Japan Life Summary

hehe. Here to report that i'm a-okay. So Dad n Mum, no worries.

Maybe I was still a little affected by the sight of a guy lying there with blood coming out from
his face n stuff this morning...wasnt really confident of my cycling skills on the way to my sword class..but on the way back, i guess the sword class helped abit...hehe.

So 大丈夫　ね。　（I am okay)。

Just started watching this show called 天涯雄医. Hope i got it right...hehe...
Makes me wanna be doctor again..haha...my 2nd choice if i can't do engineering. (Yea..if i cant do engineering..i probably cant be a doctor..duh.)
The soundtrack is pretty nice, anyone has it??
Its a show about doctors, many doctors, and about the volunteering in Kenya. But damn sianz, Gigi Leung's character kanna gone case after the first episode....haha....sheesh...
There is probably too many freakish things happening, like every 10 minutes there will be some accident or watever...but its a doctor show.

From young i dreamed of working in a big corporation, wearing my power suit, carrying my suitcase, walking into a glass door, entering a polished building taking the lift to my office.
Now, reality strikes. ENGINEERS. Working in a big corporation alright, being a small fry, wearing my nike t-shirt and jeans, carrying my dirty haversack, walking into a glass door, entering a seemingly old n gloomy orange building, taking the lift to my cubicle. To top it all, i arrive at my office on my 2 wheeler. A trusty 6-speed auntie bicycle with a grocery basket. The epitomy of coolness.

After which, i make my own coffee, take out my tupperware with my peanut butter bread, reading CNN, Channelnewsasia, Asia1, WashingtonPost, Shareinvestor, Cnetasia etc. .. and start working on exercises that are seemingly randomly thought up by the trainer. "Oh, finished that already? erm, let's see, why dun you add...erm...ECC error correction?" I get this feeling he is trying to fill my time. Whoever sent me here on "training" probably didnt realise that there are people who do pay attention in the Uni.

If you have read my blogs so far, i have nothing good to say at all dun i..haha...

Lets sell melons (blow my trumpet) then: Few weeks ago, went to a bowling centre with the company's people. Guess what. I bowled my strongest games in my whole life. 1) The pins seem to fall easier? 2) Gotta beat my trainer! 3) The lanes were super oily 4) FREAKING LUCKY.
i guess (4). Bowled a 191 after 5 strikes in a row.

Honestly, i didnt mean it. Each time the ball went to the wrong side! hahhahaa.. I tell you, the bowling stuff here is pretty cute. Before you bowl, they will broadcast you to the TV screens above. Then when your ball is about to reach the pins, the TV switch camera to the pins...its just like watching a bowling competition on TV. They have Hello Kitty balls if anyone is interested.

Well, after the whole thing, i got the trophy. There was actually a contest that i didnt know. SO PAISEH. Not only did i get a trophy, i got a present. It was a light sabre. Wee. If only they didnt buy the YODA one....aint he a little short?! Didnt join them for drinks after that, else i would have used it on them... and for the effort of getting above 100, we were given a packet (1 meal) of instant noodles. haha. cheapo!!!

They do have a printout of all the pins we hit ( and missed ) too...super pro. Every single pin is recorded from frame 1 to 10, all 3 games. Impressive. Oh-kay, so here's the truth. I won because i was lucky that everyone else was trying to hook the ball on the freakish oily lane. The pros that is. Everyone knows the percentage is higher if a hook is done. But no way can the ball hook properly. So all i did was to throw straight balls...hahahhaa...they SLIDE all the way there...the pins probably slide too.

Sword fighting was just as fun. I learnt 2 new set moves today. How to take care of 2 people running towards you, and away from you. Its tiring cuz there is always the warmup that is literally stroking the sword at least 200 times. And mentally tiring cuz of the moves we have to remember. Overall, it was pretty good. Always wanted to learn a martial art involving swords.

Ah. spoke enough for the day. Kudos to those who reached thus far. A commendable stamina.
=) I'll try to fill in the specifics in the future blogs. Notice i have no names of anything. hehe.
Memory not good. Ciaoz.

困ったな！(Troublesome!)

hehe...another blog? This ivan must be on drugs! and yes i am. I just bought Fancl supplements. ARE YOU MAD? yes i am. I was walking in the 7-11, saw the supplements with the labels "快眠“..Then i remembered someone said that Fancl uses NATURAL stuff. okay. Venom was pretty natural. heh. yes i do need something to help me sleep now. The early sun at 5am is getting me pretty pissed. With all the past haunting me again, it sure is hard to fall asleep too. The last thing i want is to feel wasted every day...I need my soccer back....=(

I think with this diet of mine over here, he "light" at the end of the tunnel, only to be run over by the damn train. kidding. couldnt help it. =P (no no. this friend is good. =) thank you. Without whom i would have gone down pretty bad. =) ) But the effect of my decision lingers.

Is that going to stop me from making choices? no. (not talking about "which colour should i wear today" kinds of course haha)

Fragility of Life

While cycling back home with T3 and Damien, we took the shorter way with more cars.
Three quarter of the way through, we were already reaching home.

Glancing towards the front for clearance, i saw 2 bikes 10 metres ahead getting uncomfortably close, i looked away and concentrated on my approach to the corner i had to tackle. When i reached the corner a split second later, they met.It was fast n blur, i didnt know where to focus.

Next thing i knew. 2 riders on the floor. One seriously injured. Other with a bloody head.
The bloody head looked like our local ah-beng. With his scooter, it looks more like he's at fault.
Wats more, he tried to get up as soon as he could. I guess he was trying to run. When i left the scene, i couldnt find him anywhere near the other injured. Run he did. Perhaps.
If i were to give him a benefit of a doubt, he may have gone off to clean his blood filled face at a nearby tap, wherever that is. He is afterall bleedign from his eyes too.

The other guy was probably in shock. He was bleeding from nose n mouth. Coughing out blood.
I had another friend, or rather a sergeant i dun really admire, who had his spleen removed. i hope this isnt the same case. He laid in the same position till the paramedics came.

Yes, what did i do? Nothing. I just lent someone a watch. (Luckily i do know abit of what she was saying) This person is pro. She took pulses from both riders while they were on the ground, ordered us to call the ambulance, giving orders to the riders to stay down and asked someone to direct traffic. The others around just stood there...me included...there is only so much we can do. Someone was already calling the ambulance, and i can't speak Jap. Someone was already directing traffic, T3 included, he was in front. We couldnt touch the bike, as the police would need it in its place. so there i stood, looking at her trying to talk to the injured.

a maybe drunk man did come with a packet of sweets..big packet...talked to me about something....maybe: "these youngsters these days" kinda stuff, from his looks...and held my hand...wtf...he was gesturing that i should hold that person's hands? nah. I spoke english to ward him off. But he wouldn't budge. then i just pointed to the guy when he asked a question. He went over and the lady just gave him the: "hey thanks, but you are drunk" kinda smile...

The fire trucks came first, with another fire car...to clean the petrol off the ground. After which the paramedics came. When everyone is in good hands, we left the scene to the pros.

I wondered what i will do if there wasnt that lady around. Speak no Jap, can't get people to do stuff, can't call the ambulance. I would even struggle to give a pin point location, let alone go n pacify the guy and ask him where it hurts. That said, i am not trained in first aid. I only know how to wrap my army buddy in the thingy we have to carry. wazzit called. Yes i took a few first aid lessons in JC...but thats only on sprains n stuff like that. CPR is the only thing i learnt in the army, along with tying some stick to my buddy. CPR to a breathing guy with suspect broken ribs...nah.

I would love to write further about how fragile life is, but i guess you will find better essays about it somewhere else. As a friend said after a bloody idiot hit him with a vehicle, "Life is vunerable. Treasure every moment you have with your love ones."

Mood: Sombre n pretty much useless. but okay.

Disneyland Japan

WARNING: incomplete blog.

5.30am: Wake up on a sunday morning
6.30am: Meet at lobby
7:30am: Meet at Disneyland.

GAWD. It had to be that early. Anyway, should have know such early timings will produce late comers...then could have had a nice breakfast before going in. heh. The train there was littered with cute girls though. All secondary sch age, with pretty short skirts. Skirts. Another topic i will cover next time.

There were a few new friends who came along, Chanel, or Chamaine or Carmen...Tiffany, Yuhui's 2 new friends, and the rest of us minus Shaonan. So. What is there at Disneyland Tokyo?

The normal ivan will just go "rides, walking around, shows, getting sunburnt..looking at disney houses."

In all honesty, it sucks. I wasn't anywhere near happy. Maybe i was stuck with the wrong company. Maybe it was the heat. Maybe the rides were a little disappointing. (ITS FOR KIDS) ... maybe the only thing that was interesting was the rides. Maybe it was the early morning.
I certainly ain't glad to see mickey. but maybe i could tell people, that i have finally gone to disneyland. At the ripe age of 26. Woohoo. yea. share my enthusiasm.

But that didn't stop me from buying 300 bucks worth of stuff there. WHAT WAS I THINKING.
well...i did want to buy something for the family. Brainwashed. At 9pm, i spent only 75 bucks on the entrance fee n 40 odd for the other stuff. at 11pm, i am broke. (Dad, you are not supposed to know this.)

Now you know how i really felt, here's the politically correct version. (Read as boring. read at your own risk.)

It was great! (yar right. )

Walking through the gates of the train station, groups of people were already waiting for their classmates and friends. Kudos for their enthusiasm. Walking further, we see the big disney shop. Lets hold the shopping at the end. Through the tunnel with various shots of pictures, a structure with a clock. A picture taken. Zoom all the way to the entrance. Waiting for the girls.
Saw them with their friends. Bought tickets using discount (singaporeans remember?). The queue to go in was awesome for such an early timing of 8.45. or something. (they were late, cuz one of them overslept. no finger pointing. it happens. hehe)

Group photo at the car with Donald and Donald gf. whats her name? DAISY. Well, we have to QUEUE. short thought. anyway, to make it up, i took daisy as my gf for that shot. But, she was looking at Donald. Wasnt giving a hoot about me with my arms around her. (they were lifesized plastic figurines sitting on a cartoon car with the nephews spraying water. I'll add the photos later, if i have time..hehe)

Moving on, we went through the streets. Those sinful streets. Shopping streets. Could see the castle, so we said this is for the end. dun wanna carry crap around.

I got to see Mickey's house!!! Finally. after so many years. I had a mickey when i was young, bro had donald. The house was pretty cute, colourful, everything was made of wood. We met Mickey, apparently gotta be lucky to see him. Cute little guys hug him like hes a hero. Old guys like me just...grab him around the neck. CHEEZE!

To the race track! How about a spin in a diesel powered car! Only to realise, these cars run on a track...yes, we can steer the car, but the track makes sure you dun travel anywhere else further than your path. i could have gone hands free. At speeds slower than my cycling, it sure was exciting.

The ride in some space craft wasnt that exciting either. Hardly remember what happened. Ah. It was pretty high speed roller coaster. I mean, we did move pretty fast for a kiddy ride. No dips, only tight turns. so it was left right left right. Whee. round n round. stop.

For lunch it was turkey drumstick while queueing up for the funny tour with the funny tour guide. We were in the story. We had to run away from witches and stuff. Run down the stairs, walk into "secret" hallways... The leader was comical. Really serious in their acting. And to kill the evil guy, this person took out a LIGHT SABRE, and shot the bugger dead after a long story by the bugger in jap. And at the end of the story, we were finally lead to a room when the girl holding the light sabre was given a medal. Everyone clapped for the "hero". Yay.

Went on all the rides we could get, some using the Fast Pass thingy, which allows you to skip stations.

I give up. This is meant to be a draft. But hey. it sure bored me to bits. Not a bloggy person. so....i shall leave the story for now and catch up on my sleep...today is 17th...read that blog.
no mood. =( SORRY!!!

1st of Sept 05 - Erm, i can't remember what set me on fire the day i wrote this..haha...sorry if i have offended anyone! =)

Summer Cleaning n Nortty Girls

I know I know. We all do SPRING cleanings.

I would love to show you a picture of the room before i started clearing wat seems like 7 mths worth of trash(No mum, its just to scare my friends out there, its just 2 mths. =D). But it would have been given a rating of R(A). Its petrifying.

R(A)? Yea, porn is available freely around here. 7-11 has it. All the convenient shop actually, blatently display all sorts of cutie pies, details i will leave to your imagination. This reminds me of that day, when i was cycling towards Kawasaki station. It was a normal sunday, going to meet some friends for a cuppa n japanese lesson or something...and on the way there, lo n behold, i was cycling through a street scattered with boob-pamphlets. BIG ones. erm. i meant the pamplet. If i was corny enough, i would have linked that to a booby-trap. Geddit. guess not. Ya. So i had to cycle through this alley, whether pleasure or disgust went through my brains, i wun tell ya. R(A).

Besides porn, there is the girl trade. In the part of Kawasaki we work in, there is this street which we frequent, because most of the fast food stalls are there. Now, in this street lined with MacDonalds, Medicine shops, Pachinko and arcades, there is this shop with a seductive picture of a girl and the price of 3000yen. Yet to find out what they do actually. Could just be singing karaoke. Down the alleys, there are many more. These have guys in blazers coming to you, offering girls at certain prices. One more observation...at the train stations, they give out tissue papers with numbers to call when you are lonely, have pictures stuck onto telephone booths and...guys carrying poles with a poster of girls just sitting in the middle of nowhere. They have to do something about the unemployment rate dun they. Which brings me to say, i am going out of point. This is supposed to be about SUMMER CLEANING.

Yea. so. i cleared my trash, packed up the room, packed the table, washed the floor and dettol-ed the floor. Smells like a clinic now. hehe. In 5 days, it would probably get back to normal. The thing about the air here, its pretty dirty. Just look at the window of mine. Awesomely dirty. But i am lucky enough not to have dust balls running around my room like some others. Or Mosquitos that keep them awake at night. Yea, you thought only tropical countries have mosquitos? Then there is the constant complain of dirt from outside. (I tend to keep the sliding door closed during the day..hehe...heng ah...though i do have to rely on the ventilation later on at night.) Can't do without the air con either..hehe..ARGH..forgot about my clothes at the laundry. Chotto Matte (wait awhile). *throws everything into the dryer*

Tada. I blogged. Clap Clap.

Sorry for the abrupt end, but i have to get up at 5.30am tomorrow morning, 4.30am singapore time, to meet my friends at DisneyLand Japan. Woohoo! My ass. Its so freakishly early. Goodnite folks. HAve a great day, while i get lured into "roller coaster" rides.

Japanese Lessons

Its been some time now since we say goodbye to our paid teacher. From then on, we have been taking turns to teach each other a chapter out of the book called Minna No Nihongo. (i'm the teacher today! whee!)

*Now Playing: Koda Kumi & BoA - The Meaning of Peace (Tatsumaki Remix)*

It's pretty simple. First, we go through the vocabulary. The teacher reads word by word, accompanying each with the explanations. From there, we move on to the grammer.
Each sentence structure is explained. Blah. Then we read out RenXiu A (Exercise A). The sensei reads this portion and explains the grammer. Next goes to Bun Kei(sample sentenses)...i sense you are falling asleep. Lastly, Rei Bun (more examples). So i lied. There is still another section called Kai Wa (example conversation). hehe. Sorry, writing this to record my life here. =)

After all that, the next lesson, the same chapter is read, first, with Ren Xiu C (Example conversation, short) then Ren Xiu B (homework). Mon dai (questions at the back) are done and checked outselves.

All these are done at a coffee shop, be it Doutor, Starbucks, Mister Donut or Excelsor. Most of the time i am so tempted to get a cup of coffee...which i did...but its an open secret that you shouldnt drink coffee at 9pm. So i love to ask for trouble. After all, coffee is one of my fav beverage.

So today is Wednesday. I knock off early at 5.15pm. Go to Kawasaki Eki area to have dinner. SGusto, TenDon, SongWu, SukiYa, MacDonalds or KFC. Sometimes Mister Donut. Its nuts having doughnuts for dinner. haha. After meals we go have our walk abouts, play games at the arcade, or shop at the 100 yen shops...or walk around DICE electronic store....or buy SNACKS at the snack shop. Its a sinful shop. I spend 12 bucks on snacks on average...since it selling at the cheapest price. Chocolate cookies, caramel popcorns!!!!, drinks, chocolates, biscuits...i dun take chips though...unhealthy (?!) ...

Wednesday is also the day when we have our volunteer japanese class. Our teacher, Kurose-san, is a pretty bubbly n patient teacher. We probably were quite difficult the first few sessions...our skills can't match a natural's machine gun....well...she still tolerated and now....we are still sucky...hahaha... and they do this for free. Of course, its the friendship that forms during this sessions that makes this so interesting. (my english vocabulary just went broke.)

so how was my lesson today? SUCKY. hehe. Basically i get to teach all the confusing chapters. Well, maybe i made it complicated cuz itadakimasu and kudasaimasu and asaagemasu and kuremasu and agemasu and moraimasu all seems the same to me. hehe. Anywayz, maybe i try to teach too much too. hehe.

Ah. watched finished Desperate Housewives. Totally different from SATC in my opinion. More interesting. hehe. More about it in another blog.

Thinking of a trip to Hokkaido during July-August Holidays...any suggestions?

Sorry, boring post. Me go have my daily glass of Hokkaido Milk, and sleep. Its 1 hour and a half past my bed time. which is roughly 9.45pm singapore time. hehe. Wonder how i am going to go for my midnight suppers once i get home. =) There is midnight shopping now isnt there....hehe....Goodnights!

Kawaii Japan

ただいま！　映画を見たよ。映画はMillion Dollar Babyだ。　面白くて、悲しくて、人の心を感動てきな映画。好きだ。　し。。。電子辞書を使った。へへ。　どこまで話した?
ああ。日本の経験だ。

I am back! Watched a movie. Its called Million Dollar Baby. Its a pretty interesting, sad and touching show. I liked it. shhh...i used an electronic dictionary. hehe. (not wise to translate this sentence eh..hehe) where did i talk untill? ah. the experience of Japan.

日本にはとってもいろいろ面白いことがある。　僕は　すべての事が　やろうとする。　日光が大好きです。いい友達と旅行しました。　Tsu Tsen さん　行けないのは　残念です。

In Japan, there are alot of variety of interesting stuff. I try to do everything (here). Nikko is the place i loved alot. Went there with good friends. Its a pity Tsu Tsen couldn't go.

毎日の晩ご飯をどうする？　外でします。　約束があるから。　毎火曜日と水曜日は　日本語の授業がある。
金曜日と土曜日と日曜日は　友達と　会う。　疲れたよ。　でも、　人生は満足だ。

How do i settle dinner everyday? Outside. Because i have alot of appointments. Every Tuesday and wednesday, i have japanese classes. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, i meet my friends. (we are currently learning samurai sword fighting on saturdays hehe)
Tiring. BUT, life is fulfilling.

Finished burning my DVDs...time for me to go to bed. Can't wait to hear good news tmr morning. Life is so short, be happy ya? =P

Japan?

Heyo, just thought i write something before no one reads this page anymore..hehe..
Not that i have not been writing recently, in fact, i have been writing...but i have categorised them as unpublishable. =P (i scared Lemming steal my blog....hehe!!! KIDDING!)

I guess it was more of lecturing a particular group of people than anything..so what the heck...it was good enough to just write it down...Don't get me wrong here, life is great! =)

One day, i shall post in Jap, but for now, i shall write in english.
EH. yea...you noticed, i haven't really said much in this post.

I have already crossed my 7th month. Time really flew....i just have 11 more months to go..
less than a year, i will be back in that disgustingly hot country i call HOME.
Do i miss home? No.

Why?! no idea. I definitely miss the cleaniness.

Japan isn't the Japan i knew in JC days. Once you live here, you realise that it is pretty dirty. And thats an understatement. I think they really mean it when the locals here comment about our CLEAN country. Its no joke. I don't remember people cleaning up the train platform. Cobwebs dating to WWII can still be found at their train station. right. i would love to post some pictures, but i have my reasons. hehe.

Yes, i do miss my family and friends. but the guys and gals here are doing a great job to make this place great. =)

ah! i shall post this first, its time to go Tshush's room for a movie screening! =)