Sensei speaks

Greetings my fellow bloggers.

I am going to be starting a travel log with my LJ, seeing how I am only months away from taking my first adventure out into the world of traveling. For the most part this log will be made public (as I don't mind people reading about my adventures out into the world). However if and in the event something personal occurs, then I will make a separate private post (only eligible to those honored on my friend's list). Of course, this will not be an everyday, or weekly, posting. However, as I begin traveling I will be happy to share with you the progress of my trip. With that said, allow me to present the Prologue


I am looking forward to my first “out of debt” travel. It will be the first time that I will travel without using a credit card and relying solely on my own earnings to pay for my trip. My first trip will be to San Francisco, California. While the primary focus of the trip will be to visit my father, I am also looking forward to venturing out through the trip. This journal shall provide the soul of my adventure and my videos on YouTube will be the eyes of my adventure.

Currently, I have reserved my plane ticket to California at the price of $540. I would hate to see how much it would have become if I had not purchased it early. I believe that by purchasing the ticket now I saved some money. I did book a direct flight to LA. Finally, I found a nice quaint hotel near the Golden Gate bridge (which is the other goal for going to California). I have always wanted to see the Golden Gate bridge and this is my grand opportunity to see it, so to ensure that I would be able to see this historical bridge I booked a reservation at: http://www.parc55hotel.com/

I am still quite excited about this trip as it will be my first trip out of debt. I shall post more about my adventures and thoughts as I move closer and closer to my departure date.

Ok, In my attempt to be productive, I rushed out of the house and off to starbucks to do work. I thought I had packed evrything I needed for the trip, but when I arrived to starbucks to my shocking horror and disgrace I realized: no power cord. My laptop's battery was down to a whalloping 47% so I really could not do much with that much power to my 'puter. So to not make the trip a complete waste I am playing with my phone and all of it's multi-functional glory. Apparently the juice on my phone's battery is lasting longer than I had ever expected. Yay for the iPhone. Now if AT&T will get off their lazy arse and present with the new MMS feature, I will have the perfect phone!

Ok, Happy Fourth of July...

Today, I bring to you yet another "WTF??" Link. Take a look at this and let me know what you think:


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8132726.stm

Will I be able to sleep tonight? That is the question. I finally did knock out this morning at 6AM and slept for a good... 3 hours! 9PM at the moment and not sleepy. I am going to pick up the Meg Cabot book and attempt to read some more. Hopefully all the "babbling" will cause me to knock out again.

Wish me luck.

Nothing will prepare you for this:

http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/07/01/lol-jeff-goldblum-denies-then-confirms-his-death/?dsq=12021851#comment-12021851

First and foremost, I actually enjoyed this film better than Transformers... so either Transformers really does suck or my taste in films has become twisted.

I have always enjoyed Bullock's performance in film. She has remained one of my favorite actresses in Hollywood. So watching her in this film was enlightening.

Transformers was...honestly speaking your typical "guy" movie. It had everything a non-thinking typical "guy" would love: hard fast action, hot babes, robots, fancy vehicles and of course... sex. Sex...sex... and more sex. It was like watching Robo-porn mixed in with a action film. I think in that sense I didn't really care for the film overall. I mean, I went to go see the first film twice (in spite of the cheesy love side story). This sequel, I doubt I will even bother with viewing ever again. Furthermore, thanks to the sequel, I doubt I will bother putting the live action version of Transformers into my DVD movie collection.


The Proposal though... almost made me cry. I guess the sheer fact that I was able to connect with Bullocks character at one point in the film caught me a bit of guard (which is what I enjoy about chick flicks... they tend to do that all so very well). Ryan Reynolds is an upcoming, surprisingly well male actor as well. Most importantly, I am giong to be on the look out for more Anne Fletcher films... as she has dazzled me with "27 Dresses" and this film as well (yes, I do pay attention to directors... it helps me determine what to expect in a film).


Michael Bay (switching back to Transformers) has had some hits and nmisses with me. I enjoyed his "The Rock" and "Bad Boys" but simultaneously disappointed me with "Bad Boys 2" and "Armageddon." I wish he didn't have the movie go the direction it did... it could have been so much better.

Mini Coopers are coming out with an electric version of their product!!!

This makes me happy!!! I have my heart set on a Mini Cooper and it is nice to know that by the time I purchase my car, they will have an electrical version of it.

Sorry if this blog offends anyone and I am apologizing in advance. But quite frankly I am a bit tired of all of this.


Ok Michael Jackson passed away. Whoop-dee-doo. Seriously. I admit, I download one of his albums from Itunes in tribute to Michael and I admit that yes, at one point in time I was "crazy" about his music. I will also admit that he did produce and create some groundbreaking music and all... but seriously!


He has passed away. Move on and get over it. He is a musician... an entertainer. He did what he did because that is what he enjoyed doing. Quite frankly... I don't picture him as a "God" that many people are making him out to be. I am still not sure about the whole "Molestation" charges that were pinned on him not once... but TWICE. I have an issue with that altogether! I mean, you get charged with a crime and then instead of reforming or making measures to make sure that does not happen again, you put yourself back into the same situation. I don't understand that.

No, I do not idolize Michael Jackson. I appreciate what he did. I mean, until his recent death, there were very few mentioning of his name. He had started to diminish in our minds. In fact, his "comeback" tour he was planning, from what I gather, didn't include much in the United States. In spite of all of that... no that he has passed away, I see blogs on YouTube and everywhere else about how great he was and how it's a SAD day in music history and yadda yadda yadda. Are you kidding me??

What people are ignoring is the fact that he died in major debt! The man owes over Millions of dollars! Even his death may (and I stress may) not have been of natural causes. Yet, people are still idolizing him like he is some Music God or something.

Sure I will admit he started a change in music trend, but so did Run DMC and I don't remember anyone mourning as much when one of them passed away. Run DMC really pushed the bar to start Hip/hop and Rap. Yet, they don't get half the credit that Michael is getting.

I don't know... to me death is a part of life. You are born, you live, you do things and then you die. he's dead, believe it and move on.


Again, sorry to offend all you MJ fans out there... but I am just a bit weary of reading how people can't "believe he's dead." We all have to go sometime. Remember him for what he contribute, but also remember he was not perfect.

Yeah, so I got a visit from the Jehovah Witnesses today. Personally I don't care for the religion (then again I don't care for many religions). But I still sat and listen to what they had to say and let them be on their way.

And I got the next issue to Watchtower (oh boy <-- completely unenthusiastic).

Just finished my fifth book of the year!! This is amazing. I have never been so much into reading in a really long time. Finding ones favorite genre helps.

Anyway, "Something Blue" started out really slow. Although you really don't need to read "Something Borrowed" it does help a bit. I would put in a word of caution that if you read "Something Borrowed" then you will find "Blue" to start out really slow. That is how I felt, at least.

The story revolves around Darcy Rhone, who is best (well, ex-best) friend to Rachel. It gives the perspective of the two females relationship through the eyes of Darcy. Darcy, now pregnant and single (not even in a relationship) decides to start a new life in London (of all places) with her baby. Life becomes interesting for Darcy when she hits London and finds out just what kind of person she really is.

I have to admit, I really hated Darcy in the beginning of the book. She annoyed me to no end, really. I was like (after the first 13 chapters or so) should I continue to read this or what?? I don't like this character, really. But my reading buddy advised me to keep reading and when I did, I was glad to finish the book. I don't want to say to much, but if you have read the book, please do comment with your thoughts, would love to hear what you thought. If you have not read it... then stop reading my post, go out and buy the bloody book so we can talk about it!!!



I am now switching to Meg Cabot's "Queen of Babble" if you would like to "read with me." Again post and then we can have a discussion. I can create a "book club" group and we can have a conversation about the books we read. Let me know.

Cheers.

Poll #1415356 To purchase or not to purchase
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

In recent events, I have been pondering the purchase of sleepwear. The problem: they are "women's" sleepwear, not men's. So...vote!

If I work this summer and be frugal with my spending, I can be out of credit card debt at the end of September.
That will mean, starting October... I will have an extra 700$ a month that will be "MY" money! Yay.

This could not have come at a better time. With the economy taking a nose dive faster that a jetliner with no tail fins, I have gotten word that there might even be a "pay cut" on the teacher level. So, that ends up being $400 cut on a monthly salary... ouch. If I am still in debt when, and if, that happens... I will be in deep kimuchi.

So, let's hope I can fulfill this goal. Then this will end up being THE BEST YEAR EVER!!

Take care.

PS: The sad news is: With the economy being as bad as it is, I have decided to cancel my Japan trip for next summer. I need to invest in a "back up" computer (or better, newer model) in case something goes wrong with my laptop. But I will still plan a winter trip to Minnesota, and maaaaaaybe Canada (undecided still). Ski trip for sure!

Hey everyone. I started a book club on facebook. So if you want to find a means to get back into reading, this may be for you. Basically to help encourage people to read and share what they read, I started the book club. Depending on the length of the book, we all have about 2 weeks to read the chosen book. Then at the end of the 2 weeks, or during, we can all come together and blog a discussion about the book. sounds fun?!?! Here's the link. If you are interested, please request to join. We are currently going to start with Emily Griffin's "Something Blue."

Prerequisite: Must have read "Something Borrowed." Not necessary, but does help to make sense of the story a bit.

Take care.

OH: Please do tell your friends who read and have them tell their friends and so on and so on. This is a sort of "word-of-mouth" type of club.


Hope to see some of you.

Edit: I knew I forgot something. Here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=104825965019&ref=nf

Greetings all....

As you know, I am "Lil Mage" and also in charge of the event clan "PNW."

Recently, the clan has engaged mainly in Clan Wars and we are looking for a few new recruits to join up with us as we head to battle on Sunday. We usually engage in combat every other Sunday (but there are moments when we engage on an off Sunday). We also do some dangerous events like Chaos Element, God Wars, and more.


Our event time is as follows:


Clan War time

Hawaii: 8AM
Pacific: 11AM
Mountain: 12PM
Central: 1PM
EAstern: 2PM
Atlantic: 3PM

GMT: 7PM

Regardless of Daylight Savings time, the time stays constant (expect Hawaii, which does not follow Daylight Savings Time). With Summer coming up, we would be honored if you could join us. There are no requirements, you just need to have a positive attitude and be will to follow directions and work as a team. If you are interested, post here you RSN and then join our clan at the following:

http://community.livejournal.com/clan_p_n_w/

I would greatly appreciate it if you post here so I know who you are and then I can add you on the clan community site. Our main goal is to increase our membership so we can challenge larger clans and continue to remain victorious in Clan Wars, as well as build a stronger community within the game.

Look forward to gaming with you.

Lil Mage.

In the one minute time, I would get a head start from being jailed. I would have to be like Jason Bourne and be on the run for my life. Why would I be accessing those databases?? I have no reason to be. I don't want to know where anyone is and I don't really care. If they didn't want to stay in contact with me now, then why should I make the "illegal" effort to find them? HA!

This looked like fun.....


Hmmm, different?? Maybe. But really not much. Whether it's online in a game, through email, chat, whatever the mode of communication, I am generally the same. What you read about me, is more or less who I really am.

Take care all!

Thanks to everyone wishing me a digital Birthday!! Today was.... blah. Just did work. Did receive cards and a phone call from a few people. However, the best was a letter!! Woot woot, a birthday letter!!! RAWR!

Anyway, take care, just updating to say... Thank you!!

KITV did show my video on the news. I don't know if they credited me because I don't watch TV. I didn't receive any money for it either (not that I wanted any), but I did edit it using Final Cut Pro and uploaded it to YouTube. If you would like to see my footage, here it is:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izqP_djzlC0

My footage!!! Today, I saw a fire. A real live fire!! I was at a professional development meeting and suddenly there was an announcement about a fire. We walked out of the library to see an apartment next to the school we were at ablazed!!! Luckily, I had my camera and walked out to capture live footage!! I then sent it to the local news station and they emailed me back asking to change the format. Thus... my footage might be on the 10 PM news!!! How cool is that!!

Those in Hawaii: Check KITV. There may even be a posting on the star-bulletin website, or you can check KITV news website as well!! Wow!! My footage!! Cool!

Poll #1355769 Civil Union
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Recently Hawaii Legislature is taking a look at providing civil union for its citizen. What do you think about that? Post a comment if you would like as well.