July 28

Just woke up to painfully realize that my backache is back, no pun intended. At least, I know what my pain is like so I'm semi-accustomed to it. But I've taken the Blitzkrieg approach to it. I slapped on liniment, and then applied a mustard patch that I had received from my massage clinic. And I'll probably swallow a couple of aspirin for breakfast.

Japanese baseball set a dubious record thanks to the antics of the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks and the Ichiro-less Orix Blue Wave. The latter team must be really feeling the ghost pain of their best ever player 3 years after his departure, after it got shellacked for 32 hits and 26 runs. The Hawks "only" got killed for 7 runs. I guess someone forgot to tell them that the final score was more appropriate for a lopsided American football game. The game was pretty much over in the bottom of the first inning when the Hawks got 11 runs. Methinks that the Blue Wave will be doing extra jump-squats today.

And in the world of entertainment, another Musume bites the dust. Yet another original from the 1997 Group of Five, Natsumi Abe, will be "graduating" early next year. She will be the fourth girl...oops, sorry...I should say woman to leave which leaves current leader, Kaori Iida as the sole charter member. Right now, Morning Musume is at a hyper-inflated 16 females, including Abe. The announcement was made last night a t a concert via the MM's guru, Tsunku on video screen (no doubt to evade any flying bottles from the almost exclusively male audience). You could've heard a pin drop when Tsunku dropped the bombshell.

Hmmm....is it me or did President Arroyo of the Phillipines smiled very vindictively after defeating that mutiny of 296 of her soldiers in Manila?

Good golly, it's been a violent weekend. There have been a rash of these random stabbings in Japanese neighbourhoods. Crime may be low here but what few there are, they've been of the psycho variety.

Off to breakfast, I go...that is, if I can stand up.

July 27

A quiet Sunday for a change after some previous socially-influenced ones. Just did the usual home maintenance and lazed around.

Looks like those quakes in northern Japan were quite a bit more serious. There were a lot of wrecked homes and stores. Three quakes of Shindo 6....those are pretty unlucky odds there.

According to NHK, today is Eel Day. Could've fooled most of us in Japan. When I went to the supermarket today, there wasn't all that much fuss over eels.

Tomorrow will be the start of a slow-as-molasses week...luckily I should have my two most profitable classes on Monday. I may catch a movie in between classes.

July 26

The kids were good today...thank heavens. Plus I met that former student at Starbucks near my school.

We've had a few tremors today sprouting up in the northern Tohoku area. They were pretty strong suckers as well...up in the 6s according to the Shindo scale. For comparison, the quake that leveled Kobe in 1995 was a Shindo 7. But true to the Japanese technology protecting us from the big ones, there was damaage but not any injuries. Without gloating, I note that there have been many casualties in other countries from smaller quakes. NHK has been giving some major attention to the quake for the past hour.

I'm trying to figure out what I'll do for the next week. Since my regular school-based classes will be on hiatus, I have huge patches of time. I may just decide to catch up on some movies or explore a little. There is that modern conference area, Makuhari Messe, not too far from my place that I've been wanting to take a second look at. Plus, they've included quite a few more places since my last visit years ago including two megamarts, Carrefour and Costco.

I forgot to mention about that new Tuesday night class nearby. This ball of energy has been running this combination tiny English school and juku (cram school) for 3 years from the second floor of her house. I teach four students in two classes. The first sclass has three very low people including a traditional couple; I almost forgot that people like that still existed. The second class has just one businessman who want s to head overseas to work. It's pretty laid back; I've basically been given carte blanche as to how I teach them and which texts to use. I would've liked more structure....case in point, the students are just given photocopies of the lessons I want to teach. Hmmm....not too pro but if they don't mind, then I'm OK. Well, it is a new challenge.

July 25

Well, the week has once again come to an end. I just taught my regular morning oil class, had the regular kaffeeklatsch with the teachers up on the 6th floor before heading out to the Farm Grill for the first time in a month. Got my fill of food although I wasn't too impressed with the servings this time around.

I checked out my phone messages after lunch and got one from my ex. Apparently, her time with my Friday night English circle will cease because of her work schedule. I'm disappointed and admittedly, a bit suspicious. I'm ashamed to admit that since she was always up front with me during our relationship. However, my suspicious nature is sadly a permanent part of me; that part thinks that she's pulling away from me of her own volition or has found a new boyfriend. Of course, I will not dare tell this to her.

Feeling somewhat grumpy, I took a long walk in the spitting showers through Ginza, Yurakucho and Marunouchi. I finally came up to the new Maru Building complex, another one of the new vertical commercial behemoths growing in Tokyo, although it has been overshadowed by the complexes in Shiodome and Roppongi. Looked like your usual glass-and-metal ode to 21st-century conspicuous consumption.

I even decided to traipse through the Imperial Hotel. I had gone to the basement before with a friend of mine a year ago but it was the first time in the lobby. It had that classic flavor. Even the bathroom stalls were fitted with real oak-and-brass doors with lights that turn on and off automatically. Now, that's class.

I finally gave into temptation and bought that issue of Entertainment Weekly from the Yurakucho HMV. First, it had a goodly-sized tribute to Katherine Hepburn, and it was only 799 yen plus tax....the lowest price for a foreign magazine anywhere in Japan.

Then, I returned to Ichigaya to the Tea Room where I waited for my lone visitor for 2 hours of English banter. Happily, the talk went pretty much non-stop without any major embarrasing lapses.

When I got home, I had my schedule faxed over to me. They needn't have bothered. I basically have nothing next week except for the oil classes due to the fac t that the regular classes are having tests almost all week. I'm just lucky that I've got my privates to prop me up. But the lack of income for that week will hurt. Perhaps I shouldn't have given in to temptation.

Anyways, it looks like my social calendar is building up. This weekend is fairly dead but the next couple of weekends could get busy with a grad party, a movie buddy outing, an outing to a Chinese restaurant with some students and a goodbye party for a former student.

At least tomorrow is Eel Day. Eel is great to build up stamina. All of the supermarkets should be having barkers yelling everybody to grab some grilled eel on rice. Also, the annual Sumida River Fireworks Festival will be held in Asakusa. This brings up the next mystery. For the past 7 years, I had been invited to a former NOVA student's apartment right next to the river itself for fireworks viewing. However, I didn't hear a thing this year. I hope everything is alright with my student.

July 22

Feeling pretty sleepy right now although I think a combination of vitamin drink and caffeine is propping me up. And of course, when I'm sleepy I also get rather down with life generally. Hopefully, the feeling will pass since I'll be starting my new gig in Urayasu later tonight. I've got very little info about this class outside that they're using American Streamline. Hmm...I just hope that this isn't a fly-by-night operation.

Yesterday I had a pleasant afternoon at the Tokyo Hilton with a friend of mine for that cake buffet. Good, friendly staff and a wide variety of food helped the experience. I'll definitely have to try it again and perhaps I'll even go for the other buffets they have. They're all very reasonably priced.

Just glad that I've got most of the day off tomorrow.

July 20

A very pleasant if humid day today. I taught my kid and her father. It worked out very well and the doctor was OK if somewhat less able than his wife.

Then, it was off to see T3 with Movie Buddy and his friend. We had a bit of a glitch at the beginning though when the three of us had entered the wrong theatre (the one we wanted was next door) and only realized the error after the staff had clipped our tickets. Movie Buddy almost went into a fit but luckily the staff taped the tickets together; they seemed rather nonchalant about it as if this were a common occurence. MB fumed a bit about how the staff should've realized that we had walking into the wrong theatre when we entered the place just a half-hour after the movie had already started. However, I kinda think we should've just kept our eyes more open.

In any case, we were able to rectify the error quickly enough so that we could scoot over to the right theatre and get some decent seats. The movie itself was OK but a shadow of T2. It kinda had that Star Trek "Odd Numbered Movie" syndrome; it had potential but it just ended up being a prelude for something more. For that reason, I would like to see a T4.

Afterwards, we had some coffee at the local Starbucks followed by dinner at an Aussie pub in Shinjuku. It was sure nice to chug down a Crown Royal while tucking into delights such as fish and chips, meat pie and swordfish. I rather enjoyed the outing today so much that I just sent an e-mail to some of our soon-to-be grads to see if they want to be part of the Movie Buddy system.

And I finally got that CD I had been searching for. No liner notes but I'm not complaining after 15 years of looking.

July 19

Well, we're into a 3-day weekend...not that it matters a whole bunch to me since I'm half on holiday, it seems, anyways.

I had my usual oil company class yesterday morning followed by the usual lunch in the lounge with the teachers. It was quite bustling today there. We had no fewer than 7 teachers gabbing away. I kinda wonder if the Teachers' Room on the 4th floor will go fallow once more. However, it was nice chatting with the lads.

I stayed for another hour there and ended up helping a few students in the senior class while the assigned teacher was talking with the other students before heading out to Akihabara. I basically went out there really just to kill time more than anything else since I had my regular English circle in Ichigaya. The clouds were looking pretty threatening at that point. However, I indulged in some massage, courtesy of the showroom massage chairs in the Yamagiwa appliance shop; gave myself a good 20-minute treatment for free. Then I decided to spend most of the next 2 hours just scouring around for old CDs. But alas, it looks like the days of the late 80s and early 90s stuff may be coming to an end. A lot of the stuff I saw there yesterday were used copies of fairly current artists.

I returned to Ichigaya and headed over to the Tea Room almost 90 minutes early for the session, so I just indulged in my crossword puzzles and had my dinner until the first person came...a good 20 minutes late. Both women who came had just come back from trips, one to Vietnam and one to a local hot spring. The custom of bringing back souvenirs reaped good dividends for me as I got a pack of instant Pho noodles and chocolate from one lady, and then some more chocolate from the other.

After I got home, I got the notice from the neighbourhood post office saying that my CD had arrived. My 15-year search will soon be over. Actually, I received a most cordial letter from the distributor responsible for getting me the CD ove r the Net today. He seemed impressed that I would choose such an obscure artist amongst all of the current hitmakers. Well, I bent his ear a bit with my explanation. Maybe this will reap dividends for me here as well.

In any case, I gotta head on out for my kid class, and then I meet Movie Buddy and his friend to see Terminator 3.

July 18

My last class was a bit frustrating. I had a girl who had always been a bit of a problem with the other teachers, and up to that point, I really didn't have too much of a problem, but today, she completely shut down on me. The other women assured me that she's just a kid and that all teens act like that. Problem is that she's NOT a kid but a 20-year-old, and most teens don't join up with an English school for a whole year.

Caught The Bourne Identity last night. It was a good quiet spy flick much on the level of Ronin. I'm sure Robert Ludlum would've liked the way it was filmed although I had heard that there was some contentiousness during filming. Matt Damon may not quite have the charisma of a Tom Cruise or a Brad Pitt, but he can hold a film. As for Chris Cooper, I'm not saying that the Oscar winner phoned his performance in, but I think any number of actors could've had his part.

July 16

Ugh....had to battle an allergy which my medicine couldn't fight for me, and have my lesson with my Wednesday nighter. Nothing worse than teaching with a runny nose. The worst thing is having the allergy finally fade AFTER the class.

On the way down to the Starbucks to teach my student, I decided to pop by the new Shiodome complex, yet another high-rise entertainment emporium built in the last year. It 's located next to the salarymen-and-pub soaked area of Shimbashi; quite a contrast. Looking into it, I see that it follows the Roppongi Hills example of lots of restaurants including the Oregon Bar and Grill but not a whole lot of shops.

Speaking of Roppongi Hills, my students told me that the complex may already have peaked in popularity. One of them said that her daughter had visited the place recently only to find a relatively small number of people going through the labyrinth-like nooks and crannies of the complex. My feeling is that having Mr. Mori design his baby like an amoeba may be counterproductive for the commercial residents. The place already has a reputation as a ritzy, exclusive mall. I don't think people would be all that willing to explore all of the cul de sacs if they knew of the expense. I could imagine some stores pulling up stakes in the not-too-distant future. At this point, th e only successful places seem to be the Virgin Theaters and the restaurants.

On a totally different note, my yeasr-long search for a CD by a certain artist may be coming to a happy end. I managed to find an online CD service which has a copy. I have the original vinyl album but since record players are pretty much a rarity these days, I had almost given up hope.

Let's see, I did decide to also purchase The Bourne Identity on DVD last night. I had caught it on the plane on the way back from Canada last year. The viewing experience on a plane is never that good but I did enjoy watching Matt Damon kick ass so I'd been waiting for th e past half-year for it come out. Will probably watch tonight after work.

July 16

I hadn't intended to check my e-mail so soon after my last check just last night, but I unconsciously activated the Outlook. There have been times that I've done things just on a hunch which ended up becoming meaningful for me, so I decided to follow through. Sure enough, it was one of those times. My good friend, Chip Man, and his wife had just sent the message that they're now the proud parents of a baby girl.

A nice slow Wednesday today. I won't be doing my class until tonight so I can afford to laze back a bit.

July 15

Another binge fest last night. In fact, I ended up at McD's twice, a breach of a personal rule not to visit the Golden Arches more than once a week. But I just needed a place last night to hang out before heading to mylate class. And sure enough, just by this poky little station, there was a McDonalds. Of all the places... Also in between visits, I visited my student's Chinese restaurant in the Kanda area. It was a pretty good place not spectacular, but the service was very good, thanks to my student. However, I did notice that somewhat concealed icy look from the first waiter who had met me at the door. I guess I just struck him as a typical lousy oyaji in for a quick bite.

That was the bad news. The good news is that I actually saved some yen on my new, supposedly rarefied, lifestyle. Even with a wedding and some outings, and the expenses that come with them, I actually netted something.

July 13

Woke up this morning earlier than desired because I was getting that distinctly dreaded feeling of throwing up. Well, not that far ahead but nausea was present. So I downed a bunch of baking soda with water to neutralize the acid that must've been bubbling in my poor stomach thanks to the 2 kg of beef I had ingested the night before with the students in Shibuya. Then I sat down in the doorway of the bathroom for about 10 minutes just to make sure that I was over the hump before getting back to bed. Luckily enough, it did the trick but I ended up feeling drowsy all day.

A few hours later and some rushed cleaning afterwards, Movie Buddy came by and we saw Angelina Jolie's TOMB RAIDER on DVD. The movie itself was OK but not a huge spectacle for me. There were just too many draggy exposition scenes interspersed with the action plus some herky-jerky pacing near the end for me to give it a thumbs-up. Hopefully, things will be better in the sequel.

Then, MB and I met up with his girlfriend a couple of stations over to go over to her friend's place for curry. Marilyn was chastising herself about her curry contribution all throughout the afternoon despite our encouragment. She even went so far as to say that it was a bunch of horsestuff. To be honest, in a way, it did have that color and certain chunkiness but it was actually pretty good when poured over rice. She was so relieved when we gave our compliments. Her friend made a somewhat more lighter and more vegetable-laden curry which was no less spicier. I unfortunately had the misfortune of chewing down on one of the green chili peppers which rendered my tonsils radioactive for a short while. It was a bit of a feast since we also dove into a giant fruit tart that MB had bought, and then we finished off with some takoyaki (deep-fried octopus balls) at the nearby mall.

I may have also scored another job lead although I'm not sure what the asking price will be thanks to the help of Marilyn's friend. Keeping my fingers crossed.

My weekend has been a feast. 2 kg of beef which threatened to blow me up and then curry. But it doesn't end today. I'm heading out tomorrow to a Chinese restaurant in Tokyo where one of my students is working at her invitation. I kinda wish I didn't have to go alone, though. It's always so limiting when there is only one to order stuff from a Chinese restaurant.

Joly 12

Well, as I said in my last report, I should be pretty tired after my day and night of debauchery today. Actually, I don't feel all that bad; things were pretty calm although the conversation was starting to approach the salty area.

Yep, it was another hot and humid one as I started my day by teaching those kids. The younger sister was fine but the older one was rather out to lunch for some reason. I figure it was the usual annoying teenage emotional roller coaster. I kinda mentioned to the mother that the daughter was a bit "sleepy" today for which I received a very profuse apology. I think I should've just given the usual bland "No problems" instead.

I managed to speed over to Shinjuku after class to see Movie Buddy and watch Charlie's Angels 2. The sequel to the 2000 hit had more of everything: more unbelievable stunts, more skin (the Terminator-like emergence of the Angels in their birthday suits was a nice touch)....and more dumbness. This was absolutely a movie to not just suspend your disbelief but also to take that disbelief, put it into a catapult, launch it and blow it out of the sky with a high-powered rifle. A lot of the critics will take issue with me on this point, but CA2 made itself so dumb as to render it bulletproof from any harsh reviews. As MB pointed out, anyone giving this a bad review didn't come with the right attitude.
The movie also continued to add to its custom of pop culture riffs by spoofing CSI, the aforementioned Terminator and Cape Fear. And it took a little from Austin Powers' Goldmember by having a goodly amount of stunt casting. Luke Perry and that guy from Friends were back along with creepy Crispin Glover. However, Bruce Willis, Robert Patrick, John Cleese, Demi Moore and a nearly unrecognizable Carrie Fisher also popped by for a spell.
In a bit of a contradiction of my contention that CA2 is criticproof, I think that the movie suffers from Return of the Jedi syndrome in that McG tried to stuff in too much in less than 2 hours. Only Bernie Mac's outsized talent managed to keep him above water but having no less than 4 villains pretty much sublimated what could've become 2 interesting subplots involving Drew's character and Demi's Fallen Angel. All in all, I'm pretty certain that CA3 is inevitable.

Well, after that flick, Movie Buddy and I hit a Becker's burger joint for a little respite where he told me that his ruse to set me up with his friend at tomorrow's party was itself a ruse. He just wanted to keep quiet the fact that I would be meeting one of the staff members from my school at the party because she's been going out with MB. There's nothing wrong with teachers and staff per se but knowing that the grapevine at our school is especially ripe, the news just had to be kept quiet.

Then, I finally met up with two other teachers and five students for dinner at a hot pot restaurant. I managed to down a good 2 kg of beef so I'm feeling quite bloated right now. Breakfast will therefore mean just a lot of fruit. MB's prudence was quite wise; a lot of the talk centered around various possible relationships. I stayed sober and tried to listen. However a couple of the ladies decided that their little talk was so private that they just moved themselves to another table for a short while. However, I think I'm pretty much in the know as to what they were talking about since a former teacher let me in on a secret some months earlier.

Anyways, time to take my shower and hit bed.

July 11

Well, didn't have to wait long before the heat and humidity came roaring in. My air conditioner is now on full power. Luckily, today was a short day in that I just had one class in the morning and my Friday night circle was cancelled. I just had lunch with the full-timers in the school lounge and then went off to Kinokuniya to find a couple of t exts before getting home in the form of a limp dishrag.

Tomorrow, I've got a pretty full schedule. After my class with the doctor's kids, I'm catching Charlie's Angels 2 with the Movie Buddy in Shinjuku. With it being out for 2 weeks and T3 hitting the shores tomorrow, I think we should be able to get in with little fear of huge lineups. But then again, in this burg, one can never tell. Then, I'm off to have dinner with some students and teachers at an all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu place. Don't know how long that's going to last but with the fear of the cost having been bandied about and the fact that it's pretty hot, I have a feeling that we'll probably break up early.

That's all well and good since on Sunday, Movie Buddy will be hitting my place early for us to watch Tomb Raider on DVD and then go to a party near my place. MB is trying to set me up with a woman who just can't seem to grab a boyfriend. Hmmm...I'm frankly not too hopeful about this one.

Well, the big news on the front pages these days in Tokyo has been that murder of that 4-year-old toddler by the 12-yeas-old kid. Plus, there has been news from Okinawa of the murder of a teen by his classmates. I had been thinking for some time that the reputation of Japanese kids has been largely overrated. I just wish that fate hadn't proven me too right.

I caught part of an old Spielberg movie last night on satellite.: 1941. It is the first of his relative failures, and the movie has all of the sheen of his 70s/80s whimsy. I only saw the first half hour since I had an aerly start today and because the movie was a horrible print which managed to slash a lot of footage. I have very little patience for "Edited for TV". Anyways, from what I saw last night, I think the Bearded One was trying to go for a farce on the level of a "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" but didn't quite make it. Doing a farce even back in those days was hard to pull off and even "It's...Mad World" has dated rather badly.
The movie got slagged critically and fans stayed away but nowadays, it is seen as an underrated flick. Then again, even Spielberg's failures are fascinating to watch (check A.I.) I enjoyed watching it just to see who popped up. I knew about Dan Ackroyd and Robert Stack, but there was also Treat Williams, Ned Beatty and Dianne Kay (from Eight is Enough....good lord, what's she up to now?). Of course, John Williams' score was a perfect match for the movie. And to see Christopher Lee and Toshiro Mifune bickering like a couple of old ladies was worth the price of admission. Hmmm....I wonder about that next DVD purchase now. Speaking of which, I am also considering The Bourne Identity.

Joly 9

The weather here has been surprisingly cool. I can live with that but Ido wonder what is to become of this year's rice crop. Maybe we'll be having more of the Thai variety this year. I don't mind myself but I'm sure the more rightwing elements will be going nuts.

I had a heart-to-heart yesterday with a fellow full-time teacher who similarly has little love for the upper echelons of our school. He's also thinking about jumping over to the part-time side. Financially, he shouldn't have much to worry about since he's been saving much more than me. And he ought to enjoy the down time. We just talked about when he'll be pulling the trigger since he does have some holiday time coming up and he doesn't want to sacrifice that.

I just have the one private today and then two tomorrow.

July 8

Just got back from my night class. And I'm feeling pretty refreshed after a hot shower although I'm ready for bed. I'll tell you something...the fact that I have to teach at 2100 hours is not a great thing but I'll take those students over some of my erstwhile in-company students any day. It's always great when I know that my efforts are being appreciated. That said, I could use more students.

The only downside of that tonight though was that I had to cut short my reunion with my former students of 3 years back. It was sure nice seeing them if only for an hour. Hopefully, they will follow through with the promise that we would try to get together again.

I also indulged myself in a rubdown at the neighbourhood massage clinic near my station. It had been about a year since my last visit (my ex was providing the rubdowns during our relationship) but it was nice when the lead guy there recognized me and knew what I always wanted: neck and shoulders. It was also great that he was the one who took care of me; he was always a bit more of the soft touch unlike some of his underlings who believed the more Japanese spartan ethic of pressing til one blacks out.

Well, back to sleep and then an atypical leisurely rise for a Tuesday since I don't have that private class in the morning. Just one class at the school and then I'm back free. But then I'll have to prep myself for the trip to Ichikawa City Hall on Wednesday to inform them I want to pay my taxes from my freelance work. Don't want to end up being caught for tax evasion, after all.

July 6

A very slow Sunday. Just got up and then spent the rest of the day just lazing about and watching CNN. Not too bad. Only needed to get out to buy dinner from a convenience store 200 m away.

Saturday's kid lesson went better. The texts definitely helped focus the two of us, and instead of having the younger sister (who had to go to a birthday party), I was able to teach the mother who was an avid student in English. Then I had my usual monthly English circle.

I received a call from a blast from the past. It was from a former student of ours a couple of years back when the student body was a few years younger and a good deal more swinging. He asked me for a round of drinking with some of the school Alumni. I can attend for the first hour but then I have to head out for my late class.

July 4

Hmm...let's see, I'm not sure but I may be in the doghouse via e-mail with a distant friend and my ex. I just made one cute little question to her about something and I got walloped with a huge NO! in response. As for the other guy, I received this rather terse letter of change of address in Japanese so I just answered in kind and told him I have the bottle of wine I was saving for him. I particularly care how I feel for either for them right now; that's their petty problem.

I had my second class with the oil company; this time it was with the A class, the cream of the crop. I guess it must be because of it being the first week of classes for them. The students sure didn't act like the A-team. A couple of them were sputtering their speeches like a couple of junior high school students. Then again, this has been the earliest I've ever been exposed to the oil group. I hope that things start gelling next week.

Well, after that interesting experience, I had lunch with the few remaining full-timers on staff and one pretty gabby rookie teacher who wanted to get the lowdown on the school. He's been here for a couple of years so he knows the politics that go with an English school. Hmmm...I'm starting to wonder if this exodus this time may take on a more potent edge.

Then afterwards, I went out to the bookstore to fish out some texts for my kids tomorrow morning. Man, I think this part of mynew job will be the least favorite but one of the most necessary.

Finally, I had my regular English circle with just one student. It was going OK for a while when an especially ornery and obnoxious idiot came in with his daughter and proceeded to harangue her about her future. Gad, if there is one thing I despise in middle-aged men here..

Man, I gather that I've been in a dour mood today. I don't know what it is...the heat, the fact that my new career is so far limping, the two e-mails and the loudmouthed guy during the circle or if it's everything put together. I just hope that things are better after a good night's sleep. It kinda helps that "Major League" is on right now; the scene where Wild Thing makes his entrance is arguably one of the best in a sports movie.

Arnie has come by for his usual promo jaunt for T3...well, let's hope that what he does best is what saves what remains of his career. I'm starting to get a little tired of the Austrian Oak, though, with his "I'm back" greeting. Well, in a good sign, it looks like th e movie has gotten some positive reviews. Perhaps he IS back.

July 3

Kinda of a belated Canada Day present but Vancouver got it s Olympics! Hooray for them. I just hope they can handle it better than Athens has or Montreal did. Isn't Montreal still paying off the debts from the 1976 games?

Well, I started the easly wake-up calls from today as the new oil company classes have begun at my school. To be honest, I don't particularly mind...I'm not at the age to roust about at night anymore and the students from the oil company have always been a good bunch. I had the first bunch today; not a bad group but the personal dynamics are still gelling.

Speaking of classes, I finally ended my classes at the other oil company. I don't regret finishing them although I did make a few fans over there. Once again, the materials and the fact that the students simply didn't seem all that serious influenced my decision to tell my boss that I won't be doing them anymore.

And speaking of bosses, I finally had that long-awaited (is there any other kind in my school?) chat with the assistant manager about my salary increase. I did get it, and things are pretty much locked in. I'm now free to pursue other opporunities on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

July 1

Happy Canada Day back to my fellow Canucks at home.

The last day of June was pleasant if humid as all hell. I started it by trying out a trendy restaurant with the expats in Roppongi. It's called ROTI, presumably its claim to fame is the rotisserie chicken (a rival to the Farm Grill, I wonder?). The place was certainly quite a bit smaller than I had thought it would be. It's not one of these dark sprawling restaurants with all sorts of nooks and crannies. Indeed, it's quite a bright place with two windows acting as half the walls for this somewhat small brasserie. I think half the tables were outside on the patio. I can only wonder what would happen if it rained. I tried one of their lunch specials for 1300 yen, a relative bargain in Roppongi. The chicken quesadillas with salad fit the bill quite nicely. However, what I'm really angling for is their all-day Sunday breakfasts; I'm such a sucker for pancakes.

Then, it was time to beat feet all over Tokyo for textbooks, one of my new duties as a freelancer. After a few hours, I was able to get somethng suitable for my late night class although the bill was quite a heartpounder. Luckily, my students were very willing to foot the bill. Speaking of food, I'm so glad that there is a doner kebab wagon outside of Tower Records in Shibuya. For just 500 yen, I can get a mightily satisfying pita stuffed with juicy pork and veggies...a good 34 yen less than a Big Mac set. I guess also that lounging in cafes will probably be my lot in life as a freelancer. I ended up staying at the New York Cafe around the corner from the doner kebab wagon for a couple of hours before I had to hightail out west for my lat e class. Still, overall, it was a good experience.

Today was my usual school day. I did my private class then went back to the school for my conversation class before coming back all the way out to Chiba for my final bout with that oil company. Nice students but I won't be going back there. I was just spending too many hours there twiddling my thumbs. Also, my idiotic boss took me aside today for a minute and asked me not to spread around how much I'm enjoying my partial freedom. Hmmm....that's a switch considering he was more than willing to throw one of our experienced and popular teachers to part-time before she decided to fly the coop.

Good heavens...another old veteran goes to that entertainment venue in the sky. Marble-mouthed Buddy Hackett has died.

June 30

Well, the Japanese media are having a field day trashing t.A.T.u. after the two kids and their Svengali-like producer pulled a fast one and suddenly cancelled all of their appearances for interviews and music shows. Not only that, they flaunted a police order not to film any footage of themselves in Ginza and Akihabara (although it was basically just a Handycam defying the order), and then finally at a press conference last night, the duo proceeded to act in a manner unbecoming of guests by openly yawning and cracking gum. Tabloid headlines like "Gimme a Break, t.A.T.u.!" and "Pissed Off at t.A.T.u." are screaming this morning. Geez, I guess that rebelliousness wasn't an act, after all.

As in any democratic country, the fourth estate wields a certain amount of power in society. Even more so in Japan...at least where entertainment and sports are concerned. In America, t.A.T.u.'s behaviour would've merely amused or bemused the folks there, but in protocol-conscious Japan, the Russians committed a faux pas of huge proportions. Perhaps, the girls' new name will be b.R.A.t. from now on. It should be interesting what the departure will be like at Narita today.

All in all, I'm not a huge fan of Japanese journalism...a large group of which are either beholden to the politicians or to hack editors. And the idiocy with which they handle international cele b inteviews borders on the surreal. However, I do wonder if there is a certain amount of naivete as well. t.A.T.u. has based its career on being delinquents. Perhaps in Japan, a lot of bands act tough but they're pretty mild in person. Other countries' punks probably don't fool around in that way. They are either true rebele (please imagine if the Sex Pistols ever came here) or they will keep the hellraiser attitude in public.

On the other side of the spectrum, I just heard Katherine Hepburn passed away. Good golly..another legend leaves the silver screen and just a number of days after Gregory Peck dies. There goes a woman who lived life defiantly to her own drumbeat. There was a Larry King episode a week ago which focused on Hepburn. I wonder if CNN had some inside information about what happened.

June 29

My student's wedding turned out to be an all-day affair. However, it was probably the most enjoyable wedding of all of the nuptial celebrations I've attended in 9 years in this nation. It was just the right combination of people, good food and fun stuff which did the trick for me.

The first party was held at a trendy little restaurant tucked away in an exclusive area of town called Shirogane. Until the subway line s started encroaching the area, it used to be quite difficult to access which of course had lent it its famed exclusivity. In fact, the women who lived, worked and walked there were known as Shiroganeze, basically the elite.
The food was great, the bride and groom were decked out in Japanese kimono while a lot of the guests were in their finest. A wedding here is always a great spot to see the women at their very best. The two companions I came with were themselves resplendent in a Vietnamese dress and a China doll dress. I opted for the usual suit and tie affair; a bit tough since it was rather humid.
We also had live entertainment in the form of a shakuhachi player; a shakuhachi is somewhat akin to a large recorder. As well, we also had some more contemporary fare in the form of a live band playing some bossa nova. As usual, with a wedding here, there was the customary bingo game with prizes.

Also, as with any major social event in the country, the main party was followed by a second party down the street at a place called Boheme, onother trendy little Italian bistro. We just hung out there for drinks for about an hour before heading what turned out to be our longest stage of the night, karaoke at the Big Echo just in front of the Meguro Station. Karaoke is pretty much a never-miss when it comes to thinking about where to head to next.

However, what was different about this bout of karaoke compared to all of the other trips to karaoke was the fact that just about everyone was eager to get their 2 cents in, as it were, for a song. We were getting steadily more aroused by all of the 80s party songs coming out like YMCA, Go West and even Copacabana. Heck, some of our more liberal fellows were getting into major dance mode. Even after 5 straight hours, we were quite willing to go at it further, but more sensible heads prevailed.

Finally, there were just six. The bride and groom, me and my two companions and a friend of the groom. So, now into my 10th hour of partying, I spent the last of those hours with the folks just noshing on a few more dishes (we majorly pigged out at the karaoke box) and nursed an oolong tea before making tracks for home. I was quite exhausted on my way back home and I've finally gotten back into my apartment at the relatively wee hour (for a man in his late 30s, that is) of 12:30 am.

Overall, I had a ball at this wedding. Considering that a lot of weddings consist of listening to boring speeches by the President of the company of the groom's father who should have no business at a wedding, and being stuck with a lot of people one doesn't know, the wedding I attended today was fun, cool and just down-home.

On a related topic, during the wedding party, t here was an underlying current of work and office politics which was inevitable considering that the bride and my two companions were students, and another former teacher made a surprise appearance. The teacher was telling me, or to be more accurate, making a pitch to me about taking a potential position at his private high school come January. He regaled me about the higher salary and lower hours, and also the revelation that yet another teacher will be jumping ship from our school to the high school. I was polite about it but in my mind, it was a no-brainer. The conditions might be better, but it is still a high school, and I made my mind long ago not to teach kids anymore. Unlike what he told me about me being a perfect fit for the school, I would have to say that I wouldn't be too happy there.

From the students, I got the usual complaints about the rookie teachers and even some classmates. It was a bit difficult to listen to, especially when I have no animosity against any of my students myself. However, that may be my Pollyannish side poking me with the hopes that everyone can get along. Just too many people in our programme for that to ever happen. And the gripes about students by students has been par for the course every year I was a full-timer.

The wedding itself set me back quite a few yen but it was worth it. In fact, the bride was quite worried whether I would accept the invitation because of the rather high price; another teacher had declined with the very straight-to-the-gut reason that it was just too expensive to attend. This rather rattled the bride, so she was grateful for my presence. However, for me, I'm always honoured if any student would invite me to his/her wedding. Yes, it is expensive and I certainly cannot afford to go splurging at this time, but on the other hand, I also appreciate the fact that this was one of the most important days in my student's life, and that she wanted me to share it with her and her friends. I think that factor outweighs any financial reason not to go. However, I'm not about to slag the other teacher for his reason not to go; that's his decision, and I can respect that. He could've been more tactful about his reply, though.

June 27

Well, the weather was back to sunny and warm again. And once more, my back was having mood swings.

I had my dinner tonight with my English circle and the boys from the oil company. Despite the popularity of the restaurant and our rather large number, we managed to get a good table, and the food was excellent. My ex was getting well lubricated on the local alcohol so she was in quite the ebullient mood tonight much to the amusement of most of the folks there; she certainly made an impression on the oil boys.

Also, I found out tonight from one of the guys that there is a remote chance that Tokyo may have its first programmed blackout on Monday although I'm not sure if the news had been made public. Due to some scandals involving Tokyo Electric with botched inspections and subsequent coverups, the majority of the nuclear reactors powering the Tokyo grid have been taken off-line until further noticed. Therefore, demand may overtake capacity and we'll be in the dark.

Charlie's Angels debuted today all over the world, and it looks like the movie will get a very mixed review. The reviewer for the Japan Times liked it but a local gaijin magazine didn't. However, this movie is probably going to fare better with critics than the Matrix Reloaded.

June 26

It was raining kennels tonight. But it was cooler and dryer than it has been over the past few days, so we have some respite from the heat. And concerning the current soap opera that is being played out on my back, I was getting some major climaxes there over the course of the day, but for some reason, it's going through some very pleasant denouement righ t now. Hopefully, then, my back is slowly getting back to normal.

Well, my weekend will once again be a hodgepodge of social activities again. I've got my regular Friday circle meeting for dinner at a Chinese restaurant tomorrow. And then I have a student's wedding to attend with a couple of her classmates on Saturday. Not cheap but hey, it's an important date for my student and I'm just grateful that she invited me

Came home tonight and had dinner while viewing a MISIA concert DVD. Who is Misia, you ask? Well, she just happens to be one of the few singers in this country who deserves to be called great. She is this tiny bundle of energy from Okinawa or somewhere in southern Japan who has quietly created a very large and loyal following without any (over)exposure on TV and very few commercials. For most singers, talented or otherwise, they're usually pushed into making tons of appearances on the various music or even variety shows to push their CDs. Not Misia.
Misia's brand of music is hip-hop/house/R & B which often has a 70s disco flavor. The special thing with her is that she has a set of pipes which can knock one's socks off. Apparently, she got her inspiration as a child from the musical "Mama, I Wanna Sing!" (which explains her singing style) and the J-Pop band, Dreams Come True whose lead singer, Miwa Yoshida, also possesses a great voice. And in fact, a couple of years ago, the two did meet and collaborated on a minor hit song.
The usual question which I usually ask to myself when it comes to these real talents is if she can actually make it big in the States. The practical answer to that is sadly no...at least at this time. The current genre du jour Stateside doesn't particularly fit Misia's type of music; it would probably be considered to be more pop and even worse a novelty act (Wow! A Japanese person singing hip-hop? How cute!). Several years ago, a Japanese pioneer in rhythm n' blues, Toshinobu Kubota, tried to break into the US market with nary a ripple. It wasn't because he was bad. Far from it, Kubota is a very accomplished singer. It's just that there is plenty of the American product around. It would have taken Kubota a song with almost impossible appeal for him to get noticed outside of Japan. And I think that would be the case with MIsia. But then again, I think Misia is quite happy enthralling her local fans without the usual media influences.

June 25

My back has gotten worse. It's even a chore just remaining sitting up and getting dressed is an exercise in pain. I bought some liniment just now and I've been popping the Tylenol but I have a feeling that I'm going to have to see a doctor pretty soon. Luckily (perhaps) I got that private class with the doctor's kids, so maybe he can help me out. I have a bad feeling that I may have a slipped disc. If that's the case, all that money I've been paying for health insurance for the past 8 years will probably go down the drain pretty fast. In any case, this hasn't been one of my more favourite weeks.

Well, I just got back from a bit of research on the Internet concering back pain, and apparently a slipped disc is very rarely cause for surgery...at least in the US. Might be a bit prejudicial to say, but I think a number of doctors over here love to make some money on the side from their diagnoses for extra medicine or that big winfall: a date with a scalpel. On a better note, I found that one of those non-surgical remedies happens to be as simple as anti-inflammatory liniment which I bought today. It certainly feels a lot nicer right now. Plus, that aspirin is coming in handy.

Forgot to mention that I caught one of my all-time favourites: AIRPLANE! I remember seeing it back at the Golden Mile Plaza back in 1980 with my brother and just guffawing non-stop through the picture. The gags only elicit a fond grin now but I can still appreciate the humour in it. Since I saw it on DVD, I was able to hear the commentary by the creators; unsurprisingly enough, it felt like hearing a bunch of beer-swilling men in a basement rec room...just the types who would come up with this sort of film One point that the boys didn't mention that I thought should be mentioned is that AIRPLANE spawned off some interesting things: Leslie Nielsen's new career as a wacky comedian, the mini-genre of crazy comedy movies such as The Naked Gun and Hot Shots and the fact that otherwise serious avuncular leading men can do comedy.

June 24

I indulged in one of the perks of my career by joining one of my private classes to a housewarming party for a former student up in the wilds of Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture. She has a very well-kept condo with her family and cooked up a storm of hearty dishes while we had a nice chat. Sure beats work. And the crazy thing is that I still got paid my regular fee though I didn't teach anything. One of the topics we ranted about was the overhype of Beckham during his time in Japan. One of my more gleeful students went on a rare bender decrying the stupidity in falling for this athlete.

In a very sad sign of the times in this country, a couple of rather heinous crimes have come to light recently in the news. One was the mass murder of a family in Fukuoka for reasons unknown; the father, mother and 2 children were all strangled and dumped into a local river. The other was the gang rape of a student by a rather notorious Waseda University circle. There have been arguably even more heinous crimes committed in Japan over the past several years but these two are still a sobering reminder that even this country is not all safe and comfortable.

Interesting. On the Dark Horizons movie website, I saw news about this new version of Battlestar Galactica so I checked out some of the images. I saw the popular Cylons and one Viper. However, I then saw Edward James Olmos, the cool Lieutenant from Miami Vice, as an officer. He and the rest of the supposed crew seem to be garbed in blue jumpsuits reminiscent of the guys on Enterprise. Uh-oh.
I used to watch the original back 20 years ago as a high school student, and managed to endure the repeated film footage of battle scenes. I did like the late Lorne Greene as Commander Adama; no idea if Olmos will be taking on that role. My favorite episodes from the short-lived series were The Pegasus with Lloyd Bridges as the legendary Commander Kane and the other one featuring Patrick Macnee as the head Cylon himself.

June 23

A bit of a return to the old spending splurge of old, though I did hold the reins somewhat more tightly in lieu of my new spending diet. However, I think with a payment of 20,000 yen today from two different classes, I could treat myself a bit. Picked up a Hall & Oates' 12" remix CD (no snickering) from Tower and then got the DVD of that hilarious comedy of yore, Airplane; will always be a fan of the Zucker Brothers.

On a sad note, I found out that they closed down the World Magazine Gallery permanently when I stopped by for a bit of a read. There was a just terse English statement but the Japanese version had a full explanation about how the popularity of the Internet had a hand in its demise, which I think is a crock. The organization probably just couldn't afford all those magazines anymore. In any case, I greatly lament the loss just when I'm now a part-timer and would have appreciated the extra time browsing through the mags for free. As a result I also picked up a couple of mags at HMV along with the DVD. At least, I could use my point card and get a discount.

Having lunch at TGI Fridays today in the Ginza, I realized their 1000 yen lunch special is only a bargain if you choose the hamburger. I unwisely chose the chicken fritter which ended up to be this deep-fried hunk of very substandard fowl...and yes it was quite foul. However, it was a lesson learned.

Then I had started my new Monday night class with a former student and her colleague at his place all the way on the other side of Tokyo, a good 70 minutes away from my place by train. And it starts at 9 p.m. and finishes at 10:30. This is the latest class I've ever had so the commutes home will be a bit of a drag but at this point I'll take anything that's potentially lucrative.

June 22

True to form, summer has indeed come to Tokyo in "person" as well as in tradition. I actually had to activate the air conditioner for the first time this year. But it was nice to see a sunny day.

My friend and I caught The Core at the neighbourhood theatre yesteday. It was one of those check-your-brain-at-the-door films: as long as you're not looking for any deep meaning or even deep science, you should be OK. Plus I gather that the actors involved must have seen this as a good paycheck as well as a bit of a summer-stock lark. In fact, several of the performers completely passed under the radar though they are famous names (Stanley Tucci, Alfre Woodard and Delroy Lindo), a fact that perhaps enhances their reputation as character actors. In any case, it was a good-enough flick for a summer blockbuster. Hilary Swank was the only one recognizable actor I could pick out although it was amusing to see Bruce Greenwood who had played JFK in Thirteen Days basically play the same character as the commander of the life-or-death mission.

Afterwards we got back to the apartment and just pigged out on some major junk food: Pringles, Domino's Pizza and Haagen-Daas while we scanned through a couple of DVDs: Goldmember and From Russia With Love. It's quite nice to go wild once in a while, especially after having been trying to keep the calories lower for a while. My buddy stayed over for the night and kept the air con on all night which makes me dread what my electric bill will look like next month.

This morning, we watched Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, the best of any of the Trek movies (and yes, I do realize that Patrick Stewart can act orbits around William Shatner) which saddens me that it's been 20 years since Khan was released and perhaps only First Contact has even approached the appeal of it. The relationships, the philosophical message and the battles all came together in a way that hasn't really been achieved in any of the others. And sorry to say, the only relationship in the TNG movies worth mentioning has just been the Picard-Data duo.

June 20

The World Cup was one year ago here but you would've thought it had never ended. David Beckham and his wife, Posh Spice, swept into Tokyo with all of the fanfare of a mix of rock star/head of state (I believe David is a soccer player of some merit). Hundreds of mostly rabid female fans at Narita Airport on Wednesday afternoon had their camera-laden cellphones thrust up into the air like technological Excaliburs to get a shot of their lord and master. Considering that David and Posh breezed through the gate and into the elevator inside of 15 seconds, a lot of people were left disappointed.
His timing in arriving in Japan was a godsend for the local media and, of course, for him since it was during the flight that it was announced that Beckham was dealt to Real Madrid from Manchester United.
If the Beckhams are thinking of running for public office after David's eventual retirement from the game, they are certainly getting a lot of practice at being heads of state right now. There was a reception for them last night with a lot of the Tokyo glitterati in attendance. And today, while the missus took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony of a posh new store in the posh neighbourhood of Minami-Aoyama, the hubby held a press conference at 11 with 300 journalists in the room. The piece de resistance of this event was having Becks unveil a 3-metre likeness of himself all done up in delicious milk chocolate.
Then, Becks continued his state tour with a visit to an elementary school near Ginza in which a whole bunch of kids were there to hear his pearls of advice. He took some questions from the kids (which were no worse than some of the inane questions asked at the press conference) and kicked a few balls from the soccer team for promotional purposes. Again, tons of media were on hand to capture the event live and a lot of office workers desceded upon the schoolyard en masse.
At this time, he is currently doing interviews at Fuji-TV where he was seen handing out presents of chocolate-covered almonds to his hosts. I'd say at this rate, the Japanese would be more than happy to vote Beckham as the new PM of Great Britain. Certainly, he's a whole lot more popular than the current guy.


On more mundane matters, I've finished off another week as a part-timer. Happy to see that I've been a pretty good boy with my budget. I've been far more successful with my financial diet than with my physical one. I couldn't believe how much less I spent on hobbies this past week. I hope this plan of austerity reaps some dividends for me by the time the next paycheck comes in. Also, the life itself isn't too bad. The extra time has given me more sleep and less stress (although my back is still not too good). And I may be picking up yet another former student of mine as a private.
Also, I managed to catch up with a couple of old movies. One was the Audrey Hepburn suspense, "Wait Until Dark". I'm a bit surprised with that one since here in Japan, Audrey Hepburn's career only goes as far as "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and the suspense was a post-Tiffany release. To the locals, Audrey will always be the young gamine of the 50s and only that. As a suspense, it was an interesting concept of having a blind person fend off three criminals, and I could see how the Jodie Foster movie "The Panic Room" may have gotten some inspiration from it.

The other flick was one that I'd seen before, "The Caine Mutiny", Humphrey Bogart's last great movie before his death. It was also an interesting one to see certain actors cast against type, notably Bogie's role as the mentally crushed Captain Queeg. Then there was also Fred MacMurray (from My Three Sons) as the cowardly and treacherous Mr. Keefer. I'd say that the movie was ahead of its time in terms of plot direction. If it had been a conventional flick from the 50s, Queeg would've been revealed as a straight nutso villain, and the crew as the heroes...end of story. Instead, we got the "Gotcha" ending when the victorious yet spiteful defense lawyer, Lt. Greenwald, drunkenly castigates the celebrating crew on being just as guilty for not helping Queeg when he had asked for help. Certainly a sobering way to finish a Best Movie nominee that showed Queeg in a more complex light.

June 17

Kinda nice double-whammy day. First I find out that my buddy had given me a 10,000-yen bill yesterday not just to cover his expenses with me giving the rest back to him, but in fact, he gave me the whole amount as a partial advance for my potential new student. Then I started getting some compliments from various students about my slow but steady slimming.

Well, my social calendar is starting to fill up which is fine for me, but a bit worrying too considering that I'm not making all that much money. Luckily, I've been able to maintain a good budget so far.

Some more TV reminiscing. Lately, I've been catching reruns of that ol' chestnut, Perry Mason, every weekday morning on the satellite Super Channel. It was definitely a product of its times: virtually all Caucasians, Perry always won and didn't have a single problem (outside of obvious weight gain and smoking...but then again, I did say that it was a product of its times) and the usual overwrought, hackneyed acting.
However, in this age of moral ambiguity and depressingly human antiheroes, it is kinda nice to turn back the clock to a more innocent (or naive) time. Perry Mason was notable for the stolidness of (Canadian...yeah!) Raymond Burr in the lead role, and his tete-a-tete with Hamilton Burger. Also, just the overall film noir quality and that famous theme song gave the show that touch of class. I just came off from the always fun "Jump The Shark" website where I found out that the show had quite a fair share of diehard fans and sneering detractors. But the big shock for me was finding out that the actor who had played the craggy DA Burger, William Tallman, was kicked off the show for smoking pot at a nudist colony. Gah...get that image away from my mind!
I did catch a special episode this morning, the supposed one of only two times that Mason had ever been seen losing a case (well, actually, he later proved that the defendant was indeed innocent). Of course, the director played it up to the hilt. It actually started with the darkened courtroom just before the "shocking" verdict came in.

More on the old faces bandwagon. Last night, I caught a Biography of Burt Bacharach. I recall vaguely having watched some of his TV specials. I have to forgive him for writing "What's New, Pussycat?", but pretty much the rest are classics. I actually got to listen to that burned CD of the Elvis Costello/Bacharach collaboration of a few years ago. To be honest, I'm gonna have to let it grow on me. I didn't hear a single tune that really got my attention.

Finally, I have to say that my back is slowly coming back to normal, thanks to Aspirin and those heating pads. Man, I will really have to be careful.

June 16

There's nothing that ages a person more than a bad back. Well, I got aged more than a good side of beef over the last few days. My lumbar has been feeling knifed which has made any sort of attempt to stand up or even absorb the inevitable shaking on a subway an exercise in pain. I'm not a religious person by any means but I would be willing to give tribute to the Aspirin God today thanks to the wonderful quick-acting efficiency of pain relief. I'll be going to the next step of a hot shower and then a heating pad.

Today, I also got to add a new restaurant to my repertoire of Tokyo eateries when a friend of mine invited me to a cake buffet at the Tokyo Hilton in Shinjuku. I first thought it somewhat odd since over here cake buffets usually attract the opposite sex. However, I was happy to find out that there were enough savory dishes to relax even the manliest of men. The cakes were also excellent...perhaps even better than those of my beloved Farm Grill. And when one sees bread pudding AND accompanying sauce at a buffet....well, nothing more needs to be said. Another fringe benefit was that the guy who had invited me may be getting a new client in the form of his president. Ahhh...those word-of-mouth referrals.

Reflecting on my 4th Monday on part-time status, I realized that I was able to pull off this trip to the cake buffet because of my new schedule. Again, money is a concern at this time but the main thing is that I could enjoy myself during a time which otherwise would've been spent potentially teaching a boring class with boring material. I can't say that it's been too bad. However, I am tempered by the fact that I will have a regular Tuesday schedule. Glad I could get that self-indulgent stuff out of the way.

June 15

I heard some stuff about the next and last Star Wars movie. Apparently, Chewbacca gets his intro here and ends up rescuing the Skywalker twins and handing them off to Obi-Wan. Y'know, with all of these coincidental connections among the characters, I think they should be retitling Episode IV from "A New Hope" to "Small World, Eh?"

My rarefied week begins with my regular class and then I see some friends for a cake buffet at the Shinjuku Hilton. There goes my budget and my diet. Well, if you have to die, die hard.

June 14

Well, if you're gonna live here in Japan, it's always a major plus if you can get a master fisherman as your friend. My ex and I had dinner tonight at his place. He had gone out early in the morning to see how lucky he was out on the bay. Sure enough, he was able to reel in a lot of mackerel and two red snappers (how many people can do that back in Lake Ontario?) for dinner. When we got there, he was already hard at work scraping off the scales off of his catches before he eviscerated them and then made a whole mess of sashimi and other Japanese fish-based dishes. It was like going to a really good restaurant in the Tsukiji district of Tokyo (it's the area that has that huge warehouse of fish getting auctioned off) for a free meal. Just lovely.

That dinner certainly helped out with today after having my first class with the kids out in the west end today. They were both nice kids but the bottom line was that they were kids, one of whom was in danger of becoming a teenager. It was the usual gawky shyness and lack of focus. It was somewhat arduous, to say the least. I have rather mixed feelings about only teaching them sporadically. I do miss out on a regular source of Saturday income but at least I keep my sanity.

Some feeling of poignancy also seeped into me during dinner. Y'know, I've been living in the same increasingly cramped apartment for 9 years; I can't really have anyone over, except for my very closest friends, without getting a sense of embarrassment over the growing dowdiness of my pad. And yet, the fisherman and his wife were able to move from their old cramped place to a much bigger and nicer condo within a year. I asked myself, silently of course, "What the hell am I still doing here?" I mean, various students have expressed some surprise at my longevity in my current home, and I'm convinced that I am the longest-living resident in the entire apartment building by a long shot. Heck, my real estate agency hasn't even bothered for my guarantor's stamp for the last two lease renewals.
On the other hand, I also have to realize that I am lucky that I can still stay here without needing a guarantor's stamp. I also realize how very difficult it is for a foreigner, even for a stealth gaijin, to acquire accomodations in this country, thanks to the lousy custom of key money and an oft-xenophobic real estate agency and a few bad apples. And finally, I have a barnacle-like attitude when it comes to a residence.

The second source of poignancy was when my ex was leafing through the wedding album that the fisherman and his wife had decided to show us. She fell in love with the wedding dress so much that she asked if she could actually try it on. Luckily, the wife had the dress in her bedroom so she actually allowed it to be worn. When my ex came out wearing the dress and looking so happy, I must admit that my heart flipped a bit. Usually, that's the clump of cholesterol coursing through the aorta but this time, it was just a reflection of what could have been. Also, the fisherman and his wife related that they often had spats over the most insignificant things, and yet they looked completely at ease with each other. Basically, they were soulmates. So I wonder in my late 30s if my door of opportunity has finally shut for good. I don't know the answer to that question....yet. But I do know that I may be in for some episodes of poignancy as I struggle through a new phase in life financially, and also in terms of not having a partner that I could really share my life with. Maybe all of the past events in my life have shaped me to the extent that I'm just not the type to blast forward, I'm just not the type to have a soulmate.

June 13

It's Friday the 13th, but my luck wasn't too shabby today. I had thought it would be since today was my first payday since my reversion to part-time status. It wasn't as low as I had feared. But I realize that I'll have to be very careful about what I spend my money on. Basically, I'm going on a hobby diet. Let's hope that I survive the month.

I found another place with a good deal for lunch. It's the COCA Chinese eatery that I usually go to for dinner with friends. I was actually dong a bit of scouting for a future event so I went there for lunch and found out that they had a decent 1000 yen special. Soup, salad and five steamers of dim sum with dessert. For Japan, that's not too bad at all.

Spent some of the afternoon at the World Magazine Gallery in south Ginza. It looks like that that place will be second home away from home for the foreseeable future. When mags cost 1000 yen easily in Tokyo, it only makes economic sense to peruse them for free. Then I just browsed through two CD shops, Yamano Music and the Ginza chapter of HMV. As I was passing through the floors to head for HMV, I noticed the open massage clinic right by the escalator. Great way to market. I certainly wished that I could've been in that chair getting my shoulders rubbed. The only thing I mind a bit is that technician who gets overly enthusiastic for shiatsu.

Looks like my Friday circle is gelling nicely after all. My ex is adding her form of non sequitur-ish fun to the proceedings. Tomorrow, I meet up with her to head for a housewarming party the next station over.

Well, two American icons have departed this mortal coil. I never really remembered David Brinkley in his "Good night, David. Good night, Chet" days but I do remember having my pancakes on Sundays while watching This Week with David Brinkley. He always had that syncopated delivery which appealed to me.

The other legend of note who has now passed into history is, of course, Gregory Peck. The tributes today have referred to his Atticus Finch as the defining role of his career, a fact punctuated by his lone Oscar win. And of course, I would agree with that except for the fact that I, sad to say, have yet to see To Kill A Mockingbird in its entirety. To be honest, Peck will always be best represented to me as the stolid Joe Bradley whisking Princess Anne off her feet in Roman Holiday. I've seen that movie four or five times while I have to admit that I have not seen any of Peck's other flicks. Well, there was a bit of McArthur here, The Guns of Navarone there, and I did catch his cameo in Other People's Money with Danny DeVito on the big screen, However, as I said, it was just a cameo and it was obvious that his best days were behind him by that point.
Barbara Walters will always be stigmatized by that perhaps mythologized question she has asked of her interviewees: "If you were a tree, which one would you be?" I'm not sure if Walters had ever interviewed Peck but if she had dared asked that question, and if Peck had indeed been gracious enough to answer it, I would guess that Peck would have answered "Oak" or "Sequoia", both solid, grand and American.

June 11

I met up with those people from the Asakusa Incident on Monday. The main guy seemed tired, depressed and somewhat cranky. I'm not sure if he had been still feeling guilty about the other day or the two weeks in town have started to get to him. The other two seemed OK though. We had lunch at an American style bar & grill place beside Shinjuku Station; the food's so-so but since two of the three had a rather major breakfast buffet, I didn't think a real Japanese restaurant would've helped their stomachs any.

Looks like I've gotten myself another customer for my services. That's good to hear since I was rather chagrined to get a payment schedule for citizen taxes, several years after my last schedule, tonight. And I've got my national health insurance to start paying off from next month. Oooh, boy....I could really use a nice-paying group class right now.

Also, came home tonight to a rather powerful stench of rotting garlic and onion in my kitchen after having cooked up something the other day. That's the one problem with garlic; the smell could punch a hole through anything. I ditched the garbage downstairs for pickup tomorrow morning but I'm not sure if the aroma will repel the stray cats and crows in my neighbourhood or actually attract them.

I'm looking at virtually the next two days off outside of one regular night class and my weekly Friday night circle.

June 9

Well, that meeting with friends turned out to be a non-starter due to some screwup in directions. I was quite explicit in telling the folks that I would meet them at Asakusa Station on the Ginza Line and even gave them directions on how to get there from the nearest station to the hotel. For some reason, they ended up waiting at another station completely, so I had to make some relay calls (No, I don't have a cell phone and no, even after this incident, I won't get one...not on my current financial status) and ask them to meet me at another exit. Well, I waited for 45 minutes for them to show up; they never did so I decided that was it. I didn't feel good about leaving them in Asakusa since I recommended the meeting place, but I'm not about to wait ad infinitum either, especially for people who can't take directions well.

I actually got a letter from Grandpa yesterday. He never sends one unless it's New Years (me and the relatives were never that close). However, he found out about the SARS situation in Toronto where my family lives, so he wanted to know how things were going. I had to get a message off to my brother who relayed it to Mom. So, looks like things are resolved although I'll still have to write a letter off to him. My kanji is so rusty.

June 9

Caught the Matrix Reloaded again yesterday with a couple of friends. Looks like the mixed reviews back Stateside didn't scare anyone away. In fact, the movie scored the highest opening of any flick in Japanese history: 2.2 billion yen; sounds like a lot but it's actually about 25 million bucks US. I could understand things better with a second go at it and the FX still manage to thrill but the movie is still nowhere near as good as the first one.

On that update with my ex and the Friday night session. Looks like she'll be coming again; she and the other ladies got along after all despite all I had observed. Go figure! So she will not need my personal lessons. Well, that's fine. I'm meeting friends today anyways.

June 6

Well, I found out my schedule for the next week. Looks like with the testing at my school, I'll just have 4 hours there and the few hours I've got so far for my privates.

My regular Friday nighter received a new third member from tonight...I think. The newbie just happens to be my ex. And I'm not particularly sure if she'll be a good fit for the group. Oh, everyone was cordial enough but the chemistry didn't seem to gel quite well although it's just the first time. She seemed bored at times and didn't hesitate to yawn openly which just struck me as being plain rude. But then again, I've known her for 2 years. She's even asked me to teach her weekly. So I think any hope for a return to a closer relationship has basically gone out the window. I don't think one can love and teach the same person at the same time, and she's made it clear that she wants my teaching self. All I hope is that she'll keep the lines totally clear and that she'll pay me for my services.

June 4

Back from a long day although I only taught one class tonight. First I went over to my school to drop off the Forrest Gump tape for that video class which I hope did OK. Then, I met up with a few friends from Toronto to go dine at the Farm Grill. Not too many people today which suited us just fine. And then we started going through some of the interesting shops in the Ginza which included the big toy store, Hakuhinkan. I was actually somewhat disappointed, though. I had expected the Tokyo version of FAO Schwarz but the stuff they had was considerably less variegated. I did have my latest celeb sighting, a stage actress and frequent guest on the variety show circuit. her claim to fame was a few years ago when she had that huge public feud with the wife of the former Hanshin Tigers manager for several months until that wife was found guilty of tax evasion. Once she was out of the picture, the stage actress also faded from the limelight, too.

Then we went off to the SONY building to check out some of the new doodads. Nothing particularly interesting, but the latest version of the VAIO computer which marries crystal-clear TV and DVD viewing with the regular features of a computer was quite appealing.

I left my friends to teach my first private student, post-full time career. We went off to a Starbucks near Toranomon Station which is usualy very quiet during the mornings. It was also relatively OK in the evenings as well but there was more chatter going on. Happily, though, the lesson went well and the student was very satisfied. I'm tired but it's a good type of tired...the fatigue born of a job well done. Now, the former student who had first recommended me to tonight's private is now considering hiring me as her teacher again. A wonderful thing, this word-of-mouth.

June 4

First, Bob Hope. Now, CNN brought in the cast of "I Dream of Jeannie". I was never a huge fan although I do remember seeing several episodes as a kid. Barbara Eden still looks remarkably good although that "Hollywood Grandma" look is quite obvious. Glad that Larry Hagman is doing well although he acted like a septugenarian from the early 20th-century, not the 21-century. As for Bill Daily, I guess his roles on "Jeannie" and "Bob Newhart" weren't much of a stretch for him. I know that he and Wayne Rogers won't be shaking hands anytime in the future.

Well, we haven't had a major tremor of the week yet...knock on wood.

June 3

Hmmm...I think my paranoia meter may be hitting 11 today. Mind you, it's on a rather minor point but still since it may affect some of my favourite students, I'm not too happy. Since I became a part-timer, I can no longer teach a certain video class which means the onus of that duty has to fall to the coordinator. And it seems as if for the past couple of weeks since departure, the coordinator has neglected to show the video that the students have requested due to various reasons. And now, today, she has told me that the video is now missing.

Now, this coordinator has been quite cordial to me for 5 years, but I am aware that she has a certain amoral or mercenary side to her, and I did actually have a run-in with her some years ago which ended up with me boycotting a party that I was to host. So she is aware that I will do something if I'm wronged.

The paranoid side is telling me that the coordinator may be pulling these stunts to force me back into teaching the kids on Wednesdays, my off day from the school. If that is indeed the case, then she has failed. However, I also have to realize that these students aren't getting the education that they requested, so what I may do is download some scripts from the Net and bring over my tapes of either Forrest Gump or the X-Files and lend them to a couple of my trustworthy students. I really don't want to think this way but considering some of the goings-on in the administrative side of this school for the time I've been there, I can't get it out of my mind either.

June 3

The Angels did make their prerequisite press conference....at Roppongi Hills, the place de jour in Tokyo. The ladies were quite accomodating to the fans. And a local celeb who would make a fine Japanese Angel appeared for a photo op and chat, Norika Fujiwara. I don't think there will be any opportunites in the near future for her if her dip into non-Japanese filmdom is a gauge.

Got a good night's rest...probably the first one in several weeks thanks to my better schedule and that walk through Tokyo yesterday.

Well, Bob Hope turned 100 on Thursday. I mention him because he was probably the very first comedian to make me laugh as a kid, and I remember that he did make me laugh until I cried. That was when I was watching his TV specials, and at the time, I had no idea about his long relationship with Bing Crosby or the Road movies.

In a way, he and Johnny Carson were responsible for how a lot of comedians handle themselves these days (whether they will admit it or not), and also to a large extent, they shaped how I handle my humour: deadpan and the knowing look. It is a consequence of the nature of generations that Bob is now largely seen by the younger folk as a relic from the age of grandfathers and grandmothers; a person who until his slow fade from the spotlight in the 90s was seen as a cornball-and-cheese act relying on the jokes written by others and the celebs deigning to appear with him. I'm no less guilty in that regard; I don't particularly appreciate the hit songs from my parents' generation, and I accept that future generations will probably treat my Billy Joel and Elton John as sappy pop acts. Even with Bob Hope, I largely lost my like for his specials because of the aforementioned corn and cheese. When I can get The Simpsons and Seinfeld back in Canada on a daily basis, the sharp wit and laugh-out-loud gags from those programs can run circles around anything that ol' Ski Nose had done in the waning decades of the 20th century.

However, it is his work in the Road pics that I now look to and that The Simpsons, Seinfeld and even Carson could look to that reveals how much of a master he was. Quicksilver ad-libs and his willful willingness to break the 4th wall made his appearances very welcome and a nice balance to the straightman crooner. Thanks for those memories.

June 2

Good morning, Angels! Well, the next celeb sightings in Tokyo were for Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu who had come in on Saturday. They had a free day so the cameras were keeping tabs on them from a discreet distance as they went on a shopping spree throughout the young and trendy Harajuku district. Strangely enough, noone approached them for an autograph, let alone mob them, although admittedly we only got an edited report. Celebs should be grateful for that much privacy.

Had my private class and then proceeded to walk 6 km. from Shibuya to Ginza. It took me about 90 minutes; not too shabby a time. I hope that took a bit off of my girth.

June 1

Halfway through the year, and sure enough, the warmth and humidity have rolled in like Japanese clockwork. Mind you, that overly muscular high-pressure system managed to give us a taste of the rainy season. Today, however, looks pretty decent for a walk. It's been a quiet weekend so far, and I've got a feeling that perhaps most of the next coming weeks will be mostly quiet ones.

The assistant manager at my school has been trying to contact me. Of course, he won't say anything over the phone, so I just sent him a fax asking him to send me e-mail instead. Another staff member contacted me by e-mail today asking if I could teach a class on Wednesday, which is now my own day. It is probably a class that I enjoy teaching, but I've got to turn it down since I don't want to set a precedent...leave any room open for the staff to exploit. However, the school may be in a bit of a fix since the staff person informed me that there is a rather important government Intensive course being taught next week so the assumption is that a lot of the good teachers will have to be sent out to that...which would also mean that some of the in-house classes would suffer. Ah. what a tangled web we weave. It's too bad, though, the little bit of money would've been nice but it's not worth the cost of remaining beholden to the largely dishonest group of people running things.

May 30

A relaxing day today with little more than a chat fest in the evening to signify any sort of work. I got that haircut but didn't get the shampoo; I'll have to remember to ask for it next time. Mind you, I did save 1400 yen in the bargain. It was a good time to get the cut as well. With the incoming heat, the shorter style will do me well.

Afterwards, I just got back home, made a humoungous pasta lunch and did some cleaning up which included making some major rearrangments to my books and CDs. Things look somewhat neater now.

However, last night, I found myself with an uninvited bedmate. There's nothing like a squirming little larva next to your ear to sit up and take notice. Well, I went out and got myself some insect repellent and proceeded to spray down my bedroom and all of the drawers. I've still yet to experience the annual visit by the cockroach, the deadly enemy of the Japanese. Their fear of nature's most indestructible creature borders on the sociopathic. Sure, I find them annoying but these folks think that the insects must be wearing a goalie mask and wielding a hatchet. In any case, summer is indeed coming up.

Looks like my English circle on Fridays will be livening up. My (ex-?) girlfriend will be joining our little menage a trois from next Friday. One of my regular pair remarked that it will be nice to get a fresh source of topics; she always had a way of being quietly cranky at times. She would make a great Canadian. In any case, I won't be mentioning our connection to the other two; no need for any more complications.

May 30

Forgot to mention that I caught the original Terminator tonight on TV Tokyo. Man, can't believe it's been nearly 20 years since that old sci-fi chestnut came out, and that T3 is slated this summer. It's interesting to watch Arnie in his lone bad-guy role, and Linda Hamilton as a soft and cuddly Sarah Connor before buffing herself out in T2. The FX back then look pretty laughable by today's standards especially when there are several seconds of obvious fake Arnie heads front and center.

May 29

It's always a nice feeling to be wanted. My first two classes were quite happy to see me at the helm again; heck, the second class even applauded. Always nice.

An update on that so-called request by my manager. Well, after I had sent him my "Go to Hell" response, he never contacted me again either in person or phone although I was at the school for all of the morning and most of the afternoon. I don't know how this will play out. Will he actually leave me be or will he plot a bit of sneaky revenge?

Tomorrow is my off day so I'll be getting that long-needed haircut. It'll cost me 5000 yen; not an easy amount to spend considering my current status as a part-timer but the hairstylist there gives the most exquisite scalp massage and shampoo. Plus, I'll have to scour my apartment; it's looking pretty ratty right now.

May 28

The first warm day this year and, as luck would have it, I had on my full suit for that doctor's family. It sure didn't help that I met them at 6:30 p.m. while having an early morning class at 8:30 a.m. My suit will need a night's airing out.

As for what happened in between, I just ended up at the Magazine House and just read my free mags. I will be saving a lot of money that way. Then, I just filled in a few student evaluations.

As for the interview with the doctor's family, it looks I passed muster. We set up the first appointment with the kids for mid-June. The doctor lives in a pretty nice large American-style house...ah, the creature comforts of a good career. Actualy, the doc and his wife had lived for a couple of years in New Orleans back in the early 90s. Some good talk about jambalaya and gumbo there. So it looks like my client list is slowly growing although I'm looking for a few group classes to get that extra income.

Well, it's back to a full day at the school tomorrow. My stupid manager actually had the nerve to summon me to talk with the big prez about my "future". And after my requests for a meeting met with dead air weeks ago. I politely sent a letter which basically can be summarized as "Take a Number."

May 27

Matrix: Unloaded?!

It looks like I'm not the only one with a beef about the former most anticipated movie of 2003. I just read that the second Matrix just dropped 60% in box office, and to add insult to injury, it came in a distant second to Jim Carrey of all people. Mind you, for all patriotic Canadians, it was a win-win situation. A fellow Torontonian lost to another Toronotonian. However, on the absolute side, Matrix Reloaded has reached $200 million...I mean, how many other producers would give their internal organs for that kind of box office? And it's quite likely that it will hit $300 million without breaking too much of a sweat.

However, there is the financial side and then there is the expectations side. And one will come out far lower than the other.

Well, Keanu Reaves did show up for a Matrix preview. He, Larry Fishburne, Hugo Weaving, Jada Pinkett Smith and Joel Silver showed up at Roppongi Hills last night at the special "invitees only" preview. What's the matter, Keanu? Don't want to mingle with the common people?

Had my regular school day today. Not too bad. I've got my final morning class at that oil company (Yeahhhh!) and then I have an interview of sorts with that doctor about teaching his two young daughters. Dog-and-pony show. Plus, I've got to do some location scouting for a place to teach my semi-regular Wednesday student, and get her a textbook. I'm eyeing an unusually quiet Starbucks near the oil company. I'm just wondering though if it's so quiet that the coffee house decides to close up earlier than usual.

May 26

It's Time To Rock!

Well, I don't know what it is between me and earthquakes. I was just washing my hands in the bathroom at about 6:30 tonight, and my thoughts centered on the Big One, namely a huge tremor. Sure enough, after I toweled off, my apartment started rocking. This is now the third week in a row that Tokyo's been all shook up. Mind you, as soon as I turned on the TV, I found out that the tremor had much deeper and far-ranging roots.

The northern area of Japan got majorly rocked with a Magnitude 7.0 tremor which brings it up to the level of the Kobe quake which laid waste to that city over 8 years ago. What saved cities like Sendai from really bad damage right now is that the epicenter was out in the ocean. CNN has reported the quake but their coverage doesn't match the domestic stuff which had scenes of TV studios shaking (a usual immediate shot whenever a big quake comes) and people in shopping centers running out into the streets.

NHK has been providing live continuous coverage for the past hour while the other commercial stations went back to normal programming a half-hour ago. To me, that signifies that the damage or the casualty reports aren't that bad although there have been reports of buckling streets and houses on fire.

Hmmm....I kinda wonder about that earthquake kit now.

May 24

The Matrix: Re-Bloated

I think this is the first time in my brief blog history that I've ever titled an entry. However, I think this one merits it, and as it suggests, it doesn't bode well.

I had the opportunity to see the year's most anticipated movie (or at least the first half, anyways) tonight at a sneak preview in Roppongi Hills with a few friends (the sequel doesn't start officially in Japan until June 7). And what did I get?

Well, I'd like to preface my review with an analogy. Imagine a budding French chef getting platitudes from a customer over a nicely made salad one day. The chef, then thoroughly smitten, proceeds to whip up an entire 5-course meal based on the energy of that positive review by the next evening. In the same way, Matrix: Reloaded is a victim of its own success. And perhaps, though unfair, that famed Wachowski reticence to grant interviews may now look a bit pretentious to the public.

Special effects do not a movie make. No, this is not a Yoda statement but an unoffiicial warning to directors of blockbusters. In 1999, the original Matrix had some eye-popping visuals, the now-ubiquitious "bullet time", paired with a relatively simple story of one man destined to defeat a great foe. Plot sound familiar? It also describes the original Star Wars and its success.

Though the SFX in the second movie are still impressive, and in a couple of sequences are truly jaw-dropping, the initial buzz of excitement of "bullet time" is now gone, thanks to multiple "homages" in other movies and the Matrix's own DVD sales. We are now accustomed to the 360-degree wraparound; we are now all too used to wirework under the tutelage of Chinese masters. The story should have been first and foremost, and delivered clean and crisp.

Instead, we were saddled with an overly long exposition at the beginning (although it was nice to see veteran actor Anthony Zerbe in a rare good-guy role), too many characters doing too many irrelevent things, a very bulky conversation between Neo and the Architect, and finally, a muddled cliffhanger ending. My feeling was that the Warchowskis tried to stuff a story arc equivalent in length to the first 6 years of the X-Files into one motion picture. Even in the you-can-do-anything world of the Matrix, certain laws of movie physics must still apply, and you just can't cram that much mythos without thoroughly confusing and frustrating the majority of the viewing public. Basically, the story was gasping to catch up with the effects, and the audience was trailing a distant third.

Certain scenes were absolutely unnecessary: Zion's tribute to Studio 54, Neo's so-called test battle with the Oracle's bodyguard (if Neo could just walk through a bunch of kids to see Gloria Foster bake cookies in the first movie, why is this battle needed?), the enitre Merovingian/Persephone sequence, and the Agent Smith hallway battle scene. My opinion is that if a movie is going to be over 2 hours, there had better be a good reason; the above scenes don't justify the length.

Again, my problem with the movie is in story not acting. Keanu Reaves is a poor actor but he fits his role as Neo, the quiet, action type. The other performers such as Carrie-Anne Moss and Laurence Fishburne also carry off their roles competently. I was never expecting any Oscar awards for this movie outside of SFX

As I left the theatre tonight, most of my colleagues (only one of the group of six gave a thumbs-up) were very unimpressed, and I heard mutterings of "terrible" from other viewers. I'd heard that Laurence Fishburne flipped and flipped the bird at the premiere last week when reporters told him of the very mixed reviews. Sorry, Larry...but I think this time, the media may have a point. Keanu Reaves came down to Tokyo yesterday to promote the flick, and I had thought that perhaps he would come down and make an appearance at the sneak preview. He didn't, but in retrospect, I think it was a good thing. He probably would've become the pitiful victim of that classic show of faint praise: polite applause.

Y'know, leaving Matrix: Reloaded tonight reminded me of that time after I had seen The Phantom Menace almost 4 years ago. We saw it and left it trying to gamely justify all the good points of the movie. I couldn't speak for my companions on that night, but I knew that there was a stone of dissatisfaction in the pit of my stomach. However, The Phantom Menace still got a lot of good applause over the end credits and we did try to defend its merits. Tonight, the Matrix sequel couldn't even muster a mother's love from the audience.

Now I look forward to Matrix: Revolutions (or Matrix Resignation) with a sense of some foreboding.

May 22

I've finished another week of part-timing; still doing OK. In fact, I've gotten a couple of tips for potential students, one of which could be quite lucrative. But it looks like I will have to put on the dog-and-pony show for the parents before I get accepted.

Tomorrow I meet up with an old buddy from home for lunch and then I meet up with some former students for dinner. Not a bad way to spend the weekend.

May 20

It's raining several breeds of cats and dogs right now, so I'm very fortunate that I didn't decide to put out the laundry. I had the umbrella but it didn't do my feet and shoes too good. I had to wade through a rather huge pool of water on a stair landing heading for the train station.

On the flip side, I was quite flattered to get a former colleague-turned-singer/songwriter's debut CD. Me and another former teacher managed to get our names on the credits. Now, if the guy can get a million-seller out of his project, perhaps I can think of royalty payments.

Haven't heard from that lady about whether she'll take me on. Looks like it will be a no-go. Fair enough...I'm not into chintziness.

May 19

It was a nice weekend. Met up with some friends last night for dinner in Ginza, one-third of which was pregnant. One guy and I felt a bit left out as the two other couples were swapping child-rearing techniques. The Italian food was quite good although the atmosphere would've been better served if the conversation hadn't swerved into the various uses of dried placentae.

Went on a spending binge yesterday as well. Perhaps it wasn't the wisest move considering that I had just received my final paycheck as a full-timer last week but hey: 1) I've managed to save quite a bit over the last few months, and 2) I don't think I'll have this opportunity again for a long time. I ended up buying some CDs including the Chicago soundtrack, plus a couple of DVDs: Ocean's 11 and the Bond movie, From Russia With Love. I just find the writing in Ocean's 11 so super slick.

Had my first class as a part-timer this afternoon at my student's place. All I can say is that I hope the rest of my classes are as cordial as this one was (fat chance!). In any case, I'm looking at one potential opportunity going down the tubes because she wants me to lower my fee. Look, the lady lives with her parents and she probably gets bonuses at her company...in other words, she shouldn't be suffering too much by paying me what I'm worth.