Friday, October 24, 2014

This week's project--pick-up lines! Well, sorta...

Email from my boss be like:

I'm want to show how you have to use informal language if you want to be successful picking up women. Can you check the dialog?

Me:

As the woman I don't care how bad some guy's English is, if he's cute enough I'll speak Japanese!

(Actually thinking "WTF it's not like if your English is good enough people will be obligated to go out with you...this is so sexist.)

Boss:

Then I don't need to worry about my English.

(Pretty sure he's joking because it sounds like his humor.)

Me:

But some guys aren't so handsome and socially skilled so they might need some tips.

Later my coworker says to me:

"I read your very interesting exchange the boss, and he says he wants you to write some natural scenes for at a bar when you want to..."

Me: "Pick up women? Ehhh..."

Coworker: Hahaha, not exactly like that.

Me: And what about women? They need tips too!

Coworker: Like, at a bar, how to meet someone and say hi and ask for a date. A lot of Japanese are interested in this kind of English.

Me: Um...I don't have a lot of experience, but I'll try something.

Later, reading a bunch of articles on Dr. Nerdlove, writing several dialogs. Send them to boss and coworker.

Coworker: The boss read your dialogs and thinks they're good! They're very natural and not at all creepy! Can you write some more?

Me: OK....

(I'm thinking, "How did I become the expert???")

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Earring Skills

When it comes to doing new things to my body, I only have two modes. "OMG I can't figure this out," and "This is so incredibly easy."

Six months ago I got my ears pierced for the first time and it felt so weird. The idea of actually touching the holes was like "Ick no!" Then the openings got infected and I had to take the stud out (which was not fun when the skin was swelling up around the metal). When I tried to put new earrings in a day later the holes had closed up and getting anything through was impossible. There was blood and puss. I had to go back to the pierce shop and have the holes widened so overall I felt like a failure.

So I wore the same studs for a while, and when the skin started getting red last month I took them out BEFORE things got really bad. After the last incident I had bought plastic earrings as backup and I decided I might as well try putting those in by myself. This time I tried right after removing the studs so that the holes would have ABSOLUTELY NO TIME to close on me.

Surprisingly it worked! Putting the back on was a bit touch and go because I couldn't see it, but pretty soon I got the hang of it. As my ear condition got better I tried other regular earrings and was able to use them with no problem.

However, I couldn't get the studs back in because you have to insert them from the back. I couldn't find the hole, and also the shaft of the stud was not rounded so it was much harder to slip in. Imagine trying to use a supersize tampon with no applicator. Yeah...

Essentially, the kind you buy at Claire's looks like a thin rod with a holder you stick on the back. The kind I got originally is like a thin metal tube and you stick a thinner rod (with the jewel) into that. 

I was a bit worried that the holes might close with either thinner piercings or just plastic, so I went back to the pierce shop today. The guy said not to worry because the plain plastic ones I had been using were the same width as the original studs. He also showed me how to insert the studs by first using a regular thinner earring and then sticking the open part of the stud onto the end of that and drawing the whole thing back through the ear. I don't know why I couldn't figure that out before.

Although the guy had special tools for it at the shop, he seemed to think I would be able to do it at home, so I gave it a try. Amazingly, it worked! With just a little bit of guidance, the stud went smoothly through my ear even from the back. Now I can put them on any time as long as I have a thinner earring to use to start with.

That's how I became an expert in putting on earrings. Now I have confidence that I can take care of my piercing in most situations whether it's changing the earrings or caring for redness and swelling. The next mission is to learn how to wear dangly earrings!

Even though it's only recently that I've been able to actually change the style, I've had a lot of fun trying different accessories. It's so much more comfortable that then clip-on kind. I never liked the feeling of something pinching my ear. It's like the difference between using a tampon and using a pad. One seems more icky but you don't notice it at all, while the other you're always aware of.

Looking forward to more adventures in the future!

Sunday, October 12, 2014

My First Live Show in Hiroshima (or like ever...)

On Saturday I did something pretty unusual for me and went to a Japanese metal show. Here are some pictures I took:


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 Mostly, I remember it being pretty LOUD. It was a pretty small venue as you can see from the pictures. We just had to pay 1,000 yen to get in and another 500 yen for a drink ticket. The guests ranged from high school age to 40s. Some people were punked out in leather jackets and a lot of camouflage and other people were dressed in normal clothes. (Like me. I had no idea what to wear so just decided not to bother.)

The most amusing was to see these 15-17 year old high school boys hanging out. (Usually up at the railing.) I just kept imagining that this place must seem so rebellious and cool to them and they were so cute and dorky. There's smoking and drinking! People in weird costumes screeching!

Never having been to a concert before, much less death metal, I was kind of taken aback when people started running around in the center of the floor pushing each other. (Including the person I came with.) Some of the younger boys took their shirts off. There was also one punk teenage girl who ran around, although she kept all her clothes. I think that's a circle pit? They seemed to be having fun, though. I just didn't get it.

After about two hours my ears were hurting so I waited a bit in the entryway where the music was just a dull roar instead of an earsplitting one. Overall it was pretty unique but I felt unexpectedly tired afterward. Still I got to see people in weird masks and guys with really long hair swinging it around as they played guitar.






Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Programming

This week I started a programming class! My book even came on time, which was a surprise. I haven't done any assignments yet, but I managed to install everything and play all the videos so that's at least a relief. The class focuses on Python which seems to be very basic. So far I've only used the command "print" and "x = 2."

The class starts at the most basic level, but even the easy textbook assumes things about how computers work that I don't actually know what they're talking about...Hopefully everything will become clear bit by bit.

Unfortunately this week I also caught a cold so that doesn't increase study motivation. "Learning Python is a lot like learning a human language..." And I'm like NO! I'm already learning a human language--that's trouble enough, thank you!