Gomen nasai!

Have neglected blog dreadfully, and am thoroughly ashamed. The roof has caved in and cats are yowling everywhere over clawed-up couches and dusty surfaces. Yes, in my imagination, I am a crazy cat lady with old furniture.

Not so good lately. My parents just finished their visit to Kumamoto, and left last Saturday, so was a little weepy then. On Monday, ate a Bento From Hell (otherwise known as Hokka Hokka Tei, fast food bento place) and had mild food poisoning or something. At any rate, I threw up four times, twice at work during a low-level class. The poor students look appalled, but at least my green face gave clear signs as to why I had to run and leave the class so suddenly.

Spent my two days off recovering and lying about. Sucks ass, because it's Flatmate Maggie's belated birthday party tonight and I really don't feel up to going....but I want to! And stupid company loyalty is causing me to feel qualms about calling in sick tomorrow; I'm not sick enough to not be able to teach, but sick enough to want to stay at home one more day to recover, dammit.

Other than that, things are okay here in Kumamoto. Went with parents to Kagoshima ("The Naples of Japan"...whatever that means); saw the city aquarium, which was awesome, and then travelled down to the tiny town of Ibusuki (famous for crazy hot volcanic sand baths, and fabulously opulent onsen).

Have been meeting with a language partnet (Masako) for a few weeks, eating at a family restuarant called Jolly Pasta (hee!) and asking each other stuff like, "How do you say 'I'm hungry'?" (my question) and "What's the difference between 'house' and 'home'?" (her question). Needless to say, her English is worlds better than my Japanese.

Got a bike a few weeks ago. It is orange, it is tiny, it is foldable, I love it. It's name is Mongo and it rocks. Unfortunately, Mongo's handlebars are a bit loose, so I need to find a proper screwdriver to keep them from collapsing on me and rendering the brakes completely useless mid-tumble.

Work is work. I've had to explain such things as what a squirrel is, when to say "Actually,...", how Canadian's cope with snow, what a snowplow is, the word "speculate" about four times, how bad I am at skiing, and what a loonie is.

Weather is now cool, verging on freezing indoors because of the lack of central heat or decent insulation. Am ruthlessly beating my futon quilt into warm squishiness, instead of cold-letting-in stiffness.

Also, have caved and now have a Facebook account. Add me!

HackCoughOink

Nigh on two weeks after my last post, and am finally updating blog. Sorry. But I was seriously homesick for a while right after training...writing stuff on this blog for the people that I missed and who were where I wanted to be was tough. But ever since work started for sure, it's gotten a lot better. Any kind of stable routine helps a lot. Also, have finally got all my living arrangements/cellphone/rail pass stuff sorted out, so I feel more settled.

One week observation was last week, no problems there. I started kids classes which I can't say I enjoy yet. Hopefully that will change. My office (Hikari no Mori branch) is really nice, in the middle of a mall (YouMe Town). The Japanese staff are nice to the point of being angels; the day of the typhoon, one of them gave me a ride home because the trains had stopped running. She is now known as Mari-sama. Another one (my branch manager, Ryoko) calls me by my Chinese name sometimes ("Riane no Hong Kong namae wa nan desu ka?") ever since I told her about it and my parents being from Hong Kong.

Coworkers are fantastic; there are about five of us "Hikari kids". Soon to be six, since there's another newbie joining the fold in about a week. It's really funny, because there are some Nova teachers who are obvious newcomers (me & Lyd for example) and there are some that I see as old teachers. But in reality, there are only a handful of "old" teachers who have been here for a year or longer....all the rest have been working for 6 months or less. I guess in the Nova career path, anything longer than 6 months makes you a long-time employee.

My students vary from fantastic and lots of fun, to a pile of sludge. It's great because I can recognize students now. So there's Tae Kwan Do Guy With Killer Red Glasses, Confused-Looking-But-Actually-English-Genius Girl, the juniour high school kid with bad teeth but a good attitude, Honda Man, the guy who never stops grinning, Silent Peach Girl, and The Sludge.

The Sludge (or Slug, I haven't decided on the right name) comes in almost everyday for two lessons, it seems. I've had him one of my classes almost everyday I've worked so far. He has completed every lesson in his language level at least twice, but has only passed half of those. He is silent as the grave and taciturn as a grumpy llama. If he wasn't such an odd duck I'd hate his guts (one of my coworkers already does, and, being newer than I am, has only had to teach him three times), but he occasionally smiles and looks interested when new vocab/phrases are introduced so he's tolerable. It's a bitch to try to choose lessons though, because he's done them all to death. His textbook is full of notes that he's made from all of the lessons he's taken, so at least he's (sort of) paying attention. Let's hope he remains tolerable or I might just deck him with his own textbook one of these days.

Social life is rolicking, as usual. Yeah, I can hear you all laughing out there. Had two days off, went out last night with a bunch of other teachers to an all-you-can-eat-or-drink (tabehodai/nomihodai) barbecue dinner. Mmmm....meatfest...pretty much like the Korean BBQ in downtown Toronto. Tried umeshu (plum wine/liquer), three glasses of it. I was told it's not very alcoholic, but Wikipedia claims it's 10-15% alcohol. Mike from near Melbourne, you are a lying perambulator. You are still the king of the grill, but you lie like a rug!

Everyone went out to karaoke afterwards, but I'm sickish, so I went home first, on Emer's (fellow Nova teacher & Romansque Shinmachi-ite) brand new bike. My last time riding a bike was well over 5 years ago, so needless to say I was a little nervous. But it was 2AM and virtually no traffic, so meh! Smooth ride, need to get one myself. Hopefully this Thursday can go buy a used one from another Nova teacher.

Aside from my pig alarm clock (see below) I also have Biku's Pig Hat, and a squashy pig cushion from the 100 Yen shop. Oink!

Just a quick note

I survived training! Hurrah! I was so happy that I did a little dance in the staff room. It was very short and very intense, but it seemed to work. It`s amazing how one bad lesson can torpedo your confidence. But in the end I pulled it together (I think) and ended with a really good lesson with two very eager students. Day off today, then kid`s training tomorrow.

Hopefully getting InterWEB in the apartment soon. Also a cellphone so am not unreachable. We weeded through all the books and videotapes that people had left behind in the apartment. Astoundingly bad taste in these areas, I`m afraid. But interesting! Found some old tapes with Simpsons, Buffy, Dharma and Greg, etc. Yum.

No pictures today, forgot my USB key. Will post that video tour of the apartment soon. I swear. Gambatte!

The Pig Settles In

This is my third full day living in Kumamoto. It's been very nice, except that Bento and I have maybe not followed the best practice in dealing with jetlag i.e. walking for hours to run errands, and totally not taking it easy. The plus side to this is that I've gotten to know the city (or at least the important food locations) quite well. It's been pretty humid and hot, so I've been spending most of my time while in the apartment in the living room/kitchen because it's air conditioned. However, since the chairs and sofas are all upholstered in vinyl, I've been peeling myself off of them whenever I get up, despite Fujistu-san's best efforts (Fujitsu is the maker of the A/C machine...it's known as Fujitsu-sama on really hot days).

My other flatmate (Anna) is leaving today, but she's been extremely helpful and going out of her way to help us get things in order, showing us the best way into the city centre, etc. All while packing and moving and organizing her transition to a new apartment & job. On our first day here, she picked us up from the train station and brought us out to sushi (it was storming like a typhoon when walking back to the apartment, eek!). In short, she is fantabulous and couldn't have provided us with a better introduction to Kumamoto. Apparently am getting a new flatmate (an American girl) in about two week...will see how that goes. Need to learn more about the city before she gets here so that am not a chikara ga nai (incompetent) guide.


View looking left from my window: the ENEOS is a gas station, and the little blue sign on the building with the salmon-pink balconies is a local combini, Lawsons. As you can see from this picture and the one in the previous post, there are mountains that pretty much surround the city.

Have registered for my gaijin card (formally know as a gaikoku-jin...something something very long), but still need to get a bank account (ginkoukouza) at Higo bank, cellphone (keitai), a bike (jitensha) to get around the city, and maybe a bookshelf (hondana) for my room. Learning lots of new Japanese words everyday, but am far from fluent. Am sure that I've been horribly rude/grammtically incorrect many times when asking stuff in stores. Oh well. Must keep on trying. Ganbatte!

So far, have been to two shopping arcades in the city centre (Kamitori and Shimotori, respectively), Don Quixote (kinda like a mini-mall, but with a big bike shop), and about five different 100-yen shops. Mmm...100-yen shops. Bought a pig alarm clock at Don Quixote yesterday and everytime I look at it to check the time, I just about expire from it's cuteness:


It goes very well with the Kobuta no Boshi that Biku made for me. It has 6 or 7 different songs it plays when it goes off, a different one each time you turn the alarm off.

Have had a few opportunites to go out at night and meet some other NOVA/JET teachers, but every night, I've dozed off at about 9pm, falling asleep on the floor while organizing my stuff, or with my head crashed back against the wall while sitting on the couch while watching TV (the most amusing TV so far has been the commercial...have seen two Jack Bauer Calorie Mate ones so far). So maybe going out tonight to a fellow NOVA teacher's birthday shindig.

Off to Lawsons to get a notepad to write letters to folks back homes. Oh yeah, I've been looking up words in my Japanese/English dictionary, and am not sure about the usage in some cases, so let me know if I've made any mistakes.

I Heart Kumamoto

No seriously, it`s a great city. Very tired right now, and hot and crabby, but will post a more in depth report about my fantastic apartment and flatmate and new home in Japan.

In the meantime, go read Bento`s Japan blog, and see below:


View from one of my windows


Little friend in the apartment


Breakfast nook. Mushroom chairs! Cutest kitchen ever!

Dotonbori Hotel is Awesome

Surreal. Here I am, after 16 plus hours in transit, in a hotel near the Shin-Osaka train station in Osaka, Japan. The hotel is fantastic, with all sorts of pre-packaged and warning-plastered complimentary products (hair band, sanitary pad, "face milk", toothbrush, razor, uber-Qtips, etc).

Leaving was terrible (Mom started to cry just as a I cleared security, which set me off, crying as I went down the escalator). Flight was uneventful...was hungry and dehydrated the entire time (no surprise there), but no lost luggage, hurrah! Arrived in Osaka no problem, was picked up at airport by a Nova representative, who carefully shepherded us onto the bus into Namba, through an underground rabbit warren of shops and stores, and into our hotel.


Ohhhhhhhsoooooocuuuuuuute....random store in Dotonburi, the area my hotel was in, and the ubiquitous vending machine. Kobuta desho!

Ate dinner with the other new Nova employees (all from Canadur) at this scary clown restaurant. We picked it because the hotel concierge recommended it, but the huge display cases of plastic food (with prices and descriptions in English prominently displayed) also helped usher us in.


My dinner: Omurice (omelette over rice with gravy), a.k.a. more sophisticated version of Josie Grossie. YUM.

Everyone else had beautifully laid out Japanese dishes like soba noodles, tempura, katsudon, tonkatsu, etc. but mine was the easiest to figure out how to eat. We were discussing the various ways of thanking someone (domo, arigatou, domo arigatou, arigatou gozaimasu...) and the waiter who was clearing the plates, after looking both perplexed and amused, said, in perfect English, "You guys students or something?" Um, no.


I AM A NERD. NERD NERD NERD.

Alive and well, in Osaka. Taking the Shinkansen to Hakata station (in Fukuoka, on Kyushu Island) this morning. Getting hungry, so will head out in a little while to either plunder a combini or the hotel breakfast buffet. Heads will roll! More later.

Kumamoto no Kobuta desu

Am leaving in less than 24 hours for Kumamoto (on Kyushu Island, in the land of ridiculously advanced rear-end landing pads, Japan). Am a ball of excitment wrapped in a thick layer of panic. Couldn't get Blogger to upload image of the kanji for Kumamoto, so had to hotlink (bad! *slap!*), but visit the link

Packing is almost done, but there are tons of last minute things to take care of (how to configure my desktop computer so that Mom won't blow it up, leaving things for my parents to send to me in Japan, where the hell is Borgo...) Am getting close to weepy when I think of leaving home for so long.

I'm bringing a webcam with me so if anyone out there wants to chat on the Interweb, you have the option of seeing my lovely frazzled face as well. Probably won't have Internet set up for a while, but one of the first things I'm going to do is hunt down an Internet cafe ("Umm...Bittorrent kudasai?").

Instead of getting a new blog to profile my misadventures in Kumamoto, I'll stick with this one and change the title. Please make suggestions in the comments! GOing along with the pigs theme, maybe something involving kobuta (piglet) or tonkatsu (delicious breaded pork cutlet thingie yummmmarrrghghlglgleaaaa)...

OMG TEH AIR CANADA

There will be chicken or there will be bloodshed.

My response to Bento re: abandoning plans for roast chicken dinner. Mmm...poultry...

So there's two weeks left of school, and it's as hectic as it'll ever be. I still have to finish my 499 project, write the 20 page accompagnying report, create and present a poster for the project, write an algorithms test, finish my section of my group seminar report and complete and submit the forms for Nova.

Oh yeah, I got in! My horrific interview was apparently not so horrific. So come September, Bento and Kobuta are likely Japan-bound. Piddle!!!

This is cool

Why is ice slippery?

[Ganked off Metafilter]

Ass anchor

Ass to couch because of the Olympics again. Another funny name, not as fantastic as OHNO! but still good for a giggle: Finnish mens hockey goaltender, Antero Niittymaki. Except that on the back of his jersey (normally rumpled), NIITTYMAKI looks like NUTTYMAKI. Hah. Hah ha....

Hey, it's a slow reading week. Stuck at home with nothing but my homework & a toaster. You'd be bored too.

Liane -- [adjective]: Tastes like fried chicken 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Olympic Names

Since my laptop is setup directly across the room from the TV, I'm finding it hard to resist having background Olympic commentary as I work; figure skating music is especially conductive to procrastination from my 499 project. But since the CBC is pretty much broadcasting Olympic coverage 24/7 on four different channels, I'm hearing a lot of names being repeated until they've become ingrained in my consciousness.

There are the pretty sounding ones:
Sylke Otto
Fu Tianyu
Anouk Leblanc-Boucher (looks awkward, but rolls off the tongue with Quebecois magic)


...the cute sounding ones:
Yang Yang
Jeff Buttle
Becky Scott
Daisuke Takahashi ("Daisuke daisuki!" Bwa I made a funny)
Joey Cheek

...and the frankly hilarious sounding ones:
Apolo Anton Ohno (Impossible to say Ohno without pronouncing it "Oh no". Or more accurately, "OH NOOO!!!!")

Hic! Kill me. Hic! Kill me.

There is no hell quite like having reoccuring hiccups for an entire day. They attack like ninja, they fade out without you noticing. Then leap back into existence with a vengeance,just when you realize they've gone away. I think my diaphragm is making a bid for freedom.

(Hic.)
(Hic.)
(Hic.)

A most excellent day

Had an unusually pleasant day today.

Booked an appointment to have my grad photos taken, mostly because my parents & grandmother wanted them, but also because in my last school photo, taken in OAC, I looked like a frantic monkey boy. Problematic because a) am a girl, b) am not a monkey and c) grandma keeps this embarrassingly horrific photo in her wallet. Am happy to occupy such an exalted position in her wallet & her hierarchy of the "goodness" of her grandchildren, but would like picture to at least look like myself. But they turned out okay, and the photographer was a nice old guy who chit-chatted very nicely and told about his (obselete) electrical systems knowledge.

Also, forced my hair into a manageable state for the pictures. It was shiny and swingy, so I felt pretty even if I looked like a troll. Watched an episode of Full House (k-drama); utterly silly plot setup, but it's amusing because the interaction between the two leads is so funny (plus they make lots of faces).

Stopped at Shopper's on the way back, bought nice discounted aloe-scented St. Ives hand cream. The smell of aloe gives me warm fuzzy feelings because I'd bought a small tube of it in Hong Kong last Christmas, which was the best trip ever. Also, got bag of Smartfood as fuel for working on my 499 project.

Went to class (CISC 466 - Algorithms II), learned about linear programming (which isn't really programming, and is less linear than a ball of tangled yarn). All was fine until prof announced he hadour marked tests to return, the test being the one that I thought I had bombed. Turns out I did much better than I had thought, so I pretty much bounced out of Nicol Hall. Huzzah for flukes!

Watched some Olympics when I got home, ate my Smartfood & remnant almonds from trip to Tara's, had some yummy leftover Beef Hutsput for lunch and a mug of tea. Had yummy veg stir-fry for dinner. Mmm...food IS heaven.

So in spite of vague worries about certain things, all in all, a very good day.

Josie Grossie

- 1 to 2 eggs, beaten
- bowl of rice-based sustenance (rice, udon, etc.)
- soy sauce

Heat frypan with some oil. Dump egg into rice/udon, mix that bitch. Fry the whole mess together until egg is cooked. Feel free to attack with spatula as it cooks. Add some soy sauce 'n' fry somemore. Turn off heat, scoop into cheerful duck-printed bowl (or stolen cafeteria bowl). Procure chopstix.

Eat something green and healthy to satisfy nutritional conscience.

Yum.

As promised

...daily post number two. Nothing to say, except a graphic illustration of my eggplant knees from two weeks ago:



It actually got much more colourful and pronounced in a few days, but much less painful. Pacman's mouth was the most ow-ey but was freakishly colourless for the entire healing period. Gleefully kept housemates posted on Pacman's condition by whipping out my knee at the slightest provocation.

Bento/Wnd: (wanders into kitchen)
Moi: (eating Skyflakes at table)
Housemate: (glance)
Yours truly: (snaps to attention) "Look look look! Look at my bruise! PURPLE! Looky!"
Digusted Housemate: (exclamation of revulsion)
...
Disgusted Housemate: (closer inspection)
Disgusted Housemate: (disbelieving fascination)
Me me me: (erupting with smugness)

They were understandably repulsed, but apparently just interested enough to inform others of Pacman's many shades:

Laurena: (newly arrived for a visit from Toronto, just walked in the door)
Me: "Heyo, how was your trip?"
L: "Not bad. How's the bruise?"
Me: (speechless at Pacman's fame)

...and now I can't believe I wrote about a bruised knee for ten minutes. But it really was quite remarkable.

Eeee! Kitties!

Derek Kirk Kim has started a new comic: Healing Hands, Part I.

Okay, so I'm trying to post daily for...the next month or so. Already forgot once (yesterday), so will post twice today to make up for it. Blogging credit. Like the accounting method of amortized analysis. Hick. Argh.

Olympic Fever

Every time this thing happens I get overly excited and can't wait for it to start. Even though I couldn't actually be more remote from the whole event (not even in Europe, don't ski, don't skate, don't wear skintight jumpsuits or sequined bits of flesh-coloured polyester), I'm eagerly anticipating the opening cermonies in Turin. Partly because I like the spectacle, partly to see what Team Canada is wearing, and partly because it's quite thrilling to see the international (sporting) community in a peaceful setting. One could argue that it's overly sentimental and expensive and look at Munich and Atlanta and can't you see that the whole world is shot to hell so it's all a sham...but I can't help but feel warm and fuzzy when the Olympic flame is lit. And it can't hurt to hope. So here's to a harmonious and amicable Winter Games.

Except in hockey, of course. And curling. Go and show the world what a poutine-laced diet and steady intake of maple-sugar candy can do!

Another issue is the gendering of the Turin mascots, Neve and Gliz. Why is Gliz so stocky? Why is Neve so curvy? Are they a couple? Is Gliz really such a blockhead? Gliz has the perfect build for a hockey player, but with such bulbous limbs and high centre of gravity, Neve would be virtually useless at any sport. And what will we do about their dental problems?

Shopping with Ah-poh



This is my grandmother.

She is 85 years old. She goes swimming on a regular basis and takes daily strolls for her constitution. She braves Canadian winter temperatures and the TTC subway system to walk about town. She knows Chinatown like the back of her hand. She does laundry like you wouldn't believe.

She survived orphanhood in Hainan and a childhood full of sorrow. She doesn't like to talk of her life before marriage.

She was married when she was 19. She had seven children; she has outlived two of them, as well as her husband. She has eight grandchildren and one great-grandson.

She has lived in China, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Toronto. She has visited England, Russia, Prague, Japan, South Korea and more. She doesn't speak English but she has ridden a camel.

She cooks like the devil, banters like a pro and likes to watch The Price is Right.

She's awesome.

Things I Like

...fuzzy hardcover books
...people watching on Princess Street
...sweet piano music
...the smiling efficiency of the Timmy's ladies at the JDUC
...portmanteau words (labradoodle, complastered)
...dinner
...sudden downpours & hot tea
...finishing projects
...goofing around with Bento & Wnd
...dai pai dong food

Ooo! Me mozzie bites!

Didn't mean to take a 2.5 month hiatus, but I swear to be more of a faithful blogger in the future. Summary of the past few months:

Christmas Break 2005: returned home to find that my parents had very thoughtfully turned the heat off before they left for Cuba four days earlier. Camped out for two days in the family room, rolled in blankets on the floor in front of the fireplace, watching DVD's of dubious legitimacy and eating scores of Doug muffins (fried egg, mayo, cheddar & a toasted english muffin), until the house warmed up. Knitted five scarves. Met up with Gen, Jen & Tiff in Etobicoke for dumpling dinner. Watched March of the Penguins four times in three weeks. Met cousin's new baby: a doughlike, sluggy baby -- very cute and bubbly.

BEWICS 2006 & eggplant knees: after the annual weird sports tournie, ended up with traditional stiff muscles & bruised knees after playing broomball for two days. Most of the damage was on my left knee, about 4 inches in diameter, with varying shades of yellow & purple & blue. Quite artistic in the beginning, but later morphed into a technicolour Pacman.

Long Way Round: Bento & I are now raging fans of this series (Charley Boorman & Ewan McGregor go round the world on motorcycles). Hilarious British-isms (mozzies = mosquitos), man-hugs, cultural revelations ("Mafia. Grosse mafia."), and pot holes the size of a swimming pools. Whee! Need to find the book now.

EatDrinkBreath Flash: starting this semester, have committed myself to learning how to use Macromedia Flash for my undergraduate project. I've been feeling like a computing lightweight because compared to some other possibly project topics (analysing Enron emails to detect deception, incredible biomedical applications, etc.) mine is fairly fluff. But it's truly challenging & interesting for me because I've never used it & it's a totally different programming paradigm (ooo erudite & shit). Plus my supervisor seems satisfied with what I've done so far, so there.

...I truly don't remember what else happened in that interval. Wuzzle.