Next Stop... PARIS, Texas!

Right now, I'm finishing up a video. It will be out this Saturday, the 27th. What's coming down the pipeline next? How about Paris, Texas! I visited this place when out was far out east, visiting my grandma. I'm not sure how I even learned about the place but a nice short video about the beauties of this city will be coming out next month.

Here are some snapshots!

L is for Luigi

A while back, I was teaching some fourth graders.  The kids were making sketches of their family, which they would introduce later, infront of class.  Each student had to scribble down something that 'their person' liked.  One boy wrote down that his father liked ''baseball''.  Of course, he wrote it in Japanese but in katakana.  I could at least read it (I still can't quickly recognize the kanjis for baseball 野球).  Being the way I am, I ask him to write it in English.  He didn't know how to spell so I said each letter for him.  When he go to 'L', he was stumped.  Right when I was about to help him, a boy sitting infront of him, whips around and says in Japanese 'L, like Luigi'.  A light burst through the boys head and he was able to complete the word.

Updates

For the past few days I have been writing in my blog on a bit more of a consistant basis. Something that would resemble what it looked like upon my arrival to Japan. This is good because it gives more people something to read. For me its not too bad either. It gives me a place to write down my ideas. This is perfect so if I ever get Alzheimer's, I have a place to go and read the adventures of the past. Only problem becomes if I can't find it.

Moving along, I think I will try to find a few days out of the week where I will come here and spew garbage. All of these days will center around Japan, so if you're in the US; consider it a day earlier.

Tentatively, I think the days will be; Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. This does not mean however that I will lack content, with blank days. I will write as much as I possibly. Some days maybe writing two or three entries. Helping create a back log of work. Something I have been wanting to do with my video projects but that's much more difficult.

If I create a schedule of days when content is released, it gives everyone reading an exact day when content is posted. Instead of wondering when I will post another entry.

So, let's give this a try for the month of September and see how it turns out!

Your neighborhood K9

The demeanor of a dog is determined by an owner. One who has a short temper or prone to anger might have an aggressive dog. A person who is scatter brained will have a dog that is overly anxious and difficult to train. What about the person that is very mellow? Well, the mellow person is going to have a dog you would confuse with a monk.

I don't want to divulge to far into stereotypes but the Japanese, as a whole, are very mellow. Which means they have the most obedient, patient, quiet, and loving dogs I have ever encountered.

The dog pictured in this entry is a dog who was tied up outside of a local super market. Of course the breed (shiba) is known to be a kind dog. It didn't care one moment for me. He was patiently waiting for its master. I could pet it, talk to it, try and get its attention but all it was doing was waiting for its best friend to come out with groceries in its arms.

Countless times I have seen this repeated. I would honestly say that most of these dogs could stand, unleashed, and the owner would never have to worry about the dog being lost...

Speaking of that, since I have been in Japan; I haven't seen one 'lost dog' poster. Whenever I was in the US, I always felt sick to my stomach when I saw a flier. I love dogs, so its hard for me to know if one was lost or maybe strayed to far and was hit by a car. On the other hand, rage boiled inside of me because a 'lost dog' might also mean 'terrible owner'.

If you love your dog, it loves you and will never run away. My last dog (God rest his soul) could patiently sit outside our house for hours waiting for our return (unleashed mind you). Routinely if members of my family left the house and I was still home, sleeping in bed till noon; he went into a howling fit. I could also leave a plate full of food lying on the floor and he would never eat it unless I let him.

This is what has surprised me so much about the animals over here. The dogs love their owners immensely, which says a lot about the Japanese. Toy dogs I once hated in the US have a different personality here. Its like someone gave all these pomeranians and terriers a bunch of drugs. They just watch you walk past their house without barking, give you a little wag of the

tail, and thats it. Actually, I haven't heard toy dog bark since I've been here.

Toy dogs are generally the worst in the US. Something I could set you down for a few hours and talk to you about. Overall though, dogs over here are awesome.

Of course there are differences but none of them are all that negative. There are fewer larger

breeds of dogs over here. You're less likely to see anything bigger than a lab. It all makes sense when you look at the bigger picture of SPACE. Who can own a husky and own the area they need to roam? I haven't came across a dog park either. Which is sad because it would be a great place to see dogs and get some digits.

I think that is all I have to say about dogs. If there is anything I would suggest. I think it would be to read the story about Hachiko. Japan's most famous dog. His story has a lot to say about loyalty, patience, and will make you cry your self to sleep for nights to come.

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Episode 22 and a TON OF CHANGES!!!

I went snowboarding with my buddy Kurt the other day and took the zi8 out for a test drive as well as an editing test drive. Looks like I will need to get a mac as well as Final Cut Pro. I edited this on iMovie. The software ran alright for being free.

When I edit, prefer a lot of control. Compared to Windows Movie Maker, iMovie is dominant. Its easy to use and operate. But if you have spent time editing, it doesn't allow much control; which becomes a big issue for me.

Well, with that out of the way, maybe I should mention I'm moving to Japan. One week (give or take a day) from now.

Ha. Maybe it would have been more important to mention this earlier? Well, I would have. Sadly, I didn't. Oh well.

There is a lot in store for me down the road. I'll keep you posted (if you read this garbage).

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Episode 16

I think I'll talk about Maruyama park next. Seeing the episode would be quick to put together...

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Episode 15

How I thought this out in my head was much different than how it turned out. I think, mostly in part due to laziness. The other part was in the gap of time between starting the Austin road trip and finishing it. Which would be around a month and a half.

That's ok though. I'll be back to work on the Japan stuff in the coming weeks. Hopefully I'll finish off the series soon...

I still have Taiwan to get to and I was there last year, at nearly the same time!

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Started the TEFL course

I began my TEFL course today and here is how it looked...

Day One 10/5/09
11:44 in - read introduction
11:49 introduction completed
11:50 begin Unit 1
12:08 finished reading material unit 1
12:08 break
12:45 begin Unit 1 worksheet
13:01 break
13:34 back to Unit 1 worksheet
13:51 break
13:54 back to Unit 1 worksheet
14:13 break
14:37 back to Unit 1 worksheet
15:00 Unit one completed

I decided to log my time to see if I end up with the 100 hours they say it will take. I haven't added up the time but it looks like it took somewhere between 1.5 - 2 hours of actual work. The reading goes quickly but its the questions that take some time. You're not obliged to turn in your answers per unit but I'm trying to be thoughtful and really put effort into each question. Before I go to sleep, I'll probably read through the section a couple of times, just to help retain the information even more.

There is a total of 20 units, so if I dedicate myself to it, I should be done somewhere around the 25th of October. Application deadlines for employment within the school system in East Asia is usually around mid December. That offers me plenty of time to get certification and look for work.

Hopefully, I'll be somewhere over there by Mid-March.

This also means that there will be somewhat of a pause in TWJ episodes. I'd rather focus on this instead of my series. But its ok, it shouldn't be too long of a pause. I'll keep you all posted.

Travels with Jerry - Episodes 1-3

I have finally finished the first three. The next episode will be an introduction to Japan.