Had a pretty busy day today. I went downtown to a Japanese Cherry Blossom festival. I chatted up some of the people who worked at various international organizations, had some chicken teriyaki and somen noodles, and looked around a little bit. It was interesting, but very hot and crowded, and I didn't bring a hat or any sunscreen ( Read more... )

I have noticed lots of cars with this sticker on them. I had to figure out what this sticker is, and came across this Reddit post by someone just as befuddled as I was ( Read more... )

Over the last week or so I have been experimenting with meditation. By that I mean, simply sitting by myself alone and allowing my mind to empty out and settle down. I find that I rather enjoy doing this and that it may be something I could benefit from. I find that I may sit down intending to do it for ten minutes, but once the ten minutes is ( Read more... )

I have been watching some videos about different countries this weekend. I watched one about Moldova, and one about Hungary. I would like to watch more videos like this in my spare time, even ones about smaller or more obscure countries, just to get a feel for what all is out there. I like the idea of using the Internet to educate myself ( Read more... )

I notice when online, it is very easy to engage in the same habits, play the same games, browse the same few websites, and so on. In spite of this access to information that we have via the internet, it is not so easy to find new things to explore or to get out of one's comfort zone. There is so much there, so the choices are overwhelming. What ( Read more... )

At work, I was idly looking at an online map of Okinawa. While I was doing that I ended up getting a call from a very nice Japanese lady, and chatted in Japanese with her. I was surprised that I felt confident talking to hear, and I also understood most of what she said too. It's a good feeling knowing that I haven't forgotten all that much of ( Read more... )

The weather is getting better, and I am feeling increasingly stifled by being inside. Especially being sick the last few weeks and not able to do much, I have spent most of my free time in front of the computer on my usual internet hangouts. Now I am growing dissatisfied with that and want to get out of the house more, and just go. The trick is ( Read more... )

My iPod has been having a lot of trouble with webpages lately. What typically happens is that it will constantly be loading something from the page, and the page will keep blinking and never fully load. It takes a very long time to open anything, and it is not uncommon for the browser to crash altogether in the process. Clearing cookies and the ( Read more... )

Am watching an interesting documentary about the Empire of Japan. I would like to learn more about this subject in general. It would be fun to take more history courses if I were to go back to school ( Read more... )