*... everyone around me is a total stranger...everyone avoids me like a psyched lone ranger...everyone... ((turning japanese, i think i'm turning japanese, i really think so)) ...*
Saturday, August 17, 2002
*... sayonara ...* For those of you who know chotto nihongo, you can skip over this part. (All 2 1/2 of you). Everyone else, here's a quick lesson:
Sayonara is not normally used when leaving one's own home unless one is leaving for a very long time. If you know that you will see a person again soon, expressions like "Ja mata" or "Mata ashita" are used.
I've had to say "Sayonara" to a lot of people lately. Que sad. 4:26 PM
Friday, August 16, 2002
*... it's gettin' hot in here ...* Have you ever eaten an ice cream cone while bathing? The ultimate in multi-tasking for me; 2 of my favorite things: rocky road ice cream and showers... mmm. A feat that must be performed with the utmost care, but it can be done! This particular confectious adventure was merely to kill time while I took an extra long sterilizing soak in the tub. After a day at Magic Mountain, not only was I probably particularly not-so-fresh, but after taking a looksee at the people there, thought I'd better not risk carrying all sorts of bugs into a new country. I mean a blind man could look around that place and see it crawling with nasty. Which makes me wonder why the heck there are so many people making out at these sorts of places. I mean come on now, seriously. My sis and friend and I were constantly surrounded by these lovey-dovey couples who were poster-children for PDAs. Personally, I'm not against PDAs per se, but amusement parks are dirty, stinky, and full of strangers. Most of whom are SCREAMING for dear life. Not one of those elements even starts to spell "romance" in my head. I'm serious about that stinky part. It was so dang hot today, that we were sweating up a storm, and from the smell in the air, so were all our fellow adventurists. But it's not like a Britney Spears, "I'm a Slave 4 U" kind of sweaty, packed tight group of strangers. I was trying to not touch anyone or anything. And ignore the loud smacking noises of the lips of the couples surrounding us. Ugh.
And don't even get me started on what some of these people were wearing... high heels, mini skirts, and bikini tops... just be careful when you throw your hands up for that first dip... ((shudder)) 3:48 PM
Monday, August 12, 2002
*... there's been some MOVEment ...* and even tho i haven't yet made a dent in all the things i need to do, i feel as if i've at least gotten started in the right direction. i packed up a bunch of stuff to be donated, and have almost finished up with acquiring all my omiyage (gifts)... ah, progress! first time i actually feel like i can say that! 12:03 PM
*a bit o' *britt*
In Niigata City, Japan it is:
* vItAl StAtS: *
* eYeS/hAiR/wEiGhT. brown/reddish?/yes. * cUrRenT wHeReAbOuTs. back back to cali, cali * bEdTiMe. my body has decided to forgo sleep for now. * fOoD. it has also decided it's anti-food. * pHrAsE. ahh! too many people speaking English! * mOoD. i feel weird, yo. Like twilight zoney, in another world weird. * tUnEs. i get to listen to the radio in my car again! * qUoTe: "whereas i am trying to read in the succession of things presented to me every day the world's intentions towards me, and I grope my way, knowing that there can exist no dictionary that will translate into words the burden of obscure allusions that lurks in these things."
*"One, seven, three, five -- The truth you search for cannot be grasped. As night advances, a bright moon illuminates the whole ocean; the dragon's jewels are found in every wave. Looking for the moon, it is here, in this wave, and in the next." Zen Master Hsueh-tou
* tHiNgS i WiLl MiSs... *
* kaori (kojima) and mariko, kaori (honma), marika and etsuko, setsuko, nakano and sakai (aka "the boys"), kelly, alan
* most of my students
* some of my teachers
* the Shin Ken Kan crew
* my granny bike (a little)
* speaking Japanese
* traveling
* tHiNgS i WoN't MiSs... *
* the staring
* the bus
* being bored outta my gourd
* sleeping on the floor
* the Japanese Way
* secondhand smoke
* the fashion
* jApAn, AkA tHe LaNd oF... *
* "We Don't Believe in Cilantro"
* "We Don't Believe in Towels"
* "Obscurely-Sized Paper"
* "Flouride is Foreign"
* "It's Rude to Eat on the Streets, but it is Perfectly Acceptable to Blow Smoke in your Face"
* "9am is Too Early for Stores to Open"
* "We Just Make the Technology, We Don't Use It"
* "Central Air? Never Heard of It. Central Heating? Nuh-uh. Heated Toilet Seats? Well duh, of course!!"
* "Deodor-what?"
* "Open 24Hrs = 7am - 10pm"
* "Our Knees Don't Freeze"
* "We Want to Speak Like Americans and Look Like Americans and Act Like Americans, But We Don't Actually Like Americans"
* "Hey, Free Beer!"
