Nihon e Yokoso!

i'm in Osaka now.. in my hotel room...

this is one of the two hotels that i know that we stay in that gives free internet broadband access to the rooms.. the rest of the hotels either charge us for it or we have to use the wireless access in the lounge..

anyway.. spent almost a whole day sleeping.. as usual.. coz i arrived in the morning.. and didnt get much rest yesterday before the flight as i was jamming with the band..

i woke up at 5pm.. and went out to Namba City.. a shopping area here in Osaka.. they should have other shopping places here.. but coz of the convenience, i stick to going to Namba and Nipponbashi..

itz abt 2 degrees when i walked out.. and it was a good thing that i brought my thermal and fleece winter jackets.. ok.. my first winter flight for the year... the beginning of a whole dreadful season..

normally, i will walk to these two places.. Namba is abt 20 mins walk.. 2 stations away from where i'm staying.. in Uehommachi.. and Nipponbashi is in between the two, abt 10 mins away from the hotel..

god damned expensive train ride.. $3.20 for 2 stations ride..

but itz too cold to walk for 20 mins without shelter.. so i have no choice..



the lane in between Nipponbashi and Namba.. lots of food stalls here..



the entrance to Namba City..



the river that cuts across Namba..

i had my dinner alone at Namba Walk, an underground shopping centre at the train station.. had unagi.. not bad.. better than the one that i normally have at my fav unagi stall in Tokyo..

actually.. i had been thinking of having unagi for the past few days.. so it was just nice that i came across this stall.. but itz abt $15 for a simple meal..

everything here is so expensive..

dont try to take the taxis unless u have a million bucks to spare..



All hail the high and mighty..

after dinner, i walked along Namba City.. and stopped over at Sogo.. which is a 14-storey shopping centre..

headed down to the 100 Yen store.. which is like the best place to shop in Japan.. coz things are cheap there.. like the ONLY cheap place.. and the stuffs are good too.. and the varieties are splendid.. 100 Yen is abt $1.60..

there had been too many things that i bought from the 100 Yen stores thru the years.. so many things that i dont need too comes from there.. weird stuffs.. who the hell needs portable ashtrays anyway..

In fact, Japan is full of weird stuffs.. and weird people.. i think itz the weirdest place on Earth.. they think too much in detail.. itz nice in a way.. but i like things that are done at least with a lil bit of sloppiness.. at least itz human..

i remembered leaving a girl before for not being able to get angry.. no matter what i do, she just wont get angry..

ermz.. i like humans.. not robots..

she's a sweet girl.. but unfortunately, i do like a lil bit of enthusiasm and arguements once in a while.. at least it shows that the girl can think for herself..

nothing much attracted my attention in the 100 Yen store this time.. so i didnt get anything..

i went out, suffered the cold again, and sat down in Starbucks for a Creme Brule Latte.. and even here in Starbucks, they place blankets on the seats just in case the smoking patrons feel cold..

i took a stroll back to the train station at abt 9pm, and walked a lil bit more at Namba Walk, before taking the train back to the hotel..

headed down to Lawson, which is a convenience store, like 7-11.. therez a lot of convenience stores here.. am.pm, SunKiss, and Lawson, which is like at every street corner..

i think they have more Lawson in Japan than Starbucks in Seattle and Vancouver combined..

things i like about Japan..
- lots of cute girls in extremely short skirts..
- 100 Yen shops
- u can smoke almost everywhere
- they sell cigarettes in vending machines, and itz at almost every block
- nice food.. i love Japanese food
- they sell porn at convenience stores.. not that i am porn-crazy.. but itz cool to know that they condone it .. :)

things i hate about Japan..
- lots of ugly girls in extremely short skirts..
- everything is EXPENSIVE
- extreme weather.. especially when it comes to winter..
- earthquakes in the middle of nowhere.. itz scary when u are asleep and ur bed starts to shake.. and the first thing in ur mind is Exorcist..
- not understanding the language
- weird culture
- too detailed..

weird things about Japan..
- talking escalators..
- outdoor escalators that can work in rain or shine and even in heavy snow..
- talking traffic lights..
- speakers playing music at traffic junctions..
- and they have to greet everyone that walks in and out of a store.. even if therez a million ppl walking ard there.. and they will ALL greet a million times..
- everyone is addicted to slot machines and Pachinko.. some gambling stuffs that u win ball bearings instead of tokens.. and they are REALLY addicted to it.. everywhere in Japan u can find a Pachinko place..



a Pachinko place in front of the hotel.. they have these EVERYWHERE..



Colourful Japan.. this is at the junction.. and typically Japan.. neons everywhere..



and this is the best thing that had ever been invented.. Cigarettes vending machines..

ok.. now backtracking time..

spent the past 2 days doing a safety course.. one that we have to do to re-new our flying licence as a flight attendant..

on Thursday, met up with Rosie at Northpoint, and came across Din, which was a good thing, coz else i would have to go to his place to pass him the CDs of the songs that we are jamming.. and met Wati, whoz Meraj's ex-fiancee when i was just abt to leave..

on Friday, went out with Wily and Meraj to El Sheikh for sheesha.. my niece Aisha was supposed to come down but she couldnt make it at the last minute.. Andrew joined us later and we headed down to Simpang Bedok for supper.. Alwi was supposed to join us but he had a sheesha gathering at East Coast, where they brought their own bongs and stuffs to smoke there.. outdoor sheesha.. damn.. i wonder what else the Arabs will think of.. bellydancing at Changi?

that'z almost about it.. went jamming with the band on Saturday, the only session that we have before the gig... that is, IF we are gonna play.. coz i have not been able to change my flight.. so i have to think of alternatives now.. if i still cant get the off day.. we'll back out..

after jamming, rested for a while at home and went for flight..

and here I am.. in Osaka..

Nihon e Yokoso!

how enthusiastic.. yeah rite..

Life as we know it..

ah.. sorry abt being too political in the previous posting.. just that i was reminded abt one of my good friends who was hanged abt 2 years back..

he was such a nice person.. so polite.. and very caring.. but he got into drugs when he was in his early teens.. and could never get away from it..

even after being arrested several times, he went into relapses whenever he's released..

one day, he bought some drugs from a peddler, and was arrested while the heroin was still in his possession..

and was sentenced to death.

he was hanged abt 2 years back.. and for those of u idiots who would say that he deserved it, i hope ur children will get hanged too.

and ur spouses too.

and all their family members.

and your neighbour who u have a crush on.

and his dog.

or her dog.

or cat. delete where applicable.

this friend of mine, is a very nice person.. and he fucked his life up by getting addicted to heroin.. and i know he wanted to quit, and he just couldnt.

smokers know how tough it is to quit smoking.. and chances of relapses are high.. what more if u are addicted to such things..

that's why i never tried to quit smoking..

and children, please stay away from drugs.

try to get addicted to alcohol instead. it's never too early to start.

Dear Mr Executioner,

I envy you, Sir. You have the coolest job on earth.

Where else in the world can one kill legally? And your predecessor, Mr Something Singh, had killed 50 people through his career. That's even more than most suicide bombers.

And isnt it nice that your actions had caused friction between two countries? Damn it, do you see the repercussions of your job? I am sure you had turned lives and families over. I am sure that some children had been left fatherless. Wives became widows. And mothers losing their babies that they had nurtured, but somehow had taken a wrong turn in their lives. Some out of greed, some out of desperation.

Desperation. That's something that a lot of people who are so powerful, such as you are, Sir, wouldnt understand. How the drug trafficker, Nguyen, had been so desperate to relieve his brother from debt had been. And it wasnt his cause. But then again, those are his words to save himself. Might not be true anyway.

Drugs kill people. So let's kill those who kill others. Does two negatives really make a positive?

Two wrongs never make things right. I am sure even Hitler has some people in his family who loved him. He did, anyway.

Imagine the lives that had been turned around due to executions. A mother who ran away from Vietnam, and gave birth in a refugee camp. Brought her kids to Australia so they can have a proper life. One got involved doing the wrong things and the other suffered the repercussions.

True, he should suffer the consequences of his actions. But what about those around him? What happened to the children of those victims of capital punishment? The wives? The parents?

I despise capital punishment. True, I would love to be able to kill without conscience. But sadly, I do have my conscience. As little as it is, it's still there.

Capital punishment is murder. Legalised as it is, it is still a premeditated killing of someone. I can understand killing when it's required to do so in order to protect lives and property. Or to prevent the commission of rape or kidnapping. But to do it after it is all over? Isnt it like shooting someone from the back? The danger is no longer there. What can possibly justify the premeditated legalised killing?

I am sure we are governed by smart people who can think of alternatives, rather than to take away lives, or to spend taxpayers' money on prison expenses if capital punishment is abolished. They are smart, and I am sure a good brainstorming session would do some good. They are paid highly, and unlike the rest of us who are monofocused, I am pretty sure they can think of something else that we all cant think abt. 50 times more money per year than the average Joe Lim. I am sure they can think 50 times better.

Or 50 times better means to tell us and the entire world that the best punishment is still what Nigeria practice for adultery?

And please dont compare to certain states in America where they still perform "humane" executions. After a few minutes, the results of stoning in Nigeria and lethal injections in America IS THE SAME. If i am given a chance to opt for my own death penalty, i dont think i would care how they would kill me.

I dont think the legislators, judges and juries provides life. Or provides for the necessities of life for those who finally chose a wrong path and therefore led themselves to their doom. So i dont think they actually have the rights to take away someone's life.

I'm not biased on the crimes by thinking that murderers should be hanged and drug peddlers should be spared.

Punish them. But not in a way where you dont have the rights to tread. You dont have the rights to take away someone else's life.

Mr Executioner, I hope you were smiling when you placed the noose. Cause at least I can be rest assured that there is someone who would benefit from it, when the rest of the world cried.

I'm just wondering. When did God resigned and left you in charge?

Your's Truly,

The Devil. Reincarnated.

My soul will have to wait till i get back.. find a heina of my own..

well.. i'm back.. again..

actually.. i came back yesterday.. i spent the whole day today with my band.. yazid called for a session just now before the gig on 11th..

anyway, i'm supposed to work on 10th and 11th.. so if i cant get an off day, i wont be playing for that gig.. and the band will have to back out then.. too bad.. ska without drums.. weird..

we spent time at lucky plaza for lunch, and then to starbucks next to california fitness, then to esplanade.. damn.. i miss my bandmates..

all of us were there just now.. except for hamdy, whoz in camp, and din, who dont have enough in his ezlink.. spent time discussing abt the new songs and those that we intend to play for this upcoming gig..

and we have decided not to play for the next skafest.. which is supposed to be in january.. GSC is playing.. again.. for those who are interested..

the girls left at abt 9+, except for nas, who had reattached to her bf beep.. thank goodness.. and the two of them, and me, and yazid, went to lau pa sat for dinner..



shida and fiza..



me and azil.. dia tengah tak betul tu..



Yazid, Umi, Azil and Me..

damn.. i miss my band.. and i miss the drumkit.. the next jamming session will be on saturday... but i have a nite flight after that.. so cant hang out..

backtrack..

spent the past several days with my bro and his family in sydney.. damn.. i miss the kids again now..

he lives in a place called Lakemba, in a district of Canterbury, Sydney.. and the whole place is populated by muslims.. mostly lebanese..

spent most of the week slacking at home with the kids.. and watching them play xbox.. on the 2nd day, went down to a mall at Roselands.. they bought me a pair of shoes there as a surprise belated birthday gift.. had lunch at macdonald's after that.. therez several halal macdonald's there coz sydney has the highest muslim population in Australia, and therez a halal kfc too.. just one..

and therez lots of cute lebanese girls there.. at macdonald's..

the next day, went down to another mall at Bankstown, and got Madagascar DVD and xbox game for my nephews.. i love madagascar.. thanks intan.. for recommending that movie.. lepak giler..

as usual, Australia is boring in the evenings and on weekends.. most shops were closed, but i had a good enough time playing and slacking around with the kids.. and played takraw and football in the backyard with my bro, his colleagues, and my nephews..

so that made up for everything.. took lots of pictures of them, and videos.. especially of the princess of my family..



there she is..



now.. thatz a pose..



with nutella and flour on her face.. while her mom was baking a chocolate cake..

i actually took a lot of the boys' pics too.. but itz always the same.. they are always with their xbox..



anyway.. for those of u who had never been to Australia.. burger king is known as Hungry Jacks there...

i left on tuesday.. so so sad.. i wish i could spend more time with them.. i checked in early at the airport to ensure a good seat.. and went back to see the boys play tennis..



yayat had always said that he wants to be a tennis player.. so his dad booked them for tennis coaching and tennis camps..

had a good flight back that day too.. met several of my friends on board..

ok.. backtracking..

on monday, i met Safa.. the lebanese girl that i'm supposed to marry.. but i have not made up my mind.. somehow after finding out abt their culture, it turns me off.. but i dont really care now who i marry, as long as she fits my current criteria..

my previous criteria:
- slim
- fair
- smart
- non possessive
- pretty
- must have a hobby and lots of friends. a girl without a hobby or friends will tend to cling like ermz.. nevermind..

yeah.. ok.. i'm superficial.. so? shoot me?

my current criteria:
- muslim
- slim
- must be a true female. i dont like those born males that switched genders.
- younger than me. thatz not that hard anyway.. most of the world's population are younger than me.
- never been married before..

no offence to divorcees and widows.. but as a never-been-married bachelor, i think that i'd settle down with someone who had never been married too.. so we start building our lives together.. i dont think i like the fact of starting a new life with someone who had attempted to build her life with someone else before me.. as much as i love kids, i think i'd stay away from other ppl's responsibilities.. i'll get kids of my own.. so i'll get a heina of my own..

i leave the decision of the marriage to my brother and sis-in-law.. if they want me to marry this girl, then i will.. if they decide against it, then i wont..

i'm too lazy to start a new relationship.. but i told them to hurry to get to the decision coz if they take too long and i already have a new gf, then itz too bad..

anyway, i dont really care now lah, as long as she can click with my family.. but i prefer a pretty wife.. so i will get beautiful kids..

unless u ppl think i'm ugly lah.. then dont bother holding my kids..

so now.. i'm single still.. anyone applying? and please.. no gays..

ok.. btw.. just a statement that have no relevance to whatever that i typed.. i hate attention seekers.

Somehow.. therez a hole in my heart...

ok.. not my heart.. but i'll get back to that later..

anyway.. i'm stoned now.. have not slept for 23 hrz or so..

came back from Jakarta this morning, after spending a night there.. arrived in the late afternoon, and headed down to Plaza Senayan in town right after checking in, with Ahmad, Sabrina and an old friend of mine, a 747 pilot, Gin.. who coincidentally flew in for a cargo flight for the first time there.. we used to club and hangout together abd 6 or 7 yrz back.. and have not met since..

nothing to buy in Senayan actually.. Ahmad and Sabrina went on their way to get their stuffs, so me and Gin went around looking at Indonesian chics and had a very nice nutella with peanut crepes with Teh Sosro, the most popular drink among the indonesians.. or also known as Tehbotol.. and walked around Kinokuniya and sat down at Starbucks for coffee while waiting for the other 2..

got back to the hotel at abt 7pm, and sat by the pool with Gin, and soon after, were joined by Lawrence, Kenny, Joyce and Sabrina.. had our wines at the poolside while battling with the mosquitoes..

we stayed in a nice resort hotel.. surrounded by so many plants and a big lake, itz always a losing battle with the buzzers.. like.. WTH they called it? mozzies? yeah rite.. doesnt it sound cool? prolly was thought abt by some middle aged govt officer.. mozzie.. heh.. i'ld call them MOSQUITOES still..

here'z a pic from the poolside..



thatz not the lake that i mentioned.. thatz a SWIMMING POOL.

we got hungry and went on for the dinner buffet.. i think itz more of sashimi and sushi buffet for me coz thatz the only section i attacked that nite..

after arriving in singapore this morning, i went down to Funan to get a haircut at KImage..

went down to Tampines, and coincidentally, met Andrew and Wily again.. even when we dont plan on it, we will still end up meeting. 2 days ago, met Alwi at Tampines Mall.. same thing.. coincidentally, i will end up meeting my close friends.. heh.. we should start thinking of other places to hangout in rather than TM..

ok.. now.. backtracking..

on my birthday, i spent the nite with my family and cousins in Johore.. Andrew and Wily came down too and we sat down at the coffeeshop across the road from midnite till 2am.. ogling at hindustani actresses on the small tv at the stall.. *ME?? LOOKING AT HINDUSTANI GIRLS??*

i have to admit that this girl in the movie is really really really pretty.. and no one seems to recognise her.. somehow nowadayz i do get attracted to Pakistanis and Hindustanis.. i think, genetically, we all are programmed with it.. and going back to our roots is the more natural way..

i had a nice time there in Johore with all of them.. and my 6 nieces (my cousins' daughters) were there too.. and i'm gonna talk abt one of them here..

anyway, herez a pic of the 5 of them..



thatz Yani, Zeenath, Yana, Nazira and Aisha.. couldnt get a pic of Leha coz she was too bz making coffee for us..

anyway, i made it really really really small so all u asses wont be messaging me to ask abt them.. they are a bunch of pretty girls.. so just take my word for it.. and they have a murderous uncle.

let's talk abt the #3 in the pic, Yana..

she's like what.. 19 now? or 20?.. something like that lar.. they all grew too fast for me to keep track of their age.. i cant even keep track of mine..

anyway, when she was born, she was a cute, fair and biteable little baby.. but somehow she was very weak, and few months after that.. whenever she cries, she turns blue..

when she was 6 months old, she was diagnosed to have a hole in the heart.. a blue baby, as what they termed it..

docs told us that she had abt 6 months to live and therez nothing they can do coz she was too small to undergo a heart surgery.. so we resort to traditional stuffs.. though i'm not much a believer of it, this one is really cool..

she survived the 6 months deadline.. DEADLINE.. what a word..

anyway, she survived thru the years.. but she was unable to walk coz she was too weak.. till she was 5, when she went thru a surgery to place a pacemaker in the heart..

she died for a while once, when she was 12.. and her mother performed CPR on her, refusing to give up.. and she woke up and cried..

she had gone thru 5 or 6 major cardiac surgery..

recently, she went into a coma for several days... coz her latest surgery came up with a certain complication that left her lungs filled with fluids which the STEWWWWWWWWWPIDDDDDDDDD docs should have removed, but failed to do so.. and misdiagnosed the event as being insignificant.. till she lost conciousness..

she's an intelligent girl.. accepted into uni, but unable to go coz of her condition.. and her dad refused to let her go thru it coz she might not be able to take the physical and mental stress.. which i think is justified..

she lived thru her life being sickly, in and out of surgery, never had a boyfriend coz she dont really go out due to her sickness.. and she's very thin.. VERY VERY thin..

when i look at her, i wonder what goes thru her mind.. we all know that her lifespan is not gonna be as long as the rest of us, and she knows that too..

and why is she the only one who suffers from all these while the rest of us are enjoying our own lives.. why does she have to go thru the pain, and the surgery, and the complications and limitations..

but rarely do i see her without a smile.. and i had never heard her complaining abt it... really.. NEVER.. she took her condition in her strides, and accept it as a natural part of life..

i wonder whether she had ever thought abt the fact that itz NOT natural.. and it seemed unfair for one person to suffer so much in a short lifetime..

but every test thatz given comes with grace.. therez always a pot of gold hidden somewhere..

i dont think i can be as strong as she is if i am in her position. i might prolly have died of crack OD.

i'm heading down to Sydney today to meet up with my brother, sis in law AND THE FIVE KIDS!! YEYYYYYYYYYYY..