Divine Gate- March 15th

NEW NEW ANIME!!! I started watching a new anime called Divine Gate about how the three different worlds including the living world, the heavens, and the underworld were combined by the divine gate. It is said that whoever reaches the gate can get their wish granted and gain the power to shape the world. Apparently this anime was adapted from a smart phone game. My favorite character so far is Aoto, a water-user, whose history is as ice cold as his light blue eyes. I'm only on the first season but things are heating up! I don't want to spoil anything but the anime includes myths, legends, fairytales, gods, and monsters that you might find interesting. So you should check it out! 

Rick and Morti- March 13th

My friend Shelby introduced me to the the quirky yet funny sci-fi animated comedy Rick and Morti. The show is about a kid named Morti and his genious Grandpa as they go on crazy adventures all over the universe! It's hilarious and I'm sorry I only got around to watching the first season now. I'm going to watch the 2nd season next! Hopefully after I get more used to the comedic style I'll be able to share my favorite episodes and some funny quips to get people hooked on the show haha.  

Julio and Lisa's Goodbye Party- March 12th

Tonight was a sad night and morning because it was the last night I'd be able to hang out with Julio who is going back to New York! Also, Lisa is moving to Kanagawa near Tokyo so she is quite a ways away. Per usual, we did the nomikai at Tap, then went to OXO, and finally got ramen because we were all drunk and hungry at thus Chinese restaurant I'd never been to. We even did after hours at   Julio's apartment and played Crazy 8's, BS, and Egyptian Rat Screw. Julio had a plethora of rules to add to Crazy 8's that I have never heard of in my life lol, but it was fun to play a different version. After I took a short nap we walked Julio to the train station through the freezing morning air. After that we got breakfast at a new 24 hour family mart in Toyohashi Station. Julio and I bonded as true brothers over this past year and I'm sad to see him leave because I want to have more adventures together. When I come back to America, I really hope we get the chance go hang out and also travel around America a little bit! This is not goodbye.   

Aunties Ann's- March 11th

There is an Auntie Ann's in Tokyo's Seibu Shinjuku Station. One of the workers tempted me with a sample of fhe new cream cheese prezel with strawberry icing, but I had to go classic with the cinamin sugar prezel sticks. Before I left America, I got hooked on the pepperoni pizza prezel and strawberry lemonade, but of coarse they didn't have it and I should have known because Japan just doesn't do cheese like America. Besides that, I did enjoy my cinamon sugar prezel stick with cream cheese dip. 

Frijoles- March 10th

After coming to Japanese, almost fresh out of college, I have been feigning for some Chipotle! Mind you, Indian food to Japanese is like Mexican food to American which means that finding good Mexican food restaurants in Japan is difficult to say the least. So after some internet searching I came across the Japanese equivalent of Chipotle called Frijoles that's locates in Roppongi Hills, Tokyo. I wish I had good news like the burrito hit the spot, the price was resonable, and I'm glad I went, but alas Frijoles didn't get the job done. First of all I paud twice the amount of money for a burrito that was half the size. Where I would normally pay around $10 for a burrito, chips, and guacomole, I paid $20. The steak they used was quite different then the one used im America and the quality wasn't as good as the beef I've at at other restaurants with similar pricing and the guacamole wasn't mixed well. I was surprised that they had sour cream and cheddar cheese, but the cheese blend wasn't all that great. Even though it was pretty good. It didn't meet my expectations or my needs. The servers did speak English though so that was a plus. I guess I'm going to have to wait until I go back to America to get my burrito fix. 

Sakura's and Ridiculous Weather- March 9th

It's not quite spring, but the sakuras, cherry blossoms, and plum trees are beginning to bloom throughout Japan. Unfortunately, I think it might be a bit premature because the weather lately had been really contradictory and unpredictable. I mean one day feels lile spring, the next winter, the next fall, and the next summer. So many people are getting sick from the sheer inconsistency of the weather patterns as of late. This is not only happening in Japan. Back home in Cincinnati, OH they went from a snowstorm one weekend to 60 degree weather the next weekend. Can you say RIDICULOUS!!! I'm afraid that the blossoms are going to die because the weather is tricking them into budding too soon. I want all the trees to bloom so that I can enjoy my first authentic Sakura festival here in Japan!  

Toyohashi to Tokyo Night Bus- March 8th

Finally found a website that has detailed information about the over night bus from Toyohashi to Tokyo which may include the day bus. Its a bit late considering I'm moving go Nagoya, but non-the-less it might come up on someones search while they are in Japan so they too can be informed. If that's you, then I'm glad you are able to use the information I post on my shotty little blog for reference and help. Here is a link to a website detailing the night bus and links to Japanese websites so you can buy tickets for the bus:  

http://www.kanto-bus.co.jp/english/guide/nw_honokuni.html 

Spring Break Moving Disaster- March 7th

So today I found out that Japanese teachers and even the principals can change schools every year! Usually principals and teachers will stay at on school from 3 years all the up until 10 years sometimes. Although, the school year starts at the beginning of April, teachers and principals sometimes wob't betold that they have to move to another city in the prefecture until the end of March. Meaning, they basically have to pack up and move their lofe at a moments notice. It's no wonder that the end of March and beginning or April is the craziest time in Japan to move and that Japanese moving companies can charge sometime double the fees for moving people at this time of the year.  Even though it not the fault of Japanese people, but of the system in which their occupation operates.   

Last Club with my Boi Julio!- March 6th

I'm glad I got to go clubbing one last time with my boi Julio who wil be leaving next weekend. We started off the night at a Mexican restaurant in Kanayama that jad pretty good enchiladas. Then we pregamed at liquor mountain and went to Club Ibiza. Per usual some funnt things went down, like a twerk battle with a brazilian guy on the front of the dj booth, some unruely persuers, some Japanese/Brazilian girls who could actually dance and much more, so it was a fun night to say the least lol. Our our way back to the station to head home, Julio wanted to dtop and get some souvenirs at Don Quote, so Breanna and I decided to take a nap in the park across the steet. To my surprised I woke up to a call from Julio sayingg they had already caught the train- THEY LEFT ME😭. After we talked, they said they'd wait for me at Kanayama before taking the train to Toyohashi, ao it wasn't all bad I guess haha.  

Update Fragile Age- March 5th

We finished off the last of the rebels thanks to the army of centaurs. Without revealing our alliance with the nonhumans to the Greek government we Negociated a truce with the Emperor. After much deliberation the Emperor relinquished control of the city to the centaurs and non-humans until order is established between the different races and the city is rebuild. After which the Emperor gave us some choic words after the centaurs handed the palace over to my team revealing that he knew all along where Pandora and the jar was. Also, that he had known about our alliance with the nonhumans, secret meetings with the rebels, our theft of the museum weapons, the murder of the museum owner and his wife, the assiassination attempt by the cult, and our protection of the brothel all thanks to the spies he sent to monitor us throughout the city. After telling us this and giving us a clue to the location of Pandora, he left us with one final warning. " You will not be able to leave the city with Alexander's Spear." Later we met with Pandora and Hermes to warn her of the coming danger and to figure out how best to protect her from it. We fiddled around with the idea of hidding her in Olympus, but that was a no go due to the fact that her persuer is himan and the god don't want a human toinfiltrate Olympus. So for the tme being she will roll with us as we protect her and try to find a more perminent solution fo our current dilema. 

Japanese Slang Words- March 4th

Not to get on my political soapbox or anything but I think that it is important for me to speak out and say that different cultures are amazing and should exist. This includes African American culture with all of its societal contributions from music to food, stereotypes, and all. It's up to us as individuals to educate others about our own culture because it is a part of who we are and it should be celebrated, not silenced because people don't or refuse to understand it. That being said I had the chance to teach my students about Slang, or African American Vernacular English for the more academically inclined lol. Slang is not only spoken by African Americans, but is shared with everyone and is primarily used by the younger generation and students. As an ESL teacher I think it is easy to forget to share culture along with language to peek the interests of students and promote culture understanding as well as foreign language competence. I gave the student a taste everyday Slang and a few more target Slang used by American today. 

Here are the words I taught them: 

What's up=> Hello 

What's good?=> How are you? 

My bad=> I'm sorry 

For real=> Really

Deuces=> Goodbye 

At the end of the lesson, I asked student to teach me some Japanese Slang Most Japanese Slang are just shortened words, but here are some of my favorite ones:  

まじで(Majide)=> Is that true?, Really?  

すげー (Sugeー)=> Incredible, huge 

いいなあ(iinaa)=> I'm jealous, I want to do that 

ぱねえー(panee)=> You suck! 

たりー(tariー)=>tiring, exhausting, or troublesome 

Mew Mystery Gift- March 3rd

So I had some trouble getting Mew on the Japanese 3DS considering how you only get the Mystery Gift code after you download one of the original Pokemon games on the 3DS via dowload code. After trying to figure it out myself I had to go call the store and go to the store to have a store clerk help me figure it out using my terrible Japanese lol. Here is how l the store clerk lady helped me do it:   

1. After you downloading the 3DS version of the original Pokemon game. Go to the Nintendo Shop.  

 

2. Go to the Menu 

 

3. Go to Settings 

 

4. Go to Software Confirmation and get the 16-digit code. 

5. Open up 1 of 4 approved Pokemon games including: Pokemon Alpha Sapphire, Pokemon Omega Ruby, Pokemon X, or Pokemon Y and go to Mystery Gift. 

 

6. Go to Receive Gift 

 

7. Go go Get With Code 

 

8. Enter the 16-digit code 

 

9. Then you'll receive your Mew!  

 

Fish Cakes- March 2nd

Not getting too fansy with the cooking, but I made some fish cakes and they turned out great! I got the idea after I saw cheap cans of saba, mackerel, at the grocery store and thought I'd try a new recipe with them.They are a breeze to make. Just add onion, garlic, seasoning, and breacrumbs then fry the patties till golden brown and your done. I ate mine on buttered-toasted buns with lettace, tomato, mayo, and sweet chili sauce with a side of fries and green beans. Although it wasn't that difficult to cook it turned out to be really delicious. P.S.- this is my second time making them.  

Pokemon Green for 3DS- March 1st

I know this is late, like everything in my chaotic life right now, but I just wanted to post about the 20th anniversary of Pokemon which was on February 28th, 2016. I think this is the worldwide anniversary of Pokemon because I believe Pokemon was introduced on Japan a year before. In honor of this the Pokemon company has released 3DS versions of the original Pokemon Yellow, Blue, Red, and Green amidst their other projects including Pokken Tournament, Pokemon Z, and the new Pokemon Sun and Moon games. Also, as a special promotion, if buyers bought the download for any of the original Pokemon games in February, they can get a Mew for Pokemon Alpha Sapphire, Omega Ruby, Pokemon X, or Pokemon Y . The Japanese promotion lasted a little bit longer, so in order to help my friend, you know who you are, get his dream Pokemon I bought Pokemon Green which was only released in Japan during the release of the original games worldwide.  

College Friends in Japan- February 29th

I'm so excited I got to spend time with my fellow Chubu students! We didn't meet when I was at Chubu, except for Eric and Ukyo, but we have really bonded as we have gotten to to know each other. While waiting to meet up with the ever so charming Josh, who we thought was im Austrailia surprised us with his presence. We started off the night at a pirate themed nomihoudai with a tabe set at this place above CREAM in Sakae. We were celebrating Benny's birthday and since he didn't join the clubbing I'm assuming he had a good time haha. The highlight of the night mario kart on the original nintendo and a shock game. Afterward we hit up I.D., then cafe Ibiza, then finished off with karaoke- where I slept haha. Needless to say another amazing weekend in Japan.  

Skype with Katie- February 28th

I'm really glad I got to reconnect with my friend Katie from college. Katie and I came to Japan for the first time together to study abroad at Chubu University. Her Japanese is better than mine though haha- she passed the JLPT N2. We caught up on everything in our lives and reminisced about our amazing study abroad experience which we both miss a lot. She is working hard to come back to Japan and hopefully we can relive some our best experiences here in Japan together. Good luck Katie you can do it! 

Update Fragile Age- February 27

Backstory- My team and I are in Egypt and we are currently in the throws of a rebellion. The Greeks gave taken over Egypt, denounced all the Egyption gods replacing them with Greek gods, demilitarized its citizens, and created a huge separation of power and economic status between them and the citizens. So needless to say the citizens loath the current government and have created a rebel alliance to overthrow the government. Enter us who have been given a mission from the gods to to find and protect Pandora and her jar in Egypt,  yes in the lore it was also called a jar, who is beening hunted so she can sacrificed for an ancient ritual to worship a Titan named Thianitus that would start a war between the gods and destory the world. There is also a crazed cult of assassins on our backs and a league of nonhumans also vyjng for the city. My group has the potential to fight a war on 3 fronts. 

After much delibaration,secret meetings, incentives, negotiations, and assassination attemps my team and I decided to side with the nonhumans lead by the centaurs whose leader is no other than my original character Shadow Storm . We agreed to act as triple agents and help both the government and rebels kill each other off and have the nonhumans take over the city. After acquiring weapons for the rebellion, helping them throw the city into chaos by setting the city a blaze, and thwarting the rebelions attempt to steal money from the wealthiest brothal in town, my team and I join the goverment in the final fight against the rebels.  

Update- We were succuessful in protecting the southern wall of the palace  by taking out more thank half of the first wave of rebels. We also managed to smash the battering ram so they couldn't get into the palace.  

Japanese Culture- Work Hours- February 26th

Before I start off I just want to clarify that I have no grounds to really complain about this piece of Japanese culture because I have not experienced the grunt of it and have only had a taste. With that said, one really odd thing about work life in Japan is that the amount of work hours trumps the amount of work being done in any work environment. This is really strange, so I had to ask a few Japanese people about it. The few that I have talked to have expressed lack in vacation time, overtime work with no pay, and wasting time at the work place just simply because they had to be there. I have to say that I don't really agree with this culture because I think the American way of praising fantastic results rather than the time spent encourages people to work more effectively and efficeintly. I'm not saying that Japanese people don't because we all know that they do, but if I were in their shoes I think I would be more prone to laziness because despite finishing loads of work I would still have to come in to work even if I'm just going go be sitting there twiddling my thumbs lol. 

Tekken 7- February 22nd

Tekken 7 has been out even before I came to Japan, but I have finally gotten around to taking some video of my arcade game play. I know its really old and it's kinda dumb to get excited about Tekken 7 anymore considering it has already  been expanded to Tekken Fated Retribution including Street Fighter's Akuma, a prelude to the release of the much anticipated Tekken x Street Fighter I hope. None the less, I still enjoy playing Tekken 7 at my little arcade in Toyohashi and the big arcade next to the movie theater that also features Pokken Tournament and the new arcade Final Fantasy RPG. Today was a pretty good day. I got to chill with my boy Julio, eat some yakiniku, and basically get my but handed to me in Tekken, which I spent too much money on lol. P.S. I kicked Julio's butt in Pokken tournament.

Dual Careers- February 25th

In my ealier posts this year I came tothe  conclusion that I want fo be a music producer and performer, which I still do, but I have discovered a fews things about myself. The idea of working one job for the rest of my life scares me because I enjoy variety, different challenges, and new adventures. I also like and have aptitude for multiple different subjects including Japanese language and culture, business administration and finance/accounting, education and counseling, as well as a true passion for music. So only focusing on one aspect of my skill set would be a total waste of my potential. Thus, I have decided to pursue two careers. One, utilizing my love for music. Two, utilizing my people, language, and business skills. I want to pursue work in International Education and more specifically in a role that focuses on Study Abroad. I'm currently interested in becoming. Resident Director for an American Study Abroad program here in Japan and help America students as they study Japanese, learn about Japan and Japanese culture, and explore the unique landscape of Japan. It'll take some graduate study, native level language aquisition, and a lot of experience but I want to give it a shot! Wish me luck:-) 

Psycho Pass 2- February 24

I finished watching the entire 2nd season of Psycho Pass called Psycho Pass 2. If you don't know what it is m,i'll tell you. Its set in Japan, Tokyo I think, and the city is run by a computer system called Sibyl who montiors the citizens individual crime coefficients to see if they are high enough to be considered latent criminals. Based on this assessment the police that consist of regular agents and enforcers, latent criminals that have been given a chance to attone for their actions, montior and protect the city by taking the necessary precautions and actions based on Sibyl judgement through specialized weapons called dominators. I don't want to spoil anything, but essentially both seasons deal with the flaws and corruption of fhe Sibyl system and questions the ethics of its so called objectivity. I really like the theme of the second season. The main character Akane Sunomori knows the secret about Sibyl, but chooses to stay with the force and work with Sibyl to create an idealistic world. Her motto is, "the law doesn't protect the people, the people protect the law." Meaning that despite a flawed system, unfair circumstances, and a corrupt world it is up to the people to decide to make the best out of their situation for the betterment of themselves and society as a whole. This speaks volumes to what is happening in the world today. With endless amounts of hate and selfishness in its many forms seeking to consume this world and lead even the best of us astray, it is important to remember that all of us can effect change and make the world a better place in our own way eventhough there is so much working against us. We must have the strength and the will to fight for justice, speak out against oppression, and stand up for everyone because we all have a right to life, liberty, and happiness. As a generation, our work is not finished and our fight is not over. In a lot of ways it is just beginning. We all need to ban together to make this world a better place for all. 

Bad Luck Day- February 23rd

Julio had a bad luck day today and I got caught in the cross hairs. So this is how it started. We met up and at around 11 am so we could run some errands. We had to go get a bike from our friebnds place first because we were going to be traveling a lot. So after some searching, texting, more searching, and heavy lifting we finally get the bike and the tires are flat, but has enough air to ride. Our first stop was the glasses store, which is where I really wanted to go so I could learn how to get glasses in Japan, and it is closed for renovations for the next 4 days. Our second stop is the post office sp Julio can figure out how he can get his Mt. Fuji walking stick back to America. We both completly fail at using our Japanese, but we finally manage to get the clerk to uderstand us enough to tell us the length limit of their shipping. So we go back to his apartment and measure the walking stick and it is too long and can't be shipped without shortening it. Our third stop was to get  curry for lunch, which is the cheapest time to ge curry, we ride to the furthest place that has the gpod curry and they are closed. So we settle for the other curry place who gave us a free and much needed good lucl butter nan even thoufh we were completely stuffed from our lunch sets. I ended up eating most of it while Julio only ate a little. On the way back to his apartment we are stopped by policewomen who asked to see our registration papers for our bikes, the first time I have been asked for them btw, necause she was looking for a bike theif. Neither of us had papers because O never got them from my landlord or sold me his friends bike and Julio was riding his friends bike. Thus, we had tp show her our residence cards and she copied down our information. I don't really know why you need to register a bike anyways- WHY JAPANESE PEOPLE WHY!!?? That was the extent of the bad luck because after that we just went  grocery shopping, went to the gym, ate some dinner, watched Deadpool and played some monopoly with Pete and Ashley. I totally was winning the first game before the gym, but we had to startover because Pete and Ashley cleared the table for dinner and so she can play. Ashley didn't even end up playing and Julio beat Pete and I. Guess he got his luck back by the end of the day haha.  

JPLT N4 in July- February 21st

I finished preparing my study notebook of readings, example sentences, vocabulary and grammer from my Japanese Language Proficiency Exam N4 books. I was originally going to push myself for 3 months and try for N3, but I figure if I just do N4 my foundational Japanese would be a lot better. Also I can take the N3 in December after I pass the N4 in July. As a side note, my goal to be proficient not only in writing, reading, and listening Japanese, but also speaking it because I believe second-language stick a lot more once you learn how to speak it. I know its a lot of work but I want to gambaru and start my journey to become truely fluent in Japanese!!! 

Otaku- February 20th

Bad news... I MIGHT BE TURNING INTO AN OTAKU!!! What is an Otaku you might ask. Otaku is the Japanese word for geek or nerd, and more specifically the special type of Japanese guys who are obsessed with mange, a paraphernalia. There are the typically pizza-faced, glasses wearing, overweight, nonathletic, completely self-absorbed men, or women, that you see around and just think wow, but that's just the stereotype and we all know I'm nothing like that. I'm just saying that since I'm becoming more of an adult I have been finding my own tempo and settling into the things that I like. One of them is watching cartoons and playing games all day, which I have been doing since I was a kid. It is still appealing to me and I look forward to weekend where I can just relax and just chill at my apartment by myself just watching some of my favorite shows and playing video games that I like. So it might not be that I'm becoming an Otaku, but realizing that I have always sorta been an Otaku and I'm okay with that. Although, I don' think I will ever get to the point that I completely lose touch with reality, pretend that I'm married to my favorite anime character, and start buy all types of suggestive figures and the like. I will never do that haha because above all else I am a people person and an extrovert!

 

ALT Work- February 19th

This wouldn't be a good blog if I didn't mention the fact that I am an English teacher here in Japan. More specifically, an ALT, Assistant Learning Teacher, of English. I teach in 3 high schools in Tahara: Seisho High School, Atsumi Nogyo High School, and Fukue High School, but I think I have already mentioned this to many people. The point of my post for today is that along with teaching English I have to check/grade papers. In high school, I always heard that grading was a nightmare and I really didn't understand it until I had to grade my own papers. I have already checked so many papers this year so far. I usually only check around examination time, which is  3 times a year if I may add, and this coming week I have to grade another 225 papers. So I want to give a shout out to all teachers who not only make sure students are learning the subject matter, but also take the time to check and grade the mounds of insurmountable tests, essays, and homework for all the students in their classes. This is not easy work people and if you think it is I want you to try it and see how it feels.

GATE- February 18th

So my buddy Eric gave me a new anime to check out and I love it already. It's called GATE and it's about a gate that opens in the middle of Tokyo that connects to a different fantasy world full or mages, knights, elves, gods, and dragons. The royal empire of the fantasy world sends in it's army to conquer the human world and are met by the Japanese SDF, Special Defense Force. I don't want to give any spoilers, but it is absolute carnage and the what every anime/game lover has wanted to see- a fight between fantasy warriors and a modern army. After that the anime touches on some pretty important issues with diplomacy between nations and the like and it is very interesting. I'm current watching the 2nd season which isn't finished yet and I am absolutely hooked. You should check it out! 

Fate- February 17th

This is kind of a stupid post, but when you have to make 365 you will have some duds lol. So anyway I had a teachers meeting in Kanayama today.  Julio, Pete, and I were able to get there early enough to catch the lunch buffet at El Salavadore, an Italian place. After the meeting we usually go to OXO, a British-style pub, to unwind with a few drinks. While sitting at our table I found exactly 275yen. I decided that this was good because I could use the money to buy a drink when happy hour started so I could get the 50% discount. At 5 o'clock I went up to grab a drink, forgetting my coin pouch on the table, with only the change I found in my pocket. Without thinking I ordered a Smirenoff Lemonade because it looked delicious and it ended up being exactly 275yen. I know it's a stupid story, but it was really a weird coincidence, so I though I would share it.

Fragile Age- February 16th

I had a lot of free time today to do a lot of things. I felt very artistic so I decided to finally finish my overhead drawing of my tabletop RPG character Kuroin, a Rakshasa familiar, from the game Fragile Age that my game developing friends made. My roommates from college Matt, Emily, and Thanos have worked really hard to create this game and this is the second installment. We played the first installment of the game my senior year of college and started our current play through after I came to Japan. It's all set in the same universe which is in ancient history around the time the Greek Empire ruled, but also includes legends, gods, mythical monsters, and all the good stuff you want out of an RPG. I have had a blast playing so far and can't wait to see what my team can do this play through. We have a big battle coming up next weekend hat I can't wait for and I'm so excited. I hope this really becomes a game and I'm so honored to be apart of its development. 

Tips for Speaking a Second Language- February 15th

Since I'm an American in Japan and my native language is English I have been trying to learn Japanese. I've studied Japanese on and off since jr. high school, but I have found that learning a second language is school is a lot different then actually using the language in everday conversation with native speaker. Not only that, as an Assistant Learning Teacher or ALT I've had the amazing opportunity to teach English to students as thwir second language. So through my own experiences of learning Japanese and teaching English I have come up with 3 tips for using your second language no matter what your level is: 

1. Use the language that you know  

It is impossible to know every word in a language and you don't have to in order to be considered fluent. Also in the middle of conversation you won't always have a dictionary handy. So don't worry about being perfect and use the few words that you do know and the pthwr person will be able to piece togetherthe  meaning. 

2. Use examples or references that tour audience is familiar with to help explain your point.  

This is pretty straight forward, but a lot of people end up having conversationa where literally everything needs to be explained because they use references and examples that their audience don't know. So picking up a few useful examples of popular culture from your audiences home country will take you a long way. 

3. Observe and use your surroundings

We live in a global society where a lot og things are similar or universal. So sometimes you just have to point and have your audience pay attention to something to help explain tour point without even knowing the words. Sometimes your audience will even say the word of the thing you pointed to and bam you've learned a new word.  

Self-serve Yakiniku- February 14th

Omg after drinking all that Tequila all I wanted from life was some delicious food and what is better than a secl-serve yakiniku. Yakiniku is all you can eat meet usually and also salads, bar foods like kaarage and fries, and also desserts. Most places offer a nomihoudai ir all you can drink too. This only lasts for teo hours and you have to prepare all the meet at your table on a small grill. I was so happy to go and my body was thanking me for the amazing hangover food. Everyone else had to fly on home, but me and my buddy Eric smashed at yakiniku and hit the arcade next door to play some pokken tournament, Tekken 7 and Ultra Street Fighter 4. 

Tequila Party!- February 13th

The Tequila party went great and gave me the nostalgia like I was back on OU's campus in Athens throwing down on a typical weekend. I invited the cool kids from Tahara and Toyohashi and also my boy Eric to come and play some drinking games while we finish a bottle of Tequila and celebrated Breanna's birthday. We played all the classics including kings, beer pong, quarters, flip cup, and boom. It was a blast, some people got to drunk , and everybody had fun in my little apartment on the cold rainy February night in the Hash!!!

 

Deadpool and Xmen in August😡- February 12th

I'm so excited to see the upcoming marvel movies Deadpool and Xmen Apocalypse while I'm here in Japan...or so I thought. Two of the most action packed movies of 2016 will not premiere in Japan until this August. What am I going to do!? This makes me so angry cause it seems like most other countries will have their premiere a few days at most after they premiere in America. Guess I'll have to wait even longer to see these movies...or should I make a quick trip to South Korea hmmm... 

Cleaning- February 11th

So we all have had chores since we were young whether it was taking out the trash, cleaning our rooms, or cleaning the whole kitchen after our parents have cooked dinner. But, when I was younger I didn't really understand  how much it took to keep a place clean. Living in my own apartment alone has enlightened me to the amount of dirt and messes that I produce by myself, let alone combined with a family. Its safe to say its a surprising amount, and something always needs to be cleaned everyday. I miss the days where I only had to do chores instead of taking care of myself and a whole apartment. 

Charlie's Angels!- February 10th

I just rewatched one of my favorite movies of all time Charlie's Angles based on the old TV show and stars Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Lie. Even though my Mom bought this movie for my sister when we were younger, I definitely watched it way more than her. It's everything you could want in a movie. All of the leading ladies are femme fataleas, absolutely drop dead gorgeous and dangerously brilliant. Drew reminds me of my friends Shelby haha. The movies is full of kick butt action and lot's of laughs. Not to mention, my girls Destiny's Child made the hit single Independent Women for the movie. My favorite part is towards the end when Lucy Lui double jump kicks the creepy thin man after he rips out her hair. This movie will never get old. 

Happy Birthday Becca!!!- February 9th

I wanna give a shout and wish a Happy Birthday to my best friend Becca!!! Her and I go all the way back to elemetary school. We didn't become close until high school when we did marching band and winter drumline together. If you don't know, my friends and family are very special to me and I would do anything for them. Same goes for Becca aka Peacemaker. She is one of the most kind and caring people I know not to mention a fantastic artist and an amazing cook. This is one girl who can take care of herself and keep up with the guys. Just ask the whole drumline who counted on her to play the heaviest and one of the technical drums- the quads. Eventhough I'm far away we still manage to keep in touch, but I miss her very much and wish I could be in Atlanta celebrating with her. I love tou Becca and no mattwr where we end up we'll always be besties. Best of luck to you and I can't wait to go to an art gallery full of your wonderful masterpieces!!!