The Adventures of Aaron-san (in Japan)

September 30 - Sasu ga

Only today did I really learn the true meaning of this phrase. In english, I guess you would express it as "Well what do you know" or "How about that". That certainly makes it strange to use this phrase at TAITO amusement city when, at the bowling alley, you get a spare. Worked on more Kanji in class today. Thank goodness I don't have to know all 10000 Kanji or something like that, I would go crazy. Of course, even if I can recognize it and know what it means in English, that is still no guarantee I can read it in Japanese. Went to the Shioichi and rented a tape to "test" out my new (?) cheap VCR. Works great. I was going to make some more popcorn, but I think I have given the landlady enough of a heart attack already for a few days.

September 29

Not much of a "day". Seems strange that after writing a huge manual for the conversion kit, people are still failing to grasp it's basic concepts. Having a problem getting some features to work on all the different web browsers (on all platforms). I warned them about this when they told me to add some Javascript and DHTML routines, but it seems only now do they realize the consequences of their (my) actions. Desparately trying to study the Kanji I need to know. It gets real hard when they all start looking the same. I end up with Honma-sensei telling me things like "no, the `tan` in kantan is not the `haya` in `hayaku`, it has three tiny lines at the top".

September 28 - It's only popcorn!

Busy day with lots of work (paperwork) to do. The Japanese class went well today, though (adjective lessons (keiyoushi)). Still learning those Kanji. Geez, it gets hard to remember some of them, like "you" as in Nichiyoubi (Sunday). Ah, soon perhaps. Got to learn the next Kata in Karate tonight, well, that was after we cleaned up the floor from the damage left by the typhoon. What, has noone been in here since last Monday? The whole floor was flooded, with water still running down the wall, and huge pools of water everywhere. We cleaned up enough in a half-hour to lay down the rugs and mats and practise, but that was a lot of water! Came back home and made myself some microwave popcorn sent from home. As soon as the kernals started popping, up ran the landlady asking me what the hell I was cooking to make such a racket. She also though I was trying to sabotage the microwave. It took almost 10 minutes to explain what microwave popcorn was (she couldn't read the label because it was in English, so I had to translate what I could). I know they have microwave popcorn in Tokyo. Does it seriously NOT exist in Nagano? I will have to check.

September 27 - rain rain rain...

Slept in pretty late, and understandably so. Not only was I tired, but the weather was horrid. Just constant rain all day. Why the town didn't just float away I'll never know. Oh well, gave me a chance to catch up on my Kanji reading/writing, and my Japanese in general. Since you can't do much in Japan without knowing at least a little Japanese, every bit helps. Hey, I can understand some of the lyrics in those Japanese music pieces now (though to a great dissapointment in some cases). As strange as it seems. If something is written in Kana, I can read it, but I can not always understand what it is saying, and if it is in Kanji, I get the meaning, but I may not be able to pronounce it. Strange language, isn't it?

September 26 - Matsumoto for a day

Another exciting trip to a city bigger and more lively than Hirooka. Ah, if only I worked and lived here. Seeing as most of the stuff I buy is in this city anyway... ah, I would probably have to switch to A.I. soft, and I would still be living in Hirooka (like the others). Saw the new music being released. I still have those "member cards" that when they fill up, you get a free CD or something. Perhaps I should use them (they are almost full). Perhaps after next pay period (Monday) then.

September 25 - Friday 2

Another end of work period. Too bad I worked like a maniac trying to get the stupid manual to everyone's approval (which never did happen). Oh well, it is only a beta. By the final hopefully people can get their act together. Talked with Ippei. Seems next week, we can go to some cheap electronics store somewhere in Matsumoto that you can really only get to by car where I can price out cheap camcorders (and maybe a second VCR). Still losing weight, though not quite as dratically as before (there is less to lose now). Ippei is also trying to organize that farewell party for himself sometime next week.

September 24 - Back to work

Everyone stumbled in today. We really need a coffee maker in the office or something. Maybe next pay cheque. Spent the day rushing to get the Beta version of some printer manual done because they want to make a copy tomorrow. Lucky me. At least when the other company (Crestec I believe) takes over the converting responsibility, my workload will be drastically reduced. Speaking of which those Crestec people were in the office checking out the conversion tool with Hiranuma-san. I think they are a little upset since I can not speak Japanese well enough to answer all their questions, but hey, I am trying.

September 23 - Holiday

A nice relaxing day. I went out for a good jog this morning/afternoon and explored more of this city. Found some neat coffee shops and a strange animal hospital. Cool! After returning home, I cooked myself some Mac & Cheese and practiced some Kanji by playing some Final Fantasy on my Playstation. I need more days like this.

September 22 - More manuals, and labels too

Got to play with the big CD labeler again (prints on those printable CDs). Geez, I wish I could do that all day. Best part of today is, that tomorrow is a holiday, so this week has the productivity of Monday and Friday twice in the same week. No complaints here, I could use a break. Studied some more Kanji this evening, and then had a nice sleep.

September 21 - Britian, and the new guy at Karate

Jacquie came back from her two week long trip to England. Funny, but Vern also came back from a 1 week business trip there. Jacquie is now engaged to some British guy she new for two months. She is Austrailian, they plan to get married in December here in Japan (I think), and I believe they play to go to America for their honeymoon. Talk about crossing cultures. Jacquie and Vern both took pictures of Britian. Jacquie said the weather was beautiful and Vern thinks it was horrible, and both sets of pictures showed the weather do nothing but rain. Heard things are even more expensive there than here (like gas is 80 pence ($2 Cdn about) a litre) and a small pack (8 or 12) of cigarettes is 3 pounds 49 pence (something in the area of $10). Also, fresh fruit is near impossible to find anywhere in the cities. Interesting country. After heading to Karate, I met Mendel, who just arrived yesterday and was thinking about joining Karate but was not sure. He said he took Japan 111 in Waterloo (Japanese for business) but that did not seem to help him one bit with regular conversation. Mind you, he will learn like the rest of us, but at least he can read the Kanji.

September 20 - Sunny and hot

Well, hear another typhoon is coming in a few days. Better enjoy the weather before it hits. This one should be a big one from what the news says. That is okay, though, as I like typhoons a whole lot more than earthquakes (which are just bothersome). Ippei came back for his TV/VCR and said we can go to a cheap place and get a real cheap one if I would like after payday. Probably a good idea, as I can not keep borrowing his. After all, he leaves on Oct. 17 or something like that for EPSON training in another part of Japan. Heard he wanted a mix (farewell party for him and some others that are leaving, and a welcome for the new people). I think we will all do it in one party instead of multiple ones which just drain our account faster than anything. Finally, called Pizza-La and found out they do serve the "Tappuri Corn Pizza" (A whole mess of corn pizza) with 4 different types of corn. Hey, better than dried squid, crad, and octopus.

September 19 - Rented some more videos, practiced karate, and travelled to Shiojiri for a quick trip. Pretty full day, and I even got to talk to some of the Shiojiri "locals". I can speak in basic phrases (with some slang), but when they start talking about real specifics, I am as lost as ever. Some little kids were afraid of me, but that was nothing new. After all, I tower over people here (no joke). I kind of enjoy being able to see over everyone's heads (except other gaijin), so it makes me wonder about what will happen when I get back to Canada to realize I am no longer taller than most people. I think the secret to keeping the little kids happy is to NOT say ANYTHING to them. That way, everyone is happy.

September 18 - Ippei and dinner

More online manual conversion (surprise) again, so I can not say much about that other than it was a long day. The fun started afterwards, when I went to the video store (in the Joy 401) to rent some videos. I felt brave and had the ramen in the store next to Mcdonalds, and boy was it good. I also met some guy there from my residence who sort of speaks english but not very well and said that a new guy (Mendel) from Waterloo arrived today. I don't know which room he is in but I heard he was also in CS (that makes 2 now (in Hirooka)). There will also be another guy arriving in a week or so. Both of them are chinese in origin, so they already know the Kanji. Lucky them. Ash, Peter, and I (who have NO oriental ancestory) had, and are still having, a hell of a time with the language. We just do not think the way they do, and can not see the reasoning behind why certain Kanji mean certain things. Oh well, I know more Kanji now than ever before (which was none).

September 17 - People follow me to Karate

Okay, did a lot of work (mostly to the satisfaction of the other team members), so I don't need to go into that detail today. What did matter was that three of them wanted to go to Karate with me tonight, Eri Ohmori, Eri Yamanouchi, and Hiranuma Noriko. I wonder what the sudden interest was all about? Oh well, we all went to a nice ramen shop before Karate (note: I am convinced there is no "small" size ramen, just a huge bowl and you get a soup spoon and chopsticks to eat/drink it. Mine had pork, corn, seaweed, udon, and sausage made from white fish (I don't know what it is called). After that, I made my way over to where we practice, only to find that Yamanouchi-san (who went be car) got lost, and we could not find her. So there were only three of us that actually made it. Saw that Nori (Waterloo engineer guy) came back for another three months because his courses were not offered this term. I found it funny that he was complaining how cold it was in Canada compared to here (right now I wouldn't mind a little cold weather...)

September 16 - A bigger Japanese class

The new French girl joined our Japanese class, bringing the total up to 4. We are actually getting into some difficult (well, technical at least) material such as the "te" form exceptions and telephone conversations that are more than "moshi moshi" and "chotto matte". Also, I got a good start on my Kanji. After all, 245 Kanji are not going to just "appear" in my head. Ah, so much fun. The afternoon flew by, at which point, after I got home, Ippei brought some VCR tapes to dub, so I got the dual "VCR and TV/VCR" combo going and kept him happy. He said I could keep the combo until Sunday or so, so maybe I should do some dubbing now while I have the chance. I would love to rearrange those Japanese commercials into an entire tape... Oh yes, before I forget, I had some pasta for dinner that was sent from home (it was a side dish, but I used it as a meal). Very tasty.

September 15 - A holiday

Yes, today was a holiday. To top it off, it was a typhoon day here. I really don't see the big deal, as it is just a rain storm with some higher-than-usual winds. Oh well, gave me an excuse to just relax for the day. Ippei took me to some CD rental store in Minami-Matsumoto (by his car). That place is real cool. You can "rent" books, CDs, Videos, Games, and appliances (and all at a cheap price). It cost me 100 yen to ren a CD for two days. Now that is a good deal. Of course, I minidisced it that day and I will let Ippei take them all back with his stuff on Thursday or so. After some rental action, we went next door to the Namco arcade palace for a quick blast (literally). I played some flight/dogfight simulator where you get in a hydraulically controlled cockpit, and control the action on a wall-screen TV (flat screen). Lots of fun, and only 100 yen, too. Actually, all games in Japan cost at least 100 yen to play, but this is definitely worth it.

September 14 - Work for a day

Without doing anything, I got a three way argument between members of the paper manual and online manual team about tasks that need to be done. I am just fine with this becuase I was the one being talked about. More specifically, they pushed the start date of working with another company to assist in converting the online manuals to Wednesday. Don't get me wrong, there was nothing bad (that I understood) being said about me, but more like "there is just too much work to give it all to one person", so most of the day was in chaos and on a good note I found the "good" washroom downstairs. It actually has a seat, and even a control panel (though I am a little concerned about that). I just never could get use to the "hole in the ground" toilet where you had to squat (very uncomfortable). Ah, at least that is one good thing for today. Later on (that evening) I got a really sadistic Brazilian conducting our Karate warmup, and after all of us were completely exausted, we had our regular lesson. Finally, I went to my favourite convenience store in all of Japan, Lawsons. I can pay my phone bill there (or any other "conbini" for that matter, but it is closest, and also serves french fries (hot)). Before I came here, I never really had a need for a "sports" drink, but now, I need at least a small bottle to give me some of my energy back (and strangely, I don't have to go to the bathroom after).

September 13 - Redecorating

Okay, I made a big decision to completely rearrange my room (i.e. move furniture and stuff), so I spent most of the day doing that, and boy does my room look a lot bigger (and cleaner) than before. Saw a freak incident of nature today. A saw a spider eat a fly, which was then eaten by a crow. Got my balcony nice and clean anyway. And lo behold, I found the secret kitchen in the dorm. I can actually cook (on a good day). Don't trust that stove though. You have to turn on the gas with a switch, and then light the element with a match or something, which always resulted in a fireball everytime I tried it. Quite a sight, though I question the safety of the whole thing. Now I can confirm beyond a reasonable doubt that the guys here who are 40 and older don't give a damn about the place and do as they please (though they are tolerant of us foreigners). There have been incidents here I have not mentioned (though mostly harmless all the same), but what they do sure disgusts me sometimes (i.e. you are supposed to wash before jumping in the bath, not just "tub-jump" with all your dirt, and also, for god's sake flush, don't leave your mess there and just build on it if it is still there when you get back). Enough of that, though. At least my floor is sanitary, and the people here are my age (and all Japanese). I still wish it weren't so hot at night.

September 12 - Wonderful discoveries

Well, I searched for the new "My Little Lover" CD, but to no avail as it was sold out in Matsumoto and Shiojiri. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the new sites all the time (like a constant upgrade cycle). Oh well, I felt brave, so I travelled even further down the JR until I passed "midoriki" and *something*-Suwa until I hit Kami-Suwa. There I found an HMV which had it. Of course, the CD was the inspiration, but not the only reason to venture that far. Kami-Suwa is quite nice, though I get the impression there are a whole lot of lights with not much in them. Also, what is that stench in the air? I was warned by Tony about this before, but I never would have thought that the smell coming from lake Suwa was that bad. Good god, how do people live by the lake? It smells like it is full of dead bodies or something (that explains the colour). I saw huge black patches in the water (?) and though it was seaweed or something until I took a closer look and saw it was a patch of dead flies. Needless to say, after a quick look in the "city" part, I hopped on the next train back home (Suwa Lake alone makes Hirooka look like a clean room). It is still SOOOO HOT even in Nagano. Will winter ever come?

September 11 - Glad to leave

It was a constant day of converting manuals, but I got through it. Hiranuma-san kept asking me questions about the Macaroni and Cheese. Seems that she hates the taste of milk and wanted to know if she could use water instead. I politely warned against it, as that would be removing a key ingredient and thus could seriously affect the taste. I will let you know how it turns out when it happens. In the meantime, I had food of my own to make. There is a definite truth to the statement "The men lose weight and the women gain weight here". Makes sense, considering we "men" live in a dorm of questionable sanitary conditions at times, while the women get their own apartment (mind you, they also get paid a lot less, but I will just keep quiet about that). Huyen gained 10 pounds or so since she got here I hear, and here I am, "record breaker", now down 18.5 kg since I got here and it has not even been 4 months yet. At least McDonalds is reasonably priced enough that I can go there every once in a while (love that Teriyaki burger).

September 10 - Finally, a good review

Well, work was same as usual, so I can not really say too much exciting happened. Seems that next Monday, the two "Eri"s in the office (and maybe Hiranuma-san) was to go to Karate. I wonder why? Oh well, I headed off to Karate myself and had an interesting time. One of the girls there said she had a friend "Erica" in New York, and wanted some help with her English. She knew her letter, so I just had to fix up some of her grammar. After that, for some reason she asked me "Am I married? How old am I? Do I have a girlfriend?" Maybe it is just me, but I think something deeper is running through her mind. We were all called to do our Katas, so I guess I was "saved by the bell" until next Monday anyway. For once, I actually heard good comments coming from the master towards me. Usually, I don't get bad comments, but rather "this arm should be back, keep your head level" and all that. For once, I made it almost all the way through without a correction, so I guess that would be good. After all that, I was glad to make my way home and sleep.

September 9 - That printer is a monster

Well, not the manual, the actual printer. Took 4 people to move it into the office so we could take pictures to send to some image company so they could design some animated gifs for the online manual. I am having to tell people "no" more often then usual when they request "just a small change" in the manual. I laugh at what some people consider to be a "small" change. One such case was a complete redesign of the index and table of content pages to include a half dozen new tags the program I wrote was not designed to recognize, and would take days to implement at least. Honestly, some people just do not know what goes on in these online manuals even when they write the content for them. For once, though, I managed to slip out early and just relax for the evening. I suppose I will have to do laundry again soon, but oh well. Honma sensei helped me fill out the rest of my application for the Japanese test in December, and I should mail it soon. Hmm, I wonder what Tokyo will be like then.

September 8 - The big deal

Pity one of the manuals "broke" today. Guess who has to fix it... Got it all set up though, minus some link problems. They were so overwhelming in their persistance to annoy me that I did the only rational thing left to do by about 7PM, trade the job with someone else. It cost me a box of macaroni and cheese, but at least I don't have to put up with the insane amount of stress it was causing me. Now I get to design an alpha version of a manual for another printer (colour laser). Well, I can say it is the most expensive printer I have worked with, anyway. Made a trip to the post office today to get a money order to send to Tokyo for my Japanese test (you can NOT and will NOT send money through the mail). Good thing they understood what I asked for, becuase I asked for a kawase (money order), and also had a package to mail, of which I asked how much to send by "kokyubin" (I realize now I should have said "kokubin"). Apparantely, I asked to send it "expensive mail" instead of "air mail", but they got it right none the less. I can just imagine what would happen if I did something like that back home (Oh, sure, we can charge you more. How much you got?)

September 7 - Manuals and Karate and food...

Perhaps it was the late hour I got in last night, but the morning just seemed to drift by before I realized I really hadn't done much. After lunch, I got some online manual stuff done, though, and had my application for the Japanese test filled out by Honma-sensei. I don't think anything was quite as funny as the end of the work day when I saw a class full of east indians struggling over one word in Japanese. Best part was, I head they have been working at it for two weeks now. Oh well, after getting back home and packing my clothes for Karate, I headed over to the usual spectacle of 7-year old black belts flying around the room. One of them tried to talk to me, but quickly gave up upon realizing my Japanese was quite limited compared to his. Had a good lesson, though, and one of the black belts worked with me on what I need to know for the first test. Not bad, really, when I already know all the moves and can carry them out in reasonably good form. Afterwards, I picked up some "Cup Noodle" from Lawsons (the Chinese noodle flavour), and headed home to enjoy some of this oriental goodness. Oh, I see the vending machine also serves 1.5 litre bottles of whiskey now. Interesting.

September 6 - Suwa Fireworks

Did a quick clean up of my room and laundry before I had to catch a train to Suwa. Since everyone was bringing some food or drink, I first hit the shi-o-ichi for some pop before heading to the station. Unfortunately for me, I missed the train I wanted to catch, so I had to call Keith-san and ask him when the next train headed for Kami-Suwa would leave. I had to wait a good half hour, but another train came. This is nothing like the Yamanote line in Tokyo in which if you miss a train, another one will be by in about 3 minutes. Anyway, my four hundred yen ticket got me there, albeit packed with hundreds of Japanese so tight you couldn't fall if you tried. After some mass confusion at the station, I eventually wound up at Honma-sensei's house for some food and drink before we would go to the fireworks (hanabi) display. Everyone was there, even people I never met before (Japanese of course). Now, I actually managed to strike up a conversation with some of them, so I felt accomplished, and Honma-sensei seemed happy about that, too. Everything was great until an unnamed co-op student from Waterloo came up and tried to impress us all with his Japanese. He has only had a few lessons I hear, but still, I am sorry, but it is PAINFUL to listen to. Sentence structure and lack of vocabulary I could forgive, but mispronouncing sounds in such an American way is unforgivable. There is no R or L in Japan, it is just a fusing of D and L that satisfies both. After living here for almost 4 months, you would think at least the basic phrases could be said correctly. On a similar rant, another student was talking about the "Azusa" with heavy emphasis on the "zu". It is a flat pronounciation, and Jim-san attempted to correct this error, though the student in question responded "it just doesn't sound natural" to which Jim-san replied "Okay, you can say "A-zoooo-sa" and no-one will understand you". After a few demonstrations, it was successfully proven that Jim was right. Ah, though the fireworks were worth it. This was the festival where they unleased all the experimental fireworks. I simply can not describe how superior they were to anything I had ever seen, so I won't try. The only bad part about all this was the fact that the last train out of Suwa was an azusa which didn't stop at Hirooka, cost 1150 yen to get to the previous station (it cost me 400 to get there in the first place), and it was 2600 yen for the taxi to Hirooka. Geez, no matter how hard you try, you still go through money like water here.

September 5 - Pictures and train fares...

Strange day. Woke up around 7 or so, and figured I should get my passport photos for the Japanese test in December (I have to apply now). I am curious as to why Honma-sensei suggested Level 3 for me. I will be a push learning 170 new kanji, and even more verbs, nouns and adjectives when I have trouble enough with the ones now. Oh well, I guess she knows what she is doing, and I will definitely be ahead of the rest of the co-op students here. First, seeing as the last train (for a while) left for Shiojiri after I got to the station, I headed to Matsumoto to pick up some stuff and immerse myself even more in the "Culcha" here. At least the Japanese are able to follow my Japanese when I ask for something or tell them something. By far the most confusing thing I have ordered was the Teriyaki burger combo from McDonalds. I have to ask for a "Teriyaki-ma-ku-ba-ga-se-to (wo kudasai)". Saying that fast sure sounds strange, but they understand it. I see that My Little Lover (JPOP band here) has a new album out. Sold out, though. After a nice morning, I caught the local train straight to Shiojiri where I needed to get my photos done for my test in December. The woman made two pictures instead of four, though, so I had to sit around for two sets of photos to develop. Oh well, I wasn't doing that much today anyway. After using another roll of film on Shiojiri, I headed home and relaxed for the rest of the day.

September 4 - Was to be welcome party

After Huyen showed the new French girl around EPSON, it was decided (by Huyen) that tonight should be another party. A welcome nomikai for the new French girl, and another farewell for Huyen. However, I had to politely decline due to lack of sleep/funds/interest. I hear the food is good, but I just can not seem to get the motivation to do anything today. After stumbling through the day fixing source code, I just went home and slept for a while. Woke up again around 10 or so. Figured I should stay awake for a little bit before going back to bed, so I had a shower, read some of my manga (comics), translated a bit more of some of my Playstation games, and slept until Saturday.

September 3 - Karate in Engrish

Today was a moderately busy day (okay more than that, but I can't remember all of what I did). I made a design change, everyone wanted something else different, I changed it all, noone agreed on the new design, so I went back to the original, and all of a sudden, everyone was happy. Strange. Let me skip to Karate, when the fun starts. Okay, first off, I had 3 different students come to me and try to recite the alphabet. They have real trouble with the letters "C", "L", and "R". All of a sudden, everyone was trying to pronounce those three letters, and it really bothers me that some of them are convinced the way they pronounce L and R (the same blurred D and L sound) are correct. I should just claim I am french and stick to it. Worked on my Kata for my blue belt. The test is either the end of this month or the beginning of next. After I got back to the dorm, I was greeted by Huyen (who is leaving on Saturday for B.C. (her home in Canada), and about 20 other people partying away. I was tired and exhausted, but everyone was just going to Taito Amusement land for Bowling, and it was "stongly encouraged" that I go too, even if I am tired (again, this is one of those "you WILL go" ideals unique to Japan). So after bowling till 1AM, I went home and slept. Good thing tomorrow is Friday. I will just have to fake my way though the day.

September 2 - Holy exchange rate, batman

I am surprised how well the yen is doing against the Canadian dollar. It is something like .01161 or something like that. It is kind of nice to see the money you have just instantly becoming worth 16% of it's value (when I first got here). Hope it can keep going up, though I know it can only go so far. Also, I wonder why everyone is really interested in my Macaroni and Cheese (and now my Red Rose tea and Nescafe Cappuccino (sp?)) They are not that exciting, really. I am still convinced that they all think there should be some kind of fish in the Mac & Cheese. Oh well, these are the same people who like fish for breakfast, so I guess I won't say anything. I was intending on doing some small shopping tonight (some more VCR tapes, and paper towel), though I am so tired today I just can't bring myself to do it. Hope the weekend gets here soon.

September 1 - A mild Tuesday

Not the weather (still muggy), the workload. Seems everyone clued in to how I am the only one working on the Lancaster online manual and are taking it easy on me (that and I think one of the other foreigners here made up a story that I was going to pack up my bags and leave if I got another boat load of orders, er..., requests). So, everyone is acting extremely polite to me for some reason, and I might as well bask in it while I can. Got the information on that Japanese Proficiency test. It is being held December 6 in Tokyo somewhere (I will have to look it up again). Honma sensei is convinced I can pass the level 3 test (one level higher than the rest of the Waterloo guys here in Hirooka), so I am going to be moved to a higher class sometime in the near future to learn the 180 Kanji and tons 'o' grammar and words I don't already know. The class I am in right now is good, though I already know a good deal of the stuff we learn (though admittedly, I never really understood how to describe locations of things in relation to something before Honma sensei). So, I don't know what a level 3 will give me, but level 1 will let you enter a Japanese University, so I figure level 3 is something like Junior high level (maybe a lower high school level, but I don't know about that).