Don't get me wrong

I may complain a lot, but don't get the idea that I am unhappy, or that I dislike my Japanese experience (although I could do with fewer cold days and people who reek of old, layered tobacco)... it's just that this blog is kinda my venting outlet, so the point of view I present here tends to be lopsided. But hey, I am having fun... so in that spirit, reasons to be cheerful....part 3 (obviously).

1. 24-hour-a-day, freedial call centres where the staff are polite, friendly and helpful no matter how stupid your question is.
2. The post office delivers on Saturdays, and sometimes Sundays, and Amazon usually delivers to my office if I’m at work...
3. it's so safe here when I walk alone at midnight down a darkened street past a shabby building, my main worry is an attack by Japanese ghosts, who are both moist and oogy.
4. Japanese ghosts are the most ghosty in the world. They sure can do horror here.
5. A sunny, warmish day when it's snowy is somehow very cheerful, probably because the whiteness of the snow reflects the sunshine--- so it becomes ubersunny.
6. Pocky decorer, seasonal flavouredKit Kats (Kit Kat bitter anyone... could I ask for anything any more sexy?), seasonal flavoured fanta (white strawberry... pineapple...kiwifruit...grrr) and the vast array of Hagen dasz within my grasp ... although why vanilla fudge brownie flavour is only available on the mainland I’ll never understand.
7. When spring does come, it is pretty damn stonkin glorious... tulips and flowers and greenery and nice smells and warmth and cheerfulness... after all the sensory deprivation of winter its extra-amazing. And the sakura, when it finally decides to show up in Hokkaido.
8. Eating weird things like horse, or nabe, which are all pretty good, gets you a very positive reaction.
9. Any use of Japanese at all gets you the "aaaaaaaaH! nihongo jouzu ne?!" seal of approval, especially from the nice ladies at Posful.
10. The nice ladies at Posful. Department stores are usually staffed by sweet middle-aged ladies who are helpful, and like you, and want to help.
11. There's no such thing as a fashion mistake here. You can walk down the street in candy-striped pink and red stockings with fur boots and a miniskirt and a lumberjack shirt with a furry sweater all droopy over it and a cowboy and nobody would bat an eyelid. You might even get a Kawaai.
12. I pay 78 dollars a month in rent for a two-bedroom apartment with an eating room (dining room is a bit grandiose, but still)... 78 DOLLARS, man!!! That’s like 480 Rand! Insaaaane!
13. The Obihiro people, Saradia, And all the fab other people here whom I adore.
14. Uniqlo.

So. Wow. Lots to be cheerful about then. This is practically turning into an Oprah Grateful Diary. Remember those? So I'll stop now, but you get the picture.