Intermixi TGS Tour - Days 1 and 2

(continuing on from my post a while ago regarding my vacation last)

As much fun as it had been visiting Ammy and spending time in Los Angeles, it was time for the real part of my vacation. Once again, I was going off to the Land of the Rising Sun courtesy of the fine folks, and a very good friend and person, who run Intermixi Tours. On this trip, I was scheduled to stay in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, for a total of 10 days. The tour was going to visit many various locales, but the real treat for me was that we would get a day to spend at the Tokyo Game Show. I've been a big gamer, from my early youth through adulthood, and this was something I absolutely had to do.

So, Ammy dropped me off at LA International Airport and I met some of the others from the group. There was our venerable leader, Aka-san. My friend and coworker, Travis (whose pictures can be found here). Then two others, Kristian and Henry. We all piled on to a Singapore Airlines flight bound from LA to Narita and after about 11 hours of flying we landed safely in Japan. At the airport we met the rest of the people on the tour: Greg, Matt, Randy, and one of my best friends and roommate, X. At this point, a lot of us were tired from the travel (we had left in the afternoon from LA; it was already evening the next day in Japan) so we all boarded a bus that took us to our hotel in Tokyo, the Shinagawa Prince Hotel. Day 1 pretty much encompassed all of our traveling, so I wanted a good night's rest for all that we would do on Day 2 and through the rest of the trip.

The agenda for Day 2 (our first real day in Japan) consisted of a kind-of cultural tour, as we traveled to the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Sensō-ji (金龍山浅草寺), the observation deck of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, then we wandered through Kabukichō and encountered a takoyaki restaurant, and finally we finished our day in Harajuku.

Below are some more pictures from all of these places, and you can find the entire set here. I didn't take any pictures in Harajuku this time, mainly because it's how I remember it from last time.

No love for Intermixi.

I would also like to point out a little adventure some of us had after-hours (i.e., not exactly scheduled by the tour). See, a small group of us (myself, Travis, X, Greg and Matt) went with our leader, Aka-san, out on the town looking for a club that Aka-san wanted to show us. Along the way, our leader received a call from some friends of his; people he used to live with when he lived in Yokohama, I think. Anyway, we meet up with one of them, Jack, and we get lead to a building that houses a bunch of private, little recording studios. It seems that Aka-san used to live with some members of a band, named MAry Ann, and we had just been invited to a private jam/practice session they were having. It was an amazing experience to listen to these very talented musicians play some songs for us, and my only regret was that I stupidly left all of my recording devices (both cameras and my iPhone) in the hotel room so I couldn't take pictures or anything! Luckily, I found some pictures that are up on Intermixi's official Flickr page for the tour.

Wow, it's been 3 months already?!

Oops! There went my personal goal of keeping this blog updated more often. I have some things I still need to talk about from last year, and I will try to complete all of that by the end of this coming weekend. Because next week, if you try to get a hold of me it will be similar to this ...

End 2009; Start 2010

Another year come and gone. I cannot even believe how quickly the end of the year came upon me. I have a lot of personal goals for 2010, and it starts with getting back to writing on this blog. You know, a few months ago I took a nice vacation that placed me in Los Angeles and then Japan. I should really talk about that time.

I started my vacation in Los Angeles, California. The main goal of my time away was to travel around Japan for 10 days, so before heading out to the Far East I decided to visit a friend of mine, Ammy, who lives in LA. Ammy, being the awesome woman that she is, already had some activities lined up for us starting with a visit to The Comedy & Magic Club. The headliner for that evening? Jay Leno! All the comedians were great, but seeing Jay Leno in person was an experience I won't forget!

I had a total of 3 days to spend in LA, and my first day had already been full of plenty of fun right from when I stepped off the plane. This second day was going to be a bit more low-key, as Ammy had to work. I ended up just chillin' at her place while she worked, keeping an eye on her dog, Jack, and making a jaunt out to Starbucks for some caffeine. Once she got back from work, she asked if I would mind if we visited a friend of hers who was down in San Diego for work. So, after about a 2-hour drive we met her friend and went out for dinner. We didn't know where exactly to go, but it was suggested that we could hit this sports bar/sushi place by Qualcomm Stadium. Intrigued by this mention of a "sports bar/sushi" restaurant, we went for it and look what we found.

Seau's The Restaurant! I can't complain about the place. I enjoyed the food, especially the "hot crab dip with herb pizza bread" appetizer we got. And how can I argue with something like 60 TVs strung up all around the place?

My final, full day in Los Angeles included a trip around the city visiting the Page Museum, aka the La Brea Tar Pits and then The Getty Museum. I generally enjoy going to museums, parks, etc. and this was no exception. At the tar pits, there were exhibits showing all the different animals that had been found in the pits throughout history. The Getty had multiple exhibits running, and it would be difficult for me to run through them all. The best thing would be to go through my pictures from those 3 days and see for yourself.

Another post upcoming, but now for your enjoyment ...

This has been going 'round the Internets as of late, but I still felt the need to post it.



Also, if it is not apparent I did make it to Japan and back. I will have some detailed posts regarding the trip coming up real soon, as well as links to pictures and (hopefully) video.

Finally, Eric has come back to ...

Here I am, it's Saturday, September 19, and I'm about four days out from traveling back to Japan.

It's funny, but you would think a trip as big as this would be something I would have kept track of. Yet, I only realized about a week ago that this was really happening! That I was going back to see Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto! Luckily, I planned ahead a little bit and had some $$$ changed into ¥ at my bank so I would already have cash upon landing (it helps to actually have the correct currency if I want to get some snacks at the airport). But this week I've been a whirlwind of activity; getting supplies and medicine, taking care of bills early, preparing my cameras, charging my netbook and psp, and zoning out at work occasionally because I'd rather think about Japan.

So, what am I looking for on this trip? Wherever I go, I always want to experience the culture, people and food. Mmmmmmmmm ... food and drink! Okinomiyaki, yakisoba, ramen, curry, Mos Burger, yakiniku, Asahi Super Dry, sake, tea! I am a huge gamer, so the fact that Intermixi is going to the Tokyo Game Show is Pure Win! Shopping, and this time not just for myself. There's so much I can buy: electronics, games, souvenirs, figures, anime goods/merchandise, clothes, etc. I plan on taking a lot of pictures wherever we go. I've kind of taken up photography as a minor hobby, and I am hoping that I can really capture some memories. Going through the cities, walking in the big intersection in Shibuya, seeing Hachiko, walking through Harajuku, maybe even see some street performers. I also can't wait to meet the other people going on this tour. I've met great people on my previous tours, and I expect that trend to continue.

Ugh, I still have a lot to do. It doesn't help that I will be visiting a friend in Los Angeles, so I need to have everything ready and packed before I fly out tomorrow. But it doesn't matter, this is what a trip is all about!

This is how you sell a video game!

Day of Introspection: Redux

I cannot believe that it has almost been a year, one whole calendar year, since I came back to Florida from California. Going through my posts over time, I noticed that after a year in California I made a kind of progress report. Talked about what I had done and what I was planning to do. I think I'd like to make that a yearly tradition here (the evaluation of life; not the moving cross-country). As a refresher, I'll link to the old posts from July/August of last year.

Day of Introspection: Part 1
Day of Introspection: Part 2
Day of Introspection: Part 3

I started going in to this a little bit in a post about a month ago. I don't know if I'll go into it too deep just now either. But I can give a brief progress report as things stand right now.

Professional Goals: I feel like my time working in California was very productive and helped me to further focus on where I would like to take my career. I was lucky to be able to find a job almost immediately upon returning to Florida, and I have a renewed interest in developing my skills and even mentoring my coworkers. My immediate goal is to renew my CCNA certification, and then work on getting one of the CCNA specializations (most likely CCNA Voice).

Fitness Goals: One problem I've had since coming back to Florida has been letting my overall fitness decline a bit. I didn't work out too much in California, but I walked a lot more both at home and at work. The communities I lived and worked in allowed for walking to stores and restaurants more readily than where I live in Tampa. And I will admit, I let my diet get a little out of control. So, I've begun an exercise program again and I am working on getting my meals down to smaller portions spread out over the course of the day. I may even take up martial arts again, either Kung Fu or Muay Thai.

Relationships: This one has always been a tough one for me. And not one I feel like talking about too much. So, we'll just say this one is a work in progress and leave it at that.

The Venture Bros. Season 4 Preview Is Pure Bliss and Madness

Awesome. That is all.

Can't think of title ... doesn't matter anyway ...

Dammit! I've overslept the last two days and have not made it to the gym. Just started a new workout routine 3 weeks ago and I do not want to relapse into laziness. I need to catch up the rest of this week and get myself back on schedule.

The Ballad of G.I. Joe Will Break Your Heart

Saw this on Topless Robot yesterday.

The Ballad of G.I. Joe from Olivia Wilde

Languor

Pic grabbed from: http://abanzai.animeblogger.net/2007/05/01/lucky-star-04/

lan·guor
[lang-ger]
–noun
1. lack of energy or vitality; sluggishness.
2. lack of spirit or interest; listlessness; stagnation.


It's been one of those weeks. Hell, feels like it's been one of those months, and I'm only two weeks into it. I had some major projects that I've wanted to work on that I've let lapse. Haven't really done too much, aside from work and ... well, not really doing much at all at home. Just feel like at times recently I've suffered from some mental and physical exhaustion. Just can't put my finger on why, though.

It's not like I haven't been doing things I enjoy. I recently went to the evening practice of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. I'm hosting a party tonight, where friends from my normal circle and friends from work will all be in attendance. The Gators are the preseason #1 in the USA Today coaches' poll! And I'm pretty much booked for a nice, two-week vacation at the end of September through the first few days of October. Going to start off in Los Angeles and then head out to Japan for a 10-day tour!

Besides all that, I've restarted my workout regimen with a new plan that will hopefully help me shed some fat. Also joined a friend of mine and started climbing again at Vertical Ventures. I plan on heading out to enjoy the Florida beaches real soon. And I've got all my ongoing projects, like: renewing my CCNA certification, and continuing on to CCNA Voice and CCNP; learning a foreign language; make a serious effort to date and get a girlfriend; train myself to be a better cook; and clean up, reorganize and improve my home.

(o.O)

You know, reading over all of that again maybe that is why I've been lethargic these last two weeks. Maybe I'll just concentrate on that girlfriend part for now ...

Ong-Bak 2

I don't need to tell you, I will be see this when it comes out in theaters.

Conan O'Brien at Bang Zoom Entertainment

Awesome! Just awesome!

Selfless Promotion

I just wanted to point people to some music videos made by a talented friend of mine.


Icarus



Hideaway (222 Version)



Divine Sickness (222 Version)



Hope y'all give him some love!

Wait ... Where did the first half of 2009 go?

Is it really July already?

I was actually working on a new post, but time just seems to be flying by and I have nothing to show for it. I did recently celebrate two birthdays, one for a friend and another one being my niece's. Working on some other activities/projects, but nothing concrete enough to warrant a posting about it.

Let's see what I can come up with later this week.

I give this website the highest rating possible

Someone has taken my personal ratings system for movies and created what may possibly be the greatest website known to mankind. Here it is!

Most Influential Influence

Wait ... you mean I'm supposed to update this thing?

So, yeah, haven't really said or done much of anything in this space in a while. Don't really know why, just haven't. I'm working on something to post, hopefully in the next day or two. Until then, I'll just put up some videos that caught my interest this week.

You trying to be a hero, Watkins? Just trying to kill some bugs, sir.

For a little while now, my roommates and myself have been dealing with an issue in my house. An infestation, really, and it's proved difficult at first to identify. It started in X's room, where he would often find bites consisting of a raised red bump or flat welt somewhere around his hands or near his ankles. They looked like mosquito bites, and that's what we originally attributed them to. But we could not find any mosquitoes anywhere inside the house, and we really did not see evidence of them outside of the house. Weirdest thing, is that he would always find new bites upon waking up from ... bed ... uh oh ...

Bedbugs!

So. Much. Fun. I won't go into the long and gory details about this wonderful pest. You can read the Wikipedia entry I linked to, or if you prefer, this one from Britannica Online. Needless to say, these little critters have been a big nuisance. We tried some home remedies, like home foggers and such, but although I believe we killed many of them it never seemed like we could eliminate them all. What was worse, we would bomb a room and the infestation would disappear for a while only to reappear in another room.

Finally, I got too annoyed with the whole situation and finally decided to call in the professionals. A major treatment was made to my house yesterday. Hopefully, that will eliminate the whole lot of them.

YES! MvC2

I spent so much money playing this in college at our local arcade. I made friends playing this game. I cannot wait until this is released. I'll buy it on both my PS3 and Xbox360.