Sunday April 25, 12:21 a.m.
The work part of myday seemed to have followed the Murphy's Law corrolary of being killed by a thousand paper cuts. First off, the Tozai Line gets sidelined because of some sort of smoke emanating from one of the stations on the line, so I had to make a quick detour to the adjoining Oedo Line. I was rather lucky with that one since if the subway had gotten delayed at any other station, I would have been very late for my lesson.
Then, after rushing to get copies made for my first kid, I found out from her mother that the older sister who had been originally scheduled to head off for volleyball was now available for her lesson. This, of course, rendered all of my rushing and copying and planning moot. The mother looked a bit nervous when she apologized to me despite my surface replies of "No problem". I did a look bit stern but it was only because I was simultaneously cooking up a plan for the older sister in my head. 17 years of experience came to my rescue. As it were, the lesson went pretty well, especially considering how laconic the older sister usually is.
I ran off to teach my next kid a half-hour away by subway. There, I found out that I was gonna be teaching both sisters there. So I had to leave a message with Movie Buddy that I would be an hour late in meeting him for a pre-party coffee. The younger kid was fine, but I think the older kid is a bit harder to teach.
Next, I call up Movie Buddy again to find out that another old fellow teacher had caught wind of the Ballerina's dinner and wanted in, so I had to call up the restaurant again to make the adjustment. Plus, I ended up going to the wrong subway line to head to Shinjuku. With only a few minutes before my supposed rendezvous with MB and that other teacher, heretofore referred as Scarecrow, I had to grab a taxi and spend another 2100 yen to get there 10 minutes late.
But meet them I did, and we spent about 40 minutes drinking coffee and gabbing about Kiefer's hit show, 24, and other movies at the Excelsior Cafe before heading off to meet the others at the restaurant. Skippy and the Ballerina were there first, followed by another alumnus shortly. Then, we went off to DOMA DOMA, across from the Shinjuku Prince Hotel.
Another alumnus was waiting up at the door, and later on, the Madam, the Rapper and AO arrived to complete the group. The food was fine and the drink was flowing liberally. The Rapper had already had his fill of drink with the school welcome party and subsequent karaoke so hewas already looking pretty ebulliant.
After dinner, the Madam and one other left for home while the rest of us decided to do some karaoke at the nearby SHIDAX box. Surprisingly, The Rapper decided to join his second karaoke party of the day. It didn't take him long to conk out. Meanwhile, AO was also getting rather tipsy, a revelation for me since her reputation had been that she could drink anyone under the table. A half-hour later, a couple of other alumni joined us, Gabby and The Kid. AO and Gabby were very close friends which made for some more interesting moments during the session.
By the time the night was over, The Rapper was nursing a pretty bad hangover, and AO was having trouble standing up. I gave the Rapper a Tylenol while Gabby and The Kid propped AO up. The cost wasn't too painful but it was a typical Saturday night outing in Shinjuku after all. Our two drunk members were getting a bit belligerent with each other so The Kid came in to break it up and gently escort The Rapper back on the right path while the other women escorted AO back to the train station. Aside from that brief moment of tension, the night came off without a hitch. MB and Scarecrow are even thinking of getting something going on the first day of Golden Week this Thursday...perhaps to catch Kill Bill Vol 2.
I've only got a few minutes to take a shower before I have to hit bed for just 6 hours and then head off back to Shinjuku to meet up with Arwen and DTE for that trip to 77's neck of the woods for strawberry picking. I received word from Arwen, profusely apologizing for having forgotten to give me my fee last night. The joke's on her...I didn't even notice.
Just a place to deposit my thoughts on life here in the Kanto and about anything else that sticks to my walls.
Saturday, April 24, 2004
Friday, April 23, 2004
Saturday April 24, 8:00 a.m.
Back in my high school and university days, I ravenously devoured anything and everything about this country where I now reside. I read authors such as Reischauer and Vogel about the people, the philosophies and attitudes. One thing that has remained with me from all that reading for all these years is that Japanese culture is one based on shame. A crime committed is, of course, a bad thing but what is worse supposedly is when one is caught for that crime and that person is exposed for all the country to see. The country is merciless in its berating, the perpetrator is humiliated like no other while in a DOGESA stance.
That scene is being played out right now writ large. The three Japanese hostages arrived home yesterday at Narita to a chorus of boos and verbal admonishments from protesters who feel that the three shamed themselves, their families and the nation by their brazen defiance of government warnings to not to travel to Iraq. Legitimate magazines and rags alike have put out critical articles of these three for putting the country through an emotional wringer a couple of weeks ago. What has caused even more anger is that even after their ordeal, the three reportedly cited their intentions to return to Iraq. It wasn't as if the three hadn't known about the hostile reaction; they streamed through the arrivals lounge of the airport with heads bowed, and the one kidnapped woman was filmed bent over like a paper clip with two of her family members supporting her.
I must admit that having been raised aware of two cultures, I saw the scenes on CNN with some shock. I haven't caught the footage on NHK. It is possible that the situation may not be nearly as bad as has been revealed on the world news network. However, to get back on topic, I was somewhat surprised to hear of this vitriol against the three, especially remembering the wild relief and celebrations shown on TV a week ago when news of their release had become known. A similar situation played out by Americans would have probably gotten a different response. Kidnapped Americans would have come home to yellow ribbons and a welcoming public, and perhaps there would have even been some calls of admiration and bravery if these people had declared their intention to return to Iraq to help out again despite the dangers.
Apparently not in Japan. The government has issued a strong rebuke, and has even suggested that the three pay their own flight back to Japan. The former hostages have gone into hiding.
Once again, we come to the issue of the shame culture. In Japanese eyes, the abductees' efforts to help out in Iraq and their subsequent capture forced the government to consider two options, both undesirable and embarrassing: to either pay the ransom of pulling out the troops or to let the three possibly die. Both options would have brought shame nationally.
Public opinion seems to be divided, though. So it can't be said that the three have been unanimously castigated into the Hall of Shame. However, the reaction is enough to show me that there can be a very big difference between my two cultures. My take on it is that I feel very sorry for the former hostages. They have been come from one Hell to face another one.
Back in my high school and university days, I ravenously devoured anything and everything about this country where I now reside. I read authors such as Reischauer and Vogel about the people, the philosophies and attitudes. One thing that has remained with me from all that reading for all these years is that Japanese culture is one based on shame. A crime committed is, of course, a bad thing but what is worse supposedly is when one is caught for that crime and that person is exposed for all the country to see. The country is merciless in its berating, the perpetrator is humiliated like no other while in a DOGESA stance.
That scene is being played out right now writ large. The three Japanese hostages arrived home yesterday at Narita to a chorus of boos and verbal admonishments from protesters who feel that the three shamed themselves, their families and the nation by their brazen defiance of government warnings to not to travel to Iraq. Legitimate magazines and rags alike have put out critical articles of these three for putting the country through an emotional wringer a couple of weeks ago. What has caused even more anger is that even after their ordeal, the three reportedly cited their intentions to return to Iraq. It wasn't as if the three hadn't known about the hostile reaction; they streamed through the arrivals lounge of the airport with heads bowed, and the one kidnapped woman was filmed bent over like a paper clip with two of her family members supporting her.
I must admit that having been raised aware of two cultures, I saw the scenes on CNN with some shock. I haven't caught the footage on NHK. It is possible that the situation may not be nearly as bad as has been revealed on the world news network. However, to get back on topic, I was somewhat surprised to hear of this vitriol against the three, especially remembering the wild relief and celebrations shown on TV a week ago when news of their release had become known. A similar situation played out by Americans would have probably gotten a different response. Kidnapped Americans would have come home to yellow ribbons and a welcoming public, and perhaps there would have even been some calls of admiration and bravery if these people had declared their intention to return to Iraq to help out again despite the dangers.
Apparently not in Japan. The government has issued a strong rebuke, and has even suggested that the three pay their own flight back to Japan. The former hostages have gone into hiding.
Once again, we come to the issue of the shame culture. In Japanese eyes, the abductees' efforts to help out in Iraq and their subsequent capture forced the government to consider two options, both undesirable and embarrassing: to either pay the ransom of pulling out the troops or to let the three possibly die. Both options would have brought shame nationally.
Public opinion seems to be divided, though. So it can't be said that the three have been unanimously castigated into the Hall of Shame. However, the reaction is enough to show me that there can be a very big difference between my two cultures. My take on it is that I feel very sorry for the former hostages. They have been come from one Hell to face another one.
Friday April 23, 11:26 p.m.
Well, we've had hot and humid days followed by cold and windy ones. Now, we're getting both types of weather in the same day. This afternoon was warm and slightly muggy as I headed out to Tokyo without a jacket. Then, coming home, the temps decided to plummet to below 10 degrees. Being the resolute Canadian, I wasn't feeling too bad but the jacket would've helped.
The class with SR was pretty much a gabfest for 3/4 of the lesson. We went over her trip to Hawaii along with the trials and tribulations at her workplace. She's pretty much ready to leave the company come July.
Then, Arwen came by. 77 once again skipped ostensibly due to a possible cracked rib. Considering how often she's skipped, the fact that she lives far off in Kanagawa Prefecture, and she has just inherited a new boyfriend, I'm getting the sneaking suspicion that 77 won't be sticking around all that much with Arwen and myself.
Arwen and I once again fulfilled our Friday ritual of heading out for dinner. We once again headed over to the Saboten (Cactus) tonkatsu restaurant right by JR Shinjuku Station. Another crowded Friday night but we stayed there for a couple of hours gabbing about movies and our respective erstwhile love lives.
I made the confirmation call to the venue for The Ballerina's party tomorrow night. I got a call from Movie Buddy asking what I would be doing between my kid's class and the party, so we've made tentative plans to meet for coffee before the big event. I gather that I'm pretty much out of the loop in terms of the year-course classes. MB told me that there are only 4 classes now due to the reduced group, and I haven't received any word from the scheduler about doing any classes next week. However, I'm not gonna take any breaks. I've asked The Stylist to see if she would like me to teach her in the afternoon on Tuesday. I kept that slot open for any school classes but since none seem to be forthcoming, and since The Stylist had initially hoped that I could teach her on a Tuesday since she's off on that day, I may as well fill that up. I just hope that it's not too late.
Well, we've had hot and humid days followed by cold and windy ones. Now, we're getting both types of weather in the same day. This afternoon was warm and slightly muggy as I headed out to Tokyo without a jacket. Then, coming home, the temps decided to plummet to below 10 degrees. Being the resolute Canadian, I wasn't feeling too bad but the jacket would've helped.
The class with SR was pretty much a gabfest for 3/4 of the lesson. We went over her trip to Hawaii along with the trials and tribulations at her workplace. She's pretty much ready to leave the company come July.
Then, Arwen came by. 77 once again skipped ostensibly due to a possible cracked rib. Considering how often she's skipped, the fact that she lives far off in Kanagawa Prefecture, and she has just inherited a new boyfriend, I'm getting the sneaking suspicion that 77 won't be sticking around all that much with Arwen and myself.
Arwen and I once again fulfilled our Friday ritual of heading out for dinner. We once again headed over to the Saboten (Cactus) tonkatsu restaurant right by JR Shinjuku Station. Another crowded Friday night but we stayed there for a couple of hours gabbing about movies and our respective erstwhile love lives.
I made the confirmation call to the venue for The Ballerina's party tomorrow night. I got a call from Movie Buddy asking what I would be doing between my kid's class and the party, so we've made tentative plans to meet for coffee before the big event. I gather that I'm pretty much out of the loop in terms of the year-course classes. MB told me that there are only 4 classes now due to the reduced group, and I haven't received any word from the scheduler about doing any classes next week. However, I'm not gonna take any breaks. I've asked The Stylist to see if she would like me to teach her in the afternoon on Tuesday. I kept that slot open for any school classes but since none seem to be forthcoming, and since The Stylist had initially hoped that I could teach her on a Tuesday since she's off on that day, I may as well fill that up. I just hope that it's not too late.
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Friday April 23, 1:13 p.m.
Just savoring a brief respite before I head out again. I had The Teacher for her regular 11 o'clock. Unfortunately, my allergies started attacking me again just as she walked in. It's an occupational hazard in my line of work. I used up all of my tissue and even a pack of hers that she'd kindly given me. I did take my medicine but it only kicked in just at the very end.
As has been the case since I started teaching her some weeks ago, most of the lesson was spent with her talking about her life. She's certainly had her share of trials and tribulations. Her stories are quite interesting; I taught her the adage "What doesn't kill us makes us grow stronger". It's a pity that she engendered a lot of resentment from a majority of the female students during her time at our school but I think she probably let that slide off her like water off a duck.
I'm not quite sure what her schedule will be like next week...or for that matter, how everyone's schedule will be like for the next couple of weeks due to Golden Week. And I think there's a possibility that some of my venues may be closed up for the holidays. I know that the Starbucks where I teach The Office Lady will be locked down.
My Hokkaido planning is coming along. My new contact at Japan Tours has started asking me about budget and hotel preference. It's rather nice to get personalized treatment.
Referring back to my mild rant about that elder sister dumping me once again for a volleyball match tomorrow, I guess that I can't be too su rprised about the tactic, if that's what it indeed is. I remember some decades back when I had come to Japan as a fledgling high school student over the summer. I spent a few days at my grandfather's place in the Kansai district. There was a young man there whom my grandparents had introduced me to. He took me out fishing in the bay once and had try to engage me in English conversation. One steamy afternoon (this was Japan in late July, y'know), I just didn't feel like going outside in the summer sun to broil, so I feigned a long-term nap when he came over to my grandfather's farm again. He waited a while before he gave up. I feel badly about it now on the point that it was just a rude thing to do although I never found out if the man had seen through the ruse. But I guess when one's a teen with about as much common sense or consideration as a flea, I just can't be that surprised if the sister did indeed try to avoid my lesson. I certainly can't go up on a soapbox and decry the rudeness of teens.
Just savoring a brief respite before I head out again. I had The Teacher for her regular 11 o'clock. Unfortunately, my allergies started attacking me again just as she walked in. It's an occupational hazard in my line of work. I used up all of my tissue and even a pack of hers that she'd kindly given me. I did take my medicine but it only kicked in just at the very end.
As has been the case since I started teaching her some weeks ago, most of the lesson was spent with her talking about her life. She's certainly had her share of trials and tribulations. Her stories are quite interesting; I taught her the adage "What doesn't kill us makes us grow stronger". It's a pity that she engendered a lot of resentment from a majority of the female students during her time at our school but I think she probably let that slide off her like water off a duck.
I'm not quite sure what her schedule will be like next week...or for that matter, how everyone's schedule will be like for the next couple of weeks due to Golden Week. And I think there's a possibility that some of my venues may be closed up for the holidays. I know that the Starbucks where I teach The Office Lady will be locked down.
My Hokkaido planning is coming along. My new contact at Japan Tours has started asking me about budget and hotel preference. It's rather nice to get personalized treatment.
Referring back to my mild rant about that elder sister dumping me once again for a volleyball match tomorrow, I guess that I can't be too su rprised about the tactic, if that's what it indeed is. I remember some decades back when I had come to Japan as a fledgling high school student over the summer. I spent a few days at my grandfather's place in the Kansai district. There was a young man there whom my grandparents had introduced me to. He took me out fishing in the bay once and had try to engage me in English conversation. One steamy afternoon (this was Japan in late July, y'know), I just didn't feel like going outside in the summer sun to broil, so I feigned a long-term nap when he came over to my grandfather's farm again. He waited a while before he gave up. I feel badly about it now on the point that it was just a rude thing to do although I never found out if the man had seen through the ruse. But I guess when one's a teen with about as much common sense or consideration as a flea, I just can't be that surprised if the sister did indeed try to avoid my lesson. I certainly can't go up on a soapbox and decry the rudeness of teens.
Friday April 23, 9:08 a.m.
Just checking over some e-mail...
Chip Guy sent in his last message before taking off for the GWN. It'll be a "See you later" more than a farewell.
I got a message from the mother of those two kids I teach on Saturday morning. Once again, the elder sister has pulled out suddenly from her lesson to attend volleyball. Once again, I'm not particularly pained by it, since she's never been too enthused by English. However, my natural paranoia and the Japanese custom of indirectly sending cues have started to make me wonder if the elder sister is trying for a permanent pullout. To be honest, I wouldn't mind not teaching her anymore; she's a nice enough young girl but I've largely considered our lessons to be a bit of a chore more than a pleasure. Still, the fact that I have to lose a student this way sticks in my craw like an ulcer. I've still got the other sister who has a better attitude, but gradually, I have to wonder if my skills would be more appreciated by others that I've had to turn away.
On the other side, Arwen just sent in a message telling me about the scheduled strawberry picking on Sunday morning. I'll be meeting them in Shinjuku Station at 10.
It's quite a bit gloomier out there. But I've got work to do.
Just checking over some e-mail...
Chip Guy sent in his last message before taking off for the GWN. It'll be a "See you later" more than a farewell.
I got a message from the mother of those two kids I teach on Saturday morning. Once again, the elder sister has pulled out suddenly from her lesson to attend volleyball. Once again, I'm not particularly pained by it, since she's never been too enthused by English. However, my natural paranoia and the Japanese custom of indirectly sending cues have started to make me wonder if the elder sister is trying for a permanent pullout. To be honest, I wouldn't mind not teaching her anymore; she's a nice enough young girl but I've largely considered our lessons to be a bit of a chore more than a pleasure. Still, the fact that I have to lose a student this way sticks in my craw like an ulcer. I've still got the other sister who has a better attitude, but gradually, I have to wonder if my skills would be more appreciated by others that I've had to turn away.
On the other side, Arwen just sent in a message telling me about the scheduled strawberry picking on Sunday morning. I'll be meeting them in Shinjuku Station at 10.
It's quite a bit gloomier out there. But I've got work to do.
Thursday April 22, 7:37 p.m.
I found out early today from the Curry Master that neither she nor the SE would be available tonight for lessons so I had a day off. I just sent off a package to Shard and then got a rubdown at the quick massage clinic. It was pretty busy there in the morning but it had the atmosphere of an old tavern. A couple of the masseur/massagee tandems were enjoying a lively conversation. I'm not much of a talker at these things so I was happy that I had the clinic chief for my masseur. He knows who I am.
I didn't quite take a nap but I enjoyed a good 90 minutes of reading on my futon in the afternoon. And then I got to work researching for my trip to Hokkaido. I took a look at a few websites including one for Nihon Ryoko (Japan Tour). They had an English language page and an e-mail address so I sent off a request to them. Sure enough, within a few hours, I got a reply back. It looks promising.
I was thinking of making that final adjustment to the reservations for The Ballerina's party on Saturday since one has dropped out. But being a law-abiding citizen of Murphy, I will hold on one more day and make the call between classes tomorrow. The Ballerina should be coming in tonight.
I referred to an old Chinese cookbook so that I had an excuse to use that Hoisin Sauce that the Iconoclast had given me some weeks ago. He warned me that though the jar had never been opened, the sauce went past the expiry date. I opened up and spooned a dab into the pork and green pepper stir-fry I whipped up according to the recipe. I'm not bending over in pain so I think the sauce passes muster. But the dish was pretty light-tasting for Chinese.
The weather has been another scorcher. We hit a few records in various places in the Kanto. One inland city got hit with 30 C temps. Tokyo didn't reach those heights but we were still quite warm. My fan is back on again. However, the meterological roller-coaster will continue tomorrow as the temps fall down again to more seasonable levels.
Unlike today, it should be a full day tomorrow. I've got The Teacher, SR will be back in the afternoon and I've got Arwen and 77 after her. If past Fridays are any indication, the three of us will be heading out for dinner again.
In the meantime, I've gotta get prepped for those classes and then get Part 2 of ironing done before I hit the hay.
I found out early today from the Curry Master that neither she nor the SE would be available tonight for lessons so I had a day off. I just sent off a package to Shard and then got a rubdown at the quick massage clinic. It was pretty busy there in the morning but it had the atmosphere of an old tavern. A couple of the masseur/massagee tandems were enjoying a lively conversation. I'm not much of a talker at these things so I was happy that I had the clinic chief for my masseur. He knows who I am.
I didn't quite take a nap but I enjoyed a good 90 minutes of reading on my futon in the afternoon. And then I got to work researching for my trip to Hokkaido. I took a look at a few websites including one for Nihon Ryoko (Japan Tour). They had an English language page and an e-mail address so I sent off a request to them. Sure enough, within a few hours, I got a reply back. It looks promising.
I was thinking of making that final adjustment to the reservations for The Ballerina's party on Saturday since one has dropped out. But being a law-abiding citizen of Murphy, I will hold on one more day and make the call between classes tomorrow. The Ballerina should be coming in tonight.
I referred to an old Chinese cookbook so that I had an excuse to use that Hoisin Sauce that the Iconoclast had given me some weeks ago. He warned me that though the jar had never been opened, the sauce went past the expiry date. I opened up and spooned a dab into the pork and green pepper stir-fry I whipped up according to the recipe. I'm not bending over in pain so I think the sauce passes muster. But the dish was pretty light-tasting for Chinese.
The weather has been another scorcher. We hit a few records in various places in the Kanto. One inland city got hit with 30 C temps. Tokyo didn't reach those heights but we were still quite warm. My fan is back on again. However, the meterological roller-coaster will continue tomorrow as the temps fall down again to more seasonable levels.
Unlike today, it should be a full day tomorrow. I've got The Teacher, SR will be back in the afternoon and I've got Arwen and 77 after her. If past Fridays are any indication, the three of us will be heading out for dinner again.
In the meantime, I've gotta get prepped for those classes and then get Part 2 of ironing done before I hit the hay.
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Wednesday April 21, 8:00 p.m.
It was another warm day today. Luckily, my fan is back up and working after it had stubbornly refused to do anything the last time I had tried to use it back last summer. If I hadn't given it a desperation shot, it would've been broken down into component pieces and thrown out piecemeal. Anything to avoid that pick-up fee to throw any appliances out. Highway robbery, I say.
Well, Betty Boop and the Office Lady picked me up at the beauty salon where I had been teaching The Stylist. Boop was her usual giddy self with the breathy voice. She actually took us on a leisurely walk over to her parents' place some 10-minutes' walk from the station. She lives in one of those neighbourhoods which seem to have houses cramped up against each other like commuters in a typical rush hour subway. There, her mother was generous enough to make a lunch of tuna salad and curry rice for us.
I first helped Boop with her upcoming English job interview on Monday. She wasn't too bad but she did have a lot of questions, just like when she was back at the school over 5 years ago. Then, I went upstairs to teach the OL for an hour. She had been taking an impromptu nap on Boop's bed so she looked a bit groggy when I came up. However, she got back into action. I was feeling pretty sweaty in her room although the OL actually remarked that she felt cold. She offered to turn on the air conditioner, but I was too polite to accede to my baser instincts.
Afterwards, we had strawberries downstairs and talked about possibly heading over to FUJIMAMAS, that trendy gaijin place in Omotesando which the Chip Guy had introduced me to several weeks ago. The two seemed rather game. Then, Boop took us back to the station.
Not sure if it was the heat or the fact that I haven't gotten a lot of sleep the last couple of nights, but I was drowsing on the Yamanote and the subway line on the way home. I'm kinda happy that I only have a night class tomorrow....possibly a night class since I've yet to hear from The Curry Master about my offer.
It's been a while since I got home while the sun was still in the sky, albeit a setting one. Still, I'm waiting for my rice to cook before dinner. I'll definitely be getting that rubdown tomorrow. I think my neck and shoulders are crying out for their biweekly treatment. Also, I will probably try to get things going on that Hokkaido trip. The Stylist was kind enough to give me some numbers for a couple of tour operators that have pretty cheap rates. Still, I wonder if it wouldn't be better to plan this by myself.
It was another warm day today. Luckily, my fan is back up and working after it had stubbornly refused to do anything the last time I had tried to use it back last summer. If I hadn't given it a desperation shot, it would've been broken down into component pieces and thrown out piecemeal. Anything to avoid that pick-up fee to throw any appliances out. Highway robbery, I say.
Well, Betty Boop and the Office Lady picked me up at the beauty salon where I had been teaching The Stylist. Boop was her usual giddy self with the breathy voice. She actually took us on a leisurely walk over to her parents' place some 10-minutes' walk from the station. She lives in one of those neighbourhoods which seem to have houses cramped up against each other like commuters in a typical rush hour subway. There, her mother was generous enough to make a lunch of tuna salad and curry rice for us.
I first helped Boop with her upcoming English job interview on Monday. She wasn't too bad but she did have a lot of questions, just like when she was back at the school over 5 years ago. Then, I went upstairs to teach the OL for an hour. She had been taking an impromptu nap on Boop's bed so she looked a bit groggy when I came up. However, she got back into action. I was feeling pretty sweaty in her room although the OL actually remarked that she felt cold. She offered to turn on the air conditioner, but I was too polite to accede to my baser instincts.
Afterwards, we had strawberries downstairs and talked about possibly heading over to FUJIMAMAS, that trendy gaijin place in Omotesando which the Chip Guy had introduced me to several weeks ago. The two seemed rather game. Then, Boop took us back to the station.
Not sure if it was the heat or the fact that I haven't gotten a lot of sleep the last couple of nights, but I was drowsing on the Yamanote and the subway line on the way home. I'm kinda happy that I only have a night class tomorrow....possibly a night class since I've yet to hear from The Curry Master about my offer.
It's been a while since I got home while the sun was still in the sky, albeit a setting one. Still, I'm waiting for my rice to cook before dinner. I'll definitely be getting that rubdown tomorrow. I think my neck and shoulders are crying out for their biweekly treatment. Also, I will probably try to get things going on that Hokkaido trip. The Stylist was kind enough to give me some numbers for a couple of tour operators that have pretty cheap rates. Still, I wonder if it wouldn't be better to plan this by myself.
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Tuesday April 20, 11:54 p.m.
I had my Tsudanuma ladies for the first time in a while. The leader was off in America still but the other four were in good spirits although the 2nd in command per se first regaled us with a chilling tale of her friend's husband's untimely death.
That fun class was counterbalanced by an exercise in frusrtration and useless energy in the afternoon. I showed up at the company to once again mediate between The Iconoclast and the President. I spent 2 hours trying to interpret the conversation but it was like watching two walls. The Iconoclast just couldn't seem to get any of his project off the ground which has aggravated the boss no end. I realize that communication gaps are a natural thing within an intercultural situation but even I had to wonder along with the Prez about how a technologically talented person could drag something out so long. But the Prez wasn't too much help either. For him, he only needed me to translate his mostly rhetorical onslaught of anger and disappointment; there were actually only a few questions that the Iconoclast could really answer. And once again, I just felt like I was spinning my wheels in this maelstrom of angst and lost opportunities. A real waste of time. And to add insult to injury, I probably will have to go through the same thing on Monday night after my regular class. If the Iconoclast doesn't show any signs of improvmenet in the project, I'm gonna see about pulling out.
With the tirade going overtime, I just had time to grab a couple of rice balls for dinner at the local convenience store near my juku before the classes began. Luckily, they were much more sedate and cooperative. It looks like my Thursday night juku guy has once again cancelled out, so I've just offered The Curry Master an opening for her and The SE.
And I got word from Betty Boop. It looks like I'll be having my entire slate of students in Oimachi tomorrow.
It certainly was warm today but the night got pretty gusty and cool. I may even have to take down the clothesline, lest it get blown off.
I had my Tsudanuma ladies for the first time in a while. The leader was off in America still but the other four were in good spirits although the 2nd in command per se first regaled us with a chilling tale of her friend's husband's untimely death.
That fun class was counterbalanced by an exercise in frusrtration and useless energy in the afternoon. I showed up at the company to once again mediate between The Iconoclast and the President. I spent 2 hours trying to interpret the conversation but it was like watching two walls. The Iconoclast just couldn't seem to get any of his project off the ground which has aggravated the boss no end. I realize that communication gaps are a natural thing within an intercultural situation but even I had to wonder along with the Prez about how a technologically talented person could drag something out so long. But the Prez wasn't too much help either. For him, he only needed me to translate his mostly rhetorical onslaught of anger and disappointment; there were actually only a few questions that the Iconoclast could really answer. And once again, I just felt like I was spinning my wheels in this maelstrom of angst and lost opportunities. A real waste of time. And to add insult to injury, I probably will have to go through the same thing on Monday night after my regular class. If the Iconoclast doesn't show any signs of improvmenet in the project, I'm gonna see about pulling out.
With the tirade going overtime, I just had time to grab a couple of rice balls for dinner at the local convenience store near my juku before the classes began. Luckily, they were much more sedate and cooperative. It looks like my Thursday night juku guy has once again cancelled out, so I've just offered The Curry Master an opening for her and The SE.
And I got word from Betty Boop. It looks like I'll be having my entire slate of students in Oimachi tomorrow.
It certainly was warm today but the night got pretty gusty and cool. I may even have to take down the clothesline, lest it get blown off.
Monday, April 19, 2004
Monday April 19, 11:58 p.m.
It's raining steadily now. I didn't bother putting up my umbrella on the way home from the station but I didn't get too wet. Tomorrow may be a scorcher at 28 C. I'll be using the short sleeves for classes.
My spam filter caught a whole bunch of potential virus traps today. All of them contained 39K each and warned of some sort of systems failure to addresses that I'd never heard of. Although I'm safe, it's a bit aggravating having to filter out that type of junk.
My Monday morning students were informed about my interest in traveling up to Hokkaido and they told me that it would be a waste of time and money to go on the sleeper cars. They suggested that it would be cheaper and better if I planned my own schedule or checked with the Japan Travel Bureau. I did just that just now. However, the JTB requires at least two people to hook up with their tours and they aren't that cheap. But undaunted, I also checked out the sites for ANA and then cheap hotels in Sapporo. It could be doable so I'll hold off on any trips to the JR Hokkaido office for now. If I keep my travel just to Sapporo, I can just hang out there for a couple of days and save some yen that way. Plus, I would be in control of my own destiny up there instead of being at the mercy of some tour guide. Well, I'll ask my Tsudanuma ladies tomorrow for some more opinions since they're all seasoned travelers.
As it turned out, my middle student canned out again, so I had a few hours of time on my hands. I checked out Tokyu Hands for a carp kite that my friend in Toronto had asked for. Strangely enough, I couldn't find one. I'm wondering if I should head over to Asakusa instead. Then, I had some lunch at the Volks Steak Restaurant. I loaded myself up on a large hamburg steak and the soup & salad bar.
My class with the company was another relative slog although it ended up pretty happily unlike last week. The Iconoclast was back. It looks like I'll have another powwow between him and the President tomorrow afternoon between classes. The Iconoclast mentioned that it would be better if he did the long overdue project back in Toronto, but I'm not sure if the Prez would go for that. After class, he and I went out to this restaurant called Eikoku-en, which translates as "English Garden". True to its name, the place was all decked out in wood paneling and incandescent light. The two of us just had some club sandwiches and tea. They fit the bill for me since I did have that rather large lunch. We spent about 2 hours there gabbing about our futures and the situation in Iraq. We even postulated about where a terrorist could possibly attack in Tokyo.
It looks like my Wednesday schedule could be all bunched together since it looks like The Office Lady and the woman who had introduced the two of us to each other, Betty Boop, have the day off. Betty Boop, who has aborted long-term lessons with me twice, wants me to help her with her job interview which is slated for next week. And it seems like The OL has been pretty exhausted as of late which explains her taking the day off. However, if I were her, I would just stay at home and relax. In any case, if I can everyone all cleared up, it'll mean a rare early night for me.
It's raining steadily now. I didn't bother putting up my umbrella on the way home from the station but I didn't get too wet. Tomorrow may be a scorcher at 28 C. I'll be using the short sleeves for classes.
My spam filter caught a whole bunch of potential virus traps today. All of them contained 39K each and warned of some sort of systems failure to addresses that I'd never heard of. Although I'm safe, it's a bit aggravating having to filter out that type of junk.
My Monday morning students were informed about my interest in traveling up to Hokkaido and they told me that it would be a waste of time and money to go on the sleeper cars. They suggested that it would be cheaper and better if I planned my own schedule or checked with the Japan Travel Bureau. I did just that just now. However, the JTB requires at least two people to hook up with their tours and they aren't that cheap. But undaunted, I also checked out the sites for ANA and then cheap hotels in Sapporo. It could be doable so I'll hold off on any trips to the JR Hokkaido office for now. If I keep my travel just to Sapporo, I can just hang out there for a couple of days and save some yen that way. Plus, I would be in control of my own destiny up there instead of being at the mercy of some tour guide. Well, I'll ask my Tsudanuma ladies tomorrow for some more opinions since they're all seasoned travelers.
As it turned out, my middle student canned out again, so I had a few hours of time on my hands. I checked out Tokyu Hands for a carp kite that my friend in Toronto had asked for. Strangely enough, I couldn't find one. I'm wondering if I should head over to Asakusa instead. Then, I had some lunch at the Volks Steak Restaurant. I loaded myself up on a large hamburg steak and the soup & salad bar.
My class with the company was another relative slog although it ended up pretty happily unlike last week. The Iconoclast was back. It looks like I'll have another powwow between him and the President tomorrow afternoon between classes. The Iconoclast mentioned that it would be better if he did the long overdue project back in Toronto, but I'm not sure if the Prez would go for that. After class, he and I went out to this restaurant called Eikoku-en, which translates as "English Garden". True to its name, the place was all decked out in wood paneling and incandescent light. The two of us just had some club sandwiches and tea. They fit the bill for me since I did have that rather large lunch. We spent about 2 hours there gabbing about our futures and the situation in Iraq. We even postulated about where a terrorist could possibly attack in Tokyo.
It looks like my Wednesday schedule could be all bunched together since it looks like The Office Lady and the woman who had introduced the two of us to each other, Betty Boop, have the day off. Betty Boop, who has aborted long-term lessons with me twice, wants me to help her with her job interview which is slated for next week. And it seems like The OL has been pretty exhausted as of late which explains her taking the day off. However, if I were her, I would just stay at home and relax. In any case, if I can everyone all cleared up, it'll mean a rare early night for me.
Sunday, April 18, 2004
Sunday April 18, 10:57 p.m.
Well, one party down, one party to go. I went off to that farewell BBQ for Chip Guy at Party Hearty's place. Her new pad is located close to Ebisu, a fairly trendy area next to the teen Mecca of Shibuya on the Yamanote Line...that is, until Roppongi Hills superceded it about a year ago.
Her apartment is off on the side streets, and because of its location on a slope, her 3rd floor pad comes off looking like a basement apartment. Basically, the new home looks similar to her old place but she lost a bit of space in the kitchen area only to be generously compensated in the balcony. There is no view for the reason already mentioned...there is a just a large wall with a submarine ladder acting as fire escape up to the outdoor parking lot. However, the balcony is large enough to fit in a table with chairs and a western BBQ setup with lots of walking space to spare.
I was the first one there so I helped out in making some potato salad before the first guests started arriving almost an hour later. One of them, HS, is planning to launch his own English conversation school in the Fall, so he was asking me about texts and stuff related to my field. He even offered me some work provided that I have the time to help him out. Both he and I got the BBQ started and then helped out with the first round of grilling chicken, Korean beef and sausages. There is something about BBQs that bring out the pyromania in men. Today was no different.
Chip Guy and the family finally showed up almost a couple of hours after my arrival. He related that for the past couple of weeks, he had been busy with all sorts of farewell parties so his liver was starting to appraoch a pate-like consistency. There was one other couple who had brought their baby along so the two families tried to get the kids together. For a number of hours, there was a lot of parental cooing which bordered on the nauseating. But it was a revelation to see how much CG has transformed since when I'd first met him as a callow high school senior 13 years ago.
As night fell, a few more stragglers showed up since they were busy at a wedding party for another of the group's friends. They managed to devour the rest of the meat that I ended up charcoaling, and then PH put on this succulent salmon for the piece de resistance. We watched some homemade videos of CG's wedding before we cracked open a bottle of Dom Perignon 1993 that CG himself had so kindly contributed and being the oldest geezer there, I gave the toast. Despite the fact that our long friendship was now transforming into a long-distance one, we all managed to keep it dry-eyed.
Back home again, I've got that yakiniku smell lingering around me so I've got a shower to take before I hit bed. Earlier this morning, I received a blast from the long past in the form of an e-mail from The Persian. The Persian was the resident of my apartment and he was the one who offered it to me just before I started this long odyssey in Japan. Although I've been here for 10 years, The Persian's tenure in my little apartment amounted to little less than a year. In any case, he contacted me to inform that a Taiwanese friend of his was in town up in Saitama. I assume that she'll be in the Kanto for a while since his request was if she could contact me and introduce her to all the gang. Well, my days as the hub of the gang are long gone...I'm pretty much on the outside now but I guess that The Persian only remembers my 90s days. In any case, he must have gotten the word out to her pretty quickly since I had her message on my machine when I got home.
Also in my messages, The Iconoclast let me know that he's back in town which means we'll probably be hitching up for dinner tomorrow night like in the old days. He's also got some BBQ pork for me as well.
At the same time that I was finishing one era of a relationship with Chip Guy, I was finishing up the 3rd book in the Hyperion series. Man, what a good book. I'll be keenly interested if this series ever gets picked up for a movie treatment. However, I shouldn't be getting too eager. Isaac Asimov's FOUNDATION has yet to be given a similar treatment and that series was written decades ago.
Well, one party down, one party to go. I went off to that farewell BBQ for Chip Guy at Party Hearty's place. Her new pad is located close to Ebisu, a fairly trendy area next to the teen Mecca of Shibuya on the Yamanote Line...that is, until Roppongi Hills superceded it about a year ago.
Her apartment is off on the side streets, and because of its location on a slope, her 3rd floor pad comes off looking like a basement apartment. Basically, the new home looks similar to her old place but she lost a bit of space in the kitchen area only to be generously compensated in the balcony. There is no view for the reason already mentioned...there is a just a large wall with a submarine ladder acting as fire escape up to the outdoor parking lot. However, the balcony is large enough to fit in a table with chairs and a western BBQ setup with lots of walking space to spare.
I was the first one there so I helped out in making some potato salad before the first guests started arriving almost an hour later. One of them, HS, is planning to launch his own English conversation school in the Fall, so he was asking me about texts and stuff related to my field. He even offered me some work provided that I have the time to help him out. Both he and I got the BBQ started and then helped out with the first round of grilling chicken, Korean beef and sausages. There is something about BBQs that bring out the pyromania in men. Today was no different.
Chip Guy and the family finally showed up almost a couple of hours after my arrival. He related that for the past couple of weeks, he had been busy with all sorts of farewell parties so his liver was starting to appraoch a pate-like consistency. There was one other couple who had brought their baby along so the two families tried to get the kids together. For a number of hours, there was a lot of parental cooing which bordered on the nauseating. But it was a revelation to see how much CG has transformed since when I'd first met him as a callow high school senior 13 years ago.
As night fell, a few more stragglers showed up since they were busy at a wedding party for another of the group's friends. They managed to devour the rest of the meat that I ended up charcoaling, and then PH put on this succulent salmon for the piece de resistance. We watched some homemade videos of CG's wedding before we cracked open a bottle of Dom Perignon 1993 that CG himself had so kindly contributed and being the oldest geezer there, I gave the toast. Despite the fact that our long friendship was now transforming into a long-distance one, we all managed to keep it dry-eyed.
Back home again, I've got that yakiniku smell lingering around me so I've got a shower to take before I hit bed. Earlier this morning, I received a blast from the long past in the form of an e-mail from The Persian. The Persian was the resident of my apartment and he was the one who offered it to me just before I started this long odyssey in Japan. Although I've been here for 10 years, The Persian's tenure in my little apartment amounted to little less than a year. In any case, he contacted me to inform that a Taiwanese friend of his was in town up in Saitama. I assume that she'll be in the Kanto for a while since his request was if she could contact me and introduce her to all the gang. Well, my days as the hub of the gang are long gone...I'm pretty much on the outside now but I guess that The Persian only remembers my 90s days. In any case, he must have gotten the word out to her pretty quickly since I had her message on my machine when I got home.
Also in my messages, The Iconoclast let me know that he's back in town which means we'll probably be hitching up for dinner tomorrow night like in the old days. He's also got some BBQ pork for me as well.
At the same time that I was finishing one era of a relationship with Chip Guy, I was finishing up the 3rd book in the Hyperion series. Man, what a good book. I'll be keenly interested if this series ever gets picked up for a movie treatment. However, I shouldn't be getting too eager. Isaac Asimov's FOUNDATION has yet to be given a similar treatment and that series was written decades ago.
Saturday, April 17, 2004
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.
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.
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.