In a few short days I’ll be leaving for Japan so I’ve decided to write up a series of small posts to be released every day like an Iv drip until I know I have solid INTERNET access..

The question is what to write about.. I’ve decided I haven’t posted about England at all when I went earlier in the late spring.. So while I’m in the Internet “blackout” I’ll post pictures of that trip.. I should say that if I do get any INTERNET access I’ll try and tweet, update facebook, and blog when possible.

Thanks-

Cheers!

~J out

I know some people who read this blog might scoff or laugh when I say this, but it’s the nature of my beast.

Over the weekend I was trying to figure out how to dual boot a completely linux based laptop. The original hard drive that came with it was a meager 20-30GB hard drive with I think ‘Windows Vista Business.’ It was ok for the first week I used it, but soon I was looking to get 3GB ram (orig.= 1GB), a 250 GB Seagate HDD, and other stuff. I also made the switch to Ubuntu which was a great move at the time…

Then I bought a AVCHD camcorder… Now Linux will decode HD video with apparently a weird script, but it takes forever to do. Windows, with all of it’s massive evilness, decodes the raw HD video in like 10 minutes to Divx using certain programs. That’s when I wanted to dual boot..

So… I had no install disks for vista (the laptop was a cL deal), but Windows 7 RC was easy to get.. All was going well except my laptop doesn’t have a DVD player so I had to figure out a USB boot. <this took too long to get right. (Toshiba’s fault).

Second… Win. 7 isn’t packaged with SATA drivers (nice one MS dudes). I recently deduced this after trying every which way to get the installer to see the HDD. Turns out you need Raid drivers for Vista to get the win 7 installer to see your HDD (oh and the exe driver fails.. get the “real driver”)

Third… install Win 7, get a working product key (lol).

and the list could go on..

impressions

At first I like win 7′s format.. the GUI is spot on and looks nice. Things work well on it and I can decode my HD on it no prob.. However…

Right after win 7 installed.. I wiped my USB drive and plopped on a fresh distro of Kubuntu 9.04 and installed it on a new partition.

here’s the thing…

No problems detecting the HDD.. Bluetooth worked… hell even my Wacom stuff worked… all out of the box in a fresh looking awesome KDE environment.

Between KDE and Win 7.. I think that Ubuntu is far superior, more reliable, and once it catches on– could in a few years over take windows..

Unless of course MS Windows has a OMG Come to Jesus moment and turns Win 7 into pure awesomeness… heh.. lollz..

Linux ppl.. let’s get on the ball for an easy avchd converter & awesome kdenlive type video editor?

~J out

In two weeks I will have introduced myself to many new friends and have said many heartfelt goodbyes to others. My bags will be packed and stacked neatly against my door, my room mostly bare with slight traces that I had been there.

In two weeks time I’ll lay on my bed one last time and look up at my ceiling and reflect on the new turn in my never-ending life adventure.

I’m very keen on the fact that life should always be one perpetual ride– so thrilling at times– it matters not the destination or time of arrival. One doesn’t dream of the adventure either because it’s always happening. If you got into your car tomorrow thinking that every turn of the key was the start of another roller coaster your life will always be fun.

In two weeks time my adventure won’t be beginning like some may say– and certainly it’s far from ending.. rather my adventure is just taking a new turn… and perhaps speeding up a little.

I hope your adventure also is fairing well too.

~J out

My apologies for this post sounding like it’s unstructured… Today I’m just writing from my current stream of consciousness in an attempt to gather some of my thoughts.

Tonight I dug through my piles of literature to reach for Bruce Feiler’s book on “Learning to Bow- Inside the Heart of Japan.” I had started this book very early in the year and finished it in just about a month. At the time I was waiting for the JET interviews to commence– completely unsure if this was going to work out for me. Reading his book somehow gave me a peaceful calmness about jitters I have about ‘going back’ to Japan or working in such a structured environment.

Towards the end of his introduction on page 13, Mr. Feiler has an interesting quote about Japan’s “obligation to children

The primary goal of Japanese schools remains essentially unchanged: to promote good citizens, those who are committed to thinking beyond themselves and to advancing the needs of the country… To understand Japan – it’s work ethic and its strong identity – one must understand these lessons as they are taught in schools… Most of these (Jr. High) students will enter the system and become, in time, other well-qualified cogs, “Made in Japan.”

This reminded me oddly of an article of a western man, freelance journalist and longtime Japan resident Thomas Dillon, who has lived in Japan for 33 years. In an article about his “wisdom about living in Japan” was a point about his “assimilation” to cultural Japan

From the article:

The young people who come to Japan now have stronger language skills and greater knowledge of the country, says Dillon. “But,” he added, “it’s a different ball game if you want to become ‘culturally attuned.’ “

“That’s something you have to develop. Those of us who have been here for a long time learn to stay in step. Harmony is very important, we’re not ones to shake the boat.” … “If you are part of a group there are certain things you have to fulfill, and if you don’t you’re causing disharmony.”

“But being outside the group,” he says, “can be very lonely, especially for veteran Japan residents like himself. I’m close to those who have not only been in the same situations, but done things around the same time. There are very few of those left here now.”

I found this perspective interesting from the point of view of being so American, but perhaps yearning for something a bit different. Perhaps also wrestling with whether Japanese Assimilation is a positive or a negative.

I get the sense, from the book and from the article, that Japonica Cultura Assimilatus isn’t something you choose, but is obligated upon you to accept for fear of disturbing harmony.

Again I apologize for just gathering my thoughts together out loud..

~J out

Instead of writing about goals I want to take a brief reprieve and talk about something I’ve noticed about American society.

Recently I’ve been meandering around my neighborhood with a camera taking clips of buildings, streets, and sometimes people. On two occasions people have came up to me asking in a sort of commanding tone what I was filming and why. I told them simply that I was moving out and where I was going people would be curious as to what my ‘ordinary’ neighborhood looked like.

However, this concept of ‘cultural exchange’ doesn’t seem to sit well with a lot of folks. They see a camera and jump to conclusion that it’s for a malicious intent. In one instance I knew that people in Mutsu, Japan might be curious as to what a mall looks like in the US. However, when I romped about the mall discretely with my camera some people became extremely paranoid as to what I was doing and one even called security on me. There too I explained that I was fulfilling a future need to show kids in Mutsu what a freaking mall looks like. Why?! I say to their constant questioning “Because in Japan… YOU can’t find any mall or store complex that’s completely in English!

I don’t know– maybe I did over step my boundries and next time I should hit every store owner and ask them if I could film parts of their store first. It all does seem a little crazy at the lengths society has worked to stop any and all efforts of people thinking ahead. I can’t believe we’ve agreed to a life of measured creativity, endless licensing, unnecessary permits, and other regulatory BS.

You see the thing that puzzles me most is not that technology for recording HD Movies or Awesome High Res Pictures then sharing them seamlessly over the net has become so easy. Rather what puzzles me is that as more tech comes onto the scene– less and less people want to use it or interact with it. It’s like the easier it is to communicate, film, or interact discretely— the harder it is to strike a conversation or engage people in some “cultural exchange project.”

Bottom-line– I believed a myth that Americans weren’t as timid as Japanese. That we were the exuberant and outlandish ones who feared little and lived out there ‘free.’ Truth is– we all might be a little camera shy– truth is we don’t want to know if we’ve been filmed. Truth is– maybe when someone comes around to coax us out of our bubble, we’re just as timid as anyone else. Also– truth is sometimes people are just rude when they don’t know how to deal with a situation.

Come on people– Smile for the flipp’n camera.  Aren’t you curious what Japanese people think of your little world?

~J out

It’s pretty important to setup goals for the next year. It keeps you focused on objectives you need to complete or work on. My goals are simple, but rather complex to do. I believe some may take longer then 1 year, while others may be finished in a few months. I should say that my “goals” are dynamic in that some evolve, and I’m adding to them constantly..

Anyway..

My first goal is to work towards a self-sufficient Japanese ability.
My second goal is better myself as a writer, blogger, and cultural journalist.
My third goal is greater independence.
My fourth goal is help others help themselves
and my fifth goal is to have fun while also being a responsible adult.

Those 5 are my core goals.. I have others– but those are broad goals that I think are manageable.

So let’s start with the first.

Working towards a self-sufficient Japanese Ability. Notice I’m avoiding the “F-word” fluency because I think fluency is the result of dedicated study & measurable goals. Fluency isn’t something that one should aspire to, but maybe keep in mind as ‘purpose’ for studying Japanese.

How I believe I am going to reach goal one is two fold: Seek out stuff to study & Time Management. Looking back always reveals time you could have spent doing something else. It’s hard sometimes looking forwards to using your free time best. This why instead of big goals like “Japanese fluency” I’m going to make out small “weekly tasks” and work to accomplish them. For resources I’m going to use Minna No Nihongo II as well as some Japanese literature– then SRS the whole thing vigorously. Free time (or so I’ve heard) is abundant at my next job– so I feel confident that with ‘weekly tasks’ + my CMS plan (Conquer My Surroundings) I can reach self-sufficiency in Japanese & beyond. To what end I don’t know yet.

~J out

I’ve been informed my family now has a renewed Cosco account! This means I’ll be hitting Cosco this weekend sometime so load up on whatever last items I think I’ll need.

Some stuff on my list include:

Crotch Powder; Deodorant; Mexican spices packets; Ibuprofen; Toothpaste & Toothbrush; Pack of shavers; and other essentials & perhaps non-essentials.

Going in my pack:

Business Clothes for 3-4 days; Casual Clothing (Jeans, Teeshirts, Polos, shorts); swim trunks; Scout 10 essentials; and other stuff… When I finally pack everything I’ll make up a list and post it here of what offically I brought.

So my low key agenda is to hit Cosco for a once around then come home and try and do a rough packing too see if things fit, what needs to be put where, oh and to check weight. My pack has to weigh a max of between 45-47lbs (That leaves 5lbs scale difference between what my scale says and the airports). That’s a lot of weight I know– so I need to check it tomorrow or Sunday to make sure.

~J out

So I used to roll with this channel called r3draq0n. It was good for a generic thing, but hard to tell people about. So I went and started a new channel just titled “The R3dragon.” I couldn’t believe someone didn’t suck that name up.. but my other thoughts were:

r3dragondesu

MrR3dragon

r3dragonsan

All three gave away the channel as being too “Japanesey” and I figured if the channel is like this blog– Maybe I’ll post ’bout Japan, maybe I’ll post about Cars…

Anyway I have a new video uploading, in HD no less! (I hope).

In this vid– It’s just a intro to the channel. I found this process a little tedious and I’m trying to figure out a good work flow strategy.

Ok.. so here’s the new channel URL: http:www.youtube.com/user/ther3dragon

And here’s the video:

~J out

I envy those who can travel on a whim.. Even those who travel abroad every year- For me, I’ll admit I couldn’t figure it out fast enough. I felt that I needed to finish college, then I kept on working, and well about 3 years went by just like that.

Its not a fantasy that people spend a lifetime saying they’ll go somewhere and do something only to get stuck… For me, I still have plenty of adventures I want to do before I settle. This adventure being one of them.

I feel like I’m on track– I’m not drifting like some people I’ve seen through out the days. It’s only that for me, I feel, everything might just have to go the long way around till I get to it. And you know what? That’s just fine– The inbetween time is just as much the adventure as the dream you dreamer’s dream about doing next.

Often the phrase “if you put your head to it you can accomplish anything” get’s tossed around. What it means is, “don’t let go of that dream– hold on to it– believe it– think it to be solid fact– eventually it’ll come to pass… guaranteed.”

Skeptics take me for example.. In Highschool, 7+ years ago, I attended an Anime convention where JET had one seminar. I attended and learned that if I got a Bachelors one day I could live in Japan- 7+ years later, that one boy’s dream is reality.

It’s not… “Do you want to live in Japan?”, but “When are you going?”

21 days and a wake up..

~J out