Job Discussion Forums

[cornishmuppet]

Does anyone else find these people and their dogooding ways intrinsically annoying?

A case study - the other day I was in the swimming pool at the gym, and the elementary kids were in, so there was only one lane for free swim. This happens every night. Now, there is a walking pool of about half the size of the main pool full of lots of interesting poles and things for the ojis to enjoy themselves, but some grey haired old dude decided it would be perfectly appropriate to stride up and down the one lane in the main pool, for HALF AN HOUR. There were three other people in there, all Japanese, and he was causing a terrible backlog. I wanted to rip his head off, but being the gaijin in the crowd, no doubt I'd have been somehow in the wrong if I said something.

Just this weekend I was pulling out of my road in my car, a very quiet road near a temple, and ok, so there is a sign indicating for me to turn left, but there is a stop sign at a junction just 10 metres to the left, and to make this quick diversion would have saved me about ten minutes of journey on this particular day. (Yes, I know I'm TECHNICALLY wrong but) at that point an oji on a motorbike, who had just come up the one way street in the WRONG direction, sees me trying to make a sneaky turn, and takes time out of his day to use his motorbike to barracade the road and starts hollering at me so that I have to follow the sign. I had a hangover and was late, so was not amused.

As I was technically wrong, I can forgive the guy above, but, going back a while I had someone take my rubbish away and dump it back on my doorstep FOUR days later, in a completely different bag, with a note saying I'd put it out on the wrong day. I'd put it out at 1am the night before the correct day. The oji (while I saw no one, it could have been no one else, surely) was obviously very keen to have a look through my gomi.

Now, I know sometimes they can do useful things, picking up gum for instance, as well as wasting their time incredibly (scraping away fresh snow in March that would melt by noon anyway), but I was wondering if anyone else had any amusing oji-anger stories? I can't surely be the only one.



P.S. I'm writing this slightly tongue in cheek, so before anyone starts labelling me ageist or whatever, my dad is oji-aged and he's way cool. So there.

Rock on.

[kdynamic]

I feel your pain, and contend that oba's are right on up there.

I would like the point out though, that in an instance like the swimming pool thing, you should just say something. People might actually be grateful even if the oji chews you out. Just ask him 'can't you see there are people waiting, and walking is meant for the walking pool?' Don't be afraid to pipe up.

[furiousmilksheikali]

[TK4Lakers]

I really dislike the "staring" that occurs here in Japan, especially by the old folks.

But the truth is...Japan has a high "old-aged" population, so they're everywhere, especially in the inakas, whether we like it or not.

So I just try to ignore them and go about my business. But there are 1 or 2 I'll run into once in awhile who are very friendly and cute. I guess balance the likes with the dislikes.

[luckyloser700]

Ojiisan and obaasan that start pushing people violently when they want to get off a crowded train piss me off. People near the doors slowly move and attempt to exit the train, but it's too slow for some of the old farts (who have, for some reason or another, lodged themselves in places as far from the doors as possible - and don't say it was to sit down because if they're hearty enough to start moving bodies, they can stand for a couple of stops) and they just start shoving and bumping. I mean, Jeez, I know their time on this planet is limited but, give me an f'ing break.
The ones at the supermarket that push you out of the way to grab whatever piece of fish or chicken that has the biggest discount piss me off as well. Last month, one of them pushed into me so hard I lost my footing and fell onto my cart. Hurt like a sonofabi#*h. What's so hard about asking someone to move out of your way without shoving him or her. At first, I thought it was because I was a foreigner but I see them do it to everyone.

Enough ranting for now. Good thread, Chris.

[brichm01]

I had to smile at this thread. I've lived in Germany and I currently live in the US and I think old people are pretty much the same the world over. We "young slackers" (I'm 43, ha) have life much easier than they did at our age. Remember, the "older people" had to walk to 5 miles to school up hill both ways.

But seriously, annoying as they are, I don't think it's always an easy thing to realize that you have fewer years to live than you have lived already. Give the oldsters a break, as they say, "Getting older ain't for the faint of heart"

[cornishmuppet]

Watch out guys, its karma man! On my way home I found they'd decided to do roadworks right outside my house, so I had to endure about five smiling, flag waving ojis lead me on a fifteen minute detour around the one way system. Becareful what you say!

That guy in the swimming pool - oh my, I want to say something so bad, but in the end i just bottled it. He probably would have just shrugged and carried on, or the lifeguards would have kicked me out. I am the foreigner, after all, so I'm wrong by default.

I've been shoved out of the way by ojis and obas after my seat on the train more than once. Kind of ironic considering I'm the sort of guy who stands up to let the old battleaxes sit down.

And just don't start me on 'free' community classes that I get asked to teach from time to time. These people and their totally overpriced foreign holidays have more money that I can imagine, yet they expect me to sit and listen to their boring lives for nothing in the interests of cultural exchange. It ain't free for me, people.

Anyway, that should be enjoy to bring me roadblocks for the rest of the day. Rock n roll!

[canuck]

[kdynamic]

[luckyloser700]

[cornishmuppet]

furiousnantokaali - no, what I would have done is this -

Firstly, make him rock scissors paper for whether he could see my licence or not. Then, in the event that he won, rock scissors paper for whether we played best of three. If he was a scrooge and refused to play, I would simply refuse to show him my licence until he called in for backup. Once I had fifteen of them standing around wondering quite what they should do, I would invite all of the lads back to my six tatami room and sit them in front of the TV where I would proceed to show them the entirity of my Eng-Aus Ashes DVD box set. While doing so, I would cook up a nice pork stew (pigs, get it, ho hum). If time was allowing, I'd then take them up the park to play a bit of cricket, and if time allowed we'd go for a few beers in the evening, and have a good chat about cultural relations. I of course, would stay on the orange juice, just to prove how good a citizen I am.

If they refused to do any of these things, I would incinerate them all with my intense sake breath, or mow them down where they stood on the way to stealing my ten metres of one way street.

I was on the way to ninja class, by the way. I never turn up to work with a hangover. Do you?


kd - there are usually ojis walking in the main pool, but when there are four lanes free it doesn't really matter (though you often find one in each lane!). As no one says anything in those instances when its easy enough to avoid them, I found it a little difficult getting the courage to say something. The cute lifeguard might have agreed with me, but for all I know the problem oji might have been coming for a thousand years and been doing the same for all that time. I might try it next time. I don't go there to make friends, after all, just to lose all the karage I eat!

lucky - I do know better, its true. But trying to tell them that...

For the record, I don't dislike all ojis. The old guy in the little shop where i buy my tomatoes is pretty nice. Its just that paying double the price of the supermarket isn't really worth it just to talk to him.

And he never has any avocados.

[dove]

Ojis and obas might work my very last nerve on the train or in the gym, but I love having them in the class I teach at a community center. They have enthusiasm and a desire to learn that puts the college-age students in the same class to shame. They don't have hang-ups about making mistakes and they try to use every ounce of their English knowledge to communicate. I wish they had cattle prods to trigger a pulse in the dead-weight college students.

[furiousmilksheikali]

[dudelebow]

CONTRAST TO OJI-SAN....this isn't as much of a grievance as an annoyance or perhaps a bizzare observance. but d'ya ever notice the extreme vanity among young japanese males as they gaze upon themselves in the bathroom mirrors? they have this serious, yet, narcassistic expression as they carefully smooth down their locks. it's NOT like a quick check to make sure everything looks in place. it's slow motion posing and preening. like they are all readying themselves for their upcoming modelling shoot. they even do it on the reflections of glass on the train windows. and most of them, probably considered good looking by japanese women's standards, look like japanese women! and they act like them. infact, sometimes i see what i thought were 2 cute japanese girls, but ALAS, the adam's apple on the guy who has the same hair style as the girl next to him! and speaking of hairstyles, the bon jovi was so yesterday. but nope, in japan....it's full on. i'm not saying it's bad for japanese guys to give some care for their looks to attract females,but jeezus this goes too far. okay, it was probably a rant.

[luckyloser700]