#608... My home away from home for the past 1.5 years. Japan has been a rollercoaster ride, but knowing I can always go back to my little safe haven afterwards was always a comforting thought. But, like everything else, good things must come to an end. However, I won't miss the bird poo. I will gladly leave that behind.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Shedding a Little Tear
#608... My home away from home for the past 1.5 years. Japan has been a rollercoaster ride, but knowing I can always go back to my little safe haven afterwards was always a comforting thought. But, like everything else, good things must come to an end. However, I won't miss the bird poo. I will gladly leave that behind.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Happy New Year!
My new year's resolutions for 2007:
1. Don't break any bones.
2. Go home and try to remember how California looks like.
3. Conquer Europe.
4. Learn from people and take all advice to heart.
5. Quit (second-hand) smoking.
6. Try to visit as many friends in person. (Ok, Africa might be out of the question. But definitely my buddies from the States.)
7. Find a career I actually like.
8. No more self haircuts.
9. Have more balls. (I mean courage, not have a sex-change operation.)
10. Find happiness and try not to screw it up.
1. Don't break any bones.
2. Go home and try to remember how California looks like.
3. Conquer Europe.
4. Learn from people and take all advice to heart.
5. Quit (second-hand) smoking.
6. Try to visit as many friends in person. (Ok, Africa might be out of the question. But definitely my buddies from the States.)
7. Find a career I actually like.
8. No more self haircuts.
9. Have more balls. (I mean courage, not have a sex-change operation.)
10. Find happiness and try not to screw it up.
How I Have Spent My New Year's Eve...
2003-2004: LondonI watched the fireworks by the London Eye (the very big Ferris wheel) with Kech and Phuong. Apparently, the city of London spent quite a few quids for some spectacular show. Sadly, there was no countdown. Suddenly, we heard explosions. It was pretty but it only lasted 3 minutes and then it was all over. It took another 2 hours to walk roughly 2 kilometers (~1.2 miles).
2004-2005: New York CityTrang and I decided to go to Times Square and watch the ball drop like on TV. We waited for about 8 hours in between Broadway and 41st Ave. Now, those 8 hours would've been a little better had there been bathrooms or restaurants that were opened. (Security concerns... once we entered the area, we couldn't leave.) The last 5 minutes were probably the most exciting. Then, it took about an hour to get to a subway station.
2005-2006: BangkokSally and I had ringside seats for Muy Thai boxing. (Muy Thai boxing is pretty much anything goes. Lots of blood.) We saw fireworks going off on the ride back to the hotel.
2006-2007: TokyoThere was no real plan. Met some randoms from Nagoya who happened to be in the area. We did 2 bar hops in Shibuya before settling at the 3 Coin bar. 2 Gin&Tonics, 3 China Blues, and 2 shots of Tequila later, I called it a night. I arrived back at my friend's house around 3am smelling like an ash tray.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Taipei-ing It
For one of our last hurrahs, Haruka and I decided to have an adventure in Taipei. Why? 1. We both have never been before. 2. Real Chinese food!!! 3. We would get a stamp in our passports. However, leading up to our departures, we were both preoccupied with life to really plan for the trip.
Day 1:
I arrived a day earlier because I was able to get a dirt-cheap ticket. Now, the reason why the ticket was dirt-cheap was because I landed in Taipei at 10p. With no hotel reservation and putting my trust with the tourist information counter at the airport, I headed into the city. My room was less than ideal. I felt like I was in the slum capital of the world. I spent the night watching "8 Mile" figuring if I didn't sleep, the roaches wouldn't get me.
Day 2:
I headed out early in the morning hoping to find better accommodations. In my illegally copied Lonely Planet, the guide recommended a little dive called Happy Family 2. (Not sure what happened to Happy Family 1, but I did find it amusing.) After circling the vicinity for a good hour or so, a lady started yelling at me from the side and gestured me to go. Giving up all hope, I went. It so happened that it was the hostel. The owner was great. He gave me an upgrade because I spoke some Cantonese. On my floor, I ran into a Korean girl named Yoon who was traveling by herself. Since I was by myself too, we decided that 2 heads would be better than 1. Our first stop was the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial.
We watched the changing of the guards while fight some eager tourists ready to push anyone aside for a good photo opt. Afterwards, we attempted to find "The Matone" (aka the Toilet restaurant) for about 2 hours until we were informed the restaurant had been closed. So, we settled for a decent looking place, ate, walked some more, then parted ways for a bit. In the evening, I spent about 2 hours on a bus getting back to the airport to meet Haruka. We got back to the city and ate some Chinese food. All in all... not a bad day.
Day 3:
Haruka and I spent most of the day shopping and eating. First, we went to a farmer's market where we sampled some goodies that I've been missing. Later, we ventured to another shopping area and ate more food along the way.
As we were walking along, there were some ladies set up on the sidewalk with strings tied between their fingers and pulling it against another person's white-powdered face. Intrigued by all this, I decided to pull up a chair and chalked up. The ladies were doing facial hair pulling. It was pretty cool albeit a bit painful.
Continuing with our walk, we finally reached our destination, the only thing I really had to see while in Taipei, the toilet restaurant. While day 2's excursion was a bust, this one was a success. The restaurant was under a new name, "The Modern Toilet." I would rate the food as a 2 out of 4 flushes. It was more for the novelty of it all.
In the evening, we headed to the Shilin Night Market and again, we ate. I really miss proper Chinese food. We also watching people stick lit candles in their ear canal. People were shelling out ~$40 do so. It's suppose to clean out your ears but I couldn't really see how.
Day 4:
Day 4 had me, Haruka, and Yoon leaving central Taipei and into the countryside of Yamingshan National Park for some fresh air. Along the way, we ran into a really nice couple who showed us around the area. They even drove us to a really nice restaurant they frequent and paid for our lunch. We never really properly introduced ourselves (ie names). The guy is 
a Taiwanese diplomat who lived in South America for 3 years and the States for another 5. I was a bit envious. We returned to Taipei refreshed and headed to the grocery store to pick up some Chinese food for presents. Haruka ended up buying a whole lot of pineapple cake, Yoon got watermelon seeds, and I got egg roll cookies.
Day 5:
I can't really say this was a full day. My flight back to Nagoya left Taipei at 10am. (Darn cheap ticket!!!) I said my goodbyes to Haruka, Yoon, and Taiwan with a good feeling and about 5 lbs of Chinese food in my system. Gotta love MSG!
Day 1:
I arrived a day earlier because I was able to get a dirt-cheap ticket. Now, the reason why the ticket was dirt-cheap was because I landed in Taipei at 10p. With no hotel reservation and putting my trust with the tourist information counter at the airport, I headed into the city. My room was less than ideal. I felt like I was in the slum capital of the world. I spent the night watching "8 Mile" figuring if I didn't sleep, the roaches wouldn't get me.
Day 2:I headed out early in the morning hoping to find better accommodations. In my illegally copied Lonely Planet, the guide recommended a little dive called Happy Family 2. (Not sure what happened to Happy Family 1, but I did find it amusing.) After circling the vicinity for a good hour or so, a lady started yelling at me from the side and gestured me to go. Giving up all hope, I went. It so happened that it was the hostel. The owner was great. He gave me an upgrade because I spoke some Cantonese. On my floor, I ran into a Korean girl named Yoon who was traveling by herself. Since I was by myself too, we decided that 2 heads would be better than 1. Our first stop was the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial.
We watched the changing of the guards while fight some eager tourists ready to push anyone aside for a good photo opt. Afterwards, we attempted to find "The Matone" (aka the Toilet restaurant) for about 2 hours until we were informed the restaurant had been closed. So, we settled for a decent looking place, ate, walked some more, then parted ways for a bit. In the evening, I spent about 2 hours on a bus getting back to the airport to meet Haruka. We got back to the city and ate some Chinese food. All in all... not a bad day.Day 3:
Haruka and I spent most of the day shopping and eating. First, we went to a farmer's market where we sampled some goodies that I've been missing. Later, we ventured to another shopping area and ate more food along the way.
As we were walking along, there were some ladies set up on the sidewalk with strings tied between their fingers and pulling it against another person's white-powdered face. Intrigued by all this, I decided to pull up a chair and chalked up. The ladies were doing facial hair pulling. It was pretty cool albeit a bit painful.
Continuing with our walk, we finally reached our destination, the only thing I really had to see while in Taipei, the toilet restaurant. While day 2's excursion was a bust, this one was a success. The restaurant was under a new name, "The Modern Toilet." I would rate the food as a 2 out of 4 flushes. It was more for the novelty of it all.
In the evening, we headed to the Shilin Night Market and again, we ate. I really miss proper Chinese food. We also watching people stick lit candles in their ear canal. People were shelling out ~$40 do so. It's suppose to clean out your ears but I couldn't really see how.Day 4:
Day 4 had me, Haruka, and Yoon leaving central Taipei and into the countryside of Yamingshan National Park for some fresh air. Along the way, we ran into a really nice couple who showed us around the area. They even drove us to a really nice restaurant they frequent and paid for our lunch. We never really properly introduced ourselves (ie names). The guy is 
a Taiwanese diplomat who lived in South America for 3 years and the States for another 5. I was a bit envious. We returned to Taipei refreshed and headed to the grocery store to pick up some Chinese food for presents. Haruka ended up buying a whole lot of pineapple cake, Yoon got watermelon seeds, and I got egg roll cookies.
Day 5:I can't really say this was a full day. My flight back to Nagoya left Taipei at 10am. (Darn cheap ticket!!!) I said my goodbyes to Haruka, Yoon, and Taiwan with a good feeling and about 5 lbs of Chinese food in my system. Gotta love MSG!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
The Most Anti-Climatic Day Ever
Today was like a bad Christmas present. I waited patiently for this very day to come. I kept playing out how it would go in my head leading up to this day. But, when the day finally came, it was a bit of a let-down. Today was my last day at Nova. I still can't believe I was there for 648 days. Most people don't last more than 6 months. Anywho, the day came and went. It was a pretty easy day. I was only there for 5 lessons... a man to man kid, Voice, and 3 regular lessons. (I would've had a free if a newbie, who probably has some mental disorder because he stayed an extra 2 hours after his shift was over to "hang out", didn't insist on following me to an empty Voice room and proceeded to ask me every personal question he could think of. I should've smacked him.) After my last lesson, I punched out for the very last time, said my goodbyes to the Japanese staff, and took a little souvenir to remember the company by. I've got special plans for the souvenir. I also like fire.
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