Typhoon #4 & a Birthday party of a girl I don't know.

Recently I have a lot of reports to get done for my classes. Not that they are difficult (they arn't), but they take a lot of time. Also, I have to prepare for two presentations that I must present (which takes some time) and I have to create a research plan for the internships that I have to do over the summer. Along with that, I'm helping a friend from a different department (department of Transportation Engineering) with a few math aspects of his research. I guess I am a little busy. This semester will end at the end of July. After the summer seminar of my lab (which only lasts a couple days, but it lasts ALL DAY LONG on those days) we are suppose to have the annual lab trip again. If I decide to go, and I don't think that I will, it will be the second time that I wrote about it on my blog. Since more than one year has passed, I have been creating 'sequels' to previous trips already taken. Actually, I don't think I will go on the lab trip this year. Instead, I think I will grab a few friends and travel to different places in Japan. Maybe I will go to Shiraishi-Shima (like I've said many times before).

Anywyas, on to the subject of this article. Typhoon #4 hit Japan. It was suppose to hit Nagoya as well. Because I wanted to see the typhoon up close, I did what any logical person would have done...I went down to the port of Nagoya to welcome the typhoon. Unfortunately, the Japanese internet based weather station that was tracking the storm was slow to update their website, so the trip my friend and I took to the port was in vain. We left as early as the subway system started (about 5:30am) to go to the port. All we saw was a lot of trash floating in the water and light rain. Actually, there were a lot of boats at the port (that might not sound strange, but I have never seen more than a couple boats at the port in the past). There were not docked, but rather floating a ways from the shore. It must have been some sort of saftey measure. Anyways, since no typhoon came, I instread tried to fake what it would have been like if there were a real typhoon and I was at the port (my friend Paul took the picture and I think his finger was covering the lens a little). I wish the picture was take while I was not smiling.

Also at the port were birds that would not stop following us. They followed us the entire time we were there. Maybe they thought we were going to feed them?

We decided that there was no reason to stay at the port any longer and we decided to go eat breakfast. In Nagoya there is something called 'Morning Service.' If you go to a coffee shop before 10 or 11am (depending on the place) and you order a drink (300 yen), you will recieve free breakfast (the breakfast differs depending on the place, but I'm told it ranges from salad to eggs and toast). My friend and I stopped at a coffee shop called "Coffee Shop Fat." Yes, I know the name is strange. It was a small place, but the owner seemed nice (she was an older lady and a little on the hefty side herself). While my friend Iand I were outside looking at the menu, she came out and explained what morning service was in very simple Japanese (because I didn't have much sleep I was glad that she spoke slow and used simple words...otherwise I may have not of understood). Anyways, I had an Latte American (that's the name of the drink) for 300 yen. At this coffee shop, morning service included a hard boild egg (not bad with salt) and a thick slice of toast. It was pretty good I guess. If it were not so far away, I would go again (because the owner was nice).

The next day I went to over to my friends home (5 of my friends live together in a 5 bedroom apartment, which helps them save money). On my way I recieved a call from one of my friends at their apartment telling me that it was Banban-san's birthday. So I said, "Who is Banban-san?" Well, during our conversation, my friend failed to mention that the party was at their apartment. So, when I got there I walked in on a party for someone(Banban) that I didn't know. It was okay though. I knew most of the other people there and I got to meet 3 other people (Banban, Tomo and Natsumi). Most of the people there were from Brazil and/or were Japanese decendent from Brazil (second generation Japanese). It turns out that Natsumi had lived in the U.S.A (Tennessee, one of my favorite states) for almost 5 years. However, she didn't understand English that well, which was very surprising to me. I know that in Japan a person can get by with knowing ONLY English, but in the U.S. it is not possible to get by with knowing Japanese and only a little English. In the Southern and Southwestern states it is possible to get by with only knowing Spanish, but most of those people know a little English as well. Perhaps her English ability has diminished since her return to Japan. Anyways, it was kind of fun. Again, I don't know when my next article will be or what it will be over, but I will try to post it before next month. That's all for now.

Quote of the day is by Sir Isaac Newton (perhaps the greatest physicist to walk the face of the Earth)

"If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent."

Later.