Everyone had to meet me.

I had an interview with an agency today,
the lady who interviewed me seemed so excited
by me, that I just had to meet the rest of the staff.
It was great, I was like a mini-celebrity.
I also aced my Word and typing test,
60wpm! Crazy fast,
amazing how fast
I can work when I want to impress.

Just please please find me a job.

Nothing much to report,
got a call from the really straight,
saying that I needed a job
before I was allowed a flat.
Hmm, seem to be getting nowhere fast.
I suppose I've only been here a week.

One week, so not much has happened,
I drive around, trying to find flats that
don't smell like old people.
Not having much luck...

Some ditzy man crashed into my car,
he even kindly offered to pay me in cash,
so as not to go through insurance...
hmmm, how about no?

What else have I done?
I went shopping, made chicken soup,
went to a cute pub with my friends,
went to a very expensive bar in the city.

Tomorrow its homework,
selection criteria's for about 5 jobs.

My poor sister goes to boot camp tomorrow.
I hope she's going to be ok.

I guess now I'll go home.

Arrived

Hey internet cafe... sigh.
Arrived yesterday in Melbourne.
Today caught the tram into town,
bought limes for Dollface
and a comic,
called an agency for work,
but the interview isn't until Friday.
I wonder if you can get a flat without a job?

I need to be more prepared,
I have to send my resume through,
but I have to find it first.
I can't find my passport or my citizenship papers either.

I drove just over 2000 klms to get here.
And I'm still not technically home.
It was a good drive,
good to stay in Sydney for a few days,
I might do the real estate run tomorrow.

Going on a pub crawl on Friday night,
on Brunswick Street,
that's the shit apparently.

Anyway I want to buy some towels.

Japan photos.

This is Brisbane from the air.

Hello to you.

Thought I'd add some pics from Japan.

I'm a little bit glad to be home.

Japan got a little frustrating towards the end.

I was very tired from having insomnia,

and a little bit ill,

mostly I sat in Cafes and read books.

I read 4 books.

And I also thought about the book

I am going to write one day.

This was Osaka, the shite end of town.

I stayed here and got poisoned

by chicken on a stick.

All jazz but fuck all there.
Hiroshima peace park. Hirohima Peace Park.

The A-Bomb exploded right above the dome,

which apparently is why its still intact.

Osaka Castle.
Me extremely tired, hence the legs.

Whale-Shark Osaka Aquarium.

Well there you have it,

I'll put more elsewhere.

I haven't got the time at the moment.

I'm busy.

And I think my mum is crying.

Far away

Woke up to rain.
Hiroshima rain.

Dressed and decided not to stay in
old fashioned hotel's again.
Brown fake wood does nothing for my spirits.

I walk across the two rivers to
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park,
in the rain with my plastic umbrella.

I pay the 50￥ charge,
and 300￥for the handset.
It was quite moving to hear the story
of the A-Bomb,
the stories of mothers trying to find scraps of anything,
cloth or bone to claim,
to bereave absolutely.
And of those who never did find anything.
Those who drank the rain,
who suffered radiation,
who died.
140,000 of them.

The dome building, directly under its blast
surprisingly still fairly well intact.
The skin and clothes,
the photos of burns so deep the clothes left patterns,
the photos of burns so deep that the skin is left blistered white hot,
the photos of shadows,
left
by people entirely obliterated by the blast
on stone steps.
The blast where only about 10% actually
of its entirety went off.
The bomb model, about the size of a door.
The globe showing various countries' ownership
of nuclear warheads.

Some people collect teapots.

I felt saddened and got teary,
but other tourists and school children
don't really make for ease of tears to flow.

I leave feeling ashamed for humanity,
I also feel a great deal of empathy for us too.
Its such a shame that we have to wait until death
to take us to paradise.

I visit the fountain site
where the names are supposed to be etched.
I find none,
but you don't need to know them.

I walk past the peace signs children have made since,
and I collect a copy of the statement the mayor sends
every time a country declares nuclear testing.
The last being 6th August 2006.

I am leaving Hiroshima tomorrow.
I thought I'd save money and got
3 slow trains to get here.
Various cities, towns, rice fields,
houses, mountains, rain, smog, fog,
overcast, it was good to see.
I prayed not to have an earthquake,
when the train went through the mountains.
I saw a moth eaten moth, beat furiously
against the window of the train,
until a boy opened a window at the next stop.

Today I booked the Shinkansen,
back to Osaka.

I am ready to come home now.

I am sitting in the lobby of the hotel,
listening to Martha Wainwright.
I am wearing green eye contacts,
because I can and I love them.

I do love it here and I also hate it here.
I've been frustrated by the language barrier,
I've also felt lonely by it.

I am ready to come home now.

Kore wa nan desu ka?

JetScare ended up being fine,
slight delay getting to Sydney.
I was so surprised by the lay-out of Sydney,
its a little all over the shop.
-Then a last minute gate change,
which they forgot to tell me about...
I found my gate after an announcement for other passengers,
not me, I wasn't Starclass..
and then that got delayed too.
Had a school girl next to me
who was going on exchange for two weeks.
Blah blah blah.

Got into Osaka at 8.30pm,
found my train,
got off the train,
at 9.30pm
and started to wander down the street,
where I thought my hotel was.
Actually I didn't walk down the street,
it looked like market stalls,
but I realised it was homeless people.
In Japan there are 2-3 stations with the same name.
hmmm, then a girl saw me as she was unlocking her bike,
and ended up walking me to my hotel,
she said the area was very dangerous,
drug.
Don't go out at night.

Today I woke up at 5.30am,
had a shower,
watched a kids show with those crazy Japanese
people, just basically only saying "Hai-yooor!"
Over and over, I think they're kind of like
those Australian's who advertise carpets.
After about 20 minutes,
I gave up and went down stairs,
hired a bicycle,
and rode practically all day.
Walking like a cowboy now,
but I think I might get a bike,
when I get home.

Found a very expensive part of Osaka,
I couldn't afford anything,
most times on holiday,
I just tend to think,
fuck it...
I couldn't afford to fuck it this time.
There is no way I'd pay ￥23,000
($230)
for a pair of shoes.

I realised that I'd actually ridden about
2 hours away from my hotel.
I had to ask at least 10 people how to get back to
stink town.
Got in, collapsed on the bed and
then decided to go for a walk.
There's UniQlo here so I went there,
and bought a cardigan.
Its one thing being a Gaijin,
(alien), its another being one
riding a wobbly bicycle
(It was me),
with a smiley face,
wide tired eyes,
and tattoos.

Anyhow I got back to the hotel,
read my lonely planet...
"Osaka"
'If you are thinking of visiting Osaka,
the best place to stay is Kyoto'.
ahh, probably should have read that page.

What else?
Gave my self a pedicure,
looked at the stuff I bought,
shaped my eyebrows,
stared out the window...

I really wish I'd brought my
Ipod docking station.

I'm going to the aquarium tomorrow,
there's a 'Whale-Shark'.
I hope they have Ligers too.

Bye :(