Lucky Bags!

a.k.a.
Fukubukuro: So cool a topic, it doesn’t need a clever blog title

One of my favourite Japanese traditions so far is definitely fukubukuro, also known as ‘lucky bags’, ‘mystery bags’ or ‘happy bags’.

As a long-time lover of the lucky dip, I was always going to go ape for fukubukuro.

On New Year’s Day, and for a short time thereafter, merchants sell fukubukuro – bags of mystery merchandise, often made up from last year’s fashion items or stock left over from the year gone by. Shoppers purchase these lucky bags at a discounted set price, and usually they don’t know what’s inside the bags until after they buy them. Sure, it’s a bit of a gamble, but you can walk away with a ridiculously good bargain.

On New Year’s Eve, while Canada and I were wandering through Shinjuku looking for an Indian restaurant, my eye was caught by a colourful department store window display of all the different lucky bags offered by the stores inside the building. Having just read about the tradition in Metropolis, I was both intrigued and excited. Later, as we walked past a clothing store window, I squealed with delight at the sight of a couple of employees packing folded clothes into a pile of canvas bags. “They’re making up the lucky bags!” I cried, giddy as a five-year-old (possibly alcohol had something to do with that feeling, too).

For the record, a lucky bag isn’t a mish-mash of spinning tops and red frogs, thrown together in a plastic bag and sold out of someone’s garage. Yes, some lucky bags are probably full of completely useless, unwanted goods (I mean, there’s a reason why some stock doesn’t sell, right?), but lucky bags are sold at both local novelty stores and top-quality jewellery and clothing stores. Bags range in price from 1000 yen or less, up to tens of thousands of yen – one of the most expensive bags is apparently sold by a jewellery store in Ginza. All kinds of stores make up lucky bags as part of their New Year’s sales – cosmetics stores, electronics stores, suit stores, homewares stores, clothing stores. So don’t be thinking that it’s like a $2 lucky dip from the corner shop – these bags are serious consumer business. Not that $2 lucky dips aren’t, mind you.

In addition to your more mainstream lucky bags, you can also get lucky bags full of specialty items – as seen by a trip to Akihabara yesterday, where I could have purchased a lucky bag full of cosplay outfits (sexy anime nurse, anyone?) or collectable anime figurines.

The bags can be excellent value for money. Apparently, sometimes you can save up to 80% on the items inside a lucky bag. A quick bout of Googling found many sites where people discussed in detail the wonderful lucky bags that they had purchased in years past. Sure, it’s technically going to be ‘last year’s’ items, or things that the store is getting rid of to make room for new stock, but generally the stuff is still pretty darn good. Stores may also put a special or prize item in some of the bags, which also encourages shoppers to purchase the mystery bags. If you go to an electronics store, you can get great value lucky bags with cameras in them, or ones that might have a surprise iPod inside.

Typically, lucky bags from popular stores (such as Muji, a neutral-toned everything store that is slated to have one of the best value lucky bags) are snapped up quickly, and people line up for hours, sometimes from midnight, to get their hands on in-demand fukubukuro. Often, stores make only a limited number of the bags – so you do need to get in quick, regardless of where you plan to shop.

Usually, the contents of the bags are a surprise – however, some stores tell you what is inside the bags via photographs, a sample, or a mannequin dressed in the lucky bag clothing. So if the surprise element worries you, you can still indulge in a lucky bag bargain while knowing what you’re getting.

***
So, thoroughly excited by this concept, I rose early (read: 9am) on the 2nd of January and went out into the wide world (a.k.a. Shin-Yurigaoka) in search of my own New Year bargain. I was determined to get my hands on a lucky bag, or several if it was my lucky day.

Unfortunately, I missed out on the coveted Muji lucky bag, and also on a Uniqlo lucky bag. Not surprising, although it was still disappointing.

However, I took my time wandering through the department store, and was delighted by the piles of lucky bags I saw at the entrances to the stores – all in differently decorated bags, some canvas, some paper, some with ribbons or wild colours. It was so much fun! Prices seemed to hover between 5000 yen and 10,000 yen for a clothing lucky bag – so I decided to find a clothing store that I liked, and then check out their lucky bag situation.

I ended up going home with three lucky bags, and a baby blue kettle I bought for 1000 yen.

Lucky Bag #1: Jewellery Lucky Bag

This one was my first purchase. The jewellery store had some nice silver jewellery, and their bag was 3000 yen, so I splurged. When I cracked open the bag, I found a ring with a green stone, a necklace with a little leaf pendant, a necklace and bracelet made of clear plastic crystal beads, a pair of earrings with little dangling circles, and a bracelet with tiny hearts as the links. Was I happy? Darn tootin’.

Lucky Bag #2: Misc Lucky Bag

This one I got from a novelty store, and it was only 1000 yen so I bought it for fun. When I dove into the bag I found about equal amounts of crap and decent stuff. Decent stuff included a fork with a cartoon frog handle, a big shampoo dispenser with a Mickey Mouse design, a Nightmare Before Christmas pencil case and photo album, several cool retro postcards including one for Special K and one for Fruit Loops, some cute stickers, and the big Nightmare Before Christmas laundry bag it all came in. Crap stuff included a bright pink Lilo and Stitch purse thing, a gold and turquoise Bambi wallet (WTF?!) with a giant plastic diamond hanging off it, a vaguely racist key cover and wrist strap, and a Homer Simpson money box. The jury is still out on a faux leather black and silver Mickey Mouse handbag. All in all, while the value of the items in the lucky bag was clearly more than the 1000 yen I paid for it, there were only about three things that I would have ever considered buying under normal circumstances.

Lucky Bag #3: Clothing Lucky Bag

Definitely my favourite lucky bag purchase, though at 7000 yen it was also the most expensive. I had been eyeing this particular lucky bag all day, as the store had some very cute items (so I hoped that the lucky bag would also contain cute items). Since I hadn’t found any other stores I liked as much, I went back to check it out properly. After some pacing, I decided to go for it. I snapped up my final lucky bag and trundled home with my arms full of purchases.

Once home, I laid out the loot. The bag, which is a nice large canvas shoulder bag, contained a thin yellow jumper made of this nice soft woolly fabric, a loose grey cotton jumper with pockets in front, a grey long-sleeved top with buttons at the neck, a dress, a pair of black and white leggings, and a long dark green puffy jacket with a furry hood.

All of it is wonderful – the jacket is warm, all of the tops are perfect, and the dress is cute (though not my usual style). The leggings are a bit on the tight side, but overall, I think I got a pretty good deal. An excellent deal in fact!

***
So all in all, lucky bags are a lot of fun. It pays to crunch the numbers and shop around, and it is also a good idea to make sure that you like what the shop is selling before you buy a mystery bag full of its wares. It’s possible to walk away with a dud, but you can always find a bargain – at the very least if you buy a lucky bag that has its contents on display. It’s true that you might end up with a bunch of stuff you would never usually buy, but that might not always be a bad thing.

I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the tradition of fukubukuro this year. I kind of wish I could do it again next year!

'This (New) Year’s Love'

a.k.a.
Have Yourself a Merry Little New Year’s (because your Christmas blew)


So thankfully, after a truly horrendous Christmas that involved far too many tears, I spent a truly rockin’ and amazing night welcoming in 2010.

I was determined to have a good one though – I mean, after I spent Christmas night clutching my stomach and cowering in the corner of a train carriage, there was no way I was going to let my New Year’s Eve end up even remotely as crap as that whole debacle.

Luckily, Canada (as he will henceforth be nicknamed) was just as determined to have a great New Year’s – after all, it had been his hand that I had been clawing at sweatily while I cowered in said train carriage, and it had been he that I had forced off the train onto a strange and unfamiliar train platform in the middle of who knows where at god knows what time. Hardly the upbeat Christmas evening either of us had had in mind, and I did feel a little like I wanted to make it up to him with a top notch NYE.

Anyway, I digress. As I say, we were determined that fun would be had, and possibly even some kind of spiritual awakening or mystic soul quest, if we were lucky (or drunk enough). After some serious Googling, we mapped out our evening ahead of time – dinner at an undecided location (we feared that there wouldn’t be too many options, as many restaurants would be closed, so were happy to go with the flow), and then on to the New Year festivities at Zojoji Temple, which is located near Tokyo Tower in Minato, and was pegged as the ‘place to be’ by several websites. After the countdown, we would trek to Meiji Shrine for the quintessential Japanese New Year spiritual quest (along with millions of other shrine-goers), make our New Year offering, and then hopefully make it home in one (possibly frozen) piece via the delightful train system, which would be running all night long.

A little background:
Generally, New Year’s is a time of cleansing for the Japanese. It is an extremely important holiday, and a time that is usually spent with family (unlike back home, where it is a time usually spent with your head in a punch bowl). No work is done on New Year’s Day, there is no stress or worry, and the house is cleaned from top to toe on New Year’s Eve, ready for a fresh start. (I know this firsthand, as I can hear everything that goes on in the apartment above me, and whoever is up there spent about two hours vacuuming and clunking around on New Year’s Eve morning, much to my annoyance.) In essence, you’re supposed to have everything wrapped up before the year ends – finish up any outstanding jobs, tie up any loose ends, tidy up any unresolved messes.

Anyway, most people visit a temple on New Year’s Eve and a shrine on New Year’s Day (which is why Meiji goes off at about 2am on New Year’s Day) – so we decided to do the same.

Our evening started well, with some butter chicken, garlic naan and ample amounts of alcohol. On we went to Zojoji – and after we wandered through a hotel carpark, around a quaint private garden, and in a circle through a kindergarten, we finally found the temple. And it was hopping.

It was amazing. There were people everywhere, and stalls, and food smells, and excitement, and lights, and balloons. We bought our new year’s fortunes and charms, and wandered through the crowds of people just as excited for the new year as we were.

A central part of the festivities at Zojoji Temple is the tradition of writing your wish for the new year on a special slip of paper and tying it to a (biodegradable) balloon, which you release at midnight. Unfortunately, waiting two hours in line for one of the balloons and another two hours for the slip of paper hadn’t really factored into our NYE plan, so we were contented to look forward to watching the many balloons be released by everyone else.

We watched some men make traditional mochi balls (read: impressively pound away at a doughy lump with a giant mallet), and then bought said mochi balls and enjoyed their deliciousness. We drank warm sake that was only 200 yen a cup, and watched the Buddhist monks performing New Year’s ceremonies closer to the temple. There were several countdown clocks ticking their way closer to midnight, and a giant ‘2009’ in yellow lights. Everywhere we looked there were paper lanterns and people holding balloons, or little Buddhist statues wearing the ubiquitous red bibs and beanies (more on that some other time). And in the background, ever-present, Tokyo Tower loomed in brilliant yellow and white lights just behind where the temple stood.

The countdown itself was amazing. Sure, I should have practised counting backwards in Japanese beforehand, but I managed to get the ‘san, ni, ichi’ part okay and that’s the most exciting anyhow. The big ‘2009’ turned into a big ‘2010’ of course, and Tokyo Tower put on an amazing light display, which ended with ‘2010’ emblazoned on its side.

But best of all, thousands of silvery balloons with little slips of paper tied to them floated high into the sky in a cloud of merriment right on midnight – and naturally I got all misty and soppy about what a great Japan experience it all was. But it really, really was. And I really love New Year.

After that, we made our way back to the station – me all giddy and happy, trying to stop myself from buying multiple crepes and other treats along the way; both of us pleasantly warmed by sake. Tokyo Tower glowed over us, cheerfully declaring it 2010 in glittery lights. Everyone was in a good mood.

Struggling through a packed train, we also made it to Meiji Shrine in one piece. More sake ensued, as did more good luck charm buying, and another New Year fortune (this time earned through shaking a box to see which stick poked out, thus determining your fortune). We misguidedly tried a strange pancake thing that was a bit too odd for either of us, but I was delighted with our decision to buy a chocobanana. (Actually, it was more like I yelped when I saw the stand and demanded that we get one.)

The line to the actual shrine was long. And wide. And packed full of many, many people. And it was freezing. But we stuck it out, even though it was about 3am by then, and when we made it to the front we tossed our coins and took a quiet moment. It was a damn amazing experience, that’s all I can say.

Luckily, I made it back home without anything falling off from frostbite, although by then it was only a stone’s throw to sunrise time. My New Year’s resolutions involve purchasing a warmer coat, drinking more sake, and learning how to make yakisoba. More to come soon.

Happy 2010!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! (and decade!)

Image from CNN Go

a.k.a.

Prepare for cheese...

Dear Friends,

I just want you all to know how much you mean to me. Looking back over '09, it has definitely been a year of strengthening friendships with wonderful new people, and simultaneously realising the strength of long-held friendships that I hope will stick for life.

Being here in this new land, where the roads are lit by vending machines and the language is strange and unfamiliar (but where there is so much to learn and experience!) I have realised just how lucky I am to have so many brilliant people already in my life.

I talk all the time about people back home, about crazy things I've done or fun events I've been to. I can't shut up about it half the time. And all of the amazing, fun and crazy things I've had the opportunity to enjoy have only been possible because of all of you – and how amazing, fun and crazy you are.

I'll wrap this up now, as it is partly due to an afternoon New Year's Eve gin (which is packing more of a punch than I'd like to admit!) and also because I don't want to be such a cornball in this oh-so-public forum.

In conclusion: You are all wonderful. And yes, I mean you. Don't forget that, and don't underestimate how much you bring to the lives of the people around you.

Happy New Year!

Love from,
The Girl Who Loves Gin A Little Too Much (but hell, it loves her right back!)

A Less Than Merry Christmas

I don't want this post to turn into The Great Wallow: Christmas '09, but let's just say that the past couple days have, for want of a better term, pretty much sucked.

Since I don't want this blog to be an edited, sunshine-and-roses account of my time in Tokyo, I'll briefly explain why Christmas '09 bit the big one.

For starters, I really missed my family and friends. That's a given. I knew it would be tough, but it was a lot harder than I had prepared myself for. Talking to them and thinking about them both helped and made it worse, too.

Second, life in Tokyo sure ain’t just all-you-can-drink specials, neon lights, ramen noodles and tutu-wearing fashionistas (though I wish it were!).

For example, trains can absolutely suck. Last night, after a long day of feeling lonely and homesick, I was on the train to Omiya when I realised that I felt absolutely horrible. I'm talking ill – dizzy, blurred vision, dancing spots in front of my eyes, cold sweat, really thought I was about to yak, almost at the point of passing out. This was helped by the delightful fact that at the time, I was crammed into the corner of a stuffy, hot and crowded train car – drunk salarymen all around, zero personal space, no fresh air to speak of.

Needless to say, we had to exit the train at the next stop (in the middle of who knows where) before I completely lost it. Naturally, my ailments also put a kibosh on our evening's plans – but we did get to wander around a freezing and almost empty train station and wait 15 minutes for the first of three trains that would get us all the way back home (after travelling about an hour or more to get to where we were).

So yes: Crammed into a corner, feeling queasy and awful and sad... my Christmas Day night wasn't exactly a high point. Plus I felt bad about ruining the evening with my stupid delicate stomach. (And hello, since when?! I can eat an entire pan full of nachos covered in questionable cheese and be fine! Heck, I go grocery shopping so little that sometimes I have to turn a blind eye to expiry dates when I'm really really hungry! But Japan Megan's stomach apparently balks at some goddamn rice covered in frickin' seaweed. Figures.) Coupled with an earlier bout of manic crying on a (very patient) shoulder (a spectacle of epic proportions – I'll admit that all my homesickness sort of came to head at once and next thing I knew I was blubbering like an idiot, with no end in sight) I was worn out, tired, sick, and hatin' on Christmas. And my eyes hurt. Probably from the blubbering.

Anyways, we made the journey all the way back home. It was grand. I had to clutch onto a rail and close my eyes to make it that last 5 or so stops without passing out/yakking/dissolving into more blubbering.

So I'm not quite feeling myself today, or yesterday, or possibly even tomorrow.

But hell, I'm in Tokyo! I know I'm hardly in a position to be complaining too loudly. I know I'll make the most of it (I hope!), it will be amazing, and I'll have so many once-in-a-lifetime experiences. But being here has also made me realise how much awesomeness I am lucky enough to have at home. And right now I really miss that awesomeness.

All that aside, I did get an unexpected Christmas present (of sorts), and discover that gin, orange juice and tonic water is a delicious drink. So the day wasn't all bad. And hey, tomorrow is a new one...

'A Place Called Home'

a.k.a.
A little bit of Tokyo all my own!
a.k.a.
Merry Christmas Eve!

After four weeks of listening to the same damn pan flute tune every night, of trekking down two flights of stairs to get to the shower/decent toilet, of sharing facilities with 70 strangers, of hitting my head on the top bunk, of the girl down the hall practising opera really loudly every morning, of people vacuuming at 2am, of listening to my French neighbour snore through my wall or my other neighbours stomp down the hallway… I have moved to my own apartment!

I love it. It is more space solely my own than I have ever had. I could put up shitloads of naked Harry Potter fan art if I wanted. (I won’t, though…) I could pick a character and cover every single surface with its face – Snoopy, Rilakkuma, Care Bears, Anpanman, or of course the ubiquitous Hello Kitty. (Doubt I’ll be doing that, either.) I could walk around naked for days on end, eat a bunch of peanuts and throw the shells on the ground, or sing show tunes at the top of my lungs. Point is – I’ve never had a place of my own before. I’ve never had a mailbox for just my mail, or a kitchen where all the food in the cupboard is mine (or rather, where the lack of food in the cupboard is solely my fault). Not that I don’t like shared living, I love it – but this is something totally new and exhilarating for me.

My toilet has a button that puts the seat up/down for you. There is also the bidet and seat-warming functions, although I’m yet to brave the former. My lights are remote controlled. With fancy dimmer functions for mood lighting. And I thought I’d need to buy a lamp – ha! Just press a button and BAM! Romantic lighting. Fluorescent lighting. No lighting. Awesome.

I’m glad I moved before Christmas. Actually, I’m glad about a lot of things.

***
It’s Christmas Eve. Christmas spirit is rampant here. I’ve seen about twenty different people in Santa-themed costumes today (as well as a cow and a Pikachu) and have heard almost every carol known to man. All day I’ve seen crowds lined up to buy tiny roast chickens, or gorgeous cakes with holly and strawberries on top.

On the way home tonight, I bought two pieces of fried chicken from two girls dressed as Mrs Claus. They were camped outside the Family Mart near where I live, and they had a little set-up complete with carols, a selection of Christmas cakes, and colourful signs. I wasn’t planning to buy any, but they were just so damn enthusiastic – waving their little sign by the side of the road, yelling and jumping around. How could I not buy some greasy deliciousness from them? I had managed to successfully breeze past every other vendor selling chicken/Christmas cakes/confectionery of the holiday kind/general cheer up to that point, too. Even the two girls outside CoCo, who instead of playing Christmas carols were playing the soundtrack to High School Musical 3 (do not even ask why I can recognise it). But these two girls… they were clearly having a great time, and didn’t care that they had to dress up as Mrs Claus and scream at the top of their lungs for several hours. It kinda made me smile. And it kinda made me want chicken.

Christmas in Japan is such a funny thing… but more on that another time.

***
All I want for Christmas is:

• Lomo camera
• Awesome sneakers I saw the other day
• Jalapeno poppers (Um, how have I never had these before?! Jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and then deep-fried? Shit yes!)
• The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
• Japanese ability
• Hugs from my friends and family
• Really, really cheesy lasagne
• A really, really cheesy Christmas movie
• Pie of any kind – I’m thinking apple, or a really good pumpkin
• Direction in life
• A sense of direction

***

Merry Christmas!

‘All My Friends’

a.k.a.
Christmas approaches… like a kitschy, glittery ball of nostalgia

You know what? It’s the small victories that matter.

It’s realising that the large building near your train station, the one you haven’t really noticed before, is actually a mother of a department store with all wonder of food stalls and import stores in its basement – not to mention a supermarket and a 100 yen store.

Needless to say, as both a cheapskate and food lover, I was filled with joy when I made this discovery. Two-minute noodles! Slippers for 100 yen! Over-priced comfort foods imported from home!

However, upon wandering into the supermarket, my happy wonderment was soon replaced with a homesick melancholy, complete with forlorn frown. The supermarket, lavishly decked out in full Christmas garb, was playing ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ – my favourite Christmas carol. I’ve always liked it, ever since I first heard it (which was probably in Home Alone or something), even though to be honest it’s been overused in every single corny American Christmas movie ever made.

Anyway, this was just another unhappy reminder that Christmas is just around the corner.

(Sigh. Here comes the unwelcome I-do-wish-I-was-having-Christmas-at-home rant.)

I mean, it’s just… I like Christmas shit. And I don’t want to end up sitting in my room by myself, in a Christmas hat, clutching a turkey bone and weeping on Christmas day this year. Scratch that – I’ll probably be clutching an empty bag of Doritos that I bought myself as a Christmas treat. Totally pathetic. I mean, you can’t even really pull a bon bon by yourself. Instead of feasting on prawns and consumerism in the sunshine back home, I’ll probably just end up reading the Christmas Day portions of all the Harry Potter books and eating a block of over-priced cheese.

(Actually, that said, one thing I will definitely be doing this year is watching corny Christmas movies – such as It’s a Wonderful Life – since there’s no one around to judge me.)

[I heart you, Jimmy Stewart]

Anyways, this is what I was thinking about when I did my first Tokyo grocery shop. I bought mandarins, orange juice and peanut butter, stopped myself from getting all misty-eyed in the vegetable section, almost tripped an elderly lady with a walking frame, managed to pay for my goods without insulting the cashier, and made it home before the wallowing truly kicked in. Like I said, small victories.

***
Back home, my friends and I used to have a big Thanksgiving dinner every year. It was mainly a chance to get together, eat delicious food, have pumpkin pie contests, talk for hours, and have long corny conversations about all the things we were thankful for. I have the best memories of those dinners – chowing down on sweet potato mash with marshmallows on top, sitting outside under the stars, feeling as though dinners just like these were some of the best times of my whole life.

Each year, my contribution would be a ridiculous sculpture made out of bread (that, and a bowl of frozen peas) – mainly because cooking and I don’t always get along, but also because I like doing weird shit like make ridiculous sculptures out of bread. My first (and most successful) bread sculpture was a big bread turkey, made out of baguettes, whole loaves, white bread slices and rolls, and held together with damp skewers and a whole lotta love.

Needless to say, Thanksgiving this year was a tough reminder of just how homesick I am. Many cafes and restaurants here hold special Thanksgiving dinners, complete with turkey and pumpkin pie, mainly for the benefit of expats. I was sitting at one such café eating a salmon bagel as they were preparing for a Thanksgiving feast of their own - and on a whim I signed myself up for the 8pm sitting.

The thought of sitting by myself, eating turkey slices and mashed potato, wishing I had one of my friends with me, was a little depressing - but the lure of a hearty roast dinner was too much for me.

Thankfully (pun intended) I ended up having a lovely time. The staff were friendly, and the woman who seemed to be in charge gave me a little bunch of carnations wrapped in foil. There was one point where I nearly started bawling into my pumpkin pie, but I held it together. On the way home, I bought a Harry Potter book for 500 yen, got a ‘free hug’, and made it home without dropping my bag of leftovers or falling over on the train. I was still a bit sad, and still really missed my friends, but I also realised that even though I’m still r e a l l y far from being a true Tokyo-ite, every day the city feels a little bit less like a stranger.

***
Things I have learned about myself since moving here, #23

I suck at riding a bike. Is it me? The bikes? I suspect the former, as everyone else has no trouble riding their bike while holding an umbrella/texting on their phone/looking around smugly. I however am lucky if I don’t run up the back of someone or wobble off the footpath and into the gutter. It is an utter disgrace.

***
In conclusion: I want this pizza. Premium Cheese Fantasy Super Rich Quatro, from Dominos Japan. This baby is appetizer, entrée, main and dessert, with a tasty cheese-filled crust. Hells yes.





“You spent the first five years trying to get with the plan
And the next five years trying to be with your friends again…”
‘All My Friends’, LCD Soundsystem

'Adventures in Solitude'

a.k.a
Having To Write About The Past Year Makes You Ten Times As Homesick

[Every year, the magazine I write film reviews for has everyone do up a ‘year that was’ summary. 250 words, including a top five of anything you want. I thought I’d include mine here as well, since it’s sort of relevant.]

Five random things I love about Japan:

1. Fanta Grape: Fake grape flavour is awesome. And when carbonated? Bliss.
2. Odd but endearing Engrish: ‘Result of work is created through passion and acting power for work brightness!’
3. The millions of vending machines: They contain everything your heart could desire, and even things you didn’t know you could desire.
4. Elementary school children’s identical backpacks (and sometimes they have hats, too!): These kiddies are just too cute. And that’s coming from a children-hater.
5. ‘American-style’ diners: Stay for hours, stay all night! Endless coffee! Endless Fanta Grape!

2009 was the year that I was turned by True Blood, wrote three children’s books, became a maid of honour, drank a lot of Mango Green Tea, saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince six times, cooked Coca Cola chicken, hung up my choc top scoop and cinema broom, was over the moon for Moon, became a Tabasco sauce convert, learned the Star Trek spiel off by heart, and drank about a million cups of peppermint tea. It was a year of first tattoos, Toffee Time, nerd marathons, How Stuff Works podcasts, reading Pride and Prejudice for the first time, and moving to Japan.