Jeff

Back at the due

This will be long, so get a cold drink and get ready to relax.

I got back from my trip to Japan on Tuesday (two Tuesdays ago) the 11th. It was a long flight and it didn’t help that Kim’s mother basically gave me the cold shoulder for the entire trip. It was nice to get home and see my family. They were all there to meet me at the airport. I went back and promptly got changed to go with my dad to a dedication party at the new Colt’s Stadium. It is really impressive. Large, spacious, and it looks very nice. I forgot my ID though, so I was getting the free beer from family friends who offered their services, it was weird getting alcohol through third parties when I am legal. shrug

I worked for a few days after getting back, but stopped early because the hours were being cut and I didn’t want to take hours just for extra money from people who live off of the pay. Finishing up was odd though, it may be the last time I work at Target, after 4 years of it being my main place of employment. I will oddly miss it.

I focused on packing and getting things ready the next few days, all culminating into my shipping to Purdue yesterday. It was a surprisingly smooth move in. We came a day early and because of that, there were no crowds. I went and got the parking permit, moved everything up and we got the carpet laid down all fairly quickly. I then went out and had sushi with Kim and then dropped her off at her hotel. Then today I waited around putting stuff up in my room and waiting for Kim to call when she was going to move in, I offered to help and she said she was going to take me up on that offer. But instead I just found out they didn’t want my help and I guess I will talk to her tonight sometime. shrug So much for wasting a day around the dorm when i could have gone and visited friends.

Well so begins my final year of schooling. It’s been a long 16ish years of school thus far, but this final year is going to be different. Hopefully I will have time to keep updating this and possibly add on to the site, I have some ideas and have been working the code to make it easy to develop these ideas.

Fuji-san

I climbed Mt. Fuji on Thursday/Friday. I did an overnight climb so that I could see the sunrise from the top. It was a very worthwhile experience and I highly recommend that anyone who can try do so. The climb was a very strenuous one, probably one of the most I have done. The trail itself wasn’t that bad, but climbing in the dark makes it a lot more difficult since you cannot see where you are going, just trust it is in the correct direction. Often times I would glance over with my light and see that I was climbing in the harder section and that a few feet over it was a lot easier. I made it to the top at midnight, it took me just around four and a half hours to make it to the summit. The usual time to ascend is 6 hours, so I guess I haven’t lost the athleticism and ability to climb mountains I once had. It has been two years since I last climbed a mountain. I was one of the first 10 or so people to the summit. It was a lot colder on the top than it has been in Yokohama this trip. I was shivering and it was a long 4 hours until the sunrise. I found a bench and waited out the time in boredom. Around 4 the shopping stalls and things opened up on the top, a lot of the people who run the stalls climb up each night to sell their stuff on the summit. I waited around for the sunrise (you can see many pictures of the sunrise in the album) and got to experience a truly beautiful piece of nature. I have never seen a trail so packed and the entire mountainside of the top was covered in people witnessing the spectacle. There are a number of shots showing the sheer crowd on the top at 4 in the morning. I would think there was around a thousand or so people there to witness it. The trail was packed going up the entire time I was on the summit. I have heard about human traffic jams on the climb and got to see what they meant. It was something to see.

I decided to buy a beer at the summit and enjoy a toast to the highest point in Japan. I don’t think there are many mountains where you can climb all night and buy a cold beer at the top. I saved the can just for that unique souvenir. Around 6 I decided to try and descend, I was freezing on the top as I didn’t bring the right stuff to stay warm sitting around. My gear was for warmth while climbing, this is a first where I climb a mountain and sit around in the dead of night for four hours. Another new experience. I descended in an hour and forty-five minutes, the usual descent time is four. I still have the fast descending legs I used to have as well. It was interesting being able to look over and see the ascent trail in light for once. I got to witness what it was I did the previous night. I arrived at the bottom and got to wait around for 4 hours until my bus arrived. I did some shopping and ate something since I did not have the appetite to eat much while I was climbing. I wanted to try and get a shot of the mountain while we were driving back, but like the drive there, the mountain was encased in a thick fog that didn’t give much to see beyond a vague shadow that didn’t show up on my camera. I got back to the apartment with Kim around 4, showered and got a 2 hour nap before I went with Kim and her family to have dinner with her brother’s girlfriend’s family. It was an interesting dinner, but I didn’t get to enjoy it to the fullest since I was incredibly tired. I was excused early with Kim so that I could go home and sleep. I uploaded my pictures first because I was sure people wanted to see them.

I hope you enjoy them, if you have any questions about them, I will be glad to tell you about them either when I see anyone or when I get around to adding captions.

Fuji-san Tomorrow

This is coming a bit late from my one every two days schedule, but here it goes. Two days ago, we went to Asakusa, which is known for the large Buddhist temple at the end of a long shopping stall street. We browsed around the shops for a while and then saw the shrine. We couldn’t find English translations for the fortunes so didn’t get any since I wouldn’t be able to understand if I got a good one or a bad one. When you get bad fortunes there are large racks to tie them to so that you can keep away the bad fortune. We walked back and I bought some headbands that are typical of Japanese culture, they have the symbols for “victory” or “hissho” and “pass in school” or “gohkaku”. I then got some postcards that I need to fill out and mail soon. I also got some Japanese soft-serve ice cream, they call it “soft cream”. I picked the rose flavor just to be adventurous. Kim chose mango. I have a picture of the flavors in the gallery (or will add it soon). Afterwards, we traveled back to Kawasaki and I got to see a 100 yen store (thats the equivalent of a dollar store in the states). We finally went to a Japanese restaurant in Landmark tower (the tallest building in Japan) where I had Sashimi on sushi rice (this included raw octopus, scallops, tuna, and salmon) and then had some more Ice cream, this time at Cold Stone.

Yesterday was a stay-in day. Everyone has been walking around so much that it felt good to just relax. Kim and I met her friend Lily for dinner at this udon place in Minato Mirai, but she had to leave soon after to talk to her serious boyfriend. We then walked back to her apartment (Kim’s that is) and stopped by Osanbashi pier, where I got some good photos of the Yokohama skyline at night. I found a new favorite setting on my camera that holds for some time to overexpose the light, giving a dull gray sky a very vibrant color. I have used this on many of my nights shots since.

Today, we went to Odaiba, its a recently developed area of Tokyo where they have many new and nice looking buildings. We took the monorail through to the end and then stopped in Aomi where the Toyota showroom is. We looked around some and then headed to Daiba, where Kim and I explored the mall for a few hours. We finally headed back to Shimbashi where we walked through Ginza. It’s the big area that reminds me a lot of Fifth Avenue. Lots of big flagship stores for many recognizable names. A very glitzy and expensive strip of road. We finally headed back and stopped at Kawasaki to have dinner, Kim’s mom and I each had two beers along with dinner and then we finally headed back to here. I have a small glass of plum sake waiting for me in the fridge, that I am going to have when Kim gets out of the shower.

Also, I will add captions when I get home cough (KIM) cough because it is too difficult to do major coding over the internet using SSH. But if you have any questions about the photos, just message me in some way and I can tell you about it. Also, just click the thumbnail and it should enlarge to full size, I have tested it on Firefox 3 and IE 7, so get up to date on those.