2006

December 29, 2006

Since I’m on the verge of losing this year without another post, I thought I’d better slap some memories down here while I still can. It’s not everyday a year like 2006 comes by.

Aside from being one of the fastest and least memorable years I’ve ever had (in terms of daily happenings - it’s been a year of Groundhog Days), it was, as contradicting as it is, one that will hold many memories. The highlight for me happened early in the year when I got married with The Lady. I wish we could’ve had a bigger thing with more friends and family but it was what it was and it went as well as it could. I’ve finally posted two pages that I used to transmit information from the wedding and from the nijikai party - see the previous two posts.

While this was our first year as wife and manslave, it went by business as usual. I’m really glad I had the chance to live with The Lady for extended periods of time before getting married because there were no surprises, I was, to my furthest extent, used to her bad habits and she’s learning all the new ones I make up each and every day. Note to self: she hates it when I start tapping her head… with a fountain pen… leaking… blood… from a rotting carcass… of… a mountain gorilla. I really can’t wait until we celebrate our one year anniversary, coming up in slightly less than one month.

Then another highlight this year was getting promoted. I have to say, this promotion did not feel as satisfying as the first one. This may be for many reasons of which I won’t bore you with right now. It involves blurry visions in my mind and wispy opinions about my job and the company I work for.

This year I also clamped down on renegade studying habits and decided to take the JLPT. While I certainly did not study as much as I could and should have, it definitely focussed my efforts more and made me learn more than I would’ve. I hope this steam not only continues next year but grows in magnitude as I will be needing essentially a miracle to pass level 2. But hey, only the difficult stuff is worth pursuing in life.

Since the summer I’ve also gotten back into a little card game called Magic The Gathering that I used to play all those many years ago. It all started when a couple of people from the French team started playing next to us during lunch and while explaining the game to another friend, I peaked my interest and decided to join them. Since then, I’ve bought over 500,000,000 cards and wallpapered my apartment building with cards. I basically play two or three times a week after work casually with one or two friends. Now, with a disposable income, the game is much more exciting. I’ve managed to keep my sanity and kept the game purely as a pursuit of fun and entertainment. It’s not about winning, it’s all about making fun of Guillaume as much as possible. (Hi Guillaume!)

I didn’t do much hiking or traveling this year unfortunately. I mostly stayed at home and tried not to move to retain energy. Next year though, in fact, next week, I’m going to get some outdoor action going for sure. I’m currently one week into my 16 day holiday and I do intend to balance out the mental celebration with some physical exertion.

2006, thank you very much. You have been a kind time period. I hope your slightly older sibling will also be nice and kind!

Jerry wrote this in: Default
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Nijikai party information

Note: This was the 二次会 Nijikai wedding party page used to show information to my friends about the small gig we did in Osaka in March 2006. I’ve posted it now to be part of my electronic scrapbook. (Jerry - December 29th, 2006)
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Nijikai Party Invitation

Hello! As you may or may not know, The Lady and I got married in January in Hawaii! It was a very small ceremony with family and a few friends. The weather could not have been nicer and we got many excellent photos.

We are planning a dinner party in Osaka for our friends to celebrate our marriage. We would love for you to come join us for a nice meal with games and prizes.

It will be on Saturday, March 4th at around 6:00pm in Umeda (Osaka). Cost per person is around 5000 yen and may change depending on the number of guests. We need to have a rough estimate of the number of people attending so please respond by February 15th. (You can change your mind after that date)

If you would like to bring a guest, they’re more than welcome. Please let us know if you can make it and if you’ll be bringing a guest. We hope to hear from you soon!

Nijikai Party Details

Date: Saturday, March 4th
Time: 18:30 reception
Place: Tiara Restaurant & Bar - Directions

Address and contact: Diamondo Bldg B1
5-8 Taiyuji, Kita-ku
530-0051
phone: 06-6315-7372

Dress: semi-formal (but hey, what can I do if you’re not?)

Guests: We have limited space so only those who have confirmed with me can go. If you haven’t confirmed, sorry it’s too late.

Cost: At reception, 5000 yen will be collected. There’ll be 6 prizes (1 in 8’s a winner!) Winners will be drawn using playing cards and choice of prizes determined by darts.

Menu: A buffet dinner including 3 kinds of antipasto, fried chicken and fries, 2 kinds of pizza, 2 kinds of pasta, and dessert. It’s nomihodai: all you can drink from a set drink menu.

Features: there are 3 electronic dartboards at Tiara. A magician will be putting on a little show. The magician also doubles as a fortune teller (uranaishi) for 1000 yen a reading. [Edit: the magician quit a few days before our party. That bastard.]

Nijikai Party Directions

Hot Pepper’s map page for Tiara
Hot Pepper’s keitai map page for Tiara

The simplest way is to take the Tanimachi Line (Purple line):

From Namba:

  1. Take the Sennichimae line (pink line) to Tanimachi 9-chome (2 stations away)
  2. Transfer to the Tanimachi Line (purple line) and get off at Higashi-Umeda Station (5 stations away)
  3. Go to exits 1, 2, and 3
  4. Turn left after exiting the ticket gates and continue until you come to an “intersection”. You will see a shopping area to the left.
  5. At the intersection turn right into the East Mall (You will see “East Mall” on a big sign on the ceiling). You will see signs at the intersection pointing to the Izumino Hiroba 泉広場
  6. Keep on walking straight until you come to the big water fountain. Find exit M14 and go up the left set of stairs
  7. Walk straight until you see Tiara. It’s on the right hand side. You will pass a Daily Yamazaki Convenient Store on the way to Tiara and there’s a dental clinic called Ono right beside the restaurant

If you are arriving to Umeda from another line it will be best to stay underground and follow the signs leading to the Tanimachi Line (Higashi Umeda Station) and you should run into the East Mall. Follow the directions from there.

Jerry wrote this in: Getting married
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Wedding Information page

Note: This was the wedding page used to show information to my friends and family before actually leaving for Hawaii. I’ve posted it now to be part of my electronic scrapbook. (Jerry - December 29th, 2006)
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Last updated: January 13 - lunch venue updated

Hi guys, I’ll be posting information about the wedding on this page and I’ll update it here so please check back here maybe once a week until the big day. I’ll also put down when I last updated so you won’t have to find every small change. If you guys have any questions, you know where to find me on MSN or I’m a cell phone message away as well. Some of this stuff was just taken directly off the net - I’m not trying to sell you any company or whatnot.
—————

The Wedding Ceremony

Hotels

Suggestions

Transportation

Jerry wrote this in: Getting married
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�?�年

December 12, 2006

日本語�?�勉強�?�去年より今年�?�方�?��?��?���?�?��?��?�。�?�年も本当�?�勉強�?��?��?��?�れ�?�新�?��?�目標�?��?�る。今年�?�三級�?�試験�?��?�ょ�?��?��?��?�りや�?��?��?��?��?���?�?�。�?�年�?�二級�?�。。。無�?��?��?���?�?�。二級を�?��?��?��?��?��?��?�ん�?�難�?��?��?��?��?�言�?��?�僕�?�怖�??�?�る。今�?�ら一年間�?��?�る�?��?��?��?�ん�?��?���?る文法�?��?�語�?��?�習��?�?��?��?��?�。

日本語能力試験�?�ページ�?�ら三級�?�ら３��?��?時間�?�勉強�?��?��?�れ�?��?�ら�?��?�。二級�?�ら６��?��?時間。一年中毎日一時間�?�勉強�?��?�ら３��?��?日を�?��?�る。�?�も僕�?�生活�?�毎日勉強�?��?�ょ�?��?�難�?��?�。�?��?��?�ょ�?��?��?�。　

�?�れ�?��?�ょ�?��?�大変�?�目標�?���?�?�。�?�も�?�も�?��?��?��?�ら何を言�?��?��?��?��?�知ら�?��?�。

頑張る。

Jerry wrote this in: Nihongo
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The Right Writing

December 11, 2006

All you ever had were a sheet of “fool’s cap” paper, a yellow school board wooden pencil, and a flesh pink rubber eraser. That was what was given when you were to write something in school. Then as the years went by we had the marble print laser copier paper, mechanical pencils more complicated than most toaster ovens, and enough cappucino to keep sleep at bay. That was still writing.

So does this random tidbit of text typed on a 87-button keyboard backed by an LCD screen count as writing? Would it matter if I wrote a minimum 5000 words or 10 pages worth? What if I were to add a thesis, some cold hard facts, and those little superscript numbers that just look so cool?

Would what I have been stricken with lately, would that still be considered writer’s block? Because, nothing can really block electronic transfer of information, save a power outage or a really big resistor? Would how I’m going nowhere with this piece still sound just as constipated when written with a Bic pen on recycled paper?

I am thankful that I will probably never have to write academically again. I will not have to think of a thesis statement or trying to link subsequent paragraphs with the last line of the preceding paragraph. If I wanted to, I can start a new topic completely, without any warning.

I’m thinking of getting a Playstation 3, a Wii, or an Xbox 360. The lady is not keen on the XBox but I saw a video of that Earth Defence Force game and that’s just badass. Unadulterated gun-toting, alien and robot blasting action. I just had a visual overload orgasm.

See? No one will mark this off as a C or a D anymore. I am free to write what I want now and not worry about consequences (academically anyway). I won’t even proofread this to ensur that no typos were made. Or fragment sentences.

My concluding statement? I think I’m going to go without one. Seeing that I had no thesis statement to begin with, I don’t have to summarize any points here. I wrote nothing, about nothing, and for nothing. I have no attachments to this piece and neither will you.

Jerry wrote this in: Default
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Facelift

December 08, 2006

The simplest, fastest design ever. This took about two hours from start to finish. The hardest part was making sure the CSS still worked from before. Luckily the code essentially remained the same except I moved around the feedback form and played with the navigation. Yeah, whatever.

Here’s the view from our balcony. This shot was better but my phone mushed it around after setting the picture as wallpaper.

View from our balcony

I think I have a sinus infection, or maybe the flu. Either way it’s giving me a headache and fever and random face aches that periodically fade in and out. Save me!

Jerry wrote this in: Default
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Sick again

December 07, 2006

It was almost exactly one month ago I took a sick day from work. And here I am again, not going to work today. I left work early yesterday because at first I thought the room was very hot but after asking some friends they said it was only me. I also had a pulsating headache and a shivery fever building. This morning is no different. I popped several Tylenol down now to keep the fever at bay but I still feel like a bag of tired crap. To top it off, there is nothing to eat in my house so I’ll have to crawl outside and make my way to the distant supermarkets for veggies and lean meats.

Will the world be banning trans fat? Hmm…

Jerry wrote this in: Default
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よ�??話�?��?�

December 04, 2006

最近英語�?�勉強�?�方を考�?��?��?�る。

僕�?�今�?��?�四年間�??ら�?�英語を教�?��?��?�る。レッスン中時々生徒�?��?��?�質��?を�?�れる：　How should I study English?　僕�?�答�?��?�今�?��?��?��?�も Practice. Practice. Practice。�?�れ�?��?��?�ゃ�?��?�。

�?�ん�?��?�転�?�る�?��?�習�?��?��?�る時�?�車�?�本を読ん�?��?��?�り�?�ゃ�?��?��?���?�?�？�?��?�時一番大切�?��?��?��?�車�?�中�?�自分�?��?�転�?�る。外国語も�?��?��?��?��?���?�?�。本�?��?�読�?��?��?��?��?�ら会話�?��?��??�?��?��?���?�?�。会話�?�よ�??�?�り�?��?��?�ら話�?��?�方�?��?��?��?���?�?�。も�?���?ん時々間�?��?�る。大丈夫��?本当�?��?��?��?��?��??�?��?�。　（今僕�?�日本語も�?��?�ん�?��??�?�ん間�?��?��?��?�るん。。。）

最後�?�秘密：仕事�?�一番�?��?��?�生徒�?��?��?�も�?��??�?�ん話�?�人。本当�?�。

Jerry wrote this in: Nihongo
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JLPT 2006

Yesterday was my first experience at writing the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. I had been preparing for this test pretty much for a few months. It paid off. Although I know of a few questions where I had to guess and a few where I know I put the wrong answer, the test was actually fairly easy.

I went for the easy road and took level 3 - a lower intermediate level. My initial goal of level 2 was stomped when I looked at the test earlier this year and realized I would’ve had my ass kicked, 6 months or no 6 months of study. I’ll be preparing for level 2 next year. Considering the rate of studying I’ve been doing it might be possible. I’ll get the results from yesterday’s test in March. (Yes, 4 month wait).

My test took place in Konan University in Hyogo. Although it’s a smaller campus out in the middle of nowhere, a lot of people did the test there. Most of the examinees were south east asian - I heard a lot of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai being spoken. Most examinees seemed young as well. I’m guessing they’re studying in Japan. I felt old and out of place but then again that goes for many situations.

The actual test writing time is not that much - about 190 minutes in total. What made it a whole day affair were the rules being broadcast before each test section. I’ve never been to a more militant exam before. Your standard, “Don’t look at other peoples’ answers. Don’t take test materials with you.” applied. The test proctors all carried yellow and red cards to give to people if you break rules. Unfortunately I forgot my Manchester United jersey so I couldn’t play up to that. All the rules were broadcast via CD. The actual proctors did not say anything more than, “Pencils down please” and “Do not open your question book”.

And that was my first JLPT experience. I hope in a year’s time I will be just as pleased with my results from the level 2 test.

My day wasn’t over yet. I attended Yamamoto sensei’s 忘年会 (bounenkai) party. I can honestly say it was one of the better parties I’ve been to this year. I met Lothar whom I haven’t seen in probably two years or so, along with other students from Yamamoto sensei’s school. In addition, I met her family, her nieces and nephews (absolutely adorable kids), and the teachers in training who will be helping out. I will confirm that imbibing beer helps people speak foreign languages. I think I had half a dozen beers but I felt absolutely fine. Now that I think about it, the restaurant must have watered stuff down. Regardless, I was able to speak Japanese most of the night with some spazzes of English in between.

Jerry wrote this in: Japan • Nihongo
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