やった！！

Long time no see. I finally got the internet hooked up to my apartment. It feels so good to have it back. As you can expect a lot has happened in the past couple of weeks. I also took a lot of pictures. I don't have much time so I have to decide which to post.. my thoughts or what I've seen. I pick the latter. I'm going to be lazy and post them up with no comment. You can try to figure out what is going on and leave a comment :)











Since I have internet now, it also means that my IP phone is working, so please feel free to call and vice versa.

I'm fine

This will be a short post since I'm using an unstable internet connection (stealing from a neighbor's weak internet signal). Anyways, many have heard about the 6.6 and 6.8 earthquakes that occurred yesterday.. or today depending on which time zone you are reading this at and though people felt the earthquake in Tokyo, I had no idea we had an earthquake until I saw it on T.V. at an electronic store. Funny thing was that I was walking dondon when the initial earthquake happened and I guess I might have mistaken a tremor for one of the loud noisy cars that passed by. Me and everyone else is fine. I should get my own internet next week (hopefully) so I'll make a proper post with nice pictures then.

Final days in いなか

I enjoyed great food, evening BBQ's by the beach, massive amount of local beer, talking and meeting the very kind local people, beautiful and tranquil scenery and did I mention the great food? Even though I am really looking forward to starting my new life in Tokyo, I will really miss the slow pace life in the rural part of Japan.

I will make my move to Tokyo in 2 days and have spent the past couple of days packing. This is the 3rd time I've packed hardcore during my big move. I'm also shocked to find out how much stuff I am going to be sending to my new apartment. I honestly do not know how everything will fit inside. Oh well, I'll see soon enough.

Upcoming plans include more packing, going to a celebration party, researching in furniture and home electronics and spending a good amount of time riding the Shinkansen. This means that this will be my final post during my rural area stay. I have still yet to figure out how my internet situation will turn out when I arrive to Tokyo. The apartment is supposed to have 光フィーバ (fiber optics) already installed and all I have to do is activate it, but since talking to the internet company, that may not be the case. I hope to have the internet by next week, but worst case scenario is I won't have internet at home for atleast 2 -3 weeks. If that happens, it means I will have to commute to the office in Shinjuku when I have to start working remotely. This will also mean that it may take that long to update the blog again.

I look forward to my new chapter to my new life. I hope you do too. じゃね！

The hottest thing in Japan

After being in Japan for the past couple of weeks, I have seen what the hottest trend is. Now for those of you in the states might be thinking, "Man, we won't get to see this in another couple of years". Well, you are wrong. Its not an innovative gadget nor is it a break through fashion accessory. The hottest thing in Japan right now, this very moment, as I'm typing this entry, is ....... Billy Blanks.

Billy Blanks??



Yep, the guy who made Tae Bo famous in the states several years ago is a HIT here. The picture above is Billy during his Tae Bo phase. Now, noticeably older and sporting a bit of a gut, he is promoting his next money making idea, Billy's Boot camp. Check out a very recent video clip of him making a bunch of high school girls VERY HAPPY.



I see him on T.V. more than the SMAP guys and for those who have been in Japan know that is an impressive feat. Even the people in the remote parts of Japan know his in-depth profile. I think I even heard that Japanese soccer players are now doing some of his patent movements after scoring a goal. This guy is a marketing genius.

On a completely opposite subject, I've been eating like a madman. Luckily for me, the food I've been scarfing down is relatively healthier than what I would have been eating in the states. Since I'm currently in the rural area, I've been eating lots of fish. The fish here are so fresh and cheap.



Unfortunately, the healthiness factor of eating fish are usually negated from all the beer I'm drinking. I'm slowly turning into the Michelin man. I guess its time to enroll in "Billy's Bootcamp".

The Rainy Season

Since I've been to Japan, it has been raining everyday except for one time which I posted my joy 2 entries below. The worst part is that the rain that we receive is the heavy typhoon-like kind without the wind. Imagine yourself going through a car wash, but just without a car. Yeah, thats the feeling. So you get drenched in just 10 seconds, which is the amount it takes running from the car to the entrance destination. Many people have told me that this rainy season is very unusual and that they have never seen this amount of rain before. Anyways.. I hate the rainy season, I can't wait for it to be over. Lucky for me, it should be over sometime this month. Oh wait, the next season which also begins this month is Typhoon Season. Its like a really bad joke and I can't stop laughing. Let's just hope that it will be a record low typhoon season. *knock on wood*