Chinatown and New Beginnings

So yesterday, I went to Yokohama with my friend. We never see each other, like very 6 months max. But when we catch up, we always have a good time. And I guess, because we entered Nova together and did orientation together,we use each other as a barometer for how our Japanese lives are panning out.
My friend is absolutely crazy, and his life is always full of drama. He never has any money, has huge debts and yet manages to enjoy living totally for the moment. Last year alone, he visited South America, Russia, Turkey and England, had three or four different jobs, abroad and in Japan, skydived, got held up at gunpoint and arrived back in Japan with no cash and no immediate way of getting to Tokyo.
Honestly it makes me tired just listening to him and all his adventures. He is like the polar opposite of me. I think we enjoy talking to each other because we get a taste of another way of life and yet totally validate our own life choices. I envy him for about five minutes and then realize that I would have a hernia on top of a stomach ulcer if I had to live that way. Secretly too I know he loves all the drama (good and bad) and wouldn't have it any other way.
This year he plans on going back to the Americas, working for a few weeks in the Middle East or Africa and taking up a 6 month contract somewhere closer to here like Korea or Sinagapore. He doesn't just have plans A and B, he goes all the way through to G!
We visited Chinatown in Yokohama. I hate the place. I find it tacky, charmless and overpriced. It's a total tourist trap full of small, gaudy temples, all-you-can eat restaurants and souvenir shops (most of which seem to have headless chickens hanging in the windows, for some reason). But my friend hadn't seen it in ages and wanted to go. I sucked it up and tried not to bridle at being charged three times the going rate for a mouldy cup of tea.
After yakkin on for a while, we took a walk and got to the red brick shopping complex that always reminds me of Faneuil Hall in Boston. It was a beautiful night and not too cold so we were able to sit on a terrace and have a beer (cheaper than the god damned tea) and watch the stars reflected in the dark water of Yokohama Bay. I just love getting to the sea and can't understand why anyone would choose dumpy Chinatown over this classy place. In all though a good day.
Spring is definitely coming. Hay fever season has started (though it's predicted to be relatively light this year) and those bloody, poxy homing pigeons have found their way back to my flat.
Last year that I was troubled by a couple of birds intent on nesting on top of the lamp over my door. The thing is, there's no room for them, and every morning when I go out, I destroy their nest. On top of that, their flapping around my head is not the best start to my day, and invariably causes me to suffer a mini-heartattack.
So I went out and bought some party balloons in an effort to keep my nemeses at bay. I've been told that if you blow up a balloon and tie it to the lamp, they won't want to come near and shouldn't be able to land. If they do, the balloon should burst, giving them a taste of their own medicine i.e. instant coronary. We shall see.
Anyway, as you may have noticed, so much of what I have said in this entry has been negative. I am truly sick of myself at the minute and all this negativity. On top of this, my new year's resolutions are all well and truly in tatters. So I have decided to make a list of Dos and Don'ts for myself to be followed EVERY DAY for the rest of the year. Here they are:
DO
Something spiritual, meditative or contemplative (appox 30 mins)
Yoga (at least one hour)
Reinstate my morning walk in the park (or possible jog - screw my bad back)
Study at home two hours every day minimum (work day or college day regardless)
Read the twenty or so books I haven't taken off the shelf since I bought them
Reply to emails more promptly
Try to start a Blog (see it's working already)

DON'T
Drink at home alone anymore (social drinking or drinking in a bar / cafe is ok)
Surf the net for more than one hour per day
Have more than two caffeinated drinks per day
Ignore the chore jar (which has gone ignored for about 3 months now)
Allow myself to veg out in front of a DVD for more than one hour thirty minutes
Buy any more shagging DVDs off Amazon

Want to take bets as to how long the new regime lasts? God loves a trier, at least.

First Blogger Post

So this is my first blog entry. I have no idea where this is going to go or even if I am ever going to make it available to others to see.
So many blogs that I read on the net are creative outlets for their authors. Others are basically internal monologues for all to share.
Why am I doing this? I guess to look at myself and my life and try and see if what I have to offer might be of interest to anyone else, be it an insight, a photo, a funny story.
Let's see... here we go.