Well, as needs change, so must the tools we use to meet them. I've been over on Tumblr for a little while now, at http://stochasticjack.tumblr.com.  It's a little more in line with what I'm trying to do now, which is shorter writing and more audio/visual stuff.  I'm doing a LOT more music and photography now, and LJ is less well-suited for that.  Plus Tumblr allows me to cross-post at Twitter and Facebook and Flickr, all at once.

I'll keep this blog for the time being, mostly because it's a pretty good record of the time I spent in Japan, but if you want to see what I'm up to, go to the other thing there.

And, who knows?  If I need to wrote more long-form stuff, I'll fire this back up.

Sorry it's been a while but I've been busy.

One of the things I've been busy doing is reading old archive entries from when I lived in Japan, until I realized just how counterproductive that is. I'm going to get back there, and real soon, too.

Other than that, just trying to stay sane by working on a bunch of stuff. A bunch of stuff.

The prospect of the trip to Kyoto and these projects are pretty much the only things that keep me getting up at four AM and driving into work in the pitch-black freezing cold.

Called Yoshimi and finally got through. She's fine, although there's a little trouble getting some kinds of food at the supermarket.

This makes sense; Japan is really compartmentalized as far as food production goes. For instance, if Hokkaido were to get smeared somehow, all of Japan's ham, beef, and cheese production would be done for.

She's also having some trouble at work; she works for a freight forwarding company, so one can imagine all the logistical nightmares going on over there.

So I got caught up with her and rang off, happy that she's safe and even more so to talk with her again.
I got back in the truck and breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Then I heard on the radio about the aftershock in Shizuoka, where Yoshimi's family live.

Sigh.

No bad news yet, though.

I haven't heard from Yoshimi yet; she lived out near Narita the last I heard.

The morning of the earthquake, Martial pointed out that exactly one year ago to the day, we were in Tokyo, hanging around Shinjuku, Jimbocho, and Kichijoji with Yoshimi, Beni, and Akane.

I hope everyone is okay.

Okay, real quick, then I'm going to bed. I've been just knackered all day, plus it was snowing like crazy in North Bend. Then they closed the Interstate, at the exit to our warehouse, so I had to drive in the long way, which is less than fun in a big truck.

1. I didn't have to wait for any loads today. (That's always a good thing, since the waiting is the part that kills me. If I can keep moving I'm much better off and I can get home at a decent hour.)

2. Despite the snow in NB, it was actually warmer than it has been recently.

3. Today is R. Steven's birthday. I went to his party Saturday night and saw many people I hadn't seen in quite some time.

4. I listened to a recording of the Valentine's Day Cara and I did, and I was able to identify many areas for improvement, without, and this is important, completely tearing myself apart and constantly belittling myself.

Okay, let's take a knee for a second and discuss that last one. I think a large part of my increased ability to self-criticize in an honest and constructive manner is a result of my current job.

I know. I'm shocked too.

But, when I started this new job about a year ago, I was convinced that I was never going to be as good, or as fast, or as skilled as some of the other guys on the team.

Over time, I just realized that I would have to just do the best job that I possibly could, and trust in my ability to learn, both by observation, and by mistakes. (Also by doing, the importance of which cannot be overstated.)

I think that, by just sticking with it and doing what I had to do, and by improving incrementally, I've given myself the chance to learn things properly.

Anyway, difficult to explain, and I don't want to sound like one of those boring Estevez children. Moving on.

5. I got my goals for this week sorted out, and I'm working on them. You can read more about that, if your life is that sorely devoid of excitement, by clicking on my "Friends" tab and looking for johngoals. It's kind of dry, but I'm trying to keep it simple, just the information I need to track my progress.

Okay: shower and bed.

Five Awesome Things:

1. Got my goals sorted yesterday and set up a new LJ to track them;

2. Sang last night at Tula's;

3. Made myself an EXCELLENT baked salmon fillet for dinner;

4. Going to sleep early for once;

5. Didn't have to do too much at work today.

Been so busy enjoying my three-day weekend that I haven't posted up my Five Good Things.

1. I won yet another argument with my doctor.

2. I went and purchased actual spiffy clothing from a REAL shop, not just some ten-dollar jeans from Wal-Mart.

3. I had Mongolian Grill for dinner last night (allowed, if you pick the right stuff). Genghis Khan in Federal Way is becoming my new Saturday night thing.

4. Gonna have teriyaki (also allowed, if you pass on the rice and instead have double salad) and gyoza for dinner.

5. I don't have to work tomorrow.

Today's Five Awesome Things:

1. It snowed a bit, but didn't stick; then it just got sunny.

2. Found out today that I have a three-day weekend coming up.

3. Getting ready to plan the next show with Cara.

4. Got home to find my DVD set of season 4 of Ranma 1/2 has arrived from Amazon.

5. I rediscovered a CD by Roger Joseph Manning Jr. that I forgot I purchased, and only listened to once. It popped up on shuffle on the iPod on the way home from work. Dang. It's good.

The Five Awesome Things for today:

1. The weather was supposed to be all lousy and rainy; instead we had sunshine all day. At least where I was.

2. I got my truck back, after a series of misadventures that resulted in me driving our "spare" truck, so called because it is apparently made from spare parts. From a Lada.

3. I got home yet again at a decent hour.

4. I had a great workout.

5. All my chores and stuff are done (except for tomorrow's lunch), so I can spend the evening watching cool stuff on my new AppleTV.

Yay.