and here i am. and where i go. and anything. i'm not sure. let me get the manual. it's lost amongst the factual. simple things turn complex. complex blurs to simplicity. you ordered a hamburger. you got a nuclear war gift wrapped for the long haul. before the fall we'll see summer. before you go, get me another cola. get me another full one, no more half empty anything. anyway. there is a needle in the hay, i feign desire for the discovery. channels. flip on my side. worried about disgust choking me on my back. coming to conclusions i didn't know i had. maybe i borrow these things like library books. i must have fines. i must have... something.

yesterday's spelling test. the words were:
1. bookshelf
2. stereo
3. picture
4. chair
5.kitchen

puppies for sale on the street corner. it said 70% off(or that's what i assume). but i don't know what price it's 70% off of if it's on the street corner.

information. kinda in a cheesy format, but some things are interesting.

http://www.break.com/index/shift_happens.html

so the video is the product of my 2 days off. i meant to do my whole day, but the editing was taking too long. i apologize for the green words at the top, they're there because the only video editing program i could quickly get was a trial version, and trial versions do stuff like that to your videos. it's times like these that i wish i had a mac.

this is one of those things that i shouldn't mention in case it doesn't get done. but i will anyway. i'm currently trying to make a video of my daily work routine. it sounds boring, but i'll punch it up with special effects.... no i won't. but i'll put a good song on it, and least if you don't like the video, you can just close your eyes and listen.

the problem is, i don't even know if my video editing software works, or even how it works exactly. and secondly, i'm not sure i can put the video on here.

but i'd like to get your hopes high now.

high five.this is chai milk jam i got in japan. i like sharing, or giving away most food things i have. but i think this is one thing that i wouldn't want to share. yum. do you have any items like that?

http://little-people.blogspot.com/

i really liked this. it was quaint.

i avoided watching tv for almost a year, but then i finally plugged my tv in here. sigh. but i only get one english channel, and that is the army base channel. so if i have the tv on, that's the channel it will be.

every commercial looks like it costs about $100 to make; and i'm not sure if any are not geared toward military viewers. 'make sure you have all your documents in order', 'eat at your regiments cafeteria', 'be knowledged about new housing that you'll move to', 'sexual harassment is never acceptable'. The one i find ironic is when they inform the officers that if they speak about any superior officer, or speak about the president with contempt, that is an offense that can have them courtmarshelled. meanwhile, the shows that are aired on this channel, such as the late night shows, they make it almost a nightly ritual to degrade the president.

tonight, dan rather was on jay leno, and dan taught me something about the middle east situation. he said that the opium plant is the number one product in the area. it isn't exactly legal to grow, but no one can stop it at the moment. a lot of the opium is sold in central europe. and this is a very good funding tool for the 'terrorists'. dan told us that if you want to know how the war on terror is going, pay attention to how well the production of the opium plant is being limited.

I've been here exactly 3 months today. this is my calendar i follow. i actually use the other side of it. it looks like this(look below). it's not as pretty but i can write how much i spend each day. it's part of the routines i've taken up. along with reading each night, and doing push-ups and sit-ups. i can do 80 push-ups now. i'm saying this not to brag, but rather because if you are reading this brad, i know that you have always been competitive with me in the sense that i, being your younger sibling shouldn't be more physically able at anything strength related than you. and so if you're slacking on your push-ups, after hearing a number i can do, you will make sure you can do at least the same. you have 5 months to stay fair enough shape to compete with me when i see you next. maybe i should just lie. um, i can do 300 push-ups now.
yes.

i've been intending to post the blogs of all my co-workers, along with a site that they enjoy. but so far i have not gotten to that.

all i can post at the moment is:

malcolm:
furtherfrom.blogspot.com
(the redundancy is absurd)
recommended site:
bitsandpieces1.blogspot.com
also try this one if you like cute:
http://letsbefriends.blogspot.com/

i'm reading 'eats shoots and leaves' right now. it's making me very conscious of all my punctuation. that doesn't mean i will be better with it, i'll just now realize that sometimes people will pick apart my comma placement. actually, right now i'm semi dissecting why i put colons in the above section. but only semi.

i went for a gallery walk today. i now have tuesdays off because of the way the schedule is working. i like tuesdays off. i'd rather have my days off spaced out, and i like a day off during the week when more things like post offices are open, and things are generally less populated.

anyway, before i went on my gallery walk, i compiled a list from online of potential places to go. i left late, so i was very limited on how many i could visit. i wanted to go to the biggest one.

i asked some older guy what subway stop this one location was at, and after much trouble with the language barrier, he figured out where it was, and pointed to it on a small subway map i had. he even wrote out detailed directions to it that i could give to some korean to ask for help. of course the problem was that after he pointed it out, i realized it was on the exact opposite side of town, and i wasn't going to go there. and i felt bad that he was trying so hard to help me out. so i went on the subway anyway and i just asked the someone i sat beside where another closer gallery was.

i found one, it had photography, and it was ok. and i say another that just had a submarine made out of garbage.

then i went to a big bookstore and bought a book of korean expressions. i'm gonna have to start writing them here. they're awesome.


oh, by the way, when i stated that notion of a possible audience of 1 in my last post, it wasn't intended to be fishing for compliments.

ps.(do you do ps's in blogs?) sorry no pictures. i'm in a pc bong.

i don't write here nearly enough.
i don't post pictures nearly enough.
communication motivation is sometimes elusive.
and maybe the idea should be to reduce my standards.
maybe i should write even without exciting stories, or intriguing insight.
i think the internet can get people into a presentation mindset.
it instantly represents an audience, even though the audience may just be 1.
and with an audience in mind it seems it's appropriate to dress up words with poetic phrasing, and pretty pictures.

i don't always have pretty words, and poetic pictures though, or maybe i just don't care to take the time.

anyway, i'm just writing now to fill the blank space of me not writing. and it's somewhat appropriate that the blank space is filled with meaningless words.

i'm in korea right now. adventure on the other side of the world, and i'm writing about not writing.

here, i'll put a pretty picture here.i think all fast food should have clocks like this.

i've been meaning to do a list comparing canada to korea. i don't think i will. but one exists inside my head. i like both places for many reasons. and i dislike both for other reasons.

i will list some reasons why i don't like korea.
-you never know when things are going to be open or closed. hours of operation are optional, and even when they are posted, they're optional to follow. and actually, even when there's an open sign on the door, it doesn't mean the store is open.
-actually, sometimes stores close, and they leave up their store logo and everything. the only reason you know they're closed for good is because you never see them open.
-sometimes a place also keeps up signs, or leaves items on the shelf when they won't sell those items to you. they keep it there because they don't know what else to do with it. it can be very frustrating. especially when you go back a second time to the same store to try and buy the same item they didn't sell you last time; and you try to trick them to sell it to you this time, but no, of course they won't do that. instead they'll just put the item back on the shelf, and say it's not for sale.
-i can't stand the traffic lights. they leave the pedestrians waiting forever.
-the cars try to run you over.
-all the food is either meat, or too sweet. it's not good for me.
-there seems a distinct lack of organization about things.

and those seem to be all the major issues.
so in all consideration, it's not that bad.
-honestly, how many things about canada can you name that you don't like.
-expensive subway(ttc)
-worries about theft/vandalism/murder etc.
-poor work ethic
-there's others that i'm not thinking of, mostly because i'm not immersed in that culture at the moment.

i'll do my list of things i like about each country later.

Ok

So we were told the day before we left that we are going to japan. Amidst the numerous false announcements that we were going, it seemed only fitting that when we finally did go, it was with little warning. Luckily, the other supposed times we were going to go to japan allowed us to be prepared regardless…mostly. I actually didn’t really check out any tourist things, or really anything at all prior to the trip. I let everyone else do that, and when they said what they wanted to do I kinda picked and chose, but mostly just went with the flow. With only 3 days, most agendas you create are considered ambitious. Especially when 2 of those days are mostly taken up with arrival and departure plans.

i wanted to puncuate this list with lots of pictures. then i realized i had too many that i wanted to include, so i'll just put them on facebook instead under the category selected photos from japan. anyway...

So, the agenda was as follows…

-arrived, at the airport at about noon, and even cut in line to enter the country, to the chagrin of others, in order to get to the Korean embassy as fast as we could. We definitely had to get our visa requests in that day for them to be processed before we left.

-the irony was when we got to the area of the Korean embassy, and we met up with someone we cut in front of in line. And I think they got their work visa sooner than us.

-after much searching around the streets, we finally found the hotel we booked online. There’s a lot less English subtitles in japan than in korea.

-our hotel was in a more sexually exploitive district apparently(or that’s what we were told), but the hotel was actually a good hotel.

-finally at 8pm we were settled in, and we met up with a friend of a co-worker. She was a Japanese Korean who’s lived in Osaka all her life. I forget her name. it seems I always forget the names of Asians. I’m sure they have the same problem with us.

-we went to supper, and I noticed that Japanese cuisine is much better about accommodating vegetarians than Korean cuisine. I am a vegetarian in Japanese is watashiwa saishoku-shugisha.

-I wandered around taking pictures the rest of the night. Osaka is a very busy place up until just past 9pm when most things close. its still busy after that, but not nearly as much as before.

-I went back to my hotel and played cards with the others, and then went to sleep on my traditional Japanese bed. It was comfortable except for the pillow that was basically a big beanbag.

-I woke up early because I find it hard to sleep long in new places I’m not used to.

-I got my E2 visa. I’m FINALLY legal.

-I had pancakes at mcdonalds for breakfast which seems like the first time I’ve eaten at mcD’s for over a year.

-we went to Kyoto. And I saw an incredible temple that is actually printed on their 10 cent(or whatever) coin. I was actually very impressed by the historicity. Impressed enough that I bought playing cards from the souvenir shop for $9.

-japanese money is roughly equivalent to Canadian in the sense that 100 yen is about .90 cents Canadian. However they put their 100 yen and 500 yen in these small coins that look like they’re nothing in your pocket.

-after the temple, our group of 8 broke into 2 groups. I was now in a much more manageable group of 3.

-we went to the gates of heaven. It has about 9 gates leading up a mountain. Each gate is supposed to take you a step closer to heaven. We only went up 2 gates I think. so we were only kinda in heaven. There were lots of Buddhist prayer type things along the way. Apparently if there is a big rope tied around a tree it means that there’s a spirit in it. I didn’t participate in, or buy any religious related things because I think religion is a powerful thing that shouldn’t just be tried as a cultural experience. Especially when I believe that it contradicts my own faith. I did however buy a turtle keychain, which I promptly lost, and I’m quite disappointed in.

- we then went to an area that we thought was supposed to be where they geishas were. But it was entirely under-populated, and it was mostly just antique shops we saw. So we finally went in the opposite direction, and tada, lots of people, and lots of traditional looking shops peddling tourist related goods. I tried to buy plenty. Of course I’m not a shopper, and plenty still wasn’t a lot. I saw some traditional really tall wood geisha type shoes that cost over $1000. I didn’t buy them.

-with our ceaseless wandering, all we really had for supper was crepes.

-finally at 9pm we got some Japanese food. Well, it was food from a Japanese restaurant. I had deep fried cheese balls, and a pizza, and snow peas. The pizza was a tortilla wrap laid flat with pizza type things on it. In Japanese restaurants they actually charge you for just sitting there.

-my group of 3 finally went back to the hotel to meet up with the others.

-we couldn’t decide where to go, so we all tried on kimonos and took pictures.

-finally 5 of us just wandered and found a club in the basement of some place.

-there wasn’t many people in the club, but the bartender was from Africa, and we played connect 4 with him all night. He never lost, it was incredible.

-the music was mostly artists like kanye west, but then at one point the Japanese dudes busted out on the mics, and did some live rap.

-we finally went home really late, and just before we went in, jon wanted something to eat. So we went to the shop on the corner and he ordered chicken. We sat and tried to talk to this lady with too much make-up on. It seemed like we were waiting forever. Finally the chicken came, and it costs $22. I guess jon should have checked the prices first.

-I slept pretty soundly that night.

-the next day 6 of us went to an art gallery that was closed. So four of us left to go to Osaka castle. 2 stayed to go to a nearby imax. It is apparently the biggest in the world, but I still wouldn’t want to watch an oversized cinema with my limited time in japan.

-before we got to the castle, another person left to see some other galleries.

-so the 3 of us remaining saw osaka castle. it was really cool. It’s really just such an experience to see these aspects of other cultures up close.

-after the castle, we tried to go shopping. Although one person went to the namba district and me and another went to the umeda district.

-after walking around umeda for 15minutes because we couldn’t find shopping, we decided to go underground to the subway to try and find another area to go. And tada, the mall was underground.

-we were extremely limited on time, and finally the person I was with left, and I was alone wandering an underground mall trying to spend the last of my Japanese money.

-I had so many bags on me from having my big travel backpack, and my souvenirs, so I was tired, and I had to get back to the airport.

-after asking questions so many times I was able to find my way, and I met everyone at the airport in time to leave back to korea for 5:30pm.

-the airport was on a man-made island. Neat. After seeing japan from the sky, I understood why they needed to build it. Every available space was used up, except for the mountains. I’m sure they’ll even eventually need to learn to utilize the mountains more. I must admit japan is one of the coolest countries to see from above.

-the flight was only an hour and a half.

-I got back to korea, and I strangely felt comforted by being back home. I was happy to be able to be understood in Korean again. And it made me really realize how much apart of this city I’ve really become.

-I liked japan. It had an edginess about it that reflected my artistic sense. If you’re not familiar, post-modernism reflects a sort of raw aesthetic. It is about being exposed, and understanding and embracing things with all their dirt and ugliness. I feel I have an affinity for post-modernism. Atmospheres like japan breed new and edgy art styles, because it is so accepting of the latest thing. That’s one thing that appealed to me about the place, granted it carries with it a sense of superficiality.

-the problem is that raw atmospheres aren’t always the most ideal for living in. They just have a lot of character.

-so for now I like living in korea better. It’s safer, and more naïve. Of course this judgment is just based on a very short trip to japan. So it’s not worth a lot.

-one other fun observation about japan is that they love their bikes. These riders are so expert how they weave through people. There’s so many bikes that they need to put bike license numbers on them. And if they’re parked somewhere they shouldn’t be, they could get a parking ticket.

-and that was my trip.

dear blog,

IOU one long blog about japan.

lots of pictures
lots of stories
such an amazing time