deralte | ryuozan, food, I'm sorry I haven't got a clue icons

I had a great day today. I headed out with my camera and mp3 player for Ryuozan (Dragon mountain), but first I stopped along the way at a random burial mound in a park somewhere. I have to translate the inscription on the tomb before I can figure out what time period it's from. It was pretty cool to see though.

I drove about half way up the mountain and parked. There were tons of people there enjoying the sakura, either walking around or sitting on blankets and having picnics. I took tons of pics (i can see my house from there *L*), then headed down this path deeper into the mountain. It was utterly gorgeous with random streams, and wild flowers and sakura and sunlight. I took tons of pics, but once again you all will have to wait until I'm less lazy to see them *g* I then headed a bit further down the mountain and visited a little temple that overlooked the kid's playground - it's huge and shaped like a giant metal dragon (I wish I had an excuse to go play *pout*).

Then I went shopping for food. Made myself my favourite brocolli, chicken, shrimp, pasta with butter and spices stir fry. It tastes just as good here in Japan, though you really have to search to find penne pasta.

Now, I am stuffed and happy. And since I won't be updating my website for awhile, here are the I'm Sorry I Haven't Got a Clue icons I made yesterday. Comment and credit please.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah, sometime the voices in the English dubbed version of One Piece do make me cringe. Maybe the silly dubbers were thinking of the three musketeers when they gave Mihawk his accent. But regardless of how they sound, the characters are always cool to watch.

Robby was telling me about all the stuff they left out of the English dubbed version. No 'save the whale' story, no 'little Buggy's Big Adventure' story, and of course no cigars for Smoker, and Sanji's lollipop. The changes are silly and pointless. I'm glad that you're able to show us the real stuff.

Speaking of One Piece, Volume 10 of the Manga just came out here. I picked it up yesterday. I think it goes all the way to the end of the Nami arc.

It's good to know that there's fan-fic writers who gave Luke and Vader time to talk about Padme.

How many classes do you have? It sounds like there are a lot of different ones, with students of varying skill levels. A good mix - this must help keep things exciting.

I wish the Japanese made their anime dvds with English subtitles. Then I'd just buy the Japanese One Piece anime here. Unfortunately, (or perhaps fortunately for my budget) they never seem to have english subtitles on anime. Go figure.

If I remember correctly, Loguetown goes very quickly in the manga, so the next volume will probably get you all the way through Whiskey Peak (after that is the Little Garden arc (dinosaurs and giants!), the Drum arc (Chopper!) and the Arabasta arc (Princess Vivi, Crocodile!).

One thing i'm really going to miss here is manga coming out in English. It's not a problem for series I know where to find online (Bleach, One Piece, Naruto) but some are just impossible to find (Yu Yu Hakusho and Dragonball) which means I have to resort to either waiting a year, or reading them very slowly in Japanese *L* Ah well, I guess it's good practice for me.

I have between 2-6 classes a day. My busiest day is Saturday with six classes. Usually I only have 3-4 and they usually last an hour. I teach all different ages and skill levels. My youngest kids are five or so. My oldest students are a grandfather and grandmother who want to learn enough English for a trip to America they're taking in June.

I keep wondering if in six months, I'll find this all as enjoyable as I do now - I hope so since this really is an ideal situation for me:)

My mom says "Hi! Everyone here is glad that you're having fun and enjoying what you do. (Your "it's Zolo, the Pirate Hunter! He's mopping our floors -- the fiend!" icon cracked me up.)
I haven't had time to do much more than scan the new One Piece manga, but I noticed that the 'cover' series features Coby and Helmeppo, which looks interesting. It's neat that supporting characters aren't forgotten about once their arcs are done.

Are Yu Yu Hakusho and Dragonball still coming out in Manga? I thought those stories were over... or are there new stories coming out?

*waves back to your mum*

Oh yes, the Coby and Helmeppo mini arc is right after Whiskey Peak (or maybe Little Garden... can't remember).

YYH and Dragonball are both finished here, even if they're still coming out in English in the west. It's actually pretty easy for me to get a used copy of them to try to read (I picked up volume 5 of Dragonball in Japanese for $2).

How's it going?

Still haven't had a chance to glance wistfully over at my new One Piece. At least it's something to look forward to during my next quiet moment.

The boys are on Spring Break right now. Last night they had a party. This morning Matt went to upstate New York to visit a friend for the week.
I got up at 5 in the morning to take him to Penn Station. I'm working tonight and really should get some sleep, but I'm too awake. Maybe I'll read One Piece!

Hope things are going well for you!

ryuozan, food, I'm sorry I haven't got a clue icons

Re: Hi, Ren-chan!

Re: Hi, Ren-chan!

Re: Hi, Ren-chan!

Re: Hi, Ren-chan!

Re: Hi, Ren-chan!