muah! gmail and orkut are now loging in using same account. i was on this months ago. next all they need to do is link my blogger account to my gmail login and then make a micro-payments scheme. and integrate gmail/orkut.

in tokyo for a few more days then bangkok! the first two nights at my hostel in bangkok is going to be 10$ - sweet!
4:10p 9/30

today elliot asked me if there was anything about japan that suprised me. since i was in china last year i was prepared for asian toilets, crazy rows of lighted signs, lots of short people and the food. the thing that has suprised me most in japan is the number of mullets i have seen. additionally there seems to be alot of hair stylist shops - where they obviously read hair rock mags from the 80s.

we just got to tokyo. we arrived in shinjuku station about 9p and the lights and people and everything is insane. to cap it off we are staying in a capsule hotel: the first rule of capsule hotels is NO tatoos (to prevent gangs i guess). the second rule of capsule hotels is that they are crazy. my ten minuts of internet is running out so i gotta go.

ok, so going dancing is not something people do here in kanazawa, we will have to wait to tokyo i guess. the internet cafe i am in right now is called "freaks". right.

oh my goodness. on the way back from nagoya (world expo) to kyoto i accidentally got on the wrong train without Elliot - the upside was i was there to welcome him with a suprise when he got to kyoto - i jumped on an express that i am not really supposed to go on, but the conductor was sympathetic. we:re in kanazawa and ive had a few drinks - lets go dancing. 12;30am 9/25

Nara is very cute. Today while wondering the vast shrine complex of Nara park we were amazed by the tame deer, considered a Japanese national treasure, that freely wonder the park and streets. In an effort to get a good picture with the deer i bought a package of deer biscuits. Immediately a pack of deer came up for the photo-op, or so i thought. A very hungry buck was the recipient of the first piece I broke out of the package – the buck decided that I was too slow and decided that I needed a bit of encouragement.

ow

Yeah, that was awesome. That photo is worth $10000000000 to me. Good thing they saw of the horns or I’d be in a hospital.

One of Nara’s pagoda’s by night:

15 second exposures make me happy

9/21 9:45p

Kyoto has been so cool. We are leaving for Nara in 15 minutes.

I love Japanese ceramics. The vending machines here have everything you need don't need.

it is unbelievably hot here - high 80s and humid all the time.
9/21 11am

We are in Kyoto. My friend Elliot is incredibly useful due to his knowledge about Japan and limited Japanese - which he speaks with an adorable Scottish accent I am sure. 10:30am 9/19

less than 12 hours! what! japan! thailand! what?(!)

To give you all an update: my spider bite is purple now. It's awesome.

And I decided I'd rather have a job than a lifestyle. How’s that for being predictable?

And I love you!

When I stayed in Bloomington (IN) Friday night on the hotel couch something really bit the shit out of me:

I have not itched it and it is still a monster. All I gotta say is that spider DNA better be splicing itself into my genes on the double.


Why was I in Bloomington? Oh, yeah, another super awesome wedding! Congratulations to Lily and Jeff – who I’ve known since they met nearly 6 years ago. Gosh!

It was good to see everyone.

Hopefully that's it on weddings this year, not that they aren't great, but if this rate keeps up I'll be the only single person left.

A few days ago I might have told you that I was taking this job downtown in Chicago – I may have been wrong. Let me quickly explain my options:

Option A: engineer position downtown (full time living in the city) - growth prospects not bad but not exciting

Option B: consultant position downtown (4 days a week on the road likely) – much more exciting growth prospects

There is a difference in money/vacation but I am leaving it out for this analysis.

Option A certainly is better for my social life. Option B seems like a more interesting job/career path.

It's super awesome that I have such good things to choose between (my life is totally sweet). It's tough to evaluate the tradeoff.

Oh, I almost forgot: Option C is to go to Japan on Friday without accepting either.

Don't ever forget there's an Option C.

It is insane how different my personality is in different situations. When I'm out with reserved friends (as was the case tonight) I go nuts and I dance and I talk to people and I scream and I laugh and I jump like a fish and I encourage other people to jump like a fish and stuff and stuff and things. When I'm out with someone like Dave though it disappears and I become reserved and shy. It is crazy.

Another recent case, more understandable, occurred during my job search: I was at a job interview I wasn't sure I wanted I was really wishy-washy and timid. When I was at a job interview (recent) that seemed cool I was an ass kicker, those are not my words - one of my interviewers actually said "you kick ass" verbatim – best interview moment EVER.

EVER.

When I've been in team situations it seems similar – if no one wants to lead then I lead, if someone is leading I will follow.

I don't ever feel like I’m not being me though, so I guess it's not a problem, but I wonder how many people notice this about themselves. I don't think everyone is this way or am I just under another one of those false impressions about everyone else?