And one more today about my route. My route here and away from here. From America, to Canada, to Japan, and eventually, after repeating the first two backwards, to France.
Over the past few weeks I've been really focusing on too much, and really focusing on whether to return to Japan next semester or to go to France. And I'm trying to console myself for having decided to do the second. Well, to convince myself that I made the right decision anyway.
But even more than that I came to debating on whether I had spent my time in Japan the right way. One thing that sticks out in my mind is that barbecue we had about halfway through this semester, the barbecue that ended up giving me ridiculous food poisoning; well, more specifically, something this girl said to me there. I was floored by how fluent she was at Japanese, and told her so. She said something along the lines of "if you want to get good, just completely immerse yourself; just watch Japanese TV, bring your 電子辞書 (denshi jisho, electronic dictionary) with you all the time and look up words you don't know, listen to Japanese music, and keep speaking with Japanese people." So I was at some point thinking to myself, well, why didn't I do that?
I'll agree with one thing: I probably should've bought an electronic dictionary. But always operating on the knowledge you already have in your brain is the way I'm used to learning languages, so I don't think I would've carried it around with me all the time like that anyway. I at least should've bought a dictionary that goes two ways instead of relying on both this stupid Japanese-to-English-only dictionary that I for some reason bought a long time ago, not noticing that it didn't go the other way, and on jisho.org, which requires me to turn on the computer any time I want to say an English word in Japanese that I haven't before.
So that's okay. But what about full immersement in the environment? Wasn't I too eager to cling to my old familiar lifestyle? Frisbee, my regular music playlist consisting largely of American songs (but with a decent international selection including Japanese music), no anime, no new Japanese music, no manga, what's up??
Well, you know what? When it comes to the media, I can get keep up with that anywhere around the world through the wonderful method of piracy. (Well, that's obviously what everyone else did before they came here, and what they're still doing now.) Anime and manga weren't my thing before, and watching TV and reading have become less of my thing, so would I really learn anything by forcing myself to watch anime and read manga? As for the music, I looked at what I've been missing lately, and, well, it's really just generic as always. I think I might've found one more good song from Mr. Children, but apart from that, like my mom says, "forget it."
And as for wishing I hung out more with my Japanese friends-- well, I've found myself in the most unique social situation I think I've been in in recent times. There's no other place I know of that really brings together international students and students of the host country so well. Also, I'm not usually this social, as far as hanging out with large groups of friends goes. I had to be shy eventually at one point. That happens occasionally. Usually my tendency is to eventually hang out more with one small, small group of people than with anyone else. But that didn't happen this time, really. Not enough time for that to happen.
That's the reason that had me wanting to stay the year the most: for my friends. If that wasn't obvious already, which I hope it was.
But in any case, my mom is really social, while my dad is basically the opposite although he sure loves to talk sometimes. I'm a combination of the two. It's understandable that I would mess up somewhere along the line. My social situation will probably not be nearly as easy in France, where I have to go way out of my way to meet French people my age (do they play Ultimate over there? that's basically how I met everyone I'm friends with here), and where instead of enjoying speaking the language they're there to study the people there will probably be like "ugh, I'm SO tired of French" all the time instead. I hope not. That was one of the things that was so relieving about being here: I, of all people, would get tired of speaking the language before anyone else. Japanese was fun to speak and you can always speak it here without bothering anyone. 日本だから日本語で話すことだ。 (nihon dakara nihongo de hanasu koto da, it's Japan so you speak Japanese) And I enjoy speaking French more than I enjoy speaking Japanese because I'm better at French and so I can make jokes a lot more easily and much better, much more ridiculous jokes. Thanks to Marius for years of practice, albeit most of it in purposely bad French. But yes, that's one thing that's good about France, among many others that I don't want to miss.
I don't want to miss Nihon either. But I'll miss you. And what Nihon means to me is not just the geographical concept of country nor the concepts of culture and traditions and language but more like the total, amazing experience I've had here with all you people and everything you guys have done to make this dream of awesomeness come true for me. And I'm wordless.
samedi, novembre 29
What are you gonna bring back?
Hey, guys, what are you gonna bring back from Japan? What are you gonna bring back that won't pass from relevance in time, like just another video game or just another book in a manga series; what are you gonna bring back?
As I collected my Dancemania CDs, a compilation out of which many songs were imported into DDR, and my DDR games, for which I haven't yet bought the Japanese PS1 I need to play them (because they're rare, and I'd have to order it through Japanese Amazon), I realized that I probably wasn't going to listen to all of them. So I eventually stopped collecting them. I might go back and get DELUX 1 and DELUX 2, the only other two remaining that aren't in the annoying "nonstop megamix" form, but apart from that, I think I'm done. But the other thing is, I'm starting to get tired of DDR, too, and I'm curious about venturing into real dancing from now on, instead of making DDR steps to various songs I like. I don't think it was coming to Japan that shifted my interest from DDR, though.
But what kind of things will I bring back that will aid me in my future? (Haha, what kind of things will come back that'll hinder me in the future?) I've learned some stuff, yeah. Now what of it?
I haven't learned how to cook Japanese food from my host mother, who makes it so well. So as far as that goes, I guess I've slipped up on this part. I'll eventually need to cook anyway, and I might as well cook food that's good rather than the usual American food that I could barely stomach anymore before I left.
Oh, I went to McDonald's today. It was actually good and not too overbearing with the being unhealthy, except for the fries, which were business as usual. I might eat that bacon and lettuce burger again before I go.
Yeah, but what am I bringing back? Presents, yes, presents. And when another year's gone you'll need more presents, just probably not from Japan. Hey, how about presence? What kind of presence will I have when I come back? Probably a lighter, more silent one. No, probably a more shrewd one, eager to shout and be raucous in stark naked contrast to sound-naked Japan. But I'll be lighter for sure. I'm worried about how much weight I've lost, even if it's only 5 pounds, because people who know me would know that that's a little too much for lightweight me. But the physique you see isn't all that makes up my presence. What presence will I have, the brave Commodore Perry who opened a foreign shore to his interaction?
Something.
I know many things now, and I still have left to figure out what I now know that I didn't before. That's either a sign of having learned a hell of a lot, or of having learned nothing. But if I want to find out what I found out, I don't think I learned nothing, did I?
We'll find out. In the meantime it's time to start sending stuff that I don't need right now back, and carry the rest home on my two shoulders or wheel it on Japan's ridiculously complicated sidewalks. I should write about that. Well, somebody already has. It's not that interesting anyway as a singular case, but it indicates a larger trend. And now it's back to work for me.
As I collected my Dancemania CDs, a compilation out of which many songs were imported into DDR, and my DDR games, for which I haven't yet bought the Japanese PS1 I need to play them (because they're rare, and I'd have to order it through Japanese Amazon), I realized that I probably wasn't going to listen to all of them. So I eventually stopped collecting them. I might go back and get DELUX 1 and DELUX 2, the only other two remaining that aren't in the annoying "nonstop megamix" form, but apart from that, I think I'm done. But the other thing is, I'm starting to get tired of DDR, too, and I'm curious about venturing into real dancing from now on, instead of making DDR steps to various songs I like. I don't think it was coming to Japan that shifted my interest from DDR, though.
But what kind of things will I bring back that will aid me in my future? (Haha, what kind of things will come back that'll hinder me in the future?) I've learned some stuff, yeah. Now what of it?
I haven't learned how to cook Japanese food from my host mother, who makes it so well. So as far as that goes, I guess I've slipped up on this part. I'll eventually need to cook anyway, and I might as well cook food that's good rather than the usual American food that I could barely stomach anymore before I left.
Oh, I went to McDonald's today. It was actually good and not too overbearing with the being unhealthy, except for the fries, which were business as usual. I might eat that bacon and lettuce burger again before I go.
Yeah, but what am I bringing back? Presents, yes, presents. And when another year's gone you'll need more presents, just probably not from Japan. Hey, how about presence? What kind of presence will I have when I come back? Probably a lighter, more silent one. No, probably a more shrewd one, eager to shout and be raucous in stark naked contrast to sound-naked Japan. But I'll be lighter for sure. I'm worried about how much weight I've lost, even if it's only 5 pounds, because people who know me would know that that's a little too much for lightweight me. But the physique you see isn't all that makes up my presence. What presence will I have, the brave Commodore Perry who opened a foreign shore to his interaction?
Something.
I know many things now, and I still have left to figure out what I now know that I didn't before. That's either a sign of having learned a hell of a lot, or of having learned nothing. But if I want to find out what I found out, I don't think I learned nothing, did I?
We'll find out. In the meantime it's time to start sending stuff that I don't need right now back, and carry the rest home on my two shoulders or wheel it on Japan's ridiculously complicated sidewalks. I should write about that. Well, somebody already has. It's not that interesting anyway as a singular case, but it indicates a larger trend. And now it's back to work for me.
vendredi, novembre 28
I look askance
I look askance. It's a tough thing, trying to reclaim your childhood and have a drastically unique experience at the same time, but I've done that. That was what I set out to do all along, probably (if I didn't know it before, I know it now), and I've done it, not only elsewhere but here in Japan, too.
I've re-seen what I saw three years ago, the bustling streets of Tokyo, the really friendly deer, the colorful vending machines, natural scenes and the soft and quiet serenity. Does that sound repetitive? Well, as I've said before, this is no place of mere serenity. There's too much brewing under the surface. It's like the massive underground security system I hear they have in peaceful, rich Monaco. It's not just serenity. Perhaps it's not real serenity. But in any case, I've seen what brought me back here in the first place, the marvelously unique country that was so fun to visit before and has been so fun to be seeing now, everything being just about the same as it was when I first came here with the exception of the weather, and my familiarity with many streets and my comfortability with streets I've never been down before. Just another Kansai street. And what's left? Still there is 残り (nokori, stuff remaining).
Tokyo was rude, compared to Kansai, I feel. I was treated more like a foreigner there than I have been this whole time in Hirakata and other places in the area, but I guess that's just Tokyo, crazy as it is and must be. I like Kansai. I might be tempted to live here, were I not cogniscent of all that living here implies outside of the context of this unique semester-of-study experience. "Semestral" is a word I might never use in the context of Japan ever again. But there's more to life than college. I'll probably come back.
Japan, I love you. That means I love you despite your faults. And I realize that some of those faults are more my fault, and the rest are liable to my perception. In other words, we've had a good thing together. In better words, I could go on about the things that drive me nuts about you, but you always find a way to sneak up behind me and tickle me. No, you don't even have to do the sneaking or the tickling. You're just Nihon. Or Nippon, if you so desire. My royal highness.
And some things can be a royal pain in the butt here. I think I'm really exhausted from pretty much everything; the everyday 日本語 (nihongo, Japanese) communication, being sick three times in three months in a foreign country, having a decent amount of work, various schedule-making situations, getting stuff done for France, the sightseeing, the everyday biking on a weak bike that I now have to go to the repair shop for, that biking including a 3-5 minute climb up a steep hill every school day, trains, walking and walking, thinking, karaoke, tobacco permeating my clothes and bookbag, house dust permeating my lungs, stress permeating my body, hearing about my uncle's death, spending Thanksgiving without a turkey and without my family, thinking (just by typing this list) of things I have to get done. And I've probably lost about five pounds, if not more, which is too much for me.
I don't think I've been good enough to my host family, really. I've only played piano once in this house! Mostly it's been frisbee, with the occasional exceptions from bouts of sickness like this one. At least I've had frisbee. And frisbee brings me to my friends, who I will miss dearly when I leave, some of whom I might not ever see again. And those are just the frisbee friends.
It's so sad that we're leaving. Well, that I'm leaving. Or rather that this semester is so temporary. I haven't had enough time to just chill, here, with you guys, and that's really unfortunate. I wish I could be closer with my Japanese friends, too. And if you understand this, any of my Japanese friends, and you've read this far, then you're really good at English. And I wish I could've spent more time with you! But I guess I've learned a lesson: if you try to do everything, you can miss out on things that are precious. Yep, I tried to do everything. And tried not to do too much. It's a bad combo. You end up eliminating things you really shouldn't and telling yourself that they're unimportant. When you realize they're important later, you slap yourself in the face. Hmm, but perhaps it's the best combo possible.
You guys are great. You guys are great people, and I have enjoyed the time here with you guys so much. I don't think in writing you can see how much I really mean that. Let's have a great end of the trip together with me, to say it Japanese-style, and let's always remember this greatness.
And don't forget me!
Alex
I've re-seen what I saw three years ago, the bustling streets of Tokyo, the really friendly deer, the colorful vending machines, natural scenes and the soft and quiet serenity. Does that sound repetitive? Well, as I've said before, this is no place of mere serenity. There's too much brewing under the surface. It's like the massive underground security system I hear they have in peaceful, rich Monaco. It's not just serenity. Perhaps it's not real serenity. But in any case, I've seen what brought me back here in the first place, the marvelously unique country that was so fun to visit before and has been so fun to be seeing now, everything being just about the same as it was when I first came here with the exception of the weather, and my familiarity with many streets and my comfortability with streets I've never been down before. Just another Kansai street. And what's left? Still there is 残り (nokori, stuff remaining).
Tokyo was rude, compared to Kansai, I feel. I was treated more like a foreigner there than I have been this whole time in Hirakata and other places in the area, but I guess that's just Tokyo, crazy as it is and must be. I like Kansai. I might be tempted to live here, were I not cogniscent of all that living here implies outside of the context of this unique semester-of-study experience. "Semestral" is a word I might never use in the context of Japan ever again. But there's more to life than college. I'll probably come back.
Japan, I love you. That means I love you despite your faults. And I realize that some of those faults are more my fault, and the rest are liable to my perception. In other words, we've had a good thing together. In better words, I could go on about the things that drive me nuts about you, but you always find a way to sneak up behind me and tickle me. No, you don't even have to do the sneaking or the tickling. You're just Nihon. Or Nippon, if you so desire. My royal highness.
And some things can be a royal pain in the butt here. I think I'm really exhausted from pretty much everything; the everyday 日本語 (nihongo, Japanese) communication, being sick three times in three months in a foreign country, having a decent amount of work, various schedule-making situations, getting stuff done for France, the sightseeing, the everyday biking on a weak bike that I now have to go to the repair shop for, that biking including a 3-5 minute climb up a steep hill every school day, trains, walking and walking, thinking, karaoke, tobacco permeating my clothes and bookbag, house dust permeating my lungs, stress permeating my body, hearing about my uncle's death, spending Thanksgiving without a turkey and without my family, thinking (just by typing this list) of things I have to get done. And I've probably lost about five pounds, if not more, which is too much for me.
I don't think I've been good enough to my host family, really. I've only played piano once in this house! Mostly it's been frisbee, with the occasional exceptions from bouts of sickness like this one. At least I've had frisbee. And frisbee brings me to my friends, who I will miss dearly when I leave, some of whom I might not ever see again. And those are just the frisbee friends.
It's so sad that we're leaving. Well, that I'm leaving. Or rather that this semester is so temporary. I haven't had enough time to just chill, here, with you guys, and that's really unfortunate. I wish I could be closer with my Japanese friends, too. And if you understand this, any of my Japanese friends, and you've read this far, then you're really good at English. And I wish I could've spent more time with you! But I guess I've learned a lesson: if you try to do everything, you can miss out on things that are precious. Yep, I tried to do everything. And tried not to do too much. It's a bad combo. You end up eliminating things you really shouldn't and telling yourself that they're unimportant. When you realize they're important later, you slap yourself in the face. Hmm, but perhaps it's the best combo possible.
You guys are great. You guys are great people, and I have enjoyed the time here with you guys so much. I don't think in writing you can see how much I really mean that. Let's have a great end of the trip together with me, to say it Japanese-style, and let's always remember this greatness.
And don't forget me!
Alex
mardi, novembre 25
Tookyou so long
I went to 東京 this weekend. This can be romanized as "Tokyo" or "Toukyou" or "Tookyoo" but the one that's really correct is the second. You can also put a flat mark above each "o" in the first option but I feel like that doesn't tell you the whole story. I have decided to mix the last two romanizations.
It was fun. I can start with the Imperial Castle grounds, which are pretty and pretty strange. You can't go inside the walls (unless it's New Year's, I think), and the grass is cut to about a height of .1 mm, which makes it really prickly and hard to sit on. Then there's アメ横 (Ameyoko), a long street with tons of fresh fish and decently-priced clothes being sold really enthusiastically, as well as a really awesome supermarket that sells imported products, including COOKIES WITH A DECENT AMOUNT OF SUGAR IN THEM (this particular package was imported from Canada). I also got a new winter jacket there that it turns out isn't really that warm or that great-looking. Maybe I'll sell it at a used clothing store before I leave here and make a profit. hee hee. It was only 5180 yen, a 60% discount off the original price, I believe.
After that, we went to Roppongi where I learned I had missed Sébastien Tellier (the Greek god who represented France this year for Eurovision) by about 5 hours. Aww. There was another French act that was performing and it sounded pretty good. And the lights, the lights were pretty. Pictures on Facebook eventually.
Also that night, we went to Tokyo Tower by accident, thinking it was a smaller tower in Roppongi, and went to the 150m-high observatory. Tokyo isn't as pretty as Osaka is at night, but it goes. on. forever. There is nothing more strange than seeing a city extend seemingly infinitely in all directions around you. Admittedly, it was night, but I think in the daytime you'd still get that feeling.
We ate at a French restaurant that was on the cheap side for a French restaurant in Tokyo, which isn't saying much. The food was good, though. It's been so long since I've been to a restaurant where they give you bread for free along with the rest of your meal. And after that, home.
Or, rather, hotel. But something was very home-like about that hotel: the neighborhood around it (in Ueno) was very, very quiet. I couldn't believe how quiet it was. I said several times (as a joke that nobody really found funny haha) that "Tokyo's sure a quiet city, isn't it?" Even in Roppongi late at night, which is home to several clubs and restaurants that I'd think a reasonable amount of people would frequent, it was still rather quiet.
This country is too quiet.
The next day we woke up and made it over to Asakusa to see a temple or shrine whose name I forget. It's one of the oldest in the city (or maybe the oldest in Japan, or oldest in Tokyo; I can't remember) and was rather noisy. Isn't it interesting how the holy places are on the noisy side and the non-holy places are so quiet? Hmm. Well, the fake autumn leaves that they had above each stall in the shopping street right in front of the temple were quite picture-worthy. Oh, yeah; one thing I did this weekend was take too many pictures. And particularly yesterday.
Shibuya had a big, famous intersection where tons of people cross, but little else unique. The Italian restaurant we went to had a good pizza, though. Then we went to Harajuku. Oh, Harajuku, how I missed you. With little in the way of men's clothes, I didn't buy anything. Words pretty much fail this place, with its narrow, narrow main street and strange stores, many of which I can recall being there three years ago. I looked for good Engrish shirts; the Engrish I recall being good but the shirts weren't. :-*(
Train again, Ueno again. It was this day (Sunday) that I revisited Ameyoko and got my Adidas winter jacket. Then we went to Roppongi again and ate at a restaurant called Havana Cafe. I had a cheeseburger; 外人スマシュ! (Gaijin smash!). Then we almost managed to get back to the hotel at a decent hour but decided to do karaoke which became 90 minutes when we originally planned on 30. I couldn't hit the high notes on "Somewhere Only We Know"; lame.
Monday was a holiday, at least at our University. We took the opportunity to go to Mt. Fuji. Well, at least we tried, but we were informed later that the bus going to the mountain was out of service because of "many snow" (she probably was thinking 大雪, which means "a lot of snow" but could be literally translated as "big snow"). We went instead to a lake nearby, and this was probably the prettiest part of the trip for some reason. And this wasn't even the lake itself so much as the walk on the random streets on the way to the lake. I took about 400 pictures there and I still don't know why. The rain and the autumn leaves and the rather rural surroundings were the Japan I had been waiting to see. I don't know... I think that when you take Japan and add a lot of space to it, that's my dream Japan.
But as we took a gondola up Mt. Kachikachi which promised a view of Fuji on a good day, I realized I was sick. This is why my writing is so stunted right now and why the 7 hours I was on trains and in train stations on the way back were so horrible. But yeah, I was glad to be back someplace where I have a lot of memories from. And I took pictures of the Prince Hotel where we stayed from the Tokyo Tower. They came back blurry, as do so many memories. It was nice to see my memories in full color again, this time the color being autumn.
It was fun. I can start with the Imperial Castle grounds, which are pretty and pretty strange. You can't go inside the walls (unless it's New Year's, I think), and the grass is cut to about a height of .1 mm, which makes it really prickly and hard to sit on. Then there's アメ横 (Ameyoko), a long street with tons of fresh fish and decently-priced clothes being sold really enthusiastically, as well as a really awesome supermarket that sells imported products, including COOKIES WITH A DECENT AMOUNT OF SUGAR IN THEM (this particular package was imported from Canada). I also got a new winter jacket there that it turns out isn't really that warm or that great-looking. Maybe I'll sell it at a used clothing store before I leave here and make a profit. hee hee. It was only 5180 yen, a 60% discount off the original price, I believe.
After that, we went to Roppongi where I learned I had missed Sébastien Tellier (the Greek god who represented France this year for Eurovision) by about 5 hours. Aww. There was another French act that was performing and it sounded pretty good. And the lights, the lights were pretty. Pictures on Facebook eventually.
Also that night, we went to Tokyo Tower by accident, thinking it was a smaller tower in Roppongi, and went to the 150m-high observatory. Tokyo isn't as pretty as Osaka is at night, but it goes. on. forever. There is nothing more strange than seeing a city extend seemingly infinitely in all directions around you. Admittedly, it was night, but I think in the daytime you'd still get that feeling.
We ate at a French restaurant that was on the cheap side for a French restaurant in Tokyo, which isn't saying much. The food was good, though. It's been so long since I've been to a restaurant where they give you bread for free along with the rest of your meal. And after that, home.
Or, rather, hotel. But something was very home-like about that hotel: the neighborhood around it (in Ueno) was very, very quiet. I couldn't believe how quiet it was. I said several times (as a joke that nobody really found funny haha) that "Tokyo's sure a quiet city, isn't it?" Even in Roppongi late at night, which is home to several clubs and restaurants that I'd think a reasonable amount of people would frequent, it was still rather quiet.
This country is too quiet.
The next day we woke up and made it over to Asakusa to see a temple or shrine whose name I forget. It's one of the oldest in the city (or maybe the oldest in Japan, or oldest in Tokyo; I can't remember) and was rather noisy. Isn't it interesting how the holy places are on the noisy side and the non-holy places are so quiet? Hmm. Well, the fake autumn leaves that they had above each stall in the shopping street right in front of the temple were quite picture-worthy. Oh, yeah; one thing I did this weekend was take too many pictures. And particularly yesterday.
Shibuya had a big, famous intersection where tons of people cross, but little else unique. The Italian restaurant we went to had a good pizza, though. Then we went to Harajuku. Oh, Harajuku, how I missed you. With little in the way of men's clothes, I didn't buy anything. Words pretty much fail this place, with its narrow, narrow main street and strange stores, many of which I can recall being there three years ago. I looked for good Engrish shirts; the Engrish I recall being good but the shirts weren't. :-*(
Train again, Ueno again. It was this day (Sunday) that I revisited Ameyoko and got my Adidas winter jacket. Then we went to Roppongi again and ate at a restaurant called Havana Cafe. I had a cheeseburger; 外人スマシュ! (Gaijin smash!). Then we almost managed to get back to the hotel at a decent hour but decided to do karaoke which became 90 minutes when we originally planned on 30. I couldn't hit the high notes on "Somewhere Only We Know"; lame.
Monday was a holiday, at least at our University. We took the opportunity to go to Mt. Fuji. Well, at least we tried, but we were informed later that the bus going to the mountain was out of service because of "many snow" (she probably was thinking 大雪, which means "a lot of snow" but could be literally translated as "big snow"). We went instead to a lake nearby, and this was probably the prettiest part of the trip for some reason. And this wasn't even the lake itself so much as the walk on the random streets on the way to the lake. I took about 400 pictures there and I still don't know why. The rain and the autumn leaves and the rather rural surroundings were the Japan I had been waiting to see. I don't know... I think that when you take Japan and add a lot of space to it, that's my dream Japan.
But as we took a gondola up Mt. Kachikachi which promised a view of Fuji on a good day, I realized I was sick. This is why my writing is so stunted right now and why the 7 hours I was on trains and in train stations on the way back were so horrible. But yeah, I was glad to be back someplace where I have a lot of memories from. And I took pictures of the Prince Hotel where we stayed from the Tokyo Tower. They came back blurry, as do so many memories. It was nice to see my memories in full color again, this time the color being autumn.
vendredi, novembre 21
Dance & Dance Revolution
On Tuesdays, I have 6 hours of free time in between two classes. So this Tuesday I decided to use one of those hours to eat lunch and the other five to go to Osaka and play DDR.
I took the Keihan from 枚方市 (Hirakata-shi) to 淀屋橋 (Yodoyabashi) and switched to the 地下鉄 (chikatetsu, subway) which I took to 難波 (Namba). From there I walked about twenty minutes to Game Amuseum next to the Loft department store, and le voilà, a DDR machine. Outside.
On a slope. A slight slope but a slope nonetheless. But the great part was that they had four speakers slightly offset from the four corners of the pad set, and because the machine wasn't inside the arcade itself, it was just the DDR music from those speakers and the whoosh of the autumn wind that you heard in this peaceful corner of an otherwise noisy city.
It was 100 yen per play, per play three songs. Nothing new. Supernova 2: the newest DDR machine out there. By no means the best, and probably the worst, but it'll do. The good speakers made everything so much better. They replaced the usual machine speakers that just don't do it for Supernova 2's questionable music selection. Now either the buttons on the pads didn't press down far enough or the slope made playing a little awkward. But that was okay. I got to see the wind blow these small, small leaves off of a couple of trees about twenty footsteps away. It was so beautiful, it deserved a picture. I didn't take one, though, as I was in the middle of a round and I couldn't get my camera out. But I have the memory of it in my head, and that I cherish.
Inside, upstairs there was a machine too. That one had a camera behind it, and it seems that you could've gone up to the desk and asked them to tape you and paid however much for a video of yourself playing DDR. Awesome. It looked like a pretty good deal, too; the camera was well-positioned and the video quality was tight. But not today, I said. I got out and left, well-exercised.
I walked along some train line, possibly the JR, and came across a shop that really wanted to be a bagel shop. It was called "BAGEL & BAGEL." And let me tell you, if there's one thing I really miss from Japan, it's bagels. And oh my heavens--that cinnamon raisin bagel was incredibly delicious. A little softer than the usual Dunkin Donuts cinnamon raisin bagel, and I'm not sure whether that made it better, because doubtlessly the amount of time I've been away from them probably added to the heavenly nature of the taste. But it was so great. And there was a nice chocolate chip cookie I bought in addition with it. I've had chocolate chip cookies very frequently over the past month, ever since I discovered they had packages of them at various convenience stores, so it wasn't exactly the same experience as the bagel was. Good nonetheless. Eventually I came to wish I had bought another bagel.
And then I came back slightly late, quite satisfied, for my economics class. I love Japan.
I took the Keihan from 枚方市 (Hirakata-shi) to 淀屋橋 (Yodoyabashi) and switched to the 地下鉄 (chikatetsu, subway) which I took to 難波 (Namba). From there I walked about twenty minutes to Game Amuseum next to the Loft department store, and le voilà, a DDR machine. Outside.
On a slope. A slight slope but a slope nonetheless. But the great part was that they had four speakers slightly offset from the four corners of the pad set, and because the machine wasn't inside the arcade itself, it was just the DDR music from those speakers and the whoosh of the autumn wind that you heard in this peaceful corner of an otherwise noisy city.
It was 100 yen per play, per play three songs. Nothing new. Supernova 2: the newest DDR machine out there. By no means the best, and probably the worst, but it'll do. The good speakers made everything so much better. They replaced the usual machine speakers that just don't do it for Supernova 2's questionable music selection. Now either the buttons on the pads didn't press down far enough or the slope made playing a little awkward. But that was okay. I got to see the wind blow these small, small leaves off of a couple of trees about twenty footsteps away. It was so beautiful, it deserved a picture. I didn't take one, though, as I was in the middle of a round and I couldn't get my camera out. But I have the memory of it in my head, and that I cherish.
Inside, upstairs there was a machine too. That one had a camera behind it, and it seems that you could've gone up to the desk and asked them to tape you and paid however much for a video of yourself playing DDR. Awesome. It looked like a pretty good deal, too; the camera was well-positioned and the video quality was tight. But not today, I said. I got out and left, well-exercised.
I walked along some train line, possibly the JR, and came across a shop that really wanted to be a bagel shop. It was called "BAGEL & BAGEL." And let me tell you, if there's one thing I really miss from Japan, it's bagels. And oh my heavens--that cinnamon raisin bagel was incredibly delicious. A little softer than the usual Dunkin Donuts cinnamon raisin bagel, and I'm not sure whether that made it better, because doubtlessly the amount of time I've been away from them probably added to the heavenly nature of the taste. But it was so great. And there was a nice chocolate chip cookie I bought in addition with it. I've had chocolate chip cookies very frequently over the past month, ever since I discovered they had packages of them at various convenience stores, so it wasn't exactly the same experience as the bagel was. Good nonetheless. Eventually I came to wish I had bought another bagel.
And then I came back slightly late, quite satisfied, for my economics class. I love Japan.
lundi, novembre 17
Korien featuring Tokyo
This title is like saying Nate Dogg (gangsta... singer, uhh, who was famous primarily for his appearances on other people's songs) featuring Barbra Streisand. It's the sort of thing the word "juxtaposition" was invented for.
But that's how my mind worked today. I'm supposed to be completing plans to go to Tokyo for the long weekend, but instead of resolving to get that done this afternoon (though I still have time to do it tonight, as it's slightly less than 4 hours before midnight) the first thing on my mind was going to Korien, a random suburb three train stops away by local train and one stop away by the brand-spanking-new purple train (YES) where I got a 1000 yen haircut, which is slightly more than 10 dollars thanks to ingenious central economic planning. And it was possibly the easiest, most satisfying haircut I have ever had. Maybe I should just get my haircuts in Japan from now on. That was my "new wardrobe" policy for the last three years, right? (I basically decided I would wait until I returned to Japan, which took three years, until I would add substantially to my wardrobe.)
If that wasn't enough of a reason to get me to love Korien--and by the way, thank you Tim for telling me about the haircut place--how about the amaaaazing cinnamon donut I had at the bakery? I wish I bought, like, 5. I will probably stop off there if I go to Osaka again. No, I'll probably spend 400 yen just to go there, make dollar-money into donut-money and go back. But it was so good! Picture having a cinnamon donut, except it being actually good. ...Okay, that image does lack a little in description. Picture a soft, soft donut with cinnamon sugar sprinkled more than adequately all over it, and imagine that donut being as fresh as fried dough that you got at one of those places at Salisbury Beach two seconds ago. (I say fried dough because you generally spread cinnamon sugar all over that stuff.) It's like fried dough, except even better!!! And cheaper and healthier (because it's Japan). I need to buy my 5 donuts tomorrow.
But oh, wait. There's Tokyo plans.
Aw, hell, what's a few seconds re-cherishing the taste of a Japanese donut?
But that's how my mind worked today. I'm supposed to be completing plans to go to Tokyo for the long weekend, but instead of resolving to get that done this afternoon (though I still have time to do it tonight, as it's slightly less than 4 hours before midnight) the first thing on my mind was going to Korien, a random suburb three train stops away by local train and one stop away by the brand-spanking-new purple train (YES) where I got a 1000 yen haircut, which is slightly more than 10 dollars thanks to ingenious central economic planning. And it was possibly the easiest, most satisfying haircut I have ever had. Maybe I should just get my haircuts in Japan from now on. That was my "new wardrobe" policy for the last three years, right? (I basically decided I would wait until I returned to Japan, which took three years, until I would add substantially to my wardrobe.)
If that wasn't enough of a reason to get me to love Korien--and by the way, thank you Tim for telling me about the haircut place--how about the amaaaazing cinnamon donut I had at the bakery? I wish I bought, like, 5. I will probably stop off there if I go to Osaka again. No, I'll probably spend 400 yen just to go there, make dollar-money into donut-money and go back. But it was so good! Picture having a cinnamon donut, except it being actually good. ...Okay, that image does lack a little in description. Picture a soft, soft donut with cinnamon sugar sprinkled more than adequately all over it, and imagine that donut being as fresh as fried dough that you got at one of those places at Salisbury Beach two seconds ago. (I say fried dough because you generally spread cinnamon sugar all over that stuff.) It's like fried dough, except even better!!! And cheaper and healthier (because it's Japan). I need to buy my 5 donuts tomorrow.
But oh, wait. There's Tokyo plans.
Aw, hell, what's a few seconds re-cherishing the taste of a Japanese donut?
dimanche, novembre 16
Dondondondondondon Town
Actually, it's called Den Den Town. Note to self: Do not go to Osaka when you know you're kind of stressed out and you know you should relax. Go to Kyoto.
Osaka and Kyoto are polar opposites, or at least today it feels that way. Kyoto's seemingly infinite number of temples and shrines and its peaceful riverside walks lacked big time today, when I decided to shoo myself off to the general Osaka area with two major missions: 1) Get a haircut and 2) Get a playstation. Did either of these get accomplished? NO.
My first step was to go to Kyobashi on the Keihan (of course) and look there for a cheap haircut place. I could've sworn I saw one there and that my host brother told me there was a good place (e.g. where the price was around 10 dollars) in the station for a haircut, but I could not find it. I then decided to go to Kitahama and switch to the Seidosuji(?) Line, from there departing for Nihonbashi, or, in patriotic 日本語 (nihongo, Japanese), "Nipponbashi." My intention was to go to Den Den Town and pick up a PS1. Neither of the enormous places I went to with enormous amounts of games from random-ass consoles like the Mega Drive and the Neo Geo, as well as those consoles themselves, had the original Playstation in stock. How is this so difficult to find? What on earth happened to the PS1 in Japan? What in Japan happened to the PS1 being on earth? I have gone about five separate places looking for it, but to no avail.
At least today I bought four separate DDR games. Yesss. But the fact is, if I don't acquire a Japanese PS1, I am not going to be able to play any of them. Let me check amazon.co.jp to see if they're available...
...Yes. Good. You'd be crazy to pay $57 in the US for a PS1 but I guess it's not so bad if it's a Japanese one. But you can get N64s here for half that price...
After leaving Den Den Town, I made the mistake of going to Shinsaibashi to look for the same barbershop that I passed about a month ago, no, more, when I went on a tour there with a fairly large group of people. Could not find. The haircuts were only 900 yen!!! (9 dollars. Nothing really to get excited over in the US.) I also intended on doing some shopping there but I was too tired and hungry and I just went there, not thinking, looking for the haircut. The barber, rather. I also went to the wrong train station and only realized this after exiting the gates, which means I had to pay 230 yen more than I should've. Not great.
And just to go to Shinsaibashi to not get a haircut.
Oh well, I went back into the train station and at least got a slice of pizza, at about 17:15. I almost couldn't eat my dinner at 19:00 as a result.
Which reminds me, I need to find that place, wherever the hell it was, that had hours ending at 25:00. That was great. I've never seen that before. I might be able to find it again in Hirakata if that's where it was. ARRR, can't remember
You know, the main reason I went out to Osaka today was because I need to get out of Hirakata more. There was a good four weeks that had passed before I finally got my ass on the train. That was pretty much an utter failure of a shopping trip, though. Also, good thing I have a test tomorrow: I need to start waking up earlier than 11:15 AM again.
It's time to tango. That is, 単語(tango, vocabulary). And 漢字。 And 読み。
Osaka and Kyoto are polar opposites, or at least today it feels that way. Kyoto's seemingly infinite number of temples and shrines and its peaceful riverside walks lacked big time today, when I decided to shoo myself off to the general Osaka area with two major missions: 1) Get a haircut and 2) Get a playstation. Did either of these get accomplished? NO.
My first step was to go to Kyobashi on the Keihan (of course) and look there for a cheap haircut place. I could've sworn I saw one there and that my host brother told me there was a good place (e.g. where the price was around 10 dollars) in the station for a haircut, but I could not find it. I then decided to go to Kitahama and switch to the Seidosuji(?) Line, from there departing for Nihonbashi, or, in patriotic 日本語 (nihongo, Japanese), "Nipponbashi." My intention was to go to Den Den Town and pick up a PS1. Neither of the enormous places I went to with enormous amounts of games from random-ass consoles like the Mega Drive and the Neo Geo, as well as those consoles themselves, had the original Playstation in stock. How is this so difficult to find? What on earth happened to the PS1 in Japan? What in Japan happened to the PS1 being on earth? I have gone about five separate places looking for it, but to no avail.
At least today I bought four separate DDR games. Yesss. But the fact is, if I don't acquire a Japanese PS1, I am not going to be able to play any of them. Let me check amazon.co.jp to see if they're available...
...Yes. Good. You'd be crazy to pay $57 in the US for a PS1 but I guess it's not so bad if it's a Japanese one. But you can get N64s here for half that price...
After leaving Den Den Town, I made the mistake of going to Shinsaibashi to look for the same barbershop that I passed about a month ago, no, more, when I went on a tour there with a fairly large group of people. Could not find. The haircuts were only 900 yen!!! (9 dollars. Nothing really to get excited over in the US.) I also intended on doing some shopping there but I was too tired and hungry and I just went there, not thinking, looking for the haircut. The barber, rather. I also went to the wrong train station and only realized this after exiting the gates, which means I had to pay 230 yen more than I should've. Not great.
And just to go to Shinsaibashi to not get a haircut.
Oh well, I went back into the train station and at least got a slice of pizza, at about 17:15. I almost couldn't eat my dinner at 19:00 as a result.
Which reminds me, I need to find that place, wherever the hell it was, that had hours ending at 25:00. That was great. I've never seen that before. I might be able to find it again in Hirakata if that's where it was. ARRR, can't remember
You know, the main reason I went out to Osaka today was because I need to get out of Hirakata more. There was a good four weeks that had passed before I finally got my ass on the train. That was pretty much an utter failure of a shopping trip, though. Also, good thing I have a test tomorrow: I need to start waking up earlier than 11:15 AM again.
It's time to tango. That is, 単語(tango, vocabulary). And 漢字。 And 読み。
mardi, novembre 11
in Japan
Things that are expensive in Japan:
Batteries
New clothes (As opposed to used ones. Used clothes do not have the "thrift" connotation as they do in the US)
Heating oil
Gas
Electricity
You can tell that you would have to live differently from how you live in America, if that's where you live. Actually, I should really be prefacing the list with "Things that are more expensive in Japan than they are in the States," because there's no doubt in my mind that all these things are higher. Of course, it all comes down to negotiation on the oil prices, right?
But note the first one. That's what spurred me to write this. If you buy 100-yen batteries here, you suffer the consequences. I still have not learned my lesson on this, and these batteries run out in I swear 1 hour of camera use. The same is true for 100-yen toothbrushes, and I finally figured that out about a fortnight ago (lol, I wrote "a week" at first and in the next sentence realized I needed to change this, so I decided to make it so I'd only change one word). I got a 555-yen (or so)toothbrush and it's still there, in good shape. Awesome. How come they don't last this long for me in the States? Maybe those wholesale deals really are a ripoff...
Well, I finally got expensive batteries (ugh, it's like $1 a battery) and they should do well; we'll see. But you see, in this society that we perceive as being one and the same with its progress in technology, or rather as having becoming completely integrated with its technology and reliant on communication, life, and spirit through it, or whatever, well... there's more to this picture than that. Especially after you marry or get a job. Then, everything, EVERYTHING changes.
What a split in Japanese life, from the life of cramming I see with high schoolers to the life of laidback days and slight excess (+ part-time job) that I see with college students to the half-life of work and the half-life of family, that is, the man taking the work half and the woman taking the family half, with neither really getting what Westerners would think they should of the other, or at least that's the normal situation here. And yet it goes on. It's a pretty solid foundation, at least until the earthquakes come. And of course, that goes without saying; how often can you predict an earthquake? But it needs to be said. It really looks like Japanese society will continue to be what it is for a long time, because it seems so efficient and it works so well. But who knows? Big things happen.
I really wish I had things more specific to say about things I've seen, places I've gone. But for some reason those aren't as easy to write about. I mean, they've been great, but still.
I did have some great conversations with Tim today, but I can't remember any of them. I especially can't remember the ones about Fushimi-inari, which fate led me to a second time today. Well, it would be more accurate to say fate led me here today because we really didn't know that the mountain we wanted to climb with an orange gate on it was the mountain with many, many, many orange gates on it. Hmm, what did I think about when I was there?
Well, what do I think about it now? It's great. Orange gates. In Japanese, they're called red gates. I don't know why. The fox statues aren't nearly as scary as the random cats that you can find pretty much everywhere. Apparently, there was one with red eyes that Tim saw that was sick. I didn't look.
One thing I do realize is that I'm feeling more at home or rather at one with the fall season now, with the cold temperatures. They seem to be helping my body rather than wrecking it as I thought they would. There's a heater in my room, but I don't want to use it anymore; it was bothering me. I've heard that heaters and air-conditioners aren't actually good for you because they throw big fluctuations in temperature at your body, and they're especially not good for you if you don't clean them regularly.
I'm tired now and I'll log off and think more about this tomorrow. If there are any profondeurs (yes, it's French) that I reach tomorrow, I'll let you know, and good night.
Alex
Batteries
New clothes (As opposed to used ones. Used clothes do not have the "thrift" connotation as they do in the US)
Heating oil
Gas
Electricity
You can tell that you would have to live differently from how you live in America, if that's where you live. Actually, I should really be prefacing the list with "Things that are more expensive in Japan than they are in the States," because there's no doubt in my mind that all these things are higher. Of course, it all comes down to negotiation on the oil prices, right?
But note the first one. That's what spurred me to write this. If you buy 100-yen batteries here, you suffer the consequences. I still have not learned my lesson on this, and these batteries run out in I swear 1 hour of camera use. The same is true for 100-yen toothbrushes, and I finally figured that out about a fortnight ago (lol, I wrote "a week" at first and in the next sentence realized I needed to change this, so I decided to make it so I'd only change one word). I got a 555-yen (or so)toothbrush and it's still there, in good shape. Awesome. How come they don't last this long for me in the States? Maybe those wholesale deals really are a ripoff...
Well, I finally got expensive batteries (ugh, it's like $1 a battery) and they should do well; we'll see. But you see, in this society that we perceive as being one and the same with its progress in technology, or rather as having becoming completely integrated with its technology and reliant on communication, life, and spirit through it, or whatever, well... there's more to this picture than that. Especially after you marry or get a job. Then, everything, EVERYTHING changes.
What a split in Japanese life, from the life of cramming I see with high schoolers to the life of laidback days and slight excess (+ part-time job) that I see with college students to the half-life of work and the half-life of family, that is, the man taking the work half and the woman taking the family half, with neither really getting what Westerners would think they should of the other, or at least that's the normal situation here. And yet it goes on. It's a pretty solid foundation, at least until the earthquakes come. And of course, that goes without saying; how often can you predict an earthquake? But it needs to be said. It really looks like Japanese society will continue to be what it is for a long time, because it seems so efficient and it works so well. But who knows? Big things happen.
I really wish I had things more specific to say about things I've seen, places I've gone. But for some reason those aren't as easy to write about. I mean, they've been great, but still.
I did have some great conversations with Tim today, but I can't remember any of them. I especially can't remember the ones about Fushimi-inari, which fate led me to a second time today. Well, it would be more accurate to say fate led me here today because we really didn't know that the mountain we wanted to climb with an orange gate on it was the mountain with many, many, many orange gates on it. Hmm, what did I think about when I was there?
Well, what do I think about it now? It's great. Orange gates. In Japanese, they're called red gates. I don't know why. The fox statues aren't nearly as scary as the random cats that you can find pretty much everywhere. Apparently, there was one with red eyes that Tim saw that was sick. I didn't look.
One thing I do realize is that I'm feeling more at home or rather at one with the fall season now, with the cold temperatures. They seem to be helping my body rather than wrecking it as I thought they would. There's a heater in my room, but I don't want to use it anymore; it was bothering me. I've heard that heaters and air-conditioners aren't actually good for you because they throw big fluctuations in temperature at your body, and they're especially not good for you if you don't clean them regularly.
I'm tired now and I'll log off and think more about this tomorrow. If there are any profondeurs (yes, it's French) that I reach tomorrow, I'll let you know, and good night.
Alex
mercredi, novembre 5
Oh, bama.
With few hours left in my sleep account and two rather important things to do tomorrow, I will go to bed soon; however, not before I get this down.
Everyone in Japan, pretty much, is very happy that Obama won. At least that seems nearly true. I'm not very happy he won. I would not have been happy McCain won either, but I at least would have laughed at how we would've been just doing the same thing again for another four years; another four years of neo-conservatism (read: a false, dishonest version of conservatism) and an economy going down the bucket, and no change. And yes, I see change in Obama, but it scares me.
It scares me that people (men) I know here cried listening to his acceptance speech. But I even came close to it when I was watching Japanese TV coverage at dinner and I saw how happy people were, especially when they showed the footage in Kenya. But the fact is, how fleeting is this happiness going to be? And why exactly are we moved to tears by this?
Is it the death of neo-conservatism that we want to see ensue? Is it finally our reconciliation with the rest of the world? Or is it, more than either of these things, Obama's amazing rhetorical skills? Look out for his propaganda later.
Let's get back to what scares me, though. It scares me that people are willing to trust a candidate to change things without being all that specific on what he's going to specifically change. He's going to have the troops out with 16 months, okay. Good. Could have it a little faster. But what will he change in regards to our foreign policy, apart from Iraq? We can't afford to spend the amount of money abroad that we have before, with the debt the way it is. Is he going to let the debt just loom there and spend just the way Bush did, except perhaps more?
As for corporate bailouts, um, giving money to people who lobby you a lot is no change. Remember how a majority of Democrats voted for the first bailout? It was the Republicans that brought bailout #1 down. With an even larger of Democrats in Congress and one in the Oval Office, well, where do you think this leaves us? We'll have more of the same, and then some.
I think the main thing that's bothering me is the blind trust I see from people (especially from people in my generation) in the Democrats. Let's recall the last four years: we had a Democratic majority in Congress, and no end to the Iraq War. Can anyone name anything the Democrats did in the last four years, except complain and maintain the status quo? Nancy "Impeachment is off the table" Pelosi and her cohorts perhaps have something to hide about with regards to Bush's torture-filled interrogations too. (Did they know about it? No wonder they wouldn't want to make an investigation on this kind of stuff, regardless of whether it would get Bush impeached...) God bless Cindy Sheehan for getting 17% of the vote in Pelosi's district.
Perhaps I was scared the most by Massachusetts voting against the income tax 70%, which is much higher than the 55% they had when they voted it down a few years ago. Why do we continue to think the government needs all the money it's getting, and that it will actually do any good with it? The jump from 55 to 70 there seems to imply we're believing this MORE.
I'm done. Neither Lindsay Graham's opponent nor BJ Lawson won, so that's why I'm mainly unhappy about this election. Hey, but although third party percentages weren't great, more people voted for third parties than in 2004. That's a great thing.
Looking forward to 2010, when we go to vote again. Let's see how Congress changes then...
Everyone in Japan, pretty much, is very happy that Obama won. At least that seems nearly true. I'm not very happy he won. I would not have been happy McCain won either, but I at least would have laughed at how we would've been just doing the same thing again for another four years; another four years of neo-conservatism (read: a false, dishonest version of conservatism) and an economy going down the bucket, and no change. And yes, I see change in Obama, but it scares me.
It scares me that people (men) I know here cried listening to his acceptance speech. But I even came close to it when I was watching Japanese TV coverage at dinner and I saw how happy people were, especially when they showed the footage in Kenya. But the fact is, how fleeting is this happiness going to be? And why exactly are we moved to tears by this?
Is it the death of neo-conservatism that we want to see ensue? Is it finally our reconciliation with the rest of the world? Or is it, more than either of these things, Obama's amazing rhetorical skills? Look out for his propaganda later.
Let's get back to what scares me, though. It scares me that people are willing to trust a candidate to change things without being all that specific on what he's going to specifically change. He's going to have the troops out with 16 months, okay. Good. Could have it a little faster. But what will he change in regards to our foreign policy, apart from Iraq? We can't afford to spend the amount of money abroad that we have before, with the debt the way it is. Is he going to let the debt just loom there and spend just the way Bush did, except perhaps more?
As for corporate bailouts, um, giving money to people who lobby you a lot is no change. Remember how a majority of Democrats voted for the first bailout? It was the Republicans that brought bailout #1 down. With an even larger of Democrats in Congress and one in the Oval Office, well, where do you think this leaves us? We'll have more of the same, and then some.
I think the main thing that's bothering me is the blind trust I see from people (especially from people in my generation) in the Democrats. Let's recall the last four years: we had a Democratic majority in Congress, and no end to the Iraq War. Can anyone name anything the Democrats did in the last four years, except complain and maintain the status quo? Nancy "Impeachment is off the table" Pelosi and her cohorts perhaps have something to hide about with regards to Bush's torture-filled interrogations too. (Did they know about it? No wonder they wouldn't want to make an investigation on this kind of stuff, regardless of whether it would get Bush impeached...) God bless Cindy Sheehan for getting 17% of the vote in Pelosi's district.
Perhaps I was scared the most by Massachusetts voting against the income tax 70%, which is much higher than the 55% they had when they voted it down a few years ago. Why do we continue to think the government needs all the money it's getting, and that it will actually do any good with it? The jump from 55 to 70 there seems to imply we're believing this MORE.
I'm done. Neither Lindsay Graham's opponent nor BJ Lawson won, so that's why I'm mainly unhappy about this election. Hey, but although third party percentages weren't great, more people voted for third parties than in 2004. That's a great thing.
Looking forward to 2010, when we go to vote again. Let's see how Congress changes then...
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