Simple Living

I had a seven (7) hour layover and took advantage of the Narita Airport - Travel Pay Lounge in Terminal # 1 next to Gate 26.  You can check out their website for more info on what they offer and it's a very good deal if you have a lot of time to wait between flights. For 1200 Yen ($12 USD) you can stay in the Lounge for the entire day.  The unlimited free coffee, water and soft drinks is well worth the price, but what really makes the Lounge worth it for me was that I can stretch out in a comfy chair and just relax.  Outside in the terminal there are too many people going to and from places so its a very noisy and hectic environment.  You have to always remain mindful of where you are as I had several people bump into me and one lady in particular speak to me in Chinese that I was in her way. I got a lot of reading done and the time passes more quickly that way when you are relaxed and not self-conscious of your environment.  Because I already had a bowl of ramen noodles for lunc

Equipment:   Boeing 767 Route:  MNL --> NRT They used a 767 for this route and while their plane and decor seemed dated, it's well maintained and they have everything you could want from touchscreen entertainment system, USB charge port and excellent food & service; all in Economy too.  The food is probably the best so far that I've had on Economy fare, mostly because they offer Asahi Beer.  Flight was also silky smooth with no turbulence and arrived early giving me an extra 30 minutes in Japan.  I will probably try to travel more often on JAL whenever I can.  It now makes sense why JAL flights are so popular.

I just got back from Manila on my second International Trip of 2017.  It was an awesome and eye-opening experience.  It was my first time venturing outside of the relative comfort of Japan or Korea and the Philippines seemed like a logical choice because everyone speaks English, which did help make things a bit easier to navigate the city and culture. Day 1 - Going to MNL I opted to fly with Delta as they still fly 747's as I like the charm of the older planes.  Most everyone else use 767, 777 or A330's, but there is just something about a 747.  This also maybe the last year Delta flies the 747.   After almost 18 hours, made it to Manila!  Then an intense 2 more hours enduring the famous Manila Traffic arrived at the Hotel.  I was too tired to eat and just had a couple Johnnie Walkers.  To my surprise the price of JW Blue Label is a mere 700 PHP ($14 USD) compared to JW Black @ 350 PHP ($7 USD).  But after doing a few taste tests, it tasted almost the same as JW Black and didn

Took my first trip of 2017 and spent five (5) days in Japan and South Korea.  Mostly visiting family and checking out all that has changed.  I wanted to stay longer, but am budgeting my vacation hours to last me the year. Day 1 - Narita, Japan (Tokyo) I've been to this airport several times before and for the most part it seems the same.  This is one of my favorite airports in terms of how they logically organized and structured the layout of the various terminals.  Once you understand how they setup the whole airport its very easy to navigate and find what you need.  However, I think the reason the terminals are so nicely structured has a consequence on how they organized the runways as this is the worst airport in terms of planes taxing to the gates and often can take 15-25 minutes. Another pet peeve are the storage lockers do not count # of hours, but are on a set time schedule so if you arrive on an evening flight you may need to pay twice to store something, even if you leave

Brand:   Audio Technica Model:  MSR7 One of my objectives on my visit to Japan was to sample some headphones and by chance the airport had a decent selection from Sony and Audio Technica.   Unfortunately they didn't have the M70x or MDR1a,  but had the ATH SR5, MSR7 and new SR9!  I was hesitant to try the $449 SR9 and truthfully they did sound better than the MSR7, but felt like they required an amp to bring out its full potential.  The MSR7 was my main audition and after sampling tracks for 15 minutes purchased a pair.   True, Amazon sells them for the same price, but I felt it makes more sense to support the airport stores so they continue stocking cool stuff to check out on future layovers. Specs Speakers :    45mm closed back drivers Sensitivity:   100db/mW  Frequency:   5 - 40,000 Hz Max Input Power:   2,000 mW  Impedance:    35 ohms Weight (w/o cable):   290g It has similar specs to the ATH M50x with just greater frequency range and input power capacity.

Picked up the Con-50 Ink Converter for the Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pen.  While the stock Ink Converter that comes with the Pen works fine, its a nuisance to gauge how much ink is left and I had it run out of ink in the middle of a Business Meeting.  The Con-50 works just like the Platinum Ink Converter and I was able to ink the pen quickly with little mess.  While the Con-50 holds less ink, at least I can tell when I'm near empty.  I can start estimating how many days or weeks it takes between refills. Update 1/12/17 What a piece of crap!  The CON-50 Converter CRACKED!  I had a total mess and had to disassemble and clean the pen.  Reverted back to the stock CON-20 Converter for now. This is my third (3) experience so far with Amazon sending stuff that either breaks, leaks or cracks.  Totally bummed.

I picked up my third Fountain Pen a Platinum Century 3776 (Fine Point) in Chartres Blue.  There are tons of Reviews on this pen so I'm not going to be doing one and just discussing why I picked the 3776 as my first 'nice' pen.  After enjoying the Pilot Varsity and Metropolitan, I wanted to invest in a good, quality pen to give me a better experience and understanding of what Fountain Pens are all about and the 3776 is an excellent choice for me.  At $67 from Amazon with another $8 for the Ink Converter this is not a cheap pen and I'll have to handle this one with greater care, but that price point is the 'sweet spot' in terms of getting something substantial without breaking the bank.  I was contemplating getting a $30-40 pen that is a step-up from the Metropolitan, but I couldn't justify it as an extra $20 above that would get me the 3776. First Impression I immediately filled it with Iroshizuku Kon-Peki Ink and the first few lines were scratchy and thin, b

I finally received my first bottle of Iroshizuku Ink in Cerulean Blue (Kon-Peki).  It's a popular color of ink that others online have been raving about and I can see why. Using my Pilot Metropolitan Fine Point, I was able to load it and try writing some lines and am very happy with Kon-Peki.  Although, its too early to tell if this is my 'Signature Ink' it's definitely shaping up to be one I'll be using quite regularly. Fractured Bottle Cap The only mishap was during shipping the flimsy plastic bottle cap fractured and some ink leaked all over the inside of the shipping package.  I was able to seal the fracture with tape and will likely have to move the remaining ink to another container.  It's a pity and I'm learning this is a common flaw with Iroshizuku Ink in that the plastic cap doesn't hold up very well.

What a difference a year can make on my perception of Scotch Whisky.  I was barreling towards Single Malts only to be disappointed in a very bad bottle of Macallan 12 year old and now hurtling back to Blends.  While I tried various Blends, none seemed suitable beyond Johnnie Walker Red or Black and while I was tempted to move towards Green Label, the online reviews mentioned it's the older, discontinued variation of Green Label that was limited to just four (4) Single Malts that defined this JW version; in otherwords, I missed the party on that one. And so, to ensure some variety in my collection I opted for Monkey Shoulder which is a Blend of three (3) Whiskies: Glenfiddich Balvenie Kinivie I am familiar with Glenfiddich and Balvenie and for the most part was unimpressed by Glenfiddich until I tried mixing it with some other Whiskies.  So this naturally got me interested in Monkey Shoulder.  I don't really know much about Kinivie other than all three Whiskies are part of the s

Flew down to San Diego for a Weekend Vacation.  Didn't do much (which is the point of a true vacation).  The Hotel had Starbucks in the room and an In-N-Out Burger down the road.  For evenings I enjoyed a tall glass of beer.  A fantastic Weekend and then back to the bustle of work.

Contents Pen Pen Display Case (Clear Plastic Top Cover) Con-20 Style Converter One (1) Blue/Black Ink Cartridge Nib Style - Fine (F) or Medium (M) Color / Model Numbers Classic Black MRFC1BLKFBLKP (F) MRFC1BLKMBLKP (M) Gold   MRFC1BLKFGLDP (F) MRFC1BLKMGLDP (M) Silver   MRFC1BLKFSLVP (F) MRFC1BLKMSLVP (M) Retro Pop Green / Marble Red / Wave Orange / Flower Purple / Ellipse Grey / Hound Tooth Turquoise / Polka Dots Animal Print Purple / Leopard  White / Tiger Black / Crocodile Gold / Lizard Silver / Python My Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pen (Fine Point) arrived from Amazon and its a beautiful writing instrument.  The online reviews were largely accurate in describing this as an excellent starter pen and indeed the immediate sense of quality could be felt just by holding it. There is a certain weight and heft that exudes a sense of quality.  And the overall look and feel is best experienced by actually holding and wielding the pen; for $13 this is a phenomenal deal. It even comes