For My Own Amusement

Chooo-chooo

2011-10-15T00:07:00.000-07:00

Alright, so let’s talk about the trains in Tokyo because my attempt to ride them makes for some funny stories. One of the train stations is right next to my hotel, so finding that train station was no big deal. So on Saturday, I got there easily, found the machines that you use to buy tickets and then I had to figure out how to use them. I knew what train station I need to get to, but instead of buying a ticket from point X to point Y, you buy a ticket that costs some number of Yen. And then you can take a train to any stop that costs the number of Yen you paid. If you accidently pay too little, they have these machines called “fare adjustment machines” so that you don’t have to live in the train station or get arrested trying to leave without paying enough. Of course, none of this is explained in English (I know, I know, I’m in JAPAN) so it took me a little while to figure it out. Lucky for me, however, they do put the English names on the maps so I wasn’t completely lost, I just had to find the station I wanted and it had the number of Yen above it. I bought a ticket, went through the ticket machine (where they put a hole in your ticket and I’m sure there is something else done so that they know where you got on, but really, all I saw was a hole in my ticket.) Then I boarded the train. Easy, right? Ha. The reason this was easy is because the train from Tsukuba station only goes one direction, towards Tokyo. You can't get on the wrong train (unless you get on a rapid train instead of a local train, but more on that later.) I got to my stop where I had to change trains and that is where things got really complicated. I paid the right amount so they let me out of the train station (rock on!) I had to leave one train station to walk next door to get to the other train station (different railways.) I got there and this one had no English name translations. So, not only did I have no clue how much to pay, I had no idea which train to take. With the help of some convenient signs and the map that I had printed from the internet, I found where I needed to go. I got about three stops into this train when everyone got off. And then there was me on a train that was stopped. So, I got off. And got back on. And then got off to look at the signs again. And then back on. I did this like 6 times, I’m not kidding. All the while, I am looking across the track to the other side where there are like 1500000 people and thinking to myself “I wonder if I am supposed to be over there?” Finally, after all those people boarded the train and the train left, I realized that yes, indeed, I needed to be over there. No worries, trains come like every 15 minutes. Got on my train and realized it was a “rapid” train which means that it doesn’t stop at every stop. Oops. Someone loves me though, because it stopped at the one I wanted. Phew. Once I had this figured out, the trains got a little bit easier for me. Too bad Houston doesn't have trains for me to practice on...

I have a grand total of ONE picture from all of my train riding and it is just of a map....but....enjoy :)

JAXA Visitors' Complex

2011-10-10T23:49:00.000-07:00

At the front gate of JAXA (the space center in Tsukuba,) they have a visitors' museum and gift shop that is open to the public. On Tuesday after work, K (my travel companion) and I decided to check it out on our way home. They have a ton of mock-ups at the museum and the gift shop was stocked with some pretty cool things. I bought some post cards, a space station model (assembly required) and some Manga for my friend, Carolina. As for the mock-ups, the pictures don't really do them justice, but they are fun to look at anyway...

Walking

2011-10-10T23:36:00.000-07:00

The Okura Frontier hotel is about a 30 minute walk to the back gate of JAXA (which gave me a required hour of exercise a day...rock on!) The walk had a few small hills and a lot of bikers that tried to run us over as we walked. The weather was gorgeous, so walking was the perfect way to wake up and wind down from the day! Some pictures of the walking path...

My Hotel

2011-10-09T03:03:00.000-07:00

I am staying at the Okura Frontier Hotel in Tsukuba. There are two buildings in the hotel, one is the main building and one is called “the Annex” and I am in the Annex, on the 5^th floor. The rooms in the annex are in a giant circle (technically a square) around the pool. So, when I walk out my door, I can look down and see the pool. Kind of cool. It costs 1000 Yen (~$13) to use the pool. Good thing I forgot my bathing suit.

The hotel room is pretty much like any normal hotel room. I have two twin beds (one to hold the feather blankets that I cannot use and one to sleep on,) a desk, a television and all of the normal things that are supposed to exist in the bathroom. The toilet doubles as a bidet. To date, I haven’t used that feature. I’ll keep you posted, but don’t hold your breath ;)

My hotel is, quite literally, right next to both the bus station and the train station. I can see them from my window.

I think the coolest part of my hotel room is the bathroom mirror. It talks. Just kidding. BUT! It does have a section right above the sink that doesn’t get foggy! At first, I thought this was a fluke. But it happens every day. And that section of the mirror is warm to touch, unlike the rest of the mirror which is cool to the touch. And my travel companion confirms that his mirror also does this trick. Brilliant! Kudos to whomever came up with that idea.

Going to Japan!

2011-10-08T15:47:00.000-07:00

On Saturday morning, I packed my bags and headed to the airport. In prep for my 13 hour flight, I bought an Ipad and loaded it up with movies and tv shows and music. I also brought my Kindle (with new books) and my Ipod and lots of food! I got to the airport pretty early (thanks to my roomie for driving me!) and got through security with no issues. Then they called to board elite and first class and I realized that they were calling rows in both English and Japanese. This makes sense, as I am going to Japan. But they would call in Japanese first. That amused me. Anyway, they continued and I am 90% certain that they never actually called my row, but at some point, most of the people were on the plane or in line, so I decided that I should be too. When I got on the plane, I stowed one of my bags in the overhead bin and the dude sitting in the middle seat next to my window wouldn't move, so I had to basically crawl around him to get to my seat. No big thing, kind of funny though. The plane ride was pretty uneventful. A little turbulence at one point but nothing big. They served me gluten free meals that were....gluten free airplane food. Not the best, but better than nothing :) One of my meals included black beans. Brilliant. Give me beans, when I am on a plane and have nowhere to go. LOL. Anyway, after about 3 hours on the plane, I thought to myself "hey, I'd be in Pennsylvania by now." After about 8 hours, I was ready to get off of the plane. But I survived. I watched a couple of movies on their in flight entertainment and a bunch of stuff on my Ipad. I had concerns about my Ipad surviving the entire flight, but after 5 episodes of How I Met Your Mother and one episode of Erueka and watching The Ugly Truth, I was down to about 75% battery life. Rock on, I love my Ipad! We finally got to the Narita Airport and by this time I was mosty exhausted. Got through immigration, baggage and customs just fine. Got some Yen from an ATM, bought a bus ticket, bought some water, things like that. Took the bus (about 2 hours) to Tsukuba where my hotel and the space center are. Got checked in at my hotel, unpacked the clothes that would continue to wrinkle and went to bed! I was sooooooooooooo tired by that point.

I took a picture of my gluten free airplane food, but is is on my phone so I can't get it until I get home. I'll post it later.

Bedroom!

2011-08-13T21:28:00.000-07:00

Ever since I moved into my house, I have wanted to "do" my bedroom. I moved in with some random pieces of furniture that didn't really match but were usable, knowing that some day I would buy a bedroom set. Well, life happened...and didn't happen...and happened some more...and then finally, earlier this year, I decided it was time! Voila, my new bedroom furniture!

Bed and nightstands

Dresser

Upright Dresser

So, step one was complete. Then I went on a hunt for a bedding set! That didn't take as long :)

Don't mind the upside down Penn State Blanket (that's my cat hair catcher)

Yay, step 2 complete! I've even got a little "Alliance" versus "Horde" going on :)

Now, I am in the decorating phase. I am nowhere near done, but here is the start!

Totally the saying I live by :)

More to come as time permits (well, and budget!) Oh, and I got a new bookshelf as well (for those that noticed the incorrectly colored one in the first picture) but I don't have a picture!

Amusement

2011-08-11T21:23:00.000-07:00

Angie, Eryx, Craig (Eryx's friend) and I joined the NASA Nerdz Bowling League this season. After a long long email chain discussing names, we finally decided on "the Hadron Colliders." Much to our surprise, when we got to bowling the first week, our listed name was "the Hardon Colliders" and OF COURSE, we were playing the only team with kids. Oops. After like 5 weeks (of the 10 week season,) we finally got them to change our name in the system. We spent the rest of the season bowling with the correct name...until the final week. We sucked at bowling, so at least we won an award for something...

Sea World

2011-07-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

For a friend's 21st-ish birthday, we went to Sea World in San Antonio. It was HOT and NASTY and totally awesome! :) I totally sucked at taking pictures, so here's what I got...

Baby Shamu!!!!

I mean, seriously, he has to be the cutest thing ever!

Normal sized Shamu

Feeding the birds

Just cute :)

Wasn't Me

2011-05-22T20:23:00.001-07:00

No idea who, when, why or how...but I do know what and I do know where. And no, that isn't my house..

AIDS Walk 2011

2011-03-14T17:33:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, a group of us walked in the AIDS 5K in honor of a friend's mother. I was amazed at the sheer number of people participating in the walk. I didn't get many pictures, but here are a few of the walk and the team. RIP M.H.

Sigh

2011-03-14T09:25:00.001-07:00

Monday morning wake up call...

Foiled

2011-02-22T21:00:00.001-08:00

Logan and Kaylee had different plans...

Loving the "open window" weather we are having!!

Oddball Out

2011-02-22T20:58:00.001-08:00

Don't mind Kobes...he just wanted to be different.

Cozumel

2010-10-10T15:09:00.000-07:00

The following day, we arrived in Cozumel with a plan to head to the beach and celebrate the birthdays and anniversary! However...Karl thwarted us and threatened rain the entire day. So.......we walked around town for a little while, I bought some Mexican vanilla and went on a mad hunt for almond tequila and then we headed to the Three Amigos for some drinks. And drink we did. At the Three Amigos there was a balloon man, you know, one that creates balloon shapes! He made us all hats (funny hats for some) which made for some excellent pictures. After the drinking, we headed back to the boat for our "beach party" on deck in the pool, dinner, comedians and the boat headed off to Roatan!

Angie, Janice and I in our hats!

Yes they are doing what you think they are doing...

That's dad, but he's kind of hidden

That's mom back there, but you can only see her hat. The rest of her is hidden by Sarah's hat!

Dad (wearing the funny shirt that Angie bought him) and Natasa (our awesome head waiter!)

a GIANT chair

with a GIANT table
Monkey see, monkey do ;)

Grand Cayman

2010-10-10T09:36:00.000-07:00

Grand Cayman was our first stop and no one had any planned excursions for the port. We decided to wander around the port town, see what was around and collect all of the fun free stuff that they give away to cruisers. Diamonds International has a charm bracelet that they gives to cruisers and then you can collect a new charm in every port and at all of the Diamonds International stores. We got lots of charms, my favorite was the flip flop :) We also discovered a new store called Effy (spelling may or may not be correct) that was giving away free pendants. Each store gave away a different color, we got red, blue and clear. So much fun. Then we hit up Margaritaville for some food, drinks and fun! It rained off and on most of the day, but we managed to stay mostly dry. Then back on the boat as we head off to Cozumel!

Really no explanation needed...

Apparently I am really excited about Dunkin Donut man!Amy stuck with tradition, but Angie got a pina colada...at Margaritaville...really...blasphemy

Life Onboard

2010-10-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

We had two full days at sea and we didn everything from afternoon tea to a "create your own towel animal" class. Really, the pictures tell the story better than I ever could :)

Afternoon tea - pinkies up!

Angie and I with snacks!

Mom, Dad and I at the first formal night

Angie and I at the comedian - Eryx too!

Painted toes! Guess who!

Janice and I at dinner

Actually, this next picture deserves a story. We were all sitting in the Folies lounge (big lounge where all of the shows are performed) and one of the Carnival Legend Entertainment Crew members got on stage and asked for volunteers. Angie volunteered. As I was cheering for Angie (because she rocks,) apparently I volunteered as well. So, there we were, six women standing on stage with everyone in the audience staring at us. And the game? We all had to make paper airplanes and the one that flew the farthest won. The big prize was a bottle of champagne, a medal and a 14 carat gold plastic ship on a stick (a very coveted prize for some.) We had one minute to create our plane. This was plenty of time for me, I made my plane exactly as my dad taught me many many years ago (go dad!) After our minute was up, we took turns throwing our planes into the audience. Well, lets just say, apparently I was the only one who knew how to create a paper airplane and thus I was the winner! I hopped off of the stage and walked up to my dad and said "look, you taught me a useful skill!" to which he replied something like "that's what happens when you listen to me." Here is a picture of me with all of my prizes (and some extra arms...thanks for helping me show off my prizes James!!) Oh yea, and my uber awesome paper airplane is also in the picture (courtesy of Val's arm.)

Me with one of my towel animal creations

Angie with her swan!

Matching Shirts

2010-10-09T19:56:00.001-07:00

One of the first things that you do when boarding the cruise is to take a "welcome aboard" picture with you entire party. Well...we definitely planned for this, matching t-shirts and everything! James designed our awesome Mayan Ruins t-shirt and somehow we convinced everyone to buy it and wear it onto the boat. The professional "welcome aboard" pictures turned out pretty decent, as well as all the ones we took :)

Team Jessica at the hotel

The saddest guy to ever be between two women...

Eating lunch on the Lido Deck

James P, Val and I at the lifeboat drill

Val, Sarah and I at the Lifeboat drill

Group at the Sail Away party

Most of us hiding from the rain!

Sail Away drinks = tradition

Sa-rah and Jarrett

Dinner Night One

Cruise!!!!

2010-10-09T17:55:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the 30th birthday of Val and Sarah, the 40th birthday of Jonathan and the 30th anniversary of my parents, we decided to go on a cruise! The cruise left from Tampa, FL and sailed to Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Honduas; and Belize. We set sail upon the Carnival Legend for a week of friends, good food and hiding from work!

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

2010-10-09T14:48:00.000-07:00

Universal Studios Orlando recently opened possibly the coolest thing ever, an entire zone dedicated to HARRY POTTER! Ok fine, maybe it isn't the coolest thing ever, but it is still pretty awesome! On our way to Tampa for the cruise (or maybe slightly out of our way), we decided to spend some time at Universal to check out Harry Potter World. It did not disappoint! They have three big rides, many stores and lots of tasty food. You can send a postcard stamped from Hogsmeade (check), purchase a magic wand that chooses you (line way way too long), drink Butterbeer (check), tour Hogwarts on a cart that Hermione casts a magic spell on (check), race a dragon on the Dragon Challenge (check), buy chocolate frogs (check), eat Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans (check and gross), taste other Hogwarts specialties like pumpkin juice and treacle tart (sadly, this contained gluten), and, my personal favorite, explore the castle while you wait in line for rides. We saw Dumbledore's office (complete with an LCD Dumbledore), the Fat Lady guarding the Gryffindor common room, a wizard newspaper and the room with pictures of the previous headmasters. If you a Harry Potter fan, this is definitely something to see (don't mind the cost, it was totally worth it.) And now for some pictures...

The castle from afar

The Hogwarts Castle
Luke's Butt and Hogsmeade

A Closer View at the Castle

Angie casting evil magic on one of the Universal employees

Eryx, Angie, Morgan and I in front of the Hogwarts Express

Morgan, Luke, Angie, Eryx, Amy and I in line

My parents were also with us at Harry Potter World, but they were conveniently hiding from the camera. :)

Ren Fest

2009-10-21T17:06:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the day of the Ren Fest. Well, for some of us at least. Johnathan and I chose to sleep in and head to the Ren Fest late, instead of getting up at the crack of dawn with the rest of our group. He met me at my house around 10, we stopped at Starbucks and then headed up North. We got to the Fest around 1 and met up with Angie, Luke, Eryx and Matt. They had since lost Morgan and James. We wandered around some shops and got some lunch. Then we found Morgan again, surrounded by a horde of people. His costume is so incredibly awesome that he gets stopped every 10 feet or so for pictures. We tried really hard to keep up with his steady flow of admirers and we managed to stay as a group for the rest of the day. Later, we met back up with James at the jousting arena. He took a few pictures of the group and then we headed home, stopping at Lupe Tortilla on our way. Lots of fun, lots of friends, tasty Mexican food, lots of driving...

Angie and Luke

Me in Morgan's Helm

Monk Eryx, Bard Matt, Spikey Morgan, Noble Jonathan and Rogue Jessica

Last picture and editing courtesy of Sir James Francais Wulff, whose middle name may or may not be Francais.

Texas Football!

2009-10-20T20:16:00.000-07:00

Friday night, I braved a high school football game to see Katie Boerke and Ron Boerke dance to Green Acres on the football field at halftime. I had heard all these stories about how big Texas high school football is, and I was kind of excited to check it out. I went to see the Clear Lake versus Clear Brook game, rooting for Clear Brook. I had to ask 5 times which team I was cheering for, to be sure that I did not embarrass Kelly, Ron and Heather by cheering for the wrong team. I got there and the game was tied. Within minutes, Clear Lake was winning. Apparently my negative aura stretches to high school games as well as Penn State games. Shortly before halftime, we ventured to the home side of the field to watch the halftime show. As soon as we got over there, Clear Brook scored! Thus continueing the belief that I am a negative influence on whatever team I happen to be rooting for :) The halftime show was pretty good, Katie and Ron danced very well together. And I also enjoyed watching some of my co-workers dancing on the field with their daughters as well. I left after the halftime show (I had worked until 5am that morning and I was getting very very sleepy) and headed home. Kelly tells me that after I left, Clear Brook started playing much better and eventually won the game. Alas, maybe football is just not for me :)

Kelly and I, cheering on Clear Brook!

The final score! Go Brook!

Birthday Sausage

2009-10-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

Today was the 27th birthday of my friend Caroleeeeeena! To celebrate the awesomeness that she is, we went to Olive Garden. Olive Garden just recently started serving gluten free pasta, so I was very excited to be able, once again, to eat their food. After showing up 30 minutes late (my work consult ran long :( ), I wished her a happy birthday and sat down to order! I ordered my gluten free pasta with marinara sauce and salad! Once the salad showed up, I remember that I wanted to add sausage to the marinara (the meat sauce is not gluten free, but I assume their sausages are.) Apparently, in Olive Garden speak, ordering a sausage after the pasta order means that the sausage should come out separately, and before the pasta is brought out. And well, I bet you can guess what sort of amusing comments my friends had about that ;)

Courtesy of Angie, a picture of "my sausage."

Good night to all, and a very happy birthday to you, Miss Carolina!

Blog Entry #1

2009-10-08T17:18:00.000-07:00

So, I created a blog. And you are reading it. Haha, sucker! ;)