• Daily Life

    The Inspirers

    Actions by many people give Kangaeroo to give life a go, and they almost certainly don’t know it, and Kangaeroo doesn’t even know nearly any of them. One of the benefits of the dark period of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the gift of being able to go for a bike ride, usually along the Tama River in the western suburbs of Tokyo, and nearly every morning. These rides are a crucial part of Kangaeroo’s life because they provide routine. Kangaeroo has been able to learn that routine is essential for his wellbeing and the pandemic threatened that when his…

  • Daily Life

    Flake News!

    Tokyo, or at least the hillier Tama part of it, got dumped by a heavy snowfall on Friday, turning the place white. Kangaeroo Corner’s trees, never keen on the cold, struggled with the heavy snow clogging their branches. It did look good, to be fair dinkum. But it was another source of worry for the worry wort writer. Amazingly, just a day earlier, Kangaeroo was thrilled when hit by direct sunshine and felt the warmth of the sun, seemingly for the first time in months. And the weekend is set for temperatures in the high teens. Notable performances include some…

  • Daily Life - Strine Why Atorkin/Australian Methods of Speech/豪語の話し方 - Unknown Nichigo - やばいリンガル - ストラインと日本語 - 豪cabulary

    The Fountain of Strewth!

    Has Kangaeroo mentioned that he’s got a garden? And he loves it! Just in case he hasn’t, let me remind you again that Kangaeroo Corner is a little Aussie plants garden in comfy outer suburb of Tokyo. And playing a prominent role in that Aussie garden is the Fountain of Strewth. At first glance, there seems to be nothing untoward about the fountain (which is actually a bird bath with a solar-power water sprayer, but still….). Except, of course, that few Tokyo homes have a fountain. But this is a little special, and that’s where the strewth factor comes into…

  • Daily Life

    Let There Be Lights

    Kangaeroo Corner has got one of the greatest gardens in Tokyo, at least according to Kangaeroo, and one of its features its the extensive lighting. Alongside the mostly Aussie native plants adorning the garden are plenty of garden ornaments of Australian native animals and birds. The kangaroos, koalas and various types of avian life such as a kookaburra, cockatoo and galah, are lit up using solar-powered garden lights. Much to Mrs. Kangaeroo’s chagrin, Kangaeroo adores these garden lights. And the growing length of sunshine each day as spring approaches affords each lighter with a greater charge of its battery, which…

  • Daily Life

    Don’t Think!

    A good mate of mine often quotes William Shakespeare’s Hamlet by reminding me that, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Kangaeroo is prone to over-thinking, and this week is looming as a tough one. There’s plenty on the schedule, both professionally and privately. And it’s still bloody cold and dark. Moreover, riding up some hills yesterday and being easily overtaken and outpaced by another old codger, then hearing my heavy breathing along the river this morning sparked another reminder from Hamlet that I am fat and scant of breath! But in better news, the…

  • Daily Life

    Knackered!

    Kangaeroo is delighted another working week is drawing to a close as he is absolutely exhausted. Kangaeroo’s boss is a serial power harasser. The boss’s gnawing attacks on co-workers have driven away every single colleague bar Kangaeroo since their employment started. And the boss has gone out of their way to make life difficult for your author, including a threat to slash his pay in violation of his contract (and would have been a second huge pay cut in consecutive years). Despite working from home, Kangaeroo is constantly in flight-or-fight mode. It’s draining. And the constant fear has an alarming…

  • Daily Life - Strine Sports

    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.…

  • Daily Life

    Warm in the Winter

    Dino the dinosaur is no slouch in finding a warm place in the winter, which is a handy trait when you’re a rosy faced lovebird. She huddles up next to her heaters, on the nest she builds out of the strips of paper she so dexterously rips off with her beak, or nestles in the nape of Kangaeroo’s neck, or in the sleeve of his cardy. Rest assured, though, where it’s warm and comfortable in Kangaeroo Corner, there’s a good chance you’ll find Dino. It’s reassuring to have her in the cardigan sleeve as I type, to be honest (even…

  • Daily Life - Strine Sports

    Calamity Free Ride!

    After several days featuring a series of stumbles, fumbles, bumps and bruises, it was fantastic to finally have an early morning ride that went without a calamity. Sort of. Riding La Cangura much slower and more cautiously than usual, the morning ride went without a hitch. There were many fears that the guy I crashed into on Friday would hit me up for damages caused in the crash. I think our paths crossed, but no words were exchanged (and no trouble occurred). Of course, it’s still early in the day, so there’s plenty of time left over for it to…

  • Daily Life - Strine Sports

    Wahoo for Wahoo, and Thanks Y’s Road Lads

    Further to the weekend’s bike device calamities, Saturday’s mess turned into a much better Sunday. Saturday was supposed to be a day for getting the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt repaired. But an untimely drop in front of a couple of passing cars resulted in the device being utterly destroyed. Already worrying too much about too many things, Kangaeroo knew that pondering was not an option and a planned tough ride on Sunday would need guidance. Moreover, Mrs. Kangaeroo had gone to work and forgotten her mobile phone, so rather than asking for permission, actions would have to be apologized for, which…