hey love, I'm an inconstant satellite

It really seems like Japanese people believe that their language is ONE HUNDRED PERCENT IMPENETRABLE. I am fairly good at languages, but picking up the kanji for "water" and noticing it's also used for "Wednesday" is not an advanced-level thing and doesn't really warrant "wow you are so amazing" levels of praise. It's mostly that (1) I need to decode some things, like in the grocery store and trains, so I use a tiny dictionary, and (2) I am a compulsive reader, so if there's text I'm going to try to puzzle it out. Turns out when you try to learn things you may enjoy the occasional success!

Sunset tonight, clear and chill and soothing with a first-quarter moon.

Pinafored little girls stompling in the ground cover on campus.

The lovely gloves I got in Kyoto last weekend: dark brown leather with lime-green topstitching, lined with lime-green knit, matching my adorable new umbrella.

My two packages from people, especially as I now have my heating pad. (Not thankful for damned customary holiday cramps; maybe this is early enough I'll be okay for Xmas.)

Ebook companies that pay attention to my billing address rather than my IP address.

All you great people that I know.

Getting to live in Japan for three months, damn, how cool is that.

Chocolate cake for my roommate's birthday.

A map of words for pillbugs.

Science!

Beautiful things to make, admire, have, and give.

At conference all day. Filled with hate despite cool science. (Well, awkward situation with PI is awkward, but.)

Found international market at Kanayama Station on the way home! Overpriced as fuck, but had Indian and Thai and American food OMG. Once I go to a market with more than three veggies in it, there will be green curry.

Currently eating the HELL out of a can of Hormel chili with cheddar tortilla chips while HIDING IN MY ROOM.

I went out on Saturday night! I didn't entirely feel like it, but the Metro Club is only once a month. This month was their 20-year anniversary for holding this queer dance in Japan, so I figured it'd be worth seeing at least for a bit.

Doors opened at 10; I got there a bit before 11[*] and left a bit after 2. The place started filling up around midnight, and there was a drag and semi-stripping show shortly after that. Later it got smoky and crowded and louder, resulting in sore throat, no fun dancing, failure to talk to people, and annoyed ears. Apparently the party goes until "at least" 5, but I was done.

The music was monotonous, boring dance stuff, but getting better by the time I left. I think they saved the good tunes for later, when more people would be around. We were starting to get Men Without Hats, so I assume that Erasure, Madonna, and Gaga would have been forthcoming at some point.

People talked to me: I made friends with a maybe-gay boy from China immediately, and learned a lot about how fucking dire his situation is. He had a gay uncle who disappeared for a long time, and China is apparently rife with conversion therapy. I didn't know what to say, except, experiment while you're here and maybe you have a terrible choice to make. (Is there some online tool for Chinese homosexuals to meet each other for beard acquisition? I'm sure it's filtered out if there is, but if they're outside of China... It's all so terrible.) He offered to sleep with me but I didn't want to and I don't think he did either. He kept looking at guys and they kept having boyfriends, poor kid.

A boy from New Jersey was the first one dancing, and he was happy when I came to dance too (after a couple other people did). We shouted at each other briefly.

A Japanese girl thought I was someone else.

Brazilian guys chatted to me for a while; apparently I was straight-looking, as that's what they asked early on. Uh, no. One offered me white tablets and said they were candy. Rather a first for me. You enjoy those yourself, good sir!

A couple of Spanish-speaking boys caught me as I was heading home and complimented me, in that usual way in Japan where they first say how not-Japanese I look. (More salutary experiences for white people! Being exotic: not actually fun!) They seemed pretty entertaining, but I was outa there.

I even approached a person myself: this cute Brazilian butch in aviator glasses. Like a lot of the non-Japanese people there, she's a proper expat, been in Japan for seven years. There were a few students, too, and a lot of Japanese people, only some of whom seemed to be queer. And drag queens! One of them seemed to be the person who runs the event -- very tall, very friendly, very flaming of course. With plumes I swear this one person was eight feet tall.

I successfully hailed a taxi and took it home, despite the residence's business card not working as advertised. The driver looked at it and said "Nagoya Daigaku?" and I said sure. School is close enough. By the time we got there I was looking nervously at the meter, having been so unwise as to buy an extra drink in the bar (note: their gimlet was really great), and let him drop me so I could walk the rest of the way home.

I'd forgotten that non-Seattle places may still allow smoking indoors. Luckily I had planned to shower anyway, but my clothes got banished to the balcony. I crashed about 4am and slept until 11. (I honestly thought it was about 7 when I woke up, but it was just rainy. Yay sleep!) Yesterday was aftermath/pajama/internet-outage day -- somehow both my arms were really sore? -- and here I am back being verbose tonight.

* I had to keep watching Community until Troy and Abed made up, okay? Besides, I knew it would be quiet early on.

It is definitely really weird to have people feel up your hair. Awkward, laughing, freaking out -- it could easily have shaded into bullying. Even if it's one person* whom you like, and even if you're weirdly positioned in the conversation as having the socially-better hair texture. (Is it actually true that some people's hair is so strong it can poke into their skin, or were they messing with me? I kept the terminology at "strong" rather than anything less positive, because wow was that fraught.) She says she wants her hair to be so soft, too. I pointed out that it mostly correlates with color and that stronger hair doesn't break all the time, but she was not dissuaded. I settled on, "I'm sorry, I can't help you," which at least made everyone laugh.

(It was also very strange to be touched at all; I want that a lot right now, actually, but perhaps not in a disturbing, charged context, okay?)

I keep thinking that more white Americans should experience this racial-minority thing, but I'm still creepily advantaged, there's no escaping it. Besides, I don't think the jingoists I grew up around would react to it by understanding the overall dynamic, interpreting it for their situation, or gaining that much empathy.

* Only one woman in the room at the time; the men had more sense or reserve for whatever reason than to try it. I am not ruling out the possibility that I may be mobbed by female labmates at some future time.

International market means international, not American. I have Tim Tams.

Today's trip for international students was to Nara. I realize I went to Nara on Monday. That's kind of why I went today, actually. I'd been to NAIST (the science university) twice and seen none of Nara proper. Now, having educated myself, I am here to tell you that Nara Park is one of the world's biggest tourist traps. Thus, I have newly minted categories of tourist tat to share with all of you.

1. Can be safely ignored

The vast majority of things fall into this category. In Japan there is a huge market for swanky foods to bring back from wherever you've been to share with your family and colleagues, and generally once you've fulfilled this obligation you need look no further in that vein. Also, Hello Kitty dressed up as a thing is only worth a glance for the most part, and thus are most of the rest of the little gifts disposed of.

2. Kind of amazing and should be photographed to share with others

For instance, this tanuki with bells for testicles.



3. Horrifying and absolutely must be photographed to share with others

For instance, the patron of the Ueno rest stop, Cat Ninja Lady. There was a whole lot of ninja merchandise inside, but the giant plastic Cat Ninja Lady under whom you must pass to enter was the most amazing and awful thing.



4. Striking a personal weakness

THIS IS BREAD WHICH IS ALSO TOTORO



He contained chocolate pudding! And the white dough was an overlay, his main structure was the brown dough. (No I did not make a Y-incision to dissect him, I didn't have a knife, I ate him like a chocolate bunny ears-first thank you very much.)

I am also now a proud owner of Kiki's Delivery Service toe socks.

5. Too insane not to buy

For those of you who are not currently inundated by his merchandise at every turn, this is Tony Tony Chopper from the still incredibly popular manga One Piece. (He has taken on his own life as Chopperman; I think that is solely a merchandising deal.) Tony Tony Chopper is a reindeer, or caribou.



Now, in Nara, everything is about the deer. There is a good reason for this; the deer in Nara Park will mob you if you are so foolish as to buy deer food, and sometimes if you don't. I saw a deer bite a man's ass today. (They tried to stare me down for a Kit Kat, but I told them off. I think it was my imagination that they understood Japanese better than English.) Schoolchildren squealed fearfully as they tried to elude the deer. Obviously, these terrorist deer are therefore marketed as adorable, or occasionally nobly scenic, on just about every single item in Nara.



So, getting back to Tony Tony Chopper, this is a Tony Tony Chopper souvenir from Nara.

Therefore, the deer is dressed up... as a deer.

You see how I had to buy this thing.