Saturday, April 30, 2005

It's Updating Time!

Been a long time, hasn't it? Ok, time to fill everyone in on what's been going on the last few weeks.

1. Japan
First of all, my vacation in Japan was awesome. Despite the fact that I was sick throughout (and felt progressively worse each day), I still felt it was all well worth the effort. I met a lot of cool people that I still try to talk to when I can. I definitely plan on going again, maybe next year. I must also give props to Pop Japan Travel, the company I booked the vacation through. I felt the tour was run in a way that gave us a lot to do, but didn't compromise on our free time in the country. All of our tour guides were very helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. I definitely plan on going out to Japan with all of you again!

2. Health
On the way to Japan, it seems I caught a cold. Thai Airways did not have the air conditioner running on the plane when it was sitting in the LAX terminal, so it was hot when we got on. It stayed warm almost the entire flight (12 hours), and one thing I cannot stand is being stuck in a warm area with no place to go to cool down. Upon landing in Kansai International Airport, I already had a sore throat. As the trip proceeded, I progressively got worse and developed a cough, congestion, stuffy/runny nose and nightly fevers. Unfortunately, I am unfamiliar with Japanese OTC medicine, and neither myself nor X had thought to bring more than a small amount of medicine (neither of us expected to get sick, but then who does ...). The worst part was still to come, however. The flights home were an absolute nightmare, as the changes in pressure that I experienced during all three flights (Kansai->LAX, LAX->Houston, Houston->Tampa) gave me a full-blown sinus infection. Finally home, I was able to go to my doctor and I got medicine for 10 days. After the 10 days were up, I felt pretty good and thought I had beaten it. I was wrong. I was well for maybe 2-3 days, and then I started feeling like I had a mild sore throat. It's never gotten any worse than that, just a mild sore throat and a cough. It's annoying, but it's much better than the sinus headaches I was having right after I got home. I plan on going to my doctor again on Monday to get another prescription for antibiotics and decongestants.

The other bad part about this infection is that it makes me lethargic and so I haven't gone to the gym since I got back from Japan. I was doing real good and going to the gym 3 times/week and really working hard at getting back into shape. I'm not really that overweight, in fact, I wouldn't mind weighing what I do if it was muscle and not fat. I just hate missing this time in the gym.

3. Gaming
I have four new items to review, but that will be in the next post. I will mention each one briefly, just so you know what's been occupying my time.
  • God of War: Platform - PS2.
  • Fight Night Round 2: Platform - PS2 & Xbox
  • Jade Empire: Platform - Xbox
  • Sony Playstation Portable (PSP)

That's it for now. I hope to have the full writeup for my Japan vacation up shortly, and then I will review the above games/system. Hope everyone's doing well, and I will be updating more frequently now that I have the energy.

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Not quite finished, but almost there ...

OK, you've all been very patient with me and I appreciate that. I still haven't finished writing up my experiences in Japan, but I have gone ahead and made the pictures available to view online. If you go to my website I have created links to the folders that contain pictures for each day I was there. When the writeup is posted, I will be able to provide more context for the pictures so you have a better understanding of where I went and what I did each day of the trip. So I guess this could be considered a little teaser. Enjoy!

Aargh ...

Terribly sorry for the lack of updates lately. I do expect to be posting a major update tonight on both this blog and my webpage. I will have the pictures and summary for my trip to Japan up, as well as other thoughts since I have gotten back. No promises, but that's my only real goal for tonight after work.

Monday, April 04, 2005

I'm not dead yet ...

Cold is still kicking my ass, but now that I have American medicine and God of War in my hands I believe I will pull though. The pictures from the trip have been transferred over to my webserver, but I have not posted the link yet. Need to build up a nice page for them first. Also, I have some pictures that I got from one of the guys X and I met on the trip. He was rotfiend's roommate, and a really cool kid. I want to post some of his pictures too, but I will get his permission before I do anything. Any questions about my trip will automatically be referred to this one sentence.

PJT Spring Tour 2005 was XTREME!!!

Friday, April 01, 2005

Quick update ....

I know I said would be updating everyday while I was in Japan, but obviously that's not happening. Here's the quick update.

  • Long and short of it is, the plane ride got me sick. After riding in that plane for 12 hours, I came out with a sore throat. This has now developed into absolute misery. Sore throat, fever, head cold, stuffy/runny nose ... yet I push on ...
  • Despite my physical ailment, the trip has been absolutely wonderful. Have met some very cool people. Seen many cool things. And, hey, it's Japan!
  • Pictures will not be posted until I get back. Sorry to those who were looking forward to them, but you'll have to wait a while longer.

OK, I'd like to say more but I can no longer breathe. I fear I may not be long for this world ...