Kesha

A couple of weeks ago I bought Ke$ha`s CD and below is one of the songs I enjoyed on her album.


I think you got the best of me
You're sleepin' with the enemy
You left me all alone, alone, alone, alone
The beat drops, I'm so low
My heart stops, I already know
You left me all alone, alone, alone, alone

I'm sick and tired of the mess you made
But you're never gonna catch me cry
Oh whoa whoa
You must be blind if you can't see
You'll miss me til the day you die
Oh whoa whoa
Without me, you're nothing
Oh whoa whoa
You must be blind if you can't see
You'll miss me til the day you die
Oh whoa whoa

I've let go, finally over you
This drama that you put me through
I'm better all alone, alone, alone, alone
The beat drops, you're so low
It's last call and it's gotten old
Now look who's all alone, alone, alone, alone

I'm sick and tired of the mess you made
But you're never gonna catch me cry
Oh whoa whoa
You must be blind if you can't see
You'll miss me til the day you die
Oh whoa whoa
Without me, you're nothing
Oh whoa whoa
You must be blind if you can't see
You'll miss me til the day you die
Oh whoa whoa

I trusted you, you were the first
Then you lied and it get's worse
You broke me down
Now just look around
Who's all alone?
Who's all alone now?

I'm sick and tired of the mess you made
But you're never gonna catch me cry
Oh whoa whoa
You must be blind if you can't see
You'll miss me til the day you die
Oh whoa whoa
Without me, you're nothing
Oh whoa whoa
You must be blind if you can't see
You'll miss me til the day you die

Suidobashi and Zoff glasses

Today Jennifer, Colleen and I went to Suidobashi Dome City. The whole purpose of our visit to Dome City was for Jennifer to purchase a new pair of glasses for the the shop Zoff. Zoff is lower priced shop were you can purchase glasses. The key point about this shop is that it has a three price system. First the customer chooses the type of frame they want from three set prices ranging from 50 -100 us dollars. After you choose your frames, the customer will then take an eye exam and then after the eye exam you will pay for your glasses and an hour later your glasses will be ready to be picked up.

Zoff is a convent store because you can get everything within an hour unlike stores in the USA.

Okonomiyaki

Today Hayato and I came across a recipe for okonomiyaki which is very different from the conventional recipes out there. The recipe required use to use both Sweet potatoes, age dama (pieces of fried flour) and ginger. The outcome was great!!. The sweet potatoes and age dama helped the okonomiyaki have more of a soft texture and it also changed the taste of the okonomiyaki itself. Instead of tasting like flour and cabbage, this one tasted more like an omelet. Although the recipe required more ingredients then the conventional recipe, it did taste really delicious.

Bistro Famille

Today I was walking around my new apartment and Hayato showed me a little bistro he had found. I am not a huge fan of pasta and I often do not like to eat pasta when I decide to eat out.However, there are very few shops near my house thus I decided to give it a try, and to my surprise it was really delicious. Hayato ordered pasta and I ordered beef stew. All of the lunch sets they come with either bread or rice, and a salad and dessert. The owner of the bistro has runs a bakery close to the restaurant. After we were served Cesar salads and bread we got our main dishes I was shocked by the high quality of the ingredients used in the dishes and I will surely go to the restaurant not only because it is located near my house but because of the high quality ingredients used in the food and the price they offered the lunch's at.


4.5 out of 5 stars

A foreigners POV

Here a vlogger I often watch on youtube, she discusses what it is like to live in Japan. I agree with most of her viewpoints.

please watch here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnOu1cBQ8w0

Chano-ma

This last week I had the opportunity to go to Chano-Ma cafe located on the top floor of the Marui building in Ueno. The cafe itself had a great atmosphere and it is a nice place to relax and enjoy a light lunch or coffee with friends. At Chano-Ma I had the opportunity to sample two drinks and a dessert they offered. The first drink was a soft drink by the name of Fujiyama cider, which is similar to many other types of ciders you can purchase in Japan, however, it had a little kick to it which gives this drink an advantage when comparing it to other soft drink on the market in Japan. The second drink I drank was hot milk, which was bitter and a bit and difficult to drink. The dessert I had ordered was a slice of cake which disappointed me. The cake of course as presented in a matter that made me feel as if I was in a 5 star restaurant, yet the taste of the cake was plain boring with no sweetness.

I would give this restaurant 3.5 stars our of 5, because it had a great atmosphere but the food was lacking in the taste.

Here is the link

http://www.jellyfish.bz/shop/tokyo/chanoma-ueno/chanoma-ueno.html

Taylor Swift in Japan

A couple of days ago Taylor Swift landed in Japan to perform her first concert in the Asia Region. I entered a raffle in order to win some tickets for her concert and to my surprise I had won four tickets to her concert. However, due to a schedule conflict with my work I was unable to attend the concert.... I hope will get another chance in the future to attend one of her concerts



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a0wu36zW50

Food Food Food

As many people might already know, I really like to cook and eat healthy meals. About three years ago I used to weight about 150 kilos or 330 pounds. With regular exercise and healthy heating I was able to lose weight and get down to my current weight of 175 pounds. At the current moment due to me being busy with school and other private things I do not have time to go to the gym anymore thus I try my best to eat healthy on a daily basis. Over the last weekend I have trying to incorporate more fruit and vegetables into my daily diet. Thus, I am posting some pictures of some of the food I have made over this last weekend. The first dish is a salad with carrots, lettuce, and grilled chicken.


The second meal is a broiled salmon with a Japanese sake, soy sauce and butter base, with a lemon and herb salad.

The last meal I had is not so healthy but was quite actually good. The third and last picture is a picture of McDonalds limited addition American Burgers. This hamburger is called the New York Burger. It has the same patty as a quarter pounder. However, the toppings differ quite a bit. The New York burger uses a spicy type of cheese and also uses spicy mustard and also has a lot of veggies on top.

If you are in Japan I would recommend you try to eat the New York burger before they stop selling them.

In the rain with friends

Today was the first time this month Jennifer and I meet with our friend Collen. Usually when we hang out or have a get together we usually invite Collen to come over to our house because it is a bigger mansion compared to her house. However, today was the first time Jennifer and I both at the same went to Colleens house for a get together. Today to my surprise Colleen had prepared lunch for us. Of course being Americans, when we do get together we often indulge ourselves in American food such as Pizza, hamburgers or the like today Sloppy Joes. After our great lunch, the three of us went to a store by the name of Donki, it is similar to wal-mart in the states. Yet, the shelves and placement of the goods are no organized. After buying some Gain laundry detergent, the three of us went to Karaoke and then we walked around the streets of Ikebukuro, where Jen and I found a sign that was advertising sexual services you could get at a somewhat strange shop.
Besides the heavy rain I had a nice day with my friends in Tokyo

I cannot wait until summer arrives

Coming from Colorado many people are shocked when I say that I hate snow. Growing up in a place where at times it can snow up to 4 feet of of snow in a short amount of time can make anyone hate the winter season. Although it does not snow much here in Japan, I have grown to dislike the winter season here as well.

Here in Japan it is not the snow problem that makes me dislike this season but it is the winter season itself. Japan only becomes 50F in the winter, but it is really windy.

I cannot wait until summer arrives

I have posted some pictures of my last summer here in Japan

Model pictures

My friend took this pictures of me and edited them for me....

My friends

Since my second arrival in Japan on May 10, 2008. I have enjoyed the company of many friends and acquaintances. However, it will soon mark my two year anniversary of my arrival in Japan and it is time to say good-bye to the life I have become familiar with. Many are probably thinking that I am leaving Japan but that is not what this post is about, in truth I still have one year left until I graduate. However, this year will bring alot of changes to my life which includes losing my best friends here in Japan and moving away from my beloved Takashimadaira district here in Tokyo. Ever since my arrival in 2008, I had planned to live with my long time friend Jennifer who I had meet my previous language school KCP, along with living with Jennifer I also knew another friend of my by the name of Colleen was returning to Japan to work as an English teacher for a couple of years. However, as I had experienced in the past when I had lived in Japan there is always a time to say goodbye to other foreigners living here in Japan. Although Jennifer, Colleen and I still have time remaining until they leave I will try to make the best of it while I still have the time. Above are some pictures I had taken of us over the last year.

My Girl Haruna Ai

Over the last year in Japan the popularity of transsexuals has become popular among the Japanese mainstream audience. However, I am really unsure if this Japan opening to a minority within the Japanese population or if they are just using these transsexual just aiding the Japanese in becoming more of a culture that does not accept people for their diffences. However, at the current moment there are two women or "men" the first is a Aoyama University student by the name of Tsubaki and the second is my personal favorite by the name of Haruna Ai.

I have recently wrote a thesis in my pragmatics class regarding the use of language used among the homosexual community in Japan. Through my studies I have learned many new things about Japanese language yet, I have also learned how Japan treats minorities within its own borders. In a future post I will like to post my essay on Japanese homosexual language and how it affects the way the homosexual community is portrayed in the Japanese media and how it gives the gay community a bad image.

Above a the three books I read in order to conduct my study on this issue

Japanese Juku "cram school"

Over the last year I have been working for a Japanese Juku, also known as a Japanese cram school. For those out there who do not know what a Juku is I will give a brief definition of a Juku. A juku is a place where children from the ages of three to seventeen years attend in order to study subjects such as math, science, history and English outside of school.

You might be asking why do the students need to study outside of their primary school? Well, there is a simple answer to this answer. In Japan unlike the USA or Canada, in order for a child to attend a top grade university, he or she will need to take a entrance exam. A child can only take an entrance exam 2 times during their life, However, many parents make their children take multiple entrance exams. The first time will be when the child is entering primary school, the second being when they are attending middle school and high school and the last will be when they attend University.

The reason why so many children take these exams throughout their life is because if the children enter a top grade elementary school or middle school it will become easier for them to enter a top grade university and if a children enters a top grade university it will make it easier for them to enter big companies.Above are some pics of the Juku I work at that were taken during Halloween last year

Long time no update

I finally figured out the password to my account these last couple of days, thus, I had decided to give a quick update on my situation in Japan.

I am almost done with school, when I am done with this semester I will only have nine credits left until I graduate.... Besides that I haven`t been up to much nowadays I work go to school and hang out with my friends.