So here it is. A Japanese public bathroom in all of its greatness. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0ubzeo10T0
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Eaten Alive
I don't usually post just pictures, but this is by far the coolest picture I've ever taken. I was coming home, and I heard a "bzzz....bzz ...bzzzz" sound. I looked down to see this orgy of insects, and I couldn't quite figure out what was going on. With a closer inspection, I realized that a poor cicada was being eaten by a wickedly large praying mantis.
Luckily this was all happening right outside of my neighbor's driveway, so I ran upstaris, grabbed my D40, and came back down to snap some shots.
Damn, people complain about dying, but how about death by having your face eaten off?
Luckily this was all happening right outside of my neighbor's driveway, so I ran upstaris, grabbed my D40, and came back down to snap some shots.
Damn, people complain about dying, but how about death by having your face eaten off?
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Stepping Up
Over the past month or so I've given up the following:
-Anything English; movies, music, books, etc. If it has English, I don't get near it (with exception to my job)
-Alcohol. Of course I never had a drinking problem, but being in an altered state at any time makes me that less sharp
-Dating
-Going out on weekends
-Pretty much going out at all
-Social networking sites (myspace, mixi, facebook, etc)
-Video games
Why? Quite simply, I want to be good at something. I want to feel like I actually did something with my life. After this conquest, chances are I'll spend the rest of my life punching and punching out, find my way to retirement, grow old and die. But at least I can die knowing I worked towards a goal and completed it.
I've seen too many people live wasted lives, ignore their potential and turn out to be average (or less than average) Joe Slob who is content with mediocrity.
Not me.
Other than staying fit by going to the gym and snapping the occasional photo, I've cut out any part of my life that could be spent otherwise bettering myself at Japanese.
This isn't for a test I want to pass.
This isn't for getting job with a Japanese company.
It's for me.
It's to look back years from now when I'm bald, wrinkled, and fragile, and be able to think, "I did something. And I did it well."
-Anything English; movies, music, books, etc. If it has English, I don't get near it (with exception to my job)
-Alcohol. Of course I never had a drinking problem, but being in an altered state at any time makes me that less sharp
-Dating
-Going out on weekends
-Pretty much going out at all
-Social networking sites (myspace, mixi, facebook, etc)
-Video games
Why? Quite simply, I want to be good at something. I want to feel like I actually did something with my life. After this conquest, chances are I'll spend the rest of my life punching and punching out, find my way to retirement, grow old and die. But at least I can die knowing I worked towards a goal and completed it.
I've seen too many people live wasted lives, ignore their potential and turn out to be average (or less than average) Joe Slob who is content with mediocrity.
Not me.
Other than staying fit by going to the gym and snapping the occasional photo, I've cut out any part of my life that could be spent otherwise bettering myself at Japanese.
This isn't for a test I want to pass.
This isn't for getting job with a Japanese company.
It's for me.
It's to look back years from now when I'm bald, wrinkled, and fragile, and be able to think, "I did something. And I did it well."
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Imagine...
No, not the utopian society where John Lennon imagines there aren't any more countries. Imagine this:
-You were given the gift of going to work, and being able to 100% tune out all of the dramatic crap that flies around the office.
-You were able to divert tons of responsibility at work (with no added benefit or pay even if you did it) by being simple being ignorant of what is being said to you.
-Annnoying commercials? Don't understand them!
-Annoying neighbors bitching? Gone!
Damn.. why did I learn Japanese?
-You were given the gift of going to work, and being able to 100% tune out all of the dramatic crap that flies around the office.
-You were able to divert tons of responsibility at work (with no added benefit or pay even if you did it) by being simple being ignorant of what is being said to you.
-Annnoying commercials? Don't understand them!
-Annoying neighbors bitching? Gone!
Damn.. why did I learn Japanese?
Monday, July 7, 2008
So I'll be going home in less than a month! It'll be nice to catch up with friends and family, eat 'brerros and look at the pretty beach. I can't wait.
Updates basically stopped because I have become accustumed to life here. It's like asking somebody to write something interesting about their hometown; they'll probably say, "what should I write? The same things happen every day. It's boring". That's basically how it is over here. If interesting things happen, I'll post it here. But for the most part, I'm living the same boring life you are, just in a different country with a lot of Japanese folk.
I can't wait to be home though.
Updates basically stopped because I have become accustumed to life here. It's like asking somebody to write something interesting about their hometown; they'll probably say, "what should I write? The same things happen every day. It's boring". That's basically how it is over here. If interesting things happen, I'll post it here. But for the most part, I'm living the same boring life you are, just in a different country with a lot of Japanese folk.
I can't wait to be home though.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
High School is Universally Awkward
High School knows no cultural bounds when it comes to having the most intensely awkward moments of your life. And those are the formative years that hurt: if you're in your mid 20s and you get turned down by someone of the opposite sex, you brush it off and find somebody else. But if you're 16, your voice just started cracking, and you find yourself in an inescapable situation that will leave you feeling rejected and humiliated for years to come, it will leave an emotional scar.
I certainly just witnessed one of those moments tonight.
Coming out of the room that my Japanese lessons were held, I noticed a high school boy and a girl silently looking out a window. They boy had his hands crossed in front of him when I first looked. I talked a bit to everyone else leaving the class, and when I looked over again, the kid made his move. His hand was holding hers, both still looking silently out the window. Go kid!, I thought.
The group that I meet up with every week hung out for a few minutes later. During that time the couple descended down the stairs and left. I myself followed suit a few minutes later and hopped on my bike to head home. Peddling down a dark street, I noticed the same couple I saw a few minutes earlier, only they weren't holding hands. In fact, they still weren't talking. It was worse than that. There they were, walking in near pitch black and dead silence, while the girl was reading a book. That's right. She was using both of her hands to hold the book close to her face and attempt to read it under the extremely dim streetlight.
This was the most awkward situation I've ever had the privilege of seeing. Not only is the girl saying "I don't want to hold your hand" because both of her hands are occupied, she's saying "don't look at me because I'm reading and don't talk to me because I'm trying to concentrate". And I've seen nerds here and there walk home and read books, but certainly not at night.
I hope at least it was an interesting book.
I certainly just witnessed one of those moments tonight.
Coming out of the room that my Japanese lessons were held, I noticed a high school boy and a girl silently looking out a window. They boy had his hands crossed in front of him when I first looked. I talked a bit to everyone else leaving the class, and when I looked over again, the kid made his move. His hand was holding hers, both still looking silently out the window. Go kid!, I thought.
The group that I meet up with every week hung out for a few minutes later. During that time the couple descended down the stairs and left. I myself followed suit a few minutes later and hopped on my bike to head home. Peddling down a dark street, I noticed the same couple I saw a few minutes earlier, only they weren't holding hands. In fact, they still weren't talking. It was worse than that. There they were, walking in near pitch black and dead silence, while the girl was reading a book. That's right. She was using both of her hands to hold the book close to her face and attempt to read it under the extremely dim streetlight.
This was the most awkward situation I've ever had the privilege of seeing. Not only is the girl saying "I don't want to hold your hand" because both of her hands are occupied, she's saying "don't look at me because I'm reading and don't talk to me because I'm trying to concentrate". And I've seen nerds here and there walk home and read books, but certainly not at night.
I hope at least it was an interesting book.
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