strongest typhoon in 10 years

Originally from an old server that is now gone. Reposted in September 2006.

and thoughts about lucid dreams


Today Tokyo had the strongest typhoon in 10 years (or so they said on TV) it was really strong, rain pouring down, flooding the streets, but it seemed like Yokohama about 3 years ago so I wasnt so impressed I guess. I had wanted to see giant waves crushing down the streets, floating cars, mayhem, destruction!! wahaha! But oh well, heavy wind and rain was cool enough I guess. For awhile, while I was waiting to hang out with Marykoh, I was getting soaked even though I was wearing a coat, and using an unbrella. Solid sheets of water cascading through gusts of wind, pretty, glittering in the neon lights that glowed solid. Cool enough I guess.



I read some things on the web about lucid dreams, and I saw a movie that I cant remember the name of right now, that were saying some pretty odd things. I know I have only a few viewers, but if anyone wants to give me their thoughts on the matter I would appreciate other opinions. The articles on the web, and the movie, say that electronic machines usually fail to work in lucid dreams (one place went as far as selling an electronic device you wear to bed, one of the functions being that you can press a button to get visual/audio feedback because they said if you think your awake but you press the button and it dosent work then your sleeping... all this for only $495! some shipping charges may apply. order today!).. electronic machines not working didnt seem possible to me, I thought I used machines all the time in my sleep, but they were talking about lucid dreams I guess, and although I have had lucid dreams using computer menus as a device to switch between dream options (I know, super geek attack), I couldnt pull into my mind a time when I had used a specific digital machine like my cellphone or something while having a luicd dream (make sure we are all on the same page, a lucid dream is "a dream in which you are aware of the fact that you are dreaming") ... So thats why I decided to have a lucid dream for exactly that reason, but thats when my annoying mind comes into play. I often have lucid dreams of some percent (90% would be god-like control of my dreams and 5% would be a soft understanding that I am dreaming with little or no control) but for some reason when I wanted to have one, I didnt. (Or atleast less than 5%) The next day I did some mental excersises (ok, I know, starting to sound like a lucid dream freak) and had a lucid dream that night (not a strong one, just enough to control my actions) and pulled out my cellphone... and what do you know, it worked fine. It seemed a little different, the menus were brighter than they should be, flatter seeming more like paper I guess, but it was my cellphone none the less. So I'm wondering now if lists of things "you cant do" in a lucid dream are just things that reflect the specific experiences of the dreamer. (For example, hidden fears of digital technology might manifest as not working machines when you dream?) Or maybe if your told you cant do something, then you cant do it in your dreams because you think you cant? I'm not sure. Anyone else able to use electronic machines while lucid dreaming? Or even in normal dreams? Other things on the list was it being really hard to turn on lights in dark rooms (something about the visual cortex having a hard time with this) and looking at numbers is hard to do with out making the numbers "swim" and looking at sentences and then looking away and then looking again and having the same sentence isnt possible... thats what their list said anyway, seems a little bit like if you belive its true then it will be true, because its your mind... but the mind does have limits, and the sleeping mind is shutoff from the whole use of the brain (so that we dont go whacky while sleeping) so maybe somethings arent possible... any feedback from my two webpage viewers/guests? Anyway, even if I'm talking into the wind, I find it fascinating. Weird minds we all have.

SAMPAI JUMPA LAGI



02:40:00 | permalink | comments (1)


add a comment

I can specifically remember electronic devices not working in dreams, but I can't specifically remember a time that they have. That isn't to say that they haven't, because if they worked fine, then it wouldn't stick out so that I'd remember it.
Aaron

closer and closer to korea but...

Originally from an old server that is now gone. Reposted in September 2006.

dont have all my paperwork...


I still dont have all the paperwork I need to get my Korean working visa, and thats making me a little nervous... but I should be ok, I hope! I am really looking forward to working again soon.


The other day, when I was hanging out with Marykoh, I saw this "party joke"... its a package with a plastic big nose and stick-on blue eyes and it says "hello mr.foreigner" ..this is just wrong for a million reasons. Only 293 YEN! weirdness.



I have been seeing so many of my friends that I am starting to feel a little dizzy!



I think I'm not the only one who thinks this private spaceship SpaceShip One is cool!? I mean, humans zooming off into space (kind of) ... with out the help of governments? The future really is coming... ^o^ ..and I was thinking a few days ago... Tokyo has so many moving esclators its almost like those futuristic moving sidewalks that you saw in 1960s movies/books etc...



Its been a little dark and rainy in Tokyo, the seasons are changing again...

SAMPAI JUMPA LAGI



03:46:00 | permalink | comments (1)


add a comment

I too, can be a foreigner! I hope nobody actually bought it.

Also, I think that they actually spent more money on the ship than the actual prize. It's still cool, though.
Diego

ricecookers are hard to sell

Originally from an old server that is now gone. Reposted in September 2006.

moving out of my place


I went to my local "recycle shop" (used stuff store) and asked to sell my ricecooker, because I'm going to Korea and don't need it. The lady at the cashier told me to wait a second and went into the back to talk to her manager. I could hear her say, "Mr. Foreigner wants to sell his ricecooker, but..." So the manager comes out and spouts a billion words a second in polite, formal, Japanese. So I ask her to use easyer Japanese. She switches to sounding like she was talking to a baby monkey. Thats not what I ment.
"You want us buy?" she asked in her overly simple Japanese.
"Yup." I said.
"We...no...buy."
"Uhm, where should I go?"
"You... know PARCO department store?"
The department store is right infront of the train station. Anyone who didn't know that would be pretty brain dead.
I nodded, "Yup, I know."
"I... think there is one.. .THERE."
I hadn't seen one (although a couple blocks from there is something that is about the same as the store I was in) and she didn't seem sure.
"There isn't." I offered.
"Oh, uhm... well, uhh..."
"OK, I'm fine." I said and picked up my rice cooker. Then she switched to heavy accented English.
"Aimu sorii. (I'm sorry.)" I know she was trying to be nice, but after being called Mr. Foreigner (being foreign should have had no relevence to me being there!) and then having to endure her talking to me as if I was a baby monkey, I couldnt help but remember the foreigners I met here who couldnt speak English (Russians, Africans) and a few who could, but just bairly (Italians, etc) and so I let my face cloud with frustration. She must have seen my face as I turned to leave, because she asked in Japanese, "Whats wrong? Is my English incorrect?" I wish I had tried to give her a lecture about "foreigners are equal" or something, but I just said "Not that." and then I walked out of the store, slidding the door behind me. When I think about it, my word choice could have had the conotation that her English wasn't correct. Although accented, her English was fine so I feel a little bad about that. But you know what I think frustrates me the most? I won't be able to have this kind of interaction in Korea for a long time. Honestly unable to produce more than a handful of phrases, and slow reading of the local alphabet. wow, freaky.



Other than that, I'm just floating towards my next job. Life in the world.
DAAG!



16:59:00 | permalink | comments (1)


add a comment

I agree with you on that Dansen! Everyone should be treated the same, especially in that sort of situation! I'm sorry you were treated badly there.
Xal