Monday, October 12, 2009
Hey, Sports Day!
Strictly speaking, today is Health and Sports Day but since the Japanese term matches the word they use for P.E. class (taiiku) I'll always think of "sports" rather than "health."
OK, I'm rambling a bit. My point is that we had a nice little three day weekend and while I didn't get up to much, I did appreciate the opportunity to sleep in - as much as any parent of a newborn can "sleep in." Having time off also meant I could watch the Yankees beat the Twins in the ALDS. Saturday's* game was a thriller, as extra-inning affairs always are, but today's game was even more fun. I couldn't believe Carl Pavano actually pitched a good game and I almost felt like he didn't deserve to lose. Then I remembered he was Carl Pavano and that made it a lot easier to see that big "L" next to his name.
With three days off I should have found time to write, but instead I used my free time to progress deeper in Batman: Arkham Asylum. The game is fantastic but so many people have written about how fantastic it is, I feel like I should probably write about what I don't like for the sake of variety. It might actually be more fun that way.
I'm hoping to get more writing done soon (especially concerning the tale of TGS which is long overdue) but I might not have much time ahead of me. My father is actually in Hong Kong right now and he's landing in Japan tomorrow for a week. He's come to see his grandson...and maybe his son too. So I anticipate a sudden drop in leisure time, even though seeing my father is a rare treat these days.
You can definitely expect something on Thursday though, if you catch my drift. I shouldn't say anything more, I'm not supposed to talk about it...
*Friday night in New York = Saturday morning in Japan. I live in the future, never forget that.
つづく...(Click here to read more)
OK, I'm rambling a bit. My point is that we had a nice little three day weekend and while I didn't get up to much, I did appreciate the opportunity to sleep in - as much as any parent of a newborn can "sleep in." Having time off also meant I could watch the Yankees beat the Twins in the ALDS. Saturday's* game was a thriller, as extra-inning affairs always are, but today's game was even more fun. I couldn't believe Carl Pavano actually pitched a good game and I almost felt like he didn't deserve to lose. Then I remembered he was Carl Pavano and that made it a lot easier to see that big "L" next to his name.
With three days off I should have found time to write, but instead I used my free time to progress deeper in Batman: Arkham Asylum. The game is fantastic but so many people have written about how fantastic it is, I feel like I should probably write about what I don't like for the sake of variety. It might actually be more fun that way.
I'm hoping to get more writing done soon (especially concerning the tale of TGS which is long overdue) but I might not have much time ahead of me. My father is actually in Hong Kong right now and he's landing in Japan tomorrow for a week. He's come to see his grandson...and maybe his son too. So I anticipate a sudden drop in leisure time, even though seeing my father is a rare treat these days.
You can definitely expect something on Thursday though, if you catch my drift. I shouldn't say anything more, I'm not supposed to talk about it...
*Friday night in New York = Saturday morning in Japan. I live in the future, never forget that.
Labels: baseball, Batman, family, video games, Yankees
つづく...(Click here to read more)
Thursday, September 03, 2009
T-minus Three Weeks til Tokyo
The word this week is zansho (残暑, literally "leftover heat"). August went out with a cool breeze but September has begun by turning the heat lamp back on. The nights are still reasonable, at least, but I do look forward to an end to this summer weather.
Speaking of looking forward, I hinted on Tuesday that something big in is the works. Admittedly, posting a simple "got good news, can't talk about it" paragraph was a bit unfair, but that was only because the magnitude of the good news outweighed my ability to pretend like nothing's going on. In a perfect world I would have written more that day and simply thrown in the teaser to keep you guessing, but with work starting and Go being a little cranky lately I have had precious little time to write much of anything.
What I will tell you is that I'm going to Tokyo in three weeks. There's a string of Japanese public holidays that happen to all fall together for a change, almost like a second Golden Week except this is a rare event, so I have an entire week off and I feel obliged to take advantage of it. Originally, the plan was just to hang out, see Richard, potentially catch up with other folks I know in the area, and go to the Tokyo Game Show. Alex is going too, so we would no doubt meet at some point as well.
The big news, which I'm still reluctant to fully reveal, is that this trip has changed from simple tourism to business. I'm still hoping to see my friends of course, but I now have a job to do while I'm in town. It's something I'm very excited about and I actually can't wait to discuss it, but until the trip draws nearer I'm going to try and keep my mouth shut. Call it my fear of Murphy's Law or counting my chickens before they hatch, but I don't want to jinx this because it's something I've wanted and now it looks like it's really going to happen.
If you want hints, I can tell you that I've written about this desire before (if not this specific opportunity) and if you read my Twitter feed closely enough, you might just figure it out on your own. Otherwise, sit tight, I promise I'll tell you everything later.
Oh, one more thing: Batman: Arkham Asylum is lots of fun. My copy finally arrived Tuesday night and it's already threatening my ability to sleep. Not only do I want to keep playing instead of going to bed, I actually dreamt about the game last night. Not even BioShock infiltrated my brain like that.
つづく...(Click here to read more)
Speaking of looking forward, I hinted on Tuesday that something big in is the works. Admittedly, posting a simple "got good news, can't talk about it" paragraph was a bit unfair, but that was only because the magnitude of the good news outweighed my ability to pretend like nothing's going on. In a perfect world I would have written more that day and simply thrown in the teaser to keep you guessing, but with work starting and Go being a little cranky lately I have had precious little time to write much of anything.
What I will tell you is that I'm going to Tokyo in three weeks. There's a string of Japanese public holidays that happen to all fall together for a change, almost like a second Golden Week except this is a rare event, so I have an entire week off and I feel obliged to take advantage of it. Originally, the plan was just to hang out, see Richard, potentially catch up with other folks I know in the area, and go to the Tokyo Game Show. Alex is going too, so we would no doubt meet at some point as well.
The big news, which I'm still reluctant to fully reveal, is that this trip has changed from simple tourism to business. I'm still hoping to see my friends of course, but I now have a job to do while I'm in town. It's something I'm very excited about and I actually can't wait to discuss it, but until the trip draws nearer I'm going to try and keep my mouth shut. Call it my fear of Murphy's Law or counting my chickens before they hatch, but I don't want to jinx this because it's something I've wanted and now it looks like it's really going to happen.
If you want hints, I can tell you that I've written about this desire before (if not this specific opportunity) and if you read my Twitter feed closely enough, you might just figure it out on your own. Otherwise, sit tight, I promise I'll tell you everything later.
Oh, one more thing: Batman: Arkham Asylum is lots of fun. My copy finally arrived Tuesday night and it's already threatening my ability to sleep. Not only do I want to keep playing instead of going to bed, I actually dreamt about the game last night. Not even BioShock infiltrated my brain like that.
Labels: Batman, mystery, Tokyo, video games, writing
つづく...(Click here to read more)
Monday, August 10, 2009
The Era of Bad Feelings
Once again, I find myself using my abundance of time spent at home as an excuse for not getting any writing done. I suppose the reason I'm stuck at home is a factor at well.
In case you haven't heard, I'm still sick. I've never been great at dragging diagnoses out of doctors in English, so doing it in Japanese is next to impossible, but so far as I can tell I've got some kind of virus. My overall condition has ranged from "ok" to "unpleasant" over the past two weeks, with the lowest points being Monday, July 27 and last Thursday when I was feverish. That second fever sent me back to the doctor for a blood test. He insisted that I get some rest and that this virus should soon pass, but as I begin my third week of not feeling well I'm a little bit suspicious.
The good news is that neither Go nor Mako are showing any signs of catching whatever I've got, so it seems I am not contagious. During both of my fevers they escaped to her parents' house to avoid possible contamination and let me rest, but I must assume that they would have gotten sick by now if that was possible. Still, it is extremely uncomfortable to hold Go in my arms and try to sooth him to sleep when all I want to do is go to the bathroom or lay down.
Lest you think I've been writhing in agony for the past two weeks, I have managed to entertain myself with video games. I actually finished BioShock which was tremendously satisfying. Why I put that game off for so long, I'll never understand. It actually wasn't that long of a game to complete; it just took me two months because I insisted on exploring every corner of the city. Part of me is strongly tempted to start a new game on a higher difficulty setting so I can see what's different (and get more trophies) but realistically, I have so little time to play games I'm better off moving on to something else.
That "something else" could be the upcoming Batman: Arkham Asylum, because I felt the demo was really quite good. Sneaking up behind thugs and silently taking them down was exciting, as was the hand-to-hand parts where I just beat the snot out of three guys at the same time. My biggest concern is that the game will get repetitive since Batman can't acquire new "powers" (he doesn't really have any to being with) but the myriad of options I've had in just the demo is extremely encouraging. It turns out there are an awful lot of ways to sneak up on someone in this game, which means that there isn't just one solution to each dangerous situation. I'm just going to wait and see what people say about it before I consider buying it.
In the meantime, there will be no time for games (or writing) as my mother and sister will be arriving in Japan on Wednesday for their first meeting with Go. It will be wonderful to see them again and let them watch the baby while Mako and I relax for once. Their vacation is our vacation! I'm kidding, of course, but not about being happy to have visitors. But this is one more reason I'm not going to have much time to write, so August is looking like a pretty sparse month on the blogging front. Then again, my sister makes up 20-50% of my readership which means my posts won't be missed much.
See you soon, Salena!
つづく...(Click here to read more)
In case you haven't heard, I'm still sick. I've never been great at dragging diagnoses out of doctors in English, so doing it in Japanese is next to impossible, but so far as I can tell I've got some kind of virus. My overall condition has ranged from "ok" to "unpleasant" over the past two weeks, with the lowest points being Monday, July 27 and last Thursday when I was feverish. That second fever sent me back to the doctor for a blood test. He insisted that I get some rest and that this virus should soon pass, but as I begin my third week of not feeling well I'm a little bit suspicious.
The good news is that neither Go nor Mako are showing any signs of catching whatever I've got, so it seems I am not contagious. During both of my fevers they escaped to her parents' house to avoid possible contamination and let me rest, but I must assume that they would have gotten sick by now if that was possible. Still, it is extremely uncomfortable to hold Go in my arms and try to sooth him to sleep when all I want to do is go to the bathroom or lay down.
Lest you think I've been writhing in agony for the past two weeks, I have managed to entertain myself with video games. I actually finished BioShock which was tremendously satisfying. Why I put that game off for so long, I'll never understand. It actually wasn't that long of a game to complete; it just took me two months because I insisted on exploring every corner of the city. Part of me is strongly tempted to start a new game on a higher difficulty setting so I can see what's different (and get more trophies) but realistically, I have so little time to play games I'm better off moving on to something else.
That "something else" could be the upcoming Batman: Arkham Asylum, because I felt the demo was really quite good. Sneaking up behind thugs and silently taking them down was exciting, as was the hand-to-hand parts where I just beat the snot out of three guys at the same time. My biggest concern is that the game will get repetitive since Batman can't acquire new "powers" (he doesn't really have any to being with) but the myriad of options I've had in just the demo is extremely encouraging. It turns out there are an awful lot of ways to sneak up on someone in this game, which means that there isn't just one solution to each dangerous situation. I'm just going to wait and see what people say about it before I consider buying it.
In the meantime, there will be no time for games (or writing) as my mother and sister will be arriving in Japan on Wednesday for their first meeting with Go. It will be wonderful to see them again and let them watch the baby while Mako and I relax for once. Their vacation is our vacation! I'm kidding, of course, but not about being happy to have visitors. But this is one more reason I'm not going to have much time to write, so August is looking like a pretty sparse month on the blogging front. Then again, my sister makes up 20-50% of my readership which means my posts won't be missed much.
See you soon, Salena!
Labels: Batman, BioShock, family, number one son, poor health, video games
つづく...(Click here to read more)
