Author: Steve

I actually studied, last night! Man, it’s been a while…. And in my typical fassion, I did not study what I was suppose to. I convinced myself that I should study the more basic stuff before I reached what we’re currently working on. I just barely grazed what we’re currently working on, but I think… Continue reading Papa’s got a brand new (shopping) bag!

I went swimming! There is a poool not too far (20 minutes by bike) from my dormitory. This pool is way out in the country-side, though. It was obvious I was the only foreigner to walk through those doors in a long time, if ever, because as soon as the receptionist saw me, she panicked… Continue reading Hashima Pool

A coworker was nice enough to invite us to a Japanese-style BBQ with her, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend’s friend. We had to be ready by 11am. I was a COMPLETE idiot and actually ate a healthy breakfast of choco flakes and banana slices, earlier that morning – I had no idea what was ahead… Continue reading Japanese Bar-B-Q

Class is every Tuesday and Friday, from 6:30 to 8:30 in Gifu city. I don’t see any way around this: we were all unprepared. This class is HARD and is gonna demand some major attention! Which means.. less time for whatever else it is I do. Damn. But, if I can endure this horrible new… Continue reading First day of Japanese class in Gifu city

As a perfect prelude to our long weekend, Alex, John, Ben, and I made banana milkshakes and played cards. It also happened to be the perfect way to use up the bananas I had bought but would not be able to finish! ^_^ We just had to buy the milk and ice cream, which we… Continue reading Banana milkshakes and cards

Now that we (Shirley, Ben, and myself) had takoyaki makers, we wanted to use them! Takoyaki are fried octopus cakes that Osaka is very well known for. Since we had so much fun doing the takoyaki party thing at Briar’s, we planned to do the same thing in the good ‘ol countryside! It ended up… Continue reading Takoyaki party at Shirley’s

I really, really, REALLY wish I understood Japanese! It would have made this evening so much more enjoyable. I went to a Japanese restaurant with my department (6 coworkers and myself) and we drank and ate all night. Oh wait, THEY talked, I just stared blankly and kept eating. Okay, this is not entirely true:… Continue reading Staff party at Megumi

A weekend involving ninjas, drinking, and waterslides absolutely *must* be good…. I’m sitting in bed, hoping I can do a quick recap of the weekend, without falling asleep. Saturday I take turns with Ben, doubling to the Hozumi station, and pay 100yen to park my bike for a night. From there, we take the train… Continue reading Ninjas, Waterslides, and Meat

Today, the wonderful Shirley brought my new camera to work! YES! Finally! It got delivered to her apartment, and I gave her the cash to pay for it. I get to play with it once I get home… and I will play with it, don’t doubt that for a second. A bunch of us may… Continue reading New Camera

I told myself that instead of wasting precious personal time writing journal entries, I’d do it at work when I needed to keep myself awake. Now, is one of those times. I’ve tried desperately to stay awake and do something, but I’m SO tired, and my head just keeps leaning forward for un-natural lengths of… Continue reading Kyoto, Awesomely-Bad Eiga Mura, Kobe