- Roy is in fact not my real name.
- I have been living in Tokyo for almost 20 years now and am a permanent resident in this country, although I have no urge to change my name to a Japanese one like Taro.
- In the last 16 years, I’ve gone home to Canada only once. I couldn’t believe how boring the place was and jumped for joy when I arrived at immigration in Narita.
- My DNA is Chinese but that’s about as Chinese as I am. No offense to Chinese people.
- I was really good at remember names and faces but not anymore. This is because I realized that there isn’t anybody worth remembering. Or maybe it’s just age.
- I don’t like English keyboards. I like Japanese ones because it makes more sense to have the exclamation mark about the 1 key.
- I have read Think and Grow Rich 14 times. But I haven’t grown any riches yet.
- I like grey more than blue and blue more than red and red more than green.
- If I go to a sushi shop, every other order is maguro. E.G. maguro, tamago, maguro, ikura, maguro, hamachi, maguro etc..
- I belonged to a religious cult in Japan but was never brainwashed. I no longer have any affiliation with them.
- I met a gorgeous girl on the Odakyu line once. It was completely love at first sight, I got up the courage to ask her out and she accepted. We clicked immediately and had a hot, passionate fling for 2 weeks. But I broke up with her..
- ..when I met this other girl on the Yamanote line who looked exactly like Rie Tomosaka and had really beautiful long hair down to her thighs. She was my ideal woman. She knew more about Star Wars than I did and looked great in leather pants and army boots.
- ..but we broke up when I was introduced to this really foxy lady who had the most alluring voice. I couldn’t say no to that voice. She was really something. **sigh**
- 11,12,13 are only half true.
- I’ve read so many books on dieting that I can talk ad nauseam about nutrition even though I’m not a good example of it.
- The closest I’ve been to death was when I smoked 3 packs of Lucky Strikes and a half a pack of Gudang Garams unfiltered in one night. I love smoking but I hate smokers and second-hand smoke. I don’t smoke anymore unless someone gives me a cigarette.
- I taught an English class once with about 5 young people and all we discussed for 90 minutes was sexual positions. They were really perverted students.
- Having to choose between personality and looks is not a problem for me. ;-)
- I hate Ikea Japan.
- I love
Bic Camera Yodobashi.
- I love my GR Digital.
- I love Mt. Fuji.
- I love Mazda.
- I have never been to soapland or any fuzoku (cause no one will take me).
- I have been slapped by many girls in my life. Well, not that many.
- I love Yakult.
- I can time travel. When I’m sleeping.
- I don’t like shopping for food stuff. But you know I like buying computers and shit..I love
Bic Camera Yodobashi!
- Steve McQueen, Bruce Lee and Toshiro Mifune are my heroes.
- My favorite giant robot anime is Getta Robo G. But Danguard Ace episode #8 has a special place in my heart.
- I have a theory that giant formation robot anime was not about fighting alien invaders but actually about how Japanese society worked together to beat American technology and boost the Japanese economy.
- I can’t remember the last time I cried. Must be more than 25 years. That’s because I’m a cold-hearted unsympathetic robot.
- I like wearing a suit, but I don’t like wearing a suit to work.
- I have lots of sunglasses, but I don’t wear them at night because I’m not a dick.
- I bought my first car with only ¥1000 in the bank and no driver’s license. I’m reckless.
- Long black boots turn me on. But white boots are even better. On girls that is.
- I like singing while driving.
- I enjoy simple meals like a chicken sandwich over going out to an expensive restaurant.
- My favorite director is Billy Wilder. Anyone who could make films about sex and promiscuity and adultery in the 50s-60s under the guise of comedy and get away with it is a genius.
- “I don’t like black and white films” is an instant turn off. Put your clothes on and get out!!
- I love the idea of love more than the reality of love, but the opposite with sex.
- I’m going to win Lotto6 at least twice in my life. I have decided this.
- I read lots of books about quantum physics and time travel.
- I know about 1438 kanji give or take 100.
- I received a 20 page love letter once. It was actually very creepy and I had to burn it before I could finish reading it.
- My first apartment in Japan had no bath so I had to walk 15 minutes to the public bath. Over new years they were closed for 3 days so I couldn’t take a bath.
- In 1987, I used to wash dishes in an izakaya in Roppongi called “Samurai Steak” I’m not making this up.
- I won 3 Relakkumas from a UFO catcher in 3 turns.
- I wake up at 5am almost every morning. But these days I usually go right back to sleep.
- I don’t eat ramen anymore. No need for all that salt in our bodies.
- I used to teach English at Bilingual Eikawa which went bankrupt because the owner had some trouble with the Yakuza.
- I used to teach English at a school called American Plaza which also went bankrupt because the owner had some Yakuza trouble.
- Whenever I walk into BicCamera in Yurakucho I feel completely at home.
- I used to draw shojo manga but I never got published.
- I love Apple and Macs but I will always argue against them if I’m talking to some die-hard Apple freak because a world where everyone likes the same thing is boring. This is known as amanojyaku 天の邪鬼 in Japanese.
- I am not gay. I love girls.
- I don’t feel the need to travel much because nothing is the real world can compare to the things I can vividly imagine when I close my eyes. I don’t know where this stuff comes from but sometimes I can visualize all kinds of shit that I’ve never ever seen before in my life. Even when I’m not on drugs.
- I dislike people who litter. A lot.
- I prefer round versus square.
- I very rarely talk about my personal relationships so many people think I have nothing going on, but that’s far from the truth.
- I like dark rooms and dim-lighting. I dislike flourescent light.
- I think about the film Matrix almost every day. I can’t really go into detail about why without everyone thinking I’m a complete loon.
- I have a small collection of chinese teapots.
- The first thing I did when I first arrived in Japan in 1985 was to go to Akihabara and buy a walkman at Ishimaru Denki.
- I had a Sony Betamax which I still used up until 2 years ago when I finally got rid of it. I’m still sore that VHS won the video war.
- My real estate agent introduced me to these really cheap cottages at the foot of Mt. Fuji and I’m seriously considering buying one once I can afford it.
- I have not been to the dentist in over 16 years and don’t have any cavities.
- I’m good at calling customer support and complaining in Japanese, but at work when I’m in the opposite position I can’t hardly put together a simple sentence.
- I love my car and love driving but I’m still not that good of a driver and can’t heel & toe.
- Every year, I buy a pocket calendar schedule book but I never write anything in it.
- I like the smell of gasoline and tires.
- As you may already know, Awaodori is my favorite Japanese festival.
- I generally dislike the ideology of Disney but I like Disneyland, except for the parades. They’re lame.
- I use Firefox and IE and Safari. I like the way this site looks on Safari best and on Firefox least. This isn’t a fact about me, is it?
- Unless I really have to go, I avoid using Japanese style toilets.
- I start reading many books but finish very few. This is not the case with films, no matter how bad the movie is I will watch it to the very end.
- I will watch any film about time travel or takes place on a submarine.
- When I do rock, paper, scissors I always use scissors first.
- I love the smell of that coconut suntan lotion, especially on girls, but I don’t like the beach.
- In fact, I love anything to do with coconuts.
- I don’t really like citrus smell on people. Why anyone would want to smell like a grapefruit is a mystery to me.
- My favorite spot in my house is the bedroom. I keep this place free from electronic devices. It’s simple and quiet and peaceful. The room has a wonderful vibe and since moving in, I have been getting such good sleep it’s hard for me to get up in the morning.
- Final Fantasy VI is my favorite and the best one IMO.
- Everyday I witness many small miracles, like how the girl riding her bicycle while typing a mail on her keitai managed to not get hit by a car, and then I write them down in a notepad.
- I never finished reading Lord of the Rings. Too many elves songs.
- I put maple syrup on everything, chicken, bacon, apple pie, toast etc.
- I’m not a hardgainer, in fact I think I could pack on muscle quite easily if I was more disciplined and stuck to a regimented schedule.
- I don’t surf porn. OK that was a lie, but I don’t pay for it.
- I’ve climbed Mt.Fuji twice.
- I can watch just one second of any scene from any movie and name the film. It’s amazing really!
- I survived two whole weeks in Tokyo with only ¥50.
- I rode my bicycle from Atami to Setagaya in one night.
- I can name more Japanese anime robots than any other Japanese person I’ve met. This may not be true anymore since I don’t keep up with recent shows.
- Several years ago a girl called my number by accident, we ended up talking on the phone for 12 hours and hooked up the next day.
- Trivial facts I hear about people I don’t even know I can retain in memory for years, but I’ll forget important things like my girlfriend’s birthday completely.
- I got kicked out of Anna Miller’s once for taking pictures which was totally unfair cause I was not taking photos of the girls.
- I prefer caramel popcorn to butter.
- The Empire Strikes Back is still the best of the series.
- I spend more money on books than on food or gas.
- When I was younger old ladies used to hit on me in the pool at the gym. Only now do I regret not going out with them and taking their money.
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I actually sort of agreed with you about the narcicissm angle until I actually read one and felt it revealed some interesting things about the blogger.
The interesting thing is we have almost nothing in common though considering how many of your items have to do with women, that’s not too shocking. The only thing we have in common is that neither of us has been home for a very long time. I’ve been here 17 years and haven’t been home for 15.
It’s fascinating that you spend so much on books yet finish so few of them. ;-) I, on the other hand, read few books but finish every one of them.
Did you ever blog on how you got by on 50 yen for 2 weeks?
Given that you don’t even use your own name, it’s surprising how you keep personal information out of your blog. However, it’s not like I don’t understand your reasoning behind this.
Damn, that was a lot!
> I don’t like English keyboards. I like Japanese ones because it makes more sense to have the exclamation mark about the 1 key.
Wait, isn’t the ! always above the 1? Or have I been using a Japanese keyboard for too long already?
> When I do rock, paper, scissors I always use scissors first.
You’d better change tactics when you play with your blog readers. Or maybe they’ll suspect you did, and you’ll win anyway!
Shari, we don’t share much in common? You mean you don’t like movies about time travel or submarines? Oh dear. ;-) you know I was just trying to have fun with this. Tongue in cheek but trying to retain truth at the same time.
Patrick, you know I think you are correct about the exclamation mark being above the 1 on English keyboards as well. I haven’t seen one for a while.
I do like movies about time travel but, submarines…hmm, I do have one of those many thousands of leagues under the sea movies. ;-)
I should also say that I also love shopping at electronics shops but I can’t stand the overstimulating atmosphere. It’s too loud and crowded in most cases but I love to look around them on the occasions when I endure it. I tend also to buy what I want so staying away from them is a good idea. Last time I went to one, I bought an external hard drive and DVD burner. That was over 2 years ago though. If I went to them as often as you, my savings account would be empty.
The thing I hate about Japanese keyboards is the apostrophe is over the 7. That drives me crazy because I touch type and reaching up to the letter row is less accurate and I often have to look at the keyboard to hit it. I also don’t like that the control and alt keys are sometimes shrunk or oddly-positioned on Japanese PC laptops.
I can confirm that Patrick is correct about the exclamation point since both of my keyboards are English ones. You must be thinking of something else.
That’s a great 100 list! I’m tempted to do one for myself but fear I’d have to make up about 90 to keep anyone reading.
When I play Rock, Paper, Scissors I just stare at my opponent’s eyes and try to absorb the winning move.
I love the smell of coconut sun lotion too - absolutely!
You don’t go to Japanese toilets? Even the ones with the hot seats? Love them…
Damn, thas a good list!
PA, sorry I meant Japanese Style Toilets. I’ve changed it. Coconut Forever!
It would be more interesting, and terrifying, for other people to compile a list about you!
I know your real name. I think. It’s mostly a spelling thing right?
I tried to make a list and got bored thinking about myself. Plus, I’m too lazy to start a blog.I agree with you on points #83 and #98. And Leo is a nickname that stuck.
The ! is above the 1 on English keyboards:)
You totally should’ve done a manga called TIME SUB.
A Shojo Manga about a bunch of school girls and bishonen on a time travelling submarine. Not a bad idea. You think people would watch the movie?
That was a long list, I could never get around doing this. #71 is really weird, do you hang around the gas stand often?
Roy, definitely people would watch it. It would be like a sea-faring Dr. Who, but prettier.
Saff, I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in liking the smell of gasoline.
British & American keyboard layouts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_and_American_keyboards
Both have ! above the 1.
awesome list, roy :)
my favorite was about falling in love and hitting on the girls while on the train but I got disappointed it was only half true ;-)
and that thing about witnessing little miracles - beautiful, that made me stop reading and reflect on things for quite a while … I think I’ll start writing them down as well.
ara ara Roy-chan
so u datta - no ~
FYI I’m still collecting old series of THE TIME TUNNEL which started airing in 1966
I loved this post. And now that it has sagged a little and not right on the front page… I can put my list up too. http://megaijin.squarespace.com/about-me/