NEW JOB INFO!

OK! So I found out a bunch of great info from Joytalk. First off, I got a choice as to where I teach, and where I live! I told him that I'd prefer to work with Elementary School but I'd like a mix. He basically said we have a position that's perfect for that. So I will be teaching for the majority of my time in Elementary School. However I will also have 14 total days teaching in Junior High School. This is great because it's exactly what I wanted. Also he asked me if I preferred to drive or not, of course I said not! He said that the place I'd be living is close to the main ES I'd be teaching at. AWESOME!

Next he told me that my visa is almost done and that it will be sent asap which is good, I need to get it done before I leave!

Also I found out there will be 10 ALT's in Sano, and that Sano has a curriculum which means less hard work for me! GREAT!

Next he told me that all the ALT's will be spread out in different apartments over a 5KM area. This is good because it gives me space, but I'm close enough to other ALT's that if we want to hang out we can!

SO MUCH GOOD NEWS! The little chat I had with Joytalk really relieved some stress.

My Day / Poll Results

So I think the poll results are in. The people have spoken, they like my long hair the best! In all honesty I think the long hair picture was a bit biased because I was wearing sunglasses. I'll ask other friends and get their opinions in my final decision. As for now I guess I'll let my hair grow out.

In other news Cameron is visiting. My family, Cameron, and I went to the fair today. I had alot of mixed emotions going to the fair.... it was weird. First my initial reaction was remembering how much I dislike the fair. It seems like all it attracts are really trashy people. After thinking about this for a while I realized it kind of was not my place to judge them all so harshly. After going to different places in the world you kind of realize that everyone is different and just because they live differently does not mean its any better or worse than you. I also got to see all the couples at the fair which was great haha (sarcasm). I think Luke and Danny had fun though, and thats the most important part. I went on this ride called the Dizzy Dragon with Luke and Cameron. It was kind of like the teacups ride in that you sit inside a carriage and the ride spins and your carriage spins too. Cameron and I had it going so fast we all got super dizzy. Luke was so dizzy he was pressed against the wall and couldn't move.

There was also a mechanical bull ride at the fair. My parents and Cameron peer pressured me into riding it hahaha, it was actually pretty fun. Cameron did it first and it just looked hilarious because he's big. We took a video with his cell phone. Next I did it, I probably would of held on longer but the thing I was holding on to kept going under my crotch so I had to let go or reap the consequences hahah.

Later in the day we walked past a radio station tent thing. Randomly Danny started dancing, random people started taking pictures of him. It was really funny because my Dad would do a move and then Danny would try to copy. It was too cute for life.

Hair Styles

Ok, so I've opened a poll and now. Votes will be anonymous. The poll will decide how I will style my hair. Below is a picture of each style so you can vote. Click on the pictures to see them in a larger size. Comments are welcome as well. Votes are entered on the top right of the blog.

Short hair

Medium Hair


Long Hair

I visited Baltimore for about a week. It was alot of fun, just hanging out with everyone and I got to see the Dark Knight. Everyone went to the 12:00am showing opening night, except me and Chris has to wait to see the 1:00am show because everything else was sold out. It was a very good movie and in my opinion Heath Ledger stole the show. He had a good performance but also I guess it could of just been really well written.

On the way back from Baltimore I went through some rain. It was amazing because for about 20 minutes I could see this huge rainbow and I actually drove through the base of the rainbow. I've never been that close or seen a rainbow for that long. It was amazing looking; never have I seen a rainbow as large as this or full. It made the last hour of my drive much better.

In other news, at dinner last night something very funny happened. We were eating dinner and there was a fly bothering us. Randomly my step dad went to grasp at it and then jokingly went to eat it. The thing is this time he actually caught it and actually ate it. After he did it he was coughing for a couple minutes and gagging. It was hilarious, because he inhaled the fly.

Another 日本語のレスン

Ok everyone, here is another Japanese lesson.　Today we will be learning about counters.　In Japanese certain objects require words that are used as counters, since Japanese lacks the plural form of words. Counters are words that identify that there is more than one object present.

Counters include:

本（ほん）hon　Used for long or cylindrical objects such as (Books, Hair, Bottles, Trees, Poles)

前 (まえ) mae　Used for flat material （Paper, cloth, plates, ect.）

台 (だい) dai Used for many kinds of Machinery (computers, cars, other industrial Equipment)　

軒　(けん) ken Used for Places (houses, and shops)　　

人 (にん) nin Used to count People　

Although 1 person or 2 people is an acception once you reach 3 you can just use normal numbers. An example is below.

１一人　　(ひとり　hitori)　

２二人　（ふたり　futari)　

３三人　（さんにん　sannin）

There are more counters, however this is what I've learned up to this point. Take it in because there is more to come!

And this concludes my second 日本語のレスン!

Target Sucks

Target in Newburgh NY sucks. So I applied to Target like almost three weeks ago. The day after I applied I was told to call the store and ask for HR. I did, and no one picked up, this went on for about a week. Finally I got in touch with someone, and an interview was scheduled. During the interview the first woman who was interviewing me was new at this or at least she claimed. She basically did what I could of done alone. She read off questions and I answered them, then she wrote down my answers and was a horrible speller. This was a waste of about a half an hour. Next a competent employee came in who was actually an intern. She asked about my Marketing degree because she was in the process of getting her degree in Marketing too. She had a grip about what was going on and then another woman came in. Next she finished the interview process and told me I'd need a background check and a drug test. I said that'd be no problem, and then I found out I had 24hrs to take the drug test. I decided to go right after the interview. Having not had breakfast that morning it took me forever to pee. So I sat the diagnostic place for about 2 hours. Finally I took the drug test and left. Target told me they would get back to me as soon as they got the drug test results back. (They claimed it took and average of 24-48 hours). Two days after my drug test I called and no one was around so I called back the next day at a different time and same response. Finally after doing this for another week they called me back and said that the drug test had been canceled. They didn't give me any reason why after I asked and claimed since it was outsourced it took a while to get the results back. After hearing this I threated to not work because at this point they had wasted 2 weeks of my time where I could have been looking for other jobs. The woman simply said would you like me to put you down as withdrawn then? I told her yes.

You think if your company needs help you put now hiring signs up and hire people as soon as possible. This way your not overworking your current employees and everyone is happy. Apparently they don't need help or they just completely suck at life. Its unfortunate that it happened and that the process of getting to actually work there is so long and retarded. I could of actually made some money and they could of benefited from an overqualified employee.
Instead they wasted both my time and theirs for about two weeks. Awesome.

Weird Dream

Man, last night I had a weird dream.....

I don't even know where to begin. I think it was a double dream in that I was still asleep but I had two different dreams. The first thing I remember was that I was at this bakery, watching them make and sell their stuff, but I wasn't even behind the counter I was just standing in front, and watching. For some reason there was a Camera man there who was filming the whole thing. Apparently the bakery was going to be on a TV show. What was dumb was that it wasn't even a nice bakery is was like a dinky kiosk like store. There was like 2 cakes that were like mediocre, you could probably make or buy them from like Wal-mart hah. What else was weird is that my ex-girlfriend Angela was working there and some of my other friends from childhood. I don't think I talked to anyone working there, I just watched the bakery do its work lol. After the bakery closed I wrote something on one of the nearby wooden railing tops. I wrote (for some reason with ashes and my finger) I really enjoyed watching, and when I get home I'll watch the show and I signed it NY -for some reason. -- Really weird.

Now I don't know if that was connected or not -- but in the next part of my dream I was Antonio Banderas for some reason and I was being chased by Robert De Nero. He was some type of bad guy. I remember driving up this huge steep mountain with this other guy who I think was my partner (I think I was a cop) but I didn't know his name. We got like either ambushed or somehow our car got flipped upside down. We both scrambled away and I survived he didn't. Anyways after that it was like a goose chase for me to hunt De Nero and avenge my partner. He was some psychopathic killer, and for some reason I had to stop him. I remember trying to like infiltrate this area by metro rail. I kept having to kill these henchmen guys and sneak by them. I also thought he had killed or kidnapped my family or something so I had to stop him.



After this part these is a huge gap.. and then I finally catch De Nero or see him. I go after him but instead of like tackling him we start to talk. After me (as Antonio Banderas) and De Nero talk are both start crying because both our lives are ruined. Somehow we both realize that we just miserable and suffering so we stop fighting. After that I woke up and came back to reality lol.


Anyways it didn't make much sense, but it was kind of ridiculous.

日本語のレッスン

NEW POST!

Introduction

Japanese

私はニコラスロカドです。
はじめまして。
アメリカのニューヨークにすんでいます
私は二十一さいです。
私は英語の先生をします。
日本語はすこしはなせます。
日本語をおしえてください。
あえてよかったです、どうぞよろしくおねがいします。

English

I am Nicholas Lockard. Pleased to you meet you. I live in America, but more specifically New York. I am 21 years old. I will be an English teacher. I know how to speak a little Japanese. Please teach me Japanese. I am pleased to meet you, please be kind to me.

This is what I'll stick with for now until I move. This will obviously change around some once I actually get there. I will turn 22 once I get there. I also won't live in NY anymore haha.

Tip ＃１- When telling people where you live - It is best to say a broad area and then the specific area (if necessary). You do this by adding a の (no).

Ex.
とちぎ　の　さの　にすんでいます。

This literally means Tochigi, Sano I live. I think its translated to I live in Tochigi, but more specifically Sano.

Another Tip - Apparently a really, really polite way of replying to 元気ですか？　Is to say -

元気です。　あなた　は　いかが　ですか？　People will be like Wow - you're a foreigner and you said that.　Apparently it is more intellectual sounding.

Some tips!