Eva Mendes is my desktop background. I do not know if that is grammatically correct to say it that way, but I have her picture on my desktop. Nothing fancy, just a nice classy picture basically showcasing her amazingly beautiful face. I like to tell people that she is my wife and she is just on vacation shooting her next movie, but we all know that is a lie. However, Eva if you are reading this, I would just like to say that I would give up all my worldly possessions to have just one date with you. Maybe that will be abstract enough for her to Google and find me somehow. I will let you know how it turns out.
I would like to tell some fantastic story about what happened to me today, or just in general that people would want to read, but today I just do not feel the passion.
I noticed that the Consumer Electronics Show is going on in Las Vegas this week. One of the things I noticed was a "Sidekick-Like" phone introduced from HTC. The same company has been making cell phones for companies here in Japan. In fact I was going to buy the exact same phone that is now finally available in the states. I do not remember the exact model and provider they were promoting, but just noticing the phone made me laugh a little. The second phone that I noticed was the LG TV Phone. Basically the idea is that you can get local television on your mobile phone and turn it into a small television. The screen rotates ninety degrees and comes with a pull out antenna for a better reception and viewing angle. The same type of phone in Japan has around 10 different models and the streaming video is usually in high definition. Panasonic makes the phones here and there VIERA style LCD screens look very nice on the phone.
The second thing I noticed at this years CES was the explosion of VIZIO televisions. Apparently VIZIO is a small subsidiary company of FUJI. The company's 42-inch plasma television received the second highest rating of all television falling only to Panasonic's 42-inch ultra high definition $3,000 televesion. The VIZIO comes in around $900. Normally I am a name brand guy when it comes to electronics and when I first noticed VIZIO they did not strike me as high quality. However with reviews like the ones they were given at CES, I think I might need to go and pick up a new VIZIO television.
My last rant has to be about the local television here. We are given the AFN, or Armed Forces Network. Basically, all the popular shows from the states are recorded and AFN replays them for us at our convenient time. The worst part about AFN is the fact they only play military commercials that always have some stupid message about our different facets of the military. I do not think that I have been in Japan long enough to be aggravated by these commercials but I reached the point I am dying for a normal commercial. I really could care less if the commercials is about Domino's. So if AFN producers are reading this, please just give us a few normal commercials every now and then!
I am sure that I could come up with more things to write about, but I promised that every blog would NOT be about something negative. I have been feeling really negative lately and I apologize for that, but I have to make it my mission not to bring all my millions of readers down with me.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Monday, January 7, 2008
Surprisingly, here is a new day
What is there to do while surfing the internet? I have pondered this question every time I sit at my desk. When we figure the internet is basically filled with pornography, spam about pornography or pop up windows about pornography, what do we have left? I guess I could browse the news websites, but that only takes about five minutes to browse the craziness around the world. I cannot think about spending money on useless gambling sites, but mainly I am not a gambler. I do not have the money to be shopping on the internet. Most of the time I find myself browsing viral videos and trying to find new funny things. If anyone has a suggestion on what to waste my time on the internet with, please let me know.
I could not bring myself to mention everything that happened in my life on my last blog, so today I can make time for story time. This snowboarding bug has bitten me so hard it is crazy. I decided to take a short trip to a local park. Since it was late in the day, I figured that I had to keep it close. Plus, I was told that this particular park had night skiing. I left Misawa on my search for Shichinohe Kogen. I had to Google the directions about fourteen times before I felt completely comfortable. Normally, I would not be the person to get lost trying to find my way around, but this trip was well off the main road and had me a little nervous. The trip took me through many twisty roads while passing various elevations in the terrain. Although for the most post, there were farm fields filling the scenery.
I arrived to Shichinohe around 3:30 PM expecting the same night session hours as most of the other parks in Japan. Normally, parks open around 4:00 for the night session and skiers can tear up the mountain until 10:00 PM. The first thing I noticed once I walked into the ski area was the complete lack of snow. It looked as though the mountain had not received snow in a few days and most of the trails were ice. I searched for the ticket booth and finally found the window only to find it was closed. Due to my lack of complete understanding of the Japanese language I had to decipher what I could. According to the window it appeared the park was closing at 4:00 PM on this particular day. After stumbling through my abuse of the Japanese language I was able to learn that the park always closed on Sundays. The night skiing was only available Friday and Saturday.
Getting to the park was fairly easy, so I figured I should have no problem returning to the base. Unfortunately I made one wrong turn, which I quickly corrected and found the correct route. Being lost in the United States is far less of a challenger compared to being lost in Japan. The hardest part of finding myself unlost is my lack of Japanese. Fortunately, I have yet to find myself lost in the country. The return home was going so nicely until I reach Rokunohe Town. Approaching a blind corner, I immediately saw a local delivery truck, but the problem was that it was in my lane. With the ice on the road and the narrowness of the local routes, my options were fairly limited as to what I could do. I could smash into the truck head on, or drive off the side of the road. In most corners, the sides of the roads are lined with a foot-and-a-half tall concrete barrier. My poor little Civic valiantly tackled the corner but the force of the impact managed to mangle the front tire into an very oblong shape.
As I opened my car door I heard the Japanese driver saying many things in a sincere tone, and again my lack of Japanese hindered my conversation. Upon realizing my lack of Japanese, the driver began to speak very slow broken English asking if I was OK. I responded in my best Japanese tone, "Daijobu" which basically means "OK." I looked until my car and only noticed the melting ice dripping from various locations and determined only the tire suffered damage. I hobbled my car back to base without any further incident. After I pulled into my parking spot I noticed that hood was slightly raised. I searched deeper into the matter and found that the concrete curb moved my radiator support back a few inches which threw off the rest of the alignment. No big deal, I paid $500 for the car and I just need a new rim. Hopefully the annual inspection will pass in a few months.
To add to the excitement of the weekend, my favorite NFL team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced off in the playoffs for the first time since 2005. Although I have had very little faith in the team this season, I still had hopes for at least one more playoff game. The typical Jon Gruden era Bucs showed up and turned the ball over 3 times. The worst part of the game was when I was called into work to shovel snow, and I missed the entire fourth quarter of the game. Missing the fourth quarter did not bother me too much as I had already watched the last miserable two. In the end, the Buccaneers lost 24-14 at home. My hopes were already low for the Buccaneers, and the lost just solidified my thoughts. Maybe next year we will perform better, but until we get rid of Jon Gruden, I will always have my doubts.
I promise my life is not filled with all depressing moments. The next blog I will try to keep upbeat and happy. I feel I cannot write everything I am thinking at one time because then I would not have anything to write tomorrow.
I could not bring myself to mention everything that happened in my life on my last blog, so today I can make time for story time. This snowboarding bug has bitten me so hard it is crazy. I decided to take a short trip to a local park. Since it was late in the day, I figured that I had to keep it close. Plus, I was told that this particular park had night skiing. I left Misawa on my search for Shichinohe Kogen. I had to Google the directions about fourteen times before I felt completely comfortable. Normally, I would not be the person to get lost trying to find my way around, but this trip was well off the main road and had me a little nervous. The trip took me through many twisty roads while passing various elevations in the terrain. Although for the most post, there were farm fields filling the scenery.
I arrived to Shichinohe around 3:30 PM expecting the same night session hours as most of the other parks in Japan. Normally, parks open around 4:00 for the night session and skiers can tear up the mountain until 10:00 PM. The first thing I noticed once I walked into the ski area was the complete lack of snow. It looked as though the mountain had not received snow in a few days and most of the trails were ice. I searched for the ticket booth and finally found the window only to find it was closed. Due to my lack of complete understanding of the Japanese language I had to decipher what I could. According to the window it appeared the park was closing at 4:00 PM on this particular day. After stumbling through my abuse of the Japanese language I was able to learn that the park always closed on Sundays. The night skiing was only available Friday and Saturday.
Getting to the park was fairly easy, so I figured I should have no problem returning to the base. Unfortunately I made one wrong turn, which I quickly corrected and found the correct route. Being lost in the United States is far less of a challenger compared to being lost in Japan. The hardest part of finding myself unlost is my lack of Japanese. Fortunately, I have yet to find myself lost in the country. The return home was going so nicely until I reach Rokunohe Town. Approaching a blind corner, I immediately saw a local delivery truck, but the problem was that it was in my lane. With the ice on the road and the narrowness of the local routes, my options were fairly limited as to what I could do. I could smash into the truck head on, or drive off the side of the road. In most corners, the sides of the roads are lined with a foot-and-a-half tall concrete barrier. My poor little Civic valiantly tackled the corner but the force of the impact managed to mangle the front tire into an very oblong shape.
As I opened my car door I heard the Japanese driver saying many things in a sincere tone, and again my lack of Japanese hindered my conversation. Upon realizing my lack of Japanese, the driver began to speak very slow broken English asking if I was OK. I responded in my best Japanese tone, "Daijobu" which basically means "OK." I looked until my car and only noticed the melting ice dripping from various locations and determined only the tire suffered damage. I hobbled my car back to base without any further incident. After I pulled into my parking spot I noticed that hood was slightly raised. I searched deeper into the matter and found that the concrete curb moved my radiator support back a few inches which threw off the rest of the alignment. No big deal, I paid $500 for the car and I just need a new rim. Hopefully the annual inspection will pass in a few months.
To add to the excitement of the weekend, my favorite NFL team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced off in the playoffs for the first time since 2005. Although I have had very little faith in the team this season, I still had hopes for at least one more playoff game. The typical Jon Gruden era Bucs showed up and turned the ball over 3 times. The worst part of the game was when I was called into work to shovel snow, and I missed the entire fourth quarter of the game. Missing the fourth quarter did not bother me too much as I had already watched the last miserable two. In the end, the Buccaneers lost 24-14 at home. My hopes were already low for the Buccaneers, and the lost just solidified my thoughts. Maybe next year we will perform better, but until we get rid of Jon Gruden, I will always have my doubts.
I promise my life is not filled with all depressing moments. The next blog I will try to keep upbeat and happy. I feel I cannot write everything I am thinking at one time because then I would not have anything to write tomorrow.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
First Blog of '08.. Probably the Last
Judging from my own dates, it appears obvious that I am not a religious blogger. I sometimes think that I can write the next great website, or be featured on television for something spectacular I did on the internet; fat chance. I blame everything on my passion for laziness and outright ambivalent attitude towards being that special person.
Basically here is a run down of the things people missed if they kept watching my blog for an update, the world kept moving. As for my own life, here is what I did not post. I settled myself into Misawa and not long after did I realize having air conditioning during the summer months is something I cherish dearly. The summer months of July and August faded and I began a fall semester in college. I enrolled in the prestigious double university college of University of Maryland University College. I took two classes my first term, those being English 101 and Japanese. The English was a requirement of course and the Japanese was something I wanted to learn. The terms here are only eight weeks so those passed quickly and into term two. Second term I took English 391, which is the highest English class you can take. I also took Math 107 and Japanese 2. Again, the Math was a requirement and I liked the English teacher. Those terms have also passed and we are gearing up for term three. Which I am only taking Japanese. I am currently maintaining a 3.2 GPA, so I guess I am doing alright.
Somewhere along the way, I met a friend in school who introduced me to someone who was selling a car for very cheap. Although I would prefer a rear wheel drive, extremely fast and nice looking car, I instead landed in the seat of a Honda Civic. The little Civic has taken me to many different places here in Northern Japan. Having a vehicle has to be the best investment I have made so far while on my excursion.
During my travels in Japan, I have been as far north as Aomori and as far south as Morioka. In Aomori I visited the aquarium and had a lunch. I should spend more time there one day and I know I need to take more pictures. My trip to Morioka landed me at a local car tuning shop. Although my little Civic is not a tuning car, it was still nice to know the location of a reputable car shop. I have not set out to make any specific trips lately, but I know I need to get out and take pictures of everything I see. Of course, I will post all my pictures up on my website at: www.redbeansphotography.com
The drifting season came to an end here in the north. The winter months bring snow and ice and therefore not a spectacular weather set up for drifting. I attended three Dynamite Drift rounds which I cheered on my local friends from here at the base. Unfortunately my cheering did not work and nobody came close to winning. I also attended a two day car show at the local track. Which is where I met the local hero, Metal Gami. Metal Gami is a rapper/drifter and one of the only Japaricans I know that can easily simultaneously translate English to Japanese and vise versa. The D1 Professional Drifting Series also made an appearance locally. During their off-season the many drivers traveled around the country to help promote the sport and gain more popularity. I took pictures of most of these events, but the D1 Day was muggy, rainy and windy so therefore my coverage was horrible. The local non-track sponsored drifting events also proved exciting. With the massive amounts of rain and occasional snow we have spent a lot of time on our tracks. Unfortunately I had to witness the loss of my buddies car, but he is in the process of rebuilding and will be back on the road before next season.
Recently I picked up snowboarding as my new favorite hobby. Since I cannot afford a cool drift car at the moment, I have invested some money into snowboarding. Although I had never been before I chose the hardest course in the local area to learn. Hakkoda is a very nice place to board and ski, but far from a place for beginners. After spending a few days learning, I took my talents elsewhere and ended up in Okunakayama. That resort is much more suited for the beginner. I am quickly picking up speed and hopefully by the end of the snow season I will be good enough to tackle Hakkoda once and for all.
So now that I have caught everyone up on as much as I can remember, I will take the time to plan my next blog. Maybe one day I will become interested enough to put a real honest effort into documenting my days in Japan. If only my writing was more captivating and exciting.
Basically here is a run down of the things people missed if they kept watching my blog for an update, the world kept moving. As for my own life, here is what I did not post. I settled myself into Misawa and not long after did I realize having air conditioning during the summer months is something I cherish dearly. The summer months of July and August faded and I began a fall semester in college. I enrolled in the prestigious double university college of University of Maryland University College. I took two classes my first term, those being English 101 and Japanese. The English was a requirement of course and the Japanese was something I wanted to learn. The terms here are only eight weeks so those passed quickly and into term two. Second term I took English 391, which is the highest English class you can take. I also took Math 107 and Japanese 2. Again, the Math was a requirement and I liked the English teacher. Those terms have also passed and we are gearing up for term three. Which I am only taking Japanese. I am currently maintaining a 3.2 GPA, so I guess I am doing alright.
Somewhere along the way, I met a friend in school who introduced me to someone who was selling a car for very cheap. Although I would prefer a rear wheel drive, extremely fast and nice looking car, I instead landed in the seat of a Honda Civic. The little Civic has taken me to many different places here in Northern Japan. Having a vehicle has to be the best investment I have made so far while on my excursion.
During my travels in Japan, I have been as far north as Aomori and as far south as Morioka. In Aomori I visited the aquarium and had a lunch. I should spend more time there one day and I know I need to take more pictures. My trip to Morioka landed me at a local car tuning shop. Although my little Civic is not a tuning car, it was still nice to know the location of a reputable car shop. I have not set out to make any specific trips lately, but I know I need to get out and take pictures of everything I see. Of course, I will post all my pictures up on my website at: www.redbeansphotography.com
The drifting season came to an end here in the north. The winter months bring snow and ice and therefore not a spectacular weather set up for drifting. I attended three Dynamite Drift rounds which I cheered on my local friends from here at the base. Unfortunately my cheering did not work and nobody came close to winning. I also attended a two day car show at the local track. Which is where I met the local hero, Metal Gami. Metal Gami is a rapper/drifter and one of the only Japaricans I know that can easily simultaneously translate English to Japanese and vise versa. The D1 Professional Drifting Series also made an appearance locally. During their off-season the many drivers traveled around the country to help promote the sport and gain more popularity. I took pictures of most of these events, but the D1 Day was muggy, rainy and windy so therefore my coverage was horrible. The local non-track sponsored drifting events also proved exciting. With the massive amounts of rain and occasional snow we have spent a lot of time on our tracks. Unfortunately I had to witness the loss of my buddies car, but he is in the process of rebuilding and will be back on the road before next season.
Recently I picked up snowboarding as my new favorite hobby. Since I cannot afford a cool drift car at the moment, I have invested some money into snowboarding. Although I had never been before I chose the hardest course in the local area to learn. Hakkoda is a very nice place to board and ski, but far from a place for beginners. After spending a few days learning, I took my talents elsewhere and ended up in Okunakayama. That resort is much more suited for the beginner. I am quickly picking up speed and hopefully by the end of the snow season I will be good enough to tackle Hakkoda once and for all.
So now that I have caught everyone up on as much as I can remember, I will take the time to plan my next blog. Maybe one day I will become interested enough to put a real honest effort into documenting my days in Japan. If only my writing was more captivating and exciting.
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