No no I'm not selling you cheap DVDs, but these are three of my dumb videos from HK. My humor, as always, needs help, but at least you get a little feel for my time there. Still working on an update worthy of posting.
I have arrived. It's Hot.
Archetecture Porn.
A riviting expose`. Or something.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Hey, I'm not dead!
Hey Everyone! I et your wondering where I have been. Sorry I have been derilict with this blog, but trust me things have been busy. Let's get the ball running with a little update, and soon I hope to post some pictures. BTW thanks Rosa and Alan for hanging on and checking back.
So yeah, what has gone on since May? Well, I'm still in Japan for one thing, and will stay until August 2008. I'm also returning home for Christmas, which will be nice. I did some canyoning and rafting over the summer. In August 07 I traveled to Thailand. I need to post pictures of that. There I road an Elephant, hung out on a really nice beach, and saw some incredible temples. I also ate a lot of curry.
This year as school has been going very well. I've spent a lot of time running in and out of Tokyo for fun and Mito for both fun and work. Recently I went to a couple College Fairs which were interesting.
This Friday I head out to Hong Kong and Taiwan to see a friend and to do some sight seeing. I'm excited but at the same time it hasn't hit me that I am going yet since I still have to travel to Mito to work on getting my driver's liceance again. Don't ask how many times I have taken this test now, it's embaressing.
Hey, check out www.freerice.com, it's an interesting sight that donates rice while expanding your vocabulary. If you know me, you know that I enjoy myself some vocab. So check it out and pass it along.
So yeah, Mito tonight and tomorrow morning, Indoor rock climbing tomorrow night, then Friday I am off. So things are quite well. I recently cleaned my apartment a little, so it no longer looks like a clothing bomb hit it.
Okay, I've touched on quite a bit of randomness, so let me end by saying thanks for still checking this, and I will get some pictures up on here come late November/early December.
So yeah, what has gone on since May? Well, I'm still in Japan for one thing, and will stay until August 2008. I'm also returning home for Christmas, which will be nice. I did some canyoning and rafting over the summer. In August 07 I traveled to Thailand. I need to post pictures of that. There I road an Elephant, hung out on a really nice beach, and saw some incredible temples. I also ate a lot of curry.
This year as school has been going very well. I've spent a lot of time running in and out of Tokyo for fun and Mito for both fun and work. Recently I went to a couple College Fairs which were interesting.
This Friday I head out to Hong Kong and Taiwan to see a friend and to do some sight seeing. I'm excited but at the same time it hasn't hit me that I am going yet since I still have to travel to Mito to work on getting my driver's liceance again. Don't ask how many times I have taken this test now, it's embaressing.
Hey, check out www.freerice.com, it's an interesting sight that donates rice while expanding your vocabulary. If you know me, you know that I enjoy myself some vocab. So check it out and pass it along.
So yeah, Mito tonight and tomorrow morning, Indoor rock climbing tomorrow night, then Friday I am off. So things are quite well. I recently cleaned my apartment a little, so it no longer looks like a clothing bomb hit it.
Okay, I've touched on quite a bit of randomness, so let me end by saying thanks for still checking this, and I will get some pictures up on here come late November/early December.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Time blows by, huh?
Okay so I have not posted in like 3 months. Big deal, I don't even think humans read this anymore, only tracker robots. So anyways, GOlden week in review.
Tom, Bob, Mike, Brad and Corbo (Nick) came to Japan. We spent their first night in Koga, dining on the local faire. Satureday and Sunday were spent touring Tokyo's shrines, wards and clubs. Good times. We headed for Kansai on Monday, opting for a day in Nara and the night in Osaka. We had a hotel in Shin Osaka, which worked out quite nicely. Tuesday was Hiroshima and Miajima (sp?) Shrine. Good times. The Peace park and the O tori were really great. Very interesting food for thought.
Wendsday and Thursday were spent in Kyoto. The buses and trains of Kyoto are crowded to say the least. Still, a lot of fun.
Friday we headed back towards Tokyo for another weekend of discovery in the premeire city of Japan. We stayed at the Prince Hotel in Shinjuku. It was okay, not nearly as nice as the Cerulian in Shibuya. But hey, I am not going to complain.
On Sunday we all came back to Koga for a night, and on Monday morning the guys came with me to School at Sanwa. It was a lot of fun. The kids loved it, as did my friends.
Tuesday was a meeting in Mito. Nothing too crazy.
Here we are now on Wendsday, and I had one class today. I'll hit up Tokyo for a little while tonight.
All is well. Hope you are good.
Tom, Bob, Mike, Brad and Corbo (Nick) came to Japan. We spent their first night in Koga, dining on the local faire. Satureday and Sunday were spent touring Tokyo's shrines, wards and clubs. Good times. We headed for Kansai on Monday, opting for a day in Nara and the night in Osaka. We had a hotel in Shin Osaka, which worked out quite nicely. Tuesday was Hiroshima and Miajima (sp?) Shrine. Good times. The Peace park and the O tori were really great. Very interesting food for thought.
Wendsday and Thursday were spent in Kyoto. The buses and trains of Kyoto are crowded to say the least. Still, a lot of fun.
Friday we headed back towards Tokyo for another weekend of discovery in the premeire city of Japan. We stayed at the Prince Hotel in Shinjuku. It was okay, not nearly as nice as the Cerulian in Shibuya. But hey, I am not going to complain.
On Sunday we all came back to Koga for a night, and on Monday morning the guys came with me to School at Sanwa. It was a lot of fun. The kids loved it, as did my friends.
Tuesday was a meeting in Mito. Nothing too crazy.
Here we are now on Wendsday, and I had one class today. I'll hit up Tokyo for a little while tonight.
All is well. Hope you are good.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Mini Update
Feb. 2nd: Started running with the track club of my new Friday school. Ran to the river/hill area. Ran probobly 12 or 13k, longest I have gone in a while. Watched the sunset in back of Mt. Fuji, from freaking KOGA. First time I have caught this, and it was while I was having an amazing run. Kick ass.
Decided to walk a different way home today from the train station. Found an indie coffee shop run by dudes my age that opened up 3 months ago. Totally kick ass place, great atmosphere, probobly going to spend a lot of time here. They gave me a free dessert after I jammed with them for a while about NY. Kick ass.
Bought a pair of Red Converse's. Kick ass.
Bought amazing sake for super cheap. Kick ass.
Bought Peanut Butter with the help of my friend's cute Japanese wife, who now wants me to meet her (supposedly) even cuter friends at their Wedding party. Kick ass.
Good Day? I think so.
I love Japan.
Decided to walk a different way home today from the train station. Found an indie coffee shop run by dudes my age that opened up 3 months ago. Totally kick ass place, great atmosphere, probobly going to spend a lot of time here. They gave me a free dessert after I jammed with them for a while about NY. Kick ass.
Bought a pair of Red Converse's. Kick ass.
Bought amazing sake for super cheap. Kick ass.
Bought Peanut Butter with the help of my friend's cute Japanese wife, who now wants me to meet her (supposedly) even cuter friends at their Wedding party. Kick ass.
Good Day? I think so.
I love Japan.
Friday, January 05, 2007
2006 Recap aka Enough Already
Warning: The following blog contains inappropriate language, sappy memories, emotional pandering, stupid abscure in-jokes and has been writen before I drank my morning green tea. Read at your own risk.
So let me preface this with the thought that 2006-2007 wishes and promises and ect. Are sort of lame. People reaffirm their dreams, hopes and ambitions in a drunken haze on New Years and then promptly send them to the background come the next week. Whatever. So here is my compromise; I will expound a diatribe of the year just hence through the contoured lens that is yours truly, and I shall fill it to bursting with emotion, memories and hope. I will however stave off the vice of “promises and goals for the new year” which similar editorials tend to embrace. Let us now embark from the harbor and sound the fog horn; this one is about to get going.
So 2007. Sucks to be you 2007, simply because you have a shit ton to live up to. I will not lie, 2006 has been a banner year for Rick Inc. This is mainly because it is the year we “went international with it.” Aside from a haphazard cannon ball run into Canada a few years ago, I have never been outside the country. I mean Canada for one day doesn’t really seem to count if you ask me. I’m not even sure if I was sober for most of it. I didn’t even have a passport. I mean c’mon.
This year was different though. If I remember correctly (which I probably don’t, I am thinking back 2 years, not 1 probably, I will correct this once back home…) I rang it in with the O Side squad last year in Ocean Side complete with Corbo nuttiness and everyone wasted. I think. I have to look back into my picture archive, which is absent at the moment. But in either event 2006 ended in Jersey with Corbo, Brad, Way, Brick, Sarah and a whole host of others. It was good. Granted I was sick and pounding OJ and water, instead of beer and Jack Daniels, but who cares? Good people make the night, not drinks. Though the pimp ass Corbo Sempai whipping out the Dom is always makes for a nice treat.
But anyway, this year was sort of marked by my travels. I did a lot of moving around, seeing different people, and growing. I flew into DC to see Merri, where I found out I got into the Jet Program. I was in NYC a crap load of times with various members of the Core 4. I went to Europe with Craig for 2 weeks and saw London, Paris, Interlaken, Munich, and Prague. At the end of July I flew to Japan, and in December I flew to San Fran, then to New York again to ring in the New Year, only to find myself typing again at my cluttered desk in Sanwa, Japan. I know many of us are from different walks of life; to some of us international travel is something that has become second nature and barely noticable. For some of us just getting out of America seems like a fantasy in and of itself. For me it was the later, and I am really happy about finally doing it.
Other things happened this year. I put some solid nails in coffins with old relationships. I discovered new relationships and new people I never thought I would. 1 year ago if you told me I’d be sitting in the back of a small go-cart sized car blazing down the streets of a small farm town in Japan while listening as two African dudes chant along with tribal music from their home land I would probably just look at you weird or ask you to stop smoking shit before you talk to me. Still, this has become my reality. It is not uncommon for me to be in a room with people from France, Scotland, England, Canada, Germany, Japan and various places in the states arguing over “should Dan pour cereal in is mouth, then milk, then do some cartwheels and see how it tastes?”
This year is the first time where I have truly lived on my own as well. I have my own apartment here in Japan, and aside from it being a mess sometimes, I get by. I pay rent, conserve water, separate trash and do my own laundry. Again, for some of you this has been the norm since you left for college, but for me it was a first doing these all on my own, which is pretty cool. I really truly feel in control of every aspect of my life now. It’s an odd power over one’s self that leads to the actualization of the idea that I can in fact do anything…….
Wear a Santa Clause/Easter Bunny/Hippie costume to work? Check. Assist Japanese cheerleaders in a cheer in front of hundreds of people? Check. Bike up the Swiss Alps? Check. Eat ramen and Gyudon back to back nights? Check. Spend a whole day cleaning? Check. Spend an entire day playing Final Fantasy? Check. Jump off the fourth floor of a building into a chute? Check. Eat French food in an open air café facing the Arc De Triumph? Check. Have multi-millionaires hang on my every word? Check. Get wasted with a grand master of an ancient martial art after training under him? Check. Doing a pub crawl with two Canadian twins, one of which plays professional hockey, only to see them bloodied up the next morning in a German laundry-o-mat? Check. Chase a girl from a boat side hostel in Prague to an Airport in San Francisco? Check. Watch as friends become mothers, fathers, husbands, wives and fiancés? Check. Watch as my friends succeed, fail, strive, cry, laugh, fight, help, hurt, find love and get heart broken all while being there with them and experiencing all of the above? Check.
These are only a small sample of things I can conjure at the moment. It’s a bunch of pieces to the story that has made up this last year, and it was a sweet one. I’m glad I wrote a good portion of it down too, because it’s going to make a hell of a read when I am somewhere older wondering where all the time went. It’s hard to imagine that in the space of 365 days the world as you know it can change dramatically without the assistance of a war, a famine or any of the like. Its mind boggling to think that it all happened with steps I made in the sand of this world.
It would also be total bull shit if I said I did any of it alone. Along the way family, friends, co-workers, rivals, and random individuals helped me on this path. I’d have never made it through Europe, nor do I think I would have gone without Craig. I might have given up my dream of it if wasn’t for the inspiration from Karen and the kind words of Nick and Brad. All of my music would suck instead of just half and my weekends would have been pointless without Tom, Bob and Mike. How could I be brave enough to go on my own and have the confidence, pride and smarts to make it happen without my parents? I couldn’t laugh through the tough days without mom and I couldn’t walk nearly as tall without watching my dad do it every day. How could I feel wise without a younger sister to advise and torture? How could I distill it all and reminisce without Coach and Kirk and Chaz-bot? Who would read all of my stupid short stories if it weren’t for those poor people at Maharam? Who would read this if it weren’t for you?
There are too many names and too many people to even try to list, but thank you. I’m sure if your reading this then you and I probably had a moment somewhere in the last 365 days too. Thanks for that, because it’s made the journey all the more interesting.
Thanks to any of you reading this, because you made these little crazy moments in my life worth writing about. Also thank you pre-emptively, because I know we are going to have some fun times in the future too.
So thank you 2006 for being totally kick ass. Maybe you had a good year too. Maybe yours sucked the big one, and it got baloomped all over. Anyway it went I want you to join me in kicking 2007’s ass. Who knows where we are going to go. Who knows who we are going to meet? Who knows the new things we are going to do. Jeez I am writing this crap and I am getting excited. I feel like it’s the upbeat ending monologue to a season finale of the Rick Show, where all sorts of plot threads get finished up and some are just starting. It doesn’t matter though because there is definitely going to be a season two. So lets end this sappy mess right here, because I think you get the gist. (Gist reminds me of the word zeitgeist, because that word is fun and sexy to use in a sentence. Impress your friends with this new word!) So yeah, tune in next time for the next exciting episode of Rick. I promise there will be plenty of fan service.
So let me preface this with the thought that 2006-2007 wishes and promises and ect. Are sort of lame. People reaffirm their dreams, hopes and ambitions in a drunken haze on New Years and then promptly send them to the background come the next week. Whatever. So here is my compromise; I will expound a diatribe of the year just hence through the contoured lens that is yours truly, and I shall fill it to bursting with emotion, memories and hope. I will however stave off the vice of “promises and goals for the new year” which similar editorials tend to embrace. Let us now embark from the harbor and sound the fog horn; this one is about to get going.
So 2007. Sucks to be you 2007, simply because you have a shit ton to live up to. I will not lie, 2006 has been a banner year for Rick Inc. This is mainly because it is the year we “went international with it.” Aside from a haphazard cannon ball run into Canada a few years ago, I have never been outside the country. I mean Canada for one day doesn’t really seem to count if you ask me. I’m not even sure if I was sober for most of it. I didn’t even have a passport. I mean c’mon.
This year was different though. If I remember correctly (which I probably don’t, I am thinking back 2 years, not 1 probably, I will correct this once back home…) I rang it in with the O Side squad last year in Ocean Side complete with Corbo nuttiness and everyone wasted. I think. I have to look back into my picture archive, which is absent at the moment. But in either event 2006 ended in Jersey with Corbo, Brad, Way, Brick, Sarah and a whole host of others. It was good. Granted I was sick and pounding OJ and water, instead of beer and Jack Daniels, but who cares? Good people make the night, not drinks. Though the pimp ass Corbo Sempai whipping out the Dom is always makes for a nice treat.
But anyway, this year was sort of marked by my travels. I did a lot of moving around, seeing different people, and growing. I flew into DC to see Merri, where I found out I got into the Jet Program. I was in NYC a crap load of times with various members of the Core 4. I went to Europe with Craig for 2 weeks and saw London, Paris, Interlaken, Munich, and Prague. At the end of July I flew to Japan, and in December I flew to San Fran, then to New York again to ring in the New Year, only to find myself typing again at my cluttered desk in Sanwa, Japan. I know many of us are from different walks of life; to some of us international travel is something that has become second nature and barely noticable. For some of us just getting out of America seems like a fantasy in and of itself. For me it was the later, and I am really happy about finally doing it.
Other things happened this year. I put some solid nails in coffins with old relationships. I discovered new relationships and new people I never thought I would. 1 year ago if you told me I’d be sitting in the back of a small go-cart sized car blazing down the streets of a small farm town in Japan while listening as two African dudes chant along with tribal music from their home land I would probably just look at you weird or ask you to stop smoking shit before you talk to me. Still, this has become my reality. It is not uncommon for me to be in a room with people from France, Scotland, England, Canada, Germany, Japan and various places in the states arguing over “should Dan pour cereal in is mouth, then milk, then do some cartwheels and see how it tastes?”
This year is the first time where I have truly lived on my own as well. I have my own apartment here in Japan, and aside from it being a mess sometimes, I get by. I pay rent, conserve water, separate trash and do my own laundry. Again, for some of you this has been the norm since you left for college, but for me it was a first doing these all on my own, which is pretty cool. I really truly feel in control of every aspect of my life now. It’s an odd power over one’s self that leads to the actualization of the idea that I can in fact do anything…….
Wear a Santa Clause/Easter Bunny/Hippie costume to work? Check. Assist Japanese cheerleaders in a cheer in front of hundreds of people? Check. Bike up the Swiss Alps? Check. Eat ramen and Gyudon back to back nights? Check. Spend a whole day cleaning? Check. Spend an entire day playing Final Fantasy? Check. Jump off the fourth floor of a building into a chute? Check. Eat French food in an open air café facing the Arc De Triumph? Check. Have multi-millionaires hang on my every word? Check. Get wasted with a grand master of an ancient martial art after training under him? Check. Doing a pub crawl with two Canadian twins, one of which plays professional hockey, only to see them bloodied up the next morning in a German laundry-o-mat? Check. Chase a girl from a boat side hostel in Prague to an Airport in San Francisco? Check. Watch as friends become mothers, fathers, husbands, wives and fiancés? Check. Watch as my friends succeed, fail, strive, cry, laugh, fight, help, hurt, find love and get heart broken all while being there with them and experiencing all of the above? Check.
These are only a small sample of things I can conjure at the moment. It’s a bunch of pieces to the story that has made up this last year, and it was a sweet one. I’m glad I wrote a good portion of it down too, because it’s going to make a hell of a read when I am somewhere older wondering where all the time went. It’s hard to imagine that in the space of 365 days the world as you know it can change dramatically without the assistance of a war, a famine or any of the like. Its mind boggling to think that it all happened with steps I made in the sand of this world.
It would also be total bull shit if I said I did any of it alone. Along the way family, friends, co-workers, rivals, and random individuals helped me on this path. I’d have never made it through Europe, nor do I think I would have gone without Craig. I might have given up my dream of it if wasn’t for the inspiration from Karen and the kind words of Nick and Brad. All of my music would suck instead of just half and my weekends would have been pointless without Tom, Bob and Mike. How could I be brave enough to go on my own and have the confidence, pride and smarts to make it happen without my parents? I couldn’t laugh through the tough days without mom and I couldn’t walk nearly as tall without watching my dad do it every day. How could I feel wise without a younger sister to advise and torture? How could I distill it all and reminisce without Coach and Kirk and Chaz-bot? Who would read all of my stupid short stories if it weren’t for those poor people at Maharam? Who would read this if it weren’t for you?
There are too many names and too many people to even try to list, but thank you. I’m sure if your reading this then you and I probably had a moment somewhere in the last 365 days too. Thanks for that, because it’s made the journey all the more interesting.
Thanks to any of you reading this, because you made these little crazy moments in my life worth writing about. Also thank you pre-emptively, because I know we are going to have some fun times in the future too.
So thank you 2006 for being totally kick ass. Maybe you had a good year too. Maybe yours sucked the big one, and it got baloomped all over. Anyway it went I want you to join me in kicking 2007’s ass. Who knows where we are going to go. Who knows who we are going to meet? Who knows the new things we are going to do. Jeez I am writing this crap and I am getting excited. I feel like it’s the upbeat ending monologue to a season finale of the Rick Show, where all sorts of plot threads get finished up and some are just starting. It doesn’t matter though because there is definitely going to be a season two. So lets end this sappy mess right here, because I think you get the gist. (Gist reminds me of the word zeitgeist, because that word is fun and sexy to use in a sentence. Impress your friends with this new word!) So yeah, tune in next time for the next exciting episode of Rick. I promise there will be plenty of fan service.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Oh wow, I am still alive. Yes, this last month has gone by at sonic speeds. The weekdays are full of school, and the weekends have been jam packed. So why not throw a whole bunch of pictures at you? Sure, sounds good to me. Enjoy....
I hate cute rabbits. Taken at the Tokyo Museam of Modern Art. So postmodern it hurts. Okay okay, I just wanted to use the word postmodern. Because I am pretencious. Moving right along...
The end of an era. I was lucky enough to catch this guy losing his bachlor card. Poor guy, I mean seriously, this girl has horrible taste in hats and he is still going for it. More power to you bro.
Note the sheer composite that this situation represents. You have an ancient temple/shrine whatever, and semi-religous relics are availible for purchase through this shrine maiden, obviously a serious, time honored tradition that has not changed for hundreds of years. Until she whiped out the Dell flat screen and fired up Windows or Linux to process my order. So much for tradition. At least she looks the part.
School Time! The festival at Koga 1st High School resulted in me going into each classroom and well.. acting like an idiot. So this of course resulted in a lot of fun. School girls love pictures on their camera phones. They took some. I took some. Everyone was happy.
More school girls. I actually took this picture a while ago, but I taught their class today. I sang the Fugees "Killing Me Softly" while they filled in the words. This is my job. They give me money to do this.
Taken at the Festival again. I was taking pictures of the randomness, and of course the girls spotted me. Obligitory school girls shot. Promise its the last one.
This dude was the acting pimp in the bar the kids set up. He basically acted like a ganster the whole time. He of course is a cool kid, so I posed with him at the crazy festival. That or he would beat me up. I ask no questions.
Okay, it's no secret that I love anime and manga. Behold Eva Volume 10 and Bersek volume 31. Bask in it's all powerful and ephermieral glow. I made up a word yes, but how can one not when faced with such powerful dorkdom. All those who covet these things, kneel before me, I am your new dork master. MUHAHAHAHA
I asked kids to write me questions. This is from one of the girls. I have no words. Enjoy.
At least the kid is up to date on his world news.
Stole this kid's school uniform top after Judo practice, or should I call it "Young kids throwing Rick around like a bitch" practice. I think I could blend in...
This is an Udon shop right where you wait for the train. I mean, literally right where you wait for it. Not outside the station, but like, 4 feet from the train. I love it. I ate there. Good stuff.
Tsuchiura Fireworks show. Easily the greatest fireworks of my life, and I missed half the show too. It was amazing. My camera takes crappy shots, but please enjoy this.
More boom
Tokyo, Toyosu, the "Urban Dock" Super Mall. It's huge. I mean, huge. It had a cocert area, a place to a ferry, three floors and hundreds of stores. I am not sure, but I think it is one of the if not the biggest mall in the world. All hail consumerizim in it's puritanic form. All hail my inability to spell.
All hail Urban Dock. It is not even finished, and people come and buy things. I was one. Nice place though.
Inside the core of Urban Dock is a giant store of Gundam toy robots. I of course love Gundam. There was a 3 meter tall Gundam in there. I almost did not leave. I mean, I was escorted out, granted, after hugging the giant Gundam in my underware, but I mean, things happen. Moving right along...
So yes, Dinosaur Jr. is a kick ass band that recently got back together. They are pretty much rock gods, and I saw them in concert. I saw this kid with this shirt from their tour and almost acosted him. He then told me that he had no idea it was a band. Turns out fake, copied Dinosaur Jr. shirts are all the rage, I saw about 5 more the next day. I then did acoste him. Note his looking towards the floor. He is wwatching as I kick him in the nuts for disrespecting the band. Oh well. Sorry folks, put the kids to bed, I said nuts.
I have figured out why the birthrate in Japan is declining. It's easy to figure out when looking at these guys. Please analyse these young gentlemen, who are most likely High School seniors. No car, they have white matching mopeds, with helmets that compliment eachother. They have flowered licease plates. They have flowers adorn on the front of their kick ass rides. Imagine now you are a cute young Japanese girl and these guys roll up hitting on you. If you don't die from laughter I am assuming you just tell them to get lost. It all makes sense now.
So here we are at Nikko, a beautiful World Heritage site with some other JETs. We are all pretty badass if you could not tell. As you can also see, my abs have become so awesome they actually produce their own light source.
Dan and I posing in front of the most ornate gate in everdom. The other guy has a name, but I forget it. He is background boy. You know, that guy who is in your group but no one really cares about. He is there, looking confused, and of course no one cares. Which is fine. I think we may have left him there. Oh well, I'm in the picture, and that is the important thing.
A blurry picture of the largest club in Asia from the inside. The name of the place was "Ageha." It was freaking huge and we went for a Halloween party. I wasa cowboy. I danced with many a fine woman that night. Of course it was all thanks to my friends face abscuring darkness and alcohal, who have been helping me aproach women since college. Right, at least that wasn't awkward... moving right along...
Ah yes, Kyoto, a crazy trip if there ever was one. This was last weekend. This is at a temple er... Gin something or other. Very beautiul. See that kind of stripey, diagonal gray on the ground? Thats a rock garden; all that is sand that is raked everyday. Beautiful. I would hate to be the dude who has to do that though. What a crappy job. Well, I am glad he does it, he makes my pictures look great.
Why not end this with a stoic picture of yours truly? Me under a Kitsune (Fox) statue looking into the distance, obviously thinking things very important. You know like, "When the hell am I going to cut my hair? I look like a dirty hippy..."
Anyways, I hope you enjoy. If there is a place you think looked in particularly cool, let me know and I'll post more from it. This is more like a popori. Or Popouri. Or err... whatever, you can read it phonically. Thats what this is.
But seriously, things are great. Sorry I've been inconsitent, it's tough lately. I'd love to say I will post more consistantly, but this is a lie, I am still super busy. But when get time, I will through up more stuff for you. Hope you are all well.
=)
I hate cute rabbits. Taken at the Tokyo Museam of Modern Art. So postmodern it hurts. Okay okay, I just wanted to use the word postmodern. Because I am pretencious. Moving right along...
The end of an era. I was lucky enough to catch this guy losing his bachlor card. Poor guy, I mean seriously, this girl has horrible taste in hats and he is still going for it. More power to you bro.
Note the sheer composite that this situation represents. You have an ancient temple/shrine whatever, and semi-religous relics are availible for purchase through this shrine maiden, obviously a serious, time honored tradition that has not changed for hundreds of years. Until she whiped out the Dell flat screen and fired up Windows or Linux to process my order. So much for tradition. At least she looks the part.
School Time! The festival at Koga 1st High School resulted in me going into each classroom and well.. acting like an idiot. So this of course resulted in a lot of fun. School girls love pictures on their camera phones. They took some. I took some. Everyone was happy.
More school girls. I actually took this picture a while ago, but I taught their class today. I sang the Fugees "Killing Me Softly" while they filled in the words. This is my job. They give me money to do this.
Taken at the Festival again. I was taking pictures of the randomness, and of course the girls spotted me. Obligitory school girls shot. Promise its the last one.
This dude was the acting pimp in the bar the kids set up. He basically acted like a ganster the whole time. He of course is a cool kid, so I posed with him at the crazy festival. That or he would beat me up. I ask no questions.
Okay, it's no secret that I love anime and manga. Behold Eva Volume 10 and Bersek volume 31. Bask in it's all powerful and ephermieral glow. I made up a word yes, but how can one not when faced with such powerful dorkdom. All those who covet these things, kneel before me, I am your new dork master. MUHAHAHAHA
I asked kids to write me questions. This is from one of the girls. I have no words. Enjoy.
At least the kid is up to date on his world news.
Stole this kid's school uniform top after Judo practice, or should I call it "Young kids throwing Rick around like a bitch" practice. I think I could blend in...
This is an Udon shop right where you wait for the train. I mean, literally right where you wait for it. Not outside the station, but like, 4 feet from the train. I love it. I ate there. Good stuff.
Tsuchiura Fireworks show. Easily the greatest fireworks of my life, and I missed half the show too. It was amazing. My camera takes crappy shots, but please enjoy this.
More boom
Tokyo, Toyosu, the "Urban Dock" Super Mall. It's huge. I mean, huge. It had a cocert area, a place to a ferry, three floors and hundreds of stores. I am not sure, but I think it is one of the if not the biggest mall in the world. All hail consumerizim in it's puritanic form. All hail my inability to spell.
All hail Urban Dock. It is not even finished, and people come and buy things. I was one. Nice place though.
Inside the core of Urban Dock is a giant store of Gundam toy robots. I of course love Gundam. There was a 3 meter tall Gundam in there. I almost did not leave. I mean, I was escorted out, granted, after hugging the giant Gundam in my underware, but I mean, things happen. Moving right along...
So yes, Dinosaur Jr. is a kick ass band that recently got back together. They are pretty much rock gods, and I saw them in concert. I saw this kid with this shirt from their tour and almost acosted him. He then told me that he had no idea it was a band. Turns out fake, copied Dinosaur Jr. shirts are all the rage, I saw about 5 more the next day. I then did acoste him. Note his looking towards the floor. He is wwatching as I kick him in the nuts for disrespecting the band. Oh well. Sorry folks, put the kids to bed, I said nuts.
I have figured out why the birthrate in Japan is declining. It's easy to figure out when looking at these guys. Please analyse these young gentlemen, who are most likely High School seniors. No car, they have white matching mopeds, with helmets that compliment eachother. They have flowered licease plates. They have flowers adorn on the front of their kick ass rides. Imagine now you are a cute young Japanese girl and these guys roll up hitting on you. If you don't die from laughter I am assuming you just tell them to get lost. It all makes sense now.
So here we are at Nikko, a beautiful World Heritage site with some other JETs. We are all pretty badass if you could not tell. As you can also see, my abs have become so awesome they actually produce their own light source.
Dan and I posing in front of the most ornate gate in everdom. The other guy has a name, but I forget it. He is background boy. You know, that guy who is in your group but no one really cares about. He is there, looking confused, and of course no one cares. Which is fine. I think we may have left him there. Oh well, I'm in the picture, and that is the important thing.
A blurry picture of the largest club in Asia from the inside. The name of the place was "Ageha." It was freaking huge and we went for a Halloween party. I wasa cowboy. I danced with many a fine woman that night. Of course it was all thanks to my friends face abscuring darkness and alcohal, who have been helping me aproach women since college. Right, at least that wasn't awkward... moving right along...
Ah yes, Kyoto, a crazy trip if there ever was one. This was last weekend. This is at a temple er... Gin something or other. Very beautiul. See that kind of stripey, diagonal gray on the ground? Thats a rock garden; all that is sand that is raked everyday. Beautiful. I would hate to be the dude who has to do that though. What a crappy job. Well, I am glad he does it, he makes my pictures look great.
Why not end this with a stoic picture of yours truly? Me under a Kitsune (Fox) statue looking into the distance, obviously thinking things very important. You know like, "When the hell am I going to cut my hair? I look like a dirty hippy..."
Anyways, I hope you enjoy. If there is a place you think looked in particularly cool, let me know and I'll post more from it. This is more like a popori. Or Popouri. Or err... whatever, you can read it phonically. Thats what this is.
But seriously, things are great. Sorry I've been inconsitent, it's tough lately. I'd love to say I will post more consistantly, but this is a lie, I am still super busy. But when get time, I will through up more stuff for you. Hope you are all well.
=)
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Where the heck is Rick?
So I am sure you are wondering where I have been. Well, I've been here, doing all sorts of fun stuff, but I of course have neglected to tell you about it. Sorry team. I will toss a large picture post soon. To give you a mini update, I've been to Tokyo a bunch of times now. I've been to Tsuchiura a couple times too. Classes are good, and I helped out at a festival not too long ago, which was an amazing display of what Japanese kids can do when they are motivated to do something.
This weekend I will find myself in Nikko, a very historic place here in Japan. The week after is a Halloween Party in the outskirts of Tokyo. The weekend after that I take a trip to Kyoto. So yeah, I am booked until mid-November. Crazy. I promise that I will get pictures to you filled with witty, sarcastic comments.
As for now I am pumping out some lesson plans for some students going to Australia. Situational conversation. Stuff like, "I am (tired, sleepy, scared)." etc. One of my questions is "I feel this way when I am on fire...." I suppose I am a bad person for this. But then again, if they do catch fire at some point in Australia, the student will now know how to verbalize his feelings on the subject. That is education folks, I am an educator. Granted the topic is immolation, but I feel there has been little innovation on this situation.
What else? I watched The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift 3 here in Japan. That was a rather awkward experience. It's a story of how some American dude comes to Japan and beats all the people here at their own game, whilst having little regard for the culture. I have to say it was kind of interesting, and I of course love fast things on four wheels, so I had no real complains other than that.
I'm also in like 37 different clubs now. I either run, workout, train with the basketball team or try Kyudo at my main school. In my other ones I am working with the Karate, Track and Judo teams. It's a whole lot of fun, but it is very intimidating when a 16 year old boy tosses you around like a rag doll and a 17 year old girl kicks you in the face. I suppose there is a bit of humility in it. These kids are super talented though, so it's fun.
Okay, back to the lab again. Pictures to come. I hope you are all well.
Oh also, I changed the parameters on the comments, so you no longer need to be a member of blogger to leave a comment.
This weekend I will find myself in Nikko, a very historic place here in Japan. The week after is a Halloween Party in the outskirts of Tokyo. The weekend after that I take a trip to Kyoto. So yeah, I am booked until mid-November. Crazy. I promise that I will get pictures to you filled with witty, sarcastic comments.
As for now I am pumping out some lesson plans for some students going to Australia. Situational conversation. Stuff like, "I am (tired, sleepy, scared)." etc. One of my questions is "I feel this way when I am on fire...." I suppose I am a bad person for this. But then again, if they do catch fire at some point in Australia, the student will now know how to verbalize his feelings on the subject. That is education folks, I am an educator. Granted the topic is immolation, but I feel there has been little innovation on this situation.
What else? I watched The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift 3 here in Japan. That was a rather awkward experience. It's a story of how some American dude comes to Japan and beats all the people here at their own game, whilst having little regard for the culture. I have to say it was kind of interesting, and I of course love fast things on four wheels, so I had no real complains other than that.
I'm also in like 37 different clubs now. I either run, workout, train with the basketball team or try Kyudo at my main school. In my other ones I am working with the Karate, Track and Judo teams. It's a whole lot of fun, but it is very intimidating when a 16 year old boy tosses you around like a rag doll and a 17 year old girl kicks you in the face. I suppose there is a bit of humility in it. These kids are super talented though, so it's fun.
Okay, back to the lab again. Pictures to come. I hope you are all well.
Oh also, I changed the parameters on the comments, so you no longer need to be a member of blogger to leave a comment.
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