Update On Studies Or How to Learn a Language on a Shoestring Budget

Hello everyone.

Long time no post. I have a lot of new followers coming in from Blogged and I would like to extend a warm welcome out to them. I have been really studying Japanese hard so I can pass the JLPT test. From the preparation, I will definitely pass when I go to San Francisco on December 6th. There really is not much I really wish to go over other than methods to studying a subject or booking a flight with the least amount of money possible.

How to Study a Language on a Shoestring Budget

For those of you new to this blog I go over effective ways to stretch the devalued dollar and ways to valuate you own worth. And what better way to to pick up linguistic skills than through a show string budget? There is low start up costs, you can make connections with people from other countries and more importantly, you can enrich yourself with another culture.

To be to study a language with low start up cost, I would first try sift through books with good teaching pedagogy or method. Since I am familiar with the Japanese language, I am going to use this language as a model. When I started learning the language I spent years using ineffective books for self study and only after I cam back from Okinawa did I realize this. Do not get me wrong, I can communicate just fine, but I felt I would have been that much better if I had access to the most effective materials possible. Fortunately, information technology in languages has improved drastically since I have started to study Japanese. One such method is to study for free using http://www.livemocha.com/. This site allows you to access your language skills and you can go through and find which class suits your level, or better yet, do language exchange from a native speaker for free! I recommend this method over going to a chat rooms mainly because people just tend to goof off in chat rooms and they are just their to either find dates, talk, or hook up with other chatters. Although if you are trying to find a girl/boy friend in the language you are studying that is a good way to do so (assuming you are in that country or she/he is near you).

If you are looking for a way to study a language that is at the rate your willing to pay within your budget guide lines, then you might want to try http://www.japonin.com/ which is an online Japanese language school. You can even take classes by the lesson using lesson tickets! Using lesson tickets could aide you in maintaining your fixed allocated budget that I talked about in the Frugality 101 special. (This method of proposed learning is actually coined the "edupunk" movement. The "edupunk" movement is a self taught or online taught method where everything that involved learning is done through the Internet. It is counter culture against the traditional scholastic environment because you can avoid classes that you do not need and only study the ones you are interested in.) A more pricier way to learn a language through the computer is Rosetta Stone which I do not recommend towards an Asian language mainly because the writing is intense and a necessity towards learning Chinese and Japanese characters. For Romance and Germanic languages however, Rosetta Stone would be good because the character set in English shares the same set those language families, save a few extra intonation marks.

If classes are not for you, there is the old school auto-deictic method, which involves simply buying books and studying out of them. For Japanese, I have a list that I cycle through. Which is Japanese for Everyone, 250 Essential Kanji books 1 and 2, Basic Kanji 250 books 1-4, and Shin Nihongo no Chuukyuu (basically it is, true Japanese of Intermediate Level) just to name a few. For learners of Japanese, a good page to order materials whether it be for the JLPT or just for learning is http://www.thejapanshop.com/ You can also see rating from people who are really serious about learning the language instead of buying something from vote bots' opinions. Another good site is http://www.j-list.com/. They are a little more expensive than Japanshop, but they have different materials sold there along with Mangas and DVDs. They should also have a kids mirror site as well for minors to browse. There is also the mainstream shops as well, but one that is a bit off the beaten path is http://www.abebooks.com/, which has some rare or hard to get books. Again, I am just using the information I have gathered from studying Japanese to make this article. For other languages, I would say the best thing to do is pick the country that supports the language you are studying and find an intensive language school. Then try to find their language materials used in the classes and order some of them if they have decent reviews. Search engines are your friend in this approach. That is how I found out about the sites I frequent above. If you are in luck and now someone who has studied abroad, try asking them for their old text books' titles or maybe negotiate a price for the ones they no longer use.

How to Plan a Trip on a Shoestring

1. Plan in ADVANCE!- The more you procrastinate, the higher your itinerary will be.

2. SET a budget- Try to set a dollar amount based off of how much you have saved. If you plan on trying to go away somewhere for a couple of weeks, obviously you need to do some cut backs in your household to compensate for your idleness.

3. Do not go to a hotel based on star ratings- I have been in 3 star hotels and 5 star hotels. Honestly the more you spend on having everything in your room, the more money you will lose in the long run. Read the reviews of the hotel you are trying to reserve at. There is no need to reserve at the Taj Mahal for a week if there is no real plans going down for that reservation. (i.e. Sight seeing) If you are going to be out and about the whole trip getting a 5 star is an utter waste of money. The way I see it is while you are entitled to treat yourself, you also need to treat your money well. Your account will feel it later.

4. Take the least amount of stuff possible- Self explanatory. Do not take 5 bags on an airplane that dings you $70 per bag. That is just stupid. If you need certain things, then take them. If you have to pay for one bag, so be it. Just do not go buck wild and take the kitchen sink.

5. If you have connections use them- If you know someone who can board you up or are part of an organization that will give you an automatic discount, then use what you were given. It is called synergy. People are more productive if they work together with the same goals in mind. Just make sure the person you are going with can handle their fair share of the travel expenses.

This sums up my writing itch. Sorry folks, back to writing hiatus! I need to pass my test.

Micheal Jackson's Passing: A lesson to be learned in frugality.

Micheal Jackson has touched the hearts of many and with his passing grants us a window into his life. Here was a man who was plunged into the spotlight around the age of 5 and only ascended to higher stardom. However in his passing it calls upon the lessons of money management. Micheal might have earned a high income, but he was overall, bad at managing money. With this said, Chuckie's Blurbs is not going to say that his spending was all bad. Afterall a selfless man who gave to many a charity broke the world record for contributions. No we are going to examine the side of Micheal that lost the Neverland ranch, the side of Micheal that was childish in his manner of holding on to earned income.

Topping Thriller was a part of his obsession which drove him to succeed and while drive is important, pragmatism is perhaps even more. He wanted to surpass Thriller, but that album was a tough one to beat. Eventually he lost focus on his finances and just about lost everything that he so worked for. I am not saying if he wanted to have a Neverland Ranch he should resist. No that was a valuable investment along with the Beatles royalties.

One of the main keys to frugality is to have focus. While he did gain some part of this before his passing, he lost it too little too late. While he might have been the greatest entertainer ever, his status got to him and it caused his own downfall. Never let other people put you on a pedestal about how much money you have. They do it to me all the time and I have to take their complements with a grain of salt. The lesson one should learn from Micheal's passing is that to reach a Thriller-esque goal with your finances you have to focus or you will fail. Giving is good, but one should have money to give money.

One Year Anniversary at Sam's Club

Hello there. Chuckie here with another blog jam packed with pure awesomeness. It has been a cracy year for me down at Sam's Club and I have to say, I am glad I have stuck it out this long after all. Perhaps my earlier entries were a bit pessimistic, but rest assured, I will continue to work there until I reach my goal I set out to reach in New Year's.

So far I have read 65 books and saved up $6,ooo for my re-entry into Japan. I will also take the JPLT level 3 so I can up my own personal stock and credentials. I could take the level 2, but I need more time to study for that one. While level 3, I can take it and pass it without studying. But I will study so I can refresh some of the Japanese that I do not normally use. I am in no way trying to slack off with the test, they are expensive to take because I have to go to either Los Angelos or San Francisco in order to take the test and I do not want to go over there in vain. When I do take the level 2 next year, I will have more time in order to catch up what I know and be able to pass it with no problem. So that is my goal-- to eventually go back to Japan in 2010.

There is also the need to address the issue of having one year at Sam's Club. Since they basically changed the whole structure of the pay scale, all I will get is a marginal raise. Since there might be employees reading this blog, I cannot go into further detail about it. However, I can say that my vacation and personal time has kicked in and I will use every bit of it to better my situation. I am a graduate from UNR and for the past 2 years, I have been working jobs with little chance of vertical movement. When I return to Japan, I will proabably work for someone else for a little while and then build up a marketing list and become self employed.

I have offically started back up my business on E*bay. My ID is marketmediaplus and I will sell certian items on demand. Right now I am just trying to sell all my books and video games so I can move with little problems. For the most part I have been celebrating my raise, so I have been eating out a lot, but that will stop. The glamour is done; my year is in; time to continue amassing wealth.

Sushi Boat 2 Part Review

This has probably been the most expensive review I have done. Not because the place was expensive, but because I had to make two trips to give a proper review. While I was going to upload actual pictures this time around, it turns out my phone cannot do file transfers. If I could entertain you with obscenities that borders Turret's syndrome, I would. Alas, I cannot due to contracts drawn out by the sponsors. I can say that I want to take my Motorola and toss it into a meat grinder. That is totally acceptable.

However, the show (in this case, the review) must go on.

Sushi Boat Part 1

In Sushi Boat they serve mainly Japanese and Korean food. For the first week, I reviewed Cha-shu Ramen, which costs $8. It was a mixture of beef sides, pork, Asian celery, asparagus and ramen noodles. It was a very filling dish and I was impressed at how the service was that day. The texture of the ramen is very authentic to the Japanese style and I would say that the restaurant has some potential to rise back from its esteemed status. Their Cha-shu ramen reminded me of the ramen stores in Japan in a French dining place. main due to the fact that their dininng area does not totally fit the atmosphere of the sushi bar.

At one point, they were giving discounts to UNR students, but after the roach infestation, I did not come back for three years. Since then they must have gotten complaints from customers and health inspectors and have since then raised their standards considerably. Read on if you want to know what the hand of destiny dealt me into coming to this place a second time...

Sushi Boat Part 2

Round two required for me to have a bigger stomach and while I took many pictures to post in this blog I was again stiffled by the Motorola that I now want to toss in front of a Hummer H2 just to see if it will crack. While it would be fun to do, it just is not prudent so *sigh* moving on.

In case if you are wondering what I had, it was the following:

Godzilla Rollx2
Happy Roll
Philli Roll
Spicy California Roll
Futomaki Chef Special Roll
Hotate (Oysters)
Dragon Roll
T.N.T. Roll (Spicy clam sauce with tempura and crab)
and the Rick Roll

Okay I did not have a Rick roll obviously. I did have the rest plus two other rolls. If your wonder what was the caloric intake for all of this, I would say it was around 5,000 to 7,000 calories. Fortunately the amount of sushi I had is actually ideal for body building due to the amount of Omega-3. Unfortunately, I will not be going to a gym today. I will just take my atrophy with a heightened state of pride and tom-foolery.

There is a variety of dishes at this place so if are adventuresome, you will find this place rather pleasing. After two weeks of fish and noodles, I am ready to give you the overall results of this escapade!

Presentation: Asian counter check. Japanese beer flyers, check check. French dining tables what in the world? Also some of the letters are burned out on the outside of their building. They need new signs.+.50

Service: Good the first week. Mediocre the second week and since I was the only one there, you woud think they would be a tad more attentive. Obvioucly I was dealing with the co-owner the first week and a under paid flunkie the second. And the chef was the quiet type. The second week was not all it was cracked up to be. The chef kept the rolls coming, but the assistance on the drinks was lacking. I was there about 2 hours and my drink only got refilled twice. +.75

Taste: the sushi was good and the cha-shu was great. So to average this, I am going to say the sushi was epic in variety and texture. The chef got them out quick. He only had me wait for a roll that had to be breaded, but he made other rolls until I was done. Oh and for the leaf eaters that do not want to emit CO2 into the enviroment, there are veggie rolls. For the rest you carnivores, you will find the rolls both healthy and meaty. For the people that think Al Gore is full of it and want their red meat cut lean, Sushi Boat will also find a place in your heart. +1

Price: The best thing next to the food, is the price. You can eat dinners at lunch time for only $13! That is a steal in the name of seafood buffets! Oh and they ad hoc tax too! +1

Cleanliness: It was very clean but the rugs could use a shampooing. +.5

I forgot what my other catagory was but it is all fishsticks or sushi rolls and tuna for lack of a better word. The grand total is: 3.75/5 stars. It is mainly due to customer service and presentation. If they can improve in these areas, I would be willing to re-review them sometime next year. I think the staff should perhaps be more vigilent while there is only one customer in the establishment. If they were then, there would be no need to take off points for customer service. This is perhaps the most important thing that makes or breaks reviews: the customer service. If it is good, they will come. If it is epically terrible, the customer will leave. I feel that this could have been a 4 four star experience if the improve upon what is suggested. Sorry,

I could not load pictures to make you scream for sushi. I forgive my Motorola. I will have to settle for shattering it into a googleplex of pieces using some ingenuity and a sledgehammer.

Until next time, feed food for the stomach!

Food Review: Asian Gardens

I have been a bit busy juggling other side projects, but finally I am back to entertain you with another long awaited food review. Last Wednesday, I went to Asian Gardens to enjoy some Beef Chow Fun. Let's see how they did.

Taste wise. it was really good and the portions was excellent. The meal was filling, dispelling any pre-notions that I needed to eat again afterwards. So if you think that Chinese food is not filling, you need to try their Beef Chow Fun. Oh and for the plant eaters, they do have vegetable Chow Fun as well. +1

Service was excellent. I also tipped excellent in kind. She was eager to please and was willing to bend over hand and foot. She had tea, water and sodas at the ready in a New York minute. +1

Presentation, it felt like a Chinese restaurant and that is a good thing. The food was symmetrical with the atmosphere. I felt at ease when I went there. +1

Value for the money. I have to say that the billing was somewhat steep. Do not order a soda there, it will cost you $2. If you are paying anything more than $1.50 plus tax, then you are paying too much of beverages that cost about 8 cents for the chemicals to fill up your cup. There is no need to be up charged on that. The value on the Chow Fun was generous so I have to give this a certain balance. +5

Menu Variety. Good but I think they should axe the sushi menu. I know they are the same owners as Sushi Boat, but seriously, if I wanted to eat Sushi at a Chinese restaurant, then I probably do not distinguish difference in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean culture. And that would be ignorance on my part. Sure I understand they might get requests for sushi, but it feels awkward in a non-sushi specialty shop. Especially since I can go over next door and order the exact same thing. There is nothing wrong with non Japanese people making sushi, but I just do not picture sushi in a Chinese restaurant especially when it is not a sushi bar or a Japanese style cuisine specialty shop. +5

Overall Asian Gardens get a 4/5. My recommendation is just to order the food and no drinks. They were expensive.