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July 07 Exchange Rates I have been following the exchange rate very closely, and ever since early June the rate has been dropping steadily. When I visited Japan last year I was able go get almost 100 Yen for 1 Canadian Dollar. Now, the rate is at 81 Yen per 1 Canadian Dollars. I'm not sure if I should exchange now, or wait until just before I leave - hoping for the rates to go up on short notice. Argh... !! I heard that Casino's give really good exchange rates, because there are many visitors from overseas who exchange money to gamble. Perhaps a day trip to Niagara is in order.  July 03 29 days to Japan!Recently I've been having a lot of second thoughts about going to Japan... in fact, there are times when I think to myself 'What the hell are you doing?'. But that usually goes away very quickly after I realize what an awesome opportunity this is - to do something so different and so challenging. So, in 29 days I'll be flying to Japan to complete my one-year contract with CLAIR on the JET Programme. My placement is in Gifu, which is centrally located in Japan - about 2 hours from Tokyo and 20 minutes north of Nagoya. Gifu is at the southern tip of the Japanese Alps, and it's about 30 minutes to the closest ski resort and about 1 hour to some really awesome ski / hot spring resorts. Other than Blue Mountains in Ontario, which have a miniature vertical drop of 600 feet (translation: 3 minutes from the top of the hill to the bottom), I haven't hit real slopes since I moved from Germany in the late 90's. So I am very very happy and excited to be skiing real mountains again this winter! I'll have an office at the Gifu Prefectural Board of Education, as well as an office at Kakamigahara Nishi Senior High School where I will be spending the better part of each week.  June 17 Smelly first floor At my office, one of the water pipes broke over the weekend and some kind of sludge has been leaking into the gym. It smells awful on the first floor now, or like one of my colleagues said ' It smells like someone ran a Marathon, then dove in the mud and slept in the Amazon for a night, and then walked in here with a fan under his arms ' ! Bahahahhah. I had a good chuckle. June 06 Videos Watched: 8,753 I was surfing YouTube and happened to click on my profile where I saw a scary statistic: Since joining YouTube on August 16, 2006, I have watched 8,753 videos! Whow! And because I'm a numbers nerd, I calculated that it's about 257 videos per month on average, or 8 videos per day. And, if each video is around 5 minutes average length, I've been watching YouTube for 729 hours straight, or around 30 days without any sleeps or breaks!! Must... stop... wasting... time!!!! May 22 T minus 71 Must... learn... Kanji ! I have memorized all but three Hiragana characters (me, ne, mu are so confusing to me), and have gotten a handle of around 15 Katakana. I only know 4 Kanji though, and really need to memorize more, fast! I started studying from some lists I printed out. These are worksheets where you learn the character, its meaning, and how to write it. There are about 40 boxes for each character on each sheet, and I've printed 7 sheets for each character - so I'll get to practice all of the characters just under 300 times, but that's probably not nearly enough for my brain to memorize anything at all. It just takes so much time.... ! At least I have already learned 口，国，入る，出る、止める. (mouth, country, to enter, to exit, to stop). The website I found for this is really good, it's called Tokyo Mokyo and you can download all hiragana, katakana, and some useful kanji practice sheets. It has worked really great for me. March 27 Japan Trip 2008Last year at exactly this time I went to Japan. It was a great trip, and I was reading through my entries to refresh my memory.... Monday, March 31, 2008 - In Japan！  We arrived in Japan on Saturday night. One of Ayano’s friends picked us up from the airport and drove us to our hotel just a few minutes away. We dropped our things off at the Hotel and went to an Izakaya bar near the train station. It was great, and we were both extremely jet-lagged, so by midnight we were back at the hotel and ready to sleep. There, I had my first experience with a very advanced Japanese toilet, with heated seat, automatic seat opener, flushing sounds to mask the actual sound of what’s going on at the toilet. We got up on Sunday around 7 and had breakfast at the hotel. It was all-you-can-eat and we pocketed a few rice balls for snack later. It was going to be a long two days touring Tokyo, so we needed all the food we could get. We took the 45-minute train from Narita to Tokyo, and started our day at Asakusa. First things first, I had promised myself to buy a drink from the first vending machine I see in Tokyo, and as soon as we got out of the train station we saw the first set of what must have been thousands of vending machines I saw in Tokyo. I enjoyed a hot coffee, while Ayano filmed this historical event. Asakusa is the home of Tokyo’s largest and best known temple, and the main strip on the way to the temple was filled with thousands of people. We ended up arriving just in time to see a special ceremony in which enormous golden ornaments were carried down the steps of the temple and through the streets, accompanied by rhythmic drumming. We were watching from first row and so had to stay for the entire ceremony and wait until the crows started to disperse until we could continue our journey. Tuesday, April 1, 2008 - Shizuoka!  We arrived in Shizuoka and met Ayano’s parents and brother and wife. We went to a noodle house for dinner and had a delicious meal there. The evening we spend talking, although Ayano had to translate everything that was said. W went to Ayano’s grandmom’s house, who bowed on the floor for me. I must have acted very awkward. Her grandmom’s house is very traditional and we spend some time exploring her tatami room. After sandwiches at home we went shopping, Ayano’s dad waited in the car for us sleeping while we went to UniQlo (a GAP-like store, but much better), and the Donkihote store (an insanely cool store that sells everything miscellaneous) as well as a huge technology store. Ayano’s parents treated us for dinner again at home, we enjoyed some raw fish for appetizer, along with quite a bit of sake, and rice+fried meat for dinner. We then watched a video of Ayano’s adventures in Toronto, and had many laughs over more sake. Saturday, April 5, 2008 - Kyoto and back  We took the high-speed Shinkansen train to Kyoto. It was crazy fast, but very smooth and enjoyable. We bought some snacks at the station, and ate rice balls and apple cinnamon French toast, along with coffee and followed later by a beer. Kyoto was beautiful, we visited many different temples and shrines. Even equally as astounding were the narrow side streets with small shops, they were distinctively Japanese with their low doors, curved roofs, and shoji blinds. Part of our walk was along a canal overgrown with Sakura (Cherry blossom). This season is quite amazing actually, because nearly everywhere you walk, you are often covered solid with a ceiling of cherry blossoms. We took the night bus back to Shizuoka after two nights in Kyoto, and arrived on April 4 in the morning (6am). Ayano’s father picked us up, and we spent the day shopping. At night we went to the start-up show of the Shizuoka Matsuri, and then to an Izakaya (bar) where we sat on the floor and had a lot of sake. It was fun, as I tried several phrases on the Japanese waiter (and managed to order more sake and beer!!), and also had a traditional Shizuoka sake from a wooden mug. April 5 we spent going to Manabu’s house (Ayano’s brother). To get there we drove along the coast line and saw Itchi-go girls (Strawberry girls - young girls in mini skirts who jump at the side of the highway hoping to attract potential strawberry buyers), and later in the afternoon we went to the Shizuoka Matsuri (a city festival), where we enjoyed many delicious foods from street vendors, saw a traditional drumming show, and watched beautiful fireworks. Monday, April 7, 2008 - Shizuoka Matsuri and Tea Ceremony  On Sunday we finished off some souvenir shopping and then made our way back to the Shizuoka Matsuri to enjoy the final fireworks. Although a bit short, it was still fun, and we saw some traditional Japanese dancing. We drank a lot while watching several shows at the festival, and Ayano’s dad was proud to show off our bag with empty sake cups. On Monday Ayano’s family took us out for a tour - we visited some very old and traditional hotels and shops along an old trade route between Kyoto and Tokyo, as well as participated in a traditional tea ceremony. At the traditional building where the tea ceremony took place, we had to enter through a tiny door in the wall, which was left slightly open to symbolize the tea master is ready. The door was so small as to prevent an armed Samurai from entering with his weapon - weapons were not allowed inside the tea room, but it was considered rude (and impossible) to ask a Samurai to remove his armour and sword. Inside the room the ceilings were low, again to prevent a Samurai from drawing his sword, and the tea master and assistant explained to us about the ceremony, about the ‘face’ of the tea cup, and the complicated process of starting to eat the cake once brewing starts and finishing just before the first cup is poured. Such detailed customs amaze me... Ayano and I then went to a Sushi restaurant where you could order on a screen and food was delivered to your table via a conveyor belt. It was a funny (strange / genius) idea, but the food was absolutely astonishing - better and fresher than any Sushi I have ever had in Toronto. Friday, April 11, 2008 - Onsen  Along with Ayano’s family, we took a two-day trip to a traditional Japanese hot spring resort. It was a great trip; we stopped along many sights along the scenic route along the coast of the Izu Peninsula and spent the evening taking hot baths in several different hot spring pools. Dinner in the room tuned out to be an abundance of delicious sea foods and all kinds of dishes. My most memorable experience in Japan, and for anyone who has been at an Onsen you will know what I mean. It’s impossible to describe the Japanese Onsen culture in words. February 27 Koi FishI posted a video of the huge Koi Fish we saw in Kyoto last year. Please ignore my comments of amazement, looking back it seems I couldn't get over the fact that the fish was so monstrous compared to the little tiny Koi in my parent's pond back home. YouTube November 06 Cujo Hi Cujo, It has been one year since you left us, we miss you! I hope you have it good wherever you are. Michael October 07 MangaI borrowed the Volume I of Naruto from the Japan Foundation last month, and I think I may have become a fan. After reading it, I'm now on Volume II and III. Naruto is the story about a young boy, Ninja-to-be, and follows his path of becoming the best Ninja in the village. It I haven't read any kind of comic since I was a child, so this is a refreshingly simple story that is fun to read. By the way, if you're interested in Japan, the Japan Foundation on Bloor&Bay has a ton of books, textbooks, CDs, movies etc. to borrow for free! March 23 Japan!I'm going to visit Japan with Ayano this week! Tokyo, Kyoto, Shizuoka.... stay tuned for many many great pictures and stories!
** Sorry for the long pause ! I blame work for not having time to write now... ** January 18 Niagara FallsI went to Niagara Falls recently. It was a great trip, I bought some wine, had a great dinner, walked along the Dufferin Islands, and went to Niagara-on-the lake for sightseeing as well.
December 09 Work Christmas PartyOn December 1 we had our work Christmas Party. It was a great time, everyone came out, and with free drinks from 6pm-1am as well as free food, there wasn't much else you could wish for.
Me, Chan, Toni, Kawal, Tricia
Tricia, Me, Noel, Chan, Toni, Dana
October 30 JCW John Cooper Works KitFinally I saved up enough to install the JCW kit on my MINI :-) YAAAAAAAAAAAAY.
Here it is in action: Watch HERE on YouTube October 28 HalloweenWell you see... every year my company organizes a Pumkin carving contest for its 70-or-so employees. Over the years, this contest has gradually evolved from a carving competition in a full-out employee pumkin war. Teams of 7 compete by doing skits, extreme carving, even pumkin throwing contests from the top of the roof of our building down onto the street.
That's what you get for working at a creative agency I guess... !
October 13 Listening to women...I read an article that males are less likely to listen to a female voice than a male voice. Period. So if male and female tell me the exact same thing, chances are that I did not listen (and do not remember) what the female said, but I do remember what the male said.
So it's a man thing, it's genetic. I don't need to make any more excuses. September 07 Why do I attract strange people?Why do I attract strange people...? Recently at the CIBC bank machine.
Guy: Hey man! Do I know you from somewhere?
Me: Uhm... no man, sorry.
Guy: Yea Yea I do! Ryerson right?
Me: No....
Guy: Man you look so familiar. What school'd you go to?
Me: Wilfrid Laurier
Guy: Business right?
Me: No.. Communication Studies, but I took a lot of Business courses.
Guy: Where are you working now?
Me: I'm in advertising, at an ad agency downtown.
Guy: Oh cool. Listen man, I'm recruiting for the company I work for right now. Do you think you're interested? Here's my card. What's your phone number?
Me: What does your company do?
Guy: Have you ever heard of XXXXXXX (forgot)
Me: Uhm.. nope!
Guy: Yah. So... what's your number
*pulls out his phone
Me: Sorry... are you recruiting sales people?
Guy: No, there's no selling involved. But we have an information session coming up.
Me: You're a fucking looser. Shut up. I hate selling things. What kind of job recruits young tall white males at a CIBC bank machine and has an information session coming up?
*No, I didn't say that
Me: Nah sorry man, not interested at all. I just want to get some cash.
Does it say "looking for a job" on my forehead? Come on...  September 04 Money matters...August numbers are in!
When I started working I realized that I would be spending way too much money, so I started putting all my spending into an excel worksheet at the end of the month to find out where I could save... my goal of course is to save and use the cash for a downpayment on a place at some point in the future.
This is the third month I have done a budget, and in August I spent nearly double of what I spent in June or July. Topping the list of ridiculous spendings is my Starbucks total: $62.82, which is a 3-month high. Why don't I drink the coffee from work... it's free. Starbucks isn't that great anyway.
Also at the top of the list is gas and parking money.. $605 for one month. ARRGH
Ok hope to do better next month...
August 30 August 2006 - Ottawa and MontrealOttawa (Hull) from Pairliament Hill
The sky a bit outside of Montreal
All these photos are not photoshopped for a change, I didn't need to!
In Montreal...
Ottawa
August 13 Fog at the beachI don't even remember when I took these pictures, it was a while ago when I went to the beach downtown. It was very foggy on that day (actually the first time I have seen fog at the beaches in Toronto) and I got a couple of great shots there.
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