Hello. Now that we are on the cusp of it being 63 days and less/fewer, the list of things to do has grown to be rather intimidating. Where did my 6 days go? In other news, I finally decided to get an iphone but damn Singtel is making me wait a month before I can get my hands on one. It is a wait that is proving to be rather annoying, and one that can’t be satisfied even when I check my email a gazillion times each day, every day.

Well, in the meantime, the search for cheap accessible hotels/hostels in Tokyo staggers on.

I seldom get inspired enough to get off my ass and do stuff, but after reading this, I’m starting to look at things in a different light. Self-help vibes. But actually, I’m just a little afraid of the fact that my brain is quietly (sometimes) wasting away in one corner while I sit on my arse and dream about pearl tea (though it was proven in a scientific study that imagining/thinking will sometimes yield a near-equivalent result). This is prolly common sense and the I-know-this-already-doofus mentality aside, it is true: it is a use-it-or-lose-it world up there in your head.

It’s incredibly silly, but every time I think about restarting my Japanese studies, I get horribly depressed at how much I’ve lost and am losing my command of the language. Vocabulary disappears, grammar goes to the dogs, and I get 124+ 166- on this little Java game that I play. It is a vicious cycle. I stop, start, get sian, lose all motivation to study, and then stop again.

Anyway, on that note, I’m now beginning to revise my Japanese again, this time with the knowledge that I suck and that I deserve and should expect that suckyness. Pat pat, be a good girl. Of course, I also have a long trip to look forward to and I really want the oba-chans to take to me and feed me candy when I run out of money. 69 days.

Hmm, am amazed at all this positive energy. Shall go crush some ants to regain my equilibrium.

Not quite the right image, but for some reason, that image is the only one that comes to mind. I’ve finally conquered cycling! To call it a conquest implies a level of skill and competence that is probably still some time (and plenty of practice) away, but it feels so gooooooooood to finally know how to cycle. It took a great deal of bruises that came in all shapes and sizes, a lot of weird, condescending stares from strangers (though I did get some helpful advice from some), and some three consecutive Saturdays of cycling, but I can at last cycle somewhat competently for an extended distance (rather than, say, 10 metres).

My friend and I weren’t keeping track, but my friend had us cycling for at least 2 kilometres on Saturday. 2 km. TWO! That was significantly better than the half-assed effort the previous Saturday. We did go all the way to Bedok Jetty, which had never looked prettier. We went a little further after that, then circled back, stopped for sugarcane juice before returning to the bicycle kiosk. It had been my little personal ambition since I started learning to be able to stop, out of volition not desperation, for drinks at the hawker centre, so imagine my elation when we did! Ha!

Well, it isn’t really a great deal to know how to cycle, I suppose (and this has been reinforced repeatedly by one of my brothers), but I’ve been teased quite a fair bit and I’ve been imagining cycling in the Japanese countryside, watching clouds glide by, seagulls flying overhead, exploring places too far to access on foot etc etc. Common sense tells me I still need a decent amount of practice before that bit of imagination becomes reality, but I reckon I’m now more than a few kilometres closer to that than I was a few weeks ago.

It is horrendous how the night passes so quickly sometimes. Now it is past midnight and a brand new day in a series of other impending new days. And new days, new days, they only sit around waiting to become history.

Good things:

- Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
I haven’t watched any anime in the longest time, but this caught my attention and held it. This is Tokyo, post a Richter 8.0 earthquake, and it unsettled me a tad more than I thought it would.

- Blade Runner
Finally got around to watching this. Quite ace, save for the presence of Harrison Ford. The eyeballs scene was tmd scary.

- The Brain that Changes Itself
Despite the title, this book is not a self-help/improvement book, even if it reaffirms the importance of positive thinking etc. I’m not done with it yet, but so far, it’s been a very fascinating and insightful read on our brain (brain!). There was also an article on one of the neuroscientists V.S. Ramachandran and his work on brain plasticity in an earlier issue of the New Yorker, which was equally interesting. (There’s hope for Homer, maybe.)

Am changing webhosts in a few days’ time, and hiccups are rather inevitable so expect a little less of this standard inane rambling. If everything behaves well, I will buy Toto, win and stay in Japan for a year.

Move completed, it seems. Lost two entries and a couple of comments. A bit fail, but bleah.