Le Twittre

© 1998-2008 Penny Arcade, Inc.

I really couldn't have expressed it any better.

A week or so ago, I had planned to meet up with a friend from Los Angeles who was visiting some other people and attending some events up in San Francisco. In trying to figure out where to meet her, I was informed that she was providing updates as to her plans on Twitter.

Now, she had set up her Twitter feed so that it was private and only viewable to people she allowed. So that meant I had to sign up for the service myself to be able to figure out where I was going. As you will see in a copy of the chat conversation, I was so enthused.

[13:11] dracos3442@gmail.com/Meebo: Heya!
[13:13] dracos3442@gmail.com/Meebo: So, I'll just meet you outside the Exploratorium tomorrow morning ok?
[13:23] friend: wait
[13:23] friend: tactile dome isnt open
[13:23] friend: we're formulating a new plan
[13:24] friend: are you following me on twitter
[13:24] dracos3442@gmail.com/Meebo: Ok. My day is pretty much free up until 16:30.
[13:24] dracos3442@gmail.com/Meebo: Twitter ... no, can't say that I am.
[13:25] dracos3442@gmail.com/Meebo: I honestly didn't know you were on it. But then since I never use it I never thought to check.
[13:27] friend: ah ok. i use it a lot. im coordinating about 6-8 people meeting up with me sat so its easier to blast updates there
[13:27] friend:
[13:27] dracos3442@gmail.com/Meebo: True, true
[13:28] dracos3442@gmail.com/Meebo: Ugh ... this means I have to join this doesn't it?
[13:28] friend: hehe
[13:28] friend: =)
[13:28] friend: you need an account to see my updates
[13:28] friend: i have them hidden from work people
[13:28] friend: basically
[13:28] dracos3442@gmail.com/Meebo: *shakes my cane menacingly* You young kids and your darned technology and new-fangled contraptions!
[13:28] friend: hehehhe
[13:29] dracos3442@gmail.com/Meebo: *sigh* ... ok ...
[13:30] friend: =)
[13:30] friend: turn it off after the weekend if you want

Honestly, I still don't really get the appeal of Twitter. I do know it's used by a lot of people. But, I have enough trouble just updating this blog on a regular basis. I don't know how people can send out various "tweets" (is that the right term?) during the day.

Regardless, I still have my account and I have no idea if I will use it, cancel it, or let it languish like I do with the few social networks I belong to.

Calendar Quandary ...? (yes, I am stereotypically male)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders Calendar?

Photographed by: Gary Bogdon/SI
*Image linked from http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/gallery/featured/GAL1000537/2/27/index.htm



or



Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Calendar?

Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders :: Getty Images
*Image linked from http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/extramustard/05/06/hotclicks.0506/index.html

Randomness

Some updates, stuff that's popped into my head, and pretty much anything else ...

• Was invited to go golfing with some friends from the SF Gator Club last Saturday at Los Lagos golf course. Had a great time, and was fairly happy with the way I played. Scored in the 90s, which is good for me since I've now golfed twice in the past year.
• The interesting thing about golf courses over here as opposed to the ones I've played in Florida (at least to me) is how in Florida I've dealt with more hazards (sand traps, trees, water) while here in California I've dealt more with narrower fairways, blind tee shots and greater changes in elevation on a single hole.
  
• Things turned down on Sunday, as I was under the weather all day. I can't say it was all bad, as I spent the day resting and watching football most of the day.
• Speaking of football, as everyone else is saying last night's Eagles-Cowboys game was probably the most exciting game I've watched in a long time!
• Need to finish posting older pictures to my Flickr page ... been trying to get it up to date and add to it, but I've been slacking ...
• If it wasn't apparent from an earlier post, I am moving back to my home in Tampa after a year of living in San Jose, California. A little under two weeks left, so I'm going to be busy.
• Got a new phone recently. Guess you could say I finally drank some of the Kool-Aid. Like it so far, just need to check out more applications for it.
• Picked up Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for my PS3 last night. Had a lot of fun throwing all kinds of things/people around with the Force.
• I feel like the days have been slowing down for me lately. Might be related to anticipation of the move next week? Don't know, but I know I have to use my time wisely tonight working on some personal projects.
• Shit! Just took a look at the financial markets a second ago ... Dow -449.36 at 10609.66, Nasdaq -109.05 at 2098.85.
  

Voting

Well, on this anniversary of one of the worst terrorist atrocities ever committed on U.S. soil I wanted to just express my desire that all of us who live in the United States of America take the opportunity this upcoming November to help chart the course our country will take in the next four years. By that, I mean I want you all to exercise your right to vote.

I don't get in to discussing politics with people, mainly because passions for one's particular ideals tend to run high. Everyone has valid opinions to give, and I would rather they do so in a constructive manner instead of shouting down others who they may not disagree with.

Anyway, regardless of who you are for or against my only advice to all would be to take the time to research the positions and beliefs of all the parties/candidates vying for the Presidency. I will be doing the same. As of now, I have yet to determine a good, neutral source to link to or promote so instead I will give equal linking to both the Republican and Democratic nominees.

Photos from May: Fun at a Foggy Beach

My roommate, rockin' the headband/bandanna.

I realized lately that once again I have fallen off my goal of updating this blog more regularly. But I have come up with some topics to cover over the next few days. We'll start with a trip that happened back in May 2008.

For my roommate's birthday, we decided to go to the beach. He had wanted to go surfing so we decided to head up to Pacifica and check out a beach that some of our other roommates knew about. It was kind of weird, at least for a man like me who's used to Florida beaches. We started out from San Jose and the temperature was in the 90s. By the time we made it to the beach in Pacifica, the temperature had dipped to the upper 60s. And fog was rolling in off the ocean. Add to that some interesting architecture and it ended up being really surreal. Take a look for yourself.

Fog rolling in.

Is that a bunker emplacement?

Stone steps leading up the mountain. Don't know who made them ...

Look at those waves.

YouTube fun

A good friend of mine just got some video capture hardware (I believe it's this or something similar) and has started making videos. A lot of what he's made recently has been captures of some of his gaming sessions, mainly in Call of Duty 4. Hopefully, he'll be capturing some of our joint gaming session tonight!

I have to say I am impressed with his videos so far, since he's only just begun making them. And I admit to being a little inspired, to the point where I'm looking at possible setting up some sort of capture rig for use with my Xbox360/PS3/PC. Until then, the only videos I can upload are from PixelJunk Eden which I just purchased for my PS3 yesterday. It has a way to record videos while you play and then you can directly upload them to YouTube or save them to your PS3's hard drive. Guess I'll be trying this out later tonight.

If you want to check out what my friend has made, check out his channel.

ragingwookie's Channel on YouTube

Announcement

I have a bit of an announcement to make. I will not go into too much detail, but I've had to come to a decision a little bit earlier than I had expected. Let me go back a little and set things up a bit.

So, some of my most recent posts detailed my reflection on how things were going out here in California after one year's time. I was a little hard on myself, but otherwise I'm pretty happy with what I had to say. One thing I didn't mention, however, were the plans I had developed for myself.

When I came out to California, I really never believed I was staying for good. If I had, I would have never kept my house in Tampa. My goal was to get a job in "almost mythical" (in my mind) Silicon Valley (hopefully in the video game industry), work at it for two years, and then go back home with some valuable experience added to my resumé. Now, there was/is always the chance I would meet a nice, young lady and decide to spend my time with her. But as of yet, that hasn't happened. So two years of added experience and home-bound I would be.

But some things happened recently that made me do a little rethinking. One, was my realization that the jobs I've found out here in Silicon Valley are really no different that what I can find in Tampa. What I mean is, I had this kind of grand idea that you would work on projects and systems that you simply would not find or see anywhere else. But that's just not the case. The job opportunities aren't that different out here, there are just more of them. But there's also more competition so it all kind of evens out. When I figured this out back a month or two ago, I decided that I would change my plans slightly. I would make an effort to land my dream job, but if nothing turned up by the end of the year I would start making plans to return to Tampa early. Probably within the first three months of 2009. But then the next event happened.

That next event was, well, let's say a ... situation ... developed over here. Essentially all of us here are going to need to find a new place to live soon, probably within the next few months at worst. And upon facing that fact I felt I had to readjust my plans one more time. So, would I move to a new place out in California with my roommates? If so, then I would be out here at least one more year if not more. Or ... or, would I make my return to Tampa now?

As much fun as I've had out in California ... as thankful as I am to my friend who provided me a place to live, and really provided me with the opportunity to come out here in the first place ... as awesome as it has been to meet up with people I haven't seen in a long time; to make new friends; and to become part of a great, Gator community out here ... all of that has been awesome. But through it all, I've still maintained that Tampa is my home. For the last week and a half, I've consulted with various people. Asking them to challenge me and my notions, feelings, and thoughts. And ultimately, I had to look within myself to see if I believed in the decision I was considering.

But my decision has been made. Below you will find a picture of my residence beginning sometime in early October.

Curiouser and curiouser

Hmmm ... have I been watching wrestling too much? ... might be I'm indulging in my God-complex a bit? ...

Going through some of my old comics, maybe? ... or could something else be on the horizon ...?

The Dark Times Are Over: Football Season Has Begun!

Finally ... The NFL has come back to your television sets!

Sorry, just a little modification from a Rock quote (this Rock, not this one). But I am absolutely happy that football season has arrived. I watched the Hall of Fame game last Sunday, I'll be watching parts of the Saints-Cardinals game on ESPN and the Chiefs-Bears game on the NFL Network tonight, and I'll be following the Buccaneers-Dolphins game on Saturday. I've printed out the season schedules for the Florida Gators (my alma mater), Chicago Bears (my favorite team) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (my hometown team). And I've made predictions on how I feel each team will do this season. I just wanted to take a quick moment to put my predictions out there, so my friends can't claim I'm fudging numbers when I end up being correct.

I'm just going to come out and say it. I'm a homer, a die-hard alumnus who bleeds orange & blue. Looking at the schedule I just don't see any reason why the Gators cannot go 12-0 and reach the SEC Championship. Sure, it most likely won't happen due to the nature of the beast which is the SEC but I am confident in the abilities of that team. So, 12-0 in the regular season, SEC East Champions, SEC Champions and playing for a BCS National Championship. And Tim Tebow will be awarded the Heisman Memorial Trophy for the second time.

The Chicago Bears have made it tough on me these last few years. They seem to like to tease us fans with a great season at one time interrupted by a few lean, losing years. I've resigned myself to believing they are in the middle of a major rebuild of the offense. Looking at their schedule optimistically, I could see the Bears going 8-8. It will probably end up being worse than that, but 8-8 would be fine with me.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 9-7 last season, but they essentially gave up the last two games by resting a majority of their starters for both games. I was intrigued by the entire Brett Favre saga, and would not have minded seeing #4 as a Buccaneer. However, I supported their acquisition of Jeff Garcia last year and I believe he performed well for them over last season. So, I'm happy that they still have a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback starting for them. Looking at the Buccaneer's schedule, I see them going 11-5. I am simply not sold on the supposed improvements made by the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers, so I think the division is up for grabs and that the Buccaneers are in a fine position to repeat as the NFC South Champions.

Day of Introspection: A Slight Clarification

So, in Part 1 I made the following statement.

"To be brutally honest, I would say that up to this point I have failed. Some might think I'm being a little to harsh on myself, but I don't believe in moral victories, half-truths, or some other kind of feel-good nonsense that you find on a poster somewhere."

Speaking of posters ...

I love that picture! You can purchase it from Despair, Inc. at the following address.

Anyway, a very well-written comment was made on that post and it contained the following nugget of advice.

"Anyway, to cut to the chase. Reflect, analyze, ponder. Do all of these. But give yourself the credit you deserve just for undertaking the journey."

First off, I want thank this commenter for reminding me to not be too hard on myself. After reading this over, I think I should clarify my feelings somewhat. I don't want it to seem like I feel that my move out here to California has been a failure. Far from it, to be truthful. I've enjoyed my time out here immensely and feel that my entire experience so far has been enriching and fulfilling. So, I do think I give myself credit for things. I just kind of forgot to do so when I made that post.

Day of Introspection: Part 3

Here's the post where I'm going to lose any and/or all of the goodwill and respect I've built up over the years. This is because I am not going to toe the politically correct line and say that when looking at starting a relationship with a women, I am looking for intelligence, compassion, humor and tolerance. Of course, all of those traits are important. But honestly, the first thing I want is physical attractiveness. I mean, hell, part of my belief in getting myself in shape is so that I am physically attractive to the women I date!

I've been in a bit of a rut lately, when it comes to dating. Honestly, my last relationship lasted a long time so I was not too interested in getting involved with anyone soon after it ended. I figured it would be easier to coast along as a bachelor, and if anyone promising came along than I would see where things lead. But it's been years now, and I'm quite tired of being alone.

Unfortunately, I'm not the kind of person who meets women at a bar or at a club. Most of my past relationships were people I was introduced to by a mutual friend. This trick has served me for a long time, but now it's come back to bite me in the ass. You see, most of my friends only seem to know people who are already in a long-term relationship (or are married ... or gay ...). So I'm in a transitional period, I guess, where I'm trying to decide how to put myself out on the market.

... by the way, the pictures I have accompanying this post are really more a test. I figure if I you give me hell for posting pictures of beautiful women, and you are female, then we need not discuss this subject anymore. Just think of me as a dirty, old man (i.e. Happosai) and be on your way ...

*Ahem* ... I digress. I have had the distinct pleasure to have been complimented as being a gentleman by a few women I have met. I think most of my friends would say that I am a good person with some eccentricities. And you know what, I like being the way that I am and have no intention of changing. But you know what they say. "Nice guys finish last." That might not be true, but you know what. Right now, it certainly feels that way.

Day of Introspection: Part 2

Image scanned from Street Fighter #1, copyright Udon Comics

My head's been a jumble of thoughts lately, so I have been finishing this thread like I had hoped I would. Have a lot of things to think through ... and it does not help when my time is occupied with grand new adventures.

So, to get back to the topic at hand and relate my words to the pictures I am posting in this entry: let's talk about getting in shape.

I would not call myself unhealthy or obese, but I would say I've gotten a little fat and it is something I am not happy with. I've never been one to work out much, especially when I was younger as I was very active. I played tennis for two hours, twice a week, and also played many pick-up games of basketball and football with friends. Of course, when I hit college I got hit by the "freshman fifteen". Or rather, twenty as I believe I went from a weight of 155 lbs. to 175 lbs. Luckily, I've not deviated much from my new weight since then (about 10 years since freshman class) so I guess that counts for something. But to say I'm happy about the way I look, or rather, the way mu gut sticks out would be stretching the truth quite a bit.

Now, some might say that as long as I feel healthy I should not care about how much I weigh or what I look like. That nobody has the perfect body and I'm just allowing myself to be swayed by the perfect illusions cast by the popular media (i.e. look at any magazine rack and tell me what you see gracing all the covers of the main attractions). Well, I'm sorry. I don't harbor any illusions that I'll look like some Greek God cast from marble, but I expect better of myself and that includes looking "good". I understand that perception is very subjective. What I might think of as ugly or unattractive may be exactly the opposite of what someone else thinks. But, this is my blog so it's my opinion that matter most. ;-p

So, I'm fat. And I plan on doing something about it. Actually, I planned on doing something about it, and was actively following that plan. Until I moved here. *Sigh* You see, for about a year I was going daily to a gym that had opened right across the street from the neighborhood I lived in. I had discovered that in the years post-university living, if I had to travel further than 20 minutes to go to a gym than I would most likely come up with an excuse not to go. I had become lazy and, worse, was finding ways to rationalize that attitude. But, then a new gym opened up by my house called The Blitz. X and I decided to check them out one day, and after meeting the owners and going through a trial workout we were hooked. I started out going three times a week, and showed some initial progress but then felt like I plateaued out. After talking to one of the trainers there, I realized I would have to increase my workouts (in frequency and intensity) to get myself where I wanted to be. The trainer was instrumental in pushing both me and X. And we showed great strides in our appearance and health.

When I moved out to California, I was determined to continue my training. There were no Blitz gym locations close to me, so instead I decided to take up martial arts again. At various times, I have taken Choi Lei Fut (from Sifu Desmond Jackson of Whirling Tiger Kung Fu), Wing Chun, Edo Yagyu Shinkage-ryu Heiho (from Sensei David Walter), and lately Fairtex Muay Thai. I have always loved martial arts and enjoyed participating and learning each form.

Unfortunately, I have fallen into that old pit that has trapped me in the past. The Fairtex location I go to is in Mountain View, which is about 30-45 minutes away from the house I live in depending on traffic. If I actually go to class (like I damn well should be), then I have a great time and get my ass kicked! But if I don't go, I get to lay around the house and "heal" (that's the lie I tell myself) while getting nice and portly.

I know what I need to do. It's mainly just a matter of reinstilling some discipline into my routine. I was going to the Blitz 5-6 times a week, and would feel bad if I missed a day. I need to push myself to that point. Maybe I just need someone to badger me every morning ...

Image scanned from Battle Vixens Vol. 1, copyright Tokyopop Inc.

Day of Introspection: Part 1

Roughly eighteen months ago when I (secretly) made the decision to move out to California, I did so with some very specific goals in mind. I had been living and working rather comfortably in Tampa for six years. I enjoyed a good, stable job that may not have been going where I wanted as quickly as I wanted it but I was pretty assured in that I would never lose it. But despite the comfort and security, I wanted more.

Ever since I was really young, I have played video games. Over the course of my life I have owned/currently own an Atari 2600, Commodore 64, Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Gameboy, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Playstation, Playstation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, PSP, Playstation 3, Apple IIGS, and various pre-built and pieced-together PCs. Growing up, one of my many dream jobs was to be a video game designer (or work in the video game industry in some way). When I started feeling like I could be doing more as it relates to the kind of work I was doing (for those who don't know, I was a 2nd-level technician at an IT help desk), I thought back on my youth and the reasons why I got a Computer Science degree in the first place. Video games.

Capcom, Namco Bandai, Konami, Sega, Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, LucasArts, NCSoft, Cryptic Studios, etc, all have offices in Silicon Valley. And since I have a close friend who lives out in that exact area, it became clear that I could take a chance and move across the country to see if I could work in the industry I've dreamed of joining.

So, now it's roughly one year later. I certainly feel that coming out here, finding a new job, and getting used to a new environment has been a good experience for me. But where am I in realizing my goal?

To be brutally honest, I would say that up to this point I have failed. Some might think I'm being a little to harsh on myself, but I don't believe in moral victories, half-truths, or some other kind of feel-good nonsense that you find on a poster somewhere. As stated previously, my goal coming out here was to work in the video game industry and I have yet to break my way in. That does not mean I have given up, but I feel I should take this time to think on what I want to do in the near future. I'm not getting any younger ...

Hey! Look over there!

Hey y'all! I apologize for the delay in posting lately. I am working on my Day of Introspection posts, but it's been hard to gather my thoughts and make them into coherent paragraphs. I hope to have them all finished by the weekend so that I can release them over the early part of next week. Until then, though, here's a nice distraction ...

June 24, 2008: A Day For Introspection - Introduction

I'm writing this a few days later than I had intended, but do you know what day June 24, 2008 was? Well, according to Wikipedia, one of the many things that has happened on this date happened in "1983 - Space Shuttle program: STS-7: Sally Ride, the first female American astronaut, returns to earth". But events like that are not exactly what I am talking about. You see, for me, 06/24/2008 represents the one-year mark of my time in California so far.

So, upon making that realization I decided to take a step back and reflect on what my goals were/are in coming out here and then match those goals up with where I think I am in terms of achieving them. Those goals that I had in mind when I first came out here are the following:

1. Improve my career and grow my skills.
2. Improve my health and physical fitness.
3. Improve my dating life.

Let's take each one in turn, and see where I want to go and where I think I am. I'm usually pretty private when it comes to personal matters (or at least I like to think I am) so speaking about some of these things will not come easily for me. I'm also not too fond of the idea of putting this out there for all to see, but in some ways I see this as another outlet to grow.

So, here we go ...

Neo-Tokyo Tour, Intermixi - Spring in Japan, Final Thoughts

Ah, the group's all here (well, most of them anyway). Looking back on my trip with Intermixi, I have to start off by saying I was really lucky. There is always a worry that when you are traveling on a tour with people you don't know that there will be people you simply don't get along with. I am honored to say that in this instance, this was not the case.

I originally wanted to post pictures of each person from the tour and write a few words about each of them underneath. But, really, as I was working on that exact plan I didn't really feel like my words were doing each individual justice. So, I think instead I will simply say that I had a great experience and would do another tour with these same people in a heartbeat. I would like to let everyone from the tour know that they have my heartfelt thanks for making the trip unforgetable.

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).

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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.