And so it begins

The JET application is supposed to go up online today. It doesn't seem to be up yet and if I don't see it today, I'll call the consul in Seattle tomorrow (I default to Seattle because I'm a Washington resident and that's the consul I've always dealt with). Someone there will know what I need to do and, anyway, it's not like I've never called and harassed them before. My JET to-do list is massive and daunting (and everything must be in triplicate, because Japan is like that), and I have about seven weeks to complete all of it. But I can't start anything until I have the forms, which is why they have till tomorrow to get everything up online before the annoying 'yo, what the hell' phone calls begin.

If JET doesn't, for whatever reason, work out (though I have some qualifications that should give me at least a bit of an edge, so I'm tentatively optimistic), all hope is not lost and I have other avenues I can pursue. But it would be so nice if this just would be it. JET people, you better hire me, because I am awesome and deserving of a job.

Just saying.

While I'm on the Japan subject:

Dear Economy Gods,

Please to be returning the exchange rate to something nearing my favour before I leave the country again. Right now it's 84 yen to the dollar, which in terms of buying power means Japan is owning us. Last August it was 103 yen to the dollar and I was happy. This 84 yen thing? Not Cool.

Peace out,
Me

By the way, according to Yahoo!Finance, it's ¥89.87 to the dollar and, while that may be true in theory, in practice it's a lie. No one is ever trading as high as Yahoo!Finance says they are.

Also, I'm onto another book (The Difference Engine by William Gibson in collaboration with someone else - steampunk this time around, and awesome). Book number 24 for 2009. So I know I will have made it at least half-way through my intended 50, because I will definitely read at least one more book after this. That's pretty sweet, considering how crazy everything is these days. I'm also on internet restriction again, because I acquired a couple of Asian horror movies (one, Alone, is Thai and about the surviving half of a pair of conjoined twins getting haunted by her dead sister (or something), and the other, Kwaidan, is Japanese and classic). I've been meaning to see Kwaidan forever - it's from the '60s and is four stories based on old legends/folk tales, and it's supposed to be really good. So sometime soon, we'll have to have an Asian horror night.

Finally, since I never actually talked about this semester's camping trip up in the Cascades (can't say where - it's sort of protected and most people aren't allowed to go there), have a picture. It was raining and cold and we got soaked through on our hike up to this cliff, but the lake was still gorgeous.

Such a beautiful place, even in the rain.

ETA: My media blog actually has 6 whole entries in it now! With some variety and everything! Now to remember to update it more than once a month. That'd be pretty awesome.

Somewhere on the outside

First of all, time to update that books list I've sporadically been keeping. My reading has slowed down again with the onset of classes, but there are still additions since July. Go me?

Books of 2009, as of 27 September:
1. Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Devil - Inga Muscio
2. Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut
3. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
4. The Zombie Survival Guide - Max Brooks
5. Neuromancer - William Gibson
6. The Opposite of Fate - Amy Tan
7. The Joy-Luck Club - Amy Tan
8. The Bonesetter's Daughter - Amy Tan
9. Takarazuka (Sexual Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan) - Jennifer Robertson
10. The Hundred Secret Senses - Amy Tan
11. The Kitchen God's Wife - Amy Tan
12. Cunt - Inga Muscio
13. Beyond Heaving Bosoms (The Smart Bitches Guide to Romance Novels) - Sarah Wendell, Candy Tan
14. Killing Rage - bell hooks
15. Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman
16. Polite Lies - Kyoko Mori
17. Looking for the Lost (Journeys Through a Vanishing Japan) - Alan Booth
18. Lost Japan - Alex Kerr
19. Geisha: A Life - Mineko Iwasaki
20. Women of the Pleasure Quarters - Lesley Downer
21. The Faded Sun Trilogy - C.J. Cherryh [it's an omnibus, so I'm counting it as one]
22. The Loved Dead - H.P. Lovecraft
23. Idoru - William Gibson

So, hey, I'm up to 23, which isn't bad at all, given how much I have going on most of the time. As you can probably see, there are some trends in my reading this year, a couple of repeat writers, some similar themes. I get mini-obsessions every so often and my reading habits definitely reflect that. Although the Japanese studies thing is more of a long-term interest that just got a lot of attention this past summer. I'm on a William Gibson kick right now.

In other news, I met my language partner, Keisuke, and he's very, very pretty. Also, unfortunately, the variety of Japanese person I can have a bit of trouble conversing with. Very quiet and subdued, leaving me to do most of the talking. So it was an okay meeting, the work got done and he was definitely easy on the eyes, but I'm hoping he'll warm up to me a little, or subsequent meetings are going to be a little bland.

All of that aside, I've been crazy busy lately. My Writing Center job resulted in having to meet all 14 of my freshmen about their first paper, over the course of several days. It made for a very long week, let me tell you. It was interesting in a way, figuring out what they're interested in (or not interested in) based on what aspects of the film they paid attention to, and also getting to know them a little bit in general. One kid is kind of an asshole, with that hipster 'I'm too cool for this' attitude. But he lost the argument we had over structure, which made me smile because he totally thought he could BS me, and overall they're pretty cool kids. So, really, so far so good on the job front.

And, as a final note in this scattered blog entry, tonight Annie and I (plus Alex, as often happens) ate left-over spaghetti (really left-over, as in we originally made it over two weeks ago) with a side of mushrooms from the Saturday market that we sauteed in butter and garlic. It was delicious and wonderful and we were very happy because we like good food. Then we went to watch a few episodes of Avatar (yes, that cartoon that ran on Nickelodeon - it's better than you think)... and forgot to turn the burner off. So the sauce we'd been keeping warm while we ate ended up sitting over low heat for, oh, an hour too long while we were in Annie's bedroom at the back of the apartment. So now my kitchen smells kind of like overcooked lasagna, and a burnt sauce-encrusted pot is soaking in the sink. But on the plus side, the spaghetti's finally gone!

I need to start keeping a log of Alexis and Annie's Domestic Adventures. We're pretty awesome.

Book Recap

Do y'all remember, back in January, when I said I was going to keep track of all the books I read this year (for fun, not for class, because the class books don't really count), with a goal of 50? Yeah, much like my media blog, which has two entries, but a third now in progress, that didn't really happen. But I have been reading, so I'm going to do a little list of 2009's selections to date, in case anyone is curious about what I read when I'm reading for my own sake.

Um, they might not be totally in chronological order. I remembered as best I could.

Books of 2009, as of 25 July:
1. Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Devil - Inga Muscio
2. Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut
3. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
4. The Zombie Survival Guide - Max Brooks
5. Neuromancer - William Gibson
6. The Opposite of Fate - Amy Tan
7. The Joy-Luck Club - Amy Tan
8. The Bonesetter's Daughter - Amy Tan
9. Takarazuka (Sexual Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan) - Jennifer Robertson
10. The Hundred Secret Senses - Amy Tan
11. The Kitchen God's Wife - Amy Tan
12. Cunt - Inga Muscio
13. Beyond Heaving Bosoms (The Smart Bitches Guide to Romance Novels) - Sarah Wendell, Candy Tan
14. Killing Rage - bell hooks
15. Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman
16. Polite Lies - Kyoko Mori
17. Looking for the Lost (Journeys Through a Vanishing Japan) - Alan Booth

Okay, so 17 isn't terribly impressive for it being the end of July, but remember that I did also have 12 books to read for my classes last semester. So, really, I've read 29 books so far this year.

Anyway, looking at the list, you will probably notice that I went on an Amy Tan kick there for awhile. I read her memoir and then decided that I needed to re-read all her novels (except for the one I don't have). Another thing that might be noteworthy is that 11 of the 17 are by women, 2 are by Neil Gaiman, 8 are non-fiction and 3 are about Japan (or an aspect thereof). The book I'm starting next is also non-fiction and also about Japan, but not written by a woman.

All of these books are recommended, but if you're curious about any particular one, I can do little reviews. Just drop a comment and I'll add it to my to-do list.

By the way, I changed my blog title. It's now 我思う故に我あり (われおもうゆえにわれあり, ware omou yue ni ware ari) which is the Japanese version of "I think, therefore I am."

Today's waste of energy

This is another one of those annoying events that really happened.

T: *on her computer making a church flier*
Me: *working*
T: Alexis, would you run up to the fourth floor and bring down records for me?
Me: *grits teeth and sets down work* Sure.
T: *goes back to misusing resources*

Up on the fourth floor:

Me: Hi, K! Do you have any records for me to bring down?
K: I brought them all down about 15 minutes ago - T checked them in. Is she looking for any record in particular?
Me: ...No. Thanks, though.

So, yes, I got to disrupt the flow of my work and run up and down two flights of stairs looking for records T had all but just checked in, while she devoted her morning to stuff for her church. Not cool. On the plus side, I'm getting plenty of exercise.

In other news, I'm reading Cunt by Inga Muscio and, if you're a woman and you haven't read/aren't currently planning to read it, you should put it at the top of your to-read list ASAP. And then make sure you read it on a bus, or in a like public space, to get the added bonus of disapproving and scandlized looks. It's pretty awesome.

"What could trump the dumpster?"

Right now, the choral department here at Willamette is doing a photo scavenger hunt contest. Each choir is its own competition, pitting the sections against each other. Today, Team Alto 2 (also known as the Alto Liberation Front) went out for a second round of photo-taking. Basically, we wandered around downtown Salem for an hour and forty minutes, trying to take creative photos to fit kind of lame prompts. The best one, though, was for the prompt "least likely place to be found."

We climbed in a dumpster.

Okay, it was less disgusting than it sounds - the dumpster is strictly for collapsed cardboard boxes - but it's in the sketchy alley next to a restaurant called Pita Pit (where Frieda, our section leader, works) under a set of metal stairs. We got her boss to take the photo for us. It was pretty epic. If another section gets more points than us for that prompt, I'll be pissed. Because, seriously, what could trump the dumpster?

Another pretty good one was us on a carousel. There's this old carousel down by the river and we got the teenage boy working it to take a photo of us on some of the horses while the ride was stopped (for "ride something"). I have a feeling our being college women was what convinced him to let us get on the ride for a photo without paying the $1.50 charge. He looked like he was maybe 15, and we smiled and were very nice about asking - working sexism to our advantage.

In other school-related news, I submitted a Japan photo to this campus study abroad publication thing, as the last bit of my "Maximizing Your Study Abroad Experience" course, and they sent me an email today telling me that they really want to use my photo, but my caption is too short. Now, me, I think a long caption about what the photo means to me and why I took it is kind of awkward and boring. So I originally gave them something pithy and interesting. It identified the place and gave a reason it's awesome - something about Shinto and Buddhism peacefully coexisting, if I remember correctly - but that's apparently not good enough. So now I'm trying to make up something that's still clever and well-written, but also includes crap about why the image is significant to me and my study abroad experience.

I hate things like this. Just saying.

Also, I have finished more books in my quest to read 50 in 2009. So now the list is:

1. Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Devil - Inga Muscio
2. Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut
3. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman

All of the above come highly recommended. I am not counting The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall because, well, it's for a class. It is, however, a novel.

And, to finish this up, I leave you with more Takarazuka. This time you get Miruku (Milk), in which Lucceni (the Italian who assassinates the Empress Elisabeth) is selling milk, but there's not enough, so Der Tod comes through and 'whispers' suggestions into the crowd of hungry Austrians to push them towards a riot. I have to say that, while Mizu Natsuki is always my favourite, Otozuki Kei (Lucceni, with the striped shirt) is pretty hot.

School and books - pretty much my life

Well, on Friday I'm heading down to Salem to move into my new room with Annie. Usually, I'd just be taking the train (or, more likely, getting a ride from Alex) back down with my suitcase and messenger bag, and everything would already be in my room the way I like it. This year, because of Japan, I'm doing my Massive Move of Doom in January.

Annie and I are pretty psyched about getting WISH 4, though, so even though I have to deal with dragging all my crap down to Oregon, at least we got our room.

Moving is still kind of a nightmare, though. Seriously, I don't even realise how much stuff I own until I have to move it. Clothes and books and whatnot aside, there are sheets, towels, laundry stuff... it's crazy. Since it's only four months, rather than the whole year, I'm going to be very good and limit the number of books and DVDs I take. Just the essentials, which is a bigger list than you might imagine.

Speaking of books, I've finished book one of my 50 books for 2009, so I'm going to get a running list started. Every time I have a book to add, I'll put the entire list, just to keep track (and remind you guys that there are brilliant books waiting to be read). If there's an asterisk, it means the book is extra awesome and you should read it.

1. Autobiography of a Blue-eyed Devil - Inga Muscio*

Actually, that book deserves, like, five asterisk, but for the sake of my organisation system, I'll stick to one. I'll write up some sort of proper review/recommendation later, for the media blog, but suffice it to say, everyone should read this book. She's so badass, I love her. For a couple of different reasons, I've started reeducating myself so I can do something to help take down the racist/sexist/imperialist/heteronormative institutions that have been hanging on way too long, and this was a recommendation from my high school friend Ashalyn. It really is a good start, if you want to try getting a little bit more aware of what's going on around you.

As a final note, take a look at my spring semester:

-Shakespeare: The Comedies
-Literature and Sexuality
-Gender, Sexuality and Power
-Intermediate Japanese 2
-Voce

I'm pretty excited, it's all going to be really interesting, but I'm also a little leery of the amount of reading that's going to get dropped on my head. Two literature classes and a philosophy, while also taking a foreign language. And nothing is below a 300-level. I'm anticipating that I'll hit March, maybe, and have a 'that's it, I can't take it anymore' moment. But I've always recovered from those in the past. It'll be fine.

Now if Willamette would just get me an accurate tuition invoice, everything would be cool. But that's it's own post, so I'll leave it for later. When I'm less irritated with student accounts and financial aid.