Monday June 4, 5:32 p.m.

It was a good weekend. I met up with Paddy bright and early in Shinjuku on Saturday in front of Studio ALTA, the main meeting spot for everyone in that area. Actually, at 8:30, it was downright deserted. Just some gaggles of young folk getting together for some trips outside of town or the usual nomadic homeless people just schlumping along. Paddy arrived about a half hour later and we made our first stop at a cafe inside the station.

Paddy has been doing good as a lawyer in jolly ol' London for the past few years. His significant other has been writing up her PhD in university. The lad has been back here for the past few weeks to do some presentations and make some connections in the big town, although he and his missus have no plans to live back here at all. Talking with him now made me marvel at how far he's come along over the 15 years of our friendship. Back then, he was just a slightly angst-ridden working-holiday student taking a year off university. Now, he's fighting the good fight for environmentalists everywhere. Kinda reminds of CG in that way.

After the coffee, we made a further stop at Starbucks (yep, more coffee) before going across the street to Takashimaya Times Square to pick up some edible souvenirs for his family. He picked up a bag of candied grasshoppers (yep, you saw that right...grasshoppers...it's a delicacy here) and some much more appetizing desserts. For lunch, we walked up north to a ramen shop called Musashi....one of those noodle joints that have gotten onto the media scene. Sure enough, there was a bit of a wait in store for us....unsurprising, since the seats are only counter ones. Another restaurant with that eclectic mix of traditional and new...the chefs were all young folk in blue-and-white headbands and red T-shirts chanting slogans while making the broth and noodles in the open kitchen. Meanwhile, B.B King was wailing away at his blues on the stereo. Musashi is a chain, and Paddy used to go to the Aoyama branch almost daily (amazing that he'd survived all that salt and cholesterol). However, in a "you can't go home again" moment, he declared that the ramen has changed and that it's no longer that good anymore. To be honest, despite all the hoopla and lineup, the ramen wasn't all that remarkable when compared to the hundreds of other outlets. After one stop at the nearest Bic Camera, we made our goodbyes at Ichigaya Station.

More later...

Friday June 1, 4:53 p.m.

Woke up this morning to some sore muscles in my shoulders. I guess that masseuse really did a good number on them yesterday. All that lactic acid ready to be gushed out...

Paddy did get back to me this morning. He said that he only got my messages late last night; about a good 2 days after I'd sent them. And the two of us were using our Hotmail addresses. Well, I guess it was more like tepidmail.

As I promised myself, I enjoyed my completely free day by first heading down to that buffet restaurant in Shiodome City Centre, the UN. Now, I did something after that lunch that I thought I would never do after a buffet all-you-can-eat...I actually went down to the NTV Plaza and bought a hot dog at Hansens. The viking (as they call buffets over here...you got me why they chose an ancient Danish people's name....I guess the tables of food reminded them of the fare that the Vikings ate...and smorgasbord was probably just too difficult for the Japanese to pronounce) was nicely arranged in an atmospheric setting with some jazz and R&B lite. There was some spicy Thai curry and plenty of salad....which I guess must've been my downfall with this place. There was just a certain sameness with the dishes...a vegetarian would swoon here. And the meat was virtually all chicken....just like an old buffet place around the corner. The desserts were OK, though. But I guess I was expecting a bit more for 1,500 yen. Thus, the quick trip to Hansens. I'm glad that that branch of the New York hot dog chain still exists after seeing the Shinjuku branch pack up its bags.

Took my walk down the Ginza to start shedding off the calories I ingested (fat chance). Stopped off at Yamano Music before hitting the stationery shop, Ito-Ya, to pick up a Father's Day card and a condolence card concerning my grandpa. I've decided that I will take the time and write my thoughts to my uncle instead of phoning him tonight. Considering the topic matter involved, I feel it would be safer for me to pen things down where I can be careful instead of the immediate risks of verbally expressing things that I'm not well versed in.

I walked up to Yurakucho and headed toward Tokyo Station. I also took a look-see in the Yaesu Book Store just across from the station. It's an unusual place in that the escalator and elevator take on a relay function instead of working in tandem. From Floors 1 to 4, the escalator takes up but then after that we have to rely on stairs and elevators.

As I was headed toward the station, I noticed how much more built-up and clogged this area of town was getting in terms of skyscrapers. I can only hope that when The Big One eventually hits, the buildings are strong enough to withstand a Shindo 7. Speaking of which, I was lulled awake this morning by a Shindo 2.

I went through Tokyo Station, took a brief dip into Maruzen before looking into the Shin-Maru Building. This has been the newest shopping mall of interest in a year when it seems like every neighbourhood is trying to grow its own ultramodern commercial complex. Unlike its older sister, the original Maru Biru, Shin's interior has gotten a heavier design esthetic...I guess one can call it neoclassique. The wood paneling is glossy and dark chocolate-coloured...I can only think that Willy Wonka may have had a few things to mention during the first design sessions. But the interior also reminds me of what the original Matsuzakaya department store must've been like a century ago. Of course, the stores and restaurants were on the high end of the credit card limit. Heck, even Godiva has opened up an ice cream outlet in the basement.

But that's all she wrote about my little walk through downtown Tokyo today. Tomorrow, I'm meeting Paddy out in front of Studio Alta in Shinjuku in the wee hours since that is the only time I can see him before I meet up with The Polynesian and then M+M later on.

Thursday May 31, 9:40 p.m.

Today is sending out this month in a drippy fashion. Not too bad considering the earlier humidity of the week.

Kinda an off-kilter day professionally. Unlike the marathon session at Speedy's all yesterday, I just had the one morning lesson with one of the bossman's students. I only get to teach her once a year when Speedy has to head out overseas on business; she's a magician by trade and an English student by hobby. I would definitely tell her not to give up her day job. Considering that's she been with the school for as long as I've been here, she's remarkably low and unable to string even a few sentences together. And of course, the chapter I had to teach her was on simple statistics English...which wasn't so simple for her.

Then, tonight I met BC for the first time in a month since she had that trip to Belgium and Holland earlier this month. Also, a bit off-kilter since we spent the better part of two hours just talking about her fascination with Canada (so, would that make her a Canadaphile, a Canucklehead or an honourary Hosehead?) I was impressed that she would know John Candy, a comedic institution in his homeland but probably completely unknown here. Anyways, considering she's seeing me to help her with her writing, I wondered if she thought she got her money's worth with me tonight. But then again, she didn't finish off the report that I had assigned her so not much to be done there.

Still, the conversation got interesting between us when it came to her talking about the "Yellow Cab" phenomenon back Stateside. For those not in the know, the yellow cabs refer to the allegedly naive, trusting Japanese women who head out to countries unknown and get preyed upon by the local wolves. BC had been lurking through a Canadian web forum and saw some of the guys gabbing about yellow cabs and even that Japanese woman who had just become Miss Universe, Rio something-or-other from Shizuoka. My student posited that a lot of the foreigners who come upon this land take back to their own home countries info or images of the more erotic variety...not quite sure how accurate that could be with Customs regulations around the world. In any case, I kinda compared what she said with the fact that newcomers to their new home often pick up swear words before anything else in the new language.

Speaking of Miss Universe, considering how much tragedy there's been this week with the deaths of that ZARD lead singer and the Minister of Agriculture, it's also been a week to celebrate some of the big wins by Japanese out abroad. Of course, there was Rio in Mexico getting the tiara, but also there was also that Japanese director scoring the second-highest prize at Cannes, and of course, Ichiro is on a 22-game hitting streak for the Mariners.

In between lessons today, I had my annual treatment at Creambath Ebisu in the titular area. As I mentioned in my last entry, I really needed that massage. My masseuse of the session took good care of me (no giggling out there). I got into my half-robe and went through the course of shampoo massage, aloe vera scalp massage, the option of shoulder-and-hand massage, steamer and then the big rinse in my 80 minutes with her. Yep, I definitely needed it...I fell blissfully asleep during the first two stages. And since it is their 10th anniversary, I got a thousand-yen discount along with a complementary jar of ginseng hair cream.

Tomorrow, I've actually got a full day off. That's right....nothing to do with teaching at all, and unlike today, it promises to be a fairly sunny day tomorrow. Being the 1st of June, I will probably head on down to indulge in a buffet in Shiodome (nope, LAST is gone but there is the UN), make like a tourist and walk around downtown.

I never got any follow-up from Paddy so that's why I'm currently here typing away. But I did get a surprise message from The Bohemian asking me how to make a call to Canada. You would think a guy of his intelligence would be able to figure it out. Still, I'm surprised he even made the call considering our last meeting in which I chewed him out for acting so caddishly.

Thursday May 31, 1:51 p.m.

Well, I'm ready for that massage now. Just had one of Speedy's students while he's away. Really nice lady but I was surprised that she's so far up on the textbook scale considering her low delivery. In other words, it was a slog.

Managed to get through the second day of Hell. 001 was great and then I had The Judge's first official lesson as the last guy in my long 18 hours. He finally did admit that he was a judge (Speedy broke it open for me last week)...he was rather secretive about it for some reason. I remarked that he was the youngest judge I'd ever seen (he was in his late 20's when he got the post). To that, he replied that the Japanese system is markedly different from the American one in that people are trained to become judges directly, instead of having to go through several years of being a lawyer to earn the right to hold the gavel.

After two straight days of nothing but wall-to-wall classes, I just have BC tonight in Ichigaya. But first, I'm heading to Creambath Ebisu for that Balinese Head Massage that I'd been waiting for for weeks. I'll be putty in the masseuse's hands.

I still haven't heard anything from Paddy about tonight so I'm starting to think that it'll be straight home after BC's lesson. And then I have a glorious day of nothing tomorrow. May indulge in a buffet and just walk around the Imperial Palace area.

Wednesday May 30, 9:48 a.m.

Actually, The Admin has to do some paperwork with him so I've got a 5-10 minute reprieve. The fellow is a bit of a serious fellow so I'll be following suit...I'll hold off on the jokes today. In any case, I'm not in too much of a humourous mood today.

In any case, to continue with the Jolly saga...yup, he was a sleeping drunk on the trains which explains his absence last week. But he did show up and did pretty well. But these long sessions could be the death of me. I was very lucky that the boss took pity on me and drove me home with the hotplate.

Still, I only had 5 hours of sleep before heading out the door to do this fellow's model lesson. He's looking for a STEP 1 Test. The STEP test is one of the English proficiency exams that regularly distract a lot of folks here from children to businessmen. STEP 1 is the highest level...basically, if you're going for that test, you really don't need my help. However, some masochists still want the practice of talking on politics and the economy in English. I think this guy may be the real deal, and he would be my first STEP 1 student. Perhaps, I should be taking out subscriptions to the Japan Times.

Next, after him, I gotta head on out for another in the latest of crosstown commutes to see 002. She's graduating to the next text. I would be giving her her test today but the computers are down so no test for her...much to her delight. I'm glad our students are so delinquent that way. Then, it's all the way back here for the STEP guy's first official lesson, followed by 001 (whom I haven't seen in 3 weeks) and then the first official lesson for The Judge. Man, I'm gonna have to talk with Speedy about this schedule.

I did get a letter from Paddy. The lad is back in town so he was thinking about getting together on the 31st. The best barrister I know in England has picked up a slight Brit accent...which I will never let him live down. Not sure, but I think I can see him after my lesson with BC. We'll play it by ear...

Wednesday May 30, 9:38 a.m.

In the middle of the two days of scheduling Hell. First off, I had my first of the newly-packed juku nights. And it started with that Pancake Party. Kids have never been my forte but I had to deal with Chip n' Dale, plus two of their siblings, plus two of the boss' regular high school students and then with the mothers in the same room. Then, there was the fact that the recipe for the homemade pancakes didn't work out too well which necessitated a not entirely successful quick fix. The flapjacks came out more like crepes. Then, Seven came in which really filled up the room. Basically, I would rate the result as somewhat mediocre...it'll be the last time I do a Pancake party...just don't have the flair for that type of stuff anymore.

Afterwards, things were pretty smooth, although Mrs. Mild had her usual sieve-like mind. The Siberian was fine. And then, the juku bad boy of fecklessness, Jolly, came in sheepish and apologetic after last week's no-show. Apparently, the lad had ended up sleeping on the subway all the way to the end of the line after a round of wining and dining last Tuesday.

But I must stop here since my newest potential student has arrived...

Tuesday May 29, 2:52 p.m.

Currently giving The Nurse her test. Got a surprise jump start to Pancake Day when the lass brought some kinako pancakes for us to taste test the Extra Light No. 1 syrup on. Considering that Speedy is out on business, we got downight slovenly and had ourselves a momentary tea party which included even The Admin.

I lugged out the hotplate earlier today to the juku along with the other stuff. The bags themselves weren't too heavy but lugging them for a total of 30 minutes still took some out of me. The juku boss was out at the hospital having her arm looked at after having strained it a little after some ill-advised calisthenics.

The Nurse got a clear pass. We're free and clear. Now, it's time for the main event.

Tuesday May 29, 1:33 p.m.

Well, the day after two untimely deaths...first off, that Agriculture Minister Matsuoka. Looks like the news hit the government like a ton of bricks. The Prime Minister and his No. 2, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shiozaki looked rather shellshocked, and one of the female ministers had a major crying jag on camera. Of course, all the shows were talking about the fallout. The comment has been made that this was the first suicide of a standing government minister since World War 2. I think it is something to be mentioned since all of us wouldn't have noticed. Suicide news has almost become a genre unto itself, and there have been the fair share of Dietmen who have offed themselves over the years.

Then, there was the news about the lead singer of ZARD dying that would have taken centre stage if it hadn't been for the above suicide. Now, the journos are speculating on whether the death had been an accident or not. The reports have been strangely confused. The Japan Times reported that she died as a result of her slipping down the wet stairs, which was the original story. But subsequently, reports and pictures have pointed to a 2nd-floor outdoor sloping walkway, some 3 metres above the pavement. And both theories have holes...if it had been suicide, why would the singer Izumi have decided to jump from the lowest level when there were so many other higher levels to jump from? And if it had been an accident, it would've taken some doing for a lady some 165 cm in height to allegedly "fall off" over a metal barrier which was 150 cm high. But it isn't impossible, especially if the lady had decided to sit on the fence...as foolhardy as that may sound. It may be one of those cases that may never be fully solved.

But in any case, the official mourning has started. Altars have been set up at her recording company and elsewhere for fans to lay flowers and comments. A couple of teary-eyed women was interviewed by the geino reporters.

In any case, off to class...

Monday May 28, 6:27 p.m.

Well, it's been a double-shock day! On the political front, a government minister, Mr. Matsuoka of Agriculture has decided to shirk his responsibilities of facing up to some scandal in the ultimate way: hanging himself in those inexpensive government dormitories. To be charitable, though, sometimes it's a combination of circumstances beyond one's control and one's past choices which call in the Grim Reaper.

Then, on the pop-cultural front, the Greta Garbo-like Izumi Sakai, otherwise known as the lead singer of 90s-sensation ZARD, passed away due to injuries suffered in a fall down the stairs at the hospital where she had been being treated for ovarian cancer. As the saying goes, "I didn't even know she was sick." The rumours are flying that Sakai's tragic death may have been suicide as well since her cancer had metastisized into her lungs.

I found all this out from SIL when I hit her office. She had been watching NHK about the Matsuoka suicide, and then she was trying to remember the band's name for a few minutes when she told me about the other death. Being the old J-Pop hand, I immediately went into memory mode as she hummed a few bars of one of her old hits and said some bands which had been ZARD's contemporaries at the time....bands like B'z and DEEN. I was quite shocked to hear about Sakai dying since she was only a couple of years younger than me. Again, her rare appearances on TV shows will probably add to her legend. To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of ZARD although I do have her very first hit on CD, "Goodbye, My Loneliness"; I just found a lot of the ZARD catalog very repetitive. I was looking through the J-Pop forums...it was rather interesting in terms of the comments; there was surprise and shock at the announcement but none of the horrified "I JUST WANNA DIE!" screams from the fanatics when that former member of X Japan, Hide, had died years ago in that bizarro accident (?). And in fact, a lot of the statements prefaced their condolences with "Well, I wasn't a huge fan, but..." So I gather we won't be seeing the 50,000-plus funeral procession for Ms. Sakai.

The news on Sakai must've been very new despite reports that she had died early on Sunday morning JST. I had dropped by Tower Records before seeing The Class Act...didn't see any hastily-made notices on her passing or a huge commemorative section with all of her CDs. No doubt, though, that there will be lots of coverage on her life and death on the morning wide shows for the next couple of days, followed by lots of singing of her hits in the karaoke boxes for the next several weeks.

But death wasn't just limited to the outside world. I got a call from Mom last night that Grandpa finally left the mortal realm on Sunday morning. He was 94. It wasn't unexpected and he had lived a long life. My mother, who would cry on a dime at any tender scene in an NHK drama, didn't shed any tears. Not that they hadn't gotten along but decades of separation pretty much eliminated any close emotional ties. And for that matter, although I did meet Grandpa a few times, I didn't particularly feel any major mourning for him, although I will be sending a letter of condolence and I'll be phoning my uncle later this week. But I do regret that my direct family and I never really had that closeness with the rest of the relatives. I'm not sure if that had been due to a choice on the part of my parents or whether it's just the family way. However, I sometimes wonder how much life could've been enhanced and how many more grand Xmas dinners or New Year's celebrations could've been had if there had been closer and better ties amongst us.

Before things get too maudlin, though, I'm happy to say that the covert feud between The Admin and The Cook has been nipped in the bud. All a misunderstanding, as they say. Due to my extra efforts on Saturday, a grateful Cook gave me some a tender, giant bamboo shoot as a present (here, that is a nice thing to do). She said that the top part of it can be sliced into sashimi whilst the thicker part can be fried as a steak. Wow...multitasking ingredient.

In any case, both The Full-Timer and Mr. TOEIC have cancelled so I will be out of here in a few minutes. I had wanted to make something up for Pancake Day tomorrow but since Microsoft Word has been disabled on our loused-up computers, I think I'll take that as a hint to vamoose.

Sunday May 27, 6:23 p.m.

Well, it's been a bit of an up-and-down few days. On Thursday, my lesson with The Carolinan was off since I had the bad luck of witnessing a couple next to our table at the Tully's pulling a few faces when my student kinda gabbed in English a bit louder than usual...so I was somewhat on pins and needles for the rest of the hour while The Carolinan wasn't sure what I was so concerned about. It also didn't help that the ambient noise level in the place was higher than usual which made comprehension all that much harder. Friday was just the lone class with The Ace...no problems there. Yesterday, though, I had my three at Speedy's...the first day of class there while the bossman was off on a business trip. So it was just The Admin and myself.

The three students, The Manhattanite, Farrah and The Dentist, were just fine. However, the Admin was going off on a small rampage about The Cook, that student who has been sporadically showing up for some help in her lessons at that cooking school. Apparently, The Admin has been having a back-and-forth with her on the phone about the fact that The Cook has been put out about me not being all that available for lessons. I hadn't seen the lady in some time so I still have yet to get her side of the tale, but The Admin feels that The Cook is acting like some sort of prima donna. Plus, I ended up staying a few more hours at the office than necessary to go over the latest recipes that needed to be faxed back to her posthaste. So I had to endure those extra hours of tension in the atmosphere; plus, The Admin mistakenly scheduled my lesson with The Cook 15 minutes earlier than I would've liked which meant that I had to bring up my lesson with SIL appropriately. Luckily, SIL was game. But it should be rather interesting when I get to the school tomorrow. It'll be a packed two weeks since I'll be taking over some of Speedy's lessons.

Then, today, The Elder of the two sisters was on a major sullen pouting fest which got an apology from her mother. The kid only lasted 40 minutes with me before she decided that she'd had enough of me and begged off. Well...being a teen myself, I could see what I was partly like back in those emotionally charged years. Apparently, mother and daughter have been having some words for the past few days. Fortunately, The Junior is firmly on my side of the fence.

And happily, Tully and The Coffeemaker were good to go. It'll be Tully's last class with me for the next month or so. He takes off for Georgetown next weekend for a month of English practice in the US capital. I did ask him to say hi to George Tenet for me. Surprisingly, The Coffeemaker is still willing to go solo with me for the next couple of times while her buddy is away. As for The Polynesian, she did show up and she was quite good, although she's still wrestling about whether to endure the machinations of her psychopathic boss or to finally call it quits. Both she and I feel that life is too short to gain an extra ulcer.

So I find myself back here getting some respite before the coming storm this week. I still have to get The Full-Timer's reply about whether she's gonna show between The Cook and Mr. TOEIC. But I'm just gonna enjoy myself with a nice dinner and do a dry run with that pancake recipe before showtime at the juku on Tuesday.

Thursday May 24, 2:15 p.m.

The past couple of days have been downright summery. Reached up to 28 C yesterday. No wonder I had to scrape my shirt off when I got home.

Kinda wonder where Japan is headed morally. Yesterday, I found out on the telly that some regional cop answering his apartment doorbell ended up with a knife to the stomach by some thug who is still on the loose. Then, initially I had assumed that NHK was leading off with the same story but realized that they were talking about another incident in which an emotionally unstable guy stabbed a middle-aged housewife to death in her own kitchen yesterday afternoon in a quiet neighbourhood in Shinagawa. Shinagawa ain't anything like the raunchy areas of Shinjuku or Roppongi. That's what makes this incident so sordid. Schools in the area immediately called a Red Alert and had parents pick up the kids as soon as the news got out. But unlike the first crime, the Shinagawa stabbing solved itself within a few hours. The psycho did himself in by hanging himself in another apartment. Methinks that Japan will really need an influx of mental health professionals....although that's gonna be next to impossible with National Health Insurance probably becoming a dinosaur in the next two decades. And Ichi the Killer is still out there.

I found out from the juku boss that Jolly had called in after I had left the place on Tuesday to say that he wouldn't be able to come in. Talk about a lack of timing. The boss told him to call by 10 p.m....uh-uh; make him call by 9 p.m. if he's to be a cancellation. So I guess that fellow who passed me on his bike at warp speed wasn't him, after all.

Looks like Speedy sealed the deal with 002. I saw her today and she told me that she signed, albeit a bit reluctantly, for another 48 classes. The lass tried to squeeze out a lower rate from him but it was like trying to do the same to a rock for blood. I told her that the boss always makes it a habit to ramble about how much in the red the school is during a sparse month. However, potential crisis averted.

I've only got The Carolinan tonight for her 60. BC is indeed back but under the weather so she's pushed her next class to the 31st. Also, I've been helping The Beehive with their reservations for their hotels in Canada. It looks like one of them has done right by us pretty quickly.

After a few hours at Speedy's, I was flush with cash...ironically, though Speedy lamented about the lack in profits this past month, I did make quite a few yen so I put most of it into the bank like a good saver...and then went crazy with the rest of it. I made a quick pit stop in tony Omotesando and picked up a couple of bottles of Extra Light No. 1 maple syrup at Kinokuniya Supermarket before heading off to Ginza...where the real yen drain occurred. Yup, I filled up my Yamano Music point card for the second time this month. The theme of my purchases was strictly 80s, from both sides of the Pacific. I got another couple of re-releases by pop chanteuse Hiromi Iwasaki, City Pop icon EPO, Joe Jackson's "Body & Soul" and the Scissors Sisters' only major hit so far, "Don't Feel Like Dancing". I realized that Joe Jackson had already been exploring the jazzier side of himself over a decade sooner than his stylistic twin, Elvis Costello. As for Iwasaki, the purchases were a reunion since I already have the original LPs back gathering dust in a storage room in my family's apartment complex...not exactly using record players anymore. So, it was nice to listen to her dulcet and velvety tones again. I've been going rather ga-ga collecting her remasters but it's been interesting to get this decade-long soundscape from her initial days of her as a typical teen aidoru to a vocally talented kayo kyoku kashu (singer) to a chanteuse who could thrive in front of a full orchestra.

Had lunch at Bamiyan, the Chinese restaurant chain near the station. Yes, I realize that Bamiyan is a rather strange name for a Chinese eatery considering the namesake is located in Afghanistan but, hey, if the food's good.... Strangely enough, it's one of the places in the neighbourhood that I seldom go to; I think the last time there was about 2 or 3 years ago. I think it's because Chinese food is stuff that should be enjoyed with a group of people with a lot of different dishes. Going there by oneself would just be a wasted opportunity.

Wednesday May 23, 1:58 p.m.

Just finished off a beta version of a midterm test on Telephone Conversations. I tried to keep out some of the more raunchier answers from the multiple choice section...

Not too often I get to opine on a celeb in the media but since I see this guy just about everyday on CNN. It looks like Lou Dobbs has finally gotten that accusation that I figured would be aimed at him eventually. Nope, it's not about that he's anti-immigrant...he's gotten that for years since he went on that crusade about America's porous borders. Nope, it's the accusation about him bullying various correspondents on the air. Apparently, an Andrea Koppel fan has gotten on Dobbs' back for his one of his nightly tirades on the Congress while his heroine got caught in the crossfire (no pun intended).

For one thing, I think Dobbs can be lauded for his perseverance about not letting up on something he fervently believes in (he's already trashed the theory that journalists must remain fair and balanced), but yep, anyone going on his high horse night after night will inevitably be called a nag. And of course, after a while, even yelling will just have no effect on viewers once it just continues ad nauseum. However, I think that anyone working in news probably already has burnished steel plating for a skin, so the fan needn't worry too much about Koppel or anyone else (although that was quite a smirk she had on her face during Dobbs' latest outburst). At the same time, the correspondent in charge of the Pentagon (forgot his name) did half-jokingly say at a meeting a few years ago that the only person he fears is the Dobbman himself.

On that note, I'm out of here...

Wednesday May 23, 12:18 p.m.

Well, The Nurse had been looking a bit glum until I told her that Speedy couldn't get that test done up in time for her. Then, the lass looked considerably up. Lucky for all of us. Just did some worksheet writing for Tully and the Coffeemaker for Sunday's lesson. Still haven't heard from the juku boss about whether Jolly did show up and whether she had eviscerated him.

Not doing too badly considering I didn't get all much sleep between the late night and the early morning but as Robert Frost once wrote..."still have many miles to go before I sleep."

I read in "The Japan Times" this morning over my uncomfortably sweet McGriddles sandwich that meat has supplanted fish as Japan's choice of protein. Not great news for the various fishmongers in Ameyoko or Tsukiji here in Tokyo, but that may mean some relief for the environmentalists. One seller in Ameyoko (American Alley) in the Ueno area complained on the news this morning that the young folk couldn't even distinguish their fish properly. As if I'm interested in telling the difference between albacore and bluefin tuna.

Getting back to my schedule yesterday, we had a switch in venue with The Beehive in the morning. Instead of going to Beckers as originally scheduled, Mrs. Travel had the rest of us over to her place. She complained that she couldn't really hear me at that fast food restaurant despite the fact that I was sitting right across from her. I don't really mind the chance since I've never been too comfortable teaching groups in a public space and we can't do things such as repetition practice there. Also, we don't have access to the Internet at Beckers which is what we were pretty much doing the whole time in preparation for their grand tour of Canada. We made some preliminary reservations for B&B's in Ontario and Quebec. Not sure if The Beehive will therefore now stick with a rotation of Travel's and Perth's homes.

The New Yorker was definitely under the weather with a cold yesterday. She could've just given me a ring to cancel but she said that she hadn't had my phone number. I rectified that situation although she could've just called up her sister to get it.

The long haul at the juku wasn't as bad as I had dreaded although I was feeling pretty glad that Jolly had AWOL'ed. For one thing, Jolly did desert and for a second thing, I'd forgotten that Seven had informed me about cancelling her class last night. So, basically, I had 90 minutes to just stare at the ceiling and play with the juku cat.

Speaking of the lass, I'd always wondered why Seven looked so familiar. After perusing the Wiki entry of "Saturday Night Live", I finally found out as if a thunderclap had exploded just above my head. Seven has this rather eerie resemblance to SNL alumna Victoria Jackson in both looks and voice. If my student can recite poetry while doing a headstand, that'll just seal the deal. Jackson was never one of the main forces in her time with the show but she had her moments.

Wednesday May 23, 9:44 a.m.

Well, off to an interesting start...I have my usual 10 a.m. with The Nurse so I had brekkie at McD's. I actually gave that new menu of McGriddles a try. I think I'll just stick with the usual breakfast fare from now on. McGriddles is a new series of McMuffins except that instead of the English muffin, some psychos at HQ decided that they should give raisin-filled tiny pancakes a try at sandwiching all that greasy sausage and egg. I like my Sweet N' Sour Chicken but I will keep my pancakes and savory fare separate from now on. Plus, McGriddles is also a bit more premium in its prices which made my decision all the easier to make.

Then I get into Speedy's and find out from The Admin that the computers have been acting haywire again which affected a lot of files on the bossman's HD. And this is on the eve of his 2-week business trip...which doesn't give The Admin a lot of confidence about her stint as the acting head. Plus, Speedy gave me the wrong test to administer to The Nurse.

Speaking about screwups, I think Jolly is back in the juku boss' doghouse once again. This is the same guy who had requested the hour-long class last week...against my better judgement. Well, on the first night of the new regimen, he allegedly doesn't show up...no calls, no e-mail, no nothing. I twiddle my fingers for about 15 minutes before the boss huffs and gives me the go-ahead to go home. As I was shuffling back to the subway station, this portly fellow on a bike just whips by me in the other direction. I wondered if it had been Jolly arriving at the juku nearly a half-hour late. If it hadn't been such a late hour, I would have probably stayed and waited but he didn't give us a heads-up, plus I have an early class today so my judgement was pretty much made up.

I only have The Nurse today but I'm gonna see about doing a bit more curricula and talking some last-minute stuff with the boss (provided that he's calmer) before heading out the door in the early afternoon down to Kinokuniya Supermarket to pick up the rare and golden Extra Light No. 1 maple syrup for Pancake Day next week. I shall be looking forward to a rare Wednesday night off, since it'll probably be the last one I have for the rest of the year now that The Judge has been added to my schedule.

Monday May 21, 7:45 p.m.

Got finished with The Full-Timer. She isn't having nearly as tough a time as The Polynesian is with her boss from Hell, but the shift to a longer workday hasn't been all that easygoing either for her. Still, she was skimming quite nicely through my introduction to Passives. Now, I've just got Mr. TOEIC, and if everything goes well with him, I will proudly be able to say that I will have gone through the cycle. 001 called up to say that she won't be able to make it for this Wednesday either. Well, I will be killing myself with the late finish at the juku tomorrow night and then the early start with The Nurse here but at least I can probably make a quick beeline home...although most likely I will be doing some shopping for the pancake party next week.

Yep, Cannes is with us once more. Why would I say that? Well, of course, the Japanese contingent consisting of 50% of the SMAP gang has descended upon the French shore once more. KimuTaku and Shingo Katori are there to promote their respective movies, "Hero" and "Saiyuki" although I wonder how two glorified trendy dramas are gonna make much of a dent in the jaded, and often hostile, press there. During the press conference with the two, Katori even managed to earn a few boos for his stupid comments....although not nearly the raspberry crop that Pamela Sue Anderson earned for not sticking around long enough for the photographers' liking. Mind you, Cannes darling, Beat Takeshi is also there, and even one half of Downtown, acerbic Hitoshi Matsumoto, is making his directorial debut with his flick which seems rather similar to some of Takeshi's work in terms of absurdism.

I see that Shrek has handily beaten Spiderman in the blockbusters' sweepstakes overseas. But what could beat a big, green ogre that has stomped a spider? Of course, a fey androgynous pirate...I've got no doubts that Captain Jack will smash some records of his own come Friday/Saturday.

Anyways, Mr. TOEIC should be shuffling in right about now...

Monday May 21, 5:23 p.m.

Well, back to more conventional surroundings doing this blog. Back at Speedy's just now. I'm starting to get the feeling that things will be getting busier this week. I've been getting the lesson plans for The Full-Timer and Mr. TOEIC, and I've had to spit out a worksheet for Chip N' Dale. Plus, I just realized that I have to make up something for Jolly tomorrow night. Eeesh!

As I was telling SIL earlier this afternoon, Japan is truly a safe country. I say this because this is the only country I know whose media would make headline news out of the fact that 8 bullets were fired from the gun of that former yakuza who had taken his ex-wife hostage last week. In contrast, the 75 shots fired by that nutbar in Moscow, Idaho yesterday (a small town of 21,000) was reported incidentally.

Monday May 21, 8:40 a.m.

Kinda rare day for me to start off my Monday here at the I-cafe, but I was playing a hunch that I would need to check my e-mail. Well, my hunch was pretty much crap...nada. I was kinda hoping to hear from 001 about her schedule on Wednesday whether she would come or not for her 90...the main reason being that my Tuesday night/Wednesday morning transition this week is gonna be hell. I've got Jolly for his 60 from 10-11 on Tuesday and then I gotta head out the door early next morning for The Nurse's 60 some 12 hours later.

I met up with The Polynesian for her first lesson in 2 months. It looks like she's undergoing the suffering that everyone does in corporate life at least once...the office bully. I did read in an article that psychopaths aren't just the killing machines; they're also the unthinking, uncaring and paranoid folks which often populate the various levels of a company. Unfortunately in The Polynesian's case, her bete noire is her immediate supervisor. None of her colleagues, including the big boss, will come near the poor lass since they would face the bully's wrath. Ahh...I sense there will be a change in The Polynesian's life soon enough.

Speaking of psychos, once again...it only took a few days for another lurid sensationalistic crime to hit the media. A gang of four high school students took it upon themselves to punish a fellow female schoolmate for spreading bad rumours about them. They kidnapped the girl, beat her to a pulp, before chopping off her pinkie, yakuza style. I think the sociopathic morons only legitimized the rumours.

I caught the finale of Season 3 of "The West Wing" last night on SuperDrama TV. It looks like the show seems to revel in pathos-laden season finales. However, I would have to agree with some of the commentators on the Net that the killing of Simon Donovan was pretty forced. They shot Josh in Season 1, killed off Mrs. Landingham in Season 2, and they decide to have C.J.'s potential love interest assassinated because Aaron Sorkin felt that he couldn't have dutiful Ron Butterfield done in. However, this season finale did take on operatic overtones on the level of a Shakespearan tragedy with President Bartlet's decision to have the Defense Minister of Qumar taken out. At the same time, though, some of that high-toned drama kinda lost a bit of air with me since another West Wing-finale trademark, the message-laden song, was the same one played in the first "Shrek". Just couldn't reconcile C.J. Cregg's crying jag with a big green ogre moping around. In any case, next week will be some sort of special concerning "The West Wing" with all sorts of real West-Wing politicos such as Leon Panetta. And then it'll probably be December until Season 4 starts up. I hear that's when the show jumped the shark.

Anyways, I got my usual big four today.

Saturday May 19, 4:51 p.m.

Well, got through the two lessons without too much of a problem. I'll be getting the same ol' lineup next week along with Farrah....there's a name I haven't heard from in a really long time. She's come back to the fold but she's been learning from the boss since I'd already been committed to the Manhattanite. But with Speedy gone from the office for the next couple of weeks due to business, I'm gonna have a few more lessons to do.

Won't be staying around too much longer. Gotta hit home and cook up some dinner.

Saturday May 19, 1:43 p.m.

Comfortably cool and dry outside, despite some rain and some rather louder-than-usual thunderclaps earlier today. It actually does feel quite nice out there...I guess it must be those negative ions.

Well, just 10 minutes before I was to have my lesson with The Ace last night, the police finally got their man. That yakuza who had been holed up for over a day in Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture (an oddly well-named town since, pun-wise, the name also means "long") was finally caught at about 8:50 last night JST when he dragged himself out of the house. True to form, the thug acted rather cavalierly...although we couldn't hear what he was yelling to the cops, it looked like he was demanding what the hell was taking the fuzz so long to cuff him. In a way, he looked like the imagined Keysor Soze from Verbal Kint's creative mind in "The Usual Suspects".

In any case, The Manhattanite should be here shortly. And then I have The Dentist at 3:30.

Friday May 18, 11:39 a.m.

Well, it hasn't been a good week for morality in Japan. Apparently, Japan's most popular governor, Higashikokubaru of Miyazaki Prefecture, finally got his black eye yesterday; something about some hidden cache of money. But I think me, every other local here and the kitchen sink knew that there was gonna be a downfall sometime for him. Politicians are never clean. I bet, though, he kinda regrets suddenly getting medieval on the journalists' asses a few weeks ago.

Also, less than a month after that incident with that yakuza holed up in the apartment in Machida City, there is currently (at least, it was still current when I left home 40 minutes ago) another similar incident in Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture (near Nagoya) playing itself out. And this time, there is a hostage. Some former gangster went ballistic on his family (shot and injured his kids) and then shot three cops including a SWAT officer who has since died. Right now, he's got his ex-wife as the hostage in a residential neighbourhood. The whole thing started 18 hours ago; I'd thought that the ordeal would have been finished overnight since the police in the Machida incident waited until the thug in that apartment got sleepy to make their move. However, at this time, the screens are still showing a lot of cops in heavy gear milling about the neighbourhood. So, a lot of the broadcasters have been shaking their hands sagely and sadly about what Japanese society is coming to. At this point, I'm kinda wondering what the Japanese underworld is up to. First, the assassination of the mayor of Nagasaki by a yakuza chieftain and then these two apartment incidents. I think the locals are wondering if America's cultural invasion has now included the NRA. Getting back to this guy holding his ex-wife hostage in Nagakute, though, I wonder if the fact that he's now a copkiller will get him the same price on his head that a similar crim would get in the States.

More on the latest teen psycho to make the front pages here....that kid who decapitated his mother on the eve of what would have been her 47th birthday. Apparently, the media have been making hay of his deposition that he wishes that there would be more war and terrorism in the world so that there would be more killing of people, and therefore his act would be justified. Ah...I'd say that he's ready for that straitjacket now. As I said, not a good week morally.

Fortunately, my life has been far more mundane (and hopefully, it'll remain that way forever), although Ichi the Killer (the guy who lived fairly close by) is still at large. Yesterday was virtually a day off for me except for meeting B2 at the usual Starbucks in Mitsukoshimae. It was a good session and she basically prefers just the interview style of lesson since I'm only meeting her monthly. I hope she isn't going to hold it against me that I made her buy a text.

The e-mail has been busy, though, mostly due to The Chipmunk's requests of me to check her applications for her son. For some reason, she wants to claim Canadian residency for her sons. She actually does have landed immigrant status so the path is somewhat easier for her. Also, I've gotten word from The Polynesian about getting back to her lessons. Well, she's proposed this Sunday...I hope she actually does show up this time. If she pulls another fast one this time, then I dump her like a rock.

I did listen to that "Ghostbusters" soundtrack yesterday. Well, it is very 80s...along with 3 versions of Ray Parker Jr.'s title song, there is Air Supply, Laura Branigan and The Thompson Twins, although I don't think their contributions even showed up in the film...and frankly, I don't think the stars would even go anywhere near their stuff. Heck, there was even a nod to the 70s in the form of "Disco Inferno" which was the tune being played during nerd Louis Tully's party (disco did suck back then).

Well, just got the Ace for his 60 tonight.

Wednesday May 16, 10:28 p.m.

And thus, another long day at the school is coming to a close. I managed to do OK with the model lesson student, a patent judge (at least I know what I'll name him if he does sign up). He looked quite young for a man his age....I almost had him carded.

But aside from that 1 hour and 10 minutes, it's just been doing my share of browsing on the Net via Wikipedia. I can't believe I hadn't done it earlier but I finally got to go through all that stuff on "Saturday Night Live". Man, what a history that show has had. From Chevy Chase to Will Ferrell. Unfortunately, I've missed out on the last 13 years but as some would cheekily say, there wasn't much to miss...even with Ferrell. To be honest, even when I got back to Canada over the Holidays, I didn't really catch SNL all that much. It's kinda like my old comics habit; once you kick it, that's it. Still, I would like to get that DVD of the 25th anniversary special; very much doubt that there will be anything released this year. I don't know of anyone pulling out all the stops for 32nd anniversaries. Well, at least I know I'll be going through a lot of SNL stuff on YouTube when I hit the I-cafe tomorrow.

As expected, despite his proclamations to the contrary, Speedy is still at it on the keyboard despite being borderline exhausted. Hey, his company...

Just got B2 for her monthly. It'll be nice to sleep in...

Wednesday May 16, 4:45 p.m.

May not have too much time here. Looks like in the same way as my home computer did a year ago, this current one I use at Speedy's may also be on its last legs. Crashing seems to be as natural to it as logging on. Well, luckily, I did manage to get that e-Card to DTE for her birthday.

Since I'm here for hours between The Nurse and that model lesson, I took a little over an hour off to head over to Shinjuku. At first, I popped in for lunch at McDs....yup, not the wisest action since I'd had brekkie there this morning. In fact, the lady who served me then was still there; luckily, she had the generosity not to give me a shocked glare at someone who dares go there twice.

Got to Shinjuku...and wasn't shocked to see the usual snake curling around Krispy Kreme, although it was the middle of the week and not the weekend. Anyways, I've washed my hands at the entire phenomenon. I can hope that enough people have become disillusioned at the wait that if and when a new branch ever gets opened, noone comes over in spite.

I finally did get my "Ghostbusters" CD at HMV, along with the latest issue of "Empire" Magazine. The floor wasn't as filled as it was on Sunday with shoppers and diners but brisk business was being had.

And now I just wait for another 3 hours...001 is not showing up today.

Wednesday May 16, 11:16 a.m.

Well, had another good one with The Nurse. Looks like she's been doing quite well in the lessons although she isn't looking forward to the inevitable test next week. And that's basically it for me today since I just have a trial lesson tonight. Not that I look at a potential new student any less than a signed one but I've always got one or two model lesson plans up my sleeve ready to go on semi-automatic. The model lesson itself won't be taking place until 8:30, so I've got plenty of down time til then. I will probably do a few more hours of curricula-building and then with Speedy's blessing, I may hop on down to Shinjuku for a couple of hours.

To continue on with yesterday's stuff...I did meet 002 for her regular. She's got just a few points left on her dance ticket before the spectre of renewal rears its head. All of us know it, and she's 90% sure that she'll continue on with us. Speedy, though, is concerned about that 10%, though. Once again, the spectre of conflicting interest also popped up since the lass started asking me about my private, non-Speedy situation. Not a situation I like to find myself in.

My juku Tuesdays will be getting longer from now on, now that Jolly has returned to the fold. Not only that but he has asked to take his half-hour classes into the full-hour ones....which will take me from 10 to 11...and that's taking into account I've usually got the Nurse for a 10 a.m. Wednesday class. So, the money will be great but I am looking at nearly 5 straight hours of lessons with Chip N' Dale, Seven, The Milds, The Siberian and Jolly; I've got a half-hour break which often gets eaten when Seven and I get into a talking groove, but there's the possibility that the boss may put in that high school student later on. Well, the money is good but boy, even the boss is a bit worried at what the long haul will do to my health.

Still, even with the late signoff last night and the early call today, I'm doing quite a lot better than Speedy since he has to do the long hours nightly. He said that come hell or high water that once the demo lesson is done at 9:30 tonight, we are all out of here. But then he has said that before...

In the local news, it looks like less than 48 hours after Mother's Day and a full decade since one of the most heinous murders in Japanese postwar history, we've chalked up another psycho killer. Some high school boy with that loner profile calmly entered the local police station yesterday with a bag carrying his mother's head which he sawed off while she slept. I don't even want to know how that could've been pulled off. It was 10 years ago when the Jun Hase killing took place; a mildly retarded boy was decapitated by a classmate and his head was placed on the school gates early that morning. Unfortunately, in the intervening time, there has been plenty of evidence that a lot of kids are just not normal.

And in the last couple of days, one of the biggies in news broadcasting announced that he's battling lung cancer. Tetsuya Chikushi, the anchor for "News 23", the TBS 11 p.m. flagship news show, confessed that he's gotten Stage 1...not surprising after years of imbibing tons of cigarettes like fish through water. He'll be taking time off the show to go through the rigours of chemotherapy. The story reminded me of that rather sad signoff from Peter Jennings of ABC before he succumbed to the same disease some months afterward. However, unlike Jennings, Chikushi was sounding like his old self so perhaps there is some hope for him....even at his advanced age of 71.

Wednesday May 16, 9:49 a.m.

Man, already past the halfway point this month!

Yep, got the agreement from The Entrepreneur. "Spiderman 3" is the most depressing blockbuster this year...definitely not a date movie. I think the surviving characters would probably be in need of intense counseling. Mind you, they may end up on Doctor Strange's doorstep.

Yesterday was another one of those long Tuesdays. The Beehive had its first session at Becker's. Hmmm...it was OK with me and The Teacher but I'm not too convinced that it's our type of place where the ladies are concerned. As was the case last week, it was another free-for-all conversation on the Great Canadian Tour. I've been seeing if there is a good B&B for the group. Not that easy...

The skies opened up again without The Japan Meterological Agency's permission. Well, at least the only casualty on my line was just a forlorn bath towel...back into the machine it went. I spent my three-hour layover between The Beehive and 002 just hanging around the station of JR Funabashi. After searching for a restaurant for half an hour (those restaurants at the top of the department stores are just too pricey), I ended up at the local Fujiya eatery on the top floor of the TOBU store.

Gotta stop off here...The Nurse should be arriving shortly.

Monday May 14, 10:41 p.m.

Just itching to get out of here but I just had to blog this. I did get my heart-rendering manifesto over to The Tulip...a second time, since my computer decided to have a heart attack the first attempt (curse you, Microsoft Advantage!). I don't know quite why I sent over the reassurance since I don't think she really appreciated my attempts to teach her last year, but I know what it's liked to be raked over the coals. I think part of the incentive was also to reassure myself.

Anyways, on top of my self-help therapy, Speedy had me and the new Girl Friday eat some of the leftover quiche from Mr. Influence's latest kitchen trek...still think I'm a real man, though.

Looks like the trip to the Canadian Embassy is off. Mrs. Travel contacted me to state that things are back on the nomadic front (next stop, Beckers) due to the fact that she has to stay in close proximity to her sick grandson. Works for me since at least I'll be closer to 002 tomorrow.

Anyways, I'm outta here.

Monday May 14, 7:58 p.m.

Well, now that I've got the review for what has now become the top-grossing film of the year so far (don't count "Pirates of the Caribbean III" out), I can take care of the day's business.

Pre-theatre, I had the kids for their regular. The Elder actually took to the more specific worksheet pretty well much to my relief. Over Golden Week, their family had done a bit of traveling to Osaka and to Universal Studios Japan. I got a nice souvenir from the father in the form of a Hanshin Tigers canister of chocolate-and-nuts nuggets. Nice to have for breakfast this morning. Yup, love those Tigers. I guess the Osaka team is to the Tokyo Giants as the Boston Red Sox are to the Bronx Bombers. But the roles are reversed in a way...the Tigers have the really vociferous fans and an instantly recognizable team song.

Afterwards, I had lunch in Shinjuku at that Chinese eatery with the cheap lunch sets in the basement of the Maynrd Building...I really scored a good one by finding this place. On a Sunday when the masses regularly clog up just about every restaurant in the entirety of Shinjuku, I have been able to find a tasty restaurant with a 900-yen meal with all-you-can-eat gyoza and veggies without having to throw Gordie Howe elbows to get through. Of course, Krispy Kreme remains defiantly a source of doughnut idolatry.

I finally got to check the upper floors of Takashimaya Times Square where all the trendy restaurants are. It looks like the floors got a moodier...oops, caught myself using Japlish again...I should say, more atmospheric facelift. Times Square, feeling the heat from all of those whippersnappers such as Tokyo Midtown and Shin Maru Biru, gussied up some of its long-standing eateries while bringing in some fresh blood such as West Side Park Cafe. May be some places to try out with Skippy or even when The Little Dancer's clan comes into town. However, I just checked out the HMV which shares space with those restaurants. I guess my geekiness came to the fore since I was looking for the "Ghostbusters" soundtrack....my renewed fondness for the 1984 flick has now extended to the music, although really I was looking forward to the extended remix of Ray Parker Jr.'s magnum opus. I did find it but didn't pull the trigger since I hadn't been sure how much I would be paying for the "Spiderman 3"/Baker Bounce outing. I did find it, though, so its days on the shelves are now numbered.

I headed down to Roppongi Hills. It was somewhat more populated with people than on that Friday a few weeks ago when I could throw my voice in its curvy corridors to field echoes; still, it has peaked. I met up with the gang and gave my congratulations to the upcoming nuptials between Movie Buddy and The Sylph. The Satyr and Ivory were also looking pretty comfortable in their new relationship. Skippy was just there to give us the tickets for the movie, since she suddenly had to take care of her student. C'est dommage but she will be able to see it easily enough in the near future. She would pick us up at the entrance and lead us to Baker Bounce when the film finished. I remarked that she would make a most excellent concierge. Maybe that opportunity will arrive fairly soon. She told me that her company of the past couple of years, IBM, will be pulling up stakes and move to Shanghai come October. Of course, she won't go.

The trailers before "Spiderman 3" reflected what will become a plethora of viewing choices in the next few months. "Shrek 3" and Johnny Depp's latest try at Keith Richards were dutifully advertising themselves. Then, there was "Die Hard 4.0". Almost 20 years after John McClane's run-in with Hans Gruber, the cop-that-never-dies (sans hair) will be going up against a techno-savvy gang, a helicopter and even a Harrier jet. MB and The Satyr remarked later that we needn't see the movie since most of the movie was already shown during the trailer.

After enjoying (or commiserating) Spidey, Skippy was, sure enough, there at the front of Toho Cinemas to escort us over to Tokyo Midtown. We did a bit of browsing around (at these shops, browsing is really all we can ever do there), we got to the hamburger shop. Because of our number of 6, we lucked out by getting the back set of booths which was set up in a way that we got some semi-privacy. I ended up getting a Bacon-and-Cheese burger with a Dr. Pepper. The Satyr and MB got themselves Root Beer for their drinks. I was tempted but then I was reminded by my days at A&W and decided to play it safe. The ladies took a sip of their beaus' sasparilla and decided that Root Beer tasted approximately like a liquid version of medicated Salon-Pas pads (something like Ben-Gay on gauze). Well, to each her own. The burgers were impressive although none of us did order the legendary, Homer Simpson-inspired Double Burger (I, for one, wanted to survive a few more years); however, I was quite taken by the generous helping of Chicken Fingers for just 400 yen. Those were some pretty meaty fillets of fowl. On the other hand, in the Fish n' Chips, apparently the chefs have only decided to define the chips in the merest sense of the plural...only three home fries to complement the fish. All of us finished our most excellent dinner with a round of Apple Pie A La Mode and coffee. Our collective life expectancies may have been lowered by our repast but at least we'll die happy.

Now, as for today, it was another full one. I had my first real session with The Class Act since Golden Week. I heard a rather interesting one from The Matron. Her daughter, The Tulip, a lass who only lasted a few rounds with me and who had always seemed to be someone who never suffered fools gladly, had gotten rather weepy with her Mum after discovering that she'd been a flame target on the notorious Channel 2. How she got on there I don't quite know but Channel 2 pretty much has everything. Ahhh...the tender age of 20 and she's already gotten her first panning. Well, a parallel situation could be made about her and what Mary Jane Watson got in "Spiderman 3". In any case, although her mother rectified the situation well enough, I feel like I should also give my support as well for some reason.

After my usual lunch at Wendy's, I tried to make a quick beeline to Tower Records...yes, I was looking for that "Ghostbusters" CD, but sure enough, the place was closed for its bimonthly inventory. Then, I dipped into the Shibuya HMV but nada there. I hopped on the Ginza Line and went over to SIL's neck of the woods since there would be an HMV nearby in the Ueno ABAB (the unlikely name for a long-standing department store). I was unlucky there, too, but did discover a Sweets Forest restaurant. Sweets Forest is a chain that specializes in 70-minute all-you-can-eat dessert buffets. I put the sighting under advisement.

The interesting anecdotes kept on coming with SIL. Apparently, she has had a neighbour suffering from multiple-personality disorder for several years. Her neighbour (or should I say, neighbours) lives alone and is rampantly loud in all of her incarnations. The police have gotten complaints from everyone in the area but as a lot of plots in suspense dramas go, there's very little they can do unless the offending party actually hurts someone.

Fortunately, The Full-Timer was very down-to-earth today, although disappointingly weak in her Conditionals, according to her take-home test. Still, it was a flying-colours sort of pass. My fourth class, Mr. TOEIC, had to cancel suddenly...something that will probably happen fairly often considering his job. So, here I am, typing this. But I've got many miles to go before I sleep since I have to start up a new curriculum for the re-emerged Jolly tomorrow night. And I also have to think of more stuff to entertain the juku kids, Chip N' Dale. Plus, there's the mini-field trip with The Beehive to the Canadian Embassy as well. Never a dull moment...even as an English teacher.

Monday May 14, 5:03 p.m.

SPIDERMAN 3

I had always thought that my personal reviews were given somewhat short shrift whenever I tried to jot them down, so I've decided to give them their own entry...something I did a few years ago when I gave my rant on the two Matrix sequels.

So, yesterday, I met up with the newly engaged MB and Sylph, along with the other new couple of The Satyr and Miss Ivory at the former Virgin Theatres, now known as TOHO Cinemas for the latest adventures of everyone's favourite webslinger.

As usual, my take on the movie is somewhat kinder than what a number of critics have said. I think "Spiderman 3" is actually quite a nice addition to what has become (again, my opinion) the best comic book-turned-movie franchise. When I had first heard that Spidey would be taking on not one, not two, but three villains in the latest installment, the red alert lights flashed on and off in my brain....thoughts of the majority of "Batman" flicks flew in my head. But I'm glad to say that Raimi has pulled it off again. He was actually able to miraculously weave the triple threat of New Goblin, Sandman and Venom pretty well. Still, it makes me wonder how deeper the story could've been if any of the three bad guys had been given the solo treatment that Doc Ock got in "Spiderman 2".

The other observation after seeing the third movie is that it was by far the most depressing of the 3 Spiderman movies released so far, and that's saying a lot considering that Peter Parker has always been the Sad Sack of the Marvel Empire. And this observation also rings ironic since this is the flick in which Spiderman finally gets to be loved by New York, a tough audience for any superhero. Think of it..."Spiderman 3" is marketed as Peter Parker's dance with the devil, but Harry Osborn and even Mary Jane Watson in one scene have their chances to be jerks (all three also have their opportunities to show off their dancing "prowess", but enough about that), and all three go through major scarring...physical and/or emotional. By the end of the movie, we just don't know if Peter and MJ have gotten back together or are just holding on after going through some major hell. That's quite the end of a plot arc that started with the two lovebirds making out in a web.

As usual, the famous tagline of "With great power, comes great responsibility" hangs heavy in this installment as well. In fact, the movie illustrates what happens when Peter doesn't just leave it quietly as he did in the last movie, but absolutely shreds it in this one. His turn to the dark side takes down just about everyone he touches: MJ, Harry, Gwen and even the slimy Eddie Brock. But Harry Osborn also does his dance with the dark side and Sandman's haunted profile is the future projection. Of course, at the end, Harry (and maybe even Sandman)is redeemed and given a good end. Basically, this movie was able to show its characters' descent into darkness and emergence back to light (of some sort) much better than "Return of the Jedi" or the "Star Wars" prequels.

You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned any of the special effects. Well, they are stunning but it looks like I've paid more attention to the story than anything else, not a bad endorsement for an escapist series. However, although the multiple-villain approach was actually successful, a new series of Red Alerts has now gone off on hearing that Sony Pictures are going for a sextology of Spiderman. Hmmm....thoughts of The Law of Diminishing Returns of a Movie Franchise, or in short, Sequelitis, are dancing in my head. Just how many times can Peter Parker keep being reminded of that "power/responsibility" tagline? And just how many times can MJ continue to be kidnapped by a supervillain, without the kiddies rolling their eyes? James Franco may no longer have to worry, but will Tobey McGuire and Kirsten Dunst be willing to revisit their iconic roles for another decade?

Inquiring minds want to know....nuff said.

Saturday May 12, 3:56 p.m.

Writing this after completing the day's classes. I had Tully and the Coffeemaker for the first time in nearly a month. Of course, both were customarily 10 minutes late. But I wouldn't have The Manhattanite for a few hours, so I wasn't too nervous. Tully is pretty chuffed about doing his special stint at Georgetown next month for an English programme. I told him that he could actually secretly sit in on one of George Tenet's lessons. The lad could learn Public Griping. As for the Coffeemaker, man, did she look exhausted. She had to pull an emergency all-nighter at her company since her boss fell ill with the measles (man, I hope the guy's already had his kids); she just came from work and had to head back again. Not a situation I would trade with anybody.

Didn't have much time for lunch so I just downed a small can of Chip Star before I had The Manhattanite. Looks like she and her mother were on the move; they'd gone to Barcelona for Golden Week. They (and I did tell her this) were quite brave folks in that they eschewed the regular comfy tour for their own trip...and neither of them are very strong in English, let alone Spanish. Despite the lass' low level, the lesson was fun, and Speedy finished it up nicely by bringing in some Red Wine Frappe concoction that Mr. Influence had whipped up for one of the school's rare cooking parties last night. Yup, that frappe certainly made things go a whole lot smoother. In fact, I'm still feeling no pain right now.

I'm still here on account that I just made up a worksheet for The Elder daughter for her lesson tomorrow morning. She was back in sullen mode the last lesson and since "Communication Strategies" should be done by students who are actually interested in English, I thought that the supplementary material was key for us to keep our insanity. Luckily, The Junior is a whole lot less high-maintenance. But I will be heading home within the next half-hour. Gotta get dinner on the table and iron.

A bit of a pity for tomorrow's outing with the movie gang for "Spiderman 3". Looks like Skippy, despite her being the organizer for the meet, has to pull out for the movie phase of the outing since her student's mother has decided to switch days on her. She could have just as easily declined but I guess Skippy is very committed to the family; can't fault her on that. Still, she said that she would make it out for the Baker Bounce dinner segment.

Last night, after I had my lesson with The Ace at the juku, I got back home and decided to watch "Ghostbusters 2" on the DVD. I had been remarking that the disc got short-shrifted in the specials department....no commentary, no making-of documentaries, just trailers for the two movies that are already in the "Ghostbusters" DVD. It was the third time for me to see the 1989 sequel, including catching it at the theatre and a second time catching just part of it. As it is, it wasn't such a bad movie although I remember not being too impressed with it on first viewing (mind you, I wasn't supremely impressed with the original, either; it was a movie that had to grow on me). But I could see why it didn't do all that well critically (although it apparently was one of the top-grossing films of that year), and perhaps why there weren't any specials.

For one thing, "Ghostbusters 2" should've been called "Ghostbusters 2.0". It was basically a reset and copy of the original, better movie in terms of plot. The boys had to (re-) prove themselves to society, and once again, we had the montage of them busting ghosts (although this time, Winston is in on the fun), and once again, Dr. Venkman had to prove himself worthy to Dana, and once again, the final scene featured a nearly identical fight with a massive opponent (although Vigo is arguably far scarier-looking than Mr. Stay-Puft). I could see why Ramis, Reitman and the producer didn't bother to provide a commentary for this one; they would only have needed to pick up the transcript for the first one's talkfest. Of course, there were some slight tweaks and alterations such as a less nebbishy Louis Tully, a more boho Janine Melnitz and a more human Egon...and would you get a load of the New Jack haircut on Winston?! However, there was a nagging similarity to the proceedings which had left me with a "been here, done that" feeling when I left the theatre all those years ago. And in fact, I'd just read on Wiki that Harold Ramis and Dan Ackroyd had only meant to make just the one movie, but the Columbia beancounters just couldn't resist the mucho box office and how well the cartoon, "The Real Ghostbusters" did and so put the pressure to bear on the lads to come up with the redux. Still, the guys did pull off the passage of time and how the characters mellowed more with each other which was probably the best thing in the movie. The original movie had a lot of heart through its characters, and the sequel still showed that. More creative plotting would have guaranteed a better reception.

Still, I was surprised to read that Dan Ackroyd had mentioned earlier this year about getting "Ghostbusters 3" off the ground in CG. I was even more surprised that the somewhat reclusive and taciturn Bill Murray would even consider providing his voice to this project. Still, I'm keeping an open and cautious mind to it. I still think that a live-action treatment with more contemporary comedians could pull off a re-introduction.

Well, I'm just about done like dinner.

Friday May 11, 12:33 p.m.

Well, happy 1800th entry. May I live to reach 2000. In any case, this auspicious occasion comes on the heels of one of those horrible events that often plagues the average Tokyo commuter...the shutdown of the only line into the city. Yup, that is what happened to me this morning as I made my way to the station at the early time of 6:50 a.m. I should've noticed something was up when I heard those winds whistling past my window on waking up. Sure enough, I was greeted by a huge mass of humanity flowing beyond the ticket gates and down the stairs into the street. The Tozai Line had to be shut down in Chiba since the winds were flying at a zippy 25 m/s. Of course, any delay on the Tozai in the mornings and evenings ends up being a traffic cataclysm of Biblical proportions. I think one piece of advice should have been given to the station staff immediately....shut down the up escalator. People, including me, were getting crushed by folks coming up the thing. Somehow, after lounging about the ticket gate area, and I mean lounging as in waiting in an old-fashioned movie theatre before "Star Wars" comes on, I plowed my way through the seething masses and trudged over to the nearest McDonalds for brekkie. On the way, I saw that any alternate ways into town were eradicated as there were huge lineups for the bus and taxi. The lone girl manning the counter at the Big M was clearly overwhelmed by the sudden inrush of hungry and frustrated salaried folks...she forgot to give me my cream, sugar and maple syrup for the hotcakes.

I headed back home and contacted Speedy. I gave him the heads-up about my situation and promised him a final update for a go or no-go. Luckily, I didn't have to go for the Abort option as the Tozai got back on line within a minute of me calling the boss. So once again, I trudged to the subway. Yep, it was quite a squeeze but luckily everyone here is very accustomed to these delays, so I managed to ride out the storm. It's always an interesting feeling being ridden into town nearly breaking that Law of Physics which states that two solids cannot occupy the same space. It felt like being surrounded by human air bags. I couldn't have moved if I had even wanted to; still, I kept my hands absolutely still and pointing downwards lest my actions were to be construed as a chikan's opportunity.

I've always headed out early in the morning whenever I've had early classes since I detest rush hours. However, this ride into town wasn't too, too bad. By Otemachi, things came to a decent sense of space. Still, I will still maintain my rule of avoiding the dreaded Tokyo commute.

As it is, I just had The Nurse for her 60. You might think that I would be rather miffed about going through all that hell for just an hour of class, but again my philosophy is that if the student is good, I'll go through Hell AND Earth for him/her....but I wouldn't quote that too loudly. And I was finally able to get through the second draft of all that text curricula. I hope to be out of here within the next 30 minutes.

My contact at the U of T asap got back to me about The Beehive's possibilities on local B&B's. I hope to find something good for the ladies.

Yesterday, I just had the twosome of 002 and The Carolinan with several hours of downtime in between. I actually got the chance to take a look at the first "Ghostbusters" on DVD. I'd seen it countless times before but it was the first time to have seen it in some years. Taking this fresh look at it, I was quite surprised at how zippy it went....always a good trait in an escapist summer movie, and how much Sigourney Weaver was pretty much just the damsel-in-distress.

When I first saw the movie, it was back in the steamy summer of 1984 in Toronto, in between my high school and first year of university. "Ghostbusters" may have been all the rage but I remember distinctly catching a matinee show at a nearly empty theatre, perhaps a couple of months after its debut. Mind you, even back then, it probably didn't take long for a blockbuster to quickly lose steam. As it was, I realized that the movie was the big Second City Comedy Troupe flick, or the big merger of folks from both "SCTV" and "Saturday Night Live". It wasn't (and still isn't) a laugh-out-loud funny movie but it did have a lot of heart within its cast. I think Bill Murray was the keyman here...if you're a fan of his, you should be OK with it; if not, look elsewhere. Although I wanted to see the movie again after so many years, I really also wanted to check out the specials. And I wasn't too disappointed...it's good to hear the commentary by Harold Ramis, someone who I've known since I was 10 years old watching the original SCTV on Global TV, and Ivan Reitman. Not surprisingly, Bill Murray isn't though. I got the feeling that he's not much on re-living past events, and Ramis & Reitman have laughingly hinted that he was a bit of a kvetcher during the shoot.

It is interesting to note in my twin pack that the original "Ghostbusters" got the special attention as being "The Collector's Edition", while its sister disc of "Ghostbusters 2" got bupkiss...well, virtually bupkiss. I guess the second movie really was the ugly stepsister. Still, for all that talk of making a 3rd movie, I think the probability is that if a third entry is made, it will be in the re-imagined vein of what the Batman, Superman and Doctor Who franchises have all gone through. Both Ackroyd and Ramis look like they wouldn't be able to fit into ECTO-1 anymore (ouch!), although if there is a need for a live-action Slimer...(double ouch!). I'm all for a new version of the paranormal investigators and eliminators...there certainly is room for some additions from the current crop of Second City alumni (Mike Myers, Will Farrell, heck, even Dana Carvey could use the paycheck), and obviously the SFX have been amped up a lot in the past 23 years.

Anyways, time to head on home...

Wednesday May 9, 8:21 p.m.

Well, it's been an eventful week. The Queen has finished her trip to the States on a good note, despite being the victim of a Bushism; the French have elected an unpopular politician (talk about the contrarian nature of these guys); and I was gonna make the punchline about Hitomi Yoshizawa graduating from Morning Musume. But I was skunked by none other than a former Musume herself. On Tuesday morning, I turned on the telly and sure enough, there was my clone, Karube the entertainment reporter on Fuji-TV, breathlessly announcing that the littlest Musume, Nozomi Tsuji at the tender age of 19, was not only going to be getting hitched to some teen idol, but she was gonna have her own musume in several months. I checked the J-Pop forums, and boy it was like watching the politico forums on Election Day 2000. Massive shockwaves.

Speaking of betrothals, I got a laconic message from MB stating that he and The Sylph will be making that big leap into permanent bondage withone another. Now, I guess the next couple will have to be The Satyr and Ms. Ivory, The Sylph's good buddy. Skippy got the same message, too. No doubt she'll be bouncing the walls at this time. Anyways, I'm sure we'll all be chatting about it on Sunday.

Tuesday was a busy day, as it usually is. The Beehive and I started our new life as nomads at the massive food court in the AEON shopping complex (probably named since it seems like it takes an aeon to reach the court from the entrance) just 5 minutes away from the north exit of JR Tsudanuma. The ladies had a ball of a time for their 90 minutes negotiating their agenda for their eventual tour across Canada in October. Even though I won't be joining them, they've assigned me the task of searching for a B&B for them. Well, I've sent an SOS to an old friend of mine back in T.O. If everything works out, I hope there can be one in The Annex, the gentrified neighbourhood just across from the University of Toronto. In any case, the ladies are quite serious about the big trip. Next week's session will be a field trip of sorts to The Canadian Embassy in Aoyama. It seems that there is a rotational element to our nomadic existence; the week after next, we'll be setting up stakes in the Beckers hamburger joint in JR Tsudanuma itself. The variety is nice but I do hope that a permanent place will be found within the next several months.

Afterwards, it was off to Ichigaya to teach The New Yorker. It looks like she and her sister, The Carolinan, had a so-so time at this ukelele concert in Yokohama over Golden Week. I didn't get too much detail from her about it so I'll be asking the big sister tomorrow night during her session.

Then, it was back to Urayasu for the juku classes. Man, it was a pretty full session there. I was glad that my lesson with the kids, Chip N' Dale, went well. The last few classes were pretty lacksadaiscal affairs. I think the two maple chocolates helped. Class with Seven was its usual friendly and laidback self...I shared a wedge of Baum Kuchen with her this time. The Milds were twisting themselves into knots trying to unravel the mysteries behind Present Perfect. But not too much damage. The Siberian only had a 45-minute chit-chat; we always manage to get onto some new topic. Last night's was on international swearing. He was rather amused by my relating that American hip-hop songs played over the speakers at stores are the unvarnished versions and not the ones with the swear words excised. From my talk, he was reminded of Gwen Stefani's "Hollerback Girl", the original version with four-lettered vocabulary intact.

I got my surprise when I opened the shoji to my room and saw Jolly sitting and talking with the juku boss when I finished up with The Siberian. Well, look what the cat dragged in. In any case, his new time slot will be 10-10:30 on Tuesdays (if he does come in regularly...he didn't seem too confident about that). The expression on my face wasn't lost on the boss, and in fact she realized that she'd forgotten to tell me about that little tidbit of information. I wasn't too miffed although I did let her apologize profusely.

Well, I'm gonna have a rather large hole in my schedule tomorrow since The Dentist cancelled her lesson. So, it's just gonna be 002 in the morning, followed by The Carolinan in the evening. At least, I'll have some time to look at that old 80s cinematic chestnut, "Ghostbusters" whose twin-pack DVD set I bought at HMV today. I guess I'm waxing a bit nostalgic. If I ever run into Ray Parker Jr. near The Imperial Castle (I hear he jogs regularly there), I'll have to swap stories with him. Just in case you didn't know; apparently, he has set up digs in The Big Sushi...along with Kobe Bryant's dad.

Monday May 7, 7:35 p.m.

Glad to get the Bufferin just in time. By the time I met up with The Part-Timer, my head was throbbing to the point that I couldn't help but take on a Clint Eastwood squint. So I quickly downed the 2 tablets with my veggie juice at smoky Doutors (Clint, being a jazzbo, would love this coffee joint since it's got all the atmospheric smoke); it was a bit touch-and-go but as the lesson went on, the pain and pressure slowly dissipated. I was feeling downright buoyant when I said my goodbyes to my student.

BTW, I have to promote The Part-Timer since she's no longer technically a part-timer. She became a full-time employee as of May 1, so as mundane as it sounds, she's now the Full-Timer. She's not quite sure what her new position will entail but I hope it means more benefits in terms of bonuses. She had a fairly quiet Golden Week. She and a friend of hers went to an autograph session (sign kai, as they would say it in their pidgin English here) at the Sanseido Bookstore in Kanda over the holiday; her buddy was off to see a K-1 athlete by the name of Genki Sudo. The Full-Timer wasn't too overcome by the thrill since she's just got a passing interest in the sport of kickboxing, but her friend and the other folks in line were basically frothing at the mouth. Some were crying in joy, others were shaking. Kinda reminds me of the time I was in Shibuya years ago when by chance that ancient boy band, The Backstreet Boys, were visiting the Tokyo-FM studio. I came across dozens of high school girls sobbing, screaming or shaking in their loose socks after they were allowed to be in the presence of pop cultural greatness.

Looks like Mr. TOEIC is gonna be a half-hour late. Kinda figured that he would do that. His job in sales is a prime candidate for sudden temporal changes. Looks like I can get some curricula stuff done...or not. In any case, Speedy is currently training yet another new face. I dub she Miss Monday. Pretty (and) fresh, she is too. She answered her first phone call with a very crisp business response when Mr. TOEIC called. Ahhhh...the wonders of young adulthood.

Monday May 7, 5:44 p.m.

That headache is not going away. I've tried the usual massage on the scalp but that never really had much effect on me. I guess my head's just tightened up too much...along with the rest of my upper body. I may have to make a detour at a nearby drugstore to pick up some Bufferin before The Part-Timer. One thing for sure...no more coffee today. I realized that I've drunk 5 cups of the stuff in the past 11 hours. Heck, even my urine smelled like it needed cream and sugar; my apologies to those who are drinking the jo as they are reading this.

In any case, I listened to the last of my binge purchases over the weekend. I gotta admit that the newest MISIA release, "Ascension", may be one of those discs that will have to grow on me. I just didn't find it particularly that absorbing. It was a case that most of the songs sounded a little too similar to me. I think "Luv Parade" and perhaps one other song were the standouts although I already have the single to the first tune. Her very first album all the way back in 1998 had the same problem but I just blamed that on first-album jitters. I kinda wonder if her stuff is suffering from the usual Dreams Come True syndrome: solid singles but ho-hum albums.

Anyways, gotta head out to the drug store. Speedy doesn't have any headache pills on hand here.

Monday May 7, 5:03 p.m.

Just my luck that it's 25 C out there and I had to wear the good suit...the good suit for winter; I don't have a lighter summer suit. But if I bought a Men's Aoki suit here, I would always be afraid that if the slightest bit of water got onto it, it would disintegrate like cheap Kleenex. In any case, I had to wear my suit instead of the usual garb by Hiro from "Heroes" since today's session with The Class Act took place at a French restaurant.

Actually, I almost forgot about the special meal out today; luckily, I had started planning the week's lessons yesterday afternoon when I saw the schedule change. The Matron had called me up a couple of weeks before to inform me that all of us plus her hubby and son would be heading to a small French bistro just metres away from her hubby's office. Well, the roll call turned out to be much larger...it was the five of us with The Lady's brother-in-law (damn fine command of English), the hubby's secretary and the hubby's nephew who's starting his career as a French chef. The place is called Aux Provencale, a little hidey-hole that noone outside of residents, both domestic and commercial, would know about. The Matron's husband kindly introduced us to the head chef and we were all seated at the long table.

Not surprisingly, the food was great: Duck A L'Orange and other such stuff with a generous dessert plate at the end. Some of us, including me, did indulge in a bit of champagne; I should've held off since I did have SIL afterwards. However, it wasn't so much that I was afraid of losing SIL's respect in my lack of professionalism, but just that I was in that lousy world between tipsiness and hangover en route to SIL...which I had to rush, by the way; never good in an inebriated state. Still, a very pleasant way to start off the post-Golden Week.

I was also lucky that SIL and I decided to dip into nostalgiaville again with all of our favourite TV shows coming back to mind. Everything from "The Untouchables" to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was covered. I even discovered that the lady is a passing fan of The Pet Shop Boys. I will have to bring over the DVD of their videos next week.

Still feeling pretty full after that buttery lunch. So I'm just going to have a couple of rice balls before I do my first lesson with The Part-Timer in a few weeks. I did make a take-home test for her. Then, I've got Mr. TOEIC for his 60 afterwards. I don't think I'll have a chance to tackle any curricula stuff tonight since I've got another full slate of classes tomorrow. Looks like this week is very much back to normal. However, at this point, it looks like I'll just have 001 for Wednesday.

Skippy is getting the plans for "Spiderman 3" under way for this Sunday. But instead of our usual target for Shinjuku, she wants all of us to try Roppongi Hills instead. It would seem that she wants to try out Tokyo Midtown for the dinner afterwards. I've got a feeling that Baker Bounce will be getting a try out from us.