free web tracker soliloquies: 11/07/2004 - 11/14/2004

soliloquies

so・lil・o・quy/- n. [C,U] a speech in a play in which a character talks to himself or herself, so that the audience know the character's thoughts.

Saturday, November 13, 2004

english annoucement

Every Saturday morning, I encounter this green and orange train, different from the blue train I usually take, that goes to Utsunomiya in Tochigi Prefecture, called the Shonan-Shinjuku line. I don't remember when, but recently, they started pre-recorded annoucement system, that informs the people on what stop it's going to make, what other lines you can transfer at that station, precautions, etc., which are usually done manually by the conductor.

Upon this change, they began a broadcast in English. The person who recorded her voice is really skippy for some reason, and the annoucement itself has some weird points I've noticed. First, the annoucement says "Thank you very much for using JR East...", which I though was weird, not grammatically, but do you say "Thank you very much" and continue on like that? Isn't "Thank you very much" a solitary phrase, only used by itself? Also, during it's explanatory annoucement, they say "This is the Shonan-Shinjuku line for Utsunomiya, via THE Utsunomiya Line". Is "THE" necessary in this case? It's not like I'm perfect at English, but these two "could-be" errors are really bothering, like weird English expressions I encounter elsewhere in Japan...lol.

Different topic. Recently, I'm unable to sleep deeply...technically, have a Non-REM sleep. From what I've read somewhere, REM sleeps is the one that makes a person dream with your eyes moving rapidly. The abbreviation "REM" stands for Rapid Eye Movement, and in this state, that person's brain is not completely sleeping. Non-REM sleep is the opposite. Usually, there's a wave of REM and Non-REM sleeps while someone sleeps, but I don't think I have one lately, always in REM sleep. That's probably the reason way I'm so sleepy during classes this week. Along with the constant drowsyness I'm having this week, I'm experiencing all sorts of "WEIRD" dreams...they are sooooo weird! The characters appearing in it are real life ones, you know, family, friends, etc...but the enviroments and the events that occur in it are really weird but to be honest, all of those events are somewhat realizable in real life. They are kind of pleasant, but weird...they're creeping me out!

I really need a nice, dreamless Non-REM sleep.

Friday, November 12, 2004

second first impression


Yes! I'm released from hell! This week was really busy for me, with a lot of assignment due dates. Oh wait, I may have written about it already. Pass. lol

Anyway, Mr. Griffin's vocabulary test. I think I did pretty well, although I wasn't able to make a sentence up for the word "demeanor", since I forgot what it meant. It just...slipped out of my mind. I did listed it up in my "warning list", the words I had trouble memorizing, and put my effort in to do so...but "demanor" just failed to be crammed in. Bummer. lol

For the other parts, I think I did good enough...I may have missed a few that had the "strike print" as their origin. Well, nothing's going to change no matter how much I blabber on here. I guess I just have to wait till Monday, our next class. My goal is...95%! Why? No particular reason, really. lol Pleez be generous, Mr. Griffin! lol

Oh, there's this album that was released on the 8th in the States by my favorite artist, Daniel Bedingfield, which is titled "Second First Impression". His songs in his previous album really stroke my heart then. I wonder how the new songs will affect me...the title is ingenious too.

Thursday, November 11, 2004

116 words to memorize


Mr. Griffin is going to give us a vocab quiz tomorrow! The range consists of 116 words, which I am working really hard on to memorize. Those words are...

scrutinized, heresy, subjection, ephemeral, coarse, posterity, demanor, strenuousness, fluctuate, discrepance, deviated, blip, continuum, correlation, factor, aggregate, per, sustain, expenditure, IQ, recorded sighting, rodents, quadruple, rendition, thronged, chirping, chic, decor, amorous, ballpark figure, intimacy, erratic, flawed, -fold, inverse, inconsistent, round things down, err on the side of caution, projected figures, variables, run into six figures, tot everything up, seesawed, rendezvous, conservative, overfulfillment, reeked, ingenious, affliceted, ill-omented, fragment, intermittent, zealous, varicose ulser, annihilate, impregnable, plundered, fatigue, nonchalance, enunciating, venue, pretentious, subterranean, orthodoxy, ramifications, entail, bicker, alcove, rung, vestibule, bluebottle, momentous, doctrine, annihilation, abattoir, orator, hideous, sanguine, acuteness, sapling, apathetic, urbane, queue, snooping, proliferated, malignant, hallucinaition, dulcet, unorthodox, ewe, long johns, definitive, trilby, tentatively, grimy, amulets, dingy, zealot, coy, reverbrating, polyglot, canteen, hemisphere, labyrinth, chasitity, soporific, promiscuity, rostrum, hod, testimony, derelict, ennui, camaraderie, furnace, lucid, bondage...and unprocurable.

Phew. This is the reason why I casted my vote in for a mid-term...this is really tough, right everyone? Oh please. I really stink at memorization, especially vocablulary. Good luck, me...ick!

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

little boy and fat man


As a part of my Japanese history class, I'm going to make a presentation about the atomic bomb first period tomorrow, with 4 others in my group. From this, I've been reseaching about it's origin, history, specifications, power, and so on all day today...it's really making me depressed and is making me think about a lot of things. Those photos...boy they tell us a lot of things. This topic is really heavy for people to accept, and complicated too.

Yes, it's true that the Japanese were the ones who began the war in the first place. Even though not much is told in history classes here in Japan, the Japanese Army did things that were equally terrible and dreadful in Korean Peninsula and in China, like human experiments, abduction, forcing Korean people in to the frontline, and the famous Nanking Incident. The truth of Nanking is impossible to determine, since the identification of the casualties were a difficulty, and the judgement on the people killed on whether they were a military-related people or a civilian is impossible to do now.

Well anyway, with these things in my calculation, it's still difficult to accept the fact that the Americans used the atomic bomb as a way to end the World War II, and as a matter of fact, twice. A normal bomb raid would've did the job, just as well as an atomic bomb, if the Americans really wanted to end the war as soon as possible as an attempt to reduce the American casualties.

The fact that Kyoto was included as one of the most precedent targets is difficult to overlook too. So, I think I can conclude that the American military just wanted to test the effectiveness of the new weapon on people and buildings, which is an impossible thing to do within their nation. They actually droped instruments to measure the power of the bomb, before actually dropping "Little Boy" on to Hiroshima...how rude. In their minds, they were probably thinking of something like "Those f**ken Japs", which prevented the use of it in Germany...racial discrimination, that led on to Japanese concentration camps in the postwar period. I love the United States as a nation, but this historical event is the only thing I cannot forgive the Americans for doing...oh, wait a minute. Iraqi Invasion could be another thing...

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

hydrocarbons and organisms

We were given a substitute break today, since last Sunday was used for our School Festival. Foreseening that I'll be hellishly hectic the later half of the week, I stayed home and took care of the assignments that were due this week: chemistry report, japanese history presentation, Mr. Griffin's vocabs, Mr. L's vocabs, ethics presentation, and last, but not least, Mr. Kringle's weekly quiz. Unfortunately, like always, I wasn't able to take care of all of them. Out of those assignments listed above, chemistry report and vocabs were taken care of today. That should make things way easier for me, at least for now.

Along with the studies, I cleaned up my house today, since it was getting really dirty. I sorted out the prints, vaccumed my room, family room, and the hallways, and cleaned up the shower unit and bathroom. Now, I feel so much more comfortable, at least mentally. lol

Monday, November 08, 2004

manga

Why are there grown ups in Japan, reading comic books targeted for teen audiences, such as "Weekly Jump" or "Young Magazine" during train rides? I'm posting this from my cell phone, but I'm currently seeing 3 grown ups reading those. Yeah, when I'm using the term "grown up" here, I'm pointing out at guys who are in their late 20s and early 30s, but personally, I think high schoolers are the limit of carring around those "entertainment", consisting of pictures, drawn on colorful recycled paper.

For me, who went abroad before knowing "manga", lived in a place where no other Japanese lived, and only read "Black Jack" that my parents owned, I can't find any values toward manga. In my opinion, they are short-living entertainment; you only read them once, because you'll find out the outcome in that first reading. I know, the quality of the drawing used is really high, but it's kind of the reason why Japanese culture consisting of video game, manga, and anime is being looked down from some countries. Well, Japanese video games are indeed popular abroad, especially in the States, and there are a lot of hardcore manga/anime fans abroad too. Oh, there's another guy carrying "Weekly Jump" with him, coming on from Ofuna Station. He looks like he's around 35...

Sunday, November 07, 2004

in the end


Linkin Park - In The End

It starts with one thing
I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try keep that in mind
I designed this rhyme
To explain in due time
All I know
Time is a valuable thing
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings
Watch it count down to the end of the day
The clock ticks life away
It's so unreal
Didn't look out below
Watch the time go right out the window
Trying to hold on, but didn't even know
Wasted it all just to watch you go
I kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when

I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter

One thing, I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try, keep that in mind
I designed this rhyme, to explain in due time
I tried so hard
In spite of the way you were mocking me
Acting like I was part of your property
Remembering all the times you fought with me
I'm surprised it got so (far)
Things aren't the way they were before
You wouldn't even recognize me anymore
Not that you knew me back then
But it all comes back to me (in the end)
You kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when I

Chorus

I've put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
And for all this
There's only one thing you should know (2x) Chorus

there went our last bunkasai...


It came and it went. Our final School Festival had ended in a success today. A lot of audiences came and went, just like the way our last "bunkasai" did to us. Most of the 6th grade projects seemed to have done well, like all other years. Visitors tend to be interested in the oldest grade's works, I think. Also, I assume the location did the trick too at least for A, B, and F. My class, F was located right by the entrance, next to the Headquarters. Lucky? us. lol

Well, now with the School Festival gone, my time remaining in SFC High School is really short. Can you believe that we only have 18 more days of class left until our graduation, excluding the 2nd Foreign Language classes? Time flies, doesn't it? From now on until our graduation, time is going to accelerate and accelerate; by the time we notice, we'll be in university.

My mind's currently in a rip tide. Although I have this yearning towards university, another side of me is longing for a longer time in high school. This doesn't mean that I started favoring my school, but high school life has it's good and bad points, just like the university life has it's good and bad points too. I'm currently putting these two lifestyles on a scale...although, my advancement to university is...well, not necessarily "inevitable", but it will most likely turn up in few months. Well, from this fact, I can say that I'll be the best, if I'm able to enjoy the final months of my high school life, beginning from the chemistry report that's due on Wednesday...enjoy? Nah. lol