Transformations in nature

A bland picture taken in the park on my way to Beanies. But there's a point to it.

Isn't nature incredible? The way it does things with colour...

And how quickly it changes. I just can't stop looking at the trees everytime I leave the house. That churchyard has gone from infancy to maturity in the space of a week.

The trees must be so happy to feel the sun. You can really feel they're alive the way they've reacted to the change in the weather.

Amazing stuff.

And the lengthening of the days too. I know it's supposed to happen, but I still can't help but feel it's pretty incredible that it's still perfectly light at 9pm.

hmm.

Awards!

Yipppeeeee! I just won a university photo competition, my prize being a £200 digital camera! I've missed having a small point-and-shoot as I gave mine to mum and dad at New Year so they could play with digital photos with their new Macbook. Unfortunately though, the one I gave them was a Japanese language model. You can imagine how they have struggled, technology not being their strong points as it is! Thus, I can give them this brand new English camera, and they can take great photos of the family to send to me when I'm in Japan - Hurrah!



I also won £30 in music vouchers for another couple of photos which won different categories - one of a rainbow over Sheffield, taken from the Arts Tower, and another of the Japan Soc Soran Bushi dancers performing in front of the Union.

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I'm also honoured and humbled to have have been nominated twice for the Chancellor's Medal. I'm not sure what to say about that, but thank you so much to the people who nominated me. I couldn't have done what I've done without your inspiration and enthusiasm. Thank you.

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To top it off, I've just had word from the library that the two library books I desperately need for my dissertation have come in. Yippeeeee!

OH OH OH and Bjork just emailed! She's coming back to play for us on the 2nd July! Yippppppppeeee (again)!

Off to the Society Awards now - Japan soc entered for 'Best National Society' - and we've been shortlisted!

Japan: Exchanging a Tourist Visa for a Spouse Visa

Remember that time I was going to the immigration office in Tokyo on a weekly basis to try and get my visa status sorted? It lasted quite a while, and featured lots of vagueness.

This morning I phoned the immigration bureau in Tokyo. They have an English homepage which advertises their helpline - operators can speak all number of languages including English, Chinese, Korea, French etc.

The lady answered in Japanese. I told her that I had a query about obtaining a spouse visa - could I please talk with someone who spoke English in the visa department.

"I'm sorry, we don't have anyone who speaks English in this office..."

I was put through to (if I'm not mistaken) Mr. Tanaka, winner of the Gold Medal for Fast Talking (Japanese Category) in the 1984 Olympics. I asked my question, with him saying "hai" (yes) three times a second.

"Is it possible for me to enter Japan on a tourist visa and then exchange that for a spouse visa after arrival?"

As soon as I had reached my full stop, he rattled off the most astonishing volley of high-speed sentences you've every heard. I tried hard not to laugh.

Still, I did manage to catch the overall meaning. Basically, legally it is possible, but he couldn't say for sure one way or the other whether it would be granted.

Thanks, goodbye.

I then mailed *Twinkle* with the phone number, could she give it a go? She did, and a few minutes later got back to me.

"They said that it's not illegal, but they can't say one way or the other whether it would be allowed in this situation".

I see a pattern forming.

Next stop was the Japanese Embassy in the UK. I've never been too keen on contacting them as they tend to be very formal and never really tell you any more than what''s written on the homepage. But today, something magical happened. I was put through to the nicest, most helpful and human member of embassy staff you could ever hope to meet. He didn't fob me off with official responses, but explained what the reality of the situation was. He then offered me his personal email address and direct line. I started to wonder whether I really had called the Japanese embassy...

The situation is basically this: it depends entirely on the immigration officials on duty at the time that I land at Narita airport, and those officials on duty when I go to the Immigration department in Tokyo. It depends on whether they choose to ask me questions, and if they do, what those questions are. The thing is, if I was to say that the purpose of my visit was to be with my Japanese wife (as she will be by then) they can refuse me entry on a tourist visa. The other option is that I lie, and say that I'm going for a short visit. However, when I get to the immigration department they could then ask what I had given as my reason for coming to Japan, and if they see a discrepancy they could refuse my application for a Spouse visa, and ask me to leave.

I was told that it's likely that I'd get away with it, but that it was a risk, and therefore the embassy could not recommend I try.

Any thoughts?

So, if I wasn't to do the tourist > spouse visa thing, I would be left with two options:

1) find a job before going to Japan and enter on a work visa (an employer is needed to act as a sponsor in order to get the visa). It would take until late August to process.

2) wait for *Twinkle* to return to Japan, where she could register our marriage at our local ward office, and then send all the documents necessary for me to apply for a Spouse Visa. This two can take up to two months.

And there was me thinking that it was going to be easy! I should have known better - this is Japanese immigration after all!

The shouting lady

I spent much of today in the library, hammering my dissertation into shape. We're getting there. All but the conclusion written.

This week, the weather has been just beautiful. Real warm sunny days, no need for jumpers or jackets. This brings me such enormous pleasure. It's been a very long winter, and I was getting to be truly tired of cold mornings.

Pondersa Park on a Sunday at 7am is a beautiful place to be. Arriving there this morning I was struck by the peace. Here I was in the centre of Sheffield, but close my eyes and I could easily have been deep in a Siberian forest. All I could hear was birdsong (and beautiful birdsong at that). I stood there for a while and soaked it up - country bumpkin that I am it was like having my batteries recharged.

Just as I was about to fall into a trance, I was suddenly dragged back into reality by the sound of shouting. I opened my eyes. At the other side of the field I could make out a woman in bright white trousers and a black top. She was walking briskly towards me. Shouting. At first I couldn't catch what she was saying, then I realised that there was a good reason for that - she was shouting in Chinese. She continued to shout in Chinese as she crossed the field heading in my direction ...then walked straight past me. She showed no acknowledgement of my being there. Just carried on looking straight ahead, shouting.

She seemed quite happy in her shouting though.

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I got a little upset with *Twinkle* this afternoon. I'm not sure where it came from. She hadn't said anything that might have provoked me. I think it came about as a result of pressure that's been building up, anxiety over our post-wedding plans, or more precisely, the lack of plans. With finances extremely tight and my being unable to work immidiately following my return to Japan (it will take a little while to exchange the tourist visa I'll be flying on for a spouse visa), I've been wondering whether I shouldn't stay in the UK for a little while after our wedding in order that I can save some money. But that doesn't really seem right. It goes against the spirit of a new marriage.

Thinking on our brief email conversation, I realised that the time had come to make a decision. I'd been waiting for some kind of sign, and this was it.

I called the magic number, and 20 minutes later has a small loan arranged, to be paid back once I start work. This means that I can fly the same day as *Twinkle* - Sunday July 27th 2008, and thus I should be able to start work sometime in late August / early September. I'll call the embassy in the morning to check the details.
I am extremely grateful to the people who are helping me out here, thank you.

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Tomorrow sees the start of my penultimate week of classes. The end isn't in sight yet though. Lots to do between now and my final exam. (All this endingness has had me looking back at beginnings. I can't believe I was in women's clothing only a month after my arrival in Sheffield).

ttfn

The importance of Kite Flying

With the sun rising so early, and mornings so peaceful, I've been trying to get back into the early-to-bed-early-to-rise routine. It takes a few days. I have my phone set to wake me every morning at 6am: I get out of bed, turn it off, and then take a moment to judge how tired I am. If I feel that my body really does need more sleep, I'll reset the second alarm for an hour later. If I'm just sleepy but my body feels like it's had a thorough rest, I'll go back to bed and doze until the next alarm 10 minutes later. Then I'll get up and immediately dress to go for a jog.

On my way back from the park this morning (I managed to avoid doing press-ups in a puddle of wee today, having realised that the white patches on the soft tarmac around the playground were not just white due to some natural discolouration process) I listened to Episode 20 of the Radiant Vista (photography) podcast, recently introduced to me by my fellow digital photography loving coursemate Jason. In this episode, Craig talks about how important it is for artists (and anyone really) to take time out to play, to do something completely non-productive, in order that we can spend time with our right brain and let creativity blossom.

He describes a time on a recent workshop where they'd gone out to death valley to take some photos of the moonrise, when a couple of group members pulled out some kite. Apparently they took with them wherever they went, and before any photo shoot, they'd fly them.

Like Craig, I too love kite flying. As a child at the Hereford Waldorf School, we had an annual kite-flying day, when the whole school would head up to Garway Hill, a few miles south west of Much Dewchurch. From that huge bracken-covered molehill you could look out across our valley to the east (where our house appeared as a little white dot a few miles away), and to the west, across the river Monnow into Wales, with the Black Mountains on the horizon. I remember a couple of people had these amazing stunt kites, they were called Peter Pans or something like that. Mine was a bit simpler: a tiny little frame-less bundle of white and pink nylon that would fly in the slightest breeze. I was very fond of that kite.

The last time I saw a kite being flown was when I was waiting in the queue for the bus that would take me from Beijing to the Great Wall (August 2007), and there were these guys flying the most lifelike birds of prey kites that you've ever seen, so high up you could scarcely believe they were on strings.

The manner in which they gracefully crossed the sky, slowly turning at the end of a long arc, or circling as if having spotted some prey far below... it had me mesmerised.

The podcast reminded how important it is to take time out on a regular basis to do something FUN. An activity such as kite-flying that sees my mind freed of earthly worries, filled with childish wonder. I don't do that as often as I might having tied myself to this productivity ideal, but it got me thinking that actually, if I did take just a couple of hours out each week to do that sort of thing the positive influence would vastly outweigh any 'loss' incurred by not being able to be productive for a couple of hours.

And in actual fact, I 'waste' so much time procrastinating online that I could simply decide to take that time and use it as my 'free time'.

Anyway, I have one final weekend of essay writing ahead of me now. My dissertation is due in on Friday, so I really must get it finished by Sunday in order that it can proof-read and all.

See you in the library.

Summer Fitness Campaign launches

Inspired by my friend Tom who at the weekend finished an impressive 11th in a charity Runathon around the Imperial Palace (the grounds of, not the emperor's corridors that it), I've restarted my morning exercise routine which had been sacrificed to 'bad weather' 'tiredness' 'not enough time'.

The sun is warm and happy at 6.30am, and the park deserted. I've started listening to music instead of audiobooks / podcasts when running, which really helps my stamina ("won't let myself stop until the end of this song!") (thanks again to Tom).

Fitness is not just something that other people enjoy. I can experience it too :-)

oh cripes I left my porridge on, gotta dash

Beware the Jubjub bird

Seven pretty strong earthquakes 100 miles from Tokyo today. I tend to worry when that happens. makes me wonder if *twinkle* is OK, as her parents' house is pretty old. If she's OK, it's likely my other friends are too (and she's fine, texted me news updates as they struck!) (although of course if it was a really big one, not like the '4' it was in Tokyo today, then I'd make sure I contacted all of my friends too [don't want them feeling unloved]).

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I took a trip back in time tonight, by participating in the university's Mature Student's Open Evening. Sitting there listening to the finance chap explaining about FundaFinder, student support talking about the mature student's committee - wow, it was like 2004 all over again.

And the questions, exactly the same questions I'd asked 4 years ago. Except this time I was one of the people at the front of the lecture theatre helping to reassure everyone.

I find it interesting trying to read audiences. Initially, I was a bit concerned that they weren't having fun. I'd tried beforehand to amuse them when giving a tour of the IC, but they hadn't really responded. I think a lot of them were quite nervous: as one lady said to me afterwards, she felt like an impostor, that she shouldn't really be in a uni full of students. That reminded me of how I'd felt. For a moment I was able to forget that everything was familiar to me and see it as that big scary university that 'students' went to. After only 4 years I feel like a part of the brickwork.

Anyhow, back in the auditorium it was my turn to introduce myself.

What is it about public speaking that excites me? I don't know. I just love it. It's like a drug. I told them a couple of stories of some rather stupid things I did when I started uni - that got them laughing (at me, not with me).

It's a shame I don't have anything interesting to say that I could turn into some kind of show :-p

I got paid for tonight's efforts too, money that will go towards the wedding fund. Not only that, but I was able to bring two huge left-over platters of dips, wraps and desserts home from the new and improved uni catering service. Should stop me buying chocolate for a while.

Oh, and this morning I got paid for writing a short article about my uni experiences for a newsletter, perhaps the first time I've ever been paid to write anything (outside of CILASS). It felt good.

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I had a consultation with a CV expert this mornin', armed with a document that hasn't been updated in 12 years. Sure, it's had stuff added to it, but no change in format. I was surprised by how much CV standards have changed - it seems these days it's ok to do away with a work timeline, and instead use wig wiggy stylee web two point woah woah wigness to portray your experiences. I shall endeavour to make it as exciting as possible. I was also thinking, perhaps I could record a mini-self intro and post it to YouTube - that might make an impression upon employers ("bloody hell, he really is as much of an idiot as suggested by his personal statement"). I'd just have to be careful that I didn't show my profile, or I would instantly be cast aside for having an oversize nose.

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Tomorrow then is Thursday. This means two classes, the first of which is a newspaper class, hosted by Hugo (he who has a Facebook group devoted to him, titled "I have a crush on Hugo Dobson". Incidentally, I'm not a member, although as it will probably be him marking my dissertation I might have to start a new group called "Buy this book or this book or this book or this book or this book or this book or this book coz they're great".

Ok, enough jabberwocky. Best get on with dealing with this frumious Bandersnatch.