I think this is quite interesting especially due to my interest in psychology and such. For those of you less familiar with psychology this is a computer program made during the 60s that was meant to mimic a Rogerian psychologist. This school of psychology would mainly echo back what you said in an attempt for the patient to solve their issues themselves through self analysis. It has been largely debunked and was only ever applicable to less severe disorders and such, but still rather interesting. Type a current problem into the text field below the box and see if the computer can solve your issues!
http://chayden.net/eliza/Eliza.html
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Germans
I have arrived in Germany for my several month stay with my girlfriend, Ayuko, but I will write more about that process and leaving Japan later. For now I am going to rant about Germans...
GERMANS for those of you who are unaware are famous for their dourness and seeming unfriendliness at first glance. Supposedly once you get to know them, again not an easy feat as their society seems more closed off than Japan, they are incredibly friendly and just a barrel of laughs. However in my short stay here so far I have come to the conclusion that the entire country is full of unsmiling robots who couldn't care less about you or your needs. They are unceasingly unfriendly and give you the bare minimum of help or advice if you request it. Most shocking to me is that most of my interactions so far have been with Germans working in a service industry such as a store or restaurant and they have all been shockingly unfriendly and almost quasi-aggressive. At first this made me very nervous when I was in a situation in which I or Ayuko would need to speak to someone, but today something broke inside of me. Why the fuck should I be nervous to ask a staff member a question or request especially if I am attempting said action in German?! They are paid to help me and if they can't at least put on a false smile than by god I am going to act the arrogant American all the time. From this day forth no more shyness and no more being cowed by the coldness of the German. I refuse to let this country beat me just as I refused to let Japan break my spirit. I am Chris, hear me roar :P
GERMANS for those of you who are unaware are famous for their dourness and seeming unfriendliness at first glance. Supposedly once you get to know them, again not an easy feat as their society seems more closed off than Japan, they are incredibly friendly and just a barrel of laughs. However in my short stay here so far I have come to the conclusion that the entire country is full of unsmiling robots who couldn't care less about you or your needs. They are unceasingly unfriendly and give you the bare minimum of help or advice if you request it. Most shocking to me is that most of my interactions so far have been with Germans working in a service industry such as a store or restaurant and they have all been shockingly unfriendly and almost quasi-aggressive. At first this made me very nervous when I was in a situation in which I or Ayuko would need to speak to someone, but today something broke inside of me. Why the fuck should I be nervous to ask a staff member a question or request especially if I am attempting said action in German?! They are paid to help me and if they can't at least put on a false smile than by god I am going to act the arrogant American all the time. From this day forth no more shyness and no more being cowed by the coldness of the German. I refuse to let this country beat me just as I refused to let Japan break my spirit. I am Chris, hear me roar :P
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
I have been a fan of video and computer games for a long time and while just recently browsing a favored website it really struck me just how far the technology has come even just in the past ten years. Anymore you can expect hyper-realistic graphics from a AAA game and there are instances where entire movies have been rendered using computer graphics. I know that most people are aware of the amazing effects that are routinely put into movies with tens of millions of dollars to throw around, but I wanted to show some examples of game cutscenes that are equally as impressive. Some may think that games are juvenile and a waste of time, but hopefully after viewing some of this clips you may come to have a greater understanding of the amazing worlds they can create.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
AS the school year wraps up and I have an increasingly light class load at my junior high school I have a lot of time to contemplate things as I sit at my desk. Recently I have been coming to the realization that I perhaps haven't used my time in the past year to it's fullest potential. I could blame this on a wide variety of reasons ranging from living away from Ayuko and all that entails to simply becoming tired of teaching, but I really only have myself to blame. This job is not demanding in the least and I feel I have allowed that to intrude upon my time outside of school. As I don't need to really put any effort into my workday, I similarily haven't put my full energy towards my life outside of school.
THIS is seen more in laziness than anything else and not really in the physical sense. I still go to the gym five to six days a week and have maintained and improved my physique while here, but I don't push myself to find new and exciting places to visit or things to do. I am merely content to let the days roll by as I count down the time until I can finally be with Ayuko again. This has really only developed since November when I learned that instead of being reunited with her in April as we thought, she would be moving to Germany for possibly two years. While I will be going there for several months starting this April I will be leaving her again to teach English in Korea for a year before we move to the states together. I have realized just how much my happiness depends upon her and luckily for me she feels the same way.
HOWEVER while it is easy to blame my lack of zest on our situation I have come to view that as the cowardly way to go about this. Yes I miss Ayuko and yes I will have to do another year without her, however I am not going to let that stain my remaining time here nor my time in Korea. It is solely up to me to keep myself entertained and I intend to do just that.
AS I saw in a movie recently, "When life gives you a bunch of lemons say, 'Fuck you!', and throw them away." I heartily agree with this sentiment and will be doing just that from now on. So fuck you life! o(^o^)o
THIS is seen more in laziness than anything else and not really in the physical sense. I still go to the gym five to six days a week and have maintained and improved my physique while here, but I don't push myself to find new and exciting places to visit or things to do. I am merely content to let the days roll by as I count down the time until I can finally be with Ayuko again. This has really only developed since November when I learned that instead of being reunited with her in April as we thought, she would be moving to Germany for possibly two years. While I will be going there for several months starting this April I will be leaving her again to teach English in Korea for a year before we move to the states together. I have realized just how much my happiness depends upon her and luckily for me she feels the same way.
HOWEVER while it is easy to blame my lack of zest on our situation I have come to view that as the cowardly way to go about this. Yes I miss Ayuko and yes I will have to do another year without her, however I am not going to let that stain my remaining time here nor my time in Korea. It is solely up to me to keep myself entertained and I intend to do just that.
AS I saw in a movie recently, "When life gives you a bunch of lemons say, 'Fuck you!', and throw them away." I heartily agree with this sentiment and will be doing just that from now on. So fuck you life! o(^o^)o
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Jizz In My Pants
Just to give some reason for that warning you have to click through before getting to my blog...also I think this video is fucking hilarious! o(^o^)o
Saturday, February 7, 2009
SO I have just finished applying to two placement services for teaching in Korea and I also completed a telephone interview to teach in Taiwan earlier this week. Due to my experience here in Japan and my overwhelmingly incredible personality I have no doubts about being accepted by all three and this will allow me to pick the best offer from the three. I will most likely end up in Korea as they not only pay for the flight and provide single apartment housing, but they also pay as much as I am making here in Japan. Coupled with the much cheaper price of living there I would be able to save a great deal of money before coming back for school. Ideally I would like to pay off all of my student loans before returning to business school and Korea offers the best chance of that. My friend who taught there last year said that he was able to save ten thousand dollars over the year and that was while he was living like a king. When I asked him why the money was so good in Korea he explained that not only do they have more of a problem recruiting English teachers as it doesn't have the draw that Japan does, but also that parents throw money at their childrens' education there.
SO it appears it will be sayonara Japan and however you say hello in Korean to Korea!
ALSO in case you weren't jealous enough of my life don't forget I will be having a three month European vacation before going to Korea! 0(^o^)o
SO it appears it will be sayonara Japan and however you say hello in Korean to Korea!
ALSO in case you weren't jealous enough of my life don't forget I will be having a three month European vacation before going to Korea! 0(^o^)o
Monday, February 2, 2009
AS I have been getting fairly regular death threat emails from my mother concerning my lack of blog activity I suppose I should begin posting again, so here goes.
MY life
I am moving to Germany to be with Ayuko at the beginning of April and will be there for three months. Initially I was going to look for work there as an English teacher or whatever else offered itself, but after extensive research by both of us that seems to be a fairly dead end path. English teachers are all required to speak some German and there is very little full time work with teachers instead working several contract jobs at the same time. Coupled with this are the very high German taxes which would take away anywhere from 50-70% of the money I did make as a non EU citizen. Thus we have both decided it is not worth the trouble. So instead I will have a nice little vacation in Europe with Ayuko and enjoy my time sightseeing and traveling to other cities. I have always wanted to visit Europe and this gives me the perfect chance.
THIS may seem like a fairly poor decision at a time with such economic upheaval the world over, but that is something I have factored in as well. Recently I secured a three year work visa for Japan which means that I can easily be rehired by my company in August if I so desire. Along with this I am interviewing to teach in Taiwan and Korea as well, so I will have some choice as to where I go. Currently I am rather torn as Japan would be easy to return to and offers the best money, but I am tired of teaching in the public school system and want some sort of change. However that is a decision that I don't need to make at this exact moment, so I am just keeping as many options open as I can.
LASTLY I suppose I should mention that Ayuko and I are planning to get engaged during my time in Europe. I say this now so there are hopefully no heart attacks when the news actually breaks. We have been dating for almost two years now and have weathered more difficult situations than many couples may face in the first twenty years together. The fact that our love has remained strong throughout all of our trevails and has continued to grow daily is not something that escapes either of us. So omedeto to me I suppose. That means congratulations. Duh.
MY life
I am moving to Germany to be with Ayuko at the beginning of April and will be there for three months. Initially I was going to look for work there as an English teacher or whatever else offered itself, but after extensive research by both of us that seems to be a fairly dead end path. English teachers are all required to speak some German and there is very little full time work with teachers instead working several contract jobs at the same time. Coupled with this are the very high German taxes which would take away anywhere from 50-70% of the money I did make as a non EU citizen. Thus we have both decided it is not worth the trouble. So instead I will have a nice little vacation in Europe with Ayuko and enjoy my time sightseeing and traveling to other cities. I have always wanted to visit Europe and this gives me the perfect chance.
THIS may seem like a fairly poor decision at a time with such economic upheaval the world over, but that is something I have factored in as well. Recently I secured a three year work visa for Japan which means that I can easily be rehired by my company in August if I so desire. Along with this I am interviewing to teach in Taiwan and Korea as well, so I will have some choice as to where I go. Currently I am rather torn as Japan would be easy to return to and offers the best money, but I am tired of teaching in the public school system and want some sort of change. However that is a decision that I don't need to make at this exact moment, so I am just keeping as many options open as I can.
LASTLY I suppose I should mention that Ayuko and I are planning to get engaged during my time in Europe. I say this now so there are hopefully no heart attacks when the news actually breaks. We have been dating for almost two years now and have weathered more difficult situations than many couples may face in the first twenty years together. The fact that our love has remained strong throughout all of our trevails and has continued to grow daily is not something that escapes either of us. So omedeto to me I suppose. That means congratulations. Duh.
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