I'm at the Tokyo immigration bureau to pick up my visa, and the line for re-entry permits is HUGE. It seems to mainly be Asian people who are ready to leave Japan RIGHT NOW. (No, literally; there are several people who have suitcases with them.)

I'm at work, and one of the only people here because they're scheduling rolling blackouts in Tokyo to conserve power that have taken out half of the trains. (Actually, I kinda panicked and fled the house as soon as I heard, so I ended up at work half an hour early. ;^_^) (ETA: There are about a dozen people here out of 60. It's actually kinda funny ( Read more... )

(See subject.)

To expand, there was just a pretty damned large earthquake, apparently centered in Miyagi Prefecture. It lasted a good couple of minutes, getting strong enough that it was hard to stay seated in our chairs and even my fellow Japanese co-workers were talking about whether we should try to flee. (To which one of the management said, " ( Read more... )

This was an actual conversation during work:

Minako-chan: ???
Co-worker #1: [look up] Are we swaying? Are we having an earthquake?
Co-worker #2: Oh thank god. I thought I was just getting woozy.
Earthquake: [shake shake shake!]
Co-worker #1: Okay, now I'm going to hurl.

It's good to know that I'm not the only one who gets motion sick during earthquakes.

My mom collects important-looking mail from home and ships it off to me 1-2 times each month with magazines and candy or whatnot. This latest care package included the best mail every:

My very own invitation to become a member of AARP.

Peeps, I loled. I loled so. hard.

(Also, I'm totally keeping the trial membership card, just for kicks.)

I JUST FOUND OUT THAT MY SISTER AND 10-YEAR-OLD NIECE HAVE NEVER SEEN/READ HARRY POTTER. MY SISTER WROTE TO SAY THAT THEY JUST SAW THE FIRST MOVIE TOGETHER AND SHE WAS MAD AT ME FOR NOT MAKING HER DO IT EARLIER ( Read more... )

Here is a dramatic reenactment of how we solve software bugs at work:

Before Xmas
Minako-chan: Hey, I just found out that you released a "new" version of the English software a month ago, although no one thought to tell me about it. FYI, I'm experiencing bugs A and B.

After New Year's
Co-worker #1: Thanks I'll look into those problems when I have time ( Read more... )

I'm not sure how many people will be entertained by this, but my dad sent me this link to a comedy sketch about what happens when you combine voice recognition with Scots. He recently got a new car with a voice-activated, hands-free cell phone system, and his only comment about this video was, "No wonder I can never call some people."

You know you're playing too much Valkyria Chronicles II on your commute when you get off the train, start heading towards the station exit, and then nearly stop on the stairs because you're thinking to yourself, "I should get to a safe spot before my AP runs out."

This was the opening line of a Yahoo article today:
Here's what Generation Y doesn't want[ in terms of houses]: formal living rooms, soaker bathtubs, dependence on a car.
This cracks me up because (even if I'm only borderline Gen Y), I agree with this 100%. I would also say no formal dining room (either a dining room and no breakfast nook or a large ( Read more... )