Maybe
June 30, 2003
Maybe I should say that these past days have been exactly like every other day in Japan. Maybe I should say I’m glad Dennis and Sunny have been updating. Maybe I should say that my birthday is coming up again already and that I’m not going to do anything. Maybe I should also say that Nate, who worked at the ELI with me, who now is in Korea, came to Osaka for the weekend and we had a good Saturday afternoon together. Maybe I should say I had a wicked time last week at friend/coworker Daniel’s birthday dinner where a traditionally dressed Japanese woman came to our dining room and poured sake for us, much in the way traditionally dressed Japanese women used to pour sake for samurai and other important men 400 years ago. Maybe I should say I’m getting my ass kicked in Master of Orion 3 because I bit off more than I could chew and now I have 2 very pissed off races after me. Maybe I should say I just wrote a short story that I will eventually post up here after some editing.
Maybe I should say all those things, but I won’t.
Wooohah
June 26, 2003
Whoa. Blogger suddenly got a facelift. After they were taken over by Google, they’be been tinkering around. The new blogger came out today and it looks and feels all nice and stuff but I don’t think there are any real differences.
I had a completely full work week this week - 5 days x 8 lessons each day. I couldn’t believe it. I haven’t had a full week since when I first started working. The feeling is shit. When you’re used to not that many lessons and then all of a sudden you’re thrown back into the pool - you want to rip shit out of people, like guts and spleens and stuff. Sucks.
Sunny, your updates sound so depressing. Hang in there buddy.
I’m just updating right now because I’m bored and I don’t want to do any important stuff yet. It’s my Friday night right now.
Updates
June 23, 2003
It appears Robot Frank may not be as dead as previously thought… interesting turn of events. Although I’m actually kind of sick of it being not updated for a long time then suddenly finding out it’s been abandoned.
Also, Sunny has moved his page to another host with less popups. There’s still one but sure beats the 2 at angelfire and the 1 that pops up when you close one of the first popups. That’s annoying. The other pages at his site are still at angelfire so beware!
And Dennis, I got your email and it is exciting indeed. I will be replying in due time.
I am in need of time.
Business, like Busy-ness, not Selling Condoms Business
June 22, 2003
Here I am, watching an episode of DBZ, eating a cheap bento after a long day at work. Day one finished, only four more busy days left. Tomorrow after work I will be meeting a few Osaka friends and also another friend I haven’t seen in awhile. Actually, I don’t really know her too well. The day after, I’ll be meeting Eri after work. The day after that, it’s my friend Daniel’s birthday dealie. The day after that, probably I’ll be going to that English cafe once again. Then there’s Japanese lesson after that. Lots to do and not enough time to do it.
I’ve been working on a few things for the other sections of my webpage but it’s going really slowly. I’m still writing a story for this one comic thing but it’s probably going to turn out shitty much like the other stuff. I think everything that pops into my head involves crazy insane twists of normal day to day things. There are about four comic/story ideas floating around. One has a completed script (but needs some editing) but I don’t have the drawing skills to complete it yet. Well, I can draw it on paper and scan it but as I don’t have a scanner yet… it’s all wacom or nothing.
And I’m slowly playing Master of Orion 3 still. After the patch was released, the game kicks ass now. The patch fixed a lot of flaws that made the game shitty. Now it’s much easier to play and more interesting too.
And I’m still keeping up on my Japanese studies. I can confidently say I have increased my speaking ability two fold. It’s not much considering I could only say about 4 or 5 things before. Now I can make simple simple sentences about what I did, am doing, or will do.
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Don’t worry if your browser can’t see that. Don’t worry if you can’t understand it too.
Nostalgia
June 20, 2003
I got bored so I opened up a dusty folder in my computer called, “Old Homepages”. In this folder contains the relics I used to call Jerryvision. It essentially has every webpage design I’ve ever made and contains most of all my updates and shit I’ve made. It’s far from complete though and I fear the missing updates are probably lost to history forever. The earliest record I have dates back to June 8, 1999 but I know my very first update dates a little farther back than that. I remember the reason I made the page was when I was in that stupid EDP class in highschool with Andrew, we both thought it would be fun to make some webpages. We had finished making really ugly pages for this class and wanted to play with it more. So my very very first stuff would date back to around 1997 or 1998. Five years later, I’m still writing. Unforunately, I didn’t start archiving updates regularly until late in the game. I’ve lost a lot because of this.
I noticed big changes over these four years in my writing style. Prior to Nov 11, 1999, I was a depressed kid who was yearning for a girlfriend because the past girlfriends and relationships I had were either horrible or dull or mean or wanted something better than me. On that date though, things changed. For those who don’t know, my best friend at the time had a car accident that changed his life and the lives of all those around him. For the next little while after this date, I was just angry at everything. The next important change came when I got my job at the ELI. That place made me discover a lot about myself and I met a lot of good people at that place. I think that place really helped me get over not being best friends with some people and having my life completely change. The summer of 2000 may have been the best one in my life.
A little later that year, around August 2000, I met Eri. We saw each other and hung out a few times that month and then spontaneously, we became a couple in September. I remember the day we got together very well. And people have been right - I do talk about Eri a whole lot. I think after I met her, my writing changed a lot too. My friend’s accident stripped me of a security blanket and forced me to wake up from a long, happy dream. The period of not having this friend made me grow up. The first summer at the ELI made me realize there’s so much more out there for me. Eri became all that was so much more. The updates for the past 2 years, 9 months, and 10 days are all wonderful and I feel so damn proud of myself for going through so much stuff in my insignificant little life. (Incidentally, honey, Happy 2 Years, 9 Months, and 10 Days!)
Some other things I noticed while reminiscing: I said after every final that I would fail but four years of university later and I haven’t failed a single exam or course. I mention Dennis just as much as Eri - much more before I met her. Quake, Shoo, cigarettes, sports, and being bored are also very common things I read about. I was very boring.
That’s about it. If you haven’t done so, you should go read over your old writing and rediscover yourself. I used to be afraid of looking into the past because some of the most painful memories lie beneath. Now, I feel they aren’t as painful as before and have in all their mysterious ways, shaped me into the fine piece of meat I am today.
The Instinct
June 17, 2003
It’s time. The brightness has subsided and the rumblings have ceased. Only now will it be safe to come from the sanctuaries. I scurry along keeping my body close to the ground. Always aware. Always aware for any signs of trouble. I can never be too safe. It’s all too simple. I just need to survive. I don’t know why the urge is so strong but it fills my body with spirit and energy. I just need to keep going a bit more for as long as I can hold out. I feel it. There. Over there. I feel it. I smell it. I see it. I sense it. I know it. I quickly find my way there and feast. Every bite cheats the end a little more. Every mouthful enlarges the drive and enlarges the instinct. It’s all there is.
Others have come out too. They see me and I see them but neither they nor I will be distracted. We all need this feast. We all feel this urge to go on. None of us know the end but we all know the means. After the feast, some will procreate and continue the cycles. I will fade back into the sanctuaries and await for the next chrono cycle to occur. It’s not as consistent as before now. I must always be on guard and always be aware of the brightness and the rumblings. One drop of negligence and I will cease. I must be careful. I continue the feast. I am almost replenished. I know not when I will be able to feast again. It’s always a gamble.
Suddenly the dark veil of safety is removed. The brightness returns as quickly as it left. The rumblings follow. The rumblings grow stronger and more in frequency. It can only mean one thing. I think twice about leaving this feast, knowing all too well that another chance may not come so easily. I turn and dart towards the dark sanctuaries. It’s the only way to continue this drive. No one that has faced the brightness and the rumblings has ever survived. Our only defense is the escape, the escape into the dark sanctuaries. The urge now is not about the feast but on immediate survival.
!!!
It is too late. My exodus into the darkness was for nought. I was not fast enough. I was not nimble and swift and agile enough. The brightness overwhelms me as the rumbling hits its peak in the ground surrounding me. The end came horrendously quick. The end was much quicker than me. It was faster. It was nimbler and more swifter and more agile. All that is left of me is but a mere shadow. I only hope the others can continue. Continue. The struggle. The brightness overwhelms but the darkness, it returns to me. It envelopes and protects. I can feel it. I can…
feel …
…
Dedicated to that unlucky cockroach.
Non-Work Work
June 16, 2003
Well, work is becoming busy. Actually, I think it’s fair to say that being busy is the norm now. 7 today and they all showed up. Those bastards. The nerve of them, to pay hard-earned money and then show up!?!?!
The interesting part came after work. Me and a couple others went to this place called Shakey’s Pizza. It’s this shitty little pizza parlour smack in the middle of Shinsaibashi (a busy hub of shoppers and all sorts of shit). They had pizza tabehodai for 600 yen. Tabehodai means all-you-can-eat. I mentioned about this yesterday. The pizza is not too bad for the price - it filled me up even though the crust is super thin and the toppings are carefully grafted on. They had interesting flavours to say the least. Still, I enjoyed it because I got to ask a friend some interesting questions that I wouldn’t normally ask other people.
After both of them left, I was stuck in Shinsaibashi alone so I decided to go to this English Cafe place I saw in some ads. The place wasn’t exactly a cafe. It was more like an apartment with chairs, tables, sofas, and a lot of drinks, freezers, ice, and that sort of stuff. Of course, at first the gaijin girl thought I was Japanese and started to tell me about the covers/fees. It wasn’t until I said, in perfect English, “I was under the impression that native English speakers get in for free.” Ahhh, everything clarifies at this point. I take my seat with these two older Japanese people and begin a nice chit chat. It was about 5:30 and there were only the 4 of us. At about 8, when I left, I think there were almost 20 people there. I met one dude also from Vancouver. The people were divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced tables and just chatted away. I noticed the native speakers speaking a lot which was interesting… I thought they’d want to let them speak more. So when I was at the table alone, I just asked them general get-ta-know-ya questions to get them talking. It was really fun. It was like work but not really - it was meaningful and personable. For the first time ever, I felt like a teacher.
I’m definitely gonna go back to that place - lotsa human interaction there. Also, I haven’t met many people in Osaka so it’s a great opportunity. Yeah.
Dad’s Day
June 15, 2003
On the off chance my dad sees this, then, Happy Father’s Day! It’s hard to do things for Father’s, Mother’s Days, birthdays, and any sort of day where well wishes are required when you’re halfway around the globe. I feel so unfilial.
Thank you, Sunny, for updating! Seattle can be fun and very intimidating at the same time. Those dude(s) were staring at you probably because they thought you and your asian friends all had SARS. That toy store rules and the gianto keyboard ain’t too hard to play, if you’re good at jumping. Now I only wish more people update because I’m sure tired of reading my own updates.
Today was a nice day at work. Six scheduled. Well, at first it was five but they eventually took one away. The first lesson was free and the next two after that didn’t show up. I didn’t teach until the fourth and right after that, I had lunch. Not too bad. Tomorrow morning however looks busy. It’s filled already. I’ll not be looking forward to that. However, I’m going to some pizza all-you-can-eat with a friend tomorrow. Apparently, it’s only 600 yen, or about 7 bucks. That’s VERY cheap by Japan standards and pretty cheap by Canadian value too. Hideki hit another homerun and Roger got his 300th. It’s a great time to be alive.
Update damn you all!
Transformers Comeback Move
June 13, 2003
Whoa! I gotta see this if it ever comes out in Japan. The best thing is, they’re planning to use the original line up of Transformers, not the crazy dazzly ones of the its later years.
Writing More
June 12, 2003
I’m surprised at myself. I’ve been consistently writing on my webpage this past little while. I think I’ve been so excited about this new design that I just want to look at it more. It’s no award winning deal but it’s been so long since my webpage has been drastically changed. The last design was really just a blogger template modified slightly. I can’t really take credit for it. This one isn’t very original but it does include lotsa pictures - something I’ve always wanted to do. I can sort of change the pictures easily. I need to get a nicer camera soon because all the photos taken by my current one always comes out blurry, no matter how I take the picture or play with the settings. I want to get a camera that includes video recording because that’s all the norm now.
I just got word that there will be another student in my Japanese class later today. It’s sort of good and bad. It’s good that I’ll have someone else to practice speaking with in class but bad because I no longer have lucky private lessons. It’s only my third lesson though. I’ve been pretty good with keeping up with the readings. I still haven’t memorized everything but I’m getting up bright and early to do so.
I was going to write about the Israel/Palestine situation and how the peace plan that was going along nicely was just fucked in the butt by an Israeli missile attack, followed by a suicide bombing, and then followed by Israel declaring to wipe out the Hamas faction. What a great little story of hatred and violence. I hope both sides get wiped out or no one dies at all. It’s all or nothing in my camp. Otherwise, the fighting will just endlessly continue. I’m too tired to even think about all that miserable suffering.
And I’ll Never Ever Ever Ever Ever Write A Song About Sibbie…
June 11, 2003
I had some old pics lying around in my phone so here you go. See and read all about my time in Tokyo last month. I never really asked, but the descriptions work right? You guys do click on it and read them right? Hmm… and since now like every freakin page here has gianto pictures everywhere, how are the load times for everyone? Painful? Bearable? Lightning quick? Hmm…
Dennis I hope you’re feeling better. Sunny I hope your ass feels better. By the way, it’s not my place to say, but whenever someone is giving mixed messages - GET OUT. Mixed messages are not fun messages and will only end up biting you in your already swollen ass. That’s my opinion anyway. Feel free to email me and debate this (I am rather curious as to who this person is).
Oh look at the time. I have to sleep! I bet I’m the only one out of everyone who sleeps regularly at 11pm.
Daily Dose
June 09, 2003
I feel like I’m in university! I’ve been updating everyday for the past… 2 days!
The “Created” and “Captured” buttons have had their pictures replaced with pictures that you may actually find some sort of analogy to the word. The first pictures were of my clock and of a school of fish from the aquarium. Go think that one over. Also, the Captured page itself is complete although right now it’s sort of empty. The big pictures here are supposed to be blurry. I need to do more things to fill up my webpage. I’m going to run out of space soon. BTW, I suddenly started using the words, “Spoken, Created, Captured” because first it was more appealing than Blog, Gallery, Photos and it also has more marketing appeal, don’t you think? Not that I have any plans to become a commercial project or something but good marketing never hurts. It just basically started with “spoken” as a blog name and then I thought, well, might as well name the other parts with past participles. Sadly, the past participles of create and capture aren’t as cool as speak. I was thinking of using “Taken” instead for “Captured” because you know, you can “take” pictures. But after some though, “Taken” sounded too sexual for some reason. Yes I know, “Captured” can also be like that too but it was cooler so shut up.
Today after work I joined a few people for coffee. There was an Israeli, a Chinese, an Australian, and a Welsh dude. (That sentence would be a great start to some sort of joke) It was quite fun. I’ve never heard so much bashing of different countries before in one sitting. It was rather amusing. Of these 4 people, I’ve only met one of them outside of work before and it was only one time. I really need to get out and do more stuff with people. Tomorrow I’m going to my first Japanese person’s birthday party (other than Eri). I’m excited as I get a chance to practice the language I’ve picked up these couple of days of studying. I still suck, don’t get the impression from my writing that I’m fluent or anything, far from it.
I tried to get Eri to write comments here but then she reminded me she would only write really embarassing personal messages in a language that’s not quite English, not quite Japanese. This language was forged from our relationship. So, now I’m won’t be so sad if she doesn’t write…
Museum of Ridiculous Boring Things
June 08, 2003
Today was the first date like day for Eri and I in a long time. We woke up and had a quick lunch at this Japanese fast food restaurant. They serve mostly beef ricebowls but we ended up having some cold udon dish too. It was the first time I tried it and it was fuggin good. They serve it on a bamboo platter along with a dish with a soysauce/udon soup mixture along with generous amounts of green onion and some ginger. You dip the udon into this soup and then enjoy. It was fuggin hot today, probably hotter than you Vancouverians complaining about your dry, hot weather. Try it with humidity.
We then took a nice subway ride to Tanimachi and went to the Osaka History Museum. From the outside, the place is mindblowingly beautiful. It’s a fabulous work of architecture. Inside, the place was just as nice. It was definitely the newest museum I’ve been to in Japan. There was an impressive view of Osaka Castle on every floor. The content of the museum itself was ok but there wasn’t anything I didn’t see in the Tokyo National Museum a few weeks ago. It was just newer today. They had a sword collection too but katana and tachi are only interesting when you see professionals slice shit up with them. When they’re laying on white cloth behind layers of glass, it’s as interesting as broken glassware. Still, it gave us a reason to get out of the apartment instead of just waste it watching rented movies and variety shows
We got back around 7 and went to this 100 yen kaiten sushi shop. Kaiten means revolving - it’s nothing new to your Vancouverians. The place is quite near my house but I’ve never been there because it looked really small. Boy I wish I had gone earlier. The stuff was really fresh for cheap sushi and the rice was not made by robots and machines like at the other place we usually go. The staff seemed really friendly and wanting to fulfill our every needs. Eri said one dude was constantly asking customers if they were ok or if they wanted some special orders as they weren’t eating much. That’s cool. I took a couple pictures today but then found out the museum was not camera-friendly. Poo on them.
Seems Justin had a harrowing adventure with an arsonist or someone with a grudge. If you want to be careful dude, I’d go drench your yard and bushes with the garden hose for awhile. Get them soaked up with water so that it’d be harder to set on fire later. Or maybe coat it with really toxic chemicals that once burned will form poison clouds, killing everything in its vicinity. Oh yeah, airtight your house first.
I’m still working on stuff around this site. Right now I’m using the same layout for every page but the grand plan will be for each section to have its own unique look. I’m not into the whole uniformity thing.
Is This Working?
June 07, 2003
I have no idea. It’s not working everytime.
Accident
June 03, 2003
I had one right after the last update. See the webcam.
Edit - 2005/09/22
I was referring to this picture.
Everybody! Everybody!
Since Everybody! Everybody! updated, I’ll do the same although the quality of my writing has been described as, “It’s so fucking boring I want to gouge my eyes out and shove them into my ass just so I could see something more interesting.”
That typhoon I ranted about pissed over pretty quickly. The weather here sure was fucked up for awhile. It was crazy windy for all three days with one day of fair skies and temperature. The next day was piss hot and humid in the day but then it started pouring buckets of piss at night. The last day was nice and cool. It was a mini-me of a typhoon so hopefully the momma typhoons hit soon. I want to see chaos, death, and destruction by the fury of momma nature before I leave.
Work has been pissy busy with 8 lessons nearly everyday for the past few weeks. I’m so sick of it. I feel like I’m on probation again. They have a new scheduling system that was supposed to be more fair but it hasn’t proven to be the case. My compatriots who started at the same time seem to get 6 or 7 while I always get my free periods filled. It’s pathetic and frustrating. I’m deciding to snoop around for other occupations that don’t involve work dissatisfaction and the teaching of languages. It will be a hard find this I know.
I watched The Shawshank Redemption again recently. It reconfirmed its place in the Hall of Great Movies which is jealously guarded by a very short and select movie list.
I hope whoever is having whatever sort of trouble, be it relationship, financial, or just general suddenly find the answer and have a nice day. And don’t think this message is targeted specifically at you because there are so many people right now having things go wrong it’s not even funny. Well, it’s funny to me since everything is so fucking rosy. (Hate mail ensues)
