So this is my one and only disclaimer about this site. Ready? Here it comes: This is a personal web site primarily meant to be a creative outlet for myself with the nice side effect of being able to keep my friends and family in the loop with what's going on in my so-called life. Anybody outside of that is welcome to join in of course, but don't expect me to apologize or explain everything I put on here. In other words, anything goes; it's your job to deal with it.

I used to try and keep rules about what was on and off topic, but as anyone who read the site regularly can tell you, I was constantly apologizing for things being off-topic and often went on random tangents that, while interesting, had little to do with Japanese culture. So instead of feeling guilty about whether or not I'm breaking some stupid rules that only I care about, I have created a new, more holistic policy:

This is a website about my life in Japan.....period.

That means that sometimes I'll make witty and shockingly insightful commentary (golly, it's fun being full of myself) on Japanese culture, while at other times I'll just pontificate on how cool it would be to have a working lightsaber or.... I dunno, something.

The point is that life in Japan is pretty interesting, regardless of whose it is. But since it's mine that I know, it's mine that I'll write about. There's always stories dying to be told and I do so love to tell them. I hope you enjoy reading them.

I live in Fukuma, Japan.....really. I majored in film, yet I can't stomach the idea of working in Hollywood. I wear contacts because glasses feel yucky. I can't live without music. If I go a day without listening to something I get hostile. I sometimes pretend I can use The Force, even though I can't. Chances are that right this minute I'm drinking either Pepsi or Earl Grey. Star Trek is the meaning of life. I inline skate aggressively. I'm convinced that the concept of Ranma 1/2 is the single most creative idea I'll ever hear. I love everything about the rain. I think Hackers is sweet, I don't care what you say. I prefer brunettes, but usually fall for blondes. I'm doubtful there will ever be a video game as cool as the originial Prince of Persia. I'm a neat-freak but I'm lazy; which means I'm constantly irritated that my apartment is a mess. There is no best Star Wars film; it's all one movie. It's my belief that if Mozart were alive today he'd be making techno. Hayao Miyazaki is a god. I prefer sports that don't have rules. I wish I were an astronaut. I'm not afraid to admit that Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner are my favorite books.

If you ever want to contact me when I'm online, I'm registered with the following services. (find links for these services in the navbar on the left)

AOL Instant Messenger - skottiep MSN Messenger - dademurhpy47@excite.com Yahoo! Instant Messenger - skottie_p

"Small steps, Sparks. Small steps" --Ted Arroway, Contact

The JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme is an initiative by the Japanese government to promote internationalization by introducing native speakers of English into Japanese classrooms as teachers.

It's a great idea for Japan which is very proud (and rightly so) of it's rich history and traditions but sometimes has trouble reconciling those with the things with what it's going to take to move forward and become part of the global community (kind of an ironic statement coming from an American, eh?).

I've now been here on JET for 2 1/2 years, and in that time I've seen instances of the program both achieving it's goals and of it failing miserably. In the end, the important thing to remember about JET is that it's heart is in the right place and while that may not seem like it's enough, given time, effort and most importantly patience from all sides, someday it might be.

Since there's always someone who cares about this stuff...

SoftPress' Freeway 3.5 does nicely for creating the html I need with next to zero headaches. It runs natively in Mac OS X which, in turn, runs peachy on my G3 Powerbook. My optical mouse rests on my sweet-@$$ Apple Logo mousepad, while I frequently sip Earl Grey from my ultra-kool-kung-fu Apple Logo coffee mug.