Tuesday, 2011.12.06 00:13 JST
Tokyo Motor Show 2011
Had a substitute holiday today so took the opportunity to check out the 42nd Tokyo Motor Show. This year it was scaled back a bit and took place at Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba, rather than being held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba. In other words; this year Tokyo Motor Show was actually in Tokyo! I didn't mind that it was smaller than usual, but to some extent these shows get more and more boring. Nowadays everyone is focusing on bland eco boxes which, while good for the environment, are boring. There were also some wacko concepts, but nothing too exciting. The most interesting cars were probably two light and cheap (at least expected to be) sportscars; the Toyota 86, and its sibling, the Subaru BRZ. When I got to the Motor Show I discovered that the battery in my DSLR was flat, so only got some blurry low-def iPhone 4S shots...
     
     
     
     
     
 tmk
[japan:technology][add a comment]
Sunday, 2011.12.04 23:51 JST
Fight Club, Tokyo / Round 1
It's been awhile since I saw the (excellent!) movie, but I think the first rule of Fight Club was that you don't tell anyone about Fight Club. Look, I'm a rebel! On Sunday Fight Club Tokyo / Round 1 went down at Warehouse702, a club in Azabu-Juban. The event was inspired by the movie obviously, and beyond the regular DJs and dancers you're used to at any normal club event they also had fights. Even the kind without gloves and where you're supposedly allowed to head-butt each other (no one did, so I guess that means it hurts a lot). For some reason the ring girls even ended up in a lotion fight on stage, but that was surprisingly unexciting. This clearly fits the category of events I end up going to because I think one should see as many different things as possible. This was interesting, and I might go again, but it wasn't mind blowing or anything. On another note, the people showing up for this looked a bit more aggressive than the regular Tokyo club crowd. First time I've been in a queue among Japanese guys and felt small. In other words; trying to nanpa the wrong girl at this kind of event could probably put you in a hospital.
     
tmk
[japan:entertainment][add a comment]
Sunday, 2011.11.27 21:36 JST
Club Salmon
Yngve, Jørgen and Hiroshi all got their birthdays nicely lined up these days so there obviously had to be a party. With the Salmon Sound resembling name "Club Salmon" this went down at Ryuji's Bar Come On Rock (what people do to make the short Japanese version turn into Bakamon Rock). Apart from running around and waving a rubber chicken in people's faces (it seemed reasonable at the time), memories are blurry so here are just some pics instead...
     
tmk
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Saturday, 2011.11.26 23:13 JST
Thanksgivinng 2011
I'm not American so I don't care too much about the traditional fluff behind Thanksgiving, but I appreciate excuses to party as much (probably more) as the next guy, and having a reason to gobble up huge quantities of turkey and wash it down with insensible amounts of booze is always great. Last year I think I celebrated thanksgiving four times, but this year things were busier and I only got time for one. However, it was a really good one! A bunch of friends showed up at Marcus' restaurant for this event and a group of us headed of to Jason's place afterwards as he conveniently lives nearby - and even more conveniently has his house setup like a party house. Need more parties like this!
tmk
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Sunday, 2011.10.30 10:29 JST
Halloween 2011
Another year, another Halloween. The setup was exactly like last year with a party at 148 Hiroo with lots of food and drinks, and then heading on to the annual Urababa Halloween Pub Crawl in my neighborhood. My costume this year was stupid though. The mask was too warm and it was difficult to drink with it on (drank through a straw for awhile) and the gloves made my hands pretty useless. Must find something easier to party in next year. Apart from the hassle with my costume, the parties were fun and people had some wicked costumes! Thanks to everyone that showed up!
     
     
     
     
tmk
[japan:life][add a comment]
Wednesday, 2011.10.26 12:06 JST
Orange County wrap up
After an insanely busy week (working American and Japanese shifts at times was really tiring), I'm heading back to Japan. Got a lot of work done though, and got to see a bit during lunch breaks and evenings. Ate and drank a lot too. :)
     
     
     
tmk
[work:life][add a comment]
Monday, 2011.10.17 17:59 JST
Californiacation
Today I spent most of the day checking out the area around Aliso Viejo (where I'm working and staying) and trying to test the car a bit. I took Route 74 aka "The Ortega", a mountain road (not quite as narrow and twisty as the touges back home) over the mountains to Lake Elsinore. Awesome view. Then headed up into the desert... and then Bill called. He lives in Seattle, but turns out he is in San Diego for the weekend. So I then headed down to San Diego and met up for lunch at Balboa Park. Cool park with lots of museums and IMAX and what not. Then I drove up the coast towards San Clemente for a BBQ with John and Brian from the US team and their families. Was really nice, great weather, chilling outside, delicious food and wines. Tomorrow is Monday and reality will set in!
     
     
     
     
tmk
[life][add a comment]
Sunday, 2011.10.16 13:56 JST
Arriving in Orange County
Back in the United States again. This time I'm here for a project that runs across Japan (Rakuten) and US (Buy.com). So in short, it will be a hectic week packed with work, but on the upside I get to meet up with the guys here (they visited Tokyo a few months back) and also check out Orange County. I came in to Los Angeles with Singapore Airlines's superjumbo, the new Airbus A380. It's huge! Upon arrival in Los Angeles I picked up my rental car and headed down to Aliso Viejo in Orange County where the Buy.com office is. The office is only a 5min walk from my hotel, Marriott's Renaissance, but unfortunately you can't get anywhere else (food, stores, etc) without a car here.
     
tmk
[work:life][add a comment]
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