GRcade

Outrunner wrote:Travelling around Japan. It was something I put off for years until I plucked up the courage to do it. I've been several times and still haven't had my fill of the country.

I'd probably have to put the first time I was in Japan up at my top spot, 5 weeks at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto for a summer school. Been to Japan three times now (most recently last November) but there's nothing like the first. Which in a funny way makes me feel sad, because as much as I enjoyed returning I couldn't shake that feeling that you can never do something for the first time twice

Bleachyleachy wrote:

Outrunner wrote:Travelling around Japan. It was something I put off for years until I plucked up the courage to do it. I've been several times and still haven't had my fill of the country.

I'd probably have to put the first time I was in Japan up at my top spot, 5 weeks at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto for a summer school. Been to Japan three times now (most recently last November) but there's nothing like the first. Which in a funny way makes me feel sad, because as much as I enjoyed returning I couldn't shake that feeling that you can never do something for the first time twice

I know what you mean. I've loved every trip and each one has been amazing in its own way but the nothing replaces that feeling of "I've finally made it!". I'm hoping I have similar feeling on my fist visit to Hong Kong later this year.

I live in Japan and it strawberry floating sucks. Best thing I’ve ever done though.

Definitely having kids, no other event or occasion can compare to the feeling of first holding my kids in my arms. No favourites, but obviously the first one was the most profound as it was all new!

Everything about that moment is just so phenomenal, particularly as we had pretty awful times through each of my wife's pregnancies (severe hyperemesis gravidarum - way before Kate & Wills made it trendy ) so getting to the end was a huge release!

Tafdolphin wrote:

ignition wrote:

Tafdolphin wrote:

Starbreaker wrote:Travelling. It's just come up to the year anniversary and it's super bumming me out.

Tell me about it. Facebook keeps showing me "memories" from my travels and it's horrible.

I was keeper in an animal sanctuary in Bolivia for a while, looking after a jaguar and a howler monkey pack. That was pretty cool.

CIWY by any chance?

Yup! The Ambue Ari park. Have you been?

I was at Parque Machia working with the spider monkeys. Absolutely loved it. Definitely one of the best things I've done

Finally deciding to leave the US Politics Forum as no matter how hard you try the circle jerk of conservative opinions will continue and they will always claim liberals are all mentally ill.
It was both liberating and a relief.

I'm also happy I managed to go on Safari in Kenya in take a few photo's of elephants in the wild along with loads of other animals.

Bit of a cheap answer but meh sue me - going on BBC’s Robot Wars. Was in the latest series and to many people that would be insignificant but the show was my life back when I was a kid (started watching it back when I was like 1 1/2 years old and was what got me into engineering) so to come full circle and end up on it was absolutely amazing. There’s a whole story about it that I’ll refrain from posting unless people want me to cos it’s quite long and drawn out but I almost didn’t get on it either so made it all the sweeter.

Of course we did horrendously due to freak circumstances... but just being there was awesome enough!

ignition wrote:

Tafdolphin wrote:

ignition wrote:

Tafdolphin wrote:

Starbreaker wrote:Travelling. It's just come up to the year anniversary and it's super bumming me out.

Tell me about it. Facebook keeps showing me "memories" from my travels and it's horrible.

I was keeper in an animal sanctuary in Bolivia for a while, looking after a jaguar and a howler monkey pack. That was pretty cool.

CIWY by any chance?

Yup! The Ambue Ari park. Have you been?

I was at Parque Machia working with the spider monkeys. Absolutely loved it. Definitely one of the best things I've done

Amazing! I was working with a guy who did a stint in Machia working with Baloo (was it Baloo? The spectacled bear) and it sounded great.

Flag Captured wrote:Bit of a cheap answer but meh sue me - going on BBC’s Robot Wars. Was in the latest series and to many people that would be insignificant but the show was my life back when I was a kid (started watching it back when I was like 1 1/2 years old and was what got me into engineering) so to come full circle and end up on it was absolutely amazing. There’s a whole story about it that I’ll refrain from posting unless people want me to cos it’s quite long and drawn out but I almost didn’t get on it either so made it all the sweeter.

Of course we did horrendously due to freak circumstances... but just being there was awesome enough!

Who were you/which team?

Rocsteady wrote:

Flag Captured wrote:Bit of a cheap answer but meh sue me - going on BBC’s Robot Wars. Was in the latest series and to many people that would be insignificant but the show was my life back when I was a kid (started watching it back when I was like 1 1/2 years old and was what got me into engineering) so to come full circle and end up on it was absolutely amazing. There’s a whole story about it that I’ll refrain from posting unless people want me to cos it’s quite long and drawn out but I almost didn’t get on it either so made it all the sweeter.

Of course we did horrendously due to freak circumstances... but just being there was awesome enough!

Who were you/which team?

Team Hobgoblin, I was the driver - was great fun until our batteries died and it was basically undriveable hah. Broke Shunt though so wasn’t a total loss http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05nrhgt

Quite a few of the things that I want to post I sort of consider too personal for a public forum, so I'm missing a couple of obvious ones, but eh... if you know me you can probably work those out. I'll post some other highlights though because a lot of what I've done is strawberry floating awesome (to me, anyway).

• When I lived in Glasgow I went for a day trip up the A82 to Inverness and back down, where I climbed up Glen Nevis to see a waterfall (Steall Falls - it's the one in the background of Quidditch Pitch scenes in a couple of Harry Potter films, most obviously the Goblet of Fire). Sense of freedom on the open road surrounded by some of the most strikingly beautiful scenery in the world, finally seeing Loch Ness, seeing the biggest waterfall I've ever laid eyes on... it was absolutely class lads, arguably one of the best days ever
  
• Won a League Cup in the Pokemon cards - to get to Worlds I need to win 4 more in the next six months, but it was the most obvious 'level up' in my hobby that I've felt yet, and it helped me realise that it's actually possible to get there. My goal going into the tournament was to make it through to top 8, but playing to the overall win was absolutely awesome.
  
• Moved away from home and went to University in a different country (from NI to England). Alright, I was still in the UK, but being in that position (and putting myself in it several times since) has helped me grow massively as a person and develop independence and all these other good things which are good.
  
• Graduated after failing a law degree. To a lot of people graduation is just the next obvious thing but my self confidence in my abilities and intelligence and whatnot took a massive massive hit after I failed a resit and got kicked off the course, so to come back from rock bottom and get a 2:1 overall was just incredible.

I love and support u Wrathy

K wrote:I live in Japan and it strawberry floating sucks. Best thing I’ve ever done though.

An American friend of mine recently rage quit his life in Japan because he got fed up of the work culture in Tokyo and he missed the comforts of New York - seems fairly common that people eventually lose patience with the place
What do you do there out of curiosity? I had considered looking for a job there before but it seems most of the opportunities are in teaching, translation, or sales - none of which I'm into (engineering graduate)

Outrunner wrote:I know what you mean. I've loved every trip and each one has been amazing in its own way but the nothing replaces that feeling of "I've finally made it!". I'm hoping I have similar feeling on my fist visit to Hong Kong later this year.

I wanted to get South Korea checked off last November but my sister announced that she wanted to go to Japan, and given that I'd gone before she practically demanded I be her tour guide lol. I've done HK twice as well - I won't give any spoilers but I'll be curious to know what your impressions of the place are

From what little I know the work culture of Japan is basically work as much as you can and any time off is seen as weakness and unprofessional and the suicide rate for people due to overwork is huge.

They even have a word for it, Karōshi.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karōshi

Bleachyleachy wrote:

Outrunner wrote:I know what you mean. I've loved every trip and each one has been amazing in its own way but the nothing replaces that feeling of "I've finally made it!". I'm hoping I have similar feeling on my fist visit to Hong Kong later this year.

I wanted to get South Korea checked off last November but my sister announced that she wanted to go to Japan, and given that I'd gone before she practically demanded I be her tour guide lol. I've done HK twice as well - I won't give any spoilers but I'll be curious to know what your impressions of the place are

I'll keep you posted! I'm going in a couple of months. I'm currently have a massive case of indecision as to whether to add Taipei onto the end of the holiday or just keep it at HK.

Outrunner wrote:

Bleachyleachy wrote:

Outrunner wrote:I know what you mean. I've loved every trip and each one has been amazing in its own way but the nothing replaces that feeling of "I've finally made it!". I'm hoping I have similar feeling on my fist visit to Hong Kong later this year.

I wanted to get South Korea checked off last November but my sister announced that she wanted to go to Japan, and given that I'd gone before she practically demanded I be her tour guide lol. I've done HK twice as well - I won't give any spoilers but I'll be curious to know what your impressions of the place are

I'll keep you posted! I'm going in a couple of months. I'm currently have a massive case of indecision as to whether to add Taipei onto the end of the holiday or just keep it at HK.

Ooh, I happen to have been up and down the length of Taiwan dropping by Taichung, Hualien and Taipei along the way. I would definitely recommend Taipei and Taiwan in general - very beautiful country (shut up it is, I recognise its independence go away stinky China etc etc) with a strong sense of national identity. Plus oh my god everything is so cheap. As in a taxi across the city, stopping to wait for us outside a 7/11 for 10 minutes before finally dropping us was only a few USD equivalent. (I think taxis in Japan basically started at about 600 yen) As in £12 paid for a fresh-out-the-ocean fish meal for 4 of us. I've never been anywhere like Taiwan in that regard, it was a first world country at second world prices.

K wrote:I love and support u Wrathy

thanks man, you're a strawberry floating legend yourself

I once made a funny comment on here and somebody replied with this

I was so very proud of myself.

Last year I got really drunk on champagne and then really high on mdma and coke and had an amazing foursome with loads of my fetish bits checked off the list. Genuinely life and existence redefining moments.

I suppose the soppier answer would be putting it all on the line and deciding to ask my gf out seriously.

I ran the London Marathon a few years back. I grew up running and always looked out for my dad on TV when he ran it. Before it became a charity spectacle it was the absolute pinnacle of a runners career. I always wanted to do it growing up and finally got a place. I ran 18 or so miles to Canary Wharf where I seen my Dad and Anung at the barriers cheering me on. We exchanged 'I love yous' and my Dad cried. I carried on, finished and finally got my medal. And the stealth bacon sandwich I packed in my kit bag.

Doing it again in a few weeks.