Just. Wow. What a game that was. I literally stayed up all night to watch it. It started at 5:15 am or so here and I didnt think id be able to wake up, so staying up seemed like a better option. Man, it was totally worth it.
Both teams played a great game, and the USA team was really putting the pressure on with some exciting forechecking. Miller (USA goalie?) was a WALL. Luongo was looking a little shaky the entire game too. Still, his defensemen came up big, tonnes of blocked shots.
It was actually really stressful to watch. I dont think ive been that excited about a TV show or game in a long long time (if ever). Maybe it was just too much caffeine though, i really had to hammer it back to stay awake until the game started.
I can only imagine how loud it was in Canada when Crosby scored that OT goal. What a nail-biter. I hope i didnt wake my neighbours when he scored. It was still pretty early in the morning. Actually, I dont even remember what time it was. After the goal and medal stuff…i think i staggered off to bed. I just remember waking up in my bed, but not really going to it. I had dreams that we actually lost the game, so when I woke up I was having trouble remembering which one was real \O_O/. Thank goodness for the internet and showing me the truth!
Im pretty stoked for how well our men and women did this year. Great job team Canada. We love ya.
I woke up this morning to tsunami warnings all over the TV. I just wanted to make sure people knew that I was about as far away as I could be from any big waves and that I am in no danger whatsoever. We will see how the southern part of Japan fairs though. I hope it isnt as bad as they are expecting and that nobody gets hurt.
The weather here the last few days has been wonderful. Yesterday was +15 and felt like 20 in the sun. It was super fantastic. It feels like spring, and even though I know that I will have to deal with a little more crappy snow and cold, it makes me kinda happy. I do love spring. Not too hot, not too cold. Just perfect.
In a few weeks, the smell of the city will change again with the blooming of the cherry blossoms. For about a month there will be this subtle aroma in the city which is really nice. Its not too strong. The first time i saw the blossoms, I expected to be overwhelmed by the smell. It was actually really subtle and really nice. It also flows out into the city and just makes everything all nice…and stuff. Of course, this means that ill be spending a stupid amount of time down by the river again to enjoy the bloom. This is by far my favourite time of the year.
A while back I mentioned a really cool video I saw about a guy doing bike tricks. I found it again on youtube and I have to share it cause this guy is pretty impressive. Of course, I take no credit for anything about this, but hes talented.
Its a couple min long and pretty enjoyable. Hes a brave soul!
Thats enough for now, this is just a short update. Peace out yo!
I love the Olympics. Every time. I dont know why, its not like im really the athletic type anymore (though im sure most of you would surprised that I was EVER the athletic type). Still, I think its fantastic to watch peoples dreams come true. Its sad to see the people who dont win. I mean…in some of the events its over in seconds. They win or lose that quickly. I cant imagine working that hard for something and having it all come down to one jump.
I was watching the alpine the other day. Maybe some of this will sound a bit harsh, but…anyway. It was the ladies Alpine and I started watching it midway through cause I woke up late. The first one I watched turned out to be the gold medal run. Some american gal whos name I cant remember at the moment. She FLEW down the course, almost literally at some points. It was amazing to watch. Was a great run and she really deserved it. There were several more skiers after her. All of these ladies were in really good shape. Cmon, they are wearing skin tight body suits, its hard not to notice that they are all in great shape. About 3 skiers later a french girl comes out. She…wasnt quite as in shape as the other skiers, but when they did a close up of her face, she had such hope and determination in her eyes. It was impressive. She had something to prove, at least…thats how it felt. Well, she started out and about 3 strides out she tripped and fell. She tried to get back up and keep going…but she took another tumble. She didnt get up again. I dont think she was hurt, physically. The fall wasnt that bad…but she looked emotionally crushed. I felt quite bad for her. Dreams crushed before she even really had a chance to compete. I cant imagine the disappointment she felt at that point.
Some of the other events that I watched have been pretty cool. Though, I just heard that America beat Canada in hockey. Sonuva. Thats really disappointing. I reaaaaaally wanted Canada to be able to take gold on home ice. I guess they might still be able to do it, but it wont be easy. . That…wasnt exactly the onion i was looking for, but it will do. I did also find my penguin emoticons. They are almost as cute as the onions, maybe ill find a way top throw some of them in as well. Last I checked, the ladies curling team was also losing. WTF, bad day for the canucks.
Watching the Olympic coverage in Japan is very interesting. They are VERY focused on Japanese athletes. Its rare to see coverage of somebody that isnt Japanese. If there isnt a Japanese athlete in the event, they dont show it. Its not a greed thing though (like Becky mentioned about how she perceives american coverage in a previous comment) but more of a pride thing. They are so proud of the athletes for what they are doing. I think its more to honour them then it is about medal greed. Japan had a few real hopefuls going in. Ladies mogles, they expected to win a medal, but their girl came in fourth. They also have high hopes for ladies figure skating, so you should check it out if you get a chance. I think her name is Mao.
One of the things I find really interesting are the human interest pieces they do on the news. Sometimes the coach will write a letter to their athlete…and then send it to the news. Then the newscaster will read it on air, to the athlete? This part im not sure about. Its usually just a girl reading a letter with some sad or happy music playing in the background. Do we do that in Canada? They also have fan letters posted up on a board, most of them with pictures drawn by the fans. Its also interesting to see Anime versions of the famous athletes.
Today was a beautiful day. First day in months that i didnt really bundle up. It was great. Went for a nice little walk and the city smelled like spring was coming. I know we will have at least another month of snow and cold, but it was nice for a day to not have to think about the white stuff or the cold.
Not much else to say for now, though I KNOW im forgetting something. Nope, no new pics to share. Well, maybe a few, but im too lazy to go find my camera at the moment. Ill get em to you eventually, they arent of me though! Gawd I hate having my picture taken. Hate hate hate.
Ok, Mr. Lappy has returned…but he has returned with a power outage issue. If i move him even a little, he shuts down! I think the connection in the back is wonky. WTF. I didnt expect to have an issue on the first night. Oh well. I guess I should just be happy that he has returned. And I am, really!
Nothing else to say other than that atm. Will talk to folks soon I am sure.
Tech shop just called and Mr. Lappy is backing in the city, waiting for me to pick him up. However, I wont be able to go get em until sunday, I hope thats not considered neglect. I am sure he can make some friends while he is waiting for me. I guess Dell found AND fixed the problem this wekk, and the best part is…its not costing me anything. I guess I was still under warrenty or something. Im also getting a refund on the 3500 yen i had to pay to get the laptop looked at. That works out to about $40 canadian, so im pretty happy. Thank you Dell, you are redeemed.
Have an interesting story, sorta, though there isnt much to it really. Near where I work there are these 2 guys who come out at night. The really remind me of Jay and Silent Bob. One bigger guy wears a long coat and is always standing up against the wall. Then there is his thinner partner who is always smoking or on his cell phone wandering around more out in the open. I really dont get a “safe” vibe from these guys and Im pretty sure they are up to no good, though Im not entirely sure what that is. One of my friends told me that they are trying to recruit pretty young girls, for something. Im not sure how nefarious it is…but it didnt sound good.
My second Japanese cold has finally gone. This one was totally different than my last one. Ihad all the bells and whistles with it. Shakes, shivers, cough, etc etc. Didnt have the uncontrollable runny nose and sneezing I had with the last one though, thankfully. That would have made it difficult to work. But…i have been sleeping like 10-12 hours a day since I got the cold. I think its helping me recover, but its really screwed up my time management. I wake up and its time to go to work, I get home…putter around for an hour or so then I go to bed. I really have to change that habit. Its way too much sleep. I think im sleeping twice as much as I was only a few weeks ago. Literally. Where I was lucky to get 6 hours sleep, there have been a few days where I have actually gotten 12. Its nuts.
I watched some of the Olympics today, saw Canada get gold at the mens mogles. Hurrah. Is that how you spell it actually? I keep thinking of the moogles from the FF series and it makes me second guess myself.
Oh, that reminds me. Did i totally see that ff13 is coming out for the 360? That would rock so much. Course, my 360 is on the other side of the world, but it means that I can play it eventually. Ive been seriously missing a good RPG these last few weeks. I never did finish 12 and I wish I had. Oh well, I can always do it when I get home, if I have time.
Anybody played anything good that deserves mention?
Oh, btw…when I mentioned ff13 a few posts ago, I obviously meant ff14, but im sure you all knew that already.
Yah…thats enough typing for now. Maybe ill be posting again from Mr. Lappy soon. Wont that be exciting? やた。Pity, I wont be able to type in Japanese from Mr Lappy. Oh well. Not like im any good at it anyway.
Mr. Lappy, if you come home…all will be forgiven. I wont be angry at you anymore, I promise. Just come home where its safe!
As you can tell, the laptop is still somewhere in no-man’s land. The shop called a few days ago to say that Dell still hasnt found the problem, ie, they havent even looked at it yet. Wankers. The tech guy and I pretty much agreed on what the problem was before it was even sent off to Dell, so…there really isnt a good excuse for this. The worst part is that I am sure they will try to tell me that I need an entirely new display (which is just a crock) and I dont know if I will be able to tell em thats not the case. I might end up paying through the nose for something I dont need because the company wants to ring me for as much as money as they can get.
On top of that, Im still paying for the laptop…while I dont have it. They should totally suspent payments while they have my computer. Not likely that will happen though >_<//. I think thats enough ranting for now, though it kinda makes me angry.
The weather here has been pretty interesting. The other day I left home and there were snowflakes falling the size of toonies. I went into the nearby convenience store and by the time I came out the snowflakes were only the size of dimes, but were falling very quickly. The snow was heavier, but smaller. I walked across the street, and by the time I reached the otherside, it was ice pellets that were falling. I walked a block and then there was nothing falling. I put down my umbrella and kept walking. I got another two blocks and the sun was shining. Straaaaange weather!
I hope things are going well back home. Valentines Day is soon. You all have big plans?
V-Day is a little different here. There are 2 days, instead of one. Feb 14th is V day, and March 14th is White day. On V-Day, girls give chocolates to guys. The guys arent really supposed to do anything. On White day, the guys are supposed to give cookies or chocolates to girls. I think thats basically how it works. But…there are 3 kinds of chocolates that can be given, each with different meanings. There are the obligatory chocolates = the “because I HAVE to”, which have no real emotional meaning. The “friend” chocolates, which isnt a romantic thing, but just a nice gift. Then there is the homemade chocolate (or is it handmade?) which is the romantic kind. This stuff can actually be made by the person, or purchased. There are HUGE stacks of chocolates at a lot of the stores, its kinda like heaven really.
I dont completely understand it, but its kinda cool. Some of our students have given us some chocolate (they are so sweet, the students and the chocos both).
Anyway, going out to dinner in a bit, so Ive gotta get a few things done. Ill talk at ya all soon. Though…not likely from my own laptop for a few months =\. Ciao.
Been a week since Mr. Lappy has been sent off to the doctor. I hope hes doing ok, its the first time since we met that weve been apart. Its totally sad and I worry that he is lonely. Off somewhere in a cold dark place. I hope the other laptops are being nice to him. I mean, he really hasnt socialized much. Once at that network party we had…but…did he make any friends? I really dont know. Its like sending your kid off to summer camp. Cept, hes not really my kid and its closer to open heart surgery than summer camp.
And…now…my washing machine is making scary noises. Machines and me, we just aint getting along at the moment. Terrible.
Anyway. Im on a borrowed laptop for a little bit, not long though. I really should return it. Its very interesting writing on a Japanese keyboard. Lesse if I can do something trivial and childish.
はじめまして。私はかあたあです。えいごのきょうしです。さんじゅいちさいです。どうぞよろしく。
Ha, that was pathetic. Ive been here for almost a year and I can barely introduce myself. I should really work more on my Japanese. Damn, i lied in there about my age too. It really should have said…
にじゅにさいです。
Much better, im sure you all believe me now.
So, the whole reason that I decided to make this post was to show another funny youtube video a came across. Good chance youve seen it since its a little older, but I know a bunch of you are Eddy Izzard fans, so even if you have, you may get a kick out of it. The video part is work safe, but some of the language is not.
Thats right, there is swearing and several F-bombs in the dialogue.
I have warned you! Ma, cover you ears when he starts to swear, ok? Youre not old enough to be hearing that kind of language.
Not sure if that is gonna work. I dont have live writer on this laptop, and actually updating through the website is a pain in the behind.
Horray, it worked. Anyway, im gonna go …do…something. Maybe study some Japanese or something. That would be good for me…
This is gonna be quick, im using a friends laptop cause either the backlight or inverter went on mine and i cant see a damn thing on my screen. I just sent it in to get fixed, but im not sure how much its gonna cost or when its gonna be ready. I had thought that I had found a way to avoid dealing with Dell, but it seems the shop is just sending it to them anyway. I had hoped to get it fixed locally, but no such luck.
Long story short. Until further notice, I am MIA. I hope things are well back home and I hope to talk to you all soon.
Chris, you get into the FF13 beta yet? I havent! >_<//.
Oh, one other piece of news…I have facial hair! Bwahahahhah.
