Monday June 14, 4:56 p.m.



Well, it looks like outside of the Mandela tragedy, the World Cup has gone off without a hitch. No acts of terrorism, no bombings. But we apparently have a bunch of ties. Of course, the big thing tonight or tomorrow morning is Japan vs. Cameroon. I've been asking around the student population about The Blue Samurai's chances, and they've all said rather sheepishly that they would like to see Japan win, but...
My feeling is that the first game is already a must-win for Okada's bunch. They've lost pretty much all of the friendlies so I can't believe that confidence and morale are at a fever pitch. If they win, then there's a chance that they could at least do respectably in their group, but if they lose tonight, then it's pretty much assured that Okada will be retiring fairly quickly and Japan will have an early and silent trip back home.

Yesterday, after my classes with Yajima and The Jyuppies, I met up with the dinner-and-the-movie gang in Shinjuku. It was another round of ramen at Foo Foo. MB has just fallen in love with the deep fried pork cutlet in the pai ko tan tan men. The Sylph didn't bother to show up since she was doing the "Sex and the City" thing and having herself some pampering at a spa. However, MB did bring over a rather muscular Manhattanite from the gym for the dinner and movie. He, MB, The Satyr and I went to see "Iron Man 2" while Skippy and Miss Ivory were off to see "Sex and the City 2" at the Picadilly. Testosterone for us, and very aggressive progesterone for the ladies.

As for "Iron Man 2", it was as I had thought...not quite as good as the first one, but still a game go of it. I just thought that for a blockbuster superhero movie, it was a little too talky for a good third of the flick (although the Senate hearings were fun to watch Robert Downey Jr. take a chunk out of a horrifyingly Jabba-like Garry Shandling). And this time around, the movie was pretty much an "Ocean's 11"-like sample of casting: along with Gwyneth Paltrow, there was Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johannssen, etc. Strangely enough, with this many celebs in one movie, it did work out pretty well by the end, although the final battle scene approached disturbingly toward "Transformers"-level FX hysteria. And of course, there was the now-de rigueur post-closing credit cliffhanger scene with the appearance of Mjolnir in the New Mexico desert. Robert Downey Jr. is definitely the engine that makes this movie work, though.

It's been a drippy Monday with the usual regulars. Cozy informed me that he's found a possible place for the annual dinner with me and the juku boss. It might be some restaurant in tony Shin-Urayasu. My session with Swank had me finding out that she had almost had a meltdown at her daughters' birthday party...as I had thought. She was pretty darn intense about what to say and when to say it on Friday; I kinda figured that she was gonna panic a bit. In fact, one of the mothers even had to take her aside to calm her down.

My talk with SIL was pretty interesting. We spoke about my former student, The Lady, and what she and her defrocked husband might be up to at this time. It's been well over a year since I'd last seen her and The Matron. The couple has frankly been persona non grata within the family ever since hubby saw his empire collapse.

Speedy is back after his annual two weeks of business trip. Looks like I'll probably have Miss Genki for good since the bossman will be taking care of a new client in-company. And after about a month away, The Medicine Man is back again. No knowing what he'll be like. I just hope that the long absence away will mean that there will be more to talk about. At the same time, I'm happy to hear that I'll have a virtual day off on Wednesday except for 001.

Saturday June 12, 3:15 p.m.

Finished my two today. Miss Prissy is such a nice person, but she's just so slow in her answers. The Businesswoman was fine but she's a bit rusty from the lack of time with English. Anyways, I'm feeling rather laggardly since I have yet to have lunch, and most likely, it'll be dinner in any case.

Saturday June 12, 10:13 a.m.

Certainly feels like a Summer day out there.

Well, the World Cup is now up and running. And one couldn't have asked for a more dramatic beginning. There were tens of thousands of spectators inside the arena screaming and blowing horns, millions more outside and all over the world watching the festivity, a family of an icon openly mourning the loss of a member due to senseless tragedy, and the South African team scored the very first goal of the entire match. The host team isn't expected to even make it out of the prelims so I guess getting at least the first goal comes as a celebration of sorts.

After the nutso schedule on Thursday, I had a fairly easy day on Friday. However, my class with Swank, which had been meant to be shorter than her usual session (60 instead of 90), actually ended up being over 2 hours long. The lady completely lost track of time and at the end, she got flustered packing everything up so that she could rush over to her daughter's party. She got so intense about hosting her girls' birthday party today in terms of the wording....I kept telling her to just relax and enjoy.

Afterwards, I walked from Roppongi down to Azabu-Juban to check out Frijoles once more. Frijoles is that taco place I found out in "The Japan Times" a couple of weeks ago. This time, I went for the fajita burrito with carnitas...the fave braised pork. This time, there was a steadily moving lineup which was nice to see...the first time I went there was during a rainy day and there were only a few people. It's always nice to see a fledgling business doing well in this economy. I had the burrito with that hot sauce. Last time, I had the tacos with some medium sauce which wasn't too spicy in my estimation. Well, that hot sauce knocked things up several notches in the heat category...I was able to still appreciate the carnitas but perhaps I'll take things down a bit next time.

Last night, I discovered the hard way that I really didn't need to be at the juku. The Restauranteur sidled into the classroom wearing a mask and sounding quite hoarse. She'd caught a cold and just wanted to get the homework. The juku boss just has her half-hour with me, only because The Restauranteur's class is also just 30 minutes. If The Restauranteur had only canned straight away, I would've been able to just spend a nice evening at home, but that would just be rather churlish of me. At the very least, I should be grateful that The Restauranteur cares enough about her class to make that detour to the juku to pick up homework.

Well, it didn't take long for the new Prime Minister to get his trial by fire. It was the departure of Mizuho Fukushima and her Social Democrats from the coalition which pretty much put the last nail in previous PM Hatoyama's coffin over a week ago. Now, the other partner, Shizuka Kamei, has pulled out due to his objection against PM Kan for refusing to extend the current Diet session so that the postal reform bill can get passed. However, his People's New Party will stay in there. But the political news showed PM Kan getting the Parliament's equivalent of the Bronx Cheer...no honeymoon at all for this guy.

Anyways, I have just two up today....Miss Prissy and The Businesswoman.

Gonna be catching "Iron Man 2" tomorrow with the regular movie folk. Actually, it'll be a gender split. The women will be seeing "Sex and The City 2" while we menfolk will be catching the hijinks of Tony Stark.

Thursday June 10, 9:45 p.m.

Well, some 14 hours after having arrived in this school, I'm still here typing away. I'm doing La Fille a bit of a courtesy since she wanted to do a bit of cramming before her next test tomorrow. It's not as if I have a hugely busy schedule tomorrow. I basically just have Swank for a special in the morning and then it's just the juku boss and The Restauranteur. This past day was the Mega Hump Day with 7.5 hours of classes.

The Carolinan did get that sighting of the cast from "Sex And The City" last Tuesday from Roppongi Hills. The ladies were mere ants from her sight but luckily TV Asahi in its infinite wisdom had huge screens to broadcast all of the red carpet stuff.

As for Mr. TOEFL, he was his usual steady self. He had his second-last class tonight and then we wrap things up next Thursday before he takes off for North Carolina. He was so grateful to the school that he bought us a box of lovely confectionaries...it's nice to be noticed.

Not sure how much longer La Fille wants to cram but I can hang on.

Thursday June 10, 7:40 p.m.

Finished up with The Carolinan. Meanwhile, a major unexpected squall has swamped Tokyo. There was no sign of any rain in the weather forecasts which probably means that all of the weatherfolk are getting irate phone calls right about now.

That just leaves Mr. TOEFL to end this long day. Ironically, he'll be going to the same state that The Carolinan did in her college days. She asked me to ask him to find out where he'll be going to for his duration.

Earlier today, Ray informed me that she'd gotten e-mail from Miss Sedona, my old Thursday morning student. Looks like her dream of setting up tentpoles in Canada has now dissipated and she wants to come back to Japan permanently. Nothing like living abroad to get a better perspective on home. I wonder if she still has perpetual smile on her face.

Thursday June 10, 5:57 p.m.

Into the homestretch now. The Magician was probably the only other student who I had to keep on my toes since she's the bossman's student. But she was OK. Got into a good conversation about the banana split.

Just have The Carolinan and Mr. TOEFL before I finish my epic day of lessons. Still not feeling too worse for wear.

Thursday June 10, 2:47 p.m.

Had The Ol' Staffer just now. She admitted that it felt a bit weird actually sitting in the student's chair instead of serving tea beside it. We did some work on pronounciation and delivery. Looks like she's a bit self-conscious about the way she talks.

Over halfway through the day now. Just got The Magician, The Carolinan and Mr. TOEFL.

Thursday June 10, 11:20 a.m.

I've gotten through the first two students of my septet this morning. The Patent Attorney and I had another smooth session, and he even gave me some food for thought...the possibility of using karaoke boxes as another venue for private lessons...during the weekdays, the rooms are a huge bargain.

Grandma Dynamite wasn't quite as proficient but she did bring her A-game. And I found out that she's become an ardent Takarazuka fan of late. In fact, she and a friend are headed for a performance in Hibiya in a couple of weeks.

Anyways, I've got The Slacker in about 5. I'll try not to yawn.

Thursday June 10, 8:17 a.m.

Back in the saddle for a very full day of classes. And I've got that Slacker squeezed in between Grandma Dynamite and the ol' staffer. Well, luckily I start off with the congenial Patent Attorney.

It'll be an early Summer day...going up to 27 C...definitely do not need a jacket.

Wednesday June 9, 8:29 p.m.

Well, it certainly didn't take long, did it? The puns have started for the new guy...PM Naoto Kan. I had predicted that the old Obama campaign saying could be applied to the new leader. I'm still waiting for "The Wrath of Kan" to be quoted.

My three students have come and gone. With Grandma Fado, it was simply talking about the mouse infestation in her apartment. Then, The CEO and I got into discussing about her presentation in Beijing next week, followed by talk on the new administration. There was an extended interlude/stand-up routine with Ray and La Fille which involved watching YouTube videos of maggot cheese, deep-fried cockroaches, steak, ribs and Chicago deep dish pizza...yep, in that order. We now have a tentative date to head out to Tony Roma's once the bossman gets back into town. And finally, 001 and I had another grand old time conversing on the fact that she finally got that membership within the Arashi Fan Club, just so that she could pre-order some tickets for a November concert. Then, we got into our old drunken hangover war stories.

Basically I'm done for the day. I'll let La Fille know within the next few minutes that we'll be shutting down. Then tomorrow will be the massive Hump Day...but thankfully, the Music Man, the last student in the lineup decided to cancel his lesson. Still, it'll be quite the schedule. I'll have my usual Patent Attorney, and Grandma Dynamite in the morning, followed by the first lesson with that former staffer, then it's The Magician, The Carolinan and finally Mr. TOEFL. Will definitely earn my salary.

Wednesday June 9, 9:26 a.m.

Not so much of a Hump Day today...my Mega Hump is due for tomorrow. I've just got Grandma Fado, The CEO (should enjoy talking politics with her today considering current events) and then 001. Grandma Enka is not on the slate for some reason; I'll have to confirm with Ray when she comes in about 20 minutes. Kinda glad that I don't have it too busy, although The CEO will keep me on my toes...I feel rather knotty today (not naughty...I haven't felt that way in almost a decade). I could use with a nice shoulder massage but I rather doubt that Ray or Miss London would be too willing to give a good kneading.

Luckily, yesterday I just had the juku folks so I could sleep in. The news yesterday was pretty much all on the new Kan administration here. The Chief Cabinet Secretary, Sengoku, ( a cross between The Chief of Staff and The Press Secretary...just imagine Leo McGarry in C.J. Cregg's power dress) exhorted about the "youth" and the change that this new government will provide. I'm sure there were quite a few in the media, the opposition and the public at large who were chortling ruefully at that comment. Less than half of the new Cabinet were in their 40s and 50s, and most of the so-called new team are holdovers from the last disastrous administration under PM Hatoyama. If Naoto Kan can just last up to 2 years, I think that will be the major achievement.

As for the juku classes, I got an initial scare from Mr. White when he shambled in looking like death warmed over. I thought that he had gone into another major depression like he did last Fall when he had to stay away from us for about a month. However, it just turns out that he has been exhausted from his other academic pursuits and probably because he had received a bit of a chewout from his Korean teacher...apparently someone along the lines of a Sue Sylvester. He brightened up somewhat after my humour-laced lesson.

Sugar N' Spice were great as always. They often banter with each other like a female comedy duo. However, the act will be breaking up for a while from July as Sugar has to go search for an appropriate university once she graduates next year. Spice will be with me but she'll probably go to a half-hour status. The Milds went on a trip to Hiroshima last week and stayed at a ryokan which had also catered to members of the Imperial Family. Mr. Nice Guy was his usual steady self with his stream of questions.

Well, my worries about spilling the beans to The New Yorker about her sister's recent hooking up with a Floridian came to naught. I got the word from The Carolinan that she thought that she had told her sister about the relationship. I'd thought that that had indeed been the case, so no problems. I'm sure she'll have plenty to talk about.

Monday June 7, 9:45 p.m.

Well, my long day has come to a quiet end. I was lucky with The German and Miss Genki, although I'm not sure how happy Speedy will be when he finds out that I didn't really progress too far in the text...he's a bit of a stickler for procedure. The German and I have always had trouble getting through the book since we always end up tangenting into the far ends of conversation. And today with Miss Genki, we just got "mired" in the wonders of musicals (which she loves) and movies (which I do). However, the odds are looking that I'll have both students again the next time which may get me a reprieve of sorts.

As for the weekend, I met Yajima in Den'en-Chofu as usual. There was some sort of mikoshi festival going on so it was lucky that my student picked me up just when the parade was about to get started. We, ironically, didn't pass former PM Hatoyama's house as we had done in past weeks, but I could imagine that the security there was probably a whole lot thicker.

Caught that episode of "NCIS" in which Jenny Shepherd buys the farm; I'm sure the Mixi community is currently abuzz about the implications. Wait til they see the season ender.

Also bought the first album by quirky Marina & The Diamonds called "The Family Jewels". I was seduced a bit by that video for "Mowgli's Road" in which Marina is bouncing on origami legs. And then I caught "I am Not a Robot" on YouTube and that settled the argument for me. She has that Kate Bush loopiness in her delivery...and perhaps even a bit of Sheryl Crow and Shiina Ringo. And even she admits in her tune "Hollywood" that she has that resemblance to Catherine Zeta-Jones. That CD cover didn't hurt either.

Anyways, I'm just about fit to be tied after 7 hours of lessons today. Happily, I've got most of the day off tomorrow before the juku students come in. I'll sleep well tonight. I'll have to remember to bring over the DVD set of "Glee" for Miss London.

Monday June 7, 6:46 p.m.

Well, this is one of the reasons that I've never liked getting too close to students outside of the classroom. A couple of weeks ago, The Carolinan informed me that she'd gotten a new beau in Guam. I asked her whether she had told her sister, The New Yorker, to which she nodded. She hadn't told her parents. Well, I saw The New Yorker today and when I made a sly referral to The Carolinan's new status, The New Yorker seemed surprised...well, mildly surprised...she was never one for copious amounts of emotion. Apparently, The New Yorker knows about the guy but she hadn't been aware that he and her sister were now an item. Whoops! Well, I hope that I haven't caused something. I did ask The New Yorker to keep mum about it, but I'm now wondering whether I should just come clean to The Carolinan.

It's been a Hump Day for me. I've taught four lessons: Cozy, Swank, SIL and The New Yorker. And I've got two more to go with Speedy's students: The German and Miss Genki. Over 6 hours' worth. Luckily, I've got most of the day off tomorrow since The Beehive is not convening in the morning.

Saturday June 5, 4:10 p.m.

Listened to that soundtrack from "De-Lovely", the "nice-try-but-no-cigar" attempt at the Cole Porter biography with Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd. The movie may not have been any great shakes but the songs were pretty nicely handled, although I do remember that the critics had their knives sharpened for Sheryl Crow's rendition of "Begin the Beguine". It's not the greatest version (Ann Margret is still the standard bearer for me) but it's not nearly that bad. There's also a "Doctor Who" connection in that John (Captain Jack) Barrowman and Jonathan Pryce (The Master in the parody "Curse of Fatal Death") both give their contributions. Well, if there were ever a "Doctor Who--The Musical".... The critics who slagged the movie fully give higher recommendations for "The Cole Porter Songbook"; so I ought to feel very happy about acquiring that album then.

The Intellectual was his usual dependably hard-working self. He finally got that iPad and showed it to me. It was a bit heavier than I thought, and frankly I'm not impressed by the fact that it's not multitasking, but my student was confident that there will be better versions coming out in the next few years.

As for the Publicity Assistant, she told me that she had been at the red carpet treatment for the ladies from "Sex And The City 2" in Roppongi Hills on Tuesday. Apparently, many of the women, dressed to the nines, were also openly weeping in joy and ecstasy at the appearance of their idols which apparently had Sarah Jessica Parker and one other cast member (I don't think it could've been Kim Cattrall...she just seems too armour-plated for waterworks) misting up something awful as well.

Well, I'm just about done here. I did some Mixi and got everything planned for Yajima's lesson tomorrow in Den'en-Chofu. Should be interesting as he drives me past the Hatoyama residence. I wonder if we'll have to go through a throng of security and mass media. I can't imagine him hanging out in Nagatacho anymore.

It'll be an interesting week next week. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday will be loaded for bear with lessons...potential nervous breakdown to follow...while Tuesday and Friday will only have the juku folks.

Saturday June 5, 11:09 a.m.

Got a couple today: The Intellectual and The Publicity Assistant. As for the latter, it ought to be interesting how the "Sex And They City" gang fared on Tuesday night.

It was a fairly easygoing day yesterday. I had my Friday regulars: The Bass in Funabashi, Mr. Swank in Shinjuku and then the juku boss plus The Restauranteur in Urayasu. Looks like The Bass and I will be heading out on the 19th for deepest, darkest Chiba to The Bingo Burger, a place that The Bass enjoys for good hamburgers. Will definitely be bringing my A-Game appetite for that one.

Mr. Swank has been an easygoing guy for me...perhaps a bit too easygoing. I realize that he's the president of his company which means that his time will be limited. But it's a bit tough to teach a person who's high enough to be roughly fluent but low enough to need help, and he doesn't really prep all that much for the lessons. He's already scheduled his next lesson the week after next and that'll be it for June. I'm just kinda wondering if he's decided to limit his lessons since he's no longer really up for weekly sessions.

Found out from the juku boss that I got Mr. White's request all wrong. He didn't want to change permanently to Fridays but only for that one Friday.

Japan's revolving door policy for wayward Prime Ministers has turned once more. After the fall of Hatoyama, we now have Naoto Kan, former Finance Minister, in the top job...or bull's-eye, if you will. Kan seems as if he will be less waffling than his predecessor, but again, it's anyone's guess how long this guy will last. If he lasts beyond a year, we should hold a national celebration. I'm sure the puns will start coming fast and heavy in the newspaper headlines. Since he's also known as a rather short-tempered fellow, my contribution can be "The Wrath of Kan" (for all those Japanese Trekkies).

The Satyr and Skippy seem to be really putting their all in planning the next movie-and-dinner outing for some reason. Skippy, The Sylph and Miss Ivory really wanna see "Sex and the City 2" while the guys will catch "Iron Man 2". The problem is that our schedules are now a bit tough to arrange; for me, I've now got Yajima and The Jyuppies on Sundays, and Skippy is unavailable on Saturdays.

Lastly, I also wanted to point out that Akiba's hokoten, gone from Chuo Dori for 2 years, may/will be making its reappearance from late July supposedly. That will be good news for everyone involved...from the most hygienically-challengend otaku to the most successful businessman in the area. I'm probably thinking over the Marine Day long weekend. All I know is that if it does come to pass, those 6 hours on Sunday will see a major ball to rival that of Rio. And I'll be there.

Thursday June 3, 1:14 p.m.

Grandma FON came in for her first lesson in 3 months. Considering her age and long absence, she only forgot a few words. Otherwise, she still brought her quiet storm of an A-game. And she'll be away again for the next few weeks since she's planning to head to Como Lake in Italy for a bit of a vacation. This is considering that she is 78 years old and needs a cane to walk. I wish I have her gumption when I'm that age.

Well, I'm done for the day but I'm just gonna stick around until 2. I'm feeling beat after only 5 hours of sleep but I figure I need to warm down a bit.

Thursday June 3, 10:53 a.m.

Another one of those late night-early morning transitions that I'm getting weary of. However, after the Patent Attorney, I just have Grandma FON and then I'm done for the day. I will be anticipating getting home and getting some shuteye.

Saw the trailer for the new "Hawaii Five-O" series on CBS. It's definitely not my generation's "Five-O"...more bickering amongst the younger characters. Plus, for the sci-fi guys, it's got Daniel Dae Kim from "Lost" and Grace Park from another rebooted series, "Battlestar Galactica". Of course, the iconic theme song is there.

Wednesday June 2, 10:05 p.m.

Well, back by myself. La Fille has just gone home. 001 was in fine fettle; not too much into the textbook. She's quite happy dealing with small talk. As for Mr. TOEFL, he was on the ball but friendly. He's got another couple of lessons before he takes off for North Carolina in a couple of weeks.

No more big word about the bombshell announcement by now-former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. Most likely, the new President of the Democratic Party of Japan will be announced on Friday and then he'll be the new PM. Most likely, it'll be the Vice Premier, Naoto Kan. I don't think anyone's particularly getting excited about the news.

Anyways, I'm coming back here in several hours but since The Music Man has cancelled his lesson, I'll get home early tomorrow afternoon.

Wednesday June 2, 4:19 p.m.

The picture on the left is that of my little snack (well, little to me) before Yajima picked me up back on Sunday for his lesson. It's the Maison Kayser (kinda Franco-German thing going on with that name), a popular trendy little patisserie located just across from Den'en-Chofu Station. I'd heard about the place from MB, whose school isn't too far away. Expensive but good, he said.

I ended up having a cup of coffee with a raisin danish and something called a Kouign Ammaann; that would be the pastry just above the danish. I'd never heard of such a thing in my life until a couple of months ago when the juku boss had given me as a dessert one night. I tend to learn about new desserts here in this country. I'd neither known about Austria's Zacher Torte until I hit a Starbucks here in Tokyo. Not sure where this Kouign came from, although from the spelling, it sounds Dutch or Scandinavian. Whatever it is, it's loaded for bear with butter. And it's crispy on the outside due to the icing and rather chewy on the inside; kinda like an Old World Krispy Kreme. Quite tasty and goes down well with a cup of coffee, but in deference to my health, I think I'll restrict my intake of the stuff to once a month.

I'm fully into the donut hole of this Donut Day. It's been hours since I finished with Grandma Enka. I have no more need of sustenance today since Enka gave me a dinner in the form of some takeout tonkatsu, courtesy of the famed shop Maisen. That, plus a long-awaited bento from Yatai Paradise, will keep me going for the rest of the evening. Enka even threw in some rice balls; I think those would've tipped me over the edge so I kindly contributed them to Ray, Speedy's wife who came in for a few minutes and the newest staffer, The Mingler. The Mingler is our outgoing face of the school. Even someone as happy-happy as the bossman can't compete with The Mingler in terms of advertising us and working the rooms, which is the reason behind her hiring.

001 should be heading over here in about 90.

Wednesday June 2, 1:57 p.m.

Toonces the Juku Cat was sleeping soundly on his cushion last night. I'm sure ex-Prime Minister Hatoyama may be doing the same from tonight since he rather dramatically quit his job of 8 months this morning. Well, I would assume that the pressure would be off him now and on the next sucke...er, I mean, the next honored politican to put on the mantle.

From what I've read of the translation on CNN about Hatoyama's resignation, it seems that "The Alien" as he is known in Parliament is rather defiant about what he had tried to do over the better part of the year, basically giving a "Wait, you'll see how history defines me" tone in his farewell address. Well, sounds a bit like Bush.

I had Grandma Enka for what turned out to be 70 minutes since we really got into the conversation. Very little on Hatoyama and a lot more on her more drastic way of losing weight. She apparently came down with a nasty bout of something during her trip to Hakone with some friends the other weekend which resulted in a night of dizziness, nausea and diarrhea. She looked quite a bit thinner than usual. However, I will eschew that method.

Looks like my day tomorrow will no longer be donut. In fact, it may be ending (knock on wood) as of 12:30 p.m. Not only has Grandma Dynamite cancelled but the guy at the other end of the donut, The Music Man, has also just cancelled his lesson in the evening. Not a bad thing at all.

Wednesday June 2, 11:00 a.m.

Well, I didn't expect it to happen quite so fast, but I just got it over the wire that Prime Minister Hatoyama resigned as the leader about an hour ago...ostensibly to take responsibility and probably just to escape into his Den'en-Chofu home from the rest of the world. I thought he would at least stay on until the end of the July Upper House elections but what's a month to an unpopular head of state? Probably some extra ulcers and a potential heart attack.

I had been wondering what could possibly trump the arrival of the cast from "Sex And The City 2". I will wonder no longer.

Wednesday June 2, 9:20 a.m.

Looking pretty nice out there. Still a tad cool in the mornings but I'm not complaining.

Some changes are in store at the juku. One is just hopefully temporary. I came in to be greeted by a feverish juku boss. Basically, she was out for the count last night and we just spoke further near the end of my long night there. However, she found one restaurant prospect for the annual dinner amongst us and Cozy. Not sure if it handles dinner for an inexpensive price, though.

The other changes are coming later in the month. Mr. White is gonna shift over to Fridays from Tuesdays since he's gonna have a new class starting up elsewhere. And Sugar N' Spice may be taking a hiatus of sorts for the next little while as Sugar and her mother look around for prospective universities.

I've got a Donut Day of sorts coming up today. Supposedly, I've got two of the Grandmas, Fado and Enka but for some reason Grandma Fado isn't up in the schedule. Then, it'll be several hours before 001 and Mr. TOEFL come in. And apparently, according to the phone call log, Grandma Dynamite has cancelled tomorrow's session. But Grandma FON is returning after several weeks away.

Man, my shoulders feel as tight as the skin on a snare drum right now.

Tuesday June 1, 1:37 p.m.

I kinda figured that it would happen sooner or later. This morning, at the Tsudanuma Becker's inside the station, an older woman who looked like someone who would make a typical member of The Beehive took Mrs. Alp to task for speaking too loudly in the cafeteria. The lady didn't make a scene about it but she quietly but sternly made it clear to Mrs. Alp that my student should lower the volume. My chastened Queen Bees apologized quickly and the volume was lowered. The remarkable thing was that even when the lady left the cafe some minutes later, the Beehive continued to act properly. Anyone younger would've probably raised the volume and slagged the woman behind her back.

To be honest, I'm surprised that it took 3 years for someone to finally tongue-lash us since I'd always thought that The Beehive made their presence rather known in Beckers. I'd been worried that we would get warned by either staff or irritated customers...or even worse, been banished from the premises. I think that is still in the cards. I still miss not having our own private space in our old bowling alley. Well, now that that has happened, perhaps the ladies will now keep their voices down, although I am worried that the irritated woman may just be someone who just doesn't appreciate English circles.

Still, that little incident must be seen in perspective. Yukio Hatoyama must feel far worse since one of his lieutenants in his fragile coalition government has not only left but also took her party with her. And to add insult to injury, Mizuho Fukushima of the Social Democratic Party may now side with the opposition to post an non-confidence motion against the ruling Democratic Party of Japan. Not that such a motion would get anywhere near passage since the DPJ has an absolute majority in the Diet. But the message is clear, the leadership is shaky. PM Hatoyama looked absolutely stonefaced in his last press conference.

It's now June but the morning was stilly pretty chilly. Shows how odd our weather has been this first half-year. Not sure what the rest of the week will show in terms of temps. It'll be the usual guys at the juku tonight. Although Speedy is away on his annual business trip, my week isn't that much busier (knock on wood), but next Monday looks like an artery-buster schedule.

As I may have pointed out last night, the "Sex And The City" gang are here in Tokyo, and the big national premiere of the second movie is up tonight in Roppongi Hills. The Carolinan looked really excited...she's usually pretty sanguine by nature but last lesson, she looked positively ebullient. Being a superfan of the series, she said that she would pop down to the Hills after work and see if can actually catch a glimpse of the ladies. I kinda figure though that they'll be busy touring Ginza, Omotesando and Harajuku for fashion stuff.

Monday May 31, 9:09 p.m.

I've been finished for over an hour but gosh darn it, just can't seem to get away from the Internet.

I was checking my Mixi when I remembered that Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall and the rest of the "Sex And The City" gang are in Tokyo tonight to get ready for the Japan premiere of the latest movie in Roppongi Hills tomorrow night. Then, I decided to let everyone know about the Sarah Jessica Parker I had first known some 30 years ago...as the gawky teen outcast, Patty Greene, in "Square Pegs", that televised paean to the 80s. Certainly puts "Glee" into perspective.

Anyways, I should get going home pretty soon. I gotta pay my bills and rent.

Monday May 31, 6:32 p.m.

A couple of celeb deaths over the weekend. One wasn't surprising...Dennis Hopper finally lost his battle with prostate cancer. Perhaps he was at the tail end of the Golden Age of Hollywood but his career spanned from "Giant" with James Dean all the way to "Speed" with Keanu Reaves. He even had time to film a Japanese commercial involving bath salts. I also remember him from a "Twilight Zone" episode in which a babyfaced Hopper portrayed a failing leader of a nascent political movement who basically sells his soul to the ghost of Adolf Hitler to become a ruthless uber-Fuhrer.

I guess the second wasn't too surprising, either. Gary Coleman of "Different Strokes" fame also passed due to some brain hemorrhage at the tender age of 42. He never really got going after his magnum opus finished up in the 80s. Just ended up getting into all sorts of trouble. He has completed the sad curse that seemed to have affected all of the show's kid characters. The guy who played Willis ended up being incarcerated for several years for some major stuff, and Dana Plato went through her own drug-inflicted hell before dying from some sort of heart attack. I think the thing that kinda puts Coleman's plight into clear perspective was a subplot from an episode of "The Simpsons" in which his animated form is seen just standing outside the house as a lonely figure.

Monday May 31, 5:39 p.m.

On Saturday night, after work at Speedy's, I had my usual ramen dinner at Foo Foo near Shinjuku Station. Instead of the usual pai ko tan tan men, I went for the chashiu men; not bad, but I think I'll stick with my spicy dependable next time.

Then, I walked deep into the wilds of Kabukicho, the racy quarter in Shinjuku to catch The Bass' band perform at a place called Crawdaddy Club. It was about the furthest into the sleaze den that I've ever gone into. The immediate surroundings around the club were occupied by all sorts of host clubs with spiky haired and inexplicably popular (at least by me) young guns waiting for their rich (and much older) patronesses. Crawdaddy Club was a basement operation; pretty small but definitely one catering to those fans of 70s prog rock...there were lots of posters of Janis Ian and Eric Clapton on the walls. I was sitting next to one amiable fellow with more hair on his scalp than on an entire subway car of middle-aged men's heads.

I ordered a Corona with the requisite lime wedge. It cost me 23oo yen(!)...most of which was for cover. And no wonder...hardly anyone drank more than the one glass of libation. It was crowded inside. I opted for a stool at the back bar. Pretty much as soon as I came in, The Bass started up the drums and the band was off for some several minutes of screechy and sonic wailing. MB and The Sylph came by a few minutes later. MB didn't mind the music but he kinda wished the volume hadn't been set at 11; he defintively eschewed the empty front seats since he actually cared to live life with working eardrums. After the set, The Bass came by to chat with us for a few minutes before we took off. In fact most of the folks took off as soon as the set was over; over here, folks don't stay to watch everyone...they just come for the guys they want to see and then they go...no wonder, the cover charge was so steep. Afterwards, the three of us just had some donuts and coffee over at the iconic Mister Donuts outlet just on the rim of Kabukicho.

The next day, I had my double with Yajima and then The Jyuppies in the west end of Tokyo. As Yajima was driving me over to his place, we did pass by PM Hatoyama's private residence. There was more security, including a small hoosegow planted firmly in front of the small gate. The Prime Minister hasn't had a good 2 weeks. He's basically lost the Futenma debate, much to Okinawa's anger and disappointment, and now he's lost his Consumer Affairs minister, Mizuho Fukushima, who has her second job as the leader of the Social Democratic Party, the junior coalition partner. Mizuho was fired by Hatoyama since she refused to go along with the much-hated US-Japan agreement concerning the moving of Futenma Base. I wonder how long it will be before Hatoyama loses his own job. I'm betting it'll be after the July Upper House elections.

After the lessons, I met up with The Bohemian in Shibuya for dinner. He's still been looking for a job all these months and he even managed to get himself kicked out of Mixi and even that group of Korean and Chinese students in Takadanobaba. According to him, it was a misunderstanding and overreaction from one of the organizers of the friendship association that got him his latest persona non grata status. But I also remember that he got kicked out of a gym, so I just wonder if he's been trying to rove around again picking up women. The izakaya we went to had a 1,000-yen all-you-can-drink option which was more than enough for The Bohemian. But I kinda found it a bit lacking in the food department, and I'm not a huge drinker. He also got into his usual obnoxious drunken repetitiveness after downing a majority of the beers so I made sure we wrapped things up by around 8.

I went over to Tower Records and ended up buying that first disc with the "Glee" kids and even the soundtrack from "De-Lovely", the Kevin Kline biopic of Cole Porter. The movie itself was only so-so but I did enjoy the contributions by folks such as Natalie Cole and Diana Krall.

My Monday started out as usual with Cozy, Swank and SIL. There were a couple of the ultra-rightwing black trucks blathering out their usual military music and propaganda coming up into Roppongi...it wasn't a national holiday so I could assume they were protesting the Prime Minister.

Since Medicine Man will be away for the next couple of weeks, my day would've ended right then and there, but since the bossman is off on his annual business trip through North America, I have to teach one of his students in about an hour.

Saturday May 29, 4:10 p.m.

After the PA's class, one of our old staffers came back to the roost with Romanian husband and baby in tow. Ray, the bossman and I were there, and even La Fille made her way here to see her old comrade. The kid was adorable but it was obvious that he was getting a bit cranky over his need to get his beauty rest.

Just did some work on Sunday's lessons...I've got Yajima and The Jyuppies tomorrow before I go and see The Bohemian for dinner in Shibuya. Tonight I'm heading out to meet up with MB and The Sylph at a Kabukicho rock club to see The Bass in performance.

Saturday May 29, 3:52 p.m.

Finished up with The PA earlier this afternoon. It had almost been a month since her last lesson with me. None worse the wear. I was able to glean some info from her concerning the arrival of the cast from "Sex and The City" next week to promote the Japan premiere of "Sex and the City 2" for The Carolinan, who's a huge fan. The ladies will have the red carpet treatment at Roppongi Hills just where TV Asahi is located. Basically if The Carolinan were hoping to see the girls by the carpet, she would be out of luck since it's restricted space. So her only hope would be to watch from one of the balconies above. Not the ideal place but my student didn't have any high hopes in the first place.

Watched some more of "Glee" so that I'm now ahead of Fox Japan in its broadcasting of the hit du jour in America. I think I'm entering that stage of culture shock in which I'm starting to discover some of the more unenjoyable parts of the show. The first part of the week was the relatively euphoric stage of discovering how fun and funny "Glee" is. And I even picked up an issue of "Entertainment Weekly" at Kinokuniya yesterday when I saw the front cover adorned by none other than wicked Sue Sylvester providing a Slushee Facial (yes, I've even started internalizing the local jargon). However, from talking with GC and reading the article from EW and Wikipedia, the downside of the program may already have started to dawn on me.

I'm starting to see more of the bitchiness amongst the female characters such as Quinn, Rachel and Santana and the doofy insensitivity with Finn, Puck and even Mr. Schue...stuff that turned me off from teen dramas in the first place. And that really horrid subplot concerning Terri's hysterical pregancy should have been....well, aborted. Knowing about what is to happen at the end of the 1st season just makes watching some of the Will/Terri scenes in mid-season all the more cringeworthy. Also, the EW article points out correctly that any runaway success will inevitably invite the tomato-throwers...and apparently, that has already started with some media-based misunderstandings and perhaps viewers criticizing the musical choices (I have to say that seeing Puck singing Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" was the height of incongruity).

All this "Glee" hype is happening whilst "Heroes" quietly faded away into TV obscurity a few years after it had been the Golden Boy of must-see TV. It also had a petite cheerleader as a main plot point and a fresh take on an old genre which lasted its first season. However, afterwards, the next few seasons saw it slowly nosedive in terms of quality and interest. I wonder if "Glee" may face the same fate. Seeing happy-go-lucky teens sing and dance weekly may not have the holding power to last several seasons...even with "American Idol".

Saturday May 29, 12:46 p.m.

It's been a pretty cool and cloudy day today. Not that I'm complaining. We've got the Rainy Season and then the Hell that is Summer in this part of the country coming up. So I'm savoring all of the days that I can walk without feeling like I'm swimming through an atmosphere.

Well, made another stab at seeing what Aiba-kun's family's restaurant in Makuhari-Hongo was all about. When I went there on Wednesday, the area was deserted. However, there was a different story yesterday morning. I arrived there even earlier, only to see a fairly dense pack of women in their 30s lined up, nattering away quietly. All I could do was take a picture and head on my way to Shinjuku via the Sobu Line. I didn't make any further report on Mixi but I did notice that my initial report on the first visit has suddenly gotten got some notice from the Arashi fans. No replies...bad or good...which is how I like it.

Thursday May 27, 8:04 p.m.

Well, the Carolinan had a bit of a surprise for me today. She's had a boyfriend for the past 8 months in Guam. Apparently, he's a DEA agent there rustling up all the drug dealers.

In any case, it's almost time for me to pack up shop since I'm ready for some grub. The Godiva Chocolates that I got from The Carolinan notwithstanding.

Anyways, I'm gonna try to make another play for Keikarou tomorrow.

Thursday May 27, 6:15 p.m.

Finished with The CEO about an hour ago. Yep, she kept me on my feet. So I'm a bit piqued but I've got The New Yorker in about 15 minutes so that should help me a bit.

As for the above picture...for those who can read Japanese, the sign should obviously intimate a run-of-the-mill Chinese restaurant. However, for those who are also big fans of the Johnny's Jimusho pop band, Arashi, this place, Keikarou, should also ring 5-alarm bells. The reason being that it's also a restaurant whose owner is also the father of one of the Arashi boys himself, Masaki Aiba.

I decided to check this place out after hearing about it from various sources such as Mrs Tee of the Beehive who actually lives not too far away from the place. For one thing, Keikarou may not exactly be in my neck of the woods but I can get there via Tozai and Sobu Lines within about 40 minutes. Getting to JR Makuhari-Hongo Station at about 11:30, it was just a short walk to the restaurant according to the map that Mrs. Tee was kind enough to draw for me.

I was actually quite struck about the location of the restaurant itself. Now I'm fully aware that Keikarou existed long before Aiba-kun struck it big with Arashi, but still considering that this is a fairly pricey place, it was situated smackdab in the middle of a perfectly residential area.
As I approached the restaurant, it was beside a narrow street which would give nervous drivers pause and was completely surrounded by low-rise apartments.

The other thing I was struck by was the silence. I didn't hear any wailing Arashi fans or see any major lineups of women of all ages. The darkened windows were the big clue for me. And then I came across the calendar right by the locked door. Wednesdays were the days off for the restaurant. I wasn't too disappointed, though, since I'd had doubts that I could've gotten inside anyways due to the throngs of rabid Aiba fans.

The third thing I was struck by was several signs stuck up on the walls asking (pleading) any fans to keep the noise down in respect to the neighbours. I gather that the Arashi boom has led to several chattering women distracting the close-quarter neighbours. And yet, the area around Keikarou was as quiet as church mice when I got there.

I later looked at the website of the place...yep the prices aren't exactly bargain basement. I certainly wouldn't go there for dinner but lunch looks pretty reasonable. So I may try my luck again tomorrow before I head on out to teach Swank's husband in Shinjuku. It is open on Fridays so I may yet still see those nutty fans lining up in the vain attempt to see Masaki Aiba.

Thursday May 27, 3:04 p.m.

Back on Monday, after Swank's class, I decided to go on one of my own foodie recces and ended up in another tony neighbourhood...that of Azabu-Juban, home to chic restaurants, fancy boutiques and...Sailor Moon, apparently. I came across Frijoles in last Friday's "Japan Times" as this seemingly incongruous Mexican eatery in trendy Azabu-Juban.

Up to now, my knowledge of Tex-Mex restaurants was restricted to the local El Torito which is adorned in Mexican serapes, posters and sombreros. No such cultural stereotyping here. The design of the place is simply austere...almost as if Frijoles belonged more in Omotesando. And there was no mariachi bands playing on the speakers...strictly 70s/80s Western pop. I can say that Frijoles was trying to its best to be as far away from the typical trappings as possible.

Ordering the food was step-by-step. The counterperson walked me through it: first was to go for either the burrito or the taco, then it was to decide what kind of meat to stuff into the shell (chicken for my first time) and finally, the sauce. I will have to remember that there is a conversion needed when it comes to spiciness levels between here and America. I chose the medium sauce...it would be considered mild in the States. I'll go for hot next time.

The tacos were soft ones, so there was no chance of "tortilla dandruff" on the stainless-steel tables. They were quite good but, as "The Japan Times" reporter pointed out, the salsa was rather underpowered, but I'm sure that things will improve over time. Pricewise, Frijoles is definitely not down on the fast food side but more along the lines of family restaurant fare.

Thursday May 27, 12:58 p.m.

Well, got through 60% of the lessons today. Had The Patent Attorney, Grandma Dynamite and Miss Prissy pretty much consecutively this morning. It had been close to a month since Miss Prissy's last time here since she got that full time job at a welfare centre. Still has that molasses-like delivery but there hasn't been a whole lot of deterioration despite the long layoff from English. In a way, Prissy reminds me of the Emma Pillsbury character on "Glee"...though without the mysophobia.

I've got The CEO in a couple of hours and then The Carolinan for my last lesson. With luck, I'll be out of here by 8 tonight.

Thursday May 27, 8:04 a.m.

Yep, looks like I'm a GleeK! The hit show from the States hit these shores several weeks ago but I didn't really get into it despite the cheerful promos and "Can't Stop Believin" on Fox Japan. I had been mistrustful of modern-day musicals since the debacle that was "Cop Rock" several years ago. Musicals are an ancient genre from the early half of the 20th century said I...."Grease" and "Chicago" aside. And the fact that the characters were all in high school didn't help things any further.

So, though "Glee" was starting to pick up its fans here in Japan, I avoided it. However, due to a strange twist of fate in which The Anime Jester had given me the Season 1 DVD to pass on to GC only to have it declined by the latter since he had already gotten it, I had had the above for several days before I finally decided to put it into the player.

And before I knew it, I was hooked right from the pilot. Bright colors, archetypal though appealing characters and a mix of show tunes and 80s songs. But the humour has also been top-notch. I don't exactly feel like hitting a karaoke box to belt out my stuff but I am willing to buy the CD that's now selling at Tower Records.

However, I think "Glee" should be paying "American Idol" a commission. As I said, the show is charming and attractive like a young Judy Garland but really its ultimate success can be laid down to timing. With all that is going for it with the critics and the audience, the show probably would've been booted off into oblivion if it had been put on as recently as a decade back. "American Idol" softened the viewing public (or toughened it) to accept musical schtick, and thus came this show.

In terms of the characters, I think my favourites would come down to Finn Hudson and Sue Sylvester. Finn is just the prototypical all-American hero (although the actor is Canadian). As for Sue, every successful show and movie has a great villain. Sue is this show's Darth Vader. Playing her with a mix of a cranky Hillary Clinton and Nurse Diesel from "High Anxiety", Jane Lynch has sparked up many a scene whenever she enters it.

Saturday May 22, 1:06 p.m.

Finished with The Intellectual. Always a fine conversationalist...and he makes some of the finest speeches on the simplest topics. He doesn't have perfect structure but his speeches have a lot of heart and honesty in them. The Intellectual is one of those students that I don't really have to prep too much for (although, as a (ahem) professional, I still do) to get a good performance from him. The Businesswoman is also one of those on that list, along with The Beehive. But on the other side of things, there are certain students that I have to carefully construct a lesson plan since their level of proficiency or confidence or both are low. And also there are those whose demands and expectations are seemingly quite high. Such students include The Medicine Man and The CEO here at Speedy's, and at the juku, there is Mr. Nice Guy and Sugar N' Spice. And amongst my private students, there is The New Yorker. These students are sprinkled liberally throughout my week, so in a way, it's good to keep me from going complacent.

I asked Ray and she hasn't heard anything from The Medicine Man since his sudden cancellation on Monday. He probably now has the record for the student to cut his lesson so soon before start time. At this rate, it's possible (knock on wood) that I may end up just having Cozy and Swank this Monday with the rest of the day free. SIL is off next week and after her, it's just several hours of waiting before Medicine Man shows up in the last slot of the day.

Saturday May 22, 11:18 a.m.

Back at Speedy's for what is just one lesson. A bit of a waste, but The Intellectual is always a good student.

Yesterday was basically an unofficial start to Summer. The mercury went all the way up to 29 C; that's good sweating weather, and by the time I finally got home last night, I was funkier than James Brown. Not quite as hot and humid today but still nice out there. However, the next couple of days will see a prelude to the Rainy Season.

Had my usual round of Friday students. The Bass had a good session with me in the morning. Enjoyed the listening exercise on earthquakes. He also has a gig in Shinjuku next Saturday which I plan to attend...partially in penance for missing out on his other concert back during Golden Week. The venue is in Kabukicho...hopefully, nothing too untoward will happen to me out there.

Made a brief pit stop home and had o-bento before I hit the road again and went to teach Mr. Swank. Good guy but not exactly as high as his wife in terms of ability. Speaking of Swank herself, I'll be catching her next Monday. Hopefully, she'll be over her cold by then.

Then I got back over to Urayasu. Had my biweekly dinner over at The Restauranteur's. This time, I went for a Hamburg Steak with Mushroom Sauce. Pretty good and packed with meat; The Restauranteur was glad that I'd enjoyed the dinner since children have come to remark that the hamburgs were a bit too "tough"...apparently, the stewed burgers are in right now and they basically break apart at a single touch.

Actually bought a couple of discs at Tower Records in Shinjuku on Thursday. Quite disparate, too. One is Donald Fagen's "Kamakiriad"...his second solo album coming about 11 years after the legendary "Nightfly"; Donald seems to enjoy releasing discs about once a decade. I think his third, "Morph The Cat" just came out 4 years ago. Not a bad disc...somewhat funkier than "Nightfly".

Then, the other one is New Order's "Technique"...basically an 80s dance disc. Haven't had a chance to listen to all of the tracks yet but I definitely had a go with "Fine Time" and "Round & Round".

Thursday May 20, 8:03 a.m.

One of those late night-early morning transitions that I'm getting really tired of. And it's raining, to boot. I felt exhausted last night for some reason...it wasn't as if I'd had The Medicine Man; actually it was a good lineup of Mr. TOEFL, The Businesswoman and The Music Man. Mind you, The Businesswoman looked and spoke like she'd run a couple of marathons and lost. With the Music Man, we spoke about that maggot-ridden Sardinian cheese, Casu Marzu...yes, lovely stuff to read about during breakfast.

At least...for now, anyways...I should be finishing things astonishingly early today. I've got The Patent Attorney and Grandma Dynamite here and then The New Yorker over in Shinjuku. And that will be all she wrote. No night classes at all. And it looks like I may have a completely free Sunday since Mr. Jyuppie sent word that he has to make a sudden trip over to Manila on business.

Wednesday May 19, 8:00 p.m.

Got through Mr. TOEFL's 3rd-last lesson with us before he makes that great big leap to North Carolina next month. Quite a contrast with that other student.

I was looking forward to that grand re-appearance of Grandma FON after a couple of months away, but La Fille informed me that the lass has had to cancel her lesson tomorrow since she's still having heart problems. Not a good thing to hear especially at her advanced age, and especially she lives alone in a house.

Well, I've just got The Businesswoman and The Music Man and I'll be done for the day.

Wednesday May 19, 6:02 p.m.

Just finished with Speedy's student, The Young Turk. Nice enough fellow but pretty loosey-goosey attitude. As it was, we just barely got through 2 pages of the text. The bossman gave me his usual bemused attitude when I told him.

Mr. TOEFL will be about 10 minutes late which gives me a bit of a breather. Lackadaiscal attitudes can drain one.

Wednesday May 19, 3:28 p.m.

It was another long but interesting gig at the juku last night. First off, Mr. White and I had another one of our sidetracking talks away from the text about Korean alcohol and the like. In a way, he reminds me of The German here at Speedy's since that is what we usually do here as well.

Then it was Sugar N' Spice. Man, these kids are probably the giddiest teens I've ever taught. Always drain myself teaching those two, but in a good way. Way more fun than Chip N' Dale or The Elder/The Younger.

As for The Milds, Mrs. Mild came straight from Narita from her trip to The Czech Republic last week, and we spent the hour on her pics of the country. A lot of Middle Age architecture and palaces. Ended up getting an envelope, postcards, a pen and a coaster as souvenirs.

And finally, I had Mr. Nice Guy. He peppered me a ton of questions, as he usually does. I really appreciate that...I'd rather have a guy like that instead of someone who just seems to want to absorb stuff by osmosis insteasd.

I've yet to teach my first lesson today but that should be remedied in little over an hour from now. So I enjoyed a somewhat leisurely morning and early afternoon. Watched "Leverage" and "Lie To Me" on Fox Cable over the past 24 hours. I've become a dedicated fan of both shows. Always enjoy the two Tims (Hutton and Roth).

Ended up going to Shinjuku again and bought some patching stuff for the holes in my trousers. Being the size of guy I am, tears are just gonna be a part of my life.

Tuesday May 18, 2:34 p.m.

Definitely feeling a lot like summertime out there. It's even feeling rather stuffy in the I-Cafe. Had The Beehive this morning. Mrs. Alp will be going with her husband over to Portugal for a week starting from tomorrow, and Mrs. Mild will be returning to Japan from The Czech Republic after about a week there today...that is, if the planes haven't been grounded due to that volcano in Iceland.

I have the usual lineup at the juku tonight. It'll be another 3h45 min of classes. Fortunately, I don't have to start until the late afternoon tomorrow.

Monday May 17, 10:13 p.m.

Well, I guess it's better late than never. Medicine Man called in with just 15 minutes before his class was to begin to cancel. I think that's a record dotakyan. I don't really mind, though, since he can be rather tiring to teach and at least I could do a lot of stuff on Facebook and Mixi before going home. Friends on both sites must be wondering how much time I have on my hands, though.

Also, I still get paid since Medicine Man canned his lesson on the day of. Not a bad policy at all.

Anyways, I'm pretty much tuckered out so I'm headed home now.

Monday May 17, 8:18 p.m.

Swank called me last night to cancel today's lesson due to an illness so I found myself with several hours to kill between Cozy and SIL, so I just headed over to Akihabara once more. The main reason is that I just had to get my share of doner kebab...the seemingly de rigueur dish of Akiba. The slowly rotating vertical cylinders of reconstituted meat seem to be downright ubiquitious in the area. There's now even a corner area right in the heart of things which has three trucks, two of which serve the kebab.

I went for the chicken doner kebab this time around since I usually have either pork or beef. It was still the same price for the Big Boy...600 yen and I bought myself a Coke Zero, but with all those calories packed into the pita, I don't think even a zero-calorie soft drink would've meant much.

As it was, I think I would prefer my usual beef or pork kebab. For some reason the halal chicken just didn't do it for me. Oh, it was good but not quite as good as the other two meats. I was lucky in that the trucks provided benches for me to enjoy the lunch. The other locations for doner kebab are purely standing room. As I ate, I could see the maids still plying their trade on the street. And strangely enough, one of them managed to snag one customer. The lass led him to the cafe of choice.

I have The Medicine Man in another hour. Hopefully, he'll be just a bit more talkative tonight.

Monday May 17, 6:50 p.m.

With a rare Saturday completely off and just Yashima on Sunday for lessons, I was able to get an even rarer weekend of cooking in. I decided to go with the Changuumu cookbook for my choices. "Changuumu" was a popular Korean drama imported during the still-popular Hanryu Boom (all things Korean) into Japanese pop culture; it dealt with the kitchen staff of the ancient Royal House of Korea...perhaps when it was still known as Kogyuryo. The show often presented some of these royal dishes being deliciously made. A cookbook was published under the auspices of NHK, which was responsible for its being shown here, and my old student, The OL, got me a copy a number of years ago.

There are several recipes in the book but I've only always gone for two of them: meccho and miso chige. Meccho is basically pork slices mixed into a miso mixture of sake, sugar, sesame oil, green onions, etc. while miso chige is a hot pot-like dish with beef, clams and spicy Korean miso.

As you can see, the reality was quite different from the fantasy. For the meccho, I got the pork from the juku boss who somehow procured a good amount of pork shoulder from her niece (I always get the most interesting of side benefits at the juku). The recipe called for the pork to be fried in a pan but the show had the slices grilled so I decided to go with my fish grill in the oven. Hmmm....I'm now a bit wiser about that. The pork was still very much pink in the middle, and since I really wanted to spend a weekend sans worms, I ended up using the pan anyways. Thus, I got a somewhat more charred dish...still pretty good to eat with the rice.

The miso chige underwent some rather major changes. Instead of beef, I used chicken. Instead of Korean miso, I used regular Japanese miso. And the veggies that were to go into the pot also got changed. Basically, it was more of my own hot pot than that depicted in the book. Still, I was quite happy with the results there as well.

Monday May 17, 6:34 p.m.

Ironic I'm starting this entry about one of my favourite restaurants while I'm starting to get hunger pangs.

On Friday, I met up with the Anime Chamberlain at Ginza Station's Exit A3 on a warm, sunny Spring day so that I could show him the culinary pleasures of Genkatsu just across from the Wako Clock Tower.

Genkatsu is a tonkatsu restaurant with a difference. It specializes in making its pork cutlets by slicing the pork into 25 thin slices and then putting all those slices together into one cutlet and letting the oil do the rest of its magic. The result is tonkatsu with an airier but still flavorful taste with plenty of juice to gush out in the mouth. Taking full advantage of that fact, the restaurant also stuffs the space between the layers with options of garlic, cheese, shiso leaf or sesame. It's all good to me.

The Anime Chamberlain and I both went for the most expensive item on the menu since it was a special occasion...the 2,250-yen kurobuta course. As you can see from the upper left picture, we got our usual share of shredded cabbage, miso soup and rice. The actual tonkatsu itself looked smaller but plumped up. And it still provided plenty of mouthwatering satisfaction as we downed it. The Chamberlain is usually a pretty finicky eater. During the various times that I've eaten with him in Tokyo, he has been somewhat less than whelmed with my picks of restaurants...and that even includes my fave ramen joint, Foo Foo. However, even he admitted that Genkatsu provided the best tonkatsu he's ever had. Success on two fronts. I ended up getting a point card from the restaurant...I don't know if I'll be going that much, but I figure that a lot of the other items on the menu are half the price of the kurobuta course so it shouldn't hurt me too badly if I go there once a month.

Thursday May 13, 10:45 p.m.

And another teaching day comes to an end. I finished up with The Carolinan and The Music Man tonight. The Carolinan had a couple of revelations for me: 1) she confessed that she has been doing omiai duty...omiai meaning "arranged wedding" meetings with prospective suitors, and 2) she's just dying to see the cast from "Sex and The City" when they come over either in late May or early June when the movie gets out here. It might be time to call in a favor from the Publicity Agent.

Then with the Music Man, we entered the topic of exotic food such as bee larvae. Japan has its own batch of intriguing cuisine, starting with tsukudani, grasshoppers covered in soy sauce and sugar and boiled. The Music Man told me about a small town in Sardinia in which the folks there eat maggot-ridden cheese...what a conversation piece.

Anyways, time to go home.

Wednesday May 13, 4:24 p.m.

Feeling a bit run down...going at it for 2 days straight can do that to a man in his forties.

Just came back from Shinjuku after teaching The New Yorker. Looks like she had a bit of musical excitement after she and her fellow salon mates were given free tickets by the leader of The Tower of Power at her salon to see his band's performance at Billboard Live last night at Tokyo Midtown. She'd never heard of The Tower of Power let alone seen them live but said that she enjoyed them. My attempts to educate her via the band's association with folks such as Huey Lewis & The News and David Sanborn only revealed that she was never really into the 80s. The free tickets were a good thing, too. She would've had to pay 9,000 yen a person otherwise.

Just two more lessons to go.

Thursday May 13, 11:12 a.m.

Well, got through the first two with little problem. Found out from The Patent Attorney that he'd had a number of odd jobs when he was a young man, including that of set designer for concerts. He got to see folks like Tom Jones and The Eagles for free. Plus, I also found out that he had been a Boy Scout...not that Boy Scouts and Tom Jones would have anything in common.

Then there was Grandma Dynamite. Somehow, through our free-association type of class, I was able to come up with a plan for next class in terms of the English being used at her stationery shop.

I should be heading out in the next 15 minutes since I've got The New Yorker at the Starbucks in Shinjuku.

Thursday May 13, 8:17 a.m.

Still rather chilly out there in the mornings. One would think that Tokyo was in the Southern Hemisphere rather than the Northern Hemisphere.

I'd heard that the new UK PM, David Cameron was the youngest leader of Great Britain in almost 200 years but I was still rather surprised that he and his deputy, Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg, were both all of 43 years of age. A year younger than me and ruling one of the big nations.

It's one of those "hit bed for a few hours then get back to work" days. I left here last night at about 9:30 and then was out of the apartment by 6:30 since I have the Patent Attorney and Grandma Dynamite back onto the morning schedule. Just glad that both students are talkers. Then I've got The Sisters of State in the afternoon before I finish up with The Music Man.

CNN's naivete was showing in full form yesterday with its entertainment article title "Most Disturbing Movie Ever?" It was focusing on a horror flick called "The Human Centipede". Apparently, cinema is still not done with torture porn quite yet since this deals with a mad doctor who sews together three folks surgically...a reverse-engineered Siamese Triplet operation, so to speak. From what I've read on sites such as Wikipedia and even from Roger Ebert, it's relatively mild compared to stuff like "Hostel" and "Saw", although there is one rather disgusting scene that I'll leave out of this commentary. Still, I think there are far more horrible and horrifying films out there....the notorious "Guinea Pig" series of Japan comes to mind and perhaps even the French "Martyrs" and the recent "Grotesque" by a taciturn Japanese director.

Wednesday May 12, 9:39 p.m.

Well, managed to get through the day intact. Basically, it was just chat with the teacher. Grandma Enka was the first, and then The CEO, who is a natural conversationalist, just helped breeze away the 90 minutes. Then, 001 was her usual lively self. And finally, Mr. TOEFL may be a bit more button-down than the ladies but we had some thoughtful discussion on belief systems (as you do). So I'm done for the day but I'll be back in less than 12 to have another long day.

The Anime Chamberlain, who's the very last of the otaku gang to still be in Tokyo, called me up to arrange lunch on Friday. I'll be taking him out to Genkatsu, the tonkatsu place in Ginza known for its famed mille-feuille katsu.

Wednesday May 12, 2:32 p.m.

I was now in the second half of my odyssey from Asakusa to Shibuya using the Ginza Line as a guide. After getting out of Shimbashi quickly due to the loudmouthed ultra-right wingers, I ended up on the other side of the aural spectrum. Do you remember that scene in "Vanilla Sky" where Tom Cruise's character is running through a deserted Times Square? Well, I entered my own little version of that whilst walking through the next leg of Toranomon and Tameike-Sanno. Since both areas are heavily populated with office buildings, the holiday meant that the area was largely devoid of cars and people. It was like going through the concrete jungle after a neutron bomb had gone off.

However, I did come across one place of buzzing activity and that was the Free Cafe, Harimaya Station. Grandma Enka had first put me onto this cafe in the downtown area which boasts free tea and rice crackers. The only catch is that there is a showcase selling rice crackers right where the doors are so that the guilt factor can quickly impose upon one to buy something. I didn't even have the chance to feel guilty since the place was packed to the gills. Still, I will try it out sometime in the near future.

Then, I hit the ritzy entertainment district of Akasaka-Mitsuke where I came across the legendary Akasaka Prince Hotel with its jagged triangular design. All good things must come to an end, and so it will also be the same with this place since it has now been slated for demolition in about 10 months. During its peak, the Aka-Puri was Ground Zero for celebs and pols; the LDP even had unofficial headquarters on one of the floors for some time. But I gather that the shelf life has pretty much gone by. When I met Paddy there for dinner some years ago, even then when I traipsed through the lobby, I already had the impression that the place was now a faded glory...it had that archaic 80s look to it. Still, it'll be sad to see the ol' girl go.

Wednesday May 12, 1:32 p.m.

Had my monthly session with Grandma Enka. Always appreciate that she loves to talk.

Now, I'm just waiting for the remaining three students. I've got The CEO, 001 and Mr. TOEFL. Should actually get onto planning the lessons.

Pretty darn windy out there, even for Nakano-Sakaue. My work neighbourhood has always been affected by wind tunnel effect but at times, I wonder if even I could be literally swept off my feet.

Wednesday May 12, 11:15 a.m.

A bit drippy out there but it should start to dry up later this afternoon.

Met The Beehive for the first time since Golden Week. Mrs. Jade had gone on a bit of a recce through Shanghai, the site of the current expo. She brought back some interesting dried cherry tomatoes that taste like giant red raisins. Good with beer, she says. I tried them...yup, they're fine with me but the reaction was split with the students at the juku. Of course, Sugar N' Spice being teens had a completely wacky reaction with them.

In any case, it was a very long day on Tuesday since Cozy requested his lesson yesterday morning before I went and saw The Beehive. Then, of course, there were 4 hours of juku folks. Sugar N' Spice are nice kids and they like English, but I've come to the conclusion that they're not initiators by any means...they would be very content to be just spoon-fed their stuff, which means more work for me.

Some guy named Brown got his butt kicked once more and is now leaving with his head firmly between his legs. But this guy isn't Charlie but Gordon. After five days of one of the most exciting general elections in recent memory in jolly ol' England.

More later...

Monday May 10, 8:45 p.m.

Continuing on from last week's odyssey from Asakusa to Shibuya...after the relative excitement of Akihabara, the next half-hour of walking was fairly...well, pedestrian (ha-ha). Quickly scooted through Kanda and Mitsukoshi-mae before hitting the grand bridge of Nihombashi...that is, before it was overshadowed by a huge ugly expressway. Then, it was under that and straight through Kyobashi before hitting the Ginza. Since it was a national holiday last week, Ginza had its pedestrians' paradise (hokoten) so everyone was out in force on Chuo Avenue. I did see the latest addition to the grand avenue....another branch of Forever 21. There wasn't the kilo-long lineup but it certainly looked plenty crowded.

Then it was on to Shimbashi, at least the modern side of things, otherwise known as Shiodome. I went into the Shiodome City Center and up to the 42nd floor. Unfortunately, all of the restaurants had taken all the great viewing windows so I had to sneak in a couple of tight shots through the skylight. Then it was back down and I started walking over to Toranomon. Unfortunately, those pesky right-wingers and their black trucks started harassing some of the companies over toward Hibiya although the riot police kept them busy.