Merry Belated Christmas and an early Happy New Year!!

Well seeing as pretty much everyone is chucking up christmas posts I figure I might as well to. Yes I know it's a little late but do I care?? Not really...so live with it people...

Anyway...an update on things that've happened...finally went skiing last week!! And man...did it hurt!! Twas my first time ever. Great thing abt living in Sapporo is that we're so close to the ski fields. It wasn't really a planned trip or anythin...more like a spur of the moment type thing. Me and Chris decided to go skiing like 2 days before we actually went. Chris's girlfriend Yuki came along as well...good thing having a Japanese person around because it made catching the right buses and stuff a whole lot easier.

So...we got up at like 6.30am...made our way to JR Sapporo station to meet Yuki and catch the bus to the Kokusai ski field. 1 1/2 hr bus ride from the city to the field. Close ain't it?? I don't have my own gear obviously so I had to hire...4700yen for the ski kit and about another 4000yen or so for a return bus trip and all day lift pass. Expensive day yes but well worth it. So...the skiing...Chris was my so called "instuctor" and he gave me a crash course in how to ski. It went something like this...
"OK...this is how you get your skis on...going forward...stop...slow down...turn...understood?"
"Errr...yeah I think so..."
"Good...off we go to the top of the mountain then..."


Here's me and Chris...that's me before most of the crashes...


Yeah...you can tell this ain't gonna end well...


...and down I go...


Luckily...the snow was pretty much powder...so it didn't hurt...and the reason why crashing is so much fun...

For the day, I stayed mainly on the green, easier course...crashing and wiping myself out many a times as you can see...then night came at round about 4-4.30pm...thats when most of the courses except for one red/intermediate course gets closed down...now...I didn't know this until I actually started down the course (because the green and red courses have the same starting point)...anyway...so down I go...and as the run gets steeper I suddenly realise..."shit...I can't control my speed very well..." And as expected I start gaining speed and before I knew it...I was hooning down the hill at a suicidal pace...zooming past Chris and Yuki (two very proficient skiers) and well...you guys guessed it...completely wiped myself out...apparently...the crash was a spectacular one...after falling, I slid down the mountain about an extra 10m or so before coming to a stop...and I laid there for a moment...in the cold...completely covered in snow...and in pain (because although throughout most of the day the snow was soft powder, it had been rather packed in by this stage and...well...falling hurt a lot...) And so I got up, dusted myself off, sped down the mountain (not that I had a choice of speed because well...I can't control it at the moment) and...did it all once more. No I don't have a death wish...it's jus fun to wipe oneself out at high speeds. I suggest you all try it sometime. The second run was just as bad, if not worse. Wiped out twice...but both times were kinda 1/2 as bad as the first wipeout so you could say it sorta evened itself out. Suffice to say, that was the last ski run for the day. I had bruises all over and couldn't lay down on my right side for the next few days...so all in all...an awesome first experience skiing...

So this was all before christmas. Actual christmas wasn't as exciting. Christmas Eve, Tomo had a singles party at his place (yes ppl...still single) and it basically consisted of a hot pot dinner and drinks...the usual stuff. Chris and Yuki ended up going skiing Teine ski field on Christmas Day...and while I wanted to go as well...I was/am still kinda sick and recovering from previous skiing battle wounds...all of which are pretty much gone now. So bring on the next ski trip!!

Oh...by the way...have a Happy New Year everyone!! Don't get too blinded. I know I won't!! (hey...what's with the laughing??)

Fare thee well

And so Heath, the last of the American exchange students left today to head back to America. Cody left on Monday and Brian left last Friday. So our little group of exchange students has been halved - now only the kiwis and the Aussies remain...

So what's been happening these last few weeks...a shit load has happened I can tell you that much. I won't go into all the details (as perhaps some of said details should be kept to myself...hehe) but suffice to say its been one helluva few weeks.

The official fairwell party for the Americans was two Saturdays ago...yes an emotional/drunken fairwell as is the usual. Nothing special really...just talking and drinking...here are photos as I can't really be bothered going into much detail here...


Here are the said Americans (Cody in the cap, Heath in the Ball State jumper and Brian in the black) making their heartfelt fairwell speeches...yes...twas emotional...not that I have any idea what was said because I was too busy drinking...


Many a Japanese friends...I know them all...I think...well...I recognise them anyway...

Anyway...despite that being the farewell party for the American guys, it was a relatively light night of drinking (relative being the key word there)...which is a good thing as well because the next morning...at abt 6am...the Americans, me, Hitomi and Takeshi were headed to Hakodate for a day trip. Suffice to say, I was quite buggered but...it was a genuine, fun, sober trip. Met up with Jeric as well, whom I haven't seen since his fairwell party in Febuary (where he was smashed beyond belief)...he's doing well...and his Japanese skills is pretty damn good I must admit...a helluva difference from how things were back in J4...haha...but then again methinks thats the case for everyone on ICS atm...anyway...enough chatter..more photos...


Some sorta landmark in Hakodate...birthplace of some famous dude...I dunno...pretty though...


Here's Hakodate tower...a lot of towers in Japan...hmm...perhaps this is the Japanese way of compensating for something lacking in the physical department...ne??


Here's us sitting in La Pierrot - a Hakodate exclusive burger chain and man...the burgers here...holy shit...rival anythin thats in America...from front to back we have...Brian, Takeshi, me, Cody, Jeric and Heath...


The "Futocho" burger...yes...it tastes as good as it looks...everytime you order one...a worker comes out ringing this cow bell, congratulating you on your purchase and gives this long winded, polite speech thanking you for taking on the 'Futocho"...and I will bow down and call anyone master if they can eat that monstrosity with their hands, keep everything in and keep clean as well...go on...I dare you...I double dare you...


Here's the crew (left to right - Takeshi, Brian, Hitomi, Cody and Heath) standing outside this huge ass christmas tree imported from Canadia (yes I realise what I've said and I stand by it...)

And so the Americans have gone back now...Brian and Cody to Nebraska...Heath to Indiana. We've had our ups and downs but all in all...it's been real...Life in Sapporo will sure be different without these fools around messing things up. And as sad as it is to see these guys go, the even sader fact is the realisation that my time here is almost up. The new year is almost upon us...and only about 2 months left before I return to Sydney. I better make the most of my time here while I still can...

Photos as promised...

Here are photos of the live houses I was talking about...plus some stuff done in the snow...


Here's Kento (band - Sealion) at Sound Crue Basement...singer and guitarist...


Ken and Brian sharing a moment...


Hiroshi (band - The Punk Rockers) at Counter-Action...awesome hair yeah??


...well here's the lead singer...you see?? Super Saiyans really do exist...


Me and Punk Boys' friends...from the left we have...Nobu, Daisuke, Ryouta and me...


Our snowman throne - the big man...now nothing more than a memory...R.I.P Big man...


Can't...make it...anymore...

Space...It seems to go on and on forever...but then you get to the end and a gorilla starts throwing barrels at you...

What does the title have to do with this post?? Nothing...I've just been watching a lot of Futurama lately (leeched it all off Nhat...thanks buddy) and that's my fav quote of the show. So...what's been happening since the last time I posted something...hmm...lemme see...

Surprisingly...not that much drinking's been goin on. Only drank twice since the last post...and on one occasion it was real light drinks. No shots of spirits or anything..haha...am I finally recovering from my alcoholism??...perhaps...that is until the time comes for the numerous fairwell parties thats gonna b held 4 the Americans...under 2 weeks and they're gone...with the possibility that I'll never see them again...heh...as much as I hate to admit it, its been fun hanging out with those dudes. Definitely gonna be a different atmosphere with them gone...

Last Sunday, went to Counter-Action - a rock live house - to watch a friend's band play. THE PUNK ROCKERS!! haha...they're a decent band that knows how to work the crowd. ひろし (aka Punk Boy) is my friend's name and you shoulda seen his hair...awesome...but when compared to the lead singer's hair...haha...if you thought Goku's super saiyan hair was amazing...you should see this guy's!! (photos will be posted once I get them from Brian)..an fun night, with no drinking either!! Although it took abt 2-3days b4 the ringing in my ear stopped due to the shear noise of the place. Standing abt 2 metres away from a massive speaker, in a small room whilst its pumping who knows how many decibels directly into your eardrum ain't exactly healthy 4 u...

What else...ICS assignments. Yes...that annoying lil fly that keeps buzzing around that just won't go away, no matter how much you want it to. Project proposal over now...have abt a week or 2 b4 I start on the final, 50% research monster. Let's hope I do a decent job of it since well...50% of your marks is kinda a lot don't you think??

Lastly...to those who decide to skip Society & Culture classes because they think its irrelevant and useless take note as to what can happen if one turns up to class(OK maybe I'm talking to myself here because most of the time it is useless!!)...Thurs morning...Yuriya's Society & Culture class. Was thinking of skipping it. Is usually pretty boring and irrelevant. However, I changed my mind and decided to show up 2 class...and luckily I did (It was only me and Tyronne who turned up...Yuriya was pissed). The guest speaker for the day was Simon Jackson of NorthPointNetwork. We introduce ourselves, I casually tell him my major is in Visual Communication (which like it was back in Sydney required some explaining as to what that meant) and he casually mentions that his company is currently working on a 32pg, glossy real estate magazine and needed help in getting it done because the deadline was coming up really soon...and they've only got 1 designer working on it atm...so he offered me some work there...and I accepted...hehe...its all smiles and excitement now...but...well...guess we'll jus hafta wait and see how this 1 turns out...