I will be starting a favorite links section for all the personal celebrities in my life who have internet websites. The first one I will introduce to you has been listed which is a friend and neighbor of mine in Hayward. She has a site devoted to crochet crafts of various styles and apparel. I had modeled a gift that she has made for me on my Christmas posts. For more details about the gift you can click here. To support and view many of her creations and the latest and greatest check out her site on the left.
Thanks Cay!!!!!!!!!
jjc
12/24/2007
Merry Christmas!!!
Well it is Christmas eve, and quite chilly over here in the Land of the Rising Sun. Christmas is tomorrow (Japan Time) but I will be working. A bit of a bummer but it keeps my mind off the things that are near and dear to my heart, that in other words I miss.
I want to wish everyone a great holiday and warm wishes from me to you. More posts to come soon stay tuned..........
jjc
12/03/2007
Batter Up!!!
There is so much I need to post but little time, so lets start with one weekend I had participated in the compay softball tournament. Yes I know you probably thinking its a bit cheezy but hey I got have something to do.......right!?!
Notice the gear I was wearing, I was ready for this. One bright crispy Saturday a competition between three Hitachi departments playing softball. It was Applications (thats my team), design group and sales department.
It was actually quite fun, oddly enough only the guys played, lots of girls were present but they comprised of the cheerleeding team.
The game was pretty intense after everyone warmed up the first couple innings the playing level and proffessionalism of the sport had gone up ten fold. You can see how serious people got in the game, by watching the videos below.
Just in case you had any doubt I didnt strike out at bat!!! I was bit rusty but not inexperienced.....
This is not my boss, it is the head of the sales team, they had won the cup for the day. DAMMIT!!! But all in all it was in good fun, the sales team are a different breed of folks versus design and applications but I figure the thought of all of us coming together for some saturday fun is something we can all learn from, when it comes to work ethics in Japan and America. After the games a commencent dinner followed, in Japanese style, lots of beer and sushi!!!
All three departments - Group Photo
All three departments - Group Photo
jjc
11/23/2007
ThanksGiving in Japan
Happy Holidays!!!
Yes I am still in Japan and for the holidays to come. Been working hard these days but not without a little time for myself and for this special holiday that has arrived, THANKSGIVING!
Oddly enough in Japan this is a holiday weekend but not like America where everyone celebrates this special time to be with family and have a special dinner as we know.
Well despite this I made a Thanksgiving of my own, atleast for my sake and to appreciate all my family and friends that I have in the U.S. You are always in my thoughts especially during these times.
I think I did a good job!!! To my surprise (really) everything came out quite damn good! What is so weird though is that turkey is not widely availabe in Japan like the U.S. They have turkey deli style for sandwiches but finding a small turkey, or atleast a nice chunky part of a turkey is close to impossible, so I improvised with a small cornish hen as pictured above. Dont let the picutre fool you it fits in my toaster oven!
With this I have all of you in my prayers for a great holiday and I hope your holiday was as enjoyable as I could of done for myself in Japan!
With love always
JJC
10/15/2007
Mt. Fuji -- Part Five --The Peak--
Well tired as hell we had to get up at two in the morning so we can get to the peak before sunrise. So off we went back up on the mountain. The time we stayed in the lodge totaled about five or so hours, from the time we stepped in to the time we were ready to go.
The lodge is literally what it is.... the meal we had which wasn't too pleasant wasn't too hot either. The attic was where we stayed among several other people lined like caskets!!!!
We were assigned a number which was etched on each pillow so that was our sleeping spot for the night. Woooooooooh! Let me tell ya, I couldnt sleep a wink too much shuffling and snoring. The bed was hard, I think I was sleeping on a tatami mat?? But very warm up there which felt nice. For those of you who want to know, I kept my packing light so I didnt sleep with much on..........;)
Tried to smile for the camera but I think you know how I can get in the morning..... just a bit cranky!!!
It was deathly cold up there being a couple stages fom the peak, lots of fog. Keep in mind how hot and humid it was at the base which was only hours ago.....
Short break before we can continue, it was a bit tough to wake up and get going.... plus we had to shuffle through the hoards of people who were trying to get to the peak as much as we wanted to.
A Mt Fuji glamour pic!
Click on the pictures above and below to get a better idea of the scenery and tons of people on the same trail.
Finally the fog started to clear up a bit when the sun broke through. What we were beginning to see was breathtaking.....
This one came out real nice I couldn't have done a better job with it.
Not much more to go. It was like walking in the desert, the end can be seen but was really far up ahead, this was starting to be a breaking point for some of the crew but dammit we kept together!!!
The final gate to the heavens above Japan, of course we had to wait in line so this part had taken some time to cross, but once we did a joy came over all of us that we have made it to the top, the highest point in Japan, and we were there, we ARE there!!!
After we had crossed the final gate a pillar stood between us and the peak, the final marker to officially say we are at the peak.
It was kind of cool to see a small village resting on top of the mountain, that kind of came out of nowhere. I almost felt like I stepped into a medieval movie or something......... I was just wondering how the heck do they have water and electricity up here. There were lots of shops and souveneir joints in the village plus a temple for praying to the almighty Buddha. Lots to see up here.
The crater was huge. I couldnt believe it when I saw it. After the fog cleared up the peak was a sight to see and looking out beyond the peak was a sea of green and blue.
From what I was told a small hill lied ahead with this structure and it is the absolute tip of the peak. Of course this is a kodak moment.......
Team Fuji!!!!!!!
In full control
The lodge is literally what it is.... the meal we had which wasn't too pleasant wasn't too hot either. The attic was where we stayed among several other people lined like caskets!!!!
We were assigned a number which was etched on each pillow so that was our sleeping spot for the night. Woooooooooh! Let me tell ya, I couldnt sleep a wink too much shuffling and snoring. The bed was hard, I think I was sleeping on a tatami mat?? But very warm up there which felt nice. For those of you who want to know, I kept my packing light so I didnt sleep with much on..........;)
Tried to smile for the camera but I think you know how I can get in the morning..... just a bit cranky!!!
It was deathly cold up there being a couple stages fom the peak, lots of fog. Keep in mind how hot and humid it was at the base which was only hours ago.....
Short break before we can continue, it was a bit tough to wake up and get going.... plus we had to shuffle through the hoards of people who were trying to get to the peak as much as we wanted to.
A Mt Fuji glamour pic!
Click on the pictures above and below to get a better idea of the scenery and tons of people on the same trail.
Finally the fog started to clear up a bit when the sun broke through. What we were beginning to see was breathtaking.....
This one came out real nice I couldn't have done a better job with it.
Not much more to go. It was like walking in the desert, the end can be seen but was really far up ahead, this was starting to be a breaking point for some of the crew but dammit we kept together!!!
The final gate to the heavens above Japan, of course we had to wait in line so this part had taken some time to cross, but once we did a joy came over all of us that we have made it to the top, the highest point in Japan, and we were there, we ARE there!!!
After we had crossed the final gate a pillar stood between us and the peak, the final marker to officially say we are at the peak.
It was kind of cool to see a small village resting on top of the mountain, that kind of came out of nowhere. I almost felt like I stepped into a medieval movie or something......... I was just wondering how the heck do they have water and electricity up here. There were lots of shops and souveneir joints in the village plus a temple for praying to the almighty Buddha. Lots to see up here.
The crater was huge. I couldnt believe it when I saw it. After the fog cleared up the peak was a sight to see and looking out beyond the peak was a sea of green and blue.
From what I was told a small hill lied ahead with this structure and it is the absolute tip of the peak. Of course this is a kodak moment.......
Team Fuji!!!!!!!
In full control
The End........ for now....Fuji-San: Mission Completed!!!
jjc
10/09/2007
Only in Japan!!!
I finally got the last part of the Fuji trip together. Posting soon. But here is something to hold you over. These videos are only in Japan, by Japan hope you like them.
glumbert - Only in Japan: The Cucumber Slicing Car
Drifting is alive and well awesome!!!!
glumbert - USA vs Japan in the open a beer bottle with a helicopter contest
Now tell me who are the announcers rooting for?????
glumbert - Japanese Table Cloth Yanking Competition
The best for last. By the way the guy who does the dance at the end is a major ( and I do mean MAJOR) celebrity here!!!!
jjc
glumbert - Only in Japan: The Cucumber Slicing Car
Drifting is alive and well awesome!!!!
glumbert - USA vs Japan in the open a beer bottle with a helicopter contest
Now tell me who are the announcers rooting for?????
glumbert - Japanese Table Cloth Yanking Competition
The best for last. By the way the guy who does the dance at the end is a major ( and I do mean MAJOR) celebrity here!!!!
jjc
9/26/2007
Victimized............toil and trouble!!!!!!!!!
Hey I am still here and alive. I have been victimized!!!!!! I have spent the past four days trying to recover my PC. Lets just say I was websurfing in the wrong part of internet town (for reasons I will not tell u!!) and picked up a virus I couldn't get rid of. I was trying hard to fight it I tell ya! But dammit the freaking bug kicked my azzzzzz. So I had to recover, and I do mean recover everything, my pc has just had a major over haul to get rid of the sucker!!!!!
I am brave enough to enter Internet town again and stay on my side of the tracks (for now)......... I have one last part of MT. Fuji that will be posting very soon. Yes I said it correctly the last section of the trip. And of course there is so much more to talk about that has been going on in the land of the rising sun too......
stay tuned........
jjc
I am brave enough to enter Internet town again and stay on my side of the tracks (for now)......... I have one last part of MT. Fuji that will be posting very soon. Yes I said it correctly the last section of the trip. And of course there is so much more to talk about that has been going on in the land of the rising sun too......
stay tuned........
jjc
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