The Drifter's Journey

17 August 2009 @ 10:17 am

Looking at trees through the screen makes reality seem like a mosaic

Returning home in approximately 5 days. Huzzah!

The other day we were cutting up Bok-Choy. Bok-Choy is a delicious leafy vegetable not often found in the U.S, and it was to be simmered in a tasty sauce for lunch. Well, while we were removing the Bok-Choy from the box, we noticed something on one of the leaves.

It was a dead caterpillar.

Tomiko, the other assistant cook, was deeply saddened by this, and she took the caterpillar outside for a proper burial. I bid her say a few words:

"I knew you only as a caterpillar that came in dead on a vegetable shipment. But, you were the best damn caterpillar that came in dead on a vegetable shipment I've ever known! I'll miss you."

Then she came back in, we removed some more Bok-Choy and washed it off. While we were cutting it to be simmered, one of the kitchen helpers discovered the chopped remains of a caterpillar in the bok choy that was "done."

We stared at the leaves, wondering how many caterpillars we'd chopped up and were about to cook.

Needless to say, we checked the remaining leaves well and then washed them again. That kitchen helper and I still refused to eat the Bok-Choy.

Anyway, the work schedule has become tiring. Though Harunobu claimed he would figure out a different schedule than everyone coming in for all meals, he has yet to do so which is irritating.

Actually, the only reason I'm not sleeping right now is because sleep is only enjoyable for a few minutes- while you're falling asleep. You can't enjoy sleep while you're sleeping. I plan to enjoy most of my time on Earthl.

Phone is still dead. Need a new one. [/rorschach]

Current Mood:

tired

Current Music: Animal Collective - Panic

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14 August 2009 @ 09:55 am

International Day no jikan desu!

Today is I-Day.

Not Independence day.
Not Eye day.
Not Implosion day.
Not Ignoramus day.
Not Ice Cream day. =(
Not Istanbul day.

It's International Day!

It's the day when we all go to Bemidji and participate in a huge international fair.

Gotta go now. Oh, if you like horrible fanfiction, Harry Potter, vampire versions of Harry potter characters, Twilight, and sex between vampire Harry Potter characters, Edward Cullen, and Marilyn Manson, check out my horrible fanfiction ghost-written as a pre-teen goth girl who loves MCR:

http://www.animenation.net/forums/showthread.php?t=224153

All for nao.

Current Mood:

rushed

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12 August 2009 @ 02:44 pm

First post from Patmos.

Hello everyone. I am Jeff, known alternatively as Samurai Drifter (on the internet) or Akira (here at Mori no Ike).

My phone battery AND charger died yesterday, leaving this blog as my primary communicative method.

Last night Harunobu, the head cook, fell down the stairs and cut his foot open. He had to go to the hospital and get stitches and was out of commission today. As a result, I had to supervise breakfast and lunch. For breakfast we made salmon, rice, miso soup, and oranges. It went off without a hitch besides not having any green tea.

Lunch was a bit more challenging- I cooked Oyako Donburi, a chicken and egg over rice dish, while the other assistant cook prepared some vegetable stir-fry. I was always intimidated by them in the past for some reason, but they're pretty simple. You mix a bunch of ingredients together, stir them, and fry them.

Unfortunately I'm not much for humor today. I'm pretty tired. This post is less entertainment and more news.

Next post, however, may be better. MAYBE. Don't get your hopes up.

Current Mood:

tired

Current Music: The Doors - Soul Kitchen

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01 December 2008 @ 01:00 am

Mori no Ike RETURN!!!

Good evening. I am Samurai Drifter, and this is The Drifter's journey (as you're probably fully capable of reading from the above banner). This summer, I will once again be a staff member at Mori no Ike, the Japanese language camp operated by Concordia Language Villages.

An update since I last posted. I skipped working at Mori no Ike this summer in order to have more time to spend with friends and family (something which, though not historically important to me, I actually somewhat missed in the preceding years). I couldn't have predicted how highly I would eventually value this decision. Over the summer I was properly introduced to my girlfriend Chelley- she's quite awesome (moreso than me) and I love her.

This discovery, actually, has led to the formulation of a new plan- both Chelley and I will work at Mori no Ike together during the upcoming summer, and travel to Japan for as long as possible the following summer.

As for other news, I quit my Computer Sales job at Best Buy due to an overwhelming lack of interest, as well as a strong distatse for working with the public. I finally went back to college and am majoring in Biology, with plans to transfer into the Neuroscience program at the University of Minnesota next year.

So, this summer, I will once again become the supplier of information to outsiders about the status of Mori no Ike. Very tired now. Lots of work to do before tomorrow. Oyasumi.

Current Mood:

blank

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10 June 2008 @ 11:16 pm

Phase II

So, the mainstream media is almost totally ignoring Phase II of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the invasion of Iraq. Not too surprising. Here are some highlights for those of you who missed out.

http://intelligence.senate.gov/080605/phase2a.pdf
http://www.metafilter.com/72297/Senate-Intelligence-Committee-Phase-II-Reports

Statements and implications by the President and Secretary of State suggesting that Iraq and al-Qa'ida had a partnership, or that Iraq had provided al-Qa'ida with weapons training, were not substantiated by the intelligence.
Statements by the President and the Vice President indicating that Saddam Hussein was prepared to give weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups for attacks against the United States were contradicted by available intelligence information.
Statements by President Bush and Vice President Cheney regarding the postwar situation in Iraq, in terms of the political, security, and economic, did not reflect the concerns and uncertainties expressed in the intelligence products.
Statements by the President and Vice President prior to the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iraq's chemical weapons production capability and activities did not reflect the intelligence community's uncertainties as to whether such production was ongoing.
The Secretary of Defense's statement that the Iraqi government operated underground WMD facilities that were not vulnerable to conventional airstrikes because they were underground and deeply buried was not substantiated by available intelligence information.
The Intelligence Community did not confirm that Muhammad Atta met an Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague in 2001 as the Vice President repeatedly claimed.

Current Mood:

thoughtful

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04 June 2008 @ 12:42 am

Ha ha ha...

Well, it's been quite awhile since I've updated this thing, but I was on and so whatever. I hope to resume updates on a fairly regular basis.

The most ironic thing about having friends that are very internet-savvy is being unable to say what's really on your mind, because you know there's a good chance the people you talk about will read it.

So, I'll just stick to saying that so far even though I'm growing to despise my job as a computer salesman at Best Buy more and more, I'm doing well at it. It's as if my hatred drives my success. Since they started tracking sales it's come to light that over the past several weeks approximately 1/3 of the revenue done in the department has been done by me (there are 9 salesmen).

That aside, life's been meandering on the way it always does. The Rush concert was an interesting break in the monotony... I've been to a few concerts but this was the first time I'd seen my all-time favorite band. 54 years old and they're still rocking as hard as ever.

I've also been seeing my friends more recently- hung out with Ben the other night and we watched The Apple, which both sucked and ruled at the same time. Joe I see almost every Saturday when we hang out with our group of friends at Dan's house. Shawn I saw at my brother's high school graduation, and our conversation proceeded the way it always does these days- jobs, drugs, World of Warcraft, and the webcomic we've been planning on starting.

Whatever. Random thoughts currently over.

Anime convention in August, too. That should be fun.

Tune in tomorrow.

Current Music: The Beatles - A Day in the Life

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28 February 2008 @ 02:17 am

Everything sucks.

Not to be a little emo bitch, but for some reason I've been getting really depressed lately. I'm generally not an emotional person by any means, but I've been feeling like this for awhile now and it started affecting my actions. I guess I just need to remember that this stuff is only temporary.

Yeah, it's just my misplaced priorities.

On the upside, Rush on May 22. I have until then to find a date. Or something.

Current Mood:

emo

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13 February 2008 @ 12:36 am

2008 Presidential Primaries.

The Primaries are *well* underway, and with Clinton and Huckabee both falling very seriously behind in the races it looks like the nominations will be taken by Barack Obama and John McCain.

Too bad my candidate of choice has received no large degree of mainstream support.

Though it's quite uncharacteristic for me to support a Republican, he's pretty much the only candidate whose entire platform I agree with. Certainly much better than either of the current most popular candidate.

John McCain is another Bush waiting to happen. He's stated that, "if need be," we should stay in Iraq for "a hundred years." Yeah. Sounds great. Not like enough lives (and dollars) have been wasted in a pathetic attempt at policing the world or anything.

Talk about a waffle. The man has switched positions on more positions than John Kerry. In 1999 he claimed he would not support the repeal of Roe v. Wade, but just last year he said it should be overturned. Convenient for someone seeking the presidential nomination of the Republican party. Though a supposed staunch opponent of "enhanced interrogation techniques" (read: torture), he would be one of the first to rush headlong into an attack on Iran.

McCain also wants to allow millions of illegal immigrants currently in the United States a path to citizenship, thereby rewarding them for breaking the law and giving an incentive to the millions of others in Mexico to sneak across the border illegally.

Let's not forget his membership in the Council on Foreign Relations, a one-world government organization sponsored by none other than David Rockefeller, who has actually said he's part of a cabal working against the best interests of the US towards an elite ruling class of world bankers.

Obama's better, but not by much. Though at the very least he claims he'd pull us out of Iraq, he also wants to put us right back into another country and use force to stop the genocide in Darfur. While I don't wish such a fate upon anyone, do you want the US to play world police, or not? We can't solve the world's problems, nor should we be expected to. Every country needs to take care of itself. Though, it's possible that Obama's efforts in Darfur would be non-violent, which is acceptable. The waste of more lives trying to save the rest of the world is not.

Another thing about Obama (and many democrats in general) is the desire to keep pouring public money into programs to help the poor. Though I certainly don't want children to starve, we need to avoid the collectivist mentality, i.e. the idea that everyone should live their lives for others. In this case I truly favor the conservative idea that less is more in terms of government programs and control, and that people should go as far (and only as far) as their own motivation takes them. As Ayn Rand says in Anthem (paraphrased) "I live for no man, nor do I ask any to give his life for me." By creating a social and financial safety net for the poor with the burden of everyone else, we are taking from those who earn their pay and giving it to those who have not.

A certain degree of social darwinism is necessary for society to function, just as natural selection is responsible for the forward development of any species.

And, supporting all these views quite succinctly, is candidate Ron Paul.

A main point that draws me to support him is the idea of removal from the United Nations. Most people seem to think that a one-world government will bring international harmony and peace- perhaps I'm the only one who sees a problem with the surrender of all resources and weapons (and thereby power) to one singular entity. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Destroying political boundaries does not result in an end to conflict. This is proven in Africa, where civil war is common due to the fact that country borders don't reflect tribal borders. In much the same way, if all current political borders are erased, the animosity which caused war in the first place will not go with it. The Japanese will still hate the Chinese. The Jews and the Muslims will continue to fight.

Even if destroying all individual nations was a good idea in theory, in practice it would be basically impossible since no single entity can manage so large a territory. Even in the United States, whose surface area makes up less than 10% of the planet's, government has to be broken down into regional entities called "states." Under the rule of a one-world government similar divisions would have to be made, and then we'd end up with individual countries again. The only difference being that all of our resources and weapons would be in the hands of one ruling party.

And so many people overlook that key point. One ruling party would have all of the power. There would be no one else to stop them. And what if their intentions were not good? How are we to fight back, with the relinquishment of our national sovereignty?

Ron Paul is also anti-abortion, which is one of the more conservative positions I hold. I can't see how it can be classified as anything but murder. I hear all of these college-aged feminist blathering on about medical statistics they probably don't understand, but until I get some solid medical evidence (that's from scientists, not chicks with a green crew cut) I can't support what at the very least appears to be murder.

Another important point is total de-regulation of the internet. Though this includes Net Neutrality, I find it hard to believe that providers would

Other things he opposes-
The PATRIOT act (i.e. surrendering privacy and civil liberties in the supposed name of better security)
-A national ID card system
-Bush's repeal of laws that restricted the president's ability to use the military in policing on American soil. Why anyone would allow this I don't know.
-Habeas Corpus for political detainees (the repeal of this was a serious step towards a martially ruled society)
-The draft. I'm glad someone agrees that the government shouldn't own our lives to such an extent that it can tell us to go fight, die, and more importantly, kill for a cause we don't believe in.
-The War on Drugs. He also is in favor of the legalization of marijuana. Seriously people, this should be a no-brainer. It's far less harmful than tobacco or alcohol, and yet is illegal thanks to a very clever propogandist campaign in the 1920's.

Anyway, Ron Paul will probably not go anywhere in this race, so I'll have to vote for the lesser of two evils- in this case Obama. When in doubt, always choose the side in support of scientific progress. Which is invariably the democrats.

Current Mood:

thoughtful

Current Music: Smash Mouth - Who's There

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04 February 2008 @ 03:18 am

A+ certification

I've been studying a lot for the A+ Certification exam, which I intend to take before going to college in the fall. I think it will be helpful in getting another job, since I don't particularly enjoy my current one. It's okay, I guess, but there are much better paying jobs out there that require less customer interaction.

I've been reading through Mike Meyer's Passport book, and so far there's a surprising amount of information that I didn't previously know. I'm learning much more about I/O addresses, older port types, SCSIs, etc. I'd always heard it was easy, but clearly this is the talk of fairly experienced techs- I've built 4 or 5 computers and know 2 programming languages and I'm finding it surprisingly difficult.

Still, I'm fairly confident that with continued study I'll be able to pass it within a couple of months, and I look forward to getting a new job then.

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29 January 2008 @ 02:32 pm

I actually don't work today, which rules.

I left my schedule in the break room at Best Buy last time I worked, so when I woke up this morning I realized I didn't know whether I worked today or tomorrow. Called in to check and it turns out it's tomorrow, so no worries I guess. I get to sit around playing WoW some more. My character is a level 23 (not far from 24) Human Paladin on Anub'Arak. He's now my main and marks the first time one of my alliance characters has surpassed a horde character. Except for maybe that level 2 undead guy I made awhile back for no reason.

Anonymous is doing some protests outside scientology headquarters on February the 10th, and while I'd like to join in there isn't a protest in our area. There is a scientology building an hour or so away but I have neither the time nor the work ethic to arrange anything. I suggest watching the videos of the protest that's already been held in Orlando, it really delivers the lulz.

All for today.

Current Mood:

tired

Current Music: Fair to Midland - Dance of the Manatee

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28 January 2008 @ 01:23 pm

Forever behold the dreamer's eye

"Each game of chess means there's one less
Variation left to be played
Each day got through means one or two
Less mistakes remain to be made.

Not much is known
Of early days of chess beyond a fairly vague report
That fifteen hundred years ago two princes fought,
Though brothers, for a Hindu throne.

Their mother cried
For no one really likes their offspring fighting to the death
She begged them stop the slaughter with her every breath
But sure enough one brother died
Sad beyond belief
She told her winning son
"You have caused such grief --
I can't forgive this evil thing you've done."

He tried to explain
How things had really been
But he tried in vain
No words of his would satisfy the queen.

And so he asked the wisest men he knew
The way to lessen her distress
They told him he'd be pretty certain to impress
By using model soldiers on
A chequered board to show it was his brother's fault
They thus invented chess."

-Gregor, "Chess"

I suppose the most notable thing to have happened since I last posted is the death of one of my childhood heroes, the chess champion Bobby Fischer. Sure he went crazy in his later years and thought that every obstacle he encountered was the result of an international conspiracy perpetrated by Jews, but he was also a genius, and I feel like the world is a little bit worse off now without his intellect.

In other, better news, Rush returns to Saint Paul on May 22. I am definitely going.

That is all.

Current Music: Dragonforce - Operation Ground and Pound

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14 January 2008 @ 10:55 pm

The vacuums at work suck, no pun intended

[rant]

As many of you know, I work in the computers department at Best Buy, and am often scheduled to close. One of the tasks always assigned to me is to vacuum our area (which, I would estimate, covers about a quarter of the carpet area in our large store).

But the vacuums are total shit, they don't even do anything. Small dirt pieces they just roll over, and medium sized pieces they just spread around. If you try to suck up a larger sized piece it will more than likely fuck the whole thing up and it will start spitting out junk all over the floor. I think it's more time efficient, ultimately, to just go around picking specs up off the floor by hand than trying to vacuum them up. So after I "vacuum" the area, that's what I do. I walk the entire area picking stuff up by hand. These damn vacuums probably increase the time it takes us to close by 30+ minutes

This is Best Buy, we have access to a dozen different vacuum models, but apparently we can't get any that aren't crap. I don't know if they're a bad model in general, or if they're falling apart from overuse, but we need new ones.

If you couldn't tell, I just got back from closing.

[/rant]

Current Mood:

tired

Current Music: Rush - "Tom Sawyer"

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11 January 2008 @ 01:11 am

Nothing goes quite as planned

I ask a girl to the movies, and this turns into six people wandering around in the middle of the night, getting kicked out of a restaurant, and ultimately eating at Denny's and hanging out in a friend's basement.

Nice.

Whatever. I renewed my WoW subscription. Probably a bad idea, sucking $14.99 from of my paycheck once a month just so I can kill monsters in Azeroth. But really, after building my new computer I found that I actually enjoyed building it more than I enjoy playing games on it. I need to put that graphics card to good use, so maxing out WoW at least gives that a purpose.

Goodnight.

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08 January 2008 @ 07:54 pm

Resuming regular update schedule

Whoa... second update in two days. I'm on a roll. Now this just needs to become a habit.

I find that there are days when I have a lot to say, and days when everything just sort of rolls on by. Tomorrow, I'm going to a movie with some friends- Angie, Dan, and Kat, and maybe Joe, though since his grandma died he will probably be busy for the next few days. I was hoping the selected movie would be I Am Legend, but alas... no Will Smith slaying vampires for SD.

On another note, I designed an AMD box that I may or may not eventually build. Money's not as much of an issue since I got a job (though it would still take several months to save the necessary funds), but at this point the only support for the Phenom CPUs (AMD's line of quad-cores) is on more expensive AM2+ motherboards. So I may have to wait awhile anyway until support becomes more widely available.

That's all for now.

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07 January 2008 @ 11:30 pm

Not all of us are fucking idiots

Until fairly recently, I'd forgotten the reputation computer salesman have in some circles on the internet. It's summed up with the following joke:

"Q: What's the difference between a car salesman and a computer salesman?
A: The car salesman knows when he's lying to you."

Among the tech-savvy internet nerds, we're often regarded as being completely ignorant about our own products. Now, I'm not completely surprised by this- in some cases, it's quite true. I know for a fact that many of the people hired at the same time as me into other areas of the store had very little knowledge about the products they were tasked to sell (i.e. digital cameras, TVs, and appliances). But there are a few things that I think need clarification.

1) "Can I help you?"
    So many people complain about us asking if they have any questions. What's the deal with that? Like it takes so much effort to say "no, I'm fine." Or is it just that they're insulted that we would dare think that they had questions we could answer?

I understand the elitist "I know more about <insert subject here> than anyone" attitude, because there are some subjects that I have the same kind of arrogance in. But what most people don't seem to understand is that 90% or more of the customers that come into our stores don't know shit about computers, and we can't exactly tell by looking.

Plus, if we don't bother you, our managers bother us. Don't blame us for asking you- I do not like walking up and starting a conversation with every person that comes into our section. Being an introvert, it's contrary to my personality. But it's my job.

2) Warranties
    For most people, extended warranties/service plans are a waste of money. Why do I know this? Because if we lost money on them, we would not sell them. The very fact that they're offered means they turn a profit, which means they pay out less than they receive. So, for that reason, I tend not to push them much.

Again, however, it's our job to sell you the warranties. Since we make very little profit on computers, we have to attach warranties and services to make up. Sales are non-commissioned, but if I sell a 3 year premium warranty I get "mad props, yo" and recognition as a competent salesman. Plus, for certain people, they're a wise decision- one person on a forum I frequent has gone through four computers on one warranty.

3) We don't know what we're talking about
    As mentioned before, in some cases that's definitely true. But as for myself and the people I work with, there's not one person that I would classify as ignorant on computers. Sure, we'll get people from other departments in ours sometimes who know very little about computers (as I recall, recently there was a supervisor in our section who couldn't even tell a customer why a computer with an advertised "500 GB" of hard drive space would display something like "485 GB available.")

As for what I've seen, the only inexcusable mistake was made by someone on the Geek Squad- they actually told a customer it was imossible to remove Windows Vista from a hard drive. I've heard worse stories, but I don't really understand the reasons for this as I'm pretty sure the Geek Squad requires it's "agents" to be at least A+ Certified.

In any case, I (and most of the people I work with) could explain the differences betwen Turion, Athlon, and Sempron processors. We can explain the meaning of 32 and 64 bit, and tell you how that will affect you. We know what eSata is. Any of the myriad of "stupid salesman" stories I've heard would not happen in my (or most stores') department.

So give it a fucking rest with the computer salesman hate already. The only difference between us and an appliance salesman is that there isn't a horde of refrigerator nerds breathing down the appliance salesman's neck.

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11 December 2007 @ 11:01 pm

Employed and apathetic

Ah, an update. And now that I have stuff to write about I plan to update more frequently.

Since last posting, I gained employment as a computer salesman at a large electronics retailer. I passed my tech certification, giving me designation as a "specialist" (oooh) and in my third week of employment am working about 30 hours. My job consists of answering peoples' stupid questions and trying to convince them to buy over-priced computers, with attatched software, service plans, and maintenance work. (Not to mention monitors, networking equipment, and the like).

Every Friday night my friend Joe and I hang out at a mutual friend's house, a guy named Dan we met in a computer networking class a year or so ago. We play a lot of video games, listen to metal, and talk about really stupid shit.

Every once in awhile I drive over to Sarena's house. She's a girl I met while working at the Concordia Japanese Language Village. We watch movies and play Guitar Hero, for the most part. And play in the snow.

I'm building my own PC now, with the money I'm making in my new job. Since I've started working there I realize what a rip-off pre-assembled systems are. The machine I'm building will put anything we sell in my department to shame and cost half the price.

As to the specs..

Western Digital Caviar 500 GB HDD, 7200 RPM
MSI P35 Platinum LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
4 GB (2x2) of Corsair Dual-channel DDR2 Memory
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 CPU
RAIDMAX Sagitta Black/Silver SECC Steel ATX Tower

Still undecided on fans, power supply, and monitor.

I could write more but I don't really feel like it... right now I'm trying to remember the right headers and footers for compiling C++ programs.

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26 September 2007 @ 11:29 pm

Anarchy, Communism, and Objectivism

I posted the following as a note on Facebook, but it seems like a good note on which to revive this LJ. I've been becoming increasingly irritated by various political views and matters as of late, and here is my first comment:

It seems that as security measures increase and privacy decreases in the United States, the number of people that support anarchy, true communism, and/or some form of both are increasing. I have a few thoughts on these.

First of all, one of the main arguments of anarchists/communists is that in a society with control, generally executed by government, it is inevitable that those with money control the lives of those without. Everyone should be equal, they say, and by eliminating the controlling entity, government, we can obtain an equal society.

This is wrong.

No matter the form, control will always be exerted on society, with laws and government or without. Without law, control merely shifts from the wealthy and intelligent people to the most brutal people with the most guns.

Even with the existence of laws to prevent this kind of group from assuming control over the population, it would be useless without enforcers. Furthermore, the enforcers have to be more powerful than the law breakers. The only way to achieve this is by pooling resources- and by that point you've created a government.

As for communism, in a society controlled by government (which, as outlined above, is the only way one can function well), capitalism is the most logical and efficient type of economy to have. It generates the most money and allows people to forge their own path and do as well as they have the means and will to do.

"But the poor!" they cry. "The poor suffer under the yoke of the rich! We have to level the playing field with public financial support and the redistribution of the country's wealth!"

No, we don't.

Everyone needs to deal with their own problems. I don't ask others to support me, nor do I want to support others. If everyone lives for themselves, then everyone will end up at exactly where, given their abilities, they should.

Some people enjoy giving. Let them give, but don't force everyone to share the fruits of their labor with those that don't help themselves. Giving should be a case-by-case choice, made by the individual whose property is to be given.

Yes, it's true, some people have luckier beginnings than others. Nothing can be done about that, because it's better than the alternative- everyone being born into a world where no matter your ability or how intelligent you are, your lot in life is the same.

There is no reason to force people to be equal, because all people are NOT equal. Some are smarter than others. Some are harder working than others. Forcing everyone into equality only gives some that which they haven't earned while holding others back.

So fuck anarchy. Fuck communism. Fuck redistributing wealth. People are in charge of their own destiny, and should go only as far as their own motivation and means take them.

Current Mood:

cynical

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16 August 2007 @ 11:48 pm

One Day More!

Heyas.

I like working here. I really do. The people are the sort of people I enjoy working with, the work isn't any worse than I would be doing at home, and I get to practice my Japanese. But there are things that I miss doing at home during the summer. Things like playing chess, ordering pizza, marathoning anime and not having to worry about waking up early to cook breakfast, etc. Of course, I also don't get paid. That's kind of a problem.

Which reminds me, Japan has officially passed a legal measure requiring, as of Nov. 2007, all foreigners to be fingerprinted and photographed upon entering Japan. This will supposedly contribute to a world wide anti-terrorism database. I'm glad this will be put into effect after I leave Japan for the year. I've heard rumors that the Illuminati control Japan, and though there's no conclusive proof that the Illuminati continue to operate today, the evidence overwhelmingly suggests a secret coalition of world leaders working to achieve a one world government that would not be in the best interests of humanity.

Point being, I don't want Big Brother to have more control over me than they already have... of course, I already always keep in mind the possibility that all of my email and blog posts are read by the government.

Oh yeah, since my blog is now known to others, my team of lawyers has advised me to add the following disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this blog post, and all others on this site, do not reflect the opinion of the institution of Concordia Languages or any affiliates of the aforementioned organization.

Also, I stumbled across an interesting article indicating that scientists have perfomed quantum tunnelling experiments that suggested certain subatomic particles traveled faster than the speed of light. Expect an update when I have more information and an internet connection that's faster than this dial up crap.

Anyway, after hanging out all day tomorrow (and eating 3 of my favorite meals here- Scrambled eggs for breakfast, Chicken Karage for lunch, and Tonkatsu for dinner) I work from 7:30-2:30 on Saturday and am going home immediately afterwards. So I expect to spend a lot of tomorrow packing.

Goodnight.

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11 August 2007 @ 12:32 pm

Rumors of My Death Weren't THAT Exaggerated...

Greetings again.

Has it really been 8 days since I posted? It has? Whoa. Battles have been fought and won in less than 8 days! (In fact, most of them continue for several days at most.) The Roman Empire rose and fell within 8 days!

...what? It was actually several centuries? Close enough.

Anyway, long story short, I just don't get on the internet that much here because it's so slow. Actually, there was no long story. That was basically the whole thing right there.

Now, though, it is time to move on to more important things.

First of all- Thank you for your reassuring comment, A Camper's Mom. (Dial-up is too slow to go into the "Reply to Comments" page.)

Second of all- has Merlin been getting food and water? I won't be happy if I return home in 8 days to find nothing but a tiny skull being picked clean by crickets.

Third of all- The Wiggle Game.

This is a game played widely among the staff here at Mori no Ike. Yep, it's called the wiggle game and here are the rules.

There are a series of symbols/gestures that are used in combat, much like in the more popular rock paper scissors. However, The Wiggle Game (please capitalize The, Wiggle, and Game when referring to it. Actually, just to be safe, always capaitalize the word before and After Wiggle.) Adds extra elements of surprise and strategy to the mix.

There are two combat gestures and two defense gestures.

Attack-
The Goggles
You know that thing where you turn your hands upside down and put them over your eyes with your thumb and forefinger touching to make them look like goggles? Yeah, it's that. All you have to do to attack is get someone to look at you while you're doing that. If they don't defend themselves, they have To Wiggle. (Wiggling is accomplished by getting into a crouching position with your back on the floor and waving your legs and arms around.

The Monocle.
It's the same symbol, but with one hand.

Defense-
Sunglasses
Sunglasses are the defense against the Goggles. They're accomplished by making two sideways peace signs in front of your eyes. If, when someone tries to get you to look at them when they're doing the Googles and you respond with the Sunglasses, then they have To Wiggle. However, if you respond to the Monocle with the Sunglasses, then you have To Wiggle.

The Telescope
The Telescope is the defense against the Monocle, and it is accomplished by miming holding a telescope up to your face. If you respond to the Goggles with the Telescope then you have To Wiggle, But if you respond to the Monocle with the Telescope, then they have To Wiggle.

These are the rules of The Wiggle Game.

The Second game I learned last night at the Tokubestu no Kaigi is The Game.

The rules of The Game:

If you remember or think about The Game, you're out.

Once you're out, you have a two minute grace period where you may think about the game before you're in again.

The only way to win The Game is to die in the two minute grace period.

By the way, once you read this, you thought about the game so you're out for two minutes. I am also out because I thought about The Game while writing this.

I'll post again before I leave in 8 days. My cell phone battery is dead.

Later.

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03 August 2007 @ 09:28 pm

The Mystery Solved

There has been a mystery going on for a few days now, known to no one other than me.

Somehow, a small group of seito (students) know my real name. Several have asked me "Are you Jeff?" Of course, I am. Concordia Language Villages generally discourages sharing any sort of personal information at all with students, so I denied it the first time or two, but finally I admitted it and asked how they knew (in Japanese, of course).

The answer that solved the mystery? "My mom reads your blog."

Oh.

Though I was surprised at first, I really should have seen that one coming. I guess it would be natural for a parent, before sending their kid off to Mori no Ike, to research it a little on the internet. And as I mention Mori no Ike quite alot, this blog would probably show up on a google search for Mori no Ike (though I myself have only read the first few pages of results).

My first response: to rack my brains for anything I've ever posted that could come back to haunt me.

My second response: sorry.

Yep, sorry. I'm sorry that this blog has been so boring. This whole time I've been writing under the impression that it would only be read by my friends and serve as a mode of communication of important info. Now that I realize I have a wider audience than that, I need to start a better act. I need to keep my readers interested. I need a team of writers, a a choreagrapher, a score of catchy songs and dance numbers, and a cool tuxedo.

Oh yeah.

The other day I killed a bee in an epic kitchen battle. It was awesome. As I entered the dish room to work on lunch dishes, I spotted it buzzing angrily around the hose. Backing out slowly towards the door, I grabbed a fly swatter and headed into battle.

The bee spotted me and spun towards me in full battle mode. As it was making a bee-line (heh heh heh) straight for my chest I had no time to think. I swung the flyswatter through the air at a million miles an hour, and the bee exploded on impact. I picked its remains off the floor, swatted it again in triumph, and then cut off its head with a nearby pair of dirty scissors.

Well, that's all for this update. I'll be back in Anoka tomorrow.

Mata, ne.

Boku wa Akira "Orenji Boushi daidokoro no otoko" sensei hazu desu.

Current Mood:

amused

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