Monday, August 18, 2008
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7:24 AM
Traveling Japan
Traveling Japan
I decided to go to Kansai for my summer vacation this year. I say that from this experience, I had learned a lot of things as a traveler.
It was a one week preparation for the one week trip. I spent each day of the previous week looking for itineraries and good places to go to around Japan. It was supposedly a solitary trip but found friends who can tag along.
I gathered various website articles in order to organize the trip. But then again, it didn't give us the complete view of what to expect in the area itself. I can say wholeheartedly that experience is still the best source of information.
Japan Travel tips
Not that I am boasting about it..but I feel confident that I can tour around friends and can recommend places to go in Japan (particularly the Kansai area for this matter) bwahahaha.. sorry mayabang. Anyway, for those adventurous people with tight budget who are not bothered by long distance train ride and long kilometers of walk and are not afraid of Kanjis (Japanese chinsese characters), let me give you some personal tips in traveling around Japan
1. It is best to look for internet articles about your destination before your trip. I particularly recommend searching for travel courses (provided in almost all official prefectural websites) since the itineraries are provided for you at ease.
2. It is good to create itineraries.. but it should not limit you to places that you can go. Traveling is not a classroom where you have class schedules. It is an experience where time is not an essence (well, if you consider closing times, it can be :P)
3. If you are particularly familiar with Kanji, the best way to get to know a place is to collect travel pamphlets provided at train stations. Some of them list down places which aren't mentioned in websites.
4. If you get lost, don't hesitate to ask, even in English. Most people will entertain your questions especially when they see you tagging along big bags and luggages (because they know you are a traveler).
5. The best way to have a cheap ride going to your destination is the use of what they call the Seishun 18-kippu (lit. means Youth 18 ticket). Although the name says 18, the ticket is not limited to 18 years old. It can be used by any ages and can bring you to any places in Japan. One ticket cost 2300yen which you can use within 24hrs going to any place. All trains used must only be JR trains (Japan railway trains).
6. The best guide that you can have for your trip is a map. I suggest to look for the city travel information counter and ask for one once you landed on your destination.
7. Be careful of business hours. Some museums and temples closes at 5, but they have extended business hours during the summer season.
8. Be sure your cameras are readily equip with good batteries and large memory spaces. You don't want to miss any of those good spots T_*
9. Of course, every trip requires expenses so be sure your wallets are loaded enough of \\
10. Last but not the least, enjoy the area. Don't be a tourist, be a traveler. They say that the difference between a tourist and a traveler is that a tourist goes to a place for the sake of seeing the place while a traveler goes a place to experience the place.
Keep these tips in mind when traveling. I can't guarantee the best travel plans but with these tips, I had one of the best travel experiences.
light my way ♥
Monday, August 04, 2008
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11:49 AM
caffeine is bad for me
I rarely drink coffee but whenever I try to drink one to make myself awake.. it would always be a failure. Instead of getting awake, I get more sleepy. Apparently, someone explained to me then that there are two types of coffee drinkers and it seems that I am among the ressesive group.
However, recently, I noticed that drinking soda at night gives me an unsleepy night, which is what I had experienced yesterday, again despite many times of occurence. It already happened many times the few months back..but I always seemed to forget.. so to un-forget, I am making a blog out of it.. to permanently make it stick to my CS, hopefully.
Pact starting from today: No cola/soda/carbonated drink after 18:00 everyday!
light my way ♥
Friday, August 01, 2008
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12:34 PM
A Photographer's profile
-- how long have you been into photography?
ans. Liked photography since college but never did get serious until three?four? years ago (when I began to have an urge to buy a DSLR which until now hasn't been bought yet).
-- technicality or composition?
ans. I am more of a composition person. If I look at a picture, I would complement on the composition first before the technicality (heck, I am not even familiar with it anyway, yet.. hehe.. ). So when I take a picture, I often neglect lighting etc and focus more on how my objects will fit in a frame.
-- stuff that you like to take pictures of
ans. beach, sky, long roads, flowers, common everyday things such as waste cans, poles, walls, jap-eng signs, etc.
-- what do you use to take pictures?
ans. for digital photography, my good old canon s60. for film, i'm using my superheadz cameras. I got 3, 2 110film cameras (ikemono and demekin), 1 goldenhalf. I used to have 1 wide angle cam but now dead.. T_T. Sometimes, if I don't have any of them with me, I use my good old mobile phone's camera.
-- do you own extra accessories for them?
ans. as of the moment, I don't. If I were to have one, i might only go as far as buying a tripod.
-- photo techniques that you like?
ans. macro photography, lomography
-- do you have special techniques that you use when taking photographs?
ans. once I read in a magazine that you should use sunglasses as lens for cams when talking pictures of bright sunsets, I've done it twice in my film photography. Whenever I take pictures of the sky, beach, or anything that has color blue in it, I take pictures using tungsten lighting.
-- if you can go to a particular place right now to take your camera with, where can that be?
ans. the Caribbean islands! Some places in the Philippines like Batanes, Boracay, Palawan, Dagupan, etc.., Kyoto in Autumn, Okinawa or Hokkaido might be good as well (hehe..)
-- what was the most memorable photo trip to date that you had?
ans. when I went to Nakatajima Dunes here in Hamamatsu, the place was incredible..and there was not much people around so it's not hard to take calm pictures.
-- what other photo projects would you like to do in the future?
ans. I would like to do photo journal, depicting lives of the everyday Japanese people. For some weird reasons, I don't want to include people in it.. hmm.. how should I do that huh.. challenge.
Feel free to copy it into your blogs.. you can add more items to answer if you like..
Don't forget post me a comment.. ;-)
light my way ♥
Sunday, July 27, 2008
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11:59 PM
15 minutes love story
Recently, I find myself feeling a highschool student, filling in my mind fantasies of love stories that I had wished were mine. Is this how people age? Do they go back to the past this early? I thought that only happens during menopausal age? hehe..
I just came home from my visit in my former neighborhood in Fuji. I almost didn't make the train.. but I guess there was a reason for it. To meet my 15min. love. haha.. corny..
I was walking along the bus station, looking for my bus and the time it will arrive, when suddenly I passed by a very cute guy, who is apparently standing in the next bus lane. I feel like I am in a commercial, him wearing Axe, me following my head towards his direction. That kind of scene. I found my bus and sat on the bench, waiting for my bus when.. he suddenly sat beside me (Dear diary, carlo sat beside me today.. he is so cute!! sabi nila im pretty.. but... hahaha.. ). My first reaction was, is he following me?? I thought he is taking the next bus?? Is this fate? Whoo.. if you can just see how kilig I was that time. I thought he was going to ask my name.. (feeling.. ), and ask for my number (so I took out my mobile phone from my bag.. maybe he'll take interest)..but he was busy playing is DS! (I got a little jealous with the DS.. haha.. ). When I got on the bus, I thought he'll sit beside me (again, feeling again).. So to be a little hard-to-get, I chose the farthest seat from where he is, thinking he'll follow me. hahaha.. I didn't know where he was that time anymore, but I was like waiting for that head to come in front of me!! wahh.. There were a lot of things going through my mind, like maybe he decided to get the same bus as I did so that he can go with me in my bus stop and talk to me (again, wahh..you know what I mean), I thought I will be raped by him (sorry, stupid thought), but then again, I said if he is that one, why not! hahaha.. And so the bus stop came, I was waiting for someone to get off the stop with me.. when all but me went out of the bus stop. But, hay.. as all fantasies go.. it was all just an illusion..hay..
王子様、早くきてください！
Labels: fantasy, love story
light my way ♥
Friday, July 18, 2008
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12:40 AM
Revisiting the past
This is officially the 151st post for this blog, yey! Is that worth celebrating?? Of course! But how?? Well, I don't know.. haha..
I am recalling moments of the past..
One thing for sure that I will miss is my former officemates from OOCL (naks..special mention). It was really a tough decision to me to submit that resignation letter that it was a tear-jerky experience putting that piece of paper in Mr.L's table. I remembered the traveling days, trump days, night outs, and other gimiks. It was one thing that I had sacrificed by living the country.
It was funny how I indecisive I was about living the country. I don't reall in how many post I had said about not wanting to leave. And even listing reasons why I shouldn't leave. Now, do I regret leaving? Now that I have been here for 1 year and 3 months already? I can't say no, and I can't say yes. There are possible and negative issues in it. Well, the best thing I guess to do for now is to stick to that positive things.
What kind of stories will I be reading for my next 150 posts? Now, that is something to think about... hmm..
light my way ♥
Thursday, July 17, 2008
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3:00 PM
Bored again..
Well, no matter how many times I say it, and how many times I am aware of it.. I just am not tired of saying it. I have been in this kind of situation for almost 4 months now. I just am not sure anymore as to what is keeping me from leaving here.
If you can just see me right now, you will be laughing at various things that I do just to pretend that I am doing something. Like right now, to make myself busy, I decided to write an entry for my blog. In between sentences, I stop typing and look at the paper on my right pretending that I am encoding the contents of that piece of paper to the computer. Sometimes, I would stop, read websites on SAP CRM (the system that I was asked to research on), then pretend that I am taking down notes on notepad. I am proud to say I am the great pretender! I wonder if people around me already noticed that I am always not doing something. If I will be caught, I have a reasonable excuse. If I were to be asked for a result, I will be able to give them something. I am not really scared of getting caught doing nothing because it is the truth. I really don't have anything to do.
Really!?! What is my purpose here? Why am I here at all??
I have been asking myself that every since I started working for this company. During the interview, I was rarely talked to. Most of the talking was done by the agent I was with. The only time I was able to talk is during self-introduction and if I had questions. They asked about my English but never bothered to check on my Japanese. Don't be mistaken, I really like to work at this company, that is I have a better use. All I do now is do emails and read stuff. I don't do much of the technical thing anymore. If this continues, I am afraid that I might loose all of those programming skills all together.
On the other side of the coin, I never had a very relaxing lifestyle until now. I go home at exactly 6. I can cook whatever I like now since I am living alone. My bed is the next best thing after paradise. I have airconditioning in my room. I sleep at minimum 7hrs a day. I can shout inside my apartment room and nobody will care. And I got all the time that I have. I told myself this could have been my dream lifestyle if not for the job. Heck, just like they say, you cannot have the best of both worlds. Sad..
Time will tell when these will end. I am already feeling the urge to move ahead but something has been pulling me back. Maybe the lifestyle? That if I try to move on, I might miss living this relaxing life? Maybe it's the pride of being in this job? (not all people can do Japanese to English translation). I really don't know. That is why when the issue about resignation is brought up, I would always be indecisive about it. I am still waiting that sign that I should move on. Up until now, I haven't received that go signal yet. Hay..
light my way ♥
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
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12:12 PM
Boring Wednesday Morning
*Written during working hours, amidst boring stuff in the office
I just came back from the toilet when I thought of writing an entry for my blog today. Weird thing, a lot of stuff comes into your mind during that moment with the toilet. (don't ask about the obvious.. you would probably figured out what I was doing in that place..joke!)
Anyway, I decided to try to make this blogging habit into a daily thing and see where it goes from there. I would probably be temporarily closing my Multiply blogging page and direct all my blogs here (RSS? I still don't know how that'll work, so I'll probably be figuring it out later at home).
I tried cleaning up the links from this site. A few deadlinks, a lot of old un-updated blogs from my friends, and one tough and still going-on blog from an old friend (I was so surprised that I actually sent him a message saying he's the only one left from my links *laughs*). Probably this is one indication that a lot of people has been moving on with their lives, with their busy lives that is, that blogging became a nuisance to their daily routine. Well, why wouldn't I be surprised? Blogging may take at least an 1hr of your day, and within that 1hr, there are a lot of more important stuff that you can probably do, right?
Okay, I guess I was a bit harsh in that comment. It was as if I am forcing people to do blogging. Heck no, if I do, I would be a living lie to the world. Like I said, blogging is a habit. It's like eating ice cream with french fries, not all people does that.
Anyway, I'll try to post more stuff later.. bye
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*Written a little before lunch time, while reading about web services (another boring stuff.. *giggles*)
I was just meditating about how women really are fickle minded people. First they like this, then they get tired of it. I am a living testimony of that woman's essence. It has caused me a lot of trouble from ruining my reputation (people thought I like this, then it turned out to be just a hype) and having a lot of unfinished business due to my lack of sudden interest on the matter. Because of that, there were a lot of things in life that I am doubtful of whether I really really like something, or not. To cope with that, when a desire of buying something really expensive comes, I try to let the desire pass until months after, and if it still is there, then that's the time I buy it.
The worst thing that this fickled-ness has brought me to is that it gave a wrong impression on something that has been happening to my life. At the end, it all came back to me (like the basura that if you through in the ilog, will balik sa yo.. *laughs*). That is why I decided to lessen my talk, more on the thinking. My stupid mouth really likes its talking but I have to do something to lessen that talking or else I might be ruined completely.
light my way ♥
