My first post from Japan

I haven't posted to this blog in awhile, since I've been consumed with moving and living in Japan. I've been here for just under two months, and there are some things that I really enjoy, and some things that I really don't like. I'm saving those up for a post to my Japanese blog, however.

But for the past few months, but life's been a little boring. It's amazing how dull even a foreign country can be when you don't have much to do. The novelty wore off in a few weeks, and my passion for studying the language disappeared after a few weeks. I really need to get back into it, though.

Since I've been here I've been watching TV, playing games, reading--you know, the stuff I used to do in the States. And while I get to go more interesting places on the weekends, the lack of good friends makes me sad.

I'm planning on updating this blog soon with reviews of the tv shows/movies I've seen lately, games I've played, rants and raves I've been thinking about, and hopefully an eloquent post about how sexism in Japan sucks.

Until then, don't you forget about me.


(Did I get the song stuck in your head?)

My Life without the Internet--or even a computer.

Well, during the middle of the laptop saga (all resolved now, and for a decent price) the router at my mom's gave out, and there was a big ordeal getting it replaced. Moral of the story, never use Embarq.

What I did instead of playing games/browsing the web:

Knit. A lot. A couple of quick mohair scarves that I gave to my aunt and cousin. Started on my very first sweater. Stopped because I wanted to see knitting videos on the internet to understand circular knitting. Tried to pick up crocheting. Need help with that one.

Watched BBC America. A lot. Luckily, the internet went out starting the week they showed the Torchwood: Children of Earth mini-series, as well as Being Human and Doctor Who.

Rewatched most of the first two seasons of Veronica Mars, and popped some less commonly watched DVDs in. Remembered why most of them were less watched.

But mainly, realized what a pain it is to live without the internet, considering how many bills I pay online, things I need to look up for my flights, etc. Amazing how quickly we as people adapt our life around technology and then struggle without it.

Knitting Extravaganza! The Scarf Edition

The bulk of what I've done so far in knitting is scarves, with four complete projects.

The first thing I ever knitted was a pale green scarf from a pattern in a knitting book from Better Homes and Gardens. It has an interesting pattern that is wavy on one side and blocky on the other. I think the pattern is interesting, but because I was just starting out, I used a low quality yarn and it was both a pain to work with and not very comfy to wear. The scarf is also extremely short for a scarf, since I was anxious to have my first projected completed, and finished it off a few feet before I should have.

The second scarf was a plain garter stitch, made solely because I found some funky green, blue, and yellow yarn on clearance. My first time making tassels (though they aren't attached right and kind of look funny.) This scarf is long and wide and was my most-used scarf in the my last long Wisconsin winter.

The pink scarf is my favorite scarf I've knitting, mostly because of the amazing yarn used. It was my first time working with luxury yarn. It's baby alpaca wool from Misti Alpaca (also where I got the pattern.) It's a nice, simple diagonal stripe pattern (though I still goofed up the pattern at the end, and bound off the piece before I noticed.) I still have a skein of the same yarn (though in grey) and am looking forward to using it. This piece also showed me that if I was rich, I'd spend lots of money in yarn shops.

I just finished the grey and green scarf earlier this afternoon. It was made for my brother, and is the first piece I've done that I intend to give to someone else. I used leftover yarn from a blanket I knitted, and working in a simple moss stitch, adding a small strand of green every six inches or so. I feel like I could have done the stipes differently, but the uneveness of it kind of gives it a funkier, less-former feel, I suppose. This was my first good experience with this type of yarn (Lion's Brand Chenille) which made me want to stab myself while making my blanket. Also my first experience with fringe.

Noo! Not my laptop!

So, the day after that last post, I set my laptop, open, on the couch, twisted away to grab something, and turned around just in time to see my laptop plummet a foot to the carpet. My LCD screen was totally cracked.

There's been a huge drama about getting it fixed--my laptop is an Asus, all of which have a one-year accidental damage warranty. Except those bought at Best Buy. Where mine was. Where they get rid of the manufacturer's warranty to make you buy theirs. Ok, so I got screwed on the warranty. Whatever, my fault for not reading the fine print. So, the tech guy from Asus said over the phone that it would be in the neighborhood of 300-400 dollars to fix. Ouch, but I love my laptop. Stupidly, I decided to have Best Buy fix it, since I could just drop it off at the store. Now, two things are important to mention here: One, I asked the Geek Squad guy I handed my laptop to if the over-the-phone Asus estimate was accurate. He was it sounded about right. Two, I asked the guy if it was his opinion that it was worth dropping the money on my laptop versus getting a new laptop. He said it was. Then, almost a week after I dropped it off, they called with an estimate--of 800 fucking dollars. For a 600 dollar laptop. I was not amused, and dislike Best Buy with somewhat of a passion now.

Blah blah blah, Brent called Asus, this time it was ballparked at a 200 dollar fix, which makes me think that nobody in the freaking universe knows anything, but as soon as I get my laptop back from Best Buy, I'm sending it to Asus and having them fix it, hopefully for less than 800 dollars. And hopefully by the time I leave the country. *sigh* For awhile I was tempted just to drop money on a new laptop, but my Asus is a seriously nice laptop, so I'll hold off until I know what Asus themselves would charge for the repair.

What I've been doing:

What I've been doing since my last post:

• Playing large amounts of both The Sims 3 and Civilization IV.
• Repeatedly looking up flights from Seattle to Tokushima.
• Watching TV shows, not only on the internet and DVD but actually on television! It's so different. There were COMMERCIALS in my Doctor Who!
  
• Sporadically knitting.
• Finally getting off my butt and taking long walks in hopes of getting a bit more in shape.
• Getting distracted by random stuff on the internet.
  

Stay classy, Milwaukee

(A bit late, but I only just transferred the pictures from my camera to my computer.)

Wait... you're saying this is busy?!?

Tonight, my father said something to the effect of "the street we live on is too busy, I don't like it."

Now, I've known my father hates busy places; he routinely makes disparaging remarks about pretty much every town with more than a few thousand inhabitants. But, my dad lives miles out of town. In the week I've been here, I would guess that maybe one car has gone by his house every 10-15 minutes, on average: more in on weekends and during commute times, practically no cars late at night. And that's "too busy?" Good grief!

Give me cities, with their variety of things to do, and wider variety of people to do it with. I might enjoy visiting my parents in their small towns, but I would go absolutely nuts if I had to live here full time again.

Gaming with Non-Geeks: Board Game Review

Tonight, while at my dad's, I played a "non-typical" board game with my dad, stepmom, and stepbrother (by "non-typical," I mean something you probably wouldn't find at a Target.)

The game, Dread Pirate:
The Good:
It certainly wins points for presentation. The board is stylish and cloth and the ships are detailed (though more color variation would be good--platinum, silver, bronze, and copper can be a bit difficult to distinguish.) Your personal treasure bag has a satisfying weight and clink to it when you are doing well, and is depressingly empty when you are close to losing.

The Bad:
To me, it was very simple. Go to ports, roll a die. Attack another ship, roll a die. It's also entirely player-vs-player. I generally enjoy some cooperation in my games. It felt more like a Monopoly type game than a true geeky board game.

The Non-Geek:
While to me it was really simple, a lot of rules were misremembered by my family and a quick flip through the book showed what we were doing wrong. They seemed to enjoy it, though.

Verdict:
Fun enough, but a bit simple. I directed my dad to a still pirate-themed but more complex Pirate's Cove.