Back to the grind

Back from an all too short holiday in Japan to join the hordes in the rat race, getting up and commuting to work in the dark. I guess I'd forgotten how good I had it (actually, not really) but the hour long trudge, together along with hundereds of other blank faces, standing at freezing station platforms and squashed on a train to the office makes me doubly glad I'm leaving work in just over a month. I shouldn't complain too much, now that I'm back home - dinner made for me every day, washing done, living rent free (practically) - man, it almost feels like I'm back in my mid twenties. Japan for new years threatened to be awful as, despite my vigilent washing of hands and refusal to hug any of my relatives over Christmas, I was forced to pack the best of Irish influenza with me on the plane (that was a loooong 12hrs without any seatback tv's). However, a refreshing taste of real customer service, heated toilet seats and cheap (but good) food was too much to keep me down. Osaka was much like I'd left it almost two years ago, which is kind of suprising given the rate things are destroyed and rebuilt there. I was hoping to have a drink in Kirin Plaza in Namba before it too gets torn down but alas too late; they'd already shut-up shop. The other refresher I got was in being a complete oddity in the crowd. Going from having the luxury of blending into the background in Dublin to being in a small local suburban shrine on New Year's day without any other Gaijin in site was a reminder of that.