MMI

Long Time No See

2009-04-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would throw a post up on here for old times sake. If only there was a way of combining the old and the new MMI so that you could read posts back as far as this one started. For anyone who found themselves here by accident, I can be found at http://mmi.vox.com/ and on twitter at http://twitter.com/aarontaiwan. I'd forgotten my password for this site for a while but all is recovered.

Til Next time,
This has been a misplaced MMI

19.12.2007 - Wii fit

2007-12-19T06:27:00.000-08:00

Well the inevitable happened and out on a routine weekend trip to subway I picked up Wii fit. Maybe it was the guilt, or weight of that foot long cheese steak which swayed me but there you have it, I bought it. So far, I can't comment on the effectiveness of the work out since I gained body mass on the second day of using it, It does however work up one heck of a sweat after about half an hour. The actual balance mat is pretty large, although only just large enough to accommodate my huge western feet, I'm not sure whether that gives me an advantage in balance over our dainty eastern friends or not. Guess I'll have to challenge someone to a fitness war.

But when I'm not busting out some sweet ski jumps or recovering in the foetal position from ten sit ups, I've been managing to play some Mario galaxy with the nunchuk behind my head under a cushion and the Wii mote resting on my fat belly. Just proves how versatile the old Wii is.

Til next time,
This has been MMI

11.12.2007 - The north wind doth blow.

2007-12-10T21:32:00.000-08:00

MMI "Since 181 posts ago
Now available in a collectible ring binder.
"Be the envy of your friends this Christmas!"

Well, it's that time of year again and being out here doesn't mean you can ignore it. Taiwan seems to have gone Christmas crazy, more so than last year. The department stores have switched to carol CDs, trees are popping up all over the place and turkey pre-orders are already popping up in the expat magazines. Christmas is funny here, since no one knows why or what they are meant to be celebrating except buying gifts. The Christmas songs are incompressible, Christmas cards are in English yet they go shopping like maniacs, flooding the 20 story department stores and telling their kids that Santa is coming. On second thought, is it very different from home? I forgot.

I myself put a little tree up in the corner of my flat, complete with paper craft star and when the kids wake up this afternoon we are going to put up the tree and decorate the class room, happy times! I'm reading them a Christmas story about a family who hangs fruit and nuts on a fir tree in the forest every year to feed the animals. Then we're going to make popcorn and hang it outside on an evergreen to feed the birds. Of course the school say don't focus too heavily on Christmas and for the love of Santa don't mention the meaning behind it, but I overcompensated for not being home last year so I'm sure I can get away with it again.

My life at the moment has been filled with thoughts of the future, having successfully escaped boredom in my life for a long time now, I am thinking carefully about the next move. My time at this school ends in July, at which point I shall be returning home to ponder my predicament. I have to say, teaching has been one of the most challenging and character building choices I have made in life. July will be two years at this school and I will really be ready for a break. Being home will tell me how I feel about the prospect of work in the UK.

But having such a great life out here and getting paid so well and living so cheaply has surely spoilt me. So much so, that the choice to settle into a job I dislike is going to be much more difficult to make. Regardless, a month or so of seeing family and friends will be worth making the trip alone. Therefore the next few months are also going to be spent hammering away at my UK debit and credit card balances so that when I return, it shall be with a clean slate financially plus enough to support me when I am home. That way I can take it easy and plan my next step. I am actually really excited to come back and have it be longer than 5 days this time and look forward immensely to seeing everyone again.

Well, I've got to get back to it,
these decorations aren't going to hang themselves,

Til we meet again,
This has been MMI

18.11.2007 - Out and about.

2007-11-17T22:23:00.000-08:00

So, once again returning to the blog after a break means I’m faced with the difficult task of filling the blanks. Well, events in no particular chronological order:

I bought Mario Galaxy for the Wii and I’m about 50 stars into it. I hear you can complete the game once you get 60, although there are 120 stars to be found in total. The game is a joy to play, its colourful, well designed and really nice to look at. This time, along with Mario’s usual repertoire of moves and silly noises, the Wii remote is used to shoot. I personally love this feature and it seems so natural although kind of like playing two games at once. The shooting will stun enemies and the cursor is also used to pick up items which you can use as space monies. The game has some of the best plat forming game playing sequences I have played. Although I don’t know if it can be described as plat forming since you run around spheres and planets for the most part. I especially like the way the Wiimote is used to pull and catapult you about the galaxy like a pinball.

Other stuff I have been briefly messing around with is the “Mii contest channel”, yes it’s not called “Check Mii Out” here either and the super difficult “Castlevania Dracula X chronicles” for the PSP. I really like the idea of the new channel and I do find some of the creations to be incredible based on the limitations, but the same limitations are present in the options available. Everything put out seems so simplistic and restrictive, which although user friendly, I’d rather have a more tangible online service, maybe it will shape up over time.

Castlevania has three games built into it and the 3D one is so much fun to play through, it just so unforgiving from the outset, especially the bosses and the fact that there are almost no health items. The controls of the main character are pretty alien to me and take some getting used to, like the way you cannot aim your whip up or down or diagonally only forward, and the way you traverse stairs is a pain. Aside from that it’s clearly a game of substance and the dialogue is so fantastically cheesy. For the PSP version they have rendered new 3D cut sequences which look great. That along with Crisis core, and Metal Gear are games I really need to invest more time in. Perhaps it’s because I don’t take it outside much and most of my playing is done here in the apartment plugged in the wall.

Well, aside from gaming which actually amounts to just sitting moving my fingers I have been out and about since I last posted. My friend out here makes music and wanted to put together a kind of stop motion music video and for the location he chose one of the coolest places I have ever visited on this Island. About a half an hour’s drive out from Taichung central lies an amusement park that time forgot. It is overgrown, ravaged by earthquakes and abandoned for years but aside from that, amazingly intact and a great place to wander around. The ghost house, the roller coaster, big wheels, bumper cars, carrousel are all still there and the whole place has this post apocalyptic feeling as if you are the last people on earth. Check out the pictures of Flikr as soon as I throw them up.

Yesterday we had an open house of sorts at the school and once it was done we all went for something to eat. The restaurant was in an area of the city called "First Square" or the old hub of Taichung before the action moved down here. This area is where all the Thai, Vietnamese and Pilipino workers live, shop, eat and drink after a very hard day’s work. On Sundays the area is awash with this people all finding ways to relax and socialize. The area then is host to some of the greatest foreign food Taichung can offer and a work colleague who speaks fluent Thai brought us to a tiny but popular restaurant tucked away in one of the tiny corridors on a third floor of somewhere. That end of town has a completely different feeling to the area where I live. It has such a great atmosphere, grimy, disorientating and noisy but great and the food we ate was superb.

Of course the food we ate was about five times cheaper than in town, I had a Thai curry and some imported Singha beer. Even for me the spices were almost too hot and my face was so red, luckily the dusky loft lighting meant the only thing we could really see was the glowing screens of the Thai karaoke. The whole area was so huge and packed to the rafters with stalls selling everything from spices to mobile phones that being whisked through it all didn’t really give me a chance to take half of it in so I’ll head back there soon with my camera.

I’m back home now after quite a busy weekend gallivanting about visiting new places. None of this would have been possible without my trusty scooter and I’m so glad I bought a decent full helmet despite it costing me about 45 quid, it makes me look like a spaceman but a safe on at least. Now it’s time to relax at home doing nothing. A weekend should never go by without a fair share of home time and I think I hit just the right balance this weekend and once I have had a hot shower and a cup of tea, everything is going to be just right. I hear a high pitched Italian voice calling me from that white box next to TV.

Hope everyone is doing great back westward as I always look forward to your comments and any information about what has been going on in the UK. I am more than a little disconnected from life and events back home and I keep thinking I am going to wake up any second in the queue at Sainsbury’s having dosed of temporarily having all this been a dream. Getting out of the house to rural areas always reminds me where I am and how different it can be at times.

Til next time,
This has been MMI

02.11.2007 - ooh what do we have here?

2007-11-02T03:39:00.000-07:00

28.10.2007 - Supporting Taiwan's "C-POP" scene

2007-10-27T01:01:00.000-07:00

Just got back from seeing F.I.R. play some songs across town. It was pretty hot, shouldn't have worn my jacket out. There was a pretty good turn out in the end, about 200 people. Only one of them was from England though. The squeeky voiced announcer girl shouted, "Let's say hi to our foreigner friend" into the mic, a bit uncomfortable but I'm used to it by now. They started singing and in typical Taiwanese fashion found time to play silly parlour games with the audience between songs.

When they had finished they cleared the gear off the stage and set up a table where the three of them could meet and greet the fans. I went up and got my poster signed, took a bunch of pictures and bumbled my way through "hello, well done", shook hands and then scurried back to my cave with my swag in tow. The lead singer asked me where I was from, they all looked a bit suprised to see a foreign face coming up. I didn't have the heart to say I had nothing better to do with my Saturday morning.

Anyways I'm off to find a Halloween costume!
Til Next time,
This has been MMI

26.10.2007 - And now this...

2007-10-25T22:59:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a while since I posted but life has been a bit hectic. Went to the beach again this weekend, managed to stay sunburn free and have a great time. Aside from work I've pretty much been sleeping. I've been listening to the new Radiohead, broke a string on my guitar on account of a really cheap and crappy capo I bought in a department store, been playing Tomb Raider Anniversary for PSP and drinking crazy amounts of Tea and Coffee.

Too much internet this week, become addicted to Kotaku.com, which updates about 5 or 6 times a day. I hooked up a wireless mouse and keyboard and a second monitor upstairs so It feels like I have two computers and I picked up a 320gig USB drive which glows neon blue, super cool. Makes me feel like the laziest person in the world.

I bought a new matress the other day and the change from hard metallic springs to soft fluffy comport has buggered my spine and now I'm in agony. I went to the blind massage parlor (thats right! just like zatoichi) and that helped for about 2 hours but now I just have to bear it and get used to the new spine positioning.

But now for the good news:

Firstly, its only six days until Super Mario galaxy come out in Asia! Also since I've played through RE4 about three times in a row now it's high time for a change to something new, and less violent. Plus, Mario in a bee suit.. utter brilliance.

Secondly, some may remember me bringing home some CDs and DVDs from Asian super group F.I.R. from my travels a long while ago and how awesome they were. Well, Tomorrow they are performing in Taichung and I'm off to watch get my swag signed by them.

Thirdly, There is a huge Jazz festival here all weekend with free music and loads of food stalls.

Lastly, It's Friday and It's Halloween weekend which means there is all manner of spooky fun to be had as well as equal amount of lounging on the sofa. Happy times!

Til next time,
This has been MMI

08.10.2007 - Persistent precipitation predicaments

2007-10-07T22:38:00.000-07:00

Its chucking it down again I'm afraid. Whatever water got launched into the atmosphere by the recently departed Typhoon is now coming crashing down on our heads. Not much fun to be had when it's so wet. I should really buy a towel to dry the seat of my scooter if this keeps up. No fun in a wet bottom. I could have slept better last night too, weird dreams which I've all but forgotten, must have been the pesto and cheese sandwich I ate before I hit the hay. Was up playing Wii til about 1am and then I listened to pod casts before drifting off.

I felt fine until I got to class and then the dreariness hit me. I gulped down two cups of Nescafe brown wake up acid and set about putting up a bulletin board. The typhoon had torn a hole in the one next to mine, lucky I didn't put mine up until today. The entire wall had been wired down to stop It flying around in the wind and now I had to find some wire cutters. Having unchained the wall I slapped up my poster. I cautiously stepped up to the stage in the rain only to find it wasn't quite straight. I called the head teacher to take a look but I guess I was the only one to notice. The precarious ladder I had borrowed wouldn't close, the latched were all rusted so I had to carry it back as it was. Hoping no one noticed I scurried off for another cup of coffee.

I bought a bottle of red wine for the guy who helped me to sort out the whole tax rebate thing. He said he was only kidding but I think he appreciated the small kick back from the whole ordeal, however small. Shopping last night I saw so many things I wanted to buy, Mac book, FFVII:Crisis core, X-box 360, Mobile Phone, Sony Bravia TV. I resisted them all and left with only groceries. Bought some more Hokkaido milk, as featured many moons ago on a video of mine. I also ate when I was out shopping but I haven't for the life of me been able to find one decent steak on this whole Island. They are always completely under cooked and have a texture more akin to a jelly fish than a cow. I asked why this was once, someone told me the Taiwanese add some chemical to the beef which makes it all soft and gooey. Bleauh! I also heard that a lot of the meat is imported from china, make of that what you will.

Well, at least I get fed at school for free, and we never get steak but at least its free. Free food is the best kind of food. There's no monetary or physical investment in free food and therefore no margin for disappointment. Taichung does have great Indian restaurants though, and with all this wet weather a good curry may be just the thing I need.

Til next time,
This has been MMI

05.10.2007 - Moon Cakes and Tax Rebates.

2007-10-04T23:07:00.000-07:00

So whats up with the lack of blogging. Seems being here doesnt seem all that unique to me any more. What a selfish attitude to take, just because I have fallen into routine doesnt mean the folks back home dont appreciate details from out here on this rock.

So a couple of things have gone on of note. It was recently Moon festival, or mid Autumn festival which is one of the few times which I get a long weekend. I went down to the very south point of Taiwan to Pintung, a national park with lots of white sands and clear oceans, although it rained for the first of two days we made the most of it under our canopy. The campsite was right on the beach, surrounded by palm trees andaside from the occational deadly snake (not kidding) it was our own little Island paradise. When the sun eventually came out it was beautiful, I got pounded by huge waves and was on the bottom of the sea bed more often than catching waves, good times were had. I have spent every day since then peeling strips of sunburnt Aaron jerky off my back and shoulders.

So now its back to school, I saw Ang Lee's new film Lust Caution at the cinema and it reminded me of which I love films, something I had forgotten for a suprisingly long time. Fantastic acting, beautifully shot and compelling story. High five for Taiwan Mr Lee. Nice to see Tony Leung again even if he is getting old and grumpy. Other news, I got my Tax rebate from the Taiwanese government to the sum of "alot", must resist Halo 3, Macbook and such, at least I have a bank account now which helps to stop cash burning a hole in my pocket. Although my cash card is yellow with Astro boy on it, I like making him fly into the slot of the ATM.

Not much else to report except I finished Ada's side mission on Resident Evil 4 last night, Mario Sunshine must be coming soon, still wondering where the heck the new Wii channel is? Also, it friday! Woo and since I had to work Saturday last week Im going to enjoy this one to its fullest, that meaning sleep through it!

Til next time,
This has been MMI

(P.S Pictures from the beach on Flikr soon)

2007-09-09T05:17:00.000-07:00

Well its about time that I threw up a post. Ive been spending my entire weekend nursing my sore throat and playing through Resident Evil 4 which I finished about two hours ago. I always have every intention of doing some kind of work at the weekends but it always turns out as a gigantic sloth fest. This weekend I hooked up the cable to the TV in the bedroom and bought a super cheap DVD player from the supermarket. Last night I watched Death Note again and fell asleep watching bad TV. When I woke up my voice was gone. I took a trip to a local breakfast shop and got a pork sandwich and a cup of coffee. Once RE 4 was done, it was time to eat again so I went downstairs to get a pizza. That brings us up to date.

Til next time,
This has been MMI

15.08.2007 - Wii fat

2007-08-14T23:00:00.049-07:00

Well, I'm back blogging again for the first time in what seems like an age. Second attempt at this post too. Now back in Taiwan I have a new house which is very nice and fancy. Ive set up cable TV and 8mb wireless for the laptop, PSP and Wii. I've also picked up a classic controller so been using up the Wii point scratch cards I bought in Tokyo the last few days. The latest Wii update adds a digital clock to the channels menu (woo!) and USB keyboard support, plus the disk slot LED lights up when you put in or take out a disc now. I've also been playing the heck out of "Wipeout Pulse" for the PSP, "Monster Hunter Online" and "Brave Story: New Traveller".

Aside from what has been amusing me whilst I am kicking around the new house not much to report. The only exception is that I am performing at open mic two days a week now at different places. I'm just getting confident enough now to relax and enjoy it, although still a little nerve wracking at times. I'm happy to be developing a skill I wouldn't have otherwise back home. Speaking of which I need to start looking for a chinese teacher since I'm out here for another year. Ive also noticed I'm getting pretty tubby lately, eating more and since I stopped going to the gym have grown quite the impressive pot belly. Time to renew that gym membership or at least make use of the pool in our building.

Lastly I have a whole bunch of pictures and videos I want to share when I get organised. Expect that probably this weekend.

Til next time,
This has been MMI

24.07.2007 - From yet another net cafe.

2007-07-24T01:51:00.000-07:00

This one seems a little different from the others though. When I went in they asked me if I wanted a "flat floor" room. I agreed asuming that anything other than a flat floor would make me feel disorientated. What it actually is apparantly is a padded box which you climb into and sit down. The whole floor is cushioned so right now I am hunched over the key board realising once again that every time I type a comma,　it switches to Japanese input. Aside from listening to the drunken japanese businessman snoring in the next cubicle, its pretty homely.

My thoughts on the holiday so far? Japan has not really changed over the last year. Indeed aside from the banners Akihabra seems to be just how we left it. I've really been able to take my time and explore Tokyo,　especially the parks and temples of which I have discoverd a bunch. Its past the point where I can give a day by day analysis of my trip so far but tomorrow I hope to head to another big park a little away from the centre. I still havent visited Odaiba again yet but the weather was so hot this morning I didnt want to risk it without a hat. Much to do yet heres hoping I have time to squeeze it all in. Well I'm off to take advantage of the free soft drinks and coffee. Sayonara everyone!

Til next time,
This has been MMI (In Toky0)

23.07.2007 - Well I survived a week!

2007-07-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

Yes, now its monday in our neck of the world which means all of the touristy things have been done. There is still much to be done however, however Tokyo is far more expensive than I remebered it, so the pace of the next week will be much slower, time for sleep and catching up with TV shows I havent touched for a while。Lord knows I might even hammer out a bit of work on the old notebook on a slow evening, One thing I know is that this trip has really solidified in my mind the things which are important to me. Being out here on my own, no matter how much fun it has been, has reminded me of how important family and friends are. Im pretty stupid to have not worked out the dialing codes for England and Taiwan by now and even my phone which holds all of my addresses has died. It also made me miss Taiwan, something which I never thought I would feel. The big lights and shiny coating of this city have made me feel lonesome for the sleepy town of Taichung. I saw Martin Freeman of the office fame today in the street. I couldnt think of anything to say to him but it reminded me of England. Not much else to say except all these photos and phonecalls will be made soon. Love to all, Aaron

Til next time,
This has been MMI

19.07.2007 - Net Cafe in Shibuya

2007-07-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

I feel kinda helpless without a secure internet connection. Not only am I behind on my podcasts but also kinda cut off from the ones I lovｅ。Well, as I said before, things are going fine. Ａｓｉｄｅ　ｆｒｏｍ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｋｅｙｂｏａｒｄ　ｂｕｇｇｅｒｉｎｇ　ｕｐ．Ｃａｎｔ　ｇｅｔ　ａｎｙ　ｐｉｃｓ　ｕｐ　ｓｏ　ｆａｒ．　Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ　ｋｅｙｂｏａｒｄｓ　ｓｕｃｋ！　Ｈａｖｅ　ｔｏ　ｔｒｙ　ｌａｔｅｒ！．　

Ｔｉｌ　ｎｅｘ　ｔｉｍｅ
Ｔｏｏｋ　ｍｅ　ｈｏｕｒｓ　ｔｏ　ｔｙｐｅ　ｅｖｅｎ　ｔｈｉｓ
ＭＭＩ　ｂｅｅｎ　ｈａｓ．

17.07.2007 - Somewhere sometime in Tokyo

2007-07-16T21:16:00.000-07:00

I am a wanderer in a strange land, so far its going pretty good. Relying on the kindness of strangers and the knowledge of kobans. Japanese people are pretty nice to you once you break that thin sheet of ice. I played guitar with a couple in Yoyogi park yesterday. I also nearly met guns and roses, not much of a story I know. I am finding it hard to get regular internet access at the moment but im sure I will remedy that situation soon. Im having the time of life so no need to worry. Many photos have been taken and aproved. So many nice people have shown me the way. Very shenmue. Although no black car, rain though, we narrowly avoided the typhoon. Yesterday was a public holiday, they opened the streets in Akihabara, things were going on, again until I find a stable internet terminal things are stuck on a memory cards. I miss everyone so much, So until next time, Ill keep wandering and enjoying my time off.

Til next time,
This has been MMI

02.07.2007 - Moving

2007-07-01T23:07:00.000-07:00

Well, only 11 days before I head off to the land of the rising sun. Most of my children have already gone off on vacation and that leaves a kind of peaceful final stretch of work to finish off. I am signing a contract for my new house this afternoon and will be moving in on the 1st of August. The new place is a world apart from my current house, closer, newer, safer, bigger and nicer in every way. I expect to spend a happy year in there. All that is left to do is to refresh my memory of Japanese before I leave on the 14th.

28.07.2007 - Japan Kitaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

2007-06-28T03:11:00.000-07:00

A two week holiday is coming up and I couldn't be happier with the idea of a break. The flight and hotel are booked and once my visa is renewed, Im all set to go. Im going to Tokyo again, seeing Mt Fuji and riding the bullet train. To eat real beef curry and generally relax before the new year starts. So If anyone has the cash and desire to join me out there from the 14th to the 28th of July let me know and I will be more than happy to meet.

Till next time,
This has been MMI

P.S Threw up a few pictures from Taipei on flikr so check 'em out.

13.06.2007 - Mid week crisis.

2007-06-12T23:08:00.000-07:00

How is it that after sleeping for an hour I feel worse than before.

It hasn't rained so far today.

I'm hoping it stays dry until I get home so that I can take my washing in.

It now Wednesday lunch time...

...and if ever a week has felt like peddling uphill, this is the week.

This isn't based on any real obstacle or situation,

just internally
I feel like every action is met with resistance.

Although to get through to the weekend is going to be a momentous occasion since I have a four day mini holiday to look forward to. It couldn't have come at a better time really and all of the moaning I'm doing now will be irrelevant in two more days.

I need someone to slap me on the back and say cheer up.
Guess, Ill do it myself.

Till next time,
This has been MMI

11.06.2007 - Dragged kicking and screaming back into the week.

2007-06-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

The rain seems to have stopped and with it the heat has returned. My skin has reacted by breaking out in heat rashes. Aside from that we are back to a normal week like any other. Last night's open mic went pretty well and more people are turning up on a weekly basis. It is also pay day today which is always nice. I finally finished my dentist appointments on Saturday, no more work to be done which is a relief. She told me I can no longer eat hard food or my lower right molar will shatter. Kind of a worrying scenario to leave me with, it's either sacrifice hard food or my tooth. The dentist didn't go into specifics of what constituted hard food though.

Oh, well I just looked outside and the rain has started again. Feeling kind of burnt out today and it's only half way through Monday. It's going to be a long week, got to stay positive and think about the long 4 day weekend coming up. I also need to spend less time thinking about things that need to be done and just do them. I think I'm going to go out and eat something really great tonight to cheer myself up. I should also go play some arcades. To my readers I wish you a brighter Monday than this one.

Till next time,
This has been MMI

08.06.2007 - Waterworld only worse.

2007-06-07T23:08:00.000-07:00

I practically had to swim my way out of Mos burger this afternoon as the torrential rain and thunderstorm which has been gaining strength over the week had created a small river down the high street. My umbrella keeps my hair dry but thats about it. The sheer volume of rain coming from all directions is a sight to behold. My socks are hanging up to dry, my trousers rolled up to my knees and my shoes are like sponges. Welcome to the rainy season folks.

On my way to school this morning I picked up my breakfast and found a veranda to sit under in a tiny park around the corner from school, where I could sip my coffee and wake up before I clocked in. Even at that time of the morning the rain was pretty fierce. As I approached the meagerly sheltered area I became away of a small cardboard box discarded on the floor. There was a kitten inside. I felt instantly bad that someone would dump the little guy on such a crappy day as this. So bad that indeed I could not stay and drink my coffee, feeling guilty since I had no place to take the kitten to. When I went back later to give him some milk he had gone. I hope someone gave him a good home.

Till next time,
This has been a very soggy MMI

07.06.2007 - Twilight, I only meant to stay a while.

2007-06-06T22:47:00.000-07:00

I woke up pretty early this morning and the obligatory cold shower made me feel pretty peppy. Heading into the living room I realised my Godzilla poster had fallen off the wall like it does every day. Refusing to stick it back up another time I checked to see if I had the last nine episodes of the Sopranos ready for me, all was good.

Thursdays are like little Fridays. Fridays are the day when we have the most fun at school. We alternate weeks between sandbox and field trip followed by P.E. Its the most fun because regardless of how interesting the topic of the week may be, deep down all kids want to do is run about for no reason other than the fact they are kids. I have no problem with that, since field trips mean a temporary change of scenery and Sand box is sand box.

The only problem this week is the weather, in that it has been chucking it down every day this week and there is all likely hood that field trip will be canceled. So tommorrow, as with everyday this week, mother nature has deprived the guys of outside playtime. What does that mean, it means the kids have all this energy usually spent bombing around the playground and nowhere to expend it. At times it makes me wish I had a huge hamster wheel in the classroom but alas, I do not. I need to think of something fun for them to do which doesn't involve being in the rain before they tear the place to bits.

I look outside and the sky is dark, as if it is evening and it makes me feel as if the day is nearly over. Every day though, just as nap time finishes the sun comes out to remind me that the day still has a good few hours left in it. It is a really odd phenomenon. I didn't sleep today, usually I will have a nap and fill these twilight hours with a blog entry after about an hour's sleep but today I had work to do. It's an odd period of time if you are awake for the whole two hours, the whole school shuts down, lights are switched off and a quiet falls upon the classrooms. I sit here typing by the light of the screen and a tiny florescent lamp, listening the gurgle of water running through the AC, its a peace that is soon to be broken once the children are up, although I feel like the quiet time is more than enough.

Till next time,
This has been MMI

06.06.2007 - A game is for life, not just for Christmas.

2007-06-05T23:02:00.000-07:00

Ive had Metal Gear: Portable OPS for a long time now, I bought the Japanese version it when It first came out in Taiwan. I later got hold of the English version but since the game has no auto save function, much like cooking mama, meant that every time I revisited it I was playing through the same bits over and over. Surely in our day and age of gaming, constant auto-saving is a no brainer, especially on the PSP where the battery has a tendency to die when you least expect it. Well, last night after I got home from work, still feeling sick in stomach, I put away my washing and lay down on my sofa to give portable ops another try. I found you could skip the codec sequences I has seen a million times before by holding triangle and skip the cutscenes by hitting start. Lo and behold after about 20 minutes of constant saving and skipping I got to the furthest I had been before, which wasn't all that far.

The new mission I found myself on saw big boss/naked snake heading for a harbour which was on the other side of a barricaded bridge. Col. Campbell tells you that the only way to clear it is by creating a distraction, a real "light show" as he puts it. So heading back to your map the game requires you to deploy spies to various adjacent locations in order to check out via able spots where TNT might be detonated, tankers, trucks and so forth. After a few days the guys you have recruited by knocking out, bungling into your van and convincing to do certain jobs come back with the intel you need. Once the reports come through it's your turn to detonate these changes over four different locations and once done the bridge is clear.

The spies are the most interesting thing about this game so far, not only do they report on new campains to be attempted they also, depending on where you place them, inform you of new swag which arrives at each location. Just before I finished detonating the last diversion they told me a shotgun could be found in a cabin by the bridge and it was ready to collection at any time. Based on the information they give you drive your truck to the location and get to work on the salvage mission. After three hours of game play last night, describing this one small aspect of the game does not do justice to how much I am enjoying this game right now. Nor how attached I have become to my recruited comrades, they could be because I give every one a name of a bleach character.

What with this, Lumines and Bleach Heat the Soul 4, we are in a golden age of PSP and based on at least 30 more games I would saw are exceptional, I implore everyone I know who does not own one yet to go out and buy one. and If the incentive of being able to meet my portable ops Bleach crew in head to head wifi deathmatch isnt enough then I dont know what is.

Till next time,
This has been MMI

05.06.2007 - Useless Tat

2007-06-04T23:13:00.000-07:00

Another day like any other. Our school meeting was canceled today so I'm awake during nap time once again. Last night I went for a curry at the usual place, it way cheaper when you aren't with a big group. The curry was great but I was paying for it this morning. These past few days however, Ive been feeling kind of sick after I eat. It started after I took some medicine given to me at school, supposed to aid digestion, seems it just made feel sick.

Ive been collecting bleach Soul card battle trading cards from the convenience store. They never put out many until I buy them and they replace them with one or two more packets. I guess I'm the only one. The big 7/11 promotion at the moment is when you spend 77 dollars you get a stamp to put into a book and when you get ten you get a hello kitty statuette. The collector mentality is something exploited frequently and successfully by 7/11 although this month the procurement of the toy is based on spending 10 times the amount you usually do. Nevertheless I myself am still collecting the things along with everyone else I know. The stupid thing is, it makes you send just a little extra than you usually would in order to get 77 dollars of drinks, snacks etc, and once I get my hand on the toy, I know I wont even want it. Well, thats that for now.

Till next time,
This has been MMI

04.06.2007 - Raining again.

2007-06-03T22:44:00.000-07:00

On Friday I went to see a friends band at the pub downstairs and then tootled off to another friends house to say happy birthday. He had a big HD tv and I played a little motor storm and ninja gaiden on his PS3. I also watched a couple of High Def movie trailers before I realised what I had suspected a few times before, high def makes me feel a bit sea sick. Not only that but when I'm watching 1080p or i my eyes start to dry up and sting. Its pretty odd since Ive never been sensitive to anything like that, even watching the porygon episode of pokemon. Good job I bought a Wii instead.

On Saturday I woke up early and got to work on a podcast and anime backlog and headed out for a hot dog around noon. On the way back, the guys who work downstairs were burning ghost money. I hung out with them for a while until I couldn't take the smoke any longer. The bin they were doing it in fell over a couple of times and the ashes were going everywhere. I threw a few notes in and after we had finished I got a free bag of crisps. Seems you only symbolically offer food to the gods and at clean up time its up for grabs! "Jurassic park!"

Around 5 I traveled a little further afield to the posh department store where they have everything except an Arcade. It is way bigger than SOGO and Tiger city and it sucks you in and spits you out 12 hours later without any money. I went to the Vans shop and bought some new shoes then the Diesel shop and bought some new jeans. I toyed with the idea of seeing a movie but there is not much on except the pirate movie and the second one was a bit rubbish, everyone here is going nuts about it which makes me want to see it even less. I got home on Saturday, updated my PSP firmware to 3.40 and played a whole load of the new bleach game which is just amazing both visually and game-play wise.

On Sunday I cleaned the flat but lugged all my clothes downstairs to the laundrette only to realise they don't open on Sundays. Lugging it back upstairs I started washing the whole lot, which to my credit I got done in one day only to have my washing line unceremoniously snap whilst it wash chucking it down with rain this morning... Sunday night I played at open mic again, I added "Here comes your man" to the very short rotation and got a free drink! I should write a book about how to get free stuff in Taiwan! As usual my friend kicked ass and we all enjoyed the evening. On the way back I saw my two Japanese friends and I ended the night by kicking their asses at Bleach Wii.

Right, now your up to speed, I've got to get back to work!

Till next time,
This has been MMI

01.06.2007 - Back in the MMI

2007-05-31T22:04:00.000-07:00

Happy June everyone! Hope people have been behaving themselves and the UK is just how I left it. June means that its coming up to a year in Taiwan which seems to have gone so fast. I remember celebrating my last birthday in a tiny punk rock bar in a attic somewhere in Shibuya, drinking real Asahi and trying to come to terms with the fact that real life was upon us. Lucky for me I stayed in Asia and the odd adventures seem to have continued.

Although, much like the first year of University (lots of cash, new places to spend it) things are starting to wind down now and get a little more sensible, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It means I have the means to save a little cash, pick up some more Chinese, venture further afoot than my own front door and generally explore this Island with a sense of security. I no longer fear the fact that I understand little of what goes on around me, I have learned to embrace it somewhat. And when you find friends, you can laugh about it together which makes it much easier.

So next year I will be staying at the same school I am at now, moving to a new classroom but teaching the same group of kids and perhaps a few new guys. The system change and having to deal with the closure of my old class took a long while to get over for me. I guess I was more torn up about it than I thought which meant for a long time I didn't commit to making a connection with the new children. But all that is behind me now, our class is actually great and I couldn't be happier as their teacher. They have made huge progress over these few months and I look forward to the next year. Assuming they don't mess us about again.

About the biggest update to add is my purchase of a Wii. I really didn't imagine myself buying a console, I had mulled the idea of buying a PS3 over ever since it hit these shores but they didn't have any games back then and they still don't have any now which strikes me as really stupid. I guess it was Super Paper Mario that sold the thing to me, the game just looked so much fun. Having bought the thing I quickly realised I was going to have to get a wireless adapter and a composite cable for my TV box. I already had a 1G SD card with my camera and that seems to be enough for now. Actually playing the thing is often really intuitive and sometimes really tiring although as a machine to play together with about seven people it has no equal.

Ive been playing guitar a whole bunch recently and I'm thinking of putting a cd together of all the children's songs I have written and recorded over the last year. Based on the fact that I have recorded a song to cd every week for the last eleven months means there is a whole truck load of songs which I would like to collect together in one place. I write poem's for school every week too, just a shed load of resources I have either pooled or created in order to do my job here. So maybe I'll just make a Year 1 DVD of my work.

Besides the playing I do for school, Ive been strumming away at an open mic night on Sundays outside a nearby bar along with a friend of mine. At the moment there are only about three or four people doing it but hopefully it will really get good. It's just great to watch people playing on a Sunday evening a really relaxed atmosphere and if you sing a song you get a free drink! I'm still kicking around a few ideas for this Sunday I'm aiming to add two songs to my rotation every week until I get about ten songs I can do pretty easily. Last week I played "Rock and Roll Suicide", "Where is my mind" and "Creep", It went down pretty well so we will see how it goes.

Well, It's Friday and all my work for this week has been done. The weather was fantastic this morning but I can feel a tropical storm coming. This weekend I have to pay another visit to the dentist who is on a mission to fill every cavity in my teeth. She has already drilled and filled six, yes, six! of my molars and it going for the full set tomorrow afternoon. The last appointment took an hour of drilling to get done but I figure after she has finished with the other to there is no more places to drill! and I'm not the type to be afraid of the dentist but it's just so tiring to go through the pain for such extended periods of time. As part of my Visa renewal process I have to make another visit to the hospital for my medical examination. It's a little drawn out and a little invasive but once it's done, its done for the whole year.

At the moment I am without transport, although I'm working on that as soon as I get paid. I'm also still working on where I'm going to be living after July. All unavoidable crap that has to be done, unfortunately even odd adventures like mine are still dotted with mundane tasks.

Till next time,
This has been MMI