Endgame

I started this draft on June 30, but I'm writing it write now on July 5th, which is July 4th in the US! So, Happy Independence Day!

June was a packed month, as you have read in earlier posts. Like, check out this barbecue we had the other day. Friggin' fantastic.

BBQing

Doesn't that look so delicious?

July will be even more packed.

In the first week, I've been preparing for the move back home. Things I need to do:

- Pack stuff
- Ship stuff
- Sell stuff
- Pack/ship my sword (this might be a bigger obstacle than just winter clothes)
- Sell my car
- Prepare for the martial arts workshop that I'll hold for the Miyagi Art & Talent Show
- Write "goodbye speeches" for my schools and going-away parties
- Go to Leaver's Party at Oshima Island this weekend
- Buy a bunch of chocolate for Mom
- Juggle those responsibilities with work and social life
- Enjoy the last of my days in Japan

I have a bunch of video games. Brother suggested that I ship them back, but I'm afraid something might happen to them on the way. So he suggested that I get a CD binder and put all the discs in there while I ship the game boxes. That way, if I lose the boxes, I at least still have the games. Suddenly, I wish I had all of that data in "The Cloud." Thankful for PSN. I'll do as he suggested, and carry the CD binder with me as carry-on. Or, I could pack it in my suitcase. Either way, they're comin' with me!

The martial arts workshop next weekend is something that I'm pretty excited about. We're still working out the schedule, but I intend to have some Kenpo Karate, board breaking, and Filipino Escrima in there. Unfortunately, the small budget won't allow for real escrima sticks made out of rattan, but I will try to make some out of bamboo poles. The hard part will be deciding exactly what things to go over. If I only have 45 minutes, that's 15 minutes for each section. Perhaps martial arts basics, self defense, escrima drills, disarms, then board breaking. Maybe a brief introduction of history or personal background.

2 meter bamboo pole for $0.68!

At some point, I'm actually considering writing a full-fledged book (or blog) that comprises all of my martial knowledge. Then add to it as I gain more experience. You might have seen a short film that I helped an aspiring filmmaker with back in the day. Since it was for a class project, the director experimented with various filming and editing styles. I wish we could re-create the film, as she and I have both grown a lot since then, and I think a new project would better reflect our experiences.

Last year, I helped out on the English translation for a soy sauce spray bottle product. And here it is!

Just spray it on your food. Yum!

Anyway, first thing's first. Gotta write up something for my car!

Word of the Day: 研修会　「けんしゅうかい」　"kenshuukai" or "training workshop."

Sakura

Spring has sprung! But then it got confused yesterday and it snowed, what the hell!? Here, check out some beautiful cherry blossoms, known as 桜　「さくら」 "sakura" in Japan.

Cherry Blossoms in Furukawa

As I write this, I'm standing at a "Free Wi-Fi Desk" at the Narita Airport. Gotta go home to take the MCAT. Again. Lol. I've taken it a few times already, but I studied this time more than last time, so I (should) have an improved score than before. But it's also been a while since I've last taken science courses, so it's possible that I've forgotten a few things that were inherently internalized way back in the day. It was fun reviewing general chemistry, as I was reminded of my high school chemistry classes.

My original plan was to apply to medical schools this summer, but to be honest, I'm not completely confident in my application. Schools get around 3000+ applications, and the class size is only about 150. That means that only 5% of the applicants actually end up matriculating to that school! But I believe the actual acceptance rate is about 20%, so that means three fourths of those invited to attend end up declining and going to another school. Anyway, in order to improve my chances, I think I should attend a full fledged pre-med post-bacc program. That is, pre-medicine, post-baccalaureate; a program that is held at a school of medicine to prepare students for matriculation into medical school. I have big dreams, but they require many small steps.

So besides studying and researching medical school, what have I done this past week or two? Oh, yeah, I bought the PS3 Initial D game. That's fun. Unfortunately, the Initial D series underwent a "cleansing" and got rid of many cars, including my beloved GT-Four. But that's okay, they still have RX-7's, WRX's, GT-R's, and Evo's. They even threw in an RX-8 as free DLC.

Also game-related, I'm finally an official PlayStation Plus subscriber! Yay free games! Really, though, I needed that service to copy my saves into the "cloud" so that I can sell my PS3 here in Japan and not worry about my files when I use a PS3 in the US. I love technology. Who knows what kinds of services and such we'll have in another 10 years?

I've noticed that I'm semi-addicted to Gran Turismo 5. And I think I've figured out why. It's not as simple as "I love cars." It's "I love cars and the game does a good job of giving me a reason to turn it on every day." And that reason is...a daily reward. Basically many games today (especially on iPhone/iPad) reward players for playing (or at least turning it own) every day. On iOS, the rewards usually cycle every 5 days, so when you play over the course of 30 days, you get each reward 6 times. In GT5's case, the reward is an incremental bonus to earned in-game currency and experience points, up to 200%. On day 6 and later, the number simply remains at 200%. But if a day is skipped, the number drops back down to a normal 100%.

I think modern RPGs should take advantage of this system. I played World of Warcraft half a decade ago and their system was to reward people when they logged at at certain locations ("Inns") by giving bonus experience points. And back then, they starting "Daily Quests" which allow a player to complete the same quest, once per day, and earn the same rewards (usually a hefty amount of gold). This killed the game for me, as I ended up grinding the same handful of quests for 3 weeks straight, playing the game only one to two hours a day and trying to figure out how to most efficiently earn the most gold in the least amount of time. And because it was the same quests, I grew bored of it quickly. My fault, yes, but it's their fault for trying to take advantage of players' greed. Hah.

Anyway, gotta pack up! I saw some pretty sakura on the way here. Here is a shot from my town! It was snowy and rainy yesterday. How peculiar.

Snow, Rain, and Sakura

Word of the Day: 咲く　「さく」　"saku" or "to bloom."

Spork

So happy that my car is back! Isn't she so sexy and clean? ^_^

Misa is back!

So yeah, I'm still going back and forth between what to do about my car. On the one hand, it's old (16, older than my students!), so it has old parts that might need replacing in the next few years/months (probably the water pump), but on the other hand, it doesn't even have 90,000 miles on it, so in theory, the car should still last much longer.

But my dad is worried that if I do run into a problem, and I need to replace a part, the part either doesn't exist in the US, and I would have to import it from Japan, or the part is no longer made altogether. And that would be a problem. But daaaaaaaamn, I did a used car search using various websites (Kelly Blue Book, cars.com, Edmunds) and anything within my price range is some old crapper with 150,000 miles on it! I feel like it would be more worthwhile spending the money on a car I'd want to bring it back. But my buddy Oreo has reminded me again of the headache involved in the process.

Other than cars, I've been stressing out about the medical school application process. Today, I investigated the "committee letter," and apparently, requirements have significantly become more steep. 100 hours of clinical experience with a letter as proof? 20 hours of shadowing a doctor? What the hell? How is an undergrad supposed to do that, let alone a post-bacc like me? It's getting me worried again. But I'm not gonna give up! I won't let these annoying hurdles stop me from my dream. I have set a goal, and dammit, I will see it through.

Last weekend, I went with a coworker to Ishinomaki, one of the areas damaged by the tsunami. There, we volunteered at a local community center where we served food and entertained guests. I was the token foreigner, so I had the pleasure of surprising people with my English and the phrase "no, I'm not Japanese!" I was assigned the task of assisting in the kid's corner, where I helped kids make a cake dessert and do arts and crafts like folding origami. I also taught them the word "spork," which in Japan is called a 先割れスプーン "sakiware supuun," which literally means "spoon with the tip divided."

I will be home in a few weeks, but only temporarily, to take the wretched Medical College Admission Test. My studies over the past few months have given me some confidence that I will do better on this test than before. But I'm beginning to get concerned about my overall application. I need to have a solid personal statement as well as a good explanation for my previous life choices (moving to Japan, working at UPMC, etc.). No use worrying about it though. Just gotta remain focused.

It's getting late, so I should sleep. But I'll leave you with this, a song that I can't get out of my head, and something which I've been practicing on the guitar. Goodnight!


Word of the Day: 迷う　「まよう」　"mayou," or "to waver" as in being unable to decide upon something.

Distraction

I haven't been able to study AT ALL today, or much this week. Which is sad, because I haven't had any classes this week, so in theory, it should have been an opportune time to study. My goal for tomorrow is to blaze through a few chapters of my review.

Anyway, the big things that have been distracting me today were mostly e-mails. One big batch of e-mails for MAJET: planning the upcoming Art Show, setting up PR (twitter, e-mails, websites, etc.), taking care of orders for publications by National AJET, handling Micro Grant Fund stuff which was set up in honor of Taylor Anderson.

The other thing that has been distracting me is my car issue. My parents replied back to me regarding my concerns, and my dad gave his advice:

Harold, my advice is for you to dispose of your car due to:
1) age of car is 16 years old - too many old parts that may have no U.S. equivalent for replacements.
2) legality of using wrong-positioned steering wheel on U.S. roads.
3) cost of tariff tax at port of entry.
4) transport cost.

Best to do:
1) Do not make any repairs now - only those necessary
2) Sell car as is to the incoming educator taking over your position or anyone else.
3) start with a brand new car in the U.S.
4) kiss your car goodbye - thanks for the safe rides it provided.

All very good advice. But heartbreaking, because I love my car oh-so-much. Also, got some bad news, Dad. I had to take the care in for its biennial check-up and it needed to get its muffler replaced. Considering all the maintenance it has already experienced, doesn't it mean that the car will be working well in the future? Or does that mean it's "prone to injury" and I should expect damage to other parts if I brought it back to the US? I need to talk to a mechanic about all this; especially one with import car experience.

If I can't/shouldn't bring it back to the US, hopefully I can sell it here. If I were to buy a new car in the US, I've been eying the new ハチロク Hachi-Roku, a.k.a. Toyota 86, a.k.a. Scion FR-S, a.k.a. Subaru BRZ.

Toyota FT86 G Sports Concept

Word of the Day: 注意散漫　「ちゅういさんまん」　"chuuisanman" or "distraction" or "lack of attention."

Import Cars

I need some car advice. The situation is as follows:

1) I own a 1997 Toyota Celica GT-Four, which I love. It's a one-of-a-kind, and it isn't sold in the US, but it's sold in Canada, Australia, Japan, Europe. I've named her 美唆　「みさ」　"Misa." The kanji mean "beautiful" and "tempt," respectively, as in "beautiful temptation." The second kanji can also mean "to excite" or "to seduce."
2) It's a powerful car and with decent gas mileage. An average of 20.42 mpg, which I calculated myself over the course of 22 months; distance traveled over gasoline purchased. The distance was mostly low-speed, too. On the highway, it gets 27.4 mpg; again, an actual calculation with real values.
3) The car has 130,453 km (81059.7 miles) on it.
4) There have been quite a few modifications: the clutch has been replaced (before I bought it), as well as the timing belt (not sure about the water pump). I also had the stock spoiler replaced with another stock spoiler (which provides better down force and looks cooler), as well as had the shift stick replaced with a new (but stock) one. The previous owner installed a 10+1 disk CD player, DVD/TV/Navigation system, a highway card reader (like EZPass), and oil temperature/pressure gauges.
5) There was an oil leak which I got fixed.
6) The exhaust/muffler needs to be fixed/replaced. It is currently being fixed, but may not be permanent.
7) I am considering bringing the car to the US, but it requires that certain steps be fulfilled, the most important one being that the car passes inspection and meets the emissions requirements of the US; that would probably require replacing the muffler. I saw some for about $600 online, but that's the price in Japan.
8) I bought the car at a reasonable price.
9) I may or may not be able to sell my car. If I have to dispose of it, it will cost about $100-200.
10) Shipping my car and having it fixed up for American emissions/inspection may actually cost LESS than buying a used car in the US.

The issue I face is whether or not it's feasible (or even possible) to bring the car to the US. With everything I mentioned above. I really love this car, and I think it'd be super awesome if I could bring it to the US. But it's a right-hand-side-steering; I wouldn't have a problem driving it in the US, I think. Not too much anyway, 'cause I have so much experience at this point, and I've driven on 4-lane roads in Japan (2 lanes in one direction) a lot, and I often stay in the right lane. And I have experience driving on tiny roads, so I feel as though the blind spot that I would experience (when making left turns) isn't really all that bad.

If I try to sell the car, I might be able to sell it, but used cars are very cheap in Japan so I wouldn't be able to get much. Though if I sold it in the US, maybe I could sell it it for a high price because it's an import and ultra rare?

Hmm, I wish it were cheaper and easier to bring my car to the US...

Misa, in front of my Jr. High, next to an RX-8

Word of the Day: 車　「くるま」　"kuruma" or "car." The "onyomi" or "Chinese style reading" for this is しゃ "sha" (sometimes romanized as "sya"), as in 車検　「しゃかん」　"shaken/syaken," the infamous and expensive biennial car inspection in Japan.

The end of the world?

So when was "2012" supposed to "happen?" Some say 12/21/2012. But maybe it'll happen when 2012 ends? Let's hope not, 'cause I still have a lot of things to take care of!

So, despite it being December, I haven't had very many (physical) gifts lately, despite both my birthday and Christmas having just passed. But it's okay, as I happen to own 90+% of the things I want to own, and I've received plenty of blessings, love, friendship, and a lot of other non-physical gifts.

One of the gifts I got though, was (were) this (these):

Can the biggest head eat the rest?

They're called 達磨　「だるま」 "Daruma" dolls. They're made of hollow wood, and these particular ones fit inside a bigger one not unlike Russian Matryoshka dolls. As you can see, the faces on the dolls have eyes which don't have pupils. It's my job as the owner to fill in one eye with a pupil to signify a goal. Once the goal is accomplished, I'm allowed to "open the other eye" by drawing a pupil in the other eye. There are four dolls (the fifth one is a small egg with 福　「ふく」 "huku," or "luck" on it), so that means I can assign four of my many goals. Surely, at least one will be medical-school-related.


I've been reviewing for the MCAT, and finally I made a structured daily study plan to motivate me. This is probably the most excited I've ever been for studying. Maybe I can assign "levels" to each section and turn it into a real life RPG. Gotta level up!

Reading the material brings back nostalgic memories of studying the same topics in college and high school. Studying with my friends, teaching my classmates the material, and the feeling of satisfaction after acing a difficult exam. Natsukashii ne.

It has been snowing quite heavily! Snow was DUMPED on Miyagi Prefecture. After two days of snow, everything is white outside. Yesterday in particular was pretty scary due to strong winds managing to cover tracks left only minutes earlier. Here's my car:

Like a prehistoric beast buried in the snow

Yeah, so, pretty snowy. It doesn't look all that bad in the picture, but there was about 5 inches of snow on the car.

Japan doesn't recognize Christmas as a federal/national holiday, so I had to go to work. It's the first time I've ever worked on Christmas, and I gotta say, it's not a good feeling. But I was probably more sad about having to work on Christmas the weekend before while anticipating it. On the day of, I spent it studying for the MCAT at work, then going home and watching Avatar: The Last Airbender, playing some video games, and reading Initial D manga. Good times!

As the year is winding to an end, an opportunity to visit the crossroads again appears. Regardless of my choice to stay in Japan for a fourth year, I am doing everything I can to prepare for my application to medical school, which will occur in the summer of 2013. That's why I've been studying so much! Speaking of which, time to hit the books.

Everyone, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!

Word of the day: 懐かしい　「なつかしい」　"natsukashii," or "nostalgic."

Blogger App?!

I got the Blogger App!!! It hasn't been updated yet (why is Google so slow?!), but I guess I shouldn't be the one to talk.

I keep promising to post pictures of this or that, and after all, that's what makes posts fun to read!

Anyway, happy December! I am a year older and many years wiser. Oh my lord this app is so poorly made. The text box is awful! It doesn't scroll?!? Okay there we go. But the stupid keyboard icon is in the way. Sigh, Google, what are you doing?

So I've been studying for the MCAT. Yes, again. I do believe I'll do better this time around, provided I have ample time to prepare for it. I hope there are more testing times in Japan than just January 2013.

Speaking of Japan, I have been asked to again renew my contract! There are pros and cons to this. I think the pros outweigh the cons. Probably. I say this because I have med school in the future at a specific date and it coincides well with finishing my 4th year here.

Also, should I start a vlog in lieu of this blog? Or perhaps in addition to?

I hear that it's nigh impossible to find a job in the States, so financially I am probably better off keeping my job here in Japan for one last hurrah before going to med school. If I can't get into med school then I'll look into creating the "next big thing." Hah!

Lastly, I have been looking to get new winter tires. Unfortunately they only last so many years (3?) and mine are 6 years old! Plus, I'm back to using kerosene heaters and the sun sets really early. Stupid winter. I used to love you.

Word of the day: 冬 「ふゆ」 "fuyu", or "winter."