Nagano revisted.

Of all the seasons, I like winter the most.

Yes, the cold can be a bitch, but nothing beats skiing down a steep slope. It's not so much the rush of adrenaline that it gives me, but rather the sense of freedom that it provides me when gliding effortlessly on powdery snow. And you don’t even have to consciously move your body...when you are comfortable enough, your body will react on its own. And during that short glide down the slope, my mind is set free...mind as clear as snow.

But 2 years ago was an exception. The ski trip I went was horrible. Not only that there wasn’t enough snow, I was unfortunate enough to fall sick. Had a fever...a really bad one.

I have to say that I love nothing more than skiing...even more than a girl(so much that I'm willing to give up dating my girlfriend just to go ski). Had to wait for almost a year before I could ski again, and when that time comes, my body start burning up...but I wasn't going to let a mere fever stop me!!
When it comes to ski, fever is just a minor inconvenience.

And so I went up the mountain anyway...
Randy, you stupid boy...

Of all the stupid things I've done in my life, this rank the worst.
Felt like I was going to die...well, not exactly die but felt like I was going to faint and cause trouble for a lot o people. But I smarten up a little bit the next day though...rested and took a slow walk around instead.
I left that place completely unsatisfied.


The slope 2 years ago...

Last weekend, I revisited the same place. I was fortunate enough to be invited by my colleagues at TOPY to join their ski trip. It snowed beautifully that day.


The slope THIS year...

I was skiing like a demon; jumping off snow mounts whenever I can, going off course on purpose, skiing as fast as I can while desperately avoiding other people. Oh, I had fun.



And to add sugar and spice, one of my seniors brought along a bunch of Christmas theme costumes. One dressed as Santa, giving presents to ski goers. I was the Christmas tree...they wanted a "tall" full grown tree.









The kids were especially happy to see Santa. There was one cute one who shouted "SANTA...WAIT!!", then rigorously made her way to Santa, smiling as bright as any innocent child could when she got her gift.



I have to say that this was a whole new kind of experience for me...never had I the chance of dressing up as a mascot just to cheer people up. It was very very heart warming. The smile on the kids' face easily made this year one of the best I've ever had.

Btw, I'm going for another ski trip this Saturday...haha.



Merry Christmas folks!!

Cold hands, warm heart.

Cold, the word we use to describe the unpleasant absence of warmth.
Cold have been associated with many things; death, a witch's heart, bottom of a pit, Eddie Murphy's recent comedy movies, etc. None of them pleasant...except the idiom above.

It is now officially winter(based on my standards), and I'm shivering my ass off. Well, not really...just my hands, not my ass. I've only recently discovered the joy and wonders of long johns, so ass shivering is history. For the past 4 years, I've thought that wearing a pair of johns is for old people, and that it is not "macho" for a "macho" man like me.
Oh, the stupid things we do when we're young.

I'm currently doing my internship at a factory manufacturing steel products. I managed to keep my body warm by wearing suitable undergarments, but since I need to operate a few machineries, damn safety protocols won't allow me to wear gloves!! Being in the machining space also means that there’s no central heating like in the office. My fingers are numb with cold!!

There's a saying "Cold hands, warm heart". If that's true, then my heart must be burning a blue flame. Given my current condition, I think I'd rather be a son of a bitch and just be cruel to everyone. You know, jump queues, not greet old folks, steal candy from babies, kick a dog on the way to work...just so that my hands would warm up a bit. And as far as it goes, no, my hands are still not warming up.

So far, I've tried various alternatives, like;
・Buying hot cans of coffee. They cost money and only last about 10 minutes. Going to the toilet after finishing the coffee, washes hands with cold tap water....my hands ended up colder than before.
・Tried breathing into my hands, but that made me look like a nervous freak. Not to mention that my hands smells like grease.
・Thinking dirty thoughts. I just could not succeed in directing the heat to my hands.
・Tried the "mental trick" thing. Ignored the cold completely and focused on other jobs at hand...tricking myself into thinking that "it is not as cold as I think it is". Failed miserably when I had to touch cold metal pieces. My hands were to smart to be tricked by a cold piece of metal.
・Tried praying to god. Prayers answered but only with moderate success. I later found out that keeping my hands together reduces heat loss. But still not warm enough.

Damn, I think I might have to rob someone tonight.
Warm my hands at the price of other people's sufferings...a fair trade don't you think?

PS: Please, share whatever ideas you have on warming hands...before I start being cruel.

An Appreciation of a Wonderful Life...

It’s been 5 months since my father had a major scare with his medical condition.

5 months ago, my father suddenly experienced a terrible headache, subsequent nausea and numbness in the legs. When scanned, doctors diagnosed a brain hemorrhage on his left side. He was sent to various hospitals in Malacca, but was promptly refused admission by reasons of absence of specialist, and the absurd "he's too risky".
He was considered "too risky" as he had a heart condition as well. He had a valve replacement and was under a certain medication that prevents blood clotting. But even that, there's no reason at all to not admit anyone seeking medical assistance!! That's the point of hospitals, right?? I will forever harbour grudge against hospitals that care for reputation above duty.

Anyway, he was then admitted to Prince Court Medical in Kuala Lumpur. A very very VERY costly place...but considering the job they done on my dad, I’d say it was worth it. After all, what is money for if not to spend??

I was a coincidence that this tragedy occurred at the end of my semester. With just one class and last presentation to go, my lecturers graciously accepted my request to have my presentation done earlier so that I can get to my dad as soon as possible. I would like to thank a dear family member, Walter Theseira, who generously sponsored my flight back to Malaysia and helped me get those tickets with such short notice.

My flight back was...dramatic. What happened was, my flight got cancelled. Who could have imagined any interference at a time like this!! Meeting my dad would have to be delayed by 2 days.

You see, my dad knew I was coming back to see him and being anxious, any delay would undoubtedly cause anxiety and stress which would exacerbate his condition! You could say that the flight cancellation was...untimely.

However, the smile I saw on my dad's face when I finally got there makes all the trouble seemed trivial.

During my stay in Kuala Lumpur, another close family member offered his place to my mother and I to stay. He also kindly, and patiently taxied us to the hospital and back every single day. He is a working man, and we all know how busy Kuala Lumpur’s traffic can be...and yet he was always telling jokes and making us laugh. I can't imagine a more difficult task than trying to tell jokes while swallowing your own stress. When we expressed our appreciation, he always replied a heart warming "We're family."

My going back was mostly daily trips to the hospital, cheering up my dad and giving him strength. It was then when you really understand the true significance of family bonds...and also genuine friendship. During his stay in the hospital, many friends and family members visited him, people who would take the trouble to come all the way just to offer mental support to a dear friend. It envies me to see my dad surrounded by such beauty of life, making me wonder if I will have mine when my time comes. Heck, even MY friend went to visit him.

And so, he underwent an inevitable surgery but made out of it without any recurring complications. The doctor who performed on him was very unusual. Doctor Jack, we called him. He was the kind of man that would say anything straight forwardly, not tolerating any kind of nonsense...even his own. Have never seen him telling white lies just to ease our mental state, he'd just come right out with the harsh facts, speaking in percentages and various numbers concerned. He scolded my dad a few times for his pessimism and another family member for umm…trying to win favour from the doc(Hospitals are the worst place ever to play politics). Fills my heart with respect for him every time I think of his straightforwardness

That was 5 months ago...

My dad grew stronger and could do all kinds of daily activities back again.
I guess it's safe to say now that my dad has completely recovered.

I would like to say thanks to the many people who have given their support during that time of need. To families and friends who visited him. To a relative who offered his hospitality and warmth. To Walter who supported me in every way. To the doctor who saved my dad’s life. To the doctor who tended to his sutures without any charge. To a consultant that is never too tired to received my father's constant calling. To Samson who came personally to visit. To Kulvinder who gave me company that evening, which was the one thing I needed most that time. To Danny, Kenny, Ern Suey, Ai Jun, Chong Shen for taking me out, making me drink that horrible coffee. To Audrey for the brief car ride. To Cindy(not your Cindy, Chong Shen, but another Cindy) for being there.
And of course, to all my friends who lend their support via messages in facebook(I read them to my dad).

Thank you.

A Trip to Imou Bog...

I first visited Imou Bog for the purpose of looking wild miniature flowers. My trip there ended up in a big disappointment as I realized that I did not have the interest of hunting for small flower and that Japanese photographers had once again tricked me into thinking it is a nice place.


The REAL Imou Bog...so very different from the photograph above...

The bog boasts natural seasonal flowers which were grown and cared for by Mother Nature herself. Lured by this, I made my way there only to find tiny little flowers among grasses where you'll have to look hard to find....and there's always a ridiculous line of people taking turns to snap photos of that one, lonely, possibly terrified wild flower.


Do you see that???


I traveled one hour for this...

Damn, I've allocated a few hours for this...now what do I do?

There was, however, a hiking path nearby that leads up to a mountain range...but I was originally there to look at flowers, not hike up a mountain. Being under-dressed and having no food or water, what do I do?? The answer is obvious, hike up anyway....

The hike up was nice and fairly easy. I got nice view of the city from up there...



Once I was done looking down on the citizens of Toyohashi, I was preparing to hike back down when I noticed that there was another path that treads along the mountain's spine. Again, being underdressed and having no food or water, what do I do?? Do I go back down?? The answer is obvious, go on anyway....

Oh boy, I regret going down that path that day. You see, that path was longer and more treacherous that I thought it would be...by late noon, I was overwhelmed with thirst, hunger, and exhaustion. Not to mention that the way down was still nowhere to be seen. Here, I had to choose between going on, hoping that the path down would show up along the way; or turn back, going back to where I came from which took 1.5 hours. Now, the usual me would choose to go on, but this time, I didn't have the energy to do it and chose to go back the way I came.

I practically ran down the mountain as I was desperate for water. That bottle of drink I had at the bottom was the best I ever had.

But now I am intrigued to find out how far that trail really goes, where does it ends and what can I find along the way. You can say that this represents my nature; I'm never truly satisfied with anything until I've gone all the way. It doesn’t matter what lies at the end, the reward is getting to know yourself little by little with each step you take.

So, I went again a second time.

I went prepared...jacket, proper shoes, food and water. Now, I'm ready.

I managed to finish the whole course this time, which took me about 5 hours. Along the path I got to see more cities, the Pacific Ocean, and Mount Fuji with its trademark white hat.













But most notable in my hike was the meeting with an old man.
Well, actually, I met a cackle of old folks up in the mountains. Yes, a cackle, as in "a cackle of geese". Call me rude and unappreciative if you want but I find most old folks annoying. Just like on my hike, I met dozens of them and they always say/ask the same thing. And I just find them annoying...just like a cackling goose.
"Aren't you cold? Dressed like that?"
"Where are you from? Malaysia? Wow, I've been there before...20 years ago"
"You speak Japanese? Wow you are AMAZING!"

There was one, however, whom I met along a trail who really interests me. He did not ask me any of those silly questions...didn't even care to ask me which country I was from!!
We spoke a little about a fell tree and effects of the recent typhoon....then we somehow ended up hiking together. He'd shown me various hidden paths that offered beautiful panoramic views, talked about the soil, the plants, people who climb the mountain...

We hiked all the way to the end where we said our farewells...

And we didn't even know each other's name. I treasure meetings with people like this . They colour your life and leave a mark that can't be washed away.

After my hike ended, I still didn't know what is it I was looking for, what did I obtained from it, or most importantly, what made me come back in the first place.

I guess I was looking freedom. By not knowing where it ends, I can take my time and leisure hiking at my own pace...I didn't have to care about anything in the world, just the conscious action of putting my foot in front of each other.

Yeah...for that 5 hours, I was free.

Happily ever after...

It’s all over the internet now so, this shouldn’t even be on my blog as everyone else have written about it...still, can’t resist giving my two yen worth of thought here.



So, a Japanese man marries his Nintendo girlfriend. Wow, I am jealous.

And why not?



She is cute, has big eyes(with an incredibly sexy mole under her right eye), perfect skin, boobs with a satisfactory size. She’s forever nice, never demanding anything more than a few strokes of the plastic pen on touch screen, never argues, always there when you need her to be, always “not” there when you need her to be, won’t date out in expensive restaurants ordering something expensive which she can’t finish and will later complain about, and won’t ask you why your neighbour has new furniture/TV/car/curtain but not you. She also has no need for a Prada bag or a dozen shoes.

Wow...why have I not thought of that sooner?? I could have married Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy 7 for strangeness sake. That way, if anyone tries to rob me...

“Don’t you know who I am married to? Tifa Lockhart!! She will kick your ass!!!
Now, can just wait for a moment while I switch on my Nintendo?”
Push start…loading…select character…
load game…tifa…tifa…I’m going to load my best weapon…
Emerald Gloves of Dread. Oh ho ho…you are dead meat now!”



Now, wouldn’t that be awesome!! hahaha...

But seriously, I don’t understand why the world is so interested in this one dude. People have been having strange marriages all around!! Married to chicken, a tree, a dead spouse(I do think it is romantic, but some things just aren’t necessary), a partner twice/half your age. So, what is it so strange about this guy marrying a virtual girl?

Instead, it kind of makes sense in a few ways...

For example;
If Tiger Woods had married a Nintendo DS, he wouldn’t have crashed his car into a tree.
Bill Clinton would not have lost his presidency.
O.J Simpson would still be a loved actor.
Chua Soi Lek would be filmed sitting on a couch holding a small size gadget instead of...you know...

Just so you know, it isn’t all that easy getting a virtual girl to marry you. You first have to get to that “Marry Me” button...and it takes a lot of patience to get that option to appear on the screen.
I myself have tried a dating simulation before and, GAWD DAMN it’s frustrating!! It is almost as troublesome as dating a real girl in life. The only difference being you can’t slap the girl in game.

So, I say we applaud that guy who pioneered the way for us. Lets give him credit for being brave enough to actually hold a wedding reception in Guam. Lets be thankful that he gave us something interesting to read about and something for me to write about.
I shall forever remember him as NDS Guy(not Nintendo Dual Sreen but, Nippon Dude is Strange)....

Hah...I bet Charles Darwin did not predict this kind of evolution for mankind huh?

Japanese Zen : Power of mind over matter...

I know that you all have the stereotype impression of Japanese; that they eat sushi everyday, and that everyone practices Zen. While the former is false, the latter is very much true. Japanese from various places and of various ages practices them, from farmers to city folks, from secondary school kids with Nintendo at hand, to old folks with walking stick at hand.

One of the more famous zen practices around is "mind over matter"...the one teaching we've heard over and over, but hand still hurts when punching a brick. However, just because we can't do it doesn't mean it isn't true. With enough dedication and willpower, it's amazing how you can achieve control over your body, enabling you to withstand pain, heat or cold. As far as I know, there's a particular group of people who have been very successful at this.


Having said that, I would especially like to focus on zen practices by young Japanese city girls.

Young city girls here wear the shortest of skirts/pants during autumn and winter. And after living here for 5 years, I have learned to stop asking "Are they not cold??" I've settled for the assumption that they all meditate for half an hour each time before leaving their houses, thus their superhuman ability of extreme cold resistance. If you have any other better explanation, please feel free to enlighten me.



Recently on the news, was a TV special reporting on how young Japanese girls no longer wearing just a mini skirt or hot pants, but paring them with leggings. This trend started only very recently but already with over 60% majority wearing leggings...this means lesser bare legs around, much to the dismay of boys who "appreciates beauty".

On a survey done, they asked these girls...."So, why leggings? Is it because of the cold weather?"

Amazingly, they expressed shock, then answered "Cold? What cold? Leggings are more fashionable..."

Chics and dudes, if only I can express my amusement here other than the usual "hahaha".

I could not help but laugh at their statement...I could swear that everyone in the cafeteria(was eating when I saw this) now thinks that Malaysians are crazy people. No other foreigners would have laughed hysterically at a TV report like that.

Randy is very sorry for causing a wrong perception towards Malaysians by the Japanese.

But how can I not laugh at that? I've known for years that they endure the cold winds just to show off beautiful slim legs, stare angrily at guys who ganders at them, then laugh happily among themselves in secret.
Now that they finally start wearing leggings, I thought that they have finally given in to Mother Nature...who could have known, huh...

On a different note, guys have started wearing leggings too...
Every time I see a guy wearing shorts with leggings underneath, it stupefies me to the point where I actually believed that leggings are meant for guys too....

Japanese Office Ladies...

They are called OL, which stands for...well, the title said it.
This group of workers has always been the "main" topic of conversation amongst Japanese men when they talk the men talk...which is almost always about girls(yeah, as if anything else could interest us...other than sports anyway). And FYI, there's a lot of Japanese pornography that involves OL...

This picture here, was the only picture I found where the girl isn't showing off garter belt or underwear while in a compromising pose.


Warning : This is NOT a real OL...this, is a model dressed up like an OL

Me being ignorant in the pass, I've never gotten curious over this particular group of workers who seem to sow seeds of sexual fantasies in men who are otherwise bored of work. Never made any real effort to truly know what they actually do in an office.

So...what do they do, other than getting sexually harassed(in the fantasy world) all the time??

Well...

They are one of the most important units in the office!!

Yeah, I'm in a R&D department dominated by men...us and our powerful brains researching and discovering things. But god help us when the phone rings...one annoyed plastic receiver with 20 guys staring blankly at it.
And I imagine that the rubbish bin would be full of instant noodles containers after lunch.
Also now that it is cold, who would take the initiative to make a hot pot of tea??
or organize meeting rooms so that there would be no awkward coincidence?

Office ladies know everyone by their names and contact numbers. It always baffles me how they can be that efficient in connecting calls.

Always polite...always smiling...

They are our mothers, always taking care of our well being.

And do you know what I personally think of them?

Nothing much really...I'm just bored again. My test pieces arrived yesterday(finally, I have some real work to do), and while I had a productive day yesterday, the machines got hogged up today. Will have to wait for my turn to play with it. And about yesterday's work...everything went as smooth as I predicted it would be, experiment results ending up just like I thought they would be...and while that is all good, shit, what am I suppose to do during my free time when I don’t have any problem solving to do??

Yes, Randy smiles brightly when he has a problem.
Randy frowns only when he is peaceful.
Randy, is a strange guy.

ANYWAY...
Back to my story about OL.

As far as I know, only Japan have the work-group called "OL". It is a low tier work class whose job is mainly clerical work, serving tea, ordering lunch...everything on that line. For some reason, only women does this kind of job...as if men sucks at making tea and taking down messages.

Japanese stereotype of an OL is that they are mostly attractive, witty, but more often than not, stressed in life, being under constant pressure from their parents. Most of them are unmarried, which is probably the main reason why they appear in pornography so much. Yeah, us men are wolf....and why not? In an office full of balding men with sagging skin, any young clerk can claim to be Cleopatra....

I shamelessly declare that I am under her spell too...

Randy, the restless one.

The English dictionary explains the meaning of "randy" as "boisterous" or "full of sexual lust".

I have always denied that the unfortunate meaning of the word that is my name, have got anything to do with my true nature. I'm sure that parents didn't intend me to be that way either. Which right minded, normal parents would want their kid to be like that?!!
Oh wait, my parents aren't exactly "normal"...
Nonetheless, those who know me, knows that despite the fact that I speak a lot of dirt, I don't soil myself.

But…

Seeing how restless I can be when idle...I may very well be "boisterous". The dict speaks the truth after all...what a dic*.

After my senior destroyed one particular piece, my work was substantially delayed. Long hours to go with nothing to do...where to put all my "energy" to? You all know how randy I can get at times, right? My restlessness always gets the better of me...I need to be doing something at all times.

Well...a delay's a delay. Can't be helped, can't be fixed.

So, I've taken it upon myself to embark on one of my original project.

I've made a few researches on the topic that I was to do. While my internship program dictates that I should recommend which material to use, comparing it using one arbitrary augmentation, I instead research on the augmenting process itself. Now I'm currently reading up on it and drafting a report(written in Japanese...oh gawd translation can be such a pain in the ass!!). Will submit it to my superior and see how he deals with it. So far responses are good...

There you go, always make yourself useful and do beyond what you're told. Appreciation comes along that line.

So, am I proud of myself? Am I happy with what I am capable of?

Nah...I'm not proud, I'm just bored.

And gawd damn the Americans, using inches instead of metric unit...
Can't they agree with the world for once? Use what everyone else is using!! Makes life easier. Even with English they have to do changes to it...coloUr damn it, not color.
And what the hell is with that pound per square inch?? Now I have to convert both pound AND inch...

Sorry, I'm just bored. Do you know of the proverb "An idle mind is the Devil's Playground"? Well, even the devil is starting to feel bored from playing in the same place...

Sigh...word is that my real work will begin next week.

Will stay bored and churning up ridiculous blogs til' then.

The coffee dependent.

Days like these goes on forever...time slows to a crawl when I have nothing to do at work.
I am the traffic wreck and time is slowing down to look at me.

Time flies? Yeah, I'd prefer it walking away from me rather than flying around my head.

It's funny how you will always manage to feel sleepy at places where you not suppose to fall asleep...meetings, classes...for my case, at work. Times like these makes me wish that time machine exists...not to speed up time, but to go back in time to thank that brown person from Ethiopia who invented a drink of the same colour as him. Also, thank god for including caffeine in that drink.

Much wonder can come from a small cup of coffee.

I don't know why I can be this bored when just yesterday I had to stay an extra hour just to finish my day's assignment. Either I'm too efficient(doing too much in a short amount of time, thus having nothing to do later) or I'm just bad in balancing work.

Or maybe they are afraid that I might break another machine if I'm active...

Either case, I badly need a forecast just to let me know how much coffee I'll need to stay awake for that day...

Something like,
Forecast of the day: Cloudy with 75% chance of boredom. Put down the umbrella and grab 2 cans of coffee.

This, my friends, would be of much better help than reading lame, repeating horoscopes. I don't need to know if the love of my life is showing up today...my workplace is full of men anyway, so tell me if I'll have work and stay happy, or will I be bored sitting on my ass all day.

Sigh...actually, I did have a report to write yesterday that I planned to do today knowing that I had nothing else scheduled. But, just before I left, my chief, who had 1 hour left before finishing(he came an hour later than me to work) called me up to discuss plans for some future assignment. We talked, and he asked me to draft up a summary. I said "Ok, will get it for you first thing in the morning". He grunted an "OK" to me.

This morning, I arrived at work to find that report already done!!

Shit!! What the hell? Why did he do my work for me?!!!
Wait, oh right...he had one hour left yesterday. He was bored too.
Damn, he took away my work. Now, I'm bored earlier than I thought I would be.

Sigh...

Scary isn't it? Economy depression can really make people rushing for work to do.

Now, let me take a sip of coffee before I fall asleep and wake up with a keyboard on my face.

Tale of the destroyer

Remember the 1984 film "Conan the Destroyer"?



The one where he goes around destroying big things and human lives? Well, I'm more or less the same...although with significantly less muscle fibers, non-Austrian accent, and destroying smaller things minus the human lives.

To date, everything I've touched (aided by my senior) will go under...you name it I’ve destroyed it.

Band saw machine: used wrong speed setting

Automated polishing/buffing machine: used wrong buff

Water-cooling cutter: Filter got jammed with residues, resulting in water overflowing from the bottom, which in turn results in that machine being put through overhaul...

Micro Vickers indenter: Supporting rod got dislocated, inaccurate indentations

Deep drawing machine: Speed dial got jammed temporarily, and on a different occasion, the punch was operated too fast and it hit the upper dais, deforming both the punch and the dais. Repair cost 130000yen.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that each of those cases was "my fault". And the term "destroy" was a little bit exaggerated…the term "temporarily disabling" might sound better.

Well, when each of those "calamities" happened, I'm told that it wasn't really my fault and that I just had rotten luck of it breaking down with me at helm. BUT, they go on saying that they have never seen it break down in their many years of working with that particular machine...then finishing their sentence by once again saying "It is not your fault".

Gawd damn Japanese ambiguity...

Well, I'm not saying that it's my fault(If I've learned, but forgotten or just plain careless, then only it's my fault). But can't they just say what they really want to say? What the hell do they mean by bad luck? All engineers know luck have no effect on machines!!
Machines are dumb assembled parts, they only do as they are told and break down only when some machine part's lifetime is up, or by the misuse of its handler.

Bad luck my ass...

But, at least they have the guts to tell me what was it that caused that particular mishap and "How I can prevent it in the future".

So anyway, life goes on at TOPY...

And as far as the learning process goes, I've still got a few more machines to destroy...

PS:
While typing this, keyboard suddenly loses function, not responding to anything. Had to unplug and re-plug the cable...thank god it worked. Would have been soooo awkward for me to ask for a new keyboard.

And I guess it is also worth mentioning the one thing I didn't touch that broke down.
The automatic sliding door at my hostel....it stopped being automatic 3 days after I moved in.

Maybe I do have bad luck after all...

Toyohashi Festival..

ええじゃないか！！！

Means "Whatever goes!!".

While most festival all around have themes that hints at Global warming, world peace, perseverance, humanity....all kinds of make-you-feel-good bullshit imaginable...finally, a theme that makes sense, "Whatever"

Haha...whatever dude! I'm having fun!!



So many people lined up along the street....does this represents how popular this festival is??
Well, no it doesn't. This picture only shows how late I was to the festival. Spent the night before at Jeremy's place playing some cartoon-ish online game...
Woke up late the next day....nuts....

Even though I only managed to attend this festival for 2 hours, I had tremendous fun.



Even though I arrived late, I was instantly absorbed into the festival mood. Everyone jumping up and about, dancing crazily in pink.

Such energy!!



And they somehow managed to get a black midget to join them!
That little dude is not a kid, this group represents a local bar, and we all know that bars don't allow kids so....that must be a midget.
Woo Hoo!! Just saw the first midget in my life!!



And further up ahead is a bevy of beauties in red. Dancing to some barbie song or something like that..

Ay ee ay ee ay
I'm your little butterfly
Green, black, and blue
Make the colors in the sky

Yeah...that song. That annoying song from the 90s...but they had ladies in red dancing to that tune, in a cute way if I might add. Suddenly I was able to tolerate that song.


These guys seem to enjoy the song though.
See that some of them are just letting their cameras hang from the neck and not taking any photos?
Well, their memory card ran out.

And, as if to emphasize the generation gap, a bunch of old farts parading at the back..



This group of old farts was promoting road safety. Seeing how the group is consists of old people only, they are trying to tell us young people "Wanna live til' old age like me? Drive safe".

Oh my gawd...what a boring bunch!! Can't they do this some other time? or can't they pick another spot other than behind the ladies in red? Who's gonna drive safe when there's beautiful women right in front?!!

Moving on....

The next group I came upon was some dancing school group.


The kids were....I suspect they suffer Attention Deficit Disorder.


"I said...DANCE LIKE ME!!!"


Come on now, do the OOMPHAH!!!

Following behind was a brightly colored group of...oh, I don't know. Lost interest in knowing which group is which.




After this group, there was some kind of big gap before being followed by the next group...



See how organized Japanese are during festivals??
Love it when I see how people respect each other and try not to break the rules...
Not even to take a picture such as this.
Ehem...I broke the rule just so that I could show you how diligent every Japanese are at not breaking rules. Just wished I also had the chance to show you a picture of a group security personnel swarming in on me.



Next was a group dedicated to their local treat "おでん". It's umm...a Japanese version of Yong Tau Fu.


Oi!!..Do your dance properly, don't need to feel so happy of me taking your picture...


Ever wondered what Japanese worship in Japan? There you go...
A fish stick. Never has any deity or holy figures of great religions being heralded like this. God and friends up in heaven must be so jealous of this fish stick.


Two girls leading a team on...


This dude is just angry it's not raining on the day he remembered to bring an umbrella..


A member from KISS ??


They will grow up to fill in the red dresses some day.


The saddest looking piece of konyaku ever...


I saw him reach for that Pikachu mask!!!
Nah, just kidding, he took the green ranger mask..
It's a wonder that this kind of masks hasn't gone outdated...


A classic Japanese must haves at any festival...rescue the goldfish game.
You are provided a scoop which is made of paper...it tears if you try to scoop too fast, but if you don't, you'll never get to rescue any of them ugly, big eyed monsters...
And kids LOVE them...
But I wonder why they call it "rescue the goldfish"....
Ever seen goldfishes in the hands of a 3 year old? They live a better life in that tank, dying of old age instead of in the hands of a curious 3 year old. Nothing in this world...not even the devil can be as evil minded as a 3 year old kid with a goldfish when there's no cartoon on TV.


This stall allows you one cup of fries...
Haha, reminds me of my adolescents days...used to do this all the time.
Good job fat boy....


Yet another common sight to see at any festival...
While we fry our bananas, Japanese decorate them in sweets...covered in colourful rice chocolates. Japanese somehow claimed this to their own food culture. Well, yeah...who else in the world would decorate bananas like this?!! Even the hungriest monkey would stay away.


I think westerners with long black hair is hot....


But Asians with blond hair is not...

Anyway, look at them 2 punks....at any other times, all they do is loiter around with cigarette in hand, making noise and are of nuisance to everyone else. And yet, it is these good for nothing punks who manage most of the festival!! They set up the stalls, sells food, AND they tidy up after...

Amazing...completely different from punks in Malaysia who just loiter and spit on the ground, who vandalize things, who robs...
Here, punks like these two are just for the looks, minus the attitude.

Anyway, although the festival was a "Whatever" festival, they still stayed on plan and ended accordingly. The last group to parade was...


A bunch of party killers here to clear the streets...

Yet another Japanese quality, streets was reopened to traffic in exactly 30 minutes!!

Been here for 5 years, but this sense of punctuality and effectiveness always manage to impress me.