Some may think it’s poetic…
Gotta admit, that’s a deep mousepad.
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News Flash
I just got off the phone with a friend of mine. Every time we talk, he gives me a little bit of advice or directs me to some sort of interesting information. This time it was a blog of a Japanese journalist who seems to have the jump on a lot of the big stories over here in the land of the rising sun.
I guess in a way we all want others to see the world the way that we do as individuals. It would make life a lot easier if we all had the same set of beliefs and values- boring for the 6 o’clock news, but good for society in general. At any rate I’m always open to the opinion of others. It helps round out my narrow view of things from time to time.
Japan is in the middle of a political coup. The Minshu party (effectively the Democrats in US terms) have won the lower house and the Jimin party has been crippled by multiple events capped off by the resignation of the prime minister. No one is sure who will be the next prime minister, but one thing is for sure- if the Minshu party wins the upper house, the political world in Tokyo will effectively be turned upside down.
Normally, US trends take a few years to get over to Japan. Rock and roll, Wendy’s, makeup for men, etc. But this time the two countries are right in line with each other. It will be interesting to see if the change in political power happens in one, both, or neither of the countries. Personally, I’m not sure that there is a person in the US that would please the majority of the voting population. Of course, it’s not the popular vote that they have to get. They can be the most unpopular candidate and still get elected thanks to the electoral college. Heck, in Japan, prime minister isn’t even an elected position. The leader of the majority party automatically assumes the post.
I’m not really sure which system is better, or if there is a good alternative to either, but what I am confident of is that without constituent participation both systems fail.
Food bar at the World Perks Lounge at SLC. Get 50K per year and never have to worry about about outrageous airport food prices again!
Tragedy
I’m in the Portland International Airport right now waiting for my connection to Salt Lake City. A dear friend of mine lost his wife to cancer last week and I have flown in for the funeral.
This is a particularly difficult event for me as I have lost 2 grandmothers and a grandfather to cancer while being in Japan. Also, while serving an LDS mission, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Thank God that she came through the treatment safely. It is so difficult for me to watch my friends and family suffer from so far away.
It is because of this that I have made the decision to leave Japan and return to the US within the next 6 months. Friends and family are so important and being there to celebrate in times of joy and grieve in times sadness is so important. So, while I’m not sure where I’ll move to- Oregon or Utah, most likely – I think that it is pretty set that I’ll be working for myself as a freelance translator/interpreter/consultant.
So, the underlying lesson that I learned is the importance of friends and family. There are no real merits to being in Japan as I think I can do financially as good or better in the states and I’ll be near those who mean the most to me.
Cheers,
Captain Adam
Modding the Wii
Living in two countries is difficult, and Sony and the other video game system creators aren’t helping.
I hate region coding on games with a passion. Sure I can understand that in some parts of the world (aka. Australia), video games may fetch a higher price. But hey, for countries with similar marketplaces, why create walls?
I own a Nintendo Wii and a Sony PS3. The Wii was purchased on a very cold night a couple weeks before Christmas. Or rather, it was purchased after waiting an entire night in line at Best Buy in 10+ inches of snow! Brrrr….
On the other hand, I bought my PS3 here in Japan. Now while the PS3 claims to be region free for PS3 games, I have yet to see a game come out that I really want so we’ll table that.
But with the Wii, all I can do is sit and drool and Metroid Prime, Super Paper Mario and the multiple other games that I want to play… all because our dear friends at Nintendo decided that no one in the US would want to play a Japanese game on their Wii.
Haha though! Thanks to the wondrous open source community, there is an open-source modchip out there along with thousands of pieces of code that will allow me to bypass these walls built be greedy and dream-crushing executives. Oh yes, I will play Metroid Prime. I have the money in my wallet right now and am just itching to go and get my copy. 
Cheers,
Captain Adam
Exercise
Well, I’ve been lazy enough I suppose.
On my last bike ride, I discovered a city gym that costs near to nothing when compared with the Gold’s Gym in the neighborhood ($125/month for basic membership). So I got myself signed up and went for the second time today.
They have a nice weight room that never gets crowded and gyms that you can reserve if you ever want to bring in a group to play ball. They are also open on weekends and holidays, which is more than I can say about most recreational places here in Japan…
Anyways, for those of you looking for an inexpensive way to stay or get in shape, I recommend your local sports center. Of course it did take me 6-months to find.
Good luck!
Captain Adam