qué-des-pacio-pasaertiempo!

980 yengatik (6.12€) 18 bete nituenetik atzetik grabatutako daramadan erloju "personal e intransferibe"a (amatxu dixit) asiar hegoekialdeko lurretatik ez eramateko esnagailu, kronometro (kronometro!) eta EHn zer ordu den jakiteko dual time-dun betiko Casio bat erosi dut (nork ez du bat izan?). Argazkian agertzen den orduari 72 ordu gehituz gero Singapourren egongo nintzateke dagoeneko. Can't wait! 10 year battery, tu! Bidaia ez da horren luzea izango.

but... everybody wants to be on telly!

I woke up, correction, I was woken up by a noisy Japanese TV crew. These kind of places seem to light up a very special interest in them, as they already visited the last place I was staying in. Both times I've kept myself out of sight, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been bothered by all the fuss. There have been some differences between these two unpleasant encounters with the mass media though.

First time, back in October, they interviewed my room mate Masa inside his 2 meter ong, 1.50 meter high, 1 meter wide crib. I think there was some money involved, but nobody else accepted to be in. I was locked next door, panicking they would slam into my room TV cameras on, but they were respectful of my denial to be part in the show. Being there, and although I don't quite understand the language yet, it seemed to me it was a sort of informational kind of interview, the classical one question one answer interview thing. Pretended serious journalism. Maybe it was, but talking about television, please let me doubt it. It annoyed me that I couldn't get out of my room because they were there and I don't want to be on telly. I might be about the only one, I know. But crib and all, it was my home at that moment and being trapped in your own home, not being able to open the door a go to the toilet, for instance, is not a pleasant thing at all.

Second time has been this morning. I woke up to the noises and chats of somebody at 8 and I automatically cursed some crib mates for it, this time mistakenly so. A couple of days ago I found a note on my door saying on the 25th a TV crew would be here, a note I thought similar to all the others hanging on every single door in the corridor. Last time the cameras popped in in the evening so I thought, fine, I won't be here in the evening. But they came at 8 in the morning this time, it was them, it was TV! I didn't realize until I got out of my crib, not even when I saw this hip hop dressed up Japanese guy I had never seen before and 3 or 4 more of them behind him. We said our goodmornings without sleepy me realising it was the TV people in front of me. Pissed for the noise and violent awakening as I was I am a pretty polite person after all, but it didn't hit me until he said the word terebi. Do I speak Japanese? Well, chottou (a little). We are from the television. Okay, I'm not interested. And so I got into my other crib - I got two of them, one was just too suffocating. I had completely forgotten!

Again, locked in my crib against my will until they would finish their show. From what I heard this time it was a show indeed. I heard people coming upstairs, they made a couple of girls and a guy into one crib and if you have ever seen japanese telly you know how it goes. "Eeeeeeeh", "Sugoiii", etc. with the girls, D-list tarentos I suppose, giggling all the way. Yes, it is sugoi (amazing), but I don't think anyone would choose to permanently live in a place like this if they had the opportunity, read money, to do that elsewhere more humanly. How about a serious, well documented reportage on housing and its prices in Tokyo? Wouldn't that be "sugoiiii" on prime time?

After a time which seemed way too long, they left so I could go downstairs for a shower. I found the groundfloor's furniture moved, probably to make some space for their gear. TV people are not only prepotent and disrespectful in their treatment of information and people on air, but also actually with real people in real life. I wouldn't do that and leave their homes messed up. They did though.

If I remember and feel like it, I will post some pictures of the crib before I go. Some people seem to be very interested. We were on telly so go figure!

pels amics i amigues catalan(e)s

També per als que, com a mi, us importa una merda el futból. Si més no perquè fa una mica d'il·lusió sentir català a Tokio, que ja és més del que passa a alguns carrers barcelonins.

freedom of speech, the spanish way

On a day like today 5 years ago the spanish police shut down 'Euskaldunon Egunkaria', the then only daily newspaper published in Basque. The back then ruling Popular Party also closed another basque paper in 1998, 'Egin' and their sister radio station 'Egin Irratia'. ETA was the excuse, but nobody has been condemned nor obviously compensated since.

botoia sakatzeko beranduegi

Komunean sartzean gizonez beterik aurkitu nuen. Ez zegoen pixatoki librerik eta beste bizpairu tiporekin nire txanda itxoin behar izan nuen. Gizonok ez dugu komunean besteokin topatzea atsegin, bata bestea ignoratzeko saio hutsak egiten ditugu. Komun osoan ez zegoen ni baino baxuago zenik, denak ziren gizon japoniar altuak, denak ni baino altuago. Horrek naizena baino baxuago sentituarazi ninduen, ezeroso, oso ezeroso, txikia, oso txikia. Egoerak egun horretan sentitzen nuen bakardadea areagotzen zuela iruditu zitzaidan. Gora begiratu nuen aitaren aurpegia aurkitzeko, gainean egingo dut begiekin esateko. Aitak eskua estutu eta lasaitzeko intentzioa duen irribar haietako bat bota zidan. Baina lehen bait lehen pixa egitea eta alde egin behar nuela pentsatu nuen nik. Are gehiago, beste nonbaiten pixa egingo nuela pentsatu eta bat batean aitaren eskutik askatu eta ziztu bizian komunetik atera nintzen.