How about love?

Feb 23

I wrote this list during a down period at work today.

Lately, I've been reading a lot of non-fiction. I finished Bill Bryson's memoir The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid last night, and I had a very mixed response to the book as a whole. Either way, one thing I really appreciated about my randomly purchased book was that it tickled that part of me deep down inside that sincerely wants to write. I'm a pretty awful writer -- this blog is proof of that -- but it's always been a hidden passion of mine, even if I'm far too lazy and too untalented to really do anything with it.

Anyway, I had a free period at work today, so I decided that the first step in writing Melissa's Grand Memoir was to meditate about what things truly stirred the soup of Melissa's Soul. This was my list. I scribbled it down in about two minutes. That was pretty much all the time I had before I had to rush into another lesson, but had I had another minute or two, I would have added the following:

• my chosen family, as love is thicker than blood
• spirituality and my unknown but ever-present personal image of the divine
• above-the-knee socks
• Rilakkuma
  

...but as it is, I think it's a pretty decent list.

What do you care about?

More Updates Than You Can Boogie Woogie At!

Feb 18

I don't know if this works for Osaka Boogie, because technically this is part of the neighboring Hyogo prefecture. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Amagasaki! I love cities with this sort of feel, all tall buildings and negative space and Mister Donuts.


Costco was the reason I went to Amagasaki. It was at Costco that I had a bit of a shock; I had gone in happy anticipation of their enormous, American-style pizza, but my stomach completely rejected the (two) slices I tried to lovingly feed it. While Japanese food may not be as healthy as its rumored to be (especially if you lack a functional and efficient kitchen and hence eat out often, resulting in day after day of 'rice bowl with meat on top' from Yoshinoya), my time here has apparently destroyed my ability to handle grease.

I liked this picture because Costco is next to advertisements for Aflac and Curves. It's like a little slice of America. Grease and all.

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Feb 19

Another stuffed toy, yes.
Don't roll your eyes, Mother -- come on, how was I supposed to resist?
I bought this guy at Amagasaki after destroying my digestive system. I was wandering around a nearby department store when, on my way to the check out, determined to only buy Very Necessary Things like Clothes Hangers, my eye spotted him.
It's Bee Mario, Mom! It's Mario in a flippin' bee suit!
I can't say no to that.

I kiss his nose every night before I go to bed.

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Feb 20

Spotted at Nankai Namba station, for Ash.
Look at the handsome lad there. What is this ad supposed to be selling -- the teachers or the students?!

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Feb 21

...!
HAVE WE FOUND THE CULPRIT?!
Oh... no. No. It is a different panda. This is not the panda I seek.
...oh, who am I kidding? I seek every panda.

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Feb 22

It's time for my favorite guys!
I was heading towards Abeno for dinnertime lunch when, through the sound of the raindrops smacking the pavement, I heard the soft melody of the foreboding enka music that could mean (and, indeed, meant) only one thing...
...the Nationalists were coming!
(Hooray, hooray!)
As an American, I register as despicable but not absolutely destruction-worthy to these guys, who roam around in their obnoxious black vans blaring traditional Japnese popular music overlayed with their archaic nationalistic messages. I particularly enjoyed this one, because the messages were not read by the aging man at the steering wheel, but were instead delivered by a gently urging female voice, the sort of voice that typically tries to sell you vacuum cleaners or makeup remover. To be honest, I really enjoyed riding my bike up the steep hill between Shin-Imamiya and the Abeno outskirts as the music swelled behind me.
I felt like a video game character. Like Bee Mario, almost, except much more hungry.

Updates Ahoy!

Feb 13

Lady Liberty herself smiling down upon Kyobashi.
The picture isn't crooked -- your face is! (Oh, burn.)

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Feb 14

This is for Casey. Why ride the boring old train to Osaka Airport when you can ride the Chicken Ramen Bus?!


The aforementioned Casey's hands and our lovely lady of the house, Cleo.
Notice the rad motion blur around Casey's thumb.

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Feb 15

I found this random koi fish pond in front of an apartment building in Abeno.
To be honest, it was actually built into the apartment building.
I saw this and said, out loud, to nobody, God, I love this city.
The thing that differentiates me from the crazies in my neighborhood is that I didn't hear anybody reply.

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Feb 16

One of my landlord's many claims about the building I live in is that we had a functional washer and dryer. These were lies, much like "we don't have a roach problem" and "you'll only be sharing with six other people." Hence I've started dragging my clothes to the local coin laundry, which hasn't been renovated or updated since the 1970s.

I thought my hair looked enormous. It warranted a picture.

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Feb 17

This is Japan's answer to Best Buy, which I guess is the only big box electronics store left in the US now, huh? I love LABI1. You get 10% back on your purchases in the form of points, so any big purchase (like a certain digital camera) can turn into free... boy band DVDs. Actually, I tend to use my money on stupidly practical things now, so I spend most of my points on crap like vacuum cleaners and toothbrushes. But I want to spend them on DVDs.


This is for Ash.

I found this sign in Kishiwada Station, but I think it's in all the Nankai stops now. I love this sign because it is written in thick Osaka dialect for no good reason. Osaka dialect has the amazing ability to both sound incredibly rude and incredibly friendly at the same time. This sign makes the best out of both of these qualities.

Chikan wa akan de. Zettai akan de.

Chikan is the word here generally used for perverts and molesters, especially the famed ones that ride the trains in Japan and feel up schoolgirls.  Akan is an Osaka dialect word meaning "unacceptable" or "no good" for the lack of a better translation, and de is a particle you put at the end of a statement in true southern Osaka dialect if you want to give the sentence a little strength. It's considered somewhat harsh and rude in general Osaka but was commonly used in the area I studied abroad in, so hence my Japanese sounds like a thug's.

Perverts won't be tolerated. Definitely not.

It's good to know.

It's Pay Day

This is the Rilakkuma I won at the aquarium and my new Sigg water bottle.
It has aliens. How could I resist?

WHERE IS THE BOOGIE?

WHERE IS OSAKA BOOGIE???

The boogie is right here, baby!


I am so sorry for the incredible lack of updates! I know I've been saying that a lot recently, but good news I received last week (and my resulting great mood) has made me a bit distracted when it comes to the computer. E-mails are going unresponded to, Skype calls ignored... actually, that's pretty much how I am usually, huh. Erm. Anyway, I'm sorry for the lack of BOOGIE lately, but I promise I will try to update every few days from now on!

So, even though I haven't updated, I still have been taking pictures faithfully. These aren't, as a whole, my best set, but hopefully you will be able to enjoy them!

(I was about to say "hopefully you can enjoy" and I am not even sure whether or not that's right anymore. English teaching has robbed me of English!)

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Feb 5

I took this after a shift at a school in Tennoji. I didn't want the subjects of the photograph to realize they were being shot, so please forgive the awful lighting. On the left we have a girl playing her guitar and singing her heart out; as I've mentioned before, Tennoji is full of these would-be pop stars. On the right we have one of Tennoji's many homeless.

It is this delicate balance of potential and poverty that most captures me. I used to resent living in such a downtrodden area, but lately I am grateful for the chance to see, with my own two eyes, the sharp contrasts that make up truly urban living.

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Feb 6

Mom, what on Earth are these plants?! They look like cauliflower... Kishiwada didn't really decorate the sides of their streets with cauliflower, did they?!


It was a lovely day.


Upon returning home, I spotted these at Nankai Shin-Imamiya station. Excellent.

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Feb 7

Stacy, you'll get a kick out of this.

Stacy and I were returning home from our shift together at one of our company's schools in Tennoji. It was a beautiful day so I, like the lunatic I am, started snapping the same redundant pictures I've already taken a thousand times. Suddenly we were stopped by a little boy staring at us -- it was one of my little students! He was out with his grandfather. I love this kid, and I had no idea that they were in my 546342th picture of JR Tennoji Station.

I gave him a high five.

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Feb 8

Well I guess it would be nice
If I could touch your body
I know not everybody
Has got a body like you.

(I'm trying to keep up the panties theme, you see.)

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Feb 9

This truck was happily blaring its way up through Daikokucho. It's advertising a "pachinko" (a popular Japanese game that I've never learned the point of) game featuring beloved character Muscle Man. It was very, very loud.


I had some extra time before work, so I went to the Naniwa Yasaka Shrine again to give my thanks for the wonderful news I'd received the week before. While there, I saw some signs of the upcoming spring.


I love this. This is a wish board. You'd think the wishes on here would be about President Obama, given that his signature catch phrase is inscribed upon it. You'd be wrong. These are actually wishes from high school students hoping that they get into the university they're aiming for. Ash, are those the kanji used when abbreviating Kansai Gaidai? I'd check myself, but my computer is currently making angry noises. (And I just finished paying the sucker off yesterday!)


This is Cleo, our building's cat. Mom, she kinda looks like Toby a bit, doesn't she?
(Yes, ten years later and I'm still not over Tobias.)

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Feb 10

Okay, this is shameless. The boy in this picture is one of my favorite pop stars. I admit it made me very happy to enter FamilyMart and see his handsome face. Sighhhh.

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Feb 11

Found in Abeno. If you ever wondered where the Bathroom Man and Bathroom Woman went on vacation, now you know. They even bring their pet ladybug, aww.

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Okay, and that just about catches me up! I'm sorry for any formatting errors in this post -- my editing program isn't working quite right for some reason, and my computer is starting to make sounds. Eeek! Anyway, I'll catch you all later! BOOGIE ON!

Swing your arms from side to side...

I absolutely have to show off the amazing hoodie I received in the mail from my mother today! Please excuse my awful face.

IT'S A MARIO!


Thank you so much, Mom!

I've loved Mario ever since I was a little girl. I remember being in Kindergarten and forming my own little "Mario Club" consisting of me and whoever was around me at the time. I'd hand out photocopies of coloring book pages according to how much I liked the person; the icky girls near me would get King Koopa to color, whereas my crush at the time (a young lad by the name of Ryan) would receive Mario or Luigi, depending on the day. I always colored the other one, as if to show young Ryan that we, together, would make a powerhouse of a team.

It never occurred to me at the time that using two brothers as a symbol of Eternal and Fated Love was a little strange.

Anyway, thank you, Mom! I love it. I wore it around today and got so many funny looks; it was simply awesome. Once again, thank you!

So, it was a beautiful day outside today, so I decided to go shopping at Tennoji. I had nothing else better to do.

While there, I took a picture of my new friend:

She was jealous of my shirt.

Apologies Again

I don't know what's up with me lately, but I've been entirely lacking the energy to update this blog more than once or twice a week. That said, I have been steadily taking photographs, so here's another catch up post.

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Jan 31st

Watch out for renegade pandas.


I still don't know what was going on here, but there were a ton of police on and around the Tennoji Station crosswalk.

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Feb 1st

I probably should have taken this picture before we ate, but this is the aftermath of myself and four of my work friends at Kua'aina's delicious burger place.

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Feb 2nd

Taming the Wild West (Japan).

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Feb 3rd

I finally got my curry udon, yay!