#MARK TWIAN

[ethics-wizard]

A piece of advice I have often received is:

"If you kept you mouth shut people wouldn't think you a fool" and this has always perplexed me because in the end it states it is better to not know and be perceived as smart than to make it known that you don't know and then learn from your mistake. I just find it strange that so many figures of authority in my life would rather I maintain my image rather than learning.

[superbsoulbear]

The secret of getting ahead is  getting started

Mark Twain 

[create-a-positive-mind]

[danu2203]

[psycho-wolfie]

"I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week sometimes to make it up."

Mark Twain

[professorgtnt]

馬克吐溫所說：「我不信有鬼，但我卻怕鬼！」

[sophiedenilo-blog]

"Nunca discutas con un estúpido, te hará descender a su nivel y ahí te vencerá por experiencia."

Mark Twian

[sunshinelollipopsandyoungjae]

half asleep me totally just searched for mark twian instead of mark tuan and I scrolled for a good while just reading quotes before I realized I was in the wrong place. I need sleep

[growth1mindset]

[Motivation] Love this quote from Mark Twian, Its whats inside of YOU MATTERS #motivation #motivated #motivational

[bradstarks]

"A smile is a curve that sets everything straight. Never forget that humor is the cheapest medicine for grief that exists." - Mark Twian #GeorgeLopez #CoronadoTheater #GoodTimes #StandUpComedy #georgelopezonhbo #thewall #HBO #BookOfLopez #hbolatino #soldout #chingon (at Rockford, Illinois)

[danu2203]

[korryna-blog]

Rivers of America

The Mark Twain is an attraction in Frontierland. The Twian represents one of the three different parts of the Old West depicted in Frontierland. 

[niceandshiny]

I love the Mark Twian steamboat. I can feel the breeze and hear the musical interlude. I can smell the river water and feel the gentle movement. It's the only place in all of Disneyland I feel ok to just be and take in the view. If I had to list somewhere I'd call my happy place, it's the Mark Twain.

[gregandnickunplugged]

January 2

We got up early today so we'd have plenty of time to reach Shinjuku before our train to Hakuba departed. Nick left a bag at the hotel since I have one more day's reservation later, the same day he has to leave. Got a coffee at the station and another melon bread for breakfast while we waited on the platform. Our car was crowded mostly with other foreigners like us bound for Hakuba and the ski slopes, especially lots of Australians.

It's quite an experience to pass through the suburbs of Tokyo and to realize just how enormous the city is. Then you pass into the countryside and marvel at how green almost everything is. Of course, I can tell you from personal experience that the reason it's so pretty is that during the summer it never. stops. raining. Okay, maybe it does occasionally stop but when the average state is rain, the times when it isn't pouring don't stand out as much in the memory. The trip left us with four hours to kill, which I whittled away with a mix of Murakami and Mark Twian and occasionally trying to catch pictures of picturesque sights outside the window.

We arrived in Hakuba around 11:30; to my everlasting shock and horror the train was a whole two or three minutes late. What's this world coming to?! Actually getting to the hotel took quite a while as neither of us really felt like walking there from the station (it was close enough but slightly uphill over unfamiliar terrain and we've done lots of walking and have still more in store in Kyoto) and there were very few taxis. As we found out later, there's a bus terminal quite close to our hotel that has a regular service we could have made use of. File that one away for Wednesday. Our hotel is something of a step down from our last accommodations but almost anything would be. Still, it's comfortable enough and within walking distance of absolutely everywhere we might ever want to go. We took a shuttle to the slopes today but as we realized later, we needn't have bothered because we can walk from the hotel to the base in less time than it takes the shuttle to navigate the several intermediate stops at car parks and other hotels.

Such things aside, we had the easiest time ever renting skis at a place right next to the hotel (and we're not starved for options) and I got us a 'wow, you can actually speak Japanese' discount over the already reasonable rate for a two-day rental. We headed to the slopes in the redundant shuttle and picked up a two-day pass. We had the option of buying a half-day and consecutive full-day but as it turned out the price was the same to just buy a two-day. Oh, and for slopes with Olympic pedigree the price was extremely reasonable. If we had more time here we could get a pass to cover the entire Hakuba Valley region and it would still be a steal but we got tickets to just cover the Happo-One slopes. Timing-wise we didn't have too long on the slopes but better to get part of a day in, test out our rental gear and get a feel for the runs than not, right? We caught a quick bite at the mid-mountain rest area where the gondola drops you off (I think Nick was attracted to the Corona Terrace name) which wasn't anywhere near as good as what something like Squaw can offer but we'd had a long day so far and found the slope food to be perfectly satisfactory.

Our first run was... not entirely promising. There wasn't much active snowfall but the high winds on the peak were murder on visibility and the slope could charitably be described as icy. A more fair description would be 'icy, with patches of almost exposed dirt and deep moguls that had delusions that they were solid rock rather than snow'. So our legs were feeling it just a little bit after that run. Fortunately things got much better with the next couple runs on lower slopes where there was some more fresh(ish) snow, the moguls were a good deal forgiving and the winds greatly reduced. On one of those runs we were treated to the sight of a Japanese man with a very 80's hairstyle skiing in a tuxedo jacket, white gloves included. The lifts started closing at 3:40 and not being familiar with the slopes (and the lower parts of the mountain being kind of bare) we decided to take the gondola back down as well. Which seems to have been the popular option as there was quite a queue of people doing the same thing. Oh, and something noteworthy about the gondolas here: They're quite small, more like little pods that can seat four to six people (two to a bench comfortably, or three if you're very friendly) and the lift staff take your equipment from you when you board it and place it on the outside racks, then hand it back to you at the other end. Other fun things: The chairlifts don't slow down when they get close to the area where you board them like they usually do back home, so they tend to whack you in the back of the legs and force you to sit down unless you get the positioning just right. Also, the slope has a lift that runs two sets of chairs at once for a true 'quad' lift. I'll try to snap a picture tomorrow.

On our extremely easy walk back to the hotel we found a neat place called the Recovery Bar that we thought might be a good spot for dinner or at least a drink. We deposited our ski equipment at the hotel and finally checked into our room properly, as it hadn't been ready when we first arrived. This region is known for its hot springs so after a long day of travel and a bit of skiing (or boarding, in Nick's case) there was nothing for it but to find an onsen. I hadn't been to one since my trip with Joe immediately after graduating college, so more than ten years. There were plenty to choose from but the coolest was located in another hotel and when I called to inquire I found out that it's reserved for guests past 5 PM. Fortunately, there was another one close to us that wasn't attached to a hotel called Sato no Yu  After having to return to the hotel to pick up some more change (tickets were machine-vended, it didn't accept bills and we didn't have enough in coins) we finally went in. The experience was quite refreshing, though I suspect it's one Nick won't be keen on repeating tomorrow. Something about the 'traditional Japanese experience' not agreeing with his delicate modesty.

Afterwards we headed for the Recovery Bar to grab a bite to eat as their food menu looked really good. After finding a spot to sit (it was very crowded) Nick went to order only to find that they don't take cards and I'd left my larger bills back at the hotel when I went back to get more change for the onsen, thinking I wouldn't need it. So we left unable to order and while pondering our options we stopped at a sports bar that looked interesting, except that their food looked unimpressive so we decided to give it a pass even though it had live sports while the Recovery Bar didn't. We also found an izakaya at the hotel right next to ours that looked quite good but they were booked for the evening (we made reservations for tomorrow). The third try was clearly not the charm tonight, but it might be tomorrow. So we found an ATM at the bus terminal, grabbed some hard cash and headed back to our first choice. It was still booming (almost entirely with Aussies, who run the place in fact) but we managed to snag a corner booth to ourselves so it all worked out well in the end. Nick had a fancy hamburger, I had a fish burger and we both had a couple pints of Sapporo and a leisurely opportunity to talk and relax. After that we meandered back to our rooms, stopping at a couple of shops along the way. I suspect we'll sleep well tonight.

[alolanmerman]

somebody likes my collection of pins

[twainian]

The spirit of wrath and not the words--is the sin; and the spirit of wrath is cursing. We begin to swear before we can talk.

Mark Twain, Following the Equator