Been getting the most random requests and offers lately. I dont actually have much to say. Said I would post something so here it is. "HI!"
Should be receiving a new microphone for my computer; a real big one too! Excited to see how it works. Now we have to see if I use it or I just wasted my hard earned rubles!
This one...
LINK!
One up from the standard Snowball mike, one below the "Pro" model that my male ego basically DEMANDED.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Sitting in a coffee shop...
Sitting in a coffee shop, my coffee shop; the Starbucks down the street from the H&R office. Good spot. One of the prettiest girls I have ever seen is sitting across from me. She is pregnant; not really showing, but she keeps running her hands over her tummy and breasts; like she cant stop thinking about them. I can understand that, they are both quite pleasant. =)
Just got back from a "job interview." Work is going great, H&R is still very happy, and I am pretty happy there, but it is only 6 hours a day and I have been getting lazy. Instead of doing any thing productive I have been doing nothing; not even the coffee shop! Well that wont do, so I need to do something. Finding a permanent solution is hard, but finding few English teaching gigs is easy. I was trying to get a gig for 6 months through W5, 70 days over 6 months, mornings only, but I blatantly told them I was a one hit wonder so if they wanted someone to renew the contract they should choose someone else; they did. No worries. They said they would let me know if anything less permanent came up. I am not interested in going to back to teach English. There are three things going on here:
Somewhere is better than nowhere, something is better than nothing. So, a batsu game, a punishment. If I am not going to make it happen in any other way, I guess it is time to pick up some classes.
I need another 5 bills a month; now. Money don't care where it come from, the wine it buys don't either.
Funny though, the foreign staff already knows me and what I do, basically, but the Japanese staff got their mind blown a bit; "so what school do you teach PT at again?" Look at the resume dolt; I work at RP3 Computer Services. Its a freakin resume, you think I just forgot something? The last time I taught I taught for your company, check your records for that date. I dont konw it.
Been busy though, made a trip home, played a couple roles (microscopic roles) in a production of Hamlet. I think we sold out 3 of our shows. For the last one we added chairs to a 200 person theater and filled those too! I think we probably entertained about a 1000 people total. English lines, Japanese subtitles projected on a screen.
The Walkathon is over and done with as well; this year I was the MC. Will add some pics later, but it was a blast. Those of you who know me well will tell you that I generally like talking to groups of people, rather than the people themselves. Most people bore me to tears. That was pretty good, the final numbers are not out yet, but 2000 participants is pretty safe estimate; last year it was closer to 3,000.
Ill try to flesh out more of those recent events with some pics; to start see my Walkathon Playlist~
More - www.youtube.com/playlist
That is all for today; you and me both gotta wait see what come tomorrow!
Just got back from a "job interview." Work is going great, H&R is still very happy, and I am pretty happy there, but it is only 6 hours a day and I have been getting lazy. Instead of doing any thing productive I have been doing nothing; not even the coffee shop! Well that wont do, so I need to do something. Finding a permanent solution is hard, but finding few English teaching gigs is easy. I was trying to get a gig for 6 months through W5, 70 days over 6 months, mornings only, but I blatantly told them I was a one hit wonder so if they wanted someone to renew the contract they should choose someone else; they did. No worries. They said they would let me know if anything less permanent came up. I am not interested in going to back to teach English. There are three things going on here:
- I hate free time. I have no idea what to do with it. People say get a hobby; I did. I work.
- I love money. Well not money per se, but I love the freedom money brings. Working because you NEED the money is hell. I love that enough money lets you tell basically anybody to "go fuck themselves," and there is little they can do about it. Not there yet, but I can tell most people to!
- I hate feeling lazy. Lazy people piss me off.
You should not be in couch or in house, you should be in route
If you gotta ask where, then that's the reason you ain't got nothin!
If you gotta ask where, then that's the reason you ain't got nothin!
Somewhere is better than nowhere, something is better than nothing. So, a batsu game, a punishment. If I am not going to make it happen in any other way, I guess it is time to pick up some classes.
I need another 5 bills a month; now. Money don't care where it come from, the wine it buys don't either.
Funny though, the foreign staff already knows me and what I do, basically, but the Japanese staff got their mind blown a bit; "so what school do you teach PT at again?" Look at the resume dolt; I work at RP3 Computer Services. Its a freakin resume, you think I just forgot something? The last time I taught I taught for your company, check your records for that date. I dont konw it.
- RECOGNIZE -
Been busy though, made a trip home, played a couple roles (microscopic roles) in a production of Hamlet. I think we sold out 3 of our shows. For the last one we added chairs to a 200 person theater and filled those too! I think we probably entertained about a 1000 people total. English lines, Japanese subtitles projected on a screen.
The Walkathon is over and done with as well; this year I was the MC. Will add some pics later, but it was a blast. Those of you who know me well will tell you that I generally like talking to groups of people, rather than the people themselves. Most people bore me to tears. That was pretty good, the final numbers are not out yet, but 2000 participants is pretty safe estimate; last year it was closer to 3,000.
Ill try to flesh out more of those recent events with some pics; to start see my Walkathon Playlist~
More - www.youtube.com/playlist
That is all for today; you and me both gotta wait see what come tomorrow!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Nagoya Walkathon 2012
Reprint from Nagoya! newsletter
Greetings and Salutations from a rainy Nagoya! Some weather today eh?
This month has been busy, but Hamlet came off very well, and the
Walkathon is set to go even better! I would like to invite everyone to
come find me on the day of the event. I am going to be an MC this
year, so I should be pretty easy to find. Look for the bald white guy
on stage...
The Nagoya Walkathon and International Charity Festival is a foreign
organized charity event started in 1991 in Nagoya, Japan. Its main
purpose is to join the international community with Japanese friends
and companies in raising money for local orphanages and charities.
This year’s Walkathon will take place on Sunday May 20^th, at
Moricoro Park in Nagakute.
The Nagoya Walkathon is a very important event for me personally, and I
would love to tell you all about it! When I first heard about it I had
been in Japan for a few years already, but was looking for a way to
expand my network to include someone other than English teachers; I
found the American Chamber of Commerce Japan (The ACCJ, we are the
only chamber that does not use the regular naming format;
AmCham-Japan. I have asked, but no one remembers why that is. Anyway,
the membership dues for the ACCJ are a bit steep, but I found out they
were sponsoring this "walkathon thing," and you did not need to be a
member to participate as a volunteer or organizer. So, in order to
meet business people in Nagoya I became a member of the organizing
committee and I have been a member ever since; 4 years now. I went on
to become a member of ACCJ eventually, but at the time I was a full
time student at a Japanese School and I was broke.
As an organizer, I have been in charge of food vendors twice and
volunteers once. This year, I will be the English MC on stage for the
event with a really great friend of mine, Irene Dewald of Zip FM who
will do all the Japanese, and a lot of the English to boot.
Multi-talented that young lady is! I am very much looking forward to
it; we will see if I bollix it or not!
While we all know something about this great event, there is a lot more
to know! The Walkathon is wildly popular among the region's foreign
communities, and every year it becomes more and more popular with
Japanese people as well. Getting more involvement within the regular
Japanese community is a high priority for the event. Japanese culture
does not really place a lot of emphasis on the concept of charity, and
encouraging a spirit of giving and volunteerism are stated goals of the
event, in addition to raising money for people in need locally and in
Tohoku. The money raised is generally used by local charities, who
apply for the funds. A local orphanage, for example, applied for funds
to rebuild a staircase-they got it. Another facility wanted a new TV
and video game console for children living there; they also got what
they asked for. Most of the amounts given from Walkathon funds are
somewhat small; 200,000 yen or so. You can find a list of the
charities and groups we have supported in the previous year on the
Walkathon website, www.nagoyawalkathon.com.
Here is some historical data from the last few years at the Walkthon.
* In 2011 the event was attended by 3500 people at Moricoro Park.
The event raised 12.7 million yen - 7.7 million yen for orphanages
and local charities and an additional 5 million Yen for people
affected by the 2011 TÅhoku earthquake and tsunami.
* Attendance in 2010 was over 2000 people at Tsuruma Park and the
event raised 6 million yen for orphanages and local charities.
* Attendance in 2009 was nearly 2500 people at Tsuruma Parkand the
event raised 8 million yen for orphanages and local charities.
Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura participated that year!
The Nagoya Walkathon and International Charity Festival was started in
1991 by members of the now defunct American Business Community Nagoya
(ABCN); in November of 2000 the ABCN merged with and became the Chubu
Chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce Japan (ACCJ). The ACCJ,
and Nagoya International School (NIS) are the main sponsors of the
event, but many companies contribute time and money to make the event
such a success. It was originally held at Meijo Park near the Castle,
but the location was changed when we were invited to participate in the
100^th anniversary of Tsurumai Park by the city of Nagoya.
After two years, the location changed again to its present one;
Morikoro Park in Nagakute. While the distance is much greater than
before and it is not actually in Nagoya anymore, the venue more than
makes up for those downsides. The event, held in late May
(traditionally the 3^rd Sunday in May), has been rained out more than a
few times over 20 years, but Morikoro Park offers our event a large
covered common area, and even a few large rooms to use. The kid’s area
last year was almost entirely indoors, and that made a big difference
when it rained! While the event has ALWAYS been “rain or shine,”
having a place to get out of the rain if it comes makes the day ever so
much more pleasant!
While the event is annual, the organization effort is nearly
year-round. For most of the year the committee meets on one Thursday
per month in the backroom at Shooters Sports Bar in Fushimi. That
backroom has hosted our planning meetings for at least 6 years. Closer
to the date the committee meets twice a month, then once a week leading
up to the day of the event. The head of the committee is Bryce
Conlan, who succeded the previous head Steve Burson. Bryce has been
leading the charge for about two years, Steve did it for 4. Other
subcommittees also have heads; as I mentioned earlier, I headed the
committee that dealt with the food vendors for two years.
There are actually quite a few committees.
* Vendors (Coordinate vendor booths, etc…)
* Charities (Coordinate Charity booths, information, posters, etc…)
* Volunteers
* Stage / Music
* Kids Area (Coordinate games and volunteers)
* The Walk (Decide route, create map, mark the path)
* The Grounds (Plan, setup, and tear down)
* Corporate Sponsorship
* Ticket Sales and Treasury
* Internet and Social Media Communications
* Graphic Design
* City and Prefecture Relations
* Media Relations
At any given point in time there are likely to be 15 people doing
SOMETHING for the walkathon. Near the day of the event, there may be
dozens more, and on the day as many as 200 people volunteer their time
running events, selling tickets, performing, etc. Most people who
volunteer one year come back the next; it is a lot of fun!
The event is always exciting and loud with great food and an atmosphere
that must feel like being overseas for Japanese participants;
especially when you factor in the foreign food on offer. You will not
find a lot of Japanese food at the Walkathon. Every year we seek out
new and exotic food vendors, and every year what has become essentially
an international food fair is packed with people filling up and having
a drink or two in the sunshine. This year, I am particularly looking
forward to trying the Sri Lanka Curry; I hear the place is delicious!
This year’s stage is going to be awesome as well. (This schedule may
change )
Time Activity
9:00 MCs
10:00 Official Start - Brass Band Performs
10:10 Batton Girl Group and the
Nagakute History Travelers
10:25 VIPs wearing Samurai Costumes will come on stage!
10:50 Official announcement that we raised 100 Million over 21years at
the Walkathon.
11:00 Start the Walk
11:20 Tomo Shagger Tribute Band (funk rock)
11:45 DJ Ghost Willy
11:50 Fish Tank TV (Alt rock)
12:15 Hula Dancers (Hawaiian)
12:25 DJ Ghost Willy
12:30 The Hospys (pop cover band)
12:55 Shooters Steppers (country dancers)
13:05 Budo Grape (J-rock)
13:35 DJ Ghost Willy
13:40 The Watanabes (Indie rock)
14:10 1^st Raffle /Special Ticket
14:20 The Ghost of Matsubara (punk / alt rock)
14:50 Nagoya Swings (Jazz)
15:00 2^nd Raffle
15:25 Adas Mexico (garage rock)
16:00 Closing Remarks
After 21 years, the Nagoya Walkathon has become an institution. Tokyo
and Osaka have now both started their own versions, and are
experiencing great success so far. We hope that you will come out and
support this event, or at least buy a ticket. Sure, the event is fun,
but the point of it all is to help people, and buying a ticket is the
way to do that. Even if you can’t make the event, why not donate the
cost of admission anyway? If you are interested in participating,
volunteering, or donating you will find more information on the
website, or you can reply to this email.
The event takes place this Sunday, May 20^th at Morikoro Park. The
after-party will be held once again at Shooters Sports bar in
Fushimi.
Hope to See You There!
---------------------------------------------
Greetings and Salutations from a rainy Nagoya! Some weather today eh?
This month has been busy, but Hamlet came off very well, and the
Walkathon is set to go even better! I would like to invite everyone to
come find me on the day of the event. I am going to be an MC this
year, so I should be pretty easy to find. Look for the bald white guy
on stage...
The Nagoya Walkathon and International Charity Festival is a foreign
organized charity event started in 1991 in Nagoya, Japan. Its main
purpose is to join the international community with Japanese friends
and companies in raising money for local orphanages and charities.
This year’s Walkathon will take place on Sunday May 20^th, at
Moricoro Park in Nagakute.
The Nagoya Walkathon is a very important event for me personally, and I
would love to tell you all about it! When I first heard about it I had
been in Japan for a few years already, but was looking for a way to
expand my network to include someone other than English teachers; I
found the American Chamber of Commerce Japan (The ACCJ, we are the
only chamber that does not use the regular naming format;
AmCham-Japan. I have asked, but no one remembers why that is. Anyway,
the membership dues for the ACCJ are a bit steep, but I found out they
were sponsoring this "walkathon thing," and you did not need to be a
member to participate as a volunteer or organizer. So, in order to
meet business people in Nagoya I became a member of the organizing
committee and I have been a member ever since; 4 years now. I went on
to become a member of ACCJ eventually, but at the time I was a full
time student at a Japanese School and I was broke.
As an organizer, I have been in charge of food vendors twice and
volunteers once. This year, I will be the English MC on stage for the
event with a really great friend of mine, Irene Dewald of Zip FM who
will do all the Japanese, and a lot of the English to boot.
Multi-talented that young lady is! I am very much looking forward to
it; we will see if I bollix it or not!
While we all know something about this great event, there is a lot more
to know! The Walkathon is wildly popular among the region's foreign
communities, and every year it becomes more and more popular with
Japanese people as well. Getting more involvement within the regular
Japanese community is a high priority for the event. Japanese culture
does not really place a lot of emphasis on the concept of charity, and
encouraging a spirit of giving and volunteerism are stated goals of the
event, in addition to raising money for people in need locally and in
Tohoku. The money raised is generally used by local charities, who
apply for the funds. A local orphanage, for example, applied for funds
to rebuild a staircase-they got it. Another facility wanted a new TV
and video game console for children living there; they also got what
they asked for. Most of the amounts given from Walkathon funds are
somewhat small; 200,000 yen or so. You can find a list of the
charities and groups we have supported in the previous year on the
Walkathon website, www.nagoyawalkathon.com.
Here is some historical data from the last few years at the Walkthon.
* In 2011 the event was attended by 3500 people at Moricoro Park.
The event raised 12.7 million yen - 7.7 million yen for orphanages
and local charities and an additional 5 million Yen for people
affected by the 2011 TÅhoku earthquake and tsunami.
* Attendance in 2010 was over 2000 people at Tsuruma Park and the
event raised 6 million yen for orphanages and local charities.
* Attendance in 2009 was nearly 2500 people at Tsuruma Parkand the
event raised 8 million yen for orphanages and local charities.
Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura participated that year!
The Nagoya Walkathon and International Charity Festival was started in
1991 by members of the now defunct American Business Community Nagoya
(ABCN); in November of 2000 the ABCN merged with and became the Chubu
Chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce Japan (ACCJ). The ACCJ,
and Nagoya International School (NIS) are the main sponsors of the
event, but many companies contribute time and money to make the event
such a success. It was originally held at Meijo Park near the Castle,
but the location was changed when we were invited to participate in the
100^th anniversary of Tsurumai Park by the city of Nagoya.
After two years, the location changed again to its present one;
Morikoro Park in Nagakute. While the distance is much greater than
before and it is not actually in Nagoya anymore, the venue more than
makes up for those downsides. The event, held in late May
(traditionally the 3^rd Sunday in May), has been rained out more than a
few times over 20 years, but Morikoro Park offers our event a large
covered common area, and even a few large rooms to use. The kid’s area
last year was almost entirely indoors, and that made a big difference
when it rained! While the event has ALWAYS been “rain or shine,”
having a place to get out of the rain if it comes makes the day ever so
much more pleasant!
While the event is annual, the organization effort is nearly
year-round. For most of the year the committee meets on one Thursday
per month in the backroom at Shooters Sports Bar in Fushimi. That
backroom has hosted our planning meetings for at least 6 years. Closer
to the date the committee meets twice a month, then once a week leading
up to the day of the event. The head of the committee is Bryce
Conlan, who succeded the previous head Steve Burson. Bryce has been
leading the charge for about two years, Steve did it for 4. Other
subcommittees also have heads; as I mentioned earlier, I headed the
committee that dealt with the food vendors for two years.
There are actually quite a few committees.
* Vendors (Coordinate vendor booths, etc…)
* Charities (Coordinate Charity booths, information, posters, etc…)
* Volunteers
* Stage / Music
* Kids Area (Coordinate games and volunteers)
* The Walk (Decide route, create map, mark the path)
* The Grounds (Plan, setup, and tear down)
* Corporate Sponsorship
* Ticket Sales and Treasury
* Internet and Social Media Communications
* Graphic Design
* City and Prefecture Relations
* Media Relations
At any given point in time there are likely to be 15 people doing
SOMETHING for the walkathon. Near the day of the event, there may be
dozens more, and on the day as many as 200 people volunteer their time
running events, selling tickets, performing, etc. Most people who
volunteer one year come back the next; it is a lot of fun!
The event is always exciting and loud with great food and an atmosphere
that must feel like being overseas for Japanese participants;
especially when you factor in the foreign food on offer. You will not
find a lot of Japanese food at the Walkathon. Every year we seek out
new and exotic food vendors, and every year what has become essentially
an international food fair is packed with people filling up and having
a drink or two in the sunshine. This year, I am particularly looking
forward to trying the Sri Lanka Curry; I hear the place is delicious!
This year’s stage is going to be awesome as well. (This schedule may
change )
Time Activity
9:00 MCs
10:00 Official Start - Brass Band Performs
10:10 Batton Girl Group and the
Nagakute History Travelers
10:25 VIPs wearing Samurai Costumes will come on stage!
10:50 Official announcement that we raised 100 Million over 21years at
the Walkathon.
11:00 Start the Walk
11:20 Tomo Shagger Tribute Band (funk rock)
11:45 DJ Ghost Willy
11:50 Fish Tank TV (Alt rock)
12:15 Hula Dancers (Hawaiian)
12:25 DJ Ghost Willy
12:30 The Hospys (pop cover band)
12:55 Shooters Steppers (country dancers)
13:05 Budo Grape (J-rock)
13:35 DJ Ghost Willy
13:40 The Watanabes (Indie rock)
14:10 1^st Raffle /Special Ticket
14:20 The Ghost of Matsubara (punk / alt rock)
14:50 Nagoya Swings (Jazz)
15:00 2^nd Raffle
15:25 Adas Mexico (garage rock)
16:00 Closing Remarks
After 21 years, the Nagoya Walkathon has become an institution. Tokyo
and Osaka have now both started their own versions, and are
experiencing great success so far. We hope that you will come out and
support this event, or at least buy a ticket. Sure, the event is fun,
but the point of it all is to help people, and buying a ticket is the
way to do that. Even if you can’t make the event, why not donate the
cost of admission anyway? If you are interested in participating,
volunteering, or donating you will find more information on the
website, or you can reply to this email.
The event takes place this Sunday, May 20^th at Morikoro Park. The
after-party will be held once again at Shooters Sports bar in
Fushimi.
Hope to See You There!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)