Below are the 9 most recent journal entries recorded in Something Japanese sounding: Junichiro Yomama's LiveJournal:

Thursday, February 5th, 2004
8:11 am	Random update time Well, last week I got to go to the biggest computer security conference in Japan last week to make a presentation. It was in Sendai, which is about an hour an half north of Tokyo by Shinkansesn(or bullet train). It was neat to ride one of them, they go about 100 mph(or something like that, I think it's a little less), however whenever we went into a tunnel or passed another train it made my ears pop like in an airplane. Makes me wonder how they would plan on dealing with this on those maglev trains they are considering building which go much faster. Do they pressurize the cabin/ They built one for like a whole 10 miles or so in Shanghai, so I doubt they other trains pass by very often, but still I would like to see how they do it. I think that the trains could be a very good domestic long-distance travel alternative here in the US, take much less fuel(even if run off a generator) than both cars and airplanes, so it could really help limit the amount of fuels we need to go create wars for. The conference went all right, most of the presentations were in Japanese, so I couldn't understand them. My presentation(in English) went pretty well, got some interesting questions. I also got to eat fish paste, good stuff, and I got a mikuji, which is a fortune, and I got the "great love" one, good, I need some luck. It doesn't look like I'm going to be finding much love here, I can already here Erin Wenzel making fun of me, good times, good times. Enjoy! (Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 21st, 2004
4:37 pm	Whoo I'm published! http://scis2004.soft.iwate-pu.ac.jp/program.html#4B2 (Even if you don't have Japanese support on your computer, it's pretty easy to pick me out, take a wild guess). In other news, there is no other news. Nothing much has been happening, still no luvin', just doing my research, going around Japan(I have some nice Nikko pics, and I finally got to see the hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil monkeys in person). Going to Nikko I had the chance to practice my Japanese a surprising amount, including wiht these businessmen who kept touching me and my friend, a bit odd. Still not sure what is going down when I get back, but I can't wait to see all, as the kids say these days, "ma peeps" upon my return. (There better be a parade, or I'll be indifferent) Thanks to the miracle of the internet, I listed to about 30 minutes of the state of the union address, I don't think you have to guess what my opinion about it was. At least Kerry won(since I have yet to have a chance to discuss politics with most people, I'm going to come out and say that I support Clark, then Kerry as my choices for the next president, and I hope that even if Clark eventually loses, that he will serve in some capacity in the new administration either as VP or sec. of defense, the Democrats need him, the country needs him), but seeing as how this is not a political journal, I'll hush up about that now. I will be returning on the 16th of March, as my tenure here draws to a close, I have mixed emotions on the whole experience, more on that another time. Enjoy! -Joel (Ever notice how I put more information in the () which are supposed to be side notes then I do outside of them, strange huh(though it does reflect my style of speech, moving off from one topic into a sub topic(or a different topic all together!))) P.S. Karaoke bars REALLY need to start featuring "I'm Turning Japanese" by the Vapors! (Comment on this)
Friday, January 2nd, 2004
10:45 am	Happy new years Even though New Years is supposedly the biggest holiday here, mine when relatively uneventful, My Swedish friend and I went to the Meiji shrine, walked around for a while, saw some fish on a stick, crowded in front of the temple entrance, waited for an hour after midnight, threw a coin as per the custom, at this box, with police in riot gear in front of it. We then missed our train, and waited in a cafe till the train opened again at 4, after the train ride, we got to see some phillipinos(probably here on gangster visas to wrangle phillipino hookers, I do believe there is a surprisingly large gangster population in this little town, I know it has more whores per capita then any other part of Japan I have been to, and the cops just don't care.) Anyway, enjoy (Comment on this)
Thursday, December 25th, 2003
4:27 pm	All I want for Christmas is my Jew Well, it's that day, the magic day when yadda yadda yadda... Yesterday I participated in the annual "Look at fiber optic trees then have indian food with a Swedish man while wearing reindeer anters that all the Japanese girls who are out with their boyfriends think is cute and randomly give the can of milk coffee that you accidentally bought to a Japanese girl who lives close by and not capitalize on the opportunity" tradition that has long been part of my family's Christmas eve routine. But the truth is, on this Christmas day I think I have grown. I honestly miss my family back home, miss playing those zany, zany games of cranium. I also miss hanging out with my Jew and my large polish man and the jew's fiancee. I miss hanging out with Abner and Besterman while making random references about a "ninja-marine security guard EMTs." But I also have got to go on a lot of adventures that I would have missed out on had I stayed home, got to do some interesting research, and I will be hanging out with some Japanese girls on Saturday, always good! Well, best wishes for a happy holiday season, and I look forward to a new year of spending long, pointless hours of mind-numbing hilarity with you all upon my return! Luv, -Joel Current Mood: Holiday-like Current Music: "All I want for Christmas is my Jew" by Mariah Cary (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, November 28th, 2003
1:19 pm	すみませんでした！ Or sorry I haven't updated Well all, it's story time again. This is a story about a young, confused boy who goes to one of the most random lands on earth and updates a live journal. You guessed it, that boy is me, and now the rest of the story. There has been a decent amount of success/hilarity as of late, involivng a few dates, an old hooker, and a lot of dirty words in Swedish. Needless to say I will elaborate on these stories(plus a huge backlog of other hilarity, starting with an Iranian who loves physics and leading up a German man riding in my lap, and concluding with Thanksgiving in Japan) just as soon as I get some "me" time on the internet, there may be a major happening this weekend, stay tuned, and I didn't get a chance to party with Clinton, so I'm slightly bummed, but on the plus side, there are cute Japanese girls everywhere, and in Kyoto, I saw ones panties(she didn't show them to me, but the wind blew her skirt up, I couldn't help but look), now that I have convinced you all that I am some sort of pervert, I will conclude this rant with a quote from Family Guy, "I need a Jew" Enjoy -Joel (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, November 3rd, 2003
10:13 am	Against god's will, still alive So how the hell of you all been, for many of you 3 readers out there, it has been an arduous month and a half, checking the journal every so often to see if your hero in this farcical tale of a land overseas is still around, well, suffice it to say, I am, and well, over the next some period of time I may be updating, adding stories, pictures, perhaps a snippet of sound, but in the meanwhile, you will just get my ranting about how Japan has changed me. I came to this land expecting something, something wonderful, something grand. Instead, I got something that really changed the person I am inside, and in many ways, I think that is better than what I expected to find. I found out how to be adventerous, not to be afraid of people, just how to be me around new people. I also did some self-discovery, still don't know exactly what I want to do with my life, but maybe suburban America with the 2.5 kids and dog in the yard isn't such a bad thing after all(provided the kids are half asian). I am getting along well with this girl I kind of like, we will see how that pans out. I need to get pictures and to write a more detailed account of all the hilarity that has happened here, needless to say there is a huge "What the Fuck?" factor in this country, and I have had a chance to see a lot of it. So close to happiness, waiting to be struck down. Love, -Joel (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, September 4th, 2003
8:40 pm	It's the final countdown Well, sorry I haven't updated recently, I have just been very lazy :P Well, this is it. It has been a bittersweet month for me. I had to say goodbye to some people that I am really going to miss(Yin, Besterman, and such), and I only have a few more days before I leave. Thankfully my visa situation is taken care of, I have my ticket, and I am rip roaring and ready to go, kinda. I still have 1 more day of work, and I have to stay up all night getting my room in order, and I still have to shut off my electric and get some bills taken care of, but I have my money orders, too bad the dollar to yen trading rate really blows right now, but oh well, I'm going to Japan! I'm broke, but I'm going to Japan! I will miss you all, but I'll be back someday, and then I can regail you with stories about the robot who threatened to kill me and the Japanese woman who stole my heart(well, at least these are the wacky adventures I intend on having, real results will vary, check your oil every 3000 wacky events). Enjoy everyone, I will give you pictures as they become available. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 12th, 2003
6:39 am	Oops Turns out, I won't be staying anywhere near where I thought this place was(Not even on the same island!), at least I found out before I left. I will actually be staying in Saitama, which is pretty close to Tokyo, which should be interesting (Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2003
9:45 pm	今日は or konnichi wa for those of you on this side of the pacific Wilkomenn! das ist mein japan journal. Well, it's time I guess, less than 7 weeks left in transient town, and finally solid details are starting to flow in, and I have a home in Japan now!(an address anyway, good ol' Apartment 201), and I finally figured out what I will be doing, good ol' obfusication, now I just need to go to my master book of computer security and look that up(and by that I mean get William J. Heinbockel to tell me, in fact, I think I will outsource all my work to William J. Heinbockel, he wanted this job, but wasn't 22 nor did he have a very large interest in women of the asian persuasion, I think I'll give him all my work, and I'll concentrate on the other manners, or maybe he will just say, "No", but anyway, this rant isn't about William J. Heinbockel), oh, and I'm not going to neglect my other live journal(well, I'm not going to intend to neglect it, which basically means I'm going to neglect it), but enough of that, now what you all came here to read, details about Japan! I have decided(barring some unforseen incident with the plane ticket) to fly out of here on Wednesday, September 10, Arrive in the lovely town of Osaka on the 11th Japan time, and from there head off to an 8 bed mixed gender youth hostel in Kyoto, where I hope to meet some very interesting eurotrash, and I will be attending the IAESTE party at Kyoto University on the 13th, and hopefully, I'll meet someone interesting to spend my birthday with. Then on the 15th, it's off to Fukuoka, and another hostel, and on the 16th, I start work and move into my residence for the rest of the trip, and I bet you are all just DYING to come visit me in the land of the rising sun, so here is the address: 1-8-8 Minamidai Kamifukuoka-shi SAITAMA shuterun Room 201 (I don't think mapquest would be able to help locate it, but hey). No idea if this address is supposed to contain more info or not, so if you are planning to mail yourself to Japan, you might get returned to sender as undeliverable. English is so much cooler without prepositions. I hate transients. Oh, NYC tenatively scheduled for the weekend of the 8th(if I get my certificate on time), if not, it will be re-scheduled 2 weeks later(Friday through Sunday) 50 days, and answer my aim poll! Current Mood: chipper Current Music: The manic depressive mix that is my playlist (3 Comments |Comment on this)