Bought me some Lebanese shoes

I went out today and got me some Lebanese shoes: as you can see from the picture, they definitely have a touch of the ‘Indigo Girls’ about them. I think I am entitled to be an honorary Lebanese seeing as how 'Despite our Differences' and '1200 Curfews' are regularly top 10 in my MP3 rotation. . Anyways, I’m well happy with my purchase - they are so comfortable.
I originally intended to replace my well-worn Campers - they haven't been the same since I had to walk through floods TWICE back home in Ireland. However, new Campers cost about 250 euro over here. Can you believe it? I would no more spend that on a pair of shoes, even if we weren't on the eve of the next Great Depression.
As it is, I got these Docs 70% off in the pre-sale for about 45 euro - you can't go wrong. I'm fairly confident that they're flood proof (just in case I lose my job and have to survive another *cough* summer in Ireland). And they're definitely sturdy: a necessity when you walk as much as I do... 10,000 steps a day, remember?
The fashion over here at the moment is either: for big, hob-nail boots with the trousers tucked into them; or for shiny, black patent leather sneakers, so I'm definitely bucking the trend (hence the big discount, I imagine). Sure not to worry, I've always been happy to dance to the beat of my own drum, sartorially speaking. I could, at this point, remind you all of my forays into red tartan slacks and stripy orange denims, but I think some things are best left in the past.

Premature de-wick-ulation

Here is a photo of this year's Christmas tree - thanks H.
It gave my little apartment so great holiday atmosphere.
As you can see above, unlike the other tantric candles, one little guy just couldn't hold himself in. I felt for him - he just couldn't handle the pressure to perform.

On Being a Tokyo Foodie...

I'm getting a kick-start on the New Year's resolutions: one of which is to get back into the blogging thing. Not having an Internet connection cramped my style there for a while, but I probably would have been just as lazy if my new Tokyo apartment had been access-ready when I arrived.
Work has been hectic: I cannot believe I've been in the new job two months already. With all the travelling and adjusting to lots of new tasks, the time has just slipped by. I'm on my end-of-year holidays now. It's going to be a lovely week-long chance to find my feet and consider what I've done.
I settled back into being a Tokyoite pretty quickly. Buying my beloved granny bike, Margaret ROTHARford, helped the process along no end. My free time is spent zipping around downtown Tokyo and hitting the cool cafes, restaurants and galleries.
The best thing about being back? Without question, the food! I just love it. I'm so assimilated that I even plan my meals like the Japanese now. One Friday night I was watching old Onion head, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi - this honey-lensed Japanese TV celeb who's about 250 years old, deliciously pre-senile, with amazing taste in wacky outfits and a massive black wig piled on top of her head like a big onion. On her program, she recommended this tofu restaurant in Tokyo's swanky 'Midtown' development. So there I was, the very next day, queuing up with the rest of the housewives to get my tofu 'teriyaki eel' and dry curry rice-bowls. I am one with the borg.
I love in such a big city, too, that you can be wandering through an area you think you know well and suddenly discover a completely new place to enjoy. This is what happened yesterday when I found a great Muji cafe just beside the Imperial Hotel. All that you can see in the picture above just cost 980 yen (8 euro). Pretty amazing... And the pink turnip Oden (veggies slow simmered in stock) was the surprise of the day: I never thought I would be writing a blog in praise of the devil's vegetable!