曇天

土曜日なのに、今日仕事をした（泣）。でも、聞いたことないすばらしい曲を聞いた、「曇天」という曲だ。（実は、今日は晴れだったが（笑））

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvjVVv4viaY

なぜかわかんないけど、今日体育館で５と６年生がコンサートをした。六つの歌を歌ったが、その六つ以内、「曇天」だけ聞いたことなかった。

歌詞もよかったし、音楽もよかったし、精一杯歌ったし、ほんとうに感動した。だから、その曲をちょっと翻訳してみた。興味あれば、読んでくれ！

鉛の空
A lead sky
重く垂れ込み
Runs heavy as it reveals all
真白に澱んだ
It muddies the pure white
太陽が砕けて
Destroys the sun
耳鳴りを尖らせる
And sharpens the ringing in my ears

ひゅるりひゅるり
Round and round
低いツバメが
The low-flying swallows
(Old translation: The soft swallows)
８の字なぞって
Make a figure-8
ビルの谷を翔る
And fly over a valley of buildings
もうじきに夕立が来る
Soon the evening rains shall come

曇天の道を
On a road in cloudy weather
傘を忘れて
And having forgotten her umbrella
歩く彼女は
A girl is walking
雨に怯えてる
Fearing the rain
ので僕も
As for me
弱虫ぶら下げて
I'm a coward who stays still
空を仰ぐ
And looks up at the sky

あちらこちら
Moving here and there
あんよは上手
Adept at toddling
珈琲屋に寄った
Making it to a coffee shop
一休み極めたら
But staying too long on a break
帰れない　帰らない
I can't go back, I can't go back

曇天の道を
On a road in cloudy weather
ぶらりぶらぶら
Aimlessly going to and fro
歩く二人は
Those two walking
足軽のごとく
Seem more like foot soldiers
危険好きの
誰かのふりをする
Pretending to act like someone who loves danger
小心者共
Though they are cowards

曇天の道を
On a road in cloudy weather
傘を忘れて
And having forgotten her umbrella
歩く彼女は
A girl is walking
雨に怯えてる
Fearing the rain
ので僕も
As for me
弱虫ぶら下げて
I'm a coward who stays still
空を仰ぐ
And looks up at the sky

1250 characters down.

And that's all that really matters right now.

One week...

And 1.5kg down. I've now hit the weight loss rhythm I had set out for at about 3lb~ a week (which is still healthy!), so I think I'll be sticking with the current plan.

Best thing about this diet is it doesn't feel like a diet at all. Everything else had left me with death hunger and general lethargy, but this seems to be working out. All I did was lower my daily caloric intake from about 2100~ cals a day to about 1800~ cals (by substituting one meal a day for 2 soyjoy bars), replacing soda and sugary drinks with green tea (it burns cals I tells ya), and doing moderate cycling for 40 mins a day (while watching doramas) and an intense 2 hour workout session on Saturdays (club sport, so I'm doing something I love anyway).

Things have been on the up and up so far, currently 73.6 kgs, and should I lose another 1.5kg in the coming week, I'll hit my Wii Fit target weight and finally be in the 'healthy' BMI range, whoo.

Everyone is telling me I look different, but I haven't really noticed any changes yet.

The moment when I realized my diet may be getting out of hand...

... was the moment I found myself frantically looking up the caloric content of a grape before accepting a few of them from the office lady (2-3 calories btw, depending on size, of course).

BUT! But, I've gone down 3 kgs since Sapporo, so things are working, despite the craziness of it all.

"Women can forgive insensitivity, but being insensitive to your own feelings is no good."

Before I talk about the movies I've seen since I last posted, here is a brief gaming update. Finished Metal Gear Solid 3 and God of War 2 finally, and I've bought MGS4. I'm giving myself a while to adapt to MGS4 after beating GoW2, so I might really pick it up tomorrow. And though it goes without saying, it's an extremely beautiful game.

I've gotten pretty good with my T6 Asuka at my arcade, so much so that I'm usually ranked somewhere in my arcade's top ten every week. I can't wait for it to come out on the PS3, so I can stop wasting $30 a week on it in the arcade.

In any case, here are the movies:

手紙 (or Letters) - Good actors, good subject, great movie. Letters is about the correspondence between two brothers after the older one is sent to prison for murder. The movie deals with the harsh reality of the older brother's crime and the discrimination the younger brother takes for simply having the same blood. One thing worth mentioning is the actor playing the older brother is great in this movie, even though he isn't on screen long. While I had two small plot annoyances (if you are trying to avoid discrimination and recognition, why would you become a comedian and date Richie McRichness?), the story is very well held together by excellent acting all around and the last 20mins are absolutely fantastic (I just keep rewatching it). Verdict: With the choice of English subs, this is another 'must-see' movie for anyone. I watched with Japanese subs and understood most of what was said (they were two conversations that I had to replay with Eng subs to get everything).

そのときは彼によろしく(or At that time, say hi to him for me). 純愛, a pure love movie. All you need to know about this genre can usually be summed up in two words: magical illness. While SonoKare is not exempt from that... trait, it does a lot of this differently than your avg Jpn love movie. I'm not going to spoil anything, but the movie is about 3 childhood friends who have drifted apart over the years and who are trying to make things like they used to be. No particularly good performances (the main actor of Letters is the main actor of SonoKare, but doesn't bring the same calibur of acting sadly), but the story is decent and it does something new with the genre. Verdict: If you're tired of the generic Jpn love movie, then this comes highly recommended. No English subs, but not hard to watch in Japanese at all, even when they start describing aforementioned magical illness.

しゃべれどもしゃべれども(or Talk Talk Talk). A movie about 落語 which are Japan's traditional one-man comedy routines. In brief, a Rakugo artist in training takes on 3 very different students who, while learning rakugo for their own reasons, help him perfect his art. Hilarious movie with some poignant scenes (nothing over the top though). Strong performances all around (particularly the Osaka-ben speaking kid), and a very interesting subject that I didn't know much about. Verdict: With English subs, I'd suggest this to someone with an interest in Japanese culture and art. In only Japanese, there were a few tricky parts and the stories were a little hard to follow at first, but with repeated tellings they became much easier to understand.

Also, if you happened to be interested in Japanese movies, but would rather watch them with English subtitles, look for 英語字幕 on the back of the case. A lot of the newer Japanese movies seem to have subs.

Let's Movie Talk!

...But before that, obligatory 'earthquake' post. So, at around 9am, while I was still in bed, I was woken up by a tremble. I immediately knew, "This is bigger than the others have been" so I got up immediately and rushed to the door frame (interesting fact, prior to the earthquake, I'd never seen or heard that you should do that from anyone, but in a Simpsons episode, Grandpa runs to the doorway after he feels a tremor and before his retirement home sinks underground. So there you go, when I panic, my brain switches to Simpson mode). On the way to the door, I slip nice and good, before rolling to the door frame and getting up. I see my LCD TV shaking perilously and wonder if I should go support it, but eventually decide my life is a smidge more important (also, I had no glasses, so I might have tripped on the kotatsu on my way to the TV). The earthquake eventually stopped, then after about an hour, after I clean up the soy sauce which has fallen around my fridge, I notice my knee is bleeding. The End. Oh, there are still lots of tremors. Not Quite The End.

In all seriousness though, I'm glad that most people were safe and I hope we don't get hit again.

Now, on that up note, I want to talk about the movies I've seen since my last post. I've really become addicted to Japanese movies, now that I realize I can understand them (of course, my e. dictionary comes in handy for words like 'false accusation' and 'tone deaf'). These movies didn't have English subtitles btw, but that's one of the main reasons I picked them.

So the movies were:

あなたをわすれない or, I Won't Forget You. The movie is based (loosely, I'm sure) on the life of a Korean student who loved Japan and decided to study Japanese there (here?). It mostly deals with the love-hate relationship he feels with Japan. Considering it was a joint Korea/Japan movie, it surprisingly leaned to the side of "Geez, why are the Japanese such jerks to Koreans?". Slow, methodical Japanese made it very easy to understand (but damnit if his Japanese didn't get all fluent in the short time he was here (there?) *shakes fist*) and the story was ok. But, for a movie that seemed to deal a lot with music, there wasn't much of it in the movie, but the last song was pretty good. Verdict: Good for someone stepping into Japanese movies without Japanese subtitles as the conversations are basic and slow.

犯人に告ぐ or, Message to the Criminal. This is another 'listening comp. only' movie. The budget seemed pretty low on this movie, and it seemed like they were desperately trying to set up a sequel, and the end happens a little too fast, but the movie still worked. It's your basic game of cat and mouse, where a disgraced detective directly confronts a child serial murderer by using news broadcasts. I enjoyed the beginning, but it slows down after it's first act. It picks up towards the end, but leaves something to be desired. Verdict: Ok 'thriller', except that it doesn't thrill too much. Language level is a bit high, especially without Jpn subs.

キサラギ or... Kisaragi (I got nothing here, it's a name). Great, great, great movie. An excellent dark comedy. The basic premise is that a D-list celebrity has died, and her 5 fans have come together for a farewell party. From there, the murder accusations fly and the twists begin. What works is that the plot is extremely smart and it constantly balances between being hilarious and sad. While a comedy, it carries itself seriously to it's conclusion. I laughed, then cried... then laughed again. Verdict: Go watch it. The plot and the acting are top-notch. One of the best movies I've seen in a while. I watched it with Japanese subs, though I probably could have done without. The language level is medium, I'd say.

That's about it! If you have any Japanese movie suggestions, lemme know! (Anything that's not Shunji Iwai, I've seen too many of his movies)

"Get your own candy you fatty fat, fat fat."

So, Wii Fit update. Without changing very much in my diet and life expect the adding of Wii Fit and the recent idea of simply eating/drinking less* (ridiculous, I know), I've lost 2.7 kgs. At this rate, I'll be fitting into Japanese clothes within the next 10 years!

*To be more accurate, I've cut 500 cals out of my meals and I turn down the food that magically shows up on my desk. I started this about 2 weeks ago.

"I'm your son, don't you believe me?!" "It's because you're my son that I can't believe you!"

Movies! I had decided when I came to Japan that I would watch at least one Japanese movie a week sans English subtitles. I outdid myself this week by watching two! I finally got to see the new Evangelion movie (You are (not) alone) and a movie I picked up cause the description looked interesting (それでもぼくはやってない　or, I Just Didn't Do It). The Eva movie is the first of a tetralogy where the series is retold with new 3d effects, slightly different plot points at certain times and a new ending. Having seen the show already (albeit about 6 years ago), I expected the movie to be fairly easy to understand with Japanese subs... of which there weren't. While I still understood most of the movie (It usually revolved around Shinji saying "I can't do it!" over and over), the discussions with very few visual references were tricky. The movie was good, but nothing terribly new.

As for the other movie, I was surprised by how frank a commentary it was on Japan's flawed judicial system. Even more surprising was that it was Japan's representative at many a foreign film exposition last year. That aside, the movie covers the wrongful arrest and imprisonment of a young man accused of 痴漢 on a crowded Tokyo subway. The movie follows him through the arrest, imprisonment, trail and sentencing. Fairly moving, well acting, rife with interesting facts, and surprising understandable for even someone at my level, I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about Japan's justice system, or if he/she justs wants a good movie.

"Are you getting enough vegetables in your diet?" "Well, that depends. Is seaweed a vegetable?"

I fi-fricking-nally finished MGS3 last. In short, it was as fantastic as everyone said, and I eagerly await MGS4 next week so I can wait 4 years to play it as well. Next games up on the list is God of War 2 and Beyond Good and Evil.

Speaking of games, I’ve been getting into free MMORPGs lately. It’s a bit of a long story of how I got into them, but it basically started with me buying an EEE 701 ultra portable laptop from Akiba (this makes laptop #3 if you’ve been counting). To test how strong that little beast of a PC was, I started throwing many mid-spec games at it in the hopes some would stick.GTA3, Beyond Good and Evil, Ether Vapor and Warcraft 3 ran perfectly on it, to my surprise. Then it started. It dawned on me that having a strong machine which a good wifi card and ultra portability meant MMO games were a perfect fit. While it took a bit of display finagling, I’ve gotten the following games to run near perfect and find myself playing them when I have time to spare: GunBound, Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst, Maple Story, Ghost Online and Arad Senki (I’ve tricked myself into thinking this is a form of study by setting the games to Japanese, but it’s a lie I tell you!). I’ve also started on Grenado Espada (Sword of the New World) and Rohan, but that’s on my bigger PC. So that’s that, don’t test games on a new PC or you’ll find yourself swooning at their siren songs when you should be learning archaic verb forms.

Speaking of archaic verb forms, I’ve officially studying for 1-kyuu. I have no delusions of passing it, nor do I have any need for the certification, but I find that I have to take it. I took 2 kyuu and did ok, so not taking 1 kyuu now would be a retreat (and we all know you can’t go back), a ‘Game Over’ if you will. At least when I fail it, they’ll always be the ‘retry’ option. Even though I say all this, I don’t want studying for a test I don’t need to mess with my real Japanese studies. My speaking skills still suck, I’ve been hovering at 700 for Heisig for a while, and my everyday vocab is still weak. If anyone knows of a good speaking test, let me know. Maybe focusing my energies on something like that will break me out of this rut.

...What did you just say?

I just realized it but, I think the funnier kids in my class have been changing up the words at the end of class. Every class, we end with a simple song that goes "See you, see you, see you AGAIN." (emphasis on the again), but I'm almost sure some of my kids are saying "See you, see you, see you HAGE." (translation: See ya baldy.) Luckily they are great at English, so I let that one slide.

I also think they are saying "Good pie" instead of "Good bye" sometimes, but I don't mind that. Everyone loves good pie.

"I don't believe in nothing no more. I'm going to law school" "NOOOOOOO!!!"

So it's official, I'm heading to law school in the Summer of '09 (I'm not going to say where yet, but if you know me well enough (or just ask me) you'll know where). The process of asking for a deferral was far more torturous than the actual applying part. I'd applied for a 2 year deferment, but was only granted 1 in the end, and it's left me feeling somewhere between crummy and great.

Almost more than anything, I wished they'd let me stay in Japan for 2 years rather than just one. I'd hoped to attend a Japanese language school to make the 'final' push in my Japanese studies, but I guess that'll have to wait until after I get a couple of letters behind my name. In truth, it is a far more logical choice to agree to go to law school after being given another year to recharge, but something just isn't sitting right. I plan to double my efforts to learn Japanese by myself this year, but there is always the fear that it just won't be enough.

Though, I will say this, I'll never forgive myself if I don't come back to Japan to master Japanese right after law school. I'm typing this here to remind myself that it's only a plan that has been postponed, not one that has been forgotten.

Natto: beans and slime, together at last!

...which is not to say I don't like Natto, cause I do.

--

Kanji update: 600. I have to make my own stories for the kanji now, so things are getting serious.

--

People say JET is a lot like being in uni again, but I have to disagree -- there is no way possible I could've partied this much at uni and lived. It got pretty bad when my reason I couldn't go out a few weeks was because I literally had no more clean clothes left. Between work parties, JET parties, internationalization parties and learning Japanese, there is generally no time left for anything. For propective JETs, I suggest you learn how to party hard cause it'll be expected of you at all engagements. And watch out for your superiors, they will constanly be trying to get you sloshed.

My flavor...?

So today, right after I get in the door and while I am staring at the coffee cup on my desk and anticipating the sweet liquid which will get me through the day, I hear:

...グラント先生です(...is Grant-sensei)

I turn my head sideways to see the two 6th grade teachers striding towards me, deep in conversation. I start to turn to face them, but they both move close to me in a way that makes it so I can't face them, but I continue to twist my head left and right in the vague hope that they'll notice that I want to face them(to no avail). The male teacher starts with this:

Male Teacher: It's Grant-sensei's... flavor.
Me:A favor? (Perfectly cromulent as I had just asked to used the computer room.)
Female Teacher: Grant's sensei's... favorite... song? (Perfectly cromulent because today's class was on my favorite song)
MT: No, no. His flavor.
Me: *Sigh, this has long day written all over it* My flavor? 味？
Male Teacher: Oh, no. グラント先生の香り. (Grant sensei's good smell)
Me: My smell? What??
MT: もういいや。(Ah, nevermind)
Me: ...わかんない。(I have no idea what's going on)

And they walk away. I eventually realized that they were probably talking about the commonly held belief that you can tell that I've arrived at school/entered a room because the hair grease I use is very fragrant (to Japanese people). Also, the reason they wouldn't face me was so they could take in my... flavor. I thought my students were just exagerating when they said I smelt like cookies...

---

I was pleasantly surprisedly/horrified when my 6th grade students chose to learn to sing 'Kokomo' over 'Stand By Me'. Musically, I prefer the latter, but Kokomo is not as easy to sing as SbM so I appreciate their willingness to challenge themselves. Or, perhaps, they were too easily won over by the muppets singing 'Kokomo' to think clearly at the time.

"So, which type of grave did Mr. Tanaka want?" WTF??

(^^Actual 2007 JLPT listening comp question)

So, I passed JLPT level 2 this year. It was my first try, and I was pretty surprised I'd passed, considering the horror stories I've heard. I've started studying for level 1, but I have no delusions of passing in December, I just like having something to focus my energy on.

I'm not going to defend or break down the JLPT here, as the test tends to be a sensitive topic for JETs, but I will say that most companies in Japan require at least a level 2 pass for you to work for them so passing it is of some importance.

I generally don't like talking about things I've accomplished (anymore, at least), but I know a few people who read this are aiming to take JLPT 2 next year, so I thought they could benefit from what worked for me.

First things first, I never thought I would pass this year. Though, thanks to a few books, loads of listening practice by being in Japan and some good sites, I went from being sure of failure in August to passing in December. Sadly, 4 years of formal Japanese study was not enough to pass lvl 2, at least it wasn't in my case. Studying and preparing for what's going to be on the test is key. For the love of God, please do not just stroll into the exam centre on test day and expect to pass because that just ends in tears for most people, I assure you.

Odds are, if you are planning to take a lvl of the JLPT, you are going to put off studying seriously till you finally apply for the thing (its ok, everyone does it). Nevertheless, I'd suggest starting early. First, buy the 完全マスター series of books for your level. I bought the Kanji, Grammar, and Reading ones. I only thumbed through the Grammar book, but it's very good. It's all in Japanese, but it's very accesible to those who have studied Japanese for a number of years. Plus, there are a good amount of examples for each word and to-the-point explanations for each grammar point. The most helpful book for me (and by far) was the reading book. It's basically a whole slew of passages of differing lengths with questions at the end of each. The book set up sections so that you can easily see what type of questions you are weakest at, be they short story extracts, graphs, trends etc. Reading comp. went from being my weakest section to being my strongest come test day, thanks to that book.

For listening, I'd say the best thing to do is to take a lot of old tests and get used to the style of dialog that will appear in the listening comp part. It isn't too tricky, but there is a bit of run around, and it's easy to be distracted during that section. I personally got so hung up on the actual test day trying to think through the answer of one question that I wasn't listening when the following 2q's came up -_-;.

Vocab and Phrases. If you like kanji and memorization, I suggest dling the lists of words and phrases you have to know and start cracking on some cards. I like using the web/phone/pc program Anki for my flashcard purposes, but that's just me. If you aren't a flashcard enthusiast, then I'd suggest finding an online newspaper you like, and reading at least one article from it a week. I read one article from the Yomiuri kid's section every week and I've picked up loads of good word, phrases and expressions from it.

There's a couple more things, but I think I'll stop here for now. If you have any questions about the test or study materials/methods, feel free to drop me a line.

Video Game Backlog: 1 down, 9 jillion to go.

Finally got around to beating Bioshock this weekend. It was a pretty excellent experience overall and the last few plot points were dynamite. All in all, its praise and critiques were pretty sport on: fun combat, amazing story, superb graphics, too easy (not even taking the vita chambers into account), and a wtf ending (not that the idea of the ending was bad, just the execution). If you've been putting it off like I had, I suggest picking it up before someone spoils it for you.

Next on the plate is Metal Gear Solid 3, which I'll probably finish sometime next year at the rate I've been going.

勝負だぞ！！！

One thing I've realized about myself from coming to Japan is that I won't do something unless I can view it as a game with some sort of visible gain. It doesn't have to be a big gain mind you, something as small as getting a piece of paper saying I've accomplished something equates to a win. For most things to be worth doing, there has to be a goal and an external sign to signify that the task is over.

To this end, I've been able to set almost everything up as a game with clear win-lose conditions. Whether its a job, college applications or travel arrangements, it's clear to see the line between winning and losing.

However, I've been having trouble setting up kanji as a win-lose situation. I can't just randomly choose a number of Kanji as a 'win' condition, so my studying method has been a bit scatter brained. But no more! I've challenged another ALT (heather) in my town to master 90% of Heisig's Remembering the Kanji. Winner gets bragging rights, an apparent 90% knowledge of the 2000 daily use Kanji, and a 2000 yen sushi dinner or asobi-hodai of their choice. Loser gets booed and hissed at until the winner's throat is sore and dry, and must continue to study Kanji a bit poorer than when they started.

Between smack talk, I've hit 350, but Heather has more time at school and more passion for Kanji atm. It's going to be a tight race, but I won't give up!

Beware the English Ninjas...

The other day was the 6th graders' graduation and as I'm getting ready to sit down, the 3rd grade teacher who sits across from me says...

"So, is this your first Japanese graduation experience?"

"Wha... Yes... I'm really looking forward to it."

"Hmm, I don't think it's very interesting." And she waltzes right out like nothing happaned.

What. The. Hell.

She's been sitting across from me for about 7 months and is the ONLY teacher who refuses to teach with me, and here she comes with a perfectly intelligible conversation with PERFECT pronunciation and taking no time to think about her responses at all. There's another teacher who pulled this shit on me earlier in the year, but I forgive it because he teaches the special ed class so I hardly see him. But 7 months! 7 MONTHS! FACE TO FACE! ARGH!

And of course, after I learn this valuable fact about her, I learn the next day that she's been transferred 3 towns over.

So future JETs, I strongly suggest you try and find the English Ninjas at your school before it's too late! I assure you they are at your school and hiding, waiting for a perfect moment to pounce.

Things that happened at school today:

I realized I am ruthless at Twister. "Hmm" I thought, "if I just nudge all of my 6th graders a little bit, they'll go down like dominoes." And then I did. And then I won.

--

I helped one of the 6th graders with Kanji. Then through the window, I thought I saw the faint outline of a pig flying away .
--

Teacher: You're looking a little stressed Grant-sensei. How about some soothing Jasmine tea?

Me: NO! I don't want any soothing tea! I want to not have to sing 8 songs in a row while stuffed up with a sore throat. What is it with Asia and thinking everything can be solved through tea?! RARGH! (flings hot tea everywhere) SEE?! You didn't go away!

Or at least, that's how it went down in my mind. I think I said...

Me: No... thank you.

Got my 360 back last week, sent it out on Thursday, got it back on Wednesday with a free month of Live. They put in a new disk tray, new motherboard and new cooling fan. It's still an American model 360. Overall, an excellent customer service experience.

--

Wii Fit has hula-hooped my heart.

Now that I'm a week and a half into Wii Fit, I'm surprised at how much I like it. I make sure to boot it up everyday and work out for at least 30 mins. My initial opinion that Wii Fit didn't provide a full workout turned out to be ill-informed to say the least. Now that I have unlocked most of the content, I find that I can get a full, sweat inducing, ridiculous looking workout in my own living room. Whether it's rotating imaginary hula-hoops, shadowing boxing, good ol' fashioned pushups, or jogging in place with the Wiimote in my pocket (innuendo just waiting to happen!), I've found Wii Fit to be more than worth its entry fee. Also, with the variety of Yoga exercises, cardio stuff, and specific area training, you can target anywhere and everywhere.

Of course, I could do all these things without a Wii, plastic board and a TV, but the charm of Wii Fit is that it keeps things fresh, supports you as you go along, and grades you as you go along. Everyday my balance board asks me if I brush my teeth, slept well or wish to hear health tidbits. Then, it weighs me and, like any good parental figure or personal trainer, makes me account for any weight gain. There is a handy graph that shows how far you've come, and how far you have to go be 'BMI Healthy'.

Considering that I see most of life in terms of win-lose, this idea of exercise as a game is extremely appealing. Everyday, I want to get a higher score for yoga poses, or I want to get more hula revolutions, or perhaps 10 more punches, it keeps motivation very high. I look at food and think, "Man, I'd better not eat this. The balance board is going to be angry at me again..." It's ridiculous, but it works for me.

So, my rec. is that you buy it if you know you'll boot it up everyday. There's stuff on it for any level of workout.

After a Intestine and Organ Yakiniku tabehodai yakiniku on Friday (think all you can eat Korean BBQ) followed by Liz's nomi-tabe hodai (All you can eat and drink) on Saturday, I felt fat(ter). Did I run it off? No. Am I cutting back? Hell no. What did I do?

I bought Wii Fit.

I don't exactly remember why I didn't buy it when it first came out 'cause I can't help but throw my money at crazy shit, but I fixed that on Sunday. Now, I don't have any delusions of Wii Fit making me into a buff guy, but I thought it'd be interesting and I've always wanted to try out yoga. But the scary thing is...

I really like Wii Fit.

At least I'm liking it while the games are still fresh. First thing the game has you do is plug in your stats like age and height, then it weighs you and tells you your BMI. It also tests your balance and suggests you get into a better standing position to even out your weight better. After it changes your Mii into a more weight appropriate version of you (the game took my lean Geoff mii and made him a pudgy shorter eerily familiar version of me). After, you tell the game how much you want to weigh and in how much time and the game starts to chart your progress.

I was surprised that the game is actually looking at all these things for me (everyday), where I was expecting a bit more of a bare-bones production. Anyways, There are 5 categories of activities with pretty good variety among them. After playing for an hour, I have to say it was a pretty good workout. I wasn't sweating profusely, but I had had a full body workout that was fun. I already want to by Wii Fit for my mum because I think it'd be the perfect compliment to her fitness program.

To summarize, Wii Fit won't topple DDR as the king of workout games, but it's amazing as a workout supplement. It'll track your progress, vary up your workouts and provide feedback. Also, I see it being PERFECT for the older folks

Ikimonogakari's Hana wa Sakura, Kimi wa Utsukushi
^^ Music Video

Heard this on the radio on the way home today and was really moved. After a brutal winter, Spring has finally started here. The sun was shining, my window was down, I was driving fast, and I just connected with the song. The lyrics and my translation are below, enjoy! (or critique)

花は桜　君は美し　春の木漏れ日　君の微笑み
冬が終わり　雪が溶けて　君の心に　春が舞い込む

The flowers are cherry blossoms, and you are beautiful. Spring's rays through the trees, your gentle smile...
Winter is over, the snow has melted, and in your heart, Spring has arrived.

窓をたたく強い雨はまだ続くと　ラジオから流れる声が伝えています
電話から聞こえた声は泣いていました　忘れたはずの懐かしい声でした

The voice from the radio is telling me that the strong rain hitting my window will continue.
The voice I heard on the phone was crying. It was a familiar voice that I should have forgotten.

君はまた　もう一度　あの頃に戻りたいのでしょうか
春を待つ　つぼみのように　僕は今　迷っています

Would you like to go back to that time once again?
Waiting for Spring like the flower buds, I am now lost.

花は桜　君は美し　春の木漏れ日　君の微笑み
冬が終わり　雪が溶けて　君の心に　春が舞い込む

The flowers are cherry blossoms, and you are beautiful. Spring's rays through the trees, your gentle smile...
Winter is over, the snow has melted, and in your heart, Spring has arrived.


変わらぬ街の景色が教えるのは　ひとつだけここに足りないものでした
「いつもの場所」と決めていた駅の前　揺れ動く心が僕を急がせます

The unchanging scenary here taught me that it was the only thing lacking. We decided that the front of the station was our 'usual place', my trembling heart is urging me on.

僕はまた　もうー度　君の手は握りたいのでしょうか
春を抱く　かすみのように　僕は今　揺らいでいます

Do I still want to grasp your hand tightly once again?
Embracing Spring like the mist, I am now shaking.

花は香り　君はうるわし　水面に浮かぶ　光が踊る
風が騒ぎ　街は色めく　僕の心は　春に戸惑う

The flowers are fragrant, you are beautiful. The light reflecting on the water's surface is dancing. The wind is roaring, the streets are alive, my heart is overwhelmed by Spring.

春はまた　もう一度　この花を咲かせたいのでしょうか
僕を待つ　君の傘が　あの駅に　開いています

Will Spring let this flower bloom once again?
At the station, as you wait for me, your umbrella is still open.


花は桜　君は美し　春の木漏れ日　君の微笑み
時に燃える　春の吐息　二人の息が　春に重なる

The flowers are cherry blossoms, and you are beautiful. Burnt out, Spring sighs deeply. The sighs of you and I pile upon the season.

花は桜　君は美し　春の木漏れ日　君の微笑み
冬が終わり　雪が溶けて　僕の心に　春が舞い込む

The flowers are cherry blossoms, and you are beautiful. Spring's rays through the trees, your gentle smile...
Winter is over, the snow has melted, and in your heart, Spring has arrived.

Last week Thursday, my US version '05 Xbox 360 RRoD'd on me (my other xbox360 is doing A-OK. As to why I have 2 360s, that's another story). Considering the console was bought in the US with an extended warranty, I figured that something could be done to fix or replace my console if I called the USA cust. service line.

The first call was one of the worst cust. services I've ever had.

The CSR (whose name I don't remember, but will call Mary) was so rude that I was shocked. Keep in mind that she's a native American English speaker, so it wasn't simply mis-communication problems. After explaining to her that my console broke and that I lived in Japan, I started listing off my address. Since I live in a small town, there is no street names or numbers, but packages will get here. No matter how many times I tried to explain this, she just couldn't understand. So after I say my town, she says in a tone one would use speaking to a simpleton "How is your Xbox supposed to get back to you?? Are we just going to ship to X, Japan??" I reply with, "Well, if you'd let me finish my address you'd have somewhere to ship it to."

After she berates my living in Japan (heaven forbid anyone get out of the USA!), she goes on to ask me about my console's error and how it came about. It's the standard 3 red quads with a green middle light, but it presented itself after the console would cut out video, but keep playing audio in my games. Finally, it culminated in the console crashing and starting up with the RRoD. Though, after she heard the word 'audio' she tells me that an 'audio problem' shouldn't be causing the RRoD and that if the returns dept. gets my Xbox with a problem like that it won't be fixed . Keep in mind that I have an extended warranty anyway, so problems like that would be covered if that were the problem I was having afterall. Despite that, she attempts to set up the return, then realizes that it won't go through, and that I'll have to ship the Xbox to the US service branch, and then they will ship in the US to someone else and then I have to handle from there. I attempt to protest, but she quickly suggests I plan a trip to the US to facilitate getting my 360 fixed before hanging up. Call time - 1 hr.


Thankfully, I somehow kept cool and just decided to call another CSR the day after. When I called, I got an extremely nice and helpful CSR named Holly. After I quickly explain that I live in Japan and my xbox 360 is RRoD'd, she tells me that Msoft won't ship to Japan, BUT offers the extremely helpful tip that I can call Xbox Japan and they should be able to help me because all the Xbox 360 serials and services are linked across regions (why the hell couldn't Mary tell me this?). She says they may have some US consoles at that location though she cautions that they may have to send me a JPN console, but I was fine with that considering there are so many games with no region coding. She looks up xbox japan's cust. service number and wishes me luck with a cute giggle (she actually giggled). Call time - 15m


Next day, I call Xbox Japan. After wading through the tele prompts (all in Japanese), I get the CSR Kenichi who is one of the few reps who speaks fluent english. So I go over my problem and before he even asks me my serial, he asks for the when the console manufactured and assures me that it will be fixed by Xbox Japan free of charge. He apologizes profusely that the turnaround is 10 days and then schedules a free pickup for Wednesday at the time that it is most convenient for me. All I have to do is hand the postman my Xbox and power brick and that'll be it. After a pleasant chat, he says if there are any problems that I can call back and ask for him personally and that he'll handle it. Call time - 15m

2/3 really good CSRs isn't too bad in my book. I just have to wait and see what Xbox Japan does with my broken box now.

Summary: All of Microsoft's service centres are linked. Should you move and your box breaks, you are better off calling the CSRs of the region you reside in.

Also, I've been completely spoiled by customer service in Japan.

English is slowly leaving me, the teachers were asking for the translation of a word meaning being able to use ones hands well, and after a pause I said 'handy'. Luckily, I saved face by realizing that was not the word I wanted and my elec. dictionary saved me by popping up 'dexterous' >.<

My teachers asked me to spell 'clothes'. I spelt it, and then looked at it, and then wondered if it was a word (This doesn't sound anything like 'cloth'! I must be drunk!). Once again, my dictionary assured me otherwise.

--

So, one of my cutest second graders came into class today with a shirt that said:
'Banana: Kick Your Ass. Kick Your Ass since 1980.
I distribute a banana and eat peacefully.'

...Qwa?

Almost as good as my first grader who came in with the shirt that said:
'Fuck oil'

--

Anyways, should you ever come to Japan and are asked "Who's your favorite major league team?" the correct answer is NOT "Oh, I don't follow baseball." You will only be met with tilted heads and blank looks, as if you couldn't have possibly understood the question. Notice how the question pre-supposes you watch baseball, so it's best if you run with it. Believe me, I experienced this first hand today, as I single-handly stopped time and space until I finally blurted out "Oh, my Favorite TEAM. Yeah, it's the Red Sox."

Should you be asked about your favorite player, there's a chance your rouse may be discovered. I find that mumbling nonchalantly about pies gets me out of these situations.

So I'm at work today, on a Sunday, with nothing to do since it's a PTA day. At least I get a replacement holiday tomorrow to do... nothing.

Anyway, I get to school and the first thing my Vice Princepal asks me is if I know what 避難訓練
is, and I say no (cept that I know it's some kind of class). He then motions things for fire, earthquake, and we act out a kidnapping scene, and he asks me for an English translation of all this. I come up with `danger prevention... class`, though after consulting my dictionary, I come up with `evacuation training`. Kyoto-sensei nods, writes this down and returns to what he was doing.

I like this fresh and novel way to learn new vocab, but I wish they'd give me a little bit more of a segue between 'hello' and 'do you know what this is??'

Speaking of new things, I finally went to the one restaurant in town on Friday. I've been trying to go to this restaurant for the the last 4 months, but everytime they were closed or were tending to an　宴会　(think wacky food and drink party). I eventually thought they just didn't want my money, but twas not the case.

However, since I was the only one in the restaurant, the owner came over and talked with me for about 2 hours. He had lived in the town all his life, but went to Tokyo to learn cooking. Now in his thirties, he wants to travel around but can't since he is the only one who cooks in the restaurant (he can't train an apprentice cause there are nothing but grandmas in town), he can never take more than two days off at a time. He also let me know how tough traffic laws here in Japan are, as he was caught on the highway last year speeding without his seat belt on, and they took away his liscence for a year. Basically, due to the restaurant's hours and the lack of a car, he had been home all year playing his DS and not getting out. Even parties were a hassle for him since he runs the restaurant until about 10pm, and that`s just about when a drinking party has hit its peak in Japan. Generally, pretty sad story all around. Since a JET's work/drinking schedule is pretty lax, I promised him I'd invite him over whenever I planned to down some Sake. He seemed genuinely pleased with that.

I just found it amazing that we communicated in Japanese for almost 2 hours, on a broad range of topics, without me scrambling for my dictionary. It's been tough to really get out there and talk to people, but it seems like a little persistance pays off in folds.

Man, I can't believe it's February already. I'm under the kotatsu but my hands are numb, the toilet is freezing up and my toothpaste has become as stiff as a wrench. BUT, I'm happy. Everything is going much better than I could've hoped for.

Before coming on JET, I had a good amount of apprehension in regards to my town's weather, village-ness, and a pretty tight work schedule, but I came in with an open mind. The only thing I couldn't gauge ahead of time were the people I would have to work with. See, as an elementary-school-only teacher, I have to teach with every teacher at each of my schools (except at the school where they make me teach by myself, sigh). Though finally, after about half a year, I can finally say I feel comfortable in my job and that I'm actually putting myself out there to meet new people. I don't think I've ever been any good at just shooting the breeze and my neutral facial expression has been described by my teachers as "uninviting*", but now that I know my town and the people that I work with better, things have started to go a lot smoother. I actually thought one of my teachers hated me on a personal level, but then realized her general personality is like that. We're BFFs now. She gives me vegetables. It's all good.

So now, when I've finally gotten used to most things, my predecessor emails me. She lets me know that there is a good chance that most of my teachers at my schools will be shuffled around come March/April. Also, when it happened to her, she ended up crying alone in the teacher's room. Thus, I have to start the whole process over again.

yay.

can't wait.

*Funny story, the first week of school, the three vice principals from my different schools expressed the fact that they were worried when I first arrived because I had such a serious expression on all the time. I replied that I've been smiling most of the time since I've arrived.

Awkward silence continued from there on out.