busy busy busy

I know busy is not an excuse but the truth is I have really been busy for the past few weeks. Firstly, I have to write technical manuals in Japanese, projects are abit behind and friends are coming back from USA. As per usual, my time is spent on learning Japanese except that my weekends are more fufilling. Last weekend night was spent outside. I managed however to catch the first train back home just in time to change and make it for my first part time job, conversation school teacher. Class size is about 4-6 people and ranged from different levels. In a way it is good for me to practise teaching which I realised requires alot of skill. Going back to Singapore on the 25Dec and will be there till 11 of Jan. Time to catch up with my friends in Singapore. Until then, I will have to clear as much work as possible so that I could enjoy myself in Singapore. Wish me luck and see you guys soon.

nostalgic

It has been a long time since I have been able to sleep till anytime I feel like, wake up and do whatever I want. Today is such a day. I was supposed to go out but changed my mind. Instead, I stayed at home and listen to Chinese pop songs and study Japanese. Listening to the songs that used to be popular few years ago, bring back thoughts of what I was doing during that time. I remember my university days where I will study in the weekdays, watch tv at night and go out with Lucian and Louanne in the weekends to do groceries or just to relax. Felt like I really came a long way and 4 years pass by so fast.

another week passed

This week is the same as other weeks before with few happenings. On friday, I went with my company to an embedded systems exhibition in Yokohama. It's a pretty nice place with many interesting building designs and the Yokohama landmark tower is there also. At the exhibition, just paticipated in a survey and got myself a thermal cup. Well, I take it that I used my travelling money to buy the cup. On Saturday which is yesterday, I had a gathering/drinking/eating party with people from my company. The gathering this time beats the one before as I could understand more of what other people are talking about and I have more new friends around. Also, we get to meet trainees from few semesters before us and they are working in other companies now. Their faces surfaced on the company website and this is like the first time I actually met them face to face. Quite an interesting experience. After drinking alot and eating alot, today was spend at home trying to clear the stomachache which I had from since I woke up till now. I am also trying to warm myself up in this cold weather and trying to attain better scores in a game i'm playing. Tomorrow is another day of work, I'm just glad that wednesday is a holiday which makes the week shorter.

Sorry guys for not updating my blog for a long time. I have been very busy trying to catch up with my projects and whatever free time I have left is spent on animation, japanese drama and studying Japanese. I did not step out of the house during weekends as well except for grocery trips. I had the sudden urge to start to cook Japanese dishes. I started with miso soup and some tsukemono( which wasn't good) and will be trying to cook nikujaga tomorrow. I am also making plans to go back to Singapore during the winter. Will post it in the blog when I'm confirmed with my plans.

back to normal..not really

ブログ始まる時から、英語と日本語と中国語のバー ジョン書けば良かったと思ったんだけど、時間がないし、自信も持 てないから、全然してない。日本語の勉強 が始まるばかりから、間違い所がいっぱいから、誰にも笑わせたくない。でも、最近突然気が付いた、間違い事は勉強中絶対出会った事だ。そして、間違いない なら、新しい事は学ばれない。だから、自分で決める事は今から日本語でブログを書く事だ。今まで私にとって、日本語はそんな本気に勉強しではない。興味だ けだ。これは日本語上手になるの第一歩だ。誰がブログを見たら、間違う所を直してくれない？

まじめ事以外、僕の生活は少し慣れた。友達会 うのが少なくなったんだけど、研修の仕事が増えてるから、そんなに暇ではない。いま一番気になるのはお金だ。 もっとセーブしなきゃいかない。そして、バイトも探してる。今もう晩いから、そろそろ寝る。今度は色んな面白い事を教えてあげるよ。また来てください！

How to say, after James left for Osaka, I am back to my normal life here in Tokyo. Everday going to work and coming back home to learn Japanese, ocassionally hang out with friends. With the start of the new phase of training, the hours that I have to go to work also changed. Instead of mornings for Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I get mornings for Tuesdays and Thursdays which means I get more days of not having to wake up in the early mornings. Also, this phase of training that I choose is at a different environment, about 5 mins walk from the previous location. Also, one of my closer friends which I go to work with everyday is in a different program from me. Therefore, it feels to me like I have been to a totally new place. Lecture is in Japanese, friends around are all Japanese( or have Japanese blood in them) and I don't get to speak English much at all during work. I guess the environment is good if you are learning the language but it is also pretty stressing. Things are going okay now but there is still alot to come. Wish me luck. During the past days, I have been with James to many places including Odaiba, Asakusa(again) and Disneyland(again). Many stories to tell even if I went to some of the places more than once.

busy

Sorry for the lack of update. My friend just came to visit me from singapore and he is staying at my place. My current training phase is just over and I am going into another new one. Been to many places within this week and came home late and tired. Will fill you guys in maybe later during this week. sorry for the wait.

new friends.

How I met my new friend goes a long way back to taking a flight back to singapore from the usa. As the transit country of the flight is Japan, there are many Japanese taking the same flight back from the U.S.A. As me and my father were boarding the flight, I chatted up with the Japanese woman and told her that I am going to Japan to work. After that, we exchanged contacts and said that we will meet in Japan. From the time from I reach Japan till this week, we had never been able to meet up. This weekend is the first time when I actually met up with her and had a nice chat. She is a Japanese woman about 60 years of age with an adopted son who is a dj of a radio station. Also for those of you who know, he is also the voice over for one of the parts of "Iron Chef" show, which is pretty interesting. So it has been interesting. My friend from Singapore, James, visted me and I am bringing him around Japan. So it will be a busy week for me. heee

white hair

Yesterday pulled out the 2nd white hair I had for about 5 years. I'm not sure if I had more or not and I'm not sure if it is a good sign or not but I'll still continue to take care of my hair and health. Maybe I'm not studying hard enough. hee.

End of phase update

As the beginning phase of my training is about to come to an end, a comprehensive exam is coming up also. Thought that I should give an update about my own targets and goals and which I had met or not.

Japanese: Aimed to reach level 2 by end of this year. At the rate it goes seems like I might not be able to make it. Chinese characters i'm at about 300 words still and I need to reach about 1000. Grammer still less than halfway through, still far on vocabulary words. I will need to work double on it.

Money: Not earning althought trying to control my spending. Spending alot more every weekend due to hanging out with friends which I think is alright. Going to get a job when I get my visa so this will have to wait.

Friends: I think I am pretty satisfied with the amount as I have almost no time for anything else during weekends. Will want to make more only Japanese speaking friends then I will be forced to speak only Japanese to them.

Life: life is pretty settled now that I have bought most of the things i need. There are still many other things I want but those will have to wait till I earn enough money.

In general, the next steps are: Get my visa--> get a parttime job --> get the things i want-->happy.
At the same time study Japanese.

Autumn

With the coming of autumn, the weather becomes colder and the heater is turned on in many buildings and offices. I'm still like in the summer wearing short sleeves to work and all only to realise that I am the only one. Everyone around me were like in long sleeves. Not that I wasn't cold but I wasn't that cold to need to wear long sleeves. I guess I had built up a defense mechanism for cold somehow during my four years in USA. For those who had been talking with me knows my "One with the weather" technique. Haven't had the need to use it yet but I got to start wearing long sleeves soon or else I will stand out too much in the crowd or freeze.

disneyland update

Pumpkin scarecrow: Reason it's there-- Halloween is coming.


Pooh's Hunny hunt. The setup is really interesting and it's a a story based with well thought out planning and nice effects. Enjoyable and relaxing ride. Wanted to take more pictures but not allowed to.

Main castle at night.

The main castle in Disneyland. Because it's halloween, many black and orange designs can be seen.

Picture before buzz lightyear's ride. The ride is interesting and the first time I take it. It's like there is a joystick on every cart which you can control which direction to turn. At the same time, each person sitting there has a lazer gun where they can point at certain spots to shoot to earn points. The gathered points will be shown on the cart which you can compare to the chart later for skill level.

for more pictures goto:http://www.flickr.com/photos/35478544@N00/

drinking

Sorry about the change in website. There has been a problem with my previous one and I moved here temporary. I just went to a drinking party with people from my company. I guess when you start to pick up a new language, there are days when you were unable to speak no matter how much you try. It just happened that today was one of those days and I couldnt' mingle well with the crowd at all, although my money is well spent as not talking means eating and drinking more. Well, there are definitely more chances to meet them so I'm not really worried about it. Weather is becoming cold. Got to get ready.

Disneyland

Monday is a public holiday. Me and a group of friends went to Tokyo Disneyland. After waking up at about 6.00am, I took about 1 hour and 45 mins to reach the place and we entered Disneyland at about 9.30. Firstly, we got the fast pass for space mountain and went to queue for splash mountain. After both of the rides, we got the fast pass for big thunder mountain which is due at 5.00pm. In the meantime, we went for riverboat ride and another snow white adventure(which is a waste of time). Then we rested at a resturant till the time and we went for the big thunder ride. After that, some of us left early and the remainder of us went for pool's hunny hunt ride and the buzzlightyear ride followed by some shopping.

Can say that this trip is much more interesting than the trip to LA disneyland. Although it's a rainy day, there is still lots of people around. It's kinda weird also as usually when I go to LA disneyland, it's always like in the middle of the holiday and this time round, it feels like a holiday when i'm in the place but I know that it's not. Also, hearing the words all in Japanese gives a weird feeling. Kinda hard to explain. I guess I need to do more planning before I go there again so that I can make full use of the place and money spent in the place.

From Tuesday's onwards, the lectures in my work place will all be conducted in Japanese. The reason is because the lecturer from another department will be teaching us and he gives lectures in Japanese. So far, I can still understand what he is saying although there are words that are very specific to engineering which I still need to work on.

Study day

Today, I tried to study in the library but the whole place was packed since early in the morning. Totally didn't expect that especially it is a rainy day. Went instead to KFC and bought myself a meal and stayed there for a couple of hours. Managed to stuff lots of Japanese words into my head, hopefully they stay there. That is the highlight of my totaly uneventful day.

thoughts

As I said earlier, the offer ended on friday and I managed to eat the same beef bowl for six days in a row. Guess I wouldn't be eating much beef anytime soon?

Chinese was never really my favorite subject and when I was young and forced to learn it, the Chinese characters never really sinked in. I know that one day something from there will come back to haunt me. It feels like I have commited a crime and never served my sentence.. Nowadays, I'm writing Chinese characters whenever I have the time to, learning the sounds of each character in Japanese. Feels like I am relearning Chinese characters again. Feels nostalgic seeing all the characters again in a different form. At least I am serving my sentence.. and I don't dread it as much as I did in the past.

Japanese Lessons

Today , I went for my first free Japanese class. The class is conducted by volunteers from the city of Shibuya for foreigners who want to learn Japanese of all levels. When me and my friend Leo reached there, one of the teachers greeted us and started talking to us. Before we knew it, she put us right to the highest level class available. Leo was like telling her that maybe our level is not there, but all she say was that it was okay and ask us to follow the class. The class of my level have about 10 people including us. Most of the people are from China but they stayed in Japan for many years. It turns out that the class was not as hard as we expected. Mostly, we were taught common conversation's grammer and certain words that are close in meaning. The class is actually just perfect for me as the level that they teach is about just above where I am. It is a pretty good deal, given that the lesson is free. The transport back and forth cost about 240Yen which is all we have to pay for 1 lesson.

Cheap beef bowl

As autumn approaches, matsu ya, a chain store specializes in cheap rice bowls reduced their prices down even more from 420 to 380 yen for the big size and 320 to 280 yen for the small size. Since the day I found out about the deal, I had been eating in that store once everyday. These stores have machines where you buy tickets for the food that you want to eat and present them to the store keepers. At this moment in time, I have ticket stubs for 3 days consecutive and the deal last till friday. I will post the collection when I have completed them all.

Last few trains of the day

Boarding the last few trains of the day is so different from boarding the train at other times. In the morning, almost everyone is going to work and there is a solemn atmosphere and people are quietly squeezed in the trains. In the afternoon, the trains are not so squeezy and it is a little rowdy as there are small groups of teenagers chatting in the trains. At night especially the last few trains, the whole train is like a fish market. Almost everyone in the trains is drunk and with the loud conversations they have with their friends, it is totally unexpected from a 12 am train from what I had experienced. Other than trains, it's a common sight to see people lying face down drunk in the train stations, something definitely cannot be seen in Singapore. Today met up with my friend from Singapore together with 4 other of her friends. It's an interesting break as I have not spoken Singlish for one whole day in a while. It is the first time I had pretty decent Chinese food too.

library

Today I got off work early and planned to sleep on the train on the way back. I took the train that stopped at every stop and fell asleep all the way until 5 stops before mine. Now very awake, I went to the library and started browsing some books and I came upon a prize winning composition essays written by students from primary four to secondary three. So I started reading the essays and realised that my level is somewhere between primary 5 and secondary 2. For the passages, I will be able to understand the general meaning behind it, but for the words, I am able to understand but could only read all the words at about primary level. So I guess I'm not at primary 2 as I thought I would be. Well primary 5 isn't very far from it either so I got lots to work on. Wish me luck.

End of long weekend

Women dancing on a makeshift stage.


fish on a stick on charcoal. Looks good but didn't try.


Fishing game using an easy to break net. Seems like a traditional Japanese game.


Colored balls where children buy, scoop and bring home with them.

Me and my father had a splendid lunch of buffet shabu shabu. Lets just say we ate so much that there is no need for dinner. haha. After that, my father came over to my apartment to have a look at the environment. On the way to the station from my house, there happen to be a festival (which has been going on for 2 days and I didn't know) and both of us went to have a look. It's pretty interesting with games and food all of which are very typical of Japanese culture. After that, I met a friend and we watched shrek(with japanese voice over) on my computer. It's kinda interesting to watch a show in English dubbed over with another language. It's just like watching americans talk and instead chinese words come out. That's the end of the week of 2 super long weekends and back to work on monday.

FUGUUUU

Today we had fugu. Met up with Sachiko and then my father and friends and we covered some parts of Ueno before heading for the Fugu resturant. In case you don't know, fugu is a very poisonous blowfish that needs a chef with a special certificate to be able to prepare the delicacies. There are reports of people who try to cut fugu at home and ended up poisioning themselves. Anyway, the resturant we went to sells only fugu dishes and we had a set dinner that cost about 4000yen per person. The first dish is fugu sashimi and fried fugu, followed by a fugu shabu shabu style. When the plate of "raw materials" come, parts of the fish can be seen moving, imagine the freshness of it. The following dish is when they use the soup for the shabu shabu to make fugu porridge followed by ice-cream. Haven't had such a fantastic meal for a long time. Got to thank Sachiko for introducing and my father for bringing us. Anyway, he will be heading back 2 days later. Will be going out to lunch with him before he leaves.

mooncakes

Together with supplies, I had about 7 mooncakes. So today I had a small gathering with 4 friends, eating mooncakes and drinking chrysanthemum tea, feels good as even in the states, I don't do this much. Father is in other parts of Japan right now and so I had to start my unpacking of all the supplies which will probably take a couple of weeks. Weather is getting cooler. I think I might be one of the few people who wants the weather to get cold so that I could eat food that tastes better in winter. Weird as it seems, I am actually looking forward to the cold winter, at least now I am.

Supplies!!!!

I'm currently at the hotel that my father is staying at. For those who do not know, my father came to Japan for business for about a week and I am staying with him for this period of time. At the same time, he brought supplies for me all the way from Singapore. At first I thought that it will be a relaxing and fun trip. Well, it isn't that bad except that I had 3 heavy bags of stuffs to bring back home from the hotel and after the 2nd trip today. My body is aching all over and I still have one more to go tomorrow. Well, guess that's the price to pay for a better life ahead. Japanese tv has nice shows, makes me want to buy a television.

On the train today, there was a guy sitting on the seat trying to put on a short sleeve shirt and he was having difficulty. An old lady standing at the side helped him put the shirt on. Both of them are strangers! Makes me wonder, from acknowledging the person holding the lift door open to helping a stranger put on a shirt, how far will kindness of Japanese people go. Also, history does have an influence on how the culture of the country becomes, all which I have no idea of. Too many things to find out, too little time to do so.. Maybe these answers will show themselves to me soon..

language exchange

Today met up with a Japanese housewife to carry out language exchange. Today's topic is cooking and I found out receipes for many simple dishes. I also realised that I could not easily come up with receipes for dishes in Singapore. Maybe now will be my quest to search out for good food and learn their receipes. Get ready guys, the chef is coming out of his shelf.

Train tips

For those people going to Tokyo, you will definitely need to use the trains to go from a location to another destination. Here are some tips( I feel) will be able to help you enjoy a smooth squeezy ride instead of an uncomfortable squeezy ride.

1) Always use the first few or the last few carriages of the trains as they are usually the least crowded ones. If you happen to catch an all female carriage and you are a female, then lucky you. Else you will have to move up afew more carriages.
2)If possible, when you enter the train, try to squeeze your way into the middle of the carriages, as in between the two doors. Most probably you will not get a seat but you will avoid the weight of human beings crashing down on you from all sides.
3)Second worse case scenario is when you are squeezed standing near the entrance of the door. Don't worry. You will not die of suffocation. Just stay calm and grab a bar or handle if possible and pray that no one will push their weight on you when the train moves. If possible, stay close to the sides and avoid at all cost to go against the flow of human traffic. You will definitely regret it if you don't do so.
4)Worst case scenario is when you have people leaning their whole body weight on you when you have nothing to hold on to. If you are in that situation like me today, you could
i)Push any bars nearby to balance back your weight.
ii)Lean back at the guy when you have the chance to.
iii)Or free fall.

Well, hope this helps and if anyone have any other suggestions do let me know, especially solutions for the worst case scenario.

Greetings

What is still confusing about Japanese is the greetings. Whether it is the morning or the afternoon, as long as you step into the office, the greeting used will be ohayougozaimasu, which means good morning. In textbooks we are drilled to use the greeting only in the morning and here I am faced with a situation where I could use it anytime in the day. Also, before you leave the office, you are suppose to say otsukaresamadeshita(literally means you had a hard day's work). Well, mostly this phrase is used at the end of the day before you leave but then I just realised today that there are a whole variety of situations where this phrase can be used. In an elevator greeting strangers, in the streets greeting public sweepers, the situation is endless. Guess after studying a language for years, I have just barely skimmed the surface of it and there is a whole wide sea of knowledge out there to be explored. Somehow, I got to find a way to drink out all the sea water fast. Maybe I will buy more straws.

special weekend

At last there is one special eventful weekend. On saturday early evening, I went with my friend, Taka over the border to Saitama, which is above Tokyo. The plan was to hang out in Saitama and to stay over at his place at night. When I reached there it was around 7.00 and we headed down to an open air hot spring. It's the first time I have been into one and it's quite an interesting experience. Other than the normal spring water, there is another heated spring water area and also another jacuzzi style area. Basically, after the whole experience, I left feeling refreshed. Next my friend's father brought us to a sushi bar where I had the freshest sushi that I have ever eaten before. I was also introduced to sake and another variation of Japanes alcohol. After that, I followed Taka to meet his childhood friend to a few food and beer places that lasted till about 3.45 before we returned home. Sunday was basically spent at a park in Saitama, followed by a nice afternoon chat with Taka's mother. Somehow I am able to understand like more than 1/2 of the converstion but I still need a translator. I only managed to return home in the evening to get ready for the next day.

laundry

One thing I love about having a laundry machine in my house is that I will never never ever lose another sock again. Yeah!!!

food.

Saizeriya is one place that me and my friend from the same training program planned to visit at least once a week. It has been deemed his favorite place as the place have the food he likes and a nice environment. For me, the food is of reasonable price and a good chance for me not to eat alone. Few days ago I was resting at an open top resting area and looking at the clouds, things that I had not done for a long long time. Felt relaxing except it is kinda weird because the wind was very strong and the clouds were moving really fast. Sort of felt that the earth was moving instead of the clouds.

back

Hey guys, I'm back. I just went on a break from blogging to reflect on my life and what I want to do for the future. Sorry to keep you guys waiting. These days nothing much have happened. During the weekends, I went out with Kenya and a couple of friends to a BBQ gathering at a park. One of my friend, Taka, cooked for us really good yakisoba and we had fun. The park was pretty big, about the size of 1/2 of Bishan park, I think. The weather was really good, windy and sunny all the way until Sunday night when the typhoon travelled to southern Japan where the wind picked up speed and it started to drizzle non-stop. Just now when the weather was cleared for a while, I went out to the library to look at some books and around my neighbourhood to have a look at the houses designs and what they grow in their gardens. My area has lots of landed houses, the designs vary ranging from traditional designs as in the wooden doors and arches to modern concrete and high tech looking houses with their own garages. Occasionally, there will be an apartment building that stretches up 12 stories that adds flavor to the area. My place is relatively safe although some say that crimes are increasing. There is a police post right outside my house so I am not really afraid.

Next thing that caught my attention is the trains. Well, as many of you already know, the trains in Tokyo are crowded as hell, especially when I am on my way to work in the morning. Although, I rarely see the train attendants pushing people into the trains, it is still packed to the point where you are cushioned in all directions by humans and all you see is heads and the advertisements displayed in the carriages. It is during times like this when I don't even have the chance to take out my learning card where I observe the people and what they do. In the order of what most people do on the trains, sleep, read, phone message or checking email and make up( for women). Thought that the last one is strange as I don't think there are many females will touch up their make up in the trains in Singapore. Thought that it is interesting.

got milk?

I am not sure what changed but I have started a habit of drinking milk. Not that I am complaining but it is kind of weird because I have never been a big fan of milk and I have never liked it. Probably because I think I am not healthy enough. I guess. Anyway, a small carton of milk cost around 200 yen and I can drink like 2 cartons a week which makes about 2 litres of milk per week. I think if Clifton were to see this, he will be shocked because he knows that I usually do not drink that much milk in one week.

middle of the night

It is the middle of the week and I am already hoping for weekends to come. Everyday is like a routine, going to work, coming home and waiting for the next day to start. Luckily, I will be getting my alien card in the weekends, which means I will be able to set up a bank account, hopefully.

typhoon

First time experiencing typhoon. Luckily i'm at home. Well, how to say, very strong wind and rain. Hopefully tomorrow it gets better. Before coming to Japan and even before taking up Japanese, I told myself never to spend a single cent and master Japanese. Now after taking 2 classes and buying more and more textbooks, I can tell everyone that not spending a single cent to learn Japanese is virtually impossible. Anyway, hopefully I do not spend too much money buying books and rather more time studying it. My girlfriend says my English sucks. Hopefully, the English that is appearing in this blog from now on will be better.

First meal

Hey, first time I cooked something for myself in Japan. It is simple but filling and still have remainder for tomorrow's lunch. Want to know the technology level of arcade centers in Japan. You will be amazed. Well for a start, the basic drums, keyboard, dj and guitar games are still around. Also some of the old fighting games are still around such as the street fighter series. New games that can't be found in Singapore or other places are fighting games that original from Japanese manga or comic books. There is like about 4 or 5 of those kinds around and look kinda fun. Sometimes there are tornament held such as Initial D, the last time I saw in singapore. Here, there is a big screen in the middle of about 8 consoles and it shows occasional battles from on of the consoles. The games are Tekkan 5 and Gandam something. Just thought that it is cool. For Wenjie, remember typing of the dead, they have the keyboard here. Only problem is the words are in romaji which is not easy to type at all. Other than non betting video games, there is still another section of betting video games and another section of pachinko. Will not go into pachinko today as I had not tried that one. Saw some people play the betting video games and I tell you, it is really crazy. Firstly, for Clifton, there is a champion football game that looks really cool. You buy cards of players and place them on a board and they location are detected. You can move around the players to place them at the desired location and during game play you can shift the player's location and also change players just by sliding the cards on the board. Check out the website:www.wccf.jp. Other than this, there is also games for boxing and kingdom army strategy game that resembles this kind of play. Next, there is also an RPG kind of game where the coins you deposit will add up to the life that your character has. You will move around the dungeon to collect items to help you in your quest and fight creatures. Also, items can be obtained for your character to equip and to become stronger. The game looks like it can be pretty money intensive. Other than all these, there is alot of ufo catcher games and when i say alot, i mean a whole floor of them. If you still do not know what are ufo catcher games, they are those where you move your claws around inside a glass box and try to catch or scoop up sweets or soft toys, these seem to be a big favourite here. Anyways, I think I have said too much. Keep you guys updated on more stuffs happening here.

weekend

Hey, back from a fun weekend and not ready to start work. Well, Jeff came back from osaka and kyoto and told me about all the fun that he had, makes me want to visit those places if i could find the time. Basically, we met up with Sanae on Saturday and explored parts of Ikebukuro. Nice shopping area, very suitable for Carol. I'm pretty sure of that. On sunday, we went down to Ginza as Jeff wanted to see some art galleries. Somehow we were not really able to find alot but the place is pretty cool. They had the main road sealed off for people to walk and somehow during that time, Tokyo doesn't seem so crowded at all. There are some people walking their dogs, photographers shooting pictures and people relaxing and strolling. Most interesting thing is within that one place, many things can be seen going on at once. Did not bring my camera with me but I sure will the next time I go. This is a place I will recommend to Lucian. Most of the shops around are expensive boutiques. Not much of a buying stuff place but of a seeing place. Highly recommended by ME. haha. Well, Jeff is leaving for L.A today and it's going to be boring days for me again. Keep you guys updated if any interesting things happen...

Hey people. First time I write my blog in the office before people come in. Well, update on current situation. First of all, I am still a tourist visa status. Hopefully everything will be settled soon.

one week break

Hey guys, after disappearing for one week, here I am back again. Basically this one week holiday was pretty eventful. I went for one of the best fireworks display, beach with friends, visited a temple and tokyo tower. Jeff came over from the USA to visit us and i'm to bring him round to meet other mutual Japanese friends and also to see the place. The fireworks display was the best I had seen in my life so far. Guess how long is it, 1 hr and 30mins. Unbelieveable right. First time I am able to snap picture and enjoy the fireworks, really rewarding. It isn't really that dark at tokyo tower, that is just one of the effects, but the view is fantastic too. Too bad the clouds was pretty thick that day so didn't get the see fuji mountain. Got a nice tan at the beach but it's all peeling off. The temple I went to is Sen sou ji, didn't take any photos there and I will definitely go there again. Guess it's time I post some pictures up.

Same thing as usual althought there will be a holiday from thursday onwards for about a week. In that time most probably will not be able to update my blog. Just to let you guys know in case you guys are checking for updates. haha. Anyway, I don't think I have so much fans yet. So far there are no comments. Anyway, I have a friend that is going to be in the area, so will probably bring him around and at the same time tour the place myself. Hopefully the both of us will not get lost. That's the plan for the next few days until i'm back to work. My gf is complaining that I did not mention her in the blog so get ready to hear more about her from now on.

Want to know the difference in prices from a big shopping center and a discount shop. 3000 yen to 150yen. Well, quality has yet to be compared but at the big shopping center, that is the cheapest I can find. At least now I know where to look for my stuffs. Well, guess the thing new about this place is not only the culture but also about living myself. Without a roommate,things are really different. Things are getting on smoothly so far because I open up my wallet flaps a little more. Guess some stuffs that has to be bought has to be bought. Maybe think of it like open up the strings more so that I could save in the future. Weird concept but it works, at least for food. Looking at the pictures in carol's website reminded me of the fun times the group of Singaporeans had when I was in Tucson. Kinda wanna go back and join them. Well, Japan is fun too, I could feel the energy, life, history and culture behind the city which I had yet to explore. Lots of time, for now, settle down.

Thinking back, this is the first time I had been staying alone for about 10 days. What happened before was I was either with my family or friends, not reallyin a house where I was alone. So far things are going fine. I have sort ofa cozy place with the things that I need. Groceries enough to last me for a short while, still alive and kicking. Anyways, slept alot today. Tonight,got to do some important things like studying and such. Till later.

Well this is a message to my family and anyone who doesn't know. I do not needtissue paper at all. They are giving out so many in the streets I thinkthat if i collect them all, I might not even need to buy toilet paper.I should be able to use them for months and months. Also another thingthey give out in the streets other than phamplets are fans. The fans are like the plastic ones they have during national day but these really comes inhandy during the hot summer nowadays. Well, today basically spend about 1000 yen plus at an internet cafe catching up with some friends and my gf online and searchingfor more information about japan. Think it's quite expensive but i don't knowbecause I had never been to one either in Singapore or in U.S.A. Anyway,it's so good seeing old friends and able to talk on skype and downloadingall the stuffs that I need. I think I might be going to the internet cafe onceevery 2 weeks until my internet is set up, kinda like the environment there.Most people there are actually mainly to read manga and the price is the same. Today also is the day where I bought groceries. Wanted to buy knife but the place doesn't sell, so didn't bought meat in the end. Anyway, I got rice enough to eat for about a month or so, depending on how much I eat nowadays which hasdropped since I went back to singapore. Might not be able to eat as much as the timeI was with clifton. haha. Tomorrow will be going out with neighbours to getsome of the rest of the things that I need. See ya guys.

A very sleepy day. Trying to keep awake during training class, luckily, I already knowall that is taught, only now it's really fresh in the head. Doing well inclasses, which give me time to try to advance faster than the rest, and at the same time catch up on my japanese. First time doing laundry here, thedetergent cost about the same in usa, only reduced in size, at the rate thesegoes, I better start to find another part time job soon. Anyways, leave thethinking till next time. Tomorrow is an early day...

Things are more or less on the way but not settled. Still need to wait for the school to send me my certificate of graduation and with that, i could do tons more things. Anywayz, I didn't write yesterday because I went out todrink with my old friends from usa,Take and Grant and a new friend i met here.Well, all of us ended up drunk and I had to carry my friend home. Well,kinda first experience for me, carrying someone accross the streets full ofpeople, riding the trains and also dragging him all the way back home. It's kind fun in a way as we get to talked to people who we normally will not talk toAt the bar, got to know a friendly group of people beside. At the station,we met an american guy who came over and ask if we are alright. Turned outthat he's from U of A. kinda cool huh. Then next on the train talked withan elementary school teacher. Anyways, it's an experience. For today, thingsare as per normal. Met up with kenya, u of a japanese friend. Went out to eat,had fun. Guess that's about it. got to sleeeep..soooooon...

first day

The first day of training. Met the people, go through the orientation, listened to the lectures(50-80% in) and walked round shibuya area. Didn'texpect the company to be pretty big. Prospects looks good although the problem now is the language. Guess I will be here for quite some time.Met people from other places in the world working in the same company. Most of them are at a later stage of training but it is fun to talk to themand see how they cope with the life and stuffs.

Last day for me to relax before work start. Woke up very early today about5.15am. No idea why but the sky was already bright, after doing some stuffsgo back to sleep again and woke up at 11.30. Studied and ate lunch. Temperature going up, around 29.6 degrees celcius now. Interesting aboutsummer, people in the streets besides giving out info sheets about their shops also give out tissue paper and fans. So can usually see people walkingin the streets at the same time fanning themselves. Quite amusing to see.

Spend the day at home again, more time studying. In the evening, went outfor dinner as lunch wasn't full enough, was eating at a small playground when a cat came for food. I finished up nearly every thing leaving the"sauce" of the meat and a small clump of rice. I should have known thatcats don't eat rice. When i place the box on the floor,the cat immediatelygo for the sauce and totally dried the sauce section. I wonder will the cat die if it had too much msg. Just a thought. Anyway, on the way back,i found a nice box which is now officially my table for my laptop for days, months to come.

A day of loneliness. Went to shop on my own, bought a few needed groceries,then cooked some noodles and rest at home the rest of the day. Will be good ifI could find someone to talk to.

first day

Hey, it's a day of many first times. It's the first time I took the trains alone, first time finding the place to meet my friends alone, first timethat I try to get a phone ready in Japanese and first time feeling the tremors of an earthquake. The whole experience is scary but yet exciting. My senses after being here for 2 days has reallylevelled up by quite a bit. Anyway, seeing familiar faces after even oneday brings lots of relief. We went to take neo print, chat, drink and karaoke,really loosen the fear and tension that had been building up unknowningly for the past few days. Anyways, for you people out there, you can email myphone at (send a comment if you want to know). Only text please and not too much words else I willgo broke. Will reply you as soon as I can. Think I will rest tomorrow.

Arrival

The day to go to japan had came finally. Having lots of mixed feelings,I boarded the plane to Japan. The thought about going to a country where I'm not exactly good with the language has never crossed my mind until I am there. Looking down from the plane, the scene is one that is so overpowered by green. The color of the green is brighter which look likewell kept carpet grass only it's not. Of course buildings exists but notas much as singapore or usa, at least on the way to the airport. All thanksto Grant(a friend I met in usa), he came to the airport and share with memy first experience of trains in japan. Not as crowded as I think, from the airport to my office location which is in shibuya. Along the way, phonecalls came from the company to grant's cellphone but the words that I could hear are gibberish and words that sound like japanese. The reasonis partly due to the lack of practise and loud background noise. When Ireached my office, it's already pass 8.00pm, way later than what I hadpredicted. Well, one of the person in charge of helping people like us brought me on another train adventure to my apartment. Some of you mighthave seen clips of train operators pushing people into trains, well, I didn't see it thought, but I did end up in a situation where you can not move at all because around you is people squeezing you from all directions.Kinda an experience with 2 big luggages and a laptop bag. Finally did reach my apartment, settled in with a "make shift" bed bought from the local "walmart" like convenient store. All for today, getting my energy read to settle tomorrow's stuffs.

Introduction

Hi people, lets start with an introduction. I'm 25 this year, just graduated from U.S.A, heading for Japan to start on my career. I'm not a person of many words, just wanna let the people around me know what's happening in my life, my thoughts, hopes and dreams. For a start, I will like to thank all the people in usa for being there for me and that I sure miss you all alot and also to my Singaporean friends to catch up with me while you can before I head off to the land of the rising sun. The next post will be about the day I arrive in Japan and what goes after that. So keep a lookout!!