Neo-Tokyo Tour, Intermixi - Spring in Japan, Days 6 and 7

It seems like I'm slowly winding to the end of this adventure. Day 6 opened up bright and clear. There were no plans set for our group this day. This was our designated "free day" and I had no definite plans to spend it in any specific way. My roommate, Travis, wanted to take me to the Nakano Broadway, which is essentially a large shopping mall comprised of many specialty shops.

We left for Nakano late that morning. The plan was to get there, have a little bit of lunch, meet up with some other people and then spend some time shopping. We took the JR trains from Ikebukuro to Nakano, and open exiting the station at our destination we set out to find some food. The station opened up across the street from the Broadway, but since we had some time to kill before meeting up with our companions we decided to go exploring. Surprisingly, after being in Japan for about 5 full days at this point I still had not eaten any sushi. Therefore, the goal was to find a sushi restaurant.

We wandered the backstreets a bit looking for any place that caught our eyes. As we moved further and further away from the station, we happened upon a small sushi restaurant that had just four seats to serve people. There was already one older gentleman finishing his meal there, and he was talking to the proprietor while a Japanese baseball game was on the TV. I must admit, I believe we surprised both men a bit by coming in to eat. They both seemed quite amused at two gaijin trying to order food in Japanese. But don't get me wrong, they could not have been nicer and I felt very welcome there. The proprietor admitted to knowing a little bit of English, and he asked us where we had traveled from and if we were in Japan on vacation. We told him a little bit about ourselves and enjoyed a very fresh, tasty and filling meal.

After lunch, we met up with some friends and made our way through the Nakano Broadway. I doubt any of you are really interested in hearing about our shopping adventures, so I'll just skip ahead ...

... once we were all finished emptying our bank accounts, we went back to Ikebukuro and towards our hotel. I had mentioned earlier (I think) that for the second half of the trip we stayed in the Sunshine City Prince Hotel. What I didn't clarify is that Sunshine City is a building complex in Ikebukuro that encompasses a shopping mall, aquarium, planetarium, museum, convention center, theatre, etc. It also houses the Namco Namja Town (Wikipedia entry here), pictured above this paragraph. Essentially this is a small, indoor theme park and as you can probably tell the mascot characters used throughout the entire place are cats. Now before any of you question my sanity, I was "convinced" that I needed to check this little tourist-trap out. I will admit it was kind of amusing, and they had an entire section of the park devoted to serving different kinds of ice cream, which were all delicious. And they did have a curry restaurant that served surprisingly good "kitteh curry". After running around all day, it was about time to turn in. But I had one more errand to run.

This is a good friend of mine, Dan, who is currently living and working in Tokyo, Japan. I have actually been friends with his entire family for a long time, since about 4th grade, and when I made the decision to take this trip to Japan I knew that I would make time to go visit him. After my escapades in Nakano and Namja Town, I met up with Dan after he got off of work. We ended up walking along the streets of Takadanobaba, drinking and talking about life and other things. It was really chill, and really great to see him again. I keep up with him online, but that is nothing like catching up with someone in person. Unfortunately, I could not stay out all night. I had to get back and start getting ready because on the next day we were leaving Japan.

Day 7 really cannot be considered much of a day. We really only had the morning to do whatever last minute things we wanted. By noon, we were pretty much loaded into a shuttle bus and we were back on the way to Narita Airport. From there, we all boarded our respective planes and flew off for a 9-hour flight back to the States.

Check back shortly for final thoughts on the trip, the people I met and rode with, and overall experience.

Neo-Tokyo Tour, Intermixi - Spring in Japan, Day 5

Monday, Day 5, was scheduled as another pretty full day for our group. This morning started out on a sad note, as we lost one of our group. Aka-san's sister, Kim, had to go back to the real world and work. (What? I haven't talked about any of my tour companions yet? That's coming soon ...) Although I only spent a few days with her, it was fun getting to know her a little and hang out with her during our after-hours adventures (which I will get to later).

We started out traveling by train to visit the Tokyo Campus of Manga University. Unfortunately, I do not remember the name of the prefecture we traveled to, and worse, I cannot remember the names of our gracious hosts. However, we met two representatives of the school upon exiting from the train station and were led around the area over to the school. There, we learned a little about the products and training they offer. We also received a brief lesson from the manga-ka that illustrates most (all?) of their books, Atsuhisa Okura. Now, I have no skill whatsoever when it comes to drawing but I found the lesson to be very helpful, instructive, and gives me hope that one day I will be able to draw better looking stick figures. ;-)

Each of us was given a choice to have one of two of their published books as a gift. Even better, Mr. Okura signed the book we were given. I ended up getting this book, 50 THINGS WE LOVE ABOUT JAPAN. I also purchased two copies (one for me and one for a friend) of the cookbook they had published so I could try out some new recipes at home. Although I wouldn't have minded staying there and learning a little more, we had a schedule to keep and Akihabara beckoned.

Ah, Akihabara. As quoted from Wikipedia, "Akihabara is a major shopping area for electronic, computer, anime, and otaku goods, including new and used items." Otherwise known as death to my bank account.

We were scheduled to have a guided tour of Akihabara that would take us to some out-of-the-way places and highlight aspects of this district that have evolved over time. Quite honestly, I was a little apprehensive about this part of the tour because I knew that our tour guide was a little ... well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words (or something like that) so take a gander.

Yes, that was really our tour guide for our trip through Akihabara. And yes, he is dressed as Son Goku from the Dragonball/Dragonball Z anime franchise. Now my apprehension was based on my real worry that he would take his "character" way too seriously. Luckily, my fears were not proven true. Despite the cosplay, our guide performed professionally and took us around to various sites, sounds and stores in the area. He made sure to explain the history of the area, and mentioned cultural tidbits about various places. The tour took us around Akihabara for about two hours, and then we were let loose to shop/look around on our own. I ended up wandering around with Travis, Helena and Vince as went to a wrestling shop called Backdrop (I think), various novelty stores, and a couple of arcades.

After Akihabara, we returned back to the hotel however the night was not over. We finished off Day 5 with a bout of karaoke, although we were Rickroll'ed in the process. And yes, there is picture evidence of my participation (Thanks, Travis).

... We now interrupt our regularly scheduled programming ...

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Neo-Tokyo Tour, Intermixi - Spring in Japan, Day 4

Sunday, Day 4, opened up cloudy and cold which was a marked difference from the sun and warmth on the previous day. Of course, this meant I had to wear shorts. :-)

There were only two events that we had planned. The first was fairly mundane, and really involved no effort on our part. We were switching hotels, moving from Sun Members Tokyo Shinjuku to the Sunshine City Prince Hotel.

The real event for the day was our attendance to the Tokyo International Anime Fair 2008. Those of you that know me know I got hooked into this hobby long ago, which makes it all the more fun to attend an exhibition showcasing one of my interests.

Going through my older posts I have noticed that I never really talked about my trip to Japan with Pop Japan Travel back in 2005. This is only relevant because last time I also attended the Tokyo International Anime Fair, and I was curious if I described the scene. Since I didn't, I will attempt to do so now.

TAF is held in Odaiba, a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan. Specifically, it is held at Tokyo Big Sight, which is the nickname for the Tokyo International Exhibition Center. One of the interesting distinctions of Tokyo Big Sight is its construction. It appears as a set of four, inverted pyramids seated upon large supports. You can imagine what a sight this is, and it is among a few sights that are placed around the island.

TAF is essentially a trade show and convention, probably similar to events like E3, San Diego Comic-con and the like. The first couple of days are closed to the public and are usually during the week. The last few days fall on the weekend and the doors are thrown wide open to all who want to attend. I don't remember what the cost for tickets was last time, but this time the cost for a day pass was ¥1000 (roughly $10).

We got to Tokyo Big Sight at about 10:00 local time and there was already a huge crowd lined up and waiting to get in. We had to wait about an hour, but then they opened the doors and everyone filed in.

I don't really think any of my pictures (click on the first picture in this post to go to the whole set) do it justice, but this convention was really crowded. We went on the last day, so that might have been part of it. It took all of my Gaijin Powers (Smash, Perimeter, Optic Blast) to fight through the mobs and make it around in some places. About four of us from the tour stayed together while wandering through the fair, and luckily my jacket was easily distinguishable through the crowd. So when someone got lost, they always looked for me. (Of course, two of us had rented Japanese phones for the trip so we could always call each other just in case.)

So, most of my day was spent walking the floor and taking a look at all the various anime, merchandise and related materials that were going to be coming out this year. Various booths lined every possible area of the floor, displaying videos, figures, manga, merchandise, and pretty much anything you can think of. For someone with my interests, it was a lot of fun to walk around, gawk at all the sites (and booth babes, woohoo!), and get as much free swag as I could.

Sometime in the middle of it all, my group of four took a break for lunch. After some more walking, we decided to pack up and head back to our new hotel. For most of us, that was pretty much the end of the day. After a long flight, adjusting to a huge time difference, and two full days of walking, many of the group decided to take it easy that night.

Neo-Tokyo Tour, Intermixi - Spring in Japan, Day 3

My first, full day in Tokyo started nicely at 10:30 local time. The plan was to tour a bunch of various cultural spots around the entire city, walking and using the train system to get everywhere we needed to. The main attractions for today included the following: Asakusa, Sensō-ji, Tokyo Imperial Palace, Harajuku, Meiji Shrine, and Samurai Training.

Asakusa: A district in the Taitō Ward of Tokyo; home to Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon.

Honestly, I wish I had not waited so long to post about my trip since my memories of the early days are fading. I did try to write down things that happened or things I did in a mini-diary that I carried with me, but for most of Day 3 I didn't write too much since we were on the go all day. I will say that Asakusa was pretty crowded, but I never really felt like the crowds pressed in on me. Walking towards the Sensō-ji, we went through a long corridor lined with various merchant stalls selling all kinds of trinkets, foods, charms, etc. I wish I had spent more time going through the various stalls and picking up some souvenirs. In total, we spent probably about 30 minutes to an hour here. I might have liked more time, but other areas were calling.

Tokyo Imperial Palace: The second stop of the day was at the grounds immediately outside the gates to the Tokyo Imperial Palace. The palace is not open to visitors except for two times of the year, on New Year's Day and on the Emperor's birthday. So the group took some pictures from the courtyard and then we continued on.

Harajuku: Next we stopped in Harajuku, an area in the Shibuya Ward of Tokyo. The area is known for its youth style and fashion (at least that is what Wikipedia tells me). It's an interesting place to walk through, although there isn't too much for me. I would probably have enjoyed it more if I had a gf to walk through it with. Anyway, we were given 30 minutes to ourselves to explore and shop and then we met up to have some lunch. I wish I could remember the name of the place where we ate, as I had probably the *best bowl of ramen* I have ever had there. After stuffing myself with the above dish, we moved onward.

Meiji Shrine: Located almost across the street from Harajuku is the forest that encompasses the Meiji Shrine. It was a very serene area and I found it interesting how peaceful it felt compared to the bustle and crowds of Harajuku next door. As we walked around we managed to witness three different wedding ceremonies. We could not stay long, however, as we had lessons to take.

Samurai Training: We ended our cultural tour with a 60 - 90 minute lesson in kenjutsu. I may be wrong in identifying the exact martial art, but I know we did not learn kendo and I did study iaidō for a time, so I am sticking with kenjutsu. I honestly wish I had written down names because I cannot tell you anything about our sensei, his assistant, the name of the school, the name of the style, etc. The lessons consisted of teaching us how to hold a sword properly; how to un/sheath the sword; proper stances and ways of cutting (swinging the sword). We put this all together and used it to perform a kata with two of us as the participants. Two "samurai" would be approaching each other from opposite ends of the room, and one of them would initiate an attack at the other. The defending "samurai" would avoid and ultimately block the attacker's strikes, and eventually the defender would manage to land two strikes on the attacker, ultimately killing the attacker. Somehow, I ended up being the attacker for everyone ... and so I was killed multiple times that afternoon.

Now, one of the nice things about walking throughout all of Tokyo was getting to see all of the cherry blossoms, or sakura, that were in bloom at that time. To see an example of this, just look at the first picture of this blog entry. The last time I was in Japan I was not able to see any sakura in bloom, so this was one of the main reasons why I decided I needed to go back.

Neo-Tokyo Tour, Intermixi - Spring in Japan, Days 1 & 2

I don't know when it started, but I've always been interested in the life and culture of the Far East. It probably started with my interest in martial arts (I seem to remember that I liked to imagine myself as a ninja while playing outside with some friends when I was young), and only grew as I started consuming some of the other pop culture exports (video games, anime, manga, etc.) of the area. Interest in the pop culture turned to interest in the countries, people and traditions of the region. What all this is slowly building towards is that when given the opportunity, I have tried to take vacations that allow me to experience life in the Far East. Granted, it's as a tourist but that can still be an adventure.

Three years ago, I traveled with some friends to Japan. During that trip I met some very cool people and had memorable experiences. And I promised myself that I would go back the next chance I could afford to. That chance came through Intermixi Tours during their Fusion/Neo-Tokyo Tours this past March/April.

Now, I had written what in hindsight was a pretty boring post detailing the first two days of the trip. But I've scrapped that. Mainly because the first two days of the trip really consisted of me flying out there. It is a 11-hour flight from San Francisco to Narita, Japan; then add the 16-hour time difference and almost two whole days are gone.

It's not a total loss, however. The tour had a total of eight participants, and I rode over with one of them since we both live around the San Francisco Bay Area. It was nice getting to know a little about her, and she certainly helped to keep the long flight from being boring.

The posts from here on out get a little better (hopefully). I also have pictures posted for all those who are interested.

VENTURE BROS. - Exclusive New York Comic-Con Season 3 Teaser

The Return

As some of you might know, I was on vacation for most of last week. I was going to mention this in a quick post before heading out but never managed to write anything up in time.

So on Thursday, March 27, I left from San Francisco International Airport to Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan. After three years away, I finally saved up enough money to go on another tour in Japan. Lead once again by the incomparable Aka-san, creator of Intermixi Japan Tours.

The tour was incredible. Keep an eye on this blog for my thoughts from each day of the trip. And you can check out my pictures at two locations: Picasa and Flickr.

Loss

A very close friend of mine suffered a terrible loss earlier this week. I debated with myself if it would be appropriate to make any mention of it on my blog, but ultimately I decided that since this is my outlet that I would at least make a small post.

It bothers me greatly that I cannot be there for my friend at this time, but I know he is surrounded by family and friends who will lend him their support, love, and understanding. That sets my mind a little more at ease.

I know that lately I have been thinking on how important relationships are in life. This is just another reminder.

Embark on an Epic Journey of Souls and Swords

or

I know which version of the game case I am getting. How about you?

The End of an Era

As a long-time Chicago Bears fan, I find myself with conflicting emotions this morning. On the way in to work this morning, I heard the news that Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers is retiring from the NFL. I am sad to hear that Brett Favre has finally decided to leave the game of football since every game he played in always had the chance to be exciting. On the other hand, he is no longer going to be around to torment and beat my Bears. In the end, I think the NFL will not be the same without him, but Brett Favre has certainly earned the right to do whatever he wants. I wish him and his family happiness and health.

GDC

So, the pictures are up now. Again, had a great time out there aside from my car getting dinged. Got the number for a body shop specializing in BMWs, but I haven't had a chance to call them yet. I expect to see them this week and I will have an idea how much it will cost me to repair. Still working on that long post I promised. One of these days ...

Happy Year of the Rat! ... and my adventures in San Francisco

Originally, I had planned to go out to San Francisco's Chinatown to attend the festivities happening there in celebration of the Chinese New Year. This weekend they have a street fair and tonight (~18:00 PST) they have a parade. Unfortunately, it is a miserable day today in terms of the weather; it's cloudy, windy and rainy. So I've decided to stay close to home today, and the decision was made easier when I discovered that the local Fox TV affiliate is showing the parade tonight (in HD even). I am hoping to make it out to the street fair tomorrow, however, as I want to pick up some items in Chinatown and don't know when I might make another trip out there.

Another reason I decided to stay home today is because I have been going back-and-forth to San Francisco for half of this week. I attended the Game Developers Conference as a way for me to look into how to gain employment in that industry. As happy as I am working for VeriSign, it is no surprise to most of the people that know me that the main reason I moved out here to this side of the country was to work with/in/on video games. I have a real passion for video games, and I honestly hope I can get a job with one of the companies in the area here. It's a little hard for me to explain what exactly went on during the conference. I could not take much time off of work, so although my pass allowed me into the conference from Wednesday through Friday I really only was able to spend a little more than one day attending. I did what I could to make the most of it, and hope that with the information I've gained I will have a competitive advantage when it comes to employment opportunities in the video game industry.

As most of my day Friday was spent at the Game Developers Conference, what better way to close out the day than a concert. But this was not any normal concert. No, this was Video Games Live! I attended Video Games Live with my roommate Kal, and I heartily endorse this experience. Whether you like video games or not this concert is a wonderful celebration of music and is a lot of fun. The organizers and conductor encourage the audience to whoop and cheer, and it carries over into making the environment and experience more memorable. Let's see, the music performed for us included pieces from: Missle Command, Defender, Space Invaders, Frogger, Gauntlet, Metal Gear Solid, Sonic series of games, Final Fantasy series of games, Chrono Cross, Halo series, Metroid, Super Mario Bros. series, Lair, Bioshock, World of Warcraft, Starcraft II, and probably others I cannot remember. We were blessed in that many composers of these pieces were there in person. The bosses from Square Enix were in attendance. And a prominent member of the orchestra was Martin Leung, who pretty much became famous due to a video that appeared online showing him playing the theme to Super Mario Bros. blindfolded. He played many pieces of music, including the aforementioned. And we were treated to not one, but two encores the first being "One-Winged Angel" from Final Fantasy VII and the second was a medley of music from Castlevania. Just awesome!

Pictures from my time at GDC 2008 and the Video Games Live concert will be up on my Picasa site shortly (if they are not already uploaded).

I will end this post with one of the bad things that happened out in San Francisco. Needless to say, I am thoroughly pissed the fuck off about this!


One, because it happened in the first place and the asshole who did it didn't even have the decency to leave an apology! Two, because I always park in fucking garages so that this shit doesn't happen! Three, because it's probably going to cost me >= $1000 to get the rear bumper replaced! This gets my blood boiling, and makes me think of one thing that alleviates my anger somewhat. This comic from Penny Arcade, quote, "From my black throne, I will lash together a machine of bone and blood, and fueled by my hatred for you this fear engine will bore a hole between this world and that one."

Happy Card & Chocolate Giving Holiday (aka Happy Valentine's Day)!

Odds and ends II

I'm preparing what might amount to a long post for later in the week. Just some more random thoughts while I remember them.

• It's been a little hard to post lately, thanks to our Internet service being down at home. Thanks a lot, Comcast! I'd entertain the thought of getting a different ISP, however, Comcast is the only service available to me at my current address. God, you would think that living in what's called "Silicon Valley" I would have a multitude of services to choose from. Hell, back at my home in Tampa I could get FiOS if I wanted! Fiber right to my fucking house! Here, I'm stuck with what's turning out to be a shitty cable service.
• When I got my California Driver's License, did I miss the notice that said I should seriously consider getting personalized license plates? Because I think I have seen more people driving around with personalized plates in the past 7 months living in California than I have seen in about 29 years living in Florida.
• Made some ceviche to snack on while watching the Super Bowl this past Sunday. Thanks to X for providing me with his recipe! The ceviche turned out rather well, and everyone has complimented me on it. Of course, I had one minor issue in making it. In chopping up the serrano peppers I didn't properly wash my hand afterwards (mainly just rinsed it quickly under running water) before finishing off the rest of the ingredients. The oil from the peppers got all in to my right hand, and it went bad. It felt like it got under my nails, in the pores of my hand, and generally caused it to "burn with the fire of a thousand suns" (stole the quote from one of the webcomics I regularly read; linked to it as a way of giving credit where credit is due). I tried washing it, dunking it in the ocean, burying it in a bag full of sugar, even pouring milk over it. Nothing worked, and I swear I hallucinated about some drunk Mexican fisherman walking by and questioning me, "¿Eres un hombre?" (only X will get this reference, but it's still worth it)
• Speaking of the Super Bowl, congratulations to the New York Giants for beating the heavily favored New England Patriots! It was an incredible game to watch, and one of the best Super Bowl games I have seen in recent memory.
• I've realized I keep track of a lot of different sites. I started using the Google Reader site, which is an RSS aggregator ... I guess. Anyway, I have 15 different sites that I keep track of, with more that I need to add. Currently, my Google Reader makeup is as follows:
• 7 related to gaming
• 3 related to anime
• 3 related to pop culture/craziness
• 1 for national news
• 1 for tech news

• I've also realized that I want to go to do a lot this year. Mainly what I am talking about are trips/conventions/etc. For example, I am signed up to attend the Game Developer's Conference next week. My roommates have some tentative plans to go to Lake Tahoe for a weekend sometime this month, and I plan on tagging along. Might go to Japan in Spring. Have to make it back to Tampa sometime, at the latest in early Summer for a friend's birthday if not before. Planning on going to PAX 2008. And, of course, Las Vegas in October.
  
• I started this post yesterday afternoon, before I got home from work. Happily, my ISP has restored my service to the Internet. Still doesn't mean I am happy with Comcast but it's at least nice to be able to do some work while at home (not to mention work on some games).
• Some of you may have noticed that I've been including at least one image at the top of every post I make recently. I'm not sure why I started doing this, but I've ended up enjoying trying to find a different image/screen capture for each post. I'm not even sure I make the image match the subject matter of my posts half the time. But it's fun, so I'll probably keep on doing it.
• Mentioned the nice gifts I got for assisting Capcom as a game tester a couple of weeks ago. Here are some pictures I took of the haul.

Odds and ends I

My thoughts have been a little scattered lately. Don't know why, and it's not really a bad thing, but I just haven't been able to concentrate on any one thing at all this last week. That's probably a little odd for some people to hear, since I'm sure most of my friends think I at least have some mild form of OCD. I tend to keep things neat and orderly, and have been caught straightening items that have been moved by mere inches. But, seriously, I really have been in a funk and unable to concentrate. This post will probably reflect that, as I am just planning on posting whatever comes to mind regardless of whether any of it is related or not. Don't know what that will accomplish, but hopefully it will allow me to reflect and then redirect my energies in a more concentrated effort.

• Man, I have way too many interests or at the very least, too many things I want to do or accomplish within a short amount of time. Studying to better myself professionally (Cisco), studying to better myself personally (German, Spanish or Japanese), exercise (see next bullet point), finishing some games, watching some DVDs, going out and meeting people, future travel plans ... Unfortunately, this week I feel like I have let myself get sidetracked constantly and just haven't done much of anything.


• Did you know that I've gotten back in to taking martial arts lessons? Probably not, since I only told a few people when I started up. But yeah, I've been taking lessons at Fairtex Muay Thai in Mountain View since last September. You wouldn't know it, though, because I haven't gone consistently enough to make it noticeable. I'll expand on this in a later blog post ...


• I have a decision to make within the next month's time. I am really interested in going back to Japan this year. The person who ran the tour I went on two years ago has started a new tour company, and he has a tour going the end of March through the beginning of April. I have at least one friend going. But it runs through Wrestlemania, which isn't that big a deal to some of you but I'm sure that some people (KS-1 at least) would not look kindly on my missing that PPV. In fact, I'm sure there's at least some expectation that I will be back in Tampa for said PPV. But I really want to go back to Japan, on this tour, and hopefully in time for cherry blossom season.


• Watching the Royal Rumble right now. What the hell did Shelton Benjamin do to piss off the WWE? ... John Cena just appeared as the 30th entrant into the Rumble. I can hear KS-1's screams of agony all the way here. Although I love the New York crowd's reaction to the whole thing. Every time Cena lands a punch, "Booo!". Every time a punch lands on Cena, "Yea!". ... Wow, I did not see that ending coming at all ...
  


• Just so you know, I Support Big Boss for President in 2008.


• Last Friday I was very lucky to have been chosen to assist Capcom in testing a game before it is released. I cannot say anymore on this due to the NDA I signed, but in case you are wondering we testers did get some nice swag for our time.

I'm going to end this all here. Besides being all over the place, I haven't been able to post this when I wanted to since my internet connection at home has been down for the last two days. Comcast is supposed to fix it tonight, but we'll see. Expect some more blogging over the weekend, as long as I can get online.

"A long time ago, but somehow in the future"

Just picked up a copy of the Family Guy Star Wars tribute movie, Blue Harvest. I'm a big fan of both the Family Guy show and Star Wars films, so this was a real treat.


Man, I know not everyone likes this show but the humor just gets me. I must also recommend Gia.

I've heard of a Star Trek Wedding, but a Stormtrooper Wedding?! Awesome! Remember kids, Stormtrooper Jesus died for your sins.

I Cannot Get Out

Where to start? The new year hasn't exactly started off for me as I had hoped. That's not to say that anything bad has happened ... I don't know how to explain it, other than to say that I would have liked to start off the new year differently. How? I honestly can't explain; it's just a feeling.

So, I'll give you a little story which should hopefully explain why I included the picture above. I'm not sure how many of you know this, but last week we here on the west coast suffered through some extreme weather mainly over last weekend (01/04 - 01/06). Now, coming from Florida I am not inexperienced when it comes to dealing with extreme weather. Living through multiple tropical storms, hurricanes, dangerous electrical storms, etc., I think prepares me for most any kind of extreme weather other than things that are snow-related. In some ways, as prepared as I am mentally, this has also made me a little jaded (hmmm ... don't know if that's the correct word I want to use for my feeling) as I (and X) tend to joke that unless a Category 5 hurricane is baring down on us then we have nothing to worry about. Even then, X and I would probably end up standing outside railing against the storm like Don Quixote attacking windmills.

Regardless, Friday I go in to work like normal. It's raining pretty bad, so I take it easy through the mountains on my way over to Santa Cruz. I make it in fine at my normal time, around 07:00 PST, and proceed to go about my day. By about 11:30 PST, the power has gone out about three times and this latest time it does not appear as though power will be restored anytime soon. Power is pretty much out all over the area and most people are heading home as it is becoming impossible to get any work done at the office. My boss was out sick, so I send him a message stating I am heading home. I get in my car and proceed to head back home via Highway 17. This is my normal route to and from work. I've mapped it out below, and according to Google Maps it's about 30 miles one-way and takes about 45 minutes to drive.


Unfortunately, 17 was closed. I didn't find out until later but it seems there were some slides as well as a downed power line. So I have to turn around, but before doing so I call my roommate to find another route home. He suggests Highway 9 and in the back of my mind I know I can always take Highway 1, Pacific Coast Highway, at worst. Off to 9 I go, and after a little bit of travel I find it closed as well. Highway 1 it is then. Now 1 pretty much traverses the length of the Pacific coast of California so that means that while traveling north I am actually moving away from my house here in San Jose. But I also really have no other option that I know of. So the trek begins.

Now, I've heard that 1 is a beautiful road to travel with the view of the Pacific coast. I'm sure it is, but that day I was only concerned with making it home and not getting caught in some type of mud slide. I travel a ways up and eventually hit State Route 84, and seeing that it gets to Redwood City I figure why not take it as Redwood City is a little bit northwest of San Jose. I travel 84 all the way to La Honda only to find that, once again, the road is closed.

At this point, I am starting to get a little worried because I am getting low on gas. I couldn't fill up my gas tank when I left due to no one having power, and along this entire trip I haven't really found anyplace to get gas (either there is no place or any gas stations I found are without power). Also, now I've hit my third road that's been closed due to the weather and all I can think of at that time is that scene in The Fellowship of the Ring where Gandalf is reading from the Book of Mazarbul in the mines of Moria. "We cannot get out. We cannot get out. They have taken the Bridge and second hall." In my mind it was, "I cannot get out. I cannot get out. They have blocked 17, 9 and 84."

So I double back to 1 and start heading north again. At worst, I reluctantly figure I can make it to San Francisco with the gas I have left but that is a worst-case scenario that I really don't want. After more travel I make it to Half Moon Bay and stop in at a gas station. They have no power here either, but I ask the attendant if he knows anyplace with power where I can fill up. He says I can take State Route 92 over to San Mateo as they have power over there. It's an 11-mile drive and supposedly it's not closed. So off I go, and yes, I finally make it somewhere to gas up. I also pick up a drink and some snacks since I haven't eaten since I got to work that morning. San Mateo is right off of Interstate 280, and about 40 miles northwest of my house. Since I'm on a major interstate at this point, I am assured of no more roads being closed so I leave and finally get home.

Let's recap. Normally to get home I take 17 up to 85, and then 85 over to Santa Theresa which is practically home. This is a 30-mile drive that takes roughly 45 minutes. Instead, I had to go 1 to 92, 92 to 280, 280 to 85, and then 85 to Santa Theresa. I pulled that up on Google Maps (map shown below) and that route appears to be nearly 100 miles (I've added some miles since I took a view alternate routes that I had to double-back on) and takes 2 to 2.5 hours. Except that it actually took me 4 hours, since I had to drive slower due to the weather, lost time backtracking closed routes, and stopped for gas twice. And to cap it all off, once I got home I find that we didn't have any power either. What a fun day!

Enjoying New Year's Eve

Well, I made it safely back to California and am preparing on going out ... somewhere tonight to celebrate New Year's Eve. We really don't have a plan. Just playing it by ear, but I have no doubt I will enjoy myself tonight.

Have a lot of pictures to post to Picasa soon from my trip back home. Then I guess I should publish some goals and ideas I have for 2008. But that's for later this week.

If you are wondering about the picture above, it's a background I use for my PC every year around New Year's. I don't know, but I always looked at it as starting off the new year right.

Enjoy yourselves this evening and stay safe!

Note: As always, I claim no ownership of the image above. I downloaded it from Animewallpapers.com some time ago.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I think I sent out some of the sappiest holiday cards a couple of days ago. I guess my old age is making me sentimental or something, so to those of you who I sent cards out to then I can only hope any comments you make regarding the cards are gentle. And to those who aren't going to receive a card, well, it's mainly because I don't have an address for you.

So, I will be out-of-town for the next week. I will be back in Tampa, Florida, starting tomorrow and I will not return to California until December 29. It will be nice spending Christmas back home, and I'll have a nice, long week to spend time with family and friends. I don't have anything particular planned, but I'll have a camera so hopefully I'll take some nice pictures that I can post to Picasa later. Expect me to make one last post before the end of the year, probably on the subject of my goals and plans for 2008.

To everyone out there, I wish you a very Merry Christmas! And a Happy Holidays to those who don't celebrate this particular event!

I has smarts

While reading through a bunch of my RSS news feeds a couple of days ago, I stumbled upon this article in Wired's blog. It linked to a site where you can get a rating as to your blog's readability. Of course, I had to find out what mine would rate as.



Honestly, I do not know if I can take this test seriously since there is no indication on what criteria is used to determine this rating. But until this test is proven as pure quackery, I will go by it's rating. College Level! Woohoo!

Actually, upon further investigation I am putting little credence into this site. The code used to place the rating on your site includes adding a link to some cash advance site, which if you aren't well-versed in HTML you might miss. A little deceptive in my opinion. As you can see, I've removed that link from the HTML so it doesn't appear.

I'm In Despair!

Well, not really. I'm actually doing pretty good right now. But just thought I'd talk a little bit about getting older. Now, last week (12/05) I turned 30 years old and made some updates to my MySpace and Facebook pages saying that I "felt old". Now, that all was pretty much said in jest as most of my friends know I generally call myself the oldest one in our group even though I'm probably more in the middle of the pack in terms of age amongst us all. This all stems from something I was told years ago, probably around early high school. Someone had mentioned to me that I seemed more mature for my age (I think I was 15 or so) and ever since then I have played off it as if I'm the "old man". Always telling my friends, whether they were really older than me or younger by only a few months, that "when I was their age ..." or "In my day, we had nothing ... and we were thankful!". You know, the stereotypical old man sayings and it's always been in jest and everyone generally gets a good laugh out of it.

Honestly, I don't feel any anxiety about getting older. I've always told people that if anyone made any comments about me getting gray hairs now, I would just say it makes me look "distinguished". I don't know, I just don't feel any differently and care little that I was 29 a little over a week ago and am 30 now. Actually, the only time it bothers me is when one of my roommates complains about being 26 (he's a little bit ... vain I'll say), and I have to yell back "Shut the f@%& up! I'm 30! I'm the one approaching Death's embrace!" But really, I've just never cared. It's not like I'm going to stop playing video games, watching anime/cartoons, going on various trips (Japan next year!), or stop chasing after good-looking women; and instead decide I must get a job I can work at for 10-15 years, get married, settle down and start a family. Some people have told me, "hey, 30 is the new 20" or something like that. And that's not a bad way to look at things. But for me, 30 is just 30, a number. Doesn't mean anything other than I've been alive on this plane of existence for 30 years according to the Gregorian calendar.

I look forward to continuing on this journey we call life. I am going home for Christmas, and expect to have a great time seeing family and friends while I'm in Tampa for an entire week. And next year I am planning on a couple of vacations that I think will end up being pretty exciting. So turning 30 hasn't really meant too much, other than I can now joke about planning my mid-life crisis by dating some 20 year-old(s) (I'd say get a sports car too, but then again I have a BMW so that's already taken care of).

To paraphrase the dub for Street Fighter II: The Movie --
"Eric, what do you see in front of your fist?"
"My destiny."

Congratulations to Superman ... uh ... I mean, Tim Tebow

I would just like to congratulate the 2007 recipient of the Heisman Memorial Trophy, Tim Tebow. Being a UF alumni, I have watched pretty much every game he has played in and believe the award is well-deserved. Darren McFadden, the running back at Arkansas, is an incredible player, able to score touchdowns in any number of ways, but unfortunately I do not feel he had as good a season this year as Tim Tebow did for the Gators. Tim Tebow scored 51 touchdowns this year (29 passing/22 running) and before anyone says anything not everyone of his running touchdowns were 1-yard plunges across the goal line. For example, look at the 15+ touchdown run he had at the beginning of the FSU-UF game. Of course, I think most people would agree winning an award like this tends to put a target on your chest for your opponents. Most people probable think it looks like this:

But I think most of us UF alumni would agree the target looks more like this:

A Day for Great Justice!

I could use this time and space to pimp the fact that it is my birthday. Yup, I was born 30 years ago today. I could post about the fact that I guess I'm "old" now; how I'm at Death's doorstep; that I should move on from some of my less mature pursuits. But I have something of almost equal importance to alert y'all to.

December 5 is Annual Day of the Ninja! I can have no better honor than this, to share my birthday with a celebration of ninjas!

Last Week Recap

Hmmm ... well, last week was an eventful one for me in a way. At the beginning of the week, I was feeling fairly ill as I had someone caught strep throat over the prior weekend. My case seemed to be pretty severe, as I could not keep anything down that Sunday. A good example of my experience would be this:

Luckily, I started feeling immediately better on Monday and managed to make it in to see a doctor early that morning. Was diagnosed and sent away with a prescription in about 30 minutes. My only concern that I expressed to the doctor was if I could still travel on Thursday back home to spend Thanksgiving with my parents. I was given the clearance, so I immediately picked up my medicine, then proceeded to sit at home and rest. Finally got through a huge backlog of magazines and anime DVDs that had been sitting in my room being neglected. Couldn't go to work at all for the week (I was already off Thursday and Friday since the office was closed observing the holiday), which kind of sucked since that hurts me in the pocketbook. But then again, I was off for a week.

On Thanksgiving, I got up early in the morning (03:30 PST) to head for the airport for my 06:00 flight. By that day, I was feeling back to normal so I wasn't too worried about being contagious. My flight out of San Jose Mineta International Airport was delayed about an hour, but I space out my connections enough so it didn't affect my travel plans. I made it in to Tampa at around 16:30 EST and was met by my father. Went home with him and had a very nice Thanksgiving dinner with my parents. I spent Friday with family, and then met X, X's lady and Rotfiend for dinner and some time out in Ybor. Saturday, the group I always hung out with had a get together to celebrate a bunch of birthdays coming up. And then Sunday I spent a majority of my day flying back to the west coast.

I cannot say how great it was to make it home last week. I was really worried I would not be able to fly out when I got sick. Luckily, I was able to get medicine and rest so that everything turned out OK.

"What's Your Game?"

This almost makes me want to pick up World of Warcraft. Mr. T and William Shatner in a series of national television commercials promoting World of Warcraft! Night Elf Mohawk! Shatner is a conduit of the ancient forces of nature!

Beowulf

Saw Beowulf last night in "Digital 3-D". Haven't gone to a movie in 3-D in a loooooong time, and I am glad to report that, at least for me, this one didn't feel too gimicky. I.e., it didn't seem like they were using the 3-D tech to just have things jump out at you from the screen. Seemed more like they were using the technology to add more depth to the CGI models. Did I like it, though? Well, it did meet my only two criteria to enjoy a movie.

Boobs ...

& Fire (sorry, couldn't find any pictures of the dragon torching the landscape, so you'll have to deal with Angelina Jolie's breasts ;-p).

Note: Images sourced from various websites. I do not own them nor have real permission to post them.

Su-33 Miki

Haven't really played any of the Ace Combat series, except for a little of the demo for the new one, Ace Combat 6, on the Xbox 360. However, if I hadn't seen this at one of my game sights I would have never believed it. Even though I know both games are published by the same company. Ace Combat 6 + The iDOLM@STER =

These images were saved from the Famitsu website without permission.

Child's Play

I added a new banner to the site for the Child's Play charity. Ever since I first found out about this charity a couple of years ago, I have made sure to give towards it. Please go over to their site and see if there is anything you would like to donate.

Sweet Home Tampa

I will be out this coming weekend, back home in Tampa to attend the wedding of two good friends of mine. I expect my schedule will be pretty full as I shuffle around seeing friends and family over the couple of days that I will be in town. I am hoping to take a lot of pictures to post next week.

I have to say that it will be real nice to be back in Tampa, even if it is for only a few days. That's not to say living out in California is bad, but when you've lived in or around one area for as long as I did (almost 3 decades!) you find yourself missing the little things. It's hard to put into words; I guess that no matter where I end up living in the future, Tampa will always be home to me.

"Big Super Happy Fun Fun"

I have only played a little of the new Simpsons video game demo on my PS3, but I think I am defintely renting this now. See the following commercial.





Jeez, I have way too many games to check out.

Earthquake cherry has been popped

Moderate Quake Shakes S. F. Bay Area

So, just want to let everyone know that I am alright and did not suffer anything from the quake last night. Actually, I was in a Fry's Electronics in Sunnyvale when it happened. It's funny because I was talking to X while looking at some A/V equipment when the ground started moving and the lights hanging from the ceiling started swaying. I was kind of in an entryway to a demo room, so I was in a pretty safe place and didn't worry. We kept talking throughout the event with me saying at one point, "I think we're having an earthquake over here...". X responds, "Really, that's awesome!". I'm like, "Yeah ... yeah, it is."

Now, in all seriousness, it's good to know this was not a big earthquake and that there were no serious damages or injuries to anyone around. But for someone who comes from an area prone to hurricanes and fierce storms, an earthquake is a different and interesting experience.

A Swamp Thing

I just wanted to spend a little time this week talking about a new experience I've been enjoying since moving out here to San Jose, CA.

As most of you know, I am a graduate of the University of Florida and I have been an active member of UF's Alumni Association since my graduation. While in Tampa, I was a member of the Tampa Gator Club. Unfortunately, I never did too many activities with the Tampa Gator Club simply because most of my friends in Tampa also attended UF and it was easier to gather with them to watch games than it was to go out to where the club was meeting. About the only thing I did with the Tampa Gator Club was participate in their Gator Rompin' Pub Crawl, which was a lot of fun.

So, I came out to San Jose, CA, back in June and I decided that one of the first things I would do was to meet up with the people in the San Francisco Bay Area Gator Club. I didn't know too many people when I moved out here originally, so I felt that meeting with fellow Gators would give me a nice sense of familiarity. I have to say it's been a truly great experience! The SF Bay Area Gator Club meets in three different "Swamps" to watch Gator football. The "South Bay Swamp" at The Sports Page in Mountain View. The "SF Swamp" at Hooters in San Francisco. And the "East Bay Swamp" at Ricky's Sports Theatre and Grill in San Leandro. I attend the South Bay Swamp as it is the closest one to me and also boasts the largest attendance. Watching games there makes me feel like I'm back in the student section at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. We have a "Swamp Master", named Steve, who literally will not sit down throughout the entire game. He has a sound system set up so that he can play a bunch of our school fight songs and cheers, and we all participate just as if we were at Florida Field. I actually am ashamed to say that I had no idea UF's Fight Song ,"Orange & Blue", actually had lyrics until I started watching games at the South Bay Swamp. But I have met a great group of people there who all gather together to cheer on our Gators. It also doesn't hurt that The Sports Page is a really good bar as well, with a good selection of drinks and food. I'm think I'm going to take some pictures of the place for this weekend's game, Georgia - Florida. I expect to have lots of pictures of us celebrating all game long. And maybe I'll even get a picture of some "Gator Cake".