Exhile - Mix 8 (D I G I T A L L Y - I M P O R T E D & HappyHardcore.com - Hardcore - DJ mixes, hard dance and NuNRG!)

Doh!

Maybe I can put up with the rest?!?! hmmm......

  Scott Brown - Do what ya like (D I G I T A L L Y - I M P O R T E D & HappyHardcore.com - Hardcore - DJ mixes, hard dance...

So what did I do today, well, most of the day was spent updating the iNETFX site and working on the new server. I'm happy to say all is now complete - the main focus of my work today was to build a "server status" page, which updated with live information..... and all done

Click here to see it in action

So what does it do, well, just basically connects to all the server services and makes sure they are working. Also allows me to update the "urgent news" page in real time. The whole point is, this is a seperate machine to my normal one, so if there is trouble with machine one, it can be posted up here (machine 2) - without this method, any problems and people would just be left wondering ... "whats happened!!!".

So that took me quite a lot of the day, the rest of the time was spent planning Gowry's new website and watching episodes of Family Guy.

I've now also managed to grab the whole of the movie "Kokurisan" - a supposed really scary J-Horror, so I might watch that tomorrow.

Also spent an hour or so on the phone to Gowry, who wasn't in the best of moods, however this time - i wasn't to blame So in a funny way it was really nice, just her letting off steam to me - made me feel like I had some worth again I miss her telling me everything, though she has promised to start calling me more - w00t!

An unfortunate side effect of things going right - something didn't like my skin and I seem to have some nasty and painful spots on my neck - grrrrr..... i wonder if it's the washing powder ... hmm... hopefully they will be clear in a day or two though, so not too much of a worry....

Well, it seems Yumi isn't going to budge as she has now wrapped herself up in the covers - so it's the matteress in the front room for me ... doh! It's so cold, and we only had a little spare rug thing.... plus of course she is getting up at 6:00 to go catch her plane, thats 3 hours sleep then before I can get back in my own bed .... hurrah!

Reminds me (though I'm not sure why) - I really need to call Helen, miss her antics (though I now have two Japanese replacements - they're about the same size too) - except actually, Helen never falls asleep - which is a shame as I think she would stay out of so much trouble if she did haha....

I've been waiting up all night for the call from home, but I think it's got a bit late now - no one loves me - so sorry Uncle Jack that I didn't get to say hello, but I need to get some sleep .....

Until next time - hey - be careful out there

  DJ Danny.T - Rippin the groove vol 1 (D I G I T A L L Y - I M P O R T E D & HappyHardcore.com - Hardcore - DJ mixes, har...

Hehe - yup, our christmas dinner was @ TGI Fridays, though very nice it was too We got a mish mash of things and quite a few cocktails, though the bill only came to a rather reasonable (well i thought, compared to UK prices) £100 - so that would be £20 each then...

Even better, I was looking at the rest of the menu, and a burger and chips is only £5! I think I will be visiting a bit more often!

Then what, well, in traditional japan style, we then of course went to another restaurant (don't ask) - where more food was ordered! (though i couldn't eat another thing) - including this fish thing, where they burnt off the skin using a blow torch.... crazy...

I actually quite liked it, it wasn't so strong, but after all the food before, it just became a bit too much.

Also, I think a night out wouldn't be complete without one casualty, and fair play to Seiko for it not being her. Once again, Yumi showed her grasp of the whole alcohol situation by falling asleep on the table!

However, it then got better. Deciding that the table wasn't so comfy (obviously) - then slid off it and onto my lap - where she went into a deep sleep!!! (The second photo is taken under the table - but Seiko had the camera upside down, hence the weird angle....)

But a great time had Just wish it could have been a bit more festive... ah well, next year... (maybe, if I've cracked Japanese by then...!)

As for today, well it was the last day of work - and not so busy. Voice was interesting - it started off well, then we started talking about customer service - soon the Chinese were brought up, before a full on China Bashing session began - but erm, it kinda calmed by the end (lucky, as the next teacher was Chinese... lol)

So now I'm on holiday until the 4th of Jan. Loads of time to Jvise, finish Gowry's website and, most importantly, sleep

Oh, I've also restyled my hair - which I'm quite happy about - though I fear another cut is soon needed, just to trim it a bit... nothing heavy....

Ahah! AND THANK YOU DAD For the hair gel, definately a life saver....

And finally, I've now had so many people who see current photos of me go "WOW you've lost weight" - it's just not funny. Indeed, sitting here now typing in just a tshirt, if I squint it looks like a Tyrannosaurus is at my computer - I think my trip home in Jan will definately be an eat athon!

Ahhhh! No wait - there is a bit more - that talk of food just reminded me.

So you know Gusto is my fav place, well the same company just opened a Chinese style restaurant neat work. So think Gusto prices, but Chinese food I just went tonite with Yumi, ahhh... it was so nice, so I can also add this to my list of soon to be most visited restaurants... just think, a TGI's a day, followed by chinese for dinner - that should help put the weight back on.

Tomorrow I think I will continue my quest to find a new language exchange parter, I'm going to amend my advert to say i want someone who wants to go to Atom each week - at least this way the person I learn with I can also hang out with

So, Happy Christmas y'all.... I best it just wasn't the same without me

  Stagediverz - Rockin Da Floor (Stagediverz M

Well, it would be - except of course here we have no christmas, however, wanting to get into the christmas spirit and all - here are the first photos of my christmas ...

I would say those antlers are quite fetching, no?

So how was my christmas night then? Well, a mixed bag really - i shall explain, however, first my dear friends I will give you one very important piece of advice ..... NEVER STUFF YOURSELF COMPLETELY FULL AND THEN GO DRINKING....

So, here's how it happened....

Saturday day time was the usual no food affair (and indeed staying in bed until about 7pm!!! ) - however this time Seiko wasn't going to come home first (we were going to meet in Shibuya). To get myself into the christmas, it seemed like some red wine + vodka was in order, along with a bit of a mix session.

In fact, I'm quite pleased with myself, even totally wasted, I was still mixing quite well (and I know this as I recorded it ) until about 10:30 when it was time to meet up with Seiko to get some food, so off to the station I went.

Arriving at Sangenjaya however, the train wasn't for 10 minutes or so - and not wanting to sit around doing nothing (I was feeling quite impatient) - I decided to make the almost ritual trip to McDonalds to purchase a Big Mac and Chips.

Of course, this was very nice - but I was now kinda full - though I had promised I would eat with Seiko, so eat again I must (I threw away the bag when she wasn't looking) - we therefore headed off to the curry shop. Again, another fatal mistake was made - due to my drunkeness, I was almost sure that one curry wouldn't be enough, so ordered some chicken tikka to go with it....

20 minutes later and we were both so full (me even more so, for obvious reasons) and Christmas was fast approaching (it was now 11:45) so we had to scurry off to find somewhere. This is easier said than done, because as you know, I don't particuarly like Shibuya for nights out, so there was quite a bit of bumbling around until we chose a direction.

Now though, it was 11:55 and we really weren't going to make it into anywhere in time - so drastic action had to be taken....... can you guess...... ?

Yup, the nearest department store (well we figured it would be playing christmas music and would have some trees on display!!) - hence the photos of us both wearing christmas hats (we didn't buy them, just took the photos )

So that done, and our "Happy Christmas'" said, it was time to actually find something to do. Now last time we were here, we tried to go to @tom (read: Atom) however it closed at 2 - though I really wanted some good music, so we decided we would give it a go....

And am I glad we did....

FINALLY - a club in Tokyo that plays my music (well as near to it as I am going to get), all drinks are 500yen (£2.50), holds 1500 people (and fills it) AND.... AND.... AND... THERE ARE NO FOREIGNERS!!!! - yes people, there is a heaven and it's name is Atom

Ok as far as clubs go, UK ones kick it's ass - though (and I really don't want to annoy anyone here ) - @tom does have one regaining feature - a special "gallery" thats basically a raised platform along the side of the club - women only .... UK clubs might kick JClubs for music + fun, but the women....

And no, before anyone asks - I didn't take any photos

So all is well and good for the first hour or so, but this full feeling really isn't shifting so we decide to go and explore the rest of the club. It's 3 floors in total, with a "Trance Cave" at the bottom and an R'n'B/Hip Hop room up top with a huge TV showing endless "Viva La Bam" --- SUGOI-YO! There were also a load of tables up here, so we decided to sit for a bit....

Unfortunately though, all was still not good - and realised I was going to throw up at any moment (and not wanting to do it in a club ... i can imagine the looks i would have got - "drunk gaijin throwing up") we had to make a quick exit (about 3am)...

I would also like to point out for the record I was not drunk, mearly very full.... so jumping around hadn't been a good idea

So that was the end of the night - we got home by Taxi, which suprisingly was only 2000yen (£10) - this is great, as Seiko loved the club too, it's cheaper than Roppongi AND we can get a Taxi back after..... HAPPY CHRISTMAS INDEED

So, what else has been going on then.... hmmm....

Wednesday was my last day of Japanese School (which was sad, I'm really liking going there now) and doesn't start back until the 10th of Jan. I also got my test result back - 82.4% (or was it 84.2% - not sure) - which means I passed I've now got a great opportunity to fully catch up until the restart, not too much to do now - and stuff is certainly coming a lot more naturally.

Thursday I started work at 6:40 - so was able to spend the rest of the day working on a new project. Without getting too nerdy, I've now just started renting a new webserver in Germany. It's purpose to provide backup DNS and also keep a copy of all databases held on the main server. After the unfortunate incident with the FCCUK forum (ie, they lost it) - we don't want to take any chances.

This new server (AO - it means Blue) runs Linux (Debian) - but I have never used Linux before, so it's also going to be a great learning tool for me. Funny story, it was setup for me on Thursday morning and I managed to lock myself out of it by Thursday afternoon Luckily the guy I'm renting it off seems to be a great bloke, and reinstalled it for me for no charge.

So I'm not going to make that mistake again - infact - now it is happily up and running and doing it's job Never will there be a mail outage again, hurrah!

Thursday night after work, some of the chaps were going out for a quick drink, so I joined them. Due to the time I started work, I hadn't eaten (planned to after) - so decided alcohol wouldn't be a good idea so had coffee instead. Or at least I did for the first two, then thinking "what the hell" - had a glass of white wine (just to fit in and all lol) This didn't seem to be a problem until i got home (maybe an hour later) - when suddenly - WHAM!! Yup, ONE glass of wine and suddenly i was battered... not even slightly either, this was full on wasted.... it was pretty obvious why, i hadn't eaten all day so it had just gone straight to my head. To rectify this situation therefore, I cooked some yaki soba (and returned to slight sanity!) - not before having some fun with the new knife...

You won't believe how sharp this thing is, you just push it on chicken and it cuts straight through it !!! Seiko had cut her finger on it earlier in the day, so was warning me to be very careful with it.... of course, after hearing such a thing, what is the first thing you do .... hehe... yes, the exact opposite - walking into their room and holding it against my neck had them screaming and hiding under the bed covers.... lol.... what fun...

So onto Friday, which has to be one of the best days at work I have ever had:

First lesson - No show, giving me a load of time to plan for lesson 2

Second lesson - Probably the most fun lesson I have ever given, we were doing restaurant complaints - and by the end of it, everyone was just laughing so much

Lesson Three - Voice: And just a single woman (as in, just her...) who had been to England so was very happy to talk about it. As with all these lessons, it soon gets around to me complaining about Japanese food and how much better it is in the UK. We therefore had a 30 minute or so conversation on food you can get in England and what I will be eating in a month - I was so hungry by the end of it !

Lesson Four - After the success of Lesson 2, it seemed a good idea to do it again. And again, it worked out brilliantly - especially as one of the guys seemed to have so many complaints Great Fun!

Lesson Five - Last lesson of the day and another voice. This time, just one (high level) guy in there. My first question - "So what is your job?"; Answer "Web Designer" w00t! And there began an hour conversation on programming and the internet - it was just like talking with a friend We got into the idea about design and hosting combined, so possibly we might be able to sort something out (he designs and I host) - either way, I think he's going to be an interesting person to get to know

Finally (and now in a really good mood) - it was time to leave and as we had some money (as i hadnt eaten the day before ) - Yumi and I had planned to go to an okonomiyaki restaurant (these places are getting popular!) - as the stupid ATM wouldn't give me any money (on a public holiday they don't unless it's your own bank) - we had to go back to mine to get some cash, before onto the restaurant.

This is the same place I always go, so I won't bother to explain it all again, however there was a slight difference... this time we were joined by Santa and a seemingly pissed off rudolf

After a few hours in here (and a few drinks) it was time to go - after paying a modest 4000yen (£20) bill - we both got up and went down the stairs to the exit... well, at least, that's how it should have happened. It seemed however that suddenly the alcohol just decided to hit Yumi, who had gone from 0 to wasted in like 3 seconds. I'm not talking Seiko drunk either, this was full on out of it hahahaha... It therefore wasn't practical to walk back, so a train ride was in order. I can't even begin to count how many bad looks I got on that train (with Yumi seemingly passed out) - I'm sure everyone was thinking - "look at the gaijin, just taking advantage of that poor girl".... but oh well, i get that every weekend with Seiko anyway

I did get her home (eventually) - and it must have been the funniest journey ever - she was basically sleeping as we walked (well, she was being half carried) - but kept making random noises in a really cute voice. Sooooo sweet haha....

I still can't believe how drunk she got though, I don't think we had loads (maybe 3 drinks tops) - though still better than my effort the other night ... lol...

So here we go, back to today - so whats happening. Well, in an hour or so Seiko will come back and we are going to meet some of my work friends for drinks. Then Seiko, Shiho, Toshi, Yumi and I are all going for dinner somewhere - not sure where exactly yet - though KFC is traditional christmas food.... (really!)

  Vanessa Mae - Toccata And Fugue In D Minor

Had a better idea, though haven't had a chance to put it across to the girls.

As I never use the front room, it's really just being wasted space (except to cook, but that's only like once a day, so hardly a big deal) - I'm going to suggest I swap rooms with Seiko and they can just have the front room to put all their stuff in.

I can't afford to pay any extra, but maybe this is the fairer solution. I only spent time in my room anyway, so it's not like I will miss out on anything. It also means I won't have the kitchen in my room, nor will the shower be smack next to my head (the shower room has the laundry room inbetween it and Seikos room) ....

It seems like an ideal solution, and Shimpei says it seems fair - I just hope she won't mind about the money situation? But then, they watch TV and stuff so it's not like they won't use the room.....

Good idea? Or is it asking too much y'think?

It would just be so good to sort this whole housing situation out and then i think everything will be coming along really well.....

  The whine of the aircon

However, first some good stuff

So I met with Chizue after work to go out and get some food. First we went to an akonomyiaki restaurant, drank loads and ate loads too. I think I went over budget a bit, but I haven't seen her for like 3 months - so I'm sure I was allowed to just this once.

We then went to the cheap drink place I went with Yumi last time, to get rid of the last of our money - haha - I think in total I spent £20. So £15 over budget (or two days money) - hmm... will have to cut back today and tomorrow then. So that was all great, had a great time, but had to go home as I had work.

Got back and Yumi was round, which was nice so we sat and chatted for a bit. However, it was getting late (maybe 12:30 or so) and I wanted to go to bed. Now we have problem, everyone is still up, watching tv and chatting on the phone.... ok i figured, this only happens a few times, so i'll leave it.... however by 3am and still it was going on - i was getting quite annoyed. It seemed though that then it was to finish, so I managed to settle back down.

Until everyone decided to take a bath and shower!?!??! So noise up until 4, then to top it off - Yumi was staying over (so sleeping in the front room) - who then proceeded to text her friends all night.

I really thought everything was ok now, but this is just getting ridiculous. I'm going to write Seiko a letter or something, but I don't think this can go on - after work I'm going to go to the estate agents, see how much my own apartment would cost. I know I'm on a tight budget, but I would prefer to pay a little more just to be able to have my own room, get some privacy and be able to sleep

If this had been tonight and I had school the next day, I would have been furious.... hmmmmm....

So basically, now I have woken up late, feel awful and just generally annoyed with everyone. But seriously though, who is at fault here?? Do I have a right to be annoyed, or is it the girls fault for buying this stupid apartment in the first place - thus they should live with the consequences....?

I did look into swapping to Shiho's room, but sitting in it just made me feel like I was in a box - it's too unfriendly and just depressing. The bars on the window and the fact you can't put anything up on the wall just makes it seem like a prison cell....

Ho hum....

  DJ Seduction - Hardcore Nation 2 (D I G I T A L L Y - I M P O R T E D & HappyHardcore.com - Hardcore - DJ mixes, hard da...

Japan > UK:

Asiana Airlines (Flight No Unknown)
Departs Tokyo - Thursday 26th January 2006 @ 09:25
Arrives Seoul - Thursday 26th January 2006 @ 12:05
Departs Seoul - Thursday 26th January 2006 @ 13:50
Arrives Heathrow - Thursday 26th January @ 16:50

UK > Japan:

Asiana Airlines (Flight No Unknown)
Departs Heathrow - Saturday 11th February 2006 @ 21:00
Arrives Seoul - Sunday 12th February 2006 @ 16:40
Departs Seoul - Sunday 12th February 2006 @ 18:50
Arrives Tokyo - Sunday 12th February 2006 @ 21:00

Just in time for school 12 hours later Awesome!

  DJ Myers - Synergy 2 (D I G I T A L L Y - I M P O R T E D & HappyHardcore.com - Hardcore - DJ mixes, hard dance and NuNR...

So last night, I hardly need to say where we went, it hasn't change week in week out yet, so I'm pretty sure you can guess. A little difference in the planning this time though, as Seiko wasn't going to be home for dinner and we were going to eat out. However, I had to wait for Mums call, so had to cancel that bit (the eating out) - thus leaving me with the dilema of no food

I decided that something out would probably be best, however before I left, it was time to make the customary "going out cheapskate drinks" - it was going to be a simple vodka and coke, but i had neglected to buy any coke, so it was going to have to be something different.

I'm pretty glad there wasn't any coke actually as this allowed me to find my perfect drink. Simply take half a glass of red wine, add a random amount of cassis and finally top up with vodka - delicious

Two pints later and having then dj'ed for the last hour or so (so was very hyper) - it was time to leave. However, I suddenly had a massive "missing Gowry" attack, so decided it would be a good idea to call her. Of course, after 2 pints of the above, i really wasn't in such a fit state to call anyone, so just remember apologising over and over for being so drunk lol...

Leaving the house was also a bit of a challenge as the flooring in our apartment is so uneven or at least, it was last night - strangely enough it seems to have flattened out now....

First stop before Roppongi was McDonalds to pick up some food. The order went OK, Double Cheeseburger - no problem. Whilst I was waiting for it, the next person made their order - some chips... hmmm... yes, I want some chips too - so called over the staff to add it.... next person orders some Chicken nuggets... sumimasen - sore-to Chicken Nuggets hitotsu.... I'm not sure how long this would have gone on, but luckily there was no one else in the queue or i dread to think how much food i would have left with

So I make it down to the platform, but although they smell nice, there's not much taste to the french fries, coupled with the fact i'm getting a load of strange looks. Taking a quick step back to reality, it doesn't take a genius to see why. Whilst I am indeed picking the chips up and moving them to my mouth, none of them are actually making it and I'm just dropping them all over the platform .... a hasty chip collecting situation then ensues and i'm left with a bag full of dirty chips lol....

When I finally make it to Roppongi, for once Seiko isn't drunk, which is an incredible feat by her, especially as she has just been out drinking with mates... good on her!

So first stop is Hub to take advantage of the cheap drinks (and to watch Everton on the TV - so it was packed) before hunger got the better of us and we relocated to a local izakaya to get more drinks and some yaki-udon (and some glasses of water!!!)

Finishing here, we then headed off to iLounge (where we went last week) which was actually playing some good music this week (and had about 20 people in it, unlike last time) and was doing drinks for 500 yen... HOWEVER, if you didn't know this, you had to pay 1000.. (as in, we went in and they gave us a 1000yen menu, however I pointed out there was a huge sign outside saying 500 and threatened to leave unless they charged as that ... so all was good!)

At 4am however the drinks did go to 1000 yen, so naturally we chose this time to leave and head to the Wall Street Bar next door which was again quite empty. I think it's due to the fact that these places are off the main highstreet, so perhaps you only go there if you know they are there, rather than just spotting it....

I don't think we were here for so long until we got hungry again, so it was off to an Akonomiyaki restaurant, where we were able to get a very nice meal (though Seiko nicked most of the meat before I had a chance to get any myself ) - I know, it looks like someone has thrown up on the table, but no, honestly it's really nice

Come 6 or so (i think) it was time to head back to the station, there was a brief comedy moment when Seiko tried to get her coat on backwards (true to form, she had now got quite drunk) - but apart from that, we made it out relatively unscathed

Finally making it home, we discovered that somewhere along the way we had managed to pick up two softcore porn mags?!? So something new to add to our collection of "things picked up on a night out" - though I don't know where they came from. They're not even new, so it's not like we bought them from a shop ...?

But wait! The story doesn't end there, there's just a little more to go.... On returning from my room where I had put on my pajamas - i was greeted with the site of Seiko having fallen asleep on the bed, toothbrush still in mouth I submit the following photos as evidence

So there you have it, a quite successful night out

Earlier on, i had to go and switch plane flights as i decided i want a definate time, rather than a random open ended. Problem was, the branch i went to, wasn't the branch i originally booked at - and they wouldn't let me book a new flight until i had cancelled the old one. No problem you might think, except they don't speak english. The staff at the branch i went to also claimed they could not cancel the flight on my behalf - rather crazy and tbh, quite annoying.

In the end one of the people at Nova rang for me = but it still seems really strange that it couldn't be done in the store. They claimed the reason was i had to personally call - despite the fact they knew i couldn't and it would be a friend.... ah well, i digress...

So new flight half booked - i say half as i then hit stumbling block 2. this company don't accept credit card as a method of payment?!?! so i couldn't pay for it - luckily i get paid tomorrow, so i can use my rent money to cover the flight. this was all luck though, if i didn't have access to this money i would be stuffed.

It's really weird, but you would think everything would be all advanced out here, but so many places don't take credit card..... i just don't get it .... so many things here are all "back in time" (don't get me started on medical care .... )

Anyway, i've got a big japanese test coming up soon, so i'm actually starting to study a bit more now. i'm also going to try and drink more fruit juice as i fear my skin is really starting to suffer. I've only just come out the shower but already i am as dry as anything... strange as i have special dove moisturiser shower gel stuff.

Apart from this, not too much to report. Shiho has gone AWOL and Seiko has gone to Osaka to see her boyfriend. In the interim, Yumi has been over to translate emails to and from the electronics shop and the table company, so by Friday i should have a desk and something to put on it yay! I didn't get a chair (not enough cash) - but can steal Seiko's while she's out (most of the time) until i can raise the money to get a nice (but cheap) one. Infact, i might still be able to sit on my bed and use it, not quite sure how high it is... we shall see...

So plan tomorrow, to Shibuya in the morning to pay for flight, then if time, to school to take my exam then back home to pick up the table which should be arriving around 1pm or so (though i haven't had a mail back yet ... hmm...)

Friday is a much easier day, school in morning then a little training session at Nova so finishing at 5. Then home to take delivery of the speakers, ready for a good loud mixing session on saturday - i'm sure the neighbours can hardly wait ... muhahahah!

  CD 1 - Mixed by Vibes + Brisk - Track 2

May I introduce to you the Alesis M1 Active, 100watt RMS of pure music playing ability

And finally the new - just released - Vestax VMC-002XL in special edition white

Hopefully arriving within 4 days or so, in time for next weekend

So last night, well, i'm quite starting to like saturdays now. Each week when Seiko returns she cooks something new (and delicious) so at least on Saturday nights I will always be sure to get a good meal

We then made the usual trip to our favourite place (lol) Roppongi and of course started off in Hub. They had some new christmas cocktails on offer (not sure what was in them, but they tasted very nice) so we ordered a few of these. Not sure how we discovered this (I reckon we must have just been button bashing) but the jukebox was on free play, which meant we were able to supply the other patrons of Hub with as much Bon Jovi music as the machine would put out

Now I know you guys look at this and just see every weekend we go the same place. Well, Seiko and I are painfully aware of this too, so decided this time to make an effort to go a new place 'I-Lounge' which opens at 3am. (hence the Hub to pass the time).

I must admit, i was actually quite excited as 1) it was new, and 2) it was supposed to be a trance bar - so we both had quite high hopes. First impressions were good, the place was very nice inside indeed - erm, except there was one problem - no one was there!?!?

Luckily the barman was very friendly and kept us entertained for the time we spent there - it would have just been nice if more people had turned up On the plus side, i now have another place i can go and dj at if i want to, so perhaps just us being there was a good thing. (as we wouldn't have got to chat with the manager if it had been busy).

It had now got to about 4:20am or so, and knowing i would be hungry, it was time to go so we could get food and be in time to catch first train. Unfortunately, I think Seiko had now just passed her drinking boundary as she had fallen asleep on the bar...

However, a bit of a proding later and she was able to stumble along with me to the kebab shop - where she then promptly fell back to sleep (though i didn't mind so much as it meant she didn't eat all my chips like she usually does... haha) - leaving to catch the train wasn't so easy though as by this time she was properly sparko and it took a lot of persuassion to wake her back up

The actually train journey back was the usual amusing affair, with her collapsed in my arms (though this time with me monitoring carefully to make sure she didn't throw up on my coat )

At Sangenjaya, i wanted to make a quite stop in McDonalds (gotta love the S+E muffins) - by which time Seiko had decided she didn't want to walk back - but to get a taxi instead. I would usually tell her this is a waste of money, but then, it was very cold and she was offering to pay so it seemed like a good thing to do.

Now my favourite bit of the story:

So we're in the taxi and off we go, except Seiko then falls back to sleep again. Well, due to my slightly intoxicated state and feeling quite confident, it seemed like a good chance to practise some Japanese (make those classes be worth something!) - so it began....

Ok, so it wasn't the most advanced of Japanese (straight ahead please, at the next corner - turn right, stop in front of that building etc...) but using my new found knowledge i was able to direct the taxi all the way home and to stop it in front of our door (without using *any* hand guestures!!) - w000000t! go me!!!

It's little things like this that make me happy i am studying and out here - i know it sounds stupid - but it feels like a great achievement to me, i haven't learnt anything for years - so now, it's like a lot more of a big deal

So let's see, i can direct taxis, or stuff in a restaurant (properly up to 5 items... then my counters get a bit squiffy), ask for directions and tell people they are a "stupid f**king idiot" - progress!!!

Ah I should also point out, the photo shoot has me wearing glasses. Special "no lens" glasses to be exact, which apparently make me look smart (or something....)

I'd better get back to the books now, bed in 4 hours