Week 5 Done

Just got word that I will get another yearly contract, my third, so that's a relief. Especially considering that there isn't enough work to keep two of us translators busy, let alone four, and the messed up economy. Like I said, I'm glad I'm not in the real world. And next year I will probably be offered a position as a fabled seishain. Is this the last place in the world where you can get a job for life? And do you really want "job for life" job? The Japanese clamour for a seishain position, but for us westerners, bred to be restless, always wondering "is this it?, a "job for life" can be a scary thing. I guess I can always quit anytime I want.
After only a week of Phase 2, I am really starting to feel bigger and stronger. I think that recovery week really set me up for a big month, and it was a great idea to split the 90 days into three phases. I know with P90 Master I got a bit worn down, especially in the knees and back, because there is no rest period, it's just the same thing week in week out. Your body doesn’t get much of a chance to heal the little tears and sprains, or to just generally recover. I thought after a week of basically stretching and yoga and cardio my performance with weights might have suffered a little, but it's the opposite. For example, in week 3 Legs and Back, I did a total of 55 pull-ups, and that was the day I hurt my knee and had to finish the last half of it the next day, so fatigue didn't play much of a role. Yesterday when I did it, two weeks later, I did a total of 62 pull-ups, all during the one hour workout. Tony and the guys in the video do almost 200!
I have dropped a kilo since I started P90X, and now I'm down to 80 kg. I took the 30 day photos, but I won't post them because there's not much difference from the starting photos, except I'm a little thinner around the waist and toned in the gut, but it's hardly noticeable. I expect the big improvements to come in the last month, when I will be busting my ass in the Summer heat and I have lost more fat and put on more muscle.
Surprisingly, I'm really enjoying Footy Classified this year. Last year I thought it was a little too combative, but I think that Grant Thomas has lightened everyone up a bit. On The Couch? Dunno. "Do you think (insert team here) can still make the finals?" You can only ask that question so many times. Different kinds of shows, I guess. I heard Dunstall went apeshit in the MMM booth. Pressure's on Hawthorn, I hope we can pump them again like we did in round 2, not even 3 months ago (weird fixture). Oh yea, and Terry Wallace is gone. Who would want to coach the Tigers? Give Nathan Buckley whatever he wants, whatever it takes to get him to Tigerland. That would be my advice. Give him five million dollars. Do the coaches fall under the salary cap?
So I said in a previous post that I have to do something to make my living here more enjoyable. Probably the most beneficial thing I could do is get better at Japanese. If I were to come home to Australia and have a job interview and present my Japanese qualifications, I would be embarrassed. Ten years, and that's all you could manage?
Every year, or twice a year from this year, the Japanese government holds the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. It's the standard measurement. There are four levels, 4 to 1, 4 being the lowest. I have level 3, which I got in 2002, and I could probably pass level 2 now, but I haven't bothered taking the test for years. My resume says I have my level 2, but it's wrong. Level 2 is hard, and Level 1 is really, really hard. You need level 1 to get an interview at a consulate or major Japanese company these days. So bottom line, I should have it now, and I need to get it soon.
Using the discipline I have been able to apply to my exercise, I want to begin studying Japanese again. I've got a stackload of books, and I'm going to work through them bit by bit. I'll get my Level 2 in December, and then the goal is to get my Level 1 in July next year, and failing that, definitely December next year.
In Japanese, there are three alphabets. Kanji, the Chinese symbols that have meaning, ie. 車 = car. Hiragana, which is phonetic language and largely used for things like in, at, with, on, from, until etc, and Katakana, another phonetic alphabet used for "loan words" or words and concepts from other countries. Coca cola, Jim, communication etc. But the Japanese take these words and change them, usually making them shorter, like restructuring becomes (リストラ) - risutora, or demonstration becomes demo (デモ). Karaoke comes from "kara" meaning empty and "oke" from the Katakana word from "orchestra". They can be pretty inventive. So I thought I'd give a word each post for a laugh, and to get me a little more involved with the language. Today's word is スキンシップ "skinship". It means a close physical friendship, but it also refers to the idea in parenting that physical contact is important in a child's upbringing.

Back on Track

I went to the chiropractor on Saturday. First, a young woman warmed me up. She was wearing a mask, maybe because of hay fever, which is rampant here, so it was hard to tell how cute she was. I thought it was just going to be her for forty minutes, which I wouldn't have minded except there wouldn't be any cracking going on. We did a bit of small talk. Then she told me to wait, and she went into another room and told a man that the patient was ready. A guy came out, maybe fortyish, also wearing a mask. Maybe it's a health service thing, like doctors and gowns. Anyway, he massaged me a little more strongly, and we chatted. He asked me what brought me to Japan and I said I didn't know. When I finished uni I didn't really want to get a job, so I called a friend who was in Japan and he said it was fun, and here I am almost ten years later, still here. I said I think I've lasted so long because I wasn't interested in Japan. No stupid anime or samurai bullshit like what brings a lot of people. When they get here, they are like, Hey, there aren't any samurai here! Where are the cute pre-pubescent girls with the shirt skirts? Well, actually, they are here, but it gets kind of sickening after a while seeing twelve year old girls dressing like prostitutes do back home. Anyway, it's not what they were led to believe Japan was like. I had no preconceptions, so I wasn't disappointed, I said, or more like, me no before image of Japan, so no sad when come here. It seemed like he understood. Then he started massaging my neck, and he said that one bone was out of position, then he said, "Please release your neck power." Then CRUNCH. I have to admit I started giggling like a fool. I was still giggling when he did the other side. I kept thinking that this was the physical equivalent of when a psychologist makes a breakthrough with a patient, and the patient cries because of the release of tension after all those years of keeping it bottled up inside. He then cracked my back. He had me sit down on the bench, and then from behind kind of got up over me and pushed down on the back of my neck. For a moment I had an image of him snapping my back in half and slamming my face into my own crotch, and I wanted to say Hey! No! but he did three quick pulses, one - lower back cracks, two - middle back, and three - upper back. Amazing. I paid the money (about $40) and went home, feeling immediately better, especially in the neck. I'd like to go back there every three months and get my neck cracked routinely.
We are getting really busy at work recently. A co-worker has a theory, and he's probably right. Things are getting tight, so everyone feels that they have to justify their position, so they write a lot of meaningless reports which we have to translate. Also, we are squeezing 5 days work into 3. I don't mind at all, because the day goes faster when I'm working hard.
I've nearly finished No Pause Week - Redux. Going well. I'm thankful my back is better - not 100% yet, but getting stronger. I didn't have a lot of junk on the weekend, but I didn't drink enough water and I got a headache yesterday afternoon. I get those Sunday arvo headaches quite often. I don't drink nearly as much water on the weekends as I do during the week.
Nothing much else to report. I enjoyed reading about how Ben Cousins forgot he was a drug addict after a knock to the head last week. I can imagine the scene. Ben, you're a recovering drug addict. Really, oh my god. You missed a year and a half of football. Jeez, that's terrible. Now you play for Richmond. WHAT THE FUCK!? THIS IS NOT HAPPENING! NO!!!!!!!!
Go Tiges 09. Position 09, that is. Mwa-ha-ha-ha. That's right. And if you Richmond supporters have an issue with this, leave a comment!

Week 6 underway

Tough day today. My back is hurting where I bumped it when I stacked my bicycle. It's wierd because it hurts more now than the day after i did it. It feels like a little pulled muscle, and it might be, but it is in the same spot that I bumped it. Knees are sore too, but it's just a genral soreness. Neck is tight, too. I probably should have done the P90X stretch workout yesterday. I thought about it, but then I thought, hey, it's my rest day. Rest!
I had Plyo this morning. Man, it is tough. After ten minutes in I felt like pressing stop and trying again after work. The squats! I am much stronger than I was when I started P90 Master, but I'm still pressing pause to get my breath back a few times. I think I'll make that the goal next week, the 7th week. "No Pause Week."
But I did it, and the porridge, toast, and protein shake were extra good. Lunch today was egg, eggplant, and tofu, all covered with a generous dollup of miso. Mmmmmiso. Had my Kitcat too.
This week I'll pay a little more attention to what I eat, ease off the chocolate and coffee, and see how I go with the smaller bag of chips.
I can't believe Ramses and Tania got voted off Biggest Loser. I'm sick of that sooky sister. Watching it, I sometimes wonder how I'd go on the show, but then I remember they'd never let me on because I'm not an OBESE PIG!

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!
Yesterday was a beautiful day. About 18 degrees, blue skies, nice breeze. It's hard to believe that a year and a week ago it snowed about a foot. The other day I did Sculpt 5-6, and I don't think I could have done another push up or bicep curl to save my life so I think I'll only do them after Plyo, Core Cardio, Sweat 5-6, and UML. I won't do them after Sculpt because I can't, and Core Cardio goes for almost an hour and I'm too buggered after that to do anything also. Friday was the 30th day, so I took a photo. Meh.
I've got a four day working week this week! How will I cope? Also, it's Valentine's Day this week, isn't it. So I'll be getting lots of chocolate. What? You ask. Is Jim so popular with the ladies? Hahaha, no. They are obliged to give me chocolate. Any female co-worker I'm on first name basis with (or last name, in Japan) will give me chocolate. What the Japanese have done, and it's brilliant, is to take any of the romance and passion out of Valentine's Day and turn it into a social obligation and a chore. But this is the real genius. I don't have to give the ladies anything on Valentine's Day. Nothing. However, I do have to give them something on "White Day," which is around mid-March. First celebrated in 1978, White Day was started by the National Confectionery Industry Association of Japan. They created another day out of thin air where men are obliged to buy something in response to Valentine's Day. Wow. One thing about the Japanese, they do what they are told. But then, think of it this way. Valentine's day before 1978. You buy something for the person you fancy, and you give them chocolate. Then they are embarrassed because they have nothing for you in return, and you are embarrassed because you realize they do not share you feelings. Awkward. With White Day, this embarrassment is avoided. There is no need to be concerned. Everything is safe. Ahhhh.
I'm watching a BBC documentary series called "Blood and Guts - A History of Surgery." Amazing. I'm also watching "The Biggest Loser" which has just started. This time it's with couples. It amazes me that people let themselves get so fat. My god it looks terrible. And the accent! Why do Australian women always go up an octave on the last syllable of a sentence? I think it's to indicate that they haven't stopped expressing their opinion just in case someone else wants to get a word in. Kind of a pre-emptive measure. Anyway, I'm looking forward to watching them get their asses kicked.

Here are some photos of my new bike and my grazed knee.

Stacked my bike

I came off my bicycle riding home from the train station last night. It was dark and wet, and really hard to see, and I was kind of tuned in to the podcast I was listening to, when I noticed an old guy on a bike coming straight at me. He must have been only a couple of meters away when I noticed, and I was cruising at a reasonable speed. I don't know if he saw me or not. I have a light on my bike, and it was on. He didn't have a light on his bike. I bought my bike a month ago, a nice mountain bike. I kind of panicked and braked too hard, and the front brake worked too well and sent me flying over the handlebars and under this old guy's bike. "Abunai!" he said. "Look out!" and he came down on top of me. He got up and saw that I was a foreigner and rode off without another word. I would have been surprised if he didn't do that. I picked myself up and checked out the damage. Scraped left knee. My poor left knee! Scraped left elbow. And a pain just below my left shoulder where I must have fell on something pointy, handlebars maybe. A day later and I'm a little sore, but nothing permanent. I did Plyo this morning with no dramas. I am also going to do maximum pushups and maximum bicep curls before each warm down because there's not enough of that in P90 Master. I did 25 and 17 respectively this morning, not bad considering I was absolutely stuffed and sore from the stack. Also, I need to concentrate more on supplements and snacks, because every afternoon around three I'm toast.
There are too many old people here. And they don't sit inside and watch TV or whatever like they do in Australia. Here they are out and about all the time. Shopping, walking their dogs, riding bikes and scooters. It's terrible. There should be a public campaign here like there has been in Australia since I can remember that makes old people believe that the world is a scary place and if they set foot outside of their house or retirement village they will be bashed. I'm sure the old guy got a shock when he suddenly sees this guy flying through the air towards him. He's probably still wondering what happened. Ha!
BTW, here's the video Will loves. You might have seen it already.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4KiRV2qrZk

Week 4 done

Week 4 done and dusted. I set my alarm for 5:10 this morning, but for some reason I woke up at 4:20. I needed to go to the toilet, but I knew that if I get up the cat would get up too, and then it wouldn't let up until I fed it. So I kind of dozed for ten minutes before the cat started kissing me. Having a wet cat nose on my lips wakes me up instantly. Briefly the thought "Feed the cat, go back to bed, do the workout tonight after work" flashed through my skull, but I slapped it down straight away. Got up, fed the cat. Junko's dad was up and ready to go to the market after his morning shit, so we said good morning and he was off. Fed the cat, and downstairs in the garage and ready to go at 4:40. Bit early, but Cardio Intervals is the longest workout (50 minutes, plus the pauses I need to get my breath back), and I could have a long shower and leisurely breakfast afterwards.
I really enjoy this workout. It's hard work, but it sure makes me sweat. 2 rounds of eleven exercises, each exercise one minute each, 20 seconds mild, 20 seconds medium, and 20 seconds intense. By the end of the first round I'm sweating and panting, and then we do it again. It's a nice one to finish the week of workouts on.
Had a shower, and made breakfast. 2 slices of bread-machine bread with homemade jam, protein + banana shake, and a bowl of porridge. Will woke up early too. Junko's coughing woke him up probably. She's got a cold, and she's the loudest cougher in the world, I swear. They come without warning. No intake of breath beforehand, just COUGH! It's hard not to tell her to shut up, but then if I was sick I wouldn't want someone to tell me to shut up. How's the empathy? Actually, I have told her to shut up a few times. But not as often as I'd like to.
So Will comes in while I'm at the computer reading the news, and he wants to watch "snake." If you go to Youtube and search for "courage fail" you can watch it. A tiny lizard jumps onto to a television presenter and this guy is paralyzed with fear for a moment and falls over. Will laughs and laughs.
I'm at work now. There is nothing to do. No work at all. There are four English translators here, and none of us have any work to do. It would make it hard to justify keeping all of us on with things as they are, except nobody knows how things are, so as long as we just tell everyone we are busy like everyone else does, then they will only suspect that we are not busy but not know for certain.
I've got the 30 day photos coming up next week. I hope to see some improvements, but I don't think I will. P90 Master is more about stamina and core strength than lifting weights, so I don't think there will be any difference. You never know though.
See you next week.