and if you didn't already know...down under rocks! While zume works on his tan i am happily working on my tummy. Hope you are all having a safe and happy time - LOVe from Oz
Please note the 'space' - will you check out the pic of the train. Opposite in every way - Melbourne train = dirty free space, tokyo train = sparkling can o sardines
i spotted postsecret an age ago on floating world views and was instantly hooked...
people have some really amazing stuff going on in their lives! some quite horrific, some laughable and some down right surprising. For a gen X Yer who thinks nothing can surprise her...for some reason postsecret keeps me guessing and wondering.
So I decided to do my own postsecret card...no shocking or hideous secrets here! I am addicted to other peoples secrets.
I have always been open to and aware of my voyeuristic tendencies - i once bruised my eye ball as i launched at the peep hole in my door, trying to get a better view of the neighbours.
The only real secret I have is that I'm a little jacked off at myself for not having come up with this ingenious postsecret project first - what a fascinating way to learn more about the other crazies in this world, a way for people to get things off their chest by sending them out into the essentially anonymous cyber stratosphere and a way for me to avoid eyeball bruising but still get to peep into other peoples lives.
oh and you chu hi makers...well you should DEFINITELY be putting some kinda warning on your cans. you must be very aware by now that your product turns brains to paper.
it is a well established fact that ones second language skills are enhanced when under the influence of certain intoxicants. we hit the streets of tokyo last night just to test the theory once more.
yep its on the money our japanese was on fire - theory proven. here is the photo proof. 1. kickin it wit the homes 2. warming up in a cosy little karaoke box 3. g: 'heeeeyyy where did my drink go?' me: 'aaahhh i dunno maybe that japanese guy took it' 4. photo op with our friendly karaoke host with whom i somehow (due to above mentioned theory) successfully ordered copious rounds of drinks for the 7 of us, negotiated extra time when there seemed to be too many good tunes and not enough time to sing them...although we are still waiting for the pizza we ordered 5. note the tambourine...lets just say it stuck by us through thick and thin and is now on its way with its blue twin to a land down under 6. madonna madness 7. the people you meet 8. in sync - the groovy chicks doing what they do best - grooving 9. smells like beer & spirits 10. me and bunny chan - her beer soaked bunny ears were a hit on the streets gaining all kinds of attention and offers
my mon - fri job + zume's wed - sun job = no weekends together
so i wrangled a coupla days off and we had a very rare but relaxing and romantic 'weekend together'
it is amazing how much you can explore in tokyo during the week days
tokyo weekdays = less people, slower pace, more space
tokyo weekends = squished but exciting and tiring
here are a few snap shots from our 'weekend'
we actually got to see some nature - the 'autumn leavings'
yay for 4 day weekends
a leisurely sunday strolling the streets of harajuku with anna and nico (who seemed particularly at home in the arms of the harajuku girls...he is such a rad little tokyo boy!)
In a Past Life... |
 You Were: A Gorgeous Alchemist. Where You Lived: Russia. How You Died: Decapitation. |
see now that's what i like to hear!
certainly explains my recent neck problems
don't ask me how i stumbled upon such i thing - believe me i certainly wasn't searching for it...i wasn't!
but i posted it because i heard a story from a friend, about a japanese girl who went to a fortune teller, a common thing to do in japan. this fortune teller only charged a mere 3000 dollars to tell the girl all about her past life. yes, that was 3000 dollars.
when the all seeing teller relayed to the girl that she was once, in fact a pirates wife and a gang leaders girl (both of which i would have been extremely content with - pretty cool huh?) a light bulb moment sprung forth ... 'ah so that's why this life sucks so much'...'but wait never fear' said the the teller 'for not only can i tell you what you were, now that i have your 3000 dollars, i will also be so kind as to change your past life for you so that all things in this life will soon be well'
sure why not thought the girl, and so in no time the teller had rearranged her past and given her a more holy past position. no longer a pirates wife (which just sounds radder every time i write it) she was now a - NUN ???
(i think at that point i may have promptly asked for my money back)
i also think the three grand could have been more wisely spent and the chick could have just as easily gone to the 'what were you in a past life?' part of the blogthings site. she herself would even have the power to change her own past.
see look what i was this time round....
In a Past Life... |
You Were: An Albino Sailor. Where You Lived: Central Africa. How You Died: Dysentery. |
obviously shat myself to death
ouch
oh and happy halloween - alas i fail to provide any post worthy pictures of me in the insanely oversized, neck to toe, fluffy bear costume i sported all day. i danced, sang, read, drew, skipped, smiled, guided, played the day away with a superficial aura of friendly beary fluffy love, while underneath it all i was literally sweating like a pig. feeling my legs go to jelly on a number of occassions due to my out of control body temperature, i gave thanks to the saint of halloween for providing the candy sugar rush that kept me on my paws just long enough to wave the last buzz light year and disney princess off at 2 oclock this afternoon.
clicking around the yogajaya
site, as i often do in the hope that i will latch onto enough
inspiration and good intention to propel me from my daydreamy state in
front of this bloody computer fair onto the floor of their studio in
omotesando with the yoga mat i bought for the purpose 3 MONTHS AGO, i
found that an ultra cool event had been organised. an event i wasn't
going to miss for the world.
integration matsuri was a line up of all the things my daydreamings
consist of...capoeira, yoga, smooth tunes and lush vodka and tonics,
all in a very sleek space - claska meguro.
most excitingly the craziest awe-inspiring man i have ever had the
pleasure of casting my dreamy eyes over (as i laze around staring at
the photos of him in his books in seriously impossible yoga
poses)...david swenson - ashtanga yogi extradonaire.
the night, for us, kicked off (literally) with a high energy, steam
building capoeira performance by an very fine looking yokohaman group
and ended as i turned around to watch zume drop, with fainting
motion from the perch he had been sat up on, all pale faced and ready
to vomit over the silent and yogafied crowd. seems that the warm,
concentrated energy of the room created during the yoga performance
coupled with the fact that the room was asked to be silent to aid the
focus, was all too much for the boy who had been clock watching, deep
yawning, mint chewing and fidgiting for 20 mintues in an attempt to
prolong the inevitable...a near social disaster and a rapid escape from
the over heated and far too centered room.
an extremely awesome event!
"I'm getting the hang of it," says Masao Tamaoki, a novice who admits
he has yet to be struck with the knitting passion. "I think it's good
for the brain. That's why I'm doing it right now."
i'm as proud as punch (never really known what that idiom means but it sums up exactly how im feeling)
read the full story on asahi.com
thanks to anna for the tip off
our appointment was made for 12 at the harajuku toni & guy salon. i think we were both a little apprehensive as we rushed to make it on time. but once inside all my worries seemed to float away. i adore the salon experience, the washing basins, the smell of hair products, the sound of the driers and those funky stylist hip bags that hold all the tools of their trade, its the whole package.
my stylist, sunao, put me at ease straight away confidently displaying what he would like to do and saying 'yeah let's go for it' (a straight perm).
anna and i sat side by side and chatted as the team went to work on our locks. she was done before me and swished from the salon looking so captivating and cosmopolitan, in true anna style. i took my camera along to snap off some shots of her new do, but i was wrapped up in the goings on and didnt have a chance to take any pics, so i hope she posts some on her site, she looks fabulous.
my transformation was a lengthy one, but a relaxing and new experience. wash - massage - cut - dry - treatment - rinse - dry - iron - treatment - rinse - cut - dry - style and...tadaa
the final product
GOD SORRY BOUT THE BIG GAUDY PIC - not sure how to resize it
i have never had smooth straight hair before, its a strange but good feeling. and i dont think it is possible to look more like my sister, unintentionally i am her doppelganger.
here she is showing off one of her fine hair moments
who knew knitting could be so cool? and so addictive...i have tried to resist the urge, and while i really cant see myself getting any further than a scarf, i have been sitting on the couch knitting just a little.
anna is a pretty whiz bang knitter herself, her completed projects range from the very cute to the very vintage, so it was a bit intimidating to consider myself surrounded by such pros. to soften the blow i decided to take zume along with me. anna offered to be his knitting sensei and a very fine job she did. surpisingly he was not the only guy there. the other male knitters showed off their speed and precision, while zume was content to dabble in a bit of soft core knitting, but i think far more interested in what was on the pink cow's menu. unfortunately he was not overly inspired by all of the super talented knitters, although he found it very intriguing and i'm sure was wondering how the crafty group found time to play their PSPs and muck around with their macs if they were creating such complex treasures.
in an attempt to make up for the previous egomaniacal post and get back to the real issue at hand - TOKYO...i wanted to share with you the small range of, yet typically cool, tokyo hair dos i found in my recent search...
if you are checking out some new looks for your tuft, you should definitely sneek a peek at uk hairdressers, while the focus is on salons in the uk, they also feature a few funky styles crafted by Xchange Japan.
and the farouk salon USA take hair to a new level
and while i did stumble across some pretty trippy stuff when i goggled tokyo hair styles (e.g. japanese women styling their pubic hair to resemble the hair on beckhams head, which i personally dont think is a fanatical thing i think the resemblance is pure coincidence. ive been to onsens, thus have conducted adequate research on the shape of japanese womens pubic hair and i noted a number of grandmas, mums and unsporty types flashing a stylish albeit much darker beckham)
i think the best bet for the latest and greatest street styles, hair or other, is style-arena tokyo street style
as for tokyo hair salon's...
you could try hairfinder.com
and if you are ever in doubt that you are in good hands...frame mag assures you tokyo is the place to be as far as your hair is concerned
metropolis lists some of the problems
as for me...i'm going straight to the ones i know and love - toni & guy
1994 was a tender time, 17 years of age, fresh out of senior and looking to break free, try new things. as a teenager with a head of wild and wooly hair i was especially eager to change the look that had given me so much attention. others would pour it on thick...'wow look at your hair' 'most women would pay a lot of money to have hair like you' and other continuous ramblings. i often thought but never said...'well most women would be friggin out of their tree if they ended up with a mound of curly locks like me, so thick and revolting, cause of the most irritating scalp itch and soaker of gallons of hair products'
so when trends started to change and the grungy, short matted look grew more popular...i was hooked!! i would parade in front of the mirror for hours - hair pinned back glancing from side to side, admiring my new look to be.
i remember the day i did it, a friend had an aunty who i thought was seriously one of the coolest women i had ever laid eyes on. her fashion was street, her piercings were many and her hair was shaved and dyed purple (it was the 90's). best thing of all she was a hair dresser. i was dropped off at her house with a flowing golden mane and picked up with a funky new do. i think there was a tear in mums eye...and maybe a tear in mine when my new style was so very much different to the pinned back version i had simulated in the weeks before the chop. after a number of bad cuts i think i ended up growing the mop back for a while. but i always envied the girls with the funky crops and knew i just had to try it again
perhaps it was a year or two later and i ended up in the barbers chair again, this time at a stylish and expensive inner city salon. my stylist was reknowned for his work, sporting a spunky bleached shag he asked me what i wanted. feeling adventurous and wanting to appear cool and carefree i said 'just go for it, do what ever you want' about 2 hours and $211 later, i swished from the salon not quite sure what had just happened but later realising that in my eagerness to act hip and desensitised to any kind of shock, i had allowed the spunk with the shag to basically shave my hair down to the roots apart from a few whisps from the crown of my head which were a shimmering gold and copper colour.
i dont know if it was the exhiliration of that experience or the fact that i never had the energy to go through the 'growing out' phase, but i have pretty much had my hair short (and loved it) for the last decade. i have have had crushes on most of my gay stylists, rejoiced in the feeling of a 3hour salon visit, and always felt a weight lifted with every new cut. the wonderful thing about short hair it that it allowed so much experimentation, i wish i could show you some of my older predigital photos, i have been every colour from platinum and champaign to blue black and silver/ purple (that one was not on purpose), i have chopped it myself, chipped at it, shaved it and smoothed it.
but since coming to tokyo i have pretty much had the same do, with a few shade and style variations...
i had been floating merrily along until people started commenting again 'wow look at your hair' 'its so curly isnt it?' 'what have you done to your hair' then zume reminded me, much to my horror, i have not had a hair cut for 6 months!! i dont know how this could have happened, i am the six week girl...alas 6 months has slipped by...and this is where i'm at -
and this is where i need/want to be -
its a little/lot different from where it all began, and it may take a straight perm and alot of chopping, but i'll let you know how it goes.
so what do you think?
zume is making the appointment in the morning...
oh and ps speaking of change, i think i can say this because there is very little chance that mr.d will read this...you might be spotting an ultra chic anna dilemna cruising the streets of tokyo with her stroller and knitting very soon
