Tuesday, October 25, 2005

pie chou


A variation on the classic Japanese chou cream (シュウクリーム), a pie chou!

Normal chou cream (named for the French word for cabbage) are more like cream puffs and do not have such a crusty outside as this pie chou. They're also normally much smaller.

Monday, October 24, 2005

literature

I've read exactly 10 of TIME magazine's top 100 novels
Animal Farm; George Orwell
The Bridge of San Luis Rey; Thornton Wilder
The Catcher in the Rye; J.D. Salinger
The Grapes of Wrath; John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby; F. Scott Fitzgerald

Invisible Man; Ralph Ellison
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe; C.S. Lewis
Lord of the Flies; William Golding
The Lord of the Rings; J.R.R. Tolkien
1984; George Orwell
To Kill a Mockingbird; Harper Lee

I would be upset, except for the fact that a lot of books that I think are brilliant weren't on the list.

Sunday, October 23, 2005

gross!

The fact that a url like joinArnold.com exists makes me gag.

吐く (* ̄□)ミ.・:。:・。

I spent a couple hours researching all the measures etc. up for election in California this November.

A lot of interesting propositions on the ballot. I'm glad I voted!

Saturday, October 22, 2005

goals

A goal should be a compromise between what you think you can do and what you need to do.

It's a good way to push yourself.

Friday, October 21, 2005

loud voices

Loud voices in public are rather noticeable in Japan.

Today some kids were yelling at the ticket gate of a train station, and all the commuters nearby were staring around nervously. It was kind of odd. Of course, it's not such a big train station, but I just ignored it and went on my way to work.

People are pretty quiet inside the trains too. Only rarely are there loud conversations. Half of the time the people talking loudly are foreigners, haha.

Mystery of life: why can't I sit up straight? After a couple minutes I end up slouching in a position that takes as much effort as sitting up straight.

Friday, October 14, 2005

tis a small world

That is one overused title, but oh well.

I ran into a classmate from college yesterday. I still can't get over the shock. I saw him in Shinjuku, of all places! Only the biggest commuter-filled station in all of Japan. We apparently take the same line to work though, so I ran into him at the ticket gate for the line. Opposite directions though. How totally random! He's the one who saw me; I was in my usual morning daze where I have to focus all my attention on getting to work as fast as possible. I'm not really late, it's just amusing to rush. Especially when everyone is running around, it's best just to get in and out of Shinjuku as fast as possible.

On a side note, as an American, it sounds odd to say "I went to University" when my school is called an Institute. Semantics?

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

vibrating phone

I learned today that having your cell phone start vibrating in your pocket in the middle of a packed train during rush hour is kind of embarrassing. The people around me were wondering if they had a call, or just wondering what the heck was vibrating.

σ(^_^;)アセアセ...

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Calvin and Hobbes

"The Complete Calvin and Hobbes" is now out. Every panel ever published! ほしい。。。

From The Washington Post:

Calvin sounded like a 6-year-old psychotic on Ritalin one day and a Yale lit grad the next.


It's sad that Bill Watterson stopped the comic, but what he left us with is so brilliant that I can't complain.

And his lack of commercialism is refreshing. Look at the Harry Potter author or the creator of Dilbert. Completely different.

Calvin and Hobbes are the best!

Saturday, October 01, 2005

two months left and counting...

Was very impressed by 日本語の道 and am going to try to emulate the Japanese study blog.

後二ヶ月まで日本語能力試験一級の受験日です。

それを考えずに毎日頑張って勉強します。
ファイト!

( ..)φメモメモ
φ(..)メモメモ
( ..)φメモメモ
φ(..)メモメモ

2 months left until the day of the Japanese Proficiency Language Test (level 1).

Ignoring the looming deadline, I'll work hard and study every day.

Ah, this is why I don't usually write in both Japanese and English. How do you say "looming deadline" in Japanese? 「考えずに」is just "I won't think about it" or "ignoring that" as far as I know.

And the ALC dictionary comes through! すばらしい!

# looming deadline
迫り来る期日{きじつ}[締め切り日{しめきりび}]
# face a looming deadline for
~の締め切りに追われる


try 1) 締め切りに追われることを考えずに頑張って毎日勉強します。
try 2) 締め切りに追われることを無視して、頑張って毎日勉強します。

For some reason I like 「考えずに」.何故でしょうか?