When we grow up, we tend to forget how we got ourselves into the current position. It really is just a stream of events that, however incongruous in reality, flows coherently into memory and is ever smoothed out over time into a giant mass of experience. Thus, even for the most vigilant and observing, trauma, boredom, happiness, and sadness all ( Read more... )

So I've come back from Japan, and it's a tremendous letdown. My parents were kind enough to visit me, but even they know now, I've grown too old, too much to see things the way they do and enjoy the sedate pace and the plebeian sights they enjoy. Even in comparison to other parents, they are insular, hiding from a society both sides know they don't ( Read more... )

On Wednesday, after Yanagi left for Tokyo, I finished up preparations for my final presentation in Japanese on Thursday. I had a nice looking PowerPoint show with pictures and stuff, but unfortunately, no really cool-looking videos. Yanagi demoed her FIT conference presentation for me, Naya, Ohmura, and Ozaku on Monday, and it totally blew my lousy ( Read more... )

So when I was in Yokohama with David a few weekends back, I landed a stuffed Miyazaki living dust ball, as can be seen in Tonari no Totoro and Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi. The neat thing is that when pulling the cord, the dust ball vibrates, much like it does in the movies when it gets scared ( Read more... )

It's less than a week before I return to the US. I look back, and I keep on telling myself that it wasn't supposed to end this way. Yet, I really can't think of any other way it could end ( Read more... )

On Sunday, went to Wakayama and the Marina City with Take, Stanford kids, and some Canadians from NTT/ATR. I haven't swum in at least 5 years or so, and back then I never learned a proper stroke of any sort, so swimming in the ocean was rather difficult. Still, it was fun, all in all. Someone was kind enough to teach me a basic breaststroke, which ( Read more... )

I'll be going back to Stanford in less than two weeks. Regrettably, like any good experience, it went by far too quickly ( Read more... )

So work has been going well, not least of which due to the people I've begun working with. Why is this? It's because I work daily with Yanagi now ( Read more... )

Ridiculous Things in Japan:

• cars
  • middle class cars that have automatic closing/opening doors
  • build-in side-view, rear-view, and front bumper cameras for parking and narrow driving
• Japanese audiophile equipment, esepcially Audio-Technica
• cell phones, as previously mentioned that can:
  • find map info to a destination and trace a route from the current ( Read more... )

On Friday night, Martin and I left via yakobasu (night bus) from Nara to Tokyo. I did not really give Tokyo enough justice with my previous very brief visit during Golden Week. Even though the yakobasu was horrifically uncomfortable going to Tokyo--there was a guy very loudly snoring the entire way--it didn't really affect my outlook on the weekend ( Read more... )