Blingin from dusk till dawn

Been a while since I've seen you last.

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 01:42:27 GMT

I made a tough test about me for ya'll to take. Maybe Shaun can get all of them right, I doubt anyone else will... ha!

Create your own Friend Quiz here

For those who have lived in Kansai or Kanto

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 19:37:11 GMT

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070120/ap_on_re_as/japan_importing_foreigners

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 19:58:21 GMT

Well, I've accepted a job here in Memphis with an International logistics firm. I'll be working in their customs brokerage. The job sounds really cool, and I'm gonna have a good opportunity to grow within the company, and possibly work overseas someday.
Looking forward to it!

Graduation

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 17:36:12 GMT

I graduated from the University of Memphis on Saturday. I now have a Bachelors of Business Administration. I don't have a job lined up yet, but today I have a really big interview for a job in Louisville Kentucky. I've been spending all morning prepping for this interview, so wish me luck!

Update

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 04:12:00 GMT

It's been a while, although not much has been going on. 19 hours of class occupies most of my time. I've been teaching Japanese at this charter school for the last 2 and a half months. It's been pretty fun, but I will leave at the end of the semester. Which is when I graduate... which is in about a month! I've applied for a bunch of jobs, and have had a few interviews, but nothing decided quite yet. The majority of them are outside of Memphis, but still within the US.

I had been planning on going to Sweden next summer to visit my pal Martin, but he just accepted a job in Sydney, Australia with the Swedish Trade Council. I'll probably go down under and visit him next December because that's summertime in the Southern hemisphere, and if I went to Sydney, I'd want to surf. With that, I have decided to go with my parents and my bro Kevin to Vienna, Austria for a week during the spring break time. It'll have to be worked out with my future employer. Good thing is, it's a trip with the school, so it's not so expensive. From what I've seen of the travel guide, it looks to be a great place. Not to mention, it's right in the middle of beer heaven.

Been planning to hit up a Grizzlies game or two. I don't feel so bad about them losing. With thier star forward injured, and a rookies and sophmores getting more involved into the rotation, it'll be a building year.

Lastly, I casted some votes at the mid-term elections yesterday. Word up.

Back in Towers

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 20:58:47 GMT

I moved back into Richardson Towers yesterday. I got my room set up pretty pimp. I'm rooming with my buddy Andrew. Nothing special really, but we went to bed last night around midnight, and as soon as all the lights were turned out we noticed something. Someone had written on the ceiling really big with some glow in the dark pen "RTS 4EVA!!". We both busted out laughing. What would posess a person to write that anywhere. Whoever it is gets bonus points in my book for writing "4EVA". He even drew this piece of shit star near it. So, every night I go to sleep there, the first thing I will see is RTS 4EVA.

Books are gonna run be around $500 this semester. Man, I payed probably $30 total for books in Japan... both semesters. I'm ready to get up out of here.

Back home

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 15:38:19 GMT

I got back home late Thursday night. When I got into Chicago airport, the whole place was in chaos, cause of what happend in London about the time I was flying between Osaka and Chicago. My flight was only delayed an hour, so that wasn't annoying. The annoying thing was that I couldn't find a taco bell in the Chicago airport. Well, when I landed back in Memphis, my bro picked me up and took me to taco bell. I had a #7 and a chili cheese burrito. It was excellent, and I've eaten there 2 more times since then.

My grandma hooked me up with a 6 pack of Icehouse. They've changed the design on the bottle to something stupid. And when I took that first sip I was thinking that I couldn't believe I used to like that crap. Well, after drinking several more, I've gotten used to the taste, and I'm back to enjoying them once again. I went to my bro's place on Saturday night and bought my first 40 in 11 months. It was a 40 of OE, and it was good till the last drop. We ended up going down to Beale cause it was his gf's b-day. We chilled at this place called Alfred's for a while. They had some sorta band there, but they were terrible. We headed over the Pat O'brians and chilled in the piano bar.

My grandfather's health is pretty much critical now, and my mom doesn't want me coming down to see him in the state he is in. So, I won't be going to Florida anytime soon. Which basically means I'm free until school starts. Gotta denist appointment today. Gonna get my tooth that I chipped fixed.

Well, like I've told everyone else: I'm sad that I had to leave, but it's also good to be back.

4 days...

Sun, 06 Aug 2006 10:20:32 GMT

Well, got a few more days of Japan left, gonna be going to the beach tomorrow, and then spend 2 days in Kyoto. Getting back will be cool, but I`ll practically be getting back to an empty house. Kevin`s chillin in Greece, Erik moved out a while back, and my Dad has been working late. My mom left for Florida on friday, cause my grandfather is back in the hospital. He has all sorts of problems, so the doctors say he`s got between 2 days and 6 months. I wanted to goto Florida as soon as I got back, but then I was thinking it`d be better to go during fall break. Well, screw that shit, I will leave for Florida on August 15th. I don`t want to risk fall break bieng too late, you know. Kevin gets back on the 19th, so I probably won`t be seeing him till classes start back again.
Heh, the song I`m listening to now doesn`t seem so appropriate.

Fri, 28 Jul 2006 10:24:21 GMT

I had a going away party at my dorm last night, and it was most definetly off the chain. Took some great pics. I will eat tonight at this place called Asia Asia. It`s all you can eat chinese food, but it`s not a buffet. The food is high class, and it is the best chinese food ever. Tomorrow, I will meet up with Shaun, Yutaka, and some other friends for an all nighter in Kyoto. Sunday, I will take a break. Monday, I`ll drink with Shintaro, tuesday I`ll meet Matsuda sensei. Wednesday, I will go drinking with two teachers at my school. Friday, the english language club is having an end of the semister party that I will attend, and I imagine there will be more good bye drinking parties with friends. So, I`m a busy man. But, as I wait to go eat chinese, I filled out this:

Click here.
Take the quiz.
Post your results.
1) If ccm3 were hanging off a cliff, what would knightav do? Save him. I think they would be really good friends
2) Is cherrytetsu single? yes
3) Does sonik_e go to your school? he did, high school and college
4) How would knightav conquer the world? with his good looks and charm
5) What rank would sanlun_407 have in a giant robot army? Ambassador from Japan
6) Does triplesiks have a big secret? not that i know
7) One quality you find attractive in xanialei? she has a lot of good qualities. She`s friendly and easy to get along with... and tall (good characterstic for me).
8) How would melodywave kill ajaco? She wouldn`t, they are friends
9) Is bha_ghost popular? not really
10) Is drunkenmasta a college student? no, he`s a college grad
11) Is elfqueen_melian an emo? no
12) What would xeromem give cherrytetsu for his/her birthday? an Autographed photo of himself, signed `DD`
13) Did cherrytetsu break up with you? no, she didn`t.
14) How tall is katanasoul? 6-1, i think
15) Thoughts on katanasoul? really funny guy
16) What is nekkenman's favorite band/artist? Two Live Crew
17) Would you make out with cherrytetsu? I don`t think she would let me
18) What is sanlun_407's favorite movie? Probably a Takeshi Kitano film, like Hanabi
19) triplesiks's eye color? the color of the stars
20) Is shabadoooo friends with ranchan03? no
21) Do you have a crush on theboy_wholived? I do not, but I think she is really cool
22) Is zorknot 1337? no, he is awesome
23) Is katanasoul your best friend? no, drunkenmasta is
24) Do sanlun_407 and riki99 go to the same school? sanlun_407 studied abroad at riki99`s school for a year
25) Would wilatari go out with xanialei? no, i don`t think he would
26) Would you ever date melodywave? I did. Would I date her again? no
27) What word best describes ranchan03? 2 years ago... hyper, but now, i dunno
28) Does ajaco travel a lot? I think she does
29) What is elfqueen_melian's shoe size? A woman`s 8... i guess
30) What flavor of jello would ajaco be? grape

Here is a great pic of me and Kensuke:

Sun, 09 Jul 2006 12:15:09 GMT

I bought my return plane ticket a while back. In case you don`t know, I will be returning August 10th. There`s a bunch of going away parties planned, so for my last two weeks I will be partying every night, just about. My last exam is on the 26th of July, so I`m pretty much free from then.

I haven`t taken an online test in years, but this was a good one:
Your results:
You are Lando Calrissian

Lando Calrissian		75%
Mace Windu		66%
Han Solo		65%
Chewbacca		65%
Qui-Gon Jinn		65%
Obi-Wan Kenobi		58%
Luke Skywalker		54%
Princess Leia		52%
R2-D2		51%
Emperor Palpatine		51%

Tall, dark, and handsome.
Not much seems to bother you.
Maybe because you're so smooth.
You truly belong with us here in the clouds.

(This list displays the top 10 results out of a possible 21 characters)

Click here to take the "Which Star Wars character are you?" quiz...

"Colt 45 ... It works every time!"

Sun, 02 Jul 2006 16:26:31 GMT

Iemoto-sensei (my seminar teacher) gave me a very difficult task of translating this paragraph into English. I tried my best, but due to the length of both sentences, I feel that my translation is a little odd. Plus, I also fear that I may have made a mistake or two on grammer. If any of my journal readers who are fluent or near fluent can offer any suggestions or help, I would gladly appreciate it. And now onto the paragraph:

JSiSEは、国内外を問わず、大学、高等学校、幼児教育その他の教育機関、研究所、産業、行政あるいはNPOの研究者と実践者に開かれており、和文の学会誌、英文誌、研究会、シンポジウム、全国大会、ニューズレター、Webページにより、研究あるいは実践のための情報交換と発表の場を提供しています。とくに、本学会の学会誌　英文誌は、ICT利用システムの開発　実践を中心とした内容の特色とともに、掲載される論文の質が高く評価され、業績評価においても重要視されています。

JSiSE (Japanese Society for Information and Systems in Education) offers a place for a variety of researchers and practitioners to publisize and exchange information from various English and Japanese magazines, research societies, symposiums, national conventions, newsletters, and web pages. It is open to both foreign and domestic universities, speciality colleges, elementry, middle, and high schools, early childhood education and other educational institutions, along with research centers, businesses, administrations, and/or Non Profit Orginazations. In particular, academic and english language magazines have given the quality of the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Utilization system`s featured articles very high marks. Also the core characteristics of the system`s development and practice are also being regarded highly.

(*note: It is not my aspiration to become a translator, so not bieng able to perfectly translate this paragraph does not bum me out in any way.)

Rainy Season

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 09:41:52 GMT

When it rains here, it pours. Luckily, there`s been some sunny days within the last couple of weeks. Rainy season here ends around early July, so then it`ll be time for fun in the sun. Ise-shima has been one of my favorite places in Japan so far. I went there with my family, and I also took George there. While I was there, I accumilated tons of brochures and pamphlets and stuff. There is about 5 or 6 nice looking beaches in the area, and I have been waiting a long long time to hit those up. Just gotta wait for this rain to clear up!

In between classes, I`ve been spending some of my time doing a little job hunting in the area. You know, testing the waters. I applied for a management trainee position for an intl. bank in Tokyo. To get accepted would be a dream, but it seems like the competition will be fierce. They only accept about 6 ppl into the program each year. Gotta brush up on my keigo.

Other than that... it`s been all about watching World Cup games and drinking beer. America suffered a major beat down from the Chezch Republic, and they have to play Italy tomorrow. Things don`t look good. Japan lost to Australia, and they still got Croatia and Brazil...meaning they`re fucked. Sweden tied Trinadad and Tobago... which could be trouble cause they got Paraguay and England to worry about now. Oh well, Sweden plays Paraguay tonight, and I`ll be watching that one with some swingin Swedes!

Thought this was kinda funny.

Sat, 03 Jun 2006 17:16:17 GMT

The NBA has been pretty strict lately with their employees, esp. after the brawl that happend in November of 04. During the playoffs they`ve been handing out suspensions and fines almost on a daily basis. A while back, a forward for the Knicks got suspended for 5 games for going out into the stands during a game to protect his wife. Just the other day, a center for the Mavericks went out into the stands to protect the Mavericks head coach`s wife. I found an article about the incident:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AhBVJ13SOFuN_iSEcJtjGRG8vLYF?slug=ap-mavericks-mbengasuspended&prov=ap&type=lgns
The funny thing is they were talking about Mavericks owner Mark Cuban (if you don`t know who he is, he is one of the greatest entruprenuers of our lifetime). He had also gone out into the stands, but wasn`t fined. Here is the funny part of the article:

Earlier this postseason, he [Cuban] was fined $100,000 for going on the court to argue with officials. Five years ago, he was suspended for two games and fined $10,000 for running on the court to break up a fight that started because the Mavs were trying to score enough points for fans to earn free chalupas from a fast food restaurant.

"This wasn't a chalupa moment," Cuban said. "It was something totally different. ... I have a responsibility to everyone who puts on a uniform and their families. Period, end of story."

Man, I miss Taco Bell...
I was lucky to catch a re-broadcast of game six of the heat-pistons series. They don`t show many games over here.

昨日

Thu, 25 May 2006 06:35:07 GMT

さて、昨日の昼にゼミの終わった後にゼミの生徒とラウンドウンの「Spoーcha」という所で遊びに行った。Spo-chaはもちろんボーリングがあるけど、色々なスポーツと運動の活動を出来るのよ。バッティングケージ、3対3バスケ、卓球、ビリヤードなどあるし、ゲームセンタもあるんだよ。私達は五時間くらいそこで遊んで、料金は千円だけ。かなり安かったやな！バッティングケージで１３０km時速スピードボール奴があって、練習してた時に絶対無理だと考えていた！めっちゃヤバイ！俺のプロ野球の選手になるの夢は夢だけだよ！でも、全部の卓球の試合を勝って、卓球優勝になった。
後で、回転寿司で食べに行った。その回転寿司の場所で食べに行ったことがなかったで、驚きことにその所は非常に安かった。一皿は１００円。何でも１００円！
日本に着いたら、たぶん九、十回ぐらい友達の車に乗ったけど、乗る時に雨がいつも降っている。けど、昨日に友達の車に乗って、天気が晴れてた。だから、寮に戻った時に大阪の夕景色を認めた。キレイ...ホンマにキレイだった！
六月の一日に阪神タイガースの試合見に行くよ。阪神vs.楽天。楽天はパ・リーグの一番弱いチームので、阪神の勝ちだと思っている。様子を見る。

Hanshin Tigers

Wed, 17 May 2006 06:24:26 GMT

A friend of mine had some extra tickets and invited me to a Hanshin Tigers (baseball) game, but, naturally the game has been postponed due to crappy Osaka weather. From what she tells me, the seats are pretty nice too, right along the third base line. Well, hopefully I will be re-invited when they cash in the rain check. I have been planning to goto a game with some of the other international students at the dorm, but this was a free ticket.

I love how these clouds just make a blanket around the "important" parts of the country. It`s been cloudy or rainy for the past two weeks, and the next 10 days promises only one day of sun. Man, it`s not even the rainy season up here yet.

Thu, 04 May 2006 07:47:53 GMT

Man, the last couple of day`s weather has been absolutely perfect. Sunny, in the mid 60`s to lower 70`s. I`ve been wearing shorts, and sippin on cokes and beer out in the little lawn of our dorm, or up on the roof, working on my tan a little bit. Yoshi has kinda started up this club for the exchange students. It`s basically the exchange student party club, but anyone at the school can come to the parties. We had a BBQ party yesterday next to the Higashigawa river (over by Juso, if you know the area). Over 20 people showed up, and we cooked some great food, drank ice cold beverages, and played a little soccer. More or less just kicked the ball around. Afterwards, a bunch of us ate dinner at Outback steakhouse. Then I went with my buddy Hideki to Kyoto to meet up and drink with Shaun. It was pretty dead around the Kawaramachi area, so we took the last train back to Shaun`s place and listend to the new Tool cd.

Not my craziest night, but we had a good time.

Soon I will be getting Mexican food with the Sweedes. Been looking forward to that.

haha

Fri, 14 Apr 2006 10:00:23 GMT

I played baseball at a park with some 12 year olds. Made me glad that I played little league up until 7th grade, cause those kids were good.

Crazy day

Sun, 09 Apr 2006 08:55:06 GMT

Man...
Yesterday was a really nice day. The weather was perfect, so everyone here went out for hanami (viewing of cherry blossoms and flowers and such). The night before I had a drinking/kareoke party with Martin and the two new Sweedes: John and Elin. John is probably the best person I have ever seen at kareoke. We wake up at about 11, get some Wendys, and finally get into Kyoto, where we meet U of M`s own Diana. The 5 of us head over to Maruyama park, where we`re gonna meet my friend Thomas. On the way, we accidently run into some of Martin`s classmates who are studying in Kyoto. We go back to thier party and meet up with some more Sweedes and Americans... two guys were from UCLA, so we had a fun time talking about basketball. We then went to Kiyomizu temple, which was absolutely gorgeous. It was starting to get dark by then, so Diana and I went back to the park while the swingin Sweedes decided to go back home to Osaka. Diana and I get a quick bite to eat, and I call Thomas, and we finally meet up with him. I met up with one of my really good English buds named Malcom, and he was his usual self... drunk as hell. I also met two awesome Canadians. A guy named Chris, who is the friendliest, most laid-back person I have ever met... and this older guy named Frank, who was trying to set me and Diana up.
Diana had to get back to Namba, so we left the park at about 9:45, and meet up with Shaun and Miki at the enterance of the park. We give each other our love, and then they head for Thomas` party, and I walk with Diana to the station. On the way, we run into Malcom and his lady friend, and he is vomiting on the sidewalk near a Family mart. I, myself, am pretty drunk at the time, so I`m messing with ppl walking by, and rambling God knows what to Diana.
She gets to the station, and I go back to Thomas` party. Chill over there till about midnight, and then head to kareoke (sorry Diana) with Thomas and his girlfriend. I stay there for a couple hours, drink more (including champagne) and then leave since it seemed like Thomas wanted some alone time with his girlfriend. I then make my way to my favorite joint, Nikki`s Bar. Nikki is passed out, and Milan welcomes me with open arms. I dance with Aiko (girl who works there, that is awesome) and then order a beer and sit with these two foreign guys who are from Russia! They can`t speak much English or any Japanese, so we had a bit of trouble talking to each other, but... they did teach me some awesome Russian words... but I forgot them. I went to the bathroom and they decided to leave. Those asses told the bartenders that I was gonna pay thier tab, so Aiko practically opens the bathroom door while I`m using it to see if the Russians are telling the truth. I`m like HELL NO I aint paying for thier shit. So they end up paying the tab, and as they leave I`m like `Spasiba ya dasvidania!` and Milan and co. were laughing thier asses off.
So, there is this other guy who is from Nepal who hangs out at the bar... I can`t remember what his name is, but he is a handsome guy with long hair and a cool beard. Everytime I meet up with him, he is like `I hate you mother fucker! I want your height!`. Apperantly he wants to be a model, but since he`s like 5-9 he thinks his chances are slim. Anyways, he lives in Osaka too, so at about 7:00 in the morning we decide to head back. I talk to him on the way back, and he is a really awesome guy. I get back to my dorm around 8:00 and pass the fuck out. I woke up at 4:00 this afternoon, and I will soon get some pizza.

My momma told me that Kevin, Andrew, Dr. Tobias, and my dad were gonna be chilling in Arkansas this weekend. I can just imagine that everybody is drunk right now, chewing on some really good American flank steak. Shit! I really really miss my father, seeing him here in Japan and taking him around was definetly the best thing ever. Classes start on wednesday, and since everybody has recommended it to me, I`ve decided to take a class in chinese. I`ll do my best.

日本で面白い話がいっぱいあるやなぁ

Thu, 30 Mar 2006 07:18:28 GMT

I haven`t been doing much lately since my parents left, so I decided to start hitting the books a little harder in preperation for the Japanese Language Prof. test (lev. 2). As a habit, I usually go out on the balcony of my dorm and drink a beer while watching the sunset. My balcony overlooks a park (well, not really a park, an area of dirt and some swings), and as always there were kids playing around the area. Two boys look up and notice me, and of course run and tell there friends about the beer drinking forienger. Like typical kids here they yell `Hello!` to me, and to be polite I always say hello back. Then, using there immense vocabulary of the English language, say `Goodbye` to me. I gave them my typical `Goodbye, 気をつけて！` that I give to every kid. Same thing I do back home, when kids ask me my height or questions of that nature, I always tell them to `behave` and `stay in school`. I go back to my beer, and get distracted by three girls, probably 10 or 11. They say to me:

「`See you`ってどういう意味ですか」in which I reply 「じゃ、またね！」, and they laugh.

Then I hear 「`Thank you`ってどういう意味ですか？」and my reply is 「ありがとう！」, and they`re getting a kick out of this.

It doesn`t end. 「今、何しているんですか？」which brings a smile to my face, cause I get to say 「ビールを飲んでいるんですよ！」

girls:「おいしいですか？」
me：「ホンマにおいしいですよ！」

Bout this time I finish my beer, and tell them that I have to get back to my studying, and that they should work extra hard studying english to impress thier parents. I figured it was the end of the ordeal... or so I had thought.
I leave around 1:00 this afternoon to get some Subway (eat fresh), and sure enough outside my dorm is three giggly girls riding around on thier bikes. Turns out to be my friends, and stopped and interogated me with more questions until I told them that I was starved and had to get lunch. Sure enough, on the way back, they were at the park, so I told them hello, and they started calling me sensei.
Now, all I got to do is meet thier parents and start charging for english lessons. Sometimes this man be needing some money.
I`m sure this kind of thing happens to JETS and exchange students all the time, but it brought a smile to my face.

I just finished Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein. Great fucking book, but a bit odd. Heinlein`s message about government, young girls, and organized religion was pretty funny, but also kinda thought provoking. I kinda liked Starship Troopers just a little bit better. Now time to jump on the bandwagon and read Di Vinci Code. Hope it`s as good as everyone says.

funny

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 08:31:48 GMT

My brothers came to visit me in Japan, and they brought me a 24 ounce can of Colt 45 and a 24 ounce can of Schlitz malt liquor. My original plan was to share them with my Sweedish friend, Martin, since I don`t believe you can get either beverages in Scandanavia, let alone in Japan. Well, Shaun comes to Osaka, because Yuki (Mihoko`s son) was graduating from elementary school. I met him, and we eat at Wendy`s, and then we go back to my dorm so I can get my suit. I show the tall boys to Shaun and his face lights up. He then offers me 500 yen for the tall boy of Colt 45. I told him that we could drink them both together with Martin, and he`s cool. 24 hours later I was thinking about it, and the humor sinks in. That man offered me about $5 for a 99 cent can of beer.
So, to all my friends sippin` on 40`s over there... fuck you! We are desperate.

Damn dude...

Sat, 18 Mar 2006 14:37:12 GMT

Beijing was off the hook. Got some good pics on my facebook.
I get back to Kansai Intl. airport and meet my bro`s, who I hadn`t seen in 5 1/2 months. We went eating and drinking. My parents came 2 days later, and I took everyone to the essential places that you must go in the Kansai area. Himeji, Nara, Kyoto, Ise-shima, and the good areas of Osaka. My dad, Erik, and I ate some raw oysters in Ise, and threw them up a few days later... that kinda sucked. Erik and I saw this band `Animal Collective` in Osaka, it was aight, but it was just good to goto a concert... hadn`t been in a while. Kev left on Sunday, and Erik left on tuesday, but before he left we tried to get an all nighter going with Shaun, but Erik pussed out, so it was Shaun and I doing our usual thing. From Wednesday to Saturday I went to Kyushu. Mostly just stayed in the Fukuoka area. My mom was born there actually (lived in Kokura), so she really wanted to see it. There was some nice things there, but it rained most of the time. The food was off the hook!
My parents leave tomorrow, and then I`ll have 3 more weeks till classes start back up. I am gonna rest during the days and read, and then prolly drink every night. There`s just something about drinking at nightime that makes it so much better than drinking at day time. I`m gonna post an entry with tons of funny quotes I`ve heard from various ppl around here, but I need to get all the good quotes together before I post it. Thus, I give you something to look forward too, dear reader.

Tue, 21 Feb 2006 13:02:26 GMT

さぁてバイトを終わった後でもちろんコンビ二でビールを買いに行って、新キリンの円熟というビール買った。日本の全部の種類のビールせめて一度飲んでみたいからアサヒ金レベルも買ったけど、円熟ビールの方がおいしかったと思うんです。それでも、ビールを飲んだ時に部屋のテラスで公園に野球をやっていた子供を見てて、すごく懐かしくなった！僕の子供の時に、授業を終わった後で友達と近所の道で野球をよくやっていたんだから懐かしいなぁ！じゃあ、大きくなったから仕様が無い。仕事しなきゃならないんだよ。

でもね、バイトの上司と僕は仲がめっちゃいいんだぜ。先週のある日の昼休みの時、先生は僕に中華料理を奢ってくれたんだ。今日も回転寿司屋さんで食べに行って、先生からプレゼントだった。実は、バイトを終わったばかりあとで、中国の焼酎のボトルを渡してくれた。幸いことに酒を飲むのが好きから喜んで飲むよ。俺は一生けんめい働いているから先生が僕のこと好きだと思うんだけど、先生は日米の関係の興味があるからいつもアメリカのことについて会話して欲しい。じゃあ、無料食べ物と無料酒はいつもいいことだろうね。真面目に、上司と同僚の皆さんはいい人なんだ。明日、バイトに行くのをめっちゃ楽しみにしているぞ。

三月の３日から２０日まで家族は大阪に来るんだからすばらしい旅行出来るように面白い場所を調べてみているんだ。関西の場所のこと知識が豊富から、誰か関西以外の面白い場所知っている？ススメある？

最後に、ジョージと僕の写真一つあるよ。楽しんでね。奈良から大阪までの電車を乗って、僕らはずいぶん酔っ払いになった。留学生の生活はいいね。

Update

Thu, 16 Feb 2006 04:02:54 GMT

So my main man 2nd Lt. Tobias came to Japan last week for about a week and a half, and we did a little tour of the Kansai area. We went to Kyoto, Himeiji, Nara, Ise, Kustatsu (to visit Shaun), and all around the Osaka area. It was probably to best time I`ve had here so far, we did so many cool things, it would be too long to list them here. George told me his favorite thing about Japan was just bieng able to hang out with me, Shaun, Mihoko, and Akira. George bought a digital camera here, and took some great pics. I will work on uploading those pics, sometime in the future.

So, I`m sitting at this 10-day temp job, just downloading some company information from various places, for the Institute of Small Business Research, here at my school. It`s pretty boring, so I`ve been reading over DD`s latest lj post (if you haven`t read it, it`s a great post). Anyways, I got to thinking about what my `goals` were, and I realized that the only real goal I`ve had for the last few years is graduating college. Since that is right around the corner, I figure it`s good time to start deciding on what I`d like to accomplish. I have a lot of free time between now and my China trip, so it`ll be good for me to just relax and contemplate. Since I will enivetibly work after I graduate, I need to think about what kind of job I can get that won`t have me miserable to wake up every morning. I feel I`ve already found myself and know who I am, I just need some more details.

Lately alot of great things have been happening to me. It`s almost unbelievable how good things have been going. I love America, but I also love this country. Anyways, I have alot to be thankful for.

I also recieved chocolate from 4 people this V-day. I think it was just a `you`re a good friend/drinking buddy` gesture... at least I hope so.

I guess cause it`s rainy, and quiet here in this office, I`ve been in a contemplative mood.
I`m going to visit Shaun again this Saturday evening. Movies and Booze! I also have a suprise for you, Shaun... not flamming hot cheetos, but pretty nice.

slicked back like a junt...

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 03:47:12 GMT

Last night we had a going away party for two of my Korean friends. It was fun, I`m gonna miss those two. One of the teachers at the school came along with us, which was cool. He teaches Chinese Economics among other classes. He also enjoys drinking shochu, which is something I also enjoy. But I told him at one point that I wanted to drink atsukan (hot sake), but he`s like `no... you`ll have a headache in the morning, if you drink shochu, you`ll be fine...`
That was a lie. I had a bad headache this morning.
The real cool news is that his zemi (seminar class) is going to Beijing during the last week of February, to go and see the Imperial city, and the Great Wall, among other things. He asked me if I wanted to go, and when he told me the price (really inexpensive), I was like helllll yeah. So, it looks as if I will be going to China in about a month. Probably won`t ever get a chance like this again.
My exams are over, and my break till April has begun. So, my first order of business is to goto Shaun`s place and drink. It`s a tough life, but someone has to live it.

期末試験があるかどうか分からへん...困るんだよなぁ...

Fri, 20 Jan 2006 07:02:22 GMT

主な経営情報の授業の先生はめっちゃ病気になったから期末試験があるかなとおもっているんだよ。　大学の交流会館に働いている人は先生は入院していることだけ教えてくれた。別の先生は静かに「おなかのガンがあると聞いた」と言ったんだ。だから、すごい心配している。でも、同じ授業を受けている知り合いは先生がすぐ元気になったけど、試験が作らなかったから試験がないと言った。安心しているんですけれども先生が元気になって欲しがっている。交流会館の働いている人も取りあえず先生は試験を作ったかどうか分からないって。今から前の受けた期末試験は難しくなかったけど、来週の木曜日のマーケティング試験は難しそうなんだ。授業中時、たまに先生の教えて上げたこと分かるけどだいたいわからないんだ。分からない単語と読めない漢字が多いだから！まあ、留学生の生活は優しいわけではない。

授業の外のことは楽しいのに。スウェデン人の友達はすぐ帰国するから、今夜と土曜日の夜一緒に酒を飲むことになった。最近、僕達はDEADWOODというアメリカの番組を見たし、たくさんNFLアメフトの試合を見た。僕もバイトを始まったんだ。毎週の日曜日に梅田駅の近くのビルで英語を教えることになった。バイトのこと難しくなくて給料はめっちゃいいだと思う。

二月から四月の初めまで授業がない。学校の休みなんだ。お兄さんと両親も日本に来るよ。一緒に大阪場所（大阪の三月にある相撲大会）に行きたい！切符はNBAの試合より高いだけど。じゃあ、ぜひ行くんだよ！
相撲と言えば今月の大会はすごい面白い！好きな琴羽州（ブルガリアから来た男）という力士は相撲うまくしている。Good luck, dude. Hope you win. So far: 10 wins, 2 losses.