Hey every one,
This week I started teaching Summer School. I'm pretty much run off my feet so I won't have the chance to do a decent post until next we week. It wouldn't be so bad but we keep having earthquakes up here and it affects my train times. This means I have to get super early trains in order to get to my lessons on time.
Just thought I would give you an idea of what I am doing at the moment. Next week I will also be able to put up so new photos. I have some pretty cool ones from this month that I haven't had the chance to upload so you can look forward to them.
Anyway, until next time I'm off.
Wednesday 30 July 2008
Wednesday 23 July 2008
It was only a joke...
I only wrote the list for a joke because I was bored... People aren't meant to take it that seriously...
*edit*
People have asked what I mean about the penguins and to back off them. Here are few examples:
Q: What do Penguins sing on a birthday?
A: Freeze a jolly good fellow.
Q: What do you call a penguin in the desert?
A: Lost.
Q: Why do Penguins carry fish in their beaks?
A: Because they haven´t got any pockets.
Q: Why don´t Penguins like rock music?
A: They only like sole.
Q: What do mother Penguins say to their children before they go out in the dark?
A: Beak....careful out there.
Q: What´s black and white and goes round and around?
A: A Penguin in a revolving door.
Those are what I mean.
*edit*
People have asked what I mean about the penguins and to back off them. Here are few examples:
Q: What do Penguins sing on a birthday?
A: Freeze a jolly good fellow.
Q: What do you call a penguin in the desert?
A: Lost.
Q: Why do Penguins carry fish in their beaks?
A: Because they haven´t got any pockets.
Q: Why don´t Penguins like rock music?
A: They only like sole.
Q: What do mother Penguins say to their children before they go out in the dark?
A: Beak....careful out there.
Q: What´s black and white and goes round and around?
A: A Penguin in a revolving door.
Those are what I mean.
Tuesday 22 July 2008
My List
To add too my mood I thought I would write up a list of things I don't like.
Mike's List of Things he doesn't like today.
1. Kids who are jerks on trains.
2. Old people who stare at me... And then go inside to get their old people spouses to help stare at the white kid.
3. People who for no reason use an escalator when their is a stair case consisting of fifteen steps right next to it. It's damn lazy.
4. People who use a stair case when they should be using the escalator. Old people just stop trying!
5. Grapes and anything grape related. Squishy, cold, and for some stupid reason they always get thrown into swimming pools or spas when I'm in them. Yuck.
6. Spiders. I'm not scared of them, but if all the spiders in my apartment learn to work as a team and mass against me I'm royally boned.
7. Not been able to leave my apartment doors open at night in this humidity because I'm scared Ninjas will get in.
8. Velociraptors - Big sharp toes and they are smart. Dinosaurs are extinct? It's what they want you to think. Watch out for them when you're walking in tall grass.
9. The fact that the Japanese can create a toilet that sends moderately temperatured water up my clacker but don't sell burrito tortillas at the supermarket.
10. That guy who plays Robin Hood in BBC's Robin Hood. The stories good, the episodes are entertaining. Why is the main character played by a dick who can't act?!
11. The way my left foot is like an entire centimeter bigger then my right. I know its all about biological symmetry but it just looks stupid.
12. The creepy old lady who stands at the end of the street every garbage day, watching for people who don't put their bags under the net correctly, or might have the wrong things in burnables. I swear she checks when I go away.
13. Children whose heads are just too damn big for their bodies. How do they walk with out being bent over, heads dragging along the ground and sparks flying up as they move? I'll never bloody know.
14. Myspace, facebook, Hi5, Friendster. Any site that promotes community. People who I don't even know add me! At least say 'hello' or something! It's just not right!
15. Jokes about Penguins. One was funny, but I just don't think its fair to keep insulting the things. Their doing their best with out the ability to fly, they chose the wrong evolutionary path, so just back off! Pick on another animal...
16. The ending to the show Quantum Leap. For a show dedicated to following a guy who leaps into other peoples bodies, trying his hardest to get home I thought to have an ending where he never got home was just harsh. Hell, how do I even remember that shit? I was like five years old!!
17. Speaking of time traveling, what was up with Mr. Peabody. Did he actually like Sherman or did he just need some one to pick on? Seriously, Sherman should have grown some man parts and had that dog put down when he could after all the stupid puns he made... Or at least broken his glasses.
18. Earthquakes. They happen all the time here, but never when I'm bloody awake! Oh no. When I lie down to sleep at night, and I'm just at the edge. Then I feel it and my pots start to rattle. Random my arse.
19. The way that bugs insist on coming to my apartment to just die. They land on my walls and if I don't get to them first, by morning they are dead and still attached to my wall. These things have got like 24 hours to live, go and do something with you lives instead of annoying me!
20. People who wear those blue tooth head sets for no reason. Fair enough if your on a call, but take them off when your finished. You just look like a dick head any way.
21. People who use literally all the time when they speak. For example "...I literally dropped dead when I heard the news." No you didn't you moron! Learn to speak English!
22. When I pass another foreigner and say "Heya" and they just look at me like I'm idiot. I was just been polite jack ass! I should cut his pony tail... Damn Hippy.
23. Creative children's names. Like Apple, or Seven.
24. Ponchos. If I wanted to wear a big bit of plastic I would have cut a head and arm holes in a garbage bag. $5!? No way!
25. That the girl in the movie Water World grew up to be so ugly. I know I share disappointment's with many children of the 90's when I say that. Such a shame. Such a waste.
I know it sounds like I'm complaining a lot... That's mostly because I am.
Mike's List of Things he doesn't like today.
1. Kids who are jerks on trains.
2. Old people who stare at me... And then go inside to get their old people spouses to help stare at the white kid.
3. People who for no reason use an escalator when their is a stair case consisting of fifteen steps right next to it. It's damn lazy.
4. People who use a stair case when they should be using the escalator. Old people just stop trying!
5. Grapes and anything grape related. Squishy, cold, and for some stupid reason they always get thrown into swimming pools or spas when I'm in them. Yuck.
6. Spiders. I'm not scared of them, but if all the spiders in my apartment learn to work as a team and mass against me I'm royally boned.
7. Not been able to leave my apartment doors open at night in this humidity because I'm scared Ninjas will get in.
8. Velociraptors - Big sharp toes and they are smart. Dinosaurs are extinct? It's what they want you to think. Watch out for them when you're walking in tall grass.
9. The fact that the Japanese can create a toilet that sends moderately temperatured water up my clacker but don't sell burrito tortillas at the supermarket.
10. That guy who plays Robin Hood in BBC's Robin Hood. The stories good, the episodes are entertaining. Why is the main character played by a dick who can't act?!
11. The way my left foot is like an entire centimeter bigger then my right. I know its all about biological symmetry but it just looks stupid.
12. The creepy old lady who stands at the end of the street every garbage day, watching for people who don't put their bags under the net correctly, or might have the wrong things in burnables. I swear she checks when I go away.
13. Children whose heads are just too damn big for their bodies. How do they walk with out being bent over, heads dragging along the ground and sparks flying up as they move? I'll never bloody know.
14. Myspace, facebook, Hi5, Friendster. Any site that promotes community. People who I don't even know add me! At least say 'hello' or something! It's just not right!
15. Jokes about Penguins. One was funny, but I just don't think its fair to keep insulting the things. Their doing their best with out the ability to fly, they chose the wrong evolutionary path, so just back off! Pick on another animal...
16. The ending to the show Quantum Leap. For a show dedicated to following a guy who leaps into other peoples bodies, trying his hardest to get home I thought to have an ending where he never got home was just harsh. Hell, how do I even remember that shit? I was like five years old!!
17. Speaking of time traveling, what was up with Mr. Peabody. Did he actually like Sherman or did he just need some one to pick on? Seriously, Sherman should have grown some man parts and had that dog put down when he could after all the stupid puns he made... Or at least broken his glasses.
18. Earthquakes. They happen all the time here, but never when I'm bloody awake! Oh no. When I lie down to sleep at night, and I'm just at the edge. Then I feel it and my pots start to rattle. Random my arse.
19. The way that bugs insist on coming to my apartment to just die. They land on my walls and if I don't get to them first, by morning they are dead and still attached to my wall. These things have got like 24 hours to live, go and do something with you lives instead of annoying me!
20. People who wear those blue tooth head sets for no reason. Fair enough if your on a call, but take them off when your finished. You just look like a dick head any way.
21. People who use literally all the time when they speak. For example "...I literally dropped dead when I heard the news." No you didn't you moron! Learn to speak English!
22. When I pass another foreigner and say "Heya" and they just look at me like I'm idiot. I was just been polite jack ass! I should cut his pony tail... Damn Hippy.
23. Creative children's names. Like Apple, or Seven.
24. Ponchos. If I wanted to wear a big bit of plastic I would have cut a head and arm holes in a garbage bag. $5!? No way!
25. That the girl in the movie Water World grew up to be so ugly. I know I share disappointment's with many children of the 90's when I say that. Such a shame. Such a waste.
I know it sounds like I'm complaining a lot... That's mostly because I am.
Reign of Terror
So lately I haven't been sleeping all that well, and things around the place have been really annoying me. I've been some what agitated by a range of things, like children walking to school or an old man that might look at me the wrong way.
Even the gym has joined the effort to piss me off and I was required to upgrade my account to a regular member at the gym. While this means I can use it any time I want, as opposed to only from 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, it also means I have to fork out and additional $30 a month. I bared with it, and paid the money. I did my work out and as I exited I met another foreigner who lives in Kitakami named Derek. When I mentioned they wouldn't let me in with my previous membership he was surprised... He had just entered... With the same membership I owned.
Today was no different. I've become used to catching trains by now. I know that during peak hour they can be busy, crowded and kind of smelly. Today however the train I caught during rush hour was not packed like a sardine can as per usual. In fact there were several open seats when I entered the carriage. So I thought my luck had finally changed and things were gonna go my way for the first time in over a week. Oh but wait, I had to sit next to a kid with attitude who in front of his friends spread his legs at out as much as he could so the gap in between him and the old lady next too him would still let me sit, but it would be tight.
Now I know for a fact he did not need that much ball space. I've been in the Gym sauna and as much as it disturbed me to see it I know the truth about Japanese Guys and downstairs. So that was it. This kid was just been a brat. So here were my choices: I could sit down in the small space. Uncomfortable but at least I wasn't backing down. Alternatively I could find another seat and shatter my pride and this kid would forever be known to his friends as Kazuma: The Gaijin (Foreign) Crusher - Who eats seven white children for breakfast every morning after his green tea.
No, I couldn't let that happen. So I sat down next to him. Things slowed down as I approached that tight spot. I watched as he looked from me to his friends. He caught my eyes, I caught his. I could see the yellow at the edges, clearly he had stayed awake all night torturing Gaijins like myself. I could imagine them, hanging bound in shackles, hanging from their wrists on walls in his dungeon underneath his family house. That bastard!
He widened his legs more, this kid was really trying to intimidate me. And so I sat. The gap had been smaller then I thought. On one side of me was a wrinkled old lday, shifting uncomfortably in her seat because of the foreign devil that had just sat next to her. Undoubtedly my arm hairs must have felt like razors to the old thing. On the other side, Gaijin Crusher, with his legs sprawled out making life uncomfortable for me.
Then I remembered: My bag. It was full of curriculum books I had taken to the office today. One book is light, but I had at least eight of them, and it was a heavy bag. The sweat on my back could vouch for that. Like MacGyver I figured out my resources. A bag with eight books in it, and added to that I had a shit load of spare change in the front. This thing was like swinging a bloody semitrailer over my shoulder. And so I did what I had too. As I pulled my bag from the floor to "Find my Ipod" I swung it into Gaijin Crushers open legs. He groaned as a brick shit house slammed into his nuts, with any luck preventing any chance of Gainjin Crusher from ever fathering an heir to his thrown of evil.
Tears welled up in his eyes.
A grin spread over my face and to him I said one thing:
"...Sumimasen (Excuse Me)"
And so I spread my legs out and shifted my butt. Fifty minutes on that train, and I would spend them in comfort.
Even the gym has joined the effort to piss me off and I was required to upgrade my account to a regular member at the gym. While this means I can use it any time I want, as opposed to only from 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, it also means I have to fork out and additional $30 a month. I bared with it, and paid the money. I did my work out and as I exited I met another foreigner who lives in Kitakami named Derek. When I mentioned they wouldn't let me in with my previous membership he was surprised... He had just entered... With the same membership I owned.
Today was no different. I've become used to catching trains by now. I know that during peak hour they can be busy, crowded and kind of smelly. Today however the train I caught during rush hour was not packed like a sardine can as per usual. In fact there were several open seats when I entered the carriage. So I thought my luck had finally changed and things were gonna go my way for the first time in over a week. Oh but wait, I had to sit next to a kid with attitude who in front of his friends spread his legs at out as much as he could so the gap in between him and the old lady next too him would still let me sit, but it would be tight.
Now I know for a fact he did not need that much ball space. I've been in the Gym sauna and as much as it disturbed me to see it I know the truth about Japanese Guys and downstairs. So that was it. This kid was just been a brat. So here were my choices: I could sit down in the small space. Uncomfortable but at least I wasn't backing down. Alternatively I could find another seat and shatter my pride and this kid would forever be known to his friends as Kazuma: The Gaijin (Foreign) Crusher - Who eats seven white children for breakfast every morning after his green tea.
No, I couldn't let that happen. So I sat down next to him. Things slowed down as I approached that tight spot. I watched as he looked from me to his friends. He caught my eyes, I caught his. I could see the yellow at the edges, clearly he had stayed awake all night torturing Gaijins like myself. I could imagine them, hanging bound in shackles, hanging from their wrists on walls in his dungeon underneath his family house. That bastard!
He widened his legs more, this kid was really trying to intimidate me. And so I sat. The gap had been smaller then I thought. On one side of me was a wrinkled old lday, shifting uncomfortably in her seat because of the foreign devil that had just sat next to her. Undoubtedly my arm hairs must have felt like razors to the old thing. On the other side, Gaijin Crusher, with his legs sprawled out making life uncomfortable for me.
Then I remembered: My bag. It was full of curriculum books I had taken to the office today. One book is light, but I had at least eight of them, and it was a heavy bag. The sweat on my back could vouch for that. Like MacGyver I figured out my resources. A bag with eight books in it, and added to that I had a shit load of spare change in the front. This thing was like swinging a bloody semitrailer over my shoulder. And so I did what I had too. As I pulled my bag from the floor to "Find my Ipod" I swung it into Gaijin Crushers open legs. He groaned as a brick shit house slammed into his nuts, with any luck preventing any chance of Gainjin Crusher from ever fathering an heir to his thrown of evil.
Tears welled up in his eyes.
A grin spread over my face and to him I said one thing:
"...Sumimasen (Excuse Me)"
And so I spread my legs out and shifted my butt. Fifty minutes on that train, and I would spend them in comfort.
Friday 11 July 2008
Karaoke Onegaishimaus!!
It's been a fairly big week. This morning is the first chance I have had to actually sit down and post in nearly over a week.
Most people know by now that my mates Brendan and Trevor came up to Kitakami City for the night. Trevor had flown in from Melbourne the previous week, while Brendan currently lives in Nagano. The two arrived after one of my longest day's of work I can remember. A day in which out my six classes that I had taught, a total of six students had turned up. It was a waste of my time and of their times. School on a Sunday... I felt so sorry for the little brats.
So Brendan and Trevor arrived at Kitakami Station, after having spent 4.5 hours on the Shinkasen. I watched the two walk down the the escalators and towards the ticket gates where I was waiting. When Trevor spotted me he grinned and waved. Brendan casually strolled over, said "Hey, how's it going?" with me promptly responding "Alright."
Somehow after having not seen my best friend in the flesh for near on three months I had expected something a bit more exciting... But thems the facts.
The three of us, along with Megan went out to Karaoke. It took us ages to actually get into the place because not one of us fluently understands Japanese. It was interesting, but more so frustrating, but eventually we got it and the conversation between myself and the Karaoke guy ended with me clearly stating "Nihongo wa Muzugashi desu yo" which pretty much means: Japanese is hard!
We spent the rest of the night drinking, chowing down on Ice cream which Brendan just appeared with at random intervals, and singing our little hearts away. At one point during the night it kinda clicked with Brendan and myself that we were both in Japan singing Karaoke together in the same room... Which caused has to fall into a little heap of giggles and laughter. Trevor and I later attempted to sing a really fast Japanese song called Asterix by Orange Range. Let me say this: I'm glad we were drunk because we sounded like idiots.
After Karaoke was finished we stumbled back to my apartment. Trevor fell asleep fairly quickly and Brendan and myself just caught up on what had happened in the past three months. Next day we walked around Kitakami, and Brendan caught the Shinkasen back to Nagano later that afternoon.
On the Tuesday and I took Trevor to a place called Tono Valley. Widely known for its folk talesa and ghost stories. Several places in the Tono Valley are meant to be haunted by spirits, godly deities and other monsters such as Mountain Men who eat children and Kappa. I find it hilarious that Tono use the Kappa, in particular one they have named Kapuru-Chan, as their Mascot. The reason being that the Kappa in legend will attack you, wrestle you to the ground and if you lose will proceed to pull out your intestines throught your anus and eat them in front of you.
And here I thought the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games Mascots were scary...
So we walked about the place, and got on the wrong bus at one point thanks to an old man who was trying to help us... I don't think old people like me very much.
I've got a lot of photos that I took in Tono Valley, but I can't post another set until next month. So be patient until then and I will have a whole lot more photos to show you all.
Most people know by now that my mates Brendan and Trevor came up to Kitakami City for the night. Trevor had flown in from Melbourne the previous week, while Brendan currently lives in Nagano. The two arrived after one of my longest day's of work I can remember. A day in which out my six classes that I had taught, a total of six students had turned up. It was a waste of my time and of their times. School on a Sunday... I felt so sorry for the little brats.
So Brendan and Trevor arrived at Kitakami Station, after having spent 4.5 hours on the Shinkasen. I watched the two walk down the the escalators and towards the ticket gates where I was waiting. When Trevor spotted me he grinned and waved. Brendan casually strolled over, said "Hey, how's it going?" with me promptly responding "Alright."
Somehow after having not seen my best friend in the flesh for near on three months I had expected something a bit more exciting... But thems the facts.
The three of us, along with Megan went out to Karaoke. It took us ages to actually get into the place because not one of us fluently understands Japanese. It was interesting, but more so frustrating, but eventually we got it and the conversation between myself and the Karaoke guy ended with me clearly stating "Nihongo wa Muzugashi desu yo" which pretty much means: Japanese is hard!
We spent the rest of the night drinking, chowing down on Ice cream which Brendan just appeared with at random intervals, and singing our little hearts away. At one point during the night it kinda clicked with Brendan and myself that we were both in Japan singing Karaoke together in the same room... Which caused has to fall into a little heap of giggles and laughter. Trevor and I later attempted to sing a really fast Japanese song called Asterix by Orange Range. Let me say this: I'm glad we were drunk because we sounded like idiots.
After Karaoke was finished we stumbled back to my apartment. Trevor fell asleep fairly quickly and Brendan and myself just caught up on what had happened in the past three months. Next day we walked around Kitakami, and Brendan caught the Shinkasen back to Nagano later that afternoon.
On the Tuesday and I took Trevor to a place called Tono Valley. Widely known for its folk talesa and ghost stories. Several places in the Tono Valley are meant to be haunted by spirits, godly deities and other monsters such as Mountain Men who eat children and Kappa. I find it hilarious that Tono use the Kappa, in particular one they have named Kapuru-Chan, as their Mascot. The reason being that the Kappa in legend will attack you, wrestle you to the ground and if you lose will proceed to pull out your intestines throught your anus and eat them in front of you.
And here I thought the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games Mascots were scary...
So we walked about the place, and got on the wrong bus at one point thanks to an old man who was trying to help us... I don't think old people like me very much.
I've got a lot of photos that I took in Tono Valley, but I can't post another set until next month. So be patient until then and I will have a whole lot more photos to show you all.
Wednesday 2 July 2008
Three Months
Oh wow, didn't even realize until ten minutes ago that I have now been away from home for three months. Insane. Seems so long ago since I left home already. I wonder what the next three months have in store for me? Only time will tell I guess...
Oh Flickr... You've made a powerful enemy today
So Flickr, the photo hosting site I use is pretty good yeah? Let's me show all my photos to every one, and I can link them to this site. Now I find out you can only upload 100mb per month!! So I've used up all my space this month uploading photos. This means that you won't be able to see a big batch of my photos until next month now. I managed to get most of the photos I had planned too uploaded, but missed out on three of them.
So here they are.
These photos were taken at a flower festival that was being held on Monday when Sarah, Megan and myself visited the big temple up that way. There were heaps of big bees flying around, but it proved quite a challenge to photograph them. I got a few, but most it the arse end of the Bee... Well it's a Bee none the less right?
The flowers were kind of nice but when it comes flowers I'm always reminded of a quote made my Homer Simpson:
"Meh, it's just a flower..."
So here they are.
These photos were taken at a flower festival that was being held on Monday when Sarah, Megan and myself visited the big temple up that way. There were heaps of big bees flying around, but it proved quite a challenge to photograph them. I got a few, but most it the arse end of the Bee... Well it's a Bee none the less right?
The flowers were kind of nice but when it comes flowers I'm always reminded of a quote made my Homer Simpson:
"Meh, it's just a flower..."
You asked for them...
Well I'm just in the midst of uploading all my photos and updating the blog, but it's taking a lot longer then I had anticipated. I have over five hundred photos to sort through so it might take a little while. I started sifting through them yesterday but it takes ages.
These are the photos I took of my apartment on the 14th of June, the day we had the 7.2 Earthquake. It looks really messy, mostly because on that day my apartment was a mess, but I don't leave stuff lying on the ground, or draws open so you can tell what is from the earthquake, and what is me just being lazy.
So when I got to my apartment after the trains had been cancelled my fridge had fallen over and there was milk and eggs and shit all over the floor.I cleaned it up with out thinking to take a photo of it before hand which I was kinda pissed about but it really smelt at the time.
In my bathroom alot of stuff had fallen into the sink, into the bath or onto the floor. My neat stack of toilet rolls also took substantial casualties and were littered across the bathroom. And yes, for the mother, the Aunty and the other 'mother' that is pee in the toilet. I had forgotten to flush the toilet that morning... And had forgotten to clean it for about two and bit months.
My actual room was a mess too. My guitar case had fallen over, papers and bottles I had left out had moved around and draws had actually forced themselves open. The sliding doors which I had left unlatched that morning had come part way open as well. By the end of the day after the aftershocks those doors had opened completely.
And this poor guy took took a fall that day. This is just outside my apartment. I walk past this bike every day, and have no clue who it belongs too. Funnily enough even though Megan and myself walk past it everyday, and its her bike you can see in the corner, that bike is still in the same place it was... On the ground.
Alright, so back to it now. I'll have the rest of my photos up by this afternoon. Keep checking back!
These are the photos I took of my apartment on the 14th of June, the day we had the 7.2 Earthquake. It looks really messy, mostly because on that day my apartment was a mess, but I don't leave stuff lying on the ground, or draws open so you can tell what is from the earthquake, and what is me just being lazy.
So when I got to my apartment after the trains had been cancelled my fridge had fallen over and there was milk and eggs and shit all over the floor.I cleaned it up with out thinking to take a photo of it before hand which I was kinda pissed about but it really smelt at the time.
In my bathroom alot of stuff had fallen into the sink, into the bath or onto the floor. My neat stack of toilet rolls also took substantial casualties and were littered across the bathroom. And yes, for the mother, the Aunty and the other 'mother' that is pee in the toilet. I had forgotten to flush the toilet that morning... And had forgotten to clean it for about two and bit months.
My actual room was a mess too. My guitar case had fallen over, papers and bottles I had left out had moved around and draws had actually forced themselves open. The sliding doors which I had left unlatched that morning had come part way open as well. By the end of the day after the aftershocks those doors had opened completely.
And this poor guy took took a fall that day. This is just outside my apartment. I walk past this bike every day, and have no clue who it belongs too. Funnily enough even though Megan and myself walk past it everyday, and its her bike you can see in the corner, that bike is still in the same place it was... On the ground.
Alright, so back to it now. I'll have the rest of my photos up by this afternoon. Keep checking back!
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