Yuki's blog

[LordSpleach]

The warranty should start when you BUY the product, not when the product was manufactured. Ryuki, you might have bought your 360 right before Microsoft extended the warranty from 1 year to 3 years. I can see Microsoft doing that.

[*Jess♥]

probably.

well it lasted for 2 days or so.

it just froze on me. i reset it and it froze again.

so i guess there is no helping it now.

[*Jess♥]

i have saved up almost £100

it won't be long now before i can afford to buy a new xbox!

I want to get mass effect 2.

my friend got it today and i watched him starting it and playing it. it looks so amazing game!

[*Kenji Murakami]

Congratulations, Ryuki. I hope you enjoy it, and that it lasts a lot longer than your old one.

[*Jess♥]

woohoo! I managed to get a new xbox 360 today!

it is bonus as well because it came with a memory card and a wireless controller. i only previously had wired so this is like luxury almost.

I also decided to get naruto game with it.

so i'm happy about that.

I watched an episode of kamen rider blade today and decided once and for all that I do not wish to watch that series.

even though it is supposed to have a very good storyline, I just do not like the style and atmosphere of it. it is a shame because the design of blade is quite cool.

I just can't abide the atmosphere of the show though. it is just so dreary. I cannot feel comfortable watching it.

so I want to find a good written version of the story. that way i can experience the story without having to put up with the show.

[durendal]

Wow, good for you. Then does that means you have an extra controller and memory card?

Also, since you're not going to watch KR Blade anymore, would it be alright to assume that we can now spoil you with Blade? I'm asking this because the ending is a real shocker.

[*Jess♥]

well i would like to read it to get a feeling for the story and enjoy whatever the ending is.

so i need to find a website that has a good detailed plot coverage.

yeah i have an extra memory now, but the controller of my faulty one, is being sold with the faulty one.

it will sell as a spare/repair.

[*Jess♥]

the fan in my computer broke.

i got no money.

now i thought.. i can teach english professionally. now i looked at the courses. the learn,, it is over £1000. that is teh top certification. CELTA.

also, i would have to go to london.

maybe teh top certificate is not necessary. but wouldn't i find it hard to get jobs if i don't get teh proper cert?

how can i make a decent amount of money if i can't get the proper cert?

how can i teach english to people if i'm not trained properly?

thing is, I already teach english as a volunteer, so maybe i don't need certificates?

If I am to work freelance then people can simply judge for themselves if i am teaching them well enough.

and i have already had comments from fellow vuilontreers that i am very good at teaching.

I am so frustrated.

[Aether]

Hey Ryuki. im not sure how long ive popped in n out of the site but i only just found this whole blog section!??!

anyway reading your post above i just wanted to tell you about one of my friends. he went to Thailand to do his CELTA in a month intensive course (or something ridiculous like that, why Thailand? basically he hates England ...) anyways ,he failed it. but he is currently in Taichung teaching english. i think the experience he gained from doing the course stood him in good stead for that job. what im trying to say is you may not actually need the cert to get a job. so if you were worried about going ahead and doing the course and maybe wasting £1000 if you didnt pass then dont, because 1. you'll probably pass anyway and 2. if you dont pass you will have valuable experience from that course.

now im guessing you want to teach in Japan? so i would think they are a bit more strict than Taiwan with regards to certs etc. but if its something you really want to do youve got to bite the bullet as they say. Even if you didn’t end up in japan at first you could make your way there eventually?

Anyway good luck with whatever you do dude

[*Jess♥]

thanks for that

yes, I know that it's experience that is the most important thing.

actually this monday i'll be taking the class myself for the first time.

I mean, I've taught by myself before but generally it was only in small groups and most of the time, there was somebody else acting as organiser, but on monday, I'm top dog.

i got a lesson plan made up already and should be fun. I actually think my lesson plan is better than what we normally do. the person I normally work with is an experienced teacher (years working in a school) but actually i don't think he is as experienced in language.

most important thing though really is getting a start and that means money.

I need some substantial money. either i need to get a job working for some company and start saving or I need to get my product developed properly and start manufacture and merchandising etc. i think a regular job might be a good idea. although I don't like the idea of being a 'stooge', i can probably find a place where i won't be disrespected or in fact make it clear from the beginning that i won't accept that kind of attitude towards me.

[Aether]

no probs.

ive no idea what your product is but all that work, to make it work ,sounds intimidating - maybe go on Dragons Den???

you sound like me, i dont want to be told what to do by 'the man', but its the old - 'does the end justify the means?', if you need £ you need £, at least you have some vision dude. i have visions, just nothing to do with work im great at giving advice but following my own wisdom is harder than dishing it out! maybe i should be a counsellor?, they are notorious for shunting their own problems by trying to fix other peoples!!

anyway it sounds like you know what you are doing teaching, so good luck with being 'the boss'in class.

Edited June 19, 2010 by Eether

[*Jess♥]

yeah i have thought of going on dragons den. the thing is, you need a viable reason for it. I'm actually a big fan so I know the score

first thing i need is something to use as demonstration, so I need a prototype. once i get a prototype, I can iron out any details and get to work on patent application and merchandising. then get orders. once orders are gotten, go to bank and talk to bank manager, show him orders and ask for money to fulfil the orders. money goes back into business account from sales and ensuing profit is used to push further sales etc.

looking at this plan, i don't actually see any need to go to the dragons. but then, I may see that as a possibility in the future.

[*Jess♥]

٩(̾●̮̮̃̾•̃̾)۶

i might be able to get up earlier in the day.

what happens if i go to bed earlier than normal...

instead of progressively going later...

is it even possible?

maybe if i can get up earlier, I can get round to doing something that resembles work.

I haven't done anything constructive in weeks.

I have things i really need to get done.

it is rather unprofessional.

[*Steel]

I had a few patches when I was real bad with my sleep patern. I seem to have it kicked now. I get about seven hours a night 00:00 till 07:00 in the morning. 23:00 to 06:00 on workdays. I dont even need an alarm anymore although I always set it for work anyway.

You have to force yourself up early every morning for a week. Going to bed early usualy dosn't work, not for me anyway I have trouble getting too sleep. Forcing yourself to be tired sorts that out though.

Drilling a routine into yourself is the best way I find to manage my time and actualy feel good about it.

[*Jess♥]

thank you steel, that was the best advice anyone has given me.

I've been struggling with my sleep patter for literally years.

your advice has given me the perfect answer.

setting my alarm for a certain time and then denying myself permission to change it, works an absolute treat.

I feel a bit upset about not being able to watch the tv programs that i used to...

I need to find a way to deal with that. I like king of the hill, but it starts at midnight.

if i stay up to watch that, I will never get a decent nights sleep.

i think i need to get a dvr.

well during the past week, my sleeping is more like i wanted it to be.

I've been ill a few times so it's not always been plain sailing, some days i have set my alarm an hour later instead, but then aimed to set it earlier afterwards.

currently it is set at 10 am and i think it is more than a week since it was after 12.

so I have actually been seeing the mornings and that is a miracle in itself.

I'd like to have it set for 8 am constantly but i need to figure out how to set a schedule and to see the tv programs i enjoy.

during the day, the tv is terrible.

so now i have actually been able to start doing some work.

yesterday, I did some essential work on a website i am developing. this is career stuff so very important, i have been slacking off for way too long on that one.

now there is some other important work for a client. this work could potentially be done quite quickly, but i need to find the time slot to actually do it. i feel bad because i promised this work ages ago and i have been tardy. hopefully i can do it soon.

tomorrow is a busy day as mondays always are so hopefully tuesday is my day for that. i need to earn the funds from that work anyway because he website i am developing needs hosting and a domain name registration. so it is most certainly a high priority.

[*Jess♥]

I had an appointment today so i didn't think i would get any work done, but i made time to do some work and was very pleased to do 2.5 hours work.

I've realised that the character i am working on is rather complex and is proving more work than past pages.

I'd like to take less time on this but i also want the quality to be good.

well it looks good anyhow. also, I recently did some studying into colour balance so i am particularly pleased with the colours i have used.

did some more research into tefl qualifications and learned that the best qualification for english teaching is CELTA which is certified by cambridge. Apparently the CELTA qualification course is run by west cheshire college which is about 25 minutes away by bus. it costs £1050 and is one day per week for 6 months.

I think it sounds good so if i can get £1050 then i will definitely apply for it.

I'm working on a website which is like a noticeboard for my towns community. with potential for advertising, it could turn into a good business venture. i have to let the website get good traffic first though.

and very soon i hope to get started on my patent applications for my inventions.

one of which, I may potentially work with super existence on if he is interested. though I have not spoken to him about it yet because of the patent issue.

[river_chaos]

I hope you do get the money to go and get that certificate. One day per week for 1050 sounds like a deal for a teaching certificate.

[durendal]

Indeed. Education is always good. The more credentials you have, the more you bypass the automatic filters set by companies. If I'm not mistaken, you're just one degree short of being called a Doctor. So instead, we will call you Master Ryuki.

*in the voice of a stereotypical hunchback henchman* Yes, master, yes!

[*Steel]

Glad to help Ryuki. I usualy tape anything I want to see and watch it in the morning. I also put my alarm clock all the way across the room so I have too get up too turn it off.

I like the idea of a comunity notice board. Good luck with that.

Being able to teach english can be very useful. Would help if you plan to move to japan as well. Its how most people I know work overseas.

[*Jess♥]

durendal, I think it would be nice to have that high a degree, alas my level is below that. i could be called bachelor, but i do not have the organisational and writing skills to pass a masters degree.

so that is 2 off a doctorate

steel, yeah i have been looking at ways of recording shows. i went to town yesterday to look for a DVR but they are very expensive.

i figured out i can actually get a cable to attach my computer to another screen and i can then play on demand tv from the tv stations while i work.

a workable compromise.

[*Steel]

Yeah DVR's are a bit too pricey for what they are. Plus you need spesific ones too be able to record over them, otherwise you end up burning through loads of disks. Do old VCRs still work?

I have a Virgin V+ box so it sort of records everything for me... but thats not really much help too you. Cant you watch on demand stuff on the PC somehow? I supose it depends on the shows. Not everything is shown on demand.

[*Jess♥]

i meant digital video recorder, like a set top box.

no way i'd use DVR dvd's. too much hassle

I have a vcr and i think it would work fine if i plug a digital box through it. though, I think the technology is too old and I wouldn't feel comfortable using it.

yeah i could currently watch those programs on my pc without a separate monitor, but my monitor space is limited since i have to use a HDMI cable and it only allows 720p. I don't have an ideal setup but it is quite good considering i am not getting a good regular income. anyway, if i wanted to watch tv on my computer screen, it would mean shrinking my other windows that i wish to work in, I don't give programs my full attention, I always watch them with about 30% of my attention. then i do something more worthwhile with my other 70%.

like playing games..

nah, i mean like doing some japanese study or game design or colouring work or whatever.

[*Steel]

Ah yeah that makes much more sence. I'm lazy when it comes too working out abriviations. I have a laptop and a stand alone PC that I tend to double up, watching two things at once.

Much like yourself I normaly have something on even if I'm not paying much attention too it. I get more distracted when its quiet. I can rarly concentrait on one thing 100% without other stuff popping into my mind. TV usualy helps distract that part of my mind.

When I'm painting its the TV, when I'm writing its music.

Didn't know you were into game design. What sort? programing or more art design? part of me always wanted to do something like that but I'm way too critical of my own artistic skill.

[*Jess♥]

game design!

heh heh, i guess you could say I am mostly interested in shape and place.

I like to arrange things and create a sort of story and history.

I really love minecraft and I have created a huge castle in that, but i found that it was keeping me from falling asleep so I haven't touched it for a while.

I like using the source development kit.

I like to arrange the environments but I'm not too keen on the details. the background fluff.

i guess if you called me teh level designer then the artist would come in after and make it all pretty. but my work is mostly functional in nature,.

I like to leave traps and surprises for people to find.

I always enjoy giving my work to my friend to play, and watching him try to figure it out and get surprised by my little tricks XD

programming does come into it a little but i couldn't get too bogged down with it all. it is so much stuff to learn and remember. I can understand it and i can work with code but the finer aspects will always be too fiddly for me.

[*Steel]

I find level design quite intresting. I dont think enough people actualy apriciate it. I actualy do like the background fluff. For everything in a level some guy has spent time creating that thing, even just a rock of a box. I know thats obvious I just dont think its thought about that much. I frequently stop in games just too have a good look around and apriciate what people have created. Every bit can be a work of art, or it can be lazy repetitive rendering.

I also like what it sounds like you are into, the plan, design and structure of the level.

Personaly I'm more an ideas man. I always have flashes of creation in my head but I get frustraited when I cant get it out exactly as I can picture it.