shigajet

I like a variety of music as well-including pop and rock music from the 80's. Every month or so, I'll listen to a certain artist - depending on my mood.For mellowing out, I think Jack Johnson's music does nicely (outside of classical music).Other times I listen to Depeche Mode, Blur, Pet Shop Boys and Garbage for music that'll make me active. As for my fav bands from Canada - Crash Test Dummies, The Tea Party and Barenaked Ladies are among the top of my list.As for Japanese pop/rock, I listen to a lot of Mr. Children, globe and Hikaru Utada these days - in addition to music from Orange Range and Ken Hirai.

Hi, Shackman. Thanks for reading my essays. Since I'm here going through the forums again I thought I'd answer some of your questions. You are correct in that the two essays I wrote were more for personal reflection...something to look back on later on in life.Anyway, I'm orginally from Canada (born in Ottawa, Ontario). I'm an English teacher at an elementary school in Western Japan. The differences between Japan and Canada kinda blur after you settle down to a routine, but here are some of them. First off - most homes in Japan don't have central heating (except in Hokkaido)...meaning that in the winter it could be as cold (or colder) in the apartment as outside, Japan also has an efficient, punctual and safe (for the most part) railway system, the cost of living/groceries is also a bit higher than that of Canada, and moving can get quite expensive as well.I'm sure there are more differences (both on the surface and underneath (the not so obvious) but those are the first that came off the top of my head.I'll be posting the third "reflection" essay up soon. Hope you'll be back for that.

Back again! A friend of mine once told me that a good safegaurd against viruses, adware, spyware, etc. is to get a Mac. Since these bugs tend to target Windows machines (which is most of the PC market), Mac doesn't seem to get any of these viruses. Needless to say, my friend owns a Mac. So what I want to know is whether this is true or not. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

That's awesome news! I know I have both on my PC, but I've been using Firefox most of the time now and I think it's great. I have ADSL, but still it seems that some pages take a while to load with IE. Not so with loading the same page with Firefox! A hearty congratulations to the folks at Mozilla!

Usually any poorly lit or dark alleyways with noone around. If I'm in this kind of place by myself for a long time, I know I have to keep my guard up at all times.

Actually, the two essays I posted in this forum are from my experiences working and living in Japan as an English teacher on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. The first essay mainly talked about my adjustment from living in a big city to living in a small town. This one basically recalls what happened several months later as I headed into my second year of the program. I have another essay to post here soon...and eventually I'll include them in a page about my writings.

I'd go with a laptop myself, although I can see the pros and cons to either type of computer. I like being able to take my work/projects everywhere with me and upgrades are not my highest priority.

I think it all comes down to what features you want on your forum. I'd personally choose phpBB since it's open-source.

Wow, I'm impressed. It looks very professional, especially your rollovers and use of Flash. Looking forward to seeing it when it's completed.

It's not bad, but I think the main page is too blue. As well, you may want to change the link text colour. Having black text against a dark blue background may make it a bit difficult to read. Just my opinion, though.

Both the damann and Johnny sigs are excellent, but I now give Johnny the edge on having a really sharp graffiti sig.

Man, that sucks! I don't see anything wrong with "bulletin boards" at all, but it seems that school has a really strict firewall. I had the same problem, but then I used a proxy and everything's okay now.

Wow! Looks very realistic. Keep up the the great work!

Although I'd like to see the Boeing 747s still around in the future, I believe the Airbus will be the next generation for long-haul flights. The shape of the plane may take some getting used to, though.

Hi all. I'm back again with the second essay that I wrote back at the end of 2001 / early 2002. This time the focus was more on my work experience since the first essay and on the tremendous support I received when I had to stay in a local hospital. So...without further ado, read on and feel free to leave a comment or two. An Important Experience In the past year and a half since I first landed in Japan, I went through many experiences, faced new challenges, met many different people and learned many things. The people of Imazu are just as friendly as they were when I first came here, and most of the things that were once strange and unfamiliar to me has now become familiar. At my school, I discovered that my students are extremely active and outgoing most of the time (outside of class) - very far from the preconception I had of Japanese students being "shy". They always try to talk to me in English - both inside and outside of class. The teachers here continue to make sure that my stay in Imazu is an enjoyable one and I really can't thank them enough. Slowly, but surely, Japan is starting to feel like my home away from home. There was one experience that really hit home about how hospitable and caring the people are here. Last spring, I came down with a serious illness and had to stay in a hospital for about a week. As miserable and tired as I felt at the time, everyone has rallied around to do everything they could to help me. The teachers visited me to give their support and best wishes. Some people even went through the trouble to bring over some home-cooked meals and new clothes for me. Even now, long after I fully recovered, in my mind I could almost hear the vice-principal asking me about my health again. Sometimes, it felt like I found a "second family" in Japan because the staff was so concerned about me. I believe this experience proved to me that no matter what country you live in, there will always be people who will help you when you are down.

Well, aside from the "bulge" in the left side of the character's chest, it's a great sketch!

Welcome to the community, Velveteen! Hope you enjoy the forums! There are lots of great people here and you get free hosting to boot! Happy posting!

I stayed in a small, modern hospital in Japan for about a week because I caught a virus which caused a nasty fever and red blotches over my body. It was quite a shocker for me, but the hospital staff were very supportive and my co-workers at the school I taught at brought me clothes and home-cooked meals.

Welcome to the community! I think you'll enjoy yourself here. Lots of great people and great web hosting package to boot! See you on the forums!

Okay, I'll throw out a nutrition question for you. Of all the essential nutrients we need to have a balanced diet, how much iron is sufficient if one were to use supplement vitamins with a meal?

Personally, I think technology is great, as long as we use the technology rather than let technology use us. (I think that makes sense).

Okay, I have another question. I was wondering how you could customize the part of profile where it states your member status (for example, Newbie, Member, Advanced Member, etc.) with a message or a catchy name?If you have any tips/links to a similar topic, feel free to give me a shout.Thanks!

Wow, I'm impressed. Now I can see what one could do with MS Paint. I can draw, but the old-fashioned way - with a pencil and paper. Using a mouse and trying to draw...well, that's another story. Keep up the good work!

Okay, I'll add mine. Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space. Douglas Adams (from The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy) I had to get up at ten o'clock at night, half an hourbefore I went to bed, drink a cup of sulphuric acid, work twenty-nine hours a day down at the mill and pay the mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our mother and father would kill us and dance on our graves singing Halleluja. Monty Python (the 4 Yorkshiremen sketch) There's nothing more dangerous than a wounded mosquito. Monty Python (from a TV sketch about two Australian hunters who hunt for insects using...bombs, machine guns, bazooka guns, etc.)

My all-time favourite ice cream flavour is chocolate...closely followed by mocha. Of course, since I'm in Japan there's an abundance of green tea ice cream/soft cream.