I have also measured out my life with coffee spoons

I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure we've only bought toilet paper 3 times here in Japan. Somehow that helps put everything in perspective.

As was heralded by a certain disreputable fellow in our Shoutbox, I was having a kind of reference letter thingy, due in part to my ongoing efforts to gain admission to graduate school next year. I'm interested in a few PhD programs in the USA (mostly because I'd really like a chance to live under Dubya's rule), most of which have deadlines around about, well, now. This recently led to some tense moments involving reference letters, but it seems All Good at the moment.

Work for the year has ended, and we spent our first day off doing not much in particular, apart from purchasing a discounted copy of 塊魂, which is one of the funnest games ever, but a little hard to describe.

On a current events note, the website for Médecins Sans Frontières is currently down, as is the one for Red Cross/Red Crescent, which I hope is a good sign.

On a lighter note, here's a borrowed internet distraction.

1. On your current playlist, hit shuffle and pick the first fifteen songs on the list (no matter how cheesy or embarrassing).
2. Write down one line of the song. Try to avoid putting the song title in the line.
3. Have your friends comment and see if they know the songs. (NO CHEATING! Please, don't google 'em.. 'cos it's just no fun that way. Also no more than 5 guesses per post.)
4. When someone guesses correctly, strike out the line and list the correct name of the song next to it.
5. If it's an instrumental, try to help with a good description, or skip it.

1. hiding out in tree-tops shouting out rude names: Peter Gabriel, Games without Frontiers
2. they send you down to war
3. there's nothing left but sorrow and a sense of overtime
4. diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt
5. and your mind is moving low
6. people writing songs that voices never share: S&G, Sounds of Silence
7. fish are jumping and the cotton is fine
8. let the anaesthetic cover it all
9. this terrible silence stops me
10. you cannot petition the lord with prayer
11. the trench is dug within our hearts: U2, Sunday Bloody Sunday
12. I want to fly waiting for sunrise
13. to hurt they try and try: Police, Don't Stand So Close To Me
14. it's cute small fits right in my pocket
15. dad they’re going to take me to task: Elvis Costello, Shipbuilding

None of these songs are particularly obscure, and I think the lines are relatively recognizable. So, Bonus Question: once you know the song, can you guess whether myself or Kate put it on the computer?