Jumping to Tokyo: an Owl, Art, Pattern, Ramen, and James Brown.

I had a surprise day off from my week end job, so I picked up my bag put my headphones on and jumped on a train to Tokyo.

I realised that listening to Radiohead or listening to James Brown will greatly affect the way you walk and feel. I opted for James Brown.

Right now, this is rather awesome, though. (You're welcome, no, really).

I visited the national Tokyo National Museum and let the flowers and patterns fill me (see pictures below).

I visited a tattoo artist with whom I only spoke once one of my foot was out of the door.

I had a vegan ramen with my friend Kenichi in Tokyo station,

 after observing the va-et-vient of the bullet trains and metros from a building roof top transformed into a garden.

Vegan ramen. I ate so much I could barely walk to catch my train home.

Can't walk on the grass, Tokyo Eki's neighbourhood is a bit like the Champs Elysée.  Many shan't there... But the view from there is lovely, Shinkansens looking like Tomica toys underneath your feet.

I bought a proper, made in Japan, nicely cut shirt (and if I wear it now with my short hair, I am unsure if I am a boy or a girl in the mirror, so it'll wait a bit).  I wanted to buy one for my brother and dad, as they also did men shirt, but figured a shirt has to be tried first...

(Bonjour, il pleut. Je porte une chemise. Merci aurevoir.)

And I also bought socks. 

You never have enough socks. Especially if like me, you loose one every week. 

Especially if they are made in Japan and look like this:

(I think I am now definitely a blogger. I mean. I posted picture of food and my socks. I can't go further I don't think.)

I saw a sculpted owl above my head in a metro station, too:

Cannot remember for sure, I think it was in Oimachi station.

Anyways, I thought I'd share some love:

Pour Vincent

Pour Lea H.

Faire du pain perdu avec des baguettes de Viron qui coutent 4 euros.

Voila voila

Je suis sure qu'a peu près tous les Français qui vivent au Japon l'ont deja faite... Mais je ne résiste pas à l'envie.
C'est un onigiri (une portion de riz au poisson dans une feuille d'algue séchée, l'equivalent de notre sandwich baguette-jambon). Y'en a plein de trucs différents (thon, prunes...). Mais la, la nan.
(Je m'excuse).

NO PANTS!

(English below)

_____________________________________________________________________________

Je vous fais la version française pour 2 tablettes de chocolat noir au sel de chez carrouf (sans petit lait).

Je veux bien traduire, mais ça demande de l’énergie. Je ne peux pas travailler sans énergie dans ma tête.

OUI, le département traduction de mon cerveau ne fonctionne qu'au chocolat noir, pas de chèque.

Merci.

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So yesterday started very well in a lovely museum (images to come - found at least 3 david stars pattern and ornaments!!!) until I realised 90% of the clothes sold in those massive malls in Tokyo I never really walked through before are MADE IN JAPAN.
Sound likes Japan has a massive textile industry. Also sounds like, if it's the case, I need to do my research. Big time. But that will happen after the 'oh my god I haven't shopped in 10 years I want to buy EVERY SINGLE THING'' moment.
I was totally in shock. I actually did the whole 8 floors of a Marui mall. It was like smoking and/or drinking for the first time. My head was spinning. Anyways, as my recent decision to stop dressing like a 14 year old boy and try to maintain a better appearance (don't ask me why, the quarter-life crisis or something) is getting on okay, I tried a few dresses.
So I go in, have to take my shoes off, and then the shop assistant reopens the curtain and apologises and gives me a tissue bag. I say thank you and clothes the curtain. I look at the thing, think for a good ten seconds, re-open the curtain and ask:
''I'm sorry, what is this? For? I? Don't understand?''
She tells me, ''Oh! This is fa-ee-sue-co-o-var''. 
I go, ''A face cover?!'' 
Then the connection happens in my brain, it's to not stain the clothes with your ton of foundation when you try the thing on. Right.
''Oh, thank's. Actually I am not wearing any make up'' half in Japanese, half in English, 80% with my hands and 12% with my facial expression (I know that's a total of 192%, but sometimes you feel the need to communicate and it overwhelms you, right?).
Her face... Her face when I said I wasn't wearing make up...
If I had told her 'Oh! But I'm not wearing any pants!' she would have had a less suprised face. I'm not even joking.

blablabla

I'm not quite sure why, but I've open a twitter account.
I guess I was feeling lonely, and I missed making people laugh as I used to on Facebook (as in, I missed the realisation that other people also found funny the stuff I heard, which made me feel part of... the... world?). Not sure.

Before that I jumped and danced on some music with Roman, you know, to get the morning started, between telling him he won't be able to go swimming if he. doesn't eat. his. flipping. BREAKFAST. for. the. 10th. time.

Lately the days have been a lumpy mixture of four things: trying to get as much done for my boss (keeping the place as tidy as I can which isn't easy for an untidy person, washing the dishes about ten times a day, folding clothes, making sure the pets aren't starving, adding meat and dairy protein to the dinner to please everyone), doing all I can for the kids (cooking food they will actually eat, driving the car in a responsible way, brushing up their musical education with James Brown and Michael Jackson, smelling their feet between the shower and the bath to make sure they don't stink, explaining why you have to clean your hands before eating - in Japanese it ain't easy lemme tell ya'all-, swallow my tongue and not say anything when another adult tell them they don't need to wear their seatbelt or wear it in a way that will be totally useless if we crash, carry them on my back making airplanes sounds, giving them french quizzes in the bath), try to keep up with my stuff to be a balanced and content human being ah ha (finishing an illustration, which takes me weeks, studying a little Japanese on my own when I have enough brain energy which is not often, going for a walk or a run with the stinky dog - ok that hasn't happened lately -, thinking about what I should do with my life giving the fact I am young and have strictly no career plan and will not set foot in a University ever again, deciding on weather is should or should't stress about the latter, making some music, telling myself I am not fat, finishing reading my books, like the five I am reading at the same time, thinking about where to restart Giving Peace Faces, keeping sending letters), and trying to not fall asleep at the wrong moments as I am happily swinging between hypersomnia and needing naps every day and at least nine hours of sleep at night and surprise-hey-hey-guess-who-insomnia at least a few good times a month with no apparent reasons, which makes for a very sleepy person at some point between 2 and 6pm.
Wow that was a very long sentence.

 How about a picture of food to lighten this up.

June

Career Plan.

Jim- Qu'est ce que tu veux être quand tu seras grand Roman?
Roman (quatre ans, sans hesitation aucune) - UN ENORME DINOSAURE ROUGE!
Jim- ...Bonne idée.

Jim- What would you like to become when you're older, Roman?
Roman (four years old, without hesitating) - A massive red dinosaur!!!
Jim- ... Fair enough.

For Ginny and Dvora

Here are the brave plants I bought. I will do my best not to kill them too fast.

On the left is 'Super Mint' (don't ask, I do not know why it is 'super') and Orange Mint. They also had Apple Mint.

My new reading place. 

Orange Hibiscus.

Tu sais que t'es la fille de ton père quand:
You know you are your dad's daughter when:

-Tu t'entends dire tout haut 'Hmmmmm, il est aimable comme une poignée de porte' quand tu croises un gars qui répond pas quand tu lui dit bonjour.
-You hear yourself say at loud ' Jee... He's as friendly as a door handle' when the guy you just said hello to didn't bother answering you.

-Tu t'exclames 'Oh la la... On est tombé sur un extrémiste... Mais avvannnnceeee bordeeelllll' quand la voiture de devant roule a 30, et que toi tu roules à 80.
-You go 'Oh my... an extremist... Fu*king mooooovvvveee..' when the car in front of yours is driving at 20 miles an hour and you 45.

Bon aller.

• J'ai fait tomber les clefs de voitures en tirant la chasse d'eau. Malgré des jurons epicés en cinq langues pendant les dix secondes qui suivirent et des prières aux dieux et demons des WC pour que les clefs soient trop lourdes pour être emportées, elles doivent maintenant se trouver dans des contrées inconnues. Ca va me couter une blinde. Genre le prix d'un tatouage. C'est une clef électronique. Duh. 

• J'ai acheté plein de fleurs, meme des Hibiscus, et des pots, et ca va mieux. C'est tout fleuris. Le balcon est devenue ville fleurie de France 2014.

• Keitaro san m'a demandé comment on dit quo-taux-dé-vahure.
  -Hein?
  -African country. Cop tot def ouare.
  -Ahhh... Tu veux dire Cote d'Ivoire?
  -Ah! Cautou D'efaire!
  -Nan. COTE D'IVOIRE. Ivory Coast. Cote d'Ivoire.  (Oui, j'ai un diplôme de traduction tu vois, c'est un metier (AH HHHAAA).)

• J'ai réussi pour la premiere fois au Japon a lire une phrase tout en kanji (bah attends, tu crois pas que j'vais réussir a lire une phrase en Kanji et pas me la peter un minimum). C'est a dire que y'avait personne chez le concessionnaire, et donc à 55% je me suis souvenue des Kanjis 'Mercredi’ （水曜日）ainsi que de 'vacance/congé' （休み） et à 45% j'ai utilisé le département raisonnement-par-deduction-observation-et-elimination de mon cerveau.

Bon aller.