Saturday June 26, 11:27 p.m.
Got The Little Owl an ideal text for her. It was one of those I SPY puzzle books which has a bit of reading practice for her and those find-it games that she loves so much. Too bad I won't be seeing her for at least a month since the family will be rather busy with other pursuits. Well, it wouldn't be too bad having some free Saturday afternoons.
After her class, I went off to Shinjuku to catch Movie Buddy. We went off to Dubliners as scheduled. I tucked myself into a fish n' chips while MB had a sandwich. Strangely enough, neither of us bothered to have anything alcoholic since MB was nursing a cold and I really wasn't all that much into the stuff in any event. We had a loudmouth equivalent of Japanese white trash sitting beside us just cursing all over the place and arguing as much as they were chatting.
After about an hour there, the two of us headed off to the Curry Master's for her B-day party. True to my age, I nodded off on the 45-minute trip there. We still arrived at the station with plenty of time to spare so we just crashed at a cafe to get some coffee to wake up on. Of course, we talked on our current situations, agreed that we were in a good enough place for now and then we touched a bit on perhaps catching Harry Potter 3 because of the good reviews and perhaps mixing Spidey 2 with the Outback thing on the 11th.
While we were picking up supplies at the supermarket including the birthday cake, the rest of the partygoers showed up including CM herself. MB's girl came by and then another friend popped by. When we all got to CM's pad, the three ladies started cooking up the night's supper which included some avocado salad, wrap sandwiches and Shepherd's Pie. All delicious and surprisingly filling. Then for some reason, the ladies started talking about the latest commercial for the Yuri Takano esthetic salon chain in which a model/actress is swimming au naturel with Gackt, that androgynous rock singer, looking on in approval. I even went on the Net and Yahoo'ed her name. She also happened to be that innocent young girl several years ago hawking plum wine. Woof! What success can do to some people.
While we were tucking ourselves into some cake, CM threw in the DVD of the movie GATTACA with Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. I'd heard all of the arguments for and against this flick. The first hour was interesting enough with all of the sci-fi and stuff, and the film noir elements were appealing but the film slowly lost its ability to compel. And Ethan Hawke is not one of those actors with charisma to spare. So it wasn't too difficult for me when I had to leave for home without catching the conclusion.
Well, I gotta catch some sleep and then get ready for Jazz Buddy and possibly Arwen. She still hasn't responded to my query whether she will really be coming tomorrow afternoon.
Just a place to deposit my thoughts on life here in the Kanto and about anything else that sticks to my walls.
Saturday, June 26, 2004
Friday, June 25, 2004
Saturday June 26, 12:05 a.m.
Well, 6 more months before Boxing Day. Can hardly wait.
The latest Harry Potter movie hits these shores today, a full three weeks after its premiere Stateside. One of the Japanese TV stations celebrated this fact by showing the very first Harry Potter movie on the tube tonight. It was the first time that I got to watch HP. I never got into the books and when I'd heard of the lacklustre reviews for the first film, I decided to wait for a night like tonight to finally catch it.
Now that I have, I can say that I'm happy I saved my money. Not that it was as bad as I had feared, but then again my expectations were quite low. The characters and the sets were great. My problem was with the director, Chris Columbus. Unlike his more celebrated namesake, he didn't really explore. I'd heard that Columbus was just a very mediocre director; now I had the proof. As I mentioned, I had never read the books but after watching the movie, I can believe that Columbus just followed the written tale verbatim. No interesting twists or marks of distinctiveness. It just seemed rather flat. So I guess it will be a breath of fresh air to see another guy at the helm. I'm undecided whether I'll still catch the third entry.
My lesson with The Teacher was quite good today although she seemed to have more memory lapses than usual. Also there was a lot more reading aloud today on her part. The topic was celebrated Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. Actually, her biography was quite interesting to read and we had a good discussion about her. The Teacher also threw in a few of her anecdotes so the result was a nice combination of strict reading and guided conversation.
Then, I had my lessons with Arwen/77 and SR. Both were also pretty cut-and-dry. No real problems. Arwen has requested seeing me on Sunday as well so I've slotted her in after Jazz Buddy.
Got home and ended up making another one of those gooey and greasy fried pork sandwiches for dinner tonight. Another excuse to use up some more of that shredded cheese.
The weather was uniformly wet throughout the day unlike what the forecasters had predicted. I shouldn't be too tough on them, though. Meterologists are only correct 70% of the time and we are in a rather volatile period right now.
Luckily I don't have the morning kids today so I can sleep in a bit. I just The Little Owl and then I meet up with Movie Buddy in Shinjuku for a bit of a pint at Dubliners before heading over to the Curry Master's for her b-day party.
Well, 6 more months before Boxing Day. Can hardly wait.
The latest Harry Potter movie hits these shores today, a full three weeks after its premiere Stateside. One of the Japanese TV stations celebrated this fact by showing the very first Harry Potter movie on the tube tonight. It was the first time that I got to watch HP. I never got into the books and when I'd heard of the lacklustre reviews for the first film, I decided to wait for a night like tonight to finally catch it.
Now that I have, I can say that I'm happy I saved my money. Not that it was as bad as I had feared, but then again my expectations were quite low. The characters and the sets were great. My problem was with the director, Chris Columbus. Unlike his more celebrated namesake, he didn't really explore. I'd heard that Columbus was just a very mediocre director; now I had the proof. As I mentioned, I had never read the books but after watching the movie, I can believe that Columbus just followed the written tale verbatim. No interesting twists or marks of distinctiveness. It just seemed rather flat. So I guess it will be a breath of fresh air to see another guy at the helm. I'm undecided whether I'll still catch the third entry.
My lesson with The Teacher was quite good today although she seemed to have more memory lapses than usual. Also there was a lot more reading aloud today on her part. The topic was celebrated Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. Actually, her biography was quite interesting to read and we had a good discussion about her. The Teacher also threw in a few of her anecdotes so the result was a nice combination of strict reading and guided conversation.
Then, I had my lessons with Arwen/77 and SR. Both were also pretty cut-and-dry. No real problems. Arwen has requested seeing me on Sunday as well so I've slotted her in after Jazz Buddy.
Got home and ended up making another one of those gooey and greasy fried pork sandwiches for dinner tonight. Another excuse to use up some more of that shredded cheese.
The weather was uniformly wet throughout the day unlike what the forecasters had predicted. I shouldn't be too tough on them, though. Meterologists are only correct 70% of the time and we are in a rather volatile period right now.
Luckily I don't have the morning kids today so I can sleep in a bit. I just The Little Owl and then I meet up with Movie Buddy in Shinjuku for a bit of a pint at Dubliners before heading over to the Curry Master's for her b-day party.
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Friday June 25, 7:53 a.m.
As expected, yesterday was a nice slow one. No classes to teach, no lessons to plan. I just got some reprints done up, got a rubdown and made another Taco Rice for dinner. Well, things are back to normal today. I have my regular three classes, but I do finish at a decent hour.
The reputation of the foreign population possibly got another black eye. After that robbery in Shibuya Station on Wednesday, apparently there was another attack by a Korean pickpocketing ring on the Toyoko Line. Thanks to a knife and mace, they made their getaway through the tony neighbourhood of Den'en-Chofu. Well, everyone except one fellow. He got spotted and shot by the cops. In a country where guns are extremely rare, the media will put the number of shots fired front and centre. Also, a 16-year-old girl was strangled to death by her former Sri Lankan boyfriend of 36. Gahhh..
The election campaign for the Upper House is in full swing. The usual pols wearing their ironic white gloves spouting their usual rhetoric and lies.
Currently watching a Michael Buble DVD. He's the next coming of Sinatra and Darin...and he's Canadian! One more proud thing for the Maple Leaf.
As expected, yesterday was a nice slow one. No classes to teach, no lessons to plan. I just got some reprints done up, got a rubdown and made another Taco Rice for dinner. Well, things are back to normal today. I have my regular three classes, but I do finish at a decent hour.
The reputation of the foreign population possibly got another black eye. After that robbery in Shibuya Station on Wednesday, apparently there was another attack by a Korean pickpocketing ring on the Toyoko Line. Thanks to a knife and mace, they made their getaway through the tony neighbourhood of Den'en-Chofu. Well, everyone except one fellow. He got spotted and shot by the cops. In a country where guns are extremely rare, the media will put the number of shots fired front and centre. Also, a 16-year-old girl was strangled to death by her former Sri Lankan boyfriend of 36. Gahhh..
The election campaign for the Upper House is in full swing. The usual pols wearing their ironic white gloves spouting their usual rhetoric and lies.
Currently watching a Michael Buble DVD. He's the next coming of Sinatra and Darin...and he's Canadian! One more proud thing for the Maple Leaf.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Thursday June 24, 8:01 a.m.
Last year, it was the random stabbings there. Now, it's armed robbery. Shibuya once again showed why it's scaring a lot of people when a middle-aged man shot a subway station employee carrying the revenue from commuter pass purchases yesterday. The robber then took the bag and ran causing a bit of a panic. The man is still at large. Hopefully, the cops will get their man. The employee is alive but seriously hurt.
I met Jazz Buddy again for her first official lesson, but once again, it didn't exactly turn out as expected. For one thing, she had forgotten that we were to meet at 11 instead of the 11:30 that she turned up at. Also, she walked me for about 10 minutes to one of the tall Shinjuku skyscrapers...all the way up to the 50th floor where we entered this rather elegant restaurant serving elegant bentos. This place, Uonoya, is following the example of a lot of usually expensive dinner venues and serving reasonably-priced lunches. JB may be soft-spoken but she can wrest what she wants; when the waitress offered to seat us at the counter, JB quietly but firmly asked for the alcove by the window. It didn't really matter, though, where we were seated. There was no way we could do a lesson there with the hustle and bustle of the lunch time office folks.
Then, when we got out of the place, we tried to find some spot to park ourselves for the lesson only to find that all the seats and tables were occupied, so we ended up just sitting on a stone ledge in front of a hedge in the hot sun. Not exactly a conducive environment for learning. Well, I wasn't about to charge her for 2 hours when the first hour was spent walking and eating.
I may have been guilty of misdirection myself, though. After JB's lesson, I was to meet Arwen at the south gate of Shinjuku Station. However, I was left waiting at the station for an extra 10 minutes before she came. Not that I was steaming...at least, not emotionally. She apologized for being late. However, when I checked my messages last night, I received an e-mail from her which came in too late for me to read before taking off stating that according to my reply to her she wasn't too sure about where to meet. I realized that she may have gone to the other venue before rushing to return to the station. And when I checked my reply, I also realized that it was rather ambigious. Well, not that it would really much at this point, I sent a letter of apology. Considering my little run-in with the Scheduler earlier this week, I think I was hoist on my own petard.
I tried making that Taco Rice that Curry Master had served me last night. I wouldn't say that it was incredibly cheap to get the ingredients but I do have leftover stuff to make another batch tonight. It's another notch on my repertoire. Speaking of CM, it looks like her party will be at 7 on Saturday in her neck of the woods.
Well, because I was finally to drop the deadweight student from my Thursday schedule and the school hasn't scheduled me in for any classes today, I find myself with a rare day off. It's another hot one out there. I've gotten the mattresses out on the balcony railing to air out and hopefully, I'll be able to do a bit of light cleaning. Meanwhile, I'll get some reprints and then get that rubdown.
Last year, it was the random stabbings there. Now, it's armed robbery. Shibuya once again showed why it's scaring a lot of people when a middle-aged man shot a subway station employee carrying the revenue from commuter pass purchases yesterday. The robber then took the bag and ran causing a bit of a panic. The man is still at large. Hopefully, the cops will get their man. The employee is alive but seriously hurt.
I met Jazz Buddy again for her first official lesson, but once again, it didn't exactly turn out as expected. For one thing, she had forgotten that we were to meet at 11 instead of the 11:30 that she turned up at. Also, she walked me for about 10 minutes to one of the tall Shinjuku skyscrapers...all the way up to the 50th floor where we entered this rather elegant restaurant serving elegant bentos. This place, Uonoya, is following the example of a lot of usually expensive dinner venues and serving reasonably-priced lunches. JB may be soft-spoken but she can wrest what she wants; when the waitress offered to seat us at the counter, JB quietly but firmly asked for the alcove by the window. It didn't really matter, though, where we were seated. There was no way we could do a lesson there with the hustle and bustle of the lunch time office folks.
Then, when we got out of the place, we tried to find some spot to park ourselves for the lesson only to find that all the seats and tables were occupied, so we ended up just sitting on a stone ledge in front of a hedge in the hot sun. Not exactly a conducive environment for learning. Well, I wasn't about to charge her for 2 hours when the first hour was spent walking and eating.
I may have been guilty of misdirection myself, though. After JB's lesson, I was to meet Arwen at the south gate of Shinjuku Station. However, I was left waiting at the station for an extra 10 minutes before she came. Not that I was steaming...at least, not emotionally. She apologized for being late. However, when I checked my messages last night, I received an e-mail from her which came in too late for me to read before taking off stating that according to my reply to her she wasn't too sure about where to meet. I realized that she may have gone to the other venue before rushing to return to the station. And when I checked my reply, I also realized that it was rather ambigious. Well, not that it would really much at this point, I sent a letter of apology. Considering my little run-in with the Scheduler earlier this week, I think I was hoist on my own petard.
I tried making that Taco Rice that Curry Master had served me last night. I wouldn't say that it was incredibly cheap to get the ingredients but I do have leftover stuff to make another batch tonight. It's another notch on my repertoire. Speaking of CM, it looks like her party will be at 7 on Saturday in her neck of the woods.
Well, because I was finally to drop the deadweight student from my Thursday schedule and the school hasn't scheduled me in for any classes today, I find myself with a rare day off. It's another hot one out there. I've gotten the mattresses out on the balcony railing to air out and hopefully, I'll be able to do a bit of light cleaning. Meanwhile, I'll get some reprints and then get that rubdown.
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Wednesday June 23, 7:01 a.m.
Although I couldn't tell from the sky last night, it was just one of those full moon type of days. My Tuesday started well enough with my first class. However, things started when I checked my messages and the only one that I had was the one from the Scheduler telling me that I had a class from 1. Well she was definitely wrong there so when I called her up in some dismay, we had a short tense round. She'd only sent me an e-mail on Saturday asking when I would be available to teach this week. I gave her an answer that I'd be able to teach on such-and-such a day, and that was it. She took it as gospel apparently but never got back to me so I thought that those days weren't available. In all fairness, I have to share a bit of the blame since I didn't check with her on Monday to make sure whether I did have a class or not. However, I'm glad that I called in an hour before class began so that the Scheduler at least had a chance to find someone else. I'd already had plans made and plus, I was not in regulation dress. Fortunately, last night, I got a somewhat surprising e-mail of reconciliation from her since she had a bitter reputation in her first tour of duty with the school. In fact, one of the first things that the head teacher told me when I started there was not to cross the Scheduler. Perhaps, she's finally mellowing out.
Unfortunately, when any of these types of situations happen, my mind goes into automatic "dwell" mode and starts to analyze everything in detail. Where did I go wrong? Did I screw up somewhere? I don't let it distract me from my work and by the next day, the self-flagellation largely disappears but, boy, for much of yesterday, I had to contend with that. So I was especially relieved that the Scheduler had sent that letter of apology. I responded with equal grace and then advised her about when to confirm with me.
That was just the beginning of the full-moon events. The other didn't affect me directly but it did affect several thousand commuters. It looks like my line was the victim of a couple of errant flying tarps which conveniently landed across the tracks, thereby stopping traffic for a few hours. The students at the juku all called in to say that they would be coming in late. And sure enough, each class came in 20 minutes late.
I actually had the fort all to myself for most of my time at the juku last night. The boss had to head to a funeral so I could actually enjoy a solitary existence for a couple of hours before my first class. The boss also had to make a couple of calls and find out what the subway situation was like as well. The other main route was also clogged because of some sort of accident.
Well, this morning, I got started on that latest attempt at homemade yogurt. I sterilized that setup that one of my Monday students had given me and the I scooped in four spoonfuls of that Caspian Sea yogurt starter along with 1 L of milk. The whole thing is now sitting in my bedroom in the hopes that it'll evolve into a solid batch of yogurt by tonight. This has got to be a hobby...it's far easier just to buy the thing from the supermarket.
Not only do I have Jazz Buddy for her first official class in Shinjuku today but I've got Arwen as well. She quit her job after a brief and somewhat contentious time there. I'd forgotten that she said that she'd like to have my lessons as much as possible. As it is, I find myself with a rare Thursday off; however, I'll probably keep that as such and see if I can schedule her in for Sunday afternoon or Saturday morning.
Although I couldn't tell from the sky last night, it was just one of those full moon type of days. My Tuesday started well enough with my first class. However, things started when I checked my messages and the only one that I had was the one from the Scheduler telling me that I had a class from 1. Well she was definitely wrong there so when I called her up in some dismay, we had a short tense round. She'd only sent me an e-mail on Saturday asking when I would be available to teach this week. I gave her an answer that I'd be able to teach on such-and-such a day, and that was it. She took it as gospel apparently but never got back to me so I thought that those days weren't available. In all fairness, I have to share a bit of the blame since I didn't check with her on Monday to make sure whether I did have a class or not. However, I'm glad that I called in an hour before class began so that the Scheduler at least had a chance to find someone else. I'd already had plans made and plus, I was not in regulation dress. Fortunately, last night, I got a somewhat surprising e-mail of reconciliation from her since she had a bitter reputation in her first tour of duty with the school. In fact, one of the first things that the head teacher told me when I started there was not to cross the Scheduler. Perhaps, she's finally mellowing out.
Unfortunately, when any of these types of situations happen, my mind goes into automatic "dwell" mode and starts to analyze everything in detail. Where did I go wrong? Did I screw up somewhere? I don't let it distract me from my work and by the next day, the self-flagellation largely disappears but, boy, for much of yesterday, I had to contend with that. So I was especially relieved that the Scheduler had sent that letter of apology. I responded with equal grace and then advised her about when to confirm with me.
That was just the beginning of the full-moon events. The other didn't affect me directly but it did affect several thousand commuters. It looks like my line was the victim of a couple of errant flying tarps which conveniently landed across the tracks, thereby stopping traffic for a few hours. The students at the juku all called in to say that they would be coming in late. And sure enough, each class came in 20 minutes late.
I actually had the fort all to myself for most of my time at the juku last night. The boss had to head to a funeral so I could actually enjoy a solitary existence for a couple of hours before my first class. The boss also had to make a couple of calls and find out what the subway situation was like as well. The other main route was also clogged because of some sort of accident.
Well, this morning, I got started on that latest attempt at homemade yogurt. I sterilized that setup that one of my Monday students had given me and the I scooped in four spoonfuls of that Caspian Sea yogurt starter along with 1 L of milk. The whole thing is now sitting in my bedroom in the hopes that it'll evolve into a solid batch of yogurt by tonight. This has got to be a hobby...it's far easier just to buy the thing from the supermarket.
Not only do I have Jazz Buddy for her first official class in Shinjuku today but I've got Arwen as well. She quit her job after a brief and somewhat contentious time there. I'd forgotten that she said that she'd like to have my lessons as much as possible. As it is, I find myself with a rare Thursday off; however, I'll probably keep that as such and see if I can schedule her in for Sunday afternoon or Saturday morning.
Monday, June 21, 2004
Monday June 21, 9:45 p.m.
Let's see...when I got home tonight, my room smelled and felt like a sauna, I smelled and I felt like a sauna. I guess it's officially summer.
Well, Typhoon No. 6 made all the news this morning. NHK set aside a half-hour on the hour for the latest superstorm. GD's town, arguably the rainiest zone in all of Japan, certainly looked the part when it showed up on TV getting waterblasted. As for here, we got hipchecked this afternoon by No. 6. A lot of Sturm und Drang in the form of high winds and downpours. No real damage to anyone here although my umbrella suffered a dislocated rib. Even now the winds are blowing all over. However, the summer heat will be hitting us just as bad tomorrow. It's gonna hit 32 big degrees in the Big Sushi. It's gonna be hell.
I kinda figured that the loss of that stingy student last week would spark something. Well, not only did I lose her and the angst-ridden Stylist, but I also got rid of two students. My Monday student told me that her sister-in-law would be away for a while since her father hasn't been doing too well and the sister-in-law is his primary caregiver. And now, my juku boss told me that the oft-absent Salaryman would be giving up his lessons due to his work. To be honest, with the exception of the Sister-in-Law, I think they are all deadweight and as such, deserve to be jettisoned. Plus, I won't take too much of a hit in terms of salary. I am starting to think, though, about being a bit more aware of who I take on as students.
Speaking of my Monday morning students, one of them, someone who's really into yogurt making, got the other student and I some 100-yen plastic yogurt jars with markings showing how much yogurt starter and milk to put. All I have to do is just stir and leave outside in a warm place. My place should make a lot of amazing yogurt this summer.
I went a bit nuts on the money again. I picked up a DVD of Bjork videos. I'm not a huge fan of her music but her videos have always been intriguing. The final straw was seeing her Austin Powers-like show tune number last night at Arwen's.
I never got any word from the school about any classes this week. So it's entirely possible that I may have a completely free Thursday. Not too, too bad.
The NHK news is on right now. Looks like JR has been tied up in knots as usual which means the subways are as well. My line was getting bunched up so when I just missed the first one, the second one came in within 2 minutes. It almost looked empty since everyone frontloaded onto the first one.
I was definitely not in any mood to cook tonight. So I tried out the new ramen place below my station. They specialize in a very garlicky soup. I had the one with the roasted pork. Pretty good. It's already gotten the salarymen coming in.
Well, let's see Bjork!
Let's see...when I got home tonight, my room smelled and felt like a sauna, I smelled and I felt like a sauna. I guess it's officially summer.
Well, Typhoon No. 6 made all the news this morning. NHK set aside a half-hour on the hour for the latest superstorm. GD's town, arguably the rainiest zone in all of Japan, certainly looked the part when it showed up on TV getting waterblasted. As for here, we got hipchecked this afternoon by No. 6. A lot of Sturm und Drang in the form of high winds and downpours. No real damage to anyone here although my umbrella suffered a dislocated rib. Even now the winds are blowing all over. However, the summer heat will be hitting us just as bad tomorrow. It's gonna hit 32 big degrees in the Big Sushi. It's gonna be hell.
I kinda figured that the loss of that stingy student last week would spark something. Well, not only did I lose her and the angst-ridden Stylist, but I also got rid of two students. My Monday student told me that her sister-in-law would be away for a while since her father hasn't been doing too well and the sister-in-law is his primary caregiver. And now, my juku boss told me that the oft-absent Salaryman would be giving up his lessons due to his work. To be honest, with the exception of the Sister-in-Law, I think they are all deadweight and as such, deserve to be jettisoned. Plus, I won't take too much of a hit in terms of salary. I am starting to think, though, about being a bit more aware of who I take on as students.
Speaking of my Monday morning students, one of them, someone who's really into yogurt making, got the other student and I some 100-yen plastic yogurt jars with markings showing how much yogurt starter and milk to put. All I have to do is just stir and leave outside in a warm place. My place should make a lot of amazing yogurt this summer.
I went a bit nuts on the money again. I picked up a DVD of Bjork videos. I'm not a huge fan of her music but her videos have always been intriguing. The final straw was seeing her Austin Powers-like show tune number last night at Arwen's.
I never got any word from the school about any classes this week. So it's entirely possible that I may have a completely free Thursday. Not too, too bad.
The NHK news is on right now. Looks like JR has been tied up in knots as usual which means the subways are as well. My line was getting bunched up so when I just missed the first one, the second one came in within 2 minutes. It almost looked empty since everyone frontloaded onto the first one.
I was definitely not in any mood to cook tonight. So I tried out the new ramen place below my station. They specialize in a very garlicky soup. I had the one with the roasted pork. Pretty good. It's already gotten the salarymen coming in.
Well, let's see Bjork!
Sunday, June 20, 2004
Sunday June 20, 9:47 p.m.
Took off early this morning to Arwen's place in Asagaya for DTE's farewell. It was a crosstown ride in every sense of the word; it took me one-and-a-third hours to arrive at the station. When I did, I waited about 20 minutes since I got there well ahead of the scheduled meeting time. Arwen biked up and then we went off to have some lunch at the Village Vanguard. Not quite the true namesake of the legendary jazz joint in NYC, it still had that 1950s sensibility though the music was reggae-tinged. Arwen and I shared an interesting twist on a Caesar Salad: same sauce, same bacon but there were chunks of toast and boiled Japanese pumpkin. I also indulged in a rather large hamburger and fries.
77 arrived an hour later. We went to the arcade mall to get our shopping done since we all planned to cook up something for the potluck. I was going to contribute my Sweet N' Sour Chicken, while 77 cooked mabo dofu and Arwen created her tuna gazpacho.
Arwen and her hubby live in a nice apartment next to a sumo stable. There was a rather rotund trainee sweeping outside the stable when we passed by. Arwen's apartment is a 1LDK; certainly her kitchen space dwarfed mine by a factor of 3:1. All of us got started on our respective projects before the ladies took off to pick up DTE from the station. When they got back, it wasn't too long before everything was completed and we all dug in for a feast. By the time we were finished, we felt a lot like our neighbours. Plus, when we entered the un-air-conditioned tatami room, we all felt like hibernating. 77 actually did so for several minutes. All this time, Arwen's husband, Aragorn, was busy working at his project so he could only tackle the leftovers.
After a while, Aragorn and I thankfully returned to the cool comfort of the kitchen area and spoke on movies and DVD players before we took a look at his disc of Spike Jonze videos. Some very interesting ones including the much-heralded ode to middle age hoofin' by Chris Walken in Weapon of Choice. However, I also did see a pre-director Sofia Coppola in her turn as a rhythmic gymnast and Weezer's hilarious Zelig appearance on Happy Days. But the "What the--?" monent had to be the final video with Bjork doing her own kicksteps and showtune. Still, it didn't quite match her au naturel appearance in a later video.
The sun was heading south so DTE and I decided to make our way home. The others accompanied us to the station to meet up with a latecomer to head over for some drinking. Arwen asked if I would be available for something on Wednesday afternoon. Her timing is pretty good since The Office Lady has cancelled her regular lesson for this week and I'll just be finishing off with Jazz Buddy in Shinjuku on that day.
The winds have started to pick up and the clouds are flying by at mach speed as that typhoon is approaching.
Took off early this morning to Arwen's place in Asagaya for DTE's farewell. It was a crosstown ride in every sense of the word; it took me one-and-a-third hours to arrive at the station. When I did, I waited about 20 minutes since I got there well ahead of the scheduled meeting time. Arwen biked up and then we went off to have some lunch at the Village Vanguard. Not quite the true namesake of the legendary jazz joint in NYC, it still had that 1950s sensibility though the music was reggae-tinged. Arwen and I shared an interesting twist on a Caesar Salad: same sauce, same bacon but there were chunks of toast and boiled Japanese pumpkin. I also indulged in a rather large hamburger and fries.
77 arrived an hour later. We went to the arcade mall to get our shopping done since we all planned to cook up something for the potluck. I was going to contribute my Sweet N' Sour Chicken, while 77 cooked mabo dofu and Arwen created her tuna gazpacho.
Arwen and her hubby live in a nice apartment next to a sumo stable. There was a rather rotund trainee sweeping outside the stable when we passed by. Arwen's apartment is a 1LDK; certainly her kitchen space dwarfed mine by a factor of 3:1. All of us got started on our respective projects before the ladies took off to pick up DTE from the station. When they got back, it wasn't too long before everything was completed and we all dug in for a feast. By the time we were finished, we felt a lot like our neighbours. Plus, when we entered the un-air-conditioned tatami room, we all felt like hibernating. 77 actually did so for several minutes. All this time, Arwen's husband, Aragorn, was busy working at his project so he could only tackle the leftovers.
After a while, Aragorn and I thankfully returned to the cool comfort of the kitchen area and spoke on movies and DVD players before we took a look at his disc of Spike Jonze videos. Some very interesting ones including the much-heralded ode to middle age hoofin' by Chris Walken in Weapon of Choice. However, I also did see a pre-director Sofia Coppola in her turn as a rhythmic gymnast and Weezer's hilarious Zelig appearance on Happy Days. But the "What the--?" monent had to be the final video with Bjork doing her own kicksteps and showtune. Still, it didn't quite match her au naturel appearance in a later video.
The sun was heading south so DTE and I decided to make our way home. The others accompanied us to the station to meet up with a latecomer to head over for some drinking. Arwen asked if I would be available for something on Wednesday afternoon. Her timing is pretty good since The Office Lady has cancelled her regular lesson for this week and I'll just be finishing off with Jazz Buddy in Shinjuku on that day.
The winds have started to pick up and the clouds are flying by at mach speed as that typhoon is approaching.
Saturday, June 19, 2004
Sunday June 19, 1:01 a.m.
Another long day's journey into night. I managed to survive the kids on Saturday although I wasn't too satisfied with my performance with the smaller sister. I just felt too pooped out. Luckily, I won't have them next week due to some family matter with them. My class with the the Little Owl went well enough; I even gave her a diary to start writing down some guided English sentences.
My 2 hours with M + M helped a lot. We got onto some juicy topics such as the phenomenon of GO-KON, or organized dating en masse. We even went 10 minutes overtime.
As it turned out, The Ballerina could only be with us until 8 p.m. since she's stationed all the way out in a hotel in Narita due to the demands of her job as a flight attendant. I wish she could've told us earlier; I would've hurried out of the Tea Room to meet up with them. As it were, I managed to catch up with her, Movie Buddy and Skippy at this underground grill in Shinjuku. We were nestled right by the door but at least we did have an electric fan right over us so we had access to some good airflow. The Ballerina looked like she picked up a couple of kilos probably due to her diet in London and also because she doesn't have to stress out anymore over getting her dream job. Skippy looked to be in even more of an uptempo mood than usual...which is saying a lot. MB thought she was her usual self but I thought that the caffeine levels in her were more elevated. How can anyone be that genki in Tokyo?
Anyways, as per schedule, The Ballerina took off at shortly after 8. Skip, MB and I just went next door to the Excelsior Cafe and had some relatively cheap coffee and dessert. We got into some rather risque topics of discussion such as some of the more interesting shops in the red-light district. Skippy was all for that talk. I think she was acting just like Monty Python's Eric Idle in that "Nudge, nudge, wink, wink" sketch. We even got into planning for the next outing which is the Outback Steakhouse in Shinagawa. It seems like some of the alumni are interested in sinking their teeth into a good porterhouse. I'm not sure how that will chime in with the viewing of Spiderman 2 next month.Skippy also asked about inviting Arwen and 77. But I'm still not quite sure how Arwen feels about Skip.
Skippy had to take off so it was just MB and me. MB didn't feel like going home just yet so he asked me if I could stay with him a spell longer for another round. I hadn't seen the lad for a while, so despite the fact that I felt and smelled rather rank, I decided to go with him one more hour longer. Also, I had thought that he wanted to inform me of something.
As it turned out, he really just wanted to hang out a bit longer so we just gabbed at a Starbucks near Times Square. Among the topics was the fact that MB's girl (a notorious non-planner according to him and the Curry Master) is trying to set up something for CM's birthday. CM had already hinted at such a thing on Thursday. It looks like it's gonna be for the 26th which suits me just fine. It'll probably be in CM's neck of the woods which is also just fine since I'm only two stations away. CM isn't too big on going out to the big city.
On the way home on the subway, I got clubbed by accident by a dimwit who must've dozed off and then initially realized she was at her station with only a few seconds to spare before the doors closed. However, it wasn't her station so she just stumbled her way back to her seat. She must've been rather drunk since she looked somewhat zombified. Surprisingly, I didn't have any particular incentive to kick her but I did take my frustrations out on the laundry drying on the line. I just whipped them back in.
Well, I've got that farewell party for DTE later today so I've got that recipe for Sweet N' Sour Chicken all ready to go when I meet up with Arwen and 77.
Another long day's journey into night. I managed to survive the kids on Saturday although I wasn't too satisfied with my performance with the smaller sister. I just felt too pooped out. Luckily, I won't have them next week due to some family matter with them. My class with the the Little Owl went well enough; I even gave her a diary to start writing down some guided English sentences.
My 2 hours with M + M helped a lot. We got onto some juicy topics such as the phenomenon of GO-KON, or organized dating en masse. We even went 10 minutes overtime.
As it turned out, The Ballerina could only be with us until 8 p.m. since she's stationed all the way out in a hotel in Narita due to the demands of her job as a flight attendant. I wish she could've told us earlier; I would've hurried out of the Tea Room to meet up with them. As it were, I managed to catch up with her, Movie Buddy and Skippy at this underground grill in Shinjuku. We were nestled right by the door but at least we did have an electric fan right over us so we had access to some good airflow. The Ballerina looked like she picked up a couple of kilos probably due to her diet in London and also because she doesn't have to stress out anymore over getting her dream job. Skippy looked to be in even more of an uptempo mood than usual...which is saying a lot. MB thought she was her usual self but I thought that the caffeine levels in her were more elevated. How can anyone be that genki in Tokyo?
Anyways, as per schedule, The Ballerina took off at shortly after 8. Skip, MB and I just went next door to the Excelsior Cafe and had some relatively cheap coffee and dessert. We got into some rather risque topics of discussion such as some of the more interesting shops in the red-light district. Skippy was all for that talk. I think she was acting just like Monty Python's Eric Idle in that "Nudge, nudge, wink, wink" sketch. We even got into planning for the next outing which is the Outback Steakhouse in Shinagawa. It seems like some of the alumni are interested in sinking their teeth into a good porterhouse. I'm not sure how that will chime in with the viewing of Spiderman 2 next month.Skippy also asked about inviting Arwen and 77. But I'm still not quite sure how Arwen feels about Skip.
Skippy had to take off so it was just MB and me. MB didn't feel like going home just yet so he asked me if I could stay with him a spell longer for another round. I hadn't seen the lad for a while, so despite the fact that I felt and smelled rather rank, I decided to go with him one more hour longer. Also, I had thought that he wanted to inform me of something.
As it turned out, he really just wanted to hang out a bit longer so we just gabbed at a Starbucks near Times Square. Among the topics was the fact that MB's girl (a notorious non-planner according to him and the Curry Master) is trying to set up something for CM's birthday. CM had already hinted at such a thing on Thursday. It looks like it's gonna be for the 26th which suits me just fine. It'll probably be in CM's neck of the woods which is also just fine since I'm only two stations away. CM isn't too big on going out to the big city.
On the way home on the subway, I got clubbed by accident by a dimwit who must've dozed off and then initially realized she was at her station with only a few seconds to spare before the doors closed. However, it wasn't her station so she just stumbled her way back to her seat. She must've been rather drunk since she looked somewhat zombified. Surprisingly, I didn't have any particular incentive to kick her but I did take my frustrations out on the laundry drying on the line. I just whipped them back in.
Well, I've got that farewell party for DTE later today so I've got that recipe for Sweet N' Sour Chicken all ready to go when I meet up with Arwen and 77.
Friday, June 18, 2004
Friday June 18, 7:28 p.m.
Hot and humid today. But we've got Typhoon 6 barreling toward us. It'll slam into Okinawa tomorrow and it may cause some havoc on the mainland in the latter half of the weekend and early next week. The one worry is when the meterologist stated that this hurricance is so powerful that even making landfall won't slow it down. That's one mother of a storm.
My chat with The Teacher was supposed to be on Nostradamus but we ended up talking about the movie "The Lover", one of her favorites. It's the somewhat controversial (at least in prudish North America) one from the early 90s with Jane (where is she now?) March and a Chinese actor.
For lunch, I tried McDonalds' newest taste treat, The Grande, which is really a Big Mac without the middle slice of bread and with some zesty pepper mayo. Not too bad but I have one logistical qualm with it which is that everytime I took a bite, the contents threatened to slip out. Too much mayo, I say. And the price is 200 yen more than the Big Mac Set. I probably won't make a habit of buying the Grande.
In between The Teacher and SR, I went down to the Ginza to see if I could pick up a couple of more magazines for perusal. I managed to do so although I had to scour a lot of the bookstores there. Plus, I picked up the text for Jazz Buddy.
By the time I reached the Tea Room, I was feeling distinctly like a wet rag. SR and I had a pretty good talk as well about one of the people she had met during her quick trip through LA a couple of weeks back. She's a teen who has a thing for manga and anime. I offered to introduce her to my buddy, GD, who's the expert on such things.
Well, I gotta have dinner and then plan for the kids tomorrow.
Hot and humid today. But we've got Typhoon 6 barreling toward us. It'll slam into Okinawa tomorrow and it may cause some havoc on the mainland in the latter half of the weekend and early next week. The one worry is when the meterologist stated that this hurricance is so powerful that even making landfall won't slow it down. That's one mother of a storm.
My chat with The Teacher was supposed to be on Nostradamus but we ended up talking about the movie "The Lover", one of her favorites. It's the somewhat controversial (at least in prudish North America) one from the early 90s with Jane (where is she now?) March and a Chinese actor.
For lunch, I tried McDonalds' newest taste treat, The Grande, which is really a Big Mac without the middle slice of bread and with some zesty pepper mayo. Not too bad but I have one logistical qualm with it which is that everytime I took a bite, the contents threatened to slip out. Too much mayo, I say. And the price is 200 yen more than the Big Mac Set. I probably won't make a habit of buying the Grande.
In between The Teacher and SR, I went down to the Ginza to see if I could pick up a couple of more magazines for perusal. I managed to do so although I had to scour a lot of the bookstores there. Plus, I picked up the text for Jazz Buddy.
By the time I reached the Tea Room, I was feeling distinctly like a wet rag. SR and I had a pretty good talk as well about one of the people she had met during her quick trip through LA a couple of weeks back. She's a teen who has a thing for manga and anime. I offered to introduce her to my buddy, GD, who's the expert on such things.
Well, I gotta have dinner and then plan for the kids tomorrow.
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Thursday June 17, 9:53 p.m.
Taught a class at the school today for the first time in a few weeks. No problems there, and then I met up with Arwen and 77 for their regular lesson.
My lesson with the Curry Master had an extra benefit tonight. I not only got paid for the lesson but I also got dinner in the form of taco rice. Taco rice is just all the fixins for a taco except for the shell and dump it on hot rice. We also did our usual gossip updates on people like my juku boss and Movie Buddy.
It looks like it'll be a busy Saturday for me. Not only do I have my regular kids but I have that monthly chitchit with M + M and then I meet The Ballerina and Movie Buddy for dinner. I sent out the call to Skippy but I doubt that she will commit at such short notice.
Taught a class at the school today for the first time in a few weeks. No problems there, and then I met up with Arwen and 77 for their regular lesson.
My lesson with the Curry Master had an extra benefit tonight. I not only got paid for the lesson but I also got dinner in the form of taco rice. Taco rice is just all the fixins for a taco except for the shell and dump it on hot rice. We also did our usual gossip updates on people like my juku boss and Movie Buddy.
It looks like it'll be a busy Saturday for me. Not only do I have my regular kids but I have that monthly chitchit with M + M and then I meet The Ballerina and Movie Buddy for dinner. I sent out the call to Skippy but I doubt that she will commit at such short notice.
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Wednesday June 16, 10:20 p.m.
Well, I lost another student in as many days today. First, it was that stingy, moody one from the juku. Today, I ran over to the Stylist's place of work, trying not to be late and failing by a few minutes. Within a minute of my "gomenasai", the Stylist sheepishly gave me my walking papers.
To be honest, I wasn't either that shocked or all that dismayed by it although it's never great to lose a student. In the past four months that we have known each other, we only managed to cover just four pages of her textbook. Another hint was that surreal class last month. I asked her if she didn't enjoy my lesson. She didn't really answer the question but she just said "Yaruki ga nai." (I've lost the desire).The past couple of times with her, she didn't seem to be too eager which supported her reason to say that. She also pointed out that she wasn't too comfortable with a one-on-one lesson since she had to provide half of the conversation; she simply didn't want to work THAT hard during her day off, and she admitted that half her mind was in day-off mode. Plus, she also stated that she had a lot on her mind about her future, and it seems that not all of it was very happy.
In any case, as soon as she said that she had lost the interest, that was all I needed to pack my bag. Once a student says that, it's game over. There was a natually a bit of awkwardess about those ten minutes I was there, but the two of us were cordial enough although I was initially pissed off inside that she didn't bother to pinkslip me by e-mail or phone earlier; it would've saved me the commute time. However, she said that she felt telling me in person was the right thing to do. I can respect that. And she still paid me for a full lesson which was very maganimous of her. I told her that I could understand her decision; I would rather have her cut me loose now, instead of having to slog through some miserable classes with a student who didn't want to be there. And then, I could use that empty time for someone who really wanted to learn. Finally, I think she's the first student who actually had the guts to tell me the truth about letting me go, instead of feeding me the usual white lie like The Hawaiian and those two real-estate agents did last year.
Still, some of my natural self-doubt returned as I made my premature way back to Oimachi Station. But I didn't let it overwhelm me as it would have in previous years. I know that I'm a good teacher...I just wasn't her teacher or she just wasn't my student.
I took the train out to Odaiba. It had been several weeks since I'd been there and with the sunny weather, I thought it would be nice to have a treat especially after the above event. I attended my usual buffet restaurant there, The Sunset Beach Factory. Of course, the Law of Buffets states that the quality and quantity of food share an inverse relationship. However, it was palatable enough for me to spend more than 90 minutes there with the view of the Rainbow Bridge in the background.
After that, I waddled my way over to the next mall, Aqua City, where I first checked out the movie listings at the Mediage cineplex. As I figured, there wasn't anything there that I really wanted to catch. As I have mentioned before, I wasn't too eager to see "The Day After Tomorrow" and "The Ladykillers" is a Tom Hanks flick but the reviews were rather so-so. So I just went over to HMV and treated myself to a DVD and a Misia CD. The DVD I purchased was that "Bayside Shakedown" movie that I had caught a year ago in Shibuya. It was a good flick, Japanese or Western. The Misia CD is a compilation of her past ballads so I decided to splurge the yen for that although I didn't buy her last original album since I wasn't too impressed. My HMV point card has passed the 50-point mark so when it expires in a month and a half, I'm eligible for a 2000 yen discount. There is no way that I'm gonna reach 100 points for that 4500 yen discount.
When I left the mall, it was still sunny and warm but not humid. I was tempted to take a ride on the free shuttle but it would've just taken me on a loop so I decided to take the bus back to Tokyo Station. At 200 yen, it's cheaper than taking the Yurikamome monorail. I slept a bit in the bus as it wound its way across the bay. I passed through the modernized area of Tsukishima; there was a pretty nice condo setup there. It's always nice to see some new segment of Tokyo.
35 minutes later, I got off at the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station and walked over to the Yaesu Book Centre. It's a somewhat off-kilter bookstore in that the decor was quite old and yet there was a lot of art thrown up on the walls. The first floor had a high ceiling just like the first floors of department stores and there was an open mezzanine/coffee shop to fill some of that altitude up. In another interesting twist, the escalators only went as far up as the 4th floor; then the elevators picked up the relay torch to go up to the 7th floor. I decided to schlep my way up the stairs to 7 where the foreign books were located. There was a section with a sign screaming in blue and white "NUDES". They certainly weren't subtle. However, I didn't see anything English-written which struck my fancy.
After leaving the bookstore, I walked down to the Ginza and over to Yamano Music to fill up my point card there as well. I decided to buy down Memory Lane as I picked up a J-Idol CD from the 80s and even an old Gilbert O'Sullivan single, "Alone Again, Naturally". It's been getting some major airplay as a commercial jingle over here. I tried to find another Level 42 disc to no avail. But I did pick up another Michael Buble CD. The Canadian answer to Harry Connick Jr. has made some inroads into the jazz enclave of Japan and I can't get tired of his cover of "Fever". Jazz Veteran still has the first one I lent her several weeks ago.
I was feeling just too tired to walk over to the Starbucks in Toranomon, so I paid my 160 yen for the 2-station subway ride. I spent the extra hour there drinking down my chai tea latte with sugar donut until The OL came for her regular lesson. She got me out of my slight funk over losing The Stylist. Her enthusiasm in English and the fact that as my very first student in my freelance career she still stuck by me got me back online. Also the fact that she would rather see me instead of having to go to that farewell party for the exec director of her company next Wednesday was a nice touch too. It's ironic, though. The OL was the one who introduced The Stylist to me; I didn't mention what happened this morning to her but I'm sure she'll find out soon enough.
Well, back home after that long day. Just gotta do a little prep work for Arwen and 77 and then I'm off for bed.
Well, I lost another student in as many days today. First, it was that stingy, moody one from the juku. Today, I ran over to the Stylist's place of work, trying not to be late and failing by a few minutes. Within a minute of my "gomenasai", the Stylist sheepishly gave me my walking papers.
To be honest, I wasn't either that shocked or all that dismayed by it although it's never great to lose a student. In the past four months that we have known each other, we only managed to cover just four pages of her textbook. Another hint was that surreal class last month. I asked her if she didn't enjoy my lesson. She didn't really answer the question but she just said "Yaruki ga nai." (I've lost the desire).The past couple of times with her, she didn't seem to be too eager which supported her reason to say that. She also pointed out that she wasn't too comfortable with a one-on-one lesson since she had to provide half of the conversation; she simply didn't want to work THAT hard during her day off, and she admitted that half her mind was in day-off mode. Plus, she also stated that she had a lot on her mind about her future, and it seems that not all of it was very happy.
In any case, as soon as she said that she had lost the interest, that was all I needed to pack my bag. Once a student says that, it's game over. There was a natually a bit of awkwardess about those ten minutes I was there, but the two of us were cordial enough although I was initially pissed off inside that she didn't bother to pinkslip me by e-mail or phone earlier; it would've saved me the commute time. However, she said that she felt telling me in person was the right thing to do. I can respect that. And she still paid me for a full lesson which was very maganimous of her. I told her that I could understand her decision; I would rather have her cut me loose now, instead of having to slog through some miserable classes with a student who didn't want to be there. And then, I could use that empty time for someone who really wanted to learn. Finally, I think she's the first student who actually had the guts to tell me the truth about letting me go, instead of feeding me the usual white lie like The Hawaiian and those two real-estate agents did last year.
Still, some of my natural self-doubt returned as I made my premature way back to Oimachi Station. But I didn't let it overwhelm me as it would have in previous years. I know that I'm a good teacher...I just wasn't her teacher or she just wasn't my student.
I took the train out to Odaiba. It had been several weeks since I'd been there and with the sunny weather, I thought it would be nice to have a treat especially after the above event. I attended my usual buffet restaurant there, The Sunset Beach Factory. Of course, the Law of Buffets states that the quality and quantity of food share an inverse relationship. However, it was palatable enough for me to spend more than 90 minutes there with the view of the Rainbow Bridge in the background.
After that, I waddled my way over to the next mall, Aqua City, where I first checked out the movie listings at the Mediage cineplex. As I figured, there wasn't anything there that I really wanted to catch. As I have mentioned before, I wasn't too eager to see "The Day After Tomorrow" and "The Ladykillers" is a Tom Hanks flick but the reviews were rather so-so. So I just went over to HMV and treated myself to a DVD and a Misia CD. The DVD I purchased was that "Bayside Shakedown" movie that I had caught a year ago in Shibuya. It was a good flick, Japanese or Western. The Misia CD is a compilation of her past ballads so I decided to splurge the yen for that although I didn't buy her last original album since I wasn't too impressed. My HMV point card has passed the 50-point mark so when it expires in a month and a half, I'm eligible for a 2000 yen discount. There is no way that I'm gonna reach 100 points for that 4500 yen discount.
When I left the mall, it was still sunny and warm but not humid. I was tempted to take a ride on the free shuttle but it would've just taken me on a loop so I decided to take the bus back to Tokyo Station. At 200 yen, it's cheaper than taking the Yurikamome monorail. I slept a bit in the bus as it wound its way across the bay. I passed through the modernized area of Tsukishima; there was a pretty nice condo setup there. It's always nice to see some new segment of Tokyo.
35 minutes later, I got off at the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station and walked over to the Yaesu Book Centre. It's a somewhat off-kilter bookstore in that the decor was quite old and yet there was a lot of art thrown up on the walls. The first floor had a high ceiling just like the first floors of department stores and there was an open mezzanine/coffee shop to fill some of that altitude up. In another interesting twist, the escalators only went as far up as the 4th floor; then the elevators picked up the relay torch to go up to the 7th floor. I decided to schlep my way up the stairs to 7 where the foreign books were located. There was a section with a sign screaming in blue and white "NUDES". They certainly weren't subtle. However, I didn't see anything English-written which struck my fancy.
After leaving the bookstore, I walked down to the Ginza and over to Yamano Music to fill up my point card there as well. I decided to buy down Memory Lane as I picked up a J-Idol CD from the 80s and even an old Gilbert O'Sullivan single, "Alone Again, Naturally". It's been getting some major airplay as a commercial jingle over here. I tried to find another Level 42 disc to no avail. But I did pick up another Michael Buble CD. The Canadian answer to Harry Connick Jr. has made some inroads into the jazz enclave of Japan and I can't get tired of his cover of "Fever". Jazz Veteran still has the first one I lent her several weeks ago.
I was feeling just too tired to walk over to the Starbucks in Toranomon, so I paid my 160 yen for the 2-station subway ride. I spent the extra hour there drinking down my chai tea latte with sugar donut until The OL came for her regular lesson. She got me out of my slight funk over losing The Stylist. Her enthusiasm in English and the fact that as my very first student in my freelance career she still stuck by me got me back online. Also the fact that she would rather see me instead of having to go to that farewell party for the exec director of her company next Wednesday was a nice touch too. It's ironic, though. The OL was the one who introduced The Stylist to me; I didn't mention what happened this morning to her but I'm sure she'll find out soon enough.
Well, back home after that long day. Just gotta do a little prep work for Arwen and 77 and then I'm off for bed.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Tuesday June 15, 11:37 p.m.
Feeling pretty exhausted and grumbly after classes tonight. That moody student in my middle class just kept that hangdog look for almost the entire class...a new record. She really kept me on my toes trying to keep things balanced between her and her classmates. Well, the other shoe finally fell. The boss told me after all the classes got wrapped up that she has finally made the decision to quit the school. It isn't as if she tried to help herself out; she wouldn't commit to private classes since that would cost her more money, and she just couldn't be convinced that she still had a lot to learn in this class. Well, she'll be leaving once June is up. The boss and I will not be too sad to see her go. But boy, did she sap my energy tonight.
Curry Master left a message on the machine confirming that she'll have my class although the SE will have to cancel out due to work. That'll be fine with me since I do have to give her the omiyage from Sapporo.
Well, tomorrow, I've got the Stylist for the first time in 3 weeks. I hope her attitude is somewhat better than last time. I had been thinking about catching "The Day After Tomorrow" at the theaters in Odaiba but since I'm not too keen on catching half a movie at full price, I'll probably hit the all-you-can-eat buffet there instead. I'm feeling pretty hungry right now but the days of late-night snacks are over.
Skippy actually approved the idea of heading up to Sapporo next February although she's worried about the numbers. Yes, I am too. This could be a rather major undertaking logistically.
Feeling pretty exhausted and grumbly after classes tonight. That moody student in my middle class just kept that hangdog look for almost the entire class...a new record. She really kept me on my toes trying to keep things balanced between her and her classmates. Well, the other shoe finally fell. The boss told me after all the classes got wrapped up that she has finally made the decision to quit the school. It isn't as if she tried to help herself out; she wouldn't commit to private classes since that would cost her more money, and she just couldn't be convinced that she still had a lot to learn in this class. Well, she'll be leaving once June is up. The boss and I will not be too sad to see her go. But boy, did she sap my energy tonight.
Curry Master left a message on the machine confirming that she'll have my class although the SE will have to cancel out due to work. That'll be fine with me since I do have to give her the omiyage from Sapporo.
Well, tomorrow, I've got the Stylist for the first time in 3 weeks. I hope her attitude is somewhat better than last time. I had been thinking about catching "The Day After Tomorrow" at the theaters in Odaiba but since I'm not too keen on catching half a movie at full price, I'll probably hit the all-you-can-eat buffet there instead. I'm feeling pretty hungry right now but the days of late-night snacks are over.
Skippy actually approved the idea of heading up to Sapporo next February although she's worried about the numbers. Yes, I am too. This could be a rather major undertaking logistically.
Monday, June 14, 2004
Tuesday June 15, 1:32 p.m.
It's another hot one out there. There's something about the high temps that makes the walk home all that much longer. Still, it's nice to have the sun out again after a week of dreariness.
I was checking the books. After all that spending on Hokkaido, I only ended up being a few coins short on balance. Didn't quite miss the bullet but just a nick.
All I really want to do is just to lay back and enjoy my air conditioning, but I still have to plan for tonight's classes and get back onto that translation that the Prez wants me to do for the Iconoclast's project. For a while, I thought that the Prez was just going to write it off as a loss but I'm back on the job. I don't know if I'm going to get paid for it either.
Apparently, today is Chiba Citizens' Day so all of the schools are off. Other than kids and perhaps the civil servants, the holiday doesn't really mean all that much to us since most of the Chiba population end up working in Tokyo. No holiday there.
It's another hot one out there. There's something about the high temps that makes the walk home all that much longer. Still, it's nice to have the sun out again after a week of dreariness.
I was checking the books. After all that spending on Hokkaido, I only ended up being a few coins short on balance. Didn't quite miss the bullet but just a nick.
All I really want to do is just to lay back and enjoy my air conditioning, but I still have to plan for tonight's classes and get back onto that translation that the Prez wants me to do for the Iconoclast's project. For a while, I thought that the Prez was just going to write it off as a loss but I'm back on the job. I don't know if I'm going to get paid for it either.
Apparently, today is Chiba Citizens' Day so all of the schools are off. Other than kids and perhaps the civil servants, the holiday doesn't really mean all that much to us since most of the Chiba population end up working in Tokyo. No holiday there.
Tuesday June 15, 12:17 a.m.
About 15 minutes ago, Larry King came on and when I saw the sepia-tinted montage of Reagan, I started groaning, "C'mon...give it a break! Let the guy (and the rest of us) finally rest in peace." However, I changed my mind when the show actually showed the interview with Reagan himself. Why couldn't he have shown those first thing last week?
What was amazing to watch was when the show cut to its first commercial break, and it showed the media footage when the attempted assassination of the President had taken place back in 1981. I remember watching ABC's Frank Reynolds breaking down and the multiple viewings of the actual shooting taking place. However, it bordered on the hilarious when I saw Sam Donaldson nestled against Reynolds reading through the report. Reynolds at first had read that Reagan hadn't been shot...only to be corrected by his Siamese twin. And then Reynolds pulled a Shatneresque gesture. It was absolutely surreal. I would just love to catch that footage again.
In any case, it is nice to actually see the man himself speaking his mind on the attempted assassination and Gorbachev. However, I also agree with the CNN media guy who had earlier pointed out that there was way too much coverage and way too much love for Reagan. At the same time, though, listening and watching him on TV, he is a darn difficult man to dislike.
In other news, my Monday was the same as it has been for the past few weeks. I had my first class and then my student told me that her sister-in-law couldn't make it for the second class. So I once again had a few hours to kill in Shibuya.
One of the things that I've liked about my bohemian status has been the fact that I can often walk and eat anywhere I please during breaks. So I saw myself having a Doner Kebab while sitting on a stool in front of Tower Records. I had been wondering what I would be eating for lunch since I had already eaten at Volks last week and I really wasn't in the mood for the Golden Arches. The last time the Kebab truck had actually stopped in front of Towers was back in the Fall so I gather I was really lucky today. The Kebab was great..it's just too bad that the truck doesn't provide any drinks,but I couldn't complain about the 500 yen price.
I ended up going to HMV and I bought myself one of those issues of EMPIRE, the UK movie magazine, along with a CD of Gypsy Jazz Guitarists; basically, it's a near-homage to Django. Yup, it is just a day before the 15th, my former full-time payday. I realize that for a freelancer who gets paid at almost every class, the 15th doesn't mean all that much but it's a symbolic date for me just to help me with my discipline. Well, some discipline here.
After my class at the Iconoclast's old company, I saw the old Prez for the first time in a few weeks. So heading out for dinner was pretty much in the cards. At first, he, myself and one other fellow staffer sat at a table in the main office gabbing about my trip to Hokkaido a couple of weeks ago. It just so happened that the other staffer had come from Nemuro, a city in the northernmost prefecture, so he was a fount of information about future trips up there although I very much doubt that I'll ever drive around the province the next time I go. But our talk buoyed my proposal to Skippy a few days about a possible group trip there in February for the Winter Festival. In the intervening days between now and when I had sent out the initial e-mail to her, I'd had some pretty skeptical thoughts about the folly of my proposal. Still, I have yet to hear from her.
I think I ended up waiting there at the office for an hour. The rest of the group was busy figuring some sort of test for one of their projects. I got an up-close-and-personal about how harsh the Prez can be on the "feeb" of the company. He didn't exactly splatter the poor guy all over the wall as the Iconoclast once described. But he was pretty sharp. When the only compliment the feeb can get is that the problems with the project were not his fault after all, then things must be pretty dire for him.
Finally, they wrapped things up as best as they could, and four of us went out to an interesting izakaya in West Shinjuku. Unlike some of the more elegant places that the Prez has taken me to, this place was bargain-basement. In fact, it actually was located in the basement. It was this huge space with tables and counters with mostly Chinese waitresses bringing small plates of various kinds of izakaya food such as fried noodles, fried chicken and sashimi. The izakaya was just a good cheap place to unwind for a few drinks which we all did. In fact, I ended up ordering a good bit more than the others could handle. I made the mistake of being slightly sexist and assuming that with four men, we could handle the culinary load. We left quite a bit on the table but the Prez just paid for everything with aplomb. The trip home was another smelly affair with my clothes filled with every odor in the book.
Luckily, I got the message from the school scheduler that I wouldn't be needed for a class this afternoon although I will be scheduled for a class there on Thursday. At least, I can get another break between classes.
I received a strange message from Movie Buddy. I had answered his request for an outing on this coming Sunday in the negative since I have that goodbye party for DTE then. However, his message hinted that I had answered in the positive so I had to send over another message reiterating my point. I already sent a similar message to the Ballerina.
Well, I should be heading for bed now.
About 15 minutes ago, Larry King came on and when I saw the sepia-tinted montage of Reagan, I started groaning, "C'mon...give it a break! Let the guy (and the rest of us) finally rest in peace." However, I changed my mind when the show actually showed the interview with Reagan himself. Why couldn't he have shown those first thing last week?
What was amazing to watch was when the show cut to its first commercial break, and it showed the media footage when the attempted assassination of the President had taken place back in 1981. I remember watching ABC's Frank Reynolds breaking down and the multiple viewings of the actual shooting taking place. However, it bordered on the hilarious when I saw Sam Donaldson nestled against Reynolds reading through the report. Reynolds at first had read that Reagan hadn't been shot...only to be corrected by his Siamese twin. And then Reynolds pulled a Shatneresque gesture. It was absolutely surreal. I would just love to catch that footage again.
In any case, it is nice to actually see the man himself speaking his mind on the attempted assassination and Gorbachev. However, I also agree with the CNN media guy who had earlier pointed out that there was way too much coverage and way too much love for Reagan. At the same time, though, listening and watching him on TV, he is a darn difficult man to dislike.
In other news, my Monday was the same as it has been for the past few weeks. I had my first class and then my student told me that her sister-in-law couldn't make it for the second class. So I once again had a few hours to kill in Shibuya.
One of the things that I've liked about my bohemian status has been the fact that I can often walk and eat anywhere I please during breaks. So I saw myself having a Doner Kebab while sitting on a stool in front of Tower Records. I had been wondering what I would be eating for lunch since I had already eaten at Volks last week and I really wasn't in the mood for the Golden Arches. The last time the Kebab truck had actually stopped in front of Towers was back in the Fall so I gather I was really lucky today. The Kebab was great..it's just too bad that the truck doesn't provide any drinks,but I couldn't complain about the 500 yen price.
I ended up going to HMV and I bought myself one of those issues of EMPIRE, the UK movie magazine, along with a CD of Gypsy Jazz Guitarists; basically, it's a near-homage to Django. Yup, it is just a day before the 15th, my former full-time payday. I realize that for a freelancer who gets paid at almost every class, the 15th doesn't mean all that much but it's a symbolic date for me just to help me with my discipline. Well, some discipline here.
After my class at the Iconoclast's old company, I saw the old Prez for the first time in a few weeks. So heading out for dinner was pretty much in the cards. At first, he, myself and one other fellow staffer sat at a table in the main office gabbing about my trip to Hokkaido a couple of weeks ago. It just so happened that the other staffer had come from Nemuro, a city in the northernmost prefecture, so he was a fount of information about future trips up there although I very much doubt that I'll ever drive around the province the next time I go. But our talk buoyed my proposal to Skippy a few days about a possible group trip there in February for the Winter Festival. In the intervening days between now and when I had sent out the initial e-mail to her, I'd had some pretty skeptical thoughts about the folly of my proposal. Still, I have yet to hear from her.
I think I ended up waiting there at the office for an hour. The rest of the group was busy figuring some sort of test for one of their projects. I got an up-close-and-personal about how harsh the Prez can be on the "feeb" of the company. He didn't exactly splatter the poor guy all over the wall as the Iconoclast once described. But he was pretty sharp. When the only compliment the feeb can get is that the problems with the project were not his fault after all, then things must be pretty dire for him.
Finally, they wrapped things up as best as they could, and four of us went out to an interesting izakaya in West Shinjuku. Unlike some of the more elegant places that the Prez has taken me to, this place was bargain-basement. In fact, it actually was located in the basement. It was this huge space with tables and counters with mostly Chinese waitresses bringing small plates of various kinds of izakaya food such as fried noodles, fried chicken and sashimi. The izakaya was just a good cheap place to unwind for a few drinks which we all did. In fact, I ended up ordering a good bit more than the others could handle. I made the mistake of being slightly sexist and assuming that with four men, we could handle the culinary load. We left quite a bit on the table but the Prez just paid for everything with aplomb. The trip home was another smelly affair with my clothes filled with every odor in the book.
Luckily, I got the message from the school scheduler that I wouldn't be needed for a class this afternoon although I will be scheduled for a class there on Thursday. At least, I can get another break between classes.
I received a strange message from Movie Buddy. I had answered his request for an outing on this coming Sunday in the negative since I have that goodbye party for DTE then. However, his message hinted that I had answered in the positive so I had to send over another message reiterating my point. I already sent a similar message to the Ballerina.
Well, I should be heading for bed now.
Sunday, June 13, 2004
Monday June 14, 7:33 a.m.
After 9 days of straight rain, we finally got a week of sunny weather coming up. At least I don't have to time my laundry days.
I have been on an Internet diet of sorts. After seeing my latest NTT bill, I think the digital fasting was in order although I'm still nothing compared to some of these cellphone-packing teens; my bill has been creeping up a bit in the past few months. However, it's not all that easy.
The big news here is that two of the major Japanese ball teams are thinking merger. The Kintetsu Water Buffaloes and the Orix Blue Wave, both Kansai-based teams, are in negotiations to get hitched to each other for financial survival. I know that the Blue Wave has never recovered from the loss of Ichiro to the Bigs. Plus, thanks to the Tokyo Giants, virtually all of the other teams in the Central and Pacific Leagues have been starved of a lot of the TV advertising revenue. It isn't uncommon not to see anything of these other teams outside of them being merely mentioned on the sports scoreboard. Of course, the fans aren't too thrilled but I think it'll have to be done. There's even been talk of just going to a 1-league format.
Breakfast for me was just a bowl of granola and the remaining half of that Hershey bar with coffee. Not exactly the healthiest morning meal, but it suits me fine enough.
Well, I have those three classes today. I'm just wondering if the second student will be pulling another absence. I would rather not lug around the extra texts if I don't have to.
After 9 days of straight rain, we finally got a week of sunny weather coming up. At least I don't have to time my laundry days.
I have been on an Internet diet of sorts. After seeing my latest NTT bill, I think the digital fasting was in order although I'm still nothing compared to some of these cellphone-packing teens; my bill has been creeping up a bit in the past few months. However, it's not all that easy.
The big news here is that two of the major Japanese ball teams are thinking merger. The Kintetsu Water Buffaloes and the Orix Blue Wave, both Kansai-based teams, are in negotiations to get hitched to each other for financial survival. I know that the Blue Wave has never recovered from the loss of Ichiro to the Bigs. Plus, thanks to the Tokyo Giants, virtually all of the other teams in the Central and Pacific Leagues have been starved of a lot of the TV advertising revenue. It isn't uncommon not to see anything of these other teams outside of them being merely mentioned on the sports scoreboard. Of course, the fans aren't too thrilled but I think it'll have to be done. There's even been talk of just going to a 1-league format.
Breakfast for me was just a bowl of granola and the remaining half of that Hershey bar with coffee. Not exactly the healthiest morning meal, but it suits me fine enough.
Well, I have those three classes today. I'm just wondering if the second student will be pulling another absence. I would rather not lug around the extra texts if I don't have to.
Saturday, June 12, 2004
Sunday June 13, 3:23 p.m.
Well, the rain did go away. We're back to warm and sunny. I had that first lesson with Jazz Buddy...or more accurately, a planning session for her future lessons, so I gallantly didn't accept her money. I'm sure the Tea Room staff must be considering charging me rent for the number of times I darken their territory. The session with her took about 3 hours as we gabbed over what we wanted to do and also about that relative snorefest at the DUG jazz bar a couple of months back.
When we finally left the Tea Room, we saw the beginnings of the Ichigaya "chonai matsuri" forming up. "Chonai Matsuri" translates roughly into "block festival". I gather it's a somewhat more decorous version of a block party, but with folks in traditional grab and portable shrines instead of T-shirts, jeans, beer and BBQ.
I got that first batch of photos from Sapporo done up. They didn't come out too badly, although that picture of the jumbo ramen from my first night there turned out a bit blurry. However, it did manage to fill up most of the frame.
Well, since the weather seems to have improved, I guess I'll hang out the mattresses to dry out and get some vacuuming done. I still gotta prep for my Monday classes.
Well, the rain did go away. We're back to warm and sunny. I had that first lesson with Jazz Buddy...or more accurately, a planning session for her future lessons, so I gallantly didn't accept her money. I'm sure the Tea Room staff must be considering charging me rent for the number of times I darken their territory. The session with her took about 3 hours as we gabbed over what we wanted to do and also about that relative snorefest at the DUG jazz bar a couple of months back.
When we finally left the Tea Room, we saw the beginnings of the Ichigaya "chonai matsuri" forming up. "Chonai Matsuri" translates roughly into "block festival". I gather it's a somewhat more decorous version of a block party, but with folks in traditional grab and portable shrines instead of T-shirts, jeans, beer and BBQ.
I got that first batch of photos from Sapporo done up. They didn't come out too badly, although that picture of the jumbo ramen from my first night there turned out a bit blurry. However, it did manage to fill up most of the frame.
Well, since the weather seems to have improved, I guess I'll hang out the mattresses to dry out and get some vacuuming done. I still gotta prep for my Monday classes.
Sunday June 13, 8:15 a.m.
Rain, rain, go away...yup, another major downpour this morning. Actually got up at 7 to have breakfast...on a Sunday, no less. Thank heavens next week, Jazz Buddy is going surfing.
Curry Master has contacted me stating that The Sysop can't make it for his usual lesson this Thursday because of work. So she has coyly asked me if still want to come over for her single lesson. I've left it up to her to make the call. I'm cool either way.
I'll be heading out in a little more than an hour to get some sample copies of potential texts for JB and then leave one of my disposable cameras from Hokkaido to be developed.
Looks like PM Blair has lost big in local elections. Well, when you deal with the Great Satan...
Rain, rain, go away...yup, another major downpour this morning. Actually got up at 7 to have breakfast...on a Sunday, no less. Thank heavens next week, Jazz Buddy is going surfing.
Curry Master has contacted me stating that The Sysop can't make it for his usual lesson this Thursday because of work. So she has coyly asked me if still want to come over for her single lesson. I've left it up to her to make the call. I'm cool either way.
I'll be heading out in a little more than an hour to get some sample copies of potential texts for JB and then leave one of my disposable cameras from Hokkaido to be developed.
Looks like PM Blair has lost big in local elections. Well, when you deal with the Great Satan...
Saturday June 12, 8:46 p.m.
The official week of mourning for Reagan is over. But the funeral was about as Hollywood as one could get for a former movie star-turned-President. You had former colleagues, reformed leaders and one former archenemy in the seats, music on the John Williams/James Horner scale, an ex-President on the verge of tears, and finally a grieving widow who kept a brave front only to finally break down on her husband's coffin at his final resting site in the California sunset.
I had a lesson with SR for the first time in a few weeks. Looks like she had a sudden trip to LA about the same time I was traveling through Sapporo and she met an old friend of ours there. So we both exchanged souvenirs, and I think I got the better end of the deal. I not only got a giant Hershey's bar but I got gravy mix! You just don't know how difficult it is to get even an instant gravy mix in this city. I put it to good use tonight, though. I poured the hot silky mixture on some roast chicken that I'd bought at the supermarket. I even rustled up some mashed potatoes to give my gravy an extra workout. My cholesterol count will probably skyrocket but I am a happy man.
Well, tomorrow I've got that first lesson with Jazz Buddy. Since it's a first one, it'll just be a sounding board to find out what she really wants to do.
The official week of mourning for Reagan is over. But the funeral was about as Hollywood as one could get for a former movie star-turned-President. You had former colleagues, reformed leaders and one former archenemy in the seats, music on the John Williams/James Horner scale, an ex-President on the verge of tears, and finally a grieving widow who kept a brave front only to finally break down on her husband's coffin at his final resting site in the California sunset.
I had a lesson with SR for the first time in a few weeks. Looks like she had a sudden trip to LA about the same time I was traveling through Sapporo and she met an old friend of ours there. So we both exchanged souvenirs, and I think I got the better end of the deal. I not only got a giant Hershey's bar but I got gravy mix! You just don't know how difficult it is to get even an instant gravy mix in this city. I put it to good use tonight, though. I poured the hot silky mixture on some roast chicken that I'd bought at the supermarket. I even rustled up some mashed potatoes to give my gravy an extra workout. My cholesterol count will probably skyrocket but I am a happy man.
Well, tomorrow I've got that first lesson with Jazz Buddy. Since it's a first one, it'll just be a sounding board to find out what she really wants to do.
Thursday, June 10, 2004
Friday June 11, 8:51 a.m.
Well, it looks like another legend has also passed on. Ray Charles, the King Of Soul, died yesterday. I wasn't a huge follower of his music but I, along with everyone else, knew his rendition of "Georgia On My Mind". And though, it has become more known as a treacly bit of 80s pop culture now, Ray Charles' contribution to "We Are The World" is still the highlight of the song. I think Anderson Cooper hit the right spot by ending the show with him playing "America The Beautiful" at Reagan's second inaugural.
Went to the salon for that haircut. Looks like the ladies there weren't as successful with their little trip to Guam as I was with my own to Sapporo. It rained on their parade, literally, for their three days.
Pretty quiet day yesterday. I just had that one class with Arwen and 77. It looks like I'll be having their lessons now on Thursdays instead of Fridays which suits me fine in a way. I can take off for home earlier on Friday. I had dinner at that Mao Chinese restaurant near my apartment. The folks have started merchandising themselves. There is now a Mao painting on the side of the outside wall, and the two waitresses were sporting T-shirts with the restaurant name. I don't think they've quite hit the Hello Kitty heights yet. No Anne Murray this time, though...they settled for just the radio. As usual, the place was deserted.
Looks like I may have yet another student. This one is a referral rather than an old student from the school.PH got me this one. I'll be starting with her on the 7th for the summer.
As for today, I've got The Teacher and SR. I don't have to lug that text of articles. She said that she'd bring a special article on Reagan. I haven't seen SR for a few weeks due to her work schedule. I've got her omiyage from Sapporo. I'll be finished at 5:30. Perhaps pasta for dinner will be in order.
Well, it looks like another legend has also passed on. Ray Charles, the King Of Soul, died yesterday. I wasn't a huge follower of his music but I, along with everyone else, knew his rendition of "Georgia On My Mind". And though, it has become more known as a treacly bit of 80s pop culture now, Ray Charles' contribution to "We Are The World" is still the highlight of the song. I think Anderson Cooper hit the right spot by ending the show with him playing "America The Beautiful" at Reagan's second inaugural.
Went to the salon for that haircut. Looks like the ladies there weren't as successful with their little trip to Guam as I was with my own to Sapporo. It rained on their parade, literally, for their three days.
Pretty quiet day yesterday. I just had that one class with Arwen and 77. It looks like I'll be having their lessons now on Thursdays instead of Fridays which suits me fine in a way. I can take off for home earlier on Friday. I had dinner at that Mao Chinese restaurant near my apartment. The folks have started merchandising themselves. There is now a Mao painting on the side of the outside wall, and the two waitresses were sporting T-shirts with the restaurant name. I don't think they've quite hit the Hello Kitty heights yet. No Anne Murray this time, though...they settled for just the radio. As usual, the place was deserted.
Looks like I may have yet another student. This one is a referral rather than an old student from the school.PH got me this one. I'll be starting with her on the 7th for the summer.
As for today, I've got The Teacher and SR. I don't have to lug that text of articles. She said that she'd bring a special article on Reagan. I haven't seen SR for a few weeks due to her work schedule. I've got her omiyage from Sapporo. I'll be finished at 5:30. Perhaps pasta for dinner will be in order.
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Thursday June 10, 8:25 a.m.
Currently watching the Reagan funeral on CNN. Appropriately subdued; very little commentary accompanying the visuals which is rather surprising.
A bit of a bittersweet day yesterday on two fronts. I met up with my ex for lunch. She was pretty tired so she wasn't her usually chipper self. In fact, during lunch at one point, we got a bit snippy toward each other although I think I may be exaggerating a bit. It may have been more of a joint chiding more than anything else. She said that her life has come to a certain happy balance which of course I'm happy about. I rather wish I could say the same for my own life.
Later that night, I went down to The Maple Leaf for the second time to meet up with some of the folks from the Sunday BBQ to catch the Japan-India soccer match. The match was more target practice for the Japanese team than an actual game. Japan demolished the Indians 7-0. At one point, we had betting pools on the 2nd and 3rd goals; true to form, I lost both times. Nothing major in the money...just 1,000 yen each.
The bittersweet part at that event, though, was the stark reminder that I'm just not comfortable at social outings with a whole bunch of people I don't know. The Big Guy tried to engage me in conversation with some of his buddies...he even tried to recommend me as an English teacher for them. It was very kind of him, and I did have short bursts of talk with each of them. But simply speaking, I'll never be as comfortable in that situation as I am with students...in other words, a setting in which I have some sort of control or need to help people. Even with my outings with the alumni of my school, we may be friends now but the relationship is still of teacher-student. I guess I'll always be better in that sort of relationship.
Well, at least, the hamburger plate at The Maple Leaf was good.
Currently watching the Reagan funeral on CNN. Appropriately subdued; very little commentary accompanying the visuals which is rather surprising.
A bit of a bittersweet day yesterday on two fronts. I met up with my ex for lunch. She was pretty tired so she wasn't her usually chipper self. In fact, during lunch at one point, we got a bit snippy toward each other although I think I may be exaggerating a bit. It may have been more of a joint chiding more than anything else. She said that her life has come to a certain happy balance which of course I'm happy about. I rather wish I could say the same for my own life.
Later that night, I went down to The Maple Leaf for the second time to meet up with some of the folks from the Sunday BBQ to catch the Japan-India soccer match. The match was more target practice for the Japanese team than an actual game. Japan demolished the Indians 7-0. At one point, we had betting pools on the 2nd and 3rd goals; true to form, I lost both times. Nothing major in the money...just 1,000 yen each.
The bittersweet part at that event, though, was the stark reminder that I'm just not comfortable at social outings with a whole bunch of people I don't know. The Big Guy tried to engage me in conversation with some of his buddies...he even tried to recommend me as an English teacher for them. It was very kind of him, and I did have short bursts of talk with each of them. But simply speaking, I'll never be as comfortable in that situation as I am with students...in other words, a setting in which I have some sort of control or need to help people. Even with my outings with the alumni of my school, we may be friends now but the relationship is still of teacher-student. I guess I'll always be better in that sort of relationship.
Well, at least, the hamburger plate at The Maple Leaf was good.