Okay this one cracked me up!

I love Madam and Eve!! This one is priceless! Remember to click on the pic for a larger view!!

Madam and Eve

Luv ya guys!!

CLICK FOR A LARGER VIEW!!!

Nu's Birthday Bash

The Birthday Girl - Looking Beautiful!

Okay, so I was lying when I said nothing much happened since you last heard from me!! There WAS Nuria’s birthday bash!! We went eating, drinking and karaoke-ing, followed by a mass orgy at her place (y’know, the usual)… the bacchanal excesses just led to the worsening of my cold, but hell it was fun while it lasted! Some piccies for your viewing pleasure!!

Walkin' About

Bon jour mes amis, c’est moi!! Did you miss me?! I scheme you probably did (poor things)… I did not mean to deprive you of my company for so long, but I've been recuperating from the never-ending flu (which now, finally, seems to have ended – aside from the occasional sniffle and cough of course)… so what’s new, you ask?! Well… nothing much really (come ON, give a girl a break okay!? I've been SICK!! I missed out on all the fun stuff).

I can tell you that it actually feels like spring!! I don’t know how long that’s gonna last though – I view this sudden warm weather with a great deal of cynicism… I know that as soon as I let my guard down, the cold weather will pounce again and I’ll be left feeling cheated and defeated! I DID go on a lovely walk during my lunch break yesterday and even though things still look damp and dead and muddy, there does SEEM to be a promise of something more in the air! You can just sense the eager anticipation of the buds waiting to burst into bloom and the eggs waiting to hatch… yeah I know, am starting to sound totally hackneyed, but I can’t help it… whaddya want?! Originality?! Go somewhere else then!

Anyway so I went for a walk along Kamo River… there were ducks everywhere and even a crane or two… as I admired the multi-coloured ducks and gaped, in awe, at the sentry-like cranes the same thought kept going round and round in my head… BIRD FLU… what if these ducks had it?! I mean there I was trying to feel all Julie Andrew-ish in the Sound of Music and all I could do was wonder where the hell those birds have been!? And was I stepping in their crap? Cos if I was how would I disinfect my shoes?! Must tell ya that brought my excursion to an abrupt halt! I couldn’t stomach the thought anymore and headed toward town instead! Not quite as fascinating or as entertaining as the ducks, but it was nice just to be out in the fragrant, fresh air! Aaah the joy of feeling the gentle warmth of the sun on my face again!! I do so miss the sun on the many days that it just does NOT make an appearance in Niigata – you forget that it’s there sometimes, hiding behind the constant mass of clouds!

On such clear days the snow-covered mountains look awesome!! And I feel able to appreciate winter from a distance then… if only all winter days were like this…warm, with the snow a comfortable (and tolerable) distance away! I so do NOT enjoy being in the thick of things (traipsing through blizzards, suffering in the sub-zero temperatures, having my pipes freeze and slipping on the ice covered roads to fall flat on m’arse!!). Ick! Nope, not for me! These warmer days remind me a bit of winter back in Jo-burg… crisp, with clear blue skies… now THIS is what winter is supposed to be like!!

Happy birfday to Lou, happy birfday to Lou...

Happy BIIIIRFDAAAYYYY dear LOOOOOOUUUUUUU!!! Happy birfday to Lou!!


Yeah yeah... totally unoriginal, I know!! Finally, you're older than me!! It was bound to happen someday!! Hope you have a great day!! Hope you're skivving off work and on the beach (aaah the envy I feel at the mere THOUGHT of that!)... have a party! Drink lots... give the Big Blue a rest and uh... find an adequate substitute!!



















Love ya tons, my sister in all but blood!!

Natasha

Aaah Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to those of you who actually give a toss... I'm one of those who don't care! My early Valentine's experiences have left me scarred and embittered!! In fact I have no truly happy Valentine's Day memories to share with you, dear reader... except one... but it's not happy so much as, well, kind of sad in a sweet way!

The best Valentine's Day ANYTHING I ever got was when I was 13 (I told you it was sad... but WAIT, it gets SADDER)... it was my first MONTH at High School and the school was really hyping up the Valentine's Day crap. They would have a live show, shout-outs to those who got cards, etc etc! We even got to wear red and white (as opposed to the usual uniforms)... I was totally excited... wondering if I would get a card from a secret admirer... maybe more than one even!! So, my best friend and I went to the show and watched and waited... and waited... announcement after announcement came, "Mymoena, your secret admirer says he LOVES your smile and your beautiful face!"... "Bradley, you-know-who (and we ALL knew who) says she will love you forever!", that kind of thing! Eventually they were winding up the proceedings and I came to appalling realisation that I would NOT be getting ANYTHING! Not a flower, not a chocolate, not even a card from a desperate secret admirer! I was devastated! My best bud (who hadn't really gotten anything either - but her ego wasn't quite as big as mine, I don't think she was expecting anything! In fact she was kind of scornful of the whole thing... I think she may have been wearing black to school that day actually! It IS her favourite colour you know!?) and I made our way home... heading off in separate directions. I was so despondent... felt like crying and all (I was 13 okay, I took these things seriously!)... when I got home I told my brother and my mother that "Valentine's Day is stupid and I hate it and who needs cards anyway..." (yeah yeah... cliche to say the LEAST!)

So I headed off to my room to mope about for the rest of the afternoon. I eventually rejoined my mum and bro (I don't remember correctly, but if I know my mother she must've been losing patience with my by then!! She's a harsh woman, my mum!)... my brother very casually said, "Tessa (or "Tetha"... he lithped - he still does a bit actually), I think the pothtman came..." thereby implying that I should go and check the postbox. So I did... dragging myself out to check for mail. When I opened the box I saw nothing at first but on closer inspection, I noticed that something lay crumpled at the bottom of the box. I took it out... it was a piece of paper torn from a notebook! There were some incredibly bad hearts drawn all over it and the following was written in a childish scrawl "Natasha... I love you! Happy Valentine's Day! From Your Secret Admirer!"

Yes, it was from my brother (I told you it was sad)... it was, and will probably always be, the sweetest Valentine's Day gift I've ever gotten from ANYBODY!! I mean he was just 10 at the time! I went inside and embarrassed him by kissing him! He has ALWAYS denied making that Valentine! To this day he won't admit it! I mean, come ON, I'm his big sister! How much grosser can it get!? But I knew his handwriting and he was just trying to make me feel better because I was so sad about not getting anything at school! It more than made my day!! He's a sweetie pie my baby bro!! As annoying and difficult as he still is, I love him to bits!! So I'd like to say Happy Valentine's Day to my FAVOURITE (and only) baby brother today!! You rock, Nathan!! I doubt he'll see it... but what the hell!!?

Oh. Footnote!! I STILL HAVE NOT GOTTEN ANY DECENT VALENTINE'S DAY CARDS OR GIFTS SINCE THEN!! I MUST BE JINXED!!!

My cold's been promoted to the flu!

Practicing patients... uh patience!!

So I went to the doctor today!! The place was OVERRUN with old folks!! I mean they were everywhere, doddering here and there, coughing, sneezing, sniffling... hunched over and sad-looking! It was like some kind of retreat... I think they go there for a little attention and a nice massage, the poor things!

It takes a LOT for me to bow to the inevitable and head for the doc's over here!! Especially after the time I had a sore throat and that doctor wanted to shove some weird, whiplike appendage-type THING down my nostril to have a look-see at my throat (blech)... I will never forget that day... I looked at Nuria (who was along for moral support) and immediately burst into tears and told her "I'm NOT doing this, no WAY!" I still believe that the doctor was just dying to try out his new, fancy throat-camera and saw the perfect opportunity to test drive it on the distraught foreigner! I will never forget the horror I felt when I hesitantly asked him "so... you're going to put that thing down my throat and..." only to have him patiently shake his head and say "oh nooo, this goes down your nose!"... YUCK YUCK YUCK!

Anyway, I digress... today's visit was no less... interesting! I was on my own this time, no hand-holding Nuria, just me and my less than great Japanese speaking ability! The doctor was a nice enough little bloke, quite cool actually, he wore a JEANS under his white coat... he spoke a little English and we muddled along quite nicely until he asked me to open my mouth so he could look down my throat!! I have to tell you, I was TOTALLY freaked out when he used a metal tongue-depressor (I shudder, even now, to think of all the other sick people he'd used it on before!!)... what on earth he saw in the 10 seconds he looked down my throat, I don't know.. I barely had time to say "aaah". Then, without warning, and with the help of the nice nurse, he dragged my top up to my jaw and whipped out his stethoscope to listen to my breathing! My GOD, I was SO happy I was wearing a bra (yes okay, I nearly went without this morning - the clinic is two minutes down the road from me. I didn't see the point in putting one on, whenI would just take it back off when I got home!)... still he must've gotten quite an eyeful though! He then asked me to jump up onto the cot, where he palpated my stomach and what-not... I must tell you, the entire examination was conducted in under two minutes!! It flew by at the speed of light!! I've never had a doctor rush through an examination like that before! By the end of it, he told me that I had a "mixed caught a cold"... like I told various folks today, I'm assuming he meant that I had a stomach bug... he then smiled benevolently and wrote out my prescription!

So off to the pharmacy I went, where I encountered the same old folk as before... man, it was nice being the youngest in the room for a change (although, my moment of glory ended when a mum brought her four year old in after me!! Curses!!)... so then I waited and waited and waited!! And I missed home keenly, cos all you have to do is hand them your prescription and they'll have everything ready for you in minutes! Never waited 30 minutes to have a prescription filled before!! I think (and this is no joke) that they actually MAKE the drugs there man! I mean... there was a lot of grinding and shaking and measuring going on! Anyway, I came out of there with three different types of tablets, throat gargle, some capsules and a stream of sachets containing a suspicious looking white powder!! I don't know what half of it is for! And am I supposed to SNORT the white powder or drink it down with water?! Would smoking it help?!

Anyway... yeah... I hope I won't have to go back again (ever)...

Today's Madame & Eve cartoon

Happy Birthday, Nuriatjie!!

Gelukkige Verjaarsdag, my engeltjie!! I hope you have a fabulous day!! Cya tomorrow night! In the meantime here are lots of love and hugs and kisses to see ya through the day!

Ramblings

I've decided to start writing again! In fact, I have a project that I've been busy with since... man, God knows, it's been years and years now! It used to be so much easier to write, ideas just came flowing out of me! You'd think, being in Japan, it would be easier. There's just so much to inspire you here... but it's not easier! Somehow it's a lot harder! Maybe because there's always something around to distract me!! Right now it's this blog... I WAS writing earlier, just a few minutes ago I'd completed a couple of sentences and then thought "Hmmm... let's surf the net for a little while!" Ri-ight... I suck (and not in a good way! Yeah, one CAN suck in good ways! It's all in the techn... ugh... nevermind folks! Crisis averted, my mind's back out of the gutter! Sorry 'bout that!).
Maybe I should've listened to my drama professor at uni and become a theatre critic, less stress and loads of free tickets to the latest productions! I could even have done my country a major service and usurped one Barry Ronge from his #1 (in his own mind) critic position... Actually, I think that was just her (my prof's) way of telling me that I would NEVER be an actress. Humph... if she could see me now!! She'd be bound to change her mind about my mediocre acting ability if she could see my kick-ass mother elephant persona! Uh... okay... reality check - I will never be a Charlize Theron (for one thing I'm the furthest thing from blonde and skinny in this world! For another, am definitely NOT from Benoni - THANK GOD!! Even Mitchell's Plain is better than that man!)...
Yes, I'm starting to ramble... yes, it's becoming annoying, even to me! Okay, I'll stop now!

There's a movie I've been meaning to watch (doh!!)... I mean, back to the writing!!

Today's Madame & Eve cartoon

Ho hum

It's raining!! I'm still at home with some weird kinda cold thing that seems to affect my sinuses thereby resulting in killer headaches!! I have to leave my nice warm aparto in a little while to meet one of the lovely people who forgot to sign his visa form for PNG last weekend! Sighhhh... Just ordered a ton of books but have no clue as to when I'll be able to read them!

Once again my (and every other senior high school alt's) job security is in question! In fact, if one rumour is to believed, they're cutting the budget for High School ALTs completely thereby leaving us all jobless! This means they will a) find work for us as municipal (Junior High School) ALTs (which means that I would have to move AGAIN!!) or b) we will be sent home! Nice cheery thought for a bleak, cold and rainy day, ne?! I don't want to move again but I don't really want to leave yet! I hate this!

Tessa's Madame & Eve cartoon of the Day

Click on the pic for a larger view!!!

I'm sick

Yeah, I've gone n caught a sniffle!! Oh well... mebbe it's because the last few weeks have been so hectic and mebbe it's because ALL of the teachers at Kamo High were wearing those icky face masks last week, thereby guaranteeing that I would catch something unsavoury from them! I hate those mask thingies... they just look totally unhygienic to the wearer! Can anybody confirm that it actually DOES minimise contagion?! Because, all I can see it doing is prolonging the wearer's illness!!
Also, I suppose the weather in Murakami this weekend didn't help much either! I mean just look at these pictures!! Looks pretty enough, I suppose, but HELL, it was freezing!! I mean, have you EVER seen snow on a beach before?! I must confess, it was a first for me!! I'm used to white beaches, but usually those are SANDY, white beaches, not SNOWY white beaches!! How incredibly surreal!! And icicles dangling from the bottom of moving vehicles! HAH!! Who'da thought it?! The snow was so bad in Murakami, that you'd see these huge, anonymous looking lumps on the landscape and outside of homes and you'd just KNOW that there were cars buried under all that snow! Makes you pity the poor owners, who would have to dig them out the following day! Anyway, there were blizzards, there were howling winds, cars skidded on
treachorously icy roads, but it was bloody thrilling!

I suppose a huge contributor to my current malaise would be the post midnight walk, in icy winds, toward the karaoke joint on Saturday night! Yeah, it wasn't the smartest thing any of us had ever done, but it was nice and refreshing, in a limb-numbing, frost-biting kind of way!

I remember urging people on and telling them that it was great, it was refreshing, it reminded you that you were alive! In retrospect, I think that's what walking in Siberia must feel like! Okay, it was probably positively tropical compared to a leisurely mid-winter stroll in Siberia... but hey, I'm an African chick, who has no business walking out in the snow in the first place, so give a girl a break okay?! Yes I know, dis my eie skuld dat ek siek is... I now face the consequences of my own actions... sighhhhhhhhhh!!

That all-important decision

I know it was a difficult one for most of you... I'm lucky because this year's decision was an easier one than last year's! I guess that last year's traumatic move from Kamo to Niitsu was a blessing in disguise! At the time it felt like the worst possible punishment... I had my usual dramatic "WHY ME?" victim thing going on! And hell, moving is difficult at the best of times, it's so much worse in a country where you cannot communicate with anybody and vice versa! I mean my limited Japanese and expansive body language could only take me so far... anyway I eventually overcame all obstacles with the help of some pretty amazing people, friends and colleagues alike! I can't say it's been smooth sailing, but I'm truly happy to be in Niitsu! It feels like home! I suppose that this being my first year in Niitsu was a great contributor to my decision to stay! If I'd had to stay a third year in Kamo, I may have had serious reservations! I can only hope that I won't be moved again, because I honestly don't think I have the fortitude for that!!

I was thinking about it and wondering why it was so easy for me to make this decision yet so very difficult for others! It always seemed pretty clear that a third year was the only viable option for me! I have no clear idea what I want to do once I get back, just some vague notion of wanting to continue travelling and that doesn't really make me over-eager to return home, where travelling costs so much more! Also I did not want to find myself unemployed and depressed knowing that I could have stayed a third year and been earning money! I've also always been a great believer in finishing what I started and I feel that a third year would be the logical conclusion to my stint as an ALT. All of those, while practical, are pretty shallow reasons to stay! I think the truth dawned on me yesterday, on my way back from Murakami...

The reason my decision feels right, why I haven't been second guessing myself at all, is because I still get a total thrill out of being here! I have the usual "I hate Japan and everything about it days", but those days are usually few and far between (well okay, honestly, sometimes they can drag on... but I think that's mostly related to the shite weather!!)! I like knowing random facts about Japan like Pachinko, print club, nomihodai and nattou... I mean WHO KNEW?! I honestly don't think I'd stay after my third year! There are too many other countries I'd like to see, but I don't think I've really scraped the surface of Japanese life yet! I haven't seen enough places, I haven't met enough people, I haven't taken full advantage of my time here yet! So I eagerly anticipate my third year in Japan!!

It's going to be a lonely one, because the people I feel closest to are leaving. I have no doubt that I'll make more friends (or maybe not, who knows), but those I confide in, those I've considered my sisters are going home! They have no clue how much I'll miss them or how much they mean to me! But I'm sure they made the right decision for them... I just wish it wasn't so difficult to accept!

I'm sure I'll see them again. But I doubt it'll be the same! Japan is so insular that the bonds we forge here stem from the fact that we're so different from everyone else! Back home, we have our families, other friends, a support system... here we ARE the family, the friends and the support systems! It's a pretty confusing time for me right now, as I'm sure it is for a lot of people! Here's hoping the confusion passes quickly, so that I can get back to enjoying the next few months with some of the best friends I've ever had!

Gelukkige Verjaarsdag Model C aka Tink aka Chicklet

Guess which little gal is having a birthday today?! Man, Vonnie, I wish I was there to share it with you... hope the boys give you a lekker little party tonight!! If I know Bob da Babe... he's on top of things! Arranging all with his unique Roberto flair! So wanna be there for drinkies at Six, followed by wild dancing on tables at possibly Unplugged! Though if it's truly gone as ghetto as you said, then I'm sure you've found some other spot by now!! Ag, lekker jealous now!! Ek wil ook gaan party! Oh and for a variety of drinks... yummy! I can't believe I forgot all about Raspberry Archers until I got back home again!! Yissus, ne...

Nou wil ek somma huistoe kom! Especially in light of the fact that you okes have been incredibly quiet... ek miss vir julle!!

Anyway... enjoy your bday week!!

Love you tons and tons and loads and loads

Natasha

Getting up in the morning is a bitch!

I hate winter, I really do!! I can't think of anything I absolutely despise more (cept child and animal abusers of course)... I hate waking up in the morning and KNOWING that I'm gonna be attacked by the icy cold the second I get up! I have never been this reluctant to get up and face the day... I lay awake for nearly half an hour before I actually summon up the guts crawl out from under the warm and cosy covers... and in that half an hour, I find myself thinking of the craziest excuses to just NOT go to work!! But in the end, I always succumb to the inevitable and drag m'cold butt outta bed!
I suppose it would be better if I did not sleep in the altogether, getting up wouldn't be as traumatic... I just can't bring m'self to wear layers of clothes to bed. Even a t-shirt is too much!! It gets all twisty and uncomfortable! I don't know how the rest of you do it?!
Anyway, I came to school in a cranky kinda mood this morning... so I hid out in the English Room for a while.
My class was cool... the kids were sweet and listened for a change! Nice and genki too, despite the icy weather! Hopefully they now all have a clearer idea of "what they want to be in the future"!! And hopefully there'll be the barest minimum of hairdressers and bakers in the lot!

Cheerio!! It's nearly time to go home now!!

Ag hene moeder man!!!

I had to share the cuteness with you! Way too precious for me to coochie coo over all by m'self!

I love a mystery as much as the next girl but...

...where the hell did all my chocolate go?!! I mean I cannot BELIEVE that I'm down to one measly Caramello slab!! Somehow, somewhere, while I wasn't around, someone has been stealing huge chunks of the chocolate stash I'd bought at the airport in Malaysia to see me through the dark and dismal winter days in Niigata!! But it's gone... who's been eating while I wasn't looking!? Oh if only I didn't live alone... it would be SO much easier to blame a flatmate of this nefarious deed! It can't possibly be me! I'd remember eating that much chocolate in just over a month, wouldn't I?! We're talking four slabs, plus all those bite sized little chocolates and thingies I bought for my students! Well, I DID give some of those away as omiyage, so that's okay, right?!
What are your thoughts and theories?! What do YOU think happened to it!? Any ideas are welcome...

Howsit okes!!

Hey there Y'all

I decided to give this blog business another go, okay?! I know that I'm gonna forget my address and password and what-not by the time I finish this post, but what the hell... it's helping me pass time! Granted, I have a TON of things I should probably be doing right now, but none of those are particularly appealing right now. So here I am typing something that I will a) probably never revisit and b) nobody will ever see! Daijou bu, ne?!

Okay, brus, that's me signing off (for now)...

Cheerio

Natasha