Since my return from Japan last year, mayn people have what I do in order to keep up and imrpove my Japanese language ability. Honestly, not as much as I should. Most of my practice these days is reading and writing, with very little aural practice.

One of the most frustrating things when I started to learn Japanese was the speed, or lack thereof, at which I could read hiragana and katakana. Back around 2007, it would take me a good 30 seconds to read ありがとうございます (arigatou gozaimasu, or thank you). Now I can read it at what is probably close to a normal speed. This made my Japanese class rather painful for me when I’d be called on. Having a sentence like こんにちは!私の名前は田中です。にじゅうななさいです was almost unbearable. (Hello! My name is Tanaka. I’m 27 years old.) Continue reading The Japanese regimen →

Most people who know me understand that I love technology. From computers to games, I’ve always had an interest in these things. It comes then as a surprise to all that my cell phone is six years old and can only do voice and text. (And it can only store a maximum of about 30 text messages.) Why did I stick with it for so long? It worked… if you ignore the fact it didn’t auto-update the time and date correctly from the day I got it, the volume buttons wouldn’t work when the lid was closed, vibrator in it broke about two or three years ago. But it made great voice calls. It was also the first phone where I could have custom ring tones. Continue reading RIP old cell phone →

I’d say most people don’t know or even remember this, but Rain-Man.org was started as a place for both Rainman and I to host programming projects we’d come up with. That never really came to fruition, and instead it became an outlet for me to write rants and random things I’d think of. It also became a place for us to do random testing of web scripts and the such.

As you may have noticed, posting by myself has become infrequent as of late. It’s not for lack of want, but I’m not sure what it is I should write that I think would be worth sharing. Sure, I could write and possibly complain about temp job, or tell you what I had for lunch (a small Greek-inspired salad), but I find that material to be rather dull.

I do want to write again, and I do hope to post more often, but I can’t promise any cohesiveness to it.

My temp contract has been extended four or five times now. It’s nice to have the income, but it’d be nicer to know when my end date would truly be. In the meantime, I continue to look for work on my own, but due to a crap economy, it’s tough.

This past weekend I went to Surfside Beach south of Houston. Hanging out with friends from Houston was a blast. We spent lots of time on the beach (which led to an unpleasant sunburn on my shoulders and collarbone), played some games and ate some amazing steaks. Really, the steaks were some of the best I’ve ever eaten. Our friend went to the store, talked to the butcher and had some custom cut for us. Ribeyes, of course. I mean, is there any other steak that tastes as good? (Well, maybe a hangar steak, but that’s beside the point.)

Each was at least an inch thick and probably 20 – 22 ounces each. I ate mine, half of someone else’s and about one-fourth of another. Needless to say, I was in a food coma for a while, but was incredibly happy.

Hanging out with everyone actually made me miss being in Houston. If anyone can find me a good job out there, I’ll consider moving back. =)

In a month, I’ll be back at a beach, but this time in Panama. Hopefully I’ll put more sunscreen on and won’t end up a rock lobster.

This past weekend was my 10-year high school reunion. Over the years, I’ve asked many people I’ve met in life whether or not they enjoyed high school. Myself, I really enjoyed my time there. I don’t recall really being made fun of for my height (though I’m sure it happened a few times). Overall, my memories of those four years are happy and pleasant. It’s unfortunate not everyone can have the same experience, but I digress.

I’ve kept up with many people since then, but there were many people whom I had forgotten about. We met up at a well-known park in town, and hung out for many hours. Food was had, as were many glances at the attractive women who showed up. As luck would have it, most all of them I saw were in relationships. Continue reading Reunion →