みにくいアヒル『が教える お金持ちになるための知恵』

（「おねーしゃん、お腹すいたから、クラッカー下さい・・・」と私に迫る、某アヒル一羽。）

たとえアヒルでも、「お姉さん」と呼んでもらえるのが嬉しい・・・


以前私はモデルの仕事に応募した事がありました。書類審査は合格でしたが、カメラテストで落選。残念。

って、全然残念じゃなかったんだけどね。実際モデルになりたかったと言うより、う〜ん・・・説明し難い。

で、そのカメラテストの時にお話ししたカメラマンさんが教えてくれたのは、モデルになりたい人達は、ちゃんと自分をどう可愛く見せるかを研究していると言う事。だから、笑い方も、写真の撮られ方も、勿論自分に似合う洋服もヘアメイクも ちゃんと研究・練習している。

そうですよね。だって、お仕事だもん。私、本は読むけど、自撮りとか苦手だし。一人だとやっぱサムイし。

それでですね、モデルにはならないんですけど、私ができる「お仕事」って一体何か、と思いまして。今はれっきとしたお仕事があるんですけど、それをもっと「極める」にはどうしたらいいか。

考えなくてもやらなくてはならない事は山程あります。でもね、何でしょう、その・・・目的地はわかってるし、道順もわかってる。あとは、どの乗り物で行くか・・・

今、『イヌが教える お金持ちになるための知恵』と言う本を読んでいます。（まだ終わってないけど。）その本のなかに、お金儲けをするには、自分が知っている事、自分ができる事、そして自分が持っている物を明確にして、それを基に行動するべき、と書いてあります。う〜ん・・・自分ができる事・・・

何だろ、一体。本を読む事？食べる事？う〜ん・・・絶対違う・・・


と言う訳で皆さん、メリークリスマス！来年の抱負等も考えながら、今夜はもう一仕事させて頂きます。

On Indecent Exposure

One of the things I hate about flashers is that whatever they're trying to flash me is usually totally uninteresting.

I don't know if you or someone you know has ever encountered a flasher. I sure hope not. I have, unfortunately—once in San Diego, and almost a second time a couple of nights ago.

(And man, it irritated me so much that I had to create a teaching moment out of it in my Anime class. My poor students. They were probably wondering why we couldn't just get on to talking about Akira. But the good students they are, they bore with me. Thanks, everyone.)

I've heard people talking about incidents of indecent exposure before—and often in those talks there are people who find the incidents to be funny. They laugh about them and make jokes. It's a light-hearted topic to them.

Often those people are men. That's not to say that all men find crimes of indecent exposure to be funny, or that women never find them to be amusing. I think it's just a social tendency. And I realize that different things count as "indecent exposure" depending on the social context. All I know is that, in past conversations I've heard, some people find indecent exposure to be funny, and most of those people have been men.

But you know what? That one time I was a victim of indecent exposure—that shit wasn't funny at all. Nope. At first I didn't know what had just happened. It only hit me later just how emotionally violent the act was toward me. And I was left with this strange feeling of shame and guilt. What had I done wrong? Was it my fault? Should I not have been walking there, at that time? Was I wearing something strange? Did I have a sign on my face that said, "Please jerk off in front of me"?

You wanna tell me I can't walk down Gilman Drive alone at 3 PM in the afternoon? You wanna try to blame the victim? Try again. Or better yet, you wanna try and tell me this is funny? Well let me tell you—being forced to see someone's body parts—any part—is as violent as having one's clothes ripped off and exposed, steps before being penetrated against one's will. It's sexual and emotional violence, undeniable and yet not recognized enough for its gravity.

So next time you hear people making jokes about flashers exposing themselves, I hope you have the courage and decency to tell them that that's not right. Because it's not right—neither indecent exposure nor making light of it. And next time you're going to Target on Yorba Linda at Placentia, and a dude in a motorcycle helmet tries to get your attention behind the 7-Eleven by saying "Psssst" the way Peter Pan does to Wendy, be sure not to give him the time of day.

Student Opinion Questionnaire

文学の授業の学生さんが、パンを焼いてくれました。「軽くトーストすると、美味しいですよ」と言われたので、家に帰って早速試したら、本当に美味しい。外側は硬くて、中はフワフワ。ほわ〜ん。

My first semester is coming to an end. I couldn't have asked for better teaching assignments or better students. Even the chatty ones...

今学期は色々ありました。何しろ一緒に仕事ができる先生方、スタッフの人々、学生さん達。カリフォルニアに戻って来れた事もひっくるめて——「ありがとう」。

GSA #15: On Losing Your Conference Virginity

That sounds horrible. But I wonder...if I extend the metaphor, how do I describe going to multiple conferences in a year? Or having a dry spell of conferences? Or going only to the same conference year after year? Curious.

Anyway, it turns out I have to prep for an upcoming conference. It's bad news, actually, because I now have less than a week to do it. (My own fault.) Hence the photo of the dudette (sorry...deity?) with flames coming out of her head.

What's more, it seems I haven't updated my Grad School Awesomeness series since this past April. Who knew that when I actually have things to do, I'm willing to give up writing posts for my blog?

Fortunately a friend of mine was cool enough to ask me for thoughts on attending conferences, and I now have a legit reason to type up a new post. Here goes.

--
My "first time" was a somewhat lackluster experience—isn't it for most people?—despite the nearly fool-proof setting and the actual characters involved. I think, at the end of the day, it was just somewhat anti-climactic. I came away thinking: I could've performed better.

Thank goodness for ACLA 2009, my "second time" for literature conferences. Boston is a lovely city, and in the five months since my "first", I'd considered how I could improve my performance when giving presentations. But then, I suppose you have to "do it" a good number of times before you can call yourself "experienced" in these things. I mean, looking back today, even my "second" left much to be desired...

I could have used some advice around the time I was starting out on the whole conferences bidness—advice that, now that I'm feeling panicky about going to yet another one, I think I might just give myself now.

1. Prepping the presentation—Oh, right, the most important part of giving a conference presentation: GIVING THE CONFERENCE PRESENTATION. I think it's better to talk than read, and now that I have a three-hour lecture class of my own, I think it's easier than writing a paper to read out loud. If I'm talking instead of reading, I can use PowerPoint (sorry, I just don't get Keynote) to keep me on track—which I hope makes the presentation easier for people to understand too, more than having me just read a paper (which can be boring). "Talking" the presentation using PowerPoint, then, helps me in multiple ways: I don't have to write a formal paper, I can keep myself within time limits, and I can (hopefully) make the presentation easier to digest for the audience. And the more I practice, the better my "talking" and PowerPoint slides become. Maybe. (If I practice.) (Except I was recently told that some people count conference presentations toward your tenure review only if you write a formal paper—so who knows.)
2. Asking and answering questions—This is important because it builds the skill of curiosity: wanting to know more out of sincere respect. (Yes, my random definition.) It's difficult, I think, to ask questions well—it's also fun to get better at it. I've learned to listen more carefully and to understand what makes for good (to me) presentations: how clear is the argument? how strong are the supporting analyses? how appropriate is the title for the presentation content? If I have an idea of what I'm looking for, then I can ask better questions to find out additional things, or things I thought were missing from the presentation. I also know what kinds of things to include in my own presentations, and to anticipate questions that might be asked of me. It also helps to think of conferences as mini, informal job interviews—a casual way to practice talking about your research, but with potentially a big pay-off if you make a strong impression. There's just less pressure involved than a real job interview. It's a total win-win-win! Also, for more intimate conferences like PAMLA, I appreciate the opportunity (during lulls in the Q&A, when audience members don't have questions) to ask questions of my co-presenters, so that we capitalize on the occasion of being in the same room among people working on similar topics. What a lovely way to get to know each other! 
3. Meeting people—Wait, did I just say "a lovely way to get to know each other"? Actually, I'm horrible at getting to know people—which is why I come up with artificial ways to strike up conversations with folks, like asking them questions about their research. (But isn't that what we're supposed to do at conferences?) Seriously, though, I want to practice talking with people, approaching them, introducing myself, learning about their work...without having it seem annoying or forced. In fact, I wished I had taken more time to get to know other graduate students and junior scholars at my past conferences, because I'm finding that those kinds of relationships motivate me to produce more work. So if possible—during Q&As, while waiting for sessions to start, or in those awkward moments of standing in line at the morning pastries-and-fruits buffet—meet new people! And remember that the random person sitting two seats away from you may be someone to organize conference panels with in the future. (In fact, in writing this post, I'm reminded of someone I met at ACLA 2009, and how we've kept in touch over the years—how lovely to get to meet interesting people!) 
4. Exploring the City—To be honest, though, just as important for me as getting to know people is getting to know a new city. Conferences are often the only times I get to travel, and boy, am I psyched about this upcoming conference in Portland, OR. (I'm running out of cities that 1) I've never been to that 2) are sites of academic conferences, so this may be the last time I get to discover a new city.) Of course it's important to attend conference sessions—to hear interesting presentations, to make sure the conference is well attended, etc.—but I love getting to see new sites, walk around cool neighborhoods, and eat and drink delicious things. Ah, the life of an academic...

Oy, conference...how I love thee. As long as I have fun and enjoy giving my presentation, then I'm doing something right. Now I just need to get myself out of bed so that I can prep this paper......

スマホ

こっちに帰ってきてやっとスマホが使える様になりました。めでたし、めでたし。

パソコンのブラウザーは結構ちゃんとしたサイト見てるけど、なんかスマホだとロクでもないサイトしか見てないわ。

1. Facebook（アプリじゃなくて）
2. Yahoo! １２星座占い
3. 美人になる方法
4. 日経ウーマン

これだけで自分の時間の使い方が分かるのが悲しい・・・

DAISO アドベンチャーズ #2：ほうきとちりとり

ほうきとちりとり、ほうきとちりとり、ほうきとちりとり・・・

こうやって書くと、呪文か何かみたいです。

ほうきは「箒」と書くそうです。全然知らなかった。ちりとりは「塵取り」で、なんとなく分かる。

今日は日本語の授業で、「鹹」と書くのに悪戦苦闘してしまいました。終いには生徒がアプリで調べてくれた。トホホ・・・

ダイソーで買うと、$1.50 の商品が二つ。ダイソー、ダイスキだぜぃ。おまけにターゲットで玄関マットも買ったので、これから私は魔女になって毎朝アパートの前をほうきで掃こうと思います。

I just received my Kuroneko Yamato shipment from Nagoya, so now I have most of my stuff here with me—which means I've gotta get serious about unpacking, cleaning, and settling in. It's a weird feeling when I have my things scattered in different places—Riverside, San Diego, Tokyo, etc. But now that I've got most of my books and clothes either here are at my folks', I can start refiguring out my library and dusting off books that'd been in storage for over a year.

Plus that "Professional Development Fund"? Book-Off, here I come.

DAISO アドベンチャーズ #1：チョコバナナポッキー

私、引っ越しました。よって名古屋の夜喫茶シリーズはもう（当分の間）更新できないのですが、代わりに（？）新しい近所での、新たなアドベンチャーズを記録しようかと思います。

なーんて言っても、こっちでは一人でふらっと外食する事が少ないので、喫茶店を紹介するより近所のダイソーで買った面白い商品を紹介しようかと思います。（説明になってない。）

そう、ダイソー。今年の七月にオープンしたそうです。アパートから歩いて２０分弱？ラッキー。（現在アメリカには４７店あるそうです。主にカリフォルニア、後はワシントンとテキサスだそうです。へー。）

先日は色々買いましたが、一番気になったのは「チョコレートバナナ味のポッキー」。実際ポッキーはグルテンが入ってるので滅多に食べないのですが、こればかりは気になりすぎました。袋を開けると、あの独特な化学的バナナの香りが・・・で、まぁまぁ美味しい。でもやっぱりポッキーより本物のバナナとクリームとチョコの方が好みかもしれません。

Whoops, or, the Academic Mating Game

I just offended a good friend from college, which reminded me that I haven't posted in over three weeks.

Last week I had an orientation for my new job. It started with free food and ended with free food, so I have nothing bad to say about it.

The orientation did, however, make me consider that which I am calling "The Mating Game". It's a game in which players try to find a mate with whom to build a nest and procreate. It's going on at most times, in most places—but it heats up when players enter into new situations, like starting a new job.

What I was reminded of through the orientation last week was how academics complicate The Mating Game—like they complicate much of everything else.

If you are an academic that is starting a new job, it might be better for you not to be playing The Mating Game (e.g., already have found a mate so that you are no longer playing)—because participation in the game can cause you unnecessary stress.

If you are an academic playing The Mating Game at a new institution, you might find yourself thinking, "Oh my goodness, an entirely new pond...am I going to be able to catch any fish??" You might find yourself being more careful than you used to be about what to wear to campus—not only because you want to give your colleagues the impression that you are tenurable, but also because you never know who might be standing behind you in line at the library circulation desk. You might also notice just how much more intriguing people's left ring fingers are—like they're somehow going to provide you the missing link you needed to support the argument in your next manuscript.

You might also be an entirely rational academic, telling yourself that you have bigger things to worry about than TMG—namely RTP. You might also know from experience that A Mate is not something that you look for, it's just something you stumble upon, like a cute Made in Korea ballpoint pen that someone left behind in the lecture hall. Or you might have the good sense of looking outside of academia for your Mate, knowing full well that one academic in a couple already has too much self-absorption going on.

(Just kidding...it's not like non-academics don't have self-absorption going on...)

But if you are like most academics, you probably realize that, really, dating an academic is so much easier than dating a non-academic. They understand the pressure before a fellowship application deadline. They understand the inanity that is departmental politics. They understand that, yes, it looks like you get a looooong summer vacation, but that's really more time spent on your research and course development, in addition to the nights and weekends that have fallen to a similar fate.

And when you date an academic as an academic, you get an automatic reviewer of your work without having to submit it to a journal. You get someone who'll be straightforward with you about the quality of your teaching and research, because that person wants to see you improve—and thrive—at the thing you most love doing. And you'll have a travel buddy who is genuinely interested in attending that conference with you, if only because it's so much more fun just to go to a conference than to present at one.

But alas...The Mating Game is not so easy for an academic at a new institution, because it turns out most people are already spoken for by the time they start their tenure-track jobs. You realize that your awkward, introverted self is matched by the awkward, introverted others who also populate the various departments across your institution. And even if you swore that you were going to be social and attend various functions across campus, let's face it, once the academic term starts, you're lucky if you make it out to pick up your CSA box once a week. And the more you try to diffuse the stress of TMG, the more you realize that you are simply being washed up in the heteronormative, patriarchal institution that is MATING. ::sigh::

And then you end up being the academic who is no longer at a new institution, because you've been there for a number of years already...and you end up looking around at the annual New Faculty Orientation dinner for someone who seems friendly, attractive, and unmated. But then, in all the wisdom that you have accumulated in your career, you tell yourself: this is the name of the game. Teachers grow old, while the students remain the same age—just like the way you grow old, while the incoming new faculty remain the same age. And the good thing is, you'll never let the stress turn into desperation. After all, writing that journal article is often more rewarding than dealing with the results of The Mating Game.

一年間、お世話になりました。

昨日退職しました。

一年間、本当にお世話になりました。面接に行った時から昨夜の食事会（笑）まで、信じられない程恵まれていました。大学院出て初めての職場として、これ以上の環境は無かったと思います。

I'm excited beyond words about the next phase in my life—the people I'll meet, the books I'll read, the city I'll get to explore. But for now, I'm feeling sentimental about the folks I'm leaving behind...

名古屋、今度来た時もたんとうまいもん食べさせてくれよ〜！（夏はあんまり来たくないけど。）

夜喫茶 #12: 三嶋屋

私はそばよりうどん派です。ついでにキツネよりタヌキ派。そうめんよりうどん派か？と訊かれると、ちょっと答えに詰まります。

先日きしめんの三嶋屋に行ってきました。「三嶋屋本店 瑞穂店」だそうです。（旧）瑞穂区図書館に行く度に前を通っていたのですが、中々入る勇気が出ませんでした。ですが先日星占いでラッキーグルメが「つけめん」だったので、だったらうどん系でいいか、と思って行きました。

（グルテンフリーって結構難しいぜ・・・）

きしめん定食を注文しました。６８０円。安い・・・と思う。しかも美味しい。きしめんに、ご飯と味噌カツが付いてきた。で、卓上には天かすの壺が・・・

天かす・・・大好き。

と言う訳で、三嶋屋は成功でした。もう二度と行かないかもしれないけど、それだっていいじゃない。夢だっていいじゃない・・・

I'm Not Vegetarian, I Just Can't Cook Meat: A Movie Review

The title of this post should come as no surprise to you, if you've read any of my previous posts about cooking (like this one).

What may surprise you, however, is that I don't dislike animals.

Shut up, all my friends who have heard me talk about kicking puppies. I'll have you know that I watched the documentary The Cove (2009) the other night and found myself feeling guilty about the salmon rice bowl I had eaten earlier that day.

But to be honest, I had a total knee-jerk reaction to The Cove. And the reaction jerked my knee so much that I couldn't stop talking about it at a friend that I met up with the next day, who was tired of me talking about it by the end of the day but said to me, "It's OK, I'm just ignoring you".

The Cove tells us some unfortunate things. Apparently in the Japanese town where the film was shot, people kill 23,000 dolphins every year and capture a bunch more to sell to aquatic parks. The Deputy of Fisheries in Japan that was interviewed in the film talked about how great it was that the "time to death" for dolphins had been shortened through improvements in the killing tools. We also learn that a meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) is like a bad high school Model UN session.

It's true that in my house I don't cook meat. But I do eat meat, and if someone took me to Phil's BBQ, I certainly wouldn't complain. And when it comes down to it, I don't think that killing a cow or a pig is any less bad than killing a dolphin or a whale. I don't buy the argument that dolphins are intelligent, and therefore it's bad to kill dolphins but OK to kill chickens.

But again...I eat meat. So what right do I have to be talking?

I'm sure that the entire cast and crew of The Cove is vegan. I'm sure they don't eat fish, wear leather, or put honey on their sopapillas. I'm sure they love dolphins very much, and they would risk pissing off a bunch of Japanese people to save them.

But what was strange to me was that, the woman who was crying in the film about the killing of baby dolphins didn't seem like she would cry about the death of young men of color who are being shot and killed by police in her own country.

What was also strange was that, despite their earnestness in getting these Japanese people to stop killing dolphins, the crew had no intention of meeting them halfway. The crew, in particular Ric O'Barry, seemed to make little effort to learn Japanese (except for their occasional "doumo arigatou"); and they certainly didn't make an effort to understand the practices of the community they were in conversation with, much less try to understand them from a place of respect.

There was also an unsurprising amount of exoticization—of the town, of the people being shot on camera, of the lodging they were staying at, of the killing practice itself. You name it, it was probably exoticized. The crew complained about the bureaucracy and the amount of paperwork required to do anything, but if they cared to learn anything about Japan, they'd know that bureaucracy was everywhere, not just in the case of hiding a practice of dolphin massacre. And according to them, the Japanese police wake up their prisoners and torture them in the middle of the night, in order to get the confession they want—which is totally unlike U.S. police practice of shooting people or calling them racial slurs. Apparently it was ingenious of Ric O'Barry to lie through his teeth about what he was doing in the town, because, you know, capturing the "truth".

I didn't realize that disrespect and lying were necessary tools of being an activist. I didn't realize that the practices of a town could be generalized to an entire nation, while at the same time, the complicity of the rest of the world that comes to buy meat at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo could be completely ignored. And the problem, apparently, lies solely with the Japanese people who capture and kill dolphins, not the people who (in and outside of Japan) buy the animals and their flesh.

The film points out how, in the aquatic park in this Japanese town, whale meat is sold at the stand near the area where they have whale and dolphin shows (though I'm pretty sure they sell hamburgers in zoos in the States, even if they aren't things like lion hamburgers or giraffe hamburgers). I'd feel a lot more moved by this revelation if I didn't have a sinking feeling that the people in the film also had their occasional tuna sandwiches. I would never say that humans magically had the right to kill and eat animals—but they do kill and eat them. In the film the crew takes to the streets of a Japanese metropolis and asks its denizens if they knew that dolphins were being killed in Japan for their meat. None of them do, of course—and one woman, like the others, says, "Oh my, that's horrible." But then—I got this feeling: the woman seemed to want to ask where she could get her hands on some of that meat. But she just didn't want to say it.

The Cove indicates in its conclusion that a couple of Japanese people who were featured in interviews or scenes were removed from their posts—the aforementioned Deputy of Fisheries and the annoying Mr. Private Space that kept telling the film crew to leave the area. But this is reported as some kind of a "success"—even though it's just a way to ruin people's lives by depriving them of a livelihood (however questionable it may be). Playing heroic World Police, are we?

The film showed the Japan rep to the IWC "buying out" reps from the Eastern Caribbean islands, in order to get them to vote in ways that favor Japanese practices. Atherton Martin, a former IWC Representative of Dominica, described the situation in a way that resonated with my knee-jerk reaction: Japan's actions weren't about economics or politics, but rather about the "remnants of a traditional notion of empire"—Japan doesn't need to be told what to do, certainly not by the United States or any other Western country. And it's a good thing people there eat animal flesh, too, because it just keeps the cycle going.

Yes, tell everyone in the world to stop eating fish. Tell them to stop eating all types of meat! Tell them to stop destroying the planet by their unsustainable ways of living. Tell aquatic parks and zoos to stop putting animals in unnatural cages and close the hell down. It's better to try it than not. But I also don't think the effort will be successful, not the way The Cove does it.

[The image is from a review (?) on Gigazine of a location of Ōshō (of gyōza fame) that serves both potstickers AND sushi. What. (But mmmm look at those delicious salmon eggs...)]

[[I've been meaning to write up my thoughts on the Get Some Scars EP by Lux Lisbon that I got my hands on back in April...but I've been slacking. As a preview of that coming post, I shall just say: I like it, albeit unexpectedly! (And I can explain...!!)]]

夜喫茶 #11: さくとん

食べた食べた、食べました。近所のとんかつ屋さん、「さくとん」。何故もっと早く行かなかったのか、って感じでした。

注文したのは・・・あれ、何だったっけ？おそらくソースかつ定食。たったの６５０円で、とっても良心的。しかも美味しい！何しろ美味しいんだよ。できたてのかつをホクホク、ムシャムシャ。

カウンター席だけでいつも結構混んでるから、行かなかったんだな。で、やっぱりお持ち帰りのお弁当より、できたてが食べたいし。でも、店内で食べると身体中が油の匂いになるんだよね。う〜む・・・ま、家帰ってシャワー浴びればいっか。

Planes, Trains and Shinkansen

On my return flight to Nagoya I got bumped up to Premium Economy from my original Economy ticket. [That's me, enjoying my extra legroom.] I guess this is what happens when you fly six roundtrips between Cali and Japan in 12 months.

I'm not a fan of flying, since regardless of the duration of the flight, I get airsick—before, during, and/or after. I guess just thinking about being on a plane makes me want to puke.

But it's also that being in a plane (especially across an ocean) is such a surreal experience—you just sit there as this huge machine transports you thousands of miles above ground. You sleep when they turn off the lights, and you wake up and eat when they turn on the lights and stick food in front of your face. And you do it surrounded by complete strangers. Weird.

I wished I could afford Premium Economy tickets for my parents...except they're twice the cost of Economy. ::sigh::

卒業

あじゃなかった、新学期ですね。あ、とそれももしかしたらもう数週間前の話になってしまった•••？（この点々々、微妙。）

と、私日経ウーマンをネットで読むの辞めました。 以前は自分が読んでも使える情報が載ってんたんですが、最近自分が求めてるモノが変わってきたと言うか•••

で、日経ウーマンに関するポストはこれで最後？と思います。「転機」を呼ぶ方法！どうやら私は「直感力」が鈍いそうです。確かに毎日、毎週同じ事をしてるので、直感的に行動する時間はありませんが。

今までは、土曜日だったら瑞穂区の図書館に行って本読んでましたけど、最近忙しくて全然行ってません。でも、これを機会に、「毎月」読んでた「同じ雑誌」に「さよなら」を言う事に。

さよなら、日経ウーマン。私、貴方から卒業します。長い間、お世話になりました。

Philosopher's Walk

On a drizzly evening this past week my family and I went out to explore a dusky Kyoto. My brother led the way toward the Philosopher's Walk, which we took toward Ginkaku-ji until we stopped from lack of light and too-muddy paths. Along the way we saw some cherry trees and duck couples. All was well in the world.

Right now before me lies a different kind of Philosopher's Walk—one paved with deadline after deadline. Buuuut, last weekend I got through one major one, and I'm feeling pretty good about the fact that I can chillax for the next couple of days.

So today and tomorrow I am getting myself organized and preparing my lesson plans. Having students—like, warm bodies in the room—is an amazing feeling...I just hope that I didn't piss them off to the point of preventing them from registering. Actually...now that I think about it, that's entirely possible...

Here's to a steadily warming Spring Semester!

GSA #14: On Papers and Presentations

I think I've reached my limit on conference presentations for the year—and I've only given one so far. It's not just the work of preparing the paper/presentation itself; it's also the timing. Sometimes I'm in the "talk stuff out with friends over tea and gluten-free cookies" phase. Sometimes I'm in the "present 7-page papers to strangers and get feedback" phase. Sometimes I'm in the "just effin' finish the darn article and send it off" phase. And right now I think I'm in that third phase.

But alas, I've mysteriously signed up to present three more times in the next three months. WTF? And I also was trying to figure out whether I had any juice left to craft an abstract for submission later this year. So, in order to sort through my various past/future papers and make myself an actionable to-do list, I turned to my trusty Excel spreadsheet.

Oh, you know me—I have a spreadsheet for everything. For finances, movies, travel destinations, clothes. So of course I would have one for papers (named, appropriately, <papers.xls>). These spreadsheets aren't sophisticated, but they get the job done.

In this said "papers" spreadsheet I have columns for the course for which I wrote the paper, the term in which I wrote it, its topic, the conference where it was presented, the journal to which I want to submit it, and the larger project to which it belongs. I've added to and modified these headings over time, but this set has worked out for me for the last several months.

The time I spent updating the spreadsheet last week helped me figure out what "to do next". I revised and collapsed the "larger projects" that I have in mind, enabling me to reframe my three upcoming papers—in other words, where they were coming from, and where they are going. Plus, now I have a better picture of which papers still offer an important piece of some "larger project" and is thus worth writing an abstract for.

I admit, though, this spreadsheet really didn't start giving me returns until the last year and a half of my Ph.D. program. One, during coursework, I was just writing random papers for seminars and couldn't identify any salient themes; two, during Qualifying and ABD periods, every paper I wrote was for the dissertation. It's only recently that I've been able to balance those two extremes and understand why I was writing all those "random" papers in the first place, and how they fed into (and can later grow out of) my dissertation. (If you're one of those people who've always known exactly what to write for the dissertation, good for you...I guess.) But there's something really gratifying about identifying all the themes and "larger projects" lurking within the spreadsheet. The Professor Is In has discussed the necessity of a second project while on the job market, and while her points are of course important, I have a stupidly simple reason for maintaining this spreadsheet: I get distracted by little "side projects", and it's nice to know that they can all be collected into something legit later on.

The spreadsheet can also be helpful if you're trying to figure out ways to "reframe" the "larger project" in such a way so as to include papers you didn't think belonged—thus cutting back on the amount of time you might have to spend on writing (new things) and revising. Because, you know, sometimes the magic is in the intro and conclusion...

[Yes, apparently "(Candace) Bushnell" and "Mishima (Yukio)" are interchangeable in my mind...]

夜喫茶 #10: スガキヤ

皆様、お久しぶりです。もうすっかり季節は春ですね。私は春が大好きです。暖かいし、お花はたくさん咲くし、酒盛りができるし・・・と、お誕生日もあるし。

さて、友達が寿がきやの事を教えてくれたので、機会があったら行こうと思っていました。そうしたら、なんと！先日鶴舞中央図書館に行ったら、地下にスガキヤが！！しかも、半額セール！！！運命でした。

つーか、なんで図書館の地下にラーメン屋があるわけ？全然分からん。ま、別に文句言うつもりは無いけど・・・

スガキヤは名古屋辺りを中心とした会社だそうで。スーパーでも色々と食品を売っているので、今度買ってみようかな。あ、でも、これからは体にイイ物だけを食べるんだっけ？

私はカソリック教徒ではないので四旬節には何もしませんが、もし断食するとしたら、チョコレートを食べない様にするかな？おそらく死ぬだろうな、イースターまでの間に・・・

夜喫茶 #9: 鼎泰豐（ディンタイフォン）

ある日突然点心が食べたくなったので、同僚に言ったら、皆で一緒に昼食を食べる事になりました。香港の点心とは少し違いますが、名駅セントラルタワーズの鼎泰豐に行きました。美味しかった〜。

台湾式でも香港式でも、点心は大人数がいいです。五人で行けてよかった〜。持つべき者は一緒に食いもん食える同僚だぜ、ホント。

[Photo courtesy of N...who, therefore, couldn't be in the photo himself...]

GSA #13: On (Skype) Interviews

It’s admissions season here, and my colleagues and I have been going through BA and MA applications and interviews for our program. This exercise has made me think several things.

One, many of our applicants have accomplished incredible things, even before they get to college. They think deep thoughts, do exciting things, and overcome considerable obstacles. I am impressed. (Of course, the students whose applications I read are a particular subset of people around the world.)

Two, different countries have different education systems. DUH. But when it comes time to rank students from all over the world for an international (particularly undergraduate) program, there’s a lot to consider in evaluating these applications. (Of course, even in the United States there are all sorts of schools, which influences the kinds of application “package” a student can submit. I’m sure the level of complexity is the same even within the U.S. microcosm.)

Three, although I went through my undergrad and Ph.D. application processes years ago, the job application process is still fresh(ly smarting) in my memory. And my god have I learned things about the (Skype) interview process that I wished I'd known earlier. Even though I read the post about phone/Skype interviews on The Professor Is In blog (along with many others), there's nothing like being on the interviewing side that really brings these things home:

1. Relax—if at all possible. While nervousness is often acknowledged by both parties, it puts a weight on all of your responses. And trust me, it's not good weight. (And contrary to what Sheryl Sandberg might say, don't lean in. It gives off a desperate vibe.)
2. Smile—not an idiot smile, but a comfortable smile—and DON'T STOP. It's heartbreaking when an applicant that had been smiling stumbles on a difficult question and stops smiling. It's almost like a quiet declaration of defeat. 
3. Make declarative statements—we're not playing an improv game here; don't answer a question with a question. Even if you're wrong, just say it like you mean it—and believe that you're right. Confidence (even if it's feigned, but especially if it's genuine) can make you look like a million bucks.
4. Be humble—yes, I know, I just emphasized confidence, but there's nothing more annoying than someone who isn't able to acknowledge just how much more there is to learn. Isn't that why we're in this business in the first place?
5. Don't look at note(card)s—write stuff down on your brain. I think it's perfectly appropriate to have pen and paper ready to take notes (especially since it shows that you are taking seriously the conversation you are having), but there's something unnatural about looking at note(card)s while you are trying to have a conversation with your interviewers. Things you say in an interview should be second-nature—whether it's about yourself, your research, or the school to which you are applying. If it's not something you know, it shouldn't be coming out of your mouth.

I practiced doing a Skype interview twice, with my friend and my professor, and it was immensely helpful. But now I realize that what would've been even more helpful was to practice being an interviewer, so that I could see for myself the things to do and not to do. So if you have friends who are on the job market with you, give each other practice interviews! It'll be a great bonding experience, and it'll be hella useful too.

I'm learning an incredible amount through this admission process—and I’m sending positive energy to all the students who get to apply to university and take entrance exams! And even more positive energy to the folks who are on the job market (academic or not), trying to find a job that they are happy with. 

[Yes, that's an alcohol ad...but I like it!!! It's so appropriate for my mood right now...]

夜喫茶 #8: チュウズデイオフ

お酒好きの皆様、こんにちは。昨日から三月でございます。と言う事は、桜の季節に一歩ずつ近づいて行っていると言う事・・・

先日ボンボンセンターのチュウズデイオフに行って参りました。その日はちょっと、その、新しい事に挑戦してみようかと・・・

正直言って、お店が可愛かったです。日本酒のお店とは思えない程チャーミングでした。なるほど、燻製のお店でも、こんな演出ができるのか・・・

日本酒の事が全然分からない私でも、黒板をじーっと観察しながらちょっとずつ注文していきました。一杯ずつの量も調節できるので、色々試したい人には嬉しいお店です。

お通しは三種の盛り合わせで、あんまし覚えてないけど、お漬物と何か？あと、トントロ！うひゃ〜、トントロは美味しかった。あれは丼一杯食べたい。死ぬけど。（人気があるのはオムレツだそうです。今度行ったら注文してみよう。）と言う訳で、気分転換したい時はチュウズデイオフですね。

夜喫茶 #7: 右近

これは・・・明らかに「喫茶店」ではありませんでした。先月のシンポジウムの後、発表者の方達との懇親会に招待されて、「四季の蔵　右近」に行って参りました。雰囲気もオシャレだし、お料理も美味しい。おまけにお酒の種類も豊富。そこで食事ができた事は、とてもありがたい。

お任せコースの「うさぎ」を頂き、食前酒から始め、前菜盛り合わせ、お造り、鍋料理等々。美味しいお料理でお腹が一杯になりました。

問題は、私の和食に関する知識の無さ。今の季節は、この魚が旬なの？このお料理には、この器なの？何故この食材は、この調理の仕方なの？

てんで分からん事についてウッチャウッチャ言えないので、何しろ美味しかったと言う事だけをご報告しようと思いました。チャンチャン。

さて、「名古屋で食べたいお店」の記事からほぼ一ヶ月。前回以来リストに追加されたお店をご紹介します。（リンクは全て食べログです。順番は特にありません。）

1. 鯱乃家
2. 浜木綿
3. さくとん
4. 蛸ん壷
5. 天むすびの多香野
6. 志石
7. 中国料理龍
8. 気晴亭
9. その他色々

と言う感じです。まだまだ時間はあります。ん〜、朝ご飯食べたばっかなのに、また腹が減って来た・・・

Boulder Brands, or, How I Maintain a Funny Food Filosophy

My dinner last night consisted of chicken (two types), tuna mayo onigiri, and chocolate. Mmm.

Hey wait stop. I'm usually pretty good about eating more balanced meals, but lately I've just been...off. It's OK, it happens. (But PK got me a Klean Kanteen food canister that can hold up to 3 servings of soup, so at least I'm set for my lunch.)

I have a strange relationship with food. I love to eat, but I'm a bad cook. But I try to cook, because I don't like to eat out. (I don't like not knowing what's in my food, or paying for food when I can make acceptable meals with stuff in my kitchen.)

The conclusion: I am mindful about the effects that the food I eat has on my body and the environment—but I don't stress over it.


I try to stay away from junk food (despite my love of 7-Eleven (specifically—not all convenience stores)), but if I really want junk food, then I eat it.

I try to eat gluten-free because of eczema, but I love mini cake ring donuts from 7-Eleven (that come six-to-a-pack and only cost ¥100 including tax).

I tend not to eat (or cook) meat, but if I want some, I eat some (like my karaage stick from 7-Eleven). (Besides, my avoidance of meat is primarily for my lack of cooking skills, secondarily for the environment, and tertiarily for ethics and morals.)

I tend to skip dairy because I think cow milk is for cow babies, not for human adults. But I love yogurt (plain) and ice cream, and I must have cheese with wine. Otherwise I go for soy milk and almond milk (but NOT rice milk. That stuff is just white water. Then I'd rather have water) and choose coconut oil over butter.

I eat organic when I can, but not when I can't. I eat local when I can, but not when I can't.

I don't do coffee because I don't like its taste, but I do like mochas and Starbucks Frappuccinos. I don't mind having green tea through an IV drip.

I like maple syrup and agave nectar more than I like honey—but I like brown sugar the best.

I try to not to break my bank with groceries, but I'm happy to splurge on quality.

I like companies like Boulder Brands (with their array of brands that cater to various dietary practices) and companies like Dunkin' Donuts (with their array of donuts that cater to various taste preferences).


I've been thinking a lot about food lately, and I've been trying to think more positively about it. I don't stress over food, but I do eat when I am stressed out—so some occasions of eating 1) are caused by stress, which then 2) cause more stress (and guilt). I want to sort out my relationship with food so that I don't turn to it to relieve stress (which itself has nothing to do with food)—otherwise I feel like I've failed at being healthy.

It's cool; one step at a time. If I can get through today without a donut, great. Then tomorrow maybe I can try to eat strawberries or something.

GSA #12: On (Ac / Alt-Ac / Non-Ac) Career Directions, or, What Do You Have to Show for Your Efforts?

In the weeks leading up to "The Humanities and Changing Conceptions of Work" Career Workshop in May of 2014 (organized and hosted by the UC Humanities Research Institute), I said to Kelly Brown that I wanted to write a blog post about the workshop for the UC Humanities Forum (which—is now defunct...so I can't even link to it anymore). Anyway, long story short, I didn't. Which makes this post long overdue—and though Kelly may have forgotten about it long ago, I've been nagged by guilt about it for nearly 10 months...

But then my friend messaged me yesterday reminding me that the event was happening again this year—and I thought, "If I don't write this post now, I never will." And since it was kind of a life-altering workshop for me, I wanted to pay it forward by writing about it here on my own blog.

First of all, I can't thank Kelly, the other organizers, UCHRI, and the Mellon Foundation enough for having made possible the Workshop for us in Berkeley last May. (I say "us" to mean not just those who attended, but also those who, I hope, will benefit from having these kinds of events institutionalized.) The Thursday workshop was filled with thought-provoking presentations and hands-on activities, as well as opportunities to meet and have great conversations with graduate students from other campuses (as well as those from our own). And for anyone interested in seeing what took place, there are videos of the workshop available on the event site.

But. But but. I had a major frustration bout last year, which is what I wanted to write about today. And it's precisely the kind of thing that, I think, prevents really smart Ph.D.s from getting a job they want, whether it be ac or alt-ac or whatever.

One of the sessions that day was a résumé workshop with San Francisco-based résumé writer Jared Redick, who runs The Résumé Studio. If you watch the video, you can tell that Jared is an incredibly smart guy: the way he organizes the presentation, the way he explains the materials, the way he responds to questions—this guy knows his stuff. And while, granted, the idea of a résumé writer might seem silly to some of us (what, you can't write that stuff on your own?), for a guy charging $180 an hour in a city where anything can be bought with money, we were lucky to have a workshop with him at no cost to us.

Throughout the workshop many participants expressed that the practical advice he was giving us was helpful. And at one point (about an hour and 13 minutes into the video of the workshop), a participant asked the question of how we might make something like our dissertation a component in our résumé—when, in reality, a "dissertation" doesn't really mean much to many employers. 

What irked me was not the participant's question (which was valid), or even Jared's response to it (which was thoughtful). It was the reaction of the room when Jared illustrated the concern of the participant—that people outside of academia don't know what a dissertation is, or even what it looks like. (If you are curious, you can watch the video from where the participant starts her question, or fast forward to about 1:15:30 to watch the point of concern.)

For those who want a textual summary: Jared makes, in his response to the question, a reference to a "50-page dissertation" that someone might mention in a résumé. Of course, Ph.D. students in the throes of qualifying or ABDness know that this is ridiculous. So they laugh. And when Jared reacts with humor and good nature—to diffuse the awkwardness he had created—they laugh more. But what you don't get from the video is that the laugh emitted by the students was simultaneously one of incredulity as well as scoff. And as I sat there in the room, I identified it as one that was scoffing at Jared, the guy in the front of the room that was helping us learn how to write a good résumé. 

Why did this piss me off so much—this attitude of "I can't believe this guy doesn't know how long a dissertation is!"? Because it's condescending, that's why. And it's precisely the kind of attitude that prevents us from preparing ourselves to be strong candidates on the job market—any job market. It's the attitude that says, "I have a Ph.D.—and that's a big enough deal for me to get a job without making any other effort."

That sounds unfairly mean. And it really is true that most (non-academic) employers wouldn't put much weight on the fact that someone completed a dissertation—or even a Ph.D. program. But that isn't our problem. We can't change what people know or understand; we can only work to develop and present ourselves in the best way so as to make ourselves employable (and attractively so).

And let's face it, the nature of a dissertation (even something as simple as its length) depends on the department, the discipline, even the institution. My literature dissertation is not going to look like a history dissertation. I wouldn't even venture to compare it with an ethnic studies dissertation, or a chemical engineering dissertation...or an education dissertation from a different institution. A million dissertations, a million different things. So, how are employers outside of academia supposed to understand such nuances?

We can also think of things this way: A company isn't going to hire some random 22-year-old just because he has a piece of paper in his hand that has the letters B and A (or S) on it. The employer will want to know: What have you done in the past? What kinds of leadership positions have you held? What can you do for us?

So why would the evaluation of a Ph.D. be any different? No one is going to hire us just because we have a Ph.D.—employers want to know what we've done, and what we can do. In other words: What have we got to show for our efforts?

The point of a job search is to weed out candidates that 1) don't have the qualifications and 2) don't stand out. (Only after that comes the "Does this person fit in with our company culture?" hoop.) If you're lucky, you may actually have the qualifications necessary to do (or even apply for) a particular job. But will you stand out? If the main thing you've got going for you is the fact that you wrote a dissertation, good luck—because you know that every other Ph.D. also has done that. That doesn't make you stand out; that just puts you on par with everyone else.

So what are we supposed to do, as Ph.D. students who will have spent 5+ years in grad school to go on the job market in our late 20s (if we're lucky) and beyond?

The answer is the same as what we might ask of the undergrads in the classes we TA. How are you doing in your classes? What are your extracurricular activities? What kinds of special projects have you done? What kinds of officer positions have you held in organizations? What kinds of work experience do you have?

A strong résumé isn't going to fill itself out while you do your coursework, TA, and write a dissertation. Presenting at conferences is great, publishing even better—but even those are more geared toward a CV, not a résumé. What are your responses to the above questions that you might pose to the undergrads? What kinds of research groups or conferences have you organized? What kinds of grants and fellowships have you received, and what have been their outcomes? What kinds of roles have you filled in student and community groups? What do you have to show for your efforts, as more than just a "researcher" or a "teacher"?

Being a Ph.D. student—and earning that degree—is a lot of work. Those who recognize that, will recognize that. Those who don't, won't. If we're serious about opening up the possibilities of life after grad school, then we need to be serious about the amount of effort we put into building up our résumés. And we can't ever scoff at people for not understanding what we do—because if you're the kind of person who scoffs about that, chances are, your résumé will be something that people will want to scoff at too. 

[Just so you don't think I'm talking out of my hat, here's a story to illustrate just how much scoffing some employers do. Once upon a time my boss and I were screening candidates for an office manager at my old job. We offered some people interviews based on their résumés, and after one of the interviews—in which the candidate had not-so-much the qualifications we needed and not-at-all the company culture we had—my boss marked the applicant's résumé with the words "His tie was ugly" and tossed it aside. And that was that.]

The goal, I think, is this: Be well-rounded. Be humble. Be yourself. Only then can we begin to make the M.A./Ph.D. work postgraduation, whether ac, alt-ac, or non-ac.

夜喫茶 #6: mairo cafe

週末は掃除と図書館の時間です。でも、何週間か前の日曜日は、川名駅の近くの mairo cafe に行ってきました。私が引っ越して来た頃丁度リニューアルオープンだったので、お互いサポートするべき！との事で、やっと行ってきました。

雰囲気はまさに「喫茶店」で、インテリアもとても可愛いです。何と言うか・・・木、木、木。とても暖かい感じです。

メニューのバラエティーも豊富なのですが、私が頼んだのは・・・何だったっけ。アスパラガスと魚介類のリゾット風？とほうじ茶ラテ。ラテは美味しかった〜。リゾット風も美味しかったです。でも。でも、でも、ん〜、これって普通にお家でできるかな、と思いました。折角外で食べるんだったら、自分では作れない物を食べたい！と思う私がセコイのかもしれません。（実はリゾットだったら結構ちゃんとした物が作れるかも。）

ここ数ヶ月間は忙しいので一月の様に外食三昧はできませんが、来週は今後行きたいお店のリストを整理します！！！

All Aboard the Barbie Train

I'm not crazy about hot pink crew neck sweaters or distressed denim on vests, but I don't mind boots (if they're not pink). And I don't mind turquoise so much either, though I admit I'm more often in the mood for coral...

OK, so maybe I don't think that's the greatest outfit or me, but maybe it is a great outfit for someone else. Someone like...

...the All-American Barbie doll. (Produced by Mattel, Inc. in 1991.)

I mean, look! It's almost as if someone saw the All-American Barbie and then tried to come up with a Polyvore set to recreate her outfit or something.

But the story I wanted to tell you was not of turquoise vs. coral, but of my first—and only—Barbie doll. And yes, it was the All-American Barbie doll.

I remember it like it was 24 years ago. It was my first real birthday after having arrived in the United States, and who can believe it, my parents decided to have my birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's. Oh man, I must have been the happiest kid. I really liked ski ball and I loved the corn and croutons at the salad bar even more. (And Thousand Island dressing. I loooved Thousand Island dressing.) So celebrating my birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's? Mind blown.

It's funny, I can't really remember who came—maybe Grace? Thuy? Crystal? But I do remember that one of them got me an All-American Barbie. I couldn't believe it—my very own Barbie. I was so excited, I didn't even know what to do. (Actually, I probably actually didn't know what to do, because the concept of dolls was pretty foreign to me.) What was I supposed to do with it? Feed it? Take it out on walks? Take off its clothes and then realize that I had no other clothes to put on it?

What I ended up doing was cutting her hair so that it would be short like mine, only to learn that Barbie's hair doesn't grow back. Too bad for her. I guess it was fine either way, since I maintained my bowl cut until I entered middle school—so she actually did look like me, except she was blonde.

But you know what was funny? (Not this TV spot for the doll, though it's a pretty good candidate.) I wasn't an All-American kid. To this day, I'm not really sure what that means. (Remember Margaret Cho's "All-American Girl"? I rest my case. (Don't get me wrong, I love Margaret Cho—I'm talking more about the screwed-up-ness of the fact that it only ran for one season.)) In other words, what the hell was a kid like me—an immigrant kid with no interest in Barbie—doing with an All-American Barbie doll?

To be honest, I was really happy about getting that doll—and I was really grateful to my friend for giving it to me as my birthday present. Even though I didn't really get into the whole doll thing (I'm more of a Sylvanian Families type), I feel like I got a taste of what it was like being a commercially represented 7-year-old in the United States. And in some ways, that's probably the closest I'll ever get to being All-American.

伊藤比呂美に人生相談をしたら

Q. 母が私の人生に干渉し過ぎます。私ももう３０なのに。

A. 干渉するのは当たり前です。それが母親の仕事ですから。

確かに３０にもなったら（いや、その前からでも）「もういい加減にしてよっ！」と思うかもしれません。でも、娘がいくつになっても、母親にとって娘は娘です。そして、その干渉は「心配」や「愛情」と言う名の物にすり替えられ、そしていつの間にかありがたく思わなければならない物になるのです。

でも、不思議な事に、本当にそれがありがたい物になる日が来るのです。（このケースが大半を占める。そうでない場合もある。）それは、いつか親がいなくなった日。その時、その「干渉」と言う愛情がなくなってしまって、安心よりも先に、寂しさが訪れるのです。

親を変える事はできません。或る意味、自分も変える事だってできないのですから。そして、親に何かを期待してはいけません。自分が何をしたいか、どう生きたいか。それだけです。そして、いつかやって来てしまうその日まで、できるだけ後悔しない様に生きるだけです。

[してません、伊藤比呂美に、人生相談は。でも、もししたら、こんな感じの答えが帰って来るかもしれない。帰ってこなくても、まぁ、こんな風に生きてみようじゃないか。]

夜喫茶 #5: 味仙

行ってきましたよ〜、皆さん。先日３１アイスクリームに行った日、お夕飯は味仙で頂きました。

ん〜、やっぱり辛いラーメンっちゅ〜モンは美味しいです。何しろ、辛くて熱くて（外は寒くて）ハナミズがダラダラでしたが、とにかく美味しかった。

「台湾ラーメン」自体台湾にはありませんが、そんな事気にしていたら美味いモンが食べられない。味仙は創業５０年だそうで、それはそれは活気付いたお店でした。

結構小さなおどんぶりで、６３０円。でもまぁ、食べてたらこれで結構お腹いっぱいになりました。でも、気をつけなくちゃいけないのは（誰が？私が）、挽肉を上手に麺と一緒に食べないと、最後におどんぶりの底に残ってしまう。あ〜、危うく食べ残す所だった。

と言う訳で、着々と「名古屋で食べたいお店」とやらを食い尽くして行っています。次回は mairo cafe. この分だと、もっと近所にあるお店探しといた方がいいかもしれないな、遠くに行くのめんどいから。

Japan is Licca-fying. (Oh, stop. It's the name of a toy.)

The other day I was on the subway and noticed an ad for honeymoon packages from a travel agency. What I noticed wasn't the advertised product itself (I'm not quite on the market for a honeymoon) but rather the...

OK, so the ad had Licca dolls on it. Or, to be precise, a Licca doll and her...boyfriend (or husband?) doll, whatever his name is. [Disclosure: Actually, at first I thought it was a Jenny doll, because all these dolls look the same to me. And to be honest, I thought "Licca" (リカ) was spelled "Rika", but oh, how ignorant I am.]

And I was like...oh. OH. O. M. G. The young people of Japan are turning into Licca dolls!!!

It's true, folks—or, at least, in my eyes, it's true. The more I looked at the ad, the more I felt like I was seeing merely doll versions of countless couples and young women and men that I had seen walking around in cities of Japan. People with brown hair. Huge eyes. Pale skin. Super skinny limbs.

According to Wikipedia, Licca dolls were developed in the '60s by Takara, with Jenny dolls following suit in the '80s. They both have their backstories (and wardrobes full of pretty clothes), but you can probably imagine the kinds of gender ideologies that have been packed into them over the years.

And of course, since they were manufactured as Japanese versions of Barbie dolls, there's also a particular racial element to that ideology as well. And these have taken on additional layers with globalization and media marketing that spews out all sorts of funny beauty ideals for people all over the place.

I felt more than slightly disturbed. There's nothing wrong with these things, really—dyed hair, makeup that makes your eyes look like those of manga characters. I mean, I think it'd be cool if I could actually learn how to use eyeliner. But...it's also kind of creepy, this whole...looking more and more like a plastic doll thing.

No no, that's not quite what I mean. There's nothing wrong with these things, really—when in ISOLATION. Dyed hair: fine. Makeup techniques that yield astounding before/after photos: fine. Skincare regimens that make your skin look clear, bright, and "white": fine. Plastic surgery of all types: fine. (Well...hmm.) But when taken all together, something about it just unsettles me. But it's also so real. Whoa.

Oh, just listen to me. I sound like such a naysayer. ::sigh:: It's cool, people. Don't mind me. Please carry on looking like the happy plastic couple in the picture. I'll just sit over here in a corner being weirded out...


[But actually, all this thinking about Licca dolls and Jenny dolls has reminded me of my experience with Barbie dolls—or, just one doll, to be precise. I am now itching to tell that story. Maybe next Friday.]

The Privileged Traveler

[Note: I got permission from my friend to blog about his recent visit to Japan. Then he added, "Well, unless you're going to say horrible things and say 'my friend' in quotes or something." I hope he knows that this isn't necessarily about him, but rather what his recent visit made me think.

And the other thing—I can only really talk about what it's like being Japanese, traveling abroad; or seeing how people in Japan react to tourists; or being American, and traveling abroad; or seeing how people in the United States react to tourists. So that's the position from which I'm writing.]

So, my "friend" recently visited Japan (just kidding, he really is a friend, no quotes necessary), and I got to do all sorts of touristy things that I hadn't done because, well, when you live in a city, sometimes you just don't make time for them.

During his visit he spent a part of his time exploring the city by himself, and since my friend doesn't speak Japanese, I asked him how it was for him getting around. He said that there were no problems, that he could order things in eateries, figure out maps and signs, and enjoy Nagoya even if he didn't speak the language.

This conversation and his trip in general got me thinking about those people who might be considered "travel savvy". My friend also travels a lot for work, so he might be a good example of such a savvy traveler. But I got this feeling that there was also something else going on.

When I say "travel savvy",  I'm not talking so much about being able to book cheap flight tickets, find good but not-too-crowded lodgings, and pack five-days-worth of luggage into a small carry-on. I'm talking, instead, about that ability to navigate a city that you don't know, that speaks a language you don't know.

And if that's what we're talking about, I'm not so sure that it's because you're necessarily "travel savvy". It might have more to do with who you are, and what you have.

Because you see, I think that how "savvy" you are at getting around depends a lot on the color of your skin. If you're white, especially if you're visiting a country like Japan, I have a feeling that people around town will be a little bit nicer, a little bit more patient, than if you're not white. I have a feeling that it would be different if you were all sorts of other kinds of Asian, or black, or Middle Eastern, especially in a country like Japan.

I think that how "savvy" you are depends on the language you speak. If you speak English, there are probably a number of countries that you can get around in without encountering too many problems. I mean, just look—most of the major signs in large cities are now written in English (or at least in Romanization). If you're a visitor speaking English in Japan, store clerks will at least feel guilty because they think they should be able to respond to you, so they'll probably try a little harder to understand you (and forgive you for not speaking the language of that country).

But if you speak, say, a European language that isn't English, things will probably be a little different. Even comparing something like French with an Eastern European language that isn't identifiable for many, the level of accommodation will probably differ. And if you speak something that is clearly not what's spoken among pale-skinned people, the point at which people "give up" on you will probably come a lot sooner.

I think that how "savvy" you are depends on whether you're male or female, too. Not because men and women are inherently different, or because certain places are more welcoming or dangerous for one or the other—but because, in practice, it's probably a bit easier for men to be traveling than for women, especially when traveling alone. (I have to think about this a bit more—I'm not convinced by my own point, and I don't want to make assumptions about certain environments. It's just...a guess. And there are, of course, different perks to each positionality.)

I think that how "savvy" you are depends on how threatening you look to other people as well. You'll probably receive more welcome if you're small and attractive than if you're somewhat large and burly-looking. I mean, if people can't figure out whether you're safe for them or not, the situation gets a bit dicier.

And of course, I think that how "savvy" you are depends on the amount of privilege that is implied in you already getting to travel in the first place. Maybe it's not that you're "savvy", really, but that you're in a position where traveling is a part of what you (get to) do—and it's really got nothing to do with how practical and knowledgeable you are. And since money speaks volumes, people are probably a lot more accommodating to people who look like they are going to spend some money in their stores.

So the next time I hear someone described as "travel savvy", I'm going to have to wonder—really?? Is it really that you're savvy, or are people just accommodating you because of so many other factors?

Because I think it's probably the latter.


But who knows! I could be totally wrong. I'm curious to hear other thoughts, especially from people who actually do travel...


[The photo is of Nagoya's famous "golden dolphin" in front of the Kirin beer factory. Although...any idiot can see that that thing is no DOLPHIN...]

夜喫茶 #4: ボンボン

ボンボンは昭和２４年（１９４９）創業の洋菓子屋さんです。甘党の私は既に何度も行ってます。（最初行った時は閉店間際で、それでもケーキ食べてちょっくら仕事して・・・で、お店の人達が感じがよかったです。）

ケーキが美味しいです。飛び抜けて美味しい訳ではないんですが、お店のレトロな雰囲気だけで、「ん〜、幸せ」と感じるお店です。ご夫婦と娘さんで経営している様です。

写真は「アメリカンケーキ」です。何がアメリカンなのかは分かりませんが、まぁとりあえず、そうなんだな〜、と言う気持ちで食べました。（おそらく「シナモン、ナッツ、レーズン」が入って、おまけに「ボリューム満点」だからだと思います。）美味しかった。

他にも色々食べてます。チーズケーキとか、サバランとか。ホント、毎日食べたいです。でも、毎日食べたらおそらく体に悪いです。あ、でも、ランチはカレーやってるので、それでもいいかもしれません。

I Scream (and a Variety of It)

This is what happens when you live by yourself and no one is there to stop you from, or give you dirty looks for, buying a six-pack of ice cream scoops. (And you also happen not to have any self-control.)

Today, after eating some delicious Taiwan ramen (which I will report on later), I stopped by 31 Ice Cream to get myself a treat. Or seven.

I've been a supporter of Baskin-Robbins since August of 2013. The franchise is called "31 Ice Cream" in Japan, though I don't get why.

I don't remember eating ice cream all that often when I was a kid in Japan. After we came to the States, we still didn't eat that much ice cream. (I remember my parents very, very, very occasionally buying a box of Viennetta...remember those??) But during our early years in the States, buying a carton of ice cream was a treat, and buying an ice cream cone at Thrifty Drug Store was even more so.

My go-to flavor from Thrifty was Chocolate Chip. When I was feeling feisty, I would get Mint Chocolate Chip. And when I was feeling zany, I would get Rainbow Sherbet.

My family and I have had our affairs with Dairy Queen (oh, the Hawaiian Blizzard...), and for a time I even flirted with Cold Stone. But then I learned that Dunkin' Donuts owned Baskin-Robbins, and that changed my life forever.

But to be honest, I don't go get Baskin-Robbins all that often. Those occasions are so particular that I can actually remember most of them. Now my go-to flavor is Rum Raisin (and has been, since the time I was living in the Mission and learned how awesome a flavor Malaga was). When I was in Albuquerque last March, I got Bananas Foster (you know, for Mardi Gras). Recently I've gotten Brown Sugar & Cinnamon, or even a double scoop with Brown Sugar & Cinnamon and Apple Sorbet.

See?! What is wrong with me? How come I remember these stupid ice cream flavors, but I can't remember other important things??

Anyway, so today I bought a "Variety Pack" of six small scoops, as well as one kid's scoop, just for kicks. And I realized today that—31 Ice Cream in Japan is...kind of stretchy. Like...rubbery? And I confess, I am not a fan of the Matcha. The Rum Raisin though, as always, is delicious.

Oh, ice cream. Grant that I made eat you, always, with everything.

[Flavors, clockwise from top left: Matcha, Box of Chocolate, Lucky Sheep, Winter White Chocolate, Chocolate Mint, Love Potion #31 Dark. The Rum Raisin was the separate kid's scoop. Mmm. The white chunks in the box are dry ice—which almost burned my hand, because I forgot that the lady at the store told me that...]

GSA #11: On Asking Questions

This past weekend I went to a symposium on the topic of censorship. It was loads of fun—I met some cool people, and I learned a lot.

But there was a frustration in me that culminated at the end of the symposium—a frustration that had been mounting inside me for several years.

It's with the way people ask questions.

This is a totally personal opinion, I know. But I admire people who ask smart, clear, and concise questions. Hence I'm not a fan of people who ask loooong, rambling questions. Or people who give self-serving comments disguised as questions. Or people who ask questions just to show how smart they are, or which books they've read, or which theorists they can cite. (I even got a little weirded out by people who read off what they'd typed out when asking their question—and I was pretty sure it wasn't a language issue.)

I never saw this problem among my undergrads (though that might be because they were afraid I would smack them if inane dribble kept coming out of their mouths). But I've seen it so often among grad students, whether in seminars, workshops, or conferences. And I've seen it among professors, too.

What's going on?! Is it because, when we enter a grad program, we constantly face the pressure to display how brilliant we are? Oh come on, people. I don't know about you, but I'm a fan of displaying brilliance in other ways (not that I can do it, but).

It takes practice, this "asking smart, clear, and concise questions" thing. But I think we'd be better served if we did practice. And I think teachers should actually train their students to do so, too.

Because you know what? One day when I get to serve on a search committee, I'm gonna remember if you asked a good question—and if you didn't. And when I come across your job application or come face to face with you in an interview, I'm going to have no mercy. And just because of your rambling question at some random conference years ago, you will be tested. And if you fail again, I am not giving you that job.

Ask your question, people, and then get the hell off the floor.

[Oooh, I sound particularly vicious in this post! Fun!]

和食、或いは、名古屋で食べたいお店の一覧

先日、辻芳樹（つじよしき）さんの『和食の知られざる世界』と言う本を読み終わりました。２０１３年の１２月に出版された本ですが、私は去年の９月に羽田空港で買いました。

辻さんの本を読んでいると、もっともっと和食の事を知りたい、と思います。色々な物を見て、色々な物を食べたい。もっともっと「食」について勉強したい。もちろん、料理の練習もしたい。

そしてもう一つ思ったのは、色々なお店で食べてみたい、と言う事でした。できれば、今年は名古屋にある美味しいお店にできる限り行ってみたい。と言う訳で、名古屋で食べたいお店のリストを作って見ました。いくつかの理由（地理、予算、趣味、等）でとても偏ったリストになってしまいましたが、食べログの総合ランキングから言うと、Top 20 がこんな感じです。（リンクは全て食べログです。）

1. 吉い
2. 梶川
3. 日本料理　馳惣
4. とんかつあさくら
5. ふじ原
6. 浜源
7. 焼き菓子　ルルー
8. 川口屋
9. セレスティ
10. お料理　京柳
11. トップフルーツ八百文
12. 菓匠　花桔梗
13. 味仙
14. ブルーデル
15. とんかつ　比呂野
16. 勝利亭
17. 沖縄の店　ちゅらやー
18. mairo cafe
19. 実濃忠
20. チュウズデイオフ

こんなに沢山・・・さて、いくつ行けるかな？

On Decisions

I want to make decisions not from a place of fear, but from a place of hope.

Not from a place of guilt, but from a place of warmth.

Not of worry, but of confidence.

Not need, but love.


[This was an exercise in syntax.]

On Gardening

I don't do it. Gardening, I mean. Probably because I never got into the habit, since my dad always has been the one to do things in our yard. (I don't really count weeding as gardening, which was my oft-assigned task.)

But if I were to start, I think my garden would be just dirt, and lots of it, so I can roll around in it with dogs and kids. I'd keep it nice and soft, making sure there weren't chunky rocks or funky roots. Mmmm, soft dirt.

And then I'd also be the one to do the laundry afterwards. Hmm.

Happy New Year! Time for Some Resolutions for 2015!

Happy new year, everyone! (Or, at least to those people who celebrate the new year on January 1st.) 明けましておめでとうございます・・・今年もどうぞよろしく！

While I am not one to stick to new year's resolutions, I saw an article from The Travel Lush about making the most of her remaining time in Indonesia, and it reminded me of all the places I want to visit in Japan/Asia while I'm in Nagoya. So, while certainly not exhaustive, here are some things I want to do this calendar year.

Gain weight—That's right, folks. I am aiming to gain weight this year, 11 pounds to be precise. And I want all of that in muscle, not fat. (Is that even possible? Ideally I'd like to maintain a healthy level of body fat...and then some, for warmth......)

Submit two journal articles—Yeah, I'm not a terribly ambitious one. But I'm starting Wendy Belcher's 12-week program, like, next week, so I've got that to keep me on track. I spent enough of Fall Semester dicking around, so now it's time to really sit down to do some writing.

Travel—Aaahhhh, travel. While I've racked up a good number of miles flying between SoCal and Japan, I really haven't been able to explore the places that have been on my "To Visit" List for a while. I'm focusing my energy on Japan this year, though; the rest of Asia will have to wait, due to time/financial realities. My "50 States Before 50" might get a notch if I use my Southwest miles to fly to Utah or Colorado...but I'll have to see. Which means that the places I should hit up, in descending order of priority/feasibility, are:

• Sites in Nagoya (Nagoya Castle, Tokugawa Art Museum, Shirotori Garden, etc.)
• Meiji-mura (It was basically implied that I'd be a fool if I didn't go.)
• Da-Saitama (Shut up, people...it's my HOME.)
• Hiroshima and Miyajima
• Nagasaki (Totally doable...6 hours each way, for $400 roundtrip? I'm in!)
• Kanazawa
• Okinawa
• Hokkaido

That's a pretty good list to last me for 12 months...given the built-in stays I've scheduled for my time back in the States. Maybe I'll start by going back to Saitama in mid-March...

Swear Less—Yeah, right. This has been an annual resolution since 2002, and it's likely not going away any time soon...

I've been hearing some really inspiring new year's resolutions recently—I'd love to hear more!