Archive for May, 2006
May 31, 2006 at 6:02 pm · Filed under Random Thoughts
Yesterday I reinstalled the OSX on the new MacBook in hopes that maybe the cd reading problem would go away. Did I mentioned that below? Can’t remember. Anyway, that was right before going home and it is only now that I have started the machine up again. I want to install some of the “necessaries” before I go home today. Will admit that I am not totally trusting this machine yet. Who knows if it will need to be shipped off for repair/replacement in the near future…
Anyway, I found myself observing my steps after turning the MacBook on. I went through a number of these yesterday, as well as two months ago when I first arrived here. The initial steps are/were pretty much the same for all my new installs. I turn on the computer. Then I install virus software (crap…actually I forgot to do that this time…too busy thinking about my self-observations), then internet connection, open os browser, download firefox, install google toolbar, set homepage to bloglines, install del.icio.us plug-in, and then I think about other stuff. Seeing myself going through these motions really had me thinking about my relationship with computers. Should I even say computers? The computer is my access to the Internet. I start up this shiny (actually it is matte and another unfortunate thing is that it does not handle my greasy hands all that well) new machine with all its bells and whistles and the first thing I do is open a browser. Like the big guy at the banquet who right away targets and attacks the food table.
I don’t know what this means….but it seemed interesting.
Other than that…I stubbed my toe this morning…on my favorite stairs too : ( It is still sore. I am going to Kyoto on Friday…for a day. More later.
May 31, 2006 at 9:42 am · Filed under In the News
The news about UNICEF ending their Halloween orange box campaign is kind of sad. Those orange boxes are part of Halloween. Would the campaign be more worth it if people upped their donations from pennies to, say, quarters or loonies?
Wow…I wrote “loonies” and it felt so weird. You know, 150 years from now there will be some Canadian novel in its 10th edition and after their preface there will be a small section on “Money Terms” where they list the values for nickels, dimes, quarters, loonies, toonies.
Back to UNICEF…I think that if UNICEF ends, someone should at least produce trick-or-treat boxes (for candy) that are giant replicas of the UNICEF boxes…or maybe that is already out there.
May 30, 2006 at 6:03 pm · Filed under Computers
End of the day…I am very happy about many things MacBook but have a few worries. Well…two. The first is the heat problem. In search for comments on my other issue, I have found sooo many comments on the new MacBooks overheating. Something to do with thermal paste. Though maybe not to do with thermal paste. I had the notebook running for a few hours and yes, it was getting quite hot. Though I wonder if it was hotter than my Powerbook. Hmm, something of possible concern.
The second worry is that the cd drive is accepting some discs but not all. It spins a little, hardly at all, and then spits the disc out. A blank cd was alright, so was the Mac OS X Office cd…but not my virus software cd or the Windows XP installation cd…otherwise, this post would have been about how I achieved dual booting. I am a little sad now because of this. Wondering if we should send it back or if I should try another XP cd or just screw Windows and use it as it is with a sometimes working cd drive. I guess I should send it back…oh I am horrible at returns.
May 30, 2006 at 1:15 pm · Filed under Computers
I am not obsessed but this is so cool so I have to share. The power cable - MacBook attachment/port uses a magnet to keep the power cable firmly plugged in.
May 30, 2006 at 11:46 am · Filed under Computers
About the MacBook…so this is the 4th brand spanking new Apple product box that I have opened up and I now know about the Apple smell. It`s funny because it reminds me of last summer in Vancouver. I wish I could buy NewMacSmell room freshener.
May 30, 2006 at 10:49 am · Filed under Experiences
So maybe not 500…but I forgot to mention…on Saturday night I was waiting for my train in Shinjuku (translation: busy) station around 11pm. This older man was throwing a fit with one of the rail staff members. I have no clue what the fit was about but he was yelling and flailing his arms and the uniformed rail staff member was trying to control the situation very very quietly. Eventually another staff member came to help and the two of them tried to drag this man away…I don`t think they succeeded but he eventually did calm down.
What was more interesting about this though, was when my attention when from this man making a scene, to the 100 or so people standing at the next platform watching this scene. The magnitude of the audience just amazed me.
Here…if you yell…many people will hear.
PS. MacBook for work arrived today. Joy!
May 30, 2006 at 10:06 am · Filed under Art, Experiences
It is almost midnight and I can’t get to sleep. My room gets stuffy so I like to sleep with the window open but tonight there are scooters and/or motorcycles driving by every five minutes. The worst is when they have to stop at the closest intersection and then when the light turns green the rev rev reeev roars throughout the neighborhood. This is like, some kind of sign as just today I was emailing the girls about my love for men on scooters. I don’t know what that sign is exactly…but it is a sign I say.
Or maybe I can’t sleep because of my late afternoon coffee and too much Tetris and Japanese vocabulary on the brain. Well, whatever. At least waffles is getting some attention now. I have been totally neglecting my powerbook. Since waffles cannot connect to other computers at work, it stays home mostly. I wonder if (s)he is aware of my mac mini use…or even worse…my PC use. I will have to find a wifi spot somewhere so that I can liven this baby up on the weekends. For now, its only connection to the outside world is through a USB stick.
Okay enough of that now. I will talk about my weekend. On Saturday I went to a concert with a friend from work. The concert started just before 1pm and four bands composed of other NTT people (and maybe some not-NTT people) played. They were actually really good. That sounds like I didn’t expect that they would be good but that’s not it. I figured they would be good…but they were really good. Like, given this is just a pastime for many of the band members, the parts were surprisingly tight. The first band played ska/jazz, the second played g’n’r style hard rock, the third was just two girls and one guitar, somewhat folksy maybe (?), and the forth (and I know one of the guys in this one) was a KISS cover band. Yes, makeup and all. They were pretty sweet. It was a little weird being in this club on a Saturday afternoon. I left early to go to my Japanese lesson and I expected to leave feeling a little drunk and it being dark outside but then I remembered that it was only 3pm and I hadn’t a drop of alcohol in there.
The Japanese lesson was good. I think I am progressing. Although I get that constant frustration of I think I am learning a lot but I am still not conversational because there is SO MUCH more to learn. I guess you need to start somewhere.
After the lesson I had plans to go check out an art party in Tokyo. You know the operation I talked about in my last post…well this was part 1. That and I stumbled upon this dude’s work online and I liked it so even if my operation failed, there would still be a good outcome to checking the place out.
So I went to this small bar/gallery in the Asagaya area (a few stations away from Shinjuku). I arrived quite early so there were no other people there yet but this gave me a chance to meet the artist, chomp chomp, and chat with him a little. He is originally from the states and came to Japan a year and some ago I think. I think that’s one of the reasons why I really liked what I saw of his work…there is that element of “foreigner in foreign land” but with much subtlety. It is not screaming look at me look at what I am experiencing here I am putting it in this drawing and can you see can you see? (Wow, I just have to say that there is this cat outside right now and it is meowing like a machine…it almost sounds like a cat meow recording). It is more like, if I took a book of his illustrations back to Canada with me, I could look at them and think..heh…yeah…I remember.
More people came shortly after – mostly other foreigners but there were a few people from Japan. Really great people! Have further inspired me to just get OVER myself and my comfort zone and go and meet people. As a conclusion to that, I think that next weekend I will be joining a few (I almost spelled that fiew…maybe finally getting tired) of them on a scavenger hunt around Shibuya. I think it will be fun!! Sadly I couldn’t stay too long as I had to catch that last train. Yeah, I don’t get this no night train business. It is possible that I might sleep a few nights in train stations this year.
Saturday was my weekend. Sunday I stayed home (日曜日はどこも行きませんでした) studied that a lot, and did some cleaning. I have a lot that I want to do this week so I imagine it will go by fast (like all of the others) and then it will be next weekend again. Ahhh…it has already been two months here…only 10 more to go and soo much to do. So sleep now!!!
May 29, 2006 at 12:45 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
This weekend I completed phase I of operation meet people and successfully too!
Operation background: I am one to fall back on doing things on my own. Even if I feel utterly lonely, and actually especially when I feel utterly lonely, I feel safer if I accept being on my own rather than changing the situation. It’s my comfort zone and maybe even a source of pride (ack! I hate saying that but it is true) that I can be independent and capable and detached. But you know what…it sucks doing things alone all the time…especially adventures in foreign lands. I felt myself slipping into I will a the loner mode and was like NO! not this time. Of course, the people I have met here through work are super friendly and there are many upcoming activities that I have been invited to. Still…I am only here for a year, I want to pack an abnormal amount of excitement in that year and I feel that the way to do that is by meeting as many people as possible. This feeling probably stems from me knowing that this goal or desire is the only one that will really challenge and test me. Sure, new countries are exciting with their process and signs and systems and food and formalities and customs but I think that the most valuable things you can take home in the end are the connections that you made with people.
Actually, I am going to end with that and I will write again later today or tomorrow about what I did this weekend. I think that thought was enough of a post for me. That and lunch hour is almost over. Later.
May 26, 2006 at 6:57 pm · Filed under Mundane
To make up for my photo laziness I finally changed my camera batteries and set out to document a mundane, but important aspect of my life in Japan. I’m not going to repeat everything I have written here so please, click on the picture below and get a photo tour of my daily morning walk to the bus stop. If you are unfamiliar with flickr, please just click on the first picture (top left) in the set to get to its page (with description) and from there, you can navigate through pictures in the order they were taken (use the next/previous box to the right).
Getting on the bus and the 20 minute ride to work is a whole other adventure but I won’t get into that here. It is almost the end of my Friday at work and I am looking forward to this weekend. More on that Monday ; )
May 23, 2006 at 6:02 pm · Filed under I'm a Nerd
I call it “Where`s Jesus? Can you see it??”
May 23, 2006 at 9:00 am · Filed under Games
Another thing about last weekend that I forgot to mention. I won Tetris. I didn`t know you could win. I thought the goal was just to beat the high score and as for number of levels…well they just went off into infinity, getting faster and faster and then inhumanly fast. On normal days I can get to level 15 or 16. On abnormal days maybe 17 or 18. But on Saturday, I was not even paying attention to how many lines I had made…suddenly the game was over and I reached 200 lines. I was in quite the Tetris zone.
May 22, 2006 at 6:17 pm · Filed under Dreams, Experiences, Reflection
Reading my last few posts, I feel really disjointed from what I wrote. Like…that’s not really me talking…but it is…I think that over the past few weeks I have been going through a lot of ups and downs on my purpose and identity. Not that I need to establish purpose and identity…but I would like to have some sense of priority. There are so many possibilities here and I have some limitations (distributing time and money) so I am in this phase of “ok what should I concentrate on”. Indecisive days leave me in this really shallow place with not so much personality and I feel like that’s been reflected in whatever I write. Then…maybe it was just from being sick…which I am not anymore so that is good.
I think I am coming to some conclusions on what my focuses here should be…which is also good. Hopefully this will lead to more action and adventures : P. I guess I also need to figure out money priorities too because adventure does mean managing / budgeting how much you are willing to allocate to these activities. That is something a little hard about living here. There are SO MANY OPTIONS AND THINGS AND STUFF and if you are like me you likely repress decisions until they come out in impulses and then you wonder why did I spend money on this again?
So…what did I spend my money on this past weekend : ) Well…Saturday I had a Japanese lesson and I spent most of my time before and after studying. Learning as much of the language as possible while I am here is high on my list of priorities - the great thing is that it is fun!
Sunday was a beautiful day so I had to spend time outside but before that, the good weather inspired me to do some yoga, run, and get some housework done. Then I took a train & subway to Minato Mirai, a very new area in Yokohama. Mirai basically means “the future”, and futuristic it was. I didn’t hang out for very long, but strolled through the subway station, rode up the longest escalator I have ever been on, saw some jugglers, followed a crowd past surreal looking silver buildings and carnival rides, over a bridge and through a shopping centre. I skipped buying 350円 plates though I might have to go back because they are still on my mind. Back outside the shopping centre, I walked by a very nice field for picnic-ing and to Akarenga, old red (aka) brick (renga) warehouses converted to buildings with shops. Again, very very surreal looking because this two ancient warehouses are in the middle of nowhere (or as nowhere as I have been since arriving here which is never very far from somewhere else).
Click that last link to see a picture. Sorry…no pictures from me. Wasn`t in the mood I guess. But I will have to go back. I really liked the atmosphere of the place. There were many people sitting outside the buildings, against the wall or on the steps, eating frozen mango or ice cream purchased from cafes inside. They all looked relaxed, care free. Definitely enjoyed the vibe there.
But on I went…to Chinatown! So again, I will have to make a few trips for full enjoyment of all of Chinatown’s flavours but this initial dip of the toes (or tongue?) was definitely a yummy one. Many places sell roasted chestnuts and I would not have bought any normally but the sweetest looking guy approached me in the street and reaching out with a sample asked “chestnut?” I couldn’t ignore his sale attempt in English so I tried and without reflecting on what I just ate, bought a small bag. But yum!! Wow I did not know they were so good. In fact until yesterday I thought that chestnuts were possibly mythical, like Santa Claus and that whole gang, because I had only heard of them in Christmas related media but had never actually been offered them to eat. Sure maybe they were in bowls by the fireplace but they were never eaten so I thought well, they are probably fake. But now I know. Chestnuts are awesome! There are many other food things I will have to try in Chinatown. I am happy that it is not too far away.
Because of my desire to save money and my non-camera mood, I decided to end my adventure early and I headed back to Yokosuka. There, I met up with my neighbour Hitomi and we went to a restaurant nearby. The restaurant was split into 3 areas: one for sushi, one for fish dishes, and another for yaki-niku and korean food. It made choosing very hard, but in the end, I think we could have ordered from all three menus regardless of where we sat. The supper was very good…a salad with tuna sashimi on top, korean style okonomiyaki, and a spicier korean noodle dish.
By the end of the day I was pretty tired and I slept really really deeply last night. With weird dreams though. I won’t get into it now – but quickly – I lived in an apartment building with basement levels that were used as a prison. In the beginning there was a family (husband, wife, two children) in there for political reasons and the children were constantly wandering off in the night to sleep in random locations. I would find them and bring them back to their rooms and stay with them until they fell asleep again while cursing their mother because she was neglecting them. Later in my dream the family was gone, but the new inmates were your typical movie-style prisoner folk. I think this all took place in Vancouver/Regina morph…let’s call it…no let me think here for a moment…Recouver. It was weird stuff. I was walking through a park by this building and there was snow on the ground but it was summer and there were these large-beaked birds from Australia perched on smaller trees. They were diving birds and one dove towards me, crashed into my shin and then deflated into something resembling a rubber chicken.
Ha…yes…quick.
May 19, 2006 at 9:55 am · Filed under In the Kitchen and Foodstuff
I am feeling quite better today. Yesterday, by the time I got off the bus I felt damn delirious. I needed medicine or something and fast. Didn’t feel like I could make it to a regular drugstore so I went to the Sev near my apartment. After making an attempt to gesture through my list of symptoms to the clerk, we established that they did not carry medicine for fevers and headaches. They did have quite the selection of vitamin drinks though (as do most stores and vending machines here) so I picked up a rather potent looking bottle and went home. Had some supper, shot that back as well as some echinacea and Reactine (for allergies I think but hey…it’s a pill) and went to bed at 9pm. Woke up at 6am and no…back to sleep. Back up at 6:35am and I think I could have slept for longer but something told me to get up get up.
Now I am at work and I feel weird…like…still congested and weak but refreshed and energetic. I feel like…comatose’d on speed (??)
Anyway, another story. I don`t think Japan does peanut butter like Canada does peanut butter. This is a good thing because it is quite the addictive substance for me. When I looked at the peanut butter selection in the grocery store, the unfamiliar packaging and brands made me hesitant to buy any. Still, a few weeks ago I thought that I should experiment so I picked this up:
I should have at least tried reading the package before buying it though. ピーナッツクリーム can be read as piinattu kuriimu…peanut cream not butter. When I opened the container I was quite surprised to see this:
I tried a little and it was kind of weird because it was not peanut butter…but not so bad. My final assessment was that this was like caramel sauce, but peanut flavoured and not so sweet. Still…not so good on bread so what could I do with it? How about peanut and banana pancakes?!!
They were quite good - I recommend making them if you can find peanut cream near you. So this reminds me that I should do a Meg in the Kitchen bit at some point because of all the interesting food/cooking adventures I can have here.
One last note - this site was hardcore comment spammed yesterday. If anyone knows a good wordpress spam control plugin please let me know. Currently I have to approve all comments so the spam doesn’t actually get to my site…but I get buckets of emails telling me that comments are waiting for moderation in my inbox and that is not fun.
May 18, 2006 at 5:40 pm · Filed under Experiences
So a story…
On Tuesday I went to Marubiru in Tokyo for some fieldwork. Marubiru is the short name for a tall building (36 floors), the Marunouchi Building, outside of Tokyo station. It is quite new, modern, and houses mostly office space but also (on floors B1 - 8F and 35F-36F) restaurants, shopping, and “interactive spaces”. I quote interactive spaces because there is some interactivity but I don`t think the full vision of the word interactive has been realized in this building.
Still…there are many interesting things about it. One being the Cafe ease on 1F. It is an indoor cafe / restaurant next to the MaruCube, a large open area intended for hosting special events and displays. The special thing about this cafe is “themes”…they change the theme of the cafe every few months (might be wrong on that time span). When I went, the theme was “Tsuneyasu Miyamoto Football Park Cafe”. Miyamoto is a very popular player for the Japan World Cup football team. This is the cafe:
K so I am feeling sicker and sicker and I can`t write much more so point form:
- had lunch at this cafe
- did some more work
- around 3pm saw that some people were starting to lineup for an event in the MaruCube.
- I hung around for 2 hours to see what was going to happen
- it was actually a special appearance by Miyamoto himself
- many women were there, they cheered, took pictures (he is quite the good looking guy with very amazing hair)
- I was excited that I got to experience this event with all these excited people around me even though when he talked, I had no clue what he was saying
That is my story…man…bad job…but I need some rest. Not so much from activity…but from expectation. It is giving me a fever. Ick.
May 18, 2006 at 1:30 pm · Filed under I am feeling..., Site Specific
I really really look forward to getting comments. It is such a nice form of communication for me because although it is great chatting with people long distance in real time…it doesn`t quite hit the mark. So when I see that I have an email for a comment to be approved I get really excited!!
Then it is actually spam…grrr.
They toy with my emotions and the frustrating thing is a) spammers have no clue who they are toying with and b) they are wasting their resources posting to my site anyway! Who are these people? It seems so impersonal that it seems impossible for there to be a person behind it but there must be someone.
Spam is just weird…and evil.
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