Just got back from yoga and I feel great.Unfortunately have yet another midterm tomorrow so that sucks and I really need to study.When will the work end? However I did book my ticket to the Bay and will be there from January 9th-19th in the company of many great people.There is not much to report here except that I still don't feel like posting pictures but I'll take any distraction from homework so may be it will happen today. I have an ambitious plan to be mostly done with my final papers by the time I head to Korea so that what is left is basic and me and some friends can try and make it to Nagasaki that last week.
I haven't done a bunch of the must see sights in Tokyo because I felt like I had a lot of time .But with November fast approaching I realized that I should probably get on it.Frankly three and a half months is not enough time.It takes that long to settle in and know one area.But I'll make due.So I am gonna try and get to Nikko and the fish market and stuff like that.Hopefully if I don't get behind on pictures again then I will post them.
I am doing well and am re-budgeting...again these things take time. My friends anniversary is coming up so we are gonna take her out so that she isn't at home wallowing.Well ya know you could still send me a postcard...Talia send brownies but right now I am craving Skittles.Just a suggestion.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Two in One Day!
So for the first time hot yoga felt like it was 100 degrees.Wow! The website i read was right..wearing a cotton tank top is a nightmare because it gets so heavy.Also right now I am drinking the energy drink that they gave me.I don't know what it is and am only assuming that it is an energy drink.At any rate it tastes awful.I don't make a habit of drinking strange things but what the hell.
I have nothing else to report since it has only been a couple of hours but typing this was faster than writing in my personal journal.Oh actually I did get into a fight with a woman on the street and then I kicked her and ran.Okay that didn't happen but I think about it all the time.
I have nothing else to report since it has only been a couple of hours but typing this was faster than writing in my personal journal.Oh actually I did get into a fight with a woman on the street and then I kicked her and ran.Okay that didn't happen but I think about it all the time.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Oh nap time!
So I turned in another midterm and of course procrastinated until the last possible minute,didn't have enough sleep and now I'm grumpy.I am hoping yoga will help but first a nap.falling asleep to Lauryn Hill is nice.So the official medical diagnosis is that my ankles and feet are fine.Well sort of...they are definitely bruised and swollen but they are not now nor have they ever been fractured or broken.It was mad cheap too...the benefits of health care.
Unrelated but related I had a very long conversation in the hallway at school about being poor/working class and in college.We laughed a lot which I feel like inevitably happens in conversations like that.Just funny stuff like how you conveniently eat at someone else's house when you seen to be out of food. It was also interesting because one guy was Puerto Rican and moved to Jersey later and talked about the differences there.Mostly we just talked about how people without enough resources are really good at building communities more out of necessity than anything else.So that was super fun and I was supposed to be studying.But who needs studying when there is a life to be lived.
Also Japanese is kicking my ass...the class moves so fast and we are tested constantly.Booooo.But for my class on Nationalism,Ethnicity, and Politics there are all kinds of great things...including this kid who needs an atlas and an encyclopedia.I just want him to stop asking dumb ass questions like "Where exactly is Ireland?' or "What's the deal with Braveheart?"Just shit that any fool in his position,which is quite cushy and involves boat shoes could just wikipedia.The best was him blaming the Sikhs for 9/11.Wow!But for the final in that class I am thinking about writing on Bhutanese nationalism, or rather I was until I remembered how limited resources are at this library.But it is an interesting Kingdom where the king has decreed that everyone has to wear traditional dress in public spaces.And(yeah I know you can't start a sentence like that)independent travel is not allowed in the Kingdom.All travelers must go on a government sanctioned tour and the tours cost on average about US $300 a day.The idea behind all this is cultural reservation.But then this always brings up interesting questions of what parts of cultures.Who's culture?Is this a real or imagined community?Aren't all nation imagined communities.It is fascinating...and if you are gonna look it up I recommend looking on the travelers forums as well particularly Lonely Planet.Some interesting ideas being batted around about power in privilege.Like is it a fundamental right for your crusty ass to be able to go anywhere you want in the world.What kind of upbringing conveys these ideas that you can and should be able to go anywhere.Is that liberal or colonizing.So that's my brain all empty and picked.
But I will probably just write the paper on gender and nationalism so I have one final that I don't have to stress about and ya know I like it.
Oh yeah so I only got two votes about pictures but they both cared so I will put up a bunch over the weekend.
Unrelated but related I had a very long conversation in the hallway at school about being poor/working class and in college.We laughed a lot which I feel like inevitably happens in conversations like that.Just funny stuff like how you conveniently eat at someone else's house when you seen to be out of food. It was also interesting because one guy was Puerto Rican and moved to Jersey later and talked about the differences there.Mostly we just talked about how people without enough resources are really good at building communities more out of necessity than anything else.So that was super fun and I was supposed to be studying.But who needs studying when there is a life to be lived.
Also Japanese is kicking my ass...the class moves so fast and we are tested constantly.Booooo.But for my class on Nationalism,Ethnicity, and Politics there are all kinds of great things...including this kid who needs an atlas and an encyclopedia.I just want him to stop asking dumb ass questions like "Where exactly is Ireland?' or "What's the deal with Braveheart?"Just shit that any fool in his position,which is quite cushy and involves boat shoes could just wikipedia.The best was him blaming the Sikhs for 9/11.Wow!But for the final in that class I am thinking about writing on Bhutanese nationalism, or rather I was until I remembered how limited resources are at this library.But it is an interesting Kingdom where the king has decreed that everyone has to wear traditional dress in public spaces.And(yeah I know you can't start a sentence like that)independent travel is not allowed in the Kingdom.All travelers must go on a government sanctioned tour and the tours cost on average about US $300 a day.The idea behind all this is cultural reservation.But then this always brings up interesting questions of what parts of cultures.Who's culture?Is this a real or imagined community?Aren't all nation imagined communities.It is fascinating...and if you are gonna look it up I recommend looking on the travelers forums as well particularly Lonely Planet.Some interesting ideas being batted around about power in privilege.Like is it a fundamental right for your crusty ass to be able to go anywhere you want in the world.What kind of upbringing conveys these ideas that you can and should be able to go anywhere.Is that liberal or colonizing.So that's my brain all empty and picked.
But I will probably just write the paper on gender and nationalism so I have one final that I don't have to stress about and ya know I like it.
Oh yeah so I only got two votes about pictures but they both cared so I will put up a bunch over the weekend.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Nobody mention to mom.Okay?
So while I was in Kanazawa my friends saw a kind of Japanese supremacist march and it really freaked them out. They are both clearly from some people with a good amount of melanin and the Japanese people around were wondering if they knew what was going on.It was kind of like at home when Neo-Nazi march and they are escorted by the police.I personally still think that it's a bitch move an if you are gonna be a hate monger then just be bold.
But anyway while scary for them it wasn't shocking...those people ride by our school in their black van shouting slogans all the time. The place where out school is located and actually where we live, Minato-ku, has the highest concentration of foreigners in Japan(according to Phillip Deans al around smart ass and British to boot) about 10% .So the area is particularly ripe for that kinds of behavior.They also throw rocks at the Korean embassy.There is a shrine called Yasakuni which is really controversial because class A war criminals were entombed with ordinary soldiers(some of whom were entombed there without familial consent).The last Prime Minster(who had never visited before he was in office) went to Yasakuni in a government car on some sort of holiday commemorating soldiers,or something...look it up yourself.But anyway that was a big deal and really pissed off the Chinese and Koreans.But Yasakuni also has a revisionist war museum which apparently while a little outrageous is much less outrageous than it was a decade or two ago.But I will go visit and let you know how it goes or get my foreign ass whipped.
But anyway while scary for them it wasn't shocking...those people ride by our school in their black van shouting slogans all the time. The place where out school is located and actually where we live, Minato-ku, has the highest concentration of foreigners in Japan(according to Phillip Deans al around smart ass and British to boot) about 10% .So the area is particularly ripe for that kinds of behavior.They also throw rocks at the Korean embassy.There is a shrine called Yasakuni which is really controversial because class A war criminals were entombed with ordinary soldiers(some of whom were entombed there without familial consent).The last Prime Minster(who had never visited before he was in office) went to Yasakuni in a government car on some sort of holiday commemorating soldiers,or something...look it up yourself.But anyway that was a big deal and really pissed off the Chinese and Koreans.But Yasakuni also has a revisionist war museum which apparently while a little outrageous is much less outrageous than it was a decade or two ago.But I will go visit and let you know how it goes or get my foreign ass whipped.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Are these guys high?Maybe
Just got back from Kanazawa and the bullet train.Bullet train...not that cool.Just a train...all this hype and nothing.The bullet train on the way back was late..which boggles my mind.The whole reason you take the bullet train is to not be late. Kanazawa was cool.It's a mid-sized city on the western(?) side of Japan.I kept joking that it's like the Seattle of Japan cause it keeps raining there.We actually had really nice weather.Unfortunately people from other dorms were also there and they continue to amaze me with their stupidity. They are just so spoiled and over indulged that they can barely wipe their own ass.Can't follow directions and won't take personal responsibility.For them life is one big binge. They suck.But i had a good time with the other Akasaka folks and we had a really good time.I actually spent most of time with them and the Sensei .She was awesome and had so much energy.She reminded a lot of Hinako... just the faces she made and the way she talked.Those kids drove her to drink again..no joke. That was rough! And then cursed them out.Do you know how ignorant you have to be to get a Japanese person to curse you out?
We got to see a geisha workshop and that was really awesome.I wished that we had more time in Kanzawa because they had so many cool craft workshops. We did get to decorate our own chopsticks with gold leaf. I think because I am from a mid-sized city...I really prefer them and Kanazawa,rain aside, was just great.
I bought a bunch of Sake and Umeshu.Sensei helped me pick out the bottles after we did a tasting. Also how about Sensei charged Temple for dinner both nights...its a secret so don't tell anyone.
But I have decided to scale down my food budget so that I can travel more extensively in Japan.To be fair my food budget was not particularly husky to begin with.Also I am apparently headed to a military base this Saturday.I'll let you know how that goes.
Also you may have noticed that I stopped posting pictures.Does anyone care? I can start again if you really want me to.
Oh and those guys survived Mount Doom.Perhaps u didn't know they went but they did and Idris did not kill anyone.
So overall I had a really good weekend and am much better shape than when I started.
We got to see a geisha workshop and that was really awesome.I wished that we had more time in Kanzawa because they had so many cool craft workshops. We did get to decorate our own chopsticks with gold leaf. I think because I am from a mid-sized city...I really prefer them and Kanazawa,rain aside, was just great.
I bought a bunch of Sake and Umeshu.Sensei helped me pick out the bottles after we did a tasting. Also how about Sensei charged Temple for dinner both nights...its a secret so don't tell anyone.
But I have decided to scale down my food budget so that I can travel more extensively in Japan.To be fair my food budget was not particularly husky to begin with.Also I am apparently headed to a military base this Saturday.I'll let you know how that goes.
Also you may have noticed that I stopped posting pictures.Does anyone care? I can start again if you really want me to.
Oh and those guys survived Mount Doom.Perhaps u didn't know they went but they did and Idris did not kill anyone.
So overall I had a really good weekend and am much better shape than when I started.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
I tried to keep the error to a minimal
I am so excited about the prospect of sleep that I can't sleep.I turned in my paper and while it was a little subpar it's already turned in.Now I can focus on more important things like anything and everything I want. Mel and Mo went out to ladies night but I really am so tired.I've been trying to do the pilates 100 everyday and I slacked for two weeks but am gonna get back on it.Today I was so tired that I slept through yoga.Tragic!I can't go tomorrow. I wonder if I can just pay for a later class tomorrow.I need that!
Also the X-men cartoon as consumed my life.I did not know I could watch it on the net.The weirdest thing happen two days ago.I left my clothes in the dryer just for like 2 1/2 hours cause we went out and someone folded them.Nuts!I also am the proud owner of a sewing machine in Philly!I am excited even though I haven't used one in like four years.But i really wanna make a quilt for our giganamous bed.
So as you can tell by the rambling nature of this post...nothing much is happening here.I made a dream date with a friend on the other side of the world but somehow we missed each other.The most exciting thing I am gonna do tonight is fold laundry.I should probably do the dishes and will really try but I cant make any promises. i think I might hold personal dance classes instead.
Also how about some more mail.C'mon people.As usual Talia has shown everyone up.
My address is :
Temple University japan
Azabu Building
Student Services Minami Azabu 2-8-12
Minato-ku, Tokyo
106 Japan
Well I should go shower...I stink!
Also the X-men cartoon as consumed my life.I did not know I could watch it on the net.The weirdest thing happen two days ago.I left my clothes in the dryer just for like 2 1/2 hours cause we went out and someone folded them.Nuts!I also am the proud owner of a sewing machine in Philly!I am excited even though I haven't used one in like four years.But i really wanna make a quilt for our giganamous bed.
So as you can tell by the rambling nature of this post...nothing much is happening here.I made a dream date with a friend on the other side of the world but somehow we missed each other.The most exciting thing I am gonna do tonight is fold laundry.I should probably do the dishes and will really try but I cant make any promises. i think I might hold personal dance classes instead.
Also how about some more mail.C'mon people.As usual Talia has shown everyone up.
My address is :
Temple University japan
Azabu Building
Student Services Minami Azabu 2-8-12
Minato-ku, Tokyo
106 Japan
Well I should go shower...I stink!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
No jen!This is definitely not for children
I am beyond tired and have insomnia.It as come to my attention that some people would like me to proofread these posts better before I post them. While and interesting idea I can not really be bothered with such minutia.I am a big picture person buy anyone who takes one of the personality test and finds that they are into details is welcome to spell check this and post corrections. Kerri used to yell at me about things like that but now she has better things to do.
Apparently there was an earthquake but Mel and Mo and I were busy laughing hysterically so I totally missed it.But earthquakes are no big deal here and nothing even fell. Nick and Joe and I have been going on late night adventures.In part because our home dorm can't sleep so everybody eats late dinner.I have made exercise mandatory for late dinners.They showed me a really cool glass chair that is just on the street.That is one thing I really like about Tokyo..there are just so many cool things around and because people don't worry about crime and vandalism there are some really interesting public spaces.
You can just wander into a place, like the mall at Moiri Towers, and walk around even though it is closed.Like for instance I was checking on my parents hotel reservations and the guys and I got lost in the huge behemoth that is the New Otani..and while several security guards passed us, none questioned us.Not a one questioned the scruffy group of youngsters in what is actually a very nice hotel(even though it has the ugliest carpet I have ever seen).
I have been hanging out with Mel pretty hardcore and that has been lots of fun.Mass insomnia makes for good times and lots of adventures.This upcoming weekend folks are going on all kinds of trips.I am going to Kanazawa, which is on the other side of the country, ad am gonna make gold leaf chopsticks, do Zen meditation, visit a temple with secrets, shop, and try not to smack one of those TUJ house kids. One of my friends is headed to Vietnam for a week and I have enlisted her to bring me back jewelry and textiles.While I helped the guys figure out a camping trip.All in all it should be good.
I started using my pedometer so I now know about how many miles I walk each day and about how many calories I burn. We walk hella far in a day like 7 miles on the regular.Crazy.I finally booked my ticket to South Korea and while it costs a little more than would like I am really excited.Thanks for all the help Chuck!
A total nonsequitur but I have been learning very interesting things in two of my classes about China and Japan...including why I never get rice with a meal in japan and why it is so expensive.I would tell you but you'll never learn anything that way. Ewa will give a hug to the first person to post the reason.
The other thing that most people in my dorm have in common is a serious travel bug and it's kind of sweet to watch everyone try and figure things out about what they want to do.Also today I heard a pretty convincing argument shit talking the Dalai Lama .
I just need to break my earthquake hymen.-Musser san on missing the most recent earthquake
I sunburn while watching television ...my natural color is pale blue.-Phillip Deans on the inability of The Brits to tan.
Let's face it ,sperm is cheap.-Deans on the masculine nature of nationalism and the role of women and reproduction in nationalist struggles.
Last bit of random thought is that I now seriously question whether the Chinese communist party is still communist.It is rare moments like these..where I actually learn something that the $40000 worth of debt is worth it. Sike! But I am really mulling that over
Apparently there was an earthquake but Mel and Mo and I were busy laughing hysterically so I totally missed it.But earthquakes are no big deal here and nothing even fell. Nick and Joe and I have been going on late night adventures.In part because our home dorm can't sleep so everybody eats late dinner.I have made exercise mandatory for late dinners.They showed me a really cool glass chair that is just on the street.That is one thing I really like about Tokyo..there are just so many cool things around and because people don't worry about crime and vandalism there are some really interesting public spaces.
You can just wander into a place, like the mall at Moiri Towers, and walk around even though it is closed.Like for instance I was checking on my parents hotel reservations and the guys and I got lost in the huge behemoth that is the New Otani..and while several security guards passed us, none questioned us.Not a one questioned the scruffy group of youngsters in what is actually a very nice hotel(even though it has the ugliest carpet I have ever seen).
I have been hanging out with Mel pretty hardcore and that has been lots of fun.Mass insomnia makes for good times and lots of adventures.This upcoming weekend folks are going on all kinds of trips.I am going to Kanazawa, which is on the other side of the country, ad am gonna make gold leaf chopsticks, do Zen meditation, visit a temple with secrets, shop, and try not to smack one of those TUJ house kids. One of my friends is headed to Vietnam for a week and I have enlisted her to bring me back jewelry and textiles.While I helped the guys figure out a camping trip.All in all it should be good.
I started using my pedometer so I now know about how many miles I walk each day and about how many calories I burn. We walk hella far in a day like 7 miles on the regular.Crazy.I finally booked my ticket to South Korea and while it costs a little more than would like I am really excited.Thanks for all the help Chuck!
A total nonsequitur but I have been learning very interesting things in two of my classes about China and Japan...including why I never get rice with a meal in japan and why it is so expensive.I would tell you but you'll never learn anything that way. Ewa will give a hug to the first person to post the reason.
The other thing that most people in my dorm have in common is a serious travel bug and it's kind of sweet to watch everyone try and figure things out about what they want to do.Also today I heard a pretty convincing argument shit talking the Dalai Lama .
I just need to break my earthquake hymen.-Musser san on missing the most recent earthquake
I sunburn while watching television ...my natural color is pale blue.-Phillip Deans on the inability of The Brits to tan.
Let's face it ,sperm is cheap.-Deans on the masculine nature of nationalism and the role of women and reproduction in nationalist struggles.
Last bit of random thought is that I now seriously question whether the Chinese communist party is still communist.It is rare moments like these..where I actually learn something that the $40000 worth of debt is worth it. Sike! But I am really mulling that over
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
