If you poke yourself in the eye with a stick, it hurts.

Lesson One

Wednesday. Marker pen in one hand. Lid on. Mug of coffee in other hand. Full. Aim - to suggest to a teacher how he could explain something to a student.

Me: 'I am SO gonna spill this coffee.'
Neil: 'Yes'.
Me (with coffee all down my shirt and over the carpet, after attempting to take lid off marker pen): 'Fuck'.
Neil: [.............]

How blonde AM I?

Lesson 2

Don't mock the system. See the blog entry below this one? The one where I take the piss out of the bike men? Well, guess what happened today? The fuckers took my bike away. That's 3000 yen but hey, I still win as I've gotten free parking the rest of the time I've been here (apart from one other time when they took it away and a few - very few - times I've paid).

Lesson 3

If you climb a mountain. Even a little one, you ARE gonna hurt the next day. Probably. If you're as unfit as I am, then you're gonna hurt a few hours after finishing it. Feet, legs, back, shoulders, butt. Fucking OUCH! BUT, it was worth it.

Jen, my Swedish friend, and I decided to climb Mount Takao today. Being a Friday I figured it would be a bit quieter, and it was. After a couple of weeks of on-off heavy rain, today's weather was beautiful and, as there'd been no rain yesterday, the ground was pretty firm and dry.

We got the cable car up to half way. The going was steep but I got very excited anyway - because I do get excited at silly things like that (I'm SO easily pleased) and the view up and down was pretty cool.

The walk to the top was cool. It wasn't too steep, it was pretty easy going and there were shrines and bits to look at on the way. There weren't heaps of people so it was peaceful and pretty and the cicadas were in full song.

We got to the top and chilled out for a bit and then took a longer more exciting path all the way down to the bottom. There was a steep drop from much of the path, sometimes on both sides, but the tree-lined walk was so beautiful and relaxing and the weather was perfect for it. There were a lot of steps in places and some bits would have been hellish had the ground been wet - but we were really lucky.

We popped to Hachioji to find some food and wine and by the time we'd left the restaurant the aches and pains had started setting in.

I'm now at home and since I've got back the AGONY has set in. I've taken two aspirin and almost finished a bottle of wine. I'm hoping I'll stop noticing the pain soon.

BUT, the day was awesome and we had a great time and it was totally worth it.

Just hope I can move tomorrow.

Fuji-san is far off the cards but Mitakesan isn't. That's the next challenge :D

(Photos will be uploaded when I'm able to move enough to figure out where the cable is!)

Lesson 4

When you HAVE a bad memory, and you know you have a bad memory, and especially when memory for places is concerned, then don't try to rely on said memory.

I woke up this morning feeling okay. The bottle of white wine I'd had to blot out the fact my limbs were aching, hadn't given my a hangover and I wasn't aching.

So, I set off on a mission to find my bike. My bike's been taken away once before and a local friend helped me to find the place they take confiscated bikes to that time. I thought I could remember where it was. Suffice it to say it's a HOT day today and after more than two hours of fruitlessly wandering to the area where it was, and wandering up and down countless streets, I was unable to find it.

Now, I'm bright red and have a headache from the sun and I'm aching from the extra walking after yesterday.

Serves me right I guess. I should have taken a photo of the map that says where to go to retrieve it. Oh well. I'm currently sulking and hope I'm able to stand up again to go out tonight!

More lessons from the School of Blonde:

Lesson 5

Just because it's mid-September that doesn't mean the sun can't burn you. If the idea of lathering yourself with protection and a t-shirt hits you before you go for a long walk, then ignoring that idea is rather silly. This is especially so when you are wearing a vest top, a bag slung diagonally across your chest and a large necklace. No prizes for guessing where is red and where is glaringly white. I have photos, but they're not particularly good. I'll put them up when I get around to it.

Lesson 5.1

Taking too many photos at close range, with a flash, WILL hurt your eyes and make you see splodges.

Lesson 6

If garlic normally makes your stomach hurt somewhat then avoiding it is a good idea. The next thing you try, that you know contains a lot of garlic, is just as likely to make you feel bloaty and windy and in pain, as the last times...

Lesson 7

Leaning towards a glass of water to reach something past it often results in said glass of water being knocked over. To avoid such a problem occurring (yet again) simply DON'T DO IT. (Carpet is soaked AGAIN).

Lesson 8

If it's hot, ice cream melts. Think about this before buying an icecream on a stick.

Lesson 9

Opening times and days. It's a good idea to check these out before going all the way, again, to find get your bike back. As it happens, even if I had found it yesterday, it wouldn't have been open. It's shut on Saturdays and only open Monday to Friday 10 to 6 and every 2nd and 4th Sunday. Daft, eh?

Oh well, at least I know where it is. And it's another scorcher of a day today :D