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Nov. 26th, 2010 12:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blodeueddOkay, so that's two days that I didn't do my daily memes. Still, it's better than I'd hoped for!
Part of the problem is that by doing a daily word count, I know that I already passed the 25,000 mark, so no matter how far behind I fall, I've still won. I was going to try to hit 40,000, but there's no way that's going to happen now. Can I hope for 35,000? We shall see.
Yesterday evening I did nothing worthwhile, except for buying vases in which to put the flowers I received yesterday (a ballerina should always have vases at the ready!). I also bought Y5,000 worth of earrings, but they were all 70% off, so for that amount of money, I got eleven pairs of bright, sparkly, dangly pretty things. ^_^
Today, I got 3 1/2 hours of exercise: 1 1/2 walking (to and from work, then to ballet -- I would have walked back, but it was raining pretty hard), and 2 of ballet. I don't know what magic Sayaka-sensei was weaving (she was the one who with the crazy extension who did the solo during Carmina Burana), but I got my right leg up in a really high second position and was able to keep it there for a few seconds! That's a victory.
Apart from that, I wish I could sleep in tomorrow. And let's not even talk about the state of my apartment, it's disgraceful. So let's do those memes instead.
Day 24 - Your favourite Japanese slang or borrow-word (外来語), e.g. セフレ "sex friend"
I don't know if I could really say I have a favourite one. Some I find amusing because they sound funny, or they took me a long time to figure out, and others strike me as odd because there's already a perfectly adequate Japanese word to express that same concept. The ones that come from languages other than English (rare as they are) are also noteworthy. I can't think of any really good ones right now, though, so these will have to do.
ワンピース -- "one piece", meaning dress, but I always have this image of a romper in my head when I see it;
マンツマン -- "man-to-man", as in, is private lesson;
フランブワース -- raspberry (from the French "framboise")
オレー -- "au lait", but for some reason, I could only ever think of it as "olé", which makes no sense at all!
Day 25 - Most interesting vending machine find.
I've never seen the fabled used panty machine, so I guess the most surprising one was the battery vending machine I saw in Kyoto (though it was right beside a small electronics store). The rice ones (seen in more rural areas) make me laugh, and I love the vegetable ones in my neighbourhood, especially the one that has change on the veggies (picture here). Still, the one that's the oddest to me is on a random little side street not too far from where I live: there's a row of drink vending machines, and a few metres away from them, a vending machine selling condoms. It's the location that confuses me, really. It's beside a parking lot, and as far as I can tell, the closest business is a garage. Everything else nearby is residential, unless one of those houses is a very sneaky love hotel.
Day 01 - A picture of you "in Japan". (doing or wearing something "Japanese")
Day 02 - Describe your neighbourhood in Japan.
Day 03 - Most interesting person you've met.
Day 04 - What's your favourite place that's not in any of the guidebooks/lists of places to visit?
Day 05 - Which, if any, Japanese mannerisms or expressions have you adopted?
Day 06 - Food that you swore you would never eat but now love (or tolerate).
Day 07 - Which Japanese words do you use in English? (hanami, shinkansen, etc.)
Day 08 - What thing(s) or product(s) from your home country do you refuse to do without in Japan?
Day 09 - Favourite stores/shopping centers.
Day 10 - Something about Japan that sets it apart from anywhere else.
Day 11 - What did you find most overrated and underrated about Japan?
Day 12 - Describe a fail!gaijin moment. (Where you did something wrong or completely misunderstood because you couldn't ~read the air~ or just plain had no idea what you were supposed to do because you weren't born and raised here) Describe a gaijin!smash moment (Where your foreignness was to your benefit)
Day 13 - How is daily life in Japan different from how it was back in your home country?
Day 14 - What is the hardest thing about living in Japan versus your home country?
Day 15 - Weirdest food item you've seen, and weirdest food item you've actually eaten.
Day 16 - How you realised you'd acclimated to Japan. (if you have)
Day 17 - Your karaoke top 5, your sushi top 5, your conbini top 5.
Day 18 - Post some amusing/cute/faily purikura.
Day 19 - Your favourite Japanese character(s) and Gachapon/UFO Catcher toys
Day 20 - Favourite Japanese festival or folklore.
Day 21 - Favourite and least favourite Japanese fashion trends.
Day 22 - Your favourite Japanese saying or kotowaza (proverb).
Day 23 - What is something you have/do in Japan that you wish you had/could do in your home country?
Day 24 - Your favourite Japanese slang or borrow-word (外来語), e.g. セフレ "sex friend"
Day 25 - Most interesting vending machine find.
Day 26 - What's your favourite/least favourite train line?
Day 27 - Place you avoid going to if at all possible.
Day 28 - A picture of you looking like a weaboo/A picture of you trying to blend in and failing.
Day 29 - What's the thing you [will] miss the most about Japan when you leave (either on vacation, or move away)?
Day 30 - Did Japan meet your expectations, both good and bad? What has been the most surprising thing about Japan for you, or the thing you least expected?
Day 24 – Something that makes you cry
Lots of things make me cry, both sad and happy tears. One thing that's annoying is that I tear up when I feel moved, or if someone says or does something that touches me. I always feel that I never manage to express my gratitude properly, as I get a lump in my throat and I have trouble saying how much it means to me.
Day 25 – A first
My first ballet recital in Japan was two days ago, so I guess that's my most recent first!
Though the last week was a haze of lessons and rehearsals, I think the work paid off. I messed up a few things, but on the whole, I think I did well. I pulled off my turns, which were my biggest problem, and even though I don't have the extension or flexibility that the other dancers do, I hope I didn't look too out of place. It's strange to think that I'll never do that dance again. That music is so inspiring that it was easy to throw myself into the dance, when it came time to perform, and I jumped as high as I could, and didn't hold back when it came time to thrown myself onto the stage.
I won't be sad to say goodbye to the bruise on my knee, which has been hanging around since August, nor to taping up my wrist every Tuesday night. I think it actually helped strengthen it, though, since otherwise I would have just avoided putting stress on it as much as possible. At least this way, I was able to build the muscle up a bit, and I'm not so scared of putting any weight on it anymore.
Day 01 - Introduce yourself
Day 02 - Your first love
Day 03 - Your parents
Day 04 - What you ate today
Day 05 - Your definition of love
Day 06 – Your day
Day 07 – Your best friend
Day 08 – A moment
Day 09 – Your beliefs
Day 10 – What you wore today
Day 11 – Your siblings
Day 12 – What's in your bag
Day 13 – This week
Day 14 – What you wore today
Day 15 – Your dreams
Day 16 – Your first kiss
Day 17 – Your favourite memory
Day 18 – Your favourite birthday
Day 19 – Something you regret
Day 20 – This month
Day 21 – Another moment
Day 22 – Something that upsets you
Day 23 – Something that makes you feel better
Day 24 – Something that makes you cry
Day 25 – A first
Day 26 – Your fears
Day 27 – Your favourite place
Day 28 – Something that you miss
Day 29 – Your aspirations
Day 30 – One last moment
Part of the problem is that by doing a daily word count, I know that I already passed the 25,000 mark, so no matter how far behind I fall, I've still won. I was going to try to hit 40,000, but there's no way that's going to happen now. Can I hope for 35,000? We shall see.
Yesterday evening I did nothing worthwhile, except for buying vases in which to put the flowers I received yesterday (a ballerina should always have vases at the ready!). I also bought Y5,000 worth of earrings, but they were all 70% off, so for that amount of money, I got eleven pairs of bright, sparkly, dangly pretty things. ^_^
Today, I got 3 1/2 hours of exercise: 1 1/2 walking (to and from work, then to ballet -- I would have walked back, but it was raining pretty hard), and 2 of ballet. I don't know what magic Sayaka-sensei was weaving (she was the one who with the crazy extension who did the solo during Carmina Burana), but I got my right leg up in a really high second position and was able to keep it there for a few seconds! That's a victory.
Apart from that, I wish I could sleep in tomorrow. And let's not even talk about the state of my apartment, it's disgraceful. So let's do those memes instead.
Day 24 - Your favourite Japanese slang or borrow-word (外来語), e.g. セフレ "sex friend"
I don't know if I could really say I have a favourite one. Some I find amusing because they sound funny, or they took me a long time to figure out, and others strike me as odd because there's already a perfectly adequate Japanese word to express that same concept. The ones that come from languages other than English (rare as they are) are also noteworthy. I can't think of any really good ones right now, though, so these will have to do.
ワンピース -- "one piece", meaning dress, but I always have this image of a romper in my head when I see it;
マンツマン -- "man-to-man", as in, is private lesson;
フランブワース -- raspberry (from the French "framboise")
オレー -- "au lait", but for some reason, I could only ever think of it as "olé", which makes no sense at all!
Day 25 - Most interesting vending machine find.
I've never seen the fabled used panty machine, so I guess the most surprising one was the battery vending machine I saw in Kyoto (though it was right beside a small electronics store). The rice ones (seen in more rural areas) make me laugh, and I love the vegetable ones in my neighbourhood, especially the one that has change on the veggies (picture here). Still, the one that's the oddest to me is on a random little side street not too far from where I live: there's a row of drink vending machines, and a few metres away from them, a vending machine selling condoms. It's the location that confuses me, really. It's beside a parking lot, and as far as I can tell, the closest business is a garage. Everything else nearby is residential, unless one of those houses is a very sneaky love hotel.
Day 02 - Describe your neighbourhood in Japan.
Day 03 - Most interesting person you've met.
Day 04 - What's your favourite place that's not in any of the guidebooks/lists of places to visit?
Day 05 - Which, if any, Japanese mannerisms or expressions have you adopted?
Day 06 - Food that you swore you would never eat but now love (or tolerate).
Day 07 - Which Japanese words do you use in English? (hanami, shinkansen, etc.)
Day 08 - What thing(s) or product(s) from your home country do you refuse to do without in Japan?
Day 09 - Favourite stores/shopping centers.
Day 10 - Something about Japan that sets it apart from anywhere else.
Day 11 - What did you find most overrated and underrated about Japan?
Day 12 - Describe a fail!gaijin moment. (Where you did something wrong or completely misunderstood because you couldn't ~read the air~ or just plain had no idea what you were supposed to do because you weren't born and raised here) Describe a gaijin!smash moment (Where your foreignness was to your benefit)
Day 13 - How is daily life in Japan different from how it was back in your home country?
Day 14 - What is the hardest thing about living in Japan versus your home country?
Day 15 - Weirdest food item you've seen, and weirdest food item you've actually eaten.
Day 16 - How you realised you'd acclimated to Japan. (if you have)
Day 17 - Your karaoke top 5, your sushi top 5, your conbini top 5.
Day 18 - Post some amusing/cute/faily purikura.
Day 19 - Your favourite Japanese character(s) and Gachapon/UFO Catcher toys
Day 20 - Favourite Japanese festival or folklore.
Day 21 - Favourite and least favourite Japanese fashion trends.
Day 22 - Your favourite Japanese saying or kotowaza (proverb).
Day 23 - What is something you have/do in Japan that you wish you had/could do in your home country?
Day 24 - Your favourite Japanese slang or borrow-word (外来語), e.g. セフレ "sex friend"
Day 25 - Most interesting vending machine find.
Day 26 - What's your favourite/least favourite train line?
Day 27 - Place you avoid going to if at all possible.
Day 28 - A picture of you looking like a weaboo/A picture of you trying to blend in and failing.
Day 29 - What's the thing you [will] miss the most about Japan when you leave (either on vacation, or move away)?
Day 30 - Did Japan meet your expectations, both good and bad? What has been the most surprising thing about Japan for you, or the thing you least expected?
Day 24 – Something that makes you cry
Lots of things make me cry, both sad and happy tears. One thing that's annoying is that I tear up when I feel moved, or if someone says or does something that touches me. I always feel that I never manage to express my gratitude properly, as I get a lump in my throat and I have trouble saying how much it means to me.
Day 25 – A first
My first ballet recital in Japan was two days ago, so I guess that's my most recent first!
Though the last week was a haze of lessons and rehearsals, I think the work paid off. I messed up a few things, but on the whole, I think I did well. I pulled off my turns, which were my biggest problem, and even though I don't have the extension or flexibility that the other dancers do, I hope I didn't look too out of place. It's strange to think that I'll never do that dance again. That music is so inspiring that it was easy to throw myself into the dance, when it came time to perform, and I jumped as high as I could, and didn't hold back when it came time to thrown myself onto the stage.
I won't be sad to say goodbye to the bruise on my knee, which has been hanging around since August, nor to taping up my wrist every Tuesday night. I think it actually helped strengthen it, though, since otherwise I would have just avoided putting stress on it as much as possible. At least this way, I was able to build the muscle up a bit, and I'm not so scared of putting any weight on it anymore.
Day 02 - Your first love
Day 03 - Your parents
Day 04 - What you ate today
Day 05 - Your definition of love
Day 06 – Your day
Day 07 – Your best friend
Day 08 – A moment
Day 09 – Your beliefs
Day 10 – What you wore today
Day 11 – Your siblings
Day 12 – What's in your bag
Day 13 – This week
Day 14 – What you wore today
Day 15 – Your dreams
Day 16 – Your first kiss
Day 17 – Your favourite memory
Day 18 – Your favourite birthday
Day 19 – Something you regret
Day 20 – This month
Day 21 – Another moment
Day 22 – Something that upsets you
Day 23 – Something that makes you feel better
Day 24 – Something that makes you cry
Day 25 – A first
Day 26 – Your fears
Day 27 – Your favourite place
Day 28 – Something that you miss
Day 29 – Your aspirations
Day 30 – One last moment
