Tim’s Ramblings

Been a bit quiet here on the blog. Been very tired here. As per usual. Just sleeeeeeepy most of the time. I’m lucky if I’m still awake at 11pm.

Gonna be a loooooong 2 weeks (or a week and a half now) before I go on vacation. Very long.

If nothing else, the TV here remains entertaining. Right now the trivia show is on. Stupid stuff. I’ve wrote about it before. Like if a guy asks a girl that they fell in love at first sight how many girls will go out with him and how many girls will give them their cel number (none and 6) and vice versa if it was a girl asking a guy (none and 46….). Oh, the people they used had an “average” look based on computer analysis.

Now, they are seeing if a bazooka can penetrate bullet proof glass (I’m thinking yes…). Oh, and apparently, 5cm thick bullet proof glass can be penetrated with a standard RPG but not by much. It definitely caused the explosion to happen at the window and contained the explosion and the glass only had a hole the size of the bazooka round.

Now they are going for 10cm. It’s great since the actual general manager of the bulletproof glass company is this huuuge German guy who LOOKS like a merc. :)

Aaaaaaaaaaand it stopped it. It actually caused the round to get stuck in the glass, explode, and just fall to the ground.

Good to know if I ever need to stop an RPG round. Ridiculously heavy 10cm thick bullet proof glass will do it.

Right. Anyway, on to the main topic of the post.

This month we have 2 varieties of Kit Kats. One JUST came out today while the other is ridiculously rare. Incredibly rare… As in I have found only a handful….

So, first the one that just came out today!

Behold. Limited Edition Mini Strawberry Kit Kats!

Looks good eh? I haven’t opened the bag yet. Depending on how many I buy, I will open it up. Supposed to be sweet and slightly sour. Mmmmmm…

And now, the hard to find Kit Kat.

The Apple Kit Kat!!

*sigh*…now…how am I going to distribute these… It’s even in a special shaped box. It’s gonna be popular… :D

Finally, on a totally different note…I managed to win another Gloomy Bear. This one I’ll keep. And this is why moving is going to be a pain…but I want it…dammit…

I mean. Sure he has blood on his claws…but he’s so cute chewing on a Xmas something…part of a wreath? Come on. He’s KEWT!!

Either that or I’m really really tired….

Should go to bed. It’s a quarter to 11 and I’m about to fall asleep on the keyboard. Bah… Gonna be a long day tomorrow.

More posts to come soon I hope!

No, not mine. With my travel schedule, it would be wrong to get one…

Hope all of you in the states (…which is most of you anyway) had a good Thanksgiving!

I had a nice one but that was already covered in the previous black friday post. So, we’ll just move on to the main body of the post.

So…some of you know that our old family dog that my sister was taking care of passed away a few months ago. Very very sad… But a few weeks ago my sister, who volunteers at the APL came home with a new puppy. The think he’s about 3 months old (or 4 months or so by now) and he’s a collie/shepard mix named Forest.

Yes. Forest. And before any of you say anything, I already did the prerequisite “RUUUUN Forest RUUUUUUUUN” joke so…yeah…

Anyway, he’s very very cute. Very friendly and full of energy. We’ll see how big he gets. Right now he has really big feet and biiiig ears with a ridiculously long tail that he whips around knocking things around the table. But when you’re cute, you can get away with anything :D

So, here’s the obligatory pictures. Click on the link to see the rest!

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You know…the Northwest Lounge in Minneapolis is nice. Hard to get to. One of the enterance was closed. But the business center area has really nice Herman Miller Aeron chairs and it’s nice and bright and clean. Too bad the rest of the airport is a sprawl….for godsakes…

Anyway, yes, I’m on my way and will be leaving this lounge in about 20 minutes to board. Flying Northwest this time. Been avoiding them like the plague since having some bad experiences but this time I had to take it due to the time I get back to Cleveland in December and so forth. Hopefully now that they are out of bankrupcy, we will get more than just stale water during the 12+ hour flight…

Right. On to the post.

I was at my sister and her fiancee’s place yesterday before going to his parent’s house for Thanksgiving. They were looking through the black friday ads and he found an interesting little mistake. Personally I think it’s hillarious. Though I have a feeling someone got at least reamed out for this… Fired? Possible…

This is a black friday ad for hhgregg, an electronics store.

Nothing wrong right? Looks normal?

If you actually look at the GPS unit on the left though you find something very interesting….

Yup. Directions to Circuit City!

Hahahahahahahaha.

Nice.

Something tells me they are NOT going to be happy about this.

Anyway, more posts and such once I get to the other side of the world. To all of you that went out to shop today, you guys are insane but I hope it was worth it and none of you knocked over an old lady or anything!!

So, I’ve had a definite lack of stuff to blog about lately. I posted the townhouse pics but sice then it’s just been one stressful day after another…just long long days. Long. Did I say long? Yeah. Long….

I mean, it’s gotten to the point where I’m just not excited about owning a townhouse! It’s just another stress point in my life… I have no idea when the hell I’m going to move out. My apartment is a mess. I’m gone for 3 weeks starting Friday after Thanksgiving (though the last week is a vacation and I need one so I’m taking it even though it means I’ll be gone for so long) and the Saturday I come back (15th) is the company X-mas party, Monday after I do the title transfer and on the Saturday after I get the keys. BUT, as I said…my apartment is not ready to move out. I’m gone for 3 weeks before I get the place. And in January it’s looking like I’m going to be gone for 2 to 3 weeks again too…and there’s already an event in Feb. as well I think… Urk…at this point I won’t be moving into my new place until like JUNE!!

Anyway…I signed my loan already. It’s pretty much a done deal. I will get more excited when I get the keys. I promise :) Hopefully by then I won’t be so stressed out either!

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So, anyway, I’ve been looking for stuff to blog about. Mint 3 Musketeers almost made it. And I will post about that too (it was YUMMY!!! YUMMY I TELL YOU!!!). But today, on the way back from the West Side Market, J wanted to stop by a store in Cleveland just on the border between Cleveland and Lakewood called Flower Child. It’s a vintage goods store. I wasn’t sure what to expect. But the place is….well…unique. It’s like an attic of a grandmother in Florida that USED to be swinging and hip back in the 60′s. But it’s just packed with stuff. No order. It’s just the kind of place where you rummage. And to be honest I was really entertained. It was really neat.

She was looking for a very specific item (ceramic angel with an accordion…I found it for her too! Little did I know there was such a sub-genre of angle with accordion figurines). But we ended up rummaging through the place for like an hour. I think they move and add stuff throughout the year too. Everything from vintage clothing, souvenier type stuff, records, books, just…lots of kitch.

However, there were some stuff there that were…weird or disturbing. I don’t have the “fear of antiques” that Billy Bob Thorton has (he does…I swear…it’s weird), but some of these were just creepy or too weird to not share. Of course, my cel phone camera came into play here. Gotta love it. There was ONE pic that I didn’t post because it was probably offensive as hell…. Might still post it…I have to think about it.

Of course, the creepiness and freakiness and oddness of all this vintage stuff could just be me…maybe I’m just weird…but still…weird man…just weird….

Anyway, onwards!! Here is the first picture of a series I like to call “How to Mentally Screw Up Your Child and Give Them Nightmares for a Very Long Time” (or HTMSUYCAGTNFAVLT).

Alright. I know the elves of yore were supposed to be more mischievious and a trickster. But come on…am I the only one that thinks this one looks downright EVIL?? If I was a child and this thing was next to the present for me, I’d be scared to reach for it. Like as soon as I reach for it the elf is going to jump at me. AAAAAA….. Trauma I tell you….

More after the cut!! Click on the link below!

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Since many of you have asked.

Here are pictures I took of the inside of the townhouse that I am currently in the process of getting. I don’t want to jinx myself of course. After all, I just signed the contract today to agree on the purchase price and that’s it. Wednesday I have the house inspection. I still need to call the bank to finalize the loan. So on and so forth.

Buuuuuuuuuuut so far so good. The place was built in 2000 and the current owners are the original owners and they kept the place really really neat and clean so I don’t expect much issues with the inspection.

Hopefully, if all goes well, I will have the keys sometime in mid December (I come back from Japan 12/14 so I guess that works). The current owners are expecting their second child by mid January and they don’t want to have to move with a newborn so, needless to say, they are also happy to hear that, after having the townhouse on the market for 130 days or so, they can finally move.

Got a decent price. The townhouse complex is near a big shopping center (one of those new style “malls” that looks like a little stylized European village) so it’s in decent demand and looking at the prices others have paid for some of the neighbors places, I’m getting a good deal.

Anyway, on with the pics. Oh, and needless to say, this is how the current owners have furnished the place. I am hoping that my sister and others will help me with the interior decorating or otherwise it will just end up looking like a college dorm… :D So just look at the space, the windows, the fireplace, the flooring and such. For furniture and the like, they will all be changed.

Oh, and the entire place (no basement) is 1850 sq. ft. Not THAT big but big enough for me. 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths :)

Here’s a shot of the living room. Click on the link for the rest of the pics!!

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So…even though a certain someone tells me that the blog thing, or more specifically, blogging on your own web site, is so passe I will continue!!

And yes, work is stressful as per usual. But overall I’m doing ok. Typical jet lag stuff and trying not to think about the next trip which is the week after Thanskgiving (leaving the Friday after Turkey Day actually…aww…I’ll miss the sales!! heh heh heh) buuuuuuuuut eh. Overall I’m doing good.

Oh, and there may be a townhouse in the horizon. Nothing is definite yet so no jinxing but…yeah…woo. Both excited and utterly terrified. It’s one thing to just, on a whim, buy a plasma TV or a dyson vaccuum…it’s another thing to buy a townhouse!!

Anyway, other than that, it’s just been the same old same old. Come home, early or late, watch TV that I’ve recorded, screw around on Facebook (you can search for me now!!!), and, at least last night, pass out on the couch until 4:30….comfy couch. Comfy comfy couch.

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Enough of this. Picture time!

This past trip, I had the opportunity to take a little break and take the guys from work up to the Tokyo Tower and not just the standard observation deck but all the way up to the “special” deck where you pay extra! Ooooooooh.

But really, the view is spectacular. To this day, no matter how often I go there, Tokyo from above is both impressive and scary and utterly chaotic all at the same time. Just a sprawl. Buldings in all directions. In no real grid. But just big and seems to go on forever!

The first pic shows both the Tokyo Mid Town (on the right) and the Roppongi Hills (on the left). The two competing ultra expensive and elite shopping centers/condos/office buildings. The rest are just shots from all around Tokyo. Just BIG.

More pics to come later!

(^_^)

I forgot to write about this.

Yesterday, when I got to Newark International Aiport and went down to the immigration area, it was PACKED. I mean, I haven’t seen it that bad in a while.

However, as I was in the US line (gotta love the green card), it was moving in a decent pace. I eventually got up to the window and handed the immigraiton officer the passports and such. This time it went smooth. I didn’t get interrogated. I didn’t get harrassed. No attitude. All was well.

Except this time, as he was wearing a short sleeve shirt, while he was flipping through my passport and scanning my greencard, I noticed his tattoo. He had both forearms tatted up. And on close inspection I realized the guy had all 7 deadly sins tattooed in elaborate script style around both forearms. 3 on one and 4 on the other.

Holy shit.

The ones I actually saw were Lust, Envy, and Greed. Partially “Pride” (basically the “ide”) and I assume “Gluttony” (the “Glu”).

Now, I have nothing against tattoos. Nothing against people having this type of tattoo. But for some reason seeing it on an immigration officer seemed…interesting. Kinda like if you saw it on a doctor or cop.

Or maybe it’s just me….

Is it?

All I know is, I walked away going “…huh….”

Just an interesting observation.

I have now, at the urgings of J and M, joined Facebook.

I have been told that, unlike when I joined MySpace, I don’t have to followup this statement with “and I’m not a pedophile!!!”.

But just so I can feel like I’m popular, if you know me, and you’re on it, friend me? (^_^)

I’m now have my own blog, LiveJournal, MySpace, Facebook, and Mixi. I’m not 15. I swear!!!

On a different note, I’m back. Yay! I’m jetlagged. Boooooo. But I had brunch at Melt (never been there before) and it was a great time. And I have dinner plans tonight. Yay.

But MAN…do I NOT want to go to work tomorrow…. Ah well…

Might be the last picture post from Japan. Half day tomorrow and then off to my parent’s place. They’re…um…looking into getting internet…maybe…

Anyway, let’s go to the topic of the post. Stuff that are currently big in Japan (^_^)

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First, the drink! Back almost 2 years ago, the video game Final Fantasy VII came out in Japan. Not only was it followed by huuuuuuge fan fare but it was also followed by an incredible marketing blitz. Card games, sound tracks, books, and the best one of all? The Final Fantasy Potion Energy Drink. The bottles were limited edition and they sold out FAST. I actually have 2 :) They are cool looking. All blue glass with a cool top, it really does look like a potion vial from a role playing game.

The problem though was that the potion itself tasted like…well…ass… Ok. No. It didn’t taste literall like ass. Actually, depending on the ass, I think the ass would have tasted better…

But I digress. Basically it was blue, medicinal, and nasty. Kinda like the traditional Japanese energy shots that sell here. People bought it because it was cool, hard to find, and out of pure curiosity (kinda like me buying and drinking the limited edition Iced Cucumber drink by Pepsi). Some people in the US were paying well over 15 times the price for an unopened box for godsakes.

So, I think Square Enix learned. This time, they decided to release the potions again but now for the new PSP game, Final Fantas VII Crisis Core. I have not bought the game yet…probably will buy it when it comes out in the US (though now that I got the new PSP I am tempted…) but I did buy 2 drinks to give it a shot!

This time they are in standard US sized cans. Very pretty images in the front though of all the characters from the game. They use the same models as the movie (FFVII: Advent Children) and look awesome. I picked up Tifa and Yuffie.

Pouring it into a glass it kinda looks like a dull Mountain Dew.

After drinking it? I was scared at first since…well…the first potion they released tasted like…ok…eough of that. This one tasted pretty decent. Kinda like a slightly sweet Red Bull. I drank both so it wasn’t horrible. Unfortunately I will not bring any back as the last thing I want is one of these to burst in my checked luggage! But yeah…not bad :)

I actually saw these being sold at an incredible premium in Akihabara this past weekend so I guess I got lucky that I found these at the local 7-11 when I did. Actually, soon after they disappeared from the shelves never to be seen again. We doooo love the fads!

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Continuing with the “big in Japan” theme, we now have a minor US celeb that has become absolutely HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE in Japan.

Ladies and gentlemen. The man behind the Tae Bo insanity. Billy Blanks.

After Tae Bo has lost it’s huuuuge pop culture appeal, he actually released a 7 DVD set along with basically surgical tubing with handles and called the entire set “Billy’s Boot Camp”. In the US? Barely caught on. I wouldn’t be surprised if no one has heard of it.

In Japan? Unbelievably popular. To the point of ridiculousness. When it was first introduced, it was raved as the next greatest thing in fitness and I remember I was here in Japan about 4 months ago when Billy first came to Japan to promote the DVD’s (he didn’t need to as it was sold out everywhere and they couldn’t keep up with the demand even though they were expensive!). Huuuge crowd greeted him in Narita. He was on every single morning news show. Some prime time evening shows. Each time he looked a bit harried. After all, people has started to forget his name in the US while in Japan he was treated like…well…like Michael Jackson was treated in the late 80′s (o_O)

Since then, he has gotten pretty used to Japan. I guess when you’re surrounded by people who love you it’s easy to get comfy! This is him on an afternoon show on a Sunday doing some sort of eating contest. The earpiece is where the translator is feeding him English. He’s on there with one of his trainers who he claims is his daughter….weird…

Anyway. Yup. Billy Blanks. HUUUUUUGE in Japan.

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Finally, the power of the internet.

This cutie here who is promoting the game Ninja Gaiden Sigma for the PS3 is named Leah Dizon. You have probably never heard of her but I can guarantee you almost everyone in Japan will recognize her face if not her name.

There are…um…far far more revealing (no nude though) pics of her online. You all know how to find it.

She is from Vegas. 100% American. Was just another model that used to do work for import car magazines. Nothing special really. But online, people were posting her pic and such and little by little a fan base for her was being generated with no involvement by her or her agent or anyone really.

She soon found out about this and decided to take the plunge and head to Japan to see if she can cash in on her online fame.

Obviously she has hit it big. It could be that she has slightly Asian features (she’s not though). It could just be that we loooove caucasians. Or it could just be that she’s smoking hot (^_^)

…well…at least I think so.

She is now the face of Diet Coke and many others. She has a photobook out. She just released a CD. She’s been in countless magazines. And she even has her own blog in Japanese (http://ameblo.jp/leahdizon/). She’s still learning so her Japanese is…off…but that only makes her more endearing and cute.

Regardless of who she is like in person, I have to give it to her…she’s done well for herself. Who cares if no one knows you in the US (or if the only people who knows about you in the US are Japanophiles). You’re a queen here!

^^

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Anyway, that’s it. Stuff that’s big in Japan.

…hmmm…Final Fantasy Potion is giving me heartburn….ugh….

…or how I am justifying the purchase…

No. I did not spend THAT much money. I just picked up a new PSP Slim or, known here as the PSP-2000 (not sure why…oh…and PSP is the Playstation Portable).

Not only that but I got the PSP Slim in Ice Silver! Ooooooooooooooooooh. May post picture later.

The cost was basically the same as it would be in the US. I bought an extra battery and since it didn’t come with a memory card (what the hell?) I tossed in a gig.

What will I do with my old PSP? Give it to mom :) She’s wanted one to play the taiko drumming game. I have both so I will leave those with her for now until I pick up an extra copy again :)

I’ve also picked up 2 big volumes of the manga Berserk. I already read one…the other one I might have to wait until I come home or read it tomorrow since, it’s pretty damn violent, gory, and also with plenty of adult content (aka boobies). Something tells me this isn’t the kind of manga I can just calmly be reading out in the open or in a plane….

Of course my luggage is going to be heavy… Most of my purchases that I have made this time for other people have been shipped back today. It took TWO boxes this time…and they were heavy… Eeeeeeeeeeeeeesh… My mom always asks me if I’m here for business or if I’m here as a buyer/importer… I wonder that myself sometimes.

Note: this is NOT a hint to people to tell me not to get them anything. It’s fine. Trust me. I NEED the distraction during the one or two hours that I have free every night. Give me something to do. Also helpful on the weekends. When you’re here alone, sometimes it’s hard to even go anywhere…you just want to stay in. But if I have a purpose, it’s easier to buck up, grab the backpack and get on that train :)

Aaaaanyway, time to get packing. Half day tomorrow and then I’m going to my parents to spend the night before going to the airport on Saturday.

It’ll be good to go home.

(^_^)