October 31 - The Karate Test
October 30 - Quiet day
October 29 - Last practice
October 28 - Payday with bills
October 27 - F.O.O.D.
October 26 - My Kanji book
October 25 - Laundry and stuff
October 24 - CD Hunt
October 23 - Honwaka papa Honwaka papa...
October 22 - More Karate
October 21 - Phone calls
October 20 - A Very Quiet day
October 19 - All these special cases
October 18 - Kanji man
October 17 - Typhoon part 2
October 16 - Almost a nice day
October 15 - Karate on Video Tape
October 14 - Hot Wedding to You
October 13 - Micronet has come
October 12 - Butz butz...
October 11 - Peaceful day
October 10 - Welcome/Farewell Party
October 9 - More work
October 8 - I knew it
October 7 - I get to do what?
October 6 - What day is today? Oh, never mind.
October 5 - I hear other people's complaints day
October 4 - Complaint day
October 3 - I get to travel
October 2 - I will have the special
October 1 - More and more practice
Kind of appropriate considering today was Haloween (sp?), but it certainly was pretty scary. Got into our doogis and proceeded to the main auditorium in some athletic complex in Murai (One of Nori's friends drove us all there).
The little kids had just finished, and there were only about 12 or so of us "older" students doing the test. For it (of which lowest belts go first in Japanese alphabetical order), I got to go first (oh joy). The problem was that
I can only barely understand the Japanese they speak to me, and if I misunderstand them and do something else, I fail instantly (we knew that beforehand), and due the the tradition, no English would be spoken (no translations). So, I just did
what they asked me and hoped for the best. A little unnerving considering that there were over two hundred people lined on the outsides of this particularly big gym staring at my every move (with four judges on each side). I did my Kata and was asked if I
would like to try "Heien nidan" (the next level). Well, I knew the Kata, but not the other sequences required, so I had to decline. Did my other sequences all right. And then came the blocking moves (for which another person is required). I got paired with one of
the other white belts and everything went fine...until I had to try to punch him in the face and he would block it. The b*stard leaned forward on me and I grazed his glasses (whew, could have been a lot worse). I was thinking (you know, I could have just failed for what you just did you
%#"%"#&%). Oh well, after a particularly grueling 15 or 20 minutes, we were finished and got changed and waited for out results. I did get my blue belt, so hooray for that, but it was almost as stressful as those Kiwanis music competitions I used to do. Afterwards, some of us went out to party afterwards.
Okay, so the grand master was there, which made it sort of a required party if you get my gist. We went to an izakaya and has something to drink and some food. Seeing as the master was sitting right next to me, I would have to do my best to please him, so when he offered me sushimi (cold raw fish WITHOUT rice),
I had to accept. I ate a lot of strange food, none of which made me sick afterwards, so that is okay (Taco (octopus), Donburi (Eel), Buta Buta (some weird fish pancake thingy), sushimi, and crab legs (I had difficulty eating this)). Eergh, at least everyone was happy (none of us failed). I noticed more than ever that
if you have non-brown eyes everyone knows right away you are a foreigner (all Japanese have brown eyes, no exceptions). Kind of restricts variety, but that is the truth, at least from every Japanese I have ever seen. Nice 5000 yen "snack" but oh well, just more proof you can not save money in Japan.
Yes, it was quite quiet today. A lot of people took today and monday off since Tuesday is a holiday. That is okay, I really need, no, REALLY need to study more of the Kanji. For every one
I learn, there are three more used in words which contain the Kanji that I don't know. Ahh! Geez, how are Ash, Pete and I ever going to pass the test? Oh well, took it easy today. Found out that all of those
working at A.I. Soft in Matsumoto (Nori, Mendel, and Chris) also get Monday off, and are "rubbing it in" so to speak. Fortunately, I had the last laugh when they found out I got almost a month off in vacation time in
December/January. I was shocked again at the CD Single Top 10 ranking this week, but then again, I always am. Boy, if anyone used to the "Coca-Cola Countdown" saw this, they would be Devastated. Kind of makes the MuchMusic
countdown look slow and boring by comparison. Songs go up, down, off, on, you even get entirely new batches of songs replacing all 10 spots. Geez, good luck keeping up with it all.
...before the karate test on Saturday anyway. Should go smoothly (of course, I am only doing my blue belt, not my black). Actually, it is with absolute certainty that I say I will not have a black belt (nor
a brown) before I leave. A Purple Belt is possible if the test after the next one is held before I leave. To clarify, the order of belts goes: white, blue, yellow, green, purple
(two levels), brown (three levels), and then a whole whack of levels of black. Mendel (one of the newer guys here) got the shaft (so the speak) with his doogi. Nori (who came back for four months after spending a
year here) told him it would be 2000 yen. However, his was that cheap because it was a second hand-used-old-worn doogi they were trying to get rid of. If only everyone could see Mendel when he got the bill for 11500 yen.
Also, what I did not know was that they charge you 4000 yen to "try" the test. And then I believe you are charged for your new belt (if you pass) on top of that. Geez, good thing there aren't more tests.
Oh yes, work was dry and dull, and I ended up writing a document to help translate Kanji seen in RPGs into English. Look for the link on the main page.
At first, I was rejoicing that my pay went into my account today. Little did I realize I had to also pay my food bill, phone bill, pay for my Kanji book, keep 4000 yen for the Karate
test on Saturday...Geez, so much for that pay cheque. I know I have said it before, but to clarify, if you come to Japan to try and save money, you are STUPID! At least I will have some
cool toys to bring back. In addition, today I was completely tired (complete with dark circles around the eyes). I thought I got a good sleep, evidentally not. At least I was able to book my
huge vacation for December/January. Oh yes, my vacation (tentatively) starts Dec 19, and ends Jan. 10. Not a bad break if you ask me. I only wish I didn't need to damn near kill myself to get it
(kind of like my degree...)
Stands for the "(N)agano (F)ood (S)ervices (C)enter". I am positive the Japanese just do not understand the idea of an acronym. For some reason, I was pitifully
tired today. I studied some more Kanji and Japanese in general (I have yet to pay for the book though). Watched some more of one of my favourite anime series, "Captain Tylor" after
work to the tune of some cappucino and chef-boy-ar-dee (the most gourmet style meal I have eaten in a while). At least tomorrow I get paid, now if only the exchange rate didn't just hit a
slump today...
Honma-sensei got my Kanji reference book in (1758 yen), and thank god! Now at least I have a proper idea of what Kanji to expect on the test. It has everything up to the level 1 test (2000+ Kanji). However,
I think only Ian, Keith, and Kurt know that much off heart (Keith knows around 5 or 6 thousand (or so Honma-sensei claims). Got some practice for the Karate test this evening (the test is this Saturday). I still have
one more practice, but I am confident I can pass the test already. It is in Murai (one station away), and a 30-40 minute walk from the station! Geez, I will have to leave early. I could get a car, but that would mean I have to
get my international license, pay exorbant fees to maintain the car (like Ash and Pete who are now constantly bankrupt), and drive on the other side of the car). I just have no time or money for that, really. Also, one last thing of note,
I managed to NOT scare the crap out of some kid I saw at Karate (a small baby). He (?) just laughed and seemed endlessly amused by me. Ususally, they go into manical terror when they see me. Must be a fluke.
Yeah yeah, another Sunday. Pretty sunny day, and also warm, but apart from getting out for a walk around the town, there wasn't much happening today. It was like Hirooka was in a comatose state.
It got cloudy and cooler later on, so I read more of my Kanji and tried to play some of those RPG adventures on my PlayStation (you know, ones with tons of dialog). I still get the gist, and lots more
details than I used to, but there are still tons of phrases and Kanji I simply have to know to get the whole picture). Ah, pretty soon I should be able to get a small camcorder to provide a more lively record of life
here than this simple journal (with free web space courtesy of Angelfire). Seemed Chris had a nice birthday (he is now 19, ooh is he so old). He is a first year student that has no experience in Japanese, 1 experience with co-op, finished
2 terms of school, and here he is. He shipped his PC over here too (and his whole MIDI setup). As long as he is happy, I guess. Unfortunately, our dorm is not like Village 2, where you were almost guaranteed 80% of the floor had a
network-ready computer to hook up to. I am happy with a $100 Playstation and some $10-$20 games anyway. I could never ship my PC here and back in one piece.
Feeling marginally better, I stumbled to Matsumoto to do a massive sweep search of CDs people (Dave) have been asking me about. Found some of them, and fairly cheap too. I will have to wait
until after my next pay period (next Wednesday) to get more though. Saw some funky stuff, cheap video tapes (originals) I will consider some time. I am still waiting for the horrid Japanese dubbed or subtitled
version to come out soon for a good laugh, but there is quite a good selection of Japanese and American movies. Had a wicked cup of coffee from Douters (they have a real cool coffee maker there: small (two cup) grinder/mixer that you
pour the beans and hot water into, and then pull and puch the handle until you have perfect coffee (Douters also makes the small bags of coffee beans so it is always the perfect size). Been getting along real great
with the nice girl at the One Va used CD shop (it is like I am a regular customer or something...) She gives me recommendations as to what is good and not (including music and Playstation (really) CDs). I think One Va is my favourite CD
shop in the whole world.
Felt terrible today (after lunch mind you). Couldn't make it to another nomikai if I tried. Seeing as work is still pretty slow, I managed to get off a little more studying (for my Japanese test). I am surprised that I
can actually read a fair part of any given Japanese document. I have still got a long way to go, but I am a heck of a lot better than I was not long ago. So, in my current mood of sickness, I made myself some Tea (cha), soup (suupu), and
settled in to some quality TV and Playstation. Wow, my games rock! I just never fully realized that until now. Maybe it is becuase I can read more of it...
Today was a rare day. Very little work to speak of, so I studied my Japanese for a good part of the day (and it was needed too). I am pretty sure I can read most of the basic or common Japanese sentences I run into, but if you ask me to write it out,
I am in trouble (I can never remember the kana pronounciations for the purpose of writing it correctly (especially adjectives and verbs). Fortunately, I have lots of media I can turn to for Japanese. Hey, even my Playstation is educational (take that, anti-video-game freaks).
One thing of real note was at Karate later today. I performed what I would need to for the test, and for once, he finally thought it was good. Well, good enough for the test at any rate. As long as I don't screw up royally, there should be no problem. Afterwards, I baked myself in the
Japanese bath in our dorm and got some much-needed sleep.
Honma-sensei got stuck on the highway somewhere around Shiojiri (she phoned me for some reason). She asked me to phone the other students to let her know she would be late. Sounds simple enough...oh wait, odds are it will be their section leader
who picks up the phone. Okay, I dug out my Phone sheet Honma-sensei gave us all a while ago and hoped for a "textbook" conversation. Well, in all but one case, it started out okay, but the minute they say something I don't understand, the rest of the conversation
kind of falls apart at the seams. I still managed to get the message across, but I am convinced they think I am an idiot when it comes to Japanese. Saw the exchange rate is definitely in my favour today. Woo-hoo! If this keeps up till the end of the month, I can send back...
well...more money than nothing I guess. Important note: You will NOT be able to save any amount of real money while living in Japan.
Quite suspicious. I was busy with a check tool program I am writing, but everyone else seemed to have nothing to do (apart from Hiranuma-san yelling at me occasionally for no reason). Lunch
was notably dissapointing today. I don't think the native Japanese here could eat half that stuff. I don't even know what it was, but you could smell it across the plant. I tried this new Crunky that
Jim gave everyone (Crunky is a chocolate bar company). Looked like a chocolate poofy ball in a cracker, and it tasted real good, but I still think Pocky is the most amazing Japanese snack food. Remind me to
bring some of it home.
The work day was pretty full, but the Japanese class really threw me for a loop today. We got on to subjects like "When ... I ..." and "Before I ... I ..." and "I want to ..." and "I need ..." It
wouldn't be so bad if there weren't so many exceptions with the adjectives and verbs. Strange syllables come out of nowhere to wreak havoc on my mind. Whatever happened to the Kanji? I was just getting used to that. Ah, Karate was
very amusing. We focused pretty hard on the Kata we need to know (being very picky I might add). Shame I didn't try for the yellow belt. I already know and can carry out the next kata. Oh well, depending on how far away the next
test is, I may try to skip a level (something most of the people here have done at one point or another). Right now I will just worry about what I need for the test next week.
I borrowed Jacquie's Kanji reference book on Friday and spent a good part of the day copying all the level 3 and 4 Kanji down (the ones I need). Tremendously useful, though very confusing after a while (they all look the same). Did my usual cleaning routine. Ippei, Naya, and Yohei all left either
yesterday or today, so it is awfully quiet on my floor now (no one is around me). All the other co-ops live on the 2nd floor around the back, so I am pretty isolated right now. Oh well, I guess I have more time to practice the Kanji now (I know around 250 or so now) especially since Ippei isn't holding parties
that turn out to be required parties every other week or so (don't get me wrong, I eat well there, but it is just so tiring, and 5AM or 6AM returning times are a little much for me). Speaking of eating well, that is something I wish I got more of. Good god, I am only 75kg now. I feel fine (for all those concerned), but
that would explain why I move in and out of crowds easier (has to be seen to be believed).
Another one? Yes, but this time at least it was only heavy rain for the whole day. Managed to get to Matsumoto and look around for a bit. Used my members card at One Va and picked myself up another Playstation game for $20
(I love everything being so cheap). I can barely understand it (which is better than not at all, like not too long ago), but great fun. Got to KFC and had some chicken. Sorry, I ordered the curry combo C pack and got chicken with it (remember
KFC is a curry house). Wow, real chicken (I think). After stumbling home around 4 or so, I cleaned up a bit before making dinner (soup and crackers), and just relaxing the rest of the day.
Everything started okay, and then Hiranuma-san found one of my old files that had testing comments in it that made its way to the Micronet people. They could have just deleted it, but I think that they
though I was trying to sabotage the whole effort. Hiranuma-san came screaming at me as to why those features were in there (they did nothing by they way, they were comments). Also, according to her, my job was to update
only one file "the supposed main one", which is getting impractical in some ways because it is way too big to manage (approching 400K of solid text), and testing any new feature means running the whole thing which takes up to 30
minutes on my computer (and I have the fastest one in the section). I write separate programs to test new features, but it seems people here do not like the idea. I ended up adding an obscure feature to the main script later to make everyone
happy, but geez! At least Doraemon and Shinchan gave me a good laugh tonight.
Most of the work day flew by with no noticable events, so I though I was sleeping for most of the day (fine with me). How do the people here work 16 hour days for days on end and not complain they do not get
overtime? Oh well, it is unique anyway to be here at 7 or 8 and everyone is still here even though they were all here at 8:30 that morning. Anyway, after making my way to karate, I noticed a TV/VCR combo sitting against one
of the walls. It was a collection of 15 year old videos showing all the katas. Very useful, though very 70's (even for Japan). Well, only two weeks until the test (about). Should be easy, I hope.
Sorry, but I have had that commercial in my head all day. There are quite a lot of commercials like that here - Conservative commercial with some outrageous catchphrase. I am also conviced that hard rock can sell anything (you would have to see it to believe it). Also, I find it generally amusing that
all Americans are portrayed as violent and/or bumbling on TV (well, that is what you see). Found out Hiranuma-san's dream is to become a professional "Go" player. I guess that is why she plays it everyday at lunch. Actually, that attitude extends to quite a bit of my division at least. People wanting to do something else,
but EPSON pays a lot of money to just pass it up (if you are a full-time (non-co-op) anyway). Had an amazing bowl of Ramen for dinner, and watched the "Happy Family Plan Special" on TV. Geez, the things people will do for 3 million yen...
Yes, the design company we have a contract with has set up in our office for the rest of the week while we show them how to (properly) convert an Adobe Framemaker book file (and all contents) to an HTML guide. The one of them speaks english to a degree, but
the other has no idea (he will be in tomorrow). What is it with Titanic (the movie) anyway. Everyone here (female) has either a Titanic screensaver, mouse pointer, background, desktop theme, or a combination of them. I am happy with my shinchan background, thank you.
Ah, I will probably have to get a hold of the horrible dubbed version when it comes out in November ("Jakku! Jakku!"). I don't know why, but movies are funnier when you see them either dubbed or subtitles in Japanese (even Tiny Toons was improved, and let us not forget the 80's
sitcom Growing Pains which still plays here every weekday at 6PM).
Without getting into too much detail, one of the problems I have been asked to fix turned out to be unfixable, and had to get other proof other than showing directly that no amount
of manipulation will fix the problem. Not good enough? In order to make everyone happy, I had to search for proof somewhere on the web to say it was unfixable, and lo and behold, Microsoft itself reported that
my problem was a known bug and the fix came with the later version of Internet Explorer. They were convinced, but showed some skepticism (i.e. did I write that). Sure, I got Microsoft to post a false help page on their site... Ah, met
Miwa and Naya again at Karate. Turns out Naya is being shipped to somewhere around Hokkaido for three months as of next week. Geez, that is a little too far for me to travel (not on my salary, anyway). Miwa will still be here, and I will hear from
Naya through Email. Ippei faired better. He is being sent to Akihabara for three months, and only about 20 minutes from his house by means of train(s). Heck, I might see him during my December break.
Started to get cold (18 degrees Celcius) today. Ippei and I went to McDonalds for lunch, and I tried the new Korean Burger combo. It is like a Teriyaki burger, but with some ground up mystery meat on the top. Very weird, but tasted good. After that, Ippei had to go to soccer practice, so I just walked around the city for a while, went back to the Genki in Joy401 to rent some more videos for the week, and just practiced my Kanji for the rest of the day. Geez, there are a lot of those chinese characters...
As the title says, I joined along the new co-ops and the full-timers that are either leaving for EPSON training in Tokyo or arriving here for the first time. I think I shocked the hell out of all the Japanese girls by speaking Japanese (albeit choppy). Quite amusing, actually.
We went to an izakaya near Matsumoto Castle for the first time. There was a movie theater by it, but I didn't feel like spending 1800 yen to see a movie tonight. After some dinner and Karaoke, we realized that we were 5 minutes away from missing the last train back to Hirooka, so we
RAN like we never ran before back to the station and just barely made it (Ippei was the last to get on, and the doors literally closed on the back of his shirt. After that, some went to the Brazilian Disco, but I knew that never finishes before 5 or 6AM and I just can not do those kind of nights,
so like most others, I just went home (it was already 1AM).
Back to the usual. Too much work, too little time. Well, I now make it a habit to yell back whenever they complain about why all my projects are not yet done. In America, I would be fired faster than anything for that, but
here, I get the impression it is expected. Geez, I am only an intern. Spent a while on algorithms today with Hirasawa-san. There just was not enough time to do them, though, so I will have to pick up on Monday. Caught the Pa-pa-pa-pa-Puffy! special on TV
tonight. Very entertaining. Good thing I caught it on tape.
Figures. We got a complaint today for Spain (yes, those people again). Seems my search engine does not work on the Spanish Version of Internet Explorer 3.01 on the Macintosh (in other words, a VERY specific platform/version error). It works fine on everything else, but in order to
fix this problem, I have to write a whole batch of conversion stuff to correctly handle their character set, joy. Day by day, I learn just how much I don't like dealing with the public in a business manner. Probably why I hate retail. Got to unwind with Karate this evening. The "Grand master" was there for
the first time in a while. Had an excellent lesson. This guy from Iran that is always there was showing off as usual (his power), and making a huge racket on the punching bag. Geez, I never want to get into a fight with that guy...
Of all the tasks, I think this was the most sadistic. They want me to write documentation for the CD Label printer...in Japanese...Good Japanese. I am afraid I can not promise that last point, but I will try. I feel sorry for whoever has to read it. Hey, Jim has been here
5 years and admits that he couldn't write a well-composed Japanese letter to save his life. Oh well, no pressure, really. I am sure they will proofread my horrible grammar and wrong Kanji which has the right pronounciation (I hate that). All in all, things are too quiet. Makes me
think something is up.
What a slow day. It is even slower when everything but EPSON is closed on Tuesdays. Kind of a sleeper, actually. Saw the construction on the I19 in front of EPSON is almost done (they are expanding a two-lane road to a four-lane road). In
fact, I wish they would just add another cross-walk somewhere along the road. It is very frustrating waiting 20 minutes to cross the street.
I have been working on a little "test" program to try and eliminate certain "errors" usually made during the DTP work on a manual before it comes to my section to be converted to an
online manual. Problem is, some people are asking to put in "checks" that are not possible to check for (i.e. logic errors) No amount of explaining will show that it is not possible (and that is a proven
fact). So, I have been working on the "possible" section and left the "impossible" to the side until I figure out how to explain to some of these people that they can not be done. After a day like this, karate was
most welcome. I bent my legs in new and exciting ways trying to pull off these maneuvers we have to do. Very tiring, but as usual it is a great change from work. Still holding onto to 2000 yen I need to give Honma-sensei
for the Kanji book. She was away today to look after her father in Kobe who is very ill, so maybe Wednesday.
I paid my phone bill today (3000 yen). That was not so bad, but then I needed more video tapes (3 for 600 yen), some groceries, etc., etc., and I never had much left after all that. I will have to get some more money out later (you see why it is hard to save money?). Honma-sensei
should have my Kanji reference book I ordered from her tomorrow, so I will need at least 2000 yen for tomorrow, the Izakaya next weekend will be around 5000 yen, the monthly Karate bill is 2000 yen, if I pass my test, my blue belt will be 6000 yen (I don't know why that is so expensive), etc.
I wish I had more money. Oh well, to make me feel better, I listened to how Ippei and the rest blew something like 40000-50000 yen in ONE night at Roppongi. I just can not imagine spending that much money in one swoop and not have anything to show for it.
For the first time in a little while, I was able to go to both Matsumoto and Shiojiri today. Checked out the new stuff (always new). I saw Two-mix (a JPOP band here I like) had a new CD out, so I picked that up. Wow, one more CD, and I have filled up my
member card at "The Wave". Yay, free CD! There is a word you don't hear too often around here... Also got a member card at One-va (used CD and video place). I should have gotten one before. I get a 500yen discount for every 10000 I spend or something like that. I could
have saved...well...500 yen or so (maybe 1000). Saw Ippei and Ash (and some other guys from not around here) went to Roppongi (Tokyo) to "party" all night (i.e. no sleep). I just can not do that, especially after the last time I was in Tokyo with Ippei. I will hear about it tomorrow.
Wow, I went a whole week without spending much money (not for long, with bills next week). So, I celebrated by spending money (?) at the Sugayaki (ramen shop) near the Station. Very good and filling, though at 900 yen a bowl (it is a big bowl, though),
I do not know how often I can do that (not twice a day). Saw it was a three hour music station special on TV. Taped it all, and it even had the lyrics printed at the bottom of the screen. I am really running out of room now, with video tapes and CDs being the major
culprite. I will have to think of some other way to store them in here.
I purposely zipped through the day today, because I was tired and worn out, so I calmly did my work at a nice slow pace (when we didn't have our division meeting). Got to Karate and
was worked hard on the next Kata. I will still only be going for my blue belt this time (a failure to understand all the commands is one reason). The test has been moved back (again) until Oct 30.
Mendel went again. I guess it is someone else to talk to, seeing as Ippei, Naya, Yohei, and a few others are leaving for three months (EPSON training in Tokyo) in a few weeks. We will have a big hoo-dad party to welcome the
new people and to say farewell for three months to those leaving (though I may see Ippei in December on my grand Tokyo tour vacation).
