Nanowrimo: 25,000 words

November is halfway over, which means that I should have 25.000 words written so far for National Novel Writing Month. As of right now, I have 25,006 words. And I'm not even done writing for the evening.

Woot!

Unless some unforeseen horrible thing happens to me before the end of the month, I am so totally hitting that 50,000 word target by the 30th. Of the seven years that I have been participating in Nanowrimo, this will be the second time that I've reached the goal.

I was actually a little worried about this year, considering I'm in Japan and doing the whole teaching thing and therefore being completely out of my element. Now that I'm deep into Nanowrimo, I'm thinking that moving to Japan and getting this job is the best thing that could have happened to my writing at this time. For the first time in years, I have a regular writing schedule that I'm sticking to, and I'm easily churning out 1600-2000 words a day, most of it type-written.

This success has mostly to do with my schedule. I've always felt like my most productive hours are the late-night hours. Midnight is truly the magic hour for my creativity. But for the past couple of years, I've been getting up at 6 or 7am, so I was going to bed around midnight and thus not writing at my most productive hours.

Now, however, my hours fit my desired sleep cycle much better. I get up at 9am and usually leave the apartment around 10, either to go to the grocery story to get food for lunch and dinner (both of which I often eat at the school - I mostly do my cooking on the weekends) or to just wonder around for a little bit and get some fresh air and exercise. This gets me to work really early (by 11 most days), but it does give me a little time to check my email before Hitomi-san gets in. Once I get internet up at my apartment, I probably won't leave as early and just check my email at home instead. I usually get back to my apartment between 9-10:30pm, and I generally mess around until 11pm, at which point I sit down to my computer and write until 2am, aka bedtime. That's three hours of writing (with breaks to brush my teeth and do some ab work), but most of it is writing. So, productivity is not a problem right now, and it feels pretty awesome to be able to devote such a large chunk of time to something I've always been passionate about but never seemed to have enough time for.

No guarantees that what I'm writing is worth reading though. Editing will have to come later. For now, I'm just happy to get it out of my head and into the computer.

Japanese television

I got the tv figured out finally. Apparently, something was wrong with it, and it required someone coming out and fixing it. I wasn't really concerned about getting the tv fixed until I learned that I had to check-in through it in order to get my internet up and running. So now I can get hours of mindless entertainment in a language I don't speak. Also, I have no idea how scheduling is done, so obviously, I have no idea what's going off or coming on. Even better, the only chance I get to watch tv is between 10pm and 2am, and late night Japanese tv is kind of insane.

There are more shows of people doing crazy things than I can count. And by "crazy things" I mean making complete fools of themselves. Last night, I watched a show where four guys had to move around a bunch of crap while their hands were covered in slippery, slimy goo. As a result, they dropped most of it, and they were punished by a woman wielding an air hose. What was the point of all this? I have no idea, but maybe it's because I didn't understand what was being said or what all that writing on the screen was. There are any number of strange "competition" shows, where people continue to do crazy things in order to win . . . something. I don't know what, but at least they all look like they're having fun when they do it. At the time of this writing, I'm watching a show where a bunch of high school girls in gym clothes appear to be judging/beta-testing/guessing about various odd products.

And then there's this crazy show called SMAP (I think; it might also be a band, nobody's been able to give me a straight answer on that). I'm pretty sure it's meant to be a comedy/variety show, because there's skits and cooking and always lots of laughing, and generally, it can be pretty hilarious, even when you don't know what's going on. Naofumi tried to explain it to me, but he even had a hard time doing it, and I don't think it's because of the language barrier, because he's easily my highest level student. It's comedy, that's all I got out of it. And possibly a boy band, I need to check into that to figure it out. Either way, he kinda just shrugged and left it at that.

Late night also seems to be the best time to watch programs about learning foreign languages. English is pretty popular; I've seen about six different programs teaching English. My favorite is the one that uses Anne of Green Gables as its text. It's cute. However, there are other languages taught too. In one sitting, I learned Italian (asking how much something costs), French (the 3 meanings of "comment"), Hindi (various transportation vocabulary), and German (how to ask where to find a good place to eat). Of course, it's all Japanese --> other language, so I doubt I'm really learning much, but it's entertaining. Benni-sensei told me there's a program teaching Japanese to English speakers and she wants me to watch it, but I haven't seen it yet.

There are also lots of random information programs. I watched a documentary on Martin Luther King, Jr, a program about silk worms, a show about a guy wondering around a farm and looking for a place to get horseback riding lessons, sumo wrestling, and the news. Pretty keen, huh?

Wonderfully, at any given time, food is being talked about somewhere. Not just Japanese food either - I've seen mini-programs that had French and Italian-based recipes too. I find that I can follow food programs fairly easily. Not sure if this is because most of my Japanese vocabulary has to do with food or if demonstrating how to follow a recipe is generally universal.

So, even though I got my tv set up for reasons completely unrelated to watching it, I've gotten plenty of amusement out of it already. Most times, I don't really watch it, I just turn it on and let it go. This is partly because I can't stand to leave it off and uncovered, because it's right next to me, and it's creepy seeing me move in its reflection. Turning it on is easier than taking the sheet on and off.

Anyway, that's it. I'm also told there are American programs played late at night, but so far, the only one I've seen is a show called Kidnapped which I wasn't interested in when it was on in the States (it's another one of those failed NBC dramas from a couple of years ago). Oddly enough, two of the new cast members of Law & Order starred in it, which now explains to me why they were brought onto recent seasons of that show. Not that it's a problem; I've always been kind of fond of Jeremy Sisto. I might have watched Kidnapped, but it started at 2am, which is now my bedtime. And it was dubbed in Japanese. Actually, that was pretty entertaining. Oh, but not as entertaining as watching parts of the X-Files movie dubbed in to Japanese. Heh, now that was amusing.

No, wait, the most amusing thing EVER? Alf in Japanese. That's right, Alf. Chew on that one.

Christmas madness

So, you think it's mildly irritating when Christmas paraphernalia is put on display before Thanksgiving? What if it showed up before Halloween?

That's right. My first trip to the grocery store with William, and what's there to greet me? A ginormous display of Christmas cards, wrapping, bows, and other things that I'm not sure what they're for. There were some Halloween-themed things out in the aisles in the store itself, but it was rather telling that the Christmas stuff was prominently arranged. And since the passing of Halloween, the Christmas items have expanded, creeping into the store to take the place of odd Halloween goodies. I'd take pictures of it, but that doesn't seem like a polite thing to do in a grocery store. The other day, I was in a convenie, and Christmas music was playing over the loudspeaker. I thought I was going nuts, but I went to the grocery store the next day - MORE Christmas music.

Also, now that I have my tv working, I notice that there are a lot of Christmas-related commercials on. I had kinda been under the impression that Christmas wasn't a big holiday in Japan, but I'm starting to disbelieve that. Unless we've already hit a peak in Christmas decorating, in which case, I'd feel a little relief. However, I get the feeling this is just the start of a much bigger thing, especially considering that Benni-sensei is a self-professed Christmas freak. She's already been playing Christmas music nearly non-stop, and she's started teaching her students carols. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my kids' classes other than the special Christmas lesson in the book. I'd like to have them make snowflakes, but other than that, I've got nothing so far. Still brain-storming on that one.

In the meantime, I've just got to attempt to hold on to my sanity for the next six weeks. Beacuse, yeah, I like Christmas and all. But there's such a thing as TOO MUCH Christmas.

Japanese Food Journal: Monjayaki

Maybe it's not the most disgusting-looking food on the planet, but neither is it the most attractive-looking food. It's monjayaki: hard to pronounce, fun to eat. (Seriously, it took me forever to figure out what they were saying when they told me what it was called. I had to go to google and try random spellings until I found the right one. "yaki" was the easy part, because that basically means "grill.")

Benni-sensei and a couple of her students (Akiko, who is hilarious and awesome and is going on a homestay to Canada this month, and Kazuhiro, who has served as my personal translator at times and is thus very helpful) invited me out to a tiny monjayaki restaurant near a high school close to GEOS. I had no idea what we were doing or what we about to eat, but given the option of spicy or sweet, I chose sweet. Everyone else had spicy, so my little monjayaki was over in a corner all by itself.

Monjayaki is very much like okonomiyaki, in that it is a batter filled with all kinds of yummy things. However, it's much runnier, so that when you pour it out onto the grill, it runs all over the place. You have to use little metal spatulas to keep it all together and form it into a pancake so it cooks evenly. When you first pour it out, it looks exactly like a mess of puke, and it is possibly the most least appetizing site ever. Fortunately, it tastes way better than it looks, and it starts to look edible after its cooked a while. You eat it as it cooks, straight off the grill. It's kind of fun, chasing the batter around on the grill and fighting with the others to get at a good piece. The best parts are the burnt bits, they get all crunchy and yummy.

So, moral of the story? Even if it looks gross, it might still be yummy. I have no idea what went into it, but it sure did taste good.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monjayaki

Japanese Food Journal: homemade eel patties

For my first homecooked meal in Japan, I wanted to make something that was vaguely Japanese and definitely not complicated. I settled on eel patties, a recipe I found in the Japanese cookbook I brought with me. It suggested serving them as burgers, but I couldn't find hamburger buns in the grocery store, so I decided to just make them patties instead.

I've found that Japanese respond to my love for in eel in two ways: they're shocked that I love it or they're shocked that most Americans don't eat it. One student was even horrified when I said that eel is not readily found in American grocery stores. She simply couldn't believe it. Another student was thoroughly amused that I liked it so much that I wanted to cook with it. Overall, though every Japanese I've met is thrilled that I'm embracing Japanese food. One of my kids' classes saw me eating onigiri (a riceball) today, and it was apparently the most amazing thing they've ever seen, the idea that an American would willingly eat such a thing.

Anyway, back to my home-cooked Japanese meal. It was all quite simple: peel, chop, and cook the eel just briefly. Eel comes prepared, already grilled and flavored, so I'm not having to cook it for more than a couple of minutes. Then, mix the eel with a beaten egg and enough panko to form into patties. I was afraid I'd used too much panko, but the combination turned out to be perfect. In a skillet, I cooked the patties in some olive oil, just enough to get them crispy and crunchy on the outside.

To serve: I laid out a bed of cabbage and squirted mayo over top it. Then I placed the eel patties on top, in a triangle. I had one beautiful tomato that cost half a fortune but was well worth it because it was so juicy and yummy. To finish, I covered the eel patties with tonkatsu sauce. And voila! I cook once again!

Don't know when I'll do it again though. My kitchen has zero counterspace, and that makes it exceedingly difficult to do any kind of prep work. I'll definitely make the eel patties again soon because I still have plenty of panko and cabbage left (though I might make okonomiyaki with the cabbage before I get to the patties again). But cooking is going to be a major chore because I have so little space to work in. I'm going to keep things simple at first (pasta, perhaps, since that requires little prep), and if I find I can manage the space better, I'll continue trying new things.

Until then, I have plenty of food to choose from outside the apartment!

my new favorite holiday

I love my Headways class with my horticulturist student. It's always amusing. Naofumi is probably my most advanced student. He spent 7 years as a child growing up in California, and his reading and conversation are excellent. He takes classes mainly to practice English and keep it honed and because his job encourages it. Headways is the most advanced class GEOS offers, and it's pretty intense. The book was published at Oxford, so it's painfully British at times, to the point where I've had to look stuff up because I had no idea what they were saying. But, he's a smart guy, so we've had some pretty interesting conversations regarding the text.

Monday was a Japanese holiday: Culture Day. I asked Naofumi what it was for, and he explained that people were supposed to go out and get cultivated, by going to a museum or a concert or something (yay for Sarah and Nick! I just went to the ￥100 store). He added that most Japanese people just take the opportunity to be lazy and do nothing. He seemed to be of the opinion that those kinds of holidays (Culture Day, Sports Day, etc.) were kind of useless, except for the fact that it's a three-day weekend for a lot of people.

"Sounds like some holidays we have in the States," I replied.

"Yeah." A pause. "Like what?"

"Like Columbus Day, for one. He discovered Hispaniola, not the North American continent."

Naofumi kind of chortled at this. "Wasn't the continent discovered by some other guy from Scandinavia or some place like that?"

"Yeah, Lief Ericsson."

"Hmm. So why don't you have Lief Ericsson Day?"

See? I love this class.

Speaking of holidays, I find it amusing that head office sent out an email encouraging NETs to tell their students about Guy Fawkes Day in an effort to convince them to travel abroad and "experience holidays unlike their own." For some reason, when I think of foreign holidays that I want to observe, Guy Fawkes Day isn't the first one that comes to mind. Just hope no one uses V For Vendetta as their reference point.

sara-sensei's apartment

Finally! No video, but I do have pictures of the apartment for you to enjoy.


This is what you see when you step through the front door. I'm standing in the entryway, where shoes are put. I have a little closet there where I keep my sneakers and sandals, as well as the trash bags and the Jayne Cobb: Hero of Canton bag that I use to haul my groceries in. Take a left turn right before the fridge, and you get to the bathroom area of the apartment.

But first, a shot of the actual entryway. The rolling thing is my kitchen storage unit, where I have my dried goods, the dishes, and various tupperware containers (William left quite a few of them, but NONE of them have lids, and they're all super tiny). The top is concave, so it doesn't work well as a cooking space, but it's handy to put my drying dishes on.

And here is the washing area. Directly ahead is the washer, which holds about a week's worth of clothes in one load. To the left is the toilet, to the right is the shower.

This is the toilet. It has its own little room. It's not a super-futuristic toilet like the one in the motel, but it has a faucet on top where clean water comes out when you flush. It's kind of cool.

Here is the shower. Note that the whole room is the shower, even though there appears to be a tub there. There are two drains, one in the shower and one in front of the sink. Theoretically, you're supposed to draw a hot bath, wash yourself outside of the tub with the shower hose, then get in the tub and soak. It's quite relaxing, but it's also a bit complicated, especially if you're not so graceful like me. It's a tiny space, and it's kind of maddening. I also hang a lot of shirts in here to dry, since I don't have much room on the line out the window.

Here is a closer shot of the kitchen. Seriously, that's the kitchen. Fridge, microwave, rice cooker, stove, and sink. Notice the lack of counter space? And the lack of an oven, but that was a given anyway.

I do have some shelves just above the microwave, which is where I keep my spices and utensils and whatnot. There is not enough room to keep food up there. That all goes in the fridge or in the rolling storage unit. Which, by the way, either blocks the front door or the path to the bathroom. There is no room for it to just be, as you can see:

I have plenty of pots and pans, more than I'll ever actually need. I make pasta every once in a while, and I have a skillet that I use more than anything else. I don't often cook in the evening. On Tues-Thurs, I have enough time to come home and make myself some lunch (or bring home lunch), around 2-3pm. So, that is when I cook. For dinner, I just get something mircowaveable, and I don't consider that cooking.

Here is the stove and the sink. Small, huh? The stove works wonderfully, I have no complaints with it (except it randomly decided to turn off in the middle of boiling pasta one day). The cans there are waiting to be rinsed out so I can recycle them. All cans and bottles are recycled.

And here is the living room, entering from the kitchen. I have a door separating the kitchen from the living area, which I like, because I feel a little more closed-in and protected. That's my closet, which is big enough to accomodate all of my clothing. It's got a few shelves in there under the hanging clothes, so I was able to fit all of my socks and things in there too. The AC/heat unit is above it next to the window. I have a crummy view of still more apartments. I have also a really ugly blue futon couch which is usually covered with clothes or someting, but that's okay, because it's not really comfortable. I have to climb on it to open the window and hang my laundry to dry. I'd really prefer to get rid of it, it's just taking up space, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to. Or what to do with it if I were to throw it out. I spend most of my time at the little table, where I do my ironing, my computing, and my eating.

Across from the table is the desk with the tv. You can see how often I use the tv. I didn't like it glaring at me (I hate tvs that aren't turned on, they're creepy), so I covered it with a sheet. Above it are some shelves that I've got my GEOS paperwork crammed into. You can also see some of my bed, but here's a better picture:

Yes, my bed is elevated! I have steps to get into bed. What's really cool is that the steps open up and give me more storage. And there's all kinds of storage underneath my bed, so that's nice. My bed is very hard, though. I think I need another futon on it. I'm not sure if I made it correctly either, but I'm pretty sure that I should be sleeping under one of those things that I'm sleeping on. I needed more cushion. Two blankets came with it: the pink one (I did NOT pick that out) and a soft, warm, fuzzy one. The sheet over the tv was also provided, but I didn't like it. They're all too short for me; if I stretch out, my feet stick out. They're also not very wide, but that's okay because there's not a lot of room for me to move anyway. Maybe it's not overly comfortable, but I sleep just fine in it.

So . . . that's it! Not very exciting, perhaps, but it gets the job done. I don't spend a whole lot of time here, maybe six hours out of the day (not including sleeping hours). Mostly, I'm over at GEOS or out wondering around. But it's nice to come home to, and I keep it fairly tidy. What can I say? It's home.