Tama-Gawa (river)

Today was a day entirely to myself. My bosses mistake left me with no classes to teach and I decided today would be a day to begin my Japanese studying which I have been putting off lately partly from my semi-preparation for the Foreign Service exam and more because of my horrible laziness over the past month. In lieu of studying much of anything I've been spending time numbing my brain with movies and some tv shows that I've come across. Earlier this week, out of frustration with what I was becoming, I deleted them all in order to give myself over to a more disciplined life. Unfortunately over the last few years I've developed an internet addiction that is on par with with it's uselessness with most people addiction to crap tv and others with things much worse. Even though I like to think I spend my time reading things more of note far too much crap has slipped into my lengthening morning online news rituals. Clean slate shall we say.

Spring is slowly creeping in here, taking a fair amount longer than I would prefer. It was t-shirt weather in the sun today but the moment the clouds covered it you needed a jacket. I'm sitting on a bench now at 11 at night just to get out of my house and it must be somewhere in the 50's but tolerable. The cherry blossoms which have been the focus of so many people's attention over the last two weeks are shaking off the last of the fragile white blossoms and the last of the Hanamis are taking place around me. Soon, I'll be able to sweat again.

I've been trying to get back into my running as well. A small belly has seemed to have emerged over that lsat few months as a replacement for my smoking. I blame it more on slowed metabolism than eating more although I know I have been snacking more than I should. Well, usually I'm content to run in my neighborhood on the hard but smooth concrete streets observing the really interesting residential architecture in my area but recently my shins have begun to complain. Also, because the weather is so nice I decided to go ahead and make my way down to the Tama river which cuts the southern part of Tokyo into the next prefecture. The city, or prefectures, have made the banks along the river pretty much continuous park areas for a good amount of the river, I'm really not sure how much. On my jog today I admired several generations of Japanese worshiping their recently renewed faith of baseball. Although I didn't find any tee-ball, I did find everything else from dad's pitch all the way up to middle aged recreational teams in full matching uniforms. I jogged by each of them one by one, one field after the other as well as a golfing range on the other side and a mini (not miniature) golf course in between the baseball diamonds and soccer fields. Others had set up picnic areas on the concrete banks along both sides while mothers pushed their children in strollers and enjoyed the weather. The parks really seems to come to life, more so on the weekends as I imagine is the case everywhere but even more here.

But that's all for now. Promise to get pictures up soon of the Cherry Blossoms of the last couple weeks. Check back in the next couple days.

skype anyone?

some of you know about this, some of you don't. If you want to talk this is the best way. I usually don't plug anything but this really is FM stereo quality if it's computer to computer. Check it out.



Get Skype and call me for free.

April 8th is now in the past tense

Ahh, helluva weekend but it's finally over. So, yesterday was the magic day of the Foreign Service Written Exam. I was surprised to see as man people taking it here in Tokyo. There must have been between 60-80 people by my estimate. Anyway, I was not allowed to leave for six hours and spent a good hunk of that testing. I'm not positive how I did, it could really go either way. I knew about the format and I've even prepared a bit. I timed myself on a couple sample essays earlier in the week and realized just how out of practice my writing is but how it's even worse writing longhand. My already poor handwriting has deteriorated even further and I think I've forgotten almost entirely how to write script/cursive. Well, this time I at least completed the essay in the proper time but it definitely was not the same caliber I wrote (on the computer) for the GRE a couple years back. Anyway, the other sections I really don't know, just have to be patient and wait.

I'm a historically slow test taker and yesterday proved no exception. I was among the last to finish for each section. Most likely it is the kind of people this tests attracts, especially when you're taking it abroad, but there seemed to be lots of interesting people yesterday. Unfortunately, sinceI was among the last to lay my pencil down during the final section, I didn't get the chance to grab the information of the people I had med during the break. For those few hours we were all back at university going through a semester final.

It has been a while where I've been in an environment where I could talk freely and openly with strangers. I haven't gone to the foreign oriented bars and I've avoided Ropongi entirely by its reputation. Anyway, the situation contrasted drastically to the pack of Japanese university students I saw waiting in single file at the Asahi TV building recently. Lined up in their identical suits, identical ties, identical black briefcases, waiting there turn to try and be the one of 50 that impresses the interviewer. They stood lined up not unlike the Agent Smith character in the Matrix once he has cloned himself many times over, minus the sunglasses and caucasian-ness. Not saying a word but silently looking ahead like bears hibernating with their eyes open. None of that was to be had yesterday. In the first place most people came in jeans or other comfortable clothing with the exception of a few others in suits who probably had to go to work afterwards. The attitudes were such a welcome warm change as well. It was easy to tell that a conversation could be started by simply saying the words "so what did you think?" or some equivalent to just about anyone. This seems so trite but after you've been here for a while you start to wonder if language aside, the Japanese would act in any similar way.

The weather report said rain and in proper fashion (the forecasts here don't lie) it did in fact rain. At least twice during the morning, I walked out to wet concrete and skies opening a bit to show off some grayish blue, very Houston. Katherine (a fellow UT Texan who also took the test) and I had some lunch and wandered around enjoying the day and the weather. While stopping for another cup of coffee in Azubu-juban we noticed one of our fellow test takers who joined us and we talked about our situations. Another very American moment that reminded me of some of the things I really miss. The casual encounters, the ever so slight motivation needed to talk to a new person, even the smaller scale of most cities back home (LA and outer-loop Houston excluded) that encourage these things to happen, these are some of the small things I treasure in life.

Anyway, that is that. I don't get my results back until sometime in July. If I pass there is the oral assessment which is even then only the second step. All said it can take a bare minimum of a year but usually much longer to find out if you are going to get a placement. So, fingers crossed.