Filler Post: EPIC FAIL in MANNHEIM

PICTURE OF THE DAY

All Together now everybody....One, two three: EPIC FAIL!!! LULLLLZZZZZ

* This Post is dedicated to All chatters at KSCB*

Update: I've uploaded the same photo at icanhascheezburger....Yesh, imma asshole XD

The Omnivore’s Hundred

The Omnivore’s Hundred (Meme from Cowboy Celeb) is something all of you need to blog about…when you are still awake at 3 in the morning after 2 vodka shots and 2 beers, like me.

Or maybe not.

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.

2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten (or drunk).

3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating

1. Venison

2. Nettle tea

3. Huevos rancheros

4. Steak tartare

5. Crocodile

6. Black pudding(Stan: Blutwurst or Blood Sausage, in German)

7. Cheese fondue

8. Carp

9. Borscht

10. Baba ghanoush

11. Calamari

12. Pho

13. PB&J sandwich

14. Aloo gobi

15. Hot dog from a street cart

16. Epoisses

17. Black truffle

18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes

19. Steamed pork buns

20. Pistachio ice cream

21. Heirloom tomatoes

22. Fresh wild berries

23. Foie gras

24. Rice and beans

25. Brawn, or head cheese

26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper

27. Dulce de leche

28. Oysters

29. Baklava(Yummily sweet^^)

30. Bagna cauda

31. Wasabi peas(Yummy!)

32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl

33. Salted lassi

34. Sauerkraut

35. Root beer float

36. Cognac with a fat cigar

37. Clotted cream tea

38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O

39. Gumbo

40. Oxtail

41. Curried goat

42. Whole insects

43. Phaal

44. Goat’s milk

45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth US$120 or more

46. Fugu

47. Chicken tikka masala

48. Eel

49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut

50. Sea urchin

51. Prickly pear

52. Umeboshi

53. Abalone

54. Paneer

55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal

56. Spätzle

57. Dirty gin martini

58. Beer above 8% ABV

59. Poutine

60. Carob chips

61. S’mores(Stan: does using bread instead of chocolate crackers count?)

62. Sweetbreads

63. Kaolin

64. Currywurst(Stan: totally not spicy at all. Curry my ass)

65. Durian

66. Frogs’ legs

67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake

68. Haggis

69. Fried plantain

70. Chitterlings, or andouillette

71. Gazpacho

72. Caviar and blini

73. Louche absinthe

74. Gjetost, or brunost

75. Roadkill

76. Baijiu

77. Hostess Fruit Pie

78. Snail

79. Lapsang souchong

80. Bellini

81. Tom yum

82. Eggs Benedict

83. Pocky

84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant

85. Kobe beef

86. Hare (rabbit counts!)

87. Goulash

88. Flowers

89. Horse

90. Criollo chocolate

91. Spam

92. Soft shell crab

93. Rose harissa

94. Catfish

95. Mole poblano

96. Bagel and lox

97. Lobster Thermidor

98. Polenta(+ Cheese = URGH!)

99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee

100. Snake(definitely would like to try)

Round 32: Updates finally!!

Short Note: Yes, Stan the Man is back!! It's really been a long long "vacation" from Hajime No Stan - my vacation being office-work and lessons. Yes yes, I'm painfully aware how long it has been since the last update. Rest assured, I will be grinding my ass to update the blog and bring it up to date as hard as I can.

Now what did came into your head ? No naughty thoughts eh !!

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*

So, after a whole day for Nagoya, the gf and I thought it a good idea to unwind in Kyoto despite the local rainy forecast. After all there were still a lot more for me to sight-see here.

We took the bus and headed to the city centre. First up was a quick lunch.




Kayo ordered spaghetti, I a hamburger steak with egg and we shared a little pot of shrimp gelatin. Nothing too fancy but at a tag of around 2000 Yen, it was satisfying.

The rest of the day was pure window shopping and enjoying the urban treats of the shopping malls. Kayo led me into a Manga book shop and once inside, something familiar caught my eye.

Bleach!

This got me pretty excited, although on hindsight, given that the anime was broadcasted by TV Tokyo, it was only logical. A few minutes of searching, and I found my the Manga series from my favourite Anime.

Hajime No Ippo! The Fighting!

I was so tempted to buy one of the Ippo Manga, but decided against it. Perhaps once after I've improved my Japanese to reading level.

Along the way, we also saw a girl band, doing what seemed like a promotional gig.

Before we decided to head home to cook dinner, the gf and I saw something, which we knew we had to do today, and especially in Japan too!

Any ideas what it could have been?

....
.......
.........

Print Club! of course !

CW: Me taking a shot of the ceiling inside the photo booth,
the gf programming the styles for the photos and
a shot of myself in front of the camera lens

In the next post, which I promise, will not be like, in another 4 months or so, the spoils and joys of Osaka from my eyes shall indeed be shared.

Bis gleich!!

Round 31: Nagoya, Toyota and Dinner with an old Friend.

It took me a good 2 days of resting and lots of warm simple foods, before my system finally recovered well enough to be digesting normal meals. During which, the gf, like the good nurse she's thinking of training to become, took my care, made my meals and even brought me to a hair salon for a new hair style.



Because of my food poisoning, Kayo and I had to call up the Toyota factory in Nagoya and cancel our tour appointment originally planned on Tuesday. Instead we changed our itinerary to the Toyota Museum of Industry and Technology, which was located in the city centre instead. It was also a better decision so that the whole mechanical mumbo-jumbo wouldn't bore Kayo.

The Friday morning started out slightly cold and foggy. But seeing the mist at Kyoto Main train Station(Hbf in German for short), I felt relieved. Foggy or rainy mornings are a sign that the weather later of the day would turn out just fine~~



Nagoya is some 105km from Kyoto. To reach there, we had to make 2 train transfers, the station names of which I have conveniently forgotten. I will correct this line of the post once I get to ask the gf again lol.

Because of the 2-hour long trip(which accidentally ended up taking up more than 4 hours because our dear Kayo-chan read the wrong signs*ahem*), we decided to buy lunch to eat in the train. So at Kyoto Hbf, we looked around and decided on green tea and onigiri.




It wasn't my first time trying these flavoured rice balls as Kayo and I had made some during summer for our trip to Paris. I picked two - Tuna with Mayo and salmon while Kayo got 2 of her favourites - Umeboshi(sour plum) and Okaka. We always laugh whenever we see or say Okaka onigiri in supermarkets, simply because the German word "Kacke", which is pronounced as "kac-ka", means "scheiße" or shit. LOL

When we finally reached the Toyota Museum, it was close to 4pm. Despite the lateness, we entered and started our tour of the museum.

In a nutshell, the museum consists of 3 sections: the early days of Toyota when the first automatic looming machine was invented and the technical developments from there...


The first automatic Looming Machine

A German AC Generator



the shift to automobile production....


Gallery of engine models

Gallery of earlier Toyota Models



and the development of the Toyota Production System(TPS).


The Toyota Production System Process Flow for Automobiles



The Automobile Assembly Line

I couldn't glean as much insight about their TPS, other than the visit to the Ford Production Plant in Michigan and subsequently to the supermarket chain Piggly Wiggly when the pioneers formed their first inspiration, information which wasn't new. But it was certainly interesting for both Kayo and I.


We were almost ending our trip when we saw this sign:

Technoland? *Imagines dark room streaked with white strobe lights and brimming with hordes shaking their bodies and heads to the mixes of Van Dyke and Tiesto*

But of course, in the Toyota Museum, you have to expect something else..


A room full with mechanical toys!


Kayo and I went in like excited kids, peering curiously at the different equipment. We eventually tried almost everything that was there on display. Some required us to pedal slowly to rotate mirrors, cycle as fast as we could to melt ice and create a mini-shower and play with blocks to connect some circuit. It reminded me so much of the Singapore Science Centre from my primary school days.

The sun had already set when we finally left the museum at 1645. We were to meet up with an old friend, Martin, for dinner at 1700 hours. The meeting point was the Nagoya Hbf which was a couple stops away.

Hurrying inside the spacious Hbf, we were greeted with a sea of human traffic. It was rather incredible for me, been accustomed to a more relaxed rush hour in Mannheim, where the people, just don't really rush that much. Making our way through the buzz, I felt for a moment, I was back in City Hall in Singapore lol.

Although Martin is roughly half a head taller than me, locating him in this madness was no small task. So we called him on his phone and after a couple of false turns, we found him waiting for us right at the centre of the Hbf.


Presenting: Martin Siebenhaare ( meaning: Seven Hairs, literally!)


It was really good to see him again after some 18 months. He had left for Japan for exchange in Summer 2006 and had extended his stay there after 6 months. We shook hands and hugged. The feeling of seeing another familiar face in a foreign land, and speak German(well,ja again!) was quite awesome. I could see that he was also excited to meet someone from Mannheim again.

Chatting animatedly in German, we made our way out of hbf and into the streets. For dinner, we let Martin pick out one of his usual eateries. Unfortunately amid the excitement, I forgot the name of the restaurant or to take photos of the exterior.

Aiya, like it matters to you anyway, right?

After all that travelling and walking around earlier today, Kayo and I did had a good appetite. A little something to awake the taste buds: fresh peas in pods and tako wasabi !


(CW): Fresh raw octopus marinated in wasabi. Absolutely delicious!
Something similar to claypot rice & grilled pork - the latter was good!
Fried Udon with white cabbage and bacon - Yum!


After this much and 2 beers, I was still hungry! So I ordered one more...Fried Udon with white cabbage and bacon!

That hit the spot, and I was finally satisfied. As expected, Martin and I spent a great deal catching up on the going-ons we had.

After dinner, Martin offered to show us around. Which reminded me - Kayo and I had not explored the city nor the Christmas decorations yet! Translation = Photo Op!


(CW): Christmas scenery on a mall,
the symbol for Nagoya: A Golden Orca or "Kin no Shachihoko",
a Christmas tree formed from office lights on different floors of a building.

Unsurprisingly, 3 hours just went past just like that *snap*.

Martin had classes the next day, so he had to be heading back to his hostel, which was about 1 hour from the city. It was also already late for tired us. He accompanied us back to Nagoya Hbf and left shortly after we boarded our train.

On the ride back, Kayo and I didn't speak much - we just went through the photos we had taken. To stay awake till we reach Kyoto, we took turn playing Germ Buster on her DS Lite.

Some 100 minutes later, we stepped into Kyoto Hbf and were greeted with this huge Christmas decorations. Seeing the other couples gathered on the steps, Kayo couldn't resist and had to pull me along to just join the other couples on the steps and bask in the warm glow.

** Otsukare sama desu ~~ **

And so on that exhausted note, we ended our day with a hot bath together back in her apartment. In the next post, I'll be blogging about our trip to Osaka, Famous City of Grilled Crabs and having the Japanese version of Wally from "Where's Wally?".

Now give yourself a nice pat on the back for having read all these. Go grab a beer - you know you've deserved it!