From the Plaza

Working on this trip has been harder than I thought it would be. Before when I was an anime news hound it was easier because I always did all my work on my laptop, anytime, anywhere and I had a friend who was also doing it and we were both always online so we could help each other out, get each other pumped, whine and cheer, etc.

For the job that I spend the most time on now, my main computer is a desktop at an office. Granted it's not as if I didn't prep the files I would need, but even more than the computer itself is just the setting of having my partner on this project right there next to me if I need to ask him anything. It was so easy to sync on stuff, but while I am in the states we are 14 hours apart and it takes a lot of organization and concentration to keep everything going under the circumstances of me already being distracted by the U.S. and feeling stir crazy about being in my mom's house (or wanting to get out of my hotel room and enjoy my limited time in the city even though I'm not technically on vacation; yesterday I did get out of the hotel, but after lunch I spent four hours in a co-working lounge uploading files.)

I'm gonna have to have a serious day on Monday, I think, to really sift through my inbox because I have the feeling I've been a little scattered, which is frustrating. Mostly because I don't want other people to feel frustrated with me; I want everything to move smoothly no matter where I am because in 2014, it should be able to, lol.

Ahhhh.

What else can I say? It's been great being in Milwaukee. When I was in college I thought I got around but it was 10-11 years ago, so there was a limit to how around I could even really get. This time I got to sample some local beers, which is something I wouldn't even have really been that interested in before. I barely drank beer at all before I went to Japan. Met up with some people I used to know and will maybe know again...

10 more days. This trip is about half over. I'm not ungrateful, but the center of my life is over there on the moon. I need to set some work goals. I really only have a week during which I can work. Been cranking out draft words for a personal translation project, but that should really come after I get my work done. I think the big issue is not having my set up. The monitor and mouse make a big difference when you are looking at tons of files. Having to push them around the screen and zoom in and out makes it pretty tedious. It's okay, though. I'll have a meeting with myself and sort it out. Things are not bad…

And finally, here is a "Like c'mon" for ya.

[Tale of the Heike] is hard

Man, I really want to like this, or even be able to tell you what is happening, but there are just so many names flying around and it's hard to care. Maybe it actually is hard to care. Is there a Dunbar number of literary characters in a single work? That said, I can't imagine that I really have or could have stable social relationships with 150 people so maybe I am social inept. In that case, maybe it's hard for me to keep tabs on characters in books, too. I could take copious notes and write summaries and spend lots of time on this, but maybe now is just not the time. I think I'm gonna abandon it for now. Seems like saving forced reading with lots of effort for situations like the book club (not that I expect the book club books to always be slogs; the first one certainly wasn't) where I know I will have a chance to at least discuss it with people. Even if I hack my way through it I don't think the way it is will do me much good. It's too bad because embedded in the book are some interesting ideas and quotes, but the book itself is kinda killing me, haha. Like the Bible, basically, which incidentally, I also haven't read much of. That said, though, if I ever wanted to study the Bible all I'd have to do is go to Church. (Just tweeted.)

Recent flix with spoilers

The Other Woman

I watched this on the plane. Basically I was interested in the scenario because when I was casually dating a guy I used to think it would be fun to meet all his other casual dates and bond. This movie is different because it real cheating, but they sure bonded, just like you'd expect rich girly girls to bond, I guess? I don't really get girls. Anyways, I thought it was fine until they started pulling all the immature and offensive pranks. Like hormones? They fed him hormones? Nevermind how they got them, it goes past immature to just wrong. So I dunno. Overall I think it was a stupid movie, but it's interesting to watch stupid movies now and then to see what kind of movies are being made,  I think. That is the other reason I chose this.

The Fault In Our Stars

This one was also available on the plane, but I specifically avoided it because it's about two teenagers with cancer who falls in love. I didn't really feel like getting sad. But I was fated to because my mom has apparently been waiting for it to come out. (I'm gonna make them watch Arsnenic and Lace tomorrow night.) Anyhow, it was a good movie. I really did enjoy it but it was just as sad as I expected. Also awkward because the two feelings I felt were:

1) Man, I really am grateful to be mostly healthy. I have my issues and am super aware that we are all terminal, but I am lucky I don't have to live on the edge like that and go through so much.

2) I am so jealous of that loooooove, mannnnn. That's where it gets awkward right? You can be jealous of dying people as long as they are in epic love. There is romantic stuff in the world, even stuff like in the movies, and it doesn't even have to be super mushy, but it just hasn't happened to me lately. I also totally agree with the idea in the movie about little infinities. Makes me kind of want to read the book, but I guess I will read the other books by the author. I'm armed with my Kindle, so…

Oh yeah, and I'm in Wisconsin for a couple WEEKS. Since I'm not in the office anytime I'm not answering email or doing work I can just screw off, so hope to read a lot. I did bring plenty of books, but I've been meaning to read some YA in English since I want to learn the kind of stuff anything YA I'd hope to translate would be up against.

The worst teeth nightmare I ever had

...was last night. I hope I don't get it again tonight.

Basically it was utter panic. Lots of sobbing. I've had dreams where all my teeth were crumbling or rotting and falling out, etc. but this time there was so much blood! I want to say I was crying and "spitting out" blood and teeth, but it wasn't even spitting: I didn't want to move my lips against my gums because it felt so gross and I was freaking out, so I would blow kind of like "fuu fuu" to "spit." It was awful. Blood and teeth in my hand.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

I'm taking a break until 4 p.m. so I'm going to tell you about Breakfast at Tiffany's.

I think I read the book like ten years ago, but I didn't really remember it. Random notes on the movie:

Instantaneous impressions were of Audrey Hepburn's cuteness and George Peppard's too-perfect manliness. (For real, though, hand that over.)

I remember thinking at one point, "What if you really did get a chorus of people 'loo-loo'ing every time you walked down the street in NYC?"

The "I love you — you belong to me!" exchange is so bizarre! The idea of owning someone comes up a couple times, but I can't imagine being able to say that. And if a guy said that to me I think I would burst out laughing.

The less said about Mickey Rooney the better. Everyone knows it's there; I just ignored it.

I want to watch more movies D:

Middle of a three-dayer

Cars going by outside.

This afternoon I got a haircut and then ate dried fruit cheesecake. After that I came home and putzed with a personal translation project for a while. Had some toast, nuts, and half an apple for dinner and popped in a DVD. I rented a DVD today! I watched the movie that will be the topic of the book club meeting that I am missing.

SPOILERS FOR 小さいおうち:

Things I thought while watching this movie:

- "We're acting!"

- "Scenery!"

- It's so sad (by which I mean, boo-hoo sad, but also pathetic) that the romance shit had to happen that way, but I get it.

- Poor protagonist girl.

-  I dunno what the original intention was, but from how over-the-top the shot of the house being firebombed was, it felt like some really super hokey symbol of the household harmony breakdown. Felt kinda yucky.

- How did he not have even an inkling of what the letter was?

- I wonder if people have conflicting ideas on what the "little sin" was. To me it was her lie to the mom about having turned over the letter. But I'm torn on whether he thinks it is a sin more because the lie made the mom unhappy or more because she herself liked him. It got a little hard to tell how good of a maid she was being at the end.

- Actually, I think the best actor in the movie was the guy who played Itakura. He had the immature "spine in the wrong place" thing down pat. Also, I know it's not that hard, but considering I don't watch that many movies I'm pretty proud of myself for spotting him as the writer from ALWAYS三丁目の夕日. (Is this the official English title? What a debate we could have about that.)

- It annoys me that peeps never get married. You wouldn't say you'd lived too long if you had moved on. You just hung on to rough memories for WAY too long.

- PS - Who is this kid who visits this old lady all the time? Like it's so nice of him, but do people like that exist nowadays? He keeps haranguing the old lady about embellishing the truth in her memoir, but to me his very presence is the most belief-suspension-disrupting part of the whole story.

END SPOILERS

So yeah, I don't get to go the book club, cuz I'll be in the states, so I dunno what other people think about this movie. If you have any thoughts, please share. I haven't read the book.

Stayed up later than I wanted to. Hungry -_-

But let's see, I think I had a better day than I thought I would. Tomorrow I don't have to go to the office, but since I didn't work at all on manga yesterday or today I kinda gotta get on that.

Bought a gas range with a grill drawer thingy

1) Ultra productive day at work.
2) Said gas range with grill will mean I can finally cook at home boil water (I'm kidding, but lol).
3) Bourbon chicken for dinner. Bourbon! Chicken! I went ahead and even ate the fat.

The burners 'n grill are arriving on Saturday. The delivery person will set it up for me, I guess. My previous apartment did not have a grill drawer thingy, so it will be my first time using one. The one I got says it cooks both sides (there are side jets underneath) so you don't have to flip your fish/toast/whatever.

For some reason at the cafe after I ate that bourbon chicken, I was thinking literally the only thing I could do today now was work more. And it's true, I should work more, but it didn't even occur to me that I could read a book or watch some anime. Some kind of danger zone.

Btw, my goal today was to arrange my face so it wouldn't look like I would attack someone if they tried to talk to me, but I don't think I did a very good job. I generally look pretty miserable, I think.

I can't tell if tomorrow's goal should be to go to the bank or not.

Anyways I slept horribly last night so I think for now my plan will be to work a bit and then sack outtttt.

Ya know...

Yesterday some things happened.

1) I was in a good mood for part of the morning.
2) Something I was going to write here but forgot and/or something else. I'm sure it was good, though.
3) The lady at Subway remembered the hot peppers in my sandwich.

Running off again. It's always like this, but I'm not gonna let Wednesday get the better of me.

Yesterday was mostly awful but here are three good things cuz I'm just that spunky

1) Made it to the recording session on time (i.e. racing around was effective).
2) Ate "Napolitan" spaghetti for lunch and felt nostalgic for no reason.
3) Even when I have to work late I look forward to seeing the new developments in the manga titles I work on.

Didn't get to swim cuz I was at the office forever last night for some reason. I did walk more than usual though. Maybe I should just be happy making time (or at least excuses) to walk more and not worry about it. I don't need to add junk to my schedule...

I need to translate more...