Career Transition (or not)

Yesterday, I interpreted at a networking vendor for a meeting they had with their potential Japanese client. It has been almost a month since I last interpreted, because I declined many jobs to study for the exam.
 
As I worked after a fairly long break, I realized how easy and at the same time difficult my [...]

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Helen Cixous “Three Steps on the Ladder of Writing”

Helene Cixous’ “Three Steps on the Ladder of Writing” is a thought-provoking book giving important answers to the question, why we have to write and read.
 

Writing is learning to die. It’s learning not to be afraid, in other words to live at the extremity of live, which is what the dead, death gives us. [...]

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Which president will put us in more danger?

This Weekend’s New York Times Week in Review gives a fairly detailed view of the four candidates, placing them side by side. The newspaper tries its best at giving an objective view to both sides and a fair description of John McCain despite the endorsement the paper gave Obama last week. I even thought the [...]

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revisiting Celan

I wrote that I will continue to write about Celan on Tuesday, and for two full days I felt dumfounded not knowing where to start, having such a heart-shattering work in front of me.
As a person who was born and raised in a country during peacetime, I have been taking peace for granted.
Therefore, I know [...]

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Writers in Exile

The recent incident of the accusation that Milan Kundera denounced a Western intelligence agent to Czechoslovakia’s Communist police and its consequent vindication made me think of writers in exile now or in the past and those who chose to hold out despite the harsh conditions in their home countries. Some writers in current or past [...]

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Everything That Rises Must Converge

Flannery O’Connor The Complete Stories (1946-1962)
Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor: Two Different Times in Which a Mother and Son Live.
What struck me about this short story was the stark contrast between the times in which Julian and his mother live. She lives in the flamboyant past when her father was [...]

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Interpretation of My Dream

A few days ago, I had a dream in which I was a fugitive. I was hiding in a ryokan (Japanese traditional style accommodation) and knew that the police were surrounding me after finding my car parked in front. I realized that it was stupid of me to have left the car right outside where [...]

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Discourse, as a sole place of commentary

I have already found myself thinking in English. That’s good! Actually, I had always been thinking in English (or meta-language, neither Japanese nor English), but I feel that starting to write in English on a regular basis strengthened it. Discourse should never be taken lightly, especially when the subject who is writing it is myself.  [...]

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Why do I like Obama?

I could finally watch the debate while sitting back and relaxing because of the lead Obama has recently been making. When McCain conducted a non-substantial and totally hollow campaign such as electing a governor who has hardly any knowledge in international affairs, domestic/world economy and policies for his vice presidential candidate just because of the [...]

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Suna No Utsuwa (Inspector Imanishi Investigates)

 
I should write more in English to prepare for the Ph. D. exam in February. The field is creative writing (novel) in English, but I have to take an exam before getting into a thesis.
Today I made a list of the books for the exam as a third attempt. The list should accommodate to [...]

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