What I am Reading and Listening to Now..

Right now I am working on two books...
Post Office by Charles Berkowski
and
Darkness Visable by William Styron

I am listening to a bit of the Shins and Damien Rice -O-

Sunday after Thanksgiving

It's Sunday November 28th, I have been here for four months now. To be honest I can't believe it. I have started the holiday season, had a Thanksgiving I will never forget. Actually right now, I am heating up my convection oven in order to bring a little bit of home closer to me. I am getting ready to broil a good ole' kentucky hot brown. Thank you Maria for the turkey, the leftovers from Thanksgiving thrown into a hot brown is probably my favorite thing about the holiday. You should have seen me at the store trying to decipher which powdery white substance in the baking aisle was flour. Armed with my translator, trying to match the kanji, I had no success, then I asked someone as they were walking by (after about 10 minutes) and they turned me around and pointed down, to flour. obviously flour because it was in the typical paper bags that flour comes in... one of my least favorite things to do in this country is to go to the grocery with a list- it takes forever to find what I am on a mission for...So on top of that I am going to try this hot brown thing, got the closest thing to bacon that you can get, made my rue with some random white cheese and real cheddar...hopefully it will at least be an edible variation when it comes out of the little 3 in one oven.
Today has been nice, got to talk to several friends and Sara. I really do miss everyone.
I have an exciting filled few weeks coming up... tommorrow I have work and taiko, then Tuesday work and Japanese class..Wed and Thurs are a little easier (nothing after school yet) and then Friday Karmen and I are hitting Tokyo for four days!!! It will be a blast and nice to venture out on my own a little in the city. Then the following Wed is my 25th birthday. No plans for the day yet, probably will do nothing spectacular, but Friday I have an enkai with my japanese class and then an open mic night, and Saturday a big group of folks are hitting up an izakya for my birthday- it should be a blast- coworkers, teachers, taiko buddies, coffee club members, and my friends...can't wait it will be here before I know it.

MyokoSan, I get a beautiful view of her every morning

the rice fields after the harvest

the last life before the snow..you can see Myoko in the background

the holidays....

So I just celebrated Thanksgiving last night with some friends. It was really nice. Thanks to Maria we had hot from the toaster oven turkey, stuffing, salad, bread, homemade mashed potatoes, gravy, I made brocolli casserole. Oishi desu! It was great. But it brought a little sadness upon me. I would say that I still am not homesick. But I think that when I have a hard time it is because I still haven't found my niche yet. I have made a lot of friends. I am very grateful of that. And my friends are great people...and I think a lot of it is in my head, but it is so easy to get lonely. I tend to get lonely even when surrounded by people. Crazy huh. If I really think about it, the same thing would happen in Saint Louis. It is the emotion that I came here to teach myself to manage. As far as I see it right now though, I don't think it is one that is managable. The holidays will be wierd this year. Not getting to spend them with family. I have done this before, well Thanksgiving at least. My real thanksgiving day dinner was a plate of french fries with Karmen at the public bath- that is what I did for myself on Thanksgiving- went to the public bath. It was nice. Christmas will be different. I bet I won't even feel like I had the holiday, seeing that I will be running around Vietnam with some friends. I will definitely feel New Years- in an aftermath hayday resting on the beach going what happened last night. I believe that is in the cards. But just the fact that it is already the holidays- I can't help but realize that this unescapable lonliness is something selfcreated. I did jump on the plane and come here didn't I. I am going to start my new years resolution early. It is going to be to shake this- I am not really lonely, but it is so easy to feel overwhelmed with this emotion. I get my energy from others and when I am constantly choosing to spend time alone it is more draining on me. I entertain myself and I have great relationships worldwide. I just need to nurture those relationships in a way that I can recognize to myself that is not just me in them, that the friend is actually a person who in return cares for me. Well I am off to dinner with Karmen then meeting up with the lot of English teachers from the area for a night out in Naoetsu instead of our typical night out in Takada. So the season is upon us, Happy Holidays. Wish I could spend time with each and every person that has touched my life..because I love you all.

Mel prepares her glass

Daikons hanging out to dry in Arai

We went to Karuazawa and made glass beads

mel and i are breaking a sweat

for fun in japan, many people go to game centers... full of various arcade games and pirikura... one of my favorite games at cheamy, which is a horse race, it is amazingly fun!

my fake ekaiwa class took some local ALTs to Nagano to make washi, homemade paper

Washi making in Nagano

making washi

after making washi, we went to an onsen in the mountains and had dinner

Arafat dies

Yasir Arafat died today....

Winning with a Postcard

So, back in August I was reading Playback's website and they had a contest going on to win a copy of McSweeney's "The Future Dictionary of America" You were to write about what it means to be a patriotic...( oh and by the way, I was one of the four winners, at the following linkand postcard in all it's glory: http://www.playbackstl.com/Events/events124.htm )

On the card to playback:

Yea USA! (at least STL) Here I am living in Japan,but I still have the need for my local scenery and curmudgeon. I have just moved here to Japan, and am already getting my fare shareof media. In Japan, the media bombardment is limited to CNNJ and the BBC and the internet, but it still attacks my mind with pointless stories and it is an election year. Being abroad you learn a lot about yourself and how your country is percieved. you also learn that you represent that country (whether you agree with who is in office or not) and you have the power to change peoples negative perceptions by being friendly and understanding yourself. one of the great things about our country is our freedom to express. not only is it a freedom, it is a right: a right that is instilled in us through assertiveness and the ability to question leadership, choices, and history. These rights and characteristics exist in america. the citizens of the US know these rights and have begun to take them for granted. we have the right to vote and to even get off work so we can. that is not an inconvience (dont talk inconvience to me someonewho is voting absentee overseas) we also have theabiltiy to question the outcome how f** amazing isthat? I know I dont always agree witht the man in office (especially lately) and I know sometimes it feels like our voices dont get heard. i do know that I am patriotic becaue i love my country.. i just think we need to filll capitol hill with people who love it just as much. people who understand the importanceof differences and acceptanc. people willing to learnfrom each other. thanks,carrie sublett

Freeing Myself on a Political Rant

Ok, So I am going to go on a political rant here- actually I am going to go on two.

One is going to be me reflecting on the Global Position of the United States. It will possess both my view of this position (and my view of the populous' lack of understanding this position)

The other- is going to be on This Bloody Election 2004.. and my reaction to the commentary I heard last night as I watched hours upon hours of interviews and websites awaiting an outcome.

Jishin (Earthquake)

Just in yet another Earthquake- at school. it is 9:00 am. I am in a planning period, so I wasn't teaching. It was a register 5 in Nagaoka. Joetsu area got a register 4. It really is getting annoying to say the least.

The Presidential Election

So I am getting sick watching this. I am being honest. I am getting physically ill. I am also getting emotionally distraut. I feel helpless. Like I am being suffocated during a pillowfight. It is nearly 5am E.T. in the US. It has become clear---> The country (US) is going to be ruled by Republicans. .

As for who will be president---> It is pretty much down to the state of Ohio.

I only have access to watch CNN, which many people seem to find left. However remarkably resembling 2000 as I browse the internet, Ohio has already been projected with 99% of the vote in. Fox has called this for Bush. CNN has not called it and is refusing to call it until all votes are counted- it is too close to call. They (CNN) are also calling New Mexico too close to call.

Meanwhile our busy, loving, superman, fending off terrorist president is waiting up so he can go and party it up with the GOP. (he just wants someone to call NM because he thinks it is important before he heads over to the Regan Center) Basically, in the eyes of this man, if you already got the party started you know, it sucks if someone comes in and busts it up...good plan Mr. Pres.

I was also thinking, if he wins, do you think he would be concerned for his life at all? There are a lot of people out there who hate this man more than any other. Our country is divided- and if this election has not shown this man something, it is that some things need obvious change. We need to unite, and there needs to be a better understanding in Congress and the WhiteHouse, that as an elected official you represent the people, the constituents of the country. No more BS.

It is going to be a long four years, especially if everything remains the same. I am tired of scare tactics. I feel sometimes they just pull out a colored card from some deck of cards hidden in the oval office choose one and say, "Yep, today's terrorist alert is Orange." I bet that deck of cards are right next to the Iraqi Most Wanted deck in this junk drawer; hidden in this drawer, down under all the random rolls of duct tape and pieces of string, are also thorough security briefings, and letters from people/constituents, now hopefully, those will set out on the desk, instead of being shoved in a junk drawer.

It is easy to say things that make people like you, but it is the challenge to do things; that makes the job of president so important. There better be more done during this term if GW Bush gets re-elected.

It is important to realize how truly important this election is globally.

The interesting thing about going through a presidential election while being abroad is this.....You gather the reaction of people world wide. (and this is my second time being abroad during one- well I was abroad during the majority of the debates and campaigning in 2000) The constituents of the world are not so concerned with the House and Senate- they just want a balanced system there- but the President- this is the office that concerns the world. All foriegn policy seems to ride on the intelligence and global understanding that the president possesses. If you think about it, the person who is the President of the United States deeply effects the social, political, economic, and culture of each nation worldwide. For some people the US president also determines the safety, life, and death. And with the US at war right now, it is even more important to see this. I fear for my safety at times. I am rather close to Korea- actually only 3 hours by boat. Just hope that nothing gets stirred up more here in the Pacific.

There is an interesting site that shows the outcome of the election if the world could vote. I wish people would take this into consideration when voting...but I also know that in our Narciccist society, none of that matters to the majority of those people who are going to go out there and vote. I now await the outcome- and now as I finish this, Bush is waiting for Kerry to concede.

If the World Could Vote, this is how it would be

http://www.theworldvotes.org/index.php?nid=876&newsid=174

3-2 mixing it up