Transcendence

Quote from: Furgeson on April 07, 2011, 20:52
@Energy conservation: Haha, well at least the radiation and tsunami had some positive effects, eh? XD My family does that thing with the toilet you talk about... Sometimes we can't take hot-water showers without letting the cold water run for a few minutes, so we save that water and use it for watering plants, cleaning, or what not. As for the electricity part, I wish people would do that! But I mean, I can't function without power (which I realize every blackout... Oh god, I don't even want to think about those evil things)

That's a really good idea! I'm going to have to borrow that one. We have the same thing with the hot water taking a while to run. As for electricity, I mean like just not having any lights or heaters or appliances turned on that we're not using or doesn't need to be on, and keeping things unplugged (or having the surge protector switches off) to keep electricity from leaking, like TVs are really bad at that. Of course the refrigerator has to be plugged in but I don't leave my laptop on all day, I only heat one room that I'm currently in, keep the thermostat low, and wear layers in the winter. It's ok to turn the thermostat up just to take the chill off but you know, it's winter, we have water in our bodies for the purpose of controlling our body temps, it's actually better for you to drink more water and stay warm by simply being well hydrated  Never leave lights on in rooms that I'm not in, etc. It all adds up! Or subtracts.. or something.

By the way....you all can just call me Jess or Jessica, by my real name. JessRainbows is kinda silly... I like rainbows and my last name is Rains so...

Does everyone really call each other by their usernames? I guess that makes sense. I can't even pronounce some of them though!


OMG YOU PEOPLE ADDED THIS  FOR ME?  !!!11one

Quote from: icewing on April 06, 2011, 17:12
it has been QUITE some time! :D

Quite some time since what?  I hope this reply doesn't count as chatting... PLEASE FORGIVE ME I don't even know how to work this thing. I do not have enough concentration capability for forums, there is too much going on all at once! >_<

Yeah, the earthquake last night was 7.6 Magnitude or something like that, but not nearly as bad as the ones on March 11th. But of course Miyagi and Fukushima and Iwate prefectures were most heavily affected once again. At least most people in those areas are already evacuated and all.

Quote from: Furgeson on April 07, 2011, 14:53
All I see on the news is crying children and destroyed buildings... nothing at all hopeful. Plus with all the crap about the radiation and the requests of donations

They certainly are showing different news to you guys overseas. Surely they're not showing us most of the worst cases here because they don't want people panicking, but it doesn't seem all that horrible here in reality. I mean, yeah it's horrible of course, but the Japanese cultural morality is much stronger than the one in the west, especially the US. There isn't any looting or stealing or mobbing or fighting. No one would even think to do that here! Like, if you lose your wallet or purse on a train You Will Actually Get It Back, probably in that Very Same Day, with the Contents Untouched. So... people actually do work together and take care of each other and try their hardest to deal with what they have and stay peaceful. The last few weeks, the only complaints we were hearing were that they don't have enough water to wash dishes, so they're having to wrap their dishes in plastic wrap and just throw those away after each use. And people really wanted extra pairs of underwear.

I told my mom this too - the disasters aren't happening in Korea and the US (my husband is from Korea so his parents are all worried too) so to these countries, covering the news on this is good business, so they only show what's going to make their ratings go up. They make it as dramatic and scary as possible, without regard for the fact that many people actually have friends or family living there! But on the other hand, there also could be a lot that they're choosing not to broadcast to us within the country to avoid mass panic. Like on the subject of the nuclear plants, there definitely is a lot of news that the Tokyo Electric company is not being honest with, so we have to be very diligent with where we're getting our info. NO one is happy with Tokyo Electric right now! It was on the news that someone had sprayed graffiti over one of their billboards in Shibuya (one of the major centers in metropolitan Tokyo).

People were overbuying and stocking up on stuff in Tokyo in panic, and that made it hard for people who were thinking about conserving resources and then not being able to get any! A few things were out of stock because of some really silly thing like, for example, bottled water was out of stock for a while because the factories that make the CAPS were all in Miyagi or Fukushima and couldn't operate anymore. Milk was out of stock for weeks because the factory that made the cartons were there too. Nattoh was out o stock because the label printing company was in Miyagi. Like... just freaking write your company info on the packaging! This country is so obsessed with freaking packaging!

Honestly, like, there are lots of things we're doing now because we have to, because the power plants aren't functioning anymore. Like going through rotations of schedule blackouts to conserve power for the whole area, stores and restaurants don't have all their lights on, trains only use their lights during the night. They're making all sorts of modifications to conserve power and resources. And you know what I keep thinking? Why weren't we doing this all along?! We're only doing it now because we absolutely have to, but why didn't we do this from the start to try to be better to the environment, to try to help stop carbon emissions and global warming and pollution and whatever. It isn't hard at all to just like, fill up the bathtub with water to use when the power is out, toilets still work if you can fill the tank with water manually, and you can wash dishes and cook with that water as long as your bathtub is clean, and since they rotate it section by section throughout the day, it's not like you can't shower all day. It'll kind of suck in the hot summer, but if you think about a way to cope, it's really not so bad! I'm actually really happy about the blackouts because of that. Mimu (husband) and I are always doing whatever we can to use less electricity and gas, more than anything because we want our bills to be as cheap as humanly possible ^^;; But it's good for the environment too!

Ok, this reply is getting really long, I'll stop...

Quote from: Furgeson on April 06, 2011, 13:52
Welcome to the team, Jessica!
Mm, like Werr said, it's been quite some time since we had anyone so serious about their work on the team! XD Glad to know that there are still people who are more than in love with their work, and not just in love with the money they get from it.
It's so inspiring that you actually took that dream to heart! I know that tons of us manga-lovers talk about learning the mother language (and legit WORSHIP the ones who can speak it fluently *thinks back to the scare known as middle school clubs*), but I know few people who actually take it to the level you were able to~ <3 Hehe, I guess Sailor Moon really does have superpowers ;)
<-- lol, is this the one you were talking about? I lurveeee it! So cute~~
Anyway, if you need anything, feel free to PM me! :) Nice meeting you, hope to see you around ^^

YES THAT ONE!!!!!!!!!!!! That one, is made of all things win.

You know, I have my lazy times too and I'm definitely not a very active or aggressive kind of person. I like things that old people like - gardening, crocheting, walking in the woods, and cuddling with my cat. Honestly a friend of mine from here has asked me to join many times and I kept putting it off. But now I really need something to do during the day and this site looks trustworthy and good!

As for Japan, it was purely intuitive for me. Like we all have opportunities in life that they choose to take or not, like weak magnets that tug at our heartstrings and move our thoughts to consider taking that chance to go do something different. But for me, it was like absolutely nonnegotiable that I had to go to Japan. I think if I never went, I would've died inside. I'm sure everyone gets something sometime in their lives when they absolutely know they have to take a certain course, even if it means leaving everything behind. For me, it happened when I was kind of young and with Japan.
But for those of you who really dream about going to Japan (or anywhere), you should really seriously do it! You simply cannot make excuses such as I don't have money or time or I don't know the language, etc. I come from a pretty poor family and I made it! There are so many options out there if you just set your mind to finding the way there for you. I definitely recommend studying here through a language school (don't need to be in college for that) or through an exchange program, and spending at least 6 months. Having a host family also really helps to immerse you in the language and culture and the experience, even if you decide not to come back to Japan, will absolutely open your eyes.



Eep we just had another kind of big earthquake here like 5 minutes ago. It's almost 12am now and that was so not cool. Now I have to go to bed with this nasty scared sick feeling >_<

Hello Everyone,

My name is Jessica and I've been accepted recently as a new Japanese-to-English translator to Our Transcendence. I'm 26 years old and I have been living in Tokyo, Japan since 2007, and have also studied abroad for a year in college in Chiba in 2005. Although I don't 100% know all of Japanese (maybe more like 96%), I would definitely say that I am fluent and I'm looking forward to making accurate yet interesting translations for the readers to enjoy!

Previously, I was the main translator for a well-known fansite called Masa Karasu, for the Japanese visual kei artist Miyavi, and have been doing small translation projects on my own for many years. Translation to me is like an art, the original language is like your canvas - what you have to work with - and as long as you stay within the guidelines and keep it as accurate as possible, you can sort of paint with the target language to convey the same kind of emotions and nuances. I thoroughly enjoy doing it and I love to hear people's reactions as I put a lot of effort in my work! 

I started learning Japanese 11 years ago around when Sailor Moon was first on cartoon network (for those of you in the US). I felt a strong attraction to Japanese language and culture then, and when a close friend of mine introduced me to Fushigi Yuugi, and I started dreaming about Japan and other related things, it really began to feel like my destiny to go.

I really liked how varied the themes were in Japanese anime and manga and I loved most of all the music. It was through anime music that I got interested in Jrock and visual kei, and here in Japan I've even had some opportunities to work at Japanese music companies. Although I'm not much of an anime/manga fan now, I still respect it and appreciate watching/reading them now and then, but most of all I'm here because I want the readers to have accurate translations to enjoy!

As a side-note, my favorite animes are Ghibli's "Nausicaa" and "Princess Mononoke" (though, the manga for Nausicaa is much longer, much more engaging, and by far, way better!) and currently I'm reading "Yotsuba to!" and rereading "Fushigi Yuugi". I love things that make you think REAL deep, and that have fantastic art.

I'm looking forward to meeting new people through this experience and I hope you like me and my translations!
So, yoroshiku ne! 

-Jessica

PS- admin, there's an animated gif of the same character wearing a cape blowing in the wind and standing heroically. It is SO needed here!!