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A neighborhood jogger passed me today walking the dogs as my smaller one pooped on someone's lawn. He then stopped and asked me if I had a bag. I didn't. So he lectured me, told me I need to pick up my dogs poop. I asked him why I couldn't just let it biodegrate. He asked me how I would like it if someone shit on my yard, to which I shrugged and said I would avoid stepping on it. Well he went on to continue his jog and I continued the walk.
Admittedly, letting my dogs poop in people's yards is a bad habit of mine. Even I try to make sure they do it on the edge, on what is technically dade country property), I'm pretty sure there are laws the prohibit leaving poop out in public, though I haven't checked. I usually make sure they don't do it when the owners are out on their front yards and by their windows...but a damn jogger finally caught me.
I think I'm upset someone caught me. |
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I still don't get daylight savings time. |
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Don't read this.
( Whiny rants only present )
I'm going to regret having written this entry.
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Babies
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Oct. 19th, 2009 @ 12:09 pm
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I've been having a lot of dreams lately of babies...usually in the role of my children. Last night it was two girls. It's making me feel very domestic. Maybe I have some biological clock inside me telling me to pass on my superior genes already. Or maybe this is how my brain is processing me spending all this time at home taking care of my two female dogs. Somebody Jung me. |
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So I took the LSAT. It was long. I didn't like it. And it may have kicked my ass. I find out by how much on the 19th. I haven't completed decided on this whole law school charade (though a good score would push me a little more). Still just feeling things out, so to speak.
Speaking of tests, I got my results back form the Japanese Language Proficiency Exam. Passed level one. Awesome. I mostly did it for my own pride and self-confidence, but now let's see if I can't actually use the certification for something. Maybe I can get some translating jobs, so I can have income without having to leave the house or have to that wake up early shit. Although the whole translating thing didn't work out too well last time, since the only client that hired me wasn't too good on the prompt payment of my fees.
But I need money. Because I would like a car. Or I would like everything and everyone to be closer (as in biking distance). Or I want a better public transit system here. But since this is Miami, and not Osaka or even Gainesville, a vehicle I own would be nice. I wish I could just get by with a bicycle though.
Not very interesting things going on. Today's highlight was that I managed to trick my dogs into thinking I went out somewhere while I'm actually still in this house. Let's see how long it takes the one with separation anxiety to figure it out and start banging herself against the sliding glass door to be let back in. |
| » Back in the Heat |
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So I'm back in Miami. It's been roughly two weeks. It's good to be back swimming in my element, so to speak. At the very least, it's good to be back in a linguistic environment where I can engage in higher level debates and discussions (though I did crash and burn many a times trying to discuss politics, gender, sexuality, history, etc. in Japanese not knowing the proper terminology).
I will miss Japan. It's definitely easier to shine over there when you're the Japanese-speaking Caucasian with round eyes, long eyelashes, and curly hair, though the attention oftentimes felt kind of cheap. And inevitably I will come into (ideological, political) conflict with my parents. So yeah, mixed feelings about being back.
One guarantee, I will be bored (initially). My brother took the Wii and other game consoles with him to Orlando. He also took the weight sets (wtf). So I have 1 DS, 1 friend (Sophia), 2 dogs, and 1 cousin to keep entertained in this town. Not that it's their job to keep entertained. Basically I'm going to have to discover ways of getting out the house, maybe find a cheap gym or some adult soccer club. Perhaps some volunteer activity.
In the meantime, I'm studying for the LSAT. God I feel like such a tool. It doesn't mean I've made a decision to go to law school yet, though Richard has made the idea a lot more acceptable in my mind by being a hippie and still going. Doesn't mean I can stop thinking about what I want to do. Just let the wind push against the sails and take my wherever. Just as long as I'm not 65 and with no money.
Sep. 9th, 2009 @ 10:50 am
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| » Relationship Isssue 1 |
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I list them as they occur to me in this relationship, not in order of priority.
Sleeping together.
Here I refer to the cuddling kind, not the sexy kind. It seems to be one of the basics of relationships right. I can understand the concept theoretically. I enjoy cuddling to a certain extent. Who wouldn't want to cuddle an entire night with someone you like. It can be comforting. It can be fun. It can be intimate.
I hate it. Or should I say, I abhor it.
It's something I keep hoping to get rid of in order to not upset future lovers, but the physical discomfort I experience when I share the bed with someone surprises even me. It feels like a complete invasion of space. I usually toss and turn a lot before and during sleep. But with the presence of another body, my movement becomes limited and I feel cramped. I keep getting the impulse to just push out against imaginary walls and make them crumble, but can't since it's actually another human body in the way. If our bodies our entangled in some fashion, inevitably part of my body goes numb, a sensation that stimulates my brain along the lines of pain. I want to move right away, but again the other person's body gets in the way. Sometimes it's just an issue of not wanting to wake them up. This also entails the sharing of heat. It gets so hot. I take my shirt off, turn on the fan, but I still feel like my body temperature continues to rise.
This discomfort in position, space, and temperature reach their limit multiple times in the evening. I just can't stand it anymore. I need to go. I need to get out. I need to free myself of this fleshy blanket. I inevitably get up from bed at least three times to go and relax. I basically end up losing sleep.
This is mainly a "physical" issue, but inevitably reaches the realm of "emotional." I resent the person for being there. I resent them for taking up space, for impeding my movements, for wrapping their sticky appendages around my body like some damn octopus. Oftentimes I feel the strong urge to just kick them away. Of course I wake up in the mornings cranky and exert all of my willpower to not lash out at my partner.
How the hell do I get over this and discover the pleasures of sleeping together.
Aug. 5th, 2009 @ 10:55 pm
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| » Dating and Diarrhea |
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Soooo, yeah. I have a month left here. And I decided to start going out with someone. Plus it's my roommate. Plus our old roommate moved out and next week some new Indonesian dude is moving in. Hmmm.
I think I decided to start going mainly because I have a month left. We have good chemistry as friends, but I don't really seeing it going too far even if I stayed in Japan. Normally, she's not the kind of person I would go out with. I think I'm mainly using her as an emotional bouncing board. In previous relationships, the minute I started going out with people, no matter how much I liked them previously, I automatically got tired of them and felt invaded. I felt like my own personal space was being destroyed and I needed this person out already.
Perhaps its because I didn't really like those people. Perhaps I can only experience shallow emotions. Perhaps I need to cultivate something first before going on to the next stage. But my body has needs...and a strong will. I previous relationships, I would suddenly find myself making out with people or doing something more. And while that's happening, I feel great. But the minute that's over and it's cuddling time, that person needs...out...RIGHT NOW. I can't stand to sleep in the same bed as anyone else. I'm not good at lovey dovey stuff and saying words of endearment just feel fake and embarrass me.
Basically I have issues with intimacy. But with this one month limit, I feel like I can ignore most of the discomfort I usually feel. It's only a month, so it's no big deal. In the meantime, I can explore these feelings so I can figure out how to better deal with them, or at least understand them.
It's hard to describe my intention in all this, but it makes sense in my mind.
Not to be too cruel, after the first date I told her right away that I don't do long distance relationships. So If she wanted to stop before getting too involved for no reason, we could stop it now. As for me, I welcome at least a month of fun and experience. Live life to the fullest. Or perhaps that's just my body thinking for me again.
There is inevitably something wrong with my way of conducting this. It's very premise is heartless. So heaven saw fit to punish me. Whatever cold she had next week, it went into me and must have mutated. For 4-5 days I had the most painful lower stomach pains I've experienced in my life. Who knew diarrhea could hurt so much. Oh yes, there was diarrhea. I was literally throwing up through the other end. Two of those nights I couldn't sleep at all since I kept getting up at least once every hour to go to the bathroom. I just lay like a zombie in the fetal position on my bed for most of the day, exhausted from the pain and lack of sleep. Ugh, I'm glad I didn't die. I'm also glad I didn't go to the hospital. I don't have money or insurance right now.
Jul. 30th, 2009 @ 12:35 am
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| » Parents' Vacation |
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So the folks came and went. They spent roughly a week here in Osaka in a hotel I found them close to my house (not even a 3 minute walk from my apartment). Then they took me to Tokyo for about 3 days and 4 nights. Came back to Osaka after that just to spend one quick night in a different hotel close to the airport and they were off back to America around noon the following day.
Those two weeks pretty much felt like my last hurrah in Japan. I revisited all the classic sites, including Himeji castle, Kiyomizu temple, Big Buddha in Nara, Miyajima and Hiroshima, etc. I hadn't been to most of those places in over two years, so it almost felt like seeing them anew. You forget the surprise you feel when your breath hastens a bit going up Himeji castle. It's so old but so huge. Or the complex emotion of staring at a building destroyed by the atomic bomb. Walking through the peace museum, sometimes I felt sorrow, sometimes indgination. You forget those physical or emotional reactions to places as they dissipate over time. So going back ended up being like a refresher(?) for my mind.
I tried to make this trip as interesting as I possibly could for my parents. In the end, traveling around Japan boils down to two main attractions: impressive big cities and exotic temples/shrines. Sadly, cities and shrines tend to start looking like each other very quickly (aye, there isn't very much structural diversity between temples to begin with). So I focused on the major ones, the ones that tend to be unique either in size, display, or location.
The second part of the trip was new ground for me. While in Tokyo, we made a day trip to Kamakura and to Fuji. Kamakura...is pretty much...like Nara and Kyoto. More temples. >.> But its got a different flavor somehow (it's a rich people's town too, big houses). My lack of boredom there surprised me. Maybe new temples and shrines can be interesting. Jesus. Mt. Fuji was great too...but we didn't get to climb it. Pooh.
My mother isn't really made for this kind of traveling (i.e. she's fat). She didn't have the endurance sometimes to walk all these distances (let alone climbing a mountain) and sometimes her legs right above her ankles would get swollen. She...should really lose weight. I guess it's partially my fault (she never really returned to her original weight after giving birth to two boys, har).
And a reminder again. I'm back in the US the 25th August. Everyone, please treat me well upon my return.
Jul. 15th, 2009 @ 01:58 am
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| » Rice Pudding and International Arrivals |
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So two things:
1. There was a potluck party over at Banana House (the guest where I stayed for two months). It was technically supposed to be a Japan-China-Korea party, where Banana people would make food from their own country. But they were kind of enough to let this white dude (as well as two others) participate. I ended up making arroz con leche (aka rice pudding), which according to wikipedia isn't exclusively a spanish thing.
Shock.
It's such a common part of Cuban food, I never even considered it existing in other forms in different (i.e. non-Spanish speaking) countries. Oh well. I made it a la cubana for the party anyway. It was my first time making and I wasn't sure what kind of rice to use (the internet says any rice is ok), so I made two batches, one with brown rice and the other with regular sticky white rice. The whole grain rice came out with a stronger consistency. It's not crunchy but it responds more to being bitten down. I probably should have cooked the brown more beforehand though, since I didn't give it enough time to soften. The white rice batch came out more like porridge, but I think I put too much milk in it. Either way, it tasted pretty nostalgic, so I call it a success.
2. My parents arrive today in Nippon. I actually went to frisbee with one of my roommates (we found a group that plays casually every sunday). It technically finished around 5:30, but sitting and chit-chatting afterwards and walking back to the station, when I looked at the time it was 7:30.
And my parents' plane arrives at 8.
Hah.
I ended up getting an hour late. Plus since I was in a rush, I didn't get to go back home and confirm the flight number. So by the time I got to the airport, I wasn't sure if they had arrived and were walking around somewhere. I guess they probably would have called me. Either way I had the nice boy at the information counter page them. No one came. So I waited for the people to come out of a Northwest flight that arrive about 51 minutes late to come out. My bro ended up calling me on my cell and I was able to confirm their flight number. Sure enough they came out, all smiles to see their sexy first born. Yeah...I am sexy.
Jun. 28th, 2009 @ 11:22 am
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| » Parents |
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I haven't posted in a while. There's just nothing really exciting in my life.
But next weeks the folks are coming to visit me in Japan. They'll be here for two weeks with me as their lovely guide. I ended up getting them a hotel a 5 minute walk away from my apartment (I'm going to regret this) at their request.
Overall it should be fun (I hope). Unless my father decides to talk about useless issues again with me. My two main concerns are planning this trip (there's a lot too see, so I need to organize this efficiently) and money (I hope I don't spend too much on my own train tickets). If mommy and daddy want to buy me tickets or food on several occasions during their stay here, that would be super duper but...a little immature of me..heh.
Jun. 23rd, 2009 @ 09:25 pm
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| » no more part-time job |
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So I quit the last source of disposal income I had recently. After leaving the English teaching gig, I still had a menial part-time job at an izakaya.
But that bastard had me handing out flyers on the street to people who wouldn't come to the store even if they took them. Plus only doing it twice a week for 3 hours each time wasn't really supplementing my lifestyle.
Yeeeah. That's about it. I'm very free now. But I applied for the Japanese Proficiency Exam in July, so I guess I should devote my days now studying for that.
Oh and other news I made a former "host" friend. For those unaware, the profession of host here in Japan consists of flirting with girls and listening to their stories, complaints, worries and concerns within the host club that employs you, while also making sure they continue buying and drinking the ridiculously expensive drinks at said club. I'm getting many interesting stories. Contrary to my expectations, apparently most customers come in the morning, not at night.
Why? Because that's when all the women who have night jobs (that are usually not exactly "enjoyable") come to the club after work to destress. Apparently he got a lot of customers who were prostitutes and heard many interesting stories from them, which I have to pleasure of also hearing through him.
Apr. 24th, 2009 @ 08:12 am
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| » Free |
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So I am now "free."
In the end, I wasn't feeling like teaching English the way I was was my "calling." Though it was a relatively job and they did offer me a renewal of my contract, I just went ahead and said no. Hahaha. It feels a little lame now, having worried about whether or not I would have a job in the following months.
For the moment I have my even easier and less time consuming part-time job at a tiny bar place; consequently it also has less pay. I was able to save a decent amount of money each month, so I guess I'm gonna do an LC (though nowhere near as fashionable as the way she did it) and just avoid doing anything economically productive for the next few months. I'm going to refocus most of my free-time on Japanese, go home at the end of the summer, and be done with this country until it calls me back for something I would actually enjoy doing here full-time.
It's been about 2 weeks doing this now and it's awesome so far. Oh how I enjoy waking late lol. And I can actually make those damn sales now at the super market usually reserved for old ladies only and buy me some cheap vegetables. Admittedly though, this is a lot of free time. I'm gonna have to find something else to occupy my time. Maybe some other part-time job will pop up. Or perhaps I can give back to the world through some volunteer activity. Maybe there's a club I can join.
Anyway, in the meantime I have to think about my future. When I go back to the USA, I can't just chill at my parents' house with no goal as if I was on summer vacation.
Mar. 31st, 2009 @ 11:54 pm
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| » Japan Job |
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So still no news from my current company about April positions. I learned that the school boards decide on the teachers for the following academic year this month. So there is still a possibility that Interac will have positions in the Osaka area. However, February is almost over and still no news. Plus, just because they get positions doesn't mean they would want to keep around.
Basically, it's still up in the air.
As far as job hunting goes, it's not going. Really, job hunting is a pain in the ass and I am lazy. A bunch of searching on the internet only wields positions that are far away or for which I am not qualified. Lame lame lame. Why would I waste my time following no leads when I could be drinking milk tea.
But there is an option apparently. My landlord mentioned this restaurant in Shinsaibashi is looking for people to hiring. Apparently hiring a foreigner for a restaurant would be a good idea since it's different and I could be a sexy attraction to drawn in customers. Sadly, this is a "part-time job." Meaning I get paid by the hour. It's about $10 an hour. Plus it seems like its mostly a night position. That sounds kind of lame no? Working a part-time job late at night. I get the image of coming home tired only to eat some cheap ramen since it's all I can afford.
Really, my rent isn't that bad and I don't spend that much money. The money I save would go down though. However, there are some possible merits to this. For one, it's a job that involves mainly Japanese. I could potentially finally get in a lot of practice during the day. Also, it's a night position so I wouldn't have to worry about waking up early anymore. Plus it's close, so I wouldn't have to take so long to get to work. I could potentially bike there.
So positives = Japanese, more free time?, waking up late, short commute. Negatives = low salary, working late, long hours?, changing visa issues. Oh also, it's not certain yet. After all, I haven't been offered a job yet. Both Interac and Japanese restaurant hang in the air.
Firstly, I need to actually go there and see how it is. The boss could end up being a hardass. But in the meantime, I need to decide if doing a part-time job in Japan is a good idea. It seems kind of lame being a college graduate and all,. I could probably find a better job. But then again, my goal being here is Japanese. Oh...my.
Feb. 24th, 2009 @ 06:45 am
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| » Fushimi Inari |
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So Ike was in the area (Kyoto) this weekend with his girlfriend and he was kind enough to invite me along for what ended up being some butt-tightening hiking. I met up with them at Fushimi Inari, which is that famous shrine in the mountains with all the reddish-orange arches going up the pass in a row.
Random fact (from Wikipedia, so I can't confirm its validity), but Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto decided on making the main character of Star Fox into a Fox after visiting this shrine.
Anyway, sorry to disappoint any of those who have enjoyed their visits to Kyoto or haven't gone there, but once you see one shrine, you've pretty much seem them all. There isn't much diversity between them, and there are so many of them in Kyoto in general, visiting shrine's kind of loses its luster. So it was kind of cool visiting this place. The arches gave it a different feel and the fact it was completely up into the mountain, surrounded by nature was a plus. It was very very green and pretty up there. The mixture of human structures (some of them old and decaying) into the many trees gave it a nice rustic touch. Of course, there are many people there, so the magic ends there. Still I enjoyed it.
After that, there were plans to go to Kinkakuji. But after wandering around for a bit, buying bus tickets for Ike and his gf, and eating lunch, it was already too late. So we wondered around toward Shijo and had some sushi on a tread mill. God I love kappa sushi. This was my first time in one that when you order sushi, it comes to you on a mini train on a special track. The one in Hirakata did not do this!
Feb. 21st, 2009 @ 08:30 am
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| » Useless Angst |
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To quote a song (though I don't fully remember the lyrics)
I think I can see the future
Since everyday I repeat the same routine
Every day is exactly the same thing
Really, it's my fault for thinking this. I should be doing something a little more carpe diem during my free time, especially the weekends. I just get so tired lol. But since I don't know how long I'm going to be in Japan, I need to enjoy things I can only enjoy in Japan while I can.
Step 1, Drink milk tea every day. Well, maybe not everyday since that might become unhealthy. Still, I'm going to give Lipton a nice little profit on their delicious liquid product.
Step 2, Get friends that live closer. This one is tricky. The people I seem to spend the most time with live at least 40 minutes away. I guess that's just how city life style is. Richard complained of long commutes when he lived in NY too. Still it would be nice to have someone closer by, someone with whom I can go drinking randomly on Wednesday nights or whatever. Someone to prevent emo-ness on setting in when I'm home alone after work, on days when I don't go to the gym, and my roommates are not home. Still, Japanese people are a pain in the ass to get together with. It's like everything is prescheduled, including meetings with friends. I actually have two Osaka friends who live about 20 minutes away but I need to contact them a week in advance to set up a meeting. It's like an interview.
Step 3, I need a hobby. Playing video games is not a hobby! Though I enjoy my DS very much. Especially on train commutes. Still I don't play it very much. The internet is not a hobby either. Still I need like a hobby, or maybe some volunteer activity (ooh that would be cool. helping people out) I can do on my free time sometimes. that way i can potentially also meet other people and actually practice speaking and listening japanese than studying it on my own at home.
Step 4,....um. Travel? I haven't been to Mt. Koya yet. Oh yeah, I also need to get my ass across Asia. My Singaporian friends, expect a potential visit this March when I have vacation.
Feb. 10th, 2009 @ 09:10 pm
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| » Spring |
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So the company seems to have only positions far away this coming spring. Only one of them is within the Osaka area, and farther than my current minimum 40 minute trek.
Not to be whiny, but I honestly don't want to move again. If I'm going to move, I'd rather it be back to the United States. Basically I have two options I need to seriously get on. One is locate another job here to finish my intended year in Japan. I'm not sure...how that will work out. Still no actual skills and no idea where to start job searching again. Pain in the ass.
The second is to just go back in the US. I had originally wanted to spend 2-3 years abroad. But that's proving to be tiring. So I need to seriously start thinking about my long-term goal again, some kind of post-grad study. Not that..I'm not entirely sure what to do. I have inclinations, but that's it.
Sigh, adrift at sea again. At least I got money to buy food. I love food.
Jan. 21st, 2009 @ 05:00 am
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| » First impressions of Miharadai |
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So I started a new school.
And I was surprised to see how many Chinese kids there were there. Not that seeing a Chinese person or hearing Chinese surprises me in of itself. But in my previous school we had one semi-international kid, the son of Japanese-Brazilian repatriates. However, he didn't speak Portuguese. But in my current school, they have about 30 some Chinese kids, some with full command of Japanese, some who need extra help. So they have a teacher here who specializes in teaching Japanese to foreign kids and holds Japanese classes for them. So it's basically the Japanese version of ESL. So it's kind of cool hearing something other than Japanese or "Big Penis!" in the hallways.
Speaking of big penis, it's appeared again. Except this time, the 2nd year boys asked me if I had a "big stick." I think the transition from big penis to big stick summarizes my transition as a whole. Basically, same present, different packaging. It's almost a little surreal. I get the same feeling from this school, except all the faces are different. But I guess one middle school isn't going to change much from another middle school, unless it gets real ghetto. And kids will be kids wherever.
The teachers seem nice. While only 2 people besides the English teachers spoke to me on my first day at Hamadera, at this school I got that number up to 4. Sweet. Also, there seem to be many young teachers. About 3 of them are 24. And two of the English teachers graduated from Kansai Gaidai. One of them graduated the same year I did and did her study abroad the same year I did mine. To add to this, the daughter of one of office workers is attending Kansai Gaidai. A lot of Kansai Gaidai. It's almost embarassing.
Jan. 10th, 2009 @ 07:34 pm
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| » winter vaca...over |
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So winter vacation has come and gone. The good thing about working in a school system is that I still get winter vacation at the regular time. (Although my December pay was 75% of the normal amount). Still, a long vacation meant it sucked having to coming back here for work. The first thing I felt, it wasn't even a complete thought, just emotion, when I woke up on the day of my plane trip was sheer regret that my free time had ended. I hadn't felt that since high school. I guess going back to college is ok, since college is actually fun and I have free time to enjoy life!
Got to enjoy some good times in America, with family (cough cough) and friends. I got to hang out with my cousin and play with my dogs. I ate A LOT of very ENJOYABLE food. I also hung out and made calls to many enjoyable people (Meg Meg). I think this break made me realize that despite the simplicity of this job, I'd really rather be doing something else. I'd really like to planning for grad school or maybe even law school (-gasp- would I even enjoy this), but I'm finding myself confused as to which path I should follow (it's senior year of high school all over again).
So anyway, I'm back here in my city apartment. I start teaching at a new school tomorrow. I'm slightly jet-lagged (feeling sleepy at 3 pm) so looking forward to surviving tomorrow and a long, restful weekend.
Jan. 8th, 2009 @ 03:33 am
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| » kin ball |
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Apparently some Canadian dude invented a new sport called kin-ball, which looks a little goofy.
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=V1cHHpsFj_I
I first saw it on a Japanese tv show here and did a google search. Sorry for the French video, but the English videos describing the sport seem hard to find or the American (usually American) players are not impressive. But these Canadian frenchies now how to get into it.
It seems to involve a giant dodgeball about the size of the player. Basically, you're not supposed to let it hit the ground, so when it's your teams turn you hit it back up or hold it. Then someone tries to hit somewhere so the other team cannot stop it from touching the floor. Sometimes there seem to be more than 2 teams involved.
I haven't actually played this. Just felt like sharing something I found.
Dec. 3rd, 2008 @ 04:52 am
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