| The way home |
[Jun. 21st, 2008|01:03 am] |
Holy crap, that was exhausting.
I just got back from my usual Thursday-Friday trip to our warehouse in Kofu. It's become a ritual for me and my colleague (superior?) Aikawa to have Chinese at half way in Hachioji before heading our separate ways home.
I got on the train at about 22:40, slightly drunk, so I fell asleep. it was bound for Tokyo anyways, so if I missed my stop I could just ride all the way to the end. I should arrive in Shinjuku at 23:15.
Woke up at 23:30, still a good way to Shinjuku... What the? I thought, but an in-car announcement quickly informs me that there's been an accident, and the train would stop at random intervals. Also advised to use the subway instead. I didn't want to miss the last train, so I followed the advice.
I got off at Nakano, changed to the Subway, and got on the Yamanote line at Takadanobaba (which, thankfully, is a stop I am familiar with since it's closest to Shinjuku Sports Center). Needless to say, the train was packed with other poor souls having gotten off the Chuo line just like me.
Switched trains at Ikebukuro to the Saikyo line, which is known as the train line most prone to get crowded.. And it was, a good bit more so than the Yamanote. Freaking hot, too. Lots of very close physical contact with sweaty salarymen, mmh.
Now, I ride the crowded Saikyo to work every day, so I'm used to it, but I was absolutely not prepared for what the Keihin Tohoku line had in store for me.
When I got to Akabane, most other lines had already seized operation. The terminal was full of people, most of them having gotten off the same Saikyo train as me. The Keihin train that arrived to take us home was so crowded already that people were squished against the windows...
But that did not stop us. Not a single one of us.
I was close to the front of the line, but even the last guy squeezed himself in, stemming his arms against the door to compress the crowd behind him already trapped in the car.
I struggled to align myself to take up as little space as possible, as fast as possible before getting squished together with the other passengers, until the crowd had been so compacted that my chest was being restrained so hard it was physically painful.
I was standing with my back to one of the handrails, so I aligned it so it would press on a spot right next to my right shoulder blade, which is always tight from desk work and archery. Free pressure massage! At some point, the guy next to me got pushed into me so hard it pulled the cord out of my Walkman, but i couldn't reach down to reattach it.
At every curve and stop, the passenger crowd got pushed over like a pile of domino bricks. Times like that always remind me of the mosh pit of the Linkin Park concert I went to last November...
The crowd lightened less than I'd thought at the first two stops (which usually has most of the standing passengers getting off), but I got home safely. Albeit sweaty and sticky. |
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[Jun. 8th, 2008|11:57 pm] |
Wow... A guy drove into one of the most crowded crossings in Akihabara with a truck (The Akihabara electronics district is a pedestrian zone on Sundays) today at noon, then got off and started randomly slashing people with a survival knife. 7 dead, over 10 injured... Reportedly he was fed up with his boring life.
I'm so glad I didn't go shopping today.
In brighter news, I finished 2nd in Itabashi's monthly shoot today. It doesn't really count though since at least three of the best shots there were participating in the all-japan shakaijin tournament, and two who did participate were put into "Open" category for being too good (apparently it's to give the regular joes a chance to win something once in a while... I on the other hand wanted to keep competing with the big boys)
So with that considered, I really finished 4th.
Giving the red badge quest another go next weekend at Komazawa.
Also, shooting pic:
Taken by Yamada Hiro while practicing in Hikarigaoka. |
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[May. 28th, 2008|01:07 am] |
So yea. Got fed up and wiped the harddrive.
Note to self: Get a floppy and make a DOS bootdisk so I can delete files without Windows telling me I can't.
Also, no more executing files that i think are fishy from the getgo... -_-;;
I wonder who I spammed with all those messages.
By the way, this weekend I did a shoot that had spectacularly shitty weather, pouring rain from the first minute. I did well in the rain, just failed to adapt to the weather brightening up towards the end of the 90m round. Tanebe tells me it might be because I could see the target better without the rain, causing me to over-aim (don't ask me why, but consciously aiming causes your body to do weird things and does more harm than good...)
It was a lot of fun though, got to try out new things like my self made scope cover, and be inventive in how to get the least wet. I was on the same target butt as Yamada Hiro, A fun easygoing guy from Osaka. He shot very well, and finally breached 1350 (white star badge), while (due to a shot at the wrong target at 90 and a spectacularly bad 70m) I tallied at 1265. Next chance won't be for another 2-3 weeks, But I'm definitely going for 1300 (red badge) then.
Also, my Trophytaker Rest started scratching my hand at followthrough, opening a bleeding hole at the base of my thumb... Just as George told me Dave Cousins had. I have no idea what happened, but apparently my followthrough changed during Sunday's competition. really really weird. And painful. |
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[May. 26th, 2008|10:53 pm] |
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| |  annoyed | ] |
Beh... I have a trojan/worm/whatever and can't seem to get rid of it. I created a crapload of svchost processes and was spamming mail off my computer (not amused) at first. Thankfully, I was able to get rid of that with an Avast bootup scan.
Avast, Pandasoft, Adaware all say my computer's clean now, yet I still get random popups from time to time (which I can live with), have no access to several websites including Google and Yahoo (which bothers me to no end), and I just noticed that if I hit F3 in explorer the annoying assistant that asks you what you want to look for just sits there without displaying the dialogue.
I'm annoyed. If this continues much longer, I'll fomat the disk again. I just don't want to cause it took several hours last time... By the way, how do I even format a disk without having a floppy and DOS? XD I'm guessing go into Windows setting and delete the system partition, and then remake?
Before I do though, anyone have an idea what this bug is, and how to get rid of it? |
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| clutter |
[May. 18th, 2008|10:25 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  happy | ] |
Sil posted a comment a few days ago on one of my entries from way back when that had an uberlist update... Specifically about the items concerning my living circumstances... So I decided to post a pic of my room (I'd intended to not clutter it up with useless things).
As you can see, it is what some people might consider slightly cluttered. But all of these things are very useful, so I think I kept my promise. (Annotated version available on my Flickr account)
I will say that the chairs are really awesome. They're cushiony and reclineable! I have two so Wakako and I can watch CSI together. (I combine them like in the picture when I am home alone watching TV or reading and want to stretch out my legs)
It's also funny how my computer always looks so dark on pictures that you can't even figure out what the front panel looks like. it's like a black hole sucking up any and all light... (And the reflections on the flooring... I didn't notice til now how shiny it was)
I will spare you the view of the bedroom for now.
Also, I rediscovered Mal's Annotated Pilgrim lj entries, which I didn't read at the time since I didn't have the books with me, and reread Scott Pilgrim Vol. 2 and 3. (I lent #1 to someone who didn't give it back, going to have to rebuy it)
I am really looking forward to seeing the movie. Although it'll probably take a gazillion years to reach Japan... Also, I think Boor should be cast as Stephen Stills. |
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[May. 18th, 2008|12:45 am] |
Why am I still up... Ah well, it's saturday anyway.
The weather's been really inconsistent lately, 25 degrees one day and then 10 with rain the next. it was really sunny and nice this morning, then clouded up around noon, and now it's raining. I sure hope it clears up tomorrow morning, because I want to shoot a single round in practice.
Speaking of which, I bested my 30m personal record the day before yesterday. 354 out of 360, no warm up end (I should have not counted the first end, which was 58, because the next one after wrapping this round was a perfect 60). 30 has always been my weakest distance, usually averaging our in the low 340s, bringing me down in rank since the people I'm shooting with generally get close to or exceed 350. So I'm rather happy at the progress. (I did count for a second pass and got 349, which is still above my previous best of 347)
Thus the need for practice tommorrow, need to figure out what I'm doing right, and make it stay that way.
Today, I saw Charlie Wilson's War with Wakako. It just opened today, we're probably way behind everyone else again. I wonder what causes the half-year-or-longer delay on movies to come out here...
I enjoyed it quite a bit, thought the dialogue was witty and entertaining. The scene of Charie and Gus meeting in Charlie's office made the movie for me.
After having lunch in an Okinawa-themed restaurant (surprisingly well-designed... It was a gorgeous, tasteful atmosphere right in the middle between homely and classy, of course with lots of Okinawan stuff), we headed out to Shinjuku and went bowling. Both of us probably got the worst scores we ever had together. I just can't seem to figure bowling out...
Lastly, I just read some entries on Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's blogs about their trip to Japan (apparently Hot Fuzz is getting a summer release, about bloody time), via a link from a link from Mal's lj. And they made me realize how much I've started to take for granted about Japan... It's hard to imagine anymore how foreign Japan must be for someone who has no experience or knowledge about it. Of course I came here first after studying japanese studies for several years, so I never really got culture shock in the first place, that I know of.
It'd be fun to have some of my friends from Vienna who aren't uni-related, come over here and show them around. Simon, Marion, my sister... Sadly none of them has graced me with their presence yet.
Also, I realized I haven't posted any pictures in a while, so I added some.
People waiting for the Saikyo line. This is pretty much what I'm faced with every morning. I want to take a video of getting on the train, but so far I've been too much of a pussy to do so.
Shinjuku cityscape. For those of you who like such things.
Shinjuku viewed from the southern terrace, with the new Cocoon tower in the back. Really needs to be viewed at hi res.
Krispy Kreme in Shinjuku. I can't believe people are still lining up over an hour for fricking donuts, over a year in. the one in Saitama is far less crowded, by the way.
The package of the new "Cheese Cutlet Burger" at McDonald's. I love the text. It would destroy the beauty of it to translate it, so I won't. |
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| Earthquakes |
[May. 13th, 2008|10:44 pm] |
I guess by now everone has heard about the earthquake in China.
7.8... I can't even imagine.
We had one that apparently reached 4 here in Saitama last week (at 1am, no less), and went on for what seemed like forever. It was the first time i actually found an earthquake scary. When you're standing up or sitting in a chair, I barely even notice 3 or 4... Only by things moving nearby. But lying down, it feels a lot stronger. It felt like my futon was being pulled from one side to the other by about 10cm continuously for almost a minute, the plates in my dishstand rattling nervously for the entire time. I'm glad nothing fell over, I have way too much stuff..
Apparently it peaked again at 1:50, but I was fast asleep by then.
My apartment shakes a little everytime an express train goes by, so usually I think it's that, until I notice there's no sound, or it goes on longer than usual. (No, I don't mind the train-quakes, most of the time. I hate the endless cargo trains though)
I never thought about earthquakes a lot. I have canned food, a handle-driven flashlight/radio, emergency candles, etc... But my girlfriend bought all that. We've been to an earthquake museum with a simulator room, but that only mildly made me aware either. I'm a bit lethargic by nature.
Then lately, I discovered "51 ways to protect a girl" (I tried to find a reference, but there doesn't seem to be any... the manga by Furuya Usamaru, not the Miike film or the book. Though they're similarly themed) at Village Vanguard. It's about a guy and a girl trying to make their way home after Tokyo is hit by a M8 earthquake. The story's enjoyable and moving, and the art is fantastic (that's why I bough it in the first place), but what it really is is a manual of how to get by if it does happen. It's scarily realistic, which is why my girlfriend put it down after a couple pages, saying she'd get paranoid if she read any further.
I was particularly impressed by the message delivery system that is in place for use on cell phones even if the phone lines are down... You type in a message and the phone number of the person it's for, and they can then read it once they remember to check the board. (the protagonists of the manga don't find out about this system until a pretty far into the story. I'd never heard of it either) Apparently it jumps to the top of each provider's online menu in the case of a major earthquake. There's a test opportunity on the first of every month, got to try it out next time around.
I wonder if there is a way to send an email home too...
Note to self, get extra batteries for cellphone charger to carry around.
There's this lady on TV, who calls herself a medium. Most of the time she gets time on entertainment shows to scold people for bad manners etc, but sometimes she foretells the future, and a major earthquake in the Kanto region. I saw one show where she said it's bound to happen, cause there's no gods in Tokyo anymore. I liked her way of expressing it, even though she usually makes me uncomfortable.
Someone mentioned her after last week's earthquake, and it made me smile. She just needs to keep reminding people it's coming, for however many years it takes... And then everyone will be all impressed because she predicted it.
Anyway. That's what I had to think of when I watched the news earlier. Sorry for the scarytalk... I reckon I have a pretty good chance to survive for a time without food, with all the fat I've accumulated round my belly. -_-b |
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[Apr. 29th, 2008|12:21 am] |
| [ | mood |
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I was out with my girlfriend today and we ended up doing karaoke... I looked this up just for fun, but I just can't believe this song was in the system! It was actually really fun to sing too. (Needless to say Wakako'd never heard of it...)
edit: Also, I just finished watching Lost in Translation for the first time since moving over here.. to my surprise, I didn't think it was exaggerated or off in a lot of places. In fact, I think all the bits that seem exaggerated to those in the know would probably be what sticks out in the memories of someone who visits Japan for the first time.
Two things though:
1. Didn't the guys in that videogame arcade just suck ass? I didn't know there even was a beatmania track that slow.
2. What was up with the Pachinko parlor being so quiet?? Usually they give you a headache just from walking by when the doors open... Check this for reality. |
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[Apr. 28th, 2008|01:58 am] |
All set up! I'm writing this from the new computer :)
The problem with the DVD-Drive solved itself when I connected it via a different adapter chip that allowed me to jumper it to Master. When I rebooted, it was immediately recognized in BIOS. No idea why the adapter included with the Drive bay had no jumpers at all...
Did some more internal tweaking, and set up Windows today. God it took long to format that harddisk...
Oh, and they rejected my credit card at the parts shop where I bought my HDD (+OEM WinXP), power unit and Memory, so I ended up paying everything in cash... This month is going to be fun. Lots of cup noodles! XD
Anyways, here it is:
That Power unit has too many connectors... This is already after bundling 5 of them with that black plastic spiral.
the drive bay fits in really well with the case... Except that all the cables included end in external USB cables. What the hell? (I just connected the card reader for now and routed it through the back panel)
I also moved my computer desk downstairs, since it's far brighter down there and easier to work in with the high ceiling.
In other news, went to the Tokyo Field competition, shot 161+161=322. Pretty good score for me, but I missed the gold badge by 4 points. And I accidentally shot the wrong target in one end, costing me exactly those 4 points. ._. |
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[Apr. 27th, 2008|12:46 am] |
Bought my computer (or rather, its parts) today.. I've got it screwed together and all, but I can't seem to get it to boot properly. Firstly, it says "Intel CPU uCode loading error", which I think might resolve itself if I update the BIOS, since the CPU (Duo E8400) is newer than the MB (P5K-VM). Besides, the CPU stats in BIOS recognize it perfectly.
But it doesn't seem to want to boot from the Windows CD... I don't even think it's recognizing the DVD drive properly. I've got my old Slimdrive hooked up to the IDE controller (no jumpers, Master port), it's spinning but not reading. Any ideas? I tried to boot it off my old HDD on USB, but it stalled and rebooted at after exiting the black Windows boot screen..
I'm going to do a more extensive search tomorrow, but first I need to go to sleep cause I have a rather important field competition in the morning... Anyone hear of problems like this before, let me know. |
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[Apr. 20th, 2008|10:30 pm] |
Today I went all the way to Kanagawa for the year's first field competition. It wasn't an official tournament, so the mood was pretty relaxed and fun. There's an official one in the same place next week, so it was a huge opportunity to get a feeling for the course and some practice too. I'm aiming for a gold badge, kind of a birthday present to myself... Requirement is 165 points in either half.
My score today was 152-162, so I figure if I'm in good form next week I might have a pretty decent chance.
The course today was just a mess though... It's been raining all week, to almost the entire course was really muddy with little creeks running all over the place... I tried my best not to slip, but I did land in the mud once (pretty gracefully on one hand and the side of my shoe though, so none of my clothes were soiled).
After the shoot, I dropped my bow off at home, and went for a 3-hour window shopping spree in Akihabara. Of course I didn't buy anything. I spent several hours there yesterday with Wakako, so I had already seen most of what's available, but it's just easier to cruise through the crowded and tiny shops alone and without luggage... Checked out a lot of cases, my main concern for the moment, but most of them I'd already seen yesterday. I'm pretty disappointed, since I couldn't find anything even close to my hopes... I wanted to go for a white one, but didn't find any that I liked, and 3/4s of the cases are black or silver anyways...
I did find this Mini Tower today that I liked a lot:
Micro ATX, short and bulky (the proportions are very much to my liking), the little silver squares are the power button, which I found neat.
It costs around 3500 Yen sans power source, which is pretty much acceptable (I was aiming for under 10.000 with power).
I'm probably slapping one of these in the upper 5" bay:
The lower row of knobs can be removed to make space for a Slim Drive slot, in which I will plug my laptop's DVD drive. I just bought that less than 2 years ago and it's still perfectly fine, so I'm not quite ready to let it go yet. (Same with the laptop's HDD, which is already in it's new USB compatible home and seems to be feeling alright there)
The bay costs pretty much as much as a new DVD drive, but it also has a card reader and some USB slots, so it's ok with me.
I also found out that I can get an OEM Windows packed with a new hard drive, making it about 10 000 Yen cheaper, so I'm totally going for that with a 500GB harddrive (Samsung or something, probably).
Add to that a Gigabyte MB with onboard video and audio, a Core2 Dual CPU, 2 GB of RAM, and a 19" display, and I'll probably be in debt till summer. It will however save me from having to hijack the company laptop all the time...
Anyone notice anything I'm forgetting? Let me know what you think...
edit: Is it just me or does this mb sound really good for 8000 Yen? The next comparable one costs almost double, and only has intel graphics.... Do tell me if there's a catch. |
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[Apr. 16th, 2008|10:35 pm] |
My laptop's still dead.. It won't even boot into BIOS now. I'm guessing it's some heat fault or something on the motherboard? I disassembled it as far as I could get last night, but the magical take it apart and put it back together method didn't help.
Current plan is to get a desktop for home, since I haven't carried my laptop around in months, and when I have to I mostly do it with the company one (as I am right now). I've been shopping around a bit on Kakaku.com, and had a pretty hard time figuring things out - It's been years since I looked into computer parts.
From what I can see I'm probably going with a Core 2 Duo around the 8400 range, playing with the idea of getting a smallish Micro ATX housing since I don't have space (all the ATX ones I could find were humongous). Then again, I want a white and orange one if at all possible, so if I find one I'll buy it no matter what the size. (I think I saw one in Akihabara once)
For motherboards, all Yodobashi seems to sell are Asus, Gigabyte and Intel, so I'll probably get an Asus board, like I had on my first home-built computer (almost 10 years ago, crap!)... Might try to get one with onboard graphics, so I can save on the graphics card and get one later.
I can always say "I've been meaning to get a new one anyways."
Only my bank account knows the truth...
Maybe I'll just buy one part a month, and by summer I'll have a complete setup! :D
Any help with the parts selection is severely welcome!! |
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[Apr. 11th, 2008|11:44 pm] |
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I just got back from our shipping facility, and my laptop's still acting up... I tried running it off the battery instead of the charger, and this time it hung up in bios before even getting to the windows loading screen, and just kept rebooting over and over again. _. I'm running the harddisc on my work laptop right now by the way, and no problem at all... So I guess it must be something worse. Bleh. |
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[Apr. 11th, 2008|09:13 am] |
Crap, I think my computer's broken... I was browsing the web when suddenly the LCD kinda morphed into shades of green before going bright white, and the computer stopped responding to anything, so I thought it was probably just some virus-like thing, and cut power.
But then I rebooted, and it did the same thing before even reaching the Windows loading screen ._.
I tried again the next morning, and it lasted about 2 minutes before blanking out again, so I think it might be a heat related issue? Any ideas? Anyone?
I so don't have the money tobuy a new computer right now... Especially with my credit card limited to 100 000 Yen (About $1000) XO |
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[Mar. 30th, 2008|09:09 pm] |
So I just watched Resident Evil: Extinction. It was okay, could've been worse or much better. I did like the desert costumes.
The reason I deicded to post about it was this image near the end:
Image stolen from Kotaku, since I couldn't take a screencap for some reason.
Okay, how many people are there in Hollywood who can read japanese to some extent, or have been to Tokyo? I reckon there must be quite a bunch. How is it, then, that a sign for the Tokyo Metro station, something I can google a reference for in 5 seconds, displays a series of completely random Kanji (If you were to make a single word out of the the kanji above "Zatoichi Square" it would probably be pronounced Kourakukagessei, Meaning something like "Firy moon and stars of pleasant thinking"), making no fucking sense at all?
Sigh.
Have some scenic pictures of Japan I took recently.
Daibutsu (Great Buddha) statue in Kamakura.
( More under the cut )
More pics at Flickr. |
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| Wiki Band Meme |
[Mar. 21st, 2008|11:16 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  disappointed | ] |
Stoled from Boorman, who did it like, last year.
Wikipedia meme
1. Go to the Wikipedia home page and click "random article" (in the menu on the left). That is your band's name.
2. Click random article again; that is your album name.
3. Click random article 15 more times; those are the tracks on your album.
~~~
Add by boor: Alright to make this even more interesting, I decided to modify this meme and add a random album cover to go with it. Go to google image search and type in something like DSC0****.jpg. Replace the 4 digits after 0 with any number, like DSC00276.jpg or DSC01938.jpg.
BAND NAME:
Earl Cadogan
ALBUM NAME:
Yorba Linda Friends Church
COVER
01. Ammakandakara
02. Marnay, Vienne
03. Ablepharus pannonicus
04. Methuselah (bond)
05. List of state leaders in 778
06. Larkin Administration Building
07. F-2 (psychedelic)
08. Goodbye Charlie Bright
09. Harmonie State Park
10. Esther Walker
11. Leaves' Eyes
12. Megan
13. Education in Pittsburgh
14. New York Nationals
15. Basset
Meh... The album name and cover are awesome, but a lot of the track names suck ._. Too bad, the first two were awesome. |
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| So much to do, so little time. |
[Mar. 6th, 2008|11:53 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | work | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | accomplished | ] |
Today I went over sponsorship requests with my boss, which I'd handed in after accumulating over a pretty longish time...
I feel really bad about letting Sergio wait several months for his new sights (even though he does have some guts asking for new stuff though there's nothing wrong with his old equipment... How many bows do you really need set up?)
Anyways, I got through every single one I wanted, several olympic team members, two top class compounders, without too many questions asked. Even though I attribute a lot of it to my boss not giving these things much attention and not knowing many of the athletes' achievements too well, it feels great to be able to give people stuff. That's one of the things about my job I like the most. (Turning good people down is one of the hardest things)
Did I mention we moved our shop (again)? We're now in a location a bit closer to Shinjuku (although it barely takes 10 minutes to walk to the old building). It's interesting to be in a new environment, and there's lots of good places to eat around, much more than there were around Yoyogi. Although a lot of what I've tried so far is a bit more pricey than we used to have.
As a result of the unbelievable lack of space in the new office (who the hell decided we should move there?), we have lunch out every day now. A lot of the time I have lunch with my colleague Takeshi Shinmura, who does all the financial stuff for incoming/outgoing orders (and is thus my partner in crime for my daily work). He's a pretty quiet, but fun guy, who was one of the first people I met when I started out in the mother company office.
So far, we've tried out the local sushi place, a tonkatsu (deep fried pork) place, a table grill place, and had lunch in an izakaya (which would normally be where you go to drink.
I heard this week that the Shinjuku Sports Center will be open again very soon, so I want to go to practice after work again... The only problem being that there is really no place I can store my bow in our office!!! |
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[Mar. 2nd, 2008|12:15 am] |
So hey, I just got back from Vegas!
By "just" I mean Tuesday of course, but I've been kinda too busy to sit down and update.
The show was a pretty frantic blur since I had to man the booth by my lonesome... I actually sold stuff this year around (from Lancaster's stock), too, so I didn't want to leave my booth alone for too long.
I wonder how long the Riv will be there anymore... (Could've framed this better and it would've been an awesome picture)
This of course resulted in me not seeing anything (and I mean anything) of the shoot itself, even missed the shootoff while taking down the booth... A shame, since the one who took it (Dave Cousins) is a friendly acquaintance, and long time friend of my colleague Hiroshi Tanebe.
This guy... Looks so much like Dave Cousins (with a wig on) it's not even funny. Cracked me up.
The nights, however, were awesome. I didn't do much last year since I was in the company of my coworkers and completely new to the industry, but this time around I had plenty of people to hang out with and have cultivated conversation.
The first evening, I hung out with Erick Hall, who I first met on my first business trip ever at Nimes last year, Antoine Vialetay from France, Jay Lyon, and a couple of others. Had Italian at the surprisingly good restaurant in the Riv, and hung around the bar on the casino floor for a bit. At some point or other, we might even have had a few drinks (very low on alcohol, of course) at the Margaritaville, joined by the British contingent (who usually do quite a job at livening things up.)
I also had dinner with George and a few select friends at the French buffet in the Paris (The Paris). I watched a man slightly shorter than me down about 50 crab legs, thoroughly soaked in butter, while telling stories of sexual offenders and copkillers in Brooklyn. Did I mention he brought the butter warmer himself?
I came to Vegas as part of a big group of Japanese, in a tour organized by our local Archery magazine. I was rooming with Otsuka, one of Japan's best disabled archers, whom I'd met in Vegas last year around. Just to give you an idea, this guy is shooting with a mouth release, meaning he's holding the bow in his left hand, while pulling back the string with his teeth. And that's a 50 pound bow.
We got along really well, I was even able to help him out by interpreting when he was talking to Kevin Evans (last year's world champion in their division).
Vegas, city under construction... It's amazing how much it's changed in just a year. I couldn't believe the Stardust was gone.
And then I came back here, and had a huge pile of work waiting for me... Gotta love it.
Check out the rest of the pictures at my flickr account. |
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[Feb. 7th, 2008|12:12 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | accomplished | ] |
crap it's cold in my room. I wish I had floor heating... Of course one is reminded every day how much Tokyoites underestimate the cold, when the trains stopp because of a whole centimeter of snow accumulating. (It was gone in a day, btw)
Also, got a shot in the cartilage of my knee last weekend. Fun fun. (It worked towards making things better a lot though... Hope it's permanent)
Ah, I went to France and came back alive. I ate at McDonald's 4 out of 5 meals while there. No foie gras for me, thank you.
2 weeks til Vegas! |
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[Jan. 19th, 2008|10:39 pm] |
Today I made my first ever trip to a japanese doctor's office! I'd been holding off since I didn't really have anything serious, and was afraid of how much I'd have to pay for the treatment.
Lately, my knee has been acting up though... Everytime I stretch my leg after bending it for more than about 90 degrees, I feel something get stuck between the bones, and then pop out as I get closer to stretching the leg completely. Needless to say, this started to get a little painful somewhere along the way as well. Apparently some folds of tissue inside my knee are inflamed and getting in the way, or something. Was kinda hard to grasp. Got some stick-on patches, a supporter and anti-inflammatory painkillers for now, let's hope that takes care of it. Sounds eerily like what my sister had to deal with when she was still doing her musical training. I looked around on the web, and it sounds like something athletes get from repetitive impact. Which is pretty far from applying to me ;)
Ah well. It's not too painful, so I'm hoping it'll resolve itself, preferably soon, since I'm flying to France for the Nimes European Indoor on Thursday..
Apart from that, nothing much in the way of news. Had a pretty exhausting week, and no doubt the next one won't be any better... But that's all good since work is fun. |
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