My main test strategy with the JLPT is to hope that they give me the 3kyuu by mistake; I haven't had time to study these past few weeks with school and work. Worse still is that my speaking ability is going down the drain. I went to my weekly lesson and realized how much I am regressing. It's understandable, but makes me a little sad. Oh well. Coming back was necessary, as was going back to school while working. I am starting to build some savings, the work I am doing is a challenge and gives me great opportunities, and the degree is slowly becoming more of a reality I never thought I would undertake. It's a worthwhile trade off.

I would love to be back in a more formal classroom setting. Many people knock taking foreign language classes; to me it's a place to practice where there is no (major) embarrassment in making a mistake. My case was different though; I was in Japan, no English was spoken. It's safe to say it would be different in the States.

I have two left this week. Geography, which is rather hard (damn those good teachers, with their high expectations!), and Accounting (damn those below average teachers, with their poor explanaitions!). So after this week, it will be a load off. Still this term is plodding.

So I skipped Japanese lessons to clean and do laundry today. It was either that, or wear a bathing suit instead of underwear. Today i will run errands and come back to study. I am craving Korean food, but don't feel like leaving my neighborhood. It's funny how my perception of "too far" has changed. Anything further than walking distance is a pain in the ass. I have to change that.

I looked around for weekend getaways to reward myself for this semester. I wish there was an intensive Japanese language onsen, with cleansing and massage, and warm weather in the US. Maybe a target market of one person doesn't create supply like I wish.

Here are all levels of the JLPT from 1991-2007 which I found on a Chinese website. There are other tests to explore as well. So if you want to get a feel for what the test will be like in a mere 2 months, check it out. Whoever built this site takes these tests pretty seriously.

Guilty pleasure: zaeega.com.

Great daily reading practice from a history buff.

What did graphic designers do before photoshop? It makes for some awesome botch jobs, as seen here.

Lastly, an inspiring speech from the AFL-CIO's Rich Trumka. Tell this guy he's an elitist. Guys like this make me proud of my fellow Americans.

Let me preface this with the statement that I have a lot going on. Specifically:

• I am taking 17 hours in college.
• I am working full time (30-45 hours/week). I am a manager at a medium size IT firm, and in charge of several large projects.
• I am the chairperson for a community event in December that has about 12 committees and will host 250 people.
• Also, I have been very physically fit at times. I used to go to the gym daily, and at one time a few years ago, I had very little body fat, and was running >10 miles at a time. Running 10k's, etc.
• Even now, I ride my bike everywhere I go. Maybe an hour a day on the average.

These aren't meant to be complaints or self-praise. I don't think anything I listed is particularly impressive or noteworthy. But what I am getting at is lately, I am getting soft. I am still at a phase where if I suck it in, I look the same (maybe, I hope). But I am losing the battle. And my main weakness is my diet. I would love to take the time to get back in shape, and learn how to cook fast meals, etc. But, I barely have time to do laundry once a week.

Does anyone have any ideas about the most efficient way to eat healthy that requires no extra time? Again, I listed the above facts to express that while I am looking for the easy way out, it's because there is not much I can change about my schedule right now. And self-discipline isn't my problem. I may try the tips that are listed in justbento, but even the amount of time to do that makes me anxious. Is it possible to spend 1/2 hour a day preparing all my meals? If there are any ideas, let me know. Don't make me turn to yahoo answers(>.<)

So it has been some time since I have posted. Even now, I should be studying. I have midterms this week; this semester is not too difficult, but it has been plodding along. I am working a lot, as well. As far as JLPT study, it has not fared so well. Last week, I quit carrying my study guides in my backpack, because I just couldn't get to them. By the time Friday comes, I am dead tired, and the last few weeks have been stressful enough for me to realize that I need time on Saturday or Sunday to relax and clear my head.

I am going to Japanese lessons on Saturday mornings, for about two and a half hours, and I am reading for fun when I can. That's all I can do. This test will truly be for practice; I see no way I can pass. It's a little stinging, just like when I feel my level drop: I have trouble forming sentances that were easy in the past, forgetting easy words, making dumb mistakes. What can I say, it's natural, and not like my brain is damaged. When I go back to Japan, I am sure it will come back. No need for melodrama. I am on my way to getting my degree. My girl will be here in the US next year, and I will have a person to ask my endless questions. It's all okay. No complaints.

I know, I know, everyone says, "I've made mistakes, but I have no regrets..." Well, then I say you are either a saint or a sociopath. However, if you are interested in other human's regrets, visit rigureto.jp. You can read bite-sized thought bubbles of real Japanese regret and be uplifted by the responses that appear. The layout is kind of mesmerizing.

More JLPT stuff is coming soon.

The place where I took my first Japanese lessons asked me if I will be taking lessons there when they start, in a few weeks. I am sort of torn about going there, because I am unsure about how they teach. The woman who will be my teacher is adorable and about 75 years old, so I am always polite and respectful. But all I really want is  conversation practice. I am reticent to ask if the class speaks English, or if we will be using Japanese for Busy People (yuk). It's a tiny operation, and if I don't go I will feel bad.

Plus I am really digging the JLPT study, and I am starting to believe that I might have a chance at passing. If not, it's a great level-up thing. The verbs! The ｢完全マスター」books are meant to be prep guides for the JLPT, but I would recommend them to anyone wanting to learn some intermediate Japanese.

Mail within Tokyo sometimes arrives the same day. Chew on that a minute. Not via Fedex, mind you.

Today I had to buy a new copy of a textbook, because the used copy which was shipped 3 weeks ago, from a state near me, has not arrived. The tracking number shows it has been hovering around Chicago for at least one week. If you google "worst post office america", the branch that delivers to me is NUMBER ONE. I know they have it. If you have been there, you can attest. It's a black hole.

Our building has stopped getting mail. The whole building. I get home from work and don't see the junk mail all over the floor and I know we are still being sanctioned for some reason. Why? We are a peaceful people? We love freedom!

Barack and Biden. So now you know what to do in November. In the meantime, why not learn about Japanese politics with some fine analysis here.

Better yet, if you want something really terrifying, here's a page of Japanese horror mp3's and videos. You can even choose the fear level!

The Just Bento site author/chef extraordinaire has another site that focuses on non-Bento Japanese and Japanese style food. I learned from her that butter and soy sauce make anything taste good.

Does 2channel make your head spin like me? This blog summarized posts into articles, sorting out the chaos of that strange land. It's not always pretty, but it's great reading practice.

And my recent favorite. Take a speech or anything you've written in Japanese, and run it through here to see what it would look like in Samaurai (武士語), Kansai Ben, Okinawa Ben, Business, Yankee, and others.

Back in school tomorrow. Have a great week!!

Ok, my challenge as a blogger is to make interesting posts that require little revision. I am becoming aware how little time I have to allocate to blogging. While it is enjoyable, is not particularly beneficial to my Japanese or my other endeavors. This is the main reason I stopped posting after February; I was in class, working, and going to Japanese lessons twice per week. In a week or so, I will be busier than I was this spring, with much more on my plate. So I am trying to revise as I write here.

What I wanted to cover today are the instructions to the JLPT. I want everyone who is taking the test to walk in the door to the exam room as prepared as possible. I don't want anyone to spend more than an instant trying to decipher the instructions to the various sections. Most are not difficult, but there are a few things that someone new to the test might get caught on.

An important note. This is based on my experience of the 2007 test and my copy of the 2006 test, which I bought in Japan. If the 2008 JLPT is rewritten and doesn't have these type of questions, my apologies. I don't think that will be the case, however. No lawsuits, please.

Listening

This is where I heard a few whimpers and some gnashing of teeth. When you hear the choices, you are required to mark a response to each. Your book will have 2 rows of 4 spaces for each question:

1
2
3
4

Y:
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]

N:
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]

As you hear the answers, mark yes or no for each, as you hear it, like so:

1
2
3
4

Y:
[ ]
[ ■ ]
[ ]
[ ]

N:
[ ■ ]
[ ]
[ ■ ]
[ ■ ]

If you aren't sure, guess the "yes" answer and move on. You can fill in the 3 "no" answers at the end, but you will only have a few seconds to turn the test in, so don't do this for all the questions. If you aren't sure of the answer, you will not have time to review until the end of the section, and by then you will have forgotten the choices.

The reason for this method is simple; if test takers only have to mark the correct answer, those who didn't know the answer would merely wait to hear when everyone was writing.

Vocabulary

Many sections require only a cursory reading of the instructions. You will see and underlined word and you will select the proper reading. Here are a few example from the 2006 test:

一級：

再びふるさとに澄んだ川を取り戻すまで、どんな努力も惜しまない。

１：再び　1．さいび　２．ざいび　３.　ふたたび　４.　ふだたび

２：澄んだ　１．くんだ　２.　すんだ　３．　しずんだ　４．とんだ

二級：

今度引越しすマンションは、家賃が今の二倍だ。

１：家賃　１．いえだい　２．いえちん　３．やだい　４．やちん

２：二倍　１．にかい　２．にき　３．にばい　４.　にぶ

God, it wasn't easy when I took the 二級, but as I contrast the two levels, it's clear the difference is pretty big. But, I digress. Then you will have the opposite scenario, the sentence contains the reading, you select the kanji. Going forward, I will supply 二級 examples only.

鳥のむれが大きなわをえがいて北の空にとんでいった。

むれ：　１．群れ　２．組れ　３．族れ　４．団れ

and so forth. In another section, you will have to select the appropriate vocabulary, or as the directions say:

＿＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを、１・２・３・４から一つ選びなさい。

So you may get hiragana or kanji. Read the sentence and pick the appropriate word.

わたしの会社は、倉庫を＿＿＿して、オフィスにしている。 So the sentence isn't too tricky. My company ___a warehouse, and made it an office.　So you know to look for "renovated, remodeled, rebuilt" その感じ。

1. 改正　２．　改造　３．　改善　４.　改定

Without using rikaichan/peraperakun, which are not allowed during testing(>.<); select the correct word.

I will go over more in other posts. All this switching between English and Japanese is making me impatient for my morning coffee. There are other types of questions-homonyms and usage-related, which I will cover. This may be a 4 or 5 post topic. Hope it helps.