10/02/2005: "Another month passes by.."

Kinda tired and incoherent right now, so can't really hope to write anything completely epic or interesting. This is mostly unfortunate because I was hoping to get some work done tonight on a project of mine, but that will require more of my brain than I think I have to freely give away right now.

This week was busy.. though I guess alot of that was due to my own procrastination. As I believe I mentioned earlier, I finished off my second Japanese composition, got it edited, and handed in Thursday (if you're interested in the pointless things I write, the Japanese version and rough translation are provided in the "more" link). Monday, math test.. gah. Don't even want to go into that. Tuesday morning, I wrote two short papers before writing class (in the library right outside the classroom) and studied 20 kanji for the test later in the afternoon. Wednesday, I only managed about 2 hours of sleep, so I skipped classes. Yes, I'm a bad Jason. But I really think it was good. Didn't get much done, but I did get a little more sleep. Thursday, wrote another paper outside class (and read the short story it was based on while riding the bus before to the campus) and then played some "Another Code" (US "Trace Memory") [Nintendo DS] inbetween classes.

This weekend, I'm fairly confident, simply disappeared. Probably because I slept through a decent portion of Saturday. I find that I just run the whole week and then pass out for Saturday before continuing the running. I tend to be tired and nonsensical by the last day of the week (Thursday).

If anyone e-mailed me and is wondering where the reply is.. I made a quick and hasty decision to just boycot my e-mail entirely for the latter half of last week. That doesn't mean that I wasn't checking every 20 minutes, but I wasn't really replying to anything for the past few days, unless it was something life-altering, like "O_O ZOMG!!! Jazon i lost meh eyez1!! plz hlp a n00b wit ur m4d w3b programng skillz nd make them com bak!!". So... yeah. Just so you know. I should be back and doing that "replying" thing tonight or tomorrow.. but I don't think I have anything too important pending, so this shouldn't be much of a problem.

Went to church again today. As fate would have it, it was moved forward an hour, so I sat around and helped prepare breakfast with a Japanese housewife. As for church? Well, it was how church experiences usually go. Need I say more? I'd still like to avoid the situation entirely (there are alot of nice people there, but I really can't say if I'm gaining much, other than learning to pick up and listen to spoken Japanese better. People rarely speak to me in Japanese), but I haven't found a reliable substitution yet, so.. church it is! In case I haven't stressed it enough yet, learning Japanese is important to me, which is why I go out and do these things.

This coming week.. just need to catch up on the classes I ditched, start studying for a test that's coming the week after this, do some homework, that sort of stuff. Mid-week, I'm going to the art museum for a class-related activity. I've already been there before, but should be interesting all the same. I need to see if I can convince someone that they need to go to art museum with me. It's just more fun that way.

Hmm.. ah, and another kanji test on Tuesday. Ideally, it isn't cumulative, as I've forgotten a few that I learned last week in such a hasty manner. All the same, I need to learn how to say each one, how to write it, and what it is in English. Definitely difficult when you have quite a few to learn at once. I've been using flashcards for the past two days, so it shouldn't be too bad (I hope).

Ah, and now that it's October, I can start making Halloween plans. I usually don't do much (if anything) for the holiday, but since it's a Monday this year, I can at least dress up and make a complete idiot of myself in class. Yay? I'll post later with what I'll go as when I figure it out.

And that's about it from me for now.. I'll post later when I have some free time, and/or something of note happens. Click [more..] below for the Japanese composition (it really isn't all that interesting, though).



As with the other submitted composition, there are some minor differences between this and what I handed in, but not much. Also, since I don't feel like being too technical, this is a loose translation of what's being said.

====
English
====

Title: The second time I went to Japan
This year I was in Japan from May to August. In Japan, I travelled by train, bike, ferry, and car. That was the first time I boarded the Shinkansen [note: famous "bullet train" of Japan. Moves at 300km/h]. For two and a half months, I lived in Hokkaido. That was near Kushiro. The town's name was "Tsurui". Tsurui is a small town famous for agricultural and farming. Everyday we drove for an hour and a half by car to Kushiro and taught English. In my free time, I went hiking, sent e-mails to friends from my mobile phone, and read "Harry Potter". In Hokkaido, I went to many amazing places. But I liked being in Tokyo better. I went to Ueno zoo, Shinjuku park, Asakusa Hanayashiki [note: amusement park], and other places. Meeting with friends was fun. Together we talked, spending time having fun [note: this does not translate well. At all]. Next trip, I want to take more pictures with my friends. I like Japan. Someday, I want to live there.
Jason