Majimena-mode strikes back

I'm cancelling all non-homework activities this weekend, even tonights' party plans that I confirmed yesterday. I feel bad for doing this again, but I have to prioritize what is important. Socializing is important too, and might be just as, or even more, important than mere tests; the social life here is the foundation of close friendships and future international contacts.

But: I have 2 tests, a presentation and a mid-term next week... And when I got back my last Japanese test, my teacher commented "this is not so good..."; Implied meaning; this is bad (≈ you suck). Good results for the next test (kanji, kanji, and more kanji) will be the foundation of good results of the 2nd test (text with a lot of kanji), and studying for both will aid my preparations for my presentation. And then there's the mid-term exam...

The presentation is an interesting piece in itself; "Present a product your hometown is famous for!"
Cecily - "Can I make my presentation about the Vikings?"
Sensei - "No, it has to be about a product."
Cecily - "But, how about the boats the Vikings produced?"
Sensei - "No, that's still history."
Cecily - "... There's a silverware factory...?"
Sensei - "Good! Present how they are famous, and why they're in your hometown!"
Cecily - "...There's really no reason why they chose my hometown..."
Sensei - "Please look it up."
Cecily - "..."

I really have to study for my Japanese tests, and for that I'll have to cancel (my appearance at) tonights party plans. If I went to the party I'd only be thinking of the lost study hours (and there are enough of them already!) and not have fun; resulting in no point in going to the party at all, but spend the time constructively and be happier tomorrow (or possibly next week when I get my tests back).

I have a complete set of arguments and reasons for this, but I still hate cancelling again.. I've been doing this too much lately, but I can't really help it. I hate letting people down.

Do anyone have a cure for the "Good-Girl Syndrome" ? Please call me if you do.

I'm way too serious about school these days, but I am going to deal with it - after I've finished my homework. Then I have quite a project ahead; learning how to find and maintain a good balance of schoolwork, motivation, restitution and social life.

Wish me luck.

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Majimena (Jap. adjective) = serious, earnest, sincere, honest, sober, solemn, but in everyday use it has slightly negative connotations to people being (a little) too serious as opposed to fun-loving.

Random recent quotes (restructured)

"It's yon-ji o'clock"
- 'Yon-ji' means '4 o'clock'. It's four o'clock o'clock then...

"I’m interested in this class, and especially, I’d like to learn how to create HIPHOP music. "
- this quote is taken from the forums of a Sociology class

More from the Sociology class' forum:
Posted by X on -day, at 5:00pm : "Dear sir and everybody, (...)"
Posted by X on -day, at 5:28pm :"Hey! How strange! I found myself answering my own question huh?"

And my favourite so far:
"I don't think it's dangerous, it's just pesticide"
- after spraying down the whole kitchen and half of her neighbour's dinner with said stuff...

"Tourism is a knife which is sharp at both end." - ... ... ... yep... the Sociology class' forum again.



...will be updated as new quotes appear!

Concert review and related stories – Part 1: Prologue

Alternative title: “2 obvious aliens, a circus worth of Goth Rocker fangirls, Jelly Fishes – and Plastic Tree”; a concert review of Plastic Tree’s “Alone Again – Wonderful World” tour concert in Osaka Namba Hatch, April 10th 2008, and related stories.

The decision of going to Osaka was made on impulse upon learning about Plastic Tree’s concert 3 days later.

Wednesday, arrival in Osaka, the day before the concert. Main Activity; Handshaking Event.

Tickets for the handshaking event were sold at a record store morning the same day as the event.

We were early and the store hadn’t opened (calculated, on our part), so we decided it would be more comfortable to wait in the nearby park.

Rounding the corner we saw, not a group, but a row, of people in unordinary clothes standing side by side. This neat, but apparently unorganized (and perhaps spontaneous?) line was to us a very puzzling phenomenon. There were no signs or markings and no apparent people “in charge” to organize the line, and the people waiting were all an interesting contrast to the regular park visitors. They were just hanging about, either reading, staring into the air, talking in small groups of two or three – but still clearly in line, even within their small groups – and they were all girls. (Ok, perhaps some guys too, they’re not that visible (or discernible) among the girls here, but the guys were certainly underrepresented.)

Since we weren’t 100% sure if it was an actual (or official) line for the ticket sale, we sat down on a bench a little distance away and observed the whole phenomenon. At 11 (when the store opened) the line started moving so we got up too, and timed so we “accidentally” fell into pace behind the back of the line.

CD singles and tickets were bought, and then we just had to fill time until the actual event 7 hours later.

---

The handshaking event itself

The queue was back in the park again, but bigger and flashier. There were girls of all kinds of (at least slightly gothic or rocked up) styles; Punk girls (modern & moderate ones), Rocker girls, Goth, and a surprising number of Lolitas of different kinds (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolita_Fashion). We felt really out of place – even with heavy make-up.

We had early numbers on our tickets so we got in with the first batch of people even though we came only just in time for the opening.

We were ushered into a room about half the size of an average classroom, into a new queue waiting for the band. Surrounded by nervous whisperings high expectations and giddiness from the crowd in general, I got caught in the mood too. I didn’t really care if I met them or not; I was there for the music, and to them I’d only become a fleeting impression at best – one of hundreds of fans they’ve met. (Nika cared though.) Still, since we were there and all, it was kind of fun being the only westerners/white people there. Especially when it was out turn to greet the band (well, the vocalist and the bandleader); to most of the fans they shook their hands and thanked them (for their support I assume – they said mostly just “arigatou gozaimasu” - meaning "thank you"), but Nika and I received longer handshakes and a “thank you very much, please continue to listen to our music”. I have to rely on Nika for the translation; because I didn’t expect them to say more than “thank you” I was quite baffled when the vocalist kept holding my hand while saying stuff in Japanese…

And then it was finished. The girls were so happy, one couldn’t stop smiling, and the other had to dry away a few tears. Segments of the line was still waiting in the park, waiting for their turn, new people were ushered inside in small groups, and the people coming out from the event was asked to move away to avoid crowds (everything was nicely organized, very Japanese).

Afterwards we went to the Dotonburi in Namba and ate Okomiyaki, and talked and talked and talked about the evening’s experiences, and how they were perceived, or possibly perceived, by us and all other people possibly present, etc. before heading back to our hotels.

Part 2 coming soon (hopefully).

Status report

Writings:
Concert review and related stories - part 1 - is now in a process of editing. Will be posted by Monday.

School:
So-so. I was a really, really, good student last week, but not so much this week. Hope to remedy this next week. My courses are still interesting (even the seemingly boring one), but I have to study better for my next kanji quiz.

Social life:
I'm way too social, and yet not social enough.

Other:
I still have many half-finished (or half-started) projects. I still want to do everything - including sleeping in on Sundays.

I'm making Norwegian rice porridge on Sunday, partly for my Norwegian classmate's birthday, partly because I want it myself, and partly because I cooked way too much rice here the other day and need/want to get rid of it...


Comments still appreciated yo!
("yo" here: Japanese sentence suffix indicating a sense of imperativity in the general meaning of " (...) I tell you!" def./expln. by Cecily)

A little Plastic Tree, and how I decided to go to Osaka

I have several windows of YouTube open now, acting as improvisory music station, enabling me to listen to all the Plastic Tree songs I didn’t know about until last Thursday. I have to buy all their CDs so I can listen to all their songs… It’s "only" twelve albums… Oh, where to start…

We were sitting in my room, me and my friend. We were trying to choose a CD to listen to, when my friend said he had a burnt CD with some J-Rock band he’d found on the ‘net. Maybe I’d like it, Japan fan & rock music fan as I am. As I liked the band, and my CD collection at the time was rather limited, he told me to keep the CD; Plastic Tree, unknown album name, all tracks named “track 01”, “track 02” etc.

4 years later, still, none of my Japanese friends have ever heard of Plastic Tree, at least until I mentioned them.

Last weekend I passed on my minimal collection of PT songs to a friend in the dormitory (Goji), in order to give him an alternative band to listen to other than just Asian Kung Fu Generation (which I also like, but… not *every* day…and not *only* AKFG).

Later the same evening, Goji, and another friend of mine (Nika), had a conversation along these lines:

Nika: I’m going to Osaka to see a band called Plastic Tree
Goji: Yes, I’ve heard of them
Nika: Yes, I gave you some of their song earlier on a mixed CD.
Goji: No, Cecily gave it to me today…
Nika: Whuh?!? Another Plastic Tree fan? Here in the dorms? Are you serious?!?

The evening after I met Nika by accident and Nika revealed that she too is a fan of PT, and during our conversation about the rarity of PT fans (or apparent PT fans), she mentioned that she was going to their concert in Osaka on the coming Thursday. I immediately decided that if there was concert tickets left I would go too –a decision I do not regret.

I got my ticket Monday, and took the night ferry from Beppu to Osaka Tuesday, arriving I Osaka 6:30 Wednesday morning. And returned home to the dorms this morning -tired, but too happy to stop smiling.

Coming soon:
Review: Plastic Tree, Osaka Namba Hatch April 10^th 2008
Other Stories from Osaka