- Never Stop Dreaming -
Damn...the car that I wanted was sold like 2 weeks ago and the net was not updated...and I had to walk 8km from my school to my home, in freezing cold drizzle and poor visibility due to the fog in the mountains. 8km...that's like road march back in amy days and I swear I really dread those days. Can't imagine that I am actually doing it again all thanks to my bad crashed that left my baby dead. Yep I do have a bicycle with my which the really nice lady next door lent it to me in the morning but the road home was 95% uphill so there was ABSOLUTELY no way I can paddle that poor bicycle...now I am pretty screwed as to what commute I had to settle for now...walking uphill with a bicycle is not quite an option I would take...
I hope I can tide through this rough patch now...God Bless
Monday, September 10, 2007
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Self Diagnostics, Asthetics and Grocery Store
- Never Stop Dreaming -
After yesterday's bump, I can conclude that my self access diagnostics results are, neck ache and bruises. Nothing too serious like whiplash related injuries eventhough I do have a problem moving my head as my neck ad nape muscles are pretty much aching when I tilt my head up, down, left and right. Literally, this means that I have to move my entire upper torso to turn instead of the usual head movement that we all take for granted. Not that I can't turn my head at all but instead of the usual full turn, I can managed like a 30 degree turn before the muscles start screaming out loud. And I have a couple of bruises beneath those nasty grazes on my right knee, shin and inside tendons of my foot, other than those mentioned, I am pretty much alrite.
However, I got news that my little white scooter will spent a week getting repaired and the costs are pretty high so I have decided to put that little baby to rest instead. Will probably get a car which will take about 3 weeks and coming RIGHT OUTTA MY FIRST PAYCHECK! Damn...that's really sucky. So might just be living off some cheap food and no booze for next month.
As usual, I am a sucker for superfacial asthetics rather than practical skin deep reality so I will once again settle for a decent looking car over any 4 wheeled transportation. This time round I have set my eyes on a little 660cc Kei-Car, 5 speed manual turbo-charged little baby...Suzuki Alto Works RS/R. Hopefully I can get it...which will take a whooping SGD$1881 outta my first paycheck at the expense of my aching heart but with a huge amount of satisfaction.
Yep I have covered the first two, Self Diagnostics and Asthetics but what have that gotta do with Grocery Store? Alrite...let me fill you in, there are 2 supermarket within my little neighbourhood. Seiyu and the other one which I can't remember the name but let's just called it BEAR since the icon of the store is a bear. Well in comparision, the BEAR store is purely a food store with very little other stuffs while Seiyu have practically everything...the only difference is that somethings are priced a little differently and that's about it for things.
Here's the HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 2 STORE...It's just that there is this rather cute girl who works at the BEAR store who constantly check me out from the first time I went there. Yep she's really sweet...not the typical super KAWAII type but just a simply laid back rural girl. Haha...I do admit I like her smile and our little acquaintances are no more than an exchange of smiles each time I visit the grocery store. Being rather sensitive to situations around me, the second time I saw her, I swear to GOD she was wearing make up and her hair was neatly tied, which is obviously different from our first "meeting". Say let me rewind back a little, the 1st time she saw me, her occasional glances were obvious and even when I was OUTSIDE the store leaving on my bike, her glances were still obvious. And that I have inconsistent frequency to stock up my supplies so I do not really have a fixed schedule to visit the store...but each time I am there, I just can't resist going to her counter and catching her smile while I pay up...haha cheap thrills yeah...but let's just say that a smile like her's to brighten up my day is priceless, less the groceries that I bought, it's still very much worth it.
Okay don't jump to conclusions now as I do have to remind you that I am definitely keeping my choices OPEN.
Enjoy the remaining bits of your Sunday now and remember, I will enjoy your Monday Blues for you as I am LOVING every second of it here in JAPAN.
After yesterday's bump, I can conclude that my self access diagnostics results are, neck ache and bruises. Nothing too serious like whiplash related injuries eventhough I do have a problem moving my head as my neck ad nape muscles are pretty much aching when I tilt my head up, down, left and right. Literally, this means that I have to move my entire upper torso to turn instead of the usual head movement that we all take for granted. Not that I can't turn my head at all but instead of the usual full turn, I can managed like a 30 degree turn before the muscles start screaming out loud. And I have a couple of bruises beneath those nasty grazes on my right knee, shin and inside tendons of my foot, other than those mentioned, I am pretty much alrite.
However, I got news that my little white scooter will spent a week getting repaired and the costs are pretty high so I have decided to put that little baby to rest instead. Will probably get a car which will take about 3 weeks and coming RIGHT OUTTA MY FIRST PAYCHECK! Damn...that's really sucky. So might just be living off some cheap food and no booze for next month.
As usual, I am a sucker for superfacial asthetics rather than practical skin deep reality so I will once again settle for a decent looking car over any 4 wheeled transportation. This time round I have set my eyes on a little 660cc Kei-Car, 5 speed manual turbo-charged little baby...Suzuki Alto Works RS/R. Hopefully I can get it...which will take a whooping SGD$1881 outta my first paycheck at the expense of my aching heart but with a huge amount of satisfaction.
Yep I have covered the first two, Self Diagnostics and Asthetics but what have that gotta do with Grocery Store? Alrite...let me fill you in, there are 2 supermarket within my little neighbourhood. Seiyu and the other one which I can't remember the name but let's just called it BEAR since the icon of the store is a bear. Well in comparision, the BEAR store is purely a food store with very little other stuffs while Seiyu have practically everything...the only difference is that somethings are priced a little differently and that's about it for things.
Here's the HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 2 STORE...It's just that there is this rather cute girl who works at the BEAR store who constantly check me out from the first time I went there. Yep she's really sweet...not the typical super KAWAII type but just a simply laid back rural girl. Haha...I do admit I like her smile and our little acquaintances are no more than an exchange of smiles each time I visit the grocery store. Being rather sensitive to situations around me, the second time I saw her, I swear to GOD she was wearing make up and her hair was neatly tied, which is obviously different from our first "meeting". Say let me rewind back a little, the 1st time she saw me, her occasional glances were obvious and even when I was OUTSIDE the store leaving on my bike, her glances were still obvious. And that I have inconsistent frequency to stock up my supplies so I do not really have a fixed schedule to visit the store...but each time I am there, I just can't resist going to her counter and catching her smile while I pay up...haha cheap thrills yeah...but let's just say that a smile like her's to brighten up my day is priceless, less the groceries that I bought, it's still very much worth it.
Okay don't jump to conclusions now as I do have to remind you that I am definitely keeping my choices OPEN.
Enjoy the remaining bits of your Sunday now and remember, I will enjoy your Monday Blues for you as I am LOVING every second of it here in JAPAN.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Minor grazes and cuts...what a joke
- Never Stop Dreaming -
Alrite I am still considering if I should publish this but what the hell...ok so a while ago, around 1 pm, I was dressed and pretty much ready to hit the road to go out...then as I was cruising down a little downhill winding path, I hit a car, toppled over the side and rolled on my back. And my immediate reaction was...hahahaha what a joke. Busted the little white scooter and now I have no transport...
Not to worry too much though..I am alrite with just some light grazes and cuts on my right ankle, knees and shoulder blade. Might have a bruise or so here and there but nothing big actually. I was only doing 30km. The car had a little dent number plate and slight dent in the inner frame and that's about it...but my poor little bike took a big toll on the front but it will survive.
Well the passenger of the car roped in the cops and the cops roped in my boss and the school vice principal...big big issue that rolled outta a small collision. I thought all hell's gonna break lose but hey it ain't so bad...and now, I am still gloating over the entire matter which the other party, the cops and my pal, Grant basically sat there waiting for my boss and the vice principal to come which of course they did in like 1.5 hours later...there goes my precious sat and my sunday plans are pretty much screwed.
Damn...what was I thinking when I was going down that winding road...yeah it's was a perfect blind spot and I fell for the speed trap, doing only 30. And yeah the road was pretty narrow with 2 cars barely scraping each other if they pass by so I was riding in the middle of the road as no one would have rode on the sides. It was pretty much my fault basically as I should have been a little more conservative in my miscalculation of the situation. Guessed I am pretty much busted up now to ponder over my silly antics.
Lesson learnt...even with years of racing history, bike is JUST not my cup of tea...but then again, if I had a car, it'd have been much worse...and that my little tumble and rolled off the bike, was not done professionally. And I'd guessed that if I had actually kept my body conditioned and fit, I would have suffered less. Yeah yeah yeah, I do nothing but slack and rot, then eat and party...Bad lifestyle...but I am just plain lazy.
So nothing too much to worry as I really take this little bump as a big joke which on next week, would have huge publicity all over my school. Now I don't really like unglamourous stints to spread...I have a reputation at stake if you know what I mean...
Haha
Alrite I am still considering if I should publish this but what the hell...ok so a while ago, around 1 pm, I was dressed and pretty much ready to hit the road to go out...then as I was cruising down a little downhill winding path, I hit a car, toppled over the side and rolled on my back. And my immediate reaction was...hahahaha what a joke. Busted the little white scooter and now I have no transport...
Not to worry too much though..I am alrite with just some light grazes and cuts on my right ankle, knees and shoulder blade. Might have a bruise or so here and there but nothing big actually. I was only doing 30km. The car had a little dent number plate and slight dent in the inner frame and that's about it...but my poor little bike took a big toll on the front but it will survive.
Well the passenger of the car roped in the cops and the cops roped in my boss and the school vice principal...big big issue that rolled outta a small collision. I thought all hell's gonna break lose but hey it ain't so bad...and now, I am still gloating over the entire matter which the other party, the cops and my pal, Grant basically sat there waiting for my boss and the vice principal to come which of course they did in like 1.5 hours later...there goes my precious sat and my sunday plans are pretty much screwed.
Damn...what was I thinking when I was going down that winding road...yeah it's was a perfect blind spot and I fell for the speed trap, doing only 30. And yeah the road was pretty narrow with 2 cars barely scraping each other if they pass by so I was riding in the middle of the road as no one would have rode on the sides. It was pretty much my fault basically as I should have been a little more conservative in my miscalculation of the situation. Guessed I am pretty much busted up now to ponder over my silly antics.
Lesson learnt...even with years of racing history, bike is JUST not my cup of tea...but then again, if I had a car, it'd have been much worse...and that my little tumble and rolled off the bike, was not done professionally. And I'd guessed that if I had actually kept my body conditioned and fit, I would have suffered less. Yeah yeah yeah, I do nothing but slack and rot, then eat and party...Bad lifestyle...but I am just plain lazy.
So nothing too much to worry as I really take this little bump as a big joke which on next week, would have huge publicity all over my school. Now I don't really like unglamourous stints to spread...I have a reputation at stake if you know what I mean...
Haha
Friday, September 7, 2007
Ryuk and Yagami are now in my possession...
- Never Stop Dreaming -
Alrite...just received the drop...the package is now in my possession. Well I am still taking orders while stock lasts...so here are some pics to wet your appetite...
So when the next drop is complete which ETA should be by early next month, I'd post the pics and then send them to SG...
Alrite...just received the drop...the package is now in my possession. Well I am still taking orders while stock lasts...so here are some pics to wet your appetite...
So when the next drop is complete which ETA should be by early next month, I'd post the pics and then send them to SG...
Death Note Nendoroid Updates...
- Never Stop Dreaming -
Alrite here`s the updates...bad news bad news and more bad news...haha. Apparently these SUPER adorable figure affectionately named as NENDOROIDS are so sought after that it`s almost impossible to get the 1st of the 2 figures, Yagami Light and Ryuk. Since almost all shops in Japan are outta of stock and these figures are produced in limited quantity making them EXTREMELY valuable and thus, the status Limited Edition.
Even the soon to be released (End of Sept) Misa and L figure are almost all snapped up on Pre-Order Lists and Reservation Lists so most shops have closed their respective lists. But all is not lost since I am a great toy collector, I did managed to secure a set of Yagami Light and Ryuk for myself and have successfully placed myself on a Pre-Order List in some shop.
So if there is anyone else who wants the figures, I can source for it and the price for it to reach my home in Japan is SGD$91 for Yagami Light and Ryuk together. And I will then ship it to Singapore to your address directly but I will advise you on the shipping rate accordingly from Japan to Singapore...
Since Lawrence my dear brother is the first person who actually tells me he wants them, I will give him priority...so no gurantee and no promises that I might be able to get the figures...that is of course if my dear brother Lawrence decides to give them up, and I can`t get anymore, I will then have to offer his set.
Otherwise, Lawrence`s definitely secured himself a set of Yagami Light and Ryuk...
And there are some rumours that a fifth figure, REM the Shinigami might be surfacing sometime later...so don`t say I didn`t tell u...
Alrite here`s the updates...bad news bad news and more bad news...haha. Apparently these SUPER adorable figure affectionately named as NENDOROIDS are so sought after that it`s almost impossible to get the 1st of the 2 figures, Yagami Light and Ryuk. Since almost all shops in Japan are outta of stock and these figures are produced in limited quantity making them EXTREMELY valuable and thus, the status Limited Edition.
Even the soon to be released (End of Sept) Misa and L figure are almost all snapped up on Pre-Order Lists and Reservation Lists so most shops have closed their respective lists. But all is not lost since I am a great toy collector, I did managed to secure a set of Yagami Light and Ryuk for myself and have successfully placed myself on a Pre-Order List in some shop.
So if there is anyone else who wants the figures, I can source for it and the price for it to reach my home in Japan is SGD$91 for Yagami Light and Ryuk together. And I will then ship it to Singapore to your address directly but I will advise you on the shipping rate accordingly from Japan to Singapore...
Since Lawrence my dear brother is the first person who actually tells me he wants them, I will give him priority...so no gurantee and no promises that I might be able to get the figures...that is of course if my dear brother Lawrence decides to give them up, and I can`t get anymore, I will then have to offer his set.
Otherwise, Lawrence`s definitely secured himself a set of Yagami Light and Ryuk...
And there are some rumours that a fifth figure, REM the Shinigami might be surfacing sometime later...so don`t say I didn`t tell u...
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Differences in Japan...
- Never Stop Dreaming -
Well the latest updates from Monday this week...Typhoon No. 9 will hit Japan soon with Tokyo probably getting strong winds and heavy rain. The place I am in, is in Nagano Prefecture and are surrounded by mountains and ridges which means that I would not be affected too much by it except for cool and long rainy days with occasional chilly winds which are probably bearable. So don't need to worry too much about me...the nature here's with me. But as of now, I am stuck indoors in my little shed with the internet being my only means of linkage to anything outside. The winds are howling and the rain beating against the glass sliding door. I have definitely got to get a car as the little scooter that I have will not get me anywhere in this weather which of course, the car will come straight outta my own pocket. Well even if I do get rain gear for cruising around in my bike, that stuff would probably not do much in winter which is like a couple of months away so getting the car is THE only option...besides, you guys would probably come crash at my place which no other public transport will take you to and then the car will do all of us good.
Schools have been pretty fun and mostly positive comments from my peers and seniors to my Boss, Nagisa San, which of course is a really good start for my otherwise new career here as an English Teacher. And learning that the JET programme, which is presumably the BEST to secure an English teaching position here that pays like ¥3,000,000. WRONG! Let me tell you...yes it's no doubt that the JET programme is screen by local Japanese Embassy and the screening criteria to select the right candidate is pretty stringent BUT...well all the JET do is just put you up in Japan and set you up with a bank account and pays you. Tha's it! They will tell you to go to places to get your applications and visas done but you have to go there yourself, go figure...there's ABSOLUTELY no one to help you and you CAN'T get a car or any transport in the first year (Correct me if I am wrong)...meaning that you have to slog your sorry ass around on public transport.
And well at least for me, getting hired by a private English school, though the pay is slightly less than the JET programme, I get proper hospitality, my Boss takes me around, sometimes treating me dinner, show me around places, go with me to schools on the first day, talks to everyone to make sure I am well taken care of, sets me up with a bike and helmet and insurance, pays my a little sum each month for my fuel, sets up my internet, aircon, heater, so to sum it up, my well being is pretty much taken consideration and I do get a hell lots of essential hospitality to make my stay in Japan a memorable one.
And trash here is a bit of getting used to...you simply can't dump everything into a plastic bag and chute them like in HDBs. Trash IS TO BE SORTED out into burnable, non-burnable, cans, recycled plastics, glass, pet bottles, etc and there are SPECIFIC dates issued by local cities for SPECIFIC trash collection. So that means that I have a FULL 1 year calander JUST for trash collection. And you can't use any other plastic bags to bag your trash...you have to BUY SPECIFIC trash bags only just to bag your trash and THROW them away...yes it's pretty insane to buy trash bag and throw them away and I am still getting used to it with bags of trash in my kitchen...Of course there are ways to get around it like disposing them into specific trash cans in 7 Elevens or supermarkets...just dun do it too often or if you must, dun become a public enemy to the local community...
Alrite...now it's back to CSI which I so happen to find and excellent site online that streams it.
Well the latest updates from Monday this week...Typhoon No. 9 will hit Japan soon with Tokyo probably getting strong winds and heavy rain. The place I am in, is in Nagano Prefecture and are surrounded by mountains and ridges which means that I would not be affected too much by it except for cool and long rainy days with occasional chilly winds which are probably bearable. So don't need to worry too much about me...the nature here's with me. But as of now, I am stuck indoors in my little shed with the internet being my only means of linkage to anything outside. The winds are howling and the rain beating against the glass sliding door. I have definitely got to get a car as the little scooter that I have will not get me anywhere in this weather which of course, the car will come straight outta my own pocket. Well even if I do get rain gear for cruising around in my bike, that stuff would probably not do much in winter which is like a couple of months away so getting the car is THE only option...besides, you guys would probably come crash at my place which no other public transport will take you to and then the car will do all of us good.
Schools have been pretty fun and mostly positive comments from my peers and seniors to my Boss, Nagisa San, which of course is a really good start for my otherwise new career here as an English Teacher. And learning that the JET programme, which is presumably the BEST to secure an English teaching position here that pays like ¥3,000,000. WRONG! Let me tell you...yes it's no doubt that the JET programme is screen by local Japanese Embassy and the screening criteria to select the right candidate is pretty stringent BUT...well all the JET do is just put you up in Japan and set you up with a bank account and pays you. Tha's it! They will tell you to go to places to get your applications and visas done but you have to go there yourself, go figure...there's ABSOLUTELY no one to help you and you CAN'T get a car or any transport in the first year (Correct me if I am wrong)...meaning that you have to slog your sorry ass around on public transport.
And well at least for me, getting hired by a private English school, though the pay is slightly less than the JET programme, I get proper hospitality, my Boss takes me around, sometimes treating me dinner, show me around places, go with me to schools on the first day, talks to everyone to make sure I am well taken care of, sets me up with a bike and helmet and insurance, pays my a little sum each month for my fuel, sets up my internet, aircon, heater, so to sum it up, my well being is pretty much taken consideration and I do get a hell lots of essential hospitality to make my stay in Japan a memorable one.
And trash here is a bit of getting used to...you simply can't dump everything into a plastic bag and chute them like in HDBs. Trash IS TO BE SORTED out into burnable, non-burnable, cans, recycled plastics, glass, pet bottles, etc and there are SPECIFIC dates issued by local cities for SPECIFIC trash collection. So that means that I have a FULL 1 year calander JUST for trash collection. And you can't use any other plastic bags to bag your trash...you have to BUY SPECIFIC trash bags only just to bag your trash and THROW them away...yes it's pretty insane to buy trash bag and throw them away and I am still getting used to it with bags of trash in my kitchen...Of course there are ways to get around it like disposing them into specific trash cans in 7 Elevens or supermarkets...just dun do it too often or if you must, dun become a public enemy to the local community...
Alrite...now it's back to CSI which I so happen to find and excellent site online that streams it.
Monday, September 3, 2007
8th Touch-Meeting Harley Davidson Event at Parada, Saku (25 August 2007)
- Never Stop Dreaming -
Alrite here's a summary of the event. It all started in Friday 24th August 2007, Grant and I rode our little farm terrorizing scooters to Saku to visit Eric and hope that he had some plans for the nite...well it was a wasted trip guzzling up almost 1/3 of my fuel. So in the end, there was no plans from Eric's side and we can't possibly go anywhere as Eric's mode of transport was his trusted Gary Fisher bicycle which of course, was unbelievably fast when ridden by Eric...SICK!
And so Grant and me rode back to our deserted town which was believed to have ZERO night life and we thought our Friday nite would be wasted stoning in our little farm shed...along the way, we kinda stopped in a quiet alley deciding what to do when there is this little pub glimmering at the corner of our eyes. In we went and so the story begins...
We begin our beers at the counter completely ignoring the rest of the other Japanese in there...and after like around 15 minutes, one of the really cool chap couldn't resist asking us where we were from as the Japanese lookalike me was talking ENGLISH to Grant, possibly the only white man in the place. We chatted with me being the amatuer translator of course...haha and there this cool chap, KENICHI promptly invited us to the event. An instant agreement was striked between Grant and me...and the rest...haha PICTURES of the event the next day of course...haha
In we come to Parada, ushered by the members of the TOUCH event which Kenichi was presumably the lead organiser. It's the 8th event to date.
Here is little Kenichi in the middle..
Kenichi talking to the fellow Harley riders
SUPER cool Kenichi San
And here is this really sweet lady who works at the little pub near my place which of course was one of the event promoters...she's HOT!
The rest of the Touch family...
Grant the man with the Green limited edition ARTICLE LION T-shirt courtesy of Kuroshishi and Samurai restaurants with the 2 event promoters...
And so the hordes of roaring Twin V engines poured in...
With hot lady bikers too...
And then came a vintage American classic...
With a bad ass driver and his family, endorsed by American, Grant!
Even the pets came with FULL gear...
And this little fella came out of the tents to catch the party...
And so here are the bikes starting off with a Kid's quad...
Of course not to leave out our SWEET little farm terrors...at the end of the Harleys..haha
At it's peak with around 1200 bikes gathered for the event from all over Japan which part of the reason this year was to help the Niigata quake victims.
Lastly SweEeEeeeeeeeT Harleys' girls (Yes these hot girls ride BIG, FAT and LOUD Harleys...!) proudly posing for me...haha
![]()
For more future Touch Events and other Touch related information, pls visit Touch-Meeting Official Web Page.
Alrite here's a summary of the event. It all started in Friday 24th August 2007, Grant and I rode our little farm terrorizing scooters to Saku to visit Eric and hope that he had some plans for the nite...well it was a wasted trip guzzling up almost 1/3 of my fuel. So in the end, there was no plans from Eric's side and we can't possibly go anywhere as Eric's mode of transport was his trusted Gary Fisher bicycle which of course, was unbelievably fast when ridden by Eric...SICK!
And so Grant and me rode back to our deserted town which was believed to have ZERO night life and we thought our Friday nite would be wasted stoning in our little farm shed...along the way, we kinda stopped in a quiet alley deciding what to do when there is this little pub glimmering at the corner of our eyes. In we went and so the story begins...
We begin our beers at the counter completely ignoring the rest of the other Japanese in there...and after like around 15 minutes, one of the really cool chap couldn't resist asking us where we were from as the Japanese lookalike me was talking ENGLISH to Grant, possibly the only white man in the place. We chatted with me being the amatuer translator of course...haha and there this cool chap, KENICHI promptly invited us to the event. An instant agreement was striked between Grant and me...and the rest...haha PICTURES of the event the next day of course...haha
In we come to Parada, ushered by the members of the TOUCH event which Kenichi was presumably the lead organiser. It's the 8th event to date.
Here is little Kenichi in the middle..
Kenichi talking to the fellow Harley riders
SUPER cool Kenichi San
And here is this really sweet lady who works at the little pub near my place which of course was one of the event promoters...she's HOT!
The rest of the Touch family...
Grant the man with the Green limited edition ARTICLE LION T-shirt courtesy of Kuroshishi and Samurai restaurants with the 2 event promoters...
And so the hordes of roaring Twin V engines poured in...
With hot lady bikers too...
And then came a vintage American classic...
With a bad ass driver and his family, endorsed by American, Grant!
Even the pets came with FULL gear...
And this little fella came out of the tents to catch the party...
And so here are the bikes starting off with a Kid's quad...
Of course not to leave out our SWEET little farm terrors...at the end of the Harleys..haha
At it's peak with around 1200 bikes gathered for the event from all over Japan which part of the reason this year was to help the Niigata quake victims.
Lastly SweEeEeeeeeeeT Harleys' girls (Yes these hot girls ride BIG, FAT and LOUD Harleys...!) proudly posing for me...haha
For more future Touch Events and other Touch related information, pls visit Touch-Meeting Official Web Page.
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