Nagoya

The sun sure does rise early here in the Land of The Rising Sun. Woke up at about 4:30 on Sunday and the sun was beginning its journey. Before getting ready for the day, I had checked my emails and double checked a few spots to visit in Nagoya while I was there waiting for the Hello! Project concert.

The bathroom here is pretty spacious I guess, comparatively speaking. And the water in the shower stayed hot, unlike some hotels I’ve stayed at in the past. Overall the room is pretty good; it’s in a convenient location and has a lot of sights, shops and restaurants &c right on grounds.

Packed up all of my stuff, making sure I had my concert tickets and what not, my jacket and umbrella as well, as it was supposed to rain. Then I headed down to the first floor for a hybrid American/Japanese style breakfast buffet. It was a little bit pricey, but I’ll pay for convenience. The food was good and so I just chilled there for a little bit before heading to the train station.

Entering the station, sliding the ticket into the little ticket gate was easy enough and so I proceeded downstairs to find where I would be waiting for the train. Found it, and promptly headed back up stairs into the air conditioned waiting rooms to avoid the humid heat.

After a little wait, went back and boarded the train. Pretty comfortable seats with plenty of space and the ride was fast and smooth. Arrived in Nagoya and as planned, headed out to find the concert venue before doing any other sight seeing. One issue however, I was at the wrong train station (which I hadn’t realized at the time)… and so I spent about a half hour looking for the place that obviously wasn’t going to be there. The little map I had did have a street with a 19 on it, which I saw a 19 as I exited, thought I was in the right place, lol. Anyway, I headed back to the station, got a ticket to the -next- station on the local train and found myself set straight.

The concert hall was just a few blocks away, and as I walked up to it, I had seen that a lot of people had already started gathering. I was planning to go to Nagoya Castle, but instead decided to just hang out there. About a block away, they were doing some sort of a talent show/performance thing, unrelated to the H!P concert. So I watched that for a bit and also did a bit of walking around the general area.

As for the concert itself, I have that detailed a little on my other blog. I had a great time, to say the least of the experience.

Before the second concert started, outside, it had started to rain. Only had to wait about a half an hour tho, and I was back indoors. And at the end of the night, around 9:00 PM, it was still raining, but again, it was just a skip over to the train station and I was all set to go. One problem tho, the train ticket I bought was for 8:30… oops. For some reason I wasn’t expecting the concert to last so long. Anyway, the ticket I had was for a reserved seat, so all I had to do is board with the same ticked, only, in one of the unreserved cars of the train. Pretty simple, and the ride back to Shinagawa was about as uneventful as the ride to Nagoya. Slept a little bit on the train, as I was exhausted from the days activities. Got back at around 11:00 and rested up a bit.

Don’t think I’ll be able to top this, my first full day in Japan. And still, I can’t wait to explore some more over the next week or so.

Photos are up on Facebook.

LEX > ORD > NAR > Shinagawa

LEX

Called a cab a little bit later than I probably should have. I did the online check in thing tho, so I had a few extra minuites to spare. Security check was speedy and I arrived at the gate just as they were calling my seating group. Take off from LEX was a little bit bumpy as storms had just started to roll in. It was in any case, pretty cool to see the lightning in the clouds from a different perspective.

ORD

About a four hour layover, meh. Anyway, I wasn’t able to get a boarding pass to my ANA flight either online, or in Lexington. It was early in the morning when I arrived in Chicago, so there weren’t many customer service places to ask where I was supposed to get it really. They said at the ANA counter, but there wasn’t an ANA counter setup anywhere. Didn’t waste too much time looking and instead grabbed some breakfast at McDonald’s. Eventually the flight showed up on the departures screen and I was told that ANA wouldn’t be setup until a couple hours later. Parked next to an outlet, tethered my iPhone/MacBook and just wasted some time on the internet.

ORD > NAR

The long flight. Was a Boeing 777, which I think is the biggest one flying now. I was in a window seat in the front of the economy section, which wasn’t too bad. If I recall correctly, I had an isle seat when traveling to Sweden; gave me some extra leg room in a way, not that the room here was bad, but it could have been better. The seats were overall comfortable. For long flights in the future tho, I think I’ll try and book premium when I can, just for the fun of it. Plus I’ve got special benefits with United Airlines/ANA through my bank and stuff.

The flight was pretty uneventful. I listened to a special RIP SLYME summer mix thing; they have a pretty good summer sound, which is what first caught my interest with Taiyou to Bikini last year. Watched a movie, Oppia Volleyball -_-; It was alright, not great. Other than that, I listened to my iPod most of the time. I had originally planned to sleep a lot, but only got in one to two hours.

The food was pretty good, if not a little much. But I guess it made sense for a 12+ hour flight. Steamed salmon with creamy dill sauce; Vegetable lasagna with tomato marinara; Sandwiches, ice cream and other various snacks and sides.

NAR

Customs was a bit easier than what I remembered. Tho, maybe it was the flight back from Sweden that I was thinking about being a bit more thorough. Through luggage and customs it took a little more than an hour. Exchanged the ~$200 cash I brought with me, with plans of using ATMs &c as needed.

Was going to take the train to Shinagawa and get the special discounted ticket thing they had going on. The train that stopped there wouldn’t leave for another hour tho, either that, or I would have to do a transfer which I wasn’t interesting figuring that out on my first day here. Took the bus straight to the hotel, as was originally recommended to me anyway.

Shinagawa

Check in was painless, just showed them my passport and they made a copy of my credit card. My concert tickets were there waiting for me as well, which I admit, I was just a little bit worried about. The room is nice, cool view, with a queen bed and internet access. The room also has American style plugs, which I don’t need, but it’s still nice. ‘Twas recommendation that I made use of and am happy with it.

Didn’t do much the last few hours of the day; walked around a bit, stopped by an ATM, grabbed a quick bite. I also explored the train station and grabbed some tickets for my trip to Nagoya and back. I talked with one of the ticket sellers rather than trying my hand at the automated machines. Time, date, number of people, train number, destination to/from &c is all pretty easy speaking Japanese I think, so I was able to get in and out pretty quickly. They more than likely spoke English anyway if I needed it.

Oh, and, first impressions. Well, there’s a bunch of stereotypical(?) stuff, or stuff you see I’ve seen movies and such that stood out. Sailor fuku, umm, the automatic doors, the overall housing, buildings side streets, escalators (sand on left) &c. Looking forward to exploring more.

So far so good. Well, except for the lack of pictures… I’ll get on that eventually, maybe.

Photos are up on Facebook.

Report Card – Semester Two

Well, I did better than I expected.

Psychology certainly was a good class. I ‘d perhaps like to minor in it, to get more into detail about some of the topics that were only briefly covered in the intro class. I’m a people watcher of sorts,  so a better understanding of the mind’s processes, peoples’ behavior and all other sorts of stuff has always been kinda interesting to me I think.

English and Reading were my worst classes in elementary, middle and high school, so when I scored 100% on my entrance exams last year I was a bit surprised. Then with English 101, I totally nailed that as well, averaging about a 95%. English 102 was even better, finishing at 97%. I did do some technical writing/editing for Macromedia (Adobe) years ago, but really I’m not sure where the ability came from. I guess as I’ve grown older, I’ve become less lazy with how I tackle things. I was able to put together some good stuff in high school, tho that was generally too sporadic to notice.

Japanese 102 was a little bit more rocky than 101, but I did well anyway. I’m definitely going to have to step it up for 201 though, I don’t think things will be as forgiving at the University of Kentucky as they have been here at BCTC. In any case, I’ll be spending a good chunk of my free time during the summer practicing this stuff to make sure I’ve got it all covered before the fall. Plus I want to make sure I’m in a more able state for my trip to Japan this July.

Public Speaking was a class I wasn’t looking forward to, but I guess it was a good experience. I’m not much of and impromptu, or face to face speaker, but if given ample time to prepare, I can pull it off it seems. I got a D on my first major speech, was not prepared at all. Being the first, and combined with the fact that it was on a topic that I didn’t really care about, plus putting things off to the last minute… yeah, I set myself up for that one. The first speech wasn’t weighted too much in the overall grade however, so it didn’t affect things too much. Second speech was on the types of clarinets and a demonstration on how to put one together. Pulled in a B on that one, a good improvement and the clarinet is an instrument I played for a while, so I kinda knew what I was doing. My best speech was my third, an informative speech, “What is a Wota?” Got an A on that one. Japanese music and culture is one of the few if only things I’m really passionate about, so it’s no wonder I found that to be a topic that I could easily talk about. The last speech wasn’t as good as the previous but I did alright. I was totally expecting to get a B in this class, but I pulled it off, even tho I feel as if I didn’t put in enough effort.

Spring 2009 (14)

A – PSY 100 – Intro Psychology
A – ENG 102 – Writing II
A – JPN 102 – Intro Japanese II
A – COM 181 – Public Speaking

Summer I 2008 (3)

A – MA 109 – Algebra

Summer II 2008 (3)

A – MA 123 – Calculus

Fall 2008 (19)

A – ENG 101 – Writing I
A – JPN 101 – Intro Japanese I
P – CIS 105 – Intro Computing
P – CIS 130 – Micro Applications
A – GEO 130 – Earth Science
A – STA 291 – Statistics

Trip to Tokyo

July 17 – July 28, 2009; Tokyo, Japan. Flight is booked, hotel reserved. Will figure out the rest later…

Summer Break – Fall Lineup

I’m definitely looking forward to a bit of a break this summer. Not that I’ve been overwhelmed or anything, but a lil time off from school will be nice. Hope to make it home to Maryland for a visit around the end of May, then a nice 14 day trip to Japan around the end of July through the beginning of August. Not all planned out what I’m going to do in Japan yet, but I’ve just about nailed down the flight and accommodations.

Will be at UK this fall, kind of. The BCTC Blue+ program allows me to be dual enrolled at the University of Kentucky. It offers an awesome discount on tuition and sets me up for some great scholarships.

Fall schedule, while it’s a ways off, is all setup. I’ll be continuing Japanese with JPN 201 and will start on my economics path with Microeconomics, which I’m looking forward to. Astronomy should be interesting. I wanted to take that in high school, but I couldn’t fit it in. Last up is a course in logic, not too sure how I feel about that one.

JPN 201 – Intermediate Japanese I
ECO 201 – Principles of Microeconomics
AST 191 – The Solar System
AST 195 – Introductory Astronomy Lab
PHI 120 – Introductory Logic

Self Discovery and the College Student

An old essay from my ENG 101 class.

Everyone goes through a bout of self discovery in their lives; an attempt to find their true selves, what they want to do and where they want to end up in their lives. One could argue that this stretch of self discovery, rather, the most influential stretch in an ongoing period of off again and on again awakening, occurs during one’s college years. Then what of those who do not end up going to college, whether delayed by necessity, circumstance or by personal choice? Well, of course they may be missing out on a great opportunity, but sometimes it’s just too much of a hardship to take the next step. On the other hand, delaying college can be a great catalyst for self discovery. Certainly this would not be true for all, but for me personally, I feel that this was a great way to go.

As the end of the high school career nears, a student’s primary focus in life shifts to independence and rebellion. Gail Sheehy mentions in her essay “The Predictable Crises of Adulthood,” that this is a defiant phase where one breaks off from the umbrella of family support and clings to even the slightest nuance to distance themselves from what was routine; jumping on fads and into cliques of like-minded individuals to further empower their revolt. Sheehy goes on to describe this stage of life to be potentially filled with identity crisis and irrational decision. A state of mind that I was in at the time, although perhaps it wasn’t as chaotic as described, but it’s something that I’m sure many eighteen to twenty-two year olds can also relate to. In reflecting on Sheehy’s words, I’m thinking to myself, is this really a good time to be setting off alone and deciding on an education that will supposedly guide a career and future endeavors? Finding one’s self, one’s passion, it would best be carried out with a fundamental desire to do so, rather than from a collection of irrational drives and intentions.

Indeed, it is still possible to vent off that sedition without stepping right into college. Perhaps at that age, as my own brand of rebellion, I had decided that I was going to skip college for a few years. Out of high school, I dove straight into the workforce. Working in a sales/marketing position, I was able to connect with many new and interesting people and glean a bit of insight into their ways of thinking. There was an air of maturity that developed as I experienced the real world, a sense of focus and responsibility. Not to say that I was really the unruly type in the first place, but as time passed on, I could see the change within myself, as could my coworkers, into a more rounded and willing character. I had grown up during this turbulent age, detached from the troubles that college life can pile up on a new student. This period was filled with experienced guides and consolers; from them, I was able to pick up a great work ethic and an ability to openly understand differing points of view.

Free of the inner turmoil of adolescence, now at the age of twenty-five, I feel better equipped to learn, to find a mentor in professionals and peers who may have similar, clear aspirations. Sheehy describes this time in our lives as the time for inward thinking and self discovery, another phase in life that I can completely relate to. It wasn’t too long ago that I had begun seriously thinking about the future, and where I wanted to be in the coming years. While I have been working in areas of computers and technology that greatly interest me, things have overall become stale and I’ve been looking for a way out. It was during this period of questioning myself, that I decided it was time to make the transition to college, to pursue various interests and open up some other doors in my career. So far I have not been disappointed. Attending college, even just the planning for college, has triggered some new ideas and caused me to rethink some of my career goals. From CIS to Japanese, economics, psychology and more, I feel that this experience has opened up, or at least presented me with a lot of new doors to look into.

To touch briefly on differing experience, in his essay “The Men We Carry in Our Minds,” Scott Russell Sanders discusses an eye opening episode that gives a hint that this discovery process can be adequately triggered by circumstance. Sanders, a boy from a modest life in the suburbs and military areas, recalls his familiarity with a certain class of man and their position in society. He contrasts his viewpoint on the factory workers and military men he had known growing up, with women he meets as he attends a prestigious college. These women viewed men, doctors, corporate big wigs and the like, in a completely different light, causing Sanders great curiosity and a longing to relate. On this point, I can see where migrating from a limited view on things and into a significantly diverse environment can be a jolt into the real world in its own right. In the end however, it seems as if Sanders’ experience only acknowledges the shared ignorance of the two parties, but doesn’t seem stimulate the topic to the surface. Though the means for Sanders to experience more facets of the real world outside of the college arena may not have been readily available, I can only think that if he had the chance, he would have had more time to look inward on himself rather than to be distracted, albeit slight, by the confusion and misunderstandings. That is a message that perhaps more people should look into, not only for self discovery, but also for a better ability to learn.

Report Card – Semester One

So far so good. Made the Dean’s list, which is kinda cool I guess.

Summer I 2008 (3)

A – MA 109 – Algebra

Summer II 2008 (3)

A – MA 123 – Calculus

Fall 2008 (19)

A – ENG 101 – Writing I
A – JPN 101 – Intro Japanese I
P – CIS 105 – Intro Computing
P – CIS 130 – Micro Applications
A – GEO 130 – Earth Science
A – STA 291 – Statistics

Five Years in Kentucky

Over the past year I’ve started to make some changes.

Firstly, with going back to school. I’m doing pretty well so far; 25 credits and all As. I may not be able to keep it up this semester, but I’m going to give it my best. Japanese class is going great and I’m really enjoying Psychology so far. Psychology is something I may be looking into a bit further, I’m not sure yet.

Next semester I’ll be dual enrolled at the University of Kentucky, on the road to my Bachelors of Arts in International Studies, with a major in Foreign Language and International Economics. Depending on how UK ramps up their Japanese Studies program some of that may change, In any case, I’m looking forward to it.

I’m tentatively planning a trip to Japan this summer. Might not see a Berryz concert, which is a big reason I would want to go, but a trip to get a bit used to things and overall cultural immersion might be enough for a first. If things go well, I may plan another trip in the fall.

Just recently left my job after going part time for about half of the year. Need a bit more flexibility and to focus more on school. I’ll be doing some freelance stuff, we’ll see how it all turns out, but I’m optimistic.

Looking forward to the future!

25 Random Things

That thing, from Facebook…

1. I have a twin sister. A lot of people know that I guess, but some don’t. Oh, and I’m older (2mins).
2. I’m 6’1” which is kinda tall when compared to the rest of my family. I’m pretty sure it comes from my mom’s side of the family.
3. I’ve lived in 5 states. Minnesota (born), Wisconsin, New Mexico, Maryland and Kentucky.
4. I don’t drink alcohol. I don’t drink coffee. I don’t drink tea.
5. I’ve travelled out of the country twice. Once to Canada (Toronto), once to Sweden (Stockholm/Linchoping).
6. I’ve got three tattoos. My sister and I partially celebrated our 18th birthday by getting them done. A dragon kanji on the back of my neck and the kanji for fire and water on my right shoulder. The dragon is meant to represent a protector of treasure, the treasure being me (lolwut); that and a sort of representation of my thick skin. The water would be my nonchalant go with the flow attitude while the fire is some unkindled passion I have yet to discover. I’d like to get a dragon to cover the whole of my back. Sometime soon maybe.
7. I have horrible handwriting and I suck at spelling stuff. I also write my lowercase A’s as double-story, I think that’s what it’s called anyway. My English teacher in middle school did this occasionally and I thought it was cute. I’ve been using it ever since.
8. I’m a good cook? I’d like to think so anyway. I’ve been cooking since I was 3, I think. I used to cook breakfast for myself and my sister before we went to school. I took a cooking class in high school and at one point had contemplated going to a culinary arts school. Nowadays, I don’t cook so much cause I’m kinda lazy as far as going out shopping &c. I do still enjoy it tho.
9. I procrastinate way too much.
10. I want kids. Actually, I think I have for a while, tho I’ve usually said that somewhat jokingly. I’ve got some issues, as most people do, but I think I’d be a good father. That said, I don’t think I’m a good uncle at the moment. Sure my nieces and nephews don’t live anywhere close or whatever, but still, gotta work on that.
11. I’ve never missed a day of school. Might be because I never get sick. Which might be because I don’t want people to have to worry about me.
12. The name Geoffrey comes from Geoffrey Chaucer. George was considered at one point I believe, but I think it was my mom that didn’t want another George Washington Williams (the third). I still have the same initials tho, GWW. I think I want to name my first son George Walker.
13. I don’t read books. Actually, I can say that I’ve never read a book all the way through.
14. I fail at remembering the names of songs, lyrics, movie titles, actors and actresses. I don’t know how to do the electric slide. Or is it, “I don’t want to know how to do the electric slide”, hmmm… I fail at a lot of pop culture stuff really.
15. I rarely get stressed, mad, angry or the like. One thing that is annoying tho, is when people assume that I’ll get stressed, mad or angry when they tell me something. I can get a bit impatient sometimes, but that’s only with family I think. On that note, I’m an overall apathetic and emotionless person anyway; so if you ever do see me getting mad, maybe you should run :) . No, no, no… I’m not one of those people who will snap and go crazy or something.
16. I love snow. I love weather in general. I used to watch The Weather Channel all day.
17. I’m a Japanophile. I’m also a Wota. In some ways’ it’s not as bad as it sounds. In other ways, ya, it kinda is.
18. Cheese. Don’t know if it was Wisconsin or what, but man I love me some cheese. I also love Chinese and Japanese food. Mmm, and nothing beats a good salad. What I don’t like is food with bones still in em. Chicken wings and legs come to mind. Generally don’t like fish, but I love sushi. I’m also not a big fan of bread.
19. I absolutely adore cute stuff. “Hot” and “Sexy”, not so much.
20. I got an award in elementary school for being best dressed or something like that. This has carried on throughout the years, I’ve always ‘dressed up’ I think.
21. I’ve built a couple computers and am fairly computer savvy.
22. I used to make and play music with keyboards, synthesizers and computer software. I was in the school and church choirs. I played the clarinet and bassoon in middle/high school marching and concert bands. I’m currently teaching myself to play the drums.
23. I love learning about history and social studies, but I’m not good at remembering all of the stuff I’ve learned. I’m good at math, but I don’t like it. I can be a good writer, if I put the energy into it.
24. Off and on, I’ve had relatively long, straightened and often dyed hair whilst growing up. Nowadays, I just keep it short.
25. I’m pretty much an open book, but only if you ask the right questions. Otherwise, I’m quite content with just sitting back and observing the goings on around me.

Math is not Fun

So, I decided to take care of my math classes this summer just to get them out of the way. Initially I didn’t know what to expect after failing (56%) my placement test; but I ended up doing okay. Alright, a little better than okay. I finished up averaging greater than 100% in Algebra / Calculus, but I didn’t enjoy it. Continuing to take math classes would probably be an easy boost to my GPA, but I’m just not interested. Even my Calculus teacher had suggested that I look into getting a minor in Mathematics. Like I said tho, not interested. I want to do History, Economics or something else. Something that while I may not be the best at it, they’re subjects that I will more than likely enjoy learning about.

What’s next?

Before the Fall semester, there are about 4 exams for credit that I’m going to try. A bunch of computer/programming related stuff. I feel that even if I don’t fully know the material, I’m clever enough to wing it and at least pass.

I’m halfway looking forward to the Fall semester, and halfway not. I’ve never really did well in English before, so I am not looking forward to ENG 101. I think I can do well in the class tho, as long as I keep my procrastination in check. Statistical Method, of winch the Calculus class is a prerequisite, might be interesting. It’ll be a math-ish class, but more applied mathematics which could be fun.

On the other part of the Fall semester are Science and Japanese. Earth’s Physical Environment is a general science class that can lead up to Weather and Climate. I’ve always liked Metrology, weather watching &c, so I’m looking forward to this. And unlike math, science is a subject that I usually do well in and actually like. Japanese is of course what I’m most looking forward to. I’m not too confident that I’ll do well in the class, but I am confident that I’ll try and get the most out of it. I’ll be studying a bit for the next few weeks so that I can get a leg up for when classes start.

If my exams and Fall semester go well, I’m going to consider transferring to EKU earlier than the two years I had originally planned. I just need 24 credits and a 3.0 GPA to qualify for a couple of scholarships they have setup. I’m still considering UofL, but I think EKU is offering more of what I’m looking for. We’ll see. Hopefully with working part time and being in school full time, I won’t be overwhelmed. I’m going to try my best!