Presidential Election Madness

今日の日本語の言葉: yasui (安い) - cheap

This word was brought to you today by how funny I find the actual kanji to be. I learned it in class today, and I'll tell you all about it below.

I woke up today keenly aware of the fact that it was presidential election day. Part of my mind was absolutely sure Obama was going to win, otherwise our country is much worse than I thought it was; the other part of my mind was worried that Obama's "not-so-good" record thus far would make people want change toward a more drastic side, even if it might—in my liberal opinion—take the country backwards. I'm one of the people who believe that Obama has done his best so far, though, and thus, I think he shall do much better if he has four more years in office, since things have now gotten into his rhythm. 

From the moment I woke up, I went to CNN to monitor the polls. Kentucky was already in, along with Vermont, but everywhere else was still undecided. There was still a long ways to go. So I ate breakfast, Skyped Anna, wrote some more, read some stuff, studied—all the while refreshing the CNN page. Every time, Romney was leading by an inch (by an inch, I mean 1,000,000 votes or so). I kept wondering whether or not CNN was doing this to me on purpose though, and as it neared, I kept thinking that Obama really was going to lose, and I actually had to leave for school before I found out, which gnawed at me. I knew that by the time I got to school, it was likely that election results were in, but that would mean I would actually have to wait until I get to school. It was an antsy commute.

Why does the "be careful of the doors" sign involve a cape-wearing
panda with human lips? Is there something I'm just not getting? 

They not only mark where the doors are, but also what train car
that door is on. Thus, no matter where I get on, I always know that I'm
the third door of the seventh train car. So convenient!

When I got to class, election results weren't in yet. My safety as a woman could be resting on this; I mean, come on. I was glad that I had Yoneyama-sensei today, though, since other teachers wouldn't tolerate me checking my phone so much and so obviously during class. I did all my work, and though all of my teachers accept that I will read things on my phone and stuff when bored, I think only Yoneyama-sensei would literally let me hold my phone up and press refresh all the time, right in plain sight of everyone else. I told him it was election date, and he nodded and laughed, saying he understood. What a wonderful man.

Thus, when the election results actually came in, I jumped up a little and burst out, "Yatta!" which had everybody else laughing. They knew I supported Obama, so they could guess very well based on my reaction what happened. Of course, no one else seemed to care that much about politics anyways, especially American politics, but they were happy I was happy, which was nice. The rest of the day was smooth sailing. Nothing could get me down.

We decided that Yoneyama-sensei was the most hansome
out of all of these men on the board. xD

Now that I've gotten past the anxiety of the election, I can move on to describe to you why I think kanji is so interesting, especially that of 安い. Kanji carry their own meaning, so when they're put together, if you know its components, you can generally guess what the meaning is. For example, the kanji for strength (chikara) is 力. The kanji for rice field (ta - the whole word for rice field is "tanbo") is 田. Interestingly, "man" is a combination of the two: 男, because the man is the one who works in the field and is strong. Isn't that cool?

Now this brings me to 安い, which has a very interesting makeup indeed. Let's take just the kanji, which is 安 - yasu. This, by itself, means "availability," which I don't find that interesting until you know the actual kanji components. 安 is made up of 女 (woman) and that little thing up top, which means house. So if there's a woman in the house, it translates to availability? And then you make it "yasui" and it suddenly means cheap? Gee, thanks, kanji and Japanese history. (But at least the kanji 安 is also used as part of the words meaning "safe haven" and "relief," which I guess I feel... nice about, but it also has a vague "cult of domesticity" feel to it too xD).

But in seriousness, don't you see how cool this is? You can learn so much about society and culture back then from how the Japanese utilized Chinese kanji. You can also learn a lot about perspective, and just some downright awesome things. "Denki," for example, which means light, is made up of the kanji 電 and 気, which, together, means "electric spirit." Tell me that isn't cool.

Anyways, kanji rant over. Now let's continue with how the day went. I went to 7/11 with Saya-san as usual, though I wasn't hungry. I just like taking pictures of food and the interesting snacks they have. I was so tempted to get some Godiva truffles, and I vowed that I would do so one day when I was actually hungry. There was also some mixed berry pocky, which was too good to not buy and try out (and it tastes like what you'd expect a berry smoothie from Jamba Juice or something to taste like; surprisingly tart). I didn't get the mini beef jerky (though it was so cute!) or the "Big Katsu," though I was very curious as to what that was. Is it just the panko crumbs by itself? If not, what could be inside it that would have no need for refrigeration? We'll try it sometime; just not today.

As I was going home, something hit me that I've been meaning to write about for a while, but I keep forgetting. I love it very much how the Japanese generally line up in two lines at every door as they wait for the train (if there's space). This is only possible, of course, since Tokyo actually labels where the train doors will end up. They line up so that when the train arrives, one line stands on each side of the door to let the passengers out, then you can go in two by two. It's a nice first come first serve basis; there's not much pushing, and people generally move into the middle to allow for more passengers, so you don't get squished as often. So courteous! 

For dinner, I had tamagoyaki (rolled up egg omelette, sort of), miso soup, cabbage with katsu sauce, and—most importantly—sara udon. It's like crispy noodles, except better, and thinner noodles, and crispier. And the flavoring was perfection. Yummmmmmmmm! And it's a Nagasaki specialty which I didn't get to have, so she made it for me instead, in her own style. So sweet <3

I leave you tonight with a look at the beginnings of the back cover of My Sketchbook Cover Drawing Adventures (MySC DA). I've added Kai and Ishi, who have the uncomfortable friend relationship of one being a ladies man, and the other being jealous, but too hungry and poor to care.

I've also decided that the moment I start drawing in this sketchbook, the first thing I'm doing is personifying some of my favorite Yamanote line stops, like Shibuya, Harajuku, Yoyogi, Ueno, Akihabara, etc. They all have such screaming personalities that my creative mind is finding it a bit hard to ignore.

See you on the morrow! また明日、

マギー