writing

Jeff and I both woke at 4:30 a.m. again this morning, sigh. Not doing very well dealing with jetlag; we're both determined to do better today (we slept in until 3:30 pm yesterday). Blatherings was down yesterday because of the nasty worm virus going around the Internet which resulted in uunet going down and thus affecting Bryan's service.


Thanks to Annie and Rick for pointing out that the harp picture from a few Blatherings ago is a Paraguayan harp, not a Celtic harp! Darn, now I wish I took a closer look when I had the chance.


Did some fiction writing today, first stint in a long time. I've found a great place to work, in the Urban Affairs Library, a few minutes' walk away from home. Since it's a research/reference library rather than a regular library, it's rarely crowded. Lots of tables and cubicles, some with electric power outlets (useful if I want longterm use from my laptop). There's even a few Internet access terminals, though one of the reasons I want to work on my fiction writing away from home is to force myself to stay offline. :-) Another reason is to guarantee uninterrupted writing time and minimize distractions. For some reason, this doesn't seem to matter as much when working on my nonfiction writing.





I've always found novel writing very different from nonfiction. I'll still work on some nonfiction (it pays more :)), but also want to get back to my children's novels...my inspiring for starting Inkspot in the first place!


Right now, novel-writing is way more difficult...it seemed to take me ages to write a single page, where I used to be able to write dozens in a day. Frustrating, though at the same time it felt immensely satisfying to be able to focus on my creative writing again. Sort of like having a very good workout after several months of slacking off (speaking of which, it's definitely time for me to be getting back to going to the gym again)...


re: nonfiction writing...congratulations to Julie Duffy for getting her article published in Writer's Digest new magazine!





I talked to Frank, the security guard in our building, about what it was like being on duty when news of the terrorist attacks came through. He said he didn't know what happened, but noticed people running in the street in front of our building. He also said that some tenants were calling him, asking if it was safe for them to come back downtown; a few opted to stay elsewhere that night. I think people were freaked out when the CN tower was evacuated; if it had been a target, my building would have been near ground zero. Scary thought, that.


Today's Blatherpics:


- Kimono store display, Tokyo. I found it odd that the mannequin was a blonde Caucasian. Also found the fixed smile kinda creepy (add some scary music and voila! instant scene from a horror movie...)


- Little boy who sat beside me at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant.


- Jeff on a train in Tokyo. Does he look out of place, or what?


Today's Poll:



Do you consider yourself a relatively good writer, compared to most people?

home

(Updated 4:12 a.m.)


Blatherings appears to be fixed (thanks to Bryan for accessing a backup file for me), but please let me know if you notice anything weird going on, especially with archives.


Our flight home was on time and actually arrived back in Toronto an hour early. Narita airport wasn't nearly as chaotic as Jeff and I expected, and we had plenty of time to look around the place. It was somewhat unnerving to hear an announcement over the speaker about the "hijacking security check" we would be going through.





The lounge area is very nice, with comfy chairs (some recline), showers, day beds (for napping, book by the hour), video/audio room where you can request movies, Internet terminals. I wanted to try out the showers and day beds, but they were booked solid. I comforted myself with 30 minutes on the Internet instead.


Scott Murray picked us up at the airport (thanks, Scott!). We decided to go to Fune for dinner. Although I did like some of the sushi better in Japan, and also enjoyed the opportunity to try some types that I couldn't get in Toronto, Jeff and I were surprised to find that overall, the sushi wasn't that superior to what we eat at Fune...in fact, none of the salmon sashimi/sushi we tried in Japan could beat what Fune serves. Granted, however, we didn't eat at the most expensive sushi places in Japan. :-)





Quiet day yesterday. Had brunch at Milestones (it felt weird to be able to order a meal so easily, rather than pointing to pictures or trying to communicate what we wanted in another language :-)), browsed Chapters (I bought the 2001 issue of Writer's Market...a short article of mine is in this edition, by the way), went home for a nap. Visited my sister and her family for dinner. It was SO good to be able to see Sara and Annie again! I missed them like crazy. At their request, we also put them to bed.


Though there are already things about Japan that I miss (details in a future Blathering), I'm VERY glad to be home. :-) :-)





p.s. A few people have asked me about the particulars of the Japanese toilet photo I posted during our trip. If you're genuinely interested in how to use a Japanese toilet, there is an amusing Flash slide show online. Warning: though animation, it's still explicit and may offend gentler souls.


Links


Resources for dealing with tragedy (ALA)

Onion decides not to publish new content this week (JSOnline)

Letterman show returns, with tears (CNN)

Writing in the dark (Salon essay)

Bush denounces Muslim harassment (CNN)

Baseball makes an emotional return (CNN)




Today's Blatherpics:


- Annie and Sara, last night.


- We checked the flight status board a LOT during our wait at Narita Airport, expecting our flight to be delayed or cancelled.


- Sign before the "hijacking security check".


- This photo was taken in the subway on our last morning in Tokyo. I found the scene fascinating...a Japanese woman in traditional kimono dress, doing her email on her cellphone. :-)


Today's Poll:



Have you given blood in the past month?

last day in Japan??

Posted Saturday, Sept. 15, 2001 10:05 pm Tokyo time


Today we went to visit Ryo Suzuki, a friend of my family. It was good to see him, and see the suburbs of Tokyo. Like us, he was horrified by the terrible events of the past few days in the U.S. Coverage is still all over the Japanese news channel, with much sympathy and support for the victims. It's incredibly touching to see so many different countries, political groups, and personalities unite in this time of crisis. Here's a Blatherchat comment from Beckett:



"I was driving home this afternoon through the streets here in Fremont, California and was astounded by the number of American flags I saw from every possible location- cars, houses, motorcycles, trucks, curbs, filling stations, lampposts, stores, bridges and walkways. It was amazing. It was so touching. And then as I drove down one of the main streets that runs by the central park, I saw one of the big firetrucks parked alongside the road. The whole hook-and-ladder assembly was extended out over the 6 lanes of the street, with one of the biggest flags that I've ever seen waving proudly over the entire street. All the cars driving by were honking, and almost every car was waving a flag too. I've never seen so many American flags flown by so many people before. I've never seen such a display of community here in Fremont before. Of course it made me cry and it was hard to see to drive..."



My day...


We had lunch in a conveyor belt-type sushi restaurant, and then took another train to see Ryo's apartment, where we fed a stray cat who comes to visit him, ate some melon and Philippine mango, and snooped through his bookshelf (he recently finished reading War and Peace in English; impressive since English is not his first language). It was -very- good to see Ryo again.


On the way to Ryo's and back home, I had ample chance to do more people-watching. That's been my favourite pasttime in Japan, mainly because there are so many differences in physical appearance and social behaviour. People-watching in Toronto is going to pale by comparison for a while, I think. :-) I've included several photos from my train ride on this page.





This evening, we went out with Alison to a tempura place near her apartment, then to a bookstore in New Otani, a nearby hotel. A good selection of English magazines and books; both Jeff and I picked up a book to tide us over in case we run out...now that I've secured my precious travel book-light, my current fear is running out of reading material during our 7+ hour wait in the airport (assuming the flight leaves on time) and during the 12 hour flight.





Jeff and I are trying to limit our news-watching to once a day, at the end of the day. I keep fervently hoping for news of survivors being found. :-( Anyway, heartfelt thanks to those who posted a comment in Blatherchat (Steve, Amanda, Lissa, Lyanne, Sherman, Luisa, Rick, Heather M., Heather B., Scott, Christo, Dave) about navigational skills in response to my silly poll. Too complicated to explain exactly why, but you should know it meant a great deal to me. :-)





At the end of this Blathering is a photo I took about an hour ago, just as Alison, Jeff and I were on our way out of the New Otani hotel to go home for the night. In the lobby of one of the hotel restaurants, there was a Japanese man wearing a sombrero, playing Mexican tunes on a Celtic harp.


I found this scene oddly appropriate for our last night in Japan. :-)





Assuming our flight leaves on time tomorrow (Saturday, Toronto time), this will likely be my last Blathering before I get back to Toronto, tho I will post an update from the Narita airport if I can. Even though our flight is not until the evening, we plan to arrive at the airport in the morning. That way if our flight is cancelled, we'll have a better chance of finding another way home. If necessary we can stay overnight in a hotel near the airport, or even find a place to sleep at the airport so we can wait around on stand-by.


One way or another, we ARE going to get home. :-)





Today's Blatherpics:


- Me with our friend, Ryo Suzuki.


- A commuter on Tokyo subway train. I was intrigued by the writing on his t-shirt. On first glance, I had figured he had visited the UK and some point. Then I looked closer and realized that the t-shirt had been made in Japan, containing text that had possibly been translated. T-shirt text begins: "Greater London is divided, for adnubustratuve purposes, into 32 boroughs plus The City"..."


- Girlfriends on an outing with one of their mothers. I had figured the girl on the right was a fellow gaijin, but then realized she was speaking fluent Japanese.


- I was amused by the fact that the parents and child were all in Gap t-shirts. :-)


- Ryo and Jeff in a kaiten-zushi restaurant. My favourite was bin-toro, which my dad had highly recommended I try (this was the same restaurant that he and Ryo ate at when he came to visit).


- Cat hanging around the outside of Ryo's apartment. When I asked whose cat it was, Ryo said that the cat had been abandoned by its owner (who evidently moved elsewhere). When I commented that the cat seemed to be waiting for something, Ryo admitted that he sometimes fed it. He gave me a plastic bowl of milk to put outside, and the cat immediately lapped up every drop.


- Japanese Mexican harpist.


Today's Poll:



Have you ever participated in karaoke?

fruit and navigation

Posted Saturday, Sept. 15, 2001 7:45 am Tokyo time


Today's Blathering entry is about fruit and navigation. This may sound trivial in light of what's going on in the U.S. and other parts of the world right now, but I reallyreally need to Blather about something trivial today. Jeff and I are still scheduled to fly back to Toronto tomorrow; apparently Air Canada's international operations is up to 90%, which is encouraging.





I forgot to mention Jeff's and my Subway Gaffe yesterday. We were on our way back to Alison's apartment after our visit to the Kinokuniya supermarket, and rush hour was picking up. After coming up a set of stairs in Omotesando subway station, two trains had just pulled in.


"That's it!" Jeff called, pushing me towards the one on the left. "Hurry!" Clutching our paper bags of fruit, we sprinted into nearest car. Then Jeff yelled, "Oops, wrong car! Quick, get out!" (his language was actually slightly stronger, but I've taken the liberty of editing :-)) and pushed me toward the door.





Shoving my way past a group of older Japanese ladies, I jumped out of the door. Turning around, I was horrified to see the subway doors closing. Jeff stuck his hand in the crack, trying to pry it open, but no use.


After the doors shut, I quickly motioned that I would wait in the same place for him to come back. I could see the Japanese ladies start to talk to him sympathetically (later, he told me that they knew no English, but it was clear they thought the driver should have held the doors open a bit longer for Jeff).





Jeff got back with no problem, of course (despite this one navigational slip-up, he still IS navigational king here in Japan :)), but as I waited, watching the rush hour crowds, I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if I had been the one to be caught behind the subway doors.


I've always been abysmal at navigation. The only time I pay attention to where I'm going is if I'm travelling somewhere by myself. After many years of the Urban Tapestry ritual of going to Centerpoint Mall for dinner and then some mall-browsing, I -still- don't have a firm grasp of what store is where. :-) Anyway, after Jeff got back from his unexpected detour, we both agreed that if this happens again and I'M the one stuck on the wrong subway car, then I will meet him back at Alison's place (I always carry a card with a small map of how to get to her place as well as her contact info).





So what are you like, in terms of navigational abilities? Today's poll question has a yes/no answer, but I'd be interested in hearing details in Blatherchat. Are you the type who enjoys figuring out maps or directions? Does the idea of finding your way around a non-English-speaking country scare you or excite you?


Also, how anal are you about planning navigation? If you're setting out to do some sightseeing in the morning, for example, are the type who prefers to carefully plot our a route on a map so you always know where you're going? Or do you prefer to just wing it, with a map on hand in case you need it?





Jeff and I are leaving in about an hour to meet Ryo, who lives in the suburbs of Tokyo. I haven't seen Ryo in several years (the last time he visited my father in Canada, I was in Philadelphia), so am very glad we have the chance to visit with him. :-)


The Blatherpics today are all of produce I saw in Kinokuniya supermarket yesterday, when Jeff and I went shopping for some fruit and a few supplies. I still find some of the fruit prices astounding. Also impressed by how PERFECT all the fruit is...no bruises or discolourations anywhere, sometimes even individually packaged in styrofoam netting.





We had a yummy udon soup last night. Jeff had found a package of a do-it-yourself dinner, with individually packaged udon, different kinds of mushrooms and vegetables, sliced meats, toppings, even pre-made broth. Delicious! Japanese supermarkets are very cool, and not everything is expensive (in contrast to the impression I've been giving so far :-)). So many interesting things that I've never seen in North America...I could literally spend hours just wandering the aisles browsing, but Jeff would likely be driven mad with boredom by then. :-)


We plan to leave fairly early tomorrow for the airport, even though our flight is likely to be delayed. Apparently check-ins are taking a LOT longer because of extra security measures being taken (which I'm glad for, of course). I'll likely be posting one more Blathering before we leave.


Hope you're all well...


Today's Blatherpics:


- Mystery fruit (I have no idea what this is, any suggestions?), about $23 each.


- Peaches, $5.40 each.


- "English" Bread, $4.17 per loaf.


- Apples for $6 each.


- Papayas for $16 each.


- Grapes, $34 per bunch. These were some kind of special grapes, I think, since the blue grapes I had bought a few days ago were "only" $8 for a bunch.


Today's Poll:



In general, do you consider yourself good at finding your way around?

cyber cafe

Updated Friday, Sept. 14, 2001 6:15 pm Tokyo time


For those of you who know Andrew in California: Andrew's father passed away on Thursday afternoon. :-( Andrew is currently trying to get a flight to Toronto and hopes to arrive Friday evening.





Posted Friday, Sept. 14, 2001, 1 pm EST Tokyo time


I am typing this on a Japanese keyboard at Mr.-Canada Cyber Cafe in downtown Tokyo. There are about 10 Dell computers in a row; patrons can order from the Canada Cafe and eat their lunch as they surf the Web for free. This wasn't listed in any of the internet cafe directories I researched before our trip, nor did I find mention of it on the Web - I suspect it must be new. There is a big colour map of Canada on the wall (I'll be posting pictures later today) with all the province names marked in English and Japanese. The menu includes items such as Caesar salad, ratatouille, chicken or smoked salmon salad, option of fries and salad on the side. Drink options include Canadian Spring water, Canada Dry ginger ale, Moosehead Beer, Ontario wine, and Labatts Blue. A large projector screen covering one wall is showing scenes of Canada...camping, canoeing, hiking, people shots.





It's very odd to have come across this by chance, and of course it's all making Jeff and me pretty homesick right now. There is even a shelf of all kinds of brochures for all kinds of Canadian tourist attractions, including HAMILTON. :-) Beside the information desk are a number of clocks on the wall, each showing the time in different provinces.


As far as I can tell, Jeff and I are the only Canadians here. :-)





The guy at the information desk told us that although the flight from Toronto to Tokyo is now operating, the Tokyo to Toronto flight is still suspended. We are hoping he's wrong, of course.


This morning, Jeff and I visited the U.S. Embassy to sign the condolence book. There were actually two books, one in Japanese, and one for those who spoke English. On each side of the table were piles of flowers. The Japanese press were everywhere. It was clear that access to the Embassy was restricted, with two guards allowing people through (probably only once they had proved a legitimate need to get in). I'll post photos later today.


I can't remember exactly what I wrote in the book. I'm sure it was very messy, though, because my eyes were full of tears.





Today's Blatherpics


The first three photos were taken this morning at the U.S. Embassy.


There is also a picture of the Mr. Canada CyberCafe, and World Magazine Gallery.


Today's poll question:


Do you currently spend more than one hour a day watching, reading or listening to the ongoing coverage of the post-attack coverage?