i'm trying to deal with my bad monday-mood this morning but my computer problems isn't making it easy. it's slowly dying...and i'm terrified that this is going to happen before i get to canada and (hopefully) buy a new one. the thought of sitting at my desk without a computer is panic-inducing...and probably enough to make me go absolutely insane. fingers crossed...
this weekend laura, tam and i went to see a film-festival movie in niigata city. we thought we were going to see 'jazz seen' in the afternoon...but quickly discovered this was not in fact what movie we were watching within about 5 seconds of settling into the theatre (my fault). the fact that the film we did end up watching wasn't even in english (with japanese subtitles) aside...it was pretty terrible. it was about the musical and dance culture in brazil. i mean, even if we did understand it, i think it would have been just as bad.
on sunday luke and i took advantage of the sunny weather and went for a bike ride. i never seem to catch the mountains on a clear day. that's what's interesting about living here. shibata has two sets of mountain 'ranges' on two sides of the city. but if it's at all cloudy (which it is about 98% of the time...) the mountains are completely hidden and you can't see them at all. but as soon as we get a clear day, they come into full view and they shine behind all the buildings of the city, the sun reflecting off their snow covered tops.
we left at 2pm and started along the bike trail which leads into the rice fields. about 3 km's in...the bike trail ended in snow, so we just decided to go wherever our moods took us. we ended up part-way up a mountain, following random winding roads, through villages and farms. when the sun began it's descent back behind the mountains, we decided that it was probably time to start heading back. unfortunately, the path we were cycling on then, too, ended in snow. we left our bikes beside the bank covered in monkey prints, ran through a field and climbed up onto a swell of dirt. we looked all around for a paved road which wasn't covered in snow...but short of having to make a treck through terraced-rice fields, we were going to have to retrace our steps.
almost back in shibata we came to a little section of trees. within this small area of woods was a tunnel of shrines. there were two tunnels side-by-side so luke went through one and i through the other. they went all through the woods and finally met each other in kind of a loop, with a temple in the middle. we payed our yens, clapped, bowed, clapped and made a wish, ringing the bell to solidify them. in the process, a lone cat sneaked into the temple and settled itself on the tatami. there was a priest inside who we left to deal with that...as it wouldn't listen to us!
running back through the bright-red shines i felt like sayuri from memoirs of a geisha. though luke didn't fall off his bike because of one glance from me. ;)
heading back the sun was setting and it became quite chilly. i retired to my apaato for a bubble-bath and a few episodes of the OC. quite a nice day.
this weekend laura, tam and i went to see a film-festival movie in niigata city. we thought we were going to see 'jazz seen' in the afternoon...but quickly discovered this was not in fact what movie we were watching within about 5 seconds of settling into the theatre (my fault). the fact that the film we did end up watching wasn't even in english (with japanese subtitles) aside...it was pretty terrible. it was about the musical and dance culture in brazil. i mean, even if we did understand it, i think it would have been just as bad.
on sunday luke and i took advantage of the sunny weather and went for a bike ride. i never seem to catch the mountains on a clear day. that's what's interesting about living here. shibata has two sets of mountain 'ranges' on two sides of the city. but if it's at all cloudy (which it is about 98% of the time...) the mountains are completely hidden and you can't see them at all. but as soon as we get a clear day, they come into full view and they shine behind all the buildings of the city, the sun reflecting off their snow covered tops.
we left at 2pm and started along the bike trail which leads into the rice fields. about 3 km's in...the bike trail ended in snow, so we just decided to go wherever our moods took us. we ended up part-way up a mountain, following random winding roads, through villages and farms. when the sun began it's descent back behind the mountains, we decided that it was probably time to start heading back. unfortunately, the path we were cycling on then, too, ended in snow. we left our bikes beside the bank covered in monkey prints, ran through a field and climbed up onto a swell of dirt. we looked all around for a paved road which wasn't covered in snow...but short of having to make a treck through terraced-rice fields, we were going to have to retrace our steps.
almost back in shibata we came to a little section of trees. within this small area of woods was a tunnel of shrines. there were two tunnels side-by-side so luke went through one and i through the other. they went all through the woods and finally met each other in kind of a loop, with a temple in the middle. we payed our yens, clapped, bowed, clapped and made a wish, ringing the bell to solidify them. in the process, a lone cat sneaked into the temple and settled itself on the tatami. there was a priest inside who we left to deal with that...as it wouldn't listen to us!
running back through the bright-red shines i felt like sayuri from memoirs of a geisha. though luke didn't fall off his bike because of one glance from me. ;)
heading back the sun was setting and it became quite chilly. i retired to my apaato for a bubble-bath and a few episodes of the OC. quite a nice day.
posted by Justine at 7:52 p.m.
14 Comments:
"two days later....Giraldo died. But his spirit lives on in the music of his people..."
Stirring.
monday sucks, and dont we all know it.
ganbatte ne?
love you
laura...giraldo?
"i won't die!" said freddie
but his friends started to fall one after another. soon the tree was almost bare.
"i'm afraid of dying," freddie told daniel.
"we're all afraid of things we don't know," daniel said. "but you were not afraid when spring became summer, or when summer became fall. changes are natural."
...the wind came and took freddie from his branch. it didn't hurt at all.
as he fell, he saw the whole tree for the first time. he remembered daniel's words, "life lasts forever."
freddie landed on the soft snow. he closed his yes and went to sleep.
WHERE DO THEY GET THESE STORIES FROM? THIS ONE'S ALMOST AS HEART WRENCHING AS A MOTHER'S LULLABY!
shrine tunnels were about a 20 minute cycle outside of shib, just off of highway 49...(though don't think i could get back there...)
oh come on, you didn't enjoy 'movin in brazil'?? it was a classic and the narrator was so hot.
i think that a computer plague is upon us. mine died last week. four weeks with no computer at work... i can think of few things more hellish.
ttys,
tam
i am now writing on kyoto's computer which he kindly let me borrow for a few minutes to make worksheets. what a model worker i am!!
that's rather nice of him.
-17 in ottawa today. hoooope it warms up soon!
oh my god freddie the leaf.
is that some american story? my teacher says it is. is she lying_?
ive never heard of it....its bloody awful!
Sorry...I was quoting from the "film". You know how after one of the musician's story was told, there would be the random narration...and apparently, ALL of the people in this movie died 3 days after it was taped.
laura haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!
sorry can't believe i didn't pick up on that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i'm laughing out loud at my desk now!!!!!!!!!!
kat, never heard of that story before.... ?
get an ibook!
better yet, get a powerbook!!!
seriously...i'm considering it.
meh
dont.
im alreayd out of the COOL IPOD crowd. dont go making me less cool by getting an i book
uhm on that note, should warn u that the school servers here seem to not like apple...well...my apple...ibook that is, it won't connect to internet, something about compatibility or system regulation or whatnot, just thought i'd warn ya.
But otherwise it's never done anything other than running exceptinally fast and smooooooth. IT WON'T DIE ON U.
choose at ur own risk.
ps kat ur always cool i luv u (despite ur sans ipod flaw)!!
well, i must say that the fear of not being able to connect to the internet at school is a big enough one for me to want to stay away from ibook!
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