Wha's Hap'nen

So what's going on in Japan right now? Not much really.

For work I was recently observed, which is never a comfortable experience. Still, it went by pretty painlessly. However, it doesn't look like my probationary period will end quite yet and I might have too wait another month or more.

Most of the students are really nice, and even the ones who are pains aren't too bad. The only real pain is this one guy who's in a much higher level than he deserves to be. He doesn't participate all that much either. It's like he's spaced out unless I'm giving him constant attention. In fact, he's one of the few cases where it might be better to have him and him alone in a class, simply because I can give him as much time to talk and stop him from nodding off.

There are students from all walks of life, but where I work seems particularly popular among older women. Most of them are pretty nice and are really interested in learning the language. But there are also people ranging from high school to their elder years. There's even one young kid from Jr. High, although he's incredibly quiet. Things, for the most part, are going pretty good on that end.

Oh, and I finally got my comics from home (and a box of KD) so now I got Astonishing X-Men, Day of Vengeance, Doom Patrol and Young Avengers to live off of for the month. I'm trying to stretch it out by reading a single chapter a night, which is almost painfully for more slowly paced books. I feel sorry for people who read certain monthly books. I was only able to find one place with English books (more than I thought, but less that was implied by my roommate). I had very little options so I just picked up the classic Heart of Darkness and Dragonball Vol. 10.

I've also been reading lots of manga, including Eyeshield 21, which is much better as a manga than an anime. I like the fact that even the series artist likes mocking the characters insane proportions (the artist points out that certain characters are ten feet tall but only during the games. I also recommend Eternal Sabbath (less generic than the title implies), My Name is Zushio (a little too hyper at times though), Mr. Fullswing (one again, sometimes a little too hyper) and Freesia.

I've been keeping up with my English TV, watching the Daily Show and Colbert Report on the Comedy Central website. I've been good with downloading everything thing else I would miss but there isn't that much I watched on TV that wasn't reruns, so I'm downloading some other shows I haven't completely watched before. I'm also renting movie from Tsutaya, the "culture convenience" store that rents movies and, interestingly enough, CDs. So if there's some J-pop you want me rip and send you I'll see what I can do.

Tsutaya actually has a really good selection of new and classic films (Darcy would be happy to know there's a silent film section), but apart from sections, it's hard to tell where to find something if you're looking for it. Now I'm just picking a few random movies that I heard were good or look like their good. Or are really old looking. Apparently, DVDs of American TV series are very popular in Japan, particularly 24. Frankly, I prefer to download my shows, so I'll probably just stick to that. Right now I have the first season of Masters of Horror downloaded and have found it mostly disappointing. I know Dario Argento can do better.

I went skiing yesterday, which was a lot of fun, and it was nice to just get out there and do something. Stil, it's been quite a while since I went skiing so it was a little choppy, though I got the basics down pretty quick. The weather on the mountain was quite crazy, ranging from very clear to completely closed in. I should also try to get my legs ready for next winter so I can ski longer without my legs feeling the strain. Still, I had a pretty good time and I was somehow able to get some rental boots for my giant feet.

I'm thinking of getting a DS (partially because Jordan nags me to get one and I'm a pretty malleable guy), but aside from Wario Ware and New Super Mario Bros., I'm not sure what to get. I hear Shonen Jump Stars is good, but will it be good as a one player. I'd like Eyeshield, but I'm tempted to wait until the next game in hopes that they add more stuff from the manga. Also, I can't read Japanese. Any ideas for games when I bite that bullet?

Anyway, I'll try to update more often (especially since I'm done those 2 back to back six day work weeks.