gdp's Comments

http://www.jinglejanglejungle.net/ : Reflections of the A to Z Blogging Challenge

Thu, 14 May 2015 17:14:26 +0000

Congrats on finishing the challenge. Yours was pretty musical, I see. My recent post Immigration Fun

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/ : Playing \"Devils Advocate\"

Thu, 4 Jul 2013 15:34:52 +0000

Sometimes, I get this kind of person. My coworker taught a guy who was certain that "bye-bye" was Japanese. He studied at Cambridge University where his English professor said "Good-bye" was the proper way to say good-bye. He was absolutely sure of himself that "bye-bye" wasn't English, but was Japanese in origin. My coworker was ready to argue, and he did argue a bit. Then he pulled up some information with his phone that stated that the origin of "bye-bye" was 18th century England, and that it was a child's way of saying it. The teacher is British. My recent post Wagyu Beef Sukiyaki

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/ : Golden Week (Hope you squared that away..)

Sat, 6 Apr 2013 14:27:09 +0000

I've considered going to a gym before, but never did. I think that you can get the same exercise on your own and for free. The park near my home has a 250 metre track, which is frequented by joggers, as well as kids who are training for their soccer or baseball club. No idea what I'm doing during Golden Week. My friend wants to visit Kamakura, so maybe I will. My recent post Exploring Hiroshima

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/ : The 5th Horseman of the Apocalypse

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:30:25 +0000

I look at myself in the mirror directly into my eyes everyday. There was a time when I would have tried everything I could to hide something about myself that is extremely obvious. I was embarrassed. I'm not anymore. It's something that I worried about only 2 weeks ago while having an interview for a part time teaching job. But during the interview, I didn't worry about it, and showed them just what I can do. I may have this dry, itchy looking psoriasis on my forehead, but it never affected their decision. They were impressed with my thoroughness in a 5 minute demonstration of a lesson I could teach that I made up entirely in less than 2 minutes. I know I can show them my abilities and show them that I am that good. I'm just telling it like it is right now. They wanted me right then, immediately after finishing the interview. They usually contact interviewees within a few days. They offered me the job immediately. I used to be shy. I used to hide what I thought. Now I don't. Although unrelated to this, I know that you're an animal lover. Sad to say that my dog just died last night. He was about 18 years old and his health was deteriorating quickly. It wasn't a surprise, but it is one of the most damn hardest things to deal with. Even though I only lived with him for 2 years, I knew that he loved me unconditionally, and it wasn't until after I found him stiff and not breathing that I realized how important he was to me. His death has affected me in so many ways that it's showed me what's important and how I must be true to myself and those that I love. My recent post Exploring Fukui

http://www.jadij.com/ : Could you repeat that?

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 03:12:45 +0000

Near where I live, there's an Isuzu truck factory, and I always see いすゞ. I was wondering about it, too.

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/ : Tired of waiting for you (Troll)

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 16:54:58 +0000

400,000, huh? Nearly the population of the city I live in. You know, I haven't had any trolls. I'm not exactly controversial, either. 5'11" and 185 lbs. Sounds like me 2 years ago before I started eating home-cooked meals. You've got muscle, I'm not exactly muscular. I also celebrated a kind of birthday, my daughter's 1st. I'm way too busy with her these days. I feel quite random for some reason. When will you hit 1 million? My recent post Exploring Aomori

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/ : Lazy Americans (Myth busting in Japan)

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 18:00:30 +0000

Ah, the so-called legendary Japanese work ethic. I still get students saying that Japanese people work hard, long hours, and efficiently. Liars. I hate going to the bank in Japan. It's so outdated and inefficient, what takes 5 minutes in Canada takes 30 minutes in Japan. And city offices are a joke. All of my coworkers and I understand how Japanese business runs. We talk about it often, and we also notice how the Japanese staff are all working like they're busy, when in fact, they probably aren't doing much other than reading and re-reading emails and documents, rewriting documents, examining unnecessarily complex spreadsheets, etc. Most Japanese staff won't admit that they really don't have much to do, but there are some who have said that they are quite bored. They end up doing very basic tasks that are usually unnecessary. And remember, Japan is a country where sleep is a hobby. My recent post Still icy 3 days later

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/ : Christmas (The Cultural Exchange)

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 08:14:27 +0000

Looks great. Must have been a lot of fun :) And that's a huge display! Don't need any streetlights. My recent post My holiday plans

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/ : Don't touch me please!

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 14:37:00 +0000

That is just a strange thing to hear suddenly like that. I know I've heard strange things from kids, but that takes the cake. I teach a 6 year old that is very wild, though seems to settle down with me, and he is constantly saying "mom bad!" whenever his mom tries to discipline him. On a more humourous note, I was teaching a class of 7-9 year olds about family members and showing my family tree. One girl came up to me, drew a heart between my sister and I and said "Jay Dee loves sister?" Uh, I had no idea how to respond to that. From the way she said it, she wasn't meaning the love of siblings. She said "love love" after that. My recent post How about some wind to go with the cold?

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/ : Cancer...would it matter?

Fri, 7 Dec 2012 13:37:30 +0000

Cancer is something I know quite a bit about. Both grandmothers died from it. My dad had a cancer scare. It was benign. My aunt had lung cancer and died of it. That scared my mom to quit smoking. One of my grandmothers lived for more than 20 years with leukemia. Honestly, you need to get it checked out. My recent post Another big one? Well, no.

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/ : The Fear Factory (Halloween in Japan)

Sun, 4 Nov 2012 17:03:00 +0000

You're really good at doing this. Maybe too good! But they still come to see it, don't they? My recent post 2012 Picture of the Week (45/52) – Modern

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/ : Internet Death Threats

Sun, 4 Nov 2012 16:50:55 +0000

Lovely sounding guy, isn't he? What country does he live in that you couldn't afford taxi fare? The State of Delusion? My recent post 2012 Picture of the Week (45/52) – Modern

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/ : If....if my aunt had balls she\'d be my uncle...

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 16:28:30 +0000

I've had it many times lately. Baskin Robbins is nice to have. My recent post 2012 Picture of the Week (38/52) – Mt. Fuji appears peaceful

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/ : If....if my aunt had balls she\'d be my uncle...

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 12:13:27 +0000

01001101011010010110111001110100001000000110001101101000011011110110001101101111011011000110000101110100011001010010000001100011011010000110100101110000 My recent post Bright local shrine

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/ : Calling Out Names (THIS is how you do it)

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 14:10:10 +0000

Incredible! I wish I could experience your beach party. Looks like it was amazing. Hard work for you, but everyone was satisfied, I can guess. I really want a good old barbecue! My recent post 2012 Picture of the Week (31/52) – Yokohama street from the 8th floor

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/ : Bullying in Japan (Schools)

Sun, 1 Jul 2012 14:08:03 +0000

I have definitely thought about that :) My recent post Relabeling the seasons

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/ : Japan is not China, Japan is not China...

Sun, 1 Jul 2012 14:05:11 +0000

I've seen too much of this kind of thing about China. It disgusted me when the kid was run over by a car, yet no one would help. Absolutely shameless. No one wanted to get involved. I need to stop watching Youtube videos about this kind of thing. My recent post Relabeling the seasons

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/ : Bullying in Japan (Schools)

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 16:21:21 +0000

My wife and I have no confidence in the Japanese public school system to teach our kid(s) well and provide them with a safe learning environment. Mixed kids can have their share of bullying problems. Confidence is one thing that can stop bullying before it starts. I have seen bullying in my classroom. I've let my students know it's not acceptable. One kid got it so bad after the lesson that he didn't come to class. He comes now, and he jokes around with his former bully now, but whenever they've started up during the lesson, I've had to put my foot down more than once. It's quite difficult when the bully happens to be a kid who doesn't seem to listen to anyone, as I saw today with a 6 year old whose mother whacked him on the back of the head for trying to take something from me without permission. I've been the recipient of bullying. Jr high school was the worst time of my life. I wanted to stay away from school. I wasn't strong back then, and I was quite shy. Easy target. I'm the complete opposite now. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to go back in time with my current knowledge, mentality and physical condition. My recent post 2012 Picture of the Week (26/52) – Early summer beach

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/ : Rainy season in Japan...has arrived!!

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 15:31:26 +0000

A miniature banana boat? When I was a kid, I always watched the weather channel in the morning before I went to school. I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe I found it interesting. All I remember is watching it everyday, basically like a routine that I didn't stray from. These days, I'm always checking the forecast, but I'm interested in extreme weather, like typhoons and thunderstorms. I'm not a surfer, but I know that before typhoons is great for surfing. My recent post 2012 Picture of the Week (24/52) – Red dragonfly

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/ : Funeral for a Friend (in Japan)

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 17:20:26 +0000

Incredible memory. Very nice post, Chris. We've all got those moments in our lives that we can remember so clearly. Recently, my aunt, who is doing research about my grandparents' genealogy, asked me to write about a memory I have with my grandparents. I've got some great memories with them. One that stands out is when they suggested to my parents that they'd like to take me on a road trip around the US during one summer vacation. I really wish that would've happened. At that time, I'd never left Canada, and it seemed like it would've been an amazing adventure. Unfortunately, we couldn't go, but my parents were open to the idea. But just the fact that they suggested I go with them made me feel so lucky to have such wonderful grandparents. Last October, it would've been my grandfather's 100th birthday. It's hard to believe. My recent post BSOD