you really should have known better...

... after all, you shook Sinatra's hand.

It's easy...

...you're in or you're out; right now.

Analogy

The blog is to facebook as the laser disc is to the DVD. But I'd rather throw my DVD player off of the roof than the laser disc player.

Winter Break, 5th of 5 posts!

So, I only made it to 4 of the 5 special sites in Myanmar. The last one is called the Golden Rock... and I just ran out of time to get there. It is a bit southeast of Yangon in an entirely different part of the country. Not too far away, but too far away this time. Thus, the last two pictures involve my return to Japan. I was a cheapskate (and wanted a Subway sandwich) so I took public transit into the city from the airport when I arrived to Fukuoka. After the sandwich, with all of my baggage I was stopped 100 meters short of the train station. A small bald man with a fake bow tie approached me and decided it was in our best interests if he interviewed me... so we went out to the camera crew, stationed on the street and I the journey continued!

All in Japanese, I was asked why I looked so disheveled (3 weeks no shave and a full backpack and a side bag!). I was then brought across town to be shown some customary Japanese New Years traditions. I was all over TV in January but only a couple people saw it. I ordered a copy of the tape from the director because even I didn't see it. Then, last week, the girl in the bread store asked me if I was on TV. Students at 3 schools approached me about the show. Then the woman at the post office counter. I even got it from the folks who work in the ramen shop! Apparently, it was not only broadcast on that lowly Thursday the week after New Years. The director sent it to the local news channel and THEY showed it again, a month later! EVERYone here watched the news, so my face (not at its best, mind you) was plastered over the screens in the houses of everyone in my entire community. It's pretty cool that they all ask me about it, but it sucks too because now there is REALLY no escape... such is life.

A great reason to bust out the stereotypical Japanese (peace) pose for a picture. Outside of Kushida jinja in Nakasu, Fukuoka.

Chin-nen (the interviewer) called me James for the majority of the interview because the director (holding the sign) had written down the wrong name. When I called him out on it, he was grossly apologetic. That scene was the one that really got my students laughing!

THAT'S THE END OF MY WINTER BREAK. TIME FOR ANOTHER VACATION!

Winter Break, 4th of 5 posts

Wow, nearly two months since the time and I am still putting stuff up. A little bit late, no? Perhaps you have gotten a link to my Picasa pictures... then you can see them all (420 ish). Otherwise you can see the 'best of" on this page!

On to the famous temple city/complex called Bagan:

(famous pagoda in Bagan; Thatbyinnyu Paya... number 4 of the 5 famous sites! only one left...)

(another amazing paya, named Nwa Pya Gu Paya built in 13AD!)

(climbed to the top of this bad-boy with Michael)

(Bagan sunset)

(famous Mt. Popa, with the temple at the top!)

(These guys were monkeying around at the top of the temple)

(Buddhist flags whipping in the wind)

[some of] Bagan['s temples] at sunrise... or a little bit thereafter

(my favorite picture from the trip... the same as the title display right now. Again, Bagan at sunrise, as the morning mist begins to lift.)

(Dudes playing a game [forgot the name] before my fateful bike ride that ended in two popped tires, hitchhiking with a bike, making friends with a goat long after sunset and the eventual royal escort back to town... the story is better in person)

I made it back to Yangon for a day after the 5 amazing days in Bagan. Then, a quick flight and a day lay-over to enjoy what can be seen in Bangkok in a day... not a whole hell of a lot!

(Thai massage school where I paid some large, strong woman to beat the hell out of me. I am a fool because I paid even more money the next day to have the same treatment!)

(Pineapple chicken. No kidding when they said it was served in a pineapple [I though the translation was a joke!])

chotto ski vacation

I got away for five days.

Met up with Denis, who I met last year (14 months ago!) in Furano[富良野]. This year we met at the Fukushima-ken's [福島県の], Koriyama [郡山駅] station at the south exit (which didn't exist). We planned the entire trip via email and it was a charm. Despite spending too much money and breaking my thumb (yes, you read that properly) it was a fabulous trip. We explored the ALTS [アルツ] resort and then enjoyed two days in cozy lodge, learning to telemark ski. That was truly awesome because we had both wanted to learn how. The manager and our instructor, "Boss," was a pretty tough dude. He's been at the telemark thing for 25 years... one of the original Japanese telemark association members. I only know him as Boss, that is what everyone called him!

Reuinted!

The new boots!@

The entire, flossin' "White" package!

Denis and backside of Ura Bandai [裏磐梯] volcano (dormant)

Me and the "snow mochi" [もち] at the bottom of chair 9.

Cool jump sequence... guess who.

Boss explains how the volcano [火山] exploded 120 years ago... leaving that huge empty space, hence the name "Ura" Bandai.

The telemark crew... in the background, the basin created after the volcano had its way with the area!

See you... next year...?!

Winter Break, 3rd of 5 posts

The next batch... six from Nyuang Shwe, the jumping off point for the Inle Lake exploration.

This is an elementary school (in session) and I caught the kids running back into the class from recess. Note white shirts and green trousers as the uniform. Other schoolkids wore green loungyi (lou-n-jee), skirt-like clothing that men and women all over the country wear. I bought one and it really kept me cool during the hot afternoons.

Some houses built on stilts. I visited in the winter; during rainy season apparently the water level rises a little bit.

Water buffalo hiding out in the brush... that was as close as I got!

Hidden temple... I was definitely lost in the middle of nowhere and it was gorgeous (pretty damn hot too!)

Nuns lie up for morning donations of rice from a local store.

picture of the countryside... those are willows (known in Japan as susuki)

Now... to Mandalay! An overnight bus and....

Down at the docks of the mighty Ayerwaddy River.

Sunset from Mandalay Hill. When it got dark, there was only a little to see because often the city is without electricity! Lots of loud, smelly diesel generators fill the night air (noise and exhaust!)

Looking a bit south... some temples to the left. The waterway in front of you is one of the four sides of the royal compound... it was (is) a fortress. And pretty intimidating. And HUGE. The previous picture shows the closest side.
Next morning (only day 2 in Mandalay)...

From inside the compound ($10 later); a picture of the royal palace (which is not actually used AND the capital is Yangon now!) Mandalay is only 150 years old so this is all pretty new history in regards to the fact that royalty were located here for a little while.

That is Mandalay Hill in the background. And this is the grounds of a temple complex that you can see from that southern picture. The multitude of white stupas all house a Buddha. And there are many reasons to pray, each stupa is for a different reason.

This is my favorite piece of architecture in Myanmar. It is called the Golden Pavilion. It is super old and was actually moved to its present location from about 20km away. The woodwork was so fine and that contrast with the white (presumably British) colonial stuff made me stare for a lot longer than I had done during the trip.

A picture from (not of) Mahamuni Paya (pagoda). This is the third of the Big 5 holy sites in Myanmar.

A picture of the U Bein's bridge near the ancient (Capital) city of Amarapura. The 1.2 km teak bridge is apparently the longest in the world, and it allows folks to cross over the Taungthaman Lake. I didn't get a chance to see it for very long because of such a rushed day, but that's the way it goes.... trading time in one place for another. No regrets. Glad I caught the sunset there though!

Here it is! My friend Katrine and I hired a boat for the sunset and we reckoned it was near-perfect timing! This is the picture (there are actually a half-dozen!)

Hail, Steeler Nation

With my reversible Kordell Stewart jersey (#10) turned white-side out, I hunkered down with Gage and Wendy to watch the super bowl live! Well, for us it was live, though actually a day later. We didn't check the Internet for the scores; we had no expectations. We BBQ'd, ate homemade 5-layer bean dip (salsa, cheese, guac, and sour cream also!) and watched the game, Fast forwarding whenever we could, to save time. Wendy from AZ, was fired up to watch her team. I, from SoCal, was fired up to watch my adopted team (damn Rams), and Gage, from Hawaii was locked into the gridiron action. Needless to say, it was an awesome game- worth watching for shure.

Atta boy Santonio Holmes (#10 now!) with the MVP. I liked Harrison's 100-yd run back, personally, but Big Ben also deserves some mad props. He is awesome. NObody like him. Kurt Warner gets props too- he is a stud. Simply a great game to watch. After the safety I calmly walked onto my balcony and screamed the loudest, "Fuck" I have yelled in a very, very long time. I saw it melting away... then the AZ touchdown... but when Holmes caught that laser from Ben... oh man it was sweet. My upstairs neighbor wrote me a message today, "How many people did you have over last night?" It was only three, but apparently it was louder than I thought...

More Myanmar pix sometime soon...