Reaction to some Action

Back on the road again

2011-11-14T21:57:00.002Z

For months I have been asked by people what my plans were for winter vacation. Most ALTs tend to leave Japan during the winter holidays because it is one of the best times to take only a few days of paid leave but have quite a long holiday. This year the way in which the days fall I can take 5 days of paid leave and yet have 17 days of holidays.

I had been procrastinating over what to do and I had almost resigned myself to a Christmas in Toyama with maybe a small trip within Japan. Thankfully a friend called and asked if I would be interested in going to the Philippines with her as she didn’t want to travel alone and I jumped at the opportunity.

I usually prefer to travel alone but she is also a non-drinker and an early riser like myself so I think it has the potential to be a good travel partnership. She had proposed some plans to go scuba diving near an island a little off the beaten track so we are planning to do a diving course in El Nido, a small town in the north of Palawan. Getting there is going to be a bit of a challenge it seems but I am ready to welcome the problems and the inevitable stories, which will result from them.

We are first going to have to go to Osaka and then fly to Hong Kong where we will wait for 4 hours until our connecting flight to Manila. When we arrive in Manila we will probably have to spend a night there and then get a domestic flight to Puerto Princesa, which is the main city on the island of Palawan. Then we have the choice of an 8-hour bus where we could end up on the roof or pay a little more for a smaller bus, which is quicker but has to travel on the same road as the bus. This road apparently isn’t entirely paved so our seats might give us an unexpected massage. These type of roads/buses are called arse rattlers or arse breakers.

El Nido looks really beautiful and I am very excited about the trip and of course the warm weather! There are no ATMs in El Nido so money will probably be a bit of a hassle and I am not looking forward to having to guard my passport as if it were a bagel in a synagogue but the adventure of scuba diving and the potential beauty of the Island is too much to turn down.

I would love to be able to blog from there and if I can I will.

Alpha Brain

2011-11-08T00:20:00.002Z

Recently I have started to listen to the Joe Rogan Podcast a lot. The guests he has on his shows are quite interesting and also quite local. I wouldn’t have many opportunities to learn about these types of people because they are rarely known outside of the states or sometimes even LA. Most of the guests are comedians who have a really interesting range in their style of comedy. Then there is Joe himself who is a very interesting character.

I first saw Joe Rogan on the show the Fear Factor, but I never watched it regularly so I didn’t know much about him until I started watching UFC events where he is the color commentator. He grew up in Boston and taught martial arts for a while before becoming a stand up comic and now he practices BJJ and is a brown belt under Eddie Bravo (I think?). I really enjoyed his commentating so I checked out his Wiki page and then his website. I then found his Podcasts.

The Podcasts have no set topics but often they end up talking about Nutrition, Current Affairs, Drugs, Sports, Comedy, Aliens and Ancient History. A tool called the flashlight, which enables men to have a more pleasurable wank, sponsors the podcast and recently they have attracted a new sponsor called Alpha Brain, which is a nootropic supplement and here is a quote from Onnit Labs who created the supplement:

“The idea behind AlphaBrain was to create the first ever fully balanced nootropic. Our GPC choline and Huperzia Serrata turn up your acetylcholine levels full throttle while other ingredients assist in elevating Dopamine and GABA levels, crucial components to remaining calm, focused, and mentally driven. Our vinpocetin delivers oxygen and nutrients to the brain, and the combination of neuro-specific antioxidants, led by our proprietary AC-11® clears away mental fog like the equatorial sun. The result is an extraordinary combination of lucid dreams, mental drive, focus, memory, and mental acuity.”

I am really interested in supplements, minerals and vitamins and when this came so highly recommended by Joe I thought I would buy some and try them out. I have been taking them for about a week now and I have definitely seen changes at times. Sometimes in the morning my brain just does not operate and I aimlessly mess about online for an hour or two but after taking Alpha Brain I do feel more focused and clearer minded. Of course this could be a placebo effect but if it is creating results it doesn't matter if it is a placebo or not.

One thing it has not done though is induce lucid dreaming. I am quite a deep sleeper but I rarely remember my dreams and some people after taking Alpha Brain have stated that they have very vivid dreams but this alas has not happened in my case. I bought enough for two months but I don’t know if I will buy it again. If it were a little bit cheaper I would probably buy it regularly but I guess the final test will come when I don’t have any left. Then I can see how I feel when I am not taking them regularly. Below is a video of Joe and the owner of Onnit labs discussing the supplement. Give me a shout if you are interested in discussing this in more detail. Oh and I highly recommend the Joe Rogan Podcast as well.

Here are some links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDcps7PUIPA&feature=player_embedded

http://www.onnit.com/

http://www.onnit.com/category/faq/

Stupid Japan Pt. 1

2011-11-05T02:12:00.003Z

There are many wonderful things in Japan and of course there are many stupid things. I want to start sharing with you my experiences with “Stupid Japan” and “Smart Japan”. There is another website/blog that is quite famous, which has a similar theme but I am only going to do this now and again.

So Stupid Japan Part 1 is about children in cars. I was walking home the other evening when a car passed me and there was a toddler in the front passenger seat standing with her face pressed against the windshield. This is not the first time I have seen this. At least once every week I see children in the front seat without a seatbelt. Once I even saw two boys both standing on the front seat with the window open and the car speeding along a small road.

Japan is a very safe country and my impression is that Health and Safety is quite a serious issue in this country. Even when driving the limit for blood alcohol levels is pretty much zero and yet parents are driving around putting their children at huge risk.

I am not getting used to it either, every time I see it I just get angrier and angrier. I almost chased after that car to yell at the parent, maybe in a few weeks I actually will. I am quite irritated just writing about it! I have no idea why people act so irresponsibly but maybe it has something to do with their attitude to the early years of childhood. They give so much freedom to young children letting them run wild and free and rarely disciplining them for poor behavior.

I guess parents don’t want to be the bad guys so they’ll just wait for the Junior High School teachers to reprogram their children. Junior High School is, it seems, where the fun ends and the mundane life of being Japanese is made known to these wild and cheerful children. This though is a different topic for another day.

Rolling with the language barrier

2011-10-25T11:51:00.002+01:00

I cope fairly well with living in a country where I don’t speak the language but of course there are times that I rue my lazy attitude towards Japanese and wish I could communicate better. The times when I usually feel like this are when I am in the Dojo and I want to chat to people that I spend up to 3 nights a week with.

The two main languages in the Dojo are Japanese and Portuguese but there are about 3 people who speak English quite well. I have a good relationship with the other members but we are always limited in what we can talk about and I can never ask them serious questions, which could take our friendship to another level. I love listening to people and hearing their stories about where they are from and the different experiences they have had and yet I can’t really get to know the people who I (voluntarily) spend the most amount of my time with.

There is another negative as well and that is when it comes to the actual training side of things. I prefer to spar lightly and roll through positions rather than go for submissions. Sparring heavily has its place but I always find that if I spar at 60-70% I can stay injury free for longer and actually improve more. If I go in at 100% I just get stuck in positions and waste away five minutes in guard or half guard.

Last week in particular I was rolling lightly because of a sore neck but I decided to roll with a blue belt that I don't normally roll with. He always seems to go 100% and I just try to absorb his energy and play the counter game but last Monday I got sucked into his game and went full pace which caused me to pull a muscle in my upper middle back. That injury has kept me off the mats for the past week and caused me a lot of pain for a few days.

The injury of course was not his fault! I have neglected doing a proper warm up for my shoulders the past few months and I should not have let myself roll at his pace. I have really missed training over the last week and it has made me realize how much being injured SUCKS! It affected my mood at home and at work and it made everything difficult to do. Due to the fact that it was a neck injury/back injury the affects were even more obtrusive and troublesome. It has made me realize that I need to take better care of myself in the following ways: (1) I need to make sure I take my supplements and make sure I get enough protein in my diet, (2) I need to do a longer warm up where I concentrate on what I am doing and do all the exercises effectively and (3) finally I need to do a cool down stretching session after practice even if it is late at night and I just want to go home.

Really though I need to communicate better with my team mates and the only way I can do this is by improving my Japanese or Portuguese or both. So many things to do and only 1 life to do it.

Toyama Train of Thought (4D)

2011-10-11T13:25:00.003+01:00

I have been living in Toyama for over a year now and to be honest time has flown by. This will probably be my last year here as well so before you know it I will be back in Ireland preparing to emigrate once again because lets face it there isn't much of a future for me in Ireland at the moment. I am not going to discuss Ireland today though rather I want to quickly mention Conservatism in Toyama, don't worry this won't be technical and full of political jargon, it's too late and I am actually thinking of what am I about to write like write now. I have had no breakthroughs and I haven't planned any sort of coherent argument so I can almost guarantee I will confuse and contradict.

Apparently Toyama is the most conservative prefecture in Japan. I have no proof of this rather I have just heard it from people with and without agendas. I am fine with living in a conservative location because it can help me realize how much I take some things for granted, which can be found when living in bigger cities. Examples of what I just mentioned include my enjoyment of cross dressing and being able to jaywalk without feeling like I am really standing out.

The most notably thing though about being a foreigner in a conservative region though is really feeling like a foreigner. When I go to Kyoto or Osaka I can relax and know that people aren't really staring at me and that they are used to seeing foreigners day in day out and may have even worked with some. In Toyama though people stare and people do it in a very obvious way. Even though there is quite a significant number of foreigners in Toyama the locals still stare and still live and die by their stereotypes. This of course is not unique to Japan rather it is unique to conservative regions across the world. What makes Japan unique though is that the country itself gives off such a modern image to the world and yet deep down there is the underlying hesitancy to open up and accept new methods from outside of the country.

This desire to cling to the past and to preserve ways just for the sake of preservation is endearing to some foreigners who visit Japan but many find it troublesome and irritating. I flip back and forth between both of those ends of the scale depending upon how much food I have in my belly. In a nutshell if you are not Japanese and you want to experience one of the most polite forms of discrimination and racism then send me an email telling me when you are coming to visit and I'll get the futon out.

In conclusion the attitudes of people from Toyama really do bother me at times but alas I must remind myself that somewhere in America or Europe there is a foreigner who is finding it MUCH more difficult to get his drivers license converted and isn't getting a smile whilst being discriminated against.

PS I don't own a futon

久しぶり

2011-04-28T07:34:00.002+01:00

"Long time no see" is what the title says. I haven't been posting because I haven't really been training much over the last two weeks. School started up again and I have been very busy doing stuff which I should have done during spring break. I can argue though that I couldn't have prepared that much because I didn't know the new teachers and I didn't have the new textbook.

The new 1st graders (一年生), so far, have been great. They are all a very enthusiastic bunch and their English level seems to be quite high. I am not too excited about teaching 2nd grade this year as the teachers I am teaching with really don't want me to be anything more than a tape recorder. Teaching the 1st graders though and the special 3rd grade class has the potential to be a lot of fun.

I have a BJJ competition this weekend in Nagoya. It's a big competition and the standard should be quite high so I don't have high hopes for bringing home a medal but to be honest my preparation has been poor and I am relishing the chance to test myself without feeling too much pressure. I shouldn't really feel pressure because I am at such a low level but I always expect a lot from myself.

I am going to have fun this weekend and I have a lot of holidays coming up so I am going to do a lot of preparation for the weeks ahead. Things to look forward to include:

Better Weather.
I am starting cycling again.
Maybe another BJJ(NO GI) Tournament
Head to Tokyo to train for a few days.
Lots of holidays coming up

いちばん

2011-04-05T14:47:00.002+01:00

はずかし

2011-04-03T09:25:00.002+01:00

Today I took part in my first BJJ competition since the Munster Open last June. In the Munster Open I did really well but today I am very disappointed with how I performed. I had two fights and I lost them both, here is how they went:

一番　In my first fight my opponent was a fella named Luiz who weighs about 120kgs and apparently he also has a black belt in Judo. I knew I had to fight him because he was the only guy who was anywhere near my weight (95kgs) and in my category (white belt). The fight started and I tried to get some good grips on his jacket. He wasn't trying to throw me and we tussled for about 3 and a half minutes. I tried a double leg, single leg and two other Judo throws but he had a good base and wasn't budging. He tried once to take me down and failed miserably and he was also starting to gas. I tried another throw and he managed to reverse it and land on top of me in side control. I quickly got to half guard and put a lockdown on his leg. He was breathing heavily and just lay on top of me. I got double under hooks and whipped him up so I could get on my side. I then went for the old school sweep and when I posted out his leg I tried to do the electric chair transition but he just pulled me under him with an arm I failed to move. Time ran out and he won by two points, 2 - 0.

Now what do I think I did wrong? Well I should have tried to go to guard and get a sweep from there as I would have been able to alleviate the pressure he was putting on me OR I should have just focused on the near side under hook and tried to scramble out of there. I should have done either of those. I also should have pulled guard earlier because I should have realized I wasn't going to throw him and just had more faith in my guard game.

二番　I was fighting a 16 year old green belt in this fight and he was very very quick. He went for a flying armbar but I dropped and he landed on his head. I managed to avoid that flying armbar but he held on to me tightly and he really wanted it and he got it forcing me to tap.

Now what do I think I did wrong? Well he was very good and he deserved to win but I wasn't focused and I let him have my arm. I didn't fight for it and I didn't listen to my coaches. I wasn't thinking clearly and I was very disappointed with myself.

The tournament was over for me and I hung around with friends watching team mates and explaining what was happening. I got a big silver medal because technically I came second in my division but I don't want it and I will only use it now to remind me about how much I sucked and how much I still have to learn.

I thought a lot today about changing weight categories but really I just need to get stronger and better at Jiu Jitsu. My standup was poor and my bottom game is something I really need to focus on. I have another tournament in Nagoya in a couple of weeks and it is a BIGGIE! I am going to train hard, focus on the basics and go to Nagoya looking to gain more experience.

Today my team mates did really well and I am looking forward to getting some of the photos so I can share them with you all.

Surrounded at last

2011-03-28T14:44:00.001+01:00

My final barrier has been broken. I live in a two-story apartment block and when I moved in I had no one below me or beside me. I also live in the corner apartment so I have an extra window. It’s a tiny apartment but I had the perks of good light and a bubble of silence.

Unfortunately my bubble of silence has been getting smaller and smaller. First someone moved in below me and then yesterday someone moved in next to me. Interestingly the two neighbors I now have are quite different.

The “gentleman” below me lives by himself and drives a massive white van which has terrible rust on it as well as a number of dents which is unusual because Japanese people usually look after their cars extremely well. I sat in a Japanese friend’s car once and commented on how the new car he had bought was very nice; he laughed and told me it was 4 years old!

I was a little shocked by the state of my neighbor’s car but then I got to know him, well sorta. He stays up quite late watching television loudly and slams his sliding door when he goes from room to room. He also likes to bang on the roof when I am “making too much noise” for example when I am doing the dishes or having a shower (the hot water pump is a little loud).

Two years ago I would have been really bothered about this and would have done these things a lot more quietly and tried my best not to anger my poor neighbor thus assuming I was the guilty party. Thankfully though I have grown up and now if I hear him banging I get a little satisfaction, as I know he is irritated and I know he wouldn’t have the guts to come up and knock on my door. He is just a grumpy salaryman who doesn’t even say hello in the mornings or greet me when we see each other at night.

Then there is my new neighbor who rang my bell at 8am yesterday morning to give me a gift (a towel). In Japan new residents give their new neighbors gifts. I am not sure really who is living there but it could me a man and a woman, a father and his daughter or just a young woman who is living alone. It doesn’t really matter though because I was chuffed with the gift, I always need new towels and hand towels really come in handy here in summer.

When I answered the door a man in his 40’s was standing there and he greeted me in Japanese and then he introduced his daughter or lover (?). They both seemed very nice and I tried a few bits of 日本語 which is slowly improving. I very rarely meet my neighbors and apparently this is common in Japan. My bubble of silence has now been burst but I still have that extra window which looks out over a glorious carpark.

Le Container

2011-03-22T06:03:00.004Z

I just saw this excellent piece of art on a blog called Le Container which you can hand to the right --------->

Frustration

2011-03-22T01:22:00.003Z

The honeymoon period is over! Unfortunately this is not a post bitching about JET or Japan rather it is about my BJJ training. When I restarted my training a few weeks ago I was learning things really quickly and while sparring I was able to use them and flow through transitions very naturally but over the past week and a half I have been getting bogged down and things that used to work for me have stopped working. I think I know why:

Fearlessness: When I first arrived in the Dojo I had no pressure and no one had any expectations but then I started to do well and people started to compliment me on things. I had nothing to lose, no reputation or expectations but now these things were staring to appear. Of course this is all in my head and I am expecting far too much from myself. I am putting too much importance into sparring. I have started to get caught up in positions, too scared to commit to sweeps because of the risk of losing a solid position. This hesitation is a serious issue.

I can't remember if it was Foxy or Barry who said this to me but I was received a great piece of advice which was if I was going for a sweep or transition FUCKING GO FOR IT! Think about nothing else and say to yourself that I am going to get this and put everything into it. Don't do anything in half measures. So when I started in SUTO I would go gung ho into everything with no hesitation and it worked. Now though I am not fully committing to a move and it is costing me. I figured this out on Sunday and it was during a roll with a fella where I had gone for the hip bump sweep and I was at the critical stage of the move and he wasn't moving, I could have fallen back to guard but I stayed there and kept pushing til I got it.　This is what I need to do with everything.

No fear, no hesitation and most importantly NO EGO! I have developed an Ego and this is dangerous because it will stop me from learning and improving. I have to accept that I will mess up most of the moves that I do but I will learn more from going for them 100% than hissing and hawwing. This Wednesday I am going to spend the whole session going for things with all my energy and I will not shy away from tapping or giving up a good position.

先週 (last week) in BJJ

2011-03-22T00:51:00.002Z

Last week I managed to get to 3 training sessions which was great because with the competition coming up I want to do as much rolling beforehand as I can.

On Wednesday we did drills working on scrambling from a sweep. We had to allow ourselves to be swept and as soon as we did an Ukemi the scramble began. I was pretty happy with my scrambles and I really enjoyed the drill, I love quick paced scrambles unless I am fucked tired in which case they are a nightmare. After that we did some work from Deep Half Guard. We worked on stretching our opponents leg out and using a pendulum motion to knock him off balance while also trying to catch the same side arm. While sparring I worked on my takedowns and they were OK but I wasn't committing to them enough which I will discuss later.

On Friday we again did scramble drills but this time we worked on escapes from Mount and one particular thing I learned about was a type of bridging. I stretch one leg out and keep the other bent and looped around op foot. Put same side hand as stretched leg onto opponents hip and create a stiff lever and the other hand goes on the opponents knee(?), I need to check, and then bridge and shrimp. Before this I was bench pressing the guys and shrimping which used up a lot more of my energy. We then did a sweep using the De La Riva guard which I didn't like because I just felt like it was too advanced for me. I will practice it more though because the starting position is a position I often find myself in. In sparring I got destroyed and didn't have a good session.

On Sunday all the dojos met up to have a group training session. I rolled with some big dudes and got humbled. I was working on my double leg takedown and my shooting was good and fast but I wasn't quick enough to stop their sprawl but in a comp I would just keep pumping my legs but in this session we didn't have the space. I had some success with the Hip bump sweep and my keylock but I was leaving myself too vulnerable to the cross collar choke. It was good fun and I learned a few tips about the RNC because I get peoples backs quite often but I rarely finish. One tip was to take the collar then loop my other hand around opponents opposite hand and then insert my hand behind their head. I need to practice my RNC more and also my control from the back.

I went rock climbing on Saturday and I royally fucked up my grip. I had a great time but I was wrecked Sunday and still today my body is recovering. I want to do rock climbing/bouldering more though because it really compliments BJJ and will help to improve my grip and mobility. I have been taking my fish oils regularly and my protein intake is good, I just need to start drinking more fluids.

Superb Sensationalism

2011-03-18T00:56:00.002Z

Last Friday Japan was hit by a terrible tragedy. I felt the earthquake here in Toyama but it was only a small movement and it just made me feel as though I was dizzy or about to faint. The teachers got worked up and I ignored them as it was about time to go home and I couldn't wait to get out of work because I was so bored. I asked students as I left did they notice the earthquake and none of them did, they were all playing sports and doing club activities.

I went home and didn't look at the news properly until Sunday when I saw the videos of the Tsunami. I have never seen anything as scary as those videos. The power of the tsunami was surreal and as I watched the videos again and again I did not in any way become desensitized to it.

I started to recieve messages asking if I was ok and I noticed more and more Facebook posts from friends in Japan telling their families back home that they were fine. Then the stupidity started and the world media started to sensationalize the affair and why? Well nuclear power was now involved and there was trouble at a facility in Fukushima, over 400kms away from where I live.

I am not sure if the media is anti nuclear power or if there is a strong lobby influencing the media at this moment to act in such a way as to report from an anti nuclear power viewpoint or maybe it is just the fact that nuclear disasters are a big money maker and the media wanted to make a lot of money and fast. After all the media is a business and they are interested in money before the truth. Of course the truth can be defined in many ways and twisted to still be the "truth" and yet illicit different responses in reaction to how to the "truth" is presented.

I am starting to sound a little conspiracy theoryist if that is a word? Well you know what I mean and if you look at any of the major newspapers, broadcasting stations or online websites from a critical angle you can see why I feel this way. I have read so much information online over the past few days and the more I read from independent organisations the more angry I get when I read articles on BBC, RTE or watch the Channel 4 news, I am not just going to trust Jon Snow cause he is "JON SNOW".

Over the past few days the articles I have read from the mainstream media have included less and less facts about radiation levels and more and more opinion and conjecture. Whenever there is good news it is mentioned and then immediately questioned and the rest of the article focuses on negative aspects of the situation. If information comes from a Japanese source it is assumed to be some sort of propaganda or lies to fool the Japanese into not panicking.

I am going to have to stop reading articles from the BBC and RTE because they follow the same pattern and I just get angry over their irresponsible actions and of course I lose more faith in the media. I used to think I could once be a journalist or reporter but after this I don't think I could enter that field, especially not news reporting.

The biggest problem though is the lack of attention given to the victims of the earthquake and tsunami. There is also not enough appeals for aid and the bigger country don't seem to be sending any money east. Over the weekend only $12 million was given to Japan compare that to Haiti which received over $100 million in aid in the same space of time. I would encourage anyone reading to please donate to the Red Cross and please encourage others to do the same. Some English teachers here have started a campaign on Facebook for each ALT to donate 100 dollars to the Red Cross it is called a Man for Japan (Man in Japanese means 10000 yen which is currently about 100 dollars).

Here are a few links which have some interesting information:

A little old but some good info.

Need Facebook open for this one.

Training Plan

2011-03-16T04:55:00.003Z

Assuming recent events don't affect the tournament I have about two and a half weeks left of training. I have a minimum of 6 sessions left and a possible two extra ones this week and next week. This Sunday I am going to drive an hour north to another Dojo where everyone will gather and have a 2 hour rolling session, that is all 4 gyms in Toyama. There was a similar event organised two weeks ago and I had a really great time. All the Dojos try to meet up once a month to spar together and have some food afterwards.

I think one of the main reasons they are able to do this is because the BJJ community is so small and it is mostly made up of Brazilians who are already part of a small tight knit community in the region. So in the next 2 and a half weeks I have a maximum of maybe 8 or 9 sessions, I would like to do more but I just can't find the time. In Ireland I was lucky because Informed Performance was open so often and there was usually people around who wanted to roll or one of the head coaches Will would always want to spar.

So in the next few weeks I am going to try to do some additional training, I can fit in one strength session a week and one conditioning session. The strength session will be mostly comprised of body weight exercises such as pull ups, dips and single leg squats. The conditioning session will involve the bike and running/sprinting as well as a BJJ block which I did last year and a regular IP 5/5/5 block or 10/10/10 block. I am going to do a warm up similar to IP's and supplement it with BJJ drills I can do on my own such as things like Shrimping.

I am going to have aims for every class and write down questions I need to ask about what I might be doing wrong. Tonight I am going to practice those take downs I mentioned as well as passing guard (closed).

In regards to diet I am not going to try to drop a weight class cause I feel comfortable at my weight right now (95kgs in the gi) and I am gonna eat like a king for the next few weeks. I am just going to make sure I eat my protein, good carbs, fish oils, supplements and drink lots of water. I wanna start going to bed earlier as well and maybe take a few naps during the day. That is a lot of things to do and to be honest it will be very difficult to do them all but I am going to focus on 3 particular things: making every training session, taking my fish oils and eating lots of protein

The Big Secret

2011-03-15T04:40:00.002Z

Gameplan.

So the competition is less than 3 weeks away and I have come up with a plan. I have both a training plan and a competition plan, lets discuss the latter first.

In whatever fights I have on the day of the competition I will attempt to do the following: From the start there are two moves I want to do to get the fight to the floor. The first is a Judo move called Tai Otoshi. I am reasonably good at this move and I have used it a few times in the Dojo with success. My other plan is to do a risky Armdrag Single which I learned online and which I have never drilled but I have done it in sparring and it has been really successful but only if I commit to it 100%. If nothing is working or the fella is a Judo Black belt I shall pull guard and go for a sweep straight away.

From bottom position: From Open I wanna do an Apache sweep or else the one where I monkey grip his hips and lift. From Closed Guard I have 4 different Sweeps 2 of which I know well and the other two well they work from time to time. The two I know well can both transition to submissions quite easily if they fail as sweeps. From Half Guard, first thing I will do is get the near side under hook and from there I have three options, 1 scramble, 2 shift down to deep half guard and sweep using super secret technique and 3 use the swivel and loop sweep we did in class a few weeks ago, I need to drill no 3 more. If I am in Side control I want to move the head and shrimp like a mad man. For mount I want to keep everything tight and go for the fake back turn get into half guard move which I use in class a lot. Submission from bottom, well mine aren't great but I would feel confidentish going for a triangle or kimura from guard. In any other situation I am looking to improve position.

From Top. Guard: Pass Closed guard, I am terrible at this and so I am going to really work at this for the next few weeks, for open I can do the leg throw or sit on the hamstrings. In Half guard I want to keep pressure on their neck and sit and kick the way Barry showed me or else sprawl and switch. In control I want to focus on control and making things uncomfortable, my two options from side control are: 1 set up the transition to knee mount and 2 look for a kimura or keylock. If I get to knee mount I wanna do the Colin Louth man nasty move, dig my knee in and up while pulling on his lapels. Look then for transition to mount. In mount I want to control and smoother. I don't feel comfortable going for submissions from mount but I will try a choke. Look for s mount and armbar or else transition to back where I will facebar the shit out of him until i get a RNC.

So that is the "Super Secret Competition Plan" and I don't mind putting it up here cause I don't care if people know what I want to do because in this competition I am going to commit to everything and get everything I commit to. The only new risky parts in this plan are in the stand up and I know how to UKEMI (breakfall) so I don't care about being thrown. At first I wanted to win this and prove something but I was cycling home the other day when I realised I just want to be the nastiest motherfucker to compete against. I wanna make shit as uncomfortable as possible without breaking the rules and I wanna be a nice happy smiley guy before and after.

The training plan shall follow in the next post.

日十一月三　　BJJ

2011-03-14T04:44:00.003Z

In class on Friday we went over some sweeps from guard and a few counters to them if you are in top position in guard. I had done two of them before; the hip bump sweep and the pendulum sweep and the third was a sort of modified version of the scissor sweep.

The hip bump sweep keypoints: Open Guard, brace up on one elbow and then to hand. Other hand goes over opponents opposite shoulder, same hip pops and pull the arm at the same time, problems I had: I keep trying to do a sit up sweep instead of moving onto my hand i stayed on my elbow.

The Pendulum Sweep, Suto先生 does this one when the opponent pops one foot up. Open guard and reach under the postured leg taking a grip. The other leg swings around to get momentum. My body will be perpendicular to opponent. Kick and Swing and use other grip on ops wrist to pull, becareful of your foot getting trapped. My problem with this is timing and I telegraph it too early and am too slow to make it effective but that should improve with practice.

The modified scissor sweep has a similar position to the half guard sweep we did a few weeks ago. Get a high collar grip with opposite side of op gi. Open guard after breaking posture, shrimp away and stay turned to side while knee goes across ops stomach. Lift using knee and pull the arm and sweep the base with other leg. A counter for this is to move your hips back and down, with the arm that is outstretched take ops gi and pull on it, other hand goes through ops leg and grips. Now sprawl and move into side control ensuring that you get your knee into your OPs hips

Japan and Nature

2011-03-13T13:18:00.002Z

Many Japanese people have a weird relationship with nature, they often claim to have a understanding of it or rather some sort of spiritual bond with their surroundings but in reality they live in fear of their surroundings.

They are terrified of typhoons, landslides, flooding, earthquakes and of course tsunamis. On Friday their fears were justified as the country was struck by a severe natural disaster. The videos are surreal as are the photos.

I felt the earthquake on Friday, I was in school, and for a few minutes, on and off, the world around me shook. Earthquakes elicit a strange feeling within me, they don't scare me but neither do I feel relaxed, it is of course a unique experience.

Where I am living wasn't hit hard and nothing around me seems to have changed. Everyone on the streets seem the same, there is no panic shopping and there doesn't seem to be any extra security precautions being laid out. I don't really understand my surroundings, I'm a wee bit "KY" as the Japanese say and because of this I feel detached from the tragedy, I watch it on the news in the same way I watch the crisis in Libya. It was a similar feeling when I experienced the riots in Hungary in 2006 although that was smaller I was much more involved in it.

Returning to my point about the Japanese having a conflicting attitude to nature I can understand why they have fears but unfortunately with the precautions they take comes many problems. They are so controlling that almost every river here is encased by concrete. Their beaches often resemble Omaha before the troops landed. The concrete lobby here is so strong that it uses any excuse to sell more concrete to local councils who are given incentives to spend all of their budget rather than save money. Japan is a concrete jungle, it is so difficult to escape the concrete. Even in the mountains they have laid paths which would never be laid in Ireland or Europe. They ruin nature here and they use natural disasters as an excuse amongst others.

I hope that I have illustrated what I mean by a conflicted attitude and I just want to say that many Japanese people have this attitude but NOT all! The worst culprits are local and national government as well as businesses. I do want to offer condolences to anyone reading who has been affected by the tragedies of the past few days. I will write about about this topic in the future but for now I'll bid you good night!

Got to get up early to buy my iodine tabs

T -22 Days

2011-03-11T07:34:00.003Z

This is the competition I am currently preparing for:

In 22 days I will be competing in my first tournament since last summer. Compared to last summer my fitness is poor and my strength is not as good as it was but I have 3 weeks and I have a plan. I will outline this plan in another post as I haven't finished it yet but in addition to 3 rolling sessions a week I am going to try and do one conditioning session a week as well as some body weight strength work, stuff like chins, dips and single leg squats. I will keep the protein high and gulp down the fish oils. I have no aims for this tournament other than test the waters and see how my body feels in competition. I have invited a lot of friends though and people who don't like me so I have a lot of extra nerves ha ha.

PS There was a BIG earthquake in Japan today, freaky experience but all is well in Toyama and the students didn't even notice it.

Day: -1 year and a bit

2011-03-11T00:06:00.003Z

Before I get into talking about BJJ and various techniques that I am learning I thought I should write a post detailing how I got into the sport. It was about a year and a half ago maybe more. I was living in my grandmothers house and watching TV with my brother when the Ultimate Fighter(TUF) came on. I found it disgusting and totally barbaric but very intriguing. Why were they allowed to hit each other on the ground? Also because it was TUF there was no crowd watching the fight so I felt as though I was there hearing every small sound. I hated it and I gave out to anyone who'd listen about how vile it was but I was enthralled and I kept watching. I needed to understand what was happening.

I never liked boxing, I found it really boring and I once did Kickboxing in school which I found tedious as well. I was never very coordinated with my hands and feet so I used to always prefer wrestling not official wrestling but rather wrestling with my brother and friends. Anyway as I watched more MMA I started to see the various different parts of the ground game and I looked up MMA on the Internet. On Boards I found an MMA forum as well as a Self Defence and Martial Arts forum. I began reading and kept noticing this fella named Roper who would always start or get involved in arguments, he was kinda annoying but I enjoyed reading his posts.

I noticed that he was a trainer and had an MMA school quite close to my house, after a quick visit to his website I found his number and gave him a call. I explained that I was only really interested in BJJ and he said that that was their primary sport in the gym. He invited me down for a free training session and so I went.

The gym was only an upstairs room in an industrial estate with no showers or real changing rooms. I was really used to the luxury of the DCU gym so in my snobbery I failed to see the charm of the place at first. I met Barry who was really friendly, funny and bald which I didn't expect but I like bald men cause my father is bald and I find them easy to trust. (Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha). The class started and I was lost, I had no idea why I was so bad but I was getting smothered by a 120kg softly spoken fella named Andy.

I got through the class and was exhausted, a type of exhaustion I had never felt before but at the same time I felt fantastic. I decided to try it out for a month. Now at the same time as this I was Rowing 4-5 days a week and doing a course to become a fitness instructor which had practical classes in the afternoons. I was really pushing my body but it was responding well and slowly I was picking up some techniques in BJJ as well as finding a "base".

I trained for two months and now it was time to pick a sport as I couldn't do both. The rowers were expecting me to train more and in BJJ I had to start paying for 3 months in advance. I fell away from BJJ and started taking rowing more seriously. I then started to follow a blog written by a guy named Will Heffernan who came across on the Internet very badly but he was interesting and confident about what he knew which was Strength and Conditioning. He was going to hold a seminar and I emailed him to ask if I could come.

I went to the seminar and met Will who was really really sound and very funny with some great stories. I was in for a bit of a surprise as well cause Barry was there too. The seminar was two days long and I learned more in those two days than I did in the 6 months I spent on that fitness instructors course. A few months later Will and Barry started to work more closely together and they formed a gym called Informed Performance.

About a month after it opened I joined and so began a new stage of my training. I started to make huge improvements and started training BJJ again but alas I fell away for a few months because of work. I restarted though and I kept at it up until I left for Japan. I met a lot of good people at IP and I learned a great deal about exercise and fitness. I competed in my first BJJ competition and got smashed twice. I learned a lot from that competition and for my next I took training seriously and stopped thinking too much and just listened to Barry and Will. I had a few months of good training both on and off the mat and I got to know some of the fellas in the gym pretty well.

I competed in the Munster Open and you can read about that below. I then had about month before I left for Japan and I again fell away from BJJ which really bothered me because I should have been on the mat helping Will prep for a fight, he helped me a lot and I didn't return the favour which I felt terrible about. I have now gotten back into BJJ and as I stated below I am back in love with it. I really miss Informed Performance and I really wish I could fly home every Saturday for the team conditioning sessions. IP helped me get into phenomenal shape and I was also having a tough time personally which would have been much worse without the great times I had at IP. I hope I can return and train there someday.

須藤アカデミ

2011-03-10T13:28:00.004Z

I have been doing Judo for a couple of months now and I have not fallen for it like I thought I would. Training is only once a week and they are all lovely people but I have failed to make a connection which shouldn't be important but I guess it is for me.

I have really missed Brazilian Ju Jitsu(BJJ) and a couple of weeks ago I finally decided to find a dojo where I could train in BJJ and do it on a more regular basis. I found a number of places and asked my supervisor to call for me, 今私の日本語は目茶悪い! He rang three different numbers, my first choice was no longer using the number I had and the second wasn't answering the phone so we rang number 3 the Suto Academy.

I got the timetable and a few necessary details. I turned up the next night for training and the DOJO was situated behind a second hand russian tyre shop. There was a metal door and when I walked in the place looked a bit shabby but as soon as I entered the main area I was very impressed. They had a large wrestling mat, some extra warm up mats, a good selection of free weights and a few couches to relax on.

I met a few people and they were all very friendly. I was talking in Japanese to a group of mainly Brazilians something I never thought I would ever do or even be able to do. It was 胴衣 training(in the Gi) and there were a few brown belts, purples and blues. Then there was Casimiro who is a Black belt under Rickson Gracie(I think).

We all warmed up, did some drills and started practicing a sweep from guard which I will describe later but we kept drilling and did it again and again. After that we did a few 5 minute rounds and I jumped in there and sparred with a few friendly faces. I did well and I was really happy with my escapes and shrimps. I got a feel for who were the heavy going guys and the lighter rolling guys this is important as I can now determine who I should roll with depending on what I want to do and how my body feels.

My first night I didn't go for any submissions or Judo throws as I just wanted to be modest and not put a target on my back just yet. I had a great first session and I have had about 5 more since. I love the atmosphere in the Dojo and I have been bitten by the BJJ Bug. I have a competition at the start of next month so I will keep you all updated on the training and preparation for it.

The photo above is of Casimiro 先生とヒショングラシ。　

Well maybe I was wrong....

2010-11-25T10:43:00.002Z

I am one of those people who often makes snap judgements and takes first impressions too seriously. This isn't a good characteristic but I am aware of it and I guess that counts for something and I am always willing to admit when I am wrong. This sort of thing is something I could write an entire blog about but I am actually going to keep this short and precise.

The reason this came came to mind at all was because I was studying Kanji and practicing some simple enough symbols. I realised that I was smiling and having a good time, I really enjoy studying Kanji and writing them. I can see why people get annoyed with studying them, there is multiple meaning for each one and eventually they become so complex that you have to break the symbol down and judge what it means by context(so I am told). I don't know what it is though that I enjoy about Kanji, maybe its the art of drawing them, the stroke order and the constant desire to find the right balance and create a beautiful symbol.

I felt like this when I was studying Hiragana as well which is much more simple. I didn't take to Katakana in the same way, no idea why. I thought when I was at home in Ireland that I could learn Hiragana and Katakana and then I could come over here and read everything and be able to use the dictionary for any word I didn't know. I was so wrong! Kanji is used a lot of here and a sentence may only have one or two characters of Hiragana which might be a particle or two. It is now fun though to see Kanji around the station or in books or at school. Today I was able to read a Tram's final destination which was entirely in Kanji, small victories really matter to me.

In terms of Japanese as a language, well I have started to take lessons and my knowledge is improving. I can't really have conversations or communicate very effectively but I can get by and I like to think I am a master of looking and sounding better than I am! There are many things in Japanese and in Japan in general that make no sense, and I will talk about some of those things here, but I just try to accept them as non sensical and realise it's either something I will just need to learn or else learn to live with. Having said all of that(curb) I have managed to have quite a few small conversations with a couple of weirdos.

The above image is Wabisabi, look it up! It's a nice word.

The Mormans and Me

2010-11-21T11:00:00.002Z

A month or two ago I was walking down the street towards Toyama station when I saw two young fellas, obviously foreigners like myself, in formal wear with a badge on their shirts. I knew I recognised that style from somewhere before and then I remembered the Morman I had met in Budapest. I didn't know whether I wanted to talk to them or not but I had to pass them and as I did they asked, "Hey are you American?" I replied that I was Irish and they instantly started talking away to me as we walked towards the station.

It turns out that they live in the same area as me (Kureha) and they were taking the same train home. We started chatting away and I was surprised by how young they both were (18) and how hard their mission was; trying to convert Japanese people, as a foreigner, with only a small grasp of the Japanese language is a daunting job.

We all got off at Kureha station and they asked if I wanted to hang out sometime? I said yeah sure why not because I am a big softy and I gave them my phone number (stupid). I told them I was busy for a while and they asked how long to which I answered a week or so. Exactly a week later I got a phone call from Elder Jackson. They wanted to meet up for some food and maybe play some ping pong. I thought hell why not and we organised a time and restaurant.

I met them at the BBQ restaurant near my house and they brought a Japanese Morman with them. He was probably the shyest person I have ever met. We got a booth and he sat in the corner and barely said a word all night, he seemed like a scared puppy who was being told off for pissing on the carpet.

Small chat was made for a while but then out came the Book of Morman. After that followed the big spiel which I politely listened to and asked probing questions to suitable topics when the right moments presented themselves, I wanted them to feel like they were doing a good job. Then after a big spiel one of them said that I should just watch the South Park episode about Mormans as it's quite accurate, LEGEND!

Then we had a more open chat about their mission and I saw their rulebook which was filled with some crazy strict rules for Mormans on mission, here are just a few:

1. They must go to bed at a certain time(10pm or so) and get up at the same time(6am or so), they have a curfew which means they have to be home before 9pm, self enforced honor system.

2. They cannot read books/magazines/newspapers etc only the Book of Morman or their rulebooks

3. They must remain within eyesight/earshot of their partner, they must remain in pairs at all times. Even in public toilets, at home they can leave the door open.

4. No Internet bar 1 email a month or so to their parents, and only one phone call home a year on Christmas day.

5. No headphones/listening to music. No drugs/sex/masturbation/girls/thoughts etc. You are not allowed to talk to a non-Morman unless they are being converted.

That's just a few but that rulebook was BIG! We paid our bill and went to play some Ping Pong in the Church. We played for an hour or so while they really pushed the Morman stuff, I was getting a bit fed up with it at this stage so I started throwing out hypotheticals about homosexuality and other controversial topics. I was respectful but I pushed it and I found that one of the fellas was very fanatical and was very rigid in his views but the other kid was a bit more open minded and was just towing the company line.

We said goodbye for the night and I was exhausted from all the talking and debating, I was really trying to challenge these guys and I was knackered. In the following days/weeks I got phone calls nearly every day, at the same time everyday; the exact time I got off work. I ignored all the calls and never picked up but I couldn't ignore them forever.

So two weeks ago I was walking up through Kureha, on a wet Saturday, on my way to get some ramen when, from behind a corner sprang two Mormans. One of the guys had changed and it was now the more liberal one with a big blond American fella, nice face, red cheeks and chubby hands you know the type. Instantly the liberal one asked, "hey man been trying to reach you but you never seem to answer", I instantly came up with an excellent lie about dropping my phone down the loo and having no phone for ages. They asked about the Book of Morman and had I read it, I told them I had watched the South Park episode, they chuckled in disappointment.

I told them my "new number" and said I was starving and had to head off. Phew! Crisis avoided, thankfully I can be a very solid excuse maker when I find myself in those situations. I went and had some Ramen and a wee self congratulatory chuckle, oh Joseph Smith had plans for me boyo!

Last week I was taking the train from my visiting school back to Kureha and I was getting off at the station when I heard behind me two Americans talking, they weren't Canooks cause they didn't say aboot. I glimpsed over my shoulder and saw the Mormans, OH SHIT!

They hadn't seen me though so I ran up the steps and across the bridge, my hands were full and I couldn't find the ticket to get out, panic set in. I dropped stuff and heard them catching up, they were so close to coming around the corner and seeing me but I got the ticket and ran into the station. I had more problems though because they would see me if I left the station too late or if I left too early. I waited for the perfect moment when I had coverage from the toilets.

I ran to my bike, scrambling for my keys, and oh crap their two mountain bikes were near mine. I was dropping stuff left right and centre and I just couldn't open the bike lock. It was like I was being chased by a madman and I couldn't open the door to my house. I got the bike though and just as they were coming out of the station I cycled out and by god did I sprint! I was like Mark Canvendish except I was on a foldable red bicycle with a bag falling off my shoulder and my umbrella dangerously close to my spokes.

I cycled away though with a smile on my face and I pumped my hands in the air and silently yelled, FREEDOM!

Munster Open 2010

2010-07-01T14:44:00.004+01:00

I showed up in cork on the friday and found the Bru hostel. I went up to my room and found a family of travellers smoking dope in the bathroom, fuck! So I went downstairs and after a good think (10 seconds) I told the management and they went upstairs to kick them out. I felt a little bad as they had a young kid with them but really it's their fault and I am not getting high off their second hand smoke. I went back to the room and thank god they hadn't thrashed it. I went out to get some food and had some OK indian food near patrick street. Went back to the hostel and tried to get some sleep but I couldn't, way too nervous and people kept coming in and out drunk fuckers. I think it's time I became a hotel or B&B man. Dave and Ian had it right staying in the travel lodge.

Got up early, ate some crossaints, drank some milk and had some fish oils. Showed up to the venue and was one of the first cars there. Then Colin and Amanda showed up, I was so happy, they're like my aunt and uncle in the IP family. We went inside and the place looked cool, 3 mats plenty of space, good light etc. Registered and was told I was going to be one of the first few fights, NERVES NERVES NERVES. I went over to the warm up area and did some stuff, then got called for a weigh in, 98kgs exactly, nice.

Bout Numero Uno - As soon as it began my nerves completely disappeared and I just thought ok how can i get this shizzle to the ground. I got a nice grip on each of his collars and tried to get a falling baseball bat choke which Will showed me. Result: Massive Fail. He got take down points and I got half guard. I gave up the grips and got the underhook. I worked myself into guard and closed it up. My mind went blank for a while but I worked on breaking his posture and then I went for a triangle. He stacked me and I got his leg and swept him. I ended up in like a semi mount position so i sat on his chest and got the points. I wasn't in a good position so I sorta spun into an arm bar, I think? Worked on my position and started raising my hips. I had what I thought was a good armbar but he wasn't tapping. I readjusted and kept the pressure on, I was hearing some weird noises from his arm. One of his team mates shouted, "don't do yerself an injury man" and he tapped, ok I'll take that, first win = good feeling.

Bout Ban Ni - This guy looked big and fuck did the nerves get to me while I was waiting for it. He had beaten a fella with a few stripes on his belt and feck do those polish fellas scare me. We started and we tustled a little until he tried to pull open guard. We scrambled and I ended up in half butterfly guard. I tried to do the sprawl half guard pass which I had practiced but it didn't work. I can't remember how I got into side control but I did and held it for a while before shoving my wrist into his neck. I then transitioned into knee on belly, held for the points and pulled him up a bit. I then slipped into mount but I couldn't get a comfortable position or a decent submission attempt and I went for a arm bar I think? but i got swept anyway. I got back into guard and tried a triangle but i couldn't get it, back to closed guard, colin shouted that it was almost up and I was ahead on points. I got conservative and just tried to break his posture and wait it out. Maybe I should have gone for something but I could feel that this guy was strong and my mind was blanking a bit. Second win, gold medal, happy days.

I went around and I was so fucking happy, all that extra training with Marty, Will, Barry and everyone else paid off big time. I just couldn't keep the smile off my face, sure it wasn't perfect but fuck I didn't care I know what I have to work on in the future and I look forward to learning it. I wanted to do the absolute but I found out it wasn't until much later in the day and I had to leave to get up to Ballymena. Watched all my team mates and enjoyed the great atmosphere in the hall. I left at about 1.30 and flew up to Dublin to meet Dee, Marty and Will. We were in Belfast when we found out about the fight cancellation, oh boy what a day!

Summary: Well I loved the competition but the thing I was most happy with was that beforehand I was sitting in the car dreading it and I considered pulling a sickie, gasp, but I didn't and I am proud that I didn't and I will try to use that moment whenever I am sitting at home dreading a conditioning session or not entirely up for a class. Thank you to the IP lads and ladies who were down there supporting me and putting up with my horribly smug grin.

My Placement

2010-05-23T20:31:00.002+01:00

Last Tuesday I got my package telling me where I was being sent within Japan. I dunno where I was hoping to go but I didn't expect to read that I'd be headed to Toyama. I had heard of Toyama before and I knew it was close to the mountains, naturally I delved into some research and I now know a wee bit more. It's 3 hours from Tokyo ish and the same ish to Osaka. I don't know where I will be within the prefecture that is the next surprise.

From what I read online there is supposedly an excellent community of Jets in Toyama, very fun and active. This has really made me happy as I don't want to go gaijin solo whilst I am there. I am waiting to get approved for the offical toyama jet forum so once I get approved I'll no doubt have loads more info to distract myself with.

More to follow.....

Here I Go Again

2010-04-30T17:37:00.002+01:00

Well Gerry Ryan is dead. RIP.

I recently got news that I have made the final shortlist for the JET programme. What that means is that come the 25th of July I shall be taking off (pun intended) for Japan where I have a years worth of teaching waiting for me. This blog started when I lived abroad and I think that it will be probably restart now with my impending adventure. I don't know where I will be heading in Japan, I'll find that out towards the end of May. I am excited, apprehensive and well all round nervous. It's 3 months away but that I am sure will fly by. I want to start writing this again and hell maybe some of my old readers will return.

Day 8 Yokohama/Tokyo

2009-11-04T13:08:00.005Z

In case you don't know Yokohama is a different city but it has, through urban sprawl, become a part of Tokyo. Saturday hosted what was the central event of the weekend, the football game between Japan and Scotland, a friendly in the stadium that hosted the 2002 world cup final. We left the house at about 11 and strolled down to Shinbuya, I packed up my man bag for a days travel. It took a while to get to the station and that was because the group was so huge. We jumped on a train and followed George's lead to Yokohama. Kyle was suffering from a wicked hangover and almost puked on the train but he soldiered through it.

The day was a cracker and it was perfect for a stroll. Yokohama is along the coast and on saturdays it is the premier date spot for young couples, there was lots of love in the air. We split up in order to see Chinatown and grab some lunch. I quizzed George on Tokyo life as we ate some delicious chinese food. After walking up and down the small but busy streets the group met up and headed to the harbour. We took a lovely walk along the coast amongst the couples and ended up meeting the Scottish fans.

There was a food and music festival and I must have spent 10euro on ice cream, that is after a 12euro burger but it was worth it. We all hung out on the grass catching zzzz and chatting about this and that. I ended up wrestling a very frisky Kyle after I tried to introduce the rugby tackle into the group dynamic. The sun started to set and we all headed toward the stadium. I thought that it would be just around the corner but it was actually a train ride and a good walk to the stadium, it took ages to get there because of the amount of us and beer stops, toilet stops etc etc. George got us there though and by god fair play to him he got us there just for kick off.

On the stands no one was sitting, everyone was standing and the place was packed. I was expecting a nice seat and we'd sit back and slag off Scotland and how hopeless they are. We were in the Japanese section and they did not stop singing. A few people were looking at us as we were the only Gaijin that I could see. It felt like the time I was supporting meath in the hill 16 in the dublin meath leinster final, except I felt a lot safer in Japan. At the start of half time we managed to get better standing spots and farrell came up with a very catchy chant, I will try and spell it phonetically,

"Scot u land dough, Scot u land dough, Gam bat ea, Kur dough sai!"

When there was a lull in the Japanese chanting we sang it loudly and people started to turn and stare at us laughing but then a security guard told us we couldn't chant or sing for scotland because we were in the Japanese section, booooo but sure we all were having fun and at the end we waited for everyone to leave and Phil gave a high 5 to almost everyone who passed. Lots of the Japanese appreciated his madness but it didn't impress everyone, he got lots of photos like the one below.

The game passed us by and we didn't care that Japan won 2 nil because it wasn't a great game but we did have a great time. Leaving the stadium and getting back to Tokyo took forever and I was going to write about why but I won't. I will say though that by the time I got to Tokyo I just wanted to sit down. George managed to convince me and a few others that we needed to go to a club and see Tokyo's nightlife, he was very convincing so I ran to change clothes in a mac donalds and downed two red bulls. I was ready and we set off to WOMB which normally costs 35 euros to get in but we managed, thanks to george, to get in for 15, awesome.

Womb was incredible! The lightshow was phenomenal and Phil managed to get a ton of people to follow his dance moves, to put it in his words he started a religion and he had his followers. Then Devin, who is a bear of a man, started dancing with a girl and was swing dancing with her. He was just throwing her around the place and everyone was looking at the two of them. After that he picked up another Gaijin who had a scottish flag and the DJ who was rapping spared a few lyrics dedicated to Scotland, HA!, we were only in the place 20 mins and some of the lads had taken over.

We were then brought down stairs to a private party where I cannot talk about what happened because what happens in Tokyo stays in Tokyo, ha ha nothing big happened don't worry.

Myself, Kyle and Phil had to leave early in order to try watch the Ireland Italy game. We headed to where we thought there was an Irish bar and we somehow broke into the building where we found it closed but because it was Japan there was no alarms or security. We sat outside calling places which all ended up without any success. Then we were offered Hookers by a female Pimp who came out of nowhere and wouldn't leave til I told her we three were married. Then she disappeared into nowhere.

We headed to Mc Donalds and strolled home, btw the house is never locked, it's in a really central location but it doesn't need to be locked, amazing right? I was wrecked and my feet were killing me and I never looked forward to my thermarest like I did that night but it was another fantastic day in Japan. George came in at 6 and knocked loads of stuff over and called Phil a dishonourable snowman. A fitting end to a fantastic day.

Day 7 A Japanese Haircut and a Trip to Tokyo

2009-10-29T09:15:00.002Z

Friday was the first day of a terrific weekend away. Phil had to work a half day so I had a morning to kill, I decided to pop into the local hairdressers to get my ears clipped as the Hungarians say I think? Anyway there was a place nearby which was called Longs. Phil warned me that the guy who worked there was very friendly and would want to chat away, bollox, I love not talking while I get a haircut. I got up late got some brekkie and then headed down.

I walked in and was shocked by how small it was, he only had two chairs and he was the only barber or hairdresser. He was very friendly though and I was seated immediately. His barber chair was awesome. It was the Lazyboy version of a barber chair. It was huge and he must have wrapped 6 cloths around my neck, there was no hairs getting down my neck.

He washed and conditioned my hair twice, it must have taken 10 minutes. Then he started to cut my hair, he was very meticulous and went through it hair by hair, well almost. He was chatting away as well. He asked me where I was living/from/do sports wise/work as etc etc. He talked about himself as well, mostly in Japanese but he had some English. He really put in the effort though. Then he washed my hair again, twice. He then shaved my sideburns and round my neck, then he styled my hair.

He must have taken 40minutes to do the whole thing but I thought my hair looked awesome, no one except Phil commented though :( He then charged me 2000 yen or 14 euros, what a deal! You would never get that kind of service for less than a 100 euros (maybe I exaggerate but ah hell) in Ireland, although I did have to put up with a lot of awkward moments like when he kept squeezing my leg.

I ran up to Phi'is house and felt like a new man, refreshed, I feel great after getting a haircut, I didn't even need a shower as he had managed to keep all the hairs away from my neck. I packed for Tokyo and read through the guidebook about one of the world's great cities. I had to stop after a couple of minutes because there was just too much to do. I awaited Phil's return. When he arrived we went for some sushi with Saki and Valerie, it was a lovely relaxed lunch and we got to see the chefs put together some dishes.

We organised our things and headed to Himeji to meet Kyle and Kay and head to Tokyo. We hung out for a while in Himeji and got some food and snacks. There was a rush of sorts to the track but all was ok and we got the right train and managed to switch the seats so we could face each other. On the train journey we played some top trumps with countries of the world, no one one but just before we stopped I had a pretty good number of cards. We then prepped for the entrance exams for grad school in the states. My god was it tough some of the words you need to know. I always thought you just needed the money to go to grad school. It turns out you need brains and a ton of money.

The journey passed in no time and I ate a ton of chocolate covered almonds. We got into a part of Tokyo and then got a subway to Shibuya. When we excited the station I got a rush of excitement. So much noise, so many people, so many lights the place was incredible. It was exactly how I imagined. The place just oozed Big City life and the best thing about the weekend was we had a host. George an ex ALT who was putting up like 10 of us plus the three already in his house. George is a tall red head from Engerland who I had heard a lot about, I was looking forward to meeting him and I was not disappointed, the guy is a legend.

George showed up and Phil had an orgasm, it's nice to see ex lovers with such a good relationship. We WALKED to George's house yes walked, it was only 15 minutes from one of the most central places in Tokyo and 5 minutes from the ex prime minister. He lived in a house, a beautiful house and we chilled there for a while until most of the guests had arrived. We listened to music and gifts were exchanged, I felt like a bit of a tool cause I didn't have a present but I am going to send some stuff over to Georgie sometime soon.

We eventually headed out to a nearby bar where we chatted about this and that and then another bar where we watched some football and talked to drunk Japanese men and some travelling Scots. We all headed back to Georges, I was really enjoying Tokyo and I was itching to get to bed so I could get up again, stay tuned for more tales of Tokyo.

Day 6 Hiroshima/Kobe

2009-10-28T17:55:00.003Z

I got up early and expected to see a town being drenched in Typhoon showers but the sun was out in force and it was a lovely 20 degrees Celsius, beautiful. I was talking to one of the dutch fellas just as I was getting dressed and he said that he kept waking up during the night because there were blue pillowcases falling on him. He eventually realised that the guy in the bunk above was throwing them at him. He thought that he might have been snoring and the Japanese fella in the bunk above was trying to get him to stop?

I bid farewell to the hungover dutch and headed to the station to leave my bags in a locker. I had a look at train timetables as well and I was left with a choice of spending half a day in Hiroshima or a full day and try to get out to Migamie (?) Island. I found out after breakfast that the Island wasn't accessible because none of the early ferries had run because of the threat of a typhoon, it had given sailors a reason to take a day off. Odd for such a thing to happen especially in Japan but sure thems the ways. I headed into town on the tram and strolled down to the museum and Peace Island where I relaxed in the sun reading.

There were a huge number of schoolkids visiting and all the different types of uniforms and hats were very impressive. I was reading the Trial by Kafka and I was flying through it. When travelling alone it is essential to always have a book. When doing the cycle I would just sit down in a park and read when I couldn't find anything to do. This is often the best part of the day as I read with relaxed concentration and every now and again I take a break to stare at people passing or moments nearby, sitting still can be a great way to see a place, and also to see a place at it's best.

I got the 1 o clock train and told Phil via payphone that I was heading back early and it was then I saw that the train I was getting was going to Kobe so I said that I'd see Kobe and then head back as Phil would be in work til 5 anyhow. The Shinkansen as usual was amazing and I was in Kobe in no time but alas I was in Shin Kobe so I had to get a locker for my bag and then a subway into the city centre.

When I got into the city centre I tried to ring Phil and couldn't get through. I stupidly got a bit panicky and tried to find a tourist centre where a lady was able to tell me that the other lady down the line was saying Phil's phone was off, battery of course! I relaxed then, I sometimes get these panicky moments. I started to wander through Kobe and wow was I impressed. It had a great atmosphere and by god the glamour was breathtaking. All the girls were dressed up and the placed looked like a model casting. I walked up and down the streets just people watching and poking in and out of shops.

I wanted some coffee and ashamedly headed into Starbucks for a fix. I got a black coffee and sat for an hour in the warmth while it got darker outside. As I left all the staff said goodbye as usual, very nice people, Kobe people. I decided it was time to go back to Himeji and first Shin Kobe. I got there without any hassle then I went to the locker to get my bag, I opened it and it was empty. Oh Shite! I didn't freak out though because I knew that this was Japan and nobody steals in Japan. My bag had to be somewhere. The Info desk was closed as was the police desk. I went over to the ticket sales and after talking to 3 different people the manager came over and walked with me to my locker.

He had no English but through the language of charades I got my point across he then gestured for me to stay still and 15 mins later he came back with a fella who was smiling and beckoning me to follow him. I walked with him into a back room thinking what the hell is going on? am I in trouble? He led me to his office, I presume, and there was my bag untouched. I had no idea what he was trying to tell me so I just said thank you many times and bowed and left. What had just happened?

I missed the next train but in no time another had arrived and I was flying along towards Himeji. I opened my book and noticed that I had kept the cup heat protector from the Starbucks cup. It had written on it in black marker, "have a good night!", and a Japanese smiley face. Oh now that was nice!

again images are borrowed so contact me if you want them down, peace!

Day 5 Hiroshima

2009-10-27T10:45:00.007Z

This was the first day of my independent travel and I was slightly anxious because the last real time I travelled alone was the bike trip which was a great experience but very lonely at times. I had booked at a hostel called Hana hostel which Phil had actually stayed in while he was there, it helps a lot to know that you have a place to stay before you arrive at a place. Often when I was on my cycling trip I didn't book ahead and I hated showing up in cities and then searching for a bed.

So I got the Shink from Himeji at about 12pm and while I was waiting a Nozomi passed through the station and my god was it incredible. I was easily 10m or more away from it when it passed but I felt it was pulling me under, the power of the train was phenomenal and it was something so simple but so memorable. The Hikari only took an hour and a half to get to Hiroshima and when I arrived I threw my bags into a locker and started to amble.

There was a tram which could have brought me straight into town but I walked along streets which ran parallel to it and I knew roughly where I was going. In case you didn't know Hiroshima was bombed during the second world war with an A Bomb, the place was flattened. So the city I was seeing was a young city like Rotterdam but it had much more charm. The city was very walkable and I strolled around until I found the A Dome. I always thought that it was going to be bigger but I resolved to come back at night because it would resemble more the dome we see in the photographs. During the day the place is swarmed with tourists and it's difficult to appreciate.

I walked back to the station to get my bags and check into the hostel. I noticed that there was huge numbers of people around the hostel and all wearing red. When I was checking in I saw that there was a baseball game on and tickets would be available at the stadium and would be pretty cheap. I ran upstairs to the room and had a shower then met my room mates for the evening. They were a group of Dutch men who were travelling Japan trying to see as many shrines as possible and one fella was particularly worried about the typhoon that was supposed to hit tonight, I told him that it was just heavy rain and wind and not a hurricane. Phil had told me that the Japanese totally over hype typhoons and where as Ireland would do no preparation Japan goes crazy issuing reports/warnings/sandbags etc. I was glad I could read/listen to any news.

After leaving the hostel I strolled up to the Baseball Stadium which was HUGE, home to Hiroshima Carp and tonight they were playing the Tigers, which are Phil's local team. I bought a ticket without much hassle and started to look at all the merchandise. Everyone was wearing Carp kit and the stadiums shop was flooded with fans buying all sorts of crap. I saw the away teams stand and found an awesome Tigers jersey which was 50euro but well worth it. You will probably see me wearing it in future/future photos. I didn't wear the jersey at the game though because I was in the home section and I didn't know how they react to having a single Gaijin wearing a jersey, they'd probably just laugh but to me on the safe side I kept it in the bag.

I was, as usual, way too early for the game and I spent my time freezing in the stands. No one was sitting anywhere near me until some salarymen sat down next to me. The game started and so did the chanting, non stop chanting. It was so well organised and the supporters didn't seem to be taunting each other like one might see in England or down the road from me in Dalymount. I had no idea what was happening in the game, I couldn't tell who was winning and because the supporters kept cheering whenever anything happened I was stumped as to when something bad happened. The scoreboard didn't help either, it made no sense. The lads beside me after a few beers started to look and talk to me, nonsense really as they were getting steadily plastered.

I popped down to get some food at half time, I think? I managed to get an amazing burger and I watched the rest of the game from down there as the rain had started to fall and stupid Eric hadn't brought a rain jacket. Two people said hello to me though, a drunken tigers fan said hello and pointed to my jersey in the bag and said good good and then two girls said hello and ran off giggling. The match was over and still I didn't know who had won both sets of supporters seemed equally happy and the scoreboard was as confusing as binary. I walked home quickly in the drizzle(typhoonesque) and was happy to see the hostel which was warm and treated me to some Internet time.

I grabbed my jacket though and headed out to into the fierce typhoon drizzle walking into the city centre. I made it to the dome and at night it was deserted and was very moving. The city looked very pretty lit up at night and the walk back was fun as I found some covered streets full of shops and restaurants. Salarymen on their way home and a good few Gaijin heading out for a night on the town. I cannot think of any other country which could rebuild a city after an A Bomb but Japan did it and did it well. They had two options really, leave it like Auschwitz, untouched for tourists or rebuild it and I think they made the right choice. The demand for living space I am sure was a big factor but there is no point in leaving a ruined city just for tourists who are likely to visit anyway.

When I got back to the hostel I hung out with the very drunk Dutch lads who were talking nonsense but company was nice after a quiet evening. I headed to bed wrecked after a day of walking and baseball based confusion. again photos are borrowed so contact me if you want them taken down, thanks

Day 4 Himeji Castle

2009-10-26T10:38:00.006Z

I am just back from watching the Dublin marathon which passed by near my house. So many people and I even saw a friend who I did not expect to see. So day 4 began with a sad moment, my new BFF Andrew was leaving Japan, heading back to work in Korea. I was lucky though because I was not yet travelling alone as I had been invited to join a friend of Phil's in a visit to Himeji Castle. Phil's friend Keiko picked me up at around 10am which meant I had a lovely late start, she drove me into Himeji in her car which was the same design as I had previously described in another post, square front and back.

On the drive into Himeji I noticed something very funny, the workmen who were doing road repairs/improvements all wore hilarious uniforms. Imagine a seventies space movie and think about the extras on the space ships and what they might wear and you have the uniform of the council worker in Japan. Well I will try find a photo of an Irish council worker and a Japanese one and you will see why I found it so funny. The Irish Pride ad comes to mind.

It was a rainy day though, the first since coming to Japan, it was only really drizzle though and was quite refreshing. The view of the castle really is quite stunning and no matter what the time of day or variety of weather this is definitely the type of thing you think of when you think of japan. I saw the castle originally at night and it was lit up beautifully. The walk up to it was through a charming little park and the price of entry was only about 4 euro which is quite decent. You have to remove your shoes as you enter which means that you can appreciate the beauty of the wooden floors.

As you enter the castle there is a lovely smell. You walk and climb up through the levels of the castle and as you do you pass small displays of everything from scripts to samurai suits. Then when you reach the top there is a shrine and some beautiful views over Himeji which could be liked to Rio except the hills are a little smaller and the favelas are a lot more inhabitable ;)

There was also a suicide square where shamed soldiers would commit ritual suicide and apparently after they had done so their family ie their wife would have to stab herself in the throat or so I recall. After we finished with the castle we headed over to a restaurant for some lunch where Keiko's mother was meeting us, I had met her previously at the dinner on Sunday and the class the night before. I just realised that I forgot to talk about karaoke the night before with Phil and Andrew, well I'll keep that for another post.

The restaurant was another place where you had to cook your own dish. We had a flat hot plate on the table where we cooked a omelet type dish. It had an odd taste but I liked it and I know that if I ate more it would grow on me. I chatted away to Keiko and her mother about this and that. My speech always changes when I go abroad, I talk much slower and clearer while in Ireland I barely finish each word and all the words in a sentence will sometimes just converge, a wortence.

After lunch I was dropped off at the train station and I had a look for a book store. I found one easily and started to look for maps. I was not having any look so I asked a young lady who I guessed would have the best English, wrong be I but her friend went off and they both came back after 5 mins with the 3 exact maps I was looking for. I went through each one with them just to be sure and I asked about the mountains in each cause they were in Kanji. When I asked about Tsurgi Dake(?) they went ohhhhhh thinking I must be a serious mountaineer, of course I didn't ruin that thought.

At the counter I had to wait for a moment and while I waited a child in his father's arms turned to me and said HELLO. I was stunned but luckily enough I managed to say hello in Japanese which suitably spooked him. It's funny because Phil told me that many of the younger children think that he is Japanese and don't recognise his facial differences, I wonder what the average age is for realising such. I suppose it's when we realise that there is more outside of what our buggies can show us.

After map shopping I strolled back to the fook, with the assistance of a train of course, and then relaxed in Phil's apartment until he came back. We then went out for some snacks and then I started to plan tomorrows trip. Day 4 was a relaxed day but a very enjoyable one, jet lag wasn't killing me but it was wrecking me in the afternoons a bit.

Back in Real Time: I saw a great movie about Japan this evening but I don't want to talk about it here, send me an email if you want a link, ewahlrab@gmail.com

again photo is borrowed, contact me if you want it down

Day 3 Kyoto

2009-10-25T08:10:00.005Z

This post is going to take me ages to write and will probably be of poor quality because I was watching some amazing moto GP, will Rossi make it? I think he will. So anyway on Day 3 Phil had to go to work, it was a Monday and he left the house at 650, fair play. I had a plan to visit Kyoto and I was going with Andrew Farrell who was spending his last day in Japan. We left the house quite late at 9am, we had to navigate to the station which was not a straightforward walk. There are no street signs in Japan, they don't name roads only junctions.

We made it to the station though just in time for our train. We were getting the Shinkansen to Kyoto which meant about a 1hour 50min journey. When we got to Himeji we found out that Andrew had to pay twice the price for the train ticket, we thought it would be around 20euro but it was actually 37euro. This is where Japan is expensive, if you want to take the rails and you want to take the quick trains you have to pay big bucks. That is why if you are visiting Japan, get a Rail Pass! They are worth getting as long as you do one big trip like Osaka to Tokyo and back, after that all your shink trips and normal trips are free, sorta.

We were on the train to Kyoto and this was when I learnt some really really interesting things about betting in Ireland and some betting rumours. I wont repeat them here because that wouldn't be right, Rossi's the champ! So we were chatting away and I moved over to make space for a salaryman when we looked outside and realised oh SHITE we are in Kyoto. We legged it to the door but they wouldn't open we looked out to the official on the platform who saw our desperation and looked at us forlornly as the train pulled out of the station. We only had 5 hours in Kyoto to start with and now that would be cut to 4 as the next stop was 30mins away in Nagoya. When we got there we managed to hop onto a return train straight away. Lady luck was smiling.

We got to Kyoto and it took us a while to orientate ourselves and figure out which direction we were headed. We thought that Kyoto was a walking city, we were so wrong. We walked to the Palace but it was a helluva walk and it was humid as hell so I was a little sweaty and uncomfortable. The Palace park is beautiful and the outside of the palace is impressive but we couldn't go in because you have to book ahead by 24hours, bollox, efficiency, bureaucracy, contradiction again. We sat on a bench and watched a 70 year old do some step aerobics on the bench beside us, then he stretched out and did some sit ups. Can you imagine your grandad doing that?

We had a map of Kyoto and we decided to head to a "nearby" shrine, then a temple, we found neither. The map was truly awful, the scale was very misleading, sure it was only a tourist centre map. We eventually gave up and decided we should stroll back in the general direction of the station. This turned out to be the best decision of the day as we walked down small charming streets seeing beautiful buildings along the way. We also managed to stay away fairly well from the traffic. We had to find an Atm for Andrew so we spent the next while searching for a post office because if you ever visit Japan you'll soon realise that the banks don't accept foreign cards only citibank and the post offices, awkward but it didn't bother me too much as I brought a lot of cash over with me, something I would recommend others to do.

When we got to the station we were faced with a choice. If we got the Hikari Shink we'd be late home if we got the Nozomi we would be early. We weren't allowed on the Nozomi, my rail pass didn't cover it and Andrew's ticket didn't either. We needed to get home early as we were hoping to go with Phil to his adult English class, yeah that's what I thought. We decided to pull some Gaijin magic and jump on the Nozomi. Nobody checked our tickets and we were shitting it the whole way home, scared crazy every time a conductor came past. We celebrated like school girls when we got to Himeji and got onto the Bantan line back to Fukusaki. So exciting but so worth it, the Nozomi cut down the journey from 1 hour 50min to an hour. It truly is an amazing service but it is expensive or so I hear, cheeky......

We joined Phil at 7 and were soon off to his adult class. He was well prepared with quizzes and reading material. We had to give a little spiel about ourselves and as usual I over talked and spent way too much time talking about crap, although I think they liked it. Their English was excellent and we had fun talking about evolution and ghosts, they all believed. Myself and Andrew were a bit mischievous and were making things a little difficult for Phil, being contentious over words and questions. It was to be expected though. The class was a lot of fun and Phil mentioned that he really enjoyed teaching it. I am sure it is nice teaching kids but variety as they say is the spice and it's nice to have different challenges.

After the class we went for Chinese food and it was fantastic. I had hardly eaten all day and we chatted gayly as the night passed. Girl Chat ya know. So the day was over and it didn't go to plan most of the time but it was a good day because I have a way of judging days while away. If you remember that day and have a story to tell about it then it was a good day even if shit happened. So day 3 was fun but I will have to visit kyoto again and next time I will definitely rent a bicycle. Enjoy the bank holiday if you are in the west. again the photos are borrowed so contact me if you want them taken down, peace!!!!

Day 2 Beaten Let Jag

2009-10-23T15:35:00.005+01:00

I woke up at 9am on Sunday and i thought to myself huzzah I have beaten the jet lag. The sunshine outside gave me high hopes for the day ahead. Sunday was all about two events really, a gyoza making lesson and a dinner party in the evening. I missed very little of home while I was away but I did miss breakfast. Cereal in Japan is a rip off (like hungary) and the milk is a bit dodgy, if you know Irish people especially young men you'll know we are elitist about Irish milk and butter, so pastries were the only way to go. I got a croissant which had scrambled egg and a sausage on it, sounds awful but I lived off them for two weeks.

Gyoza are boiled pastries, like short fat spring rolls, which have everything from chicken to potato in them. The event we were going to today was organised by a Japanese lady who had enlisted several Chinese girls to teach us all how to make gyoza, they are a Chinese food. The event was actually for local kids and we were just tagging onto the event. Phil's friend Saki had invited us and her father was kind enough to give us a lift. He was a quiet man so I just sat in the back enjoying the smooth ride into the next town. The roads in Japan are perfect and I don't think I saw one pothole while I was there. The Cars that they drive though are weird, flat fronts and backs, it is rare to see western style cars. The whole country exports all its beautiful cars and keep the workhorses for the motherland.

When we got to the gyoza we found out that we were also helping out with the event. We stood at the registration desk greeting all the kids who came. We had to take the money in and give the kids name tags. I stood there with the typical Wahlrab awkward stupid smile as I had nothing to do but rip off the name tags for Phil who was showing off with his katakana (?) or HIragana (?) I am not sure which but he was able to write the names of all the children, very impressive stuff. Most of the kids were shy at first but this was obviously just a facade.

After all the kids had arrived we went into the kitchen. We were in a town hall type building which had a gallery, a kitchen, school rooms and god know what else. The kitchen was well equipped though and we were shown how to roll the doll and wrap up the gyoza. All the kids were so well behaved it was incredible, they listened so attentively and didn't chat to their friends or fiddle with the knives. Everyone was split into groups and the work started. Most of the children were shy and reserved and so was I. I watched how Phil started to interact with the children and when he started to talk to them they all started to talk back and then all of a sudden the questions started and the prodding. They were obsessed with my sunglasses and thought it was hilarious when they put them on.

The Gyoza were made and no one ate any until they had sat down and said a kind of grace like prayer. After the food the kids were much more playful and wanted their photo taken/to be chased/to be picked up. We had become the latest toy :) The insulin spikes caused by recent consumption had had the desired effect. It was quite odd to be able to play with young children without feeling like others are looking at you and thinking "peeeedooooo". In Ireland I avoid looking at kids for fear of parents shooting you dirty looks, except when I am working in the surgery cause at least then the parents trust you somewhat.

When the Gyoza party finished we were followed out and it took 15mins to say goodbye in total. We had to walk to get the bus home which we missed but we ended up lying down by the side of the road waiting. The sun was blaring and I was in heaven, I was wrecked tired but I was relaxed in the 26 degree heat with a light breeze. We actually ended up getting a lift from Saki's dad, top bloke, as my English cousins might say. When we got back to da fook I had enough time for a light siesta and then we were off to dinner with some friends of Phil and his adult class.

We had dinner in a Korean bbq where we had grills in our tables and they brought us meat to cook. I was not looking forward to cooking but thankfully a lovely Japanese girl named Hiroko (?) cooked for us pretty much all evening. Phil said that this usually happens, the women commander the grill, sure I would just fook it up anyway. I was talking away that evening, the big mouth on me. I talked a load of shite as usual about the economy in Ireland, my work, nutrition, sports, the Irish health service. It was a fantastic evening and I listened to others as well just in case you were wondering!

The food was delicious and it was a good idea that I didn't know exactly what I was eating, although I definitely ate some tentacles, I saw the suckers. There was a great atmosphere in the restaurant and it was a pity we couldn't fit everyone at the same table. I didn't get to talk to everyone either but I talked with most and hopefully if/when I return I will chat more with the others, sure tis a small world. After dinner we walked nice and slowly back to Phils where I tried to be polite and sleep on my thermarest because we were struggling with floor space. I should not have been polite. I had just bought the thermarest and it's one of the new neo airs, it pack down really small and light but it's short and really narrow. It was good practice though for tokyo, of tokyo, tokyo, tokyo. End of Day 2 and what a day it was! More photos to follow.

Day 1 Nippon

2009-10-22T08:40:00.004+01:00

The journey itself wasn't too bad, 12 hours was long but the flight was comfortable and I managed to snooze a little. When I arrived in Kansai International Airport though I was hoping to be greeted by some air conditioning but it was very stuffy thanks to the mid morning sun. As I was walking to passport control I had my first funny encounter with something typically Japanese. The sign for non Japanese passengers was "Foreigners" so un PC but a perfect welcome. It made me feel special ho ho ho.

I had no problem with customs and I was through with my baggage so quickly I had to wait for Mr Farrell for a few moments. I noticed immediately the efficiency of the Japanese when I looked at my feet and saw walkways marked out for the blind. When Phil arrived we had a man hug and a moment after which we started toward the trains. We got my rail pass and I was very impressed with Phil's Japanese.

On the train into Osaka we chatted away taking up four seats in the special needs reserved area. I mentioned this to Phil as the train started to fill up but he said that even if we moved our bags and shifted it was unlikely anyone would sit beside us cause we were foreigners and no one would dare give out to us about our obstruction. We moved the bags though through my insecurity/embarrassment and no one sat next to us for ages. I think that fact that I might have stunk multiplied the "Gaijin" factor.

When we got into Osaka the bags were dumped into a locker and I changed into a new t shirt, oh what a feeling, glorious! The first few things I noticed about Osaka was the people and the noise. So many people and when we went into a underground shopping/eating area there was shouts all around me. Phil took me for some Ramen and it was delicious. We sat at a low bar and shook with the passing of nearby trains. I started upon the journey of chopstick mastery and again we chatted about Japan, Home and other Random topics.

After Ramen we went for a quick stroll through the nearby neighbourhood. I was excited by everything, the colours, fashion, shoe shops and kanji. I hadn't really slept in almost 24 hours and yet I was buzzing with excitement. We wandered for a little longer and I soon noticed the high concentration of beauty everywhere I looked. There was so many beautiful women all dressed with great glamour, reminded me of a rich Romania with minor alternate facial structural differences, yes I am talking about the eyes, yeah i am a big racist ya ya ya etc.

The train back to Fukusaki (where Phil lives) allowed me to see the beauty in the landscape of Japan, there were these beautiful mountains in the distance. When we got to da fook we had to walk a good 30 mins which made me quite sweaty but it made the shower after it even more pleasant. Phil's apartment is quite small but it has character and AC so I was not complaining. We rested a while before heading out to go see a moon viewing festival in Himeji. We were late for the train and cycled like crazy with the two of us on one bike. We arrived at the station and had to sprint to make the train. We were both covered in a fresh layer of sweat. I then met Phil's friend Saki and his beau Kay, but I will talk more about them later.

In Himeji we met some friends of Phil and then headed to get some food. Banter ensued and I got called Rambo, YES!!, anyway after that I got into a groove, I was running on reserves but it was OK cause i was running. One of Phil's friends Kozue (?) found my choice in snack very funny and bought me a lovely post card which really reflected my diverse personality. We all then converged on Himeji castle which you can hopefully see above. There was traditional music and I met up with Phil's brother Andrew who was visiting for the weekend. The evening was incredible and I am finding it hard to write about it as I sit here looking out at the rain, sad as hell to be back in Ireland.

After the festival a few drinks were had and a pants amnesty followed that. I made a cigarette box and we failed to get the karaoke going. I made it back to the fook at around 1am. I took a sleeping tablet and crashed out after a fantastic first day.

I am going to try and go through this day by day which means that there might not be a ton of reflection in each post rather more recollection but I might write individual posts dealing with topics worthy of reflection. It's going to be difficult for me to write as I have so far found it hard being home after such a fantastic holiday.

PS I hope you enjoy typos as I am far too lazy to read through this again right now, maybe later;)
PPS photos will sometimes be taken from flickr so contact me if you want them taken down

Rebirth in the East

2009-10-02T06:56:00.003+01:00

I have not paid any attention to this in months and it annoys me that I failed to keep it going steady because I had plenty to talk about and no one to tell. I guess it took a certain something to motivate me to start blabbering on again.

That something is JAPAN!

I am in the airport with my ticket waiting to drop off my bag and I think this will be one of the best travel experiences I will ever have. I have thoroughly researched what I am going to do and how and if you want to hear stories about Philipu San, Mountains, Serious Crowds and delicious foods well check back here daily as I will attempt to keep a constant update on my travels. This started as a travel blog and by god it might end as one but maybe it will have the same effect elsewhere, either a finale or a rejuvenation, lets see....

I love you all

Ohayo gozaimas (?)

2/3

2009-01-24T12:05:00.002Z

So there are three great movies out in the cinema at the moment:

1. Slumdog Millionare
2. Milk
3. The Wrestler

I haven't seen the wrestler yet but I know it's going to be good and hopefully I'll see it tomorrow

I saw Milk last night, it was excellent, Interesting story, Great Acting from Penn and Brolin and I learned about a movement I knew very little about

Slumdog Millionare is brilliant, just so uplifting and shocking and endearing loads of mixed emotions but the end result is a brilliant movie, Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant etc.

Sore Knees

2009-01-24T11:18:00.002Z

When I was 16 I did a 5 week course in Kickboxing and I hated it! Now truth be told I probably didn't give it a whole lot of time/energy so according to the mantra you get outta what you put inna I shouldn't criticise KB too much. I didn't like the stand up aspect to it. It was also a huge class done in school and I knew everyone else in the class so there was that self created pressure from the actual presence of my peers, puberty and all that!

I have always wanted to try a martial art again though with the primary aim of finding or rather learning some self defense skills if I am put into a position where running is not an option, to run really is the best option these days don't be fooled into thinking otherwise. So finally after 6 years I decided to attend a Brazilian Jiu Jitsui class in KO Martial Arts just up the road from me. I liked there website and ever since I have started to watch UFC I have really gotten interested in the BJJ aspects.

The first class was free so I went up on Thursday and told no one I was going. I am only writing it here because I know very few people read this and those that do I don't mind knowing. So I arrived and knew no one but got talking to one or two lads who were also beginners. I was worried about the whole affair because I had no idea how the whole sport worked but once the class started I was thrown in the deep end, which is a good thing in my opinion, and soon I was "rolling". It was like fighting with my brother, rolling around not punching or kicking just trying to grapple and get the best position.

I am not going to describe everything we learnt because 1. I can't be arsed and 2. If you are really interested you can come to a class with me (no really come along to a class). So for an hour I was "rolling" and also learning a few basic rules and techniques. I was sweating like a mad thing and heaving trying to catch my breath towards the end but I was enjoying it and it really made me slow down and think. One experienced fella taught me a lot, he told me not to tense up and relax don't struggle, rather react and then try to adapt to your advantage.

I tried to "roll" with more experienced guys as they were more than willing to help me learn and punish me too at times. I was held in head locks, arm locks and felt the life crunched out of me. It was also a little homoerotic in that you were really very very close with the other person. Although once it begins you don't notice any homoerotic things and after a while you don't see the other person as a person rather as a moving challenge and you detach any personal feelings from the "roll".

The next day though my god was I in pain! My muscles in my torso and some wicked bruises which are still with me now are reminding me of the DOMS I get after restarting weights but then again I hope that these are also DOMS otherwise I'd be a bit worried. Anyway the classes are on once or twice a week so I am going to try and make 1 or maybe two classes a week but Rowing will obviously take preference. So yes that's all really...........

Apprehension

2009-01-02T20:17:00.004Z

It's been nearly 3 years since I went skiing and tomorrow I am off to St. Anton with my brother, mother and father. For a week we shall be facing very negative wind chills and I hope some fresh/moderately fresh snow.

St. Anton is an amazing resort; so many runs & such good infrastructure. I am a little apprehensive about going with the whole family, my mum hasn't been skiing before and she doesn't plan to ski at all. I know she doesn't really read this anymore so I can safely say that I hope she doesn't dislike it and then take it out on the rest of us.

Maybe I am a little too old for a family holiday or maybe I'm too much of a crank for one. I am apprehensive as I write this because I am always apprehensive before I go on holidays or trips. Ever since I did that cycle home, the big one, I have become apprehensive about travel, scared of travel alone and freaked out by exploring. I must have some sort of fucked up issue that my sub-conscious is not going to let me forget, I'll have to deal with it somehow because talking hasn't helped, maybe I need to just start a big stupid unprepared trip in order to get over it, like Jesus into the desert sort of dealie.

Anyway I'll write a report next weekend and hopefully have a few photo's. I spent my Christmas money on a ipod touch, the 32GB model, amazon.co.uk have a great price for them, I can't wait.

Dear God of Snow

Please sir provide me with just the right amount of snow, and if you can limit my dad to just 2/3 cringy jokes a day I would be very grateful,

yours faithfully

Eric

PS did anyone see that last top gear, the Vietnam special, what a show.

New Years Resolutions

2009-01-01T15:14:00.003Z

Hello everyone, I know I have been away for a while but I am sure you have all dealt with that and moved on, but hey who doesn't like checking up on an old flame. I would like to say that I have had a good reason for not writing for so long but really it has just been a result of me being lazy.

In the past few months I have been plodding along at my course and in february I will be a qualified studio/gym instructor and a personal trainer. I can now teach step aerobics, normal aerobics, boxercise, spinning, body conditioning and I have written up a few programmes. I would say rather confidently that I am one of the best in the class but that means nothing unless a get a bit of experience.

In terms of my own health and fitness I have been rowing 5 days a week and I nearly had a bit of a burnout in relation to it but I managed to survive it and hopefully I will be in an 8 man boat for the national champs in July. I have also been doing a serious amount of strength training and my basic stats have been improved hugely, again the trumpet I know.

So now my aims:

1. Last year I said I'd do a Triathlon well this year I will actually do one, I have plans to enter one in northern Ireland near the mourne mountains. I have started swimming and my 10k has gone sub 50mins which is good for someone my size.

2. Learn how to Squat properly, starting strength style.

3. Deadlift 150kgs, currently just on 100 but I could probably do one rep of 120

4. Pass my course, with flying colours, and get a fucking job.

5. Visit Japan to see Phil before he leaves.

6. Get another Tattoo.

tbc..........

it's always nice....

2008-10-27T17:17:00.002Z

....... to have a challenge, I am going to try these two out this week, if anyone wants to join me?

hundred push ups
twenty pull ups

"a REAL celebrity"

2008-10-23T17:09:00.002+01:00

Back in 1997 there was a young lady named Audrey who decided to go forth in search of greatness, she knew only one path to follow, the path of the gladiator. Yes young Audrey signed up to complete in the legendary 90's (and now revived) show Gladiators! She battled her way through the competition to become the 1997 womens champion. Young Audrey had etched her name into the annals of greatness.

Now 11 years later young Peter Eric Wahlrab is being educated by that great champion in the art of health and fitness. The world never ceases to give us the opportunity of reminding us how small it really is.

Crazy Stuff eh???

The Joys of a Moped

2008-09-16T13:12:00.002+01:00

I have been driving my brothers moped around for the last day or two and I just have to write about how much fun moped are. He has a Honda X8RS which is 5 years old. We checked out online reviews of the bike before he bought it and they were all very positive. I had never before driven a moped or a motorcycle until this Honda. Here is why I think Mopeds are great:

1. The insurance and tax is so fucking cheap, if you get third party insurance, tax is only 40 euros and insurance for both of us for a year on provisional liscences was only 400euros. For any male who is under 25 and hasn't ever driven this sir is very cheap.

2. To fill a tank, which will last 4/5 days costs only €5.40, did you read that correctly? yes you did 5 euros 40 cents!

3. Off the mark it is lightning fast. If I am stopped at the front of the lights I can zoom off and get to 50k(general city speed limit) an hour so quickly, which means that I can get well ahead of any traffic behind me.

4. Mopeds/Scooters are so easy to drive. You have your throttle, front and back breaks, indicators, lights and horn. That's it! The joy of no gears is something else.

5. The feeling of driving a Moped: the rush of air on your legs and neck and the exposure to the elements is something which right now i am relishing but i know come a few month I will feel different about.

So yes mopeds are great but don't worry I still love cycling more and will be cycling up and down to DCU all this semester for the FI course, I am putting together the pinarello which I had in Budapest you can see her in her previous glory below:

Rowing

2008-09-12T16:54:00.002+01:00

How's the rowing going Eric?

Well Re-Ac (the name of this here blog) it started brilliantly and I thought that I was picking it up quite well but........ the last two sessions have been tough. I have struggled to get a good stroke. The 2nd last time I had trouble because I was in the stern(front) and I had to set the rhythm for everyone. I thought that I would be ok and I planned to just do the strokes slowly but consistently. I did just that; slow and consistent. Unfortunately the people behind did not keep in line with my strokes and a few oars clashed making a noise I really despise, clank clank clank.

The last night there was perfect condition and I thought I was rowing well but the guy in front of me (sean) is the most un-coordinated fella there can be. So I had to follow his rhythm and the problem wasn't with his rhythm but his style of stroke, he didn't elongate his stroke enough, in my opinion, so when I was finished my stroke he was half way through his second. Now I could shorted my stroke but then I wouldn't be doing it right. A dilemmma I know!

So in conclusion I enjoy rowing but I'm getting a little fed up because it's such a mixed group and mixed ability, if they organised it so that crews would be of similar ability we might all learn a little quicker, but I think I will keep my mouth shut cause I am not going to be some wise ass punk, only will I be so on this particular medium.

But yeah I am enjoying it I just wonder what will happen after the intro programme ends, how do crews meet one another, how do people fall into certain groups like scullers or oarsmens etc.

hmmm time will tell

PS I saw step brothers and pineapple express, both are very funny but I wouldn't advise anyone to go if the don't like farrell/apatow type movies
PPS I know there was a lot of Innuendo in this post, try not to go over the top with it.

One more step along the road we go.....

2008-09-08T22:23:00.002+01:00

Agenda:
1. Bohs 3 - 0 St. Pats
2. Mellberg, what a legend!

BOHS took a huge leap towards securing the title this evening as they played St Pats off the park. It was 0-0 going in at half time but Bohs were clearly the better team and Pats failed to create any real opportunities. Just before the half Killian Brennan failed to convert a penalty and I forgot to mention Pats were 1 man down after a nasty challenge by some Inchicore scumbag, ha ha joking.

I wasn't panicking I knew Bohs were going to score but I didn't expect such an amazing goal, a screamer from Rossi from outside the box to the right straight into the top left hand corner, amazing. Then a perfect cross to the chest of Crowe saw the ginger pull it down and slot home safely. The third goal was just a tap in, it was all so easy. The jodi stand was rocking and the atmosphere was electric. As I left the grounds I heard an old fella say, "I've been coming here for 40 years and that's the best f**king Bohs team I have ever seen".

Now Mellberg, well Mellberg is a legend because he recently left Aston Villa after 7 years, and at villa's last away game he bought a jersey for all the villa fans who had travelled to the game, 6,000 Jerseys!

Ps The Duchess is pretty good but not amazing.

3

2008-09-05T16:26:00.002+01:00

1. I have found a place to live this year. I am living with my brother in stoneybatter. No.2 Finn St beside Halliday Square and Oxmanstown road, call in if you are in the area! It's a nice enough place with plenty of space on the couch for anyone who needs a place to crash. I hope to start couchsurfing again and let people stay. It's a deadly location because it is so close to everything, close to town, the cinema, the park, the rowing club*, a few friends nearby and close enough for me to cycle up to DCU to do this fitness instructing course.

2. I have started Rowing, well at least for the nest 4 weeks, I always meant to try it in school and regretted being too shy to sign up. Neptune rowing club have this 4 week introductory course which I am enrolled in, so far i have been down for two nights and I have been having a great time. It is very tricky and right now I am just trying to get the technique right. I have noticed one thing though and that is that the river is beautiful and it is so tranquil rowing up and down along the memorial park, seeing people out undertaking a stroll, anyway I shall be talking about that more later.

3. Ivan got a moped, a Honda X8RS 50cc, it's 5 years old and has 5k on the clock but it runs lovely and is so quick off the mark, he got it for the commute to UCD and i have been put on the insurance. Driving a moped is so fucking easy, as long as you don't realise that fact! I think people die on them in Asia so often for a number of reasons 1. getting too cocky too quickly 2. going too fast in unknown territory 3. not wearing a helmet. I must say though driving it is exhilarating and I really want to move onto a proper motorbike sometime in the future. Must get my car license first though.

Anyway that is all my news for the moment, I am looking forward to seeing some events in the fringe fest in Dublin starting next week, then there is a short season of documentaries in the IFI then there's a theatre festival and then DEAF (Dublin electronic arts festival). I used to complain that nothing happens in Dublin but there's plenty it just has to be found. Bohs play pats on Monday, big big game, if they beat pats I would imagine a title inevitable, anyone want to join me at the game? Monday at 7ish

Ps Standard Operating Procedure and Troop de Elite are must sees in the IFI seriously! MUST SEES but not if you are squeamish and unrealistic about the world, Stop Rave

Blu

2008-08-21T20:47:00.002+01:00

This video is simply fantastic! I recommend watching it with audio and visit Blu's website.

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Also check out Visual Streak on the right and here.

AD MAD

2008-08-15T21:20:00.002+01:00

This is my favourite ad at the moment without a doubt, whenever it comes on I just feel like dancing and letting loose, love it........

and the full song

570

2008-08-15T20:14:00.003+01:00

Fair Fucks to my brother Ivan who got 570 in his leaving cert. It looks like he'll be going to UCD in order to continue his search for the ultimate snobby demeanour, ha ha only joking, here's a pic for the ladies

Sexiest (Future) Engineer of the Louth/Meath Area 2013

More War

2008-08-08T23:31:00.002+01:00

So another War broke out today, I hope the Irish journo Dan McLaughlin has got himself out of there ok, he was reporting from there just a few days ago. I would imagine this war will be messy, of course the Olympics shall distract attention from it just like the quakes in china did to the crisis in Burma.

I realise the last two posts have been very preachy but don't worry I won't become one of those people, unless I already am? Oh Lord. Rovers v Sunderland tomorrow with Damien.

Fucking Smart Arses

2008-08-08T16:23:00.003+01:00

So the American flag holder today was a Sudanese Refugee or so I understand, maybe the Chinese should ask these guys to lead them out

more info

Here's the Plan

2008-08-08T09:55:00.000+01:00

So I am going to do a Fitness Instructing course which will qualify me as a Gym Instructor, Personal Trainer and Studio Instructor. It's an ITEC qualification which means it's widely recognised. I don't want to be a gym instructor for the rest of my life and I don't see it as a career but I want to have a skill which I can fall back on and I think I will be good at it and I am very interested in heath and fitness. Its a 3 day a week course, Mon to Wed 11am to 4am.

The course is held in DCU and I'll get access to the Gym there the whole time. I should be qualified by February. I can alos get a part time job and earn some money. It will be a great addition to my CV. Don't worry I am not trying to convince myself through this as I have already as good as booked the place but here's my plan for the next year or so:

1. Qualify as a Fitness Instructor
2. Work Part Time and earn a bit of cash
3. Travel to Japan in April for two weeks:
a) visit phil and see the country
b) maybe get a tattoo over there
4. Look into MA courses for 2009-2010
5. Look into H Dip. also
6. Maybe do a Celta Course

They are my educational aims, I might do my MA abroad, if I could, maybe Prague or Sweden. I want to try and start doing TKD with Dan in DCU, maybe another cycling trip (Ragbrai or a cycle tour around bosnia. So a conclusion about this is that I will need to earn money for the Japan trip, for a possible tattoo, for the next year's MA and for a Celta Course.

I have no idea what I am going to do with my life but here's one small step in a good direction. All I know is that I want to live abroad again at some stage and play professional football.

Bohs 2 : 1 Rovers

2008-08-08T08:08:00.003+01:00

This fixture was supposed to be played in June and I was very annoyed that I was going to miss it because I would be away in Romania. The inter toto gave me a break though as it caused this fixture to be postponed. It was played the other night and wow what a game!

Bohs came out flying and the one touch give it and go game they had been working on all season was starting to final click. JP Kelly who was quiet for most of the game, but showed a few bursts of action, broke through the centre but was taken down outside the box. Brennan slotted it home and the crowd went crazy, a very similar goal to the one he scored in Drogheda.

Bohs were confident now and Rovers were slipping up all over the place, a second goal was inevitable and Rossi slotted a beauty of a shot into the right hand corner. 2 nil up and this derby was looking over. I was hoping a third would come before half time but I wasn't in luck.

The second half started off well for Bohs and they were finding themselves in good shooting positions but each shot was blasted over or shanked wide. I and my compadro damo were itching for a third goal to finish off the contest but it was rover who got that goal and a shite one it was. A crap header which Murphy spilled and the ball dribbled over the line.

Bohs hung onto their lead and there was a few sighs of relief which turned into joy in the realisation that a win is a win. Bohs are suffering from a fair few injuries and they put on a fine performance under such circumstances. A clear lead on the top with a game in hand is a great position to be in.

The only bad thing about the match was the fight afterward between a bunch of youths who divided themselves along the lines of either football club, pure scum who will grow up to plague our society, fucking Elijah wood! The police presence was very intense with dogs, paddy wagons and mounted police on horses and I heard a few horror stories on Joe Duffy yesterday but ya know it's Joe Duffy and...... etc. First Derby: Excellent! The only other games that might live up to it are Pats and Cork, I hope they will.

TdF

2008-08-07T14:49:00.001+01:00

Some amazing photos of a great TdF, won by a deserved team, go on CSC or whatever it will be next year cause CSC are pulling their sponsorship, Riis's reasons

PHOTOS........

NOT RIP

2008-07-16T15:15:00.002+01:00

I am not dead and neither is this blog. I apologise for the lack of posting but I have fallen under stressful times. I came back from holidays and realised that I had to make some big decisions, i.e. what to do for the next year of my life, so far I have looked for jobs as a bike courier but there have been no opportunities, I have also applied to be an eco cab driver and I have dropped in CV's into loads of other places. I am wondering whether I should do a fitness instructor course or a TEFL course then run away to Sarajevo to teach English and hid in the war scarred mountains. I will catch you all up fully on what has been happening but you will have to wait a day or two because I am limited with my Internet access but don't worry I still love you guys and hope I can regain your readership.

Eric Out (and about)

Cluj & Buda

2008-06-23T20:52:00.003+01:00

I felt joy rising from my stomach, my legs felt light and naturally bouncy, I was back in the city I loved so much, Budapest. I was scared of returning because i didn't know how i felt but as soon as i got back into the city centre i felt at home and i welcomed the late evening heat, running up to finney's apartment to hug my travel compatriot phil.

We went to an old haunt stex where i got my usual, the transylvanian platter, 4 types of meat, oh yeah baby! We spent the next day hanging around Budapest organizing our trip to Transylvania. We decided on Cluj as our first stop and I am writing this from a hostel there, the retro hostel. I met up with some friends and then philip and I went to Momoto Ramen where I enjoyed my favourite chinese food, if you're ever in Buda with me I shall take ya.

We left on Friday and got the 13.15 train direct to Cluj. We bought some oranges which turned out to be grapefruit and 6 2lr bottles of water, we ate 1 and drank two respectively. The train was hot but not as bad as last summer on our way to Sarajevo, we were getting bored when suddenly the train was stopped, after a while we heard there was an accident, and later we discovered it was a suicide, a guy had dived in front of the train. We managed to find two other native English speakers who were from californi A, January and Brooke, both were really cool and we hung out in the canteen carriage playing kings and talking shite, it helped past the time.

There were no problems at the border and soon we were passing through the most beautiful countryside I have seen since Bosnia last year. Beautiful forests draped over high hills with small villages scattered along the railway track, a gorgeous river accompanied the track for a period.

We didn't get into Cluj until 11.30 or so but we had a hostel booked and when we arrived we got to see the end of the turkey game. Phil woke me this morning with a 7.30 rising and we were out the door at about 8, I could tell it was going to be a scorcher of a day. We wandered about the city center hitting a few museums and sights but we knew it wasn't going to be long before we ran out of cultural activities. No worries though because we invented a game of Caca Milis, which shall be explained at a later date.

I am a sweaty mess and I really hope I adapt to this heat before I start crying over my own stench. We are off to Bucharest tomorrow night where we shall sample some of Ceausescu brilliance of lack thereof.

Philip's highlights so far:

1.that waitress in the cafe. all else is but futile moments in her shadow. truly she was a goddess

London: Day 1

2008-06-05T10:42:00.003+01:00

Last week I was in London and it was only the second time I have ever been, last time I was there I was 13 and went with my brother, gran and mam. This time I was visiting a friend from erasmus Katie Bates. I hadn't seen her in over a year and she was too lazy to come over to dublin, typical brits eh? ha ha only joking but yeah I went over last sunday the day after my last exam and it was an early morning flight with Ryan Air to Gatwick. Thankfully I got an emergency seat and I was sitting next to a gentleman who looked as though he belonged in the scenes of lock stock. The flight was perfectly on time and arrived early, how do RyanAir manage to always be early?

When I landed in Gatwick there was no security and I didn't have to wait for any baggage, so I just walked straight into the station where I got a ticket and jumped onto the train straight away, everything was flowing, one of those days. I arrived at tower/london bridge and jumped onto a tube heading to angel. 15 mins later I was saying hello to my long lost friend katherine who's hair was a good 2 meters shorter. I was worried that things might be weird/awkward for a while cause we hadn't talked that much and hadn't seen each other in over a year but it was grand, it was like the old days back in Buda.

We walked to her house in Islington, I love saying Islington, Islington. The place was exactly as I imagined, cool, it was a beautiful gaff. Huge sitting room and dining room and all the bedrooms were in the basement which was awesome cause I love basements, it's so fucking stupid that most houses in Ireland don't have basements. We hung out for a while and then walked into the city centre or rather one of the city centres. We saw the Tate modern and the Haywood (?) which had a display of posters from the student revolution in France in '68. Then we got some ramen after walking around Soho, then we went to see Joy Divion (the movie) in the price charles which was an awesome cinema. Rather than the seat sloping downwards toward the screen they sloped upwards, weird feeling but nice!

I struggled to stay awake during the film cause I was so so tired, I love the cinema though and afterward we got the bus back to her house, I was so thankful for being back in the house cause I was tired and overwhelmed. I never realised how big London is, how many people there are and how noisy and crowded it is. I was actually scared of the place, it was intimidating, I was happy to be back in the house hiding away from the scary city of 12 million or whatever it is, the fact is that london has more than twice as many people as there are living in the whole of Ireland now that is a scary fact.

When we got home we relaxed for a while before spending like 3 hours baking for the party the next day. We made Banana Bread, Brownies, Flapjacks, Cheesecake, Carrotcake, Buns and Jelly. A lot of baking, it all tasted great! I collapsed on the sofa bed, I was fucking wrecked, Day 1 very good.

Missing Everything

2008-06-05T10:32:00.002+01:00

I am missing a lot of things while I am away, so many events are taking place between june 18th and July 9th, here's some of them:

Shamrock Rovers vs Bohemians at Dalymount Park.
The One Man Play of Tom Crean in the Gaiety.
Spencer Tunick.

Could my readers try and attend at least one of these events, especially the spncer tunick one, I am really annoyed that I am going to miss it. Really Really annoyed.

Forceful Taste Requirement

2008-05-19T17:28:00.003+01:00

I have started a music blog ---->

it won't contain many reviews, if any, rather if you are bored and want to listen to something different and what I am listening to because that would automatically make you cool! So yes check check check czech it out! ha ha.

My Brother the original

2008-05-18T12:20:00.004+01:00

Well Done Ivan on finishing school, well sorta.

The Billion Dollar Don

2008-05-18T12:14:00.001+01:00

Priests Privately Advertise?

2008-05-13T16:56:00.001+01:00

The Bishop.

They kick ya while your down

2008-05-13T16:43:00.002+01:00

Cyclone in Burma, earthquake in China how will the media split it's coverage? Good god one natural disaster after another, I am so very lucky to live in a country which somehow manages to avoid any sort of natural catastrophy. Although I hear that we'll be drowned by the rising tide of global warming within 100 years.

Eine kleine Pause

2008-05-13T12:56:00.002+01:00

There MAY be a break in posting for a week or two as I have entered my exam period, I hope that I can squeeze out a post here and there but I may just be too busy, I love you all though, except for damien, so hooray for exams, I wonder who invented exams? Bastard

Art Moshing with the beautiful

2008-05-10T09:38:00.000+01:00

Whenever I say Art Mosh I keep thinking of that band Art Brut who used to run around amongst the audience during their gigs because they have so few songs and I guess they depended upon that sort of behaviour to make up for their lack of talent, harsh? Maybe but it's true. Last night I did something artsy I went to a cool, hip, in your face, modern but yet post modern art show. I only went to really see the work of one guy and that was Maser who's blog is linked on the right ---------->

The tickets were free, I just had to ask for them via email and then collect them the day before. I got a plus one so I brought a fellow art lover ;) The show was on in some old terraced house off St.Stephen's Green, it's was a beautiful house which is obviously used for events like this. The show was from 7pm til 11pm. Me being me I made sure we arrived at 6.50 and from previous experience I knew that it'd be a bad idea to go in early, so we chilled in the park until 7.30ish.

We got in and the place was starting to fill up. There were waitresses walking around handing out free Heineken, free wine and champagne. Yet despite all the free booze they had no fucking non alcoholic drinks, fucking typical! Did they not account for people who might have been driving home, should they go drink water from the tap in the bathroom, I am actually not that bothered, I am used to these sort of things by now. I remember I once went to a rowing meet/race and it was in Passau in Germany and they had free drinks and free food for everyone. There was beer galore but also a variety of soft drinks, oh my I love Germany.

The art itself well there was an upstairs and a downstairs. Downstairs there was nothing that nice or even appealing apart from 3 pieces. Upstairs there was a DJ who was playing some sort of hip hop version of radiohead although Rory said it might have been dub when he heard me mention it, he's probably right. So yeah the art upstairs was amazing, some of Maser's pieces were beautiful and there was other cartoon or rather graphic novel type pieces which we very nice. They were all for sale and were expensive, if I were rich I would have bought a few pieces.

So some of the art was cool, very cool rather, some was shite. The venue was nice and the DJ was good yet the big thing I didn't like was the people. There was an arrogance emanating from certain parts of the crowd, a holier than thou kind of affair. A lot of people seemed to be too cool for school. I could go on with the cliches but I won't I'll sum it up as follows cause you're bored by now I am sure:

1/2 good art
1/2 shit pretentious art
Free booze but no free soft drinks
3/4 stuck up crowd of snobs
1/4 seemed decent laid back nice folk
100% cool music
97% cool venue

lets just say the event got a b1 or rather a 79.78%

yeah that's everything, i think?

Burma Bullshit

2008-05-09T15:30:00.004+01:00

I hate when these sort things happen.

Ireland and the Aspiring Irish

2008-05-08T12:48:00.003+01:00

I have just finished reading an excellent academic journal about Ireland and Migration, it is very interesting and easy to read and it's not just about migrancy rather it about Ireland and it's relationship to the rest of the world. Send me an email or leave a comment and I'll send you the article. ewahlrab@gmail.com

Footballers don't deserve what they earn

2008-05-08T09:36:00.002+01:00

I am after reading an article about Flamini and how he turned down £55,000 (sterling!) a week from Arsenal so he can go off to Milan to earn more. Did you know a lot of players earn over £100,000 a week? It is fucking ridiculous and I know this has been discussed before on numerous occasions by countless numbers of people but seriously they do not deserve to earn that sort of money. What a doctor might earn in a year Christiano Ronaldo earns in a week.

Now CR does not do anything important, fuck off to all those who say he has to perform blah blah, hopes and dreams, inspirations etc. Doctors work fucking hard and there are other who work just as hard and don't receive as much, Nurses! A player in the English first division earns more than a nurse in a year, that's a fucking disgrace! Fireman earn pittance and yet risk their lives for others, John O;Shea sits on a bench and equals their pay.

I am sick and tired of hearing about these huge wages. Footballers don't deserve them. Now I know it's capitalism and free market and fair business and all that so legally they are doing nothing wrong but shite that does not mean they deserve the huge sums of money they get paid.

FInally Ireland is Bertie Ahern-less

2008-05-07T10:56:00.003+01:00

Today is the first day without Bertie Ahern and you know what nothing is different. I woke up with the sun in my face, had a shower, ate breakfast, watched Fraiser, cycled to college and now I am writing this post. Nothing will change with Brian Cowen or rather nothing that we will notice wink wink! Bertie had his moments and he should be applauded for his role in the formation of the good Friday agreement.

Ireland is rich now and there are job opportunities, we have a more diverse society and we are a little more open minded BUT bertie cannot lay claim to any of these "achievements" and I say that in "" because even though we do have so many advantages now we also have so many problems. Now I am not saying I want to go back to the Ireland of the 70's or 80's, no I am just saying that Bertie and his governments have failed in a lot of areas. Fianna Fail may have helped Ireland to get richer but their administration of our development has been awful.

This country has terrible problems with: alcohol, drugs, crime, homelessness, poverty, corruption(!), shite infrastructure, messed up planning, shockingly bad health service (HSE), House prices etc etc. Ireland seems nice but really it's a mess. We have so many deaths on roads, gang crime, anti-social behaviour. What we need is a German! or a Scandinavian Dictator. Obviously without the massacres and loss of freedom which usually accompanies dictatorships.

I am not sure whether we can really or rather can I really just blame Bertie, no I can't, i have to blame Irish people in general and also human nature, sure the people elected him. this post was supposed to be about saying fuck off bertie but thanks for the odd thing but now it's a rant about Ireland, I have issues of course i do but don't we all? I would guess that this rant was inspired by my exam stress or pressure whatever at the moment mixed up with the fear of entering the workplace proper.

Well here's a final note to Bertie:

Dear Mr. Ahern

Thank you for putting in a lot of effort into your job the past decade or so. I would like to hope you did your best. You broke a few rules along the way, took a few dodgy deals but I guess you're human and made a few mistakes. Ireland is doing ok as a country and I guess you should be proud that a lot of change took place under your stewardship BUT there is still plenty left to fix and I think that you are unable to provide the necessary remedies. You should get more involved in the EU and I hope some day to see you as President of the EU. Your best skills lie in mediation, best illustrated by the GFA.

Ireland needs to change more and as I said you're not the man for the job but I am afraid BC might not be either but who am I to say all this? well I am just average joe blogs who sees things the way he is taught to see them. Enjoy your bench at the back and maybe sort out those potholes down in Drumcondra, God Bless!

Yours faithfully,

PW

Just say yes

2008-05-06T11:36:00.002+01:00

So the vote on the Lisbon Treaty is coming up and as an Irish man I am privileged to have a vote over the direction of the whole of Europe. Finally Ireland is in the driving seat, not! We are the only country having a referendum over the Lisbon Treaty, why? Well it's because our politicians have no balls. People will talk about various other reasons for having a referendum but really it's because our politicians are cowards.

What a waste of money it is to have a referendum. I say this because it doesn't matter how we vote, the decision has already been made. I mean this in no conspiracy theory sort of manner rather because of the conditions under which we live and rule our society there will be only one option regarding Lisbon and that is a yes vote. Ireland does not have the power to return a no vote and stick by it unless we leave the EU, which WILL NOT HAPPEN!

Our country is part of the EU and there's no going back, we have made a decision to enter and we're there til the end. What this means is that we have another "NICE Treaty" situation about to unravel. Here's what's going to happen:

1. If Ireland Vote NO: there will be another referendum and another and another and another until finally a yes vote appears
2. If Ireland Votes Yes: we'll just go about our daily lives as usual and notice nothing different on an individual level.

So what this means is that we should vote yes, not because we do or don't believe in this or that but because it's inevitable that a Yes vote will eventually be returned. So vote Yes and stop the government from having to spend more money on more referenda (?). It could be better spent on that new government jet that the fat politicians like to have delusions of grandeur aboard.

hopefully I have covered everything.

Ya Big Bollox!

2008-05-06T09:15:00.003+01:00

I am not going to write a big long post about loyalty and whether it is expected these days, rather I just wanted to say good riddance to flamini who has decided to leave Arsenal. Arsene Wenger has stuck by him and this year he got his big break, he was amazing this year. Then as soon as he shines he leaves. He is off to AC Milan on a free transfer which always irks me. Although I should have expected it from him, he left Marseilles in the exact same manner. He's all about the money and I say that because he can't be leaving for better football because Milan are shite and Arsenal play the best football in the world. They may not win enough but they play the most attractive and skillful football anyone could find. I am excited to see who replaces him and I hope that wenger does bring in someone new, Cesc needs someone beside him so he can perform, to be honest I'd be much more upset if Cesc left, can you believe he's only 21! OH Flamini I hope you know there is the Arsenal player curse, good luck shaking that off, enjoy the joker Burlesconi's plaything!

more youtube for you!

2008-05-05T18:44:00.001+01:00

Tevez reacts to his move to Man United

2008-05-04T11:50:00.001+01:00

thank you damien for a wonderful find!

SHOCKtherapy!

2008-05-04T09:33:00.002+01:00

Thank you France

Only 30!

2008-05-02T14:28:00.000+01:00

Gagauz

2008-05-01T15:14:00.004+01:00

You all might have heard about my proposed trip to Transdnistria this summer well I was just talking to a professor here in DCU who had been there and he mentioned another separatist state in Moldova, Gagauz, they're turks but they're not if you get my drift. Wikipedia it and you shall find your slightly biased answer. There flag is the image above, isn't it such a cool flag!

More Bad News for Eric

2008-04-30T13:23:00.000+01:00

Always believe what the Sun says! It's good for you.

A Real Man

2008-04-28T10:59:00.002+01:00

Ranulph Fiennes, I would like to highlight this particular section:

"In 2000, he attempted to walk solo and unsupported to the North Pole. The expedition failed when his sleds fell through weak ice and Fiennes was forced to pull them out by hand. He sustained severe frostbite to the tips of all the fingers on his left hand, forcing him to abandon the attempt. On returning home, his surgeon insisted the necrotic fingertips be retained for several months (to allow regrowth of the remaining healthy tissue) before amputation. Impatient at the pain the dying fingertips caused, Fiennes removed them himself (in his garden shed) with a fretsaw."

Music Updatum

2008-04-26T14:21:00.003+01:00

I have been listening to this song a lot recently, it makes me feel as though I could run up to a rhino and kick him in the balls and manage to get away with it!

I have also been looking for this song for ages:

youtube really is great

Bohs 0:0 Derry

2008-04-26T12:01:00.002+01:00

Well this report shall not be long as I don't remember a lot of the game. It was very ordinary and I think this was down to the fact that both teams seemed to play a very similar game at a very similar standard. Derry are poor away from home or rather were poor while Bohs are poor at home. They just seemed to cancel each other out. Bohs had a few chances but failed to get anything on target with troubled the keeper.

The Jodi stand was packed but I thought there'd be more people there. The atmosphere was pretty good but overall it was quite a frustrating game. This report will give you a more detailed view into how the match went, sorry for passing the buck. I don't think Bohs will win the league, I know it's too early to say such a thing but if they want to be league winners they need to be winning these sort of games, Pats are. Ladies and Gents enjoy your weekend, I shall be watching some American Football tomorrow as my good pal Damo tries to get a scout from the NFL to recognise his potential, well he'll have to fix those shoulders.

Post-Modern Futuristic Heartbeats of a Broken Blood Pump

2008-04-25T11:31:00.002+01:00

Have you ever walked into a ultra cool and hip cafe or bar and heard this really relaxed music in the background. Music that you can ignore easily while chatting to friends yet feel as though it compliments what you are saying. Making your words sound as though they are more complex than ever before. The music makes you feel cool and hip because you are in it's presence. This has only happened to me on a number of occasions but last week I was staring hopelessly at my computer screen when I noticed a link in the signature of a friends Gmail Chat Profile, Tamas Gerocs, could my Hungarian readers please excuse the lack of dashes, Vladislav Delay.

I clicked on the link and downloaded a few songs which he had made available on his website. I was instantly transported back to a retro cafe in Budapest called szoda where I felt like a total bohemian. I am listening to his myspace right now and I am just wishing I could lie down on some warm grass under the sun with a light breeze occasionally providing some refreshment while his song about polysexuals reverberates through my bose headphones. Enjoy!

always with the fucking e

2008-04-22T14:14:00.002+01:00

Every time I write with, on paper not on the computer, i put an e at the end so i write "withe". I try not to do this but it keeps happening again and again. Is this a form of dyslexia, can anyone tell me what this might be? If you can I'll send you a mix cd or else if you make up a great bullshit story, then'll i'll send one to you too..................................................i hate the library this time of year.

Bohs 2:1 Drogheda Utd

2008-04-20T21:44:00.002+01:00

Bohs just won what I am sure will be a very important match for their league campaign despite the fact that it is still very early in the season. Drogheda are the current league champions and the match was in their backyard so it was always going to be tough for Bohs to get something out of the game. Last weeks horrible performance against Bray was lingering in my mind as I sat down to watch the match. I considered travelling up for the game but I would have missed a day of study and the weather today was miserable.

Bohs started well and absorbed everything that Drogheda created. There were a lot of tough challenges and the ref was dishing out the yellow cards, he looked like he could ruin the game with his harsh decisions. Then just before half time Bohs get a free kick just outside the box, for a dodgy decision of course! Well Killian Brennan hit a beauty into the top right hand corner, it'll most likely win goal of the month. The second half was more open and it looked like Bohs would hold onto their lead and then see out the game.

Then..................drogheda scored a flukey goal off a huge deflection, 1 all fucking hell, that's it a shitty draw which will just bore itself until half time if that means anything. Bohs were pushing forward but as usual they didn't know how to create any chances. Then in the 4th minute of extra time the drogheda goalie, ewling, takes down glen crowe in the box, textbook penalty. Killian Brennan steps up to take it and deftly chips it just slightly left of centre, so fucking cheeky but it paid off. Match over, a brilliant three points and some might say it was even a bit of a six pointer, Bohs are now second in the league and they play Derry at home this friday, I can't fucking wait it's going to be a cracker!

To Boycott or Not

2008-04-19T16:27:00.005+01:00

I was reading a thread on the DCU life forum which was about the college newspaper and how it printed an article about Tibet, well I have been thinking a lot about the idea of boycotting. I was trying to imagine would I boycott the Olympics if i had the chance to go, as an athlete that is. Well at first I thought yeah sure I might but I was uncertain and when I read what an ex classmate wrote on the forum I found myself firmly agreeing with his point of view, i am sure a lot of people won't agree with him as it comes across as just giving up or quiting:

"The reason I wouldn't support a boycott is because nothing would change as a result.

The Chinese government doesn't do repressive things out of malice, but because, in their worldview, not doing so would destabilise the regime.

If they had to choose between weathering a boycott or destabilising their position, the government will feel that their only option is to let the boycott go ahead, methinks.

As a result, unless you want to boycott it simply because it makes you feel better, don't bother. It won't make a difference." G.B.

but really the Olympics should never have been given to China and athletes shouldn't be put under the pressure they now find themselves under. It is the fault of the bureaucracy as usual.

A Glorified Irish Man?

2008-04-19T11:08:00.002+01:00

I don't want to encourage English Bashing but this is a good example of how many Irish people perceive their role in this world to be. A highly dramatic version of events surely but I believe this makes it more enjoyable, well if it didn't TT wouldn't have been so successful I guess.

200th Post

2008-04-18T14:53:00.003+01:00

I was browsing in Road Records a few weeks ago and was really impressed by the music on the shops stereo system. I asked about it when I approached the counter and was told that it was a band called Moose Eats Leaf. A solo affair by a guy named Steve Fanagan who also produced music under the band name of Northstation. I bought the M.E.L. album (adrift) and it is fantastic, it will probably be album of the year for me.

If you know me well enough you'll know that I love CD artwork and CD cases and insets. I buy Cd's for the following reasons: 55% for the music and 45% for the Case and Artwork. Well the case for adrift was handmade and Steve Fanagan it seems has a policy of creating original and handmade artwork to go with his cds, I like that policy! Art Brut has a similar idea with a limited release of one of their 7inches. So I am happy to use my 200th post as a plug for an Irish musician who appreciates artwork.

STEVE FANAGAN.

The Dilemma of a Nationalist

2008-04-18T09:48:00.003+01:00

10,000 Irish farmers protested yesterday in Dublin City Centre against new WTO/EU proposals for agriculture policies. The price of food is high and Irish farmers have never been better off, they want to keep it this way. They have threatened to lobby against the Lisbon Treaty if they don't get what they want.

While elsewhere all over the world people protest against the rising price of basic foodstuffs. All over Africa and Asia people are starving and they cannot afford to buy the most basic of foods. These new proposals are supposedly going to try and tackle this global inconsistency.

Now I don't know the ins and outs of these new proposals but if we assume that they will solve these global problems and one of the spillover effects is that it makes Irish farmers poorer, well what is Ireland to do? Do we as Irish men and women owe an allegiance to our fellow citizens? Or as human beings are we expected to do what is right for the greater good even if it means sacrifices closer to home?

These are the sort of questions we are going to have to deal with in the future as the world becomes more globalised. The Irish Farmers will lose but will the rest of the world's hunger be satisfied? The idea of what it means to be Irish is changing

Again

2008-04-17T11:47:00.000+01:00

I don't agree with 20major most of the time but he is totally correct when he says........ LINK.

Customer Service in this country is seriously going downhill, I am going to try and stick to places which have good service, for example Road Records. It's worth paying an extra euro or two in order to support your local. If Ireland ends up with customer service like Hungary I'm moving to Canada or Brazil, whichever one will give me a visa quicker.

this stuff is getting serious

2008-04-16T17:56:00.003+01:00

the first round of the law and government football tournament took place today at 4pm and myself and Cillian were out there watching. I wanted to see what the standard was like and our years team was supposed to get together for a drink afterwards but hardly any of the team showed up so i was just there for the football. I arrived over and was immediately shocked by how bad the standard was, now I am not a brilliant player but most of the players out there were awful. It was play ground football where everyone was trying to get the glory. There was the odd player who seemed to have potential but most of the talented players didn't pass and just went it alone.

Now I have been told that when watching the standard can look much worse then when you are playing so I should reserve some criticism for next Wednesday. There was one characteristic though that I can say with complete confidence and that was that the games were filthy. Everyone was kicking lumps out of one another. The referees were blowing nothing and I was told they were only really there as score keepers. Apparently last year there were almost fights on the pitch as people got so angry. I was talking with Cillian about this and he said, "sure ah yeah it's football there's always fights!" then I realised that unfortunately he was right, it seems Ultimate has made me into a wuss with an idolised vision of all sports being played fairly, I am happy to be blissfully ignorant about these truths though.

Mal sells out for cash

2008-04-15T23:14:00.002+01:00

umbrella mal for shame ;)

Cheering Works

2008-04-14T16:53:00.001+01:00

More YouTube Nazis

2008-04-11T14:44:00.003+01:00

I have written on the blog before of how I have been harassed for my youtube videos. I make these videos as a joke with an underlying meaning and lesson, like SCB I hope to educate. This morning I got two more comments from guess who Romanians! Who are you guessed it insulted by my teachings(wow i am like a cult).

This is that annoying person again, why these videos are on youtube. They are ridiculous. I should denounce you...

Pizda mă-ti de nemernic.
Ti-o dau la buci, Futui pizda mati.

And..

You are very ignorant person, why don't you read a book or something in place of being such an English asshole. You are not funny, educate yourself....

Sunt bolnav

I replied in my usual manner. Then I had a look at her favourites and in there I found this gem:

Now I find this video a lot more racist and offensive. The funniest part of this whole situation is that she and others think I am English, ha ha yet again Irish people get the British in trouble.

I love the loo

2008-04-11T13:32:00.003+01:00

Have a look at the toilet blog in my links list, I just found it, it's linked with Una Rocks, here's two of my favourite pictures, I am off now to find some creative toilets! HUZZAH!

Some People

2008-04-11T11:48:00.002+01:00

I love couchsurfing and have never had a bad experience. I often have to explain the idea to friends and always the first thing they are curious about or rather sceptical about is safety. Most after explaining the process agree that it is a good idea but some just never understand it and this will come as music to their ears, if you will excuse the cliché:

We have received police reports and several complaints from members alleging that a CouchSurfing user has stolen money and personal items in Europe. This user introduces himself as Kurt, and he has adopted several different last names including O'Brian, Dietric, Dietrix, Canuck, De Sutter, and Lehder. He claims to be from Canada and/or Belgium, and claims to be of Australian Aboriginal descent. He sometimes claims to be a political scientist, or of higher education. To our knowledge, he has only traveled in Europe.

Members report that Kurt attempts to avoid CS's safety measures in one of two ways. He either makes contact through a newly created profile, or he contacts members from outside the CS website, using the phone numbers or e-mail addresses listed on their profile. Members report that he attempts to take advantage of their sympathy by telling them that he has been robbed or has had recent tragedy such as an ill friend or a parents' death. He then asks if they can host him at the last minute even though he is a "new member" or they haven't seen his profile.

This is from the couchsurfing admin. What a scumbag what a complete douche bag, there's always someone who has to ruin a good thing. Of course I am not going to stop using couchsurfing and will keep recommending it to friends and strangers alike. This is such a good community and it won't be ruined by petty people like the guy above but still what a moron. I would love to see that fella get his face kicked in by some 3rd world corrupt police officer (ANGER coming out here). Anyway don't lose hope people and if you see this guy punch him in the balls!

Holy Fuck! They were amazing!

2008-04-11T11:05:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I played some five aside football and it was fantastic, the sun was shining, it was neither too hot nor too cold. There was a light breeze and the standard was good . The game was competitive yet there was only one foul. We're(damo, ronan, rory & myself) making it a weekly thing so I can't wait til next thursday. I thought that I wold be really bad but my positiong was pretty good and my touch was also not too bad. The only thing I want to improve on is my defence, I need to get more tackles in and chase down more but my shin splints were killing me yesterday so that didn't help matters.

After football I slowly made my way home and waited for the water to heat up for a shower, got my wash on and slowly made my way to the bus stop. The bus was slow to come and when I got into town I had a falafal which I ate as I made my way down georges st. I had a ticket to see Holy Fuck who were playing in Whelans. I was a little late but when I arrived the support had just taken to the stage and the place was filling up. Everyone of course was afraid of the stage so I bravely made my way to the front where I struck a confident pose and tapped my foot and nodded my head for the duration of the support acts set. They were excellent and I am trying to find out who they are as we speak/write/equivalent.

After the support finished I lost my spot on the floor because I went merchandise browsing but there was nothing to be had. I found a good spot again though and it was right next to the left speaker. The place was packed and it was a pretty good crowd, but for a few losers( i say jokingly yet sorta seriously). The band came out and were amazing. Their set was tight and their tunes banging. The bass was so strong at one stage and I could feel my chest reverberating, deadly! They had all sorts of instruments and there were cables everywhere. I wish there was more space because I just wanted to let go and throw my body around. They didn't bother with too much chit chat which I have grown to prefer and they were obviously humble which is important. There set didn't drag out which is the MOST important thing!

I am not very good at describing music so I shall leave it at that, the gig ended and I lost a little more of my hearing, it's good to be home sometimes.

England>Ireland

2008-04-08T12:04:00.002+01:00

I know many of you might have seen this already but if not sure have a look, why can't the Irish government come up with ads like this, well at least Bertie is out only another 165 to go

Last Post of March

2008-03-31T16:37:00.002+01:00

this post isn't about anything, I just wanted to highlight the fact that today is the last day of march and I will be sad to see it end as it's one of my favourite months, goodbye march

upcoming posts include:

a full report on varsities which were yesterday
reaction to the last bohs game
some music reviews on gigs I plan to attend
random you tube videos
random links to other random pieces of information
my trip to Brussels
the odd photo here and there
and finally there will definitely be a post detailing my inevitable frustration due to essay deadlines and looming exams

come to kells

2008-03-28T14:10:00.001Z

Impulse Purchasing

2008-03-28T11:04:00.002Z

I panicked at 9.45 this morning when I found out that Electric Picnic tickets were just after being released 45mins earlier, there was some problem with the website and my credit card and lazer were getting rejected so I legged it down to the ticketmaster in college and dropped 240 euro for 3 days of music madness, it was an impulse buy but I don't think I'll regret it, can't wait for these guys......

Holy F*ck

2008-03-27T16:51:00.003Z

I went to buy tickets to a gig on the 10th of April in Whelans, a band called Holy Fuck are playing, click on that link there and you'll get their MySpace. I went to the Students Union to buy the ticket as they sell them there and are a ticketmaster outlet, it is actually cheaper to buy tickets there rather than through the website, the ticket prices are the same but the booking fee is different. So I walked in and the place is pretty full and the lady behind the desk was probably in her 60's, here's what happens:

Old Lady: Hi, how are ya? Can I help you?

Me: eh yeah I want to ehhhh buy a ticket for a gig.

Old Lady: Sure, what event do you want a ticket for?

Me: ehhh it's on in Whelans.

Old Lady: Name of the band?

Me: yeah whelans on the 10th of april

Old Lady: yes yes but what is the name of the act?

Me: oh eh yeah it's on the 10th of april in whelans yeah, should be good,

people start turning around and old lady is getting impatient

Old Lady: WHAT'S the name of the band?

Me: <just as a silence crosses the room> HOLY FUCK

people turn and look, she is a bit shocked and confused then says

Old Lady: right...... yeah how many tickets

Me: <said loudly and to everyone in the room> it's not a slipknot esque band or anything <then I realise that very few people in this room would be aware of who slipkont are and what their style of music is>

Old Lady: right that'll be 15.50

transaction ensues

Me: Thank you! Bye

I walk quickly out the door.

Organised choas I hate it!

2008-03-27T16:23:00.004Z

Last Saturday I had some couchsurfers from the US stay over and I decided that it'd be a good idea to take them to the "pillow fight". The PF as it shall be known was organised to take place in the city centre, for all of you who don't know how it works:

A location is decided upon and people are contacted both indirectly and directly and told of the location, time and rules. The basic rules are that you must use a soft pillow and only hit people who have pillows. Here's the important part though, you must not take your pillow out until you hear a whistle or some sort of notification to tell you when to start, KEEP YOUR PILLOW CONCEALED. This makes the event more spontaneous. Then you start the pillow fight and it ends after 5mins/whenever you feel like walking away/when a whistle blows. THEN YOU WALK AWAY AFTER HIDING YOUR PILLOW AND WALK AWAY AS IF NOTHING HAD HAPPENED.

Well in true Dublin style it didn't work like that. First of all they chose a very bad location, the molly malone statue on the south side, it was bad because it was a pedestrian bottleneck and surrounded by roads that are always busy with traffic. Second problem was that people started making it really obvious that something was going to happen and some total morons took their pillows out way to early and started drawing attention to themselves. Thirdly people were getting video cameras out and creating an arena for the fight. Then the guy who organised it started reading out the rules. The idiots totally ruined the spontaneous aspects of the event.

The fight was short and I just jumped into the middle, it was like a mosh pit. I was hitting people pretty softly until one fucker came in and smashed me on the head with a cushion, so I backed away a bit and circled the group until I was behind him and smacked him really hard on the back of the head with the pillow, I had to be this sneaky in order to get some wind up space. Everyone started to pick on that guy after that as he was being far too aggressive. Then it ended and everyone decided hey lets give ourselves a round of applause then they took a group photo which I didn't get in. All in all it was a great idea but they ruined it (the organisers/people). They ruined theDublin freeze too, the art is supposed to be about spontaneity but the organisers and participants massacred it. I was disappointed, but I think that the couchsurfers liked it.

Here's a very crappy video of what happened, I have another video but it still has to be uploaded.

Electric Picnic 2008

2008-03-27T10:12:00.002Z

Sex Pistols
Sigur Ros
Jape
Underworld
Hayseed Dixie
The Gossip
George Clinton & The P-Funk Allstars
Goldfrapp
Christy Moore
My Bloody Valentine
Grinder Man
Franz Ferdinand
Duffy
The Breeders
Wilco
Tindersticks
Cathy Davey
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Sinéad O’ Connor
The Roots
Juana Molina
Tinariwen
Adrian Crowley
Kormac and band
Conor Oberst
Lisa Hannigan
Yacht
One Day International
Noisettes
Foals
Emmy The Great
Waterboys
Dawn Landes
Large Mound
CSS
Silver Apples
Faust
Candi Staton
New Young Pony Club
Josh Ritter
Lisa Hannigan
That Petrol Emotion
Kilá
Micah P Hinson
Turin Brakes
Midnight Juggernauts
Mark Geary
Teitur
Blitzen Trapper
Absentee
Tartit
Tobias Froberg
Boss Volenti
Concerto for Constantine
Lionheart Brothers
Dublin Gospel Choir

I have always wanted to go to electric picnic and if i can get tickets for this year i shall most definitely be going, look at that amazing line up and you cannot beat ep or so i am told as it's meant to be just an all round better version of oxygen, it's like this going to oxygen is like sleeping with a skanger bird who will do anything you want but you feel really dirty afterward while ep is like sleeping with that girl you have always liked and it living up to all your expectations, and it being followed by some nice spooning/cuddling.

I've highlighted the ones i am particularly excited about.

thank you arni tarfason for the beautiful picture