I feel like it was just a few months ago that a new prime minister was announced in Japan.
I wonder if this will make it easier or harder for me to try and get a job in Japan again.
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Archive for August, 2009
I do NOT have a type!! Take THAT, Rob!
This is gonna sound really weird, but I just remembered that I’m in England and have not kept my end of the bargain about being allowed back into the country. (Admittedly, this condition was prescribed to me in regards to Japan, but I seem to recall Al allowing it to be extended to England.)
I can’t help but laugh a little at this because if what Rob told me a couple years ago in Japan (and oh man, it really is plural now) is true, I should be like an expert by now…or at least made good on my end of the deal.
Sorry. I’m laughing. And going straight to hell.
(Does anybody get that reference?)
One the things that annoys the hell out of me about myself is my inability to figure out what it is I want. In this instance, I’m talking about my next career move. It entertains me on some level that I can’t hold down a job. I don’t know what this actually says about me, but I’m sure it’s not all that great. In any case, I am once again unemployed. At least this time, it’s of mine own volition.
The past six weeks have been interesting. I decided I was going to go home, then I decided I was going to give it another shot; I resigned myself to going home two weeks ago, and then last week I was ten seconds away from having a job until Christmas. As of Thursday, it’s back to the States again.
Certain circumstances arose which led to Sally offering me a temporary position at the academy. I say “temporary” because she knew I resigned for a reason. My situation changed, of course, and so had the situation at the school. It seemed like a mutually beneficial arrangement until Thursday when the work permit fell through. I’m not overly busted up about it because it may have been a blessing in disguise. In sooth, the only reason I agreed to return to the academy was because of my respect and loyalty to Sally.
And once again, the work permit situation has gotten in the way. (Only this time, without my girl with the green.)
I’m okay with the situation…but mildly unsettled. I can’t help but laugh at myself for picking the absolute BEST time to try and find a job in America — for the record, I am, of course, wearing full body armor! I am not a moron! I mean, for the record, I am aware that the American school year has started.
And yet, for some reason, I’m not freaking out. This whole unemployment does not twist my stomach into knots the way my first term at the academy did. Like I said, I seem to be okay. My current decisions mostly revolve around traveling and trying to make it to a few places before moving home. Sometimes I wish I were more like Kat. She’s in Australia now, after traipsing around South East Asia. I’m still amazed at how she managed to pull that off. My friend Fiona is working her way around the world. I have sufficient enough funds and I more or less have the means (easyjet is a beautiful, beautiful thing)…so what’s holding me back?
My girl with the green is not in America. I don’t know how or why I know that, it’s just a feeling. I went to Japan looking for something; I came to England for “something awesome to happen to me”…now where? And why the hell isn’t it in America? (My life would be so much easier if it was in America.)
Al, if you’re reading this, fancy a trip to Decatur? (Provided I make it home in the next few weeks.) 
I haven’t posted in this section in quite some time. To my great misfortune, I haven’t been able to fight nearly as much as I would like. However, with the summer holidays being what they are, I have managed to attend class a little more regularly.
One of the things that I’ve noticed is my circle…or lack thereof. It frustrates me to no end that I cannot seem to conjure it with the same ease as I had in Japan. I realize that it’s mine own block on it, and I’m trying to find ways to unlock it. There are actually quite a few mental hindrances that I’m aware of that I need to unleash, otherwise, I’ll never grow as a duelist.
I need to do some serious meditation on this. I know that’s something completely mental as in I probably don’t need any kind of meditation or what not…but that’s the place I take it. It gives me a sense of honor and comfort and so that’s where I need to go with it.
Phil came along with me tonight. I told him in no uncertain terms that I wouldn’t hesitate to kill him. It’s funny how my style and mentality towards this has changed since I first started studying swordsmanship. I used to regard this with so much honor; I’d never dream of fighting “dirty” as it were. Now I’m all about using everything to my advantage to win. Phil admitted to me that he was reluctant to hit me. After he’d made such a confession, I couldn’t help but think I would use that to my advantage should we ever square off to spar.
Then again, when I have a sword in my hand, and I have the right opponent, I go to a place most other people think is crazy. Jonathan understood, so did most of the people I ever sparred with. I think it’s something one has to want for themselves to truly experience it.
When I did remember my circle, ever so briefly ( ’twas a mere flash honestly), Dave easily stepped inside. That frustrated me to no end, but to my credit (or folly), I didn’t rush him and die. Instead, I had to think before I acted. It still resulted in me getting stabbed, but it was not recklessly so. That’s a step up for me.
Thursday, I’m going in for a longsword session. This oughta be cute, since I haven’t picked up a longsword in months!
The first time I saw her, she was wearing a green backpack. We were in Chicago. I was sitting by “The Bean” in Millennium Park, killing time until my UK visa was ready. I looked up and there she was. She was clearly a tourist to the Windy City. She was alone, and I wondered if she was traveling alone or if she just separated from her traveling companions. Something about that positively fascinated me. I couldn’t help but watch her. She greatly impressed me for some reason. She purposefully walked up to people and asked them to take her picture. I couldn’t help but secretly hope she would ask me.
The second time I saw her, she was wearing a green coat. We were in London. I had just come out of the Leicester Square Tube Station and there she was. She was standing against a black lamp post, wearing an expression I can only describe as “perturbed”. She was clearly waiting for someone. I wondered vaguely if she had been waiting long. I couldn’t help but look back.
The third time I saw her, she was wearing a green jumper. We were in Prague. I was walking past the Church of Our Lady before Týn and there she was. She was sitting on the steps; I couldn’t tell if she was alone or waiting for someone. It was the shortest time between us, but I couldn’t help but remember her.
I wonder if there will be a fourth time.
Something about the month of August must scream “Declare your heartness for Felicia Day” or something because once again, I would like to point out that I heart Felicia Day. (I made a similar declaration last August it seems.)
I just watched the “un-aired” Dollhouse episode Link SPOILER ALERT Epitaph One and couldn’t help but grin. (I’m amused by the fact that it aired here in England but not in the States.) I mean, I knew Felicia Day was going to guest in the episode, but it was still cool to watch.
Seriously, if I could hang out with anyone from the Jossverse, I would totally pick Felicia Day. I know y’all thought it would be Eliza Dushku, but Felicia Day scores way high on my list because she’s a geek. (And we all know how I’m not very good at socializing with non-geek folk.)
Yup. I officially declare August “Felicia Day Month”. Now I’m gonna go watch The Guild Season 2.
What a pesky little critter you are, Comma!
I have a copy of Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style and try to refer to it when needed. I have definitely embraced the serial, or Oxford, comma and try to adhere to the rules set out in the book.
Unfortunately for me, the comma is still troublesome. I have recently been asked to proofread some papers for my landlady’s daughter, and I find that I want to add a comma everywhere. Why am I so comma happy when it seems like no one else is? It makes me self-conscious about my comma usage and I start to think that my writing is littered with comma splices. I know the old “if you take a breath, put a comma” rule, but I also remember reading somewhere recently that that old adage should not always be employed (or at all). I try to look at the sentence construction in terms of clauses, but even then I’m not confident. (See what I mean? Should I use the comma before “but” or should I not?)
This just reiterates my point from my previous post; I need to read more books on language.
Oh! Unrelated to comma usage, but relevant to style; I recently found the answer to my “no sooner had…” problem. The convention should be used with “than”, as in “No sooner had my mother come home than my friends had to leave.” Sure it doesn’t seem right, for whatever reason, but it is apparently the correct usage.
I just thought I’d share.
“The Lost Chronicles” is going to happen. I don’t blog because the orderly part of my brain does not like thing to be out of chronological order. But adhering to that part of my brain has prevented me from blogging at all. And dammit now I want more coffee!
Crisis averted. I really do hate that there’s no Denny’s or something equally awesome hereabouts. But I digress…
I have decided that I really need to go back to school. “Gladly would he learn and teach” is very applicable when it comes to me. Although, I’m much more interested on the “learn” part right now. As you can see from my Now Reading section, I’m into “The English Language” by Robert Burchfield. I didn’t seek it out, it found me. I think it adds to why I’m a fan of Winchester so much. At the time that I write this post, I am on Chapter 9: The Syntactical Arrangement of Words; I am one chapter away from finishing the book. What is up with that? Reading a text book from cover to cover is something I haven’t done in a while. I also consider this book “fun” reading. This fact amuses me to no end.
It is in reading this book that reminded me that I am a perpetual student. I berate myself for forgetting things like phonemes and dipthongs and it frustrates me to no end that I often have to look up some of the terms that were once readily accessible in my memory. Now I feel like that section of my brain has been filled up with useless information, like knowing that “Zitch Dog” is a game Ted and Marshall played on their way back from college (introduced in Season 2) and is used again in Season 4 when the gang is driving up to Shelter Island for Ted and Stella’s wedding.
Anyway, the point is, I really want to go back to uni. I also feel the need to read another language book, preferably one published more recently than the 1985. I was given Damp Squid as a gift by my line manager, and I look forward to reading it, but I also feel like I should read more. And why do I remember Otto Jespersen? I thought it was because I used his book in one of my papers, but I can’t remember which one! It’s yet another little annoyance.
Of course, this is not an uncommon conundrum. Not the “why do I remember Otto Jespersen” thing, the whole “I should read more” thing. Who doesn’t feel like he or she should read more? (People who dislike reading, I suppose…)
Reading this book also makes me feel like I should write a paper. I don’t know what the paper would be about exactly, but I feel like I should write a paper. I suppose I could write one anyway and send it to Dr. Smith, though he’ll probably never read it.
I’ve also decided that being a Jack of All Trades is annoying. Not that I’m an awesome Jack or anything, but I don’t feel like I can really talk about much of anything with anyone very well except about the aforementioned useless information. I’m studying rapier fencing but I frequently resort to the style of fighting my body remembers. And whilst training with rapier, I’ve come to have a great appreciation for sword and buckler. I really ought to stick with one, shouldn’t I?
I can’t win. Well, I could but it would involve stabbing people in the face. (Seriously, it’s like the only reason I learn the parries is so I can get a clear shot at stabbing my opponent in the face whether it be with longsword, rapier, or sword and buckler.)
I also cannot write letters anymore. At least, not ones that get sent. I think my folder has half-written letters to many of my usual correspondents, but the information is now seriously dated. I’d say I’m trying to remedy that, but I’m really not. Or rather, I’m starting slowly with e-mails and if I’m very lucky, I’ll be able to compose a letter again soon. And actually send it! Maybe I should start with a card or something…but then that just makes me want to write a full letter. Grrr…
Jon Snow is coming up on his first birthday. So far, I am very pleased with him. He is turning out to be a very good computer. Of course, I don’t know if this really makes me more of a Mac person; I just know that Jon Snow is pretty shiny and I haven’t screwed up anything yet.
Okay. So there’s an update from me. I don’t even know if anyone has time to read the ol’ blog anymore, but I’ve kinda dusted it off for a spell. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to finish writing about Budapest soon! Only about twelve more chronicles to go!
SPOILER WARNING:the contents of this post may contain SPOILERS for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
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Dude. I just saw G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. And I’m not ripping my hair out. Then again, I was always a fan and it did take me back to my childhood in some ways.
I can’t really complain too much. There were your typical “change this part of the story to fit what we want to accomplish as a movie” moments, and usually those moments result in wild gesticulating and inarticulate vocalisations. But strangely enough, I wasn’t spazzing as much as say X-Men 2.
The biggest issue I had was the Scottish accent. And yes, I realize that there are Brits who can’t pull off American accents (for the record, the actor who plays Destro is British) and what have you, and I acknowledge that accents are difficult…but the accent wasn’t essential to the character. In fact, if the only reason I knew Destro had Scottish descent was because of the comic books. So really, they could have done without it.
If I had seen the film having no knowledge or appreciation for G.I. Joe, I still would have enjoyed it. Even with the cheesy moments unrelated to the nods to fans.
What’d everyone else think?