A New Year!
Well. Hello there. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?
We’re coming to the end of the “Dragon Year” and heading into 2013 – The Year of the Snake. As it just so happens, 2013 isn’t a prime number, BUT ’13 is … so by that way of thinking (mine), much like 2011 – I sense good things to come.
This blog has come and gone through many forms over the years. Way back when, it was a way to emotionally let out everything that was going through my mind, and quite honestly, helped me cope with a bunch of stuff as I attempted to grow up and see things in new ways.
After that, it switched to something almost sort-of-informative. Working as a Land Steward I had a blast posting up what I was doing, how to deal with invasives, and also throw in the odd thought here and there.
Bikes. Bikes in pedal form. Bikes in motor form. That about sums up everything until the summer before last. A move! A new adventure! Maybe I can try my hand at traveling and typing.
Well, that didn’t go too well either. Guess I hit that point that everyone who (eventually) moves away from home goes through (especially to a foreign country) and sorta closes up and gets some degree of foreigner-sickness. After that, things got a lot better but this blog did not recover much.
I enjoy typing. I enjoy getting my thoughts out and with each click of the keyboard it gives me a chance to go over all those wonderful electrical impulses that make me think each and every day.
I also like showing friends/family/random people who might be following me and enjoy what I write (thank you!) what’s happening because while I always mean to contact, talk, and include you all in my life as much as possible, I’m quite honestly not good at doing that – and while it might seem like time goes past and perhaps bonds seem to thin, it’s more like a “hold” button. Nothing changes, as can be easily attested to when I do get the chance to catch up, to visit, to see and chat. That’s what the true test of a bond is, in my opinion at least.
This is what I like to do, I like to ramble, get my thoughts out and just free my mind of a thought or two as I’m having them. I haven’t done that enough lately, and that’s what 2013 shall be about I think.
We end 2012 on a vacation. One that perhaps we are lucky to pull off, and one that I know that we both sorely needed! It’s our first vacation that we’ve taken together, just the two of us, as a married couple. The first one since Feb of 2011. Nagasaki. Fukuoka and finally Kagoshima. A tour of Kyushu.
Temples, city-scapes, martys, new forms of transportation and beautiful mountains all around us. It’s brilliant, and I hope to get to share some of it in the very-near-future with you all as I realize just how good it is to hear myself type again.
Thanks for sticking with me this long, hopefully you enjoy what you see – and if you don’t, well, like I said – I enjoy hearing myself type, so I’m not too bothered. π
A quick stop for the Nagoya Belgian Beer Fest!
At the beginning of Golden Week the Japan Belgian Beer Fest made it’s stop in Nagoya, and after getting news from the previous night of my new employment, a little bit of celebration was in order.
3000Β₯ bought us a special souvineer glass and 10 tokens to buy food and drink with. Food was 2-4 coins, beers were 2-4 coins. A few stops to get more coins and we had ourselves a pretty darn good time!!!
Nearly 100 beers, Belgian Frites and sausages, cheese, live music and good friends.
Will be visiting again next year when they come through. That’s for sure! π
End of April and the beginning of May!
Can you believe we’ve been here 6 months already?
Both Jennifer and I have started Japanese classes, which we attend on weekday mornings. It’s a little backwards though: her classes are every day for an hour and a half. Mine are twice a day for the same amount of time. Jen works full time. I work part-time (or not at all – more on that later!) If only the schedules were switched!!!
I guess that means I just have to study harder!
In new-news: I HAVE A JOB!!!
I interviewed the other week for an θ±δΌθ©± (γγγγγ – Eikaiwa) teaching position at a school near the Sakae station. I thought things went well, and later that day they called me back and offered me the position! Woohoo!!!
I’ll be working two days a week teaching conversational English here, and I am really looking forward to this opportunity.
Dress clothing, ties, suits … I never thought I’d have a job like this. Guess it’s all part of growing up. Weird.
Golden week (which is a week of Holidays here in Japan) was fairly low key for us two, I started shadowing classes last week and do the same this week before starting my Tuesday/Sunday classes next week and officially becoming a teacher.
Very excited for the upcoming months! A post with some more wit to it next time. Promise. ;D
Birds? Yep. Birds.
Having some fun earlier this spring. Feeding the birds with leftovers of a muffin beside the water in a courtyard.
All was peaceful and great.
Then Godzilla came.
The birds flew away. π¦
I believe we call this a restart.
-from Heiwa Koen Park about 2km from our house.
What a Spring season it has been here in Japan! Β We’re prepping to start Japanese language classes in roughly a week, we’ve seen snow, festivals, good food and now amazing weather.
Sometimes it’s hard to get down thoughts, sometimes you just don’t feel like writing it all down so hit up my flickr page, and it’s easy to catch up there!
I found some new styles of posting here – and I technically have a backlog of posts that need to be finished.
The blog name now takes on the form of a bit of a joke. Β That being said, if the end of the world hits, I’ll be sure to let you know first. π
6 months in – you might even say we’re getting the hang of this all!
JUMP AROUND!
Our plan worked.
One of the reasons for the absence of posting over Xmas was my fantastic wife and I were planning a surprise trip to the Isle of Man for the holidays – and we were doing our best to make sure that members of the family had no idea we would be there.
Two weeks on the Isle of Man, two days in London. I don’t really have the capacity to say how I feel about what I saw and how I felt on the island, so perhaps a gander at the photo album with pictures will help a bit. I love the sea. I love hillwalking. I am lucky to have the people I do in my life.
What you do get to see here, though, is the collection of photos of various family members jumping about.
Why?
See food? Yes, lots of Seafood.
One of the things that we have been able to really experience here are various types of fish and all the ways to cook, eat, prepare, and other synonyms that can contend with “make om noms.” There are more grocery stores around us that I know what to do with, and if I wished to venture out into the center of the city more there are some fantastic resources there as far as eating friends of an aquatic nature are concerned.
This is just what we tend to see at one of our local grocery stores.
Adventures in Progress. 