Japanorama

A bit late but...

2007-10-02T01:28:00.000-07:00

Here is my post that was linked on facebook. I admit i havent updated my blog for a while... but maybe this is a new start... >_>

Anyway, basically i am coming home for christmas and i havent seen/heard ANY new media for the last year. I need updates people! What music is good, any new games that i should have heard of, any news!! (really heard nothing on this front, and that include local and national).

Please tell me all, im dying to hear.

i feel this trip will be an expensive one...

Why?

2007-05-08T19:08:00.002-07:00

Do i always start one of thses when i have no time to do a meaningful post??
Anyway, i AM still alive, iv ejust had a week or so off work to relax and I ahve some good news and bads to post about it, I'll TRY to do it after work... sorry for the crapness on my part

If it makes u feel better im now on facebook and Im moving shit around in my apartment, tidying up etc... but i must get back on track for blogging.. :( oooh i could try post it notes to keep me organised!....

Im a genius..

Exhausted, yet the eve has just begun!

2007-04-29T03:44:00.000-07:00

Spent the "whole day" tiding up my apartment for my friend who is coming to stay over golden week. GOLDEN WEEK! FUCKING A! (so there is no confusion the a is for awesome) (i should so write phonics flash cards....)

Cant wait to start relaxing , I soooo need this... anyway spent the whole day tiding and buying food and a rice cooker :D finally, its just too inconvenient to boil the stuff!

Eep im late!

Short one

2007-04-27T17:39:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately this has to be short becaus ei have to go to wrok extra early.... *grumble grumble*
Stupid kids and their incredibly annoying parents.

Anyway Im not at all embarrassed about blacking out (which btw sounds better than fainting thank you veryu much) because the tranq they gave me could have knocked out a god. A god of war no less.... one with a high percentage of red orbs too.

Ok future news for once, Golden week is right around the corner! FUCKING YAY! I have a whole 9 days off!!! YEAH 9!!! in a fucking row too!! i am so happy, i was burning out with the incredible work load for the last two months (the two busiest of the year). Also I have a friend visiting me for those 9 days, she is another GEOS teacher and we're gonna go crazy and maybe even visit a few places!

woo. Promise to take pictures and write in regularly, cos I can.

OK!

2007-04-24T08:44:00.000-07:00

It was nice to have a break and all (:P) but i should get back to blogging now. Hehe

Ok so i suppose I'll make this slightly longer, though i really do want to keep the system that i tried earlier. My Wrist.
Good title for the first paragraph. So after i went and saw the doctor and he said it was broken i had a good two weeks to get pity and wait until I could go back to see him, because of training and his office hours. So i finally got back there on tuesday and the first thing he tells me after ive got in is that i dont have a broken wrist.
I am verily confused at this point but after about 10 mins of bad english and calling for nurses he finally gets across that it may instead mean that i have torn my ligaments between a couple of bones... yup, torn ligaments. My history of wierd injuries and illnesses grows i tell thee...

So he gave me an injection, like straight into the bone, almost perpendicular to my hand it was, and that was it. Just after the injection, the doc asked me if i was alrite.
How nice of him, i of course said yes. However not two seconds after he asked me I got hit in the face with mass drowsieness. He was still talking at this point but it was so boring that I just had to daydream. Then not very long after that I heard a very distant *crash* *bang* and opened my eyes to find myself being bodily picked up off the floor and being put on the bed. Apparently id blacked out... 0_o
I was ok tho and am going back next week, for another injection and by then they will have my brace ready.

Sorry

2007-04-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

recently i have had some ... troubles so i did not feel like posting and over the next three days i will be away on trainig... so regular updates will continue soon

So...

2007-04-12T17:03:00.000-07:00

Oh before i continue the tokyo reminiscing I'll just tell you, i plan on putting all my photos on some kind of group site, like myspace but probably not myspace, is there a specific one any of u guys want me to dump them onto?

Tokyo! So we checked in a decided to do a little walking around the place. There is a big area in downtown called ginza which hosts all these shops, and naturally that is the first thing my mum wanted to do :D. So we headed down there, and my parents started complaining of hunger. I was oblivious to all of this because of the "bright lights" and all, so after a while of not finding something japanesey they decided to sod it and we went to a Subways!

While we were out we found a pub at the bottom of the sony store. We were in the sony store to begin with because apparently they sell "protoype" quality goods, so i was intruiged. Also I actually bought a pair of headphones that were rather expensive... MDR-S1000 or somet... VERY VERY good tho.

So this pub, i got well excited and because dad was tired of all the shopping mum suggested we go in for a bite to eat and a drink to guzzle. We got inside and it was completely un pub like... it was so ordered and there was no atmosphere to speak of... I was rather dissappointed, tho i did have a very nice scone with my Hoegaarden... which almost makes up for it.

havent actually missed a day

2007-04-12T06:58:00.000-07:00

Time delay and all from being in japan.

So i went to the hospital at about 9:10 full of expectations and hope for a full clear and some helpful japanese stlye pills. I finally get seen at around 10:30 and they say that the X-ray I had a couple of days ago shows no problem. I know this is wrong and at last my wrist gives my doc the proof by clicking and cracking a couple of times. He explained that the only thing it could be was:
a) nothing
b) a broken wrist

... honestly those were my options... so i believe its b) as usually my wrist doesnt crack continuously... nothing indeed!

So he said some japanese lark, we had a bit of a communication barrier and then he finally got across that i needed a CT scan. So i went and had one and at about 11:15 i was finished and ready for the doc again. However I didnt have time, i need to be at GEOS at 12:00 so i had to leave AGAIN. They said that I could come back on tuesday to finish, heaven forbid they actually tell a different doctor my condition and show him the scans...
So i left feeling a bit disgruntled but got to GEOS and realised i am away on trainig that day! Oooh cripes, so i phones up ( i say "i" but i mean i force my japanese co worker to phone up) and complain (he hates complaining) about this predicament, but there is "nothing" they can do so i am stuck with an appointment in two weeks... for a broken wrist....
bah life sucks, more tomorrow

tokyo

2007-04-10T18:52:00.000-07:00

Even though i got up late today I am striving to complete a blog post, this time I will start the posting about tokyo.

So I had to get up at abou 6 to catch the right shinkensen down to ueno and then made a switch to the keisei line to take me to the airport. All in all that was about 3 hours of travelling and I realised on the way down i didnt really know when they were getting in, on which airline and at which terminal.
On the seat ahead infront of me was a list of the airlines and the correct terminal and so i picked the one with the most english sounding airlines and hoped :D.
I got their and saw that there was a flight at about the right time, although it had been delayed, so I waited around, whilst looking at the new comers to japan and thinking "god they're so british".
Which they were :P, some of them were ridiculous, like they had been pulled out of a jane austen book.
Then, just as i went to get a drink, these two familiar faces appeared and we all cheered and wooped and hugged.

Got into tokyo around 1 hour later and checked into our rooms....

I'll finish this tokyo thing later, its late and i missed my second hospital appointment. grumble grumble. I have to go again tomorrow and hope they still remember me :D

Hospital

2007-04-09T16:58:00.000-07:00

So yeah im off to the hospital in about half an hour to check out my wrist.
T'all started 3 or 4 weeks ago, i was playing with my kids, as i often do after a lesson and one of my favourite things to do is to swing them around. Basically grab them by the wrists and use my height and supreme amounts of power to launch them into the air. I havent hurt one of them yet. :D

Only I have come under any pain really, I was swinging a particularly heavy kid around and my wrist went *crack*. I went *ow* and all my kids went *huh?*.
Im not one to complain about physical injuries to anyone really so i waited for a couple of weeks in the hope that it would just get better. During this time my wrist wouldnt stop cracking to itself, and sometimes it really hurt when it did said cracking. So, like the genius i am, i carried on swinging my students around, and lo and behold it cracked again on the same hand. Now that hurt...

So i decided to go to the hospital. However that was about 1 and a half weeks ago and I literally havent had a free day to go to the hospital in all this time, so now im worried that because i've left it so long it will click forever. That be my story for today, and i hope to report to u tomorrow about how good my hand is.

Silly

2007-04-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

This is (insert title from above). I keep on promising to get better but then forgetting to do jack about posting. So instead of trying to catch up in one long post before settling back into the rythmn im gonna try a different tack, which is, post a little each day so my info wont dry up.

This hopefully should work cos i have a lot of things to tell u all about that have happened recently.

Heres to hoping, and no the first one wont be now as its late and i need sleep. I go to the hospital tomorrow u see.... but i will tell u that the same day i go.

wooow

2007-03-31T02:23:00.000-07:00

Im back in the writing zone! Tho only because three of my lessons were cancelled today... in a row. Yeah ive had tonsto post about but i just never seem to get round to it. I guess the reasoning behind this is that when i get home from work, especially recently, its been very late, so I`ll make food and have eaten by about 12-12:30. So i just ant to finish the program ive been watching and hit the sack, a fully relaxing kinda day... but i never do! I always get hooked on what im watching or playing, i cant stop myself and before i know it its 2am! Thats IF my friends dont come online...
So i wake up in time to go to work with no real excess time for fun and games, like writing my blog.
For the weekends, i have really been trying to visit new places, at least in the last couple, and so it seems i may never blog again!

hehe, seriously though i am trying to improve my efforts in the week so i can still leave my weekends up for travel and then tell u about it.

but thats not why u looked at this site is it! u want info on me travels! So let me regale u...

Ok first new type post, it took me by surprise at the time, though really it shouldnt have. If Anyone from bath is reading this now, get fred to read it too... he needs to see this ;p

So I had just finished teaching a 60 min lesson and my lesson after had been cancelled so i went to talk to the students before they left. I eventually made my way to the two girls of the class, about one 19 and one 21. They were looking at my poster i made in england and pointed to the various photos.
We got to the one of my 21st birthday party and without skipping a beat the cutest of the two pointed straight at fred and said "wow, he`s handsome!"
Now i know i shouldnt have been shocked or anything but fred had (maybe it has changed since i have been away) such a low opinion of himself that it kinda forces u to believe him. Such is the power of fred ;p. They then went thru and systematically told me what they thought of the lot of my friends. Toby= handsome (i think they like that word), kieran=funny, rich=handsome, ben=evil (no surprises there then, his eyes are red ini the pic) and alex kawaii.

ok i actually have to go now.... the time is later than i thought and the capslock button is broken, making it hard to type. will post soon... i hope. Tho my rents are coming over soon so imay actually not get a chance for a while.

So hey

2007-03-18T00:55:00.000-07:00

Living in Japan has its everyday struggles. However, none of them have been as tortuous as the one I found myself in last night.
It was St patricks day.

I have no green clothes...

CRISIS!

I ended up going out in blue and yellow in the hope that if someone got drunk enough and my colours blurred then i could be considered green for at least a second. Alas I got to gods and it seemed that msny people didnt have green clothes (the shame!!) or, even worse. they forgot completely!!!! Of course they were swiftly executed by our resident barman, ken. He`s cool and completely non-violent, except of course when the holy memory of St patrick has been besmirched.

Anyway, atm I`m crazy busy at GEOS. These two months coming up are the busiest of the year apparently. So im always getting "asked" (bollocks... asked, haha. "paul sensei, lesson!") to do trial lessons for new kids or adults to join my classes. However i am crap at the adults trial lessons, i just dont know my "technique" yet, whereas with kids Im pretty good actually... not that i want to be. Its more of an obligation than any real desire to have more lessons.

So because of this i am being more stressed and tired recently, and i still refuse to go to bed early! Good ol` me :D.

Mostly thats because i have started "legally buying programs" to watch on my computer. For example a good couple of animes I have been watching are bleach, v old but v v good... finished second season now, in three days too, am waiting for the third. The other one is a fantastically quirky adventure called "The melancholy of haruhi Suiziyama", which revolves around a school girl, if u dont know the name then .... , and a host of other characters. One of the best bits is that each episode doesnt necessarily follow on from the one before. Its a jumbled affair, so it reveals key bits in the correct time for suspense... very entertaining.

The last thing i have been watching, diligently, is the fucking AMAZING "heroes" It really is a fantastic series and i recommend to everyone... howveer my time is short and i must be off.

toodles!

What a mess of comma's...from start to

2007-03-05T00:25:00.000-08:00

Wow, well first this is the second post in.... 3 days? thats impressive for my current track record.

Also im not sure how to do this... i could make the longest post in the history of blogging because i have a months news to get down and i found all these cool quizzes that i want to post (should be spelt quizzez i think).

So... but now im thinking... longest post ever? CHALLENGE!

So here i go! ...hmm layout layout... uuuh no idea what to do... i think i will alternate between news and quiz results, try and get some "tying in" going on.

oh ofc and i have lots of pictures to put up! I dont think blogger will like this post.... hope it isnt deleted... ill have to get a copy... hmm... ... wait this is ridiculous, ive heard of thinking outloud... and writing outloud but blogging outloud?? i cant believe im still going either!! must.... finish blog....

So first news, lets go from earliest... so the latest news was that stalker thing, ooh have to return emails too... (dargh! no more verbal diarreaha turned into text), aah more snow! Well when the snowstorm hit, about 2 months ago, it was really big news, there was no way i could ride my bike and at one point i was almost lifted off my bike. However now it just seems... unimportant... tho when is anything like weather really that important... moving on

1. Quiz

You Will Be a Cool Parent

You seem to naturally know a lot about parenting, and you know what kids need.

You can tell when it's time to let kids off the hook, and when it's time to lay down the law.

While your parenting is modern and hip, it's not over the top.

You know that there's nothing cool about a parent who acts like a teenager... or a drill sergeant!

Would You Be a Cool Parent?

next news... god its so long ago. OK Oh i went to a festival! It was in a nearby town called shirikawa, very small for japanese towns about 10000 people. About 5 of us went there and we had a good time looking around the multitudes of stalls selling food and japanese knicknacks.
First we encountered the food stalls, selling all types of traditional japanese cuisine, which to me, being the picky bastard i am, looked both delicious but entirely too alien to eat.
The pancake looking things with carrots on were the worst... I mean i know its just basicall pancake, shrimp and carrots but... the mix is just the right colour. *shudder* Its the colour you see if u have WAY too much to drink and wake up with ur head in a toilet bowl and drool on ur face.
Sorry for the pretty picture :D but i dont know what the colour is called... Anyway, i wouldnt have eaten it anyway, it has shrimp in it.
So.. yes! I forgot we were buying food until i saw the chicken! Chicken on a stick! Genius! However I was probably thinking this because I have realised that the only meat i had had in 2 months was processed ham from the local supermarket, so i snapped up the chicken and had it gunked in Soy sauce for extra "ohmygod this is so good its got to be bad enough for me to contract " (cos i didnt want to go too far by saying a particular disease).

Then we moved further.... west? to the more "fun" side of the festival stalls, not that chicken isnt a hoot. Tho they were selling owl meat next door...
Anyhoooo the stalls mostly consisted of light food, like candied strawberries! (note: dont get candied strawberries on ur camera strap, the stain doesnt come out. However, u ever want to get ur girlfriend a pink camera strap... ur quids in there.) ... consisted of light food, small games stalls, where u could, for instance, shoot corks at prizes, or have a go at a raffle to win amazing prizes. However for those prize competitions I seriously expect that the chance to win a top prize was in the negative %'s, u try knocking a gamecube off a stall with a cork. Actually thinking about it, with the aim to knock off the prize u want to win, a gamecube would just be stupid... it'd break on impact. " aaah u win one giant paperweight!"

So we stayed at this festival for about 3 hours then decided to go to a hot rock place. Like a hot spring, in so much as u get hot, but u stay dry... almost like a steam free sauna. That was nice, especially as it was with 3 women and myself.
We stayed there for quite a while and its the quietest ive been in japan since i got there, usually around my friends im all "blab blab blab blab etc" since i cant really talk proper english at school, ironic no? However the time after the quiet of the hot rock place, its dark and u cant speak (house rules), was spent in meditation. Well i say meditation, i was quiet and contemplative, the girls talked alot.

We finished up and spent the rest of the evening at Kaths house, as she was the only one who lives in shirikawa and was willing to put up with us. We enjoyed a nice meal, i forget the conversation so it probably didnt include me too much, but i dont mind as i was watching aladin! Its been years since ive seen that film... and some of the songs seem strangely... implicative of what could really be happening. Also jasmin is down right easy, either that or Aladin is smoother than he looks.

2. Quiz: I have a feeling i have more of these than news items... isnt that always the way.

What Your Hands Say About You

You are logical, analytical, and rational. You have good verbal skills.

Bold and daring, you're not afraid to change your life if you think it needs an overhaul.

Brainy and intelligent, you are intellectual to the point of being incomprehensible.

Your emotions tend to be nervous and potent. Your energy - both positive and negative - deeply impacts your life.

What Do Your Hands Say About You?

ok 3rd news bit... hmmm god i have no idea... what have I done?! nothing it seems... aah yes the third bit was the Uvulitus but that seems to have cleard up and i have already told you about it. so

3.Quiz

Your Life is 65% Perfect

Your life is pretty darn perfect. You don't have much to complain about.

Of course, your life is occasionally less than perfect. But you're usually too happy to notice.

How Perfect is Your Life?

However i feel this quiz is set up alll wrong, considering the last question is "You are very physically attractive" agree, not sure, disagree?
What kind of person can honestly answer that with "strongly agree" I mean the only people who are going to use the "Strongly options" are people who have certain mind sets, not people who are necessarily attractive or not. Also surely "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", so... as u might have guessed i put the "not sure" option, although i honestly spent about 30 seconds searching for the "haha" option.

More news! to be honest im running out... i could always post the Uvulitus thing again but im not sure my extensive fanbase wouldnt take up arms for that. hmm... thought i hadnt posted about valentines day either, but no no.. i have... however this http://www.xkcd.com/c223.html link which i caant be bothered right now to permalink, actually makes so much more sense in japan.

4.Quiz: yes i know there was no news there... live with it

Your Learning Style: Flexible and Adaptable

You are a great hands on learner, and you have an excellent memory.

You Should Study:

Acting

Architecture

Creative Writing

Design

Foreign Languages and Literature

Journalism

Literature

Music

Photography

What Should You Study?

huh wish id have known that before uni.

5.Quiz: Pretence=dropped

You Are Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream

A classic and an original, no wonder everyone snakes your style!

What Flavor Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Are You?

Awesome.

Oh oh! i do have more news! huzzah!
Last weekend I tried to organise a whole 3 hours of fun at this "round one" place for my friends and I. It was 100% more successful too, there was two of us... I have to say i am a bit dissappointed, but i suppose u gotta blame the fact that i only told them the day before the magic was meant to happen. So the two of us enjoyed a rousing 3 hours of curling, basketball, football, tennis, badminton, archery and minigolf. Well to be honest all the sports there were kinda mini, but it was the fun we had that counts.
Not much else to say about tha night really... oh we went to an "authentic" italian restaurant afterwards too. The restaurant never claimed to be authentic, but i've decided to start using quotation marks around that particular word whenever the food is NOTHING like a real italian restaurant. I mean where were the senioritas??

X. Quiz: forgotten the number, laziness prevents my mousewheel from scrolling... ur lucky ive got this far to be honest!

You Are Beer!

You don't need to get totally wasted when you hit the bars.

More of a social drinker, you just like to have fun with your friends.

And as long as the beer keeps flowing, you're a happy camper.

But don't mix things up: "Beer Before Liquor, Never Been Sicker!"

What Alcoholic Drink Are You?

Damn right.

Y.Quiz:

You Are 69% Perfectionist

You are a true perfectionist. You are both demanding of yourself and others.

While it's great to have goals and standards, they don't need to be sky high!

Are You a Perfectionist?

Remember remember, perfectionist doesnt mean tidy.

Z.Quiz:

Your Famous Last Words Will Be:

"I can pass this guy."

What Will Your Famous Last Words Be?

I didnt try to rig this either...

i.Quiz

Your Lust Quotient: 67%

You are a very lustful person - and it sometimes gets the better of you!

You know how to hold back, but you hardly ever do.

How Much Lust Do You Have?

urr... growl?

-i. Quiz: I was made to do this... and im not happy with the results, ok?

You Are the Very Gay Bert and Ernie!

Two grown puppets living together, sleeping in the same room?

They've even got coordinating striped shirts!

What Gay Childhood Icon Are You?

sigh.

ok now the end of the blog! barring the inevitble pictures... though i have no idea where they will go

finish

lots to write

2007-03-02T17:24:00.000-08:00

And no time to write it in! Im off to work, but i thought i should fill in the blog first... it really has been a long time. However I have lots to talk about so maybe i will write a bigger report of my doings on the weekend.

So one story to keep u happy... Everyone knows about my bodies strange fascination with odd illnesses, bells palsy is a good example, well it seems ive racked up another. I've just recovered from having uvulitus... i think tahts its name. Your uvula is the dangly thing at the back of your throat and basically uvulitus makes it swell up to about 4 times its original size.... i first noticed it when i woke up on a friday, i was quite shocked i can tell you, it took me a while to work out what had happened, then i went straight to the hospital.

Aparently my uvulitis is just a sideaffect of a larger sinus problem, which also has been seen into, so for the first time since i can remember I can breathe properly through my nose!

Its strange but i think this could be the first time in a VERY long time, because i always remember breathing through my mouth and my mother telling me to stop "gawping". I dont know... but ive definitely had it for at least a couple of years...

But im coming off it just now, the worst part about all this wasnt in fact the needles up the nose to vacuum my sinuses, but the fact ive been on antibiotics! No beer for about 3 weeks!!! the horror....

ok gotto go

so

2007-02-14T19:07:00.000-08:00

Sorry for not posting in a long time, i havent done any emails recently either but i can do those later.... can does not necesserily equal will unfortunately.

So how have i been? Ok thx, nice of you to ask.

Oh a small note, i have looked at the -----
------------------
*interupted*
Oh my god! I just had the most nerve wracking experience... and this is made up like the time machine thingy.... this is all real, every damn second of it...

A guy has been coming into GEOS recently who is a bit weedy, wearing an army jacket and some loose clothing (always a bad sign). He usually comes in when I have a lesson so i cant talk to him really, however whenever he sees me he usually bursts into some WHO song or something, which freaks me out, and i have to tell him i am teaching (basically fuck off but a bit nicer)

However, he came in just now when i was alone writing this blog and again started to sing. There is no one here so i cant see an easy escape route.... So we start talking about the who and music he likes and for about 5 mins i am being cordial. However he starts talking about being into christianity (my friends are gonna have a field day with this...) and then says a couple of words i cant hear ... blah blah masturbation. 0_o
..
...
... I kinda reply "wha..?"

to which he says 1 1 1 , 2 2 2 , 3 3 3.... jibberish continues.
I am awkwardly silent then he goes further (and u didnt think it was possible!) he asks, "do u have a girl?" (i dont like where this is going)
" a girlfriend? no... not at the moment." (i was considering saying yes and then giving him a false name, but he looks crazy enough to do something about that kind of obstacle...)
"... are you a homosexual?" (i know....)
" no, sorry... look i have to work now, preparing lessons etc" (subliminal message=FUCK OFF NOW!)
Oh ok... and i leave, i dont even want to see him go... it was that creepy.

The thing is, it obviously isnt over... sooo... im gonna have to do something to end it, arent i?
Euch.... I was getting to like japan too
---------------------------------------------
problem of toby not being able to post and i think i have found the answer, u need a google account to post now tobs... sorry, i upgraded the blog to the beta thing cos i already had a google email account and i didnt think it would affect you.
if it isnt that then i dont have the foggiest.

Apart from that, valentines day was not bad, my head is spinning from a couple of gifts that i dont know which way to take, but apart form that its ok.

In japan on valentines day girls give the chocolate to guys and if u as a guy get some chocolate, u have to give some back on "white day" in a months time, also it has to be worth three times as much. However the chocolate can have three meanings, serious (love etc), friendly and obligatory (work, parents if ur kid sucks etc), and so i have some and i dont know how far to take a couple of them, most of what i got is from students and is safely inthe latter two categories.... well time will tell.

Also i went to a hot rock place on the weekend last, after going to the shirikawa festival.
The festival was just a big bunch of stalls inthe streets selling food and games etc, but also selling dharmas, which are wooden dolls with no eyes. u make a wish and fill in an eye, if it comes true in the next year then u fill in the other eye. At the next festival u burn the doll if ur wish came true or not. So i got a silver and black one, they looked coolest. However i have no idea what they "mean". The different colours mean luck in different areas. So knowing my run of luck ill have got fertility and enhanced skin complexion or something wierd like that...

Right im off, remember SKYPE at 12 noon or midnight and i should be on... email me if u actually want to arrange a time.

heh

2007-02-08T21:10:00.000-08:00

OMG! ull never believe it! I invented time travel!

I sent my student back to the year 1940 in germany by accident! :s She was meant to go back to old tokyo, edo, 200 years ago because aparently it was the best place in the world to be. Real orignal and cultural like.

Anyway i messed up me calculations and sent her back to WW2 germany... she spent the last 40 years getting a message to me back in england saying "dont fuck up the calcualtions!" Which altered time and when i ran the time machine again, for the first time, she got sent back to Edo like was meant to happen!

Then i started experimenting with time travel... and er forgot to post. sorry.

Aha! so i did remember to blog!

2007-01-30T05:13:00.000-08:00

unless of course this never goes up on my blog... not that i expect it not to... i think.

Anyway pictures! I have been a bit random with where i have taken my camera so dont expect any of christmas, i think... but expect plenty from last weekends bowling escapades. (wasnt sure whether to use escapade or caper there... i feel i made the right choice)

So without further ado!

If you cant tell these two pictures are again from halloween but this time a mix of two styles. Absolutely no points/bonus/or any other type of reward for guessing the different costumes mixed up here.

This one is also from the halloween party, two more of my students.. not much to say except their really funny and cool.

Probably the lesson i look forward to teaching most.

This one is just a random i took of my old manager and three of the students from that great lesson. The girl on the far right is Mariko, the next girl is my xmanager, takako, the next along is Masahiro and finally takahiro.

In case u wanted to know...

This was the last of the first batch of photos i took and put on the pc. Its from this "professional" hiphop night i went to... i didnt do any hopping I might add, since im crap (this includes hipping too).

I got really annoyed with this evening actually cos they had a hiphop "dance off". Not the same as zoolander. Like a tourney structured event. However everytime a guy came on who performed an outstanding move he always lost, so we came to the conclusion it was rigged... and sure enough the guy who won was a friend of the judges.... hmmm...

The guys name is Eduardo and he's spanish. Hes so cool hes the spanish twin of ther fonz... honest to god hes crazy awesome.

hey

2007-01-29T19:10:00.000-08:00

Well, i have to say sorry again... Im such a slow poster! Tho still faster than rich or fred i might add...but i wont. However i must say that my complete lack of posting is not due to just laziness, i have actually done stuff and things. Plus i got a new webcam because the old one wasnt compatible with my computer... hopefullyill be able to skype with u guys now when u want.

Will and pete, that means teamspeak for you.

when i get home tonight i will post again and put up some pictures, maybe even do two posts since 5 pics per post is the limit.

Ok...

2007-01-15T03:31:00.000-08:00

Im not late with this post, as some of you might think, because it is still the weekend for me!

So with this new post i will be [utting up alot of pictures that i should of put up alpong time ago.

so without further ado... the halloween party!

... Three photos, two are of my students and my coworker and myelf, the last one is of my three coworkers, two of which have now left GEOS koriyama. The woman on the right quit completely and the woman in the middle has now moved to a different GEOS at the behest of our overlord masters.

here she is again, the reasoning for the extra photos and my lament at her parting is that she was the first friend i had in Japan.. so it was kinda surprising and upsetting for her to go.

The last photo is of a random beauty feature installed near my house that i thought would look nice on camera, it does i feel. More recent photos coming up soon

Eep

2007-01-12T17:12:00.000-08:00

As u all probably know i am pretty much the most forgetful preson who ever lived, its amazing i have even remembered to type this!
Yesterday I paid in the latest, on time, bill possibly ever paid ever. Ever ever... ever.
Anyway forgetting my point,.... ah. I was working yesterday and it occured to me that i hadnt paid my bills in a while and this got me worried. I always take my post to work so my co-workers can help me read it, but it seems i had forgotten to do that as well (meh what u gonna do...).
So my manager sat down with me and we went through them all and found that I still had two bills to pay. Much less than i thought, but still i was too late for one of them. However the seconds deadline ran out yesterday and i was working all the way through till 9:00PM.

So my manager phoned up the gas company and was told just to drop it at the security guard on my way home. I went there after school and the guard had not been told... so he wouldnt take it. Fear of loss of job, or some such reason. I had to phone my Japanese friend and have a 3 way conversation over one phone, because neither of us spoke the others language and eventually i got the bill paid at 11:30... how about THAT for close to a deadline :P

I am so annoyed that i cant remember my second main point... kinda proves what iw as saying before. Anyway, next post, sun? mon?, i will be posting pictures of my travels and events in Koriyama... i am so sorry that i have forgotten to do this before, it never even occured to me for some reason.
Peace in.

Hello all

2007-01-10T17:23:00.000-08:00

So work has started again and what do i find, to my surprise, when i go into work on the new week. My manager has been transfered because she cant handle the pressure of such a town as koriyama, which was a big shame for me because she was the first friend i had in koriyama...
She swapped with a manager who used to work at the school she is now managing. Aparently this new manager has been with geos for 3 years and is experienced. Meh i dont care really, i think the goals that geos ask for every month are way too much anyway, if she can get them then well done to her...

Apart from that been ok, got a package from my parents yesterday with some barbeque sauce in, amongst other things. So im happy for now :D. Oh and on the weekend i am going to a hot spring i hope...

Happy new Year!!

2007-01-02T20:43:00.000-08:00

Hello all! Happy new Year!!

What did YOU do for the new year?? I want a post from everyone about their festive festival.

I went to a party and drank lots of beer and sake, then we went to a jazz bar and managed to pay about £7 for a beer... which we got annoyed at but only really realised until after everyone had left.

The evening kinda went down hill from there as we all split up and did our seperate things. I went to the shrine but forgot my camera! Doh! But i did have my phone so i managed to get some pictures, no matter how crappy they were. After that more booze was required and all was happy :D

Hey

2006-12-30T17:17:00.000-08:00

Question marks everywhere! I have signed up for the new blogger format and it has put it all in japanese!! But since my computer cant read japanese it has made every letter a question mark... i cant seem to turn it off as well... hmm

Hello!! How are you all?
I have been away from blogging recently due to the fact I am not at work but now off for the hols. I must report that I DO have the internet now, so really i was just being lazy. Dont worry though, everyone who sent me an email will get a reply.... altho that was alot of people... :(

hehe. Actually a lot of people have told me that I have been moaning/whining too much on the blog recently... and I say to them, screw you! Tis my blog I'll moan if i want to! Plus with the accidents that happened to me I'm allowed to moan!

I'll try and be more upbeat, but only if upbeat things occur around me, I will not invent something just to appease the readers at home. Bah i say, BAH!

Ok reporting now. Uuuh, Christmas was fun and the party we had was really great, the apartment in which it was held was massive as well. It had the full japanese feel to it and was very impressive. Tonight I am going to a japanese girls parents restaurant with a group of friends to celebrate new years by eating! I like that idea :D. I honestly dont know what to expect so i cant tell you much, but it should be fun.

Must go, but can someone give me freds email address, i lost it :(

At work

2006-12-22T23:36:00.000-08:00

But wait! Its a saturday!!?! A national holiday too! Whyever are you at work paul1?!?

Im glad you asked... damn manager. I was told that the "challenge kids" tests that we were giving our students last week were to be marked by january 17th or somet close. Then yesterday my manager tells me, oh btw I'm sorry but its for the 26th, and i had no time to do them yesterday so i have to do them this 3 day break i get. One of the days is christmas, NO, and one of them is a very busy christmas eve, NON. So its today, and today has almost finishedn and i havent started so... i have to get going on them really.

Plus, this week was the first time i was in an exam but not actually taking it... its a wierd feeling.

Lost

2006-12-20T17:55:00.000-08:00

I lost my hat on monday... hit me hard it did. I've had that hat (the black snatch hat) for at least 5-6 years. I've always worn itin winter... sigh. However that isnt as annoying as discovering HOW COLD Japan really is!!! Oh my god! I need to wear my hood up to go to work and back now. However now i cant see to my left or right now...

However, THAT isnt as annoying as ripping my suit on my bicycle tuesday. I woke up late but managed to get to work in time for my first two lessons. Then it was when i was cycling back (i have a large gap in my day on tuesday) that i thought about giving my bike a little extra speed. So I stood up to pedal and it caught and ripped the trouser leg two inches up the seam. Its a good thing i have a second suit.

however THAT isnt as annoying as finally getting my internet sorted!! hang on... YAY! FInally i have a construction date that is good for both me and my provider... sweet long last.

So that is my news, now for some insight/info. If you have ever seen a japanese anime/manga/cartoon you will know that all of the female characters wear RIDICULOUSLY short skirts. I have always put this down to the fact that japanese artists were perverts... or were drawing to a perverted audience.
However, i arrived in japan and over the last two months have noticed that every girl from around the age of 11 to up to 30 does actually wear RIDICULOUSLY short skirts! Even now!! They must be absolutely FREEZING, because those things must offer no protection of ANY kind... not that i complaining about this fact tho...

its quite nice actually...

Buses.

2006-12-20T16:19:00.000-08:00

I had to get the bus today and was gonna blog about my immense anger but I have lost the energy. Moral - buses are evil. I cannot genuinely think of one incentive to get a bus. My nearest bus stop is a 20 minute walk and it takes an hour and a half to get to somewhere I can drive in 20 and random annoying people sit with you. And I had to pay £5.50 for the privilege of this. To get me somewhere 10 miles away.

I'm not joking give me one incentive to get the bus instead of drive. Just one.

I've decided on a career. Sorting out buses.

Frustrated...

2006-12-19T15:44:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas time everybody! Its the festive season of writing off Toby's car!

This time I haven't (hopefully) but someone did try! I was parked outside a friends house, and I came out to find that my bonnet was 'crumpled' and the headlights smashed. The jeep that had been parked in front had clearly reversed into me, and then happily sped off.

Which is great.

So although I think that the inner workings of my car are ok, I can't in all actuality open up the bonnet to check, and given that the headlights don't work anyway I am in an unenviable unable to drive position. So this will be the third christmas holiday in a row where I am in fact carless.

It's getting a little bit tedious now.

The escapades I have had in cars is getting me down a little bit, this is now the third incident where I've exited an ami's abode to find either a) The side mirror destroyed
b) The back windscreen smashed
c) The above

So yuletide moral all, don't park near jeeps. In fact crush them all!!!!

Tagged eh?

2006-12-18T23:30:00.000-08:00

I have been "Tagged" which for all intents and purposes means i have to write about what the last person before me wrote about.... who then tagged me...

However I have been tagged before and never done it, this was not a concious thing alice, i just never got round to taking a photo of myself with cheese. I suppose you can forgive me because of the whole "half way round the world" thing, not having the internet and finding a good cheese is hard!

The latest tag is to find 6 things that are wierd with me, or so i believe and tbvvh (to be very very honest) this should be easier than hitting water after falling out of a boat... on a planet with no land... and only one boat. I mean... come on! Im me!! sigh, well after i have done it (now is not the time, a lesson calls) then i will probably be tagging rich, fred, my sister, and my parents (just for a laugh).

hilarious

2006-12-14T17:55:00.000-08:00

Haha, I try and keep this blog about japan because of my new family viewers, but I have to say the new world of warcraft trailer is fucking hilarious... brought a tear to me eye it did! Everyone who isnt over 30 and has some interest in it should go and check it out... I m too lazy for a link

Write to me Write to me!

2006-12-14T16:47:00.000-08:00

God, parents can be persistent!! U dont write in a couple of weeks and they go beserk! Tsk!!

Anyway! That wasn't meant to be an exclamation... hmph. Anyway, builders here are fantastically fast! Really! (that was) I got here and these builders were bulding the front of a new church just outside my apartment and in about 3 weeks it was done, something that would have taken an english construction crew at least 1 year (and a greek crew about 14). I think i have worked it out as well!

Mwahaha, for my deductive reasoning. Well as we all know the Japanese nation is, for all intents and purposes, slightly smaller than Americans/Europeans etc... I mean small for all aspects of a person too. Take this fact and also take the fact that all builders are automatically put under a spell when they take up the proverbial cement mixer. This spell obviously being that whenever they see any sort of cleavage they must stop work for at least 5 minutes and release the construction mating call (eg Wolfwhistle). Especially in England, the average builder would whistle at a poodle if it had big enough breasts...

So you put these two facts together and well... they get alot of work done.
Also the workers never say a word to each other, at least when i am around, so maybe the secret to thier success is to have teams made of people who dont like each other. So they just want to get the job done and go home...

Right another PC post winging its way towards your retinas soon.

Wooops

2006-12-11T20:52:00.000-08:00

Its been a while but as i said, busy me be. By the way, i think that has to be my most common blog title.
Internet! Will be DISconnected on the 18th (maybe) then MY internet will be connected later than that, u never know it could be a chrsitmas present... sigh its all fun and games while it lasts i suppose

God i dont even know what i am saying anymore, this blog has taken 3 hours to write (my mondays are much free-er than they used to be) so i cant remember the thought strings i was writing... probably 4 in there somewhere...

Euch maybe i will write coherently tomorrow

Snow!

2006-12-08T17:39:00.000-08:00

And ohmygod! how cold!! My fingers nearly dropped off!! The rest of me was fine due to an oversized bear i use as a coat, but the fingers! I was wearing gloves as well!!

Brrrr

Anyway, I must start taking more pictures of things so when i eventually get the internet i can show u all how much fun i am having and all the cute japanese girls i have met.

Back on to the subject of snow, i was really happy when I saw it this morn, but i have realised there is no one to have a snowball fight with.... i mean me versus the kids would be a tad unfair i think.... for them!! Not me.... freaks.

Ummm.... hmmm i'm sure i have more to write but that ol' time limit has hit me again. WORK TIME!

SNo

2006-12-08T17:36:00.001-08:00

SNow

2006-12-08T17:36:00.000-08:00

Hey.... dejected

2006-12-06T17:25:00.000-08:00

I was meant to get the internet this tuesday just gone, but the previous flat mate before me has not got rid of his internet yet... so i cant have mine. Thus I have to wait for him to get rid of his then book a new date for the "construction" and I have no idea when that would be, hopefully before new year :(.

Thus people i was going to send emails to last week were going to get them yesterday and tuesday. Since I am so busy at work recently, they call this week "teacher run", in japanese obv, and basically it means teachers get crapped on by everyone.
Plus my manager is asking me to sell more books to students, which IS my job but i suck at it, so I am getting le stressed out. Thats french tobs.

I will post soon i guess...

floating away in a bath tub

2006-12-04T01:31:00.000-08:00

Havent had a bath yet, dunno if i should, they are meant to be different here. U clean outside the bath tub then u get in to relax, but mine is so small i doubt the average japanese person would fit in it...

Came up with a joke the other day... was for a lesson, aboutjokes obv, but its not every day that you can makea joke... no matter how bad it is. So i feel proud.

#: Did u hear about the guy who only eats metal
#2: No! Really?
#: I dunno, but at least he's got a staple diet.

Told u it was bad. Meant to be going for a meal with a co-worker who quit very suddenly. Apparently she had meant to do it for a while but had to get things sorted, she decided to leave about 2 months ago.... hmmm.

But yeah it was meant to start at 5, very early i know but she is busy tonight. However its now 6:30 and we are still waiting for her to show up. We are waiting at work, not the restaurant, wouldnt be a problem if we could eat.

So hungry... keep well u guys, will talk soon... probably...

Hello all

2006-11-30T20:28:00.000-08:00

hey there, only a few days and i will be back in touch much more, i will have the internet... woo. Whats to tell.... uuummmm

I honestly had things to say wheni came to the computer but for the life of me i cannot think what they were. yes i will do a hattrick season tobs, but not now, limited time and all.

just know i am alive and am fine. Got my first pay yesterday! Much less than it should haev been though!! I was debitted 83000 yen, thats about 400 pounds for the last two months rent and i didnt get my bonuses for last month, aparently i get them next month.... grumble...
Ooh also i had to pay 56000 yen for this months rent! BAH, penny (yenny?) pinching bastards!

Oh well i still have enough to survive on if i am carfeul and then next month i have free time AND lots of money, oh it will be fun. Fun indeed! MUAHAHAHA

Work

2006-11-30T02:25:00.000-08:00

And I am here blogging again. I am at the moment currently bored as a fish but I have done todays Kakuro (with Kieran's help) so I feel good. It was a hard one too.

I should do work really but...I'm a lazy one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think I've gone exclamation mark mad lately!

I just ordered a cream, cheddar and apple baguette from old pitters and I am awaiting a taste sensation. Only time will tell whether it betters the ham, cheese and pineapple baguette of old.

Of times gone past...

2006-11-30T02:23:00.000-08:00

I just thought that I would here reproduce the best blog of all time. Paul, I demand a newer version of this.

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

End of the season

Well its the end of the season at hattrick and Kalaan's Imperium are going straight back down. I feel they will be joined by toby's troops and maybe paulmademedoit, although I think kierans team has a good chance of staying up. Lets look back at some of this seasons highlights:

Firstly the shocking start to the season by Kalaan's imperium even loosing to Joskis monkeys, a team supporters thought would be noo problem.
Paulmademedoit's awesome start to the season where he even went into 3rd place I believe. This will have secured the fans with alot of confidence for what this team can accomplish.
Toby's troops selling habib. A big shocker to the footballing community, many people wondering if toby still has his head screwed on straight.
Another mystery in this seasons transfer list was Tomas Marhsall whom paulmademedoit bought for £366'000 but has yet to play... is this some strategm to gain surprise on a team deemed challenge worthy to kieran?
Paulmademedoit's devotion to his youth squad pulls another big seller out of the bag. Matthew forrester goes for £250'000. Whilst Kalaan's and toby's get nothing worthy from their youth squad.
Toby's troops and Paulmademedoit both miss out on 5th place by a point... coincidence?
And finally the devotion to Kalaans imperium from his supporters. Even though he went into 8th place over the season he has actually gained more supporters than lost.

Thankyou and good night

Yo.

2006-11-27T07:36:00.000-08:00

Hello? Is this a working? I be Toby!

hello all!

2006-11-26T22:44:00.000-08:00

So im starting my 7th week now.. i think.. wow its been soo long, I hope u are all bearing up without me :D! I realise that life has gotten less amusing for all of you, especially at home, now the only male in the house is dad and that cant be good for anyones funny bones.

However things are looking better here, the internet will be with me soon and then i will have everything set up for the year, i will be free to plot and scheme my way around Japan! Woo (they say Yattah) (for woo) (obv).

i dont know what else to say really, i do the same week over and over. I work for 5 days then get "happy" on the weekends in Gods bar with all of my foreign friends.

Oooh ooh I went to the gym for a trial lesson last week and god was it hard!! I joined one lesson of kickboxing and it differs somuch from what i did at uni. At uni we did a warm up and then technique, and that lasted 2 hrs. Here it lasts 45 mins and is just pure warm up, non stop and done in time to some crazy japanese music. Its great! However the draw back is that there are alot of us in a small room and ... well it gets quite hot. I was redder than ... a tomato (couldnt think of anything good there...). Maybe i will join for the year or maybe i will do somet different... who knows.

Hilarious

2006-11-21T18:21:00.000-08:00

I was wcycling to work today and a train was going through the crossing i take so i had to wait. Whilst i was waiting i saw this really old guy on thi bike made for a chimp at the circus, was fucking hilarious!!! (obv as the title suggests...)
I swear this guy was 55-60 ish and had the most amazingly bizarre haircut whilst riding a bike which had wheels as large as his shoes... I half expected there to be circus police after him. Maybe they could ride mini bikes with flashing policemen helmets...hmmm

The second thing i saw was a dog with an yellow cartoony exclamation mark over its head, this ofc will only be funny to a few of you, so i'll let you figure that one out for yourself.

Basketball

2006-11-19T23:12:00.000-08:00

Well well looks like i'll be busier than i thought! I am going to a basketball training session tonight with a scottish lad called Roy. He's older than me, shorter and much .... chunkier, very muscly. Which seems to be a common trend here in koriyama, everyone could kick the crap outta me! Good thing i'm so charming we'll never experience that.

Hopefully that will go well tonight, I hear they have only a few tall people, none of which are as tall as me.

Another thing, I was just wondering, what do you think is the limit of age difference between a man and a woman?... the man being between the ages of 20 and 22...

Its a completely scientific question.

Help!

2006-11-15T22:08:00.000-08:00

I could really use the help of all of you!!

I promised to help my manager and school by putting on some special lessons.
They are free and are to entice more people to come to the school, basically they are lessons in slang. This may sound perfect because you can learn as much english as you like in a school but the slang might completely confuse you if u go to england.

However I will be preparing these lessons on my own.... no back up! Not a thing and so i would have to make all the props from scratch, etc etc. But I cant think of enough slang/phrases!

So, please, can everyone send in as many phrases/slang as they can think of, with the appropriate meaning behind them please. I ask for the meaning because, well, I may not have heard of yon northern slang that ben may send in. I am also trying to figure out how to let anonymous people post again... damn japanese

Woops

2006-11-13T05:15:00.000-08:00

So Hello there. I managed to get the old archives off bens google page but it was by no means the whole nine yards of my blog, I have only just realised how much time and effort I have put into my blog over the last 2-3 years, which made me very sad. However i then thought that it wasnt that big a loss... all I or toby ever write about is the latest hattrick scores, some game that came out or a latest everning out with friends. The only time people ever read my blog is to see how I am doing, as far as I know no one ever checks my archives and drags up that old post of my result against a specific team in Hattrick etc...

So considering that this year will be the biggest year of my life for people wanting news and updates it is almost fitting that my blog should be renewed. Like a kind of new start where people might actually get annoyed if i dont post for a while. Ironic that it took a week for me to get back after my first "new" post, but still I will try and tell you guys everything i can about me life here.

Also what I just wrote makes it sound like I want a serious blog, which is by no means true, hell that wouldnt even be me!! So Toby and anyone else that wants to blog is fully allowed. Just put ur name on some recent comment list and i'll probably catch it, ofc i have to consider u first.

Which brings me to a different point, this is MY blog and ever since my parents started reading it I have held back slightly, not knowing who else might be reading, grandparents or uncles and aunts. Its not that I swear all the time, or raise difficult points, but I write as if I am speaking and I do swear sometimes (tho not in class, dont worry mum). So if u could just let me know who reads this blog, that care about language, that would be appreciated.

Finally, can all my friends who read this send me an email, just so I a) have your address, in case i left it in England, and b) in case I want to talk to you about something that is personal... i guess :P. Use PaulDCotton@Aol.com please, my hotmail account annoys me atm :D.

OH and I still need topics to blog about, having lost ur previous suggestions.

Jupiters nose!

2006-11-12T23:42:00.000-08:00

SOB SOB SOB

2006-11-05T23:50:00.000-08:00

SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB SOB

U must be wondering what i am doing.... well i managed to delete my old blog..... do many visitors.... so many little additions.... all gone....

I am SO GODDAMN ANNOYED!!!!! DAARTGH

sob sob... possibly one of the worst things about this is that i have just written 3 VERY long posts, in the last week anyway... and i really cannot be bothered or able to do that again....

oh dear god, I HATE JAPANESE COMPUTERS..... sob

I will sign up toby, alex, k.... anyone who was on or wants to join up again.... as they will no longer be able to post.

Japanorama

A bit late but...

Why?

Exhausted, yet the eve has just begun!

Short one

OK!

Sorry

So...

havent actually missed a day

tokyo

Hospital

Silly

wooow

So hey

What a mess of comma's...from start to

lots to write

so

heh

Aha! so i did remember to blog!

hey

Ok...

Eep

Hello all

Happy new Year!!

Hey

At work

Lost

Buses.

Frustrated...

Tagged eh?

hilarious

Write to me Write to me!

Wooops

Snow!

SNo

SNow

Hey.... *dejected*

floating away in a bath tub

Hello all

Work

Of times gone past...

Yo.

hello all!

Hilarious

Basketball

Help!

Woops

Jupiters nose!

SOB SOB SOB

Hey.... dejected