So what do you guys do for fun?

[dk]

I've been a little out of the loop the past few years and way too busy with work. I was playing a massively multiplayer online role playing game (mmorpg) for 3 years and finally beat that addiction. Outgrew my clubbing habits more or less and I don't get the thrill out of video games that I used to. And I don't enjoy working from home anymore nor have time/energy to do my own web projects at home after hours.

So, "fun" for me mostly amounts to watching tv or trying to be entertained by video games. I do pottery on Sundays just to do something creative. But I'm a little dry on ideas.

What do you guys do for fun these days?

I've got an 8 month old daughter now, so I guess that's one limiting factor. She's a blast though, but I don't have the freedom I once had, of course. Just looking for some ideas.

I'm thinking about starting to write for the paper again. Maybe doing a series on Ryukyuan cultural sites or something. At least that'd get me out and about with a camera again. But I wish I could find something I'd enjoy that didn't have to do with me typing code or doing work. Or without drinking.

Man I need to get out more and make some friends. Or something. It's been kind of a rough year and due to work related issues and people moving, I've lost contact with quite a few of my close friends.

[P_chan]

Me I like to do a lot of things. I love sightseeing and finding interesting places all over the island. I also enjoy classic video games (I'm hooked on street fighter right now), and watching movies of course. I don't really go "clubbing" that much anymore. I grew out of that a while ago, too expensive if you ask me. I still enjoy going out for a drink with my friends but I don't do it that much anymore. Guess I'm starting to get lazy.

[DoctorP]

Originally Posted by dk

I do pottery on Sundays just to do something creative. But I'm a little dry on ideas.

You do pottery??? What, are you still stuck on that movie "Ghost"?


J/K

I play golf, hit practice balls a lot. Work in my yard, I've been trying to raise flowers, usually I kill them! I practice martial arts, japanese writing, and play with my kids. I also spend a lot of time on the internet if you guys haven't figured that out already!

[dk]

Ghost... That's borderline before my time. :P

I'm actually pretty good at pottery now. You should see some of my cups and dishes. lol.

[P_chan]

I'd love to take a martial art. But now I'm going to be going back to college so I don't think I'll have the time.

[TheNoNamedOne]

I've never really gotten into the computer gaming world. I have purposely stayed away from it because I think I would really get sucked into it. I've seen a lot of my old friends get sucked into it, and I don't think I would be able to kick the habbit and walk away once I did. So, like a drug, I don't touch it.

Originally Posted by dk

I'm thinking about starting to write for the paper again. Maybe doing a series on Ryukyuan cultural sites or something. At least that'd get me out and about with a camera again.

I think that is a great idea. You should definitely do that if that brought you a sense of joy and strong contribution to the community. You are lucky to have that outlet.

But, I implore you, if you DO do some cultural pieces for the paper, dig into the culture to find something that has not been already written and published to death in JU. I mean, it is like every friggen year the same stories on the same aspects of the culture pop up like clock work. Seriously, how many stories does JU have on record about the Naha Tug of War and the Dragon Boat Races, etc...? I don't know why they even bother to hire a writer anymore to do those pieces, since they could just go to the file and pick one out of 20 and reprint it.

Dig deep on the culture and give us a unique story and perspective of it that has not been already done. Us long time resident foreignors are hungry for new stories -- not regurgitated ones over and over. I am quite sure you are up to being able to breath some fresh air into JU.

Definitely looking forward to it.

edit: To add, one of the most memorial stories and photos from JU for me came from you -- the one with the sea turtle covered in garbage at the sea wall. That really shocked me and woke me up to the ecological threats Okinawa was facing. I hope that was one of your proudest contributions to the paper.

Perhaps, while working to add pieces about culture, you could also split some of that time to focus on the environmental problems Okinawa is facing, or will soon be facing as it develops more and more and as Mainlanders who retire relocate here, helping to balloon the population -- even as the total population of Japan declines.

[dk]

Whenever I did stories in the past, I tried my best to write about topics rarely/never covered. I got glued to doing castle stories for a while and hit up just about every one of them. I think I probably bored my boss to tears but I was having a good time.

I feel ya on the tug of war story, but that's one of those things that can't be helped. It just wouldn't be right to spit out the same exact story every single year. I know, nothing really has changed in the Naha Tsunahiki over the years, but that's just one of those things. Like groundhog's day.

Speaking of the Naha Tug-of-war, I've only ever been to ONE of those. And I hated it. There were just way too many people. You couldn't even see the rope even from ten feet away.

I try to keep quality in my stories though. If I'm bored, I do a terrible job. So if a story bores me, I don't write it. Unless I'm forced to--which has happened in the past with an old manager. I was miserable, but with any job you sometimes have to do things you don't want to do. Well, I don't anymore, but I did back then. :P

I promise you, if I get back to writing, if you see my name, the story will be quality. My grammer and vocabulary might not be (I'm literally forgetting English, I don't get much human interaction at work), but I do my best.

[TheNoNamedOne]

Originally Posted by dk

I know, nothing really has changed in the Naha Tsunahiki over the years, but that's just one of those things. Like groundhog's day.

When you put it like that, I see your point.

I wonder if there are any Okinawans in America who are sick and tired of reading stories about Groundhog Day in their local papers?

Perhaps we have our Okinawan doppledingers on the other side of the world.

[Bones]

Originally Posted by dk

I've been a little out of the loop the past few years and way too busy with work. I was playing a massively multiplayer online role playing game (mmorpg) for 3 years and finally beat that addiction. Outgrew my clubbing habits more or less and I don't get the thrill out of video games that I used to. And I don't enjoy working from home anymore nor have time/energy to do my own web projects at home after hours.

So, "fun" for me mostly amounts to watching tv or trying to be entertained by video games. I do pottery on Sundays just to do something creative. But I'm a little dry on ideas.

What do you guys do for fun these days?

I've got an 8 month old daughter now, so I guess that's one limiting factor. She's a blast though, but I don't have the freedom I once had, of course. Just looking for some ideas.

I'm thinking about starting to write for the paper again. Maybe doing a series on Ryukyuan cultural sites or something. At least that'd get me out and about with a camera again. But I wish I could find something I'd enjoy that didn't have to do with me typing code or doing work. Or without drinking.

Man I need to get out more and make some friends. Or something. It's been kind of a rough year and due to work related issues and people moving, I've lost contact with quite a few of my close friends.

I enjoy playing golf on the computer, against my wife. Even started taking lessons in the real world, but at this point in time my performance could best be described as "weed whacking".

I enjoy assembling computers for other people, and would enjoy the job a lot more if I was actually able to keep some of the systems that I've had the pleasure to work with.

And by all means, go back to work at Japan Update. From what I've seen from here, the quality of that publication has gone way down hill since you left. Especially enjoyed your articles on where to find a good meal, for little money.

There are so many interesting things happening on the island, and most people will never read about them due to the fact that Japan Update, insists on focusing on recurrent annual events.

We'll be back on-island soon, and we'll be pretty busy getting our home set up. Then we'll need to focus on how we can enjoy our spare time over there. Your articles helped a lot during our last visit, and will most likely do so again.

NBTP

[dk]

I still work for JapanUpdate. I just don't write for them anymore. I wrote too much for too long and got a huge case of burnout. But I think I'm ready to get back to it again on occasion.

The writer who does the Fantasy Okinawa stories does a pretty decent job in my opinion. I just personally prefer to read more about the culture than some event.