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Monday, July 28, 2003
countdown
t-minus 4 days before i leave, which is kind of surreal. i've done most of my shopping, and still have to cram my shoes, a couple more packages of maple leaf cream cookies, some perfumey stuff for aunts, baseball glove, tennis racket (?), my target bag... aaand that's it..? hmmm ok.
i blew so much money this weekend, in essentially one day. it's kind of freaking me out. i have been going through money (both real and credited) like it grew on trees in my backyard. i think ots was really disappointed with the amount i had saved (only b/c i hadn't cashed out yet). i am too. a lot of it has gone towards omiyage, but i can't say that has been the only source of damage. ugh, preparing to leave has been quite taxing on the old (and IMAGINED!!) finances. at least i don't have to stress about paying reiken... ugh, poor Kris. the board should've covered that for him.
Last night was another hit to the wallet, draining me of all of my MoE paycheque. IN ONE DAY!! can i Not stress that more????? ugh. But I got my drink on, yes my long-sought after GREEN APPLE MARTINI!!! woohooooooooooooo!! it was so alcoholy, and K got a couple of pictures of me grimacing as the green apple sours and vodka flew at hyperspeed to my minute brain cells. but at least i can buy the t-shirt and say that i've been there, done that. it was nice to be out and about in grown-up land, with heels might i add. M's pants were uber-cool, which matches her uber-fantastic and loveable self, and I found out D has become a major alkie =) I really enjoyed catching up with that girl on the ride home. it was a nice night...
however the tone of the story changes as soon as i got home, to the inviting embrace of mi familia. i was immediately drawn to the hakka chow mein by a compelling force, chow mein trachter beam if you will. while i was happily munching away, ots tells me that i had better get a jump on the training, beer training that is. i had been anticipating this command for the entire weekend, and now that it had come, i felt ready. daddio poured me a mugful (of mostly froth), and left me alone to confront the yeasty brew. As i lifted the mug to my mouth, the stench overpowered me and i reeled back, almost naseous. "I can't get past the smell!!" I wailed desperately, my voice echoing in the empty kitchen, as my parents watched tiny Japanese people flutter around on the TV. i took a tiny sip and was overpowered by the smell and the bitterness.
quick, hakka chow mein to the rescue.
i could only brave another sip and then asked my mom to take it away. after she saw my horrified reaction to the foul brew, she proceeded to berate daddio for forcing me to drink, holding her alcohol-virgin-lips as damning testimony against his belief in the brew as social survival in Japan. Ots looked disappointed, but still managed to fight through it, and down the remaining beer (which was basically the whole bottle).
I too share the disappointment. I had visions of pints and wings dancing in my head. Alas, it is not to be so. God has a different plan for me, one filled with fruity-flavoured girly drinks. I am going to be SUCH a hit in Japan.
t-minus 4 days before i leave, which is kind of surreal. i've done most of my shopping, and still have to cram my shoes, a couple more packages of maple leaf cream cookies, some perfumey stuff for aunts, baseball glove, tennis racket (?), my target bag... aaand that's it..? hmmm ok.
i blew so much money this weekend, in essentially one day. it's kind of freaking me out. i have been going through money (both real and credited) like it grew on trees in my backyard. i think ots was really disappointed with the amount i had saved (only b/c i hadn't cashed out yet). i am too. a lot of it has gone towards omiyage, but i can't say that has been the only source of damage. ugh, preparing to leave has been quite taxing on the old (and IMAGINED!!) finances. at least i don't have to stress about paying reiken... ugh, poor Kris. the board should've covered that for him.
Last night was another hit to the wallet, draining me of all of my MoE paycheque. IN ONE DAY!! can i Not stress that more????? ugh. But I got my drink on, yes my long-sought after GREEN APPLE MARTINI!!! woohooooooooooooo!! it was so alcoholy, and K got a couple of pictures of me grimacing as the green apple sours and vodka flew at hyperspeed to my minute brain cells. but at least i can buy the t-shirt and say that i've been there, done that. it was nice to be out and about in grown-up land, with heels might i add. M's pants were uber-cool, which matches her uber-fantastic and loveable self, and I found out D has become a major alkie =) I really enjoyed catching up with that girl on the ride home. it was a nice night...
however the tone of the story changes as soon as i got home, to the inviting embrace of mi familia. i was immediately drawn to the hakka chow mein by a compelling force, chow mein trachter beam if you will. while i was happily munching away, ots tells me that i had better get a jump on the training, beer training that is. i had been anticipating this command for the entire weekend, and now that it had come, i felt ready. daddio poured me a mugful (of mostly froth), and left me alone to confront the yeasty brew. As i lifted the mug to my mouth, the stench overpowered me and i reeled back, almost naseous. "I can't get past the smell!!" I wailed desperately, my voice echoing in the empty kitchen, as my parents watched tiny Japanese people flutter around on the TV. i took a tiny sip and was overpowered by the smell and the bitterness.
quick, hakka chow mein to the rescue.
i could only brave another sip and then asked my mom to take it away. after she saw my horrified reaction to the foul brew, she proceeded to berate daddio for forcing me to drink, holding her alcohol-virgin-lips as damning testimony against his belief in the brew as social survival in Japan. Ots looked disappointed, but still managed to fight through it, and down the remaining beer (which was basically the whole bottle).
I too share the disappointment. I had visions of pints and wings dancing in my head. Alas, it is not to be so. God has a different plan for me, one filled with fruity-flavoured girly drinks. I am going to be SUCH a hit in Japan.
Saturday, July 19, 2003
choy-ism
I found a couple of interesting books at work today, one of them being an anthology edited by Rocio Davis... I forget what it's called right now, but I read bits and pieces of an interview they did with Wayson Choy. One of the really interesting parts of the interview was when he spoke about writing about/to a multicultural audience. He coined the phrase 'intercultural' in place of multicultural, asserting that in Canada at least, society is moving away from multiculturalism, which is a rather static entity, and towards interculturalism, which is a more dynamic state, characterized by the free exchange of information. I couldn't agree more Mr Choy! It only seems natural after all. Once a state has evolved to the point where there are a multitude of cultures co-existing in a tolerable/peaceful manner, there will obviously be interactions between the cultures, which can only lead to the emergence of fused cultures. It'll be interesting to see how far this melding will go, not only in Canada but the rest of the world. exciting!
boooooooooooo i don't want to go to work tomorrow, but the Tibetan concert is tomorrow, which should be cool.
Man, i have been reading The Prisoner of Azkabar (Harry Potter #3) for the past... six hours. That is one good book, but that also means that my marking has gone unmarked, my pants have gone unmeasured, and that I am needlessly killing time writing a blog.
but...joie de vivre is indeed at Hogwarts =)
I found a couple of interesting books at work today, one of them being an anthology edited by Rocio Davis... I forget what it's called right now, but I read bits and pieces of an interview they did with Wayson Choy. One of the really interesting parts of the interview was when he spoke about writing about/to a multicultural audience. He coined the phrase 'intercultural' in place of multicultural, asserting that in Canada at least, society is moving away from multiculturalism, which is a rather static entity, and towards interculturalism, which is a more dynamic state, characterized by the free exchange of information. I couldn't agree more Mr Choy! It only seems natural after all. Once a state has evolved to the point where there are a multitude of cultures co-existing in a tolerable/peaceful manner, there will obviously be interactions between the cultures, which can only lead to the emergence of fused cultures. It'll be interesting to see how far this melding will go, not only in Canada but the rest of the world. exciting!
boooooooooooo i don't want to go to work tomorrow, but the Tibetan concert is tomorrow, which should be cool.
Man, i have been reading The Prisoner of Azkabar (Harry Potter #3) for the past... six hours. That is one good book, but that also means that my marking has gone unmarked, my pants have gone unmeasured, and that I am needlessly killing time writing a blog.
but...joie de vivre is indeed at Hogwarts =)
Friday, July 18, 2003
playlist
so two weeks and a couple of days till I leave. freaky! i attempted to write out a list of songs i'd like to bring to Japan. but as usual, when vital info is needed, my gray matter fails me. thankfully kathy (and her cable-friendly computer) was there to bail me out a bit. I think though, under her influence, it's a bit too heavy on the mellow-plaintive-rock genre. What's going to happen when I reach my third month in Japan i.e. the rejection stage in culture shock??? I can't be listening to the Verve and Travis??? Thinkhappythoughtsthinkhappythoughts... something along the lines of barry manilow lite? ooohhh Burt Bacharach... classic. mod hipsters in their technicolour jumpsuits swinging around lamppoles? who could ask for anything more? Hey, maybe musical numbers... nothing from Jekyll and Hyde and the like. this is going to be a lot harder than i thought, esp since i have no mp3 playlist on this computer.
ENYA??
no, too ethereal. will make me think of pixie dust and homesick for TSAR.
oh yeeeah.. i went to john mayer's site, and you can now PREORDER his NEW CD.... eeeeeeeeeee and a half! i knew it was him singing a brand new song when i was at that pub place.
shoot, i forgot about SADE!!!!
this is the most random blog ever!!
i'm sneezing and remy is being v.random too!
aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
so two weeks and a couple of days till I leave. freaky! i attempted to write out a list of songs i'd like to bring to Japan. but as usual, when vital info is needed, my gray matter fails me. thankfully kathy (and her cable-friendly computer) was there to bail me out a bit. I think though, under her influence, it's a bit too heavy on the mellow-plaintive-rock genre. What's going to happen when I reach my third month in Japan i.e. the rejection stage in culture shock??? I can't be listening to the Verve and Travis??? Thinkhappythoughtsthinkhappythoughts... something along the lines of barry manilow lite? ooohhh Burt Bacharach... classic. mod hipsters in their technicolour jumpsuits swinging around lamppoles? who could ask for anything more? Hey, maybe musical numbers... nothing from Jekyll and Hyde and the like. this is going to be a lot harder than i thought, esp since i have no mp3 playlist on this computer.
ENYA??
no, too ethereal. will make me think of pixie dust and homesick for TSAR.
oh yeeeah.. i went to john mayer's site, and you can now PREORDER his NEW CD.... eeeeeeeeeee and a half! i knew it was him singing a brand new song when i was at that pub place.
shoot, i forgot about SADE!!!!
this is the most random blog ever!!
i'm sneezing and remy is being v.random too!
aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
i wanna live forever...
since Canadian Idol has been sucking of late, my voyeuristic attentions have been diverted to Fame, the cheesy search-for-triple-threat reality show. It really isn't cheesy, in terms of concept, but it's all of the external additions that make it campy i.e. Carnie Wilson as an "industry expert"?; the forced banter between Joey Fatone and Debbie Allen; the catty snippets they show from the contestants. sigh. but out of cheesiness shines two performers of fame-tastic proportions: Serena Henry and Harlemm Lee
a girl with a beautiful voice that kills everytime... her rendition of Bonnie Raitt's I Can't Make You Love Me, stunned me....
dynamic performer and soo inventive. he is so awsome to watch, passion oozes from this boy's pores. and a chinese boy named Harlemm? heheheh
since Canadian Idol has been sucking of late, my voyeuristic attentions have been diverted to Fame, the cheesy search-for-triple-threat reality show. It really isn't cheesy, in terms of concept, but it's all of the external additions that make it campy i.e. Carnie Wilson as an "industry expert"?; the forced banter between Joey Fatone and Debbie Allen; the catty snippets they show from the contestants. sigh. but out of cheesiness shines two performers of fame-tastic proportions: Serena Henry and Harlemm Lee
a girl with a beautiful voice that kills everytime... her rendition of Bonnie Raitt's I Can't Make You Love Me, stunned me....
dynamic performer and soo inventive. he is so awsome to watch, passion oozes from this boy's pores. and a chinese boy named Harlemm? heheheh
over the top
so today has been a major clothes day for me... kind of insane actually. i started to sort through my clothes, deciding which needing repairing (hemming), which i was going to leave behind (looks ick), and which were definitely making the trek across the pacific. so two cranberries' cds later, I've gone through my work clothes and some bummy ones. Then I *unfortunately* become distracted from the task at hand with a call from Kathy, promising me great books at a discount through Wendy. How could I say no? If i can't work at Chapters, I might as well hang out with people who work at Chapters no?
An hour or so later, I leave with about 90 dollars worth of omiyage for the teachers at the different schools, and Mary's birthday present. Every cheap and cute item that Chapters had to offer, I took. The discount shelves were decimated man. Then we went over to the Jacob outlet, for a harmless perusal, and 20 minutes later, I walk out with my long sought-after black cardigan and...
A SUIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
yes folks, the SUIT has been found!!!!! in the last place that I looked!!!!!!!!!! ah forget you Yorkdale/Fairview/Eaton Centre/WALDEN GALLERIA!!!! mama's come home and she ain't leaving fo a long time, fo sure! it doesn't make me look like a hulking beast and is SOO super comfy thanks to special Jacob technology... which I am sure every other designer is aware of... so where's the love people? WHERE'S THE LOVE?????????
but despite all of my retail triumphs, i still feel like puking because of the massive guilt i.e. insurmountable materialism. i felt like i was going to heave chunks after buffalo in a big way. Thank you GOD for making it possible to return that monstrous suit (both in cut and price). sigh.
Hugo is coming to service on Sunday which should be fun =) and we have 2 games afterwards at Wigmore. That is a really intimidating park, along with York Mills. Augh so much to do!!! eeeeeeeee... at least I don't have to go dtown to Lush tomorrow. sigh, can you imagine, me lugging like 20-25 bars of coconut bananaberry soap home on the subway??? not fun.
and so ends my foray into frivolity.
fins.
so today has been a major clothes day for me... kind of insane actually. i started to sort through my clothes, deciding which needing repairing (hemming), which i was going to leave behind (looks ick), and which were definitely making the trek across the pacific. so two cranberries' cds later, I've gone through my work clothes and some bummy ones. Then I *unfortunately* become distracted from the task at hand with a call from Kathy, promising me great books at a discount through Wendy. How could I say no? If i can't work at Chapters, I might as well hang out with people who work at Chapters no?
An hour or so later, I leave with about 90 dollars worth of omiyage for the teachers at the different schools, and Mary's birthday present. Every cheap and cute item that Chapters had to offer, I took. The discount shelves were decimated man. Then we went over to the Jacob outlet, for a harmless perusal, and 20 minutes later, I walk out with my long sought-after black cardigan and...
A SUIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
yes folks, the SUIT has been found!!!!! in the last place that I looked!!!!!!!!!! ah forget you Yorkdale/Fairview/Eaton Centre/WALDEN GALLERIA!!!! mama's come home and she ain't leaving fo a long time, fo sure! it doesn't make me look like a hulking beast and is SOO super comfy thanks to special Jacob technology... which I am sure every other designer is aware of... so where's the love people? WHERE'S THE LOVE?????????
but despite all of my retail triumphs, i still feel like puking because of the massive guilt i.e. insurmountable materialism. i felt like i was going to heave chunks after buffalo in a big way. Thank you GOD for making it possible to return that monstrous suit (both in cut and price). sigh.
Hugo is coming to service on Sunday which should be fun =) and we have 2 games afterwards at Wigmore. That is a really intimidating park, along with York Mills. Augh so much to do!!! eeeeeeeee... at least I don't have to go dtown to Lush tomorrow. sigh, can you imagine, me lugging like 20-25 bars of coconut bananaberry soap home on the subway??? not fun.
and so ends my foray into frivolity.
fins.
Wednesday, July 09, 2003
goodness
it's so late, and i should be sleeping in order to get up on time... but i can't. i finally finished putting up all of the captions for the buffalo trip. i think they turned out pretty well... coherent in most spots =)
i had a really good day today.. not that any day of this summer has been especially hard or traumatic (right Liz?? thanks again). i finally finished reading Romans this morning on the bus. Yay! I noticed when Paul was listing people's names, there were quite a few women mentioned... yay Godly women =) that's super encouraging.
After work Mariko and i went to see Whale Rider at the Cumberland theatre. Yorkville looks so spiffy this time of year, and also in the middle of winter when all of the Christmas lights are out. Anyways, the movie just totally blew me away. At one point I was actually thisclose to sobbing OUT LOUD, that's how emotional I became. Man, I think I (genuinely) cried more in this movie than Titanic. This movie was so gorgeous, emotions were beautifully expressed, character arcs, everything you could ask for. New Zealand looks so picturesque. Top 5 of all time for sure. Wow. Still amazed by it even now.
Afterwards we went to dinner at New Generation on Bloor and Bathurst. I had some GOOOOOD udon. I tried a piece of nasubi tempura from Mariko and it was gooooood eating too. Good food makes me so, very happy. It's kind of sad that I have never really hung out in the Bloor West area before. There is so much stuff there, good places to eat, make your own... just a really nice area to chill in during the summer. Summer really is great, but I still like the comfort of winter. Like Lorelai says, it's all about the sweaters, hats, mitts and snow.
but summer is still goodness in my book.
it's so late, and i should be sleeping in order to get up on time... but i can't. i finally finished putting up all of the captions for the buffalo trip. i think they turned out pretty well... coherent in most spots =)
i had a really good day today.. not that any day of this summer has been especially hard or traumatic (right Liz?? thanks again). i finally finished reading Romans this morning on the bus. Yay! I noticed when Paul was listing people's names, there were quite a few women mentioned... yay Godly women =) that's super encouraging.
After work Mariko and i went to see Whale Rider at the Cumberland theatre. Yorkville looks so spiffy this time of year, and also in the middle of winter when all of the Christmas lights are out. Anyways, the movie just totally blew me away. At one point I was actually thisclose to sobbing OUT LOUD, that's how emotional I became. Man, I think I (genuinely) cried more in this movie than Titanic. This movie was so gorgeous, emotions were beautifully expressed, character arcs, everything you could ask for. New Zealand looks so picturesque. Top 5 of all time for sure. Wow. Still amazed by it even now.
Afterwards we went to dinner at New Generation on Bloor and Bathurst. I had some GOOOOOD udon. I tried a piece of nasubi tempura from Mariko and it was gooooood eating too. Good food makes me so, very happy. It's kind of sad that I have never really hung out in the Bloor West area before. There is so much stuff there, good places to eat, make your own... just a really nice area to chill in during the summer. Summer really is great, but I still like the comfort of winter. Like Lorelai says, it's all about the sweaters, hats, mitts and snow.
but summer is still goodness in my book.
Friday, July 04, 2003
comfort zones
so i finally tried indian food yesterday at kama, on king street. the most interesting moment of the whole dinner was not when i deciphered what the sets of saffron coloured statues were actually doing, but it was looking down at one of the metal trays and actually being a bit scared to try the food. i can't remember ever being scared to try food before, i only have love for food (except for evil natto), and here i was, in the middle of a restaurant, one that i had gone to willingly, hesitating. it made me wonder what other areas of my life have i become so deeply ensconced in comfort that i can't see beyond their padded walls?? too extreme of a metaphor? i don't think so... after all, isn't it crazy to live only for comfort? to not venture out of comfort zones? is this a realization that is to be translated into current situations? gah.
btw, the molten lava coloured entree which i hesitated in front of turned out to be one of my faves.
**************************
i just finished reading the JET daily digest for today, and one of the girls revealed the true nature of japan's clothing sizes, in real terms. according to her, if you're not a size 2, w/out breasts and a bum, then you'll have trouble finding clothes. even though reading that was pretty depressing, it was kind of a relief as well. finally, someone had concretely revealed the truth as it were about women's clothing to me, and none of that "oh you'll find stuff there" crap that I can get from my mom. my self-esteem has never really been this unstable before, as i consider myself in Japan, the land of the small and cute. here, i'm average, there, i'll be above-average and i think i'll become extra suspicious/sensitive of my size there. well, actually, without a doubt. which sucks i know, that i feel like i have to conform to the asian standard, especially when i have such a good, invigorating, i-feel-strong-and-healthy days like today (i ran TWICE!! voluntarily!). God, please help me get over this. I know I am wonderfully and fearfully made, but I forget that whenever I imagine scenarios where I feel completely alien. geez, i should just strap on a bunch of violinists to my back so they can come with me wherever i go. sigh.
hey, this'll be like stepping out of my clothing comfort zone?
****************************
music i need to get/"make" for japan:
-worship cd from susan
-nichole nordemann
-john mayer, inside wants out
-michelle branch hotel paper
-raphael siddiq, solo cd
-rick astley songs
-coldplay's first album
-cranberries' albums
-make mix cds
loooooooooooorrrrrrrrrd it's hot in here. note to self: it's good training, it's good training....
so i finally tried indian food yesterday at kama, on king street. the most interesting moment of the whole dinner was not when i deciphered what the sets of saffron coloured statues were actually doing, but it was looking down at one of the metal trays and actually being a bit scared to try the food. i can't remember ever being scared to try food before, i only have love for food (except for evil natto), and here i was, in the middle of a restaurant, one that i had gone to willingly, hesitating. it made me wonder what other areas of my life have i become so deeply ensconced in comfort that i can't see beyond their padded walls?? too extreme of a metaphor? i don't think so... after all, isn't it crazy to live only for comfort? to not venture out of comfort zones? is this a realization that is to be translated into current situations? gah.
btw, the molten lava coloured entree which i hesitated in front of turned out to be one of my faves.
**************************
i just finished reading the JET daily digest for today, and one of the girls revealed the true nature of japan's clothing sizes, in real terms. according to her, if you're not a size 2, w/out breasts and a bum, then you'll have trouble finding clothes. even though reading that was pretty depressing, it was kind of a relief as well. finally, someone had concretely revealed the truth as it were about women's clothing to me, and none of that "oh you'll find stuff there" crap that I can get from my mom. my self-esteem has never really been this unstable before, as i consider myself in Japan, the land of the small and cute. here, i'm average, there, i'll be above-average and i think i'll become extra suspicious/sensitive of my size there. well, actually, without a doubt. which sucks i know, that i feel like i have to conform to the asian standard, especially when i have such a good, invigorating, i-feel-strong-and-healthy days like today (i ran TWICE!! voluntarily!). God, please help me get over this. I know I am wonderfully and fearfully made, but I forget that whenever I imagine scenarios where I feel completely alien. geez, i should just strap on a bunch of violinists to my back so they can come with me wherever i go. sigh.
hey, this'll be like stepping out of my clothing comfort zone?
****************************
music i need to get/"make" for japan:
-worship cd from susan
-nichole nordemann
-john mayer, inside wants out
-michelle branch hotel paper
-raphael siddiq, solo cd
-rick astley songs
-coldplay's first album
-cranberries' albums
-make mix cds
loooooooooooorrrrrrrrrd it's hot in here. note to self: it's good training, it's good training....
