Chillin with my new iMac!

Dont feel like sleepin.  I dont feel like that a lot lately.  Probably wont make it to the gym again tomorrow.  I really need to work on sleeping and actually making it to the gym.   Much better life choice. 

Just about recovered from my weekend, which was full on awesome.  Very few ways it could be improved, but if you give me a minute I am sure I can find some.  Basically, without going into too many details, 8 hours of sleep in 72 hours.  Uncountable drinks consumed, and all manner of debauchery explored.  Oh sure, I did some wholesome stuff too, but what is the fun of bragging on that?  Long and short... club, lunch, fireworks, karaoke, beach bbq, bar, and follow it up with home way to late on a work night.  I met a ton of people though, and had a good time. 

Additionally, I acquired a new dresser, which is quite handsome if I do say so myself, and this handy dandy new computer.  A 27 inch iMac.  2.7 ghz, 4gb of RAM.  It was tempting to go for the Porsche versions at 3.1 and 3.4ghz, but as a computer expert I am well aware that my personal needs are far below that.  You are looking at my usual fare in computer user land.  Internet.  I am easy and cheap to please. 

Hope all is going well with you!  If not, suck it up.  That is what people keep telling me, so apparently it is good advice. Until next week!

Stop texting so loud. It hurts my head... Steve is alive and WAS actually in the office. He is a fucking terminator dude. Nothing stops him.

This is one of those days that makes me think that I should never drink again. I am in pain dude.

Messy... Messy... No one died so that is good!

Funny. We were all pretty fucked up at the end

I message. No answer yet. I have expected he would be in the office!

Why the fuck did I fell so benevolent as to share a cab with a random sexless who lives in midori ku. Really the cab cost me 7500. Really what the fuck. Dying today? Dude. Will see you on the other side man. I may get there first. Wonder how steve is. Cause dude was soup last night

Dude. I could not quite figure that out either. I chalked it up to "fuck it who cares." a night needs an element of random to be successful. I may die today though. Holy fuck.

Ray why did i share come cab with some chick who looks like a dude or sone dude who looks like a chick? Last night was painful.

Not much going on really

Mostly I am waiting to figure out how I am going to get a credit card in Japan.  It has been almost two weeks since I applied at my bank, and not a peep.  I suppose I will go in on the 14th day and bitch.  I am foreign; it is what we do.  I would rather have a debit card anyway, perhaps that will be easier for them to manage. 

I decided to buy a new battery for my current laptop instead of a Macbook Air.  I think it would be a better investment to buy a new desktop here instead.  Not sure what I will get yet.  I also need a credit card to get my new domain name and hosting.  My bank is costing me money in a very real sense by keeping me waiting and making this hard.  I hope they realize I will hold it against them the first chance I get.

Other than that, things are basically the same as they always are, well, recently anyway.  Could be better, could be worse. 


Some Pictures

Me in Shizuoka.  I got sunburned.

 

On my way to Oktoberfest... in July.  No idea, don't ask.

Hanging out with Bryce.  Drinking beer.  Good times.

Me at Karaoke; calling my song? 

Foo Fighters; Breakout.  Need I say more?

That is it for me.  Drop me a line sometime eh? Keep in touch!

This weekend was a washout...

So lets talk about another weekend!  Had my first visit to an orphanage pretty near my house with Santa and Friends.  They are moving from doing only one event at Xmas per year to monthly support and events for the orphans in 5 locations throughout Nagoya, as well as those in some locations in Tohoku.  The place I will be working with is small, and all boys orphanage with about 20 children of varying ages between really young and high school.

Started the day off with a Nagoya tradition, the morning set. Great coffee at a shop near my house.  Not a great place to hang out, but the coffee is good, as I mentioned!

 

Then I made it to the Orphanage with James and the others.  After meeting the staff we had a tour of the facility, a charming little place that could be described as a fixer-upper.  Comfortable enough though.

The Main Hallway, this is most of the orphanage here.  Small place~

Bedrooms.  4 kids per room, I think they have more space than I do!

Their school.  Lotsa learnin going on in there; even that Saturday found students in there.

Ball field, the staff asked for support playing sports with the kids.  I hate sports, but oh well.

The head guy took us to see a festival the kids would go to later that night.  It was still being setup.

Lunch at the Mexican spot

James Hedden at the Mexican spot!

We had plenty of tacos while we talked about what we could do for the orphanage. 

 After parting with the Santa and Friends crew it  was on to the Meitetsu Beer Garden to drink on top of a department store.  It was a surprise party for Kyle, who is like really old now.  Great fun, and we found they had Bass Ale, much better than the draft they usually force feed us!

Kyle is the guy at the end in red.  You will see him again.

Bass Ale... beer is good. 

The gang; I was trying to tan... It did not work.

Kyle is a nut.

I am not sure what I was looking at...

My buddy Yoko and I.  We always do shit like this so everyone thinks we are dating or married.  Just friends, she is flippin awesome though.  

Super Kyle!  Japan man!

After this, it started to get messy as we drank from 3-9.  No pictures exist but it was trashy fun! This was a really good day.  Did some good work, had some fun, and went a bit nuts after sun down.  Not like this last weekend.  It sucked.  If it was a person I would swear revenge and begin to actively seek its downfall-much I like always do when someone makes me mad.  Keep it in mind people!  I am petty and vindictive; its a hobby. 

Golden Week

Golden Week started out slow, but it picked up towards the end.  I have been all over the place working and visiting folks I probably should have visited sooner.  I spent some time talking with a few small business owners in Nagoya, most notably my first trip to Mondo Books.  The new shop has a cool vibe, and Mike and Jose have some interesting ideas on how to use their space.  I put in a standing order for Mike to find me a cool kids encyclopedia / picture book about bugs for my buddy Ben and his little nephew.  Hopefully he will find me something cool.

Quiet time for Ben and Boudi

Talking with Trevor D was cool as well, and he agrees with me that somehow the atmosphere in Nagoya has changed recently.  A lot of foreigners are doing their own thing now; braving all the talk about not being able to do anything in Nagoya other than teach.  I have heard it from the old guard before, that Nagoya needs a new crop of entrepreneurs, and perhaps these are the ones they have been looking for. 

I am also getting more and more interested in moving out of the office.  I have a great job, but the prospect of spending the rest of my days camped out in front of the computer does not really appeal to me.  I am not really an office job kind of guy; perhaps something else will present itself, but until then all I can do is try and save enough money to be able to take advantage of it when it does, right?  Money money money!

Yeah, that is how I roll... ok, maybe not. 

Had a great night at Karaoke the other day with Christina and Satomi;  my voice made a partial return to normalcy for the occasion!  I was almost able to sing like I usually can.  Good times, good times. 

Can you girls not read?

Technically,  GW is over.  I have to return to my normal schedule now.  What a pain eh?  First it is off the the gym for a bit, then I will camp out at Starbucks followed by a bit of time at the Hope Japan office.  From the afternoon it is HR time.

Happy Friday Japan people!

Just another day

Random photo from hanami season; anyone identify the location?

Riding the train out to Shin-Unuma for some work today. I would be more upset about working over the Golden Week vacation if I had any faith that I would do anything else interesting if I had the time off. Looking forward to a bit of a walk around the mountains out here when I finish what I have to do today. The place is in the middle of nowhere and if you walk a bit further you come to a lovely river scene. I will probably not go that far today, but if I do I will post a picture or two.

Everything is coming up Ray~Ray today kids!

Got the good seat at SB, got to teach new staff here that yes, I can have my coffee the way I want it, and I am still awesome. Few things are popping into my radar, and that is good. I like money. Looking forward to Okinawa next month for Wayne's wedding. I get to officiate; big fun for Ray~Ray and the wedding party will be friggin EPIC. If no one gets naked and I don't end up in jail I will be sorely disappointed- though hopefully those two things won't be related! :-).

I know what Japanese ladies lune

Potassium iodide for two! :-) yeah girls, I'm the man. Thanks to Joseph for shipping me this... now let's hope I won't need it ever!

TGIF - hikikomori here I come!

Another strange week.  Weather is good today though, so there is always that.  I get one day off this week, and I plan to spend it in my apartment bothering my cat.  I really do not feel like talking to anyone.   I am not sure who stole my mojo, but I figure that out and there is going to be a reckoning!  I get my shipment of potassium iodide today, at 7pm.  It only took DHL a month to get it too me.  They were pretty good about working with me and customs, but they were terrible at calling me back.  I had to call three times, and the third time I had to warn them that if I had to call them back again there was going to be unpleasantness. Once they figured out they were screwing up they did ok though.  I know we do not need them pills, but a friend offered, and I figured why not.  Wish I would have received them while I was up in Fukushima though-again, not that I needed them, but it would have been a comfort! 

Random me - as if there was any other kind.

Just feel like posting.  I have taken up smoking a pipe.  I know, odd.  For some reason I thought it was really cool when a couple of my friends had them.  I am such a joiner.  I own that.  Since I bought one, and paid an embarrassing amount for my first one, I have really taken to it.  It takes a long time to smoke a pipe, and it really gives you time to think.  About what, that is another story, but usually about 20 minutes; there are actually contests to see who can smoke it the longest without re-lighting.  It is more difficult than I imagined as well, there is a real technique to doing it.  Smoke it too fast and you get condensation gurgles, too slow it just goes out.  You can get all geeky on the type of pipe you choose, or you can get all geeky on the type of tobacco you smoke. Sure, they will both kill you, but who wants to live forever?  Certainly not me; life is hard!

I forgot I had a blog!

I guess I should post more stuff eh?  Of course that means will have to do more stuff... hmm... we will see.

Me working in Fukushima For Hope Japan, delivering supplies to Tohoku.  

 A train on top of a mountain in Tohoku.  Not currently a great place to be.