Friday, April 04, 2003

April 5

Wind, rain and cold are plaguing Tokyo once more this weekend. So much for cherry-blossom season. It looks like a lot of those delicate petals are going down the sewer today. If we are lucky, there may be some hope for Sunday although with the amounts pouring down today, it'll be some pretty soggy sitting.

Just caught a Biography of Carrie Fisher, a former target of puppy love back in the 70s. Man, she went through more hell than Princess Leia ever did as a Rebel leader. Can't believe she's now a portly 47.

April 4

Capped off another quiet week with dinner with some old students of mine in an Italian restaurant in Shinjuku. I hadn't seen one of them in several months due to her long stay in England. I thought she would have picked up an accent there but that wasn't the case. The food was quite good; Italian has become quite a mastered cuisine in this country, and the typical Italian eatery has become as ubiquitious as a sushi shop. Our maitre 'd seemed to take his job a bit too happily, though. He had a frozen smile and an annoying penchant for spouting Italian which creeped us out sometimes.

Well, I got a heads-up that next week, the busy days will be back. I'll be doing another one of those all-day intensives for the freshmen for one of our clients. Not one of my favourite assignments since a number of these Intensives are frankly of no immeidate use to them. Maybe I can feign SARS.

Wednesday, April 02, 2003

April 2

Just looking at one of the numerous specials that pop up on Japanese TV between seasons. This one is the CDTV countdown special celebrating the show's 10th anniversary. Boy, nothing dates you than seeing music videos from 10 years back. A lot of those bands have disappeared into nothing. Such is the fleeting nature of fame.

Tuesday, April 01, 2003

April 2

The black suits are comin'! With the arrival of April, the new fresh-faced addtions to the Japanese work force were out in full force yesterday all over the city. Boy and girls....erk, men and women...were hitting the streets in their new suits and ties and dresses with crisp black bags all against the backdrop of blossoming cherry trees. Oh, how Japanese!

Up and down in the temps department again. We've got some major rain here now and it's back to cold. And my cold is still haunting me.

One of my biggest Internet horrors has come to pass finally. I accidentally deleted all of the good mail instead of the spam mail through the screening software. Major frustration!

Monday, March 31, 2003

March 31

In this currently uncertain world, it is nice to know that there are some nice days to be had. It was the very first gloriously Spring Monday in Tokyo this year. And as I was walking toward the Hotel New Otani from Yotsuya Station, it was nice to see the cherry trees blossoming beautifully, and the temps balmy. Also, I had what was probably the best cocoa I've ever had in Japan in the hotel thanks to my students.

It also didn't hurt that I got to finish at 1 today, so just came back home, did a bit of shopping and then watched some Babylon 5 DVDs before cooking up some dinner. This week looks light as well, and I think I may be finishing even earlier on Wednesday. I'll be appreciating every minute of this week since things will get back to normal within a couple of weeks.