MERRY
CHRISTMAS
FROM
JAPAN !!
Excuse me, but are you
lost? Are you sure you're in the right place?
Oh well, regardless of whether you stumbled here by accident,
came on your own free will, or were ordered here at gunpoint,
why don't you take a load off and stay awhile.
By the way, "Howdy" (as they say back home in Texas) !!
Welcome to my home page.
I live in Tokyo,
Japan,
an exciting 24-hour-a-day metropolis inhabited by only 30 million folks,
where I am currently working in the English education
business.
I've been here for over 9 years now,
and my main job is with a large Japanese construction company.
I have had the pleasure
of teaching
over 4,000 students
at over 60 companies, schools, and agencies.
I have also worked for a company licensed by Disney,
a job which has taken me to 44 of Japan's 47 prefectures,
singing and dancing for young children
in an English education stage show.
Yes, I started my entertainment career quite young by forming a
rock band
at the age of only 4 --
I'm the one in the photo wearing the shades.
(Ha Ha -- Just a joke !!)
My tenure in Japan has
been a lot of fun, but I really do miss my family,
Tex-Mex food, and my mom
and dad's home cooking,
especially my dad's Texas barbeque.
Japan is indeed a very beautiful country
-- it's about 70% mountains --
and I have found the people to be especially warm and kind.
One of the most surprising
things for me
was to discover after moving here that
Tokyo is not a city,
but in fact, a prefecture,
the equivalent of a U.S. state.
It is a massive expanse of real estate
-- with a land area of 2135 sq. km. --
consisting of 23 wards, 27 cities, 6 towns, 8 villages,
as well as the Izu 7 Islands,
and the beautiful, remote Ogasawara Islands
-- some 1200 km. south of the metropolis --
which include Iwo Jima,
the famous WW II battle site.
And despite living in
what is probably the world's
most populous metropolitan area,
one can be hiking in the mountains in a national park with a less-than-two-hour
train ride
or be surfing in the Pacific Ocean with a less-than-one-hour train ride.
The culture here is absolutely fascinating.
Japan is a very interesting country and it has been a pleasure living here.
By the way, I used to
have a bunch of boring stuff on this page about my past life in the States,
including my background, hometown, interests, etc., but it seemed
to be in the way, so I decided to cut and paste it here.
So in case you haven't dozed off by now,
I hope you will have time to visit
the rest of this site.
Enjoy !!
Navigating
this site:--------------------PHOTOS--------------------
(over 400)
Take
me straight to the Photo Gallery
Exciting Japan Photos
(updated September 24, 2000)
Exciting
Texas Photos
Exciting
Mountain Photos
(updated September 24, 2000)
Exciting
Disney Kid Photos
Exciting Halloween Photos
(updated October 22, 2000)
Exciting Friend
and Family Photos
More Exciting Friend
and Family Photos, Page 2
More Exciting Friend
and Family Photos, Page 3 
(updated September 24, 2000)
--------------------FUN STUFF--------------------
The
Dancing U.S. Presidents
(added September 23, 2000)
The
Parade of Stars
(added September 23, 2000)
Risque
Jokes
(updated September 12, 2000)
The
History and Lyrics of the Song, "The Yellow Rose of Texas"
George
Carlin's Latest Theory on Life
(added September 12, 2000)
-------------------FEEL
GOOD-------------------
STUFF
Inspiration
and Hope
(updated October 22, 2000)
Affirmation
of Faith in an Apocalyptic Age
by the Reverend John D. Craig
Love
Poems
(updated October 15, 2000)
The
Summer of '99 is Over, but the Memories Linger On........
(a short slide show)
A
Place in the Sun
(an awesome, breathtaking sunset with background music)
Almost
Full Moon Fever
(with
"Everything I Do... I Do It For You" by Bryan Adams)
Listen
to One of my Favorite Songs Here --
"Open Arms" by Journey
--------------------JAPAN STUFF--------------------
Live
Concert Schedules for Some of My Favorite Tokyo Musicians:
Joni Davis
Red*Thread
Donna
Burke & Bill Benfield
Miya
Ishida
David Walker
Edelweiss
Kapelle
More
Tokyo Concert Info
Tokyo Live Music
A
Live Minicam View of Mt. Fuji
(Japan
Time = GMT + 9 hours)
Rob's
Japan FAQ: Know Before You Go
(Visiting or relocating
to Japan? Get your questions answered here)
Rob's
Japan Photo Gallery
(a comprehensive
photo compilation of interesting Japanese culture)
-----------------A TRIBUTE TO DAD-----------------
--------------------BORING STUFF--------------------
Previous
Versions of this Welcome Page:
Fall 2000
Summer 2000
Spring 2000
New Year's 2000 (Geisha Gary)
Fall '99 (Ricky Martin theme)
Summer '99
Spring '99
Christmas '98
'98 Nagano Winter Olympics
Original Home Page Published January 27, 1997
----------YEAR 2000----------
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Well, this one will go
down in history.
For an insightful explanation to the craziness that just transpired in
Florida,
click here for an excellent editorial
piece by Richard Rodriguez,
editor at the Pacific News Service, that ran in the
Sunday, November 26, 2000 L.A. Times.
Sayonara
Well, I guess that's
all for now. Thanks for visiting.
I sincerely hope this web site has been a culturally rewarding experience
for you (joke).
The site has grown considerably since it was first launched in Jan. '97
and
it is unlikely you will be able to see everything in only 1 visit.
So please bookmark this site and come back when you can stay longer
-- or as they say in Texas --
"Y'all come back now, ya heah?"
Happy surfing !!
And don't forget to drop
me a line if you have time.
If you have any comments, suggestions,
or would just like to yell at me,
you can send email here:
Congratulations!
You are person number
to visit this site so far today!
Ha Ha Ha !
Come back and visit real soon !!
The last time I fiddled with this site was December 5, 2000
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