the art of annoyance

I am so pissed off right now. I was waiting for a train to take me to work and suddenly someone touched my shoulder lightly. I was surprised because people dont usually touch strangers in Tokyo. I look over and its this russian exchange student and she asks a question (in English) about the name of the line but she muddles the vowels and so I say "sorry where are you trying to go?" hoping she'll at least be able to nail the pronunciation of her destination. She pulls out an English map and says "here." I totally know the station and so just as I go to explain it to her this Japanese dweeb steps--literally-- between us and starts blabbering at her in Japanese about how to get there. Now there were tons of Japanese people on the train platform so she clearly had more confidence speaking English, thats why she picked me. But this was a nationalist geek (believe me, thats really a type in Japan) so he thought he would interrupt and "help" in Japanese but she didnt get it and his assumption I couldnt help her was uber annoying too. I said in English "Dude, she doesnt speak japanese. Let me finish explaining." She said in broken Japanese "Little Japanese speak" so I shrugged said "ok, he'll help you." and let the dweeb take over. She clearly didnt get it. He pointed to the ground and said in Japanese "Not this line, you should go down stairs." and she answered in English "Oh, take this line?" My train was coming and I would be late for work so I had to take it. So I said to the lady in English "Not this line, maybe get help at the station" (because they often have information centres, and I didnt have time to help) but the Japanese guy literally stepped infront of me to cut me off so I couldnt help her in English. GAAAD! And he got on the same train as me. As we were getting on the train, I said in Japanese "What the hell man? She couldnt understand your Japanese!" and he said "Yes she could." And I said "Huh? No she couldnt." and he replied "I was just being nice." and then we were in the train and pushed in different directions by the crowds. I was left with confused feelings. Yes, it is Japan so she should learn Japanese... and, yes its good to try to be nice to strangers. But darn it, he just butted in and made it so I couldnt help her and made her loose a chance to get help. And his attitude was so annoying. Gaaaad!

up up in the air

I find myself currently torn behind trying out "new things" and avoiding anything new. Days like today, with rain quietly splattering outside my wind and cars running along wet pavement, I feel like I could stay in my room forever. Never call any friends, never go downtown, never do anything. But other days, I feel a desire to stretch myself out to do new things, experience new horizons. It was one of those outward bound moments that found me heading to Gunma. The prefecture of Gunma is only a little over an hour train ride from my part of Tokyo, and I passed the time with a friend (who might want to be left unnamed because of their fear to take part in the events of the day), talking in slowly rolling trains is a simple pleasure of mine. We get to Gunma, and the reality of it hits me. I had browsed a Wikipedia page on the origin of gliding in the olympics, and I had got interested in it a bit. A plane without an engine is tugged up into the air by another plane (with an engine) and then let go. The engineless plane is left to glide slowly in circles, with nothing but the sail-like wings supporting it. The day was beautiful, little yellow flowers poking out of the grass in green fields next to rural backroads. We get up to the field where the glider hobbyists are assembled in a circle. They all seem so intent on their hobby, and I felt like an outsider. The leader asks me to introduce myself and I get a little uncharacteristically short of words, stammer something about why I was there. The different characters waiting for a ride in the gliders are all chatty and unique. An older woman who owned a hang glider company; she defined her hang gliding service as local trains and gliders as bullet trains. In other words, this was the deluxe way to get up into the clouds. A female high school student from 5 hours away (there aren't many glider clubs in Japan apparently) who had met one of the pilots while on vacation by herself overseas. Suddenly a grisly old pilot called me over to his glider, and told me we were going up. He strapped me into a parachute, told me not to press the canopy eject button, and we were off. An old airplane pulling us up, up, up in to the air. It felt unreal, buoyant, and a bit euphoric. As we got higher up, and the rural rice fields began to blend together, I could see other gliders circling on the thermal vents. One came literally feet from our wings, and my pilot swore. But I wasn't even upset by the close call, I was already hurtling to the sky pulled behind another airplane by nothing but a thin rope. And then the rope was gone, disconnected, we were hanging on nothing but the wind. The air whistled past and the pilot banked in loops, pointing the shiny wing down towards the ground. The ground twirled around us, the blue sky danced along with it. It is hard to explain what it felt like, but I suppose if I had been born a dolphin it would have felt the same to swim in a beautiful ocean. And then we were landing again. Back on the ground, leaving me to search for words to explain those quick 20 minutes in the air.

three days in taiwan

Most vacations just blur past, and my trip to Taiwan was no exception. I am sitting down here (kind of late at night locally) to confirm a rough draft of the vacation events so I wont forget quickly.

A Japanese friend of mine, who speaks fluent Chinese, invited me to go with her to Taiwan. I had never been, so I thought it would be fun. We get on the airplane and the first thing I think is a thought I have about how airplanes never seem to carefully screen the lyrics of their in-flight music. Through my headphones is Madonna belting out (in the song American Pie) "This will be the day that I die..." A quick switch of the channels provides Bon Jovi singing "Some dreams live, Some will die" Maaan. This doesn't help when you are on an old China Air flight that was stopped for TWO hours before take off due to "maintenance issues"! Oh well, at least it was cheap.

So we get to Taiwan, and the first thing I notice is the "living air" smell that is similar to Hong Kong. It's kind of hard to explain, but Tokyo has way less variety of smells floating around. But in Taiwan (and in Hong Kong) the air feels, hmm, spicy --for lack of a better word. Not a bad thing, quite a fun thing for the nose. The next thing I notice is how many mopeds and scooters are everywhere. Literally everywhere. And most drivers have a stylized smog mask over their faces, making the moped drivers seem like some sort of mass unified mob of some sort.

So when we get to Taipei, we ride the subway out to a suburb of Taipei named Danshui (which literally simply means "fresh water") and meet some of my Japanese friend's Taiwanese friends. They are all super nice, only one can speak Japanese though. And another one can speak some English, but other than that, only Chinese. My Mandarin Chinese is still way below rapid conversational, so I am mostly out of the conversations but I enjoy listening along and trying to puzzle out the meaning. They take us to a "Western style" dinner, and I am struck by how it was so close... but so far away from food someone would eat in America. Clam chowder... that isn't quite chowdery enough. Steak, with the wrong sauce. Salad with odd ingredients. And so on. I enjoy imaging that this is what a Taiwanese person feels when they eat Taiwanese food overseas.


The next day it is more walking around the city and meeting more of my friend's Taiwanese friends. We briefly go to a Japan Occupation Museum (always an interesting stop when in Asia) and then walk around Taipei 101, which is like the Eiffel Tower of Taiwan. It was the tallest building in the world until The Burj in Dubai took the "new" title of tallest. We walk around the glittery mall inside, window shopping, people watching, and whittling the time away. Sometime that day (hora! I am already beginning to forget details) my friend talks me into going to a foot massage. I had never gone to anything like that, and I suppose that is the fun thing about going on vacations with other people. You sort of get out and try things you would never try by yourself. I must admit, it is quite odd having someone rub on your feet and pull on your toes. The weirdest part is when the masseur literally punches your legs, as if he is angry about how his foot massage is going. It is a unique style massage, I must say. That evening I meet up with a friend from college who I haven't met in maybe about 7 years. Time is too darn quick, sometimes when we aren't paying attention we suddenly get a whole lot older.

The next day, we meet yet another one of my friend's Taiwanese friends (it helps to speak the language if you want to make friends) and go to his family's house for lunch. It is fun to go to someone's house and take a look around. His parents can't speak much English or Japanese, but they are nice enough. I find myself feeling a bit sorry for my friend, she tries to speak to them in Chinese, but because they seem to be nervous they give their answers to their son who translates into English and then I sometimes explain it in Japanese to my friend who answers yet again in Chinese. I know her Chinese is good enough to have a conversation with his parents, they must be just too nervous to speak directly to her I suppose. It is a weird loop conversation.

And before I know it, I am in the airport. I am in the airplane. I am rushing back towards Japan. I am at immigration. And then I am home in Japan again. From this moment, this vacation will become nothing more than yet another interesting trip abroad-- snuggled up into my mind with all my other memories.

think thoughts

Wow. Just wow. That's a new low for my whole internet diary keeping thing. I skipped the whole month of February? Just nothing at all? That's bad! I really want to keep chronicling my life, but I have very little inspiration when I am living basically the same thing--day in and day out. And when I do think of something I usually forget by the time I sit down in front of my computer. Ahh, enough of the exucses.

Well, I do have a bit of news. My first vacation in a long time is coming up. Me and a Japanese friend are going to Taiwan. I haven't ever been there, and even though it is going to be a quick trip, I am looking foward to it. And if I am lucky, I might be able to use a word or two in Chinese.


In other news, I have 47 new photos up if you want to browse. Enjoy!
(The above picture is an attempt at a globe panorama, in Asakusa!)

politics of language

A few days ago, I was walking to my train station. It was bitter cold and dark, but suddenly a woman asked me (in Japanese) "Excuse me, do you know where Komagome Hospital is?" I was kind of surprised. Often in Tokyo I get ignored because of the colour of my skin. I tend to complain about this with my friends while tossing back beers or whatever. But this felt like a beautiful colour-blind moment! Perfect except I wasnt sure where the hospital was. "uhm... i've never been there, but..." I began to offer. She looked right and left, and pointed right, "Well, do you think it's that way?" I was a bit late to meet my friend, but I decided to do my best to help this lady out. I thought I was being a little rude having a conversation with her while I was bundled up behind my hood, so I pulled my hood down and started to say that I thought she was right, but in literal slow motion I saw her see my face (why she hadn't noticed my accent I'm not sure) and her eyes literally go round with shock. She held up her hands, and said "Oh, it's OK-- I'm fine." and turned around and headed in the direction she had assumed. Oh. So much for a perfect moment.

A few days after that, I was standing at an intersection near my house. I was going to the laundry mat, and so I had my laundry bag slung over one shoulder. I was appreciating the glimmer of the cold sun (it's still winter after all!) when suddenly behind me I heard someone say in Indian accented English, "Excuse me, sir." I turn around and a kind of pudgy man sitting on a mountain bike is looking at me. I offer "Uhhh... yeah?" and he says, "Can you tell me where [midnight] is?" The word midnight was the only thing I could make sense of the word. It wasn't English, it was Japanese, but that was the only thing that registered. "Uhh, sorry, what are you trying to find?" I asked. He repeated the same thing, and I shook my head and said "Up there is police box, they might be able to help you." He looked up the short hill and said "It's too far away, and it's a hill so I don't want to go up there. I'll ask someone else." At that moment the pedestrian light turned green for me, so I wished him goodluck and crossed the street.

(Also, 88 new photos in my photo album if you wanna take a peek! Yes. I went mad. Tons of random photos [maybe too many red leaves!] from all over the place. And I haven't even finished uploading all the pictures I took so far! Anyway, enjoy.)

a year's final thoughts

In about an hour, the local time flips over to another year. I cant help thinking I didnt do enough with this one.

A few days ago I met a friend's friends and we all wandered around town. It struck me how colorful this town tokyo is, and how I like sharing it with people seeing it for the first time. Pushing my way through crowded market streets, getting samples of whale meat on the street. Seeing sights and sounds... eating horse sushi at a small bar under a train line. Chicken ligament freshly grilled and tasty. Ah, this is a great city.

I met a different friend for only about a half hour a few days later. We didnt have much time to talk, but the topic shifted to how one's future shapes one's past. It felt important to yet again vent my grief for a passing youth. I can feel the next year approaching. Heres hoping its a good one!

inherent multiplicity

Excuse me while I step into a useless linguistics-ish rant with no relevance to anyone beyond myself and the tiny corner of my brain I am currently occupying. I am thinking about the multiplicity inherent in related language groups. As I mentioned before in this blog, I am studying Chinese at work. A coworker (who assumed I study Japanese and knows I also study Korean, among others) recently told me that he thought I was damaging my linguistic progress by learning Chinese. I waxed on philosophically that learning multiple languages in related families actually reinforces the others because of inherent cross-overs. Beyond that, I assured him, the study of several language-systems was bound to do me brain a world of good--- mental exercise to the extreme, so to speak. A Japanese friend of mine recently wrote a book about studying Korean. I bought it today, and was flipping through it's pages casually when the word "umbrella" hit me as a perfect example. (Hope you have Asian fonts installed for this.) In Korean it is 우산 [usan] and in Chinese it is 雨伞 [yǔsǎn]　and in Japanese 傘 [kasa]. Korean although wrote in a different written system is startlingly close to the Chinese (which, in the quoted example, utilizes simplified characters. Traditional ones are the same as the Japanese character) and the Japanese is pronounced different but uses the same characters (although usually Japanese people just use the second character of the two, although the first can be read as "rain" in Japanese, rendering it easily understood as "rain Umbrella"). Thus knowledge of any of the three language systems supports acquisition of the other two. Now it's not usually as clean cut as this perfect example, there are endless words that don't correlate, but the fact that any of them do brings these languages into a sort of "family" so to speak. Fascinating, for me anyway.

pinnacle of civilization

I was thinking about that famous fallacy recently, that perspective makes us think we are in the "modern era" when in fact (in some sort of way) we are members of a deep past. I'm sure the citizens of ancient Rome or ancient Yamato thought that they were the newest generation, and yet we can barely remember them now. It is thoughts like these that make me wonder why many of us think that we are currently near the pinnacle of civilization.

Many of us still sit above bowls of water to extract external food waste, after which we rub processed tree flesh on our rears. Is this the pinnacle of civilization??

Many of us are often still scared of other ones of us based on skin pigmentation or mating rituals. Many of us think others are somehow naturally unequal to us, for simple delusional differences. Is this the pinnacle of civilization??

Many of us still don't realize that many of us, is the One of us. The One of us, in a deep endlessly vast impossibly chaotic universe. We are but one minute dust mote floating through a brief fraction of infinite time. Is this the pinnacle of civilization??

unReality

Reality by it's nature is unreal. (OK, I have been taking a healthy dose of Descartes mixed with a plump share of Buddha lately, but still they have a point!) I've been fiddling around with a scene modeling program I got for making matte painting for movies. (yes, I am insanely into my hobby of making movies, I know.) Drag a block here, add a texture here, plop in some trees here, and you get something that the human mind can recognize as a place. Although my lack of skill (click the picture included with this post for proof) leaves it less than what could be mixed up with our reality, it is still conceivable as a location. Just like dreams are unreal, so are created realities of the mind. The line between fiction and nonfiction is in the strength of the narrative.

winter already

Winter comes this way again, but first a quick visit with Autumn, then repeat the cycle, repeat the blog updates; barely there, I so thought I would blog more this year. Somehow the repetition of work is pulling my creativity down.

I kind of have the urge to travel, but not sure how or when. I like to see things, feed my brain with new ideas and places. Need new light patterns for the retinas.

In my Putonghua (Mandarin Chinese) class at work I learned a new word a few weeks ago. It was "xiong mao" (xiong is pronounced like SHE-OH-NG if you don't know) which literally means "bear cat"... Are you asking what the heck a bear-cat might be? Well, it's the Chinese word for panda! Kangaroo is "bag mouse" and dolphin is "sea pig". Dang, animal words are cool in Chinese. (For the over achievers in the house, those words word be "daishu" and "haitun" respectively.) In fact, a lot of learning Chinese is fun. I never have enough time to take lessons though. Only one lesson this month. Oh well, it's just a hobby.

I finally fixed my camera, well kind of fixed it. So I have been taking billions more photos, along with some technically difficult panoramas (quite hard when I didn't have a working display) and even a nasty spider (partially pictured above) which all can be seen from the link, a total of 44 new pictures of now.

edumacation

Sometimes I wish I was in the Lesson Planning Division. I got a fax regarding a new style lesson with "instructions" in broken English and written unrealistically, to paraphrase: "Junior English Aptitude Test are for improving the English kinder/junior/senior students. Show the mixed level class four cards. Instruct them that you will say a four short conversations. Ask the students to mark (a number in the empty boxes) in their test book the sentences that is best matching one of the cards, but not all. For example, 'Tom, what is that?' 'It's an apple mom.' Grade all tests before student go home." arrrg. There are so many things wrong with that teaching plan, I don't know where to start. Just let me be a good teacher don't give me unrealistic expectations. For example, IF the kids can understand those complicated instructions they will find the English in the 'conversation' way too easy. (Not to mention, what kind of mom doesn't know what an apple is?!) Frustrated. Sorry for the rant. You may now continue what you were doing.

new shopping

So the above picture is a somewhat drunk me wearing a brand new shirt. I was out drinking tequila shots with an old coworker I hadn't see in years and years. And when I got back to my house, wow! A delivery from Canada! A few weeks ago I ordered some shirts from an "on demand" t-shirt printing place. I'm thinking now that this is the future for creative types of people, like me. I don't ever really feel like going into a store and buying "designer" tshirts, but when I have the option to design my own and then wear my own unique designs, the idea appeals to me. (If you are wondering this design says "wo haipa" in Mandarin Chinese and "oh! hyper!" in small English letters under it, some sort of Multilingual pun, if you will [although haipa doesn't of course mean "hyper"! It means "scared" which adds a layer to the silliness I suppose].) In any case, I think we found my preferred way of shopping now. Nice!