It
must be about time for Autumn to roll into Japan again.
How can I tell you may ask.
Is it the earthy scent of decaying
leaves?
Are the maple trees draped in their
annual dazzling eruption of yellow and red before falling
dormant for yet another long cold winter?
Is it the sad wail of the yaki imo
vendor as he makes his way through the neighborhoods
each evening?
The merry and sparkling song of the
diminutive kerosene delivery trucks winding their way
through the narrow streets?
No.
Nothing nearly that culturally rich...
Rather, it is the blistering hot cans
of beverages you now get from vending machines.
There is a Dydo drink vending machine
right outside of my office building and periodically
I take a break to grab a can of hot green tea. But I
guess come October 1 they cranked the thing into "Winter
mode" as the cans are now just shy of being the
temperature that would melt aluminum.
I kid you not.
I could not even hold the darn thing
for a second before I had to start juggling it. (Good
thing I know how to juggle)
So I guess Autumn has started here.
Good thing too. I was more than ready to say goodbye
to the steamy heat of summer.
And before too long Winter will signal
its presence by filling the vending machines with cans
of hot corn soup.
I've just got to remember to wear
some gloves the next time I decide to buy a can of lava
tea.
--
I came home from work yesterday to
find an empty cardboard box in the genkan. Kicking my
shoes off I side stepped the box made my way into the
living room to find one of the strangest looking pieces
of "exercise" equipment I have ever seen.
And I us the term "exercise"
very loosely.
It's called a "Rodeo Boy".
Basically, the thing wiggles around
and you just sit on it. (It doesn't even take a whole
lot of balance to stay on top of it. Maybe if I drink
3 or 14 beers first it would be a little more challenging...)
Think of an unbalanced washing machine
set to its spin cycle and you get an idea of what I
am talking about.
And while I'm not one to question
my wife's purchases, (she is immensely better at managing
money than I am. If I've got a dollar you can be sure
it is drilling a hole in my pocket...) I was sure that
this was something that she had seen on some late night
infomercial.
After asking her that question my suspicions were confirmed.
I asked her if it was good exercise
and she said, "not really".
Personally, I think the best way to
exercise with it would be to pick it up and move it
around the house (The thing weighs a ton). I shared
this little insight with my wife, but all it earned
me was a dirty look and short trip out to get dinner
by myself. (Although is till think it was a pretty clever
little nugget of information that I had shared with
her...)
If she had only bought a mechanical
bull... Now that would have been some good
exercise.
Comment 19
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