Winter stuff
Okay, so I don't care that winter "officially" starts Dec. 21st. This morning it was -19 C with a wind chill of -29. That's winter in my book. Also, owing to toque issues, I have started crocheting myself a slouchy winter hat which I hope won't crush my hard-won curls flat against my head in quite the same manner. Naturally, I picked a chunky, poufy yarn that's extremely difficult to see the stitches in. Here's hoping I finish the hat before going blind! Haha.
All the H1N1 panic appears to have died down quite a bit (at least, I haven't been hearing about it quite so much) so I thought now would be a good time to get some opinions on the whole H1N1 vaccine thing. I keep going back and forth on the "Should I get it, should I not get it" issue. So far a number of my coworkers and three of my friends have got it, and a number of other coworkers and friends refuse to get it. I'm still pretty on the fence, although unless something drastic impels me to get it I'll probably end up not getting it out of sheer inertia.
Poll
So let's hear your opinions! I hope I put in a broad enough range of options, but if I've overlooked anything feel free to mention it in a comment. Also in case anyone ends up on either far end of the spectrum please be nice to each other.
In other news, I've started reading All Japanese All the Time and I've been really inspired. (Note: you can use this method with any other language, too.) I have a ton of Japanese tv shows and some movies on DVD, as well as a modest (but growing, I hope) collection of Japanese-language books and manga, so I definitely want to try to build myself more of an immersion environment, even if I don't end up doing it 18-24 hours a day the way Khatzumoto suggests. I think the hardest thing will be to cut down the time I spend reading and watching TV in English in favour of Japanese. On the subject, if anyone knows any good, Japanese-language webcomics I could add to my Google Reader (to painlessly increase my daily Japanese input) suggestions are welcome! I'm starting my Christmas holidays as of tomorrow afternoon and I'm resolved to start sitting down with Heisig and learning Kanji (I'm hoping 16 days at, say, 25/day will get me into the habit, even if I have to cut down to 12 or 15 a day once work starts again, at least until March.) The plan is to be kanji-literate, or mostly so, by the end of July so that I won't have to blunder around Japan relying solely on kana and romaji and the kindness of strangers. がんばりまーす！
All the H1N1 panic appears to have died down quite a bit (at least, I haven't been hearing about it quite so much) so I thought now would be a good time to get some opinions on the whole H1N1 vaccine thing. I keep going back and forth on the "Should I get it, should I not get it" issue. So far a number of my coworkers and three of my friends have got it, and a number of other coworkers and friends refuse to get it. I'm still pretty on the fence, although unless something drastic impels me to get it I'll probably end up not getting it out of sheer inertia.
Poll
So let's hear your opinions! I hope I put in a broad enough range of options, but if I've overlooked anything feel free to mention it in a comment. Also in case anyone ends up on either far end of the spectrum please be nice to each other.
In other news, I've started reading All Japanese All the Time and I've been really inspired. (Note: you can use this method with any other language, too.) I have a ton of Japanese tv shows and some movies on DVD, as well as a modest (but growing, I hope) collection of Japanese-language books and manga, so I definitely want to try to build myself more of an immersion environment, even if I don't end up doing it 18-24 hours a day the way Khatzumoto suggests. I think the hardest thing will be to cut down the time I spend reading and watching TV in English in favour of Japanese. On the subject, if anyone knows any good, Japanese-language webcomics I could add to my Google Reader (to painlessly increase my daily Japanese input) suggestions are welcome! I'm starting my Christmas holidays as of tomorrow afternoon and I'm resolved to start sitting down with Heisig and learning Kanji (I'm hoping 16 days at, say, 25/day will get me into the habit, even if I have to cut down to 12 or 15 a day once work starts again, at least until March.) The plan is to be kanji-literate, or mostly so, by the end of July so that I won't have to blunder around Japan relying solely on kana and romaji and the kindness of strangers. がんばりまーす！