Need Sleep

I’ve not been able to sleep since I got to Japan… I think I’ve been getting about 4-5 hours sleep tops every night.  Not good.

Random, incoherent thoughts:

I tell you, under important things you should know about Japan, you think someone would mention that some of the big, major train stations are only accessible by stairs.  That’s important when you have a big, heavy suitcase that you can only carry because it has wheels!  I have totally overpacked and think I’ll be ditching a heap of stuff.

Yesterday we stood at the top of the very stairs and looked at our bags, then sat down and had a break, then looked again and asked people if there was an elevator or a lift.

Finally I started heading down with my bag… thump, thump, thump… on the steps when a guy stopped to help us.  He went ‘chotto matte’ then took off – we thought he’d gone for good but no, he came back and told us there was no elevator then carried our bags for us.

Yes, that’s right.  He carried our bags!  I’ve heard about these knight in shining armour type guys but I never really thought they existed!  And yes, he was cute too.

The bullet train is totally, totally awesome.  I love the bullet train.

Had planned a quiet night the night before last.  decided to drink some duty free vodka so we didnt have to carry it.  Sat up to 4 am drinking… bad, bad move.  Maximum hangover yesterday.  Too sick to go to Ramen Museum or Osaka castle.  damn demon drink.

Everything in Japan takes so much longer than you expect.  I think it’s because you get detoured by cute things.  Everything is so cute.  So very cute.  Even if it doesn’t need to be cute, it still is.  The children are majorly cute esp when they are wearing their yellow school hats.

I remember now why I hate staying at hostels — it’s because I hate people.  Especially people who don’t use inside voices.  At 4 am.  I will find them.  I will kill them.

There is a Canadian or maybe US girl who works here.  She gave us very dodgy directions yesterday.  We ended up walking very very far.  Even people who speak no English give better directions.  I want to kill her too.

Quick Japan Update

Hi folks, just a quick update from the lobby of the hotel while my sis is showering.  Osaka is full of insanely attractive people – it is mind blowing.  They must spend hours everyday on hair and makeup etc – and thats just the guys!  I would think they were gay except they spend all their time cruising chicks.

The people are also very friendly.  We had a couple of young guys run over and start chatting to us yesterday while we were taking photos.  It:s weird but, because I:ve travelled so much in SE Asia, I automatically assume that locals are going to try to con money out of you or sell you shit then make a huge scene if you don:t buy it — it:s to think that people are just being all friendly. 

Also got chatted up on Tuesday night – went to a ramen place and some guys remembered us from the plane (if i understood Japanese I think I:d have heard them say crazy, swearing girl cos I don:t fly well esp when the plane is delayed for hours!).

Last night went to a v tiny neighbourhood bar.  Haven:t been game to try Pichinco yet. 

Japan is fun but my Japanese talking is an epic fail so far – everyone wants to talk \english!

BTW the keyboard is in squiggly so that:s why my punctuation is crap.  Bye, I:ve got a date with a whale shark to keep.  Much more detail and photos to come.

17 hours to go…

I’m bored… and kinda annoyed.  I had some work to do today from home – why is it that issues always come up at the last minute?  Oh yeah, that’s because people put off testing until the last minute.  Seriously, this stuff could have been handled two weeks ago (or not at all if someone hadn’t overwritten stuff I’d done!!!!)  It’s so frustrating but I guess it means money in the bank when I get home even if it’s just for a few hours work.

This arvo I’m going into the city to get yen and go to the gym then that’s about it really.  Maybe a nap since I’m leaving at 4 am!!!!

1 day until I go to Japan… OMG!

Weigh in this morning – 82.8 kgs.  Yahs, finally got over that 83 kg hump, although I fully expected a gain this week since I did a lot of nervous, sugary eating over the weekend.  Maybe I did a lot of nervous fidgetting to counteract it.

That brings me to a total of 5 kgs lost since I started Operation Japan back in May or whenever it was.  Back then I thought I’d lose 20 kgs but I’m not disappointed.  Better to have a small, gradual loss and a life than go hardcore.

I’m feeling relatively calm today.  The bags are mostly packed and everything ready – although my next post will prolly be all ‘arrrggghhhh…. I’m in Japan and forgot my [insert name of v imp thing]‘ but I have my passport and cash etc.  The trouble with holidaying in Asia, rather than the US or Europe etc is that it isn’t so easy to run out and replace things you forget, everything is so miniature. 

ess than 24 hours until I leave, our flight is at stupid o’clock in the morning, so check you later… I’ll be back before you know it with loads of holiday snaps.

Meltdown Averted… kinda, sorta

After a day of juggling and net searching, I’ve kinda reorganised a lot of our accommodation for Japan.  We’d planned on staying at a very, very hotel in swisho Aoyama in Tokyo for 7 days but that was at the very top end of our budget with a good exchange rate. 

Now we are spending 10 days in Tokyo but only 3 nights in Aoyama, the rest spread over 2 other areas in backpackers but with twin share rooms not dorms and one of those even has a private bathroom!

All up instead of spending Y125,000 on 7 nights accomm, we’re spending Y129,000 for the whole trip (except one night we haven’t booked yet).  ‘

I’m actually liking the new arrangement better – as well as having cash for things like food and shopping, we are getting to see more of the city.

That bloody exchange rate had better not drop any more though!

Oh and I had another meltdown — packed everything then realised I’d lost one of my new bras.  Flung everything out of the suitcase looking for it then my sister came in and told me she’d found it!  I think i’d left it with some gym cos it was in a plastic bag in her room?????

Anyway, I repacked and did a much better job the second time around.  That thing about rolling your clothes – it really works!

2 Days to Japan: Meltdown!

I woke up with morning in a huge panic about everything I need to get down before I go – not that there is a lot, my mind is just racing a million miles an hour.  The main problem is that I have some work that came up unexpectedly to add in to my day and I can’t do it until tomorrow but I want to get my laptop (which I need to do the work) locked up in storage locker before they close the storage place, plus I want to get to the gym etc.

Then…

I checked the exchange rate.  The $AUD has dropped to an all time low of 58 Yen.  OMG!!!  That’s a drop of 12 yen in just a week.  I seriously don’t know what to do.  We booked a week’s accommodation in Tokyo thinking the $AUD was around Y100!  The hotel doesn’t take payment before check in so I’ve not paid for it. 

Instead of costing us around $1200 for the week, it’s now going to cost $2,100 or more.

I don’t know what to do – whether to just suck it up (and hope the dollar doesn’t drop any further before we get there) or to find somewhere else to stay.  If it was just me, it would be okay but my sister has less money saved than me.

3 days to go…

I went to the Women’s Health “Are You Game?” event at Princes Park today with the lovely SassyCill and even managed to go on the mechanical bull - for a millisecond!  Man, that thing is hard to ride.  You have to spread your legs so wide, something my legs don’t do much to the amusement of everyone who knows me.  Seriously.  STOP LAUGHING!   It’s something to do with my wacky lack of flexibility.

Other than that, got heaps of freebies, a manicure and even a health check (I’m A-OK, good thing cos I am way, way overdue for my diabetes blood tests).  I even did a short aerobics workout with some chick who apparently is famous for being on the Biggest Loser.  I didn’t go on the trapeze on account of being terrified of heights.

Anyway, I thought I’d update the world about my pyscho neighbour.  The other day I was talking to my friend who lives in the downstairs flat from pyscho neighbour.  Seems the pyscho moved out – yah!  But don’t cheer too soon.  She has moved back into another flat.  Her old flat was the top left hand corner of the building… she’s moved into the top right hand flat.  She did this even though she was evicted by getting her bf to apply for it.  Oh wait, he’s NOT her bf.  He’s her friend who is also the father of her baby but not her boyfriend (can anyone smell Centrelink fraud?) 

My friend said the real estate agent told them to move out when they realised but psycho neighbour has said she’s not moving until they get an eviction notice.  I don’t know how these people even get a rental application approved when it’s near to impossbile to rent anywhere in Melbourne at the moment without promising sexual favours, wads of cash and your first born child. 

Anyway my poor friend said she was in tears when she found out the pyscho moved back in — she’s also had her tyres slashed (removing any doubt over who slashed mine), plus things thrown at her, dirty kitty litter dumped on her door step etc.  Still the police can’t do anything… WTF.

Here’s hoping the real estate do manage to get the eviction order.  At least the good bit is that she’s now on the opposite of the building to our house so the noise isn’t so loud here.  I am so not looking forward to getting the $1000 payment from the government later this year though — every time she gets some money it seems to be spent on booze and parties, making her even more pyscho.

4 Freaken Days Until I Go To Japan!

I went into the city today to do some errands.  I now have an international driver’s licence — I can drive anywhere in the world!  I’ve never bothered with that kind of stuff before but, in Japan, they have car rentals through the train network so you can get a train out of the city – to like a smaller town/regional centre – and then rent a car for half a day.  Not sure if we’ll bother but it’s good to have the option.

I’d fully intended to hit the gym today for a killer workout but kept procrastinating, looking in another shop, doing this and that… I really didn’t want to go!  The problem with having been a lazy slackarse most of my life is that when I have this voice saying I don’t want to go to the gym, I always try to fight it.  Sometimes though, if I stop and listen, the voice is talking sense.  I’ve been sniffly for about a week and had no energy.  I don’t think a rest day will kill me!

Lately I’ve been thinking about what I’m going to do when I get home from hols.  Well apart from trying to find a job and survive (arrrgggghhhh… at least I’m not putting the holiday on plastic and running up a huge debt, which is something I can never understand).

On the exercise front, I’ve been thinking about doing some serious weight training.  I want to put on muscle.  To be honest, weight training has long been the ugly stepchild of my exercise program — I’ll devote time to it after I’ve done the fun stuff like cardio etc.  But lately I’ve been really loving my kettlebell class – okay, it’s been a love/hate relationship esp a few days after when I can barely walk – plus a few years ago, when I actually did weight train, I loved the look esp having a muscular back. 

Since I’m planning for a marathon in October, I figure summer is the best time to build muscle before I get into long endurance runs.  Fun, fun plans

I’m happy today – got most of my errands done including picking up my drycleaning!  And mailing my intinerary/details to my Mum (she’s been nagging me to do this for ages).  All that’s left now is to clean out the fridge – blerk.  And get a leg wax.  I’ve not been waxed since last summer and was thinking about going somewhere cheap but am now thinking I’ll go to my normal place cos at least they will handle it when I start screaming like a lil bitch!

5 days to Japan

I feel like I should be overjoyed at the moment, so close to my holiday, but instead I’ve been having a bit of a meltdown.  So many thoughts racings through my head – worries about money and about work once I get home and every other conceivable thing…

I think I have a real issue about going away.  When we were kids, we’d have holidays all sorted and planned and, at the last moment, Mum would have a major stress attack about money and other shit, and would pull the plug on the whole thing.  I’ve got a mind-set now that firstly travel is a waste of money and you have nothing tangible to show for it and secondly that something will happen at the last moment to prevent me going.

On top of that, even though I’ve travelled overseas quite a bit, I’ve always had someone else doing the organising whether it’s travelling with friends or being on a group tour.  Suddenly, I’m the one who’s responsible.  I’m worried about my sister and her lack of health (and lack of finances), I’m worried about a whole heap of stuff and every time the dollar drops, I panic more.

I’d love to be one of those people who just goes with the flow but I’m not.  I feel like I *should* be able to control everything.  Like the financial markets – if I’d tried just a little bit harder, I’d have avoided that.  Even though I know logically that if I could predict these things I’d be earning squillions of dollars as a financial analyst or something.

The stupid thing is that once I’m on the plane, I’ll be fine.  It’s just this long lead up especially not working this week so plenty of time for thinking and worrying and ….

Anyway, I’m off to battle my negative thoughts.  I figure a run should help me cope.

6 Days to Japan

I’ve been so caught up in my Japan preparations, I keep forgetting to mention this – this weekend I’m heading down to Princes Park for the “Are You Game” Activities Day.  If anyone is interested in meeting up and coming along with me, just leave a comment or drop me an email.

They have a MECHANICAL BULL!  All my life I’ve had a dream, and that dream is ride on a mechanical bull.  Oh yeah, it’s going to be awesome.  And, yeah, there will be other health and fitness activities etc.  Mechanical bull…

On a different note, I’ve been around the weight loss internet scene now for quite a while and there are a few weight loss myths that really bug me.  You know the kind of thing people say that make you think WTF. 

The first one of these is the “starvation zone” – I don’t doubt that going on some extreme anorexia-inducing starvation diet is not the best thing for your body, but seriously, I really doubt that if you miss one meal your body is going to freak out. 

There seems to be a school of thought that is like “OMG, I’ve been 3 hours and 5 minutes without eating.  My body is going into the STARVATION ZONE!  I’ll never lose weight now.”

Yeah, I don’t think it’s that urgent.  If you eat a good, healthy, balanced diet then having a day when you are too sick or busy to eat isn’t going to kill you (or make you pork up).  Have you seen pictures of people in situation where they CAN’T eat?  They aren’t exactly obese.

The biggest danger isn’t the starvation zone, it’s the overcompensating, getting into the mindset of “I missed lunch, I can eat this tiramisu… and this donut…. and this ….”

The other “myth” that bugs me is the whole “muscle weighs more than fat” thing.  Again, I don’t doubt it’s true.  People wiser than myself claim it’s so.  What gets me is that every time someone is dieting and they have a slight gain, someone trots out that theory.

I’m going out on a limb here and saying that unless you are doing serious weight training, it’s prolly NOT true.  If you picked up a couple of tiny pink weights to pump out a few bicep curls maybe, just maybe, the weight gain is due to something else.

This is the Kathryn list of reasons you might have gained weight (you meaning me of course) in order of likelihood:

1. Did you forget that tiramisu you ate the other day (because one tiny treat won’t hurt) and those few biscuits? Oh yeah and the chips you ate off someone else’s plate because they don’t have calories that way?  Did you really, truly, honestly eat as low calorie as you thought?
2. Did you exercise as hard and as long as you thought?  An hour in the gym DOESN’T burn calories unless you are actually doing something!
3. Toilet issues!

Gaining muscle doesn’t even make my list because I don’t work that hard.