Considering the large number of websites blocked in the country, this is actually pretty ironic:

Photo taken in Jubail, East of Saudi Arabia.

Day 1

Today we went to Harajuku, and left at about 8-ish. We were going because Ed said there was an English speaking hair dresser that i thought could get a good hair cut from. It was only 3 or so stops on the train, so that wasn’t that bad. Once we got there, we thought we could find an internet cafe, as all the shops and hairdressers weren’t open yet. We found one that was open 24 hours a day, and it was a manga cafe place. Each of us paid for 2 hours, as that was the shortest time you could get. Inside your little room you had a lamp, computer, TV, and chair with a desk. It was very cosy, and a little claustrophobic. All the computer rooms were in one large room, and as you walk out there were some hallways lined with the latest manga.

After we were done there, we walked around Harajuku killing time before the shops opened. During this we went to a phone shop so that Ed could get a new sim card for his phone, but the guy said that he’d need to come back with some forms of information. Next we went to Kiddy Land, which was one of our favourite places the last two times we went. However, they really expanded on the children’s items, and so wasn’t really for us. Though that didn’t stop me buying a couple of things. Now it was time to check the hairdressers, but when we got there it was open, but there was no-one around.

Then we went back to the apartment people to complain about the internet and washing machine, they said there was a laundrette nearby, and they’d sort the internet out next week. After that we went to Shinjuku, where we just wandered around, and Ed went to the central office to get an alien registration card, which would help him get the phone. We wandered around for a while, not really doing anything, and went to McDonalds to get some lunch. As always the staff there is incredibly friendly, and very enthusiastic.

After which we came back to the apartment to rest for a little while. Now we decided to go out again, Ed was going back to the central office while i looked around Odakyu, which is a 9-ish story shopping mall. They had TVs, air conditioners, washing machines, laptops, games, ipods, whatever you wanted was there pretty much. I stayed there for about 2 hours, and then Ed returned. Seeing as we were too tired to go out to eat, i recommended that we buy a kettle. So i went to find a shop assistant, who was very cute and friendly, and bought one.

On the way home it was still pouring, so we caught a train back. When we got out we still had a way to walk, and so i popped into this shop run by an Indian, he was very friendly. I didn’t realise that they were sliding doors at first, but i soon noticed and bought an umbrella. We got home and bought some cup noodles, and are about to eat. It wasn’t bad but the soy sauce was a bit too strong for me. After that i still wanted something to eat, so i ran across to the store to buy some ice cream. Not bad.

Progetti in Germania selezionano volontari motivati. Chi fosse interessato può inviare la propria candidatura a evs@linkyouth.org  La descrizione completa dei progetti è consultabile sul database

2009-DE-84, Germany Köln, IN VIA Café International:

Residential home for Girls (with international backgrounds)

Tasks: hosting the Internet Cafe and organizing events for the girls (Details in the database)

Requirements: female, outgoing personality that can easily encourage young girls (16-24 year old), basic German knowledge, in the schools experience with children or youth, at Bahnhofsmission high German knowledge. The volunteer should stay for one year which means from August 2010 until July 2011.

2009-DE-85, Germany Köln, Bahnhofsmission Köln:

A drop-in- Shelter at the train station for counseling homeless people and helping any person who have different needs.

Tasks: counseling visitors, helping handicapped people to change the train,individual help, organizing a café for people in need. (Details in the database)

Requirements: good German knowledge (level B1) as the work needs verbal communication, being open to work with homeless people, interest in social work

Please send us via Mail CV, Motivation letter, proof of language knowledge and of practical experiences. The volunteer should stay for one year which means from August 2010 until July 2011.

2008-DE-81 Germany Köln ,  IN VIA OGTS Katholische Grundschule – Primarstufe Lindenthal

2008-DE-51 Germany Köln , In Via OGTS Ernstbergstr. in der Gemeinschaftsgrundschule

2007-DE-208 Germany Köln ,  IN VIA OGTS Everhardstrasse

2007-DE-180 Germany Köln ,  IN VIA OGTS Gemeinschaftsgrundschule Lustheider Straße

And other after school clubs, that work similar:

The After-School-Clubs are based on the premises of the primary schools. They open at 11 o clock. The children go there after class and get a warm lunch. Afterwards they do their homework and participate in different workshops such as music, theatre, gardening, sports… The volunteer will work from Monday till Friday from 11- 16.00. In the evening she or he will attend German classes.

Tasks: help in the workshops run for the children, help during lunch, looking after the children, help with homework, help running the holiday programme, it really depends on the volunteers interests.

Reguirements: Basic German would be necessary, interest in working with children, if possible experiences with children- or youth work. The volunteer should stay for one year which means from August 2010 until July 2011.

Όλοι μας θα θέλαμε να πληρώνουμε λιγότερα όταν πάμε σε κάποιο Internet Cafe ιδιαίτερα αν δεν είμαστε μέλη του.Υπάρχει λοιπόν ένας τρόπος που σε κάποια Internet Cafe μπορεί να δουλέψει και να μην χρειαστεί να πληρώσουμε σχεδόν τίποτα για τις ώρες που θα καθίσουμε.Τι κάνουμε λοιπόν για να το επιτύχουμε αυτό?[next]

IC Pizza

11804 50 Street Nw

IC Pizza is a a small Highland’s pizza joint on the corner of 118 ave and 50th street. I always used to see it on my way to the Yellowhead Flea Market (R.I.P.) and thought it had a weird name. It turns out that IC stands for International Computers and that the restaurant doubles as an Internet Cafe.

The staff is very nice, the pizza is very cheap, and it only took ten minutes for a small bacon and mushroom to be delivered to our parking lot waiting space.

Pizza: mediocre and hardly recommendable. My brother was loving the crust though. If I was living in the HIG area and was without a proper connect at the crib, I would hit them up for their bandwidth for sure.

Speaking of IC things, isn’t it wild how much mainstream attention Gucci Mane and his So ICey Boys received in 2009?  Some would say that it’s mostly the chain:

Well, its Monday morning September 12th, Had a little fun this morning (Wink..if you know what I mean) before I came to work and not to mention before we went to sleep, so so far this morning is going pretty good, went to Wendy’s and of course spent way more then I should, I just wanted a small breakfast sandwich, and end up with 2 more small burritos and hash browns, god, this is going to kill me one day. I recently moved into a new condo over off Arlington, Ave…very nice place all brand new and compared to the rat hole I was living in this place is a mansion! I am pretty exited, I am getting a Mercedes C220 tomorrow, its new, well NEW TO ME! It’s an older one but better then what I have now.

I finally heard from my friend today that has been doing my plans for the cafe (Cyber Infusion Internet Cafe, Coffee House, Deli and Bar), which means I can get them re-submitted back to the city by the end of the week and hopefully get our permit and we can finish our work finally!

I am looking for a part time job, so if you know anyone, I am able to do pretty much anything!

I think that’s about it for now

see ya next time

Brian

Remember, Cyber Infusion Internet Cafe will be THE place to get on the net and have some great coffee, nice glass of wine, a beer or a wonderful salad.

Saya ng rules dito sa internet cafe! “Rule no. 4: Bawal ang mukang mabaho”. Whoa. Bawal pala ako.

Turns out it’s Wednesday. Definitely thought it was Tuesday whenever I thought about what day it was today, which honestly wasn’t that often. Pretty sweet not to care what day it is. Unless I keep that mentality on Saturday, when I am supposed to catch a plane to London. Doubt they’d be very understanding, or interested, or able to comprehend.

Anyway, I’m at an internet cafe in Florence. Stayed in a nice little hotel last night, headed out to the campgrounds tonight. I got my own room, which is a rare luxury, and that made the hotel amazing. Unamazingly, they’re at the top of a building and I had to carry my enormous backpack up 4 flights of stairs after wandering lost with it for too long around too hot and too cobblestone-y streets.

Ah, Florence. The city of intellectuals and book stores and streets that smell like leather and pizza and sweaty street merchants. Not sure I can stay here another day, it would be quite easy to blow an entire trip budget here. I did buy a new wallet and purse though, oops! But I needed them!

Went inside the Duomo today, also the Leonardo Musuem. The musuem was really amazing, they brought to life all of Leonardo’s sketches of inventions from his notebook. Puts pretty much every other notebook to shame, and this blog is cowering in the corner in embarassment.

Just hung around for a lot of the day after that. Sat on steps by the Duomo to read my book and promptly got pooped on by a bird. I suppose even Italian birds disprove of literature in the English language! Luckily, my new purse fits my hand sanitizer so after a few wipes sweat was the only foul odor on my body.

There’s a time at the top of the computer and timers make me super nervous and stressed. Quick post today, but with pictures! Bought a camera charger, so that was exciting as well.

Good Morning, Rome. For whatever reason, I thought I needed to be on a 557am train. Got to Rome at 615, bought a ticket for a 905 train and sat on steps in Piazza Republica to watch the city wake up.

I blend in so well. Drying a shirt that I washed at 4am, reppin' Texas and doing some writing. Sadly, the bottle and I parted ways on the train as it went on to explore and I exited.

After arriving at the train station I realized I forgot the keys to my backpack locks on the steps. Trekked back and retrieved them. Ah fortuitous forgetfulness, allowed me to snap this pic of me and the crew in front of the fountian.

Sweaty and lost looking for hotel. Can you see the backpack marks? Me neither, just look at the pretty church in the background!

Forgot to take a pic of my own, but found this one. Just imagine the quilt is blue and less stuff on the dresser. My solitary haven for a night in Florence.

After a four hour nap, it was the perfect time to walk around the sights.

Leonardo DiVinci Museum, advertised as a great place to bring your children because the exhibits are interactive and you can touch almost everything. I found it fascinating. The child .. less interested.

Solo shots are so fun. At the Duomo, not looking like a total tourist. Too bad you can't see my skirt and hiking shoes get-up. Adorable

My purchases. Excuse the freaky looking hands, it only looks that way because I have freaky looking hands.

Bah, this place is a time-suck. I blame the casino-like lighting for making me loose track of time and thinking ‘just a little longer, just a little more’. And also my parents, for the hour long conversation. What, do we miss each other or something? Off to camp!

Click for Tokyo cafe slideshow

Contrary to popular assumption Japan is actually a big coffee drinking nation. Tokyo has many local and international cafés but the more interesting are the ones that offer ‘extra’ service.

Internet cafés

While looking for an Internet café near our hotel we stumbled upon this cultural gem- the ‘manga kissa’. It was hidden in a basement with no English signs up front. We would have totally missed it had a kind gentleman not directed us to it. There were two sweet boys at the reception who could not speak a word of English, so they thrust a large laminated card at us. It was a list of rules in English. Along with the hourly rates it mentioned that only one person is allowed per booth and that failure or refusal to pay according to the usage will invite harsh police action. So threatening us with dire consequences they smiled like angels and bowed twice before leading us to our respective booths.

Manga cafe

Besides the booths lined up in a row, the walls were full of Manga books, there were a couple of comfortable sofas and a large table and straightback chairs for alert readers. And there was some excellent coffee. All complimentary, of course.

It has been suggested that if one is stranded in the middle of the night in Tokyo without a single available or affordable hotel around, Manga café’s are a perfect option for spending the night. Infact many Japanese often take refuge in these cafes after missing the last train home or as a cheap alternative to hotels.

For tourists, apart from the fact that they are really hard to find, and going by this one, obviously not all of them are appointed with luxuries and comfortable lounges. But if it is on your agenda to spend one night or sample the coffee in one of these places, then you must do the groundwork and find a few online before heading for Tokyo.

Maid cafes

Akihabara, the mythical land of gadgets, actually exists. Even then, don’t expect to just land there and be greeted by robots. It requires excruciating research through loads of sites most of which offer no English version, to find the stores and products you have lusted after. Finding shops in Japan is difficult if you do not know the language, but people on the streets are more than helpful. Even though they don’t speak English, they are very generous with their time and effort.

The one place you won’t have any trouble finding is the eponymous maid café in Akihabara. On the main drag you will find several young women dressed as maids in Victorian or French costumes handing out leaflets to potential customers.

Visiting one of them has got to be on anyone’s itinerary. They are basically cafes where you are served by waitresses dressed as maids. The idea is to make you feel like a Lord and Master. Simple concept, but like in every other sphere, the Japanese pay great attention to execution, ritual and aesthetics of the presentation. Your waitress/maid will welcome you with a ‘welcome home, master’; she will serve you coffee, chat with you if you want, play games with you if you so desire and get a picture clicked with you, all for a fee. There is normally a cover charge on entry and you must order at least one dish.

Inside a maid cafe

It’s considered to be a hangout for shy, introverted, lonely young people, and it seems there is a large community of socially inept marginalized young people in Japan. Besides the Japanese geek there were groups of young boys and girls, pretending to be least affected by the suggestive nature of the whole ‘maid’ roleplay routine.

It is a large and lucrative business, which is now spreading to other countries. In Japan, the Maid Cooperative has even set up a Maid Standards Test to monitor quality control. Unfortunately we couldn’t find any young English speaking Japanese people to further elaborate on the subject.

I haven’t been Blogging as often as I should, as I have been working on an e-Book to sell, and doing research for that… Have also been doing research into the area I want to move to and open an Internet café, with a Micro Business Incubator within it…

Will try this weekend to add a few more blogs relating to Websites, web business, and the research I have been doing for my Goal of opening the Internet café…

Drifters is well known among Hobart clientele for being “that Errol Flynn place”.  Decorated with memorabilia & pictures from many films starring the well-loved Tasmanian actor, as well as a “Down-Under World Map” placing Tasmania on top, photographs from Antarctic ventures, and various other flotsam & jetsam, the interior of the cafe manages to be incredibly patriotic yet somehow not overbearing.  Tourists might think of it as quaint.  Locals find it cosy.

It’s an incredibly comfy place, whether you’re there to eat or use the net.  I went there this afternoon, feeling in low spirits.  By the time I left I felt so much better.  It’s just a happy place to be!  The staff who served me were so friendly & enthusiastic, and my odd request for half an iced chocolate (I can never really get down a full one…) was not met with grumpiness or strange looks at all.  Refreshing!

I had a chicken burger, and man, if you’re after a burger this is the place to go.  They’re not greasy & limp, but aren’t unnecessarily full of pomp & “gourmet-ness” either.  They are simply DELICIOUS.  I could wax lyrical for hours about how perfectly, gently crisped the bun was, how juicy and high-class the chicken was, etcetera.  You can just tell that they don’t use shitty, cheap ingredients to keep costs down.  They make these burgers to be good and they are GOOOOOD. Oh, and they’re a great size too!  Definitely worth the $10, unlike a lot of overpriced food one can find around town.

Technology-wise I must also mention that Drifters have both Mac & Windows-running computers to chose from, which earns a big tick from me, as well as other neccessities/luxuries that other internet cafes. And I must mention little dish of jellybeans on the counter, with a spoon provided so that you can take one (or two)!

To top it off I bought a hedgehog slice as I left.  What I mistook to be icing on the top was actually what the entire thing was made of.  It was so delicious and still not overly rich!  Can these people do no wrong?

Drifters gets five out of five for being a rad, relaxed, friendly place with awesome food.  Thanks for making my mood a lot better  guys

When you have large meetings, it costs a pretty penny to arrange free internet for all of your attendees. Not only is it expensive, but next thing you know your attendees are bringing their laptops everywhere (including general session), checking their mail, reading online newspapers, etc.. Hence, the internet cafe was born. Just a couple computer terminals, a printer or two, connected to just one internet line. This way attendees can surf at their leisure inbetween sessions, check their mail, even print off a boarding pass all by themselves (and saves you a couple thousand in the process.)

We have been toying around with some names for branding our internet cafe. While “internet cafe” could probably get the point across, we’ve come up with a few alternates. We do our own logos, so the creative team put these together. We’ve narrowed the selections down to 2. so here they are.

We know. It's hard. But pick your favorite.

 Take part in Centrifuge Media history, and vote on your favorite. This way at your next meeting when your clients comment on how the “cybernet cafe-lounge kiosk portal” was really easy to use, you can tell them: “Thanks, that was my idea!”

Note:

This URL is about to be deactivated – you can read this post and more on my new url!

http://www.bubblegumkitten.com/blog/2009/07/a-useful-resource-for-freelancers-to-find-wi-fi-laptop-friendly-cafes-to-work-in/

Bookmark the new blog’s link: http://blog.bubblegumkitten.com

——————————————————————————————————————————————————-

I spotted a website via a post on the Creative agency freelancing blog this morning which pointed out a potentially useful resource for freelancer designers, in fact for anyone working freelance at all, who have a laptop and need to find a good place to work outside their normal office for a few hours.

I normally work from home (I have basically turned my home into a studio which suits me fine!) but sometimes I have meetings in central London or elsewhere throughout the day or just want a change of scenery. I have wi-fi, but even my garden gets boring after a while. The answer? Pop into a cafe somewhere where I can use a laptop and work away when I am waiting to go to a meeting or just want a change of scene…

This post has moved to my new server – read the rest of it at the link below

http://www.bubblegumkitten.com/blog/2009/07/a-useful-resource-for-freelancers-to-find-wi-fi-laptop-friendly-cafes-to-work-in/

Bookmark the new blog’s link: http://blog.bubblegumkitten.com
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one night, last week, Rei and I went for sushi at Minato off Long Street with some friends. we ate sushi. we laughed. we ate crying rolls. we cried. we lolled at the evil signs on the door (“Forgot to book? Well we are full. HA HA HA.”). Then we all decided to find dessert and strolled off in the direction of the ice cream shop. While walking past the internet cafe, we spotted a nun in the window at a computer. I begged Rei to take a picture of this fascinating anomaly with his Lomo Diana F+ camera. We snuck around trying to get a good shot before we decided that asking her if we could take her picture would be easiest. We tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned out to be a man who was more than happy to have her photo taken. S/he pulled me onto her lap and squeezed my breasts as the flash went off. Turns out her name is Sister Mary James Costello and she does shows (click here to check out her geocities page – soooo retro). S/he added me on facebook there and then, and now we are facebook friends. What a nice story.

Sister Mary and Me. Like Marley and Me. Heartwarming.

I am most definitely not in Africa. But from the projects I’ve been working on, I might as well be.

Nurses for Africa

At work, we’re helping out with a site for 16 nurses from St. Louis that are in Zambia, providing medical care and education and HIV/AIDS prevention. Zambia is in southern Africa. Each day, the team in Zambia sends us videos and emails about their adventures with the help of a satellite phone and Internet cafes.

We post them on http://nursesforafrica.net/. It’s so cool to get to work every day and learn about what adventures are transpiring half the world away. When researching for the project, I even connected with my old friend from middle school that was born in Zambia to find out about possible Internet service providers. Small world!

Books for Cameroon

While the nurses are in southern Africa, my friend Wendy is in Cameroon – on the western coast of the continent. She’s a Peace Corps volunteer. Yesterday I got a tweet from her, asking for some help spreading the word about her new project called Books for Cameroon.

Wendy lives in a small village where her house doesn’t have running water. But she does have the Internet! So, using her blog, Twitter and Facebook – she’s raising $11,500 to send 22,000 books from the US to Cameroon.

I worked with Wendy via instant message and email yesterday to write and edit press releases and pitch emails for her to send out to various local and national media outlets.

By the way, please donate to her cause if you feel so inclined!

I am continually amazed at the way technology makes the world a smaller (and better!) place. In a million years, I never imagined that I’d be IMing friends in AFRICA – working with the Peace Corps and volunteer nurses – to promote literacy and HIV/AIDS prevention. Even if my part is small, after all I’m not the ones in Africa doing the heavy lifting, I am so glad that I can contribute to their work in my own little way, from my own little home in St. Louis.