TransGraphik Est+Ouest

LRT | LRT

2012-02-08T20:42:00.002-05:00

My friend pointed out that there are many misunderstandings about LRT among those who think subway is better than LRT in Toronto. I totally agree with him. There are, of course, pros and cons between LRT and subway, but LRT can be like the one in Calgary (in the above movie, West LRT is under construction in Calgary to connect between the west part of the city and its terminal station in the

This Blue | この青さ

2012-02-05T13:18:00.000-05:00

From Computer So, I am unemployed now. Whether I like it or not, I am unemployed. I liked it only for the first week and I am starting to hate it now. I want to work toward the future. I need a job so that I can (maybe) afford part-time classes. Because I am unemployed, I have completed one thing that I have been thinking about doing over years. At this age – ah well, I guess it doesn't matter

Shonen Jump | 少年ジャンプ

2012-01-27T09:11:00.001-05:00

From Mobile 2012 I have heard that Shonen Jump was started to publish internationally a few years ago. I finally saw it at a bookstore in Toronto downtown yesterday. It looks like monthly magazine and $7.99 (what? It seems expensive). I was killing some time before dinner, so I started to read "One Piece" that I am not familiar with at all. I guess "One Piece" phenomenon is equivalent to "

Unemployment | 失業

2012-01-24T12:01:00.003-05:00

From Mobile 2012 I seem not be able to collect a gold watch again. Yeah, I know I live in a wrong era. I am getting laid off again. This will be the second time in my life. Expect 2 or 3 more times of this moment in my life? Continents and islands are moving constantly on the plate-tectonics movement millimetres by millimetres. Nothing is stable on this planet, either. 金の時計はいつまで

Paris | パリ

2012-01-23T22:38:00.000-05:00

From Mobile 2012 Was it in 1997? Paris after Texas with a moratorium before becoming an adult in Osaka. In (I think it was) December, 1997 just before Christmas, I went to Paris to see my friends that I met in Killeen, Texas where I studied English as a second language. Paris, (after) Texas. Funny. I bought the gloves at A.P.C. store in Paris at the time. These were the only ones

Multitasking Skills and I | マルチタスキング・スキルと僕

2012-01-18T23:48:00.000-05:00

From Computer I am always skeptical about multitasking and there's a lie in my résumé. Strong multitasking skills (Since everyone lists such a skill in the résumé, I am seriously omitting that line.) Although people say they are multitasking, I wonder how many of them are real ones. To be honest with you, I am not. At all. Better or worse, I can focus only on one subject, one task, and one

21 Years Ago | 21年前

2012-01-16T23:45:00.000-05:00

From Computer 21 years ago. I was 14 years old and I was in the second year of junior high. A typical school system in Japan:6 years of elementary (Mandatory, equivalent to grade 1 to 6 in Ontario) 3 years of junior high (Mandatory, equivalent to grade 7 to 9 in Ontario)3 years of senior high (Optional but 99% of people will continue after junior high, equivalent to grade 10 to 12 in Ontario)

Endless | きりがない

2012-01-12T14:51:00.002-05:00

From Mobile 2012 I don't hate to study. I would rather study constantly, maybe attending school. Though, you know it costs. I wasn't able to afford to get any other education last couple of years because I was repaying my student loan. Can you please give us some opportunity to make some money? It's rather endless... Don't take me wrong. It's not that I give up. 勉強は嫌いじゃない。

Gundam | 燃え上がる

2012-01-11T13:35:00.001-05:00

From Mobile 2012 Are you a new type? (In the series of Gundam, a Japanese animation, new type is referred to people who have psychic abilities (if my memory wasn't wrong at all).) My long-time friend in Tokyo gave me a plastic model of the Gundam figure (limited, semi-transparent version!) for my birthday gift. Yay! He is now protecting my apartment. 君はニュータイプなのか？東京の古い友人が限定版ガンダムの

Akira | アキラ

2012-01-08T14:10:00.002-05:00

From Mobile 2012 When this movie was released in 1987, I was only 11 years old. I didn't know this movie until I became a bit later in my teens. I got interested and borrowed this movie at the video store only because the movie title is the same name as my dad's name. With the world instability in the Cold War, "the end of the world" was more realistic with a possible nuclear war. I

If there are any meanings in it | そこに何かの意味があるのなら

2012-01-03T12:37:00.001-05:00

From Mobile 2012 I don't dream while sleeping most of the time. Actually, I heard that humans have dreams every night sleep, so I think it's better to say that I don't remember any dreams every night. I had first dream of 2012 finally on January 3 – rather weird dream. It was in Japanese. Someone's welcome party is being held at my home in Japan. The party looks like a one that university

Sayonara and Hello | さよならそしてハロー

2011-12-31T19:13:00.003-05:00

From Mobile How fast have 365 days flown? 2011 will be gone and a new year will start soon. 2012 is year of dragon in Chinese zodiac and it will be my year. 12 years have passed since I became a Canadian resident. What did I accomplish in these 12 years? Could I have done better? Reflections, resolutions, and achievements. I will go into the next 12 years. I am not young anymore

Angry but Powerless | 非力と怒り

2011-12-26T16:52:00.002-05:00

From Mobile It is the end of a year so it is the end of a month, too. It's time to get a new Metropass (a monthly transit pass in Toronto). It was $121 for a Metropass last year, now it costs $126. My pay doesn't grow as quickly as the city raises its service fees! (Also, I am losing my job next month.) Grocery is getting ridiculously expensive, too, nowadays. What? Am I becoming a

December 24 | 12月24日

2011-12-25T10:38:00.002-05:00

From Computer I got a happy birthday email from my older niece – so many decorations. She uses her Disney phone from Softbank (a mobile provider in Japan). She is 12 years old and she will be entering junior high next spring (a school year starts in April in Japan). I wish I could have spent more time with her before entering her adolescent. Ah well, I chose to live far away from my family

Emotion and Speed | 感情とスピード

2011-12-21T14:15:00.002-05:00

From Mobile Think about what I can offer, instead of what I can take. My emotion occasionally speeds up too easily. Hard to breathe even. It's like when you can't breathe in the water although you see the dancing sun above the water. Think about what I can share, instead of what I can occupy. My mind starts to expand over the border of my brain. Hard to keep in the shape. It's like

Christmas Card | 黒やぎさんたら読まずに、食べるかい！

2011-12-20T00:17:00.002-05:00

From Mobile I got 2 Christmas cards in my mailbox today. I got such warmth from the cards, so I decided to reply. I am not religious at all but I don't seem to be able to avoid to feel Christmas spirit because of my stupid birthday every year. Merry Christmas★ (lol) 郵便受けにクリスマスカードが2枚届いていた。カードを読むとなんだか暖かくなり、返事を書く事にした。宗教なんて・・・だけど、クリスマスの雰囲気に飲まれないようにすることは、僕の誕生日のせいで無理みたい。メリー・クリスマス★（笑）

Happy Holidays

2011-12-13T14:34:00.000-05:00

From Computer At the Distillery District, Toronto, Canada カナダ　トロント　ディスティレリー・ディストリクト

Big, Big Moon | 大きな、大きな月

2011-12-11T15:14:00.001-05:00

From Mobile It was a night with such a big full moon above us. It was very bright. I walked in the cold weather wearing a heavy winter jacket first time this winter. Looking up in the sky, there, it is the roundest, brightest, and the biggest full moon I have ever seen. Something would happen at night with such a full moon? Yeah, really. I didn't feel cold at all until I caught my

Drive, Drive | ドライブ、ドライブ

2011-12-10T19:36:00.001-05:00

From Mobile Called up friends Planned a day trip Rent a car Yaris was the car that I drove It was an okay driving all the way there and back? Used self-serve gas station first time in 16 years? since I was driving in Texas Now, I started to think about more of the road trips I know that I will drive back to Killeen, Texas sometime though 友達呼んでデイトリップの計画立てて車を借りた Yarisが僕

Domo-kun | どーもくん

2011-12-05T10:45:00.001-05:00

From Mobile Domo-kun is a mascot character for NHK (Nippon Hoso Kyokai (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)). NHK is equivalent to CBC in Canada and BBC in the UK. From the bus to Eglinton West, I found him in front of a public school. Domo-kun seems to be quite popular in Toronto and the GTA because I have seen him a lot and often at stores? I wonder NHK knows how popular Domo-kun is

A Song from 1990 | 1990年の歌

2011-12-02T12:37:00.001-05:00

This is one of my favourite songs from the 90s. 「さよなら人類」 "Sayonara, Jinrui (Farewell, Human Beings)" I translated the lyrics (lol): She is breathing with exhaling carbon dioxide Under the thick clouds, it is swaying in the wind as being a bud A stray dog tries out his wilderness by holding my bone in his mouth The moon falls down to back array and the dog’s eyes become square Human beings

25 Don Mills | 25 Don Mills

2011-11-29T21:46:00.001-05:00

From Mobile Beacause I watched Degrassi on the TV at the gym tonight, I recalled my college building that I attended for 2 years back in 1998 ~ 1999. Just one or two stops north from Pape station. I went to the Starbucks on Danforth often when I was on my break, without knowing I would work as a barista later at this location. I saw hails falling from the sky first time in my life while

Maple Leaf Gardens | メープル・リーフ・ガーデンズ

2011-11-28T19:59:00.001-05:00

From Mobile This was the home arena of NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs. It is now turning into a complex of a grocery store and Ryerson University's athletic facilities. I have seen people in a line for Oasis and the Cardigans concerts when I moved to Toronto. Then, the arena was used for some movie shootings and it was kind of abandoned until recently. Finally, the building comes back

HWY427 | HWY427

2011-11-23T20:40:00.001-05:00

From Mobile This is Highway 427 that runs from north to south on the edge of western Toronto. Where the sun hits the ground, it's called Mississauga. Or not. Obviously, I wasn't into writing this month at all. I will grow older again soon (or have I already got old?). I noticed one thing about myself this year. I do repeat the same thing but in a better way. Better or worse.

Lazy Sunday | お気楽日曜日

2011-11-13T22:14:00.001-05:00

From Mobile It was a lazy Sunday so I drew a picture. I feel happy to spend a Sunday indoor like this once in a while. お気楽な日曜日。だから絵を描いた。こんな日曜日の屋内での過ごし方を、時に幸せに感じる。