A brief pause

Inspiration has struck. For the past several years, I have participated in Nanowrimo [National Novel Writing Month], but I didn't this year for a multitude of reasons. However, just yesterday some inspiration struck, and I have been writing. And writing. And writing. And while I'm not going to post what I've written here (it' a tad on the bawdy side) I am going to say that with this project coming along--and the need for me to make a decision on my future very soon--I am going to put the blog on hiatus for a week or two until things settle down. By that point, things should be more clear for me. I will finish this quick post by saying that things are going well over here, and that I'm still learning a lot about this strange place. See you on the flip side.

Ep 29. Because it's Good to Do

I haven't really felt like writing this week, but I think that it's good for me to do so. Both because it helps me to process and record the things going on around me, and to keep everyone reading this updated on my life. So, today's is probably going to flow less well than other posts. as well as be generally less writing. Why am I suddenly so much more apathetic? I'm not sure yet, but I'm sure that I will find out soon enough.

Anyway, in case it hasn't become apparent from the last post, Japan has been having some snow. And not just any snow; major snow. So much snow, in fact, that friends over here are dubbing it the snow-pocalypse. And yes, I do realize that our snow is nothing compared to that which is still looming over many parts of the US, but it is unusual enough over here that few people are actually prepared for it. Why do I bring up snow after spending the entirety of last week on it? Because it came back. With a vengeance. How much of a vengeance? Not only did the entire shopping mall close early on Friday, but the owners decided that there was enough snow that Saturday was a spontaneous holiday. Not that things weren't hectic on our end. The snow was so bad on Saturday that many people couldn't go to work, and those who did were simply told to go to the most convenient location...relative to their own school. This meant that a lot of people went to different schools, taught new people in classes, and generally had a hectic day. However, people made it work as best they could, and I applaud my co-workers all over the Tokyo metropolitan area for going above and beyond on that day.
Unlike the previous snow, which was mostly gone in a couple of days, this one is sticking around. Trains are still delayed, accidents are happening, and in general people are going nuts. It's weather the likes of which this part of the world is completely surprised by. But, here's the thing: it's still rather consistent throughout the day. Things around dusk are generally the same as they were around dawn. So, it might be a mess, but it's a very controlled mess.

Now, moving on to more location-y things, in the past week I have visited two places: Asakusa [ah-sack-sah] and Kawagoe.
Asakusa is a very famous temple area of Tokyo. It also happens to be the perfect place to go if you want a more touristy brand of souvenir, some really nice kitchen ware, or realistic looking plastic food (warning: this means you might get a fish in the mail from me). We were toured around by the sister of one of my friends, who did a fantastic job. We all had a lot of fun, ate really good food, and learned a lot about Asakusa.

**insert pictures when my apathy departs, allowing me to care.

Afterwards, we went to an Okonomiyaki restaurant in Harujuku. To call this place back street would be absolutely true, and I'm not sure that I will be able to find it again. That will be a shame, considering how good their food is. As with the manjiyaki place that I went to in August, this restaurant had you order ingredients which you then made yourself. You then fry them up on the center grill and enjoy.

**A scientist or statistician somewhere should note that there appears to be an inverse correlation between the number of pictures on my blog and my general level of apathy. They would also note that my apathy tends to be directly correlated to how warm my apartment is.

Kawagoe is famous for being a good representation of pre-modernised Japan. It has a lot of wooden buildings well over a century old, with matching architecture of the time. We toured many temples, ate really good food in a traditional style restaurant, heard a famous sound of Japan, and walked through a really old house. That last one is not for the old or infirm, as the stairs are probably about 30cm (1 foot) long, a similar dimension in height, and about four inches wide. Had this been in America, we would have had to sign a waiver not to sue upon injury to visit this place. It was definitely worth the price of admission. What struck me was how comfortable the tatami mats were to walk on. My apartment is carpeted--a common trait in more modern buildings--so I don't really have much experience with tatami. I can safely say, though, that after wandering that house I can safely see why the futon persisted even after the bed was introduced to Japan. The floor was rather like a giant mattress to be honest.
The other thing that struck me was the ceiling. I am by no means a tall person by American standards, in fact I tend towards the smaller size of average (this reduces buying clothing to an aggravating experience that drives me up the wall and leaves me with serviceable things that don't really fit. And people wonder why I don't care about fashion). This house made me feel like a giant. It is no secret that the average Japanese height has trended upwards in the last century. This trend is clearly marked in society by the fact that younger adults tend to be a little bit taller than me, while really old people tend to max out at my shoulders. This was the first time that I have ever had to duck under a hanging light. I would guess that the ceiling was about six feet tall. And people actually lived here. This was not some recreation of days gone into oblivion, this was a still-standing structure that had been converted into a museum. True, I would have preferred something that had not been a tobacco shop in days gone by, but it was still interesting and rich in history.

**Some day soon, more pictures & less apathy, or the lesson that Hamlet should have learned before he died.

And that has been another adventure in the Austentatious. If you liked me, tell your friends; if you hated me, tell your enemies, and if you didn't care either way then tell everyone. Good night.

Ep 28. Let it Snow...In Japan

Today's thrilling episode is brought to you by Inter-nets. Why hold nets by yourself when you can hold them by yourselves.
And now, it is time to present another actually thrilling Adventure in the Ausentatious! When last we left our hero, another week loomed large. But what's this? Creeping slowly and steadily from the north comes the scourge of the homeland: Snowfall. Riding their cloud ships, they descended with deliberate disparity for a day, then ceased their presence as quickly and quietly as they had come. A hush settled over the town; had their attention been diverted by devilry else where? Would they leave the hamlet in peace? Alas, it was not to be, for upon the eve of week's end, they returned en masse to stage a punishing and pure assault upon our abodes! Insanity and abject pandemonium erupted. Transit ceased, sensation stopped, the world stood as though at absolute zero! Would life ever return to normal? Only a day (and a night) remained to find out.



So, just like most of he US, we here in Japan got snow

snow

SNOW!!!!

Tokyo got more snow this past weekend than it has in 46 years, and we in the rest of Kanto got a taste of it too. How bad was it? While most was barely above my (admittedly not too tall) feet, parts went up to my knees. Because it was so deep, and because so many of our students and staff live a train ride away, we closed school early. Now, I have never exactly been opposed to snow days, but nor have I been too overly fond of them. They happened (yay) or they didn't (boo) and we moved on. But I was really bummed about having classes canceled. I love my classes, and I love teaching, and gosh darn it if I didn't feel a tad betrayed by the weather! So, what is one-who-loves-snow to do to clear away the gloom?

That's right, make a snow angel, and walk around taking pictures. By the time I made the angel, I had changed into less formal clothes. However, I might have started enjoying the snow a bit before that. A grown up guy making a snow angel on the sidewalk, however, was obviously a surprise to those around me, at least judging by the number of stares that I got doing it. But who cares, I HAD SNOW! And boy was it fun. However, duty called so I quickly grocery shopped, and I am glad that I did. I was one of the last people that they let in before the mall closed. That's right, it had snowed so much that the mall which is open on most national holidays closed early. It was insane, but it made for some nice pictures:

One thing that I noticed was that everyone was using an umbrella. Now, this may be because I am from the Pacific northwest and regard umbrellas like most people in Japan regard a maple-bacon doughnut, but I found the practice to be rather absurd. I mean, just look at them

Snow is to be enjoyed, and this whole use of the umbrella defeated the purpose. Having said that, there was definitely more snow than expected, and there was some issues with the trains.

While the tracks weren't completely covered, they were covered enough in between to make it a problem. I'm actually lucky that I went when I did, because by the time I was standing on the tracks, all of the trains had all but stopped, and shortly after I got off of the tracks, they closed down the crossing for the night. I guess they didn't want anyone going anywhere. Now, some more fun pictures:

This was a street where I was passed by a car that had obviously been out for a while. The layer of snow on top was about four inches thick, and reminded me of a toupee. It certainly brought mirth to my lips to think of snow as little more than a toupee for cars.

After a while of walking around, I met a co-worker for dinner. I had an enjoyable time, and afterwards I decided to do something kinda stupid. Considering that this was the most snow in 46 years, that it probably wouldn't last another night unsullied, and as such all of this was probably a once in a lifetime experience for me, I decided to walk out to the bridge and take a picture of the arakawa river. As one can imagine, this is not a route that many have walked. At the beginning, it was all quite easy, since a lot of people had been walking in this area. But once I got to a more residential area, things got more interesting.

A lot more interesting.

Normally, this is a walk that takes me less than half an hour to get to the bridge, making it rather short and sweet. However, it took me over half an hour to get this view

The last traffic light

And a further ten minutes to get this view

It was around this point that I realized what a silly thing that I had done. I had walked away from my apartment, and help would be decidedly difficult to get to me. I was the only person who knew where I was--though one of my co-workers had a general idea--and all in the name of a picture. And let me tell you, dear reader. it was worth it.

Notice, if you will, the state of the guard rail from the first to the second image. The first was taken at the start of the bridge, well sheltered by a grove. By the point of the second, however, they bridge lay completely exposed to the battering elements. As I trudged through knee deep snow, each step harder than the one before, I was struck by the force of the winds during the storm. While they are normally unnoticeable, that night they melded with the snow to form a complex stinging sensation that quite possibly took away the top layer of skin on my face. But half way over the bridge, and quite exhausted, I found my prize: the arakawa river:

 Surrounded with snow and high upon its banks, the river flowed steadily on underneath. Having found my prize, I turned around to discover that I was not alone after all.

Some poor soul was returning home from work and, judging by his odd weaving he was trying to follow my foot steps. Seeing me coming back, he took the sensible option and started walking on the road, since apparently that was more appealing than creating his own path. So, I did the same.

I would just like to say here that most, if not all, of the pictures on this blog have been taken with my phone. As such, the quality isn't always the best. In this case, I think that the blurriness was due to a combination of many factors.

This is just such a cool picture. I left my glasses at home for this trek, since they kept fogging over anyway, and as such I actually missed a lot of what made this picture special. All that I wanted to show was the stair case what I considered going up, but decided against since that would not just be tempting fate, but actively spitting in its face. Note that the tracks are not my old ones, but someone elses. I found out coming back that I had been following the bike path on the way there. You can see my tracks next to the road on the left. Anyway, I eventually made it back to my apartment, but not before snapping one more shot:

The next day I wandered around for a little bit and took some more pictures. What struck me was how everyone was shoveling. On TV--the Olympics are absurdly hard to find over here, by the way--and in the streets everyone was shoveling. Which was really cool, and also kind of funny to see men in suits coming home and just shoveling. All in all, it was a cool (no pun intended) experience that I will never forget. And now, pictures of the next day.

Someone made a snowman.

I took this, so not actually from a car advertisement.

I can still see my tracks.

One last glimpse at a lonely mountain.

Well, this has been another Adventure in the Austentatious. If you liked it, tell your friends; if you hated it, tell your enemies; and if you didn't care either way, then tell everybody. And now, good night.

Ep 27. The Dreaded Money Drainers

They came in the night: like creepy, crawling critters they carefully and cleverly entered the country. Their mission: destroy all unnecessary funds. Through the windows, they came, under doors and through the ceiling, dragging the earnest and ear-marked earnings of simple citizens into their dreaded, downy, dark abyss of sensual stimulation. How could they ever be stopped when armed with their most lethal and glamorous weapon: the hallowed, holy, Hollywood?

A pretty picture from the train.

February is my sixth month in Japan, and so far it has been filled with many firsts. I had my first lunch with a Japanese person who I did not work with--it went awesomely. I had a slightly exciting--and somewhat terrifying--conversation of two sentences of someone who saw my profile on a get-to-know-you website and wanted to know more. I saw my first drag queen of Japan (he [she? ze? I don't actually know...] was a black man in a bright pink Lolita outfit. I thought he was rocking the dress--definitely not my type, btw--but I have learned that giving strangers compliments on the train is a one-way ticket to weird looks from everyone. And today I had the pleasure of going to a Japanese movie theater for the first time. Great. Flipping. Farvick-newtweights, it has been too long. I know that a lot of people don't like going to the movie theater. It's somewhat expensive, very loud, and you have to share the experience with a gajillion other people who you will probably never see again. Personally, I love laughing with strangers (it's almost as much fun as diabolical laughter) and I love the theater atmosphere.

My friend and I at the theater.

Having said that, theaters are different over here. A creepy observation is that the male restroom signs are just the usual symbol, while the woman's restroom signs not only have the symbol, but also say, "woman only, no men" in at least two languages. There are definitely some ways in which this country has issues. However, onto differences that only really apply to theaters. For one, the food and drink do not cost an arm and a leg. I'm not saying that they are in any way cheap, but to call them more reasonable than in the states would not be a falsehood. The biggest difference, though--aside from the general cleanliness of the entire place--was that theaters here have assigned seats. I don't know why they have assigned seats, but they do. At the same time, I have often wondered why stage theaters have assigned seats but movie theaters don't. I would assume that it has something to do with how casual movie theaters generally are, but since that casual line is kind of blurred-to-nonexistent in Portland, I'm still a mite confused. Regardless, we were at least allowed to choose our seats, and so got a fantabulous view with all of the luxuries of being on the end. Not only that, but the rake was large enough that even if someone had been in front of us, we could have seen over them just fine.
The movie started with the usual, "no piracy" warning...brought to us as only the Japanese would. It was basically a dance video of people who had cameras for heads, who were then caught by people with siren-lights for heads, who then all danced together...I got the message, but man was it bizarre. The previews were rather nice, as they were mostly about Hollywood movies--on second thought, they were all about Hollywood movies. The first--which gave me so many feels--was the entirety of the song, "Let it Go" from Frozen--and yes, improv people, I did note the illegal mention and use of fractals. I am all kinds of excited about this movie, which comes out on March 13th over here, and which I have heard such amazingly good things about. We were then treated to a preview of the new Riddick movie--happy family movie followed by blood bath. Yay. Eventually, finally, after four months of waiting, Thor: The Dark World started. Oh man, all of the feels. So many different emotions competing, that I am still processing. It was not a movie that had no flaws, nor was it an Oscar-contender by any means. But it was just such a nice break from Japan, something so familiar to me that touched all of the deep levels, from the fact that the 9th Doctor was the villain to all of the small, subtle jokes and word plays that make the Marvel movies resonate with me.
//**
Small note: I really enjoy the Batman movies that we have gotten recently. I think that they are great. I also enjoyed Superman, but I had several problems with it. However, I tend to like the Marvel movies better. Why? Because they can be dark--by the rotting toe nails of long dead King Tut can they be dark--but they still retain the ability to be light and fluffy at the same time.
//**
But now, I am back to reality...as much as I am ever in reality. Prior to coming to Japan, my rough estimate for the amount of time in my life that I had spent out of Oregon is somewhere between 4-6 months. Now, that number has effectively doubled, and looks to keep growing. In my heart of hearts, I am an Oregonian and always will be. But if I am going to become all that I want to be, I have to become more than that. I have to grow, and I have to burst out of my cocoon. And most of all, I cannot be afraid of losing myself. I am who I am, no matter where I am or what I am doing. It will always be there, like a beacon guiding me. All I have to do is be willing to cut the anchor holding me safely in harbor, and I can explore the world and find the truth to that beacon and all that is around it and all that it can be. But I cannot be afraid to fail; for had Odysseus not failed, we would not have his amazing adventure of a decade (and no, I don't know why I'm using a sea metaphor). Nor can I be afraid of the dark and story times, for hiding within any storm is the calm of the eye. I might say that I am ready to bloom, but first I have to be brave enough to do so.

This has been another adventure in the austentacious. If you liked it, tell your friends; if you hated it, tell your enemies; and if you didn't care either way, then tell everybody. Good night.

Ep 26. Under the Sea, Oh Finally

When last we left our exotic expat, he sat sipping cocoa while doling out deep thoughts to rival the inner workings of a gothically depressed middle schooler's diary. What then, of the week? Revelation! Incantation! Insemi---actually, not that one...Deforestation! Somewhere! Yes, speaking artfully and skillfully, our hero managed to mostly make myself barely understandable. But hope still remained, for through thoughtful introspection of himself and extrospection of his compatriots, the path to better skills presented itself. But such changes must wait, as with all things they take time. And before the day of implementation there will finally be a day of exploration to the darkest depths of the sea and the lightest un-land of the waves. Indeed, towards aquaria tomorrow we go; and what there will we find? I have no idea.

So, this week was again rather interesting. I started with an unusual issue and things sort of went up and down from there. We had...shall we say interesting times at work that may or may not be resolving themselves, classes were taught well, meetings were had, and I stayed up until 1:00am for the first time in a very long while. Yet, for everything, I would say that it was a rather good week...though I can't really think of a week that has been necessarily bad. Oh, there have been weeks that are filled with bad things, or things that I dread. But that's not really the fault of the week that events are bad, it's more the fault of the people and phenomena who do them. To say that a week is bad because it is filled with bad things shifts the blame a bit too much for my tastes.
However, there were some funny moments. Probably the funniest came at the end of the work week, when we all went out to an izekia. The conversation meandered hither and thither, from ponderings of the future to questions of the present when, suddenly, we came to the topic of 9/11. I don't know why, but we did. And we all started telling our own tales and memories one at a time. Most were along the lines of, "oh, I was in college when..." or, "I was 18" when, eventually, it got to me. I remember that day vividly. That was the day that I became aware of the rest of the world and decided that I should do my utmost to learn as much about it as possible. And so I began..."Well, I was in 5th grade..." and everyone lost it. Now, it's no secret that I'm easily the youngest member of the staff. I am so young, in fact, that I have found it necessary to hide my age to keep people from being made uncomfortable by it. And the entire staff know my age, but they were still surprised as heck by the fact that I was only in 5th grade when 9/11 happened. But that's life; we don't always understand the full ramifications of choices and facts until they become apparent. The best thing to do is to roll with the punches and make a good story out of it.
Anyway, my Sunday was very quiet (thankfully). On Monday, however, I finally made the trip--nay, at this point and with this many failed attempts, journey seems more appropriate--to the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise. This is the place that I have been trying to go to for months. This is the place about which, at age 8, I saw a Discovery channel special that became my driving force to come to Japan. This is the home of whale sharks.

It's bigger than you think it is...

a lot bigger...

Proof that I wasn't alone...a pic taken by someone else

Back in the past...both the picture, and the time table...

The Harbor!

The Harbor shrine!

I have no idea what this is for...candy gram?

Apparently it's the 20th

The walk-through dolphin tank

They were a little bored...

A sunfish.

 These guys are related to puffer fish and, like most of the larger mega-fauna (this thing is huge) consists on a diet of relatively small, nutrient poor critters. Because it's just plain better to be smaller.

Speaking of food.

One more whale shark.

It was playing with a ball...like a dog...

These swarming fish were mesmerizing.

 They really were. And it was amazing how if another fish in the tank were to enter their area, a hole would instantly open up around it. I could have stood there for hours watching the things move...

A walrus with crossed tusks.

 I'm not sure what causes this to happen, but it seemed an odd trait to me. I know that most rodents need to constantly gnaw on something, because their front teeth keep growing. If not adequately managed, they will eventually grow through the bottom lip, requiring either expensive surgery or painful death. I wonder if walruses face a similar issue. Regardless, this is not something you want to roll over on you.

Great jumping gigawatts! It's the flux capacitor!

The kelp forest seemed more a kelp graveyard.

Some sharks.

I don't know if the sound works, but a snowstorm of fish, it is.

Da jellies.

This is far more graceful in the film on my phone.

They floated perfectly, constantly moving.

 These guys also had some fairly impressive, though basic, bioluminesence. I'm not sure why, although I would guess to either draw in prey, fool predators, or a mix of both.

More impressive jelly fish.

 For such simple creatures, they can be truly deadly. A good percentage of the jellyfish in the world lack what we would define as a nervous system, yet they seem to move along just fine. It truly is amazing the variety in nature, and I am quite sure that it will never stop surprising us with its mysteries.

Pipefish, a relative of seahorses.

 For those who don't know, seahorses--or at least some species therein--are some of the few creatures where the male carries the babies until they hatch, at which point he expels them via contractions. I will let you draw your own conclusion about traditional gender roles from that.

A hermit crab

 And a rather large one. This one has an anemone for a home, creating an excellent symbiotic relationship. The crab is helped because few creatures want a mouthful of damaging anemone. The anemone is helped because the movement of the crab brings it into contact with more prey. Both benefit, and neither really loses. An incredible sollution.

Some nautilus.

 Nautilus are living fossils. We have found the remains of their ancestors dating back millions of years to the Jurassic period, when the seas rose and transformed much of the landscape into a giant archipelago. They might have been around before that, but I'm too tired to do research right now.

A front view of a nautilus.

These guys are related to eels. Can't remember a name...

I found Nemo!

A turtle and some sharks.

One last look across the bay at the sunset.

After exploring the museum, and getting my money's worth, I went home and the friend who I went with journeyed to his Tokyo abode. Sadly, the time was too late to try any new restaurants (an amazing student has given me many suggestions of vegetarian and vegan delicacies), so after a brief pit stop to compare some prices, I continued on the train back. Along the way, however, something interesting happened. At a stop, a fellow passenger collapsed. I would like to say that I dropped everything and ran over to help, but I didn't. I didn't even notice him until I realized that we weren't moving, and even then I stayed in my seat while the only thought going through my mind was, "he's not moving and his eyes are closed, why isn't someone talking to him to see if he's conscious or to see if we need to start doing CPR." Thankfully, one of my fellow passengers had some kind of training--either first aid or first responder--because she quickly took charge of the situation. And the entire time, I felt helpless. Not because I don't have a basic idea of what to do for injury--I've taken a few first aid courses--but because I knew that I would be more of a hurt than a help. The best that I could do would be to ask, "dijobu?" [are you OK?], and to start chest compressions if he didn't respond. I can't describe symptoms, or understand enough to know what the problem would be. I can't help him, because I don't know enough of the language, and that's terrifying.
Now, for some exciting news. After finally getting some concept designs, I am on the way to publishing a book. The title is, "The Vooligame," which I hereby copywrite. I will also post the first bit of what will one day be the book, which I also hereby copywrite. Here it is:
 

It started so small, the size of a pea;

who knew what would grow, just what it would be?

But the others gave scorn, oh boy did they scoff,

this thing could be special? Oh that was a laugh!

But did it bow down? Did it give in?

Did it listen to spittle, to spattle, to spin?

Did it shrink down to nothing at all?

No it did not, even though it was small.

It knew that the small could be more than their parts,

could be bigger in stories, in ends and in starts;

And so when they scoffed, to itself it would say,

"I will be important, I will be some day."

Anyway, this has been another adventure in the austentatious. If you liked it, tell your friends; if you hated it, tell your enemies; and if you didn't care either way then tell everyone. Good night.