Thursday, February 07, 2008
WOOO!
Triple the excitement in a single blog post!
First, let me congratulate and extend my hearty thanks to the New York Football Giants. While I was unable to watch Super Bowl XLII live (Sunday night EST = Monday morning JST) I stringently avoided any spoilers on the Internet while at work and then rushed home in time to catch the evening's rebroadcast. NHK opted to edit the game for time concerns but they made some odd choices. They skipped most of the scoreless second quarter but then aired the entire halftime performance by Tom Petty - what the hell for?
Irregardless of the apparent Japanese passion for tame rock entertainment, NHK wisely aired the second half in its entirety. I had my doubts that Eli could pull off a TD drive with less than three minutes on the clock, but once he managed to hit David Tyree after escaping what looked like a certain sack...well, my doubts we erased. Watch it yourself if you missed it!
In the end the Giants won and, better still, the Pats lost and their "perfect season" had a perfect ending - perfect for New Yorkers that is! To that, I shall say WOOO!
Second, this afternoon I received word from the board of education that my request for a contract renewal has been approved. That means I get at least one more year at my cushy job in Japan. Hence, I shall say WOOO!
Finally, a somewhat random note. I am, frankly, an anomaly here in Japan. While there are millions of foreigners here, we still represent barely one percent of the population (with white guys an even smaller fraction therein). But in Japan, race doesn't matter that much - a foreigner is a foreigner because we're not Japanese. Our individual backgrounds, our cultures, hell, even our names are all the same to the locals. Students and teachers alike occasionally call me by my predecessor's name, despite the fact that it doesn't sound anything like my name nor do we look alike (I never met him but his last name suggests a Chinese heritage). But things get weird when people call me other names... be they miscellaneous foreign names or even pejoratives like "weirdo" (変人 henjin). And yet this week I heard the strangest one yet. I ran into a student at the BOE office and he, suddenly startled, said "Oh, Michael Jackson!"
What else can I say but WOOO!
First, let me congratulate and extend my hearty thanks to the New York Football Giants. While I was unable to watch Super Bowl XLII live (Sunday night EST = Monday morning JST) I stringently avoided any spoilers on the Internet while at work and then rushed home in time to catch the evening's rebroadcast. NHK opted to edit the game for time concerns but they made some odd choices. They skipped most of the scoreless second quarter but then aired the entire halftime performance by Tom Petty - what the hell for?
Irregardless of the apparent Japanese passion for tame rock entertainment, NHK wisely aired the second half in its entirety. I had my doubts that Eli could pull off a TD drive with less than three minutes on the clock, but once he managed to hit David Tyree after escaping what looked like a certain sack...well, my doubts we erased. Watch it yourself if you missed it!
In the end the Giants won and, better still, the Pats lost and their "perfect season" had a perfect ending - perfect for New Yorkers that is! To that, I shall say WOOO!
Second, this afternoon I received word from the board of education that my request for a contract renewal has been approved. That means I get at least one more year at my cushy job in Japan. Hence, I shall say WOOO!
Finally, a somewhat random note. I am, frankly, an anomaly here in Japan. While there are millions of foreigners here, we still represent barely one percent of the population (with white guys an even smaller fraction therein). But in Japan, race doesn't matter that much - a foreigner is a foreigner because we're not Japanese. Our individual backgrounds, our cultures, hell, even our names are all the same to the locals. Students and teachers alike occasionally call me by my predecessor's name, despite the fact that it doesn't sound anything like my name nor do we look alike (I never met him but his last name suggests a Chinese heritage). But things get weird when people call me other names... be they miscellaneous foreign names or even pejoratives like "weirdo" (変人 henjin). And yet this week I heard the strangest one yet. I ran into a student at the BOE office and he, suddenly startled, said "Oh, Michael Jackson!"
What else can I say but WOOO!
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Reading your words about Japanese people not bothering to recognize foreigners as individuals is the kind of thing that wore on me when I was there.
But, unlike glass that looses it's edge when the sea beats on it, my edges hardened:0
But, unlike glass that looses it's edge when the sea beats on it, my edges hardened:0
# posted by 
: 10 February, 2008 04:49
: 10 February, 2008 04:49
Michael Jackson, huh? Maybe you should try out some MJ karaoke and see if it fits... Would you believe it-- I didn't even watch the superbowl!
love,
h
コメントがあります？ Type something, please. It's less work for me.love,
h
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