Run Run Run as Fast as You Can…
Whew! Got so much stuff done today – I feel really accomplished.
Today, I:
- Finally got The Gun up and running today
- Got my blood-draw for my annual HIV test done
- Picked up a new pair of boots to replace the ones that were stolen
- Got a much-needed haircut
- Got my bike put away into storage for this coming underway (still gotta clean the rust from leaving it out last time)
- Placed an order for a gift
- Went to Yokohama and picked up some replacements for other stuff that got stolen from me (yeah, I think we got some bad eggs in the recent wave of n00bs)
- Met up with my fiance for a light dinner and some hugs
Also of note: anyone who’s been paying attention would have noticed that I’ve been making use of my iPod-via-PocketWiFi to post Tweets. Nice to finally be able to Tweet on the go as people are supposed to. Being in Japan has hampered me in that respect because they don’t really use the SMS Messaging for their phones that Twitter relies on. Instead, they use email. Yes, real email. I know it sounds weird, but when you think about it tying an email account to your phone the same way you tie in SMS Messages is a lot more practical. Unfortunately, this means that you can’t Tweet from your phone like you usually do in Japan. Instead you have to rely on third party apps or using Twitter’s mobile website.
However, if you got an iPhone in Japan (or a similar sort of smart phone) then it’s as easy as downloading the app of your choice and having at it. iPhones don’t have IC Chip functionality, though – my favorite J-phone feature, as it is used for all sorts of things here, from club cards to cash cards. So, my preferred combo is to have my phone with me, along with my iPod Touch and my PocketWiFi.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking. If I have an iPod Touch with a mobile broadband gateway device, then why don’t I just use it for email and replace the voice convos with Skype? Sure be nice. For one thing, though, I would have to start relying on a PassMo or Suica card for getting around on the trains. And even then I wouldn’t be able to use that for point-clubs – those come on seperate cards, whereas on a phone you can assign them all to your one IC Chip on the phone.
For another, I need to maintain a local Japanese phone number for my Ship to be able to get into contact with me in the event there is a Liberty Recall. I’ve been fortunate in that whenever this has happened in the past (grand total of two times in my career thus far) I was on Duty. Having a cell phone is the best way to do this.
Anyhow, I gotta wrap this day up. I am tired from all my running around today and I need my rest for tomorrow.
The Sounds of Silence…
Sorry about the quiet these last couple of weeks, folks. Navy life bit me hard in the posterior, as you all know. Hopefully things will begin to ease up soon.
Things have settled down a bit now that I’m getting back into a rhythm. I still need to work on it, though, to add things like more time to study Japanese and setting aside time for physical training. We’re getting an operational waiver (again!) for this assessment, but that doesn’t mean I should just sit back and get fat. 😛
Sleep continues to be an issue for me (as the time-stamp on this post may indicate). It’s so difficult for me to get into the habit of going to bed early and sticking with it – all it takes is one late night or two and I’m back to where I began. Wonder if I should speak with a psychologist about it. Being descended from an ethnic group that sleeps through the hottest parts of the day probably doesn’t help, either.
One bit of good news I do have to report is that my writing has been progressing despite the situation. Cutting back on my work in Fenspace was a good call and has left me with more mental bandwidth to focus on other projects. Really, I should honestly only work on one project at a time… maybe two if things are particularly quiet. But anyhow, I’ll be wrapping up Chapter 6 of DSKSWDYHMS over the next week or so here and setting it aside with everything else for polishing edits (thorough spelling and grammar checks) and I’ve already got a modest start on Chapter 7.
Just hope that I can keep things together.
Lost in Japan 