I was born, and subsequently spent the next twenty years (or so) in Calgary (Canada), where I worked in Project Management in the oil sands industry for a spell and studied International Business at the University of Calgary. Ever a seeker of enlightenment and happiness, I spent some time living in Osaka, and now reside in lovely Kyoto.
What am I doing here? Well, first I had to spend some time learning the language, which was fun and difficult, but now I'm studying Economics at Ryukoku University, located in the pleasant heart of southern Kyoto.
- The "blog" section of this site is where I blog in English and Japanese. It looks a little bit different because I'm running it on Wordpress and I'm not a web design wizard.
- I love archiving things. I kept track of the books, CDs, and movies I "consumed" in 2009 and currently for 2010.
- I am currently a writer at Global Voices Japan, and I archive my articles on Feedbackward as well.
- I wrote an article on Aokigahara, the forest located at the base of Mt. Fuji, and the most commonly utilized location for committing suicide in Japan. This has been (unbelievably) utilized by a number of researchers and Japan enthusiasts for presentations and the like.
- After seasonal (and highly ineffective) attempts at running in Canada, I started running regularly in the atrocious Osaka summer heat in 2008, and have been running nearly 5 days a week since.
- Following a visit to Kamagasaki, I researched, volunteered with, and presented in English and Japanese regarding the history and current status of the homeless population in Osaka.
- Within 72 hours of first arriving in Japan, my dad and I scrambled up Mt. Fuji.
- Document design is something I'm really interested in. I've never studied it formally, but I always like thinking about white space, fonts, page layout, and things like that. Some day I may actually try and learn what professionals think about the subject!
- I used to write guides about games for IGN.com.
- I used to run a (now vapourized) website about the history of Donkey Kong. If I get a hold of those files sometime, I may just restore some of it!
- I've accumulated nearly 10,000 photos since acquiring a new camera in 2008. Most of them are not great, but every single one I like will eventually be organized and uploaded onto my Flickr.
