The Wayfarer Blog

I’m in between classes now. This morning, I went to a university to give level checks. I was supposed to meet someone from my company at the bus stop in front of FuChu Station. But when I got there, I couldn’t find my phone.

I lost it again.

Luckily, I realized after a moment what had happened. I was in a hurry to recharge my Suica (magnetic train pass card) at Kokubunji Station, and I set my phone down. Sure enough, I found it when I went back a while ago.

I always like to joke that I am a genius. Well, I certainly have the absent-minded part of the equation down.

Please be merciful with your insults…

I got a letter from the Internet Provider I signed up with. It turns out they were trying to call me, but they couldn’t verify my number. So I called them and gave it to them. Hopefully, they will call me soon and set up a time for them to come and get it fixed. In the meantime, I signed up for a wifi account, which I can use at various coffee shops and McDonald’s in Tokyo.

Unfortunately, I forgot my power cord, so I am quickly running out of battery.

This is pretty cool. I was thinking about checking out DevonThink sometime, but now I can use it (DevonThink Personal 1.9x) for free. If you are on Mac and have a Twitter account, check it out!

Dealhacker: Get DEVONthink Pro for Free, Normally $49

(Via lifehacker.com.)

I took this back in November, on a break at the music college where I teach on Fridays. But let’s call it Today’s picture. I just uploaded it to flickr.

That is a really narrow depth of focus!

By the way, I don’t “study” Japanese that much, other than for fun. I mostly just read about things I want to learn in Japanese. It is a much more natural and systemic way to really learn what I need to know–at least I think so…

Well, I did think of one story. It might not be “funny,” but it was slightly amusing to me.

Yesterday, I was riding my back on a narrow back road near my apartment, and I went past a couple older guys. One of them said ????????or “He’s huge!” to his friend. I laughed, and without stopping, did my best Incredible Hulk imitation.

I guess I will never know if he got the joke, or just that I was a crazy foreigner…probably both, I guess.

I wish I had some exciting news or a funny story. That is part of why I haven’t posted. Well, that and the fact that I am again without internet service.

If you have ever seen those asian paintings, where they have the red name stamps, then you know what a signature stamp is. In Japan, those are your signature. I use mine mostly at the bank. When I signed up for internet last year, I had to send in a form with my signature stamp. Unfortunately, I didn’t press it hard enough, so they wanted me to send another form in. I did it, but I was too late. They cancelled my service.

Well, I applied for the exact same service again, but I had to send in the old modem and they will send me a new modem.

It’s my fault for not getting the stamp right, but really…they are indescribably inefficient and rigid.

Oh well. I will have that again soon.

Actually, I couldn’t deal with that problem for a while, because I was too busy jumping through visa application hoops. So far, 2009 has not been the joyride I had hoped. I have this theory that my good/bad years come in waves. 2003/2004 were really hard (that culture shock is a killer!). But 2005/2006 were nice (lots of travelling!). 2007/2008 were bad because of my leg injury. I’m due for a better year, dammit!

On the bright side, I have been doing a lot of reading. I have been hitting the library a lot! I have also been doing more translation (just for my own benefit). I am really feeling the itch to go back to school. Heaven knows there is no future in what I am doing.

In short, I am marching toward the future. I just hope the scenery will improve soon.