Juxtaposed in Japan

Wednesday, May 31st

koko ni aru, soshite tsukareta da yo.

Current Sounds: Tenchi Muyo - Manatsu no Eve

I'm heading out in a little bit to talk to my East Asian Studies advisor to sort out some minor problem (due greatly to the fact that she's not returning my calls and is never around to pick up), so I don't have long. However, I figured I should update and at least prove that I'm still amongst the living, and then state that I'll update later.

In the time since I last wrote, I guess you could say that alot's happened. Not just alot as a matter of events, but in the importance of some of these events, or at least the superficial importance of them. A stepping stone isn't important in its own right, but it is important in that it takes you one step closer to your goal. There have also been alot of other things going on as of late that have led me to bee a bit distant, which is why I haven't been writing.

I also have pictures from graduation, and something else. I'll post all that later, and more, when I actually have some time and write in-depth!

So, for now, I'm off.
Jason on 05.31.06 @ 01:23 PM JST [link]

Tuesday, May 16th

I am Jack's sigh of relief.

Current Sounds: Origa - Inner Universe

Yaaay! Finals are over. Not only that, but I got one of my grades back within 5 hours and I also found that my Japanese final grade had been posted earlier. I should get the last class grade by sometime tonight, or at least in the next few days. I'm not really worried, though. The first two classes were A's, and the last one is going to be a tossup tied to how well I wrote my essay answers on the test. Regardless, the worse I could do is a B, and I'm alright with that.

For some reason, children are drawn to the noisiest toys that they can possibly find. I don't know what it is about repetitive, annoying noises that soothes them, or otherwise makes them feel good, but if I ever had the same love for these things, it's definitely gone now.

With my newfound freedom, I haven't really done much at all, nor do I have any plans. I need to get something together soon, I don't like doing "nothing" for a long time, but it's alright for now. I have alot of movies and books I wanted to watch/read, so maybe I'll make a dent into that. My only condition right now is that the book I read isn't about Japanese history. As fascinating as it is, the past 3 books I've read have been about it, and I'd like some variety. That's the thing about history: no matter how much you read about it, it's going to be the same story, just with new words and details. Except when everything's different (which isn't as uncommon as it should be).

If I do take Mandarin (which I'm already signed up to take), I should start trying to learn something over the summer to at least be aware of what I'm getting into. From what I hear, it's easier than Japanese. But then again, the people telling me this speak it natively, so I'm not so sure of that. I'll make a decision on that later (when I actually have an ability to make some decision about it), but if I do decide to go through with it, it will mean that I'll have at least a passing understanding of 4 languages. This doesn't really mean much, other than that it would be cool, and increases the countries I could travel in and people I could talk to. Note, though, that one of these languages is Spanish (which I can read reasonbly and listen alright, but speaking's iffy) and I've only been to Mexico once or twice, both times because someone wanted to drag me there. My logic is kinda flawed.

I should go eat breakfast and do something, not sure what yet.. but I'm sure I'll find something.
Jason on 05.16.06 @ 10:56 AM JST [link]

Monday, May 15th

[Library] Halfway there

Current Sounds: Typing and air conditioning units

One test is out of the way, now I just need to review the book and my notes, pretend to study, and take my last final of this semester. Lots and lots of essay writing to do, so I just hope that my hand survives through it all.

All my other school admissions stuff is done now, though I still need to modify my class schedule (I'm trying to get into the next level of Japanese, and hopefully some other Japanese courses), but I don't think that can be done until the first week of classes. I also need to get an id for the new school, which I'll be doing later this week.

I've been looking for a new translation project to start soon. I find that trying to translate something is at the very least a good challenge for your language skills, but it also does help to better learn new vocabulary (something that is really difficult to do when learning a foreign language). The question is: what? I could probably start looking at video-game translations, but that's going to involve a week or so of reading documents on how to hack the games, etc. It'd be better if I could find someone to regularly speak Japanese with to try to get better and more fluent, and to make sure I don't lose anything over the summer.. but that's easier said than done.

Didn't really sleep much last night, for some reason or another. I kept waking up about every hour, and then finally just got up to get on with the day. In my early-morning haze, I managed to forget everything I needed for my second exam (notebook, test paper, and book), which I discovered, to my horror, once I made it to school. I was able to get in touch with someone and get everything, though, so it should be alright. If worse comes to worse, I can always just drink as much caffeine and sugar as my body will allow right before the test, and then go through it. I've done this in the past and, while not the best idea, it works alright. I did pass that other class, with a high A and was exempt from the final. Yay for caffeine!

I should look over my book and review the questions for the final, and then sell it back, like a good, true capitalist.

I think this will be the last time I'm writing from this library, if not the last time I'm ever at this campus (though I'll probably be here again eventually, dragged down to get someone's school transcripts with them). Do I feel nostalgiac? Not really. I can't say my experience has been good or bad, just a means to an end. This isn't to say that I haven't gained from this, both personally and intellectually, but not to the extent that I look back and sigh, wondering where the years went.

Off I go, to study and then the final.

..... and I forgot to grab "Xenosaga, Ep 1-2" [DS]... not fair!
School on 05.15.06 @ 12:33 PM JST [link]

Wednesday, May 10th

Waiting for the clock

Current Sounds: Omoide ga ippai (Full of Memories)

I yawn. It's a Wednesday, which means that both mostly over, but there's still much to do until it's through. I continue to stare at the screen for a minute longer, glancing from one clock to another, waiting to see if it's time for me to leave yet. It's not that I want to go--I'd rather not-- but it seems better to be doing something than waiting for like to catch up to you.

Hmm.. anyway, that random paragraph pretty much sums things up. Except that by now, with how much time I waste inbetween writing this and wandering around my room and such, I should be leaving soon. Today will be my last day of "classes", and from this point forward I'll be going in just to take tests. That is, of course, until next semester. But by then, I'll be taking different classes in different places.

.. and if I ever hope to do that, I should probably attend school now. Ideally, I'll wake up between here and school, but I don't think it's necessary (just need to write notes and physically hand in papers). I have all the fun, really.

I'll write again when I have some time! Tomorrow.. now that may be eventful. We'll see.
Jason on 05.10.06 @ 09:29 AM JST [link]

Friday, May 5th

go gatsu itsuka, omedetougozaimasu (Happy 5th of May)

Current Sounds: MGS2 - Orchestrated Theme

It's laundry day! This means that.. well, it means something. Most probably that I have alot of clothing to fold and hang up, and get to make important, executive decisions like "is this a large or medium load?".

..yeah, I'm tired.

Checked my usual news sites, checked my e-mail addresses (4 that I use regularly, for those that are counting. However, no one e-mails me anyway. Strange..), and finished my usual routine. What I've learned is that the world really didn't change much in the time that I slept. Throughout the world there's plague, corruption, and death. It occurs both in the city around me and in places of the world I can't even pronounce. I won't say that this isn't bad, no.. it's unfortunate. But this same stuff was happening yesterday. Not only that, but for every sweet grandmother that's swindled out of her money, 100 more go on and bake cookies, having just another day. It seems that these stories don't get any attention, however.

I'd go onto something mildly political, but that's against what I typically do, so I'll just ramble about that later with someone else.

Otherwise, things have been going alright. The school week's over, and I think I did alright on all my tests this week. Next week will be my last week of classes, and better yet, I can sign up for next semester's classes by then. Not that there's anything I want that's available by now, but I'm sure there's some way to fix that and get at least some classes I'm interested in (as a backup plan, there's a chance that I may be taking Mandarin in the Fall.. I'm still horrified at the idea of starting a third language this soon, though). This also means that I get to sell my school books back. They'll buy it back at a price much lower than what it's worth (maybe 50-75% of what they'll resell it at), then I'll take that money and buy something I don't need. That's how this process works.

Also next week will be my Japanese final that I really should study for. Have a written portion that I need to submit, along with 20~ workbook pages to do), and then an in-class examination on all the stuff I supposedly learned this semester. The week after that, two more finals. I feel relatively alright about them, though, which is why I'm not in "sudden-panic", dashing around, reading books and stressing mode. It may not make much sense, but I stress throughout the rest of the semester, so at the end I know where I stand and that liklihood of failure is pretty low. At the end, my scheme generally pays off. And all is good.

I'm really just rambling more than anything else, so I guess I should go and get ready for the day (going somewhere soon).

I'll post sometime soon, assuming I don't get dragged down by finals. I don't imagine I will, though. We'll see what happens.
Jason on 05.05.06 @ 01:01 PM JST [link]

Wednesday, May 3rd

[Library] Onward and upward, moving on.

Current Sounds: Simon and Milo - Get A Clue

The semester's coming to a close, which means that I'm not at the point where I have to do all those things I should've done 14 weeks ago. By some odd twist of fate, I'm not swamped with work for once. I still have alot of tests to study for, and homework is just now starting to die down, but at least it's not as bad as last semester.

What does this all mean? My classes will be ending soon, I'll be graduating a few days after that, and then I'll be going to a different school to finish off my major in the Fall (another 2 years of fun). In the process of getting all this stuff done, I'm gaining a decent supply of stories regarding administration and bureaucracy, and how it not only doesn't make any sense, but the fact that it works at all surprises me. The infamous catch-22 has been my bread and butter. In order to register for classes, I need to make an appointment. I can do that online. To do it online, I need a username. Aha! But, to get a username, you need to be registered for classes. So, basically, to register for classes, you need to be registered for classes. It won't be so bad next time around (since all my paperwork's already done, and I'll already have my numbers, passwords, and such), but it's definitely been interesting thus far.

My personal life never makes any sense to me, so I'm not sure what to say about that. There are people around sometimes. I occasionally even reply to e-mails or return phone calls! It feels like there's something mildly important I'm overlooking, or haven't quite noticed, but I'm not really sure what. Nor do I even know what this means. But it seems that change is afoot. The question is, what? I'm kinda rambling, since I have free time and finished all my homework much earlier than I thought I would.

This also is tied into the problem of "what you want" and "what should happen", the struggle between what you feel and what you think. I nearly always take the path of "what is best" as opposed to how I feel, but sometimes I wonder if that really is the better of the two choices. Even if it does preserve long-term peace, who knows the opportunities that were missed? If you jump onto the speeding train, it's going to take you someplace you've probably never been. But you might also miss the jump and get run over. Balance is really what's best in these things.

Oh! Right. I got a new watch. This doesn't impact anyone or anything really, but I do like my new watch. It's not as precise as a digital watch (especially since it has no "second" hand) but it makes up for that in looking nicer (the face is a reflective blue, darker than the other one I had), and it's heavy, so it can serve as a club if I get attacked by hobos. Not sure how likely this is to happen, but isn't it good to be prepared?

I should probably go and finish off the book I'm reading (Donald Keene's "The Pleasures of Japanese Literature") so I can return it to the library and get started on something else soon. Just one more class today, one more tomorrow, then the weekend. Not that I have plans yet, but.. well, it's the weekend.

Off I go!
School on 05.03.06 @ 01:58 PM JST [link]


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