Is it the end of the world?

No, it's just summer in Japan.

It was the lack of rain that aroused my suspicions, and then the plague descended on us. Flies. Insects. Beetles. Everywhere. As the weather's playing sillybuggers with us and going hot then a little cooler, then even hotter, the insects are getting enraged and taking advantage of any slight cooling to come out. And boy are they hideous. Last night was by far the worst so far, as we went to watch LeeJay's last soft ball game (it actually was her last one too) and drove over the bridge in Katsuyama only for the car's headlights to illuminate a swarm of 1-day only flies all over the road and in the air. And then while she playedthe flies were everywhere. While LeeJay was apparently being attacked in the crotch by kamikaze cicadas, I was being set upon (for the first time in my life) by mosqiutoes. But due to my skin paranoia, I knocked everyone of them off before they bit. Ha! Nao chan couldn't believe that mosqitoes never bit me and that it was the first time they'd landed on me. I'm guessing it won't be the last.

The rainy season thing is beginning to worry me, more because people don't seem to be preparing. It should have started three weeks ago, we've had maybe 5 sudden downpours in that time, and they've lasted maybe 1 or 2 hours. Not enough, but as Nao-chan drove Papa-san, Oji-san and I to the fish restaurant in Kuse on thursday I saw many people hosing down not only their cars, but also their concreted front 'gardens'. No doubt their Japanese-style baths are still overflowing indoors and will do until a water ban is announced. Lucky me won't understand it though, so I'll be sure to water every bit of concrete I can find.

On Thursday night I got out a nice epsom salts bath only to hear a massive bang. At first I thought it was a bomb, and then I realised where I was. Although if I'd really thought about where I was I would have realised it could have been a student trying to blow up the school (as was recently attempted in Osaka). But it was the start of a massive thunderstorm. I worried Johanna wouldn't want to drive and we'd miss out on our dinner of Okonomiyaki and a trip to karaoke, but no! And karaoke has just descended into a mess, where we sing maybe 3 songs each properly and then just take the piss as much as possible, near wetting ourselves in the process. Oh, I'll miss LeeJay when she goes!