That’s what I’m talking about!

halo2 on the big screen! (in the lab)

Random Observation/Comment #33: A notepad was a great investment.It is highly suggested for all who are traveling.

Bring on the Japanese beers and games! Halo2 in Japanese =).This night reminded me of home, except it was with a Japanese version of the game and funny light-weight research students (instead of funny light-weight Justin).I drank 5 cans of Asahi (500ml), which comes to about 2.5L.Now that I look at 2.5L, I have no idea how I could even drink that much liquid, let alone stand (and continue to play more video games afterwards).The only person that out drank me was the tall Irish guy that gets very violent when drunk.He was looking for his lucky charms or something.Everyone else had the tolerance of freshmen girls at frat parties.Unfortunately, there were no freshman girls.

From what I’ve heard, their training was even less than what I had at Cooper.Most of the college students here actually concentrate on studying (which might have been also true at Cooper).The students here are, sadly, too diligent to see the lighter side of life.They should really teach us young adults to have fun in a semi-responsible manner (at least to the point where we’re conscious of each action’s consequences).Cooper students needed this as a class – call it “A non-awkward social gathering 101.”It’s not a bad thing to socialize and have friends to see every weekend.It’s even better when you have more than one group of friends to share this experience.

What I’ve found to be true in the last few weeks is this lack of memory for college knowledge.I have the work ethic engrained into my brain, but this doesn’t mean I recall every lecture or even concept of my classes.I could probably say “yeah, I’ve heard of that theorem” or “I took a class in that before” but the end of those sentences would be “I don’t remember, it was more than three months ago.”I’ve always wanted application of these theories and more hands-on experiments to build something.It’s when I have a larger objective that I take interest in learning all of the bits and pieces it takes to get this product.The hard part about these classes is, of course, the fact that making a product takes much more than an one type of engineer.There are so many different parts and considerations on all ends in order to adhere to all the standards for possible marketing.And then after you’ve done all of this, you’ve realized that someone else beat you to it and made it even better.It’s quite frustrating, so I’m losing interest in the private business aspect.I’ll always be an inventor of all sorts, but I don’t think what I make will be more than an added convenience with many personal tweaks.

Anyway, Japan’s drinking class is rampant at night.They really follow the “work hard, play hard” motto.It’s as if they have so much built up frustration from being extraordinarily polite during working hours that they need to break free with the help of Jack and Daniels.A drunken businessman is hilarious to watch.He will do and say the most vulgar things in the presence of women.I think they break every sexual harassment law from work just because A) they can’t do it at work and B) they’re no longer at work.I’m used to the stuff Jake and James does, but this goes far beyond the normal “damn, girl” and creepy stares.The girls from the JETs told me that they say things like “let’s go to a business hotel and have sex – I’ll buy you dinner first.”I guess if you say it with the right inflections in your voice, it could be a joke.Maybe James can pull it off with the high pitch voice, but the Japanese accent can’t even get passed the first word.No matter how you look at it, the pent up anger can’t be healthy.

Back to the story about the night: We drank, I got wrecked by these pros in Halo2, found that old song “The Land of 1000 Dances” (where it goes naaa nanananaaa nananana nananana nananaaaa – great song), and then I found River City Ransom on a flash game.I wound up sleeping on my chair at 4AM while programming the rest of that function.I woke up at 7AM and decided to go to Kyoto and start walking around.I was a zombie, but the nature was a good way to cure a hangover.It was so bright and loud – calm down, sun.

~See Lemons Kanpai!

look at that tower of greatness