Portage - Vernon Hills
July 20, 2008 3:58 pmBack in America! Feels good, and the weather’s AMAZING compared to China & Japan. Blue skies, puffy white clouds, no humidity, it’s almost like a dream come true. My time in Portage flew by…
Kelsey just returned from Korea and Kyle’s all done with school now, so we were all home again. Sooo weird, since it was something like 3 years ago when we were all together. One of the first things we did was to go out drinking together and then to meet up at our favorite place, the only place open late,…
Yep, Steak & Shake. Oh yeah.
I caught up on all my appointments (eye, dentist, dermatologist) and got some shopping in. Ended up buying a 2006 KIA Optima LX car from my dad at a good price. I took it down to Chicago with my friend Steve who was between jobs and we hung out together for a few days. Both of us were chillin’ in Chicago together without much to worry about. Man, I’m gonna miss that.
I took my camera around with me everywhere, but for some reason I never took any pictures! Probably because it’s HOME and I didn’t feel nostalgic or anything.
On Tuesday, I visited some apartments and was rushed into one of the contracts at AMLI @ Chevy Chase. The location was perfect though and I had already fallen in love with the area. Rolling green hills, trees everywhere, ponds, fountains, a 2-mile jogging track, a golf course nearby, pools, tennis courts, a fitness center, etc. The 1-bdrm place is really nice with a huge living room, porch, walk-in closet, a nice bathroom, kitchen and dining room. The commute to work is extremely convenient, too. So, starting on the 28th, I’ll have my own place here in Buffalo Grove, IL!! I just can’t wait for Kazuko to move out here…
That’s e picture of the furnished model apartment Steve and I visited. I’ll have to buy the furniture to make it look like that, cuz it was really nice.
Coming up here, I still have a lot to do:
1) Sign up for auto insurance (GEICO? State Farm? Progressive? AAA? MetLife? Allstate? There are too many to choose from!!)
2) Get an Illinois driver’s license
3) Find a good cell phone plan (Any suggestions?)
4) Recover the data on my crashed harddrive (This is EXPENSIVE)
5) Sort out details for Kazuko’s move to Buffalo Grove in October
6) Organize all of my finances
7) Arrange for moving into the new apartment (Anyone selling any furniture?)
Beijing, China!! (7/2 to 7/7)
3:31 pmBefore returning to the States to be with family & friends for 5 days, I took a 5 day vacation to visit my best friend, Jeff, in Beijing. Now, I don’t know how this happened, but for some odd reason, (this is CRAZY), I ended up bumping into a Japanese girl I had a strong connection with 3 and a half years ago before I even came to Japan. She was an AIESEC member, which is the international work-abroad program I joined in 2004. After a huge mess with trying to work in Japan through AIESEC & then failing to receive the Japanese COE, I got the job with Mitsubishi and ended up meeting with her and her friends in Kobe a few times.
The chances are probably a million to one on this, but she was sitting next to me on the plane! We didn’t recognize each other at all until we started talking a little.. She was going to Beijing to meet a friend, too, and her plans weren’t completely decided yet, so we ended up meeting at the Imperial Palace and then going to The Great Wall together.
The one thing I didn’t like about Beijing was all the pollution… You couldn’t see very far, and there were times when I felt like I was trapped in a bubble of heated filthy mist. Overall, Beijing is a pretty well-developed city, but the people and the roads and everything else seemed like they needed a lot of repair. Well, maybe not the people! hehehe
Here’s a picture of the Imperial Palace:
I thought Tiananmen Square would be a lot smaller, but it was basically a huge area with tons of open space. In middle school, when I learned about all the protests and all the tanks and stuff that went through the area, I had pictured more alleyways and stuff. I wish I had had a tourguide or something while I was there, cuz I didn’t get any goosebumps or anything like that. The history just wasn’t sinking in. All I could see was a huge open area with lots of pollution and the only thing I could think about was how HOT it was outside. We were sweating just standing there! Here’s a picture of Tiananmen Square with all the pollution:
The Great Wall was really cool. At first, I didn’t wanna go since the whole idea of the place being such a huge scenic attraction with tons of people walking around turned me off. Plus, I was thinking, “It’s just a wall out in the middle of nowhere!” But, I’m really glad I went in the end, cuz the weather was amazing that day (it had rained the day before, so the pollution had lifted) and the wall had been reconstructed so it looked really awesome. Plus, I didn’t realize it had been built way out in the mountains! Getting all that stone out there must’ve been extremely difficult. We heard from some lady during the cable car ride up the mountain that the wall was really successful in its day and that there were only 2 people who actually crossed over without getting caught or killed.
On our way back from the Great Wall in the taxi, we saw the Olympic Stadium. The whole city was getting ready for the 2008 Olympics, and there were signs for it everywhere.
My friend Jeff, his wife Chelsea, their child Avery, and their friend Vicky were some of the people I hung out. Jeff, Chelsea, Avery and I left Beijing at the same time to go to America. Getting Chelsea & Avery through customs in Chicago wasn’t too difficult. They had all their paperwork, and there weren’t any holdups with their luggage or anything else.
And Avery was a trooper the whole time.
Japan and its uniforms
3:14 pmI have to devote a post here to the uniform I wore in Japan. EVERY day.
When I first arrived, it seemed logical that the company would provide some sort of laundry service to clean the uniform, but NO, they don’t…
As you can see in the picture, the uniform I’m wearing from Himeji is different from the uniform in Nagoya. I think the Himeji uniform is cooler!!!
5-25-08 wedding party
2:43 pmOur wedding party in May was something I’ll never forget! We plan on having some sort of event in America at some point, however, we’re not sure when or where it’ll be yet.
Before the party began, a good friend of mine (Niwano-san) gave a speech in the beginning. The party was held at a French restaurant called “Bistro Angelo’s” in Himeji where 65 people showed up for the buffet-style lunch. It was Kazuko’s idea to throw in a few surprises for everyone, including me dressing up as The Terminator for a surprise entrance!!
I was pulled in on a piece of cardboard in a crouching position as the theme song to the movie began playing. (Everyone in Japan knows the Terminator movies…) I walked into the room a bit to find a girl in the corner whose clothes were just my size and shouted “GIVE ME YOUR CLOTHES,” to which she responded, “NO!!,” and pulled off my wig. I got upset, turned toward everyone, and then with my best Arnold Swarchenegger accent, I said, “I’LL BE BACK” and left the room to change (VERY QUICKLY) into my tuxedo. It went surprisingly well!
Our official entrance music was made out to be a ‘accident’ where the guys controlling the music played the “American National Anthem” before panicking to start the actual traditional “Wedding March.”
Here’s a picture of me with my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and their two children.
We even had a ventriloquist at the party!!!
10 more days
June 21, 2008 1:28 pmNot much time left here now! I can’t wait for a new change. It’ll be sooo nice to be back in the States…
At some point, however, I’d like to experience another adventure overseas. Similar to my sister who’s already lived in Copenhagen and Seoul, I think I’ve been permanently hit with the travel bug.
Last weekend
May 30, 2008 1:15 amWedding party!
May 15, 2008 1:03 pmin Nagoya
April 20, 2008 10:48 pmHey yall.
I’ve relocated to Nagoya for two months of training and will be back in the States in early July to work in Vernon Hills as a Motion Solutions Specialist. Nagoya’s nice so far & there are a lot of cool guys in my apartment building who I can hang out with on the weekends.
Kazuko and I had an interview in Tokyo last week to get her immigration visa. The whole process took about 2 hours at the American Embassy. If everything goes according to plan, she should be able to join me in Chicago in July/August. I HOPE!
Here’s a picture of me with Kazuko’s parents! They’re really funny!! I just wish I could stay here longer to get to know them better.
I have a small head.
April 3, 2008 11:19 amI don’t think anyone reads my blog anymore. It’s a shame cuz my writing’s changed dramatically since I arrived here 3 years ago. Going back through some of my old entries, it’s actually embarrassing. Back then, I was far too positive and upbeat about everything, almost to the point where I sounded retarded. For example, I quote:
June 4, 2005
green tea is everywhere!! it’s taking over the world!
by the way; green’s my favorite color.
Did I really write that?
Anyway, the purpose of this entry is to announce to everyone that I have a small head.
It’s been confirmed voluntarily by several people in Japan, and I’m now fully aware of the fact that my head is small.
I have a small head. Thank you.
After hearing it for the billionth time last week, I asked all of the Japanese people around me if it was a good or bad thing. They said it was good. But, why?!
Well, I looked up some info. on the topic::
Why small heads in Japan are a good thing.
I was watching TV the other day and saw something very, very strange. Somebody got up in front of a live audience and started dancing around frantically in their underwear. This stuff is typical though, and it’s something I’ve come to “accept” (with a cringe).
Anothing thing you may not know is that people in Japan are openly accepting of gay marriages. They even have TV shows about them on Sunday morning. One thing you’ll never see in Japan, however, is a show about a woman who has a lot of power because women in Japan are treated like s**t!!! Here are some statistics:
In 2005, women held just 10.1% of all management jobs in Japanese companies and government. By contrast, women held 42.5% of managerial jobs in the United States.
Experts on women’s issues say outright prejudice is only part of Japan’s problem. An even bigger barrier to the advancement of women is the nation’s notoriosly demanding corporate culture, particularly its expectation of morning-to-midnight work hours.
Reference: Career Women in Japan Find a Blocked Path
THIS IS TRUE. Similar to the women, foreigners face even stricter restrictions. It’s strange, but every time I stay late in the office, people come to talk with me more and will even give me compliments or words of encouragement. Unfortunately, whenever I stay late in the office like this, I’m usually under a lot of pressure to get something done, so these are the times when I usually DO NOT want to talk with anyone.
I don’t think my Japanese colleagues would understand this.
Hmm… as much as I’ll miss the craziness here, I’ll be very glad to put it all behind me when I leave. 
