CJK (Chinese, Korean, Japanese)

in my line of work there are 3 Asian languages that everybody wants to learn/ is envious of other people for knowing: Chinese, Korean, Japanese. These are the 3 largest countries in Asia.....and as I wrote this statement, I knew i was off, but I'm amazed at how off I was: China is the most populous country in the world, but India and Pakistan are not far behind, Japan is 11th in the world, while S. Korea is at 27th......Japan and Korea aren't even 2nd and 3rd in Southeast Asia, aka "oriental" Asia, with that honor belonging to Indonesia, with the 4th largest population in the world (that is actually truly, truly surprising. 260 million people rivals even that of the U.S. Gotta go to Indonesia one day, if I can ever find it on a map.....)


Anyway, despite my way-off calculation of the significance of CJK (Chinese Japanese Korea), they're certainly major players in the Asian economy if not the world economy, and have a signficiant world presence, especially here in the US (judged anecdotally by the number of tourists that belong to each of those countries). They also share something else in common: language. That's right, I've probably stated it before, but CJK languages are like a triangle: they all borrow from each other, and have various similarities, not just in the kanji (each of the 3 languages uses some of the pictograph-like characters in its native language) but also shared grammar (Japanese and Korean), and sounds of words (Japanese, Chinese, and Korean all have words that sound very similar, just slightly nuanced). My dream, of course, is to one day master all of these languages, and I'm already on my way there! Some might argue I can barely speak English, which I wouldn't dispute on some days,


There's also stereotypes/ biases within each Asian community, which when I grew up was lost among some of my American friends: "aren't you Japanese or something? They would ask. Oh Chinese? All the same." They're not the same, and there's a lot of tension between the 3 countries and cultural differences and political turmoil, but I can understand how a 10-year kid living in America wouldn't be able to comprehend that. Heck, I barely do now.

One other thing they share in common: facial features. Google "alllooksame.com" and there are websites showing pictures of CJK people and asking viewers to decide which nationality each Asian person is, I always get one wrong. It is really hard to tell, and it makes sense: all coming from the same ancestors, the histories of the people are intertwined with each other, the physical proximity of the countries also lending to the similar features. There are slight nuances, and I defer to my girlfriend to make guesses, but to me it's really shallow way, and a better way is just to talk to them. What language they speak is a pretty good indicator!

I mean I might as well just start making a list of similarities, they're coming to me so quickly.
1.) rice-based food/ noodles
2.) superiority at net sports: ping pong/ badminton come to mind
3.) starting to develop baseball talent in Major League baseball: well Korea and Japan are ahead in this field, but Chinese people......have Ching Mien Wang (still pitching in the MLB as late as this year!)

One day, I hope to appreciate all 3 cultures. I understand I am in a unique position to understand all 3 from a neutral perspective and many who live in those countries aren't offered that opportunity due to parental influence, growing up, reading through history, etc., but I think all 3 languages and cultures are very enjoyable to learn for a America-raised banana like me! (My girlfriend probably disagrees) I hope to be versed in the power triangle of CJK soon!

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Flowers in Full Bloom (花ざかり = Hanazakari)

Hanazakari means 'flowers in full bloom" in Japanese, or a woman at the height of her beauty. It's such a popular phrase in Japanese that it inspired a television drama, and totally understandable because for woman, aging is one of the worst enemies: worse than rotten apples, men who don't pay child support, and controlling mother in laws. This might become a creepy post and you might cringe when reading some of these descriptions (I know my girlfriend already is), but I'm gonna discuss when a woman is at her highest peak of beauty.

First of all, when discussing pure aesthetic beauty, it's hard to say due to the miracles of makeup. As women grow older, they realize how to use makeup better, so it really becomes a work of art, not pure beauty. (I'm reminded of a video I watched one time where a pretty plain-looking woman used makeup to totally change her appearance and at the end looked like someone else entirely). There's also the miracles of plastic surgery and botox and whatnot, so nowadays no one's 100% pure. There's a famous Japanese tale where a husband never knows what his wife really looks like (her suppin = face without makeup) because the wife wakes up before the husband and puts on makeup, adds more to fortify it during the day, then goes to sleep with her husband with the makeup on only to finally remove it after husband goes to sleep. So I guess the hanazakari can be in full effect!

Wrinkles: I'm actually ok with wrinkles (mainly cuz I proudly display them on my forehead too... my hanazakari ended when I went through puberty, I lost my boyish good looks at like age 15) but some women are deeply afraid of them. For women it's probably like, once a wrinkle has extended past 1mm on one's face, it's OVER....Hanazakari season has officially ended.

Grey hairs (still not sure whether grey is grey or gray, btw, one of those weird words in English language): I had a coworker who would OBSESS about any grey hairs that would pop up: dye them, spray paint them, pluck them, pray that they go away, etc., grey hairs have got to be one of the worst things about waking up ( I remember those days of waking up dreading to see what new pimples had popped up), grey hairs are probably like that for women.


At the end of the day, one quote I heard one time really hit home: Women don't really dress up and look pretty for men to look at, they dress up and look pretty for other women. (not necessarily to attract sexual attention as in a lesbian relationship, but more just to show superiority, like "Hey I'm prettier than you!" much like the guy's testosterone-inspired "I can beat you up!" or "I'm better than you at so-and-so!" girls' way of competition is to be more beautiful, to be the prettier flower in full bloom. And guys just benefit. To a certain extent, guys do this too, but the competition is not as intense, it's more about muscles, cars, athletic ability, and dissipates pretty quickly after getting into a fight or resolving it in some other way, but women.......that's a race that lasts for years. It's probably a good thing, then, that Asian woman don't age between the years of 20 to 40.......

No scientific study has dared to approach that subject before, but it is anecdotally true and I call it the Asian Hanazakari effect: Asian woman, due to protection of skin (using lotions, creams, magic powders, etc. etc......I know, my girlfriend has at least 100 of these....) they don't age out at all between these years, like a flower that's in full bloom for 2 years. I've honestly been 10 years off in guessing a woman's age (from afar, of course, and only when a woman reveals her true age, which is not common for anyone over 20) due to this phenomenon.

I apologize if this post has been extremely sexist or projected some sort of double standard against women. I think women are beautiful even if they look mature, and trying to look better than other women is just a rat race that you're not going to win, definitely not forever. I think I should end by saying I love my girlfriend, she is beautiful in every way, and she is definitely in full bloom. Hanazakari!

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Rural town (田舎)

This weekend I had the pleasure of traveling through rural Wisconsin (woo hoo!) north past Milwaukee (I didn't know there was civilization beyond Milwaukee neither) to a town called Kewaunee, Wisconsin, population 2,200. (we passed through Manitowac County, Wisconsin, on our way, and it's very reminiscant of the image that the Netflix series "Making a Murderer" encapsulates. Granted, we didn't stop in town and didn't want to drive too fast for fear of being pulled over and falsely accused for some crime we didnt' commit, see series for reference) A totally isolated small town, surrounded by farm land, not a college to support its population, apart from everything else in the world it seemed like. Home of cheese curds, which are either delicious or vomit-inducing depending on who you ask, and "a historic downtown" area that consisted of a half of a block of stores and then just fades away.

I don't mean to make fun of or belittle Kewaunee, Wisconsin, or any other small rural cities in the world, they have a certain quaintness about them. For example, there's not that many people, which naturally garners more nature, more wildlife, and an awesome lighthouse that's not overcrowded with people like the Santa Monica Pier on a busy weekend. (granted, not every small town has a lighthouse, but most do have some sort of symbolic landmark that signifies the spirit of the city). And people actually know each other in small towns: my friend who lives there is known as "Mr. K" by all the townspeople and has a high reputation, gaining the respect of his peers through robust Pokemon training. So there's a sense of trust, family within the neighborhood as opposed to a sense of being squeezed in an elevator getting to work or packed like sardines into a train and fighting to get off at the proepr stop. There's no bustling trains interrupting your nightly rest, and one can actually see the stars pretty clearly without a smog-inducing metropolis nearby.

Some people love the rural experience, and I don't blame them, but I had enough after 1 day and a half of the countryside. It's like a lot of vacation spots: nice to visit once in awhile, cool to know people do lead that sort of lifestyle, but can't imagine being there every day of the rest of my life. Definitely, what I've learned from my experiences is that I'm a city dweller...I thrive in large communities, where access to resources (like grocery stores) is readily available, and there are social dodgeball leagues (shudders to think about living without a dodgeball league). Cities are also where professional, white-collar types work with offices in tall buildings and wearing business casual is the standard, not farmwear and work clothes, and I'm definitely of the former type (nerdy, works in an office, doesn't want to get hands dirty, really just bad with my hands, needs to use utilize my mind and not my hands to make a living). I also LOVE running in urban areas like urban parks with a backdrop of the skyline, and a river or some body of water cutting through the city that allows for running along the shore doesn't hurt neither. People, in general, our social animals.....we like to socialize, and I socialize pretty well with most people (my gf probably agrees!) so for now, until I commit some sort of social crime that ostracizes me from most people and I find everyone grotesque or vice versa, I'd like to live (and really, have to live in order to work the jobs that I do) in an urban area.

Fantasize on,

Rober tYan

The Ten People you meet on a Southwest Airlines Flight (十人十色)

The title incorporates a Japanese idiom called "juunintoiro," which literally means, ten people, ten colors, and actual meaning is really similar: there are a lot of different types of people in the world. I would agree, and especially on (or on the way to a Southwest Airlines flight). I've traveled a lot this year due to work/ dodgeball/ having a girlfriend (in a positive way!) and I've been on a LOT of Southwest flights (sometimes connecting flights which means 2 flights on the same path!

1.) The flight attendant/ CA/ stewardesses: whatever you want to call them, there are a lot of different personalities on these, and I've never met the same team twice (which goes to show how many Southwest flights there are going on. There's only usually 3 or 4 of these for about 200 passengers, so they have their work cut out for them, and I always wonder how they make it down the narrow one-lane aisle over and over again without bumping into elbows, knees, etc. There's regular stewardesses, extra nice stewardesses, unnecessarily demanding stewardesses, unresponsive stewardesses, funny stewardesses (these guys try to put on a comedy routine for the whole flight), and stewardesses who almost got into a fight with a passenger (no joke, I was right next to a lady who went nose to nose with a passenger for reserving a seat for a passenger, kicked out the passenger afterwards).

2.) The TSA guys. I unfortunately dislike these guys. There always seems to be too many of them, they always aren't that helpful (why not have them help people put stuff on the conveyor belt instead of just yelling at us to take water and everything out of our pockets?) and they seem like they don't want to be there, and aren't obligated to be nice. Oh and always direct me to the longer line even though I don't want to be there, and never apologize. There needs to be some incentive for TSA to be better or more accommodating at their job.

3.) Passengers that need to go to the bathroom. Everyone lets out a collective groan. 200 passengers, 2 bathrooms for a 4 hour flight....it just doesn't work. Everyone needs to be prescreened for lack of bladder issues, or else it's a disaster fighting to see who gets up first to use the bathroom, and of course can't congregate in front to line up for the bathroom, so just a free for all.

This is quickly turning into a complaining session about Southwest sorry. I'll put in a nice one.

4.) The passenger who helps put your stuff in the top.....standup guy, always willing to help. Helps that the quality of passengers on a plane in general (even though Southwest is a discount airline) is pretty high, people who can afford to fly places are usually educated and well-cultivated.

5.) Passenger who takes up 2 seats.......this is frustrating. I have nothing against larger people, except for when it comes to invading my personal space. These seats are tight enough already, can't have another human being spilling over into my seat. It's really a problem that Southwest and other airlines probably struggle with: larger people and forcing them to buy a second seat.

6.) Passenger who naps the whole ride: this is like half the people on any flight on Southwest, mainly because there's not much to do: there's a scrapped-together magazine in the back seat pocket, no movie service except for an app that needs to be downloaded beforehand, and Wifi is for free TV that has 20 channels highlighted by reality TV and the food network. $8 Wifi. Sleep is the best option and I wish that I was that passenger all the time: get on a flight, pass out, wake up when the flight lands. Unfortunately my buttocks has been getting sore lately (don't laugh) and it's not that comfortable believe it or not to sleep on a plane.

7.) Person who pushes up to the front when the plane lands: I get it, people want to get off the plane faster. But there's a natural progression, and if everyone tried to push further up then there'd be a scrum, the best way is to get off the plane by seat, if you got there early enough or checked in early enough or whatever then you deserve to get off first, if not then you have to wait. It's comical to see the pushers get stopped about 2 rows up and then everyone's just waiting anyway for the gate to open.

8.) People who get there 3+ hours early: I honestly don't understand this (I might be minority). Nothing worse than sitting and waiting at an airport to get on a plane where you sit and wait for another few hours to get to one's location. The food is overpriced, the wifi is limited (to 30 minute sessions or something), the bathrooms are used by a lot of different people. I like to time my arrival exactly when everyone's boarding, obviously a dangerous game but getting there WAY too early is just silly: it's not a rock concert, there's no inherent advantage in getting there early.

9.) Babies: veteran tip: stay as far away from a baby as you can if you have a choice (which on Southwest, you do). They will cry. Once in a blue moon a baby will sleep the entire fligth (their parents may have given them a handful of sleeping pills, thank god) but if these babies wake up they will NOT be used to the cabin pressure and ears popping and they will cry, and they will cry long and loud. I hope I'm never that parent with babies on a plane. (I probably will be).

10.) The guy who in his excitement to get internet again checks his phone upon landing and gives away the score of a sports game as soon as he gets internet access: C'mon dude.




But this is all nothing compared to Greyhound......now there's some colorful personalities there that I won't get into this time......

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Unnatural Death (変死)

Yesterday, the baseball world was shocked by the passing of one Jose Fernandez, a 24-year-old phenom pitcher for the Miami Marlins, died of a freak boating accident. Unbelievable tragedy for the baseball world, but unfortunately not unprecedented and seems to be happening more and more in the world, whether it's death by car accident (drive safe, my lovely girlfriend!), death by mass shootings (a continuing tragic saga in America), death by hot balloon accident (recently happened in Texas). I don't know what the percentage of deaths are unnatural deaths nowadays, but I wish that it would decrease, in fact when I have prayers before going to sleep (I don't do this every night but I will try to remember to) I pray for peace in the world, less pain and more love, and also for people to not suffer anymore unnatural deaths. 

Someone like Jose Fernandez, though, is even sadder for everyone because selfishly, it reminds everyone how young one can pass away, and no matter how gifted, charitable, and strong (Fernandez was all 3, he defected from Cuba at a young age after spending years in prison for trying to defect and saved his mother whole fell into the ocean trying to escape, and was well regarded as a future Hall of Fame pitcher), anyone can pass away. It can come for anyone, this unnatural death.

Deaths are unfortunate in it of themselves, but unnatural deaths from accidents stand out as extremely unfortunate: the deceased did not prepare themselves for their last days. On a practical and morbid level it doesn't really matter for the deceased how unfortunate their death because they are dead either way, but it allows no time for the deceased to prepare, to brace for death, for it to be all over, to say goodbye to friends and family, to do that one thing they always wanted to do, to allow their friends and family some closure and some farewells. It's really unfair, actually. I've been very lucky in my life to know mostly only natural death, or some sort of illness or end of life: all the relatives I've known died of old age. There was one time I saw a dodgeball player pass away on a dodgeball court due to a pre-existing (not dodgeball-related condition) Unnatural deaths can happen to anybody, regardless of whether you're the safest person in the world and do nothing to deserve death, it can come for you and catch anyone. 

Unnatural deaths, though, even more than just the concept of death itself, has at least one positive effect: it gives all humans a sense of purpose: ( I know I'm trying to spin this death thing as positive, I'm actually deathly afraid of death itself and now even more of unnatural deaths because I can at least assure myself that a natural death is a long time away, but an unnatural death could happen at any time), It's giving people a sense of purpose, a sense of urgency to accomplish what we can in the time that we have, whether that's getting a job, finding someone to love, spending time with family, doing what we love, etc., etc. I can't say for sure what I would do if I knew I would live forever, but I sure as heck wouldn't cherish every day as much as I do, all the memories would blend together and I would forget a lot of things ( I already forget a lot of things, just ask my girlfriend!). But with the threat of death looming, I enjoy my time more, I try to do new things, I try to effect people in a positive way, and I value other people who I love even more because they're under the threat of unnatural death at any time too! Many people have theorized plenty and much better than I about the meaning of life, but one of them that I believe in is to use the time we have in life to cherish everything and do as much as we can and enjoy as much as we can, with as many people (whom we love!) as we can. 

Jose Fernandez did that, he loved baseball and loved the people around him. I will follow his example and live the life that he lived, before his unfortunate passing. 

Fantasize on, 

Robert Yan 

Bears (熊)

I’ve always wondered what goes in to nicknaming sports teams……you got a variety of names for a variety of sports franchises, many of them very generic fan names that the public can get behind. The vast majority of professional sports teams are animals, which makes sense because it leaves a lot of room for logos, mascots, and different marketing ideas. For example, the Chicago Bears and the Philadelphia Eagles played on Monday night football at Soldier Field in Chicago tonight…….bears and eagles, fit the paradigm for sports teams perfectly. The Bears are now 0-2 and really out of it to be relevant in the NFC……shy, such a shame especially since the Cubs and Blackhawks are putting Chicago on the map in terms of relevant sports cities.

My favorite pro sports names:

1.)    Seahawks (not just sucking up to my girlfriend who loves Seattle, this perfectly captures the tone of the city, is a clever play on words, and they have cool logos.

2.)    Blazers: something about Pacific northwest and creative team jerseys/ ideas, the Oregon Ducks come to mind as having very progressive ideas about sports team names. Blazers is the embodiment of the Manifest Destiny eyes of  colonial America settling in the West Coast

3.)    Brewers: for a sport that lacks creativity both in game design and team names, the traditional MLB alongs for a pretty cool theme with Milwaukee’s “Brew Guy” Bernie Brewer sliding down the pole after each home run and allows for a “Sausage Race” during each home game.

My favorite dodgeball team names (the main dodgeball organization requires teams to have just one name or 2 names, identifiable words :

1.)    DOOM: also happens to be the premiere franchise in dodgeball, even their name strikes fear in the hearts of opponents.  

2.)    Tune Squad: excellent reference to the Space Jam Looney Tunes basketball team.

3.)    Team Awesome: a very unique name that allows for lots of positivity and team slogans. (something/someone is awesome! Comes to mind)

4.)    TC Boosh: Boosh apparently the sound a ball makes when hitting someone, I also seem to like names that have the “oooo” sound and you could say it with an extra Oomph.

This weekend, my girlfriend visited yet another city! (San Antonio, Dallas, Atlanta, Nashville, Portland, New York, New Orleans, we’re coming to a city near you!) of Denver, Colorado (great weather this time of year) to visit our friend who lived in the mountains, and he described bears occasionally coming into his backyard. I’ve never seen a bear up close, but something about bears has a mythical feel to it, just the sheer mass of a bear (multiple hundreds of pounds) but also the agility to move large distances quickly, as well as the sheer power to maul humans, makes me and I’m sure others interested. In many ways, I identify with bears: you never see too many bears together at once, they’re kind of loners, they’re just trying to get a fish once in a while by reaching into the river, and they sleep anywhere without being bothered………a sort of nomad that’s high enough in the food chain to go (almost) wherever it pleases without being bothered. Although, I think it’d be effected by the high altitude of the Denver as well and try to find flatter ground, the only damper on the weekend for me was a slight headache from having such thin air.

Anyways, Red Rocks did not fail to impress……still ranks as one of the best locations to have live music for me, and there’s even a view of downtown Denver that I forgot to mention. 

Fantasize on, 

Robert Yan 

(残業)

There is a Japanese word

(残業) (zangyou) that I’ll reveal at the end of this entry. Zangyou is a special word that everyone knows the meaning of, but not everyone gets. 

Some people who are offered zangyou don’t take it, and sometimes I wonder if I should refuse it too (don’t worry, it’s not drugs)

When I’m sitting in traffic, I wonder if I could be doing Zangyou. It’s actually a big part of the reason I hate traffic, is I keep hearing the adage “time is money” in my head

When I get home from Zangyou, I’m tired and just want to lie down and go to sleep.

When I should be spending time with my girlfriend, I feel like I’m cheating and spending it with zangyou. (Even though I’d much rather spend it with my girlfriend filling out puzzles!)

When I’m strapped and looking for some cash, I resort to Zangyou. (Hopefully haven’t had to do this for a long time… and again, zangyou is not illegal).

I hate waking up early, but I’ll do if it means I can/have to go to Zangyou.

I should probably exercise once every day, but sometimes I skip it and do Zangyou instead.

Late nights when I’m doing Zangyou, I wonder if I could have predicted 10 years ago during high school, college, etc., that I would be doing this.  Ironically, zangyou kind of feels like staying up to do last minute term papers or study for a big test during my school years.

I eat meals very quickly while at Zangyou, which isn’t what you’re supposed to (my gf says I shouldn’t eat while watching TV or do anything except talking while eating, and detests when I watch TV while eating).

Most sadly, when I’m at zangyou by myself while everyone else seemingly is out in the world doing something and enjoying themselves, I feel true loneliness, like my life is passing me by and I can’t even share it with my family, friends and girlfriend whom I love. It’s paradoxical because I’m partly doing it for them (also doing it for myself to further my own financial wealth, etc.), but by doing it I’m also not getting to be with them. It’s a hard reality of life and adulthood.

Did you figure it out? Zangyou means working overtime (literally, leftover work in Japanese), and I’ve been doing it recently, and probably continuously til the end of the year. It’s when I do Zangyou that you realize how lucky I am to only do 40 hours a week normally and how hard some people actually work to make ends meet, reach their goals, help their family, etc.. I admire them.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan