The Amazing Adventures of Tyr Tyrson in the Land of the Chrysanthemum Throne

[garbon]

Imbecile better still.  That's what you call someone who attempts to over-moralize their diet.

Well when I was a vegetarian it was because I didn't care much for the taste of meat - not any moral reason. Many of the vegetarians that I know, are such because they get sick thinking about meat. Now definitely maladaptive and something I think is worthy of therapy, but not the result of moral convictions.

[Ideologue]

Strange she wouldn't eat fish, most veggies do. I always thought there was a different word for a vegetarian who doesn't eat fish like there is a word for those who do eat chicken.

The word for someone with a principally vegetarian diet who does eat fish is "pesco-vegetarian" or "pescetarian."

Real people don't use that term.

The limited nature of the vocabulary possessed by you and those with whom you associate is of little concern to me.

[The Brain]

Pesci-vegetarians are funny.

[garbon]

Strange she wouldn't eat fish, most veggies do. I always thought there was a different word for a vegetarian who doesn't eat fish like there is a word for those who do eat chicken.

The word for someone with a principally vegetarian diet who does eat fish is "pesco-vegetarian" or "pescetarian."

Real people don't use that term.

The limited nature of the vocabulary possessed by you and those with whom you associate is of little concern to me.

Stop destroying the English language.

[BuddhaRhubarb]

Pesci-vegetarians are funny.

while Joe Pesci vegetarians are motherfucking hilarious, just don't laugh at them. Or Bam You're in the trunk on your way to a shallow grave behind Carrot's house in Jersey. :p

[Josquius]

Strange she wouldn't eat fish, most veggies do. I always thought there was a different word for a vegetarian who doesn't eat fish like there is a word for those who do eat chicken.

The word for someone with a principally vegetarian diet who does eat fish is "pesco-vegetarian" or "pescetarian."

Aha, so there is a linguistic distinction.
Strange it goes that way, pretty much all vegetarians I know eat fish. Cue non fish eating girl: They're not real vegetarians, mwaaa Luckily she's going nowhere near me.



Last night I had my first earthquake. Woke up randomly in the dead of night to my bed steadily vibrating and the coat hangers in the cupboard shaking and hitting each other. It was quite alright really, just a gentle rocking like being on a bridge with a passing lorry, only without the sound. Though it does make me wonder if people in Japan bother with having nice, fragile things- they'd have to put them on very low shelves, just in case.


I also hung out with the people going to the same prefecture as me. They mostly seem quite alright. A few from San Francisco, a guy from Boston, two Canadians- one of whom is a gaysexual who acts rather 'normal' most of the time but when he started drinking he suddenly turned super stereotypical. Which was odd.
We went and found Kabukicho after we were advised by the organisers not to go there and it was the one area of the Shinjuku map they had left blank. It was lame. The girls were....wrong looking. They had strange eyes, artificially made up to be bigger than they are and nasty died blonde hair. Not much to see at all- though I did notice one sign in a pub window, guiness for 800 yen a pint. Ouch. That's worse than London.
Also apparently they have the Big Issue in Japan. Which is unexpected

[BuddhaRhubarb]

Strange she wouldn't eat fish, most veggies do. I always thought there was a different word for a vegetarian who doesn't eat fish like there is a word for those who do eat chicken.

The word for someone with a principally vegetarian diet who does eat fish is "pesco-vegetarian" or "pescetarian."

Aha, so there is a linguistic distinction.
Strange it goes that way, pretty much all vegetarians I know eat fish. Cue non fish eating girl: They're not real vegetarians, mwaaa Luckily she's going nowhere near me.



Last night I had my first earthquake. Woke up randomly in the dead of night to my bed steadily vibrating and the coat hangers in the cupboard shaking and hitting each other. It was quite alright really, just a gentle rocking like being on a bridge with a passing lorry, only without the sound. Though it does make me wonder if people in Japan bother with having nice, fragile things- they'd have to put them on very low shelves, just in case.


I also hung out with the people going to the same prefecture as me. They mostly seem quite alright. A few from San Francisco, a guy from Boston, two Canadians- one of whom is a gaysexual who acts rather 'normal' most of the time but when he started drinking he suddenly turned super stereotypical. Which was odd.
We went and found Kabukicho after we were advised by the organisers not to go there and it was the one area of the Shinjuku map they had left blank. It was lame. The girls were....wrong looking. They had strange eyes, artificially made up to be bigger than they are and nasty died blonde hair. Not much to see at all- though I did notice one sign in a pub window, guiness for 800 yen a pint. Ouch. That's worse than London.
Also apparently they have the Big Issue in Japan. Which is unexpected

you've got to get past the comparing prices in Japan with anywhere else. The rule of thumb used by those of us who knew the score was that anytime you bought anything for less than 1000 yen - it's like it's free.

There are lots of great reasonably priced Japanese beers.  what's the Big Issue btw?

[garbon]

What's a gaysexual?

[Josquius]

The Big Issue is a magazine sold by homeless people.


I'm alive, I've sort of managed to get internet at home finally- I've got a mobile and I'm tethering though so its not proper internet.
Enough to get started however. I'm sure theres a better way  than the app I'm currently using but I've very little idea how to use this thing, first smartphone I've ever had.

Yamanashi is bloody hot. But pretty. My predecessor has really tried to cheat me with selling her old stuff however. Will have a face off with her on Thursday.
Proper write up of things and photographs to come when I get around to it. I've been super tired lately with my messed up sleep cycle (jet lag was a real slow burning torture for me), the heat, the discomfort of my not yet set up home and how much I've been doing.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Drums fingers on desk..........

So.............how's it going?

[mongers]

Drums fingers on desk..........

So.............how's it going?

Yes, I'd like to know.

Despite all the flak Tyr gets here, he's one of my favourite posters and he has a lot more gumption than some poster here (myself included) about getting up, out and doing challenging things.

[Ideologue]

Drums fingers on desk..........

So.............how's it going?

Yes, I'd like to know.

Despite all the flak Tyr gets here, he's one of my favourite posters and he has a lot more gumption than some poster here (myself included) about getting up, out and doing challenging things.

I bet if they just built a road, you'd bicycle to Japan.

[mongers]

Drums fingers on desk..........

So.............how's it going?

Yes, I'd like to know.

Despite all the flak Tyr gets here, he's one of my favourite posters and he has a lot more gumption than some poster here (myself included) about getting up, out and doing challenging things.

I bet if they just built a road, you'd bicycle to Japan.

Your credit me with far too much of most things, especially at my age.

Anyway back to Tyr as it's his thread.

[Josquius]

So, first day here I was met at the bus station by my supervisor who then showed me to the school, took me to the bank to open an account, the supermarket to buy food, my new flat, etc...
I'd heard a lot of bad things about this woman before I came. My predecessor mentioned several times she was far from great and another guy muttered stuff to this effect too. First impressions though...she seems nice. Quite gobby, talks a lot about her life and whatnot, but helpful and decent. I'm quite pleasantly surprised.
According to her it was my predecessor who was far from great. She spoke of having to clean the flat before I arrived due to it being filthy- my predecessor had to wear special shoes indoors so insects wouldn't bite her and during the cleaning a dead mouse was found somewhere.
I am....not 100% feeling at home here yet. I really need to get sorted and do some major cleansing.

Somewhere out there in the multiverse there exists a 16 year old version of me who was bitten by a radioactive gypsy and developed the ability to see the future.
That girlfriendless loser who suffers from a spot of yellow fever and anime love hates me for it seems I have developed a super power of my own. I can barely say hello to a group of Japanese school girls without them bursting into fits of giggles.
Its a very strange experience. Loads of them keep saying I'm "cool"; ey? You don't know me...you don't know how cool I may or may not be. Apparently the Japanese throw around compliments like rice at a (1960s) wedding but still. Weird stuff.
Just the other day one girl let out a kawaii des ne about me when talking to her friend. Now this is bizzare. Women have shit taste, this is known; why aren't they all gay afterall? But me? And kawaii? Those few women who have deemed me worthy over the years most certainly did not do so because they considered me 'cute'.
I only hope that this will carry over to girls of a more acceptable age.
But then I used to be a school kid too, I know how it is. Any remotely passable looking teacher under the age of 30 is regarded as attractive. Oh well.

School doesn't start properly for another fortnight, until then its the summer holidays, yet unlike teachers back home everyone here still has to come into school and as I've already mentioned a lot of the kids do too. I'm in a high school which pretty much covers college and year 11 (15-18) so I guess a bit of adult behaviour and exam stress is expected but to this extent? Coming into school everyday in their uniforms to swot and take part in their clubs...
For days some sort of street dancing team was drilling in the yard outside. Apparently a few days ago there was some event at city hall where the high schools of hte city would try and advertise themselves to new students and the kids were really getting quite into making their school look good. When I bought my phone too the girl at the shop said she was an alumni of my school and so gave me some sneaky discounts.
Its just...totally the opposite attitude of back home.
Back home school is the prison, teachers are the enemy, the day the shithole burns down is the day we will all be happy. We're just doing time there as its what we absolutely have to do if we want to stand a chance of getting anywhere later in life.
Here though....major school spirit. Its strange.

Oh. And another thing to  mention- the stares. Often I'll catch someone just staring at me. Last weekend I was sitting on a bench by the side of the road, taking a break (so much walking last weekend, my feet hurt like hell) and a moped stops at the traffic lights in front of me. The old guy on it just shamelessly turns and begins examining me. Freaky. And not the only time it has happened. And this is me, an average looking, average height guy, in urban Japan, one guy I know has been placed in a village up in the mountains and he's blonde and about 6 and a half foot...I dread to think what he is getting.

As said I've sorted my mobile and have an unlimited internet data plan but have to wait until the end of this week before I have proper internet. I'm on a crappy laptop at the moment too (my dad found it behind some bins), haven't got my desktop together yet. Hopefully this week too there. Life should be taking shape soon.... I hope.
I've been wanting to write this properly in word but I don't have that on here so have been putting it off. But oh well.

Oh. And a PS edited in. Very strange coincidence. The week before I left I watched Kagemusha. The only Japanese film I've bothered watching for a good few months.
It just so happens this place is famous for its connections to the main character from that film, there's even a big statue of him in the prefectural capital by the station.
Nobody else much cares but this coincidence is standing out to me for some reason.

[Legbiter]

Don't forget to leverage the exotic factor into quality pussy. Hell, you could probably set up a stable of rotating girls if you play it right.