The Spicy Samurai

2006-11-16T19:41:00.000-06:00

no more blog here

2006-09-27T09:57:00.000-05:00

well you may have noticed that I haven't been updated my blog very much. I've decided to just go ahead with the mixi site instead. Sorry guys, but its only in Japanese. you can register of course, but I'm doubting you'd be able to navigate the site. Mixi is basically a Japanese version of MySpace or Friendster. It also operates similarly to Friendster in that you need an invitation to join. If you'd like to join, just send me an email to my yahoo address, and I'll send you an invite.

the mixi site is: www.mixi.jp

uchimizu

2006-08-02T14:14:00.000-05:00

why can't we have more of this in the States. I mean, sprinkling water on the ground has just got to lower the temps a bit, right?! http://www.crisscross.com/jp/superview/picture/AD3

HEAT WAVE

2006-08-01T14:33:00.000-05:00

So Chicago is going through a heat wave. Its really freakin HOT. So today, I'm hanging out in Panera Bread (free wi-fi, woo hoo!) when an older lady in the booth across from me passes out due to heat (there's A/C, but its still a little warm).

Anyway, 911 was called, paramedics came, and away she went. I think she's going to be ok though, because before they took her out on a stretcher, she complained that she hadn't finished her salad?!

In a sad commentary of our morbid voyeuristic society (or is it me?), I've included a pic from my phone.

ok, and I'm trying not to be an elitist snob or anything, but I couldn't help overhearing a conversation at the table next to me. For some reason, they were talking about testing, and test scores, and this one lady said that her younger sister scored a 14 on her ACT. Not only did she incorrectly state the highest you could score on the ACT is 30 (a perfect score is 36!), she was genuinely proud of her "brilliant" sister, who was accepted to a 5 -year physical therapy Master's program (?!) had scored a 24.

Now, I'm not saying a 24 is bad, but I would hardly call it brilliant.

well, I realized...

2006-07-28T07:40:00.000-05:00

that I never posted exactly what I'm planning on doing this fall. I've made reference to moving to Japan, and that part is true. What I haven't informed everyone is why.

Well, yesterday was my last day of work at XXXXXX. No more business trips to Istanbul, San Juan, Mexico, or Japan. I'm definately going to miss that about the job. I'm constantly amazed and suprised that I had a job with such international travel. I never would have thought in High School that I'd be travelling the world for work (and spending half the year on the road).

Anyway, that part of my life is done (unless they want to bring me on as an independent contractor for a week later this year for the Japan audit). .. I'm moving to Japan to get my MBA at the International University of Japan. I start this fall and am excited about the opportunity to improve both my language skills and business acumen. I leave in September, so I've got about a month to plan, prepare, and pack up all my stuff for the 2 year stint.

so that was my big news. News I didn't want to post earlier of course. Its a big change, but something I'm definately looking forward to.

pencil picture

2006-07-23T23:08:00.000-05:00

dou suru

2006-07-23T22:55:00.000-05:00

Only three days left before I leave the company. I'll be wrapping up this week. I'm planning on catching up on movies, studying a bit, prepping for the move, etc next month. Its going to be a strange transition this summer. Leaving Chicago and moving to rural Japan...

so here are some pics from my last trip to Japan...some of you many have already seen these though, since I've already posted them on Mixi....

dilema

2006-07-21T14:37:00.000-05:00

so I'm in a bit of a dilema. I was just recently turned onto a Japanese social networking site (something like a MySpace) http://mixi.jp

So its become a bit of a headache to try and update both sites. On one hand, I like mixi's interface and some of the tools available, but on the other, most of you don't have access to it, nor could you read it (its almost all in Japanese). I guess I'll have to find some sort of balance in order to keep both up....

uhhgggg

2006-07-20T21:22:00.000-05:00

so scary...!
http://www.pinktentacle.com/2006/07/cantomoko-a-well-traveled-sex-doll/

clueless

2006-07-17T21:14:00.000-05:00

Can coffee is good for you

2006-07-12T22:33:00.000-05:00

Drink this for the obvious benefits!

let's get started again

2006-07-07T00:36:00.000-05:00

Promised in the past I'd get back posting, but it tough with my travel schedule, and the fact that I don't have convenient access at home to post anything. The only time I'm connected is at work, and I don't want to post while working. Anyway, I'm going to post a few pics from this week....enjoy:

Ok, so Shane and I went to this bar/restaurant called Kunyan. I think they specialize in Gyoza. Anyway, the place is owned and operated by this lady called Ulala (think Space channel 5). And all the workers, except this guy, are all girls. Its refreshing.

This is a picture of my server for the night. Her name is ringo-chan. ringo means apple in Japanese. Anyway, she normally doesn't wear those glasses but wanted to show me "moe". Not exactly sure what it means, so I'll have to look it up.

(pic removed) haha!
Lastly, this is a picture of me after not shaving for about 1 1/2 weeks. Pretty pathetic I know, but since I've got some big changes coming up, I figured the least of my worries is making sure I shave. I wonder if I'll make it back to the office like this, or if it gets so bad, I just decide to shave it off anyway.

my oh my

2006-06-30T08:06:00.000-05:00

"At a time when there are no dreams and no hope, this game offers guys a chance to live out at least one fantasy. And for free!"-Matsumoto

Find out what game he's referring to by clicking the link below.

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/news/20060630p2g00m0dm009000c.html

ok, couldn't help it

2006-06-14T07:44:00.000-05:00

I'll starting keeping this thing up to date soon--within a couple weeks. Then I'll be free to post whatever I like. Anyway, couldn't help but post this pic. I was on my way to the airport on Monday when I noticed the highway was backed up very badly. Apparantly, a semi had rolled over. It was blocking 2 1/2 lanes of the 3 lane highway. Luckily, I still made my flight. And I hope no one was hurt in the accident. later.

I suppose a little explanation is in order

2006-04-01T09:29:00.000-06:00

I've been in a funk for a while now. Variety of reasons, but I don't want to go into them here. Big news and a big change coming up- and no, I'm not getting married.

I'll send out an email instead to relate the news. It doesn't need to be public at this point.

So "the end"....of the blog, a chapter in my life, etc...I suppose it could relate to a multitude of things. I'm not yet sure what it means.

2006-03-21T17:18:00.000-06:00

The End.

you gotta check this out

2006-03-01T22:21:00.000-06:00

http://foshata.com/

funny Japanese commercials with great subtitles! check em out, short, quick, and fast to load.

yay-I'm in Memphis...

2006-02-28T20:14:00.000-06:00

...again.

:(

2006-02-22T10:18:00.000-06:00

hey ho, not much going on. Just busy plugging away at
work. Illinois lost last night to Michigan, how sad.
They all need to step up their game, especially
heading into the Big 10 tourney.

Other than that, I've got another trip scheduled for
Memphis. I like Memphis and all, but I wish I were
going to other places. there's some European travel
coming up for one of my coworkers, so I hope I can get
in on that at some point too. the last time I went to
Europe was in 1999 for a backpacking trip with the Big
E.

speaking of which, anyone want to do that again? I'd
love to take a couple weeks off and go backpacking
through Europe again. I'd like to focus on Italy some
more this time.

anyway, take care all.

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2006-02-14T15:09:00.000-06:00

here are some interesting thoughts from some guys in
Japan regarding marriage:
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/news/20060214p2g00m0dm024000c.html

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2006-02-14T14:09:00.000-06:00

The University of Illinois transcript department is so
lame. Every time I call them, they treat me like Im
an idiot. However, Im not the one that posted a
duplicate billing for a $5 charge and then acted
stupefied that such a thing could happen.

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2006-02-07T08:14:00.000-06:00

Save the date! March 23rd, THU. (9:30pm; $10) at the
Empty Bottle. http://www.emptybottle.com/calendar.php

Japan Nite 2006:
TsuShiMaMiRe
The Rodeo Carburettor label
The Emeralds
Stance Punks
PE'Z
Ellegarden label: Dynamord

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Attack of the Muffin Tops

2006-02-02T21:00:00.000-06:00

Its horrible. You don't want to look, but you can't help yourself. you're at the mall, sipping an orange julius, minding your own business, when you spot it. The muffin top. When will it end?! >_< .

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/330221p-281994c.html

2006-01-31T08:48:00.000-06:00

Parents' suck. Not my parents, but other parents out there.

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2006-01-29T18:30:00.000-06:00

So last week when I was in Memphis, instead of getting
an Olero <sp>, taurus, or some other kind of car, Avis
gave me an extended cab Ford F-150! It was nice I
suppose...its the first time I drove a truck...but why
would I get a truck in the first place?! I felt like
I shouldn't be paying attention to the "stay off the
grass" signs, and driving over all the curbs and
through peoples' yards :)

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2006-01-24T23:15:00.000-06:00

...

-you know who you are.

2006-01-20T01:39:00.000-06:00

its 1:41am. do you know where your kids are?

since we're staying negative

2006-01-17T21:10:00.000-06:00

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is a complete f*ckup:

....
"It was designed to talk to the African-American community for the most part, not only for here but throughout the country -- and to make sure that they understood that they were welcomed in this city," he said.

On Monday, Nagin said God wanted New Orleans to be predominantly black and said he didn't care what the predominantly white Uptown section of the city had to say about it.

"I don't care what people are saying Uptown or wherever they are. This city will be chocolate at the end of the day," he said. "This city will be a majority African-American city. It's the way God wants it to be."

After the statement, he insisted he wasn't being divisive.

Oh, so its not devisive. whatever. Vote the jerk out. check out the rest of the story: http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/17/nagin.city/index.html

Seriously, read the article

2006-01-17T20:32:00.000-06:00

I've always been pissed off about the teachers' unions, but this justifies the assertion that unions and government suck ass.

let's start off the new year

2006-01-17T20:28:00.000-06:00

...on a good note.

Ever feel pissed off at the government...read this. http://usatoday.com/money/perfi/retirement/2006-01-16-pension_x.htm

here's another one that's related. It was in Today's Usa Today.
http://usatoday.com/money/perfi/retirement/2006-01-16-pension-funds_x.htm

hey, WTF, why don't we all work for Uncle Sam. Retirement benefits for a certain portion of the population are so f*cking out of whack its depressing. Who's going to do something about it? Not any of the pissers on the payroll. Why would they? I wouldn't. But the people elected into office should do something about it, or everyone's screwed....well, everyone except the government workers.

Its Christmas time!

2005-12-22T17:55:00.000-06:00

The holiday really snuck up on me fast this year. Damn, I'm getting old. I haven't even set foot in the mall to go shopping in a month or so. Well, no work tomorrow. Or the next day, or the next...you get the idea. I'm free until next year. no work-woo hoo!

Taxi cab driver in Japan

2005-12-12T19:38:00.000-06:00

so Mitsuki and I were out in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. Finally got a cab and when we asked him how much it would cost to get us back to her house, he quoted us about $20. He started the meter, but we only made it about 3/4 of the way to her house when it hit $20. So instead of letting it run to about $30, which it would have, he just shut the meter off and drove us the rest of the way.

This sort of thing doesn't happen in Chicago.

2005-12-07T16:12:00.000-06:00

Gameboys are cool. I got a Gameboy Micro as a
gift-michan, arigato- and its fun to play, and smaller
than my phone. very nifty. I just got to get some
cool puzzle and strategy games for it.

I'm still a bit jet lagged from my trip to japan. Next
week, its back to Mexico. I think that'll be the last
trip this year for me. In January, I've got some
trips back to North Carolina and Tennessee, and
possibly Puerto Rico. I would like to go back to PR,
but I don't think I'll need to as I can get the work
done from the office.

anyway, time to head back home. later all.

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hot damn

2005-11-23T09:33:00.000-06:00

two things to talk about:

1. Harry Potter 4. Book was definately better. I'm a little shocked by the reviews that came out saying it was the best potter movie thus far. I really liked the third one better. I'm not sure if thats because the book was shorter and easier to translate to the screen or what. But in the movie, they had to skip over a lot of details that would have added a lot more to the story. Its already a 2 1/2 hour movie, so I understand they need to cut some things out, but there just seemed to be a lot of things that got glossed over. The last scene wasn't as good as I thought it would be either. In the book, it all built up so high, and there was a lot of tension. Maybe because I already knew what was going to happen, it was a little deflated. Its hard to tell. All I can say difinatively, is that the movie is ok, but I enjoyed the book more than film.

2. I'm currently at the airport. Its the day before Thanksgiving and I'm on my way to Japan. My trip unfortunately got cut short a week. I would have much rather had that extra week, but what can you do? I wonder if I'll meet any more famous (?) bands like I did on my last trip. (Good Charlotte). Anyway, I'll be landing in Tokyo on thanksgiving and heading out to see Mitsuki's family for the weekend. We've got some events (i.e. onsen) planned, and I want to tour a little of Kagoshima to see what its like.

Unfortunately, first thing I did when I got to the airport lounge was spill coffee on my white sweater. This kinda sucks. I washed most of it out in the bathroom, but there's still a brown stain right on the chest area. Good start to the trip eh? I've got another hour before the plane boards so hopefully the sweater will dry a bit before then. Other than that, I'm wondering what movies will be shown on the flight. Seriously, I enjoy these long haul flights (except when you're in coach). In case there isn't anything good on, I've brought the first season of Arrested Development to entertain me. speaking of which...I think I'll watch an episode. Later all

2005-11-17T17:19:00.000-06:00

Good ol' Shintaro. always good for a great quote.

"If North Korea shot a missile at Japan, the U.S.
would be obliged to retaliate, and the North Korean
regime would immediately collapse.
Tokyo Gov Shintaro Ishihara, wiping his hands as if to
say, "Problem solved." (Washington Post)"

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=quote

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2005-11-01T21:14:00.000-06:00

I've been worrying a bit lately that I worry too much.
I'm starting to think that the reason I have trouble
sleeping is that I have all these ideas and concerns
running through my head and I can't quiet them down.
Actually, when I try to sleep, thats when they get
loudest.

So I've been thinking. I need to relax. Maybe I need
to take up yoga or some sort of meditation techniques
that will help me clear my mind.

so if anyone is wondering what to get me for
christmas, maybe a book on relaxation/stress reduction
would be a good idea :)

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chris, check it out

2005-10-26T00:30:00.000-05:00

Been puttin in 11, 12, 13 hour days, getting a bit loopy. But figured you'd should check this out. This guy was in front of a major (Shibuya) train station. For $10, he will think of words of inspiration just for you. you sit in front of him, and he'll make a large character, such as "hope" or something and then write an inspirational message below. If he's still there when I go back I may pick one up. Maybe Bridget wants one? hmm.. you think she wants an inspirational message tailored for me? :O

Rajan swings a club

2005-10-26T00:25:00.000-05:00

he's a bit goofy, but ya gotta love the Raj.

2005-10-23T20:52:00.000-05:00

Well, its been a while hasn't it? I've just been
swamped at work. uhhgggg. by the way, I was in
Memphis last week and this as well. I'll be back on
the weekend, just in time for a Halloween party on
Saturday. Anyway, gotta get back to work.

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arrrgghhh, too busy

2005-10-16T21:10:00.000-05:00

I'm so busy this week. And also last week. So I don't know how much I'll be able to post this week. Therefore, I leave you with another Engrish to ponder. Next time you go to Home Depot , make sure you stop to feel the wood.

more engrish

2005-10-13T21:05:00.000-05:00

Huh?

Africa?!

2005-10-12T00:02:00.000-05:00

Who in Africa is visiting the site?! check out the Visitor list to the right. ^_^ Nice to know I have fans 'round the world.

Can't sleep-as usual

2005-10-11T23:45:00.000-05:00

Do You Realize - that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize - we're floating in space -
Do You Realize - that happiness makes you cry
Do You Realize - that everyone you know someday will die
And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round

-flaming lips

sketches of faces

2005-10-09T14:50:00.000-05:00

As promised, here are some sketches showing a more western influence and anime/manga influence. To be honest, these faces are crap, but I promised to sketch something out. Anyway, I found that since I was thinking about trying to draw in a certain style, it messed things up. the ones on the left, hell, both sets actually, in my opinion don't represent my style. Certainly, I'm sure Brian will see my "style" in them, but I found that I couldn't relax and just draw. Maybe I'll just pull together some pics I've previously drawn to make the comparisons. I think it'd be more representative of my style. I just couldn't relax and draw with these thoughts in my head.

some more pics from Cuernavaca

2005-10-08T20:51:00.000-05:00

Walking down the road from my hotel, I spotted this car. The paint job is interesting, as is the passenger.

Below are a couple pics from the road in front of my hotel. nothing all that special I suppose, but just wanted to post 'em.

cats steal babies' breath and..

2005-10-08T16:56:00.000-05:00

SAITAMA — An 88-year-old senile woman at a care facility in Saitama Prefecture lost all her right-foot toes after an intruding cat bit them off, facility workers admitted Saturday and offered an apology to the woman's family. The incident occurred between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=351604

ever wonder what the Canterbury Tales would sound like as a rap?

2005-10-08T15:28:00.000-05:00

then check this out:http://www.babasword.com/index/audio.html

police in Japan are so weak

2005-10-07T19:11:00.000-05:00

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200510070152.html
This story is about some some yakuza. Never understood why they still operate with such impunity, but hey, who am I to judge.

here's a good story about a two cops and a man and his bat.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4287899.stm

harry potter 6

2005-10-06T21:35:00.000-05:00

Wow, just finished the latest Harry Potter book. I brought a book (Angels & Demons) by the guy that did the Da Vinci Code, but finished it the first week out here in Mexico. My coworker luckily had the latest Harry Potter so I borrowed it and finished it in 2 nights! I gotta slow down and take my time with these things I guess. Anyway, good book, sad that I have to wait a couple years before the last one comes out. It'll be bittersweet though, as all good things come to an end.

Church in Tepozatlansomething

2005-10-06T21:32:00.000-05:00

Just a church I spotted last weekend while sightseeing near Mexico.

15 minute sketch of the crow

2005-10-02T09:12:00.000-05:00

I was browsing a message board and someone was posting a drawing of the Crow (he was a bit bulky though). Brian Whiz commented that he likes the more lean, yet still muscular Crow (i.e. like the first movie) as do I. But I decided to take it even further and just make a skinny crow.

added a couple new links

2005-10-02T09:11:00.000-05:00

...to the links section :)

guess we're broke

2005-09-30T20:10:00.000-05:00

TOKYO — The U.S. government has not paid the Japanese government rent for land where the U.S. Embassy is built since 1998, according to a document the cabinet adopted Friday. The Japanese government has been asking the U.S. government to pay the rent.
The document noted that the British Embassy, also located in central Tokyo, is paying 35 million yen annually for about 35,000 sq meters of state-owned land.

© 2005 Kyodo News. All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission.

Ever wonder why the bathrooms smell so bad?

2005-09-29T19:12:00.000-05:00

I bet you can guess, but there's something I noticed while I was in Puerto Rico, and again here in Mexico. 'Course, my sample size is a bit limited, but at both offices, the bathrooms had a distinctly stronger smell than usual. I've taken a photo to show why:
Thats right, there's a garbage can next to the toilet. You don't put normal garbage in there though, no, that would be too obvious. Instead of letting the used toilet paper fall where used toilet paper belongs, you put it in the bin off to the side.

So now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

I'm in Mexico

2005-09-28T21:01:00.000-05:00

Made it in last Sunday. Apparently, Mexico City is the kidnapping capital of the world. Such a comforting thought. Luckily, I'm not in Mexico City. I'm in Cuernavaca, about 45 miles southeast of Mexico City I think. Cuernavaca used to have the highest per capita kidnapping rate in Mexico, but that was in the 1999-2000 time frame. Lucky me...

Go to Engrish.com

2005-09-28T17:37:00.000-05:00

TV Land

2005-09-24T13:02:00.000-05:00

Cool TV shows: Well, I thought I’d put together a list of TV shows that I like. I thought it would be longer, but apparently, there’s not much to recommend anymore. I suppose I’ve been relatively busy, or that I’m just not finding many shows to get excited about, but only 3 to recommend? That’s crazy. Anyway, here they are:

Recommended:Family Guy- Almost always very funny. Very crude and not for younger viewers. I got hooked on this during its initial run back in 1999-2001. I left for Japan and it got cancelled. I come back from Japan and a year or later its back on. Su~arashii!~

Arrested Development- Again, an almost always consistently funny show. I also loved this one when it came out 2 years ago- why the hell don’t more people watch it?! The ratings on it are so bad, it almost didn’t come back for the 2nd season. And then again for the 3rd. Its won a bunch of Emmy’s but more people want to watch Will and Grace?! What’s wrong with the world.

Lost- I tried to avoid this one. When I saw the previews for it last year, I thought to myself, here’s another hour long drama that’s going to suck. I watched the first episode and thought it was ok. I caught a handful of other episodes, always out of order, while I was on the road. The more I watched it though, the more I got into it. Its pretty suspenseful and interesting. I caught the season premier this week and I’m still excited about how its going to end. I just hope they let the series die when its time comes and ABC does not try to drag it out, just because of its high ratings. When the story ends, it should end as well.

OK to watch if you have nothing else to do-Moderately funny
American Dad - This is like a poor man’s imitation of Family. Made by the same folks however. I think that having two series is just stretching MacFarlane thin. He should focus on Family guy only. Still, this show is ok, and better than a lot of others.

King of Queens- not sure why I like this. Very stereotypical and generic sitcom. I didn’t watch it until I came to Japan and noticed the previous tenant had taped some shows. Since tv was in Japanese, I ended up watching the stock of leftover videos multiple times to ease my boredom. When I came back, I found out that reruns of this show are on twice a day, so within half a year, I caught up on the whole series.King of the Hill Again, this is a generally ok show.

Too early to tell:
My name is Earl - Jason Lee. Need I say more? Ok, I guess I do. New show, only seen one episode, but it was pretty funny. Definitely in the OK to watch if you have nothing else to do category, but too soon to recommend.

Threshold –new sci fi show. Aliens. Government. Etc…sounds generic. I watched the first episode though, and it piqued my interest. Lets wait on this one.

TD you're lucky

2005-09-20T21:19:00.000-05:00

for now at least. I tried to post some of your pics but am getting errors everytime I try to publish it..I'll figure it out soon enough though.

2005-09-20T21:12:00.000-05:00

Well, as promised, here are some pics from a recent skydive adventure (not mine) and my most recent jaunt to japan. These are ground based photos as we had no money to spring for the mid-air ones... maybe next time. And yes, I realize they are out of order. Thank Blogger for that nice little feature.

Never before seen photo of Tenacious D's "So You Think You Can Dance" audition.

Signing their lives away on the release forms..

Nervous...but putting up a brave front..

After the landing, TD never felt better.

Here we go- Japan part 2

2005-09-20T20:39:00.000-05:00

Having way too much fun...and too much to drink. Not to worry, anonymity is preserved.

This guy is superhuman at making this stuff.

Making Okonomiyaki...

Here are some lovely people enjoying a nice wooden plank of sushi. This was taken at Gonpachi--the restaurant that inspired one of the more memorable fight scenes from the first Kill Bill movie, as well as the place that Prime Minister Koizumi to Pres. Bush to once when he visited Japan.

2005-09-19T16:03:00.000-05:00

I was planning on posting some pics (as noted in the
sidebar) but I was too tired to do so. Why? well,
because it was 3am! That's right, since I decided not
to go to Turkey for our opening meeting, I had to call
in instead. A 2am conference call is tough. I was
half asleep and when I finally woke up enough, the
call was over. oh well, beats the 13 hour flight over
I guess.

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2005-09-19T13:21:00.000-05:00

Arrested Development is back! And here I thought that
they had cancelled the thing. While it sometimes
misses, it the most consistently funny live action
show on the air now (IMHO). Its on Monday nights on
Fox so since you're home anyway on Monday nights, go
watch it!

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word is getting out

2005-09-17T12:04:00.000-05:00

There may be more people reading this than you think...I've been getting email and some people at work have somehow found the site...better post all the good stuff before they shut me down.

new movies

2005-09-12T13:52:00.000-05:00

ok, well they're not really all that new. I saw one about a year ago, and another last spring, but I figured a title like "new" would get your attention...;)

Anyway, the first movie is called Suicide Club. Its a very interesting/gruesome movie about some disaffected kids in Japan who kill themselves. there's a detective trying to solve the reason why, a weird rocky horror -esque song segment, and a very annoying j-pop band. I won't expect any of you to actually go and buy this movie, so I went ahead and got myself a copy. you can borrow it it you like, or rent it from blockbuster or netflix. Seriously, this is a weird, twisted, but interesting movie.

the other movie is called 2LDK. This one's short, over the top violent, and yet proundly introspective and watchable. You can get this at blockbuster too.

So go out and watch these Japanese movies! You may not end up liking them, but at least its something different from the most of the rest of the crap that gets put on tv/movies...

Suicide club review:http://www.thespinningimage.co.uk/cultfilms/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=668

2LDK reivew:http://www.acdrifter.com/?page=Review&movie=(60)%202LDK

2005-09-08T10:48:00.000-05:00

ok, made it back safe and sound. Not sure if I
mentioned it previously, but on my outbound flight to
Japan, Good Charlotte was sitting in first class. I
spotted them from the business section when I got up
to get a drink. No such luck on the way back though.
No one famous as far as I can tell. Well, the good
thing is, now that I'm a gold level (soon to be
platinum), they'll automatically bump me up into the
next class if there are any available seats. So,
here's to hoping on my next trip to Japan in November,
I get to go first class! (although, business class
ain't that shabby either).

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ah so sad

2005-08-29T09:47:00.000-05:00

its hard this week. Trying to wrap up a bunch of work, and shortening the time frame...not so good...

besides that, its my last week here! I can't believe it. It doesn't feel like 5 weeks...Luckily, found out when I'm coming back. After Thanksgiving, I'll be back for a 2 week stint. I really like coming. I wish I could come here more often, but I shouldn't complain. I spend like a month and 1/2 in Japan, a month and 1/2 in Puerto Rico...all sorts of cool places. I'll be in Mexico for 3 weeks sometime this winter, so that'll be cool too. My current job has lots of travel and is one of the things I really enjoy about it. I don';t know if I could go back to a regular job where I don't travel anywhere. It just seems so boring.

But overall, the people here have been the best. I'm always sad to leave. Last time, we stayed one week, and of course we hit it off, but this time, since we stayed 5, its like they really know us, and things are cool here. I hope we can stay in touch with them in the future.

hi hi

2005-08-22T09:36:00.000-05:00

Back again to post a few more pics. .. here ya go!

Mitsuki and I in her apartment in Saipan.

Sunset from the beach near Mitsuki's apartment in Saipan.

Its Aoyama, Ando, and me...But we call them Prince and Kenji for some reason...

Someone give me a good caption for this pic...

Its the Japanese Fonze!

Why would Tokyo need a Garbage Factory? Don't industrialized nations produce enough garbage as is?

a strange occurance at the hotel

2005-08-02T02:45:00.000-05:00

some pics from Puerto Rico

2005-07-30T11:16:00.000-05:00

Hey, well, I'm in Japan now and I'm just getting around to posting some pics from PR. Oh well. I'm always late.
Here I am sitting in front of the Barcardi bat at the Bacardi Distillery!

I think this is a famous astronomer or something. We found him near the world's largest radio telescope.
This is the ugliest beach I've ever been to.

Guess who that is...we have the same hair style :)

Its a BIMBO!

2005-07-28T18:55:00.000-05:00

Check out the cool cookies you can get in Peurto Rico!

hey hey

2005-07-24T16:39:00.000-05:00

I'm back. It's good to be back. Being in Puerto Rico made me realize how much I don't really want to live there. I've got some errends to do this weekend/'week. Gots lots of stuff to catch up on since I was gone for so long. Its Sunday, but I'm already looking forward to the week! 4 more days and I'm off to Tokyo for a month! I can't believe it, I'm so excited. I picked up a new tokyo guidebook so I can try all the restaurants and places I never did before since I wasn't on an expense account. I just need to focus and concentrate and wrap up Puerto Rico so I can enjoy Japan.

mosquitos and basketball

2005-07-17T17:07:00.000-05:00

I've got a little something to say re: basketball.

So I was shooting the ball around a bit at the hotel
and started getting bit by some mosquitos. I forgot to
put on the OFF! it reminded me of a day earlier this
week when I was literally getting attacked by a swarm
of mosquitos. In about 30 seconds I was bit 3 times
even though I was swatting them away at the time.
They followed me and my coworker into the car and
tried to bite us there. Luckily, she killed on while
we were still in the parking lot, and I killed the
other while I was driving on the highway?! <not sure
thats a good thing since *I* was driving>

but about the basketball...see I told you I wanted to
talk about basketball. I was shooting the ball around
by myself when this kid came up and asked to play. She
was 16 years old and a bunch of parents were watching
us. Hey, I didn't ask for this. So I took my ball and
left before I got too many more stares.

____________________________________________________
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its always raining

2005-07-17T14:22:00.000-05:00

Raining, raining, every day. whats up with this? are
we in the middle of the rainy season or something?
Seriously, its been raining on and off for the past 3
weeks!! As much as I like it here, I think its just
proved to me that I wouldn't want to live here
permanantly. I hate the cold of the winter, I hate
the heat of the summer, but I need both of 'em or I
won't be happy!

Rich White
http://spicysamurai.blogspot.com

____________________________________________________
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ah, the wonders of tech

2005-07-10T11:29:00.000-05:00

i'm writing this not at a computer, not at an internet
cafe, but on my PDA at a wireless hotspot i'm leeching
acess from. just gotta figure out a way to write these
things faster on a virtual kryboard. anyway, later.

Rich White
http://spicysamurai.blogspot.com
http://www.geocities.com/rdwhite77

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you're gonna hate me

2005-07-09T18:15:00.000-05:00

but no pics this weekend. I had to get out of Ponce, so I decided to go back up to San Juan for the weekend. I'm staying at the Wyndham hotel which is nice. They even gave me a bottle of wine, cheese, crackers, and some bottled water. Pretty nice setup they got. The problem is that the internet connection in my room doesn't work, so they shuffled me off to the business center again. I guess I'm lucky since the business center is supposed to be closed during the weekend, but they're making an exception for me.

That said, I'm not able to upload any pics here since they're still in my camera...that reminds me..maybe I should try plugging my camera directly into this computer and see if it recognizes it...

anyway, the third week was uneventful until my brother and his wife came down. They chilled out for the first few days, and then on Saturday and Sunday we got some good stuff done. First we saw the Rio Camuy caves. Those were cool, but the tour was way too short. Basically, we got to see one major area and that was it. Oh and they showed us a sinkhole. woo hoo! Next we visited the largest radio telescope in the world. At least this hemisphere... It was big, and pretty much what you would expect. They filmed some of the movie Contact here. Next we had a great adventure that night at the bio luminescent bay in Fajardo. Gettting there was a big challenge as many things kept going wrong, but we finally made it. I can't do the bio bay justice, so here's a link you should visit. Its for a different bay, but you'll get the drift. http://www.biobay.com. The next day we trekked in the only US Tropical Rainforrest. It was SO tiring!

'The past week was week 4. not much happened besides work. The hotel I'm at in Ponce is definately worse than the one in San Juan, and the beach is terrible. I'll post a pic of that someday too.

Time for dinner, so I'll catch y'all later.

haha fooled ya!

2005-07-08T16:09:00.000-05:00

you thought I'd be putting up a new post with some pics didn't ya. Well, I promised to. Sometime this weekend I'll get around to it. I'm switching hotels and staying in San Juan again. There's more stuff to do up there than in the south. Anyway, keep checking in, and I'll get some nice pictures up :)

Puerto Rico week 3-a

2005-07-06T17:49:00.000-05:00

ok, I'll write more about week three later. Right now, I'm forced to use the hotel computer in the business center, and they're pretty restrictive about stuff. There aren't any chairs, so I have to stand while I type this. I guess they think that if we have to stand, people will tend to hang around less. They've also secured the workstation a bit, so a lot of functions I don't want to do on my work computer, I also can't do here. I'm trying to download a bunch of podcasts to fill my dwindling supply, but they've blocked direct access to save files. Instead, I discovered that I can play the file through the media player and save it off separately.

But I'm also screwed because the business center will close in 7 minutes. Thats right, a business center that is not open 24x7. They're closed on Sundays and during the week close anywhere between 5pm-7pm! I guess after 7pm, no one needs to use computers...

Also having trouble with my camera. I can't get my computer to recognize it, so I can't offload the files and free up the memory card. I'll still be able to post some pics when I get some time though.

anyway, gotta go. the bastards are looking me down. They want me to leave...but I've still got podcasts to download!!!

week 2:

2005-06-26T19:55:00.000-05:00

Ok, lots of stuff happened...well not too much really. I went to the Bacardi Rum Distillery. It was ok. Watched a movie and learned about the Bacardi family. Got 2 free drink coupons. Not bad for no admission. The bad thing about it though is that the tour doesn't actually go into the plant to show you the process. It would have been great if we were able to make it into the actual distillery to see the process. Oh well. They did have scent barrels. They allow you to smell all the different types of Rums they make.

The other thing that happened this weekend was when I got the rental car. Around 8 or so, I decided to drive out to the mall (its supposed to be the biggest one in the Carribian). I found it easily enough, its about 5-10 minutes from the hotel, but I decided to tour around the business district of San Juan on the way back. I went in circles for bit, but then somehow got back on the highway. However, being the smart guy that I am, I never brought a map with me. I started down the highway and tried to follow the signs back to San Juan, but ended up lost. I stopped at a gas station and the attendant gave me some directions, but I went the wrong way anyway and ended up in a rough neighborhood. I probably wouldn't have minded it too much, but I was nervous after being warned about car-jackings by the auditees. Anyway, made it back to the correct road, followed it, and ended up in Old San Juan. At least I knew where I was! Eventually made it back and decided to take a map with me wherever I go :)

Just put up a few more pics.

2005-06-26T07:30:00.000-05:00

...and I'll be getting around to telling you how the second week in Puerto Rico has been. High lights include seeing how Barcardi got started and getting lost in a bad area outside San Juan. Don't worry though, this is nothing as bad as the Turkey situation. :) I'll update soon.

2005-06-26T07:28:00.000-05:00

here's the consultant I'm working with. We were at a restaurant called Dragonfly. It was a nice mix of asian and latin fusion.

2005-06-26T07:25:00.000-05:00

In Old San Juan, people don't have garbage cans...so they use lamp posts.

2005-06-26T07:24:00.000-05:00

Here's the view from my room. The weather was pretty nice the first week, but lately its been a bit rainy. Its Sunday morning, but its looking pretty good now, so I hope its nice and sunny.

2005-06-22T20:10:00.000-05:00

This is a street in Old San Juan. I think its near SoFo (Southern Forteleza).

2005-06-22T20:08:00.001-05:00

another fort.

2005-06-22T20:08:00.000-05:00

These two pics are of a fort that I visited. I went to two of them, but I'm not sure if the pics are from the same one or not...they all look the same.

2005-06-22T20:06:00.000-05:00

OK, so its not from Puerto Rico. But I wanted to stick this one in there too. This was taken a week before I left for PR. Mark was leaving for LA in a couple weeks so we went out for dinner before he and Marie moved. Anyway, we decided to try to smoke Rajan's hooka. We had a problem trying to light it :)

2005-06-22T08:10:00.000-05:00

Ok, I promised picsand youll get them! I was trying
to upload some from my camera last night when I ran
into a problem. I never installed the drivers on this
particular laptop so it wouldnt recognize my camera!
I searched the net looking the correct drivers, but I
couldnt find em. I did find one that lets me use
the camera as a web cam L so until I get the right
drivers, or until I can find an SD card reader to
borrow, I cant get any of the pictures up on the
blog. Ill look again and see if I cant find
something thatll work.

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well, looks like I should update this

2005-06-17T10:07:00.000-05:00

Can't access the blogging site directly so I'm forced
to go through yahoo..ah well. such is life. I'll
update you all with some pics as soon as I get the
chance to copy them from the camera. So far I haven't
taken too many. I've been working mostly, so had
little time.

Work is going well, although the commute is a bummer.
Its about 65-70 miuntes each way. 1/2 of it is
highway, the other 1/2 are winding roads through the
mountain. Its extreme auditing :)

We've been leaving anywhere from 5:30-6:30 at night.
But here's something you may not have known, it gets
dark here around 7pm! I'm not sure if thats the same
all year round though.

Top 5 things I learned about Puerto Rico:
5. It gets dark EARLY!
4. Winding roads and a full stomach do not make for a
good passenger.
3. people like to jog along the beach- alot of people.
2. Mofongo is not a disease.
1. Mofongo is not very tasty.

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damn ink

2005-06-10T18:31:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to print out some notes I typed up for an exam I have tomorrow, and first my computer won't recognize the printer (no driver). Then the computer that is hooked up doesn't have MS word. I reformat it for wordpad. Then the printer runs out of ink in the middle of the job. I already have enough problems.

The Virgin Mary has been spotted

2005-05-30T08:45:00.000-05:00

..in a window somewhere in the south. People have flocked to the window and touched the glass. Lo and behold, some people's fingerprints disappeared!

Not to worry though, the back of my stainless steel iPod has pulled through for me. An image of the virgin mary appears on the back of my iPod! If you want to see it, please bring your wreaths, gifts, Mary statues, and any money (to help with the upkeep of my iPod) and place it in front of my house. The lord thanks you for your generosity.

No cell phone charger!

2005-05-27T21:04:00.000-05:00

Arrgghh, no cell phone charger. My phone is dying. If you need to get a hold of me, call me at home.

2005-05-26T20:58:00.000-05:00

Woo hah, I'm the evil Spicy Samurai. And I have new glasses. Fear my wrath!

one more memphis thing

2005-05-26T20:45:00.000-05:00

Forgot my phone charger at the hotel. It really sucks. When you can't use your phone, you realize how dependent you really are on it.

Also, I FINALLY got new glasses. I'd post a pic, but since my phone is out of commission.... maybe later.

Back from good ol' Memphis

2005-05-26T20:38:00.000-05:00

Well, made it back from Memphis safe and sound. It was touch and go at the airport for a while. Wasn't sure if I was going to make it back.

anyway, its Thursday. We got a three day weekend! can't wait. I've been so busy, I didn't even realize that Monday was a holiday until a coworker mentioned it. Woo hoo, some good news for a change.

So Memphis was nice, but I definately felt like a minority there.

Just saw Star Wars 3

2005-05-21T18:43:00.000-05:00

Have to say it was ok. Pretty much what I expected and a lot better than the previous two. I suggest y'all see it soon. and watch the sequels!

y'all?! Have I been in Memphis too long? Actually, I'm stuck here this weekend. I was supposed to go home yesterday, but I've work to finish next week. I should be flying back on Wednesday. Later. I'm off to a Casino!

oh wait, I suppose there's one more thing

2005-05-14T11:28:00.000-05:00

Memphis is #1 in the Nation in:

#1: Car Jackings
#1: Cars running red lights

Memphis week 1

2005-05-14T11:23:00.000-05:00

:)

well, I guess I don't have much to say about Memphis. BBQ was ok I guess. I went to a Japanese restaurant a couple times for dinner. Neat thing was, the chefs were from Japan. I don't know that they were any good or not, but you usually get non-Japanese people making your sushi around here. They were a little unique. Of course, the people running it were from various other parts of Asia. I wonder if the locals ever notice the difference.

Speaking of other Asians, besides two people I saw at the BBQ fest and those at the Japanese restaurant, I didn't see any others! None at work. None walking the streets. None at the hotel. None at the mall. I couldn't believe it. I checked online, and Tennessee has one of the lowest Asian populations in the US. Neat huh?

the working life for me

2005-05-07T22:10:00.000-05:00

Uhmm..I'll keep this one short. I gotta go to bed soon.

I'm going to Memphis for the next couple weeks. Definately checking out the BBQ. Maybe Graceland...naw.

Next month, I'll be going to Puerto Rico for about 5 weeks. I'll come home for the weekend every other week I think. It should be fun. Wish I was going there with some friends though. Right after that, I'm off to Japan for a month. 3 weeks is for work, 1 is vacation. I'm looking forward to this the most. Last time I went to Japan for work, I was only there about 9 days. This'll be cool since I'll be there for a longer time. I'll have to decide what hotel to stay at. Last time the Four Seasons was great! The hotel was awsome. However, they dont have a rewards program, so I'm thinking of staying at the Hilton in Shinjuku. I don't think it'll be as nice tho.

oh well. later !

2005-05-01T16:13:00.000-05:00

After some basketball, I had to run a few errands (stupid iPod) and stopped by Borders while I was out. To my suprise, Lewis Black was doing a book signing that day. I caught about 30 minutes of his Q&A session and he was pretty funny. After that, he started signing books, so I took a picture with my crap-tacular (or is that crap-tastic) camera phone. just thought I'd share :)

2005-04-29T20:09:00.000-05:00

Mr. Pasha's face coming out of the wall. This guy's portrait/sculpture/statue was all over the place in Istanbul. I think he was the founder of modern turkey some 80 years ago.