http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/nosha/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from nosha en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:28:28 +0000 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:28:28 +0000 The past few months have indeed flown by very quickly for me due mostly in part to how much Irsquove been working. But along the way Irsquove had some wonderful adventures with people I love and appreciate that break up the madness that is ldquobake rinse repeatrdquo on a daily basis. Itrsquos hard to believe that in just a couple of weeks it will already be Aprilmdashit feels lik http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Maryland/Silver-Spring/blog-381932.html This entry is extremely belated and Irsquove wanted to post it several times in the past few weeks. But looking at photos that Andrew posted on facebook was all the inspiration I needed to get the words out that I wanted to say.. and really those words are simply ldquoIrsquom so luckyrdquo. I have so much to be grateful for this year and not enough ways to say thank you enough. At thi http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Maryland/Silver-Spring/blog-354549.html Itrsquos impossible for me to compare my experiences in Sweden to anything else Irsquove ever felt in my life because to do so would be presenting a nontruthful perspective. For me this trip was a homecoming As I went through the security checkpoint at Dulles International my mother said ldquoNow yoursquoll see if this is what you really want to do. Now yoursquoll know if you reall http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Vastra-Gotaland/Gothenburg/blog-346341.html A random memory but it came to me as I was packing my suitcase this morning and looked up to see a caricature of Jrocker I drew about two years ago. For our Japanese classes in university in the first through third year we were required to do skits at the end of each semester to illustrate our grasp of the Japanese language. And for me I always ended up doing the most random and insane things http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Maryland/Silver-Spring/blog-338550.html ldquoFor a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way something to be gotten through first some unfinished business time still to be served a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So treasure eve http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Maryland/Silver-Spring/blog-334378.html A random way to start off this entry but it will break the ice from being so long at bay from posting. I made this entry over at MySpace and LiveJournal this morning and thought that it could very well work in the Travel Blog as well since it deals with language language barriers accents etc.. So this is a small lesson in life with regards to words in Southern American English that differ http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Maryland/Silver-Spring/blog-323117.html Tina I really wish you had been here today. This morning I made my mom and her boyfriend some buckwheat pancakes with chopped walnuts and a caramelized pan fried apples in substitution of maple syrup. It was one of those moments where as a cook I wasnrsquot quite sure if I liked the outcome or if something could have been different. But cooking pancakes this morning made me think of the Runn http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Maryland/Silver-Spring/blog-313315.html I have this entry privatized.. well because this is a travel blog and there isnrsquot much about travel mentioned. That and the topics are a bit more personal. To me as always memories and experiences are what make a place special. I have carried those memories those experiences here to America with me and they continue to shape who I am. A lot of these ideas and thoughts have come abou http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Maryland/Silver-Spring/blog-311721.html Interrupting your regularly scheduled seriousness for an update that shows how much of a geek I can truly be And yes Felix. I went to Otakon. PWhat is an anime convention I sure as hell wish I could give you a proper answer for that one. It seems to be a mishmash of different things all combined into three days of amazing awesome and complete insanity. The intended purpose is to gathe http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Maryland/Baltimore/Inner-Harbor/blog-310303.html A fair warning this entry is going to be long and picture heavy. P I talked with Felix a little bit today about guidelines with regards to relationships and how religions and other personal morals govern them. This not only includes married couples or couples in general but also the relationships we have with our friends our families and people that we meet on the streets in everyday intera http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/North-Carolina/Raleigh/blog-307974.html This entry is dedicated to everyone reading this who continues to care and support me through the changes and different tangents my life takes.I woke up yesterday morning around six am to the sound of gunshots. They werenrsquot interspersed but rather came one after the other in a very terrifying fashion. Upon checking the news nearly an hour later I learned that six men had been shot and kil http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/District-of-Columbia/Washington/blog-305198.html I apologize for the amount of updates in this past week. I have a feeling they will slow quite significantly well.. to at least once a week haha as I finally begin a fulltime job and try to regulate my schedule to fit this. I'm not entirely certain what will happen from August until the end of December with regards to my employment for the immediate future I'm working at the temp agency doi http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Maryland/Silver-Spring/blog-302542.html Gah Aniki you got me thinking P Allow me to borrow your words for a bitRemember all those times when you were a kid and you would wonder and plan what yoursquod do as an adult All those dreams about being a doctor or an astronaut about being the first person to visit Jupiter or trying to dig a hole to China with your mates saying that yoursquod eat nothing but chocolate cake and cand http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/North-Carolina/Cary/blog-301447.html The truth of the matter is that I can never move back to North Carolina. It's something I didn't want to realize part of me had always hoped that I could return to the world I was comfortable and complacent within prior to leaving for Japan with familiar walls and scenery that used to excite. I thought that maybe I needed my dog to feel at home or friends close by my old university right dow http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/North-Carolina/Cary/blog-300816.html I say ldquotadaimardquo. You say ldquowhat did you just call merdquoHere I am. Doing all that I can. Maybe someone will understand. And that one will hold my hand.Humor me. Back to work.That's a clip from a blog entry of a former Kansai Gaidai exchange student the rest for those who are interested can be read here though I highly recommend any of you reading this to take a look. I can' http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Maryland/Silver-Spring/blog-299368.html Let's see how far I actually get on this entry before my supervisor returns haha. Kind of at work for the moment but I've already accomplished everything there was for me to do today.. and I've still got two and a half hours left. Seriously I don't think I'm quite cutout for the corporate scene yet especially not a desk job that is essentially clerical work. I like interacting with people a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/District-of-Columbia/Washington/blog-297089.html Do what is going to make you happy for the next six months were the wise words of my senior number one husband. It's nothing long beautiful and poetic but I never really expect that from Jenny. She's always blunt with me and tells me straight up what she thinks and how she feels. It's been a long time since the two of us have been able to talk. I remember a lot of days at Gaidai where I'd http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Maryland/Silver-Spring/blog-296239.html I am absolutely exhausted right this moment but with good reason at least hopefully this entry will make some coherent sense and I apologize if it doesn't. But today has been wonderful in every sense of the word. I had my second Kansai Gaidai reunion with my friends Quill and Aurora. Quill flew in this week to visit her for a few days and they asked me sometime back if I'd like to go sightsee http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Maryland/Silver-Spring/blog-293380.html Irsquove been doing some reflecting.This time on the day I returned from Japan. Today marks exactly one month since I left my home there in Osaka. The memories that I have in photos in dreams in conversations with people I met there are still very close to my heart and I think about them a lot. Perhaps todayrsquos thoughts were stirred by talking with Nozomi and posting back and forth t http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Maryland/Silver-Spring/blog-292082.html I got a job I got a jobWell sort of. I signed on with a temporary hiring agency today that promises they'll be able to find me a job very shortly. The sorts of work they hire out for are fairly basic mostly clerical data entry receptionist sorts of positions. They did promise me a minimum wage as well as possible bonuses from themselves for stellar performance.. They also said that depe http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Maryland/Silver-Spring/blog-291675.html