Roo-ed Good Health!

Not much is going well (except rude good health), but I got a lucky break today and feel pretty chuffed about it.

Following the morning’s customary ride, I got home and discovered the kangaroo badge I had velcroed to my bike saddle bag just two days ago was gone.

I kicked myself with the reminder of my incredible propensity for breaking, losing, damaging or otherwise rendering unusable just about anything I ever get my hands on.

Then, I happened to look at Strava and noticed that a follower had posted a photo of the lost badge!

“You bloody ripper,” I thought, believing that I’d be able to pick it up off him. Then I read his post and found out that he’d left the badge where he found it….about 15 km from my home.

I didn’t have enough time to make it to the spot and back before work started, so decided I would go during my lunch break. I figured if I rode fast enough, I’d make it there and back on time.

Unfortunately, the wind was pretty strong, and I feared that the badge would be blown away long before I got to the Chuo Line rail bridge across the Tama River where my mate had left it.

Lunchtime came and I got to the spot without any hassle. But nothing was to be found. I slowly searched the grass in the area, then went up and down the stairs where the badge had been found. Nothing.

Then, just as I was about to give up, I spotted it! Somebody had put a pebble on top of the badge to stop it blowing away. And I had my kangaroo back!

I took a couple of shots and re-attached it with the velcro and rode off. Less than 100 meters later, the badge fell to the ground again.

Finally learning my lesson, I shoved the badge in my pocket and raced home, just making it back in time to avoid being bollocked for being out too long.

That was where my luck ran out, though: the boss determined to find at least one fault in my activities every day rang to blast me for not acknowledging one of her micromanaging messages on Telegram. She was right, and I had acknowledged my error, but she still felt compelled to call and blast me to assert her authority. Fuck her, and fuck my company for condoning her abuse.

Cop A Gander At These Rippers Too...

  • Warm in the Winter

    It’s bloody freezing, but some know the best way to beat the cold. We had a pretty heavy snow fall last week, but it was followed by a few days of unseasonably warm spring-like weather that took the edge off. Only for winter to return with a vengeance as the mercury plummeted, the winds wound up and the sun struggled to break through the clouds. Some of us are better at coping with the cold, with my pet Dinosaur being a case in point. Dino is a rosy-faced lovebird, which is endemic to south-western Africa, so they’re genetically inclined to seek the warmth. In the coldest parts of winter, usually…

  • | |

    The Japan-Australia Link To The Great Train Robbery

    Ronnie Biggs and the Great Train Robbery were pretty well-known among my generation of Australians growing up, and recognition of the famous long-term fugitive was enough in Japan for his 2014 death to be widely reported. What is less established, however, is that both Japan and Australia have a much closer connection to the crook than many in either country know. Biggs was one of a gang of about 16 people who carried out the Great Train Robbery in 1963, making off with 2.61 million pounds (worth about 12.16 billion yen today). Biggs used his share of the haul to pay for almost 40 years on the run, most famously…

  • Wonder Undies!

    Kanageroo hasn’t really won a great deal in lotteries or the like over the years (despite hitting the jackpot in so many other ways), so it was a pleasant surprise last week to win a great prize! That prize was a gift coupon for undies! Kangaeroo won the undies through a website called Miles. Miles is a downloaded phone app (at least that’s how I use it) that keeps a record of all my travel. A bit ominous perhaps, but I have nothing to fear and my phone is tracking my every move and sending all the data anywhere, anyway. Mrs. Kangaeroo encouraged the download, considering how much cycling I…

  • Entering the Void

    Yesterday, I got to experience a wonderful event called Enter the Void. All sorts of talented people gathered for the event in Ueno, Tokyo. We met a saw demonstrations of some highly talented people’s works, heard their views on technology and art and spent a fun and enjoyable day. For me, personally, it was an eye-opener. I’m neither tech savvy or particularly artistic, so it wasn’t an event designed for the likes of me in mind. Other participants were, for the most part, heavily involved in art and tech. As a result, I got to see things that an earlier version of me would have regarded as pure magic. For…