It was hot. Looking down the road, the waves of heat rippled up off the pavement, causing the air to shimmer. The sounds of a cicada occasionally cut the heavy air, bringing some movement to the stifling day. Even the normally active boy was almost motionless, siting on the porch with an icy lemonade close at hand.
He surveyed the lawn that he had just mown, grass clippings sticking to his arms and legs. Reaching down, he picked up the lemonade and pressed the cool glass to his forehead, the almost too-cold sensation sending chills through his body.
The storm door opened behind him and the smells of home wafted out. His mother's baking, his grandmother's cooking, the smell of dust and age and books that belonged to his grandfather, the scent of fresh and youth that was his sister, and suddenly a large presence behind him that smelled of leather and tobacco and aftershave and all the scents that the boy associated with maleness and his initiation into manhood. His father sat down next to him, setting his own lemonade within arm's reach and pulling out his pipe and tobacco pouch, and with it, the sweet scent of good tobacco. He carefully packed the bowl, worm smooth by the passage of years and the gentle handling it had received and struck a match, waving it over the bowl. As he gently inhaled, the ember slowly grew and and produced the smoke that conjured images of strength and protection in the boy's mind. Nothing was said; nothing needed to be said.
The sky gradually clouded up, a storm of summer forming on the horizon and moving swiftly in, bringing rain and scrubbing the air clean. It passed quickly as those types of storms often do. In its wake it left a verdant sparkling world which smelled of fresh-cut grass and clean summer rain.
The boy drew in a deep breath, heavy with all the smells surrounding him and smiled.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
*blows off dust*
Ah yes, the good ol' blog.
I've not used this for quite some time. January 20th, by its reckoning. It's most likely correct.
Welp, I've got it, I might as well use it. However, most of my life seems trivial now compared to the adventure I was having just a few short months ago. I guess this is the way of things. They come, they go.
I'll most likely be using this to post random thoughts that flit through my head. This means that some posts will be many paragraphs, and some (most likely more) will be a few lines. Quips, quotations, short vignettes, etc.
I had a date on Saturday. A real date. For the first time in over a year. My last real date was December of 2007. This most recent date was a double date. One of my friends set it up. It was him and me, and our dates were two Japanese girls. Quite a good time was had by all, indeed. I just wanted to share that news.
Now, something that I wrote on the plane over to Japan.
It was one of those too-warm days in autumn that bespoke of the summer that has so recently slipped by. The breeze gently stirred the leaves that had mostly changed but clung tenaciously to the trees. The surface of the lake mottled gently under the insistent breeze that slowly pushed the lone canoe across the water. At first glance, the canoe seemed empty, but an arm appeared over the edge, moving in the lazy arc of an exaggerated stretch as the boy in the canoe awoke from his doze and gazed at the fluffy white clouds that scuttled across the almost too blue sky. He yawned, stretched again, and carefully sat up before grabbing the paddle that had lain next to him. He dipped the paddle into the water and with practiced ease, urged the craft into motion.
As you can probably guess, I like to make images with my words. I'm a terrible painter and artist, so instead, I make you see what I can see in my head.
So, please, leave thoughts. Love you all,
I've not used this for quite some time. January 20th, by its reckoning. It's most likely correct.
Welp, I've got it, I might as well use it. However, most of my life seems trivial now compared to the adventure I was having just a few short months ago. I guess this is the way of things. They come, they go.
I'll most likely be using this to post random thoughts that flit through my head. This means that some posts will be many paragraphs, and some (most likely more) will be a few lines. Quips, quotations, short vignettes, etc.
I had a date on Saturday. A real date. For the first time in over a year. My last real date was December of 2007. This most recent date was a double date. One of my friends set it up. It was him and me, and our dates were two Japanese girls. Quite a good time was had by all, indeed. I just wanted to share that news.
Now, something that I wrote on the plane over to Japan.
It was one of those too-warm days in autumn that bespoke of the summer that has so recently slipped by. The breeze gently stirred the leaves that had mostly changed but clung tenaciously to the trees. The surface of the lake mottled gently under the insistent breeze that slowly pushed the lone canoe across the water. At first glance, the canoe seemed empty, but an arm appeared over the edge, moving in the lazy arc of an exaggerated stretch as the boy in the canoe awoke from his doze and gazed at the fluffy white clouds that scuttled across the almost too blue sky. He yawned, stretched again, and carefully sat up before grabbing the paddle that had lain next to him. He dipped the paddle into the water and with practiced ease, urged the craft into motion.
As you can probably guess, I like to make images with my words. I'm a terrible painter and artist, so instead, I make you see what I can see in my head.
So, please, leave thoughts. Love you all,
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Return to Normalcy?
So it's been a little over a month now since my return. Japan has now started to seem surreal, much like home seemed surreal when I was there. I find that I ask myself, "Was I really there?"
Yes, yes I was. It was an incredible experience. It will shape the rest of my life, I'm sure. Even now, I find myself launching into a story that starts with, "When I was in Japan..." with some sort of obscure and rambling anecdote following. I had an interview about Japan actually. She wrote everything down. I think it filled three or four notebook pages.
So things have settled back into my normal life. I go to class, do homework, call friends, go out, you know, all that good college kid stuff. But then I realize that this is my last year. No, not even a year, 6 months. I graduate in June. Weird.
I finally have my big computer back. This thing is huge compared to the computer that I've been using for the past 4 months. However, my car broke. Transmission. Balls. You win some, you lose some. So it goes, as I've become fond of saying. My father called me on that saying. He asked where it was from. I told him. He was suitably impressed. This, of course, launched us into a discussion of literature. Both he and I think Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse 5 are necessary reading. I added Sirens of Titan, but that one is optional. He mused about passing the made up title of something about Literature Expert or something silly to me. I'm slowly becoming my father. This isn't a bad thing, I suppose. He's healthy, happy, and about to get married actually. Weird. I'm his best man. I should start to think about a speech.
When I was talking to Dad, I told him of my job prospects. He said that it was truly unfortunate that I happen to be entering the job market at roughly the same time as he had 30+ years ago in the mid-seventies. He started to ask questions about the jobs; I didn't know how to answer. I told him what I could, but I'm just starting this real world person stuff. He agreed that this was the time for me to have an adventure. I'm single, with no real prospects, I'm used to living in small spaces, I don't have that much stuff. He figured that as long as I have enough money to pay the bills, buy food, and have some left over for a little bit of entertainment, I should be golden.
It's a little romantic to be able to tell people, "I have no idea where I'll be in 9 months." It's also incredibly nerve-wracking. Oh well,
So it goes.
Yes, yes I was. It was an incredible experience. It will shape the rest of my life, I'm sure. Even now, I find myself launching into a story that starts with, "When I was in Japan..." with some sort of obscure and rambling anecdote following. I had an interview about Japan actually. She wrote everything down. I think it filled three or four notebook pages.
So things have settled back into my normal life. I go to class, do homework, call friends, go out, you know, all that good college kid stuff. But then I realize that this is my last year. No, not even a year, 6 months. I graduate in June. Weird.
I finally have my big computer back. This thing is huge compared to the computer that I've been using for the past 4 months. However, my car broke. Transmission. Balls. You win some, you lose some. So it goes, as I've become fond of saying. My father called me on that saying. He asked where it was from. I told him. He was suitably impressed. This, of course, launched us into a discussion of literature. Both he and I think Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse 5 are necessary reading. I added Sirens of Titan, but that one is optional. He mused about passing the made up title of something about Literature Expert or something silly to me. I'm slowly becoming my father. This isn't a bad thing, I suppose. He's healthy, happy, and about to get married actually. Weird. I'm his best man. I should start to think about a speech.
When I was talking to Dad, I told him of my job prospects. He said that it was truly unfortunate that I happen to be entering the job market at roughly the same time as he had 30+ years ago in the mid-seventies. He started to ask questions about the jobs; I didn't know how to answer. I told him what I could, but I'm just starting this real world person stuff. He agreed that this was the time for me to have an adventure. I'm single, with no real prospects, I'm used to living in small spaces, I don't have that much stuff. He figured that as long as I have enough money to pay the bills, buy food, and have some left over for a little bit of entertainment, I should be golden.
It's a little romantic to be able to tell people, "I have no idea where I'll be in 9 months." It's also incredibly nerve-wracking. Oh well,
So it goes.
Monday, December 15, 2008
The Return
I'm back in America now. I need a few days to recover. It feels good to be home.
Po-tee-weet
Po-tee-weet
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Yesterday I took the JLPT. It went decently, though I don't know if I will pass. In all honesty, I don't particularly care, I guess. That's a crappy attitude to have, but I'm just worn down by this point. Worn down by all the work, trying to communicate my thoughts in a different language, and having to listen to all the drama and whining from our group. It is the same conversation, day in, and day out. It's normally about 5 specific Japanese guys who live in our dorm. It's quite frustrating, and I'm glad to leave that part of my daily life behind.
Well, it's now Monday for me. There are no classes today, it's a random holiday for the University. The rest of the world continues as normal, but the University doesn't have classes. Japan seems to have a lot of strange, random holidays for being the hardest working country in the world. Sure, you can say, "It must just seem that they're random to you, but I bet they make perfect sense to the Japanese." I'll give you some of that. I'm gonna pull out the academic calendar and go through and highlight some of the holidays we have.
University Foundation Establishment Day : 12/8
Coming of Age Day: 1/12
Respect for the Aged Day: 9/15
As mentioned in a previous post, we get the Equinoxes off. So 9/23 is no classes.
Sports Day: 10/13
Culture Day: 11/3
University Founding Day: 11/19
There are plenty more, but those were just what was on m calendar.
I got a twitter. www.twitter.com/jfriesinger Now I can annoy the internet on a whole new level. For those of you not in the know, a twitter is an internet tool that operates on the simple premise, "What are you doing?" So you update it when you feel like it. Things like "I'm going to study in the library" and other helpful things to let people know where you are and what you're doing. It's very helpful if you're into that kind of thing, and I am. However, a majority of my updates have been along the lines of "Still in Japan" or "Update: My life is trivial" Click the link for the full list.
I've been reading through the archive of Questionable Content, one of my favorite webcomics. (found at http://www.questionablecontent.net) Jeph Jacques is a very funny man. On his site, there is a link to Vagabond Jewelry (www.vagabondjewelry.net) which specializes in the forging of copper. I found it interesting and was soon purveying the wares displayed. I would like to buy a cuff to hide my MedAlert Bracelet. I don't want to stop wearing it because that seems foolish. I do however, get tired of people asking what it is, or what's on it. So If I could just have something to cover it up the majority of the time when I'm out, that would be ideal. My favorites are "Navel" and "Unchained."
I probably should get started on my stack of homework that the senseis decided to grace us with in spite of our gigantic test yesterday. I'm looking forward to seeing you all again,
Well, it's now Monday for me. There are no classes today, it's a random holiday for the University. The rest of the world continues as normal, but the University doesn't have classes. Japan seems to have a lot of strange, random holidays for being the hardest working country in the world. Sure, you can say, "It must just seem that they're random to you, but I bet they make perfect sense to the Japanese." I'll give you some of that. I'm gonna pull out the academic calendar and go through and highlight some of the holidays we have.
University Foundation Establishment Day : 12/8
Coming of Age Day: 1/12
Respect for the Aged Day: 9/15
As mentioned in a previous post, we get the Equinoxes off. So 9/23 is no classes.
Sports Day: 10/13
Culture Day: 11/3
University Founding Day: 11/19
There are plenty more, but those were just what was on m calendar.
I got a twitter. www.twitter.com/jfriesinger Now I can annoy the internet on a whole new level. For those of you not in the know, a twitter is an internet tool that operates on the simple premise, "What are you doing?" So you update it when you feel like it. Things like "I'm going to study in the library" and other helpful things to let people know where you are and what you're doing. It's very helpful if you're into that kind of thing, and I am. However, a majority of my updates have been along the lines of "Still in Japan" or "Update: My life is trivial" Click the link for the full list.
I've been reading through the archive of Questionable Content, one of my favorite webcomics. (found at http://www.questionablecontent.net) Jeph Jacques is a very funny man. On his site, there is a link to Vagabond Jewelry (www.vagabondjewelry.net) which specializes in the forging of copper. I found it interesting and was soon purveying the wares displayed. I would like to buy a cuff to hide my MedAlert Bracelet. I don't want to stop wearing it because that seems foolish. I do however, get tired of people asking what it is, or what's on it. So If I could just have something to cover it up the majority of the time when I'm out, that would be ideal. My favorites are "Navel" and "Unchained."
I probably should get started on my stack of homework that the senseis decided to grace us with in spite of our gigantic test yesterday. I'm looking forward to seeing you all again,
Thursday, December 4, 2008
そろそろ時間です。
(Soon, it is time.)
So it goes.
Monday and Tuesday were my Shogakkouhomon. It's hard to believe that something I've virtually dreaded my entire time here is done. It was almost painless. Almost. I only had to present on Monday, and my class was pretty good. They were enthusiastic and would answer my questions, and seemed to have a good time. Monday in general went well. Tuesday also went well, up until the point when I was assigned to help in the class full of little shitheads. They didn't pay attention, and they didn't answer questions. Oh well. Such is life, win some, lose some. I probably built lots of character.
Even though I'm coming down to the last week of my stay in Japan, even the last few days of class, the pace has become almost frenetic. I had my last Vocabulary class yesterday, and my final for Conversation today. The final for listening was last Thursday. I got a 93 and some change. I was pretty happy with it. The sensei's seem to be genuinely sad that Jessie and I will be returning in a little over a weeks time. 10 days from today, I will be home.
As I was saying, the pace has increased. We learned several new grammar points in the past two days, and even as I sit here, there is a worksheet that needs to be done before tomorrow. Will it get done? Most probably. No class tomorrow, though. Thank goodness for small favors, I suppose.
The JLPT is Sunday. I have to take a train to get to my testing center. It's rather inconvienent. It's at the very end of one of the subway lines, and a 15 minute walk from the station. Oh well. It will be over soon, I suppose. (For those interested, it's official name in Japanese is as follows: 日本語能力試験 transliterated: Nihongonoryokushiken Fascinating, isn't it?)
I guess that's it. Po-tee-weet.
So it goes.
Monday and Tuesday were my Shogakkouhomon. It's hard to believe that something I've virtually dreaded my entire time here is done. It was almost painless. Almost. I only had to present on Monday, and my class was pretty good. They were enthusiastic and would answer my questions, and seemed to have a good time. Monday in general went well. Tuesday also went well, up until the point when I was assigned to help in the class full of little shitheads. They didn't pay attention, and they didn't answer questions. Oh well. Such is life, win some, lose some. I probably built lots of character.
Even though I'm coming down to the last week of my stay in Japan, even the last few days of class, the pace has become almost frenetic. I had my last Vocabulary class yesterday, and my final for Conversation today. The final for listening was last Thursday. I got a 93 and some change. I was pretty happy with it. The sensei's seem to be genuinely sad that Jessie and I will be returning in a little over a weeks time. 10 days from today, I will be home.
As I was saying, the pace has increased. We learned several new grammar points in the past two days, and even as I sit here, there is a worksheet that needs to be done before tomorrow. Will it get done? Most probably. No class tomorrow, though. Thank goodness for small favors, I suppose.
The JLPT is Sunday. I have to take a train to get to my testing center. It's rather inconvienent. It's at the very end of one of the subway lines, and a 15 minute walk from the station. Oh well. It will be over soon, I suppose. (For those interested, it's official name in Japanese is as follows: 日本語能力試験 transliterated: Nihongonoryokushiken Fascinating, isn't it?)
I guess that's it. Po-tee-weet.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Weekly Update
After the veritable flurry of blogs of last (two weeks ago? Time is strange here), I gave it a miss for a while, being all blog-ed out. Now, however, I am back and refreshed and ready to write some more. (?)
Not too terribly much has happened since the last post. Classes, homework, just the daily grind. Honestly, the days start to blur together because of their sameness.
However, this weekend, Dan Leech made an appearance. Dan is an OU grad who is studying on a Fullbright grant near Tokyo, and decided to come visit us and hang out. Dan is a lot of fun. Thursday, John went to meet him at the train station while some of us went to go drink in a club room until Dan met us. Then we continued to drink in the club room. It was a good time.
Friday, I don't think anyone had classes, at least I didn't, but I was awakened from a hungover sleep by my phone ringing with Mom on the other end wishing me a Happy Thanksgiving. After she let me go, I went back to sleep for a couple of hours.
When I finally rose, I had a leisurely morning of talking on the computer, taking a nice long shower, and then getting dressed. Dan took a shower in the dorm, too. He had stayed in the club room the previous night since there aren't many hotels around here. But, anyway, a group of us went down to a local ramen shop for lunch. This place has great ramen. Unfortunately, Jessie and I (the other 3 monther) had to go early to look at King-sensei's car to make sure our bags could fit. He'll be driving us to the airport instead of us having to worry about shipping bags and navigating the trains and such. It's much better this way.
After looking at King's car, we had a little while free. Then, we went to Nagoya Dome at 3. When I say 3, I really mean that I was ready at 3, when I was told we would be leaving, then we waited for 20 minutes on someone, then caught the bus, then waited at the train station for more stragglers. If there is one thing I can't stand, it's having to wait on people. I'm normally a patient kind of guy, but if someone says, "Be ready to go at 3," it means you need to be ready to go at 3. So we didn't end up getting to the dome until around 4:30. Anyway, we went shopping. The dome contains an extremely large shopping mall. I only bought one thing, but I blew money in the arcade trying to win an Elmo head for Grandpap. I didn't get it. Came close, but the crane cheats.
We met some people in Fushimi for dinner. At the Hard Rock Cafe. It was a going away party for Jessie and myself. I say "a" because I'm sure there are many more to come. The food was delicious, if slightly pricy, but that's Hard Rock for you. Since it was a going away party, Jessie and I got balloons. Then we got dragged up to the stage to dance to "YMCA" in front of the entire restaurant. Jessie was embarassed, but I rolled with it. It was a good time. We bought some souveniers in the gift shop, then retired to a nearby bar for some drinks. Many people were to be out the whole night. The trains stop around midnight. I however, did not want to be out until 5 in the morning when the trains started again. So I returned. On an incredibly full subway car, I might add. We were literally packed in like sardines. From the subway to the railway, and from the railway, I walked home from the station, finally getting into my room around 1:30. The doors locked at midnight, so I had to knock on a window and ask someone to come open the door for me. I called Dad, talked to some friends for a little bit, and finally collapsed into bed. All in all, a good experience.
I'll be home soon. I'm excited and sad.
Not too terribly much has happened since the last post. Classes, homework, just the daily grind. Honestly, the days start to blur together because of their sameness.
However, this weekend, Dan Leech made an appearance. Dan is an OU grad who is studying on a Fullbright grant near Tokyo, and decided to come visit us and hang out. Dan is a lot of fun. Thursday, John went to meet him at the train station while some of us went to go drink in a club room until Dan met us. Then we continued to drink in the club room. It was a good time.
Friday, I don't think anyone had classes, at least I didn't, but I was awakened from a hungover sleep by my phone ringing with Mom on the other end wishing me a Happy Thanksgiving. After she let me go, I went back to sleep for a couple of hours.
When I finally rose, I had a leisurely morning of talking on the computer, taking a nice long shower, and then getting dressed. Dan took a shower in the dorm, too. He had stayed in the club room the previous night since there aren't many hotels around here. But, anyway, a group of us went down to a local ramen shop for lunch. This place has great ramen. Unfortunately, Jessie and I (the other 3 monther) had to go early to look at King-sensei's car to make sure our bags could fit. He'll be driving us to the airport instead of us having to worry about shipping bags and navigating the trains and such. It's much better this way.
After looking at King's car, we had a little while free. Then, we went to Nagoya Dome at 3. When I say 3, I really mean that I was ready at 3, when I was told we would be leaving, then we waited for 20 minutes on someone, then caught the bus, then waited at the train station for more stragglers. If there is one thing I can't stand, it's having to wait on people. I'm normally a patient kind of guy, but if someone says, "Be ready to go at 3," it means you need to be ready to go at 3. So we didn't end up getting to the dome until around 4:30. Anyway, we went shopping. The dome contains an extremely large shopping mall. I only bought one thing, but I blew money in the arcade trying to win an Elmo head for Grandpap. I didn't get it. Came close, but the crane cheats.
We met some people in Fushimi for dinner. At the Hard Rock Cafe. It was a going away party for Jessie and myself. I say "a" because I'm sure there are many more to come. The food was delicious, if slightly pricy, but that's Hard Rock for you. Since it was a going away party, Jessie and I got balloons. Then we got dragged up to the stage to dance to "YMCA" in front of the entire restaurant. Jessie was embarassed, but I rolled with it. It was a good time. We bought some souveniers in the gift shop, then retired to a nearby bar for some drinks. Many people were to be out the whole night. The trains stop around midnight. I however, did not want to be out until 5 in the morning when the trains started again. So I returned. On an incredibly full subway car, I might add. We were literally packed in like sardines. From the subway to the railway, and from the railway, I walked home from the station, finally getting into my room around 1:30. The doors locked at midnight, so I had to knock on a window and ask someone to come open the door for me. I called Dad, talked to some friends for a little bit, and finally collapsed into bed. All in all, a good experience.
I'll be home soon. I'm excited and sad.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
