Nihon Ryokaku Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha

I think it's high time I formally thanked Japan and its uber-convenient railway system.

I've come from a country where there are currently only 4 major passenger railway lines available, compared to Japan having one of the largest passenger railway company in the world! And that's just JR East, one of Japan Railway's seven companies (I've read Wikipedia's article about JR East, and I can't even begin counting the railway lines it has!).

Of course when I first came here, I was overwhelmed to say the least.

"There are TVs inside the trains! Oh it's a cooking show!"

"Wow, they're really on time... up to the minute! Maybe even to the seconds!"

"Look at those tracks, there must be a dozen beside ours!"

"This is a railway map?! And it doesn't even include subways yet!?!"

"I thought I stepped out to a mall... awesome station!!!"

"Hey, I'm being crushed by a mob! Oof~ Cool!!" and so on...

Then it became routine, and after that well, let's just say I don't shout anymore whenever the train switches tracks. I even fall asleep while riding nowadays. And to think I used to take my camera whenever I ride the train~

Though, I feel so 'cool' whenever I encounter a ticket gate and I pull out my Gucci wallet (gift from Aunt, dunno if it's original), wave it a bit, and swipe it with a flair on the scanner. All with a fluid motion and a stoic face. Though there was a time when I mistook the screen with the blue arrow as the scanner and I kept rubbing my wallet till a staff member came and told me that I'm rubbing it at the wrong place... or when my wallet slipped from my grip and ended up on the 'other side' of the gate... or that time I swiped my card too fast, realizing that it's already expired when red lights came out, and ended up trapping the woman in front of me to get stuck at the gate... among other things.

What I love about commuting here is the fact that you get to live in another prefecture and still be able to come early for work, with half an hour to spare. And for me, who oversleeps everyday, it's a lifesaver! And although the train fare isn't certainly something to joke about, the convenience, the punctuality, and the passionate service they offer is definitely worth every Yen.

Oh, I've just found out an alternative route that will save me fifteen minutes of walking everyday. AND it took me less than a minute to have my train pass updated for me by a train station staff. AND then discover that it's even cheaper than my previous fare!

And would you believe me if I tell you that this cat runs a train station all by herself? Seriously.

She even earned the title Super-Station Master - the 5th highest rank in the company! Making her the only female with a managerial position and thus earning an office of her own too! Probably because when they gave her the job, sales went up 17%. Now if that's not a reason for promotion, go deceive yourself.

Super-Station Master Tama. The 'super' makes all the difference doesn't it?

Click here for details.

Onions and Lemons

For those who didn't know, I have one of the most coveted tables at the office. I sit beside a vending machine that serves drinks for free! (along with the ￥100 snack bar and ice cream fridge). Though it doesn't bode well for my shattered tooth now that potential cavity-makers have direct contact with my molar insides.

Anyway, I am proud to announce that we now have new drinks up for grabs:

Onion Tea and Vitamin C!


Usually I'd go for a mug or two of Royal Milk Tea or some Extra Creamy Cocoa, but I think I just have to try these new ones out. They're weird enough to solicit a double take, but I'm guessing they don't taste as good as Qoo (what I'm drinking right now).

Bad news is, to make way for the radical delights, they removed one of my regular treats: Mango Au Lait. I guess it wasn't as popular as the Iced Expresso or the Ginger Ale... but hey, someone likes it, so don't remove it!

Well it's obvious that I'll take my daily dosage of Vitamin C from a vending machine from now on, but I can't just imagine sipping Onion Tea... I've read reviews and they said it stinks and tastes horrible! But at least it cures congestion and coughs.

Waitaminute. Vitamin C... Onion Tea...

*gasp!*

I think they're trying to make us healthy!


Update: Vitamin C tastes like lemonade and I still don't have the guts (nor any of my officemates) to try the onion drink. Bring back my Mango au Lait~!

Carrots of Might

Who knew boiled carrots were so dangerous?

One fine evening, I was at my neighbor's to help them with some cooking. Apparently, my white sauce recipe (the only thing I could cook decently here) is quite a hit! And now they're planning to combine my sauce, with their stir-fried veggies (the only thing they could cook properly).

So off I go with my creaminess, threw in the veggies, and came up with a nameless vegetarian delight. Of course, when they weren't looking, I threw in a dash of garlic powder, chili powder, a pinch of salt, and a small puff of pepper.

Somehow they managed to notice the pepper... a budding connoisseur perhaps?

And then to show their gratitude, they've let me have a bowl of the stuff on top of steamed rice. Oh, and they also have leftover noodles, so they gave that to me too. I was terribly hungry, starving even, that night so I mixed them all up and gobbled a dollop.

I was careless. As soon as I sank my teeth, I knew something has gone wrong. Horribly wrong.

Well there was the crisp broccoli, mushy carrots, hard tooth, crunchy onion... wait... tooth...?

A check with my tongue, and I found out that a molar at the lower-right side has shattered. It was now like a C-shaped hollow mess. And then I panicked. I immediately spit out the mush on the kitchen sink and found my tooth (most of it) embedded on the abominable carrot. Staring at it didn't really help my tooth much, but it abated my panic. Never before have I stared down a tooth-embedded carrot mush with such contempt.

*groan* I don't know what to do with my tooth, and I find the thought of going to a Japanese dentist quite daunting (based on the accounts I've read about them). Not like I have any other choice now do I?

Somebody help me find a good, if not normal, dentist!

It's Payback Time!

And here I was looking forward for my payday... Most of it's already considered spent... *sigh*

I somehow made a mistake of underestimating expenses last month. I was confident that even if I buy a new laptop, things could still be afforded and food will always fill the fridge.

Boy, was I wrong. And being wrong in Japan is unacceptable. And armed with the motivational fear of being an unacceptable foreigner in Japan, I decided to ask for help. Where else? From friends of course! And it'd be better if they were next-door neighbors too, that would save you some train fare and much needed energy.

Anyway, I somehow managed to survive August and its laundry-stinker rainy days... But with a cost. A cost that would hunt me till my paycheck arrives.

And to think that my paycheck arrived today. *dun dun dun dunnnn!*

Thanks to these 'accounts payable', I'm having a hard time trying to whip up a plan on what to do (rather, what I could do) for my birthday coming this weekend...

Well I pretty much learned my lesson; it'd be foolish not to. But of course, old habits die hard. Recent ones harder. Which led to me going on another splurgefest last Saturday and ending up with bags of sausages, a pack of Napolitan spaghetti sauce, biscuits, eggs, mozzarella slices, and a carton of milk from Hokkaido. Anyone have any suggestion on a recipe?

D'oh!

Have you ever tripped on nothing, banged your head, said 'sorry' to a lamp post and 'thank you' to sympathizing spectators?

I did. And it was such a humid afternoon too...

My team mates and I were just returning from one of our lunch-outs when it happened. So here I am walking peacefully with a content smile on my face and covered in hard-earned sweat (the restaurant was quite the walking distance away), when suddenly I tripped. I don't know what caused my feet to stumble like that, and it was my curiosity to find out that furthered my embarrassment:

I tripped, so of course I looked back to find out what-the-frap caused me to trip but found nothing. Instead, I found myself suddenly in front of a jumbo lamp post. With no time to react, I squeezed my eyes shut and braced for impact.

Oof~

Inertia caused my arms to swing forward while I became a helpless witness as my arms hugged the post without my consent. Without control, my forehead banged on the said lamp post, and because it was covered in rubber (don't ask) my head re-bounced. I was slowly regaining consciousness and common sense by that point and managed to control my neck to prevent a second banging. It all happened within 2-3 seconds.

After which, I immediately untangled myself from the post and said "Sumimasen" (sorry) to it. I figured it'd be best to say 'sorry' in Japanese since it was a Japan-based lamp post, but that's just my banged head talking.

If that wasn't enough, I found (to my horror) that my boss, and the boss of my boss, and my team mates, and everyone else that happened to witness the show, was staring and you could really feel the strain on their faces as they tried not to laugh. The energy produced was so palpable in the atmosphere, I wouldn't be surprised if steam was produced somewhere...

Someone managed to ask, "Daijobu na no ka?" (are you all right?) to which I replied, "Ah! Arigatou..." (thank you). There was a huge crowd of blank stares involved and everyone began to sweat. Mine was already dry, in fact I was shivering.

Then someone laughed.

And the world was fine once again.

金曜日

I feel good~ Nana nana nana naa~ *dances* After a long time of being bummed, this has got to be one of the best Fridays yet!

• Results of the JLPT 2 (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) mock exam came back; I didn't pass, yet my sensei said I improved a whopping 130%!
• Last night a representative from my company came by and told me that my pay will be a day late, and to compensate for such inconvenience, gave me a salary advance! Woot.
  
• After scourging bookstores everywhere in search of a JLPT 2 application form (which were all sold out, they said), I found out that there's a bookstore right inside my office building; one that still has a form available! I bought one a while ago, at last!
  
• I found a wonderful book (same store) about Japan's monsters and ghastly myths, and it's in English! Wow, it had a bargain price too! Of course, I snatched it right away... can't wait to read it on the train ride home!
• And to top it all off, I'm now munching on some Pocky sticks and gulping down a cup of my fave iced milk tea.
• Oh, and tomorrow's a Saturday. The best of them lot yet!

Ahh.... Absolute and total bliss~

Torotoro Omurice

A Thursday cannot be a Thursday without its special luncheons. And so, I present you, Torotoro Omurice!

I've had omurice before and it was so-so (rice mixed with ketchup, wrapped in an omelette, and topped with ketchup), which was why I was surprised when I found out that my order wasn't ketchup-ish! Well, there was ketchup on top of the omelette, but not as much as what I had before~

Anyway, the salad with vinegrette came first; nothing much, just shredded lettuce, carrots, raddish, cucumber, and a huge tomato. Everyone were already eating their steaks and my order was last to arrive. The wait was definitely worth it though...

It was amazing!

My plate probably dominated the table, it was huge and square, and at the middle sat the biggest omurice you've ever seen, surrounded with beef slices in demiglace sauce, and a sprinkle of aesthetic parsley bits. I stared at it till my glasses fogged up. It was a glorious moment. Although it might've been attributed to the fact that I was hungry .

I picked up a spoon, the biggest I could find (there were different kinds of spoons there, pretty fancy place, that), and tore into the perfect omelette shell, thus releasing steam and more heavenly aroma.

First bite in and I can already realize that it was the best ever. Ever been. Ever will be.

The hint of a 'spaghetti sauce' taste in the beef Demiglace with the neutral creamness of the buttered rice and egg omelette was so surprising, I had a heartburn. At last, something to absolutely die for. I haven't felt like this since I've had my first fettucini carbonara as a kid, afterwhich, I became addicted to white sauces and italian food, especially pasta.

Ahhh~~~ Torotoro. Omu. Rice. Dai. Suki.

And the best part is, as usual, it was all FREE.

¿ɥnɥ ǝɯosǝʍɐ

˙ɯoʇʇoq ʎɹǝʌ ǝɥʇ ʇɐ ʍou sı ɥdɐɹƃɐɹɐd ʇs1 ǝɥʇ ʇɐɥʇ pǝpuıɯǝɹ ǝq ǝsɐǝld

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˙ǝɹǝɥ ʇno ʇı ʎɹʇ

¡uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝloɥʍ ɐ sɐ ɥdɐɹƃɐɹɐd ǝɥʇ ˙˙˙ɥƃnoɥʇ pɹıǝʍ sı sıɥʇ

¡ɔılɹɐƃ ǝɹoɯ pǝʌloʌuı ʇı ǝɯıʇ sıɥʇ ˙ǝdıɔǝɹ sʇǝƃƃnu uǝʞɔıɥɔ ɹǝɥʇouɐ ǝʞɐɯ oʇ pǝƃɐuɐɯ ı ʍoɥ ɹɐǝɥ ɐuuɐʍ noʎ ssǝlun ˙(ʎɐpɹǝʇsǝʎ ǝʞıl ʇsnɾ) ʎɐpoʇ ƃolq ƃuıɥʇʎuɐ ɟo ʞuıɥʇ ʇ,uɐɔ ı 'sǝpısǝq ¿unɟ ʇı ʇ,usı ʇnq 'sıɥʇ ǝʞıl pɐǝɹ oʇ noʎ ƃuıɔɹoɟ ɯ,ı ɟı ʎɹɹos ɯ,ı

˙lǝʌou ʇǝʞɔıus ʎuoɯǝl ʎuɐ uı puıɟ p,noʎ ʇɐɥʍ ǝʞıl ɥɔnɯ ؛ooʇ ʎuunɟ ʎʇʇǝɹd s,ʇuoɟ ǝɥʇ puɐ ¡sıɥʇ ǝʞıl sıɥʇ op ʎllɐnʇɔɐ plnoɔ ɹǝʇndɯoɔ ʎɯ ʇɐɥʇ ǝǝs oʇ ƃuızɐɯɐ ǝʇınb
˙ʇno ʇı ʎɹʇ oʇ pǝpıɔǝp puɐ ƃolq s,ʇunɐpɐq uı sıɥʇ ʍɐs ı