NEW!
Tour Guide Straight From Hell
- It's the year 2002 and here I am about to make another confession. I swore to myself and to my readers that this site will not be another one of those angst-ridden, narcissistic, tedious "weblogs", but then for some reason I feel the strong urge to apologize for something, and to do so in public. Since this website is the most public I could ever get, I would like to, with apologies to my readers who expect something less pathetic, make a public apology.

Learning Japanese
Fond Memories: Nihonggo Classes at Nagoya University
When I first came to Nagoya I deeply regretted spurning the books and ignoring the teachers at my old language school, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies' Japanese Language Center for Foreign Students. When I was sent packing to Nagoya and attended my first university classes, I barely understood 10% of the lecture. And I couldn't make friends because I couldn't speak a decent line of Nihonggo. Fortunately, my Nihonggo classes at the university became something like a haven...

Nagoya University
A Disenchanted Student Wails About Her Non-existent Campus Life
Please don't ask me just exactly how I ended up in Nagoya University. Suffice it to say that right now all I can think of is: "Get me outta here!!!" See, I deem it necessary to absolutely loath my uni before I can really start to enjoy it. So first I shall complain about the old crone, and then, once I get to cut my inch-long nails, I shall type a long prose on why this uni is to die for. The reason why I can't write that prose now is because my nails get in the way of touch-typing on my much abused keyboard. And oh, I don't think I shall ever get around to trimming my nails...

Behind the Lens
Capturing the Charm of Nagoya
I entered a photograph & caption contest sponsored by the Nagoya Convention and Visitors Bureau. There were more than 500 entries--I was a Top 8 finalist. Would have done better if only I didn't screw up the text, as that one mattered just as much as the picture. I wrote the world's most boring caption. The photo's okay, actually. It's a multiple exposure of a phallic symbol and a mini rainbow.
View the NCVB webpage where the photo was exhibited