Welp, just renewed my teaching contract until July 2024. Couldn't be happier with my new job and life in Japan. Japanese studies are going smoothly, just got an unexpected 300,000 yen bonus from my bosses, and I have Wednesday off this week. Life's good.

Just want to say that the recently released Atari 50 collection from Digital Eclipse is excellent. The museum section is a fascinating look at Atari's history. Plus it has Solaris for 2600 and Tempest 2000 for Jaguar which makes me very happy.

My older bro got a copy of Sonic Frontiers a few days ago that broke street date so he's already finished it and really enjoyed it. Guess I'll find out tonight whether or not I'll feel the same about it.

So did that Johnathan Holmes article on Super Lone Survivor disappear from the front page for a reason or...? I get it felt weirdly one-sided and unsubstantiated, but I hate to lose a Holmes article.

I only have one class to teach today and the other 5 hours besides lunch are being spent playing Victoria 3 in the faculty room. Life's good here in Japan, folks. Life's good.

Shout-out to Calorie Mate for being an excellent last minute breakfast replacement. Every now and again I get up for work too late to grab breakfast and two bars of this stuff keeps me full until lunch rolls around. God bless the Japanese.

Finally my tiny apartment in Hokkaido is starting to feel comfy and cozy. Got a brand new kotatsu set, 4K TV, new curtains, the works! Here's just some of the new setup. Sure glad I drive a roomy hatchback to lug all this furniture around!

Popped into my local 7-Eleven today and noticed some exclusive Splatoon 3 food items and thought they might make for an interesting blog post. Would anyone be interested in reading a food review of these?

I'm so close to getting fiber optic internet installed in my apartment I can almost taste it. Just a few more days and I'll finally have 1 Gbps internet. It'll be mine, all mine! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I've been drivin' around Hokkaido in an old 2005 Honda Fit with a CD player for about a week now so I had to go shopping for some sweet tunes. I picked up these 4 today and I'm sure I'll buy some more eventually.

Ooh, my new work hours are going to be 8AM to 3:45PM Monday - Friday with a 45 minute lunch break. I get 20 vacation days too. A 35 hour work week with a solid lunch time? Something tells me I'm gonna like this job.

Welp, turns out I'm going to be able to take 1 less suitcase to Japan than expected due to luggage restrictions. Gonna have to trim down what I take with me and do more on-site procurement of necessities. God bless Don Quijote!

Today's my last day at my current job before I spend the next 2 weeks quarantining for the 14 days until my flight to Japan (just to be safe since if I catch COVID all my plans fall apart). I can't believe I'm so close to leaving!

I get my new gaming laptop tomorrow. I feel like I should buy a game or two I couldn't play on PC before while the Steam Summer Sale is still running, but I'm drawing a blank on what to get. I'm not used to being able to seriously game on PC!

I'm leaving my old Surface Pro 3 and Alienware Steam Machine behind and grabbing an Asus ROG Zephrus G14 (2022) to take with me to Japan. It's a mighty upgrade, but I'm going to miss those two potatoes. I'd been using them since 2014. End of an era.

I'm drunk as hell off local craft beer right now and I must say of all the sundry things I will miss moving to Japan next month the delectable concoctions of my local brewery will be one of them. Bless Jimmy Carter for making homebrewing free of taxation!

Today marks exactly 1 month until my move to Japan. To say I have a bit of trepidation would be an understatement, but I've lived in Japan before. I'll be just fine this time around...right?

Who knew preparation for moving to the other side of the planet could be so complicated? Appointments, phone calls, applications, meetings, etc. And I'm still a month out from leaving for Hokkaido! Next I gotta get an International Driver's Permit!

My mother bought me a Japan Crate subscription box to celebrate me working in Japan this summer and it included a can of Skal, a lovely skim-milk based soda I drank occasionally when I was in Tokyo in 2016. Don't knock it 'til you try it, folks!

Nobunaga's Ambition boxart makes for a great phone wallpaper.

Decided to finally jump on Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV for Switch. I've always been a fan of Kou Shibusawa strategy games. It's solid so far. Still perfer Nobunaga's Ambition: SoI. Hope NA: Rebirth is a step in the right direction after Taishi.

I'm really enjoying Bloom on the Playdate. In love with the aesthetic and soundtrack.

I got shortlisted for the 2022 JET Program this week, so it looks like yours truly will be working in Japan come July. Banzai!

My new microphone has gotten me a few good voiceover gigs so far, but it's also opened a whole new world of shitposting possibilities for me. Here's just one of those:

Looking for something to listen to while you study or do chores, fellow Dtoiders? Why not listen to this silly radio show/playlist I put together? It's hosted by yours truly and features 5 fun Citypop/J-Rock tracks with humorous interludes inbetween.