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Current Sounds: Gundam SeeD - Shizuka na yoru ni
I remember there was a reason why I was going to write.. but I don't really remember it now. Went out and bought some clothes, pens, pencils, a backpack, umbrella.. stuff for the new school semester. nothing terribly exciting.
I need to go to bed now.. that is all.
Jason on 07.29.07 @ 02:22 AM JST [link]
Current Sounds: Students talking, sorting out some faculty issues over scheduling.
My projects for the past week have included finishing up this video contest from the past semester (once the student films were submitted and edited, I had to prepare a voting system so students could vote and put it all online, place banners, etc). Then I set out to learn how some of the English teaching/practice programs on the PCs here work (so I could have a decent understanding on where to go, what program might be best, and what exercises the students should do if they need help). Now, I'm.. arranging some student papers in alphabetical order. 144~ so papers.. in order. By letter. It's somewhere between 'tedious' and 'mind-numbing'.. but not so bad.
In my free time, I'm reading through a book all about Japanese particles and watching Japanese dramas. When there's a word or phrase I don't understand, I write it down and with what it seems like the meaning is. If I can't figure it out on my own, I ask one of the students here. It's quite fortunate that working at the ESL school here gives me access to quite a few Japanese students. I get to speak Japanese pretty much daily now... pretty awesome.
For the most part, things are going pretty well, I think. I'm feeling all right. Not really much to say other than, as of late at least, my work life is taking up a significant portion of my life nowadays. This isn't really a bad thing, more of an observation.
Though there is one thing I can't seem to find a way to set straight or clarify with people: Yes, I'm single. No, I don't really care. I know that it's probably out of care that people bring it up and constantly point out to me that maybe one thing or another will turn into some relationship.. but that's not what I'm looking for. I'm, frankly, really not interested in getting into any sort of relationship right now. Is that so wrong? I just don't think that's something I really need right now. But it's something that's just not really getting across. There's is something deficient with me as a person for not only not being in a relationship, but not pursuing one. Again, it's not really a serious issue, just something that's annoying and I can't seem to explain.
Well, back to my paper sorting, then some reading and some more Japanese drama shows. Then..! The weekend! Yes.
No plans as of yet.. I think I may go shopping, have to upgrade some hardware on my new PC (vid card, hdd, etc.. nothing exciting). Oh, and watch some movies. Oh yes. Good times! Anyway, I'll write later!
School on 07.27.07 @ 10:02 AM JST [link]
Current Sounds: First Love - Utada Hikaru
So.. been here about an hour and I've already gotten most of my morning activities done. The other stuff that needs to be done requires consulting with other people, so I have a little time to kill until I need to get to the next thing (some website-related stuff here at the university).
Not much to say in general. I think I'm coming down with something.. probably a cold. I feel achey all over, I think I have a fever, and everything just feels.. fuzzy, for lack of a better word. Jason can't think straight no good, in other words. But outside of that, had a decent weekend. Went to the theater on Saturday to watch 'Harry Potter and the Whatever of the Thing' (Goblet of the Sorcerer's Phoenix? I can't recall right now. I think Phoenix was in the title) which was a pretty good movie. Sunday, I spent 5~ hours doing some English/Japanese language practice. Good day, but there's a certain challenge to explaining the intricate details of English. Having studied linguistics helps, at least.
And so it's been a few hours since I wrote the first part (I just saved it to a *.txt file and left the room to do some more work), and now I've gotten most of the other things finished, though I still need to upload some files via one of the other computers. Naturally, as things tend to go, things are most definitely not going as planned. One of the teachers is sick today, so I'm going to play a video for the students and they'll answer questions based on the movie.
Need to go off and do that, but I'll write more later when I have time.
All in all, life's going all right.
School on 07.23.07 @ 10:42 AM JST [link]
Current Sounds: Silence...
Did someone say... placement testing? I believe they did! I may be doing one more round (20 students from Japan) Monday morning, but otherwise now I'm done with placement testing. Somehow, despite that the door's closed and locked, people keep looking in and, occasionally, try to see if they can come in. Naturally, everyone is in the midst of a crisis and needs to get in "right now", only has "3 minutes", and just needs to "print only 1 paper!". Then they check their e-mail. Uh-huh.. gotcha.
This weekend, I'll be going to the airport (in an official university car.. now, tell me that isn't awesome) to pick up and direct the students from Japan to their transportation, follow them to the apartments and set them up there, then take them on a campus tour and out to dinner. Come Monday, I need to entertain that same Japanese group for an hour or so in the morning, so I'm writing up a quick powerpoint presentation and setting the students up to make their own comics. Great times all around, yeah?
Things are still not entirely ideal, but I've been feeling much better in general (mentally) since quitting Target. Since I'm working about 40 hours here anyway the pay's not much different, so all in all things are looking all right. I think the biggest difference is in job satisfaction, and in feeling valued. Not only do I seem to matter here, but my opinions are valued and I'm respected. Now, while Target wasn't exactly a bad place, the "cog in the machine" mentality was high, and for a place that preached team work, there was little team mentality to be found. I hear that this was mostly just that the store I worked at wasn't a good example, but all I can do is judge by personal experience.
What else...
I may be going along with two students as they get a tattoo on Sunday. Need to check the timing on that (in the afternoon/evening I'll be at the airport and running around). Should be interesting if I do go, though. Right now I'm making tentative plans for next weekend to go out with some of the students. Minigolfing.. yeah!
I have this weekend off.. that is great.
Anyway, attached (under 'more..') is a picture of me and one of the students I spend alot of time with, at a birthday party in a classroom for one of the teachers. I'll attach more photos of me and cakes and other students soon.
School on 07.13.07 @ 10:03 AM JST [more..]
Current Sounds: Students' typing
We're (mostly) done with placement testing.. yeah! Shy of doing a quick group on Friday and again on Monday, we're pretty much in the clear. Then, I'm done with it until August (when the next batch of students need to get placed for the Fall semester). Ultimately, I rather enjoy helping out the new students, working with them to get things solved and to get them into their classes. At least when they seem like they care and they're understanding. There are alot of students who could be just a bit more understanding.
Also in recent news, I've quit Target. My job at the university wanted to increase my hours (around 30, maximum of 40), which made working at Target pointless (I only did it so I could work 40~ hours a week). The pay was comparable, so it really just wasn't worth my while to keep at it with Target. Plus, it means that my weekends are free now, and that's always awesome.
I need to get going and do some work-related stuff, but I'll write more and in more detail when I have the time.
School on 07.10.07 @ 12:43 PM JST [link]
Current Sounds: Typing, and explaining how the test works
Mmm... placement testing. It's not only fun and exciting, it's a valuable service. Now, if only I didn't have to wake up at 0615 to get here on time to do the placement testing. That would be, as the kids would've said when I was a kid, "gnarly". "Tubular" and "radical" would have also sufficed. Wow.. I feel old.
Placed 9 students on Tuesday, doing 11 more between today and tomorrow. Between now and then there's alot to do, but it's all pretty varied, so it keeps life interesting. Now, Target on the other hand.. gah. For some reason, national holidays send people into a psychotic frenzy, which ends up with them wanting a grill. Now, when the sales floor neglects to call the backroom (read: me) and ask for said grill, when the customer gets to the cashier and no one knows where anything is, all hell breaks loose. We never really figured out where the breakdown in communication occured but, hey, it doesn't really matter, I guess.
Not a whole lot to say. Just working.. and working... and working. On the positive side, my new USB flash drive (1gig) got here two days ago, which means very little other than that it has much faster read/write times. When you're running a web-browser from a flash drive (related to the fact that I'm paranoid and don't want to leave a history/cookie/cache trail on computers I'm using), read speed does kinda matter. Just a helpful note. Even though I'm only using 1/3 of the drive, I keep thinking I should've gotten the 2gig drive. Seriously, though.. how many files do I need to bring with me at a given time?
Also in the next week or so, I need to record a movie for the video-submission contest. I need to get together with the other lab monitors I work with and get out an idea. I thihk I can throw something together, though. Just need to find some time when we're all free.
So.. I should get going, back to staring at people testing their English.
yatta!
School on 07.05.07 @ 08:48 AM JST [link]
Current Sounds: A class in session
Good idea: do not drop a pallet on your hand. Pallets are heavy, especially when you have two stacked. Fortunately, it's my right right-finger, and I think it's going to be okay, just cut the finger a bit and can see a bruise underneath the nail. So much fun at Target.
I also feel like I should mention that I don't like Sundays. This is when people decide to go on a shopping extravaganza. Not Saturday.. oh no. On Sunday. I guess there's something about seeing the Target ad in the Sunday morning paper that makes you want to say "Oh, gosh Harold! Let's go to the Target and buy some patio furniture!". Total for yesterday wasn't all that bad, though: 4 chairs, 2 gazebos, and 2 pools. It's also critical to note that there's a bitter rivalry between the backroom staff and the floor staff. It's actually pretty understandable. You both have jobs to do and you don't really care what the other person's doing, you just want to get back to what you're supposed to do. The biggest conflict is over who comes to pickup requested items.
Odds are really good that I have a flat tire on my bike right now (not sure what's done it this time, but it seems to have lost alot of air from when I left the house to when I made it to work). This means that it's probably a slow leak, but whatever the reason is, I still need to replace the tube. Seeing as I work tomorrow, it looks like I'll be doing that tonight. How.. exciting.
I guess it's not so bad, but it just feels like all of my life has been consumed by work at this point. I work, I eat, I stare at something (book, television, computer), I sleep.. and then I restart the process. It's not like I'd be doing much else if I wasn't working, but it just feels so.. wrong. I'd like to actually do something that I want eventually, not always running from one thing to the next. I could just quit Target, but... I really don't have a good reason for that.
I should get going. Just need to do some last minute stuff before I head home, and then head back out to patch my bike up.
I'll write more when I have some time.
(oh.. and for the record, dear god it's hot out there. About 105° F right now)
School on 07.02.07 @ 03:45 PM JST [link]
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