Personal

What would I do differently in my Japanese journey? Maybe not try at all?  Well, maybe, but there’s more to it than that. When I first started Japanese, I didn’t really know why I was doing it.  I still am not entirely sure, but I think it kind of came down to being my way of dealing with some issues that I was going through at the time.  I think I learned Japanese for much the same reason I started the Lily project.  There was something about that world that attracted… Read More »What I Would Do Different in my Japanese Journey

So a couple of things before I start this post. Thing #1:  This is a post where I take advantage of the fact that no one reads this.  If this post were to somehow, by some miracle, go viral, I will probably remove it. Thing #2: This post is a statement on how things are, not how they should be.  The distinction is very important here, and I’d appreciate it if you, the reader, would keep it in mind. I am a very intelligent person.  In fact, I’d go so far as to say… Read More »Why Japanese Was, and Wasn’t, a Waste of Time.

This blog is nearly six years old now. And tonight I came very close to shutting it down.  I’ve talked about doing that before, and I talked myself out of it, and the primary reason is, I’d just end up spinning another one up anyway.  I can’t stop writing.  I’ve never been able to stop writing. I started learning Japanese in 2018.  The first post here is March, 2018.  It is almost March, 2024.  I started learning Japanese at around the time (give or take) that I started this blog,… Read More »Liminal

Anyone who knows me, knows that I don’t apologize.  For almost anything.  Even if I’m wrong, I take it as a learning experience and consider that I was making the best judgement, decision, or what-not that I could have made at the time.  Apologizing only seems to feed the monster these days, so I just don’t do it.  Even if I’m wrong, I don’t do it. But I’m going to come a bit closer than usual, today. I have a weakness, or a flaw.  Okay, I have plenty, but this… Read More »A Rare Mea Culpa

I have a confession to make.  Well, is it a confession?  I guess it’s something you didn’t know that you will in a few seconds. I hate misspelling, mispronunciation (with caveats), and bad grammar. What I particularly hate is that no one seems to even care about misspelling, mispronunciation, and bad grammar.  To the point where it’s to be found quite regularly in YouTube thumbnails and ad copy.  It’s like no one bothers to do proofreading anymore. In fact, one time I had the absolute temerity to correct someone’s Japanese pronunciation… Read More »Nobody Cares Anymore

I honestly don’t know how to say what I want to here, so I’m going to start with the title and move out from there.  That seems to work for me, sometimes. I have completely stopped my study of Japanese, and I don’t know if I will ever start again.  Quite frankly, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to start again.  Because everytime I engage with Japanese or Japan in any meaningful way, it hurts.  A lot.  And I haven’t quite figured out why. Maybe I feel like I’ve… Read More »Japanese Hurts