I Hate to Think that All My Current Experiences Will Someday Become Stories With No Point
But alas, that's what it's come down to. I wrote my blog on my work computer, but didn't quite finish it. And then I forgot to bring it home to post it. So instead I'll post it on Jan 5 when I go back to work, and you can pretend that you were too busy to check my blog this past week, and think that I really posted it today, Dec 29, like I meant to! It all works!
Even though I know that nobody's too busy to not check my blog AT LEAST four times a day.
Thank you, farewell, and Happy New Years!
Friday, December 29, 2006
Monday, December 25, 2006
Christmas Eve
On window panes, the icy frost
Leaves feathered patterns, crissed & crossed,
But in our house the christmas tree
Is decorated festively
With tiny dots of colored light
That cozy up this winter night.
Christmas songs, familiar, slow,
Play softly on the radio.
Pops and isses from the fire
Whistle with the bells and choir.
My tiger is now fast asleep
On his back and dreaming deep.
When the fire makes him hot,
He turns to warm whatever's not.
Propped against him on the rug,
I give my friend a gentle hug.
Tomorrow's what I'm waiting for,
But I can wait a little more.
- Bill Watterson
Merry Christmas Everyone!
On window panes, the icy frost
Leaves feathered patterns, crissed & crossed,
But in our house the christmas tree
Is decorated festively
With tiny dots of colored light
That cozy up this winter night.
Christmas songs, familiar, slow,
Play softly on the radio.
Pops and isses from the fire
Whistle with the bells and choir.
My tiger is now fast asleep
On his back and dreaming deep.
When the fire makes him hot,
He turns to warm whatever's not.
Propped against him on the rug,
I give my friend a gentle hug.
Tomorrow's what I'm waiting for,
But I can wait a little more.
- Bill Watterson
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
A Nauseous Nocturne
At night my mind does not much care
If what it thinks is here or there.
It tells me stories it invents
And makes up things that don't make sense.
I don't know why it does this stuff.
The real world seems quite weird enough...
Another night deprived of slumber,
Hours passing without number,
My eyes trace 'round the room. I lay
Dripping sweat and now quite certain
That tonight the final curtain
Drops upon my short life's precious play.
From the darkness, by the closet
Comes a noise, much like a faucet
Makes: a madd'ning drip-drip-dripping sound.
It seems some ill-proportioned beast,
Anticipating me deceased,
Is drooling poison puddles on the ground.
A can of Mace, a forty-five,
Is all I'd need to stay alive,
But no weapon lies within my sight.
Oh my gosh! A shadow's creeping,
Omnious and black, it's seeping
Slowly 'cross a moonlit square of light!
Suddenly a floorboard creak
Announces the bloodsucking freak
Is here to steal my future years away!
A sulf'rous smell now fills the room
Heraldingmy imm'nent doom!
A fang gleams in the dark and murky gray!
Oh, blood-red eyes and tentacles!
Throbbing, pulsing ventricles!
Mucus-oozing pores and frightful claws!
Worse, in terms of outright scariness,
Are the suckers multifarious
That grab and force you in its mighty jaws!
This disgusting aberration
Of nature needs no motivation
To devour helpless children in their beds.
Relishing despairing moans,
It chews kids up and sucks their bones,
And dissolves inside its mouth their li'l heads!
I know this 'cause I read it not
Two hours ago, and then I got
The heebie-jeebies and these awful shakes.
My parents swore upon their honor
That I was safe, and not a goner.
I guess tomorrow they'll see their sad mistakes.
In the morning, they'll come in
And say, "what was that awful din
We heard last night? You kept us both from sleep!"
Only then will they surmise
The gruesomeness of my demise
And see that my remains are in a heap.
Dad will look at Mom and say,
"Too bad he had to go that way."
And Mom will look at Dad, and nod assent.
Mom will add, "Still, it's fitting,
That as he was this world quitting,
He should leave another mess before he went."
They may not mind at first, I know.
They will miss me later, though,
And perhaps admit that they were wrong.
As memories of me grow dim,
They'll say, "We were too strict with him.
We should have listened to him all along."
As speedily my end approaches,
I bid a final "buenas noches"
To my best friend here in all the world.
Gently snoring, whiskers seeming
To sniff at smells (he must be dreaming),
He lies snuggled in the blankets, curled.
HEY! WAKE UP, YOU STUPID CRETIN!
YOU GONNA SLEEP WHILE I GET EATEN?!
Suddenly the monster knows I'm not alone!
There's an animal in bed with me!
An awful beast he did not see!
The monster never would've come if he had known!
The monster, in his consternation,
Demonstates defenestration,
And runs and runs and runs and runs away.
Rid of the pest,
I now can rest,
Thanks to my best friend, who saved the day.
- Bill Watterson
Maybe this post will help people understand what goes on in my brain at night. My dreams get weirder and weirder every night.
At night my mind does not much care
If what it thinks is here or there.
It tells me stories it invents
And makes up things that don't make sense.
I don't know why it does this stuff.
The real world seems quite weird enough...
Another night deprived of slumber,
Hours passing without number,
My eyes trace 'round the room. I lay
Dripping sweat and now quite certain
That tonight the final curtain
Drops upon my short life's precious play.
From the darkness, by the closet
Comes a noise, much like a faucet
Makes: a madd'ning drip-drip-dripping sound.
It seems some ill-proportioned beast,
Anticipating me deceased,
Is drooling poison puddles on the ground.
A can of Mace, a forty-five,
Is all I'd need to stay alive,
But no weapon lies within my sight.
Oh my gosh! A shadow's creeping,
Omnious and black, it's seeping
Slowly 'cross a moonlit square of light!
Suddenly a floorboard creak
Announces the bloodsucking freak
Is here to steal my future years away!
A sulf'rous smell now fills the room
Heraldingmy imm'nent doom!
A fang gleams in the dark and murky gray!
Oh, blood-red eyes and tentacles!
Throbbing, pulsing ventricles!
Mucus-oozing pores and frightful claws!
Worse, in terms of outright scariness,
Are the suckers multifarious
That grab and force you in its mighty jaws!
This disgusting aberration
Of nature needs no motivation
To devour helpless children in their beds.
Relishing despairing moans,
It chews kids up and sucks their bones,
And dissolves inside its mouth their li'l heads!
I know this 'cause I read it not
Two hours ago, and then I got
The heebie-jeebies and these awful shakes.
My parents swore upon their honor
That I was safe, and not a goner.
I guess tomorrow they'll see their sad mistakes.
In the morning, they'll come in
And say, "what was that awful din
We heard last night? You kept us both from sleep!"
Only then will they surmise
The gruesomeness of my demise
And see that my remains are in a heap.
Dad will look at Mom and say,
"Too bad he had to go that way."
And Mom will look at Dad, and nod assent.
Mom will add, "Still, it's fitting,
That as he was this world quitting,
He should leave another mess before he went."
They may not mind at first, I know.
They will miss me later, though,
And perhaps admit that they were wrong.
As memories of me grow dim,
They'll say, "We were too strict with him.
We should have listened to him all along."
As speedily my end approaches,
I bid a final "buenas noches"
To my best friend here in all the world.
Gently snoring, whiskers seeming
To sniff at smells (he must be dreaming),
He lies snuggled in the blankets, curled.
HEY! WAKE UP, YOU STUPID CRETIN!
YOU GONNA SLEEP WHILE I GET EATEN?!
Suddenly the monster knows I'm not alone!
There's an animal in bed with me!
An awful beast he did not see!
The monster never would've come if he had known!
The monster, in his consternation,
Demonstates defenestration,
And runs and runs and runs and runs away.
Rid of the pest,
I now can rest,
Thanks to my best friend, who saved the day.
- Bill Watterson
Maybe this post will help people understand what goes on in my brain at night. My dreams get weirder and weirder every night.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
December 19
My hands were all shaky,
My face had gone pale.
A letter from Santa
Just arrived in the mail!
It was hand-written
In old-fashioned ink pen.
It was handsomely printed
And dated twelve-ten.
"Dear Calvin," it said,
"I'm writing because
This year I've repealed
My 'Naughty/Nice' laws.
"So now, I urge you:
Be vulgar and crude!
I LIKE it when children
Are boorish and rude!
"Burp at the table!
Gargle your peas!
Never say 'Thank you',
'You're welcome' or 'Please'
"Talk back to your mother.
Don't do as you're told.
Stick your tongue out
At your Dad if he scolds!
"Drive everyone crazy,
I really don't care!
Act like a jerk,
Anytime, anywhere!
"I'm changing the rules!
The BAD girls and boys
Will be, from now on,
The ones who get toys!
"Good little kids make me
Sick, it's no joke.
Sincerely, signed Santa."…
And then I awoke.
I hate being good
(Or trying to fake it).
Six days 'til Christmas!
I don't think I'll make it.
- Bill Watterson - "Calvin and Hobbes" - 12/19/1994
My hands were all shaky,
My face had gone pale.
A letter from Santa
Just arrived in the mail!
It was hand-written
In old-fashioned ink pen.
It was handsomely printed
And dated twelve-ten.
"Dear Calvin," it said,
"I'm writing because
This year I've repealed
My 'Naughty/Nice' laws.
"So now, I urge you:
Be vulgar and crude!
I LIKE it when children
Are boorish and rude!
"Burp at the table!
Gargle your peas!
Never say 'Thank you',
'You're welcome' or 'Please'
"Talk back to your mother.
Don't do as you're told.
Stick your tongue out
At your Dad if he scolds!
"Drive everyone crazy,
I really don't care!
Act like a jerk,
Anytime, anywhere!
"I'm changing the rules!
The BAD girls and boys
Will be, from now on,
The ones who get toys!
"Good little kids make me
Sick, it's no joke.
Sincerely, signed Santa."…
And then I awoke.
I hate being good
(Or trying to fake it).
Six days 'til Christmas!
I don't think I'll make it.
- Bill Watterson - "Calvin and Hobbes" - 12/19/1994
Van Gogh Would've Sold More Than One Painting If He'd Put Tigers in Them
So I said I'd have a blog up on Friday... well I lied! I don't play by anyone's rules. Except my own. And sometimes I don't even play by those!
A busy weekend again, though I didn't travel too far. Friday night was a typical gym/dinner/home evening. Saturday was a typical gym/haircut/downtown peanut butter expedition day, followed by Hikari Lightup in the evening.
Pictures will be most effective for this blog... so I'll just write about the other parts. Hikari Lightup, like many of Japan's lightups, involves lights. In this case, as in many cases, trees and paths are lit with lights. This one was a bit different though, as there were lightup displays made by students from Rie's university, which were cool and interesting. There was also a large number of vendors selling foreign food: tequila, tandoori chicken, donuts, hot dogs, etc...
There was also another Christmas concert, which was interesting because they were playing African and Latin American Christmas songs too o.O.
After stopping at Osaka station (Rie needed a computer mic from Yodobashi Camera), we said farewell to Anton and Rie and went to Kyobashi, with the goal of getting drunk as quickly as possible. And by we, I don't include myself. We found an all you can drink (nomihoudai) place, but misinterpreted the price outside, finding out it was a hostess bar too... so we moved on and found Beetle Girl's Bar. 2000-en for nomihoudai shochu. I had water :P.
Keith and Erika came late, I went to fetch them from the station, they wanted beer and not shochu so I went with them for snacks/beer. Then I left to return to the dorm, as the others were planning on clubbing the night away. Made curfew by less than 3 minutes, whew.
Saturday was Kobe, I met up with Keith, Erika, Boon-Hau, and very eventually Tongxin at Kyobashi, then headed for the Bruce Lee Weapons Store in Chinatown. Quite the selection of nunchakus, fake weapons, clothes, posters, figurines, etc... Boon bought a lot, I wonder if he'll have problems with customs...
Next was Kobe Luminaire, home to the largest lineup I've ever seen... about 10 blocks long with the entire street packed with people. Eventually you pass through large arches filled with lights, and at the end of the street is an arena of lights.
Afterwards I bought two hot double chocolate cookies (this is very important (to me)), and we went out in search of dinner. After walking in a very large cold circle we came to where we started... and found the restaurant we were looking for. Mmm, Kobe beef steak... Our meal cost 60 bucks each, for 10 bites of steak, but sooo good. Definitely worth trying once, though meals go downhill from here.
Oddly enough we saw Jen at the restaurant, not expecting her to be there at all! But she was the one to recommend the restaurant to us in the first place.
6 days till Christmas, and I'll be all alone... both Dave and Byron will be leaving this week, and I probably won't see them till after New Years. So I'm all alone for a week :(.
And I found the official dates for getting kicked out of my dorm! 1pm on the 29th, and then I can go back in on the 3rd. In other words, one night to pack and get out haha.
And more finalizing New Years plans... changing hotel reservations, reserving train tickets, etc, very busy...
Well, back to work! Pictures up in a few hours maybe.
So I said I'd have a blog up on Friday... well I lied! I don't play by anyone's rules. Except my own. And sometimes I don't even play by those!
A busy weekend again, though I didn't travel too far. Friday night was a typical gym/dinner/home evening. Saturday was a typical gym/haircut/downtown peanut butter expedition day, followed by Hikari Lightup in the evening.
Pictures will be most effective for this blog... so I'll just write about the other parts. Hikari Lightup, like many of Japan's lightups, involves lights. In this case, as in many cases, trees and paths are lit with lights. This one was a bit different though, as there were lightup displays made by students from Rie's university, which were cool and interesting. There was also a large number of vendors selling foreign food: tequila, tandoori chicken, donuts, hot dogs, etc...
There was also another Christmas concert, which was interesting because they were playing African and Latin American Christmas songs too o.O.
After stopping at Osaka station (Rie needed a computer mic from Yodobashi Camera), we said farewell to Anton and Rie and went to Kyobashi, with the goal of getting drunk as quickly as possible. And by we, I don't include myself. We found an all you can drink (nomihoudai) place, but misinterpreted the price outside, finding out it was a hostess bar too... so we moved on and found Beetle Girl's Bar. 2000-en for nomihoudai shochu. I had water :P.
Keith and Erika came late, I went to fetch them from the station, they wanted beer and not shochu so I went with them for snacks/beer. Then I left to return to the dorm, as the others were planning on clubbing the night away. Made curfew by less than 3 minutes, whew.
Saturday was Kobe, I met up with Keith, Erika, Boon-Hau, and very eventually Tongxin at Kyobashi, then headed for the Bruce Lee Weapons Store in Chinatown. Quite the selection of nunchakus, fake weapons, clothes, posters, figurines, etc... Boon bought a lot, I wonder if he'll have problems with customs...
Next was Kobe Luminaire, home to the largest lineup I've ever seen... about 10 blocks long with the entire street packed with people. Eventually you pass through large arches filled with lights, and at the end of the street is an arena of lights.
Afterwards I bought two hot double chocolate cookies (this is very important (to me)), and we went out in search of dinner. After walking in a very large cold circle we came to where we started... and found the restaurant we were looking for. Mmm, Kobe beef steak... Our meal cost 60 bucks each, for 10 bites of steak, but sooo good. Definitely worth trying once, though meals go downhill from here.
Oddly enough we saw Jen at the restaurant, not expecting her to be there at all! But she was the one to recommend the restaurant to us in the first place.
6 days till Christmas, and I'll be all alone... both Dave and Byron will be leaving this week, and I probably won't see them till after New Years. So I'm all alone for a week :(.
And I found the official dates for getting kicked out of my dorm! 1pm on the 29th, and then I can go back in on the 3rd. In other words, one night to pack and get out haha.
And more finalizing New Years plans... changing hotel reservations, reserving train tickets, etc, very busy...
Well, back to work! Pictures up in a few hours maybe.
Friday, December 15, 2006
I Try to Make Everyone's Day a Little More Surreal
Today's news headlines remind me of SimCity... In the 3000 version there's a news ticker at the bottom that tells you what's happening in your virtual city. For example, "Is Kitty Kibble Shortage A Hoax? Sims Search For Truth", or "Cat Hijacks Municipal Bus; Riders Applaud Good Timing At Stops And Courteous Meows"
In today's (real) news:
Puppy swallows 13-inch knife, survives
World's tallest man saves plastic eating dolphins
And finally...
Hermaphroditic deer with seven legs 'tasty'
And these aren't National Enquirer either, it's MSNBC and CNN.
New Years trip planning has been completed. It's a trip to Kyushu for me, seeing Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kumamoto and Mt. Aso, and Beppu. Looking forward to the private showers in my hotel room, contrasted with the famous public onsen in Kumamoto and Beppu, haha.
I also calculated that the total travel time between the cities I'm going to is around 43 hours. That doesn't include local travel within the cities either. Oi.
One month from today the Killers (a band) will be playing in Osaka, I'll probably go, tickets go on sale tomorrow. In February is Yuki Matsuri (Snow Festival) in Hokkaido, which will be expensive but fun. And my hotel looks very cool. I should get a thicker jacket before then. March is Tokyo, to tour one last time, and see Bloc Party as well. Plus I'll be busy at the gym, and with pushups, and practicing guitar and hacky sack and Japanese, time should go by fast. Too fast... ~.^
I'll be writing another blog today/tonight, so expect it up soon.
Today's news headlines remind me of SimCity... In the 3000 version there's a news ticker at the bottom that tells you what's happening in your virtual city. For example, "Is Kitty Kibble Shortage A Hoax? Sims Search For Truth", or "Cat Hijacks Municipal Bus; Riders Applaud Good Timing At Stops And Courteous Meows"
In today's (real) news:
Puppy swallows 13-inch knife, survives
World's tallest man saves plastic eating dolphins
And finally...
Hermaphroditic deer with seven legs 'tasty'
And these aren't National Enquirer either, it's MSNBC and CNN.
New Years trip planning has been completed. It's a trip to Kyushu for me, seeing Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kumamoto and Mt. Aso, and Beppu. Looking forward to the private showers in my hotel room, contrasted with the famous public onsen in Kumamoto and Beppu, haha.
I also calculated that the total travel time between the cities I'm going to is around 43 hours. That doesn't include local travel within the cities either. Oi.
One month from today the Killers (a band) will be playing in Osaka, I'll probably go, tickets go on sale tomorrow. In February is Yuki Matsuri (Snow Festival) in Hokkaido, which will be expensive but fun. And my hotel looks very cool. I should get a thicker jacket before then. March is Tokyo, to tour one last time, and see Bloc Party as well. Plus I'll be busy at the gym, and with pushups, and practicing guitar and hacky sack and Japanese, time should go by fast. Too fast... ~.^
I'll be writing another blog today/tonight, so expect it up soon.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
I Wonder If You Can Refuse to Inherit the World
Lots to write about. I journied west this week, to the city of Hiroshima.
I departed Friday night with Keith, Jiang 1 and Jiang 2 (both are Keith's co-workers from China). We took the night bus from Tennoji, about a 7 hour trip. Luckily this night bus was much better than the last, with each seat separated (seat, aisle, seat, aisle, seat) and there was a washroom in the back. Which was too short for me to fully stand in.
We arrived at Hiroshima Station at 6am, played cards and ate breakfast at Makudo for a while, then went on a hike to a shrine on top of a nearby mountain. We were mostly just killing time (Kelvin was due to arrive from Tokyo at 10am), but it was a good view.
Kelvin arrived in one piece, but not feeling the best. Another case of food poisoning: he had eaten expired tofu a few days earlier, adding to the list of "Food to Avoid". After taking awhile to plan our day, we made our way to the trams.
The first stop was Genbakudomu-mae, where the Hiroshima Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum are located. The weather was gloomy when we arrived, which seemed to fit the mood of the park. The dome was one of the few buildings left standing after the bomb dropped. We also saw the Children's Peace Monument, surrounded by glass cases holding tens of thousands of paper cranes.
The museum was pretty chilling... first displaying the history of Hiroshima, then showing before and after views of the city. The middle section showed artifacts that survived the bomb... clothes, lunchboxes, a rusty tricycle, a section of wall with a silhouette on it. A huge wall of letters, written by the mayors of Hiroshima, advocating the abolition of nuclear weapons. Pictures of the victims, covered in burns, describing death tolls and how the victims suffered, and teaching the science behind the atomic bomb and radiation sickness. It was a good experience, but difficult...
From Genbakudomu we went to Miyajima by ferry. The island is home to the Miyajima Floating Torii Gate, one of the 3 most beautiful views in Japan apparently. I think for this section a picture is worth a thousand words, so check out my webalbum instead for pictures.
The one interesting thing to note was one of the items in the gift shop... A towel with a picture of two women on it... and when the towel gets wet, their clothes disappear! Or, as the sign beside the towels put it "Surprise! A naked woman appears!". /sigh
Afterwards we decided to check into our accommodations for the night, a type of inn called a Ryokan (Translation: "Type of inn"). Upon finding out that we weren't staying in a hotel I must say I was a bit disappointed, I was looking forward to a private shower... Instead it was very communal, even compared to my dorm, as there were four buckets extremely close together. As in, if the room was full, the buckets must have been touching o.O. But I went at 1am when it was empty, hurray. The room was ok, slept on futons on tatami floors, and I got one of the better sleeps I've had in a while. Probably because the futons are softer than my bed, and because I wasn't listening to any weird music while I was sleeping. (Thanks a lot Brady, your crazy music invades my dreams and makes me think I'm going insane!)
Day 2 we went for breakfast at Lotteria, which serves its pancakes in a burger wrapper, with no butter, syrup, knife or fork. And orange drink sucks. We walked to Shukkuin Garden, which was quite nice to see. Kelvin came up with the idea of using our bodies to spell Hiroshima in Kanji (which was a humorous failure). We also saw the ruins and reconstruction of Hiroshima Castle, and went shopping in Hiroshima's downtown area.
On our walk we passed by a mall where a Christmas Concert was being held out front. To everyone who's seen A Christmas Story (ie, to everyone)... remember that scene at the Chinese restaurant where the staff sings Deck the Halls? Like that, only add another 20 people, a stage, microphones, background music and a bigger audience.
Not to mention the weirdest part. They weren't singing traditional Christmas carols, but religious songs, like "Oh Happy Day". In a population of less than 1% Christians, and after seeing Christmas (er, XMas) as a purely commercial affair here, this was very weird to see and hear.
After trying on interesting hats in the hip-hop stores (Yes, people aren't wearing enough hats, and yes, I want an Indiana Jones style fedora), we headed back to Hiroshima Station for our 7 hour train ride back home.
Other news... Well, Bloc Party tickets have been obtained! I got the ticket for the Tokyo show in the mail, and the Osaka ticket has been prereserved... now I'm debating whether to go see the Killers in January.
The training for the pushup competition is underway, though I will not say how many I am up to. Like in poker, gotta play your opponent, not your hand. Gya ha ha... Anyways, a trophy has been obtained, featuring Fullmetal Alchemist's Armstrong on the top, with his beautiful muscles haha.
And finally, trying to plan for New Years. Currently it's a train to Fukuoka, a loop around Kyushu, then back home. Maybe expensive, but we'll see. Gonna book hotels tonight.
Ja...
Lots to write about. I journied west this week, to the city of Hiroshima.
I departed Friday night with Keith, Jiang 1 and Jiang 2 (both are Keith's co-workers from China). We took the night bus from Tennoji, about a 7 hour trip. Luckily this night bus was much better than the last, with each seat separated (seat, aisle, seat, aisle, seat) and there was a washroom in the back. Which was too short for me to fully stand in.
We arrived at Hiroshima Station at 6am, played cards and ate breakfast at Makudo for a while, then went on a hike to a shrine on top of a nearby mountain. We were mostly just killing time (Kelvin was due to arrive from Tokyo at 10am), but it was a good view.
Kelvin arrived in one piece, but not feeling the best. Another case of food poisoning: he had eaten expired tofu a few days earlier, adding to the list of "Food to Avoid". After taking awhile to plan our day, we made our way to the trams.
The first stop was Genbakudomu-mae, where the Hiroshima Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum are located. The weather was gloomy when we arrived, which seemed to fit the mood of the park. The dome was one of the few buildings left standing after the bomb dropped. We also saw the Children's Peace Monument, surrounded by glass cases holding tens of thousands of paper cranes.
The museum was pretty chilling... first displaying the history of Hiroshima, then showing before and after views of the city. The middle section showed artifacts that survived the bomb... clothes, lunchboxes, a rusty tricycle, a section of wall with a silhouette on it. A huge wall of letters, written by the mayors of Hiroshima, advocating the abolition of nuclear weapons. Pictures of the victims, covered in burns, describing death tolls and how the victims suffered, and teaching the science behind the atomic bomb and radiation sickness. It was a good experience, but difficult...
From Genbakudomu we went to Miyajima by ferry. The island is home to the Miyajima Floating Torii Gate, one of the 3 most beautiful views in Japan apparently. I think for this section a picture is worth a thousand words, so check out my webalbum instead for pictures.
The one interesting thing to note was one of the items in the gift shop... A towel with a picture of two women on it... and when the towel gets wet, their clothes disappear! Or, as the sign beside the towels put it "Surprise! A naked woman appears!". /sigh
Afterwards we decided to check into our accommodations for the night, a type of inn called a Ryokan (Translation: "Type of inn"). Upon finding out that we weren't staying in a hotel I must say I was a bit disappointed, I was looking forward to a private shower... Instead it was very communal, even compared to my dorm, as there were four buckets extremely close together. As in, if the room was full, the buckets must have been touching o.O. But I went at 1am when it was empty, hurray. The room was ok, slept on futons on tatami floors, and I got one of the better sleeps I've had in a while. Probably because the futons are softer than my bed, and because I wasn't listening to any weird music while I was sleeping. (Thanks a lot Brady, your crazy music invades my dreams and makes me think I'm going insane!)
Day 2 we went for breakfast at Lotteria, which serves its pancakes in a burger wrapper, with no butter, syrup, knife or fork. And orange drink sucks. We walked to Shukkuin Garden, which was quite nice to see. Kelvin came up with the idea of using our bodies to spell Hiroshima in Kanji (which was a humorous failure). We also saw the ruins and reconstruction of Hiroshima Castle, and went shopping in Hiroshima's downtown area.
On our walk we passed by a mall where a Christmas Concert was being held out front. To everyone who's seen A Christmas Story (ie, to everyone)... remember that scene at the Chinese restaurant where the staff sings Deck the Halls? Like that, only add another 20 people, a stage, microphones, background music and a bigger audience.
Not to mention the weirdest part. They weren't singing traditional Christmas carols, but religious songs, like "Oh Happy Day". In a population of less than 1% Christians, and after seeing Christmas (er, XMas) as a purely commercial affair here, this was very weird to see and hear.
After trying on interesting hats in the hip-hop stores (Yes, people aren't wearing enough hats, and yes, I want an Indiana Jones style fedora), we headed back to Hiroshima Station for our 7 hour train ride back home.
Other news... Well, Bloc Party tickets have been obtained! I got the ticket for the Tokyo show in the mail, and the Osaka ticket has been prereserved... now I'm debating whether to go see the Killers in January.
The training for the pushup competition is underway, though I will not say how many I am up to. Like in poker, gotta play your opponent, not your hand. Gya ha ha... Anyways, a trophy has been obtained, featuring Fullmetal Alchemist's Armstrong on the top, with his beautiful muscles haha.
And finally, trying to plan for New Years. Currently it's a train to Fukuoka, a loop around Kyushu, then back home. Maybe expensive, but we'll see. Gonna book hotels tonight.
Ja...
Thursday, December 07, 2006
I Understand my Tests are Popular Reading in the Teachers' Lounge
Wow, haven't blogged for a while. Guess you all know what that means! Yep... I got work to do! Granted, it's just soldering/desoldering but work's work.
Soo, last weekend, Friday night was a welcoming party for the new person in my section, we had hotpot, it was pretty good. My coworkers were surprised when I told them it was -30 back in Calgary last week, and that smokes were 10 bucks a pack back home.
Saturday meant waking up quite early. I was meeting Keith (and very eventually Tongxin) at Yodobashi Camera to study for our big JLPT test. Breakfast, studying, camera buying, and lunch, and then Tongxin showed up around 2-2:30. Just as reference, we were all going to meet at 9:30am. Poor late Tongxin.
We travelled down to the Intex Osaka convention centre, on the west side of the city (where the Coldplay concert was), to see a robot exhibition. Some very cool things in here, including a spider bot which can scurry around, pick things up and put them on its head. Fighting robots, gymnastic robots that can do somersaults, boxing robots, biking robots, robots that look almost human. We got there late and only had an hour to see everything, but managed to see the important stuff.
After the expo, back to studying! By this time the Beatles were driving me nuts, Yodobashi Camera had the same CD playing all day long, which meant I heard Hey Jude 42 times, which is excessive even for Hey Jude. It turns out that level 3 JLPT is very hard, I did not do well on the practice tests at all, so I had low confidence for the next day.
So Sunday was the JLPT, I won't say much about it cept I'd be surprised if I even got one question right. Tongxin had an interesting test writing experience I hear. Later I went downtown and bought two books (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, and Bradbury's Classic Stories I (Which has A Sound of Thunder in it, woot!)).
I also bought a guitar. I can't play guitar. I know nothing about guitars. And I have no coordination. But what better time to learn! I ordered a lesson book and a book of music (Coldplay's Parachutes, has some excellent acoustic songs), should arrive this week or early next.
Anyway, after the test, Keith had to pick up Tongxin before heading to downtown Kyoto, so I dropped off my newfangled purchases back home then headed back downtown to meet them.
Where were we going? Kiyomizu Temple Lightup! It's where the take the temple... and they light it up! Anyway, it was pretty, but as I had been to the temple before, it wasn't much different. But still good to see I suppose. Pictures will be up on my webalbum soon.
Gym on monday. Went to see Casino Royale Tuesday night. Not a bad movie, started out good, but went downhill after the... well, during the torture scene. /shudders.
Yesterday Kelvin came down to Kansai on business, so we went out for dinner at Shin-Osaka. I was late because my Sub-Express train turned into a local train without my knowledge. We went to an Indian restaurant and had Indian beer, and then I missed shower curfew. Was good though.
I stayed up too late last night to finish my book, Curious Incident... It's about a 15 year old kid with Asperger's (similar to high functioning autism) who tries to solve the murder of his neighbour's dog. Very well written and interesting story. It's written as a fictional autobiography, so you read it in first person from the boy's point of view. I liked it, though I think maybe the author got a little too carried away with the plot, it's a little far fetched. Now onto more Bradbury.
Tomorrow, as Sir Jason of France so kindly reminded me, is Friday, ie Kyoto Accordion Day, hurray! And then I'm off on the night bus for Hiroshima, with Keith, Kelvin, and a few of Keith's coworkers.
What else? Hmm... people in Calgary, stay safe. Three people my age have died in Calgary this winter. A guy that I've known since Grade 7 was killed in a car accident last month. This morning I found out that two brothers from Calgary, one of which was in all of my engineering classes at school, died from CO poisoning from a faulty propane heater while out in the mountains. Very scary.
Until next week...
Wow, haven't blogged for a while. Guess you all know what that means! Yep... I got work to do! Granted, it's just soldering/desoldering but work's work.
Soo, last weekend, Friday night was a welcoming party for the new person in my section, we had hotpot, it was pretty good. My coworkers were surprised when I told them it was -30 back in Calgary last week, and that smokes were 10 bucks a pack back home.
Saturday meant waking up quite early. I was meeting Keith (and very eventually Tongxin) at Yodobashi Camera to study for our big JLPT test. Breakfast, studying, camera buying, and lunch, and then Tongxin showed up around 2-2:30. Just as reference, we were all going to meet at 9:30am. Poor late Tongxin.
We travelled down to the Intex Osaka convention centre, on the west side of the city (where the Coldplay concert was), to see a robot exhibition. Some very cool things in here, including a spider bot which can scurry around, pick things up and put them on its head. Fighting robots, gymnastic robots that can do somersaults, boxing robots, biking robots, robots that look almost human. We got there late and only had an hour to see everything, but managed to see the important stuff.
After the expo, back to studying! By this time the Beatles were driving me nuts, Yodobashi Camera had the same CD playing all day long, which meant I heard Hey Jude 42 times, which is excessive even for Hey Jude. It turns out that level 3 JLPT is very hard, I did not do well on the practice tests at all, so I had low confidence for the next day.
So Sunday was the JLPT, I won't say much about it cept I'd be surprised if I even got one question right. Tongxin had an interesting test writing experience I hear. Later I went downtown and bought two books (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, and Bradbury's Classic Stories I (Which has A Sound of Thunder in it, woot!)).
I also bought a guitar. I can't play guitar. I know nothing about guitars. And I have no coordination. But what better time to learn! I ordered a lesson book and a book of music (Coldplay's Parachutes, has some excellent acoustic songs), should arrive this week or early next.
Anyway, after the test, Keith had to pick up Tongxin before heading to downtown Kyoto, so I dropped off my newfangled purchases back home then headed back downtown to meet them.
Where were we going? Kiyomizu Temple Lightup! It's where the take the temple... and they light it up! Anyway, it was pretty, but as I had been to the temple before, it wasn't much different. But still good to see I suppose. Pictures will be up on my webalbum soon.
Gym on monday. Went to see Casino Royale Tuesday night. Not a bad movie, started out good, but went downhill after the... well, during the torture scene. /shudders.
Yesterday Kelvin came down to Kansai on business, so we went out for dinner at Shin-Osaka. I was late because my Sub-Express train turned into a local train without my knowledge. We went to an Indian restaurant and had Indian beer, and then I missed shower curfew. Was good though.
I stayed up too late last night to finish my book, Curious Incident... It's about a 15 year old kid with Asperger's (similar to high functioning autism) who tries to solve the murder of his neighbour's dog. Very well written and interesting story. It's written as a fictional autobiography, so you read it in first person from the boy's point of view. I liked it, though I think maybe the author got a little too carried away with the plot, it's a little far fetched. Now onto more Bradbury.
Tomorrow, as Sir Jason of France so kindly reminded me, is Friday, ie Kyoto Accordion Day, hurray! And then I'm off on the night bus for Hiroshima, with Keith, Kelvin, and a few of Keith's coworkers.
What else? Hmm... people in Calgary, stay safe. Three people my age have died in Calgary this winter. A guy that I've known since Grade 7 was killed in a car accident last month. This morning I found out that two brothers from Calgary, one of which was in all of my engineering classes at school, died from CO poisoning from a faulty propane heater while out in the mountains. Very scary.
Until next week...
Friday, December 01, 2006
It's Not Denial. I'm Just Very Selective About the Reality I Accept
"Ah, here's the problem. Somebody evidently left the rat faucet on down here!"
A blog of two parts, each one different as black and white, as night and day, as Captain Planet and the Abominable Snowman!
I'm sure you can tell which kind of part this is already.
Our first story of the day: Ice Cream Man! The Entertainer was playing in my office and now the darned thing is stuck in my head.
Next, we move to Western Canada, specifically the prairies, where it is very cold. -30 and lower in Calgary this week, and lots of snow. Makes me glad I'm here. Except of course, my kitchen, showers, and washroom are not heated. Which makes for chilly trips to the washroom in the morning. Not as bad as riding the C-Train or snow shovelling... yet...
From there, a more serious topic, I just finished reading Fahrenheit 451 on Tuesday, which is a very good book by the way, I don't know why any sane person would want to ban it. And then I read the news on Wednesday, about Newt Gingrich wants to restrict freedom of speech. He thinks the government should be able to shut down websites that may be used by 'terrorists'. It's just like Bradbury's book, which was written over 50 years now and is still extremely relevant. The scariest parts... this is coming from a man who is thinking of running for president... and a poll on MSNBC has 31% of the people agreeing with him!
To a more lighter topic... people in Leader, Saskatchewan are protesting the horrible conditions of their roads by creating a calendar that has them posing nude in potholes. Since that story speaks for itself, I have nothing more to say on the matter.
Next, the hiccups. I have them.
In Monday's meeting I heard the phrase Bisuta numerous times, which I think translates to Vista. This scares me. MS Vista comes out today, so maybe they were discussing the conversion from XP to Vista. Why is this scary? Well, the reason I can use Japanese XP is because I know English XP so well. I know nothing about Vista, so navigating options, menus, etc in Japanese may be trixy.
All I can say is that it better be possible to move the Start bar onto the right side of the screen. If not, expect a large rant. And yes, I'm aware that probably less than 0.001% of the population have their Start bar on the right side.
Finally, Kansai Invasion. I suppose I have to blog about it. But it'll be brief, don't worry.
First off, it was a blast, people came to Kansai from Tokyo, Hamamatsu, Nagoya and Fukui. 20+ people total involved in the events this weekend.
So I'll start up where I left off... Thursday night consisted of an all nighter at JJs... doing everything from basketball to pool to karaoke to DDR vs Boon Hau, it was a blast. I even got to sing Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)! Me and Keith even discovered the Super Famicom (SNES) and spent a few hours playing Super Donkey Kong (Country). Oh the memories, and we still knew where the secrets were. Only got halfway through world 5 before going to bed, but we'll be back to finish it! And then I got 2 hours of sleep in a hammock.
Friday, I went with Keith, Kevin, and Victor to Universal Studios Japan. It was just like walking back into the US (United States, not Universal Studios... though i suppose both would be applicable)! Except of course, for all the Japanese people. The rides were all the same (except in Japanese) with two additions, Jaws and Spiderman. Spiderman was done quite well, half ride, half 3D movie. Lineups were huge compared to the last time I went to US Hollywood (when lineups were about 5-10 minutes). 60-90 minutes per ride usually. We went to Namba for a bit afterwards, since Keith had time to kill before meeting up with his friend, then it was off to Nara for Anton's party.
Party was fun, loud, and full of alcohol. Thanks and sorry to Anton, who had to apologize to the neighbours for all the noise we made. I watched the drinking games from my futon throne, and we watched Neil on Cool! Japan, a Japanese TV show which follows gaijin around to see what they think of Japan. Cool to see Neil on it. Amusing videos of Jen were recorded, cake landed on the ground but was recovered according to the five second rule, Neil succumbed to the effects of eating eel liver combined with too much alcohol, and I slept in my private bed in Anton's closet.
Not a lot of sleep again, 4h max, and then off to the Arashiyama Monkey Park. "None of us is as dumb as all of us" applies here, when the group is too large, trying to get everyone both together and moving is next to impossible. Monkey park was the same as last time, only Boon Hau and Clement learned firsthand why not to stare at the monkeys. And we got to see the feeding this time. And the fall leaves were very cool. However, combine the fact that this is the best time of year to go, plus it being a long weekend, it was very busy. The train ride back to Kyoto was brutal, the worst I've seen it yet in Japan. Kinda like during the Stampede on the C-Train.
Well, after 6 hours of sleep in 3 days, I decided to skip clubbing, I went home and went to bed. Others went to temple light up and clubbing, but I was too tired. My Kansai Invasion ended there, with a relaxing Sunday at the gym and downtown.
Part I ends here. Please insert DISC 2.
"Ah, here's the problem. Somebody evidently left the rat faucet on down here!"
A blog of two parts, each one different as black and white, as night and day, as Captain Planet and the Abominable Snowman!
I'm sure you can tell which kind of part this is already.
Our first story of the day: Ice Cream Man! The Entertainer was playing in my office and now the darned thing is stuck in my head.
Next, we move to Western Canada, specifically the prairies, where it is very cold. -30 and lower in Calgary this week, and lots of snow. Makes me glad I'm here. Except of course, my kitchen, showers, and washroom are not heated. Which makes for chilly trips to the washroom in the morning. Not as bad as riding the C-Train or snow shovelling... yet...
From there, a more serious topic, I just finished reading Fahrenheit 451 on Tuesday, which is a very good book by the way, I don't know why any sane person would want to ban it. And then I read the news on Wednesday, about Newt Gingrich wants to restrict freedom of speech. He thinks the government should be able to shut down websites that may be used by 'terrorists'. It's just like Bradbury's book, which was written over 50 years now and is still extremely relevant. The scariest parts... this is coming from a man who is thinking of running for president... and a poll on MSNBC has 31% of the people agreeing with him!
To a more lighter topic... people in Leader, Saskatchewan are protesting the horrible conditions of their roads by creating a calendar that has them posing nude in potholes. Since that story speaks for itself, I have nothing more to say on the matter.
Next, the hiccups. I have them.
In Monday's meeting I heard the phrase Bisuta numerous times, which I think translates to Vista. This scares me. MS Vista comes out today, so maybe they were discussing the conversion from XP to Vista. Why is this scary? Well, the reason I can use Japanese XP is because I know English XP so well. I know nothing about Vista, so navigating options, menus, etc in Japanese may be trixy.
All I can say is that it better be possible to move the Start bar onto the right side of the screen. If not, expect a large rant. And yes, I'm aware that probably less than 0.001% of the population have their Start bar on the right side.
Finally, Kansai Invasion. I suppose I have to blog about it. But it'll be brief, don't worry.
First off, it was a blast, people came to Kansai from Tokyo, Hamamatsu, Nagoya and Fukui. 20+ people total involved in the events this weekend.
So I'll start up where I left off... Thursday night consisted of an all nighter at JJs... doing everything from basketball to pool to karaoke to DDR vs Boon Hau, it was a blast. I even got to sing Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)! Me and Keith even discovered the Super Famicom (SNES) and spent a few hours playing Super Donkey Kong (Country). Oh the memories, and we still knew where the secrets were. Only got halfway through world 5 before going to bed, but we'll be back to finish it! And then I got 2 hours of sleep in a hammock.
Friday, I went with Keith, Kevin, and Victor to Universal Studios Japan. It was just like walking back into the US (United States, not Universal Studios... though i suppose both would be applicable)! Except of course, for all the Japanese people. The rides were all the same (except in Japanese) with two additions, Jaws and Spiderman. Spiderman was done quite well, half ride, half 3D movie. Lineups were huge compared to the last time I went to US Hollywood (when lineups were about 5-10 minutes). 60-90 minutes per ride usually. We went to Namba for a bit afterwards, since Keith had time to kill before meeting up with his friend, then it was off to Nara for Anton's party.
Party was fun, loud, and full of alcohol. Thanks and sorry to Anton, who had to apologize to the neighbours for all the noise we made. I watched the drinking games from my futon throne, and we watched Neil on Cool! Japan, a Japanese TV show which follows gaijin around to see what they think of Japan. Cool to see Neil on it. Amusing videos of Jen were recorded, cake landed on the ground but was recovered according to the five second rule, Neil succumbed to the effects of eating eel liver combined with too much alcohol, and I slept in my private bed in Anton's closet.
Not a lot of sleep again, 4h max, and then off to the Arashiyama Monkey Park. "None of us is as dumb as all of us" applies here, when the group is too large, trying to get everyone both together and moving is next to impossible. Monkey park was the same as last time, only Boon Hau and Clement learned firsthand why not to stare at the monkeys. And we got to see the feeding this time. And the fall leaves were very cool. However, combine the fact that this is the best time of year to go, plus it being a long weekend, it was very busy. The train ride back to Kyoto was brutal, the worst I've seen it yet in Japan. Kinda like during the Stampede on the C-Train.
Well, after 6 hours of sleep in 3 days, I decided to skip clubbing, I went home and went to bed. Others went to temple light up and clubbing, but I was too tired. My Kansai Invasion ended there, with a relaxing Sunday at the gym and downtown.
Part I ends here. Please insert DISC 2.
Open Door’s an Invitation! Gotta Jump While the Door’s Open!
I was just guessing, At numbers and figures
Pulling your puzzles apart
Questions of science, Science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart
Tell me you love me, come back and haunt me
Oh when I rush to the start
Running in circles, Chasing our tails
Coming back as we are
Nobody said it was easy
Oh it's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
I’m going back to the start
- "The Scientist", Coldplay
"Falling's easy, you just fall. Jumping requires strength of will.
"You should really try the jumping, it's the greatest feeling in the world"
- Dead Like Me
As I have mentioned before, work isn't going so well. I don't really know why I'm here. To make the company look good I suppose. Or maybe I'm supposed to teach English? Or de-culture shock my coworkers? But it's difficult for me, since I'm shy, and the lack of language makes me feel even shyer. I'd feel like it's my fault, I was foolish to go to Japan without a larger grasp on the language, but my company specifically wanted someone with very little Japanese in the first place.
So that leads me here, right now. Sitting in my office with very little work to do. Too much time on my hands, and nothing to spend it on. I know some people would like this kind of job, but I'd rather have too much work to do than barely any at all. Feeling productive makes me happy. When I look to the future, I don't see four months of steady work ahead. In place of work I predict more emailing and reading news on the internets. Same with when I'm at my dorm... winter is depressing, and besides gym, dinner, and pushups, there's a lot of time to fill up every night. I see a long road stretched out in front of me, barren at the moment, and it's my job to fill it, make it easier to walk down.
So what do I do with all the empty time ahead? What do I fill it with? Well, I've had a lot of time to think at work, and there's a few things I'd really like to do.
Well, to start, I've been reading a lot since I came to Japan. (Re)Reading both of Douglas Adams' series, especially his miscellaneous writings at the beginning of the Salmon of Doubt, I was blown away. Followed that up with the amazing Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, Asimov's "The Last Question", and the numerous other stories and books, made me think, wow, I want to write too! Or maybe I could draw. I've wanted to draw for years, I've gotten books out of the library, tried some little sketches, but never really sat down and tried to draw.
At my dorm I have time on my hands, why not make some music? I never leave home without my iPod, and my music is usually on when I'm at home. I even sleep with music on! I have music software on my computer, and I had a keyboard in Canada, and rarely used it.
So why don't I? Fear I guess... the thing I like least about myself is my lack of self confidence. Fear of failure, of not being good enough.
The best example is myself in Japan. I don't like trying to talk to people in Japanese because I think I'll just embarrass myself. I want to wait until I learn more Japanese so I'll be able to speak better... unfortunately, the best way to learn is through practice. I'm currently procrastinating sending out my resume because I'm afraid it's not good enough. I always seem to sit on the sidelines, learning the theory, studying the language, reading the rules, instead of getting out there and playing the game.
"If you've been putting off a jump... just putting it off... sometimes the subtle things are what make you take the plunge."
Why am I writing this? Well, probably because of work. Work's given me a lot of time to think, and all these things are things I really want to do, if only I can just stop worrying about the outcome and just doing them! And maybe by writing this will give me some resolve, will push me forward. Life's too short to live on the sidelines!
All the times I did take a risk, did what I really wanted to do, I haven't regretted it. Applying to Japan was one of the best choices I've ever made. Even a few months ago, deciding to join the gym and going every day was a big step, and I'm incredibly glad I made it.
I'm going to start writing a short story this week, maybe I'll post my results on my blog when (if ever) I finish it... and if it's no good, I'll just try again! I'm also buying something this weekend that will make me happy, I'll put a photo of it up on Monday.
"The best thing about cliffs is jumping!"
"I'm not much for jumping. I'm not much for landing either."
"You don't have to worry about where you land..."
"A leap of faith?"
I want to be a Jumper.
I was just guessing, At numbers and figures
Pulling your puzzles apart
Questions of science, Science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart
Tell me you love me, come back and haunt me
Oh when I rush to the start
Running in circles, Chasing our tails
Coming back as we are
Nobody said it was easy
Oh it's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
I’m going back to the start
- "The Scientist", Coldplay
"Falling's easy, you just fall. Jumping requires strength of will.
"You should really try the jumping, it's the greatest feeling in the world"
- Dead Like Me
As I have mentioned before, work isn't going so well. I don't really know why I'm here. To make the company look good I suppose. Or maybe I'm supposed to teach English? Or de-culture shock my coworkers? But it's difficult for me, since I'm shy, and the lack of language makes me feel even shyer. I'd feel like it's my fault, I was foolish to go to Japan without a larger grasp on the language, but my company specifically wanted someone with very little Japanese in the first place.
So that leads me here, right now. Sitting in my office with very little work to do. Too much time on my hands, and nothing to spend it on. I know some people would like this kind of job, but I'd rather have too much work to do than barely any at all. Feeling productive makes me happy. When I look to the future, I don't see four months of steady work ahead. In place of work I predict more emailing and reading news on the internets. Same with when I'm at my dorm... winter is depressing, and besides gym, dinner, and pushups, there's a lot of time to fill up every night. I see a long road stretched out in front of me, barren at the moment, and it's my job to fill it, make it easier to walk down.
So what do I do with all the empty time ahead? What do I fill it with? Well, I've had a lot of time to think at work, and there's a few things I'd really like to do.
Well, to start, I've been reading a lot since I came to Japan. (Re)Reading both of Douglas Adams' series, especially his miscellaneous writings at the beginning of the Salmon of Doubt, I was blown away. Followed that up with the amazing Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, Asimov's "The Last Question", and the numerous other stories and books, made me think, wow, I want to write too! Or maybe I could draw. I've wanted to draw for years, I've gotten books out of the library, tried some little sketches, but never really sat down and tried to draw.
At my dorm I have time on my hands, why not make some music? I never leave home without my iPod, and my music is usually on when I'm at home. I even sleep with music on! I have music software on my computer, and I had a keyboard in Canada, and rarely used it.
So why don't I? Fear I guess... the thing I like least about myself is my lack of self confidence. Fear of failure, of not being good enough.
The best example is myself in Japan. I don't like trying to talk to people in Japanese because I think I'll just embarrass myself. I want to wait until I learn more Japanese so I'll be able to speak better... unfortunately, the best way to learn is through practice. I'm currently procrastinating sending out my resume because I'm afraid it's not good enough. I always seem to sit on the sidelines, learning the theory, studying the language, reading the rules, instead of getting out there and playing the game.
"If you've been putting off a jump... just putting it off... sometimes the subtle things are what make you take the plunge."
Why am I writing this? Well, probably because of work. Work's given me a lot of time to think, and all these things are things I really want to do, if only I can just stop worrying about the outcome and just doing them! And maybe by writing this will give me some resolve, will push me forward. Life's too short to live on the sidelines!
All the times I did take a risk, did what I really wanted to do, I haven't regretted it. Applying to Japan was one of the best choices I've ever made. Even a few months ago, deciding to join the gym and going every day was a big step, and I'm incredibly glad I made it.
I'm going to start writing a short story this week, maybe I'll post my results on my blog when (if ever) I finish it... and if it's no good, I'll just try again! I'm also buying something this weekend that will make me happy, I'll put a photo of it up on Monday.
"The best thing about cliffs is jumping!"
"I'm not much for jumping. I'm not much for landing either."
"You don't have to worry about where you land..."
"A leap of faith?"
I want to be a Jumper.
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