So Long, Thanks For All The Headaches
It's that time of year again. Old friends going back home, disillusioned with red-light-running, no-attention Japan, carting their ill-gained wads of cash and pension checks. New kids coming to town, fresh-faced and full of vigour, like newborn tadpoles before they are eaten alive.
Anyway, thanks everyone for a great 2 years. It was good to meet y'all; I think we were (I was anyway) lucky we got quite a few cool people in our load from Perth way back in '03, and then managed to suck in others on the way. Good luck everyone, stay in touch. Thanks.
Here are some photos to remember us by (plus other shots from the past couple weeks of debauchery). First, the sky buffet ("fake" going away party).
Nate and Hiro. Only time I have ever seen Hiro in a shirt. If he gets married, it will be in a bright yellow T-shirt and a garish bandana.
Mel in her finery.
Shit goes down in the elevator.
Ape man gets loose.
Aaron and Bron. They're not going anywhere but Bron pulls some cool faces in photos.
So does
Aaron, actually.
Becak. Of course.
Matt having a Twinnings.
Fish face gets furious.
And now the ridiculously fun dare party. I got off pretty lucky; just had to drink a glass of grog jumping up and down (painful) and walk around kobe with my finger in my nose (passe).
I think I look like some kind of chipmunk here.
Nick in zen-trance mode in a bar. He had to ignore all extenal stimuli, including having water poured all over him.
And then Dan was his hands for 5 minutes, like that skit on Whose Line. I wouldn't have left my camera there, with Nick taking a forced tequila shot over the top.
Hiro had to challenge randoms to thumb wrestle and buy shots accordingly.
Lorna walking Mel through Kobe.
Rob is a lightweight, apparently.
And the last time I saw these guys. Cheers!