Overachieving and Being a Bad Blogger

   Hello everyone and allow me to start by saying I have been a bad blogger. It has been two weeks since my last post and I have made it a point to try and post at least once a week all the way up until now. (I think I may have skipped a week before. Oops.) All I can say is things have been hectic but I have not given up blogging. I thoroughly enjoy having a blog and plan to keep it going for as long as I possibly can.

   I am, for better or worse, a college student and needless to say I have been gearing up to get back into the grind which comes in the form of Fall semester. For those of you who are barely starting your first semester, congratulations. Are you excited? For those of you returning, you know exactly how foolish that excitement is.
   I don't necessarily hate school. But you must admit that this generation of collegiates has an understandably hard time seeing the value of a college degree. With tuition prices inflating year after year and books costing on average from $100 to $400 per book, the amount of debt just doesn't seem to justify the benefit most of the time. No one can deny the power of a degree but more and more that power seems to be waning.
   This post isn't about all that though. Instead I have a story to tell as I so often do.

   So I have just transferred to a university. To me this means two things. One is more expenses for classes and the other is having to learn a whole new school and system all over again. I really hate logistical stuff. I am just so bad at it and it confuses me. So knowing all that I decided it would be a good idea to go a few hours early, do a walk-through of the campus to find my classes, finish up all the last minute logistics, and then get into class comfortably early. I absolutely hate to be late to ANYTHING and you will rarely ever catch me running late. I have a motto I live by, "I'd rather be an hour early than a minute late" and that's the way I live my life.
   In staying true with that motto I found myself on campus a full three hours early. Or at least I thought. In that three hours I got to walk to all my classes, explore a few neat looking areas, obtain my school ID, eat breakfast, then with an hour and a half left until my first class, sit patiently for it to begin.
   Thirty minutes before my class is to begin I start noticing something odd. In these three hours I have seen very little of the student body... "I guess no one really likes morning classes." I thought to myself. But then I notice absolutely no one has walked into the auditorium where my class is being held. In fact no one but me is even anywhere remotely near it. The few people I have seen all walked straight past it.
   Wondering if perhaps the class had been moved or cancelled for some reason I go and try to enter the auditorium. I put my hands on the cool metal door knobs and pull. Sadly to no avail. Locked. I look around for a sign announcing where it has been moved to and I find nothing. Now my mind starts running. Did I mention I HATE to be late? If I had missed a memo about the class I was sure to be late or damn close. Thankfully across from the auditorium sat a cheerful looking young lady in an office for something or another, so I gladly went over to ask, "If my schedule says, 'room number' it's that auditorium over there right? It's not some room next to it or something?" The very insightful lady gladly assured me that I was indeed waiting for the correct room. So then why was it not open? My next question was, "So do you know more or less when they will open it?" She looks at me and says, "Oh probably on the 27th(two days from now) when classes start."
   I could have slapped myself right there. I was not, as I thought, 3 hours early, but instead a full two days early! How's that for overachieving? In a desperate attempt to save face I said, "Oh yeah I guess so. Alright thanks, just wanted to know." As if I knew that all along but wanted to see the auditorium before hand... I felt like such a dumb ass. It was the community college that started on Monday and NOT the university.

   So the moral of the story?
   Look at your stupid schedule...

FYI Other Blogs

Hey guys.

   I am a blogger. I like to blog. I like to write, record, and ultimately document my thoughts, feelings, and experiences to share with whomever may stumble across them in the future.

   However, I am not the end all be all to blogs. As a matter of fact, I blog because I enjoy reading and watching blogs myself. So what I want to do for you all is point you in the direction of some of my favorite bloggers and vloggers. Take a look through this list of some of my favorite blogs that I keep up with on a daily basis. Some of these guys and gals are awesome and you will be happy you checked them out.

   I will be setting this up by category. Many of these people have both a written blog and a YouTube vlog. I will link to one or the other but be sure to check out both.

Japan
Anyone interested in Japan, or who may be traveling there in the future should take a look at some of these blogs.

• Gimmeabreakman This guy is the "godfather" of the Jvlogging community. He is really funny and even teaches some Japanese. He owns his own English school in Japan and has been living there for like...half my life or longer. He also has another channel called Gimmeaflakeman.
• TokyoCooney I have mentioned this guy before in my videos. He is the first Jvlogger I had ever watched and he is hilarious... I'm serious. Many sleepless nights were spent watching his videos and laughing uncontrollably. I have linked you to one of my favorite videos of his, but look at the rest. Unfortunately he is not uploading anymore but promises a return some day. His blog is also here
• Sharla in Japan A very informative and light feeling blog from a Canadian. Canadians always feel light hearted don't they? It also helps that she's cute!
• Kazuko from Japan A pretty Japanese girl who does sort of social experiment videos in a fun way.
• Unrested A Jvlogger from Osaka who doesn't seem like it, but is just as much of a nerd as I am! He is also an artist for many table top role playing games. My favorite kind of RPG.
• jlandkev/busankevin Another Canadian living in Japan who tends to blog about the more mundane things in Japan which is a good thing. It gives a more realistic feeling to his blog. He also has a really well done podcast!
• hikosaemon Another long term expat who does a lot of longer form videos and a lot of videos with gimmeabreakman. One thing I like about him is he has a lot of subscribers and really tries his best to interact with them every day.
• Higgins In Japan In my opinion a vlogger that does not get as many views as deserved.
• Caleb and Rainfall Review Game reviews and funny stories. I linked to an older video of his because I think the story is funny but if you don't like his format in this video he has changed it quite a bit.
• Rachel and Jun These two give a very interesting perspective in their blog from the point of view of an international(is that the right word?) married couple.
• Abroad in Japan  I can't even describe how funny this guy is... Really... You have no idea.

There are many many more that belong in the "Japan" section that I have not listed. Just check out some of these for now and you will inevitably find the others.

Photography
These are for people interested in photography gear, techniques, and so on.

• FroKnowsPhoto A successful photographer who shares all of his secrets.
• Matt Granger   An Aussie photographer who also has a lot of interesting stuff to say on the topic of photography and I am in love with his assistant Tina.
• DigitalRevTV Although technically they are a camera store based in Hong Kong, they put out videos showcasing newly released gear. These guys are incredibly funny. I am also in love with their ex co-host Alamby and I am deeply distraught that she has since left the channel.(To Alamby only because no one else can see this: Please marry me...)
• TheCameraStoreTV Another awesome gear review channel and photography store.
• Chase Jarvis A photographer that does some really amazing work.

Film/Video Production
For those who enjoy a moving picture.

• Phillip Bloom I only wish I could produce the kind of videos he does. Amazingly beautiful films.
• Basic Filmmaker A funny guy and great tips for video. He does his best to, and succeeds in, interacting with his audience. 

Travel/Food
Some awesome Travel blogs for you guys.

• Migrationology An awesome food and travel expert Mark Wiens eats everything from the most outlandish, to the most mouthwatering. He's also just an amazingly good blogger.
• The Taiwan Adventure An expat missionary in Taiwan, this blog is amazingly interesting and well rounded. This blog is a big part of why I started mine. Go back to his earlier blog posts and start from there, you'll thank me.  

Science/Education/Thinking
I'm a thinker, it's what I like to do, and I am incredibly curious. For anyone else who is a nerd... here ya go.

• Vsauce This vlog presents science in a very forward thinking, "what if?" sort of way.
• Veritasium  This guy teaches Science with questions. Something I like about him is that he values the mistakes we see as "common knowledge," and sees those mistakes as a new way to learn.
• numberphile I really don't want to downplay this channel but this is really only a channel for people who, like me, enjoy thinking about math as more than what they teach you in school.

   I suppose that's a pretty good list for now. I know I have forgotten so many other blogs that I read and watch but this is a good start for anyone interested. Check any and all of these people out. They are all very good blogs and deserve to be seen. Then, of course, check back here for more of my blogs!

EDIT: I forgot to mention Kyde and Eric They are an American couple who live in Japan now but have been traveling around the world and recording videos. Theirs is very high on my list of favorite travel vlogs.