The countdown concluding: 7 days; it’s finally come.

The countdown has come to a close with the final update in Japan. And while I do still have 1 week left, I’ll be without Internet yet again for those remaining days. Needless to say, it’s been a busy week, more on the part of frustrating. Last week of teaching and as far as it comes to teaching, I’ve ran out my welcome 1 month too far. With 2 classes left to teach today; I mean, what to do? Come what may, just like the rest of this week has been.

From there, it’s back to more cleaning. Figurines have been put away — all bubblewrapped, packaging collapsed “neatly” in that orange luggage you see in the photo. The rest of my clothes will follow suit. After Monday, when I move out, it’ll be a real mixed bag. In the coming weeks ahead, I’ll give a full reflection on the trip, it’s after effects and where to go from there.

And with that, I’ll say sayonara Japan! We’ll certainly meet again.

じゃまた。

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The countdown continues: 16 days to go; entering with melancholy and a name change

The countdown continues with the big news o the day. A real goal for goal shootout in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals between the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks. A wild 3rd period proved too much for the good guys as the Canucks were eliminated by the Blackhawks with the score 7-5. A very un-Luongo like game giving up all 7 goals. The defence aren’t off the hook either. It’s a tough pill to swallow, from being under 3 mins away from taking a 3-1 series lead in game 4, the Canucks were just unraveled from there. It was still a great season overall despite not the finish they wanted. Well, there’s always next year.

On the other side of the pond, preperations of moving out have begun, albeit a little late here. The lengthy process of cancelling my internet and mobile phone are the main challenges, as I’m totally in the dark on how much the final charges will be. Time to begin packing clothes I’m sure I won’t wear in the next 2 weeks. In addition, clearing out clothes I won’t bring back home.

One more note, a change in name for the blog.

A couple more updates left before I’m without internet for a week. more to come

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Vienna Teng's new album, "Inland Territory" reviewed

Image courtesy Amazon

Upon finding out Vienna Teng was going to release a new album back in January, I was very excited. However, it was unlikely of it being released in Japan, So upon finding a sample of the entire album online proved a bit of a relief, otherwise I’d wait another month to buy it back in Canada. I thought her last album, Dreaming Through the Noise could be better; it just seemed way too soft in comparison to the album previous, Warm Strangers. And while the new album Inland Territory is a vast improvement over Dreaming… There were a few standout tracks that I haven’t heard from her previous. The tracks, Grandmother Song, No Gringo and The Last Snowfall seem to standout; that’s not to take anything away from the rest of the album which is quite solid in it’s regard. I do wish she’d do some touring up in Canada, I think it’s been almost 5 years since she performed in Canada (Vancouver at least).

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The countdown continues: 22 days remain and all travel, money are exhausted

The series of countdown posts continues with a slew of need-to-knows. This post marks the end of a lengthy 9-day holiday and the start of the wind-down: 15 work days out of 22 overall. Things need to be in order, paying off bills and cancelling services such as internet and mobile are among the few. Cleaning out the apartment will be put on hold until my last work week.

During the course of the holiday were day trips to Osaka, Kyoto, Noto Peninsula and Hakusan — all of which required plenty of walking. Photos for Osaka and Kyoto can be found here and here. If I’d budgeted properly, I’d love to spend another day or 2 in Kyoto & surrounding Kansai region. The photos for Noto and Hakusan are still being sifted through, and will be gradually uploaded accordingly. Only one day was spent as a recovery day — meaning I never left the apartment. All in all, this holiday was one of the busiest and the most fun time on the entire time spent here.

Now the worry time. I have money to cover remaining commuting, and food, but the last payment for my camera and bills have left me short yet again. My upcoming cancellation of my mobile will be the heavy hitter, as it’ll certainly hit the 30000 yen mark. I have to straighten that out, fast.

The hockey side of things, the Vancouver Canucks have finally played again after a week+ long break inbetween series. Currently they lead the Chicago Blackhawks in the Semi-Finals 2 games to 1.

another update real soon.

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