May 15

Well, I'm done like dinner. I finished my final class as a full-timer tonight. As of tomorrow, I'm a bohemian teacher. Hmmm...to celebrate, I had some ramen. No big crying scenes, no spotlight with farewell speech. Teachers and staff know that I'll be around, albeit in a reduced role, and the students don't know of my transititon...yet. Sure enough, my idiotic managment left me several frantic calls, fearful that I would be leaving them high and dry for a class that I had already said that I would finish up at the end of May.

What to do about tomorrow? Well, I guess to celebrate my newfound freedom, I'll take a leisurely walk around Tokyo. Let's see what's out there.

Looks like The Matrix Reloaded is getting a lot of mixed reviews. Of course, the diehard fans will blame the media for setting the hype bar way too high, and the critics are blaming the same hype and the almighty buck for the supposed emptiness of the movie. In any case, I'll still catch it.

May 13

Looks like my departure from my school will unfortunately be slightly bittersweet. I taught the high class; the "disappointed" student is back to normal but now another student who has had a history of histrionics has now given me the cold shoulder over a supposedly innocuous topic. The fact that she has lashed at several teachers over the past year has at least given me some measure of relief but I certainly do not want to leave on a sour note. Well, in any case, I'll be done by this time tomorrow.

May 12

Had lunch today with my two students who will soon become my private students from next week in a hotel restaurant. The whole deal was almost in danger of derailment because of my stupid boss' scheduling me a class in the afternoon when I had told him a couple of weeks previously that there would be special farewell lunch for me today. My boss is either incompetent or devious with my bet on the latter. However, it wasn't too difficult to resolve; I just sent him a nasty note and just went ahead with my lunch. I learned that standing up to them gets things resolved quickly; it's just that it's all so unnecessary.

Last night heading to sleep, we were rocked by a fairly powerful earthquake. It measured around 4 on the Shindo scale; the Kobe earthquake was a 7. My room felt like it was next to a subway tunnel during rush hour. Well, aside from a few CDs threatening to fall off the shelves, there was no other damage.

As an update on that "disappointed" student, it looks like things have cooled down a bit. We didn't get too impassioned today but I am wondering if that so-called dinner on Friday that the class had been clamouring about previously will actually come to pass.

May 11

Shibuya was its usual youthful, manic mass of humanity around Hachiko the Dog today. Met up with my girlfriend to satisfy her craving for curry. For some reason, Indian, Thai and Italian are the big favorites for something ethnic. We went to the chain restaurant called Samrat where they had a lunch special of 2 curries and free nan for a paltry 1000 yen. Nice and spicy.

Then we ended up going to a cafe where I managed to spill some of my Chai Latte all over my white t-shirt much to my girlfriend's mirth. I think I was quite lucky; I could imagine a lot of other women who would've berated their clumsy others. My significant other after having her bellylaugh, went out to a GAP and got me a new tee which was on sale.

Earlier this morning, I caught a Trey Parker (South Park) film called Orgasmo. Pretty funny and I could find out pretty quickly which characters on South Park he voiced. I got a kick from the small running gag when anyone muttered the epithet, "Jesus". Trey, who was playing a devout Mormon, suddenly freezes, whips around and yells "Where?!"

May 10

After nearly a whole day at home, it was nice to get out to see some people today. Mind you, my wish came true all too well as I hit that famous waiting spot in front of Studio Alta in Shinjuku. I'd probably say that the population density reached about 1 million per square centimetre at about 6 p.m. when I met up with some former students and one teacher to say goodbye to another alumnus on his way to America for college It was the usual karaoke-and-izakaya bit, but it was good catching up with the guys. Since their graduation a few months back, one has married and one has divorced.
The organizer of today's party had brought her cousin along, a newly-arrived 18-year-old from the wilds of Kagoshima making a start of it in Tokyo. I aged quite a bit with him around. We didn't speak much but we did go back to the station together. During the 5-minute walk, he was quite polite....a sure sign of filial piety.

Before heading out, I saw another old SF chestnut: V. Good golly, I remember when this NBC miniseries had made some waves 20 years ago with its Nazi allegory. And it came in between the first Star Wars trilogy and the Star Trek TV franchise. It's of course dated since then with the 80s production values and fashion, soundtrack veering between brass bombast and porn film romance and hackneyed acting approaching Dynasty levels. Jane Badler definitely illustrated the first three letters of her last name in both performance and character. However, it was interesting to see Robert Englund, aka Freddy the Evil from The Nighmare on Elm Street series, as a meek, adorable Visitor, and also Sarah Douglas, just fresh from playing another alien menace in Superman 2, as the Squadron Leader Pamela.

May 9

The countdown has begun on my full-time career at my school. I finished my final Friday; I'll be finsihing up next Thursday and then from that day forward I'll be coming in just on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Well, at least things have been interesting. My class yesterday morning turned out to be one of my most interesting and uncomfortable ones in my 5 years there.

I had the top-level reading class in which the topic of genetics was broached. So as a good teacher, I asked everybody what is inherited down through the generations. The usual answers of eye color, hair color and temperament came up, but then our most fluent and oddball student cried out, "Earwax!" Apparently in Japan, people categorize their earwax as either wet or dry. The dry guys apparently are much stronger. I guess in a country where one of the more intimate acts of love involves the girl picking out the flecks of detritus from the boyfriend's aural orifices with a long wooden stick, I gather that earwax does have a special meaning. All I got was "Too Much Information!"
Also, things turned a bit weirder in the second hour when she suddenly started asking me about my confirmed bachelorhood at my ripe old age. I let out that I enjoyed my Fortress of Solitude and that I have different sides to my personaltiy. Well, at once, she went into shock that I would even admit that I'm not always the happy-go-lucky professional at home that I am at school. Apparently, she dwelt on that all throughout the day. Good golly, lady, let it go!

Well, if I'm lucky enough, I may get to see Matrix Reloaded a bit sooner than most everyone else since my good friend may be able to pick up some tickets for the sneak preview on the 24th. Keeping my fingers crossed!

May 5

Well, it looks like I'm batting 2 for 2 on the movie watch. Caught X2 with a friend on Saturday and I wasn't disappointed. It was quite a bit better than the original which always seemed to be an appetizer than a main course. X2 is definitely a main course. The best battle scene was the introduction of Nightcrawler; he made better mincemeat of the Secret Service than Zod and his wrecking crew from Superman 2. However, that brings me to my main gripe about the movie; the ensuing battles didn't seem to be all that definitive...not like a final superfight between one hero and one villain; I guess it's just the weak thing of having so many characters duking it out. I'm sure that every actor wanted his/her time in the sun. On that note, Anna Paquin got the short end of the deal.
For all those longtime X-fans, there were a lot of nods to the comic book plots, including one major scene which came all the way back from the Chris Claremont era. That still surprised me. I may catch it again on the big screen but most likely I'll buy the DVD. After a spectactular $85 million opening, I think it's pretty much a done decision that X3 is on the boards. Probably will be the Dark Phoenix Saga.

Also caught an old chestnut of a sci-fi show this afternoon. On the old satellite channels, I saw a movie version of Space: 1999. It was a very ham-fistededly smashed concoction of the first 2 episodes of the Gerry Andersen show with Martin Landau...long before his notice as an Oscar-winning character actor.
1999 certainly looks a lot more dated now in the real 2003. For one thing, the moon is still in orbit. All joking aside, though, it was interesting to see this temporary antidote to Star Trek fever with then-current special effects almost on a par with 2001: A Space Odyssey and the camaraderie among Landau, ex-wife Barbara Bain and Barry Morse. Also, the music was very operatic, pre-John Williams. My main gripe about it is that the idiots who concocted this TV-movie version tore out the great opening credits. It almost makes me want to buy the DVD set.

May 2

Entering a long weekend and the last leg of Golden Week. Started off on a cinematic note by finally catching CHICAGO. I'm happy to say that it was indeed worth the 1800 yen. All of the actors looked very accomplished in their transformation into singers and dancers; I must admit that Renee Zellwegger is quite the chameleon. From plummy, plump Bridget Jones to slinky sassy Roxie Hart.

May 1

Well, May Day is here, so about perhaps half of industry is taking a day off while the other half simmer in resentment. My day was quite "on" in contrast with the off day yesterday.

Finally visited that super hyped Roppongi Hills, and yes, it's big. It is also not your family or suburban teen-oriented mall. It is a place for the yuppies, which definitely doesn't include me. However, I did enjoy browsing through the place. It feels like Aoyama, Harajuku and Omotesando stacked up like pancakes: lots of boutiques and oh-so-chic restaurants which will probably demand a VISA card just to get into. Even took a look at Wolfgang Puck's Bar and Grill. Looks very Californian but the prices took me down a few pegs.
When I finally got out of the complex, I was able to figure out where the whole thing was in relation to Roppongi in general. It covers what used to be the ol' WAVE CD shop, a place that I used to frequent quite a lot years ago. And now it's been totally erased...somethng to age me further.

Well, Viirgin Cinemas at Roppongi Hills will be premiering X-Men 2 tomorrow night with the full release on Saturday. Hugh Jackman aka Wolverine will be stopping by for the 9:30 show. And I'm hoping that I'll get to see it then as well. It's always nice when we get simulaneous releases with that of the US. Usually we have to wait at least a few months before a hit movie sees the light of day here on this side of the Pacific. It kinda feels like arriving at a pizza party when all but three tepid slices have been eaten.

April 30

One of those slightly off-kilter days at work. Each of my classes today had an almost successful quality except for some sort of "wrench" which screwed things up a bit. My first class, for example, had one student griping about the overly complex nature of the vocabulary given, my second class just didn't feel perfectly right, my model lesson dealt with two very low students and my final class today which was the final class of the course had a boring chapter and two bored students. However, in the case of this last one, things turned out OK; we agreed to pack up early and then they treated me to dinner up in the exclusive 21st-floor cafeteria.

Another disappointment: looks like my brother and sister-in-law won't be making it out to Japan after all. It isn't so much that Toronto's SARS menace has prevented them from coming over, but the fact that the other participants in the big meeting happen to be from countries where the supervirus is still a huge menace. Basically, my brother would've been playing to a very large, empty room.

Well, not too busy tomorrow. Just two classes and then with luck, I may finally see Chicago and check out the famed Roppongi Hills.

April 28

Light Monday, not surprising considering that we're entering Golden Week. Well, sort of...

I wanted to catch Chicago today but sure enough, I ended up misreading the movie schedules so I got there a full half-hour after it had already begun. Talking with a fellow teacher who had seen it this weekend, I now really want to see it more than ever.

April 27

Let's see....Toronto has undergone a weakened economy and the SARS virus. Well, trouble surely comes in 3s as His Royal Lowness, Mel Lastman decided to speak in the ancient tongue of gibberish to everyone around the world via CNN's Aaron Brown. I didn't see the interview directly but I did see the transcript in Canada's Globe and Mail. I mean, I just had to look in awe at what this man had attempted to say. He actually made George Bush sound like a Rhodes Scholar. The last time I experienced such ineptitude in public office was Prime Minister Mori a couple of years back.

Well, Hotel Haruhiko is now operational. One of my good friends from back home is over here right now on his 1-week vacation. He also brought tribute from back home: Dare cookies, Reese's Peanut Cups and the aforementioned Globe and Mail. The hotel should be quite busy throughout May now that it looks likely everyone will come over here after all. Loopy Lastman may have made himself an international laughingstock but he did get the WHO's attention.

Also met up with a former student of mine who is now living in Buenos Aires but is back for a short vacation. As expected, she was stumbling over some of her words and mixing up Japanese, English and Spanish.

If everything works out, I should be catching Chicago tomorrow during one of my large gaps in my schedule.

April 24

Well, the WHO decided to declare Toronto a no-go zone because of SARS. Of course, the Canadian government blasted WHO calling it an overreaction....and besides, all that tourist money would be lost. Now I'm wondering if all those expected visits over here will also be curtailed.

Another long day in the salt mines. I finished off another one-day Intensive of very little necessity. Thanks to some good planning, I managed to pull one out of the fire although I had one smart ass who put a bit of spice into the pudding. I kinda wish that the manager hadn't scheduled me for that 2-hour night class; I may as well have telephoned in my performance there due to exhaustion. There's no respite tomorrow; I've got 6 hours of teaching to do, but at least the classes are good.

Tomorrow is also the big opening of this humoungous supercomplex in the foreigner's quarter of Roppongi. Called Roppongi Hills, this Tower of Babel is a glass and metal monolith overlooking the seedier establishments and contains 4 shopping malls and Wolfgang Puck's first restaurant this side of the Pacific. He may be on every Hollywood celeb's rolodex back Stateside, but he's an unknown over here; hopefully, his goat cheese pizzas strike a chord with the Japanese. Also, Virgin Cinemas have set up a mulitplex there. Branson himself showed up for the inaugural opening last night with the local showbiz types.

April 23

I've been searching for hotels for my brother and sister-in-law when they come over in mid-May. Anything under 12000 yen a night in Tokyo is about as rare as common sense in the Japanese government.

Well, McDonalds entered a new phase today by debuting its new hip and trendy menu which includes the Premium Mac. Tried it out and decided that the only premium thing about it is the price. Just a slightly bigger burger topped with a gooey wasabi mayonnaise sauce.Thanks, I'll stick with the Big Mac.

April 22

The week has been going by OK so far. The weather is still unusually cool for a Tokyo Spring.

My future relationship with my school is slowly starting to take shape. I just started my new course which will be the only company class that I will have once I go part-time in mid-May. Also, my manager wanted to talk with me about something but since I had to take off for the new class, he waved it off for another day; I caught a slight glower on his visage...if I've done something to offend him...GREAT!

It also looks like I'm having quite the reunion in May. A number of friends, a former student and my brother and sister-in-law will be haunting this side of the Pacific in the next few weeks. I gather that even SARS hasn't stopped them.

April 20

Looks like it was a flip-flop weatherwise this weekend. The rain came on Sunday instead of Saturday.

After a nice day with the girlfriend, I caught up with an old friend back from Canada and had dinner at an izakaya that we usually haunt. Basically, our appetites got the better of us as we devoured fried chikcen, sashimi, eel, custard and beer over 4.5 hours. At the same time, we managed to get into international politics, a topic that I like to let go on but rarely get the chance to due to my work. It was good to give my thoughts about the US and the war.

It also looks like I might face a small onslaught of guests in the coming month, just in time for my semi-retirement. Along with a couple of friends, I may be seeing my brother here on business; it would be the first time he's set foot in Japan in over 20 years.

April 18

Thank heavens this week is over! Man, not too bad today...just 4 hours of teaching but it was a heavy week. At least I can now have some attempts at a good weekend's sleep. I got some Z's in on the sofa in my school's lounge in advertently this afternoon. I guess even coffee and vitamin drinks couldn't do the trick.

Tokyo finally hit the big time in temperaure this year. Nice balmy 26 degrees. It won't be too long now before the mugginess creeps in.

Chicago blows into town this weekend. I will definitely have to catch that sometime in the next couple of weeks. I'm not quite sure how well it'll fare here. Musicals, or at least the Japanese-casted versions, have done OK but the only big face in the movie is Richard Gere. But I'm sure the PR folks will have the gang come in to do a bit of promotion.

I think all of us were amused by the North Koreans this week when they quietly rescinded their demand for only bilateral talks with the US over the nuclear problem. Now, after Gulf War 2, they seem only too happy to tackle multilateralism.

April 17

8 hours of teaching today. I was looking pretty ragged by 9 tonight. However, I'm happy to say that I'm over the hump and that I only have to face 4 hours tomorrow. So far, this new crew seems OK but the gelling factor is not quite kicking in yet. However, since I won't be seeing these guys past the middle of this month probably, I'm not too worried. I'm wondering if I will be kept on even as a part-timer.

April 16

Well, my first full day has passed, and it was full. After 7.5 hours of teaching yesterday, I was a tired little boy last night and I look forward to the same amount of hours today as well. It's still too early to say about how the dynamics are, but it is definitely an older and more staid crowd although I did meet a 20-year-old guy in the group. At least I have a few hours of time between my first and second classes today.

April 14

It's the eve before payday, and after doing the budget for this past month, I'm proud to say that I managed to save quite a bit in March/April.

The new kids are in the House now, and I've just done my first class with the low group today. Not a bad bunch so far, but I'm sure there will be a few "characters" to find. But I do hope that some of my classes will be passed onto other teachers; it's a monster of a schedule this week.

Caught CSI's pilot episode tonight on TV Tokyo. Pretty darn good...there's already quite a bit of tension and drama in it.