Which Is Not a Beginning, Not Really

I'm always suspicious of authors who begin in medias res. It's a technique most college students are familiar with, introductions being so tedious to write and deadlines cropping up with increasing suddenness the further into the semester one gets. Far easier to start in the middle of that term paper and worry about coming up with a thesis once the rest is finished. Or maybe I'm just revealing my own flakiness as a writer and not accurately summing up the general undergraduate populous at all. In any case, I've utilized this tactic often enough to know to suspect anyone who begins, “Midway upon the journey of our life...” Good beginnings are so difficult to make.


Hajimemashite. Douzo yoroshiku. This is yet another of my attempts at blogging. Although I'm not certain what precisely defines success when it comes to keeping a blog, I have a vague feeling that the last few were failed attempts. Probably has something to do with the six-month gaps between posts. Just a sneaking suspicion.

In order to ensure success this time round I've tailored Kowai Otaku to meet a few specific personal needs. (At least, in my head it's tailored. Right now I'm typing up this entry in OpenOffice and haven't even begun the actual creation of a physical blog.) Firstly, there's the name. Kowai is Japanese for scary, and otaku is basically a person who is obsessed with Japanese culture. To be more accurate, it's a person who is obsessed with anime/manga/video game culture. Japanophile is probably a better fit, since I don't tend to stop with otaku interests. Then again, culturophile is best of all, since Japan is far from being my only love. However, lately I've been able to relate almost everything back to my interest in Japan, and that brings me to one major reason for this blog. I need a place to contain all of my annoying Japanophile rants so I can stop alienating my family and friends. And Kowai Otaku sounds so much better than Scary Japanophile.

The other two reasons are ongoing and were part of my other blogs to an extent as well. On one hand, I want a place to share all of the interesting tidbits that niggle my brain about daily life: fun projects, useless observations, spontaneous adventures, self-mocking academic musings, and whining. I love to whine. On the other hand, the life of a British literature major requires a lot of paper writing, and my natural laziness leaves me with very little inclination for creative writing at the end of the day. As much as I want to keep up with writing stories, even NaNoWriMo sounds too intimidating after a day of sloshing halfheartedly through yet another play by Shakespeare. A blog seems like a happy middle-ground, a space to write creatively without all that pressure of a specific purpose or end goal. Hey, I said I was lazy.

There. That's my attempt at introductions. If you hoped for something better, sumimasen. Just a warning, but the rambling will probably grow increasingly esoteric and otaku.