Travel

Nam is chasing the sea gulls next to Huntington Beach Pier, on a fabulous afternoon in January. Justin is sitting on the pale sand smoking a cig, and I am taking pictures. This was exactly what we wanted to do on our Winter vacation. Today the weather is excellent. The sky is a clear blue- … Continue reading »

I just stepped back into my apartment after a full day and two nights in Seoul, which I will write about later when I am not about to nod off. I just want to say thanks to everyone who made time to see me, and who did stuff to make my trip a great experience. … Continue reading »

Don’t ask me how, but I am traveling in N. Cal. with 4 family members, a family member’s GF, and a dog. No one has gone crazy because we took 2 cars (this method is highly recommended!) and rotate its occupants frequently. Today we visited Monterey Bay Aquarium, and it was bigger abd better than … Continue reading »

I just stepped out the door to find myself in the middle of a raging blizzard, under a fluffy, cloudy blue sky. The road out front has become a slick, dangerous white line, but it is leading me home. A little more than one day to go…

1. Roppo Road(Miyazaki prefecture): This road was worth the hour and a half it took me to get there. It had everything. The drive started with a steep and windy climb, nothing especially spectacular as it climbed to the ridge of the mountains. Then as it started to traverse, the left side fell away in … Continue reading »

I woke up this morning, short on time. Slapped some gel in the ‘fro, pulled on a shirt and some slacks, and ran to school with the imprint of my pillow case’s hem stitching running the entire length of my face. Ah, 8:00, Safe! What’s that? No one is here, save Sakae Sensei? Lets look … Continue reading »

Shanghai was a great place, but the smog was thick, thicker than that of L.A., reminiscent of the muddy contents of the erlenmeyer flask that my high school chemistry teacher used to demonstrate how particles stay suspended in colloids (like jello or anything that you add to an agar/water mixture). Anyhow, this pic was snapped … Continue reading »

Well, everyone is fine- no one got the bends or nitrogen narcosis or even stung by a jellyfish. There wasn’t really any opportunity to get hurt, and you really didn’t need to even be in good shape to participate. I shoulda known that the dive would be a joke, but it just didn’t occur to … Continue reading »

Ah, to be on an all expenses paid vacation (excluding ichi mon for something and incidentals, but hey its pretty darn cheap) with the men of the Ubuyama Shobodan (Fire Brigade, or as we Americans say Fire Department). Right now we are in Naha, and as you can probably guess, I am in an internet … Continue reading »

Well, tomorrow I am off to Shanghai! Got some cheap tix, so I gots to go. After reading about the Taxi service in Shanghai, I have been trying to polish up on my Chinese, but have since given up. But if we go eat Dim Sum I have a reasonable chance of being understood! So, … Continue reading »