listening to speech
November 24, 2004
Lately, I’ve been focussing on my own speech. I’ve been listening to what sort of things I say and what kinds of words I use. I’ve come to a fair conclusion: I talk about myself too much.
I know I don’t mean to do so but I have a nasty tendency to drag some sort of anecdote about myself into the conversation. The conversation will make a sharp turn because of my vocal driving. Perhaps the people I’ve been talking to have been getting pissed that I’m hijacking their message vehicles and taking them for a personal joyride.
I’m pretty sure I do this because I think I have something interesting to add and that I want the other person to pick something up without having to go through what I had to go through to learn the lesson. It’s also probably true that I think my stories are just more interesting than what’s being said. I’m sure the ones that know me well also know this little vice of mine and will forgive me for it. Nonetheless, I think it’ll be for my own benefit to try to change this habit. I’ve been trying to just listen more and not inject anything but it’s so damn hard to keep my big mouth shut. I think people will be able to trust me more.
Don’t point out the hypocrisy of me speaking about how I speak too much about myself on my webpage. It is MY webpage. In fact, I’m trying to do most of the Me talk here and leave room for the You talk in real conversations.
In listening to my own speech, I’ve also listened to people around me as well. It’s interesting how personalities really show when words are looked at. The woman uses “but” and “can’t” more often than I’d like her to. I’m trying hard to use more, “and” and “why not” to balance this. I have a self-confidence surplus while she may be in need of a bit more.
Some people sure love complaining - they’ll complain about anything even when things are generally looking quite positive. I like hearing some of their rants but it sure gets boring when that’s all they ever talk about. Some people speak about the most superficial topics… sadly, these people don’t hang around long in my life as I need more depth to relationships. Some people use too much sarcasm - it may be fun for a while but it just gets annoying when you approach them something serious and they reply with yet more sarcasm.
Send a Message
November 21, 2004
In an effort to stop trawling bots from catching my email address, I’ve created a little form for people to send messages to me. Check it out! Try to break it! Send me obsene messages! It’s in the contact section of the About page from now on.
Remember to read the third and final edition of My Strange Experiences which was posted a short while before this post.
My Strange Experiences [3 of 3]
My third and final instalment of My Strange Experiences once again is a bit weaker than the previous. This one’s gonna be a short one so save your trip to the washroom for afterwards.
I was sitting on the couch in the living room speaking to my mom. She was sitting on the loveseat. Beside both is a small table with a big lamp on it. We were watching Chinese TV and jabbering away. I remember facing the television screen and suddenly feeling someone was watching me. In my peripheral vision, I thought I saw a face hovering right above the lamp. I couldn’t make out any details but I was so damn sure. I turned and faced the lamp but of course, nothing was there.
It was probably just my imagination. I should probably stop being so interested in ghost stories. Unfortunately, nothing interesting has happened ever since coming to Japan… a land with long history, lots of war, and many deaths and a lot of superstition.
Thank you for listening to all… My Strange Experience stories.
My Strange Experiences [2 of 3]
November 20, 2004
Today’s strange experience is a bit less dramatic than the first. It’s a pretty tame story suitable for all ages but not suitable for wusses of any age.
Once again, it happened in the middle of the night. I woke up at an unknown time this time to the urges of nature calling. When nature calls, you take it, collect or not. As many of you know, the washroom in the basement is very close to my bedroom. The only difficulty is that you have to walk barefoot on the damn cold tiles of the kitchen first.
Anyway, I stroll out and turn towards the washroom. About two feet away from the washroom door, a small globe of light streaks from the top right to the bottom left. It was about the size of a ping pong ball and it wasn’t very luminescent. It was like a glow in the dark ping pong ball to be more descriptive.
I watched this thing fly across my field of vision and then disappear. For some reason, I didn’t care about it. I remember thinking (as-a-matter-of-fact), “Oh. A ball of light just streaked by.” I finished my business in the washroom and went back to bed. It wasn’t until I was lying in bed did I realize what I had just saw.
It was probably just a nothing or maybe I was dreaming again. BUT… I can’t be certain…
My Strange Experiences [1 of 3]
November 18, 2004
Today in my Japanese lesson, I was reminded of a personal experience that happened awhile ago that I never spoke about here. I mentioned it very briefly a long time ago but never got around to revealing what it was. Perhaps it was because I didn’t know what to make of it or maybe I didn’t want people to think I was insane. Since I’ve established myself as certifiably insane already, I have no more reservations about telling the story. Here it is.
That night I went to bed listening to Coast to Coast AM as I always did. I fell asleep but awoke a couple hours later. I remember looking at the radio and seeing it was 2:00am’ish. I turned the radio back on to catch some more of the show. It was the host…. what’s his name… the one who took over for Art Bell and some other guy… the guest I guess. Anyway, it was two guys on the show only. Remember this point.
I remember it was an interesting show about either vampires or spirits but I was pretty drowsy so it could’ve been about stealing underwear from midgets for all I know.
Anyway, I remember not being able to sleep so I just listened and relaxed. I have a tendency to not stay still so in my normal shifting of my body, I crossed my right leg onto my left. For some reason, I crossed them like when I’m sitting: right ankle to left knee/thigh. It was at the very moment they connected that it happened.
I froze. Literally. My whole body felt like it suddenly slammed onto the bed even though I had already been lying there all night. I couldn’t move. The radio which had been in the background all that time suddenly started fading away. All I could hear now was this strange background noise which sort of sounded like static on TV, on low volume. Then, I could hear two female voices start speaking, only, they weren’t speaking English - I could clearly hear words but it was in a language I didn’t even recognize.
You may have guessed that at this point, I’m freaking out. I had gone from listening to two guys on a radio station to hearing two women speaking jibberish and being unable to move.
What I did next though was I just concentrated and focussed my breathing and tried not to panic. I’m guessing about ten seconds later, I was free. The women’s voices started fading and the sounds from the radio came back on.
My heart was beating at 16Mhz at this point but I calmed myself down and assured myself I had fallen asleep and nothing more. The next morning I pondered about the event in full sunlight and came to the conclusion that most likely I was just dreaming.
But what if I wasn’t?
Arashiyama
November 13, 2004
I triumphed! I survived a whole excursion by myself - train ride and all. Here it goes. Again, I’m going to be quite descriptive for other travelers or myself (in case I want to go back). Here goes:
Start
So I started fairly early this morning to beat the crowds. After a nice train ride, I was at Arashiyama with a cool crisp morning at my beckoning. I really hadn’t planned what to do here. There are so many temples and interesting looking things in the area.
The first landmark you’ll see is the Togetsu-kyo bridge. Supposedly this is a nice looking bridge but I found it to be ugly. The Hozu-gawa river on one side is beautiful while the other is blocked and fairly dry - lots of ugly weeds and crap growing there. Before the bridge, there was an interesting looking thing: the Iwatayama Monkey park. I was going to come back here on my way back but I was too tired. I’ll save that for next time.
Heading straight after the bridge, I saw a street filled on both sides with restaurants and stores selling souvenirs and sweets. I think the specialty in the area is matcha - green tea. Green tea tastes like green tea to me but some of the sweets looked really tempting. It was fine in the morning but be careful at around noon till 4pm - it gets really crowded. I’d probably go through the small streets the next time around.
There are literally more than a dozen temples around the area. I’d pick up a map of the area before starting. I grabbed a drawn map from the Hankyu station and it suited me fine but it’s not the best.
I basically did the Tokai Shizen walk (Eastern Ocean Natural walk). It’s the same walking tour described in the Lonely Planet. Before that though, I made a trip straight north and a detour to the east. Here’s what I saw:
Tenryuu-ji
I didn’t pay to get in here but it’s listed as a UN heritage site. 500 yen admission by the way. Tenryuu-ji (Sky Dragon or Heavenly Dragon temple) is apparently some important zen temple or some spiritual stuff.
Seiryou-ji
The big giant gate drew me in. At 400 yen, the main temple building is boring - old paintings, a buddha statue, old people. In the back though, there’s a beautiful garden with a wooden, covered walkway that was quite relaxing.
Daikaku-ji
About a 10 minute walk from Seiryou-ji (head east and follow the turn) resides a former palace turned temple. I don’t know what’s inside because the admission is a whopping 800 yen. Instead, I went to a little lake right beside it called Osawa-no-ike. I had to pay 200 yen for some reason. I’m wondering if those old ladies just set up tables there to collect for their own wicked purposes. Anyway, this lake was supposed to have been used by some emperor for boating. It was a nice stroll. There was also a big bamboo grove that was very beautiful.
After this, I made it back to the bridge and found a place for lunch. Be careful about prices - expect to pay 200-300 yen extra for lunch sets. This is a touristy place. The place I went to had shit service too; a first for me in Japan.
Kameyama-koen
“Turtle Mountain Park” was definitely worth it. It’s tucked away in the corner of the map right beside the river. Along the river, you’ll see people eating bento box lunches, rowing rented boats, and some trying to skip stones. In the park, be sure to get to the lookout towards the western end - it offered a nice view of the river from a high vantage point. Apparently you should be careful of monkeys here, says some signs, but I didn’t see a single one. Too bad! There were some old people painting though. That was quite exciting.
Skipped Temples
After the park, I headed north along some nice streets. A stroll through Ookouchi Sansou offered another bamboo grove. This place was packed with tourists and stupid drivers who wanted to squeeze through the already crowded road. Come here when it’s quiet! After that, the streets offered stores selling more souvenirs, crafts, and food.
I stopped at but did not pay to get into the following places: Joujakkou-ji, Nison-in, Takiguchi-dera, and Giou-ji. My guidebook had little to say about these places except they offered some nice scenery. Each place costed about 400 yen each. Nison-in had this long stone stairway that looked interesting.
One thing that did looked fun was the Sagano-Ningyou-no-Ie (Sagano Dollhouse). It was closed today but from what I can tell, it’s either a place that makes dolls or a museum for dolls. Either way, I’d love to go back to see it.
Adashino-Nembutsu-ji
My last stop of the day. This place is really interesting. From my understanding, my guidebook, and the English sign, a long time ago, a bunch of people without families died. Their bodies were collected and dumped here probably. To commemorate this, they made small stone figures here and each yeah, they light a thousand candles. Well, no candles today but the stone figures were quite interesting. It’s 500 yen to get in and you’re not allowed to take pictures here. (Didn’t stop me).
After seeing this place, some sights I saw today suddenly made sense. I saw these creepy altars with stones wrapped in cloth placed on them. Some even had faces painted on them and names written on the front. It was so creepy. I’m guessing now that people around here use these stones to honor the dead.
After seeing this place, I headed up north slightly and saw a bit torii gate. The signs showed Atago-Torii and Kiyotaki at 2km and 1.3km respectively. At this point, my legs were feeling numb so I turned back.
That’s it! I got on the train, picked up some KFC, and enjoying the evening, triumphant over never traveling alone. See my pictures!
Suggestions:
Don’t make my mistake: don’t visit on weekends. The morning was fine but by afternoon, there were lots of people. Avoid the main street that runs from the Hankyu station to Seiryou-ji temple - it was packed and I couldn’t find a restaurant without a line at noon. The pristine views just weren’t the same with so many tour groups and old people bumping around.
I’d pick and choose which temples you want to pay to get in. If you plan to visit many, you’ll be surprised how fast the cost will mount up. Expect to pay between 300-800 yen for admission for adults.
Renting a bike might make a lot of the traveling easier. I saw prices ranging between 800-1200 yen for the day. Be warned that some of the streets are fairly sloped - those basketed street bikes won’t make it without quads of mega steel.
Directions:
From Umeda, take a limited express train on the Hankyu-Kyoto line (platform 1 / 390 yen) to Katsura. It’ll take about 30 minutes. At Katsura, take a local train on the Hankyu-Arashiyama line, don’t worry about fare adjustment; the 390 covers your way to Arashiyama. This last part will take about 5 minutes.
Explorer man!
November 12, 2004
Since the woman’s in Korea over the weekend painting the town red with her friends, I’m left here all alone to sulk. It seems everyone and their neighbor is busy tomorrow and therefore unable to entertain me. Looks like I’ll have to keep myself company.
Because the weather’s cooperating and because I’m still not willing to let last week’s defeat by a mountain overtake my adventurous spirit, I’ve decided to embark on a one-man journey tomorrow. I’m going to overcome a huge challenge. Two actually.
Challenge the first:
I’m going to do something on my own. Although I’ve been here for 2 years, I’ve never gone out further than I can bike or take a quick subway trip on my own. I’ve always been with the woman or a friend. I’m going to have to find my way to Kyoto and then back relying only on my sometimes unreliable intelligence and wit.
Challenge the second:
I’m going to Arashiyama - another mountain. Luckily, this is a touristy place with temples and markets and vending machines. There are monkeys there that sometimes attack people. As Dennis said last week, I may be kidnapped by monkeys and be forced to marry the monkey princess. I hope she’s hot…
Wish me luck my friends. I hope to make it back in one piece with exotic treasures and coves of pictures to post to my heart’s delight.
Buna Ga Take Goten-san Hike
November 07, 2004
We met at a crispy 6:30am on Saturday at Yodoyabashi and took the 6:40 limited express train on the Keihan line heading towards Demachi-yanagi (450). Laura literally made it in the nick of time. She’s always late for everything everytime, always. We got off at Sanjo in Kyoto about an hour later and took the #10 Kyoto at 7:45am bus to Bonmura (990yen), which was about another hour later. Be forewarned that this busride is rather bumpy and does sway a fair bit - take your car sickness pills beforehand if you’re easily nauseated.
Our purpose? We were going to hike up Buna Ga Take mountain (1200m) and take another path down in a big loop. It would’ve taken 6-7 hours.
From the title and from the many dead giveaways already, you’ll have realized that the hike didn’t go exactly as planned. First, it was listed as a “medium” in Mike’s Lonely Planet Hiking book and I guess this book was written for people who are more athletically conditioned than I am in my present state.
Basically we got up the peak of the first mountain (Goten-san) in about 3 hours. I gotta say, Mike’s endurance impressed me. He barely broke a sweat and was waiting for us many many times. I did alright I guess but I had to stop fairly frequently to let my poor quads rest. When we got up to the top, we were treated to a fairly nice view. It was great to get out of the city and breathe clean air and not see concrete for miles and miles.
At the top, Mike decided to go reach the peak of the second mountain (Buna Ga Take). I think I would’ve gone with him but I don’t think Poora (stands for Poor Laura), was up for it. I decided to stay with her and go back down. As chivalrous as this sounds, I also didn’t go because I know the extra mountain would’ve limited the power left in me to go back down.
It’s been roughly 2.5 years since my last hike but I still remembered that although going down is a lot faster, it’s just as dangerous (if not more) as going up. We got back down in 2 hours after a nice lunch at the peak. The saddest part? Mike reached the second peak and came back down and caught up with us right as we got to the foot of the mountain.
I’m glad we didn’t get stuck up there as the skies really darkened quickly. I didn’t want to have news crews and company staff waiting for me at the bottom… I think the saddest thing though was the dozen or so other hikers who warped by me. Actually the saddest thing is that the average age of those hikers who warped by me was probably 50. Mike made a good point that it’s retired folks who have the time to frequently go hiking and therefore be in better shape than lazy lards like me.
I’m slightly ashamed at my fitness level after seeing my performance today. Still, it was a good wake up call and I had a great time and worked my legs harder than any time before in Japan. The ride back was rather long but I got home and enjoyed a good long sleep. I’m hoping to go again.
See my pictures.
Work
November 01, 2004
Let me set the tone of this update first so that you can have a reference point.
I’m writing because I’m forcing myself to write. I really don’t want to write again because, quite honestly, I haven’t much to say. My writing this update is akin to my washing the dishes. It’s not fun but it has to be done.
I think I’ll write about work tonight. In my 7 months in this position, I am looking at work through two eyes: the eyes of the instructor, and the eyes of the company. Unfortunately, these two sets of eyes do not always (pardon the pun), see eye to eye with one another. However, this dual vision helps me everyday in making choices about correctional choices to take with instructors or how far to defend an instructor.
One matter that’s been peeving me of late is the amount of work people do. Last month I had the busiest single month ever at work. On top of a rather unheard of number of observations, I also had my foot in a few other projects, and assignments. No matter. I am one to take on challenges. I did all the work with nary of peep of complaint. (I only mentioned my workload to my buddies as a rather personal lament but never to those in positions to evaluate). What do I see at our little round table sometimes? People with zero workload. Yes. They have literally nothing to do. To their credit, they offered their help but sadly, I had work that only I could do. Oh well. Hopefully what comes around goes around or whatever that shitty saying is.
Next matter. The instructors. They lack the company eyes. That only have instructor eyes. These eyes are very near sighted. They see what they have to do. They see what their peers have to do. They get used to not having to put in full effort each day and they bitch. They bitch like highschool children. “Why did I get 6 lessons when John had 5?” They get paid to do 8. Sometimes their complaints are genuine but most of the time, I try to ignore all the ridiculous complaints that come out. Quite frankly, many of them haven’t put in a hard day’s work in their life. I’m rather sick of seeing people my age and sometimes older act like children. When I was in their position, I did what was asked and swallowed it. I lost nothing by doing my job. I gained nothing by complaining.
Eep. OK before I go off on a crusade and wipe out the whiney babies at work, I’ll end here. Maybe it was good to get that off my chest.
