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June 27, 2006
aren't you glad you're not in...
this.
Posted by Jeff at 09:11 PM | Comments (0)
updates?
so let's see...
i bought some books in tokyo awhile back:
bono on bono,
the tripping point,
and
the wind up bird chornicle.
currently reading:
bono on bono.
going to the gym lately (it's been about a month) and, to the only stat that most people seem to care about, i lost about 1.8% of my body fat :P.
brad and i went up to tokyo last weekend for masaya's farewell party; he's off to germany for a year to study the language and culture. if i don't see you masaya, take care in germany, and as always:
high sense!
thank you for everything.
Posted by Jeff at 12:42 AM | Comments (0)
June 20, 2006
so a few funny moments
about living at home:
anon: i swear, if my sister was a roommate and not a sibling
a: i'd be looking to move out
a: -_-
me: LOL
m: i need to quote that
m: and make it anonymous
a: ROFL
<3 family.
small world:
last night i ordered a pizza for dinner (no groceries in the kitchen :O) and the pizza guy who delivered was actually a student who graduated from my school last year and is attending a college in fuji/fujinomiya and working part time at my favorite take out place... not bad eh?
another example is that ryan, who lives in the apt below susie trained in kung fu with marc (college roommate).
/blownaway.
Posted by Jeff at 11:46 AM | Comments (1)
weekend trips
brad, ryan, and i went to nikko for this weekend and stayed at a really nice ryoukan or japanese style in. it was pretty cool really, two meals, japanese styled rooms, and a mini hot springs for about 160 for one night. now i know that's not exactly the cheapest in the world, but remember, this is japan.
anyways, we got to visit some really nice temples, shrines, a lake and two really spectacular waterfalls, and without a doubt i know my post doesn't do it justice, but i'll have picks up soon.
yes i know i also owe you guys picks from goldenweek in kamakura and the next trips on the agenda are nagoya and okinawa and possibly hong kong and china... seems like a bit much, but we'll see.
wish me luck!
Posted by Jeff at 08:52 AM | Comments (0)
June 16, 2006
aren't you... not supposed to do that?
and by `that` i mean this (these were my students last year):
eri: who am i?
me: eri.
e: /impressed.
hitomi: who am i?
me: hitomi.
h: /impressed.
e+h: omg you remembered our names!
jte: why's that?
m: cause they were the loudest in class.
j: /tellsstudents.
m: ...
m: ...
j: :D
m: ...thanks... i think.
:P
Posted by Jeff at 11:29 PM | Comments (0)
June 12, 2006
long time no see...
really busy the last week. so where to begin?
last sunday night i went up to tokyo early (first solo trip) and met up with my dad's sister's husband's sister... don't think too hard on it, but by chinese standards, we're related. no really.
but anyways the reason for this is because from monday to wednesday i had to go to the clair recontracting orientation for, well, for recontracting jets. for the most part it was pretty cool to hang out with friends i haven't seen in awhile and going out for dinner in tokyo is always fun - though tokyo isn't exactly cheap. still fun though. met up with masaya (brad and ryan's friend who went snowboarding with us in nagano, and let us crash at his place) and his senpai and his senpai's wife and even met up with some new people. for the most part, i'll say that it's good to see old friends, meet new ones, and still (even though i disagree that it takes 6 hrs of orientation to accomplish, but it's an excuse to be in tokyo for three days) be reminded that even though we're alone in our schools, we're not alone, well not entirely.
and `no` that wasn't ment to sound cheesy.
honest.
though i think the highlight of my trip was sitting there on the third day, during the final seminar held by the ministry of education and i looked towards my left at what aga was doing:
me thinking: man this is boring. aga seems to be writing a lot on her pamphlet. /takesapeek.
aga continues drawing.
mt: hey that looks a lot like...
mt: ...
mt: .../lookscloser.
mt: ...
mt: yeaop that'd be godzilla attacking tokyo tower... with me riding on top of his head... fantastic.
this is when she saw the reaction on my face, and bursted out laughing in the midst of dead silence. :D
but yeah, coming home was rathering tiring, and four classes in a row is never fun the next day...
so that brings us to last weekend... on friday night i finally meet up with lawrence and sofia for the first time in a long time - i cooked dinner for them - and had a good chat with a few beers and a bottle of wine (knowing me, i didn't drink much). and knowing me, i passed out rather promptly. and knowing me, woke up, showered, and woke up around noon the next day... fun times!
but that night is where i learned this phrase:
'tight as a ducks ass'
and what does it mean exactly? it means you're a penny pincher!! and apparently that pennys come out of your ass... ass pennys... hmmm...
oh yeah, saturday lawrence, sofia, kyoko, masahiro, and doug came out to drag (more or less) me off towards the festival in the city i was in. not too sure what it was for, i'd imagine something in relation to bars and hostess bars, but perhaps i'm wrong :o. anyways got to eat some beef kabobs, baked potatoes, and (i couldn't resist) garlic flavored french fries.
good freaking times :)
on a random note, anyone else feel like spending japanese money is a lot like monopoly money?
Posted by Jeff at 04:09 PM | Comments (1)
June 02, 2006
zomg the 200th entry!
zomg i learned how to use those electric paddles that paramedics and doctors use to resuscitate those who have no heartbeat.
and for some reason i feel i am even more of a danger to those in japan than ever before... why might i think that? well let's just say the day went something like this:
trained paramedic: alright so now i'm going to show you how to use the AED.
me and the other 19 teachers there: /nod.
tp: so the one thing that you CANNOT DO, that you ABSOLUTELY SHOULD NOT DO because it MIGHT kill someone is asdfj;aldskjfklsvnaweicmwpoemvpwdlf (it might as well have come out like that cause that's about as much as i caught of it)!!!
m: ...
senseis: oh yes yes, you shouldn't do that that's very dangerous.
m: um, can someone explain that in simpler japanese or english?
no response.
m: fantastic (in english).
fun times eh? 3 hrs of it too. <3 my crap japanese abilities.
:[
Posted by Jeff at 05:33 PM | Comments (0)
June 01, 2006
today is june first
well it is. can anyone else believe i'm starting the 11th month? cause i sure can't.
so what's been happening lately? i, can't say that i remember everything, but a few notables:
last wednesday susie and i went out for 100yen (about a buck) sushi and ran into susie's student who was working there. and lo and behold, we got the hookup! no joke, first time ever in japan heh. i had 14 plates, he charged me 10, and she had 6, he charged her 3. simply, awesome.
i went to a japanaese wedding reception party on saturday the 27th where i found my self (for the second time) in a situation without any native english speakers. it was pretty cool for the most part, met three really nice japanese people who want to go bowling with me sometime soon (i need to email them). well the person's who wedding it was was sato sensei (i guess now, kato sensei, but old habits die hard eh?). and don't ask me how it ended up at this, but i found myself singing `with or without` you for them ;P
and it's REALLY weird when you have about 30 japanese people looking at you with this face: o.Oa.
afterwards, headed to watch `the davinci code` with brad and ryan where, in my honest opinion (no spoilers) wondered what some of those who haven't read the book felt. because it seemed that there were a lot of parts where if you didn't read the book, it would just seem incredibly disjoint. and did anyone else wonder why tom hanks is robert langdon?
i swear anybody could have fit the bill for that character.
i wasn't a big fan of it in the beginning, since mnost of it was brown's narration, and thus, hard to translate to the silver screen. but as the story picked up, i found myself enjoying it more and ian mckellan with the two lines that got me to laugh out loud - and as usual, brad, ryan, and me were the only 3 laughing heh.
mmm other thoughts...
i've started going to the gym again (only took 10 months XD) and it feels really good. i have yet to open the iPod nano i bought, and am contemplating getting shuffle for the gym and for running. anyone else think this is a bad idea?
also about coming home. i originally thought of coming home after the one year mark (7/31) to restock on some us supplies - gel, deodorant, toothpaste, etc. but find it less and less likely to make a trip back home. and if i did, it'd be only one time; in the summer or the winter for 1 week or so. to be honest though i'm thinking i won't be back home till august 2007 and might just run to taiwan for winter break or maybe thailand /shrug.
gotta take advantage of being halfway around the world right?
Posted by Jeff at 09:48 AM | Comments (0)