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.

Stir craaaaazy

J84 Sunday, July 15th 2007

Immediate info: there's a typhoon knocking on my door right now. I'm fine, no worries about being hurt by the storm. The mountains are absorbing the brunt of the storm's force, so Hitachi will be fine.

I've been going a bit stir-crazy, though. I ventured out during a 'light' period to grab food and drink. I'm well-stocked now, but I don't think the storm will last more than a day or two. I want to do *something* and I'm driving myself up the walls thinking of what to do. What I wouldn't give for my workshop right about now :)

ANYWAY. Back to the update of my life! From, like, a week ago.

Sunday July 8th

I needed to do some shopping. After sleeping in (oh, what a treasure that is) I got cleaned up and headed out, but not before repairing my bike. For the past two or so weeks, the rear tire has been flat. I deflated it on accident due to my inexperience with its valve system, and the fact that I haven't owned or operated a bike in nearly 10 years. I've also had a lack of free time to sit down and puzzle out how the darn thing works. However, finding myself with not much to do and a beautiful, sunny day to do it on, I managed to fix it. I thought it was tricky, but in reality it's quite simple.

You unscrew the valve a little. You clamp the bike pump's nozzle onto the valve. You start pumping. It's an ingenious double valve system; unscrewing disengages an internal rubber seal just a wee bit, so as to allow air in, but not out. Clamping the pump's nozzle creates a *second* one-way seal. You pump air through these two one-way seals, and bam, the tire has air while nothing escapes. Disengaging the whole thing is a snap, and a quick twist re-seals the bike's inner valve. I topped off the front tire, too, figuring it best to be safe rather than sorry.

I then biked for the first time in half a month. It was so very, very smooth. Like butter, as it were. I had been having some suspension (such as it was) trouble with my bike before the deflation incident, and the improved performance thanks to my maintenance makes me believe it was due to low air pressure. In short, the bike drives a *lot* better now. Still a little rattly, but it should be okay for the next little while.

I dashed down toward the station, where lay my ATM. I ran into Josh on the way down, and we decided to hang together. We both needed to do some shopping in the department stores, so we teamed up. I had heard about a sale in Ito Yokado, so we sought items of discount. To my delight, they had a sale on summer shorts. I bought two pairs of Double Large (LL) shorts. They look like they're made out of nylon. Quite comfortable, but I haven't yet tried them on for a long period of time.

That bit done, Josh and I hoofed it to Sakura City, Hitachi's other big department store. Here we bought groceries, myself purchasing snack foods for the first time in months. Nothing extravagant, but a minor indulgence. Doritos. Taco flavor. Very...interesting.

Before we bought groceries, though, something I thought to be impossible happened. Walking into the entrance of Sakura City, I spied someone reading a D&D book. In broad daylight. In Japan. I was almost at a loss for words. I dashed over and struck up a conversation, pointing enthusiastically to my t-shirt, being a D&D shirt celebrating the release of 3rd Edition. He said that he ran a game in the nearby community center, but I couldn't get a time out of him. He said that his group got together and *talked* about the game on Saturdays from 1PM to 7PM. Toward the end of our conversation we were joined by another gamer, one who could speak English astonishingly well.

I was so floored by the whole experience, I almost forgot to give my contact info. I gave the first guy my email address, but as of this writing I have heard nothing from either of them. Even remembering the encounter now, I am amazed at the sheer randomness of it all. Quite the coincidence.

After shopping, Josh and I parted ways. I rode home, eager to drop off my groceries and meet up with K. He and I had planned on making his character for my own D&D game, to be run (hopefully) before too long. Alas, he was mired deep in a recent game purchase (The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass, for the DS) and was lost to me. I enjoyed a quiet evening at home, relaxing and perusing the web.

Monday July 9th

K and I had determined that this day we would make his character. Around noon, I took my laptop from its perch, placed it reverently in its case, and took it to Dotour. This was the first time my laptop had been disconnected from its steadily-growing nest of cables and peripherals. It looked naked, somehow smaller, once freed from its extra appendages. It was an interesting sight, the big blank spot on my desk where it had rested for so long.

K and I got together, and we spent the next three or so hours making his character. It's interesting to talk to someone so relatively inexperienced with tabletop gaming. Teaching someone from the ground up what it is to play a pen-and-paper RPG. Having to vocalize assumptions I've been making for almost a decade. Describing the idea of narrating the actions of one's character. To see realization spark in his face was really rewarding, and I could tell K very much wants to play. It's quite nice to find a convert so far in the wastes :)

We dashed back to our homes briefly, so as to deposit our delicate electronics. We reconvened at the usual meeting place for our weekly Japanese Lesson. Until 8 or so we talked back and forth about translations and relationships. Interesting lesson, but kind of boring to recount. We just...talk about Japanese for 3 or 4 hours.

At the end of that, there was talk of going to a Spanish restaurant nearby. The group struck out in search of delicious Spanish food, but after half an hour of wandering, we were stumped. K, Clive, and I, using both my bike and K's, scouted ahead of the group in multiple directions, but we could find no trace of the place. We decided to wrap up the weekend at G-Bros, as we so often do. Drinks were had, conversations mumbled in the smoky intimacy of the bar's warm interior.

At the end of the evening I came home and relaxed. Became inspired to play more Pokemon Diamond, thanks to chats with one of my brothers (Chris) and played that until I slept.

Tuesday July 10th

My lessons have finally looped. Some of my lessons are on a 3(ish) month schedule, and I finally completed my first loop. Nealy 3/4 of the materials I've planned I can use again, and thus my work load has been greatly reduced. I prepared for the entire week in the space of one afternoon, to my undying delight.

Wednesday July 11th

6 lessons, but still prepped for everything. Yay!

Thursday July 12th

Slightly lighter than normal. Only 4 classes, thanks to a cancellation.

Friday July 13th

I just realized this was Friday the 13th. It makes sense, now. After work, which was nice and light again, I went to B.B.A. to hang with Josh for the evening. The plan was to play Guilty Gear and have a few adult beverages. Alas, Josh had forgotten the game at home, but there was plenty of beer to be had. Also, a Brazilian guy.

I met a gentleman, currently a middleman in the car parts business, named Scandalari. I couldn't make up a more fascinating character. He's 42 years old and has been everywhere. He claimed to have traveled all over Europe, and he routinely backpacks throughout Southeast Asia. He's got a vacation planned that will take him across Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand over the course of a month or so. He is also a licensed pilot. He speaks English, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian (that I know of; he could speak more).

We talked for quite some time, comparing life experiences, talking of our respective travels. Sharing our love of Paris, a city we both had been to and both loved. Then he told me his parents were Italian, to which I responded with my own claim to Sicilian blood. It was as if I had offered him my first born son, who was made of gold. A big smile broke out over his face, and he shook my hand with renewed vigor, overjoyed to have found a distant Italian cousin, a thousand times removed, in this foreign land.

He bought me several drinks, to toast our mutual heritage. Much merriment was had, and much alcohol was consumed. Much. Like, far more than I usually have. Midnight rolled around, and I politely bowed out, citing my legitimate need for sleep, as I worked the next morning. I bid the gathered farewell, and biked, wobbly but competently, home. I took a few Ibuprofin and downed a tall glass of water, trusting my liver to process the alcohol in my system before work in the morning.

Oh, folly! Oh, hubris! Oh, intestinal fortitude, how I beg your forgiveness! What was to begin with that night of enjoyment was to become a tragedy of truly Greek proportions.

Well, not *that* bad. Everyone's still alive and no gods had to step in and fix everything. Still, it wasn't very pleasant.

Saturday July 14th

I awoke, probably around 3AM or so, quite dizzy. I felt the cold sweat of nausea roil its way across my flesh, and knew what had to be done. Carefully, gingerly, I made my way to my bathroom, and knew the trauma/relief of regurgitation. I felt almost immediately better, thinking the worst was behind me. I brushed my teeth and was asleep almost instantly.

I awoke with my alarm at 8AM, on time. I leaped up, feeling pretty good about the day. I was slightly dizzy and without balance, but I thought little of it. I had a hearty breakfast of the last of my cheese and bread, believing the previous night's trauma to be the end of my woes.

I biked (boke?) to work, arriving early. Felt a little woozy, but pushed it away. There was class to teach! I gathered my materials, corralled my students, and began to teach. As I taught, I began to feel the unmistakable sensation of impending upchuck. I struggled, as Sisyphus does with his boulder, against the inevitable, but it was no use. At the bottom of the hour, I knew I could delay my illness no longer, and excused myself from my lesson, much to my shame. How I held it together so long I will not know; it was as if I saw myself from outside my body as it navigated the short hallway to the front desk. I informed my manager of my impending situation, and begged her to take over my lesson, which she promptly did.

I managed to get into the men's bathroom without incident, whence I proceeded to return my breakfast to the world in a manner similar to, but not quite that of, its consumption. After a few minutes I exited, and was met with the horrified stare of the assistant manager. She wished to know if I was okay. Apparently, my vocalizations were not as quiet as I had wished, and from the look on her face it was a miracle I had survived whatever trials I had undergone within the men's lavatory. I scrubbed my mouth with a dash of water from the sink in the back, along with my face. I assured her I was feeling better already, despite my pale visage and visibly shaking hands.

I sat down in the break room and tried not to move, my illness receding at a glacial pace, slow but steady. I remember my manager inquiring to my well-being. I was still unable to teach my next lesson. I felt like paper. I flopped in the breeze, and had no strength. My stomach had an unpleasantly weak feeling in it, and I knew if I tried to stand again it would not be pretty. Luckily, another teacher, a part-timer, was able to take over my next class, and I rested more. M-sensei heard of my plight, and was kind enough to buy me a soda from the vending machine in the lobby.

Rest, the open window supplying me with fresh air, and the soda (a generic un-cola) refreshed me more than I thought possible. After an hour and a half of misery, I was able to teach again. The rest of the day was somewhat touch-and-go, but in the end all was good. I kept some rice balls down for lunch and had no more difficulties for the rest of the day.

I was amazed at the kindness from my coworkers, though I suppose I shouldn't be that surprised. Teamwork and workplace harmony are number one in Japan, and this situation is something they are always prepared to handle.

At the end of the day, all was well. I bid everyone farewell after the school was cleaned and packed away for the weekend. I thanked all those involved with my rescue profusely, to their amusement, but I insisted. They had saved me big time, and I couldn't give them enough thanks.

At home, after a rain-soaked bike ride home, I rested. Dinner was rice and veggies again, always delicious and filling. I was somewhat worried of the sheer bulk of the meal, but my stomach accepted it with relish, and all was well. I made an appearance at G-Bros for a few hours, which was underscored by a call from my Mom. Yay Moms!

As an aside, before you continue reading, call your Mother. She worries about you, even if she doesn't say so. She loves you, no matter what you have done or what she's said. Unless you're a villain. Then all bets are off. But, still, tell your Mom you love her, 'cause it always makes her day.

Back on track. I had a nice evening at G-Bros, but called it in around 1AM. The day's events had left me quite drained, and I felt myself flagging before I had finished my food. My journey home was rain-soaked, but otherwise uneventful. Sleep was blissful.

Sunday July 15th

Today! It's been rainy and windy and stormy all day. A typhoon, the fourth of the year and well within the strongest category for such storms, has been moving super-slowly towards Hitachi. It's leading edge has been dumping rain and wind on the city since last night, and there's no signs of it letting up. I'm not quite sure where the actual storm is now, given my inability to find a good resource for recent satellite imagery for this side of the world, but I can safely assume it's going to be this way tomorrow.

I've spent almost the entire day in my apartment. I had plans of going out and doing stuff, but the elements outside were quite fierce, forcing me indoors. I braved the storm to procure drinks, being reduced to tap water (hydrating! but not a lot of variety for the palette) for drink choice. The winds were strong, but a resolute stance saw me to the nearest conbini and back without incident.

I got it in my head to do some computer cleaning, so I uninstalled a bunch of programs I haven't touched in months. I made some room for Neverwinter Nights, the original, hoping to get in on some old-school (wow, NWN is oldschool now...that's weird) D&D fun. I was pleased to find that my old account on Bioware's, the game's maker, website was still intact, which included my CD key. I have the disks with me, and the installation was a painless procedure. I seem to have no way to log into online games, which had been my original intention, which saddens me somewhat, but I haven't applied much brainpower to the problem yet.

I got a bit stir crazy toward the end of the daylight (such as it was). I wanted to DO something, but I was stuck indoors with access to no real materials to do with. I have no paints or markers, no wire or beads to craft with. No tools, no wood or metal. Just my computer, paper, and pens. So, I decided to write this.

And that is where you have found me. At my computer for the better part of the last two hours, writing this update.

I feel a lot better, having done something with all my energy. I think I'll do some exercises now, to add a physical component.

I don't know what I'll do tomorrow. I may study on my own, if the storm is bad. If it's light, I may go to the lesson. I may go out shopping, either here or elsewhere. I'd like to get out of the apartment, if I can.