Japan here I come

I have received confirmation from my manager, and I'll be taking my vacation at the end of my PEY session starting August 14th. This means I will have almost a month worth of free time before school starts, so it's a go ahead for my planned trip to Japan.

Well the original plan was to stay two weeks in Japan and do some sight seeing. However circumstances have changed, and I no longer have reliable lodging in Tokyo anymore. I'm never one to change my mind easily, so I'm instead going to go for a backpacking trip in Japan. I'm should able to just meet the start of the Obon festivals by the time I get there. The thought of foreign places, culture, and being the lonesome traveler ignites the wanderlust in me. I will also get a chance to check out daimonji gozan okuribi(大文字五山送り火), which I've been dying to see since I was in high-school.

My purpose of taking this trip was to 1. experience for myself what the fuss with Japan is all about. 2. Get a chance to look closely at the only surviving Han and Tang dynasty architectures and artifacts ( read: swords ) in the world. and 3. put my Japanese to the test in its natural environment. However three weeks of free time is quite a lot. I'm not sure if I will want to spend more than a week and half in Japan, after all it's only the size of California. Originally I've never intended to take a detour, but now with all the time I will have, maybe I'll go to China as well to visit friends and family, and maybe even South Korea to meet up with a friend as well.

All this is still more than a month away, but the thought that my wish to backpack through Japan will come true fills me to the brim with anticipation. It seems that a restless July awaits me.

Fortune brings Al Gore?

All of a sudden Al Gore is marching at the forefront of environmental protection.

How did this happen? He came across as an awkward figure that paled in the cowboy-esque charisma of G.W Bush during that U.S. election. Who would have thought that he was capable of presenting an entire documentary, one that is not preachy nor boring from what I heard.

In actuality, this guy has a great sense of humor, and is highly intelligent. ( Unlike a certain someone ). How did it happen then, that the American public elected someone who is less intelligent, and with no more personality than Gore? Would the world be a better place had Gore won? Would he act more swiftly to stop 9-11, thus preventing the current war? Would he really dedicate more resources to fight global warming and "do no evil"?

I doubt it. As a politician I don't believe he would have enough room to do as he please, however good his intentions might be. Large corporations of all types ( oil, pharmaceutical ) are the truth wielder of power, and the politicians will only appease their sponsers' wishes. It is then perhaps our fortune that Al Gore had lost. He now has the freedom to climb the moral high ground and contribute to the greater good.

That is, if he doesn't intent to use his current position for the next presidential election.

5 Kilometers in the rain

5 Kilometers in the rain,
originally uploaded by sinkpoint.

At the insistence of David Lau, I joined the YMCA Corporate Team Challenge on Wednesday.

It was a 5 km run around the Exhibition Place per person. relay style.
This was to be a challenge for myself since I've never ran that far before. The furtherest distance I've ever ran was about 2 km, and that was when I was 9 years old.

The weather seemed great when I accepted the invitation. However the day of the run turned out to be humid and overcast. The rain started to pour as soon as I started running, and I was absolutely soaked.

The rain actually helped quite a bit. I would've drenched my shirt just as much with sweat, and the rain helped to cool me off. I just wish they didn't block my vision so much.

I finished the 5km in 24:58 min. Not bad for my first time I suppose. I have to admit running was actually more exciting than I had previously imagined. I think I will actually start to run more regularly.