johnsw71

Hi Kevin, I lived in Japan for five years -- all non-military. I lived in Nagoya for one year and on Kyushu for four years. I'd never rush to get back to Nagoya, but I'd go back to Kyushu (well, for a visit at least) in a heartbeat. I'd agree to stay away from the big cities if you can, especially if you're looking to immerse yourself. Did you say what you'd be doing? It looks like all of your choices are near military bases, so I'm guessing it's something related? You'll find the more rural areas much more affodable than Tokyo. In Kyushu, I was paying about $450/month for a two-room + kitchen apartment. (Keep in mind that the standard size room in Japan is 6-jo (= six tatami mats) and is no bigger than 15' x 15' if that.) You'd probably pay 3-4x that price in Tokyo. (This was in 2002.) The hardest part about moving to Japan is getting a job, but it sounds like you have that taken care of. The second hardest part is trying to learn Japanese. In a big city, you'll find it hard to use Japanese if you don't already speak it, and hard to learn to speak it if nobody will use it with you. I'd recommend trying to get as much of a foundation as you can before you go. The more Japanese you can speak, the richer your experience will be. Once you obtain a certain level, you will suddenly see and hear things that just are not visible to those who don't speak Japanese. I could go on for pages, but I'll stop here for now. If you want some more specific advice, you're welcome to PM me. BTW, I like Marc's response as well -- very good advice. John

Naughty, yes; bulbous, not quite.

If I end up buying the container I'm trying on tomorrow, I'll be there around noon to have it rigged up for use and will be ready to jump when it's done. Are you guys willing to stoop so low as to crawl into the Cessna if it's only the three of us?

You traitor! I though we agreed to all pool funds and pay her the bribe money she's trying to extort out of us! I knew this naked night jump thing was a bad idea...

There's a chance I might be up there on Wednesday for some rigging but could hang out for a bit, especially if other's will be jumping. What time were you thinking?

Was it jumping without a helmet that resulted in your avatar hair?

0:17:0 Had an awesome few days at the Am. Boogie. My plans to do a solo naked night jump turned into naked four-way with points. Thanks for putting that together, Monkey Boy! (Eat your heart out, HeadLicker!! )

I had a great first day hanging with the office staff, especially my newest bestest friend, Patrick. He is 23 and as cute as a button, openly gay, dating a very rich 47 year old man. ______________________________________________ I didn't know Keith's boyfriend lives in Colorado.

I'm having the same problem. If you go to the gym, I'd recommend using the abductor machine (where you have to pull your legs apart into a straddle), and also work on your straddle flexibility through stretching. I have very tight hips and have a hard time getting my legs very far apart, but I think abductor muscle building and flexibility work is helping. I'd also stress how important it is to flex (not point) your toes. When you flex hard, you will feel the drag of the air on the top of your foot and it will feel like you are hanging upside down by your feet on the drag of the air. It feels pretty cool. I found that I really needed to focus hard to get my feet to flex completely, but when it happened, I was surprised how it impacted my speed. I'll also add to all the other comments that coaching and video make a world of difference! It's great to hear from others going through the same learning process. Let's keep at it!

You have quite an imagination if you think Jewels in a pink and purple jumpsuit looks naked..... Are YOU naked in your photo, is or that just me wishful thinking?!! I didn't mean Jewels, you spiked hair lady, I meant YOU. I'm just slightly naked in my photo (and thinking about you, of course. I need to add a little thought bubble coming out of my head with your naked photo inside )

Are you naked in that photo, or is just my imagination?

These are usually cases of normal Japanese followed by unfortunate attempts at English translation. The English in this first one though (about looking behind you when you fart, but not when you smoke) is actually a spot-on translation. This has to be one of the oddest signs I've ever seen in Japanese.

Here I am innocently going about my day, little did I know that all the gals in the women's forum were checking out our half-naked pics and voting on them. You'd think my ears (or some other part) should have been burning all day. Thanks for your votes, ladies! And thanks to Sartre for her daily check-ins to keep my ass and abs in gear. I'd also like to thank the Academy, my PR manager, and, of course, my mother. Congrats to all the others (guys and gals) who were in the contest and I say we keep our asses in gear all summer!

You should know Beth's got herself a wicked spanking hand... I can't wait till Sartre gets back from vacation and sees what fun we've arragned for her! John, if Scott's spoken for, it looks like you're gonna have to let me slather your body in mud. Since you volunteered me and all..... Welcome back. We could all just wrestle it out together. Four-ways aren't just for skydiving anymore!

one annoying ear infection : 11 : 0 Had an awesome time on my 400th playing hang the human ornaments on the naked xmas tree. (Popping into a sit on a naked jump feels great, but I now advise against holding it for the entire jump It brings new meaning to the term (black and) blue balls.