CONTEST TIME!!!

UPDATE-- Some people have mentioned they don't have Photoshop™, so I recommend Gimp. It is a free program that is very similar to Photoshop™. So far though, of the two official entries that I have had, neither has been done in Photoshop™ as far as I can tell. One was done with MSPaint©.



What with my body in recovery mode every weekend because of lacrosse, I don't get out much. So to fill in the gaps of my bloggery, I am having a contest! I have been posting profile pictures of me on some "social" websites and each had a holiday theme. I can't think of anything since the only big holidays that I can think of are Mother's Day and my mom's birthday. Winner will receive a very Japanese gift of my choosing. It hasn't been bought yet since I will try to cater to the winners needs and personality. I will provide the picture below along with some examples of past photoshop jobs. (If you really want to win, just enter, I can't imagine more than one or two even trying this!)


Picture to be used-



Some examples-

Shibuya

Some of the sights and sounds of Japan...


This is the intersection in Shibuya that is in a lot of movies. The voice in the background is from the Japanese version of skinheads who hate having us foreigners in their country. They drive around the tourist spots in big black vans blaring "patriotic" music with big Japanese flags flowing behind.





Some kind of dance contest I think.



A few of my students.

Japan is good for somethings, but basic TV is not one of them for the most part. No Russian women walking around selling bras and panties (because Korean women are to shy/good for that) or horrible boy bands singing about lemonade like in Korea. But we do get this...



It is for a construction firm selling condos.

Ow ow ow ow ow!!

After a normal week (I did join a gym!) I had some nice overpriced Pizza Hut And went to play lacrosse. I am incredibly out of shape (you'd think an hour at the gym would have cured that) and haven't played in awhile so it was ugly and painful. They are really into conditioning and after practicing for 3.5 hours it was time to workout. It killed me and I only lasted 2 out of the 5 circuits. They are a lot better than I thought, but after a month I should get up to speed with them.

Went to Shibuya after to maybe buy some lacrosse gear but it was too expensive. :(

Here is a video of the intersection at Shibuya (the one that is in lots of movies).

Hmmmm...it isn't working, so just ignore the fact that there isn't a video and "oo" and "ahh" and what you think you should have seen.



My place is a sty at the moment due to internet wires everywhere and me not being a good cleaner, but as soon as I get motivated I will get some pictures up.

Also, my bike has a flat tire already :(

50

Not a lot has been happening of late. I teach, go home, watch a movie, fall asleep. The previous weekend I headed to Harajuku in Tokyo where weird people were supposed to be. I guess it is mostly for tourists, so there are a lot of goth kids posing for pictures. I would have taken some, but it seemed to fake. Some white goth kids where there and people started taking their picture, they got a little too into it. Just off from the gothers were the swingers/greasers. They looked straight out of the '50s with their leaver jackets, leather pants and greased hair. They all stood in separate circles doing the twist.


I am finally settled into my apartment, will have to get some pictures up soon. For the time being you can get a look at what I see on my way to work everyday. These are just from work to home...a five minute walk. The bottom picture is of a beer vending machine just round the corner from my apartment.


I also bought a "new" bike. Here is my new steed and its trainer.

51 to go!

I am now in the process of completing my first week of actual work. It was easier than I thought it would be, even with the 4 year olds (luckily I only have them once). They all see to like me, but maybe they are just in the honeymoon phase.

I moved into my apartment last Saturday to find it bigger than I thought it would be. A few of the doors are a bit short (180cms to my 190cms) and have left a few lumps on my head and a few choice words lighter from my word bank. My bathroom was built for a hobbit and therefore requires me to leave the door open if I want to do any serious business. It also has another problem, Sociology Sarah would know what I am talking about (if she was 50cm taller).

I work at 2 schools, both fairly close to my apartment. One is a 5 minute walk away, the other is just 2 train stops away. At the nearby school they provide me with a computer (a MacMini!!) where I have a chance to get online. I am supposed to get Internet at the apartment (100mb/s) but it will take 2 more weeks. I wasnt a huge fan of Korea, but their `bali bali` (quickly quickly) attitude was nice when you need things like internet, cable, and proper visas. The school gave me a flat screen TV but since I dont (cant find the apostrophe on this keyboard) have cable there is nothing for me to watch.

This weekend, weather permitting, I will go out a bit more and try and take some pictures and buy some stuff to prove that I am in the land of crowded-assed train/subway.

Oh, the students... I have a 70 year range between students. One is a former model (trying to get pictures to prove it) and one is an up-and-coming TV director. Most are housewives and kids but all are pretty fun...except the ADHD kids. One is in love with Avril Lavigne and we spend the class reading an AV comic book.

Speaking of AV (the other kind)... it is everywhere! Even the secondhand stores sell second hand porn. Go to the toy shops and you see little naked Anime statues. On TV you get a little boy who takes his pants of randomly showing all his goods (or bads)

Slow

It has been a slow week. All I did was ride trains and watch someone else teach thw classes I will be taking over. I have some really young students (four years old) and some fairly old students (74). The four year olds are better English speakers than the 74 year olds, but at least the older ones stay in their seats and don't pick their noses as much.

I move into my own apartment today. It probably won't have internet for awhile so who knows how often I will update (not that it is often now). I will be within walking distance of the school, which is much better than the daily 2 hour round trip commute I was doing.

The previous post was about when I drove from California to Texas in 2000.

There are pictures of a temple I went to a week or so ago in the "pictures" section. I will add more if I find anything interesting to snap.

I am supposed to go out tonight, maybe sake will create a nice/interesting situation to write about!