Trip Update Teaser

Of course I want to tell you all everything we've done so far, but
there is just no time. Instead, I will give you a few of my favorite
quotes from the trip so far. You have to know Maureen to appreciate
some of the them, but I think you can all get a laugh.

"If people offer me anything on this trip, I'm taking it." --Maureen

"Yeah, but sometimes I don't want beer in the morning." --Me (in reference to our theme song, 'It's 5 o'clock somewhere')

Me: I feel a weird heat coming from somewhere.
Maureen: That's my body heat. I'm hot like that.

"I'm not putting my pouch on. We're in Singapore. If someone steals, we'll tell on them and they'll be killed." --Maureen

Maureen: I just don't want lice...I would have to cut all my hair off!
Me: No you won't! They have shampoo for that.

Me: I lost my pouch.
Maureen: The one you were supposed to wearing?

"I hope we meet some people and go out for a night on the town--especially since I brought a night on the town purse." --Maureen

"I think we should start calling Kuala Lumpur 'KL' because on Amazing Race Asia they called it 'KL'." --Me

Ok, that's all the fun for now. Hopefully I'll remember my camera cord next time we're at an internet cafe so I can post some pictures.

I still love you Dirk...

First Rob and Amber, and now this:

Warning: clicking here could make you cry--if you have a soul, that is...

I need a vacation. Good thing I'm leaving in less than 24 hours...

Not So Amazing Race...

I want to formally announce that I'm boycotting the Amazing Race since Rob and Amber are gone. I will always love you Rob and Amber! The only reason I'll watch now is to watch Mirna and Shmirna go down in FLAMES! I HATE THEM! I don't care if the midget gets CBS more viewers! They are ridiculous and stupid and why would anyone want to watch them except to laugh at her fall down?

Ok, before I get more offensive, I better shut up.



**p.s. Seriously, I'm sorry for being so non-PC here. I shouldn't have written this right after watching the show. I'm still mad, and that's never a good time to write about how you feel.

Interstyle Yokohama

I went to Yokohama to see Braddigan perform a few weeks ago at Interstyle. What is Interstyle? I'm so glad you asked. (Huh? You didn't ask? What? You don't care? Well guess what--I don't care if you didn't ask. I'm going to tell you anyway, because it's my blog and I'll tell you whatever I want.) It's a tradeshow/business expo for extreme sports, such as, surfing, skateboarding, etc....
Want to know more? I doubt it, but if you do, look here: Interstyle

I shot some video of Braddigan playing, skateboarders showing off their mad skills, and of Rey and Tiago showing off their mad music skills. I decided to just put them all together, instead of posting them as 3 separate videos. It's a bit rough, so no commenting on the camera shaking--I'm not a perfectist--at least not when it comes to things I'm not good at; i.e. shooting video



And for your further enjoyment...or if you just don't want to watch the video, here are a few pictures.

Tiago, me, Rey, and Brad


Me and Rey


Tiago jamming


Rey on the drums


These guys are awesome. If you ever get a chance to see them live, you should go.

Malaria, Dreams, and Maureen

Japanese people, in general, seem to be very on top of things. I've learned recently that this is just a front--all an act to fool us stupid gaijin.
At Narita airport, there is a sign posted that says: Beware of malaria when traveling.
That's helpful, right? Except wait--how can you 'beware' of mosquitoes? In most civilized countries you would be able to get malaria pills, to hopefully guard you from the disease. In Japan, you just get a sign. To actually get the pills is a pain in the butt, and way expensive. Now, most of you that know me well, are probably wondering why I even care. You know I'm never worried about anything like that. I never get sick, so why would I get shots? take pills? Well simple--I wouldn't, because you're right--I'm not worried about it. However, my traveling companion has turned into a hypochondriac--at least when it comes to malaria.
Fact: Maureen said the word malaria AT LEAST 10 times within a 5 minute period today.
Another Fact: Maureen actually said this sentence: "If I get malaria, I'm going to be so mad."
I can't make this stuff up--and why would I?

Now we've all taken to telling Maureen the 'signs' that your more susceptible to getting malaria. You know, like, if you eat chocolate covered almonds for breakfast, you're at a higher risk (because that is what she ate for breakfast this morning). We actually had quite the list going. Maureen is definitely going to get malaria. (NOT REALLY! CALM DOWN MAUREEN!)

Even after I gave her some hard-core proof that she was going to be fine, she is still worried! What was the proof? Well, our Japanese teacher, Misaki-sensei, went to Vietnam and she's still alive! What better proof is there?!

Unrelated note: When I left tonight, she said this: "Sweet dreams. Of me."
I really hope I don't dream about Maureen having malaria tonight, but I'm afraid there's a very good chance of that happening. Luckily for her, my dreams don't seem to be psychic like Sam's.

How I spell classy...

When I was leaving school today on my bike, I heard someone yell, "Hey baby!" I'm pretty sure it was the first time that has ever happened to me in Japan. I just laughed, but I didn't look in the direction of the yelling, mainly because that would have required me to look backwards, which isn't an easy task when riding on a narrow sidewalk.
In general, Japanese people don't yell at complete strangers. This led me to conclude that it had to be a baka gaijin (crazy foreigner). Another clue that it was a foreigner: They said it clearly, without a Japanese accent. I'm so glad that this is the kind of person representing the American people in Japan.

In an unrelated event, someone said this to me today: "I hate you. Call me."
(Yeah, you know who you are--and of course I'll call you!)

Today was a good day.

I love my brother

This is what you get when you have a great idea, and then realize you have no skills in video making. I love you Cory!!

Gmail Theater: Why Use Gmail?

I didn't really need another excuse to love gmail, but after watching this video I can tell you another reason I love gmail: because a Japanese dude helped create it