Maidens of the Kaleidoscope

~Bunbunmaru News~ => Letters to the Editor => Ask a *Blank* Archive => Topic started by: N-Forza on June 22, 2011, 07:33:28 AM

Title: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: N-Forza on June 22, 2011, 07:33:28 AM
Despite having little-to-no real power over administration on this forum, the powers-that-be have decided that I am "super-special-awesome" enough to warrant my own go-round.

No gimmicks, because I am uncreative, just honest answers to questions. I'm really not sure if I'm THAT interesting, but as long as I can get more pages than Mint's Q & A session, I will consider this a rousing success.
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Rin Kagamine on June 22, 2011, 07:40:50 AM
Is there really a hotel that serves tofu at a lake on top of Mt. Haruna?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Hanzo K. on June 22, 2011, 07:45:57 AM
Chicken or Sea Bass?
What gave you the idea to start buying things for anyone here that wants something from Japan or whatever?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Kips McKipzerson on June 22, 2011, 07:47:46 AM
You want this to be an arousing success? That's cool I guess.
From what I know, You live in japan. How do you like it there?
Do you have any goals you want to accomplish, no matter how small they are?
What makes you more awesome then me huh ;_;
And finally (for now), How much do you get around on the interwebs?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Drake on June 22, 2011, 08:18:43 AM
あなたは注文書について何%くらいが「なぜこれを注文するの」と言いたいですか
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Mr_Bob on June 22, 2011, 08:25:44 AM
What are you doing now-abouts in Japan?  Any amusing anecdotes?
Does hiking Mt. Fuji interest you?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Mimachiro on June 22, 2011, 10:11:23 AM
What's the best thing about Japan?

Ever seen ZUN in a bar?

If you were given the chance to move to any place in the world, would you take it? Where would you go?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Dr.Strafe on June 22, 2011, 10:26:08 AM
What made you decide to start buying and shipping goods to all of us outside Japan? It must take an awful amount of time to do so...
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Bio on June 22, 2011, 10:53:34 AM
Hows life.
Simple questions work, right?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Helepolis on June 22, 2011, 11:11:06 AM
History claims Dutch and Japanese people have a positive relationship. Do you see this in your everyday life or is there written/spoken 'truth'?

What is your opinion on people who think they can move to Japan and live a "new life". You know, because they think Japan is a 'better place'

What was your profession again? Afaik you were mentioning someone about being art-teacher?

Something you noticed the JP people envy from the Western?

Non-serious question: You seem to be a Iku fanboy. Explain this fever.
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Nietz on June 22, 2011, 11:38:37 AM
From your position as an ALT (and unofficial textbook writer) what would you say about the Japanese education system? What you think should change/improve/remain the same?

Speaking of which, have you ever gaijin smashed your way through something?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: HakureiSM on June 22, 2011, 11:55:38 AM
How did you end up in Japan

Any plans for the future?

How do you make it so that your shipments always arrive flawlessly?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Prody on June 22, 2011, 02:54:44 PM
how do you deal with air raid with a method that doesn't simply involve "push butan"?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Tamer Anode/Cathode on June 22, 2011, 02:59:08 PM
Do you collect any merchandise yourself? Anything non-Touhou?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Firestorm29 on June 22, 2011, 03:44:03 PM
I suppose my question would be how tricky is it to get a job over there? I heard conflicting things about preference towards Japanese, and I've seen a few places before that were posted as Japanese-only. Trying to get an idea more from someone who lives there vs being there in the Navy. Two different things those are.
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Yakitori on June 22, 2011, 06:49:18 PM
How did you get into Touhou?

How did you find MotK?

What is your favorite beverage?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: N-Forza on June 23, 2011, 02:28:14 AM
Is there really a hotel that serves tofu at a lake on top of Mt. Haruna?
Yes, there is at least one hotel up there, and pretty much every restaurant serves tofu so I would be more surprised if there weren't

Chicken or Sea Bass?
What gave you the idea to start buying things for anyone here that wants something from Japan or whatever?
Chicken, since I don't think I've had sea bass.

When I was first working out my finances for the trip over here, I realized I would need to find some way to send money back home to pay off student loans, credit cards, things like that. I figured bank remittances would be the most efficient way, but turning the training session for my job, I was talking to one of the supervisors and the subject came up. He told me that he would get money into his US bank accounts by buying Japanese stuff for his friends, them sending money to his Paypal account, and then sending the money from Paypal to the bank. I wasn't sure if I had the connections at first though, so I ended up using remittances for the first couple of months. That was a hassle though, since banks over here close before 4, and I don't get off work until then, so I figured I'd give it a shot and put up a notice on a forum I help moderate. I made my "quota" without too much trouble and decided to keep going.

You want this to be an arousing success? That's cool I guess.
From what I know, You live in japan. How do you like it there?
Do you have any goals you want to accomplish, no matter how small they are?
What makes you more awesome then me huh ;_;
And finally (for now), How much do you get around on the interwebs?
Learn to read.

I like it well enough. Maybe it's just because it's still "new and unusual" to me, but there's something about it that I really enjoy. I like the close proximity of everything and the general aesthetic, and the negatives are bearable.

My current goal is to become a professional Japanese-to-English translator, ideally in the video game or maybe comic fields. Whether I live in Japan or America for that isn't too important, just wherever the work happens to be.

I am only awesome because I put my mind into what I want to do. Fortunately, this coincides with my career goals just enough for me to get ahead.

Well, I post on a few different forums, but mostly here, Bemanistyle, and Something Awful. They take up pretty much all of my "internet time," so I'm wary of joining anywhere else.

あなたは注文書について何%くらいが「なぜこれを注文するの」と言いたいですか
ほとんどゼロです。商売人だからそんなものはいらない。

What are you doing now-abouts in Japan?  Any amusing anecdotes?
Does hiking Mt. Fuji interest you?
Nothing much outside of my job, doujinshi stuff and arcade visits. I'd like to interact more with other people in the Touhou doujinshi field, but most of them are in Tokyo, and it's hard to make schedules coincide with each other. Festival season is coming up though, so I'm kind of looking forward to that, especially because the one in my city is literally called "The Belly-button Festival." Because Shibukawa is the geographic center of Japan, of course.

Not particularly. If I lived closer to it, I would consider doing that, but I don't really have much time nor money to do something like that.

What's the best thing about Japan?

Ever seen ZUN in a bar?

If you were given the chance to move to any place in the world, would you take it? Where would you go?
Like I mentioned before, it's probably the close proximity of everything, even in the countryside. I can get to pretty much everywhere I need to within 30 minutes by bike, train or bus, and even Tokyo is close enough for day trips.

No, but I met him at the last Reitaisai.

Assuming I would have a job or some way to sustain myself, I would probably like to move to Tokyo itself, or at least the surrounding cities in Saitama or Chiba. Somewhere in Italy or Spain might be nice, too, but I would rather go there on a vacation or something.

What made you decide to start buying and shipping goods to all of us outside Japan? It must take an awful amount of time to do so...
Already answered that, but I'll go a little more in-depth. After a few months of buying stuff and easily reaching my quota, I decided it would be kind of weird to suddenly stop buying stuff for people temporarily just because I sent home all the money I needed to for the month. It does take a while, but it does help keep me occupied without being too much in the way of what else I might want to do. It also helps me go places I wouldn't normally go. I also disagree with the practices of import stores who sell things at a ridiculous mark-up. I know they're a business and have to make money, and I know there are people who are crazy enough to buy at 200% mark-up, but that doesn't excuse anything.

Hows life.
Simple questions work, right?
I can't complain too much. I'm getting a little tired of my current job and I occasionally miss America (the food more than anything, though), but I'm getting by which is a lot better than what some people can say, so I consider myself fortunate.

History claims Dutch and Japanese people have a positive relationship. Do you see this in your everyday life or is there written/spoken 'truth'?

What is your opinion on people who think they can move to Japan and live a "new life". You know, because they think Japan is a 'better place'

What was your profession again? Afaik you were mentioning someone about being art-teacher?

Something you noticed the JP people envy from the Western?

Non-serious question: You seem to be a Iku fanboy. Explain this fever.
I really haven't seen too much of that, past their affinity for tulips, but that might be because Japan loves flowers in general.

I can kind of agree with the "new life" part, but "better place" is entirely objective. It has its faults just like any other place in the world, it's just these faults tend to be less obvious or people are less willing to confront them because GLORIOUS NIPPON.

I am an assistant English teacher at a middle and elementary school. This mostly means I am a living tape recorder, but even that much is incredibly valuable here, seeing as how even a lot of the Japanese English teachers aren't all that good with the language. However, I also plan activites, check assignments and be a general "cultural ambassador." Most of my dissatisfaction with my job comes from the fact that it can be hard for me to teach how I feel is better, because I have to follow the governmental guidelines, if not the teacher's own curriculum. For example, I technically have "free reign" over the elementary school lessons, but because of regulations, I can't really "teach" them anything that involves writing more than a few words, and grammar is practically impossible just because I don't get enough lessons with them. It's pretty much the alphabet, numbers, some vocabulary and super-simple conversations.

I don't think Japan really envies anything, because they seem to pride themselves on being unique in nearly every respect. The only things they might envy are less societal and more material, and those can just be imported. Those who truly envy other countries tend to emmigrate.

I like her character design, and I have a soft spot for "that" pose, although I'm not sure if that was before or after I played SWR. I like Mr. Big from the SNK fighting games for similiar reasons.

From your position as an ALT (and unofficial textbook writer) what would you say about the Japanese education system? What you think should change/improve/remain the same?

Speaking of which, have you ever gaijin smashed your way through something?
Kind of talked about it before, but my biggest issue is that they don't start teaching things seriously enough in elementary school but they are too serious past that. Not just English, but pretty much every subject. Also I don't agree that the burden of moral education should be on the school system. That's the parents' job, but it seems a lot of parents are relatively detached from their kids past making sure they study hard and giving them a place to live. Then there's the entire collegiate system. Students spend 6 or more years studying to pass tests to get into colleges where they learn squat and get hired solely based on their alma mater. And of course, not all that many students are able to get that far, because a lot of these tests require going to cram schools which just add to the already high academic fees, and financial aid is far less common here. There needs to be more flexibility in general, because right now, the vast majority of students come out of the system only knowing how to pass tests, which will not get Japanese society anywhere on a global scale.

And I haven't as far as I know. I try not to be the obnoxious foreigner stereotype that's moderately common here, and since I know a fair amount of Japanese, I don't even have ignorance as an honest excuse.

How did you end up in Japan

Any plans for the future?

How do you make it so that your shipments always arrive flawlessly?
I found a guy posting on a forum I go to about how his company hires people will 4-year college degrees to work in Japan as teachers. I've been thinking about doing that during my last two years in college, so I took him up on the offer.

Nothing for the moment, beyond becoming a translator. I might continue to dabble in education, at least though my doujinshi.

The postal service does all the hard work; I just have to make sure they're packaged correctly.

how do you deal with air raid with a method that doesn't simply involve "push butan"?
The only Air Raids I deal with are From Tha Undaground but those are dealt exclusively by pushing butans so I don't know how else to answer that.

Do you collect any merchandise yourself? Anything non-Touhou?
I do, but in moderation, partly due to a lack of space and partly because I can't justify owning tons of figures and stuff. I have the Toranoana Aya figure, the bkub Chen figure, a black-and-hot-pink (bonus) Sakuya from one of the lucky draw figure sets and the Reisen and Tewi figures that came with the Inaba comics, but that's about it as far as Touhou goes. I also have a Kyon figma which I bought way back when I first moved here, a Yotsuba and the Amazon.co.jp version of Cardbo Revoltechs, some other small figures from comic series I've bought and the special Lucky Star Nendroid Petits they gave out at New Year's at the Washinomiya Shrine in 2009. Oh yeah, and a big Shiroro from Pop'n Music plush. Nothing more than 3000 yen. I'm kind of tempted to buy the Daioki Cirno every time I see it though...

I suppose my question would be how tricky is it to get a job over there? I heard conflicting things about preference towards Japanese, and I've seen a few places before that were posted as Japanese-only. Trying to get an idea more from someone who lives there vs being there in the Navy. Two different things those are.
It depends on what kind of job you want. If you're going to be an English teacher like me, there are almost always spots open, but especially after that earthquake/nuclear scare. You might not necessarily be placed in Kanto, but you'll be in Japan. For pretty much everything else though, you need either a really special skill set like programming or engineering or fluent Japanese. For the first case, your best bet would be to start out with a domestic company and then get transferred to Japan. If you want to work for a Japanese company in Japan, fluent Japanese is a must, because a lot of companies have the mindset that they would rather deal with someone with no communication problems, even if they aren't as good at the actual task they were hired for. Being in Japan is also a must, in many cases.

How did you get into Touhou?

How did you find MotK?

What is your favorite beverage?
I saw a Marisa Stole The Precious Thing parody using Taniguchi from the Haruhi series and loved it. Looking around for the original led me to Cirno's Perfect Math Class and that was kind of it. I was already in Japan at the time, so while walking around Akiba with a friend, I asked him which game with Cirno in it should I buy. He told me PCB, despite her mid-boss status. It was probably for the best though.

I don't remember exactly, It might have been though the Touhou imageboard, the old wiki or Walfas.

Root beer, which is unfortuately rare here.
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Helepolis on June 23, 2011, 07:15:42 AM
Ah, assistant English teacher.

I can't really "teach" them anything that involves writing more than a few words, and grammar is practically impossible just because I don't get enough lessons with them. It's pretty much the alphabet, numbers, some vocabulary and super-simple conversations.
That is actually quite sad. Reminds me of how they teach languages in here after high school. Basically, learning languages all over the world is a pain in the ass. I have followed like what... 3 japanese lolcourses and I still cannot chat or have a simple convo with people. My vocabulary is almost non existent, grammar fails etc.

I mean, if I look at my own elementary/highschool experience on languages. We had twice a week English for 50 minutes with lots of intensive vocabulary, grammar sentences etc. And logically the Dutch language was practically almost every day at elementary school, later on twice a week as well (because there were multiple languages). On Dutch highschools, French, German, English are mandatory in your first two years, later on you can drop them if you wish (not English though).

Sigh, I wish I had the possibility to study JP intensively somehow...

Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Widermelonz on June 23, 2011, 08:44:25 AM
How difficult do you think Japanese is for average English speakers? Inversely, how difficult do you think English is for Japanese speakers? (On a scale of 1 to 10 would be nice.)

How's your residence? Do you like it? Anything you'd like to improve/change?

What do you think Japan needs more of, specifically? (Certain foods, types of people, places, events, etc?)
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Mimachiro on June 23, 2011, 10:02:35 AM
If you could live with any touhou, who would it be?

What kind of hat was ZUN wearing when you shook his hand?

What's the craziest thing you've seen in Japan?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: N-Forza on June 23, 2011, 11:17:04 AM
How difficult do you think Japanese is for average English speakers? Inversely, how difficult do you think English is for Japanese speakers? (On a scale of 1 to 10 would be nice.)

How's your residence? Do you like it? Anything you'd like to improve/change?

What do you think Japan needs more of, specifically? (Certain foods, types of people, places, events, etc?)
I'd say a 9 for both ways. English and Japanese are practically polar opposites so trying to understand the mindset you need to adopt to learn the other can take quite a bit of effort. Still, it's nothing that can't be overcome, but it's quite a hurdle.

I like my apartment well enough. It's modern and surprisingly roomy (at least compared to my dorm rooms), but the rent feels like it should be higher than it ought to be. Another room would be nice, but any bigger and it would be too much to clean/furnish.

Japan needs three things: foreigners, flexibility and fast food. Foreigners are going to be needed soon for a number of reasons, but it won't come until the second does. The third is just my opinion, although it is improving. Wendy's went away sometime during my second year here, but places like Burger King, Subway and Sbarro's are beginning to expand. Still, it needs to be faster and I would kill for some Taco Bell.

If you could live with any touhou, who would it be?

What kind of hat was ZUN wearing when you shook his hand?

What's the craziest thing you've seen in Japan?
Yukari, assuming she would allow me to use her gaps to send stuff where it needs to go. Alternatively, Lyrica because percussion is the best.

His usual green beret.

Probably the aforementioned Belly-button Festival, or Heso Matsuri. Imagine a bunch of guys wearing overly large hats with faces painted on their stomachs dancing down Main Street. Yeah.
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Edible on June 23, 2011, 02:05:45 PM
I can probably ship you some taco bell.  I imagine it would still taste the same reheated.
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: HakureiSM on June 23, 2011, 06:29:47 PM
Jet fighter crashes into your place, how do you react?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Mimachiro on June 23, 2011, 09:44:47 PM
Just how far would you go to get some Taco Bell?

Have you ever tried Morning Rescue?

Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: communist unity (comm-unity) on June 24, 2011, 02:09:09 AM
Why do you like playing the Medic?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: N-Forza on June 24, 2011, 06:12:24 AM
I can probably ship you some taco bell.  I imagine it would still taste the same reheated.
Well, I intended it as more of how desperate I am for Mexican food of any kind.

Jet fighter crashes into your place, how do you react?
Give the size of my place, I'd probably be dead.

Just how far would you go to get some Taco Bell?

Have you ever tried Morning Rescue?

Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
I really can't say. Obviously not enough to go back to America, I just get cravings for it occasionally.

No, I've never really felt the need to, likely because I missed most of the commercials for it.

Absolutely no idea, but I don't mind all that much. Surprises make life interesting, if not always easy.

Why do you like playing the Medic?
It's a good way to directly influence the performance of the team without actually needing to know the finer points of playing classes like the Soldier or Demoman. I've never really been amazing at FPSs, but as a Medic, I don't really have to aim yet I'm still supporting the team. Also, Medic is a lot harder than it appears to be, because you're always being targeted if you're playing against decent players, so you need to constantly be alert. It's a unique challenge that seems dull but there's a fair amount of strategy involved. I like healing classes in games, too. If I played MMORPGs, I would play one of those more than likely.
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: HakureiSM on June 24, 2011, 06:37:16 AM
Give the size of my place, I'd probably be dead.
I never said you'd be in it
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Mimachiro on June 24, 2011, 10:09:36 AM
If you woke up in the morning next to Iku, both of your clothes lying on the floor, and neither of you could remember what happened the previous night, how would you respond?

What's the craziest dream you've ever had?

If you ideal girl was in Touhou, what kind of youkai would she be?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: N-Forza on June 24, 2011, 01:39:08 PM
I never said you'd be in it
I'd probably be a little worried about where I would be spending the night and hoping to high heaven that my computer remained intact. I'd be pretty down about my CD collection being totaled, too.

If you woke up in the morning next to Iku, both of your clothes lying on the floor, and neither of you could remember what happened the previous night, how would you respond?

What's the craziest dream you've ever had?

If you ideal girl was in Touhou, what kind of youkai would she be?
Uh, are we really going to go there?

Too crazy to remember completely, but it involved a bunch of musical numbers.

One that doesn't eat humans.
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Jana on June 24, 2011, 04:27:58 PM
Well, I intended it as more of how desperate I am for Mexican food of any kind.

If anyone wants to help pay for the shipping, I'll make you some real Mexican food instead of that Taco Bell swill.

What's your preferred method for keeping in touch with family/friends in the US?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Hello Purvis on June 24, 2011, 11:26:18 PM
Sadly, most of us are probably so used to Americanized Mexican food we probably wouldn't be too down with the real thing.

FORZA!

-What keeps you hangin' around us mugs?
-Why am I your favorite?
-How long have you been in Japan, anyways? Sorry if I missed that question already.
-What's a day in the life-a Forza like?
-Roguelikes?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Mimachiro on June 25, 2011, 12:00:22 AM
Uh, are we really going to go there?
Drunk fairies pull strange pranks. Just hope Aya doesn't find out, she'll probably assume you did something to each other.

If a fairy did pull that prank on you, how would you respond?

Ever been to a wild, drunken party?

What's one thing you hope to accomplish within the next year?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Jana on June 25, 2011, 02:19:30 AM
Sadly, most of us are probably so used to Americanized Mexican food we probably wouldn't be too down with the real thing.
Uh, are we really going to go there?
:P
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: N-Forza on June 26, 2011, 11:48:52 AM
Sorry for the delay. I was in Tokyo for the weekend since my circle participated in another Touhou event and didn't have access to a full-sized computer, or even a lap-sized one.

What's your preferred method for keeping in touch with family/friends in the US?
AIM, Skype and sometimes Facebook. My brother likes to bug me on Steam, too.

FORZA!

-What keeps you hangin' around us mugs?
-Why am I your favorite?
-How long have you been in Japan, anyways? Sorry if I missed that question already.
-What's a day in the life-a Forza like?
-Roguelikes?
- I have no idea. Mostly my store thread, but I kind of got tired of posting in CPMC after it all melted into drama. I mean, I like Touhou and all, but the only thing I really really like is the music, and it can be kind of hard to talk about it IMO.
- If I may be frank, you're not. I really don't agree with a lot of your political views, and while that's not my problem and I totally see where you're coming from, you kind of come across as a jerk about it. I still think you're a cool guy and generally pretty funny, you're not my favorite. Sorry for taking everything at face value, but you asked. (FYI, I am "conservative" but that's mostly on the financial end. Socially, I think quite a few changes could be made and do no real harm to everyone who oppose them. If you want to discuss more, fire away. I don't normally like to debate on the Interbuttz anymore but that's what this thread is for.)
- This is my fourth year here.
- Bike to work, teach some Englishes, come home, take care of shipping stuff, work on translation/doujin stuff or play games. The weekends are usually more interesting.
- Never really got into them. I can see the appeal, but I don't know. There was just other stuff that was more appealing.

If a fairy did pull that prank on you, how would you respond?

Ever been to a wild, drunken party?

What's one thing you hope to accomplish within the next year?
Get a dog.

Drunken, a few. Wild, not really.

Get this translation patch I've been working on out the door.
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Rin Kagamine on June 26, 2011, 01:02:24 PM
Favorites:What else do you usually play at the arcades?  Initial D?  Wangan Midnight?
Where else have you taught besides Haruna?
Do much traveling in Japan besides to Tokyo?
What other countries have you been to?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Mimachiro on June 26, 2011, 09:44:07 PM
What's your favorite track from an official Touhou game?

What's your favorite remixed Touhou track?

How different do you think your life would be if you didn't end up moving to Japan?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Drake on June 26, 2011, 10:12:50 PM
Brought to light when Hele posted about Hang In There Kogasa-san, they are taking a super long trip. I've heard of these kinds of All-Of-Japan trips everywhere and due to living in Canada, our "long trips" are essentially "visit two cities and drive for 99% of the trip". What do you think about long country-wide trips in Japan, and have you ever taken any?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: LHCling on June 26, 2011, 10:21:36 PM
こんばんわ or こんばんは?  :derp:

What is your dream sandwich? In other words, describe in as much or as little detail as desired, the best sandwich ever.
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Alfred F. Jones on June 27, 2011, 01:53:29 AM
If you could go back in time and change any one historical event to have the outcome of your choice, what would it be and why?

Favourite book, if any?

What in Japan has left the strongest impression on you-- anything at all?

Forgive me if you've been asked this question before and I just didn't notice, but do you intend to go back to your home country? Why or why not?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Earzchen on June 27, 2011, 04:46:31 AM
Have you had any random encounters yet, like spring is about to come?

Do you plan to study another language?

How long did it took for you to arrange all papers to be sent there? and how hard?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: N-Forza on June 27, 2011, 05:13:15 AM
Favorites:
  • Bemani series
  • Jubeat song
  • Jubeat chart
  • IIDX song
  • IIDX style
  • IIDX girl
  • DDR song
  • Fighting game
What else do you usually play at the arcades?  Initial D?  Wangan Midnight?
Where else have you taught besides Haruna?
Do much traveling in Japan besides to Tokyo?
What other countries have you been to?
- DrumMania
- Eyes or Polaris
- I don't know, maybe YMCA
- Fly Above
- Red, Happy Sky, or Gold
- Iroha
- Brilliant 2U
- Mark of the Wolves or CVS2

Sometimes I'll play SFIV, Melty Blood, Initial D or shmups if I'm in the mood. I used to play quiz games too but I kind of stopped for some reason.

I've worked in Kazo in Saitama and Futtsu in Chiba. And it's not Haruna, it's Shibukawa

Not really. The way I see it, it would theoretically be a lot easier to tour Japan than work and live there, given enough money, so I decided it would be more interesting to live here for now. Maybe if I have the chance, I will do a bit more wandering around.

I've technically been to Mexico but I never had a passport before I went to Japan so I don't really know how that worked.
What's your favorite track from an official Touhou game?

What's your favorite remixed Touhou track?

How different do you think your life would be if you didn't end up moving to Japan?
Probably Wind Goddess Girl.

Border Of Life (Piano House Mix) by Hatsunetsu Mikos. Never before has "more than the sum of its parts" been so applicable.

Well, I probably wouldn't even consider translating at all. I likely would've tried to get a more normal job but seeing as how the economy tanked soon after I left, I don't know if I would've kept it. Maybe my dad could've help me with his connections but it doesn't matter at this point. But then again, I would've had a bit less debt to worry about since I had to borrow a decent amount to get over here, not that I regret it.

Brought to light when Hele posted about Hang In There Kogasa-san, they are taking a super long trip. I've heard of these kinds of All-Of-Japan trips everywhere and due to living in Canada, our "long trips" are essentially "visit two cities and drive for 99% of the trip". What do you think about long country-wide trips in Japan, and have you ever taken any?
Countrywide as in travel all over the country or going from one end to another with nothing in between? I'd say both are entirely possible though. There's a lot of interesting stuff in the cities, but the same can be said for the countryside. You just need to know where to look. Driving can be be a bit expensive, but it's usually possible to get to anywhere of interest via train or bus. Still, nothing wrong with just hitting up Tokyo and Kyoto/Osaka.

こんばんわ or こんばんは?  :derp:

What is your dream sandwich? In other words, describe in as much or as little detail as desired, the best sandwich ever.
no

Bacon, sliced turkey and ham, lettuce, cheese, tomato, mayo, toasted wheat bread. Sorry if it seems boring, but I just had lunch and I'm not really in the mood to think about food all that much. But it still sounds pretty good.

If you could go back in time and change any one historical event to have the outcome of your choice, what would it be and why?

Favourite book, if any?

What in Japan has left the strongest impression on you-- anything at all?

Forgive me if you've been asked this question before and I just didn't notice, but do you intend to go back to your home country? Why or why not?
I've read enough science fiction to know when to leave well enough alone. However, for purely selfish reasons, I think that I could have done without that Tohoku Earthquake, assuming I could control it anyway.

Mr. Popper's Penguins. Don't even mention the movie to me. Just the fact that they used 6 Gentoo penguins versus 12 Adelies is reason enough to deny its existence.

Probably the biggest is how different people are here socially. People rarely like to interact with each other in real life, out of shyness or whatever. Unless they work together or went to the same school or are a friend of a friend, meeting completely unrelated people is a rarity. Maybe it's just because no one really talks to me even in usually social places like arcades, but even there, I rarely see anyone talk to people who even play the same game unless they walked into the place together or knew each other ahead of time. On a more positive note, I do like how it is very safe here. I mean, I was rarely scared of being robbed or anything even in the slightly slummy parts of Atlanta, but here, it's like people don't even lock their doors when they go out sometimes.

It depends on where the job opportunties are. Mostly I want to translate for a career, and I could easily do that in Japan, America or anywhere really. But I am more or less content with living in Japan for a longer period of time. I don't really feel an attachment to any one place or thing right now, and both places have their advantages. It just comes down to where I can support myself best.

Have you had any random encounters yet, like spring is about to come?

Do you plan to study another language?

How long did it took for you to arrange all papers to be sent there? and how hard?
I have no idea what you mean by that. Encounters with what? Girls? Aliens? Pokemon?

Not at the moment, but if I were, I would try to pick up where I left off with Spanish.

Well, it didn't take that long since I got lucky with how fast the passport was sent to me, and requesting the necessary forms from my college wasn't that bad. Probably the worst part was the doctor exam but that was just because it needed to be scheduled. Once I got to Japan, I got the visa with no problem after a short wait at the immigration office.
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Rin Kagamine on June 27, 2011, 06:47:40 AM
I saw a video once of someone driving the downhill of Mt. Akagi and it was littered with speedbumps to stop drifters.  Is Mt. Haruna in Shibukawa the same way?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Earzchen on June 27, 2011, 06:54:07 AM
Sometimes I'll play SFIV, Melty Blood, Initial D or shmups if I'm in the mood. I used to play quiz games too but I kind of stopped for some reason.

Have you played the Current Code?

I have no idea what you mean by that. Encounters with what? Girls? Aliens? Pokemon?

With the Goddess, with strange girls, with espers, aliens, time travelers, with pokemon, and also with Hatsune Miku
Well, it didn't take that long since I got lucky with how fast the passport was sent to me, and requesting the necessary forms from my college wasn't that bad. Probably the worst part was the doctor exam but that was just because it needed to be scheduled. Once I got to Japan, I got the visa with no problem after a short wait at the immigration office.

No. Way.
Let's hope I get a quick, safe, and secure process to once I start to make my trip to Nihon.
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Hello Purvis on June 27, 2011, 07:52:25 AM
Alrighty: Why do you believe in fiscal conservatism? In choosing between it and social liberalism, which tends to win out?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Mimachiro on June 27, 2011, 10:05:52 AM
Think you'll find a Japanese waifu?

Had any girlfriends since you made the trip?

The greatest challenge you've overcome?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Nietz on June 27, 2011, 10:08:49 AM
How did you get into the creative side of the doujin scene? Did you venture in by yourself or you were in contact with Talka and the ddiction folks beforehand?
Also, I'd be interested in any other impressions as a foreigner in said scene you might want to share. (As in, how hard it is, how the workflow goes, relations inter- and intra- circles, etc.)

Oh, and how do you like Gunma compared to the other places you've been to?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: N-Forza on June 27, 2011, 12:06:47 PM
I saw a video once of someone driving the downhill of Mt. Akagi and it was littered with speedbumps to stop drifters.  Is Mt. Haruna in Shibukawa the same way?
Yeah, they'll have them at certain corners. I get the feeling they've been there for a while now.

Have you played the Current Code?

With the Goddess, with strange girls, with espers, aliens, time travelers, with pokemon, and also with Hatsune Miku
No. Way.
Let's hope I get a quick, safe, and secure process to once I start to make my trip to Nihon.
Yeah, although I only started recently and only play Hisui for now, so I have no idea what I'm doing for the most part. I prefer Full Moon though because I am bad at combos.

No, yes, no, no, no, no and no.

If you're only here as a tourist, it's even easier, since all you really need is the passport.

Alrighty: Why do you believe in fiscal conservatism? In choosing between it and social liberalism, which tends to win out?
Admittedly, I might not have complete understanding of the subject or I might be completely misunderstanding what you say, but from what I learned in my business management program, it's generally a lot more efficient for "money" to be concentrated among a few people. If they're doing it right, this wealth should be in constant circulation, putting money into the economy almost as fast as its going in. Of course, human nature makes it so it doesn't run nearly as smoothly as it should. In fact, the same could be said for liberalism, except instead of value being more evenly spread out, this makes things even MORE troublesome since more people are involved, even though it seems more "humane."

Also, I believe in less government restriction on how this money is spent, to a degree. Obviously, you need to stop clearly illegal or scummy activity, but as companies find workarounds, you eventually get to the point we're at today, so I don't know. Again, this is human nature at work, but it's better than having to jump through a million hoops just because you want to run a pottery business out of your own home.

Finally, I believe in that in conducting fair and honest business, you will build a lot more wealth over time. However, there are understandably a lot of people who just want to make money as fast as possible so they cut corners, and they just end up falling into a vicious circle and won't improve without effort. You need to start a business with the right mindset in the first place. This could apply to either system though.

Think you'll find a Japanese waifu?

Had any girlfriends since you made the trip?

The greatest challenge you've overcome?
It's possible, but I'm not really looking for one at the moment. If it were to just happen though, I wouldn't turn it down if it were meant to be and all that.

No, for the aforementioned reason. I'm not asexual or anything, I just have different priorities.

I really don't know. They all kind of blur after a while, and I felt like I've never had to WORK work to get to where I am. It's not like I'm a slacker or whatever, I'm just not terribly ambitious, I guess. Learning Japanese has been pretty hard though, and the JLPT was pretty rough, although level 1 is going to be even harder...

How did you get into the creative side of the doujin scene? Did you venture in by yourself or you were in contact with Talka and the ddiction folks beforehand?
Also, I'd be interested in any other impressions as a foreigner in said scene you might want to share. (As in, how hard it is, how the workflow goes, relations inter- and intra- circles, etc.)

Oh, and how do you like Gunma compared to the other places you've been to?
I had no almost no idea what Touhou was before coming to Japan, but after about a year I started getting into it, including some fan works like Walfas' stuff, mostly watching his videos on Nicovideo so I could see the Japanese fan reaction to them. At almost the same time, some guy I kind of know on another forum posted about this doujin English textbook he bought with a bunch of sex terms. It was obviously done by a non-native speaker, but it was an amusing enough idea. Then I saw that Walfas was going to be selling stuff in Japan though Talka. That gave me an idea. I contacted KirbyM first to see if he was up for it, then talked to Talka at an event and they both seemed to be cool with the idea.

As far as the workflow goes, I write the book and layout the pages, then send them to KirbyM. He makes the artwork, I put them in, and send off the pages to Talka who sends them to the printer, although I could probably do that step myself by now. In the circle itself, we pretty much have to make sure that at least one person is there at the booth selling stuff, which is a lot harder than it sounds. The other two main members like to cosplay so changing before and after the event takes forever, and we both have our own agendas during the event as well, talking to other circles and doing our own personal shopping. Despite events lasting around 5-6 hours, at places like Comiket there is just SO MUCH STUFF and SO MANY PEOPLE that it's easy to lose track of time. Between circles, I will generally introduce myself, we exchange name cards and usually our latest works. Not a whole lot of time to talk at the event, but Twitter is usually a sufficient alternative.

I think I like Gunma more than the other places. I find myself liking the mountains more than I thought I would, despite things like wind.
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: communist unity (comm-unity) on June 27, 2011, 04:26:11 PM
How bad is the xenophobia/racism/nationalism in Japan? Is it as bad as they say, or do people just exaggerate about it?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Mimachiro on June 27, 2011, 09:34:00 PM
What's the one event you had the most fun with?

Have you ever met the emperor before?

Ever run into a random American?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Alfred F. Jones on June 27, 2011, 09:59:40 PM
How good are you at the Touhou games?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: N-Forza on June 28, 2011, 06:31:23 AM
How bad is the xenophobia/racism/nationalism in Japan? Is it as bad as they say, or do people just exaggerate about it?
It's there, but it really isn't all that blatant nor common.

What's the one event you had the most fun with?

Have you ever met the emperor before?

Ever run into a random American?
I really don't know. I'm not one to "rank" memorable events because they don't really work that way in my opinion. I will say I do enjoy conventions and general get-togethers with friends.

No.

All the time, but mostly in Tokyo.

How good are you at the Touhou games?
I can 1-cc Easy Mode on in anything on a good day. Have yet to clear one on Normal, but I've been "slacking off" lately. I'd like to think I'm better at the fighting games, but I get whipped all the time in network play over here, so probably not.

Last call for questions. Speak now or forever hold your peace.
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Rin Kagamine on June 28, 2011, 06:47:57 AM
How did you study/learn Japanese when you first came here?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Drake on June 28, 2011, 07:15:14 AM
Related: for a guy with one year of formal classes, going for a second, along with immersion limited to internet. Once most points of grammar and such are out of the way, what do you think would be the best method for furthering fluency (whether it be vocabulary or colloquial phrases or kanjigrinding or whatever) and where could I learn such things?

- 渋川に来るので君は私を食事に招待してくれたなら、どこに行きたいですか?(私の好み構いない)

無関係、http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm506752
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Alfred F. Jones on June 28, 2011, 07:44:55 AM
What's your favourite out of the Touhou games?

What would a perfect day go like for you?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: E-Nazrin on June 28, 2011, 08:33:17 AM
The racism question reminds me, what've you seen about the drama between Japan and Korea? Is that mostly trolling, or does that tend to be a sore spot?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: Mimachiro on June 28, 2011, 10:01:58 AM
How many anime/gaming merchandise stores are within walking distance of your home?

How often do you frequent them?

Iku vs. Godzilla: who wins?
Title: Re: Ask a Not-Staffer Ep. 19 - N-Forza
Post by: N-Forza on June 28, 2011, 10:35:10 PM
How did you study/learn Japanese when you first came here?
This flashcard/drilling program called "Kanji Box" and reading stuff in Japanese, not to mention what I learned by absorption.

Related: for a guy with one year of formal classes, going for a second, along with immersion limited to internet. Once most points of grammar and such are out of the way, what do you think would be the best method for furthering fluency (whether it be vocabulary or colloquial phrases or kanjigrinding or whatever) and where could I learn such things?

- 渋川に来るので君は私を食事に招待してくれたなら、どこに行きたいですか?(私の好み構いない)

無関係、http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm506752
I don't know. Again, it's not just knowing the kanji and grammar, it's knowing how to use it. The Internet seems pretty decent for that, but I heard there are services that will match you up with willing partners to have Japanese conversations over Skype and things like that. I'm not sure where they would be found though.

If I'm understanding your question right, there really isn't too much special about the food here, although it's apparently famous for "yaki-manju" so if you like that, you're golden.

And yeah, that's the video I saw way back when that kind of introduced me in a roundabout way to Touhou.

What's your favourite out of the Touhou games?

What would a perfect day go like for you?
Shoot the Bullet. I love the premise behind it and it works out pretty good.

I have no idea. There are lots of things I would like to do, but again, I have a hard time "ranking" things that would let me clearly say which one is best.

The racism question reminds me, what've you seen about the drama between Japan and Korea? Is that mostly trolling, or does that tend to be a sore spot?
At times, maybe. I imagine most of that is just trolling on the Internet though. Only ultra-nationalists really care.

How many anime/gaming merchandise stores are within walking distance of your home?

How often do you frequent them?

Iku vs. Godzilla: who wins?
They are actually building one just down the road from me. It was an old shoe store, abandoned since before I got here, so it's about time something moved in.

I go to the other ones by bike, but I only go about once every two weeks. I don't really have the budget for it, and Amazon usually has better prices, so I just go when I feel like browsing for a bit.

Depends on how resistant Iku is to electricity/fever.

Congraturation! Thanks you for your playing. See you next!