Wednesday July 21, 8:42 a.m.

Oh, the irony. To TV or not TV? On the left, I witnessed my JVC television of 12 years die a quick death this morning when I turned it on. It actually had been showing signs of dying for some weeks now since it looked like the top part of the image seemed to have been rolling down onto itself. Well, this morning, I just got that horizontal line representing all of the imagery, before the busted chassis quietly went permanently dark. In a way, that line kinda reminded me of a person's ECG flatlining.

Meanwhile, the right picture shows the bedroom TV I've had since I arrived at my apartment nearly 16 years ago...a set that The Persian (the previous resident of this apartment) had picked up from the garbage area, a set that is close to 40 years old, and a set that has old-fashioned dials and no remote control...and it still works. Well, because of the switch from analog to terrestrial digital, that set is also showing signs of dying but the point is that it can still show clear images from a few stations such as NHK. And thus therein lies the irony. This old junker was my main and only TV for the first 4 years of my time here before it got thrown into the bedroom by the JVC, and yet the former has survived the latter by decades.

Well, the moral of the story is...it's time to search for that new TV. I wonder how much this will set me back.

Monday July 19, 11:23 a.m.

One sign that summer is indeed here in The Big Sushi is the first making of my Peach-Banana Smoothie. Here it is in all its glory within the customary Bubba Gump milkshake glass that I'd gotten at its namesake restaurant near Tokyo Dome several years ago. I just threw in some pulped peach, a couple of bananas, a cup of yogurt, a cup of milk, some honey and then some ice cubes to cool it down, and then I blended the whole thing. Tasty and healthy at the same time. Not too many things I can say that about.

That proofreading assignment did come in, albeit late last night. Luckily, it was indeed a proofreading assignment, and not a translating one since I probably would've ended up staying here at the I-Cafe for 8 hours.

It'll be another steamy one here, as it will probably be for the next several weeks, unless a typhoon comes along and dumps a ton of water on us. I may just forego cooking and just have hiyashi chuuka for dinner everyday.

Ended up watching "The Maltese Falcon" on DVD last night. Just a classic in so many ways. And strangely enough, for what is arguably the first Film Noir, it did have a good sense of humour. Not as many remembered bon mots as "Casablanca", though. In fact, I think there was just the one, "The stuff that dreams are made of."

Sunday July 18, 3:16 p.m.

The Japan Meterological Agency officially declared an end to the Rainy Season yesterday, and the Summer took good advantage of that fact. It has been a searing start to the long weekend. Tokyo has now become a heat island once more. All that concrete is reflecting tons of heat into the shimmering air. I was up in Akihabara in the vain hopes that hokoten would start up today, but as of noon, vehicular traffic was still the norm on the main street. Well, if the media is gonna be able to keep its word, there's only one more Sunday left this month.

Yesterday was just a rare day keeping within the neighbourhood. I got my bimonthly haircut, but my barber informed me of another customer who may be looking for my services. I kinda feel like Michael Weston from "Burn Notice"...just picking up potential students from the strangest of places. I'll see if I can help but I'm not sure with my burgeoning schedule. If I get many more requests (I'd gotten a similar request from The Carolinan a few weeks ago), I may have to consider leaving Speedy's.

My rental agency tried to contact me yesterday while I was out. The young lady on the machine said that she would contact me again which gets me off the hook. I would prefer not to have too many dealings with them...I haven't had a good track record with these guys.

Ended up having Domino's Pizza for dinner last night. Just too hot to cook even though my AC was on, and since MB doesn't come over to the apartment for DVD Night anymore (apparently, my friend has an allergy to dumps), there's no real need for the delivery.

On Friday night, I watched one of Nicholas Cage's movies, "8 mm", the action-thriller involving his character searching for the killers in a snuff movie. I couldn't say it was one of his best flicks but at least it provided for a nice enough movie to catch during a holiday weekend.

The one reason I'm over here at the I-cafe today is that I'm supposed to be getting a translation assignment but I have yet to receive a file. I hope I get one before my stint is done here.

Friday July 16, 4:21 p.m.

Natsu bate (Summer Lethargy) and The Shareholder...not a good combination. One of my newest students isn't exactly the fastest or most effusive of speakers. Took 3 minutes just to pick a topic to talk about. Kinda like The Medicine Man. Fridays are gonna feel pretty long if this keeps up.

Yup, this is probably the first truly hot day this year. It's probably around 35 C as we speak, and I'm ready to go to sleep.

Not sure but Skippy may be trying for Eggs N' Things for Sunday but she said that she doesn't want to wait outside in this weather. Can't blame her. But we'll see what develops. I've also, against my better judgement, taken on a short translation project so it won't be a totally free weekend.

Friday July 16, 1:19 p.m.

The Shareholder should be here in the next 10 minutes so I don't have much time. I enjoyed my night off from work. Just vegged in front of the telly...nothing better.

It's steaming out there today....probably the first truly scorcher of a day this year. I think it's up to 35 C right now. Had The Bass at the usual place in Funabashi. He gave a good tip about finding out if that Akiba hokoten will be coming back this weekend. I should search for the official Chiyoda Ward website.

Thursday July 15, 1:42 p.m.

Grandma FON was her endearingly forgetful self. It's kinda like teaching Aunt Clara from "Bewitched". She'll be off again for the next several weeks at her cottage in Nagano Prefecture. It's obvious that her memory loss has worsened, though.

Meanwhile, we got a visit from an old friend...Miss HGL. She came back from her 3 months in Vancouver and just wanted to drop in. She had a good time there although she didn't particularly like her host family's food (no salt whatsoever) or the fact that she has to wait longer than 5 minutes for public transit. She'll be heading straight back to BC for another 3 months of English training.

Just The Artist to go.

Thursday July 15, 11:19 a.m.

Well, Happy 3,500th entry!

I caught that full trailer for the live version of "Uchusenkan Yamato" (aka Space Cruiser Yamato) on YouTube a few minutes ago. It did its job; it got me interested in the movie. The live version of one of anime's most beloved programmes seems to freely adopt influences from last year's "Star Trek", "Battlestar Galactica" and even a bit of "Matrix Revolutions". I've never been sure of his acting prowess but on the surface at least, Takuya Kimura is well cast as the young, headstrong and angry Susumu Kodai, and I could name a few old Japanese actors who could have played ancient Captain Okita, but Tsutomu Yamazaki fits the bill quite nicely (although my dream casting would've been Sir Sean Connery). The Yamato, in fact, looks fairly packed with the A-team of J-thespianism...well, I put that loosely....a mix of young and popular (Meisa Kuroki as Yuki Mori) with crusty veterans (Toshiro Yanagiba as Sanada). And Yuki's character is not only getting a facelift in the job department but a couple of the male characters in the original anime are getting gender changes, which I think is a step in the right direction. After all, I think it's beyond suspension of disbelief to have just one woman amongst a crew of men and not have a Tailhook scandal.

In any case, I'm looking forward to December 1st.

Thursday July 15, 10:11 a.m.

The whole gang's here. Speedy just came in. Just told me that he's finally gotten the postcard from Immigration that he can get his Permanent Residency. I have told him that he will still need to go there every 3 years to renew his Re-Entry Permit...the Immigration Centre has to have something to continue to drag in the permanent residents.

I read off an Akihabara website an opinion from one of the civic leaders for the area that he's absolutely against seeing the hokoten (Pedestrians' Paradise) re-opened. There still hasn't been any official word when hokoten will start operations again on Sunday; I was hoping that this Sunday would be the day since it's in the middle of a long weekend, but I think that possibility is drying up fast. As for that fellow's opinion, he mentioned fears that a similar incident of spree-killing would occur...it was 2 years ago that a psycho went on a rampage and killed and injured over a dozen people in the area which brought about the end of hokoten. I can understand his feelings and fears since he's probably a shopowner and a leader of shopowners in Akiba and would rather not face another attacker. Still, I have to disagree with him; I do agree that there will always be the possibility of another nutso going on a killing spree but I don't think we should let that fear ruin what was one of the unique attractions of the neighbourhood. 9/11 occurred almost 9 years ago...I don't see New York City being shut down. And shutting down a tourist activity hasn't stopped the tourists from coming in and will not prevent a similar killing spree from happening. As the saying goes, if someone is that determined to kill, no security device or policy will prevent it from happening. The cancellation of hokoten just means that any potential targets for a killer are just herded back onto the sidewalks instead of being spread out on the street.

Thursday July 15, 9:55 a.m.

Finished with The Patent Attorney. Some of those documents of his...just too much technical stuff for my brain to handle in the morning.

Miss Efficiency and Ray have come in for the Master-Padawan training sessions. Ray has now got less than a week left.

Thinking about spending another night in Yokohama sometime in August. Need that rest...but I do have that long weekend coming up.

Thursday July 15, 8:25 a.m.

I've been enjoying reading Syd Field's "Screenplay -- The Foundations of Screenwriting". Not that I would write my own screenplay and throw it to some reader in Hollywood...millions of people do that and so it's basically a lottery. However, it's given me some new eyes to see movies with. Now, I've got terms such as "Plot Points 1 and 2" and "Inciting Incident" seared into my brain. I haven't yet seen any of my DVDs armed with such knowledge but I can already identify the things Mr. Field has indicated through my memories of certain movies I've already seen; anything from "Star Trek" to "Casablanca".

The Patent Attorney should be coming in any minute. After him, it's just Grandma FON and The Artist later on in the afternoon. The important thing is that I've got a free Thursday night in which I hope to catch up on some ironing and sleeping.

Wednesday July 14, 8:30 p.m.

001 was another laugh riot. Just gabbed on Aiba-kun but also on the upcoming live version of "Space Cruiser Yamato". We got started on the topic thanks to a photo of Takuya Kimura as Deputy Captain Susumu Kodai in full uniform. Then we saw the teaser trailer of the series which kinda featured the Yamato in battle looking a bit like a scene out of "Battlestar Galactica", the new series. Well, that looks somewhat promising although I'm still not sure what the characterization will be like.

I'm just spinning my wheels for another half hour before heading home. But Speedy is putting on the dog-and-pony show for a prospective client, and he wants to introduce me to her since I'll probably be the main teacher. As long as I'm out of here by 9.

Still gathering my thoughts about "Odoru Dai Sosasen 3" from Monday morning. Basically, I'll have to put it as the least successful of the three movies with the 2nd movie being my personal favorite. It just seemed a bit too maudlin and featured too many new characters too quickly and left a couple of veteran characters out in the desert. I should've felt something was up when the movie started with one of the minor musical themes rather than the big techno theme; there was something that felt minor about the whole proceedings. Methinks that the producers hit the bucket one too many times. And there didn't seem to be all that much hype about the movie despite the fact that it has become a hit financially.

Just spent talking with my newest student, Miss Sony. She works for Sony Life Insurance nearby and will be following 001 every Wednesday for the foreseeable future, so I gather that those empty Wednesdays will be a thing of the past. Kinda interesting how when one student flies the coop, another one comes in. Hopefully Miss Sony's lessons will feel more substantial.

Tomorrow will have The Patent Attorney, Grandma FON and then The Artist. Grandma Dynamite has once again cancelled and will be away for the remainder of the month.

Wednesday July 14, 5:56 p.m.

Had The CEO for what I think will be the last time...just the way she thanked me at the end had a certain finality to it. It was just as well. Had fun talking to her but it just didn't seem that she was all that committed to the cause.

On the good news front, The Croatian informed me that he's paying me his latest amount for all that proofreading.

Wednesday July 14, 2:40 p.m.

Saw Swank for the first time in a couple of weeks at the usual place. She was late by about 15 minutes since she had some paperwork to fill out before coming to Roppongi Hills. It was basically the same old chatter.

I've got The CEO and 001. Like Swank, I haven't seen these ones in some time. The CEO has been away for about a month, and today is the day she decides whether she'll renew with us or not. Can't say for sure what she will do. The CEO is truly a social butterfly...she'll flit amongst various interests but won't stay with one for that long in my estimation, so it is very possible that she'll decide to head for greener pastures.

001 has also been away for a couple of weeks. I'm sure there'll be a lot of Aiba news. The Businesswoman was also due to show up for a rare weeknight lesson but she cancelled til next month last night.

Just heard that George "The Boss" Steinbrenner passed away earlier this morning. When his 80th birthday was announced at Yankee Stadium back on Independence Day, he basically got a round of apathy from the audience. Now that he's dead, that announcement might actually get a huge round of applause. He was not an easy person to like.

Yesterday was the day for getting a lot of omiyage. I ended up getting a ton of dark American cherries from Mrs. Travel via Mrs. Tulip back in Toronto. Tulip is apparently heading back here to Japan for a vacation and the bunch of us will be having a lunch party in her honor next month. Then at the end of the day, I got the Mauna Loa Macadamia Chocolates from Mr. Nice Guy due to his trip to Hawaii. Ostensibly, he and his wife were there to get their Green Cards renewed at an immigration centre in Honolulu but that took all of 5 minutes; the rest of their week was spent frolicking on Waikiki Beach and munching at buffets.

Just heard from Ray that The CEO will be 30 minutes late for her lesson.

Monday July 12, 9:46 p.m.

Well, Medicine Man pulled off a dotakyan about half an hour ago, so I'm now finished. Very sporting of him to cancel so suddenly so that I can still get my money, but then again, he IS a doctor so I'm sure the loss won't harm him too badly. I won't see him for at least 2 weeks since next Monday is Marine Day.

Will be a busy day tomorrow since I've got The New Yorker squeezed in between The Beehive and the juku classes. I'm meeting her at Nihombashi because of time; there is that cafeteria in the Corredo complex there where I used to meet The OL a few years ago. If that place is full, there is always the Starbucks within the subway station itself.

Another HMV bit the dust last month. The big one in Yurakucho went under in June which means that there is no more HMV presence in the Ginza area. According to the sign, the nearest one is in Ikebukuro, although I'm not sure how long that will stay there since the flagship store in Shibuya will be shutting its doors in mid-August.

Monday July 12, 8:56 p.m.

Miss Genki and I basically had a chat session in lieu of a textbook lesson since she had a letter that she wanted me to proofread and then the two of us had both seen "Odoru Dai Sosasen 3". She and I were on the same wavelength in terms of our impressions on the movie. Rather maudlin entry...the second movie is probably the best one of the series. In a way, I guess this entry seems to be the "Indy 4".

I think La Fille really needs to get her act together when it comes to planning or cancelling parties. Miss London only found out just now (when I told her) that Ray's goodbye party for the 18th had to be canned due to lack of committment from several people including Speedy.

Still haven't heard any official word from Akihabara whether or not hokoten will be returning. I hope it is.

Monday July 12, 7:09 p.m.

It's feeling like transition here at Speedy's. It seems as if Ray is finishing her time here this week as she continues to train Miss Efficient. Ray's been sounding about as authoritative as I've ever heard her in 2 years and perhaps sounding like her "real" self outside of work.

I guess it hasn't just been the events in "Odoru Dai Sosasen 3" that have shown transition. The World Cup is now over with Spain defeating Holland in an appropriately nerve-shredding final....down to shootouts. Unfortunately since I had an early class this morning with Cozy, there was no way for me to catch the game since it aired here at 3:30 a.m. Paul the Octopus has been amazingly accurate in his predictions and I gather that his chances of being made into calamari are now nil.

Also, the Nagoya Tournament started without NHK and sponsors...and without a full house, rather unprecedented for an opening day. Still, the show had to go on and it did with yokozuna Hakuho leading the way with a win. And of course, I was bombarded with election results for the Upper House last night. Unsurprisingly, the LDP got some of their groove back from the DPJ. I'm sure Yukio Hatoyama is definitely gonna be getting some cold shoulders now. Still, I think the key guy is now leader Watanabe of Your Party. Of all of the third pillar parties, Your Party picked up quite a few seats so he may now have some pull. I'm sure the analyzes and post-mortems will be going on all week.

Miss Genki said that she would be late by about half an hour.

Monday July 12, 5:05 p.m.

Well, thanks to a sudden cancellation by Swank last night and the extended absence of SIL, I had plenty of time to see the only Japanese movie that I am willing to see....and that is "Odoru Dai Sosasen" or "Bayside Shakedown 3". The series has returned after 7 years (and a total of 13 years after its original premiere on TV) and this new entry reflects a number of changes concerning the fictional Bayside Precinct.

Yuji Oda is back in his immortalized role as Sergeant Shunsaku Aoshima, charmingly feckless but very just-minded policeman in the Odaiba district of Tokyo (he would make a fine Japanese Doctor Who). Over the past decade, he has seen himself go up the ranks to achieve Sub-Section Chief...albeit as just the organizer of the big move from the old HQ to a spanking-new building. Inexplicably, the move has gotten a huge amount of press (as would be the case in a Japanese trendy drama), which has increased the stress factor on Aoshima. But then come a couple of mysterious crime-free crimes, a possible cancer scare for still-fairly young Aoshima and finally the return of an old terrifying enemy...and she comes with acolytes this time.

After watching this latest entry, there is quite a bit to talk about here. There's a lot that's the same but also some big differences...a bit schizoid. Concerning the former, the story follows in the same way that virtually all of the previous two movies, the TV specials and the original series followed: a regular day in Bayside is wrecked by some sort of mysterious crime and further complicated by political machinations involving the higher tainted brass which then leads to an epiphany of what is truly just, just before the crime is solved. Also the director has stuck to his guns (pun intended) and continues to refuse any sort of gunplay...at least overtly...any shooting has taken place offscreen.

As for the differences, the main cast has been expanded and changed...and aged. At some points, Aoshima looked properly plumpily rumpled, and The Three Amigos, the three sycophantic, comically villainous leaders of Bayside Precinct, looked like they were ready to be shipped out to pasture. And it was obvious that the true villain of the piece, Manami Hyuga (played by former aidoru Kyoko Koizumi) has changed from the pixie-ish psychopathic killer that made her debut back in the first movie in 1998 to a warped middle-aged goddess.

In fact, I would say that the overarching theme of "Odoru Dai Sosasen 3" is that of change and the passage of time. And perhaps the biggest fans of the series may have left the theatre feeling fairly wistful. This is really Aoshima's movie. Most of his foils have largely become distanced due to promotion. Tetsuro Yanagiba, as ever-tense elite cop Muroi, has been given a mere extended cameo and the banter between him and Aoshima....one of the main things about the franchise....is limited to just one short scene near the end. Aoshima's mentor, Heihachiro Waku, has gone off to that police academy in the sky...his family replacement is his super-avid nephew, armed with his late uncle's beloved notebook of wisdom. The late Chosuke Ikariya is what is most missed in this movie, although his voice pops up at one point. Basically, only his combative partner, Sumire Onda, is left to give him advice/a kick in the pants. The rest of the active cast are the veteran juniors and some new officers consisting of Yuki Uchida, Shun Oguri and the son of a former Prime Minister of Japan. Along with some other missing old characters and virtually missing ones, things are definitely changing. Even the frenetic opening credits with the familiar techno theme is missing.

A lot of the comic elements have also gone missing, but the presence of an almost "X-Files" main plot in the 2nd half of the movie concerning psycho Manami counters it nicely. However, the subplot of Aoshima mistakenly diagnosed with lung cancer was a cheap device which should've been excised. Also, the subtitle of the movie can be translated as "Release The Bastards" referring to all of the people who were put away by Aoshima in previous episodes, movies and specials. But only Manami gets full billing while a couple of others only get cameos and the other 5 or 6 are just shown in pictures.

At the special preview a couple of weeks ago, Yuji Oda announced that there would be a fourth movie but I'm not sure if it will be the same ol' "Bayside Shakedown". However, the Publicity Assistant told me that the third movie has become a huge hit, so most likely the next entry will be on its way.

Saturday July 10, 3:41 p.m.

Finished my two lessons. Both The Publicity Assistant and The Businesswoman seemed a bit like they were going through natsubate...summer lethargy. Couldn't blame them...it's pretty steamy out there, although it's the first time in a while since the skies have been clear and sunny. The bossman is now talking it up with Miss Efficiency about her first day at work. Not too busy for her since it is a Saturday so it's an ideal way to ease herself in.

Would've loved to have seen The World Cup final but according to The PA, it's coming on at 3 a.m. Monday morning JST so I'm just stuck with the highlights.

Saturday July 10, 12:25 p.m.

One-third of the way through July, and I think the Rainy Season is quickly coming to a close. Brilliant day today with the heat to match. Safe to say that I'll be hitting the on switch for the air conditioner when I get home today.

But the Rainy Season did make its presence very well known last night when the skies opened up during dinner at The Restauranteur's place. Almost expected to see Noah's Ark floating by. But luckily by the time I got out of there, the taps were almost turned off.

Just have The Publicity Assistant and The Businesswoman starting in half an hour. The new staffer to replace Ray, Miss Efficiency, has arrived. We did the usual greetings and for most of the morning, Ray has been showing Miss Efficiency the ropes. Miss Efficiency has been absorbing the information and asking a lot of questions. Sounds like we've got a keeper.

Read in "The Japan Times" today that because of the straitjacket rules of political campaigning in this country, candidates sonically assaulting us via megaphone is the only way they can get their message across. But to be honest, I would take that over having them bothering me by knocking on my door...which is illegal. So are the other American favorites such as blogging and holding food-based activities.

Friday July 9, 3:43 p.m.

Got through that model lesson with that benefactor's son. Nice guy, if a bit avuncular. He's pretty economical with his words...a mix between The Intellectual and the Medicine Man. I'll probably call him The Shareholder. Anyways, Speedy informed me that I was able to seal the deal so he'll be in from next Friday.

The model lesson was the big thing on my mind for today, so it'll be fairly easy from here on in for the rest of the day since I just have the juku folks later tonight. I'll stop off at The Restauranteur's place for dinner since I haven't been there in a month.

Tomorrow will be slightly quieter than expected since Miss Prissy has cancelled her lesson. I'll just have The Publicity Assistant and The Businesswoman. Not too difficult there but I have to plan for The Jyuppies on Sunday.

Friday July 9, 12:28 p.m.

Back in the salt mines again. I've got a model lesson in about an hour with the son of our main benefactor...shouldn't be too bad but I've got a tie on in this weather. Hopefully, it'll all go well.

I was talking with La Fille about our fave television shows last night. Now, I've just finished talking with Miss London about fave comic books. Interesting what comes up.

Thursday July 8, 9:02 p.m.

Just The Music Man before my long day is up. Had a nice chat for several minutes with La Fille about our television likes. Looks like she's also into the American police procedural such as "NCIS" and "Criminal Minds". I cottoned her onto "The Mentalist"; I've only seen one episode of the Simon Baker series...looks pretty good.

I've managed to avoid most of the heat and humidity today since I've been inside the school all day. It won't be too bad tomorrow either. I have that model lesson here and then the usual Friday night juku students...basically, just The Restauranteur and the boss.

Thursday July 8, 6:08 p.m.

The Carolinan should be coming in soon. Ray has gone and so had Speedy, so it's just La Fille and myself. I had my brief dinner since my lunch was rather bulky. It was a hiyashi chuuka: basically egg noodles topped off with BBQ pork, egg strips, bamboo, sprouts and a slice of hard-boiled egg in a soy-vinegar sauce. Hit the mark so I should live beyond The Music Man's class.

Well, it's gonna be a Holland-Spain final...who'da thunk? I had been expecting an all-South American final but it turns out that it'll be an all-European affair. Not sure if ratings will plummet on the South American or African continent since it'll just be these two guys playing. It should be interesting, though.

Thursday July 8, 4:58 p.m.

Well, Speedy has made his decision. We got Miss Efficiency to replace Ray. She'll be coming in on Saturday to get her training, although it sounds like she may end up training us.

Unfortunately the big goodbye party for Ray on the 18th is off since almost noone can make it on that day. Well, I guess I'll make my way to Tony Roma's on my own. And the possibility is that the Akihabara hokoten may be revving up on that day anyways. I just have to see.

Thursday July 8, 3:27 p.m.

At the end of July, there's Japan's lone observed holiday devoted to one foodstuff...unagi or eel. Known as Doyo-no-Hi or Cow Day (don't ask me what the connection is), the date isn't particularly set...it's just somewhere in the last week of this month. This year, it's on the 26th. So, you can bet your bottom dollar that all of the eel restaurants will be packed to the gills (pun unintended) and that a lot of the expensive Japanese eels and the cheapo Chinese variety will sell out in the supermarkets.

Thus, I decided to enjoy things a bit early this year by buying a huge flank of unagi on Tuesday. This one was fished in China so the cost was just 680 yen. I just brought it home, threw it in the frypan, doused it liberally in sake and the sweet sauce the eel came with and warmed it up for a few minutes on each side. And then I threw in onto some warmed white rice. It was now unadon, and after sprinkling some herbal sansho on it, I dove into it.

Now, why with all the hubbub over something most Westerners would flee from? Well, since Japanese summers have that annoying tendency to sap energy from even the hardiest of citizens over here, stamina food is a must. Eel fits into that category, apparently due to the oil that suffuses its meat.

Basically, my mega-unadon cost me perhaps 800 yen. At the legit restaurants which specialize in unadon and unaju, something far smaller and far more stylish in lacquered boxes would cost at least 3,000 yen. I like my eel but I'm not sure if I would really ever go for that. Still, I beat the crowds by 2 weeks.

Thursday July 8, 3:17 p.m.

Well, Grandma FON came after over a month away. She can still comprehend what I'm saying, but I'm a little worried about her retention. Had a bit more trouble getting her words into her mind, let alone out of her mouth. She'd spent a couple of weeks in Italy, namely Lake Como (I wonder if she waved at George Clooney). Still, she does a whole lot better than most other 78-year-olds.

Ah, as for the pictures....that's from Genkatsu, one of my favourite tonkatsu restaurants. Home of the mille-feuille cutlets...the pork is cut thinly into 25 slices and deep-fried as one unit...I went for the less-expensive lunch sets. I had my choice of sauces, so instead of the usual thick Worcestershire-like sauce, I went for shiotare, or salty sauce. Good choice. As you can see from the picture on the right, that sauce just got soaked up by those pork layers. Dem's good eatin'.

I've been proofreading The Croatian's latest essay. I've finished it but I think I'll give it another run later on. Lunch and a bit of chocolate got me drowsy so I may have glossed over some other stuff but it's never easy reading a paper on macroeconomics on a full stomach.

Thursday July 8, 10:52 a.m.

One of the discs I got during my latest CD spree was one by J-Pop veteran, Mariya Takeuchi. She's been going at it for over 30 years, and this album to the left of me is one of her earlier releases called "Love Songs". I have to say that she's the complete package: damn fine looks, fine voice, fine (if not totally native) English and a West Coast sound to force many an AOR singer to gaze at his/her loafers.

"Love Songs" offers young Mariya in various genres, something that she's been adept at and shown during her long career. At that time, it was a lot of 50s girlie standards, country-and-western, disco and AOR...pretty much a tribute to the American Songbook. I don't know too many other singers of that time who went all out for musical Americana...in fact, I don't know any.

Thursday July 8, 10:44 a.m.

Yup, that's Toonces the Juku Cat....just doing what every human in this country would like to do right now, considering the heat and humidity outside...just veg somewhere cool. Going up to 32 today in the Big Sushi.

Got to go home early yesterday, which surprised the bossman. He'd thought that 001 was coming in...and maybe he was a bit jealous about it, too. In any case, I got back and bought myself a new pair of sneakers and just spent the night watching Disc 3 of Ken Burns' series on "Jazz". I always appreciate a night off.

I thought I had a sizable enough hole in my Donut Day that I was thinking about catching "Odoru Dai Sosasen 3" in Shinjuku, but then Ray sent me word that Grandma FON reserved a lesson for 11:30 today, so I'm holding off until probably next Monday after Swank's lesson. Instead, I'm just gonna appreciate the air conditioning and hole up here at Speedy's since I've got The Carolinan and The Music Man later tonight.

Looks like even with 70% of the callers supporting cancellation before NHK's decision to not broadcast this month's sumo tourney, the callers afterwards gave NHK hell for cancelling. Just can't please everyone. Still, it's the first time that a sumo broadcast has been cancelled in over 50 years....should be interesting how sumo fans will handle the withdrawal.

Wednesday July 7, 11:03 a.m.

It's been a fairly quiet week so far...just 3 lessons on Monday, and the same number yesterday. The juku crowd was just down to Mr. White and then The Milds. Although it's too bad that Sugar N' Spice are now gone, in a way I'm glad that I'm not so winded anymore. I just have the two lessons today. One is with Grandma Enka for her monthly chit-chat session and then it's my newest student, The Artist in mid-afternoon. No 001 today so I'll be heading home early and have myself a home-cooked dinner. I'm also stopping off at the neighbourhood shoe store since my sneakers are making the inexorable metamorphosis into sandals.

I had a good session with The Beehive despite the fact that the lady who had rapped Mrs. Alp's knuckles last month was once again nearby. The ladies did lower their volume quite a bit. Almost the entire 90 minutes was centered around the sumo scandal. The overriding conclusion was that the sharp rays of education were desperately needed to smash through thousands of years of archaic custom within the sumo stables. I can't say that all of the gambling vitriol would not have happened if the lads, often recruited just after junior high school, had been given a good dose of morals education but I think the damage would've been minimized. But as it is, a stablemaster has been ousted, ozeki Kotomitsuki has been fired (but with pension) and several rikishi have been banned from the Nagoya tournament. Not a good situation right now since the ranks of sumo have been thinned due to bad-boy yokozuna Asashoryu being kicked out earlier this year and now the 2nd-tier ozeki. NHK hasn't been impressed with the Japan Sumo Association and its attempts to clean house. The station made it official...they WON'T be televising live coverage of the Nagoya tournament. Apparently, I'd misunderstood the original report. I'd thought that the station had fielded phone calls in which 70% objected to the coverage being cancelled. In fact, those 70% demanded that the coverage be cancelled.

Sunday July 11 will indeed a busy day in many ways. The Nagoya tournament starts, the Upper House elections will be held and the final World Cup game will take place. My life has gotten a bit politicized by association. The CEO told me a couple of months ago that she has had political aspirations but just didn't have the time to register for the elections, and I found out yesterday that Mr. Mild has a friend who's running for office in the Kojimachi district. I've been sighting the various vans exhorting the values of their candidates via megaphones.

Monday July 5, 9:16 p.m.

I was initially surprised when I saw the news earlier today that Takeru Kobayashi, the former hot-dog eating champion, was arrested and taken to jail after disrupting the annual contest sponsored by Nathan's. Apparently, he just couldn't help throwing himself onto the stage after supposedly hearing his name being chanted by his fans since he could no longer participate in the pork-pigout due to contract problems. I guess it was too much for the lad to see his main rival, Chestnut, win for the 3rd year in a row. To be honest, I'd always seen him as a bit of a nutcase, and he certainly had that "I'm a psycho" leer on his face as he was being led away in handcuffs. Well, he apparently also has the world record in eating cow brains, so I guess some of that BSE might be responsible.

Monday July 5, 8:09 p.m.

Yep, I bought another Carpenters album recently. Up to now, I've only purchased compilations of their best songs and their Xmas album, but "Voice of the Heart" is my first original album by Karen and Richard.

Took a listen last night as I was hitting bed. "Voice of the Heart" also happens to be the album released posthumously...a few months after Karen's untimely death back in 1983. I'd heard reports that this album was quite different from previous albums in terms of musical direction, but after hearing it last night, I'm pretty convinced that the reports must've referred to another LP. I just thought that there were a lot of familiar musical cues with some of the songs...such as far bigger hits like "Close to You" and "I Need to be in Love". And because of the circumstances of the time, the album seemed to have a rather funereal tone. I didn't really detect any sort of really upbeat melody. In a way, "This Is it" seems to have gone the same way after Michael Jackson's death. And for those in the J-Pop vein, the album "Cruise" by 80s aidoru Akina Nakamori also had that feel since it was released just a couple of weeks after her suicide attempt.

Monday July 5, 6:37 p.m.

Well, then there were just 4. In another upset, Germany tossed Argentina out by an overwhelming 4-0! But at least, we were spared the potential sight of Coach Maradona strutting naked at the victory parade.

Not surprisingly, Yajima informed me that he would like me to continue teaching him although the next time I see him will be on August 1. I'm gonna see if I can at least time it so that both he and The Jyuppies are on the same day. I would like to have a Sunday off, y'know.

I'm starting a fairly sparse week this week. For example, after my early morning with Cozy, it was a huge gap of free time before coming over here. I've got Miss Genki and The Medicine Man tonight. My Tuesday night at the juku is gonna get empty again since Sugar N' Spice are no longer on the roster and Mr. Nice Guy is off in Hawaii.

The Japan Sumo Association finally let us in about what they did to "make things right" concering all that illegal gambling within the various stables. They apparently "fired" ozeki Kotomitsuki, although that is apparently one level below outright "expulsion"...which begs the question about what "firing" means. In any case, the Nagoya tournament is on track for this Sunday although without 5 major sponsors and perhaps even live coverage by NHK, although I think the station will give a late-minute reprieve. After all, there are probably a lot of folks who only watch NHK for the sumo and they may decide to refuse to pay their bimonthly fees. In any case, one of the most ancient sports in human history is in the dumps right now.

I actually fired up the air conditioner for the first time this year. Yep, Summer has come!

Saturday July 3, 4:57 p.m.

Well, spent the last few hours just twiddling away at the computer. Saw a couple of more candidates for Ray's position after which the bossman and Ray mulled their options. Looks like the leading candidate is someone who may be a bit overqualified for the position...lots of experience and degrees...a regular Miss Efficient (which may end up being her code name if she does work for us). The lady is also someone who's quite a bit older than La Fille and Miss London so the dynamics may change somewhat. It could be a bit more serious than the girls' club that Ray and La Fille have cultivated over the past year. But that's not a bad thing for a company that needs to start growing.

Anyways, the 5 o'clock chime is sounding and I haven't heard anything from Mr. Swank, so that'll mean I'm out of here.

The next week is looking a bit empty, schedule-wise. Not too bad...I could use the sleep.

Saturday July 3, 2:17 p.m.

The Publicity Assistant seemed slightly sleepy but managed to ace the test and plow through most of the lesson. I read in "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Psychology" that adults need to get 7 or 8 hours of sleep to function optimally...which means that most Japanese are probably drooling psychopaths. 7~8 hours of sleep? That's truly a dream to most of us here unless we've been laid off.

Well, I'm just waiting for that possible request from Mr. Swank...other than that I'm done for the day.

Saturday July 3, 11:53 a.m.

I just have The Publicity Assistant today for my Saturday class. I had also been expecting a rather large essay to proofread from The Croatian who's in Europe, but he just informed me that he still hasn't been able to complete the rough draft. Mr. Swank said that he could be sending me a little more stuff to take a look at later today. Speaking of which, I did listen to his staffer give his presentation yesterday at his company. Well, it was obvious that he wasn't too fluent in the language and I didn't work any miracles with him but I did try to smoothen things out before Mr. Swank and him head out to Vietnam next week. Still, it was a good thing to get through that and I even got a very handsome reward from Mr. Swank for helping smoothen out his notes.

After my lesson with The Bass earlier in the day in Funabashi, I came across another one of those pols campaigning in front of the station. But it turned out that the local had some big help via the former mayor of Yokohama, Hiroshi Nakata. The ramrod straight straight-shooter was in an atypical Polo shirt and chinos (middle-aged fogy fashion) trying to greet the passersby. He didn't have much luck as I saw, which was strange since he had cultivated an image of being a charismatic leader of men during his years in charge of the nation's 2nd-largest city, but then again, his star plunged somewhat when he managed to resign just after the debacle that was the city's sesquicentennial last year. For some reason, Funabashi seems to be the magnet for celeb politicians...a few weeks earlier, beloved judoist-turned-future senator Ryoko Tani was supposedly on the stump there.

The 2010 World Cup is starting to get the reputation as the tournament of Goliath-beaters. France, Italy and England all self-immolated, and now the biggest surprise happened last night. Brazil got its can kicked back home by Holland. A lot of people probably lost some hefty bets. I still say Argentina will be one of the finalists.

Saturday July 3, 11:37 a.m.

Yes, he is. Shunsaku Aoyama, the feckless but intrepid green-coated cop of the Bayside Precinct, has once more arrived on movie screens nationwide in the 3rd installment of "Odoru Daisosasen"...otherwise known in English as the horribly titled "Bayside Shakedown" (sounds like a straight-to-video 80s cop B-movie).

And frankly speaking, because of the usual comedic goofing common to a lot of Japanese TV dramas, "Odoru Daisosasen" will never scare anybody on "The Shield" or "The Wire", but this series was never made for anyone except for Japanese audiences. Still the show is notable for the fact that it tackles the inner politics and machinations of the National Police instead of the usual fantasy shootouts in famously gun-shy Japan.

The original TV series premiered all the way back in 1997 on Fuji-TV and featured the ups-and-downs (mostly downs) of Wangan-sho, or The Bayside Precinct in The Big Sushi's Odaiba area, as its cops fought not only the bad guys but also the sneering superiors back in the heart of Tokyo. Yuji Oda, who had been known mostly up to then as the innocent salesman Kanchi in the legendary "Tokyo Love Story" back in 1991, became immortalized as the salaryman-turned-police officer who wanted to do the right thing, in spite of a venal and politicized institution. Following the original series came a few specials and then 2 movies which ended up becoming the top-grossing movies domestically for those years. I remember catching the first movie on the very first day of release which was Halloween 1998. I ended up waiting 4 hours in Yurakucho Mullion.

Anyways, the 3rd one premieres today, and most likely it'll become the top movie of this year as well. The franchise shares a lot of genes with its American brethren like "Dragnet" or even "NCIS": an iconic lead character and a burned-in-memory theme song.

Thursday July 1, 10:45 p.m.

And thus another long Thursday has come to a quiet close. I was stricken with a throbbing headache due to neck and shoulder tension a few hours ago, so I downed a couple of Bufferin. At the time, Ray, La Fille and I were biting into the Krispy Kreme donuts.

At about the same time, The Blue Samurai came back home via Kansai International Airport at about 5 p.m. tonight. The fans were out en masse with their cellphone cameras up in the air like sabres in salute. The warriors themselves looked rather glum since they probably felt they had no reason to smile...just like true warriors; don't celebrate until whole glory has been earned.

Thanks to the Bufferin, my headache disappeared by the time the Music Man came by. I had this rather strangely euphoric and exhausted feeling throughout the class, though my student didn't notice. Still I'm happy that I could get through the lesson intact without falling on my face or doubling over in pain.

Anyways, I gotta go home and get a good night's sleep. It'll be another long one tomorrow.

Thursday July 1, 6:37 p.m.

Ray and La Fille are talking in the main lounge, presumably about the transition when Ray leaves us in a couple of weeks. The replacement interviewees have been steadily coming in over the past week, and La Fille was just phoning up a small batch of them to confirm interview dates and times. Yep, the new person will have some mighty big shoes to fill when it comes to Ray. This time, though, both men and women have applied for the position. It could be an interesting new dynamic if a guy gets hired.

Saw The Bow for the first time in a little over 2 months. We met at the same Shinjuku Starbucks. She's now working for a small Australian wine distributor full-time and it looks like things are going pretty smoothly. She was only able to see me this week since both her bosses are out in Shanghai on business so she has the week off. Basically, after this it's unknown when she will be able to see me.

Afterwards, I went up to Uniqlo, the famed trendy and cheap clothing store in Takashimaya Times Square. It used to be the second-biggest HMV in Tokyo until the walls started closing in on that chain. I bought myself a couple of shirts and a pair of chinos since some of my clothes have become rattier over the years. And on a whim, I bought a box of Krispy Kreme since Ray will be leaving us soon. Even Krispy Kreme has gotten its own Japanese twist...I got a "seasonal" box which consists of half a dozen of the regular glazed donuts and then 3 big star-shaped donuts...presumably to pay tribute to Tanabata, the national festival celebrating the star-crossed lovers.

All I have left is The Music Man in about 2.5 hours. Until then, I've gotta take another look at Mr. Swank's big lesson tomorrow, and then have a very light dinner....just too hot out there to eat anything huge now.

Thursday July 1, 11:50 a.m.

Well, after 10 minutes, Ray decided to give Grandma FON to find out why she hadn't arrived yet. It turns out that not only did she not realize that she had a lesson today but she wasn't aware that it was Thursday....ahhh, the ravages of age. Looks like I've got a ton of time now. May want to further check on my plans for Mr. Swank tomorrow.

Feeling pretty sluggish right now so it may have been just as well that Grandma FON is a no-show. I think it's a combination of just 5 hours of sleep and the fact that it's humid out there. Plus, my shoulders have got more knots than a 5-century-old redwood pine. I really could use a rubdown but not of the shiatsu variety. That means my options are awfully limited in this country.

Thursday July 1, 8:13 a.m.

Yup, the 7th month of the year has begun, and I'm sure North America is gearing up for its big holidays. Canada Day is gonna be starting up over in The Great White North in a few hours, and I'm sure America is ready for The Fourth of July on Sunday. Mr. Nice Guy from the juku is gonna be absent next Tuesday because he has to renew his Green Card over in Hawaii; he had a heck of a time securing plane tickets there because of the holiday but at least he and his family will experience the hoopla that goes with a nation's birthday...nothing like it is over here. We've got our own holiday later this month, but it's just Marine Day, basically an add-on holiday so that almost all of our months have some sort of special day off...still waiting for something for June.

It's another humid one today...gonna end up swimming over to Shinjuku later in the afternoon to teach The Bow, so it isn't really a Donut Day but I'll have quite a few hours before The Music Man comes in. Still, I have to prepare for that big presentation class tomorrow with Mr. Swank.

Wednesday June 30, 10:10 p.m.

Did forget to mention that Larry King has finally decided to hang up his suspenders and oversized microphone for good later this Fall. I was kinda wondering when he would decide to retire. He's pretty spry for a 76-year-old but still with a major bypass operation last year, I couldn't see continuing that much longer. I'm sure some folks are quietly hailing the retirement as a move away from softball journalism, a criticism that Larry has always snorted at. But others, notably a lot of his guests, will miss him for the fact that he's been so cordial behind the desk. Strangely enough, though, Larry has had the terrifying Mike Wallace as one of those guests plenty of times.

Well, Happy 143rd, Canada!

Wednesday June 30, 10:02 p.m.

Well, 001 has undergone a few changes since I met her last. She's taken up jogging for one thing, thanks to influence from 002 and The Baker. Her ultimate goal is to tackle The Honolulu Marathon in December just like her friends. I have noticed that she seems to have lost a bit of weight, although I think she was already quite skinny to begin with. And the other thing is that she finally got her membership in the nearly million-strong Arashi Fan Club. She's up in the mid-700,000s. The reason that she went into the club in the first place was to try and get tickets for the group's concerts in the summer. So, she's entered a lottery in the hopes that she'll get selected for a seat.

The Artist had her very first lesson with me tonight. She's quiet but very pleasant, and though she's lacking in a lot of vocabulary and grammatical strength, she does pick up quickly. I found out that she's just started her love of jazz, so I quickly gave her a brief lesson into the different genres of jazz. Not a bad start.

Tomorrow shouldn't be too hard. I've got The Patent Attorney first thing in the morning, and then Grandma FON will be making her reappearance in about a month. And in another reappearance, I've got The Bow for the first time in about a couple of months in Shinjuku. Afterwards, it'll be The Music Man to wrap up.

Thursday June 30, 4:01 p.m.

Well, it was a great run while it lasted. The Blue Samurai finally ran out of miracles last night when they lost to Paraguay, and so they're coming back home from The World Cup. The bad news may have been that they couldn't score a goal during regulation time and extra time, but the good news was that they didn't let the other team do the same either. Solid defence. I didn't bother turning on the TV; I'm sure the various pundits on morning shows were all commiserating in their beer and giving analyses about why Okada's Eleven couldn't pull off another win. I read the kiosk banner that Okada has even resigned from his post. I hope it wasn't because he felt that he couldn't produce a winner...noone had expected these guys to get beyond the Group Stage. I hope it was because that he felt that he had taken them as far as he could and that it was now time for another teacher to take over the reins. Because when it comes down to it, Team Japan did themselves and their country proud.

I guess there's another transition coming in in terms of my students. I lost Sugar N' Spice to the rigours of university searching, but I gained two students via Speedy's. One is coming in tonight for her very first lesson. It turns out that The Artist has decided to join us after all, two months after the model lesson. She didn't say anything to us but just called Speedy out of the blue to go ahead with 24 classes to start. That could be a fine shot in the arm for the school. The other student is The Shareholder, the son of one of our benefactors; his classes are gonna be rather loosey-goosey since he doesn't want to do any texts.

Had The New Yorker for the first time in about 3 weeks. We finally finished that text and I was able to find something for her from Kinokuniya. Not too bad today. I've just got 001 and then The Artist. I'm sure for the former, soccer will be one of the topics...and of course, Aiba-kun.

Tuesday June 29, 1:49 p.m.

It's been another rainy day in this Rainy Season. Still managed to get some washing done. And walking hasn't been quite the arduous trek that it was yesterday when the humidity seemed to have been in triple digits. That's one good thing about the Rainy Season along with the fact that it floods the rice paddies...the rains do wash away a lot of the moisture in the air.

Saw the Slovenia-Holland game last night. Slovenia were the giant-killers against Italy but they couldn't quite pull off another miracle against the Dutch so they're now heading home. Tonight's the big game between Japan and Paraguay. I can imagine that traffic will be at a standstill for the hours between 11 and 12:30 tonight. Not sure what will happen but I think a lot of us will still be happy and proud of The Blue Samurai.

Listened to Madonna's "The Immaculate Collection" for the very first time...surprising since it's now 20 years old. I still say that the old Madge is the better Madge.

Monday June 28, 8:45 p.m.

My Mixi Friends list has grown by 2 in the last few hours. Cozy came on board and then Mr. TOEFL has also joined my cadre. Mr. TOEFL is enjoying his 3-month stay in North Carolina and has even sent pics of his new home. Raleigh is quite a far cry from the concrete jungle of Tokyo, that's for sure.

Managed to get that translation off to Mr. Swank a couple of hours ago, and I've already planned for my juku classes tomorrow so I'm just twiddling my thumbs a bit before Medicine Man comes in about 40 minutes.

The 1st anniversary of the death of The King of Pop came and went somewhat quietly by my estimation. I'd been expecting something a bit more epic over the airwaves. Of course, certain areas including Tokyo did have tributes. In Tokyo, there was a massive dance-off by the local fans to "Thriller"...it seems to be the de rigueur thing to do for Michael Jackson fans. And there was that sleepover by Tokyo Tower on Friday but really, nothing too huge....at least, nothing like last year's funeral. I guess the passing of the anniversary will now be kinda like Elvis Presley's....the die-hard fans will just make their annual pilgrimage to Jackson's estate and perhaps the news may pick up on that.

Monday June 28, 4:32 p.m.

Yup, it definitely feels like a Tokyo summer. I could swim through the air with all that humidity, and I feel like I've got that layer of moisture all around me underneath my clothing. The clouds are threatening to burst open but nothing so far as of yet.

Had my usual Sunday students yesterday. Yajima had his penultimate lesson with me in the morning. He just has one more before he heads off to Hawaii for that seminar. Then it was the Jyuppies a few hours later.

It's a bit of "A Tale of Two Cities" in the sports world right now for Japan. On the one hand, the folks here have been enjoying a Prague Spring of sorts with The Blue Samurai delightfully surprising everyone with their fine play, including what could end up being the best goal of the entire World Cup by a fellow named Endo. "Bend-o it like Endo", I say. Team Japan has made it into The Best 16, which makes it a successful run to me. Not sure if they can overcome Paraguay tomorrow night JST but they still have a small chance; if so, it'll be another week of happiness. On the other hand, sumo just seems to be declining onto another lower circle of Hell. With perhaps as much as a third of the wrestlers for the Nagoya Tournament involved in illegal gambling, an indepedent panel has just recommended that those wrestlers be ousted for this tournament. It has been a slow rotting death for one of the world's oldest sports and it seems as if the only way it can be any worse is if one of the yokozuna goes on a killing spree.

This morning, I had Cozy for his regular early morning session before having Swank in Roppongi Hills. Swank will be heading for the Phillipines next week with her kids so I'll have a huge donut in my Monday schedule next week with SIL off indefinitely while she gets her personal issues settled. Ended up doing some shopping in Tower Records. I had lunch in the McDonalds right in the heart of Shibuya....got to see some of the ugly young there (loud and brash). I will probably consider Burger King next time.

I just have the Medicine Man tonight but I'm pretty busy. I gotta get those corrections for Mr. Swank's presentation text typed up and headed over to him, and I also have to prep up for the juku students tomorrow. I'm just lucky I don't have The Beehive in the morning.

Speaking about The World Cup, that much-vaunted England-Germany match last night turned out to be a bit of a fizzle. It kinda looked like the second Blitz out there as the Germans seemed to dominate over Rooney and Co. And so yet another so-called favorite gets kicked out. I could imagine "Another One Bites The Dust" playing on the speakers. Probably a lot of pubcrawlers in London commiserating over their Guinness last night.

Saturday June 26, 10:35 a.m.

Yup, it's starting to feel like a typical Tokyo summer. Had my first 2-shower day of the year yesterday and bought some heavy-duty air freshener for the living room. Once the air conditioner goes on, I'll know the season is on. Haven't reached that stage yet.

Yesterday was basically an off day except for the juku classes. Went to Genkatsu, home of the mille-feuille pork cutlet, in Ginza for lunch. For a tonkatsu restaurant in the world's most expensive piece of real estate, the place serves pretty reasonable lunch sets. I had one for 1,290 yen and got a small but filling piece of multi-layered pork along with the usual mountain of shredded cabbage, pickles, rice and miso soup. But instead of the de rigueur brown sauce for dipping the pork, I got another one of negi-shio tare or salty onion sauce. Pretty darn nice and there were plenty of nooks and crannies in the pork to hold it.

Then it was off to Shinjuku Kinokuniya to see if I could find a pronounciation text for Mr. Jyuppie. Really couldn't find anything too useful for him there so I'll take a look at Maruzen in Otemachi after I finish with my classes here today. I still had a few hours before the juku classes so I decided to check out Nakano Broadway just on a whim...perhaps I could find a few used CDs. I should give my whim a raise. I went to Recomints and found an EPO disc, the soundtrack for "When Harry Met Sally" and Madonna's "The Immaculate Collection"...all of them for a grand total of 900 yen. The soundtrack was the one that I really wanted...and I saved myself a lot of money by finding it there for just 3 coins instead of paying full price at Tower Records.

I had a coffee at Urayasu Starbucks...or I should say that I had a liquid dessert there. It was some sort of Frappucino topped with a ton of whipped cream and orange syrup. Basically, it was the coffee version of a hardcore porn movie. The lady who took my order must've downed a few of those before I came in...a little too genki she was.

I'm starting to see the future of my juku classes and it will be sparse. Mr. White did a dotakyan again for the 2nd week in a row; his wife called in a couple of hours before game time to say that he was sick. Either he's gone into depression again or he's nursing a hangover; the last time he canned was for that latter reason. Either way, it doesn't bode too well although I did get half the money. Also I found out from the boss that Sugar N' Spice's temporary absence from the juku will probably head all the way to next March! In other words, I think they may as well come back as freshmen again next year. I've got their final class next week. They wanted it to be a small party of sorts.

I've got just Miss Prissy and The Intellectual today. Considering Thursday's morose powwow with Speedy about the school's chances of survival over the summer, I'm kinda wondering what's gonna happen with my students if and when the hammer falls. Despite all those ideas that the two of us were throwing about like wads of paper, I don't think any of those have really any chance of getting off the ground within the next month.

Thursday June 24, 4:46 p.m.

Well, spent nearly an hour with the bossman in what was an impromptu meeting. The only reason he ever calls me into a meeting is because the school is in financial woe again. And yup, it was another shot across the bow. I'm sympathetic to his plight since I know what it was like to be near the end of one's financial tether. But sometimes I think whether it is probably better to euthanize the patient a la Kevorkian. I gave him some ideas for which I think only one perked his interest and that was to actively recruit students for group classes...something that should've been done years ago since that was one of the things offered at Speedy's. I'm not sure if it's a case of too little, too late.

Talking about too little, too late....tomorrow is the 1-year anniversary of the demise of The Gloved One. Hard to believe that a whole year has gone by since Michael Jackson's death. I remember the day of June 25, 2009 very clearly. I had woken up to see BBC delivering the bulletin that MJ had been rushed to hospital early in the morning. By the time I got to Speedy's, the news had already been reported that he was dead. There will probably be tons of coverage all over CNN, BBC and the other major outlets...a lot of marathon MJ video clips throughout the day. Even in Tokyo, there will be a mass sleepover for 50 of his die-hardest fans at the foot of Tokyo Tower which will cost each of the "lucky" ones a cool 100,000 yen.

Thursday June 24, 12:34 p.m.

It's been a fairly quiet week so far. I once again had the empty Wednesday to split up my work week into two mini-weeks. My Monday was also quite sparse since Cozy had re-scheduled to Tuesday morning and SIL has stopped her lessons...for the next little while, at least...to tend to some family matters. So, it was just Swank in the morning followed by Miss Genki (who's now my regular sheep in my flock) and then Medicine Man.

On Tuesday, The Beehive welcomed back Mrs. Travel, the first time she's been with us since her daughters had given her two more grandsons in the past couple of weeks. She was fairly beaming with pride. It was also a pretty sparse Tuesday as well since at the juku, both Mr. White and Mr. Nice Guy were away. Sugar N' Spice were filled with beans as usual. Unfortunately, I'll just have one more lesson with them next week and then they're off for the summer at least.

I was determined to keep anything about school off the schedule yesterday during my day off. Just watched TV and ironed away. The World Cup has now finished its second week, and it's been predictably unpredictable. The big news is that the French populace were hoping to get a big case of the Les Bleus, only to get a really big case of the blues. The only thing that the French team were able to pull off in South Africa was a horribly public implosion in which one of their leading strikers was ejected from the tournament, the other players actually became strikers of a different sort, and the captain was demoted before what would be their final game against South Africa. It all showed on the field as the team looked like a bunch of Sunday amateurs against a quixotically enthused South African team. South Africa may have become the first hosting team to have been kicked out of the tournament in the very first round, but they had oodles more class than their opponents. I bet that the plane ride back to Paris must've been a truly silent one. The Japanese team have one more game to see if they'll join South Korea, Mexico and Maradona's Argentinians in the knockout round starting this weekend. They've gotta defeat Denmark in the early morning our time to ensure this. I'm not quite sure how many rabid fans will be willing to get up at 3 a.m. in the morning to catch the game.

The other local news is that just a little over 2 weeks after the 2nd anniversary of the Akihabara Massacre, some disgruntled former temp worker for Mazda in Hiroshima went postal and tried to do the same thing against his former colleagues....the weapon of choice in his case was a car. He managed to injure 11 people and kill one man. As the psycho was being taken away, he had this anguished look on his face and looked askance at heaven. I kinda wonder if this may have any affect on the scheduled return of the Akiba hokoten next month.

That sumo scandal involving rikishi making illegal bets on baseball and hanafuda keeps spreading. Several wrestlers, stablemasters and hairdressers have been caught in the police investigation and now the cops are looking for a 38-year-old former sumo-turned-yakuza thug who had extorted ozeki Kotomitsuki out of millions of yen as hush money. In a way, I kinda wonder where else ex-sumo could go after their days in the dohyo...if it isn't entertainment, then I could only imagine enforcement. But even NHK has started to pull its weight (no pun intended) on the matter by threatening that it could decide not to show the Nagoya Tournament next month if the Japan Sumo Association doesn't come totally clean. I don't think I ever heard of a tournament being shunned by the network. Already a lot of sumo fans have called in to berate it, but I think NHK may be onto something here.

It's a fairly busy Thursday. I had The Patent Attorney and a double lesson with Grandma Dynamite since she cancelled last week's session. Then, it'll be The Carolinan later tonight followed by The German and then The Music Man. Pretty busy but then again I've only got the juku folks tomorrow night. The Bow has sent word back to me that she wants a lesson next week since she's got a day off then.

Thursday June 24, 12:28 p.m.

The second half of my foodie weekend involved meeting up with the juku boss and Cozy in Kinshicho for dinner at a hotel restaurant. It was the polar opposite of the journey to Bingo Burger the day before. Instead of being at picnic benches in the wilds of Chiba Prefecture, I was on top of the Tobu Hotel Levant in a place called Ren. The three of us had a rather heftily-priced but delicious kaiseki course dinner. For 8,000 yen per head, we were able to dine on sashimi, lobster and the like. We always enjoy our annual trio dinners so Cozy is thinking about having them on a semi-annual basis. However, it almost turned out to be a duo since the juku boss had sent me a phone message stating that she'd come down with a fever, but I was surprised to see my smiling boss with her old friend in our private room.

Thursday June 24, 12:13 p.m.

Yes, it's been a while. I was just too busy to blog on Monday and I didn't have access for the past couple of days. 001 was once again off so I had a completely free Wednesday. That will end next week on Canada Day.

Last Saturday, The Bass and I made that 2-hour pilgrimage from our neck of the woods in Chiba all the way to the other end over 100 km away to the small town of Tateyama, just so that we could grab some hamburgers at this stand called Bingo Burger. The drive there was somewhat easier than I'd thought. The ride on the expressway was free of incident. It's rare for me to see the countryside by car and Tateyama is in the deepest wilds of my home prefecture.

I'd first thought that Bingo Burger was this rustic restaurant in the middle of nowhere, but as it turned out, it was a glorified burger stand in the middle of nowhere. The only sitting space was just behind the stand in the form of a few picnic benches. The Bass and I were lucky in that the dreaded rains never came. I had my default Bacon Burger and what I got was this pretty large American burger with a big slab of bacon wrapped around the patty. The fries came in an American stars-and-stripes paper bag and I chose a bottle of Coke....a cola is the only acceptable drink for a burger. The place did remind me of a Midwestern burger stand....right down to the somewhat sullen slightly overweight proprietor. The only thing that was missing was a radio playing The Everly Brothers. The cook even supplied a complementary gaggle of Hershey's Chocolate Kisses and a lollipop. Afterwads, The Bass and I visited a temple and we did a short stopover at a roadside souvenir shop for some ice cream, but it was for the Bingo Burger that our mission was about. It didn't disappoint, and despite the 4-hour round trip, The Bass and I agreed that it would be worth another visit. Next time, though, I'm gonna go for the Super Bingo with twice of everything, including patties

Thursday June 17, 10:46 p.m.

Well, the Donut Day is now over. I've come out the other side feeling pretty weary. There's nothing like doing nothing to tucker one out. I had Mr. TOEFL's final lesson before his big trip, and The Music Man has come back into the fold. He'd been transferred to the Shibuya office so there was all this training that he had to go through for the past month which would explain his month's absence. Still, he won't tell me what he does for a living. I think he's a grand pianist, but the other idea of secret assassin is also lounging about in my brain.

I'm not gonna get near a computer for the next few days since I'm away from Speedy's for the weekend. I've got The Bass, Mr. Swank and then the juku crowd (basically the boss and The Restauranteur) for tomorrow. Then I head out with The Bass and a friend to check out this famed Bingo Burger in deepest Chiba on Saturday.

Gonna be sleeping in the subway, darling.

Thursday June 17, 6:40 p.m.

Coming to the end of the hole of my Donut Day. In just a little over 90 minutes, Mr. TOEFL will come in for his final lesson with us before heading off to North Carolina for his work-related adventure. It has felt like a bit of an adventure for me, actually, since my long break between lessons reminds me of being on an Air Canada 777....Business Class, though, since I have all this space around me. Just me and my computer which has acted as my onboard entertainment system.

The World Cup holds a mere second place to what seemingly is becoming the big event for this week for Japanese "NCIS" fans...Season 6 starts at 11 p.m. tonight. The local fans on Mixi have been commenting about their excited anticipation about what's to become of DiNozzo, McGee, David and Gibbs now that their team has been scattered to the four winds by new toothpick-chomping Director Vance. Yep, I realize that you folks back Stateside have just finished Season 7.

Thursday June 17, 1:57 p.m.

In the middle of that hole of Donut Day. I've gotten most of the stuff done for the next few days' worth of classes so I'm basically just twiddling my thumbs until dinner or Mr. TOEFL calls.

Bought another lunch from that store near the school. Hmmmm....the quality seems to be going downhill a bit. I used to get a pretty delectable bento consisting of karaage with that starchy salty sauce but those have disappeared from the menu over the past couple of months, and the stand where I usually get the lunches don't come with rice anymore, which is a shocker.

Ray looks like she's gonna doze off any minute. And I don't think she's even had lunch yet.

Thursday June 17, 8:19 a.m.

After yesterday's glorious day of having no classes whatsoever, I'm back in the saddle here at Speedy's. But with Grandma Dynamite once again cancelling her lesson this morning, I find myself in a Donut Day. Nope, it's not a daily run to Krispy Kreme, but the fact that I've just got one morning class with The Patent Attorney followed by nearly 12 hours of nothing before Mr. TOEFL and The Music Man come in for their lessons tonight. Thus, my nickname for this situation.

Just enjoyed my night last night with a good dinner...all of it store-bought....and then I watched what I think was the penultimate episode for Season 1 of "Leverage". Things were getting a bit slumpy with the shows of this otherwise great series with Tim Hutton. Then, last night's ep got things ready for the cliffhanger. And Season 6 of "NCIS" debuts tonight on Fox Japan. Unfortunately, unless both of my students tonight cancel as well, there's no way I'll be able to catch that one at 11 p.m. but reruns are numerous.

It's definitely feeling a lot like Summer out there. Pretty steamy in The Big Sushi. Just in time for the 21st.

Wednesday June 16, 2:32 p.m.

There is some joy in Mudville...or has been for the past couple of days since Japan won over Cameroon 1-0 on Monday night in the opening rounds of The World Cup. Even CNN has reported the win as a stunner. Of course, there was glee in the streets of Tokyo...notably the entertainment districts such as Shibuya and Shinjuku. SIL told me that she'd even heard that cars all stopped for a second when the final whistle blew. Of course, the game this weekend against Holland will be a whole different ball game; Samurai Blue will once again be underdogs, but at least the media has lots of meat to talk about until then.

Prime Minister Kan must be having a good week. Even with a non-confidence motion being filed by the Opposition, the news has been buried underneath The World Cup, and one other news story...also a sports story but a far darker one. Once again, sumo is being rocked by yet another scandal. This time, the rikishi have been caught doing some illegal gambling, notably by ozeki Kotomitsuki. Apparently the big boys have been betting on baseball and other stuff. Kotomitsuki, whose face looks like it's been ingrown, probably wants to suck his face in even further. Well, he's been suspended from the next tournament being held in his own hometown of Nagoya.

As for me, I'm having a rare Wednesday off. I only had 001 today but she cancelled by e-mail last night. Ray sent me word that it was too bad that I couldn't come in today since Grandma Fado brought over some inari sushi for all of the staff. Well, y'know....I think I can live without pouches of vinegared rice when it comes to just enjoying a well-deserved day off. I worked 22 straight days without any complete break.

Yesterday, it was just Mrs. Alp and Mrs. Jade for The Beehive session at JR Tsudanuma. The ladies were noticeably quieter in tone since Alp got that chewing out by that one woman a couple of weeks back, and I have to admit that I was wondering whether that lady was going to come back. However, things worked out nicely. Mrs. Travel was absent since she once again became a grandmother...this time twice, thanks to some good timing by both of her daughters. I'll have to send word over to her.

As for the juku crowd, Mr. White cancelled last night since apparently he's gone back into his depressive funk due to the pressures of his other classes. Sugar N' Spice were going crazy as usual....this time, they were in their civvies rather than their uniforms. The two will be taking a break from me since Sugar will be searching for a university. The boss had thought that Spice would be coming in solo but I'm glad that she'll also be taking off as well....keeps the balance in terms of levels. The juku boss also told me that Cozy has sent official word on the venue for Sunday's dinner. It'll be at a hotel in Kinshicho up on the top with a great view of the rising Tokyo Sky Tree. The boss kinda blanched at the thought since she told me that she has acrophobia. That's news to me....we've had dinner together at that rooftop restaurant at the East 21 Hotel in Toyocho.

Rainy Season has officially started in the Kanto, and last night, we did get a dousing. Apparently, we should be getting another one any minute but it was pretty summery and steamy when I made my way out here.

Monday June 14, 9:00 p.m.

Well, I made some actual text progress...all of 1 page...with Miss Genki tonight. I didn't tell her of the impending change to become her permanent teacher. I figure that should be Speedy's job.

Cozy's got the restaurant reservations done for the next get-together. It's at the Tobu Hotel in Shin-Urayasu. Looks like things may get a bit pricey. He's quoting 8,000 yen per head. Yep, he likes his fancy food.