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Japan is NOTORIOUS for excessive application forms. In many cases, I find the contents of these application forms boring, time-consuming and sometimes plainly out of context in the bigger scheme of things. I wonder, sometimes, whether there is someone in the back offices analyzing my handwriting and answers as part of a psychological examination every time I have to apply for a new place to live, renting a bicycle and/or informing the university that I’m going out of town for a while.

However, every once in a while, there is a diamond (question) in the rough (application form)  that can leave you in stitches, laughing on the floor. These are the questions that make you forget how tedious these application forms could be, and how strangling the quickly-nearing deadlines almost always tend to be.

I am applying to move to a dormitory (I HOPE I CAN GET IN!) in April of this year. Here is one of those questions that still have my confused.

Q#29. Do you mind if your room number has a specific number such as 4 or 13?                            (Yes ・ No)

Number(s) which you dislike (          )

Well, let’s see… What numbers do I DISLIKE? *rubs chin*    Well, if you really must know, I always thought that the number 18 was slightly disturbing to the eye; for my own personal reasons. If I had the option, I would like to put some cool Greek symbol on my door, rather than  boring numerals. How cool would living in dorm room number alpha-zeta-lambda be?! (Sounds like one of those party fraternities that I never joined when in my undergrad years.)

(explanation about the number 4: In Japan, the number 4 has a few different readings/pronunciations. One of them is “SHI”, which is identical to one of the ways in DEATH could be read/pronounced. I guess that whatever the number 4 implicates is just a bad “omen” to the Japanese. Means nothing to me, though.)