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One year ago I was stepping foot in Japan, starting off the 3rd and final phase of my round the world journey. It had been about 2 years since I had last stepped foot on Japanese soil, but this time it was to be a much longer stay. I was excited, yet scared at the same time. To be in a country where I have no possible way of communicating, or being able to even understand half of the crazy customs was just overwhelming, yet to this day, I want to go back.

Japan for me was a truly epic eye opener. I experienced a whole new world of things that I had never before seen, tasted, thought about or even smelt. I was there to try everything I could and just let it all sink in. I got to spend time with old friends, make new friends but more often than not, I spent that time by myself exploring. There was time for reflection and time for amazement. It is a country that makes me lost for words just sitting here trying to describe it. Out of all of the countries I got to explore during that trip, to this day Japan has been the #1 country that I have thought about since I got back. To be honest, I think it may have been almost my favourite country to visit.

Since getting back I have been thinking so much about returning it is not funny. Part of me just wants to get back there, yet part of me wants to do it right and go back and explore more. Can i Justify a simple weekend trip, can I use any excuse for just a 1 or two night stop. I so badly want to get back to experience the food, the culture, the atmosphere. To see my friend and do things I should of done before. Hell to do some of the things I did last time.

Often I am emailing my friend, who has almost the same obsession I do, about all the little japanese things we come across. Just the other day she tells me she found Red Bean in india. This instantly makes me want to find some redbean and eat it, right that very second. Why am I like this! Why does it have this over powering nature that is probably borderline obsession. What did I do to make this ever so overwhelming. I had been trying to plan a trip to use up some points on Cathay Pacific on something I could easily do, yet now that has been pushed aside for another time. Now I want to push a trip to Japan to the front of this. How I do this I don’t know but I can tell you one thing. I want to get back… now. If I don’t I am sure this obsession will take over a bit to much and then it will all be to much… way to much.

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There’s two different topics I want to cover with this post but I will try and explain myself a bit first. It is political season here at the moment and after watching meet the Press in the gym this morning I wanted to talk about it a bit, but I also was going to post today about my comparison of the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds.

Let’s talk about planes first. The Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds are the two air demonstration teams of the US Navy and US Air Force respectively. The blue angels (obviously the Blue part) have always been that little bit more of a dream sight for me than the Thunderbirds (red for the nose of their aircraft though they are predominantly white).   Both teams are pretty similar to each other but each has their own unique attributes.

Unfortunately I can’t say one team us better than the other as they both have pros and cons. They both fly Jet Aircraft (F/A-18C for the angels, F-16C for the Thunderbirds) which have unique attributes of their own, but they are fairly even.   The demos were pretty similar to each other with each having a few unique stunts of their own.

The cons though are pretty minor. The Blue Angels didn’t have as much of a ground show as the Thunderbirds did, but that made the Thunderbirds show, slow starting and a little bit boring at the beginning. I felt that the Angels had a bit more speed at times over the Thunderbirds but again this is probably due to the aircraft and not the team as such. Either way I can’t complain about either.

The one thing that seals the deal for the angels in my book is Fat Albert. The Marines who support the Blue Angels are not left out, they have their own show stopper a large C130 transport plane which they show off and it just makes for something that the Thunderbirds don’t do at all.

But the reality of the situation is that both teams are amazing at what he do and there is no real winner other than the public who get to watch amazing demos either way (better than the Roulettes anyway).

The other red and blue at the moment is the Battle between the Republicans (red) and the Democrats (blue) in the lead up to the presidential election. It’s been all over the media right now and to be honest I wish I could have a say.

Not being and eligible voter really means I can’t or shouldn’t say much but it’s a big thing over here. It feels like the elections are 1000 times more complicated than back home and always so full on. There are the primary votes where they choose who will be eligible for each party then the general election comes into it.

Last night the Republicans announced who will be Romney’s VP for the “ticket” but god Damn what a spectacle they make it out to be. The news covers everything minor little detail of the announcement like where he lives, what he does in his personal life, hell even what he cooks (apparently he makes his own sausage).

It’s going to be a fun few months I suspect in the lead up to the election in November, should be interesting to watch along, I won’t say who
I think should win cause I don’t have a say but I have a feeling things could be “hopeful” in November

by ·Comments Off on Its… ALIVE!!!!

HAHA just like Dr Frankenstein shouted when he created his monster, I feel like that this afternoon now that I have created what I am referring to as my “Media Beast.” For so long now I had been running a Western Digital WD TV setup at home. It was fantastic for the videos that I “acquired” and was a great way for me to watch them on my TV at home. Well thanks to the upgrades in the Systems I went from an original non HD version, to a HD Version before I left Australia. Now that I am over here in the USA, I am taking it one step further.

Media Beast Phase 1 is now complete and this is my Living Room TV. The Main Big Screen (Sony Bravia LCD 40″ HDTV) doesn’t have Cable TV hooked up. I decided against forking out almost $100 a month for it over here. Sure this means I am limited to only Free to Air but to be honest, I don’t watch all that much TV anyway (well TV at TV times that is). More often than not I miss the shows I want to watch and end up having to Stream or Download (legitimately of course) or whatever. So Free to Air is fine (King 5 News in the morning for me before work, way better than Sunrise back home).

Well connected to the TV now is a Cheap Blu Ray player (no discs yet though) but then it gets nice. I picked up a cheap Soundbar for the sound system (it works, its nothing all that special) and then it gets creative. I picked up the newest version of the WD TV, the Live version. It comes built in with WiFi so it can stream Hulu and Netflix directly to my TV. But that’s not all. Before I left I had picked up some Seagate GoFlex drives and when I got over here, put them all together with the GoFlex Net which is like a little docking station that turns the portable drives into a Network Attached Storage Server. Not only does it mean I can access my Files on these drives from work, it feeds directly to the TV now as well!

So right now, the small drive connected directly to the WD TV Live is currently syncing some data across, but really once this is done, I will probably just share across the network my “Unwatched” folder and that way once Phase 2 (Smaller but similar bedroom setup) is complete I will have a fully networked Media Beast where I can watch anything I want, anywhere I want in my apartment or even on my balcony thanks to WiFi, Technology and being a Geek on so many levels!

by ·Comments Off on The power of twitter…

I have been a member of twitter now for about 3.5 years. When i first heard about it and heard the usual “im eating a sandwhich” style stories, i always thought, ill never join. Well I did, and now, i’m definately and avid tweeter. It has become a large part of my life.

But it is people I know who don’t use twitter always ask “why?”. Well Twitter is a massive tool in helping people communicate but it also can help people meet others, gain new friends, but one thing lately it has been able to do is help solve problems.

We recently had an issue with some flights at work and was trying to track down a sales contact. So I did what so many people I follow have done. I tweeted the airline to their social media team. this was about 4pm on a Friday afternoon. I got a response within 20 mins and we had the contacts email first thing monday morning!

I also recently had some problems with the move to my new apartment. A few tweets, a direct message from them and the situation was resolved… to my benefit! I could not believe it! (full details of the move to come). It has been amazing meeting so many new people around the world via the power of twitter. I have had blog posts syndicated out to other sites, met new friends in other countries as I travelled around the world and now I get to enjoy the power of twitter here in Seattle as I get around the city with recommendations from fellow twitter users.

It has gone from a way to tell people what im doing, to interacting with others and also a way of connecting people to the world, to help solve problems and get things done!

To Twitter… thank you!

by ·Comments Off on Reflections.

I have had a rough last few days and have been thinking a little about what I have accomplished over the last few years.   I was a little bit saddened by some things but yet the last 12 months have been pretty amazing.

I won’t go into what caused the problems or why I had been thinking like this but while I cruise north on the bus, heading away from?? You problems I figure it’s as good a time as any to maybe just talk about it.

On the last 3 years I have changed myself so dramatically that sometimes I am not sure which parts of me are new and which is old. Not sure what belongs to the old mal and what is the new.

Somewhere in this head of mine I try to comingle the two and hope something works out. Who knows what will/won’t.

I take each days as it comes right now, each day a new adventure. Not sure what to expect but all I can say is that each day brings with it unique challenges. Sometimes I wake up ready to take on the world but within hours I hate life. Yet other days it is the other way round.

There are small things lately that makes me smile. A glimpse of my truck, the sunsets over the Cascades or a glimpse of the Olympics as I walk back to the apartment. Lake Washington by my side on a run or seeing Seattle off in the distance.

I love it over here yet times I am really sad or homesick. It makes me wonder why I did this sometimes but I will make sure I enjoy it while it lasts to take advantage of everything. I will make the most of every single day I get over here. I don’t know if I ever want to come back.

Time will tell, but I live by the same motto that has kept me going so far. “The only easy day was yesterday”

by ·Comments Off on Backwards & Forwards

How can a country like the USA be so forwards in some areas, yet so backwards at the same time. It just consumes my brain and makes me think I am so stupid. I will give you some examples…

Food – Back home in Australia, we have not quite caught onto the whole Calorie control thing. There isnt much choice when it comes to Low Fat/Diet options and it can be a struggle at times. Yet over here, there is so many options for this. 100 Calorie packs everywhere, Diet drinks galore. This is the forward thinking over here, yet you go out and you head to a restaurant and it goes backwards so quickly. There are not many light options fast food wise, and some how a simple salad comes in with a very HEFTY calorie count.

Banking – A country that is open to numerous options for banks including ATM’s that will scan cheques and release the funds instantly, still relies on cheques. I mean seriously, I don’t think I have ever written a cheque, let alone ever even thought about using it. Using bill pay online actually gets the bank to send a cheque for you. Direct deposits just do not exist! Chip & Pin is a whole other story! It is so confusing!

Phones, Internet, TV – Mobile phones are prevalant here, there are dozens and dozens of options for Throwaway providers, yet Smartphones are very very uncommon for most of this. They offer unlimited packages for calls or messages, but data is a whole other story. IF you have a smart phone, prepare to bend over and take it. It is crazy! Same with Internet. Usually bundled with Cable TV, and that means lots and lots of channels, no download limits however your going to pay through the nose for that priveledge… but unlimited downloads… o yes!

These are just a few examples of how much my head spins at times, I have had to try and rethink so many ways to do things, say things etc. Day to day I struggle with the difference between a “Surname” and a “Last Name”. Driving on the other side of the road isn’t a big deal, unless I am super tired like Sunday morning where I was on the wrong side of the road entirely (thankfully the intersection was deserted). Don’t even get me started on figuring out the Temperature (anything below 70 == COLD!)

Either way, I am still loving life over here, I don’t regret a single action I have taken to come over here!

by ·Comments Off on A New Journey Always begins with just one step

Well today is the big day. I write this to you whilst sitting in the lounge at Brisbane Airport (Ahh the benefits of being an airline elite flyer) contemplating what I am doing, if it’s the right decision, is it the smartest thing?

I guess I can look back two and a half years ago. Back to a decision I made, not of the same magnitude but one that would in the end change my life for the better. This crazy decision back then to commit myself to such a huge task does give me a bit of hindsight.

I know i have the resolve to do just about anything. Someone said to me yesterday, that I have proven I have the resolve to achieve things I set out to. Thing is, I just have to stop doubting myself. I need to look at this move not as a leap of faith but more of a first step in a new journey, a new challenge to sink my teeth into.

I guess for now I can reflect on the last few days. The fun times, those last few happy moments like a final coffee with friends, a run through the streets around my neighbourhood or a final meal with the family. I am pretty sure I have said it before, but it is the little moments that make this all special. Life is an ever changing thing and these little moments just make it all the more special.

As I sit here in the lounge getting one last vegemite hit, I try not to think about all the things I will miss. If I sat here and listed them I’d probably make myself feel worse, so with that I leave you all. I will catch you on the flip side!

Current Location: Air New Zealand Koru Club, Brisbane International Airport

by ·Comments Off on Decisions Decisions!

I can never make up my mind. This year it seems that I should be able to get easter off. I am rostered to work the full weekend before easter which would put me off for easter weekend.

But what to do! I don’t want to spend a 4 day break sitting at home. Part of me wants to have a quick hop up to Tokyo to get in some more #avgeek times (787, 747D flight) and also see the Cherry Blossoms in bloom in Tokyo.

Or I can stay local, finish off my Gold Qualification with DJ in 2 days, spend a solid day spotting in Sydney giving my lenses a good work out and maybe even a luxurios night at the Park Hyatt Melbourne.

The 2nd option will most definately be cheaper, less time flying, but probably not as adventurous and doesn’t require me to take any leave. Option #1 means at least 1 day annual leave required. 10 hours each way in Economy to Tokyo (from Sydney mind you so means positioning to Sydney in each direction). Along with that it would be the most expensive. But probably the most adventurous and fun as I would get to go back to a country I love and have a few days of craziness.

I don’t know how I get myself in these issues! But I always seemingly do. Now to try and decide before the Sales all end…

Wish someone could make up my mind for me!

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