not much to report, in fact a huge lack of things to report.
work is in a rut, although my kids classes seem to doing
better as far as teaching them. the business part is really
just a thorn in my side, super obnoxious. that's life, more
and more often i find myself counting down the days until
July. Funny how things always get into that sort of a pace.
like i said a huge nothing about nothing. So i'll default to
the usual. The Wii is super cool and i highly reccomend it
to anyone and everyone.
that'll do, time to go
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Monday, December 11, 2006
shout out from the land of the little people
that is supposed to be referring to Ireland, but Jo kinda missed it
she's ok though, she's testing her Wii Sports fitness level, talking
back to the machine and cursing up a storm as she can't quite pick
off that spare in bowling.
anyway, back to the whole point of this blog:
I hate Verizon Wireless. When i had them i could never pay my bills
or do anything useful online, then when i made sure to cancel before
they automatically renewed my contract by asking the customer
service women 4 times that it would be ok and i wouldn't be charged
after my termination date, i got a bill for the next month, and then i called
to make sure that it was a mistake, and after an hour or so on the line it was
worked out, or so i thought until the same bill came the next month
again a phone call and much wasted time, i resolved it, think they gave me $5
credit. they are still jerks.
which brings me to the real point: Verizon Wireless are jerks
click this link and listen to this guys struggle to explain that he's being
wrongly charged, its the difference between a fraction of a dollar and
a fraction of a cent. check it out, it's long but worth listening to the whole thing
Verizon Wireless are jerks
now i need to give a shout out to the man who brought this to my attention
Thank you Damien Conlon!!
peace.
this stories also on Slashdot
by the way, juice and Bush
what are your Wii numbers
my little Wii plaza is so lonely its just jo and i
and this other guy i made up to add to the mix
dave = 2646 0218 8983 8991
she's ok though, she's testing her Wii Sports fitness level, talking
back to the machine and cursing up a storm as she can't quite pick
off that spare in bowling.
anyway, back to the whole point of this blog:
I hate Verizon Wireless. When i had them i could never pay my bills
or do anything useful online, then when i made sure to cancel before
they automatically renewed my contract by asking the customer
service women 4 times that it would be ok and i wouldn't be charged
after my termination date, i got a bill for the next month, and then i called
to make sure that it was a mistake, and after an hour or so on the line it was
worked out, or so i thought until the same bill came the next month
again a phone call and much wasted time, i resolved it, think they gave me $5
credit. they are still jerks.
which brings me to the real point: Verizon Wireless are jerks
click this link and listen to this guys struggle to explain that he's being
wrongly charged, its the difference between a fraction of a dollar and
a fraction of a cent. check it out, it's long but worth listening to the whole thing
Verizon Wireless are jerks
now i need to give a shout out to the man who brought this to my attention
Thank you Damien Conlon!!
peace.
this stories also on Slashdot
by the way, juice and Bush
what are your Wii numbers
my little Wii plaza is so lonely its just jo and i
and this other guy i made up to add to the mix
dave = 2646 0218 8983 8991
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Monday, December 04, 2006
wii
so, thanks to multiple people, sister and parents
my wii is in Nagoya, great news.
bad news is that work wasn't open when the fed-ex guy came around
so they left a notice and by the time I found out it was too late to get it
on Monday. which is ok considering it wasn't supposed to be delivered
till tomorrow, tues Dec 5.
first class is 1230 and last class ends at 9, then it'll be playtime.
should be a fun night
take care all
my wii is in Nagoya, great news.
bad news is that work wasn't open when the fed-ex guy came around
so they left a notice and by the time I found out it was too late to get it
on Monday. which is ok considering it wasn't supposed to be delivered
till tomorrow, tues Dec 5.
first class is 1230 and last class ends at 9, then it'll be playtime.
should be a fun night
take care all
Saturday, November 25, 2006
new rules
starting now you need to register in order to post a comment
don't worry, its free and quick and easy, its just that i dont really
want to hear about how anonymous made $900 dollars last month
on some spam scheme, there wont be any room for anonymous.
so it's easy, click the comments link at the bottom of the post
then click the sign up button, or sign in using a google account
and wallah. its all set and i get to know who is leaving the
comment at the sametime, sorry if this is a pain, but
too bad ^o^
don't worry, its free and quick and easy, its just that i dont really
want to hear about how anonymous made $900 dollars last month
on some spam scheme, there wont be any room for anonymous.
so it's easy, click the comments link at the bottom of the post
then click the sign up button, or sign in using a google account
and wallah. its all set and i get to know who is leaving the
comment at the sametime, sorry if this is a pain, but
too bad ^o^
so a certain clare said
===================================
so dave, you know i am just back from your home country ( it says hello by the way) and for all those in new york im sorry if there is nothing left in the shops !!. when we were there it was the run up to thanksgiving, is that something you would have celibrated at home and did you carry on the tradition in Japan ?
===================================
now at home, home being in WI, id goto various relatives' houses and enjoy the feasts that they prepared, if i were in MA id partake in the feast that myself and my amigos had prepared, both amzzing experiences , in japan on the other hand, as there is no turkey as well as no ovens in which to cook them, a small group of Aeon staff etc went to the Outback Stekahouse in Sakae
i know its seems pretty lame, but it was a good time and i had BBQ chicken and a half rack of ribs and some chips ( fries) over all a good time. so hope that takes care of it for you clare, but essentially, as soon as it was halloween it was christmas here as far as the locals are concerned
a certain qualiajunie said
==================================
i looked at the video, and well, why?
thats really all ive got,..... is why?
3 guys banging on old household appliances
correction, 1 guy with a guitar and 2 guys on
appliances, very strange, but comical none the less
and i wonder who taped it as it seemed to be in a studio
so maybe Mr. qualiajunkie can enlighten us....?
regardless, it was great to hear form you A!!!
keep me posted on the Euro events to come!
a DJ N had this
=========================================
DJ N- is picking the bones out of the Turkey broth, just as Renumerator taught him two years ago at 250. But DJ N- has revised the method slightly--by using chopsticks, he can pick out all of the unwanted parts without getting his hands elbow deep in turkey grease. Despite now having a European girlfriend instead of an Asian girlfriend, DJ N- is still very proficient with chopsticks.
Much of the Turkey was consumed yesterday, along with homemade pita bread, Tabouleh, and other traditional multicultural thanksgiving dishes. This was followed by a long night of playing Wii sports, followed by a severe case of Tennis elbow by certain participants.
DJ N- has lately been craving Mr. A's Chili, and would like to know how it's made.
==========================================
1st off, why do you get a Wii and Wii sports and I dont???
well i guess its cuz im in japan and they dont release the Wii till DEC
fair enough.
chopsticks / hashi rock the world, no doubt
take core of that there tennis elbow DJ N
and play some Rayman Raving Rabbids,
it looks uber super duper awesome
style
peace, and keep em comin,
===================================
so dave, you know i am just back from your home country ( it says hello by the way) and for all those in new york im sorry if there is nothing left in the shops !!. when we were there it was the run up to thanksgiving, is that something you would have celibrated at home and did you carry on the tradition in Japan ?
===================================
now at home, home being in WI, id goto various relatives' houses and enjoy the feasts that they prepared, if i were in MA id partake in the feast that myself and my amigos had prepared, both amzzing experiences , in japan on the other hand, as there is no turkey as well as no ovens in which to cook them, a small group of Aeon staff etc went to the Outback Stekahouse in Sakae
i know its seems pretty lame, but it was a good time and i had BBQ chicken and a half rack of ribs and some chips ( fries) over all a good time. so hope that takes care of it for you clare, but essentially, as soon as it was halloween it was christmas here as far as the locals are concerned
a certain qualiajunie said
==================================
Davey, I;m up in Maine. It's getting cold. As always, questioning life, and it has given precious few answers. We had friendsgiving last weekend. It was nice, but missing some key people. You should meet me and potter in europe this summer.
Ok, you should see this video if you haven't already.
http://youtube.com/results?search_query=Hurra+Torpedo&search=Search
A~
i looked at the video, and well, why?
thats really all ive got,..... is why?
3 guys banging on old household appliances
correction, 1 guy with a guitar and 2 guys on
appliances, very strange, but comical none the less
and i wonder who taped it as it seemed to be in a studio
so maybe Mr. qualiajunkie can enlighten us....?
regardless, it was great to hear form you A!!!
keep me posted on the Euro events to come!
a DJ N had this
=========================================
DJ N- is picking the bones out of the Turkey broth, just as Renumerator taught him two years ago at 250. But DJ N- has revised the method slightly--by using chopsticks, he can pick out all of the unwanted parts without getting his hands elbow deep in turkey grease. Despite now having a European girlfriend instead of an Asian girlfriend, DJ N- is still very proficient with chopsticks.
Much of the Turkey was consumed yesterday, along with homemade pita bread, Tabouleh, and other traditional multicultural thanksgiving dishes. This was followed by a long night of playing Wii sports, followed by a severe case of Tennis elbow by certain participants.
DJ N- has lately been craving Mr. A's Chili, and would like to know how it's made.
==========================================
1st off, why do you get a Wii and Wii sports and I dont???
well i guess its cuz im in japan and they dont release the Wii till DEC
fair enough.
chopsticks / hashi rock the world, no doubt
take core of that there tennis elbow DJ N
and play some Rayman Raving Rabbids,
it looks uber super duper awesome
style
peace, and keep em comin,
Friday, November 24, 2006
i double dog dare you
so, the fun part about this blog is you get to learn about me
what i'm doing,. where i am, me me me me, blah
I'm sick of me, so start leaving comments about YOU YOU YOU
i dare you
what i'm doing,. where i am, me me me me, blah
I'm sick of me, so start leaving comments about YOU YOU YOU
i dare you
question from renumerator 42
so! one renumerator42 had this :
============================
Davey! What's the weather like? Is it getting cold there? In the old days it was all rice paper walls and charcoal braziers, but I'm sure that's different now. Do you freeze your butt off all the time? Have you seen any cherry orchards and been to the cherry blossom things? (guess that probably happens in the spring).
============================
first, lately its been basically sunny, but it has been getting colder and its been averaging 11 deg C
roughly 50 deg F, so not too bad yet, especially if you were raised in the middle of WI, its nice actually.
Having said that, there is a huge difference between Japanese housing and American, INSULATION, not much in my apartment building, so that means night gets cold
for those of you who know, its like 250 state and then some worse, but i have 2
mega thick blankets and nothing has gotten through em so far, im trying to see how long
i can put off using the heat, yeh, stupid i know, but whatever
so thats that on the current temperature situation
on to the spring bit, yes cherry blossom viewing does happen in the spring
it's called はなみ for those of you who dont see the japanese hiragana
its ha-na-mi, means cherry blossom viewing parties etc. if you've ever been
to Washington DC and seen the cherry blossoms, well, they were a gift from Japan
and its a big deal here and i intend to get in on the fun next spring, We arrived in April
and thats towards the end of the hanami season.
but we did get a nice bit at Nagoya Castle on our first day in japan
i know its not the best picture, i'd recommend checking jo's photos
they are beautiful andits great weather.
I've touched on the fact that the Japanese work hard, but they do know
how to kick back and really enjoy life.
so, that was fun, please keep the questions coming, that way, you get to hear things you want
to hear,
SO COMMENT, i won't quote your name if you dont want to
even silly questions could be fun, ask me stuff, why not
its good times! rock out
============================
Davey! What's the weather like? Is it getting cold there? In the old days it was all rice paper walls and charcoal braziers, but I'm sure that's different now. Do you freeze your butt off all the time? Have you seen any cherry orchards and been to the cherry blossom things? (guess that probably happens in the spring).
============================
first, lately its been basically sunny, but it has been getting colder and its been averaging 11 deg C
roughly 50 deg F, so not too bad yet, especially if you were raised in the middle of WI, its nice actually.
Having said that, there is a huge difference between Japanese housing and American, INSULATION, not much in my apartment building, so that means night gets cold
for those of you who know, its like 250 state and then some worse, but i have 2
mega thick blankets and nothing has gotten through em so far, im trying to see how long
i can put off using the heat, yeh, stupid i know, but whatever
so thats that on the current temperature situation
on to the spring bit, yes cherry blossom viewing does happen in the spring
it's called はなみ for those of you who dont see the japanese hiragana
its ha-na-mi, means cherry blossom viewing parties etc. if you've ever been
to Washington DC and seen the cherry blossoms, well, they were a gift from Japan
and its a big deal here and i intend to get in on the fun next spring, We arrived in April
and thats towards the end of the hanami season.
but we did get a nice bit at Nagoya Castle on our first day in japan
i know its not the best picture, i'd recommend checking jo's photos
they are beautiful andits great weather.
I've touched on the fact that the Japanese work hard, but they do know
how to kick back and really enjoy life.
so, that was fun, please keep the questions coming, that way, you get to hear things you want
to hear,
SO COMMENT, i won't quote your name if you dont want to
even silly questions could be fun, ask me stuff, why not
its good times! rock out
Sunday, November 19, 2006
jingle
Look kids! it's dave's amazon.com wishlists,
yeah there are more than one, a different one
for each platform, i should say that i dont have
an xbox 360, ps3, or a wii, so i guess you should ignore those
i do have a ds!
happy hunting!
I'm not expecting anything, but its fun anyway!
and dont forget to sort by priority!
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Talia, who i know from back in the day at Hampshire
asked
"ok so heres a cultural question. youre teaching younger kids, right, like elementary school? what are the school like over there? I taught K-6 here for a year and im curious to know...."
funny you ask, im in an after school type conversation school so its nothing like the real deal
but i am teaching an elementary school math teacher "english @ work" for school teachers
so i have a bit of an idea,
==========================================================================
disclaimer::: this is my opinion/what ive
figured out and may not be at all true or real
==========================================================================
first and maybe coolest, all the kids get colored hats, like yellow or green or pink or baby blue
it corresponds to their class and they wear them when they walk to and from school, its cute
especially when you see a huge group on the train, sometimes they say hello and giggle when
you respond, japanese kids = uber cute.
and as i learned most schools in japan have pools, they teach swimming in pe during the summer
how cool is that. the school day is pretty early and afterwards kids either have clubs (baseball drama soccer etc)
or goto JUKU (cram school) to prep for school exams which they take to get into the next level of schooling
basic subjects are math, history, home ec, japanese (sometimes Kanji, the cool characters that camefrom china, sometimes
writing/composition) english (focus on grammar and i think often memorizing, not speaking so much)
they have test weeks where everyday multiple subjects are testing and the kids work really really hard
some kids do real school then juku then english conversation then school clubs then home homework tv or games and bed
average up time that ive gathered from my students is 6 and bedtime is about 11, and its pretty go go go during the day
the school week is mon-fri but most kids have clubs juku or english on saturdays
they love their tests and even the youngsters come in to take the jr step, an english measure test
i know this seems like they are all work and no ply but that's far from the truth,
that being said, when you ride the train, adults and students alike are more often than not
passed out asleep, even when standing
back to schools, im terrible at remembering how its laid out but you've got
grades, and jr high, high school and then college/uni
the STEP test is huge here, it measures your ability with English
and step 2 is the big miilestone, there are 7 levels: 5,4,3,pre2,2,pre1,1
5 is the easiest and 1 is college/university level
at level 3, i think, there are 2 parts a written and an interview
its pretty intense
on the flip side there's my school, which is an english prep school
we specialize in conversation but do offer test prep etc
its basic, we do infant through anyone classes
at one point my youngest student was 2
and in december i will have a class of 4 1 somethings and their mothers
for adults we have 2 options, grammar or conversation
i teach 30/40/50 min lessons
today i talked about making complaints, asking where you are going, world religions
nuclear power and its place in the world, " if i were you i'd...", questions with do
and adverbs of frequency, expressing feelings and... that was it for today
youngest student was maybe 8 oldest maybe in their 40's/50's
im not sure if that helped or not, but i hope it did.
ask more questions and get more answers
this is kinda fun!!
asked
"ok so heres a cultural question. youre teaching younger kids, right, like elementary school? what are the school like over there? I taught K-6 here for a year and im curious to know...."
funny you ask, im in an after school type conversation school so its nothing like the real deal
but i am teaching an elementary school math teacher "english @ work" for school teachers
so i have a bit of an idea,
==========================================================================
disclaimer::: this is my opinion/what ive
figured out and may not be at all true or real
==========================================================================
first and maybe coolest, all the kids get colored hats, like yellow or green or pink or baby blue
it corresponds to their class and they wear them when they walk to and from school, its cute
especially when you see a huge group on the train, sometimes they say hello and giggle when
you respond, japanese kids = uber cute.
and as i learned most schools in japan have pools, they teach swimming in pe during the summer
how cool is that. the school day is pretty early and afterwards kids either have clubs (baseball drama soccer etc)
or goto JUKU (cram school) to prep for school exams which they take to get into the next level of schooling
basic subjects are math, history, home ec, japanese (sometimes Kanji, the cool characters that camefrom china, sometimes
writing/composition) english (focus on grammar and i think often memorizing, not speaking so much)
they have test weeks where everyday multiple subjects are testing and the kids work really really hard
some kids do real school then juku then english conversation then school clubs then home homework tv or games and bed
average up time that ive gathered from my students is 6 and bedtime is about 11, and its pretty go go go during the day
the school week is mon-fri but most kids have clubs juku or english on saturdays
they love their tests and even the youngsters come in to take the jr step, an english measure test
i know this seems like they are all work and no ply but that's far from the truth,
that being said, when you ride the train, adults and students alike are more often than not
passed out asleep, even when standing
back to schools, im terrible at remembering how its laid out but you've got
grades, and jr high, high school and then college/uni
the STEP test is huge here, it measures your ability with English
and step 2 is the big miilestone, there are 7 levels: 5,4,3,pre2,2,pre1,1
5 is the easiest and 1 is college/university level
at level 3, i think, there are 2 parts a written and an interview
its pretty intense
on the flip side there's my school, which is an english prep school
we specialize in conversation but do offer test prep etc
its basic, we do infant through anyone classes
at one point my youngest student was 2
and in december i will have a class of 4 1 somethings and their mothers
for adults we have 2 options, grammar or conversation
i teach 30/40/50 min lessons
today i talked about making complaints, asking where you are going, world religions
nuclear power and its place in the world, " if i were you i'd...", questions with do
and adverbs of frequency, expressing feelings and... that was it for today
youngest student was maybe 8 oldest maybe in their 40's/50's
im not sure if that helped or not, but i hope it did.
ask more questions and get more answers
this is kinda fun!!
Friday, November 17, 2006
say what?
so a certain Ms... wait a second, i do believe she's married now...
anyway a Mrs. Seidel, stated that she checks this ole blog out
fairly often,
well then, who else checks this thing?
ever hear of leaving comments???? well you should
in fact please leave questions for me about Japan
food, drink, clothes, karaoke, customs, language
ANYTHING, especially since no one's ever going to visit
leave question, its always good to hear from people
anyway a Mrs. Seidel, stated that she checks this ole blog out
fairly often,
well then, who else checks this thing?
ever hear of leaving comments???? well you should
in fact please leave questions for me about Japan
food, drink, clothes, karaoke, customs, language
ANYTHING, especially since no one's ever going to visit
leave question, its always good to hear from people
Thursday, November 16, 2006
dave = slacker
i know i know iknow,
its been ages since a post of any real quality
and it may be ages more
short: we went to osaka 2 weeks ago
it rocked, check joes blog for the skinny
and go here for my pictures
Osaka pictures
its been ages since a post of any real quality
and it may be ages more
short: we went to osaka 2 weeks ago
it rocked, check joes blog for the skinny
and go here for my pictures
Osaka pictures
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Monday, October 30, 2006
2 words ON SEN
some of you may not know about the world of Japanese
ONSEN!
and its too bad. at the most basic level its like a bath house
but so much more.
On the last Saturday of each month some friends of ours who own a
Chinese restaurant throw a party and its always a great time.
At some point, i think around midnight the idea of going to an onsen
came up, and we piled into the car and off we went
it was great.
first i went into the sauna area that was furnishes with plush soft
carpet rugs and a massive plasma screen tv, i watched soccer, then i
went outside into the open air pools, there were hot, around 40c/100f
then i got up and went back inside and took a refreshing sit down in the
26c/78f pool before trying the 16c/60f and who could forget the room where i
almost passed out and took a nap. it was dark, nice traditional japanese music
a flat rock bed with a lump for your kneck that had warm water running under you
from head to toe
wow
after that i sat down at one of the washing stations and then headed out
where Satoshi and i got a beer from the vending machine and waited for everyone else to get out.
the onsen would have cost 750yen/$6.30 but one of the other guys bought us all tickets.
a great way to spend an evening
ONSEN!
and its too bad. at the most basic level its like a bath house
but so much more.
On the last Saturday of each month some friends of ours who own a
Chinese restaurant throw a party and its always a great time.
At some point, i think around midnight the idea of going to an onsen
came up, and we piled into the car and off we went
it was great.
first i went into the sauna area that was furnishes with plush soft
carpet rugs and a massive plasma screen tv, i watched soccer, then i
went outside into the open air pools, there were hot, around 40c/100f
then i got up and went back inside and took a refreshing sit down in the
26c/78f pool before trying the 16c/60f and who could forget the room where i
almost passed out and took a nap. it was dark, nice traditional japanese music
a flat rock bed with a lump for your kneck that had warm water running under you
from head to toe
wow
after that i sat down at one of the washing stations and then headed out
where Satoshi and i got a beer from the vending machine and waited for everyone else to get out.
the onsen would have cost 750yen/$6.30 but one of the other guys bought us all tickets.
a great way to spend an evening
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
toyota
work to do, halloween costumes to get ready,
so heres a quicklink to some of the photos from the visit to Toyota City
Toyota Pics
so heres a quicklink to some of the photos from the visit to Toyota City
Toyota Pics
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
spoonman or crazy men with nukes
one of those days really, i'm sick, busy, behind on all that i should be caught up with
have done a complete lack of a scrap of work tonight after work,
just dont want to give in to letting it rule my waking hours again.
the news isnt really comforting, North Korea is equipped to a certian exent and
will retaliate, how did they put it, with merciless blows. and since Japan just happens to
be one of the countries that is A) really close, B) imposing additional sanctions to that of
the UN. Just lets me sleep a little better i guess.
i'm sure itll all work out for the best and worst case, well not really worst case
becuase enough pop-culture knowledge mixed with science has led me to not
really look to the actual worst case. well a flight from NGO to chicago is only 2.5 grand
doubt itll come to that.
guess this is part of the fun, if the us would for some reason decide that it wasnt safe for americans here
then id most likely be the hell out, but i dont know if the irish would do similiar things, this is really just a
rant of the late night exhaustion.
in brighter news, tomorrow ill start my language partner exhange thing,
basically ill help someone with english and theyll help me with japanese
which should be good, im nervous because her English is well above that of my japanese
she's at the level where she can talk about most anything
whereas im limited to hobbies likes and oh wait i cant remember because i forgot everything i
might have learned so far!
hah!
good morning
have done a complete lack of a scrap of work tonight after work,
just dont want to give in to letting it rule my waking hours again.
the news isnt really comforting, North Korea is equipped to a certian exent and
will retaliate, how did they put it, with merciless blows. and since Japan just happens to
be one of the countries that is A) really close, B) imposing additional sanctions to that of
the UN. Just lets me sleep a little better i guess.
i'm sure itll all work out for the best and worst case, well not really worst case
becuase enough pop-culture knowledge mixed with science has led me to not
really look to the actual worst case. well a flight from NGO to chicago is only 2.5 grand
doubt itll come to that.
guess this is part of the fun, if the us would for some reason decide that it wasnt safe for americans here
then id most likely be the hell out, but i dont know if the irish would do similiar things, this is really just a
rant of the late night exhaustion.
in brighter news, tomorrow ill start my language partner exhange thing,
basically ill help someone with english and theyll help me with japanese
which should be good, im nervous because her English is well above that of my japanese
she's at the level where she can talk about most anything
whereas im limited to hobbies likes and oh wait i cant remember because i forgot everything i
might have learned so far!
hah!
good morning
Saturday, October 14, 2006
sickness
so the cold/allergies are still being obnoxious
but seem to be fading a bit
life her is the same old story for the most part,
starting next week weds ill be spending time after work
to work on my japanese in a language partner type thing
i help with english they help with japanese, should be fun, but im nervous because
i cant speak much japanese, especially conversationally
i can answer some choice questions, but not much for coffee talk etc
so that should be fun, there should be some pics coming up, one of students
is taking jo and i to Toyota city to the Toyota motor company factory where
we get to see where the magic happens, also get to see their robots and future
concepts, should be a good time
until then i urge evyone to go here and watch the videos
Wii videos
who's excited I am
who missed the first wave of pre-orders? i did
oh well, life goes on!
but seem to be fading a bit
life her is the same old story for the most part,
starting next week weds ill be spending time after work
to work on my japanese in a language partner type thing
i help with english they help with japanese, should be fun, but im nervous because
i cant speak much japanese, especially conversationally
i can answer some choice questions, but not much for coffee talk etc
so that should be fun, there should be some pics coming up, one of students
is taking jo and i to Toyota city to the Toyota motor company factory where
we get to see where the magic happens, also get to see their robots and future
concepts, should be a good time
until then i urge evyone to go here and watch the videos
Wii videos
who's excited I am
who missed the first wave of pre-orders? i did
oh well, life goes on!
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
here's the deal
renewal has come and gone,
the verdict
four, more, months
and then i guess we'll see,
July it is.
lemme know what you think
the verdict
four, more, months
and then i guess we'll see,
July it is.
lemme know what you think
Monday, September 25, 2006
herecomesthefun
so,my_keyboard_is_broken,well_more_
specifically_the_space_bar,did_you_notice?
it's_a_huge_pain,obnoxious_hope_to_head_
to_the_applestore_in_Nagoya_this_week
and_see_what_my_options_are,not_cool.
on_an_up_note,went.to.Himeji,and.Kobe..today.Went>to.himeji>
Castle,the..onecastle,you,should..see.if.you.cometo.japan
apparently,don't,,worry,family,inuyama,is,a,national,
treause,and,,so,you..werent.cheated,,,toomuchcc
hahaha if i press really hard i get spaces,sweet
anyway,ill beworkingongettingthepictures up, guess its stilla little tricky.
moresoon,
did imention the Wii will launch with wii sports for $249.99, brilliant!
specifically_the_space_bar,did_you_notice?
it's_a_huge_pain,obnoxious_hope_to_head_
to_the_applestore_in_Nagoya_this_week
and_see_what_my_options_are,not_cool.
on_an_up_note,went.to.Himeji,and.Kobe..today.Went>to.himeji>
Castle,the..onecastle,you,should..see.if.you.cometo.japan
apparently,don't,,worry,family,inuyama,is,a,national,
treause,and,,so,you..werent.cheated,,,toomuchcc
hahaha if i press really hard i get spaces,sweet
anyway,ill beworkingongettingthepictures up, guess its stilla little tricky.
moresoon,
did imention the Wii will launch with wii sports for $249.99, brilliant!
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
out of touch
so it's been a while, not much has been going on here though
apparently the typhoons have killed a handful of people down south
our weather here in the Nagoya area has been pretty mild
Jo and i have booked the first portion of our christmas vacation to Okinawa
Sony has messed up their production schedule on the ps3
Nintendo is still on track for the awesomeness that will be the Wii
oddly enough being released stateside weeks before in Japan
serves em right!
be sure to check out this article if you are interested, even you arent interested
Wii article
and also be sure to get teh skinny from Nintendo at Wii
this things is going to be cool.
aw heck, while im on the rant, other cool nintedo things
DS games not for the typical gamer:
Trauma Center
Cooking Mama
Brain Age
japanes English phrasebook
pretty cool really
anyway the point of this post was to say that i got a renewal offer today
so ther'll be some negotiating to see if the wedding plans fit, and then there'll be a decision
by Oct 3rd.
apparently the typhoons have killed a handful of people down south
our weather here in the Nagoya area has been pretty mild
Jo and i have booked the first portion of our christmas vacation to Okinawa
Sony has messed up their production schedule on the ps3
Nintendo is still on track for the awesomeness that will be the Wii
oddly enough being released stateside weeks before in Japan
serves em right!
be sure to check out this article if you are interested, even you arent interested
Wii article
and also be sure to get teh skinny from Nintendo at Wii
this things is going to be cool.
aw heck, while im on the rant, other cool nintedo things
DS games not for the typical gamer:
Trauma Center
Cooking Mama
Brain Age
japanes English phrasebook
pretty cool really
anyway the point of this post was to say that i got a renewal offer today
so ther'll be some negotiating to see if the wedding plans fit, and then there'll be a decision
by Oct 3rd.
out of touch
so it's been a while, not much has been going on here though
apparently the typhoons have killed a handful of people down south
our weather here in the Nagoya area has been pretty mild
Jo and i have booked the first portion of our christmas vacation to Okinawa
Sony has messed up their production schedule on the ps3
Nintendo is still on track for the awesomeness that will be the Wii
oddly enough being released stateside weeks before in Japan
serves em right!
be sure to check out this article if you are interested, even you arent interested
Wii article
and also be sure to get teh skinny from Nintendo at Wii
this things is going to be cool.
aw heck, while im on the rant, other cool nintedo things
DS games not for the typical gamer:
Trauma Center
Cooking Mama
Brain Age
japanes English phrasebook
pretty cool really
anyway the point of this post was to say that i got a renewal offer today
so ther'll be some negotiating to see if the wedding plans fit, and then there'll be a decision
by Oct 3rd.
apparently the typhoons have killed a handful of people down south
our weather here in the Nagoya area has been pretty mild
Jo and i have booked the first portion of our christmas vacation to Okinawa
Sony has messed up their production schedule on the ps3
Nintendo is still on track for the awesomeness that will be the Wii
oddly enough being released stateside weeks before in Japan
serves em right!
be sure to check out this article if you are interested, even you arent interested
Wii article
and also be sure to get teh skinny from Nintendo at Wii
this things is going to be cool.
aw heck, while im on the rant, other cool nintedo things
DS games not for the typical gamer:
Trauma Center
Cooking Mama
Brain Age
japanes English phrasebook
pretty cool really
anyway the point of this post was to say that i got a renewal offer today
so ther'll be some negotiating to see if the wedding plans fit, and then there'll be a decision
by Oct 3rd.
renewal
quick note to all you junkies readin at odd hours,
I got a contract renewal offer today...
one more year...?
I got a contract renewal offer today...
one more year...?
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
burrito
chilpotle, moes, bueno eat your heart out
i have black beans and cayenne peper
and i have tasty
to be honest, all of the above taste much better than mine right now,
but i dont care much about that
jo and i have booked the first part of our Dec/ jan trip, form Nagoya to Okinawa
should be fun once we get the rest of it taken care of
right now the plan is to fly into Naha kick it in okinawa city for a day and then head south ish to the smaller islands
see some jungle, some coolness and relax
maybe hole up in a beach hut and hopefully sip some form of fruity tropical alcohol
who knows.
in other news, renewal is coming up, and the closer it gets
the less i get more sure about a plan either way
@ work things are good, bar some issues that will go unmentioned here so i dont get canned
what else
i guess football is starting soonish
oh yeah, i found ultimate in the nagoya area i think, the website is old
and japanese juts for kicks
but ive emialed a few people about it
i found out by going to an Aeon bbq with jo,
i pulled out a disc to throw
and one of the students comes and asks me if i play ultimate
halelula lalalalala!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
cool guy, hes a deep
we threw it was quite refreshing
just like riding a bike, throwing is
good deal nonetheless
well its on to a night of video games another burrito and some japanese study
"whoeveryouare" san, tanjobi wa itsu deska
peace
i have black beans and cayenne peper
and i have tasty
to be honest, all of the above taste much better than mine right now,
but i dont care much about that
jo and i have booked the first part of our Dec/ jan trip, form Nagoya to Okinawa
should be fun once we get the rest of it taken care of
right now the plan is to fly into Naha kick it in okinawa city for a day and then head south ish to the smaller islands
see some jungle, some coolness and relax
maybe hole up in a beach hut and hopefully sip some form of fruity tropical alcohol
who knows.
in other news, renewal is coming up, and the closer it gets
the less i get more sure about a plan either way
@ work things are good, bar some issues that will go unmentioned here so i dont get canned
what else
i guess football is starting soonish
oh yeah, i found ultimate in the nagoya area i think, the website is old
and japanese juts for kicks
but ive emialed a few people about it
i found out by going to an Aeon bbq with jo,
i pulled out a disc to throw
and one of the students comes and asks me if i play ultimate
halelula lalalalala!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
cool guy, hes a deep
we threw it was quite refreshing
just like riding a bike, throwing is
good deal nonetheless
well its on to a night of video games another burrito and some japanese study
"whoeveryouare" san, tanjobi wa itsu deska
peace
Sunday, August 27, 2006
jet li
just finished watching a movie, so what you say
well it was in Chinese with only japanese subtitles as an option
no use
so it was fearless/ spirit
pretty cool, the only time i understood much was when the japanese guy was speaking japanese
fun time, its worth watching, once it comes out in the states
out
well it was in Chinese with only japanese subtitles as an option
no use
so it was fearless/ spirit
pretty cool, the only time i understood much was when the japanese guy was speaking japanese
fun time, its worth watching, once it comes out in the states
out
Monday, August 21, 2006
nifty radio thing
http://www.pandora.com/
tell it one song and it makes a playlist/radio station based on attributes from the song, pretty cool
here's some photos from the famikly visit as well
click me now
who hates the Yankees?
i do
tell it one song and it makes a playlist/radio station based on attributes from the song, pretty cool
here's some photos from the famikly visit as well
click me now
who hates the Yankees?
i do
Friday, August 18, 2006
not much to add
as i stated before Joanne has done a wonderful job of running down the events of the Bon
i think its safe to say that my family enjoyed themselves, as did Jo and I
every vacation has its moments of fatigue crank and apathy
and this one was no different, that said
i wouldnt have rather spent my vacation in any other way
which leads me to my next question
who's next?
im near Nagoya click the link to the right that says Map of japan to see my proximity to Tokyo
its about 2 hr on the shinkansen, and if you want to visit check the Japan rail pass and save money
if you plan to travel
I'm here till April 07 at least, i dont have anymore real vacation time, there is a chunk in DEC/JAN but
Jo and I our making our plans, but hey, my place is still open to friends, its a good base.
Japan rocks
come get some
i think its safe to say that my family enjoyed themselves, as did Jo and I
every vacation has its moments of fatigue crank and apathy
and this one was no different, that said
i wouldnt have rather spent my vacation in any other way
which leads me to my next question
who's next?
im near Nagoya click the link to the right that says Map of japan to see my proximity to Tokyo
its about 2 hr on the shinkansen, and if you want to visit check the Japan rail pass and save money
if you plan to travel
I'm here till April 07 at least, i dont have anymore real vacation time, there is a chunk in DEC/JAN but
Jo and I our making our plans, but hey, my place is still open to friends, its a good base.
Japan rocks
come get some
Thursday, August 17, 2006
jo goes again
so the thomson's came, saw and are now on their way back to the states,
hope all goes well on the crazy skies.
for a grea review of the times, please go here
CLICK ME, I'm COOL
i know. ill get to my own original posting
but now im beat, and its bed time
peace out
hope all goes well on the crazy skies.
for a grea review of the times, please go here
CLICK ME, I'm COOL
i know. ill get to my own original posting
but now im beat, and its bed time
peace out
Sunday, August 06, 2006
weekend of the BON
actually i'm not so sure that's correct, but whatever.
after another wonderful saturday kickin it eigo no sensei style
i waited for jo to head over to the kanie west (actually east but oh well)
and then our good friend Mieko came to collect us and brought us to her house
for those of you who dont know, Mieko and Satoshi are a wonderful couple who
run a chugoku no restauran ( chinese restaurant) great food and great people
anyway, saturday night was a festivil in town, about 2 min from their house in fact,
so we spent a little time at the house and then were guuided down to the festival area where this giant boat equipped with a huge mast that supported a dome of 365 lanterns as well as tall ladder type that sported 12 of these lanterns, all glowing in the darkness. when it arrived the crowds were showered with candy and small lanterns
after the boat left we headed into the carnival style area where we got to catch the end of a drum show Taiko i think it may be called, and it was very very cool
after the festival we returned to the masters (satoshi) house and proceeded to eat drink and be merry, we had great english/japanese conversations with a couple of guys who work together,
one of which lived in LA for a number of months so he acted as the translator, poor fellow,
absolutely great people, great fun, got to eat some delicious noodles, clementines, prawns, and mollusks? not sure really, i just yanked em out of their shell and tried them, rather tasty actually
then there was tonight, which is still early, but jo and i went to the Inuyama festival
lot of food stalls, all of which smelled oishi (delicious) but we are doing tacos tonight!
it was kinda like a huge dance show with some really crazy acts, ranging from teeny girl pop routines to three drummers who were realy cool, two had these huge drums that they held onto as well as used a shoulder strap, they did all sorts of cool jumps and spins and got the crowd into it, and then the guys who fought with sticks came out and fought to the beat of the drummers' then the guy spun a basketball blindfolded and dribbled between his legs while sitting down and then they drummed some more and all these people came out and were dancing and it was fun!
wow
and now jo is out trying to rent V for Vendetta (i highly reccomend it) and we bought this massive can of beer,1520ml so about alitre and a half, but the cool thing is it has a little CO2 cartridge like the little ones you use in a paintball gun, so im guessing when whe open it we get to infuse it with the CO2, kinda like a guiness widget
damn this is long,
today is sunday, tomorrow is monday, and tuesday night, the fmaily will be in Nagoya
whoah.
time to start the tacos
jo should have some pictures up soon, so be sure to check her blog out
you should anyway, its far more collected and logical than mine
peace
http://jogoestojapan.blogspot.com/
after another wonderful saturday kickin it eigo no sensei style
i waited for jo to head over to the kanie west (actually east but oh well)
and then our good friend Mieko came to collect us and brought us to her house
for those of you who dont know, Mieko and Satoshi are a wonderful couple who
run a chugoku no restauran ( chinese restaurant) great food and great people
anyway, saturday night was a festivil in town, about 2 min from their house in fact,
so we spent a little time at the house and then were guuided down to the festival area where this giant boat equipped with a huge mast that supported a dome of 365 lanterns as well as tall ladder type that sported 12 of these lanterns, all glowing in the darkness. when it arrived the crowds were showered with candy and small lanterns
after the boat left we headed into the carnival style area where we got to catch the end of a drum show Taiko i think it may be called, and it was very very cool
after the festival we returned to the masters (satoshi) house and proceeded to eat drink and be merry, we had great english/japanese conversations with a couple of guys who work together,
one of which lived in LA for a number of months so he acted as the translator, poor fellow,
absolutely great people, great fun, got to eat some delicious noodles, clementines, prawns, and mollusks? not sure really, i just yanked em out of their shell and tried them, rather tasty actually
then there was tonight, which is still early, but jo and i went to the Inuyama festival
lot of food stalls, all of which smelled oishi (delicious) but we are doing tacos tonight!
it was kinda like a huge dance show with some really crazy acts, ranging from teeny girl pop routines to three drummers who were realy cool, two had these huge drums that they held onto as well as used a shoulder strap, they did all sorts of cool jumps and spins and got the crowd into it, and then the guys who fought with sticks came out and fought to the beat of the drummers' then the guy spun a basketball blindfolded and dribbled between his legs while sitting down and then they drummed some more and all these people came out and were dancing and it was fun!
wow
and now jo is out trying to rent V for Vendetta (i highly reccomend it) and we bought this massive can of beer,1520ml so about alitre and a half, but the cool thing is it has a little CO2 cartridge like the little ones you use in a paintball gun, so im guessing when whe open it we get to infuse it with the CO2, kinda like a guiness widget
damn this is long,
today is sunday, tomorrow is monday, and tuesday night, the fmaily will be in Nagoya
whoah.
time to start the tacos
jo should have some pictures up soon, so be sure to check her blog out
you should anyway, its far more collected and logical than mine
peace
http://jogoestojapan.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
hachi gatsu
August already,
time goes fast, sou desne(doesn't it)? I've learned some nihongo(Japanese), but it seems like not much
life moves on, shogunai(it can't be helped).
So this weekends outings included visiting the orchid garden in Nagoya,
I didnt have the old ka ma ra (camera) but luckily jo did
so look at the pretty pictures by clicking here
other than that things are the usuall, i got a library card, read The girl who loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
not bad
not exceptional, little girl's story of survival after getting lost on the AT in Maine
ok i think the rice is ready
peace
time goes fast, sou desne(doesn't it)? I've learned some nihongo(Japanese), but it seems like not much
life moves on, shogunai(it can't be helped).
So this weekends outings included visiting the orchid garden in Nagoya,
I didnt have the old ka ma ra (camera) but luckily jo did
so look at the pretty pictures by clicking here
other than that things are the usuall, i got a library card, read The girl who loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
not bad
not exceptional, little girl's story of survival after getting lost on the AT in Maine
ok i think the rice is ready
peace
Monday, July 24, 2006
Ise Jingu
the short story is walled off temple and shrine buildings that you try to see through trees and over fences, unless you happen to be part of the imperial family, or a priest, or a small group of those holy types. needless to say, we looked in from afar
the highlights were the lack of crowds and cool refuge from the hot sun, oh and the wildlife
for anymore information please click here
http://jogoestojapan.blogspot.com/
and just to prove i was there
the highlights were the lack of crowds and cool refuge from the hot sun, oh and the wildlife
for anymore information please click here
http://jogoestojapan.blogspot.com/
and just to prove i was there
Sunday, July 23, 2006
a spoon full of sugar
helps the absynthe go down! Step one, pour your absynthe, step two put sugar on a spoon and heat it till it melts, then dump stir and enjoy.
Oh, did i mention i had some of this too
that's right! there's a snake in that jar o whiskey. Also a ginger root and some seeds. HIs mouth has been pried open so the venom would get into the mix. Tasted like a strong almond whiskey.
Lets just say the night included drinking, fireworks and an 8am bedtime.
A local bar was closing so it was the closing festivities.
Oh, did i mention i had some of this too
that's right! there's a snake in that jar o whiskey. Also a ginger root and some seeds. HIs mouth has been pried open so the venom would get into the mix. Tasted like a strong almond whiskey.
Lets just say the night included drinking, fireworks and an 8am bedtime.
A local bar was closing so it was the closing festivities.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
rainy days
It's Friday today, and I'm pretty sure its been raining since Saturday. On the up side, its been nice and cool. Forecast looks like more rain at least through tuesday, and I thought the rainy season was over, oh well. I was supposed to get up early and go hand out pamphlets at a local high school, but thanks to the rain no dice. So i've just been relaxing in bed, looking at the news and staring into space. Jo and I are trying t othink of somewhere to go for the weekend. If I didnt have class on Sunday we'd probably go to Hiroshima, but it's a 2hr trek on the shinkansen, which kills a large chunk of time and there are closer options, just have to figure them out. At some point i hope we'll get out to do a hike near kyoto, its a 5 to 7 hour hike over rivers, past 8 waterfalls and through some rocky terrain, it sounds pretty fun. well, i guess i should get up and head into work, its my day to do the cleaning. Somehow i've managed to get ahead with my prepwork for Tomorrow and tuesday, so im not feeling too rushed, maybe ill go in and clean then come back home for a while. anyway, have a good day
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
days off
So Jo and I got our days in december approved. That means we'll have a good chunk of time off, i think its from the 24th to the 4th of jan, which means we will most likely be travelling. So far there are a couple of places on the table, Hokkaido, Okinawa, Thailand, Korea maybe China. Who knows. And its almost August, which means the family is getting ready to head out.
time to iron and goto work.
time to iron and goto work.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Knuckles?
Did liz nichols post a comment?
Did she pass her Div3?
Was she holed up for the past 8 months catching up on the past four years of slacking?
What is she doing now?
Did she pass her Div3?
Was she holed up for the past 8 months catching up on the past four years of slacking?
What is she doing now?
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
its hot
that's right, its really hot here, and humid, its crazy, stays around 83 even at midnight
i have a feeling the air conditioner may be put into effect soon
so heres a picture of one of my friends who lives outside my apartment
he's about the size of your head, honest
and there are a few of him kicking around, lots of turtles too
so
do you like frogs?
i have a feeling the air conditioner may be put into effect soon
so heres a picture of one of my friends who lives outside my apartment
he's about the size of your head, honest
and there are a few of him kicking around, lots of turtles too
so
do you like frogs?
Monday, July 10, 2006
house arrest
catchy title huh?
here's a quick note to give ya'll the heads up that i now have the internet at my apartment
go me!
and my nifty airport express is doing its job quite nicely, although, if anyone has any pointers on how
i can have a password on the signal, AND use my DS to connect to nintendo WIFI,
id greatly appreciate any ideas
anyway, laundry calls,
and i should prep breakfast and lunch
here's a quick note to give ya'll the heads up that i now have the internet at my apartment
go me!
and my nifty airport express is doing its job quite nicely, although, if anyone has any pointers on how
i can have a password on the signal, AND use my DS to connect to nintendo WIFI,
id greatly appreciate any ideas
anyway, laundry calls,
and i should prep breakfast and lunch
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
any questions
wow eeee
so i thought id be getting internet access at my apartment around the 5th, guess i was dreaming cuz its not until the 7th, rats
once i have it at home ill be messing with everyone trying to convince you to download gizmo and have a talky talk with good old dave-o-mate as my aussie friend germaine likes to call me.
i'm kind of in the mood for questions, doesn't anyone have any questions about Japan????? Not that i have all the answers, but hey i am living here, i'm still alive and not doing too bad.
so please ask.
Christina, i asked my students if they were interested in an email buddy and one has a few already, in and out of japan, she used to live in Kentucky so eh. but the other girl in the class seemed interested so ill give her your email and hopefully get hers. I would imagine that she'll be scared/shy to initiate contact. cool.
does branden (brandon?) read this how about your parents??
so from the topic of my little cousins
he has the xbox 360 (yes i know incorrect use of the article the, deal)
and a PSP
and its too bad, because NINTENDO owns the future of gaming end of story
DS is way way way better than the PSP
and the WIi will put the 360 to shame,
ok you still get halo 3 (and yes ill probably partake in such madness when it happens).
=================================
=================================
any way, back to the idea of QUESTIONS...
please ask, I work for an international "the man"
i teach English,
I live in a country where i dont speak most of the language
i eat crazy things
I want you to visit, but maybe you dont have the time / money
so ask me things, it'll be fun
and where's the Dolan contingent ?????
is it because i'm american???
watch it cuz the Thomson etc clan is like the yakuza,
hahahahahahaha
ok, so that is a total lie, had you for a second though
Yarrrrrr!
so the other weekend jo some japanese peeps and a trainer went to see da vinci code
its decent, as in sub par decent, but they could have made it worse.
i suppose this it me being out.
have to try to configure my airport express to work with my ds
its digital getdown time!
shane you better be reading and then you better get that reference
so i thought id be getting internet access at my apartment around the 5th, guess i was dreaming cuz its not until the 7th, rats
once i have it at home ill be messing with everyone trying to convince you to download gizmo and have a talky talk with good old dave-o-mate as my aussie friend germaine likes to call me.
i'm kind of in the mood for questions, doesn't anyone have any questions about Japan????? Not that i have all the answers, but hey i am living here, i'm still alive and not doing too bad.
so please ask.
Christina, i asked my students if they were interested in an email buddy and one has a few already, in and out of japan, she used to live in Kentucky so eh. but the other girl in the class seemed interested so ill give her your email and hopefully get hers. I would imagine that she'll be scared/shy to initiate contact. cool.
does branden (brandon?) read this how about your parents??
so from the topic of my little cousins
he has the xbox 360 (yes i know incorrect use of the article the, deal)
and a PSP
and its too bad, because NINTENDO owns the future of gaming end of story
DS is way way way better than the PSP
and the WIi will put the 360 to shame,
ok you still get halo 3 (and yes ill probably partake in such madness when it happens).
=================================
=================================
any way, back to the idea of QUESTIONS...
please ask, I work for an international "the man"
i teach English,
I live in a country where i dont speak most of the language
i eat crazy things
I want you to visit, but maybe you dont have the time / money
so ask me things, it'll be fun
and where's the Dolan contingent ?????
is it because i'm american???
watch it cuz the Thomson etc clan is like the yakuza,
hahahahahahaha
ok, so that is a total lie, had you for a second though
Yarrrrrr!
so the other weekend jo some japanese peeps and a trainer went to see da vinci code
its decent, as in sub par decent, but they could have made it worse.
i suppose this it me being out.
have to try to configure my airport express to work with my ds
its digital getdown time!
shane you better be reading and then you better get that reference
Monday, July 03, 2006
new toys
id post something substantial, but im too busy trying to get this wireless router to work with my ds
computers are fun.
computers are fun.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
another day
I know you all miss me!
Not that much has been going on. thank you for the comments and mails and everything, always appreciated.
i dont remember what i was going to write
whatever, there were a couple of new photos, so that's cool right.
things are same old same old here in good ol japan.
wah hoo!
oh yeah, flick, they do have western style hotels, everywhere really, just thought the tatami style would be interesting and it was about $60 a night
Monday, June 19, 2006
Kyoto 2
Little bit more time between posts than i had originally planned, but oh well.
so, day two, got up out of the hotel, found an atm in the subway and took for a stroll through a narrow strret market called nishiki. Lots of fresh eel fish and fried things on display, there was also a ver interesting knife shop that sold knives for anything you could ever want a knife for.
breakfast was at a fun little bakery place and then we were off for more sights
our fist stop was Kinkakuji Temple (Golden temple) Yes folks its actually gold, and i guess the floor on the top floor is made of mirror.
there was the main pond temple are and then there wer some smaller water spots with mini islands and statues. It was a very impressive sight. You get your ticket alk for about 10 secs turn the cornere and boom, there it is.
it was very peaceful, a very different atmosphere from Kinkakuji.
Next we walked up a hill and down a hill, met a very nice Finnish woman who was really lost, we helped point her in the right direction.
Then we went to Ryoanji temple, known for its zen rock garden and surrounding garden area
next it was on the bus, to a bus station to another bus to Ginkakuji Temple (Silver temple) not actually silver but the temple grounds were much more vast than the golden temple area
so, day two, got up out of the hotel, found an atm in the subway and took for a stroll through a narrow strret market called nishiki. Lots of fresh eel fish and fried things on display, there was also a ver interesting knife shop that sold knives for anything you could ever want a knife for.
breakfast was at a fun little bakery place and then we were off for more sights
our fist stop was Kinkakuji Temple (Golden temple) Yes folks its actually gold, and i guess the floor on the top floor is made of mirror.
there was the main pond temple are and then there wer some smaller water spots with mini islands and statues. It was a very impressive sight. You get your ticket alk for about 10 secs turn the cornere and boom, there it is.
it was very peaceful, a very different atmosphere from Kinkakuji.
Next we walked up a hill and down a hill, met a very nice Finnish woman who was really lost, we helped point her in the right direction.
Then we went to Ryoanji temple, known for its zen rock garden and surrounding garden area
next it was on the bus, to a bus station to another bus to Ginkakuji Temple (Silver temple) not actually silver but the temple grounds were much more vast than the golden temple area
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Kyoto - the run down 1 of X
I think i will split this into 2 separate posts, im not really sure why. I guess i have a fairly short attention span and its easier to concentrate one two smaller things than one massive chunk... right? And i guess Jo and i also spent 2 days there.
right now my camera is importing, and i now see that i took 124 pictures, bless digital.. right?
So a quick intro, Kyoto has many effects on you, and i would definitely put the idea that it makes you feel like you are IN Japan. At least the Japan a lot of people think about, quiet gardens, impressive temples and zen.
Day one began around 9:30 / 10:00 am, after a fun fulled night of evil dead 1 and a bit of evil dead 2! The original plan was for Jo to go early and for me to follow after my class. We were also originally going to take a JR train that would take us about 2.5 hours Nagoya to Kyoto with one transfer.
Instead i decided to skip class, it didnt look like it was anything i couldnt just drill and learn on my own. And then we decided to hit the shinkansen! Which takes about 40 min Nagoya to Kyoto, direct. It's fast, and it's awesome!
After we found the Shinkansen vending machines we got our tickets (go english friendly machines!) we found our way to the platform. Neither of us had eaten yet so i bought some Pretz sticks (kinda like the non-pretzl combo coating) and some chili flavored odd crisp things (very tasty). Then we found a little booth that did soups etc, i decided to get a quick something before the train. So again with the vending machines!
so, funny story, i can semi-read katakana, the character set for foreign words, and Jo is pretty good at it too. Both of us work out it says something like topoungu -> topping. but i still proceed to get the ticket from the machine and then i hand it to the woman working and she shows the other woman and then tell me no. well more they mightve said something iie (no) and then we realized that i actually didnt order anything except a topping, kinda like going into pizza hut and ordering pepperoni but no pizza! good times
the soup was delicious though, and i finally figured out what those odd little shaving are that go on so many things, dried fish shavings!
ok so the shinkansen trip was spent planning the day, looking through the Lonely Planet Japan etc.
We got in and, wow, Kyoto station is really really cool, i shouldve taken more pictures. just super cool.
imagine 1.5 lambeau fields in size, and the escalators are so cool, instead of the usual go up, turn and go up again
you just go up walk forward and go up, it might sound lame but its cool when you do it, and you can see so far into the station
anyway, we hit the kyoto international center area for non japanese speakers, which is conveniently located way behind everything and on the somethingth floor. they help us out with hotel, give us directions, and we're off, we get to the bus area and buy some day passes.
the busses in kyoto are 220 yen per ride, but you can buy a day pass for 500 yen that's unlimited, a very good deal.
we went to the hotel, paid and dropped off a bag, check in wasnt for another hour or so. and we were off, at least to the hotel lobby area where we finalised our plans. oh no, did anyone catch the s in finalized, the British english is taking over, damn.
our first destination was
============================
Sanjuusangendou Temple:
features include 1000 statues of Buddha, full human size each having like 30 arms and hands
1 statue of buddha, massive size also having 30 arms
all of them are made of Japanese cyprus
I think i read that it took 70 people over a hundred years to finish, yeah
Powerful and dynamic statues of the Thunder God and Wind God at each end. Dynamic meaning crazy facial expressions, bulging muscles with veins and craziness
28 life size statues of divine generals and other deities, some borrowed from hindu faiths, some just plain awesome.
one interesting point is that they were all made in parts and tehn assembled coated and colored, when you see them you'll understand
its awesome, and no its not hot dog awesome, its truly AWESOME
you should check out the pictures on flickr, the outer area was very nice
very quiet, despite the roads just outside the gates, there was a little pond and an interesting bell tower. And who can forget the nifty fish in the water!
next->
-------------------------------
Kiyomizu Temple via a mosoleum
we then took a bus to a stop near Kiyomizu temple and wandered into something else, some sorta shrine or temple, who knows there everywhere in Kyoto. We realized we were not where we thought we were and started climbing up a road. We took the road less travelled and walked up a narrow road surrounded by graves, i think. Im not sure on the burial practices here, but look at the pics
my better photos were corrupted for some reason... go digital!
ill try to get some from Jo, but the scope of this area was intense, if you've ever been to or heard about Arlington cemetery in VA. kinda like that. I doubt it has the same historical significane, but it was massive.
We arrived at Kiyomizu and it was very strange after having been so secluded on the way up, foreigners everywhere, japanese school kids everywhere, crazy.
We went in and it was a nice change from Sanjusangendo. Kiyomizu is spread over a large area, many structures and some nice scenery and views from the hillside,
japanese architecture is fun to look at and wander through. Kiyomizu has this area that is devoted to matchmaking,
theres a crazy rabbit and guy and then there are these two rocks that you are supposed to walk from one to another with your eyes closed, if you do it and dont die you're supposed to find that special someone.
there were some nice flowers
and a little water fall/fountain thing that you got to drink from. it tasted a little funny, but maybe it was the ultraviolet
=========================
after Kiyomizu we wandered down some streets, and one of the cart carrying guys asked us if we were lost. Which was funny, cuz we didnt know where we were going, but didnt care, so it was hard to answer.
we decided to goto Gion, an area famous for nightlife maybe and geishsa, i think.
we wanted to goto a restaurant that was supposed to have good tenpura, and they wake it right there while you eat/chat.
The place is called Ozawa, and it took us a while but w found it, when in doubt, just go up and down every crossroad till you find it!
so the set cost 3800 yen and you got a small pickle appetizer, tenpura (we got shrimp sandwich, quail egg, shiitake, prawn, fish, asparagus, eggplant, i think squid wrapped in something [tasted like soap], corn, some other things too) a very dark and tasty miso soup, and then fish/prawn tenpura over rice. it was very tasty.
Then we wandered to find an atm, which was largely unsuccessful, went to an irish pub, apparently the first in japan, or maybe kyoto. i wasnt impressed.
then it was back to the hotel, a japanese tatami mat room,
[pi
shoes off right after entering the room, they had a public bath on the first floor, we didnt try it though
they had our shower area locked too, who knows, the guy was very nice and unlocked when jo went to ask, she lost the rock paper scissors round!
and then it was bed time.
and now it is bed time, hopefully ill post this in the morning before work.
hope you had fun
and ill do the next installment soon
out
right now my camera is importing, and i now see that i took 124 pictures, bless digital.. right?
So a quick intro, Kyoto has many effects on you, and i would definitely put the idea that it makes you feel like you are IN Japan. At least the Japan a lot of people think about, quiet gardens, impressive temples and zen.
Day one began around 9:30 / 10:00 am, after a fun fulled night of evil dead 1 and a bit of evil dead 2! The original plan was for Jo to go early and for me to follow after my class. We were also originally going to take a JR train that would take us about 2.5 hours Nagoya to Kyoto with one transfer.
Instead i decided to skip class, it didnt look like it was anything i couldnt just drill and learn on my own. And then we decided to hit the shinkansen! Which takes about 40 min Nagoya to Kyoto, direct. It's fast, and it's awesome!
After we found the Shinkansen vending machines we got our tickets (go english friendly machines!) we found our way to the platform. Neither of us had eaten yet so i bought some Pretz sticks (kinda like the non-pretzl combo coating) and some chili flavored odd crisp things (very tasty). Then we found a little booth that did soups etc, i decided to get a quick something before the train. So again with the vending machines!
so, funny story, i can semi-read katakana, the character set for foreign words, and Jo is pretty good at it too. Both of us work out it says something like topoungu -> topping. but i still proceed to get the ticket from the machine and then i hand it to the woman working and she shows the other woman and then tell me no. well more they mightve said something iie (no) and then we realized that i actually didnt order anything except a topping, kinda like going into pizza hut and ordering pepperoni but no pizza! good times
the soup was delicious though, and i finally figured out what those odd little shaving are that go on so many things, dried fish shavings!
ok so the shinkansen trip was spent planning the day, looking through the Lonely Planet Japan etc.
We got in and, wow, Kyoto station is really really cool, i shouldve taken more pictures. just super cool.
imagine 1.5 lambeau fields in size, and the escalators are so cool, instead of the usual go up, turn and go up again
you just go up walk forward and go up, it might sound lame but its cool when you do it, and you can see so far into the station
anyway, we hit the kyoto international center area for non japanese speakers, which is conveniently located way behind everything and on the somethingth floor. they help us out with hotel, give us directions, and we're off, we get to the bus area and buy some day passes.
the busses in kyoto are 220 yen per ride, but you can buy a day pass for 500 yen that's unlimited, a very good deal.
we went to the hotel, paid and dropped off a bag, check in wasnt for another hour or so. and we were off, at least to the hotel lobby area where we finalised our plans. oh no, did anyone catch the s in finalized, the British english is taking over, damn.
our first destination was
============================
Sanjuusangendou Temple:
features include 1000 statues of Buddha, full human size each having like 30 arms and hands
1 statue of buddha, massive size also having 30 arms
all of them are made of Japanese cyprus
I think i read that it took 70 people over a hundred years to finish, yeah
Powerful and dynamic statues of the Thunder God and Wind God at each end. Dynamic meaning crazy facial expressions, bulging muscles with veins and craziness
28 life size statues of divine generals and other deities, some borrowed from hindu faiths, some just plain awesome.
one interesting point is that they were all made in parts and tehn assembled coated and colored, when you see them you'll understand
its awesome, and no its not hot dog awesome, its truly AWESOME
you should check out the pictures on flickr, the outer area was very nice
very quiet, despite the roads just outside the gates, there was a little pond and an interesting bell tower. And who can forget the nifty fish in the water!
next->
-------------------------------
Kiyomizu Temple via a mosoleum
we then took a bus to a stop near Kiyomizu temple and wandered into something else, some sorta shrine or temple, who knows there everywhere in Kyoto. We realized we were not where we thought we were and started climbing up a road. We took the road less travelled and walked up a narrow road surrounded by graves, i think. Im not sure on the burial practices here, but look at the pics
my better photos were corrupted for some reason... go digital!
ill try to get some from Jo, but the scope of this area was intense, if you've ever been to or heard about Arlington cemetery in VA. kinda like that. I doubt it has the same historical significane, but it was massive.
We arrived at Kiyomizu and it was very strange after having been so secluded on the way up, foreigners everywhere, japanese school kids everywhere, crazy.
We went in and it was a nice change from Sanjusangendo. Kiyomizu is spread over a large area, many structures and some nice scenery and views from the hillside,
japanese architecture is fun to look at and wander through. Kiyomizu has this area that is devoted to matchmaking,
theres a crazy rabbit and guy and then there are these two rocks that you are supposed to walk from one to another with your eyes closed, if you do it and dont die you're supposed to find that special someone.
there were some nice flowers
and a little water fall/fountain thing that you got to drink from. it tasted a little funny, but maybe it was the ultraviolet
=========================
after Kiyomizu we wandered down some streets, and one of the cart carrying guys asked us if we were lost. Which was funny, cuz we didnt know where we were going, but didnt care, so it was hard to answer.
we decided to goto Gion, an area famous for nightlife maybe and geishsa, i think.
we wanted to goto a restaurant that was supposed to have good tenpura, and they wake it right there while you eat/chat.
The place is called Ozawa, and it took us a while but w found it, when in doubt, just go up and down every crossroad till you find it!
so the set cost 3800 yen and you got a small pickle appetizer, tenpura (we got shrimp sandwich, quail egg, shiitake, prawn, fish, asparagus, eggplant, i think squid wrapped in something [tasted like soap], corn, some other things too) a very dark and tasty miso soup, and then fish/prawn tenpura over rice. it was very tasty.
Then we wandered to find an atm, which was largely unsuccessful, went to an irish pub, apparently the first in japan, or maybe kyoto. i wasnt impressed.
then it was back to the hotel, a japanese tatami mat room,
[pi
shoes off right after entering the room, they had a public bath on the first floor, we didnt try it though
they had our shower area locked too, who knows, the guy was very nice and unlocked when jo went to ask, she lost the rock paper scissors round!
and then it was bed time.
and now it is bed time, hopefully ill post this in the morning before work.
hope you had fun
and ill do the next installment soon
out
Monday, June 12, 2006
and theyre back
we made it, kyoto, temples and now we're back
and i will deal with photos and a writeup later
as they say in british english world
im knackered
and i will deal with photos and a writeup later
as they say in british english world
im knackered
Saturday, June 10, 2006
dave who?
yeah,
it's been a while, meaning there has been a lack of posting that is now being interrupted by this post, hence "has been"
english grammar, for those of you who realize its there (i never really cared much before) is a pain. One of my toughest questions, that neither myself, my grammar book, joanne, the trainer another FT and 4 Japanese teachers have been bale to answer.......
whay do you ask for something "in" black or "in" a bigger size what is in, why do we need it, admit it
we can't say "do you have it black?"
no, no you cant, but thats a weak explanation, at least i think so
im open to suggestions and answers
anyway,
joanne and i are going t oKyoto this weekend, should be cool, the thousand buddha statue temple, temples everywhere shrined out. itll be good to get away, and i think ill be taking the shinkansen, sweet
more later
oh yeah, my family are coming out to japan, thats right parents sister and brother, at least i think so
cant wait
out
it's been a while, meaning there has been a lack of posting that is now being interrupted by this post, hence "has been"
english grammar, for those of you who realize its there (i never really cared much before) is a pain. One of my toughest questions, that neither myself, my grammar book, joanne, the trainer another FT and 4 Japanese teachers have been bale to answer.......
whay do you ask for something "in" black or "in" a bigger size what is in, why do we need it, admit it
we can't say "do you have it black?"
no, no you cant, but thats a weak explanation, at least i think so
im open to suggestions and answers
anyway,
joanne and i are going t oKyoto this weekend, should be cool, the thousand buddha statue temple, temples everywhere shrined out. itll be good to get away, and i think ill be taking the shinkansen, sweet
more later
oh yeah, my family are coming out to japan, thats right parents sister and brother, at least i think so
cant wait
out
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
let's play a game
OK!
if you send me something in Japan...
anything legal really, i heard a story of an Aeon guy getting deported because his friends though it would be fun to send him some illegal substances, yeah, he didnt know, but it didnt matter to the japanese customs, he got kicked out
pictures of the states are nice, perhaps of events, like Wildwood, or Alaska
or anything really, maybe certain food items, postcards, a letter?
if/when you send something, I'll return the favor with a little goodie from over here, maybe a trinket, maybe a tasty treat, who knows
but thats the new game, send dave pictures
Iris Tsunoda 203
130 Honmachi 8-chome
Kanie cho, Amagun Aichi ken
JAPAN 497-0033
ps - i will also take volunteers to ship me the Nintendo Wii when it comes out!
if you send me something in Japan...
anything legal really, i heard a story of an Aeon guy getting deported because his friends though it would be fun to send him some illegal substances, yeah, he didnt know, but it didnt matter to the japanese customs, he got kicked out
pictures of the states are nice, perhaps of events, like Wildwood, or Alaska
or anything really, maybe certain food items, postcards, a letter?
if/when you send something, I'll return the favor with a little goodie from over here, maybe a trinket, maybe a tasty treat, who knows
but thats the new game, send dave pictures
Iris Tsunoda 203
130 Honmachi 8-chome
Kanie cho, Amagun Aichi ken
JAPAN 497-0033
ps - i will also take volunteers to ship me the Nintendo Wii when it comes out!
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
How was your weekend dave?
Despite having to put up with joanne and all of her gloating about her brand spanking new macBook, my weekend was pretty good. I really got up to just about nothing when it comes down to it. A few things that did happen:
I went to a party saturday night after work, a restaurant called Asunaro holds aparty on the last sat of each month and the owners are really really nice. they went to okinawa last week and brought me back a bottle os aomori (strong okinawan alcohol, kinda like whiskey i guess) a can of okinawan beer and some little charm things. People here are huge into gifts, luckily i had gotten them something when i went to inuyama castle, i also gave them a box of seroogies chocolates. either way it was a fun night eating and drinking with locals and another foreigner who started his own school, his names Tos and hes from tansinia, very cool guy.
I bought a bike! it's awesome, had my second class at the international center, oh, did i mention im taking japanese classes? This week we worked on numbers and counting, sounds like a simple thing, think again. The japanese have numbers from 0-10, for example, 10 is juu, one is ichi, 11 is juu ichi, two is ni, twenty is ni juu, (2 10's)
so thats all fine. but then if you want to say order a burger at mcdonalds you say,
hambuga, hitotsu, hitotsu = 1 when refering to certain objects. Then lets say you are at the post office and you want one one stamp, then you would use ichimai.
for one glass or bottle i think its ipon. so something as simple as 1 or 2 gets to be a pain.
after class i met joanne at the station and we grabbed some lunch and then wandered around trying to find a movie theatre, we did, but didnt want to see anything, we ended up going back to inuyama. then on monday i came back to kanie and went inot work for 32.4 mins and then came home did laundry, cleaned and then jo showed up (with presents
she went to the huge department store 10 floors i think, in nagoya station and found Unibroue, a wondeful beer brewed in canada, so she bought me a bottle, she also got me a thing of super hot spice powder.
ok, break time, and by break time i mean time for work.
if you are reading this then i actually made it to the internet cafe to post it
still havent gotten internet at the apartment
I went to a party saturday night after work, a restaurant called Asunaro holds aparty on the last sat of each month and the owners are really really nice. they went to okinawa last week and brought me back a bottle os aomori (strong okinawan alcohol, kinda like whiskey i guess) a can of okinawan beer and some little charm things. People here are huge into gifts, luckily i had gotten them something when i went to inuyama castle, i also gave them a box of seroogies chocolates. either way it was a fun night eating and drinking with locals and another foreigner who started his own school, his names Tos and hes from tansinia, very cool guy.
I bought a bike! it's awesome, had my second class at the international center, oh, did i mention im taking japanese classes? This week we worked on numbers and counting, sounds like a simple thing, think again. The japanese have numbers from 0-10, for example, 10 is juu, one is ichi, 11 is juu ichi, two is ni, twenty is ni juu, (2 10's)
so thats all fine. but then if you want to say order a burger at mcdonalds you say,
hambuga, hitotsu, hitotsu = 1 when refering to certain objects. Then lets say you are at the post office and you want one one stamp, then you would use ichimai.
for one glass or bottle i think its ipon. so something as simple as 1 or 2 gets to be a pain.
after class i met joanne at the station and we grabbed some lunch and then wandered around trying to find a movie theatre, we did, but didnt want to see anything, we ended up going back to inuyama. then on monday i came back to kanie and went inot work for 32.4 mins and then came home did laundry, cleaned and then jo showed up (with presents
she went to the huge department store 10 floors i think, in nagoya station and found Unibroue, a wondeful beer brewed in canada, so she bought me a bottle, she also got me a thing of super hot spice powder.
ok, break time, and by break time i mean time for work.
if you are reading this then i actually made it to the internet cafe to post it
still havent gotten internet at the apartment
Monday, May 22, 2006
the typical day
i've been meaning to do this for a while now:
I suppose my typical work day begins anywhere from 9-1030 when i get out of bed
(it depends how many times i hit snooze and how much work i have to do before i have my first class)
the usual: shower, breakfast, iron the shirt of the day
then its off to AEON, about a 7 min walk from the apartment
I'm normally the first one to arrive at the school.
My official start time is 12:45p.
I usually arrive anywhere between 10 and 1230
then its time to prepare for lessons, either that day's lessons or the next
depending on the day i have anywhere from 3-7 classes, ranging from 30 min to 50min
usually a healthy mix of kid's lessons and adult's lessons, and it can take up to 40min to prep for a class
then i will either have a class or if i have time i run out to the little market that is about a minute from
work and ill pick up somehting for dinner, or maybe head to Toraya for a little mitarashe dango (sweet rice balls on a skewer)
then its on for the day!
most of my classes go without a hitch, but some of them can be a little rocky
children crying, breaking things, running out of the room, almost wetting themselves... you know, the usual
i usually have a little bit of time between classes to eat, some days more than others
lunch is normally some leftovers from the previous night: egg,onion, garlic sushi rolls, various fish with veg and rice, pasta and tomato sauce, curry rice, maybe some sashimi (thats the raw fish) from the market to go with my rice
then its either start prepping for the next day or another class,
this goes on until about 9 when classes end, then i clean up, take care of attendance files, sometimes help out with random tasks, and i usually leave around 945 and 1030.
then it's home and dinner, typically i dont do work after work, but sometimes ill prep for something
maybe watch a movie, go for a run to the internet cafe, clean, play my ds or study japanese maybe laundry
bedtime is roughly 1-2a
and then i go all over again
right now i spend most of my waking hours doing AEon related tasks, i've also been in every monday so far, which is my day off (i work tues-sat) but that should get better as i settle into things
hope you liked it
I suppose my typical work day begins anywhere from 9-1030 when i get out of bed
(it depends how many times i hit snooze and how much work i have to do before i have my first class)
the usual: shower, breakfast, iron the shirt of the day
then its off to AEON, about a 7 min walk from the apartment
I'm normally the first one to arrive at the school.
My official start time is 12:45p.
I usually arrive anywhere between 10 and 1230
then its time to prepare for lessons, either that day's lessons or the next
depending on the day i have anywhere from 3-7 classes, ranging from 30 min to 50min
usually a healthy mix of kid's lessons and adult's lessons, and it can take up to 40min to prep for a class
then i will either have a class or if i have time i run out to the little market that is about a minute from
work and ill pick up somehting for dinner, or maybe head to Toraya for a little mitarashe dango (sweet rice balls on a skewer)
then its on for the day!
most of my classes go without a hitch, but some of them can be a little rocky
children crying, breaking things, running out of the room, almost wetting themselves... you know, the usual
i usually have a little bit of time between classes to eat, some days more than others
lunch is normally some leftovers from the previous night: egg,onion, garlic sushi rolls, various fish with veg and rice, pasta and tomato sauce, curry rice, maybe some sashimi (thats the raw fish) from the market to go with my rice
then its either start prepping for the next day or another class,
this goes on until about 9 when classes end, then i clean up, take care of attendance files, sometimes help out with random tasks, and i usually leave around 945 and 1030.
then it's home and dinner, typically i dont do work after work, but sometimes ill prep for something
maybe watch a movie, go for a run to the internet cafe, clean, play my ds or study japanese maybe laundry
bedtime is roughly 1-2a
and then i go all over again
right now i spend most of my waking hours doing AEon related tasks, i've also been in every monday so far, which is my day off (i work tues-sat) but that should get better as i settle into things
hope you liked it
Friday, May 19, 2006
knackered
apartment pics
by the way:
if you are going to send me mail, like a letter, i guess anything really
send it here
Iris Tsunoda 203
130 Honmachi 8-chome
Kanie cho, Amagun, Aichi ken
Japan 4970033
by the way:
if you are going to send me mail, like a letter, i guess anything really
send it here
Iris Tsunoda 203
130 Honmachi 8-chome
Kanie cho, Amagun, Aichi ken
Japan 4970033
Thursday, May 18, 2006
te ri ya ki
another thursday draws to a close,
in case you don't know, thursday is my hell day
even though i only teach 3 classes (sometimes 4)
two of them are crazy, and by crazy i mean the longest 30 mins of my life
again, and again, and again
and i just saw these
Get a Mac
pretty neat
and have i mentioned the Wii
I had planned on writing more, but i have rice cooking at home, lessons to plan, and im getting sick again
so i think its home, eat work bed for me
till net time
in case you don't know, thursday is my hell day
even though i only teach 3 classes (sometimes 4)
two of them are crazy, and by crazy i mean the longest 30 mins of my life
again, and again, and again
and i just saw these
Get a Mac
pretty neat
and have i mentioned the Wii
I had planned on writing more, but i have rice cooking at home, lessons to plan, and im getting sick again
so i think its home, eat work bed for me
till net time
Monday, May 15, 2006
Add on
Seems like ages since any post of real substance.
Same as so far things have been good, although i will say this
be glad that you learned this damned language as a child
it makes no sense that we can understand anything
anyway,
I recently got my alien registration card, which means
i have a bank account
i will be getting a cell phone soon
and maybe getting the internet at my apartment
we'll see about the last one though
Joanne's still alive, although shes pushing ehr luck on bikes
or should i say, flying off of them.
oh, and i saw that tons of people have actually commented on the blog!
sorry about that, i have Mail setup to file them in a blog comment folder
only problem with that is it doesnt tell me i have mail
but thank you fora ll the comments, some good news
---------
go bosox
sarah and jenna getting out!
the brewpub in the making
kris and the new job with red hair
bri and brooke the postcard was sent out today, finally
nancy i just got your email
flick, i miss you of course
ez nice chatting
and melanie thanks for the pictures of boo kitty
who looks like he's slimmed down a bit
the feline formerly known as tubbins!
but yes, things are good, except its late and i have to catch a train in the morning t ogo home and finish the work that i left at home, silly me
moments of zen include:
Wii
and
PS3
let's be honest the 360 is just, well, not worth it
not until, can anyone say Halo 3?
Same as so far things have been good, although i will say this
be glad that you learned this damned language as a child
it makes no sense that we can understand anything
anyway,
I recently got my alien registration card, which means
i have a bank account
i will be getting a cell phone soon
and maybe getting the internet at my apartment
we'll see about the last one though
Joanne's still alive, although shes pushing ehr luck on bikes
or should i say, flying off of them.
oh, and i saw that tons of people have actually commented on the blog!
sorry about that, i have Mail setup to file them in a blog comment folder
only problem with that is it doesnt tell me i have mail
but thank you fora ll the comments, some good news
---------
go bosox
sarah and jenna getting out!
the brewpub in the making
kris and the new job with red hair
bri and brooke the postcard was sent out today, finally
nancy i just got your email
flick, i miss you of course
ez nice chatting
and melanie thanks for the pictures of boo kitty
who looks like he's slimmed down a bit
the feline formerly known as tubbins!
but yes, things are good, except its late and i have to catch a train in the morning t ogo home and finish the work that i left at home, silly me
moments of zen include:
Wii
and
PS3
let's be honest the 360 is just, well, not worth it
not until, can anyone say Halo 3?
Sunday, May 14, 2006
crud
had a long post all written out, and then i changed tabs to download the halo3 trialer
and i shut the browser window
stupid
anyway, things are good, im an official alien, i have a bank account, but little money, and no one wants to take a travelers check
kinda funny
soon ill get a cell phone, maybe interent
sweet
look out, its kitty
and i shut the browser window
stupid
anyway, things are good, im an official alien, i have a bank account, but little money, and no one wants to take a travelers check
kinda funny
soon ill get a cell phone, maybe interent
sweet
look out, its kitty
Monday, May 08, 2006
response to those wonderful people
you read,
you love,
and you comment, now if only potter could show some love, or anderson, or ez, or bush, or dale, or aj, you are a bunch of lazy rats
Miss Crazy Anna Bah Nah Nah ... na na na naaaaaaaaaahhhh
My camera is (please wait as i find out by going to olympus .com)
whooo, archives can be intense,
Olympus C-7000
and yes i usually do the little buttons myself all those F's and other numbers
GO red sox
you love,
and you comment, now if only potter could show some love, or anderson, or ez, or bush, or dale, or aj, you are a bunch of lazy rats
Miss Crazy Anna Bah Nah Nah ... na na na naaaaaaaaaahhhh
My camera is (please wait as i find out by going to olympus .com)
whooo, archives can be intense,
Olympus C-7000
and yes i usually do the little buttons myself all those F's and other numbers
GO red sox
status bar saves the day (BRIAN AND BROOKE)
----- (BRIAN AND BROOKE ------
what is your address?
real mail
----------------------------------
once again im at the internet cafe that wont let me see this site in english, but thanks to the status bar, i can see the name of the page in english, so i know where the link can take me, wah hoo.
not much to report, vacation is over, i was at work forever today even though its my day off, had to prepare for Tuesdays classes. And all of the kids lessons are reviews, which means a lot of stuff for each lesson, and a storybook about monster swamp, i think the next post will be a wishlist type thing, you know, things that people could send in case they cant think of something, yeah, thatd be cool.
anyway, another week, another day of being there so late that i dont get to the store before closing, so not much in the way of groceries, luckily i stocked up on the essentials before vacation ended.
plus i dont need to go into work until 1245 tomorow, although ill go in earlier than that.
Oh yeah, this saturday night, anyone who's in the area is invited to
Desparados after final AEON classes, its near the Shinsakae stop, theres a good map in the japanzine
hope to see you there
pretty____
what is your address?
real mail
----------------------------------
once again im at the internet cafe that wont let me see this site in english, but thanks to the status bar, i can see the name of the page in english, so i know where the link can take me, wah hoo.
not much to report, vacation is over, i was at work forever today even though its my day off, had to prepare for Tuesdays classes. And all of the kids lessons are reviews, which means a lot of stuff for each lesson, and a storybook about monster swamp, i think the next post will be a wishlist type thing, you know, things that people could send in case they cant think of something, yeah, thatd be cool.
anyway, another week, another day of being there so late that i dont get to the store before closing, so not much in the way of groceries, luckily i stocked up on the essentials before vacation ended.
plus i dont need to go into work until 1245 tomorow, although ill go in earlier than that.
Oh yeah, this saturday night, anyone who's in the area is invited to
Desparados after final AEON classes, its near the Shinsakae stop, theres a good map in the japanzine
hope to see you there
pretty____
Sunday, May 07, 2006
a new post, and more pictures
Jo and I are in a net cafe in Inuyama, my battery is about to die,
then i guess ill just play my DS against people around the world
its rough
lets see, so the newest batch of pictures are from Nagoya, Inuyama (castle pics) and Kanie a bit
I know they arent exactly labeled at all, but thats life,
some of them are from Inuyama castle, and a garden that was used for traditional tea ceremonies
very exciting stuff,
what else, oh yeah, at nagoya port they had this petting zoo, and they had a dog pen where you could rent a dog for a while, take it to a fenced in area and torture it, i mean love it as your own
very interesting
well the battery is about dead,
as of now im debating if i should get internet at my apartment
although i cant do anything till i get my alien registration card
and here is your moment of adorable-ness
then i guess ill just play my DS against people around the world
its rough
lets see, so the newest batch of pictures are from Nagoya, Inuyama (castle pics) and Kanie a bit
I know they arent exactly labeled at all, but thats life,
some of them are from Inuyama castle, and a garden that was used for traditional tea ceremonies
very exciting stuff,
what else, oh yeah, at nagoya port they had this petting zoo, and they had a dog pen where you could rent a dog for a while, take it to a fenced in area and torture it, i mean love it as your own
very interesting
well the battery is about dead,
as of now im debating if i should get internet at my apartment
although i cant do anything till i get my alien registration card
and here is your moment of adorable-ness
Thursday, May 04, 2006
blogger japanese
why should it be a surprise that this site is in japanese, oh well.
lets see, been busy for the last 2 weeks, work has been fun, meeting students, teaching, good times overall, im sure there will be rants galore soon enough about the little ones.
so this week has been golden week, which means vacation week,
joanne and i have gone to nagoya port and checked out the park, got an idea of where things are etc, so next time well actually goto the aquarium and the italian village
hmm, we went out with one of her coworkers and a student, we went around nagoya and suburbs, went to a cool little traditional chinese tea house, up the massive tv tower and went out for traditional okinowan food.
where does the time go.
well i guess thats all for now
im at a net cafe so i dont have my pictures to post yet, some good ones
take care
lets see, been busy for the last 2 weeks, work has been fun, meeting students, teaching, good times overall, im sure there will be rants galore soon enough about the little ones.
so this week has been golden week, which means vacation week,
joanne and i have gone to nagoya port and checked out the park, got an idea of where things are etc, so next time well actually goto the aquarium and the italian village
hmm, we went out with one of her coworkers and a student, we went around nagoya and suburbs, went to a cool little traditional chinese tea house, up the massive tv tower and went out for traditional okinowan food.
where does the time go.
well i guess thats all for now
im at a net cafe so i dont have my pictures to post yet, some good ones
take care
Monday, April 24, 2006
going dark
oh its so scary....
ok, so its not, at all
tomorrow i move into my apartment, well, tomorrow after work.
I dont have my alien registration card yet,
which means, no bank account (but wait) tomorrow is payday, = in cash
no cell phone, no internet
not sure when ill get my card, but it may be a while until the next edition
so, just to ease any fears
im not dead, just out of reach
as one is when they are in japan!
a quick note, the big macs here,
are way better than in the states
i know i know, i was so good about no McDonalds for so long,
but its on the way to and from the trains
anyway, tomorrow is my first week as THE foreign teacher
pretty sweet,
postcards have been delayed due to my dead computer
they will go out
oh yes, they will go out
im out
until next time
ok, so its not, at all
tomorrow i move into my apartment, well, tomorrow after work.
I dont have my alien registration card yet,
which means, no bank account (but wait) tomorrow is payday, = in cash
no cell phone, no internet
not sure when ill get my card, but it may be a while until the next edition
so, just to ease any fears
im not dead, just out of reach
as one is when they are in japan!
a quick note, the big macs here,
are way better than in the states
i know i know, i was so good about no McDonalds for so long,
but its on the way to and from the trains
anyway, tomorrow is my first week as THE foreign teacher
pretty sweet,
postcards have been delayed due to my dead computer
they will go out
oh yes, they will go out
im out
until next time
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
HEY YOU dijapan fans
Great! I just installed a stats counter so i can check info about the people who visit me.
which leads me to, WHO ARE YOU??????????
please leave a comment saying who you are where you're from and a message!
tell me what you want to know.
tell me red sox or brewers scores
tell me what you did today
how your div3 is/isnt going
tell me whos working at tic
tell me how life at school is
anything
DO IT NOW
which leads me to, WHO ARE YOU??????????
please leave a comment saying who you are where you're from and a message!
tell me what you want to know.
tell me red sox or brewers scores
tell me what you did today
how your div3 is/isnt going
tell me whos working at tic
tell me how life at school is
anything
DO IT NOW
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
New pics
this pic is from our first night in Nagoya, we went out for yakitori, i think thats a term used for a place where you just order tons of little things on skewers, it was pretty cool.
so, from Left to right - Remi, Xavier, Germaine, Nick, Joanne, Dave
so again you can click my FLickr page on the right, or i think the image itself will get you close
im out
Ketsumeishi
thats right, ke tsu me shi (keh-tsu (like tsunami)-may-she)
for anyone into downloading the tunes, i suggest these guys they're pretty kickin
som songs to highlight: bira no tanima, tuhi, ame, motto, kochi oide
japanese rap hip hop awesomeness, they have some sweet flow
all for now
and heres your moment of zen
maybe not
for anyone into downloading the tunes, i suggest these guys they're pretty kickin
som songs to highlight: bira no tanima, tuhi, ame, motto, kochi oide
japanese rap hip hop awesomeness, they have some sweet flow
all for now
and heres your moment of zen
maybe not
Monday, April 17, 2006
shout out
just wanted to make a quick note thanking the few people that have left comments!!
knuckles - im posting for you kid
Ed - thanks for the updates, i havent had anytime to check the sox standings
sarah - is awesome
paulette - your postcard will be mailed as soon as i write it! its pretty cool
brian and brooke - the pics of ru are awesome, your post card will be out soonish as well
if i missed you then youll just have to post a comment again!
=============================
on to business,
so, people should follow the gizmo project link over in my links section
download it and call me
voicemail is a pretty cool thing to get
==============================
anyway, i have work to do
oh yeah, you should check out joanne's blog to see photos of the hotel room,
the pics are of hers, but the rooms are identical
hotel pics
knuckles - im posting for you kid
Ed - thanks for the updates, i havent had anytime to check the sox standings
sarah - is awesome
paulette - your postcard will be mailed as soon as i write it! its pretty cool
brian and brooke - the pics of ru are awesome, your post card will be out soonish as well
if i missed you then youll just have to post a comment again!
=============================
on to business,
so, people should follow the gizmo project link over in my links section
download it and call me
voicemail is a pretty cool thing to get
==============================
anyway, i have work to do
oh yeah, you should check out joanne's blog to see photos of the hotel room,
the pics are of hers, but the rooms are identical
hotel pics
Sunday, April 16, 2006
its finally over... kinda
so much since the last time i wrote anything up here,
hmm,
so, training, at least 9 hours or listening to god knows what (important info actually)
sample lessons, sometimes for students, sometimes for fellow trainees
long long days,
started to really get thang of things towards the end,
not enough sleep, not eating right and way too much stress
but now its all good!
kids training starts tomorrow and that should be super fun!
last night i went to the goodbye/welcome party for Aeon Kanie,
so i met the guy i am replacing, many of the students at Kanie
and my bosses and coworkers, it was great!
today was a pretty chill day, slept in, well, since work starts at 10, 11 or 12
didnt really sleep in, BUT, no work, so its all good
the jo, xavier and i did some laundry
went back to the hotel and gor Remi
ended up at a coco ichi, japanese curry joint
pretty tasty, this time i got a potato croquette thing over curry and rice
very tasty, so much rice
then we went to tokyu hands
got some markers, some pastcards, thats right you may be getting a postcard soon!
sweet
then we got inkans, basically a stamp that says our name, but in japanese of course
its needed to "sign" special things like for my alien registration card, certain officail forms etc
i should have written it down, but it sounds like dabide i think
check it out
so that's read from top to bottom, ha!
not sure how its pronounced, but
the top character means - younger brother; faithful service to elders
the middle character means - idea; mind; heart; taste; thought; desire; care; liking
the bottom character means - warrior; military; chivalry; arms
and somehow thats me!
time for bed
happy easter
im out
oh yeah, i used a glamour shot of boo (my sisters cat) as a prop in my sample lesson to students on saturday
they loved the game, my lesson and the cat,
boo is now th official co sponsor of my lessons,
of course Ru-dog is the other
hmm,
so, training, at least 9 hours or listening to god knows what (important info actually)
sample lessons, sometimes for students, sometimes for fellow trainees
long long days,
started to really get thang of things towards the end,
not enough sleep, not eating right and way too much stress
but now its all good!
kids training starts tomorrow and that should be super fun!
last night i went to the goodbye/welcome party for Aeon Kanie,
so i met the guy i am replacing, many of the students at Kanie
and my bosses and coworkers, it was great!
today was a pretty chill day, slept in, well, since work starts at 10, 11 or 12
didnt really sleep in, BUT, no work, so its all good
the jo, xavier and i did some laundry
went back to the hotel and gor Remi
ended up at a coco ichi, japanese curry joint
pretty tasty, this time i got a potato croquette thing over curry and rice
very tasty, so much rice
then we went to tokyu hands
got some markers, some pastcards, thats right you may be getting a postcard soon!
sweet
then we got inkans, basically a stamp that says our name, but in japanese of course
its needed to "sign" special things like for my alien registration card, certain officail forms etc
i should have written it down, but it sounds like dabide i think
check it out
so that's read from top to bottom, ha!
not sure how its pronounced, but
the top character means - younger brother; faithful service to elders
the middle character means - idea; mind; heart; taste; thought; desire; care; liking
the bottom character means - warrior; military; chivalry; arms
and somehow thats me!
time for bed
happy easter
im out
oh yeah, i used a glamour shot of boo (my sisters cat) as a prop in my sample lesson to students on saturday
they loved the game, my lesson and the cat,
boo is now th official co sponsor of my lessons,
of course Ru-dog is the other
Sunday, April 09, 2006
day 2
I know that day one and day two arent exactly very catchy headings, but hey, im tired, and its early
the day began around 10/11am ish, we all met, except for Xavier, he caught an early bus to go see some friends,
some of us had eaten breakfast, well, remi and nick had, on the way to the subway we stopped and a place called bakery kiosk, jo and shared some pastries, one had ham in the center, the other tuna, very tasty i think ill be going there for breakfast tomorrow as well!!
then we went down into the Nagoya Subway and took the Saku-dori to the the Meijo Line and then got off at Nagoya Castle
After exploring the grounds, a tower and the caste itself we headed out to find some lunch, but first we got some takoyaki, which are thin dough sacs filled with octopus bits, they were hot, but they were prety tasty
anyway, since it was sunday we wandered around for too long only to realize that most palce weren't open, most places were only open for dinner hours. we eventually went to a curry place, i ordered a spinach in curry, very tasty, then it was off to visit shrines,
i think we succeeded in finding three, although we never found the one we were looking for.
we were all getting tired of walking around and i think the jet lag is settling a bit, we headed back to the hotel and are now waiting till we head out for dinner, im going toformat some pictures and upload them
the day began around 10/11am ish, we all met, except for Xavier, he caught an early bus to go see some friends,
some of us had eaten breakfast, well, remi and nick had, on the way to the subway we stopped and a place called bakery kiosk, jo and shared some pastries, one had ham in the center, the other tuna, very tasty i think ill be going there for breakfast tomorrow as well!!
then we went down into the Nagoya Subway and took the Saku-dori to the the Meijo Line and then got off at Nagoya Castle
After exploring the grounds, a tower and the caste itself we headed out to find some lunch, but first we got some takoyaki, which are thin dough sacs filled with octopus bits, they were hot, but they were prety tasty
anyway, since it was sunday we wandered around for too long only to realize that most palce weren't open, most places were only open for dinner hours. we eventually went to a curry place, i ordered a spinach in curry, very tasty, then it was off to visit shrines,
i think we succeeded in finding three, although we never found the one we were looking for.
we were all getting tired of walking around and i think the jet lag is settling a bit, we headed back to the hotel and are now waiting till we head out for dinner, im going toformat some pictures and upload them
day one
so the flight was around 13 hours,
highlights include the french couple i sat next to, they seemed to know little to no english
"the ringer" "pride and prejudice" and "mine yours and ours" great films, not really
i arrived into Nagoya around 6PM local time, somehting like 4am for most of you
met up with Andy (Aeon training staff), Xavier, Remi, and Nick (other teachers to be)
hopped a bus for about an hour, got a quick heads up on some good places to eat and where training will be on monday
checked in, showered and then Jo and Germaine (an aussie) got back from being out
we all met in the lobby for dinner around 945, problem is most places were closing at 10
we finally found a place and basically let remi run the show, he speaks Japanese fairly well
so dinner consisted of a little dish of octupus bits and potato balls, then we got edamame (soy bean pods)
some fired chicken parts that were served with a tasty mayo, some skewered chicken parts, gizzard, neck skin and regular parts
had an asahi (beer) and some sake with Remi and Nick, oh and then we got squid which was rather tasty!
after dinner we found a kareoke place got a room and rocked out for a decent amount of time, good times
came back to the hotel and crashed bigtime
go jetlag!
i know all of that was kind of dry and boring but im knackered , and now to contemplate day 2, and maybe do my homework.
highlights include the french couple i sat next to, they seemed to know little to no english
"the ringer" "pride and prejudice" and "mine yours and ours" great films, not really
i arrived into Nagoya around 6PM local time, somehting like 4am for most of you
met up with Andy (Aeon training staff), Xavier, Remi, and Nick (other teachers to be)
hopped a bus for about an hour, got a quick heads up on some good places to eat and where training will be on monday
checked in, showered and then Jo and Germaine (an aussie) got back from being out
we all met in the lobby for dinner around 945, problem is most places were closing at 10
we finally found a place and basically let remi run the show, he speaks Japanese fairly well
so dinner consisted of a little dish of octupus bits and potato balls, then we got edamame (soy bean pods)
some fired chicken parts that were served with a tasty mayo, some skewered chicken parts, gizzard, neck skin and regular parts
had an asahi (beer) and some sake with Remi and Nick, oh and then we got squid which was rather tasty!
after dinner we found a kareoke place got a room and rocked out for a decent amount of time, good times
came back to the hotel and crashed bigtime
go jetlag!
i know all of that was kind of dry and boring but im knackered , and now to contemplate day 2, and maybe do my homework.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
better half
if there was ever a question, ha,
joanne is easily my better half, which is why i steal things from her!
Days off
Jan 1 - New Year's Day
2nd Mon in Jan - Coming of Age Day
Feburary 11 - National Foundation Day
March 20 - Vernal Equinox Day
April 29 - Greenery Day
May 3 - Constitution Day
May 4 - National Holiday
May 5 - Children's Day
3rd Mon in July - Marine Day
3rd Mon in Sept - Respect for the Elders Day
Sept 23 - Autumnal Equinox Day
2nd Mon in Oct - Sports Day
November 3 - Culture Day
November 23 - Labour Thanksgiving Day
December 23 - The Emperors Birthday
Holidays
1 week at end of December
April 29th - May 5th
1 week in August
and my address would be
David Thomson
Dai 26 Ocean Bldg. 2F-A
24-3 Aza Chinowari
Ohaza Kanie Honmachi
Kanie-cho, Amagun, Aichi-ken
JAPAN 497-0033
didnt i, didnt i, didnt i see ya cryin!
she worries too much though
joanne is easily my better half, which is why i steal things from her!
Days off
Jan 1 - New Year's Day
2nd Mon in Jan - Coming of Age Day
Feburary 11 - National Foundation Day
March 20 - Vernal Equinox Day
April 29 - Greenery Day
May 3 - Constitution Day
May 4 - National Holiday
May 5 - Children's Day
3rd Mon in July - Marine Day
3rd Mon in Sept - Respect for the Elders Day
Sept 23 - Autumnal Equinox Day
2nd Mon in Oct - Sports Day
November 3 - Culture Day
November 23 - Labour Thanksgiving Day
December 23 - The Emperors Birthday
Holidays
1 week at end of December
April 29th - May 5th
1 week in August
and my address would be
David Thomson
Dai 26 Ocean Bldg. 2F-A
24-3 Aza Chinowari
Ohaza Kanie Honmachi
Kanie-cho, Amagun, Aichi-ken
JAPAN 497-0033
didnt i, didnt i, didnt i see ya cryin!
she worries too much though
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
call me in japan (for free)
a few posts back i threw some info out regarding gizmo project
so first off, you should download it
mac users rejoice as macs typically have internal microphones
pc users, microphones are abbout $15, but think of how much you'll save on hours of international phone calls!
anyway, it works like most IM programs, and i think iChat works with it...? there is a plugin for adium users
long story short, my gizmo name is "davepthomson"
call me
so first off, you should download it
mac users rejoice as macs typically have internal microphones
pc users, microphones are abbout $15, but think of how much you'll save on hours of international phone calls!
anyway, it works like most IM programs, and i think iChat works with it...? there is a plugin for adium users
long story short, my gizmo name is "davepthomson"
call me
Sunday, April 02, 2006
finally rss made easy
so this is mainly my fault, but i do blame all of you for not telling me!
guess i havent really tested it yet but whatever,
so step one to rocking the [RSS]: download and install firefox or use safari
step two: goto this blog
step three: click the little orange rss thing in the navigation bar (see the picture)
step four: add this to your bookmark folder or bar
enjoy
guess i havent really tested it yet but whatever,
so step one to rocking the [RSS]: download and install firefox or use safari
step two: goto this blog
step three: click the little orange rss thing in the navigation bar (see the picture)
step four: add this to your bookmark folder or bar
enjoy
gizmo project
so ive been looking into voip type thing, it says its compatible with adium, but i havent been able to work it yet, but their software is pretty slick
anyway, check it out gizmo
my account is davepthomson
peace
anyway, check it out gizmo
my account is davepthomson
peace
Friday, March 31, 2006
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