Holy cow, I've never gone bar hopping before but yeah I am drunk after hitting 2 bars (if you can call that bar hopping) and trying to type this out. A secretary is getting married to a recently graduated phd. Another one is going out with a current post doc. A new batch of secretaries came to the office since before I arrived at the lab and I have been bestowed the honor of introducing one of the single secretaries to a lucky Canadian should the occasion arise.
Aside from that, one of the Professors is in a long distance relationship with his g/f and after a few beers the girls ascertained that he calles her everyday after work. Lots of cooing incured. The fiance of the secretary couldn't make it out to the party tonight but sent an e-mail to the cell phone of one of the students which was read outloud... causing one of the girls at the party to cry.
I the people at my lab are totally tight, it's pretty damn cool. As for me, 5 hours later after eating and drinking... my head is swimming. Lights out!
Zzzzz...
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Cell Phones in Japan
In accordance with Japanese culture, I went out and got myself a cell phone in Japan a little while ago with Japan's Docomo carrier. With a student discount, I got a $70 cell phone, plus memory card, Lithium Ion battery and charger for practically free. The phone comes equipped with a 2 mega pixel camera, color screen (with a flip and reversible screen), mini flash (white LED), internet and a crap load of functions.
Front side
Back side (with camera)
Cell phone open
Reversed screen
One function I'm particularly fond of is their phone book where I can store phone numbers, e-mail and a *picture* of the person so I don't forget who that person is (also the picture of that person flashes on to my screen when they call my cell which is a pretty nice touch). In comparison to Canada, cell phones are *incredibly* cheap. The cell phone I was using before comming out to Japan, no camera and limited functions (though small) ran $150.
One thing I realized about using a cell phone in Japan is that it can get pretty damn expensive. I'm on a 60 minute plan/month for about 4,000 yen/mo. That's about a $50 subscription. In Canada I could pay the same amount, get 500 minutes from this Telus plan. For avid users in Japan, that cost can go up to $100/month, easy.
The nice side of things of my plan is that I can be anywhere in Japan and use my cell phone and pay the same rate, where as using my cell in Canada to call long distance within the country will cost me 25 cents/minute. It's bit of a give and take.
But here's the backward part though, people use e-mail on their cell phones like crazy (Japan's got the blackberry beat since a long, long time ago). Even with my cell phone, I have an e-mail address that I can send and revieve e-mail. I am still working on getting used to typing on the cell phone, slowly getting there. With that said cell phone e-mail in Japan is a primary mode of comminication for many youths in Japan.
According to some students I've talked to, arranging say like a get together starts off as an e-mail to friends, people that are interested might get called or get further e-mails to confirm details. All of this is done with minimal cell phone calling.
In Canada, I usually tend to either arrange get together just by calling people straight up from my phone (land line or cell). Well, that's atleast how it works with my friends. Sometimes a get together can happen within 30 minutes with 7 people, other times I'm calling around to set something up for next week. Yes, I do use e-mail sometimes too but some friends have a nasty habit of not checking and not getting back to me.
The reason why people in Japan prefer to use e-mail is that they worry if they're interrupting something if they call their friends during the day. So far from what I have observed from my experiences in Japan is that people hardly use voice mail. When I'm in a situation where I can't take calls, I shut the cell off or leave it in silent mode, easy as that... but you know, it's a cultural thing :).
Front side
Back side (with camera)
Cell phone open
Reversed screen
One function I'm particularly fond of is their phone book where I can store phone numbers, e-mail and a *picture* of the person so I don't forget who that person is (also the picture of that person flashes on to my screen when they call my cell which is a pretty nice touch). In comparison to Canada, cell phones are *incredibly* cheap. The cell phone I was using before comming out to Japan, no camera and limited functions (though small) ran $150.
One thing I realized about using a cell phone in Japan is that it can get pretty damn expensive. I'm on a 60 minute plan/month for about 4,000 yen/mo. That's about a $50 subscription. In Canada I could pay the same amount, get 500 minutes from this Telus plan. For avid users in Japan, that cost can go up to $100/month, easy.
The nice side of things of my plan is that I can be anywhere in Japan and use my cell phone and pay the same rate, where as using my cell in Canada to call long distance within the country will cost me 25 cents/minute. It's bit of a give and take.
But here's the backward part though, people use e-mail on their cell phones like crazy (Japan's got the blackberry beat since a long, long time ago). Even with my cell phone, I have an e-mail address that I can send and revieve e-mail. I am still working on getting used to typing on the cell phone, slowly getting there. With that said cell phone e-mail in Japan is a primary mode of comminication for many youths in Japan.
According to some students I've talked to, arranging say like a get together starts off as an e-mail to friends, people that are interested might get called or get further e-mails to confirm details. All of this is done with minimal cell phone calling.
In Canada, I usually tend to either arrange get together just by calling people straight up from my phone (land line or cell). Well, that's atleast how it works with my friends. Sometimes a get together can happen within 30 minutes with 7 people, other times I'm calling around to set something up for next week. Yes, I do use e-mail sometimes too but some friends have a nasty habit of not checking and not getting back to me.
The reason why people in Japan prefer to use e-mail is that they worry if they're interrupting something if they call their friends during the day. So far from what I have observed from my experiences in Japan is that people hardly use voice mail. When I'm in a situation where I can't take calls, I shut the cell off or leave it in silent mode, easy as that... but you know, it's a cultural thing :).
Trip to Nagoya
Allright so this is where I was during the first week of May. In Japan the first week of May is what is known as Golden Week, a series of national holidays all lined up. So during this week Shyam and myself met up with a fellow volunteer, Kuni from the @home club (a student run international club at the university I'm at) to spend the golden week there with friends (well more like contacts... he's never met these people before, but they're part of an international club at the university at Kobe) and we all stayed at Kuni's place and hung out during the break.
What ensued might you ask? Well, we had BBQs, drinking, cards, Super Nintendo (actually "Super Famicom" in Japanese) games, Bamboo Shoot hunting, Fireworks and more. I had a great time in Nagoya and ended up on a quick tour of the city before our ferry left on the last day. The people from Kobe were great friendly people so an all round good time was had. Check out the photos here :)
What ensued might you ask? Well, we had BBQs, drinking, cards, Super Nintendo (actually "Super Famicom" in Japanese) games, Bamboo Shoot hunting, Fireworks and more. I had a great time in Nagoya and ended up on a quick tour of the city before our ferry left on the last day. The people from Kobe were great friendly people so an all round good time was had. Check out the photos here :)
Monday, May 23, 2005
George Lucas in Love
With the Star Wars movie not due to be out for another few in Japan (comes out in June) I am here left reading all the other reviews that are posted on the net. With all the waiting, a short film released 5 years ago under the title "George Lucas in Love" I caught on the net was most humorous shot blending "Shakespeare in Love" to the back drop to the birth of the Star Wars movie. Ugh, it pains me that with my res connection, that I can't even get a decent speed to a P2P network because of the silly way things are routed here. C'est la vive.
Dining with Friends and New Quests
Living in res is pretty nice. Though I don't think I take advantage of res life enough. Need to get out of the room more often and get together with people. I've been out at the gym late at night or spending too much time at the lab surfing the web/studying in my off hours.
Last night had dinner with Diego and Misha, whipped up some yakisoba (Japanese Fried Noodles), boiled beef and pork with sauce, fried gyoza, chopped veggies and pineapples for dessert. Next time around, it's Diego's treat for dinner. I'm hoping for some Columbian food if he can find ingredients.
Before comming to Japan, I brought a cook book of cool recipies so I can whip up some nice dinners from time to time with friends. The only problem is that in Japan ingredients here are a little different. Beef is a little pricey here going for $2.50 for 100 grams depending on where it comes from. Chicken and pork are by far the cheapest meats. They're a little lacking in the herbs and spices department so it's a little trickey to season foods with things like dill, orgeno and etc. Pepper is really expensive here. I bought 30 grams of the stuff for 300 yen. Close to $3.50.
I've been having a hankering to make some potato salad with macaroni. A small bag of macaroni (140g) costs about $1.60. Pricey no? That and their mayonnaise here is flavoured differently, it has more of a tangy taste compared to the ones back in Canada. Looking for some "normal" mayonnaise but it looks like that isn't happening.
Well that isn't to say that the Japanese is lacking totally in the food department. They do have some really nice foods here. I've been eating things like ochyazuke which like a rice soup made with green tea, seasoning and seaweed. Soba is really cheap and the sauces are nice and cheap. A rack of 16 small gyozas goes for about $2, so it isn't all bad. Really good ramen (like with soft noodles) go for $2.50 for a pack of 3. Throw in a boiled egg, sliced meats and bean sprouts and you've got a complete meal :)
Last night had dinner with Diego and Misha, whipped up some yakisoba (Japanese Fried Noodles), boiled beef and pork with sauce, fried gyoza, chopped veggies and pineapples for dessert. Next time around, it's Diego's treat for dinner. I'm hoping for some Columbian food if he can find ingredients.
Before comming to Japan, I brought a cook book of cool recipies so I can whip up some nice dinners from time to time with friends. The only problem is that in Japan ingredients here are a little different. Beef is a little pricey here going for $2.50 for 100 grams depending on where it comes from. Chicken and pork are by far the cheapest meats. They're a little lacking in the herbs and spices department so it's a little trickey to season foods with things like dill, orgeno and etc. Pepper is really expensive here. I bought 30 grams of the stuff for 300 yen. Close to $3.50.
I've been having a hankering to make some potato salad with macaroni. A small bag of macaroni (140g) costs about $1.60. Pricey no? That and their mayonnaise here is flavoured differently, it has more of a tangy taste compared to the ones back in Canada. Looking for some "normal" mayonnaise but it looks like that isn't happening.
Well that isn't to say that the Japanese is lacking totally in the food department. They do have some really nice foods here. I've been eating things like ochyazuke which like a rice soup made with green tea, seasoning and seaweed. Soba is really cheap and the sauces are nice and cheap. A rack of 16 small gyozas goes for about $2, so it isn't all bad. Really good ramen (like with soft noodles) go for $2.50 for a pack of 3. Throw in a boiled egg, sliced meats and bean sprouts and you've got a complete meal :)
Hot Spring Adventures
Allright finally I can post pictures again. New album is up: Trip to Ichinobo Hot Springs. The hot springs resourt was located about 1 hour out of the main city by car, so we met up in front of the dorm with the volunteers and were off on our merry way. For 2000 yen (About 22 bucks) for entrance and lunch, we got to sit back and relax at a pretty darn nice resourt. I can't wait for the winter where I can sit in the springs surrounded in Snow, now that'll be quite the site.
Spent the day today cleaning the room and doing shopping. I finally have a bike as of wedensday. Since the last month, I must have clocked atleast 80 km on foot min from all the walking. A 40 min walk to the University is shortened down to 15 mins... holy crap, I totally feel the difference. Since walking everyday, I've lost 4 lbs since getting in to Japan. That's allright, I just want to replace it all with muscle :)
More pictures on the way soon!
Spent the day today cleaning the room and doing shopping. I finally have a bike as of wedensday. Since the last month, I must have clocked atleast 80 km on foot min from all the walking. A 40 min walk to the University is shortened down to 15 mins... holy crap, I totally feel the difference. Since walking everyday, I've lost 4 lbs since getting in to Japan. That's allright, I just want to replace it all with muscle :)
More pictures on the way soon!
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Living Expenses in Japan
I began taking data a few days after I started living in residence in Japan to figure out what it costs to live in Japan. Since I was living in Canada and at home, I never really knew how much it costs to live on my own. For the past month, I've been collecting data on all personal expenditures and categorized them. I am also currently working on my report writing skills in Japanese and working on a short report which I am going to translate in to Japanese. Excerpts from my short report follows:
Procedure
Expenditures are separated into 6 categories: Food, Goods, Transportation, Room, Services and Entertainment. A brief summary of each category is provided below:
Food -- Groceries, Restaurant expenses, snacks
Goods -- Any objects purchased
Transportation -- Bus, Train, Taxi, Ferry, Gas,
Room -- Rental fee, Utilities, Repairs
Services -- Cell Phone, Internet, Washing machines, gym subscription
Entertainment -- Movies, Travel, Sports, events
Expenses are recorded by date in an Excel Spreadsheet with the type, description, cost and notes on the expenses are noted.
An excel script is used to calculate the total cost for each category and the results are presented in a pie and bar graphs.
Results
Procedure
Expenditures are separated into 6 categories: Food, Goods, Transportation, Room, Services and Entertainment. A brief summary of each category is provided below:
Food -- Groceries, Restaurant expenses, snacks
Goods -- Any objects purchased
Transportation -- Bus, Train, Taxi, Ferry, Gas,
Room -- Rental fee, Utilities, Repairs
Services -- Cell Phone, Internet, Washing machines, gym subscription
Entertainment -- Movies, Travel, Sports, events
Expenses are recorded by date in an Excel Spreadsheet with the type, description, cost and notes on the expenses are noted.
An excel script is used to calculate the total cost for each category and the results are presented in a pie and bar graphs.
Results
The break down of expenses is the following:
Food - 27,225 yen
Goods - 35,467 yen
Transportation - 1,780 yen
Services - 650 yen
Room - 13,752
Entertainment - 4,945 yen
Discussion
3 weeks of data for the month of April (22 days) has been collected and probably represents the majority of expenditures for this month. A total of 83,819 yen was spent this month.
Food expenditures were 1,237.5 yen/day. During the first month, it took approximately 10 days for me to purchase cooking utensils resulting in me eating out during the first 10 days. I expect food expenditures for the next month to drop to 1,000 yen/day for the next month.
Goods expenditures totaled 35,467 yen. Non consumable goods including items such as a microwave, rice cooker, plates, eating utensils and etc amounted to 26,354 yen for this month. Goods expenses for next month are expected to drop by approximately 20,000 yen for next month now that most one time costs have been paid.
Transportation costs for the month were 1,780. Costs for transportation this month were mainly due to bussing out of Downtown Sendai after purchasing many goods. Transportation costs are low and are expected to stay at approximately this level next month.
Service costs for this month were only 650 yen for this month which only included usage of the washing machines at the dormitory. An internet connection and cell phone service has been acquired and billing of these services will not occur until next month. Services costs are expected to rise by 8,000 yen for next month.
Room costs are expected to be slightly higher for next month as long distance charges have not been added to this month's rental costs. Long distance charges were approximately 6,000 yen for 2 hours calling to Canada (very expensive). With internet, long distance charges are expected to drop after next month via internet calling.
Entertainment costs equated to 4,945 yen for this month. This cost included a trip to the Ichinobo hot springs and a birthday party for a friend at the Dormitory. Entertainment costs for this month are low since I do not know many places to go to in Sendai and I have been very busy getting settled in. Entertainment costs are expected to rise.
Conclusion
One time costs from purchase of goods were high for this month, while costs for entertainment and services were low and will begin next month. Food costs are predicted to be approximately the same for next month since I am able to cook meals at home. I expect the total cost for next month to be approximately the same, further data will be collected and then tabulated for the coming month.
----End Report----
Some notes, the dorm I am living at has insanely cheap rent. Talking about $100/month with basic utilities. Not bad at all, especially for Japan compared to the average price of renting a room in Vancouver (cheap) is $400 then you add on utilities. Definitely a great perk for living in Japan.
I already working on the cost list for next month and it's going to be about the same (if not more) than April's expenditures. Time will tell. Already went on a trip to Nagoya which I have yet to tell about :) Grr image station! Downloaded their software already, going to try and upload through that.
Anyways, hope everyone is having a good time... internet is still dead at home grrr! :P
Thursday, May 12, 2005
University Chicks
I've just recently been slated to do a talk on Canada and my experiences to a class of Japanese University studying english after being asked by one of the volunteers. The presentation is slated to happen in 2 weeks. So here I am laying the ground work for the presentation.
One topic I am planning to cover is university life in Canada, how our university system works, what it's like studying in Canada and etc... etc. I decided to draw up the UBC admissions website to give the admissions requirements a quick run through to see if anything has changed since the time I've been admitted into Universtiy. Then I hit the statistics page with some interesting results in terms of gender distributions. The webpage is here.
Some numbers to note:
Faculty of arts (all years)
Males 3,757
Females 6,823
Faculty of Science (all years)
Males 3,291
Females 3,700
Faculty of Education (all years)
Males 724
Females 1,574
Faculty of Agricultural Science (all years)
Males 276
Females 824
First Year Admission (All departments)
Males 3108
Females 4075
Females nearly double males in Arts, there are approximately 5% more females in Science than Males, there are approximately 2x more females in Education and about 3x more females in Agricultural science. Over first year admissions indicate that 56% are females and 44% are females. Male-female ratios in Medicine and Commerce are roughly equal and Engineering is still male dominated.
Personally, I didn't think that there would be that much more females in Arts and the number of females enrolled in agricultural sciences caught me off guard. The rest of the numbers are somewhat in line with the impression of male-female distribution I had at UBC.
Unfortunately, I don't have numbers on me about female enrollment at Japanese universities on hand, though I did get a pamphlet of enrollment statistics of females in Engineering at Tohoku University and the numbers are remarkably lower than the 19% enrollment of females in Engineering at UBC, I'm looking more like at about 7% from a rough estimate. Analysis is forth comming if/when I can find some data :)
One topic I am planning to cover is university life in Canada, how our university system works, what it's like studying in Canada and etc... etc. I decided to draw up the UBC admissions website to give the admissions requirements a quick run through to see if anything has changed since the time I've been admitted into Universtiy. Then I hit the statistics page with some interesting results in terms of gender distributions. The webpage is here.
Some numbers to note:
Faculty of arts (all years)
Males 3,757
Females 6,823
Faculty of Science (all years)
Males 3,291
Females 3,700
Faculty of Education (all years)
Males 724
Females 1,574
Faculty of Agricultural Science (all years)
Males 276
Females 824
First Year Admission (All departments)
Males 3108
Females 4075
Females nearly double males in Arts, there are approximately 5% more females in Science than Males, there are approximately 2x more females in Education and about 3x more females in Agricultural science. Over first year admissions indicate that 56% are females and 44% are females. Male-female ratios in Medicine and Commerce are roughly equal and Engineering is still male dominated.
Personally, I didn't think that there would be that much more females in Arts and the number of females enrolled in agricultural sciences caught me off guard. The rest of the numbers are somewhat in line with the impression of male-female distribution I had at UBC.
Unfortunately, I don't have numbers on me about female enrollment at Japanese universities on hand, though I did get a pamphlet of enrollment statistics of females in Engineering at Tohoku University and the numbers are remarkably lower than the 19% enrollment of females in Engineering at UBC, I'm looking more like at about 7% from a rough estimate. Analysis is forth comming if/when I can find some data :)
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Getting Physical
One thing that is manditory in Japan is a physical examination. While in University, I`ve never had a physical examination... actually my first real physical examination in my entire life was right before comming to Japan to make sure that I was A-Ok (seriously, I am!). Examination was quick and painless, they took a quick x-ray shot of my chest and then whipped me over to another room to have my height,weight and blood presure checked. Finally, I was shuttled into a room where a doc prodded at my cheeks (ie. pulled them down), asked me to swallow while he had his thumbs on my throat and that was it.
Results:
BPM=60/min
BMI:21.5
Blood Pressure=107/63
Wikipedia says that I`m at a good weight and my blood pressure is in the low section (which is good). Heart rate is supposedly low, so that`s also a good thing. I am quite alive and kicking :)
Results:
BPM=60/min
BMI:21.5
Blood Pressure=107/63
Wikipedia says that I`m at a good weight and my blood pressure is in the low section (which is good). Heart rate is supposedly low, so that`s also a good thing. I am quite alive and kicking :)
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Grrrr! Fie on you imagestation
Been a pretty busy last week and a bit (was out of town too) and I've got lots of pictures to post.. just that image station right now is being a bum and not accepting them at the moment. And no, I'm not violating the terms of their service by posting copyrighted, violent, pornographic... etc etc material. So what's the deal with that? I'm not really sure. But yes, I am still alive and kicking :)
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