 months, 50,000 Yen, and 15 teeth fixed later, I now have a dazzling healthy smile (complete with maximum-cool polished silver ROBOT TEETH™!!).
- Get rid of the extra fridge and washing machine. They'd been sitting on my balcony for over 2 years! Despite them both being perfectly functioning machines and possibly even worth money in some countries, here they are valued so low that I would be required to part with money to have them disposed of. Not one to give up without a fight, I eventually put a classified ad up saying "lovely big fridge and washing machine, please come and take them away!" and after a few wild goose chases, somebody did last December. My balcony is now a haven of clear.
- Get a driving licence. It's not like I didn't have one before, just that one too or two too many brushes with the law made the endorsements section look rather incriminating in ways I didn't want immigration to start poking their noses into. Hence I always considered merely exchanging my licence for a local one to be out of the question. That was until a month ago when a trip to the licencing centre in Shinagawa revealed that they really couldn't have less interest in anything I did 11 odd years ago, and getting a local licence could be done in a couple of hours over the counter, which I promptly did.
Get a bike. OK, so this one is really reliant on the last item, but nonetheless, anticipating a large payout to get a licence the hard way, I conveniently had all the money I needed to get a nice hack on the road together with riders' gear right there in my back pocket. 1 week later, I'm on the road again! A certain young lady isn't entirely happy about this, but I'm sure she'll warm. Update She warmed. It took time, but on 12th March she invested in a lid, and came out on the back. Now she's totally hooked!- Come clean about my role in the Sushi thing. This was more happy happenstance than anything else, but my unintentional unleashing of a monster on the world in the form of a fan-subbed (by me) copy of an amusing mockumentary on sushi etiquette had caught the rather angry attention of the distributors. Trying to convince them that this could profit them, while simultaneously avoiding their legal wrath, was bravely undertaken by Satomi resulting just yesterday in the news that they want to talk to me. A quick exchange of emails has revealed that they may want to make more of the series, and would probably like me on board to oversee the official subtitling. Details are to be discussed at a meeting next week, but needless to say I am somewhat chuffed.
- Get a blog. That would be the thing that you're reading.
There are still some items remaining, some of which actually have an even higher priority than half the things on this list (such as getting citizenship - the only reason I currently don't have it is because the Home Office in Britain have kept me waiting for some vital documentation for the past 6 months. Update I am now a Japanese citizen.) One thing at a time though.
One very important principle I do prefer to adhere to concerning blogs (and all other forms of personal gloss sharing), and probably the main reason I never went for one before, is that other people's holiday snaps are not interesting to see. If I'm going to dedicate time to writing stuff I want people to read, I feel I have a responsibility to make it as interesting and relevant for them as possible. After all, somebody has to. So, if I deem it not worth saying, I'm really not going to bother saying it. Please consider this formal notification that I may not update this quite as often as your average bored student.
Update Likewise, this is not a blog about life in Japan, nor an account of every cough and sneeze of my insignificant existence, nor a collection of commentless links to every piece of flotsam and jetsam that I find on the net. That I DO exist, AM in Japan, and DO find some interesting flotsam and jetsam will no doubt come accross in my writings at some level, but to make those the focus would be very boring for everybody involved. Please also don’t do that yourself. Thank you.
And a brief self-intro...
Originally from a small town near London that nobody cares about, I decided to leave the country permanently some time last century and never looked back. Since then I spent a total of 3 years living in Hamamatsu and Shizuoka before moving to Tokyo where I currently reside. I work regular hours at a well known company, and if you’re into console games then there’s a good chance you’ve seen my work. I’m not into console games. For recreation, I enjoy biking, eating/drinking, arty filmmaking stuff, and spending time with my neurotic other half (which lends itself well to a variety of comical episodes I sincerely doubt I will ever relate here).
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