general Category Archives
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How to pass the JLPT 1 - Part I

The results for the Japanese Proficiency Exam (JLPT) Level 1 (the highest level) for last December were announced earlier this month, and I was delighted to see that I passed. I passed both the JLPT 1 and the JLPT 2 (which I sat back in 2008) each on my first try. I'm not particularly great at Japanese (I famously confused the words for "poop" and "bean jam" on...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the general, musings, ramblings, recentnews
Tagged as: capybara, how-to, japanese, japanese proficiency exam, jlpt, nihongo, studying, tips
03.03.10

Tamachi Skate Park

It was beautiful weather last weekend (rare, given how freezing it's been this winter) and to take advantage of the opportunity mother nature had seen fit to bless us with, a friend and I grabbed our cameras and headed over to the Tamachi neighborhood of Tokyo to snap a few shops of some skater boys doing their thing at the local skateboard park. ...
Category Info: featured entry, general, main, miscellaneous, photography, recentnews
Tagged as: action, photography, skateboarders, skaters, sports, tamachi, tokyo, urban
02.23.10

Fuji-Q Highland

The problem with being Japan's most awesome roller coaster park is that in general, Fuji-Q is expensive and crowded. So you know, that kind of sucks. The thing about that though, is this is Japan. And people like to do things according to the "seasons." "Roller coaster season" is usually considered to be summer for some reason which means that if you're us</e...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the good, miscellaneous, photography, travel
Tagged as: amusement, bethann, blue skies, calvin, friends, fuji-q highlands, japan, mt. fuji, roller coasters, tami
01.31.10

Quiet streets

My mind ended up turning to thoughts about my blog, life and future these days (not necessarily in that order, mind you). It's been almost 7 years since I moved to Japan and I thought that by now I'd know what I want to do with my life. Sadly, this does not appear to be the case. I think the core issue is that I'm a fickle panda: this is a blessing in that I have...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the general, japan - the good, memories, miscellaneous, musings, photography
Tagged as: black and white, harajuku, musings, photography, tokyo, uraharajuku, urban
01.23.10

Akihabara-Ochanomizu Pt. I

And while I have been to both places quite a few times (the former because I have an obsession with cameras (like this one, for example), and the latter for business), I had actually never walked between them - which seems a shame, given that they are located right next to each other. Plus, in most big cities, the most interesting spots are not necessarily those ...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the general, miscellaneous, photography
Tagged as: akihabara, black and white, buildings, ochanomizu, photography, tokyo, urban
01.16.10

2009 Year in Pictures

2009 was a pretty great year (well for me personally. For the world and the economy, err, not so much) and it was hard to choose just a few pictures as my "favourites" from the thousands that I snapped over the past 12 months. On top of that, there's the question of how to sort them? While all the pictures could be classified dozens of different wa...
Category Info: featured entry, general, memories, miscellaneous, musings, photography, ramblings, recentnews
Tagged as: black and white, blue skies, friends, photography, pictures, sky worship, sunrise, sunset, sunshine, urban
01.06.10

Helvetica + Moleskine

I first heard about the Helvetica Moleskines when they were offered at an exhibit on Helvetica at the La Foret museum in Harajuku a year or two ago. I really, really wanted to attend, but alas, this stupid thing they call work that lets me pay the bills prevented me from making it in time, and the exhibit closed, and with it my chance to lay hands on one of these precio...
Category Info: featured entry, general, main, miscellaneous, ramblings, recentnews
Tagged as: design, exhibits, moleskine, notebooks, stationary, typography
12.26.09

2008 Autumn Roadtrip - Part IX

If you want to know more about Amanohashidate, you can feel freeto read about it online , which is something we probably should have done ourselves instead of just rolling up at 6 AM and being like "sooo... uhh, where and umm, how do we see it?" - without even a clear idea of what exactly it was (it's a long sand bar in a bay, by the way) let alone w...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the general, japan - the good, photography, travel
Tagged as: 2008 autumn road trip, 3 great sights, amanohashidate, autumn, bicycles, japan, kyoto, roadtrip, sightseeing, skies, starbucks girl
11.17.09

A few from Tuesday

It was gorgeous autumn weather out last Tuesday, and there are few better places to take advantage of it than the myriad of cafes lining the winding streets between Shibuya and Daikanyama. Thus my spiffy new $14 puffar vest and I headed over to see how much caffeine I could cram down my throat. I managed 8 cups of espresso in various forms over the cours...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the general, japan - the good, photography
Tagged as: black and white, buildings, daikanyama, harajuku, photography, shibuya, tokyo, urban
11.12.09

Ura-Harajuku Part I

But for now, something a little bit different. There are a lot of fun places to see in Tokyo (one of the reasons I like it so much) - some more familiar to Westerners than others. One of the neighborhoods that got a lot of attention back in the states a few years back (thanks to Gwen Steffani, I suppose) is Harajuku. I happen to like Harajuku quite a bit as it packs a ...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the good, photography
Tagged as: black and white, buildings, cityscapes, harajuku, photography, tokyo, uraharajuku, urban
11.01.09

2009 World Bicycle Messenger Championships

I'll be back with the next set of pictures from the Yokohama Birthday Bash and of course the next installment of the Great 2008 Cross Japan Autumn Roadtrip soon, but first I just wanted to post a few pictures from the 2009 World Bicycle Messenger Championships held in Odaiba, Tokyo last week. I had wanted to catch the track stand and skid competition...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the general, japan - the good, miscellaneous, photography, recentnews
Tagged as: 2009 bicycle messenger championship, bicycles, black and white, messengers, odaiba, photography, racing, tokyo
09.27.09

Yokohama Birthday Bash - Part I

It was my birthday the other day, and slightly depressed over slowly inching towards "old old panda" status (not yet, but it's coming...), I decided to go to Yokohama with some friends to celebrate and take my mind off the ever-present press of time. As frequent readers of the pandablog may know, I love roller coasters with a passion. I've been to most of the...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the good, miscellaneous, photography, recentnews, sky worship, travel
Tagged as: amusement, bethann, blue skies, buildings, friends, kasie, minatomirai, roller coasters, sarah, summer, sunshine, terrapin, urban, yin, yokohama, zach
09.23.09

Tanabata Matsuri

As somewhat of a consolation prize, I decided to pop over to a neighboring prefecture to catch a Tanabata festival in a smaller town. Continuing the streak of amazing summer weather we've been having recently, the skies were just a stellar mix of rich blue hues, interspersed with fantastic white clouds and the whole affair dramatically lit from up above by a sum...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the good, miscellaneous, photography, recentnews, travel
Tagged as: colorful, countryside, festivals, lanterns, summer, sunshine, tanabata, tanabata matsuri
08.09.09

570 Days of Summer - Sky Worship VII

The reason I even decided to calculate how many days of summer I've spent in these fair isles is that recently we've been having some absolutely kick ass summer weather in Tokyo (seriously, the skies have been ridiculously beautiful) and as I headed out the door to snap some pictures from the top of the Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills (one of my favourite photograph...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the good, photography, ramblings, recentnews, sky worship
Tagged as: cityscapes, japan, mori tower, photography, roppongi hills, skies, sky worship, summer, tokyo, urban
07.29.09

Summer Sunshine Redux

>Being half-panda, I'm not normally a huge fan of the sweltering summer heat (we have a tendency to melt into little quivering heaps on the floor). However, every once in a while I find myself venturing out despite the heat and usually when I do I'm rewarded with some great scenery, generally of Tokyo's gorgeous blue skies and concrete. This past week however, I thoug...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the good, miscellaneous, photography, recentnews, travel
Tagged as: bethann, countryside, friends, japan, ricefields, summer, sunshine, tambo
07.19.09

Site Redesign 2009

So, it's finally here (and only three years after the idea first popped into my head! haha). The new site redesign for 2009 (looking suspiciously similar to the old site design, huh?)...
Category Info: featured entry, general, technology, webcoding
Tagged as: ajax, features, redesign, site redesign, technology, webdesign, website
04.17.09

Quick Update

Howdy. Just in case you're wondering what's with the drop off in posting frequency over the past month, let me assure you it's not because I'm abandoning the blog, but rather because I'm working hard to improve it. I know I've been talking about a site update for months now, but this time I really mean it. A 95% complete and functional version is running on my development ...
Category Info: featured entry, general, miscellaneous, photography, recentnews, webcoding
Tagged as: geekery, redesign, webdesign, website
04.05.09

Tiny Planets

Spring is slowly making its way to Japan (even though today was a freezing cold day), and I decided to take advantage of the nice weather last week to make some so-called "tiny planets" pictures. Most of these pictures were taken in the vast Showa Memorial Park in Tachikawa, out West of Tokyo. You might remember this...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the good, photography, recentnews, technology
Tagged as: blue skies, photography, showa no mori, tachikawa, technology, tiny planets, tokyo, tricks
03.25.09

2008 Autumn Roadtrip - Part III

...aaaand we're back. So when we last left our intrepid heros, exhausted from their desperate attempts to deflect police (well, postal) attention to our secret money transfers to support the North Korean nuclear program, they had fallen asleep early in their ryokan, dreaming the fitful dreams of the falsely accused....
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the good, photography, recentnews, travel
Tagged as: 2008 autumn road trip, blue skies, fushimi inaritaishi, japan, kyoto, roadtrip, starbucks girl, tofukuji
02.15.09

Cold Tokyo Days

It's been cold and sort of gloomy off and on recently in Tokyo. There have been some intermittent days of sunshine as well, but for the most part it's just been that long, dull, slow drag through the middle of January. I know I haven't updated in forever, but that's because I've been working on the grand site redesign I've been talking about since last year. ...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the general, photography, recentnews, webcoding
Tagged as: cold, friends, selenium, starbucks girl, tokyo
02.02.09

Showa Memorial Park

It's Autumn! And on top of that, only 4 more days until I set off on the great Western-Japan Autumn Road Trip 2008! I guess I should probably start thinking about packing and stuff, huh? Until then, to tide you over, here are some pictures from a recent trip out to Showa Memorial Park just west of Tokyo. I love this park - it's so huge and you would...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the good, photography, recentnews, travel
Tagged as: autumn, photography, showa memorial park, tachikawa, tokyo
11.16.08

Halloween Panda 2008

Sorry about the insipid Myspace-bathroom-mirror-shot quality of the affair above. Sigh. What can I say? I miss Halloween back in the states. The smell of pumpkin pie, apple cider and autumn leaves... carving jack-o-lanterns and dressing up in crazy costumes and parading through State Street (whilst trying to avoid the ...
Category Info: general, miscellaneous, musings, pandas, photography, ramblings, recentnews
Tagged as: halloween, lightroom, michaelpanda, myspace, narcissism, photography, self-portrait
11.01.08

Tokyo Throwaway Pics

Originally I had a moment of photographic inspiration this evening whilst taking a break from fighting my computer (Adobe InDesign to be specific) in an attempt to make a few hundred name tags for a seminar I have to organize for work. Normally this is a straightforward data merge operation, but due to a comedic series of mishaps, this task has ended up taking me the be...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the general, miscellaneous, photography, recentnews
Tagged as: blue skies, buildings, photography, R. Kelly, tokyo, upshots
10.22.08

The Hard Light Blowout and Nuno Napkin Extravaganza

You're probably wondering about the title of today's post. Well, I've been playing around with "hard lighting" in some of my photos to give them a darker, more atmospheric feeling. I've accumulated a few over the past couple of months, and decided to post them all in one big entry so I can clear the deck for new photos in future posts. Hence the "hard light blowout".</p...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the funny, japan - the good, main, photography, ramblings, recentnews
Tagged as: hard light, nuno napkin, photography, sanitary pad, tokyo, video blog
10.14.08

Shinjuku Birthday Panda ver. Blue Skies

Yeah, so I haven't updated in forever...! What else is new? So what has happened recently, you ask? Well, for one thing, I became another year older. Sadly, I am starting to run out of birthdays in which I can still refer to myself as a "20-something" year old. That's not so good. Adding to the glumness of it all, if my plans for next year still hold, it means ...
Category Info: current events, featured entry, general, japan - the good, photography, recentnews
Tagged as: birthday, blue skies, buildings, shinjuku, tokyo, upshots
09.21.08

Monorail Blue Skies (Sky Worship V)

Another summer day, another beautiful round of blue skies in Japan. There's a few pictures and a quick blurb about photography tricks in this post, but if you want some other content, I just posted another article talking about an upcoming road trip this autumn. Go check it out by click here, or else checki...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the good, photography, recentnews, sky worship, technology
Tagged as: blue skies, camera tricks, circular polariser, geekery, monorail, photography
09.02.08

The Great Western Japan Road Trip 2008 - Planning

Another year, another road trip. As I start winding down what my be my last year in Japan, I decided I very much wished to have one trip through the country in all its stunning, beautiful Autumnal glory (the only season to travel in Japan, my friends)....
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the good, photography, recentnews, technology, travel
Tagged as: 2008 autumn road trip, camera equipment, geekery, japan, photography, roadtrip
09.01.08

August Break

What has panda been up to the past couple of weeks since his last update? Well, it involves delicious chocolate cake, dodging baseballs to the face and power flexing in Starbucks. Interested? (umm, I hope so, or else this will be a boring entry! *laughs*) Let's get into it! ...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the good, miscellaneous, ramblings, recentnews
Tagged as: aoyama, architect cafe, baseball, friends, risa, starbucks, stephanie, tokyo, tokyo dome
08.22.08

Of cicadas and summer

Yes, I suppose it is time once again for more pictures of more blue, blue skies. What can I say? Summer turns out to be a good season for shooting pretty blue skies. It also turns out to be a pretty horrible season if, like me, you are the kind of person who hates cicadas. But I'm getting ahead of myself......
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the funny, photography, ramblings, recentnews
Tagged as: air conditioning, cicadas, hot, man versus insect, michaelpanda, summer, video blog
08.07.08

Of Pandas, Pears and Home-made Butter...

Okay, it's hot outside and I'm lazy, so let's try something new here and go with the first ever panda videoblog - a rambling, laconic dissertation about pears, supermarkets and making your own butter at home (in case you ever wanted to)....
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the funny, japan - the general, ramblings, recentnews
Tagged as: butter, cooking, food, fruit, how-to, japan, michaelpanda, milk, pears, summer, video blog
07.20.08

Another Week...

So, once again, another hot, humid summer week with nothing special to blog about except the rather exceptional fact that I am still alive. Exceptional, that is, because I am half panda and there are few things pandas dislike more than hot, humid, soul crushing Japanese summers. Ugh. You'd think that after 5+ years I'd be used to it. You'd be wrong. Jesus god, what...
Category Info: featured entry, general, miscellaneous, photography, recentnews
Tagged as: camera tricks, cooking, food, geekery, kitchen, pasta, photography, summer
07.13.08

Nighttime in the Hood

It's been a while since I've posted some nighttime shots, so here are a few I took whilst walking around The Hood over the weekend....
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the good, photography, recentnews
Tagged as: nightshots, photography, the hood
06.30.08

Wednesday Night...

Just another Wednesday night in The Hood. Nothing particularly special to write about in this post, so for now, enjoy these random photographs. (and yes, I know I need to wash my windows in my kitchen!! haha...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the general, miscellaneous, photography, recentnews
Tagged as: kitchen, photography, sunset, the hood
06.26.08

Painting with Light

Thank you all for your kind wishes in the last post. I really appreciate it! ...So I took the LSAT on Sunday. In short, I don't think I did as well as I did on the practice exams, but all......
Category Info: featured entry, general, miscellaneous, photography, ramblings, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
06.18.08

Sick Panda

So after making it through almost an entire year without getting sick, of course now - NOW - one week before the LSAT...! - I have to get struck down by a terrible cold and fever the likes of which......
Category Info: featured entry, general, miscellaneous, ramblings, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
06.08.08

Akihabara Wideangle

First shots from the wide angle Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM. Sorry for the lack of interesting subject matter, this was kind of an off-the-cuff series of snaps as I walked around Akihabara. Pedestrians headed home after a long days......
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the general, photography, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
05.25.08

More Zoo Pictures

I should probably start a category just for closeup pictures of animals making funny faces, because there are few things as amusing to me as animals staring into cameras. I don't know why. Is that weird? There is not much......
Category Info: featured entry, general, photography, recentnews, webcoding
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
05.17.08

Mistar Parrot

I spent all weekend studying for the LSAT, translating documents for work, mirroring my blog and production server onto my local machine (with varying degrees of success) and taking pictures of animals. Since only the last one is of any......
Category Info: featured entry, general, photography, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
05.07.08

My life at present

This is my life everyday. Sigh. I work 8 to 10 hours, then I come home, try to cook some dinner, and then sit down to face this: Trying to study for two major standardised tests while working full time......
Category Info: featured entry, general, musings, ramblings, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
04.28.08

Vietnamese Chicken Panda

So I wasn't going to post any more food pictures, but this was just too delicious to pass up. Last Sunday I woke up with the strange urge to buy the (Product)RED version of the iPod shuffle for some reason.......
Category Info: featured entry, general, pandas, photography, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
04.20.08

What a panda eats

Did you ever wonder what pandas eat in a day? Okay, probably not. But I haven't updated in about 10 days, and the only pictures I've taken recently are of food, so I guess that's today's post topic. Breakfast Kiwi......
Category Info: featured entry, general, miscellaneous, photography, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
04.12.08

Vainpanda

So the lovely Miss YJ sent me this equally lovely cashmere scarf out of the blue last month and I promised I would send her a picture of myself vamping deliciously for the camera with it. And now, since I......
Category Info: featured entry, general, miscellaneous, pandas, photography, ramblings, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
02.26.08

Unnecessary Automation

Sorry, there are not many interesting pictures in this entry, namely because people tend to freak out when you start taking snapping photographs in public bathrooms (you'll see what I mean if you read this entry) But don't fear!......
Category Info: featured entry, general, miscellaneous, musings, ramblings, technology
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
02.10.08

Panda Strap

Alas, it's been a busy week so I've not had a chance to write a post yet. Maybe this weekend? That is, after I decide whether or not to apply to law school next year. A deadline that is literally......
Category Info: general, miscellaneous, pandas, photography, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
01.25.08

Blue Skies over Tokyo (Sky Worship III)

Blue skies over Tokyo Yesterday was a brilliant blue day in Tokyo so I went for a walk with a friend to Harajuku to attend to some Hatsumode-ing, about 2 weeks too late. After we were done praying for happiness,......
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the good, photography, recentnews, sky worship
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
01.15.08

Farmlife

I actually have been slacking a little bit when it comes to posting, not because I have a dearth of things to write about (quite the opposite, actually) but because a) I had a big test to study for earlier......
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the good, photography, recentnews, travel
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
12.26.07

Post coming soon...

There is in fact a post coming - I'm sorry for the delay and for not having commented on people's blogs recently. Unlike my usual inane panda-related banter, this post deals with something serious and important to me and I......
Category Info: general, ramblings, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
11.13.07

Nekobukuro Kitty Kats

There have actually been some very disturbing things happening here in Japan land (not to me personally, but at the political/civil liberties level) that have put me in a severely depressed mood recently and are making me seriously - like,......
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the general, japan - the good, miscellaneous, photography, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
11.04.07

Tatami Nap Panda

Mmmmm.... I could nap in this spot of sun forever. I'm going to Nekobukuro later on today for the hell of it, so I figured I might as well get my practice in cat-napping before I depart. What a beautiful......
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the good, miscellaneous, pandas, photography, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
10.21.07

To all the Rooms Ive loved before

So the other day I was flipping through one of my old boxes of letters and and pictures from years past (which reminds me that there are still some of you who owe me letters from the Great Michaelpanda Spring......
Category Info: featured entry, general, memories, miscellaneous, musings, ramblings, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
10.13.07

The Time Travelers Panda

Thank you all for the supar kind birthday wishes! :) An update is coming soon, just as soon as I finish up this busy week. And by "busy week" I mean watching nonstop zombie and/or vampire movies (seriously, I've watched......
Category Info: general, miscellaneous, photography, ramblings, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
09.26.07

Birthday Scarf Panda

There's still a part three to the Great Tohoku Road Trip 2007 (parts I and II can be found here and here, respectively). But it's taking me a while to get to it since I've been kinda down recently, and......
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the general, miscellaneous, musings, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
09.16.07

The Great Tohoku Road Trip - Interlude

Yes, yes I know, you all want to know (omg hi2u mistar presumptious panda!) what happened next after we left the stinky sulfurous gates of hell. I'm working on part II but at the moment have writers block and a......
Category Info: featured entry, general, miscellaneous, recentnews, travel
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
08.29.07

How Expedia.com made me hate Yoghurt

So as I had posted about a month and a half ago, I was supposed - supposed being the operative phrase here - to be leaving for Mongolia with my erstwhile travel companion this Friday. In a clear example of......
Category Info: featured entry, general, ramblings, recentnews, travel
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
07.25.07

Morning Tea

A bit too busy to write a full length post today, but one will be forthcoming soon. In the interim, a picture of some creepy half-naked Kewpie Mayo Babies that suddenly appeared on my breakfast table the other day. And......
Category Info: featured entry, general, miscellaneous, pandas, photography, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
06.09.07

Mongolia Panda

So one of my lovely Kiwi readers (have I told yow how sexy I think the New Zealand accent is?) from the Land of the Long White Cloud left the following comment on my previous blog poast: this isn't really......
Category Info: featured entry, general, miscellaneous, pandas, recentnews, travel
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
06.01.07

Lindsay, the Telemarket-stalker

What is this book, you might be asking yourself? Well, let's look at the cover: The Complete Fake History of a Bunch of People Who Don't Actually Exist I'd like to think of it as the first entry in a......
Category Info: featured entry, general, memories, miscellaneous, photography, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
05.24.07

Crayon Post, the Time Lapse Video

Somebody asked me how long it took to make the Crayon Post I put up the other day - well as it happens, I was wondering the same thing at the outset, so I had set up my camera to......
Category Info: general, japan - the general, photography, recentnews, technology
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
05.04.07

Panda and the Eau de Gooch

...this person - and I've had a lot of time to think about this and what metaphors to use here - is surrounded by an odoriferous vapour cloud of doom so horrible, so vomit gag inducing, it's like the stank of a sweaty salt ham stuck inside a pile of old wet moldy hard cover books....! I mean... it gets you.... gets you right in the back of the throat - it's like... as if... I dunno - like.... a thousand stanky <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?t...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the funny, miscellaneous, ramblings, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
04.30.07

Dining Table, what what!

Table cloths, placemats and varnish - these things are artificial filters that barricade the connection between us and the immediacy of the moment. Naught but the trappings of pretension, they defy the purpose of buying furniture in the first place - to use it and to let it serve its purpose. I don't want to stop to think to put down a coaster, or spend hours trying to lay down the perfect streak-free coat of varnish and stain - I just want to kick off my shoes, set down a plain wh...
Category Info: featured entry, general, miscellaneous, musings, photography, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
04.24.07

Night Photos and Naughty E-mails

Which brings us back to the present, and this gigantic very explicit pornographic image plastered on my screen, right smack dab in the middle of a crowded Japanese office...! "EERGLPPPFFFHHH!!!!!" I squeak out an incomprehensible sound as my mind begins to register what the frick is happening. "OH MY CHRIST!!!" "OMIGODOMIGODOMIGOD!!!" I stammer-yell to myself as I realise I'm on a Mac and that shortcut doesn't work. Instinctively I move to hit "window" plus "l" whic...
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the funny, photography, recentnews, technology
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
04.17.07

Boots and Letter Campaign

Hey happy April Fools day! Actually I completely forgot it was April fools day until my Japanese friend reminded me the other day. Being in Japan for an extended period of time makes everything seem like a dream - you......
Category Info: featured entry, general, ramblings, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
04.01.07

Panda vs. The Bathtub

Okay so here's the deal. I am not a very smart person. This is a humbling admission to make, but my track record: driving on the wrong side of the road, going into creepy buildings with strangers, blindly wandering into......
Category Info: featured entry, general, miscellaneous, recentnews
Tagged as: (no tags at this time).
03.12.07

Christmas Eve, 2006

Ahhh, is it really Christmas Eve? I'll tell you what, Christmas in Tokyo just isn't the quite same as I remember it back in Wisconsin... the glass skyscrapers, endless stretches of twinkling concrete draped urban jungle... the amazing lack of......
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the good, recentnews
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12.25.06

Bicycle Misadventures

So I'm back in Japan. Whoo-hoo. Actually a lot of things have been going on here recently which have contributed to me not posting much of anything. Let's start with my bike. The piece of crap I have to ride......
Category Info: featured entry, general, japan - the funny, recentnews
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08.16.06

Mornings...

The view outside of KC's window at 6:30 am. The deep countryside looks so quaint, so cute, huh? You can see the bright sun, the chirping birds (well, the deathsquawks of marauding crows, but whatever), the farmers trucks as they set up for the morning market... .... and then you pan over to the left and see what appears to be the impending apocalypse bearing down on you bringing the fury and rage of the oceans from just over the other side of the mountains. *gulp* It's tim...
Category Info: featured entry, general, miscellaneous
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05.29.06

Paper chase...?

"Well you see honey, " I begin, eager to leap on the chance to explain "the lingo" and front like I'm from the ghetto (of, uh... Wisconsin) - "In tha' hood, we sometimes use slang for common objects. So for example, we say paper when we mean "money", right? So in this case, he's paper chasing, so he's chasing after money, trying to make some ends, that sort of thing. It's talking about what he's doing to try and make some money." ...
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01.08.06

Turning 26...

I turned 26 on Tuesday and I'm too tired to write anything about it. Supar Cuet Pandar logo spotted outside a temp agency window downtown *sigh* Pics from the party and a rant on programming for multi-lingual environments (tentative title:......
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09.15.05

Ouch...

Sorry for the lack of updates. Something like this happened: (minus the car this time but the effect was similar) and now I've got something like this: Sealpanda looks on with pity... *sigh*... Interesting factoids: You know how much it......
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04.11.05

Birthday Panda

The panda blog has been in sore need of an update for a while now, sorry. I turned 25 today. A quarter of a century. A third of my estimated life span. A depressing number which demands I stop referring......
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09.14.04

Toilet Backpack

*sigh* Sorry I'm so remiss in updating (why do all my updates seem to start like that lately?). As soon as I get less busy, I'll start updating more often, blah blah, you know the drill. To all of you......
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06.05.04

Super Famicom Adventure...

...
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05.18.04

At the beach

My thanks to everybody who commented on my last post...! I'm happy to report that I'm still alive and (apparently) none-the-worse for the wear, though any potential mental defects as a result of my head striking the hood/pavement may not......
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04.26.04

Hokkaido Kittah

Sometimes the most unexpected gesture from out of nowhere touches us the most. Still bummed over previous events, and stressed from school, more tragedy struck the House of Panda last week in the form of financial ruin last week. Millions......
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03.30.04

Risapie

Super cute pandas painted on a roadside. I had to put them up! It's funny the way things sometimes come around full circle. It seems like yesterday that I was just a wet-behind-the-ears freshpanda still trying to sort out my......
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03.03.04

For Paracetamol!

Okay, so I've been pretty lax about updating recently. I was busy - I had another "business trip"! Anyway, I'm tired and have to work tomorrow, so this is gonna mainly be a picture post, as I can't be arsed......
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02.09.04

For pookiebear!

Mwahaha! Look in envy Stephanie - I finally ate a dinner that rivals yours! Sorry, sorry! I know I promised an update 3 days ago but... I've been busy! Busy doing what? I think we all know the answer to......
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02.02.04

Panda love

This one's for you Miss Ninja! Merry christmas to all my loyal Panda fans out there. Panda love forever!!! Now listening to: "Chicane - Autumn Tactics" (one of my all time favorite songs... seems so appropriate, everyone gone, and just......
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12.24.03

Sorry

Sorry for the recent lack of updates. I had a busy weekend. I promise I'll post something by tomorrow night, including a riveting story of how the wacky Japanese forces of darkness tried to trip on the House of Panda.......
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12.02.03

Japans a blast...

"Hey mike!! You know what would be really swell? If you would maybe prepare a three hour presentation talking about yourself, America, internationalization and experience as a foreigner living in Japan. Visual aids would be great, and if you could......
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11.21.03

Busy night

Pretty busy tonight trying to get my lesson plans all set up for tommorrow, so I'm afraid there's no time for witty commentary in this post. *waits for people to sigh in disappointment* Why are panda's eyes so pretty? Read......
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11.16.03

Panda Plague

I'm sick right now, so no updates this past weekend (or today) - sorry. If I can manage to drag my pathetically ill self to work tommorrow, I might be able to post something while hacking up a lung at......
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11.10.03

pandadoodles

Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been quite sick the latter half of this week. When you've got a sore throat, there's nothing like a good old fashioned American cough drop. The weak wanna-be Japanese nodoame's are no match......
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11.07.03

Untitled

So you're a real big blogger huh? Is that wierd or anything?? Do you like it?? I don't think I could dump a whole bunch of stuff out there like that.... Like when you were talking about your fears about......
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11.05.03

Copy and paste quiz

Cuz' I'm too lazy to come up with something to write about... INTJ - "Scientist". Most self-confident and pragmatic of all the types. Decisions come very easily. A builder of systems and the applier of theoretical models. 2.1% of......
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11.02.03

Baby got back

In latin... "(O skin wrinkled and smooth!) dixistine te in meum vehiculum intrare velle? (Did you say you wish to enter my vehicle?) in arbitrio tuo totus veni (I am entirely at your disposal) quia non es mediocris adsecula. (Because......
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10.19.03

Lack of updates

Today is a crappy day - dreary, overcast, and worst of all, i`m in a bit of a funk. *sigh* can`t be arsed to write anything, just didn`t want to leave my xanga un-updated for so long. I spent a......
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10.13.03

Shag tag

It would be so much cooler with sound, now wouldn`t it? [Ah yes, so here we go again with another post to completely decimate your bandwidth.] Sorry. ;P In some respect, JET is like one big happy episode of "The......
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10.05.03

Deep breath.. and relax.

Jenny is happy I found my bicycle too! Okay, my bicycle was found. Good thing too, because my crate of ammunition, illegally smuggled in via the trans-siberian railroad from the former soviet union, hasn`t yet arrived. So these little punks......
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09.29.03

Nothing interesting at all

I am taking nenkyuu (annual leave) for the rest of the week. Reason? I am bored as hell, and I have finished my sole english novel (all 1200 pages of it), which leaves the terrifying specter of being forced to......
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09.10.03

I am not a real teacher.

To start, I read this on newsoftheweird the other day: Three teenagers with paintball guns terrorized kids on a playground until they fired into the wrong group of kids, one of whom returned fire with a real gun, wounding two......
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09.01.03

I have lost my voice...

I`m clenching my fists so hard, I think my nails are starting to draw blood. I suck in my breath, and blow it out in a slow, measured jet. "Once again, I will tell you ... my throat and my......
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08.25.03

Update tomorrow...

went to a festival up in wajima this past weekend where i was almost burned alive (well, okay, my hair almost caught on fire), killed in a mass mob brawl for a flag (well, okay, so I never actually got......
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08.24.03

Bored...

and hungry..... i will update tommorrow. i got my first paycheck today. what to buy... what to buy... Now listening to: "Dragon Ash - Harvest" (I finally managed to find it available for rent at Tsutaya! Yeah!) 5:09 am......
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08.21.03

Beach party

Yesterday was the welcome party for all the prefectural JETS in the prefecture. Not only was this all-you-can-eat-barbecue (and copious quantities of drinkage...!!) but it was at the beautiful and lovely Uchinada beach....! only problem? THERE WAS A TYPHOON LAST......
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08.10.03

T-minus 1 day and counting...

I leave for Chicago pre-orientation tommorrow morning. After that... Tokyo for three days, then end up in japan. Just finishing up a few last minute things / stuffing crap into my luggages until they burst. It'll probably be a few......
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07.24.03

Finished...!!(sort of...)

At the breaking point, the birds mercilessly taunting me over my shoulder... Well, it's not perfect, but at least it's done (for now). After many countless hours of struggling to fill a huge canvas, finally the birdies are done.......
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07.22.03

More wedding pictures

Since I know everyone is so incredibly interested in the wedding of people they have most likely never met, and because I have nothing else of note to post today, enjoy some more pictures from the wedding. The lovely......
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07.21.03

Wedding Time...!!

I went to Scott and Jenn's wedding over the weekend. This officially makes Scott the first of us to go ;) Scary!!! Although it makes sense, given that they've been dating for over 10 years! The actual ceremony was lovely......
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07.20.03

Painting...

Little do the birds know, I have to be up in 6 hours for the wedding... who knows if i'll get this done by next thursday or not..!!? The background, by the way, sucks... :( Japan faces a loan......
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07.19.03

Its the remix to Ignition...

This is actually the *OFFICIAL* Sprite Remix "wallpaper". I am currently drinking sprite REMIX. It does not taste very "remixed" to me. Rather, much like stale Hawaiian Punch. Ahhh!!! the Japan countdown is on now.... officially one week from......
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07.18.03

Screw the man...

Amazon is incapable of scanning anything at a decent resolution... [img of physics book] It's so ironic that my last memory of college should be the same as my first - getting screwed over by the bookstore. The first......
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07.16.03

Birdies are progressing...

I don't know what palm leaves look like, as you can tell... For the record, I have exactly $0.44 (US) in my bank account right now (plus about 1700 yen I found in an old suitcase). I am leaving for......
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07.15.03

Random Iterations...

birdies are coming along... (slowly) Almost looks like an artist's studio, huh? shorty wanna be a thug... Shinhye has had too much to drink... my life fits in 7 small boxes. How depressing... Now listening to: "Princess Superstar -......
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07.13.03

Administrative note

I leave on the 26th of July. I have to be in Chicago on the 25th. My last day of work is the 23rd. Henceforth, the 23rd~24th shall be a period of excessive partying and drunken debauchery. Mark your......
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07.11.03

To err is human. To really mess up requires a computer...

To err is human. To really mess up requires a computer... the birdie on the left gazes enviously at the other's tail... well, website seems to be working correctly again. at some point in the near future i'm going to......
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07.09.03

I am panda... hear me roar!

Funny, I was even the one who took this photo, but my eyes are *still* closed...! It's amazing. Risa has lived in California for well over two years and has never been to the zoo. My word, if I......
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07.02.03

Yeah! Wedding time...!

Yes, I realize there's a Swedish flag on the table. I'm slow, OKAY..!? So nobody told me that the groom was actually from *Sweden*, a fact whih became extremely relevant about midway through my conversation with the groom's parents,......
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06.29.03

Fun at Pottery Barn

I never knew that Madison had a Pottery Barn. Perhaps that's because I don't usually spend inordinate amounts of time searching for armoires done in the "early colonial style". (Usually...) As we have established beforehand, I am more of......
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06.27.03

Home of the 15 dollar glass of scotch...

I apologize for the lack of updates recently, I've been very lazy, and moreover, it has been extremely hot. Dear god. I sweat just rolling over from my stomach to my back! (imagine me pretty much sprawled out on......
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06.25.03

Can't think of anything to write...

i'm trying to get up the energy to write a long winded post on social injustice and all that mess. so far, without much luck. went out yesterday with the lovely kimiko *waves hand at kimiko as she's reading this*.......
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06.21.03

In honor of pornholio

i give you....confessions of a porn store clerk. also, because i thought it was cool: http://www.humanbeatbox.com - - - as an epilogue to the pornhollio story, he is now banned from the lab. I had to talk to a......
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06.18.03

Busting out the visa card..

after a hard weekend at work, I decided it was time to treat myself to a nice relaxing evening out of the town. So with dining guide in hand (as a curious aside, did anyone know that at least......
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06.16.03

I don't wanna work! I just wanna bang on the drums all day!

I work in a computer lab. On most days, this is a good thing. It means I get to sit behind a desk for 8~10 hours at a time and browse the internet, read some books, catch up on my......
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06.15.03

not dead yet...

Not dead- yet! aaaaahhhh!! i know many of you fear i've died... but i'm still alive. going to update either tonight or tommorrow, I promise!! I apologize for slacking off - this last week has been hell: trying to get......
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06.14.03

Nanimo...

... [EDIT: Much love to Takunishi for the comment - for some reason the original post got munched up by Xanga and I was too lazy to retype it... But now it seems so much more clever! (^_^)] 10:58 pm......
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06.10.03

mountain biking...

an update one of these days, i promise.... ~laa laaa laaaahhh!! going to go mountain biking tommorrow on an old glacier trail in a nearby state park. never did realize how beautiful wisconsin was until it began to sink......
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06.09.03

Killing space...

for those of you interested, Indians are rated as the world's most nationalistic people, far, far ahead of americas, whom I assumed would take the cake ;). On a completely different note, I am now sick of listening to......
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06.07.03

It aint easy being greasy...

It ain't easy bein' greasy / In a world of cleanliness and you know, all that other madness... some man was looking at porn tonight in the computer lab for 6 hours straight...!! I finally had to put the......
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06.05.03

Random Post

Going to chicago tommorrow to watch the races and probably do a great deal of shopping (gotta look good for Japan...). Much thanks to everyone who commented on the last post - I really appreciate it! I'm still not......
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05.31.03

Insert clever title here...

going to green bay. *shudder* for those of you who have never been there before... be afraid. be very afraid... on the plus side, I'm going to go watch my friend's brother drag race this weekend down near Chicago......
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05.29.03

fu fuuuu fuuuu....

fu fuuu fuuuuu..... it's a rainy day today. nothing special going on. And I still don't know where I'm going in Japan. The Chicago consulate is so slow! (osoii yo!!! - must be pronounced in a rising, high pitched......
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05.27.03

Its gonna be... a bright, sunshine-y day...

So twice five miles of fertile ground With walls and towers were girdled round : And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills, Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree ; And here were forests ancient as the hills, Enfolding......
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05.25.03

No more leaves in summers sky...

who would have thought that the joys of graduation would be so quickly replaced by the mind-numbing boredom of "real life"? It is memorial day weekend; more pressingly, it is the one-week mark denoting the end of the first five......
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05.23.03

Jikoshokai

I think it is time for a self introduction, for those of us who don't know me. My name is Michael. I am a panda. Like most pandas, I enjoy the occasional snack of bamboo. But what really gets me......
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05.21.03

Can I graduate...?

I think I was the only one not wearing an Honors stole. . . So I finally graduated. Four and a half years of hard work (well, only about two and a half years of hard work. I kind......
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05.20.03

Straight up liquor...

Straight up liquor / with no chaser / make your high come quicker the plan? simple the timing? impeccable. the mission? to get utterly and completely smooshed for several days in a row. But before this weekends drunken debacle, let's......
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05.17.03

O-wa-ri...!

Friday, May 16, 2003 O-wa-ri...! ladies and gentlemen, Panda is done with college. *bows with a flourish to the peals of applause filtering down from the rafters* 9:01 pm......
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05.16.03

Finals week II

sorry for the lack of updates, this final exam week has been hell... i look like i've been stranded on a desert island for a year... anyway, i came home last night from the library around 3am and found that......
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05.15.03

Finals week I

poor panda!! finals week is torturous!! Now listening to: "Pulsedriver - Cambodia" (where would i be without digitallyimported.com to get me through the long lonely nights at the library?) 1:03 am Tuesday, May 13, 2003......
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05.13.03

Tornado warning

we are currently under a tornado warning... whoo hoo!!! *grimaces* if i die, this means no more physics final for panda. Now listening to: "R.Kelly - (Remix to) Ignition" (pedophile or not, still quite the crooner) 10:11 pm......
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05.10.03

Turning Wisconsin-ese...

Did you know that buffalo wings and beer actually taste really good together? Actually, I suppose probably everyone in Wisconsin except for me knew that. It's odd, even though they always serve buffalo wings in bars, I never actually......
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05.09.03

Workplace Hijinks

Yes folks, it's finals time again. Which means procrastination of the inevitable studying by any and all means neccessary, including, but not limited to goofing off, excessive drinking, obsessive checking of e-mail (when writing term papers) and arm wrestling.......
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05.08.03

Shiawase...

Yes, that is a picture of me passed out on my bed. This is what I did today from 2 pm until around 7pm. Today was such a beautiful day - the sun was shining, the sky was blue,......
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05.06.03

Final Essay III

paper....finished.... now....exhausted... must..... sleep.... Currently listening to: "Gaball - Channel B.P.M." Picked this album up on a whim at Tsutaya and must have burned it... 5:00 am......
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05.06.03

Final Essay II

paper....almost....done.... i'll update in a little while after i get home. 12:08 am......
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05.05.03

Final Essay I

oh dear lord, just let me get this goddamn paper done already.... *groans in agony and procrastinates by checking his mail for the umpteenth time in the last 15 minutes* 8:16 pm......
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05.04.03

The Crack and Panda quits the USDA

what can i say, another day down, only SIX more to go...!!! wow, graduation is so close i can almost taste it. of course there is the nasty matter of "finals" but hey, we'll cross that bridge when we......
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05.02.03

Genetics 566 Final

Problem I. In the Zhong et al paper (organogenesis section), the authors show that the injection of wild-type gridlock mRNA at early stages can rescue the aorta formation defect present in homozygous mutant gridlock embryos. The authors also show......
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05.01.03

Teeth cleaning...

Why, hello Ms. Dental Hygenist!! My, what a shiny titanium pick you have.... hey, why are you looking at me that way.... wait..hold on....AAAUUGHHHHmmpphhhhggrhghhg.....!!!! *trails off in incomprehensible muffled screams of terror* 11:20 am Update: 6:44pm Dear god i......
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05.01.03

Happy Birthday Joe!

Friday was Joe's birthday. His 21st birthday, to be exact. Joe, excited by the prospects of finally being able to find out what alcohol tastes like...! decided to celebrate in the classic desultory manner of all good Madison college......
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04.28.03

Pseudo-SARS

Slowly recovering from the psuedo-SARS, after having left work early yesterday and cancelling all of my appointments for today (like i really have that much of a social calender...!) I'll put up pictures of Joe's birthday party (all the......
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04.27.03

Sick. So sick....

still so sick...... uhghghhh...oohhhhh.... *rolls over and pulls blankets on top of head, trying not to notice how beautiful it is outside* 8:08 pm......
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04.26.03

Wasabi

...
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04.24.03

Wasabi

For those who take their action raw...? Sometimes, when you're sick as hell, the only thing that will make you feel better is French action super star Jean Reno. God bless him, Luc Besson and the rest of the hardworking......
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04.24.03

TB Negative but still sick

i may be TB negative, but i am sick as a dog. of course, just as spring rolls around too.... with two tests today... unable to move more than a few feet except to roll back into bed, so......
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04.23.03

TB Negative

I am TB negative. *spins fingers around in universal "whoo-hoo" sound* 11:28 pm......
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04.21.03

Giant Tortoise for Momo...

This little fellow, much like me, is probably dreading having to go in to work today... Now listening to: "Future Sound of London: Papau New Guinea" (Oldie but goody...) 10:44 am......
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04.18.03

Mind-numbing boredom of working at a computer lab until midnight

Why is it that when you wear a tie, every individual you meet feels somehow compelled to ask you "why are you wearing a tie today"? I mean, it's not as if I'm wearing a bowl of fruit on......
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04.17.03

Graduation Tassel

*sigh* my graduation tassel looks like an ear of corn. It's bad enough they stick genetics and biology into the "College of Agriculture and Life Sciences" (where they stand out as the sole lonely vanguards of real science in......
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04.16.03

16 reasons why Momo gets my first born child... and the $1339 phone bill

For those of you not in the know, THOSE ARE 16 (SIXTEEN..!!) KINDEREGGS PEOPLE...!!! Well, in addition to the kindereggs, today was a beautiful day in Madison. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the trees were (sorta)......
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04.13.03

Swetha learns how to drive. sort of.

It seemed like a good idea at the time... "Hey guys! I wanna learn how to drive...! Why don't you teach me!?" she said, excitement visibly dancing across her face. "Hmm.... yes, i suppose we could do that old......
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04.12.03

Careless whisper from a careless man...

Careless whisper from a careless man / a neutron dance for a neutron fan; Today was a beautiful day in Madison... Somedays it all just seems to go right - you ace your tests, it's a beautiful day out,......
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04.11.03

Greenpeace

goodness, i just had a hilarious encounter. it's spring time here in madison, which means everybody and they momma with an agenda or special interest to hawk is out in full force on library mall. I just got done......
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04.09.03

lack of posts

hmm... time for another post. mbee tonight? Ever since I found out i got the job, i have been slacking BIG TIME. significant amounts of senioritis doesn't help either . Now listening to: "Frente: Labour of Love" (This one......
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04.08.03

Yatta!!

Yatta...! yatta yatta yattaaaaaaAAAAAAA~!!!! I just got accepted to the Japanese-English Teaching (JET) program.... I am so excited I can hardly sit still!!!! *starts shaking uncontrollably in a fashion similar to poorly-made jello* Yeah!! Back to Japan, one more......
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04.07.03

Sleepy

I am so sleepy... unfortunately I'm stuck at work until midnight. Maybe I can post an update after i finish my stupid physics.... 11:44 pm......
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04.05.03

Il faut souffrir pour d etre belle...

I apologize for the lack of updates for the past 2 days, I've been slowly decompressing after the roommate incident ("yeah, so uhh, I decided I'm not going to pay the rent man... or the gas bill, or the internet,......
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04.03.03

STFU

[img STFU] just got into a big blow up fight with my crazy ass fuckhead of a roommate (the other three are cool, just this one crazy motherfucker). We almost threw down on the front lawn, seriously. *sigh* I need......
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03.31.03

My roommate...

Just got back from the bars. To finish off the night, had a couple of (shots?) of sake from a bottle Yu Jia had brought over a few months ago. While the bouncer at one bar in particular always recognizes......
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03.30.03

Placeholding

okay, so this is taking a little bit longer than i thought. i'll post something of substance tommorrow, i promise! 3:11 am......
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03.28.03

Update enroute!

an update is on its way... and let me warn you, it's a doozy. I've been typing for the past 3 hours! Should be up before midnight. 10:57 pm......
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03.27.03

Blah blah

Finished my comm arts and physics test. Now busting out some ridiculous 2 page paper about god-knows-what. I am also stuck using a crappy mac. *shakes fists in fury* Nice long update tommorrow, I promise. Now listening to: my youth......
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03.26.03

Roommates suck

*sigh* roommates suck sometimes. More about my space-cadet pot smoking misogynistic roommate later. Right now, I'm seriously in need of a stiff drink. So I'm off to the bars. Now listening to: "Jonathan Wong: Precursor to a Union" This is......
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03.24.03

Busy Work

I spent all of today getting aquainted with new depths of "busy work". For 5 hours I did nothing at work except weigh metal pans, put cow forage in them, reweigh them, dry them out, weigh them some more, dry......
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03.21.03

Riding the bus home

A pause, and I turn to stare out the window. Parallel red and white streaks flatten across the parallax between the inner and outer glass panes, reflections playing off of reflections mirroring the interior of the hushed grayness in which......
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03.19.03

Visible Noise

sorry for the lack of recent updates, i've been having a crappy week. Now currently in a stretch of working from 8am until 12 midnight... I'll try and post something later. Now currently listening to: "Hybrid: "Visible Noise" (when are......
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03.18.03

M returns to Japan

M has returned (to Japan, that is). Despite this fact, I have had one of the worst days in recent memory. I will write more about it later, when the seething cauldron of my anger has settled to a slow......
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03.15.03

Generic Lab Work

I had a wonderful dream last night about being stranded on some island off the coast of Thailand, where I hacked out an impressive little bamboo hut and mini-civilization out of the nearby jungle and spent the days soaking up......
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03.14.03

Generic lab work

...
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03.14.03

Squirrelfight

I talked to M this morning. She's one and a half days out from Tokyo harbor, and was on her way to the final peace boat orientation when I called. She sounded quite genki, which is great, considering how sick......
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03.13.03

Random Errands

yeah!! almost done with my speech for tommorrow's class. The problem is that I only have 6 minutes for the speech, but I tend to be ... verbose . So I had to cut out entire sections on the AAUW,......
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03.12.03

Cleaning my room.

Now cleaning my room. Our washing machine is working again, so I can finally stop wearing the same pair of pants for a week in a row...! Very little in my room doesn't need a thorough washing at this point.......
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03.12.03

Yuki necklace

Having nothing better to do at 12:15 in the evening after work and planning to skip class tommorrow anyway, I decided to scan the ridiculous Taz instructions that came with the Taz Kinderegg. The best part of this is......
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03.12.03

Jenns birthday

Momo has been promising me some Kindereggs ever since she went to Hong Kong over Christmas break. Well, here it is March 11th, and I finally managed to get them yesterday. I had long ago given up all hope......
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03.11.03

Waiting till M gets back...

Only 4 more days till M gets back from her cruise!! YEAH!!! *(o.O)*/ The last stop on the peaceboat cruise was in Tahiti, during which a poor bedraggled M complained that she had come down with the flu, presumably......
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03.10.03

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