Political Rant

For the most part, I try to stay out of politics, but there are a few topics that will really light a fire in me. One of them is anything regarding the wonderful world-wide web.

You have have heard that the Net Neutrality Act was shut down in January this year in a lawsuit between Verizon and the FCC. What does this mean for you? The Net Neutrality Act (a terrible name for it) states that your ISP (the company who provides you internet) has to treat all internet traffic equally. It means they have to allow you to access YouTube, CNN, Fox News, Amazon, and any other website you wish to visit on an equal basis. It means they can't charge you MORE to access those sites and it means they cannot charge the company MORE if they receive extra traffic (*note). This could mean internet connections might end up like TV channels. You pay extra for "premium" websites like Amazon, HBO, Netflix, Youtube, etc. Or

The FCC commissioners have finally released statements on removal of Net Neutrality - and not necessarily in favor of it. They all keep saying the internet will be "open and free", but how is that possible if your ISP can decide what websites run at the speeds you're paying for and which ones don't? Verizon has ALREADY been caught slowly Amazon and Netflix users down. Last I checked, I already pay a hefty sum each month to the rank 16 company on Fortune 500's list (at the time of this blog post). Business users pay more for better service and extra bandwidth. Why can Verizon now charge them MORE for speeds they already have? Why is Verizon punishing successful companies or companies it does not support? This is the same as a phone company charging extra to hear the voice of a person from another phone company clearly. 

The FCC Commissioner Tom Wheeler even mentions reclassifying the internet as a telecommunications service, but says the FCC will do it "only if warranted," effectively dodging the problem.

http://www.fcc.gov/document/statement-fcc-chairman-tom-wheeler-fccs-open-internet-rules

FCC Commissioner Matthew Berry discouraged the idea of the Net Neutrality Act, saying that the internet was free and open before Net Neutrality and will continue to be free and open after. I refute this. The Net Neutrality Act was passed in 2006, before the internet was used by the common person (**note) for more than e-mail. I recommend sending him an e-mail setting him straight.

http://www.fcc.gov/document/commissioner-pai-statement-fcc-internet-regulation

FCC Commissioner Mike O'Reilly has stated that there is no evidence that consumers are not able to access the content of their choice. While this is technically true, there is evidence that certain websites have become difficult to use due to the slow speeds. Verizon has been slowly Amazon and NetFlix, as mentioned above.

http://www.fcc.gov/document/commissioner-oriellys-statement-open-internet-announcement

The concern here is not necessarily increased charges from your ISP. The concern is that charges will rise for the business websites and news websites you visit, therefore costing the consumer more through the rising costs of the businesses. Sometimes, government regulation is important. I believe in an open and affordable internet. If you have time, please send e-mails to the commissioner's linked above!

(*note) - ISPs already get around this by charging companies for bandwidth packages. Companies usually pay for extra servers to keep their speeds high. Without Net Neutrality, your ISP can decide that they can charge EVEN MORE for them to keep those speeds high. They could charge Amazon more per server than they charge Barnes and Noble.

(**note) - when I use the term "common person" I am referring to the chronic Facebook user, middle-aged folk who can barely use a smartphone and the elderly. There were people who were pirated and who were online gamers, but they were in the minority.

It's been awhile!

It's been awhile since I posted last. I spent the last 6 month readjusting to life in the States. Fall 2013 was a very hectic semester filled with 18 credits and a stupid 6 weeks of doing 9 hours/week of night shift library work.

But I have some fun news! I have applied to the JET program and a private ALT company called Interac - and I have passed into the interview stage for both applications. I am now going to go into details about the hiring process with both companies and I will try to keep up with blogging the steps involved with each company. I haven't been able to find adequate preparatory materials for either process, so I will post my experience here.

It should be noted that the JET program is my primary concern, followed by the private company for several reasons. First, the JET program pays for your flight to Japan and I believe they also pay for your return flight once you have completed your time on the program. Second, pay with the JET program is around 50,000 yen/month MORE than private companies. After some research, I discovered this was because the Board of Education that has your contract is paying you directly on the JET program. With a private company, the company pay you after scooping off the top (by around 50,000 yen) of the 300,000 yen/month the BoE allots for the ALTs. Finally, a private company tends to have a lot more rules and "ways of doing things" than the JET program, which I think would crush the creativity of the teacher.

Now onto the processes so far:

JET Program

I spent weeks filling out the very lengthy & time-consuming forms, writing my statement of purpose and collecting transcripts, letters of recommendations and medical forms in October-November. The directions are VERY exact and the applicant must follow them precisely. I think the program uses this as a way to weed out less serious applicants.

On Tuesday this week (Feb 21st, 2014), they sent out an e-mail with a link to the application numbers of all applicants that received an interview. I was one of the lucky 1772 people that made it this far. According to the wonderful lady that visited my university, somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 applications are received for the program, which means applicants have a 11.8% to 17.7% chance of landing an interview. Overall, about 850 JETs are hired from the US each year for the program, although the program brochure sports higher numbers (it includes people on their 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th years). Using these numbers, there is around a 5.6% to 8.5% chance of being accepted into the program, making it very competitive. Once the applicant scores an interview, they have around a 47.5% chance of being accepted. I believe most others become alternates.

The program posts interview results by application number.When you submit your application, you receive a confirmation card in the mail with your application number. This number is also found on the forms themselves, if you wish to make note of it in case you lose your confirmation card. All is not lost if you do, but you will need to e-mail or call the program office to have them give you the results. An example of the result format is linked below:

2014 JET program results

A couple days after the results are posted, you will receive an e-mail from the head of interviews at your interview location. Mine is conveniently the Embassy of Japan and not a consulate (so I was able to hand my application in directly, instead of mailing it). The e-mail will be asking for confirmation that you are interested in being interviewed and of your contact information. It will also state that you MUST interview on the dates they provide (this year has 3 dates - the 18th, 19th and 20th of February) - if you cannot make it on those dates, you are disqualified.

Personally I feel this is a bit harsh, since they give you less than a month to make travel arrangements if you live some distance from your interview location, but I think it's to disqualify applicants that aren't serious about the program and make it easier for them to select.

I will post more about the program after I receive the detailed interview e-mail on Monday.

Interac

In comparison, this company has a much simpler process. The application is very straightforward and rather simple. The most difficult part is writing a cover letter (which I had never done before). You need zero documents other than your cover letter - just detail your previous work experience, put down a couple references and hit submit.

I submitted my application on a Wednesday and received a phone call that Friday. The call is not an interview like I had originally thought - it is a confirmation of the details in your application and asks some questions about where you would be willing to have a rural placement (and drive a car) in Japan. The next step is you have a phone interview. Mine takes place in a week and a half. If that goes well, they schedule you for a seminar/in-person interview a couple months later. If that goes well, you are accepted into the company and you receive your contract/placement around one month before your departure.

I will post more about the company's phone interview after it takes place.

More Travel Advice

CNN just posted this article:

http://us.cnn.com/2013/08/02/travel/20-travel-mistakes/index.html?hpt=hp_c4

And I have to say, I agree with almost everything they say.

1.) Overpacking

Most people I know have no idea how to pack. When one packs a bag, one should follow a formula. First, consider how many days one will be gone. 5 days? A week? A month? I only ever pack enough undergarments and socks to last me the duration I'll be gone. The rest I wear multiple times - for a week long trip, I'd probably pack 3 shirts and 2 or 3 pairs of pants/legwear.

With some very notable exceptions (like returning from living abroad), my family has the "only what you can carry" rule. If it's too heavy for you to carry, you're doing it wrong.

2.) Not Buying Something You Like As Soon As You See It

For me, this is generally untrue. I can be a bit impulsive at times, but sometimes money is better spent elsewhere. As such, I don't collect nearly as much "junk" as most people I know. If I bought everything I thought was interesting, I'd be shipping a lot more stuff home.

3.) Not Checking Your Phone Plan Before Traveling Abroad

This...will definitely be true for most Americans. To me, it's common knowledge that Verizon is a douchebag that charges you out the ass for roaming. But a lot of people I know don't even think about whether they should bring their phone with them or not. Usually, my family doesn't. We just skype or e-mail those back home with this wonderful invention called the internet.

4.) Trusting "Near City Center" Descriptions

Hahaha, nope.

5.) Taking the "super" shuttle. 

I've never actually used one. My family and I usually just use public transit (trains, free hotel shuttles, buses and walking). We did take a taxi once in Rome and thought we would die. Never again.

6.) Not tightening shampoo caps all the way

I can see how this would be a problem - but that's why every liquid I pack goes in a ziplock bag. If it's too big for a ziplock, I'd say don't bring it - but when exceptions must be made, a tightly wound trashbag can help minimize the mess.

7.) Thinking You Know the Perfect Time to book that ticket

Yeah, don't. It's random. And that "3 months ahead" or "one week before" stuff isn't true either. I actually find that the 3-months rule is bullshit and that's when tickets are MOST expensive. Your best bet is to just check several times a week and just buy it when it hits something "reasonable".

8.) Trying too hard to chisel out a bargain

I've never done this because I'm not a haggler. I only argue when it's not the price on the item.

9.) Not changing money at the airport

I've never done this. I've never changed money, actually. I have this thing called a debit card and there are these things called ATMs...

But if I did, I'd probably change maybe $50 at the airport to get some cash on me.

10.) Underestimating the Hell that is Heathrow

Okay, it's common effing knowledge to arrive at least 3 hours before an international flight - so why don't people do it? I've been scolded by Japanese people who tell me it's fine to just arrive an hour before...The exception being the first flight or second flight of the day (8 am flight and security doesn't open until 7:30) - then the airport people rush you through.

11.) Buying cheap flip-flops

Haven't done this. I'm a sneakers girl.

12.) Fearing street food

Don't! Really, some of the most delicious Japanese food is their street food...takoyaki, yakisoba, kakigoori. If you don't think you'll like it, that's fine, but don't skip it simply because a street vendor is selling it.

13.) Buying a drum on the first day of a three month trip in Asia

Pfft. I'd say don't buy a drum unless you want to ship that bitch home via mail.

14.) Over-reliance on guidebooks

I've traveled to 9 countries and I've never used a guidebook. We live with this modern marvel called the internet where all those guides are posted for free. Great travel ideas on Lonely Planet's website, wiki travel and wikipedia itself. If you want a physical copy, print it out.

15.) Not buying the full insurance policy

I'm covered on dad's insurance anyway - but if I weren't, I doubt I'd buy one anyway. If I did, it'd likely be the full plan, though.

16.) Obsessive photography

For reasons mentioned, you may run out of space on your hard drive. Keep your camera close, of course, for those wonderful moments. But don't take pictures of EVERYTHING - not only do you look like a super tourist, but no one wants to look at them. I only upload the best of my photos or my favorites to facebook - not the whole bloody album.

17.) Not checking visa requirements before departure

I don't have as many problems as a Chinese citizen would (they need visas to visit just about everywhere), but there are countries where I would need a visa. If I wanted to stay in Japan for more than 90 days, I'd need a visa (I have one, actually). If I want to go to Australia or Brazil, I need a visa. It's usually not HARD, just time consuming.

18.) Attempting Berlin in a weekend

Or attempting any major city in a weekend. I shake my head at those who attempt Tokyo in a day. One can indeed get a feel for Tokyo city life in a weekend, but one will miss all of the other, better, things to do in Tokyo. Like visit the Ghibli museum. Or spend an hour or two in a Japanese arcade.

19.) Using a credit card to get cash

I know a guy who did this for a semester because he didn't bring a debit card and Japan is mostly a cash-only society. The fees you get hit with are phenomenal, but he came from a very wealthy family that could handle it. He told me he had no idea how much he spent when he studied abroad because his parents paid for it all.

20.) Not printing out reservation details

Not only does it make everything go faster, but it proves that you have a spot. Otherwise, the company could just say that your reservation doesn't exist (despite you already having paid in full). This includes everything from bus tickets to airline tickets to hotel reservations to those sports tickets.

One Week Left

I have one week remaining in my study abroad and I've been having conflicted feelings. On the one hand, I'd really like to go home. On the other hand, I'm super excited to be going home.

As much as I love Japan, home will always be home, unfortunately.

Moving out has been a serious challenge. Most of my utility companies have been sympathetic to my plight of moving back in the middle of a bill period. The only one that has given me trouble is Yahoo BB (my ISP provider). They say they can't send my bill early and that I'll need to have someone else pay it for me. Uh, what? I even had a Japanese friend try to straighten it out for me and I still got this BS. I'm lucky in that I can leave money with a friend and use their home as a forwarding address, but what about all the other foreigners? Oh, right, all you're doing is encouraging us to get blacklisted the next time we come to Japan for rogue bills.

I haven't really been able to find people who want my stuff either. I've tried Criagslist and Gaijinpot, but seriously...not many people have responded and those who have all ask for the same four items (that have already been taken).

Luckily, the end is in sight - I need to be completely moved out of my apartment the morning of the 6th and my plane leaves around 4:30 from Narita on the 7th.

A Rant on "Friend-Zoning"

Before I start, I should mention that I've only ever been in one relationship and that we've been together for quite a long time - so some of my opinions on this matter might be a bit off, but I have experience in dealing with the "friend-zoned".

It should also be asserted that I may be slightly biased in my opinions. I am by no means a feminist, but as someone who has always been very uncomfortable with my gender, I occasionally feel the need to voice my frustrations at inaccurate stereotypes.

The whole concept of friend-zoning is rather depressing. For those who are unfamiliar, it's the notion that a individual, who has romantic interest in another, is kept at arm's distance because the other party isn't interested him or her romantically. It's a modern term for unrequited love. Usually, but not always, this term is used to refer to men who have been boxed into this "zone" by a woman.

I understand that the rejected party feels hurt. I truly do. I've had to give heartening pats on many occasions. But one must understand that, in most cases, it is not meant to be hurtful. The other party doesn't want to engage in a romantic relationship with the individual in question and there could be REASONS for the rejection.

Examples being:

• You smell funny. Maybe you forgot to brush your teeth. Maybe you're wearing too much deodorant or cologne. Maybe you forgot to change your socks. Or it could just be your MHC genes are different, making you smell funny just to that one person.
• You have nothing or little in common. If you're going to spend copious amounts of time together, don't you want to be able to have awesome conversations? If the only overlap is sports, the two of you would be doing very little talking...and that's nothing to base a relationship off of. Many people are okay with such physicalities, but in a long term (and satisfying) relationship, you need to have the same notions of spending time with one another. If she likes spending her free time at the gym and he likes playing video games all day, you may have some problems.
• You have viewpoints on certain topics that the other party STRONGLY disagrees with. Such as religion, whether or not to have children, treatment of said children, crazy conspiracy theories, the ability to talk to dead people (a friend once dated someone who claimed this...)
• You make the other person uncomfortable. If you come off as crazy desperate, most of the time you aren't going to find a date. If you constantly stare at the other person's body parts (breasts, crotch, etc), you will make the other party seriously uncomfortable. If you are overly insistent, you're probably going to have issues. I had a guy beg me to go off with him once - he grabbed my hand and refused to let go. That is NOT okay and it seriously makes people uncomfortable. 
• The other person might not find you attractive. No other way to put this. This applies to everyone. Watch this video to feel better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYUtVsA-wi4 
• Some other quirk or habit that the other person finds off-putting. If you drink until you drop on the first date, there might not be another one. If you're constantly texting/browsing the interwebs during the meal, the other party might think that YOU think they're boring.

This next bit applies to everyone. When you try to become friends with someone you want to have a relationship with, especially if he/she is already in a relationship, try not to get disappointed when the person rejects you. That person didn't become friends with you for the same reason. That person saw something nice in you, but that doesn't mean s/he wants to get involved with you that way. S/he saw you as someone worthy of being friends with. That doesn't mean that s/he hates you, or even "friend-zoned" you. That person probably doesn't even know that you had ulterior motives. 

This seems MUCH more common among men than it is among women, but it really does apply to everyone. When you have ulterior motives in becoming friends with someone, that person can be just as hurt when s/he finds out you only wanted to get into his/her pants. Think about that.

As of today...

Today marks the start of my last month in Japan. Guess I should say something?

I have very mixed feelings. It's not that I don't want to go home...it's more that I don't think I'm ready to leave, especially since I've made so many wonderful friends. I've gotten used to this new "normal", this routine.

And to be honest, I'm really going to miss the freedom of living alone. It can be very, well, lonely at times, but I can choose what I want to do and when. I'm not limited by things like having to make sure someone knows where I am at all times or having to wait forever just to catch the bus/train. Hell, I'm going to have to re-establish my dominance over the car when I get back, especially if I have a job. If I'm too lazy to make dinner, I can just pick something up at the Aion or the 7-11 or the Lawson - and I don't get scolded when I want to eat junk.

I'm also afraid of all these moving-out procedures. It's VERY daunting - even more than moving in was. But I'll get through it.

Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan/進撃の巨人

So those who know me, probably have heard about how I'm literally obsessed with this series at the moment. It is very well crafted and causes the reader to question every piece of information they're given. After a second read-through of the manga, I came up with some theories and realizations on several different topics in the series.

There will be a lot of spoilers, as I'm essentially analyzing Shingeki's plot.

First and foremost,

A lot of my speculation comes from the obvious answer that the people residing within the walls are NOT the last of mankind. We have a least four instances of this (Annie, Ymir, Reiner and Bertholdt). 

Ymir's Story vs Annie's Story

So, if you're caught up with the manga, you would have glimpsed pieces of both Ymir's and Annie's backstory. It seems that Annie was trained for infiltrating "mankind's territory", as is evident in her hand-to-hand combat training. She also seems to have a considerable amount of control over her titan form - which is very unique due to it's distinct female shape. I speculate that she is a human turned titan in a similar way to Eren.

With Ymir, however, it has been heavily implied that her story is very similar to that of Christa Renz/Historia Reiss and that she might be from a very powerful family outside of the wall. The evidence is in the backstory between Ymir and Historia (chapter 41). Ymir can also, like Annie, transform into a titan - but her form is not feminine in the least. It is, in fact, a "normal" titan in appearance. She has the ability to speak, however, leading me to believe she's a deviant class titan. (Refer to the deviant class titan section). Further evidence that she's like a human-turned-titan is in the small backstory flashback about her titan form, Reiner and Bertholdt.  Unlike Reiner and Bertholdt, Ymir seems to have no knowledge of the Ape Titan - this makes her a bit of a wild card. But both her and Reiner seem to be shooting for the protection of Historia -likely  making her an important figure to those outside the walls.

Reiner and Bertholdt

I am almost positive Reiner and Bertholdt are originally from the outside of the wall, as is evident when they ask Eren to return with them (and then kidnap him). They, along with Annie, were likely trained to infiltrate the walls of mankind. They are the Armored-Titan and Colossal Titan (respectively) and I speculate they were turned into titans in a way similar to Eren - which gives them their distinctive forms. I can only guess at their objectives, aside from that it is likely they were ordered to bring down the walls of mankind by a higher entity (which is likely the Ape Titan). 

Christa Renz

It is revealed in chapter 41 that her true name is Historia Reiss and she's the illegitimate daughter of a very important aristocratic family. According to the priest Hanji was talking with, she has the right to know all of the secrets of the wall and it is implied to that she has the right to other answers as well. Through her, we may learn just what happened 100 years ago and why there are titans in the wall.

Connie Springer's Village

I believe that all of the titans in the attack starting in chapter 35 are actually people from Connie's village. When all of the evidence is added together, it makes a lot of sense. There was no sign of a struggle with the titans, despite plenty of signs that they had destroyed the village. The stable remained full of horses. A titan unable to move was laying on Connie's house. This titan not only resembled his mother, but spoke the words "おかえり”, which means welcome home. In the first instance where Connie recalls what happened, Reiner dismisses it rather harshly. In the second instance, Ymir brushes it off with laughter and jokes in an effort to drop the subject. This indicates that it is likely possible for humans to be turned into titans.

Eren

Eren's ability to turn into a titan is likely due to the injection he received from his father shortly after the first wall fell. According to what memories he can recall, all of the answers to the current situation of mankind is in the basement of his old house - which was crushed by a giant rock. 

However, Eren's titan form seems to be the only one that only vaguely resembles him - with the exception being his eyes. 

The Walls

There are titans in the walls and it is very likely the walls are made with the hardened crystal skin of titans. In addition to the Ape Titan, this leads me to suspect that the "last of mankind' is not actually the last - but an experiment set up by titan "scientists". Furthermore, the author often used "birds in a cage" to describe Eren's opinion of the walls.

The Deviant-Class Titans vs Normal Titans

I am now reasonably certain that the reason titans differ is because most are humans-turned-titans that do not  have the ability to shift and deviant class titans might be ones that can return to their human forms. This has yet to be proven, but if one uses Ymir as a bit of a case study, she is definitely a deviant class in that she can talk and be reasonably well controlled when trying not to eat people. This seems fundamentally different from  Eren, Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt, who don't seem interested in eating humans at all.

The Ape Titan

The Ape Titan is very intelligent, but it's unlikely that he's an actually titan. It's more probably that he, and his colleagues, are crazy scientist-type creatures experimenting on the human race. This is evident in that he attempts to erase evidence that he was inside the wall (having Mike killed and throwing large rocks at Castle Utgard) and that he took Mike's 3-D maneuver gear saying it was interesting and he would take it back for analysis. 

There is speculation that the Ape Titan is Grisha Jager, Eren's father, but at this point, I'm going to say it's unlikely.