:: My Urban Eyes ::
All that I see, and then some.
:: Friday, December 30, 2005 ::
Behind the Times
I only just got on bloglines, a web-based RSS reader. Being vacation I get to vege (is that you how spell it?) out in front of the comp a lot, so it's been really handy having all my favorite blogs and things in one spot. ...is it sad that I had an RSS reader for podcasts before I got one for my blogs?
Anywho, if you have any favorite blogs or feeds of any sort that you like/think I would like, let me know in the comments. ^_^ Currently my feeds include (links are feeds, not websites):
- Daily Show Videos
- Boing Boing
- Lifehacker
- PostSecret
- ~friends' blogs~
- ~podcasts~
- Daily Kos
- Media Matters for America
- Spacing
Spacing-esque stuff especially appreciated ^_^
Labels: Blog
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 6:24 PM [+] ::
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New Linkage
At left - Spacing, a webzine and photoblog that centers on Toronto, which I love dearly, but the discussions of urban space are applicable anywhere. When I get home I am totally going to dive into the photoblog... I can't wait to catch up with all of them.
With some of my Christmas money I ordered two books for studying kanji from amazon.jp... and they arrived less than 48 hours later. Living in a small country can have its advantages. -_^ The books--Kanji in Context, reference book and workbook one, rock. Even though I'm starting at the beginning (flying through the several hundred kanji I already know) I'm learning whole bunches of vocab I didn't know before. Even the word for fifty-fifty! (It's gobugobu, and the characters mean "five parts, five parts".) I feel like I'm finally at the point where, when I go home, I can study Japanese on my own and be successful with it. It makes me happy. ^_^
So does this vacation! Yea for doing nothing! Hehehe. I hope everyone is doing well, take care! ^_^
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 1:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Thursday, December 29, 2005 ::
Overcompensation
During homestay I was in my room by 10, 11 at the latest, and due to it being insanely cold (no central heat in Japan, I just had a space heater) I usually fell asleep quickly, even on the weekends. But here in the dorms... 24/7 computer lab! Kitchen is always open! Lounge is never closed! Many friends around all the time, always ready for convo! It is waaaaaay too easy to stay up past my bedtime.
I start an intersession ceramics class on the 6th, though, so that should get me back to a normal schedule. Just don't want to think about how rude an awakening that will be. :P
Labels: Japan
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 12:06 AM [+] ::
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:: Wednesday, December 28, 2005 ::
Real world, anyone?
Today I was in the kitchen here at the dorm and heard a really weird electronic wavy sound... that's the only way I can describe it. Then I look over to the microwave just in time to see flames inside. Yup, a smart person put something wrapped in tinfoil in the microwave, set it to ten minutes, then walked away. Isn't that like lesson 101 in microwave-ness?
/me shakes her head
(Do not worry, the microwave was unplugged, disaster averted, and the responsible party was alerted to the error of their ways by yours truly.)
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 4:28 PM [+] ::
:: ... 1 comments
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OH NO!
I wasn't that fast, actually. I hadn't checked your blog in a few days and was bored at work!
-e
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I wasn't that fast, actually. I hadn't checked your blog in a few days and was bored at work!
-e
# posted by 
: 4:17 AM
: 4:17 AM:: Tuesday, December 27, 2005 ::
Realization
I'm listening to David Sedaris' "Santaland Diaries" (a must listen, by the way [click on the RA icon, starts at 4:20 in]) and it hits me--why it hasn't felt like Christmas. It's not a lack of merrymaking, or of Christmas trees or Christmas music (Bill O'Reilly should come here--Christmas isn't religious in Japan, so the word is everywhere). Nor was it a lack of presents (thanks for the cookies, Mom and Mark's Mom ^_^), or even snow (a quarter of an inch of snow is still snow, I guess). It was none of these things.
It was missing the Charlie Brown Christmas Special.
More specifically, it was missing the jazzy, piano laden "O Tannenbaum". You know the one, it usually plays when the kids are outside, maybe walking back with the spindly Christmas tree, wondering if they chose wisely. It's just not Christmas until I hear it--while shopping at the mall, on the radio station that changes to an all-carol format the day after Halloween, or when Charlie Brown realizes what the holiday is all about.
So, for me, Christmas was December 27th this year. Merry Christmas to me.
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 8:05 PM [+] ::
:: ... 2 comments
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I know the feeling, it really wasn't a Christmas-y Christmas over hear either for the same reason, I just couldn't watch the movies.
Let me know when you get your Xmas card from j&me! ok? I want to know if I typed the whole big address right.
-eliz
Let me know when you get your Xmas card from j&me! ok? I want to know if I typed the whole big address right.
-eliz
# posted by : 7:43 AM
: 7:43 AM
Elizabeth, damn you're quick! I'm still sitting here at my comp! Hehehe.
I can't even check my mail until January 5th ~sob!~... so I'll let you know that it came through safely then.
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I can't even check my mail until January 5th ~sob!~... so I'll let you know that it came through safely then.
:: Monday, December 26, 2005 ::
Picture Time!
Just a tiny bit of time, so ceramics stuff!
My favorite class last semester by far was Ceramics. This is Sensei--he took my picture, so I figured I could take his. :P At the end of the semester there was an exhibition of all of our work, and Sensei takes very nice photographs of our best works. Here are my four pieces:
Bowl, white clay, dipping sekai over tessha (R.F.), W.10 cm, H.6 cm.
Cup, red clay, blowing under glaze paint speckles, sekkai (R.F.), W.6.5cm H.5cm.
Bowl, red clay, Dipping tessha and sekkai separately (R.F.), W.11.5cm H.5.5cm.
Vase, white clay, dipping shirohagi on outside over black (R.F.), W.5cm H.7cm.
My favorite is the first one. The vase looks cooler in person, methinks. To see what other people in my class did, check out this page.
Little linguistic note--"Sensei" means "teacher" in Japanese. The characters literally mean "prior/earlier life", or one who came before. Whenever you talk to a teacher, you refer to them as Sensei. Sometimes I forget ceramics Sensei's name (Inomata) because I never ever hear it, hehe. In Japan the teacher/student relationship is considered lifelong. In the US you may call your professor by their first name after a time, but in Japan Sensei will always be Sensei, even 15 years down the road.
Now, time to run off to watch some Hana Yori Dango, which may be a post all to itself at some point. I hope everyone is having a happy holiday season!
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 5:28 AM [+] ::
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:: Sunday, December 25, 2005 ::
Merry Christmas!
I'm in the dorms now, so I should/ought to be updating before too long. Happy holidays, everyone!!!
Labels: Life
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 3:05 AM [+] ::
:: ... 2 comments
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Merry Christmas to you. Have a great holiday as I know you will. wink, wink. I love you! Aunt Pat
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# posted by : 3:48 PM
: 3:48 PM
