Oh, My Poor Tory's!!!

I got caught in the rain today. And I was wearing my Tory Burch flats. Screw me getting wet, I was more concerned with my shoes getting wet!!!

Allow me to backtrack.

Today was the Takasegawa Fune Matsuri, or, the Takase River (well, it's more like a canal) Boat Festival. The Takase Canal is really old and one particular part of it near Nijo-Dori served as a major hub for transport in flat-bottomed boats, and was crucial to the economy, yada yada...

...but at this matsuri, there were maiko. Two of them. Serving tea and sweets.

And I got a picture with one of them. Not just OF them, but WITH them.

At first I wasn't really sure if I could because there was in fact a sign that said, "Satsue Kinshi" ("Photography forbidden"). In that sense, I internally played the "gaijin who can speak Japanese, but not read it card" and started snapping as discreetly as possible. Spurred on by the fact that the Japanese were taking photos with their noisy keitai (read: cell phone) and big fancy SLR's, I started to edge up a bit closer to the maiko.

Snap, snap. They serve tea. I stick around a bit more. Snap, snap. I think something up is with my camera (too many buttons and I do not know all of them - it's really Mel's camera) but I think I fixed it. Snap, snap.

At one point, the tea ceremony-ish part was over, and the maiko were actually serving tea to those who were present. I didn't get served tea myself, but I did ask one of the maiko if I could get a photo of her, and got both of them together. There was one foreign lady sitting near me and I asked her, as the maiko were milling about, if she can take a photo of me with one of the maiko if I asked them.

Let's just say, my hands were actually shaking a bit. To see a maiko walking in Gion is one thing. To take pictures of them at the Miyako Odori is quite another. But to take a picture with one? I totally acted tourist, but all I have to say is this - I asked her politely in Japanese, and I said "thank you" in the Kyoto dialect ("Okii-ni" as opposed to "Arigatou").

(Apologies for the frizzy bangs - it was very humid. Best to go over to my Flickr because you DEFINITELY want to see the rest of the pictures.)

Afterwards, I checked out the Shimadzu Museum (which will be a field trip actually for my course so more on that in the future) and then decided to check out this underground shopping center near City Hall. It looked cloudy. However it was still hot - so hot, that I could feel the sweat dripping down my neck. I want fall to come. NOW.

There was a flea market in the courtyard in front of city hall, and I walked around, in spite of the fact that they were packing up. Look what I found!!!

A vintage Chloe bag. I am pretty sure it is real if only for one reason: Japanese will not bat an eyelash at forking over hundreds, or even thousands of dollars for a designer bag. Quite 50's/60's-ish, don'tcha think? And it's in pretty good condition - I paid 300yen for it. It was originally 800, then down to 400, then because I was hesitating, the lady suddenly said "300yen." I was sold. Very classic.

Then the rain started. Very very hard. I contemplated riding home (because I had my bike and I do know how to ride my bike whilst holding an umbrella for all it's illegality) but instead I ducked into a store that I have been eyeing, called Florame. It's French and sells organic aromatherapy stuff. The lady in the shop gave me some cold tea and I picked up a a mini-soap in Verbena and a 3-pack of Lavender, Almond Milk and Vetiver. Much like L'Occitane - and in fact, there is one on Shijo. But I don't bother because I can get that stuff back home, but Florame isn't in NYC. I have recently been getting into scented stuff - I picked up scented tealights and a plug-in in from Yankee Candle Co. and brought them here with me. Now my apartment smells really nice.

But oh, my poor Tory's. They felt a bit squishy when I finally got off my bike and scampered up the stairs.

H-Japan is My God

Oh, how I worship my ListServ. I get emails about jobs (though I qualify for those in about 7 years, still nice to know that there is hope), conferences, events, books, etc. Through H-Japan, I found out about the conferences that I presented at during my time in Japan.

The closest thing that I can possibly get perhaps to worshiping some sort of deity for the H-Japan ListServ is going to Kitano Tenmangu Jinja - Kitano Tenmangu is the patron saint of calligraphy and students.

I get this email from the H-Japan ListServ today about this week-long series of workshops/mini conference of a sort at one of the top uni's in Australia (no, it's not in Sydney, it's in Canberra).

I am intrigued. Piqued, even. My interest is very piqued.

I look at the website.

"Squeeeeeeee!!!!"

Looks like right proper good fun - fun in both a geeky way (because this conference really does tailor to grad students and helps foster networks) and they have these things called a bursary.

I have never heard of the word "bursary" myself until I went to London - it is a fancy-schmancy word for "scholarship." Leave it to the English to make a nice word, then leave it to the Yanks to totally change things about.

This programme (note the English/Australian spelling everyone!) provides bursaries of up to $1000AUD for those that are overseas to cover travel costs. After a little quickie email conversation with the convenor (read: English way to say "director") of the Japan section, I am eligible to apply.

Very simple application: fill out a form, fax it and then send an email to the convenor with a one-page abstract of your current work. Applying for the bursary was simple as well - you just circle "Yes" on the form if you wish to be considered for it.

Form? Check
Fax form? Will do Monday (office hours are over and I would prefer to fax it during office hours, since Australia is in a similar time zone as Japan).
Abstract? Have it typed up, but I need to fix the formatting, plus update it a bit with what I have done last semester.

Wish me luck! I will get this all done before the September 30, deadline and I find out November 11.

In the meantime, I am going to go say a small prayer at Kitano Tenmangu this Sunday.

Is it Wrong...

...to want to make a baby sweater?

Not really. Good sweater making practice.

But to make a baby sweater for me?

I do not mean what you are thinking. Not quite yet!

I want this (I got the photo off a Queens knitter blogger on my nyc knits ring):
But I want to WEAR it.

It is from a 2005 issue of Knitty, but I googled and found the pattern on the internet for $6. I am totally down with getting it and tweaking it so it can fit me, maybe for next fall, and make like 3 of them. I personally love that color combo above - makes the sleeves bracelet length and make it maybe a bit cropped in a nice bulky weight - makes a nice cardigan jacket for an early fall day, with a white t-shirt, dark jeans and heels or flats. The grosgrain ribbon adds that perfect preppy touch, but I can also close it with a nice brooch or a cameo(!).

Update: I just bought the pattern from Knit/Purl in Portland, ME. $12.50 but well worth it! I just remembered that a family friend (who is like an older sister to me) is having a baby and my mom agreed to mail it to me here so I can get working on that and other baby goodies - I have the instructions for a baby blanket and a knit cap. I plan to make that sweater in all three sizes - the baby is due in February so the newborn will be I think a warm acrylic blend, 6 mos. will be cotton for the summer and the 12 months will be again a warm acrylic. Hurray for making things for babies!

Plus, by the time I finish all three I will be good enough to figure out how to make it in a big-girl`s size.

19370

That's the number of people that are ahead of me at Ravelry, this beta site that looks like it will be the uber, ultimate, meta-site for knitters.

I just joined a bunch of knit-rings (see the sidebar) and now I am (hopefully!) going to be in on a Grey's Anatomy KAL, or a Knit-Along. What could be better than Grey's and knitting?

It certainly makes the knitting more fun and social in my end of the globe, or at least in my neck of Japan - I have tried in vain but there are no knitting circles to be had, really. Thank god for the net!

Tales of the Japanese Toilets and the Tissue Packets that Love Them

When I first got to Japan, I would always get little packets of tissue paper as advertisements. You can find these everywhere - in front of the school cafeteria, on a busy street corner, downtown etc. I would get these in twos and threes and hold on to them - the packets were tiny, they were free and good if I needed a tissue.

I was always somewhat confunded by the "Why tissues?" question. Usually at school, they give out plastic folders as part of the advertisements - well that's easy to understand. Students need folders. I think I have only bought myself one here and that was a large one to hold most of my files. Otherwise, I use the free ones, to carry around the papers I just need for the moment.

In the summer, they advertise on fans - tradition I think carried over from the Edo period. Besides, everyone and their mother (myself included) uses a fan in the summer. It is STILL like 90 degrees out, and it won't get colder till about oh, mid-October. Last year, I was still just wearing a cardigan or a light jacket by the end of November. I want to wear my riding boots, dangit!

But why tissues? Hmm...well it is actually considered quite rude to blow your nose in public. So that's not it.

Yesterday in class, Prof. S. was using the wireless to show the students a faulty problem on an entry about Kyoto in Wikipedia. He opens up his bookmarks and one of them was labeled "Wiki-Japanese Toilet." EVERYONE started laughing and Prof. S. turns around, nonplussed and says, "The 'Japanese Toilet' article is the best article written in Wikipedia."

I have already mentioned my love for the Japanese toilet - the fancy one with all the buttons that is. The ones that cost over $1000 in the States precisely because of all the buttons and the bells and the whistles. Let me tell you, you use a Japanese Washlet, and you never want to use that old button-less toilet again (I very much missed them last August). I avoid the squat version at all costs. However, if the situation is dire then I will use it. So long as it is somewhat clean. I have seen worse versions in Greece, in the tiny mountain villages. But if I have a choice, then I choose the Washlet.

The reason why they give out tissues as advertisements is, according to Wikipedia, that most of the public toilets in the train stations and such do not have toilet paper. When I read this, I was like, "Eureka!"

When I went to Nara I had find a bathroom ASAP. I go to the one in the station which was the closest and there was no toilet paper.

%*$&^.

Luckily I had 200yen on me and bought my tissue packets.

I really need to hoard more free tissue packets - just in case.

KICKIN'!!! And Knittin'

This is just so awesome!!!

First, my old advisor from Fordham comes to Kyoto on his way to China and I meet up with him.

Second, he tells me that he will write me a rec letter for grad school.

Third, my advisor over at Rits agrees to write me a rec letter.

Fourth, my advisor back from London agrees to write me a rec letter...and is currently in Osaka for the next nine months. I will probably get to meet up with him in the first time in about two years - June 2005 was the last time I saw him.

That is just so kickin'! If it weren't for London advisor, I would not really be here right now. He was the one that told me about my scholarship, let me sit in on his grad class as a junior and helped me start my undergrad thesis which is now my research project.

Fifthly, I finished my first ball of yarn for Alisa's scarf, and it is now about 21cm. I forgot what that was in inches, but I have 10 40g balls of this stuff and I did the math - it will be just about 6 to 6.5 feet. I am going to add tassels, just to funk it up a bit.

I even mastered the skill of adding on another piece of yarn from a new ball - granted its the same color, but whatever. My Knit Knack kit suggests that one way to do it is to "knit with both strands for 2 or 3 stitches, to secure it then continue to work with the new yarn alone...weave loose ends later into the knit fabric." Well, I just did my first knitting mod (to me at least) - instead of leaving loose ends, I just kept knitting with both strands till I had no more of the old yarn. No loose ends to weave in later! Saves a step.

Unfortunately, the one non-kickin'is is my GSPS - Grad School Personal Statement. Remember that acronym! It feels quite messy, but I will try to finish something of the sort tomorrow to type up and print.

Oh, Those Magical Golden Years - Harry Potter Style!

Sigh, barely a year and a half out of college and already I am waxing nostalgically about it. Why? Here: I give you an article on how the characters from Harry Potter are like college stereotypes.

Personally, I think I was a Hermione most of the time. ESPECIALLY in my Asian History classes - man my classmates must have hated me - and my advisor was like a Professor Binns. And I did have a Professor McGonagal! She totally kicked ass - I mean come on, what better way to compare Napoleon Bonaparte to a class of scared-stiff freshmen than to compare him to Lord Voldemort?

Knit 0, Purl 0

So I mentioned how I got (slightly overpriced) pretty plum purple 100% wool yarn from Avril. 100 grams. Well yesterday, I go to Avril (as opposed to working on grad apps - that WILL be rectified! I go to Starbucks tomorrow at EIGHT a.m.) to get more pretty plum purple (henceforth known as PPP) yarn.

The idea was since that that PPP yarn is a bit pricey, to use it at the ends and fill in the middle with a different color. I was thinking chocolate brown - preferably to get it at a different store, since it might be cheaper. Ok, so I go to Avril and I get the last 82 grams and there is no more in the lot at the store. Bah. I get it, and trot off to find this fabric store that I always remember in passing - but I forgot if it was in Shinkyogoku or Teramachi, the two covered shopping arcades between Shijo and Sanjo. I was at Sanjo so I go down Shinkyogoku (where I pick up the bamboo needles that are actually in numbered sizes as opposed to millimeter width, and a few other sewing things at the 100yen shop) and walk back up Teramachi. Wouldn't you know, the shop was in Teramachi.

I go and a see a small bin with yarn. For 2100 yen I got 400grams each of chocolate brown and hunter green wool (the latter color is for Alisa). But I notice it's rather...thin. Hmm.

After walking around Fuji Daimaru (sigh, but I did not buy anything - control here!) and getting a case for my Nintendo DS (they came out in new colors! METALLIC PINK, METALLIC SILVER!!! Good thing my sister didn't get hers yet I can pick up one for her here and she will be the coolest girl on the block, haha), I returned to Avril to see if they had any acrylic yarn. I wanted to make dishcloths.

Seriously! The state of the yarn situation in Kyoto is deplorable. It is (somewhat) overpriced (I am a student, ya know!) and there is not much variety. I miss the bins at Michael's and the stores down in SoHo that I have not been to yet (oh, but I will! I need to now set up a separate yarn fund - I am totally addicted now).

There are 2 more stores possibly around here - I asked the girls at Avril and they didn't even know. I go home and realize that the chocolate brown yarn is too thin to go with PPP to make a comprehensible ribbed scarf. Furthermore, 182grams a tucker scarf does not make. Especially in a K3,P3 rib stitch.

I could go back to Avril and get the chocolate brown from the same group that I got PPP from to make it a tucker but a) ANOTHER 1050yen for 100 grams? Hell no, and b) I have 400grams of very nice 100% chocolate brown wool and I was considering chocolate brown originally. PPP was a bit of an impulse buy.

Sadly, I frogged it. I was talking with my mom about this issue of the now excessive PPP yarn (if I knew what I knew now I wouldn't have gotten that other 82grams) and I was thumbing through my Knit Knack cards. Wouldn't you know! There is a pattern to make a knit cap with ear-flaps and it requires 100grams exactly. Well I have that, and I think a PPP knit hat would go better with my (sister's) red J.Crew cropped Panama jacket with a chocolate brown scarf since the purple won't clash so much against the red.

As for the other 82grams? I dunno but for now I am thinking of tassels to go on the bottom of the ear-flaps and have those braided - I would say a foot long braid so that is two feet and then that would mean 6 feet of yarn total...possible. It is such a pretty color, I really do not want it to go to waste. Mittens require 113 grams, but I will go back to Avril and get a funky color (like a multi-color yarn) for that.

In the meantime, I am working on Alisa's scarf, on No. 6 bamboo needles. I think I am going to toss the plastic ones, since the exact bamboo needles I got at the 100yen shop were also sold at Avril, so I know those are the proper ones - I also got a set of size 6 double-pointed needles so I can start knitting in the round, though I think I might need 8 for the hat whereas 6 is fine for the socks/mittens pattern I have.

I started it in a garter stitch - I was too pissed at myself to concentrate on K3,P3 whilst talking to my mom on Skype, though I might just make it really nice and long and use up all 400 grams. Right now it is about 5 inches wide - a bit skinny but since it will be long and flat it will be nice and warm, and I have seen her wear long-ish scarves. Maybe I will dress it up at the ends with some tassels if I have enough yarn left over.

Rockin' and-a Rollin'...

Thank you so much Saisquoi!!!

I have to pass it along, right? Let's see...(pardon for the no links, but they are in "The Reading List")

1) Britt at Tickled Pink - preppy rocks. I am very much down with the love of J.Crew and the combination of pink and green.
2) BadAunt at Present Simple - rockin' English teacher in Japan. Love the stories, and great to have someone to relate to with the "wierd Japan stories."
3) Kristiface at LifeXHistory - rockin' history grad student. History just rocks.
4) Midge at Lipstick and Legalese - rockin' lawyer with the most adorable lobster suit for her cat. Still waiting on the pics!!!
5) Kerri at In the Life of Kerri - rockin' real-life bestest friend who can actually rock your butt as she does jiujitsu.

Knit 3, Purl 3

When I came back to Japan, I left my mom's garter-stitch scarf on size 13 needles behind. Kinda wish that I didn't now, since I learned how to purl via the internet. I need someone to visually show me how to do it at first, or else I am clueless. That's why I was grateful to that knitting group back home although I didn't go again after that first time because of other things popping up.

However, I still like to knit. It's fun - esepcially now that I can purl so I am doing a ribbed scarf! Cue in the ooohs and the aaahs...I have graduated from garter stitch! I can purl! I can do more than make rectangles!!!

As for my mother's scarf sitting on top of the stereo, that is going to be frogged and put in a rib stitch. I really did make it too wide - the number of stitches does matter and it is not really an indicator of the actual width of the scarf. My mom's just got out of control.

Before I returned to Japan I went with my dad to BJ's. There was this "Knit Knack Kit" which was in the books section and one of the kits was open - a sample, perhaps. I took a look and it was really neat! 25 projects on little cards in PLAIN ENGLISH with a size 8 circular needle, yarn needle and a basic how-to book. But like I said earlier, I need someone to show me, especially since I am a left-handed Continental knitter. (I really, really like Continental). I know if I want to make better stuff I have to learn the shorthand, but for now this is all good.

So I brought the contents of the kit sans the needles (don't ask my why I didn't bring them I think I'll ask my mom to mail the needle stuff - which is plastic - since I think I'll be itching to make hats next!) and knew that there was a nice yarn store in Kyoto. I found it last Sunday, it's called Avril. Nice stuff but a bit expensive, I ended up paying 1000yen for 100grams. Eek. But thats ok - I'll look at the other craft/sewing stores that I also know where they are and probably they will have cheaper yarn since I was in a specialty store. I picked up 7mm, 8mm, and 12mm needles for 100yen each (plastic, though they do have bamboo) at the 100yen store and voila!

My first real knitting project: a Knit 3, Purl 3 rib-stitch scarf. 100% wool yarn, in a deep plum (I know I mentioned I wanted a cream scarf to go with my sister's red jacket, but this color called to me). If the yarn gets too expensive (I won't go over 3000yen for this) I will make it more like a tucker for early fall, closed with a brooch.

Eh, Maybe Not

I was contemplating deleting all of my old entries because I am a "CA" or a course assistant at that study abroad program I once mentioned because I did not want my students to find out my blog. I thought about it and well it's not worth it. For the following reasons:

1) I have not written anything incriminating - i.e. what grad schools I am applying to, and really personal opinions. I have learned to keep my mouth shut.
2) Not like it matters - they all know what university I go to in Kyoto anyway.
3) My Facebook profile is already on the most extreme of privacy settings and I don't have the link to it there.
4) I have tried to do something other than Blurb which is a nifty program that imports your blog but I need more memory and more patience to run it more efficiently but I like Blurb, plan to publish my blog when I finish and damn it all to hell if I have to pay $100. Those are my memories and Zapfino is a gorgeous font (that is the font I now have in my header).
5) They know I am a blogger because we spoke about blogs in class.
6) I changed my email address to which this blog is connected to and upped the privacy settings short of making the blog private. Unfortunately I can't change my user name but I plan to delete this blog in 7 months, or after I finish my Blurb project.
7) My title for the blog is not in the web address and when you Google "in the middle of somewhere" my blog is NO WAY at the top of the list. And my name is so common not like I need a moniker.
8) I Googled myself and my blog doesn't pop up.
9) I Googled the program I am a CA for and my blog still hasn't popped up after the 10th page of searches.

It took me ALL day to contemplate moving from Blogger to WordPress, deciding that I hate Wordpress (damn complicated) trying to copy-paste into Word (which lead to the Mac version of the "blue screen" and a warning to restart my computer) so I just have had enough. Besides I write too much - it will have to take someone with ALOT of dedication to read through my blog. The amount of pages that I have for my Blurb book is about 340, portrait style which is 8x10. That is ALOT of reading. I do write alot.

I will just be more pseudonymous from now on - monikers for others that is, and no more direct mentions of names of schools and such.

Welcome to the Rat Race

My mom's crazy friend who I regularly chat with (and is good fun) has a son who is now applying for pre-med to the top undergrad schools. According to her, there is a bubble of applicants who are the kids of the baby boomers and there are just simply too much of them; it's not going to burst till 2009 and already last year there were stories of the top schools turning away 4.0 and 2400 SAT combos.

Yikes.

And what does this have to do with me?

I am entering the rat race as well - again, this time the Ph.d edition. Ladies and gentlemen on your marks! Get set!

Go!!! And write that personal statement!!!

Oh, heaven help me. I just got off the phone of one of the schools that I am eyeing because I had applied to them before in the Master's edition two years ago; they deleted my application after a year so I have to start from scratch. No prob. The lady was nice and she even remembered me.

What threw me off the loop was this tip she told me: said school only accepts TWO PEOPLE usually into the History Ph.d-East Asia track. What I can do if I really, really, really want this school is to also apply for the Master's...again. And it would be very likely - not guaranteed - that I could get into the Ph.d two years down the line, but there won't be funding because duh it's a masters program and the master's kids feed the Ph.d kids (but they don't really know that most of the time)....the more I think about it, the more I don't want to do that - apply to both, that is. There is also the matter of me paying duplicate application fees and I am already applying to 9 other schools (but one is hopefully free - one that I was accepted to and deferred).

Ugh...now I am very scared. VERY.VERY.SCARED.

There are about 20 students per year at most of the programs I am looking at and obviously there is more than one track in the department.

I want to crawl into a hole right now.

Gotta Love Me Some Meme

Got this off Tickled Pink - 4 Things Meme. Let's see how this turns out!

Four things that make me happy:
1. Mel's laugh
2. My dad's laugh
3. Chocolate mousse cheesecake - the one my dad gets from the Bronx
4. Lazy Sunday mornings

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Pride and Prejudice (Kiera Knightley version)
2. My Big Fat Wedding (if only for the jokes and well, the fact that I am living the movie right now!)
3. I honestly have no clue on the other two.
4.

Four websites I check daily:
1. Gmail
2. Japan Addicted (my online forum)
3. News websites
4. Facebook
Bonus: When I am in the States I check J.Crew. At least twice a day.

Four favorite drinks:
1. Amita Dark Cherry Nectar Juice (from greece)
2. Amita mixed fruit nectar
3. Pellegrino
4. Ginger ale

Four places I have lived:
1. NYC
2. London
3. Kyoto
4. Don't have a fourth - I have moved only once in my life when I was 16 and that was just across town.

Four TV Shows that I watch:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Top Chef
3. Bridezillas
4. Private Practice (when it starts, of course!)

Four favorite colors:
1. Chocolate Brown
2. Kelly Green
3. Plum Purple
4. Golden yellow

Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Greece
2. Florida
3. Canada
4. Greenport, LI

Four things on my floor right now:
1. my Herve Chapelier bag
2. TV that I don't use
3. Futons (blankets) that I am holding for a friend till she moves into the dorm
4. laundry basket

Four blogs I read regularly:
1. Schoolbooks and Shoes
2. Lipstick and Legalese
3. Saisquoi
4. Tickled Pink

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Jumbo shrimp cocktail
2. The way my mom makes Greek salad (I try but it just never quite tastes the same...)
3. Tofu with kimchi
4. Greek chicken soup

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. On vacation with Mel
2. Cycling on my Trek bike in Central Park (I really miss my bike ever since I got back on my mama-chari in Japan the riding is not the same!)
3. Having a frappe on the back balcony of my house with my mom and my sister, or at my mom's godson's house with everyone
4. in some dream world, where grad school applications don't exist and yet I still get into the one of my choice...(I just started them today).

I now tag:
Libby, Saisquoi, Midge and Tulip Mom!

His and Hers New Techie Toys

Mel just got a new Blackberry. He didn`t get it from his company, like everyone else, but got it because he just simply wants it, and it was time for a new phone. Might as well get one with all the bells and whistles (he DOES use it for work related purposes - apparently).

Well, Mel got his new tech toy, I got myself a new tech toy, too. Behold! I FINALLY got myself a denshi jisho (electronic dictionary).

But why a denshi jisho? Aren`t good ol` paper dictionaries just enough?

Nope, no way, not anymore. Even the Japanese use these suckers EVERYWHERE - and that`s why they are so expensive in the States, because they are imported from Japan and only sold in special stores. You won`t find these at your local Best Buy; I have to get one here.

The Japanese developed these for the Japanese and the Japanese-learners use them as well. They have English/Chinese/French/German/Dutch/Italian/ Korean-Japanese versions. I have a regular paper dictionary, a paper kanji dictioanry and a paper grammar dictionary. That amounts to ALOT of weight. Pity they haven`t digitized the grammar dictionary yet.

And the SHEER number of dictionaries you can put in these things!!! There are more dictionaries under the Japanese sun for sure. For me, they are mostly useless. I needed a jisho with a specific combination to start with and some other basics that I forgot: the Kojien Kokugo Jisho + Oxford Dictionary of English. What the Oxford Dictionary is to English, the Kojien Kokugo Jisho is to Japanese - the king of the dictionaries for Japanese-Japanese.

However, I ran into a slight problem. All the new models for English-Japanese sure have the Oxford dictionary, but they don`t have Kojien. Instead they have Daijisen, sorta like Webster`s Dictionary, a second tier version. I was told by someone that for people in the Japanese humanities, there is no alternative: Kojien or bust.

Well, the bust would surely be in my wallet. Hang on to your jishos - the basic price is about $400-$500 for a new model, general/junior high/high school version. There is even a new feature: instead of looking kanji up by the radical (old-school way, many buttons involved), there is now a small touch pad where you write the kanji in question with a stylus, like the bottom screen of a Nintento DS Lite.

I did some research and it seemed that the models after 2005 switched from Kojien to Daijisen. EXCEPT for the medical focused dictionaries. You see, within the major categories of denshi jishos there are ones tailored for specific uses. There is general (the one with every basic jisho under the sun), business oriented, junior high and high school versions, special college versions with TOEFL practice and ones with expensive medical dictionaries for those that are doctors. Now, those are the ONLY ones that have the Kojien + Oxford combo. The cost? 79,000yen for a 2007 model, with that touch pad feature by Casio. Yes, Casio makes more than cheap digi watches, and they are the best sorts of jishos, because you can add on more to the jisho`s internal memory.

No way in HELL was I going to fork over that much money. First, that is alot. Second, I need to buy about 5 more dictionaries to add into it for my needs (Classical Japanese, Japanese/World History Encyclopedia, the queen of Japanese-English dictionaries from Kenkyusha, etc.) and thats another 20,000yen. I would end up spending almost $1000.

So imagine my surprise when I ended up at the co-op shop at Kyodai yesterday. There is was, last year`s medical dictionary with Kojien and Oxford, sans touch-pad feature, all the other basics I need...for 23,800yen. Original price was 79,000yen. I go home after lunch do some research on the net, go back to the co-op ask some questions...

...and I just bought it a few hours ago. The ONLY difference is that I have to look up kanji old-school style, but if I am stumped, I have my old Nintento jisho for that. I really needed a denshi jisho - the cartridge for my DS is dying on me (it won`t read the data sometimes), I am tired of being tethered to the internet dictionaries for my classical Japanese homework and I just downright need one. It`s not a matter of me getting a new toy, this is a matter of one of the `pieces of equipment` that I use, so to speak. Plus, since it was so cheap, I don`t feel bad about getting a jisho with dictionaries I know I`ll never use (the medical ones) and I can definitely afford the specific dictionaries that I will use.

I even got a pretty case for it since I really need to take care of this, as I probably won`t get a new one till I return to Japan for my dissertation research in 4-odd years. It`s a nice, soothing melon green.

Nai, Nai

Take a look at this video. A dad is feeding his son some baby food and he runs out! The reaction is classic. "Nai, nai" means "None, none." And when the people are shouting out "kawaii" that means cute. I need to start a series of "Cute Japanese baby videos because they are just so adorable!!!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

I saw this this evening, as I left the co-op store at Kyodai in my mad dash to check out a denshi jisho:
The picture doesn't do it justice. Luckily I ran into my friend who took photos with his camera and his phone. That is the one from the phone. Now imagine that in a perfect arch. Sadly, I actually saw it fade away as the sun set.

It's Gettin' Hot in Herrre....

...and I just WISH I could take off all my clothes.

It was quite steamy when I was dropped off by the MK Sky Gate Shuttle Bus service last night; luckily, the driver was nice enough to lug my suitcase up the two flights of stairs to my apartment on the third floor.

On my first day back, I went grocery shopping. But first, I had to schlep over to Rits to sign in for my scholarship. While there, I asked when do I receive information about my plane ticket back home in March. I get information about that in November - I needed to know because I need to get my ticket before we get Mel's ticket for March.

The sun was boiling, and I didn't have my parasol, since I brought it home with me. Instead, I had my sunglasses, Fordham baseball cap, and my SPF 40 City Block. I just wore a t-shirt and jeans but it was still hot. And the Japanese girls were still wearing their long sleeves and their jackets and sweaters! I counted 4 t-shirts on one girl. Utterly nuts.

I then went to the shopping arcade that was near me on Imadegawa and Kawaramachi; Alisa told me about it and I have been there twice but this time i really perused what they had. I wanted fruits and veggies and those suckers don't come cheap. Luckily there was a fruit market that sold SIX apples for 450yen. What a steal!

And they were good quality; I also got 4 long and fat cucumbers for 100yen, 3 fat tomatoes for 250yen and bananas for 100yen. At the supermarket, I picked up some ham for sandwiches at the meat counter, 100g for 100yen. Sweet. I even got something that looks like pork chops, a good amount of chicken and some fish. And it was cheaper than at the other supermarket, and I picked up the last loaf of whole wheat bread! Score! Soo happy you have no idea. (The rice I got was cheaper too.)

Because my basket was full, I went home to drop off my stuff, then I went over to the QQ Shop (100yen supermarket) for the "basics". Like I have mentioned before, there are things at the QQ that I wouldn't even bother getting at the regular supermarket, like low fat milk, OJ, water, yogurt and some other things as well. It's just cheaper.

When I got back I was practically dripping. I made one FINAL trip out to Kizuna, the "hangout" place of sorts for the international students at Kyodai. They don't check ID and I lost mine anyway but I still remember my old student ID number, even though it's expired. Hey, Rits is really far! So I borrowed a book on Japanese history to refresh my memory.

I plan to go back there tomorrow to the lounge area to hang out; it is really hot here and I don't want to have my A/C going on all day and all night, like it is now. I was chatting with Elisa and she asked what the temp was. I go and check and the temperature was 93.

But in reality, it felt like 100 degrees, according to the Weather Channel.

That "Meh" Feeling

So now I am on the plane flying back to Japan. But the weird thing is that I am not overly excited about going back, nor am I bursting into tears at the thought of leaving. Call me crass, call me cold but the thing is – I am used to it by now. Maybe it is also a front to prevent myself from bursting into tears, as I aptly warned Mel while I waited for my dad to give him the key to one of our cars:

“Whatever you do, do NOT act in such a way that will make me burst into tears.”
“What, who is gonna cry?” (:::chuckle chuckle:::)
“My new mascara is not waterproof.”

Miraculously, there were NO delays, problems, or flight attendants that overslept and delayed the flight. (Seriously, that was one of the cause for my delays previously.)

So now that I have finished eating my dinner (which has shrimp cocktail, whee!!) I will recount quite quickly what has happened this past month and in particular the past few days (since I hardly blog during the summers):

1) When I actually arrived back on August 3, I burst into tears when I saw Mel and hugged him. He was carrying a bouquet of yellow roses and irises, and everyone at Newark was asking him where he got it (that airport is very gross).
2) I rode my bike through Central Park on the weekend once when they close the roads to cars. And I did the very hard hill as well – it was so much fun going down that steep hill and not having to pedal. I think maybe with two or three years, I will upgrade to a road bike. At one point, Mel went way ahead of me, simply because he has the higher bike. However, I am able to carry my bike up and down the stairs on the subway system.
3) Did not study at all. And I am very happy that I did not.
4) But that didn’t mean that school was far from my mind. As mentioned previously, I requested transcripts from Fordham (free!) and realized at the last minute that I needed transcripts from CUNY Hunter where I took Japanese for a year. Now, CUNY being CUNY and my realization that I needed them just at the start of the school year made me freak out because with the start of school it’s a downright mess. Luckily, I was also able to request them online – cost me an extra $10 and its already $7 a copy, but I did not have to go through all that hassle.
5) Spoke with also a 2nd year student from uni that I am eyeing, same one as 6th year. I feel way, way better now, even though I did spend $55 on “Get your butt into grad school/Get your butt out of grad school” books. But it was for my own sanity. Applying to grad school is one thing. Applying from a foreign country is quite another.
6) Ate a lot of red meat and other things that I really shouldn’t have. Now I really need to get my ass to the gym.
7) Bought “The Historian” and am reading it now on the plane. That is SUCH a detailed book and it moves at a steady pace. But sometimes I think some things are obvious, HOWEVER I would not be surprised if my musings were wrong, either.
8) Saw the 5th Harry Potter movie at the movie theaters on 66th and Broadway. It was in IMAX 3D, or rather, Mel and I paid the extra $5 to see the finale in the Ministry of Magic in 3D. Those Death Eaters are very creepy in 3D.
9) Got my hair cut and I got blond highlights. I have had highlights every other two years or so since I was 15 (because they blend well with my hair I just let them grow out and I don't do touch ups) but I am on the fence on how they look since I am used to my natural hair color now - it's been a LONG time.

Very much a blur this month – it really did go by fast. The interesting twist to the end of my month is that the same day that I left for Japan, my sister is leaving this evening for her year in Rome. I tried to get her on the blog thing but she isn’t interested. Pity – she always has a comment for something. I think she is on the plane now, but hasn’t departed; another wrinkle is that we left from the two different local airports in the NYC area (but not Newark).

She connects in Dublin and arrives in Rome at 10:00-ish local time, which actually, is about the same time that I land in Japan (6:30pm Osaka time is about, oh, 11:30 Rome time? Not sure but it’s in that window). Maybe I will swipe a photo or two off her Facebook profile to give a taste of Italy via Japan – she gets to go to all the other cities for SCHOOL TRIPS. Milan! Florence! Naples! All within the space of 3 months (that is just the first semester!). I’m jealous. Then again, Mel wants to go to Italy for the honeymoon. I want to go to the Amalfi coast.

These next four months will be a blur – especially till about December 15, which is the deadline for applications. I have the following on my plate:

1) TA-ing for Professor S./Taking that Kyoto history course
2) More Classical Japanese lessons/twiddling my thumbs in my sensei’s seminar.
3) Working on some sort of paper for my seminar and attempt to do the presentation come the last week of January 2008 in Japanese.
4) Fixing the last paper for my writing sample for grad applications.
5) FINISHING those Grad applications.
6) Studying for JLPT Level 2 (thought I am not sure now if I am really ready but I would just study on my own to prepare for next year, need to speak to Colleen on this).
7) Applying for scholarships to pay for grad school (there are two that I qualify for, as per my talk with the scholarships office back at Fordham).

All I know is that THANK GOD that I took the GRE in my senior year of college. I do not have that stress as well. And I was happy with my score too.

What Being in Japan Has Done to Me

For one thing that is the most obvious, is that I am more picky with my Japanese food. Mel and I went to our favorite Japanese restaurant and I couldn't stomach the tuna rolls. Mel still thinks they are great but the man has not eaten proper sushi, or whale sushi for that matter (I have eaten that in Shirahama).

It's just like the Chinese food here - American Chinese food is groos. I can't eat it. However, I had heard that the Chinese food in China is quite different so I will eat me next cup of egg-drop soup when I (finally!) get to Beijing. When that will be, I have no clue.

The second thing that I have noticed is that well I have become more, how shall we say...high-maintenance? The girls in Japan go all out when it comes to getting ready and while I am not the type of person who will fail an exam because I don't have my mascara on, I have started to pay a little more attention to what works and what doesn't.

Clinique had this "RSVP to Colour" event at the Macy's in Herald Square/34th Street last week and I wanted to go because in essence it was a consultation on what works and what doesn't. I like Clinique because it doesn't feel so makeup-ey and cakey and it's allergy free.

And what a consultation! My makeup artist was amazing and we tried both regular stuff to see what works on me and fun stuff. She put on green eyeshadow and while it sounds horrendous it actually was nice because I have green-ish/blue eyes. Makeup artist said it was a day look but for me, I don't wear eyeshadow during the day so I held off on it.

We also talked about skincare - I turn 23 in December and I figured might as well think about crows feet now as opposed to later. My maternal grandmother is 78 years old and has not a wrinkle save for some (very) fine age lines, and looks 65 because of it. Why? She took care of her skin. I didn't even get a tan this summer and I am glad I didn't. I even carry my sunglasses with me everywhere all year round because my eyes are sensitive and the minute I feel myself squinting, out of the bag they come. In Japan, no one wears sunglasses because they are related to the yakuza (Japanese mafia) but I already stick out so I really don't care.

I tried this eye cream thing from Clinique while I chatted with the makeup artist; told her that in Japan this stuff is twice or three times as expensive. And I learned that the hard way - the lipstick I got in Japan was 2800yen whereas here it was $14.50. And that lipstick (Rubelite) was really bright for day, I needed a daytime lipstick. Apparently, I have long eyelashes as well.

So this is my new make-up booty:
Long Last Lipstick in Ruby Glass (discontinued! I got the last tube, but I saw it at Century 21 in B'klyn)
Perfectly Real Makeup Foundation in Shade No. 8
Cream Shaper Eyeliner in Chocolate Lustre
High Definition Lashes Brush Then Comb Mascara in Black
Touch Blush in Petal Cream
Full Potential Lips Plump and Shine in Sugarplump (my lips are already quite full but I liked the color and I doubted the plump factor in these things, and its an alternative to the lipstick, and it doesn't feel goopy)
Super City Block Oil-Free Daily Face Protector SPF 40
and...
I plan to get the Colour Surge Eye Shadow Trio in Ebb and Flow come March when I return if its still there. When I was in Detroit, I picked up another tube of the City Block at the Duty Free because I have a feeling I will run out of that pretty quickly.

In toto...$124.08. I have never done that before, but the fact that I got the consultation made me feel good so I had tried on all the stuff beforehand made me feel confident.

A Crash Course in MY Big Fat Greek/Filipino Wedding

Who woulda thought with the postponement of the wedding to TWO years off, I would have a very remotely related wedding-themed post in the month of August 2007? With most bloggers that I know getting married (COngrats!) it has made me think of my own wedding.

My mom and I took Cleo, one of our cats two the vet. Leah was going to meet us there after work. Cleo actually behaves better than Caesar (who is thisclose to getting a sedative the next time he goes so he can get checked) so when Leah came to the vet, my mom wanted to go to this store Markella's across the street. It sells stuff related to weddings and baptisms, with a Greek twist of course. This is Astoria, where there are 4 Greek Orthodox Churches within a 10 block radius. It's also a place that you can make a bridal registry say for china - I figured that out when I saw the Kate Spade display case and began to drool internally, for now my mother can finally see what I go gaga about.

Even though Mel and I are of different religions, we are getting married in a Greek Orthodox Church. They are very plain outside, but ornately decorated inside in the Byzantine style. In fact, we are going to get married in the same church that I was baptized in, and my parents got married in in 1981. I also went there for Sunday School and (blech) for a time Greek school.

There is a ramp that leads up to the main entrance on the second floor; when my parents got married, the photographer had the entire bridal party line up along the ramp, and he took a picture from the street. I have seen the picture, and in a nod to my parents I want to do the same thing. It has recently finished a massive renovation/restoration and it looks fantastic.

If you have seen "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (yes, cue the jokes here) you know what a Greek wedding is like. There are these crowns called stefana that the bride and the groom wear (and the ribbon is held by the koumbaro, i.e. best man but it can be a girl so long as they are orthodox - Mel's best friend from college is Bulgarian) and they walk around the altar. My mom wanted to see what Markella had to offer in terms of stefana, and the boubounieres, which are the favors.

You also need lambades, which are just big fancy candles trussed up for the occasion. Luckily, since orthodox churches are mega fancy with paintings covering every inch of the walls, you don't really need to go all out in decorating the church. Since St. Catherine & George's (the church) is redone it will most definitely not need much.

Most of the stefana are downright gaudy, like sparkly versions of a white olive wreath connected with ribbon, and just short of a princesse's tiara. I wanted something different. Miraculously we both liked this one in particular - it sorta like a crown made of gold wire tightly wound to make the circlet, with small flowers in cream with a (few, very, very few, I really don't like bling) crystals. Simple, but elegant and modern.

All of the stefana are imported from Greece, and with Astoria being the way it is, you don't have to worry about asking your yiayia to get you stefana from Greece. They even have the cases for the stefana; my parents still have their stefana in the case in their bedroom. Their case looks like a little church, but more modern styles still have the icon inside - either painted or in silver - and it comes in more contemporary shapes, like oval or round.

Sitting in a Very Tiny Boat, Floating in a VERY Large Ocean

I requested my transcripts for application to grad school last week. I have been having some freakouts these past few months, mainly consisting of "What am I going to do with my life?" and "Do I really want to do a Ph.d in History?", "Is it worth it?", etc. etc.

Recently, I have been going through that period of stress that college seniors usually get in their final semester, I didn't have because I knew what I was going to do after college back in January '06. That's pretty early. So, it's a very delayed reaction, to the point that I was considering going to law school, but I don't think that's a good fit for me. So for now, Plan A is to submit applications, and think for the next 7 months. I have all the paperwork (sans personal statement) ready for "Ph.d History applications" so I might as well put them in. Besides, one of them is going to be free.

Prof. S. put me in contact with a 6th year Ph.d. student over at one of the schools that I am seriously, seriously eyeing. I called him up yesterday and we had a nice chat. I reiterated what I told PRof. S. about my anxieties regarding grad school: "Sometimes I feel that I am in this very tiny boat, in a very large ocean."

I am all by myself in Japan, at least departmental-wise. I do not have access to the research lab/room for the kids in my department (we need to swipe IDs and the grad student was really surprised to hear that) and the grad students going for a degree treat me like I am over there, and they are over here. Like Iam this wierd species, and I seriously think one of them just hates me on principle because I am not Japanese, in the same program that he is in and that I am just taking up space since I am on scholarship and not going for a degree.

It's extremely hierarchical there and I hate it. I wished I was back over at Kyodai or something bcause in all seriousness, the only good thing about Rits is my professor. Even my friends who were research students were granted access into the research labs when they were research students at Kyodai. I just have the overcrowded library.

Which is why next semester, I am quite happy that I am just going in once a week on Thursdays for my sensei's seminar; I can study in the library at Kyodai which is nicer and I have my computer access code still in use, and Chen's extra library card to get in. And I will save money too - taking the bus took quite a toll on my fiannces everyday and I coulnd't get the collge discount because I was not considered an actualy college student. Load of crap that was.

In short, I had no one to talk to about grad school especially those in the US and I was freaking out. 6th year student told me that it was totally normal and everyone in the first year goes through that "WTF am I doing here?" phase. It's good to know that I am not the only one, but let me tell you, Japan is lonely. Good thing I am going to TA this semester, else I would not have much to look forward too, really.

There is a big pause button on my life, being in Japan and while I do enjoy my time there and an gratefull for my experiences there I am ready to move onward. Even if that means scaring the crap out of myself, and stepping into unknown and unsure territory.

I made a schedule for this coming semester this time, blocking out periods of time to do things, since I am only going to be in class for no more than 6 hours a week, with Ta-ing, Bungo lessons with my sensei and me twiddling my thumbs in the back of his seminar.

I tried it last semester and while it was good in theory, I totally messed up because I took too many classes. I think I am not going to take Japanese in the fall at Kyodai if I can (rather study on my own for JLPT), save say one composition course or something, no more than two or three. I have not tried a composition course yet, and I would like to jazz up my speaking and listening maybe (though I hardly doubt I'll take the listening, I didn't like the one I took last time). Mybe not speaking either, since I plan to rejoin the KIXS (International Student exchange group at Kyodai) and just start talking at the weekly dinners.

But I will continue with the gym. I was thinking of ending my membership but I can afford it if I budget. I was a totaly mess last semester.

Umm...

Whoa...so I'm finally watching Borat on HBO on demand simply because Mel likes to laugh. Refer to Flight of the Conchords, also on HBO - but then again as a New Zealander pointed out to me, the humour is rather local, and since Mel did grow up in Australia, he gets the humour more then me but it is funny.

I didn't see Borat when it first came out because I was in Japan, so now I'm watching it. First ten minutes? My mouth is dropping more than I am laughing. The things people get away with these days, no wondrer Japan didn't want to show it there. I'm cringing more than laughing...OMG he is on the NYC subway, damn New Yorkers CAN be nasty.

Shop 'Till We Drop

So I went to the outlets yesterday. There was a bit of traffic going upstate because there was a Yankee game (and you have to go through the Bronx to go upstate) and the trucks are only allowed to go on the upper level of the George Washington Bridge for security reasons.

My Uncle George was shocked at the size of Woodbury Commons (236 stores). We got there at 1:30-ish and Leah told him that we will spend the whole day there. At first he didn't beleive it but we left at 8:30, and the outlets close at 9. Leah got the best bargain of the day: a North Face Summit Series parka, the outer shell. Original price was $299, she got it after another 50% off for $116. Since they didn't have any inner fleeces in her size at the store (all XS, L and XL) she is going to the North Face Store on the Upper West Side and get it from there.

At Kate Spade, I saw the canvas tote bag that I wanted which is STILL in the stores (well at least the ones in Japan) and was marked down to $125 from $145 and another 25% off. THEN, there were these 3" heels in chocolate suede that fit me like a glove, and they looked damn sexy, real "grown-up" shoes that make you want to wear a pencil skirt every day and wished that you had a job that calls for shoes like that and pencil skirts.

However, my mom reminded me that the shopping today was more of necessity, and no I did not need ANOTHER Kate Spade bag nor did I need 3" heels when I am still a student and will be doing my TA-ing in bare or stockinged feet (because in the building where the class is held we take off our shoes).

And to be honest, I was a bit unsteady in those heels - they felt REALLY high, even though my espadrilles are almost 4". Then again, espadrilles are wedges (though I tripped and fell on my bum last week, and skinned my knee. So much for that then).

At lunch, I got a map from the information booth and proceeded to circle and mark up the map with all the stores that me, mom, Leah and my aunt and Uncle wanted, and made a route. Then we went to J.Crew. Personally, I am not that big of a fan of the J.Crew outlet because the prices are still not a cheap and I can get stuff at the sales even cheaper. However, me being in Japan this past year I really did not have much choice, and the clearance rack - though usually good - didn't have much either.

I picked up a pair of the matchstick jeans, but not the ones that I originally had - these have more stretch. I really wanted a pair to replace my old ones because they can go inside my riding boots, and Leah is permanently lending her red J.Crew jacket since she isn't taking it to Italy - cute outfit, especially with my navy and white striped boatneck sweater, cream wool scarf (which I am going to knit) and patchwork wool newsboy hat (I got it in Annapolis, imported from Ireland) no?

I also got a button down shirt in navy with polka-dots and ruffles on the collar. THAT was a bit pricey but, I liked it and didn't get anything else; sure, the sweaters were cheap, but I have so many J.Crew sweaters so I am just trying to change things up a bit. Plus, the shirt is quite versatile - I can wear it to class, and it jazzes up my suit.

But the one thing that I was REALLY happy about were my new shoes. I finally figured out who makes these ballet flats with a big gold disc on the front - Tory Burch (Reva ballerina flats). I went on the internet and screamed at the initial price - YIKES! - but then also discovered that she was going to open an outlet at Woodbury. In August. So, the question was, will it be open in time when I get there?

Yes! The shoes were not the ones in that photo - they are chocolate brown, with the gold disc. The shoes were not that much cheaper (by $30) but my mom liked them and I got some help as a gift. there was a girl on the train the other day and I pointed them out to my mom (speaking in Greek, however) and at first she thought they were a little too "bling" but on closer inspection, she did concede that they were cute. And I can dress them up too - what I like is that they are such a dark chocolate brown, they look almost black so they are nice, comfy flats to go with my suit. I think I will get these ballet flats (one pair like every three years, however!) from now on - comfy and very versatile. So many colors! but for now, start with the basics.

I am not going to wear them as often, especially since I will be going to class just twice week next semester; like I am really going to dress up to just go to the library. However, I will wear them this Friday; Mel and I were invited to a birthday party of his 2nd cousin's daughter. It's her 18th birthday and in the Philippino culture, 18 is a very big deal, just like the Quincanera for Hispanic 15 year olds and Sweet 16's.

All in all a very good day. I also got Mel two pairs of dress pants and a pair of jeans. One pair of dress pants were in pinstripe; he has never had pinstripe, but I got them since I liked them and they suit him nicely.

Today, aunt and uncle went with my mom to Chinatown, then Union Square, and I stayed behind. Now, I am off to go place 20 books for sale on half.com; I forgot to mention that my first weekend back, I purged my desk and bookcase of all the books I don't need anymore, and today I am going to purge my closet and dresser.

Knitting update: Almost done with the first ball of yarn - I might not be able to make it to knitting group this week because the relatives are here, but I need to figure out what happens after you finish your yarn and need to start with a new ball. Oh, and since I only learned the knit stitch, as Sasquoi pointed out, my mom's scarf with be mostly in garter stitch, with a bunch of other stitches for practice here and there.

We Now Returned to Your Regularly Scheduled Blogging

There was a really stupid reason for why I have been on hiatus for more than a week:

I couldn't blog from my laptop. Ringo was resting for a week.

Never mind that my sister has her own laptop - it's password locked and she won't let me use it (it's a 12" PowerBook and her baby). Never mind that we have wireless in the house: I couldn't get my laptop onto it for some damn reason, and now my sister tried the EXACT same thing that I kept on doing it for a week and she got it. Pfft.

Never mind that my mom has her PC always on the net - I HATE using regular computers. Never mind that I can also use Mel's laptop, however from the hours of 9-12 (around that time) the internet is off limits, so he can trade from home.

I just simply want to use MY laptop. I am used to it. Other laptop users could probably relate.

So, roundup of what I have been doing:

1) Flight: TWENTY-FOUR HOURS of travel, literally from door to door. There was a delay in Detroit because of some strange weather system, otherwise, it would have just been 21 hours. I ended up spending $50 on books from the Borders in the NWA terminal, and picked up a fancy Lancome travel compact with eyeshadow, lipstick and blush and a two pack of Clinique Happy (parfum) from the duty free. Because I wasn't going international, I had to pay the taxes (since I couldn't get this stuff at Kansai due to the stupid rules on cosmetics) but the taxes were cheaper than NYC. Going to get another Lancome compact when I go back to Japan, the colors suit me really nicely, and I get a nice rosy glow with the blush, very fresh.

I JUST made it under the weight limit, but I still had to leave those 10 books behind. Meh. However, I can say that I am pretty seasoned traveler, to go 24 hours and not look completely horrible and gross. And, I beat the jet-lag demons: I stayed up the entire night before my flight, drinking coffee, chatting with Elisa and watching Grey's Anatomy, so I was right proper tired when I got on the plane, and promptly clonked out. I am able to sleep on planes. So no jet-lag whatsoever when I leanded in NYC which was great!

2) Last Week: Started making the rounds to see people. Had dinner with Fordham girls, and the rest of us are planning to go to the Beer Garden over here in Astoria, the last one in NYC. So the rest of the Fordham people will come there, since everyone hasn't been to the Beer Garden yet and want to go. Saw my mom's godson and his family, and have started to drink the frappes like no tomorrow. I promised Alisa I would bring back a shaker and the Nescafe for frappe in Japan.

3)Personal: Eyebrows threaded, hair cut, nails manicured and pedicured (Essie's Capri). My mom was at the salon when my sister and I got our cuts, and she likes me with the golden highlights, and I am going back to get a half head of highlights. With the postponement of the wedding, I chopped my hair, got bangs and asked my stylist to use a razor to cut my hair to give it more oomph. Got my Neutrogena face stuff and it all FEELS good. Had steak too!

4) Mel and Maria: I got a Trek bike! I think its a 2007 or 2006 Trek Hybrid 7200. Mel and I split the cost and it was my anniversary gift. It was our 7 and a half year anniversary this past Sunday, and we spent it riding our bikes to Astoria Park and had lunch. And enjoying the East River view. It looks sorta like this:

However, the black is in blue. At first, I really didn't like it, but then I listened to the bike guys there and they know what they are talking about - I am too big for a women's bike since I am 5'9". It's either a men's bike, or a 20" step-through for me. However, I really couldn't get my leg over the men's bikes and I couldn't afford the nice women's road bikes that come in more sizes (like the one Mel has) so I stuck with the 20" and I am glad I got it.

It's got seat and front-wheel suspension, BIG comfy seat, and flat-proof tires. I'm going to add a rack to it in the back with maybe a side or top-pack so I can put my bag in, a light for night; say if I end up in Cambridge or Princeton, I can zip around like I do in Kyoto (I already zip around in Astoria, but I still need to get a lock, but Astoria and NYC has alot of bike paths, and Central Park is closed to vehicles on the weekends. I am going to try to increase my endurance to get over the Queensboro Bridge to get to Central Park and not rely on the subway). Kinda hard to get on and off, because now it the proper way to do it - I need a lot of space to extend my legs, so I need a big bike. The guys at the shop were aghast at my height. Not really sure if I am into the real hard-core cycling yet - however I got into cycling because that's all I do to get around in Kyoto - but it's a pretty good start, since I am on a hybrid bike.

4) Misc: I learned how to knit! Well all I know now is how to do a long-tail cast on and the knit stitch; this week, I am going to learn garter and purl from the girls in the local knitting group here. I have started a scarf for my mother on size 13 needles with a dark lemony-yellow yarn that my mom chose for her scarf. However, I got a little to cast-on happy when I finally figured it out, so my mom's scarf is going to be like a mini baby blanket, but she doesn't mind. However, I might run out of yarn, unless they restock at the crafts store here. Now that I got the hang of it, I am going to get a nicer/thinner yarn than I have now, on maybe size 9 needles.

Have I started studying yet? NOOOOO. (^_~). And now?

My Aunt Stella and Uncle George (the ones who actually ended up visiting me back in October) are here right now; I am blogging from the back porch of my house. How nice! So they, with my mother and sister they are looking at Google Earth and her dorm in Rome. Tomorrow, I go to Woodbury Common Outlets - woot!

Why Being a Graduate Student Sucks, The Travel Edition

At first, I thought Northwest Airlines was kidding me when I saw that the weight limit was 50lbs. It was always 75! Seriously!

Then Colleen told me in her email that they lowered the weight limit, then she had to pay at the airport.

Oh, $%*#.

I have PAPER. And BOOKS. And RESEARCH. For example, I don't need the conference proceedings from the conference back in December. My FIRST publication. I know I will never read those articles because I don't need to at the moment, but there is a lot of sentimental value - those two books have ISBNs. That means it pretty much like a real book. However, together, those two books are a total of over 1200 A4 size pages - they easily weigh at least 5lbs together, maybe 10? Paper weighs alot.

This is why being a graduate student sucks - you gather all the research that you need in the target country only to realize its a royal pain in the ass to send it through mail and utter hell if you go over the weight limit in the airport because obviously, no foundation or government will give you a first class ticket. Everyone goes through the same thing - tourists buy too many souveneirs for example, Greeks from Astoria pack everything but the kitchen sink to go to the mother country for the two to four month vacation (ah, the memories of Olympic Airways and JFK, seeing people unpack and repack at the ticket counter) - but damn, paper is heavy!!!

Ahh...soooo annoying. You get all this research and you need to bring it home and the only recourse to action is to mail it. But I think at this point, after looking more carefully on NWA's policy for overweight luggage and printing out with me, I might as well just keep some of the books and either toss them (Japanese textbooks) or put them through the mail. And what sucks even more is that USPS changed their policies regarding low-cost freight out of Japan, which is a problem amongst many academics both in and out of Japan - I got the petition to restore the service via the H-Japan list serv email. And the Japan postal system isn't cheap either.

I already took out two Japanese textbooks (but frankly I don't need them, I might just chuck them in the garbage, but for now they stay in the bookcase) - I don't need my paper dictionary or my paper kanji dictionary anymore since I have the electronic dictionary for my Nintendo. I MIGHT take out the regular paper dictionary (since its like 5lbs) and chuck it when I leave Japan for good, because by that time I will have my real hard-core denshi jisho. But for now, the kanji dictionary goes home.

And then there are the clothes! I have a winter coat and a jacket to bring back...bah. So frustrating, but its the books that make things so darn heavy. Need to REPACK. Blah. However, everything else regarding prep (printing boarding pass, checking in online, returning rest of library books, etc. etc. is done)

Now, I am REALLY hoping Mel comes in March with the two empty suitcases (he travels light, I plan to use his weight allowance and he wants to come to Japan) to help me move back. I just checked with JAL (which will be the way I go home in March because the Japanese government pays for it and the weight limit is still at 70lbs thank god!)

UPDATE: Finished packing. Since I got rid of like 10 books and took out one Kate Spade bag (figured I should keep a nice bag here, though I am returning with my green KS bag), I had to repack AGAIN into my medium sized suitcase. But thats ok - when I went to Korea, I used said medium suitcase and the weight was 18 kilos. So I *think* the weight will be fine.

I hope.

She's Making a List, and Checking it Twice

Exchanged yen into dollars: Check (with tears, the exchange rate is so bad right now)
Made sure my passport still has that stupid re-entry sticker: Check
Returned library books: Check
Signed for scholarship: Check
Made reservation for taxi to take me to airport and to return in September: Check
Packed: Half-check
On-line check-in: Check for tomorrow


Laundry: No check
Cleaned apartment: No check


Doing that when? RIGHT NOW.

A Cacaphony of Cicadas

So, due to the fact that it IS summer vacation and I do need a break after the craziness of the semester and trying to not have jetlag when I get home, I have been sleeping in till about 12pm. The latest was 2pm. Trust me, I am not normally like this; I think today is the last day that I sleep in late since tomorrow I am going for cake with Emi, Wednesday I need to go to Rits to sign for my scholarship and I plan to play tourist for a day on the 1-day bus pass and Thursday I need to pack and clean. However, that doesn't mean I am going to wake up at the crack of dawn.

Not unless the cicadas have anything to say about it.

Rainy season ended last week and I have been enjoying the sunshine either at the Kamo River or out on my teeny tiny balcony. However, the fact that it is now summer for real also brings along the cicadas. And their singing. I have heard about the cicadas; even thought I heard them at the start of rainy season as I rode my bike along the Kamo, but let me tell you, cicadas are bloody noisy. I was lolling away this afternoon trying to read Harry Potter in Japanese with the door to my balcony open; it wasn't stifling, but still hot and I didn't want to use my A/C (which because I am on the top floor of my building and heat rises and I do not get much of a breeze I have been using almost all the time). Every morning, I wake before my alarm say around 6am (I set my alarm for 9:30, not like that was happening these days) due to those damn cicadas. My ears actually ring when they stop making those sounds because it is all of a sudden so quiet.

However, there are a bunch of trees right behind my building and my balcony opens to those trees - the sound of the cicadas got so loud I was getting a headache. So I closed my balcony door; as I did a cicada flew away from the doorjamb and I jumped - those things are big!

Now, I have my Grey's Anatomy playlist blasting out of my iTunes so as to drown out the noise, which isn't working, really. Speaking of which, I should finish downloading the songs off Season 2, since I am done with Season 3. And make some more playlists, provided that my crappy 15gb iPod will survive the flight (highly doubt it, unless its plugged into my laptop).

T-Minus 4 Days

Four more days till I hop on that plane on the artificial island known as Kansai Airport and return to Nueva Yorka!!! Bah, can't it come any faster?

I leave this Friday, but I say 4 days because my flight is at 1pm, and with getting to the airport (2 hours) and needing to give extra time for traffic and check-in, I need to leave my apartment by 8:30am so that I do not panic while on the shuttle bus. Going to cost me 4000yen to get to the airport, but the MK Sky Gate Shuttle is worth every penny, and every lack of hassle that I don't have.

Get to see my girlfriends next week for Happy Hour and there are soo many things to do:

1) Get a tan
2) Go to Greenport
3) Attend Astoria Crafty Knitty at FreezePeach for (FREE!) knitting lessons
4) Eat GREEK FOOD
5) Go to the cafes, Bohemian Hall Beer Garden, Water Taxi Beach
6) SoHo! Time Warner Center! Whole Foods! J.Crew! 'Nuff said!
7) Cycle with Mel
8) Go to Fordham and start prepping for grad school apps
9) See friends
10) Oh yeah, study too.

A month is not enough!

The City of a Thousand Shrines

Kyoto is known as "the city of a thousand shrines" because well literally, there are most likely more than one thousand shrines. You have the circus that is known as Heian Jingu (seriously, don't get me started on that one, especially after this semester) then the really famous ones like Fushimi Inari, then the local ones like the one near me Yoshida Jinja that is actually famous for Setsubun. THEN you have the little itty bitty ones that dot the streets, and the ones that are still around the shopping areas - though I have seen more temples around Shijo than shrines, because the shopping arcade Teramachi literally means "temple town" - back in the day, that road (which is now a shopping arcade) was populated with temples.

I forgot to say that on the day I was accosted by two men, I went to Shimogamo Jinja afterwards. Every time I ride the 102 tourist express bus across the Imadegawa bridge, I always hear about this shrine. Turns out, it's famous for its association with the Aoi Matsuri - another parade, but this is from way back in the day. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see it, but it's sorta like Jidai Matsuri, so I know I am not missing out. Try the Heian Period, which was in the 10th-11th centuries. (Hmm speaking of Heian Period...I really need to finish The Tale of Genji, it's quite pathetic when you have three versions of it, and you haven't finished the whole thing. Don't even ask me if I am going to try that sucker in Japanese, that is going to be after I read all the other stuff - mega hard.)

I liked Shimogamo Jinja alot. I have to admit, I think I am a bit shrined and templed out; they are all starting to look the same. However, the atmosphere surrounding Shimagamo was different. It is a World Heritage Site so that would mean a helluva lot of tourists, but it's sorta in the middle of the forest that is in the Kamo River Delta, so a bit off the beaten path, if you will. Still, it was easy to get to; I had brought my guidebook with me just in case, but turns out I didn't need it. Unlike the circus say at Kinkakuji, or even Heian Jingu, Shimogamo was quiet. The forest around it is also like a little park, so you saw people walking dogs. After the Shiba (I want that dog!), Corgi's are really popular.

I noticed that they were prepping for maybe a festival; I wasn't sure, so I asked one of the shrine maidens manning the little shops - there is going to be a matsuri from July 27-30. It starts today, but maybe I will check it out tomorrow. Going to karaoke tonight.

PS. Unfortunately, Ingram and I didn't end up eating okonomiyaki because the place is closed on Tuesdays. Had pretty good Italian food instead at a restaurant in OPA on Shijo.

The Art of Being Slovenly

In my opinion, everyone has their own way of being slovenly. I once wrote last summer that when there is no school, my desk just turns into an utter disaster. Now then, my definition of disaster appears to be quite relative; in London, and here, whoever walks into my room/apartment and sees it is astonished at the neatness. But for me, that is not neat. In the summer, I usually have things just stacked on one another - I may be organized, but my one flaw is that I tend to either stuff or stack, leading to a big mess in my opinion.

So, the same thing has happened again. It's a vicious cycle. My bookcase (if you can call the cabinet above my bed that has my books) is actually in pretty good condition as is the clothes cabinet - just things are a bit out of place. It gets to a point where it just irks me. So because I was really bored, I started to pack. A week ahead.

This flight around, I am bringing an extra suitcase of just well, crap. I have mentioned this before, but when you see all the crap that I have just made a list of actually right in front of you, it's alot. Yikes! Extra Japanese textbooks (I have ten, including JLPT but those stay with me), the ReEA Conference proceedings, bento boxes, my yukata, clothes I don't need, all the pottery and Starbucks mugs, my old paper dictionary, my paper kanji dictionary, kanji flashcards and just well alot of paper and books. And some clothes I don't need anymore and my peacoat - I have my Northface, two coats is excessive and I will have my sister's cute J.Crew jacket for days when I feel girly. Speaking of which, I am also brining back two of my three light jackets, and my sisters A&F bomber. I really need to just get rid of a lot of stuff, especially stuff that is a bit extraneous (like skirts and dresses, I really don't wear my spring dresses in the winter, and as a student I really doubt I will dress up alot).

So I filled up the little suitcase, which is an extra and I have to bring back regardless. I figured I might as well take full advantage of the 35 kilo per suitcase (o DRAT, I just checked Northwest Airlines, I'm only allowed 50lbs per suitcase!) weight limit. However, I filled up that suitcase with books :::cringe::: I MIGHT have to just re-pack so I can distribute the weight of the books. That little suitcase is DAMN heavy. But it's good to see all that extra crap away, so that my apartment doesn't feel so cluttered.

I pretty much got into packing mode not because stuff is all over the place in my apartment, but also I went shopping today. Again, I really didn't intend on it, but I did. But I am justified! When you find things that fit in JAPAN and ON SALE you do not pass it up! I got 6 shirts for 6000yen at this shop called Lowry's Farm and they are all cool. Four of them are the same style but in different colors - and one is bright fire engine red so I think that's awesome. I also got Mel's little sister a birthday gift - an umbrella that is sky blue with brown swiss dots and the curved handle. I would take a picture of it, but it's wrapped. People may think that umbrellas are an odd gift, but that is not the case with Japanese umbrellas. They are damn cool. And another Liberty handkerchief/head scarf from Takashimaya for 315yen. The sales are still going on.

Before I went shopping, I went to Rue-Ergo for lunch/brunch (I woke up at 12pm today). Unfortunately, on my way there, I was accosted once again. And this time, it was at a stoplight; I was on the bike, with sunglasses and iPod on. I had my head scarf on so my hair was back; you could obviously see that I was listening to my iPod - I really blast the music so that I don't have to hear those damn election trucks (they are BAAACK! Elections are this Sunday). So this guy comes up to me and starts talking; I totally ignore him, and he just keeps on trying to get my attention. Asshole. When the light turned green, I pretended that I had a message on my cell phone so that he would speed off first; NO WAY in hell was I going to let him see where I was going. Seriously, I am not amused. But I just brushed it off; and kept an eye on the guy riding ahead of me, should he stop again.

He looked sleazy, just coming up to me on his bike and talking to me WHEN I HAVE MY IPOD ON! GET A CLUE! Seriously! This is more in exasperation as opposed to anger; really these guys are so clueless - back in NYC, having your iPod/any sort of headphones in your ears is a clear sign to not go up to the person. Jeez!

In other news, I do have some happy news - I am going to get free knitting lessons! I found this forum for Astoria, the town in NYC that I live in and just asked about knitting. Turns out there is a cafe right on Ditmars (I would have to take the bus since I am further up, but since it's summer, I am going to go by bike, I still have my old one circa junior high school and Mel is promising me that he is going to fix it) that hosts a knitting/craft circle. Knitting! For free! In Astoria!

I think I am going to bring a box of nama-yatsuhashi (the sweet special to Kyoto) as a little thank-you maybe, since the leesons are free and share them with the group. Any thoughts on that? It's nothing really big; a decent sized box goes for about 800yen and make good souveneirs, I can pick them up at the airport too. They come in all awesome flavors; since it's summer, I am going to get all the citrusy ones, like peach, mango, strawberry (and get some for myself!)