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San Francisco [ 2009.09.12 | 20:05 ] View from our window Due to where we live and the nature of our job, we couldn't take limitless time off to celebrate our union, in fact one month was the absolute best we could do. We decided it would be wise to utilize most of that month before the wedding for planning than for leisure time afterwards. Thus, after the wedding we only had one day before departing Ohio for another year. However, we weren't going back to Japan straight away, we were having a mini-honeymoon. I say "mini" because originally back when wedding talks first began (when the wedding was going to be held post-Japan), Leizel and I had toyed with the idea of doing a grand honeymoon via the Trans-Siberian Express. However, given we only had a month off, this was simply not possible. Our Kyushu trip last winter was the best trip we'd ever had and it had incorporated a lot of the things we'd hoped for in a honeymoon, so we kind of considered that (for now) our "honeymoon" and decided against doing one after the wedding. However, as the wedding date grew closer we realized we wanted to at least go somewhere, if for no other reason than to relax after such a big event that would take so much planning. There were talks of doing a short road trip and bed & breakfast stay (something we've never done) somewhere in a part of the midwest we've never been, but due to Leizel's research we discovered that multi-destination plane tickets that stopped somewhere on the west coast on the way back to Japan were basically free (ie, no more expensive than a regular Japan - Ohio roundtrip), thus we opted for the west coast -- specifically, San Francisco. We decided to save one week for post-wedding, which included one day in Ohio, two days of traveling, and thus four left-over days for hanging out and having our mini-honeymoon. We love traveling to cities and San Francisco had always seemed like such a nice city so it was an easy choice. It was our first time to California and that whole part of the country, so we were excited. The city is truly amazing, we weren't let down at all. Since we hadn't traveled in the US together for 3 years we kind of felt like foreigners in our own land, but it's so different from both Ohio that we may have felt that way anyway and it was great to experience such a different city...a city full of American diversity, driven by (more) progressive ideals, and possessing a rich history yet being one of the most modern cities in the country. In particular, I really noticed a deep-seated element of going against the flow in San Francisco. To me, it seems as if the city has collectively been prone to motivate people to rise up against the odds and defy convention in the face of traditional wisdom. It's not like I got this from every individual in the city, but its history is so full of this thinking that it would be hard for it to not still be alive and well today. The most basic example here is, simply, what possessed humans to actually build San Francisco? Of course, gold makes people do crazy things, but the city is basically a small set of mountains paved over with concrete and buildings. Other people don't do stuff like that, at least not to that degree...but somebody in San Francisco decided it was a good idea. That person/group was probably laughed out of the room by many, accused of foolishly attempting the impossible, but today that city is one of the world's gems. Somebody built a military base (later becoming a prison) on a small rocky island in the middle of a violent bay. Somebody built a bridge that, at the time, spanned such a long distance and was so high off the ground that it was decried as "impossible" by experts. Unable to run trains through the city, somebody buried a metal cable underneath the streets to pull carriages up the hills. People gathered there to rebel against the established social order. Many different people and organizations in the area have pioneered computing, an idea that wasn't accepted a mere 30 years ago...they developed things that would've been laughed up until the very moment they existed. Simply put, the city stands as a testament to all who have ever thought "I don't care what you think, I'm going to do it anyway and it's going to be great". I really appreciated that feeling about San Francisco. As for what we actually did there, honestly it was a short list because we spent a lot of time relaxing in our hotel. Our room was on the top floor and had an excellent view of the city, thus we took a lot of time to enjoy that scenery. Also, we were absolutely exhausted after the wedding and didn't feel like doing a whirlwind trip. We'd initially had a ton of things to do and see on our list but in the end just decided we would definitely return and that we'd do most of the list next time. The only place we really saw properly was Alcatraz, it was highest on the list due to Leizel's obsession with historic crime. We also took a short cruise under the Golden Gate Bridge, did a bit of walking both days, rode a cable car, had a really nice dinner, and procured a chocolate sundae (or two) for Leizel. Our hotel, by chance was owned by a Japanese company. We stayed at the Nikko (Japanese for 'Japan Airlines' or JAL), and thus had some tasty Japanese food available to us at breakfast as well as via room service. There was a dilemma about eating Japanese food since we were going to be back in the real place soon enough, but I did delve into it just a little bit. Our four days passed far too quickly, and eventually the morning of departure was upon us and we found ourselves boarding the plane back to Japan. However, the plane wasn't full. This was absolutely amazing to us midwesterners, who only have two airports that have Japan-bound flights just a few times per day. Those on the west coast, with more direct contact and influence from Japan, apparently have enough flights across the Pacific that not every one is completely full. Also, for some reason, even the thought San Francisco-Tokyo flight is shorter than the one from Detroit, the San Francisco plane was much better equipped...in particular, it had the on-demand screens for each seat, an absolutely genius invention for those forced to deal with trans-oceanic air travel. The pleasant experience on the plane only further drove home the idea that living in San Francisco (or somewhere in the bay area) one day would be really nice. I imagine it'll be fresh in our minds for some time and we will look into employment and grad school opportunities there when the time comes. post comment

Married [ 2009.09.08 | 13:21 ] The big day Photo taken by Nathan Migal of Imagen Photography The big day has come and gone and, beyond hoped, it went extraordinarily well! Not only did it not rain, but the temperature was just right so as to not be cold but also not be so hot to enduce heavy amounts of tux-sweating. The vendors were great; the first that comes to mind is the photographer who took some amazing photos and was really easy to get along with but basically all of the vendors of the day really came through for us. The days leading up to the wedding were good and bad. Good, because I really felt like I was able to reconnect with my Dayton friends a lot during what was perhaps my final stay in Dayton as a "resident". Bad, because Leizel and I were crazy busy with the last minute preparations and had to learn to do a really good balancing act. In the weeks leading up to my return, I figured 4 weeks at home would be ample time to do all the catching up, hanging out, and planning I needed but I was sorely mistaken. I think I could've used another month, or two, or three at home. But here we are, back in Japan (via San Francisco) from a month at home. Now that we're back, it almost feels like a weird dream from some kind of imaginary fantasy land called "Ohio" that we are so far removed from in Japan that it doesn't actually seem real. In this far-off land of Ohio, food is very salty and tasty but unfortunately it doesn't lend itself to providing a feeling of healtiness (quite the opposite, actually), and so I've been looking forward to digging back into some rice and fish. Today I ate tempura eel on a bed of rice for lunch and words cannot describe how good it was. Because we've been in Japan in this situation for 3 years now, it doesn't really feel like anything has changed except that I have to remember to put my wedding ring on in the mornings. Of course, our life together begins "officially" as of the day of the wedding, we're both kind of wondering if it won't feel like we're really beginning our married life until we change our locale and situation (aka, when we come back to the US). For now, we'll just focus on passing tests, saving money, traveling occasionally, and overall having a good 4th and (probably) final year in Mie. 3 comments|post comment

Ready...? [ 2009.08.28 | 02:16 ] ...if not, it doesn't matter because this train's already moving and there's no getting off now. The wedding is coming in about 36 hours and I leave Dayton tomorrow (this) morning. I've had a great time with everyone, both those in Dayton and Leizel during my time here. I feel like I've reconnected better than perhaps any other trip home in a long time. The wedding, although it feels like utter chaos could ensue, will probably go alright and my main wish is that it doesn't rain. post comment

Homecoming [ 2009.08.06 | 09:36 ] Preparations are set and I'm off to Ohio for the first time in two years. I'm going home to get married! See you in September. post comment

Six Weeks of Visitors - Round 4 [ 2009.07.11 | 11:30 ] James, Theda, Leizel, and I in front of the Bentenjima shrine The fourth set of visitors, Leizel's brother and friend from high school, arrived on May 19th and stayed until June 8th. Leizel's brother, James, had planned to come last year but had been foiled by a blizzard. Theda, her best friend from high school, had actually worked in Suzuka for 2+ years as an English teacher and so already knew the area well and planned to do a bit of independent travel as well. It was good to show off Suzuka to James, who was very adventurous in his time here, and fun to relive the old times and places with Theda. Leizel, or the two of us, took James a lot of places in his time here and sometimes Theda accompanies us. Among them: Ise Grand Shrine - Inner Shrine Ise - a bit of the town environs where I used to live Iino - the high school where Leizel works Suzuka - Pretty much everything...Bell city mall, Loc Town shopping center, Mandai Shoten (the ultimate used goods shop), rice fields, and a lot of independent exploration by James on foot and bicycle Nara - turtle lake, deer-feeding, pagoda at Kofukuji, giant Buddha at Todaiji Osaka - Ten'noji, Namba, Yodobashi Camera, Umeda Sky Building, Shinsaibashi, Fuse Segaworld Himeji - Himeji Castle Kyoto - Kyoto Station, temple at Kiyomizudera, gardens at Heian Shrine, golden pavilion at Kinkakuji Hamamatsu - Musical instrument museum, Lake Hamana, PalPal amusement park, Bentenjima Tokyo - Shinjuku, Square-Enix official gift shop, Harajuku, Ghibli Museum, Shibuya, Odaiba island via the Yurikamome train, Akihabara Notable meals - kara'age at Ton Tei in Ise, yakitori at Torikizoku in Osaka, Tenri ramen at Saika Ramen in Osaka, Indian buffet at Indo-mura in Suzuka, sushi at Kura Zushi in Suzuka, shabu-shabu at Hama-fufu in Suzuka, yakiniku (Korean BBQ) at Ichiban Kalbi in Suzuka, beef bowl at Yoshinoya in Tokyo, ramen at Ichiran in Tokyo, and more... James was especially immune to jet lag and proved to be, in my opinion, the hardiest of all our visitors yet. He had the bravery to go out and ride all over town on his own with no language skills, he wanted to see it on his own terms and he made it happen and I admire his independence. Theda, having lived in Japan before, was obviously extremely independent guest as well -- she went on a solo trip to Shikoku for one of her two weeks here. Since James stayed in Suzuka for 3 weeks he really got to spend more quality time with our hometown than my other guests. I think he got to know the sights and sounds of Suzuka very well and we're happy he got to experience countryside Japan as much as he did. post comment

Six Weeks of Visitors - Round 3 [ 2009.07.02 | 19:18 ] Jenny, Debbie, and myself at the Ginkakuji gardens. My third set of visitors, my two older sisters, arrives on May 8th and stayed until May 16th. Jenny and Debbie had been looking to come for a long time so I was happy to finally have them. Their waiting paid off though, as my knowledge of the area only grew with time. So 3 number-oriented people set out to enjoy the beauty of nature, and some modern cities as well. Our trip had less but longer phases. We cut out a lot of optional short trips in favor of spending a proper amount of time in the main places. We had a really good time though and saw a lot as well: Ise Grand Shrine - outer and inner Ise - a bit of the town environs where I used to live Shiroko - the high school where I work Suzuka - City hall observatory, Bell City mall Kyoto - temple at Nanzenji, Philosopher's path, Ginkakuji, Heian Shrine, Gion, Fushimi Inari Shrine Nara - turtle lake, deer-feeding, pagoda at Kofukuji, giant Buddha at Todaiji Tokyo - Odaiba island via the Yurikamome train, Tsukiji fish market, Shibuya station-front intersection, Sumo, Imperial Palace, Ginza, Shinjuku, Park Hyatt Tokyo Notable meals - gyoza at Misuzu in Ise, sushi at Daimonji in Ise, Indian buffet at Indo-mura in Suzuka, shabu-shabu at Hama-fufu in Suzuka, yakiniku (Korean BBQ) at Gyu-kaku in Kyoto, sushi at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, ramen at Ichiran in Tokyo, assorted Japanese cuisine at Cha-cha-hana in Tokyo, and more... Jenny and Debbie dealt with jet lag pretty well and put up with my running them around even on the very first day, though we did have a few more relaxing days as well. We were really able to see a lot in Kyoto which was really nice for me as well since I hadn't been there in so long. It was great to finally be able to show off Japan to my sisters, I think they a good amount of both traditional and modern Japan. I imagine they are now more confident in my ability to choose hotels. post comment

Six Weeks of Visitors - Round 2 [ 2009.06.25 | 22:30 ] Leizel and Sayaka's family indulge in some of Ise's finest unagi. The second set of visitors weren't overnight guests, but we met them for a day in Ise during one of the days of "golden week", a long stretch of Japanese national holidays in early May. With our occasional trips to Tokyo, we've had a good number of opportunities to meet with our Japanese friends we originally met and hung out with at Kent State, all of whom now live in Tokyo. However, we've had two occasions to go to Kagoshima, southern-most prefecture of Japan-proper, to visit our friend Sayaka's hometown -- one of those times was fairly recently. While in Kagoshima, her family was very nice to us and gracious hosts so we told them we'd show them around Ise Grand Shrine one day if they ever were able to come. That day came, and her family (including her mother, aunt, uncle, and grandfather) made it up to Ise and the area for a few days. Unfortunately they rented a four-person car for five people and thus couldn't squeeze and extra the two of us as well while going to other parts of the Ise-Shima area where only cars can go, but we met them at Ise Grand Shrine and, as (ex-)natives, gave them a good tour. We saw pretty much all of both the outer and inner shrines of Ise Grand Shrine, as well as the road into the inner shrine called Oharai-machi and Okage-yokochō. Here we ate Akafuku in its original shop, something I do with any guest who comes to Ise. For lunch, we ate an unagi rice bowl at Kitaya, a fairly well-known unagi shop near the outer shrine. Sayaka's grandfather had never been to Ise Grand Shrine before and thus had wanted to make it while still alive. I'm really glad he was able to see it, he's always been very kind to us. Ise Grand Shrine has a lot of things written and said about it, but one is that it's the "home of the Japanese people", so I was quite pleased to be able to provide a Japanese person with information and a tour of a place so significant to their cultural history. post comment

Six Weeks of Visitors - Round 1 [ 2009.06.23 | 17:30 ] Seth, Nate, and myself at the base of the main sanctum in Ise Grand Shrine My first set of visitors, comprised of Seth and Nate, arrives on April 21st and stayed until May 1st. Seth is a long-time friend I've known since high school and I met Nate in college via Seth. Both are of the same geek disposition that I am, but (unlike me) actually use it in their jobs. Seth and Nate got perhaps the most fast-paced of all the tours due to their shorter stay and my limited time off to show them around. Also, they were my first visitors in over two years and so I was quite ambitious in how much of Japan I wanted them to experience -- needless to say I kept them busy during their time here: Ise Grand Shrine - outer and inner Ise - a bit of the town environs where I used to live Shiroko - the high school where I work, including bringing them to a few classes (where Nate met with unexpected disaster) Nara - turtle lake, deer-feeding, pagoda at Kofukuji, giant Buddha at Todaiji) Osaka - Namba, capsule hotel, Fuse Segaworld, Dotombori, Shinsaibashi, Yodobashi Camera Kyoto - Nintendo headquarters, Heian Shrine, Nijo Palace, Kyoto Station Iga Ueno - Iga Ninja Festa Suzuka - Suzuka Curcuit, Bell City mall, Mandai Shoten (the ultimate used goods shop) Tokyo - Yasukuni Shrine, Odaiba island via the Yurikamome train, Sony and Toyota showrooms, Odaiba giant ferris wheel, Shibuya station-front intersection, Harajuku (ultra-crowded due to it being a national holiday), Square-Enix official gift shop, Tokyo Metropolitan Government lookout tower, Imperial Palace, Edo National Museum, and Akihabara Notable meals - gyoza at Misuzu in Ise, sushi at Daimonji in Ise, yakitori at Torikizoku in Osaka, unagi-don at Kaneko in Suzuka, conveyor belt-style sushi at Kura-zushi in Suzuka, and more... Unfortunately Nate was forced to hobble his way through most of these places because on the second day full day of the trip, while passing out papers in one of my classes, the "guest slippers" betrayed him and with a misstep sent him twisting to the ground, injuring ligaments in his knee in the process. We were able to get some medical pads and a very effective knee brace that made the rest of the trip possible, but as there was lots of walking involved Nate definitely put in an extra degree of effort and energy to make it around everywhere. Particularly the Tokyo experience which, as the above list indicates, was especially full. It was great having them here and I think they enjoyed their trip and certainly saw a lot for just one week. I was really happy to finally show off Japan to the geek-oriented (post) high school group. post comment

Something is amiss [ 2009.06.21 | 13:41 ] I seem to have hit a wall of some sort. I'm not sure where this wall came from, but at this point there is no doubt that it's there, I hit it head-first, and now I'm out for the count. What's curious is that life is really good, especially lately. So the source of the wall is a bit mysterious. I think the most likely culprit is my job, the environment at work, and the feeling of uselessness my job occasionally inspires. The problem is that I can't ever remember feeling this paralyzed since I've been in Japan -- usually a few days, getting something accomplished, or a bowl of unagi are enough to set me right when work is pissing me off. Either way, I think the trip home in August will do a lot of good. I'm looking forward to it more and more as August approaches. post comment

New Camera [ 2009.06.02 | 17:25 ] Into downtown Osaka I really like the lighting here I got a new camera about two weeks ago or so and I'm pretty pleased with it. My new camera is a Canon PowerShot SX110 IS, which I chose after a few days of internet and in-store research. It seems like right now, most camera makers are offering two lines SLR cameras: super-cameras for seasoned photographers that come with lots of expensive addons that are big, bulky, and expensive -- with the caveat that they take the best pictures. Recently they have been decreasing in price though. Super-compact cameras: Mainly for putting in your pocket and taking to social gatherings, events, and the like to take pictures of you and your friends. They are good at capturing faces but don't excel with scenery and have little to no ability to customize shooting settings like auto-white balance, shutter speed, aperture, etc... So I kind of found myself in the corner, because there is a third category in between these two extremes that I've been using for years, however this category is quickly shrinking due to the SLR cameras being available for cheaper and cheaper in recent years. My camera, the SX110, is one of Canon's only currently-available models in that third category. It's much like my old ones, small-ish but with much of the customization of more advanced cameras. You can't buy crazy lenses for it, but it is equipped with a 10x zoom (way more than my previous 6x) and, as I am discovering, 10x is a lot of zoom. I also picked up my first tripod to provide stabilization for the 10x shots as well as the night shots that I'm growing fonder and fonder of taking (see above, my old home station in Osaka). It's a mini-tripod so it fits easily into my bookbag that I carry with me everywhere. May has been a great but surreal month. I've spent most of my time showing Japan to friends and family and not so much time at school or even just hanging out at home...and practically no teaching has taken place at all since there were exams last week and "sports day" rehearsals this week. It's been a month unlike any of the 30+ months I've already been in Japan, and it's been nice. Now it's back to work, relaxing, and standard money expenditures. Pictures of my visitor sets to follow soon (probably). 3 comments|post comment

Sisters [ 2009.05.20 | 14:51 ] My sisters were finally to make it out here for a 9 day trip and so I spent all of last week showing them some of the best that Tokyo, Kyoto, and my very own Mie had to offer. I think Kyoto may have been the best portion of the trip, and I certainly saw some really nice places there that I had never been to before. I intend to go back with Leizel sometime soon and show Kyoto some love (we've neglected it badly for these three years). Unfortunately I have no pictures to post of this nine day event as I lost my camera and had not uploaded pictures since the beginning of the trip. However I should be able to retrieve the full size images my sister took while here with her crazy nice camera. Also, it turned into a good excuse to get a new camera which is more suited to my increasing (but still very amateur) photography ambitions. Leizel and I are now entertaining our 5th set of visitors in the last four weeks (3rd set of overnight visitors), her friend Theda (who has actually lived in Suzuka before) and her younger brother. Theda has a lot of plans on her own so we'll mostly just be taking Leizel's brother around. He's staying for three whole weeks and so will get to see a lot more in the way of nook-and-cranny types places that Leizel and I love but our recent visitors weren't able to see. 2 comments|post comment

First halo visitors [ 2009.05.01 | 08:52 ] The long-awaited arrival of a small subset of my high school-era group of friends has finally happened, 2.5 years into my time here. Seth and Nate have now been in Japan 10 days and are leaving today. They've seen Ise, Suzuka, Nara, Kyoto, Osaka, Iga, and Tokyo -- quite a bit in a short time, I kept them pretty busy despite an unfortunate injury along the way. Nate especially deserves a medal for the amount of marathon walking he has done on a hurt knee. I took care to show them not just to the sight-seeing stuff but also a lot of places I know well where one can witness particular Japanese phenomena or just get a glimpse of average Japanese people living out their lives, thereby giving them a better looking glass into Japan. I'm glad I could take many of the things I've experienced in this time and present it to others. There are some places in Japan that everytime I've seen them or been through them I've kind of theorized to myself, "if my high school friends come they'd love seeing this", and for the most part these assumptions were correct. I think they seen and eaten quite a bit of good things, more so than I had originally hoped. I look forward to either more visitors or the same visitors coming back for Round 2. post comment

Fourth year on JET [ 2009.04.13 | 15:42 ] Well, despite having gone to the aptly-titled JET Returner's Conference in Yokohama (see below), it has actually come to pass that I am not leaving the JET Program at all! Leizel and I will be staying a 4th year right here in Mie Prefecture. We both originally responded "no" to our recontracting paper but asked if there was any way to reverse our answer at this point and were originally told it wasn't possible but through some serious luck and good timing, that "impossible" changed to "maybe" in the recent weeks. As of last week, it was officially "yes". We really enjoy our life in Suzuka and are looking forward to staying another year! On top of that, it will be really nice to not have to plan our wedding while simultaneously searching for a job and preparing for an international move. 1 comment|post comment

Yokohama Conference [ 2009.03.27 | 13:18 ] Yokohama's "harbor of the future", all lit up. I've been taking a lot of night pictures recently. The building on the left is the tallest in Japan Leizel and I were recently given the chance to head up to the Tokyo area, though not to Tokyo itself, but to its single biggest "suburb", a city called Yokohama. It is one of the newest and most beautiful cities in Japan. We had spent a short amount of time there during our 2007-2008 New Year's trip, as well as a short visit five years ago during our homestay, but had never really gotten too aquainted with it. Luckily we were able to do this to a degree during this conference. When Captain Perry sailed to Japan in the 1850's and demanded Japan opened up to the west (under threat of the US Navy's gunpower previously unknown to the Japanese), this encounter was near Yokohama. As a result, Yokohama was one of the first cities in Japan to be opened up to foreign ships. Also, during the war, there was a large US military presence in Yokohama, as a result one of the largest US bases in Japan is located in Yokosuka, just down the coast from Yokohama. We took a night bus up there and an evening bus back. The night bus was pretty comfy, but it dropped us off way too early, like 5:45am. Ridiculous. We had a whole day in the city before the conference began so we explored a bit and headed off to a nearby famous district of Buddhist temples called Kamakura. Kamakura is actually one of the most well-known and frequently-visited Buddhist temples in Japan, especially by foreign tourists because many travelers only visit Tokyo and so Kamakura is probably the closest major Buddhist environment to the capital city. However since we've never lived in that area we had never been, so it was nice to finally "cross it off the list", so to speak. Since it's so famous we were worried about crowds but luckily it wasn't too crowded at all because, despite having been already awake for a few hours, we were there really early at like 8:30am or so. It was nice but we were kind of out of it, and mainly just looking forward to going back to Yokohama, being able to check in to our hotel, and sleeping. While the first day was kind of like a trip, unfortunately we weren't there to travel, but to attend a conference. This conference, known as the Returner's Conference is an official JET Program event held every year in early March which provides tips and guidance to program participants about what to do after JET -- especially how to use your international JET experience to break into certain industries and how to get a job back in the "real world", AKA people's home countries (hence, "Returner's" Conference). Unfortunately it didn't have much information for people like us who intend to stay in Japan, although there were a few useful bits here and there. The most helpful presentations (for me) were the ones about about résumé crafting, grad school, and getting into translation. I'm glad I was able to go. However, almost every single speaker felt inclined to put a disclaimer on their presentations along the lines of "even if you follow this advice, have qualifications, a good résumé, and your interview goes well, you may find yourself unable to get a job anyway because of the economy", so that was quite depressing. We're of course aware of the bad economy, but being told repeatedly "you're basically shit out of luck" doesn't inspire confidence. Luckily the economy in Japan isn't quite as bad as at home but it will still be huge and time-consuming challenge. Being close to Tokyo, we naturally delved into some authentic American tastiness. Unfortunately, I went into mourning though because I learned that last Cinnabon in Japan has finally been closed -- only a week before I went. I'll have to rely on the McDonald's cinnamon melt for now, but one day it too will disappear. In addition to reconnecting with old food, we reconnected with some of our old college friends as well. It was a nice time. We try to meet some of them each time we go to Tokyo but it had been nine months since our last visit, perhaps the longest single lull in visits to the capital during our soon-to-be three years in Mie. In the end, it was quite a nice three-day jaunt out of Suzuka and our usual surroundings, even though it was work-related. post comment

Surprise [ 2009.03.23 | 16:19 ] The job that I will hold after the wedding may be decided earlier than expected. I'm holding my breath. 2 comments|post comment

Today was a long day [ 2009.03.17 | 23:16 ] This has been one of the most difficult days of all my time in Japan. I'll leave it at that. post comment

It's been awhile [ 2009.03.02 | 18:12 ] ...since I posted, or at least posted about anything other than the New Year's trip. I've been to two graduations in the last two days, one for my former school and one for my current school. Usually, all high school graduations are held on March 1st each year, but this year there were some bizarre scheduling changes and so I was able to see both. Next week I will go to Yokohama, a city very close to Tokyo, for a JET-related conference that will (supposedly) help me prepare for my future. We're looking forward to getting out of Mie for a few days and enjoying the big city -- and hopefully some good job-hunting and career advice. post comment

New Year's trip in Kyūshū [ 2009.01.21 | 23:48 ] ( Seishun 18 Ticket ) ( Part 1: Eastern Kyūshū ) ( Part 2: Kagoshima ) ( Part 3: Central Kyūshū ) ( Part 4: Nagasaki ) ( Part 5: Fukuoka ) ( Part 6: San'in ) 3 comments|post comment

Barack Obama [ 2009.01.20 | 23:08 ] George W. Bush has been president for my entire college and young adult life. 8 years of a painfully stupid president. In fact, it's hard to imagine not disliking the president after all this time. But I'm looking forward to trying. This is the last post I will make under the reign of George Bush. Today is a great day. 1 comment|post comment

Milestone [ 2009.01.11 | 21:45 ] Today I finished my very first Japanese novel. It was a mystery called Murder on the road to Ise. Of course I selected it in hopes that some familiar places would be listed...and they were, even the river I used to live near. It wasn't exactly literature or anything, just regular pop fiction, but I'm still pleased nonetheless. post comment

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