about
29,male
born: Nagoya, Japan
past: Toronto, Tokyo
current: Vancouver, BC
hobbies/interests: cooking, swimming, photography
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Important People (not that people unmentioned aren't important..)
1975: Birth.
I was born the first child of Hiroki and Yoshiko Toyama at a hospital in Nagoya. Even though I'm a proud citizen of Toyoake, Nagoya's tiny neighboring town, being born in Nagoya does feel cool:)
1982-88: Elementary School
Silly years. I ate paper napkins, pretended to be a penguin, found the joy of swimming.
1988-91: Junior High School
Becoming competitive. Prior to JHS, I was just a silly ordinary kid. But, now, everything got just a little competitive,
and I found out I wasn't as bad as I thought in most things I did including sports, studies, and extracurricular activities.
Sports: I joined the swim team, as it was the only sport I managed to perform above the average,
plus, I did like the sport. I think I liked how there were fewer factors involved in the sport, compared to team sports and matchup sports.
You can focus on your strokes, and all you need to do is keep pushing yourself.
There was no need to consider how the defense would react, or worry about your teammates yelling at me for a bad pass.
I did like playing other sports like baseball, soccer and basketball, but those were just for recreation. Not for serious competitions.
Studies: I thought I was just an average boy in terms of academics, until the first midterm of the first year.
My teacher had to make an announcement in front of the whole class, to inform that I had come 1st in the entire grade.
In the years to come, laziness (and beer, much later) marred whatever the potential I had,
and now I'm just an average beer-drinking man ready to go thirtysomething:)
1991-92: High School (Japan)
This is the last year of Japanese education I received.
At this time, I was still performing decently in academics, and was able to enter a prestigious high school - Asahigaoka HS.
Even though I was only there for a year, I made great friends, and I still (though not as often as I wish) keep contact with them.
People in that school weren't nerdy like its academic reputation might suggest. They were energetic, talented in many ways - arts, sports, culture...
Without this one year, I wouldn't be who I am.
And what great friends I made! Memories of fun stuff I got to do with them are plain countless.
A reckless(?) bike trip to Kyoto on a reeeally tight schedule.
Shooting silly, but hilarious movies, expressing our artsie side...
1992-1995: High School (Toronto)
March 22, 1992: FOP, I couldn't speak a word of English except "orange juice". I must've had a hard time with the language and the Canadian culture, but I think I took that well, knowing that it was an unavoidable path. I think I studied hard, tried hard to do well in everything, and I think I did just that, in the first year.
Swim Team
I think I spent more time swimming than on anything else. Even though I was never to be a star swimmer,
I loved the sport (and I still do), and being a part of the great team was the experience I can substitute with nothing.
I met some of my lifelong friends: Wanda, Jana, and Lenka to name just a few.
Swimming also gave me one of the most memorable days in my youth: OFSAA (provincial championship) in Sudbury.
Though my performance flopped miserably, travelling with my close teammates to a frigid Northern Ontario city in February
was such a great experience! Wandering around the mall, watching movies, and eating snacks are nothing beyond ordinary,
but the memories of those ordinary things in Sudbury with friends give me the warm fuzzy feeling.
Studying
Maybe I just lied about having studied very hard.
I was a slacker, with occasional zeros on homework for not submitting anything.
I had to pay for this lack of self-discipline later in university, but at this time, I was just having fun.
But beyond classroom, I had math as a hobby. What a nerd, but I didn't either look or behave like one (I don't think...)
At cross-country meets, while I waited for my race, I would open a notebook and immense myself in my problem of the day.
It's no surprise I didn't do so well in races with the large portion of my energy directed towards equations and numbers:)
High/Low Points
High: receiving the Summus Award, awarded to the best graduating athlete with high academic distinction.
Low: receiving 20% on Anatomy, 43% in English in my very last term.
Trying out for the baseball team, and receiving multiple bruises. (Didn't make it)
1995-1999: University
First day: I stopped being Richard (my name in HS), and became Kimo. Four years of life in New College residence.. I need a lifetime to talk about the intense school years, especially with a large portion blurred thanks to plastic cup beerathon at the Brunny. I'll try to remember the rest by the end of this week (Sept. 4)
2000-2002: Working in Japan
To be added some time this week (Aug.30)
2003-2004: Life in Vancouver
To be added some time next week (Aug.30)
Family
To be added
procrastinate
friends' blogs
credits
