J184 Tuesday October 23rd
I went for another run in the morning, my route taking me along one of the beach-side roads. I had a little time, so I gathered rocks and stones from the beach. The beaches here in Hitachi are strewn with a lot of what seem to be river rock, and I found a few interesting specimens.
I got back in time to clean up for work. 4 classes were scheduled today, but 2 of them canceled out. During my considerable non-teaching time, I hit the books to make up for the previous weekend's lack of study time. I reached the Geometry section of my review, and defeated it soundly. The Data Analysis section was considerably more difficult, exercising chunks of my brain that hadn't seen light in many years. I will re-do the entire guide as a follow up.
I cooked a nice dinner at home and watched Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. This gem from the year 2000 was Squaresoft's first foray into movie making. It was a full-length (though I strain the definition to use it) feature film depicting a host of CG characters fighting off ghosts.
The plot was a mix of Scientology and Final Fantasy VII. Alien ghosts and the spirit of the planet. Whatever. The effects were boss. The production design could have been better for the DVD, though. Whoever mastered the audio should be put on a small desert island. I had to keep adjusting the sound to hear the whisper-loud dialog and to prevent the explosion's audio from shaking my building apart.
In the final hours of the night I chatted with Josh about many nerdy things. We talked about Avatar for quite some time, what with the show starting up again and depositing heaping bags of awesome on my digital doorstep every week. The quality of that show cannot be questioned, and it warms my heart to know that many kids are experiencing such an excellent story.
J185 Wednesday October 24th
I put in a spot of Halo 3 before work. I actually played a few short games with Stickman. The day's classes weren't bad, but they weren't spectacular. Every Wednesday I face a massive block of 4 classes back to back in the evenings. They go by quickly, but it's a real mess to slog through all at once.
I folded fliers for an hour or two, and afterwards I bought office supplies and lunch at Ito Yokado on my break. I'd been struggling to come up with some good party game ideas. A few weeks ago we'd brainstormed a pot luck dinner during our upcoming Counseling Week, a bi-annual even wherein we talk to all of our students about their classes. During the evening, we'd dine on lots of food, drink a lot of beverages, and play a bunch of fun games with the attendees. The only problem was my difficulty with coming up with a good game to play.
J186 Thursday October 25th
The meeting came and went. Everyone was having trouble coming up with games, so we all pledged to work on them over the weekend. Reprieve.
Aside from that, it was a slow, uneventful day. I did some D&D planning for the weekend's upcoming game.
On the downside, I started to experience a familiar, long-forgotten discomfort. I shall spare you all the ugly details, but I had once again developed an intestinal blockage, similar to one that sent me to the Emergency Room last year in September. Reviewing my previous week's meals, I determined that the pasta I purchased and consumed two nights previous was the culprit.
I have vowed to never again eat that form of pasta, and indeed I give all pasta a second thought when I encounter it. I soldiered on as best I could, though with a slow-moving lump of poorly-digested matter is so large as to make its internal position known to you, teaching becomes somewhat challenging.
J187 Friday October 26th
3 classes in the morning, and another 3 at night. A busy day, which was good; it kept my mind off the steady build of pressure and discomfort moving through my gut. My bike ride in to work this morning was met with an eerie sight; NOVA was closed. Its doors were shut and its security shutters were down. Two small notices, one in Japanese and the other in English, were posted to the door, but I didn't have the time to read them.
After the day's work I hit Kumamoto for dinner. I wasn't feeling up to cooking, and the place is always good for a big, filling, hot, cheap meal. I tell you, it's the greatest. Returning home I noticed the web ablaze with positive news about The Orange Box. Valve, one of my more favorite video game studios, had released a staggering 5 games in one box, tagged for the insanely low price of 60 American dollars.
I am a big, big fan of the Half-Life game series, Valve's flagship product. It represents one of the best examples of video game narrative I have ever played. This game set included the latest episode of the series, as well as the highly-anticipated FPS/Puzzler Portal. Alas, though I have a Steam account, Steam being Valve's proprietary content-distribution software, my laptop is just not up to the task of running anything near the size of Half-Life 2.
This evening was spent in research, trying to find a version of the game that would work with my 360. Though I sought long and hard, the truth, or falsehood, of the issue eluded me.
J188 Saturday October 27th
Busy, as always. I went to G-Bros in the evening, and the Nova teachers confirmed the shut down. The official story is bankruptcy; the company tried to expand too large too quickly. Furthermore, their financial status made it company policy to *not* refund students who wished to cancel their contracts. I say again; if a Nova student wanted to cancel their contract, despite specific literature in the contract that stated they would get their money back, Nova did not honor the agreement.
Furthermore, a note of clarification: I don't work for Nova. I'm in a different school. My contract prohibits me from naming any specifics or details, but rest assured that my company is in no form of financial distress, and that I'm still happily employed.
Now, back to our story. Claire and Clive were already making plans to head home. Claire had already booked a flight back to Scotland that would leave in a week. Clive planned to stick around a bit longer, as were Matt and Genie. Those last two were going to start looking for employment elsewhere.
After a few hours I got up to leave. I headed out, but I had this nagging feeling. These were my friends, and my time with them was suddenly very limited. I headed back in and ordered another drink. I wound up spending two more hours just talking and drinking with my friends.
J189 Sunday October 28th
A day of relaxation was in demand. My week wasn't super-stressful, but it was a long one. I went for a run, to the oceanside cliff and back, and bought a few groceries on my cool-down walk back.
After grabbing a shower and cleaning up, I was set upon by a powerful hunger. I decided to head out again and get some ramen. I hit Kumamoto again, delighting in another bowl of their delicious noodles. Once I was finished there, I strolled down the street to get my haircut.
I'd been getting shaggier and shaggier, and it was finally time to clean up my act. I went to the same barber shop as before, a small place just across the street from G-Bros. On my way there I saw Dan in his van, along with Matt and a few other people. They were moving Matt to a new apartment. I begged their forgiveness, but I had to get my haircut, otherwise I would start to frighten my students. They were going to eat at Kumamoto when they were done, though, so we agreed to meet up there.
This was my second haircut at this barber shop, but I decided to go all the way. Before I had politely declined the shave that accompanied it. This time, though, would be different. My barber set about sculpting my hair with the focus of a painter. He was kind enough to turn the TV to CNN, letting me see English-language news for the first time in months. I watched a documentary about traveling through some unnamed Middle Eastern country. The camera crew shot lots of footage of beautiful, dry desert landscapes. Without my glasses, removed to facilitate the cutting of hair, I was only able to listen to the British reporter's smooth monologue.
After the haircut came the shave. My seat was reclined, and I received not one but two hot towels on my face. The downward creep of the mercury had not gone unnoticed, and the steaming cloths felt sinful against my skin. Before my soak, a pair of skin creams were applied to my face to soften my stubble and moisturize my skin.
After an application of hot shaving foam (which should be reviewed by the Vatican for sheer decadence) my barber got to work with an old-fashioned straight razor. Every hair was patiently sliced from my beard, my skin getting a rather close exfoliation at the same time. My beard zone was not the only place shaved, either; I opted for the forehead shave, as well, as is traditional in Japanese men's barbery.
After my shave and haircut, which was topped off by a shampoo *and* head/shoulder massage, I felt like 10 million yen. I paid the full amount, 3000 yen or about 3o dollars, and thanked my barber profusely. I biked back to Kumamoto to greet my friends with my freshly styled hair. According to them, I glowed with renewed vigor. I have to say I did feel very refreshed and relaxed. I ordered curry rice and ate with my friends.
Upon concluding our meal, the group split up. K and I decided to hit Joycom, the arcade catty-corner to Kumamoto. I found that they had a classic Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara. This gem was the second of a series of D&D based beat-em-ups that are rather hard to find in the States. K and I put in a few 100 yen coins and made our way through, but were soon overpowered by the unending hordes of baddies.
After our brief but valiant battle against the forces of darkness, K and I parted ways, each heading back to our respective houses.
I hit the Internet, eager to discover the whereabouts of the Orange Box. I decided to buy it, given that my only other choice was waiting nearly half a year to purchase it. I'd bought my XB0x 360...it seemed like a waste not to use it. I called a few of the local game shops, but none of them had it in stock. I contacted Simon, one of my fraternal little brothers, and requested his assistance in finding a copy. He's a competent Japanese speaker, and cut through the language barrier I had rapidly encountered in my own searches.
I spent a few hours preparing for the upcoming D&D game. Our next session was the next day, Monday. Nick, one of my players who lives in Tokyo, is a Nova teacher, so his future as a member of the party is up in the air. Tomorrow may be his last game.
A final jewel plucked from the Internets: Fool Wolf. Ages ago, when I was in high school, I had a subscription to Dragon Magazine. This was in the old(ish) days when D&D was still in its 3rd revision, before 3.5 came out. Dragon was packed full of articles and whatnot, new spells, new classes, lots of cool literature and philosophy about design and story. But the magazine also featured short fiction by a variety of authors. Some were unknown, but others had healthy followings. My absolute favorite series of stories followed the exploits of a wandering thief named Fool Wolf.
There were maybe 4 or 5 short stories in all, taking place in a delightfully pulpy fantasy world. Lots of savage jungles, ancient ruins, and barely-civilized cities. The main character was cursed by a powerful goddess that lived within him, bound there by an over-ambitious father. This goddess was usually kept at bay by Wolf's willpower, but from time to time she got out, and did...not good things. Wolf was forced to flee his people after the goddess possessed him and murdered his cousin, and he has been searching for a way to free himself from her.
The characters he encounters are brilliantly written. Most are fairly stereotypical fantasy characters, but the true artistry of the author is his descriptive style. Gregory Keyes wrote the stories, and his works have by far had the most impact on my own writing style. I recall the vivid details of the world and characters.
Anyway, the exciting news was that the stories were to be republished in a collection next year, 2008. I bookmarked the website with glee, adding it to my "Things to buy" list.
J190 Monday October 29th
In a hyphenated double word, D&D was face-melting. The better part of the afternoon was spent at GEOS, kindly opened by K, crawling through the last of the party's first dungeon. Monsters were slain, clues were found, and missing children were reunited with their parents. Alas, this truly was to be Nick's last game, and he and we bid one another fond farewells. His character, a wild human called Windfall, melted back into the forests that he had called his home.
The game may be shifted to Sunday for future sessions, given the lack of Nick. His holidays were Monday and Tuesday, whilst everyone else was on a Sunday/Monday or Saturday/Sunday weekend schedule.
Toward the close of the evening, Brooke called asking for a bit of help. She had been having some computer troubles, and asked if I could take a look at it. I biked over to offer my services, such as they were.
Her laptop was shutting itself off without provocation, which was interfering with her ability to use it for any long period of time. She normally kept it plugged into the wall, rather than running it off of its internal battery. It was an older system, so I theorized that the battery had suffered some malady due to accident or age, and that it was interfering with the power circuit. I instructed her to remove the battery all together and see if that worked. To our mutual delight, it did.
I suggested reformatting her drive, given the overall difficulties the laptop was having. She worried about keeping her data. She had just purchased a new iPod to replace her old one. It dawned on me that iPods can hold more than just songs. (Watch out for further scientific breakthroughs such as the Wetness of Water, and my personal favorite: Fire!: Actually Rather Hot!) Having never worked with an iPod before, I did some digging around. I unified her music folder, cleaning up any duplicates from her laptop's hard drive and her original iPod. I then went through her disc drive folders, showing her where the files she wanted to keep were located. Mostly she wanted to keep pictures and music.
I gave her some more instructions on which files to put where before I left. She said she could handle the rest herself. It was late, and I headed back home to sleep, as the next day was fast approaching.
Despite the connections being quite solid, I could find nothing wrong with her Internet, save that she appeared to just not have the service. I poked and prodded, but could find no settings that, when changed, produced the elusive aether. Her laptop is a tad dated, and she hasn't reformatted it since she first bought it. I suggested she try that, to fix its
Monday, December 3, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
I'm on....top of the world I'm looking...down on Creation
J177 Tuesday October 16th
Nothing much to report. Standard Monday, not too many classes. Updated my paper journal. Went for a run. Did laundry. One of my Japanese coworkers gave me a packet of chamomile tea, which was nice of her.
J178 Wednesday October 17th
Many students impressed with hiking stories. I'm getting closer to registering for the G.R.E. I managed to track down the correct agency to call, Thomson Prometric, a testing agency that handles a ton of standardized tests. I called their English language help line and talked to a flesh-and-blood human. He told me of their setup: tests were registered online or by phone. You could register for a test every month, but no more than 5 tests in a 6-month period. The next available seats were for December.
I thanked him for the clear instructions, something I'd been having difficulty with online, and plotted my test time. Asking for a day off is a tricky business at my company, but I was lucky in that Thomson offers G.R.E.s on the weekends.
J179 Thursday October 18th
I finally registered for the G.R.E.! Before work I hopped on Thomson's website and registered. December 16th, 2007, in Kayabacho Tower, Shinkawa Ward Tokyo, at 1PM, I will take the G.R.E. It was a bit pricey, $170, but it couldn't be helped.
Please note, if it could be helped, let me know :)
The rest of the day was in class. My break time was spent with more math review. I'm slowly getting it all back. I'm a little faster, able to see around the corners a little further. It's like relearning the rules to an old game I played as a kid, except now I'm applying a lot more brainpower to it.
J180 Friday October 19th
Many of my lessons have common themes. Business expressions, travel, that sort of stuff. Another big one is food. My first lesson today was, in part, about ramen, and I was beset with an intense craving for the hot noodle soup. I had an hour for lunch, so I hopped on my bike and sped east to Kumamoto Ramen, a ramen joint of excellent quality.
An anecdote: Tom Culpepper, fraternity brother of mine and all-around swell guy, was a teacher in Japan for a while before I came here. He worked in a little town called Ota. I visited him when I first got here, and he took me around. While eating at his favorite ramen place, he imparted a gem of wisdom. "Ramen joints are like BBQ joints; the dirtier they are, the better the food."
Kumamoto isn't quite on the level of that place Tom and I went to, but it certainly is good. It's cozy and friendly. My dad and I went here when he visited, so it's familiar territory. I hadn't been there in a while, actually, but the chef on duty greeted me with "Been a while, eh?" The day was a cool, but the ramen warmed (and filled) me up.
The rest of the day was without incident. Sometime in the past week my 360 headset started working, and I put in some more Halo 3 multiplayer at night. I wanted to test out the single player coop mode with Peter or Stickman. I had beaten Halo 3 on Hard mode, but the most difficult setting, Legendary, is quite the controller-cracker. I needed some help to barrel past the stickier spots I found myself mired in, and both Peter and Stick were gifted Halo enthusiasts.
Also in the evening, two of my D&D players bowed out for the scheduled session. Masaki was feeling ill, and Josh was going to be busy. I decided to postpone the game for a week, which was met with agreement by the party.
J181 Saturday October 20th
7 Classes today, but it wasn't a killer. Greg, the teacher I replaced, turned 27 today. M-sensei and I went to Ito Yokado to buy his birthday cake. There will be a dinner party at Tsuki Uma, an izukaiya (think tapas restaurant) tonight after work. Genie was there in the grocery store, and she informed us that no one had been paid that month. Furthermore, NOVA's Japanese staff haven't been paid in nearly 4 months. Crazy. A new deadline was given by the parent company, the 25th, but Genie and the rest of the Hitachi NOVAs aren't holding their breath.
After work I headed home and got cleaned up. I had some time before the party started, so for giggles I pulled up the Forest of Doors website. For those of you who have no idea why a forest deserves to be capitalized, or why there are doors there, I shall enlighten you. One of my Fraternity brothers, a Chris Tang (accidentally spelled "Christ" there...that's kinda funny) is an avid roleplayer. He and some of his friends decided to make their own rules and setting for a LARP, a Live Action Role Playing Game. I caught wind of it, and attended the first game. I've been an avid attendee ever since.
My absence from the game has been one of the few genuinely negative aspects of my year here in Japan. I would very much like to go back and play. I poked around the site and the forums, reading up on the exploits of my old friends. I saw new players begin their characters and mature quickly, from eager newbies to seasoned veterans in a matter of months. The character manager software was finally up and running, and I set about working through the math to have a comprehensive list of my character's experience points and resulting expenditures. I also fired off an email to one of the Marshals, one of the people who run the game, to begin discussing my character's whereabouts during my year and a half of absence.
My RPG fun had, I noticed it was time to head out to the party. I pedaled to Tsuki Uma and proceeded to get down with a delightful gang of students and friends. Some of them I still teach, while others I'd never met before. Some of my coworkers were there, M-sensei and his girlfriend, along with S-sensei and M-san, a part time teacher and the administrative assistant of my school, respectively.
I learned many things at this party. M-sensei and I educated the gathered in a veritable rainbow of English slang, whilst our audience did their best do reciprocate. I tried out a few Japanese jokes I'd learned over the years, and to my delight I managed to pull them off.
I also learned of the Japanese custom of sharing one's food. I am a bit of a vacuum when it comes to food. I have a big appetite, and I can eat a fair amount of consumables. This makes my ongoing struggle with weight loss...interesting. It also means that when it comes time to eat, I chow down with the best of 'em. I ordered a few different dishes, and proceeded to tuck into the main course, a mini-pizza (Japanese style). As I neared the end of my modest meal, I noticed my tablemates looking at me. In that way...the one that says you've committed the social equivalent of knifing someone in broad daylight.
They informed me that it is the custom in Japan to share one's food, or at the very least offer to do so, when eating at an izukaiya. Upon realizing my error, I offered apologies, but was assured that I'd done no harm. I was merely unawares. I now know the proper etiquette for Japanese dining.
The party was fun. Cake was had, and merry was made. I left at the end, biking home full of Japanese food. I played Halo until 4AM. Huzzah, slack!
J182 Sunday October 21st
I woke up at 5:30AM. I am not kidding. I couldn't get to sleep again, so I just got up. I logged on to Halo 3 again and teamed up with Peter. Together we beat the game on Legendary, the toughest difficulty setting, and secured a plethora of points for my Gamerscore. Afterwards, I decided to put in some exercise time.
I went for a run around noon time. The shortening day makes the world seem kind of strange; you never really see day anymore. The sun gets up only so high on the horizon, so by the time midday comes around, it looks like dusk is beginning already. I don't mind twilight edging closer and closer to 4PM, but it's freaking weird.
I went shopping after my run, picking up some badly-needed groceries. I whipped up a delicious, healthy meal upon my triumphant return, and settled down for an afternoon nap. Minutes hadn't gone by when I was called back to my computer to chat with a very drunk Peter. There was, as I recall, a party of no minor magnitude happening at Psi U that day, and Peter was having, as they say in academic terms "a great f****** time". Overjoyed, yet again unable to sleep, I packed away my futon and played more Halo.
I tried my hand at ranked games, games in which one's actual play style is input into some arcane series of equations. The result of these formulae being a 'rank' that somehow displays your overall awesomeness at the game. I put in an hour or three of effort, and was rewarded with a healthy starting rank of 5. Go me! Realize that there are those who have ranks over 50. I was finally able to sleep at the auspicious hour of midnight.
J183 Monday October 22nd
I was up at 11. 11 hours of sleep! An unheard number! Today was amazingly productive, probably because I intended to study, yet did everything possible to avoid that singular activity.
I did laundry, taking in my very dry stuff and running and hanging a load of not-so-clean stuff. I found that my inquiry regarding my FoD character had been replied to, and thus did some more planning and scheming for that game. I played a bit of Halo, but the past two day's worth of gaming did much to quench my overall desire for FPS glory.
I posted an entry to this blog, an event that is becoming more and more rare. It's not that I don't like to post, far from it. I really do love letting you all know about my activities. It's just a lengthy process that often slips my mind. I am often distracted, as many of you know, and I find it difficult to focus on any one thing for a long period of time. Except video games. That's kind of strange to experience, really. Toward the end of the day, I received an email from K stating that he couldn't make it to the D&D game. Which I'd postponed. Two days ago. I chalked his lack of receipt of the email to witchcraft, and left it at that.
Nothing much to report. Standard Monday, not too many classes. Updated my paper journal. Went for a run. Did laundry. One of my Japanese coworkers gave me a packet of chamomile tea, which was nice of her.
J178 Wednesday October 17th
Many students impressed with hiking stories. I'm getting closer to registering for the G.R.E. I managed to track down the correct agency to call, Thomson Prometric, a testing agency that handles a ton of standardized tests. I called their English language help line and talked to a flesh-and-blood human. He told me of their setup: tests were registered online or by phone. You could register for a test every month, but no more than 5 tests in a 6-month period. The next available seats were for December.
I thanked him for the clear instructions, something I'd been having difficulty with online, and plotted my test time. Asking for a day off is a tricky business at my company, but I was lucky in that Thomson offers G.R.E.s on the weekends.
J179 Thursday October 18th
I finally registered for the G.R.E.! Before work I hopped on Thomson's website and registered. December 16th, 2007, in Kayabacho Tower, Shinkawa Ward Tokyo, at 1PM, I will take the G.R.E. It was a bit pricey, $170, but it couldn't be helped.
Please note, if it could be helped, let me know :)
The rest of the day was in class. My break time was spent with more math review. I'm slowly getting it all back. I'm a little faster, able to see around the corners a little further. It's like relearning the rules to an old game I played as a kid, except now I'm applying a lot more brainpower to it.
J180 Friday October 19th
Many of my lessons have common themes. Business expressions, travel, that sort of stuff. Another big one is food. My first lesson today was, in part, about ramen, and I was beset with an intense craving for the hot noodle soup. I had an hour for lunch, so I hopped on my bike and sped east to Kumamoto Ramen, a ramen joint of excellent quality.
An anecdote: Tom Culpepper, fraternity brother of mine and all-around swell guy, was a teacher in Japan for a while before I came here. He worked in a little town called Ota. I visited him when I first got here, and he took me around. While eating at his favorite ramen place, he imparted a gem of wisdom. "Ramen joints are like BBQ joints; the dirtier they are, the better the food."
Kumamoto isn't quite on the level of that place Tom and I went to, but it certainly is good. It's cozy and friendly. My dad and I went here when he visited, so it's familiar territory. I hadn't been there in a while, actually, but the chef on duty greeted me with "Been a while, eh?" The day was a cool, but the ramen warmed (and filled) me up.
The rest of the day was without incident. Sometime in the past week my 360 headset started working, and I put in some more Halo 3 multiplayer at night. I wanted to test out the single player coop mode with Peter or Stickman. I had beaten Halo 3 on Hard mode, but the most difficult setting, Legendary, is quite the controller-cracker. I needed some help to barrel past the stickier spots I found myself mired in, and both Peter and Stick were gifted Halo enthusiasts.
Also in the evening, two of my D&D players bowed out for the scheduled session. Masaki was feeling ill, and Josh was going to be busy. I decided to postpone the game for a week, which was met with agreement by the party.
J181 Saturday October 20th
7 Classes today, but it wasn't a killer. Greg, the teacher I replaced, turned 27 today. M-sensei and I went to Ito Yokado to buy his birthday cake. There will be a dinner party at Tsuki Uma, an izukaiya (think tapas restaurant) tonight after work. Genie was there in the grocery store, and she informed us that no one had been paid that month. Furthermore, NOVA's Japanese staff haven't been paid in nearly 4 months. Crazy. A new deadline was given by the parent company, the 25th, but Genie and the rest of the Hitachi NOVAs aren't holding their breath.
After work I headed home and got cleaned up. I had some time before the party started, so for giggles I pulled up the Forest of Doors website. For those of you who have no idea why a forest deserves to be capitalized, or why there are doors there, I shall enlighten you. One of my Fraternity brothers, a Chris Tang (accidentally spelled "Christ" there...that's kinda funny) is an avid roleplayer. He and some of his friends decided to make their own rules and setting for a LARP, a Live Action Role Playing Game. I caught wind of it, and attended the first game. I've been an avid attendee ever since.
My absence from the game has been one of the few genuinely negative aspects of my year here in Japan. I would very much like to go back and play. I poked around the site and the forums, reading up on the exploits of my old friends. I saw new players begin their characters and mature quickly, from eager newbies to seasoned veterans in a matter of months. The character manager software was finally up and running, and I set about working through the math to have a comprehensive list of my character's experience points and resulting expenditures. I also fired off an email to one of the Marshals, one of the people who run the game, to begin discussing my character's whereabouts during my year and a half of absence.
My RPG fun had, I noticed it was time to head out to the party. I pedaled to Tsuki Uma and proceeded to get down with a delightful gang of students and friends. Some of them I still teach, while others I'd never met before. Some of my coworkers were there, M-sensei and his girlfriend, along with S-sensei and M-san, a part time teacher and the administrative assistant of my school, respectively.
I learned many things at this party. M-sensei and I educated the gathered in a veritable rainbow of English slang, whilst our audience did their best do reciprocate. I tried out a few Japanese jokes I'd learned over the years, and to my delight I managed to pull them off.
I also learned of the Japanese custom of sharing one's food. I am a bit of a vacuum when it comes to food. I have a big appetite, and I can eat a fair amount of consumables. This makes my ongoing struggle with weight loss...interesting. It also means that when it comes time to eat, I chow down with the best of 'em. I ordered a few different dishes, and proceeded to tuck into the main course, a mini-pizza (Japanese style). As I neared the end of my modest meal, I noticed my tablemates looking at me. In that way...the one that says you've committed the social equivalent of knifing someone in broad daylight.
They informed me that it is the custom in Japan to share one's food, or at the very least offer to do so, when eating at an izukaiya. Upon realizing my error, I offered apologies, but was assured that I'd done no harm. I was merely unawares. I now know the proper etiquette for Japanese dining.
The party was fun. Cake was had, and merry was made. I left at the end, biking home full of Japanese food. I played Halo until 4AM. Huzzah, slack!
J182 Sunday October 21st
I woke up at 5:30AM. I am not kidding. I couldn't get to sleep again, so I just got up. I logged on to Halo 3 again and teamed up with Peter. Together we beat the game on Legendary, the toughest difficulty setting, and secured a plethora of points for my Gamerscore. Afterwards, I decided to put in some exercise time.
I went for a run around noon time. The shortening day makes the world seem kind of strange; you never really see day anymore. The sun gets up only so high on the horizon, so by the time midday comes around, it looks like dusk is beginning already. I don't mind twilight edging closer and closer to 4PM, but it's freaking weird.
I went shopping after my run, picking up some badly-needed groceries. I whipped up a delicious, healthy meal upon my triumphant return, and settled down for an afternoon nap. Minutes hadn't gone by when I was called back to my computer to chat with a very drunk Peter. There was, as I recall, a party of no minor magnitude happening at Psi U that day, and Peter was having, as they say in academic terms "a great f****** time". Overjoyed, yet again unable to sleep, I packed away my futon and played more Halo.
I tried my hand at ranked games, games in which one's actual play style is input into some arcane series of equations. The result of these formulae being a 'rank' that somehow displays your overall awesomeness at the game. I put in an hour or three of effort, and was rewarded with a healthy starting rank of 5. Go me! Realize that there are those who have ranks over 50. I was finally able to sleep at the auspicious hour of midnight.
J183 Monday October 22nd
I was up at 11. 11 hours of sleep! An unheard number! Today was amazingly productive, probably because I intended to study, yet did everything possible to avoid that singular activity.
I did laundry, taking in my very dry stuff and running and hanging a load of not-so-clean stuff. I found that my inquiry regarding my FoD character had been replied to, and thus did some more planning and scheming for that game. I played a bit of Halo, but the past two day's worth of gaming did much to quench my overall desire for FPS glory.
I posted an entry to this blog, an event that is becoming more and more rare. It's not that I don't like to post, far from it. I really do love letting you all know about my activities. It's just a lengthy process that often slips my mind. I am often distracted, as many of you know, and I find it difficult to focus on any one thing for a long period of time. Except video games. That's kind of strange to experience, really. Toward the end of the day, I received an email from K stating that he couldn't make it to the D&D game. Which I'd postponed. Two days ago. I chalked his lack of receipt of the email to witchcraft, and left it at that.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Hi-ho, Hi-ho, it's off to work we go
J170 Tuesday October 9th
I had some trouble sleeping, so I got up early. That happens sometimes. I decided to get started on the G.R.E. application process, so I did some Internet gumshoe work. I had emailed the American offices of E.I.S., the company that creates and grades the G.R.E. Their response told me to get in touch with a Japanese company called C.I.E.E., claiming that this company was the one who administered the test here in Japan. I called C.I.E.E., but they said that I had to call E.T.S.
I was not amused.
To compound my lack of enthusiasm was the impending pre-work task. Or should I say task what involved me getting to work earlier than normal. Today I was to help hand out fliers at Ibaraki University, Ibadai to the locals. It's not the most exhilarating job in the world, but it's work outside the office in the fresh air, which is always nice. I met M-sensei, my coworker, and K-sensei, our manager, at the office. We piled into K-sensei's car and were off.
Ibadai is one of several branches of the local University system in Japan. I don't know how it works, or what sorts of classes they offer, but the students there always seem very...serious. I don't know how else to put it. Many are dour, most are very closed off. Handing out fliers here always takes a while, 'cause many of them just ignore you or, quite literally, run away from you. Or run past you.
Two or so hours of passive aggressive fun later, we were finished, and headed back to the office. Upon returning to the office my mood brightened considerably. I was delighted to find that I a) had only one class that day and b) had a 2-hour break. Normally I have an hour to do with what I please, the rest of my day is spent teaching or in office hours. So large a break was stupendously rare.
I headed home for lunch, making a quick detour to purchase a new ink cartridge for my printer. I had to print out another math study guide for the G.R.E. and I didn't want to run out of ink.
I had lunch at home, another rarity, and enjoyed the fruits of the Internets. The rest of the day was spent folding copious amounts of fliers and, of course, teaching. In the evening I biked home and went for another jog. The cooler air worries me somewhat, my asthma being aggravated by cold air, but I've held it together so far. That may change in the coming months.
J171 Wednesday October 10th
My morning Internet session was graced with a twofold conversation with Peter, a fraternity brother of mine, and my little (biological) brother E.J. They both had undergone an interview with E.A., a video game giant of America, and were both excited about the prospect of getting their internships there for the coming summer. I told them both how proud I was of them, and I wished them luck in their endeavors.
I tried to print out the new math guide from the G.R.E. website, but my printer developed a stupidity complex. It started to print pages out of order, and I decided to call it quits before I wasted any more paper. I would fix the problem tonight, after work.
I had to head in early again, 'cause we were handing out fliers...again. Although today was to be at a different school: Ibaraki Christian University. I'd never been before, so I didn't know what to expect. I met K-sensei and M-sensei at the office, and we hopped the train south. The day was pleasant; still a little warm with a nice breeze, and a beautiful clear blue sky.
Ibaraki Christian is a beautiful campus. It reminded me a lot of my alma mater, Georgia Tech, actually. Plenty of trees and bushes, lots of college-style buildings, but with the well-used, semi-decay aesthetic that is the Japanese hallmark. The greatest part, though, was the students; they're so much less serious!
They laugh and smile! They don't run away from you! They practice their English with you! And best of all, they take what you are handing out. Remember how it took 2 hours to hand out the fliers the day before at Ibadai? We were done in 30 minutes at I.C.U. Also, the ratio? Had to have been 5:1, women to men. Astounding.
The difference between those two colleges, so very close geographically speaking, was astounding. It requires further contemplation on my behalf.
Back at work I had another big break. I had an interview with a prospective student, which went well. I decided to use my break to pick up some gaming supplies. I hopped on the train, southbound, for Hitachi-Taga, home of the fantasy land that is WonderGoo. I purchased a 360 headset, to be used with Halo 3's multiplayer, and a small internet hub, to be used so my laptop and 360 can be connected to the 'net at the same time.
I made it back to the station to catch the next train north to Hitachi. I got back to the office with minutes to spare, but it had been a break well-spent. The rest of the day, 4 classes in a row, went by quickly enough. I sped home, eager to try out my new toys.
The hub worked instantly. I wasn't particularly worried; it's like the stone wheel of computer technology. Cable A goes in slot 1, Cable B goes in slot 2, plug the power chord into the wall, and bam. If that doesn't work, something is wrong on a level more fundamental than most people can troubleshoot at home.
The headset was a different story. It's wireless, and has no battery slot. It came with a USB power chord (!) to recharge it. It didn't have a factory charge, so I plugged it in and let it juice up overnight.
J172 Thursday October 11th
A lite day, but it still felt kind of long. In the morning I experimented with the headset a little before work. Like all other wireless peripherals it must 'synch' with the mother console. I thought I'd synched it, but the little thing just didn't appear to transmit audio in either direction.
I put that aside to tackle my new math practice book-in-the-making. The previous day had yielded me a stack of single-sided pages. These were to be turned over and re-inserted into my printer's paper try to turn them into two-sided book pages. Somehow my printer was expressing constant paper tray errors, and during the previous day's printing session had begun to print a few pages out of sequence.
I sorted the correct pages from the erroneous, as well as the one-siders that were still usable. Patience, above all, saw me with a stack of correctly printed pages after the better part of an hour. I reverently packed them and my Utility Ball o' Twine into my bag and set out for work.
I only had two or three classes today, giving me ample time to hole punch and bind my newly minted math book. It isn't terribly thick, about 30 or so pages total. I'd learned a few lessons binding its smaller sibling the previous week, and the binding process was much faster and sturdier.
J173 Friday October 12th
Busy. Freaking. Day.
A full 6 classes, 3 in the morning, 3 in the evening, with two hours between. I hit the books during my lunch and office hours, flexing my super-rusty math neurons. And I do mean rusty. The guide is really quite good; it breaks down the math questions on the G.R.E. into their component parts. It provides an excellent, comprehensive math review that's not too dense, nor is it too verbose. It's a superbly crafted work, and I'd love to thank the author.
That being said, my performance today was...sub-par. Not horrible; I actually liked math way back when. I just haven't used that part of my brain in years.
Somewhere during all that neurochemical defrosting was a call from Brooke, the new Kiwi (New Zealander) teacher. She wanted to get sushi some time during the weekend. M-sensei had mentioned wanting to go hiking this weekend into the mountains. I'd love to do both, but currently they both want to do it on Sunday. Plans must needs change.
I ended the day with a bit of Halo 3 multiplayer. It's been a while since I've enjoyed multiplayer FPS gameplay, and I forgot how therapeutic it could be. Not that I'd been containing a murderous tide within, but decompression via Team Slayer versus, say, just surfing the Internet for a few hours, is a different experience. Gaming was, and still is, an important part of my life. My hiatus from it has been very interesting, not unlike a scientist taking sabbatical from his or her research. I approach it with a different viewpoint than I had before.
J174 Saturday October 13th
Up early for another busy Saturday. Saturdays are sort of like running a marathon; exhausting, but they let you know you're still alive, man.
During my brief breaks I brainstormed with M-sensei about weekend plans. The hike was moved to Monday, and my sushi lunch with Brooke was confirmed for Sunday.
The work day came and went. On my way home I stopped by Ito Yokado for much-needed groceries. I met Claire inside, and we chatted a while about the NOVA situation. The company has been having some trouble. NOVA, like my company, pays rent for its foreign staff. The amount is deducted from our paychecks at the end of every month. It's terribly convenient, but in the case of NOVA, replete with many financial woes, this means that the rent isn't getting paid. Furthermore, it would seem that the company hasn't been paying their Japanese staff, opting instead to spend what little cash they're making on foreign staff salaries. Things are not looking good for NOVA.
Bidding the bonny Scottish lass farewell, I headed back to the homestead, and I relished my pre-G-Bros home time. I was dozing lightly at my computer when I felt a rather intense earthquake. I heard it before I felt it, but when it came it was like a fist smashing into my apartment. One big lurch, then nothing. At first I thought I'd dreamed it, but I heard all my stuff rattling, and saw various objects rocking back and forth.
The regular gang was at G-Bros. A 'new' teacher, named J, was around. I say 'new' 'cause he's been in Japan for a few months, but has never come to Hitachi before today. He's with Interact, the JET-like private company, the same one Josh and Daniel, two of my D&D players, work for.
No one had felt the earthquake. Not surprising; for such large events they can be oddly localized. My weekly beer and chat time was pleasant, but my plans for the next day called me home at a reasonable hour. I then proceeded to play Halo 3 until 5AM. I like gaming, what can I say?
J175 Sunday October 14th
Amazingly, I was up at 9AM. Powering up the trusty laptop, I noticed E.J. was online. We chatted for a while, but then I had the crazy idea of using GoogleTalk to...talk...with him. We geared up our headsets and were soon chatting with Google's own free VoIP service. For the better part of an hour we talked. Many subjects, personal and public, we discussed.
We both needed to head our separate ways after a while, and we bid one another farewell. I showered and headed over to City Hall, where Brooke and I had said we'd rendezvous for our sushi. The day was a bit cooler than I'd planned, but nothing I wasn't used to. I got to the City Hall first, but a few minutes found Brooke there, too. She lead the way on her bike, and we set off north, in search of sushi.
Up and up and up we biked, up the gentle foothills that Hitachi was carved into. Uphill biking is rarely easy, but the best rewards are when one reaches the top. Brooke and I delighted in gravity-assisted acceleration. ZOOOOOOOOOOM! Nothing is quite like the rush of speed one gets on a bicycle. Maybe it's the closeness of the mechanism, the bare-bones quality, or the fact that one is not in a car-shaped shell, but damn if it doesn't feel five times faster when you're careening downhill at a solid 40 kph.
We finally got to Kappa Zushi, our destination. Kappa Zushi is a chain of conveyor belt sushi restaurants, with a layout and general atmosphere akin to a Denny's or Shoney's at home. It was a little crowded, and most of the crowd was family. Brooke and I were subject to many young children's open-mouthed wonder, which only made us smile. One little girl we saw had hair so long it would have dragged the ground, were it not gathered in a ponytail high on her head first.
We got a booth to ourselves and tucked in. Conveyor belt sushi is very much what it sounds like; there is a kitchen in the back of the restaurant where chefs churn out a never ending supply of sushi. The dishes are placed on a series of slow-moving conveyor belts that loop between a double row of booths. If you see a piece of sushi you want, you take it from the belt and chow down. You save your plates, stacking them toward the far end of your table.
There was a second belt, situated above the slower belt, which could be used for special orders. Want something that isn't showing up on the normal belt? A special desert, or more expensive kind of sushi? Just tap your order in on the touchpad above the table, and in a few minutes your order will zip along the upper belt straight to your table. Unload your dishes and hit the 'return' button before digging in, though, to send the little trays back.
Thanks to the exercise of the bike ride here, I wasn't terribly hungry. I put away 6 dishes of sushi (2 pieces each). We ordered some special things, though. I got a slice of melon, quite delicious. We tried something called an "avocado tortilla". Another cautionary tale, gentle reader: the Japanese do not appear to know what "avocado" is. Oh, certainly, one can find the buttery, rough-skinned fruit in some stores. But what we got was not derived in any way from that same species of plant matter.
Perched atop the two plates we got on the fast track were little tortillas. They were filled with a thick green paste, which we assumed was mashed avocado. I bit heartily into mine, but was soon set upon by sweetness, rather than the buttery smoothness one normally associates with avocado. The mixture seemed to be a kind of sweet cream, beneath which was situated a small bundle of mixed fruit. The treat was, on the whole, enjoyable, but it was not even remotely avocado-ish.
For desert we pigged out on flan. Brooke helped herself to some darker chocolate pudding, but I stuck to the classic desert. This was, thankfully, as I had anticipated. Firm gelatin, with dark, slightly bitter section on top, and a lighter, sweeter layer taking up the rest of the bottom. A pleasant meal-ender.
The waitress stopped by and tallied our dishes once we signaled our readiness to depart. I took a final swig of the complimentary green tea (power provided at the table, coupled with a hot water dispenser). Brooke and I paid, and were out again in the afternoon dusk. For those of you unaware, Japan does not adhere to the Daylight Savings Time system, rendering the days and nights completely vulnerable to the shifting lengths our ancestors experienced. As I write this, the difference in day length is staggering, but even as early in the fall as October, the shortening day was noticeable. It was scarcely past 2PM, and the sun was already in its decent.
We mounted our bikes and headed back toward home. We'd biked a solid 30 minutes north, but the trip felt a bit shorter on the way back. We stopped a few times to take in the Recycle shops that dotted to landscape. These media-saturated second hand stores are one of my favorite places, and they groan with loads of cheap games, music, and books.
Upon returning to City Hall, Brooke and I parted ways. She was off to her apartment, and I to mine. It was only around 3PM, but I felt quite tired. The lack of sleep the night before, coupled with the copious bike riding had drained my reserves. I vegged the rest of the day, fixing myself a batch of pasta for dinner, and saving the leftovers for my hike the next day. I finished the day with a bit of artwork; sketching onto one of the large format looseleaf pages I'd bought ages ago.
J176 Monday October 15th
The Hike! I was up at around 10AM and got ready. I packed my light jacket and my hat, my pasta for lunch, and topped off my Camelbak water bottle. I love that thing. I got off to a slightly late start. On the way out I heard the unmistakable sound of festival drums. The big shrine on Route 6, one of my favorite places in Hitachi, was having a small matsuri. I wasn't able to swing around front to see it, but I heard the merry, rhythmic taiko drums and the chaotic piping of flutes as I biked along the shrine's back wall.
I met M-sensei and K, our only other companion for the hike, in front of G-Bros. We took a few quick pictures, and set off. Our plan was to hike from Kamine Park, just north of Hitachi proper, all the way south to Ogistu, three or so stops south of Hitachi on the Joban train line.
We hiked along the road north, finding Kamine with little trouble. The path itself was somewhat difficult to discern, given that the map M-sensei had found was of somewhat blurry quality. We strode through the park, finding a few guide posts to show us the way. We came out the far side of the park, finding ourselves on a road I began to recognize. We passed a rather fancy looking golf course and found ourselves near the baseball field I'd climbed to during Golden Week, all those months ago. The field was empty, but in a nearby parking lot an old man was cleaning his car.
I was elected to ask for directions. The old man got the gist of what we were trying to do. He didn't show us where to go, though; he drove us there. He cleared out his back seat and drove us a good 10 minutes along the road we were on. At a small car park he pointed up a small set of steps set into the mountainside. That was the trail we were looking for. He pulled out a rather impressive atlas and calculated the rough travel times of our trip. He pointed out some landmarks, mostly peaks, that we'd see on our journey. Armed with our new information, we thanked him profusely.
Leaning up against the small wooden post fence that guarded the first few steps was a stout walking stick, a straight branch really. I laid claim to it after the other two declined, and we three set out...or should I say up?
Up we climbed, and then down. Up and down, so it went. Up hill and into dale. Over stone and root, but always we could find the trail. It was a well-maintained path through the hills and into the mountains, with sign posts every kilometer or so, or at any big branch or fork.
The mountains sighed with the wind as it blew through the rocks and trees. The sun, already beginning its decent, lay golden light all around us. The sounds of the city were quickly swallowed by the trees, and we were soon left in the silence of nature. We made our way up, some parts of the trail almost vertical. I was reminded of Mt. Fuji every once in a while, but the overall conditions were laughably easy compared to that behemoth.
Through gaps in the trees we could see the landscape beyond us. Grand vistas of thick woods lay all about us, shot through with artificial rivers of power lines and their towering supports. Several times, deep in the mountains and on side paths, we found evidence of previous habitation or structures. Like ancient ruins, slabs of concrete in odd shapes hunkered in the darkness beneath boughs. Vine-covered metal scaffolds spoke of old mines and digs, long abandoned. Occasionally we'd hear mournful squeaks through the trees, and found decaying metal skeletons. Their rusting parts rubbed together in the strong breeze, sending ghost sounds wafting through the wood.
Onward we forged, finding a small mountain top shrine. A short distance from it was a monitoring station of some kind, a concrete cube festooned with a small radio tower and a few power cables snaking off to attach a few clusters of scientific instruments. A few ominous concrete buildings were dug into the sides of small hillocks, but the station was quite unmanned. The shrine and weather station were perched atop a broad peak, overlooking one of the bigger valleys Hitachi was built into. I recognized it as the origin of the mountain road I'd followed deep into the hills during my Golden Week expeditions. Some 15 kilometers I'd hiked up a gravely road, past quarries and concrete dams, the dense, dark cedar forests looming to either side.
This world is so very beautiful, and I hope you realize that one day. Not to say that you don't already, but the beauty I speak of is something one can never finish appreciating.
We double-backed, unable to find the path where we were currently. Upon further review, we realized we'd gone off the major trail. Back on the correct path we headed west. Up a ways longer we found a small clearing, and decided to take in lunch. The sun was dipping low, but had still a few hours left in it. Our lunch was quiet, cool breezes ruffling our clothes and hair as we ate.
On again we trod, not thrilled about being stuck in the mountains after dark. After another half hour or so of climbing, we came upon a sheer, stony mountain peak. We took a short detour to scale it's backside, finding ourselves on one of the higher peaks of the mountains. Before us, laid out like some grand-scale map, was the mountain country of Japan. From the north to the south rolled the broad bases of the mountains. Atop them jutted the massive peaks, rocky but still clad in dense forests. A few roads crisscrossed the wooded mountains, and here and there a building glinted in the setting light. The sky was a brooding mix of gray and gold as the sun began its final arc downward, casting bright amber light through the wispy edges of massive cloud forms.
We shouldered on after taking a few snapshots. We'd lost the trail for a few minutes, but a quick scamper up the side of a mountain we found our way again. After another long ascent we began to hear an odd humming, grinding noise. As we continued down the trail, it got louder and louder. We spied a tall tower in the distance, atop which lay a Doppler dome. Next to it we saw a cell tower. We'd come across one of the last landmarks of our journey. The setting sun's rays were dimming by the minute, and we dallied for only a moment. The towers were accompanied by a rest stop; a small stand of toilets, a viewing platform, and a map. The map was a work of art, hand-crafted by scorching and painting the smooth-sanded surface of a broad slab of wood. We recognized the paths we'd been braving, and puzzled out the correct path to continue down.
We marched on, a quicker pace than before: the darkening sky and downhill grade contributing greatly to our speed. The woods pressed again around us, blocking much of the sunlight and plunging our trek into early twilight. Along ridges and the mouths of steep, tree-filled valleys we walked, catching sight of vital signs and other tools to help hikers. Twice we used ropes and chains tied to trees to descend steep segments of the paths. I gave silent thanks to the kind souls who had left them for us, not knowing how we could have safely gotten down on our own.
We passed above a paved road after what felt like ages. The path we were on skirted the edges of a mined-out quarry, though no cars passed along the asphalt below. The sky was nearing proper twilight, and our daytime was measured in tens of minutes, rather than hours. M-sensei took point, he possessing the best night vision between the three of us.
Into the woods we plunged in single file, barely able to see the companion in front of us. I was in the middle, with K behind me. Our way was brisk, but more than a few times we stopped to prevent tragedy by way of misplaced step on a precarious mountain path.
As we neared one of the next landmarks, an East-West connector road, we all began to contemplate the cessation of our hike. Our destination was still a good hour off, and the path was becoming impossible to navigate safely. M-sensei declared a moratorium on any such talk until we reached the road, though. After a harrowing half hour in almost total darkness, we hopped down a short ridge to find ourselves on Road 36.
Before us lay a long fence, beyond which we knew was a golf course. Behind us lay the mountains we'd just crossed through. To the east lay, eventually, Hitachi-Taga, and to our west were the unknown mountain lands of Japan. The team agreed that it was too dark to continue, so we looked for a way to get back home.
My suggestions of following the road were voted down, given the suicidal lack of a pedestrian lane, and the curiously regular volume of vehicular traffic. The darkness only added to the potential lethality. We headed into the golf course, walking along its main road, hoping to find another road on the far side to follow into town. We reached the club house after a few minutes and saw a few lights burning. We looked around for the course's road, but found that we had hit a dead end.
About this time one of the caretakers poked his head out of the window and asked what we were doing. Again I was volunteered to talk, and told the man about our situation. We'd walked through the mountains and were trying to get back to Hitachi. By now the entire caretaker staff, some five souls, had converged on the location where this was happening. He and the rest of the staff put their heads together, and after a few seconds deliberation, two of them offered to drive us back to Hitachi.
We couldn't believe our luck, and accepted with many thanks. A small sedan was wheeled around, driven by a young man who spoke a bit of English. An older gentleman rode shotgun, and we three hikers piled into the back seat. We set off down Road 36, eastward, into the city. Our kind benefactors had intended to take us all the way back to Hitachi, but we three agreed such kindness, though very thoughtful, was not needed. I managed to determine our location as being very close to Hitachi-Taga station, and requested we be dropped off there. A few minutes later, we arrived at the station. I snapped a quick picture of our drivers, and after another round of astonished thanks, we parted ways.
We purchased tickets for the next northbound train and waited for it to arrive. The night was quite deep now, and cool. The train came soon enough, and we got back to Hitachi without trouble.
I took a cab back home, not trusting my weary legs to hold out for the walk home. Besides, I'd left my bike at home that morning. Minutes later I trudged my way up the stairs of my apartment building. The shower I took was sinfully hot, filling my cold flesh with delicious, soothing warmth.
I haven't slept so well in many, many months.
I had some trouble sleeping, so I got up early. That happens sometimes. I decided to get started on the G.R.E. application process, so I did some Internet gumshoe work. I had emailed the American offices of E.I.S., the company that creates and grades the G.R.E. Their response told me to get in touch with a Japanese company called C.I.E.E., claiming that this company was the one who administered the test here in Japan. I called C.I.E.E., but they said that I had to call E.T.S.
I was not amused.
To compound my lack of enthusiasm was the impending pre-work task. Or should I say task what involved me getting to work earlier than normal. Today I was to help hand out fliers at Ibaraki University, Ibadai to the locals. It's not the most exhilarating job in the world, but it's work outside the office in the fresh air, which is always nice. I met M-sensei, my coworker, and K-sensei, our manager, at the office. We piled into K-sensei's car and were off.
Ibadai is one of several branches of the local University system in Japan. I don't know how it works, or what sorts of classes they offer, but the students there always seem very...serious. I don't know how else to put it. Many are dour, most are very closed off. Handing out fliers here always takes a while, 'cause many of them just ignore you or, quite literally, run away from you. Or run past you.
Two or so hours of passive aggressive fun later, we were finished, and headed back to the office. Upon returning to the office my mood brightened considerably. I was delighted to find that I a) had only one class that day and b) had a 2-hour break. Normally I have an hour to do with what I please, the rest of my day is spent teaching or in office hours. So large a break was stupendously rare.
I headed home for lunch, making a quick detour to purchase a new ink cartridge for my printer. I had to print out another math study guide for the G.R.E. and I didn't want to run out of ink.
I had lunch at home, another rarity, and enjoyed the fruits of the Internets. The rest of the day was spent folding copious amounts of fliers and, of course, teaching. In the evening I biked home and went for another jog. The cooler air worries me somewhat, my asthma being aggravated by cold air, but I've held it together so far. That may change in the coming months.
J171 Wednesday October 10th
My morning Internet session was graced with a twofold conversation with Peter, a fraternity brother of mine, and my little (biological) brother E.J. They both had undergone an interview with E.A., a video game giant of America, and were both excited about the prospect of getting their internships there for the coming summer. I told them both how proud I was of them, and I wished them luck in their endeavors.
I tried to print out the new math guide from the G.R.E. website, but my printer developed a stupidity complex. It started to print pages out of order, and I decided to call it quits before I wasted any more paper. I would fix the problem tonight, after work.
I had to head in early again, 'cause we were handing out fliers...again. Although today was to be at a different school: Ibaraki Christian University. I'd never been before, so I didn't know what to expect. I met K-sensei and M-sensei at the office, and we hopped the train south. The day was pleasant; still a little warm with a nice breeze, and a beautiful clear blue sky.
Ibaraki Christian is a beautiful campus. It reminded me a lot of my alma mater, Georgia Tech, actually. Plenty of trees and bushes, lots of college-style buildings, but with the well-used, semi-decay aesthetic that is the Japanese hallmark. The greatest part, though, was the students; they're so much less serious!
They laugh and smile! They don't run away from you! They practice their English with you! And best of all, they take what you are handing out. Remember how it took 2 hours to hand out the fliers the day before at Ibadai? We were done in 30 minutes at I.C.U. Also, the ratio? Had to have been 5:1, women to men. Astounding.
The difference between those two colleges, so very close geographically speaking, was astounding. It requires further contemplation on my behalf.
Back at work I had another big break. I had an interview with a prospective student, which went well. I decided to use my break to pick up some gaming supplies. I hopped on the train, southbound, for Hitachi-Taga, home of the fantasy land that is WonderGoo. I purchased a 360 headset, to be used with Halo 3's multiplayer, and a small internet hub, to be used so my laptop and 360 can be connected to the 'net at the same time.
I made it back to the station to catch the next train north to Hitachi. I got back to the office with minutes to spare, but it had been a break well-spent. The rest of the day, 4 classes in a row, went by quickly enough. I sped home, eager to try out my new toys.
The hub worked instantly. I wasn't particularly worried; it's like the stone wheel of computer technology. Cable A goes in slot 1, Cable B goes in slot 2, plug the power chord into the wall, and bam. If that doesn't work, something is wrong on a level more fundamental than most people can troubleshoot at home.
The headset was a different story. It's wireless, and has no battery slot. It came with a USB power chord (!) to recharge it. It didn't have a factory charge, so I plugged it in and let it juice up overnight.
J172 Thursday October 11th
A lite day, but it still felt kind of long. In the morning I experimented with the headset a little before work. Like all other wireless peripherals it must 'synch' with the mother console. I thought I'd synched it, but the little thing just didn't appear to transmit audio in either direction.
I put that aside to tackle my new math practice book-in-the-making. The previous day had yielded me a stack of single-sided pages. These were to be turned over and re-inserted into my printer's paper try to turn them into two-sided book pages. Somehow my printer was expressing constant paper tray errors, and during the previous day's printing session had begun to print a few pages out of sequence.
I sorted the correct pages from the erroneous, as well as the one-siders that were still usable. Patience, above all, saw me with a stack of correctly printed pages after the better part of an hour. I reverently packed them and my Utility Ball o' Twine into my bag and set out for work.
I only had two or three classes today, giving me ample time to hole punch and bind my newly minted math book. It isn't terribly thick, about 30 or so pages total. I'd learned a few lessons binding its smaller sibling the previous week, and the binding process was much faster and sturdier.
J173 Friday October 12th
Busy. Freaking. Day.
A full 6 classes, 3 in the morning, 3 in the evening, with two hours between. I hit the books during my lunch and office hours, flexing my super-rusty math neurons. And I do mean rusty. The guide is really quite good; it breaks down the math questions on the G.R.E. into their component parts. It provides an excellent, comprehensive math review that's not too dense, nor is it too verbose. It's a superbly crafted work, and I'd love to thank the author.
That being said, my performance today was...sub-par. Not horrible; I actually liked math way back when. I just haven't used that part of my brain in years.
Somewhere during all that neurochemical defrosting was a call from Brooke, the new Kiwi (New Zealander) teacher. She wanted to get sushi some time during the weekend. M-sensei had mentioned wanting to go hiking this weekend into the mountains. I'd love to do both, but currently they both want to do it on Sunday. Plans must needs change.
I ended the day with a bit of Halo 3 multiplayer. It's been a while since I've enjoyed multiplayer FPS gameplay, and I forgot how therapeutic it could be. Not that I'd been containing a murderous tide within, but decompression via Team Slayer versus, say, just surfing the Internet for a few hours, is a different experience. Gaming was, and still is, an important part of my life. My hiatus from it has been very interesting, not unlike a scientist taking sabbatical from his or her research. I approach it with a different viewpoint than I had before.
J174 Saturday October 13th
Up early for another busy Saturday. Saturdays are sort of like running a marathon; exhausting, but they let you know you're still alive, man.
During my brief breaks I brainstormed with M-sensei about weekend plans. The hike was moved to Monday, and my sushi lunch with Brooke was confirmed for Sunday.
The work day came and went. On my way home I stopped by Ito Yokado for much-needed groceries. I met Claire inside, and we chatted a while about the NOVA situation. The company has been having some trouble. NOVA, like my company, pays rent for its foreign staff. The amount is deducted from our paychecks at the end of every month. It's terribly convenient, but in the case of NOVA, replete with many financial woes, this means that the rent isn't getting paid. Furthermore, it would seem that the company hasn't been paying their Japanese staff, opting instead to spend what little cash they're making on foreign staff salaries. Things are not looking good for NOVA.
Bidding the bonny Scottish lass farewell, I headed back to the homestead, and I relished my pre-G-Bros home time. I was dozing lightly at my computer when I felt a rather intense earthquake. I heard it before I felt it, but when it came it was like a fist smashing into my apartment. One big lurch, then nothing. At first I thought I'd dreamed it, but I heard all my stuff rattling, and saw various objects rocking back and forth.
The regular gang was at G-Bros. A 'new' teacher, named J, was around. I say 'new' 'cause he's been in Japan for a few months, but has never come to Hitachi before today. He's with Interact, the JET-like private company, the same one Josh and Daniel, two of my D&D players, work for.
No one had felt the earthquake. Not surprising; for such large events they can be oddly localized. My weekly beer and chat time was pleasant, but my plans for the next day called me home at a reasonable hour. I then proceeded to play Halo 3 until 5AM. I like gaming, what can I say?
J175 Sunday October 14th
Amazingly, I was up at 9AM. Powering up the trusty laptop, I noticed E.J. was online. We chatted for a while, but then I had the crazy idea of using GoogleTalk to...talk...with him. We geared up our headsets and were soon chatting with Google's own free VoIP service. For the better part of an hour we talked. Many subjects, personal and public, we discussed.
We both needed to head our separate ways after a while, and we bid one another farewell. I showered and headed over to City Hall, where Brooke and I had said we'd rendezvous for our sushi. The day was a bit cooler than I'd planned, but nothing I wasn't used to. I got to the City Hall first, but a few minutes found Brooke there, too. She lead the way on her bike, and we set off north, in search of sushi.
Up and up and up we biked, up the gentle foothills that Hitachi was carved into. Uphill biking is rarely easy, but the best rewards are when one reaches the top. Brooke and I delighted in gravity-assisted acceleration. ZOOOOOOOOOOM! Nothing is quite like the rush of speed one gets on a bicycle. Maybe it's the closeness of the mechanism, the bare-bones quality, or the fact that one is not in a car-shaped shell, but damn if it doesn't feel five times faster when you're careening downhill at a solid 40 kph.
We finally got to Kappa Zushi, our destination. Kappa Zushi is a chain of conveyor belt sushi restaurants, with a layout and general atmosphere akin to a Denny's or Shoney's at home. It was a little crowded, and most of the crowd was family. Brooke and I were subject to many young children's open-mouthed wonder, which only made us smile. One little girl we saw had hair so long it would have dragged the ground, were it not gathered in a ponytail high on her head first.
We got a booth to ourselves and tucked in. Conveyor belt sushi is very much what it sounds like; there is a kitchen in the back of the restaurant where chefs churn out a never ending supply of sushi. The dishes are placed on a series of slow-moving conveyor belts that loop between a double row of booths. If you see a piece of sushi you want, you take it from the belt and chow down. You save your plates, stacking them toward the far end of your table.
There was a second belt, situated above the slower belt, which could be used for special orders. Want something that isn't showing up on the normal belt? A special desert, or more expensive kind of sushi? Just tap your order in on the touchpad above the table, and in a few minutes your order will zip along the upper belt straight to your table. Unload your dishes and hit the 'return' button before digging in, though, to send the little trays back.
Thanks to the exercise of the bike ride here, I wasn't terribly hungry. I put away 6 dishes of sushi (2 pieces each). We ordered some special things, though. I got a slice of melon, quite delicious. We tried something called an "avocado tortilla". Another cautionary tale, gentle reader: the Japanese do not appear to know what "avocado" is. Oh, certainly, one can find the buttery, rough-skinned fruit in some stores. But what we got was not derived in any way from that same species of plant matter.
Perched atop the two plates we got on the fast track were little tortillas. They were filled with a thick green paste, which we assumed was mashed avocado. I bit heartily into mine, but was soon set upon by sweetness, rather than the buttery smoothness one normally associates with avocado. The mixture seemed to be a kind of sweet cream, beneath which was situated a small bundle of mixed fruit. The treat was, on the whole, enjoyable, but it was not even remotely avocado-ish.
For desert we pigged out on flan. Brooke helped herself to some darker chocolate pudding, but I stuck to the classic desert. This was, thankfully, as I had anticipated. Firm gelatin, with dark, slightly bitter section on top, and a lighter, sweeter layer taking up the rest of the bottom. A pleasant meal-ender.
The waitress stopped by and tallied our dishes once we signaled our readiness to depart. I took a final swig of the complimentary green tea (power provided at the table, coupled with a hot water dispenser). Brooke and I paid, and were out again in the afternoon dusk. For those of you unaware, Japan does not adhere to the Daylight Savings Time system, rendering the days and nights completely vulnerable to the shifting lengths our ancestors experienced. As I write this, the difference in day length is staggering, but even as early in the fall as October, the shortening day was noticeable. It was scarcely past 2PM, and the sun was already in its decent.
We mounted our bikes and headed back toward home. We'd biked a solid 30 minutes north, but the trip felt a bit shorter on the way back. We stopped a few times to take in the Recycle shops that dotted to landscape. These media-saturated second hand stores are one of my favorite places, and they groan with loads of cheap games, music, and books.
Upon returning to City Hall, Brooke and I parted ways. She was off to her apartment, and I to mine. It was only around 3PM, but I felt quite tired. The lack of sleep the night before, coupled with the copious bike riding had drained my reserves. I vegged the rest of the day, fixing myself a batch of pasta for dinner, and saving the leftovers for my hike the next day. I finished the day with a bit of artwork; sketching onto one of the large format looseleaf pages I'd bought ages ago.
J176 Monday October 15th
The Hike! I was up at around 10AM and got ready. I packed my light jacket and my hat, my pasta for lunch, and topped off my Camelbak water bottle. I love that thing. I got off to a slightly late start. On the way out I heard the unmistakable sound of festival drums. The big shrine on Route 6, one of my favorite places in Hitachi, was having a small matsuri. I wasn't able to swing around front to see it, but I heard the merry, rhythmic taiko drums and the chaotic piping of flutes as I biked along the shrine's back wall.
I met M-sensei and K, our only other companion for the hike, in front of G-Bros. We took a few quick pictures, and set off. Our plan was to hike from Kamine Park, just north of Hitachi proper, all the way south to Ogistu, three or so stops south of Hitachi on the Joban train line.
We hiked along the road north, finding Kamine with little trouble. The path itself was somewhat difficult to discern, given that the map M-sensei had found was of somewhat blurry quality. We strode through the park, finding a few guide posts to show us the way. We came out the far side of the park, finding ourselves on a road I began to recognize. We passed a rather fancy looking golf course and found ourselves near the baseball field I'd climbed to during Golden Week, all those months ago. The field was empty, but in a nearby parking lot an old man was cleaning his car.
I was elected to ask for directions. The old man got the gist of what we were trying to do. He didn't show us where to go, though; he drove us there. He cleared out his back seat and drove us a good 10 minutes along the road we were on. At a small car park he pointed up a small set of steps set into the mountainside. That was the trail we were looking for. He pulled out a rather impressive atlas and calculated the rough travel times of our trip. He pointed out some landmarks, mostly peaks, that we'd see on our journey. Armed with our new information, we thanked him profusely.
Leaning up against the small wooden post fence that guarded the first few steps was a stout walking stick, a straight branch really. I laid claim to it after the other two declined, and we three set out...or should I say up?
Up we climbed, and then down. Up and down, so it went. Up hill and into dale. Over stone and root, but always we could find the trail. It was a well-maintained path through the hills and into the mountains, with sign posts every kilometer or so, or at any big branch or fork.
The mountains sighed with the wind as it blew through the rocks and trees. The sun, already beginning its decent, lay golden light all around us. The sounds of the city were quickly swallowed by the trees, and we were soon left in the silence of nature. We made our way up, some parts of the trail almost vertical. I was reminded of Mt. Fuji every once in a while, but the overall conditions were laughably easy compared to that behemoth.
Through gaps in the trees we could see the landscape beyond us. Grand vistas of thick woods lay all about us, shot through with artificial rivers of power lines and their towering supports. Several times, deep in the mountains and on side paths, we found evidence of previous habitation or structures. Like ancient ruins, slabs of concrete in odd shapes hunkered in the darkness beneath boughs. Vine-covered metal scaffolds spoke of old mines and digs, long abandoned. Occasionally we'd hear mournful squeaks through the trees, and found decaying metal skeletons. Their rusting parts rubbed together in the strong breeze, sending ghost sounds wafting through the wood.
Onward we forged, finding a small mountain top shrine. A short distance from it was a monitoring station of some kind, a concrete cube festooned with a small radio tower and a few power cables snaking off to attach a few clusters of scientific instruments. A few ominous concrete buildings were dug into the sides of small hillocks, but the station was quite unmanned. The shrine and weather station were perched atop a broad peak, overlooking one of the bigger valleys Hitachi was built into. I recognized it as the origin of the mountain road I'd followed deep into the hills during my Golden Week expeditions. Some 15 kilometers I'd hiked up a gravely road, past quarries and concrete dams, the dense, dark cedar forests looming to either side.
This world is so very beautiful, and I hope you realize that one day. Not to say that you don't already, but the beauty I speak of is something one can never finish appreciating.
We double-backed, unable to find the path where we were currently. Upon further review, we realized we'd gone off the major trail. Back on the correct path we headed west. Up a ways longer we found a small clearing, and decided to take in lunch. The sun was dipping low, but had still a few hours left in it. Our lunch was quiet, cool breezes ruffling our clothes and hair as we ate.
On again we trod, not thrilled about being stuck in the mountains after dark. After another half hour or so of climbing, we came upon a sheer, stony mountain peak. We took a short detour to scale it's backside, finding ourselves on one of the higher peaks of the mountains. Before us, laid out like some grand-scale map, was the mountain country of Japan. From the north to the south rolled the broad bases of the mountains. Atop them jutted the massive peaks, rocky but still clad in dense forests. A few roads crisscrossed the wooded mountains, and here and there a building glinted in the setting light. The sky was a brooding mix of gray and gold as the sun began its final arc downward, casting bright amber light through the wispy edges of massive cloud forms.
We shouldered on after taking a few snapshots. We'd lost the trail for a few minutes, but a quick scamper up the side of a mountain we found our way again. After another long ascent we began to hear an odd humming, grinding noise. As we continued down the trail, it got louder and louder. We spied a tall tower in the distance, atop which lay a Doppler dome. Next to it we saw a cell tower. We'd come across one of the last landmarks of our journey. The setting sun's rays were dimming by the minute, and we dallied for only a moment. The towers were accompanied by a rest stop; a small stand of toilets, a viewing platform, and a map. The map was a work of art, hand-crafted by scorching and painting the smooth-sanded surface of a broad slab of wood. We recognized the paths we'd been braving, and puzzled out the correct path to continue down.
We marched on, a quicker pace than before: the darkening sky and downhill grade contributing greatly to our speed. The woods pressed again around us, blocking much of the sunlight and plunging our trek into early twilight. Along ridges and the mouths of steep, tree-filled valleys we walked, catching sight of vital signs and other tools to help hikers. Twice we used ropes and chains tied to trees to descend steep segments of the paths. I gave silent thanks to the kind souls who had left them for us, not knowing how we could have safely gotten down on our own.
We passed above a paved road after what felt like ages. The path we were on skirted the edges of a mined-out quarry, though no cars passed along the asphalt below. The sky was nearing proper twilight, and our daytime was measured in tens of minutes, rather than hours. M-sensei took point, he possessing the best night vision between the three of us.
Into the woods we plunged in single file, barely able to see the companion in front of us. I was in the middle, with K behind me. Our way was brisk, but more than a few times we stopped to prevent tragedy by way of misplaced step on a precarious mountain path.
As we neared one of the next landmarks, an East-West connector road, we all began to contemplate the cessation of our hike. Our destination was still a good hour off, and the path was becoming impossible to navigate safely. M-sensei declared a moratorium on any such talk until we reached the road, though. After a harrowing half hour in almost total darkness, we hopped down a short ridge to find ourselves on Road 36.
Before us lay a long fence, beyond which we knew was a golf course. Behind us lay the mountains we'd just crossed through. To the east lay, eventually, Hitachi-Taga, and to our west were the unknown mountain lands of Japan. The team agreed that it was too dark to continue, so we looked for a way to get back home.
My suggestions of following the road were voted down, given the suicidal lack of a pedestrian lane, and the curiously regular volume of vehicular traffic. The darkness only added to the potential lethality. We headed into the golf course, walking along its main road, hoping to find another road on the far side to follow into town. We reached the club house after a few minutes and saw a few lights burning. We looked around for the course's road, but found that we had hit a dead end.
About this time one of the caretakers poked his head out of the window and asked what we were doing. Again I was volunteered to talk, and told the man about our situation. We'd walked through the mountains and were trying to get back to Hitachi. By now the entire caretaker staff, some five souls, had converged on the location where this was happening. He and the rest of the staff put their heads together, and after a few seconds deliberation, two of them offered to drive us back to Hitachi.
We couldn't believe our luck, and accepted with many thanks. A small sedan was wheeled around, driven by a young man who spoke a bit of English. An older gentleman rode shotgun, and we three hikers piled into the back seat. We set off down Road 36, eastward, into the city. Our kind benefactors had intended to take us all the way back to Hitachi, but we three agreed such kindness, though very thoughtful, was not needed. I managed to determine our location as being very close to Hitachi-Taga station, and requested we be dropped off there. A few minutes later, we arrived at the station. I snapped a quick picture of our drivers, and after another round of astonished thanks, we parted ways.
We purchased tickets for the next northbound train and waited for it to arrive. The night was quite deep now, and cool. The train came soon enough, and we got back to Hitachi without trouble.
I took a cab back home, not trusting my weary legs to hold out for the walk home. Besides, I'd left my bike at home that morning. Minutes later I trudged my way up the stairs of my apartment building. The shower I took was sinfully hot, filling my cold flesh with delicious, soothing warmth.
I haven't slept so well in many, many months.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
wow, I really am behind on all this...
J163 Tuesday October 2nd
I was up at 11. The perpetual nap in the van the day before had done wonders for my overall energy level, and even my plentiful rounds of Halo 3 Multiplayer didn't drain my reserves.
I printed out the first study guide issued by E.T.S., makers of the G.R.E. exam. They provide a staggering amount of help materials for those who would take their test, materials I plan to use to study my heart out before December. I still need to register for the test...
The study guide is a lithe 20 pages or so, but it's the initial one. I printed it single-sided and took the pages, and a big roll of twine my Dad and brother sent me, in to work. It was a slow Tuesday, the best kind, one where I only had 2 classes, both in the evening.
Most of the day was spent in the break room. I worked some magic with a two-hole punch and a ruler, I made a series of holes in the stack of paper I'd brought with me. One deceptively long piece of twine, an hour, and a ton of geometrical thinking later, I held aloft my freshly-bound study guide. Zelda style. 'Cause that's how I roll.
For my break I decided to buy some paper at Ito Yokado. I'd been on the lookout for a new bag, something more satchel-like than my single-strap backpack. It was nice, and had served me well on Fuji and beyond, but it lacked in my one true vice - pockets. The poor thing only had two pockets, woefully inadequate given my mildly O.C.D. impulse to categorize everything I own. (For a real brain-twister, consider the fact that my apartment is still a mess)
There is a sizable bag shop on the first floor of I.Y., one that I will browse through every month or so. Today, I hit the jackpot. The only one of its kind, it hung from a display tree like a ripe pear. Light green, made of what felt to be agitated canvas, studded with brass rivets and snaps, and above all composed almost entirely of pockets. This was my bag. It was a bit pricey, about $40, but I considered it worth it. Not too big, not too small. Just right. I donned my new purchase at the counter, eliciting a smile from the shop keep, but they were quite all right with it.
I crossed the plaza and went up to the Daiso/Stationary level. The Daiso is a chain of 100 yen shops. Across the escalator-dominated core of the building from The Daiso is a stationary store. This floor is what I imagine the afterlife to be.
I picked up a ream of white printer paper, A4 sized, for my printer. E.T.S. had a bigger, math-focused study guide on their site that I intended to print as soon as I could, but my supply of papyrus was dangerously low at home. On the way back I met a student of mine who was out with a friend of hers. Meeting students in public is always a comedic situation. It's as if they believe I don't exist outside of the class room. That I have some sort of chamber in the school within which I recharge every night. Perhaps I sleep in one of the underused rooms? I could easily live off of the convenience food in the Lawson's next door.
Anyway, this has gone on far too long for a simple Tuesday. Sufficed to say, it was a good day. Little else of consequence happened beyond the acquisition of a Totally Sweet Bag.
J164 Wednesday October 3rd.
GAH.
Long day. 5 classes, the last 4 in the 4-hour block o' doom at the end of the day. Wednesdays kind of suck. Not in a horrible way, but a muuuuuuuuughrlgh way. One fantastically awesome ray of sunshine broke through the day, though, and that was the package that I got in the mail.
My Mom and sister had joined forces to send me a birthday package of extraordinary magnitude. I used my break time to dash to the post office and retrieve it. It appeared to be the victim of a (non-Psi U!) fraternity hazing, but it had survived. It could strut down the street, bearing its crumpled corners with pride, a young FedEx package on its arm, the envy of every DHL letter-sized envelope that saw it.
I crammed it into my bike's basket and made my way back to work. I wanted to wait 'till I got home to open it, dreading the bike ride home with a box the size of my (manly, hairy) chest open to the elements. But, then again, it was a package from home. I settled into my chair in the break room and quietly sliced the packing tape securing the crumpled corner. I pried the box apart as far as the cardboard would allow and took a peek inside.
Shirts! Yay! What could be ties, double yay! Something glittering gold in the artificial twilight...a word? The title of a hardback book? The word...."Red"? My mind went through a curious game of 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon. My sister loves books. I bought her a copy of The Lies of Locke Lamora last year as a gift. She loved it, and vowed to buy them all. The next book in the series was titled Red Seas Under Red Skies.
I needed to get that book in my dirty little hands now.
My pocket knife made quick work of the tape the package could afford to lose. A quick struggle with the laws of physics, and the tome was mine to behold. A ship, aflame, beneath firestorm-black clouds. A city, golden (but due to flames of rebellion or the gild of fortune?) shone in the background. The title glittered in faux-gold, stamped in historical strokes. It was, indeed, the book I thought it was to be.
The rest of my break saw me absorbed in the book. It was delicious. It satisfied a thirst I had thought long-forgotten.
As an indication as to how this whole thing works, the last day's material, Wednesdays, was only two lines in my paper journal.
J165 Thursday October 4th
Understand, readers, that I cannot tell you everything that happens in my life while I live it here. I am bound by many contracts, legal and social, to keep certain events and information under wraps. I do not betray any oath I have sworn by telling you I have, and keep, them, but it is something you should consider.
The events of today were...something upon which I shall meditate for quite some time.
J166 Friday October 5th
A busy day. Another 4-hour deathblock of classes. That's two in a week, for those of you playing the home version of our game. Red Seas did a good job of soothing my hurts, though. It is a cool balm, a raging storm, a lagoon of clarity, a karst of inescapable darkness. It is, in a word, awesome.
After work I joined Josh at B.B.A. I was originally only there to drop off the first episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 3, but hunger and need of the relaxing properties of alcohol won me over. I dined on salmon pasta and enjoyed a cool Asahi Super Dry. On the B.B.A.'s PS3, the only one I've seen outside of Akihabara in Japan, was a Gundam fighting game. I played a few rounds after consuming my dinner, but I knew I had to move along. Tomorrow was a Saturday, and that's never easy.
J167 Saturday October 6th
A busy day. 3 in a row, then 4. I made a bit of a mix up toward the end of the day; teaching with the wrong materials for one class. Luckily I did some student swapping fu and managed to fix the situation, but it was a bit of a shaky day for me. I tried to rest after work as best I could, but found little succor in the Internet.
I headed out to G-Bros for a drink and company, but little was going on there. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the week-reviews of my compatriots. The teachers for the biggest English school in Japan, Nova, are reporting some odd goings on. Claire and Genie's rent hasn't been paid for the month yet. I have a bad feeling about this. I distributed CDs full of photos, taken by the Crescent staff and given to myself and M-sensei at work, to those who had gone diving a week before.
New in the bar was a rather tall woman. Blonde. She was a new teacher to the area, working with what she said (if I remember correctly, I'm not really sure) was a branch of the government. She wasn't a JET, though, that was for sure. Her name was Brooke, and she was from New Zealand. We welcomed her to the gang, though the energy level for the bar in general was pretty low. The gang left, and I stayed a while to chat with the newcomer. She'd been a teacher in Japan before, but left for home for reasons. She was back again, hardly a week in the Land of the Rising Sun this time 'round.
After a short while I doffed my non-existent cap and powered my way back home. I enjoyed Halo 3, the first time in days, until 3:30 AM. Good times.
J168 Sunday October 7th
This was a terribly lazy day. Chatted online with friends, poked around the Internet. Played more Halo 3. I did some cleaning and straightening and made a nice dinner. D&D was the next day, and I did some prepwork for it. I sketched a dungeon, figuring the second adventure was good enough time as any to introduce the party to the eponymous subterranean architectural design philosophy. Man, I love my vocabulary. Eponymous!
J169 Monday October 8th
Today was to be an epic D&D game, despite a few setbacks. K was unable to make it, denying us our normal play space of GEOS. Over fresh bowls of ramen, the group determined Big Echo, one of the nicer karaoke places in town (and literally next door to the ramen shop we were eating at) would suit our needs nicely.
We had a new player, Daniel, a newcomer from Canada. Amazingly, he had actually played 3rd Edition D&D before! He threw dice with friends in college, and though they never got beyond 3rd level, he knows the basics. Oh, the joys of not having to explain the basic concept of "roleplaying" to a player!
We booked a room for 3 hours at a reasonable price. Karaoke, for those of you who don't know, includes a rainbow of free drinks and somewhat affordable room service. We discovered the power switches to the T.V. and stereo system, and after closing the door we found the room to be quite sound-proof. The occasional thump of bass or vocal twang would sneak through, but we were the only ones on the floor. Our complimentary glasses never emptied of the free-flowing slushies the drink bar sported, and soon after we started gaming a steady stream of consumables were ferried to our room by a cute waitress.
The game itself went very well. I'm finding my DM's legs again, and find a group of, essentially, newbies to be quite fun to game with. Some of them are really settling into their party roles, while others are still taking their time. Still, no inter-party conflicts have arisen, which I find to be nothing short of miraculous.
Masaki brought a large dry-erase battle mat, printed with a massive grid of inch-a-side squares and protected from food and drink by flexible plastic. It is an invaluable gaming tool, and made communicating battle information super easy.
Toward the end of the adventure things got a bit combat-heavy, but no one complained. Nick decided to stay past Last Train, opting to spend the night at the local branch of Toyoko Inn, a national hotel chain of good reputation. We played until 11PM. The cost was a bit pricey, but when you factor in the utter privacy, the climate control, the food, and the free drinks, it was a hell of a deal.
After getting home I painted a little. An idea had been brewing in my head, a clever (to me, at least) application of tape to blank canvas, so as to crease a mask atop which one would paint. Removing the tape produces a preternaturally straight, clean, line of unpainted canvas. I was happy with the results, though I'm sure the idea can be further evolved.
Once again, I put in a few hours of Halo 3. I've noticed some rather awful graphical glitches, coming from my system hardware, rather than the game itself. Power cycling (turning it off and then on) will fix the problem...usually...but this evening it took me 4 tries to do it. Worrisome.
I was up at 11. The perpetual nap in the van the day before had done wonders for my overall energy level, and even my plentiful rounds of Halo 3 Multiplayer didn't drain my reserves.
I printed out the first study guide issued by E.T.S., makers of the G.R.E. exam. They provide a staggering amount of help materials for those who would take their test, materials I plan to use to study my heart out before December. I still need to register for the test...
The study guide is a lithe 20 pages or so, but it's the initial one. I printed it single-sided and took the pages, and a big roll of twine my Dad and brother sent me, in to work. It was a slow Tuesday, the best kind, one where I only had 2 classes, both in the evening.
Most of the day was spent in the break room. I worked some magic with a two-hole punch and a ruler, I made a series of holes in the stack of paper I'd brought with me. One deceptively long piece of twine, an hour, and a ton of geometrical thinking later, I held aloft my freshly-bound study guide. Zelda style. 'Cause that's how I roll.
For my break I decided to buy some paper at Ito Yokado. I'd been on the lookout for a new bag, something more satchel-like than my single-strap backpack. It was nice, and had served me well on Fuji and beyond, but it lacked in my one true vice - pockets. The poor thing only had two pockets, woefully inadequate given my mildly O.C.D. impulse to categorize everything I own. (For a real brain-twister, consider the fact that my apartment is still a mess)
There is a sizable bag shop on the first floor of I.Y., one that I will browse through every month or so. Today, I hit the jackpot. The only one of its kind, it hung from a display tree like a ripe pear. Light green, made of what felt to be agitated canvas, studded with brass rivets and snaps, and above all composed almost entirely of pockets. This was my bag. It was a bit pricey, about $40, but I considered it worth it. Not too big, not too small. Just right. I donned my new purchase at the counter, eliciting a smile from the shop keep, but they were quite all right with it.
I crossed the plaza and went up to the Daiso/Stationary level. The Daiso is a chain of 100 yen shops. Across the escalator-dominated core of the building from The Daiso is a stationary store. This floor is what I imagine the afterlife to be.
I picked up a ream of white printer paper, A4 sized, for my printer. E.T.S. had a bigger, math-focused study guide on their site that I intended to print as soon as I could, but my supply of papyrus was dangerously low at home. On the way back I met a student of mine who was out with a friend of hers. Meeting students in public is always a comedic situation. It's as if they believe I don't exist outside of the class room. That I have some sort of chamber in the school within which I recharge every night. Perhaps I sleep in one of the underused rooms? I could easily live off of the convenience food in the Lawson's next door.
Anyway, this has gone on far too long for a simple Tuesday. Sufficed to say, it was a good day. Little else of consequence happened beyond the acquisition of a Totally Sweet Bag.
J164 Wednesday October 3rd.
GAH.
Long day. 5 classes, the last 4 in the 4-hour block o' doom at the end of the day. Wednesdays kind of suck. Not in a horrible way, but a muuuuuuuuughrlgh way. One fantastically awesome ray of sunshine broke through the day, though, and that was the package that I got in the mail.
My Mom and sister had joined forces to send me a birthday package of extraordinary magnitude. I used my break time to dash to the post office and retrieve it. It appeared to be the victim of a (non-Psi U!) fraternity hazing, but it had survived. It could strut down the street, bearing its crumpled corners with pride, a young FedEx package on its arm, the envy of every DHL letter-sized envelope that saw it.
I crammed it into my bike's basket and made my way back to work. I wanted to wait 'till I got home to open it, dreading the bike ride home with a box the size of my (manly, hairy) chest open to the elements. But, then again, it was a package from home. I settled into my chair in the break room and quietly sliced the packing tape securing the crumpled corner. I pried the box apart as far as the cardboard would allow and took a peek inside.
Shirts! Yay! What could be ties, double yay! Something glittering gold in the artificial twilight...a word? The title of a hardback book? The word...."Red"? My mind went through a curious game of 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon. My sister loves books. I bought her a copy of The Lies of Locke Lamora last year as a gift. She loved it, and vowed to buy them all. The next book in the series was titled Red Seas Under Red Skies.
I needed to get that book in my dirty little hands now.
My pocket knife made quick work of the tape the package could afford to lose. A quick struggle with the laws of physics, and the tome was mine to behold. A ship, aflame, beneath firestorm-black clouds. A city, golden (but due to flames of rebellion or the gild of fortune?) shone in the background. The title glittered in faux-gold, stamped in historical strokes. It was, indeed, the book I thought it was to be.
The rest of my break saw me absorbed in the book. It was delicious. It satisfied a thirst I had thought long-forgotten.
As an indication as to how this whole thing works, the last day's material, Wednesdays, was only two lines in my paper journal.
J165 Thursday October 4th
Understand, readers, that I cannot tell you everything that happens in my life while I live it here. I am bound by many contracts, legal and social, to keep certain events and information under wraps. I do not betray any oath I have sworn by telling you I have, and keep, them, but it is something you should consider.
The events of today were...something upon which I shall meditate for quite some time.
J166 Friday October 5th
A busy day. Another 4-hour deathblock of classes. That's two in a week, for those of you playing the home version of our game. Red Seas did a good job of soothing my hurts, though. It is a cool balm, a raging storm, a lagoon of clarity, a karst of inescapable darkness. It is, in a word, awesome.
After work I joined Josh at B.B.A. I was originally only there to drop off the first episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 3, but hunger and need of the relaxing properties of alcohol won me over. I dined on salmon pasta and enjoyed a cool Asahi Super Dry. On the B.B.A.'s PS3, the only one I've seen outside of Akihabara in Japan, was a Gundam fighting game. I played a few rounds after consuming my dinner, but I knew I had to move along. Tomorrow was a Saturday, and that's never easy.
J167 Saturday October 6th
A busy day. 3 in a row, then 4. I made a bit of a mix up toward the end of the day; teaching with the wrong materials for one class. Luckily I did some student swapping fu and managed to fix the situation, but it was a bit of a shaky day for me. I tried to rest after work as best I could, but found little succor in the Internet.
I headed out to G-Bros for a drink and company, but little was going on there. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the week-reviews of my compatriots. The teachers for the biggest English school in Japan, Nova, are reporting some odd goings on. Claire and Genie's rent hasn't been paid for the month yet. I have a bad feeling about this. I distributed CDs full of photos, taken by the Crescent staff and given to myself and M-sensei at work, to those who had gone diving a week before.
New in the bar was a rather tall woman. Blonde. She was a new teacher to the area, working with what she said (if I remember correctly, I'm not really sure) was a branch of the government. She wasn't a JET, though, that was for sure. Her name was Brooke, and she was from New Zealand. We welcomed her to the gang, though the energy level for the bar in general was pretty low. The gang left, and I stayed a while to chat with the newcomer. She'd been a teacher in Japan before, but left for home for reasons. She was back again, hardly a week in the Land of the Rising Sun this time 'round.
After a short while I doffed my non-existent cap and powered my way back home. I enjoyed Halo 3, the first time in days, until 3:30 AM. Good times.
J168 Sunday October 7th
This was a terribly lazy day. Chatted online with friends, poked around the Internet. Played more Halo 3. I did some cleaning and straightening and made a nice dinner. D&D was the next day, and I did some prepwork for it. I sketched a dungeon, figuring the second adventure was good enough time as any to introduce the party to the eponymous subterranean architectural design philosophy. Man, I love my vocabulary. Eponymous!
J169 Monday October 8th
Today was to be an epic D&D game, despite a few setbacks. K was unable to make it, denying us our normal play space of GEOS. Over fresh bowls of ramen, the group determined Big Echo, one of the nicer karaoke places in town (and literally next door to the ramen shop we were eating at) would suit our needs nicely.
We had a new player, Daniel, a newcomer from Canada. Amazingly, he had actually played 3rd Edition D&D before! He threw dice with friends in college, and though they never got beyond 3rd level, he knows the basics. Oh, the joys of not having to explain the basic concept of "roleplaying" to a player!
We booked a room for 3 hours at a reasonable price. Karaoke, for those of you who don't know, includes a rainbow of free drinks and somewhat affordable room service. We discovered the power switches to the T.V. and stereo system, and after closing the door we found the room to be quite sound-proof. The occasional thump of bass or vocal twang would sneak through, but we were the only ones on the floor. Our complimentary glasses never emptied of the free-flowing slushies the drink bar sported, and soon after we started gaming a steady stream of consumables were ferried to our room by a cute waitress.
The game itself went very well. I'm finding my DM's legs again, and find a group of, essentially, newbies to be quite fun to game with. Some of them are really settling into their party roles, while others are still taking their time. Still, no inter-party conflicts have arisen, which I find to be nothing short of miraculous.
Masaki brought a large dry-erase battle mat, printed with a massive grid of inch-a-side squares and protected from food and drink by flexible plastic. It is an invaluable gaming tool, and made communicating battle information super easy.
Toward the end of the adventure things got a bit combat-heavy, but no one complained. Nick decided to stay past Last Train, opting to spend the night at the local branch of Toyoko Inn, a national hotel chain of good reputation. We played until 11PM. The cost was a bit pricey, but when you factor in the utter privacy, the climate control, the food, and the free drinks, it was a hell of a deal.
After getting home I painted a little. An idea had been brewing in my head, a clever (to me, at least) application of tape to blank canvas, so as to crease a mask atop which one would paint. Removing the tape produces a preternaturally straight, clean, line of unpainted canvas. I was happy with the results, though I'm sure the idea can be further evolved.
Once again, I put in a few hours of Halo 3. I've noticed some rather awful graphical glitches, coming from my system hardware, rather than the game itself. Power cycling (turning it off and then on) will fix the problem...usually...but this evening it took me 4 tries to do it. Worrisome.
Monday, October 22, 2007
*blurble*
J159 Friday September 28th
Thursday night, after work, I played Halo 3 until 4AM. It is sweet, like candy. A cup for my game-thirsty soul. It is, in a word, awesome. To further underscore the sheer awesomeness of the day, though, I ran for a solid 15 minutes before playing. It's the beginning of what will be a renewed exercise regime.
Friday itself was uneventful. I ran again, in the evening. I took many a twist and turn through the grid of back streets that Hitachi is shot through with. While I ran I passed a few barkers, advertisers for a snack bar. The man of the couple shouted a heart-felt "Ganbate!" or "Do your best!/Right on!/You go girl!" (take your pick). Another few hours of Halo 3 awaited me when I got back, after a wonderfully cold shower.
J160 Saturday September 29th
Saturdays. Ugh. If there is one thing I will not miss about this job, it is a Saturday schedule. 7 classes awaited me, and 7 classes I taught. One after the other after the other. After work I felt extraordinarily drained of my energies, though I mustered the strength to do some grocery shopping at Ito Yokado. I made dinner at home and pedaled to G-Bros. A few drinks were had, but I was literally nodding off at the table.
I biked home and had a few hours more of Halo 3, though before long I fell asleep.
J161 Sunday September 30th
The telltale patter of rain on my window, and the even more telltale swoosh of tires on rain-glazed roads told me of the day's weather before I had fully awakened. The day was gray and dreary. Perfect gaming weather.
I watched the final episode of Gurren Lagann today. It was very appropriate, somewhat bittersweet. I'll watch it translated, eventually, but for now I'm content with the bits that I could glean. You don't need much translation skill when the show is about beating the crap out of successively bigger (and boy is that ever an understatement for this show) bad guys.
The rest of my day, quite literally, was spent playing Halo 3. I ducked, sniped, and shot my way through almost a dozen levels of alien-filled genius. The environments ranged from the familiar to the fantastic. The ruined splendor of southern Africa, the alien majesty of Forerunner installations, the claustrophobic biology of Flood infestation. The music was a surprisingly pleasant mix of old and new themes. The gameplay was solid, with good A.I. and plenty of challenging, yet ultimately surmountable, odds.
The story I will not expose here, save that it was very satisfying to me. Halo 2 was a great disappointment, story-wise, for me. Halo 3 delivered with a truly epic narrative of hope, valor, and sacrifice. The action was fast-paced and thrilling. It was freaking sweet. The ending I saw was moving.
After beating the game, an act I will surely relish many times, I took a break and hopped on the Internet. I talked with Peter, one of my fraternity brothers, and another big Halo fan. He and I share similar views on the overall story of the Halo universe, though until now have had little interaction with one another on the subject. He had beaten the game, too. I told him my thoughts on the ending, to which he requested I beat it once more. I had missed a cut scene, apparently, one at the very end of the credits. I had quit those, on accident, when I had beaten the game the first time.
Once again I took up my controller, and once again I threw down. I saw the other half of the ending, and was uplifted. I had thought the ending I'd first seen to be good. This was spectacular.
After beating it a second time, I sought to try my hand at multiplayer Halo 3, using XBox Live. I connected my 360 to my DSL modem using the pack-in LAN cable. It's a healthy 6 meters in length, enough to stretch around my room without getting in the way of anything.
I was distressed to find that I could not migrate my offline Xbox profile, brimming with hard-to-earn in-game achievements, to XBL. I had to create a new one, much to my chagrin, but it is not an impossibility to redo what I had already done. Merely a pain.
My Halo skills, honed on the first version of the game, were never spectacular. I was adequately skilled, and didn't seek to sharpen them against my friends. Halo 2's non-ending put me very cross against Bungie in general, so I patently refused to play multiplayer using that game. As a result, what little skill I had had atrophied in the interim. In layman's terms, I sucked. BUT, and this is the cool part, I was relearning them quickly.
At midnight, after a long day of alien killing, world-saving, and multiplayer-sucking, I called it a night. At midnight. Crazy, I know.
J162 Monday October 1st
Oh, I quite forgot. I had to get up at 3 to go Scuba diving. That's right, I'm going to go scuba diving. Wish me luck!
After only 3 hours of sleep I woke up to my DS alarm clock. Forcing myself to have some toast and take a hot shower, I packed a small bag and biked down to Crescent, a scuba diving school owned by one of the students that comes to my school. Both M-sensei and I teach him, but it was M-Sensei who organized this excursion.
In all, the group was myself, M-sensei, Claire, K, Matt, and Dan. We six, along with my student and his three employees, Yumi, Mika, and Yuka. We were headed for Izu, a large peninsula to the south of Hitachi some 4~5 hours by car. It was past Tokyo. My van, one of two making the trip, I shared with Mika and Yuka, the drivers, and K and Dan. I slept on and off through the journey, enjoying the sights of roadside Japan in those few times I was awake.
We took many breaks for food and bathroom time, but by 10 we'd arrived at the lagoon where we would be diving. There was a small cluster of buildings that served as a rest house, a restaurant, a hotel, and a training facility for diving. Next to the parking lot was a modest swimming pool, where we would spend the next 3 hours learning how to dive.
M-sensei and I had worked with our student, T, for about a week to help him prepare for instructing us in English. He's at a high-beginner level of English; he's very good with the basics, but he's got plenty of space to improve. Luckily my Japanese skills, and those of K, allowed us to translate everything he couldn't get across in English.
We donned our wetsuits. This was my first time in the tight, neoprene garment, and it was a fun experience. The pool water was cold, but my wetsuit went to work quickly, trapping a thin layer of water against my skin. The water drew out my body heat, but since the suit prevented the water from floating away, it instead served to heat me with my own body-heat. Rather ingenious.
We learned the basics. How to recover one's mouthpiece, in case of loss or confusion. How to clear the mouthpiece before breathing. How to stick with one's buddy, as well as how to use the emergency mouthpiece that pulled from our tanks to provide air for our buddies, should they run out of air. We had to re-learn how to swim, using big flippers. We had a break for lunch, myself enjoying a nice meat pasta, with a side of thick-sliced toast.
After a quick review, we were ready for the sea. We donned our gear, our tanks topped off. Our diving gear was as follows: a wetsuit, a weight belt, a scuba backpack, containing the tank of compressed oxygen, the pressure gauge, the primary and secondary mouthpieces, and an inflatable air bladder for buoyancy. Flippers completed the ensemble, but we had to wait to put those on.
Weighted down, we waddled to the beach. The lagoon was deceptively large, a broad oval of calm water that looked out into a deep bay. We could barely see the town on the far side of the massive bay, but we would only be going as far as the lagoon's walls. It is honeycombed with passages and tunnels, and many divers come from across Japan to practice their craft here.
The beach was comprised of stones, rather than sand. We picked our way across the smooth rocks until we got to the seaside. We divided into three teams, two students and an instructor. I was with Dan, and our instructor was Yuka. We equipped our flippers, and waded into the water.
Under the surface is very different from dry land. There is a constant noise, a rasp of sand and rock as they rub against one another. The frequent gurgle of bubbles as they escape from one's mouthpiece. Finally, and most importantly, is the hiss of one's breath.
We began our decent quite slowly, everyone spread out but staying in their groups. I almost immediately began to experience discomfort in my ears. One had to equalize pressure in one's air-filled body cavities, lest pain or worse things happen. Try as I might, though, I could not equalize my ears. Yuka noticed my lagging behind, and we communicated with hand signals.
'Pain' I mimed. 'Ear'.
'Equalize' she responded.
'Pain' I mimed, after trying again. 'Ear'.
We ascended a little, the pressure lessening with the centimeter. I tried again, and got a little equalization. I descended a little more with Yuka next to me. We were down maybe 5 or 6 meters. The rest of the group were down a few more, but further ahead. As we floated, she pointed out some of the aquatic life that flitted around us. Tiny blue fish darted left and right, and miniature, gumdrop-shaped jellyfish undulated lazily. All around was a haze of particulate, life tinier than I could easily see, grit and sand.
We tried to catch up, but I was once again struck by severe discomfort in my ears. Again I signaled to Yuka, and again we tried to equalize. We descended a bit more, and that was when the dizziness hit.
I can remember little of the event itself. I felt Yuka's hand grip my arm, and I responded by holding on to her offered limb. I felt the entire world tilt sickeningly 90 degrees, according to my pressure-addled inner-ear.
'Dizzy' I mimed. 'Pain'
'Up' she mimed. I complied. The world turned upside down. Even as I write this, a phantom nausea whispers through my cochlea.
We ascended, myself too incapacitated to be of much help, but the water's buoyancy gave Yuka more than enough strength to lift me. As we surfaced I felt my ears pop, and water gushed from them. The world spun around me and nausea, until now unfelt, roiled within me like a circular wave. I found it difficult to breathe, and released the front clasp of my tank. My shoulders took the weight, and I found I could breathe again.
Yuka was calm the entire time, and for that matter I was too. She waited until I could move again, and slowly pulled me to shore. She bade me relax and breathe. When we got to the shore I shucked my gear and tugged my suit down to my waist. The air was cool, but it felt nice to have nothing tight across my chest or stomach. Yuka was smiling all the way.
I made my way back to the pool to wait for the rest of the group. I found an excellent walking stick stuck in a small fire pit, and used it to help get back to the club house. My nausea had subsided, but my stomach ached in a powerful way from the threat of it. I felt like I'd been folded in half. I got out of my wetsuit and rested in my swim trunks. I heard the group surface, far across the lagoon. After about 20 or 30 minutes they had made their way back.
We broke down at a leisurely pace, the instructors doing all of the work. The rest of us chatted and lounged in the cloud-saturated sun. Before long we were packed, and we began the long drive home. It was about 5PM.
I slept quite a bit on the ride home. The training was quite a workout, and the day's stresses had me quite wiped out. I woke a few times through the trip back home. We stopped at a seafood restaurant of some reputation. I enjoyed a tempura sampler of epic proportions, filled with many delicious, mysterious meats.
We passed through Tokyo on the way back, and were treated to a beautiful night-view of the city's bridges. The glow of the lights reflected off the choppy water, giving the city a wavy, glittering twin.
We dropped one of the instructors off at a train station, which is where I think I lost one of my blue flip-flops. They'd been longtime companions in my life here in Japan, and had once belonged to E.J. When we opened the door to bid Mika farewell, one fell out, unnoticed. My student was kind enough to donate his Crocks to me for the evening, but my napping kept me occupied during our frequent breaks.
During the ride home, when I was awake, Dan, K and I talked about many subjects. I mentioned Halo 3, and expounded upon its virtues. I mentioned, though, that my TV was quite small (an economic 13 incher). K pipped up, saying that he had a large TV that he wasn't using at his place. Dan, the only member of the gang with vehicular transport that wasn't human-powered, offered to haul the TV from K's place to mine when we got back to Hitachi.
We got back to Hitachi at around 10 or 11PM. We paid at Crescent and went our separate ways. My bike had been stored at the shop, in a tiny alley between it and the building next to it. Dan and I drove to K's place while K walked (it wasn't too far away). We manhandled the TV into Dan's van, and a quick moment later we were at my place. I hauled it upstairs after bidding Dan a fond farewell.
I showered, washing the salt and sea-grit from me. I felt like I'd left my apartment years ago. After resting a bit I hooked up my new TV, which wasn't difficult in the slightest. My first levels in Nerd were of the A/V specialty class, so TV hookup I can do in my sleep. Thanks to my extensive napping in the car, my batteries were pretty well-charged. I was up until 4AM again with Halo multiplayer. The biger screen, a 25 inch model, really made the difference; I feel like I'm not squinting at a postage stamp anymore.
Thursday night, after work, I played Halo 3 until 4AM. It is sweet, like candy. A cup for my game-thirsty soul. It is, in a word, awesome. To further underscore the sheer awesomeness of the day, though, I ran for a solid 15 minutes before playing. It's the beginning of what will be a renewed exercise regime.
Friday itself was uneventful. I ran again, in the evening. I took many a twist and turn through the grid of back streets that Hitachi is shot through with. While I ran I passed a few barkers, advertisers for a snack bar. The man of the couple shouted a heart-felt "Ganbate!" or "Do your best!/Right on!/You go girl!" (take your pick). Another few hours of Halo 3 awaited me when I got back, after a wonderfully cold shower.
J160 Saturday September 29th
Saturdays. Ugh. If there is one thing I will not miss about this job, it is a Saturday schedule. 7 classes awaited me, and 7 classes I taught. One after the other after the other. After work I felt extraordinarily drained of my energies, though I mustered the strength to do some grocery shopping at Ito Yokado. I made dinner at home and pedaled to G-Bros. A few drinks were had, but I was literally nodding off at the table.
I biked home and had a few hours more of Halo 3, though before long I fell asleep.
J161 Sunday September 30th
The telltale patter of rain on my window, and the even more telltale swoosh of tires on rain-glazed roads told me of the day's weather before I had fully awakened. The day was gray and dreary. Perfect gaming weather.
I watched the final episode of Gurren Lagann today. It was very appropriate, somewhat bittersweet. I'll watch it translated, eventually, but for now I'm content with the bits that I could glean. You don't need much translation skill when the show is about beating the crap out of successively bigger (and boy is that ever an understatement for this show) bad guys.
The rest of my day, quite literally, was spent playing Halo 3. I ducked, sniped, and shot my way through almost a dozen levels of alien-filled genius. The environments ranged from the familiar to the fantastic. The ruined splendor of southern Africa, the alien majesty of Forerunner installations, the claustrophobic biology of Flood infestation. The music was a surprisingly pleasant mix of old and new themes. The gameplay was solid, with good A.I. and plenty of challenging, yet ultimately surmountable, odds.
The story I will not expose here, save that it was very satisfying to me. Halo 2 was a great disappointment, story-wise, for me. Halo 3 delivered with a truly epic narrative of hope, valor, and sacrifice. The action was fast-paced and thrilling. It was freaking sweet. The ending I saw was moving.
After beating the game, an act I will surely relish many times, I took a break and hopped on the Internet. I talked with Peter, one of my fraternity brothers, and another big Halo fan. He and I share similar views on the overall story of the Halo universe, though until now have had little interaction with one another on the subject. He had beaten the game, too. I told him my thoughts on the ending, to which he requested I beat it once more. I had missed a cut scene, apparently, one at the very end of the credits. I had quit those, on accident, when I had beaten the game the first time.
Once again I took up my controller, and once again I threw down. I saw the other half of the ending, and was uplifted. I had thought the ending I'd first seen to be good. This was spectacular.
After beating it a second time, I sought to try my hand at multiplayer Halo 3, using XBox Live. I connected my 360 to my DSL modem using the pack-in LAN cable. It's a healthy 6 meters in length, enough to stretch around my room without getting in the way of anything.
I was distressed to find that I could not migrate my offline Xbox profile, brimming with hard-to-earn in-game achievements, to XBL. I had to create a new one, much to my chagrin, but it is not an impossibility to redo what I had already done. Merely a pain.
My Halo skills, honed on the first version of the game, were never spectacular. I was adequately skilled, and didn't seek to sharpen them against my friends. Halo 2's non-ending put me very cross against Bungie in general, so I patently refused to play multiplayer using that game. As a result, what little skill I had had atrophied in the interim. In layman's terms, I sucked. BUT, and this is the cool part, I was relearning them quickly.
At midnight, after a long day of alien killing, world-saving, and multiplayer-sucking, I called it a night. At midnight. Crazy, I know.
J162 Monday October 1st
Oh, I quite forgot. I had to get up at 3 to go Scuba diving. That's right, I'm going to go scuba diving. Wish me luck!
After only 3 hours of sleep I woke up to my DS alarm clock. Forcing myself to have some toast and take a hot shower, I packed a small bag and biked down to Crescent, a scuba diving school owned by one of the students that comes to my school. Both M-sensei and I teach him, but it was M-Sensei who organized this excursion.
In all, the group was myself, M-sensei, Claire, K, Matt, and Dan. We six, along with my student and his three employees, Yumi, Mika, and Yuka. We were headed for Izu, a large peninsula to the south of Hitachi some 4~5 hours by car. It was past Tokyo. My van, one of two making the trip, I shared with Mika and Yuka, the drivers, and K and Dan. I slept on and off through the journey, enjoying the sights of roadside Japan in those few times I was awake.
We took many breaks for food and bathroom time, but by 10 we'd arrived at the lagoon where we would be diving. There was a small cluster of buildings that served as a rest house, a restaurant, a hotel, and a training facility for diving. Next to the parking lot was a modest swimming pool, where we would spend the next 3 hours learning how to dive.
M-sensei and I had worked with our student, T, for about a week to help him prepare for instructing us in English. He's at a high-beginner level of English; he's very good with the basics, but he's got plenty of space to improve. Luckily my Japanese skills, and those of K, allowed us to translate everything he couldn't get across in English.
We donned our wetsuits. This was my first time in the tight, neoprene garment, and it was a fun experience. The pool water was cold, but my wetsuit went to work quickly, trapping a thin layer of water against my skin. The water drew out my body heat, but since the suit prevented the water from floating away, it instead served to heat me with my own body-heat. Rather ingenious.
We learned the basics. How to recover one's mouthpiece, in case of loss or confusion. How to clear the mouthpiece before breathing. How to stick with one's buddy, as well as how to use the emergency mouthpiece that pulled from our tanks to provide air for our buddies, should they run out of air. We had to re-learn how to swim, using big flippers. We had a break for lunch, myself enjoying a nice meat pasta, with a side of thick-sliced toast.
After a quick review, we were ready for the sea. We donned our gear, our tanks topped off. Our diving gear was as follows: a wetsuit, a weight belt, a scuba backpack, containing the tank of compressed oxygen, the pressure gauge, the primary and secondary mouthpieces, and an inflatable air bladder for buoyancy. Flippers completed the ensemble, but we had to wait to put those on.
Weighted down, we waddled to the beach. The lagoon was deceptively large, a broad oval of calm water that looked out into a deep bay. We could barely see the town on the far side of the massive bay, but we would only be going as far as the lagoon's walls. It is honeycombed with passages and tunnels, and many divers come from across Japan to practice their craft here.
The beach was comprised of stones, rather than sand. We picked our way across the smooth rocks until we got to the seaside. We divided into three teams, two students and an instructor. I was with Dan, and our instructor was Yuka. We equipped our flippers, and waded into the water.
Under the surface is very different from dry land. There is a constant noise, a rasp of sand and rock as they rub against one another. The frequent gurgle of bubbles as they escape from one's mouthpiece. Finally, and most importantly, is the hiss of one's breath.
We began our decent quite slowly, everyone spread out but staying in their groups. I almost immediately began to experience discomfort in my ears. One had to equalize pressure in one's air-filled body cavities, lest pain or worse things happen. Try as I might, though, I could not equalize my ears. Yuka noticed my lagging behind, and we communicated with hand signals.
'Pain' I mimed. 'Ear'.
'Equalize' she responded.
'Pain' I mimed, after trying again. 'Ear'.
We ascended a little, the pressure lessening with the centimeter. I tried again, and got a little equalization. I descended a little more with Yuka next to me. We were down maybe 5 or 6 meters. The rest of the group were down a few more, but further ahead. As we floated, she pointed out some of the aquatic life that flitted around us. Tiny blue fish darted left and right, and miniature, gumdrop-shaped jellyfish undulated lazily. All around was a haze of particulate, life tinier than I could easily see, grit and sand.
We tried to catch up, but I was once again struck by severe discomfort in my ears. Again I signaled to Yuka, and again we tried to equalize. We descended a bit more, and that was when the dizziness hit.
I can remember little of the event itself. I felt Yuka's hand grip my arm, and I responded by holding on to her offered limb. I felt the entire world tilt sickeningly 90 degrees, according to my pressure-addled inner-ear.
'Dizzy' I mimed. 'Pain'
'Up' she mimed. I complied. The world turned upside down. Even as I write this, a phantom nausea whispers through my cochlea.
We ascended, myself too incapacitated to be of much help, but the water's buoyancy gave Yuka more than enough strength to lift me. As we surfaced I felt my ears pop, and water gushed from them. The world spun around me and nausea, until now unfelt, roiled within me like a circular wave. I found it difficult to breathe, and released the front clasp of my tank. My shoulders took the weight, and I found I could breathe again.
Yuka was calm the entire time, and for that matter I was too. She waited until I could move again, and slowly pulled me to shore. She bade me relax and breathe. When we got to the shore I shucked my gear and tugged my suit down to my waist. The air was cool, but it felt nice to have nothing tight across my chest or stomach. Yuka was smiling all the way.
I made my way back to the pool to wait for the rest of the group. I found an excellent walking stick stuck in a small fire pit, and used it to help get back to the club house. My nausea had subsided, but my stomach ached in a powerful way from the threat of it. I felt like I'd been folded in half. I got out of my wetsuit and rested in my swim trunks. I heard the group surface, far across the lagoon. After about 20 or 30 minutes they had made their way back.
We broke down at a leisurely pace, the instructors doing all of the work. The rest of us chatted and lounged in the cloud-saturated sun. Before long we were packed, and we began the long drive home. It was about 5PM.
I slept quite a bit on the ride home. The training was quite a workout, and the day's stresses had me quite wiped out. I woke a few times through the trip back home. We stopped at a seafood restaurant of some reputation. I enjoyed a tempura sampler of epic proportions, filled with many delicious, mysterious meats.
We passed through Tokyo on the way back, and were treated to a beautiful night-view of the city's bridges. The glow of the lights reflected off the choppy water, giving the city a wavy, glittering twin.
We dropped one of the instructors off at a train station, which is where I think I lost one of my blue flip-flops. They'd been longtime companions in my life here in Japan, and had once belonged to E.J. When we opened the door to bid Mika farewell, one fell out, unnoticed. My student was kind enough to donate his Crocks to me for the evening, but my napping kept me occupied during our frequent breaks.
During the ride home, when I was awake, Dan, K and I talked about many subjects. I mentioned Halo 3, and expounded upon its virtues. I mentioned, though, that my TV was quite small (an economic 13 incher). K pipped up, saying that he had a large TV that he wasn't using at his place. Dan, the only member of the gang with vehicular transport that wasn't human-powered, offered to haul the TV from K's place to mine when we got back to Hitachi.
We got back to Hitachi at around 10 or 11PM. We paid at Crescent and went our separate ways. My bike had been stored at the shop, in a tiny alley between it and the building next to it. Dan and I drove to K's place while K walked (it wasn't too far away). We manhandled the TV into Dan's van, and a quick moment later we were at my place. I hauled it upstairs after bidding Dan a fond farewell.
I showered, washing the salt and sea-grit from me. I felt like I'd left my apartment years ago. After resting a bit I hooked up my new TV, which wasn't difficult in the slightest. My first levels in Nerd were of the A/V specialty class, so TV hookup I can do in my sleep. Thanks to my extensive napping in the car, my batteries were pretty well-charged. I was up until 4AM again with Halo multiplayer. The biger screen, a 25 inch model, really made the difference; I feel like I'm not squinting at a postage stamp anymore.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
off schedule, on schedule. schedule, schmedule!
J154 Sunday September 23rd
I woke up for Gurren Lagann in the morning. The series is winding to a close, and I must say it is still pretty awesome. I may write a review of it, come to think of it.
After indulging in my kidulthood, I cleaned my kitchen. Household chores have become rather fun activities for me, though I still haven't vacuumed in months. The dust bunnies are migrating to the jamb of my sliding balcony door, where it's warmer. Fall is settling around, and the temperatures are juuuust starting to fall.
I went to Ito Yokado for some much-needed groceries, and enjoyed the terribly domestic joy of cooking with fresh ingredients. As I cooked and subsequently consumed I pondered the plot of my game. My group has 4 members other than myself, only one of which has actually played a tabletop game. One has read the rules extensively, to practice his English in fact, but has not played yet. Another has RPd online, but never offline. The last is a complete virgin to the idea of tabletop RPGs.
My task in crafting this adventure, indeed the world it will take place in, is to make it comprehensive to mesh four completely different people into a well-rounded monster-slaying machine. I love this game.
I hammered out some of the basic, introductory plot. I also plotted the general scale of the world and calculated the travel times based on the rules found in the DMG. One thing I dislike about D&D's overall setup is the fact that the rules are split over three different books. Having only the DMG in dead tree format, it is difficult to quick-reference any information not found in its pages. Luckily, truly wonderful online resources exist such as the D&D Wiki and the Hypertext d20 SRD. These websites, and more, have saved my wizard hat-wearing bacon a time or two in the past.
Overall, it was a lazy day. The game was prepared for, and tomorrow would be epic. Truly epic.
J155 Monday September 24th
Game day!
I printed out a batch of character sheets, getting a little close to the wire thanks to Nick's departure time. Nick is the player who's played tabletop before, mostly Exalted and 2nd Edition D&D. Nick lives and works in Akihabara, in Tokyo. He's got quite the commute to get to the game.
I met Josh, K, and Masaki at the train station at around 3ish. Nick's train was delayed, a bike had become lodged in a guard fence and had to be cut out, so we ducked into Ito Yokado to grab lunch. K was kind enough to donate his room at Geos, his work place, for our game. There was only one other class that day at Geos, and we kept ourselves quiet. Lunch in hand, we settled in to the room and set up shop, waiting for Nick. I explained the basics of the world, going over the world file I'd created the week before and emailed out to everyone, and answered questions.
Nick finally got to Hitachi around 4. Josh picked him up outside of the building, and at long last the gaming group was fully assembled.
The next 4 hours were a blur. I wouldn't go so far as to say I was on fire, but it certainly was a performance that demonstrated my GMing skills. I invented a dozen characters out of thin air, each with a different personality and voice. A town sprang fully-formed from the dry-erase marker in my hand. A plot, sinister and laced with evil, lurched into existence, my every word another footfall of its shambling bulk.
Nick had to dash off at around 9:30 to catch the last train for Tokyo. K and Masaki went their separate ways, while Josh and I hit G-Bros for a post-game beer and some french fries. We talked about the game some, but most of our conversation centered on Halo 3's impending release. The game dropped in two days, our time, in the States, and in three days here in Japan.
I'd been giving the subject of Halo 3 quite a bit of consideration. To purchase it required a system to play it on. The Xbox 360 is available in Japan, but I would be purchasing a Japanese system. Able to play many games, but not all of them. Some 360 games are region locked, meaning they cannot play on consoles from incompatible global regions. Out of all the next-generation gaming platforms, though, the 360 is the least region-locked one.
Josh and I parted company after a few rounds. I made my way back home, basking in the glow of a game well-run. I blogged a week's worth of entries and fell into a deep sleep. I had a strange dream about a hole in my fingernail. It did not hurt, but the absence of my fingernail was very strange. Like someone had cut a square out of my finger.
J156 Tuesday September 25th
I bit the bullet. I awoke. I turned on my laptop. I found the number for the nearest WonderGoo, the one in Hitachi-Taga. I reserved an Xbox 360 and a copy of Halo 3.
Yeah, it'll be a lot of money. Yeah, I may have trouble bringing it home. But you know what? The happiness it'll bring me, the stress-relief and the reveling in the story and the sheer joy of gaming once again will vastly outweigh any difficulties I have on account of the system.
Also, before I left for work, I went for a jog. I. Me. I ran. For 11 minutes I did a brisk jog through the sunlit back streets of my neighborhood. I staggered, sweat-drenched and dizzy, back to my apartment and took the coldest, best shower in my life. I resolved that the purchase of my 360 would be coupled with raising my activity level to new heights. My run would not be a one-time thing. I was going to, and am currently, exercising more than I ever had before.
I filled my tires before I left for work, too. I brought my Camelbak water bottle, bought for my Mt. Fuji ascent, to work. I had calculated that, by eliminating drinks from my daily purchases at Lawson's and the vending machine at my workplace, I could compensate for the price of my 360 and Halo 3 in about 5 months. Math is awesome. Plus, the tap water here in Japan is quite palatable; moreso than much of the water I've drunk in the States.
I ended the day with some Final Fantasy VII. I finally got out of Midgar.
J157 Wednesday September 26th
Looooooong day. 5 classes, 4 of which were in a big block at the end of the day. From 5PM to 9PM I was on my feet, teaching. That is not an easy thing to do, and I do not boast or brag.
During the day, Wonder Goo called and informed me, via one of my coworkers translating, that they had no "Regular" copies of Halo 3 left. They did have plenty of the "Grande" copies. Or whatever they're called. Has lots of extra stuff, but isn't the one that comes with the replica helmet. They were so nice, they let me have the better version for the price of the normal version. Man, if only American stores were this nice every once in a while.
I talked with both my Mom and my Dad thanks to the wonder that is Gmail chat. I played a bit more FFVII, finally managing to beat the Midgar Zolem, the giant freaking snake in the swamp. Go me! I went to sleep early, around midnight, due to exhaustion.
J158 Thursday September 27th
I was up so very early. I was too excited to sleep. I showered and headed out to the station. I missed my first train, given that I was still half-asleep, but I made it to Hitachi-Taga on the next one. Dark clouds had gathered in the hour I had been outside of my house, threatening to loose rain and ruin upon the world.
I marched with a purpose. A brisk walk down the straight road that led from Hitachi-Taga's train station to Wonder Goo. Nothing, not no body no way, was going to stop me from getting my console and my game. Except for the fact that I couldn't remember the Japanese word for 'reservation' (yoyaku) and the woman at the counter spoke no English.
Lots of pointing and my best attempts at Japanese later, I had in my hand an XBox 360 Premium and a copy of Halo 3. I could have kissed the cashier, but it would have caused an international incident.
I marched back in the light drizzle that had started up, covering my precious purchases with my body as best I could. Waiting for the train in the dry of the station, I cracked the case on my copy of the game, flipping through the Japanese-language guide and bonus materials. I caught the train and was back in Hitachi in less than 8 minutes. I stuffed the Xbox into my bike's basket and raced home, one hand on the handlebars, the other keeping the rain-glazed console firmly in place.
I made it home without dropping, folding, spindling, or mutilating either my console or my game. How it happened I do not honestly know. I went about setting everything up, plugging in cables and rerouting power to my various and sundry electronics that pepper my apartment like modern art.
My 360 can be switched to English, no problem. Everything shows up in good old E-go (Japanese for "English"), no problem.
I loaded Halo 3 in the tray. The CD slid in to the slot slowly, and with a reassuring click it settled in place. The rotator arm gripped the CD's spindle-hole firmly, and began to rotate it. The console's optical drive laser flicked on, converting light into data, feeding megabyte after megabyte of code into the system's RAM. Instructions piled atop one another, and processes were queued and executed in ever-complex formats. In less than 3 seconds, my 360 had ingested the Halo 3 disc, and turned it from a small circle of plastic into the physical manifestation of my gaming desires for the past 4 years.
I was holding my breath.
The intro screen faded into life. Purple and morose. Beautiful, familiar music rumbled from the deeper registers into the audible, and I closed my eyes. I savored the strings and horns, the handful of singers, raising their collective voices, instrumented and otherwise, in the mournful theme of Halo 3.
I played for the better part of an hour. The game's menus are in English, but the voice overs are in Japanese. Big cinematic sequences have subtitles, but the in situ dialog, radio chatter and in-game instructions, are not subbed. No biggie. I still get the important bits.
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. I had a light day, as classes go. I ran again, rewarding my new exercise routine with Halo 3 until 4AM. My dinner was slowly consumed as I assumed the mantle of the Master Chief. I slept like the dead, content in a way I hadn't felt in nearly a year, perhaps more.
A few of you, maybe more, will understand when I say that I have been looking forward to Halo 3 for a very long time. It is, to me, as momentous, if not more so, as the release of a new play by Shakespeare, or perhaps a new volume of prose by Whitman or Hunter S. Thompson. I truly do enjoy video games as others do print media, or movies. To have, to finally have, the culmination, the end, of the Halo story in my hands is almost unbelievable.
I woke up for Gurren Lagann in the morning. The series is winding to a close, and I must say it is still pretty awesome. I may write a review of it, come to think of it.
After indulging in my kidulthood, I cleaned my kitchen. Household chores have become rather fun activities for me, though I still haven't vacuumed in months. The dust bunnies are migrating to the jamb of my sliding balcony door, where it's warmer. Fall is settling around, and the temperatures are juuuust starting to fall.
I went to Ito Yokado for some much-needed groceries, and enjoyed the terribly domestic joy of cooking with fresh ingredients. As I cooked and subsequently consumed I pondered the plot of my game. My group has 4 members other than myself, only one of which has actually played a tabletop game. One has read the rules extensively, to practice his English in fact, but has not played yet. Another has RPd online, but never offline. The last is a complete virgin to the idea of tabletop RPGs.
My task in crafting this adventure, indeed the world it will take place in, is to make it comprehensive to mesh four completely different people into a well-rounded monster-slaying machine. I love this game.
I hammered out some of the basic, introductory plot. I also plotted the general scale of the world and calculated the travel times based on the rules found in the DMG. One thing I dislike about D&D's overall setup is the fact that the rules are split over three different books. Having only the DMG in dead tree format, it is difficult to quick-reference any information not found in its pages. Luckily, truly wonderful online resources exist such as the D&D Wiki and the Hypertext d20 SRD. These websites, and more, have saved my wizard hat-wearing bacon a time or two in the past.
Overall, it was a lazy day. The game was prepared for, and tomorrow would be epic. Truly epic.
J155 Monday September 24th
Game day!
I printed out a batch of character sheets, getting a little close to the wire thanks to Nick's departure time. Nick is the player who's played tabletop before, mostly Exalted and 2nd Edition D&D. Nick lives and works in Akihabara, in Tokyo. He's got quite the commute to get to the game.
I met Josh, K, and Masaki at the train station at around 3ish. Nick's train was delayed, a bike had become lodged in a guard fence and had to be cut out, so we ducked into Ito Yokado to grab lunch. K was kind enough to donate his room at Geos, his work place, for our game. There was only one other class that day at Geos, and we kept ourselves quiet. Lunch in hand, we settled in to the room and set up shop, waiting for Nick. I explained the basics of the world, going over the world file I'd created the week before and emailed out to everyone, and answered questions.
Nick finally got to Hitachi around 4. Josh picked him up outside of the building, and at long last the gaming group was fully assembled.
The next 4 hours were a blur. I wouldn't go so far as to say I was on fire, but it certainly was a performance that demonstrated my GMing skills. I invented a dozen characters out of thin air, each with a different personality and voice. A town sprang fully-formed from the dry-erase marker in my hand. A plot, sinister and laced with evil, lurched into existence, my every word another footfall of its shambling bulk.
Nick had to dash off at around 9:30 to catch the last train for Tokyo. K and Masaki went their separate ways, while Josh and I hit G-Bros for a post-game beer and some french fries. We talked about the game some, but most of our conversation centered on Halo 3's impending release. The game dropped in two days, our time, in the States, and in three days here in Japan.
I'd been giving the subject of Halo 3 quite a bit of consideration. To purchase it required a system to play it on. The Xbox 360 is available in Japan, but I would be purchasing a Japanese system. Able to play many games, but not all of them. Some 360 games are region locked, meaning they cannot play on consoles from incompatible global regions. Out of all the next-generation gaming platforms, though, the 360 is the least region-locked one.
Josh and I parted company after a few rounds. I made my way back home, basking in the glow of a game well-run. I blogged a week's worth of entries and fell into a deep sleep. I had a strange dream about a hole in my fingernail. It did not hurt, but the absence of my fingernail was very strange. Like someone had cut a square out of my finger.
J156 Tuesday September 25th
I bit the bullet. I awoke. I turned on my laptop. I found the number for the nearest WonderGoo, the one in Hitachi-Taga. I reserved an Xbox 360 and a copy of Halo 3.
Yeah, it'll be a lot of money. Yeah, I may have trouble bringing it home. But you know what? The happiness it'll bring me, the stress-relief and the reveling in the story and the sheer joy of gaming once again will vastly outweigh any difficulties I have on account of the system.
Also, before I left for work, I went for a jog. I. Me. I ran. For 11 minutes I did a brisk jog through the sunlit back streets of my neighborhood. I staggered, sweat-drenched and dizzy, back to my apartment and took the coldest, best shower in my life. I resolved that the purchase of my 360 would be coupled with raising my activity level to new heights. My run would not be a one-time thing. I was going to, and am currently, exercising more than I ever had before.
I filled my tires before I left for work, too. I brought my Camelbak water bottle, bought for my Mt. Fuji ascent, to work. I had calculated that, by eliminating drinks from my daily purchases at Lawson's and the vending machine at my workplace, I could compensate for the price of my 360 and Halo 3 in about 5 months. Math is awesome. Plus, the tap water here in Japan is quite palatable; moreso than much of the water I've drunk in the States.
I ended the day with some Final Fantasy VII. I finally got out of Midgar.
J157 Wednesday September 26th
Looooooong day. 5 classes, 4 of which were in a big block at the end of the day. From 5PM to 9PM I was on my feet, teaching. That is not an easy thing to do, and I do not boast or brag.
During the day, Wonder Goo called and informed me, via one of my coworkers translating, that they had no "Regular" copies of Halo 3 left. They did have plenty of the "Grande" copies. Or whatever they're called. Has lots of extra stuff, but isn't the one that comes with the replica helmet. They were so nice, they let me have the better version for the price of the normal version. Man, if only American stores were this nice every once in a while.
I talked with both my Mom and my Dad thanks to the wonder that is Gmail chat. I played a bit more FFVII, finally managing to beat the Midgar Zolem, the giant freaking snake in the swamp. Go me! I went to sleep early, around midnight, due to exhaustion.
J158 Thursday September 27th
I was up so very early. I was too excited to sleep. I showered and headed out to the station. I missed my first train, given that I was still half-asleep, but I made it to Hitachi-Taga on the next one. Dark clouds had gathered in the hour I had been outside of my house, threatening to loose rain and ruin upon the world.
I marched with a purpose. A brisk walk down the straight road that led from Hitachi-Taga's train station to Wonder Goo. Nothing, not no body no way, was going to stop me from getting my console and my game. Except for the fact that I couldn't remember the Japanese word for 'reservation' (yoyaku) and the woman at the counter spoke no English.
Lots of pointing and my best attempts at Japanese later, I had in my hand an XBox 360 Premium and a copy of Halo 3. I could have kissed the cashier, but it would have caused an international incident.
I marched back in the light drizzle that had started up, covering my precious purchases with my body as best I could. Waiting for the train in the dry of the station, I cracked the case on my copy of the game, flipping through the Japanese-language guide and bonus materials. I caught the train and was back in Hitachi in less than 8 minutes. I stuffed the Xbox into my bike's basket and raced home, one hand on the handlebars, the other keeping the rain-glazed console firmly in place.
I made it home without dropping, folding, spindling, or mutilating either my console or my game. How it happened I do not honestly know. I went about setting everything up, plugging in cables and rerouting power to my various and sundry electronics that pepper my apartment like modern art.
My 360 can be switched to English, no problem. Everything shows up in good old E-go (Japanese for "English"), no problem.
I loaded Halo 3 in the tray. The CD slid in to the slot slowly, and with a reassuring click it settled in place. The rotator arm gripped the CD's spindle-hole firmly, and began to rotate it. The console's optical drive laser flicked on, converting light into data, feeding megabyte after megabyte of code into the system's RAM. Instructions piled atop one another, and processes were queued and executed in ever-complex formats. In less than 3 seconds, my 360 had ingested the Halo 3 disc, and turned it from a small circle of plastic into the physical manifestation of my gaming desires for the past 4 years.
I was holding my breath.
The intro screen faded into life. Purple and morose. Beautiful, familiar music rumbled from the deeper registers into the audible, and I closed my eyes. I savored the strings and horns, the handful of singers, raising their collective voices, instrumented and otherwise, in the mournful theme of Halo 3.
I played for the better part of an hour. The game's menus are in English, but the voice overs are in Japanese. Big cinematic sequences have subtitles, but the in situ dialog, radio chatter and in-game instructions, are not subbed. No biggie. I still get the important bits.
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. I had a light day, as classes go. I ran again, rewarding my new exercise routine with Halo 3 until 4AM. My dinner was slowly consumed as I assumed the mantle of the Master Chief. I slept like the dead, content in a way I hadn't felt in nearly a year, perhaps more.
A few of you, maybe more, will understand when I say that I have been looking forward to Halo 3 for a very long time. It is, to me, as momentous, if not more so, as the release of a new play by Shakespeare, or perhaps a new volume of prose by Whitman or Hunter S. Thompson. I truly do enjoy video games as others do print media, or movies. To have, to finally have, the culmination, the end, of the Halo story in my hands is almost unbelievable.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
another! and so soon!
J147 Sunday September 16th
One thing I love about my work schedule is that it has finally broken my annoying habit of waking up early...mostly. See, used to, I could never sleep past 9AM. No matter what. I could have stayed up 'till 2AM, 3, 4, even 5, and I'd be up, exhausted and cranky, at 9. But enough super-late nights finally began to crack whatever mystical soporific barrier that exists within me, and now I can actually sleep in. Most of the time.
I woke up around 11:45AM. I checked movie times using the Internets, and found one that suited both of our needs. I woke up with the 'net, seeing that Alan Greenspan had dropped the bomb about Iraq, how it truly was a conflict fueled (heh) by want of oil. I'm sure it'll be spun away from the more damning implications, if you can call directly assaulting years of lies with glaring truth an implication, but for the few days it takes to mobilize the PR machine, it will be a sweet victory. I'm not conservative, sorry. Welcome to the blog.
I cleaned up and headed out to Mito. I almost missed the train, but a quick sprint down the platform and a majestic leap through the doors found me safely aboard the train, breakfast in hand. The day was quite sunny and clear, and I enjoyed my rice balls and tea whilst watching the Japanese countryside go by. I love watching the world out the windows of a moving vehicle, and it's something I rarely got to do once I started driving. Japan has given me the chance to rekindle my love of travel. Observing travel, I guess.
I got to Mito with plenty of time to spare. I had been messaging Brandon back and forth during my train trip; he wasn't quite clear on the movie times, but he got to the train no problem. I needed to find an ATM, being cash-less at the time (my train ticket was paid with my Suica card), so I decided to walk around. Mito station is flanked on either side by massive pedestrian platforms, huge elevated slabs of concrete that allow one to walk from the station to nearby points of interests, hotels, department stores, the movie theater, and more, without having to worry about traffic. It's really an impressive bit of engineering, and it gives a great view of the city. The first department store I found didn't have an ATM that I could find, so I turned around and tried to find someone I could get directions from.
On the way back toward the station I recognized one of the statues decorating the walk. It was a life-sized bronze of three men, an old man flanked by two younger men. The man on the older man's right is holding his hand up, as if to halt or rebuke someone. It was a statue of Tokugawa Mitsukuni. He was a daimyo, a local lord in service to the shogun, who was in charge of the Mito domain. During his life, he was a prolific traveler. A TV show, beginning in 1969 and continuing to today (that's 37 seasons for you playing our home game) called Mito Komon has dramatized the tales and legends of his travels.
He's sort of a state-empowered Robin Hood...maybe like Walker: Texas Ranger. He goes around with two samurai bodyguards in plainclothes, looking for corruption, evil, and general nastiness wherever he goes. When he finds it, he and his associates work to correct the wrongs wrought by the baddies. The end of every episode usually involves the samurai putting on their best "I'm a freaking samurai, buddy" faces and loudly exclaiming: "Don't you know who this is?! Here before you is Lord Mitsukuni of Mito, uncle of the Shogun!"
Well, anyway, this statue is of the three main characters, Mitsukuni and his two companions. I started recognizing all the other Mito Komon imagery around Mito. Little chibi versions of the old guy smiling at me from glossy fliers or displays. It was cool.
I walked to the other side of the station and spied a hotel. I entered and was delighted to find the hotel staff spoke English. They produced a map which directed me back the way I came, claiming an ATM existed in the department store I first entered. On my way back I met up with Brandon and we walked together. We couldn't find the ATM on our first pass through, so Brandon said he knew where an ATM was. Trouble was, that was a good 5 minute walk away, and the movie was starting in about 10. I'm not one for close calls, so I suggested we look one more time. This time we descended into the lowest level of the department store, and we finally found the ATM, encased in a small glass chamber near a McDonalds. I withdrew funds while Brandon acquired lunch at the Golden Arches, and we speed-walked back to the movie theater, on the hotel side of the platform.
We made it just in time. Up the stairs to the platform, back through the station, across the soccer field-sized pedestrian walk, into the theater. We bought tickets and hurried up the escalator to our theater. We got there while there were still trailers playing. We rule.
Once again, the movie was delicious. I caught a few more elements this time, which I will be happy to share in private. I dislike spoilers, so I will not subject my friends to them, lest they request it specifically.
After the movie we exited the theater. The sun was well into its decline. The length of the day was shifting ever shorter, and its effects were beginning to be noticeable. Brandon was quite content after watching the movie, made so by its sheer awesomeness. We went into another department store to do some window shopping. I was looking for a new bag; my backpack was quite functional, but far from fashionable, and I missed my satchels.
We saw many products. Jewelry, and tons of it. Watches. Racks upon racks of clothes. I felt a little plain in my shorts and t-shirt; Japan has made me somewhat fashion conscious. Though I wouldn't know where to begin if I wanted to actually become stylish. Brandon had to leave for a dinner engagement after a while, and I stayed on to shop a little more. I hopped back on the train just as the sun was truly setting. I enjoyed the twilight as my train sped me home, the theme of the Evangelion movie, "Beautiful World" still echoing in my head.
Once I got back to Hitachi I put some of the last few minutes of daylight to use. I stopped by Sakura City to check out the crafts store. I browsed the aisles, looking for something to inspire me. I found some wooden beads, and some stone ones too. I purchased a handful of both and set out for home. Sifting through my crafting supplies, shipped as birthday gifts from my Dad and EJ, I set about stringing my newly-acquired beads through a thin length of chain. Alas, what I'd purchased wasn't enough to complete a full necklace, but the 70% that I did have looked awesome. I slept well, despite the relative shortness of the day.
J148 Monday September 17th
Most of the day was spent preparing for my special lessons for the coming week. Researching, reading, writing, and editing. I remember, now, why college was a challenge; I get horrible headaches when I work at the computer on one task for a long time.
My topics were Art History, created with the help of EJ and his prodigious knowledge of the subject. I also did a Cultural Exchange class, focusing on the media that America and Japan have swapped. Mostly anime and manga, but movies were there, too.
To ease the pounding in my head I read some of my books. I finished Kafka on the Shore, a novel by Haruki Murakami, a postmodern Japanese author I've enjoyed before. His novel Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World was the inspiration for Haibane Renmei, an anime series I really liked. I read the book a few years ago and was impressed. On my return home from Fuji I had purchased Kafka, and a variety of other books, and had been reading them in series ever since. Expect a review forthcoming to the Lovely Lisa and J.D.'s blog, 7FootShelves.
By the end of the day I'd gotten maybe 80% of both works done by the time I needed to sleep. A little FF VII rounded out the day.
J149 Tuesday September 18th
I was up early and managed to finish everything with a little time to spare. I have a business meeting tomorrow, the 19th, in Tokyo, and I still have some homework to do for that, but that can be done today and tonight. Maybe even tomorrow on the train. My first class was a bit rough; I don't think my students were expecting so much stuff. It's hard to make up classes on one's own. Most of my classes are taught with pre-made materials, out of books written by my company, so I don't have to do much prep time. It still takes effort to teach a coherent lesson. In that respect it's very much like improv theater. My meeting in Shinjuku is tomorrow.
J150 Wednesday September 19th
Last time I did this, I was late for my train. Not this time! I was up early, early. Showered, shaved, and dressed to the nines. I aimed to get to Shinjuku as early as I could. My tickets had been provided by the company, thankfully, and I caught the Tokyo-bound Super Hitachi early in the morning.
The Super Hitachi is really nice. It's a super-express train, meaning it stops only about 7 times between Hitachi and Ueno, the end point for the Joban line on which Hitachi sits. The end result is a breathtaking 1.5 hour trip, compared to the 3~4 hour local train time, not counting delays.
I had grabbed a quick breakfast on my way down, but it didn't hold for long. I remembered that there would be no meal break during the meeting, as we had a lot to do and little time to do it. When I pulled in to Ueno station I hopped the Yamanote line to Shinjuku. I did an awesome running leap into the train, as its "I'm leaving right now" alarm started going off while I was on the steps down to the platform. Luckily, my continuing exercise has restored some of the speed and grace of my youth, and I boarded the train without trouble. My local Yamanote-line train pulled in to Shinjuku station at around 11AM, at which point I realized I'd made a mistake. I didn't know how to get to my company's headquarters. I knew they were located in a building nearby, a short walk to be honest, but without knowing the direction to go or the name of the building, I was trapped. The meeting started at noon.
I tried to call everyone I could. I literally called everyone in my cell phone's onboard phone book. No one answered. I cursed my patchy contact information reserves and resolved to get everyone's everything when this was all finished. I resolved to call my office, knowing that it opened at 11:30AM. I watched as the seconds ticked by, feeling the occasional bead of cold sweat work its way down my back. Finally, after what felt like hundreds of calls, my manager picked up at the office. She and I conversed quickly, and I managed to write down a bevy of information on the HQ building. Thanking her profusely, I hung up on my manager and sought a cab.
Now, this building is relatively new. It's terribly expensive and very fancy. I find a cab without problems, but I have found the only cab driver in all of Shinjuku that doesn't know where the building is. Giant freaking building. Where they house the local government in addition to my company's offices. I'm not an expert in the road layout of Washington D.C. (well, I do know a few things, but that's because I'm a conspiracy nut) but I know what the freaking White House looks like. And where it is. And its name.
Anyway, another quick call to my manager netted the phone number, which I then gave to the driver. He made a surprisingly long call to the office, but finally managed to get his bearings and figure out how to get us there. Once at the building I thanked and paid him for his services, and was in. I had, maybe 5 minutes to spare.
The meeting was pleasant enough, though its exact details I can't go into right now. I met some old friends and made some new ones. Koji, an ex-sushi chef who lived in America for a dozen years, sat next to me, and we became fast friends. Tiffany, a teacher I'd met during my follow-up training, was there too, much to our mutual delight. I met many other teachers and managers during the exercises we performed. One woman, Alison her name, struck me as particularly visually impressive; she had golden eyes. Not green eyes. Not yellow eyes. Her eyes were the color of burnished, well-lit gold. No contacts, either, I checked. Awesome.
After the meeting was finished, Koji and a few other employees were going to grab dinner at an Indian place nearby. I'd gone to the place before and fell in love with it immediately. They served delicious, hot curry and all-you-could-eat nan. Nan is a style of Indian bread, and would bring about world peace, were more people to share it. Needless to say, I heartily accepted Koji's invitation to dinner.
Before I left I met Sharon and Shannon, two of the staff that taught me when I first came to Japan. Thinking back now on those times...it feels like much more than 7 months. I feel so different than I did then. The weather has gotten cool again, though it's nowhere near Japan in the winter time. I was different then, in many respects. Both Sharon and Shannon commented that they didn't recognize me at first glance, which I was somewhat surprised at. It's strange to think the way I look has changed so much, but even looking back at my old pictures I see that I have.
Anyway. Koji and I enjoyed two large pieces of nan apiece, along with dishes of hot curry and cool yogurt. He and I were heading toward the same station, Ueno, so we became travel buddies for the evening. We walked back to the station after dinner and hopped the Yamanote back to Ueno, and there we parted ways. My trip back home was enjoyable, happening in the ever-earlier Japanese twilight that I love so dearly. I wanted to get something to drink, but the train's only vending machine was out of order. Boo.
I got back with about 30 minutes to spare. I had one class to teach that day, you see, at 8PM. It was short but sweet, and in the end all was well. I headed home after work and relaxed after the day's trials. I really like taking business trips; the novelty hasn't rubbed off yet. The rush of trains, the joy of watching the world slide by. The break from normal routine.
J151 Thursday September 20th
I was up at my usual time in the morning. The night before I'd happened upon the writings of one Cory Doctorow. I'd been clued in to BoingBoing by my coworker, which is one of Mr. Doctorow's many online repositories of his writings. What I'd found the night before, though, was a collection of his books. Doctorow is a big believer in...well, many things, but one of them is the Creative Commons Licensing system, wherein a person may give numerous and varied rights of reproduction, and in some case recreation, to their intellectual property provided credit is correctly and noticeably due. In this case, Doctorow has decided to release most, if not all, of his books for free on the Internet, as well as in dead tree copies one can buy at their local book store.
This morning I read a short story he had written about a world maybe a year or two into the future. A world in which Google had become evil. Using technology available today, in no way extrapolating what Google does to harvest data or how it is utilized, Doctorow painted a vivid and striking future of totalitarian power, thanks in part to a fictional joint effort between the Department of Homeland Security and Google. The short story is called Scroogled, and I highly recommend reading it.
Today was a relatively light load, only 4 classes. During my break I rode my bike to Sakura City and purchased more stone beads, so as to complete the necklace I'd begun making two nights prior. After work I headed home and cooked up a delicious veggie-packed meal.
I ate my hot meal (a simple pleasure, that) over my laptop, reading by its LCD glow Cory Doctorow's first novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. I'll be reviewing it soon, so stay tuned for the full text. In a nutshell, it's a look into a future society, maybe a hundred years into the future. The new society Doctorow describes is fascinating, having done away with "money" in the classic aspect, and instead relying on "Wuffie", a form of currency based on respect. A lengthy novella, but easily finished in an evening's dedicated reading time.
J152 Friday September 21st
Not much to report. One of my special lessons involved watching a movie, which one of the school's staff attended, in addition to my regular student. It was fun teaching her. It was interesting to watch how she learned and what she still had trouble with, despite her amazing English skills. They both did fine in the end.
In other exciting news, they're remodeling the section of the building next to the school. We are situated in a small suite of offices built atop Hitachi's train station, but we don't operate out of the entire top floor. Odd sounds and thumps come at all times from the walls and floor, but they've soon become a sort of white noise. It'll be a busy day tomorrow...oy.
J153 Saturday September 22nd
A full load today, save one private lesson. An extra hour's break, a respite from the ravages of an all-day teaching session. Despite my exercise, my back still kills me if I don't sit down every few hours. Teaching for 3 and 4 hour blocks of time does not make me feel good.
After work I had a wonderful surprise; new episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender were available online! As a long-time fan of this series, the third season's premiere was a delight to behold. I managed to get a low-quality torrent of it downloaded quickly, enjoying my dinner while I watched.
I headed out to G-Bros late, around 11PM, but was surprised to find only K there. Apparently, everyone else had either other plans, was still working, or was asleep. I had my customary beer, but neither K nor I were going to stick around. I had to finalize my plans for the D&D game to be held on Monday, and K had to put in his nightly call to Sylvia.
On our way back home we bumped into the Amity girls, Erin, Jo Ann, and Candice. Jo Ann's high school friend Will was visiting, and the girls were taking him out to G-Bros. We chatted for a while. Will works for the USAF, on an air base somewhere south of Tokyo. I can't remember the name. Seems like a cool guy, though. He had a good sense of humor. I didn't stay long, though, and both K and I peddled off into the night for our respective homes.
The next day was Sunday, which was to be a day of much slack, and of much preparation.
One thing I love about my work schedule is that it has finally broken my annoying habit of waking up early...mostly. See, used to, I could never sleep past 9AM. No matter what. I could have stayed up 'till 2AM, 3, 4, even 5, and I'd be up, exhausted and cranky, at 9. But enough super-late nights finally began to crack whatever mystical soporific barrier that exists within me, and now I can actually sleep in. Most of the time.
I woke up around 11:45AM. I checked movie times using the Internets, and found one that suited both of our needs. I woke up with the 'net, seeing that Alan Greenspan had dropped the bomb about Iraq, how it truly was a conflict fueled (heh) by want of oil. I'm sure it'll be spun away from the more damning implications, if you can call directly assaulting years of lies with glaring truth an implication, but for the few days it takes to mobilize the PR machine, it will be a sweet victory. I'm not conservative, sorry. Welcome to the blog.
I cleaned up and headed out to Mito. I almost missed the train, but a quick sprint down the platform and a majestic leap through the doors found me safely aboard the train, breakfast in hand. The day was quite sunny and clear, and I enjoyed my rice balls and tea whilst watching the Japanese countryside go by. I love watching the world out the windows of a moving vehicle, and it's something I rarely got to do once I started driving. Japan has given me the chance to rekindle my love of travel. Observing travel, I guess.
I got to Mito with plenty of time to spare. I had been messaging Brandon back and forth during my train trip; he wasn't quite clear on the movie times, but he got to the train no problem. I needed to find an ATM, being cash-less at the time (my train ticket was paid with my Suica card), so I decided to walk around. Mito station is flanked on either side by massive pedestrian platforms, huge elevated slabs of concrete that allow one to walk from the station to nearby points of interests, hotels, department stores, the movie theater, and more, without having to worry about traffic. It's really an impressive bit of engineering, and it gives a great view of the city. The first department store I found didn't have an ATM that I could find, so I turned around and tried to find someone I could get directions from.
On the way back toward the station I recognized one of the statues decorating the walk. It was a life-sized bronze of three men, an old man flanked by two younger men. The man on the older man's right is holding his hand up, as if to halt or rebuke someone. It was a statue of Tokugawa Mitsukuni. He was a daimyo, a local lord in service to the shogun, who was in charge of the Mito domain. During his life, he was a prolific traveler. A TV show, beginning in 1969 and continuing to today (that's 37 seasons for you playing our home game) called Mito Komon has dramatized the tales and legends of his travels.
He's sort of a state-empowered Robin Hood...maybe like Walker: Texas Ranger. He goes around with two samurai bodyguards in plainclothes, looking for corruption, evil, and general nastiness wherever he goes. When he finds it, he and his associates work to correct the wrongs wrought by the baddies. The end of every episode usually involves the samurai putting on their best "I'm a freaking samurai, buddy" faces and loudly exclaiming: "Don't you know who this is?! Here before you is Lord Mitsukuni of Mito, uncle of the Shogun!"
Well, anyway, this statue is of the three main characters, Mitsukuni and his two companions. I started recognizing all the other Mito Komon imagery around Mito. Little chibi versions of the old guy smiling at me from glossy fliers or displays. It was cool.
I walked to the other side of the station and spied a hotel. I entered and was delighted to find the hotel staff spoke English. They produced a map which directed me back the way I came, claiming an ATM existed in the department store I first entered. On my way back I met up with Brandon and we walked together. We couldn't find the ATM on our first pass through, so Brandon said he knew where an ATM was. Trouble was, that was a good 5 minute walk away, and the movie was starting in about 10. I'm not one for close calls, so I suggested we look one more time. This time we descended into the lowest level of the department store, and we finally found the ATM, encased in a small glass chamber near a McDonalds. I withdrew funds while Brandon acquired lunch at the Golden Arches, and we speed-walked back to the movie theater, on the hotel side of the platform.
We made it just in time. Up the stairs to the platform, back through the station, across the soccer field-sized pedestrian walk, into the theater. We bought tickets and hurried up the escalator to our theater. We got there while there were still trailers playing. We rule.
Once again, the movie was delicious. I caught a few more elements this time, which I will be happy to share in private. I dislike spoilers, so I will not subject my friends to them, lest they request it specifically.
After the movie we exited the theater. The sun was well into its decline. The length of the day was shifting ever shorter, and its effects were beginning to be noticeable. Brandon was quite content after watching the movie, made so by its sheer awesomeness. We went into another department store to do some window shopping. I was looking for a new bag; my backpack was quite functional, but far from fashionable, and I missed my satchels.
We saw many products. Jewelry, and tons of it. Watches. Racks upon racks of clothes. I felt a little plain in my shorts and t-shirt; Japan has made me somewhat fashion conscious. Though I wouldn't know where to begin if I wanted to actually become stylish. Brandon had to leave for a dinner engagement after a while, and I stayed on to shop a little more. I hopped back on the train just as the sun was truly setting. I enjoyed the twilight as my train sped me home, the theme of the Evangelion movie, "Beautiful World" still echoing in my head.
Once I got back to Hitachi I put some of the last few minutes of daylight to use. I stopped by Sakura City to check out the crafts store. I browsed the aisles, looking for something to inspire me. I found some wooden beads, and some stone ones too. I purchased a handful of both and set out for home. Sifting through my crafting supplies, shipped as birthday gifts from my Dad and EJ, I set about stringing my newly-acquired beads through a thin length of chain. Alas, what I'd purchased wasn't enough to complete a full necklace, but the 70% that I did have looked awesome. I slept well, despite the relative shortness of the day.
J148 Monday September 17th
Most of the day was spent preparing for my special lessons for the coming week. Researching, reading, writing, and editing. I remember, now, why college was a challenge; I get horrible headaches when I work at the computer on one task for a long time.
My topics were Art History, created with the help of EJ and his prodigious knowledge of the subject. I also did a Cultural Exchange class, focusing on the media that America and Japan have swapped. Mostly anime and manga, but movies were there, too.
To ease the pounding in my head I read some of my books. I finished Kafka on the Shore, a novel by Haruki Murakami, a postmodern Japanese author I've enjoyed before. His novel Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World was the inspiration for Haibane Renmei, an anime series I really liked. I read the book a few years ago and was impressed. On my return home from Fuji I had purchased Kafka, and a variety of other books, and had been reading them in series ever since. Expect a review forthcoming to the Lovely Lisa and J.D.'s blog, 7FootShelves.
By the end of the day I'd gotten maybe 80% of both works done by the time I needed to sleep. A little FF VII rounded out the day.
J149 Tuesday September 18th
I was up early and managed to finish everything with a little time to spare. I have a business meeting tomorrow, the 19th, in Tokyo, and I still have some homework to do for that, but that can be done today and tonight. Maybe even tomorrow on the train. My first class was a bit rough; I don't think my students were expecting so much stuff. It's hard to make up classes on one's own. Most of my classes are taught with pre-made materials, out of books written by my company, so I don't have to do much prep time. It still takes effort to teach a coherent lesson. In that respect it's very much like improv theater. My meeting in Shinjuku is tomorrow.
J150 Wednesday September 19th
Last time I did this, I was late for my train. Not this time! I was up early, early. Showered, shaved, and dressed to the nines. I aimed to get to Shinjuku as early as I could. My tickets had been provided by the company, thankfully, and I caught the Tokyo-bound Super Hitachi early in the morning.
The Super Hitachi is really nice. It's a super-express train, meaning it stops only about 7 times between Hitachi and Ueno, the end point for the Joban line on which Hitachi sits. The end result is a breathtaking 1.5 hour trip, compared to the 3~4 hour local train time, not counting delays.
I had grabbed a quick breakfast on my way down, but it didn't hold for long. I remembered that there would be no meal break during the meeting, as we had a lot to do and little time to do it. When I pulled in to Ueno station I hopped the Yamanote line to Shinjuku. I did an awesome running leap into the train, as its "I'm leaving right now" alarm started going off while I was on the steps down to the platform. Luckily, my continuing exercise has restored some of the speed and grace of my youth, and I boarded the train without trouble. My local Yamanote-line train pulled in to Shinjuku station at around 11AM, at which point I realized I'd made a mistake. I didn't know how to get to my company's headquarters. I knew they were located in a building nearby, a short walk to be honest, but without knowing the direction to go or the name of the building, I was trapped. The meeting started at noon.
I tried to call everyone I could. I literally called everyone in my cell phone's onboard phone book. No one answered. I cursed my patchy contact information reserves and resolved to get everyone's everything when this was all finished. I resolved to call my office, knowing that it opened at 11:30AM. I watched as the seconds ticked by, feeling the occasional bead of cold sweat work its way down my back. Finally, after what felt like hundreds of calls, my manager picked up at the office. She and I conversed quickly, and I managed to write down a bevy of information on the HQ building. Thanking her profusely, I hung up on my manager and sought a cab.
Now, this building is relatively new. It's terribly expensive and very fancy. I find a cab without problems, but I have found the only cab driver in all of Shinjuku that doesn't know where the building is. Giant freaking building. Where they house the local government in addition to my company's offices. I'm not an expert in the road layout of Washington D.C. (well, I do know a few things, but that's because I'm a conspiracy nut) but I know what the freaking White House looks like. And where it is. And its name.
Anyway, another quick call to my manager netted the phone number, which I then gave to the driver. He made a surprisingly long call to the office, but finally managed to get his bearings and figure out how to get us there. Once at the building I thanked and paid him for his services, and was in. I had, maybe 5 minutes to spare.
The meeting was pleasant enough, though its exact details I can't go into right now. I met some old friends and made some new ones. Koji, an ex-sushi chef who lived in America for a dozen years, sat next to me, and we became fast friends. Tiffany, a teacher I'd met during my follow-up training, was there too, much to our mutual delight. I met many other teachers and managers during the exercises we performed. One woman, Alison her name, struck me as particularly visually impressive; she had golden eyes. Not green eyes. Not yellow eyes. Her eyes were the color of burnished, well-lit gold. No contacts, either, I checked. Awesome.
After the meeting was finished, Koji and a few other employees were going to grab dinner at an Indian place nearby. I'd gone to the place before and fell in love with it immediately. They served delicious, hot curry and all-you-could-eat nan. Nan is a style of Indian bread, and would bring about world peace, were more people to share it. Needless to say, I heartily accepted Koji's invitation to dinner.
Before I left I met Sharon and Shannon, two of the staff that taught me when I first came to Japan. Thinking back now on those times...it feels like much more than 7 months. I feel so different than I did then. The weather has gotten cool again, though it's nowhere near Japan in the winter time. I was different then, in many respects. Both Sharon and Shannon commented that they didn't recognize me at first glance, which I was somewhat surprised at. It's strange to think the way I look has changed so much, but even looking back at my old pictures I see that I have.
Anyway. Koji and I enjoyed two large pieces of nan apiece, along with dishes of hot curry and cool yogurt. He and I were heading toward the same station, Ueno, so we became travel buddies for the evening. We walked back to the station after dinner and hopped the Yamanote back to Ueno, and there we parted ways. My trip back home was enjoyable, happening in the ever-earlier Japanese twilight that I love so dearly. I wanted to get something to drink, but the train's only vending machine was out of order. Boo.
I got back with about 30 minutes to spare. I had one class to teach that day, you see, at 8PM. It was short but sweet, and in the end all was well. I headed home after work and relaxed after the day's trials. I really like taking business trips; the novelty hasn't rubbed off yet. The rush of trains, the joy of watching the world slide by. The break from normal routine.
J151 Thursday September 20th
I was up at my usual time in the morning. The night before I'd happened upon the writings of one Cory Doctorow. I'd been clued in to BoingBoing by my coworker, which is one of Mr. Doctorow's many online repositories of his writings. What I'd found the night before, though, was a collection of his books. Doctorow is a big believer in...well, many things, but one of them is the Creative Commons Licensing system, wherein a person may give numerous and varied rights of reproduction, and in some case recreation, to their intellectual property provided credit is correctly and noticeably due. In this case, Doctorow has decided to release most, if not all, of his books for free on the Internet, as well as in dead tree copies one can buy at their local book store.
This morning I read a short story he had written about a world maybe a year or two into the future. A world in which Google had become evil. Using technology available today, in no way extrapolating what Google does to harvest data or how it is utilized, Doctorow painted a vivid and striking future of totalitarian power, thanks in part to a fictional joint effort between the Department of Homeland Security and Google. The short story is called Scroogled, and I highly recommend reading it.
Today was a relatively light load, only 4 classes. During my break I rode my bike to Sakura City and purchased more stone beads, so as to complete the necklace I'd begun making two nights prior. After work I headed home and cooked up a delicious veggie-packed meal.
I ate my hot meal (a simple pleasure, that) over my laptop, reading by its LCD glow Cory Doctorow's first novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. I'll be reviewing it soon, so stay tuned for the full text. In a nutshell, it's a look into a future society, maybe a hundred years into the future. The new society Doctorow describes is fascinating, having done away with "money" in the classic aspect, and instead relying on "Wuffie", a form of currency based on respect. A lengthy novella, but easily finished in an evening's dedicated reading time.
J152 Friday September 21st
Not much to report. One of my special lessons involved watching a movie, which one of the school's staff attended, in addition to my regular student. It was fun teaching her. It was interesting to watch how she learned and what she still had trouble with, despite her amazing English skills. They both did fine in the end.
In other exciting news, they're remodeling the section of the building next to the school. We are situated in a small suite of offices built atop Hitachi's train station, but we don't operate out of the entire top floor. Odd sounds and thumps come at all times from the walls and floor, but they've soon become a sort of white noise. It'll be a busy day tomorrow...oy.
J153 Saturday September 22nd
A full load today, save one private lesson. An extra hour's break, a respite from the ravages of an all-day teaching session. Despite my exercise, my back still kills me if I don't sit down every few hours. Teaching for 3 and 4 hour blocks of time does not make me feel good.
After work I had a wonderful surprise; new episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender were available online! As a long-time fan of this series, the third season's premiere was a delight to behold. I managed to get a low-quality torrent of it downloaded quickly, enjoying my dinner while I watched.
I headed out to G-Bros late, around 11PM, but was surprised to find only K there. Apparently, everyone else had either other plans, was still working, or was asleep. I had my customary beer, but neither K nor I were going to stick around. I had to finalize my plans for the D&D game to be held on Monday, and K had to put in his nightly call to Sylvia.
On our way back home we bumped into the Amity girls, Erin, Jo Ann, and Candice. Jo Ann's high school friend Will was visiting, and the girls were taking him out to G-Bros. We chatted for a while. Will works for the USAF, on an air base somewhere south of Tokyo. I can't remember the name. Seems like a cool guy, though. He had a good sense of humor. I didn't stay long, though, and both K and I peddled off into the night for our respective homes.
The next day was Sunday, which was to be a day of much slack, and of much preparation.
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