It turns out swings are fun.

Stress stress not sleeping well frustration overcommitment whine whine go get Starbucks Houjicha Latte (tm) want sun go to shrine of guilt dojo only place in Shibuya with public benches want sun and wonder: how did dojo which I had looked forward to going to when in Japan become guilt dojo? I already have mastery of that and am more than satisfied with level of guilt, no need for additional training but it turns out next to the benches of guilt contemplation there is a swing.

It is in the sun.

I can sit on the swing in the sun and wrap my arm around the chain and sip my Starbucks Houjicha Latte Grande Size (tm) but the Starbucks Houjicha (this is roasted tea, the roasting makes it better than your average tea which makes sense because really everything is better roasted) Latte Grande Size, 460 yen please is too hot so the chain is nestled into the crook of my elbow and I rest my head against the chain, it's a friendly chain though not particularly stable or supportive and hold a paper cup full of Starbucks hot milk tea, two things previously anathema to me (1. Starbucks 2. milk and sugar in tea) but all things change, including the facts that I was a person who swung on swings and and then I was not for a long long time.

I carefully set my tea down off to one side.

It turns out swings are still fun.

Maybe I'll get back into iaido again next week. And if not? So be it. I can at least stop by and say a quick hi. It's really quite close by after all.

2012

Totally gorged on new year food.

After the barrage of year-end parties, I just chilled out for the new year itself.

I'm largely satisfied with how things are going, productivity-wise. I should be releasing my first iPhone app pretty soon, really excited about that. I could write for here more often. I have 3 or 4 drafts sitting around that I should push out soon.

I think the one thing I want to work on this year - my new year's resolution, if I have to call it that - is to express what I feel and what I want more clearly. Or at all.

Things I worked on today:

• Posted a blog entry
• Programming
• Photos
• Reaching out to people who can help me in my job search

Stunningly productive.

Tomorrow:

• An application for an English teaching job.
• Finish up the Brasil photo set.

Decided not to implement collision detection here.

The programming I did today was to get objects moving around onscreen in response to touch commands. Then I did a fairly rudimentary simulation of acceleration by periodically updating the speed the object moved at. I took advantage of this to also update the direction the object is moving in, which is prrretty cool.

These will eventually have to become vectors, and instead of doing movement actions over time, I'll primarily be updating the locations directly. I'm enjoying making things happen, but for now it's buggy as hell and the code is poorly organized, so while I did clean out some gunk today, to follow up, tomorrow I would like to do some:

• Refactoring. Is the technical word for it. But I'm an editor, and this looks like a nail, so I'm going to whip out my trusty hammer. (Protip: the hammer is my editing, according to Captain Hammer.)

For idiomatic smoothies that are incomprehensible yet delicious, take two parts metaphor and one part pop culture reference and set blenders to "mix."

Then enjoy.

Delicious BBQ

Delicious kalbi beef, sausage, and veggies, oh my! Not counting the vast quantity of wonderful and unique non-grilled dishes, like the inari with soba inside instead of rice, or the prosciutto inexplicably on radish. Ah yes, and brigadeiro contributed by yours truly, which was not perfect, but not an abject failure either.

The abject failure is sitting in my fridge. Where I will nibble at it until it goes away, or until I find a victim. It tastes right, but the consistency is totally screwed up. I am ashamed. I may have to give back my Brasilian passport.

Anyway, let's hear a hallelujah for carports. Otherwise the BBQ would have been doomed. Doomed. Allegedly it's a typhoon, but if so, where's the wind? Not a patch on a proper hurricane, I tell you.

I am aware that this seemingly contradicts my thesis. But Ron is
sitting at the table, so if you think about it, it really doesn't.

There seems to be something universal about people putting meat on a grill: the dudes congregate around it, while the girls hang out at the table. It happens in the states, it happens in Brasil, and it happens in Japan. Whether it's due to the meat or fire or knives (here, chopsticks) or some combination of the three, the result is some weird atavistic "here we be men" thing.

I imagine that regardless of any other local customs, when you see dead animals over a fire on a rest day, you know: dudes over here, chicks over there.

Most of this was typed on the train home. I even feel like I could be productive this evening.

So, this evening I will...

• Finish the cover letter and resume for J.

Tomorrow:

• Spiffy up a spec and send resume to Y
• Investigate 8/4
• chipmunk and box2d cage match

Saturday

Massive brigadeiro cooking failure. Made a new batch from scratch, but I have no idea what to do with the failed stuff. It's still tasty... Just crumbly instead of becoming proper gooey balls.

Frustrated by templates in xcode 4 again.

Feeling wishy-washy about which physics library to use.

Despite feeling like I had gotten a great night's sleep, felt listless and irritable for most of the day. Caffeine withdrawal?

Currently listening to the invisible gorilla. In my head. No, it's a book. It's interesting, but audible.com doesn't seem to have the books I really want to read...

Friday

Ended up staying in due to gray, potentially rainy day.

Today's stuff:

• Did some work for dad.
• Animation tutorial for cocos2d.
• Got touches selecting sprites for game mechanic.
• Started cutting up some free sprites to use.
• Worked on cover letter, mo technical resume for J
• Took a guilt-free break - watched Tangled. A little heavy on the singing, but highly enjoyable. I realize it's a stylistic thing, but sometimes I feel that it's the default for Disney movies. Sweet but not saccharine.

Tomorrow:

• Programming at tsubame café. Draw a line between two selected sprites, move together. Physics tutorials.
• Evening at baachan's place. Flowers for m. Talk to k about resume
• Finish off brigadeiro for Sunday.

Sunday:

• Kikuchi BBQ!

5/25

Today's accomplishments:

• Wrote up a post on my iPad.
• Sketched out some basic ideas for a game level.
• Communicated with people.
• Saw J.
• A cocos2d tutorial, though the memory management hydra has struck viciously.
• Various small organizey things.

Tomorrow's goals:

• What is it exactly that I have against calling up KDDI? Oh, right... deaf. Meh.
• More cocos2d. It could do with better tutorials, though.
• Hang out with R.
• Make a decision on vector drawing app. I'm worried I'm trying to bite off more tools than I can chew at once, though.
• Sit down and plan out apps and games, and prioritize one to work on for now. I'd like to sit down Saturday morning ready to start making something.

May 24

Today's accomplishments:

• Upper body workout
• An hour of frisbee
• Emailed K
• Wrote draft of email for J - maybe finish tonight
• Cleaned up photos some
• Hung out with K (a different one)
• Made blob in pixel art, with some animation frames

Tomorrow's goals:

• Lower body workout
• Call kddi for money back
• Find out about looking for work visa
• Email Ron and Luke about hanging out Thursday
• Hang out with Jason
• Cocos2d tutorial

Tomorrow

Relax. Network. Have fun.

Day after tomorrow:

Dive back into OpenGL.

several days and 4/20; 4/21 goals

For some of the missing days, I kept track on Notes on my iPod. So it's ok, right?

Brief summary of stuff done:

Sent off QA app. Got approval of technical resume. Little bit of this. Little bit of that.

Positive experience at one-off job that might lead to future jobs.


To do tomorrow:

Email B for game industry brain-pickin'.

Email yesterday's job a thank-you note.

Study study study study!

Take care of that damned KDDI thing.

4/14; 4/15 goals

3rd draft for technical resume done; write email and send tomorrow morning.

QA resume done.

1st draft for QA cover letter done; 2nd draft tomorrow morning.

Some exercise, some cleaning, some cooking prep. Sent in an application for a one-off 'talk in English for munny' job, got a response, we'll see. Decent cash for a minimal time investment.

Started designing something I can make with what I've learned so far in iOS. Basically... a text-based adventure game, with tabs to switch between exploration and inventory, both of which would be table views. Icons and supplemental graphics can be added. Yes, I know, a text-based adventure game on iOS. You shake your head in disgust. But it should be a good way to practice data structures and review moving from one view to another. I'd like to start working on it tomorrow afternoon.

4/13; 4/14 goals.

Submitted mygengo.com test

Minor resume edits, wrote draft of cover letter for QA job

Made notes on entry-level programming resume

Studied iOS programming

Didn't complete some of these goals, but progress was made.

For tomorrow:

More iOS programming

Finish QA application

Finish programming resume

Deal with KDDI

4/13 goals

Finish mygengo.com test

Finish file system chapter

Send QA app

Resume for entry level programming

A brief plan.

Maybe a quick post early in the morning of things I want to get done that day.

Then another one at night, listing what I've done.