So I was in Japan for the last two weeks of November.  I've been busy catching up at work, and I haven't really gone through all the photos that I took over there, I'm sad to say I don't think I came back with any amazing photos, hopefully there's some decent ones in there.  We'll see, once I go through them.  I still haven't quite put together all my thoughts on the trip, I intended to keep a journal of all the things I had done, but it never happened.  Hopefully, I'll put some kind of summary together in the next few weeks, before I forget.  But in short, Japan was amazing.

I picked up this album on the trip, by Spangle call Lilli line, entitled 'Purple.'  I don't know, it called out to me at the store.

響いたの 派手に蒔いたの葉
知りたいと 意味は草画の間

羽が憂いに飛ぶ秘密 血相になど
前に混む瞳は
はるか届いた新を重ねる旅
嬉しい事の全てマニュアルなく 飾る虹へ

目に浮かんだ さらい 色へ
手に乗せ 座州 蔦色へ
目に浮かんだ 甘い 色へ
手にクロス 座州 蔦色へ

響いた 飲まずライターの葉
知りたいと 意味は草画の間

So I got my grubby hands on some TCHO Chocolate, which happens to be in beta.  I thought it was very good dark chocolate that is worth a try, but I didn't think it was anything super special.  I do think they have a very good marketing strategy.

So they've currently got three varieties of dark chocolate: Chocolatey, Nutty, and Fruity.

I have to say Chocolatey was my favorite.  I really liked the texture, it had a nice snap to it and melted well on the tongue.  It wasn't overly sweet, which I really liked.  It had a pleasant aftertaste which had very little bitterness.

Nutty: I couldn't really tast the nuttiness, but it didn't have the same snap as Chocolatey.  It seemed a little bit creamier and sweeter as well.

Fruity: This chocolate was citrussy, probably from the actual cacao fruit.  I'm not particularly fond of the chocolate and citrus combo, but this was still pleasant.

I gotta say, it was one of the funniest things I've heard in the washroom at work.  Awhile back, there was a guy in the stall next to me making some pretty funky sounds, not too different from the sputtering sounds of a drip coffee machine.  I like to call it explosive diarrhea, it's like someone sticking a firecracker in your ass.  Well anyways, somehow one of this guy's buddies recognized him by the grunts he was making then proceeded to call out his name and asked, "Hey, you brewin' coffee in there?"  Much to his chagrin, he replied, "Yep, hot and fresh."   Haha, that kept me amused for the rest of the day.

So today, I was in the washroom and was about to finish up, the guy in the stall next to me started snoring.  I've nodded off a couple times while sitting on the toilet, but I've never passed out and started snoring.  At first I thought he was just constipated and breathing heavy.  But naw, this guy was out.  I decided to wait a little bit to see if he'd wake up.  A minute passed by, so I started coughing and making some grunting sounds, nothing.  At this point I decided to sit quietly and wait for someone else to come into the washroom and hear this guy snoring, that would have so made my day.  I sat there for 10 minutes quietly giggling to myself.  You know, hunched over and all, twiddling my thumbs and making "tee hee hee" sounds through my teeth. 

No one else came in, seriously WTF? There's always someone in the washroom.   So after 10 minutes I gave up, I flushed the toilet twice (not because it warranted a double flush, but) just to see if he would wake up.  Nothing.  Thoroughly disappointed, I made sure to get a good look at his shoes before I washed my hands and left, so that I can put a face with those shoes next time I see them.  Yes, I am easily amused.

Here's a quick update, I'll keep this short because I really need to get to sleep.
The office desk is still a mess, if not worse, but most of my deliverables are out now and I didn't deviate from the schedule too much.

The Chemex brewer is awesome!  I cannot go back to automatic drip coffee machine, it's just not the same.  It's a close call between the Chemex and French Press.  I think the French Press has slightly better flavor, but I think I prefer the Chemex.  You still get a nice full bodied flavor from the coffee through a Chemex without the sediment.  Call me a wuss, but I don't care much for that "mud" you get when you use a French Press.  Maybe a coarser grind will help?


 


So far, my favorite coffee that I've tried from Intelligentsia is this one:

  

But really, they're all good.

  

I don't know, I don't think I can go back to those really dark roasts anymore.  Damnit Intelligentsia, you took away my love for dark roasts...but I guess that's for the best.

Also, my friends and I have purchased our tickets for Japan.  We are going to do two weeks in Tokyo & Kyoto with a couple of day trips from both cities.  Next, on my list is figuring out where we are going to stay.  So, if anyone's been there, from there, or lives there...please feel free to give me any info/suggestions that you may have.  Any help would be appreciated so that I can plan stuff out.

It's been a little over 2 years since I've started working at the engineering firm (that should explain my poor writing ability) that I've been working at, and almost 3 years since I graduated from school.  About two years ago I put some random 'reminders' in my outlook calendar, basically setting up some check points so that I could look back and reflect on where I was in life, what I've accomplished, and where I've failed. 

Three years ago, the job market wasn't fairing so well and things just weren't going the way I had planned.  This song pretty much summed up the way I felt.

There's a game life plays
makes you think you're everything they ever said you were
Like to take some time
Clear away everything I planned

[Chorus]
Was it life I betrayed
for the shape that I'm in
It's not hard to fail
it's not easy to win
did I drink too much
could I disappear
and there's nothing that's left but wasted years

There's nothing left but wasted years

If I could change my life
Be a simple kind of man try to do the best I can
if I could see the signs
I'd derail every path I could
now I'm about to die
won't you clear away from me
give me strength to fly away

[Chorus]

There's nothing left but wasted years [x3]

[Chorus x3]

Since then, I've made some good accomplishments and even completed some of the goals that I had set for myself.  So in short, I think I'm happy with where I'm at.  There's many things I've failed miserably at, but I think I've still got some time left to turn that around.  Now while I don't consider myself old, I am getting older.  Many of my friends have gotten married this past year, and another one scheduled for August.  I myself, am nowhere near that stage in my life, and it does put things in perspective...time goes by fast.