Saturday April 17, 8:47 p.m.
Warm day today. I've got my windows open trying to catch some breeze. Now I really know that Spring is here. Plus, the grunge factor is back.
Had a couple of last minute line shufflings with my kids' classes today. The father replaced the elder sister today. I was grateful for the change in pace to a talkative fellow although he sometimes leaves me hanging with some awkward pauses. The second change was pretty sudden as my best student called off sick due to a fever, so I had her elder sister. For a girl that was under the weather, she was pretty healthy skipping down to the living room. Her face did look pretty sallow, though. In any case, I just gabbed with the more fluent sister; she didn't seem to be too interested in anything structured the last time I'd taught her.
Then, after a brief stop at the Golden Arches just down the street, I walked over to the Tokyo Dome area again. Tons of people as usual. I even went inside the Tokyo Dome Hotel to use the phone. Nothing too special about it...just your regular glass and wood interior decor. However, I did see what looked like a Yakuza sitting near the revolving door with his sunglasses, punch perm and sullen look. I walked a wide berth around him.
Finally, I met up with Moomin and Chihiro for tea at the Tea Room. We hadn't met in several months so we spent most of the 2 hours there just catching up on people and topics related to the school. They expressed some surprise on hearing the news that both The Rapper and The Cop have left and wondered how The Madame felt since she really had the hots for him. Then, the two of them talked about their trials and tribulations with work. Chihiro is still searching for one while Moomin had been struggling with hers over the past few months although she said that things were finally settling down.
Well, the last message from Party Hearty is that all the food and drink have been bought for the big BBQ party tomorrow, so I just have to show up at 2. My work is basically over even though I think I'll probably be manning the grill or working in the kitchen. Before that, I need to give my own place a bit of a quick clean. I haven't done much since just before the Anime King dropped in.
Just a place to deposit my thoughts on life here in the Kanto and about anything else that sticks to my walls.
Saturday, April 17, 2004
Friday, April 16, 2004
Saturday April 17, 7:52 a.m.
My morning wake-up call came in the form of The Ballerina from London. My "grace" subroutine didn't kick for the first couple of seconds of consciousness so she almost made a quick ending to the call. However, I'm actually grateful that she did call me since I should have had woken up some 45 minutes previously. My real alarm was shut off; I apparently a tendency to shut them off without even being conscious.
Looks like it'll be another good day today.
My morning wake-up call came in the form of The Ballerina from London. My "grace" subroutine didn't kick for the first couple of seconds of consciousness so she almost made a quick ending to the call. However, I'm actually grateful that she did call me since I should have had woken up some 45 minutes previously. My real alarm was shut off; I apparently a tendency to shut them off without even being conscious.
Looks like it'll be another good day today.
Friday April 16, 11:51 p.m.
Another long day and night come to a close. Not feeling as grungy as I did on that warm Monday but not really all that cold either.
I had my regular session with The Teacher. It looks like the pattern has been set for her lessons. Basically, it's a mix of chat and her reading her articles while I scan for any major pronunciation or grammar errors. Not a bad way to earn 5000 yen.
I then went back to my station to get some lunch via the conveyor belt sushi place under my station. Pretty good fish today. Then, I paid off some bills. My wallet is definitely feeling a lot lighter now.
Stopped off at Tokyo Station, the main bullet train hub and went to the Hokkaido Plaza of JR. Apparently, enough people like to head up to Japan's northernmost island that its own travel office was warranted. Good for me. I picked up some info about this 4-day tour up there via the much-vaunted Cassiopeia. In absolute terms, it won't be cheap but compared to what I get, it's a pretty good deal. Now, it's just a matter of seeing if I can get a ticket on board. I will have to aim for either mid-May or June. July is just going to be too expensive.
After the stop at Tokyo Station, I walked over to the Ginza and browsed through Yamano Music for a while. I held my tongue and my money and didn't buy any CDs this time around. There wasn't really anything that grabbed my attention anyways. Next, I went across the street to the Mitsukoshi Department Store and headed all the way up to the roof garden where I hung out with some of the old and middle-aged and read my book. It was sunny but a bit too drafty on the outside so I ended up spending the last hour inside the elevator bay.
I met up with Arwen at the Tea Room. Ms. 77 had a soccer match to play so she was absent. Once again, we went out for dinner afterwards. This time, it was back to Yoyogi, the second time this week I went there after the dinner with the Prez on Monday. However, with Arwen, we didn't end up in a down-home izakaya. Instead, she took me to a raucous Cambodian restaurant. The staff were, I assume, all Cambodian and the attitudes certainly were non-Japanese. The owner was an amiably gruff sort who tried to push the set course on us. However, Arwen stood her ground and ordered a la carte. Lots of noise amongst the staff. The food was good, however, as was the conversation. Once again, we gabbed about marriage and babies. She told me that one of her old classmates has been learning everything a potential good wife needs to land her a husband. I had to shake my head bemusedly. The peer pressure that some women are under...
It looks like that trip for strawberry picking on the 25th is a go. It'll be myself, Arwen, DTE and 77 in Kanagawa.
The ride home was suitably crowded for a Friday night but no particular problems of stepping into street monja or drunken salarymen.
I noticed when I got home that there was no fax from my school about any scheduled classes next week. Well, I guess I may be taking that as a hint of things to come...or not to come, as it were. I think if anyone had asked me earlier, I would've said that I was disappointed, but now as I think about it, I feel a bit more liberated. If they need me, they'll call me.
I sent in the final numbers for Party Hearty's big BBQ bash on Sunday. A couple of late cancellations but otherwise we've got a good number coming. I also got word from the mother of my two Saturday morning students. The older kid is off at school tomorrow so I'll probably have the mother in her stead. Whew! That'll save me some extra weight in books and the usual frustration of getting her to talk in more than a monotone. The mother is a much more outgoing sort.
Once I finish up with my kids, I'll be meeting up with Moomin and Chihiro at 5 for that tea. Looks like my weekend is set.
Another long day and night come to a close. Not feeling as grungy as I did on that warm Monday but not really all that cold either.
I had my regular session with The Teacher. It looks like the pattern has been set for her lessons. Basically, it's a mix of chat and her reading her articles while I scan for any major pronunciation or grammar errors. Not a bad way to earn 5000 yen.
I then went back to my station to get some lunch via the conveyor belt sushi place under my station. Pretty good fish today. Then, I paid off some bills. My wallet is definitely feeling a lot lighter now.
Stopped off at Tokyo Station, the main bullet train hub and went to the Hokkaido Plaza of JR. Apparently, enough people like to head up to Japan's northernmost island that its own travel office was warranted. Good for me. I picked up some info about this 4-day tour up there via the much-vaunted Cassiopeia. In absolute terms, it won't be cheap but compared to what I get, it's a pretty good deal. Now, it's just a matter of seeing if I can get a ticket on board. I will have to aim for either mid-May or June. July is just going to be too expensive.
After the stop at Tokyo Station, I walked over to the Ginza and browsed through Yamano Music for a while. I held my tongue and my money and didn't buy any CDs this time around. There wasn't really anything that grabbed my attention anyways. Next, I went across the street to the Mitsukoshi Department Store and headed all the way up to the roof garden where I hung out with some of the old and middle-aged and read my book. It was sunny but a bit too drafty on the outside so I ended up spending the last hour inside the elevator bay.
I met up with Arwen at the Tea Room. Ms. 77 had a soccer match to play so she was absent. Once again, we went out for dinner afterwards. This time, it was back to Yoyogi, the second time this week I went there after the dinner with the Prez on Monday. However, with Arwen, we didn't end up in a down-home izakaya. Instead, she took me to a raucous Cambodian restaurant. The staff were, I assume, all Cambodian and the attitudes certainly were non-Japanese. The owner was an amiably gruff sort who tried to push the set course on us. However, Arwen stood her ground and ordered a la carte. Lots of noise amongst the staff. The food was good, however, as was the conversation. Once again, we gabbed about marriage and babies. She told me that one of her old classmates has been learning everything a potential good wife needs to land her a husband. I had to shake my head bemusedly. The peer pressure that some women are under...
It looks like that trip for strawberry picking on the 25th is a go. It'll be myself, Arwen, DTE and 77 in Kanagawa.
The ride home was suitably crowded for a Friday night but no particular problems of stepping into street monja or drunken salarymen.
I noticed when I got home that there was no fax from my school about any scheduled classes next week. Well, I guess I may be taking that as a hint of things to come...or not to come, as it were. I think if anyone had asked me earlier, I would've said that I was disappointed, but now as I think about it, I feel a bit more liberated. If they need me, they'll call me.
I sent in the final numbers for Party Hearty's big BBQ bash on Sunday. A couple of late cancellations but otherwise we've got a good number coming. I also got word from the mother of my two Saturday morning students. The older kid is off at school tomorrow so I'll probably have the mother in her stead. Whew! That'll save me some extra weight in books and the usual frustration of getting her to talk in more than a monotone. The mother is a much more outgoing sort.
Once I finish up with my kids, I'll be meeting up with Moomin and Chihiro at 5 for that tea. Looks like my weekend is set.
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Thursday April 15, 11:18 p.m.
There is joy in this country tonight after the news that the 3 hostages have been released in Iraq. NHK and one other channel are providing live coverage. And the troops are still in Iraq. Whether this will bode well or ill remains to be seen.
My lessons at the Curry Master's place tonight went pretty well. From what was a pretty simple article for her, we were able to jump into a wide-ranging conversation going over terrible homestay experiences to crime in big cities to her phobia about cockroaches. The lesson with the SE also went ahead without a hitch but we could've used a tape with the book conversation which got me thinking about creating our own tape for him since it seems that the tape for the text doesn't exist anymore. And that led us to her long-defunct AIWA stereo system in which both her CD and tape recorder can't open. So the three of us set about seeing if we could rectify the situation. At first, we had assumed that the tape stuck in there was the cause of the problem but after wrenching open the casing, it turned out that it was a mechanical problem. SE was able to pull the tape out with some difficulty but it hadn't gummed up the capstans after all. SE pointed out in hindsight that the AIWA had a history of breaking down fairly soon.
The plans for the two parties upcoming are coming along. The party for Chip Guy has been slowly gaining attendees, and now I've been recruited for food duty early on Sunday. As for the party for the Ballerina, it looks like one of the ten has pulled out due to work.
I got word from SR that she has reconsidered about joining that class after I made some points to her. I'm certainly grateful but it did get me thinking about how long I should keep a class going. Some of my longer-living classes such as with the Tsudanuma ladies and the Monday morning folks have gone on for years since the ladies consider the classes as social events as well as venues to pick up their English. Therefore for them, I'm not too worried about how much longer I can take them. However, with some of the school alumni and the other privates I've picked up over the past year, those students are just there for the education. Once they get it, what then? I could imagine that the end could be pretty awkward, so I'm now thinking if I ever do pick up any more students I'll consider offering to tell them that I'll either give them 6 months to a year or some other sort of criteria to structure their lessons and then they can consider whether or not they want to continue or just cut things off. No awkwardness or hurt feelings. And I can then pick up those students who couldn't get into my time slots.
Well, just finish this blog and then write up the report for the classes tonight. Off to bed. Meanwhile on TV, most of the stations are now focusing full bore on the release of the hostages. The families of the 3 were shown celebrating. There i s joy in Mudville tonight.
There is joy in this country tonight after the news that the 3 hostages have been released in Iraq. NHK and one other channel are providing live coverage. And the troops are still in Iraq. Whether this will bode well or ill remains to be seen.
My lessons at the Curry Master's place tonight went pretty well. From what was a pretty simple article for her, we were able to jump into a wide-ranging conversation going over terrible homestay experiences to crime in big cities to her phobia about cockroaches. The lesson with the SE also went ahead without a hitch but we could've used a tape with the book conversation which got me thinking about creating our own tape for him since it seems that the tape for the text doesn't exist anymore. And that led us to her long-defunct AIWA stereo system in which both her CD and tape recorder can't open. So the three of us set about seeing if we could rectify the situation. At first, we had assumed that the tape stuck in there was the cause of the problem but after wrenching open the casing, it turned out that it was a mechanical problem. SE was able to pull the tape out with some difficulty but it hadn't gummed up the capstans after all. SE pointed out in hindsight that the AIWA had a history of breaking down fairly soon.
The plans for the two parties upcoming are coming along. The party for Chip Guy has been slowly gaining attendees, and now I've been recruited for food duty early on Sunday. As for the party for the Ballerina, it looks like one of the ten has pulled out due to work.
I got word from SR that she has reconsidered about joining that class after I made some points to her. I'm certainly grateful but it did get me thinking about how long I should keep a class going. Some of my longer-living classes such as with the Tsudanuma ladies and the Monday morning folks have gone on for years since the ladies consider the classes as social events as well as venues to pick up their English. Therefore for them, I'm not too worried about how much longer I can take them. However, with some of the school alumni and the other privates I've picked up over the past year, those students are just there for the education. Once they get it, what then? I could imagine that the end could be pretty awkward, so I'm now thinking if I ever do pick up any more students I'll consider offering to tell them that I'll either give them 6 months to a year or some other sort of criteria to structure their lessons and then they can consider whether or not they want to continue or just cut things off. No awkwardness or hurt feelings. And I can then pick up those students who couldn't get into my time slots.
Well, just finish this blog and then write up the report for the classes tonight. Off to bed. Meanwhile on TV, most of the stations are now focusing full bore on the release of the hostages. The families of the 3 were shown celebrating. There i s joy in Mudville tonight.
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Thursday April 15, 8:26 a.m.
A very ominous sign from Baghdad. One of the Italian hostages has been reported killed. I'm not sure of the circumstances leading up to his death, but this will really terrify the families of the kidnapped 3 here. I haven't seen any news of it on NHK; I'm just kinda wondering if it may be holding back the news in deference to the families. The station has "shaped" its programming in the past; when the abductees from North Korea returned to Japan 18 months ago, the station made sure its Tuesday night enka show featured all of the top stars from the early and mid 70s for the abductees to watch. In a nation in which doctors have often withheld terminal cancer diagnoses from their patients, I wouldn't be surprised if NHK decided to use the same tactic.
Well, it looks like Koizumi is actually putting the nation's money to work...finally. CNN just announced that the Japanese government will be investing the equivalent of 11.3 billion US dollars into foreign stocks starting from next April. That is, if Koizumi still has a job at that time.
I've got another cancellation. SR called in to say that she won't be able to make it for Friday because of work. It looks like her job in Hell got a lot worse during her trip to Hawaii. But, interestingly enough, she also asked this question about this school that she may be interested in signing up for English lessons. They would be daily and would involve some easy conversation stuff and they would be inexpensive. Being my usual paranoid self, I was just wondering if this were a very subtle sign in telling me that I'm no longer needed. I don't think I'm particularly high-priced myself, but if she could get these lessons for far less and far more frequently, I wouldn't be surprised if she did decide to fly the coop, as it were. Just like some of those doctors and NHK, she may state a translucent white lie like she's too busy to get out of my lessons. I hope she doesn't. I don't appreciate that tactic...I prefer her to just tell me openly. I'll certainly be disappointed but at least I would feel a lot better than if I were lied to. It may be the Japanese way, but it sure isn't mine, and the "When in Rome..." proverb can only go so far with me. My first two privates of my bohemian career pulled the same stunt with me, although I let that go since I wasn't too crazy about the circusmtances surrounding that class. However, I'm kinda wondering about the Hawaiian.
Well, now that I've gotten my rant across....another old student of mine, the Princess sent over a message asking if I would like to join her and Chihiro for tea on Saturday. Nothing too expensive since Chihiro is looking for a job. I gather that it'll be the Tea Room then.
Gotta get the wash up...make sure I don't have the lighter stuff on the outer line so as not to bother my downstairs neighbour again with falling shirts, and then I head out for my haircut.
A very ominous sign from Baghdad. One of the Italian hostages has been reported killed. I'm not sure of the circumstances leading up to his death, but this will really terrify the families of the kidnapped 3 here. I haven't seen any news of it on NHK; I'm just kinda wondering if it may be holding back the news in deference to the families. The station has "shaped" its programming in the past; when the abductees from North Korea returned to Japan 18 months ago, the station made sure its Tuesday night enka show featured all of the top stars from the early and mid 70s for the abductees to watch. In a nation in which doctors have often withheld terminal cancer diagnoses from their patients, I wouldn't be surprised if NHK decided to use the same tactic.
Well, it looks like Koizumi is actually putting the nation's money to work...finally. CNN just announced that the Japanese government will be investing the equivalent of 11.3 billion US dollars into foreign stocks starting from next April. That is, if Koizumi still has a job at that time.
I've got another cancellation. SR called in to say that she won't be able to make it for Friday because of work. It looks like her job in Hell got a lot worse during her trip to Hawaii. But, interestingly enough, she also asked this question about this school that she may be interested in signing up for English lessons. They would be daily and would involve some easy conversation stuff and they would be inexpensive. Being my usual paranoid self, I was just wondering if this were a very subtle sign in telling me that I'm no longer needed. I don't think I'm particularly high-priced myself, but if she could get these lessons for far less and far more frequently, I wouldn't be surprised if she did decide to fly the coop, as it were. Just like some of those doctors and NHK, she may state a translucent white lie like she's too busy to get out of my lessons. I hope she doesn't. I don't appreciate that tactic...I prefer her to just tell me openly. I'll certainly be disappointed but at least I would feel a lot better than if I were lied to. It may be the Japanese way, but it sure isn't mine, and the "When in Rome..." proverb can only go so far with me. My first two privates of my bohemian career pulled the same stunt with me, although I let that go since I wasn't too crazy about the circusmtances surrounding that class. However, I'm kinda wondering about the Hawaiian.
Well, now that I've gotten my rant across....another old student of mine, the Princess sent over a message asking if I would like to join her and Chihiro for tea on Saturday. Nothing too expensive since Chihiro is looking for a job. I gather that it'll be the Tea Room then.
Gotta get the wash up...make sure I don't have the lighter stuff on the outer line so as not to bother my downstairs neighbour again with falling shirts, and then I head out for my haircut.
Wednesday April 14, 10:34 p.m.
WOOWEE! Just calculated the budget for the past month. After seeing losses for the first couple of months this year, I actually made a good profit this month. Maybe I'll treat myself to something tomorrow.
The Office Lady called up at about noon to say that she had to cancel out of tonight's lesson due to a cold. So I ended up a with a midweek day off. I may have lost a chance to make 3000 yen but I'm glad that I didn't have to go (although the OL is a good student) since it would've meant a 90-minute round trip down to Toranomon for a 1-hour class in which I'm not even paid for transportation. I actually got a nap before heading out into the cold spritzing air to get some grub at the corner convenience store. With the extra time, I was able to get all that ironing done and even complete a very mundane action of filling out my address book.
With the 3 kidnapped Japanese people as yet to be released, the families of the 3 came out in front of the cameras once again....but this time to apologize. It was a very Japanese thing to do....the families told the press that they were sorry that their loved ones created so much worry among the population and then they bowed very deeply.
So far, the reviews on President Bush's press conference have been largely mixed. A lot of people did agree with me that G. W. hemmed and hawed and did more evading than Leona Helmsley and her tax returns. There were apparently those yahoos who sided wholeheartedly with the President and chastised those who were against him as unpatriotic. I kinda wonder if some of those folks have a large poster of Senator McCarthy in their living rooms.
On TV, the noon hour on TV Tokyo is served by The Adventures of Lois and Clark. I've watched snippets of it here and there as background noise or visual wallpaper; I think you can figure out what I think of it. The acting, the effects and the music just makes it look like a cheapo version of the movie series...or at least the first two movies since the last two movies with Christopher Reeve were pathetic. I actually went searching on the net for the website for the series. There doesn't seem to be any official site (not too surprising since the series ended almost 8 years ago), so I ended up going to Jump The Shark.com. It was an entertaining read, to say the least. Apparently, the majority of the folks have stated that the show jumped the shark after the first season, so perhaps I feel vindicated by watching the 4th season episode that I caught today.
The coordinator of the year-classes at my school sent me a message asking whether she should change the time of this welcome party on the 24th to meet my convenience. I told her that my dance card was full with my kids' classes and then the dinner for the Ballerina that night. In retrospect, I think the 24th would be a good day after all for the party since it will occur after the first week of classes. I'm not sure why the coordinator feels that she needs me that badly that she would break all convention and change the party time to the dinner hour. An old head teacher who never liked her once posited the theory that with an obliging Haruhiko at the party, she can avoid having to show up at the parties. That's not true at all since she had been present at previous welcome parties. Well, in any case, I hope she can scrounge up the teachers to show up for the party. It's not as if I don't want to go, and certainly, I can think of more enjoyable things than teachng one of those kids but I made a business commitment and I intend to stick to it. Perhaps with so many veteran teachers like the Rapper and the Songbird flying the coop recently, she's a bit desperate for some old hands to be present. Well, there's always the Movie Buddy.
As for tomorrow, I've got my bimonthly appointment with the hair salon. Yeah, yeah, I know...I said salon. My ex introduced it to me early in our erstwhile relationship since her scuba diving buddy was running it so I abandoned my old barber shop of 7 years to satsify my girl's wishes. Having said that, the salon has been very good to me for the past 2.5 years. A hair salon, unlike my old barber shop, has a policy of not giving shaves. However, I do enjoy the scalp massages and shampoos.
Then, I'll probably head over to Maruzen to see if I can get some tapes for the SE for tomorrow night's class. I could stay here at home again for most of the day, but I figure I should get out for some exercise.
Just saw Senator "Mauler" Kerrey gouge into CIA Director Tenet about 9/11. At certain times, Tenet looked like he was gonna explode and at others, he looked bewildered at this "Good Cop, Bad Cop" approach writ large the commisssion is susing thanks to the very bipartisan makeup. After Kerrey the Democrat finished up, Lehman the Republican has now just given the most wonderful platitudes to him. Whatever one thinks of American politics, it's never boring.
WOOWEE! Just calculated the budget for the past month. After seeing losses for the first couple of months this year, I actually made a good profit this month. Maybe I'll treat myself to something tomorrow.
The Office Lady called up at about noon to say that she had to cancel out of tonight's lesson due to a cold. So I ended up a with a midweek day off. I may have lost a chance to make 3000 yen but I'm glad that I didn't have to go (although the OL is a good student) since it would've meant a 90-minute round trip down to Toranomon for a 1-hour class in which I'm not even paid for transportation. I actually got a nap before heading out into the cold spritzing air to get some grub at the corner convenience store. With the extra time, I was able to get all that ironing done and even complete a very mundane action of filling out my address book.
With the 3 kidnapped Japanese people as yet to be released, the families of the 3 came out in front of the cameras once again....but this time to apologize. It was a very Japanese thing to do....the families told the press that they were sorry that their loved ones created so much worry among the population and then they bowed very deeply.
So far, the reviews on President Bush's press conference have been largely mixed. A lot of people did agree with me that G. W. hemmed and hawed and did more evading than Leona Helmsley and her tax returns. There were apparently those yahoos who sided wholeheartedly with the President and chastised those who were against him as unpatriotic. I kinda wonder if some of those folks have a large poster of Senator McCarthy in their living rooms.
On TV, the noon hour on TV Tokyo is served by The Adventures of Lois and Clark. I've watched snippets of it here and there as background noise or visual wallpaper; I think you can figure out what I think of it. The acting, the effects and the music just makes it look like a cheapo version of the movie series...or at least the first two movies since the last two movies with Christopher Reeve were pathetic. I actually went searching on the net for the website for the series. There doesn't seem to be any official site (not too surprising since the series ended almost 8 years ago), so I ended up going to Jump The Shark.com. It was an entertaining read, to say the least. Apparently, the majority of the folks have stated that the show jumped the shark after the first season, so perhaps I feel vindicated by watching the 4th season episode that I caught today.
The coordinator of the year-classes at my school sent me a message asking whether she should change the time of this welcome party on the 24th to meet my convenience. I told her that my dance card was full with my kids' classes and then the dinner for the Ballerina that night. In retrospect, I think the 24th would be a good day after all for the party since it will occur after the first week of classes. I'm not sure why the coordinator feels that she needs me that badly that she would break all convention and change the party time to the dinner hour. An old head teacher who never liked her once posited the theory that with an obliging Haruhiko at the party, she can avoid having to show up at the parties. That's not true at all since she had been present at previous welcome parties. Well, in any case, I hope she can scrounge up the teachers to show up for the party. It's not as if I don't want to go, and certainly, I can think of more enjoyable things than teachng one of those kids but I made a business commitment and I intend to stick to it. Perhaps with so many veteran teachers like the Rapper and the Songbird flying the coop recently, she's a bit desperate for some old hands to be present. Well, there's always the Movie Buddy.
As for tomorrow, I've got my bimonthly appointment with the hair salon. Yeah, yeah, I know...I said salon. My ex introduced it to me early in our erstwhile relationship since her scuba diving buddy was running it so I abandoned my old barber shop of 7 years to satsify my girl's wishes. Having said that, the salon has been very good to me for the past 2.5 years. A hair salon, unlike my old barber shop, has a policy of not giving shaves. However, I do enjoy the scalp massages and shampoos.
Then, I'll probably head over to Maruzen to see if I can get some tapes for the SE for tomorrow night's class. I could stay here at home again for most of the day, but I figure I should get out for some exercise.
Just saw Senator "Mauler" Kerrey gouge into CIA Director Tenet about 9/11. At certain times, Tenet looked like he was gonna explode and at others, he looked bewildered at this "Good Cop, Bad Cop" approach writ large the commisssion is susing thanks to the very bipartisan makeup. After Kerrey the Democrat finished up, Lehman the Republican has now just given the most wonderful platitudes to him. Whatever one thinks of American politics, it's never boring.
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Wednesday April 14, 10:13 a.m.
Currently watching one of President Bush's rare press conferences. It' s been a pretty mixed bag, so far. He has been doing his usual hemming and hawing along with the occasional slip-up that the "Bushisms" book people thank god for (Rumsfeld is a co-secretary of state? Who knew? ...."I wouldn't be happy if I were occupied?" Huh?).
He also seems to be falling back on adages that have been used in the media in the past few weeks. The press has been striking at him fairly hard for what's been happening in Iraq recently, especially in the last couple of weeks, and for good reason. His 18-minute opening statement has given no particularly specific plan about how the States will bring things under control...in fact, he didn't even concede that things have been spiraling out of control.
Having said that, he has shone in all-too-brief moments when he's gotten angry or passionate about the answer for that question. But those could be explained away since he's briefed about possible or probable questions beforehand anyways. John Dickerson of TIME threw him a curve ball just now for which the Prez looked distinctly peeved. However, that journalistic grenade did reveal a bit about how Bush reacts...not too well; he even just conceded that he's not too quick on his feet in such situations. It wasn't quite cringe-inducing but I'm sure he wasn't too comfortable. And I'm kinda wondering if the Press Secretary will give Dickerson a red card for his transgression.
On a lighter and more wistful note, it was a revelation to see John Roberts of CBS News popping up and soberly throwing Bush a question. I remember him as J.D. Roberts, rock n' roll reporter of The New Music, a then-cutting-edge TV documentary show from then-cutting-edge CITY-TV in Toronto. His fashion back then was suitably a leather jacket, jeans, a near-mullet and a smirk. Now, he stands up at the press conference in a full Congressional suit and anchorman-gray hair. Man, how fast a quarter-century can fly by.
Currently watching one of President Bush's rare press conferences. It' s been a pretty mixed bag, so far. He has been doing his usual hemming and hawing along with the occasional slip-up that the "Bushisms" book people thank god for (Rumsfeld is a co-secretary of state? Who knew? ...."I wouldn't be happy if I were occupied?" Huh?).
He also seems to be falling back on adages that have been used in the media in the past few weeks. The press has been striking at him fairly hard for what's been happening in Iraq recently, especially in the last couple of weeks, and for good reason. His 18-minute opening statement has given no particularly specific plan about how the States will bring things under control...in fact, he didn't even concede that things have been spiraling out of control.
Having said that, he has shone in all-too-brief moments when he's gotten angry or passionate about the answer for that question. But those could be explained away since he's briefed about possible or probable questions beforehand anyways. John Dickerson of TIME threw him a curve ball just now for which the Prez looked distinctly peeved. However, that journalistic grenade did reveal a bit about how Bush reacts...not too well; he even just conceded that he's not too quick on his feet in such situations. It wasn't quite cringe-inducing but I'm sure he wasn't too comfortable. And I'm kinda wondering if the Press Secretary will give Dickerson a red card for his transgression.
On a lighter and more wistful note, it was a revelation to see John Roberts of CBS News popping up and soberly throwing Bush a question. I remember him as J.D. Roberts, rock n' roll reporter of The New Music, a then-cutting-edge TV documentary show from then-cutting-edge CITY-TV in Toronto. His fashion back then was suitably a leather jacket, jeans, a near-mullet and a smirk. Now, he stands up at the press conference in a full Congressional suit and anchorman-gray hair. Man, how fast a quarter-century can fly by.
Tuesday April 13, 10:24 p.m.
Amazing....it felt like early summer yesterday but it feels like early winter tonight. I'm sure that there are a lot of immune systems crying "Uncle!" right now. We're supposed to get rained on as well for most of tomorrow.
Well, my message to my downstairs neighbour got a prompt and neat reply...just the one I like. When I got back home tonight from the juku, there was the bag with my UNIQLO shirt right by my door. I just wonder if I should get him a little reward, but then again, it is just a shirt, and it's not as if any of us in the building are particularly neighbourly to each other. I don't think any of us have any contact with the others.
The classes tonight were cut-and-dry as usual. The one student in my second class was griping again about using the textbook that is supposedly too easy for her. And I once again proved her in the lesson that she has yet to master some of the grammar that we did today. I figured that she just gets that way whenever a lesson bored her (like last week).
The coordinator from my school finally sent me a response about this welcome party. She gave a fairly surprising response that the program attracted the lowest number of new recruits ever...just 26 new faces, as compared to 40-45 new students in previous years. I can't say that I'm totally surprised, though. With the number of English conversation schools littering Tokyo and the high prices, it's going to be tough to get students. Also, a part of the success of such a school is word-of-mouth, and frankly speaking, I can't say that my school would have a great reputation. Not to slag on most of the teachers, though; a lot of them are decent folks who really try to put through an education to them. However, I think the aftercare and the peripherals such as textbooks have been pretty substandard for as long as I remember. I mean, the main text for the students have simple drawings of folks in bell-bottoms and afros...that's how old it is. The low turnout will also hurt me. Fewer students will mean fewer classes for teachers to teach. I may actually have to fill up my Tuesdays and Thursdays if I don't get any more classes from them.
As for the welcome party, I found it rather bizarre that the coordinator decided to make it for the next Saturday. She had usually set it far into May just in case new stragglers came into the school. In any case, I told her that I couldn't make it because of my kids and the fact that I have that dinner for the Ballerina that night. Well, no use crying over spilt milk.
That new Pet Shop Boys video looks rather intriguing with its Japanese pop culture theme. In fact, I think the Boys make a pretty humourous stab at the commercial industry here with its silly images and funky kanji. I never expected the song "Flamboyant", though, to actually cover how a lowly salaryman goes from a zero to a hero by entering this contest that actually exists on Japanese TV.
While I was blogging, I ended up chatting for an hour with Movie Buddy. It had been a few weeks since I spoke with him last. Both he and I were commiserating about the state of our school after I had told him about the low recruitment rate. He also believes that I probably won't be seeing too much of the school anymore. If that's indeed the case, I will really then consider opening those last two weekly slots for new students. It's a pity in a way, though. I really did enjoy teaching those classes for the past 5 years. But life is transition. At the same time, MB told me that The Rapper has also pulled out of things. Again, I can't say that I'm surprised. MB himself almost ended up on the streets when contract negotiations broke down at one point a couple of weeks ago.
Amazing....it felt like early summer yesterday but it feels like early winter tonight. I'm sure that there are a lot of immune systems crying "Uncle!" right now. We're supposed to get rained on as well for most of tomorrow.
Well, my message to my downstairs neighbour got a prompt and neat reply...just the one I like. When I got back home tonight from the juku, there was the bag with my UNIQLO shirt right by my door. I just wonder if I should get him a little reward, but then again, it is just a shirt, and it's not as if any of us in the building are particularly neighbourly to each other. I don't think any of us have any contact with the others.
The classes tonight were cut-and-dry as usual. The one student in my second class was griping again about using the textbook that is supposedly too easy for her. And I once again proved her in the lesson that she has yet to master some of the grammar that we did today. I figured that she just gets that way whenever a lesson bored her (like last week).
The coordinator from my school finally sent me a response about this welcome party. She gave a fairly surprising response that the program attracted the lowest number of new recruits ever...just 26 new faces, as compared to 40-45 new students in previous years. I can't say that I'm totally surprised, though. With the number of English conversation schools littering Tokyo and the high prices, it's going to be tough to get students. Also, a part of the success of such a school is word-of-mouth, and frankly speaking, I can't say that my school would have a great reputation. Not to slag on most of the teachers, though; a lot of them are decent folks who really try to put through an education to them. However, I think the aftercare and the peripherals such as textbooks have been pretty substandard for as long as I remember. I mean, the main text for the students have simple drawings of folks in bell-bottoms and afros...that's how old it is. The low turnout will also hurt me. Fewer students will mean fewer classes for teachers to teach. I may actually have to fill up my Tuesdays and Thursdays if I don't get any more classes from them.
As for the welcome party, I found it rather bizarre that the coordinator decided to make it for the next Saturday. She had usually set it far into May just in case new stragglers came into the school. In any case, I told her that I couldn't make it because of my kids and the fact that I have that dinner for the Ballerina that night. Well, no use crying over spilt milk.
That new Pet Shop Boys video looks rather intriguing with its Japanese pop culture theme. In fact, I think the Boys make a pretty humourous stab at the commercial industry here with its silly images and funky kanji. I never expected the song "Flamboyant", though, to actually cover how a lowly salaryman goes from a zero to a hero by entering this contest that actually exists on Japanese TV.
While I was blogging, I ended up chatting for an hour with Movie Buddy. It had been a few weeks since I spoke with him last. Both he and I were commiserating about the state of our school after I had told him about the low recruitment rate. He also believes that I probably won't be seeing too much of the school anymore. If that's indeed the case, I will really then consider opening those last two weekly slots for new students. It's a pity in a way, though. I really did enjoy teaching those classes for the past 5 years. But life is transition. At the same time, MB told me that The Rapper has also pulled out of things. Again, I can't say that I'm surprised. MB himself almost ended up on the streets when contract negotiations broke down at one point a couple of weeks ago.
Monday, April 12, 2004
Tuesday April 13, 10:43 p.m.
Back to cold windy weather again. Those winds are just blowing like gales out there. In fact, my UNIQLO shirt was a casualty. It got blown down to the second floor balcony, so I had to exercise my Kanji writing muscles and pen a memo for the fellow downstairs. I tried to make it easy for him and myself by just asking him to put the shirt ina bag provided for him and just place it in my mailbox. No muss, no fuss and no contact.
Party Hearty finally got back into the e-mail swing of things in a most timely way since she's providing the pad for Chip Guy's farewell this Sunday. Not surprisingly, there'll be tons of food. I'm good with that.
I got word back from the Anime King. It looks like the poor guy suffered the flight from Hell with delays and rebookings. However, he is now back in one piece in Toronto. I hear the gang back home will be taking him out for a nice juicy steak dinner. He deserves it.
Well, gotta get working on those lesson plans, although I only have 2 hours tonight. Then, I gotta get some lunch, and then maybe I can actually get some ironing done. I've got a good pile of wrinkled clothing on one sofa.
Back to cold windy weather again. Those winds are just blowing like gales out there. In fact, my UNIQLO shirt was a casualty. It got blown down to the second floor balcony, so I had to exercise my Kanji writing muscles and pen a memo for the fellow downstairs. I tried to make it easy for him and myself by just asking him to put the shirt ina bag provided for him and just place it in my mailbox. No muss, no fuss and no contact.
Party Hearty finally got back into the e-mail swing of things in a most timely way since she's providing the pad for Chip Guy's farewell this Sunday. Not surprisingly, there'll be tons of food. I'm good with that.
I got word back from the Anime King. It looks like the poor guy suffered the flight from Hell with delays and rebookings. However, he is now back in one piece in Toronto. I hear the gang back home will be taking him out for a nice juicy steak dinner. He deserves it.
Well, gotta get working on those lesson plans, although I only have 2 hours tonight. Then, I gotta get some lunch, and then maybe I can actually get some ironing done. I've got a good pile of wrinkled clothing on one sofa.
Monday April 12, 11:45 p.m.
It felt more like early summer today. The mercury went up to 26 C. But my best personal barometer was the fact that I was feeling pretty grungy by the time I got home tonight. I went straight into the shower. Luckily, things will be a good deal cooler tomorrow.
It was a good day for walking though. Certainly, a lot of the fashion freaks were out in Shibuya today. I saw a few unnaturally tanned young folk in day-glo colours and bleached blonde hair. We had a tragic fashion trend a couple of years ago called GANGURO and YAMAMBA which these folks were emulating today. The latter especially looked like photo negatives. I hope that today's sightings were more of a woeful aberration than a return to turn-of-the-century form.
My classes went pretty smoothly. Afterwards, the Prez once again treated me to yet another one of his local haunts. This time, he took me a bit further out into Yoyogi to an izakaya called Uogashi. Great food....I stuffed myself almost to the point of attaining first victim status in SEVEN. The place also got a write up in the Washington Post for its home cooking. The owner said that since the article's release, there have been a few foreign guests coming into the izakaya. A bit hard to imagine since the place seems so Japanese, but the article did say that the ownership was friendly, and they were indeed that tonight.
No news about the 3 hostages. I just don't know about that.
A Waseda University professor got nailed in Shinagawa Station for trying to peek up a high school student's skirt using a well-placed hand mirror. Gah! A once-popular celeb was caught doing the same thing. He and his career plummeted into oblivion.
I was thinking about doing some ironing before I hit the hay but I've decided to just jump into bed immediately after my blog. I'll probably have more energy next morning. As for right now, it seems to be devoted to digestion.
It felt more like early summer today. The mercury went up to 26 C. But my best personal barometer was the fact that I was feeling pretty grungy by the time I got home tonight. I went straight into the shower. Luckily, things will be a good deal cooler tomorrow.
It was a good day for walking though. Certainly, a lot of the fashion freaks were out in Shibuya today. I saw a few unnaturally tanned young folk in day-glo colours and bleached blonde hair. We had a tragic fashion trend a couple of years ago called GANGURO and YAMAMBA which these folks were emulating today. The latter especially looked like photo negatives. I hope that today's sightings were more of a woeful aberration than a return to turn-of-the-century form.
My classes went pretty smoothly. Afterwards, the Prez once again treated me to yet another one of his local haunts. This time, he took me a bit further out into Yoyogi to an izakaya called Uogashi. Great food....I stuffed myself almost to the point of attaining first victim status in SEVEN. The place also got a write up in the Washington Post for its home cooking. The owner said that since the article's release, there have been a few foreign guests coming into the izakaya. A bit hard to imagine since the place seems so Japanese, but the article did say that the ownership was friendly, and they were indeed that tonight.
No news about the 3 hostages. I just don't know about that.
A Waseda University professor got nailed in Shinagawa Station for trying to peek up a high school student's skirt using a well-placed hand mirror. Gah! A once-popular celeb was caught doing the same thing. He and his career plummeted into oblivion.
I was thinking about doing some ironing before I hit the hay but I've decided to just jump into bed immediately after my blog. I'll probably have more energy next morning. As for right now, it seems to be devoted to digestion.
Sunday, April 11, 2004
Monday April 12, 7:13 a.m.
UGH! I went through pollen hell yesterday with my nose and eyes running like a river during Spring Thaw. Neither the air cleaner nor the medicine helped out since I decided to wait too long before relinquishing to the pills. I took another batch this morning and it feels like it's kicking in.
I was able to enjoy...between grabs of Kleenex, that is...the DVD of "Intolerable Cruelty". It was another Arwen loaner thereby bypassing the much more expensive theater route. The Coen Bros. once again pulled off another fine homage to screwball comedies. The banter amongst the cast was quick and witty...a challenge for even advanced English students. And George Clooney couldn't have looked suaver...even in Ocean's Eleven. It's rather interesting that he and Cary Grant have the same initials...reversed...cue the Twilight Zone theme.
The big news has been the fate of those 3 kidnapped Japanese in Iraq. Spirits were considerably buoyed yesterday at the news that the three would be released. However, it's now been more than 24 hours since that announcement and there has been no further news. I cannot imagine what the families must be going through. A couple of representatives from those families looked on the verge of emotional and physical collapse at a news conference.
There was some non-baseball sporting news on the tube with the national judo championships yesterday. Japan's own homely darling, Ryoko Tani (nee Tamura), alias Yawara-chan, clinched her berth at the Olympics. I think everyone still remembers the moment when she won the gold in Sydney 4 years ago. Not a dry house in the country. However, my respect for her fell a few points with that ludricously cheesy televised wedding reception she had with her baseball beau. Perhaps I'm being a bit unfair, though, since major sports celebs HAVE TO have their weddings made public.
Well, I'm still waiting for my birth certificate to come in from Thunder Bay. With 70,000 applications clogging up the works there, it's not surprisng that I've been waiting more than 4 months. Having said that, I'm gonna be sending a letter today to see if my application even got there. As I was telling Mom yesterday, there's nothing to do but wait.
It looks like it'll be another fairly quiet week. I'll be loaded today and Friday but the middle section will be sparse in classes.
UGH! I went through pollen hell yesterday with my nose and eyes running like a river during Spring Thaw. Neither the air cleaner nor the medicine helped out since I decided to wait too long before relinquishing to the pills. I took another batch this morning and it feels like it's kicking in.
I was able to enjoy...between grabs of Kleenex, that is...the DVD of "Intolerable Cruelty". It was another Arwen loaner thereby bypassing the much more expensive theater route. The Coen Bros. once again pulled off another fine homage to screwball comedies. The banter amongst the cast was quick and witty...a challenge for even advanced English students. And George Clooney couldn't have looked suaver...even in Ocean's Eleven. It's rather interesting that he and Cary Grant have the same initials...reversed...cue the Twilight Zone theme.
The big news has been the fate of those 3 kidnapped Japanese in Iraq. Spirits were considerably buoyed yesterday at the news that the three would be released. However, it's now been more than 24 hours since that announcement and there has been no further news. I cannot imagine what the families must be going through. A couple of representatives from those families looked on the verge of emotional and physical collapse at a news conference.
There was some non-baseball sporting news on the tube with the national judo championships yesterday. Japan's own homely darling, Ryoko Tani (nee Tamura), alias Yawara-chan, clinched her berth at the Olympics. I think everyone still remembers the moment when she won the gold in Sydney 4 years ago. Not a dry house in the country. However, my respect for her fell a few points with that ludricously cheesy televised wedding reception she had with her baseball beau. Perhaps I'm being a bit unfair, though, since major sports celebs HAVE TO have their weddings made public.
Well, I'm still waiting for my birth certificate to come in from Thunder Bay. With 70,000 applications clogging up the works there, it's not surprisng that I've been waiting more than 4 months. Having said that, I'm gonna be sending a letter today to see if my application even got there. As I was telling Mom yesterday, there's nothing to do but wait.
It looks like it'll be another fairly quiet week. I'll be loaded today and Friday but the middle section will be sparse in classes.
Saturday, April 10, 2004
Saturday April 10, 11:05 p.m.
Well, the Anime King left this morning. I helped him lug one of his bags up to the subway station and then saw him off. Then I treated myself to a McD's breakfast before heading out for the kids. I had some vain wishes that the older sister at the first house would gain the desire to speak but such was not the case. She was her usual sullen self. My best kid in the afternoon seemed pretty tired after a bout of swimming.
Last night, I took Arwen and Ms. 77 down to the Ginza to meet up with the Anime King and his associate, the Exporter, for dinner. I rather wondered how the combination of my two worlds of English teaching and university buddydom would mesh. But I needn't have worried. Everyone got along swimmingly. AK had mentioned the Exporter for years but last night was the first time for me to meet him. He and I are the same age, and he's quite personable. He's been shipping Japanese pop culture goods to the Americas for a number of years now. Arwen and AK especially hit it off quite well since Arwen is also of AK's world by association.
We ended up going to Ten-Kuni, a reasonable tempura place in the Ginza just across from where the Farm Grill used to be. We were a bit surprised when the maitre 'd pegged me immediately for a foreigner although I was a stealth gaijin. He just merely shrugged his shoulders and said that after 40 years working there, he could pick out foreigners just like that.
Arwen's hubby, Aragorn, actually showed up after dinner since he was working close by. He's also quite a good guy and I was also amazed that both he and the Exporter were just as willing to converse in English with each other. The Exporter made the same remarks as well.
I think the two guys would've made good students at the school.
Well, now that the King has left, I've got my bedroom back so I can save myself the backaches. However, I do think I'll be doing my fair share of cleanup tomorrow. Luckily, I don't have anything slated for Sunday, although I did get a message from Movie Buddy for the first time in a couple of weeks. He may have wanted to come over here to watch a DVD, but I rather preferred to just be by myself tonight so I haven't responded back yet
I caught the new, improved and much darker version of Battlestar Galactica thanks to my buddy's videotape. Let's say that it isn't my youth's Battlestar Galactica with the repeated effects shots, droning Cylon voices and mullets. I could compare the two versions like comparing Frank Miller's Dark Knight to the Adam West Batman. Everyone in the newer version comes off with a deeper, more complex and not as nice personality which makes for a lot of tension amongst the characters. Plus, they have thrown in an X-Files-like twist ending, to boot. I'm not really sure if it will be picked up since I've got the feeling that viewers are now kinda burned out on the sci-fi TV after 15 years of Star Trek and Babylon 5.
Well, the Anime King left this morning. I helped him lug one of his bags up to the subway station and then saw him off. Then I treated myself to a McD's breakfast before heading out for the kids. I had some vain wishes that the older sister at the first house would gain the desire to speak but such was not the case. She was her usual sullen self. My best kid in the afternoon seemed pretty tired after a bout of swimming.
Last night, I took Arwen and Ms. 77 down to the Ginza to meet up with the Anime King and his associate, the Exporter, for dinner. I rather wondered how the combination of my two worlds of English teaching and university buddydom would mesh. But I needn't have worried. Everyone got along swimmingly. AK had mentioned the Exporter for years but last night was the first time for me to meet him. He and I are the same age, and he's quite personable. He's been shipping Japanese pop culture goods to the Americas for a number of years now. Arwen and AK especially hit it off quite well since Arwen is also of AK's world by association.
We ended up going to Ten-Kuni, a reasonable tempura place in the Ginza just across from where the Farm Grill used to be. We were a bit surprised when the maitre 'd pegged me immediately for a foreigner although I was a stealth gaijin. He just merely shrugged his shoulders and said that after 40 years working there, he could pick out foreigners just like that.
Arwen's hubby, Aragorn, actually showed up after dinner since he was working close by. He's also quite a good guy and I was also amazed that both he and the Exporter were just as willing to converse in English with each other. The Exporter made the same remarks as well.
I think the two guys would've made good students at the school.
Well, now that the King has left, I've got my bedroom back so I can save myself the backaches. However, I do think I'll be doing my fair share of cleanup tomorrow. Luckily, I don't have anything slated for Sunday, although I did get a message from Movie Buddy for the first time in a couple of weeks. He may have wanted to come over here to watch a DVD, but I rather preferred to just be by myself tonight so I haven't responded back yet
I caught the new, improved and much darker version of Battlestar Galactica thanks to my buddy's videotape. Let's say that it isn't my youth's Battlestar Galactica with the repeated effects shots, droning Cylon voices and mullets. I could compare the two versions like comparing Frank Miller's Dark Knight to the Adam West Batman. Everyone in the newer version comes off with a deeper, more complex and not as nice personality which makes for a lot of tension amongst the characters. Plus, they have thrown in an X-Files-like twist ending, to boot. I'm not really sure if it will be picked up since I've got the feeling that viewers are now kinda burned out on the sci-fi TV after 15 years of Star Trek and Babylon 5.
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
Thursday April 8, 12:46 p.m.
Another lazy day today. I just have that one class at the juku. I checked my e-mail. There was no cancellation notice from the juku owner so I assume that I'm on. Not much to plan anyways. The Anime King and I didn't get up all that early this mornng. He took off about an hour ago to meet up with his associate, K-Books, in Akihabara.
It looks like I have two attendance lists to mind over the next couple of weeks. There's that party for the Ballerina. The Rapper is the latest one to join the group. Then there's the going away party for the Chip Guy. I've received 5 positive responses for that get-together. That brings the grand total to 10 already. I'm just wondering how all of us are going to squeeze into the place.
My nose is acting up again so I've activated the air cleaner. The Anime King has declined The Iconoclast's request to take it back to Toronto due to its size...something that I don't mind considering my allergies.
Another lazy day today. I just have that one class at the juku. I checked my e-mail. There was no cancellation notice from the juku owner so I assume that I'm on. Not much to plan anyways. The Anime King and I didn't get up all that early this mornng. He took off about an hour ago to meet up with his associate, K-Books, in Akihabara.
It looks like I have two attendance lists to mind over the next couple of weeks. There's that party for the Ballerina. The Rapper is the latest one to join the group. Then there's the going away party for the Chip Guy. I've received 5 positive responses for that get-together. That brings the grand total to 10 already. I'm just wondering how all of us are going to squeeze into the place.
My nose is acting up again so I've activated the air cleaner. The Anime King has declined The Iconoclast's request to take it back to Toronto due to its size...something that I don't mind considering my allergies.
Wednesday April 7, 9:49 p.m.
I had my biweekly Wednesday morning student for the first time in about a month since she was off in Hokkaido for a few days on a scheduled lesson day. The Stylist is not a super gabby person but she does like to talk. The problem is that her structure threatens to fall off the track.
Afterwards, I decided to visit Odaiba for the first time in a few months. I went over to the Sunset Beach restaurant which has a decent lunch buffet. A lot of pasta, meat and salad. I basically engorged myself. Ironic, since the Stylist advised me about eating less and exercising more. My actions at the restaurant illustrated how little I like to listen to authority. However, I did follow up my binge with over 2 hours of solid walking through the area including three malls and Fuji-TV. I noticed that there was still some solid construction going on near the main Tokyo Big Sight convention centre. There's even a gated area near the TBS which consists of a chapel and classic-looking buildings for weddings. After my walkabout, I got on the Yurikamome train at the end stop so I was able to sit in the front seat and snoozed during the 30-minute ride back to Shimbashi at the other end of the line.
I had another 20-minute walk from Shimbashi to Toranomon where I had the Office Lady. She's been rather busy with the accounting so she's been hoping for a holiday soon. Speaking of holidays, I'm now thinking about heading out to Hokkaido a week after the Golden Week holidays. I've been wondering about taking the famed Cassiopeia Express from Tokyo to Sapporo. It's about as close to the Orient Express as it can get here, and apparently the prices approzimate its more famous counterpart as well. But I figure that if I let the prices scare me, I'll never be able to make the trip, and I think this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Now that I'm back home, I received a message from the Anime King not to wait up for him for dinner. I'm thinking about seeing if we can do some lunch or an early dinner tomorrow since he'll be taking off on Saturday.
I had my biweekly Wednesday morning student for the first time in about a month since she was off in Hokkaido for a few days on a scheduled lesson day. The Stylist is not a super gabby person but she does like to talk. The problem is that her structure threatens to fall off the track.
Afterwards, I decided to visit Odaiba for the first time in a few months. I went over to the Sunset Beach restaurant which has a decent lunch buffet. A lot of pasta, meat and salad. I basically engorged myself. Ironic, since the Stylist advised me about eating less and exercising more. My actions at the restaurant illustrated how little I like to listen to authority. However, I did follow up my binge with over 2 hours of solid walking through the area including three malls and Fuji-TV. I noticed that there was still some solid construction going on near the main Tokyo Big Sight convention centre. There's even a gated area near the TBS which consists of a chapel and classic-looking buildings for weddings. After my walkabout, I got on the Yurikamome train at the end stop so I was able to sit in the front seat and snoozed during the 30-minute ride back to Shimbashi at the other end of the line.
I had another 20-minute walk from Shimbashi to Toranomon where I had the Office Lady. She's been rather busy with the accounting so she's been hoping for a holiday soon. Speaking of holidays, I'm now thinking about heading out to Hokkaido a week after the Golden Week holidays. I've been wondering about taking the famed Cassiopeia Express from Tokyo to Sapporo. It's about as close to the Orient Express as it can get here, and apparently the prices approzimate its more famous counterpart as well. But I figure that if I let the prices scare me, I'll never be able to make the trip, and I think this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Now that I'm back home, I received a message from the Anime King not to wait up for him for dinner. I'm thinking about seeing if we can do some lunch or an early dinner tomorrow since he'll be taking off on Saturday.
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Wednesday April 7, 12:42 a.m.
This must be a weird week. First, it was the crazy lady in Shinjuku Station, then the rude geezer at Pepper Lunch, and now coming back from work tonight, it was the fighting couple on the subway platform. A small woman was chewing out her boyfriend about something in what was a textbook spat. The woman was doing most of the yelling while the man was alternately muttering or doing a slow burn. I knew what was going to happen next...the man then slightly exploded at her as a pheonmenon known in Japanese as "gyaku-kire" or counter-blowup. Then he went back to his sullen self while the woman continued to admonish him. I would've loved to have seen what happened next but the train arrived. It's been several months since I'd seen a couple arguing in public outside of the battles that my ex and I had. I can only imagine what's going to happen the next day.
The classes at the juku went pretty normally. The juku owner was back to her ebullient self, especially since she found her second wind and proclaimed that she would be taking the juku into a new direction by next year by moving the place to Shin-Urayasu and expanding it into a full-fledged school. I wish her the best of luck. Certainly, my fortunes would be tied into anything that she would do.
Well, I got back home from the spat to see that Anime King had arrived here over an hour ago. It was good that we could talk so that some of the tension could drain away from me. It was also nice to see the music channel on SkyPerfect play some of those old J-Pop songs from my childhood. Got me into a better frame of mind.
Apparently, Doctor Who is back...or will be back...on BBC. I remember watching the good Doctor and his adventures on TV Ontario and PBS back home as a die-hard fan of the series years ago. The stories were quite good in the prime Jon Pertwee/Tom Baker years. The new Doctor is supposed to be played by some fellow named Eccleston. I just hope that the effects are much more improved. I think I'm a bit too old now to accept the gold spray-painted styrofaom ball as a rotating planet anymore.
This must be a weird week. First, it was the crazy lady in Shinjuku Station, then the rude geezer at Pepper Lunch, and now coming back from work tonight, it was the fighting couple on the subway platform. A small woman was chewing out her boyfriend about something in what was a textbook spat. The woman was doing most of the yelling while the man was alternately muttering or doing a slow burn. I knew what was going to happen next...the man then slightly exploded at her as a pheonmenon known in Japanese as "gyaku-kire" or counter-blowup. Then he went back to his sullen self while the woman continued to admonish him. I would've loved to have seen what happened next but the train arrived. It's been several months since I'd seen a couple arguing in public outside of the battles that my ex and I had. I can only imagine what's going to happen the next day.
The classes at the juku went pretty normally. The juku owner was back to her ebullient self, especially since she found her second wind and proclaimed that she would be taking the juku into a new direction by next year by moving the place to Shin-Urayasu and expanding it into a full-fledged school. I wish her the best of luck. Certainly, my fortunes would be tied into anything that she would do.
Well, I got back home from the spat to see that Anime King had arrived here over an hour ago. It was good that we could talk so that some of the tension could drain away from me. It was also nice to see the music channel on SkyPerfect play some of those old J-Pop songs from my childhood. Got me into a better frame of mind.
Apparently, Doctor Who is back...or will be back...on BBC. I remember watching the good Doctor and his adventures on TV Ontario and PBS back home as a die-hard fan of the series years ago. The stories were quite good in the prime Jon Pertwee/Tom Baker years. The new Doctor is supposed to be played by some fellow named Eccleston. I just hope that the effects are much more improved. I think I'm a bit too old now to accept the gold spray-painted styrofaom ball as a rotating planet anymore.
Monday, April 05, 2004
Tuesday April 6, 12:21 p.m.
Another lovely day outside. Another old boor to observe. I had just gotten my rubdown at the quick massage clinic when I decided to have lunch at Pepper Lunch, that mix between fast food restaurant and grill. An old fogey sat two seats away from me. He wasn't openly antagonistic but he just alternately muttered or growled his order to the waitress. Plus, he ignored her when she asked if he needed anything else. Man, are a lot of these Japanese men genetically predisposed to become jerks as they age? The current generation of young punks aren't exactly my cup of tea either but at least they are sullenly polite.
I have yet to hear from the Anime King since he left his message on Sunday night. As far as I know, he's coming back here for the rest of his stay. He's got the spare key and a map to the apartment, so I'm not particularly worried about him.
Well, I've got a few hours before heading out to the juku so I might as well enjoy the afternoon and listen to some CDs and do crosswords.
Another lovely day outside. Another old boor to observe. I had just gotten my rubdown at the quick massage clinic when I decided to have lunch at Pepper Lunch, that mix between fast food restaurant and grill. An old fogey sat two seats away from me. He wasn't openly antagonistic but he just alternately muttered or growled his order to the waitress. Plus, he ignored her when she asked if he needed anything else. Man, are a lot of these Japanese men genetically predisposed to become jerks as they age? The current generation of young punks aren't exactly my cup of tea either but at least they are sullenly polite.
I have yet to hear from the Anime King since he left his message on Sunday night. As far as I know, he's coming back here for the rest of his stay. He's got the spare key and a map to the apartment, so I'm not particularly worried about him.
Well, I've got a few hours before heading out to the juku so I might as well enjoy the afternoon and listen to some CDs and do crosswords.
Monday April 5, 10:09 p.m.
I was on my way home through Shinjuku Station when this woman several metres out in front was screaming epithets into her cellphone, and screaming at the cops who looked her way. Obviously, she wasn't exactly playing with a full deck but trailing behind her, but I just felt like smashing her face in with my fist. There have been a number of these very angry half-sociopaths walking through the streets of Tokyo recently, and they've certainly raised my blood pressure lately. On the subway home, a typical middle-aged geezer was sitting next to me just huffing his stink breath. I was getting some rather nasty thoughts about him, but it was also possible that he may have had a pretty bad end to his day. However, I'm starting to wonder if it is time that I took a REAL vacation, and not just spend my days off at home. Otherwise, I may end up becoming one of the walking insane.
My day was otherwise OK. I had a full slate today with three classes. I thought I had a pretty good chance to meet up with the Anime King tonight after class since he was planning to call up the President for dinner. However, I found out that the Prez was off on business in Shikoku, so obviously no dinner.
Well, tomorrow, I'll have nothing until my juku classes so hopefully I'll be able to rest up adequately although I plan to get a rubdown in the morning.
I was on my way home through Shinjuku Station when this woman several metres out in front was screaming epithets into her cellphone, and screaming at the cops who looked her way. Obviously, she wasn't exactly playing with a full deck but trailing behind her, but I just felt like smashing her face in with my fist. There have been a number of these very angry half-sociopaths walking through the streets of Tokyo recently, and they've certainly raised my blood pressure lately. On the subway home, a typical middle-aged geezer was sitting next to me just huffing his stink breath. I was getting some rather nasty thoughts about him, but it was also possible that he may have had a pretty bad end to his day. However, I'm starting to wonder if it is time that I took a REAL vacation, and not just spend my days off at home. Otherwise, I may end up becoming one of the walking insane.
My day was otherwise OK. I had a full slate today with three classes. I thought I had a pretty good chance to meet up with the Anime King tonight after class since he was planning to call up the President for dinner. However, I found out that the Prez was off on business in Shikoku, so obviously no dinner.
Well, tomorrow, I'll have nothing until my juku classes so hopefully I'll be able to rest up adequately although I plan to get a rubdown in the morning.
Sunday, April 04, 2004
Sunday April 4, 9:48 p.m.
Cold and wet as a dog's nose today. Unbelievable this season! I'm still suspecting that we'll get a few flurries tonight.
I had my dinner today with those juku students at that hidden restaurant in the wilds of Tsudanuma, Takimoto. I got to the platform of my station at 3:55 p.m. and ended up having to wait 20 minutes. Women...well, at least I was graceful about it.
Man, if anyone from home ever comes to my neck of the woods, I really have to take them to Takimoto. The place is truly a culinary gem out here in the burbs. I was a bit concerned about the Zen-like map but it was a lot easier than expected to find the place. And then, I had wondered about the course we had selected. It was the cheapest one at 4,000 yen per person so I thought that we weren't going to get that much. I was absolutely wrong. We got a ton of dishes consisting of sashimi, tempura, shellfish, etc so that we were actually stuffed by the end. The ladies were also impressed by our little room, incidentally, the same room that my Tsudanuma students and I had when I first went there. All in all, we were a very satisfied group. No wonder there was a month-long waiting list.
Shivering on the way back home, I invited the ladies to come up to my apartment for a bit of coffee. We picked up some dessert from the local convenience store. Luckily, I'd had the foresight to clean up a bit before I left the apartment. We looked through the satellite TV, and I made Chai. One lady enjoyed it while the other one wasn't too big on spices so she couldn't really complete the cup. Still, it was nice to entertain company.
Well, back to the mundaneness of prepping for lessons tomorrow. The Anime King may be calling up the Iconoclast's old boss to have dinner then since he knows that I 'll be teaching class at the company on the same day.
Cold and wet as a dog's nose today. Unbelievable this season! I'm still suspecting that we'll get a few flurries tonight.
I had my dinner today with those juku students at that hidden restaurant in the wilds of Tsudanuma, Takimoto. I got to the platform of my station at 3:55 p.m. and ended up having to wait 20 minutes. Women...well, at least I was graceful about it.
Man, if anyone from home ever comes to my neck of the woods, I really have to take them to Takimoto. The place is truly a culinary gem out here in the burbs. I was a bit concerned about the Zen-like map but it was a lot easier than expected to find the place. And then, I had wondered about the course we had selected. It was the cheapest one at 4,000 yen per person so I thought that we weren't going to get that much. I was absolutely wrong. We got a ton of dishes consisting of sashimi, tempura, shellfish, etc so that we were actually stuffed by the end. The ladies were also impressed by our little room, incidentally, the same room that my Tsudanuma students and I had when I first went there. All in all, we were a very satisfied group. No wonder there was a month-long waiting list.
Shivering on the way back home, I invited the ladies to come up to my apartment for a bit of coffee. We picked up some dessert from the local convenience store. Luckily, I'd had the foresight to clean up a bit before I left the apartment. We looked through the satellite TV, and I made Chai. One lady enjoyed it while the other one wasn't too big on spices so she couldn't really complete the cup. Still, it was nice to entertain company.
Well, back to the mundaneness of prepping for lessons tomorrow. The Anime King may be calling up the Iconoclast's old boss to have dinner then since he knows that I 'll be teaching class at the company on the same day.
Saturday, April 03, 2004
Sunday April 4, 12:15 a.m.
I went down to Shibuya again to meet up with Chip Guy. He was to meet me in front of the gigantic Starbucks across from Shibuya Station, so I just hung around in the neighbouring Tsutaya, the Japanese equivalent to Blockbuster Video in the States. The tunes of HIkaru Utada were playing everywhere like a ghostly presence since the young lady hasn't released anything new for over a year...an eternity in the J-Pop business. Her album of all of her singles was released about 10 days ago, and unsurprisingly, is a best seller. I'm kinda wondering if I should pick it up myself but I think I've got all of her best stuff in her first two albums and one really good single. Also, Matrix Revolutions was playing on the screens. For some reason, the movie has been released a few days here before its release Stateside.
I met up with Chip Guy and our destination this time was the restaurant Toriyoshi just up the street in Dogenzaka. It's theme is chicken but is a few grades above the KFC variety. It was the just of two of us so we gabbed on Star Wars, superhero movies and all of the other manly stuff. I figure that I might be meeting CG quite a few more times in the next few weeks since his departure from Tokyo is fast approaching. It'll be several months at least before I see him again, I gather.
We picked up some dessert at the local Cozy Corner and then went back to his place. His wife was busy puttering about on the laptop while CG and I watched Matrix Reloaded. After my diatribe from last year, my opinion still hasn't changed. However, I am slowly starting to comprehend The Architect's lecture to Neo.
The long ride home on the subway was fairly uneventful although on the Tozai Line, I was seated next to an old fogey who had obviously been drinking according to his stinky cigarette-and-booze breath. He was muttering garbage. Although I won't ever touch the cancer sticks, I still kinda wonder if I'll end up like that if I stay here way too long. I was telling Chip Guy tonight that I'd never retire from teaching. I'd probably end up dead soon after. You can ask the late Alistair Cooke.
I went down to Shibuya again to meet up with Chip Guy. He was to meet me in front of the gigantic Starbucks across from Shibuya Station, so I just hung around in the neighbouring Tsutaya, the Japanese equivalent to Blockbuster Video in the States. The tunes of HIkaru Utada were playing everywhere like a ghostly presence since the young lady hasn't released anything new for over a year...an eternity in the J-Pop business. Her album of all of her singles was released about 10 days ago, and unsurprisingly, is a best seller. I'm kinda wondering if I should pick it up myself but I think I've got all of her best stuff in her first two albums and one really good single. Also, Matrix Revolutions was playing on the screens. For some reason, the movie has been released a few days here before its release Stateside.
I met up with Chip Guy and our destination this time was the restaurant Toriyoshi just up the street in Dogenzaka. It's theme is chicken but is a few grades above the KFC variety. It was the just of two of us so we gabbed on Star Wars, superhero movies and all of the other manly stuff. I figure that I might be meeting CG quite a few more times in the next few weeks since his departure from Tokyo is fast approaching. It'll be several months at least before I see him again, I gather.
We picked up some dessert at the local Cozy Corner and then went back to his place. His wife was busy puttering about on the laptop while CG and I watched Matrix Reloaded. After my diatribe from last year, my opinion still hasn't changed. However, I am slowly starting to comprehend The Architect's lecture to Neo.
The long ride home on the subway was fairly uneventful although on the Tozai Line, I was seated next to an old fogey who had obviously been drinking according to his stinky cigarette-and-booze breath. He was muttering garbage. Although I won't ever touch the cancer sticks, I still kinda wonder if I'll end up like that if I stay here way too long. I was telling Chip Guy tonight that I'd never retire from teaching. I'd probably end up dead soon after. You can ask the late Alistair Cooke.
Friday, April 02, 2004
Saturday April 3, 12:13 p.m.
Another grand day in the Big Sushi! The temps are perfect and the sky is cleas. There should be tons of people in the city parks getting soused and generally making asses of themselves tonight. Hail Cherry Blossom Viewing.
Well, I went off to pick up the Anime King at Narita yesterday after a major clean sweep of the apartment. His plane actually arrived well ahead of schedule but I still waited for 45 minutes until he popped through the custom gates. It looks like he had a very interesting experience with one comely Customs officer. He was carrying some vacuum-packed packages which were teabags of high quality. Not taking chances, the officer had it X-rayed by a colleague, and then she asked AK politely with a hint of trepidation if he would submit to a body search (no cavities, though). He didn't need to think twice about that one!
On getting back home, we just crashed for about an hour before we hit the neighbourhood ramen shop. The place was absolutely empty...not a good sign for a Friday night, although one other couple entered later. However, with the taste of the food and the Anne Murray tribute playing in the background, I wondered if I were back in a Toronto Chinese eatery. There was no doubt where the Chinese management's layalties lied....there were pictures of Chairman Mao everywhere.
Afterwards, we bought some desserts and breakfast stuff at the AM/PM nearby and just chatted for a few hours before we hit bed. The Anime King took off this morning to traipse through Ueno Park and then meet up with an old associate of his in Nakano...most likely to mull through the huge MANDARAKE manga/anime emporium there. With the whole place taking up 4 stories, they should be there for a while. However, he also has to meet up with another buddy of his who'll be arriving at the Hilton tonight. The two of them will be staying at the Iconoclast's place for the next few days until the other guy takes off for home on Tuesday. Then, AK is back here.
Just when I was getting out of the shower, the mother for that kid I teach on Saturday afternoons called up to cancel the lesson for today. No complaints here. So instead of riding the train and getting some games ready, I am just enjoying blogging, e-mailing and doing some more domestic stuff.
CNN's Anderson Cooper, cable's equivalent of David Letterman, is obsessing about that Japanese Naval Self-Defense recruitment commercial where young thin sailors are prancing about on the bow of a destroyer yelling SEAMANSHIP. It's apparently become a regular Friday rite of celebration on his show. My thoughts about it? It's plain gay...the Village People should be getting royalties.
Another grand day in the Big Sushi! The temps are perfect and the sky is cleas. There should be tons of people in the city parks getting soused and generally making asses of themselves tonight. Hail Cherry Blossom Viewing.
Well, I went off to pick up the Anime King at Narita yesterday after a major clean sweep of the apartment. His plane actually arrived well ahead of schedule but I still waited for 45 minutes until he popped through the custom gates. It looks like he had a very interesting experience with one comely Customs officer. He was carrying some vacuum-packed packages which were teabags of high quality. Not taking chances, the officer had it X-rayed by a colleague, and then she asked AK politely with a hint of trepidation if he would submit to a body search (no cavities, though). He didn't need to think twice about that one!
On getting back home, we just crashed for about an hour before we hit the neighbourhood ramen shop. The place was absolutely empty...not a good sign for a Friday night, although one other couple entered later. However, with the taste of the food and the Anne Murray tribute playing in the background, I wondered if I were back in a Toronto Chinese eatery. There was no doubt where the Chinese management's layalties lied....there were pictures of Chairman Mao everywhere.
Afterwards, we bought some desserts and breakfast stuff at the AM/PM nearby and just chatted for a few hours before we hit bed. The Anime King took off this morning to traipse through Ueno Park and then meet up with an old associate of his in Nakano...most likely to mull through the huge MANDARAKE manga/anime emporium there. With the whole place taking up 4 stories, they should be there for a while. However, he also has to meet up with another buddy of his who'll be arriving at the Hilton tonight. The two of them will be staying at the Iconoclast's place for the next few days until the other guy takes off for home on Tuesday. Then, AK is back here.
Just when I was getting out of the shower, the mother for that kid I teach on Saturday afternoons called up to cancel the lesson for today. No complaints here. So instead of riding the train and getting some games ready, I am just enjoying blogging, e-mailing and doing some more domestic stuff.
CNN's Anderson Cooper, cable's equivalent of David Letterman, is obsessing about that Japanese Naval Self-Defense recruitment commercial where young thin sailors are prancing about on the bow of a destroyer yelling SEAMANSHIP. It's apparently become a regular Friday rite of celebration on his show. My thoughts about it? It's plain gay...the Village People should be getting royalties.