Tuesday June 16, 9:21 p.m.
Well, the Rainy Season has truly made its presence felt in The Big Sushi. Right now as I type, it's just pouring just about every cat that's not Toonces along with every dog out there. I'm trying to delay my departure for home until I get a lull in the maelstrom; with my luck, that probably won't happen. Yesterday was pretty bad, too, but tonight is taking the cake with a lot of thunder and lightning.
The Milds came in with Mr. Mild having a lot of legwork for me with that translation on Japanese ceramics from The Cornerette. He also informed me that there were some vital errors in kanji in the original which (sigh) explained why I spent several minutes racking my brains on the weekend about them. He was even kind enough to throw in pictures and furigana, which basically cuts my racking time in half.
About that new guy....The Man From Glad....he's prematurely gray, as I have mentioned. The juku boss gave me some further insight about him. Apparently, he was a real go-getter in his company; certainly, I saw some of that tonight in his model lesson. But he burned himself out which would explain his hair...the man's younger than me!
Tomorrow (weather permitting) should be a strangely quiet day for me, compared to the Hump Days that I'd had recently. Not only will I not need to get in early, but I only have three lessons tomorrow: just the morning kaffeeklatsch with The Admin and then two-thirds of the usual Wednesday night crew since 001 is now showing up. Should have lots of time to get that last batch of translation work done.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Tuesday June 16, 7:39 p.m.
Well, Suzanne was atypically irritable. Not that she took it out on me or anything but she seemed to be ill at ease. Not sure if it was that stalker co-worker of hers or some consternation about her upcoming trip to New York. However, I did say that I would concoct some stuff to help her prepare.
As for that model lesson student, he's a pretty gregarious fellow...prematurely gray for some reason; he did say that he's had to take time off work due to some sort of illness. However, he seems promising but said that he won't start til July, so the jury's still out whether he will truly become a regular.
Well, Suzanne was atypically irritable. Not that she took it out on me or anything but she seemed to be ill at ease. Not sure if it was that stalker co-worker of hers or some consternation about her upcoming trip to New York. However, I did say that I would concoct some stuff to help her prepare.
As for that model lesson student, he's a pretty gregarious fellow...prematurely gray for some reason; he did say that he's had to take time off work due to some sort of illness. However, he seems promising but said that he won't start til July, so the jury's still out whether he will truly become a regular.
Tuesday June 16, 4:22 p.m.
Good news on Toonces the Juku Cat. He's back at home, safe and sound. The boss told me that the poor puss had gotten himself trapped in an abandoned house not 50 m away from here on Friday night along with a black Persian. The boss was lucky that her neighbour had heard Toonces' plaintive wails and called her up. It was then just a matter of heading over there and plucking him out.
I got that model lesson in about 40. Just a half hour, though, so not all that much we can do. I made copies of the 1st chapters of a few texts, but I think I'll do my old faithful of Adverbs of Frequency.
Happily, my cable company has finally been able to solve that automatic bank transfer problem with my monthly bills.
Good news on Toonces the Juku Cat. He's back at home, safe and sound. The boss told me that the poor puss had gotten himself trapped in an abandoned house not 50 m away from here on Friday night along with a black Persian. The boss was lucky that her neighbour had heard Toonces' plaintive wails and called her up. It was then just a matter of heading over there and plucking him out.
I got that model lesson in about 40. Just a half hour, though, so not all that much we can do. I made copies of the 1st chapters of a few texts, but I think I'll do my old faithful of Adverbs of Frequency.
Happily, my cable company has finally been able to solve that automatic bank transfer problem with my monthly bills.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Tuesday June 16, 12:39 p.m.
Incredible though it may seem, we're already halfway through the 6th month. Incredible thought it may seem, I survived a 20-hour day yesterday. Yup, woke up at the eye-blearing hour of 4 in the morning so that I could have breakfast and head on out to Immigration in the boonies of Shinagawa to get my visa and re-entry permit transferred into my new passport. It was the usual snake-like line of foreign residents in front of the doors of the massive centre (I think if the government ever allows Hollywood to film there, the Tokyo Regional Immigration Centre can easily pass for the Japanese equivalent of the Pentagon). At 8:30, the line quickly turned into a gigantic scrum up the escalator. Luckily for me, my task didn't necessitate speed. All I had to was fill out a Transfer of Information form and then line up initially at Station A. And then 15 minutes later, the transfer took place. I was out of there by 9:18 a.m.
One of the reasons that I can tolerate the early-morning trek to Immi is that afterwards I can have some sort of meal in the restaurant area of JR Shinagawa. As expected, Nathan's the hot dog chain was officially dead and buried, in terms of its life in Tokyo. Now there was a New York's Subs. Took a look at the menu...didn't seem like the stuff that I would have for breakfast so I ended up having a buffet brunch at the larger restaurant...the one that usually becomes an oyster bar in the evening. The brunch there cost me just 880 yen; it wasn't a particularly rich selection: no greasy sausages, no pancakes or Belgian waffles. However, it did have the requisite toast, corn soup, and various other carbs. I had a Japanese-style pasta with shirasu...the tiny white fish....it was slightly disconcerting eating my noodles while several dozen pairs of eyes were looking up at me, but I got over the guilt trip pretty quickly.
Took the Yamanote Line up to Yurakucho and walked around Ginza for a while. Picked up a Father's Day card at Ito-ya the stationery shop and mailed it out a few minutes later from the adjoining post office. Often on the main corner of 4-chome, there is a TBS film crew getting some man-on-the-street interviews done; this time, there was a bit more of a celeb element in the form of bilingual TV personality Lisa Stegmeyer posing the questions. She was able to wrangle a trio of well-heeled middle-aged ladies into talking into the microphone. Before I hit the Yamanote again, I took a look downstairs in the basement of Itocia. Krispy Kreme #2 was doing business...not at the huge lineups that it had to handle last year but still it was too long a line for me to wait. I'd been thinking of perhaps grabbing a dozen for the gang at Speedy's.
SIL was fine. We spoke on the usual news of the day including the sudden resignation of the Internal Affairs Minister, Kunio Hatoyama. Not sure if he was trying to emulate the ministers in Gordon Brown's beleaguered Cabinet, and not sure if his dropping out will start a chain reaction. I doubt it, but PM Aso must not be in a good way.
Hit back to Speedys. Had The Full-Timer; she's in the middle of meeting up with a temp agency. Then, I had Mr. TOEIC for a night time class. I lent him my CD of the legendary Japanese salsa band, Orquesta de la Luz, since he had shown some interest in the genre. Finally, the Medicine Man came to wrap things up. Man, still like molasses when he answers.
Over the weekend, I contributed 6 hours of Internet time to help get those translations done for The Cornerette. I finally got a draft done last night at the very end of my shift at Speedy's. It's not very pretty but at least I got it in the day before it was due. May have to do some tweaking here and there. During that time, I met up with MB for what was supposed to be another DVD night but it actually ended up being a nice dinner with him and the missus at a great Italian restaurant near their place. Then, I just played some computer games with him on his PS3. I've been out of the PS loop for over a decade, but I had to admit that it was fun playing "Watchmen", "Lord of the Rings" and the latest "Star Wars" game.
Found out through Mixi that my old student, The Ballerina, was having some problems. I couldn't quite understand what she'd written in her diary so I sent her a private message asking what was up. Apparently, it's some labour problem at her workplace; I know all about those things too well.
This morning, my session with The Beehive was particularly lively since I showed them what I was translating for The Cornerette. Ceramics is just up their alley so they had a ball discovering how to say all that jargon in English.
Got my model lesson student at the juku tonight, just before Suzanne comes in. Have to lug in all the books. I hope the juku cat did return home.
The Bass told me about yet another student who wants my services. Well, after the protracted effort with The Action Freak, I'm gonna have to decline this time. Unless he's got time during the daytime, he's out of luck, and I believe The Bass said that the lad had just started work at his company.
Incredible though it may seem, we're already halfway through the 6th month. Incredible thought it may seem, I survived a 20-hour day yesterday. Yup, woke up at the eye-blearing hour of 4 in the morning so that I could have breakfast and head on out to Immigration in the boonies of Shinagawa to get my visa and re-entry permit transferred into my new passport. It was the usual snake-like line of foreign residents in front of the doors of the massive centre (I think if the government ever allows Hollywood to film there, the Tokyo Regional Immigration Centre can easily pass for the Japanese equivalent of the Pentagon). At 8:30, the line quickly turned into a gigantic scrum up the escalator. Luckily for me, my task didn't necessitate speed. All I had to was fill out a Transfer of Information form and then line up initially at Station A. And then 15 minutes later, the transfer took place. I was out of there by 9:18 a.m.
One of the reasons that I can tolerate the early-morning trek to Immi is that afterwards I can have some sort of meal in the restaurant area of JR Shinagawa. As expected, Nathan's the hot dog chain was officially dead and buried, in terms of its life in Tokyo. Now there was a New York's Subs. Took a look at the menu...didn't seem like the stuff that I would have for breakfast so I ended up having a buffet brunch at the larger restaurant...the one that usually becomes an oyster bar in the evening. The brunch there cost me just 880 yen; it wasn't a particularly rich selection: no greasy sausages, no pancakes or Belgian waffles. However, it did have the requisite toast, corn soup, and various other carbs. I had a Japanese-style pasta with shirasu...the tiny white fish....it was slightly disconcerting eating my noodles while several dozen pairs of eyes were looking up at me, but I got over the guilt trip pretty quickly.
Took the Yamanote Line up to Yurakucho and walked around Ginza for a while. Picked up a Father's Day card at Ito-ya the stationery shop and mailed it out a few minutes later from the adjoining post office. Often on the main corner of 4-chome, there is a TBS film crew getting some man-on-the-street interviews done; this time, there was a bit more of a celeb element in the form of bilingual TV personality Lisa Stegmeyer posing the questions. She was able to wrangle a trio of well-heeled middle-aged ladies into talking into the microphone. Before I hit the Yamanote again, I took a look downstairs in the basement of Itocia. Krispy Kreme #2 was doing business...not at the huge lineups that it had to handle last year but still it was too long a line for me to wait. I'd been thinking of perhaps grabbing a dozen for the gang at Speedy's.
SIL was fine. We spoke on the usual news of the day including the sudden resignation of the Internal Affairs Minister, Kunio Hatoyama. Not sure if he was trying to emulate the ministers in Gordon Brown's beleaguered Cabinet, and not sure if his dropping out will start a chain reaction. I doubt it, but PM Aso must not be in a good way.
Hit back to Speedys. Had The Full-Timer; she's in the middle of meeting up with a temp agency. Then, I had Mr. TOEIC for a night time class. I lent him my CD of the legendary Japanese salsa band, Orquesta de la Luz, since he had shown some interest in the genre. Finally, the Medicine Man came to wrap things up. Man, still like molasses when he answers.
Over the weekend, I contributed 6 hours of Internet time to help get those translations done for The Cornerette. I finally got a draft done last night at the very end of my shift at Speedy's. It's not very pretty but at least I got it in the day before it was due. May have to do some tweaking here and there. During that time, I met up with MB for what was supposed to be another DVD night but it actually ended up being a nice dinner with him and the missus at a great Italian restaurant near their place. Then, I just played some computer games with him on his PS3. I've been out of the PS loop for over a decade, but I had to admit that it was fun playing "Watchmen", "Lord of the Rings" and the latest "Star Wars" game.
Found out through Mixi that my old student, The Ballerina, was having some problems. I couldn't quite understand what she'd written in her diary so I sent her a private message asking what was up. Apparently, it's some labour problem at her workplace; I know all about those things too well.
This morning, my session with The Beehive was particularly lively since I showed them what I was translating for The Cornerette. Ceramics is just up their alley so they had a ball discovering how to say all that jargon in English.
Got my model lesson student at the juku tonight, just before Suzanne comes in. Have to lug in all the books. I hope the juku cat did return home.
The Bass told me about yet another student who wants my services. Well, after the protracted effort with The Action Freak, I'm gonna have to decline this time. Unless he's got time during the daytime, he's out of luck, and I believe The Bass said that the lad had just started work at his company.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Saturday June 13, 3:24 p.m.
Man, just slogging through those translations that the Cornerette dumped on me. Worked on them for nearly 3 hours; haven't even made it halfway, and now I have to head on out to MB's neck of the woods for DVD night. Well, I'm even starving so I may grab some lunch before heading out.
Had The Coffeemaker for her 60 this morning. Not sure what the situation is with the juku cat. Hope he did come back to the boss.
Man, just slogging through those translations that the Cornerette dumped on me. Worked on them for nearly 3 hours; haven't even made it halfway, and now I have to head on out to MB's neck of the woods for DVD night. Well, I'm even starving so I may grab some lunch before heading out.
Had The Coffeemaker for her 60 this morning. Not sure what the situation is with the juku cat. Hope he did come back to the boss.
Friday June 12, 4:47 p.m.
Forgot to mention that I did get my new passport. Yup, my picture truly sucks...I mean, even for a passport photo. I swear that the photographer should've said "Gomen" when he handed the shots to me. I'm now worried that the folks at Immigration, Ichikawa City Hall and at all airports will turn to rock once they take a gander of my mug.
Forgot to mention that I did get my new passport. Yup, my picture truly sucks...I mean, even for a passport photo. I swear that the photographer should've said "Gomen" when he handed the shots to me. I'm now worried that the folks at Immigration, Ichikawa City Hall and at all airports will turn to rock once they take a gander of my mug.
Friday June 12, 4:34 p.m.
Rather fit to be tied...or to be put to sleep. I'll take either. Had my four consecutive night lessons last night along with a ton of translation work, and then I had my first bit of unneeded drama on Mixi. There was a little bit of misunderstanding in one of the forums after I put something down as what I'd thought was just an innocent compliment. Well, it was taken the wrong way and I apologized both online and through private message. Luckily, the person in question came back to say that there had been no harm done. Still, concocting a proper apology note in Japanese doesn't exactly take a few minutes and with my other work, I certainly didn't need the extra stress.
Speaking of the translations, I've been trying to blaze through the various pages. I've got a lot of pages to do by Tuesday but I may have some luck by the fact that a lot of them are tour schedules. Still, I've got DVD Night with Movie Buddy tomorrow which will take a chunk out of my translating time. I may have to consider a few hours at an I-cafe before meeting up with the gang.
Will be taking off in about 20 for the juku. Just The Ace and The Restauranteur.
Rather fit to be tied...or to be put to sleep. I'll take either. Had my four consecutive night lessons last night along with a ton of translation work, and then I had my first bit of unneeded drama on Mixi. There was a little bit of misunderstanding in one of the forums after I put something down as what I'd thought was just an innocent compliment. Well, it was taken the wrong way and I apologized both online and through private message. Luckily, the person in question came back to say that there had been no harm done. Still, concocting a proper apology note in Japanese doesn't exactly take a few minutes and with my other work, I certainly didn't need the extra stress.
Speaking of the translations, I've been trying to blaze through the various pages. I've got a lot of pages to do by Tuesday but I may have some luck by the fact that a lot of them are tour schedules. Still, I've got DVD Night with Movie Buddy tomorrow which will take a chunk out of my translating time. I may have to consider a few hours at an I-cafe before meeting up with the gang.
Will be taking off in about 20 for the juku. Just The Ace and The Restauranteur.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Thursday June 11, 11:09 a.m.
Beginning to what is a thankfully smaller Hump Day than had been expected. Grandma Dynamite is away for the rest of the month. Still, felt pretty rushed since the Tozai Line was having signal problems this morning. But no big problems.
The Cornerette seems to be one of those folks who likes to throw further addenda for me to translate. Hope I can keep up although I do have quite a few hours between Miss Sedona and The Carolinan today.
Got word from my former co-worker, The Trekkie, via e-mail that she'd seen "Star Trek", her apparent raison d'etre. Yep, she bawled her eyes out...the only one whom I could see do that for this movie. I think her seeing it again is a foregone conclusion.
Beginning to what is a thankfully smaller Hump Day than had been expected. Grandma Dynamite is away for the rest of the month. Still, felt pretty rushed since the Tozai Line was having signal problems this morning. But no big problems.
The Cornerette seems to be one of those folks who likes to throw further addenda for me to translate. Hope I can keep up although I do have quite a few hours between Miss Sedona and The Carolinan today.
Got word from my former co-worker, The Trekkie, via e-mail that she'd seen "Star Trek", her apparent raison d'etre. Yep, she bawled her eyes out...the only one whom I could see do that for this movie. I think her seeing it again is a foregone conclusion.
Wednesday June 10, 4:36 p.m.
Not a total surprise...I got word from La Fille just now that Grandma Dynamite will be taking the rest of the month off due to an injury she suffered in Hawaii last week...apparently, it was a twisted ankle. She's always struck me as being a bit injury-prone. As much as it is a pity that she's had to suffer an indignity on her son's most important day, it also means that I don't have to do another early trip here tomorrow. Yes, that is indeed a very selfish thing to say...but frankly I don't give a flying F**K! When I have to lug my carcass across town in the wee hours of the morning to teach a lady who over the past several months has often started moaning and groaning about not feeling up to learning but still showing up, I simply will not have all that much sympathy.
Anyways, another guy who may have flown the coop is The Big Lug. I had forgotten that it was the last class on his current contract. However, he certainly didn't give the impression that he was finishing things off with us, although he said that he wouldn't be available til July. Strangely enough, the bossman looked a bit more pessimistic than I did. He asked me if The Lug had said something to me but the bossman was the one gabbing with him for a few minutes before I took over.
Taught The New Yorker in Ichigaya. She's getting ready for the big trip to Hawaii on Saturday. She did OK for her. I can only hope that she'll be spouting a few English phrases in The Aloha State.
Not a total surprise...I got word from La Fille just now that Grandma Dynamite will be taking the rest of the month off due to an injury she suffered in Hawaii last week...apparently, it was a twisted ankle. She's always struck me as being a bit injury-prone. As much as it is a pity that she's had to suffer an indignity on her son's most important day, it also means that I don't have to do another early trip here tomorrow. Yes, that is indeed a very selfish thing to say...but frankly I don't give a flying F**K! When I have to lug my carcass across town in the wee hours of the morning to teach a lady who over the past several months has often started moaning and groaning about not feeling up to learning but still showing up, I simply will not have all that much sympathy.
Anyways, another guy who may have flown the coop is The Big Lug. I had forgotten that it was the last class on his current contract. However, he certainly didn't give the impression that he was finishing things off with us, although he said that he wouldn't be available til July. Strangely enough, the bossman looked a bit more pessimistic than I did. He asked me if The Lug had said something to me but the bossman was the one gabbing with him for a few minutes before I took over.
Taught The New Yorker in Ichigaya. She's getting ready for the big trip to Hawaii on Saturday. She did OK for her. I can only hope that she'll be spouting a few English phrases in The Aloha State.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Wednesday June 10, 10:18 a.m.
A Hump Day of sorts...got Miss Prissy and The Big Lug back-to-back and then I have to head on out to teach The New Yorker before she and her sister, The Carolinan, head on out to Hawaii this weekend. Then, it's the usual Wednesday night lineup. Kinda glad that The Admin has cancelled today.
Managed to get that first draft of the first of The Cornerette's translations done and sent over. Of course, she threw in an addendum to that first sheet.
Already starting to feel rather tired.
A Hump Day of sorts...got Miss Prissy and The Big Lug back-to-back and then I have to head on out to teach The New Yorker before she and her sister, The Carolinan, head on out to Hawaii this weekend. Then, it's the usual Wednesday night lineup. Kinda glad that The Admin has cancelled today.
Managed to get that first draft of the first of The Cornerette's translations done and sent over. Of course, she threw in an addendum to that first sheet.
Already starting to feel rather tired.
Tuesday June 9, 7:36 p.m.
Had a nice round with Suzanne. She's been having a bit of a drama in her life. Apparently, one of the staffers at her workplace is a bit of a nutter and has been doing a bit of stalking duty. Suzanne is pretty attractive so I can see where an obsessed fan can go a bit too far. However, she told him off and other things so he's been holding back...for now. Also, she may be heading for The Big Apple by herself for the very first time, so all of the class was talking about how to approach the solo trip to NYC. Gave her some insights from my own two trips there, including the time that a drug pusher opened up his trench coat in Central Park one morning to show us his store, so to speak. Never a dull moment there. Incidentally, I watched that "My City, My Life" feature on CNN with Candace Bushnell, the author behind "Sex and The City", talking about New York. Right from the start, she gave the sentence of the piece: "Visitors will get to New York and will either end up loving or hating New York". Suzanne's been there twice before with her family, so I assume that she falls solidly in the former category.
I've got The Milds in about 20 minutes. Wonder how I'll be approaching their lesson tonight considering last week's rather disappointing class. It was kinda like experiencing that final lesson with The Junior almost 2 years ago. All those years trying to educate and entertain the lass only to hear from her mother that she'd failed a simple test. I got out of Dodge really quickly after that.
In the middle of reading a major piece on Harry Potter in that film magazine that I'd bought on Sunday. I've seen all of the films but I can't say that I'm a huge fan of Rowling's magnum opus. Never really got into it...perhaps because it deals with teenagers...one of the subsets of humans that I avoid like the plague.
Had a nice round with Suzanne. She's been having a bit of a drama in her life. Apparently, one of the staffers at her workplace is a bit of a nutter and has been doing a bit of stalking duty. Suzanne is pretty attractive so I can see where an obsessed fan can go a bit too far. However, she told him off and other things so he's been holding back...for now. Also, she may be heading for The Big Apple by herself for the very first time, so all of the class was talking about how to approach the solo trip to NYC. Gave her some insights from my own two trips there, including the time that a drug pusher opened up his trench coat in Central Park one morning to show us his store, so to speak. Never a dull moment there. Incidentally, I watched that "My City, My Life" feature on CNN with Candace Bushnell, the author behind "Sex and The City", talking about New York. Right from the start, she gave the sentence of the piece: "Visitors will get to New York and will either end up loving or hating New York". Suzanne's been there twice before with her family, so I assume that she falls solidly in the former category.
I've got The Milds in about 20 minutes. Wonder how I'll be approaching their lesson tonight considering last week's rather disappointing class. It was kinda like experiencing that final lesson with The Junior almost 2 years ago. All those years trying to educate and entertain the lass only to hear from her mother that she'd failed a simple test. I got out of Dodge really quickly after that.
In the middle of reading a major piece on Harry Potter in that film magazine that I'd bought on Sunday. I've seen all of the films but I can't say that I'm a huge fan of Rowling's magnum opus. Never really got into it...perhaps because it deals with teenagers...one of the subsets of humans that I avoid like the plague.
Tuesday June 9, 4:11 p.m.
Had a rather strange message from Speedy; he asked me if I still had my TESOL Certificate somewhere. I told him that it was probably gathering dust and nits somewhere in my apartment. Apparently, something is up so that he would like to prove to visiting folks that the teachers are of top calibre. Well, I'll see if I can pull it out of the frame once I get home tonight. And it looks like Speedy is gonna hand off The Cracker to me officially. It works well for all of us. Speedy can get more time to do what he needs to do for the study abroad programmes, I get a plum student, and The Cracker enjoys my company. What more can we ask for?
As for my other big employer, the juku boss, it looks like she's had a rather tough few days, but nothing to do with her recovery. Apparently, that first replacement kids' teacher on Saturday was more of a businessman than a teacher, and the second guy to come in rated a "Perhaps..." on the efficiency scale. Hey, I don't see kids and I very rarely see the kids' teacher so I don't particularly care.
Had lunch at my ol' favourite Tonki. The telly there was showing about the future ruler of North Korea, that clone of mine. He's already garnered a fair amount of notoriety in this country by showing up at Narita several years ago on a fake passport. I'm sure the media there is probably trumpeting that up by saying that the shrewd scion of Kim could fool the bourgeois Japanese puppets of the United States. Ah, me. However I am feeling for the families of those two freelance journalists who may now have to face a true Hell on Earth in a North Korean labour camp.
Bought a couple of Kyotaro Nishimura mystery novels for Dad since Father's Day is coming up at the nearby Seiyu. Just need to get the card and off they will go. Also got the first batch of the Gatsby Menthol Wipes of the season. It's starting to get plenty moist out there.
Had a rather strange message from Speedy; he asked me if I still had my TESOL Certificate somewhere. I told him that it was probably gathering dust and nits somewhere in my apartment. Apparently, something is up so that he would like to prove to visiting folks that the teachers are of top calibre. Well, I'll see if I can pull it out of the frame once I get home tonight. And it looks like Speedy is gonna hand off The Cracker to me officially. It works well for all of us. Speedy can get more time to do what he needs to do for the study abroad programmes, I get a plum student, and The Cracker enjoys my company. What more can we ask for?
As for my other big employer, the juku boss, it looks like she's had a rather tough few days, but nothing to do with her recovery. Apparently, that first replacement kids' teacher on Saturday was more of a businessman than a teacher, and the second guy to come in rated a "Perhaps..." on the efficiency scale. Hey, I don't see kids and I very rarely see the kids' teacher so I don't particularly care.
Had lunch at my ol' favourite Tonki. The telly there was showing about the future ruler of North Korea, that clone of mine. He's already garnered a fair amount of notoriety in this country by showing up at Narita several years ago on a fake passport. I'm sure the media there is probably trumpeting that up by saying that the shrewd scion of Kim could fool the bourgeois Japanese puppets of the United States. Ah, me. However I am feeling for the families of those two freelance journalists who may now have to face a true Hell on Earth in a North Korean labour camp.
Bought a couple of Kyotaro Nishimura mystery novels for Dad since Father's Day is coming up at the nearby Seiyu. Just need to get the card and off they will go. Also got the first batch of the Gatsby Menthol Wipes of the season. It's starting to get plenty moist out there.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Tuesday June 9, 12:16 p.m.
Got some domestic stuff out of the way, such as finally cashing in that extra money from KDDI at the post office, and finally getting those blankets out to the cleaners. I feel sorry for those folks since they must handle a lot of funky stuff (and I mean not in the James Brown way). It'll just be the juku folks tonight.
Still have some "Star Trek" detritus to get out of my system, so you've been warned. I recently came to the surprising realization that this newest entry to the series is the only movie of said series that I've seen twice. Even "The Wrath of Khan" didn't get such repeat treatment. Mind you, back then I was just a high school kid on a very limited budget and leash. Those opening 10 minutes are still stuck in my mind; not particularly because I have an unhealthy attraction to that anime-eyed doctor on the Kelvin (I don't...really!). I think it's because I'd always wondered about a "Star Trek" movie having an epilogue in which the Klingons or other folks found themselves in some major carnage when one of the characters reaches out into space in a vain attempt of an SOS, then the theme song kicks in with the Enterprise coming to the rescue. Well, that beginning is the beginning of this movie.
However as much as I love this movie...yep, I don't have to scratch too far down to see some of the major holes in it. Whoever was the Creative Writing professor for the writers of "Star Trek" must've reached for the Jack Daniels in misery. Of course, the so-fast-my-nose-bled promotion of young Kirk from ousted Cadet to honoured Starfleet Captain pretty much broke the mold there. Not quite sure what Captain Pike was thinking when he left the Bridge for the very last time of his captaincy....one moment, he reminds Jim that he's not even supposed to be on the ship and then the next minute, he makes him First Officer....and this, during a major crisis. Later, even Spock leaves the ship putting 17-year-old Pavel Chekov in charge of the Federation flagship....again in a major crisis. That's either moxie or pretty slipshod discipline. Then, Security Guard Cupcake drags the hated Jim Kirk back to the Bridge and sees him become Captain. He must be wondering where he's gonna end up now that the guy he'd beaten into a pulp 3 years earlier is now his commanding officer. Probably cleaning engine manifolds with a toothbrush. Yup, not exactly the most logical writing there but it was still fun.
Anyways, it looks like MB is having another DVD night over at his place this weekend, which will coincide with my biweekly session with The Jyuppies since they live close by. He'll be calling up The Satyr and Miss Ivory to see if they can join up for dinner on Saturday.
Got some domestic stuff out of the way, such as finally cashing in that extra money from KDDI at the post office, and finally getting those blankets out to the cleaners. I feel sorry for those folks since they must handle a lot of funky stuff (and I mean not in the James Brown way). It'll just be the juku folks tonight.
Still have some "Star Trek" detritus to get out of my system, so you've been warned. I recently came to the surprising realization that this newest entry to the series is the only movie of said series that I've seen twice. Even "The Wrath of Khan" didn't get such repeat treatment. Mind you, back then I was just a high school kid on a very limited budget and leash. Those opening 10 minutes are still stuck in my mind; not particularly because I have an unhealthy attraction to that anime-eyed doctor on the Kelvin (I don't...really!). I think it's because I'd always wondered about a "Star Trek" movie having an epilogue in which the Klingons or other folks found themselves in some major carnage when one of the characters reaches out into space in a vain attempt of an SOS, then the theme song kicks in with the Enterprise coming to the rescue. Well, that beginning is the beginning of this movie.
However as much as I love this movie...yep, I don't have to scratch too far down to see some of the major holes in it. Whoever was the Creative Writing professor for the writers of "Star Trek" must've reached for the Jack Daniels in misery. Of course, the so-fast-my-nose-bled promotion of young Kirk from ousted Cadet to honoured Starfleet Captain pretty much broke the mold there. Not quite sure what Captain Pike was thinking when he left the Bridge for the very last time of his captaincy....one moment, he reminds Jim that he's not even supposed to be on the ship and then the next minute, he makes him First Officer....and this, during a major crisis. Later, even Spock leaves the ship putting 17-year-old Pavel Chekov in charge of the Federation flagship....again in a major crisis. That's either moxie or pretty slipshod discipline. Then, Security Guard Cupcake drags the hated Jim Kirk back to the Bridge and sees him become Captain. He must be wondering where he's gonna end up now that the guy he'd beaten into a pulp 3 years earlier is now his commanding officer. Probably cleaning engine manifolds with a toothbrush. Yup, not exactly the most logical writing there but it was still fun.
Anyways, it looks like MB is having another DVD night over at his place this weekend, which will coincide with my biweekly session with The Jyuppies since they live close by. He'll be calling up The Satyr and Miss Ivory to see if they can join up for dinner on Saturday.
Monday June 8, 7:27 p.m.
The picture on the left is of most of the Trek crew in Kabukicho a few weeks ago for the special sneak preview of the movie. No comment on whether Chris, John, Karl or Zachary decided to try out some of the more interesting aspects of the neighbourhood. Nice model of the ship.
Saw "Star Trek" for the 2nd time in as many weeks...this time, at Roppongi Hills. I had Theatre 4 which was a prototypically tiny cineplex scene. I think Chip Guy's screen in his house back in Toronto is only slightly smaller than this screen. Still, it was nice to see that it was basically a full house there for the 1:05 show as well as the 3:50 show. I picked the former one and took a seat right in the front row, so I suffered a bit of neck pain, but not unduly. I did have one fellow sitting not too far away from me who kinda smelled of one too many trips to the vending machines selling One Cup Ozeki but he was "kind enough" to sit away from me and I just used circular breathing techniques.
Seeing it a second time didn't lessen my enjoyment of the movie any. I was able to pay more attention to what everyone was saying, including the big argument around the Captain's Chair before Cadet Kirk was unceremoniously thrown off the ship by young Spock. Still got the throat lumps and the goose pimples at the appropriate moments. I think the first 10 minutes of the movie make up for the best beginning of any of the "Star Trek" films. Another observation is that compared to "The Wrath of Khan", which I'd seen all the way back in 1982 and in which all of the characters were far older than me, I realized that most of the actors in this new cast were quite a bit younger than me.
After the movie, I ended up spending nearly a couple of hours sipping away at some iced coffee in Cafe Espresso in Roppongi Hills itself. The coffee shop had that veneer of slick trendiness, including a table with a bunch of coffeetable books. Unfortunately, that attempt at added sophistication didn't prevent some of the riffraff from coming in, including a loud obnoxious gyaru just yelling away into her cellphone....someone apparently didn't instruct her that microphones were quite advanced now. My Sunday spending on luxuries didn't stop with the cafe; I ended up buying the inaugural issue of Britain's newest movie mag called "Filmstar" for 1,533 yen. Yup, pretty dear price but it did boast over 180 pages. There was an article on Quentin Tarentino's latest magnum opus, "Inglourious Basterds". That picture of crazed Eli Roth as the Bear Jew is worth the admission itstelf.
Met up with The Sisters of State at Tokyo Midtown for our burger dinner at Baker Bounce. They were pretty sussed about making yet another trip to The Aloha State from this Saturday. They were bemused and amused at my choice of Chocolate Milkshake with my Bacon Cheeseburger...hey, gotta go with the flow. The ladies enjoyed their Avocado Burgers but wouldn't bite for the apple pie as dessert. Instead, we just walked down the rest of Midtown and had some green tea over at Koots near the subway.
Today is pretty easy on the mind. I just have three lessons today. Had SIL for our usual 90-minute chat and then it was The Full-Timer. She'd been absent from last week's lesson due to her nervousness from last Tuesday's job interview. Actually, though, she did quite well and is heading for the second round of interviews tomorrow at the same place. Hope she does even better. I just have The Medicine Man to wrap up.
Tomorrow will be even easier since I only have the juku folks. Suzanne is back from her 1-week absence due to an afternoon date with her beau and then I have to do something about raising the spirits of The Milds after their rather mediocre performance last week. I can certainly use the time to spruce up the place.
Speedy is back after his second and last marathon business trip of the year. He looked at my schedule and saw how packed it was. I've quietly determined that I won't be accepting any more reservations for Wednesday and Thursday. I got a bit of relief when The Admin sent e-mail over stating that she has to cancel this week's session due to her son's school event. I will also need all the vitamin drinks I can get since I've got another pile of translations to do, thanks to The Cornerette.
Friday, June 05, 2009
Saturday June 6, 1:02 p.m.
Got that double lesson with Mr. TOEIC done. He even arrived a few minutes early. Rusty as all hell but not that noticeable since he's pretty roughshod over his structure in every class. He'll be coming in again for Thursday, sandwiched between Miss Temporary and The Music Man. I'll be drinking the Yunker for sure.
Surprisingly enough, Ray is in the house as well. Nice to keep Bay company. Still gotta prep for The Smile's lesson in a few hours and I gotta get started on those translations. Doesn't look too easy.
Will be heading to see that movie again up above tomorrow. Checked the TokyoWalker times. I'll see about catching at Roppongi Hills...I think I should be able to get in this time. It apparently has gotten a very good score according to the site's exit polls. Nice to hear but I think it'll probably fizzle out by the end of the month. Plus, watching it at the Hills will put me in proximity of Tokyo Midtown where I'm supposed to be meeting The Sisters of State for burgers at Baker Bounce. I would ask them to see the movie with me, but The New Yorker is working and I never thought that The Carolinan was much of a Trekkie anyways.
Found out that there's gonna be a "Doctor Who" convention in the ol' hometown on the 13th. Aaugh! And here I am. Ah, if there were only a TARDIS nearby....
Friday June 6, 9:48 a.m.
The rain continues...and I had to trudge myself back to Speedy's since Mr. TOEIC just needs to have a morning lesson. Bay is also here...a bit grumbly, can't say I blame her...since she'd wanted to get some personal stuff out of the way, but here we are. I can only hope that Mr. TOEIC doesn't dotakyan; I doubt that he would do it on a Saturday but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I would rather not face an angry Bay. However, I did promise her that if the unfortunate happens, I would order a Pizza Salvatore pizza on my tab.
Got those new translations from The Corner...looks like I've got 2 pages of work ahead of me. Plus The Corner isn't in charge of this project; he's shuffled me off to his colleague...The Cornerette.
The rain continues...and I had to trudge myself back to Speedy's since Mr. TOEIC just needs to have a morning lesson. Bay is also here...a bit grumbly, can't say I blame her...since she'd wanted to get some personal stuff out of the way, but here we are. I can only hope that Mr. TOEIC doesn't dotakyan; I doubt that he would do it on a Saturday but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I would rather not face an angry Bay. However, I did promise her that if the unfortunate happens, I would order a Pizza Salvatore pizza on my tab.
Got those new translations from The Corner...looks like I've got 2 pages of work ahead of me. Plus The Corner isn't in charge of this project; he's shuffled me off to his colleague...The Cornerette.
Friday June 5, 7:56 p.m.
Kinda glad that this week is coming to a close. It was a pretty filled couple of days. Didn't really have time to go over the stuff for The Bass. The lesson this morning wasn't bad but the grammar section had a point that was pretty advanced even for me, and I've been doing this for 22 years now. Aargh! However, our new venue is working out pretty nicely so far. It's a cafe near JR Funabashi...not too crowded and has a decent Continental Breakfast for 500 yen.
Afterward, I got back on the train and headed for Shinjuku. I picked up the latest translated copy of "Hikaru no Go" (No. 15), so now I'm officially caught up. I'll have to wait for 3 months before the next issue comes out. I passed by Krispy Kreme; yep, I think the 12-1 slot is the sweet spot to get into the shop without having to line up. Saw The Bow at Starbucks for her lesson; ironically at the same time and just next to our table was a couple doing the same thing we did, except that it was a young lady teaching a North American guy Japanese. The Bow gave her regrets on not being to make it out for Sunday's Baker Bounce outing with me and The Sisters of State.
Made my monthly visit to The Restauranteur's pad in Urayasu. I got back my reputation as ameotoko again since the skies were spritzing precipitation. I went for the Beef Stroganoff at The Restauranteur's recommendation; yep, it also fit the bill quite nicely. Now I'll be stuck whenever I come in...will it be the Stroganoff or the Chicken Saute? I may have to do alternates. I was pretty much the only body in there until a fellow came in while I was having my after-dinner tea. Fridays are slow there. Glad I could pick Friday night for that juku dinner party late next month.
The Mixi career is booming along well. Looks like I made a friend out of a high school girl no less (OK, no calling security here....I've been a perfect gentleman); we were writing a bit too much English on the regular forum so she subtly hinted at me to switch it over to the message forums. Looks like for a kid, she has a bit more on the tact thing than I do. I seem to have also found allies within the Doctor Who and 80s Canadian Pop communities as well. I put up a topic in the Star Trek community about people's thoughts about the soundtrack for the new movie. I uploaded a literally warped picture of the disc up and the first few comments were focused on how to alleviate the problem. I thought I was gonna end up having to ditch the topic but things seem to have gotten back on track.
I heard about the death of David Carradine in Southeast Asia while filming there this morning. It looks like suicide. Man, he was 72 as well. Sad way to go considering he'd reached a certain amount of cult status, thanks to "Kill Bill".
Kinda glad that this week is coming to a close. It was a pretty filled couple of days. Didn't really have time to go over the stuff for The Bass. The lesson this morning wasn't bad but the grammar section had a point that was pretty advanced even for me, and I've been doing this for 22 years now. Aargh! However, our new venue is working out pretty nicely so far. It's a cafe near JR Funabashi...not too crowded and has a decent Continental Breakfast for 500 yen.
Afterward, I got back on the train and headed for Shinjuku. I picked up the latest translated copy of "Hikaru no Go" (No. 15), so now I'm officially caught up. I'll have to wait for 3 months before the next issue comes out. I passed by Krispy Kreme; yep, I think the 12-1 slot is the sweet spot to get into the shop without having to line up. Saw The Bow at Starbucks for her lesson; ironically at the same time and just next to our table was a couple doing the same thing we did, except that it was a young lady teaching a North American guy Japanese. The Bow gave her regrets on not being to make it out for Sunday's Baker Bounce outing with me and The Sisters of State.
Made my monthly visit to The Restauranteur's pad in Urayasu. I got back my reputation as ameotoko again since the skies were spritzing precipitation. I went for the Beef Stroganoff at The Restauranteur's recommendation; yep, it also fit the bill quite nicely. Now I'll be stuck whenever I come in...will it be the Stroganoff or the Chicken Saute? I may have to do alternates. I was pretty much the only body in there until a fellow came in while I was having my after-dinner tea. Fridays are slow there. Glad I could pick Friday night for that juku dinner party late next month.
The Mixi career is booming along well. Looks like I made a friend out of a high school girl no less (OK, no calling security here....I've been a perfect gentleman); we were writing a bit too much English on the regular forum so she subtly hinted at me to switch it over to the message forums. Looks like for a kid, she has a bit more on the tact thing than I do. I seem to have also found allies within the Doctor Who and 80s Canadian Pop communities as well. I put up a topic in the Star Trek community about people's thoughts about the soundtrack for the new movie. I uploaded a literally warped picture of the disc up and the first few comments were focused on how to alleviate the problem. I thought I was gonna end up having to ditch the topic but things seem to have gotten back on track.
I heard about the death of David Carradine in Southeast Asia while filming there this morning. It looks like suicide. Man, he was 72 as well. Sad way to go considering he'd reached a certain amount of cult status, thanks to "Kill Bill".
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Thursday June 4, 9:30 p.m.
Finished the day....glad that The Music Man did cancel. I was becoming rather peaked even with the vivacious Cracker in front of me. I can only shudder if I'd had one of those mute students instead of her. That new student will only be a temporary one...so, Miss Temporary has landed.
To be honest, I did have quite a bit of down time between Miss Sedona and Miss Temporary...probably around 4 hours or so, so did some more Mixi-ing. Found that the guy managing the Canadian 80s Pop community is very welcoming. Talked about The Spoons at length...ahhh, miss that "Nova Heart".
La Fille has just left the office so I'll be closing up shop once again in about half an hour. Then, I'm headed back home and this time, I hope to get some more sleep and spend some more time in my apartment. Relatively easy day tomorrow with The Bass, The Bow and then The Ace and The Restauranteur at the juku.
Got the final word from The Action Freak about the lessons. Yep, she's finally made the decision to cut ties with me which is just fine with me. It was pretty untenable to begin with, and so I know that I won't be taking any more students until there are some major changes in my current lineup.
Finished the day....glad that The Music Man did cancel. I was becoming rather peaked even with the vivacious Cracker in front of me. I can only shudder if I'd had one of those mute students instead of her. That new student will only be a temporary one...so, Miss Temporary has landed.
To be honest, I did have quite a bit of down time between Miss Sedona and Miss Temporary...probably around 4 hours or so, so did some more Mixi-ing. Found that the guy managing the Canadian 80s Pop community is very welcoming. Talked about The Spoons at length...ahhh, miss that "Nova Heart".
La Fille has just left the office so I'll be closing up shop once again in about half an hour. Then, I'm headed back home and this time, I hope to get some more sleep and spend some more time in my apartment. Relatively easy day tomorrow with The Bass, The Bow and then The Ace and The Restauranteur at the juku.
Got the final word from The Action Freak about the lessons. Yep, she's finally made the decision to cut ties with me which is just fine with me. It was pretty untenable to begin with, and so I know that I won't be taking any more students until there are some major changes in my current lineup.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Thursday June 4, 2:20 p.m.
Like yesterday's lesson with The Big Lug, today's lesson with Miss Sedona was a bit of a glass-wiping, peanut-serving bartender counseling session. Apparently, she's been having some problems with a senile woman from Hell and an irate fellow worker. Well, she'll just have to hold on for another 6 months before she takes off for The Great White North.
I've got a hold for a few hours so I'll probably just prepare for The Bass' lesson tomorrow morning as well as the final two lessons tonight with that new student and The Cracker.
I had been hoping for a Saturday morning off since The Intellectual cancelled but Mr. TOEIC has filled in the space with a double class.
Like yesterday's lesson with The Big Lug, today's lesson with Miss Sedona was a bit of a glass-wiping, peanut-serving bartender counseling session. Apparently, she's been having some problems with a senile woman from Hell and an irate fellow worker. Well, she'll just have to hold on for another 6 months before she takes off for The Great White North.
I've got a hold for a few hours so I'll probably just prepare for The Bass' lesson tomorrow morning as well as the final two lessons tonight with that new student and The Cracker.
I had been hoping for a Saturday morning off since The Intellectual cancelled but Mr. TOEIC has filled in the space with a double class.