I am a sucker for underwater monsters. Seriously, give me a giant squid, boat crushing sea serpent, evil shark, misunderstood killer whale (even that asshole dolphin who ran over the surfer) and I am all over it.
All of which means that those old maps, the ones with sea monsters printed on them in a “here there be dragons” kinda way, are right up my alley. So to celebrate, here’s a cool article about those maps and how one could go about acquiring them. And if said “one” wanted to send one to me, here’s the address (bottom of the page)!
Aside from 
We left Zengzhou on another bullet train (top speed 302kph) and 4 1/2 hours later we were pulling in to the Shanghai train station. Everyone remembered their tickets so we could get out, and we were off to our hotel for the night – A one-night stop kinda on the outskirts of town. The following morning, we went to the hotel where we would spend the bulk of our time in Shanghai, a nice, older place called the 
It started when I got off the plane. Sure, the ride itself was normal – the long side, heading from Helsinki to Shanghai, I was seated next to a guy who decided my armrest was his property, but I just watched some movies and stared out the window. The flight itself was only 8 1/2 hours (it’s ten going back) but then going through customs and immigration was a bit tricky. I didn’t know the name of the hotel I would be staying at (the info was in my bag). When the officer asked, I just explained I was there with a clown show. “Then just put that,” he said. So yes, my official entry form states my residence is “clown show.” 
Living as a foreigner in a foreign country has certain pluses and minuses and these are going to be different for everyone involved, but one thing remains the same for everyone – dealing with immigration to ensure your resident status.
Several years ago, back when I was regularly attending pub quiz, I met a woman who was the head of a primary school. Being a native English speaker, she had asked me if I could possibly come and be part of a jury for an annual English/speech competition the school hosted. Naturally, I said yes and have been doing it now for several years. In addition, I’ve also done some recording for her as the voice on the audio portions for grammar school English books (and, I was just informed, the English teacher in the books was named for me!) 
I’ve always loved motorcycles. I’m gonna say it stems from first picking up a Ghost Rider comic book (
Way back in 2007, just before my 40th birthday, I had planned an epic road trip on my motorcycle. Originally, the intent was to leave from Vegas and head up the coast, visiting places and taking my time, exploring the scenery. I wanted to take the Canadian highway and head up to Alaska and then maybe put the bike on a ferry and see how far I could get out into the Aleutian Islands. 
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 