Ideas for journal entries

Been getting back into language studying after the past couple of weeks of craziness here in Tokyo. It was pretty hard to concentrate on other things while you have half your mind on the next aftershock, and the other half on the latest radiation readings in the area.

Anyhow, I'm starting to get back into the swing of things now, and I've been using Lang8 again a bit more recently. I seem to go through input and output phases, (I tend to output more in the way of writing rather than speaking at the moment, which I need to work on) and now I seem to have gone into output mode again by writing on my Lang8 blog.

The challenge with writing a daily journal is finding something to write about. I don't think my life is dull, but I don't seem to have the motivation to write about the ins and outs of daily life (again, I should probably work on this).

One tool I have been using to generate ideas however is the stumbleupon.com website. This website enables you to "stumble" almost randomly around the internet to find sites that other people have labeled as interesting. I say almost randomly, because the sites you do actually stumble through are regulated by your settings page where you can specify what your interests are, and thereby only stumble onto sites that are related to these interests. I find this site gives me some good ideas for journal entries on Lang8.

Writing this though I realise I should try to work on writing (and speaking) about more mundane day-to-day topics: as these are the kind of topics and language that I probably need to be more familiar with on a daily basis.

OK, that's my goal for this evening. One Lang8 entry about my day today. Hope it's not too dull!!

Tweet log: 9 March, 2011 - 16 March 2011

A collection of my tweets from the 9th March to 16th March 2011 (starting from the bottom 9th March's fore-shock—main earthquake and tsunami happened on the 11th). One viewpoint from Tokyo, Japan.

easterngrean ニール

At the moment it feels like a decision between the news and the official line. Which is more trustworthy? We need a middle road.
16 Mar

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easterngrean ニール
@
@tokyotimes It's ridiculous. I don't know why that newspaper is still allowed to operate.
16 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Never been so happy to see one of those annoying Japanese game shows on TV.. could cut down on the earthquake alarm like bleeping noises tho
16 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Sitting at work. Jolly well looking forward to the weekend to be honest.
16 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Quake last night was a real window rattler. Put the wind up me a bit. Following developments on the internet this morning. Off to work soon.
16 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Finally worked out how to use list/search function. Now just have to find out what it's called
16 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

test tweet #test
16 Mar

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Crof Crawford Kilian
by easterngrean

A useful perspective on the Japanese earthquake http://bit.ly/hYw2Ih #jpquake
16 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

I have to say, I was undecided about twitter until this week. I absolutely love it now!!
15 Mar

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shioyama The blogger fka 塩
by easterngrean

Doesn't get more poignant than that: Sympathy From Bamiyan to the People of Japan: http://bit.ly/ibj0nv
15 Mar

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gakuranman Michael Gakuran
by easterngrean

全力を挙げる means to use all of one's energy / to the best of one's efforts. Edano uses it over and over again in his speeches.
15 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

edano is saying radiation drops. Why are all these tweets coming through so alarmist!!
15 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

edano brings some good news
15 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

I think my Dunkirk spirit just kicked in!
15 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

brilliant! jiayou means ganbatte! message from Sichuan earthquake survivors to people of Japan http://bit.ly/eIE5V9
15 Mar

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gadyepstein Gady Epstein
by easterngrean

RT @wolfgroupasia: China reaches out to Japan: A Tudou video to Japan from Sichuan's earthquake survivors: http://bit.ly/dZmWph
15 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Just spent 2 hours uploading the wrong info onto our servers... Lucky I don't work for the electric company.
15 Mar

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gakuranman Michael Gakuran
by easterngrean

State minister Renho asking people of Japan not to buy up or horde supplies that could be used for the victims in the north (Kyodo)
15 Mar

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TOKYODANDY TOKYO DANDY (DAN)
by easterngrean

Thinking of the 50 workers on site at the Fukushima Power Plant risking their lives to bring the situation under control. THANK YOU
15 Mar

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tokyotimes Lee Chapman
by easterngrean

Can anyone help? RT @john_sir @tokyotimes any info on road conditions for going to Tokyo from #Fukushima/#Ibaraki direction?
15 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Stroke of luck. Got the last salad on the shelf in the conbini.
15 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Quick check of the microsee-whatever levels, and I'm off out for lunch!
15 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Is "microsievert" trending yet?
15 Mar

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tokyotimes Lee Chapman
by easterngrean

Basically the situation is bad. But the danger is only for those in the vicinity. And sensationalist reports don't help. At all.
15 Mar

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jdierkes Julian Dierkes
by easterngrean

Nuke safety commission briefing seemed to report sound of explosion in 2nd reactor at Fukushima No 1 about two hours ago.
15 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Another explosion?
15 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Got a phone call from the BBC asking if I wanted to take part in an interview. Must be in a disaster zone.
15 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

My Japanese is improving though! 予断を許さない　＝　can't make any guesses
15 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Possibly quake was closer to Tokyo. rather than being larger than other aftershocks.
15 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Large aftershock woke me up. BBC incorrectly cites USGS for size and location. USGS is slow to update. Quake was short but sharp.
15 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Things I wish I had: 1. A plane ticket. 2. A Geiger counter. 3. A PHd in plate tectonics. 4. A beer. Oh... I have number 4. just 1 2 & 3.
14 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Fairly big aftershock is greeted with stony silence here in the office. Usually there would be a few comments.. but nothing.
14 Mar

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easterngrean ニール
@
@Ayumizw There are not many people here. The office is kind of quiet. All the lights are off etc.
14 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Sitting at work. Lights are off, only about half the staff have come in today. Feels very surreal. Feel like going home to be honest.
14 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

tsunami alert "appears to have been false alarm"- BBC
14 Mar

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tokyotimes Lee Chapman
by easterngrean

RT @BiggerInJapan NEWS: Iwate pref Ofunato 5 m wave retreating, possibility of big tsunami. Move to higher grounds immediately.
14 Mar

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andyjr1975 Andrew Roper
by easterngrean

Terrifying “@scottlava: Whoa. RT @timheidecker: “@leeunkrich: This is absolutely unbelievable. ow.ly/4dvh0 #Japan #tsunami””
14 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

This page tells a story. - Earthquakes Past 7 days http://1.usa.gov/e1AmFH
14 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

More terrifying videos of the tsunami on TV.
13 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Sorry, I shouldn't be so flippant, but it all kind of all feels hard to take in at the moment, especially with the language barrier.
13 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

I wish my Japanese was good enough to know what the spokesman from the burning nuclear power plant up the road was saying.
13 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Sono Inglese di Gerrards Cross: Japan earthquake March 2011: my experience http://bit.ly/g8Zt2e
13 Mar

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tokyotimes Lee Chapman
by easterngrean

RT @tokyorich This by @JamesinJapan is one of the best pieces I read on life in Kanto yesterday. http://bit.ly/eF8CmC
13 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Shocking tsunami home videos on TV—Looks like some people were either ignorant to the danger or just transfixed by what they were seeing.
13 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Japan Earthquake - Ground shifts, water seeps during quake in Chiba, Japan youtube.com/watch?v=-LPGzz… via @youtube
13 Mar

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easterngrean ニール
@
@andyjr1975 nice
13 Mar

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easterngrean ニール
@
@andyjr1975 Great! Is that league one then? Sorry, I'm a bit behind. Argyle were staring extinction in the face last time I looked.
13 Mar

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easterngrean ニール
@
@andyjr1975 ha! Well, you know what they say. When it rains, it pours. how about the terriers?
13 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Wow, it's 1AM. Where has today gone? Just been glued to the TV and internet watching the coverage for the past 18 hours.
13 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Only the newscasters in Fukushima seem to be wearing hardhats now. Not sure how much good that'll do in the event of a leak, though.
13 Mar

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drockphoto Derek Montgomery
by easterngrean

It's probably not a good thing when #chernobyl is trending.
12 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

These aftershocks are really something. It's almost every few minutes or so. This shaking feeling is going to be difficult to forget.
12 Mar

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tokyotimes Lee Chapman
by easterngrean

RT @hiromichii @tokyotimes Please tweet this for English speakers who don't understand Japanese living in Japan.http://is.gd/ZzgOu6
12 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

Tokyo was shaking a lot, but everybody seems OK where I am. No injuries or damage as far as I can see.
11 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

that was pretty scary for a while there!!
11 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

http://amzn.com/k/G5X6TH9B9IXJ #Kindle
10 Mar

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zonjineko zonjineko
by easterngrean

Only In Japan: Nude toothbrushes - love the details ^_^ http://ow.ly/4aIY7
9 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

一条小消息 | Lang-8 http://lang-8.com/56453/journals/840314 #lang8
9 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

I'm going to have to update my profile to read: gives slightly scared, on the spot reports to minor earthquakes in the Tokyo region.
9 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

thought I was going to have to leave my desk... slightly disappointed now.
9 Mar

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easterngrean ニール

long, long earthquake in Tokyo, about 2 mins.
9 Mar

Reposting: Japan Earthquake: my experience

It was just another Friday afternoon at work. I was sitting at my desk, thinking about going to lunch (I'd started late, so hadn't gone yet even though it was approaching 3pm.) I was beginning to get hungry.

That was when the shaking started. I looked up at my two colleagues sitting at their desks, neither of them had moved. I began to wonder if I was imagining it (I've done this before). But the same thing (me looking up first) had happened three days previously when a large earthquake —that we now know that was a fore-shock to Friday's earthquake—caused our office to sway for about two minutes. But that's where the similarities between Wednesday's quake and Friday's end.

After a few seconds the shaking didn't abate, and in fact started to become more pronounced. My colleagues had looked up. 'Oh, another earthquake', we were all thinking at this point. But, the shaking kept getting stronger. A few more seconds and we were beginning to look around the office at others to see what they were doing. They were doing the same as us: looking around the office at others to see what they were doing. It was then that it began to dawn on me that this was different.

Then it got really serious. Everything was shaking violently. 'This was it!' I'd never gone under the table before for an earthquake (even though I'd often thought about it), but now I knew it was the best thing to do. 'Perhaps "The Big One" everyone in Tokyo fears had finally come.' Either way, I was under my desk, and I felt no shame in that. I looked around and saw that everyone else was doing the same. Desks were shaking, chairs were moving around the floor, drawers were opening and closing, I was just holding on. I checked with my two colleagues "Hey, guys, you OK?" "Yes." came the justifiably short reply. The shaking continued.

I remember looking out the window from my position under my desk. The buildings on the other side of the street were moving violently from side to side. The thing that caught my attention were the antennae on the roofs. With the sheer force of the quake they were being whipped back and forth like toys in the hand of a naughty child.

Eventually, the shaking began to calm down. People began to come out from under their desks and tentatively move about. We moved to the windows to check the situation outside. There was no damage visible, and people were beginning to exit the building.

The next question was, 'what to do next?' The building was still standing, but there were sure to be more quakes after one that size. Looking outside, (we are on the 4th floor) there were people gathering at the front of the building, but they were standing on a temporary surface, part of extensive construction work going on. One of my colleagues said that it was probably the worst place to stand. We stayed where we were.

I stayed in the building for a good 20-30 mins after the quake, until a second tremor struck. This one was not as big, but it was easily the second biggest quake I had experienced in my four and a half years in Japan, and of course, my life. Again, we were under the desks, again the shaking seemed to go on for an age.

Once this second one subsided those of us remaining in the building decided to move outside. It's difficult to know what is best in these situations. Moving outside might seem like the obvious choice, but because of the construction work going on out front, and the fact that the building had successfully withstood two tremors, staying inside also seemed logical.

Of course, at this point, none of us had any idea of the terrible events unfolding in Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima.

After a time standing outside we were told that we could go home. I left work, and began to head into Shibuya with a colleague. We saw crowds in-front of shop windows watching TV. We joined them and saw the shocking images. 'Are we safe here?' we were thinking. 'Will a tsunami hit Tokyo?' I'm sure I saw an image of abnormally high water levels rising under the deck of Rainbow Bridge, it looked like something from a disaster movie. (note: I have not seen this image again, was it a different bridge?)

We moved on. The scale of what was happening was difficult to gauge. Starbucks was closed, one McDonalds was closed, but another was open. I saw a building with windows shattered, and the pavement in front of the building cordoned off; a few doors down, I saw a lady shopping for shoes! What to do? How should we react to this?

We eventually found a bar with some TVs and followed the coverage: trying to take in what had gone on, and wondering how to get home. After spending an inordinate amount of time walking around, getting some food in restaurants, and looking for taxis, I eventually made it home at 8am the next morning, via bus. The aftershocks continued through the night and the next day. The earth was like the deck of a ship. Safe for now, but unstable. A feeling that will likely continue for a few weeks yet.

What I experienced will stay with me for the rest of my life, but I know that we were lucky. Those people caught in the towns on the eastern coast of the Tohoku region were perhaps like us for half-an-hour or so: Unsure of what to do next. Perhaps they decided to stay put for fear of going outside. If they had no access to TV or radio, they very likely never received the tsunami warning.

In hindsight, it's very easy to choose the best course of action, but when you are caught in the middle of something like this, it is very difficult to know what the best thing to do is. I am just thankful that everybody I know in Tokyo and Japan is safe, and my thoughts are with those people less fortunate.

What I'm reading at the moment

Just added an image I've been playing around with to the Qing Dynasty page on this blog (see right-hand column).

Recently started reading China's Last Empire: The Great Qing, by William Rowe. It's a good read, and covers a really interesting period of Chinese history. As the title of the book suggests it was a great dynasty—probably in the top five, if not the top three as far as reputations of Chinese dynasties go—but, because of the fact that it was the last imperial dynasty, and it took China through the turbulent years of modernisation that were taking place around the world at that time, it is also a very historically important dynasty.

Perhaps the most astonishing thing about it all is though, that the dynasty was not actually formed of ethnic Han, or "Chinese" people—the Manchus really didn't exist as an important factor in Chinese history right up until they took over the whole empire! The book goes so far as to suggest that their race and culture was almost an invention of political convenience to give legitimacy to the band of warriors who had taken over the empire.

Anyway, I think I might be getting out of my depth here talking about all this, so I'll stop before I say something wrong and suggest you read the book if you're interested in Chinese history like me.

Yes, I can!

I'm in a "Yes, I can do it!" mood today.

No sweat!

It's all about control. You need to have control over your learning. Get the best tools possible at your disposal: internet, texts, ipod, srs systems, teachers, whatever, and control your use of them.

A word comes up in your book, you've heard it before on your ipod: Put that track back on the ipod for tomorrow.

You're reading jokes online, you get bored: Switch to that long article about Mao Zedong you were trying to get through. Enough of that, back to the SRS.

Time is filled with learning. Control is important because control gives you confidence, and a consequence of confidence is concentration. When you are concentrating, it is much easier to take things in. You can pay attention to the material easily, and notice what is going on, making it all much easier to retain.

My new 4 step approach to language learning:

control = confidence = concentration = retention

How good is that? Do I need to take a patent out on this? What do you think?

Success

YEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!

HaHa! Just completed a phone call in Japanese. My first full, fault free, everyday life phone call, on my own— No Japanese friend hanging over my shoulder prompting me, no hesitation, no embarrassing English help from the person on the other end of the phone. YES! I CANCELLED MY GAS CONTRACT OVER THE PHONE IN JAPANESE!!! And I'm pretty chuffed about it.

Next step. Ordering Pizza!!!!!