Laurence

You will find there a lot more squatting in Japan. Also I have never played Rock, Paper, Scissors with over 100 people before until in the pits after a drift event about a month ago. Apart from that it is pretty much all the same. Aussie cars have had SuperRoo stickers and cute little drawings on them since the 60's, team stickers with slogans are around in Australia too... One thing that you won't see is cars being run through scruitineering again, so functional, but perhaps less than perfect, repairs are done to cars so they can continue. In Australia they would probably be sent home.

Actually the main thing that Nova focuses on is customer satisfaction rather than education. A successful class is a 'genki' (happy/fun) class. If the students walk out having had a bit of fun then you have done your job. If they learnt something in the process then that is all good. Sometimes you can combine to two. The commerical idea beind that being that a happy customer is a repeat customer. Unfortuantely Nova is a bit of a pay by the hour mental institution where Japan's nutballs come to give their families a rest. Especially voice (unstructured group conversation classes). But apart from all the regrets I have about coming I don't regret coming. :Pimp2:

After you learn to read, yeah, sure...

I had to have a degree to work at Nova... BEng for me though... Lucky I snuck through as most engineering students can barely speak English.

yeah Ive only been here a couple of years. Perhaps I put blinkers on to the more annoying aspects of Japan but without them it wouldnt be Japan. ie. If people didnt stare and treat you differently (sometimes better, sometimes worse) then it would be just another thing that is like home. This is actually a reason why I dont like Tokyo that much; its alot more of an international city and that seperation of foreigners doesnt seem as big as other places and to me it just doesnt feel like `real` japan. I think that your lifestyle really dictates where the best place to be is. For me drifting and being a general nuisance is what I love and do most of the time. In japan its infinitely better than Australia for that reason... but I sure wouldnt want to raise a kid here. So Im in Japan for now and when circumstances change then I might think about heading back. eg. At the moment I go out and drift and talk crap with D1 drivers atleast a couple of times a week... back home.... well I guess Ive got track days once a month or I could have interesting conversations with the cops LOL For work I put in half the number of hours I did in my IT job in Aus and comparing to the amount I used to actually clear its alarmingly close. Can I stay here being an english teacher and drifting till Im 50? certainly not... but at the moment Im drifting 3-4 times a week and putting in a whopping 20hours of work (talking to mainly uni/highschool chicks) so for me at the moment the positives of being here far outweigh the sh!tty parts.

Yeah I am up for some sillyness at some stage... PM sent soon

Well as a Japan newbie (three weeks now). I can see some of these things on the horizon, yesterday was the first day when I really felt bored and isolated. Also the evening before I got my first taste of "staring from outside the blast zone" yep, semi-busy train with a dedicated gaijin area, all for me! Oh well... Also I am learning hiragana (writing/reading) and feel like a total retard. Getting あ and お mixed up when I write them and not being able to remember which sound goes with which with all the letters without a big "etoooooooooo". The other thing is that teaching is definitely not my thing. I don't know how long I will end up staying, I have to stay at least a year so I can personal import my S14! But I can't imagine I will stay forever. Anyway, enough about me. While I am still in the honeymoon period, I can see the problems that are annoying you here Rezz. But I look back to the rut I had stuck myself in back in Oz and it looks pretty damn good. BUT and this is the big one, going back you have another fresh start, which can only be a good thing. MAke the most of it and thanks for all your interesting posts from your time in Japan.

I posted the entry forms and things here... http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/sh...newpost&t=73786 Just in case anyone missed it...

:spamcan: Entry forms are now online here: ENTRY FORM ($100 per driver for June 11 at Baskerville Rwy) Motorsport Tasmania and Full Lock Motorsport are proud to present “DRIFTMANIA”, the first drift event to hit Tasmania. This exciting new motor sport features high-powered, light weight, rear wheel drive sports cars sliding continuously through a series of predetermined corners. Not only do they do this sideways at speeds faster than 150km/hr, but do it just inches apart - the most exciting part of the sport!! On Saturday, June 11, Baskerville Raceway is open to the Tasmanian public both on and off the track. Those who think they have what it takes only need to get their entry form in, and they will be sliding around this tight hillclimb track among what is expected to be a huge turnout of other competitors. At lunch time the Full Lock Drift team will give a demonstration of their craft, followed by more drifting for the entrants until the end of the day. The track officials will then close the track to all but the best drifters of the day. This small group will be given 30 minutes to prove their worth, with the best 4 cars qualifying for the Sunday event at Symmons Plains!! On Sunday, June 12, the best drifters from the mainland will make the trek to Symmons Plains to showcase their talent in a battle competition, team drift competition, and expression session displays. The best local drifters will be invited to pit their skills against these seasoned professionals, which is sure to make for an exciting day. The crowd will have so much more to do than just watch drifting: there will be trade stands, pit walk, a live DJ, crowd giveaways, and ultimately a raffle to win 4 laps in a drift car on the day!!

Updated!

Standard Oil Pump - $150 Standard Water Pump - $50

OCTOBER 08 :: SA :: VMax :: G1 :: Mallala 12 :: VIC :: FLM :: Twilight Drift :: Calder Park 14 :: QLD :: DZ :: Powercruise #5 :: Queensland Raceway 15 :: QLD :: DZ :: Powercruise #5 :: Queensland Raceway 16 :: QLD :: DZ :: Powercruise #5 :: Queensland Raceway 20 :: QLD :: Indy :: Lexmark Indy 300 :: Gold Coast [4:00PM] 21 :: QLD :: Indy :: Lexmark Indy 300 :: Gold Coast [12:20PM :: 6:30PM] 22 :: QLD :: Indy :: Lexmark Indy 300 :: Gold Coast [8:55AM] 22 :: NSW :: IDA :: D-Day :: Oran Park 23 :: QLD :: Indy :: Lexmark Indy 300 :: Gold Coast [7:55AM] 28 :: NSW :: OP :: Friday Night Off-Street Drift :: Oran Park 29 :: NSW :: FLM :: Drift Nationals :: Oran Park 29 :: VIC :: DA :: Formula Drift :: Winton 30 :: NSW :: FLM :: Drift Nationals :: Oran Park 31 :: SA :: KA :: Drift Practice :: Port Gawler NOVEMBER 05 :: NSW :: IDA :: D-Day :: Wakefield Park 06 :: SA :: NS/SilviaSA :: Drift Practice :: AIR 07 :: SA :: KA :: Drift Practice :: Port Gawler 14 :: SA :: KA :: Drift Practice :: Port Gawler 21 :: SA :: KA :: Drift Practice :: Port Gawler 23 :: VIC :: FLM :: Twilight Drift :: Calder Park 26 :: NSW :: IDA :: D-Day :: Eastern Creek 26 :: NSW :: FDD :: Training Day :: Oran Park 26 :: VIC :: SN :: Springnats :: DECA (Shepparton) 27 :: VIC :: SN :: Springnats :: DECA (Shepparton) 28 :: SA :: KA :: Drift Practice :: Port Gawler DECEMBER 10 :: VIC :: FLM :: Drift Nationals :: Calder Park 10 :: QLD :: DA :: Formula Drift :: Queensland Raceway 11 :: VIC :: FLM :: Drift Nationals :: Calder Park 18 :: QLD :: DZ :: Christmas Fun Day :: Queensland Raceway 21 :: VIC :: FLM :: Twilight Drift :: Calder Park

If anyone missed it you can download it here! 82.8MB RIGHT CLICK - SAVE AS

Finally, here is the one Adam did... check it out! 82.8MB RIGHT CLICK - SAVE AS

Yes, well when Adam uploads it the sound will be in sync... I would rather touch JT's ballsack than post up a video with bad sound!

Not me thus time! Some New Zulunders... Adam is supposed to be uploading it to the FLM server!

Sorry, sent it today...

In my experience this statement is completely wrong, usually people in slower cars are just interested in provoking a nice car give it a squirt. It is annoying but I think it is wrong to think that they are somehow trying to "diss" you or "take you down" or some other caveman style ego stuff. Anyone who knows about cars knows what is a strong or weak opponent. If you get some VL turbo with an intercooler hanging out the front then yes, you might be right, but a non-turbo GTS-4 driver is just looking at the turbo version of a later model car and going "hey nice car, I wish mine was that quick, I hope he gates us". Thinking anything else just doesn't make sense to me. That isn't to say that being tailgated by a Kia is not extremely gay and annoying.

Oh God, Sports Tonight had even more of him... the rest is basically the same as the Ten News spot. 5.8MB RIGHT CLICK - SAVE AS

Hahaha FULLY SIK indeed... check out the Ten News report on the event. Also be watching Sports Tonight for a more detailed report with more driftin' and less flamin' 5.1MB RIGHT CLICK - SAVE AS

Well I could be in Japan soon... I will know soon. I will have to work on my Kancho-Sense™

You can watch the report here LEFT CLICK

Injector Duty Cycle, AFM and Knock all set it off... The only one even close is AFM voltage, but I didn't think that 4.7V was enough...

Some more info from www.fulllock.com When Saturday 16th April 2005 - Practice and Qualification Sunday 17th April 2005 - Competition Gates open to public at 11am Price Saturday $10 Sunday $25 Children under 12 free Where Calder Park Raceway, Calder Highway, Keilor Melbourne Victoria

Do they mean the PS2 development environment... or the virtual weather???