SUPER KARAOKE CHALLENGE!!!! *Addendum: Voting Time Extension*

Hello.
An update here...relief or disappointment, well it's hard to say yet. Nevertheless, without further ado...

THE WINNING SONG FOR THE SUPER KARAOKE CHALLNGE IS:

"Fever" by Peggy Lee

Yup, a big dose of sometimes hot, sometimes cold, sore throat and a day off work in which I stayed in bed drinking tea. Regardless of your stance on the talent, there is no song, no video, no performance to speak of this weekend, as I didn't have the voice to speak of it with, let along sing with. Anyway, there is no ginger (that apparently makes sense in Japanese), so looking on the bright side there's one more week for y'all to get your votes in. Hope you're reading the fine print!

Ian

The following is the initial challenge post:


Ohayo~~~~~~~~~~~~~0!

I'm not going to make any promises here, but there are some plans in the works for this year's first karaoke outing (it's almost embarassing that we haven't done karaoke at all in January), and this is your chance to make a request! That's right, if you post a comment on this page requesting a song you'd like me to sing, there's a chance* that I will perform it and record it for you and post it on this site sometime in February.

For the time being I'm going to say that I maintain complete control over the final decision, with the sidenote that I aim to please and I'll try to adhere to democratic principles.
Caveat elector: No quality guaranteed, in fact you should count on the song being almost unlistenable but I'll try* to include some entertaining* photos and videos to make the time pass.
So please make your requests before this weekend, and please be kind.

Sincerely*,
IAN






* includes most values between 0.0 - 14.9% .

Back to Back

Happy New Year!


*photo by Meaghan -- thanks!


I've been back to Canada and am now back in Japan and ready to keep all you avid readers (and even the many secret readers with broken keyboards) in the know on life and adventures in Japan. Of course you'll want to keep checking in, because later this year there are big plans to trek across southeast Asia, and begin the journey back to Canada.

Now where to start... Now I'm back to neatly combed single file lines at train stations, trains that run on time, video rentals for around $2/week, rice on a daily basis, Bindi (an Indian restaurant practically beside our apartment, and despite all the great Japanese food, probably the favourite restaurant of anyone who has visited us so far), guys with big big super-styled hair, guys who care more about fashion than sports, girls who make a career out of shopping, people with t-shirts I can read but not understand (that guy I walked past..."Vanilla Fudge"??? What was that about?), closely packed houses, riding a bicycle or scooter everywhere I go, a safe-feeling and leisurely 30-40km/h speed limit in the city, bowing constantly... a lot of good things and at least a lot of things that are interesting and amusing.

But there will be plenty of time to talk about Japan... still fresh in my mind is...

of course the great company - family and friends, thick juicy steak, fine beers, wide open land, understanding everything (well... most of... ) what people say, people with Chinese character tatoos and t-shirts I can now read but not understand (the symbol for meat tatooed upside down?), ball hockey, Hulk Hogan's American Gladiators (wow), new dvd releases for less than $35, salads consisting of more than cabbage corn and mayonaise, Squacon (the world's leading squid-based bacon), not being the tallest person in every room, big filling portions, shirts with long sleeves... enough good stuff that you'll probably see me in Canada again someday.



Now before I lose your attention...some pictures:



New Year's Eve in the Matheson Kitchen.

Devin marks the starting line as Ian and Kevin line up for an epic tricycle race at AJ and Andrew's stag & doe party/highschool reunion for many Centralites.

Luke attempts to use telekinesis to acquire a second drink?

Tara poses with future millionaire Luke Wright, co-creator of Squacon.

Ali does something for the camera, while Ian wears a cool shirt at a Winter Solstice party.

In search of a new job, Dave tries his hand at documentary film-making with his uninspired first attempt "Tim drinks an Appletini while I filmed it on New Year's Eve, and had a lot of fun."

Liquor and beer are ok to mix, but once you add champagne my eyes roll in different directions. "I didn't have that much to drink," Aj claimed the following morning.

Lovely Lauras Lianna and Tim surround a miniature Ian.

The tatoo - one of two. This one is Meaghan's, and Tara has the other half of the matching set.

Tim Golem's Christmas Special.


Well that gives our Japanese readers an idea what a Canadian New Year's party looks like, and gives our Canadian readers an idea what they looked like at a Canadian New Year's party.
Thanks to all the photographers whom I took these pictures from. Thanks to everyone who came around to see me while I was back, it was really great to see you all even if only for a short time. Also thanks to everyone in Japan for the warm welcome upon return. I feel refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready for the coming year.

- Ian

Kotoshi mo yoroshiku!

Easy there Scooter.

Images of another thoroughly enjoyed weekend, spent in excellent company:

1. Jeff swings by.



Jeff, conveniently back in Nagoya for some work training, hung out with us for the weekend. As usual we had fun playing around with his sweet camera. We also had plans with a couple of Tara's students (who are sisters) and their younger sister, and all of their boyfriends.

2. Le Gang en Fuzz



Jeff's new lens (he buys a new camera lens every time he comes to Nagoya) does not auto-focus.

3. At SEGA WORLD



4. The Guys Were Too Skillful...



5. And Too Cool For US



Nonetheless, we had a fun time. But the first two games were fairly embarassing as Jeff and I averaged 100, and the other guys were all scoring around 160. It wasn't until I switched to ...

6. Let's Go! Bowling!



One of these things is not like the others...one of these things is filled with luck, and the others are all broken. In the final game I managed to save face with a respectable score. Can you tell which ball is mine?

7. Scoot! Safety First.



Before everyone warns me to be careful, at least know I bought the best helmet I could find, and I have been practicing with short errands before I take it on any longer drives.

8. Scoot! Now Who's Cool?



To answer the "What's it like?" question: it feels like a rocket-powered bicycle.
Other details: There's under-seat storage that fits the helmet (while I'm in a store), or about 1 grocery bag worth of groceries (before things get squished. Brakes are handle-brakes just like a bicycle. Accelerator is in the right handle. Speedometer goes up to 60km/h, but I'll mostly be using it on the small local streets here, where the speed limit is 30km/h.

9. Brunch Done Right

This weekends greatest accomplishment was proposed by our friend Ryan (see "guy in cow suit at Halloween party" previously posted); a good ol' fashioned full-on Sunday brunch buffet. With a solid group effort we produced a meal of scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes (with real maple syrup, courtesy of Ryan's parents), toast, sausages, coffee, and orange juice, the likes of which Japan has never dreamed of. This was a deeply satisfying experience for all. Despite there being a "Denny's" just 10 minutes away from our house, you just can't find this kind of meal in Japan.

And that sums up a smashingly successful weekend.

-ian

Blogger is taking way to long to load so I am going to do this post in 2 parts. These are some wonderful shots of our Halloween party! Despite Halloween not being widely celebrated here, all of our friends got in the spirit and we had an event filled evening!

Ian, not suprisingly, dressed up as Superman!! He even watched the new movie a few days before, to help him get into character! And I have to tell you, he made the costume entirely from scratch!! Definitely the winnner for best dressed, though Ryan (Ushi-san) came in a close second with the full on cow suit!!






Here is an 'almost' group shot. A few of our guests had work early the next day and missed out on the madness. It was a great turnout though - both of our upstairs neighbors came (good thing cause we were mighty loud!), as well as a whole lot of students-turned-friends. Even some of my old Nova students/co-workers came!

Naoto (an ex-nova student of mine) came with a bag full of costume pieces and throughout the night was seen wearing a variety of items...some which we were not too sure about!

Yoshi!! (One of our neighbors). He's not actually wearing a costume, since he is a doctor, but we'll give him props for the hat.

Now, I was a ninja, but as the night wore on the mask/shirt got a bit to warm and it eventually had to go. So this is the only picture of me in full costume unfortunately!

Yukiko also showed up with a bag full of things and after much coaxing got Minami (an old coworker of mine from Nova) to put on this one.....

Miho's costume rocked!! She was the coolest witch around. I especially loved the feathers!

The School Girl and the Cow. Or Yukiko and Ryan. Whichever you prefer.

Ok more to come!! Sleep time!

Love Tara

Happy Halloween!

Hello all!!
I realized I hadn't really posted much from my school, so here are a few shots from Halloween week!
They don't really celebrate Halloween here, so for most of these kids it was their first sort of Halloween experience. Let me tell you - trying to teach Japanese children how to SAY "trick-or-treat", let alone teach them the concept, is not an easy task!!
It was a long and busy week, but we all had fun!







I made green icing for the cake, in the spirit of Halloween, and while some kids found it hilarious, most were just disgusted and didn't want it....guess they didn't quite understand that Halloween is SUPPOSED to be gross and scary.

My two favourite Pirates -(besides Johnny Depp!!)

Hugh keeping a watch on the horizon

Anyways, in non-Halloween related news, you may all remember Ian's last message about NOVA's troubles? Well it seems they have finally gotten what was coming to them. Last Friday all schools were closed until further notice (they have about 900). The president of the company has been MIA for months, and teachers and staff have not been paid for almost 2 months now. Most likely this week they will declare bankrupcy. Its been quite a big deal over here, since the company employs almost 5000 foreigners, and 2000 Japanese staff, as well as having 50% of the English market. Looks like Ian and I were very fortunate to get out when we did.

Well, that's about all from me for now. Keep posted - We are having a halloween party on Wednesday which means more pictures!!

I miss everyone!!

Love Tara

ps- only 48 days til we return for Christmas!!!!