So I`m 17 on the 17th. That was yesterday for me, but that would be today for you folks so I`m technically not too late to write this entry. I just got my package in the mail from my awesome mum with lots of prezzies, including a collection of very nice cds my brother picked out for me that I`m enjoying as I`m writing this. I`m going to save all the tasty candy I got to make it last (an incorrigible habit I`ve had since I was little, thankfully, unlike all the Halloween loot I don`t have to worry about other people eating it if I don`t quick enough). I also got some Zen blocks which I can play with when I`m devising intricate plans and weaving complex thoughts. Wouldn`t I be suave, hehe.

What am I thinking at the moment? Nothing particularly stupendous, just reflections and realizations of how much I`ve grown and changed since my last birthday. Oh I don`t think I could begin to list how many thoughts, moments, journeys, mistakes, and adventures I`ve had, as egoistic and self-flattering as that sounds. That`s one change worth mentioning I guess, contrary to expectations, my ego has shown itself full force this year. I`ve never felt so confident in myself, nor have I ever been so eager, full of energy. I want to flex my potentials and strength to the limit. I want to expand in directions I would have shyed from before, like I`ve untangled myself from an old net I no longer have use for. There`s much less fear in me now. 

Today is just one more reminder of the precious little time I have left in Japan, and admittedly that is a cause of some stress. I`m not eager to end this experience that`s changed me so much for the better, and I`m not eager to say goodbye to this beautiful country and all the people I`ve been so fortunate to meet here. But, what I`ve gained here will not be left behind when I go home. That`s encouraging. The same energy with which I explore and push myself here will serve me no less well back home, and judging by all the things I plan to start doing, I will need it for sure.

This day isn`t so much a marker of an end or beginning to anything (except perhaps the next year of my life, though honestly, is that not just a fabricated, arbitrary distinction?). It`s just a day I took a moment to reflect on myself (which, surprisingly considering my personality, I actually haven`t done too much lately). I`m pretty happy with what I see.

Thank you all for the birthday greetings, I hope all of you are doing wonderfully. I love you all : )

So we have some news. Both my parents are moving as of next year. If you remember, my Dad had a townhouse in Kanata, and my Mum lived way out in the country, on the very, very edge of Ottawa. Now, my Dad has decided to move out to White Lake (way out in the middle of nowhere) in order to pursue his new hobbies of beekeeping, horseback riding, and building his new house (he designed it himself). Now, this would have meant me no longer having a place to sleep that is on the bus route for my days in town (read: the death of any party-going plans). Dad initially was going to do this the summer after next rather than this year, for the sole purpose that I would prefer having a social life. He changed his mind, and I was very pissed (not that I told him about it, I`d feel bad if I tried to stomp on this project he`s been waiting to carry out for so long). However, thankfully *trumpet fanfare* Mum has come to the rescue. She`s decided to buy a little house in Stittsville. It`s close to Hazeldean and I think it`s very close to DJ`s house and Alex Wagstaff`s. It`s also on the 96 bus route, which means I will be able to go downtown anytime I want. Maybe I can get my parents to buy me a busspass.. hehehe. I`m so selfish. I`ll probably buy it with my own money once I get a job. Anyways, this basically just means my parent`s have swapped the job of providing the crashpad for my late night escapades. And that me, DJ, Alex, and anyone else who lives in Stittsville will be hanging out a lot more than before. All in all I`m quite pleased.

These past weeks have been some of the most exciting in my life. I`m just elated with all the oppurtunities that have been opened in the world within and without me, and I welcome the confusion that comes with being in the crossroads of so many paths. I`ve come to love uncertainty more than I ever did false clarity. My perspectives have changed. No longer do I dwell in one mindset or dogma, I do everything to affirm and perceive all that I can. The world has become a much bigger, more complicated, and more interesting place to me. Simultaneously, I am at peace with more and yet have developed a great thirst to change the world in some way. This unchaining has been the most satisfying change in myself that I`ve ever seen, and, not surprisingly, it is one I did not expect to happen. But, to give myself some credit, I did expect any changes over the course of the year to be unexpected. 

Adventures backed with some light reading up on subjectivist philosophy and the helpful advice of a very good friend can do a lot for the mind, it would seem. Thinking freely is lovely.

So the journal is quiet as always. I promised pictures, but I don`t think I`ll be uploading them until I switch host families because I still haven`t installed the software on their computer and there`s only a few weeks left until I change to my next anyway.

I can tell you what I`ve been doing though. Being bad. At least relative to the Rotary Club`s view of what amounts to "bad". I`ve been going to America-mura (infested with crazy awesomely dressed japanese young people) many times. I go to edgy used punk music stores, buying demo cds of ska/punk groups. I hang out in Triangle Park, maybe having a beer. Performers come by, and all the kids who are supposed to be doing their spring break homework or something sit around and smoke. It`s rare for kids to be doing anything they`re not supposed to be in Japan though, seriously. The high schools don`t have smoking sections, and for a student to be smoking (let alone drinking or doing drugs) is really exceptional. Not that I would EVER do ANYTHING of that nature. Of course not.

Anyways, it`s therefore a good place to meet interesting young people. Thus, I go there pretty much every chance I get. I`ve been frequenting this livehouse, called "King Cobra". It`s cheap and they play a lot of ska and punk, which is something I`m really getting into lately. They also serve alcohol and believe me to be 21 or so (just over the age limit of 20) so of course I partake quite liberally. Overall a nice place to hang out. Once they had a special event, running from 2:30 in the afternoon to 11:00 at night. It cost about 20$ equivalent to get in. They were bringing in ska bands from across Japan, and they were good enough that they got the whole crowd really animated. Usually Japanese concerts are a little tame compared to those back home, but this time we started a big mosh pit in the middle. It was awesome. I only fell down once, and someone stepped on my elbow really hard, but it was so fun. There hasn`t been one quite as exciting as that time yet, but if I keep frequenting the livehouse something interesting should happen.

 Then there was the time I met a random New Zealander who talked me into going to a turkish bar and smoking "apple tobacco". It`s a weird thing sold legally that`s "sort of" like tobacco, only it has no nicotine. You smoke it out of a hooka. Inside the hooka there`s little pipes running through it and water. The smoke has to touch the water to get to your mouth so all the harshness gets absorbed by the water and it just feels like it`s trickling smoothly down your throat.  And it tastes like apple. It`s cheap too, and it`s just fun to try and blow smoke circles. Luke could do it really well, all I could manage was clouds. That was an interesting time. I`ll get a picture of the hooka posted up in some distant era of the future.

The whole feel of the neighborhood is just great. They call it "America-mura", which means "America Village", but that`s definetely a misnomer. If you just see the style of the kids in the area, the kind of music that`s played, and the hordes of japanese people walking around, it absolutely screams Japan. I just love it.

Well, I lied. Instead of writing more, I ended up skipping a month. Hey, I`ve been busy. But, I think I have some stuff to talk about now.

Okay, first things first, school trip. I got to ride the bullet train for the first time ever, which was more interesting than I thought it would be. It was so fast, houses went by almost as fast as bugs headed in the opposite direction when you`re in a car. We went across Japan in about 2 hours from Osaka to Tokyo. On the way, I managed to get a decent picture of about the only thing that didn`t disappear from sight too fast - the summit of Mount Fuji. That`s something which at some point will grace my facebook I suppose (yes, you could say I have joined the legion of facebook zombies, the upload times for pictures are much faster than going through Photobucket to post them on LJ and I don` feel as obligated to write about them).

Anyways, about the trip. We had lunch in a Chinatown neighborhood on the sea, which was awesome. Then we got on the bus and rode it for four and a half hours until we got to the ski resort in the mountains. For the first time since landing here, I saw snow. Although I wouldn`t exactly say it was "cold" it was a nice break from this poser Japanese "winter". Skiing was fun, because for once I wasn`t completely hopeless compared to those around me, in fact, I was probably one of the better skiers there (yeah, everyone was that bad). We skied during the day and then got to relax in what was a somewhat mediocre but comfortable hotel. One of the best parts was a really good conversation with Hiroaki in our hotel room. We discussed ambition, the media, the presence of drugs and crime in Canada and Japan, justice, and freedom of thought, among other things. All in Japanese. Which I`m proud of.

After skiing we went to Tokyo Disneyland for a full day. It was decidedly unimpressive, but hey, I was with my friends, no complaints. The big rides were all down for maintenance, and the others had long waits. Food was over-priced and not terribly delicious, and the decorations got on my nerves. You get the picture. After that we rode the bus all night to get all the way back to Osaka. I drank way too much coffee so I couldn`t sleep. I got home finally and slept most of the day.

Okay, there`s plenty of other stories I could tell, but feel like practicing some guitar or something. Oh, by the way, I`m going on my first date with Kaeko (Kah-ay-koh) sometime this week. Will get back to you on that soon.

Long time no post, so I just figured I`d try and find something to talk about before I go to Tokyo tomorrow. It`s the big school trip and it`ll be with all my Japanese friends. Finally I`m hoping to take some good pictures of people. I get to ride the Shinkansen (bullet train) for the first time, see Mount Fuji, go skiing, and go to Disneyworld (not my first choice of things to do in Tokyo, but then I wasn`t the guy who planned the trip).

Me and the other exchange boys around here had a big day out on Sunday. There was me, the german Florian, the mexican Adel, the belgian Thibeau, and the french Sebastien. We wandered around the downtown trying to strike up conversations with random groups of girls (which was hard being a group of five), eating ramen, messing around in arcades, playing billards and darts, talking loudly in various languages about stupid things, and otherwise killing time in the big city. We didn`t end up finding any girls, but very fun time anyways. We finished up by asking strangers on the street what their favourite cheap restaurant in the area was, and we were pointed to a nice Indian place by a very friendly american English teacher. That place made some good nan bread. 

Wow, you`d think I`d have more stories to tell being in Japan and all, but to tell you the truth, this is home to me now. I guess some of it might make for interesting entries, but I would never think to write about it - it`s pretty much everyday stuff to me now. The easiest way I guess is to just take pictures - picture says a thousand words and all that. I`ll try and say something interesting after I get back from my trip.

Okay, first off, the below post is all lies. Twisted abominable heathen lies meant to deceive you all into worshipping Zoomakallis, ending up burning in torment neath his angry feet as he sadistically steps on your ears. Purge your mind of that nonsense.

Firstly, my new host family does have a computer, and they are letting me use it for stuff.
Secondly, since they are going to let me plug my iPod in, I will not have to endure three months without music.
Thirdly, since they are going to let me plug in my camera, I have no excuse not to start posting up more pictures at some point.
Fourthly, there is no excuse for stabby pessimism this year. There is no time for that, I`m busy with going on adventures and stuff.

So my new setup is working out well. The host parents are nice, and lenient (no strict curfew or anything like that). Their cat is friendly and he`s named Totoro so he`s cool. My room doesn`t have a TV or stereo, but it has something which is almost as good - a desk and a decent chair. My back has been aching for a while so a nice, Western-style chair is a welcome break. The desk means I can store stuff instead of throwing it everywhere. If I feel like being tidy that is. There`s also a heater and a comfy futon. Windows offer pleasant views of the neighborhood too. For some reason it all reminds of Raito Yagami`s neighborhood and room in Death Note. Not sure why.

About Death Note. I changed my mind about the movies again. They are decidedly mediocre. I read the end of the manga, and it was so much better that it made the other version worse. Yeah, I liked the ending of Death Note. If you stick with the series even after the unnameable-event-which-everyone-hates-but-that-I-won`t-describe-because-it- would-be-a-spoiler, it`s actually turns out quite well. Have to say, the end can be a tad depressing for saps like me. But very good over all.

Back to reality, I recently realized that I am at  the halfway point of my exchange. No longer is it a matter of counting how many weeks I`ve been here, it is no time to count how many weeks I have left. Which is about 26 give or take. A week goes by faster than a train, so... yeah feeling the pressure. My current plan is to flip out and panic and manically try to fill every last second of my time, dodging things that would spongily absorb it (aka, writing speeches for shit), and trying to get out every single day possible. Also, if I ever am going to get to get a Japanese girlfriend, the time is now.

 I will try to find something good to write about once a week from now on, but since Japanese life is now normal to me it`s not quite so easy for me to find something interesting to talk about. So yeah, quite pleased with the new arrangement.

I`m leaving for my next host family tomorrow. I`m cool with that, a new family, house, neighborhood, all that`s fine. I`m grateful that they`re putting me up and they look nice so there`s nothing I *should* complain about. But I am going to miss my old family, and I can never stop thinking that this important phase for me, these four months living here, is totally over in about 36 hours. I will never experience anything like this again, it`s done. It`s not that there aren`t plenty of other experiences just as amazing around the corner, but that doesn`t change the fact that this one is now ending. Gah. Of course, this is now the time when I begin evaluating everything I did not take full advantage of when I had the oppurtunity, for no good reason and from which no positive result can come, and yet I still do it.

Yeah, um, my next host family doesn`t have internet or a computer so... I`m going to be very slow replying to e-mails, ljs, facebooks and stuff. I`ll try to get to an internet cafe once a week or so... I`ll try and think of something every week to post up here. I hate to say this, but unless you guys like staying up very late very often you won`t get to talk to me on MSN very often either. Oh, and since I can`t upload pictures to a computer that doesn`t belong to me, there will be 0 photos coming from me for the next... oh.. three months. Since I can`t plug my iPod into a computer that isn`t mine, I can`t recharge the batteries on my iPod. Since I can`t expect the luxury of having my own personal stereo system in my next house.. that means no music for the next 3 months too.  Lovely.

This is getting me down needless to say.

Alright, I`m done spewing whiny bullshit now.

So, though I didn`t get to see much happening for Christmas in Japan, they do quite a bit for New Years, and it`s not even New Years yet...

My host family is having lots of guests over on the big day, so they have to clean up the whole house, which is what everyone is doing at this time of year (traditional big cleanup for New Years). I helped scrub out air conditioners and vents and other stuff. I didn`t mind at all.. it gave me something to do for a change as I had been really bored the last few days. Then the next day they brought over all the boy scouts in the area to make Omochi. Omochi is a sticky rice paste which you can stretch out and roll into balls and all kinds of stuff. It`s really tasty. You make it by taking a huge ball of rice, soaking it in water, then pounding it over and over again with a big wooden hammer. Yeah, it`s fun to make. The boys were going pretty crazy with the big mallet... surprised we didn`t lose anyone.

I change host families in 5 days. It sucks. This is the coolest family I could possibly have and they live in the best possible location - right in downtown Osaka. My next host family is in Ibaraki, which is on the outskirts of Osaka, which is a drag... And it`s still like an hour and 15 minutes away from my school. It`s close to some of the other exchange students though..... although it`s far from just about everywhere else..... um... yay. But the family itself seems nice. The father is an English teacher in a school for mentally handicapped children, which means it`s about 99% certain he`s going to be a fantastically nice guy, and his wife seems very kind and a good cook too. They had kids, but they`re all grown up and moved out, I would have liked to have host siblings. My siblings right now are awesome. But as long as they`re nice it doesn`t really matter. There are trains and buses all over the place, I can always head into town on my own if I want to. No more walking to Dotonbori and in the park along the river to take pictures though. I`m sure I`ll like the new setup once I`m used to it, although I will definetely miss my old one on account of how great it was.

It`s winter break. Finally, I have time to tune and start messing around with the 70$ guitar I bought, read some manga, head out with friends, and sleep. No Rotary events scheduled for a while too. My trip to Tokyo which my dad is paying for as my Christmas present won`t be happening until spring break unfortunately, but that does leave me more free time I suppose. And there`s Christmas. Sort of. I don`t get to see anyone, or the real side of Christmas which the plastic decorations and really annoying 80s versions of Christmas carols they play in the malls here can`t quite capture, but it is still Christmas. I got my Christmas package in the mail a while ago, and sent off my own a few days ago. It will probably arrive late, which makes me something of a loathsome bastard. But I have very little to complain about. It`s a quiet, relaxed day, my host mum and host cousin (5 year old girl, adorable) are dozing on the floor, I`m just sitting here at the computer having a good time. 

By the way, I think from now on I`ll upload photos to facebook instead of here. It`s just so much faster to upload there than to send them to photobucket and then post them. If anyone doesn`t have facebook, they should get it, it`s actually pretty cool.

I`ve officially completely changed my mind on the Death Note live action movie. It`s actually not that bad, only thing is Misa`s actress sucks. Oh, and they added a previously non-existent girlfriend for Light which was a drag. The second one is pretty good though. I like the ending.

I`m having one of those days where I worry like crazy whether I`m using my time here as well as I could be. Paranoia is annoyingly cyclical in that you can very easily start worrying about your worrying.

It`s all illogical of course. I simply can`t spend EVERY day wandering around going on awesome Japan adventures with people. There ARE going to be some days that are going to be boring and all I really do is sit around and surf the internet, fiddle around with my various accounts (I`m starting to have quite a few, hard to keep track), watch stuff on youtube, read manga (and call it "studying japanese") and other time sinks. Still, everytime I catch myself lazing around I start getting nervous that I`ll look back on this and think "Damn! I squandered the best oppurtunity that ever came my way!!".

I talked with a university exchange student a while ago who`s leaving later this month. He`s freaking out because he`s not ready, he wants to stay. That is probably my destined fate as well, to want to remain and experience things but be unable to. It`s already been more than three months, I don`t know about you guys, but to me it felt more like three weeks. There`s simply no time.

Despite the above, I miss everyone so much. It`s kind of scary, but in a way I feel so out of touch with absolutely everyone. When I look at a picture of someone back home, it`s strange, but I recognize and don`t recognize them at the same time. Obviously I know who they are, and it does bring back memories, but some familiarity isn`t quite there. Their face seems new and different (maybe because they are??). It`s kind of interesting, Canada doesn`t seem so dull anymore. Ottawa has suddenly become this iconically exciting, icy, quiet city with loads of oppurtunities for adventures.

It`s ironic to me that the days where I tend to be the most paranoid about using my time here as best I can are also the days when I am most homesick. Why would I simultaneously long for home and for experiences in Japan? The two seem to contradict each other to me. Even more puzzling is that despite feeling anxious about all the above, I also feel extremely elated these days. I look at all the oppurtunities open to me now and in the future and I feel like I`ve been sleeping all my life up until now. It`s very liberating.

So it`s test week here in Japan (they have them every two months I think) and everyone but me is freaking out over their exams. I`ve got a Spanish exam and a Japanese exam to worry about. Oh, and the English exams. Better study up for those ones. Last time both the Spanish and Japanese exams were pushovers so I have nothing to worry about. I`ve got an hour and a half before I need to head to school for my 50 minute exam (although it`s an hour and fifteen commute each way) so I`m writing about stuff.

Hmm... what do I have to talk about..

Ah. The day before yesterday I blew 50$ to take a bath. Or a bunch of baths, as it were. The place was called -and you`re going to laugh at me- Spa World. Yeah. Me and two friends went to take some traditional Japanese baths in this HUGE complex. There were hot bubbling baths, hot milky baths, scalding hot baths, herbal baths, outdoor baths, cold bath, gold bath (just a really cold bath), steam saunas, Finnish saunas, salt saunas (there`s a tub of salt in the middle and you put it all over your skin), and there`s also the "electric bath". It`s a little tub which you stand in and the water goes up to your stomach or so. There`s a low electric current running through the water so it basically feels like someone`s stabbing you with a million needles every second you`re in there. Also, if your heart or head gets fully immersed for more than a second you can die... but apparently some people like the sensation. Me, I passed on that one. All the baths are public and populated with many business men, but this isn`t my first time going to a public bath so it wasn`t that awkward. It was actually really nice, makes your skin feel good for three days. Whether it was worth 50$, well, who cares. I have hundreds of dollars of gift money I haven`t even bitten into yet, I`m not going to waste brain power on worrying about money or anything else for that matter.

Oh, the Death Note live action movie was pretty crappy, it totally buggers up the story and makes L seem like such a wussy child, when he should be portrayed as the coolest character in the series (although Light is an awesome villain). The anime is really good though, mostly because it stays as close to the manga as it can.

I found out I was on the honour roll last year not long ago.. that was a surprise.

I am in such a profoundly good mood right now and I simply must find something to write about so I can put it to good use. Well, while sending a letter back to my Rotary Club back home I was suddenly reminded of just how awesome this experience really is. I`m really proud I made it here today. I`m so happy with my Japanese, it`s getting to the point where I can watch Death Note with no subs and understand what`s going on... as well as reading the manga at a decent rate. I feel as comfortable speaking it as I do French, although my vocab is smaller, admittedly. I can understand some of my classes now, which means the static which buzzed in my ears all day for so long is no more. 

I drew a circle and succesfully turned it into a sphere, probably one of the only things I`ve ever drawn that didn`t explode with suckiness. Very annoying when that happens. Makes a mess everywhere. Hopefully with practice I`ll be able to draw something interesting someday. It`d be good for fleshing out my campaigns and such.

I`m now a decent DDR player (up to six feet, woot) and have made a really good friend at the arcade, a guy named Asai. Interestingly enough, he`s thinking of going to Canada next year for his own Rotary Exchange and I am going to offer hosting him at my place. It`s also likely that I`ll be staying with him for the last few months of my exchange, so it`ll a splendid arrangement overall should it all work out. I could teach him English and he could teach me both Japanese and how to draw better (he`s a sweet artist). He`s also just a really cool guy and I`d love you guys to meet him.

I`m really starting to enjoy using my camera, although I have a lot to learn before I`ll even consider attempting to claim to potentially have any marginal amount of skill. I`m thinking of experimenting with long exposures, weird angles and night shots (which I suck at). I have an idea or two. If they work out the results will find their way here. Also, Erik finished a feature-length comic because he`s awesome, Alex`s music is as kicking as ever, and we`re finally getting see Betty`s webcomic. I think I need to use my energy for something, so I think I`ll take a walk down the river and take some photos. Adios.

So... I took this zombie attack survival quiz and I think I did pretty well, despite not having studied. Voila my results:

Survivor You scored 68 Survival, 68 Leadership, and 92 Psychological!

Oh you're good. Your survival skills and leadership are good enough to keep you alive and organized for at least a little while. Your real strength, however, lies in your very admirable ability to keep your calm in even the most intense situations. Your body and command qualities may be decent, but your mind is a powerhouse of stability. Estimated Survival Time: 2 Months

Wrrd. I`m good at the whole surviving apocalypses dealy it seems. Of course, this is only on my own, with allies for back-up it could be longer. Anyways, all of you must take this.. everyone should know how long they`d fare against the undead.

Link: The Real Zombie Attack Survival Test written by WillOlmen on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Alright, I fulfill my promise at last. I restored my relationship with my camera, it works now. I was doing something wrong with the charger or something. I took it to school and got some good shots of the grounds and its inhabitants.

Finally something to put on top of the blatherous two entries preceding this. For a few days I was in a bad mood. I was getting very homesick for all of you, and I had a quarrel with my host father. Saint Fuminori is not so great when he`s mad. I had agreed to go to a Rotex (Rotary Youth) event and fully intended to go, and I promised I could manage to get there on my own. The family was a little busy and didn`t have time to babysit, nor would I want them to. I screwed up and slept in way too late and missed the event, and my host dad was not happy. He carries responsability for everything I do, and people at the Rotary Club would talk about how he couldn`t manage accomadating my needs. Reputation, especially in Japan, is no joke. While I don`t think he needed to get quite so... animated about it, I could understand his irritation. But needless to say it makes for an unpleasant and awkward few days.

But now I`m in a good mood. I have a cold and it pisses me off, but in a good mood. I`m enjoying school and my Japanese is still sky-rocketing. I`ve finished the kanji textbook that was meant to last most of the year and I can understand enough of class to vaguely follow where the lesson is going (but it`s boring so I usually read, sleep, or study Japanese). 

I bought three Japanese indie rock cds and I`m very pleased with them. All of you add "The Backhorn", "Bump of Chicken", and "Porno Graffiti" to your list of good bands to check out. Bump of Chicken has a nice clean, smooth sound, which kind of reminds me of the Shins mixed with some Weezer. The Backhorn is the opposite. They have a rough, dark sound, a really cool lead singer (who likes to yell out lyrics coarsely from time to time) and beautiful lyrics (even if you can`t understand them, they send vibes pretty clearly). Porno Graffiti is not as artistically serious as the other two, but they`re fun. They`re lighthearted, and are tinged with pop sound, but nothing too bad, as long as you can get past the occasionally irritating weird little attempted English exclamations ("Jazz Up Feeling!",  "Dive into the girl! Dive into the mother`s sky!").

I`m going to go enjoy my good mood now (and by that I mean eat dinner) so ta ta for now.

Holy crap I`m bummed right now. I know I promised pictures of awesome Japanese people, but that will have to wait yet longer. I made a resolution to not post again unless I could deliver on that but I`m breaking it now because resolutions tend to be dysfunctional anyways and I have other stuff to say. Anyone in a good mood and not up for reading a negative post should stop now.

Alright, so here's the good news. Felix has been revived, though in a somewhat fetal stage, and I'm tempted to rename him Fenix due to his rejuvenation and because of the phonetic similarity. At the moment "iPod" is simply too generic a name for such a talented being. In other words, a pile of cds arrived from home a few days ago. I've got all the White Stripes except Elephant, the Arcade Fire, Bloc Party, Pinkerton by Weezer (which I'm rapidly starting to believe is the only album of theirs that's much good), the New Pornographers, the Shins, Franz Ferdinand, Metric, and Seargeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Add that to the cocktail of stuff from Hermie and the Pillows and L'Arc en Ciel albums I bought here and you've got a decent start, but it's not complete. I need more.... more! Ok, that's all great, but because of the fact that Windows is stupid it took forever to put em all on, and because of the fact that Windows (which must be to blame for this somehow) is even stupider the upload settings for bit rate were set at 56 for some reason so with the exception of Hermie's mezclada on the data discs the drums on all the tracks sound like some cheesy machine crap from some laser rock band and the guitars run together homogenously sometimes. I'll have to delete it all and upload it again. Very annoying.

Well, perhaps it was jealousy from all the attention that precious, lovely, wonderful, pleasant, obedient, dear Fenix has been receiving lately, but my camera doesn't love me anymore. His batteries for some reason won't recharge, despite the fact they've been through a handful of cycles, which means when I took him to school with me to get the requested photos, he only had enough power for a handful of shots, despite the fact that I had charged the batteries all the night before. The few I got were lame, clearly the result of sabotage from my metallic so-called "friend". My camera's being immature and selfish. He should be punished. Unfortunately doing so would not produce what I require, namely pictures of my friends.

And then there's Halloween. Well, for all of you there is. There is none here. Unlike most other North-American holidays, it seems to have virtually no presence in Japan. I asked my host mum why, and it's kind of ridiculous and somewhat twisted. A while ago, kids who were into western culture would go trick-or-treating on Halloween like we do, but they wouldn't get much loot because the adults weren't up to snuff with the latest imported fads. It was growing though, until one year. One teenager about my age went out dressed up as some monstrosity and went up to an older man's house and rang the bell, saying "trick-or-treat" as one might expect. Unfortunately the old man was a somewhat out-of-the-loop type and thought the young man was some kind of threatening hooligan or something and called the police. They arrived, and despite the young man's efforts at explaining, something he did must have spooked some jumpy officer and he was shot dead. Since then talk of trick-or-treating is simply not done. Of all the holidays of the year, I thought I would miss this one least, but at the moment I'm more homesick than I ever was in the first weeks, or at Thanksgiving. I also realize that it's not ever going to be really cold here, which is strangly sad for me.

There's more stuff that's irking me right now, like the ignorance of certain groups (none of you or people you know, don't worry), the ever-irritating onslaught of stuff to do, something which if it does exist there's no point in hating and if it doesn't exist (which it doesn't) there's no point in hating, and some fucking disturbing dreams I'm just remembering now, but I'll spare you all.

For those of you with less emotionally needy digital cameras, send me or post some pictures of cool Canadian people, namely yourselves and your friends. I could use it right now.

Ok, another big photo update for you ladies and gentlemen. Firstly we have some kind of city festival which I attended with my host sister and her girl scout friends. Fortunately I did not have to man the bracelet making stall due to my total lack of competence with arts and crafts so I wandered about taking pictures of stuff. The photos afterwards are from Dotonbori, which is this cool trendy awesome street in downtown with no accursed cars, just shops, restaurants, a canal, and loads of wakaimono (young people). I hope to return there soon, maybe chaperone-less as it offers more freedom of movement and time to snap photos of stuff. Anyways, photos below. Hope you enjoy.

 

Last weekend was another trip to Nara, this time to the Nara basin which is filled with Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. I went with Kuwata-san (fourth favor he`s done for me) and Phil, the exchange student from Chicago. Phil is pretty cool, but really, really chatty. He talks really loud too. Fortunately he`s not your stereotypical biased, ignorant, arrogant American (he hates Bush as much as any of us), although he knows absolutely nothing about Canada ("Who`s Harper?") so the conversation is actually pretty decent. We spent at least an hour discussing Trigun at one point, making him the first person other than me to be able to do that. This was only a day-trip, but a really interesting one, and as you may have guessed, loads of pictures were taken.