Saturday April 7, 12:21 p.m.
Well, finally got down to Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi yesterday afternoon to have a look-see at the next Big Thing in town. And it's a big thing, alright. It's taken over the former SDF base. Consisting of a huge fancy mall, one of the premier hotels in the world (the Ritz-Carlton) and an art gallery among other things, I'd say that the population will be occupied for a while. I took some pics there, and basically, it's got the usual decor for a trendy shopping complex...lots of beige wood paneling, huge plazas and skylights to let in the sun. The crowds weren't too bad for a Friday afternoon; I could navigate through the hallways and escalators fairly easily.
I took a look first inside the 24-hour supermarket, Preece (again with the weirdo naming). In the weekly free magazine for foreigners, METROPOLIS, one of the PR guys at Tokyo Midtown, as he was trying to dispute his client's reputation as just another playground for the rich and elite, noted this place as proof of it being for the masses. I think he should've been demoted. I saw a bag of Dorito's going for over 500 yen ($4.50 US), and I saw the beautiful display of fruits (probably need a down payment before the installment plan for those apples). Instead, he should've pointed out the presence of the second Baker Bounce hamburger shop as a more accessible and affordable joint. I've been to the original little shop in Setagaya Ward, the home of the humongous Double Burger. This new branch is obviously looking a lot spiffier than its older sister but the place does look a bit of a tight squeeze. Still, I didn't see any major lineups there like the one for Krispy Kreme (didn't seen the second branch of that donut shop anywhere on the map).
To be honest, though, Tokyo Midtown isn't really just for The Class Act type of folk. Along with Baker Bounce, there do seem to be some other restaurants and shops that do cater for the more middle-class of us. In fact, as I was leafing through the restaurant guide, I found that a number of the places do have some very reasonable lunches for just around 1,000 yen...pretty comparable to other places elsewhere in The Big Sushi. I saw that ABC Cooking School in the B1 of the Galleria, one of Midtown's sections. One of the new breed of students that I've collected at Speedy's in the last month is a teacher there. I should be seeing her this time next week. The place looked quite bustling and happy with young women donning their aprons in a very large and open concept kitchen. The aroma wafting from the place also heralded some good education being gained at ABC.
A couple of other shops that got my attention there was the Coppola restaurant (yep, that Coppola), and a store on the 4th floor which sold the latest cutting-edge electrical appliances. I saw something called a Miuro, a portable stereo which looked like Darth Vader's TIE fighter with a thyroid condition...and some hip-hop moves. The thing was just rolling around happily to the music emanating from the iPod placed into it like a brain. Just another must-get toy for the music lovers.
When I finally left the complex, I got a good bearing on my coordinates. Midtown is just a few hundred metres north of the main intersection of Roppongi with the famous Almond cafe on the southwest corner. After a pit stop at the Wendy's in the basement right by Roppongi Station, I decided to visit what was The Next Big Thing a few years ago just a stone's throw away: Roppongi Hills. Back at the beginning of the decade, this place, designed by the ubiquitious Mori Group, was just attracting hordes of folks to the extent that I didn't dare visit it for the first few weeks of its existence. Well, what a difference a few years makes. Things were almost wistfully quiet in this place. Its curvy walls had very few folks walking amongst them. And in fact, a lot of the mall was closed down due to some construction (probably to come up with some sort of countermeasure against its new rival). Well, the Hills should feel somewhat relieved to know that Midtown will probably face the same situation by the end of the decade.
I had The Ace for that lone class last night. I kindly donated my guides from Midtown over to him....along with that recipe for Sweet N' Sour Chicken. He'll be away for the next couple of weeks so maybe I can meet DTE for dinner while she's back here for a bit of reminiscing. May also be a good opportunity to see Movie Buddy whom I haven't seen for nearly a couple of months.
Got the reservations put in at TGIFridays, the Ginza branch, for the get-together tomorrow with The Wild Thing. I gotta remember not to order anything meaty and grilled there, judging from that rather mediocre steak from the Shinagawa branch last week.
Also had the long-awaited haircut at my usual place. Of course, the first topic of barber-client banter was on the Hawker murder, but we also touched upon the usual Ohanami chit-chat.
Caught my usual late-night fare on the tube. "Tamori Club" had its usual bizarro topic...the wonderful world of meat-eating plants like pitcher plants and Venus flytraps. Then, there was this one-off on TBS called "Shikatte, Blonde Sensei!" (Chew him out, Blonde Teacher!) It consisted of six of the female tarento fully conversant in English, including Lisa Stegmeyer and seemingly airheaded Mika Mifune (daughter of Toshiro), all clad in blonde wigs and dispensing (screaming?) advice on the English language to some of the homelier and English-illiterate male counterparts in romantic situations. I could imagine Mika doing that sort of stuff, but was a bit surprised to see Lisa since she had always struck me as being a bit above that kinda thing. Just another reason that I prefer late-night fare.
Anyways back to home...
Just a place to deposit my thoughts on life here in the Kanto and about anything else that sticks to my walls.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Friday April 6, 1:25 p.m.
A bit better in the sun department but it's probably gonna cloud over later this afternoon. I know that the pollen is out there. Had to stem a sneezing attack and so had to buy another pack of hay fever medicine.
Got in touch with The Wild Thing. Looks like he and his missus have moved over to the neighbourhood of Uguisudani, next to Ueno on the Yamanote Line. Still not quite sure where we'll have the get-together on Sunday since I've still yet to hear from The Chipmunk; she's the point person in all this since she is lugging the entire family with her. I would probably suggest El Torito in Kasai Station as that is next to Urayasu, but I also don't want to lug the others too far out to the east either.
Almost two weeks since Lindsay Ann Hawker's murder, and the cops are no closer to finding Ichi The Killer. Now, the journalists are starting to openly wonder if the Chiba Police screwed up in procedure. Of course, the cops are pretty tight-lipped (and probably quite snarly at the accusation). A criminology expert has said that Ichi is most likely still alive after hints of suicide were floated, and may even be hiding out in Tokyo. And with all of the hay fever masks and hats being worn right now, Ichi would be a veritable needle in a haystack.
I listened to CD 1 of that double-disc set of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra yesterday. Yah...pretty good, especially that collaboration, "The Star-Spangled Night", between them and Hiroto Komoto, formerly of The Blue Hearts and The High-Lows. I was initially surprised at the label of 1998-2007 since I'd thought that To-Skapa had been around for many more years. Well, it turned out that I was right; the good folks at Wikipedia pointed out that the band had started all the way back in 1985. I should've known since I remember a similar band called La-ppisch around 1989.
Well, although I only have The Ace tonight for work, I've decided to head on down to check out Tokyo Midtown. It is a Friday so the place could get quite packed tonight but I figure that if I do a quick in-and-out in the next few hours, I should be able to squeeze in a little look-see. I even bought the disposable camera for a few pics since I'll probably be shooting stuff when The Wild Thing and I get together.
A bit better in the sun department but it's probably gonna cloud over later this afternoon. I know that the pollen is out there. Had to stem a sneezing attack and so had to buy another pack of hay fever medicine.
Got in touch with The Wild Thing. Looks like he and his missus have moved over to the neighbourhood of Uguisudani, next to Ueno on the Yamanote Line. Still not quite sure where we'll have the get-together on Sunday since I've still yet to hear from The Chipmunk; she's the point person in all this since she is lugging the entire family with her. I would probably suggest El Torito in Kasai Station as that is next to Urayasu, but I also don't want to lug the others too far out to the east either.
Almost two weeks since Lindsay Ann Hawker's murder, and the cops are no closer to finding Ichi The Killer. Now, the journalists are starting to openly wonder if the Chiba Police screwed up in procedure. Of course, the cops are pretty tight-lipped (and probably quite snarly at the accusation). A criminology expert has said that Ichi is most likely still alive after hints of suicide were floated, and may even be hiding out in Tokyo. And with all of the hay fever masks and hats being worn right now, Ichi would be a veritable needle in a haystack.
I listened to CD 1 of that double-disc set of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra yesterday. Yah...pretty good, especially that collaboration, "The Star-Spangled Night", between them and Hiroto Komoto, formerly of The Blue Hearts and The High-Lows. I was initially surprised at the label of 1998-2007 since I'd thought that To-Skapa had been around for many more years. Well, it turned out that I was right; the good folks at Wikipedia pointed out that the band had started all the way back in 1985. I should've known since I remember a similar band called La-ppisch around 1989.
Well, although I only have The Ace tonight for work, I've decided to head on down to check out Tokyo Midtown. It is a Friday so the place could get quite packed tonight but I figure that if I do a quick in-and-out in the next few hours, I should be able to squeeze in a little look-see. I even bought the disposable camera for a few pics since I'll probably be shooting stuff when The Wild Thing and I get together.
Thursday April 5, 7:00 p.m.
Man, when I pull a boner, I pull a real floppy one. For those who may have just coughed up their lungs on reading that, my deepest apologies. I was being merely figurative. It's just that I managed to dodge a rather large bullet at Speedy's earlier this afternoon. What should've been a slam dunk in terms of model lessons almost ended up as a backboard bounce. Speedy had told me some days in advance of an acquaintance of his, a dentist, who was interested in taking English lessons. He reassured me that there would be no problem signing this one up. Well, she did show up and it was rather obvious that she belonged in The Class Act's income tax bracket. Our admin assistant set her up in the good room with a glass of water and then the bossman went to have a few words with her. And so I waited...and waited...and waited. I was getting a bit concerned some 15 minutes after my ML was to have started; what was he doing in there, I thought. Little did I realize that the guy had already left her some minutes before to teach his own lesson in the next room. The dentist was twiddling her thumbs for a quarter of an hour! Man, I thought I was in the deepest hole; certainly, I wanted to crawl in one.
What saved me was that both The Dentist and Speedy were very accomodating folks. At first, she seemed a bit out of sorts at how long I took but 20 years of experience...and Dancing Bear...were more than enough to win her over, and the day was saved. Speedy was gracious enough to say that all that was important was the 2-point conversion. So I've got my newest Thursday afternoon student.
However, before that near-fiasco, I had a very delightful surprise when I met up with The New Yorker earlier in the afternoon. As she came toddling up to me in Ichigaya Station, she was toting a couple of boxes in plastic bags. She gave me one....carrying a box of the much-vaunted Krispy Kreme donuts! Nearly 4 months after the lone branch opened, I finally could get my mitts on a box. The New Yorker must have a sixth sense of when to go. Once again, despite the discouraging sight of 2-hour lineups, she was able to get her boxes in just 20 minutes. I just wonder if she has some close connections working in the shop. In any case, I gladly treated her to the coffee at Tully's...a small price to pay for what she shucked out.
So, after all of us at the school sweated somewhat after the big misunderstanding with The Dentist...Speedy, the assistant and I partook in the ingestion of said donuts. The New Yorker was insightful enough to leave us a choice of either the Original Glazed or the Chocolate Glazed. I had mine...yup, it was as sweet and chewy as I remembered it back in Toronto. Now that I've been reminded of the taste, I just marvel at how popular Krispy Kreme has been here in Tokyo. The taste of that coating should've sent most Japanese into diabetic shock, and yet I always mention the huge lineups. I guess the natives are getting further accustomed to the very American tastes of the Fast Food Nation.
I got word from The Wild Thing. He's back in town (although I don't know how much longer he and his wife will be here) so I've gotten in contact with The Chipmunk and Alpha, a couple of our mutual friends from Toronto days. We're seeing about getting together sometime on the weekend. Now that The Chipmunk and her family have recently expanded by one, I have to find a family-friendly place. Really, the TGIFridays in Shinagawa came to mind, since The Wild Thing is currently living near there. But I've also thrown out The Outback and Tony Romas as options.
Well, aside from The Ace tomorrow night, I'm incredibly off for the next three days. So, I'm gonna check out Tokyo Midtown for the first time since its official opening a week ago. I don't expect to buy anything there without putting up a down payment, so it'll the old practice of window shopping.
Man, when I pull a boner, I pull a real floppy one. For those who may have just coughed up their lungs on reading that, my deepest apologies. I was being merely figurative. It's just that I managed to dodge a rather large bullet at Speedy's earlier this afternoon. What should've been a slam dunk in terms of model lessons almost ended up as a backboard bounce. Speedy had told me some days in advance of an acquaintance of his, a dentist, who was interested in taking English lessons. He reassured me that there would be no problem signing this one up. Well, she did show up and it was rather obvious that she belonged in The Class Act's income tax bracket. Our admin assistant set her up in the good room with a glass of water and then the bossman went to have a few words with her. And so I waited...and waited...and waited. I was getting a bit concerned some 15 minutes after my ML was to have started; what was he doing in there, I thought. Little did I realize that the guy had already left her some minutes before to teach his own lesson in the next room. The dentist was twiddling her thumbs for a quarter of an hour! Man, I thought I was in the deepest hole; certainly, I wanted to crawl in one.
What saved me was that both The Dentist and Speedy were very accomodating folks. At first, she seemed a bit out of sorts at how long I took but 20 years of experience...and Dancing Bear...were more than enough to win her over, and the day was saved. Speedy was gracious enough to say that all that was important was the 2-point conversion. So I've got my newest Thursday afternoon student.
However, before that near-fiasco, I had a very delightful surprise when I met up with The New Yorker earlier in the afternoon. As she came toddling up to me in Ichigaya Station, she was toting a couple of boxes in plastic bags. She gave me one....carrying a box of the much-vaunted Krispy Kreme donuts! Nearly 4 months after the lone branch opened, I finally could get my mitts on a box. The New Yorker must have a sixth sense of when to go. Once again, despite the discouraging sight of 2-hour lineups, she was able to get her boxes in just 20 minutes. I just wonder if she has some close connections working in the shop. In any case, I gladly treated her to the coffee at Tully's...a small price to pay for what she shucked out.
So, after all of us at the school sweated somewhat after the big misunderstanding with The Dentist...Speedy, the assistant and I partook in the ingestion of said donuts. The New Yorker was insightful enough to leave us a choice of either the Original Glazed or the Chocolate Glazed. I had mine...yup, it was as sweet and chewy as I remembered it back in Toronto. Now that I've been reminded of the taste, I just marvel at how popular Krispy Kreme has been here in Tokyo. The taste of that coating should've sent most Japanese into diabetic shock, and yet I always mention the huge lineups. I guess the natives are getting further accustomed to the very American tastes of the Fast Food Nation.
I got word from The Wild Thing. He's back in town (although I don't know how much longer he and his wife will be here) so I've gotten in contact with The Chipmunk and Alpha, a couple of our mutual friends from Toronto days. We're seeing about getting together sometime on the weekend. Now that The Chipmunk and her family have recently expanded by one, I have to find a family-friendly place. Really, the TGIFridays in Shinagawa came to mind, since The Wild Thing is currently living near there. But I've also thrown out The Outback and Tony Romas as options.
Well, aside from The Ace tomorrow night, I'm incredibly off for the next three days. So, I'm gonna check out Tokyo Midtown for the first time since its official opening a week ago. I don't expect to buy anything there without putting up a down payment, so it'll the old practice of window shopping.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Wednesday April 4, 8:55 p.m.
Well, I also got word from Speedy that another one of the B-tier (at least in terms of exposure) of English language schools breathed its last. Apparently, LADO International's English schools went under although it looks like their ability to send people overseas for study is still intact. Kinda wonder what will mean for a lot of student who now find themselves without a school and perhaps a good chunk of yen. Speaking of that other school, as I said this morning, NOVA is probably feeling rather vulnerable right now, especially after getting its wrist slapped by Japan's Supreme Court for shortchanging customers on their refunds. Basically, Japan's largest English-teaching chain got nailed for having its sales staff sell their lessons at a certain per lesson cost on contract but then pulling a bait and switch and refunding any money after calculating a higher per lesson cost...a price that wasn't in the contract. In other words, the disgruntled students don't get as much back as promised. NOVA had been hoping that the prohibitive costs of lawyers would discourage any lawsuits. Not anymore. The higher-ups at NOVA have given up the ghost and said that they would refund any extra money, although they grumbled that this punishment would probably mean that discounts may be harder to come by for long-term students in the future. I think they should be more worried about other things such as further litigation against them since the Supreme Court decision has thrown things wide open.
During my days there, I had heard about all sorts of dodgy things that NOVA was pulling off such as the company not observing any of the national holidays outside of New Year's Day just so that they could remain open for customers. And of course, the open secret/inside joke of the company is that NOVA often stood for NOVAcation....probably the lack of national holidays and real weekends (ie Saturday and Sunday) figured in that expression. Still in some defense of my former organization, NOVA has been like any other company when it comes to paid vacation time...people apply for them and then wait for them to be approved. Also, I think the initial on-the-job training is quite comprehensive for the rookie teachers at least. I'm hard pressed to remember anything I learned from my 2 years at TESL education, but I can still glean things from the NOVA training. And the small branches of the monolith, such as the one I was at for most of my time with the company, are probably much easier to handle than the zoos that are the main schools. So, really, NOVA may deserve the moniker of McDonalds of English teaching but it still really comes down to the individual English teacher.
Well, I also got word from Speedy that another one of the B-tier (at least in terms of exposure) of English language schools breathed its last. Apparently, LADO International's English schools went under although it looks like their ability to send people overseas for study is still intact. Kinda wonder what will mean for a lot of student who now find themselves without a school and perhaps a good chunk of yen. Speaking of that other school, as I said this morning, NOVA is probably feeling rather vulnerable right now, especially after getting its wrist slapped by Japan's Supreme Court for shortchanging customers on their refunds. Basically, Japan's largest English-teaching chain got nailed for having its sales staff sell their lessons at a certain per lesson cost on contract but then pulling a bait and switch and refunding any money after calculating a higher per lesson cost...a price that wasn't in the contract. In other words, the disgruntled students don't get as much back as promised. NOVA had been hoping that the prohibitive costs of lawyers would discourage any lawsuits. Not anymore. The higher-ups at NOVA have given up the ghost and said that they would refund any extra money, although they grumbled that this punishment would probably mean that discounts may be harder to come by for long-term students in the future. I think they should be more worried about other things such as further litigation against them since the Supreme Court decision has thrown things wide open.
During my days there, I had heard about all sorts of dodgy things that NOVA was pulling off such as the company not observing any of the national holidays outside of New Year's Day just so that they could remain open for customers. And of course, the open secret/inside joke of the company is that NOVA often stood for NOVAcation....probably the lack of national holidays and real weekends (ie Saturday and Sunday) figured in that expression. Still in some defense of my former organization, NOVA has been like any other company when it comes to paid vacation time...people apply for them and then wait for them to be approved. Also, I think the initial on-the-job training is quite comprehensive for the rookie teachers at least. I'm hard pressed to remember anything I learned from my 2 years at TESL education, but I can still glean things from the NOVA training. And the small branches of the monolith, such as the one I was at for most of my time with the company, are probably much easier to handle than the zoos that are the main schools. So, really, NOVA may deserve the moniker of McDonalds of English teaching but it still really comes down to the individual English teacher.
Wednesday April 4, 8:25 p.m.
Well, I can officially say that it's been one wacky season for weather. Last Saturday, we were breaking records for heat (including 30 C in Shizuoka). Now, today, Tokyo once again got its second snowfall. I gather that locusts and pestilence aren't too far away.
I'm also officially baked. Finally got all four classes at Speedy under my belt after a 10 a.m. start here. Luckily, all four of the ladies (The Nurse, Miss SDF, 002 and 001) were all great; it's just that I will end up traversing Tokyo four times by the time I reach home tonight. Luckily, that won't be too far away. As for Miss SDF, she will be off to The Great White North on Saturday.
Tomorrow will be relatively calm. I just have The New Yorker for her biweekly in Ichigaya, and then I gotta rush back here for a demo lesson with a dentist's wife. Still, I gotta catch up on the curricula so it won't be an early night.
Well, I can officially say that it's been one wacky season for weather. Last Saturday, we were breaking records for heat (including 30 C in Shizuoka). Now, today, Tokyo once again got its second snowfall. I gather that locusts and pestilence aren't too far away.
I'm also officially baked. Finally got all four classes at Speedy under my belt after a 10 a.m. start here. Luckily, all four of the ladies (The Nurse, Miss SDF, 002 and 001) were all great; it's just that I will end up traversing Tokyo four times by the time I reach home tonight. Luckily, that won't be too far away. As for Miss SDF, she will be off to The Great White North on Saturday.
Tomorrow will be relatively calm. I just have The New Yorker for her biweekly in Ichigaya, and then I gotta rush back here for a demo lesson with a dentist's wife. Still, I gotta catch up on the curricula so it won't be an early night.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Wednesday Apirl 4, 9:41 a.m.
Into the second day of my marathon session of classes which started from here yesterday with Ms. SDF. The juku classes went pretty well. This time, I started off with Chip instead of Dale since the lass was on her own holiday with her family. Then, it was Seven. She seemed rather sleepy after 7 hours of work at the hotel....she could have joined the club; I had the jackets. On the other hand, Mrs. Mild was just bursting at the seams, a fact that both Mr. Mild and I noticed quite vividly. The lady had just retired after several decades of work so she was quite bouncy. I did bring her back to earth a bit by reminding her that she now had the time to devote to further English study. Jolly was a no-show as usual. And then, it was The Siberian for his 90 minutes talking about his 3 weeks in Seoul.
I got home at 11:30, hit the sack and was up again some 6 hours later to be out of the apartment in less than an hour so that I could avoid the rush hour. Today, I've got The Nurse, then Ms. SDF before she goes on her yearlong odyssey to the wilds of Toronto, rush out to teach 002, and then finally her buddy, 001 back here at HQ. I should be properly baked by 8 tonight.
Well, it looks like NOVA has had a pretty lousy couple of weeks. Not only has one of its teachers been murdered, but it lost its appeal against the Japanese Supreme Court in its suit for gouging money from former disgruntled students. But more on that later...The Nurse has arrived.
Into the second day of my marathon session of classes which started from here yesterday with Ms. SDF. The juku classes went pretty well. This time, I started off with Chip instead of Dale since the lass was on her own holiday with her family. Then, it was Seven. She seemed rather sleepy after 7 hours of work at the hotel....she could have joined the club; I had the jackets. On the other hand, Mrs. Mild was just bursting at the seams, a fact that both Mr. Mild and I noticed quite vividly. The lady had just retired after several decades of work so she was quite bouncy. I did bring her back to earth a bit by reminding her that she now had the time to devote to further English study. Jolly was a no-show as usual. And then, it was The Siberian for his 90 minutes talking about his 3 weeks in Seoul.
I got home at 11:30, hit the sack and was up again some 6 hours later to be out of the apartment in less than an hour so that I could avoid the rush hour. Today, I've got The Nurse, then Ms. SDF before she goes on her yearlong odyssey to the wilds of Toronto, rush out to teach 002, and then finally her buddy, 001 back here at HQ. I should be properly baked by 8 tonight.
Well, it looks like NOVA has had a pretty lousy couple of weeks. Not only has one of its teachers been murdered, but it lost its appeal against the Japanese Supreme Court in its suit for gouging money from former disgruntled students. But more on that later...The Nurse has arrived.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Tuesday April 3, 12:40 p.m.
Feeling pretty tense right now. I've got that SDF lady for 90 minutes today, then I gotta rush over to the juku and teach the kids (nice they are, but kids are kids). Then I have to find out whether Jolly is going to show up since I gotta prep TOEIC for him. Plus, The Siberian is back for a full 90 to make up for his absence...not a great schedule considering that I've gotta leave home around the crack of dawn tomorrow morning. Hopefully, I can hold it together until Thursday.
That friend of The Entrepreneur's called me up this morning. Looks like she is headed out at 5:30 p.m. after all. She kinda kvetched about the fact that the travel agency wouldn't be flexible about giving her an extra day since she got here a day late...then she told me that she screwed up her own schedule. I held my tongue but it is her fault. Still, she was able to get some of that kabuki in at Kabuki-za in Ginza. She loved it so once again, I held my tongue since my family genetics have made it imperative that I love the Japanese art form as much as Montezuma's Revenge. It's just so beautifully boring...
Well, the police are still looking for Ichi the Killer. However, after a plaintive cry from the British Ambassador for the public's help in this case, the wide show journos and citizen interviewees have been coming forward with some info. Apparently, (alleged) murderer and victim were seen in a cafe and a taxi so far in the Gyotoku neighbourhood.
Feeling pretty tense right now. I've got that SDF lady for 90 minutes today, then I gotta rush over to the juku and teach the kids (nice they are, but kids are kids). Then I have to find out whether Jolly is going to show up since I gotta prep TOEIC for him. Plus, The Siberian is back for a full 90 to make up for his absence...not a great schedule considering that I've gotta leave home around the crack of dawn tomorrow morning. Hopefully, I can hold it together until Thursday.
That friend of The Entrepreneur's called me up this morning. Looks like she is headed out at 5:30 p.m. after all. She kinda kvetched about the fact that the travel agency wouldn't be flexible about giving her an extra day since she got here a day late...then she told me that she screwed up her own schedule. I held my tongue but it is her fault. Still, she was able to get some of that kabuki in at Kabuki-za in Ginza. She loved it so once again, I held my tongue since my family genetics have made it imperative that I love the Japanese art form as much as Montezuma's Revenge. It's just so beautifully boring...
Well, the police are still looking for Ichi the Killer. However, after a plaintive cry from the British Ambassador for the public's help in this case, the wide show journos and citizen interviewees have been coming forward with some info. Apparently, (alleged) murderer and victim were seen in a cafe and a taxi so far in the Gyotoku neighbourhood.
Monday April 2, 8:07 p.m.
Gad...my clothes always smell like an ashtray after I get back from a session with The Part-Timer. Not that's it's her fault...Doutor is probably one of the most smoker-friendly coffeeshops in this increasingly smoker-averse burg...one of the final holdouts in an age of smoker/non-smoker partitioned age. Doutor has, nominally, smoking and non-smoking sections. But that means absolutely nothing without any glass shields or dedicated air filtration systems. As for the gal herself, she seemed fine in the environment but for the first number of minutes, I was just grabbing for my tissue until the meds finally kicked in. As for Speedy, he absolutely avoids the place. I can only imagine how The Entrepreneur, a very anti-smoking fellow, would react if he saw the haze in this place.
Speaking of whom, The Entrepreneur gave me a heads-up some days ago that his good friend would be making a stopover in Tokyo for a couple of days. There was no chance of us being able to meet due to my full schedule over today and Tuesday, but it looks like there probably won't be any chance of us even exchanging a few words over the phone either. For one thing, she came in a day late and for another, she said that she would have to be out of the Ginza Tokyu by 5:30 tomorrow morning. Ah well...
As for my schedule...the next couple of days will indeed be full. I've got that SDF officer for her prep classes before she heads on out to her new, wholly different assignment as a Working Holiday Visa student in Canada, and then I've got my juku students. The boss informed me that The Siberian is back in town and he's gonna have to do a bit of catching up since he was away for a month. Just great....it means that I'll be at the juku until 10:30 tomorrow night for the next several weeks while I gotta get up before the crack of dawn on Wednesday morning to head out back to Speedy's to teach The Nurse for her lessons. Basically, Wednesdays will truly be a hump day to overcome. In fact, I'm pretty much here at Speedy's for most of the week except for Friday.
I did catch most of that marathon seasonal special on TBS on Saturday, the All-Star Festival. But Governor Higashikokuburo of Miyazaki Prefecture didn't show up for the usual racing around TBS HQ. However, I was witness to a mock sumo competition amongst some of the more homelier male tarento. What made it further interesting was that the guys and the dojo were smeared in lotion to keep things....interesting. What would've made things even more interesting if there were some female tarento involved. Of course, at the end of the match, the host, volatile Shinsuke Shimada, and his female co-host, a former idol-turned-tarento, got thrown into the goop afterwards. Of course, despite the seeming spontaneity of the situation, it was most likely all planned in the briefing room weeks before. The hosts came out several minutes later in well-fitting gym clothes. Spontaneity doesn't really belong in Japanese variety shows...everything is scripted to the second.
Speaking of governorships, this Sunday is gonna be Election Day for a number of prefectures including The Big Sushi. About 11 folks are going for the big prize of getting the big seat in that Macross-like structure in Shinjuku known as The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. I've spoken to a number of the students and they all say that while they would love to see Shintaro Ishihara get his comeuppance after years of him treating Tokyo like his own fiefdom, they also concede that most likely he'll win out since none of the other candidates really have any additional charisma or policies to trump the xenophobe governor.
Well, I've had a chance to listen to some of the CDs from my shopping spree on Saturday. So far, I've only been able to hear the Hiromi Iwasaki re-release. It was an original from 1980, about a year before I first discovered her as a callow youth about to discover the weird world of kayo kyoku. As was usually the case with the more technically proficient singers during that turn of the decade, Iwasaki released this album, "Wishes", which goes into more of a West Coast sound although Eagles it isn't. I'd say that the album is more akin to the AOR of the time. For those singers, check out Mariya Takeuchi or Junichi Inagaki. I also listened to some of the tracks on Yumi Matsutoya's latest release, a 2-disc compilation based on her spring and summer-themed tunes. Some of her more recent tunes are nestled right up with her originals from the early 70s. As I mentioned to SIL today, Yuming's voice is very much a love/hate affair. Some wags have compared it to fingernails on a blackboard while others aren't bothered by it at all and love the tunesmanship. I kinda understand both sides: when I hear the oldies and the newer stuff, I do think that Yuming sounded much better and less reedier as a younger woman handling the new music.
I've yet to hear the "Happy Feet" soundtrack and I've just listened to the one track from the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra compilation discs. I forgot the title but it has a guest vocal in the form of the former lead singer of the Blue Hearts, an old pop/punk outfit from the late 80s. The video for the song is fun to watch, especially for the Blue Hearts leader excessively chawing his gum and rattling his knees as if he needed immediate hospitalization.
Morning Musume seems to be heading for the history books...fading away into the huge encyclopedia of J-Pop culture. I couldn't catch it since I was teaching the kids but the flagship show for the Tsunku-produced girl-group on Sunday mornings on TV Tokyo ended its run yesterday according to the TV guide. Mind you, the next Sunday will see the network launch a new show with the girls, but it's only a half-hour, compared to the full hour the previous show was. At one point about eight years ago, MM had about 4 or 5 shows all over the TV spectrum, after the big mainstream hit of "Love Machine" and its subsequent hits. But now it looks like with the slow disappearance of a lot of the original members, the Ai Kago scandal, and its gradual overtaking by the larger behemoth known as AKB 48, Morning Musume may just limp into its 10th anniversary before calling the Hello Morning Project quits. But as they say here in the geinokai, old idols don't die....they just become full-fledged tarento. At least, a couple of the kids have made the full transition into TV personalities, Nozomi Tsuji and Mari Yaguchi. But the biggest clue that the group is starting to reach the end of the line is that when the whole group gets together on one of those music/variety shows, it's to give the umpteenth rendering of their biggest hit, "Love Machine".
Gad...my clothes always smell like an ashtray after I get back from a session with The Part-Timer. Not that's it's her fault...Doutor is probably one of the most smoker-friendly coffeeshops in this increasingly smoker-averse burg...one of the final holdouts in an age of smoker/non-smoker partitioned age. Doutor has, nominally, smoking and non-smoking sections. But that means absolutely nothing without any glass shields or dedicated air filtration systems. As for the gal herself, she seemed fine in the environment but for the first number of minutes, I was just grabbing for my tissue until the meds finally kicked in. As for Speedy, he absolutely avoids the place. I can only imagine how The Entrepreneur, a very anti-smoking fellow, would react if he saw the haze in this place.
Speaking of whom, The Entrepreneur gave me a heads-up some days ago that his good friend would be making a stopover in Tokyo for a couple of days. There was no chance of us being able to meet due to my full schedule over today and Tuesday, but it looks like there probably won't be any chance of us even exchanging a few words over the phone either. For one thing, she came in a day late and for another, she said that she would have to be out of the Ginza Tokyu by 5:30 tomorrow morning. Ah well...
As for my schedule...the next couple of days will indeed be full. I've got that SDF officer for her prep classes before she heads on out to her new, wholly different assignment as a Working Holiday Visa student in Canada, and then I've got my juku students. The boss informed me that The Siberian is back in town and he's gonna have to do a bit of catching up since he was away for a month. Just great....it means that I'll be at the juku until 10:30 tomorrow night for the next several weeks while I gotta get up before the crack of dawn on Wednesday morning to head out back to Speedy's to teach The Nurse for her lessons. Basically, Wednesdays will truly be a hump day to overcome. In fact, I'm pretty much here at Speedy's for most of the week except for Friday.
I did catch most of that marathon seasonal special on TBS on Saturday, the All-Star Festival. But Governor Higashikokuburo of Miyazaki Prefecture didn't show up for the usual racing around TBS HQ. However, I was witness to a mock sumo competition amongst some of the more homelier male tarento. What made it further interesting was that the guys and the dojo were smeared in lotion to keep things....interesting. What would've made things even more interesting if there were some female tarento involved. Of course, at the end of the match, the host, volatile Shinsuke Shimada, and his female co-host, a former idol-turned-tarento, got thrown into the goop afterwards. Of course, despite the seeming spontaneity of the situation, it was most likely all planned in the briefing room weeks before. The hosts came out several minutes later in well-fitting gym clothes. Spontaneity doesn't really belong in Japanese variety shows...everything is scripted to the second.
Speaking of governorships, this Sunday is gonna be Election Day for a number of prefectures including The Big Sushi. About 11 folks are going for the big prize of getting the big seat in that Macross-like structure in Shinjuku known as The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. I've spoken to a number of the students and they all say that while they would love to see Shintaro Ishihara get his comeuppance after years of him treating Tokyo like his own fiefdom, they also concede that most likely he'll win out since none of the other candidates really have any additional charisma or policies to trump the xenophobe governor.
Well, I've had a chance to listen to some of the CDs from my shopping spree on Saturday. So far, I've only been able to hear the Hiromi Iwasaki re-release. It was an original from 1980, about a year before I first discovered her as a callow youth about to discover the weird world of kayo kyoku. As was usually the case with the more technically proficient singers during that turn of the decade, Iwasaki released this album, "Wishes", which goes into more of a West Coast sound although Eagles it isn't. I'd say that the album is more akin to the AOR of the time. For those singers, check out Mariya Takeuchi or Junichi Inagaki. I also listened to some of the tracks on Yumi Matsutoya's latest release, a 2-disc compilation based on her spring and summer-themed tunes. Some of her more recent tunes are nestled right up with her originals from the early 70s. As I mentioned to SIL today, Yuming's voice is very much a love/hate affair. Some wags have compared it to fingernails on a blackboard while others aren't bothered by it at all and love the tunesmanship. I kinda understand both sides: when I hear the oldies and the newer stuff, I do think that Yuming sounded much better and less reedier as a younger woman handling the new music.
I've yet to hear the "Happy Feet" soundtrack and I've just listened to the one track from the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra compilation discs. I forgot the title but it has a guest vocal in the form of the former lead singer of the Blue Hearts, an old pop/punk outfit from the late 80s. The video for the song is fun to watch, especially for the Blue Hearts leader excessively chawing his gum and rattling his knees as if he needed immediate hospitalization.
Morning Musume seems to be heading for the history books...fading away into the huge encyclopedia of J-Pop culture. I couldn't catch it since I was teaching the kids but the flagship show for the Tsunku-produced girl-group on Sunday mornings on TV Tokyo ended its run yesterday according to the TV guide. Mind you, the next Sunday will see the network launch a new show with the girls, but it's only a half-hour, compared to the full hour the previous show was. At one point about eight years ago, MM had about 4 or 5 shows all over the TV spectrum, after the big mainstream hit of "Love Machine" and its subsequent hits. But now it looks like with the slow disappearance of a lot of the original members, the Ai Kago scandal, and its gradual overtaking by the larger behemoth known as AKB 48, Morning Musume may just limp into its 10th anniversary before calling the Hello Morning Project quits. But as they say here in the geinokai, old idols don't die....they just become full-fledged tarento. At least, a couple of the kids have made the full transition into TV personalities, Nozomi Tsuji and Mari Yaguchi. But the biggest clue that the group is starting to reach the end of the line is that when the whole group gets together on one of those music/variety shows, it's to give the umpteenth rendering of their biggest hit, "Love Machine".
Monday April 2, 4:52 p.m.
The weather is a bit unsettled right now. Not sure if it's gonna rain or not but although the nights are still chilly, Spring is definitely here to stay. I'm sure that there will be some hardy types out there in Ueno Park or Chidorigafuchi tonight for some late-season ohanami.
Yesterday, I had a fairly good session with the kids. I got the Elder on the new book that I've been using with The Part-Timer, The Polynesian and The Ace. She said it was good enough for her although she brought back some of the slacker attitude from months past. The Younger was her usual steady self.
Then, I sped down The Yamanote Line to meet up with Boop, The OL and an old student from years past in Shinagawa's TGIFridays for lunch. Unlike today, it was pretty darn warm on Sunday; Shizuoka broke some records by hitting 30 C...not sure if that's good for the tea seedlings, and the Japanese need their green tea like the British need their pekoe.
That old student is a nurse, but I really can't call her The Nurse since that moniker has already been taken by one of my students here at Speedy's. So, I think I shall dub her Miss Demure due to her self-effacing nature. Despite that personality trait, though, Miss Demure has got the stamina of a bull. Despite having just finished off an 18-hour shift at her hospital, she still decided to show up for lunch and she didn't even yawn once...at least, not to my knowledge.
It was interesting to compare my lunch at TGIFridays with last Tuesday's luncheon with The Beehive at Casa Des Fado. Whereas my meal with my Tsudanuma ladies was somewhat like the Oscar movie, "Sideways", the lunch yesterday with these girls could be compared to a Marx Brothers flick....mostly driven by the fast-talking banter of Boop. I think she and I would make a good manzai comic duo. It would just be like a Japanese version of Burns and Allen. As for the food there, I had been initially mystified by BB's choice of the American chain since at our last meal there some years back, we'd been far less than impressed by the spareribs there, which were more like things you would see in Jurassic Park...after the T-Rex got through with them. However, the ladies and I were quite happy with the starters...and the burgers which came after them. Although I was too polite to say so, I wasn't all that particularly happy with my main course of the Strip Steak which, unlike the mouthwatering picture, came out smothered in some sort of cream gravy with too much fat surrounding it...kinda like my liver and heart, probably. So I guess the moral of the story is that avoid the grilled stuff at TGIFridays. As with last time, the meal there should provide the impetus for us to hit Tony Roma's again for far better ribs and steak.
Afterwards, the four of us did a bit of cherry-blossom viewing around the hotel area in Shinagawa. Not surprisingly, there were also quite a few other people traipsing around the petal-covered lanes, but happily not the hordes that would usually clog Ueno Park. Generally, not sure if the pleasant lunch has jump-started the monthly lunch/dinner outings of a couple of years ago but I'm sure if the ladies are game, so am I.
Had The Class Act for the first time in a couple of weeks. Of course, the dark humour started coming out about the murdered English teacher, Lindsay Ann Hawker (nope, Ichi the Killer still hasn't been caught) in their lesson along with SIL's session. In fact, SIL had more to milk about the situation, since like 002, hers is also a house call. I remarked that although a bathtub wouldn't be big enough to hold my rotting carcass, I did point to that huge safe in the corner of the room. She laughingly said that she would take it under advisement. She also requested if I would be able to shop around for that DVD of "Mishima", the 1985 movie starring Ken Ogata as the titular author who committed seppuku in 1970 after having demanded the SDF to stand up and fight the government for straying from "Japanese ideals". I wouldn't be surprised if noone in this country had ever heard of it since the movie has been banned from these shores by the widow of Mishima herself. However, I'd seen it over 2 decades ago back in my university days at a local cineplex in Toronto. It was a stunning movie in terms of cinematography and was certainly an interesting picture in terms of structure. The movie was bookended by scenes from Yukio Mishima's final moments at SDF HQ while the middle scenes included no less than 3 short dramatizations of his most famous novels, interwoven with scenes of the author's life and gradual radicalization.
In any case, I told SIL about the fact that I'd seen the DVD of "Mishima" at that import disc store in Akihabara. Well, I've been given the assignment to hunt it down and secure its purchase. I also mentioned that the notorious "Ai no Corrida" was also there, but she demurred on that one.
Got to Speedy's where the bossman informed me that there was good news and bad news. He then told me that very very low TOEIC student that almost had me tearing what remained of my hair out last week had cancelled tonight's lesson. I cheekily remarked what, then, the bad news was. He was classy enough not to retort. Actually, the good news was that the textbook for him had finally arrived. Well, I bought the same thing just earlier this morning at Book 1st in Shibuya...but I didn't end up smashing my head against the wall since the Speedy arrival still didn't have the audio CD...the one thing that I needed. In any case, my stress levels are now much lower since I only have to worry about The Part-Timer now in about half an hour, and she's very easy maintenance.
But there is still the issue of wolfing down my dinner...
The weather is a bit unsettled right now. Not sure if it's gonna rain or not but although the nights are still chilly, Spring is definitely here to stay. I'm sure that there will be some hardy types out there in Ueno Park or Chidorigafuchi tonight for some late-season ohanami.
Yesterday, I had a fairly good session with the kids. I got the Elder on the new book that I've been using with The Part-Timer, The Polynesian and The Ace. She said it was good enough for her although she brought back some of the slacker attitude from months past. The Younger was her usual steady self.
Then, I sped down The Yamanote Line to meet up with Boop, The OL and an old student from years past in Shinagawa's TGIFridays for lunch. Unlike today, it was pretty darn warm on Sunday; Shizuoka broke some records by hitting 30 C...not sure if that's good for the tea seedlings, and the Japanese need their green tea like the British need their pekoe.
That old student is a nurse, but I really can't call her The Nurse since that moniker has already been taken by one of my students here at Speedy's. So, I think I shall dub her Miss Demure due to her self-effacing nature. Despite that personality trait, though, Miss Demure has got the stamina of a bull. Despite having just finished off an 18-hour shift at her hospital, she still decided to show up for lunch and she didn't even yawn once...at least, not to my knowledge.
It was interesting to compare my lunch at TGIFridays with last Tuesday's luncheon with The Beehive at Casa Des Fado. Whereas my meal with my Tsudanuma ladies was somewhat like the Oscar movie, "Sideways", the lunch yesterday with these girls could be compared to a Marx Brothers flick....mostly driven by the fast-talking banter of Boop. I think she and I would make a good manzai comic duo. It would just be like a Japanese version of Burns and Allen. As for the food there, I had been initially mystified by BB's choice of the American chain since at our last meal there some years back, we'd been far less than impressed by the spareribs there, which were more like things you would see in Jurassic Park...after the T-Rex got through with them. However, the ladies and I were quite happy with the starters...and the burgers which came after them. Although I was too polite to say so, I wasn't all that particularly happy with my main course of the Strip Steak which, unlike the mouthwatering picture, came out smothered in some sort of cream gravy with too much fat surrounding it...kinda like my liver and heart, probably. So I guess the moral of the story is that avoid the grilled stuff at TGIFridays. As with last time, the meal there should provide the impetus for us to hit Tony Roma's again for far better ribs and steak.
Afterwards, the four of us did a bit of cherry-blossom viewing around the hotel area in Shinagawa. Not surprisingly, there were also quite a few other people traipsing around the petal-covered lanes, but happily not the hordes that would usually clog Ueno Park. Generally, not sure if the pleasant lunch has jump-started the monthly lunch/dinner outings of a couple of years ago but I'm sure if the ladies are game, so am I.
Had The Class Act for the first time in a couple of weeks. Of course, the dark humour started coming out about the murdered English teacher, Lindsay Ann Hawker (nope, Ichi the Killer still hasn't been caught) in their lesson along with SIL's session. In fact, SIL had more to milk about the situation, since like 002, hers is also a house call. I remarked that although a bathtub wouldn't be big enough to hold my rotting carcass, I did point to that huge safe in the corner of the room. She laughingly said that she would take it under advisement. She also requested if I would be able to shop around for that DVD of "Mishima", the 1985 movie starring Ken Ogata as the titular author who committed seppuku in 1970 after having demanded the SDF to stand up and fight the government for straying from "Japanese ideals". I wouldn't be surprised if noone in this country had ever heard of it since the movie has been banned from these shores by the widow of Mishima herself. However, I'd seen it over 2 decades ago back in my university days at a local cineplex in Toronto. It was a stunning movie in terms of cinematography and was certainly an interesting picture in terms of structure. The movie was bookended by scenes from Yukio Mishima's final moments at SDF HQ while the middle scenes included no less than 3 short dramatizations of his most famous novels, interwoven with scenes of the author's life and gradual radicalization.
In any case, I told SIL about the fact that I'd seen the DVD of "Mishima" at that import disc store in Akihabara. Well, I've been given the assignment to hunt it down and secure its purchase. I also mentioned that the notorious "Ai no Corrida" was also there, but she demurred on that one.
Got to Speedy's where the bossman informed me that there was good news and bad news. He then told me that very very low TOEIC student that almost had me tearing what remained of my hair out last week had cancelled tonight's lesson. I cheekily remarked what, then, the bad news was. He was classy enough not to retort. Actually, the good news was that the textbook for him had finally arrived. Well, I bought the same thing just earlier this morning at Book 1st in Shibuya...but I didn't end up smashing my head against the wall since the Speedy arrival still didn't have the audio CD...the one thing that I needed. In any case, my stress levels are now much lower since I only have to worry about The Part-Timer now in about half an hour, and she's very easy maintenance.
But there is still the issue of wolfing down my dinner...
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Saturday March 31, 5:27 p.m.
Feeling pretty tired. Went on a spending binge today; probably the first time in several months or even years that I bought as many CDs that I did today. Got myself three J-Pop CDs: the best of the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, another Yuming double-disc compilation, and a remastered release of an old favourite from way back by Hiromi Iwasaki....arguably the one kayo kyoku singer with the best pipes ever. I even got the soundtrack for "Happy Feet"; the movie may have been just so-so but the music was pretty decent. I blew off a little over a man (10,000 yen) for the stuff but I think after a few months of somewhat ascetic living, I should give myself a little treat. I also picked up another one of those puzzle books for the Junior sister for her class tomorrow at Maruzen. In any case, my purchases should keep HMV and Yamano Music quite happy.
I was surprised that the food mall underneath the bookstore was fully operational considering it was a Saturday but I guess the business types must still work in Otemachi on the weekend. Anyways, I had a very nice lunch at my favourite Vietnamese eatery there, Com Pho. It was certainly nice that I didn't have to push through any major crowds to get there, either.
For the first time in 6 months, I finally got to see both M's for a chat session. While I met the older M last month at that health restaurant where I finally indulged in the bane of my culinary existence, natto, I hadn't seen the younger M since last November due to the rigours of her university classes. Well, younger M finally graduated and as of Monday, she'll start her new career as an occupational therapist in the small city of Yamato next door to Yokohama. Older M also finally got a break in her career. She got a part-time job at a Swiss watch company which could translate into something more permanent if she plays her cards right. Since the Tea Room is no more, we walked over to a smaller place called Cafe Des Etoiles closer to the station. I'd passed by it every time when I walked to my erstwhile home away from home but had never partronized it til today. It was a pretty nice place...not as old-fashioned as the Tea Room but a bit more lighter in atmosphere.
Here in Japan, New Year's is seen as the big season for cultural celebration. Well, right now, it's the season for the big media and corporate reset. It's kinda like what September is for TV back in the States. We're in another intermission between drama seasons so the specials are kicking into high gear, including the mother of all perennial specials, TBS' All-Star get-together which starts off in about 15 minutes. It's 5 hours of pelting quiz questions at a ton of tarento and real thespians from controversial (he has a penchant for smacking female staffers if they screw up) comedian Shinsuke Shimada, and a throw-in of athletic events such as the mini-marathon around TBS HQ in Akasaka. Japan's currently most popular governor, Miyazaki Governor Higashikokuburo, was a staple in the show in the past and I've got a feeling that he'll be popping up again.
Speaking of Governor Higashikokuburo (formerly Sonomanma Higashi), this is a guy who's managed to become the media darling and perhaps even the public one as well after less than 3 months of taking office in a surprise election win. I don't know of any celeb-turned-politician who's managed to garner so much good will in so short a time...certainly not Governor Shintaro Ishihara of Tokyo nor novelist-turned-Nagano Governor Tanaka. I don't even think that popular lantern-jawed wrestler Antonio Enoki got that much of a buzz when he became a Senator years ago. Sonomanma seems to have pulled off (so far, anyways) a minor miracle. Despite his promotion into higher office, he has been able to show up on all of the TV shows (including last Thursday's "Who Wants to be Millionaire?") and still act like one of the boys, although either stress or needed decorum has toned down his gestures a bit. I don't think he really has quite the charisma but I could compare him to former PM Koizumi in the impact that he's had.
In any case, along with the TV specials, there will be new TV shows popping up and old faves will be getting their annual makeover. And certain tarento will be getting some further rises on the media ladder. It seems that the next comedy duo to beat is a pair called Oriental Radio. Joining such other comic combos like 99, Downtown and Ameagarikesshitai, Oriental Radio are getting hosting duties for a couple of prime time variety shows from April to join their late-night one.
Anyways, I should be getting ready for dinner. The Ace gave me his recipe for jinja rossu, Chinese-style sliced beef and green pepper in oyster sauce. Tomorrow, I've got the kids and then I meet up with The OL, Betty Boop and another old face from the ol' school days in Shinagawa for some lunch.
Feeling pretty tired. Went on a spending binge today; probably the first time in several months or even years that I bought as many CDs that I did today. Got myself three J-Pop CDs: the best of the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, another Yuming double-disc compilation, and a remastered release of an old favourite from way back by Hiromi Iwasaki....arguably the one kayo kyoku singer with the best pipes ever. I even got the soundtrack for "Happy Feet"; the movie may have been just so-so but the music was pretty decent. I blew off a little over a man (10,000 yen) for the stuff but I think after a few months of somewhat ascetic living, I should give myself a little treat. I also picked up another one of those puzzle books for the Junior sister for her class tomorrow at Maruzen. In any case, my purchases should keep HMV and Yamano Music quite happy.
I was surprised that the food mall underneath the bookstore was fully operational considering it was a Saturday but I guess the business types must still work in Otemachi on the weekend. Anyways, I had a very nice lunch at my favourite Vietnamese eatery there, Com Pho. It was certainly nice that I didn't have to push through any major crowds to get there, either.
For the first time in 6 months, I finally got to see both M's for a chat session. While I met the older M last month at that health restaurant where I finally indulged in the bane of my culinary existence, natto, I hadn't seen the younger M since last November due to the rigours of her university classes. Well, younger M finally graduated and as of Monday, she'll start her new career as an occupational therapist in the small city of Yamato next door to Yokohama. Older M also finally got a break in her career. She got a part-time job at a Swiss watch company which could translate into something more permanent if she plays her cards right. Since the Tea Room is no more, we walked over to a smaller place called Cafe Des Etoiles closer to the station. I'd passed by it every time when I walked to my erstwhile home away from home but had never partronized it til today. It was a pretty nice place...not as old-fashioned as the Tea Room but a bit more lighter in atmosphere.
Here in Japan, New Year's is seen as the big season for cultural celebration. Well, right now, it's the season for the big media and corporate reset. It's kinda like what September is for TV back in the States. We're in another intermission between drama seasons so the specials are kicking into high gear, including the mother of all perennial specials, TBS' All-Star get-together which starts off in about 15 minutes. It's 5 hours of pelting quiz questions at a ton of tarento and real thespians from controversial (he has a penchant for smacking female staffers if they screw up) comedian Shinsuke Shimada, and a throw-in of athletic events such as the mini-marathon around TBS HQ in Akasaka. Japan's currently most popular governor, Miyazaki Governor Higashikokuburo, was a staple in the show in the past and I've got a feeling that he'll be popping up again.
Speaking of Governor Higashikokuburo (formerly Sonomanma Higashi), this is a guy who's managed to become the media darling and perhaps even the public one as well after less than 3 months of taking office in a surprise election win. I don't know of any celeb-turned-politician who's managed to garner so much good will in so short a time...certainly not Governor Shintaro Ishihara of Tokyo nor novelist-turned-Nagano Governor Tanaka. I don't even think that popular lantern-jawed wrestler Antonio Enoki got that much of a buzz when he became a Senator years ago. Sonomanma seems to have pulled off (so far, anyways) a minor miracle. Despite his promotion into higher office, he has been able to show up on all of the TV shows (including last Thursday's "Who Wants to be Millionaire?") and still act like one of the boys, although either stress or needed decorum has toned down his gestures a bit. I don't think he really has quite the charisma but I could compare him to former PM Koizumi in the impact that he's had.
In any case, along with the TV specials, there will be new TV shows popping up and old faves will be getting their annual makeover. And certain tarento will be getting some further rises on the media ladder. It seems that the next comedy duo to beat is a pair called Oriental Radio. Joining such other comic combos like 99, Downtown and Ameagarikesshitai, Oriental Radio are getting hosting duties for a couple of prime time variety shows from April to join their late-night one.
Anyways, I should be getting ready for dinner. The Ace gave me his recipe for jinja rossu, Chinese-style sliced beef and green pepper in oyster sauce. Tomorrow, I've got the kids and then I meet up with The OL, Betty Boop and another old face from the ol' school days in Shinagawa for some lunch.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Friday March 30, 11:18 a.m.
Just getting some blogging in at the neighbourhood I-cafe before I take off for 002's weekly lesson. I've got a feeling that there will be some additional black jokes about the risks of me making house calls from now on after that murder of that British English teacher in my neck of the woods. As for that matter, the scum is still on the loose which should make me somewhat nervous since he could still be lurking about nearby. BBC has been naturally devoting coverage on the situation but they haven't said much about the neighbourhood where Ms. Hawker had lived, Gyotoku...they just mentioned Chiba by name. Well, let me elucidate. Gyotoku is part of my city of Ichikawa, basically one big bedroom town for the masses in Tokyo. It's on the Tozai Line of the Tokyo Metro, and ever since I arrived here 12 years ago, I've known it to be an area that seems to be populated by and popular with the foreign population. There are apparently quite a few gaijin bars around the station. It's just a typical quiet residential neighbourhood.
Yesterday was a nice one to take a much-needed all-day break. At Speedy's, between students, on Wednesday, I was so burnt out that I was just going through the "Battlestar Galactica" version of Wiki; Speedy caught me doing so but, as he has so generously done, he just chuckled and didn't say anything. Perhaps it was because he's so burnt out as well. I know that I was; I just couldn't think about tackling any curricula planning.
So, what did I do? I went up to Akiba and did the search for that legendary prepaid cellphone. It stayed legendary...I checked out all the stores including the colossus of Yodobashi Akiba by JR Akihabara Station. Nada...just the usual phones with the tons of contracts needed to be signed. Sorry, ain't doing that. I did notice that McDonalds put up yet another branch, squeezed into the walkway between the main and Yodobashi exits of the station. Man...just like mushrooms.
Another phenomenon popping up like mushrooms on a wet tree has been the shopping complex in The Big Sushi. Over the past several years, we've had Roppongi Hills brightening up the somewhat seedy area, Omotesando Hills taking over the former site of the Dojunkai Apartments, and MaruBiru across from Tokyo Station. Well, as of today, there is a new kid on the block...Midtown. In what seems to be the gradual but inevitable Manhattanization of Tokyo (in nomeclature, at least...Takashimaya Times Square, a New York-themed food court in JR Shingawa, a number of shopping avenues labled 5th Avenue), another high-rise, high-priced complex just started full operations less than an hour ago on the site of the former SDF HQ less than a kilometer away from its older sister of Roppongi Hills. Of course, the morning wide shows have gone out of their way to give a video tour of the facility...just like the aforementioned Hills, the stores are all of the brand name variety and there is the latest addition to all of the big international hotel chains that have just swarmed into town recently. This time, it's the Ritz-Carlton. And true to its reputation, the big suites are going for no less than 200,000 yen a night. The cub reporters have been wide-eyed and awe-struck by the luxury and big-city views...no doubt, since they probably won't get anywhere near the suites again in their lifetimes. One of the newest students at Speedy's, a cooking teacher, will be starting her job there at a cooking school that's nestled into the complex.
Well, as I've said, I've got 002 in little more than an hour, and then it's just The Ace at the juku tonight. Not too bad a schedule.
I did enjoy, in a creepy way, watching Karl Rove dancing like a white man on CNN's "Larry King" this morning. His comrade-at-arms, Alberto "Speedy" Gonzales may have to do a bit of dancing on his own after that testimony by his former chief of staff. And Arianna Huffington does need to lighten up...perhaps she should drop the first seven letters of her last name.
Just getting some blogging in at the neighbourhood I-cafe before I take off for 002's weekly lesson. I've got a feeling that there will be some additional black jokes about the risks of me making house calls from now on after that murder of that British English teacher in my neck of the woods. As for that matter, the scum is still on the loose which should make me somewhat nervous since he could still be lurking about nearby. BBC has been naturally devoting coverage on the situation but they haven't said much about the neighbourhood where Ms. Hawker had lived, Gyotoku...they just mentioned Chiba by name. Well, let me elucidate. Gyotoku is part of my city of Ichikawa, basically one big bedroom town for the masses in Tokyo. It's on the Tozai Line of the Tokyo Metro, and ever since I arrived here 12 years ago, I've known it to be an area that seems to be populated by and popular with the foreign population. There are apparently quite a few gaijin bars around the station. It's just a typical quiet residential neighbourhood.
Yesterday was a nice one to take a much-needed all-day break. At Speedy's, between students, on Wednesday, I was so burnt out that I was just going through the "Battlestar Galactica" version of Wiki; Speedy caught me doing so but, as he has so generously done, he just chuckled and didn't say anything. Perhaps it was because he's so burnt out as well. I know that I was; I just couldn't think about tackling any curricula planning.
So, what did I do? I went up to Akiba and did the search for that legendary prepaid cellphone. It stayed legendary...I checked out all the stores including the colossus of Yodobashi Akiba by JR Akihabara Station. Nada...just the usual phones with the tons of contracts needed to be signed. Sorry, ain't doing that. I did notice that McDonalds put up yet another branch, squeezed into the walkway between the main and Yodobashi exits of the station. Man...just like mushrooms.
Another phenomenon popping up like mushrooms on a wet tree has been the shopping complex in The Big Sushi. Over the past several years, we've had Roppongi Hills brightening up the somewhat seedy area, Omotesando Hills taking over the former site of the Dojunkai Apartments, and MaruBiru across from Tokyo Station. Well, as of today, there is a new kid on the block...Midtown. In what seems to be the gradual but inevitable Manhattanization of Tokyo (in nomeclature, at least...Takashimaya Times Square, a New York-themed food court in JR Shingawa, a number of shopping avenues labled 5th Avenue), another high-rise, high-priced complex just started full operations less than an hour ago on the site of the former SDF HQ less than a kilometer away from its older sister of Roppongi Hills. Of course, the morning wide shows have gone out of their way to give a video tour of the facility...just like the aforementioned Hills, the stores are all of the brand name variety and there is the latest addition to all of the big international hotel chains that have just swarmed into town recently. This time, it's the Ritz-Carlton. And true to its reputation, the big suites are going for no less than 200,000 yen a night. The cub reporters have been wide-eyed and awe-struck by the luxury and big-city views...no doubt, since they probably won't get anywhere near the suites again in their lifetimes. One of the newest students at Speedy's, a cooking teacher, will be starting her job there at a cooking school that's nestled into the complex.
Well, as I've said, I've got 002 in little more than an hour, and then it's just The Ace at the juku tonight. Not too bad a schedule.
I did enjoy, in a creepy way, watching Karl Rove dancing like a white man on CNN's "Larry King" this morning. His comrade-at-arms, Alberto "Speedy" Gonzales may have to do a bit of dancing on his own after that testimony by his former chief of staff. And Arianna Huffington does need to lighten up...perhaps she should drop the first seven letters of her last name.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Wednesday March 28, 8:25 p.m.
This case about Lindsay Ann Hawker is getting curiouser and curiouser....I had last read that the psycho who killed her in my city of Ichikawa was in custody. Now it seems that the media outlets are saying that he's still at large. I just hope that he isn't just out to get English teachers regardless of gender.
002 came in with her usual vigour and I was able to rise to the occasion despite my fatigue. But I'm back down from my 001 high and am fit to be tied. I'm going to sleep well tonight. But I still plan to head over to Akihabara during my rare day off tomorrow and hunt for that prepaid cellphone.
This case about Lindsay Ann Hawker is getting curiouser and curiouser....I had last read that the psycho who killed her in my city of Ichikawa was in custody. Now it seems that the media outlets are saying that he's still at large. I just hope that he isn't just out to get English teachers regardless of gender.
002 came in with her usual vigour and I was able to rise to the occasion despite my fatigue. But I'm back down from my 001 high and am fit to be tied. I'm going to sleep well tonight. But I still plan to head over to Akihabara during my rare day off tomorrow and hunt for that prepaid cellphone.
Wednesday March 28, 5:58 p.m.
Well, found out some more about that murdered English teacher from Britain. She just happened to have worked for one of my old companies, NOVA...yes, that NOVA. She was assigned to the Koiwa branch in easternmost Tokyo. The cops did get their man and his mug shot kinda reminds me of that SNL sketch over 20 years ago when Buckwheat (played by Eddie Murphy) was assassinated by a psycho (also played by Murphy). The running gag there was that the media asked the local townsfolk about the nutbar; they all said that "...he was a nice boy, a bit of a loner", and then when asked whether he would be the type to kill The Little Rascals star, they all replied to a man, "...oh, yeah, absolutely". Well, this guy, Tatsuya Ichihashi, had that same dull, heavy-lidded look to him. You can place your "Ichi, the Killer" jokes here. I'm sure the current campaign commercials for the McDonalds of English Teaching, "We are NOVAtomo (NOVA buddies)" just took on a more sinister tone.
Just waiting for 001...
Well, found out some more about that murdered English teacher from Britain. She just happened to have worked for one of my old companies, NOVA...yes, that NOVA. She was assigned to the Koiwa branch in easternmost Tokyo. The cops did get their man and his mug shot kinda reminds me of that SNL sketch over 20 years ago when Buckwheat (played by Eddie Murphy) was assassinated by a psycho (also played by Murphy). The running gag there was that the media asked the local townsfolk about the nutbar; they all said that "...he was a nice boy, a bit of a loner", and then when asked whether he would be the type to kill The Little Rascals star, they all replied to a man, "...oh, yeah, absolutely". Well, this guy, Tatsuya Ichihashi, had that same dull, heavy-lidded look to him. You can place your "Ichi, the Killer" jokes here. I'm sure the current campaign commercials for the McDonalds of English Teaching, "We are NOVAtomo (NOVA buddies)" just took on a more sinister tone.
Just waiting for 001...
Wednesday March 28, 5:36 p.m.
Starting to hit that wall due to that early morning wake-up call. And I'll have to do it next Wednesday as well since The Nurse is coming back for another 10 o'clock next week. Could really do with some coffee right now. I would be doing something more work-related, but frankly, I'm just too tired. And I have 001 for her class in about 20 minutes. Ooh, I hope she can absorb a lot of yawning without taking too much offense. Speedy says that he's definitely closing up shop once 001 leaves. I will be more than happy to concur.
Glad that I actually have the day off tomorrow...
Starting to hit that wall due to that early morning wake-up call. And I'll have to do it next Wednesday as well since The Nurse is coming back for another 10 o'clock next week. Could really do with some coffee right now. I would be doing something more work-related, but frankly, I'm just too tired. And I have 001 for her class in about 20 minutes. Ooh, I hope she can absorb a lot of yawning without taking too much offense. Speedy says that he's definitely closing up shop once 001 leaves. I will be more than happy to concur.
Glad that I actually have the day off tomorrow...
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Wednesday March 28, 1:16 p.m.
Did forget to mention in the whirlwind that is news in Japan these days that one of those ex-Musume truly got the boot earlier this week. Ai Kago, all of 18, was one of the littlest members of that once-ubiquitious all-female singing group. And she definitely had her cache of devoted fans (and still does). All that kinda went down the wayside when one of the paparazzi of Friday, that Japanese gossip magazine, caught her smoking a Slims in some restaurant early last year. That got her busted from media appearances for a good year and then she was slowly being rehabilitated through good ol' fashioned hard work in the office of her production company when those Friday guys struck again last week and caught her not only puffing away like a chimney stack but also was hand-in-hand with a boyfriend 20 years her senior. "Rock the cradle!" like The Clash said. That was the last straw apparently, and now she's floating out there.
Did take a look in some of the J-Pop forums. It was initially odd to see reports of her fans celebrating but then I saw the dates and realized that it was just a few days before the news of her firing broke. Actually, the same magazine that did her in had been able to snag an interview with her, and that's when it hit the fan. Then, the tone of the reports just nosedived. But the fans also looked on the bright side of her life and mentioned that she's truly free. Plus, from what I've heard, she's only been fired from that company....there's always hope she could be signed as a free agent by one of the other many talent agencies. But the geino reporters didn't seem too optimistic...right now, at least, she's striking people as a cute living hunk of Kryptonite.
Speaking of banished celebs, there was that Fuji-TV announcer, Kikuma something or other, who got thrown into the dungeon for not only trying to seduce a far younger member of the Johnny's Jimusho boy-harem but somehow instigating him to drink himself into a stupor and cause chaos in a park. Well, I thought she was basically gone from any sort of TV coverage, and yet on the same day that Kago got the boot, she showed up presenting a feature on something else on the "Tokudane" morning wide show. No, she wasn't exactly hosting anything anymore but it was still a minor miracle to see her anywhere on TV.
Did forget to mention in the whirlwind that is news in Japan these days that one of those ex-Musume truly got the boot earlier this week. Ai Kago, all of 18, was one of the littlest members of that once-ubiquitious all-female singing group. And she definitely had her cache of devoted fans (and still does). All that kinda went down the wayside when one of the paparazzi of Friday, that Japanese gossip magazine, caught her smoking a Slims in some restaurant early last year. That got her busted from media appearances for a good year and then she was slowly being rehabilitated through good ol' fashioned hard work in the office of her production company when those Friday guys struck again last week and caught her not only puffing away like a chimney stack but also was hand-in-hand with a boyfriend 20 years her senior. "Rock the cradle!" like The Clash said. That was the last straw apparently, and now she's floating out there.
Did take a look in some of the J-Pop forums. It was initially odd to see reports of her fans celebrating but then I saw the dates and realized that it was just a few days before the news of her firing broke. Actually, the same magazine that did her in had been able to snag an interview with her, and that's when it hit the fan. Then, the tone of the reports just nosedived. But the fans also looked on the bright side of her life and mentioned that she's truly free. Plus, from what I've heard, she's only been fired from that company....there's always hope she could be signed as a free agent by one of the other many talent agencies. But the geino reporters didn't seem too optimistic...right now, at least, she's striking people as a cute living hunk of Kryptonite.
Speaking of banished celebs, there was that Fuji-TV announcer, Kikuma something or other, who got thrown into the dungeon for not only trying to seduce a far younger member of the Johnny's Jimusho boy-harem but somehow instigating him to drink himself into a stupor and cause chaos in a park. Well, I thought she was basically gone from any sort of TV coverage, and yet on the same day that Kago got the boot, she showed up presenting a feature on something else on the "Tokudane" morning wide show. No, she wasn't exactly hosting anything anymore but it was still a minor miracle to see her anywhere on TV.
Wednesday March 28, 12:55 p.m.
Just came from lunch for the nearby China Quick...a bit of a misnomer since the service is anything but. However, to be kind, the restaurant only had 2 wait staff for 2 floors' worth of customers. With the coffee & cigarettes from the local Doutor this morning, and the garlic from the lunch special, I should be smelling quite funky by tonight.
While I was watching the coverage of the death of that comedian, Hitoshi Ueki, I was surprised to have found out that former Tokyo Governor, Yukio Aoshima, had passed on just before Xmas last year. I was back in Toronto at that time but since my parents get NHK International beamed over, I would have expected to hear something about that. Aoshima was the rather ineffectual governor just before current fire n' brimstone Shintaro Ishihara, and was also one of those celebs who decided to make a play in the political arena. However, his stint in The Big Sushi's big chair was notable only for him to provide bayside Odaiba's nickname, Rainbow Town, with him crooning Judy Garland's signature song at a press conference. Otherwise, he was basically a do-nothing sort. Before and after, he was known as a comedian along the lines of Ueki and the rest of the Krazy Kats, and had a much notable reputation dressing up like his most famous character, this garrulous old woman who would complain about everyone and everything.
Just came from lunch for the nearby China Quick...a bit of a misnomer since the service is anything but. However, to be kind, the restaurant only had 2 wait staff for 2 floors' worth of customers. With the coffee & cigarettes from the local Doutor this morning, and the garlic from the lunch special, I should be smelling quite funky by tonight.
While I was watching the coverage of the death of that comedian, Hitoshi Ueki, I was surprised to have found out that former Tokyo Governor, Yukio Aoshima, had passed on just before Xmas last year. I was back in Toronto at that time but since my parents get NHK International beamed over, I would have expected to hear something about that. Aoshima was the rather ineffectual governor just before current fire n' brimstone Shintaro Ishihara, and was also one of those celebs who decided to make a play in the political arena. However, his stint in The Big Sushi's big chair was notable only for him to provide bayside Odaiba's nickname, Rainbow Town, with him crooning Judy Garland's signature song at a press conference. Otherwise, he was basically a do-nothing sort. Before and after, he was known as a comedian along the lines of Ueki and the rest of the Krazy Kats, and had a much notable reputation dressing up like his most famous character, this garrulous old woman who would complain about everyone and everything.
Wednesday March 28, 11:19 a.m.
My first morning at Speedy's. And man, did it begin early. It's been a few years since I last had to get up before the crack of dawn. But since I refuse to break the law of two objects occupying the same space...namely, the Tokyo rush hour....I always take the early trains to work. And so I did this morning. Got to the area by 8 a.m. and just spent the hour reading The Japan Times and a Japanese text over a coffee. Must admit that the early breakfast has gotten my stomach growling right now.
Monday night had me grumbling with Speedy about that low, low student I have for TOEIC practice. We even had to spend a lot of time just trying to decipher the instructions for him. Speedy told me that he only has a couple of lessons before renewal; I just laughed bitterly...this guy won't renew since it would take a major miracle for him to get through anywhere near a decent score on the test.
Luckily, I had a very pleasant time yesterday morning with The Beehive. We had that long-awaited lunch at Manuel Casa De Fado in Yotsuya. All of us got into our dress blues, me in my suit and Mrs. Tee in her kimono. We did make reservations but as it turned out, they weren't really needed. The place wasn't empty but I think we could've gotten a table for even the 7 of us if I hadn't made the call. The ladies and I were quite satisfied with the meal; it made for an interesting scene as the Beehive went into heavy analysis of the various spices, tastes and textures that went into our course lunch. It was one of those cooking variety shows mixed in with an NHK Educational seminar. Hey, as long as they enjoyed themselves...Afterwards, we took a nice leisurely walk along the long park which ran along the Sobu Line all the way from Yotsuya through Ichigaya to Iidabashi. The cherry blossoms have started to open up, and the ladies also enjoyed identifying the various flowers on display.
Made a quick trip home to pick up the heavy artillery for the juku classes. I only had the one kid, Dale, for the first class since Chip and his family are out in Okinawa on vacation. Then, I had Seven for her test...passed it with flying colours. The food du nuit from her was extra-slim Pockys. Jolly AWOL'ed again which probably means that he may stay away for good, although the end of March is a pretty tense time at the companies. Then, Mr. Mild showed up alone again. Looks like Mrs. Mild's company is trying to squeeze every last drop of effort from her before she retires this week.
My neighbourhood...or the neighbourhood next to mine, to be exact...has gotten on the world map for an entirely sinister reason. The media over here has been buzzing about the murder of a female English teacher from the UK at her student's apartment over the weekend. Apparently, she was beaten to death and her nude body was dumped into the guy's bathtub filled with sand...and the bathtub was even dismantled from the bathroom and dumped out onto the balcony. Just how twisted is that?! The news has even made CNN...which probably means that I'll be getting a call of concern from Mom....as if 002 would even try to bump me off.
Also woke up to hear that one of Japan's most venerated comedians has died. Hitoshi Ueki, 80, departed this Earth yesterday. He was from the Golden Age of Japanese TV and motion pictures in the 60s when the comedy was even broader than it is today. He was one of the members of this group known as The Krazy Kats, a comedy troupe/jazz-ish band that had its heyday in the 60s. Ueki played the role of an unrepentantly feckless salaryman, a Japanese Economic Miracle version of a fop who tried to duck work as much as possible which was a comedic foil for all those company men in real Japan who were hungry enough to work those long hours to get their country back on its feet again. He even had his own theme song, a jaunty little number called "Sudara Bushi" which made a comeback of sorts a decade ago during the economic malaise in the 90s. Until he got ill this year, he was probably better known as the smiling old guy in those Polident commercials. But I do have that CD of that duet between fellow member, Kei Tani and the Queen of Pop Music, Yumi Matsutoya, where he has a small vocal part. I can just imagine that we'll be seeing the specials roll out for him in the coming weeks.
Well, got through with The Nurse's second class. No problems there. Got a new one in a few hours, though.
My first morning at Speedy's. And man, did it begin early. It's been a few years since I last had to get up before the crack of dawn. But since I refuse to break the law of two objects occupying the same space...namely, the Tokyo rush hour....I always take the early trains to work. And so I did this morning. Got to the area by 8 a.m. and just spent the hour reading The Japan Times and a Japanese text over a coffee. Must admit that the early breakfast has gotten my stomach growling right now.
Monday night had me grumbling with Speedy about that low, low student I have for TOEIC practice. We even had to spend a lot of time just trying to decipher the instructions for him. Speedy told me that he only has a couple of lessons before renewal; I just laughed bitterly...this guy won't renew since it would take a major miracle for him to get through anywhere near a decent score on the test.
Luckily, I had a very pleasant time yesterday morning with The Beehive. We had that long-awaited lunch at Manuel Casa De Fado in Yotsuya. All of us got into our dress blues, me in my suit and Mrs. Tee in her kimono. We did make reservations but as it turned out, they weren't really needed. The place wasn't empty but I think we could've gotten a table for even the 7 of us if I hadn't made the call. The ladies and I were quite satisfied with the meal; it made for an interesting scene as the Beehive went into heavy analysis of the various spices, tastes and textures that went into our course lunch. It was one of those cooking variety shows mixed in with an NHK Educational seminar. Hey, as long as they enjoyed themselves...Afterwards, we took a nice leisurely walk along the long park which ran along the Sobu Line all the way from Yotsuya through Ichigaya to Iidabashi. The cherry blossoms have started to open up, and the ladies also enjoyed identifying the various flowers on display.
Made a quick trip home to pick up the heavy artillery for the juku classes. I only had the one kid, Dale, for the first class since Chip and his family are out in Okinawa on vacation. Then, I had Seven for her test...passed it with flying colours. The food du nuit from her was extra-slim Pockys. Jolly AWOL'ed again which probably means that he may stay away for good, although the end of March is a pretty tense time at the companies. Then, Mr. Mild showed up alone again. Looks like Mrs. Mild's company is trying to squeeze every last drop of effort from her before she retires this week.
My neighbourhood...or the neighbourhood next to mine, to be exact...has gotten on the world map for an entirely sinister reason. The media over here has been buzzing about the murder of a female English teacher from the UK at her student's apartment over the weekend. Apparently, she was beaten to death and her nude body was dumped into the guy's bathtub filled with sand...and the bathtub was even dismantled from the bathroom and dumped out onto the balcony. Just how twisted is that?! The news has even made CNN...which probably means that I'll be getting a call of concern from Mom....as if 002 would even try to bump me off.
Also woke up to hear that one of Japan's most venerated comedians has died. Hitoshi Ueki, 80, departed this Earth yesterday. He was from the Golden Age of Japanese TV and motion pictures in the 60s when the comedy was even broader than it is today. He was one of the members of this group known as The Krazy Kats, a comedy troupe/jazz-ish band that had its heyday in the 60s. Ueki played the role of an unrepentantly feckless salaryman, a Japanese Economic Miracle version of a fop who tried to duck work as much as possible which was a comedic foil for all those company men in real Japan who were hungry enough to work those long hours to get their country back on its feet again. He even had his own theme song, a jaunty little number called "Sudara Bushi" which made a comeback of sorts a decade ago during the economic malaise in the 90s. Until he got ill this year, he was probably better known as the smiling old guy in those Polident commercials. But I do have that CD of that duet between fellow member, Kei Tani and the Queen of Pop Music, Yumi Matsutoya, where he has a small vocal part. I can just imagine that we'll be seeing the specials roll out for him in the coming weeks.
Well, got through with The Nurse's second class. No problems there. Got a new one in a few hours, though.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Monday March 26, 7:46 p.m.
Did OK with The Part-Timer although I smell of coffee and cigarettes. It might sound romantic in a jazz club sort of way, but when you have to keep on working for another couple of hours, great it ain't.
Today was sunny and warm. Balmy? That's a term for winter...it's Spring now so it's warm. 20 C and I'm in my short sleeves for the first time this year.
I started my day with SIL. A nice way to earn 5,000 just talking on everything from the skating wins yesterday to the legacy of The Beatles. For a woman who supposedly loves The Fab Four, she sure doesn't like a lot of the hits. She hates "Yesterday" (then again, karaoke killed that one), "Hey Jude" and basically anything sung by Sir Paul. And then, she doesn't seem to like a lot of stuff by John Lennon. During her checkoff, she came to the realization that her love for the lads from Liverpool may not be as encompassing as she had once thought.
One of the other topics that came up was that other small news item sandwiched between the skating heroics of Ando & Asada and the earthquake in Ishikawa...that bizarre item about the guy who apparently threw himself off of a Bullet Train...while it was speeding away through a tunnel at warp. Interesting bit of trivia...one can operate the emergency doors on a fully operational Shinkansen. Well, the poor fellow used that fact to his tragic advantage. The authorities speculate it was a suicide. I'd certainly say so. He even threw his dental card out so that the cops could find it. Just by luck, a Fuji-TV producer was on the train with her cameraman when what was left of the body was found (human flesh doesn't tend to look too good after hitting the ground at over 150 kph). The producer remarked that there wasn't too much of a head left to identify. However, since the deceased was kind enough to leave some identification, he was apparently a fairly young man from Tochigi Prefecture.
Time for my final lesson of the day...
Did OK with The Part-Timer although I smell of coffee and cigarettes. It might sound romantic in a jazz club sort of way, but when you have to keep on working for another couple of hours, great it ain't.
Today was sunny and warm. Balmy? That's a term for winter...it's Spring now so it's warm. 20 C and I'm in my short sleeves for the first time this year.
I started my day with SIL. A nice way to earn 5,000 just talking on everything from the skating wins yesterday to the legacy of The Beatles. For a woman who supposedly loves The Fab Four, she sure doesn't like a lot of the hits. She hates "Yesterday" (then again, karaoke killed that one), "Hey Jude" and basically anything sung by Sir Paul. And then, she doesn't seem to like a lot of stuff by John Lennon. During her checkoff, she came to the realization that her love for the lads from Liverpool may not be as encompassing as she had once thought.
One of the other topics that came up was that other small news item sandwiched between the skating heroics of Ando & Asada and the earthquake in Ishikawa...that bizarre item about the guy who apparently threw himself off of a Bullet Train...while it was speeding away through a tunnel at warp. Interesting bit of trivia...one can operate the emergency doors on a fully operational Shinkansen. Well, the poor fellow used that fact to his tragic advantage. The authorities speculate it was a suicide. I'd certainly say so. He even threw his dental card out so that the cops could find it. Just by luck, a Fuji-TV producer was on the train with her cameraman when what was left of the body was found (human flesh doesn't tend to look too good after hitting the ground at over 150 kph). The producer remarked that there wasn't too much of a head left to identify. However, since the deceased was kind enough to leave some identification, he was apparently a fairly young man from Tochigi Prefecture.
Time for my final lesson of the day...
Monday March 26, 5:31 p.m.
Well, Sunday was a bit of a pip for errors. No particular problems with The Coffeemaker and Tully, although I'm getting the impression that the former may be itching for something more challenging or a bit more correction from me.
I went over to Shinjuku to have my occasional hot dog at the Hansen's in the basement of the Nomura Bldg...only to find out that famed restaurant has closed up shop...ach! Hope that doesn't mean the great hot dog experiment from NYC has died. I ended up going to the nearby Freshness Burger for the frank...not bad, but it wasn't Hansen's. And the wiener was one of those that nearly cracked when you bit it...the type that the Japanese inexplicably love; my brother couldn't stand those snapping sausages when he came here on that business trip a few years ago. Plus, the other complaint about the Freshness Burger brand of hot dog is that it was so loaded with chopped onions that my first bite set off a small explosion.
Took a walk toward Kinokuniya after lunch. It was cold and drizzly out there but the Krispy Kreme still had that huge lineup. Man, these are people you should rent to take your spot in line for the next Spiderman movie while you take a break. I wanted to check out a textbook and then came across a little media scrum on the 5th floor walkway between the bookstore and Takashimaya next door. I was to find out that it was some sort of photobook signing thingie for a Korean actress named Ara. I could get a small glimpse of the young lady, all of 17. She didn't come across as the usual gravia idol tartlet but there were quite a few mouthbreathers there in line.
Found out that the reconstruction is nearing its end in Times Square. Tokyu Hands has been decimated (in the true sense of the word) somewhat with its first floor being taken over by one of the major fashion houses. Now, that's one exit I can no longer go out of; try to imagine a schlep like me daring to enter a place like Hermes...
Well, the big bust came when I got to my intended cafe to have my supposed lesson with The Polynesian. She had re-scheduled her time the night earlier, so I dutifully got there by the new time of 3 o'clock. Well, I waited...and waited...and waited. After 15 minutes, I figured I'd been stood up again by her. So I just did what I did last time....partook in some eats there and just quietly walked out in an annoyed mood. I checked my messages and found out some person tried to leave a message on my machine four times without leaving anything. I assumed it was her...and sure enough, from a sheepish e-mail from the lass just now, it was. She's come down with the flu, poor lass. But that didn't prevent me from letting out some of the piss on her although I think I was mostly gracious...letting her know in uncertain terms to leave a proper message next time.
So, I got home sans 3,500 yen and got into my latest culinary project of making paella since I had received some of that saffron from Mrs. Travel and Mrs. Perth from their recent sojourn to Morocco. Well, it was more tomato risotto than paella but I knew that the Spanish dish is one of the bigger challenges for novice cooks so I wasn't too dismayed at the results. And actually, the dish was pretty tasty. I still have some of the fixins for the stuff so I'm gonna try again on my next day off of Thursday.
It was quite a busy weekend on the sports front. A year after Shizuka Arakawa won Japan's only (gold) medal in Turin, her former compatriots, Miki Ando and Mao Asada, got their golds in the World Championships. The two with the same initials are now the newest sports heroines in champion-starved Japan, and so their skates will be put on heavy rotation all over the TV for the next several days from their first triple lutz to the final bawl of joy. The girls themselves have already been going through the gauntlet of live interviews on all stations. Then, there are the Swimming Championships in Melbourne. We've got a gold medal winner from Athens going for another win tonight.
Unfortunately, that good news here has been balanced with some pretty bad news from Ishikawa Prefecture with that huge temblor that hit there on Sunday morning. Looks like we'll be hearing more from there for the next several days. And Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui is from the area.
Anyways, time to see The Part-Timer.
Well, Sunday was a bit of a pip for errors. No particular problems with The Coffeemaker and Tully, although I'm getting the impression that the former may be itching for something more challenging or a bit more correction from me.
I went over to Shinjuku to have my occasional hot dog at the Hansen's in the basement of the Nomura Bldg...only to find out that famed restaurant has closed up shop...ach! Hope that doesn't mean the great hot dog experiment from NYC has died. I ended up going to the nearby Freshness Burger for the frank...not bad, but it wasn't Hansen's. And the wiener was one of those that nearly cracked when you bit it...the type that the Japanese inexplicably love; my brother couldn't stand those snapping sausages when he came here on that business trip a few years ago. Plus, the other complaint about the Freshness Burger brand of hot dog is that it was so loaded with chopped onions that my first bite set off a small explosion.
Took a walk toward Kinokuniya after lunch. It was cold and drizzly out there but the Krispy Kreme still had that huge lineup. Man, these are people you should rent to take your spot in line for the next Spiderman movie while you take a break. I wanted to check out a textbook and then came across a little media scrum on the 5th floor walkway between the bookstore and Takashimaya next door. I was to find out that it was some sort of photobook signing thingie for a Korean actress named Ara. I could get a small glimpse of the young lady, all of 17. She didn't come across as the usual gravia idol tartlet but there were quite a few mouthbreathers there in line.
Found out that the reconstruction is nearing its end in Times Square. Tokyu Hands has been decimated (in the true sense of the word) somewhat with its first floor being taken over by one of the major fashion houses. Now, that's one exit I can no longer go out of; try to imagine a schlep like me daring to enter a place like Hermes...
Well, the big bust came when I got to my intended cafe to have my supposed lesson with The Polynesian. She had re-scheduled her time the night earlier, so I dutifully got there by the new time of 3 o'clock. Well, I waited...and waited...and waited. After 15 minutes, I figured I'd been stood up again by her. So I just did what I did last time....partook in some eats there and just quietly walked out in an annoyed mood. I checked my messages and found out some person tried to leave a message on my machine four times without leaving anything. I assumed it was her...and sure enough, from a sheepish e-mail from the lass just now, it was. She's come down with the flu, poor lass. But that didn't prevent me from letting out some of the piss on her although I think I was mostly gracious...letting her know in uncertain terms to leave a proper message next time.
So, I got home sans 3,500 yen and got into my latest culinary project of making paella since I had received some of that saffron from Mrs. Travel and Mrs. Perth from their recent sojourn to Morocco. Well, it was more tomato risotto than paella but I knew that the Spanish dish is one of the bigger challenges for novice cooks so I wasn't too dismayed at the results. And actually, the dish was pretty tasty. I still have some of the fixins for the stuff so I'm gonna try again on my next day off of Thursday.
It was quite a busy weekend on the sports front. A year after Shizuka Arakawa won Japan's only (gold) medal in Turin, her former compatriots, Miki Ando and Mao Asada, got their golds in the World Championships. The two with the same initials are now the newest sports heroines in champion-starved Japan, and so their skates will be put on heavy rotation all over the TV for the next several days from their first triple lutz to the final bawl of joy. The girls themselves have already been going through the gauntlet of live interviews on all stations. Then, there are the Swimming Championships in Melbourne. We've got a gold medal winner from Athens going for another win tonight.
Unfortunately, that good news here has been balanced with some pretty bad news from Ishikawa Prefecture with that huge temblor that hit there on Sunday morning. Looks like we'll be hearing more from there for the next several days. And Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui is from the area.
Anyways, time to see The Part-Timer.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Saturday March 24, 3:56 p.m.
Just taught my very latest new student, The Manhattanite. Like The New Yorker, she's been to The Big Apple, loves it, and is very low in ability. However, this newest of students at Speedy's is somewhat more faster on the mark than my longtime student. It looks like she can only come out on Saturdays which means that Speedy and I will be dividing our time with her...which can bring some clash in teaching styles. The bossman is a bit more by-the-book while I'm somewhat more on the seat-of-my-pants. In Star Trek lingo, I'd be more of a Kirk while Speedy is a more congenial Picard.
As I type, Speedy is breaking in yet another new assistant for our revolving door of a school. Our fairly long-term assistant left us yesterday to start her real job from April.
One of the old gang from Toronto contacted me concerning meeting up with The Wild Thing sometime soon. I told her that probably sometime in the first week of April would be the likely time. She did ask me about his significant other...whether I had met her or not and whether she would be showing up. I politely replied that she'd have to ask the groom himself.
Well, I thought I was out of that Hong Kong loop but it looks like The Matron has been negotiating with The Lady. Looks like they've decided to go for a September flyout instead. Well, at least, I can still get the cheapest fare from the discount places. I've decided not to consult The Madame on this. Frankly, she seems to be going off on one of her long absences again.
Last night after teaching The Nurse for her first here, I went on out to Urayasu to open up the juku for The Ace. Getting there three hours before his class was to begin, I decided to have dinner at the family restaurant that I used to frequent after my gym outings. Folks, if you wanna be guaranteed a lot of peace and quiet and room at a restaurant, just go to one on Friday evening. Noone goes there...since TGIF, or hanakin, entails massive outings to the local watering holes and not a pseudo-Western eatery.
Anyways, I had the 180 g rump steak with rice. It'd been a while since I had any sort of steak (and that includes during the Xmas holiday back in Toronto). Now 180 g would probably only come out to 4 oz so for Westerners, this piece of meat could probably be inhaled rather than eaten but the size is just right for the Japanese. In fact, a lot of students I've come across over the years have complained that steaks in the States are just too darn big and tough for human consumption. I told them that folks back home love to chew on the steak for a while...that's where the satisfaction comes in. On the other hand, the Japanese love to have their steaks melt in their mouth since Matsuzaka-gyu and Kobe beef are just riddled with streaks of fat due to the famous techniques of massage and beer mash.
Another interesting thing about the Japanese approach to steak dining is the sizzle. Everyone talks of something "being all sizzle but no steak". Well, whereas the only place Americans can see or hear the sizzle of steak is by a BBQ grill, the Japanese seem to demand the sound of cooking steak right on their table. Last night, my rump steak was served on a very hot hotplate (basically if I had put my finger on it, my entire body would have probably carbonized...just like on those Warner Bros. cartoons). I poured the onion au jus onto the steak and the entire thing just exploded into a cacaphony of meat on metal, and I had to put up my napkin to protect myself from micro-spatters of vaporizing blood, juice and au jus. I guess the local diners here demand not only a culinary and visual experience but an aural one as well....and perhaps good cleaning service for their shirts. The only time folks can witness such a display at home is if they go to a Chinese restaurant and ask for the Black Pepper Beef Tenderloin (ahhh....memories of Chinatown during my U of T days)....and of course, there is Benihana with the Jedi approach to grilling. I kinda wonder if Lucas kinda lifted some of the lightsaber techniques from a Japanese teppanyaki eatery. I gotta admit, though, that although that first bite risks some 3rd-degree burns, eating still-sizzling steak does enhance the dining experience.
As for the juku itself, the fish surprisingly survived the three days without being fed, although the guys just went like piranhas on a dying elephant when I did throw the flakes into the water. I did get the definite impression that I will never live in a house as long as I stay single. There's something just not secure about living in a house alone. Luckily, the only predator that descended upon the place was a Yamato delivery guy with a package for the boss. Strangely enough, though, the boss and her family unexpectedly came home despite having said that they wouldn't be back before the weekend. The boss looked rather drawn and exhausted, but not so much from the mourning process. Actually, she was just worn out by the 4-day service...yet another reason for me to eschew religion. Well, after my lesson with The Ace, she was very kind to give us both some boxes of inari sushi...which we basically had to eat within a few hours (lucky the stuff digests very easily).
About time that I mosey on home. Speedy offered me full Saturdays. Tempting to take for financial reasons but I also have to wonder about my sanity having to work a guaranteed extra day. Plus, I've got the kids, M+M and The Polynesian to think about as well.
Just taught my very latest new student, The Manhattanite. Like The New Yorker, she's been to The Big Apple, loves it, and is very low in ability. However, this newest of students at Speedy's is somewhat more faster on the mark than my longtime student. It looks like she can only come out on Saturdays which means that Speedy and I will be dividing our time with her...which can bring some clash in teaching styles. The bossman is a bit more by-the-book while I'm somewhat more on the seat-of-my-pants. In Star Trek lingo, I'd be more of a Kirk while Speedy is a more congenial Picard.
As I type, Speedy is breaking in yet another new assistant for our revolving door of a school. Our fairly long-term assistant left us yesterday to start her real job from April.
One of the old gang from Toronto contacted me concerning meeting up with The Wild Thing sometime soon. I told her that probably sometime in the first week of April would be the likely time. She did ask me about his significant other...whether I had met her or not and whether she would be showing up. I politely replied that she'd have to ask the groom himself.
Well, I thought I was out of that Hong Kong loop but it looks like The Matron has been negotiating with The Lady. Looks like they've decided to go for a September flyout instead. Well, at least, I can still get the cheapest fare from the discount places. I've decided not to consult The Madame on this. Frankly, she seems to be going off on one of her long absences again.
Last night after teaching The Nurse for her first here, I went on out to Urayasu to open up the juku for The Ace. Getting there three hours before his class was to begin, I decided to have dinner at the family restaurant that I used to frequent after my gym outings. Folks, if you wanna be guaranteed a lot of peace and quiet and room at a restaurant, just go to one on Friday evening. Noone goes there...since TGIF, or hanakin, entails massive outings to the local watering holes and not a pseudo-Western eatery.
Anyways, I had the 180 g rump steak with rice. It'd been a while since I had any sort of steak (and that includes during the Xmas holiday back in Toronto). Now 180 g would probably only come out to 4 oz so for Westerners, this piece of meat could probably be inhaled rather than eaten but the size is just right for the Japanese. In fact, a lot of students I've come across over the years have complained that steaks in the States are just too darn big and tough for human consumption. I told them that folks back home love to chew on the steak for a while...that's where the satisfaction comes in. On the other hand, the Japanese love to have their steaks melt in their mouth since Matsuzaka-gyu and Kobe beef are just riddled with streaks of fat due to the famous techniques of massage and beer mash.
Another interesting thing about the Japanese approach to steak dining is the sizzle. Everyone talks of something "being all sizzle but no steak". Well, whereas the only place Americans can see or hear the sizzle of steak is by a BBQ grill, the Japanese seem to demand the sound of cooking steak right on their table. Last night, my rump steak was served on a very hot hotplate (basically if I had put my finger on it, my entire body would have probably carbonized...just like on those Warner Bros. cartoons). I poured the onion au jus onto the steak and the entire thing just exploded into a cacaphony of meat on metal, and I had to put up my napkin to protect myself from micro-spatters of vaporizing blood, juice and au jus. I guess the local diners here demand not only a culinary and visual experience but an aural one as well....and perhaps good cleaning service for their shirts. The only time folks can witness such a display at home is if they go to a Chinese restaurant and ask for the Black Pepper Beef Tenderloin (ahhh....memories of Chinatown during my U of T days)....and of course, there is Benihana with the Jedi approach to grilling. I kinda wonder if Lucas kinda lifted some of the lightsaber techniques from a Japanese teppanyaki eatery. I gotta admit, though, that although that first bite risks some 3rd-degree burns, eating still-sizzling steak does enhance the dining experience.
As for the juku itself, the fish surprisingly survived the three days without being fed, although the guys just went like piranhas on a dying elephant when I did throw the flakes into the water. I did get the definite impression that I will never live in a house as long as I stay single. There's something just not secure about living in a house alone. Luckily, the only predator that descended upon the place was a Yamato delivery guy with a package for the boss. Strangely enough, though, the boss and her family unexpectedly came home despite having said that they wouldn't be back before the weekend. The boss looked rather drawn and exhausted, but not so much from the mourning process. Actually, she was just worn out by the 4-day service...yet another reason for me to eschew religion. Well, after my lesson with The Ace, she was very kind to give us both some boxes of inari sushi...which we basically had to eat within a few hours (lucky the stuff digests very easily).
About time that I mosey on home. Speedy offered me full Saturdays. Tempting to take for financial reasons but I also have to wonder about my sanity having to work a guaranteed extra day. Plus, I've got the kids, M+M and The Polynesian to think about as well.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Friday March 23, 3:14 p.m.
Got through the gauntlet of my 3-pack of students last night without having the new staff of the Tully's give me the evil eye of hogging up the corner table. Mind you, I did buy a couple of meals there in tribute. But boy, I gotta go easy on The New Yorker on the Present Perfect.
Stayed up pretty late last night to catch the last episode of "Nodame Cantabile" for a while. The anime is going on hiatus for a few weeks while Fuji-TV gets all that skating and swimming stuff out of its system. In fact, due to some volleyball championship action, "Nodame" got bumped later an extra hour. But it was well worth it...I don't too many anime episodes in which the first several minutes were solely devoted to a Rachmaninoff performance by the main characters.
Thankfully, I could get up extra late since I don't have my first lesson for another 40 minutes. An interesting comparison of the international news headlines. Over in the States and UK, it was all bad: CNN was giving full court press to Elizabeth Edwards' relapse into Type 4 cancer, while BBC was covering the fact that Pakistan's cricket coach had actually been murdered. Over here in Japan? What trumped Iraq, the 6-party talks with North Korea, the sentencing of some more Livedoor cronies and even Dice-K Matsuzaka? Well, it was the return of Peko-chan, that girl with the lazy tongue who represents Fujiya. Yep, Fujiya the confectionary monolith which had been laid low several weeks ago due to scandal came back...well, at least, some of the main shops have opened up with a fraction of their wares in its slow bid to corporate rehabilitation. The branch in my neighbourhood is still closed up but will be back in business from April 1st. May just buy one of those strawberry shortcakes then.
Well, The Lady was pretty laidback about me declining her invitation to Hong Kong. I'm sure that he and The Matron were quite relieved that they no longer have to worry about lugging nearly 100 kg.
Got that newest student, The Nurse, in half an hour. Then, I gotta rush off to the juku since it's been deserted for most of this week. I wonder if the fish in the aquarium are still alive.
Got through the gauntlet of my 3-pack of students last night without having the new staff of the Tully's give me the evil eye of hogging up the corner table. Mind you, I did buy a couple of meals there in tribute. But boy, I gotta go easy on The New Yorker on the Present Perfect.
Stayed up pretty late last night to catch the last episode of "Nodame Cantabile" for a while. The anime is going on hiatus for a few weeks while Fuji-TV gets all that skating and swimming stuff out of its system. In fact, due to some volleyball championship action, "Nodame" got bumped later an extra hour. But it was well worth it...I don't too many anime episodes in which the first several minutes were solely devoted to a Rachmaninoff performance by the main characters.
Thankfully, I could get up extra late since I don't have my first lesson for another 40 minutes. An interesting comparison of the international news headlines. Over in the States and UK, it was all bad: CNN was giving full court press to Elizabeth Edwards' relapse into Type 4 cancer, while BBC was covering the fact that Pakistan's cricket coach had actually been murdered. Over here in Japan? What trumped Iraq, the 6-party talks with North Korea, the sentencing of some more Livedoor cronies and even Dice-K Matsuzaka? Well, it was the return of Peko-chan, that girl with the lazy tongue who represents Fujiya. Yep, Fujiya the confectionary monolith which had been laid low several weeks ago due to scandal came back...well, at least, some of the main shops have opened up with a fraction of their wares in its slow bid to corporate rehabilitation. The branch in my neighbourhood is still closed up but will be back in business from April 1st. May just buy one of those strawberry shortcakes then.
Well, The Lady was pretty laidback about me declining her invitation to Hong Kong. I'm sure that he and The Matron were quite relieved that they no longer have to worry about lugging nearly 100 kg.
Got that newest student, The Nurse, in half an hour. Then, I gotta rush off to the juku since it's been deserted for most of this week. I wonder if the fish in the aquarium are still alive.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Thursday March 22, 12:41 p.m.
Just waiting for that EIC student to arrive for her last of 3. Speedy hopes that it won't be the last, though, since it would be nice if I can convert her into a regular student. Hmm...we shall see.
I received a brief message from The Matron concerning this Hong Kong trip. I'm not sure if she'd already been relayed the bad news that I'd sent The Lady last night concerning my unavailability. However, I did my good deed and looked for some air fares there. Of course, I looked up No. 1 Travel for the fares since they can be often even cheaper than HIS, the discount travel agency known to the natives here.
Looks like the government finally got themselves into gear and declared that that Tamiflu virus medicine should be given to adults only. Over the past several months, there have been apparently no less than 22 cases in which kids who took the medicine showed bizarre behavioural side effects such as jumping off of balconies and getting run over by cars. Unfortunately, a couple of those children are now residing in graveyards.
Nice to hear that although Rinko Kikuchi missed out on her Oscar, another more veteran star did get some acting accolades in the very first Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong. Miki Nakatani got her Best Actress for her role as a tragic figure in the musical, "Memories of Matsuko". Nice to see in a brief clip that she can speak some fairly good English, too...I'm forever doing level checks.
Anyways, off to the salt mines...
Just waiting for that EIC student to arrive for her last of 3. Speedy hopes that it won't be the last, though, since it would be nice if I can convert her into a regular student. Hmm...we shall see.
I received a brief message from The Matron concerning this Hong Kong trip. I'm not sure if she'd already been relayed the bad news that I'd sent The Lady last night concerning my unavailability. However, I did my good deed and looked for some air fares there. Of course, I looked up No. 1 Travel for the fares since they can be often even cheaper than HIS, the discount travel agency known to the natives here.
Looks like the government finally got themselves into gear and declared that that Tamiflu virus medicine should be given to adults only. Over the past several months, there have been apparently no less than 22 cases in which kids who took the medicine showed bizarre behavioural side effects such as jumping off of balconies and getting run over by cars. Unfortunately, a couple of those children are now residing in graveyards.
Nice to hear that although Rinko Kikuchi missed out on her Oscar, another more veteran star did get some acting accolades in the very first Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong. Miki Nakatani got her Best Actress for her role as a tragic figure in the musical, "Memories of Matsuko". Nice to see in a brief clip that she can speak some fairly good English, too...I'm forever doing level checks.
Anyways, off to the salt mines...
Wednesday March 21, 5:12 p.m.
Well, it was truly a first day of spring today...the weather has been sunny and fairly balmy. But my sinuses have been acting up as well so had to buy another box of pills.
Yesterday was a busy one. I had the Beehive. It looks like that earlier observation of Mrs. London and Mrs. Jade not getting along may have been premature. The ladies were together in the same class and chatting away cordially. It was also one of the rare times that Mrs. Travel wasn't in the class and not traveling somewhere.
I had 002 for her usual mid-afternoon session and then it was off to the juku. I had the house all to myself last night. The boss had called me up last night to say that her ailing aunt had indeed left this mighty coil which necessitated the entire family going off to her funeral out of town. Chip N' Dale were fun again although I was pretty much running on fumes afterwards. Luckily, I am so much in Seven's good graces that I could coast somewhat (although I did get through a couple of pages of textbook and some review for next week's test). Also, it did help that Jolly once again cancelled via phone and of course, The Siberian was still away in Korea. The Milds were at their studious best.
Today was a national holiday but I still had that lone lesson with The Polynesian. It was a small pity that I had to take the show back on the road just for that lesson but the lass is a good student and at this point, I will take all the money that I can scrape together. I did have lunch at the local Subway...looks like Friday is an anniversary of sorts for the world-famous franchise so sandwiches will be at a low 290 yen. I'll contribute to the celebrations.
I also took a pit stop at Ichigaya to see how that Tully's was doing. When I had my last lesson with The Coffeemaker and Tully the other day, the branch was undergoing some renovations which necessitated a quick change of venue. Since I have the three-pack of The New Yorker, The Carolinan and BC tomorrow there tomorrow, I had to check things out. Well, the place is back open and perhaps with some new management since I did see some flowers and those wooden boards with congratulatory messages. I hope the folks there will be welcoming to cafe-teaching English teachers. If I remember correctly, one of the old staffers there had given me a slightly evil eye for teaching there 3 hours straight with only one purchase of the cheapest coffee.
Things may be heading for a bit of a crisis for freelancers like me who often use the coffeehouse as a classroom. Recently some of the family restaurants like Skylark and Denny's have been putting up signs stating that long meetings and anything that would hint at a longer-than-welcome stay in their establishments would now be strictly verboten. When informing Mrs. Jade yesterday about The Beehive's eviction from our classroom of many years, she remarked that the cafes would be a bit leery about having us over there. To be honest, I can understand to a certain extent the coffeehouses' plight. Over the past couple of years, there has been an increase (probably) of us teachers via freelancing or established schools plying our trade in Starbucks or Tully's which could be perceived as plugging up tables which could be used for other normal customers. Still, teacher or not...student or not...we buy their coffee and other stuff so why can't we have our lessons there? Perhaps the second point may be a bit more tougher. I've noticed that at times once student and I get down to town with the lesson, some customers sitting next to us tend to vacate their tables a bit quickly. But this might be a bit more of the paranoid on my part. The important thing is what the management in the cafe think. For me, I certainly don't want to believe that I'm scaring off fellow coffeedrinkers with my explanations of a grammar point in my native language. However, I will be buying two coffees tomorrow night at Tully's to hedge my bets.
Well, I got that reply from the Madame about the Hong Kong trip. Not surprisingly, she turned me down since The Lady was spearheading it. Either she or her family still believe The Lady's clan to be a somewhat suspicious sort. That pretty much decided it for me. Since Speedy needs me around on those dates to mind the farm, I sent my message of regrets over to The Lady. Not sure what she'll do but I think it'll be a tad difficult to re-schedule around me since The Class Act have other plans and since they would like to visit HK before the rainy season sets in.
Anyways, gotta get home and get some dinner on the stove.
Well, it was truly a first day of spring today...the weather has been sunny and fairly balmy. But my sinuses have been acting up as well so had to buy another box of pills.
Yesterday was a busy one. I had the Beehive. It looks like that earlier observation of Mrs. London and Mrs. Jade not getting along may have been premature. The ladies were together in the same class and chatting away cordially. It was also one of the rare times that Mrs. Travel wasn't in the class and not traveling somewhere.
I had 002 for her usual mid-afternoon session and then it was off to the juku. I had the house all to myself last night. The boss had called me up last night to say that her ailing aunt had indeed left this mighty coil which necessitated the entire family going off to her funeral out of town. Chip N' Dale were fun again although I was pretty much running on fumes afterwards. Luckily, I am so much in Seven's good graces that I could coast somewhat (although I did get through a couple of pages of textbook and some review for next week's test). Also, it did help that Jolly once again cancelled via phone and of course, The Siberian was still away in Korea. The Milds were at their studious best.
Today was a national holiday but I still had that lone lesson with The Polynesian. It was a small pity that I had to take the show back on the road just for that lesson but the lass is a good student and at this point, I will take all the money that I can scrape together. I did have lunch at the local Subway...looks like Friday is an anniversary of sorts for the world-famous franchise so sandwiches will be at a low 290 yen. I'll contribute to the celebrations.
I also took a pit stop at Ichigaya to see how that Tully's was doing. When I had my last lesson with The Coffeemaker and Tully the other day, the branch was undergoing some renovations which necessitated a quick change of venue. Since I have the three-pack of The New Yorker, The Carolinan and BC tomorrow there tomorrow, I had to check things out. Well, the place is back open and perhaps with some new management since I did see some flowers and those wooden boards with congratulatory messages. I hope the folks there will be welcoming to cafe-teaching English teachers. If I remember correctly, one of the old staffers there had given me a slightly evil eye for teaching there 3 hours straight with only one purchase of the cheapest coffee.
Things may be heading for a bit of a crisis for freelancers like me who often use the coffeehouse as a classroom. Recently some of the family restaurants like Skylark and Denny's have been putting up signs stating that long meetings and anything that would hint at a longer-than-welcome stay in their establishments would now be strictly verboten. When informing Mrs. Jade yesterday about The Beehive's eviction from our classroom of many years, she remarked that the cafes would be a bit leery about having us over there. To be honest, I can understand to a certain extent the coffeehouses' plight. Over the past couple of years, there has been an increase (probably) of us teachers via freelancing or established schools plying our trade in Starbucks or Tully's which could be perceived as plugging up tables which could be used for other normal customers. Still, teacher or not...student or not...we buy their coffee and other stuff so why can't we have our lessons there? Perhaps the second point may be a bit more tougher. I've noticed that at times once student and I get down to town with the lesson, some customers sitting next to us tend to vacate their tables a bit quickly. But this might be a bit more of the paranoid on my part. The important thing is what the management in the cafe think. For me, I certainly don't want to believe that I'm scaring off fellow coffeedrinkers with my explanations of a grammar point in my native language. However, I will be buying two coffees tomorrow night at Tully's to hedge my bets.
Well, I got that reply from the Madame about the Hong Kong trip. Not surprisingly, she turned me down since The Lady was spearheading it. Either she or her family still believe The Lady's clan to be a somewhat suspicious sort. That pretty much decided it for me. Since Speedy needs me around on those dates to mind the farm, I sent my message of regrets over to The Lady. Not sure what she'll do but I think it'll be a tad difficult to re-schedule around me since The Class Act have other plans and since they would like to visit HK before the rainy season sets in.
Anyways, gotta get home and get some dinner on the stove.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Monday March 19, 10:14 p.m.
Well...got The Part-Timer down pat and as for my newest student, The Ant....weeellll, as his nom de blog would attest, he's a plugger that one. But boy, is he low and slow...and wants to do well on TOEIC. Ay-ah! I made my money tonight.
Back to Mo Yan, that curry place that Kazuyoshi "Tamori" Morita loves. Skippy rooted that one out of her vast information network like a pig digging out a truffle. We made our way through the cold winds of Shinjuku to this small rustic place. Once we got seated, the waitress took our orders. I went for the "works" curry....a huge plate of rice sided with chukara (medium hot) curry loaded with cheese, chicken, shrimp and large hunks of beef. It was darn good but I didn't think it was spicy at all. Mild but tasty. Skippy went something a little smaller so I invited her to partake in some of my loaded stuff. Also, we had unlimited access to free boiled and jacketed new potatoes. I was a bit leery at first but actually the potatoes were good to ingest; lightly salted and tender as all get out. Unbelievably so, we even went for a bit of dessert which was yuzu-infused vanilla ice cream on top of annin dofu. Quite refreshing and took the edge off of the heavily-flavoured curry. Yup, another successful dinner out thanks to Skip...and Tamori.
This morning, The Lady of the Class Act was on traveling mode again. After our little swing through Seoul about a year ago, she wants me and The Matron to join her for a trip through Hong Kong. Well, ordinarily, I would have leapt at the opportunity to partake in the exciting and culinarily-edenic trip except for a couple of factors: 1) I still feel mightily guilty about what a fifth wheel I was during Korea...for which I think I'm being still punished subtly by The Lady...I haven't had any free lunches at the house in a year, and 2) this trip may need to be partially financed by me for the flight to and from....and financially speaking, I'm still not all that happy. I said that I would ask my friend (aka The Madame, since she's been hawking about us going over there...at least until she got that new job and pulled the disappearing act once more). But I may have an ace in the hole via Speedy. It looks like the dates that The Lady was thinking about just happens to coincide with his own business trip abroad; the bossman was hoping that I would mind the store. He's been generous enough to let me make the final call but I figure if The Madame doesn't respond favourably (or at all), I'll break the "bad" news to the ladies and let them enjoy their own trip there.
Anyways, it's time for me to shut up the shop. I'm feeling pretty done in after The Ant's "as slow as you go" approach.
Well...got The Part-Timer down pat and as for my newest student, The Ant....weeellll, as his nom de blog would attest, he's a plugger that one. But boy, is he low and slow...and wants to do well on TOEIC. Ay-ah! I made my money tonight.
Back to Mo Yan, that curry place that Kazuyoshi "Tamori" Morita loves. Skippy rooted that one out of her vast information network like a pig digging out a truffle. We made our way through the cold winds of Shinjuku to this small rustic place. Once we got seated, the waitress took our orders. I went for the "works" curry....a huge plate of rice sided with chukara (medium hot) curry loaded with cheese, chicken, shrimp and large hunks of beef. It was darn good but I didn't think it was spicy at all. Mild but tasty. Skippy went something a little smaller so I invited her to partake in some of my loaded stuff. Also, we had unlimited access to free boiled and jacketed new potatoes. I was a bit leery at first but actually the potatoes were good to ingest; lightly salted and tender as all get out. Unbelievably so, we even went for a bit of dessert which was yuzu-infused vanilla ice cream on top of annin dofu. Quite refreshing and took the edge off of the heavily-flavoured curry. Yup, another successful dinner out thanks to Skip...and Tamori.
This morning, The Lady of the Class Act was on traveling mode again. After our little swing through Seoul about a year ago, she wants me and The Matron to join her for a trip through Hong Kong. Well, ordinarily, I would have leapt at the opportunity to partake in the exciting and culinarily-edenic trip except for a couple of factors: 1) I still feel mightily guilty about what a fifth wheel I was during Korea...for which I think I'm being still punished subtly by The Lady...I haven't had any free lunches at the house in a year, and 2) this trip may need to be partially financed by me for the flight to and from....and financially speaking, I'm still not all that happy. I said that I would ask my friend (aka The Madame, since she's been hawking about us going over there...at least until she got that new job and pulled the disappearing act once more). But I may have an ace in the hole via Speedy. It looks like the dates that The Lady was thinking about just happens to coincide with his own business trip abroad; the bossman was hoping that I would mind the store. He's been generous enough to let me make the final call but I figure if The Madame doesn't respond favourably (or at all), I'll break the "bad" news to the ladies and let them enjoy their own trip there.
Anyways, it's time for me to shut up the shop. I'm feeling pretty done in after The Ant's "as slow as you go" approach.
Monday March 19, 5:38 p.m.
A couple of reviews to hit you with...one cinematic, the other culinary.
Skippy and I did catch "Happy Feet" yesterday at a spanking new theatre multiplex in Shinjuku called "Wald 9" (no idea where that name comes from...although the way it is pronounced in Japanese, it sounds like the sumo name for that Estonian wrestler).
Well, after watching this dance of the penguins, I was kinda wondering about that Best Animated Feature Oscar it got a a couple of weeks ago. Hmm...maybe the Academy should've just announced no winner. It was oooooooookay, I guess. But as the 2 hours passed by, I was progressively itchy. I wasn't sure why I wasn't enjoying this latest CG flick as much as the others like "The Incredibles" or "Toy Story" but it really didn't hit me until Skip and I finally made our way out of the multiplex. "Happy Feet", despite its title, was basically devoid of any humour. And this wasn't only a movie with Robin Williams but this was a movie with the aforementioned Williams in two roles. And there was nothing really laugh-out-loud funny at all. The few jokes that were seemingly thrown out didn't work. What did work was the amazing CG (that roller coaster-like sequence of Mumble and his new compadres was just so nuts!) but as the latest Star Wars trilogy illustrated most sadly, only CG doesn't a good movie make. Also, I was impressed with Brittany Murphy's set of pipes. I'd known about Nic's and Hugh's vocal talents but man, Brittany could start scaring Xtina with some of the stuff she was belting out. However, I was starting to get a bit tired of the "Moulin Rouge" approach to the singing, dancing and segueing. And since I was only able to withstand a few minutes of "Moulin Rouge" before I desperately clicked the remote...well, there you go. And finally, the big message of environmental damage seemed to have replaced the humour like a sledgehammer on a fly. I was half-expecting Al Gore to pop out of that helicopter at the end of the movie. Nope, "Happy Feet" was a noble effort but no classic.
As for the culinary review, we went out to "Mo Yan", a curry place out in West Shinjuku. Skippy, the resident scout for all things foodie in our group, found out about this restaurant which, according to Tamori, has the best curry in the city. So, of course, we just had to try it out. It looked like quite a few people must've found out from Tamori, too, since there was a small lineup outside. Luckily, that dissipated within a few minutes.
Well, I'd continue but I've gotta run out and teach The Part-Timer. More on Mo Yan later.
A couple of reviews to hit you with...one cinematic, the other culinary.
Skippy and I did catch "Happy Feet" yesterday at a spanking new theatre multiplex in Shinjuku called "Wald 9" (no idea where that name comes from...although the way it is pronounced in Japanese, it sounds like the sumo name for that Estonian wrestler).
Well, after watching this dance of the penguins, I was kinda wondering about that Best Animated Feature Oscar it got a a couple of weeks ago. Hmm...maybe the Academy should've just announced no winner. It was oooooooookay, I guess. But as the 2 hours passed by, I was progressively itchy. I wasn't sure why I wasn't enjoying this latest CG flick as much as the others like "The Incredibles" or "Toy Story" but it really didn't hit me until Skip and I finally made our way out of the multiplex. "Happy Feet", despite its title, was basically devoid of any humour. And this wasn't only a movie with Robin Williams but this was a movie with the aforementioned Williams in two roles. And there was nothing really laugh-out-loud funny at all. The few jokes that were seemingly thrown out didn't work. What did work was the amazing CG (that roller coaster-like sequence of Mumble and his new compadres was just so nuts!) but as the latest Star Wars trilogy illustrated most sadly, only CG doesn't a good movie make. Also, I was impressed with Brittany Murphy's set of pipes. I'd known about Nic's and Hugh's vocal talents but man, Brittany could start scaring Xtina with some of the stuff she was belting out. However, I was starting to get a bit tired of the "Moulin Rouge" approach to the singing, dancing and segueing. And since I was only able to withstand a few minutes of "Moulin Rouge" before I desperately clicked the remote...well, there you go. And finally, the big message of environmental damage seemed to have replaced the humour like a sledgehammer on a fly. I was half-expecting Al Gore to pop out of that helicopter at the end of the movie. Nope, "Happy Feet" was a noble effort but no classic.
As for the culinary review, we went out to "Mo Yan", a curry place out in West Shinjuku. Skippy, the resident scout for all things foodie in our group, found out about this restaurant which, according to Tamori, has the best curry in the city. So, of course, we just had to try it out. It looked like quite a few people must've found out from Tamori, too, since there was a small lineup outside. Luckily, that dissipated within a few minutes.
Well, I'd continue but I've gotta run out and teach The Part-Timer. More on Mo Yan later.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Saturday March 17, 2:25 p.m.
Well, Tokyo finally got its first snowfall on Thursday morning. Yes...a snowflake was seeing staggering out of a Shibuya izakaya at 3 in the morning before collapsing and melting in an alley. Actually, it was a small flurry just around the morning rush hour. Of course, Chiba was spared all the excitement.
So, it was ironic on such a blustery day that Takafumi Horie, the flamboyant & wallbusting ex-CEO of Livedoor Inc., got his decision as to his fate: 2.5 years for securities fraud. The media wags were stating how unusual it was that the portly Horie (looks like he gained back some of that weight he had lost in his first stint in prison) didn't get anything suspended; at this point, he has to serve the whole 36 months. The customary thing is that a defrocked business magnate would get a suspended sentence on the judges hearing massive amounts of contrition (genuine or not). Well, Horie, true to form, never played that game. He always insisted on his innocence which probably made it easy for the trio of judges to throw the book at him hard. Some people would say that Horie got what he deserved for being so arrogant at the expense of investors who had ended up losing their entire life savings. On the other hand, some say that Horie was the nail who ended up getting whacked down deep into the wood for daring to shake up Japan Inc. Of course, Horie is appealing so the trek isn't over yet.
Friday was basically a free day for me. I only had The Ace at the juku late in the evening. The juku boss pleaded with me if she didn't have to see me off at the door since she just had to see the saishuukai (final episode) of "Hanayori Dango 2", one of the more popular of the winter season's crop of dramas. Then when I got home, there was a message from Skippy that she would call me back once she saw the end of "Hanayori Dango 2". I recollected that my two sisters were also pretty big on this show. So I just flipped on TBS at 11 p.m. and saw the Budokan filled to capacity with folks celebrating the hero and heroine confessing their love for each other in the centre of the world-famous Tokyo landmark, replete with confetti and the Wave going through the audience. Bleech! As soon as the ep was over and drank down some water to dilute some of the existential sugar, I called up Skippy. Sure enough, she was wiping away tears from the tender moments, and we got our plans together to catch "Happy Feet" on Sunday. Looks like we'll be trying out one of the new theatres in Shinjuku...one of those modern multiplexes just a little away from the south exit of the station.
As for me, my TV pleasure has been pretty much restricted to the late night stuff. I've mentioned it before...the variety shows after 11 have been much more entertaining to me than most of the prime time stuff (not that I can catch any of it due to work). I've recently discovered another couple of shows that have been catching my fancy. One is "Gekkou Ongakudan" (Moonlight Music Gang), basically a televised version of a girls' house party (it's not what you think) hosted by the irrepressible Becky, one of the increasing number of binational tarento, and her posse of former gravia idols (they're clothed, thank you very much). The other show is on Thursday nights called "Ame Talk" hosted by the latest comic duo to become ubiquitious on the airwaves, Ameagarikesshitai (geseundheit). The lads have a theme to their guests whether it be super fat tarento or celebs who are otaku about Gundam robots.
And of course, there is the granddaddy of late night shows, "Tamori Club", hosted by the Johnny Carson of Japanese TV, Kazuyoshi "Tamori" Morita. The ever-sunglassed fellow has had quite a surreal thing with "Tamori Club" over the many years that the show has been on. Last night's topic was the zither...yes, that's right...he had some rather famous tarento on the show trying their hand on the arcane instrument. I did find out that the zither was used for the theme of one of Orson Welles' movies, "The Third Man", a little ditty that is much more famous as the Ebisu Beer jingle. Along with the "Soramimi Hour" (actually barely 5 minutes) that has been getting lots of uploads on YouTube, Tamori has had a lot of out-there topics ranging from locomotive otakus doing show-and-tell to the more imaginative vibrators out on sale (I think the Disney-themed one with Mickey Mouse on the tip was a classic); I'm sure that topic got a lot of phone calls in....I don't think I've seen anything as racy on the show since then. And of course, there are the opening credits of dancing female butts in bikinis to "Who Wears Short Shorts?" Now, can even Letterman top that?
Ah, such is life....
Well, Tokyo finally got its first snowfall on Thursday morning. Yes...a snowflake was seeing staggering out of a Shibuya izakaya at 3 in the morning before collapsing and melting in an alley. Actually, it was a small flurry just around the morning rush hour. Of course, Chiba was spared all the excitement.
So, it was ironic on such a blustery day that Takafumi Horie, the flamboyant & wallbusting ex-CEO of Livedoor Inc., got his decision as to his fate: 2.5 years for securities fraud. The media wags were stating how unusual it was that the portly Horie (looks like he gained back some of that weight he had lost in his first stint in prison) didn't get anything suspended; at this point, he has to serve the whole 36 months. The customary thing is that a defrocked business magnate would get a suspended sentence on the judges hearing massive amounts of contrition (genuine or not). Well, Horie, true to form, never played that game. He always insisted on his innocence which probably made it easy for the trio of judges to throw the book at him hard. Some people would say that Horie got what he deserved for being so arrogant at the expense of investors who had ended up losing their entire life savings. On the other hand, some say that Horie was the nail who ended up getting whacked down deep into the wood for daring to shake up Japan Inc. Of course, Horie is appealing so the trek isn't over yet.
Friday was basically a free day for me. I only had The Ace at the juku late in the evening. The juku boss pleaded with me if she didn't have to see me off at the door since she just had to see the saishuukai (final episode) of "Hanayori Dango 2", one of the more popular of the winter season's crop of dramas. Then when I got home, there was a message from Skippy that she would call me back once she saw the end of "Hanayori Dango 2". I recollected that my two sisters were also pretty big on this show. So I just flipped on TBS at 11 p.m. and saw the Budokan filled to capacity with folks celebrating the hero and heroine confessing their love for each other in the centre of the world-famous Tokyo landmark, replete with confetti and the Wave going through the audience. Bleech! As soon as the ep was over and drank down some water to dilute some of the existential sugar, I called up Skippy. Sure enough, she was wiping away tears from the tender moments, and we got our plans together to catch "Happy Feet" on Sunday. Looks like we'll be trying out one of the new theatres in Shinjuku...one of those modern multiplexes just a little away from the south exit of the station.
As for me, my TV pleasure has been pretty much restricted to the late night stuff. I've mentioned it before...the variety shows after 11 have been much more entertaining to me than most of the prime time stuff (not that I can catch any of it due to work). I've recently discovered another couple of shows that have been catching my fancy. One is "Gekkou Ongakudan" (Moonlight Music Gang), basically a televised version of a girls' house party (it's not what you think) hosted by the irrepressible Becky, one of the increasing number of binational tarento, and her posse of former gravia idols (they're clothed, thank you very much). The other show is on Thursday nights called "Ame Talk" hosted by the latest comic duo to become ubiquitious on the airwaves, Ameagarikesshitai (geseundheit). The lads have a theme to their guests whether it be super fat tarento or celebs who are otaku about Gundam robots.
And of course, there is the granddaddy of late night shows, "Tamori Club", hosted by the Johnny Carson of Japanese TV, Kazuyoshi "Tamori" Morita. The ever-sunglassed fellow has had quite a surreal thing with "Tamori Club" over the many years that the show has been on. Last night's topic was the zither...yes, that's right...he had some rather famous tarento on the show trying their hand on the arcane instrument. I did find out that the zither was used for the theme of one of Orson Welles' movies, "The Third Man", a little ditty that is much more famous as the Ebisu Beer jingle. Along with the "Soramimi Hour" (actually barely 5 minutes) that has been getting lots of uploads on YouTube, Tamori has had a lot of out-there topics ranging from locomotive otakus doing show-and-tell to the more imaginative vibrators out on sale (I think the Disney-themed one with Mickey Mouse on the tip was a classic); I'm sure that topic got a lot of phone calls in....I don't think I've seen anything as racy on the show since then. And of course, there are the opening credits of dancing female butts in bikinis to "Who Wears Short Shorts?" Now, can even Letterman top that?
Ah, such is life....
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Thursday March 15, 5:22 p.m.
Just finished the 2nd of 3 of EIC with that happy-go-lucky lass. Always nice to have that type of students to get through the hour. Now, from cooking English to job interview English with B2. We're down to just monthly sessions since she's no longer with her boyfriend/bank.
After her, I'm basically on my weekend. I only have The Ace late at night tomorrow at the juku and I've got bupkiss on Saturday so I'll be able to catch up on that rest.
I went over to The Siam at the main corner of Ginza this afternoon for my lunch buffet. Now that LAST has joined the The Farm Grill in that buffet in the sky, The Siam may become my all-you-can-eat-of-choice. But boy I think I overindulged in that one. I felt rather titanic downing all that tom yan kun and Thai Curry so I needed to head up to the outdoor lounge on the very top of Mitsukoshi to digest...and comprehensively use the facilities. After about a half-hour, I was sufficiently deflated to hop on the subway to Speedy's. There were the usual American tourists on the train taking in the sights. One of them decided to sit beside a couple of tiny elementary school girls in their uniforms. The tourists were just gawking at how cute their hats were so they took some pics of the guy and the girls. However, the girls weren't having any of that and stragetically placed their readers in front of their faces. When the tourists got off the train, the girls were whispering to each other in rather snarky tones about their perceived invasion of privacy. Ah...tis a wonderful thing to be a stealth gaijin in this city.
Well, off to Mitsukoshimae...
Just finished the 2nd of 3 of EIC with that happy-go-lucky lass. Always nice to have that type of students to get through the hour. Now, from cooking English to job interview English with B2. We're down to just monthly sessions since she's no longer with her boyfriend/bank.
After her, I'm basically on my weekend. I only have The Ace late at night tomorrow at the juku and I've got bupkiss on Saturday so I'll be able to catch up on that rest.
I went over to The Siam at the main corner of Ginza this afternoon for my lunch buffet. Now that LAST has joined the The Farm Grill in that buffet in the sky, The Siam may become my all-you-can-eat-of-choice. But boy I think I overindulged in that one. I felt rather titanic downing all that tom yan kun and Thai Curry so I needed to head up to the outdoor lounge on the very top of Mitsukoshi to digest...and comprehensively use the facilities. After about a half-hour, I was sufficiently deflated to hop on the subway to Speedy's. There were the usual American tourists on the train taking in the sights. One of them decided to sit beside a couple of tiny elementary school girls in their uniforms. The tourists were just gawking at how cute their hats were so they took some pics of the guy and the girls. However, the girls weren't having any of that and stragetically placed their readers in front of their faces. When the tourists got off the train, the girls were whispering to each other in rather snarky tones about their perceived invasion of privacy. Ah...tis a wonderful thing to be a stealth gaijin in this city.
Well, off to Mitsukoshimae...
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Wednesday March 14, 2:55 p.m.
Pretty run-of-the-mill Tuesday. However, I got word from Mrs. Travel and Mrs. Perth that The Beehive and I will be ousted from our longtime classroom over the bowling alley as of May since the owners have new plans for the space. Well, the room has always been a bit more of an oversized equipment locker than a classroom anyways. Not quite sure where my flock will be headed...but if worse comes to worse, we can always use Perth's apartment.
By the way, Travel and Perth had a great time in Morocco a couple of weeks back. Their sleep habits were quite different but other than that, they did enjoy their time in the desert. On a somewhat more sinister note, my suspicions about some possible strained relationship between Mrs. London (whose stay with us will be temporary since she has to return to teaching foreigners as of April) and Mrs. Jade further deepened when one of the ladies said that Jade would return from April.
I took care of my taxes right after the lesson. Very efficient and fast. I was there for the grand total of 10 minutes. Mind you, a lot of bills quickly turned into coins.
The juku group was fine. I finally dispatched the last of my White Day presents...in the form of a bottled Kit Kat to Seven. I'm so glad that she's not the Godiva type. Jolly had his struggles with the TOEIC, and I think I tried to shove too much down the kids' throats.
Today, I've got my latest for EIC. I met her briefly a couple of days ago. She sounds pretty high so I may have to push the envelope for her. Then, I've got 001 as usual. It'll be a nice finish to the day but unfortunately, I've gotta finish those lesson plans under the wire to reap the full benefits of my curricula money.
Strangely enough, Michael Jackson is still in town....albeit only for another few hours. For the past few days, I assume, he's been safely ensconced in his hotel, after his last official event at Camp Zama, one of the American military bases near Tokyo. I can only wonder what the grunts must've thought seeing this fellow enter their domain. Even the morning wide show panelists were wondering aloud about Wacko Jacko deciding to put up stakes in Japan. The host of one of the shows just rolled his eyes and wished to move onto the next topic.
Skippy got back in touch concerning catching "Happy Feet" on Sunday. So far, it's the two of us but I did send MB mail. Most likely, he won't be catching it with us (I don't think he's really the dancing penguin type) but he and The Sylph are up for dinner.
Pretty run-of-the-mill Tuesday. However, I got word from Mrs. Travel and Mrs. Perth that The Beehive and I will be ousted from our longtime classroom over the bowling alley as of May since the owners have new plans for the space. Well, the room has always been a bit more of an oversized equipment locker than a classroom anyways. Not quite sure where my flock will be headed...but if worse comes to worse, we can always use Perth's apartment.
By the way, Travel and Perth had a great time in Morocco a couple of weeks back. Their sleep habits were quite different but other than that, they did enjoy their time in the desert. On a somewhat more sinister note, my suspicions about some possible strained relationship between Mrs. London (whose stay with us will be temporary since she has to return to teaching foreigners as of April) and Mrs. Jade further deepened when one of the ladies said that Jade would return from April.
I took care of my taxes right after the lesson. Very efficient and fast. I was there for the grand total of 10 minutes. Mind you, a lot of bills quickly turned into coins.
The juku group was fine. I finally dispatched the last of my White Day presents...in the form of a bottled Kit Kat to Seven. I'm so glad that she's not the Godiva type. Jolly had his struggles with the TOEIC, and I think I tried to shove too much down the kids' throats.
Today, I've got my latest for EIC. I met her briefly a couple of days ago. She sounds pretty high so I may have to push the envelope for her. Then, I've got 001 as usual. It'll be a nice finish to the day but unfortunately, I've gotta finish those lesson plans under the wire to reap the full benefits of my curricula money.
Strangely enough, Michael Jackson is still in town....albeit only for another few hours. For the past few days, I assume, he's been safely ensconced in his hotel, after his last official event at Camp Zama, one of the American military bases near Tokyo. I can only wonder what the grunts must've thought seeing this fellow enter their domain. Even the morning wide show panelists were wondering aloud about Wacko Jacko deciding to put up stakes in Japan. The host of one of the shows just rolled his eyes and wished to move onto the next topic.
Skippy got back in touch concerning catching "Happy Feet" on Sunday. So far, it's the two of us but I did send MB mail. Most likely, he won't be catching it with us (I don't think he's really the dancing penguin type) but he and The Sylph are up for dinner.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Monday March 12, 9:22 p.m.
Well, after a flurry of scheduling negotiation with Speedy with all of these new students coming in and just lesson planning with my privates, I'm ready to head on home. Not sure if I'm gonna be in any shape to do any ironing by the time I get there, mind you.
Forgot to mention that I received reports from two different alumna of two different "generations" from the ol' school that The Coordinator has finally given up the ghost and quit the place. She and the rest of the muckety-mucks (emphasis on muck) never got along too well and I figured it was high time to fly the coop. The Coffeemaker first told me about it before I got the e-mail from Skippy later that afternoon. It's just like The Coordinator to send her farewell to just about everyone who had ever graduated.
Did another round of listening to Shena Ringo's latest, "Heisei Manners". Yup, really gotta hand it to her: swing, torch song, bossa nova, techno...she's got it all. Too bad that it hasn't done a thing on the Oricon charts. I guess it's just too adult a move for most of the listeners.
Well, after a flurry of scheduling negotiation with Speedy with all of these new students coming in and just lesson planning with my privates, I'm ready to head on home. Not sure if I'm gonna be in any shape to do any ironing by the time I get there, mind you.
Forgot to mention that I received reports from two different alumna of two different "generations" from the ol' school that The Coordinator has finally given up the ghost and quit the place. She and the rest of the muckety-mucks (emphasis on muck) never got along too well and I figured it was high time to fly the coop. The Coffeemaker first told me about it before I got the e-mail from Skippy later that afternoon. It's just like The Coordinator to send her farewell to just about everyone who had ever graduated.
Did another round of listening to Shena Ringo's latest, "Heisei Manners". Yup, really gotta hand it to her: swing, torch song, bossa nova, techno...she's got it all. Too bad that it hasn't done a thing on the Oricon charts. I guess it's just too adult a move for most of the listeners.
Monday March 12, 8:13 p.m.
Today was another seasonably cold day in The Big Sushi. I guess that balminess of a week and a half ago will be coming back at a more normal pace.
A pretty full day today. Everyone was back...The Class Act, SIL and The Part-Timer. Looks like I've become the nexus for Hawaii travelers. The Part-Timer and Tully just got back from their time in the sun and The Polynesian will be heading out at the end of the month. The Part-Timer gave me the requisite tribute in the form of salted macadamia nuts, and she's definitely smitten with The Aloha State.
Well, my underemployment blues seem to be receding in a hurry. Speedy has suddenly gotten pretty flush with model lessons for which I may be getting the lion's share. I had my second model lesson in five days and apparently she signed up despite my attempts to scare her out of the school...ah, well. Plus, I've got my newest in the form of The Cook after her model lesson on Thursday afternoon; that one was definitely a clicker. Glad she's on board but she's had to cancel her first official lesson due to work...one of the things she's warned me about. A third model lesson scheduled for after 001 on Wednesday has also become a scratch. I met her briefly last week; she's quite the gabber, a very good sign. Speedy's assured me that both her and The Cook will come back. In fact, a blast from the past is also coming back....a lass whom I prepped for her trip to New York last summer has decided to sign up with us instead of renewing with her old school.
Yesterday after my lessons with the two teen sisters and The Polynesian, I met up with The Wild Thing again for the second consecutive Sunday. Last week it was Shinjuku....this week it was Akihabara. Unfortunately due to the rain, the street couldn't be closed off so that the wild n' wacky Maids and other costumed folks weren't out. I could only imagine what The Wild Thing would've said to that spectacle. Instead, we looked for a lunch haven from the wild n' wacky wind and rain. We found a burger joint in the UDX Building, one of the two monolithic towers that sprung up a year ago. Good Seattle burgers but we did wonder about the two cockroaches that popped out of the seats nearby; we'd thought about informing the staff but the arrival of two guys into that booth made the point moot.
One of the Wild Thing's biggest requests while he was back at home was that I look into Gundam figurines. Well, since he's here we decided to finally have him come face to face with his robotic heroes. I took him to one of the bigger stores (in terms of variety of goods not actual floor space...we were doing a lot of pushing through other customers) where he not only got to examine the merchandise but also came across some WWII model vehicles which are also a fancy with him. He was most definitely intrigued...I did bring him back down to Earth by mentioning his wife's name. There's nothing like a spouse to cool off any frivolous spending. BTW, his wife seems to be a bit of a nervous Nelly...he needed to check in with her as soon as he caught up with me.
Then we checked out the second floor of a huge building directly across from JR Akihabara Station, a place that was packed with different shops of character figures, import DVDs and other stuff. Looks like they already have "Babel" and "The Departed" selling there; "Babel" won't be showing up in the theatres for another 2 months. Kinda wonder if the government knows about this. Of course, we traipsed over to Yodobashi Akiba, the massive electronics department store. After looking at some of the wares there, we ended up drinking some tea at the Tully's nearby before going back up the elevator at Yodobashi and having our last meal at a tonkotsu ramen place. Ironically, The Wild Thing had been having some stomach trouble due to something that wasn't agreeing with him from breakfast...had to find the facilities pretty quickly twice during our walk. Still, he could down his thick soup of noodles. Double ironically, although I was good during my time with him, I was having some stomach woes of my own after getting home. Luckily, some of that wonder medicine I'd received some months ago from the kids' mother got me back as right as rain.
Skippy got back to me about catching "Happy Feet". Looks like this upcoming Sunday will be it but I'm not sure if I'll be able to convince MB and The Satyr to catch it with me. And I don't think The Wild Thing will be one for dancing penguins either.
Today was another seasonably cold day in The Big Sushi. I guess that balminess of a week and a half ago will be coming back at a more normal pace.
A pretty full day today. Everyone was back...The Class Act, SIL and The Part-Timer. Looks like I've become the nexus for Hawaii travelers. The Part-Timer and Tully just got back from their time in the sun and The Polynesian will be heading out at the end of the month. The Part-Timer gave me the requisite tribute in the form of salted macadamia nuts, and she's definitely smitten with The Aloha State.
Well, my underemployment blues seem to be receding in a hurry. Speedy has suddenly gotten pretty flush with model lessons for which I may be getting the lion's share. I had my second model lesson in five days and apparently she signed up despite my attempts to scare her out of the school...ah, well. Plus, I've got my newest in the form of The Cook after her model lesson on Thursday afternoon; that one was definitely a clicker. Glad she's on board but she's had to cancel her first official lesson due to work...one of the things she's warned me about. A third model lesson scheduled for after 001 on Wednesday has also become a scratch. I met her briefly last week; she's quite the gabber, a very good sign. Speedy's assured me that both her and The Cook will come back. In fact, a blast from the past is also coming back....a lass whom I prepped for her trip to New York last summer has decided to sign up with us instead of renewing with her old school.
Yesterday after my lessons with the two teen sisters and The Polynesian, I met up with The Wild Thing again for the second consecutive Sunday. Last week it was Shinjuku....this week it was Akihabara. Unfortunately due to the rain, the street couldn't be closed off so that the wild n' wacky Maids and other costumed folks weren't out. I could only imagine what The Wild Thing would've said to that spectacle. Instead, we looked for a lunch haven from the wild n' wacky wind and rain. We found a burger joint in the UDX Building, one of the two monolithic towers that sprung up a year ago. Good Seattle burgers but we did wonder about the two cockroaches that popped out of the seats nearby; we'd thought about informing the staff but the arrival of two guys into that booth made the point moot.
One of the Wild Thing's biggest requests while he was back at home was that I look into Gundam figurines. Well, since he's here we decided to finally have him come face to face with his robotic heroes. I took him to one of the bigger stores (in terms of variety of goods not actual floor space...we were doing a lot of pushing through other customers) where he not only got to examine the merchandise but also came across some WWII model vehicles which are also a fancy with him. He was most definitely intrigued...I did bring him back down to Earth by mentioning his wife's name. There's nothing like a spouse to cool off any frivolous spending. BTW, his wife seems to be a bit of a nervous Nelly...he needed to check in with her as soon as he caught up with me.
Then we checked out the second floor of a huge building directly across from JR Akihabara Station, a place that was packed with different shops of character figures, import DVDs and other stuff. Looks like they already have "Babel" and "The Departed" selling there; "Babel" won't be showing up in the theatres for another 2 months. Kinda wonder if the government knows about this. Of course, we traipsed over to Yodobashi Akiba, the massive electronics department store. After looking at some of the wares there, we ended up drinking some tea at the Tully's nearby before going back up the elevator at Yodobashi and having our last meal at a tonkotsu ramen place. Ironically, The Wild Thing had been having some stomach trouble due to something that wasn't agreeing with him from breakfast...had to find the facilities pretty quickly twice during our walk. Still, he could down his thick soup of noodles. Double ironically, although I was good during my time with him, I was having some stomach woes of my own after getting home. Luckily, some of that wonder medicine I'd received some months ago from the kids' mother got me back as right as rain.
Skippy got back to me about catching "Happy Feet". Looks like this upcoming Sunday will be it but I'm not sure if I'll be able to convince MB and The Satyr to catch it with me. And I don't think The Wild Thing will be one for dancing penguins either.