August 29, 2010

Livemocha Reboot

Over a year ago, I found this awesome language site called Livemocha and signed up to take Italian and Japanese. Since then I've continued on and off (although more off than on) and have picked it up again this weekend.

I've now signed myself up for French and Swedish in addition to Italian and Japanese. Originally I thought French might be good to learn since I'd be able to practice with my friend Lan, who took it in college. However, after completing the first lesson I realize that it might just be too hard to do. I don't think my mouth and tongue can do what the French language is asking them to do. I mean, just how do you get those sounds to work at the back of your throat? I'll keep trying but at this point it's pretty hopeless.

I came upon Swedish kind of by accident. I was talking about Livemocha to a fellow JCCH volunteer yesterday and she said I should try a Germanic-based language like German, Swedish, Norwegian, etc. because this is what English is based on. I don't know if she's right or wrong about this, but I signed up for Swedish and am liking it so far. The sentence structure is similar to English (unlike Japanese). Plus the melodic way the words are pronounced sound kind of cool.

I don't know how much use I'll get out of learning Swedish as compared with something like French or Spanish (which I thought about taking as well). But I figure I'll probably get as much use out of Japanese as Swedish since both seem to be isolated to their own countries.

For now, I'll try to keep up with all four new languages and see how they go. At least I don't need to learn new alphabets for three out of the four of them. On the other hand, at least you pronounce all the sounds in Japanese. The other languages seem to use all these crazy diacritical marks that change the vowel sounds I'm familiar with into something totally different. Ack!

Vote for IZ

I got this forwarded to me and thought I'd pass it along. Apparently NASA is letting the public vote for wakeup songs that will be played during the final missions of the space shuttle program. Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's "Over the Rainbow" is on the ballot and current number eight out of 40.

He's a long way from number one but with everyone's help we can make him top the charts. I should add that all of the songs are former wakeup songs. They've already been there, done that. But still, it's like a hana hou right?

As far as I can tell, you can vote more than once. I've already tried about 10 times and the total number of votes keeps increasing. Either it's logging my votes or someone else is voting at the same time as me. Win-win either way.

August 19, 2010

Travel Vaccines - Tetanus and Hepatitis A

I'm one of those people who avoid doctors like the plague and haven't been to one in a long time. Prior to getting a physical last year to clear me for the Visian ICL surgery, I probably hadn't been to a doctor since high school. Yeah, it's been that long.

But since I really want to travel, I figured I better get going with these shots as some need multiple doses in order to be effective. I've also got to do this while I'm still employed, because who wants to pay full price for these expensive vaccinations and visits?

I made an appointment and went in to Queens Medical Center's Travel and Immunization Clinic on Tuesday for a consultation. They have a person there who specializes in overseas travel, which is rare in Hawaii. I think the only other place is Straub Clinic & Hospital. Because my friend just came back from Africa and China, I went with her referral to Queens even though Straub is just minutes from my work place.

After a brief consultation, I decided to get the tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (Tdap) and Hepatitis A vaccination. I've already got my Hepatits B done. I've never liked needles, but I have to say that these shots weren't all that painful. I'm not sure if it's due to the fact that the person administering the shots was good or if my childhood memories were just blown all out of proportion. Anyhow, they didn't hurt too bad . . . or so I thought.

On Wednesday, when I woke up in the morning I noticed that my right arm was a little stiff. The nurse had warned me that the Hep A shot would feel as though someone punched you in the arm, but it was the Tdap arm that was throbbing. When I got home after work that day I had to take an Advil. I even fell asleep while waiting for a friend to call me for dinner!

Now, two days after the shot my Tdap arm is still killing me, and I've got this huge pink welt on my arm. I think the medicine is slowly spreading throughout my arm. It doesn't help that I've got sensitive skin so the inflamed area is probably larger than normal. I'm still dead tired, although this could also be due to work as we're extremely busy this week planning for a company retreat. When I got home from work today, I actually felt like going to sleep at 4:00 in the afternoon. I got chills (another side effect of the shot), which I found ironic since it was so damn hot outside. All in all, these shots suck.

The nurse gave me some literature on shots to prevent rabies, typhoid, Japanese encephalitis and yellow fever. It's hard to decide which ones to take though (and if I really need them) because my travel plans are so wide open at this point. I'd rather be safe than sorry so I might end up getting all the vaccinations I can get in case I change my mind and really do want to visit Egypt or Thailand.

Oh, and my exit strategy at work has been revised due to my shot schedule. I definitely have to stay through February now as I need to do a second dose of Hep A six months from now. March would be the earliest I could travel.

August 12, 2010

Eagle Creek Thrive 75L Women's Travel Pack



Today I made my first major purchase toward my traveling adventure: an Eagle Creek Thrive 75L Women's Travel Pack. I found it on the REI website on closeout, which made it 50 percent off. It is the 2009 model, but a deal's a deal.

It's hard to buy it sight unseen, but I think it should be alright. Eagle Creek seems to be a very reliable brand according to all the reviews I've read. And, out here in Hawaii, we don't have a lot of outdoors-type stores from which to choose. Sports Authority can only get you so far, and I've already checked them out. They have more hiking bags than these travel bags. I wanted to be sure that it came with zippers that could lock rather than the drawstring closure top.

The model I got comes with a main pack and a day pack that zips on and off it. It's like getting two bags for one. One of the dilemmas I was mulling over was the idea of only traveling with carry-on luggage. This way I'd avoid the check-luggage fees and would always know where my stuff was. It would never get lost by the airlines. But, in the end, my desire to have adequate space won out. This pack is supposed to have quite a bit of room and be more than sufficient to travel around the world. I'll have to try it out once it arrives in a week. If all else fails, I can purchase packing cubes to organize my stuff.

August 6, 2010

Generation Gap

Tonight I swung by the McCully Shopping Center Taco Bell for dinner at around 8 p.m. and was shocked at all the traffic in the parking lot. What was going on? When I finally got into the lot, I saw that there was absolutely nothing happening. There were just a ton of kids hanging out and double parking their cars.

You know you're getting old when your first thought is: don't you have anything better to do? (I almost added the 'bah humbug' but managed to refrain this time). I mean, what's so good about loitering in front of a 7-Eleven? Obviously, because of all the traffic, these kids have cars, so why not cruise Waikiki or anywhere else? Why clog up a strip mall? I find that really retarded.

However, once I managed to maneuver around the rice rockets (yes, the kids were mostly Asian driving dropped Honda Civics and the like) I realized that I used to be one of these kids. Of course, we didn't just take up space at a shopping center. We usually went to someone's house. But the key problem is the same: all dressed up with no where to go and nothing to do.

Remember those days when it took a majority decision to do anything? When people didn't want to make a suggestion that others might not like so they didn't say anything at all? When you could squeeze at least seven people into a compact car? When hanging out in front of 7-Eleven till 2 a.m. was a night well spent? When it'd take longer to get ready than to actually go out?

God, I'm getting old.

August 1, 2010

Movie Theater Etiquette

I went to see the 2:00 p.m. show of Salt with my sister today at Ward Theatre and had one of the most annoying experiences. A man sat next to me and proceeded to stake claim on the armrest between us. Let me just say that my sister and I got to the theater about 30 minutes early and were happily sitting there the entire time. This guy shows up 10 minutes before it starts, plops down the armrest on his far side and then monopolizes both. The bastard! I felt like elbowing him in the head on "accident" just to get him to move. That is such bad movie theater etiquette!

This leads me to my top five list of most hated movie theater behaviors. Let me know if you agree or disagree.

1. The wailing baby and the stubborn parent who refuses to take the brat out of the room - I mean seriously, if I wanted to hear a crying kid I'd have one of my own. Yes, I understand that you paid to see this movie just like I did, but no one told you to bring the baby.

2. The pre-teen/teenaged crowd who constantly text throughout the film, especially if they're seated in front of me - The phones these days with their fancy touch screens are as bright as the North Star. They should be banned from the theaters because they simply ruin the atmosphere. The only light allowed in the room should be the three-story high movie screen.

3. The egomaniacs who think they're too important to turn their phones off - Unless you're waiting to hear the test results for the cure to cancer, are the phone-a-friend on Who Wants to be a Millionaire or a suicide bomber, you do not need to have your phone on.

4. The obnoxious chair kickers - You know who you are! Don't even tell me you have restless leg syndrome.

5. The loud mouths without a clue - Stop asking questions throughout the film. It's annoying to those around you, including the people you came with. No, that isn't the same person. Yes, the main character just changed his clothes. It's a bomb. She's undercover. They're the crooks.