» Father killed partner who became hooked on Sony PlayStation
Guess this means video games invoke violence whether you play them or not.
» Return, the
I’M BACK COMING TO AMERICA YES
FOR GOOD…
…or at least until I graduate.
Itinerary:
April 14th
Depart Tokyo, Japan (NRT) - 4:00pm
Arrive Washington, Dulles DC (IAD) - 3:35pm
I decided (or it was decided for me) that coming back home and finishing school in the US would be best. I’m currently filling out transfer applications and boy is it fun. I’m actually really glad that almost everything in the States is online now. Back before I left, college apps were done on paper or by phone, and Japan still embraces the paper-everything system, so doing something so daunting with such ease is a head relief since I’m extremely busy with moving out of my apartment and my girlfriend’s visa crap. (Argentinians can’t go anywhere in this world without getting interviewed and paying hefty fees.)
As for my concentration, I’ve decided to take a turn away from IT, economics, politics, and international affairs and pursue photography at an art school. However, most of the AICAD schools have already passed their application deadlines, so my only glimmer of hope is VCU, which I hear will be difficult to get into. Hopefully, being a transfer student with good grades will give me an edge, but my college knowledge—or lack thereof—really gives me doubts on my chances. I’ve always been pretty pessimistic about a lot of things I do, but one friend told me to keep a positive mindset or the negativity will show in my portfolio.
Anyways, I look forward to being home, while at the same time dread leaving my tiny island home. But hey, I hear Obama is working to legalize marijuana and get universal heatlhcare on track, so yay!
» Real world = easy way out... or in... or whatever...
Since coming to Japan, I’ve met a lot of people from all over the world. From surprisingly free spirited Chinese-North Korean girls to German guys acting like American frat boys looking to “conquer Japan with their penises.” All these meetings have made me more open minded about a lot of things, but for the purposes of this entry, I’ll only address one. About two years ago I became friends with a guy from Nevada who had switched from a technical major to English, and who could trail out words better than anyone I can think of. Well read, adventurous, and the only guy who road a skateboard through our small Japanese campus—you could tell just by talking with him that he wasn’t a conventional person. Anyways, he and his friend have begun a country-wide trip around the States. Not impressed? Well, they’re doing it on their bikes. Not motor bikes, but bicycles, and camping on the road as they go. They’re currently in their first week, and have just arrived in Vegas after biking—on bicycles—through the fucking dessert.
Here’s a quote from his blog:
Getting to Las Vegas was not so bad and it was a very strange feeling rolling into the city after spending so much time in the desert. I felt a little more feral, a little less civilized. I had not yet reached the point were I wanted to chuck a spear at a car and follow its oil trail off into the desert where it would die and I could chop it up for clothing and shelter, but I felt a little more out of place amidst the rush hour traffic of a large city coated in dust and neon lighting.
-Joel (http://www.honestexpression.com)
It’s here that I’d like to state how envious and proud I am to say that I know someone who, unlike most of orthodox America, decided to take the hard route. It’s something I noticed once I got here, and it’s what I wanted to address. Why does society so often scold those who don’t follow the same pattern of school, graduate, work, die? My own mom scolded me for wanting to put off school for another two years while I studied Spanish in South America. “Uhm. So how old are you going to be when you finally graduate?” It’s not that I don’t value my education, it’s that I don’t understand the rush. What’s wrong with wanting to do what you want as long as you aren’t stepping on any toes or bumming off others? This “womb-to-tomb mentality,” as my retiring English professor put it, is a a social harness that I feel more than most others. As my future plans are made for me, I feel ever more anxious to break out and hit the road with nothing but “a hobo pack on the end of a stick, a can of beans, and a pocket full of dreams.” It’s adventurers like Joel who I think will benefit the most out of what short lives we live.
» Wii will miss you
I got rid of all my Wii gear and games.
Sold it partially because I need the money for new camera gear, but also because I’ve been trying to get rid of it for a while now. The thing is friggin’ boring. For me at least. Lame titles, less than mediocre wifi play, and controls that I never really understood—makes me question why I bought the system in the first place.
Either way, the machine has given me countless hours of brawling fun, so I guess I got my money’s worth seeing as I sold it for nearly what I bought it all for.
