“I don't mind, As long as there's a bed beneath the stars that shine, I’ll be fine, if you give me a minute”
-The Importance of Being Idle, Oasis

I made it back from Tokyo loaded down with purchases and gifts from Thailand from my mom and aunt. My brain isn’t totally functioning after a week in Tokyo running around, sightseeing, and constantly on the go between my 3 days with my family, and 4 days with Rusty. So if you want legitimate “I went to Mt. Fuji and took a picture of this horse” you’ll have to read my travel blog when I eventually update it and add photos (most of which are currently on Rusty’s laptop which is with him in Thailand). So instead, I present to you the odds and ends and bizarre facts of Tokyo as I catch up on everyone else’s blog entries and all the gossip I missed while I was away (Aaron Spelling died? I didn’t know zombies could die). So for now, this is the basics until I actually unpack and sort through the week. In short, very happy to see my mom and my Aunt Heather- it’s nice to have a little bit of home and normalcy here in Japan and let them share in on the bizarreness of this country.

“It ain't no place to be killing time, But I guess I’m just lazy”

Best picture taken of me: The one where I demanded that I have my photo taken at Sega Joypolis standing next to the Michael Jackson autograph and picture of him posing with young children.

Best purchases: My “Groupie Looking for Musicians” Fender t-shirt, and The Raconteurs CD which was on sale. The "cat+music= a good time. Home Made bon bons. He sits and relaxes on which is called stump" nonesense English t-shirt that has a picture of a cat listening to an iPod on it.

I wish I Bought- the Bob Dylan umbrella (wouldn’t fit in my suitcase), and the overpriced Franz Ferdinand/U2/Boy George autographs. I made Rusty take a picture of the FF one. And PERHAPS THE MOST DISTASTEFUL SHIRT EVER: The “I LOVE JESUS” shirt with a picture of Our Saviour with a gold crown of thorns and “I love Jesus” written ad nauseum all over the back. I could easily wear it and make a mockery of everything the Jesus shirt stands for, but I have the feeling that it would get me into trouble at home so my revelry would be short-lived. But I shall cherish its memory forever. I so wanted that shirt...

Best Thing Eaten- an avocado quesadilla at a Mexican place, a crepe filled with cheesecake, whipped cream and strawberries, and the donuts at the breakfast buffet at my second hotel with my family.

Worst Things Digested- the Japanese breakfast at my first hotel with Rusty. No one wants to eat miso soup, rice, pickles, and tofu at 8am. Thank God for the 7-11 around the corner.

Best Gift Received from my Mom: A Oscar statue from her stopover in LA. Monkey Balm- given to her by a monkey in Thailand to which I exclaimed, " A monkey gave this to you and now you're giving it to me?! Thank You!"

Best Mis-named Store: U2 which sells men’s clothing.

Best Store: Musiculture- the all-music memorabilia store- a black hole for my funds.

Best Thing Seen on TV: "AFI 100 Greatest Songs." I hadn’t seen English TV in over a month and the only thing on TV in English is this?! Talk about sweet. Even though I have both seen it multiple times and have it on tape, I think I may have screamed when I saw it was on. It also led to my discovery of the weird channel that shows old movies at random times. Sample: “Is that Victor/Victoria or is Julie Andrews dressed like a man for something else?”

Most Horrible Creature at the Ueno Zoo: The Aye-Aye http://thingsnottosay.blogspot.com/2006/03/get-outta-my-dreams-get-in-to-my-car.html which is even more terrifying alive than it was stuffed at the ROM. It has a “third” E.T. like spindly finger that it uses to tap on logs to find bugs to eat. Also, the amount of bizarre creatures I have never even seen before like the mouse-like thing with bird legs and tiny arms.

Best Animal Display: The majestic Canadian Beaver.

“My best friend called me the other night, He said “Man, you crazy?”

So that’s about it for the run down of Tokyo, or at least that’s all that comes to mind right now. I still haven’t digested it or sorted out all that I did this week. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and the rest of the week where my plans include reading my new book, listening to music, watching re-runs of House and figuring out future travel plans as the lethargy sets in. To paraphrase, “get me off of this crazy thing…called Japan.” I should find some money and open up my own memorabilia/film/music/pop culture store where I will tell you what you should and will like. I feel like I need to give lectures here about these things so it’s not all Mickey Mouse and rainbows (it is, literally).

I just heard the new Jessica Simpson song so to keep my head from exploding Scanners style…

Top 5 Random Playlist for Songs Stuck in My Head (aka the “I’m Too Tired to Concentrate” mix):

Runaway- Del Shannon
Spanish Bombs- The Clash
Chocolate- Kylie Minogue
Importance of Being Idle- Oasis
Elephant Love Medley- Moulin Rouge (McGregor and Kidman)

So ends the rambling.

“I can’t get a life if my heart's not in it”