WEEKEND EDITION: It’s all about image

While I may be a bit pale, with short black hair and glasses right now, here is the kind of photo of me I’d rather be seen on the internet. Silly JDM-posing overalls and bleached hair style.

If you haven’t already, head over to Speedhunters (or just click this link) if you want to see a picture of me hungover and holding a hotdog.

A life of glamour, this photography business.

I thought I could get a bit of peace and quiet in the press room, but it was not to be. I opened my eyes after hearing a shutter clicking only to see Aaron Mai from NZ Performace car pointing his lens in my direction. Shortly thereafter, I caught Dino doing the same thing, and then a few minutes later Linhbergh was doing it too! Never fall asleep in a room full of cameramen!

The story behind it is that on Saturday night, I was invited to go to a nomikai (which translates rather nicely as “drinking party”) near the Makukari Messe with the Drift Tengoku crew, as well as a large group of guys from “Gakudori”, which is a kind of an association of drifters who are in secondary education. Most of them are attending technical automotive colleges and the like. The dinner was a lot of fun and involved some displays of underwear at one point. There’s a pic on Drift Tengoku editor Kawasaki’s blog, so check that at your own peril.

Afterwards, I considered taking the last train home, but it takes more than an hour, and I’d just have to get up and come back in a few hours to cover Sunday anyway, so I made some phone calls. It turned out my housemate Shino was in a karaoke box right next to Kaihin Makuhari station with Asayan and Hitomi from Looking down in Osaka, as well as some other people I knew.

A long story short, several jugs and a borrowed hotel room later, I had to prop myself up against the wall in the press room until about midday before I felt well enough to head out into the crowds, with a large bottle of water on the table and a convenience store plastic bag rolled up in my pocket just in case. Luckily, a pleasant conversation with Linhbergh sped my recovery up a bit.

With that in mind, here’s some useful phrases for the next time you visit Japan.

Mou juubun (もう十分): I think I’ve had enough.
Futsukayoi (二日酔い): Hungover.
Nomisugita (飲みすぎた): Drank too much.
Ukon (ウコン): Tumeric, which comes in the form of tablets and drinks, and is meant to help a hangover.
Eiyou dorinku (栄養ドリンク): Energy drink.
Gero (げろ): Barf.

Categorised in: Alexi アレクシ

This post was written by Alexi