| Computer talk |
[Sep. 7th, 2009|03:16 am] |
| [ | Temperament |
| |  tired | ] |
What a miserable week.
My computer is dying. I've had this computer since my sophomore year of college, so for about four years now. Last month the speakers went dead. Now the display is dying. It flickers to inverted colors and sometimes just goes out. It started doing that a month ago, but now it's constant.
So I've bitten the bullet and bought a new computer. I don't have it yet; it'll take about two weeks to get here. Man, it cleared me out. I do have enough money to eat until my next pay check, but that's it. No parties for me for a few weeks. But I wouldn't survive without a computer, and I really want to be able to transfer all my data to the new computer before this display goes completely dead. I hope it'll last that long. Of course, I could be over-reacting. It might stay usable like this for some time. The amount it's deteriorated over the past week, though...
So! New computer. Exciting stuff, eh. I hope this next one will last another four years.
Stats and stuff for those who care-
( Specks! (supeku) )
Pretty exciting news, huh. I talked with different sales people for over six hours yesterday and two hours today, plus all the internet searching. I'm exhausted.
Also, my room is a mess, I need to do laundry, and I've got to go to work in an hour. Bleah.
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| Food |
[Aug. 17th, 2009|09:11 am] |
| [ | Temperament |
| |  full | ] |
| [ | Adventure's Theme |
| | Death Cab for Cutie - Marching Bands of Manhatten | ] |
In an attempt to better myself, I've decided I should make an at least half-assed effort to eat better. That means stop eating convenience store lunches so much.
So. That leaves restaurants or cooking. I figure my money is better off with the latter.
I thought I should take pictures for my first time. I felt so innocent and scared.
Let's see how it went, shall we?
( Click here for the continuation and exciting conclusion! )
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| Update! |
[Aug. 14th, 2009|07:26 am] |
| [ | Temperament |
| |  hopeful | ] |
| [ | Adventure's Theme |
| | TV noise | ] |
Hello once again!
Time for some more pictures and stories. All this and more after the cut.
( Click me! )
I've gotta work tomorrow morning. I'm not looking forward to that, but it won't be bad I suppose. School starts again Monday. That'll be nice.
Peace out, LJ.
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| Photo Update! |
[Jul. 30th, 2009|07:04 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | japan, japan2 | ] |
| [ | Temperament |
| |  thirsty | ] |
| [ | Adventure's Theme |
| | Broken computer speakers D: | ] |
Long time no see, everybody. Here's an update of some things that I've done over the past few months. This is of course only a small taste of my life here in Sapporo. A small, tasty taste. Life normally doesn't taste quite so interesting as these photos would have you believe, but I figure it would be best to leave the bland out.
So, pictures and commentary!
( Ominous... )
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| Horror |
[Jun. 12th, 2009|08:00 am] |
| [ | Temperament |
| | hungry | ] |
A little bit of video game talk. I hope you don't mind.
I went ahead and got Fatal Frame 4 in Japanese since it appears that it'll never be translated. I finished it without any problems. There was one character's storyline I didn't really get until I read some stuff online, but other than that it was pretty creepy and enjoyable. It really wasn't as good as Fatal Frame 2, but most fans seem to agree that was the best one. I think my biggest complaint was that the final fight seemed a bit random. The character you were fighting was obviously the main villian, but the location was very WTF. It was pretty and all, but why in the world was that significant to the ancient dark rituals or creepy hospital experiments.
The first half of the game and one specific room in the middle were scary. After that, I guess I grew immune to it. Well, it really felt like they stopped going for "scary" right after the wheel-chair ghost. That was disappointing. The second game had me creeped out until the very end. This one's ending was anti-climatic.
However! I've been looking at the news from E3, and there's a new game coming out this year that looks awesome. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. I've never played a Silent Hill game before, but I've heard from lots of people that I should.
My biggest worry is that it's being made for the Wii, the PS2 and the PSP. All the Wii media I've seen so far looks great. I don't know how they could run this quality on the other two. Plus, the controls look pretty intrinsic.
Other than that, I'm about to go to downtown (Susukino) to meet with a friend for dinner. I'll catch you later, Net.
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| 僕はどこだ？ |
[May. 7th, 2009|11:31 am] |
| [ | Temperament |
| | tired | ] |
| [ | Adventure's Theme |
| | Goodbye Again - Vertical Horizon | ] |
Sara reminded me a few minutes ago that I still hadn't given her my address. So, rather than just giving it to her, I figure I'll put it here for the whole world to have. If you're ever in the area, feel free to stop by. This is where I'll be living until April of next year.
Minami 2 Nishi 22 Cho-me 1-51
Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
064-0802
Haitsu Koyama #101
I'm actually not sure how to write that last bit. It's the name of my apartment building and room number, but the first word is written in katakana. I think that it's supposed to be the English word "Heights" but who knows. I'm sure the postal people would understand it best like this though.
If you're using Google Maps (or Japanese is easier to you), here's the original:
〒０６４－０８０２
札幌市中央区
南２条西２２丁目１－５１
ハイツ小山 号１０１
Nothing real to say at the moment, but I'm really tired. Sakura is blooming this week. It's prettier here than Osaka I think, but there isn't nearly as much of it. Also, I think the pollen of everything has been giving me headaches. Or it could be school. Speaking of which, school from 9 in the morning tomorrow and then work from five in the afternoon. I'll post a real entry one of these days. |
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| Yatta! |
[Feb. 27th, 2009|11:06 am] |
I do believe I finally got a job. I'm not entirely certain, because I haven't signed a contract yet, but they want me to come in for training tomorrow. Since I've already had one pseudo-training session there already, I've got really high hopes for this. Unfortunately, it's not paid training, and the job wouldn't start until the 14th of next month. And pay checks are handed out the last day of the month, so it would be a while before I see any money coming from it.
But the pay seems pretty good, not as good as I would like though. It's an English teaching job. Not just eikaiwa either. I would need to spend a lot of time speaking Japanese to prepare middle school kids for standardized tests. Which means I need to brush up on my grammar related vocabulary.
And I'm hungry. But it's one am and I'm out of groceries. Not to mention I've already had dinner. Oh premade convenient store food. It tastes a lot better than it sounds.
I've gotta get studying for the Nihon Ryugaku Shiken.... I still don't quite know what I'm going to do after this school, but apparently people get scholarships because of this test. I'm considering applying for the non-English teaching JET program. I think I'd have a good chance of getting in and working for the government would be a good paying and reliable job. Maybe just until I get my current loan paid off. I don't know yet, though. I wish I didn't have to decide yet, but applications for everything here are way in advance.
Edit: Well, looking at the JET requirements, it's not nearly as far ahead as I thought. It also looks like I would have to be in America for the interview in February, so it looks like that wouldn't be much of a plan after all.
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| Snow Festival! |
[Feb. 9th, 2009|09:36 am] |
Went on a field trip today with the rest of my class, down to central Sapporo, Odori Eki, to visit the Snow Festival. For those who don't know, this festival is about the only thing that happens in Sapporo and the only thing that makes tourism here exist. So many foreigners... And snow/ice sculptures! So I took some photos.
( Follow the Goomba... )
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 25th, 2009|12:32 pm] |
Hey again, LJ.
No photos yet I`m afraid, but I did break down and sign up for internet in my apartment. It`ll be installed in about a week and a half maybe. The first two months are free, but it gets a bit pricey after that. However, I`ve pretty much resigned myself to teaching English part-time. The pay is triple what I could make anywhere else, and having a degree in English should hopefully make job hunting very easy. I hope.
Also, I wasn`t plainng on doing so for about a month at least, but over the weekend I got a cell-phone. I was talking about them with Kin, a Chinese friend, and she made me realize it would be impossible to find a job if I didn`t have some sort of communication device. Since I hope to start job hunting next week, it`s pretty 重要. English is getting harder, though.
I`ve got a conversation exam today. I really wish we would do more essays and things. I had to write a speech last week, but the classes mostly revolve around kanji, (boring)textbook stories and grammar.
Well, I`m off to study. Laters. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 14th, 2009|12:12 pm] |
The third day of classes are about to start. That`s pretty exciting. Last night I got kinda lost after buying a ton of stuff I needed for my apartment- carpet, little table, curtains. It`s not very fun to walk around in the snow carrying a ton of stuff. However, I can now freely get naked in my apartment without worry. That`s quite a relief.
It got cold again today. Yesterday morning it was actually a degree above freezing. We`re a couple degrees below now.
I did laundry last night. My laundry machine is pretty ancient so it was an endeavor. But this clean underwear is the most satisfyingly clean underwear I`ve ever worn. Not that I was wearing dirty stuff before, it was the amount of work that was required for it. Now that I`ve learned, I doubt it will be quite so satisfying.
I`ll try to post pictures of my apartment or school something soon. I don`t have access to the internet with my laptop so I`ll have to find an internet cafe that has SD readers.
School time. I`ll catch you later, LJ. |
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| Quick note |
[Jan. 7th, 2009|11:19 am] |
| [ | Temperament |
| |  sore | ] |
So I`m at the school`s computer lab now, and I just finished taking the enterance exam. I`ll be in one of the highest classes, which is great. I`ll learn the particulars tomorrow.
I`ve met a pretty cool Chinese girl and an Italian guy. I haven`t really met anyone Japanese other than who I`ve already known. It`s a neat feeling only being able to communicate with someone in a language that is neither of our native languages. I`ve still got a long way to go before I`ll be able to write a real essay worth reading, but I`m feeling pretty good about my Japanese so far.
Also, I don`t think I`ve gotten this much exercise since last I was in Japan.
Hey Mom, did you get the email I sent you? Reply to either this or that so I know I`m using the right address.
Just got your reply! |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 6th, 2009|02:21 pm] |
So! Im in Japan, at an internet cafe, typing on a keyboard that I cant find the apostrophe key.
I made it here safely! Im in my awesome new tiny apartment. I start orientation tomorrow at school. Im ちょお excited.
Im pretty surprised how well Im communicating. I know I learned a lot from Tezuka-sensei last year, but wow. Its a very good feeling. Im sure Ill master the level 1 test.
Anyway, Im running out of time, so Im off. I might have better access to the internet once school really starts. Otherwise Ill have to come to the center of Sapporo and find another cafe.
Laters. |
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| A crumbled map in my pocket |
[Jan. 3rd, 2009|11:21 am] |
I'm leaving today. Japan.
I'm pretty excited.
I'll be in the Maruyama area of Sapporo up in Hokkaido. Look me up if you're ever in the area.
I don't know when I'll be on-line next. It could be a while.
Wish me luck. JLPT level one, here I come. |
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| Merry Christmas!! |
[Dec. 25th, 2008|03:06 pm] |
| [ | Temperament |
| |  pleased | ] |
| [ | Adventure's Theme |
| | Carol of the Bells | ] |
Merry Christmas everyone!!!
Oh, Christmas... What a joyous time of the year. All sorts of fun presents, family, and leaving for Japan in just ten days.
And with this medium in particular, I'd would like to take this moment to thank ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) darthdw for giving me a whole year's subscription to LiveJournal. I have no idea how to use it, but I'll learn somehow and just in time for Japan. Thanks man.
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| YAY! |
[Dec. 12th, 2008|02:05 pm] |
| [ | Temperament |
| |  ecstatic | ] |
| [ | Adventure's Theme |
| | Supercar | ] |
I got my passport back! With my brand-new VISA!!!
Wow that was fast.
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| It's the most wonderful time... |
[Dec. 11th, 2008|05:05 pm] |
| [ | Temperament |
| |  anxious | ] |
| [ | Adventure's Theme |
| | Jimmy Eat World - My Sundown | ] |
Still looking for that perfect present for me? Try one of these! This (size M) or This. (The second is one that I mentioned last time, but just in case.)
Also! 24 days left till Japan. Not that I'm counting or anything. There's also only 14 days left till Christmas. That's pretty exciting, I think.
I've sent my passport off to the consulate in Nashville. Hopefully I'll get it back along with my visa in about a week. That's really all that I have left to do other than pack.
And just in case anyone who reads this likes Smash Brothers, which I don't think anyone does, but regardless, this is awesome.
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| 買っちゃった～ |
[Dec. 2nd, 2008|08:00 pm] |
| [ | Temperament |
| | ecstatic | ] |
| | | Atlanta (ATL) to Washington DC (IAD) | 01/04/09 | 6:00 am - 7:41 am | All Nippon Airways 7103 Operated By: UNITED EXPRESS/SHTL AMERICA | | Washington DC (IAD) to Tokyo (NRT) | 01/04/09 | 11:20 am - 3:25 pm | All Nippon Airways 1 | | Tokyo (NRT) to Sapporo (CTS) | 01/05/09 | 7:00 pm - 8:40 pm | All Nippon Airways 2155 |
BOUGHT.
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| Christmas again |
[Nov. 19th, 2008|11:29 pm] |
Seeing fyr3lyt3 's list reminded me that a few people have been asking me what I want for Christmas. There are a couple little things I would like to have, but there are many much bigger things I will need only a week afterwards. Like a bed, blankets and maybe after I'm comfortable a telephone and TV. Unfortunately I can't take any of that with me.
( Lists- Naughty or Nice? )
I finished The Graveyard Book. I really liked all the characters except for the bad guys. They felt pretty flat to me.
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| Creepy |
[Oct. 21st, 2008|08:47 am] |
| [ | Temperament |
| | rejuvenated | ] |
I just woke up from a dream I was having where myself, Charlie, Jake and Luke along with some other people were all on the farm in West Virginia. Towards the end of the dream, we started seeing who could quote the most interesting poetry.
I got the line a little wrong, but the last one I said before waking up was "Oh God, Oh God/ Is all that we see and seem/ But a dream within a dream?" |
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accomplished