Haha, yessss.

Seen on a random livejournal icon:

"Feminazi: Because a woman who doesn't laugh at a sexist joke is about to invade Poland".

Oh lordy.

I have just watched, for the first time, "The 40-year-old Virign", while simultaneously drinking most of a bottle of 'organic' white wine. And I have to say, the inherent cuteness of this movie is overwhelming.

Also, am I the only one who wanted to cry when Andy started to sell off all his toys? Even though the entire thing is fictional, I hope he kept the "Iron Man" that he got in 2nd grade. And opened it himself.

It reminds me of this quote, from Eliza Skinner's website www.elizaskinner.net (the subject is "What Women Want) :

Surprises. Who doesn’t like surprises? Not like “birthday roast” or “cancer” surprises, obviously, but smaller benign surprises are magical. I have a friend who wistfully told me about how his mother used to surprise him with a new action figure left on his bed from time to time, for no reason other than to make him happy. He told me this 15 years after it happened. Surprises leave a special indelible imprint. Cost - $0 and up


Let's all cry and hug now.

Nihon seikatsu.

One thing that's pretty nice about living in Japan is, if you speak Japanese to them, the Jehovah's Witnesses here will tell you how happy you make them and leave the whole "religion" thing alone.

Make it work.

Oh hell, I am back at school. Am I ever.

Leaving Japan was nice, but somehow also uncomfortable. I spent about 10 days at my parents' house in Florida, hanging around and waking uncharacteristically every day at about 8am. I drank about 4 cups of coffee a day and never got much of anything done; went to the beach, sunburned my shins, and gave my feet an ice-bath in the Atlantic. My sisters and I dyed my hair a color that reminds me of cherry Coke (even though, now that I think about it, I am pretty sure cherry Coke in a glass looks the same as the regular stuff). It was long enough, all together, to be a real vacation, and going back to interrupted sleep and the Japanese language has been a little kick to the gut. A little one, really, but still there.

But at the same time being home was wrong. Or wrong-ish. I was unused to how easy it was to communicate, and felt a little weird and indignant at the America-ness of America. Once or twice, I would do something like say "Nanto itte mo..." while I was thinking about a question. Riding back on an airport limo bus from Narita, going along the sparsely-trafficked highways in land that looked just like the Midwest, I felt...like I was as much home there as anywhere else. I think I have forgotten what it's like to be in a place that suits me well.

However, where-ever that place is, I know now that it is not anywhere near a Sam's Club. Have you ever been in one of these abominations? In the middle of all the exercise equipment and giant-screen TVs and 10lbs packages of peanut butter, the one I went to in Florida actually had a teeth-whitening station. Not even like, a small one, either! There were six fucking dentists' chairs there. What the hell, people? Who really thinks that stopping in for a discount teeth whitening, where people of god only knows what certification shine weird beams at your mouth -- a part of body, may I remind you, that is very damned close to your brain? Anyone who gets new luggage, 100 disposable razors, bulk frozen chicken wings, and a dental procedure, all at the same location -- you are officially on my list of People I Hate Irrationally.

I have been thinking about that list for a good part of today, actually -- it should be imaginary, but in fact it is not. I will definitely be putting it up here soon. It takes the burn off of a bad day of scholasticizing, I can tell you that.