Round 1

This past weekend, Natalie, myself, and a group of friends went to check out this huge entertainment complex near my school in Okayama. Round 1 is basically like a Celebration Station, on crack. It has almost everything you can imagine, that you wouldn't find at an amusement park. I'm not sure if that makes sense but at an amusement park, we can usually find roller coasters, Ferris wheels, and carnival games. Well, at Round 1, you can find anything that is not at an amusement park such as roller blading, Karaoke, batting cages, ping pong tables, arcades, pachinko machines, UFO games, kids play places, basketball, internet cafes, pool tables, golf, bowling, badminton, beer, and bad food. It's quite epic actually. Especially since the whole complex is indoors and it's in a 6 story building. The whole place was really nice, played 80's hits, and was endlessly entertaining.

Somehow, 3 hours felt like about an hour and the whole thing only cost us about 17 bucks (every attraction is unlimited). Throughout our time there, I probably had enjoyed the batting cages the most. There's nothing like swinging a bat as hard as  you can at a tiny little white ball. It just gets all of the frustration out (not that I had any to let out). I also played Tennis with Natalie and that was fun. I played a game of PIG with the group and although I did really bad, I did hit a behind the hoop shot. That's pretty impressive considering that I'm as big a fan of basketball as I am a crappy basketball player. Sometimes, I missed the hoop completely.

I also had a roller blade battle with a professional roller blader. Actually, I didn't do anything of the sorts but there was this one incredibly cool, dorky, effeminate, roller blade aficionado that was pulling off every roller blading ultimate special finishing technique known to the entire western (Well, Eastern) hemisphere, all while looking gracefully ridiculous. I mean, he was pulling off triple axle spins, one legged horizontal electric guitar moves, disco boogie back flips, and at one point, he was skating with his hands. I'm pretty sure he was listening to ABBA's Dancing Queen. He was quite entertaining. And then his dad joined in, then was like father and son (instead of Will Ferrell and Napoleon Dynamite) Blades of Glory. All that was missing was a polyester body suit with gold trimming and pink flames, a Mel Gibson mullet and you had the 1988 Roller Blading Olympics. Epic.  Plus, the dad complemented my roller blading skills at one point. That's when I realized I could leave Round 1 with my head held high.

Well, Round 1 was a blast. Afterwards, we went to an Izakaya and then to a bar. One the way home from those fun outings, there was a Japanese businessman, on the subway, that spilled his life's passions and studies onto us (in Japanese). Between the three of us (Natalie, myself, and another friend) and our almost non-existent Japanese, we deciphered from his speech and discombobulated sketches that Japan is bad because the highway system is not as well planned as the American system. Trains are great in Japan, but this man was passionate that Japan was doomed into oblivion because they don't have a good highway system like the US of A. It took all of this effort, passion, drawings, hand movements, and whatever else he could pull out of his bag of tricks to communicate this rather mundane observation on America vs. Japan. Oh well, the process was fun.

And so, that was the weekend. I just finished my first day at work in a suit. We had been wearing summer T-shirts since I started, but now we're back in suite. I'm ready to get this week over with. Nothing planned this weekend, but whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be fun.

Post Title Suckage

I just realized: I really suck at coming up with original and captivating blog post titles.
Examples of dumb and un-captivating blog titles:
- a nice day
- 3 day week
- more thoughts

This is quite a dilemma because I could be scaring away the .00000000000000001% of internet followers who might want to read my blog. (here's some advice to you: don't judge a blog by it's blog titles)

Should I  A) continue my suckage, B) strive to improve, or C) run back home to my mama and cry myself to sleep (in other words do away with blog post titles)?

It's a sad state of affairs in the history of this blog...

*sob*

+ Update!!! I've decided to just go ahead and change some of the more unoriginal post titles thanks to a suggestion by one of my blog followers (myself) (And yes, I'm having a conversation with myself on my own blog)

Sleeping into the O'Hara Museum

Today was a really nice day. As previously mentioned, I had the day off because of some kind of Japanese holiday and as a result, I took advantage.

Although the weather has been really nice (cool and breezy) and perfect for an outdoorsy day, I slept in until 11:30. Obviously, that's not TOO late. After all, I was known to sleep till 4 or 5 pm (and sometimes 9 pm) at times in college. But now that I'm older, I feel like I don't have the capacity or the time to sleep in. I usually just wake up at 9 am no matter how determined I am to sleep in! For some reason, I just kept going until 11:30 this morning. It felt really nice. There's nothing like a nice long sleep. You wake up feeling refreshed and in a new state of mind, ready to brave the day.

One of the cool things about Kurashiki (where Natalie lives), is that it's filled with tons of museums. For a small town, that's surprising (well, it's not that small actually). Today, we went checked out Kurashiki's famous O'Hara Museum. I'll spare you the long and detailed history so here is a brief history: some Japanese dude about a 100 years ago thought it would be cool to collect a bunch of art and put it in a museum. Haha, now that I think about it, that's how most private art museums probably get started. Either way, it's a pretty nice (and big) museum.

It really has a wide variety of art pieces. You can find anything from Japanese or European Impressionist paintings to ancient Buddhist art to Porcelain vases to modern abstract paintings. The collection is surprisingly filled with big hitters such as Picasso, Monet, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol and Gauguin. Obviously, those are classics but it's not necessarily the type of art that I tend to enjoy the most. I usually lean towards the more modern pieces. I like the cleaner, more defined style of modern art (although the meaning is usually way out there). For example, my favorite piece today was a mural by someone whose name I've already forgotten and that was built in 2007. The Mural was probably about 10 feet wide and I would describe it as a collage of painted images of different towns and people (in hues of neutrals, with splashes of color here and there). It was really detailed and filled with different scenes. I thought it was beautiful and powerful but my description of the piece does no justice to it. I guess being an Art critic is something I probably wouldn't be very good at. You have to be way descriptive and you have to analyze the meaning behind things (something I'm probably not too great it). In short, it was good piece. Art museums are great, but I think overall, I prefer photography (I love a good picture).

Although I really enjoyed the art (and the conversations on art with Natalie), I particularly enjoyed the museum itself. Being built over a century ago, the architecture was decidedly European (probably Gothic) but it was huge. There were other buildings on the premises. Some of the gallery was inside ancient Japanese merchant's homes and there was even a really quaint Japanese garden for us to enjoy. It was fun to walk through.

To top off the enjoyable stroll through this really nice museum, we discovered another Nepalese restaurant (this time even closer). It was delicious! So a good day. I feel good but I have to go back to work tomorrow! Good thing it's only one day.

3 day week

I'm excited! Tomorrow, I have a day off from work because of a national Japanese holiday. Don't ask me what holiday it is because I don't have the slightest clue. It could be Japanese Pants Day, National End of Summer Day, National Grunting Day, or Dress like a Sushi-Day. Not a clue!

Although this holiday has robbed me of the fabled 3 day weekend (I work Tuesday through Saturday and my day off is on a Friday), I almost feel like a 3 day week is even better. It was so painless! I work three days, have a day off, go back to work, and then have a 2 day weekend. I wish it were like this every week. I would be an even better employee; well-rested and satisfied.

Either way, I'm going to enjoy my day off tomorrow with Natalie. We might go to the museum, hunt for Ramen, or celebrate National Pants Day. Doesn't matter! Yippee!

(Not that work is bad, it's actually quite easygoing for me. I've adjusted quite well. It's just that time off is a big source of enjoyment)

+ drunk people on the subway are endlessly entertaining. Today, at the not so late hour of 9 pm, there was a man (non descript, but I believe he was Japanese) on the train and he was apparently highly intoxicated. As I was reading my book, I heard a loud boom. Obviously, I thought that it was probably an earthquake or that we ran over a cow. As I looked up, I noticed that the Japanese people were as equally shocked as I was to find that the previously mentioned intoxicated man had fallen face first like a domino. And then after getting up and apologizing, he proceeded to do it all over again. Sucks for him, I wouldn't want to wake up with a bruise on my forehead because I face planted while drunk on the subway.

+ "the synergy"

A Belated Update on the Last Few Weekends

I feel like the past couple of weeks have been slow. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Natalie and I have spent the last two weekends relaxing but we've sprinkled it with a little bit of socializing. It's been nice. A variety of things have happened ( or not happened, since they're not much to talk about) so I'll talk about them in no particular order.

We had the opportunity to go bowling last weekend with some colleages. That was pretty fun! It amazes me how inconsistent of a sport bowling is. One day, you'll be amazing and the next time...you're the G-man (gutter ball man). Either way, it's always fun. Plus, Japanese bowling alleys come equipped with cooler looking shoes than the bowling alleys in America. They are essentially bowling shoes disguised as pink and purple skateboard kicks.

Also, as previously mentioned, I was engaged in "Mortal Kombat" with a coin locker, with the coin locker emerging victorious.

I was also shown a Kit Kat collection (well, pictures of a Kit Kat collection on an iPhone) by a friend. That was quite fascinating. The variety of Kit Kats in Japan is mind boggling. Apparently, my friend has found over 150 different varieties of Kit Kats. Personally, I've only found 4 types: original, dark, strawberry chocolate, and green tea. Albeit, that's still more variety than in America. Apparently, Kit Kats have been seen to come in the following flavors; Mount Fuji Berries, Soy Sauce, Wasabi, Peach, and hundreds more. I've been looking around but they seem to be hidden treasures in Japan and are not at all readily available. Either way, it's inspired me and Natalie to start our own collection of food: Ramen. If Coin Lockers have been my Satan, Ramen has been the higher power that I've turned to in times of need.

We also had the pleasure of partaking in the ever present (in our lives) activity of singing loudly in a small room with other people. I know, I know...Karaoke has been redundant in my life, but quite frankly, who cares! It's freaking fun!

Another thing that has been fun lately has been biking. Bikes are the coolest thing ever. They're easy and they cover a lot of ground and they allow us to see things on a personal level (as opposed to seeing it through an unwashed car window). We've biked around Okayama and Kurashiki. It's been nice to discover all of the good restaurants that are around us.

Speaking of Restaurants, they have been one of the things that have surprised me as well. Besides great Japanese food, we've found some Thai restaurants, some Indian places, and now, two really good Italian restaurants (one of which being an authentic Neapolitan style pizza joint). Delicious, and so very near!

Otherwise, things have been routine. Life is moving quickly. The weeks have seemed to blur together and it feels like I've been in Japan for much longer than really have. Fortunately, there are so many things for us to look forward to. The first of which is a visit to the doctor's office. I believe it's been two years since I've had a check up. That's what happens when you're in America. You sometimes don't have insurance. Ah well. The second thing is the Sake Festival in Hiroshima. I'm excited to try some quality Sake and I'm excited to do it with Natalie and some other really cool people. I'm also excited to go to Hiroshima. I want to check out all of the peace memorials and I want to learn more about Hiroshima's tragic past. Third on the list is a trip to Osaka to see Cirque du Soleil's Kooza show. This one is going to be amazing. I really can't wait.

That's about it for the week. I've got a day off sprinkled into my 5 day work week and so we plan on taking a trip to the beach, weather permitting.

Power Rangers

For all of you Power Rangers fans out there, here is a glimpse into the future (currently airing in Japan but still in the future in America)

Introducing the next Red Ranger:

Yes, I believe that is a Pirate Ranger...Ahh, the possibilities! Let the gossip and theories on what quality drama will unroll, begin! My guess is dinosaur themed pirate ships that morph into a one-eyed gun wielding and sword toting robot with a parrot (the white ranger with extra ornamental things on his ranger suit) on his shoulder. Also, I predict the black ranger will be black. The Green Ranger will be walked off of a plank, and will subsequently return as an evil green ranger, only to finally end up as a the good white parrot ranger.

I'd like your thoughts on this most important matter.

A Letter to my Arch Nemesis

*Disclaimer: this post was written under the influence of large amounts of "lack of sleep"*

Dr. Henry Jekyll and Edward Coin, Dr. Hannibal Locker, The Wicked Locker of the West, Michael Coin-leone, Coin-1000, The Jokecoin, Lex LuCoin, Frankencoin, Count Lockula, Darth Locker, Mr. Bean-coin, Dr. Octocoin, Coinzilla, King Koin, Attack of the killer coinmato...

Just in case you're wondering, the aforementioned names are a list of possible titles for my newest arch nemesis: The Coin Locker of Okayama Station. I've been kicked, punched, scratched, and drop kicked again by this evil, self serving schemer of a machine. In an effort to relieve my anger at having been repeatedly owned by this coin locker, I've written a letter to it as a means to demand recompense.

Dear Mr. Coin Locker,

On Saturday night at approximately 9:45 pm, I came to you with a need; a need for you to hold my bags. Now, Why I ever considered giving you 300 Yen (3 dollars), I'll never know. You're a box; a drab, metal, colorless box. You hold things for money. I could do your job, EASILY. I wish people would give me 3 dollars to hold bags, purses, drugs, bombs, or other items for a few hours. Instead, I have to teach children, unlike you Mr. Coin Locker, who can't hold a respectable job like other things in our society. Hmph!

And so, I gave you money. I should've carried my own bags. Maybe I was drugged? Maybe I was tired? Maybe I was lazy? Or Maybe I just felt sorry for you. Either way, I gave you 300 Yen 600 Yen and deposited my bag into you. (I forgot to mention that I accidentally gave you an extra 300 Yen when I closed the locker without getting the key and had to pay extra to get a new one). After leaving my bags in your care, I did what any self-respecting coin locker user would do and that is to go have fun.

After my night of shenanigans (it matters not what I did), at around 4:30 AM, I returned home in a taxi. However, in my apparent absent mindedness, I was quickly reminded, when I got home, that I had forgotten my bag and had left it in your care. With the knowledge that I would have to wake up around 11 am that morning, I made the decision to delay my short night of sleep and immediately ride my bike to the station and politely ask you to return my bags to me (in an effort to save me the trouble of waking up early). This decision was made in a half drunken haze and made without much care as the train station is a one hour round trip (using the quickest mode of transportation available to me; my bicycle). In hindsight, this was not a favorable decision and in my haste  to depart, I brought only my keys and phone.

Upon my arrival at Okayama Station at around 5:00 AM, I quickly meekly realized (in my alcohol-induced state of reduced intelligence) that I would not be able to reach your presence until 5:30 AM. Why I thought you would stay open 24 hours in Japan, I'll never know. And thus, I was faced with a considerably difficult decision to make: "should I stay or should I go?" (to quote that one song whose title eludes me at this point in time). If I were to leave, I would be returning home to Natalie a failure, a grotesque animal unable to collect even a backpack from an honorable coin Locker but I would be rewarded with that which I wanted most; a few hours of sleep. Fortunately, a human being does not require a bed to sleep and so I did what any half drunken 25 year old in such a predicament would do, and that is to sleep on the nearest public bench amongst my fellow early morning drunkards.

Having set my alarm clock for approximately 5:30 AM, I awoke in a hazy shade of drowsiness and made my way towards your presence hoping that I could end this coin-mare as quickly as possible. Upon arrival, I was granted access to you and your fellow lockers, only to realize that Coin Lockers are granted an extra 30 minutes of sleep. I'll never understand why you open at 6:00 AM when your home, Okayama station, opens at 5:30 AM. Are you really that exhausted from getting paid to hold a bag that you absolutely need an extra 30 minutes of sleep. I think not! But either way, feeling disappointed and quite beaten, I returned to my bench to enjoy the company of my other sleeping drunkard friends and to await the arrival of 6:00 AM.

Once again having set my alarm clock for 6:00 AM, I awoke, this time in a state of defeated drowsiness and slowly crawled towards the station, this time in daylight and in the company of non-drunken human beings. I must have looked half mad in this state with my hair greasy and sticking in 4 directions, smelling of beer, and with crusty eyes but I no longer cared. An end was finally near..

When I arrived in your presence, I eagerly scrambled through my pocket in search for the key which unlocks your ugly face. Having found it, I slowly and carefully inserted the key into your mouth and turned it clockwise...nothing. Then, naturally, I turned it counter-clockwise...nothing. And then, I turned the key again and again and again but nothing. You proved to be immovable. You were like a mountain, except you were smaller than me and made of cheap metal. At this point, my heart sank deep. I had trekked for weeks 1 hour through the safe and orderly streets of Okayama and exposed myself to the elements, only to be drop kicked right into the groin area a useless metal box such as yourself.

In a desperate search for an explanation, my eyes led me to a white paper with obvious instructions for coin lockers written in plain English. It read as follows: After Midnight, users of coin lockers will be charged an extra 300 Yen. "Ah", I thought, "this applies to me!" I only needed to give you another 300 Yen of my hard earned money. However, my heart quickly spiraled into a fit of disbelief, and then into anger, and then into submission. I, and in my haste to ease your burden of holding my bags, had forgotten all of my money at home (30 minutes away). At this point, my mind raced through all possible options; go home and return with money, become a beggar, steal a car window washing tool and earn some money, sell a kidney, weep wildly and hope someone takes pity on me, or to simply rob someone at gun point. The choices you left me with were hard, but in the end, having reasoned with my self, I decided to return home and come back at a later time.

At this point in time, my story becomes simple. It was 6:10 AM and my path was clear. I quickly raced back home and explained my unfortunate circumstances to Natalie when I arrived at approximately 6:45 AM. In her concern, she comforted me. At this point, I was angry and disappointed, but determined to get some sleep. Even my alarm clock was getting more use than it should be (without pay. Unlike you, Mr. Coin Locker), but once again, I set my alarm clock for 10 AM and retired into a deep, sorrowful slumber.

When I awoke around 10 AM, I was terrifyingly tired and my wits were left behind at some place called "the previous day". But, with the deadline of 11 AM (the time at which we needed to wake up and prepare ourselves for a meeting) fast approaching and with Natalie being without her things of need, I grabbed some money, mounted my bike, and made my way back to your home, Okayama Station. (I will neglect to mention that along the way, I became lost and added another 15 minutes to my travel time because that is entirely my fault.) When I arrived back into your presence, I was finally able to open your face with the use of three 100 Yen coins (although not without your insulting me a final time by refusing to take my first 2 coins, or in other words, becoming jammed. I mean, what use is a coin locker if it can't accept coins willingly and easily?). And at last, the bags were out of your despicable hands and were safely returned into mine.

And thus, Mr. Coin Locker, is the story of how you ruined my life a few hours of my night. You've left me 900 Yen short, sleepless, a ruined pride, and a bag that smells "like it's been in a coin locker". I've been reduced into a laughing stock of civilized society; a dreadful being who couldn't even defeat a coin locker (you're not even electronic). I realize that most of the blame falls on me for 1. deciding to use a coin locker in the first place 2. not reading the instructions and 3. forgetting my money BUT, that's entirely besides the point...you sick, smelly, square shaped piece of metal.

It is now Monday 3:18 PM. You gave me this forgettable experience on Saturday night. I am writing to you to DEMAND my money back with 20% interest. I want my money no later than tomorrow. By my calculations and with 20% interest on the 900 Yen, that should leave me with exactly 900.5 Yen. Now, don't think I don't mean business. I know people. I have my ways. I am by no means threatening you Mr. Coin Locker, but if you find yourself with a carton of spoiled milk and unable to remove it because you don't have the key to yourself, you'll know why.

Sincerely,

The Honorable Nikola Do Brunelle Tran

Matsuyama Castle and more

This past Sunday, Natalie and I had the opportunity to visit Takashi city. It was a really nice day for the both of us as we were blessed with nice weather and we got to explore a really nice place in Takahashi, a very quaint town tucked between numerous mountains. It made for some very nice scenery, and it had a very different vibe from Okayama or Kurashiki (not that those places are bustling in comparison to a big city).

We basically spent the day in search of Matsuyama castle, Japan's oldest original castle and also Japan's only castle that is situated on a mountaintop. Unfortunately for us, the map the we were given of where to go didn't accurately portray how far of a walk we needed to make to reach our destination so we walked and walked and hiked, and then walked some more. Not that this was a bad thing mind you, as it was a beautiful day. Actually, Takahashi is filled with tons of natural beauty. We stopped at a Buddhist temple, splashed around in a gorgeous canal, took pictures under a waterfall, and attempted some daredevil like stunts. Along the way, I even got to fulfill one of my childhood dreams of stepping into a Samurai house. It was pretty cool to see how people lived hundreds of years ago. Basically, there wasn't much furniture but the houses are so simple and elegant. They're usually enclosed by walls and contain a small Japanese garden. We had a good time posing like a Samurai and what not.

After our trek through town, we finally reached the foot of the castle mountain only to realize that we had to make a rather formidable climb to the castle. It was a nice hike but absolutely exhausting. When we finally reached the castle, we were rewarded with beautiful views of the mountain valley and the opportunity to explore the castle's donjon. I really enjoyed the caste as this was the first castle that I saw in Japan. Since I've always been obsessed with medieval Japan, this was something I'll always cherish. It was a good day and we celebrated by going to Nepal.

I mean a Nepalese restaurant with the biggest Nan I've seen (not that I've seen many).

Other observations for the week:

+at the foot of the mountain, while measuring up our ensuing climb to the castle, we were instantly and suddenly startled by a loud bang. It scared the SHIT out of us. It could've been a gunshot or it could've been a vintage cannon from the castle or it could've been a noise to scare the animals away. We'll never know...(twilight zone).

+ Japanese people either speak zero English...or near perfect English. I don't understand it. For example, a Japanese girl asked us to take her picture next to the castle and she spoke nearly flawless English. Apparently, she had lived in Arkansas. We've both had many encounters with Japanese English speakers that speak great English, including my Japanese co workers. It seems like a lot of Japanese study abroad in an English speaking country. I like the fact the so many of them are well traveled. (and sometimes I forget that my freshman year in college, I had a Japanese roommate)

+ We had our first hitchhiking experience! Actually, this was my first hitch hiking experience ever. On our way down the mountain (and exhausted as we were), we did what any good hitchhiker would do, we stopped a pickup truck and hopped on the back so that it could take us down the mountain. It was a very enjoyable 2 minutes for the both of us. I say 2 minutes because in my effort to communicate with them, I couldn't figure out how to ask them to take us all the way to the bottom, and instead, we had to settle for barely 75% to the bottom. Oh well!

+ The changing of the seasons in Japan is not at all gradual. Let's start with this, today was a really cool day. It wasn't hot, but it was Sunny with a nice cool breeze. It was perfect for shorts and a T-shirt. However, on the way to work, I noticed that everyone had retired their shorts and skirts almost overnight. Gone were the comfortable summer outfits, and instead, they were replaced with with the drab colors and thick layers of Autumn. I mean, come on! You would think it was November or something, but we're not even halfway through September. I guess the Japanese take their seasons seriously. Of course, I only observe this through my rose colored glasses...(as with everything else)

Differences in Animal Sounds

While teaching farm animals to my students, I noticed that my "meows" and my "woofs" were not necessarily understood as "cat" and "dog". This is a fundamental difference between North Americans and the Japanese. Animals just sound a little different here in Asia. So, in a measure help my fellow North Americans understand Japanese farm animals just a little better, I've put together a short guide on Japanese animal sounds.

• Animal - Japanese sound (North American sound)
• Dog - wan wan (woof woof)
• Cat - nyaa nyaa (meow)
• Frog - kero kero (ribbit)
• Cow - moo moo (moo)
• Sheep - mee mee (baa baa)
• Pig - buu buu (oink oink)
• Rooster - kokekkoko (cock-a-doodle-doo)
  
  Interesting observations, wouldn't you say? What do the dogs in Africa or Brazil sound like? It's weird that dogs speak multiple languages. Are dogs secretly humans? All are valid and interesting questions. Finally, I leave you with this assignment, my friends. The next time that you're in the company of a fine farm animal, ask yourself: what does YOUR farm animal sound like? (this should be a TV advertisement tagline)
  
  currently listening to: The Bloodhound gang: The Bad Touch (this is the only song that would be appropriate for this post)

Rained in

It's pouring rain outside! Although this typhoon wasn't as nasty as advertised, it has still brought quite a hefty load of rain. And so, I've got the rainy day blues and I'm stuck inside. What to do? Japan sure is gloomy when the weather sucks, not unlike Korea.

So far, I've been searching through the depths of the internet for new and interesting music. I haven't actually searched for new music in quite awhile, at least since February or so. I'm quite disappointed in myself as I've usually been on top of it the last few years. I guess I've been too busy! There seems to be quite a bit of new music awaiting my pleasure but nothing has really popped out to me. I guess I'm looking for some kind of instant gratification, the kind of song or album that jumps out at you and doesn't let go. I suppose the last time that happened to me was with last year's Kanye West album. I really enjoyed that one, what a great album. It seems like a lot of the new music seems to have a retro inspired sound. Synth-pop and disco seem to be especially popular as inspirations. But still, nothing that has captivated my interests. I hope I find something worth my time. We'll see what my search turns up!

I'm also looking for a new comedy to watch. Natalie and I recently finished Modern Family season 2 and we're impatiently awaiting the next season of Dexter and Modern Family, but in the meantime, what should we watch? The thing is that during the week, it's hard to commit to an hour long show, hence why comedies (short and entertaining) are what we're looking for.

But in other news, the last few weekends have really been strange. Whether it be from sickness or the weather, it seems like there is always something holding us back from truly taking advantage of our weekends. For example, in my last post. Next weekend seems to have been taken away from us as well since we're being forced to do work related stuff. I don't understand how my job keeps finding ways to take up my time. Bah!

A truly unproductive post this was, but hey, what else can I produce in an unproductive, rainy, and lazy day? Maybe I should go brave the rain...

My weekend is ruined!

Natalie and I had all of these big plans this weekend. First, we were planning to go on a weekend trip to Hiroshima for a Microbrewery festival. That didn't work out (mostly because we were lazy). Then we tried to make reservations to go to a beach island this weekend. I was really excited about this one, but then I found out it's going to be raining. Can't go to a rainy beach you know! Then, we thought about going to Hiroshima again since there are a few art exhibits we wanted to go to such as the Yoko Ono art gallery (I'm not not a Yoko fan, but I love John Lennon and John Lennon is a Yoko fan). So THEN, yesterday, my job tells me that work has been cancelled on Saturday. Good news right? NO, now I have to work on Sunday. What kind of solution is this? A bull shitty one! 1 day off, work, and then 1 day off again. Doesn't make sense!