Nice sunny day here in Osaka. Too much pollen in the air but that's to be expected round this time of year. Saw my first cherry blossoms of the year. Failed to take a picture since I was on my way to the park to go running. Had a nice run, listened to some good breakbeats, cleaned the house, ironed some shirts, listened to a podcast about the physics of light (so awesome!), then went to my Japanese lesson. One of those days off that just feel peaceful and productive. Even had a nice dinner with my lovely wife.

And then, while I'm watching Die Hard to end off my lovely day, this happens:



No biggie. Probably wouldn't have even noticed if they hadn't flashed a bulletin over John McClane shooting the bad guys. =)
But notice the continued activity in the northeast of Japan.



Symian is: going to watch Die Hard all the way through for like the millionth time.
Currently Reading: とししゅん (Graded Reader)
Currently Listening: Dr Kiki's Science Hour (Science podcast)
Kanji of the Day: 春/ はる / Spring

Also found this funny little laugh (courtesy of "Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal" webcomic) :

Friday

After 3 near perfect days of gym, work, and study, it all came crashing down today as I attempted to get my laptop fixed and was sent from place to place, help desk to help desk. It really wasn't all that frustrating, actually (surprisingly). I kept my patience and was friendly and polite (but clear and firm) with all the staff i met. Most of them were very helpful and even apologetic (you get that a lot in Japan, the I'm-so-sorry-so-sorry-but-it's-difficult-I'm-so-sorry version of "no"). I have found time and again that more gets done and the experience is more satisfying and less scarring if one is polite and friendly to people of whom you are asking a service.

And overall, it was a success ...i think. I have to go in and pick up the 'puter on the morrow and we'll see if they brought it back into this world or just turned it into a zombie. Not a terrible day, just a long, tiring one.

So I thought I would treat myself to a laugh courtesy of Audible.com (awesome place to get digital audiobooks, if you haven't heard).

My choice was not quite as "funny" as i'd expected, but, read by the author, worth every penny:
















"Doing comedy on stage is the ego's last stand."


Symian is: laughing himself to sleep.
Currently Reading / Listening: Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
Kanji of the Day: 気が長い / きがながい / "patient" (idiomatic)

Friday - One week after the quake.

Thank you to Ryo for this picture, though I don't know where he got it.


Good news and bad news:

Good news first: The nuclear crisis in Fukushima finally seems to be within the realm of "under control." Not entirely, and I don't think anyone should stand on a battle ship and declare mission accomplished just yet. But I do now firmly believe that we (here in Osaka) are "safe." Knock on wood. TEPCO has been laying cable to reconnect a steady power source to the pumps to keep cooling the reactors. More help is on the way from the South (firetrucks, rescue workers, doctors).
I have so much admiration and respect for the honorable workers at the nuclear plant who have stayed and fought to keep their country and the world safe from an even greater disaster.


Bad news: The refugee crisis is getting worse. Northeastern Japan is a cold place in March. No heat, no electricity and no fuel means that people who are now homeless or displaced are facing the hardships of cold, snow, and hunger. Japan is a "first world" country. There are systems in place to take care of the elderly, to distribute gasoline and food to shops even in remote areas. Those systems are all broken right now. Refugee centers (school gyms, public halls, and even game centers and malls) are full to capacity, mostly with seniors who need medical attention. Doctors from the North and from the south who have gone to help are swamped and fatigued. It is my sincere hope, as the news reporters leave and run off to the next story, that people both in Japan and around the world will not forget about the refugees in Tohoku (Northeast Japan). They need blankets, fuel, vehicles, and most of all medical supplies and food. I recommend donating to the Red Cross, but I know that's not for everyone. I know that just donating money to relief organizations does not immediately help the problem, but please do whatever you are comfortable with. Find a local group that is doing something tangible to help.

Clearing the rubble and debris and rebuilding will take time. Healing will take time.

Also remember that there are other places in the world that these groups are helping recover from disaster and places that need help on a regular basis.

Links to where you can donate:

Doctors Without Borders
Japan Red Cross Society (You can also donate through the iTunes Store)
Google Crisis Response Site
Save The Children

For a couple years now, I have been using the 1% system to donate to charities. I read about it in an English magazine here in Japan and thought it seemed like a decent idea. Every month I put aside 1% of my salary. 1% is next to nothing, so it is "painless" to put that aside. It is the price of a nice dinner or a few drinks. It is no real sacrifice at all. But over a year, that 1% adds up. Then I donate that 1% to a charity / relief group. Unfortunately, It feels like the last few years have been fraught with disaster after disaster, and so I have yet to actually get to the end of a year without donating to one relief effort or another. 1% is so little effort and so easy. Why not try it?

Fall seven times, stand up eight.
Japanese Proverb
七転八起
(nana korobi ya oki)

aftershocks and go bags

Last night we felt our apartment sway for a moment again as yet another aftershock rolled under us. We live on the 22nd floor (though we are now reconsidering that arrangement), so we tend to notice much more than if we were lower or outside. But they still have to be pretty big for us to notice them here (at least about 6.0). I have felt a few. It is amazing to think how the Earth moves and what we believe to be solid is not solid at all. This quake has had a massive number of aftershocks. There is a very well done animation video showing the occurrence of aftershocks. I almost typed "pattern" but that would be incorrect. My evolved human brain wishes there was a pattern and tries to see one even when there isn't one.

You can see the video here: Japanese Seismic Animation

I will be posting this late since I have not blogged in a while and have been busy this week. Busy doing what, you ask? Mostly busy stressfully obsessing over online news sources, Twitter and Facebook. None of which are particularly helpful or productive.

Ulala and I remain safe in Osaka. We are still carefully watching the news and having regular meetings to assess / re-assess our options. Ulala went to work today but I have the day off (my regular day off). We have our bags ready to go if needed (and I am keeping a close eye on the airline websites, too). We have also sorted out a huge pile of blankets and warm clothes ready to donate as soon as we know exactly where to take them. The cupboards are stocked with a simple but sufficient supply of canned goods, water and other basics. We are not hoarding food or batteries. We are trying to conserve electricity as much as we can to help the electric company divert power northward.

It is strange to watch the news because everyone here in Osaka is going about their lives as normally as possible. They are talking about the disaster and concerned about the nuclear reactor, but mostly people talk about how brave the "Fukushima 50" are and how they hope things will calm down soon. A far cry from most of the English/foreign media, which seems to be lusting for meltdown and catastrophe. Perhaps I am too harsh on them. News is a business, after all. I just feel so very frustrated when I see them fanning fear and paranoia with misleading or ignorant information.


On that note, it is definitely time to get away from the news and take a walk, run some errands, do some shopping.

Earthquake!

At around 2:45 today, as I was sitting at my desk at home studying, the apartment began to sway and roll. It was an earthquake. Here in Japan they are a fairly frequent occurrence. This is not the first one I have felt here at our apartment. But it is still quite nerve-wracking. This one went on for quite some time, as well. No damage to our house or anything though, so that's good.

After turning off the gas and opening the front door, I hopped online to see what people were saying. I also flipped on the TV to see if there was any emergency report. Turns out it was pretty big. Very big. 8.8 big. That's huge. The epicenter appeared to be in or off the coast of Northeast Japan. That is a hotspot for earthquakes, where three tectonic plates converge. It's the reason Japan exists geographically. There was also a tsunami warning for most of the pacific coast. Osaka, where we live, is very far away from the epicenter. All the more amazing that we felt it so strongly.

I texted Ulala at her work to make sure she was OK and she was. Then I checked to see if the trains were running, because I was due soon at work for the evening. Trains were fine and I went to work. At work people talked about it but in a casual hey-did-you-feel-that- kind of way.

It wasn't until I got home much later that I realized the extent of the damage to Japan. Truthfully it will be a long time before we know the full extent. The earthquake did a lot of damage to Tohoku area (Northeast Japan). Much worse, there was a massive tsunami generated by the quake that washed over much of the coast. Many people simply did not have time to escape. That area is devastated. My thoughts and prayers go out to the people there and to their families in this terrible and difficult time.