Otaku poof

Today by some lucky draw I had the day off, meaning I was able to watch the England game. I started off by packing a ridiculous amount of boxes in preparation for moving house, hopefully in the next two or three weeks. Even though I spent a good few hours doing this and filled many boxes, I still have loads of stuff cluttering my room. Aside from the obvious benefits of a larger house, actually IN Drum, moving is a great opportunity to sort though my stuff and sell what I don't want any more. As such I'm going to have an epic car boot stall sometime in the coming months.

Finally 3 o clock came and I was sat glued to the TV for England vs. Slovenia. England didn't command the game, but they played endlessly better than they did in their last two matches. Winning 1-0, it wasn't a walkover but they were the better team I think. After the match was the obligatory slew of anti-english babbling on facebook which really riled me up and it's only in the last hour that I've calmed down about it. I've covered it pretty concisely on her already so I won't rant on too much.

This evening's match of Germany vs. Ghana was in my opinion very close. Germany had that one brilliant goal but otherwise they didn't really outdo Ghana very much I thought.

Last thing this evening I was looking around about Japan, as the plans for going on holiday there later this year fell through, but I still really want to go. I was reading up on the etiquette and general politeness that you should conform to to fit in well, and I love it. My wanting to go to Japan goes far beyond my weaboo liking of Anime, I love most things I have heard about the general culture. I read a whole article on hitch-hiking in Japan, and it's a really common thing. Someone WILL pick you up and they will treat you as a guest, refusing any help towards tolls or fuel, likely offering you food, drink or even a place to sleep along the way. Gifts are highly thought of, so if you carry a gift (preferably food-based) in case of such an occasion, they will be delighted and may even become a good friend of yours. Another snippet I read was that if your photo is taken with someone, they will usually share the photo with you, either by giving you a copy or emailing you in the future: even in simply taking a photo with you, there is a procedure of friendliness and politeness that is why I love the culture so much. I'm now even more keen on travelling to Japan in the future once I have some money that isn't reserved for driving lessons and buying a car.

Song of the day is One Summer's Day by Joe Hisaishi. It's from the soundtrack to Spirited Away, and this is the composer playing a solo piano version of it. He's one of my favourite composers, my favourite pianist as he has a very melodic and emotional sound, but incorporates unusual timing and unexpected notes without detracting from the relaxing feeling of the music. Most of his music; both orchestral and piano; can be listened to both to relax and as something to enjoy in the sense of properly listening to everything happening. It's quite rare music can be fully appreciated both ways.