Happy New Year!

$650 Chicken

We went to a Chinese restaurant recently and a friend was telling me how a neighbour's dog attacked one of his chickens, causing a nasty injury. He asked his wife if she wanted him to put the chicken down, to end it's suffering, but his wife insisted they should take it to the vet. The chicken was treated as a kind of family pet and was even allowed to come inside the house.

Anyway, they took it to the vet and was very shocked and angry to get a bill for $650! He told me he had spent more than $7,000 in the past for his dog who needed surgery on his legs, but that was different as the dog was like a family member.



Lost pet

Uber

Drive thru

Magic Man

Penguins

Something different

She hates her job

On our last trip to Japan, we went to Ishigaki jima, one of the most southern islands of Japan. On our way to our accommodation we travelled in a mini bus from the airport. Most tour guides and tourism staff are usually extremely polite and very friendly and full of smiles, but the young lady who was charged with instructing us, spoke in a very monotone and bored voice. She never smiled and gave the impression that she wanted to be somewhere else. We joked amongst ourselves that maybe she just broke up with her boyfriend and was in a bad mood.

Kiwi humour

We were in New Zealand recently and found that the Kiwis have a very funny sense of humour. For example, instead of using boring everyday instructions, our hotel door sign for the cleaners said 'Please make my room squeaky clean'.  Also, the train service was disrupted, so they used buses instead. On the side of the buses it said " I am a choo choo!' Omoshirokatta desu.

Emergency evacuation

On our recent trip to Wellington in New Zealand, we had an emergency in our hotel at 3o'clock in the morning. It was a big shock! We woke up to the sound of very loud speaker 'Emergency! Please evacuate immediately!' kowaikatta!
We took the fire escape. Luckily we were only on the 21st floor! We got to ground level car park and saw many people standing outside in the cold (It was the start of winter). Samukatta! Some people left their rooms quickly and were still dressed in pyjamas and dressing gown, but others took their time and were fully dressed with overcoats on and suitcases packed. After a while, we were allowed to return to our rooms. As we expected, it was a false alarm.

Hangar

We used to enjoy beautiful sunsets from our back yard until a new neighbour moved in. Shortly after they arrived, they built a giant shed. It is so big! I don't understand why they need such a giant and ugly shed. It looks like an airplane hangar. Anyway, it has spoiled our view and makes me want to move house.

Frantic season

I don't understand why people go crazy with shopping and panic buying when the shops close on Christmas day. It seems to be a kind of mass insanity. People behave like they are filling their fallout shelters for the apocalypse. You would think the shops will close for 2 weeks, not just a day! Baka!

De-car-ations.

We don't really celebrate Christmas in Japan, except for department store decorations and lovely light displays. I am not a fan of the very dodgey Christmas lights and rubbishy decorations, for example, inflatable santa or snowman on the front lawn. I especially dislike reindeer antlers on cars!

Back pack cat

Some time ago, I took Sakura, my cat to the vet. All the people usually carry their cats and small animals in a cage or something, but I was very surprised to see one old lady carrying her cat inside her back pack!

Still alive?

My cat, Sakura is over 20 years old. Her hearing and eyes are not so good. Also, I think she has dementia. She sleeps a lot these days. Sometimes when she is lying very still, I wonder if she has already left this planet. So far, I have been relieved to find she is still alive.

 

Colourful cat

Last time I went to Japan, I left Sakura with my friend. She has a three year old daughter who loves to play with my cat. Sakura is a big attention seeker and loves affection, so she also enjoys having a holiday there. When I went to pick her up after I returned, I saw the fur on top of her head was green!  My friend apologised and explained that her little girl had coloured her with a crayon.

Woeful waiter

I went to a nice Japanese restaurant recently. The food was very nice, but the young waiter had no idea. He had a terrible manner and no clue about how to look after the customers. He banged things down on the table without speaking and did everything in a clumsy way. At least he smiled.

Bus stop bugler

 

We were driving on a busy road recently and passed a bus stop. There was a young guy there playing the trumpet. I don't know if he was being a kind of street performer entertaining the cars passing by,  or maybe he was going to a recital or something and was doing some last minute practise.  

Camera concerns

At a recent convention, two strange guys approached our table. They were chatting a lot quite loudly and it seemed as though they had been drinking. One of them aimed his camera at our pictures and I asked him nicely not to take photos please.  He became very upset and protested that he wasn't taking pictures, he was just looking at some of his photos. He carried on a lot about how dare we accuse him, on and on he went. Eventually his friend calmed him down and they apologised. They even ended up buying some pictures.