yakihito

A Sign of Maturity?

2008-10-15T05:39:09-07:00

That, my friends, is the crown of my head. Looking pretty sparse there. Me no likey.

I first noticed something was amiss earlier this year, when I kept finding hair on my pillow. That's how it starts, right? Stray hairs deposited after a night's rest. Hmm.

Then it was in the bathroom. I'd put product in my hair and inevitably some would come back to me in my hands. But still, no cause for alarm.

Then, this past summer, I realized the top of my head was always sunburned. Why is this, I wondered? What possibly could be the reason?

It's obvious, of course. I'm ~~thinning~~ going bald up top. When I first took this picture I was pretty frazzled but now I've got much deeper and more terrifying concerns, like my Japanese speaking and reading classes. Premature hair loss is nothing compared to level 4 Japanese at Oita University.

On the bright side, if I ever decide to become a monk I won't have to do much trimming. Hey, at least they have good beer.

Oita Port

2008-10-13T16:23:08-07:00

I actually saw the water the other day. Took a walk out to West Oita (about an hour) and came across a small park with a few hip shops and restaurants. And water. The little light houses reminded me of the Ozu movie, "Floating Weeds."

Also, I have lots of stuff to blog about but I'm pretty busy studying. I'm playing catch up with kanji so I can actually learn new kanji and thus not feel like a dolt in reading class. I must have studied for 8 hours yesterday. But at some point I'll manage to get out a detailed post, like how I'm going bald...

Pungent Foods

2008-10-11T20:07:05-07:00

Now featuring spicy limburger, Chinese fermented tofu, durian, and tonkotsu ramen.

Pearly Gates

2008-10-10T22:37:41-07:00

Not sure why everyone's trying so hard to get into heaven. Doesn't look like much to me.

It is for rent though, so maybe the next tenant will be able to make a go of it.

Theremin Kit

2008-10-09T14:22:37-07:00

For some reason I'm awake at 5:30 in the morning, I'm nervous about classes (which are really hard), and I have super-itchy mosquito bites on my ankles. But on the good side, I have a theremin!

The theremin is the world's first electronic musical instrument. You play it by waving your hands around two metal poles, one for tone and one for volume. You may not know it by name but you've probably heard the sound. It was used to make flying saucer noises in old science fiction movies, and the Beach Boys used one in "Good Vibrations."

This one here came out of a kit from the same people that made the synthesizer I wrote about a few months ago. It's kind of a bitch to play—you can make some pretty wacky noises but actual music is really difficult. Also there's no volume rod, only a plastic bar you pull out to turn it on. But for around $20 it's not bad!

Now if it could only make these bug bites stop itching.

I Can't Decide

2008-10-09T04:50:25-07:00

I'll take Examination of Urine for $200, Alex.

One Day at a Time

2008-10-08T22:35:36-07:00

That's a carton of wine.

Well, if the box is telling me to drink a box a day, who am I to argue?

Shilky and Shexy

2008-10-08T15:39:38-07:00

No speech impediment jokes, please.

It's a New Semester

2008-10-08T02:35:23-07:00

Not many posts lately. School has started again. New students, new classes, new... humiliations. All par for the course.

I'm happy to say I'm now in level 4 of Japanese. This is classified as "upper intermediate/advanced." That's right: advanced. Advanced ass-kicking, advanced shaming, advanced profuse sweating and terrified blank staring. But hey, I'm the only American in my class. Moving on up.

I also have two less classes this semester. I'm trying to avoid getting slammed at finals time.

Here's my schedule:

Tuesdays

3rd period: Japanese Pop Culture (Manga and Anime)

4th period: Political Media

Wednesdays

1st period: Japanese Speaking

3rd period: Discover Oita

Thursdays

2nd period: Japanese Reading and Writing

Fridays

2nd period: Japanese Grammar

Is that a nice schedule or what? Only one 1st period class, and only one class on Thursday and Friday.

Yeah, that's only six classes. Very observant. My seventh is an independent study project. I've been given the go-ahead to create subtitles for a Japanese movie. I'm going to do a comedy called Maiko Haaan!!!. I haven't seen it but it's supposed to be hilarious. I'm actually really looking forward to this project.

So there you go.

Oh, I've set my return date. January 29 of next year. Coming up fast. I'm leaving Oita a little early because SF State starts its spring semester in January. I have to re-schedule a few finals here, and arrange with teachers in SF to come late, but it's doable.

Oh oh, and I got my grades from last semester. All A's except for one B. Not bad, if I do say so myself (and I just did).

Bring on the terrifying classes!

The Latest in Men's Fashion

2008-10-08T02:20:22-07:00

Pustule, for men.