randomness 2 Comments

Exhausted

I haven’t been posting much lately, and there’s a reason for that. I’ve been exhausted and generally disinterested as soon as Aaron pulls out of the driveway and down the road to work in the evenings. I really can’t get excited about much at all, which is frustrating.

I have plenty of projects I could be working on. The podcast will soon be going on a much more erratic schedule (i.e. I post an episode when I feel like it, instead of weekly). I have clothes that need mended or surgerized. I have websites that need maintained. I have candle orders that need to be filled. I have PUSH DVDs that need to be watched and exercised to. I have blog essay ideas that should be expounded upon, especially holiday-themed ones.

I wish I could just smack myself upside the head and get myself moving. I’m not depressed. I’m just tired.

otaku 1 Comment

Hen Na Gaijin

For anyone who remembers Jeff “Pip” Hawley, from Residential Computing Connection at BGSU:

Japanese T-shirt “Hen na Gaijin” (I’m a Strange Foreigner)

I remember him telling us that the Japanese exchange students nicknamed him Henna Gaijin, which he said meant crazy foreigner. It’s one of only two phrases I picked up from him that semester we were both Senior Lab Coordinators. The other one was “Nihongo o hanashimasen,” (although I believe it’s technically “wo,” but pronounced “o”?), which basically means “I don’t speak Japanese.” Not exactly the literal translation, but close enough.

Since back then, in the year 1999 or so, I’ve learned a few more phrases, and a little of how the language is structured, and a few bits of hiragana and katakana (I can recognize “n,” “to,” “ro,” “no,” and “shi,” from sheer repitition alone). I can introduce myself, and get into a knife fight with the Yakuza, and warn the locals that Gojira is coming. Being that I’m not going to Japan anytime soon, though, I’m not in a big hurry to actually learn the language, although it’s something I want to accomplish someday.

Although I can’t speak or read Japanese, that doesn’t keep me from totally digging on Japanese language and culture.

memories 2 Comments

Moving Aaron To BG, August 1998

Tuesday 18 Aug 1998 | 12:05am

Fries and I helped Aaron move to BG on Saturday. Three trips: one with his box springs and mattress lashed to the top of the Land Barge, one with his loveseat, and one with his 7-foot sofa. The second trip his car stalled, and the third was in pouring rain. But he’s moved in now, and almost settled in at his new place. Basement apartment, yay! “The Schnuth Cave.”

During the last trip, with the giant couch, we were driving down Dixie Highway into Bowling Green. Any BG person knows that around Kroger, on North Main Street, the road tends to flood in heavy rains. We weren’t privy to that yet, though, and were confused by the police and general chaos happening by the Pharm. As I recall, it was reminiscent of a Bill Cosby skit:

“What’s the sign say?”

“The sign says, ‘High Water’.”

*sploosh*

We ended up driving over the submerged curb into the Pharm parking lot to skirt the massive puddle that was North Main that evening.

After successfully moving the sofa into the Schnuth Cave, I believe Kris declared that he was going down to BW3 (as it was then called) to get a drink.

Scans courtesy of Kris Fries. I’m so glad to have digital copies of these priceless memories!

randomness 4 Comments

Busy

Tonight: Record, edit, and upload podcast. Wash dishes before bed.

Tomorrow: Entertain Dan. Bake butternut squash pies.

Thursday: See Dan off to Knoxville. Drive to Cleveland. Have Thanksgiving dinner.

Friday: Spend day at home with Aaron. No work for either of us.

I guess what I’m saying is: don’t expect too much blogging out of me in the next several days. I’ll be back with you probably after the weekend.

ruminations

Meaningful

An hour-long phone call with a friend is immeasurably more meaningful than any IM session or e-mail volley ever could be.

Although, now that I think about it, I miss my old-school handset with the comfy earpiece from the 1990s. The cordless doesn’t have that same kind of long-term ear comfort. Oh, for the days when all I had to worry about was a sweaty earpiece (and ear). Now I have to think about pressing hard enough to hear the other person, but not hard enough to permanently disfigure the cartilage of my outer ear.