No more Garbage truck noise
So I get a lot of RSS feeds at work and thought this one is worth sharing. But first, some history: My room in my apt. is street side. The windows are very thin. Therefore, I hear all noise from the street. This is a problem because garbage trucks come about 3 or 4 times a week whether it be for recycling, regular trash, restaurant bins... I hear it all. It's especially annoying on days when the bins are filled with glass bottles. It turns out that DARPA will be working on a technology to make tanks, humvees, big loud trucks quieter thru the use of some type of ultrasound technology. I'm not going to pretend to know what the technology is all about but if it makes it so I get a good nights sleep, I'll be a very happy man. I was going to read thru the DARPA report and be more knowledgable about this new technology but the report is something like 450 pages long and the only books I read that long are by J.K. Rowling. To see the blog where I read up on this new and wonderful idea, go to here. The article is about a fourth of the way down. There's also some other cool articles. Enjoy!

John's first hail storm. 昨日雹が降りました。うるさかったです。
February 26, 2007

"I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day."

- Abraham Lincoln

I appreciate...
Since moving back, I have gone through some interesting reverse culture shock. I was excited about coming back but I feel I was more sad about leaving Okinawa. Over the past 6 months I've had some wonderful experiences that make me glad I made the jump and also moments when I wish I was back in Okinawa. Seeing the Yoshida Brothers ( a Japanese group) play last week at a Japanese sushi/ jazz club made me get all mushy about Japan. I wanted to go back. But then this week, I went and saw Dave Chappelle at a comedy club and laughed for a good 2 hours. All the events there are have made the transition easier and I'm truly enjoying life in San Francisco. In April I will be going to another concert, John Legend and Corinne Bailey Rae.
I'm guessing that my desire to return to Okinawa will come and go. I'm just going to have to make the most of my time in SF until I decide to move on.

Best Compliment ever!

On Monday night I was walking home from the gym when I noticed a lady emptying groceries from her car to her door. I offered to help as she looked like she was having trouble and she still had quite a few bags to carry. Once I was finished, she told me that I was going to heaven even if I don't want to. I grinned and told her I hope so.

2月18日、Yoshida　Brothersのコンサートを見に行きました。Oakland、CaliforniaのJazzクラブ・すしレストランでライブありました。あと二人の友達と行って、一人は日本人で後一人はJET　Programとして福岡で働いてた。Yoshida Brothersはすごかった！さんしんのおとはきれいだけど、二人は一緒にひくことが素晴らしかった。ライブ行ったら沖縄に帰りたくなった。18日は忙しかった。朝に５ｋｍのレースありました。１７０人の中、私は１３ばんでした。タイムは１９：１７でした。その後、サッカーゲームありました。３－３で引き分けでした。今から日本語で頑張ります。最近、ちょっと忘れてるから、忘れないように練習します。

また。。。

Pillow Fight 2007

A good ole fashioned pillow fight with a twist. The twist was there were a lot more people than you could fit in a bedroom and it all started thru internet postings and word of mouth. It was the 2nd year that a pillow fight has taken place in San Francisco. I went to watch and took some fun pics and videos. I didn't partake because my back has been bothering me and aggravating it didn't sound like fun. It was a very well run event where people were out to have a good time. The rules were simple, bring a pillow and only hit people with pillows. Some people were swinging their pillows a bit recklessly but overall it was a safe, fun event. I saw old ladies in business suits, kids, hippies, yuppies, people dressed in outfits, people wearing helmets... You get the idea.

We're a month and a half into the new year and what do I have to show for myself? I'll first start out with the topic of religion. It's taken me a while but I think I've maybe found a church I'll go to regularly here. It's called Glide and it's within walking distance from my apt. It's got a lot of energy and is full of love for Christ and people. Next, would have to be my hobbies. I've been playing on a soccer team lately. It's a mildly competitive co-ed league (7 guys, 4 girls on the field) and I've been mostly playing sweeper. This past week, I scored a goal! A free kick from about 30 yards out. I bent it like Beckham. Last week I signed up for a marathon so training will begin as soon as my back stops spasming. Instead of running, I'm swimming and starting yoga to keep some sort of a routine. I ran a 5km a couple weeks ago and will be doing another one this coming weekend. Work is going well and I can't believe how much I've learned in the past 3 months. Here are some pics from the past month. I'm afraid I haven't taken many pictures but I'll work on that. Ethiopian dinner. Dig in with your hands. Eating here was good but brought back memories of India which was good yet bad. Getting sick in India wasn't fun.

Arbys. Before and after eating 4 sandwiches. What was I thinking?

2007 JETAANC Shinnenkai. I'm the new Treasurer.

お久しぶり！最近日本で全然書いてなくて、すみません。私は今元気でーす。

先週にマラソンに申し込みました。４月２９日に走ります。でも、先週の木曜日から腰が痛くてあんまりトレイニングできません。仕事はなんとなく慣れました。San Franciscoに遊ぶ所がたくさんあるけどあんまり遊ばない。平日に仕事終わったらジムに行くから酒を飲まない。それと、サッカーチームを入って毎週日曜日に試合あります。男女こんごうチームです。楽しいけど沖縄のチームのレベルより低い。

それで。。。またね。今からもっとBlogに書くのは頑張ります。

So I've decided to run a marathon in 2 months. It's called the Big Sur marathon and apparently it's a beautiful yet hard run. To motivate me, I'm raising money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. I've chosen this charity because it hits close to home. If you feel so inclined please go here

Thank you

It's been a minute since I put anything new on my blog. I've gotten busy in San Francisco as I become more acquainted with the different social scenes. Work hasn't changed much but I'm getting the hang of it and I also have health insurance now. YEAH! My routine is a lot like it was in Okinawa now; work, gym, go home is what I do during the week. On the weekends, I'll throw a little drinking into the scene and I take lots of walks/ runs outside. It really is a great city to see by foot. The hills can be a tad daunting but I've pretty much gotten used to it. I'll be putting some pictures and videos up in the next couple days. I've been considering eating subway as my "go to" meal after the gym. It's only 6 grams of fat or something right? I'm not trying to lose weight but after work and the gym I'm pretty exhausted and don't feel like cooking dinner for one. I usually settle for some pasta at home or a frozen dinner. It's a beautiful day here and time for me to go for another walk.