Saturday, December 03, 2005
Screen Time
I know I don't work very hard but today felt like the perfect opportunity to lie back and take everything extremely easy. I didn't get dressed until after dinner and I spent the bulk of my day (and a good chunk of last night) watching TV.
What have I been watching? American movies mostly, including two from Arnold. Did you know here in Japan he is often referred to as Shuwa-chan? I find that hilarious. If you don't study Japanese you should understand that chan is a suffix/title like san only it's "cute" and usually given to young girls. For example, I always address Mako as "Mako-chan" (even though she's a little older than me).
Anyway, the two Shuwa-chan pictures I saw were The 6th Day and Total Recall. The former was positively awful and the second is one of my favorite films. Oddly enough, seeing them so close together made me notice a lot of the stuff I hated in one was somehow cool in the other. They both feature over-the-top violence in a science-fiction setting and in both Arnold performs absurd feats of strength and makes wisecracks whenever he kills someone. Yet the whole thing just felt wrong in The 6th Day and I don't know if it's simply a matter of timing or whether the satirical nature of Total Recall somehow excuses all the silliness.
Allow me to elaborate. In Total Recall, Arnold is supposedly a highly-trained secret agent who's been given a new identity (along with new memories) to make him believe he's just a normal guy. Given that, it doesn't seem out of place when the shit hits the fan and he starts kicking ass because a man in his position would have been trained to do those sorts of things. Killing people would likewise come with the job, although he still reacts with horror when he first comes to terms with taking others' lives. Yet in The 6th Day he really is just a normal guy yet as soon as the bad guys appear he's invincible and cavalier about murdering them.
Other than the movies there is a show I watch with a peculiar fascination, １００語でスタート！ (Start with 100 words!). It comes on NHK late Friday nights and it stars a white guy (apparently half British, half Japanese) named George Williams and a cute-as-hell girl named Mami Yamasaki (山崎真実). Each episode is very short and focuses on the different uses of one English word in conversation. While I certainly don't need to learn more about English I do try to "reverse" the program to sort of try and learn more Japanese.
The cast is what keeps me coming back for more. George is actually very annoying. He speaks Japanese very fast and with a lot of bizarre hand gestures and enunciation points. I wasn't surprised to learn he works as both a DJ and a VJ. I also have some kind of problem with his thick mane of black hair. It irritates me on some level I can't understand; however, he does hold my attention despite all this. The cute girl is, well, a cute girl. When she's not "learning" English on TV she works as a bikini model and she even has her own 2006 calendar. She also always speaks on camera with her head tilted a few degrees to the left...it's beyond adorable.
OK, I can't go on describing my television habits. It's too embarrassing.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
What have I been watching? American movies mostly, including two from Arnold. Did you know here in Japan he is often referred to as Shuwa-chan? I find that hilarious. If you don't study Japanese you should understand that chan is a suffix/title like san only it's "cute" and usually given to young girls. For example, I always address Mako as "Mako-chan" (even though she's a little older than me).
Anyway, the two Shuwa-chan pictures I saw were The 6th Day and Total Recall. The former was positively awful and the second is one of my favorite films. Oddly enough, seeing them so close together made me notice a lot of the stuff I hated in one was somehow cool in the other. They both feature over-the-top violence in a science-fiction setting and in both Arnold performs absurd feats of strength and makes wisecracks whenever he kills someone. Yet the whole thing just felt wrong in The 6th Day and I don't know if it's simply a matter of timing or whether the satirical nature of Total Recall somehow excuses all the silliness.
Allow me to elaborate. In Total Recall, Arnold is supposedly a highly-trained secret agent who's been given a new identity (along with new memories) to make him believe he's just a normal guy. Given that, it doesn't seem out of place when the shit hits the fan and he starts kicking ass because a man in his position would have been trained to do those sorts of things. Killing people would likewise come with the job, although he still reacts with horror when he first comes to terms with taking others' lives. Yet in The 6th Day he really is just a normal guy yet as soon as the bad guys appear he's invincible and cavalier about murdering them.
Other than the movies there is a show I watch with a peculiar fascination, １００語でスタート！ (Start with 100 words!). It comes on NHK late Friday nights and it stars a white guy (apparently half British, half Japanese) named George Williams and a cute-as-hell girl named Mami Yamasaki (山崎真実). Each episode is very short and focuses on the different uses of one English word in conversation. While I certainly don't need to learn more about English I do try to "reverse" the program to sort of try and learn more Japanese.
The cast is what keeps me coming back for more. George is actually very annoying. He speaks Japanese very fast and with a lot of bizarre hand gestures and enunciation points. I wasn't surprised to learn he works as both a DJ and a VJ. I also have some kind of problem with his thick mane of black hair. It irritates me on some level I can't understand; however, he does hold my attention despite all this. The cute girl is, well, a cute girl. When she's not "learning" English on TV she works as a bikini model and she even has her own 2006 calendar. She also always speaks on camera with her head tilted a few degrees to the left...it's beyond adorable.
OK, I can't go on describing my television habits. It's too embarrassing.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Friday, December 02, 2005
これは最後だ！ (This is the end!)
So my classes are at an end. All assignments have been completed, all films have been watched and all readings have been...um, well, classes are over anyway.
I feel very good about my work and I have very little anxieties going into finals week. Why? Let's take a look back at my schoolwork:
Speaking of love, Mako returned to Japan this evening safe and sound. She messaged me right away (I think) and we're going to meet up on Sunday. She's worried about my exams (that makes one of us) so she tried to suggest meeting next week instead. However, that's her birthday and I want to see her sooner than that so we can plan something special. She was so nice to me on my birthday last month I want to return the favor. Feel free to leave any gift suggestions in the comments section; I'll try and do a little "hint recon" on Sunday and see what she wants.
To those who care, I got to play a fair amount of King of Fighters XI yesterday and actually managed to reach the last boss, a pink-skinned freak named Magaki. He beat me rather easily but what are you gonna do? He's got pink skin, I can't compete with that shit. I'm really impressed by one of the new characters, a card-slinging Irishman named Oswald. His Leader Move is the bomb, yo.
Today's Random Fact: My favorite sumo wrestler, Kotoôshû, was promoted to ozeki on Wednesday. He's the first European man to reach that rank. Now all he has to do is win some basho!
つづく... (Click here to read more)
I feel very good about my work and I have very little anxieties going into finals week. Why? Let's take a look back at my schoolwork:
- Spoken Japanese
- Vocab Quizzes (7*): 100%
- Lesson Tests (4*): 98.3%
- Midterm: 96.2%
- Skit: Best Actor (tie)
- Written Japanese
- Vocab/Kanji Quizzes (8): 99.5%
- Lesson Tests (4): 99.5%
- Midterm: 97.8%
- Making the News
- News Assignments (9): 11 completed (extra credit)
- Midterm: 89%
- Images in Western Media
- Short Papers (2): not sure
- Midterm: 99%
- Struggle for Justice
- Exams: 80 & 85%
Speaking of love, Mako returned to Japan this evening safe and sound. She messaged me right away (I think) and we're going to meet up on Sunday. She's worried about my exams (that makes one of us) so she tried to suggest meeting next week instead. However, that's her birthday and I want to see her sooner than that so we can plan something special. She was so nice to me on my birthday last month I want to return the favor. Feel free to leave any gift suggestions in the comments section; I'll try and do a little "hint recon" on Sunday and see what she wants.
To those who care, I got to play a fair amount of King of Fighters XI yesterday and actually managed to reach the last boss, a pink-skinned freak named Magaki. He beat me rather easily but what are you gonna do? He's got pink skin, I can't compete with that shit. I'm really impressed by one of the new characters, a card-slinging Irishman named Oswald. His Leader Move is the bomb, yo.
Today's Random Fact: My favorite sumo wrestler, Kotoôshû, was promoted to ozeki on Wednesday. He's the first European man to reach that rank. Now all he has to do is win some basho!
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Less-than-Flawless Victory
HA! This morning's tests were a breeze. Not perfect, of course, but what does that matter? I think many of my anxieties in life (not just in academics mind you) revolve around my failure to grasp the inevitable shortcomings I keep encountering. It's O.K. if I make mistakes because everyone else does too.
With that in mind I've decided to apply for the Jump Test I mentioned yesterday. After reading your comments I looked at the question from a different angle: why not? The truth is there's no downside to taking the test. If I succeed, it means that I'm good enough to study at Level Four. If I fail, then I proceed to Level Three without penalty. If I start studying over the break and feel overwhelmed, I can abort. If I pass the test but feel like I made a mistake, I can "demote" myself. Anyway you look at it I'll get a whole semester of Japanese study.
More good news: I spend the afternoon finishing my second paper after putting in a decent effort last night. This means I have no more outstanding assignments this semester, I only have to concern myself with next week's final exams. As far as those Incompletes from Albany, I've been e-mailing the professors and the results are still pending. Initially, however, I don't think there's any reason to panic because no one has suggested that these papers need to be finished right away.
Since I have a free evening and no tests of any kind tomorrow, I do believe it's time to get drunk. Again. Osaka, Scott, I'm on my way!!
つづく... (Click here to read more)
With that in mind I've decided to apply for the Jump Test I mentioned yesterday. After reading your comments I looked at the question from a different angle: why not? The truth is there's no downside to taking the test. If I succeed, it means that I'm good enough to study at Level Four. If I fail, then I proceed to Level Three without penalty. If I start studying over the break and feel overwhelmed, I can abort. If I pass the test but feel like I made a mistake, I can "demote" myself. Anyway you look at it I'll get a whole semester of Japanese study.
More good news: I spend the afternoon finishing my second paper after putting in a decent effort last night. This means I have no more outstanding assignments this semester, I only have to concern myself with next week's final exams. As far as those Incompletes from Albany, I've been e-mailing the professors and the results are still pending. Initially, however, I don't think there's any reason to panic because no one has suggested that these papers need to be finished right away.
Since I have a free evening and no tests of any kind tomorrow, I do believe it's time to get drunk. Again. Osaka, Scott, I'm on my way!!
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
The Tension Mounts
Today I had one of those classic conflicts: I know I'm obsessing and worrying about something that is totally retarded but I can't stop. As a result, I was very uncomfortable.
It all started just before 8 AM. I don't normally turn my phone on that early but since I forgot to turn it off last night, it was on and it rang while I was eating breakfast. The phone number was a strange one which made me assume it was another wrong number (I get a lot of those). I saw no harm in picking it up even if only to convince the person on the other end that I wasn't who they were looking for.
I answered with the customary moshi moshi? and the female voice responded with something completely unintelligible. As I've said before, I can never understand anything in Japanese over the phone and I don't know why. My listening comprehension skills are terrible but they do exist unless I am talking on the phone. Then I can't understand a word. However, I thought I heard her say "Dan?" This obviously surprised me since a wrong number shouldn't know my name. My immediate assumption was that it must be one of the countless students I've met around campus, exchanged numbers with, and promptly forgot about.
Not wanting to talk to whoever this was anymore, I said "I'm eating breakfast." She asked (in English) "Is this a bad time?" Nonchalantly I agreed and she said "Sorry." The second she hung up I realized that it might have been Mako calling! I called out "Hello?" but I was too late. I tried calling the weird number back and got an automated recording in Japanese which doesn't help at all. I tried calling her regular number and got a different message.
From that point on I spent the day wondering (A) if it really was Mako or not and (B) if it was, whether or not she hates me for blowing her off. I never considered it could be her because there was a phone number on the display; international calls normally never display a number. Despite the fact that I knew she would just assume I was really busy, I still worried that I had inadvertently ruined everything just to finish my fucking bran flakes.
Happily, just now (as in during this writing) she called back! This time there was no number and I ran out of the room to make sure I could hear her. We spoke briefly, I apologized for not speaking to her earlier (she wasn't mad of course) and all is obviously well which I knew in the first place. It sounds like she's having fun and it's apparently very hot in Hawaii right now.
So what's up? I read through that whole self-help book my mom sent me last month but I still don't understand how to help myself deal with stupid little things like this. No matter my logical analysis of the matter, I still invented a problem and worried about it most of the day. Is my brain simply more accustomed to feeling that way? I'm starting to feel like bleeding Rimmer here (no way anyone here knows what I mean by that)!
Anyway, today was the last day for Japanese classes. I have two tests tomorrow (oral interview and reading test, just like the midterm) but this was the end for us as a group. Naturally, we had a group photo. Quite a few people didn't bother to show up today but you can still see most of the class. I also challenge you to guess who is the oldest person in the photo.
After the class I got a little ego boost from the professor who called me aside and asked me if I wanted to take the Jump Test. That's a little bonus students can take if they score a high A in language class. If the teacher approves it, you can study the next level during the break and then take a test in January. A high score allows you to skip that level and "jump" to the next one. I felt very flattered as I knew most people have to request the opportunity to take the Jump Test and here was the professor essentially offering it to me.
Will I do it? I doubt it, and here's why: I see no advantage to the test. It won't earn me additional credit, it just allows me to study at a higher level in the Spring. While I do enjoy the idea of skipping ahead of other students (because I'm selfish) I think it will only harm my studies because it will force me to rush through some seven chapters in the textbook for no real gain. Studying a language, in my opinion, is all about adjustment, pacing and proper practice. If I hurriedly rock through that much material just to learn more faster, will that really help me learn more Japanese? Or will it only force me into a cramming situation? I suspect it's the latter.
What do people think about this? Am I being stubborn or cowardly? Perhaps too modest for my own good? Am I searching for excuses or is my logic sound?
つづく... (Click here to read more)
It all started just before 8 AM. I don't normally turn my phone on that early but since I forgot to turn it off last night, it was on and it rang while I was eating breakfast. The phone number was a strange one which made me assume it was another wrong number (I get a lot of those). I saw no harm in picking it up even if only to convince the person on the other end that I wasn't who they were looking for.
I answered with the customary moshi moshi? and the female voice responded with something completely unintelligible. As I've said before, I can never understand anything in Japanese over the phone and I don't know why. My listening comprehension skills are terrible but they do exist unless I am talking on the phone. Then I can't understand a word. However, I thought I heard her say "Dan?" This obviously surprised me since a wrong number shouldn't know my name. My immediate assumption was that it must be one of the countless students I've met around campus, exchanged numbers with, and promptly forgot about.
Not wanting to talk to whoever this was anymore, I said "I'm eating breakfast." She asked (in English) "Is this a bad time?" Nonchalantly I agreed and she said "Sorry." The second she hung up I realized that it might have been Mako calling! I called out "Hello?" but I was too late. I tried calling the weird number back and got an automated recording in Japanese which doesn't help at all. I tried calling her regular number and got a different message.
From that point on I spent the day wondering (A) if it really was Mako or not and (B) if it was, whether or not she hates me for blowing her off. I never considered it could be her because there was a phone number on the display; international calls normally never display a number. Despite the fact that I knew she would just assume I was really busy, I still worried that I had inadvertently ruined everything just to finish my fucking bran flakes.
Happily, just now (as in during this writing) she called back! This time there was no number and I ran out of the room to make sure I could hear her. We spoke briefly, I apologized for not speaking to her earlier (she wasn't mad of course) and all is obviously well which I knew in the first place. It sounds like she's having fun and it's apparently very hot in Hawaii right now.
So what's up? I read through that whole self-help book my mom sent me last month but I still don't understand how to help myself deal with stupid little things like this. No matter my logical analysis of the matter, I still invented a problem and worried about it most of the day. Is my brain simply more accustomed to feeling that way? I'm starting to feel like bleeding Rimmer here (no way anyone here knows what I mean by that)!
Anyway, today was the last day for Japanese classes. I have two tests tomorrow (oral interview and reading test, just like the midterm) but this was the end for us as a group. Naturally, we had a group photo. Quite a few people didn't bother to show up today but you can still see most of the class. I also challenge you to guess who is the oldest person in the photo.
After the class I got a little ego boost from the professor who called me aside and asked me if I wanted to take the Jump Test. That's a little bonus students can take if they score a high A in language class. If the teacher approves it, you can study the next level during the break and then take a test in January. A high score allows you to skip that level and "jump" to the next one. I felt very flattered as I knew most people have to request the opportunity to take the Jump Test and here was the professor essentially offering it to me.
Will I do it? I doubt it, and here's why: I see no advantage to the test. It won't earn me additional credit, it just allows me to study at a higher level in the Spring. While I do enjoy the idea of skipping ahead of other students (because I'm selfish) I think it will only harm my studies because it will force me to rush through some seven chapters in the textbook for no real gain. Studying a language, in my opinion, is all about adjustment, pacing and proper practice. If I hurriedly rock through that much material just to learn more faster, will that really help me learn more Japanese? Or will it only force me into a cramming situation? I suspect it's the latter.
What do people think about this? Am I being stubborn or cowardly? Perhaps too modest for my own good? Am I searching for excuses or is my logic sound?
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Looking Back With (and without) Fondness
I'm feeling tired again recently and my only guess is that I'm a little worn out after a long semester. If you can believe it, I actually wished I didn't have to speak Japanese today at all. Clearly I must be exhausted!
In this afternoon's Media class we had a bit of fun watching excerpts from The Karate Kid. That movie will always hold a special place in my heart for a number of reasons: kids learning martial arts, the hero is named Daniel, the whole 80's thing, not to mention the Japan connection (they even go there in sequel). Watching it today was both nostalgic and a little sad. I don't know if you heard or not, but Pat Morita actually passed away on Friday. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that we decided that his character, Mr. Miyagi, was not racist and was actually a positive Japanese character. Not that he was perfect or anything, but compared to the movies we've been watching lately (Rising Sun, I'm looking at you) he's a beacon of tolerance and understanding.
When I was using the internet this evening I went ahead and checked my UAlbany mailbox, something I hadn't done in several weeks since anything important goes to my private feitclub.com email. Surprise, surprise, there was a very important message waiting for me in between all the security warnings and invitations to campus events. Apparently I have to contact one of my professors about the Incomplete grade I received this Spring.
I should elaborate a little here as I have a lot of readers who weren't with me six months ago. During the Spring semester I had a pretty serious health scare. Not only was I morbidly obese but I had developed a "lesion" of some kind on my skin (precisely where isn't important). The doctors at the University initially diagnosed it as a furuncle but after a few weeks of ointments and oral antibiotics there was no change at all. Round about this time I also started to have an even more disgusting problem: on a few of my fingertips the nail "folds" started to ooze pus! The University doctors had no ideas about that one; they also changed their mind about the lesion and decided it might be cancer!
Anyway, all of this was a lot to take and I got pretty upset. I quickly found myself in a position where I might fall dangerously behind in my schoolwork so I went and had a chat with my advisor, explaining the details of my illness. She (as always) was very understanding and offered to contact the two professors and work out two Incompletes. To make things easier, I took the two final exams in those courses but agreed to complete the necessary writing work at a later date.
Now it seems I may have to write something in a hurry to close the record on one of these Incompletes. This is going to suck because I'm terrible at writing papers. Actually, that's not true - I hate writing papers so it becomes hard for me to do them. While I am proud to realize that I'm the biggest obstacle in doing this work that doesn't exactly make this situation any easier. Naturally, I should have written one or even both of these papers over the summer but I never did.
All of a sudden I feel very anxious about everything. This is not a good time for this shit, goddamnit! I've got seven exams (and one paper) between now and next Friday! What the fuck am I going to do about this?
つづく... (Click here to read more)
In this afternoon's Media class we had a bit of fun watching excerpts from The Karate Kid. That movie will always hold a special place in my heart for a number of reasons: kids learning martial arts, the hero is named Daniel, the whole 80's thing, not to mention the Japan connection (they even go there in sequel). Watching it today was both nostalgic and a little sad. I don't know if you heard or not, but Pat Morita actually passed away on Friday. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that we decided that his character, Mr. Miyagi, was not racist and was actually a positive Japanese character. Not that he was perfect or anything, but compared to the movies we've been watching lately (Rising Sun, I'm looking at you) he's a beacon of tolerance and understanding.
When I was using the internet this evening I went ahead and checked my UAlbany mailbox, something I hadn't done in several weeks since anything important goes to my private feitclub.com email. Surprise, surprise, there was a very important message waiting for me in between all the security warnings and invitations to campus events. Apparently I have to contact one of my professors about the Incomplete grade I received this Spring.
I should elaborate a little here as I have a lot of readers who weren't with me six months ago. During the Spring semester I had a pretty serious health scare. Not only was I morbidly obese but I had developed a "lesion" of some kind on my skin (precisely where isn't important). The doctors at the University initially diagnosed it as a furuncle but after a few weeks of ointments and oral antibiotics there was no change at all. Round about this time I also started to have an even more disgusting problem: on a few of my fingertips the nail "folds" started to ooze pus! The University doctors had no ideas about that one; they also changed their mind about the lesion and decided it might be cancer!
Anyway, all of this was a lot to take and I got pretty upset. I quickly found myself in a position where I might fall dangerously behind in my schoolwork so I went and had a chat with my advisor, explaining the details of my illness. She (as always) was very understanding and offered to contact the two professors and work out two Incompletes. To make things easier, I took the two final exams in those courses but agreed to complete the necessary writing work at a later date.
Now it seems I may have to write something in a hurry to close the record on one of these Incompletes. This is going to suck because I'm terrible at writing papers. Actually, that's not true - I hate writing papers so it becomes hard for me to do them. While I am proud to realize that I'm the biggest obstacle in doing this work that doesn't exactly make this situation any easier. Naturally, I should have written one or even both of these papers over the summer but I never did.
All of a sudden I feel very anxious about everything. This is not a good time for this shit, goddamnit! I've got seven exams (and one paper) between now and next Friday! What the fuck am I going to do about this?
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Sweet!
It's nice to see some government officials still have a sense of humor.
Really, it's true! Just check out this bill passed in Idaho to honor the makers of the film Napoleon Dynamite. I need to remember to buy that movie when I get back to the States. I saw it again recently and laughed my ass off. Sadly, there were no Japanese subtitles because I wanted to know how to translate "Pedro offers his protection."
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Really, it's true! Just check out this bill passed in Idaho to honor the makers of the film Napoleon Dynamite. I need to remember to buy that movie when I get back to the States. I saw it again recently and laughed my ass off. Sadly, there were no Japanese subtitles because I wanted to know how to translate "Pedro offers his protection."
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Monday, November 28, 2005
To Dream the Impossible Dream
It's funny, while I've only completed about a third of my trip so far, with the end of the semester looming and finals just around the corner it feels more like a halfway point. I guess that's a testament to the incredible length of my winter break. I've got no schoolwork between December 9th and January 30th!
This morning was my last 9AM class of the semester and I sincerely hope for the year. It's not that I'm not a "morning person," it's just that there are certain things I'm prepared to do that early and sit quietly in a classroom isn't one of them. It's like getting ready to take a nap but not being allowed to go to sleep. In today's case, it was a test which was no problem. To tell the truth, the hardest questions were the ones that called for translating Japanese into English. At this point we're getting into so many unusual tenses/constructions that they simply don't smoothly fit into English anymore. Then again, maybe I just suck at that.
In between the morning classes and my afternoon class I finished that paper and handed it in. I feel really good about that because technically speaking it wasn't due until tomorrow. I know, that's still procrastinating but a day early is still a minor victory. Let's see if I can finish my second paper before Friday!
In the meantime, let's get back to question I posed on Saturday. I was hoping more people would show up and make an attempt but I guess not. Anyway, before I admit my choice let me explain a few details about the choices.
The correct choice is A and I'm not surprised that so few people picked it. In hindsight, it seems the popular choice, B, was an excellent "red herring" of sorts (even my mother picked that one). After all, given the contents of my blog I seem to dwell on "intellectual" matters more than others and with my major being Japanese it would seem like a natural fit. C also sounds more attractive in that respect because I have spent so much energy lamenting my social ineptitude here. I didn't think my sister would pick that one though (sorry Salena, only your first vote counts).
Why A? "Buck" explained it pretty well, as did Dani when she picked B. B and C are mere exaggerations of talents that humans can normally wield. While no one can read minds, D is in the same boat; if someone was really charismatic and a little morally flexible that person could probably learn as much as he or she wanted about anyone else.
A, on the other hand, is totally impossible and it is beyond the other three put together. So there's the element of me wanting what I can never, ever have plus the logic of picking the one that ostensibly gets you me four anyway. As "Buck" put it, with power "charisma comes with the package and you have all the time in the world to learn some silly language." Very true sir and hilariously put! For the record, I've known "Buck" more than twenty years so I feel a certain amount of joy that he knew both the right answer and the rationale behind it.
To those of who guessed wrong, I hope you don't feel tricked and I hope you appreciate that I staged this little exercise to bare that much more about myself and my desires. In my heart of hearts I want, no, hunger for something that simply cannot be. To be totally honest, if I knew how to stop wanting it I'm not sure I could. Am I not defined by what I want more than anything else in the world? Would I be happier if I could give up this dream? How would that shape my other interests? Do you think my goal of Japanese fluency is derived from this fantasy of wanting something I can't have?
つづく... (Click here to read more)
This morning was my last 9AM class of the semester and I sincerely hope for the year. It's not that I'm not a "morning person," it's just that there are certain things I'm prepared to do that early and sit quietly in a classroom isn't one of them. It's like getting ready to take a nap but not being allowed to go to sleep. In today's case, it was a test which was no problem. To tell the truth, the hardest questions were the ones that called for translating Japanese into English. At this point we're getting into so many unusual tenses/constructions that they simply don't smoothly fit into English anymore. Then again, maybe I just suck at that.
In between the morning classes and my afternoon class I finished that paper and handed it in. I feel really good about that because technically speaking it wasn't due until tomorrow. I know, that's still procrastinating but a day early is still a minor victory. Let's see if I can finish my second paper before Friday!
In the meantime, let's get back to question I posed on Saturday. I was hoping more people would show up and make an attempt but I guess not. Anyway, before I admit my choice let me explain a few details about the choices.
- There was no "wrong" choice as I would gladly and with much personal satisfaction accept any of the four fantasies. Indeed, I'd probably be willing to part with a finger to do so.
- These four choices are by no means the limits of my imagination, I merely sat down and tried to come up with four that sounded really different.
- All four are completely fantastic; by that I mean none of the four are realistically attainable through hard work or study.
The correct choice is A and I'm not surprised that so few people picked it. In hindsight, it seems the popular choice, B, was an excellent "red herring" of sorts (even my mother picked that one). After all, given the contents of my blog I seem to dwell on "intellectual" matters more than others and with my major being Japanese it would seem like a natural fit. C also sounds more attractive in that respect because I have spent so much energy lamenting my social ineptitude here. I didn't think my sister would pick that one though (sorry Salena, only your first vote counts).
Why A? "Buck" explained it pretty well, as did Dani when she picked B. B and C are mere exaggerations of talents that humans can normally wield. While no one can read minds, D is in the same boat; if someone was really charismatic and a little morally flexible that person could probably learn as much as he or she wanted about anyone else.
A, on the other hand, is totally impossible and it is beyond the other three put together. So there's the element of me wanting what I can never, ever have plus the logic of picking the one that ostensibly gets you me four anyway. As "Buck" put it, with power "charisma comes with the package and you have all the time in the world to learn some silly language." Very true sir and hilariously put! For the record, I've known "Buck" more than twenty years so I feel a certain amount of joy that he knew both the right answer and the rationale behind it.
To those of who guessed wrong, I hope you don't feel tricked and I hope you appreciate that I staged this little exercise to bare that much more about myself and my desires. In my heart of hearts I want, no, hunger for something that simply cannot be. To be totally honest, if I knew how to stop wanting it I'm not sure I could. Am I not defined by what I want more than anything else in the world? Would I be happier if I could give up this dream? How would that shape my other interests? Do you think my goal of Japanese fluency is derived from this fantasy of wanting something I can't have?
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Liquid Thanks
Today was fun. I went into Osaka and spent the afternoon with Scott. Our plan was to celebrate Thanksgiving in our own little way. Wouldn't you know it, we imbibed a little alcohol along the way.
Okay, a lot of alcohol! I came in around 1 PM and we met in Nanba. I had hoped to find some kind of turkey (even if it was just some cold cuts) to honor the holiday but Scott told me it was practically impossible. So we opted instead for some kaiten sushi which wasn't very traditional although I did eat some roast beef and chicken. I think that's as close as I'm going to get.
After lunch I finally got a haircut. It's been over three months now and I was starting to get a little irritated by my unkempt 'do. Why didn't I get one sooner? The problem was entirely being here in Japan. Not only was there a language barrier but nearly every barber I've seen charges 2000 Yen or more for a haircut! I'm sorry, if I can get a decent trim in Manhattan for less than $15 I'm not spending that kind of money here. Thankfully, on a past visit to Nanba I spotted a tiny shop that offered 1000 Yen haircuts. That's more like it! There was a long wait and some verbal stumbling with the barber but it was all worth it. They even had something that every single American barber shop should have: along side the usual tools each station had a small vacuum to suck up all the loose hairs that inevitably find their way down the back of your shirt!
From that point on Scott and I just walked through various neighborhoods throwing back the booze. Nanba, Shinsaibashi, Dotonbori, Amerikamura, you name it! We had a great time and it wasn't until the very end when Scott said "This was the best Thanksgiving I ever had in Japan" that I realized we were celebrating the holiday. We didn't eat very much and there was only two of us but we spent the day sharing our hopes for the future and reveling in our respective joys. Isn't that the whole point of Thanksgiving?
Coming soon: a photo gallery of submitted Thanksgiving images from you kind folks back home as well as the answer to yesterday's quiz. It's not too late to vote!
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Okay, a lot of alcohol! I came in around 1 PM and we met in Nanba. I had hoped to find some kind of turkey (even if it was just some cold cuts) to honor the holiday but Scott told me it was practically impossible. So we opted instead for some kaiten sushi which wasn't very traditional although I did eat some roast beef and chicken. I think that's as close as I'm going to get.
After lunch I finally got a haircut. It's been over three months now and I was starting to get a little irritated by my unkempt 'do. Why didn't I get one sooner? The problem was entirely being here in Japan. Not only was there a language barrier but nearly every barber I've seen charges 2000 Yen or more for a haircut! I'm sorry, if I can get a decent trim in Manhattan for less than $15 I'm not spending that kind of money here. Thankfully, on a past visit to Nanba I spotted a tiny shop that offered 1000 Yen haircuts. That's more like it! There was a long wait and some verbal stumbling with the barber but it was all worth it. They even had something that every single American barber shop should have: along side the usual tools each station had a small vacuum to suck up all the loose hairs that inevitably find their way down the back of your shirt!
From that point on Scott and I just walked through various neighborhoods throwing back the booze. Nanba, Shinsaibashi, Dotonbori, Amerikamura, you name it! We had a great time and it wasn't until the very end when Scott said "This was the best Thanksgiving I ever had in Japan" that I realized we were celebrating the holiday. We didn't eat very much and there was only two of us but we spent the day sharing our hopes for the future and reveling in our respective joys. Isn't that the whole point of Thanksgiving?
Coming soon: a photo gallery of submitted Thanksgiving images from you kind folks back home as well as the answer to yesterday's quiz. It's not too late to vote!
つづく... (Click here to read more)
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