Black Friday Trip

Next week, the thanksgiving day comes for the people in the United States. Do you know what people call for the next day? The answer is "Black Friday." On Black Friday, retail stores start selling products with huge discounts. This is the beginning of the holiday season in the United States.

This year, the Black Friday is on November 23. What should we prepare for the line?

1. Protection Against Cold

Normally, people need to line outside the retail stores. If you want to buy some rare products, you may need to line for more than 2 days. Then you need to care about the weather. Especially, in Northern states of the United States, there is already frozen cold. You should have warm outers, coats and blankets. For the location of the stores, you may have a stove for camping, and keep warm.

2. Food and Water

If you stay overnight, you may need some food. In downtown, pizza parlors may deliver your favorite pizza for you. If Starbucks is near, you can get a cup of hot coffee. However, if you don't have the place to get, some snacks such as chocolate, candy drops, cheese, and beef jerky are good. They are high calorie snacks, and you can keep the energy to line. Also don't forget water. Water is one of the most important thing in the human body. If you have a thermos, keep some warm drinks in it

3. Killing Time Materials

Naturally, you can use your phone to play games, tweet and listen to music. However, if you line for a very long time, you may run out of the battery. Therefore, some good old day materials are useful such as books, magazines, board games such as chess with magnets. The new Kindle(Paper White) is also good. It has the light. You can read your favorite books even at night. If you bring a game machine, you may need a spare battery.

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Anyway, these are some ideas. You can try yours too. Some years ago, seemly my friend went with sleeping bag. It's something like a survival in the city jungle. The situation is similar with backpackers, right?

"Back In Time" by Pitbull (2012)

The holiday shopping season is also the time of "waste." Check the holiday catalogues! Every product claims and screams, "Baby, my sweet baby." Which do you pick up? All of them? or one of the highlights?

Backpackers also always need to care about money. If you spend all money for waste, you can't keep your travel. Don't be beaten by the seduction... but, keep your life warm!

Travel Tips: How to Keep Your Plan?

What should we do when we start traveling? It's a difficult problem for us. There are some good apps remember a lot of things for us, and keep them on cloud online, our phone and computers.

  Evernote:

Evernote is an application integrated with desktop computers, smartphones and web. It has the useful clipper, then you can keep all useful information on the same application, and rearrange when you plan your next trip. Also you can use this on your travel. You can keep photos with your notes and opinions.

(This is not a cloud storage. If you need to keep big files, this is not the right application. Or, you need to pay for the extra storage such as Dropbox.)

  OneNote:

This application is similar with Evernote. You can keep your ideas in one notebook on your devices. If you have your Microsoft Account, you can keep and manage on it online too. You can keep your photos on SkyDrive, and also put on your OneNote from your phone. SkyDrive has 7GB storage for each user. (You can use with Microsoft Account online. If you are a Windows user, it's including with Microsoft Office. For Android and iOS users, you can download this from the apps store. For Mac OSX users, Microsoft still doesn't release the apps, but you can use on SkyDrive.)

  Google Apps:

You can keep all your need on your Google Drive. You can share some folders with your friends, and keep your photos and videos also. You can also plan with Google Docs. Google Drive has a 5GB storage for each user, you can keep everything on it. (In China, Google Apps is not a good way for your travel because it withdrew from China in 2010, and still sometimes connection problems happen.)

  iCloud:

If you use iTunes, you have this account. You can use iCloud Calendar, Reminder, and Notebook to keep your information. Especially for Mac & iPhone users, it's useful.

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Here are something:

Calendar:    

Without Evernote, they have calendars on the account. You can manage your schedule on your vacation on the calendar apps.

Task List/To-Do:     

You can make a check list on these applications. You can plan what you should do for the "X" day. You can create a document for this.

Storage:   

You can keep your files for your plan. For Evernote, you need to care the monthly limit. iCloud doesn't have a storage without iWork and iPhoto users and iPhone users.

Search:   
Evernote has remarkable search functions. Even the letters are handwriting, it can pick the letters from the images. You can search letters from your documents on Google Drive.

Email:    
Without Evernote, they also have email accounts. You can collect the information from your friends in the world, and keep them with a tag or a folder for your travel.

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Many people in the world use these "multipurpose" applications. Therefore, they are standard. They may not have the useful tools for sharing, but, personally, you can use wherever you travel.

If you only want to share your information, you can use SNS such as Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. However, I'm sure travel plan is always based on your interests. Especially, you are a backpacker, you need your way to keep your plan.

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What people feel on the way of the travel? Many of them feel, "I'm small." That's true. How our daily task impact to the world? However, all the small things make the huge history like Newton's Apple. Don't forget about it.

"All The Small Things" (2000) by Blink-182

When we travel, the plan is always too much. Don't squeeze a lot into your day, but keep a few interests for the plan is the best. If you don't want to miss the highlights, please check some tours for the highlights. It may reduce your mess and time to plan.

Weather Matters

These weeks, I was busy for my things. During then, The Hurricane Sandy came to the East Coast. The Election in the United States happened in the terrible condition. I watched a lot of damages on TV, and I remember some films. They might predict these terrible weather and conditions before it happened.

"The Perfect Storm" (2000)

This is a fishermen's movie based on the real story. Glouceter is a small fishing village in Massachusetts. People peacefully live, but they worry about their life because of the poor hauls. One day, Billy and his fellows decide to get the ocean, and meet a huge storm.

"The Day After Tomorrow" (2004)

"Climate change may cause the Ice Age." Seeing the melting and broken ice in the Antarctica, Jack indicates it to the government. However, they ignore Jack. One day, some strange weather come up in the world. It was not a usual happening, but just the beginning of the nightmare in the world.

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Anyway, when people travel in the world, "weather" is the biggest matter. It causes flight delays. Also you feel thirsty and cold for it. Please care about weather when you go out. If you plan to picnic in the mountain, you may get lose there for it.

Post Delays

This is from me, Blogmaster.

I know in NY, the skate link was opened for this winter. My friend told me some scarecrow festivals(harvest), In Scandinavia, some traditions for gods. In Japan, it seems some autumn color festival is on now. In Switzerland and Germany, it seems that Christmas Market starts soon.

In fact, I don't have time to update for some weeks. I'll start again around 2nd week on November.

Anyway, everyone has "midterm" now, right?

Thanks :-)

Travel Tips: Election

UPDATE: This is not only for the United States local, but for international. If your election happens with the members, please replace the poll to the supporter's meeting. For cases, I corrected some(10/10).

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Next month, the Presidential Election happens in the United States. Many people go to the election. Now many Americans think about who is the best guy for the winner. Also, in Venezuela, last Sunday was the polling day for the election. "Election" is one of the most important events as a citizen of the country, right?

However, if we go to the polling or meeting, it takes time. It's a little trouble some. However, it's also a good chance to try a tiny journey around you.

Preparations:

1. Smartphone, or camera
2. Water & Towel
3. Memos for a few places that you want to try

You can put these things into your small backpack.

I recommend to get out by foot or by bicycle because the polls or meetings are normally near your house. Therefore, your small journey happens before, after or both before and after your poll or meeting. You check the memo, walk around with your smartphone, and take photos if you find any favorite moments on your small journey.

You can stop at a park, a cafe, a beach, a shopping mall or everywhere you want. Also you can take a train or a bus.

Maybe you can walk through a autumn colored leaves in a park. Maybe, you can find a nice cafe near the poll. Maybe you can take a fantastic photo.

When all your journey is done, you must have some photos. You print them, and name them. Then it's your work of the day. You can email them, put on your blog them and so on.

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When we go out, we can find a lot of strange things. Maybe some of them will be treasures for you, and some of them are just the jokers.

"The Joker / Everything I Own" 

by Jason Marz (2006)

Anyway, the chance of the small journey is everywhere. This song is from the movie named "Happy Feet." If you feel happy for all things when all your journey is done, it may be the sign of the next happy feet for you.

(I'm sorry about this poll and meeting issues. It's a little complicated, but at least I have a lot of visitors from North America and European countries including Russia.)

Cheers for the Harvest

Oktoberfest 2012 has ended. Anyway, when people drink beer, they becomes easy and happy. My old roommate who is from near San Francisco was also so. He told me about San Francisco a lot, also told me what kind of things he likes. I'm not sure where he is now. Anyway, if people comfortably drink, all can be happy.

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Now the Oktoberfest has already done. If you want to enjoy more and more, how is this movie?

"Project X" (2012)

This movie is a kind of party movie. Some high school students plan a party, but it goes crazy. "Project X" is by the director who shot "The Hangover." If this really happens, maybe very crazy... no, it's disgusting... no, fantastic!

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By the way, North America was freezing cold this weekend. Normally, annual events are influenced by the climate of the countries. In the United States, Thanksgiving is the end of November. However, Canadian Thanksgiving Day is October 8. People thank for the harvests, and start preparing for the long cold winter.

"Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" 

by Marvin Gaye (1971)

Thanksgiving is one of the seasons which we can enjoy the nature. Falling leaves make people a little sentimental. If you live in suburbs, you may find some autumn colored scenes with the fresh air. If you have a holiday, driving is one of the best ways to enjoy the harvest season.

Oktoberfest: Keep on Going

Oktoberfest is still on going. How many people enjoy and how much glasses?

Well, here, I introduce some words express "cheers" in languages.

• Cheers! [English]
• Bottom Up! [English]
• Prost! [German]
• Skål! [Scandinavian]
• Salud! [Spanish]
• A votre santé! [French]
• Salute! [Italian]
• Kanpai! [Japanese]
• Gan Bei! [Chinese]
• Gun Bae! [Korean]

All of them are difficult to pronounce. For me, Without English, Japanese and German, all of them are unfamiliar words. How many did you know?

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I'm not sure what kind of games you do when you are drunken. They are different from countries. When I lived with a guy from near San Francisco, I played "Beer Pong" with him. We bought cans of beers, and a lot of cups.

Beer Pong has some local rules. We did like this.

1. Pour beer into a cup.
2. Place it on the center of the table.
3. Throw a pingpong ball

As the result, if the ball is into the cup, the other guy needs to drink a the cup of beer. If it doesn't reach the cup, the turn comes to the other guy.

In fact, "Beer Pong" is one of the world class "SPORTS!"

See this:

• The National Beer Pong League

They have the official rules, and official products. You can try to the world!

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Well, drinking makes a kind of good atmosphere for people. However, if you drink too much, it may cause serious problems with friends. Anyway, everyone feel good is the best!

"Why Can't We Be Friends?" 

by Smash Mouth (1997)

Recently, everyone thinks about drinking with nightclubs, but the chances are not always there. You can try a garden party. You may have a chance to drink wines in wineries. Don't be crazy only for the music. If you have a partner, he or she may want an atmosphere. You have to select what to do with TPO.