Entries this day: AM Linear_Gale Rob_Update Spinning_Coaster benkyo haha miki

AM

9:51am JST Wednesday 12 May 2004

Was up a bit late last night working on my student reminder. Forgot that I asked Jesse to call me and bring his clippers so I could shave my head. We'll do it *after* he goes to the gym instead of before.

Linear Gale

Linear Gale

Call me snobby, but I don't like this ride. The line is too long for too short of a ride. It's a suspended ski-lift type ride, but it has basically no manuevers. It's just a squared-U shape |___| with the platform in the middle. Magnet-induced launch hurls us forward, we go up, then down and backwards and faster through the bottom then up, then down and forwards and not faster through the bottom then up, then down and and backwards and not faster through the bottom then up, then down and forwards and slower then up, then down and stop.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh done. [yawn]

Rob Update

10:11am JST Wednesday 12 May 2004

Rob Update

HOME: I love my new apartment in Motosumiyoshi (name of train station
and surrounding city).  I'm saving money on rent from my last
apartment, learning more Japanese than in my last apartment, and
there's free internet access here.  Awesome!   

Oh, *and* I'm slowly learning to cook in Japan.  I learned how to use
the rice cooker a few days ago, and I already knew how to cook eggs
and chop spinach, so now I can make scrambled egg / rice / spinach
pancake things for breakfast and lunch.  My next plan is to learn how
to make okonomiyaki; *just yesterday*, I learned that okonomiyaki
powder (rice flower, I think) can be purchased at supermarkets.

- -

WORK: I love my new job at Gaba.  I'm teaching individual (one on one)
lessons now, so I can give precise lessons - exactly what I think each
individual needs.  I've been creating a student tracker so I can more
easily keep track of the students I've had, remember their names and
their preferred learning style.

- -

STUDY: Special thanks to one of my favorite students (Kozue) for
keeping an English diary; she gave me the idea of keeping a Japanese
diary, which has really helped my progress.  I'm not fluent by any
stretch, but writing in a diary has helped me learn more words that I
wouldn't have learned before, and has helped me learn kanji.  Awesome.

- -

BIKE: About 2 months ago, I left my bike overnight at the bike parking
lot.  It was pouring down rain, I was tired, and I didn't want to ride
while holding an umbrella.  The next day when I went to retrieve my
bike, I found that someone else had liberated it from the parking lot.

At first I was optimistic that I'd get it back.  I essentially got my
wallet back when I lost it; I got my phone back when I lost it.  But
as the days wore on, it became apparent that my beloved bike was not
coming back.  I had meditated on its safe and easy return, and even
now I have a thread of hope in my heart, but it's fading.

I was really angry about it for a few weeks; each time I had to walk
to and from the train station (with other people on bikes going to and
fro) I would feel so *angry* that someone had stolen my beloved bike.
Did I mention that I loved the bike?  Yes; I loved that bike.

To make it more pungent, I remember that I had *just* paid 6000 yen
($55) to get the brakes tuned and to replace the back sprocket. (sigh)

- - 

FRIENDS: I've been able to experience the adage "true friends will
stick with you," as I've cruised along this Japanese adventure.  In a
way it makes me less worried about being alone.  And less worried
about losing friends if I move on to China.  Even though I'm in Japan,
I still have my friends at home who love me.  Even though I switched
jobs in Japan, I still have friends from my previous job.  I've come
to not trust/assume/believe "we'll stay in touch" is true.  I've come
to understand those words aren't necessary.

On more than one occassion I've thought that in a big picture way,
I've come to Japan to learn how to live alone.

- -

FUN: Jesse, my friend at Gaba with whom I often enjoy playing hackey
sack on our shared breaks, recently invited me to play racquetball
with him at the nearby gym.  He led the way, showing me where to
reserve courts and ask for racquets and where the locker rooms are.
(there are strange rules for wearing shoes: shoes worn outside must be
taken off when we come inside.  Then we can put on new shoes when we
change clothes, but we can't wear them in the locker room.)

We've only been one time, but it was really fun, and I'm considering
joining the gym on next payday.

- -

COASTERS: I'm putting some more energy into writing my roller coaster
book.  Small achievable steps, as my personal coach taught me.  Jimmy,
my friend at Gaba with whom I've been working on my roller coaster
book, has been helping me with my roller coaster book.  He described
himself as the ultimate enabler, a cheerleader for others' projects.
He has access to desktop publishing software, and has combined my text
with my pictures to make some cool layouts that can be used in a book.

- -

FUTURE: I don't have any plans to stay or leave Japan; I've considered
moving to China to learn Chinese and get in on their growing economy,
but I don't want to just run away from my life again.  But maybe I'm
running toward my life.  Maybe I'm just running.

How about I'll go to China after I have a saleable roller coaster book
completed?  That's a good goal.

    Be well
    - Rob

Spinning Coaster

Spinning Coaster

Aptly named, the spinning coaster is a variant of wild mouse traps that I've ridden before. Each car has two seats back to back, and the whole assembly spins according to weight distribution while going around the hairpin turns.

The line is usually short, and is worth about a five to ten minute wait. On one occassion, there was *no* line, and I rode it about 5 times in a row.

benkyo

4:20pm JST Wednesday 12 May 2004

あなたはどれくらい元住吉に住んでいますか。

ニか月。　二か月かん元住吉に住んでいます。

GABAで働いていますでも、今日働いていません。 （やった！）

今日友だちの家でお茶飲んで日本語を勉強しています。

あと、友だちにパソコンを教えます。

- - - -

なぜ日本語を勉強していますか。
むずかしから。アメリカじんは英語をはなします、でも私は四かこく語を話したい。 英語、スパイン語、日本語、

なぜお好み焼きが好きですか。
おいしいから。

新し単語:

働いています = はたらいています
お茶 = おちゃ = 飲みもの
単語 = たんご
家　= いえ　=　どこに住んでいます
教えます = おしえます

haha

5:10pm JST Wednesday 12 May 2004

I went to 美貴 (KG Miki)'s house to exchange Japanese tutoring for computer tutoring. She did quite well with learning how to open windows, resize them, and switch between windows using the whatsit at the bottom of the screen. How interesting for me to see someone so interested in seeing the technology for the first time.

For some reason, their Internet Explorer doesn't have a location bar toolbar at the top. I looked through all the menus (and had her read (and translate some of) them) in Japanese, fucked around with dragging the toolbars around, but couldn't get the location bar to appear. I resorted to Ctrl-O to pop up a location bar window. She said her dad and sister didn't know how to do the location bar either, so hopefully she can show them something new when they come back home.

After our tutoring sessions, I stepped outside to look for a wireless internet signal around the apartment building while she prepared to leave the apartment. While walking near the elevators, a Japanese woman was like, "こんにちは"

and I was like, "HI こんにちは" wondering why suddenly someone should be so nice to me after 14 months of being ignored by strangers.

and then she goes, "ロブさんですか。"

and I'm like, "はい。" all surprised that she knew me

and she goes, "ハハです。"

and I'm like "?" and then "美貴のハハですか。"

as she said, "美貴のハハです。"

and I'm like, "そう！" and then "びくりした。"

and I got all nervous until she goes, "はじめまして"

and I go, "はじめまして"

and then she asked me "美貴は"

and then it got a bit difficult, "um,..今美貴は。。"

but she knew the answer and finished my sentence, just as Miki was coming outside.

Wow!

miki

12:14am JST Thursday 13 May 2004

Big fun with Miki today. Enjoyed teaching her computer stuff. Enjoying chowing at the okonomiyaki place in Kawasaki BE. Enjoyed learning that I don't like manjyoyaki as much as okonomiyaki. manjyoyaki is super chewy with machi (chewy rice gum stuff), and it all got stuck in my teeth, which is not my favorite thing.

I taught her how to use "should allow," "should make," "should force," and "should let."

She taught me how to say (let's see if I can get this right) "私の 仕事は２時に始まる、ので私は１時から仕事を始める。"