This blog is terrible. Terrible! I miss my old blue one from when I lived in KY, and the sort of grey one from when I first moved to Japan, all of which has been deleted. I guess I blog better while sitting at a desk trying to avoid doing work .. and I haven`t done that for more than a year now. Wooo!
But alack! I may have to start again. Working, that is. Unfortunately I`m having a hard time finding legitimate employment in Osaka .. I may have to alter my plan and move to Nagoya instead. Whatever. I have to do something -- I put in 2 months` notice on my apartment in Tokyo the other week. The clock is a-ticking!
See, even when I actually do type in this blog it`s not interesting anymore. I feel like all I have is, "I`m going to Osaka, I`m back in Tokyo, I need to move, waaaahh there`s all this drama .." blah blah blah. Nothing clever to say whatsoever. Oh, but plenty to complain about! That`s always fun. For example:
I always go back and forth from Tokyo to Osaka via overnight bus. 9 hour trip, 4000 yen. 9 hours seems like a pretty long time but the seats are pretty comfortable, it`s dark and quiet, and you can pretty much pass out the whole time. Unless! The seats are full. Then you have the option of paying just 2000 yen for your ticket and getting an "aisle seat" -- this retarded little seat that folds out from the side of a normal seat and juts out into the aisle, so you`re essentially sitting right in the middle of the bus. It`s really more of a stool than a seat, actually. There`s no back so you can`t lean back or anything. Plus everytime the bus stops for a break (every 2 hours or so), you have to get out of your seat and fold it back up so people can get through, to get off the bus and buy a drink or smoke or whatever. You`re really getting what you pay for with the aisle seat.
Since I always buy my ticket at the last minute, the regular seats are usually sold out, and I`m left with no choice but to buy an aisle seat ticket. This momentarily makes me happy because it`s half the price .. then I remember that I`m not getting aaaany sleep on this trip. However! Lots of times people don`t show up for the bus, leaving their (normal) seat open. I take! Half price and a normal seat. Take that, system.
Until the last time ... me and this other dude are waiting for all the regular passengers to board, so we can fold out and take our gimpy seats afterward. Then, just before getting on, the driver comes out and tells us, in beautifully polite dialect of course, "There are some empty seats because people haven`t shown up .. but you`re not allowed to sit in them."
"Come again?" I say.
"Since the ticket price is different, you have to take the aisle seat. It`s what you paid for."
You`ve got. to. be. kidding me. I argue with the guy for something like 5 minutes, and he pretty much agrees with me that it makes no sense whatsoever, but he says "it`s the rule." Somehow my "but I`ve done it like 50 times already" argument doesn`t sway him.
Anyway, after delaying the departure with my wise-ass gaijin attitude, I get on the bus, pull out the stupid seat right next to an empty actual seat, wait for the driver to close the curtain (there`s a curtain which separates the driver from the passengers` section, to preserve the darkness I guess), and promptly move over into the good seat and take a nap. Oooooh I`m such a badass.
First stop: I get out and buy a drink and some doughnuts or something. Getting back on the bus, the driver stops me and says, obviously pissed: "Sit in your own seat. I told you not to sit in the empty seats." I look at him questioningly, and then he hits me with it: "One of the other passengers told me you moved."
F#$%ing hell. Who the crap does that?
More arguing. The driver suggests that I pay 2000 extra yen so I can move over into the comfy seat. I`m not hearing it. Someone already paid for that seat, and they`re not f#$%ing here.
I forget how this story ends but it wasn`t as dramatic as it could`ve been -- I could`ve figured out who told on me and beat the snot out of them, I could`ve continued to sit in the normal seat every time until the driver called the cops or something on me, which I honestly felt like he was ready to do, I could`ve taken a stand and refused to get back on the bus, and gotten ditched at a rest stop halfway between Tokyo and Osaka. But I don`t need that kind of excitement right now.
Seriously, though, wtf??
4 件のコメント:
> Seriously, though, wtf??
Um, hi, welcome to Japan?
If you end up in Nagoya, let me know. It's about time I visit that city again.
That bus story sucks. I stopped taking the night bus after a crappy ride to Nagoya that I had to go to work immediately after.
Next time, take your seat without any conversation, then move after they get going. Don't let the driver announce to a bunch of sheep what "the rules" are.
As for your legitimate job search, I met a pretty cool American dude that does translation/interpreting/localization and other crap for Capcom in Osaka. (His Kansai-ben is amazing) I can try getting in touch with him if you like.
Oh Dan, this bus story amused me to no end (for a couple of minutes anyway). It reminds me of this time I sat on the piece of hot metal that covered the motor of a bus in bolivia, along with 2 full grown friends and one bratty ass little kid who almost kicked us off (literally) and who then proceeded to pee on us when she went to sleep. We were then expected to pay full price.
So, wanna go to Spain in a couple of weeks? I'll be there!
Lance: Will do!
Nathan: The driver never explained the rules to the rest of the bus ... someone just took the liberty to comment that I`d moved. As for the Capcom thing, sure, ask him if there`s anything open, if it wouldn`t be a bother. I met a dude tonight who works for Namco and rendered some of the cars for Ridge Racer .. hooray for video games.
Emily: Actually those two situations are pretty different. My seat was uncomfortable and all, but as far as I know no one got peed on. And yeah, I`ll go to Spain with you, if you stop by JP and pick me up ...
コメントを投稿