Blain Armstrong

Former English Teacher turned software developer in Japan

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

@Ishikawa_Sachi I read somewhere that the salt combines with some of the glutemate in the tomatoes to make natural MSG.

So yeah. Good stuff!

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

@MKinTokyo I remember thinking it was pretty cool actually. It didn't take long to figure out that it was a small quake so I wasn't too stressed about it.

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

@NicoleinJapann I remember when I first came to Japan, a few teachers I worked with spoke OK English, but they would often say "you are very tired" to me at the end of classes. Even though I knew they meant to say お疲れ様でした, it still sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard!

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

@jljzen Love that place!

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

@NicoleinJapann If you're already planning on going to Shinjuku, the observatory in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building is free. There's also 思い出横丁 near the station if you like cheap yakitori!

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

If any of my friends living near Tokyo are interested, my company is doing a meet up at Falafel Brothers in Roppongi this Thursday from 6pm. Best of all, it's free! Here's the link if you're interested: https://t.co/cYghPSzhB3

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

@AmelieinTokyo Maybe he'll become a pilot, in which case you can get free air travel!

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

@nowasforjason Ok that makes sense. I thought they were trying to dictate what drawer to use at home!

But yeah, I can see how frustrating that would be for sure.

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

@nowasforjason Why would they give a fuck what drawer you put his pajamas in? How is that any of their business anyway?

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

@RaraSensei True story: I once met a woman from Australia who had lived here two years and couldn't even read katakana. When I asked her why, she said "I don't have to learn Japanese. English is the international language, so they should be learning that!"

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

Lucky for mlme, my company doesn't operate like this!

https://t.co/OZaoU1MGwE

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

@bdjoetsu More demeaning than embarrassing, but I once had to do a 1-on-1 class with a special needs girl who was so scared of me she hid behind her teacher. The whole "class" was him saying "just look at him. Then you can go home and tell your mommy 'I looked at a foreigner today!'"

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

I've found what's gotta be the coolest YouTube channel for learning Japanese! It teaches the origins of Kanji like Bob Ross's The Joy of Painting
https://t.co/U59LUXrAnR

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

@lukeywhitey @MKinTokyo Unfortunately it is. Salaries have taken a nose dive thanks to companies trying to underbid each other and BOEs being willing to pay less. Now some jobs start as low as 200,000 yen/month, often pro-rated for summer/winter/spring. It's become a real race to the bottom!

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

@jljzen Or is it a crapload of shit?

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

@NicoleinJapann Not sure about 9 pm, but Omoide Yokocho is pretty cool at night. It's a bunch of tiny hole-in-the-wall yakitori shops inside a really narrow alleyway. It's a bit tricky to get to, but Google Maps should point you in the right direction.

https://t.co/86DR3Vaode

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

@NicoleinJapann I tried them a couple of years back, when our office was just around the corner. Not bad, but a bit overpriced.

One place that had pretty good fish and chips was the Brew Dog in Roppongi. The chips were the thin-cut shoestring style, but I liked them just the same.

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

@NicoleinJapann Where in Ibaraki?

[Blain Armstrong @blainarmstrong]

@jakeadelstein @GaijinMommy Welcome to the club!