Juxtaposed in Japan

Monday, November 28th

Waiting for class to begin

Current Sounds: Nothing but the silence and my thoughts

In the classroom waiting for class to start right now, should have about 10 minutes or so until it begins, but I really shouldn't be on long anyway (technically, I should be studying for my Japanese test tomorrow).

Someone, remind me to not sleep. Oh, sure.. it seems good in theory, but in practice, not so much. Between the less-than-ideal dreams and dark thoughts, feeling, and image you're left with when you wake up, I'd say it's fairly debatable if it's worth the effort. Now, if only it wasn't for the whole 'body needing to rest' thing, we'd be set. Gah.

Terribly cold today. Of the "bitterly cold, I really don't want to go outside" variety. The high was 58° today, but that's plenty cold for me. Washington in late December will be even colder, but I think I'll make it somehow (mostly by not leaving any vehicles or buildings if I don't have to).

Have all sorts of tests and papers crawling in on me as of late, plus the lovely crunch of the holiday "wow, I don't have any money" season. I've already given up on the idea of going to Japan next summer (really, really sucks.. but it just isn't possible inbetween school and everything).. blah. The next few weeks (until classes end) will be a lovely experience of me wandering around and feeling as if my head's going to pop from the stress and workload. Sure, some of it's my fault for not better partitioning my time.. but can't really do much about that now.

I should get going.. need to sit down and stare at some kanji, then argue about my grade a bit once I get my test back. Gotta love math. I'll try to write again when I have a chance, but between all the papers I need to write (works out to about.. 33 pages, give or take), two Japanese tests, another math test, and preparing for a Japanese oral presentation, I'm not sure what kind of time I have. We'll see.

So.. off I go. No real point behind this entry. Just had some time and figured I should make some pointless commentary on my life (and we won't even touch Thanksgiving. We just.. won't). I would go into my speech on being the helpful, NPC, background character of life again, but I don't quite have time to do it justice. I'm sure I will soon.
School on 11.28.05 @ 02:32 PM JST [link]

Wednesday, November 23rd

The thoughts that days both begin and end with..

Current Sounds: BoA - Twilight? (on [PSP], can't indentify it from the lyrics yet)

Marley was dead to begin with.

Oh, and tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Now that I've mentioned it, I won't really discuss that issue further, other than that I'm unaware if much will be happening (I'm guessing 'no') and that it's a shame that it's on a Thursday, because I'd much prefer to skip one for my Mon-Wed days of school rather than Tue-Thu. I much prefer the latter set of classes.

I have class soon, so I won't be writing much (which is somewhat the norm as of late, I guess). But, while I do have the time, I might as well write the details of my exploits as of late.

For those who follow video game news, or mayhaps saw a newspaper or watched the news in the past few days, you may be aware that the Xbox360 launched/went on sale Tuesday. You might also be aware that it's nearly impossible to get ahold of one unless you preordered a copy in May or are crazy and decided to wait outside a store in the bitter cold all night (and even that isn't an assurance of getting one). There is now an Xbox360 in my house, and the preorder was placed in early September. How did this happen? Simple, really. I was one of those poor, unfortunate souls who sat outside in the wee hours of the night outside of Target listening to the calls of the Windigo (link or just a picture, for those who aren't familiar with the Windigo) just to get an Xbox360. The funny thing is that it wasn't even for me, no. It was for my older sibling who couldn't possibly wait 2 months for one and had to have it as soon as possible. Obviously, I get dragged into these things for reasons that are beyond my understanding. We did luck out, though. The store opened at 8AM and we were set up at 8PM the night before, ready for a long, 12-hour haul. To our great fortune, mall security wouldn't let us stay there all night, so an employee took our names down and told us to come back at 5AM. Had security been "kind" and allowed us to stay, we would've been there all night. Instead, I was able to come home for awhile (I only would up waiting 5 out of 12 hours) and pretend to sleep. Yay! This is yet another experience I advise people against engaging in.

What did we do all night? Besides freezing and wondering just how thick my overcoat really is (oh, and for all my complaining, it only drops to.. about 45~° at night this time of year), I played a lot of "Mario Kart: DS" [NDS] before the sun came up (about 36 battle rounds and 12 races, if I recall correctly) and then started going through kanji flashcards after there was enough light to see.

I need to get running, as class starts in 8 minutes, and I suspect this clock is a bit behind. One more class this afternoon, two homework assignments to do before it starts (that I haven't started yet..), and then home to go.. do something, I guess.

As usual, I'll write sometime later.
School on 11.23.05 @ 09:37 AM JST [link]

Tuesday, November 15th

In Japanese class again

Current Sounds: Japanese teacher talking to a classmate

In Japanese class right now, only have about 5 minutes or so.. don't even know why or what I'm writing, but hey, I am. Took a test today, and I think I did okay. Unless I screwed something really bad and don't even know it, I should be okay except for some small things, maybe some spelling here and there. Never underestimate the power of studying at the last minute.

Pretty much can't speak today, which leaves you in an interesting sort of isolated world of your own. Reminds me of being in Japan, wandering around with people talking around you, but only speaking or engaging in contact with the rest of the world occasionally. Not altogether fun or thrilling, but interesting, I guess.

Aaand.. I really have nothing to say. Just need to somehow pick up Mario Kart [DS] this afternoon. Haven't quite figured out how I'm going to pull this off, but somehow, it'll happen. Oh yes.

Class is resuming, so I need to post this and get going.
School on 11.15.05 @ 02:53 PM JST [link]

Monday, November 14th

Jason, in the library, with the keyboard

Current Sounds: Clicking, typing, light conversation..

Like any good game of 'Clue', you have to figure out who, what room, and with what. My best guess is me, library, keyboard. Would someone be kind enough to check the 'confidential' envelope and find out?

I rather like Clue and Monopoly, mostly because both games work down to an understanding of the rules and then abusing them in anyway possible, the former by playing psychological games with the other players and the latter by simply knowing what's worth investing money into and what isn't. Technically, neither abuse the rules of the game, which is what makes it perfectly okay to do.

In the library, trying to waste some time while I wait for my morning class to start. Get home, do my homework, then head back out for my afternoon class. My days truly are exciting. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch up on any significant amount of sleep, so I'm still going to stumble through today half-awake. Nothing new, I guess. With the free time I had, I did clean up alot of the pages of the journal (all of the archive pages and archive index, namely) and finally threw a calendar image up. Unfortunately, I don't have my usual image archives, so this is just something I had in my main folder.

Don't really have anything to say, so I'm going to edit my school webpage (for one of my classes) really quick and then run to class. Probably do more kanji flashcards while I wait for the door to open. Tomorrow, I have a Japanese test, so it can't hurt to brush up on that.

Ah, and today (or at least 16 hours ahead of my 'today', in Japan) is Kozue's birthday. Need to send a message to her mobile phone. Unfortunately, the card probably hasn't gotten there in time. Such is the way of the mail service.

Anyway, I'll write sometime later..
School on 11.14.05 @ 09:29 AM JST [link]

Rantings of an insomniac

Current Sounds: Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou - Theme (op)
Currently Feeling: I just want to sleep

I just want to sleep. Is that seriously too much to ask? I even went to sleep early tonight, like a good little boy should, and then spent the next few hours lying in bed, constantly checking the clock and staring at the insides of my eyelids. I had such grand plans, too! Go to bed early, wake up early, get my homework and reading done before school (instead of in the library 30 minutes before class starts, as I usually do) before heading off to school in a more awakened state, instead of the half-awake stupor I usually find myself in on the way to the bus stop.

I'm not sure when I last wrote and I'm not really in the best state to summarize what's been going on as of late (nothing too eventful, anyway), so I'll probably just leave it at this. Make another go at the whole 'sleep' thing and see what happens. I'll likely set my alarm for later and just do the same thing I usually do. Might as well try to catch as much sleep as I can, if it's possible.

Will be going to WA sometime over Winter break to visit family, so I'll be gone for about a week or so. No dates or anything set yet, but I should have those by early this week (ideally).

Can't think of anything else to say, so I'll just leave it here and write later.

Oh, I scanned in the newspaper article of me in uniform. I went to school dressed up for Halloween day and had my picture taken for the school newspaper. Kinda interesting. I wasn't able to get any other photo, so this is the best I have for now. Nothing too interesting, but figured I'd upload it. Click "more.." to view the image.
Jason on 11.14.05 @ 02:31 AM JST [more..]

Wednesday, November 9th

The joys of doctors offices..

Current Sounds: Utada Hikaru - Simle and Clean

What's this? Who now? Oh.. right. Yeah, I'm still alive. First and foremost, for those that have called me recently, during the day my phone's silent and in my backpack and at night, I don't often remember to drag it out and put it up and when I do, I may not be in the room when it rings.. so, sorry I haven't been picking up lately.

I haven't been sleeping very well as of late for some reason or another. Stress, I'm sure, is a factor. Babies crying at all hours adds to it. Might also be coming down with a cold/sickness of some sorts, which is definitely not fun. So, basically, I'm tired and don't feel good. Not a splendid combination.

Went to the doctor today to get a flu vaccination (gah.. my right arm is incredibly sore right now. As for the shot itself, didn't really bother me. At this point, I'm rather desensitized to the whole experience) and get checked out for the whole "hit by a car" thing. Apparently no fractures, breaks, or anything too bad. The sore/stiffness in the back and neck are probably due to strained muscles, so it should work itself out soon enough. Until then, I have some form of.. anti-inflammatories (I think), or somesuch. I rather don't care for taking medicines, personally.. but if it'd help, I guess I should.

Have a Japanese exam on next Tuesday, so I'm hoping to meet with some people this weekend to practice a bit and ask some questions. Otherwise, the class is going well enough. Did well on both kanji tests (despite having only studied on the car-ride there and half out of my mind on perscription pain killers last for the first test), so I'm not too worried. However, I've recently learned that we'll have to do a presentation in Japanese (which I thought was called off). Not good. At least it's only 2.5-3 minutes (minimum, going over is encouraged) and I can work alone (last class was 7 minutes and I had to work with someone). Not sure what I want to do yet, but since I don't care for free-talking, I was thinking of a re-enactment of "Empire Strikes Back" (from Star Wars). Just for the cool factor of being able to exclaim "raitoseibaa.. ga hoshii!" ([I] want [the] lightsaber), and other pointless lines (obviously, I'd need to have "Ruuku.. watashi wa anata no otousan dayo." [Luke, I am your father.]). Haven't decided on anything yet.. I still have time (Dec. 6th). I'll figure it out later.

Otherwise, still sore, still tired, and life is moving on pretty much as it usually does. In my spare time, I've been playing alot of games (mostly "GTA:LCS" [PSP], "Earthbound" [SNESemu on PSP], "StarWars Battlefront II" [Xbox], and "FFXI" [PC]), reading when I can, or making myself go through 80+ flash cards over and over on the long bus rides (I'll be adding 30 more kanji to the stack next week.. blah. But retention rate's still pretty good, which is definitely hard for kanji).

Need to update MN tonight.. been alive for 5 whole years. Pretty impressive, I must say.

I need to run to class about.. now. I'll write later, then..
School on 11.09.05 @ 02:31 PM JST [link]

Thursday, November 3rd

Tumbling

Current Sounds: Merril Bainbridge - Mouth
Currently Feeling: Sore

I won't be writing too much right now, I just want to go to bed right now and don't really feel like sitting here and writing much, but I figured I should probably mention this.

Flying off of a bicycle isn't good. Just starting to recover from the injuries from that when today happened. I really do hate the roads and driving here. Anyway, to cut to the point, I was hit by a car today while on my bike. First and foremost, getting hit by a car really sucks. Honestly, no sarcasm or humor intended at all.. it simply really does suck. I don't advise anyone do it. I was just lucky that the car wasn't moving very fast and the driver stopped quickly. Before anyone gets wildly paranoid, I made it out fairly okay. Just some cuts and scrapes on my hand and some road rash on my elbow (likely a bad bruise on it later, too). My back's also fairly sore, but I imagine this is only natural after getting hit by a moving vehicle. The bicycle was crushed by the car. If this is the worse that happened, I guess that's all pretty lucky. I already had it replaced (the guy who hit me was really good about all this, surprisingly. Very cooperative. Insisted we get the bicycle replaced tonight).

Depending on how everything's feeling in the morning or over the weekend, I'll see if I'll go to the doctor early next week. I've already alerted all my instructors (I didn't make any of my classes today, and I don't think I'll be going to any tomorrow. I really should lay down), so I don't imagine there should be any promblems. I want to go to Japanese class to take the kanji quiz and make it to class, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea.

I don't recall much about what happened. The further away it gets (this happened only 10 hours ago), the less I seem to remember, or the more of it my mind is blocking out. Everything leading up to it is vivid, then just a rush of flashes and reactions, then clear, concrete memories again. I know this is a fairly minor incident, and so much worse could've happened.. but... I just don't know what to say about it. It's hard to describe without hand motions, without intonations.. it's even harder to describe, because I know that I'll immediately start to talk about it candidly, lightly so as to not show how I feel about the situation.

I didn't talk about it much, but I already had some issues with actually riding around the city with what happened two weeks ago. You wonder, you worry.. but if you fall off, you have to just pull yourself back up and try again. Something like this, I'm not sure if you can toss it aside quite as easily. I guess we'll wait and see. It's only been less than even half a day, but already I find myself bothered by walking along side streets on foot. Ideally, the psychological ramifications will be minimal. I've already done the sudden flashback, constantly replaying memories, repeated playing in your dreams, decompensation 3-month extravaganza before due to stressful/upsetting life experiences (don't ask). Not much fun. I don't think I'll have to contend with that again, but these memories certainly aren't things I cherish (which is probably why I'm forgetting so much so rapidly).

In an ideal world.. when you called someone up to tell them that something like this happened, but you're safe and alive, they'd be happy. Or whatever. In the real world, they lecture you. But that was just one person. My mother and other people were there in just a few minutes to come pick me up. Even strangers were out to check on my well-being. Hell, even the guy who hit me was more concerned for my overall safety. Maybe I'm just picky, but doesn't it seem like the "Well, you should've..." could wait a bit?

I'd write more about the nitty-gritty.. but I'd rather not dwell, and I want to go to bed. I'll write later, when I can. Weekend plans are very.. lacking. Probably just lay low, sleep, and play games. Come hell or high-water, I want to go to Japanese tomorrow, but we'll have to see (I hear this doesn't count as "taking it easy"). Friday, I'm meeting with someone to go practice Japanese again.
Jason on 11.03.05 @ 12:51 AM JST [link]


November 2005
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