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Why Japanese Was, and Wasn’t, a Waste of Time.

Why Japanese Was, and Wasn’t, a Waste of Time.

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.

Liminal

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

Japan

Before I work today, I have a post I need to make.  I’m making this post because I need to make it.  The only real choice I have, really, is whether I post it privately, or publicly, and for now I chose publicly. Japan hurts, and I don’t know why. When I first started learning Japanese, I did so because I felt a strong attraction to the language, country, and people.  I don’t have this feeling about any other country.  There are countries I absolutely loathe (Russia, North Korea), countries I… Read More »Japan

A Rare Mea Culpa

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

Nobody Cares Anymore

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

Fluency in Language and Music

One things that people don’t know about me is that I am – or at least was at one time – a pretty accomplished pianist.  I’ve played professionally.  Specifically, in the community theater productions of a small town in Iowa.  Long story. But last night I was just playing around on the piano – I’ve given up practicing and performing a while ago – and I realized that being proficient at the piano is not that much different than being proficient at a language, such as Japanese.  You put in… Read More »Fluency in Language and Music

The Three Japanese Cultures

Hi!  It’s been a while since I posted here, so I have a lot to say.  Truth be told, I don’t really think I’m fond of the blogging method of expressing myself, but I haven’t come up with anything better yet.  I’m working on it, though!  First, an update. The Lily project (https://lovelylilylives.com, in case you didn’t know) is almost a year old now!  In that time, the story has progressed from a sweet but confused girl who didn’t know who she was, to a sweet but confused girl who… Read More »The Three Japanese Cultures

Japanese Hurts

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

Japanese: a Failed Experiment – Part Deux

I attempted to write this post previously but it took on a tone I didn’t like, so I’m going to try to redo it.  Last time I talked about why I consider learning Japanese a personal failure.  Now I want to talk about why I don’t think it is. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I failed at Japanese.  But it did serve a very important purpose, and I may yet pursue it for other reasons or considerations. I remember when I first truly became interested in learning Japanese.  I don’t… Read More »Japanese: a Failed Experiment – Part Deux

Japanese: a Failed Experiment (But Not Entirely)

Ever since I began this blog, there have been a few ongoing themes.  The one that really permeated the entire blog was the following question:  Why am I bothering?  Over the last few years, it’s perhaps the most important question, and the one I had the most difficulty answering. I think I might have the answer.  And it ties together nearly all of the threads that have been weaving this blog from the very beginning.  So let me start. The first thread was:  why I started to learn Japanese.  Something… Read More »Japanese: a Failed Experiment (But Not Entirely)