Making lists keeps me sane

At the six week mark in Japan, and so far my list of things that keep me sane are as follows:
Number of books read: 15
Pairs of shoes bought: 2
Seasons of Venture Brothers Watched: 3
Days I missed the last train and stayed out till 5 am: 2
Friends made: 7
Visits to the very pregnant lil sis: 1
Eps of Sex and the City watched: 4
Hours of flute lessons: 30
Hours of practice:...14 (or so)
Bands seen: 4 (bands that rocked, 1)
Trips to Yokohama: 1
Meishi (business cards) handed out: approx. 50
Money spent on beer and ciggies: Too much

I could go on forever like this, but a funny thing just happened. As much as I whine about being here (and I do, too much, I know), making that list just sort of reminded me of the fun things about being in a place like Japan. Its such a small country, really, that getting where you want to go (although expensive) is pretty easy, considering. I am currently looking into night buses to take me up to Sendai, as the Shinkansen is at the moment prohibitively expensive, but I would be really pleased if I could make it. Some of my fellow Columbians (the school, not the country) are living up there right now, as well as the guy who did my leg tattoo. It`s been a year and it could use some touch-ups (as could the one on my arm, really). I wonder if he`d give me a cheaper rate for touch-ups? I also wonder if he is still with his Japanese girlfriend... boy is adorable, with his Canadian accent and mohawk. A body full of tats doesn`t hurt the cuteness factor, either. Ah well. At least he could direct me to a onsen where they wouldn`t kick me out.

As for the books mentioned above, I just picked up Steven Erikson`s Malazan Empire series, and so far I am enjoying it immensely. I tend to re-read favorite authors often (not a bad habit, but not a great one), and in my attempt to spread out to new authors, I have come across more than a few really terrible, or just mildly terrible, books. So, to find someone with some actual talent and ability is refreshing. He reminds me (and apparently many people) of George R. R. Martin, but without all the rape. I honestly had to stop reading the Song of Ice and Fire because Martin apparently can`t go 20 pages without mentioning rape, particularly anal rape. What is that man`s issue? I`d love to be able to finish his series (if he ever finishes it... hint hint) without feeling physically threatened by his books. However, Erikson`s novels have the promise of the same epic scope and cynical take on war and life, which make his books far more three-dimensional than your basic sword-and-sorcery kind of thing. I look forward to seeing where he takes it.
I also, in my apparently hunger for fantasy, read the Lord of The Rings again. I read them once, just before the films came out, hoping that I would enjoy them as much as I had the Hobbit, a staple of my childhood. I remember finding them somewhat boring as an eighteen year old, and although I enjoyed them more this time, I can still see the reasons behind my initial dislike. Tolkien is an incredibly imaginative creator of worlds and languages, and I in no way meant o diminish the epic story he created, but it really is a rather boring series of books. Tolkien spends pages describing his characters traveling across gorgeous panoramas, but when it comes to moments of emotion or character development he falls disappointingly flat. The death of Boromir takes place in less than four sentences, and the battles are over in mere paragraphs. Even the end of the ring itself is described almost off-hand, sans reaction by Frodo, who is, in the book version, barely involved in the actual destruction.
I have to say, though, I find this to be a theme within a certain style of writing (I mean, really, how three dimensional are, say, the Pevensie children?), in which the actual emotions and personalities of the characters are sacrificed for the epic scope of the overall story. The one exception to this in LOTR was Sam, of course. It is really no wonder that he is a favorite character among fans-- not only is he in some ways the true hero of the story, but he is also the only character whose personality and emotions are made available to the audience. Although one could argue that Eowyn shares some of this (as in her arc of looking for death, and her unrequited love for Aragorn), she is, as with most women in Tolkien, eventually returned to her pedestal, another thin, noble woman to be admired. In Sam, though, we see beyond the large scope and into the personal one, which for me, saves the books from simply being a hugely epic, yet cold, history of a time and place.