Moshi moshi?!
Happy New Year!!!
channeling the 80's in front of Osaka castle.
[ Pictures (updated 1/29/04) | Links | Mail Me ]
Editor's note
3/26/05
Ok, just a note. I probably won't be updating this site anymore, since I started a blog. Check it out here: Spicy Samurai. Let me know what you think.
1/27/04
Well, here I am typing up a new update and watching American Idol. Well, judging by the talent showcased, I'm not in such bad shape. Anyway, it's been brought to my attention that I haven't updated the picture section of the site in a long time. Actually, it had been almost 10 months! So I put up a few pics for your amusement. Hope you like 'em.
1/8/04
Happy new year. I hope the new year brings you all great and wonderful things! Not too much to say. Actually, I have a lot, but its not relevent to much. Oh, Family Guy is the best show! It was cancelled in 2002, so you should buy the DVD sets.
oh, and Mitsuki of course made it. We had a great time, even if the weather was bad. I hope she got a nice taste of Chicago, and it's whetted her appetite to see more. So, Mi-chan, what were your thought about Chicago?
bye.
11/27/03
Happy Thanksgiving!
Got the word back that Mitsuki got her ticket! I'm looking forward to it. If you have any suggestions about sight seeing things to do around Chicago, let me know. She'll be here for one week, so hopefully we'll have enough time to do lots of stuff.
Woo hoo!
11/25/03
Well, just watched X2 today. Picked up the release and while I liked it, I was a little disappointed. I'm not sure why, but it may be because I had been looking forward to getting the DVD for such a long time, that when I got it, it was a let down. It was a little boring and pretentious in places, but I do like it. It has some good action sequences, particularly the opening Nightcrawler scene.
Anyway, Mitsuki is planning on visiting me here in Chicago next month. I'm excited! She'll only be able to stay a week, which is too short in my opinion. So if you have some suggestions on some things we can do, let me know. I've got most of the week planned out, but it's all subject to change of course.
I still need to do some holiday shopping, as well as getting some things for myself too. Suprisingly, buying online is usually cheaper and more convenient for a lot of things. I highly recommend it. And if anyone wants to get me a 20 Gig IPOD or Dell MP3 player, please go right ahead :) I'd even be happy with the creative labs MUVO. 256 mb of course :)
Have a good Thanksgiving everyone.
11/9/03
Ok, I watched Matrix Revolutions yesterday. Needless to say, it was disappointing. I suppose expectations were high for both Reloaded and Revolutions, but I think after the first movie, it all went downhill from there. I won't spoil it for anyone, so if you want a further review you'll have to look it up.
11/7/03
Ok, well I've decided after much consideration to just keep the site the way it is. I figure I'll just be wasting more time if I try to get fancy with it, so it will stay the way it is now. I've thought about archving past entries, but you know, it doesn't matter too much. Its not like its graphics intensive, so it doesn't take long to load at all. I will be adding the links section though so check it out if you want to see what I typically look at while I'm online. If you have any suggestions for anything, let me know. Later.
11/6/2003
Well, the new page will come sometime. I'm trying to decide what I want to do with it, and really, why I'm doing it. If you read my page, please send me a message so I know! I'll try to keep it updated. In that spirit, I'm looking for new ways to publish this. Actually, I like most things about having this site on geocities. But I wish they had a feature to essentially do a blog. Can we do this? anyone know a good way? Right now I'm doing everything the old fashioned way, straight HTML in a text editor. I think I could find my way to update more consistently if I could institute an automatic blog upload thing, or even just use a HTML editor. So in the meantime, you'll have to wait.
The other thing I've been thinking about is the pictures section. I suppose for most of you it was interesting since I was taking pictures in Japan, and you weren't there. But now that I'm back, I suppose there isn't anything really interesting to post! Therefore, I think I'll limit the pics since they're practically worthless. Except, by that account, I may as well just start using blogger.com to get all the updates in. Then just send in a link for pics if you want to see em. That might work. More on this later I suppose.
10/31/2003
Oh my, it's been a while hasn't it. There's just so much that has happened that I think it would take too long to write it all down. If you want to hear about the end of my trip to thailand, you'll have to ask me in person! :) After Thailand, basically (here's the shorthand version)I had my farewell parties, travelled around Japan with Mitsuki, climbed to the top of MT. FUJI with Mitsuki!, and came back to the US. After I got back in September, I went to Evan's wedding and have been catching up on my reading/tv/movies/etc...
I also took a bunch of pictures, so if you want to see em, you'll have to see em in person since I probably won't be posting them. I may do a redesign of the site to make updating easier as well as putting in thumbnails of the pics (for your convinience), and then include some of the more recent pics.
Anyway, in the meantime, I'll continue working on my book. FYI, one of my original stories is a light hearted fantasy which is plotted out and the first chapter is written. However, I doubt I'll ever finish it because it looks like it would end up being really long. I also started a new story based on some bad events that have been happening in Japan (as well as other places). Its a story about a junior high school girl as she comes to terms with the whole pink trade/enjo kosai/ junior idol scene in Tokyo. Some bad things happen. I've plotted it out and started the first chapter, however it's looking pretty dark and depressing, so I don't know if I'll ever finish it. I may try to adapt it and come up with something light-hearted since that kind of writing comes more naturally to me. I'll keep you up to date.
that's it for now!
6/5/2003
Well, as you can see, I added a couple pics to the top of the page. But sadly, I havent gotten around to updating the picture section. I want to write a lot, and tell you about whats going on/has happened recently, but I'm too tired now. On the same day that Evans and Dan headed back to the States, I went with Mitsuki to Thailand. OK, whatever, I decided to start writing about Thailand. Figure, the less I keep up to date with updates, the harder it will be.
Anyway, I was excited. It was our first trip to Thailand and I didnt know what to expect. I thought it would be hot but thats about it. Its really cheap there tho. Especially compared to Japan, everything, food, drinks, movies (only like $2!!!), transportation, housing. Its all cheaper. If you can get to Thailand, you can make your money strech a long way!
So we took an uneventful flight to Thailand and arrived at the airport at about midnight. I changed some traveler's checks and was ready to go. After walking out the doors of the arrival terminal, it started. There's no way I can describe what its like. It colors your view of the city and you can't easily escape it. This scourge is "the Tout". These people will try their best to scam you and at first, you may think bargaining is fun, but it gets old, very fast. Their so sneaky too! Almost immediately, a woman came to us and asked where we were going/ where we were staying/ etc. I think she is from a taxi company. We negotiate a deal to take us to our hotel. it costs about $7.50 for the taxi ride, like I said, not much, but you get the feeling they're screwing you over. We arrived at the hotel, and I will say this, the hotel was nice and the people there were nice too. Our room was adequate and cost about $12 each, including breakfast. not bad at all.
The next day we walk outside and the "question" comes to us almost immediately. "Hey hey, you need a ride. Where are you going? where are you from? " this usually came from the tuk-tuk (really awful 3 wheeled open air taxis) drivers. Tuk tuks are cheap, but the exhaust fumes will make you sick. So the question, which we were asked so many times during our trip I couldnt count them, haunted us the entire trip. It didnt matter where we were, where we were going, what we were doing,...someone always stopped us and wanted to sell us something. My favorite was the guy who stopped us on the sidewalk and offered his help to us in find some temples and other sightseeing things in the city. He told us of a "lucky Buhda" which was only open today! We could go see it if we wanted. These areas/temples are free, and these will charge you. You should go here first, then to these other places. Whatever. But you know, mysteriously, there was a driver, waiting for us. He waved his hand his "friend" would drive us around. Only $1. All day! And All Day tour for a buck. But, during the tour he explained, we'd have to stop by a couple of other shops. We dont have to buy, only look. But for the driver to be able to charge a buck, he needs to drop off tourists in certain stores to get the kickback. Anyway, we never took any of them up on their offer, but sometimes it took like 5-10 minutes of telling people "no" before they'd back off. I'm sorry if this account is difficult to read or doesnt make sense. But I'm just writing it off the top of my head anit makes sense to me :)
By the way, we never could find the lucky Buhda in our guidebook or map.
more to come!
5/25/2003
As was pointed out by an alert email, its been way too long since my last update. So many things have happened to me in the past couple of months, so I don't even know where to start. I want to post pictures for you all see, but its a bit of a time consuming process since I have to do everything at school.
Maybe I can upload some pics next week...
Anyway, after graduation, Evans and Dan came to visit me. They stayed for a couple weeks and I hope they had a good time. Despite problems that cropped up during our trip, I enjoyed it. I'm very happy they were able to come to visit me in Japan. If there's anything you want me to bring back when I come home, let me know! And if I got anything wrong, tell me!
When they first got here, we spent way too much time trying to decide what we wanted to do. But when we could finally start our trip and do something, it was much more enjoyable. We first went to Kamakura (near tokyo) and tried to see the giant budha. We saw it alright. From behind the gates. See, we were 5 minutes late and they closed before we could get it. Not the best way to start off the trip. Luckily, we had a chance to see the biggest Budha later, so we didnt miss out on too much. We then went to Shane's house (our base of operations while in Tokyo) and debated for a while about where / when we should go. After much discussion, we decided to take a 9 hour night train(starting at about midnight) to Kyoto. We went to the station and waited in line to board the train for about an hour. Then when the doors opened we rushed in and couldnt find seats since we were behind the slowest people on the planet. We got back off, a little frantic about what to do. I for one, wasnt going to stand for a 9 hour train ride! So we ran to another car and hopped on. Thank God! We found some seats. We took our positions and prepared ourselves for the ride. The ride was uneventful save the time Dan utilized his Japanese phrasebook to the fullest by engaging some Japanese college students in conversation. That helped to pass the time, although as it turned out, one of them gave us incorrect info about some train lines to Nara.
We made it to Kyoto, safe and sound and went out to explore the city a bit. We walked around a lot and didnt realize until later that we should have been taking the subway to get around the city. It would have been easier. In Kyoto, we saw some temples and things like that. We went to the castle...and found out we were too late. I think this is going to be a recurring theme. Through all our meanderings, we failed to find the hotel we were going to stay at. We decided to take a shot and hop over to Osaka and look for a hotel. In Osaka, we called around and tried to find some hotels. My cell phone battery was dying and we plugged it into a conviently placed outlet, while Dan and evans provided cover. A lady at the information desk showed me a map and said that the hotels we chose were about a 15 minute drive from the station. Too far to walk I guess. I was becoming irritated and frustrated (my apologies), and I was stressing out. It was getting late. We headed over to the taxi stand and got in a taxi. I told him the hotel we wanted and at first he didnt understand. He pointed out his cab and said go to the other side of the station. He sounded a little irritated so we got out and walked to the other side of the station to take a taxi. We got in another taxi and he let us in. But he didnt know where the hotel was. We exited the station and then parked while he used his cell phone to call the hotel and ask for directions. At this point, we were a little worried because we werent sure the meter was running or not. He talked for like 10 minutes then we left. We drove in a circle and he dropped us off about a half mile away. He told me the hotel was behind some buildings ahead of us, and we'd have to go by foot. Highly skeptical, we paid him (only the flag charge! yea!) and ventured into the red light district. Sure enough, we found the hotel. Thinking back, I realized the first taxi driver wasnt telling me to go the the taxi stand on the other side of the station. He was telling me the hotel was on the other side of the station! I felt like an idiot! Sorry guys. Good thing was, I learned to trust the taxi drivers in Japan.
So, we stayed that night at a capsule hotel. A capsule hotel is relatively cheap and the the rooms are...well... capsules. Think about like a big youth hostel, with private bunks and you'll have a good idea what its like. This one we stayed at was the most "capsule-like" of the three though. Unfortunately, we were near the entrance so we got a lot of noise and smoke from the old guys watching tv.
The next day, we went back to Kyoto to see the castle that we had missed earlier. Nijo Castle was pretty nice. Then around lunchtime we jumped on a train to Nara. Nara is famous for the DaiButsu. Its the largest Budha in Japan and is housed in the largest enclosed wooden structure in the world. Its BIG! I liked it. Inside, there is a pillar with a small hole cut through it. Legend has it, if you crawl through the hole, you will go to heaven. Of course, we all tried. it was a tight fit, but all three of us made it through (I was the only one who did it unassisted tho ;) )
Nara is also famous for its tame deer. Theres a bunch just hang out in the main park. You just gotta be careful where you step. It was getting late so we decided to head back to Kyoto. After all, our bags were still in a coin locker at the station. Throughout the day, we had thought about getting some cash. Actually we needed it. I had a bank card so I was ok. Dan and Evans tho, were a little short. Big E had a credit card, so wasnt too worried, but Dan needed some cash. Worried about the exchange rate given by banks, and not trusting in travler's checks, we kept putting it off. So that night, we decided we really needed money, but we couldnt find an ATM that accepted Dan and Evans' card. We spent quite a while searching, to no avail. Eventually, we just went back to Kyoto and to spend the night. We took a taxi to the hotel and then decided we wanted a drink, so we went out. It was late however and everything was closed. Just our luck right?
The next day, we were lucky and found an ATM near the station that would accept our cards! Great news! we got some money and were happy. Also, early that morning we went the a department store nearby just to look around. We were the first ones in and we were headed to the top floor. We were welcomed by staff bowing deeply and saying "irrashaimase" (welcome) on each and every floor as we went to the top. Quite an experience. Pretty cool actually.
We hopped on a train and headed west, towards Himeji. Himeji is famous for Himeji castle. At lunch time, we stopped by Kobe for a bite to eat. We got back on the train and started back toward Himeji. On the train, Dan realized he forgot his camera at the restaurant and had to go back. Evans and I made it to Himeji and saw the castle. By the time Dan got back to us, it was too late and the castle was closed. We had a big debate about what to do next. We had to decide whether or not to go to Hiroshima or head back to Kyoto. To make a long story short, we got back on the train for a 4 hour ride to Hiroshima.
In Hiroshima, we took a taxi to our next capsule hotel. It was in the red light district again, but was cheap. About $20 bucks! Very good indeed for the price. I liked this hotel depsite the fat guy who snored really loudly. Unfortunately, I lost my camera's battery charger here at this hotel. Pissed me off quite a bit.
The next morning, we bought our train tickets back to tokyo. They only cost a modest $180... >_<. In Hiroshima we went to the peace park and saw the "genbaku dome", a building that survived the bombing in WWII. We went to the museum and it was very nice. However, the subject was sad and I think everyone was moved. That afternoon we got on the bullet train and headed back to Shane's apartment in Tokyo.
The next few days blurred by for me. Dan and Evans spent their time in Tokyo, but I had to go back to school for one day for a school ceremony. So we explored Tokyo a bit and went shopping and hung out. Unfortunately, they had to leave, so we had some sushi on the last night and came back to my house in Shibayama. Evans and Dan had to leave back for the states the next day.
Despite some problems that sprung up during the trip, I'm so glad they came and I had a good time. Since this took so long to write, I've tired out and I dont know if I'll be able to detail my next trip so much. We'll see. Bye !
3/13/2003
Ok, I added some pics. check them out. I've got a bunch I took on digi cam, but I cant put them all up here. Too much space and time I suppose. Things are slowing down though. I've got another week and a half before vacation starts. that should be fun.
Graduation this year was a little more sad for me than last year. I think its because I've been with this set of students for almost 2 years now, while last year's I only knew them for less than a year. Graduation was long, almost 3 hours and we had to sit around in a very cold gym the whole time. There were the obligitory long winded speeches and lots of singing.
when it was finally over I was a little relieved, but like I said before, a little sad to see them go. Junior high school graduation is important for the students here, because they'll be scattered out all over the place when they go to high school. A little like going from high school to college in the states. Of course they dont move, but they have to build all new friendships again when they enter a new school.
anyway, my classes are now cut by a third, I've reduced my after school teaching, and it should be getting warmer soon. I'm pretty happy.
A couple things have recently been on my mind tho. The whole iraq and north korea thing is pissing me off.
anyway, the latest report I wrote for the town paper was on comic books. You know I always work them in somehow, no matter what I'm doing. I talked about the differences between comics in the States and those in Japan. I also downloaded some pics of people dressed in superhero costumes to include with the article. Hopefully, the towns people wont think all American dress up so goofy.
Talk to you later!
3/12/2003
Well, graduation has come and gone. things are quiet now that a third of the students have left. the first and second year students still have classes for another week and a half tho. Anyway, I'll be putting up some new pics I took during graduation for you all to see. maybe tomorrow. I should have time then.
later
2/28/2003
OK, I've since been told (actually I'm watching a copy of it now -thanks Mitsuki) that Bob Sapp and Tetsu and Tomo were on the same show. Watching a huge black guy wearing a skirt and dancing is not very appealing. There's also a flamenco version of the song coming up. Gee, I can't wait...
2/26/2003
Do any of you remember that simpsons episode where Bart says something stupid "I didn't do it", but everyone thinks its hilarious....so Bart becomes famous and is on all the tv shows and becomes a celebrity only for saying one line?... Eventually, everyone gets tired of it and he becomes a has been as a "new" celebrity pops up. If you've seen the episode, you know what I'm talking about. Its a little over the top right? Not realisitic and more than a bit exaggerated, right?
Not if you live in Japan.
I've seen countless "talents" that fit the bill. One hit wonders, and other people who just get in the news and on TV for a short time.
Bob Sapp, your time is coming! Through all this mess, two performers are irritating the hell out of me. I think their name are Tetsu and Tomo ( CHECK OUT THE LINK! ) Anyway, these guys' single claim to fame is a stupid, stupid little song where they sing "Nande daro" over and over and over and over...and over and over...and over. One guy has a guitar, and the other guy, this is what makes it so annoying, he dances and jumps around like an idiot and moves his arms in this wierd circular fashion...its hard to describe. I taped some of their tv appearances and I'll show you when I have the chance.
So, when I first saw them on a comercial, I thought, "hmmm...kinda funny and amusing." Then I saw them on a tv show doing the same song. Less funny. Then Isaw them on another tv show. Even less funny and more annoying. On any given day, you can find them on some tv show, singing their song, (they've since added some lyrics, but the chorus is still the same) and teaching the hosts how to do the arm movement. I'm sorry that I can't describe just how annoying these two guys are.
And that brings me back to the Simpsons. I almost couldnt believe how closely the two situations are feel. These guys go on tv and do almost the exact same thing every time and the audience and hosts seem to love them! I've been told that I dont understand it because I'm not Japanese and have a different sense of humor. True, but come on...you just can't believe/appreciate my torture, unless you've seen it.
Another annoying aspect is that when I visit elementary schools now, the boys break into a round of "nande daro, nande daro..."and dance with that stupid arm movement.
On a side note, I've started watching a show by a comedy duo called London Boots . Anyway, the last few times I've watched it has been pretty funny. On one episode, Love Train, a guy gets on a train with 3 girls and rides to the next stop. When they get to the next station, there's a new girl waiting and they all get off and he has to decide of the 4, which 3 girls he wants to keep. Then he and the three girls get back on the train and leave the unwated one at the station. They move on to the next station and repeat the process. At the end of the line, he has to choose one girl to be with. There's commentators watching (and commenting) the whole time. Pretty funny. The other two episodes were ones where a suspected boyfriend is set up to see if he will cheat or not. Both times, the guys cheated.
ok, end of the tv rant...you can go back to your daily lives!
bye!
2/7/2003
Wow, would you look at that? It seems like I passed my Japanese Proficiency test! Of course, it's only a level 3, so its pretty basic, but I'm very surprised and happy! Just thought I'd pass this along :)
2/4/2003
As you may have noticed, I changed the format a bit to simplifiy things. I also think this will be easier to read for you, as well as easier to update for me.
later.
1/31/2003
Ok, well as its been a while, where do I start? Many things have happened to me. So, I'm just going to start typing. If it begins to look like rambling, please bear with me :)
First, I dont know if I'm going to finish this as right now, as I type, I'm waiting for some teachers to finish a meeting. When they finish, we'll go out for dinner and drinks.
So lets start off in December....let me think what happened..give me a minute...OK, first, I had the Japanese proficiency test. I had to go to Tokyo to take it. I still havent gotten the results back yet, so I dont know if I passed or not. But I think it would be a miracle if I did. I sort of burned out after the test. I had been studying and working so much before it, that after it was oveR (Dec 1st) I pretty much didnt do anything for the rest of the month. I went to work and juku of course, but I didnt do any extra studying...
my video for the airport is finished. That is, it stopped running on January 15th. I never actually saw it being played at the airport, but a student told me that she saw it when she came back from vacation over the NEw YEars holiday.
I had a nice Christas and New Year. I spent Christmas with Mitsuki. We have been seeing each other for some time now. Mitsuki is such a great and nice person. you can see some of out pics in the picture section. So, over Christmas, Mitsuki and I went to Yokohama. We sort of got there later than expected and couldnt make it to Chinatown as planned. We also got caught out too late and couldnt get to a nice restaurant so we were forced to eat at ...I'm not sure what I'd call it, but I probably wouldnt go there again. That said, we still had a good time since we were together.
New Years came and Shane finally came back from Thailand. He stopped by my house and we decided to drive up to the next prefecture to check out a hot spring we saw in a magazine. On our way there, we stopped at Kashima Jingu shrine and did our first prayer of the year. In Japan, lots of people go to shrines to pray at the beginning of the year. After that, we continued driving north and made it to the hot spring. we had to circle around a bunch of times because we couldnt find the entrance and finally had to settle with driving along the beach and coming up behind the building. The hot spring was as expected, relaxing. After we finished, we played a round of Shogi and I actually won! Also, a lady who worked there said Shane looked like Waldo (from the books) and took his picture to send to her daughter who was studying overseas. We drove back and decided to go to a bar in Narita. Since it was about 12 or 1 AM, and I was driving, we didnt drink and only got some coffee. While at the bar though, we met one of the teachers I used to work with last year at an elementary school. She and her friend had been drinking a bit already...it was fun to talk to them. We even took some pics. (sorry, we used a polaroid, so I cant easily u/l them).
We came back to my house around 3AM and I noticed something on my doorstep. It was a big puddle of puke! Someone had puked right in front of my door. Thoroughly disgusted, I also noticed a kendo sword lying on my porch. I put 2 and 2 together and guessed the perpetrator was the teacher (and also the Kendo coach) who lived next door. I passed bottles of water to Shane so he could rinse it off a bit. The worst thing was the ramen that he had obviously eaten before hand. Sure enough, the next day, he came over and apologized for the mess he left on my door step.
It was also on this night that I noticed how cold it was inside my house. I checked when Shane and I came back and it was a toasty 0C (32F) inside! Recently, I've taken to wearing a knit cap and placing a heater directly next to my head when I go to sleep.
The rest of January went by pretty mundanely, and nothing much of not happened. I got sick (is that a surprise) and was out for a few days. The doctor gave me three different kinds of medication to take. Not fun.
Well, thats all I have to say for this update. I'm still waiting for the teachers to get back so we can go out. I'd really rather just go home, but I promised I'd go out tonight. I just wonder how much longer I'll have to wait at school. bye!
12/9/2002
Good morning! It's a nice snowy day in Shibayama. I couldn't believe it, as it hadn't snowed at all last year. I get up this morning and my car is buried under a fluffy blanket of snow. Needless to say, as I hadn't expected it to snow, I didnt have many of the essential winter car tools, such as gloves and a snow brush. It wasn't fun.
I also had the pleasure of spilling kerosine trying to fill my kerosine heater. This is the third time I've filled it and the second time I've spilled. The first time I spilled it all of the wooden floor of my house. This time, I spilled it on the concrete by the front door. Hopefully next time I'll learn and fill it up outside.
The school year is coming to a close soon. Two more weeks, then I get a two week winter vacation! Looking forward to that. I need the rest and relaxation! So I'm planning on spending some time in Tokyo, just cruising around. I'm also planning on going to Disney Sea with a special someone. I'm not sure what to expect, but I've been told Disney Sea is geared more for adults and DisneyLand more for the kids. At least I heard you can drink alcohol at Disney Sea. If its too cold or the weather is bad, we'll most likely spend X-mas in Yokohama. I'm definately looking forward to it.
So, its snowing here a lot and school is cancelled. ... at least for the students. All the teachers (including me) have to stay here. Hopefully we'll be able to leave at lunchtime. Its really boring when there are no students at school.
So, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone. Hope your holidays are great.
10/26/2002
Hey everyone. Its been a long time. I fully intended to keep the site updated but I've become uncontrollably busy. I've took on an extra job teaching English to make some extra yen. But its wrecked havoc on my schedule. Also, I recently finsished filming a promotional video about my town for Narita Airport. So if you come to Japan this winter (you'll most likely come through Narita), you'll be able to catch my video on the television screens at the airport. So yes! You will be able to see me speaking in Japanese (as well as English), talking about all the temples and museums in my town.
Another thing I've been up to is preparing for a couple of exams. I've got a Japanese proficiency Exam as well as the GRE in the first week of December. I haven't started preparing for the GRE yet, so I may drop studying for the Japanese test, since the GRE is more important.
Since its been 2 months, there's a bunch of stuff that I'd like to share, but I dont have time to write it all down. Here's some of the highlights in no particular order:
1. I have a new washing machine and kotatsu. Some of you may be asking yourselves what that is. Well, you see, you put dirty clothes in it and it washes...ah the kotatsu ...ok, well. Its a small table about 2 feet high. It has a heat lamp under it. You put a blanket over the table to keep the heat trapped and then you can sit at it and keep your legs and feet warm. This should be helpful because last year I didnt have one and it was very, very cold in my house. So while I'm under the covers, I'll be ok, but as far as getting up, I'm gambling whether or not that day will be the day that I get frostbite on my way to the bathroom.
And the new washer. Yes! I'm very happy. The new one is twice as big (its still kinda small compared to the one back home in the states) and I dont have to manaully add water and physically move the clothes to a separate spin drier. that was such a pain!
2. Oh, went to the Tokyo Game show again this year. I brought my camera so I do have some pics. I'll post these later this week. The show was fun as usual, but the company reps were the best part!
3. I'm still trying to decide what to do with my life.
4. I'm preparing for a Japanese profiency exam. May or may not pass it.
5. I filmed a short promotional video for Narita Airport. This video takes the viewer on a tour of my town, stopping at the all the highlights, including the hill by my house, the town dump, the crazy man next door to me, the town office, and some flowers.
Seriously, we tour a couple museums, some historical burial mounds, and a temple. I get to introduce it all in Japanese and English. That was a pain, but I'm glad I did it. Memorizing a Japanese speech and saying it to yourself is one thing. Repeating it in front of a camera crew is another!
This video will be shown at the Airport on those large screens in the waiting area. So all the people whose flight was cancelled and are forced to wait, will be able to watch me instead and get some amusement...as in "Who is that guy and why is he standing in front of a hill?"
6. I'm sure that there are other things, but I'm too tired to write them down, or I have forgotten them. If I think of them, I'll be sure to include it next time.
As always, keep in touch. Excelsior! ;)
8/29/2002
I have some sad news. I had always wanted these updates to be pretty upbeat, but the circumstances don't allow that today. I recently learned that one of my classmates from the summer class I attended was in a car accident last week and has passed away. Its really just horrible news. She was a very kind and caring person and I'm still in shock. It was only two weeks ago that we were all sitting at a bar, after the last day of class, feeling a little sad that it was over and we'd all be going on our separate ways. But I never would have thought that one of the ways that we would go, would be this.
It makes you think about life I suppose. How precious and short it can be. We take some things for granted and for many, this is one of them. I don't know why I'm writing this here, not many people will see it, but I guess its kind of a way for me to let out a little feelings. I feel that I should write more, but at this point, I think I'm still in shock. I can't really think straight about it, and something inside me, keeps telling me that it didn't really happen.
But it has.
8/20/2002
Ok, it has been a while, hasn't it. So many things have happened, I don't even know where to start. Just the high points I suppose; 1: I extended my contract, so I'm staying until summer 2003. 2: One of my close friends from high school has gotten married. congrats Brian! 3: I took a Japanese class this summer in Tokyo. (Thanks Shane for letting me stay at your place). 4: I started writing a bimonthly column in the the town newsletter..sorta like dear Abby, but I don't give advice. ;) Seriously, I just write about anything that interests me in Japan. If you think I should talk about something in particular, let me know.
Anyway, so what am I thinking about now...well, I'm getting over a cold..I was coughing quite a bit and I had a sore throat. Thanks to Shane for putting up with me. I met a lot of great new people while I was here in Tokyo, and I'm sad that we are all leaving. I'll miss hanging out with all of you.
As I have bought a new digi cam, I'll be able to post pics online more easily, but I'm afraid I'll run out of space soon, so if anyone knows a good place to store things online, let me know.
oh, I went to a club called "Code" last weekend in Tokyo. It wasn't very good, but I got to go with some cute girls from Taiwan/China.
I've been playing a little more basketball lately. In the last tournament I played in, I played in 2 games for about 16 minutes
(total) and had 6 points, and 8 fouls. Pretty good eh? j/k. I actually hit some guys face with my shoulder! He was hurt, as well as my arm, as I had difficulty in lifting it. The trooper I am, I pressed on and played, and got a charging foul next time down the court. This time, I knocked over a guy with a forearm shiver. I expect my playing time can only increase, as the captain sees what great hussle I have! ;)
next time eh?
2/13/2002
Is it only fitting that I write this now? The school year here in Japan has finished (for somet students that is) and all the third year students have graduated and moved on. The ceremony was held yesterday and many students, as well as teachers, shed tears openly and freely.
The second and first year students still roam the halls, preparing for their final test of the year. There's only a week and a half technically lef ti n the school year for them.
The ceremony was about 3 hours long for my school of 300 students (119 graduating 3rd years). There was plenty of standing and sitting, bowing and singing, and lots of speeches. An interesting note is that the first and second years attend the ceremony, while at least at my schools, they wouldn't have.
So yesterday, yearbooks were signed, and pictures were taken. The day was over. As I returned to school today, my feelings were mixed. I suppose I'm happy that they moved on and such, but I'm also very meloncholy and sad. I walked to the third floor and obviously found it completely empty. They had moved on.
Some students, I will sincerely miss. They were really great kids. Fun, and energetic, and in actuality, very nice people. The language barrier sucks, and I wish we could have communicated easier, but somethings don't necessitate spoken langauge. There were many, many times, I wished I was still a student, along side them, because I think we could really have been good friends. Some people you click with, and some you don't.
Some students, I will miss, but not nearly as much. And other students, well, I can't even remember their names. That has nothing to do with them, but more to do with me, as I find it hard to remember names in general and Japanese names aren't helping me any.
And so it ends. My first term of teaching English here in Shibayama. I know now how hard it will be to leave when my time finally comes next year. I will miss the students, and yes, I will even miss my town.
Later.
My life
I live in Shibayama Machi, which is a very small rural town of about 8,500 people. I'm about 20 minutes from Narita Airport, which if you ever come to Japan, you'll probably pass through. (Other than Narita, there is Kansai, but thats pretty far away. So come through Narita and I can see you!!!)
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