No posts for some time and I imagine Moichido's huge readership is on the wane. Busyness, of sorts, has taken me away from the keyboard and perhaps we were all better off for that. For those who care, a brief overview of recent (non)events;

I have a girlfriend. Updating a blog means very little when confronted with this. She's got me scared because I'm almost crazy about her. The cynic in me is weary from searching for signs that the end is nigh. The romantic in me is rejoicing that none seem apparent. The cynic assumes mentioning her existence here will spell the end and blames the romantic. In a moment of uncharacteristic fearsomeness the romantic tells the cynic to 'fuck off' and leaves it at that whilst the rest of me struggles to interpret the rapid-fire Kansai dialect pouring forth from said girlfriend. More drama than Godzilla vs Mothra and it's all in my head and, if I'm not careful, my heart too.

I'm obsessed with Naruto. I know all the character's names. I keep saying 'kage bunshin no jutsu' ('shadow replication technique') whilst biking to work. I've cried at two episodes. The laundry and dishes are piling up. I've watched 83 episodes in five days. When confronted with a difficult task I find myself thinking 'What would Naruto do?'. Sakura-chan keeps appearing in my dreams. I've started to say 'datte bayo' instead of 'desu' in the rare moments I actually speak Japanese.

I'm really into studying Japanese kanji. Kanji is good. Lot's of little picture type things that mean stuff. Difficult with my left-handed brain (strokes go from left to right, also strokes can paralyse and damage the brain) but easier than actually speaking Japanese because they are things you can see and I've always been one of those slow learners who needs images tied to meanings to grasp a concept. I used to have lots of Richard Scarry books.

I've located three bars in Wakayama City that have Guinness on draught.

My Grandad is dying and I'm too far away to speak to him or touch him and everything I know about his rapid decline is relayed by telephone in distressed voices and no one I love has ever died before now so for this latter I guess I'm lucky - but it's hard to think like that right now.