Kyle's Blog

Life With No Borders

2011-06-06T20:45:00.001-05:00

I have a new (and significantly more sophisticated) website that you can use to follow me and my experiences if you are interested. It is
Life With No Borders. If the link doesn't work for you, you can copy and paste:
http://www.lifewithnoborders.com
into your browser's address bar. I would LOVE to see comments and registrations from people, so if you have been trying to follow me through this blog, do not hesitate to register! Registering will give you the ability to comment on post as well as access to more pictures and additional information about me.

NOTE: Though Life With No Borders is "online", I am constantly working on improving it and adding new functionality, so bear with me!

It's been a while.

2011-02-05T22:25:00.002-06:00

It's been a while, huh?

If anybody still reads this or any old friends want my contact info, please leave a comment saying so. Otherwise I'll probably take this offline soon...

Life Update

2009-05-01T20:56:00.000-05:00

Okay, I am going to graduate in 2 weeks with a BS double major Asian Studies and Japanese Language. And this fall, I am going to go to Graduate School here in Madison. I was accepted to the GMAcc program, so I have been given that chance that I was hoping for; I will not let myself down.

This summer I am planning to work a lot and just stick around here in Madison, my home for at least two more years...

2009-03-08T11:34:00.003-05:00

So, my current goal is to get into the business school's Graduate Master of Accountancy (GMAcc) program. It is a two year program to get a masters degree in accounting and it is actually aimed at people who do not have an undergraduate major in accounting. But, apparently it is one of the best accounting programs in the country. It seems like a perfect fit for me because I was just starting to feel relatively helpless about my current degree (BS with a double major in Japanese and East Asian Studies). With a graduate degree in accounting I would be able to get into the business world. I believe that the ensuing combination of hard work and my personality (and a graduate degree in accounting) would allow me to be very successful in business.

The problem is that until this point in my life I have slacked off. I haven't been doing what I should have been doing, and I just expected everything to fall into place. I wore myself out in high school so that when I got here to college I didn't feel like doing all the extra-curricular activities that I know I should have been doing. My grades aren't that bad (3.08), but they aren't good either--especially when applying for graduate school. My GMAT score (710, 92%ile) is the only thing that I have going for me on paper.

I have always felt like everything would work out because when I have actually set my mind to doing something, I have never met with failure. I feel like I just need to be given an opportunity to prove myself. In order to get that opportunity, I need to make myself appear better on paper, but I think it is too late to do that for my current application.

From this point on, I am stepping up my overall life effort. I guess this is growing up. (yes, like the song.)

2008-11-28T18:43:00.001-06:00

One of the most offensive things ever:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/business/29walmart.html?em

Has our society really come to this?

Bottled Water (and No Impact Man)

2008-10-08T07:47:00.002-05:00

So, I'll do everything that I can do to spread the word about this, short of emailing people.

This is from No Impact Man.

you can see the main post here.

If you don't already know No Impact Man, his real name is Colin Beavan (I am friends with him on facebook!) and he recently finished a project of spending a year trying to live with no environmental impact. You can read more about the No Impact Project here.

2008-09-02T09:25:00.001-05:00

--
Kyle Schulz

Back!

2008-08-23T19:04:00.002-05:00

Okay, I'm back home in Madison. I have been ridiculously busy since my last post. Too much has happened for me to update the blog with my stories from Dublin, or the crazy 60 hour trip home. I think that there is a good probability that if you are reading this, you know me personally and can ask me about it if you are curious.

Overall though, the trip was amazing.

Anyway, I just finished moving into my new apartment. I live by myself in an efficiency. This is the first time that I have ever lived alone, but I think I like it. I am able to see people when I want to easily enough, but I still have my own place that is completely my own. It helps that Kuya lives right next door so I still see him often enough.

I get to relax for one more week before school starts...

Dublin, Ireland

2008-07-11T10:13:00.002-05:00

So I have safely arrived here in Dublin. I don't have much time to write a detailed post, but I just wanted to let everybody know that I'm still alive.

My time in Germany was extraordinary. Many thanks to the people that let me stay with them (Anna, Phillip, Lisa, and their parents, lena, mary, and nao).

I will hopefully be able to catch up my blog on my recent (past 3 weeks) experiences soon.

Beer Garden

2008-06-24T02:36:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, I met some people from New Zealand in my hostel and they invited me to go to a beer garden last night. The beer garden was huge and crowded. I decided that--similar to the japanese onsen--it must play a significant role in defining german (or in the case of the onsen japanese) culture. I am sure that the US has some similar things somewhere, but I have never seen one. I think that the beer garden encourages a different type of social interaction than a traditional bar.

Anyway, I need to get out of this internet cafe. I will go to the Englischer Garden at Mumu's suggestion, and then continue to walk around other parts of the city. I may take a brewery tour tonight!

München, Germany

2008-06-23T06:49:00.002-05:00

Munich seems like a really cool city. I can't really tell, because I haven't been here long enough, but that is my impression so far. It seems kind of relaxed compared to some of the other places that I have been--or maybe that is just me. Last night, I was able to get a hostel bed for 8 EUR, and that included the best breakfast that I have had so far on my trip. But tonight the same hostel was going to cost 22EUR. I guess they have a variable price system or something like that that assigns prices based on how many rooms are available of any given type. So I decided to set off and find a different one for cheaper. I walked for about 2 hours, and then when I saw a tourist information office I asked where I could find an internet cafe. They directed me to one that was just 5 minutes down the road, and I used that to find a list of hostels (4) that were around the area, and under 20EUR. None of them were available online, so I decided I would just mark them on my map and check in person. I went to 3 that were all completely full before I found one that had a vacancy (which was also the last one I had marked down and I was starting to get a little worried.) But I am going to be spending 19.90EUR tonight anyway, so I think I may as well have stayed in the last one. This one doesn't seem any better, in fact it seems a little more unclean, and a little less well run. Oh well, I am saving myself 2.10EUR.

Honestly, I am only writing this because I need a break. I am so tired. I spend the whole time today walking around with my backpack. So I am sitting in another internet cafe that is close to the hostel that I found. I think maybe I will stay here in munich for 2 more days, and then go somewhere else in the southern part of germany. Maybe Augsburg or Ulm. The only plan that I have so far is to go see Lena in Rotenburg on the 30th. But that is a week away still.

I'll see where I end up.

Munich

2008-06-22T10:25:00.003-05:00

so, this morning I woke up and randomly decided to go to Nurnberg. I got here, and they only had one hostel available online. for 40 euro. Way too much.

so I am moving on to munich tonight. It's only an hour away, and trains go every half hour, so it will be easy to get there. According to HostelWorld they have cheaper hostels in Munich, so thats awesome.

(Mumu, are you still in Munich?)

Dresden, Germany

2008-06-20T06:15:00.002-05:00

I arrived in Dresden yesterday. I had a hostel booked and stuff, so I was okay there compared to when I arrived in Lyon. I was pretty tired when I got here, which seems to be the case pretty much everywhere I go. I think I am just exhausted from the continuous travelling.

Anyway though, Germany played Portugal last night for the Euro 2008 Soccer tournament. I stayed up to watch that in the hostel bar. Not one person was speaking english (which was quite a contrast to every other hostel that I have stayed in) so it was a little awkward, but the game was great and Germany won. They totally dominated ball control through the first half, but during the second half Portugal spent a lot more time with the ball. Even though it seemed like they had the ball a lot more, they still werent able to get it into the net. After the game, I just went to my room and read a book before I went to sleep.

Today, I have so far just wandered around Dresden. Actually though, most of my wandering wasnt in the city. I was walking down the street when I saw some stairs going off into the woods down a path on my right towards a small creek. As I went down them I saw that there was a path along the creek on both sides, and that it was a sort of nature trail. (It reminded me of the trail that goes along the river behind the elementary school and by northland college.) I just walked down that for a while. Some of the people that I saw coming the other direction were walking barefoot on the path and I was tempted to do the same, but I didnt feel like carrying my shoes in my hands. Then I came back to the hostel to write this and eat some food.

Now, my plan is to go to Sächsische Schweiz tomorrow after I check out of my hostel. It is some kind of park, and I will (hopefully) be able to sleep outside. Otherwise I am going to do it anyway. I have been carrying everything that I need to live outside, including even the food and a stove for 3 days for this entire trip. It is about time that I use them.

After that, I will maybe go to Rotenburg to see Lena. So, thats my plan so far.

Very Quick Update

2008-06-18T15:41:00.002-05:00

So I only have 3 minutes left of my internet time. I don't know what happened. I had an hour, and I guess I spend most of it trying to figure out stuff for tomorrow and don't acutally have time for a better post.

Anyway though, I am spending one extra night in Prague, and then I am going to Dresden, Germany tomorrow, and going to spend at least 2 nights there.

So yeah, just letting people know where I am.

5 minute post

2008-06-08T16:02:00.002-05:00

I have five minutes to write a post. Liz was using the computer, and she had five minutes left of time that she had payed for, so that is why I only have 5 minutes. Quite literally.

I am in Rimini, Italia right now. The plan is to go to venice tomorrow, and spend 1 night there, and then take a night train to Budapest. Then we will spend one night there, and then one night in Vienna, then a night train to zurich. Then liz is going to have to go to praha to meet up with her friend.

Crash course through eastern europe. I think it will be exhausting, but will be fun. But yeah, thats it for now.

Torino, Italia

2008-06-07T02:02:00.002-05:00

When I arrived in Torino, I realized that I had no idea where my hostel was. I just had an address. I had to walk into a random hotel and ask for a map. But when I looked at it, there are so many roads it is useless. I didn't realize that torino was such a big city. When I looked on the street index, it didn't even have the street name that I needed. so yeah, I walked around for 2 hours randomly trying to find somewhere that I had a good wifi signal to use google to look up the address.

Basically, google kept me off the street last night and in a dry bed (it was raining and would have been a pretty miserable experience outside.)

Anyway, I will be staying in this same hostel tonight, and probably going to venezia tomorrow. I'm going to hang out with Liz in Venice!

Lyon, France

2008-06-04T02:43:00.002-05:00

Okay, so now I am in Lyon, France (if you coudn't tell by the title). I actually didn't enjoy Paris that much. I thought that it was pretty smelly, dirty, and didn't have that great of an atmosphere. I don't really know why it is called the city of love. Another thing that bothered me a lot was the fact that every time we went to eat, it was an off peak time and most restaurants were closed.

Seriously, more often than not we had problems finding places to eat that were open.

Anyway, last night was interesting. I came to Lyon without a place to stay. I had reservations for tonight and tomorrow night, but I got in at 22:00 last night, and hadn't been able to reserve anything because it was all booked online. I decided that it would be my first night on the street. I walked around for about 2 hours, and settled on a spot by the river. There were stairs that went down to this small landing on both sides, but there was nothing but a small landing with stairs directly to the river. I settled in there, but then I saw some guy across the river go down the same kind of thing and piss into the water, and decided that people would probably do the same thing to me on my side.

I am out of time. I'll write more later.

Paris & Amsterdam

2008-05-31T11:23:00.002-05:00

So, I don't really have much to say about Amsterdam on my blog, but I was there for a couple days.

Last night we came into Paris, and we are going to be here until the 3rd. (by the way, this keyboard is different, so if I make some weird typos and don't catch them, that is why). Today we saw the famous arch, as well as the eifel tower. It was overall fun, but a lot of walking. Anyway, the keyboard is too frustrating, and taking too long, so I,ll update some other time. Later~

London, UK

2008-05-22T18:38:00.002-05:00

so, we came into London at about 6:30 this morning. Once we got here, we took a train and met up with Kuya's friend from high school (Ruga). After getting acquainted with him and dropping our stuff off in his flat, we met his friends (Bobby & Yuna) and went to the borough market (farmers market) to eat some food. After that, we just walked around and saw the city. We walked along the river, and visited the Tate Modern, and saw a lot of the government buildings. Then we went to a friend of Ruga's flat and hung out there for a couple hours until late in the evening when we returned back to his flat. Now I am writing this on my itouch. So, that was day 1.

I don't really know what we are going to do tomorrow. Probably meet up with molly, or something. Okay, maybe I'll add some more thoughts onthe whole thing next time I am at a real keyboard.

Oh, and pictures

2008-05-19T23:28:00.002-05:00

I forgot to mention that whenever I have a chance I'm going to upload pictures to this website:
http://picasaweb.google.com/KyleSchulz

I honestly have no idea how often I will be able to connect my camera to a computer to upload pictures, maybe often sometimes and not that often other times. Oh well.

So, go ahead and check every once in awhile to see some of the cool places that I am going!

Europe

2008-05-19T23:11:00.002-05:00

So, I'm going to Europe on Wednesday. I am going to try to keep this blog updated with my traveling exploits, and that will make it easy for everybody to find out what I am doing. I am also going to try to keep my twitter updated whenever I can here:
http://twitter.com/kyleschulz

So, hopefully my blog will be a little more interesting. And it may (ironically) end up being updated more often with my limited access to the internet.

350.org

2008-05-15T11:02:00.002-05:00

http://www.350.org/4/

Lifestyle change for everybody in our society isn't an option. It's a necessity.

2008-05-08T18:03:00.000-05:00

I felt like I had to link to this:
http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/2008/05/how-the-candida.html

The answer!

2008-04-23T10:27:00.001-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft5SSIfmeKU

Pay it forward

2008-03-31T18:20:00.003-05:00

I just lost my cell phone. And I sent a text message to it asking for whoever found it (if it was found) to give me a call so I could get it from the person. I got a text message back that said it was found, and that the person would be at college library at 6 and I could pick it up. I went and picked it up, and thanked him a lot for getting it, and making sure I got it back. He said no problem, and as I was walking away, he called out to me, "pay it forward."

I smiled and gave him a thumbs up, however I had never heard that phrase before--except for a movie that came out a couple years ago that seemed to me like a bad chick flick--so I started to think about what the words actually mean, and I like it.

So, now I guess I'll pay it forward next time I have the oportunity.

The Flavor of Emptiness

2008-03-03T19:01:00.002-06:00

From the very first time I encountered the word in English, "emptiness," I liked the sound of it. Others may find it chillingly abstract, even scary; for me it was a fresh breath of freedom. I chanted the Heart Sutra ("form is emptiness, emptiness is form...") every day for years before I ever studied what it meant. I remember once, at the beginning of my practice, walking up and down in a blizzard, snow piled two feet high and drifting, chanting that wonderful text over and over again. Only much later did I plunge into the vast philosophical edifice of Mahayana Buddhism, from the Diamond Sutra and Nagarjuna on, that adumbrates this saving and elusive teaching.

The logic of emptiness is air-tight: Since we know that we are, we know that things affect one another: Unless they do there is no world appearing, but if they do they must touch one another; if so they must have parts: If not they can't touch (they'd melt into one another), and if so there's an infinite proliferation of parts, smaller and smaller, clouds of them. So, if you look closely enough at anything it disappears into a cloud, and the cloud disappears into a cloud, and so on: All is void. The only thing real is connection: void touching void.

I have delighted in this simple but profound teaching, but it is the taste of emptiness in the body, spirit, and emotions that has meant the most to me. Knowing that what happens is just what happens. My body, my thoughts, my emotions, my desires, and hopes--this is the stuff that makes up my life. But it can't ever be desperate because I know it as a cloud. That cloud is all I am: It is my freedom to soar, my connection to all. I can float in it, and watch it form and reform in the endless sky.

This doesn't mean I am disconnected from life: Quite the contrary, I know there is no way to be connected, no person or place that is beyond my concern.

When I practice meditation I rest in emptiness: My breath goes in and out, a breath I share with all who have lived and will live, the great rhythm that began this world of physical reality, and that will never cease, even when the earth is gone. It's nice, in the predawn hours, to sit sharing that widely, knowing that this zero point underlies all my walking and talking and eating and thinking all the day through: Is it.

They say that wisdom (the faculty that cognizes emptiness) and compassion are like the wings of a great bird. Holding both in balance against the wafting winds allows you to float, enjoying the day. Really though the two wings are one wing. Where you can appreciate the flavor of emptiness on the tongue you know immediately (without meditation) that love is the only way, and that everything is love and nothing but love. What a pleasant thing to hold in mind! All problems, all joys, all living and all dying--it's love.

--Zoketsu Norman Fischer
San Francisco Zen Center

SeeqPod

2008-02-18T20:05:00.000-06:00

Seeqpod. Check it out. Seriously.

Which religion are you?

2008-02-09T18:33:00.001-06:00

I just took this test: Which Religion are you?

What you do is answer a lot of multiple choice questions about how you feel about certain issues. You can also rank the questions as to how important you think they are to your beliefs. It's hosted on Beliefnet. After you finish, it will give you a list of 27 different religions, and how well they fit with your belifs.

I remember I took this like 4 years ago when I was in high school. I thought my beliefs had changed, but my order had changed very little.

It's a great (and easy!) way to learn about different religions, and how their beliefs compare to yours.

So, what is your number one? (and don't count the unitarian, because they believe everything)

Happy Birthday

2007-12-09T01:21:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday King Bhumibol (ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช). I know it's a couple days late, but he seems like a pretty cool guy, so I figured I would recognize his birthday.

I mentioned him once before, but he is the king of thailand, and the longest reigning monarch in thai history. The amazing thing though, is that he is actually incredibly popular among the thai population. If you want to know more about him, here is a Wikipedia article about him.

It's too bad that the US will never have a president that is as popularly liked as King Bhumibol.

Free Rice

2007-12-08T10:48:00.000-06:00

I just found this website:

http://www.freerice.com.

You should check it out. You get to test your vocabulary, and donate free rice to hungry people. Sweet.

Zen Habits

2007-11-02T20:41:00.000-05:00

So, I found this great blog awhile ago. Now I read it every day. It is called Zen Habits. It is a blog about how to apply zen principles to modern life.

I have actually added it to my google homepage, so it isn't even just in my google reader feed, but it is its own little section. I look forward to reading it every time I log in.

Family Freestyle

2007-04-10T12:22:00.000-05:00

So my sisters, Kuya, and I were bored, and we made this:

if it doesn't work, you can watch it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1d7pJo4z5M

New Song

2007-03-05T17:10:00.000-06:00

I have a new song in the side bar. Let me know if it doesn't work...

Netflix

2007-03-01T13:09:00.000-06:00

Hey, if you have Netflix, you should be my Netflix friend! (http://www.netflix.com/BeMyFriend/P7iPq2hQmPitqpMQS3FT)

Then we can see how similar our taste in movies is...

2007-02-28T16:09:00.000-06:00

so it's been awhile since I posted anything. I haven't really been up to that much lately. Monday, I had a biology midterm. Tuesday, it was a japanese quiz and a french test. Today I had a chemistry midterm. Tomorrow I have another japanese quiz. Friday I have a japanese project and presentation due, and on monday I have a japanese midterm. This is what keeps me busy all the time.

It's funny to hear people in my french class complaining about the amount of homework. They think that having one worksheet almost every day is tough.

In japanese, there are at least 2 kanji quizzes every week. For each kanji quiz, I need to memorize 25-30 kanji (chinese characters). There are also grammar points due every couple of days which can take anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes to complete. And to top it all off there is a chapter quiz every other week.

Well, I should probably start studying for the kanji quiz tomorrow.

2007-01-28T14:55:00.001-06:00

I have never felt so helplessly unable to do anything right.

Fair Wisconsin

2006-11-07T23:59:00.000-06:00

I can't believe how closed minded some people are.

Waterboarding

2006-10-27T17:57:00.000-05:00

today I was reading a couple articles that claimed Cheney supported an interrogation technique called "waterboarding." There were also a couple of articles which state that Cheney definitely doesn't support the technique. And there are others calling the technique "simulated drowning."

If anybody wants more information, I found a really good video here. I actually haven't listened to the commentary, because the first time I watched it, I didn't realize that I was watching the uncut version, and all it showed was the technique being performed. It really doesn't look that severe though.

Personally, I wouldn't call this technique a torture as a lot of people are calling it. I think that if the security of our country depends on our ability to get information out of an individual, what could be better than a technique that causes no physical harm. I'm not saying that it doesn't cause mental anguish, but you will not be able to get a person to turn over information by keeping them comfortable.

2006-10-06T12:40:00.000-05:00

Right now I am in my Biology class, and I am staying awake.This is the first time all semester.It is exciting.

Last saturday

2006-09-29T19:13:00.000-05:00

Yeah... It kinda sucks. I didn't even throw this party.

PS: It totals up to $1,209 if you don't feel like doing the math.

So, what's up?

2006-09-22T20:36:00.000-05:00

How's it going?

Facebook

2006-08-25T11:58:00.000-05:00

Facebook just added a "notes" section to their site. It allows people to link their blogs to their facebook page, so now everybody that I am friends with on facebook is going to be able to see every entry that I make in this blog without even needing to click on my website.

I am a little intimidated by this.

2006-08-15T13:47:00.000-05:00

I don't know. I have nothing to do, which gives me all the time in the world to waste.

I was just surfing blogs, and I came across this.

He is a beer connoisseur, and he mentioned a restaurant here in madison, The Old Fashioned that carries a wide variety of wisconsin beer. Apparently they carry South Shore brand beer there. I thought that was really cool, because the South Shore Brewery is located in my hometown. But as I continued reading, he went on to say that his favorite beer at that restaurant was the Rhodes Scholar Stout from South Shore Brewery.

That's pretty cool. Now I really want to try some South Shore Brewery beer.

The Company Bitch

2006-08-15T12:30:00.000-05:00

I have been following this blog for a long time. Today I decided that I would point its existence out to the readers of my own blog.

The Company Bitch

Video Blog

2006-08-12T19:47:00.000-05:00

So I just started a new blog that I will post funny videos in. I will keep them seperate from my blog here. The address is http://crazyvideoclips.blogspot.com.

Gymnastics

2006-07-30T17:16:00.000-05:00


wow.

(here)

Israel

2006-07-27T08:33:00.000-05:00

I haven't really been keeping up on the war in Lebanon with Hezhollah and Israel, but this seems out of line.

It is hard to believe that it didn't happen deliberately.

I don't think the UN should let them blow it off as an accident.

Contact Juggling

2006-07-24T00:31:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that it is possible for anybody to get this good at contact juggling.

If it doesn't show, you can watch it here.

日本の写真 Japan Pictures

2006-07-13T17:28:00.000-05:00

I finally got my japanese pictures online.

They are only on the facebook right now, but anybody can see them. I'll get them up on my fotki account once I get time. Facebook was just a lot easier...

So, my pictures from Japan are here:

http://wisc.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2089264&l=13b7e&id=8624355

Plasmapheresed

2006-07-12T20:02:00.000-05:00

I have been voluntarily plasmapheresed.

I've even signed something stating exactly that.

Firefox

2006-07-10T19:27:00.000-05:00

I have made two changes to the sidebar on the right of your screen right now. The most obvious is that I have added my "Google Calendar," but I have also added a smaller button farther down the sidebar. It is a button to download firefox with google toolbar.

If you don't already use Mozilla Firefox you really should. It is much faster than Internet Explorer, and it is supported by Google, which means that it is the greatest thing ever. The coolest part, is that for any person that downloads firefox by clicking on that button, I get a dollar! It is just like the way that I have those really small "relevant" ads on the top of the page. Any time they get clicked on, I make a little money. So far, I have made $1.28 by not doing anything. It's kinda funny though, because I made $1.12 of that all on March 24 this year. But yeah, I need to study my chemistry...

Amazing Juggling Finale

2006-07-08T11:04:00.000-05:00


So, this is pretty much amazing.

Lost Words

2006-07-06T15:06:00.000-05:00

I found this cool website today. It is a dictionary of "lost words."
It was entertaining to go through all the words that were common usage 400 years ago that aren't on even a single webpage today. It is found here:

http://phrontistery.info/clwdef.html

They also have a list of 2 and 3 letter words that are acceptable for use in Scrabble!

2006-07-05T13:29:00.000-05:00

And for those of you who may be wondering, that does include President Bush.

North Korea

2006-07-05T12:34:00.000-05:00

So, I decided today/last night that the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, may be the least intelligent individual that is currently in a position of political power.

Coolest thing ever

2006-06-15T14:18:00.000-05:00

This has to be one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

Again, if it doesn't work, you can still watch it here.

Great Video

2006-06-15T14:11:00.000-05:00

If that doesn't work, you can also watch the video here.

She doesn't take shit from anybody.

Picture

2006-06-06T18:55:00.000-05:00

I have some pictures. None of these are pictures that I have taken, but they are pictures of some of my time in Tokyo.

This one was at Asakusa temple:
On the far left is just a random guy who looks like he is supposed to be in the picture. Then it follows Kuya, Atsuko, me, Reiko, and Louie.

This one is Roger's family and Kuya and I in the restaurant, 空 (Ku).

東京

2006-06-04T11:14:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, we went to Shinjuku, and walked around for awhile. Kuya spent an hour (literally) trying to decide between a north face messenger bag, and a timbuk2 messenger bag. He ended up choosing the timbuk2 bag. After that we ate ramen, and then met Atsuko! We hung out with her for awhile in Shinjuku, and then we went to Odaiba, where we went to (according to Kuya) one of the greatest science museums in the world. After hanging out there for awhile, we went to Atsuko's house. After getting there, we ate dinner, and they decided that I should experience Onsen, or traditional hot spring public bath. It was a new experience. I never even get naked in locker rooms, but last night I was naked along with about 100 other men in a really cool area that is kinda hard to describe. I was also the only Gaijin (foreigner) there. I decided that as little as I hear about it, I think it is hugely important culturally, and plays a very big part in unifying the country, making the Japanese think more as a group, rather than as individuals. We spent the night at Atsuko's house, and this morning, we met Reiko! Together, we went to a traditional temple area, and walked around, and ate. We were back to Sengawa by 6 so that we could eat with Roger and his family. After eating, we went back to Shinjuku and met with Reiko and Louie again. We hung out for awhile, but were back to Roger's house by midnight.

Tokyo

2006-06-02T05:08:00.000-05:00

So, now I'm in Tokyo. I haven't seen very much of it, but I can tell that it is huge. I can't tell yet if I prefer the size of Nagoya to the size of Tokyo.

Kuya and I are staying with a friend of Kuya's family. He is originally from England, so he speaks english. He is really nice, and seems like a really cool guy.

I don't really know what the plans are for tomorrow. If I can get a hold of Atsuko, hopefully we/I will hang out with her.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I was alive.

The Lowdown

2006-05-28T19:10:00.000-05:00

So, everybody is able to see that I will never drink again because of my last message. What is unclear is the reason that I will never drink again.

I was in Osaka on my birthday. I got a little bit too drunk, and fell 4 meters off a balcony onto my back and head. I woke up in a hospital, getting 6 (I think that's how many) stitches in the back of my head. They said that they gave me anesthesia, but I dont think so. It hurt more than anything I could have imagined.

I'm totally okay. Nothing is broken. The only thing that even hurts is my back when I bend or twist it out of a straight position--which I have now learned to avoid doing--and my tongue, because I bit really hard. I can move everything, I can walk, I can even jump (maybe tomorrow).

Total, I only spent about 12 hours in the hospital. Kuya's parents picked us up and brought us all the way to Obara, close to Toyota. I am going to a hospital today to get checked, and make sure I am fine, and the stitches should be coming out in a week, or less hopefully...

If my back keeps getting better the way that it has for the last 2 days, then we'll still be able to go to Tokyo.

My Birthday

2006-05-27T06:35:00.000-05:00

I think I'm done drinking for a loooooong time.

しょうらい、お酒を飲まないことにします。

2006-05-24T23:33:00.000-05:00

So, when I talked about putting pictures on here, it never really occured to me that I might not be able to get my pictures from my camera into a computer at all. So, I guess there are no pictures on here for that reason.

Last night was really fun. We went to Tara-huku again (this was the second day in a row). We did the same thing as the night before. Ordered a ton of Chu-hai. On all the cans its written as Chu-Hi. That's stupid. its an ai sound, and not an ee sound, so I will write Chu-Hai.

I guess Chu-Hai is probably one of my favorite drinks. Its really weak, but it tastes so good. It's made with some type of japanese alcohol, and a flavor of your choice. I think that I have tried almost every single flavor that they had on the menu.

We are going to Kobe today. I am excited.

Japan

2006-05-21T01:50:00.000-05:00

So,　right now I am in Japan. It's really cool. We arrived last night at like 20:00, and stayed up until like midnight. Today, we walked around Nagoya, and didn't really do that much. Just walked through a bunch of shops, and for lunch we had okonomiyaki. I liked it a lot. I think that I am already adjusted to the time difference, because right now it is about 1:00 in the morning in the states, and it's 16:00 here. I feel wide awake, and not tired in the least. Anyway, tonight, I think the plan is to eat sushi with Kuya's sisters and grandmother. And tomorrow we might walk and see Nagyoa castle. I'll take some pictures when we do that, and post them on here.

Japan!

2006-05-18T10:11:00.000-05:00

明日、日本へ行く！
Tomorrow I am going to Japan! I'm pretty excited. The plane leaves at 7:00 tomorrow, so I think I'm going to have to go to sleep at like 6 or something like that, and then get up at midnight, or 1. We need to leave my house by like 2 in order to make it to minneapolis to check in 2 hours early like they recommend. Anyway, I'll keep this updated while I'm there.

Hopefully my plane wont crash. I think that would suck...

Home

2006-05-12T22:26:00.000-05:00

I'm finally home--at least if I can call Albert Lea MN my home. I go to Japan in 7 days. I haven't changed the original itinerary officially yet, but the plan is that I'll be coming back sometime before the 14th of June. Kuya thinks that we should change the tickets once we are in Japan, so that's the plan.

My family is celebrating my birthday tomorrow because I'm going to be in Japan when I have my real birthday. I had forgotten that we were going to celebrate it early and didn't remember until two days ago, so it kinda jumped out at me. I'm sharing it with my littlest sister, Riley, whose birthday actually is tomorrow.

I'll keep this as updated as I can while I'm in Japan (^_^)

Steep & Brew

2006-05-03T23:15:00.000-05:00

I just spent a couple hours at the Steep & Brew studying for finals. I decided that I really like it there. I thought the prices were affordable, and I liked the atmosphere. I drank a half liter of really good Colombian coffee.

Then I came back here, and decided to take a little break. So, basically I am procrastinating by writing this.

I am also getting a little bit nervous/excited about my Japan trip. I am leaving in 16 days! Plans have changed, so I'm only going to be there until the 13th of June. Then I will start Chem 103 here in Madison on June 19th. I'll get chemistry out of the way. That'll be pretty nice. I applied for a job as a locksmith with University Housing, but the fact that they haven't contacted me yet is giving me the feeling that I may have not gotten the position. Oh well...

2006-04-25T19:29:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile. I'm really busy. Finals are coming up, I've been studying a little bit, etc. I am going to apply for a job to be a locksmith this summer, and through next school year. It seems like it would be a really good job. Pay is 9.55 per hour, and I would work 40 hours a week during the summer, and could keep the job during the school year. The only problem is that I need to make up a resume... I haven't really had any "real" jobs. oh well. I should do that right now.

2006-04-19T11:30:00.000-05:00

And if you are interested in the full version of the Rede, it's here.

The Wiccan Rede

2006-04-19T11:23:00.000-05:00

"An' it harm none, do what thou wilt."

Apple World Travel Adapter Kit (M8794G/B)

2006-04-11T16:37:00.000-05:00

So, I just bought this kit. I need it for Japan this summer because my iPod is going to be a very valuable accessory for the trip. However, the kit is only available with the whole set of six adapters, and I am only going to need one. It also costs $39.00.
As I was reading the reviews, I noticed that everybody commented about how it works really well, but they wished it was available to buy individual adapters for a lower price--rather than being forced to buy all six.

Well, I decided that I am going to sell my extra adapters on eBay for $10.00 each, plus $2.95 shipping. I'll see how fast they sell, and if they sell fast then I might buy a couple more kits and sell them all like that. It seems like a pretty good idea... Any body need an iPod travel adapter? ;)

2006-04-10T19:59:00.000-05:00

Pie got into Madison!

Fotki

2006-04-10T19:47:00.000-05:00

So, I just logged into Fotki. I don't know if I said it before, but when I ran out of space, they had the option of getting 10 MB of space every 30 days. So I went to get 10 more MB of space, and bring my "Free Space" from -180 MB to -170 MB. Instead, when I clicked it, it brought my Free Space to 32583.5 MB.
Apparently I haven't run out of space anymore. I guess I'll stick with Fotki, but I'm going to keep my Shutterfly account just in case they realize their mistake, and change it back.

So my pictures will still be at: http://public.fotki.com/kyleschulz

New Picture Site

2006-04-10T19:06:00.000-05:00

Well, I don't have any new pictures up yet, but I opened account with Shutterfly. I have the only pictures that I have on my computer on there, and any new pictures that I will take from now on will be put in my shutterfly account:
http://kyleschulz.shutterfly.com

Home again

2006-04-09T11:26:00.000-05:00

I came home for this weekend. Liz came too. It has been a fun weekend. Yesterday, we went to Rochester to watch my sister's dance team dance in a competition.

Last night we watched Everything Is Illuminated. At Internet Movie Database (IMDb), it has a 7.9/10. That is crazy. I thought the movie was terrible, but apparently some people liked it... I would give it a 3/10. Nothing happened in the entire movie. I swear to god that at least a half hour of the movie was the characters driving in a car looking at the beautiful scenery with Ukrainian music playing in the background.

I rented Memoirs of a Geisha, but I didn't have time to watch it. The other movie almost put me to sleep and I was so tired by the time it was done that I couldn't stay up for another movie. Liz said that they have it in Chadbourne, so I guess I'll get to watch it in my dorm sometime.

Goal

2006-03-30T14:55:00.000-06:00

So, I want to be the number one search entry when somebody types Kyle Schulz into Google. I'm already numbers 2 (my old photo thing, FotoFinity), 3 (when I was like 10 years old), 4 (this blog), 5 (an entry from this blog), and a couple more way down the list.

How do I pass up "Dr. Kyle S. Schulz" who was born in Chicago and raised in Iowa?

2006-03-27T21:08:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I watched around 13 episodes of Grey's Anatomy. Crazy, huh?

New Song

2006-03-24T14:44:00.000-06:00

I have another new song. This one is called Jezebel by Iron & Wine. Again, it's .mp4 format, so you'll need iTunes. If you don't have iTunes already, you really should download it.

It's a good song ;)

Japan

2006-03-24T12:43:00.000-06:00

So, I guess Pie doesn't know that I am going to Japan this summer. I guess I just feel like I've told everybody.

Kuya and I going to be leaving for Japan on May 18, and are currently in the process of figuring out when we want to come back. I know it will be sometime in August.

We're going to spend the entire first month just traveling around the entire country. I want to see as much of Japan as we can see. Then the remaining two months will be spent working in Nagoya. I guess the plan is that I will be teaching english. I don't really know, the plans aren't so solidified because they are kinda far off. Even though I have just come to realize that they aren't. In less than 2 months I'll be leaving. It's so crazy!

I plan on taking a lot of pictures, and I think I'll update this blog a lot more often once I'm there. It will be an easy way to keep people informed, and record my own memories.

Google Page Creator

2006-03-23T14:56:00.000-06:00

I finally got a page on Google Page Creator. I've been on a waiting list for a long time.

No, I'm not going to link to it. I'm going to figure out what I want to do with it first.

It's just cool to have free space to host a site that is entirely without a required format. Myspace requires the friends list and you have to put the html into one of the certain boxes. I get to build this from scratch, with a combination of html and google's automatic creator. It should be cool.

Back

2006-03-20T19:21:00.000-06:00

I'm back from spring break. So my entire break basically consisted of the same thing as my first spring break entry--the one where I sat and watched tv. I went to the hospital a few times. Haha, I think that I spent a total of about 4 or 4.5 hours in the hospital over the course of 3 days. I had to get my shots for Japan, and then go back and pick up information, so that I could continue my shots here. I am due for 2 more rabies shots over the next 4 weeks, and after that I'm going to get a vaccination for Japanese Encephalitis which consists of 3 more shots over the course of 3 months or something like that. Fun.

2006-03-18T14:37:00.000-06:00

I brought all my books home for spring break. It's funny because I actually thought I would do work. What was I thinking...

Swords

2006-03-15T12:49:00.000-06:00

My New Swords!
I bought a set of swords the other day. I've never seen such a low price, I'm sure I got them at barely over cost. They aren't exactly top quality--or even good quality, for that matter--but to me they were worth 35 dollars. I think that I'll just leave them here; there's no room in my dorm room. But I will definitely have them as decoration in my room next year.

I'm getting my hair cut today. Maybe I'll update later with some pictures.

Spring Break

2006-03-11T17:03:00.000-06:00

I'm home in Albert Lea. My family doesn't get here until tomorrow. Until then I guess I will just hang out by myself and watch HBO.

Last night, I watched Munich with Mrs. Hulmer, Louis, and Alan. I liked it a lot. I would give it a 10, but nobody else liked it. I thought it was really well done, unlike the movie I am watching right now on HBO--Alien Vs. Predator. Haha, this movie is a joke. I can't even believe some of the stuff that they actually made happen. The humans sided with the predators in order to defeat the aliens. And--of course--they left room for a sequel.

New Song

2006-03-08T15:52:00.000-06:00

I have a new song! You can listen to it as long as you have iTunes. If you don't have iTunes, you can get it here.
(They ask for your email, but you can just ignore it.)

Long Island Iced Tea

2006-03-05T16:29:00.000-06:00

These are the 5 main ingredients to a Long Island Iced Tea. I edited it a little bit by changing out regular vodka for everclear because everclear is much more cost effective than vodka, literally. The drink was okay, but I could see it tasting good if I had made it properly with a shaker, good ice, and proper glassware. Anyway, I am getting a shaker and jigger this friday, so then I'll try again with the right tools.

To make a long island iced tea, you mix 1 part of each of the pictured ingredients (substituting the everclear for vodka, or changing the quantity accordingly) to 2 or 2.5 parts of Sweet and Sour Mix, all over ice. Then you put it in a shaker, give it one brisk shake, and pour it into a Collins (or highball) glass. Then top it with coke for color and garnish it with a lemon.

The drink I made last night was definitely improvised, and not so good. But it sure had one hell of a kick, as you can probably imagine. I'll let you know how it goes ;)

2006-03-04T21:30:00.000-06:00

So, i drank a long island iced tea, and now i am in a thai restaurant. I am looking forward to my food a lot. So hungry.........

Fotki

2006-03-03T17:21:00.000-06:00

Fotki, that photo hosting service that I liked so much, changed something. Suddenly I have -150 MB of space left until I reach my space limit. My limit is now 60 MB, and every thirty days I can increase the limit another 10 MB. That sucks. I might end up switching services again. Oh well.

2006-03-02T19:06:00.000-06:00

I signed my lease yesterday. It's kinda exciting now. I'm going to be living at:
551 W Mifflin St, Madison WI.
Except that it's not where it shows up on the map--it's on the south eastern corner of the bedford and mifflin intersection. For some reason all the electronic maps find it in the center of the 500 block. oh well.

In Kendo, everybody in my class is a beginner. To the best of my knowledge nobody has ever taken kendo before. We have done a lot of basics and things, the most advanced thing we have worked on to this point was kakari geiko. Kakari Geiko is similar to a 1-way sparring session. Only one person is allowed to attack, and the other must create openings. This allows the attacker to develop the ability to see and hit the openings. However; today when I came to class people were blowing up balloons.
We ended up having a large scale battle. Each person got 3 balloons taped on the three target areas of their body, and the whole class of about 50 people was divided into 2 teams. Each team had a "queen." The object was to pop/knock-off all the baloons from the other team's queen. They lined us up and said, "Go."
It was awesome--one of the most fun things I have ever done. It's one of those things that I've kinda always wonered what it would be like to be a part of, but never imagined I would actually get to do it. It was like a medival battle, but on a smaller scale. I survived with 2 balloons, but neither team managed to kill the other's queen. My team won because we had popped two ballons on their queen and they hadn't touched ours.

So basically, it was awesome.

Marriage Contract

2006-02-27T00:03:00.000-06:00

So I just read one of the sickest things. Travis Frey, a 33 year old from Iowa, is being tried for possession of child pornography. Somehow, something came up, and his wife gave the police this. This is a "Contract of Wifely Expectations." You really have to read it. I can't even cover the highlights of the contract because the whole thing is just outrageous.

What amazes me isn't even that he wrote the contract, it is that she read the contract, stayed with him, and didn't find the need to get him evaluated by a professional.

Spaghetti

2006-02-26T22:32:00.000-06:00

I made spaghetti tonight. It was delicious. I wish I would have had some of the seasoning from home, and I could have made the sauce more interesting. And if I would have had some ground beef, I could have turned it into a meat sauce... oh well.

I also had a meeting with my landlord next year. Or at least I hope he will be my land lord. It's pretty much for sure, he just has to check my credit and mail something home for my parents to sign. I have perfect credit so that shouldn't be an issue; the only reason it isn't for sure, is because I haven't signed the lease--yet. I'm pretty excited. It is a really nice house, and Dick (the landlord) actually seems like a really nice guy. If everything works out, you'll be able to find me here next year.

Elevator

2006-02-25T20:29:00.000-06:00

Today, Liz and I were walking back into the dorm, and there were firemen walking around with their axes and stuff. Apparently, the evelvator got stuck--again. This is at least the second time that people have gotten stuck in the elevator this year. It has happened to me on at least 4 occasions this year that that the elevator has come to my floor, and the the outer doors have started to open. Then, the elevator realized that its floor was actually about 2 feet higher than the floor it was supposed to be aligned with and closed the doors. After that, the elevator was stuck. I had to hit the button and wait for a different elevator. Every time I have thought, "Hmm... I wonder if they will fix it before people are stuck inside when this happens again." Apparently they didn't.

Firewall

2006-02-25T20:22:00.000-06:00

Today, Liz and I went to see Firewall. I liked it. I would probably rate it a 7/10. It was pretty well done, it just wasn't anything too original. We got to watch it in the screening room of the theatre so it was only 4 dollars, and we got to lay (yes, lay!) on really comfortable couches. Definitely worth my time and money. I want to see more movies in the screening room.

Maze

2006-02-22T14:42:00.000-06:00

Fold Shirt

2006-02-20T19:34:00.000-06:00

I just learned how to fold a shirt. You may think it is funny that I say this, but I was amazed by this video: Japanese Shirt Folding

Crazy!

Nothing much...

2006-02-19T21:15:00.000-06:00

Last night I got really drunk. Basically, I can't believe that I still remember everything. I don't think I've ever been as drunk as I was, and still remembered it the next day. I was actually at a party that was thrown by one of my supervisors. It was fun. There was beer, box wine, and shots. I only drank beer, except for a sip of the box wine which was surprisingly good. I also tasted Southern Comfort for the first time. I remember thinking it was amazing, but I might have just been too drunk to taste it.

Anyway, it's been awhile since I last posted, so I figured I should say something...

Darwin Day

2006-02-12T03:05:00.000-06:00

Thank God for Darwin and evolution

Charles Darwin was born February 12th, 1809. On the same day--exactly 147 years ago--he published his famous book, On The Origin of Species. Hooray!

Prophet Muhammad

2006-02-11T19:33:00.000-06:00

I was reading this article. (I know it has the frame on top, but actually that's the only way that you can read the article because google has a special account or something. It's pretty cool actually.)
I don't really want to go into details about what it says, but if you haven't been keeping up on the Prophet Muhammad caricature issue, you should really read it.

I can't believe such a big deal is being made out of the cartoons. In fact, I don't even understand half of the cartoons. I guess the biggest problem is that the muslim faith doesn't believe in art that depicts humans at all, and the fact that this one is a depiction of the prophet muhammad probably pissed them off a little bit.

Well, I tried to find these cartoons that everybody is making such a big deal about, and it actually took awhile--try to find them yourself.
but I did eventually.

Source: http://www.faithfreedom.org/Gallery/28.htm

Place to Live

2006-02-10T16:54:00.000-06:00

So, I may have found a place to live next year. Oz said that I can live with him and 4 other guys in a house on Mifflin St. It sounds pretty nice. it would have 6 bedrooms and 2 baths on 2 floors.

anyway, I just came across something really cool, that feels like it has pretty big potential. It is called, TextPayMe. It allows people to pay each other via text messaging. It's similar to paypal, except its done via SMS without the need of a computer. Freaking sweet.
If you want more information, go here, or to their website (www.textpayme.com). That's where I found out about it. Anyway, I have to go.

2006-02-09T17:43:00.000-06:00

I'm a slacker.