St. Aloysius, The Hill

St. Aloysius Catholic Church is currently being demolished 1 block away from my place in South St. Louis. Developers have bought up the valuable property and are turning the now abandoned church and school into 25 up scale houses.

I had a chance to go and snap a few shots of the demolition before it was no more. I think you can really appreciate the quality of the brick work especially when it's in these stages, the various layers exposed showing the internal structure.



I recenly went back to check it out. All that was left was the front vestibule and the steeple. Above the door that was the entrance to the church that now opens into a rubble filled pit, a sign reads "Peace to all who enter here." Then someone has humorously inscribed, "...and exit."

TV Anywhere

Frontier Airlines offers DirecTV on their flights. You are able to view it for free while taxiing and the first 15 minutes of the flight. The you must pay $5 for service during the entire flight. I boarded the plane and the Cards/Mets were on ESPN. 8th inning, 1-0 Cards. We took off and just before the free service cut off, Isringhausen got Cliff Floyd to ground out with the bases loaded to end the game. I had a reserved celebration and this being a St. Louis-bound flight, was disappointed to see no one else pumping their fists or clapping. Go Cards!

Live from Grand Junction, Colorado

Busniness has taken me to a gorgeous place, Grand Junction, CO.

Finished up at 5 pm and headed to a local bike shop and rented a hybrid bike (mountain frame with street thin tires). I heard there was a path along the Colorado River near town so I headed over to check it out. I went a few miles, swerving to avoid rabbits darting across the path and missing a startled snake by inches.

Crossed the river and headed toward the rocky ridge of the Grand Junction Valley walls.


Came upon a roadside parking lot with a few paths going to the top of Griggs Hill. I chained up my frame and headed to the top.


The North side of the valley looks as if it's a wrinkled sandstone wall that hasn't eroded much in a few million years in the arid evironment.


A 360 degree panorama from my perch atop Griggs Hill.


I set my camera on a rock and test its timer abilities.


My throat dry as the red Colorado dirt, I head back to town. An interesting request awaits me.


I finish off a good ride with a Cold Shiver Pale Ale at the local Rockslide Brewery.


It's good.

Walking Tulsa

Going for an early evening stroll in Tulsa, OK seems like the most ordinary thing in the world...


I cut over to the old Route 66 and see this wierdly titled restaurant...

Then see an interesting car on the campus of Tulsa University...

I saw a copyright infringing barber shop...

Then checked out the Tulsa Driller Man outside the Expo Center where I have been working...

It's business as usual deep in the heart of Oklahoma.

How we get down...

This is a very special post. Believe it or not, this is post #100 on my humble Champon Adventures blogg. Some people knock out 100 posts in a couple days. But I have a certain standard of quality I've always upheld for all of the materials I post. Today is no different. Here is a special video clip captured by my friend Bisck that actually raises the standard of quality on my blogg:



Priceless indeed, isn't it? These are the types of videos I look forward to shooting with my brand new camera, a Sony Cybershot DSC-W50. I got a slick 2GB memory card with it, so even if I shoot a video that's not as artistic as this, I don't have to worry about wasting precious memory space.

I am currently in Tulsa, OK. I plan on going out and walking the streets to check out this Dubai of the Midwest. Perhaps I can share something from my stroll later on.

River to River

I have been a regular hasher since coming back to St. Louis in October. My (adopted) home hash is the STLH3 Sunday afternoon hash. A couple weeks ago I was in Chicago for two Cards/Cubs games and had the chance to hash with the rowdies from the Windy City. This past weekend I was presented with a unique opportunity. I was invited to join a relay team to complete an 80 mile course across Southern Illinois.

Pee Pole A (hash names used to protect fragile psyches and reputations) picked me up Friday evening for the two hour drive to Marion, IL. We stopped in O'Fallon and picked up another team member, Follow the Urine Trail. We got in Friday night and after a good dinner and a few libations, we turned in and got ready for a wild Saturday.

Known as the River to River Relay, this annual event brings in groups from all over the Midwest, about 350 I am told. The 80 mile stretch begins on the bluffs in a state park overlooking the Mississippi River. The course is divided into 24 three mile sections and ends on the banks of the Ohio River, in rustic Galconda, IL. Teams of eight to ten people take turns running to accomplish the feat. Our team consisted of only six...



The alarms went off around five as we had to drive 1.5 hours to the start from our hotel. Floppy D**k's wife Maury had forgotten her running shoes and had to drive 4 hours round trip to retrieve them. So with five runners, along with Floppy's two wild kids, we took off only to get hopelessly lost trying for shortcuts that never materialized. Finally, Pee Pole pointed the 15 P.V. in the right direction and we were primed for an 8:15am start time.

Porno was the first one off, followed by Follow the U. Trail with me in the third spot. My first leg was rather hilly and I had a chance to warm up for what would be a very long day. We developed a routine where we would drop the runner at exchange A, drive to exchange B where the next runner would get the baton, runner A getting back in the van and so on, 24 times on the day. I handed off to Floppy, then to Pee Pole. Maury made it back from the shoe run for leg six, a hilly beast of a trek.

Just before Maury's run, some young man had just finished running and somehow managed to fall down and severely magle his wrist. I couldn't help think back to my day in Wombacher Park when I landed on my wrist after a taking a plunge off a ridiculous snow ramp. Kid's forearm was flat on the splint pad and his hand was up in the air. Nast.

My second leg was a bit easier and I rewarded myself with a halfway done beer. Wise choice, my third leg was even better. Convinced of the healing powers of the brew, I had another before my final leg. The sky had clouded over and we were graced with a drizzle as U. Trail gave me the baton. No sooner had I gone over a hill, the clouds moved off, the dipping sun reappeared and a brilliant rainbow lingered. It was a pretty amazing experience, and I came over a hill and saw my final hand-off zone at the bottom. I nearly maimed my frame by letting gravity take over running down that hill. Alas, I handed over to Floppy and my day of running was over. We drove into Galconda, loaded the van up with 80 bucks worth of gasohol then met Maury as she closed in on the finish line. We all joined her for the last block, crossing the line as a proud team while the countrified announcer mangled our names like that young chap's wrist.

We posed for a few photos by the Ohio River with Kentucky in the background. Missouri to Kentucky in a day by way of the foot. Our team had finished the 80 mile stretch in under 12 hours. Another hash team from St. Louis had 10 members and took nearly an hour longer than us. It was a nice accomplishment and a great day. I am definitely planning on doing it again in 12 months time.

In the mean time, I'll keep hashing. I'll keep my eyes on the JET e-mails and hope there's a community in Kumamoto continuing the fine tradition. I will enjoy a beer after a good run and hopefully, I won't fall on my wrist.

Yes, Yes I think so...

As you can see, I am not so occupied with spending a lot of time doing the blog thing. I wanted to draw attention to a few things...

Jesus lived in Japan. Then again, so did I.

Thoughts and prayers go out to my Prefectural Adviser last year, Caroline and two others. Injured in this freak accident... Those Toppy ferries aren't the most stable things to begin with. I could not fathom what would happen if it hit something the size of a small building.

I have no camera at my disposal, and I will be attending my first baseball game at the new Busch Stadium tomorrow evening. Photos can be found on my sister's Flickr page.

Adam, you continue to amaze me...

The finest ablum to come along in a while...

I spent this past weekend in Chicago doing many fun things. Big ups to the Chicago HHH, the Wrigley Field security for watchin my back, Jenny Bisck for the floor space, So Taguchi for showin them how we do it, Jason Isringhausen for 11 straight balls & a Grand Slam, random 6'8" dude for tryin to kick my nuts, Virginny for Enterprisin it, and last but certainly not least, Jameson for makin that car ride so so nice.

Working in the Lou

So I have been working at my new job almost 2 months now. My company has a massive software program that they sell to convention centers, visitors bureaus and other event planners worldwide. My job is to help the staff of these places implement, learn and become proficient at using the stuff.

My job so far has mostly consisted of training myself and just getting familiar with the software. Eventually I will be travelling quite a bit, but usually not on weekends and only for a few days at a time. I have already gone to Birmingham, AL and Savannah, GA. I must say, Savannah is an excellent town with a long history and a picturesque downtown area. I was tempted to pick up a t-shirt that simply said SCAD across the front(Savannah College of Art and Design). I have a couple trips coming up, to Evanston, IL and LA in a couple weeks. That should be quite an experience.

Just to give you a little taste of what I have been dealing with, check out this paragraph:

Removed: Copyright infringement.


I don't know what is worse, the fact that I took the time to read it, or the fact that I read it twice, or the fact that I began to understand it the third time I read it. Luckily, it's not all as boring as this.

New Productions

I created a video recently with some of the footage I shot near my house in Japan. There was a field with a bunch of those concrete jacks that they like to tumble in the ocean to prevent beach erosion. They were all lined up and created square foot pedestals evenly placed from eachother. I decided I wanted to run across the field stepping only on the pedestals. Here are the results:

Block Hoppin'

Also, I had the opportunity to jump off some amazing cliffs in Ko Phi Phi, Thailand last September. What a rush. (Sorry about the quality of both movies, then again, you get what you don't pay for.)

Andaman Plunge

Stay Tuned...

Back in Kumamoto, we often went out and watched a JET band play at local watering holes. TOKA was a tight five member outfit that enjoyed purveying some fine rocking tunes to the loyal, yet intoxicated superfans. Many an occasion did we find ourselves grooving and dancing underground, opening our auditory canals to the smooth vibrations of Carly, Wooley, Chambers, Elton and Ken.

I had the chance to videotape (one of) TOKA's last performance(s) in February of last year. I hadn't much thought about the tape in a long time. Then I got an e-mail from Carly recently and said she would like a copy of it. So I've spent some time recently throwing together all kinds of footage, not only TOKA, but some of my other random stuff from both Japan and the amazing countries of Southeat Asia. Being the consummate cheapskate, I fully plan on putting some of these videos on the internet for free somewhere. I think I am close to locating a host, but it's still in limbo.

So I encourage you to stay tuned, sure my posts are sparse, but I promise you I will have some pretty good stuff up very soon.

Coming on Strong

As a SLU Alum, I have a strong interest in the Billikens Men's Basketball team. Let's take a look at how they are doing this year. The results of their first 19 games:

Yes, that's right. The hadn't won more than one game in a row, and likewise didn't lose two in a row. They were, in the words of John Ebel, consistently inconsistent. Some local talking heads wondered if there had ever been a streak of this type and this length in any sport.

However, with the emergence of Kevin Lisch as a solid offensive threat not to mention all along being the Bruce Bowen of the A-10, the Billikens have embarked on an epic three game win streak. After they were thrashed by Phil Martelli and the St. Joe's Hawks, they beat Fordham, came away with a tough W at Rhode Island, then beat a strong Xavier team for the second time this season. If they can keep it up, move up in the parity-rich A-10, then they have a chance to play in the postseason. Go Billikens!

An Ode to Aso-san

When I think back on my three years in Kumamoto, Japan, I often think of the immense natural beauty that surrounded me in central Kyushu. There were the many waterfalls, some heavily photographed and others rarely glimpsed. The amazing rice fields that turned a surreal shade of green two times a year. The amazing sunsets over Kumamoto as the sun dipped over Kinpo-san and behind Unzen-dake. Then of course, there is Mt. Aso. This sacred peak has long been viewed within Japan as a mystical place of beauty, natural power and sometimes danger. I was lucky enough to live within an interesting hour drive from the active crater.

I will never forget the night that I was told that Aso's height 1,592 meters, spoken in an alternate way of saying numbers, is Higo Kuni. Higo is the ancient name of Kumamoto and the Japanese for country, kuni. Wow, what an interesting coincidence.

I went to Aso many times. As a stop and think, a dozen different stories come to mind of fun-filled days and crazy nights spent in the caldera.

...leading a group through the woods and through a barbed wire fence into the annual Aso rave in order to circumvent the $30 entrance fee...partying all night to bad music under a big sky...on the drive back at sunrise the next morning and still feeling intoxicated, accidentally losing a banana out the window as we slowly took in the curves of the mountain road...several hashes in Aso, led by The Immortal Lettuce or Sliced Bush...venturing to the very top of Aso or Nekodake, taking in the ominous pale green pool of the smoking crater and the noxious fumes of sulfur...hitting up the delicious izakayas in Jamie's town, oh the chicken wing gyoza...

...a leisurely drive along the Milk Road, skirting the very edge of the caldera, looking down into the largest volcano-crated bowl in the world...a never-ending hash that had us running through pastures following dots on cattle...grabbing a bento and heading out to hike up Nekodake...swinging flaming bales of straw and the Aso Fire Festival...seeing said flaming bale slam into the chest of one who stood too close...discovering a forgotten road, from North Aso to Takamori between Aso and Nekodake peaks...on the clearest of days, being able to see smoke rising from the volcano from my porch in Kumamoto City...

There is no doubt that I will return to Kumamoto again. I hope to once again drive to Mt. Aso, climb to its peak and take it all in. I can't imagine things will change too drastically if I go there next year or 50 years from now. I take great comfort in that.

My Contribution to the Higo Blog

Recently, Adam has posted some interesting photos on his Higo Blog. I felt compelled to post a few photos that share a common theme with some of his shots. I will let you decide what those themes are.

Death by E:61:00

If you own some kind of Sony camera, perhaps you know what E:61:00 is. I have had my Cybershot since I bought it at the local Best Denki in Kumamoto about three and a half years ago. I have taken it to over 15 countries and snapped almost 3,000 shots. Obviously, it has taken quite a beating. I recently turned on the camera ony to see a blurry image and a flashing "E:61:00". I googled it and found this page.

It is a bulletin board for Cybershot owners who had the same problem. Among their claimed solutions: Forcefully obstructing the lense when it pops out to zoom; dropping it from a height of one to five feet on to a variety of surfaces. So I tried each of these methods unsuccessfully and even opened up the camera and jiggled its guts around and even located a stray pastic fragment that had been rattling around for years. No luck.

While it can still take pictures (somewhat blurry), it no longer has the capability to zoom in and out. I think my camera has reached the end of its life. I guess I am lucky the camera lasted this long, waiting to conk out in the rather unpicturesque month of January in St. Louis instead of October in the mountains of Northern Myanmar. And it just so happens that due to employment, I may soon have the resources to do something about it. Hmmm, let me count the Megapixels, 6.1...8.0?

あけましておめでとう! Employment in '06

Happy New Year to all. I hope everyone had a good one. I myself got together with about 25 of my friends for my first new year in the states in three years. We had a good time drinking and carousing in a dark room across from Cusamano's Bar not too far from home.

For those of you still in Japan checking up on Champon Adventures from time to time, thanks and I hope everyone's holiday travels to exotic locations around Asia were rewarding and inspiring. I am interested to hear about everyone's travels when you get back so please update your blogs and post some photos. I have been a little sparse on my posts since being back in St. Louis, but here is a rough idea of what I've been up to.

I arrived back in St. Louis in early October fresh of two months of awesome travel in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. I embraced unemployment for a bit, but then had the chance to do some basic carpentry at a house that my friend Ben was rehabbing:


(Ben plans on selling the house in the Spring then going to apprentice with master glass-blowers in Italy. Check him and Biscan out at Fuoco.org)

While I was doing all that, I was just throwing out my resume to all kinds of companies in St. Louis, looking to do some kind of entry-level computer work. I had it in mind to work at some company's computer help desk or technical support. I got no calls and continued to work on the house and really cultivate my enjoyment of free time.

Finally, I got one phone call from a small software company out in the suburbs of St. Charles. The woman said my resume landed on her desk and my experience matched what they needed. Hmmm, a computer dude who spent the last three years travelling and trying to teach English in Japan. Well I had to go in and find out what it was about. Over the course of two interviews, I learned the position was a software consultant, travelling to various sites around North America and teaching clients how to use our customized Events Management software. Travelling, teaching and technology: I can do this. Fortunately I was offered the position and will start on January 16th. I was hesitant to accept the first offer that came along but like they told me, it seems like a pretty good fit for my interests and skillz.

So in about a week and a half, I will bid farewell to unemployment and hello to a 35 minute commute (on a good day), the grind of a 9-5 (8-5+ actually, ouch!) and a packed lunch (what? no school lunch?). It kills me not to have an international air ticket purchased and waiting for me. I suppose I am almost completely adjusted to being back here in the states after so much time away. I guess regular employment is the last step in the reabsorption process. (Either that or becoming a preferred customer at the local Wal-Mart.)

Although I miss life in Asia and will continue to long for travel and the surprises and treasures of everyday life in Kumamoto, I am also embracing some familiar pastimes here in St. Louis. I've been able to get together and play basketball with my friends and sibblings quite regularly, in addition to taking up running once again with my sister Katie as main motivator. Katie and I have been active member of the St. Louis H3, a Hash group that goes off every Sunday afternoon. We have both hared already. Also, just being able to flip on a TV most nights and watch the NBA is amazing and something I will never take for granted. I loath most of the crap that is on TV, but I will never not watch basketball.

One thing I had taken for granted and vow not to do so again is the access to great libraries. I have read a bunch of books since I've been back. A lot of them have been about Japan or Asian culture in general. It is fascinating to read about this after experiencing it for three plus years. I read a book called Confucius Lives Next Door: What living in the East teaches us about living in the West by T.R. Reid. It was a fascinating book that attempts to provide a background on interesting cultural quirks in Japanese and Asian society. Interestingly, the teachings of Confucius are the fundamentals of living and behavior and in turn, a stable society that generally exists throughout the countries of Asia.

Another book which I recently started to read is Amy Tan's newest book, Saving Fish from Drowning. I was so excited to read this book after I read the review. It is a fictional novel about a group of Americans who mysteriously disappear on an isolated mountain lake in Northern Myanmar (Burma). Sure enough, it is based on Inle Lake, which I recently visited during my week in Myanmar. I was intrigued by the strong spiritual aspects of the hill tribes and little towns around the lake. Although the author was unable to travel to the military-governed nation for research, the book promises to be an interesting look at Myanmar's culture and political situation from the standpoint of a fictional story. I am excited to read it. Even the picture on the cover of the book is similar to a photo I took:

or maybe this one...


One other book I just got and will read in the next week is by one of Japan's greatest modern novelists, Haruki Murakami. I thoroughly enjoyed two of his other books, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles and The Wild Sheep Chase. It's called Underground and is actually an in-depth investigation into the mysterious Aum Shinrikyo Cult who were responsible for the terrible sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995. Murakami's fictional works are incredibly detailed in character development and often have amazingly bizarre twists. I can't wait to get into this one.

Before I start my new job on the 16th, I will be snowboarding for a week in Colorado. Breckenridge, Keystone and Vail. I can't explain how excited I am to get up on the mountain and rip it. Exactly one year ago I was recovering from a week boarding in Nagano and getting ready to go home for Joe and Michiyo's wedding followed by a week at Vail. I am quite lucky to be able to spend a week snowboarding with no guilty feelings that I should be looking for a job; work starts 8 am sharp on Monday morning.