Juxtaposed in Japan

Friday, March 19th

That inescapable relationship between cause and effect

Current Sounds: BBC special on TV

Crash damage
Aftermath

So, as you can see here, the car isn't too bad off. Definitely has seen better days, and I don't know if it'll actually be repaired or what's to come of it, but.. anyway, that's what happened, for anyone who's curious.

Personally, I don't really have any issues with driving again, even did the same drive yesterday and felt relatively okay about it. As I approached the same intersection, I noted that the height of the bridge guard-rails are right at headlight-height, which makes me feel better about how I somehow missed seeing an on-coming car. Unless you prop yourself up, it's entirely possible to miss it. Though despite having that uncertainty out of the way.. dunno, just feel pretty down as of late.

I somehow suspect that watching a BBC special on how some of the greatest minds of the past 200 years were all brilliant, ahead of their time, and killed themselves isn't helping my mood. Yes, that probably isn't a good idea.

Objectively, though, things are going all right. Been studying a lot lately, making good progress in a novel I picked up recently (in Japanese), and my work schedule's going to lighten up for the next few weeks. I've also started researching Japanese graduate schools to apply for, though I have to admit that the whole idea is ridiculously stressful and uncertain. At the same time, it's also more than a bit exciting. Can I afford it? I think so. Can I hack it in a Japanese university? I really don't know. But it somehow feels like something of a special achievement if I could earn a degree abroad.

Either way, I'll be applying both in the states and in Japan, which means I've got a lot of studying ahead of me.

I also find it hard to express myself in English as of late. It's probably good practice for me to write like this, then. It's not that I don't use English. Actually, I use it nearly on par with my life in America. It's just the content that has changed. I speak to teach. I speak to communicate instructions. Hard, tangible facts that have defined answers. So though I speak and communicate all day, every day in English (including with speakers on a near-native level), it's rare to talk about anything deep or personal. When I do talk on a personal level (talking about values, dreams, ideas, feelings, impressions, etc), those conversations take place in Japanese. Doesn't mean much, but it's interesting that I find it increasingly hard to find the words to describe my feelings in English as of late.

And now... STORY TIME!!!!

I make it no secret that my life is a bit on the dysfunctional side. Not in a bad way, really. I mean, if I wanted to I'm sure I could put a stop to a lot of the stuff, but the fact is that I find much of what goes on in my life absolutely fascinating.

So, last Friday my coworker invited me, the new teacher, and me to have dinner with him and and his girlfriend. After work I went there, had a lovely dinner prepared by her, and we all talked for several hours. There's a certain undeniable "Hi! I'm 12 years old!" feeling when everyone else at the table is drinking wine and you have orange juice, but hey.. that's a personal choice. Anyway, it was nice, and I had a relatively good time.

Sunday comes and I'm wandering around the mall when said co-worker spots me and calls me, asking me to have coffee in a cafe at the mall with him and his girlfriend. I say 'sure' (not like I've got much else to do), order some tea, and sit down. Now, what's wrong with this situation?

Being as I'm incredibly observant (not that you need to be in this situation), I notice in short order that this is a different woman from Friday. Uh.. girlfriend? They're going to a movie? Now that's an awkward situation to be in. Apparently my coworker (American, for anyone who's curious) has two girlfriends, and doesn't seem to feel this is a problem. Now what he does is his business. I seriously don't care (even if I morally object). Except that I vaguely know this woman (she's a barista at the cafe I go to every day to study). Oh well.. awkward!

BUT IT GETS BETTER!

Since she and I have now been introduced, she started talking to me after work (about 4 hours on Monday) and we've become friends of sort. This now puts me in an awkward position. Not my place to get involved (and I don't intend to). That's between her and my coworker. But I also don't exactly want to be a party to this.. gar.

Anyway, I'll keep you updated as I'm sure this will just get more exciting (and awkward) as time goes by.

Who ever said life was boring?

I'm gonna get to bed now. Got a busy day starting with kindergarten tomorrow.
I'll write something again soon!
Posted by Jason Jason on 03.19.10 @ 01:15 JST [link] [2 comments]

Monday, March 15th

An update from the land of the rising sun

Current Sounds: Prozzak - Sweeping Romance

Hey.. here I am, actually updating in a reasonable period of time! Figured I should update with more reasonable "What's Jason been up to?" stuff rather than leave you all (all 2.5 of you) with car crashing and such.

What, exactly, have I been up to? Well, that's a pretty good question. When I look back on the past months, I'm inclined to say "not a whole lot" because, frankly, my life is pretty much a blur of teaching and studying on the weekdays, then studying further on the weekends. But when I look back at my photos, apparently I've been up to a bit more than that.

I guess the most important (and drastic) detail is that I've decided that though I'll still be applying for US grad schools for 2011, I'm focusing a lot of my energies on going to graduate school here in Japan. It's for several reasons, really. Citing the current slump in the US economy is overdone, but in my case it means that universities are not only dealing with higher application rates, but it also means there's less student/financial aid to go around. A serious concern. Also, it's actually cheaper for me to attend graduate school in Japan than to pay out-of-state tuition stateside. Going back to Arizona isn't a possibility (both for academic as well as personal reasons), so out-of-state is my only choice. Finally, if I'm going to be studying Japanese for my Master's (yes, I know.. I'm pretty intent on being unemployable), Japan seems like a good choice. I'll let you know how that all pans out, though. It does mean, however, that I really must study Japanese. Hard.

Other than that? I'm going to Taiwan for a week in April ('Golden Week' holidays here in Japan), which should be a lot of fun. Never been there and I've got some friends to visit, so it should be a pretty awesome experience. It's still pretty far out, though, so I'm not really planning much for it yet. I can't say I know really any Chinese, but luckily my friend will be free for most of the time I'm there, and if worse comes to worse, I can survive off of English (taught from elementary school there) and Japanese (huge tourism industry). Wish me luck!

Back here in Japan, life's going all right. My students are all really nice, and the schedule isn't too bad. I'm still continuing with calligraphy, and do that twice a month, though I can't exactly say I've been improving. The funny thing is that each lesson I go in, work on four characters, and within the 2 hour period, I finally somehow manage to master them. Then two weeks later, I come back and start all over, only to find out that once more I write these new characters like an epileptic monkey. It's a pretty good experience overall, though, so even if frustrating I'm glad I've kept up with it.

As per usual, I would pontificate a bit and ramble on introspectively about life, things, and stuff that's been going on, but it's already a bit long. I'll leave that for next time, so we can hear more about the more daily stuff. But hey, at least you're up to date now, right?

I'm gonna try to get some sleep (can't sleep lately.. really annoying) and then ostensibly teach some people some English tomorrow.

By the way, there are pictures located under "More..." at the bottom of this entry. Check 'em out!
Posted by Jason Jason on 03.15.10 @ 01:12 JST [more..] [1 comment]

Friday, March 12th

Car Crash Fun!

Current Sounds: My Chemical Romance - Welcome to the Black Parade

Wow.. talk about disappearing for awhile. Hate to say I'm getting pretty good at it. It's not that I mean to, it's just that.. dunno, I find myself increasingly introverted as of late. Then stuff piles up and it becomes more and more intimidating to actually write. But I should at least get around to some important stuff while it's still relevant.

First and foremost, I'm okay. Not injured, fine, nothing serious nor lasting. That's the good news! It just goes down from here, yo.

So, got into the first car crash of my life yesterday. Luckily, I went from a dead stop (stop sign) and was turning right when it happened in a neighborhood, so it was only about 7mph or less (my speed) and 20 or so for the other car. But speed of the collision aside it, as the kids would say, sucked. Happened at 9pm, right after work, was on my way home. Turning, BAM, hear a nice, delightful crunching noise and the car jerks a bit. Unlike all movies, TV shows, and commercials would suggest, my reaction was a bit on the underwhelming side. I certainly said some choice words that I wouldn't repeat in front of a nun, my grandparents, or young children, but it was more of a statement and less of a exclamation, yell, or anything else.

Does this matter? No, not really, but I still find it odd at how minimal my reactions are to serious situations. I mean, c'mon, shouldn't I be more responsive? Bah.

Of course, that was just the beginning of my nightmare. Fortunately, the other driver was also okay (middle-aged woman). I checked on her, got her to report it to the police, and called my boss. You see, I drive a company car, so the most important thing I had to do was notify my boss and get the wheels of insurance in motion. Let me assure you, this is NOT a call you want to make. It went a lil' somethin' like this:

"Hey, Mrs. Ta--ma. It's Jason! Remember your car? The one with working headlights and was drivable? Weeeeelllll..... it's still got one of those headlights, and I'm not sure about the driving part."

She lets me know the insurance guy is racing to the scene, and to cooperate with police (like I had any other intention). Fortunately, the woman I plowed into was pretty kind and understanding and let me wait in her car while we waited for the police.

Speaking of police! I don't know anyone who actually enjoys talking to police. Unlike most of the people I know, however, I rather like police, respect them, and think they're great, fine people (maybe I'm naive). But remember that Japanese is a language of nuance, NOT my first language, and that this is a traffic accident investigation. Oh joy, let me try out my hard-won language skillz! (<--- yes, with a Z)

They were, for their part, mostly kind to me and really understanding. One guy continuously tried to talk me into admitting fault ("So you didn't stop?" No, I stopped. "And you didn't look, right?" Of course I looked. "So, you just glanced before speeding out?" I was going slower than a bike, and I totally looked.), but hey, that's his job. Not gonna fault him for trying! Unfortunately, this is where we hit problem #2: Japan is a country all about admitting one's faults, owning up, and saying you're sorry.

HA!, I say. Yes, HA! Of course, I felt ridiculously guilty. My fault or not, this woman has to stand out with the cold, her husband worrying about her, and deal with police. Sure, I do too, but I just want to apologize. But nay, I am American. If I've learned one thing in life, it's that in legal situations, you ADMIT NOTHING. Got a picture of me clubbing a baby seal while speeding? Sir, I contend that picture is FAKED. Even if it were real, it's a photo. You don't see how moments before, the baby seal attacked me. Self defense!

While I really, honestly, don't feel I did anything wrong, I just feel bad for not being able to apologize to the poor woman. But an apology--an admission--is a guilty verdict. Now and forever. Facts can be re-analyzed, but an admission is a one time folly. In the end, the police found no one at fault and threw it to the insurance people.

Speaking of, the insurance guy finally arrived. Not to put my company and boss' business deals into question, but the insurance guy kinda scares me. Like, 'knee-capping yakuza' kinda thing.

Got driven home by my boss ("Hey.. uh.. sorry about the car?"), had to car pool today, and should be using a loan car tomorrow.

Can't say I'm feeling all too chipper. Of course, part of it is the loss of face in front of my boss and costing all this money. The other part, though, was the sobering realization that when bad things happen, there's really no one for me to talk to. I come home at 10pm, look around, and.. stare at the roof. Even if something big happens, it all occurs in a vacuum. Kinda.. sad.

Anyway, got more to talk about later, on a more uplifting note (future plans and the like), but this is long as it is. I'll update this weekend with some pictures.

Later!
Posted by Jason Jason on 03.12.10 @ 02:40 JST [link] [3 comments]

Wednesday, January 6th

A JASON!!?!?! Yes, they live.

Current Sounds: Ayaka - Why

What's it been? 6 months or so since I last wrote? Rest assured, this website/journal hasn't been forgotten. Not by a long shot. In fact, I even paid for more webhosting, bought and moved the domain, and challenged charges related to it all the while doing absolutely nothing with it. To be honest, not a week went by when I didn't think of something I wanted to post, be it a picture, video, or short missive on what's been going on in my life.

"So," the casual observer may ask, "why didn't you write, you lazy bum?"

"Simple," I'd reply with practiced non-chalance, "I had too many things to say and not enough words to say them with."

In short: writer's block. Or not so much a block, but a sheer and complete inability to put the complex events and feelings into words. So I came up with a great solution: To not talk about it at all and simply move forward. So that's what we're gonna do, dear reader! It's a new year and time for new things. No sense in letting the past hang us up, right?

Where've I been the past 6 months? Living, basically. I've had amazing gains, and harsh, soul-tearing losses. I've been in speech contests, I've taken (and passed!!) Japanese proficiency tests, and I've traveled. Went to a lot of places actually, all that I wish I could write about. Have hundreds of pictures too.. but hey, we're not going there, remember? (e-mail me if you want some updates, though, be it pictures or otherwise). I've bought new furniture, and I've taught myself how to knit (are either of these useful...?).

So though last year was a mixed bag, I regret none of it and would generally call it all a great experience. But enough of that!

What we're talking about now is 2010. It's already the 5th, and there's a lot to do in only 360 days. My goal for this year is to pass the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) Level 1 (the top level.. I took and passed level 2 last year in July), in the summer, take the GRE, and apply for graduate school sometime this year. I toyed with the idea of attending grad school in 2010, but for the sake of "living while you're young" (and I can still be insanely irresponsible without it really affecting anyone), so I decided to stay in Japan as a teacher for 3 years for more real-world experience and to save more money. Plus, the economy stateside's kinda shady, if you know what I mean.

Though most of those goals are still quite a bit off, I try to study Japanese for 3-4 hours a day, 4 times a week (plus meeting with my friend/coworker and studying together). Take that, yo.

And.. well, that's pretty much where I stand, as I write at 1:45am here in Japan, now officially 24 years old. Though older, I don't seem to be taller or wiser quite yet, though I'm working on at least one of the two of those.

I should be going, but I just wanted to get something down and get myself back in the swing of writing and logging my life again. For anyone who's curious, however, I did make a video of my 24th birthday (I had a little party!). For your viewing pleasure.

Off I go.. and don't miss me too much.
Posted by Jason Jason on 01.06.10 @ 01:51 JST [link] [3 comments]

Sunday, May 31st

I'm finally a licensed driver in Japan!

Well, let's just say that the Japanese driving test managed to personally crush any sense of self-esteem and self-worth that I may have at one point possessed. Took the test on Wednesday (failed), Thursday (failed), Tuesday (failed), Thursday (failed) and Friday (passed). The failure? That was hard. But mixing that with having to wake up at 6:30am, work until 9pm, pay $24 to test each time and drive an hour each way, that made it a rather miserable week.

Why did I fail? Sometimes for some decent reasons. I ran over the yellow line marking a turn lane from a through lane. A wheel went off the curb on the S-curve (though, in my defense, I don't know anyone in Japan who drives a huge car like the one I tested in, nor do I know of any S-shaped streets). Etc. The best one, though, was: "You need to be closer to the curb when you turn." I was failed because I wasn't close enough to the curb? Now that's just insane.

Through all my failures, though, the guy who does all the paperwork and testing stuff would come up and take time to try to give me advice on how to improve. I imagine I must've looked pretty devastated at one point, because he patted me on the arm (not really common in Japan) and told me to not give up, that he knows I can do it, and he has faith in me. It was a creepy father-son moment with the Japanese DMV guy. But.. hey, it was nice of him.

On my fifth try, I actually think I did pretty well, though as per usual they had some charming criticism to let me know what I could do better. But what was strange (and never happened before) is that the front desk guy ran up and had a personal chat with the guy who gave me the driving test. And that's the day I passed. I think I did well that time, though I also wonder if he had something to do with it and spoke on my behalf. Honestly.. I don't really care. I'm now a licensed driver in Japan.

I'll scan a copy of my license soon. I already have a picture, but I need to remove important info before uploading it to the internet (full name and stuff).

What else have I been up to? Didn't have much time this week, as I had to work late and wake up early, but I've been trying to fit studying in during the day, here and there. Also, today I went out to meet the girl from last weekend again. We went out to a local 'firefly festival' in a small town near here, got terribly lost on the way (the town is in the middle of nowhere) and then stayed for the small town festival for 3 or so hours (they had a magic show and stuff until it got late, then everyone walked to the river to watch fireflies). It sounds pretty simple (and it was), but it was a lot of fun. I think we're meeting up again tomorrow to go to an island near here and then head to the top of a mountain to look at the city. Should be interesting, though I need to get some time in to study.

As of Tuesday, I'll have officially been away from America for a year straight (I'd say 1 year in Japan, but I went to Korea for a week, so we'll settle for 1 year living in Japan). It's kinda weird to be away like that, from the culture and everything you've grown up with, but I'm relatively happy here, which I suppose is what counts. The only weird thing is the age when I moved here, and all the firsts that I've come to do in Japan and not in America (having to really get fitted for a suit, attend a high school graduation, make restaurant reservations, buying my own glasses next month, negotiating contracts, etc). Strange also that I no longer need to carry my US license anymore (I've carried a US ID since I was.. 14? 15 or so).

Though I admit I feel lonely from time to time, I think it'd be the same no matter where I lived. And I do have people I'm close to here, even in Japan, which was especially helpful during the murderous driving test week.

Anyway, that's about as exciting as my life gets. I'll write more sometime soon as the adventure continues!
Posted by Jason Jason on 05.31.09 @ 00:09 JST [link]

Monday, May 25th

Holla back, yo.

Hmm.. where to begin. I took the driving test last week, which means I have to leave my house at 7:30am, drive a hour and a half, and then take a written test (in English). The written test is quite possibly the easiest thing I've done in awhile, seeing as it had some questions like "If the speed limit is posted as 40km/h, I can drive up to 40km/h. True or False?" They even had pictures, in case that was too hard for me to wrap my mind around. So, I aced the writing test.

The driving test? I failed. Hardcore. I thought I did pretty well, but it turns out that you need to hug the curb when you drive in Japan. And you need to jerk your neck in each direction obnoxiously when checking if something's safe to proceed. So I went back the next day and only had to take the driving test. Failed again. I got too close to the curb in an obstacle course S-curve and went over it. The man, with no trace of irony, told me I should practice. Now.. exactly how many S-curve roads have you driven on that are wide enough for only 1 car? Never seen one in my life..

So, I'm going to take it again on Tuesday. Let's pray I'm done, because I really hate this hour and a half drive and $25 fee just to drive all the way back home with nothing to show for it.

But hey.. enough of being negative (you're lucky I opted to not write on Thursday after failure #2. I was not a happy camper). I didn't get a chance to study with my coworker this weekend because she went to Tokyo, but by some odd twist of fate I met two people this weekend that I could hang out with over the weekend. What're the odds?

The first person contacted me on a Japanese networking site and told me she's been living in America for 5 years, would be back in her hometown (where I live) for summer break, and wanted to meet. Sure, why not! Did I ask why? Of course not. How do people seem to find me? Who knows! I had nothing else to do this weekend, and it's not like I know a whole bunch of people. So, we met at a coffee shop and ended up talking for 4-5 hours before making plans to meet again on Sunday to go to a movie.

Sunday comes and we go to "Angels and Demons" (the sequel to "The Da Vinci Code", I hear), which wasn't altogether a bad movie. After living in the city for nearly a year, I'd never actually gone to the movie theater ($16 for a movie? Uh.. I'll rent something for $1.50, thanks, and watch it at my convenience). I've been in it many times, but I never bothered to watch anything. So anyway, we watched the movie, went to a restaurant in the mall, and talked for another 4 hours before taking her back home. Busy day.

And THEN, I had dinner plans about an hour and a half later with another person. I was introduced to the other person through a student of mine, and we exchanged e-mails and all that stuff. So, met her, her twin sister, and her twin sister's husband for dinner. Over all really great people, though I felt a bit out of my element as they are into the hip-hop scene, and I can't tell my hip from my hop. When someone asks you what "holla back" means, you know you're in an interesting position. But it was nice, fun, and we talked for 3 hours or so about various things.

That would bring up pretty much up to speed with my life, at least as far as I know (people tend to not tell me important stuff, so I could be married, independently wealthy, or homeless and no one's bothered to inform me yet). Been pretty sociable this weekend, though I need to get down to studying now.

Tomorrow, I pick up my new visa (had to get it renewed so I'm not here illegally). With luck, I managed to get a 3 year visa and won't have to worry about renewal, sponsorship, leaving the country, or anything for the next 3 years. Let's hope!

Good luck, and don't have too much fun without me!
Posted by Jason Jason on 05.25.09 @ 00:25 JST [link]

Tuesday, May 12th

Taco Bell sells WHAT?!

Current Sounds: The sounds of traffic as people drive by

jason_hiroshima-52009 (112k image)
jason_hiroshima-52009

What's that? You're greeted not just with an awesome photo of me. Oh no.. but an awesome photo of me in front of the Atomic Dome in Hiroshima! Actually, I need to get around to replacing the opening photo (the one at the top) with this, but I figured until I get around with that, I'd upload it here because.. well.. I can.

Here in Japan, we have week-long holiday (at the beginning of May) called 'Golden Week'. So, seeing as I was off the job and had some free time, I took a day trip out to Hiroshima. After so much time in my (relatively small) city, it was nice to be in a larger place with actual department stores, huge bookstores, and shops with choices. Naturally, since I was in Hiroshima, I had to make a trip down to the 'Atomic Dome' (a building near ground zero of the atomic blast on August 6th, 1945), through the Peace Park, and then went to the Atomic Bomb museum. I wish I could say it was a life-altering experience (as most guidebooks, websites, and conversations with people who've been there have suggested), but it was kinda.. all right. I mean, of course it was a tragedy, but having studied Japanese history as a major in university, it's not the first time I've seen any of this stuff. I've read first-hand accounts of the suffering, I've seen the pictures (ones even more gruesome than in the museum), so.. yeah. The saddest thing I did see was a letter written by a 5th grade girl to her teacher after she was evacuated from the city (prior to the bombing). Reading the hope that a child can still maintain, even in a country ravaged of resources after 6 years of war, is just.. amazing, really.

After that, I decided to lay low for a few days before heading out for 'Friendship Day' at a USMC base near here. Once a year, they open their gates to the Japanese public for an air show, American food, and other stuff. Of course, it sounded interesting to go to an air show (despite having grown up on an Air Force base, I can't remember ever having been to one in my life), but above all else my heart was set on one thing: Taco Bell. Pretty much anything else I could want from America I can find relatively easy here in Japan. But Taco Bell, with their totally unauthentic Mexican food, has been absent from my life. The base, however, had one, and I went in search of their delicious tacos.

I finally track down the Taco Bell (which took some doing) and.. what's this? They're only selling Carne Asada Burritos?!?!? TACO Bell is not selling Tacos? There's some sort of sick irony in there. Right up there with the neighboring BURGER King that was only selling chicken sandwiches. I'm guessing that they wanted to provide something different to the Japanese guests, but still.. that seems so wrong. So ultimately, I had to leave without my delicious tacos. So very, very sad.

Other than that, I've just been getting back into the swing of things here at work. I'll be going in for a driving test next week for a Japanese driver's license, that'll be tons of fun. Also need to go in and extend my visa tomorrow or Thursday. Today I went to the department store to pick up some doughnuts for one of my company classes (no good reason, just felt like it) and ran across two of my students from high school. Since I was already going to buy doughnuts, I told them they could grab one if they wanted to, as one or two more doesn't make much of a difference to me.

The odd thing about it is that the reaction was akin to if I had cured someone of cancer. I mean.. being grateful is good, but it calls to attention an interesting part of Japanese society: Everyone here is amazingly courteous. Customer service is top notch. People will go well out of their way for you. But only if you ask. The idea of a 'random act of kindness' just seems kinda foreign, at least judging by my personal experiences and by the reactions I've gotten when I've done something random.

The second thing is now the children's book "If you give a mouse a cookie.." is coming to mind. I'm wondering how many students are going to hang around that place in the hopes of getting doughnuts. Scaaaary.

Anyway.. that's all I've got for today, and pretty much gets you up to date on my supposedly exciting life.

Before I forget, I made another video the other office I teach at. So, more fun of listening to me talk to myself! Second Office Tour!!!
Posted by Jason Jason on 05.12.09 @ 23:26 JST [link]

Saturday, April 25th

Stuffed raccoons make surprisingly nice pillows

I am tired. So very, very tired. I haven't actually woken up (and stayed up) at 7am since I was in Korea, nearly 4 months ago. But the high school I work at was having a medical checkup for all the staff this week and wanted me to get checked out. At first, it was an off-hand suggestion. "Hey, if you want to do it here, you can.", which later turned into "Hey.. uh.. yeah, you really should do the checkup." It's helpful to remember that there IS a right answer to offers and suggestions in Japan. I intended to go anyway (can't turn down a free medical checkup!), but.. yeah.

So, this meant I had to come into work an hour early on Wednesday with a plastic vial of my own urine (which I had to obtain from a paper cup and then suction up into said plastic vial.. not an experience I enjoyed). Arrive, and hey! The nurse is busy and asks me to come back the next day. That's good and fine.. except that I now am stuck with a plastic vial of my urine in my briefcase for the next 5 hours. I know, "Throw it away". But there are no trash cans in restrooms here, and the next choice is in the teacher's office. Not something I really want to just kinda toss in the trash. So.. yeah, had to stick that one out. Show up early on Thursday, she collects my papers, and sends me on my way, asking me to come at 8:30am on Friday for an xray.

The problem is that I don't do 8:30am. Sure, I used to work from 7:30, but I was done at 4, or 6 at the latest. On Fridays, I work until 9pm. That's a LONG day. I also hate going back and forth just to wait, so after my xray and eye test, I went to the office I'd be in all day. I arrived at 9:15am, and I left there earlier tonight at 9:30pm. In an office with only 2 rooms, that's a long time. Since I have a key, I let myself in, locked the door behind me. Free until 1pm, that's quite awhile with not much to do and no internet access, so I pulled all the curtains shut, grabbed a raccoon stuffed animal as a pillow, and slept for an hour and a half in the office.

Anyone who thinks an English teacher's life is glamorous should read that line over 3-5 more times. Fun? Sure. Great for stories? Definitely. Glamorous? Not by any definition of the word I'm aware of (and I'm an English teacher..!).

After that? I studied for about 2 hours before heading out to teach some kindergarten kids. Came back, taught some more, and finally got home a few hours ago. Long day. Loooooooong day.

Got a semi-busy weekend ahead of me, then 3 days of work next week before my 7 day vacation starts. Will probably head out for some short day trips, and I'll try to take some pictures.

I'm gonna go to bed now (finally), but I'm sure I'll write more as more excitement comes into my life. I can't avoid it, no matter how much I try.

Later!
Posted by Jason Jason on 04.25.09 @ 01:15 JST [link]

Wednesday, April 22nd

Random screams in the night

I was up at about 1am last night, studying Japanese before I went to bed. While reading through some passages, I heard some loud noises outside that sounded like kids playing. It's 1am, but I thought nothing of it. This is Japan.. I've seen children grocery shopping at midnight in Korea. I kept studying, but I kept hearing it, and the more I listened, the more it sounded like screaming. Someone screaming bloody murder, in fact. Even more to the point, it was a woman screaming "help me" (in Japanese).

So.. lessee. It's 1am, dark out, and there's a woman screaming "help me" down the street. This has all the makings of something bad, so I threw my glass door open and went running down the street in jogging shorts and a sweatshirt (no shoes.. didn't have time). Halfway there, I realized a cell phone would be a good idea, but.. eh, time's limited.

By the time I get there, I see a police car, a police officer standing around, and a woman being shoved into the back seat of the car. My guess is that she was drunk and being arrested and screaming. Thank god.. at least no one was being attacked or hurt. I really didn't want to have a fight a rapist off at 1am in the street with no shoes on.

Was it smart of me to go running out there? Maybe not. You never know what you'll encounter. Was it the right thing to do? That, I wholeheartedly have to say 'yes'. Even if it was the worst-case scenario.. I went out there to do something. If I woke up the next morning and heard a woman was raped or killed down the street.. that'd be hard to live with.

So anyway..! That's my exciting evening last night, while studying Japanese. I came to work early this morning for a health checkup at the high school only to be told "Could you come back tomorrow? Tomorrow would be better." Blah.. so now I'm here at the high school an hour early with nothing to do. And I get to wake up early tomorrow, too. Yay.

Other than that.. life's going all right. No real complaints. Have a new Japanese coworker joining and another leaving, so hopefully everything will go all right with that. Going to have lunch this weekend with the one who's leaving, so I need to find a nice restaurant and all that jazz.

BUT, to keep you entertained, I made a short video of my morning commute to the office yesterday morning, along with a tour of the office I never work at. But, technically, it's where my company is based, so.. yeah.

Enjoy the video, and have a good week! I'm gonna hope the week gets less exciting as it goes on..

My Tuesday Morning Commute
Posted by School School on 04.22.09 @ 10:35 JST [link]

Tuesday, April 14th

'You have a big nose..'

Current Sounds: Transformers: Season 3 episodes

I started teaching at the high school again. Though it adds 9 more working hours into my week plus makes my day start about 5-6 hours earlier everyday, it's still fun and I enjoy teaching there. The teachers are nice and the students are (generally) fun to work with. They also say the darndest things.

On Monday, I was approached by two third year students (in class B.. I never teach that class, so I don't know them). They start talking to me in bits of English, so I ask the same typical questions that I know everyone knows the answer to. Name, how they're doing, where they live. After that, one girl looks at me and then at her classmate.

"Jason, your nose..."
"My... nose? What about it?"
"It's.. big."
Now what, exactly, are you supposed to reply to that? I opted for:
"It's because I'm always lying. Like Pinocchio."

My life confuses even me. But anyway, it's fun. I enjoy working there. I'm just really, really tired this week. Staying up until 2-3am every day probably isn't helping. Can't be sure, though.

To briefly touch on a previous topic, I had my a brief encounter with racism a week or so ago. Basically, in short, the neighborhood I live in has certain rules that no one bothered to tell me. But, they have rules.. I understand and respect that. One is that you must not put your trash out early (which means: you can't put it out the night before, and should be from sun-up to the pick up time). I put mine out at 3am, so I thought it was okay. My coworker, however, put it out at 10pm or so. The old man in the association got mad and waited by the trash to see who was doing it and when he saw her, he asked her not to do it. What'd she do? Oh, she yelled at him and said that it was unreasonable to ask her to abide by the same rules that everyone else follows because she can't wake up early. Wow.. gee, thanks.

Of course, he went to my company to complain. I received a page-long memo from my company telling me his issues, which were:

1: He observed two foreigners putting the trash out early, which is against the rules. (Uh.. my coworker. Maybe me if you count 3am.. but that old guy's gotta be pretty dedicated to have seen me do it)
2: Some disposable items were thrown away without bags, and though he didn't see who did it, he believes it must be foreigners, because Japanese people know better. note that the items here a child's potty-training toilet (none of us foreigners have kids) and a microwave (our company buys the microwave). So.. that's an insane assumption.
3: Someone left trash out that wasn't picked up for over 1 month, nearly two (the same woman who yelled at the guy). She had been given money to dispose of it properly, but didn't do it.

So.. yeah. Now, point 2 rubs me the wrong way because it's a horrible (and wrong) assertion. Point 3 gets better because the memo says "Please take the trash in and dispose of it properly quickly. Leaving it out is like having a sign that says 'Here lies a lazy and careless foreigner'." That is, frankly, a flat-out racist remark. If I said "Here lives some arrogant, empty-minded Japanese", how well would people respond to that?

I'm not really that upset about it. It's just kinda weird.. never been in a position like that in my life. Arrogance and stupidity flows freely through this world (on the part of the neighborhood association head AND my coworker who is making us all look bad). On the positive side: it's the minority, no matter what the media or cynics of the world would have us believe.

Other than all that? Life's pretty good. Tired, but everything's all right. Had two students ask me today why I'm single (kinda wish people would stop asking), but.. it's a legitimate question, nothing harsh about it.

Gonna reply to some e-mails, read a bit, then go to bed. Got more high school tomorrow.

See ya!
Posted by Jason Jason on 04.14.09 @ 22:25 JST [link]


March 2010
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31