Alexis Alcazar

 Despite recommending this show, I don't encourage smoking. I don't smoke myself, and I never will. But this show is a breath of fresh air (ironically, lol). Watch it when you're sad and in need of a little quiet spark.

 Our department at work organized a BBQ party at Nagata Nature Park. The BBQ was delicious, but what I liked most was the place. It was very beautiful. There were lots of tall trees and stylish pyramid cabins beneath them. It was a shame I was not able to walk around to see more of the forest. We only stayed from 10AM to 6PM. Having been to a Japanese nature park for the first time made me appreciate the beauty of nature. I would like to go to a nature park again with close friends, have a BBQ, camp, stay overnight, light fireworks, talk for hours by the fire, and be nervous about bears. Yes, that's a good idea. I would love that. [A]

In her message, a Japanese tutor told me that she went to see fireworks in Kamakura and asked if I had ever seen fireworks in Japan. I handwrote my reply in Japanese to say that I have not yet done so and that I want to experience them someday. While writing, I learned that the Japanese word for fireworks is   花火    (はなび • hanabi) . Broken down,   花   means "flower" and   火  means "fire".   花火   is literally "flower fire". The Japanese see fireworks as flowers in the form of fire, and I find that deeply poetic. I had never thought of fireworks that way before, and learning this has changed the way I see them forever. In my eyes, they are no longer just bright, colorful explosions in the night sky. Fireworks are flowers made of fire. Violent and yet ever so delicate, their ethereal beauty makes them seem almost otherworldly. Perhaps that is why they bloom for only a few fleeting seconds.

 I never liked watching romance movies, but this movie was recommended to me, so I watched it. Then it became the best Japanese movie I have ever seen. It broke my heart into a million pieces. Also, I recommend watching it in its original Japanese audio. 

Rocky: I thought you made peace, question? Ryland Grace: I didn't mean any of that. That's just something you say.  

 A year ago, I took a math exam for a job application. I passed the exam, made it to the interviews, and actually got qualified for the training. Eventually, I decided not to take that opportunity, and I chose to pursue the job that I have right now. But this article is not about that missed job or any jobs. This is about a particular math problem in the math exam. It was so interesting that I told myself I would write about it. And after 1 year, here it is. The problem went like this: It is 2:00. At what time will the hour hand and the minute hand form a straight line? Before this exam, I had never solved a problem like this. I had no idea where to begin (let alone solve it). I could skip this problem and not give a fuck about this 1 point. But I did not. I wanted to solve it not for the point, but for the sake of solving it. I wanted to prove to myself that my knack for geometry from high school was still sitting behind my brain, awaiting to be tapped. I so began thinking. The fi...