Stormriders Revenge

- Never Stop Dreaming -

The past weekend was quite extraordinary I must say. Friday nite was a little harmless gathering of some friends and their friends (Jacky and Peter) who were here in Japan for holidays. Jacky was a cool lady whom I hit off pretty well and even made a pact about going to Antartica in 2 years time along with Grant as we all share the same passion of that God forsaken ice continent.

Along with Eric and Ashley, Grant and Nigel, Jacky and Peter, we had our dinner at Genki Sushi which was I personally think tasted bad (fish bones were present in their sushi...) but nonetheless, the rest simply loved it. Upon leaving, had a cute high school girl who served us in the sushi store coming out and talking to us and the reason, she just wanted to speak English! My my how weird was that...alrite moving on. Headed to Kuroshishi and had the second round of partying which I had skipped booze altogether for the sake of my sweet Starlet which never leaves me wherever I go. Adam and Shino came along and a new face Ben was there too. Some other Japanese that Grant and I had partied earlier was there and so the party grew bigger and noisier and finally things went outta control with a cute Japanese dude who was 26 hitting on Jacky who was 46 because she was blonde and had blue eyes. Grant and Peter were dancing and talking about their life stories (yeah rite...), Ben who was from England and had lived in Singapore for 6 years was talking in Singlish spewing words like "shiok lah" "cannot meh" and the rest, God knows what they were doing.

In the midst of all these unglamourous partying, alcohol intoxication and gibberish language, a trip up to Shiga Kogen was actually planned on Friday nite, well Saturday morning literally as it was already 3am. So the itinerary was to head up to Shiga and catch the snow monkeys bathing in the onsen and then do a half day of snowboarding at Nozawa Onsen, stay for the nite and go for a full second day of snowboarding on Sunday. Everything looks good, backup plans in placed and then it's back to our sleeping dens.

I got everything set before I go to bed on Friday nite and so when I woke up on Sat morning, I was surprised to notice the bright sun peering into my room. Hmmm I was supposed to wake up at 0530 hours to the sound of the alarm ringing but it didn't actually rang and it was already 0705 hours. I knew I was late and couldn't make it for the trip, next thing I knew, the phone was set to silent and I went back to sleep. Woke up at 1750 hours when the alarm rang. Blasted alarm...it was actually set at 1200 hours late. By this time the scorching sun was replaced by a ravaging blizzard tearing up the lands. Whoooo...I thought and I got myself prepared to go out but not sure where when Adam invited me to a GEOS party at Eric's place. Driving there took me 20 minutes longer than usual as I had to carefully navigate through the almost impossible blizzard.

So before leaving, another snowboarding trip was in place for Sunday with Eric and the gang going up to Nozawa Onsen. I was delighted as this could salvage my guilt for missing out on Saturday.

Sunday, 24th Feb, the alarm clock went off as planned, no screw ups and I was cruising in the blizzard from the day before. It was still bad, road conditions were ridiculous and visibility was peeking at a mere 5%. Upon arrival at the designated point of contact, I learned that the trip was actually cancelled due to bad weather. I was not convinced so I drove back home to grab the free lift ticket to Asama2000 to try my luck.

Badly trying to curb the erupting snowboarding enthusiasm in me, I drove in the insane blizzard up the windy mountain pass up Asama only to find that my luck ran out when I got to the top. The weather condition was so bad, the lifts were closed and all winter activities were stopped. Everyone simply stayed in the ski lodge to escape the blizzard of doom. Snow was the size of marbles and wind was so strong they would knock you over. Well, at least for me, I am loving every second of it.

So without much luck and after hours of waiting, I decided to decend and get back to town. With the mountain passes covered in snow and cars were creeping at snail pace, I decided to try my luck once more. DRIFTING! Yeap, in a 4WD full auto car...haha it's almost as close as you can get to the real thing. Acceleration upon entering corners and hard over steering would send the car's tail sliding out and counter steering at the precise moment would put the car back on tracks. Arcade, games and simulation, back in the basement for me as this had to be the closest drifing experience to date. All the way down from the top on that mountain pass was simply insane but carefully done until the last 30% of the course where the speed demon took over my sanity. Lost it and the car bump into a snow pile by the corners at 30km/h and I was stuck.

Cars that I had overtook were passing me scrawled with sinister smiles and "Serves you right!" written all over those smiles. Yeah I know it sucks have the fun ended abruptly but in the end, some kind souls who had no idea of my insane stint stopped and we dug my precious Starlet out. After like 20 minutes, the car was freed and once again I continued that sick stunt down and eventually completed my downhill rally training. Boy I would love to do that again anytime but it would be recommended to bring a co-driver and spades just in case. Seems like the "feel" of rally driving was pretty intense...

Alrite in the evening when I got back home, there was so much snow outside my house that I decided to complete my "snow throne" project that was halted for a while. It looks great I must say because even the neighbours were impressed by it and passing cars stop just to catch a glimpse of it.

すごく雪だ！わいわい！

- Never Stop Dreaming -

Experiencing snow is phenomenal chapter in my life and as more and more snow comes crashing down from towns seperated from my humble shack by a mere 1 hour odd, more often than usual, I wished I was living in those towns instead. Eventhough all these towns collected in the same prefecture which is some 42km² larger than good old SG, the amount of snowfall really differs from time to time. And at this point of time, I will not rule out the possibility of moving to a more extreme snow town when my contract finishes next year.

Snowboarding once again was conducted by me and the usual bandits at Nozawa Onsen last Sunday. We set off early from Komoro with a not-too-happy frown on my face as the morning was greeted with golden rays instead of lush clouds of doom. But in a rare twist of fate, upon reaching Iiyama town which we pass to get to Nozawa Onsen, a blizzard was actually raving through. Snow was almost 3 times as much as all the other previous trip up here. Visibility was reduced to ZERO and yes I said ZERO. When the raging blizzard ripped through the forest, nothing could be seen as a sheet of white was all there was. All the vehicles on the road stopped, popped the hazard lights and waited. 10 minutes later, when visibility was a mere 10 metres, everyone started creeping their vehicles up Nozawa Onsen.

This had to be the most extreme blizzard I had experienced and boy can I say, I LOVED IT. Well you people can lament and talk sense into me but trust me, it WON'T work as I have come to terms that indeed there are disastrous chaos that the snow brings but I am willing to embrace it all and live in it.

And so finally, we reached Nozawa Onsen in 1 piece only to find ourselves stranded in a rare scene, well at least I am as I am not sure about the rest. All the cars in the road side parking lots were buried in 1.5 feet of snow and only the sketchy white silhouette was visible. Encasing the parking lot was 2 metres of snow towering above the cars and people were seen digging their cars out...Gigantic Cat wheel dozers with chain-strapped wheels were shoveling the snow in the massive carpark. I was overwhelmed and stoned to be granted such an extraordinary experience.

Alrite the entire snowboarding experience was mixed with both satisfaction and disappointment. Satisfaction because there was simply an unbelivable amout of snow that keeps falling endlessly, huge powder that allows me to ride big without injuring myself and the bareness of the runs allows ample space to carve tricks. Disappointment because visibility was negligible with trees and barriers posing an immediate danger and amateur runs were gradually flattening out with powder making riding impossible.

At the end of the day my dear friend, the only female in the group, (who by any chance happens to read this) be not upset by these words that I pen. Afterall I was polite enoungh to not spit it in your face and embarrass you in front of everyone. Well she was whiny and uptight at the very end for various reasons but hey, please do not substitute me for your rag doll just because your BF is in Kyoto. If you have to be unpleasant about it, just deal with it and quit being a BITCH.

Geez, talk about soiling one's mood...alrite point taken let's move on. The drive back after the snowboarding trip was equally disastrous as all roads were jammed the raging blizzard didn't seem to stop. Yep I like it a lot and I am not complaining but merely stating facts. I like the slow drive and the appreciation of the gently falling snow which seems to dance in which ever direction the wind blows. And in that dim orange street lamp (you know how I have a fetish for those orange street lamps) illuminated orange pellets dance in different rhythm of the currents. A smile formed on my face because the thoughts of seeing this with someone special beside me would be the best image captured in my head for centuries to come.

Finally after a long 4 hour drive through roads with water sprouting (think mini musical fountain) from the ground, and insane 140km speeding alongside MPVs and SUVs in 6km long tunnels, home as it was embraced me with a nice hot bath and dreamy slumberland.

僕のチョコレートはどこ？

- Never Stop Dreaming -

Alrite and so today, Fabulous February 14, St. Valentine's Day. According to various sources, in Japan and only in Japan I think, St. Valentine's Day is a day where the boys, guys and masculines will receive chocolates from the girls, ladies and feminines. And on March 14, exactly a month after Valentine's Day is White Valentine's Day where the boys, guys and masculines will return chocolates back to the girls, ladies and feminines either to accept the love expressed or simply to show appreciation.

Me if you are wondering am still left dangling on singlehood so I guess there will not be any chocolates for me afterall. Boo hoo...sob sob...maybe because I have been greedily munching so much sinful chocolates ever since I got to Japan. Retribution, karma, feng shui, fate???

Well who knows but anyway, enjoy your lovey dovey Valentine's Day.

Winter Collection 07/08

- Never Stop Dreaming -

Alrite here are the "lost" pictures that I have consolidated till now and have been edited and resized. Or otherwise, give your eyes a break after those long hours of Edison, Cecilia, Bobo, Gillian and Vincy. The last few pics were taken at Asama2000 ski resort.

Right now I am working on my "custom" snow chair masterpiece...will post the pics when it's done. Hmmm...I need to add a little snow table to the side so I can put my coffee and bread. Oh yeah, I should also decorate it and add the finishing fine touches...

Greetings...in my abscence

- Never Stop Dreaming -

So today is Chinese New Year and all the Chinese around the world should be celebrating and partying except for those folks stranded in China and me who is working day and night with no off or leave.

Well who cares for I am not complaining as I enjoy more than anyone else I guess, it's just a fact that I am stating. Ok point taken and besides it's because I had deliberately chosen this path so of course I am delighted. Somehow it is here in Japan that I really learn to appreciate my roots and respect my own culture...no no no don't ever get me wrong but when I say roots and culture, it's simply means being a SINGAPOREAN CHINESE so don't even try to convince me about the bigger picture.

Maybe I can implicitly infer that I, being the odd one out seems to be the way for me afterall, I am the middle child, the defiant and rebellious one. While in SG, I try to be different from the norm, to stand out among the bland population for all the wrong reasons and now that I am here in Japan, once again I try to stand out among the Japanese. And it's from there that I really really appreciate being a SINGAPOREAN CHINESE. I would have confidently proclaim that if I had never chosen this path from the start, I would still be complaining and whinning about the flaws of the little red dot.

Great great great, I am different and well liked here and I love it. From me, the "Martian", I bring forth new experiences, cultures and values to flood the Japanese, Americans and other foreigners here. I represent a paramount influence on the folks here and the attention I get is simply overwhelming.

Happy New Year peeps back home and have a crazy year ahead!

Progression

- Never Stop Dreaming -

As I made my way up to Nozawa Onsen for a second time on Sunday with the same gang less the 2 other Japanese, I was in for more thrills and spills than the week before. Snow was much heavier, road conditions were more severe and I rode even harder. Saturday night after dining at a local Izakaya at Komoro, it started to snow and it did not stop snowing till Sunday night at around 10.

The initial plan was to drive my little blue car up to Nozawa but eventually the 4 of us took another friend's 4WD manual car up instead. The highway conditions were severe with the entire road covered in thick sludge, driving was reduced from the usual 120km cruising to a mere 60km crawling. Eventually we made it to Iiyama where every structure was covered in at least 15 inches of snow. There was just too much snow everywhere and I was just laying in the back seat of the car enjoying the view.

Upon arrival at Nozawa Onsen, I was persuaded to tackle a much harder and steeper run which was deemed fit for the level I am at. As usual, I took a couple of plunges, rolls and flips but eventually after seeing the sky flash 5 or 6 times and having eaten a mouthful of snow, I was ready to fly. In fact I flew so hard, my rusted body couldn't keep up and I was left once again eating snow. It was then I came to realise that I was actually riding pretty well and those falls were the result of my body not being able to keep up. I really wished I had kept my aching body in prestige condition after army...but it's all too late now so I have to start conditioning my "Tofu" body (ring a bell Law?).

Connecting the turns between the toe and heel edges of the board, I gracefully glided down the runs...It had to be one of the most orgasmic experiences in my life...Whooo and not to mention the "outta this world view" from the top. Well, the view was great as overlooking the entire plains and tiny cities below from almost 2000 metres above sea level but in my definition of "great view" with reference to Sunday, what I saw was nothing more than a dense obscure blizzard of white pellets smashing into my face. Unfortunately, I am still unable to haul my camera up the hills so you will just have to imagine it.

After one too many tries down the new run, I switched to the easier run from the previous Sunday to boost my confidence once more. This run became a leisurely and faultless run for me and on 1 particular instance, I took it so hard and with my confidence level floating above my head, I rode the heavy powder. Bad bad bad decision as I was no where near the level of riding powder yet and I badly regretted my naive decision for I spent the next 10 minutes "climbing" out of the mess. You see powder in snowboarding context simply means fresh untouched snow which is almost impossible to ride for an amateur like me. The reason being simply you will sink faster than you can recall your own name and every effort to "climb" out will only make you sink faster...sort of like a quick sand. Eventually, I dug deep enough to free myself from my board, only to struggle to walk in the knee deep snow which is harmlessly portrayed as a mere curb height on the surface. Nonetheless, it was really fun but I would not want to do it anytime soon.

To sum it up, I was really really worn out by Sunday night after pushing myself beyond my physical limitations. Even this morning when I woke up to go to work, I kinda wanted to call it a sick day since I haven’t taken a sick leave since last August but I decided against it in the end.

Snowboarding, I would recommend anyone who wouldn’t mind falling in soft cottony snow to pick it up as it’s pretty easy to learn. But watch those knees for they will hurt real bad initially. The first few trials will determine if you are destined to stay in the sport and of course if you do pull thru the initial learning phase, then you will understand the gracefulness of the sport.

Latest Japanese Street Wear

- Never Stop Dreaming -

Well this might just seem to be a random picture taken of the streets of Japan which is infamous for vending machines in every street, corner and alley you can find.



But take a closer look and you will find that in fact the latest street fashion is the brainchild of Japanese Designer Aya Tsukioka and is IN the picture itself.