One of the few consistencies in my life seems to be moving. Since my freshman year of college I’ve managed to move at least once a year (not including the normal moving home over breaks that every college student endures). Keeping with tradition I’ve moved again; back to West Chester.
But first, we can’t forget about Tokyo.
(I apologize for the length of this post - I really shouldn’t have put off posting this for so long.)
The hotel arrangements were nice, aside from the travel agency lying to us about having internet in the room (save for the unsecured wireless network someone nearby had set up... arigato gozaimasu sir whoever you are). Getting around within the city on the rail system wasn’t nearly as bad as I had expected it to be. In fact, after using it for the week I’d probably prefer taking the railway instead of driving everyday to work.
Half of the week we spent walking around Tokyo as there was plenty to keep us entertained. To be expected Tokyo was filled with lots of sight-seeing opportunities - including the four-story Apple Store in the Ginza district, and Tokyo Tower.
The highlight for us though was Ahikabara (the technology district).
Like kids in a candy store, we spent an entire day walking around looking at all the technology and anime goodies the seven-story stores had to offer. Mike ended up buying $300 worth of game/anime soundtrack CDs that aren’t sold in the US (except for outrageous prices at Otakon). I travel half way around the world and what do I get? I Tachikoma model and a Macros Zero action figure. Yes, yes, I am a dork.
Since we weren’t planning on making trips to Tokyo a yearly thing, we figured we’d go all-out and schedule a few tours. The first of which was a tour of Kyoto (the old capital). We had to take the Shinkansen (bullet train) down the night before as Kyoto is a good two hours away and the tour started at 0800. It was a fun ride, great alternative to an airplane (cheaper and almost as fast). While Kyoto is just as modern as Tokyo is, a lot of the original structures from earlier eras still intact scattered throughout the city. The tour included going to Nijo Castle (old Shogun residence), Golden Pavilion (nice Japanese-style garden), Kyoto Imperial Palace, Heian Shrine, and the Kiyomizu Temple.
The second tour was of Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t quite as nice as the first day of tours we went on; it wasn’t raining, but the clouds did prevent us from seeing the top of the mountain. It was still worth it though; the tour took us up to the highest station you can reach by vehicle. It was up there that I got to see the only snow I’ve seen since last winter (the only down-side about going to Japan in January, I missed out on skiing).
If (when?) I go back I’m going to make it a point to hike to the top of Fuji, as it’s only supposed to take seven hours from that station (easily done in a day).
Upon returning to the states I was faced with the grim reality of needing to find a program to work for within Lockheed in a time period of about a month, or else I’d be let go. To Lockheed’s credit, most companies would just let you go right away instead of giving you a month to sit around and find a job.
Maryland was proving to be a bit dry for jobs within the company (government spending cutbacks hit hard in the DC area), so I was being asked to look elsewhere; specifically Virginia. Not a fan of having to move to yet another new state only a year after coming to Maryland I figured I’d see what else I could swing, perhaps up in Pennsylvania. Moving back home is better than moving to yet another unfamiliar state, right?
Coincidently while all this was going on Mike’s manager mentioned a need for people back up at the King of Prussia facility, and that he should pass my resume up to her if I was interested in a job back in PA. Within a week of getting back from Japan my resume had been bounced all around the management in KoP and one of the programs snagged me up to be a software developer for them.
Housing was fun for the first month back in the states. I lived in MD for a week, then moved back to Isaac’s couch while I apartment-hunted for three weeks, until I finally moved into my new apartment at Marchwood (the complex behind the Exton Diner). The apartment is much cheaper than the one I had in MD (not that it’s hard to be cheaper than anything found in MD), and it’s actually a bit nicer.
Life back here has been keeping me busy.
Almost immediately after I got back in the states Mike, Katie, Maura, Gerry and I went up to Canada to attend Anime North (anime convention). It was a good time, not as large as Otakon, but it was a fun way to spend the weekend. We stopped by Niagara Falls on the way back as I had never been there. I’d say I’m doing pretty well with the "travel more" goal I set.
All of us also went to Otakon in the beginning of August down in MD. I was forced to cosplay (dress up as) Wash from Firefly as we had others going as Simon (Mike), River (Amanda), and Kaylee (Maura). Going as Wash required hair bleaching which worked out much better than I expected. Not that I’ll be keeping the hair color, but it’s not a bad one. Isaac went as The Doctor (from Dr Who), specifically the Tom Baker (season 15) version. Maura made him a 17-foot replica of the scarf from the show, along with making me an awesome Jayne hat (from Firefly). The convention itself was reasonably fun, although most of the panels sucked this year. The anime music video contest however was the best I’ve seen in years. We stuck around until Sunday night as it was Maura’s birthday – which meant balloons and cake.
I quit World of Warcraft (oh no, say it ain’t so!). Yeah, I know, I didn’t see it coming either. While in Japan I made lots of headway to get to the "end of the game" (level 60). Once there all I could do is run instances five nights a week in order to get better gear. No more plot, no quests, just the same group of people running the same instances over and over hoping your ultra-cool armor or weapon drops. Obviously at this point the game stops being fun and becomes more like a job; although this one you have to pay a monthly fee to work at. I’d rather spend that two hours a night reading or being social with people I’ll actually meet in real life.
I picked up a Nintendo DS Lite, and I recommend you do the same. I was never a big fan of the original DS as it always felt too bulky and the screen was terribly lit. However the newer, much prettier, DS Lite coupled with the new games (New Super Mario Bros. and Tetris DS) forced me to pick up one. Email me if you have Tetris or Kart and want to exchange friend codes, I’m always looking for new people to kick the crap out of me.
Snakes on a Plane was a terrible, terrible movie; although I’m glad I saw it. I’m a bit concerned for the mental health of the person who came up with the idea and genuinely thought it’d be good.
The manga for Battle Angel Alita is much better than the anime, read it.
In a few more weeks I have another track meet, and then wedding for my cousin. On top of those social events I find myself with a pile of books recommendations tall enough to kill a small child (with many more to follow, I’m sure). I haven’t been this busy since senior year of college.
Truth be told though, it’s good to be back in PA.
