A Birthday I Won't Forget...

Gomen! (Sorry!) All apologies for the briefness of the last blog, I huffed and puffed like I was going to sit down and write a novel, but I really just have been extremely busy. New Year's Eve was amazing, and the Japanese for it is Akemashite omedetou; however, the preferable thing to say is 'Nice to meet you in the new year'. (In Japanese this is "atarashii toshi ni o ai dekite ureshii") I'm not going to pretend I actually remember how to say that one everyday, but it's nice to understand how the Japanese view the new year. New Year...New Person. Seems more concrete than the resolutions of American hogwash and weight attainment. (or retainment, I suppose...) With that said, mine truly was a wonderful New Year. I met a gorgeous girl that has me awash with giddiness every day I wake up; although she lives in Colorado and is just visiting, it's a supreme feeling to be infatuated with a pretty girl. "Shinsui" is the Japanese for infatuation, and I'm not sure of the consequences of this word, due to the fact that I simply Googled 'infatuation', but I'm pretty sure you can't explain that feeling in any other sense than what it is.

My birthday (Otanjoubi omedetou to meee) falls on the second, apparently my heart does too. The same girl that I got but a glimpse of on the NYE celebrations let me take her to a pro basketball game as a pseudo-date for my birthday. Didn't know her, just knew her family, and by the end of the drive to Naha and back, I've felt like I knew the chick for years. Growing up in Okinawa as a kid (both of us, different times) definitely affects the way you treat people. Our parents are close friends, and she's the girl next door and I didn't even know it. For years... I guess that's what happens when we both travel internationally, regularly. I will do my best not to ooze gooey romantic bile from my rose-tinted eyes, but she's a spectacular gal. Stay on concept of Japanese-American logic differences. So yeah, Kancho.
After my coworkers knew it was my birthday, I was stricken with a game of Kancho that hurt me more than the spanking my Filipino sister-in-law insisted on. (Strange customs, that's why the blog's here.)

Kancho - a game Japanese schoolchildren play where they put their hands into what looks to me like a pistol... and stick it up each other's butts. Now, as an American (where homophobia runs rampant, and this would be looked down upon with utmost fervor) this is just wrong. As a Japanese, this is a funny game that tests the awareness of the dumb kids and really is a silly game that is played on playgrounds. This would be great if somebody told me in advance, but at work, I have my SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) job at Pizza Hut. It's all-Japanese. There are very few people that speak English and learning Japanese is essential. Toma and Hei-san, (it's actually Heihachiro, but they shorten names like we do) thought it would be funny to start a crash course in Kancho on me, for a birthday present. At work. So all day, I had Japanese men creeping around me, hands in gun formation, waiting for me to ..do.. my ...job... and then they'd stick that gun up my bunghole. Not the greatest introduction, I actually almost freaked out on one of them the third time it happened. I'm very glad to have had a translator there named Josh that saved me from killing the two of them. (Jodannnn ((joking)) I'd never kill, only maim.) This is also a joke, I couldn't hurt a fly... but apparently the city I escaped would and will:
Pain, served with a Cajun crust. The people in Pensacola really do grow from the mud and simply aren't accepting of other cultures.
This is a pic of the main street of Palafox (in Pcola)from above... I don't miss Pensacola-isms. Maybe the people, but not the culture. The mindset's are as backwards as the inverted colors I was playing with.

I like to pretend I'm a gangsta, but in reality I'm about as soft as apple pie. Which by the way, is, in Japanese, Appuru Pai. There is no translation for apple pie. It's an American thing, just like our saying goes. There is a word for 'apple', just not 'apple pie'. This is the kind of thing that will throw off an English major for all I'm worth. Apple in Japanese is 'ringo', and apple pie is 'appuru pai'. C'est la vie.
On a personal note, I'm beginning to discontinue the mix of Spanish and Japanese that seems to happen every once in awhile for no reason at all. "Ippun mas, por favor" (One minute more, please...) Growing up hearing multiple languages is a spectacular thing, but when you leap from Romance languages to the Far East, it's simply 'wadgi wadgi'. (annoying)
Thank goodness I only sort of understand Spanish and the instances that my mind makes this confusing amalgam are few and far between. Finally, the last straw is having Hogan as an addition to my Japanese learning experience... It's like learning Cajun/Hick in English, and originates out of the Ryukyus... Okinawan-Speak.
So another one of my words I've picked up (I hope I pronounce it correctly, constantly doing this wrong) is "nifeedeebiru". (Thank You) Nee-fay-de-bee-doo for all you regular Americans that can't discern Romaji. (Romaji is what I'm saying everything in... It's Japanese spelled in English; I should've started the blog with that tidbit, but it's an erroneous term considering that I can't use a Kana keyboard yet.. yeah they have different symbols... remember?
English- Thank You
Romaji- Arigatou Gozaimasu
Hiragana- Romaji but in simple symbols.
Katakana- A more complex set of symbols (to an American) that make more sense to convert American words. Irony?
Kanji- The most complex set that people are terrified of from the West. It's like 16,000 symbols that can have multiple meanings and originates in China. This is what Japanese calligraphy typically takes from, and definitely Chinese calligraphy. The prettiest of all the symbols, and yet the most "muzukashii" (difficult) to learn.
To further confuse and proclaim the indecent amount of ambiguity in the Japanese language, you should read this link to translate the word, muzukashii.

Usually I pick a buncha jams, but I've been on an interview binge lately...
Here are some of my favorites:
I respect all these guys! A lot...
Chris Thile making great points on classical uppity-ness.
Brandon Boyd talking art, inspiration, etc...
Childish Gambino spitting venom.
Talking about racism, nerds, and some other things I ambiguously identify with...
And finally one of the biggest jerks of the industry actually trying to not be a shithead:
John Mayer talks on his influences.

Holidazed.

First off, sorry for the long post, it's been an insane December and I've had to piece this together since the last post due to the amount of learning/frustration/loving/life. It's been nuts.
"I mused for a few moments on the question of which was worse, to lead a life so boring that you are easily enchanted, or a life so full of stimulus that you are easily bored." - Bill Bryson
For me this is an easy one, I am accustomed to being easily bored.
My imagination is culled from a childhood that was spent traversing a dozen foreign countries with a mother that spoke three languages and a father that was into sci-fi. I imagine so many different dimensions and possibilities; sometimes people take my deep daydreams as a sign of incompetence. I've started writing again, and with a fury. It's one thing to be exasperated by the end of the day from learning new places and directions, how to drive off-base, all three Japanese alphabets and a new language; however, it can be the greatest time to channel deep inner emotions into prose. I love the island I live on and have new Japanese/Okinawan for the blog. There are way too many adjectives and verbs to cover in just three slots. I'm about to get educational on y'all's ass. I'm going to start covering concepts instead of words, because that's what, in the end... that's what words are. They explain things from different perspectives depending on where you're looking from.
Here's the first abstract idea:

They.
In English, it's 'they' went to a party.
In Japanese, it's "karera." So it's also "aitsura" which is dickish. That's like saying those jerks...went to a party.
Polite form is "anohitotachi" which is more like saying 'those people' went to a party, but that also means you don't know them very well. Here's where it gets fun. If it's a group of women, it's "kanojora". But there's not a word for just men.
Here's another one for ya:
Hikikomori - there is no translation in English, but it could mean 'recluse'. Many Japanese in their late twenties have started a trend where there is not social interaction, loneliness and pride take hold of their minds and they cease to exist outside of their apartment or residence. Relevant to my feelings of late?
Possibly, I blame isolation and seasonal depression. Regardless, I'm thankful for all the knowledge I'm attaining and opportunities I've received as of late. My family's the best, on both sides of the world.

Apart from these abstract ideas, I'm learning counting. In every form. If you're interested...
Here's a link for continuity-
Way Confusing, Learn at Your Own Discretion

I think that's enough for lessons today, but another version of counting I learned today is in cars. I just started driving, went out and bought my own Nissan Terrano. One thing you should learn to count if you're driving out here is how many autos pass after the light turns red. It's insane. Red lights are almost a discretion instead of a rule out here, and the American's ALWAYS at fault if something goes wrong.

And Finallllllyyyy my favorite part of my blog that means the least to most people probably... but the most to me:
Music Top Three...no Six... Picks for this Month:
Call Me The Breeze John Mayer's Cover rivals his Crossroads cover.
F For You British Electronica Duo called Disclosure
The Stone DMB... a personal fave stuck in my head lately.
Hellifornia Gesaffelstein. My new running music.
Last one... a freestyle by the newest freshest lyricist: (Explicit Cursing Warning)
King Los yo that's just some straight A's... listen...