... And then I got older...

I generally hate birthdays. Way too much excitement and anticipation for a single day of heavy drinking and carrying on with a lot of people you may or may not know very well. This year was a little different, in the sense I did genuinely have a grand ol' time, but I'm still left with that nauseating hangover with a feint tinge of fear and regret.

Birthdays mean you have to acknowledge that you've used up another year. Your birthday forces you to be somewhat pensive surrounding your achievements and failures of the previous year, and that usually results in the self-promise of better actions and results for the coming year. New years eve is just a party with champagne compared to the resolutions I make every time I successfully rotate around the sun. I somehow feel like I have to live up to all the unreasonable expectations of the year on the day that I "get older."

Lose weight. Exercise more. Learn and master a foreign language.Pay bills on time. Achieve enlightenment. Make tons of money. Grow wings.

The pessimist in me usually forces me to feel unfulfilled in all these respects. But this year I have to take pause; I HAVE accomplished some of these things. I've lost weight (25 pounds and counting), I am (VERY slowly) learning a new language. But I will never really appreciate exercise. Nor will I grow wings. And paying bills on time will always be a mental challenge for me. But there has been steps in the right direction. And I supposed that's something to shake a stick at. So, inner-pessimist be gone! This year, it's not so bad after all.

Here are some of the pictures I can't seem to stop taking;

That's right, folks! It's wine in a can! Slightly more disgusting that wine in a box, I'm sure it gives you that metal after-taste that you would expect from WINE IN A CAN.

This pretty much speaks for itself. Japanese people thing English is hilarious. I'm beginning to agree.

I will personally high-five the person that can give me a reasonable explanation for this sign of excellence in understanding English. This is a golf store near my home with possibly the worst (read: best) sense of humour I have ever seen.

On a bit of a sad note, this is an example of the little after-effects of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Fukushima. No one will touch these perfectly ripe raspberries this year, because they are probably full of radiation, and therefore, not the best choice for an afternoon snack. All local fruit and veggies have been tarnished by the radiation poisoning from a couple months ago. Even though the half-life of radiation is short lived in the air, it lingers in veggie farms and local wild-life, rendering them totally uneatable. But on an up-note, here are some pretty flowers!

This fell out of the vending machine the other day with the bottle of water I bought. It says "happy can" on it, and the top popped off to reveal a pair of headphones! A little 'happy birthday' from the universe, I suppose!

I recently spent some time in Shinjuku, Tokyo for my birthday, having a great time with the locals. I also notice this little convenience store in Nichome that sold very colourful boy's underware. Oh, Tokyo, how I love you.

Many tourists to Japan often say how the men here are exceptionally effeminate, what with their fantastic hair-dos, perfect skin and tight pants. Here's an advertisement celebrating the pseudo-homo lifestyle of Japanese men!

My wonderful parents sent me a gift basket of goodies for my birthday, which included lots of fruit, flowers, booze, cheese and chocolate. I haven't eaten pineapple or mango in about 6 months because the prices here are so inflated, and I'm over the moon now that I have it again. Thank you mom and dad! C'est parfait!

A bein tot!