gion matsuri!

hai hai hai, update update..

So here's some info on Gion Matsuri (I'd like to point out that it's one of the 3 biggest festivals in Japan), also, that we went on the night before the parade.. because parade day it's waaaay too hard to get a good seat.. so ff that..

went to gion matsuri in full yukata + obi+ cute shoes+cute purse outfit deal. I really didn't do much with the hair business (this is where it would've come in handy to have a pocket-book Ashley - Ashleeeey by the way.. you'd make billions here - all yukata outfits require updo's)

the yukata is the one that tomoko-san lent to me.. it's a hand-dyed light blue with pale light orange butterflies that were of course.. hand-painted. needless to say it is VERY expensive - i made sure to stick my butt out of the way while i was eating so i wouldn't drip on it. Many ppl weren't in yukatas, but i'd say about 40% did wear them, and there are yukatas for guys too, and jinbeis

well getting there was fun, i went with Oguchi-san, Fukuoka-san and Akira-san - so we had a lot of convos about how things are done in Japan, where they've been, what movies they watch..

Movies cost $18 on a regular day here!!!! And I thought 7.50 was expensive! When I told them that the A&M Film Society sometimes puts on semi-recent releases for a buck.. they almost had a heart attack.. lol

When we got there... (it was early) it started raining so we went into a parking garage in the meantime.. cuz none of us brought umbrellas - even though we were still in rainy season....

In the meantime I had the chance to watch the street. Vendors are lined up in little booths along the side of the main streets and adjacent streets. Foods:
- frankfurters (they said no no, not sausage, not hotdog.. frankfurter),
- crepes (rolled up in a triangle fashion kinda like an ice cream cone and they add cornflakes to whatever fruit you put in!!
- sticky rice balls with yummy sauce
- shaved ice w/ syrups and bean pastes
- candied apples (?well i didn't try one but it sure looked like a small apple)
- chocolate covered bananas
- yakisoba noodles
- heart shaped egg ontop of some rice thing? (i was full when i saw it)
- takoyaki & okonimiyaki (see Osaka info)
- skewers o meat

Games:
- all sorts of raffles for everything from the typical stuffed animal.. to a PlayStation ???!?!?!
- getting the goldfish out of the shallow tub and into a bag with a paper laddle
- getting the super-bouncy balls out of the shallow tub and into a bag with a paper laddle
- let's play i wanna buy the expensive umbrellas and flashy toys from the lady game

the main attractions were checking out the floats and everyone else out. usually you go with a guy or with a group of friends, I didn't see that many ppl by themselves.

by the time Mori-san showed up the place was crowded!!! the main street (
The floats are like nothing I've ever seen. They're really traditional - just straight squares with gorgeous tapestry-type cloth surrounding it, a closed off upper area w/roof where the volunteers sing/chant/play music, and some sort of figurine representative of the area that carries the float. Each year, after the festival, the intricate float is taken completely apart and stored away. A new group of volunteers is elected (I think I heard by something like you put in your number and see if it comes up from the hat idea) and they take care of keeping, cleaning and putting the float back together again. I'm not sure who pushes it.
the floats are so old school that they roll in one direction only, so to turn around corners, another group of volunteers brings in slats of wood to slide under the wheels and then twist the slats so that the wheels face the other direction (sry if this isn't all that clear)

Other than that there's not much else to do, but go to dinner and drink and eat to your heart's contentment... or well.. until before the last train leaves.. which I think is like 1:30am. I explained about Bogota's 8pm-4am clubbing and College Station's 11pm-2am clubbing - much laughter ensued.

interesting things...
took a picture of two Maiko's (somewhat like Geisha's in that their artistically skilled and entertain.. but a much higher class of connotation I believe) and got a picture taken with them too
close ups of the floats were gorgeous!!!! intricate tapestries and woodwork!
Mori-san seems to have a thing for taking pictures with policemen.... (he took the picture)
well it's more of an everytime we go out to eat for dinner thing.. but it's always fun to have silly conversations about drinking and how drunk the other person is(jokingly of course) b/c they spilled water/sake etc... oh and I found out that fermented squid.. is only good in small amounts (for me) - oh and it's not covered in pink sauce (ketchup + mayo)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc4oP_ITqMc

the new mac..

Checo Feliciano

it ocurred to me that if there were new bands.. there had to be old bands on youtube...

ergo a beautiful slice of salsa pie just for you here. There's just nothing like a good salsa in any other musical genre... this one even has a great solo by Santana.. the group playing is "estrellas de la fania" - they really pioneered some great stuff in salsa back in the day.. for my salsa-dancing friends out there.. if you dig this one then I can recommend some other make-you-wanna dance salsas

hatred

Is there not enough bitterness? hate? bloodshed? death?

things are going from worse... to worse worse worse in the middle east.. and then some . :(

it's horrible to see "at least 50 injured and 23 dead" and think.. oh man well at least that's better than what we saw last week..

very sad is me

it makes me wonder, if we tried really really really really hard to be tolerant of each other and not pick stupid reasons to fight - and not to consider the killing of someone else as justifiable... would we really be able to live at peace?

it's hard enough as it is to try to always have a sense of peace even with everyday interactions with: spouse, roommie, brother, best friend, sister, neighbor... is the human race capable of something like that?

and is it too hard now that so much anger has already been stacked up from centuries of invasions, slavery, genocides, diplomatic b.s. - is it too late?

I mean it's so hard to let go of an injustice.. but if you try really hard to think through why it would be a good reason to get really angry and bitter over someone else's crappy attitude.. is it worth it? Usually the answer is no.. if it really irked you.. accept that you didn't like it.. change/say/do something so it won't happen again and move the fuck on!!

but how to forget something like a murdered ancestor? a murdered village? decades of oppression? ....

it's so hard sometimes to keep even little fluxes of thought in check.. like getting pissed off at someone trying to point out something wrong in your paper/homework/presentation... or getting annoyed with things you can't change like traffic or the weather...

if you want to... participate in this little experiment (once a scientist always a scientist..) with me... pay close attention to your feelings throughout the week. If something that makes you angry/disgusted pops up.. don't let it kill you just yet.. write it down, or store it away in a little compartment in your head.. - just don't let it get to you - then at the end of the day.. take the problem back out, analyze it.. is it really important? if yes then analyze why it made you feel angry... try to justify why it should make your whole day/week/attitude/outlook a bad one... if it's a good reason, then decide how you're going to deal with it and stop getting angry/worried.... execute your plan to deal with it..


is it too hard to do? does it work? do we feel less angry? and if we do...then.. does it make the rest of the day/week better?

i think i'm turning japanese

i think i'm turning japanese
i really think so!

well at least my instincts are getting sharper.. i just made rice w/ a rice cooker (which i've never done before) and totally guessed on what all the buttons' (there were 5) symbols meant... and it was GREAT... and i ate it with chopsticks.. and yes it had no flavor..

and i LOVED IT!!!

oh.. i also thought you should check out Cansei de Ser Sexy - they've got the most awesomest catchy tunes with what are actually pretty good lyrics!!! I, Linet the money-scavenger - bought their CD on itunes cause I liked the two demos soooo much... see videos here on youtube.com (there's more if you do a search)
(CLICK ME!!!)
(AND ME!!!)
(AND MEEEE!)

sigh.. yes yes.. this does mean that I have procrastinated all evening... i think i'll get to doing the power point in like 15 mins....
what?!?!?!
k fine... 10 mins.. i do have to clean up the kitchen....

OMG!!!

The cause of my crazy bouts of productivity, my enslavement in front of my computer, my sadness, my happiness, my disappointment, and the loss of several vital organs in order to finish it....... is now... online....

https://txspace.tamu.edu//handle/1969.1/3654

my thesis


for those of you who like to look on my stuff as "linet's little science experiment" then check out the pics and the acknowledgements section - yes i know too many tables with boring text.. but there are some pretty pictures!!

-------
for those of you who could give less of a crap about what it all really means to me and how hard I worked for this... then you might as well stop reading because you are not my friend

you can eat raw food?

so..

--- last week---

3 ppl from the National University of Taiwan came over to help us out with the computer sci side of the lab. Two of them are married PhDs Juan san and I-can't-remember-i-think-it's-Yuki san - and they brought along their kid Momo kun (10 yr old w/ way too much energy, very funny). The other one is a grad student doing his masters in bioinformatics - very smart guy (26). The couple speaks english very well, but the grad student has a little trouble (still pretty good english) - but only Yukisan can speak japanese as well (sharp woman)

we went with them to that same sushi bar I love so much... had lots o raw food, but because we had a 10yr old.. we got a lot of tempura!!! (it's a hit w/ the younger generations) hah!! we even had fried chicken!!! it was so funny to me.. me, eat fried chicken in japan... when it's like staple food in the south.. lol.. so i took a picture.. and it tasted WAY the hell better than any fried chicken i've ever had.

and Oguchi san and I tasted two different types of sake - one w/potato and one w/ a different part of the rice... and damn... we got buzzed as all hell.. somehow we got onto the subject of wehther or not the grad guy from taiwan (he goes by Chaos *shrug*) Chaos had a gf... and that he should take hints from the married guy... and that how long has he been alone (this is a PhD from the Comp Sci department) and whether or not he came to japan to find a gf... and then whether or not he'd like to take one of us (pointing at oguchisan and i) and we laughed sooo hard that even the little kid got the joke and started laughing and pounding his fists on the table LOL!!!

the one weird thing i didn't have the last time i was there were these like whole crawfish-look-a-likes... and you were supposed to eat them whole!!! like eyes and tail and legs and aaagh!!!...... so like any good linet... of course i ate it.. and it was GREAT!!! it wasn't gross at all b/c somehow they were like dried or something so it was all crunchy and easy to crunch too! i likem!!

----this last friday----

other than getting asked for the nth time... "you ok with raw food?" and then a repeat b/c they never believe my "hai!" ... I met this great guy Yuichi when I went out with my friend Akira (also great guy) for food.

They are both really funny, and fortunately enough, find me "omoshiroi" aka amusing/funny/interesting.. lol we went to a burger joint.. which they don't say "hamburger" it's pronounced "hamburg" ...

and it's called Big Boy - and it's a family restaurant - which doesn't mean what it does in the US - this means "chain restaurant"

oh and if you order a hamburger... you only get the patty.... which IS the hamburger... and it's great!!! although i kinda missed the ketchup... oh and the salad bar is AWESOME.. i love having more than 4 vegetables to choose from :)


I think Akira was trying to thank me for offering and starting to revise his manuscript - aka article for science mag- which was in english. His english is really good, but the problem is all that hard stuff that you just learn from having read so many books/listened to english most your life/ writing etc.... so his paper is gonna kick ass once we're done with it... It's great, cuz even though I'm not the best most amazingest writer, I'm pretty good, above average even - but every correction/insight i make i get "sugoi!!!**scribble scribble what i just said**" (great!!!) lol.. so i feel so smart :D


--- on saturday----
I went to osaka with Yukosan. Yuko is my aunt's best friend from when they met in the US some 15 years ago or so. Yuko was awesome.. she was really a very funny guide, because she was so worried about taking me to the right places, etc... i was just enjoying gawking at everything... We visited Osaka Castle - a must see if you're ever in the area, and Namba - just sheer craziness of population and shop density and tall buildings and crazy signs and omg!!! just so overwhelming!!!! And we went to the Electronic City... ipods were 30% off!!!! but they ran out!!! aRGH!.. and there were... well shops for anything electronic you could even dream of.. and parts for all that stuff too... lots o fun.. i just wish i weren't trying to restrict my buying so that I don't run out of sightseeing money.. or well... food money either..

Oh and sabrina.. i had octopus again (ina cool little ball of dough!!)

it was really great, but she kept on insisting to pay for everything, which by the time it was dinner time i felt really bad even though I had politely refused each time... and so when i really tried to fight her for the dinner tab she stated the undisputable " this is my country, whenever I go to your country..." .... awww.. she is such a sweetie.. :)

also, when we said goodbye and i was on the train.. she took this bag that totally popped out of nowhere and said it had presents for me!!!! i got a japanese food cookbook, origami book, and that curtain/door type thing with very pretty sea/taifun/mountain picture on it - yeah that lady.. man i don't know what to do with all this generosity that so many of my japanese friends seem to have.. wth can i give them back??? ... i guess i should update those pictures eh?? hehe

---yesterday--
walked all the way to the nearest station........ killer uphill deal... but good work out.. and went to the japanese classes' japanese cooking day!!! it was awesome to say the least

I learned to make soba noodles...... very hard actually.. kind of easy to screw up.... but they tasted pretty good.. i'm about to go reheat some of them and put tomato sauce w/ mushrooms as if they were reg spaghettis.. we'll see how that goes.

on the way back i went to the nearest food store (still most of the wayup the hill) and learned the hard way that when they post prices for bananas.. it's not like in the US.. you buy the whole damn bunch or "set-o" as they say (i have klike 8 bananas in the fridge..... :( ) ... yay???


i was so exhausted when i got home from walking so far and eating so much .. that i collapsed for like 4 hours.. and then just stayed up for the game.....
... i saw the first two goals.. passed out through the rest... and awoke to the nasty result.... sigh..
oh well, but italy hasn't won in a while... which i guess it's alright in my book.. except i don't appreciate expulsion of Zizou... he's like the shit man... that's a bad way to go.. :(

--- later today---

I GOT A YUKATA!!! whoooo!!! Tomokosan's mom sent me one of her yukata's that she doesn't wear anymore... (in pristine condition) it's a gorgeous dark blue with trippy butterfly outlines everywhere.. soooo pretty... i'm sure it costs like $300 at bargain price.. (cheap ugly ones are like $100). AND tomokosan gave me the shoes that go with it as a present...!!!! (soooo wearing these to school, and buying myself another pair to match other colors) AND she's lending me her expensive yukata (hand dyed and hand painted)... i have no idea how much that costs, but if mine wasn't mentioned as expensive.. i can only imagine $600 as a low price..

yeah.. that is sooo the shit!!

and i joined the singing club... lol the advertisement said that they sing in Russian, German, Japanese and Italy ... lol.. i love english mistakes... It was kind of fun.. although I suck at sight reading like a mofo.. i really love to ... just... sing!!! (stop that stop that!!) Seriously, it's been 4 years since i've been in anything like a choir, and when I was in one.. i only learned sight-reading for like one year really...

AND i went down to the gym to exercise... for the first time I actually exercised downstairs.. and ON purpose... lol... I mean i have done some simple exercises in my room, but i've been too chicken to go downstairs... it's like the size of our living room in college station..... and i really didn't want ppl to stare.. or me to feel awkward trying my best to figure out what the odd symbols for instructions say... or how/when the hell am i supposed to "change into slippers" before steppinginto the thing... while at the same time .. errrrr.. yeah but i was brave.. not too brave tho.. i only did the walking/running thing.. b/c there were like 6 guys in the room all knowing what to do with the machines.. and i reallly didn't want to kill something by accident..

sigh.. ok lots o typing..

oh later this week i'll have to present my results!!! eeep!!! i've never had to do that be4, b/c i always work one-on-one w/Dr.Summer and everyone else's projects have nothing to do with mine... well we'll see..

total nerd

this whole week i've been busy cause everything's been piling up - i can't help it.. i don't know.. i still haven't figured out why I do this to myself.. because it's chronic: I start a project, somewhat procrastinate on it, start 10 other things somewhat procrastinate on those too.. and suddenly i'm sooo overwhelmed that it is impossible to feel in anyway underwhelmed...

but tis cool.. because I just took a step up in the nerd ladder - I learned some basic perl commands (never touched the stuff before) and created a program to format, sort, through, and tabulate DNA according to ORFs ---> for those non-sci friends of mine.. it means... linet looks a lil more like steve urkle now... lol

but hey.. no really, i did feel smart.. b/c the other ppl learning it with me are studying computer sci/bioinformatics.. and I understood at the same rate or faster.. so yes.. i am a smartie pants!!! (i had to explain that expression too)

oh I also had to explain "hang up" vs. "hang on" vs. "hang down" (the latter of which, of course, doesn't exist)...
and i know I will be having to give a course on the meanings and uses of "cool" b/c i said something like yeah the perl programming is not so bad, it's actually pretty cool... and he looks over and goes.. yes I have heard that expression "cool"...
.. oh man...

;)

later kiddos

this weekend: Japanese class, Osaka, learning to cook japanese food.
later on: I will be borrowing a yukata (like a simple kimono) and tie an obi

kitty!!

I was trying to find a tv guide type thing online so I could figure out when there might be something I could understand on tv and i found...

KITTY SPEED-DATING!!
(click above)

meh.. regarding posting.. we'll see if i'm not too isougashii ::busy:: tomorrow (like 5/14 plates of my electroporated e.coli survived... :( )


oh and i posted some Colombia pix on my site.. soon i'll organize and reformat my japan pix