Pennies Arcade!

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Originally uploaded by OmegaBlake.

Taken at Tokyo Disneyland, of all places

Captain Mum

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Originally uploaded by OmegaBlake.

Hectic technocratic skylines and the serene countryside aside, this is my favourite photo from my trip

Tsuna @ Mt Ontake

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Originally uploaded by OmegaBlake.

I have always had trouble of finding her when we ski, white jacket in white snow and all.

The Minnie-Mouse beanie from Disneyland breaks her camouflage, makings it easier for me to track her. That way, when I fall down the mountainside, I at least know in what direction I should be screaming for help.

Out of therapy and back on the blog-a-motron!

Greetings all! It feels good to be back writing for the blog. The last month and a half has been crazy, crazy busy. I've had my apartment invaded by the Wilson clan, been snowed in, fallen down a few mountains while improving my gliding, cut back on my drinking and started back at the gym. I also got a new job!

The major news (which by now should not be news at all) is my family vacation. Mum, Deb, Mousie and CJ came to Japan back in January for a week. I took them to Harajuku, Shibuya, Ginza, Akihabara and the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Everyone seemed to enjoy the Imperial Palace grounds and Ginza, while I enjoyed getting ripped off in Akihabara. I bought a second-hand Super Nintendo from a small gameshop which turned out to be defective when I got home. For our final day in Kanto we went to Tokyo Disneyland, which was kind of... okay. Of all the roller coasters there, I got more of a kick out of “It's a Small World” river ride (as made famous by Duff Gardens) than the more adult rides. On a ride-by-ride basis, Adventure World back home is much more exciting than Disneyland.

On my last day of vacation before work, we went out to Nagano prefecture to see Matsumoto Castle. I had been to Tokyo numerous time in the course of my travels, but this was my first trip into the Nagano Highlands. In effect, this was my own personal vacation in the middle of my family holiday. The train line from Nagoya runs north across the Mikawa plains and then up into Gifu and Nagano, threading its way inbetween increasingly larger mountains until it reaches Matsumoto. The views from the train were worth the trip alone. It was a really beautiful town, and the castle itself was amazing- it is rightly considered one of the three greatest castles in Japan. It was snowing a little, but not enough to build up on the ground for the postcard-perfect photo I was hoping for. I'm afraid my enjoyment was probably solitary, though. My family, who are better-suited to warmer climes, nearly froze to death.

I've gone skiing four times since I last wrote on this blog. Much to my (and my girlfriend's amazement), I've managed to pick up the ability to glide while skiing. I'm now tackling slopes that would have sent me screaming back to the chair lift last year. There have been some nasty spills, but nothing broken yet. I've become really fond of the “Ciao” ski resort in Nagano, although getting up at 4:00 AM in order to get there is not my idea of fun.

Proving that I fail to learn from experience, I went out and bought another Super Nintendo a few weeks ago from my local second-hand recycle shop. This one came with a 1-month warrantee, and actually worked as soon as I hooked everything up. I've been spending more time trying to master the original Street Fighter II on the Snes than playing World of Warcraft or Super Mario Galaxy. I invited some friends over to Anjo a few weekends ago for a Street Fighter tournament followed by beer and yakitori. In my mind, the machine has already payed for itself in terms of entertainment value.

In my final point of note, I've started working part time for my company's corporate division. Every third Monday I go out to a company HQ to teach English to the workers. My new students are a pretty nice bunch, and the extra money will be put towards one of my nefarious designs (more on that will be revealed later)

Late February resolution: To blog more! Even if it's only photos

-Blake

(*Next time: I go to prison....themed-izakayas)