Buggy times

I came back from another vacation with an unintended friend, a bug. Not strangely enough, I feel mentally challenged, as the bug has filled up my chest with phlegm and made me easily tired.

Sometimes this state of mind can be helpful, but focusing is rather difficult. The lens of perception is slowed down, with impaired memory of events and goals.

Overall it was a pretty good vacation, though with the usual little too much of running around. The weather was a bit rainy, which didn’t help with the views and being able to get around. But the rain and clouds did keep things cooler, which at times was a blessing. Speaking of cool, life is in a spin recently, with me thinking what should be the next move with teaching.

Sex doesn’t sell

I’m reading a book on buyology (the psychology of buying) and supposedly sex doesn’t sell (or not very well). Often what happens is the target gets distracted, and later fails to remember the product or the company logo. So in other words, the sex aspect of the ad is remembered, but doesn’t help with remembering what the company wants to sell.

Then how does that explain this blog’s popularity

http://www.hotforwords.com/

One of my favorites on this blog

http://www.hotforwords.com/2010/01/09/euphemism/

Price of humor

I played a good one today. A coworker complained about me not tossing my empty creamers and sugar wrappers in a cup near the coffee pot, asking another coworker how far away the trash container was (about half a meter, I guess). So later, I left a ‘personal’ cup sized bin for her near the coffee pot.

It disappeared without a word (and a laugh).

Carrying on, entered a sumo discussion, and some people thought I was talking about the disgraced wrestler who resigned when I talked about ‘fat bastard’ possibly coming out of retirement. I guess I was a real cunning linguist, except I was expected to have put it in caps! Then again, some people become grammarians to support their mime habits, as otherwise they wouldn’t be able to say anything.

Got a clue?

Scary stuff

I just finished reading Deaver’s ‘More Twisted’, a series of suspense horror stories with twist endings. Not quite O’henry type endings, but often the stories are not quite what they seem, and his better shorts leave you hanging until the last page or two. He also wrote ‘The Bone Collector’ , which was a good movie with Denzal Washington and a relatively unknown Angelina Jolie (at that time).

Funny what scares people in this day and age. Things that make people uncomfortable vary from person to person. One female colleague told me she doesn’t like hot springs, and one of the reasons was that she doesn’t feel comfortable talking to her friends naked. I can relate to that a little, but I still enjoy a good soak, though my wife and I prefer places where we can soak privately together.

The other day, another female colleague related that some of the love hotels in Japan won’t allow in gay couples (either female or male) and sometimes mixed nationality couples (foreigner and a Japanese typically). You’d think if you’re collecting money for a service, why would you refuse these kinds of customers? People are paying for space to do whatever they aren’t comfortable doing at home or to enjoy a different atmosphere. Isn’t it their right to do that which way they feel is okay assuming it’s not breaking any laws?

Things that people fear are sometimes cultural taboos, and not necessarily things that people from other cultures would find scary at all.

work in progress

Boys will be boys

I had a colleague commenting on a joke I made in relation to a conversation about a young student’s behaviour. This other teacher commented that she had been awful for a while, not cooperating, etc., and yet now seemed to be quite good and you could have real conversations with her embedded in the lessons. My comment was that my behaviour at times was rotten, what was my excuse (if it wasn’t due to growing up)? My coworker said that men never grow up. To be honest, I completely agree with him. This is what makes men infuriating and so lovable; we have that inner child always around,　and hopefully it is never totally extinguished.

People reach certain ages, and they just become very old and suddenly feel they can’t do this or can’t do that. I think it’s more they feel they can’t, and that alone will stop them from doing it. I always feel that the day I stop thinking these ‘impossible dreams can’t ever com true’ is the day when someone should just take me out back and shoot me, literally (though I suppose in Japan I could settle for someone just pushing me in front of a train, preferably a line I like, but don’t actually use).

We all have our days, but shouldn’t we also enjoy a moment or two and not flog others with our misery?

Boys will be boys

Salinger passes away

I was just thinking about ‘Catcher in the Rye’ when my architect of all people told me of the author’s death. He went on to say that he had copies of this book and ‘ 9 stories’. The interesting reason I’m always thinking about the former book, is the author looks at growing up and how Holden doesn’t want to grow up and become phony. I mean for me, this has to be one of the biggest issues in modern life, how do you remain true to yourself and not want to kill off the phonies you see day in, day out? Of course, I suppose a lot of these people you encounter are perhaps not phonies per se, but rather people whose public face is so far removed from their private one, they might as well  be labeled a phony.

I think in this day and age, it’s difficult to really communicate with people, and not be intentionally misled or have people so distracted that they don’t really comprehend your point. I suppose it’s a difference of point of view, but some people are just so caught up in themselves, and they only let their guards down so few times in a day, that they must be tired after a while. Well, I know I would be, anyway, if I was doing this role-playing.

Meeting people and failing to connect is a bummer at times, though one can’t expect that everyone you meet will be able to connect with you (or that each and every person wants to). But so many people don’t seem to even make a minimal effort. I suppose one problem is a  lack of time sometimes. That and all of us are limited in some sense in how many true connections we can really make in a particular time and place.

What I am really thinking about is this; how can I change myself and reach more people? I don’t know if I can, but I do know that life is moving all the time, and sometimes we get more out of the ride or the experience of the ride than at other times.

Housing around

My wife and I went for a bike ride today, but the ride was ‘housejacked’ by my wife. She took me to a model home complex in Mitaka, Tokyo near the campus we went to look at. Basically we entered and looked at 3 model homes while we were there with a professional ‘shadow’ in each house. I really don’t think my wife gained that much useful information as one thing that she told me I could have told her without any training in real estate. We were talking about the selling and buying process as we will later sell two houses and buy a larger 4 units in Koganei City (or nearby). One of the agents suggested selling one house first, and selling the second one after you finish the construction on the new one. Of course though, you’re not building only with cash in that case as you’d be borrowing money from the bank to do that. Gee, a novel idea in Japan, right?

Anyway, my wife kept asking the ‘shadows’ questions, so I thought the agony of too small slippers would never end. We did see a William Morris design, the Willow Bough, that she wants to use.　It was just bad timing as I wanted to spend more time in the park or on the campus. Surprisingly for me, my wife just kept focusing on how old the buildings were on the said campus, though she did notice that it is a lot more wooded than other comparable campuses in Tokyo proper.

When the bough breaks

Seems like I’ll be making housing decisions for a while, just can’t seem to escape it. It’s a good learning experience, though I’m not sure I want to be reviewing line drapes, rolling shades, curtains and blinds any time soon. I did think it was interesting to see some of the combinations you could use as well as custom fitted blinds on the windows like these below  (picture coming).

Oh well, you know how you can’t get that time back, but sometimes it’s okay, at least someone was happy (but it wasn’t me :)).

Teching up

Scary thought after reading the landing pages of some of these tech websites, what the hell are they talking about in some cases? How about Drupal or Solaris anyone?

Been reading for an idea, but ideas are all a round. I’m thinking to go to a start up meeting, it might be of interest. But I need some ideas first, no?

Ravaged senses

Yesterday at work, I had the weirdest light flash in front of my eye. I literally was seeing spots and wondering, “What happened?” I suppose having this happen while deeply intoxicated (or after such a night) would be less alarming, but I was stone sober and had just arrived at work. Almost think it was a combination of tiredness and the bright sunlight outside overloading my optic nerves before being confronted by the fluorescent and artificial environment of an office. Makes you stop and wonder, how much of a toll the city takes on your senses, what with all the forms of pollution bombarding you so much that you can’t divine the real from the unnatural.

Of course, some of that unnaturalness is the city itself, its economic activity keeping it alive. People do have to live somewhere, but you have to wonder why people crowd themselves into boxes in close proximity and then complain about the resulting noise and the bad air. Living in the city is becoming a bad habit for me over the last 16 years, one I which I wish I could relinquish for more open spaces and less people. People often talk about moving to the countryside when they retire, but I’m wondering if the bodies (and souls) can survive until then.

Procrastination

TV exercise?

September 2 2008

I got an interesting email today from another lecturer, who quoted Da Vinci as saying that he wanted to apologize to God and humanity for wasting time. I guess we all need time to think, but I suppose some of us are better at using our ‘down time’ than others.

Just like a fellow teacher who works out 6-7 days a week. He said,” Well, I use the time you probably spend watching TV”. I hope he doesn’t work out that much!

I tried to convince my wife to buy another computer (2 down, 1 hanging in there) instead rather than a new wide-screen digital TV, but now instead I am living my life vicariously in different police and sci- fi dramas too much. No wonder I have stress, mentally dodging all those bullets and aliens.

Then again, exercising with the TV can be fun. Just think, you don’t need Wi sports!