Sunday, January 21, 2007

Space Mountain at Disney


Space Mountain at Disney
Originally uploaded by David Victor.
You can see on my Flickr Site my latest pictures from my trip home and to Disneyland.

Here's emi and I on a ride at disneyland. They take your picture on the ride and charge you to get a copy - we went the cheap way and just took a digital picture of their preview screens.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Frozen beard in -23 degrees temperature near Gole, eastern Turkey

My buddy Rob is cycling through what seems to be the coldest parts of eastern Europe (western Asia?) Check out his blog and info at www.14degrees.org

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Yukata Collection 2006


Yukata Collection 2006
Originally uploaded by David Victor.
Check out my Dad, the model! He made sure to take a picture of all the hotel robes that were available to us throughout our trip. So stylish, so refined!

Family portrait


Family portrait
Originally uploaded by David Victor.
So my parents came to Japan in September with my Aunt Sue and Uncle Tom. I had a great time and you can see some pictures from our trip up on the blog. Enjoy!

Hawaii


Hawaii
Originally uploaded by David Victor.
So is this a good enough excuse to stay away from blogging for so long? I mean, how can you blog in Hawaii? Check Flickr for a bunch of new pictures!

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Yarrr! There be pirates!


Yarrr! There be pirates!
Originally uploaded by David Victor.

This is my first flickr-linked post! Yay!

This is me at the Dalian Pole Aquarium, where polar bears, penguins, fish, and pirates join forces to protect the motherland.

Many thanks to the random chinese guy who insisted I had my picture taken.

My attempt at a pirate-y scowl actually makes me just look constipated...

A couple more pics are up in Flickr, so check em out!

Monday, October 23, 2006

David on the Go

I just arrived in China and checked into the third hotel in as many countries in the past day and a half. I flew into Korea for applicants interviews, flew back to Fukuoka in Japan, spent one night, then left the next day for China. Some things that left an impression on me in the past couple days:

-Interviewing 31 students in one day at our Seoul office. That was a marathon, from 9 am to 7 pm. I'm glad APU is gaining popularity, but its a rough schedule. Not to mention the other 13 we had the following day.

-I think I managed to get someone fired by failing their boss's son at the interview. This guy is the personal secretary to a corporate bigwig in Seoul. The boss assigned him to get his son accepted to APU. So apparently he filled out all the application forms, including writing the essay for the student. However, when the student showed up for the interview, his English was terrible. I tried soft question, like if he is interested in Japanese culture, he says (misunderstanding somehow) 'No'. I ask him if he wanted to study at APU, he says 'no'. It was an easy choice to fail his application. But apparently this secretary's job was on the line, but there's not much I can do about that.

-Another student we interviewed came not dressed in his suit but in his army fatigues. With the Nuc-u-lar missle test in North Korea, he was called onto active duty and he got permission to come to the city and do the interview. This guy had been in Afghanistan as well, and he had an interesting perspective on things I'm normally not exposed to.

-I did a shot of Bacardi 151 with the Seoul office manager and I think it nearly killed him. In case you didn't know, Bacardi 151 is a 75% Rum. Ooooo...it burns....

-So 'bi bim' means something like 'mixed' and 'bap' means rice in Korean. So 'Bi bim bap' is that famous korean rice bowl dish. Well, I had the 'bi bim' but with kimchi and meat potstickers instead of rice. You mix it up and eat it the same way, but this was much tastier.

-It is like 45-50 degrees here in Dalian, China. A cold shock after 70 degree weather in Seoul and Fukuoka.

-A pleasant reminder that yes, I have arrived in China: Waiting for my taxi at the airport exit a young boy was relieiving himself on a pillar as travelers rushed by him.

-Due to overbooking I have been placed in a suite room at the hotel in Dalian. Two huge rooms, king bed, two TVs, etc etc. The complete opposite of my single room in Fukuoka at the business hotel, which would fit in the closet of the room I'm staying in now.

That's all for now!