Ketchup Post

Fair warning, this post contains no ketchup. Although, I did eat 3 (count them 3) Big Macs at lunch today. It is a celebration for the Big Mac this week, so they were only 200 yen. Cheap hamburger = happy Jeff. The Big Mac in Japan lacks the same quality that you find in America.

I have a few random pictures that have made their way into this 'ketchup post.' Clever and an appetite...how am I still single? Seriously, how? 

How about this little bugger that I found on my wall. (get it? bugger?)

 A close up. Seconds from the painful death it suffered at the hands of poison. 

 Awesome choir room at my Junior High. I took this while everyone was having the special teacher afternoon. They bring in 11 different teachers every so often to do special classes for the Junior High students. They learned stuff like cake making, wood working, calligraphy, wool doll making, tea ceremony, some Chinese game, nature painting, and pottery. It was interesting to go around and see the kids doing all of the classes. I got invited to participate in the tea ceremony. When done right, I am pretty sure that it is a beautiful tradition, but it required sitting in Seiza position (which you may remember from an earlier post). It was like painful Japanese torture. Both my feet fell asleep during it, but I bore like a champ.

 I found this sign in the hall that made me laugh. I think we should all catch dream. 

 I am concerned at this picture. It makes me feel...really weird. 

 Saturday we had the pub quiz! It was at a cafe in Otsuki. It was a little long (4 hours) but I was a phenomenal asset to my team. I was able to answer every Lord of the Rings question. 

 These are people who are from the Yamanashi area. 

 Elliot on the left and Nick on the right. Elliot was on my team, and we dominated some people. 

 Pizza and fish and chips. The pizza was not spectacular.  

 Carlos the Irish Spanish master who was on my team. We won those 'punny' shirts. 

 Devil horns, they fit right? 

 Carlos (previously mentioned), Karen (also Irish), and Christina (my next door neighbor).

 Also went to Don Kihote. Yeah, it is like it sounds. It is a mega store of all sorts of bizarre stuff.

 Coin-op machines full of Japanese characters. 

 THEY HAVE PUPPIES! This is a little tiny chihuahua. 

 Other tiny puppies!

 Check. Out. This. TINY. DOG! Cute right? Problem: This dog costs about 1,800 dollars. 

 Also, kittens. Can't express my love for the kittens. 

 They sell a whole lot of Halloween stuff here which is rare because Japan doesn't celebrate Halloween much. 

 Here is a nifty little item: A pillow that has all the lovable characteristics of a body wearing a thong. Weird right? I accidentally wandered into a not-clearly marked section of the store where I found many confusing items. It took me an embarrassing 20 seconds or so to realize what I was looking at. At this point, I felt weird and scuttled away. 

 Red Cozy Blanket. Amazing right? I think I am actually going to get one of these! 

They have a whole bunch of imported stuff here. I got some Sour Cream and Onion Lays, Jalepeno Pringles and Doritos! The chips pictured remind me of the Sabor de Soledad chips in the TV show 30 Rock.

Who wants one of these? I can get them to you. What is better than pretending that you have a pet, and that it is rooting through the trash? These are one of many treasures that you will find at Don Kihote.