Saturday, October 01, 2005
Quick Thoughts
It's a quiet Sunday afternoon and I'm just checking in after another late night last night. There was another "park party" although this was in a smaller, closer park. Less people showed up but I still had a fun time, not to mention two free Jell-O shots!
In case anyone missed yesterday's post you should really read it because I did a lot and had a lot to say. I took some nice pictures which can be seen here and Megan's photos can be seen here.
The Yankees won their division yesterday which is happy news. I remember back in April people were already declaring the Yankees' season was over because they started 8-19 or something. It was a rocky year but they made it to the next level and they're hot right now. Let's hope they stay hot and beat Boston one more time. I don't want those slovenly Sox to win the Wild Card. They had their year last year, let them go back to being crybabies again.
It's interesting to contrast the Yankees with the Hanshin Tigers who won their "pennant" earlier in the week which started a near riot in Osaka. I guess the Tigers don't win as often as the Yankees do but even when the Yankees have long dry spells (as they did between 1978 and 1996) nobody riots when they win. We just have a parade and make a mess. I wonder what's different about Tigers fans?
つづく... (Click here to read more)
In case anyone missed yesterday's post you should really read it because I did a lot and had a lot to say. I took some nice pictures which can be seen here and Megan's photos can be seen here.
The Yankees won their division yesterday which is happy news. I remember back in April people were already declaring the Yankees' season was over because they started 8-19 or something. It was a rocky year but they made it to the next level and they're hot right now. Let's hope they stay hot and beat Boston one more time. I don't want those slovenly Sox to win the Wild Card. They had their year last year, let them go back to being crybabies again.
It's interesting to contrast the Yankees with the Hanshin Tigers who won their "pennant" earlier in the week which started a near riot in Osaka. I guess the Tigers don't win as often as the Yankees do but even when the Yankees have long dry spells (as they did between 1978 and 1996) nobody riots when they win. We just have a parade and make a mess. I wonder what's different about Tigers fans?
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Rebound and Reflection
Gonna be a long one today, I think. There's more to say about yesterday and I had quite a busy evening last night followed by a busy day today! And it's only dinnertime!
OK, not that much more about yesterday. I just wanted to mention what an interesting Justice class I had. The professor (a former prosecutor and all around cool mother fucker) was explaining the role that politics can play in criminal justice if prosecutors are elected by the public. As an example, he gave a really interesting lecture about the O.J. Simpson trial. This also provoked some really unexpected questions from some foreign students who were unfamiliar with the trial. It was refreshing to hear someone who had no idea who O.J. was ask how he managed to get away with murder. I've always believed O.J. did it but I never really understood why the jury didn't see it that way. My professor's analysis helped answer that question and it turns out politics played a big part in the prosecution's failure to get a conviction despite all that evidence.
I rushed from school to Osaka for a social encounter that didn't go very well. I came home around seven and quickly blogged it before heading off to a party in a nearby park organized by some students here in my dormitory. Even though I had a speech to write I didn't want to spend the whole night writing it and miss out on another opportunity to get to know my fellow students. Indeed, with the awkwardness of my earlier meeting fresh in my head I was eager to try and erase that feeling by speaking to people in English for a change.
The party started around 9. With no legal obstacles, we were free to drink, smoke and hang out in the park. The initial crowd was only about fifteen people but as the night progressed that number more than tripled. I was conscious of my speech so I only had two beers, albeit tall ones. I tried to avoid the junk food but when there's a Domino's Pizza with potato and an unknown meat on it just sitting there, it's hard to resist trying a slice or two. Plus, some girls were eating dried squid and offered me a taste although I doubt that really counts as "junk food."
There were a few moments where I found myself sitting alone and feeling tired but I resisted the temptation to leave early. I finished my beers and did my best to be sociable, which I think went pretty well. Indeed, when I finally decided it was time to leave around 11:30 I had to actually excuse myself from talking to a few people. I was kicking myself for walking out on a party like this but I couldn't ignore my commitments. I hope they understood I was seriously busy and not trying to make an excuse to leave, because they were cute.
Back in the dorm I spent about two hours writing my speech. I was a little tipsy and I'm not sure if that helped or hurt my ability to talk about myself. I was surprised that when I finally turned in, I hadn't seen many people return from the party yet. I wonder how late they stayed up? Did I really squander a chance for fun to write something I didn't even want to do? I went to bed feeling frustrated.
This morning I was up early to meet Megan at Makino Station so we could go to Fushimi Inari. Knowing that I had a speech to deliver on campus at 1PM I really should have postponed our trip but we were going to be meeting up with other students and taking a tour of the grounds. Plus I didn't want this speech to interfere with my socializing any more than it already had and this shrine was one of the places I had picked out early on as a sight to see.
The other students somehow never materialized and we weren't sure why. Megan was sure it was the right date but she wasn't sure if we were supposed to meet them at the shrine or at the station. Since we were already at the shrine and my time was somewhat limited, I proposed we just give ourselves a tour and forget about the others. It wasn't like they had tickets or something we needed to get in. So we went in and checked things out. You can see my pictures here. Megan's pictures, a few of which feature me, can be seen here.
We left together around noon on the same train, parting ways at Kuzuha where she went to check out the mall (I had already seen it anyway) and I continued down the line towards school. I arrived around 12:45, a little sweaty and out of breath. The perfect state in which to deliver a speech! Thankfully I had a few minutes to compose myself and review what I had written. The audience was mostly Japanese students and all of the other speakers were anxious which reduced some of the overall tension for me.
I was the fourth of fifth speakers and I wasn't the only person to use English, although I did introduce myself in Japanese prior to giving my speech. I spoke slowly and clearly and I think most everyone got the gist of my remarks. A couple people later told me it was "very good" which I appreciated even if they might have been merely showing me tatemae. For my efforts, I received a small token of thanks: a pair of chopsticks cheerfully wrapped in paper. If you want to read it, my speech is available in the essay section.
Once the speeches were finished we all hung around for an hour or so socializing over snacks and tea. I hadn't eaten any lunch yet so I was a little eager to dig into the finger food, especially since it all looked so unfamiliar. I think I stopped short of making a pig of myself and I had a few fun conversations with some new people, especially one girl who ended up talking to me a lot about the difference between American and Japanese holidays. Did I ask for her number? Of course!
I tried to eat an honest meal but being Saturday, neither school cafeteria was serving anything good. All I wanted was some protein, frankly, not a whole bowl of rice or curry. I tried checking out the convenience store on campus but it was all breads and odd-looking sandwiches. I ran into a couple other students in there whose names I did not know but we recognized each other from class and had a brief exchange about our days. Eventually I came back to the dorm and ate an egg.
That last paragraph might seem superfluous at first but I mention it for a reason. Ever since I've arrived here I've been overly anxious about getting out there to meet people. I've gone out of my way to converse with people over the Internet and arrange meetings with them, even when it felt forced. The events of today and last night really showed me something: I need to stop pushing myself. It's not that I can't handle the added socializing, it's that I'm simply trying to hard.
Effective immediately, I'm indefinitely postponing all Internet attempts to try and meet new people. I'm not going to drop any of the conversations I have in place or back away from any invitations that may arise, but I'm going to stop trying to initiate new meetings via cyberspace. I've got to focus more attention on the regular people I meet everyday. The Internet is a handy way to "get to know" someone but the environment is completely artificial. You could have a great time via e-mail but until you meet someone face to face you have no idea who they are and whether or not you can truly get along.
Initially, I was using the Internet to meet people because I felt like I was too shy or too fat or too ugly to meet them in person. I convinced myself that only my raw intellect was capable of introducing myself because my body wasn't up to the task. I've had enough positive experiences lately to know that my fears are unjustified. I can meet people face to face; indeed, I'm doing it all the time. People are taking notice of me around campus or in class and it's giving them a favorable impression of me. I'm not the creepy guy moping around campus I was back in high school or even at UAlbany. I'm finally able to see that now.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
OK, not that much more about yesterday. I just wanted to mention what an interesting Justice class I had. The professor (a former prosecutor and all around cool mother fucker) was explaining the role that politics can play in criminal justice if prosecutors are elected by the public. As an example, he gave a really interesting lecture about the O.J. Simpson trial. This also provoked some really unexpected questions from some foreign students who were unfamiliar with the trial. It was refreshing to hear someone who had no idea who O.J. was ask how he managed to get away with murder. I've always believed O.J. did it but I never really understood why the jury didn't see it that way. My professor's analysis helped answer that question and it turns out politics played a big part in the prosecution's failure to get a conviction despite all that evidence.
I rushed from school to Osaka for a social encounter that didn't go very well. I came home around seven and quickly blogged it before heading off to a party in a nearby park organized by some students here in my dormitory. Even though I had a speech to write I didn't want to spend the whole night writing it and miss out on another opportunity to get to know my fellow students. Indeed, with the awkwardness of my earlier meeting fresh in my head I was eager to try and erase that feeling by speaking to people in English for a change.
The party started around 9. With no legal obstacles, we were free to drink, smoke and hang out in the park. The initial crowd was only about fifteen people but as the night progressed that number more than tripled. I was conscious of my speech so I only had two beers, albeit tall ones. I tried to avoid the junk food but when there's a Domino's Pizza with potato and an unknown meat on it just sitting there, it's hard to resist trying a slice or two. Plus, some girls were eating dried squid and offered me a taste although I doubt that really counts as "junk food."
There were a few moments where I found myself sitting alone and feeling tired but I resisted the temptation to leave early. I finished my beers and did my best to be sociable, which I think went pretty well. Indeed, when I finally decided it was time to leave around 11:30 I had to actually excuse myself from talking to a few people. I was kicking myself for walking out on a party like this but I couldn't ignore my commitments. I hope they understood I was seriously busy and not trying to make an excuse to leave, because they were cute.
Back in the dorm I spent about two hours writing my speech. I was a little tipsy and I'm not sure if that helped or hurt my ability to talk about myself. I was surprised that when I finally turned in, I hadn't seen many people return from the party yet. I wonder how late they stayed up? Did I really squander a chance for fun to write something I didn't even want to do? I went to bed feeling frustrated.
This morning I was up early to meet Megan at Makino Station so we could go to Fushimi Inari. Knowing that I had a speech to deliver on campus at 1PM I really should have postponed our trip but we were going to be meeting up with other students and taking a tour of the grounds. Plus I didn't want this speech to interfere with my socializing any more than it already had and this shrine was one of the places I had picked out early on as a sight to see.
The other students somehow never materialized and we weren't sure why. Megan was sure it was the right date but she wasn't sure if we were supposed to meet them at the shrine or at the station. Since we were already at the shrine and my time was somewhat limited, I proposed we just give ourselves a tour and forget about the others. It wasn't like they had tickets or something we needed to get in. So we went in and checked things out. You can see my pictures here. Megan's pictures, a few of which feature me, can be seen here.
We left together around noon on the same train, parting ways at Kuzuha where she went to check out the mall (I had already seen it anyway) and I continued down the line towards school. I arrived around 12:45, a little sweaty and out of breath. The perfect state in which to deliver a speech! Thankfully I had a few minutes to compose myself and review what I had written. The audience was mostly Japanese students and all of the other speakers were anxious which reduced some of the overall tension for me.
I was the fourth of fifth speakers and I wasn't the only person to use English, although I did introduce myself in Japanese prior to giving my speech. I spoke slowly and clearly and I think most everyone got the gist of my remarks. A couple people later told me it was "very good" which I appreciated even if they might have been merely showing me tatemae. For my efforts, I received a small token of thanks: a pair of chopsticks cheerfully wrapped in paper. If you want to read it, my speech is available in the essay section.
Once the speeches were finished we all hung around for an hour or so socializing over snacks and tea. I hadn't eaten any lunch yet so I was a little eager to dig into the finger food, especially since it all looked so unfamiliar. I think I stopped short of making a pig of myself and I had a few fun conversations with some new people, especially one girl who ended up talking to me a lot about the difference between American and Japanese holidays. Did I ask for her number? Of course!
I tried to eat an honest meal but being Saturday, neither school cafeteria was serving anything good. All I wanted was some protein, frankly, not a whole bowl of rice or curry. I tried checking out the convenience store on campus but it was all breads and odd-looking sandwiches. I ran into a couple other students in there whose names I did not know but we recognized each other from class and had a brief exchange about our days. Eventually I came back to the dorm and ate an egg.
That last paragraph might seem superfluous at first but I mention it for a reason. Ever since I've arrived here I've been overly anxious about getting out there to meet people. I've gone out of my way to converse with people over the Internet and arrange meetings with them, even when it felt forced. The events of today and last night really showed me something: I need to stop pushing myself. It's not that I can't handle the added socializing, it's that I'm simply trying to hard.
Effective immediately, I'm indefinitely postponing all Internet attempts to try and meet new people. I'm not going to drop any of the conversations I have in place or back away from any invitations that may arise, but I'm going to stop trying to initiate new meetings via cyberspace. I've got to focus more attention on the regular people I meet everyday. The Internet is a handy way to "get to know" someone but the environment is completely artificial. You could have a great time via e-mail but until you meet someone face to face you have no idea who they are and whether or not you can truly get along.
Initially, I was using the Internet to meet people because I felt like I was too shy or too fat or too ugly to meet them in person. I convinced myself that only my raw intellect was capable of introducing myself because my body wasn't up to the task. I've had enough positive experiences lately to know that my fears are unjustified. I can meet people face to face; indeed, I'm doing it all the time. People are taking notice of me around campus or in class and it's giving them a favorable impression of me. I'm not the creepy guy moping around campus I was back in high school or even at UAlbany. I'm finally able to see that now.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Friday, September 30, 2005
No Time To Lose
I'm sure we all knew this was coming. After yesterday was super-awesome, today would have to be a bit of a let down no matter what. After all, if everyday is a sunny day, then what's a sunny day?
I'm going to keep things very brief because I shouldn't even be typing this right now. I agreed to give a speech tomorrow and I need to finish writing it tonight. Of course, I'm still going to try and socialize tonight anyway, despite a looming deadline. It seems my planned rehabilitation of my procrastination habits will have to wait for another time...again.
Anyway, I met another girl via the Internet tonight. Somehow, I knew going into this it wasn't going to work. Our e-mails were really odd and almost entirely in Japanese. I felt like we agreed to meet just because we could but not because we really wanted to. Indeed, two days ago I thought she was trying to give me the brush off but that turned out to be a cultural misunderstanding.
Crap, I said I'd keep things brief and I'm taking forever to get to the point: we simply couldn't talk. She spoke Japanese really fast and even when she slowed her speech down I still couldn't understand what she was saying. English wasn't an option even though she majored in English in college. The whole evening was like one giant awkward silence. Eventually, I proposed we just scrap the whole thing and go back to our respective homes. She agreed (after about a minute of my stammering).
So I'm not going to dwell on it. It sucked, so it's over. Thankfully, I've got a busy evening and day ahead of me so I should forget about the whole thing by lunch tomorrow.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
I'm going to keep things very brief because I shouldn't even be typing this right now. I agreed to give a speech tomorrow and I need to finish writing it tonight. Of course, I'm still going to try and socialize tonight anyway, despite a looming deadline. It seems my planned rehabilitation of my procrastination habits will have to wait for another time...again.
Anyway, I met another girl via the Internet tonight. Somehow, I knew going into this it wasn't going to work. Our e-mails were really odd and almost entirely in Japanese. I felt like we agreed to meet just because we could but not because we really wanted to. Indeed, two days ago I thought she was trying to give me the brush off but that turned out to be a cultural misunderstanding.
Crap, I said I'd keep things brief and I'm taking forever to get to the point: we simply couldn't talk. She spoke Japanese really fast and even when she slowed her speech down I still couldn't understand what she was saying. English wasn't an option even though she majored in English in college. The whole evening was like one giant awkward silence. Eventually, I proposed we just scrap the whole thing and go back to our respective homes. She agreed (after about a minute of my stammering).
So I'm not going to dwell on it. It sucked, so it's over. Thankfully, I've got a busy evening and day ahead of me so I should forget about the whole thing by lunch tomorrow.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Thursday, September 29, 2005
万歳 !! (Banzai!!)
Wow! Today was nothing but good news! Usually happiness comes in small doses but this afternoon I almost drowned in awesomeness.
The day started off well when I our teacher gave us a briefing on our upcoming midterm. There's going to be a separate conversation portion of the exam where we'll have to answer a few simple questions in Japanese, maybe respond with a few of our own. He gave us a list of twenty or so examples and said he'll probably ask ten questions similar to those on the list.
This seemed to worry some of my classmates but I think this is mighty generous of him! I remember I had to complete a similar task way back in middle school for French class and the teacher didn't really give us any briefing as to what we'd have to talk about. For him to reveal the direction of his oral examination is, in my opinion, very good news.
After class I had lunch with a girl named Maki. Kazu introduced us a while back and I see her from time to time. She's been abroad so her English is pretty good which eases the conversation burden from my shoulders a bit. Believe it or not, she actually studied in Wisconsin in the exact town my Uncle lives in! Pretty big coincidence, right? Not really? Whatever. The point of my story was I asked for her number and I got it.
I was determined to work out this afternoon but I didn't want to go straight from the dining room to the training room as it messes with my insides. I opted to check my e-mail and I got some really great news. Here's a hot excerpt:
Feeling jazzed but pressed for time, I hit the weight room as promised. Last time I went to the gym next to my dorm but this time I used the gym on campus. Unfortunately, I didn't learn my lesson from last time and I forgot to bring a towel, so I decided to keep things short so as not to make a mess. I was very happy to see traditional, weight-based equipment instead of the funky hydraulic shit I saw in the other gym. Most importantly, I had my first opportunity to weigh myself since I left New York. Anxious but optimistic, I stepped on the scale:
90.8 kg, a.k.a. 200 lbs! Somehow, despite eating a shitload of carbs every day and barely exercising at all (walking aside) I've lost thirteen pounds since I arrived. I can't believe it. What's different? Is it the walking? Does low-fat cancel out the high-carb? Am I simply riding some kind of residual wave of exercise from this summer? Was the nutritionist just wrong about everything? I don't know and I almost don't care! Imagine how much weight I can lose if I get back into the habit of working out every week. This rocks!
Besides my lack of a towel, I also didn't want to work out too long and miss an opportunity to practice shodô this afternoon. After Monday's single stroke rehearsal I spent nearly two hours writing 永 because it supposedly contains all of the "eight strokes" one uses in shodô. By my count that's only a five stroke character, but what do I know?
There's something eerie about writing "forever" over and over...
When I couldn't take sitting on the floor anymore I called it a night and went home. I can definitely see an improvement from when I started last week so I feel like this is a wholly constructive use of my time. All things considered, I'm in a pretty goddamn great mood right now. Dylan's coming to Japan, I'm still losing weight, I started working out again and I'm exploring a new cultural/artistic activity.
YES, play that VICTORY SOUND!!
\(^o^)/ w00t!!
つづく... (Click here to read more)
The day started off well when I our teacher gave us a briefing on our upcoming midterm. There's going to be a separate conversation portion of the exam where we'll have to answer a few simple questions in Japanese, maybe respond with a few of our own. He gave us a list of twenty or so examples and said he'll probably ask ten questions similar to those on the list.
This seemed to worry some of my classmates but I think this is mighty generous of him! I remember I had to complete a similar task way back in middle school for French class and the teacher didn't really give us any briefing as to what we'd have to talk about. For him to reveal the direction of his oral examination is, in my opinion, very good news.
After class I had lunch with a girl named Maki. Kazu introduced us a while back and I see her from time to time. She's been abroad so her English is pretty good which eases the conversation burden from my shoulders a bit. Believe it or not, she actually studied in Wisconsin in the exact town my Uncle lives in! Pretty big coincidence, right? Not really? Whatever. The point of my story was I asked for her number and I got it.
I was determined to work out this afternoon but I didn't want to go straight from the dining room to the training room as it messes with my insides. I opted to check my e-mail and I got some really great news. Here's a hot excerpt:
Yup, rock out on the blog. The tickets are purchased. This is noThat's right, Dylan is coming to Japan in December! This is incredible news and completely unexpected. We haven't started talking about things to do or see yet but I'm super psyched at the prospect of hanging out with him so soon! I know he'll enjoy Japan's casual attitude towards drinking and smoking in public places.
longer a theory. I'm coming.
-Dylan
Feeling jazzed but pressed for time, I hit the weight room as promised. Last time I went to the gym next to my dorm but this time I used the gym on campus. Unfortunately, I didn't learn my lesson from last time and I forgot to bring a towel, so I decided to keep things short so as not to make a mess. I was very happy to see traditional, weight-based equipment instead of the funky hydraulic shit I saw in the other gym. Most importantly, I had my first opportunity to weigh myself since I left New York. Anxious but optimistic, I stepped on the scale:
90.8 kg, a.k.a. 200 lbs! Somehow, despite eating a shitload of carbs every day and barely exercising at all (walking aside) I've lost thirteen pounds since I arrived. I can't believe it. What's different? Is it the walking? Does low-fat cancel out the high-carb? Am I simply riding some kind of residual wave of exercise from this summer? Was the nutritionist just wrong about everything? I don't know and I almost don't care! Imagine how much weight I can lose if I get back into the habit of working out every week. This rocks!
Besides my lack of a towel, I also didn't want to work out too long and miss an opportunity to practice shodô this afternoon. After Monday's single stroke rehearsal I spent nearly two hours writing 永 because it supposedly contains all of the "eight strokes" one uses in shodô. By my count that's only a five stroke character, but what do I know?
There's something eerie about writing "forever" over and over...
When I couldn't take sitting on the floor anymore I called it a night and went home. I can definitely see an improvement from when I started last week so I feel like this is a wholly constructive use of my time. All things considered, I'm in a pretty goddamn great mood right now. Dylan's coming to Japan, I'm still losing weight, I started working out again and I'm exploring a new cultural/artistic activity.
YES, play that VICTORY SOUND!!
\(^o^)/ w00t!!
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
疲れたー (I'm tired)
I've been in a strange mood today. Actually, now that I think about it, I've been in a strange mood all week. I'm tempted to trace it back to that early-morning frustration in Japanese class on Monday but I think that's a cum hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy. Just because A precedes B does not prove that A caused B.
So what's up? I feel tired a lot, which is odd. I thought I was used to the bed set-up by now but maybe I'm not. I often wake up too early and then struggle to fall asleep again, especially once the sun comes up around six AM. I find it very easy to space out in class, if not fall asleep outright. I don't feel like I'm danger of falling behind in any subject but I'm unsure how to rectify this situation. Perhaps it's only temporary? Could it be the tremendous amount of carbs in Japanese food?
Speaking of food, I ordered something totally unknown for dinner tonight: modanyaki. It turned out to be a fusion of two familiar dishes, okonomiyaki and yakisoba. It was, of course, delicious but I shan't order it again. That's just more food than I need to eat. Ever.
I've been keeping up on the social front, I think. I was actually late for class because I was talking to some girls at lunch (along with Kazu whom I rarely get to see these days) and after classes I arranged to meet a fellow KG student whom I had encountered on the Internet. Funny how it's still easier for me to "virtually" introduce myself to strangers than it is to walk up to one of the thousands of real-live female students walking around this place.
Not much to do tomorrow. I should really try to get back into the gym.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
So what's up? I feel tired a lot, which is odd. I thought I was used to the bed set-up by now but maybe I'm not. I often wake up too early and then struggle to fall asleep again, especially once the sun comes up around six AM. I find it very easy to space out in class, if not fall asleep outright. I don't feel like I'm danger of falling behind in any subject but I'm unsure how to rectify this situation. Perhaps it's only temporary? Could it be the tremendous amount of carbs in Japanese food?
Speaking of food, I ordered something totally unknown for dinner tonight: modanyaki. It turned out to be a fusion of two familiar dishes, okonomiyaki and yakisoba. It was, of course, delicious but I shan't order it again. That's just more food than I need to eat. Ever.
I've been keeping up on the social front, I think. I was actually late for class because I was talking to some girls at lunch (along with Kazu whom I rarely get to see these days) and after classes I arranged to meet a fellow KG student whom I had encountered on the Internet. Funny how it's still easier for me to "virtually" introduce myself to strangers than it is to walk up to one of the thousands of real-live female students walking around this place.
Not much to do tomorrow. I should really try to get back into the gym.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
This Post Will Self-Destruct in 5 Seconds
I got caught in the rain again today although it was barely a mist-level event so I ended up feeling refreshed, if anything. Weather reports seem even spottier in Japan then they do in the States: I feel like it can rain any day at any time, no matter what the radar shows. The temperature has remained cooler lately so I've been able relax and enjoy the outside air again.
I met Yui (my speaking partner) again for lunch. We've settled on a weekly Tuesday lunch meeting for now, although I've told her that I want to visit her Kyoto next weekend and see some sights. I was trying to meet her this weekend but she's busy. It turns out it's her twentieth birthday on Saturday! Twenty is the official age of adulthood here in Japan, both socially and legally, so I'm sure it's a big deal for her. I going to have to get her a present and I know just the thing. No hints!
In the computer room this afternoon I was sorry to hear that Don Adams passed away. I grew up watching Inspector Gadget as well as re-runs of Get Smart! Even as a kid, I could tell they were played by the same actor although I didn't realize one show was twenty years older than the other. So if I may be simultaneously respectful and irreverent, RIP Agent 86 and "Go Go Gadget Coffin!"
つづく... (Click here to read more)
I met Yui (my speaking partner) again for lunch. We've settled on a weekly Tuesday lunch meeting for now, although I've told her that I want to visit her Kyoto next weekend and see some sights. I was trying to meet her this weekend but she's busy. It turns out it's her twentieth birthday on Saturday! Twenty is the official age of adulthood here in Japan, both socially and legally, so I'm sure it's a big deal for her. I going to have to get her a present and I know just the thing. No hints!
In the computer room this afternoon I was sorry to hear that Don Adams passed away. I grew up watching Inspector Gadget as well as re-runs of Get Smart! Even as a kid, I could tell they were played by the same actor although I didn't realize one show was twenty years older than the other. So if I may be simultaneously respectful and irreverent, RIP Agent 86 and "Go Go Gadget Coffin!"
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Monday, September 26, 2005
No-Fun Monday
Bleh, I just typed this goddamn post and fucking Blogger erased it. Does anyone else find the Blogger website to be unbelievably slow and unresponsive lately? I do!
Whatever, I didn't have much to say about today, it was just a crappy Monday. My first class is at 9AM on Mondays (mercifully the only such early class all week) and I felt tired and irritable. When the teacher asked me a question, I simply didn't know how to answer her (despite understanding her question) and the resulting "embarrassment" put me in a bad mood for the rest of the day. Of course, it wasn't really embarrassing because nobody thought twice about it except me (who spent the whole day thinking about it).
I don't know why but somehow I find Japanese class uncomfortable most of the time. It's not that it's hard; in fact, I eat all of our exams like candy and shit out straight A's. When I'm called upon in class to do something and I do it really well I feel like I'm showing off, but when I make a mistake (even a small one) I feel like an ass. I can't have it both ways! Either I'm perfect or I'm not!
After classes I went to practice some more shodô but I didn't create anything worth photographing today. Indeed, after a few attempts at a character (with very ugly results) I decided I should just start over and try simple, straight strokes to try and get used to handling the brush. As someone who is artistically retarded, I barely understand how to use that thing. At the very least, the girls in the club are very friendly which offers me some more conversation practice which I desperately need. I just wish we could sit on chairs as sitting on the floor requires practice all unto its own.
I guess that's it for today. Any other information would be counting my chickens before they've hatched, a bad habit I am trying to break. Let's just say I'm already negotiating plans for this weekend and the holiday weekend after that. No, they don't do Columbus Day over here.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Whatever, I didn't have much to say about today, it was just a crappy Monday. My first class is at 9AM on Mondays (mercifully the only such early class all week) and I felt tired and irritable. When the teacher asked me a question, I simply didn't know how to answer her (despite understanding her question) and the resulting "embarrassment" put me in a bad mood for the rest of the day. Of course, it wasn't really embarrassing because nobody thought twice about it except me (who spent the whole day thinking about it).
I don't know why but somehow I find Japanese class uncomfortable most of the time. It's not that it's hard; in fact, I eat all of our exams like candy and shit out straight A's. When I'm called upon in class to do something and I do it really well I feel like I'm showing off, but when I make a mistake (even a small one) I feel like an ass. I can't have it both ways! Either I'm perfect or I'm not!
After classes I went to practice some more shodô but I didn't create anything worth photographing today. Indeed, after a few attempts at a character (with very ugly results) I decided I should just start over and try simple, straight strokes to try and get used to handling the brush. As someone who is artistically retarded, I barely understand how to use that thing. At the very least, the girls in the club are very friendly which offers me some more conversation practice which I desperately need. I just wish we could sit on chairs as sitting on the floor requires practice all unto its own.
I guess that's it for today. Any other information would be counting my chickens before they've hatched, a bad habit I am trying to break. Let's just say I'm already negotiating plans for this weekend and the holiday weekend after that. No, they don't do Columbus Day over here.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Here We Go Again
We've all heard the expression "You can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs." In that spirit, I offer this analogy: "You can't go to college without throwing up."
We'll get back to that later. I took things easy on Saturday, sleeping in and lounging around the dorm, mostly. Some guys ordered a pizza (which I will probably look into trying sooner or later) and rented Old School. Fun fact: in Japan, they call it Adult School (in English). I ended up watching a good chunk of it over their shoulders and amusing myself.
Eventually I went out to eat dinner as well as pick up more milk and eggs. I kept things local, eating at the little okonomiyaki place around the corner from the dorms (although I actually had yakiudon) on my way to the nearby supermarket across the river in Makino. In the market I ran into Ryan from UAlbany and we shared our mutual frustrations with trying to figure out what to buy and how to cook it. I think the university should offer a supermarket orientation and cooking advice. Even if I was a big cook back home (which I am not) it would be difficult to adjust to new ingredients and recipes.
A small crisis emerged when I tried to pay for my groceries with the 500 Yen coin I had received as change from my dinner. It wasn't Yen at all, it was a 500 Won coin. The cashier described it "Chinese" but it is actually Korean. Regardless, it was worthless to me and I had to do something about it. This kind of thing happens to me in America all the time as Canadian coins of similar dimensions to ours often get given to me by accident. In those cases I usually let it go because it's merely a matter of a quarter or a penny but this was 500 Yen. That's more than four dollars!
Thankfully, the matter was easily resolved. I went back to the restaurant and just showed the woman in charge the coin and she figured out what happened before I even started to try and explain in Japanese (not that I had a very good idea of the right words to use). An elderly woman (presumably her mother) had made my change and I guess she just didn't notice. At least, I hope it was unintentional. She did appear old enough to remember the war. Meh, it's best not to entertain that sort of notion.
With all of issues taken care of (food, shopping, money) I got in touch with Scott about our planned evening out on the town. Since the last train home is around midnight, I had suggested we get together earlier so I could meet it without feeling like my evening was only half over. He suggested we actually get together later and simply party until dawn. Since I had nothing to do on Sunday anyway I liked his idea a lot more. I had been here about a month already so it was high time for an all-nighter!
We planned to meet in Umeda at 11:15 but I ended up arriving much earlier. I had hoped to spend more time in that big electronics store I had seen last Sunday but they closed at 9. I ended up engaging in some "conveni" drinking and just walking around the various pedestrian bridges connecting the three major train stations. I purposely didn't bring my camera because I simply have too much stuff in my pockets as it is. Besides, this was a night out, not a sightseeing venture. When the weather allows for me to wear a jacket I'll never leave it behind again.
What did I see? Not so much of a skyline, but each of the three stations is a massive building with different colors of lights on the sides. There were a lot of other people hanging on the walkways, including vagrants, artists, rappers, and even a small film crew. One (presumably) homeless guy tried to ask me something about singing "acapella" but I couldn't figure out what he wanted. Did he want to sing to me or did he want me to sing to him? Perhaps a duet? No idea! So far as I could tell nobody was looking for money, not even a trio of musicians who had an elaborate set-up of drums, saxophone and a bass guitar with an amp on the street level.
I should take a moment to respond to a comment Hyde made on my previous post: I don't think alcohol is a big problem here because there's not much a stigma attached to it like there is in the U.S. Maybe I'm a sucker or a dreamer or both, but I think the dumbest way you can respond to a personal choice (or "vice" as we tend to call them) is to try and repress it formally. The logic supporting such a ban is always shaky and usually evokes religion. Here, people drink when they want to drink so there's just no big deal. I actually drank my first beer last night wrapped in a plastic bag because I didn't want anyone to see that I was drinking beer. As soon as I realized that there were plenty of other people drinking beer I threw the bag away. Nobody cares.
If it was legal to walk around New York drinking alcohol, yes, things would get a little crazy. However, I think once the "newness" of it wore off, things would level off. It's not like everyday would turn into St. Patrick's Day.
OK, enough soapbox philosophy. Scott and I met at the aforementioned time. He also invited his (male) friend Takayuki and Tôru (whom we met Friday night). Tôru brought along two friends, Kawase (male) and Rie (female). Takayuki spoke virtually no English which kind of surprised me, but I guess Scott's Japanese is good enough to talk about just about anything with anyone. I found myself able to talk to him too but I could not follow their conversations at all.
We walked to a "foreigner-friendly" club called Sam & Dave. I was very surprised by this, as I am not normally a "club" type of guy. Too crowded, too loud, too expensive. However, that's the old me. It took a little effort, but I simply reminded myself that everyone was in the club to party and I should be able to have fun too. So I did. I danced a little bit which felt easier than back home because I didn't feel intimidated somehow; usually I get all self-conscious and nervous that my dancing ability is somehow being judged. I don't know if shelving that fear was a breakthrough or merely a symptom of me being in a foreign country but whatever happened, it worked.
I didn't do so well in meeting new people though. I didn't speak to anyone outside of our group, although I do take a small amount of pride that I was able to speak to Rie in the very noisy club environment and understand most of what she said. I'm just not sure if I'll ever get comfortable meeting strangers in that kind of environment. Maybe it's a matter of "learning to crawl before you can walk." I'm still adjusting to the idea of meeting people in casual ways. Once I get that down, perhaps I can then move on to more "advanced" social settings like clubs and bars.
OK, time to get back to drinking. Paying the cover charge at Sam & Dave gets you two free drink coupons (hilariously featuring a photo of Chuck Norris) which I exchanged for a pair of screwdrivers. The bartenders were all foreigners so ordering drinks was easy despite the noise. After that I went back to beer, ordering one glass of their cheapest draft. I never got that tipsy but eventually I did get kind of hungry. A Japanese dude was selling grilled food from a cart outside and I had one of his quesadillas before getting very tired.
Somehow, I nodded off while sitting outside and woke up feeling sick. Perhaps it was the combination of beer and liquor ("Never sicker") or maybe it was the quesadilla (though it was delicious) but I knew I had to vomit. Scott picked up on this and led me to an alley behind the club so I wouldn't "make a scene," which I appreciated. I found a storm drain (which provided a big enough target) next a to railing (so I could stabilize myself). At first, there wasn't much to it, but I realized that I was holding back and I wasn't getting the job done. I paced about a bit longer until I realized I had to take matters into my own hands (or finger). Did you ever see that episode of Family Guy when Peter Griffin decides to find out if you can really make yourself throw up? It was a lot like that.
Purged of whatever toxins had afflicted me, I found myself feeling very cold which has happened before. The weather this weekend has been fabulously breezy but at that particular time it was most inconvenient. Still, a bit of pacing and some bottled water made me feel a bit better. I never went back into the club; Scott and I just hung out outside for a bit before heading back to the train station (bound for different trains though). I really appreciated his support in what happened and I hope he was able to have fun despite my accident.
I didn't get back to the dorm until 7:30 AM and I still felt rather sick at that point. A few hours sleep cleared up my stomach but I ended up taking it real easy the entire day. Indeed, I'm still in my bathrobe right now. Sooner or later I'll have to look into dinner; I had oatmeal earlier but I don't think that's going to hold me until tomorrow.
To sum up: It was fun. I puked, but it was still fun.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
We'll get back to that later. I took things easy on Saturday, sleeping in and lounging around the dorm, mostly. Some guys ordered a pizza (which I will probably look into trying sooner or later) and rented Old School. Fun fact: in Japan, they call it Adult School (in English). I ended up watching a good chunk of it over their shoulders and amusing myself.
Eventually I went out to eat dinner as well as pick up more milk and eggs. I kept things local, eating at the little okonomiyaki place around the corner from the dorms (although I actually had yakiudon) on my way to the nearby supermarket across the river in Makino. In the market I ran into Ryan from UAlbany and we shared our mutual frustrations with trying to figure out what to buy and how to cook it. I think the university should offer a supermarket orientation and cooking advice. Even if I was a big cook back home (which I am not) it would be difficult to adjust to new ingredients and recipes.
A small crisis emerged when I tried to pay for my groceries with the 500 Yen coin I had received as change from my dinner. It wasn't Yen at all, it was a 500 Won coin. The cashier described it "Chinese" but it is actually Korean. Regardless, it was worthless to me and I had to do something about it. This kind of thing happens to me in America all the time as Canadian coins of similar dimensions to ours often get given to me by accident. In those cases I usually let it go because it's merely a matter of a quarter or a penny but this was 500 Yen. That's more than four dollars!
Thankfully, the matter was easily resolved. I went back to the restaurant and just showed the woman in charge the coin and she figured out what happened before I even started to try and explain in Japanese (not that I had a very good idea of the right words to use). An elderly woman (presumably her mother) had made my change and I guess she just didn't notice. At least, I hope it was unintentional. She did appear old enough to remember the war. Meh, it's best not to entertain that sort of notion.
With all of issues taken care of (food, shopping, money) I got in touch with Scott about our planned evening out on the town. Since the last train home is around midnight, I had suggested we get together earlier so I could meet it without feeling like my evening was only half over. He suggested we actually get together later and simply party until dawn. Since I had nothing to do on Sunday anyway I liked his idea a lot more. I had been here about a month already so it was high time for an all-nighter!
We planned to meet in Umeda at 11:15 but I ended up arriving much earlier. I had hoped to spend more time in that big electronics store I had seen last Sunday but they closed at 9. I ended up engaging in some "conveni" drinking and just walking around the various pedestrian bridges connecting the three major train stations. I purposely didn't bring my camera because I simply have too much stuff in my pockets as it is. Besides, this was a night out, not a sightseeing venture. When the weather allows for me to wear a jacket I'll never leave it behind again.
What did I see? Not so much of a skyline, but each of the three stations is a massive building with different colors of lights on the sides. There were a lot of other people hanging on the walkways, including vagrants, artists, rappers, and even a small film crew. One (presumably) homeless guy tried to ask me something about singing "acapella" but I couldn't figure out what he wanted. Did he want to sing to me or did he want me to sing to him? Perhaps a duet? No idea! So far as I could tell nobody was looking for money, not even a trio of musicians who had an elaborate set-up of drums, saxophone and a bass guitar with an amp on the street level.
I should take a moment to respond to a comment Hyde made on my previous post: I don't think alcohol is a big problem here because there's not much a stigma attached to it like there is in the U.S. Maybe I'm a sucker or a dreamer or both, but I think the dumbest way you can respond to a personal choice (or "vice" as we tend to call them) is to try and repress it formally. The logic supporting such a ban is always shaky and usually evokes religion. Here, people drink when they want to drink so there's just no big deal. I actually drank my first beer last night wrapped in a plastic bag because I didn't want anyone to see that I was drinking beer. As soon as I realized that there were plenty of other people drinking beer I threw the bag away. Nobody cares.
If it was legal to walk around New York drinking alcohol, yes, things would get a little crazy. However, I think once the "newness" of it wore off, things would level off. It's not like everyday would turn into St. Patrick's Day.
OK, enough soapbox philosophy. Scott and I met at the aforementioned time. He also invited his (male) friend Takayuki and Tôru (whom we met Friday night). Tôru brought along two friends, Kawase (male) and Rie (female). Takayuki spoke virtually no English which kind of surprised me, but I guess Scott's Japanese is good enough to talk about just about anything with anyone. I found myself able to talk to him too but I could not follow their conversations at all.
We walked to a "foreigner-friendly" club called Sam & Dave. I was very surprised by this, as I am not normally a "club" type of guy. Too crowded, too loud, too expensive. However, that's the old me. It took a little effort, but I simply reminded myself that everyone was in the club to party and I should be able to have fun too. So I did. I danced a little bit which felt easier than back home because I didn't feel intimidated somehow; usually I get all self-conscious and nervous that my dancing ability is somehow being judged. I don't know if shelving that fear was a breakthrough or merely a symptom of me being in a foreign country but whatever happened, it worked.
I didn't do so well in meeting new people though. I didn't speak to anyone outside of our group, although I do take a small amount of pride that I was able to speak to Rie in the very noisy club environment and understand most of what she said. I'm just not sure if I'll ever get comfortable meeting strangers in that kind of environment. Maybe it's a matter of "learning to crawl before you can walk." I'm still adjusting to the idea of meeting people in casual ways. Once I get that down, perhaps I can then move on to more "advanced" social settings like clubs and bars.
OK, time to get back to drinking. Paying the cover charge at Sam & Dave gets you two free drink coupons (hilariously featuring a photo of Chuck Norris) which I exchanged for a pair of screwdrivers. The bartenders were all foreigners so ordering drinks was easy despite the noise. After that I went back to beer, ordering one glass of their cheapest draft. I never got that tipsy but eventually I did get kind of hungry. A Japanese dude was selling grilled food from a cart outside and I had one of his quesadillas before getting very tired.
Somehow, I nodded off while sitting outside and woke up feeling sick. Perhaps it was the combination of beer and liquor ("Never sicker") or maybe it was the quesadilla (though it was delicious) but I knew I had to vomit. Scott picked up on this and led me to an alley behind the club so I wouldn't "make a scene," which I appreciated. I found a storm drain (which provided a big enough target) next a to railing (so I could stabilize myself). At first, there wasn't much to it, but I realized that I was holding back and I wasn't getting the job done. I paced about a bit longer until I realized I had to take matters into my own hands (or finger). Did you ever see that episode of Family Guy when Peter Griffin decides to find out if you can really make yourself throw up? It was a lot like that.
Purged of whatever toxins had afflicted me, I found myself feeling very cold which has happened before. The weather this weekend has been fabulously breezy but at that particular time it was most inconvenient. Still, a bit of pacing and some bottled water made me feel a bit better. I never went back into the club; Scott and I just hung out outside for a bit before heading back to the train station (bound for different trains though). I really appreciated his support in what happened and I hope he was able to have fun despite my accident.
I didn't get back to the dorm until 7:30 AM and I still felt rather sick at that point. A few hours sleep cleared up my stomach but I ended up taking it real easy the entire day. Indeed, I'm still in my bathrobe right now. Sooner or later I'll have to look into dinner; I had oatmeal earlier but I don't think that's going to hold me until tomorrow.
To sum up: It was fun. I puked, but it was still fun.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
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