Monthly Archives: June 2016

The Problem With Health Checks

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I had to break a woman’s heart and make her life more difficult. Oddly, we are neither dating nor married. Also oddly. I have to do what she tells me. Sort of.

I am approaching my annual mandatory health check (a by-product of being older than 40 and on the national health insurance) and it started with a positive email from the company I work for. Ms. Sigh (not her real name) told me it was time for my annual health check and after I told her “No barium” she told me my health check was at the end of June.

The problem is, as I told her, the end of June is one of the busiest times of the term and to go to health check I’d have to miss classes at the school where I work. Even worse, because I’d have to have camera shoved down my throat I’d be both irritable and hungry once I returned to work. (After getting the camera I’m not supposed to eat for a few hours.) Also, my voice would be hoarse and I’d be grumpier than normal.

Note: Ms. Sigh has no clue what happens during the health check and doesn’t understand that I’ll need a nap not a lesson plan once I’m finished.

Oddly, this same thing happened last year except the staff of the company I work for showed up at the school where I work and announced I’d have to do the health check and one of my colleagues could cover my classes. This led to exploding heads and lots of angry phone calls so I’m surprised they tried this again.

I don’t mind the health checks, but I can’t miss work, especially at the end of the term when we are preparing for final exams and i’ll be missing final classes.

As of now all I know is I will have a health check “someday”. Sigh.

Review of Beyond the Red by Gabe Cole Novoa (under his former pseudonym Ava Jae) 

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(January 29, 2022. After some website technical difficulties, this post has been given a much belated, and much needed update.)

Eros wakes up to find a knife at his throat. This turns out to be the best part of his day.

A few minutes later, Eros, a half-human half-alien (more on that in a minute) male, suddenly finds himself fleeing across the desert as his fellow nomadic humans are massacred or captured behind him.

This whirlwind start to Gabe Cole Novoa’s Beyond the Red is sustained for an impressive amount of time as the action always has a strong sense of movement and place. Eros is eventually captured and finds himself turned into a slave for the Sepharon, the indigenous population of the planet. (The humans, who arrived generations before to settle the planet and lost the ensuing battle are, technically, the aliens, depending on your point of view.)

In a brilliant sequence of world building, Novoa walks us through the steps the human captives go through to become slaves. They are given drugs to keep them calm, Nanites to keep them controlled, and, a pleasant bath that turns them pale white to distinguish them from the dark-skinned Sepharon. That last step is probably my favorite detail in the entire sequence.

At the same time, Princess Kora, the ruler of the Sepharon, is dealing with being the first female ruler of her people in countless generations. She is not liked by the people or by her younger (by a few minutes) twin brother. Partly as a way to please the people and show she’s tough, she is the one who allowed the massacre of Eros’ camp as part of a project to rid the planet of the pesky group of invading human pests.

Through a twist involving hormones and a lucky meeting, Eros becomes Kora’s personal slave and bodyguard and they start an odd relationship full of tender moments and sexual tension.

Because this is a Young Adult book, the relationship remains relatively chaste, although it does have its steamy moments. I like the banter and flirting that goes on between Kora and Eros. Eros’ struggle between checking out and lusting after Kora’s body (which he seems to do a lot) and remembering that she massacred his people is interesting but does get a little old when the book keeps coming back to it.

I also like that Eros and Kora are two characters who don’t fit in where they are. Eros is rejected by both humans and Sepharon for being a hybrid who should have been killed at birth whilst Kora is rejected by both Sepharon (for being female) and humans (for ordering their deaths or enslavement).  This connection helps take the relationship beyond simple teenage lust into something that explains why Eros doesn’t just kill Kora and as many of her family members as he can. It also takes Kora’s interest in Eros beyond an interest in his impressive body. (Which, it should be noted, she also notices a lot.)

Eventually there is a coup and a flight across the desert. Once again the action sequences are excellent and except for an “are they really going there now?” moment it all works.

The things that bothered me were small. Eros being called “Eros” annoyed me more than it should have (how many of you thought something kinky about the opening of this review) and at times the Sepharon seemed a little too human in the way they behaved. (Then again, that may explain why a Sepharon/Human hybrid is genetically possible.)

Also, a big reveal about the sexual preferences of one of the characters seemed tacked on for the sake of diversity. Except for generating some anger and resentment from the character, the sequence didn’t contribute much to the plot and did little more than produce some conversations between Kora and Eros before being dropped. Kora and Eros had, more or less, the same opinions on the matter which didn’t help matters. This all seemed to me to be a distraction from the main theme of the two outsiders finding comfort in each other. I wish it had been developed more or dropped. (Update: 1/29/22. This author did not realize at the time that this was going to be part of a trilogy.)

I haven’t read much YA fiction and this was an “oh, why not?” purchase to diversify my reading. I didn’t expect much, but in the end enjoyed it a lot. It could be argued that, for the most part, events happen exactly when you expect them to happen, but what happens isn’t always what you’re expecting and that kept me interested.

The ending did seem a bit abrupt. I’ve read that a sequel isn’t planned but that one is possible. If one does appear, I’ll be sure to buy it. (Update: 1/29/22. This author did not realize at the time that this was going to become part of a trilogy.)

To follow Gabe Cole Novoa
blog: Writability
vlog: bookishpixie

Back Doing Stuff More Slowly

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I slept through the migraine but woke up today moving in slow motion.

A post-migraine hangover leaves me feeling weak and sluggish and with the slight remnants of the headache as if the migraine thinks it’s an empty bottle of booze and doesn’t want to be ignored now that it’s all gone. (Something like that.)

The pain hits when I do little things like lean over to pull on socks or bend down to put on and tie my shoes. It doesn’t hurt, it’s just a twinge, almost a memory of the pain which, since I slept through the worst, is especially annoying.

The results in school manifest as either a marked lack of interest in anything that goes on:

I’m not prepared for my next class. Sigh. Can’t be helped. That student just set fire to that other student. Sigh. Now I have to fill out paper work.

Or it manifests itself as permanent annoyance:

Student: Good morning!
Me: Shut the fuck up. 
(Note: the latter comment is more of a feeling than an actual expression.)

Today was minor annoyance at one student although, in my defense, when I checked on him he hadn’t written a single thing the entire class, so I made him stand until he caught up. When he didn’t catch up, I confronted him again and he said, rather timidly, that he didn’t have a pencil. If I’d been in permanent annoyance mode I’d have snapped and reminded him he was in his homeroom and should have easy access to pencil unless he didn’t have one in the school and no friends to borrow one. (That would have come out, though, as “Are you fucking kidding me?” as I walked away shaking my head, triggering more twinges of pain and more annoyance.) Instead I just told him to borrow a pencil from someone.

I got home and took a nap, which helped a little, but the feeling doesn’t go away until I have had  full night’s sleep. Even now I can feel twinges of the “hangover” which means it’s time for bed.

The Pain With Rain Stays Mainly in Dwayne

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A short one today because, after a pleasantly cool and dry beginning of June, the weather responded by entering the season of Humid in a surprising way. The surprise has given me a headache

The weather decided to bring the humidity but left the heat behind. This had the odd effect of making it seem cool enough to wear warm clothes when, in fact, that was just a trap. Even wearing light clothes, at least if you actually had to leave the house, left you feeling sweaty and damp.

The weather also brought annoying mist that made umbrellas useless but only left you annoying wet rather than soaking you. The weather also brought air pressure changes that have messed with my head. In fact, right as I sat down to write this, as part of what seems to be a new seasonal tradition, I got my migraine spot. I quickly took some medicine and am now writing a compulsory post before heading to bed.

The website is still “Banned in Japan” but I don’t have the energy to deal with the host tonight.

I’ll save that for tomorrow. I’m hoping that’s the only headache I have to deal with tomorrow.

 

That Thing You Said You Would Not Do You Did

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Well, that didn’t take long.

Despite making a vow (non-binding) to take June more easily than usual, I’ve already thrown a student out of class. In my defense, I almost threw two out but didn’t.

Until sixth period everything was going well. Then one of my worst students arrived a couple minutes late and, despite the fact I was talking, proceeded to talk to other students rather than sit down. I walked him back to the door and told him he could go and then berated him all the way back to his chair when he decided he’d sit down.

Five minutes later (that’s seven minutes late if you’re keeping score) that student’s partner in crime arrived. I told him he needed to get a late slip “His reaction was really? Fuck.” I sent him out and told him he didn’t need to come back.

This entertained the first late student which led to a few minutes of random confrontation (one that, quite frankly, has been building for a long time). His favorite annoying technique is to go full toddler and keep asking “why” when I tell him to do something.

This time, after the second “why” I repeated myself and dared him to say “why” again. There was apparently something in my tone of voice or enough “soulless-just-plain-crazy” in my eye that he didn’t talk. In fact, after a few minutes he was pouting quietly.

This led to the next problem. After I explained the final project, which will take most of June to finish and involves visual aids and video cameras and how anyone who didn’t do it would fail, he and his partner asked if they could use their smartphones for “research.” As I suspected, the “research” took all class and they never wrote anything. I’m guessing the fact they chose the guy I’d thrown out as their third partner left them feeling exempted from having to do any work.

In the end, though, they’ll have to do something. If they don’t, all three fail and will have to take a make-up exam. If they don’t improve next class (I’ll roll back the anger for that one, in theory) I’ll give the better of the three a chance to change groups and leave the two bad students on their own.

They may be the kind who try to call my bluff though. That’s when the fun starts.

Tactile Turn Gist Fountain Pen–Initial Impressions

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The Tactile Turn Gist is an odd pen. Part of it looks new. Part of it looks used. Some it is rough and I had to put grease on the grinding.

I won, for various complicated reasons, a Tactile Turn Shaker after donating money to a veterans’ charity. I liked the pen so much that I bought the larger “Mover” version. Both pens quickly entered my daily use rotation both at work and at home.

Tactile Turn’s signature technique is to grind a spiral texture where the fingers grip the pen. It looks cool and provides a good grip.

When the Kickstarter for Tactile Turn’s first fountain pen launched, I couldn’t resist and ordered one. I chose the version with a polycarbonate body and zirconium grip section and finial because I thought it balanced looks and price.

The Gist on a Rhodia notepad.

The Gist on a Rhodia notepad. Note how the body is shinier than the cap. 

Because the Kickstarter was popular, there were some delays, especially when equipment started breaking and suppliers stopped supplying promptly.

When i finally received the pen my reaction was a mix of “that’s cool” and “hmm, that’s peculiar”. The machined polycarbonate cap and body have different looks. The body looks polished and shiny whilst the cap looks flat, as if it hadn’t been polished before being assembled and shipped out.

 

The two looks of the two parts of the pen.

The two looks of the two parts of the pen.

This is a small thing, and it definitely means I won’t be afraid to use it, but I usually prefer to rough up my own pens rather than having them pre-roughed.

The gold bock nib is pretty good, but I had to straighten the tines slightly.

I thought it might be a bit small, but it’s a comfortable size. Unposted it’s 4.64 inches (117.8 mm). With the cap posted it’s 6.1 inches (155 mm). The cap posts solidly and the pen is light enough it comfortable to use.

The zirconium looks great but makes me wish the pen had a black steel nib rather than a gold nib. The zirconium section is grippy and easy to use.

The Bock nib and the zirconium section and finial.

The Bock nib and the zirconium section and finial.

My only complaints, thus far, are that the threads for the cap are rough. I had to slather some silicon grease on them to smooth them out and eliminate most of the grinding sound.

For a first attempt at a fountain pen, it’s a valiant effort, but I’ll need to use it some more before I can give it a proper review.

The Pathos of Things

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An old vacuum cleaner reminded me about an old lamp. Well, actually, a commercial about one.

There’s a great Ikea commercial (directed by Spike Jonze) about a woman throwing out a lamp. We then see the lamp on the street as it watches, through the window, the life of the woman and her new lamp. It all leads to a nice punch line in the rain.

I bring this up because today we replaced a vacuum cleaner that’s older than both our daughters. When we replace something that old (for example, we recently replaced a coffee maker that was older than our youngest daughter) we usually hold a mock ceremony where we salute and make a really bad trumpet fanfare as a send off for the old item before we dispose of it.

We don’t really feel bad about replacing the vacuum cleaner, but we were kind of bummed by replacing the coffee maker.

This all refers to a Japanese concept called “Mono no aware” (“aware” is three syllables ah wah ray) or “The pathos of things / an empathy toward things”.

It describes the odd sadness you feel when you get rid of something you’ve had for a long time. I’ve seen people who claim to be non-materialistic cry when they left their first houses. Actually, i kind of did that, too, when we left our house in Colorado. I also remember my parents being kind of sad when we left our trailer for that new house as the trailer was the first home we’d (well, THEY’D) ever owned.

In our case, there wasn’t much pathos for the vacuum cleaner as we’d worn it out and it was long past due for being replaced. The same thing happened with our old kerosene heater last winter which was also, I believe, older than our oldest.

The coffee maker, though, was different. We both were disappointed when it broke. Some of it was the surprise when the power button suddenly stopped working but the rest, rather than being pathos, was the concern that it would be difficult to replace for less than the cost of a small car. Also, because it was old, I’d had to replace the plug when the cord began to wear out which mean I had some personal investment in it.

However, the new  coffee maker, as with the lamp in the Ikea commercial, is much better than the old one and I’m crazy to feel sorry for it.

That said, I’m kind of sad it’s gone.

 

 

Virtual Private Disaster By-Pass

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Strangely enough, I did miss it. I even scheduled time to do it before I remembered I couldn’t.

Technical difficulties involving my websites’ host made me miss two days of posts. For reasons I don’t understand, neither of my websites are visible in Japan but both can be visited and enjoyed/scoffed at outside of Japan.

(Note: I do not know what I wrote that would get both sites banned, especially since the oldest hasn’t been updated in years.)

(Note Two: This does not mean I didn’t write something that got me banned.) 

However, this morning whilst enjoying a break at work, I got the idea of trying out a virtual private network. I researched a few free ones and then sent myself the addresses. I’m still surprised I was able to access a VPN related site (as well as the TOR browser) when I can’t even access Ebay or any auction site from the network at the school where I work.

After I got home after work I installed one of the free VPNs and then, this writing being such a priority, I promptly put it aside, so to speak and played a game.

However, once I tried it, I was able to access both sites rather easily. However, I still can’t access my sites “from Japan”.

In fact, as I write this, I can’t access this page from my phone or via wi-fi.

I’m not sure what’s going on. Only one of the sites is on WordPress, so it’s not a word press issue. I’m guessing my host updated things in order to “improve” them and broke something. I may have to call them if they don’t designate a person to deal directly with me via email rather than chasing them around through auto responses.

Or, my websites have been banned in Japan.

That may become part of my marketing: “Banned” in Japan

Thank Goodness it’s Fake Friday

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I have two days of no classes coming up and I’m surprised how much I’m looking forward to it. The problem is, I’m kind of dreading it too.

Because we don’t have midterms for our English classes, which means the next two days are class free, the foreign staff at the school where I work dubbed today “Fake Friday”.

We then have classes on Real Friday, which becomes Thank Goodness it’s Real Friday, then there’s the weekend and then the merciless grind of June begins.

New teachers at the school where I work arrive full of vigor and idealism and we the energiless and cynical warn them about June.

However, because we have an odd schedule that includes lots of national holidays, the new teachers generally scoff at the older teachers and declare we are weak because we are old.

Then June arrives on muggy feet and brings not a single national holiday nor a single school holiday.

As a result, as June arrives, the new teachers declare “I can’t believe it’s June already!” (insert gushing and old person jokes here). Two weeks later the new teachers declare “Are you kidding me? I can’t believe it’s still June.” (Insert snort and I told you so here.)

This year we are all jaded which means as June approaches, we become hermits on days we don’t have classes. This is necessary to conserve energy.

What makes June difficult isn’t the full weeks–the autumn term actually has more full weeks–it’s the fact that it’s getting hotter and more humid (as Japan enters the season of humid and the fact that the weather and long schedule messes with the students, too.

This year my goal is to get through June without yelling at any students. Unfortunately, they are already testing my limits.

This means June could be really long.