Friday December 16, 6:43 p.m.

I sent off that last Xmas present to my brother's family today. I guess I have friends in high places. Despite that it was a parcel, the longtime staffer at the post office just stamped it as a "small packet" and only charged me 1230 yen for Air Mail. There's no way that I could've gotten it over at that price.

The Teacher was really in a good mood today...quite the contrast from her near-suicidal one from a couple of weeks ago. Almost wondered what she was on. She was getting into some pretty risque topics as well...kinda reminded me of The Madame on that score. Still, I prefer her as she was today. And it was nice to finish off the year with her in good spirits.

Looks like I once again went on a spending spree this afternoon. Luckily, my bank book didn't take too much of a beating thanks to those gift certificates I got from the kids' mother last week. First I had lunch at Com Pho, that Vietnamese lunchery in the basement of the Oazo complex at Otemachi Station. I hadn't been there in a couple of months so it was nice to be back. Instead of the usual bun bi, I went for the goma pho (sesame noodles), a hot bowl of rice noodles mixed in with minced meat and a heavy dollop of sesame sauce. After adding some chili oil and vinegar, it was perfect.

I went upstairs to Maruzen and picked up a Christmas kids' book for use in tomorrow's class with the kids...the final one this year. It had some puzzles appropriate for the Holidays. In any case, they should help pad the lessons. Then, it was off to the next station, Nihombashi, where I went to the venerable department store, Takashimaya, to pick up some New Year's cards and then CDs with the remaining gift certificates. I was quite happy to add another Mika Nakashima disc to my collection...this time, it's her "Best of" album. The second purchase was Ayaka Hirahara's latest release which is a set of covers of other J-Pop songs. Both ladies have rather unique voices. To finish things off, I went down to B1 and purchased a box of special rice crackers from one of the many counters in the food section for my uncle in thanks for helping me with my immigration documents. The relatives ought to be fairly surprised when the Yamato delivery guy shows up on their front step with the package. It's a wonderfuly convenient thing purchasing packages of food in a department store. Right then and there, you can buy it and then have it delivered via Yamato.

I managed to cut down on the guilt by actually making it to the gym today. I put in a good workout too. Afterwards, I did decide to pay my rent right on the due date. I figure it wouldn't matter in any case. I'll just have to try and save up as best I can. Just to cut down on the stuff I had to lug home with me, I decided to have dinner at the local Subways...I tried the seasonal Turkey and Bacon with Red Wine Vinegar. Hmmm...not bad but it won't replace Tuna.

As I was checking my e-mail, The Croissant called me via Instant Messaging from LA. We had a long chat...looks like she'll back here as of the 19th. It won't be all fun and games with her since she's due for an operation on her back...she'd been suffering a lot of pain there for some years. Still, she wants to get some of her own gang from her days at the ol' school together for a year-end party. I said that I would keep my schedule open for her. Strangely enough, just before I got the chat signal from her, I had been reading a message from The Denmother about pretty much the same thing; that is, getting together over The Holidays. Also, she mentioned of the possible chance of getting some English lessons from me. I'm always amenable for that.

Paddy's colleague finally responded back to me. I'll be heading back to her office on Wednesday to have her check my documents before heading off for Immigration. I hope I can get all of the stuff together before the final day of work there on the 28th.

Looks like Japan is being wracked over most of the country with heavy snow....Tokyo, as usual, has all the lives of a cat and has so far avoided so much as a flake although there was that alleged first snow back on Sunday. Places like Niigata and northern Japan have been getting majorly dumped on with the white stuff. I can only assume that Tokyo's luck will run out eventually and the storms will hit here. Could be as early as Sunday when I have the sukiyaki party.

Another bizarro crime. Nope, no kid got slaughtered today but 30 dogs did. And out of a page of the Iraqi insurgents, the pooches were beheaded. Some poor guy came across a box filled with canine heads in a box in a river in Katsushika Ward. If a nutcase is willing to do that to a bunch of dogs, he can go up to the next level on the evolutionary ladder.

For the past couple of weeks, I've been getting tickets from various stores in the mall under my subway station. It must be Year-End Raffle season. I need 4 of these tickets to redeem them for a spin on the octagonal raffle wheel (kinda like a BINGO drawing ball) and then I could win a prize. Since the raffle will be on Sunday, perhaps me and The Madame can make our try for it then.

Can't believe it's been a week since that grand ball at The Lady's house. And in another week, it'll be Speedy's Xmas party. Getting busy...

Thursday December 15, 9:30 p.m.

I must be getting old or getting too used to winters here in the Kanto. My thighs actually felt pins and needles at above zero degrees Centigrade. I have to hand in my Canadian citizenship now... Apparently, NHK is warning some of the outlying areas that water pipes may be freezing overnight. I had my own tribulations with frozen pipes some years ago during a cold snap in Chiba. Really wrecked my morning not being able to take a normal shower or toilette. I had to boil water and then use some of that to sponge myself off. Well, I think Chiba has been OK for the past several years but I'm gonna take that shower tonight and then fill up the tub with water just in case. BTW, for your information, it takes 8 litres of water to flush a toilet once. Also I hear that on sukiyaki Sunday, the high will only be around 5 C. I think The Madame, Skippy and all the rest will be quite happy to dig into some hot food then.

To annoy the heck out of me, my apartment management company sent the notice stating that they want the rent tomorrow. Geez, thanks for the warning...well, sorry guys, but I'm gonna wait a couple of more days to get some more money to deposit before I send it to you. I've been your loyal prompt customer for years now...you can wait.

I made it out to Kiba to teach The Manager and MK. Tried the Gingerbread Latte and Basil Chicken Sandwich for dinner at Starbucks. Hmm...the latte did taste like a liquidy gingerbread man...not sure if that should be allowed to exist in our dimension, though. As for the chicken sandwich, hmmmm....I think there should be a complaint based on false advertising. There were two sandwiches, one of which consisted of just veggies and salad dressing between two slices of bread. Sorry, I would've ordered a salad if I'd wanted anything like that. Veggie sandwiches, ick!

As for The Manager and MK, they were both quite jolly. I'm not sure if it had been the approach of the Holidays but both lessons, we got pretty sidetracked. Well, I think once in a while is OK but I get a little worried once we start getting chronically tangentalized. As it is, it'll be about another month before I see them again.

Because I was so dissatisfied with the fare at Starbucks tonight, I decided to shave the food budget limit and get a bag of rice crackers and peanuts for 100 yen at a Mini-Stop. The stuff has become my default snack when my stomach gets the grumblies. Plus, I figure my blood needs de-clogging.

Thursday December 15, 1:56 p.m.

Just came back from my trip to The Tax Office. En route I stopped off at the Moto-Yawata KFC, your Christmas culinary institution in Japan. The Colonel was decked out in his Santa robes outside. I bet if you ask kids here who has a white beard & mustache and wears a red suit, more than likely they'll cry out "Sanders-san!" I had that Chicken Pot Pie for the first time. Yep, as Mrs. Jade of The Beehive proclaimed, it was delectable. Made me nostalgic for the times when Mom used to serve meat pies for lunch over the weekends. Meat pies aren't exactly plentiful over here unless you live close to a British pub...or a KFC during Xmas. All of those J-Pop Xmas tunes were playing in the background.

From the KFC, it was a 15-minute walk to the Tax Office tucked some 100 m away north of sleepy Onigoe Station. Getting the income tax forms for next year was relatively simple enough although one document I have to wait until the New Year. Had to do a bit of explaining when it came to the tax document for my Permanent Residency, though. But with some further banter between the young kid behind the counter and myself, and a 20-minute wait, I was able to procure that paper...for 400 yen. I guess even outside of tax season, The Tax Office still tries to collect the loot.

I've decided to procrastinate once more on the gym since I still have to get some other stuff done before I see The Manager and MK tonight. Well, there's always tomorrow afternoon after The Teacher.

Thursday December 15, 8:19 a.m.

Already halfway into December...just incredible that in 10 shopping days, it'll be Xmas.

Caught the latest episode of "Space: 1999" this morning. It was "End of Eternity"...one of the better-conceived eps. The whole concept was of a psychopath who was immortal. Just imagine, Hannibal Lecter can never die. Great story idea...but then again, later on we did get Jason and Freddy.

Listened to those Xmas discs I got the other day. The tribute CD to the 40th Anniversary of "A Charlie Brown Xmas" had some good moments but it just struck me as one of those relatively bland smooth jazz or jazz lite treatments. I was kinda hoping for a more traditional take on it. That was certainly the case for Diana Krall's "Christmas Songs" which made it the far better of the two. This time, Diana has got a full orchestra behind her instead of her usual faithful trio. Some good treatments of old standards. And her supermodel looks and poses on the cover certainly don't hurt.

Wednesday December 14, 10:42 p.m.

Pretty quiet night at Speedy's. I just did some Net surfing and ate dinner before 001 came in. She was rollicking along as usual, although I think things started to slow down a bit by the end. By the time Speedy and SB entered after the official end of the lesson with 001, as they usually do, the humour was getting pretty forced since both she and I were pretty tired.

Got word from The OL that she has to cancel Friday due to work Luckily, my Monday nights at Speedy's are now non-starters due to 005 bailing out and 004 having to postpone her lessons for the next couple of months due to work. I'll be able to supplement my income after my stint at The Lady's house and I can actually get started on cleaning up my place a bit earlier for the sukiyaki party on Sunday.

Well, I made a faux pas when I sent off that letter to Uncle. I was supposed to have enclosed an SASE for Uncle's convenience; the SA part was OK but I'd forgotten to stick on stamps. I guess I'm gonna have to send over a nice package of cookies from one of the Ginza department stores in thanks. In any case, I have to head off to the Tax Office tomorrow to get my income tax form for next year and also to get a document needed for my Permanent Residency bid. Then, if I'm lucky, I can head on out to the gym.

Wednesday December 14, 10:33 a.m.

With much of the news focused on various child murders the past couple of weeks, and me being out at work a lot of the time, I could be forgiven if I forgot the news of the beleaguered and notorious architect, Hidetsugu Aneha, who confessed to making substandard apartments and hotels. However, he's got his day in court...well, to be specific, Parliament....answering questions from the mandarins about his dubious feats. The live hearing is getting exposure right across the TV airwaves. Just about every channel except for TV Tokyo (which seems to believe that TV shopping still has priority) is showing it.

It was very chilly inside the apartment when I woke up despite the work of my fan heater. I think it was just 7 C while the outside was reading just a single lonely degree. I'm amazed that I could still bear it while only wearing my pyjamas...I guess that Canadian upbringing does help although Canadian homes are all centrally heated. In fact, my room got especially hot even in the dead of the frigid winters back in Toronto. Over here, there's just my electric blanket and the natural versions wrapping me up.

I have to send another document for my uncle to fill out for my Permanent Residency bid since I forgot to do so earlier. But it is just the one. I'm still waiting to hear from Paddy's friend, the immigration lawyer who had counseled me during the summer, about checking my documents. I still need to fill out a couple of more things before I finally make my way down to Immigration again. I would like to get everything done by the Holidays but I've got a sneaking suspicion that I won't be able to head on down until after The New Year.

Well, for some reason, I seem to be missing a pillow slipcover after hanging it out to dry out on the line. Most likely, it was probably blown away by the wind, and I mean blown right out of the neighbourhood since I can't find it anywhere....not on the balcony below or even on the streets. And even with the bizarro crimes here, I don't think I've heard of any nuts out there with slipcover fetishes.

It's almost a day off today since I only have 001 tonight for her Wednesday regular. 003 is, I assume, still off the schedule due to work. But I'll check with Speedy just to make sure.

Tuesday December 13, 11:38 p.m.

It's getting pretty darn colder out there at night. I would almost say that it feels like Toronto weather without the snow...and I can't predict what's gonna happen with that.

I'd always been wondering about whether The New Kid and I were starting to deviate from our initial vibe. Well, the first shoe fell tonight after the lessons when I found out from the juku boss that his mother had spoken with her about her son. It looks like he's getting rather bored of the whole she-bang...no kidding there. She was trying to give me some advice on how to shake things up for him...perhaps just sticking with pure conversation. I know that's not gonna fly. He's a teen who practices guitar...I'm a 40-year-old nerd, nuff said. I think keeping him on the EPT path and on a conversation-based book is really the only way to go with him. As I said, he's a typical kid...he's not one of those special cases who just LOVES English to death. He will never really get into the language but I can try to at least keep him in the conversation but I think if things fail to change by early next year, I'll probably recommend that he be dropped.

Still, it's been a bit of a rough ride over the past few weeks with that little crisis with 004 and then 005's bailout...and now The New Kid. I may have to get a lot more serious about my craft and ditch some of the humour.

On a lighter note, that kitten is getting bigger all the time...and more aggressive. My pants have got a lot more claw marks now than they did a few hours ago. And I think my legs will be aching overnight.

Tuesday December 13, 1:21 p.m.

Another cold one out there...well, at least for Tokyo it is. Only up to 7 C.

The Beehive had a full complement although Mrs. Tee seemed a bit ill at ease for some reason but she often gets a little moody. It was my final lesson with them for the year since next week is slated for the annual Xmas party. My sometime teaching partner will also be joining us on the 20th. We also had a couple of Mrs. Tulip's friends who operate this little coffee-and-tea selling business come over and sell their wares. I picked up a box of Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate and a box of Cinnamon Black Tea. Mornings will have that extra kick.

The Madame contacted me to say that she'll come by a little earlier on Sunday to help out with the shopping for sukiyaki. I'm quite grateful for the assist since I'm not sure how much beef to get for 8 people when it comes to this dish.

Monday December 12, 6:43 p.m.

As stated earlier, my day was greatly truncated. It's the first time in a few months, aside from national holidays, that I've had an early Monday night. The lesson with The Class Act went well. We did a post-analysis on the grand ball on Friday night. The party exceeded even the lofty expectations of The Lady and The Chef...it finally petered out around 3 a.m. and just about the entire larder was cleaned out, much to The Chef's delight. But I never doubted his abilities for a second. I also thanked The Matron for the package of smoked duck I got from her as an o-seibo gift. That stuff should make a wonderful appetizer for Sunday's sukiyaki party. I also did the same thing with SIL concerning the party. She ended up staying a lot longer than she'd thought. My rather shy student admitted that even she'd had a good time last Friday in comparison to her first time there when she'd had no one to talk to. The Lady was relieved that everyone there had some friendly faces to talk with. Well, if that's the case, then I'll be very happy to bring the same crew over next year.

Afterwards, since I was free and clear of any classes, I put a majority of my hard-earned cash into the bank and decided to go on a bit of a spending spree. I used the first of those gift certificates to get an Ampanman doll for my niece. I'm gonna have to send that out along with the rest of the stuff for my brother's family this week. It's a pity that the stores that take the gift certificates don't sell CDs. As a result, I decided to head over to Towers for those purchases. My card was almost filled so, well, I bought a couple of discs (that 40th anniverary tribute album to "A Charlie Brown Xmas" and Diana Krall's contribution to Xmas music) to fill up the card and therefore be eligible to get a 3000 yen discount on anything else there. And then I went up to the 7th-floor English book section to pick up a Premiere magazine and the 4th volume of "The Complete Peanuts". Yep, I've been collecting those for the past couple of years. I read that by the time the final volume comes out, I'll be well into middle middle age.

Had a bit of a panic for about 10 minutes when I lost one of my bags containing the CDs and the doll, soon after purchasing the books. So I did a beeline all around the 7th floor, checked my bag numerous times and even went back down to the 5th floor where I'd purchased the jazz CDs. I must've seemed like a rat going through the maze to the cashiers on the 7th floor. Finally, I went to the cashier and swallowed my pride and told them I'd lost my bag. Within a minute, two of them gladly found the bag behind the counter and gave it back to me. Crisis averted and only a little pride lost.

Earlier in the day, I'd bought a Go West (the band, not the Pet Shop Boys song) disc at Recofan, the discount disc shop during my lunch break. All in all, I blew away about 10,000 yen...hmph, par for the course for Xmas. Also, around the same time as I was tucking into my Spicy Chicken Burger set at Wendy's, I saw a motley pair walking along the street. They both looked to be homeless...the one in front was dragging a luggage carrier loaded down with stuff; he was the far chattier of the pair. His companion was this little glum mute guy just carrying a couple of department store paper bags. I only mention this Penn & Teller pair since I had seen them earlier as I was walking up the street into the ritzy neighbourhood where The Lady lives. They were trundling up in front of me at a pretty leisurely pace so I had to overtake them. They made for an incongruous site in this toniest of neighbourhoods.

Apparently, it did snow in Tokyo last night. After catching the boring "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" with Movie Buddy and the gang yesterday, The Sylph, during our walk to Samrat, suddenly chirped up that she felt a few flakes of snow. The rest of us didn't feel a thing so we thought The Sylph had already gotten a head start on the alcohol. Well, I just saw the NHK weather report and the forecaster did say that the Big Sushi got hit with the white stuff for the first time yesterday. Still I have to counter NHK since the snow was pretty much neglible. To my standards, I actually have to see the stuff to consider it a first snow. I am grateful that it was so invisible, though. Knowing how JR and the subways seem to panic any time the white stuff hits the tracks, I could've been in a spot of trouble getting home.

Speaking of the foibles of the transit system in this great burg, apparently there was an incident last week on my own Tozai Line. Some subway driver was nattering away loudly enough to himself so that he unknowingly managed to spook out the passengers in the first car. They naturally thought he lost it, and when the guy is a driver of a fast-moving subway, they simply aren't going to shrug and say "Sho ga nai". Some of the passengers got off at the next station and complained to the station staff. The driver, as it turns out, really was just talking to himself as one of his sheepish habits. Considering how noisy a train can be during travel, he must've been screaming in the front cab. Go fig. In any case, he's probably cleaning toilets in some of the grungier stations right now.

Got word from Speedy. The Madame has officially made her reservation for his party on the 23rd. He also told me that he and his wife had found "Memoirs of a Geisha" somewhat lacking in the depth department. It's what I've been hearing from the critics all along. One critic here even said that he felt like he was at a stage production of ESL students. Ugh! For a teacher like me, I want to see a movie to forget about work. Now I'm gonna spending two hours watching a very lavishly set level check. I wonder if NOVA financed it.

I'm still faithfully watching "Space 1999". Today's episode was "Space Brain", the one in which Moonbase Alpha is in danger from...soap bubbles. Mind you, it did feature Holst's "Mars, Bringer of War" from his Planets suite. I told Movie Buddy over curry that I had been catching the 70s sci-fi show to which he laughingly said that it is one of those shows that never seems as credible or amazing as it did when one was a kid. I have to admit that I gave "Space Brain" a lot more credit than I do now. Some of those earlier episodes seemed to have Martin Landau still in his "Mission: Impossible" days as Rollin Hand with all of his bug-eyed flight-or-fight poses. Like I said, he's a guy who needs to be well directed to hit some of those high acting notes. Also, for some reason, the episodes never seem all that fleshed out in terms of characters despite being the same length as a "Star Trek" ep. Well, maybe the eventual Hollywood remake will do it right next time.

Time for dinner...

Sunday December 11, 11:12 p.m.

Got to Shinjuku around 3, an hour before the meeting time so I looked through Isetan and Mitsukoshi for any deals on stuffed toys for my niece. I did eventually get up to the toy floor by the lineup for the cashier was far longer for any movie so I decided to put that off until a more reasonable day.

Movie Buddy and The Sylph showed up along with a couple of her friends. As it turned out, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", true to its title, was remarkably bland and uninvolving. Remarkable, since it stars two of the most beautiful movie stars on the planet, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, has a number of action pieces, deals in a genre that I've always been fond of, and is directed by Doug Liman, director of "The Bourne Identity". And yet, the movie was as flat as a pancake in terms of getting any sort of reaction from me or Movie Buddy. The romantic comedy angle didn't have any charisma to it despite the real-life shenanigans of the gestalt Brangelina, the action pieces were curiously boring (I think one stunt came straight out of "Matrix Reloaded"), and Vince Vaughn was most unfunny. The two of us came out of there shaking our heads, while the girls seemed to have enjoyed it much more.

One lady had to leave us but the remaining four decided to go to one of our usual post-movie haunts, Samrat. Instead of the usual Thali platter, all of us went for the buffet option. For just 2500 yen, we had our choice of 8 curries along with salad, naan and garlic tandoori chicken. I definitely used the full option of which the Chicken Butter Curry was my clear favourite. We were all plenty stuffed by the end. During our dinner, the Sylph's friend kindly invited all of us to her place for her own hot pot party early in January. Also since I mentioned The Maple Leaf, that Canadian pub in Shibuya, Movie Buddy wants to go. Well, let's see what I can pull off. Perhaps I can get The Madame involved as well. As we came out, we were witness to the tense aftermath of a little fight amongst a couple of friends held back by a crowd of other friends. The interesting thing was that the folks were all middle-aged. In Shinjuku, it's usually the young'uns who get a little boisterous after imbibing.

When I got home, I got word from Speedy that 004 has cancelled her lesson for tomorrow which means that I'm finished for the day after SIL. This could be a good opportunity to get some of that Xmas shopping done. However, I did send a Hail Mary sort of letter over to The Madame to see if she would be up for something tomorrow night. I don't expect a positive response since folks here don't tend to be too spontaneous. Most likely, I'll just head on home for an early night.

Sunday December 11, 11:48 a.m.

Happy Birthday to my mother. 64 years young today.

Last night was a quiet one. Just taped another show for the parentals and listened to some music of the season. One of the songs that has been getting a lot of heavy rotation in various forms is "The Christmas Song-Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire". I think maybe next to "White Christmas", it places second in terms of fame and number of cover versions. There are the usual suspects behind the songs: Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Frank Sinatra...and maybe even the guy who wrote the song himself, The Velvet Fog - Mel Torme (yep, that same Mel Torme who always never seems to find Judge Harry Stone in "Night Court". He also had a son who was one of the main writers on TNG). Strangely enough, though, my favourite version of the song...just edging out Nat...is the combination of The Manhattan Transfer and Tony Bennett. It just seems everything clicked on that version...whether it be Bennett on lead, The Transfer on backup or the shimmering orchestra.

I made that solo reservation for Fujimamas for Xmas Eve for that turkey dinner. I'm not even gonna bother asking anyone else since I had some lousy memories from that other Xmas dinner a couple of years ago. It was pretty easy. I did it by e-mail and I got that quick response for confirmation within a few minutes.

Looking pretty gloomy out there. The weather folks say that there won't be any rain, though. However, I've never trusted those guys completely. Still, I've got some wash to unload on the line.

I'll be taking off in less than a couple of hours for Shinjuku. I'll put those gift certificates to good use for some more presents for home and then some CDs for myself. Then I'll meet up with Movie Buddy and The Sylph for "Mr. And Mrs. Smith". As for "Memoirs of a Geisha", it looks like The Madame and I will be catching it just before we head out for the Speedy Xmas party. The TokyoWalker poll has had some interesting results...it's a love/hate thing. So far, over 80% love it while a very small minority hate it...no in-between. I frankly thought it would be the other way around. Oh, well...there's still time. The CNN reviewer seems to have hit the right tone with me...it looks gorgeous but empty.

I see Richard Pryor passed away. I used to watch some of his films with Gene Wilder back in the 70s, the most notable being "Silver Streak" which was filmed in Toronto, although it was masquerading as Chicago. I still remember seeing the half-formed CN Tower (which is gonna be celebrating its 30th anniversary next year, by the way) in the background. The only other thing I remember about Pryor is, unfortunately, his attempt to become the human torch during that abortive freebasing thing.

The Montreal talks on the environment ended with everyone emotionally congratulating each other and giving a standing ovation....for deciding on having more talks. Man, if they can get so worked up over just being able to continue talking instead of doing something, then we are in serious trouble. That was the most pathetic report I've seen on BBC this year. I think the worst obstacle in getting this Earth healthy again is the concept of national interest. That's why the US never signed off on the Kyoto Protocols. In a way, I can't blame Bush for refusing to ratify the agreements. His job is to ensure that his people continue to live a good way of life...according to him and his government, that just wouldn't happen if he did sign. A lot of developing nations also need to rapidly industrialize if they are to catch up...which means the sacrifice of their environments....again, national interests. I think the only way that there will be any major headway made in the environmental cause is if humanity develops the concept of international interest or human interest. I frankly doubt that's gonna happen in my lifetime.

Saturday December 10, 6:22 p.m.

Well, back from the rarefied air of last night's party, it was off to see the kids once more. Did a workmanlike job with the both of them, although the mother later apologized for The Elder's bad mood. Hm...was she apologizing for just this morning or for the entire 2 years of my time with her, I thought with a slight taste of Machiavellianism? I just thought The Elder was acting her usual dour self. In any case, I did get my Xmas bonus from the mother in the form of gift certificates again. Hopefully, I can redeem them for some further CDs.

Went over to The Tea Room to see M + M. M1 has had a bit of a simultaneous setback and opportunity. She was understandably vague about it but apparently she had a bit of a recent incident with her boss which has concluded with her giving her 2 weeks' notice. She's also understandably worried about her future since she's the same age as me but she' s hoping that the sudden change in employment can provide some freshness into her life. As for M2, she was an hour late due to oversleep. The two of them went off to a bar after my session with them so that they could commiserate about M1's circumstances.

M1 told me of another child murder this morning in Kyoto. Some juku teacher got into a quarrel with a 12-year-old girl at the school itself which ended up with the teacher stabbing the kid into the afterlife. Just a few minutes earlier, she had told me about this book which she was reading about the potential decline of Japanese society. I'd say that the decline has been well under way for more than a decade.

The Madame got back to me about the upcoming rash of parties. Looks like she's game for the nabe and Speedy's Xmas party on the 23rd. As for "Memoirs of a Geisha", she would prefer the 21st but I've got The New Yorker in the afternoon so that's a scratch. I suggested the 23rd before Speedy's party. Looks like I'm gonna be a solo on Xmas Day. Perhaps, I still can get a reservation at Fujimamas for turkey dinner.

Gonna confirm with Movie Buddy about tomorrow's viewing of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith".

Saturday December 10, 7:04 a.m.

Well, the carriage has turned back into a pumpkin and the horses have changed back to mice, but it was a grand ball. I met Skippy and OA at the hugely crowded Hachiko statue in Shibuya (typical for a Friday night) and took them to The Lady's Xmas party. Both were definitely in party gear. It took a bit longer than usual to navigate through the rapids of humanity that were flowing through the main streets but we managed to get to the mansion by around 7:30.

The two ladies started getting a little nervous as we approached the house. The darkness of the neighbourhood served to enhance the mood of anticipation. Security at the gates was kinda like security at Narita...pretty lax but then again one of them recognized me as the regular Monday guy so he just let me and my companions in.

From then on, Skippy and OA were just Alices in Wonderland as they just gaped at the wealth and splendour of it all. It was the usual party that I'd remembered in my last couple of times at her house: a lot of well-heeled types milling about in their gowns and suits, bartenders making drinks, staff in white scurrying around to ensure that everyone had a drink in his/her hand, and the food flowing in the dining room. Of course, it was to the dining room that we quickly made a beeline for. I introduced my Alices to The Matron and her daughter. Her daughter was more down-to-earth about the proceedings since she's probably more experienced at these things than either Skippy or OA are. The food was the usual sushi to one side while the main table had a lot of Italian on display....pasta, prosciutto and a huge jambon on one platter.

Our first celeb sighting took place a lot quicker than I thought it would. One baseball player showed up just after 8. His arrival got a bit of appreciative attention but no one made a rush toward him to get his autograph; it just wasn't that sort of crowd. Besides, the man has been to the party annually as have been most of the guests so he really didn't have anyone gaping at him. Even OA and Skippy had their brief intake of air before moving on. However, they got a little more miha (starstruck) when a famous TV actor made his presence known an hour later; OA especially did a bit of hyperventilation as he saw him and his missus collect stuff from the buffet; she apparently called up her mother on the cellphone to give her an update.

Speedy finally made his way to the house about an hour later than expected due to work. At first, I thought he was pretty nonchalant about the whole lap of luxury thing. However, with the effects of champagne in his bloodstream...he started getting rather babbly (as he usually does when he gets excited) about where he was and who he was seeing. In fact, I think he was the most starstruck of my group. The four of us even "nonchalantly" went down to the basement to pretend to check out the wonders of the handball court. In reality, Speedy wanted to see the baseball player. Yup, there he was holding court with a bunch of others. I don't think there was any chance that Speedy was gonna get very close to his idol but at least he could say that he saw him.

Also met SIL there a couple of hours after our arrival. She was looking fine as well. And as for The Lady herself, she was playing her usual role as the perfect hostess....just scurrying here and there making sure everyone was having a good time. I can't speak for the other several hundred guests but I knew that Skippy, OA and Speedy had a good time. I think if I come back here next year, they'll be on the guest list...and I'll make sure Mrs. Speedy will be on the list as well.

I like the occasional night out in Shibuya. The only downside is getting home since apparently everyone else likes to go home at the same time I do. And sure enough, the trains were packed all the way to my station. It was also a very limited night of sleep since I had to get up early to get ready for my penultimate lesson with the kids this year. Back to reality. And definitely, the flock I shepherded to the party last night will also be getting their dose of reality when they come to my broom closet of an apartment next Sunday for hot pot.

Friday December 9, 1:39 p.m.

Just chilling in the interim before heading out for the big ball in a few hours. The Teacher was still in pretty good spirits. She got a great kick about reminiscing about one of her favourite teachers at the ol' school...a British fellow who was the quintessential Bertie Wooster in terms of appearance and attitude. The man could write his student comments in the most intricate and tiniest Gothic font...I always envisioned the lad garbed in a monk's robe esconced in a tower in medieval England writing scripture with a quill next to a drippy candle.

Today's topic was on Ken Watanabe, that Japanese actor who was in "The Last Samurai" and "Batman Begins" (barely), and who is now gonna star in "Memoirs of a Geisha". He's definitely had the run of good forture recently. Nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar last year, got his foot into the Hollywood door, recovered from leukemia and financial calamity...yep, he has rebounded. Now, whether or not he can parlay his newfound success into lasting fame, that would be something. The last time a Japanese actor was nominated for an Oscar was 37 years ago when Sessue Hayakawa got his nod. Does anyone remember him?

Speaking of "Memoirs", there was a feature on the Fuji-TV morning show on Ziyi Zhang. The feature showed her as a much younger girl practicing her dancing...pretty stunning. Then, there was the up-close-and-personal interview...very up close...the camera shot had her whole face taking up the frame. And she certainly looks somewhat older than her 26 years. She's got lines in her face showing some probably hard-earned maturity. So far, according to the IMdB, the movie has gotten some glowing reviews from the viewers for the most part although I think they're akin to the accolades given to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"....a movie which, though getting the lion's share of raves from Western audiences, got mere yawns and perhaps some derisive laughter from Asia...a lot due to Michelle Yeoh's and Chow Yun Fat's mangled Mandarin. I'm still wondering what the reaction will be from Japanese audiences.

As I was walking home, a thought of some impending disaster came into my head. Well, I checked CNN and found out about this plane skidding off the runway in Chicago. Once again, Golden Boy Anderson Cooper is solemnly reporting the aftermath. It's a little eerie sometimes when I have these premonitions.

Friday December 9, 9:04 a.m.

Yesterday was a fairly routine day. Before I met up with The Carolinan, I dropped off at Yamano Music in Ginza and picked up my parents' Xmas present: a Hiroshi Itsuki concert DVD for their first DVD player...generously given by my brother and sister-in-law. Hiroshi Itsuki is this long veteran of the enka stage. Well, I might as well get someone established for their inaugural DVD play.

The Carolinan was her usual steady self at The Tea Room last night. It was basically just us in the cafe for most of the session...usual for a Thursday night. The music box collection of Xmas hits had been playing ad nauseum for a few hours, replacing the usual baroque BGM.

When I got home, I prepped my parents' Xmas presents: a large calendar, the DVD and a couple of magazines that they like to read. Then, it was some ironing.

I've only got The Teacher today since SR is now an-ex student...at least for the next several months...and I gave The OL the night off. Because of course, tonight is the annual ball at The Lady's mansion. I had received a couple of messages from Skippy, who along with OA and Speedy will be accompanying me, asking me whether she and OA should bring some chocolate to the party. With the knowing smile of someone who's been to the Lady's parties a couple of times already, I told her that it wasn't that sort of party...they don't have to bring anything. Besides, The Lady doesn't like sweets. I remember my first time at the Xmas party, I naively brought a funnel cake since in most other situations, one never goes empty-handed to a home party. But in her case...let's say that catering or The Chef is the only way to go there. I may have to ensure that the ladies' mouths stay closed so that no flies go flying into their traps when they enter the premises.

Wednesday December 7, 10:34 p.m.

The New Yorker more or less passed her own kimatsu shiken (term test) when we did the review of the first four chapters of the text, but it wasn't a flying pass. I asked her to take one more look at a couple of pages. But I did tell her that she has improved her fluency since her nearly mute beginnings.

Speedy was in better spirits than on Monday when the erstwhile 005 torpedoed us. It ended up being another truncated session at the school as 003 called in to cancel her lesson. 001 wasn't as genki as she usually is due to the lingering effects of a cold. However, she was jovial enough to relate her overnighter at 002's place. Not surprisingly, it was a load of laughs. And it was good to hear that 002's only reason that she can't make it to Speedy's is because of the distance involved. Basically she lives in my neck of the woods. Maybe there can be a solution out of this.

Today is the first anniversary since the reunion between former North Korean abductee Hitomi Soga and the rest of her family from The Land of Il including hubby Charles Jenkins, a pariah in America. NHK just showed a feature on the aftermath of the family. A teary-eyed Jenkins, in response to a reporter remarking that it must have been difficult to live in the wilds of Sado Island (where the Jenkins' live now), said that compared to life in North Korea, Sado is paradise.

Since that horrible murder of that 7-year-old girl in the northern Kanto last week, patrols have been set up in the area to watch the kids go home. My neighbourhood has two elementary schools. I think my area is safe but it gets dark around 5 p.m. nowadays and there is that part of my street which runs between one edge of the school perimeter and a row of apartments. It's not particularly well lit so I still worry about kids walking that dark strip. I'm frankly not sure if most of the apartments have anyone back from work at that time and even if there is someone home, I wouldn't be sure if anyone would be able to hear any alarm or muffled screams in time if some psycho decided to make a grab.

Well, I'm just gonna listen to some music before bed...

Wednesday December 7, 9:25 a.m.

Pearl Harbour Day...gee, I wonder why none of the networks are talking about that right now. Then again, The Anime King told me that the media back in the States have been talking about some potential illegalities concerning Sony about one of its products. If it weren't for CNN, I wouldn't have heard anything about it here. Japanese media says, "Shields up!"

After haranguing last night on the J-Pop Xmas song, I've just been following another obscure obsession of mine: looking for Chas Jankel's "Questionnaire". However, one of my questions has been answered concerning the mystery of why his CDs have been absent from the shelves. Well, I found out from a chatsite that the main inventory of his stuff had been deleted. What? It wasn't enough that the BBC deleted virtually all of the first decade of "Doctor Who", now they go on and assassinate a Blockhead's collection...just ki-i-i-ding. But that same source also mentioned that Chaz was able to get his own private inventory back into circulation. And sure enough, there is a re-issued disc of his first, I assume, self-titled album with his take on "Ai no Corrida" now selling in the stores here. Actually, Jankel was the one who wrote the song. Hm...I may actually get the album if I get spare the money. Chaz is apparently in negotiations to get the rest of his stuff re-issued so I may finally achieve my goal in 2006.

Why am I obsessing about this song which I only heard once in my life via the music video of the same name and artist? Y'got me...but I just found it and the video rather hypnotic. Back in my high school days when I was finally able to stay past midnight and catch "The All-Night Show" with Chuck The Security Guard on Toronto's Ch. 47, the multicultural channel, Chuck used to put on all sorts of old TV shows such as "The Twilight Zone" and "The Outer Limits". He also often put out some rather bizarro videos. One of them was "Questionnaire". It was pretty funky. Just Chaz Jankel singing the usual questions one gets on a census poll to a samba beat. The video had quite a number of then-cutting-edge computer effects including some stick figures doing a pretty mean dance. Since then, I've been hooked. I've been checking all over the Net but every site either doesn't have it (though they acknowledge its existence) or the album is still on old vinyl.

Speaking of obsessions, looks like The Wild Guy has got it bad. He's once again reiterated about how much in love he is with this lady. Sigh...well, I hope things do work out with him. But he's gonna come off his high sometime soon and like any addict, the fall may not be too pretty.

Anyways, time to clean up and get that coat.

Wednesday December 7, 12:00 a.m.

Well, now that the jolly season is here, it's time for a Yuletide version of commenting on another aspect of Japanese culture. This morning, it will be on the Xmas song.

In the West, Christmas songs are of two types: the religious ("Away in a Manger", "Hark The Herald Angels Sing", etc.) and the Santa/general holiday boisterousness ("Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", "Sleigh Ride", etc.). I'm sure all of the Season's collected works are being played ad nauseum in a Wal-Marts near you. I guess after hearing all those songs of love, happiness and amity over two hours in a crowded department store, you can probably add nausea to that list of yours.

Anyways, it's really no different over here. Since November, all of the cafes I've taught at and even the shopping arcade underneath my subway station have been playing tons of Xmas stuff. Of course, pretty much most of the stuff is of the second type mentioned above....in a country in which the percentage of practicing Christians can be counted on one finger, "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" is simply not gonna be put on heavy rotation. For some reason, though, "Silent Night" is. In fact, it's been given Japanese lyrics along with a lot of the other old favourites such as "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town". However, a lot of times the songs are just played in their original English.

But as is true with a lot of aspects in Japanese pop culture, the Xmas song has been given its own Japanese twist. Not only have Japanese singers sung the foreign classics but they have been making their own original contributions to the Holiday season for a few decades now. "Samui yoru dakara" (Because It's A Cold Night)? "Silent Eve"? They're both J-Pop Xmas classics.

We can, though, start off with the mother of all J-Pop Christmas songs. That would be the tune known as "Christmas Eve" sung by Tatsuro Yamashita. Released in 1982, a good 40 years after the song that it's most compared to..."White Christmas" by Der Bingle, Yamashita's "Christmas Eve" actually does share a couple of things with its older cousin. One is that they are instantly recognizable, and the other is that both relay a message of longing. However, what that longing is in each song is different. "White Christmas" talks of the yearning to see the typical scene of snow blanketing the area around home. On the other hand, "Christmas Eve" talks of the longing to have a loved one close by. But that pretty much reflects what Christmas is like over here in Japan. It's not the family time that it is back home in the States or Canada. It's more like New Year's Eve there...it's a time of partying and romancing, and perhaps even commiserating over a breakup.

"Christmas Eve" may have debuted in the early 80s but it didn't really hit the big time as the song that most befits the season until its usage as the jingle for a series of Japan Railway ads in which separate scenes of a bittersweet courtship are played out on the platforms of a Bullet Train station. Ironically, the falsetto-stricken Yamashita had usually been known as the singer-songwriter for summery tunes replete with Beach Boys-like vocal reverb. And yet when his long career comes to a close, this song will probably be the one that he's known best for. It is a minor-key ballad, something that a lot of the J-Pop tunes have followed.

However, sometimes, upbeat numbers have come up over the years. Yumi Matsutoya, the Queen of J-Pop, came out with "Koibito wa Santa Claus" (My Lover is Santa Claus....don't worry, the lyrics aren't as creepy as the English translation of the title sounds), a rollicking rock n' roll number backed up by wailing guitars giving away its late 70s/early 80s roots. Tatsuro Yamashita's wife, Mariya Takeuchi (not a slouch in the singer-songwriting area herself) came out with a recent hit in "Hearty Party" whose lyrics pretty much describe the title in much more detail. And AOR singer, Junichi Inagaki, may have had a pretty low-key career but he will probably best be known for his Xmas song, "Christmas Carol no koro ni wa" (During That Christmas Carol), a dramatic high-paced number compared to Yamashita's languid magnum opus.

It just goes to show that everyone who is anyone in the world of J-Pop has released his/her own Xmas song. From rock band Glay to idol queen Seiko Matsuda to girl group SPEED to veteran duo Chage & Aska...just about the entire spectrum has put out something red and green. This Christmas has also had Namie Amuro release her so-called first Christmas tune called "White Light/Violet Sauce" (go figure on that title), so the tradition is continuing. So if one is tired of hearing the reggae version of "Joy To The World" for the umpteenth time, he can just come over here. There's a huge new batch of Xmas songs, albeit in Japanese, to listen to. All these Yuletide ditties...from the largest secular non-Communist country in the world.

Tuesday December 6, 11:48 p.m.

I was able to get through the juku night more or less unscathed. The little kitten is pretty much a permanent fixture there as I'd expected. The juku boss has cheerfully resigned to her fate of taking care of the little one, and I, for one, am quite glad.

The New Kid was better in attitude today. We focused solely on his English Proficiency Test (Eiken) practice. He had quite a few stumbles in the Listening part today so I basically gave him the entire package to try at home for homework. The Beauty Pair was not as proficient as last week but the two still managed to put out a pretty good performance. It was just Mrs Mild in the 8 o'clock slot since her hubby was away on business and McKid has a term test to study for. And I kept The Siberian enthralled by bringing in my old university kanji dictionary.

Man, it has really gotten colder tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if there were a little frost on the ground in the morning.

Earlier this afternoon, I was writing a blog entry when all of a sudden the power just cut out. So my contact with Blogger was lost for about half an hour. Then my doorbell rang. I figured that would be the case, so I just answered. Sure enough, some public works guy apologized and said that he needed to cut out the electricity to check on the water. Huh?! Once the power was back online, he and another fellow called me up again to ask me to turn on the water. I opened the door to let them know that everything is OK. The guy was your prototypically grizzled utilities veteran: his face looked like a topographical map of The Grand Canyon.

Tuesday December 6, 1:15 p.m.

The JR was acting up again this morning which meant a lot of delays on the other lines. Luckily, I just needed to go over to Urayasu to pay off that National Health Insurance premium. When I forked over my 26000 yen, I kept saying to myself that NHI would save me in case of accident and kept remember to those sad early days in 1998 during my convalescence.

The Beehive was sparsely populated with just Mrs Travel and Mrs. Perth for most of the session. Even they didn't know what had become of the others. Mrs Tee finally came in the last 15 minutes to say that Mrs Tulip couldn't make it but she didn't know what had happened to Mrs Alp or Mrs Jade. The three of us who were there were mentioning about how much colder it has gotten in the past couple of weeks. It's been a rather dramatic sea change from the blazing summer. Perhaps I've gotten older but it just seems that the nation has gotten distinctly wintery a whole lot sooner than usual. In the Kanto, the temps have dropped into the single digits around 0 at night which is more January/February than early December. I'm betting that snow will fall in Tokyo by the time the Holidays roll around. Most of Japan, even Osaka, has gotten its dusting of the white stuff yesterday.

Tuesday December 6, 7:17 a.m.

Had a pretty melancholy end to my day last night. 004 cancelled the lesson just before I was due to arrive at Speedy's. But that wasn't it; 004 had warned beforehand that she would often bail out due to sudden work demands. Nope, it turned out to be 005. After telling me twice in the past few weeks that she would like to re-sign, she ended up resigning. After the lesson, which I thought was probably the best yet for her, Speedy had a consultation with her since she finished her total of four initial lessons. I'm not sure what transpired between the two of them because I thought three would be a crowd, but it ended up with her politely stating that she would not be able to come for the rest of the month. It didn't mean right then and there that that would be the last of her enrollment but for the first time in my yearlong association with him on a professional level, I actually saw some negativism on Speedy's face. He wasn't too positive that she would return in January according to the tone of her comments. Once again, he reassured me that it wasn't me professionally or personally. Once again, it was a matter of money and her motivation. 005 had that polite plastic noncommittal smile which said volumes.

To be honest, there were some retrospective clues in last night's lesson that perhaps the end was nigh. For the past couple of lessons, she never brought her pen and paper which is now gonna be my early warning sign. Also, she kept moaning in her laconic way that "her brain wasn't working". I muttered internally that perhaps it was more her attitude that wasn't working.

For about 10 minutes after her departure, Speedy and I were left just analyzing, commiserating and pacing about the outer office. It was all ado about nothing. We did the best we could but in the end I'd have to say it was probably better that she left. She really wasn't one of our more committed students. And I can actually go home earlier now instead of getting back close to midnight. Shades of Fall 2003! Speedy really wasn't too happy though. He told me that there haven't been any signups since mid-November although one moneybags student threw in a whole pot of money which should take care of the rent for about a month.

Earlier in the day, my lesson with The Class Act went pretty well with a lot of the talk on the upcoming party on Friday night. Looks like the cream of high society will be flocking to The Lady's home. I've got my shoes and my shirt. All I need is that coat and I'll be ready to go.

Sunday December 4, 1:47 p.m.

A cold December day out there. I've had a throbbing headache, most likely due to the change in air pressure. I went out to the massage clinic where the receptionist cheerfully noted that it'd been a while since my last visit (about 5 or 6 weeks). Once again, I had that rather button-down guy as my masseur. He's definitely become the go-to guy there for me since I haven't had the clinic director for some months. Did a great job on my arms. But unfortunately, he didn't cure me of my headache so it was back to chemical means.

I got myself an envelope for my parents' Xmas load before hitting the supermarket for the fixins for lunch and dinner. For lunch, I bought chuuka don....basically a thick chop suey mix of meat and veggies on rice. Eating chuuka don brings back memories of my time on the JET Program since I often went monthly from the mountains of Gunma Prefecture into the capital city of Maebashi. There was a small dingy Chinese restaurant in one of the shopping arcades in downtown Maebashi where I used to order chuuka don exclusively. The dish isn't all that hard to create if one's willing to slice up the veggies (carrots, onions, etc.) and pork. Then just stir-fry the whole she-bang, add a mix of chicken stock and oyster sauce/soy sauce, and finally add the cornstarch to thicken it all up.

I got the last batch of Xmas cards to send home done just now. And I'll have to head on out again in about an hour to buy those dress shoes and maybe that trench coat.

Sunday December 4, 9:34 a.m.

I've woken up pretty early for a Sunday. Usually at this time, I would still be sound asleep but I'm up now since I plan to head out to the massage clinic within the next hour to get my neck and shoulders unknotted. Plus, I've got a bit of a headache that could see some rubbing out.

I only found out now that Don Adams, Agent 86 of "Get Smart", passed away back in late September. Dang! I would have found that information right then and there but I realized that I had been off in Taiwan. "Get Smart" was a great program...just took the piss out of all those spy shows and movies that had been all the rage during the 60s.

My brother has gotten back to me about that DVD player. Yep, they're gonna get one for the parents for Xmas so it's up to me to get an enka concert DVD. I'm on the case.

I've got some other Xmas themed things to do today such as get some new dress shoes for The Lady's party this Friday (can't believe I'll be heading there once again in a few days), perhaps a trench coat at Daiei if it isn't too exorbitantly expensive. And I gotta get some envelopes for my usual gift of calendars for the guys back at home.

Saturday December 3, 11:32 p.m.

Kinda broke the bank today as our Gourmet Trio of myself, The OL and Betty Boop once again traveled into downtown Tokyo to sample another tasty treat. The restaurant du jour was Nodaiwa, a restaurant specializing in eel dishes, just a 10-minute walk away from Akabanebashi Station near Tokyo Tower. As soon as we went through the automatic sliding door, I knew we were in a for a good if expensive dinner. The decor of the place seemed to be Meiji Era Japan, a mix of 19th-century British with Japanese accents. The waitresses were all middle-aged and dressed in utilitarian kimono (none of that "Memoirs of a Geisha" type fashion).

The three of us were taken up to the second floor where we had our own little comfy room. It just seemed like a small drawing room in someone's house...that certainly put us at ease immediately. We took a gander at the menu...yup, not exactly on the McDonalds level of pricing. The liquor page had prices well into the thousands of yen. All of us decided to go for a set consisting of a small hot pot stew and unaju, grilled and basted eel on rice.

The rest of the evening was a chorus of oishii and umai (delicious and delicious). The first course was that stew. Each of us got a small black pot over a bit of Sterno. Inside was a mix of tofu, beef and pre-grilled eel in a light but tasty broth. The waitress lit the Sterno and we waited 10 minutes as the stew started to bubble away. Then we added the condiments of yuzu peel (a citrus fruit native only to Japan) and wasabi. Very delicious! Then the second course of that eel on rice came out. Also very good. Not surprisingly, Nodaiwa is quite the popular restaurant. The waitress must have gotten rather tired of us complimenting her place of employment via her. She told us that the lineups are pretty long during lunch and dinner. So Betty didn't waste a moment in making another reservation for herself, her mother and a third party to be named later for the 17th.

I took home a small pamphlet about the restaurant. Apparently, Nodaiwa has other branches in Nihombashi and Shimo-Kitazawa (kinda interesting about that placement since that area is distinctly youth-oriented in atmosphere). There is even a branch in Paris of all places. When we asked about the restaurant's Gallic cousin, the waitress replied that the French and Japanese share a common love for seafood. True...the French have their escargots and oysters while we have our own shellfish. I noticed that there wasn't an American branch. I think Americans still shiver at the thought of eating eel since it looks so snaky that an eel restaurant wouldn't be viable...yet.

We finished our repast with a palate-cleansing dessert of plum gelatin. All in all, we spent about a couple of hours and 4,300 yen there. No, not inexpensive but then again, we are the Gourmet Trio...not the McMeal Trio. The waitress finally came to us and discreetly asked if we could vacate the premises since people were waiting downstairs.

As the red-orange glow of Tokyo Tower shone over us, we were shivering outside wondering where to go. We decided to head back and beyond Akabanebashi Station and into the Mita area. Mita is notable in that the sidewalks are quite wide for Tokyo standards. Unfortunately, things tend to close down fairly early there. A number of cafes, including Tully's, close up at the ripe old time of 7 p.m. We made a brief pit stop at a Matsumoto Kiyoshi (a famous drug store) since the ladies noticed that I was itching something awful around my ankles...yup, my lower leg dandruff was back. BB and The OL recommended a jar of keratin cream to soothe the area since it was looking pretty chapped.

Just as we were approaching Keio University, we found a cafe that would stay open til 9 p.m., St-Marc's. The ladies had a very unusual concoction of Oolong Chai which takes some getting used to. I had my extra dessert in the form of a chocolate-pear cake and straight tea. Among the topics we discussed were our next culinary target (BB suggested a wafu place in Roppongi which specializes in steak) and The OL's future at Aoyama Gakuin.

Finally, at around closing time, we decided to call it a night. We all went our separate ways. I may have spent quite a bit of money but the companionship and the food made it all worthwhile. Certainly, Nodaiwa is worth a second visit...perhaps with The Madame.

Saturday December 3, 11:45 a.m.

It's official...I think I have the cold. After I posted my last entry, I started getting the shivers pretty badly. And here I was, boasting to everyone that Tokyo winters are nothing compared to the deep freezes of Toronto. My extremities felt like icicles. I wrapped myself like a burrito in my blankets and had my electric blanket up a couple of notches higher than usual. That did help although I woke up at 4:30 in the morning to head to the washroom...golly, I am getting old.

I couldn't get back to sleep for a while after my toilette. Then images of me getting a medical checkup came into my head. For some reason, the docs over here seem to love using the endoscope when it comes to checkups. It's probably one of the main reasons that I've held off heading to a doctor. But the fact that I got these images is probably a big hint that I should go sometime in the next few months. What do they say....once past 40, an annual checkup should be the rule.

Another sign that I have the cold is that I have that vague achy feeling all over and my mouth has that slightly metallic taste of disease. I took a couple of medicine during breakfast. Strangely enough, my nose isn't running like an open tap.

I started sending out my e-cards to various students in tribute to the Holiday season last night. And when I checked my e-mail this morning, I saw quite a few messages stating that my cards were picked up. One of the messages came from The Ballerina from London. She sent me a rather large picture of her and a former student with her baby son in front of Buckingham Palace. That former student was just barely out of her teens during her time at the old school when her beau kinda forgot about the contraception and a shotgun marriage resulted. The student now seems more mature in the picture but when a baby keeps waking up on you every 3 to 4 hours, youth has a way of disappearing a lot more rapidly.

Well, I've got JJ in a few hours. I think I'm gonna take another shower despite taking one last night since I sweated myself into better condition. Then, I meet up with The OL and Betty Boop for eel.

Also, just wanted to mention that the animated Charlie Brown and I share the same age. Yup, that's right...the iconic "A Charlie Brown Christmas" celebrates 40 years. One of my earliest images as a baby was seeing that opening shot of the Peanuts kids skating on a gray snowy day with Vince Guaraldi's jazz theme in the background. There was an article in The Japan Times about the show. The author kinda gave a backhanded compliment in that the plot was thin, the pacing was sluggish but it somehow worked. Well, considering that the cartoon was basically pastiched from a bunch of the original 4-frame comics, I'm not surprised that people would find it fairly thin on overall story arc. I think what made it stand out was that it was this rather languid, melancholy but hopeful Christmas cartoon starring kids who spoke like adults. And with Warner Bros and Disney often going to orchestras or swing bands for their frenetic music, Guaraldi's music from a trio brought a certain intimacy to the proceedings. Most likely, I'll see if there is a special 40th-anniversary of the show out on DVD sometime...hopefully with a lot of extras. Most likely, when I do leave this mortal coil, that image of children skating on a pond will be the last thing I see in my head.

Friday December 2, 10:30 p.m.

Well, it's been an interesting day. There was a reversal in The Teacher's mood compared to her dark feelings of last week. At least on the surface, it seemed like she made a 180-degree turn for the better. She was laughing quite a bit during the chat. In fact, she told me that she'd entered a maid cafe accidentally in Akihabara. No problems but she did see a number of those ladies in their uniforms. Didn't hear any squeaky voices, though. It was good that she had a happier attitude.

I did my Xmas shopping by dropping in at Takashimaya in Nihombashi. I used the remaining gift certificates that I'd gotten from the kids' mother several months ago to purchase a number of calendars for some of the guys back home. Luckily, my certificates not only covered the cost of the calendars but I got some change from it as well. Then, I dropped by Maruzen and picked up a smaller text for The New Yorker for her to study from on the train at her request. It was obvious that the service at Takashimaya was still old-school prompt and very helpful. One of the salesladies saw me with my calendars and immediately rushed out to take care of me though there were a couple of people at the cashier before me. She gladly took my certificates, wrapped up the calendars and gave me the change and the couple was still there at the cashier. On the other hand, the young cashier at Maruzen was polite but pretty dour looking. Unfortunately, a lot of the current generation behind the sales counter are more of the latter.

I had what could be my final lesson with SR for at least a long while. She's got a baby on the way and not surprisingly will be pretty busy with the kid for the next several months. She said that perhaps I may be back on her schedule in May...like I said, quite a while. Not sure if she did it as a bit of recompense for her departure from the scene but she told me that one of her colleagues at her soon-to-be former company was interested in taking my lessons. From what I got from SR, the potential new client may be a good deal higher than SR herself. I don't quite know how I'm gonna fit her into the schedule though since she works between 1 and 5 daily and my nights during the week are packed. Considering her level, though, she may not really require weekly lessons, so I suggested to SR that perhaps a biweekly on the weekend may be possible. Also, since my Wednesday and Thursdays mornings are free, she could see me just before she heads off for work but I've got a feeling that the girl may not be too open to that option.

My lesson with The OL went well considering it was on the Passive of Present Continuous and Present Perfect. However, she suddenly got a bit quiet and distracted at the end which I was a little concerned about. When I asked her in the Starbucks what was up, she was a bit evasive. But then when we got outside she came clean and told me that she couldn't help overhearing a mother and son who were at a neighbouring table talking about the terminally ill father with a certain lack of sadness...she just found it a bit creepy. I just suggested that they were waiting for the guy to kick the bucket so that they could collect on the inheritance or insurance. Considering how much gets gouged out for inheritance tax in Japan, I wouldn't be dancing too much on his grave, though.

I've felt slightly flu-ish all day so I did take my medicine just in case. It has gotten quite colder and should be dropping even more tomorrow. Rather ominous...in the past hour we've had a couple of earthquakes...nothing serious, just some gentle swaying. But the worst news is that there has been another child murder up in Ibaraki Prefecture. And as I preface this statement with the fact that all murders of children are horrific in themselves, today's discovery of the body of a Grade 1 elementary school girl in the woods was more horrifying in that she had been stabbed a number of times in the chest. It's perhaps not so scary being a kid here since kids wouldn't be too aware of stuff but I do feel for parents nowadays.

I think I can finally say that I've seen everything. I was reading Japanzine, another free English-language weekly, when I came across this article about a web channel called "Naked News", a Toronto-based outfit in which some buxom women of various nationalities do the news in the nude. What surprised even more than the fact that this project had originated in my hometown is that "Naked News" has been going on since 1998! I did take a look at their website which gave a somewhat titillating preview if one signs up for the service. Well, although a couple of them actually are trained journalists and NN may have "...the best international coverage this side of the BBC..." but they still sound little better than helium-filled pop tarts. The other bizarro thing I came across was this female Japanese duo called Afriampo who apparently often do their concerts of thrash in the nude. Shades of The Plasmatics!

Thursday December 1, 11:33 p.m.

Had my usual dependable Spam-and-rice for dinner. I just don't know why Movie Buddy and others equate the stuff to dog food. It's manna from heaven for me.

Another two signs that the end of the year is near: one is the yearly announcement of The Top Words of the Year. Yup, catchphrases and catchy words need only apply. Not surprisingly, that exhalation of air that taste of the year, Razor Ramon HG, always spouts out, "Foo!" got onto the list along with "Cool Biz". Razor Ramon had better enjoy his fame while it lasts...this time last year, it was The Guitar Samurai who was getting quoted all the time for his "Zannen!" (Too Bad). He's basically disappeared now.

That other big sign is the announcement of the list of singers on this year's Kohaku Utagassen (Red and White Song Festival) on NHK. Yup, I'm sure that all of the J-Pop BBS' are just buzzing about who made it. Two singers who raised my eyebrows are none other than Yumi Matsutoya and Misato Watanabe. Watanabe is a singer with the big eyes and brassy voice who made it real big in the J-Pop scene for several years in the 80s and 90s while Yuming is a legend who can be arguably called The Queen of New Music and a songstress who can boast the number of beloved songs that different generations can sing. Both are appearing on the Kohaku for the first time. And both, in my opinion, had their best days at least a decade ago.

The Kohaku Utagassen is a Japanese TV institution going back half a century at least. And like all institutions, the young generally avoid or disdain it like a nerd invasion, even if currently hot bands or singers are recruited to appear on it. Plus, there are many more events and things to do now outside than there were back in the 50s. All these years, Yuming and Misato never bothered to come on the show although both had some huge hits at their respective peaks. Certainly before today's announcement, they hadn't appeared since they really didn't have any hits. So what gives? In Yuming's case, she's appearing with this multiculti group she fashioned together called Friends of the Earth (hm...environmentally friendly band names...something to do with The Kyoto Protocols? Discuss. ). So, this may be more of a promotional stunt than any hat-in-hand retrospective. Not sure if Yuming will do a medley of her hits. Perhaps if this new project hadn't arisen, she would have still not given NHK the time of day. As for Misato, maybe she will do a mini-retrospective. And maybe both will be the blueprint for faded stars of the future who've never appeared on the Kohaku like Hikaru Utada or Misia.

Thursday December 1, 3:32 p.m.

It's the first day of the final month. The sun is lower in the sky, jackets are now a daily part of my "fashion" ensemble, and the house around the corner has its Xmas lights on although the display is nowhere near the extravaganza that a lot of apparently money-loaded houses show back in Toronto annually.

I woke up to my recent habit of catching "Space 1999" on SuperChannel. It was the one about the Earth probe with the dangerous propulsion. Kinda strange about the parallels between that episode and "Star Trek". It guest starred Jeremy Kemp, who later played Captain Picard's resentful brother on TNG; there was a Voyager probe in both this episode and in "Star Trek: The Motion(less) Picture"; and Commander Koenig had to referee a rare debate between his science officer and medical officer just like Kirk, Spock and McCoy.

I met up with the juku boss today at Nishi-Funabashi Station and the two of us headed out to Chiba Station some 10 minutes away for this Milano art exhibit at the Chiba City Art Gallery. I hadn't been back to Chiba Station in many years since I stopped teaching at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries plant. I used to head to Chiba three times a week after teaching at the old school. There was the Chiba Urban Monorail overhanging all of us at the station, the stylized police box, or koban, made up to look like a giant owl, and a crepe shop right by the bus stops. The crepe shop is gone now...replaced by a Fotomat. I used to get to Chiba some minutes earlier before the MHI minibus came to pick me and a few employees up so I noshed on a crepe at the odd time. The bus then took us off on a 20-minute ride to the factories. Always enjoyed getting that sleep on the minibus.

Strangely enough, today was the first time for me to actually get onto the monorail. It was one of those overhead systems in which the monorail "hung" from the rail like a cable car. The boss, herself a first-timer, was a bit nervous at the view. It was only a short 5-minute ride to the station closest to the art gallery but it was an expensive one...190 yen for just 2 stations. The same fare can get me much further on the JR or regular subways.

It was a short 5-minute walk over to the gallery. To be honest, to quote a Shakesperean title, the Milano exhibit, which showed a lot of art (mostly paintings) from Milan produced over the centuries, was much ado about nothing. The exhibit itself was pretty small...the two of us were able to navigate it in about 15 minutes. Unless one is an art freak, willing to visually dissect or verbally give a running commentary, I'm sure a lot of people would wait until a bigger display comes to the Tokyo Edo Museum or the Ueno Museum. When the boss and I passed by the reproduction of "The Last Supper", she told me about the conspiracy theories behind Leonardo's masterpiece, something I'm sure that will be amply covered in "The DaVinci Code" next year with Tom Hanks. Since we got through the Milano exhibition in record time, we took a look at another exhibit on the floor above...just some Japanese silkscreens. As you can read, I'm not a huge art freak. Afterwards, the boss also admitted that Milano was lacking something. Luckily, we had received the tickets gratis.

It was past 12:30 when the two of us got the stomach grumbles so we went into the side streets between the gallery and the wide avenue for a place to nosh it off. We found one such eatery called Ban's Cafe (apparently named after an American deodorant). The thing that lured us in was the price...just 500 yen for any set on the lunch menu. Couldn't beat that price. The interior was 100% 21st-century lunch place: small tables, counter seating, no non-smoking area and a large bookshelf filled with comics for all the salarymen but the staff were all young women, the decor was a better level of Ikea and the menu was written up on blackboards. The boss and I ordered the rohsu tonkatsu set...for 500 yen.

A little background here on tonkatsu, or deep-fried pork cutlet, for all of you neophytes on Japanese cuisine. There are two types of tonkatsu, usually. One is rohsu and the other is hire (possibly a Japanization of the word filet). The latter is leaner than the other (I know...when it comes to deep-fried anything, the differences here are pretty meaningless...I can gain 200 kcal by just stepping into a tonkatsu restaurant). In a set in any self-respecting tonkatsu place, you get your bowl of miso soup, pickles, a bowl of rice and a huge mound of shredded cabbage...plus a pot of Japanese-style Worcestershire sauce.

Although I kept my comments to myself since it was obvious that the boss enjoyed her cutlet, I had to admit that the expression, "You get what you pay for" popped up in my head in the negative sense. I think I should've gone with the hire instead. My rohsu was true to its definition since the first two slices were basically deep-fried breaded fat, a sign of an inferior tonkatsu place or a place that is trying to keep prices low. Luckily, the remaining three-quarters of the cutlet were meaty. As with The Madame, I had to help out the boss with some of the remaining rice on her plate although she did polish off her tonkatsu easily enough. In fact, the two of us even went for the dessert, cheesecake. I knew right from the first bite that it was homemade. It was much creamier and less reminiscent of the New York-style brick. So I can't give Ban's Cafe a full 10 points but I'm sure there a lot of people who would flock there for lunch. If I'm ever in the area, I'd try it again although I'll be careful and pass on the rohsu tonkatsu. Even with the dessert and coffee, the final bill came out to just 950 yen each...that's still 50 yen less than what an average lunch set would call for in Tokyo.

The boss and I soon parted ways since she was gonna do a bit of bookhunting in the nearby Parco department store so I just walked up the main avenue since I did need the exercise and headed back to the station. I saw that UFJ was getting its signs readied for the big merger next year between it and Tokyo-Mitsubishi Bank. There were a couple of skateboarders showing their stuff at an open space nearby. Rather nice to get that walk. When I finally got onto the Sobu Line, I had a nice nap on that leg of the trip home.

Checking up on the Net, I first dropped in at The Teacher's blog. I was worried since she had that quiet intense breakdown at last week's session. But it looks like according to what she's written, she seems to be on the mend again. Hopefully, she'll be in better spirits tomorrow. It sounds like Movie Buddy is game for "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" on the 11th, and he and The Sylph will be OK for nabe on the 18th. It will get crowded in the living room. I just read on the Net that there is some concern about how Japan will be portrayed in "Memoirs of a Geisha". Yep, no kidding there....that's why I'm not too eager to watch it despite The Madame's desire to do so. Seeing some of the poetic license that the costume designer took with some of the kimono for Ziyi Zhang's character didn't change my trepidations. Mrs. Travel and Mrs Tee of the Beehive have definitely decided to avoid the picture altogether.

The Daily Yomiuri had the main article about the arrest of Carlos Yagi for the murder of little Airi Kinoshita. Yagi is apparently a Japanese-Peruvian who has a long-term settler's visa. I'm not sure if that is the same as a Permanent Residency but I'm just a bit concerned about my chances of getting one if the government decides to change the rules concerning foreigners of Japanese descent because of what this guy allegedly did.

On the flip side of things, it seems like The Wild Guy is head-over-heels and maybe the love of his life is just as reciprocative. He's been sending me some pretty up-to-date reports about how things have been going for him and his girl.

Wednesday November 30, 11:54 p.m.

Well, the Indian Summer that had been blessing us for a few days has come to an abrupt chilly close tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the wash on the line had a bit of frost by the morning. I guess it's appropriate for the season to change considering it'll be December in a few minutes.

SB was back on duty today at Speedys. Speedy himself was slightly more subdued today...not as chatty, but he was quite busy today with a number of lessons to supervise. As for me, I had my usual good time with 001 with a few running gags at her expense and then 003 was also OK but I kinda screwed up a message that I was supposed to relay to her from Speedy. Well, I hope she doesn't get too spooked out by it.

Looks like The Madame and I will be seeing "Memoirs of a Geisha" sometime during the week before Xmas. She may be seeing me quite a bit during that week with the nabe party and a couple of invitations I've extended to her for Speedy's Xmas party and then a possible Xmas dinner at Fujimamas. I would be winning the lottery if she actually accepted both of them. I've also sent the official invites to Movie Buddy and The Sylph for nabe. Not sure if they'll be heading out to the in-laws again, though.

Wednesday November 30, 8:20 a.m.

During the wee hours of this morning, National Police swooped down on a house in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture (yes, the site of the F-1 racetrack) and arrested a Peruvian for the murder of that young girl in Hiroshima last week. Every channel has been leading with the story. Although I'm happy that Carlos Yagi (possible ethnic Japanese?) has been caught, I'm also slightly concerned what that could mean in terms of attitudes toward the resident Peruvians here of which there are 55,000. I'm just thinking about what had happened way back in 1923 after The Great Kanto Earthquake when a number of Koreans were lynched by Japanese for some reason...one theory being that the Koreans were blamed for somehow starting the tremor. Hopefully, people have progressed a bit since then but when racism exists even in immigrant countries such as the United States and Canada, I wouldn't be surprised if things may get a bit tough against some Peruvians for the next little while.

The cold weather has come back although it's nice and sunny out there. I'm waiting for that package from The Wild Guy which hopefully will arrive sooner rather than later. I've just got the Speedy classes with 001 and 003 later tonight. In the meantime, I've gotta continue tackling that translation for the essay for my Permanent Residency bid.

Tuesday November 29, 11:23 p.m.

An unexpectedly truncated session at the juku tonight. The boss, in her usual fashion, forgot to tell me that The New Kid wouldn't be coming since he had done his 4 lessons per month and due to the fact that tonight was the 5th Tuesday, he was told that he didn't have to come. I was just left doing my crosswords for almost 30 minutes past his expected start time when the boss decided to call her friend, TNK's mother. She got corrected in a hurry and then rushed in to profusely apologize to me for the screwup. Screwup? Let's see...I still got my full pay for the hour for an AWOL teen who hasn't particularly shown me a good attitude the last couple of weeks....I oughta been paying her for the relief.

Looks like I was rolling sevens tonight. I regained some of that balance between jovial chat and get-down-to-town study with The Beauty Pair that I'd lost for a few weeks. I ran them through the gauntlet of Simple Past with not much of a problem although Yuri is chronically having difficulties with her structure. The Milds and McKid were their usual diligent best, and even The Siberian was into the lesson for at least half of it since I went into the world of acronyms; but I don't think the articles I use with SIL are gonna be as effective with him. He's a bit out there.

The juku's new mascot, that rescued little kitten from last week, will probably be making a home with us. At least I hope so although the boss is trying to pawn him/her off. I think resistance is futile in this case since little Hana has obviously imprinted itself on the boss, and a number of the students have imprinted themselves on it including McKid, Mr. Mild and The Siberian. Heck, I've gotten quite fond of it as the boss hasn't hesitated to point out. Again, I'd love to have the little tyke for my own but single status doesn't lend itself well to pet care.

Looks like my first Xmas present is on it way here tomorrow morning, probably from The Wild Guy. Speaking of whom, it seems as if he may have a budding romance on the scene. I hope it does turn out well for him. He can use a bit of settling down.

My dance card is starting to fill up for December. Not only do I have that big ball at The Lady's place on the 9th and Speedy's bonenkai on the 23rd but I also have my own little nabe party on the 18th and the annual Xmas potluck with The Beehive on the 20th.

Tuesday November 29, 12:28 a.m.

Well, my Monday nights are spent about a kilometre further west from The Company, three hours later than usual and at half the salary of what my Monday nights used to be. However, I think I'm doing more worthwhile work with 004 and 005. Well, at least I think I am...I can never be quite sure with 004 since that little torpedo she sent a couple of weeks ago. As it was, the two classes went well enough. It was just Speedy and me manning the shop since SB was once again out of commission due to fatigue and a cold.

I'm starting to peg out a pattern between my Mondays and Wednesdays at Speedy's. The Monday nights with 004 and 005 are somewhat more serious in nature although I still keep a fairly jaunty atmosphere in the classroom. However, it is quite a bit more lighthearted when it comes to my midweek classes with the jovial 001 and giggly 003.

Looks like a lot of little strings are getting tied up. I asked The Matron if her hubby could get me a copy of the employment contract for me since I need to hand that in along with the rest of the paperwork for my Permanent Residency bid. Then I informed The Lady about who I'm bringing along to the party on the 9th. The Chef is already getting his stuff ready for the big party though it will be almost another 2 weeks before the big night arrives. The Tulip even contacted me for the first time in a couple of months to let me know she's OK. Earlier in the day her mother told me that her daughter may want French lessons. That's right up Speedy's alley. SIL was her old happy self; she really enjoyed the article on Japlish. Then when I went up to Speedy's, I drew up a map for the boss man himself on how to get over to The Lady's place since he won't be arriving until about an hour after the ladies and I get there.

For lunch, I ended up at my usual Monday afternoon Wendys near Bunkamura. This time, instead of the Spicy Chicken Burger Set, I went for this thing translated into English as The Mealburger Set. Basically, it's just a double-patty burger with all the fixins on top. Yup, I can see why it would be called that. I really only needed a soup and rice ball to finish off my culinary needs for the day. I also took a look through HMV. Man, there are gonna be so many CDs that I'll want to buy in December. There's a jazz tribute to the 40th annversary of that Charlie Brown Xmas Special. I took a listen to it...pretty darn good and since it and I share the same birthyear...

I've also sent out the "official" invites to Skippy and The Madame for this nabe party on the 18th. I've asked Speedy and his wife, plus I'll probably ask Movie Buddy and his girl, along with OA. Could be pretty cramped. And I've also gotten started on setting up some movie dates in December. I'll see if The Madame is up for "Memoirs of a Geisha" on the 11th. I mean, she's chomping at the bit to see that movie (called "Sayuri" here...apparently, "memoirs" is just beyond the translators) although I'm somewhat more sanguine about it since I'm always leery about catching any Hollywood representation of Japan. I've yet to see "The Last Samurai" although 005 said that she really enjoyed it. Looking through an issue of "Entertainment Weekly" which showed the costumes of Sayuri-chan, I saw a couple of kimonos that the title character wears which are obviously more for the cinematography than for reality. Even the designer says as much....ooh, boy. And the soundtrack has Ziyi Zhang's gorgeous face with blue eyes! Uh...exqueeze me? Frankly, I'm more looking forward to "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" which is being released on the same day as "Memoirs"...namely Saturday. Apparently, the colony creature known as Brangelina arrived last night at Narita.

Just gotta mention that Hideki Matsui apparently has a new love in his life by the name of Naho Toda, a young actress most famous for her role in the cult fave drama, "Shomu-ni". Not a bad choice, Matsui.

Anyways, time to hit the hay.

Sunday November 27, 11:51 p.m.

The longest Sunday I've had this month. I made it up to the theatre about a good half hour before The Madame arrived...with a mask over her mouth. Looks like she's been suffering from ragweed. Skippy had to skip lunch because of a bit of a stomach problem. I was surprised that she would still be willing to show up but she really wanted to see "Harry Potter". But in the meantime, it was the usual duo of me and The Madame so we had some lunch up at an udon place in the next building up on the 8th floor. The Madame's headed for San Francisco next week to see a friend of hers. Apparently, her parents aren't too pleased about it; according to them, she's using too much money to travel. I think that's partly true but both she and I figure that they don't really like her traveling abroad at all.

While I'd been waiting for The Madame in front of the Picadilly, I did see some of the more colourful creatures that pass for human life in Shinjuku. One was the Clown, this seemingly deluded mental patient who traipses around in a huge clown suit carrying tons of stuff including a big melon in a fishnet bag. And then there were two young ladies who were propping their friend, a very cranky drunk girl, and seeing what their chances were for the movie. There were two other movies playing at the theatre, both of them being Japanese romances.

When The Madame and I got back to the theatre, The Madame and The Satyr were waiting for us. And we did our vigil inside for about an hour. One of the things we discussed was the big party at The Lady's mansion. Yep, The Kid isn't gonna make it after all so Speedy is definitely in as the third member. Also, I got confirmation from Skippy that, yes indeed, her teaching firm did collapse at the end of October. However, true to form, Skippy was able to grab another job as a temp worker at IBM starting from tomorrow. Skippy is the proverbial cat..always lands on her feet.

As for "The Goblet of Fire" itself, let's say that I think "Prisoner of Azkaban" is the best of the "Harry Potter" series. The characters have all come up to bat, and the film is still in its better darker vein. However, it is just too busy. Plus there is a lot of that teenage angst that I really can't stand. Part of the reason is that I don't care much for teens as a whole but I'll just digress from that point. And to be honest, the first part of the movie in which that angst comes to a head doesn't really make much sense since it seems to have been crushed into the movie like a Size 10 foot into a Size 7 shoe. Harry's name gets put into and selected from the draw for the Tri-wizard Contest. What does everyone do, including Hermione and Ron? They all treat Mr. Potter like a pariah to be hated...for all of 15 minutes. Ron especially comes out looking like the third villain of the piece after Lord Voldemort and...well, I won't say that other name. I kinda felt like yelling at the Benedict Arnolds of Hogwarts that they had short memories about their friend's good character and elevated status from the other movies. But then despite being verbally spat at, he ends up getting cheered when he enters the arena for his first challenge. Uh-huh...I guess hating someone in a school doesn't mean that he shouldn't be accorded some good support in a death-defying sport.

It wasn't just this squished teenage crisis that didn't make too much sense for me. I also wasn't too thrilled with the fact that the challengers from the other magic academies ended up being merely ciphers for the plot and the main characters. But I gather when there are three main characters along with the supporting cast of the faculty and the other students at Hogwarts, there just won't be too much time and space allowed for them. However, it is a bit of misleading advertising with that huge poster of Harry, Hermione, Ron and then all of these other kids who perhaps share just a page's worth of script amongst them.

I think what did work for me were the two characters, Mad-Eye and Voldemort. Fine time by both of them. Voldemort still doesn't get anywhere close to the villany of Darth Vader or Hannibal Lecter in my book, but Ralph Fiennes still performed valiantly in his brief appearance. And it was a hoot seeing Dave Tennant, the new Doctor Who, give his scenery-chewing best. Now, I am looking forward to seeing his rendition of everyone's favourite Time Lord.

I'd seen a bit of the very first "Harry Potter" the other night on local TV here. Seeing those little munchkins on their train ride to the academy and then seeing today's "Goblet of Fire", I've realized how far they've come. It will be interesting to see what they will be like when the final book of the series finally gets on the screen.

After the movie, the four of us ended up going to this izakaya called Yama-chan up on the fringes of Kabukicho. The Satyr called up his girlfriend to join us which she did. We had to wait several minutes though since it was a Sunday night. I think it was close to half an hour or more before we finally got our table. Yama-chan is a Nagoya-based izakaya which boasts food fare from its area...the piece de resistance being its delectable chicken wings. We had quite a few dishes from the Nagoya area including ten-musu, kishimen and miso-katsu. All very good. I even braved drinking ao jiru which directly translates as "green liquid". This is a drink that's often used as a punishment for losers in games on TV variety shows, and even the menu at Yama-chan described it as terrible tasting. However, I gave it a shot. No...it won't ever come into my top 1o list of fave drinks but it wasn't nearly that bad. The Madame, though, disagreed with me after taking one swig. To me, it just tasted like some mix of pureed grass and mattcha tea.

As usual, with Skippy, The Madame and I in the same room, the conversation did manage to get rather randy at times. Topics included fetishes, maid cafes and chikan bars. Chikan is translated as gropers. Yep, there are actually bars in which incorrigible men can get their rocks off by groping female employees on fake subway sets without the hassle of actually being arrested.

The dinner session was a good way to end the day. It looks like we've already got some preliminary plans to catch either "Memoirs of a Geisha" or "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" in the next few weeks. I'm not all that thrilled to see the former since I have an allergy when it comes to Hollywood's treatment of all things Japanese but The Madame is just chomping at the bit to see Ziyi Zhang's latest. Also, we may have things coming along for the first nabe party of the season at my place. Maybe the 18th?