Tuesday April 29
01:21
Tonight McDonald’s Called The Police On Me
Tonight McDonald’s called the police on me in Tokyo. Why? Because I asked for mayonnaise on a Big Mac.
I kid you not. I have a 30 minute video to prove it, where I’m told by McDonald’s staff that it’s “impossible” to put mayo on a Big Mac - that if I want it, I have to buy a burger which has mayo AND buy a Big Mac and then they will put that mayo on the Big Mac. When I refused, they said “wait a minute” and five minutes later, four, yes FOUR, policemen turned up.
I’ve got to work out how to upload videos onto YouTube. Almost arrested in Japan for asking for mayo on a Big Mac. It’s ridiculous.
It almost reminds me of when I was trying to buy an S11HT - the big Bic Camera in Shibuya argued and refused to allow me to return it if there was no signal at my home or office, so I couldn’t buy it there. I then went to the small Bic Camera in Shibuya and they said “Sure, no problem” and even wrote on the contract that I could return the phone in 14 days if I had a problem getting a signal. Completely ridiculous. Just like McDonald’s calling the police because I wanted mayo.
Monday April 28
14:14
Thoughts On Leaving Japan
I was off work for the last week, guiding my brother round Tokyo and beyond. We visited the volcano at Hakone (but avoided the hot springs), ate sushi, okonomiyaki, and Korean BBQ, danced the night away in Roppongi (a place that I detest, but I wanted to show my brother every side of Tokyo), went to a comedy night and to see a live gig, and ended up meeting the band the next day in the pub.
It was an excellent week.
The downside is that today I’m back at work. Bummer. At least there are two saving graces. Firstly, it’s a holiday in Japan tomorrow - so I’ll just get finished clearing down the unread email for the past week and it’ll be time for another day off. Secondly, right now I can see a new decent coffee machine being installed. If this one makes decent coffee and it’s not just here on trial for a week, I’ll no longer need to entertain thoughts of buying a Nespresso machine for my desk.
After my brother left on Friday, I started to think a lot about whether I’m going to continue living in Japan. I originally came here planning to hook-or-by-crook last it out until March 2008 and then revisit the situation. I figured that 18 months is the minimum I could spend in a job without it looking bad on my CV when I leave.
Suddenly - and this was a shock even to me - the thought of moving to America sprung into my mind, and my mind didn’t reject it. This is the first time I’ve even entertained the possibility of living outside Asia since 2001. I’ve no idea where that thought came from.
I’m in no hurry to rush into a decision at the moment. If possible, I’d like to last here until March 2009, since I’ll have saved more money, have stronger experience behind me, and hopefully be a little closer to speaking Japanese (my Japanese sucks compared to my Korean). I might also grow to like Japan more, and want to stay longer.
But now that I’m past the March 2008 mark and I feel safe to move on without it affecting my career, I’m going to start thinking about the possibilities.
Sunday April 27
19:09
How Do You Get A Fat Girl Into Bed?
Piece of cake.
Thanks The Scott Mills Podcast for that joke. Unfortunately it seems not to be updating to my iTunes anymore - I hope they’ve not finished doing it, because it’s one of the funniest pieces of British comedy there is. For me, it’s like a daily injection of British Comedy Drug, and I’ll be having withdrawal symptoms if it doesn’t start working again soon.
Wednesday April 23
09:03
The Ugliest Band In The World
Last night I went to see what can only be described as the ugliest band in the world - Biffy Clyro. They are, however, a band full of surprises: they are Scottish but sound American; they’ve been going for years and I’ve never heard of them; and, most importantly, despite being hideously ugly - beards, unkempt hair, tattoos, etc and despite me not particularly liking the CDs that I’ve heard from them - they are one of the few bands that has blown me away live. I can’t remember any time in the past when I’ve heard new material at a concert and instantly liked it - usually I need to hear music on CD first.
Maybe now the CDs with grow on me, … though if I can’t get the image of the band out of my head, that’s very unlikely!
