June 10, 2006 – New house
Posted by Barniferous in The Penpal on January 17, 2017
Today I got to spend some time with The Penpal and see her parents’ new house. The new house is only a few houses away from their old house which is convenient for moving and nice because they already know the neighbourhood well. The new house is much more modern than the older one, and features lots of sliding windows and one room with a tatami floor. Very nice!
New life goal: own a house with a tatami room floor.
(2017 Author’s note) The Penpal’s parents are still in the newer house. I have stayed in the tatami mat room several times 🙂
June 9, 2006 – World Cup is BORING
Posted by Barniferous in Friends and coworkers on January 12, 2017
The FIFA World Cup is on now. Since we have a lot of British teachers, the World Cup is a regular topic of conversation in the teachers room. Tonight I was invited to watch my first ever World Cup game, England vs. Paraguay, with coworkers. It was BORING! SO VERY BORING!
I’m sure the soccer / football fans out there are warming up their fingers to type a blistering message about how a maple sucking puck slapper (Canadian) like me could never understand “The Beautiful Game”; this may be true. Soccer is a widely played game in Canada, but rarely at the professional level. I can appreciate how passionate people get about the game, especially when national pride is on the line, but the game we watched was simply not exciting soccer. At all. Even the most tea swilling, Union Jack wearing, fish and chips eating Brits in our group ended up apologizing and saying that the game wasn’t much fun to watch. They did keep telling me that World Cup is usually a lot more exciting.
The whole experience reminded me of the episode of The Simpsons where a major international soccer game is played in Springfield and everyone gets bored after about 30 seconds. Unlike Springfield, we didn’t have a riot.
At least I got a chance to hang out and drink a few beers while eating some really good spicy miso potato chips. Yum!
May 21, 2006 – Farmer tan
Posted by Barniferous in Friends and coworkers, The Penpal on January 6, 2017
The Penpal and I met up with some of her friends and we spend a beautiful sunny day at Izu Mito Sea Paradise, which is always fun. I have been a few times before and you can read about them here and here. The friends brought along their young daughter, hoping she’d pick up some English from a real live gaijin. After a few years in Japan I’m getting used to the fact that I am a bit of a novelty to most kids, and have actually started enjoying the experience.
While we were driving, I had the window down and rested my arm on the door. In the short time that we were driving there and back I got a wicked sunburn on my left forearm. I am a very pale person, and the sun is NOT my friend.
(2016 note from the author) Holy crap I was skinny back then!! I’m still pale as a ghost, but I at least have a bicep now.
May 19, 2006 – So much rain
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan on January 4, 2017
So much rain. So very much rain.
There was no rain when I left for work today, but it was absolutely pouring when my shift was over. I didn’t have an umbrella with me, but an umbrella likely wouldn’t have been much help anyway. I decided to just bike home as quickly as possible. Fun fact: Japanese people give you some very strange looks when they see you riding a bike home with no umbrella in a downpour.
By the time I got home all of my clothes were soaked right down to my underwear. I was actually able to pour water out of my shoes!
Rain is serious business in Japan.
Happy New Year 2017!
Posted by Barniferous in Uncategorized on January 2, 2017
Greetings and Happy New Year! If you are reading this I hope you had a fun and exciting new year with friends or family.
Now that the train wreck known as 2016 is behind us, I’m looking forward to a better year. As a rule I don’t make new year’s resolutions, because they are typically forgotten within the first few months. However, here are some things I will be trying to accomplish in 2017:
- Be a good father and husband – doing both of these things involves hard work, trial and error, and a lot of patience (on their part and mine). I’m going to try hard to always put family first.
- Finish off my travel blog – as of the time I am writing this post, my Japan adventures are stuck in mid 2006. I’d like to finish off the story within 2017.
- Record a song – for the past few years, I have been slowly learning how to play the bass guitar while jamming with friends. We actually have a few song ideas that are decent, and I’d like to get a good recording of at least one of them this year.
- Find time for the gym – I don’t always like going to the gym, but I love the way it makes me feel and look. I’m hoping that with a healthy family and continuing to get used to my new job that I can once again get back in the habit of hitting the gym a few times a week.
Thanks for reading my blog, and I hope your 2017 is infinitely better than 2016. Take care of yourselves and each other!
DiJ
Happy 70th to my dad!
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Canada on December 30, 2016
December 28, 2016 marked my father’s 70th birthday. Since my dad is a regular reader of this blog and a recurring character, I have decided to post links to some of my favourite stories that he has been a part of.
- Pulling rank – when my dad accidentally interfered with my sister talking to American soldiers
- Meeting of the families – my parents meet The Penpal’s parents – somehow both fathers wore the same hat
- Kaiten Zushi – my dad’s first time trying conveyor sushi
- Final adventures 2004 – where my dad has a beer with a stranger in the park
- Canadian parents on the loose – my dad gets the hotel staff to demonstrate the automatic parking garage
- Osaka Castle with my parents – my dad bravely tries on samurai costumes in front of a golden tiger
- Kiyomizu Dera with my parents – my parents try to walk between the famous love stones in Kyoto
- No bathing suits in the onsen!? – my dad and I immerse ourselves in Japanese culture and extremely hot water
- Translating for my dad – my dad tries to have a conversation with a taxi driver in Osaka
- Izakaya with my dad – after a busy trip to western Japan, we relaxed with a few cold beers at an izakaya in Numazu
The stories on this blog only give a small look at my father – he is an avid music lover, tai chi practitioner, former gymnastics coach, science fiction fan, Tim Horton’s aficionado, and an international traveler. He is also the kind of person who will snowblow the neighbours driveway or make a special trip into Winnipeg to help with my car.
Happy birthday dad!
May 18, 2006 – Guys night in
Posted by Barniferous in Azeroth, Friends and coworkers, Life in Japan on December 28, 2016
Tonight was a guys night in with Azeroth and Super Dave. After work we stopped by Don Quijote for snacks and drinks. DonKi is just down the street from our apartment, which is convenient because it’s very easy to overshop at a store that sells everything.
Upon returning home we drank beer, ate toaster oven pizza and pepperoni / cheese wedge sandwiches while watching Trailer Park Boys. There is something really international about watching Trailer Park Boys (a low budget Canadian show) in Japan with an American and an Australian.
May 17, 2006 – Stadium Arcadium
Posted by Barniferous in Azeroth, Friends and coworkers, Klaxman, Life in Japan, The Penpal on December 16, 2016
It was another rainy day in Numazu today. I worked early shift and had plans to see The Penpal after work. Due to the rain we decided to hang out near Numazu station so she could take the train home after.
While waiting, I checked out the music store in Numazu station and was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a new Red Hot Chili Peppers album; Stadium Arcadium. There are a few bands where I will buy new albums without hearing anything first – RHCP is on that list. The cool thing about buying CDs in Japan is that they usually come with extra songs or Japanese translations of the lyrics. The last Weezer CD I bought had both, but Stadium Arcadium only came with translated lyrics.
The Penpal and I hung out in the station area for a while before I walked home in the rain. Later when my roommates returned home we all watched Mystery Science Theater 3000. This is something that always seems like a good idea, but has probably contributed to as much brain damage as the beer I have been drinking. Seriously, those movies are BAD.
(Author’s note) I don’t remember which MST3K movie we watched, but I have a suspicion that it was Fire Maidens of Outer Space. I must have repressed that memory.
December 12, 2016 – Good memories
Posted by Barniferous in Uncategorized on December 12, 2016
Greetings readers, it’s -20 in Winnipeg tonight. I’m bundled up and hiding in front of my computer working on a chronological index of all of the posts on my blog. The chronological list makes for a cool master reference of the over 700 posts (as of right now) that I have already written about my time in Japan. Working on it is also a good way of procrastinating on long overdue new posts.
Looking back on some of my posts brings back good memories of a simpler time: I was living in an exciting place, having adventures everyday, saving a little money and spending the rest on food, beer, and karaoke. I hung out with people from around the world, knowing that when I was tired of that lifestyle I could simply pack up and return home to Canada.
I am writing this now from a house that I’m paying a mortgage on, up too late on a work night for an office job, listening to the baby monitor to hear if my nearly 3 year old son is waking up. It’s a very different lifestyle than 10 years ago, however there are still some minor similarities; I’m up late on my computer listening to music and drinking a can of Sapporo 🙂
Although I know that the carefree time of daily beer and karaoke is over, I know that I still have a lot of adventures to come. I’m looking forward to taking my son on his first trip to Japan next year. He’s already asking to see the ocean and ride trains. It’s going to be different than before, but sometimes different can be good too.
If you’re reading this, I wish you all the best of the season and hope that wherever you are that you’re close to friends, family, and happiness.
DiJ
Drinking in Japan 
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