Sunday July 25, 9:05 a.m.
An interesting thing happened on Japanese TV last night. As I mentioned in my last entry, Fuji-TV was in the midst of its annual 27-hour telethon. The leader of the pop band SMAP, Masahiro Nakai, has become one of the most sought-after emcees for variety programs and not surprisingly was hosting this telethon. At close to midnight, on a rival channel, TV Asahi, the rest of the band was on SmaSmation, a show that showcases a lot of English and has SMAP member Shingo Katori as the host.
In a Letterman-esque move, Nakai caught his fellow bandmates on the other channel and then somehow made direct contact with his buddies. For over five minutes, thanks to technology, TV Asahi and Fuji merged and couldn't be distinguished from each other. The bandmates and their respective shows' other guests started getting into a mock bicker session. One of them pointed out after the jointcast that this probably hasn't ever happened before. I certainly couldn't see any of the major American networks ever pulling something like this...not even Letterman himself. Earlier in the telethon, Fuji had one of its own announcers race with another TV personality to the grounds of yet another rival station, TBS. The guards at that station firmly but politely told the announcer that he could only get as far as the gate while the other fellow, who did have a gig on a TBS show, passed through. I'm not sure if Fuji is trying to push the envelope or willfully break the Commandment of "Thou Shalt Not Merge Rival TV Stations' Telecasts" but it made for an interesting night. I can't believe that this couldn't have been totally impromptu, though.
Waking up this morning, I had the air conditioner set on timer so that it would activate at around 7. I'm gonna have to be careful about that in the future. Since my head is just 10 cm away from the external motor outside on the patio, I was privy to the loudest start-up noise; I could only imagine what my neighbours must think whenever I turn the air con on. For several minutes, I was nervous that one of my irate neighbours would come pounding on my door. However, the motor settled down into a more acceptable hum within a few minutes. But I will have to stick to my electric fan during my wake-up call.
Now that the Democratic National Convention will be revving up in Boston come tomorrow, there will be non-stop coverage on CNN. I see American politics as a hockey game: long, nasty with some pushing and shoving. Over here, Japanese politics is more like a Tarentino movie: lots of talk for the most part but then suddenly punctuated with some harsh violence.
Just a place to deposit my thoughts on life here in the Kanto and about anything else that sticks to my walls.
Saturday, July 24, 2004
Saturday July 24, 11:35 p.m.
Another hot one. However, I dragged along my blue blazer and a necktie in my travel bag to go with my usual heavy bag of books. By the time I reached my kids' house, I was dripping to the extent that it alarmed their mother.
Afterwards, I went back down to Aoyama 1-Chome and got those passport photos done. My blazer was a tight fit...definitely grounds to hold off on the calories. Too bad that I was to meet Betty Boop and the OL for yakiniku tonight. In the meantime, after getting those photos shot, I maintained my siege against the heat by first eating at Subway and then spending some time at what I later found out was the very first French patisserie to be set up in Japan. It certainly had that classy feel to it which made me feel a bit bad in retrospect for just ordering a cafe au lait like any grimy salaryman. When I entered, the place was completely empty. In fact, I was a bit surprised that anything would be open on a Saturday in the Aoyama Twin Mall considering that it was in a business district. However, within an hour, the place filled up with a lot of well-heeled middle-aged folk. To add to the French atmosphere, the owner, a transplaned Parisian, was there keeping a passionate eye on the action.
With less than an hour left before meeting up with the ladies, I made my way to Shibuya. Uh, the 5-minute walk to Parco was a slog but I managed to crawl myself up to the 7th floor and spent half an hour outside Toraji doing my crosswords next to a couple of laughing hyenas/young women before the OL and BB showed up. At BB's request, I showed her the photos from Hokkaido. BB seemed even more flighty than usual. The food at Toraji was mighty tasty. We tucked ourselves into a variety platter of different cuts of meat with a plate of Korean vegetables and lettuce to eat with the cooked meat. Our second step was ordering a couple of extra plates of beef, and the final stage involved us having kalbi kuppa soup and sharing a stone bibimpap. Everything was spicy and good but we were pushing things a bit with that last stage. However, I'm glad that the theory of a second stomach for desserts seems to work since the waiter got us some free Meiji ice cream bars.
We kept things pretty early tonight since all of us were stuffed to the gills. We just walked back through the throngs of kids back to the subway and said our goodbyes there. I got home and immediately went into the shower to wash off all that grime and sweat. Apparently, the senior citizens' home next to my building had some sort of outing to a festival since there was a reverse exodus back into the home by the old folks.
I did some prelim checking on hotels in Yokohama for that nascent "trip" to the city. I was pretty floored by what the Pan Pacific and the Hotel Intercontinental were asking for one night. The usual part of me immediately nixed the idea of staying there, but the more liberal part posited the question of "Why not?" I may have to pay close to 30,000 yen for one night of luxury but I won't exactly enter the poor house if I do so and it is a night in Yokohama....when am I gonna get this opportunity again, especially since my days here in this country may be numbered? I'll sleep on it and then see if my liberal side is still willing to take the plunge.
Looks like telethon season is back on Japanese TV. Fuji-TV started its annual 27-hour festival. This year's theme seems to be on comedy duos. Pretty silly but it makes for a nice antidote to all of the dour CNN news. I even caught an old 80s idol, Misato Watanabe, actually appearing on a cooking show. She was one of the few singers who actually had a decent voice for rock..kinda bordering on the Janis Joplin side of things. But I know that she was mellowing out by the fact that she actually did show up on the show and she even did a duet of an enka song with the host. In her hey day, I would never have been able to imagine her doing anything like that. It was also quite evident that she's added quite a bit of mass over the past two decades. I wonder if she'll be ending up like Linda Ronstadt.
Well, got that package coming here in the morning so I'll have to get myself up for that. And then I'm off to meet Skippy and Movie Buddy for Harry Potter. I'm not sure if we'll be able to catch since the OL informed me that school is out for the summer holidays so the kids are now out in full force. However, I'm not too worried since we can just go for Indian a few hours ahead of schedule.
Another hot one. However, I dragged along my blue blazer and a necktie in my travel bag to go with my usual heavy bag of books. By the time I reached my kids' house, I was dripping to the extent that it alarmed their mother.
Afterwards, I went back down to Aoyama 1-Chome and got those passport photos done. My blazer was a tight fit...definitely grounds to hold off on the calories. Too bad that I was to meet Betty Boop and the OL for yakiniku tonight. In the meantime, after getting those photos shot, I maintained my siege against the heat by first eating at Subway and then spending some time at what I later found out was the very first French patisserie to be set up in Japan. It certainly had that classy feel to it which made me feel a bit bad in retrospect for just ordering a cafe au lait like any grimy salaryman. When I entered, the place was completely empty. In fact, I was a bit surprised that anything would be open on a Saturday in the Aoyama Twin Mall considering that it was in a business district. However, within an hour, the place filled up with a lot of well-heeled middle-aged folk. To add to the French atmosphere, the owner, a transplaned Parisian, was there keeping a passionate eye on the action.
With less than an hour left before meeting up with the ladies, I made my way to Shibuya. Uh, the 5-minute walk to Parco was a slog but I managed to crawl myself up to the 7th floor and spent half an hour outside Toraji doing my crosswords next to a couple of laughing hyenas/young women before the OL and BB showed up. At BB's request, I showed her the photos from Hokkaido. BB seemed even more flighty than usual. The food at Toraji was mighty tasty. We tucked ourselves into a variety platter of different cuts of meat with a plate of Korean vegetables and lettuce to eat with the cooked meat. Our second step was ordering a couple of extra plates of beef, and the final stage involved us having kalbi kuppa soup and sharing a stone bibimpap. Everything was spicy and good but we were pushing things a bit with that last stage. However, I'm glad that the theory of a second stomach for desserts seems to work since the waiter got us some free Meiji ice cream bars.
We kept things pretty early tonight since all of us were stuffed to the gills. We just walked back through the throngs of kids back to the subway and said our goodbyes there. I got home and immediately went into the shower to wash off all that grime and sweat. Apparently, the senior citizens' home next to my building had some sort of outing to a festival since there was a reverse exodus back into the home by the old folks.
I did some prelim checking on hotels in Yokohama for that nascent "trip" to the city. I was pretty floored by what the Pan Pacific and the Hotel Intercontinental were asking for one night. The usual part of me immediately nixed the idea of staying there, but the more liberal part posited the question of "Why not?" I may have to pay close to 30,000 yen for one night of luxury but I won't exactly enter the poor house if I do so and it is a night in Yokohama....when am I gonna get this opportunity again, especially since my days here in this country may be numbered? I'll sleep on it and then see if my liberal side is still willing to take the plunge.
Looks like telethon season is back on Japanese TV. Fuji-TV started its annual 27-hour festival. This year's theme seems to be on comedy duos. Pretty silly but it makes for a nice antidote to all of the dour CNN news. I even caught an old 80s idol, Misato Watanabe, actually appearing on a cooking show. She was one of the few singers who actually had a decent voice for rock..kinda bordering on the Janis Joplin side of things. But I know that she was mellowing out by the fact that she actually did show up on the show and she even did a duet of an enka song with the host. In her hey day, I would never have been able to imagine her doing anything like that. It was also quite evident that she's added quite a bit of mass over the past two decades. I wonder if she'll be ending up like Linda Ronstadt.
Well, got that package coming here in the morning so I'll have to get myself up for that. And then I'm off to meet Skippy and Movie Buddy for Harry Potter. I'm not sure if we'll be able to catch since the OL informed me that school is out for the summer holidays so the kids are now out in full force. However, I'm not too worried since we can just go for Indian a few hours ahead of schedule.
Friday, July 23, 2004
Friday July 23, 11:52 p.m.
My two lessons today went off without a hitch although things are slowly entering holiday mode. SR, for instance, won't be seeing me for the next few weeks due to various trips. Actually, The Teacher got me thinking about whether I should take a bit of R&R during the relative quiet period in early August. Yes, I know, I know...I had a holiday back in June. However, I think taking some time off somewhere would be better spent elsewhere rather than just wasting my own money and energy in my air-conditioned home. So I'm thinking about spending a weekend in Yokohama. It's still unexplored enough to merit a weekend of study and yet it's close enough that transportation wouldn't be a major drain on the finances. However, there is still the matter of accomodation. Project in progress.
After my classes, I took off to meet the Beauty Pair for dinner with that friend of theirs. I reached Nishi-Kasai Station a half-hour ahead of schedule so I did a bit of quick exploration. The area is quite a bit bigger and busier than my neighbourhood a few stations away, but like my station, it also had a station mall underneath. It was longer and had a larger concentration of restaurants and other eateries, though. Ten years here, and this was my very first time to get off there.
By the time 6 o'clock came about, I was dripping like a wet rag. The high heat was back. The Beauty Pair picked me up and we hopped on a bus for about 5 minutes before we got off in a somewhat suburban spot. Then, it was just a walk of a couple of minutes before reaching Toriden, a neighbourhood watering hole which specialized in yakitori. The place is an AKACHOCHIN or "red lantern" which denotes it as a small intimate pub. When we entered, it was occupied by a salty bunch of men which got pretty loud in the slang. However, the guest of honour, the Clown, wasn't there as he had been expected. In fact, the three of us wondered if he had actually chickened out since one of the BP mentioned that he had expressed some nervousness over meeting me, a member of the alien set.
However, just as we were downing our beers and tucking into some of the yakitori, he showed up 30 minutes late. True to form, his first act as soon as he came in was to drop his pants revealing a wild pair of jockey underwear. Of course, the Pair squealed in delight and shock. I "marveled" at his wit and sophistication. Actually, despite his rather raunchy sense of humour, the Clown came off as a pretty decent sort...he rambled a lot but in a button-down way. He was definitely not a usual Japanese guy.
Our four hours at the pub were pleasant ones. I don't think I'd ever been in a Akachochin in my decade here for the simple reason that it is a watering hole for the locals. However, the food and drink were good, and the Clown kept the Pair in stitches. The Clown and I even did a couple of karaoke songs each with the in-house set. I was a bit nervous about how my rendition of Billy Joel would be received but the other patrons didn't seem to care so I was OK.
I got home desperately needing a shower so I got that going straight away before I started doing some lesson planning for the older sister. I checked my e-mail. It seems as if Arwen never did show up for DTE's outing after all, and despite DTE's repeated attempts at contact, Arwen hasn't bothered to reply. I was thinking of giving young Arwen a bit of a lecture in courtesy when I received a letter from another old student and former classmate of Arwen's from China. She hasn't been able to check her e-mail for 2 months due to her job. After reading that, I ended up sending a much more compassionate message to Arwen asking how everything was going although I also did mention that DTE had been wondering about she was doing. I hope that Arwen hasn't decided to abandon her friendships.
I even received a message from one of the original Tea Room ladies, the Operator. One of her old compadres is back from Argentina with her new baby. The Operator was wondering about our availability in September since the Argentinian will be in Tokyo around that time.
It'll be another horribly hot day on Saturday. And I have to lug my blazer in my traveling bag to get those stupid passport photos done. Aw, man.
My two lessons today went off without a hitch although things are slowly entering holiday mode. SR, for instance, won't be seeing me for the next few weeks due to various trips. Actually, The Teacher got me thinking about whether I should take a bit of R&R during the relative quiet period in early August. Yes, I know, I know...I had a holiday back in June. However, I think taking some time off somewhere would be better spent elsewhere rather than just wasting my own money and energy in my air-conditioned home. So I'm thinking about spending a weekend in Yokohama. It's still unexplored enough to merit a weekend of study and yet it's close enough that transportation wouldn't be a major drain on the finances. However, there is still the matter of accomodation. Project in progress.
After my classes, I took off to meet the Beauty Pair for dinner with that friend of theirs. I reached Nishi-Kasai Station a half-hour ahead of schedule so I did a bit of quick exploration. The area is quite a bit bigger and busier than my neighbourhood a few stations away, but like my station, it also had a station mall underneath. It was longer and had a larger concentration of restaurants and other eateries, though. Ten years here, and this was my very first time to get off there.
By the time 6 o'clock came about, I was dripping like a wet rag. The high heat was back. The Beauty Pair picked me up and we hopped on a bus for about 5 minutes before we got off in a somewhat suburban spot. Then, it was just a walk of a couple of minutes before reaching Toriden, a neighbourhood watering hole which specialized in yakitori. The place is an AKACHOCHIN or "red lantern" which denotes it as a small intimate pub. When we entered, it was occupied by a salty bunch of men which got pretty loud in the slang. However, the guest of honour, the Clown, wasn't there as he had been expected. In fact, the three of us wondered if he had actually chickened out since one of the BP mentioned that he had expressed some nervousness over meeting me, a member of the alien set.
However, just as we were downing our beers and tucking into some of the yakitori, he showed up 30 minutes late. True to form, his first act as soon as he came in was to drop his pants revealing a wild pair of jockey underwear. Of course, the Pair squealed in delight and shock. I "marveled" at his wit and sophistication. Actually, despite his rather raunchy sense of humour, the Clown came off as a pretty decent sort...he rambled a lot but in a button-down way. He was definitely not a usual Japanese guy.
Our four hours at the pub were pleasant ones. I don't think I'd ever been in a Akachochin in my decade here for the simple reason that it is a watering hole for the locals. However, the food and drink were good, and the Clown kept the Pair in stitches. The Clown and I even did a couple of karaoke songs each with the in-house set. I was a bit nervous about how my rendition of Billy Joel would be received but the other patrons didn't seem to care so I was OK.
I got home desperately needing a shower so I got that going straight away before I started doing some lesson planning for the older sister. I checked my e-mail. It seems as if Arwen never did show up for DTE's outing after all, and despite DTE's repeated attempts at contact, Arwen hasn't bothered to reply. I was thinking of giving young Arwen a bit of a lecture in courtesy when I received a letter from another old student and former classmate of Arwen's from China. She hasn't been able to check her e-mail for 2 months due to her job. After reading that, I ended up sending a much more compassionate message to Arwen asking how everything was going although I also did mention that DTE had been wondering about she was doing. I hope that Arwen hasn't decided to abandon her friendships.
I even received a message from one of the original Tea Room ladies, the Operator. One of her old compadres is back from Argentina with her new baby. The Operator was wondering about our availability in September since the Argentinian will be in Tokyo around that time.
It'll be another horribly hot day on Saturday. And I have to lug my blazer in my traveling bag to get those stupid passport photos done. Aw, man.
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Friday July 23, 7:51 a.m.
A bit of a shock going to bed last night. Didn't need to put on the fan at all in my room, though it was still hot. I even felt chilly with the air con by the end of my day, and there were even some cool breezy wafts from the window. However, it was back to normal this morning. My futon was starting to get a bit damp with my sweat so I got up pretty quickly.
Pretty glad not to have gone to see Chip Guy. According to some of the chatter from the e-mail, he didn't even show up last night. Just got bogged down in business trip. He wanted to make it up today with an offer of lunch but for me, that's not gonna be possible since I basically gotta scoot straight from The Teacher to SR due to an earlier start time for SR.
In a way, that brutal heat snap of earlier this week may have helped us. Now, we'll probably snort in derision at a mere 33 degrees.
A bit of a shock going to bed last night. Didn't need to put on the fan at all in my room, though it was still hot. I even felt chilly with the air con by the end of my day, and there were even some cool breezy wafts from the window. However, it was back to normal this morning. My futon was starting to get a bit damp with my sweat so I got up pretty quickly.
Pretty glad not to have gone to see Chip Guy. According to some of the chatter from the e-mail, he didn't even show up last night. Just got bogged down in business trip. He wanted to make it up today with an offer of lunch but for me, that's not gonna be possible since I basically gotta scoot straight from The Teacher to SR due to an earlier start time for SR.
In a way, that brutal heat snap of earlier this week may have helped us. Now, we'll probably snort in derision at a mere 33 degrees.
Thursday July 22, 7:32 p.m.
It was hot but bearable today. There wasn't that feeling of pain and suffering that I'd felt on Tuesday and Wednesday, and it certainly did help to have those stiff gusts from time to time. However, the pert NHK weatherwoman sweetly announced that we'll be stuck with the dog days well into September.
Started my daily foray into the big city by having lunch at Pepper Lunch at the station. I had the 800-yen hamburger and sauteed pork on the sizzling plate with bean sprouts, green beans and carrot slices. At first, I thought it was a bit risky to try and fry the raw pork within the limited time of sizzle, but it worked out OK. I certainly haven't had any problem with worms so far.
I went down to the nearest subway station to the Embassy to see if I could get those passport photos done. There doesn't seem to be one close to my place and I recalled the studio in the Twin Aoyama Mall was pretty hep to how the Embassy wanted them done. So I went down there and found out that the photographer couldn't take them since I wasn't wearing any jacket. You see, white shirt on white background tends to leave photos with floating heads. I could imagine my photos would have been ones of giant balloons. So I have to do the process again on Saturday between my kid lessons and dinner with The OL and BB, this time with my blue blazer in tow. Since THAT is one from Canada, there's no bloody way I'm going to wear it outside unless I'm aiming to create a portable sauna, so I'll have to stuff into my other bag.
I met up with The Engineer for a bit of coffee in Shinjuku. He kinda annoyed me with a couple of cracks (he doesn't have full control of his tact at times) but I just answered with distnterested shrugs. However, the coffee part was good enough. He spent the next several minutes talking about his latest technological purchase. To be honest, I'm not exactly particularly all that enthralled by Akihabara being the semi-Luddite that I am but I did engage him in some talk about it. 90 minutes later, I walked him back to the West Gate and we parted. I was still feeling a bit grumpy so it was good that I ended up sleeping a good part of my commute home.
Movie Buddy gave the OK to the next outing on Sunday. We'll be catching Harry Potter 3 at Shinjuku Picadilly. Looks like the movie is slowly ending its run at that theater since it'll only have two showings starting in the late afternoon. That's fine with me since I've gotta wait for that package from my student in the morning. I also sent invitations to Skippy and Arwen on the assumption I probably wouldn't get any bites due to the relative short notice. However, I was a bit surprised that Skippy actually did bite and enthusiastically gave her OK for Sunday. Arwen, not surprisingly, has yet to reply and I frankly doubt that she'll do so before it's too late.
For a day off without any classes, I feel pretty tired for some reason. Well, I still have to get ready for my two classes with The Teacher and SR tomorrow. The Teacher will be easy enough since she always provides the material. In fact, I have to lend her my DVD of "Ocean's Eleven" since she hasn't seen it yet and she's a big Brad Pitt fan. I just wonder how she'll take the oh-so-cool dialogue and story, though. As for SR, I sent her a fairly big fill-in-the-blanks assignment so she's probably groaning right now, but I was nice in that I didn't give her any further things to do before class. She'll have plenty of stuff on her plate tonight. Then, I meet up with my first pair of students on juku night...the Beauty Pair...at 6 close to home for dinner with one of their friends. Apparently, he's quite a cut-up; I hope I'm in the appropriate mood as well.
Speaking of BB, I just received mail from her stating that her cat has come back home. It's a bit of a miracle, really. However, it looks like the little one has a bit of an eye injury.
Well, after several day of nothing, that friend of the Quarterback actually got back to me about his lessons. It looks like he's too busy this week and next week, I have my usual class with the Curry Master and the SE so we're trying for the 5th as our inaugural class. With these postponements, I'm kinda wondering if I'm headed for another Salaryman-type situation. SIGH
Well, the airport security video of the 9/11 terrorists came out this morning to media adjectives of "fascinating" and "chilling" CNN's Anderson Cooper was in fact starting to reach my annoyance threshold with his repeated usage of the latter word. However, I thought the really chilling story was not the video but the interview he did with a passenger on a Northwest flight about alleged eyewitness reports of some suspicious activity involving 14 Middle Eastern men and some washrooms. Were they going through a dry run for future terrorist attacks or just testing the defenses or were they just really that weird band due to perform in Las Vegas on a gig? Apparently, the call to the venue that booked them corroborated the band's story but I'm still feeling rather suspicious despite the fact that the interviewee seemed a bit clueless at times. However, I also can't imagine that Al Qaeda would be so brazen to have over a dozen of its members purposely attract attention from just about everyone else on the plane unless their purpose was to, in fact, give everyone the willies. On that point, Bin Laden's organization hit a homer.
On a lighter note, I noticed on the red crawl at the bottom screen, some news about Krispy Kreme releasing a new drink with the glazed flavour of its donuts. Now, wouldn't this be somethng that Homer Simpson would just love? I love glazed donuts but a glaxed-flavoured drink? UGH!
Well, gonna make dinner now. Just so that I don't have to spend a lot of time in the hot kitchen, I'm keeping it to fried cabbage and franks with a salad. That ought to keep me regular.
It was hot but bearable today. There wasn't that feeling of pain and suffering that I'd felt on Tuesday and Wednesday, and it certainly did help to have those stiff gusts from time to time. However, the pert NHK weatherwoman sweetly announced that we'll be stuck with the dog days well into September.
Started my daily foray into the big city by having lunch at Pepper Lunch at the station. I had the 800-yen hamburger and sauteed pork on the sizzling plate with bean sprouts, green beans and carrot slices. At first, I thought it was a bit risky to try and fry the raw pork within the limited time of sizzle, but it worked out OK. I certainly haven't had any problem with worms so far.
I went down to the nearest subway station to the Embassy to see if I could get those passport photos done. There doesn't seem to be one close to my place and I recalled the studio in the Twin Aoyama Mall was pretty hep to how the Embassy wanted them done. So I went down there and found out that the photographer couldn't take them since I wasn't wearing any jacket. You see, white shirt on white background tends to leave photos with floating heads. I could imagine my photos would have been ones of giant balloons. So I have to do the process again on Saturday between my kid lessons and dinner with The OL and BB, this time with my blue blazer in tow. Since THAT is one from Canada, there's no bloody way I'm going to wear it outside unless I'm aiming to create a portable sauna, so I'll have to stuff into my other bag.
I met up with The Engineer for a bit of coffee in Shinjuku. He kinda annoyed me with a couple of cracks (he doesn't have full control of his tact at times) but I just answered with distnterested shrugs. However, the coffee part was good enough. He spent the next several minutes talking about his latest technological purchase. To be honest, I'm not exactly particularly all that enthralled by Akihabara being the semi-Luddite that I am but I did engage him in some talk about it. 90 minutes later, I walked him back to the West Gate and we parted. I was still feeling a bit grumpy so it was good that I ended up sleeping a good part of my commute home.
Movie Buddy gave the OK to the next outing on Sunday. We'll be catching Harry Potter 3 at Shinjuku Picadilly. Looks like the movie is slowly ending its run at that theater since it'll only have two showings starting in the late afternoon. That's fine with me since I've gotta wait for that package from my student in the morning. I also sent invitations to Skippy and Arwen on the assumption I probably wouldn't get any bites due to the relative short notice. However, I was a bit surprised that Skippy actually did bite and enthusiastically gave her OK for Sunday. Arwen, not surprisingly, has yet to reply and I frankly doubt that she'll do so before it's too late.
For a day off without any classes, I feel pretty tired for some reason. Well, I still have to get ready for my two classes with The Teacher and SR tomorrow. The Teacher will be easy enough since she always provides the material. In fact, I have to lend her my DVD of "Ocean's Eleven" since she hasn't seen it yet and she's a big Brad Pitt fan. I just wonder how she'll take the oh-so-cool dialogue and story, though. As for SR, I sent her a fairly big fill-in-the-blanks assignment so she's probably groaning right now, but I was nice in that I didn't give her any further things to do before class. She'll have plenty of stuff on her plate tonight. Then, I meet up with my first pair of students on juku night...the Beauty Pair...at 6 close to home for dinner with one of their friends. Apparently, he's quite a cut-up; I hope I'm in the appropriate mood as well.
Speaking of BB, I just received mail from her stating that her cat has come back home. It's a bit of a miracle, really. However, it looks like the little one has a bit of an eye injury.
Well, after several day of nothing, that friend of the Quarterback actually got back to me about his lessons. It looks like he's too busy this week and next week, I have my usual class with the Curry Master and the SE so we're trying for the 5th as our inaugural class. With these postponements, I'm kinda wondering if I'm headed for another Salaryman-type situation. SIGH
Well, the airport security video of the 9/11 terrorists came out this morning to media adjectives of "fascinating" and "chilling" CNN's Anderson Cooper was in fact starting to reach my annoyance threshold with his repeated usage of the latter word. However, I thought the really chilling story was not the video but the interview he did with a passenger on a Northwest flight about alleged eyewitness reports of some suspicious activity involving 14 Middle Eastern men and some washrooms. Were they going through a dry run for future terrorist attacks or just testing the defenses or were they just really that weird band due to perform in Las Vegas on a gig? Apparently, the call to the venue that booked them corroborated the band's story but I'm still feeling rather suspicious despite the fact that the interviewee seemed a bit clueless at times. However, I also can't imagine that Al Qaeda would be so brazen to have over a dozen of its members purposely attract attention from just about everyone else on the plane unless their purpose was to, in fact, give everyone the willies. On that point, Bin Laden's organization hit a homer.
On a lighter note, I noticed on the red crawl at the bottom screen, some news about Krispy Kreme releasing a new drink with the glazed flavour of its donuts. Now, wouldn't this be somethng that Homer Simpson would just love? I love glazed donuts but a glaxed-flavoured drink? UGH!
Well, gonna make dinner now. Just so that I don't have to spend a lot of time in the hot kitchen, I'm keeping it to fried cabbage and franks with a salad. That ought to keep me regular.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Wednesday July 21, 9:56 p.m.
Almost forgot to mention that today is Eel Day in Japan. Yep, July 21st is designated as the day that we are encouraged to the long fish in any form to gain stamina. And boy, could we use some of that stamina right now in this heat wave. Actually, though it was still blisteringly hot, I was able to handle things better. I didn't bother eating eel today since I jumped the gun on Monday. Instead, I just downed a bowl of garlicky ramen and gyoza at the station.
I had a pretty good session with the Biologist today up at the Tea Room. I hope our remaining sessions (she takes off for France in about 5 weeks) are as good. The OL was also in good form. She even was kind enough to call up Toraji to make those reservations for us on Saturday.
Well, I've just got to get a bit of dishwashing done before I start on filling out that application form for the new passport. I'll be going out to the Embassy tomorrow to get that piece of bureaucracy done. I just hope I can find a photo studio nearby the place to get those passport photos. If not, well, I'll just put things off until next week. It looks like that prospective first lesson with the Quarterback's buddy will be falling through. I'll just check one more time tomorrow before declaring him MIA. If it's indeed the case, then I have a day off tomorrow. However, I've also yet to find out anything from Chip Guy for tomorrow night.
Back to the weather, we "only" reached 38 degrees today. Looks like the big winner in the heat sweepstakes is Kofu, Gifu Prefecture with the 2nd-highest record high temp with a grand total of 40.1 degrees, next to Ichihara's 40.2 from yesterday. Speaking with the kiosk lady at the station, I found out that there were quite a few folks dropping like flies due to the heat. I didn't get too much sleep last night but I hope with a higher fan setting, I can get some decent shuteye tonight.
Almost forgot to mention that today is Eel Day in Japan. Yep, July 21st is designated as the day that we are encouraged to the long fish in any form to gain stamina. And boy, could we use some of that stamina right now in this heat wave. Actually, though it was still blisteringly hot, I was able to handle things better. I didn't bother eating eel today since I jumped the gun on Monday. Instead, I just downed a bowl of garlicky ramen and gyoza at the station.
I had a pretty good session with the Biologist today up at the Tea Room. I hope our remaining sessions (she takes off for France in about 5 weeks) are as good. The OL was also in good form. She even was kind enough to call up Toraji to make those reservations for us on Saturday.
Well, I've just got to get a bit of dishwashing done before I start on filling out that application form for the new passport. I'll be going out to the Embassy tomorrow to get that piece of bureaucracy done. I just hope I can find a photo studio nearby the place to get those passport photos. If not, well, I'll just put things off until next week. It looks like that prospective first lesson with the Quarterback's buddy will be falling through. I'll just check one more time tomorrow before declaring him MIA. If it's indeed the case, then I have a day off tomorrow. However, I've also yet to find out anything from Chip Guy for tomorrow night.
Back to the weather, we "only" reached 38 degrees today. Looks like the big winner in the heat sweepstakes is Kofu, Gifu Prefecture with the 2nd-highest record high temp with a grand total of 40.1 degrees, next to Ichihara's 40.2 from yesterday. Speaking with the kiosk lady at the station, I found out that there were quite a few folks dropping like flies due to the heat. I didn't get too much sleep last night but I hope with a higher fan setting, I can get some decent shuteye tonight.
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Wednesday July 21, 10:33 a.m.
Y'know, in this country, they ought to think about installing a new season starting today. It should be called Hell. Even overnight, the temperature didn't fall below 30 C. Made for some pretty wet sleeping. I didn't get too much of it myself; I partially took my final student's advice and slept in the living room with the fan on. I still woke up 4 hours short of what I should be getting, so I'm feeling pretty punchy. I've had the air con on for almost 5 hours, and I'm just worried that it's gonna conk out or explode because of the heat which certainly lends credence to the theory that lack of sleep could lead to paranoia. However, I've been feeling pretty cool if somewhat groggy.
There's been slightly less sparse traffic than usual this morning because I've been CC'ed by people like Party Hearty and one other about the return of Chip Guy. I've yet to hear any sort of reply from him concerning Thursday. I'm now starting to think I may actually get a blank slate tomorrow since that friend of the Quarterback's has yet to respond back to me. But there's always the last-minute gasp.
I'll probably be taking off pretty soon (as in the next 30 minutes) despite the oppressive conditions out there just so that I can give my air con a rest. Plus, I've gotta do a bit more prep work for the Biologist.
Y'know, in this country, they ought to think about installing a new season starting today. It should be called Hell. Even overnight, the temperature didn't fall below 30 C. Made for some pretty wet sleeping. I didn't get too much of it myself; I partially took my final student's advice and slept in the living room with the fan on. I still woke up 4 hours short of what I should be getting, so I'm feeling pretty punchy. I've had the air con on for almost 5 hours, and I'm just worried that it's gonna conk out or explode because of the heat which certainly lends credence to the theory that lack of sleep could lead to paranoia. However, I've been feeling pretty cool if somewhat groggy.
There's been slightly less sparse traffic than usual this morning because I've been CC'ed by people like Party Hearty and one other about the return of Chip Guy. I've yet to hear any sort of reply from him concerning Thursday. I'm now starting to think I may actually get a blank slate tomorrow since that friend of the Quarterback's has yet to respond back to me. But there's always the last-minute gasp.
I'll probably be taking off pretty soon (as in the next 30 minutes) despite the oppressive conditions out there just so that I can give my air con a rest. Plus, I've gotta do a bit more prep work for the Biologist.
Tuesday July 20, 11:06 p.m.
It's official...we're in a major heat wave. That oppressive feeling of a blow torch on my back was justified. It actually hit 40 sweaty degrees in the Big Sushi, but the hottest spot in the country was in my prefecture in the city of Ichihara: 40.2 big ones. Someone even pointed out that the concrete was registering 50 degrees. I bet some weathermen were probably frying eggs on car hoods tonight. I can't imagine how Chip Guy must be feeling since he always despised Tokyo summers. I guess I can now imagine what Saudi Arabia must be like.
I got a message from Movie Buddy asking me about catching Harry Potter sometime this week. Looks like Sunday afternoon is the only time available for me. I was thinking of getting the ball finally rolling on that passport business but I think I'll hold that off until Thursday. I still have some prep work to do for the Biologist tomorrow, that is, if she's up for it.
It's official...we're in a major heat wave. That oppressive feeling of a blow torch on my back was justified. It actually hit 40 sweaty degrees in the Big Sushi, but the hottest spot in the country was in my prefecture in the city of Ichihara: 40.2 big ones. Someone even pointed out that the concrete was registering 50 degrees. I bet some weathermen were probably frying eggs on car hoods tonight. I can't imagine how Chip Guy must be feeling since he always despised Tokyo summers. I guess I can now imagine what Saudi Arabia must be like.
I got a message from Movie Buddy asking me about catching Harry Potter sometime this week. Looks like Sunday afternoon is the only time available for me. I was thinking of getting the ball finally rolling on that passport business but I think I'll hold that off until Thursday. I still have some prep work to do for the Biologist tomorrow, that is, if she's up for it.
Monday, July 19, 2004
Tuesday July 20, 3:04 p.m.
If these are truly the dog days of summer, then today must be a rabid Rottweiler. The heat is just unbelievable. I'm just happy to escape back inside even if only for a few hours. I received e-mail from The Entrepreneur stating that he would gladly trade the current rain and cool in Toronto for some of our weather here. Hey, let's make a deal!
My morning class with the ladies was cut short since the old 50s-issue air conditioner in our room was sputtering, so we ended up having a pseudo-lesson at the Makuhari Springs Hotel in Chiba. I'd been there once before with the ladies for lunch. The lobby looks pretty glitzy almost on a Las Vegas scale...not surprising considering that the owner also has a chain of pachinko parlors. Next week will be the final class with them before we all go on summer break. If the air conditioner goes on the fritz again, we may end up at the Springs again. The hotel itself is located within the sprawling conference technocity of Makuhari Messe; it appears a bit of a pink elephant since I didn't see a whole lot of people walking about. However, with all that white concrete reflecting the blistering heat, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone decided to scurry into the nearest building with air-conditioning.
Looks like I got my summer present from the other Monday student. I got one of those Yamato delivery slips in my door. I kinda feel bad; she doesn't need to do it. I think it was just because she saw the Italian wine that her classmate had given me a week ago that she felt compelled to do it.
Chip Guy wants to get together for Thursday in Shinjuku. I'm not sure if I can make it since I may have that new student, the Quarterback's buddy. But since I haven't heard from him in about a week (I don't think the conditions are too good for us), it seems likely that I may have that day off. I sent off a dispatch to The Engineer to inform him of the change in plans.
Well, I gotta get ready for my night classes. Man, I wish I were not going out in this heat but duty calls. I may consider going out in something more casual, though.
If these are truly the dog days of summer, then today must be a rabid Rottweiler. The heat is just unbelievable. I'm just happy to escape back inside even if only for a few hours. I received e-mail from The Entrepreneur stating that he would gladly trade the current rain and cool in Toronto for some of our weather here. Hey, let's make a deal!
My morning class with the ladies was cut short since the old 50s-issue air conditioner in our room was sputtering, so we ended up having a pseudo-lesson at the Makuhari Springs Hotel in Chiba. I'd been there once before with the ladies for lunch. The lobby looks pretty glitzy almost on a Las Vegas scale...not surprising considering that the owner also has a chain of pachinko parlors. Next week will be the final class with them before we all go on summer break. If the air conditioner goes on the fritz again, we may end up at the Springs again. The hotel itself is located within the sprawling conference technocity of Makuhari Messe; it appears a bit of a pink elephant since I didn't see a whole lot of people walking about. However, with all that white concrete reflecting the blistering heat, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone decided to scurry into the nearest building with air-conditioning.
Looks like I got my summer present from the other Monday student. I got one of those Yamato delivery slips in my door. I kinda feel bad; she doesn't need to do it. I think it was just because she saw the Italian wine that her classmate had given me a week ago that she felt compelled to do it.
Chip Guy wants to get together for Thursday in Shinjuku. I'm not sure if I can make it since I may have that new student, the Quarterback's buddy. But since I haven't heard from him in about a week (I don't think the conditions are too good for us), it seems likely that I may have that day off. I sent off a dispatch to The Engineer to inform him of the change in plans.
Well, I gotta get ready for my night classes. Man, I wish I were not going out in this heat but duty calls. I may consider going out in something more casual, though.
Monday July 19, 7:04 p.m.
It's Marine Day today. It sure didn't feel like there was a lot of water in Tokyo, though. However, on the other side of the Alps, Fukui Prefecture is a disaster area with all of the floods it's been getting. NHK's been saying that it got a month's worth of rainfall in 12 hours today. I'm accustomed to seeing this sort of horror in places like Bangladesh and even rural America but not in this country. Koizumi's been getting a lot of hell from the locals when he visited the area today. Whether or not he deserves the abuse is academic; he's the PM...he's gotta take the flak. Plus, who could blame anyone who just had his house washed away?
Well, I met up with Jazz Buddy in Shinjuku for her lesson. The Andersens was closed due to the holiday so we ended up going to the nearby Starbucks. Fortunately, there were a few tables open. Ol' JB was pretty much like her nickname in performance: pretty to listen to and improvisational (i.e. all over the place).The reason was that she along with a few of the current school students had also gone to the Yokohama Fireworks Festival, albeit separate from the Arwen and DTE crew, after which she dropped by her workplace to chat with some of her buddies before finally munching down a midnight snack of a beef bun and catching TV until 3 a.m. this morning. That doesn't exactly amount to a fully alert student.
Afterwards, we spent 3 hours at the Tokyo Hilton just down the street for that cake buffet that I'd last gone down to with the Iconoclast. She enjoyed the spring rolls and the crab balls but she couldn't get through much of the actual desserts which she thought were somewhat subpar. So I gallantly paid for her share considering that I did suggest the Marble Lounge in the first place. However, she did mention that she and some of the others are looking for a good buffet. I reminded her of one thing concerning buffets: the cheap ones stress quantity over quality, the good ones will stress the almighty yen.
Poor JB had to head over to work tonight despite threatening to nod off near the end of our small feast. However, she was lucid enough to ask for the next lesson to be next Monday.
Getting back home tonight, I noticed that the fairly constricting boards were finally taken off the stairs accessing the station to reveal shiny marble stairs and an escalator getting the finishing touches before final activation.
I got word from Betty Boop for Saturday. I think the choice of restaurant should be OK. She also mentioned that one of her cats has apparently run away. Knowing how Dad is with the family cat, BB must be feeling pretty low right now.
NHK started showing its latest contribution to the anime canon last night by presenting Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. That's right. It would take the Japanese to render classic characters from Agatha Christie into cute 2-D cartoons. Not that I'm lambasting the effort; the anime does look a couple of levels above the usual Pokemon stuff, although, true to form, the producers did add a spunky teenage girl with huge eyes (what else is new?) and her cute duck, Oliver, as companion.
The school scheduler hasn't sent any requests for teaching so I have that sizable hole in my Tuesday schedule. So I'll just get ready for my Tsudanuma class and then the juku classes...after dinner, of course. I know that I shouldn't be indulging, especially after a buffet, but the sad fact of the matter is that I know that my stomach will be crying bloody murder without any influx of food tonight. Having said that, I know that I've gained some more stuff to my girth since it took me an extra minute to pull on the jeans.Ick!
It's Marine Day today. It sure didn't feel like there was a lot of water in Tokyo, though. However, on the other side of the Alps, Fukui Prefecture is a disaster area with all of the floods it's been getting. NHK's been saying that it got a month's worth of rainfall in 12 hours today. I'm accustomed to seeing this sort of horror in places like Bangladesh and even rural America but not in this country. Koizumi's been getting a lot of hell from the locals when he visited the area today. Whether or not he deserves the abuse is academic; he's the PM...he's gotta take the flak. Plus, who could blame anyone who just had his house washed away?
Well, I met up with Jazz Buddy in Shinjuku for her lesson. The Andersens was closed due to the holiday so we ended up going to the nearby Starbucks. Fortunately, there were a few tables open. Ol' JB was pretty much like her nickname in performance: pretty to listen to and improvisational (i.e. all over the place).The reason was that she along with a few of the current school students had also gone to the Yokohama Fireworks Festival, albeit separate from the Arwen and DTE crew, after which she dropped by her workplace to chat with some of her buddies before finally munching down a midnight snack of a beef bun and catching TV until 3 a.m. this morning. That doesn't exactly amount to a fully alert student.
Afterwards, we spent 3 hours at the Tokyo Hilton just down the street for that cake buffet that I'd last gone down to with the Iconoclast. She enjoyed the spring rolls and the crab balls but she couldn't get through much of the actual desserts which she thought were somewhat subpar. So I gallantly paid for her share considering that I did suggest the Marble Lounge in the first place. However, she did mention that she and some of the others are looking for a good buffet. I reminded her of one thing concerning buffets: the cheap ones stress quantity over quality, the good ones will stress the almighty yen.
Poor JB had to head over to work tonight despite threatening to nod off near the end of our small feast. However, she was lucid enough to ask for the next lesson to be next Monday.
Getting back home tonight, I noticed that the fairly constricting boards were finally taken off the stairs accessing the station to reveal shiny marble stairs and an escalator getting the finishing touches before final activation.
I got word from Betty Boop for Saturday. I think the choice of restaurant should be OK. She also mentioned that one of her cats has apparently run away. Knowing how Dad is with the family cat, BB must be feeling pretty low right now.
NHK started showing its latest contribution to the anime canon last night by presenting Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. That's right. It would take the Japanese to render classic characters from Agatha Christie into cute 2-D cartoons. Not that I'm lambasting the effort; the anime does look a couple of levels above the usual Pokemon stuff, although, true to form, the producers did add a spunky teenage girl with huge eyes (what else is new?) and her cute duck, Oliver, as companion.
The school scheduler hasn't sent any requests for teaching so I have that sizable hole in my Tuesday schedule. So I'll just get ready for my Tsudanuma class and then the juku classes...after dinner, of course. I know that I shouldn't be indulging, especially after a buffet, but the sad fact of the matter is that I know that my stomach will be crying bloody murder without any influx of food tonight. Having said that, I know that I've gained some more stuff to my girth since it took me an extra minute to pull on the jeans.Ick!
Sunday, July 18, 2004
Sunday July 18, 10:20 p.m.
Managed to clean off the bathroom and the kitchen along with some other household chores at the cost of a lot of sweat. After that, it was just off to get the shoes and the fixins for dinner. Got suddenly squalled on; I was barely able to get the clothes off the line in time; still a couple of shirts got slightly damp.
Well, the Sogas are back in Tokyo and not surprisingly a majority of the channels had their cameras on Haneda Airport. Sgt. Jenkins is now resting comfortably in a Tokyo hospital with the family. Hard to say what the future holds for them.
I saw "Ocean's Eleven" on DVD just to show myself that I'm relaxing and not teaching today. It's still a good smart film. I'm hoping that the sequel will follow the example of Spiderman and be even better. It could be hard to top, though.
Mom called up and she caught the good news about my birth certificate from my brother. I'm glad that I won't be getting the nagging about it anymore.
Still gotta check my notes for Jazz Buddy's lesson tomorrow. A bit of a pain considering that it is a national holiday. And I still don't know if we'll be trying out that buffet at the Keio Plaza. Hope to find out tomorrow morning, but since she's a late riser...I'm not holding out any particular hopes that I'll receive any messages from her before I see her at 11. I kinda wonder how DTE and Arwen are doing at the Yokohama Fireworks Festival although I'm sure it's been long over now. Hopefully, they managed to squeeze out from the crowd and get some cold drinks.
Managed to clean off the bathroom and the kitchen along with some other household chores at the cost of a lot of sweat. After that, it was just off to get the shoes and the fixins for dinner. Got suddenly squalled on; I was barely able to get the clothes off the line in time; still a couple of shirts got slightly damp.
Well, the Sogas are back in Tokyo and not surprisingly a majority of the channels had their cameras on Haneda Airport. Sgt. Jenkins is now resting comfortably in a Tokyo hospital with the family. Hard to say what the future holds for them.
I saw "Ocean's Eleven" on DVD just to show myself that I'm relaxing and not teaching today. It's still a good smart film. I'm hoping that the sequel will follow the example of Spiderman and be even better. It could be hard to top, though.
Mom called up and she caught the good news about my birth certificate from my brother. I'm glad that I won't be getting the nagging about it anymore.
Still gotta check my notes for Jazz Buddy's lesson tomorrow. A bit of a pain considering that it is a national holiday. And I still don't know if we'll be trying out that buffet at the Keio Plaza. Hope to find out tomorrow morning, but since she's a late riser...I'm not holding out any particular hopes that I'll receive any messages from her before I see her at 11. I kinda wonder how DTE and Arwen are doing at the Yokohama Fireworks Festival although I'm sure it's been long over now. Hopefully, they managed to squeeze out from the crowd and get some cold drinks.
Saturday, July 17, 2004
Sunday July 18, 10:17 a.m.
It was another scorcher yesterday. No hope of rain. After my morning lessons, I just headed out to Foo Foo again for another savory lunch set there and then I spent the next 6 hours just browsing the bookstores and CD shops. I did pick up a couple of old ones. Then I met The Engineer, Shrek, the Chipmunk and a few others for dinner at that same place we'd gone to last time The Engineer was in town. When we got there, we nervously asked if they had a table for 8 since it was a Saturday night and things looked fairly crowded. We were then pleasantly surprised when the waiter had no problem securing a table for us. The restaurant was a lot bigger than we'd initially thought.
The Engineer noted that it was basically a eating session more than a drinking one. I've got no complaints here...the food was good. I kept ordering this Mango Smoothie which was listed in the cocktail section of the menu. It kinda struck me as odd since I couldn't taste a single atom of alcohol in it. I downed three of the Smoothies and the fever was catching. A couple of others followed my lead and ordered the same cocktail. However, I guess there must've been something in it since I developed a bit of a throbbing headache by the time I got home.
Well, I've got Chip Guy coming back for a short business trip in the middle of this upcoming week so hopefully I'll be able to meet up with him. Then, next week will be that yakiniku fest with The OL and BB. I decided to make it Toraji in the big Parco Department Store in Shibuya. The place that the Prez took me to in Shin-Okubo was definitely more in the Korean vein, but I thought it was better to go with what I knew in terms of price.
It looks like Sgt. Jenkins will be arriving tonight from Jakarta. It should be another round of wall-to-wall live coverage by the local media. I'm wondering how the US is going to handle this situation.
Today, since I'll be at home all day. I'll spend a good part of it just cleaning up the place with notable emphasis on the bathroom and the kitchen. Then, if I still have the stamina, I may just head out and buy myself another pair of shoes. I've got three pairs (not exactly in Imelda's league) at home of which my sneakers are the only undamaged pair.
It was another scorcher yesterday. No hope of rain. After my morning lessons, I just headed out to Foo Foo again for another savory lunch set there and then I spent the next 6 hours just browsing the bookstores and CD shops. I did pick up a couple of old ones. Then I met The Engineer, Shrek, the Chipmunk and a few others for dinner at that same place we'd gone to last time The Engineer was in town. When we got there, we nervously asked if they had a table for 8 since it was a Saturday night and things looked fairly crowded. We were then pleasantly surprised when the waiter had no problem securing a table for us. The restaurant was a lot bigger than we'd initially thought.
The Engineer noted that it was basically a eating session more than a drinking one. I've got no complaints here...the food was good. I kept ordering this Mango Smoothie which was listed in the cocktail section of the menu. It kinda struck me as odd since I couldn't taste a single atom of alcohol in it. I downed three of the Smoothies and the fever was catching. A couple of others followed my lead and ordered the same cocktail. However, I guess there must've been something in it since I developed a bit of a throbbing headache by the time I got home.
Well, I've got Chip Guy coming back for a short business trip in the middle of this upcoming week so hopefully I'll be able to meet up with him. Then, next week will be that yakiniku fest with The OL and BB. I decided to make it Toraji in the big Parco Department Store in Shibuya. The place that the Prez took me to in Shin-Okubo was definitely more in the Korean vein, but I thought it was better to go with what I knew in terms of price.
It looks like Sgt. Jenkins will be arriving tonight from Jakarta. It should be another round of wall-to-wall live coverage by the local media. I'm wondering how the US is going to handle this situation.
Today, since I'll be at home all day. I'll spend a good part of it just cleaning up the place with notable emphasis on the bathroom and the kitchen. Then, if I still have the stamina, I may just head out and buy myself another pair of shoes. I've got three pairs (not exactly in Imelda's league) at home of which my sneakers are the only undamaged pair.
Friday, July 16, 2004
Friday July 16, 9:02 p.m.
9 months and 2 protest letters to Thunder Bay later, that little piece of stiff paper which has prevented me from traveling outside of Japan for almost 2 years finally arrived. My birth certificate, this thin 3x5 slip, came in this huge Purolator envelope literally stuffing my mailbox tonight.
Now that unnecessary odyssey is over, now I've got to start up the process for renewing my passport, so I have to look over my dusty pile of instructions from the Embassy and then try to find some time next week to head over there. I think most likely it'll be Wednesday or Thursday.
Also on the bureaucratic angle, this time from this country, I received my payment schedule for my National Health Insurance. The only thing is that I never got the card to go with it. It usually comes in at the end of March but when it never arrived, I just assumed that being just a part-timer meant that my coverage had been abruptly cut off. Well, obviously that's not true. My premiums are quite a lot smaller now since I'm no longer earning that much money. I'm not too worried if I don't get a card, though, since the last time I really needed the card was 5 years ago when I busted my ankle, and that had happened during work so my school actually paid the medical fees out of the company policy.
My lesson with The Teacher went quite well since we were on more friendly ground with a movie article...An Interview With A Vampire. And the lesson with SR was also quite smooth. This past week has been a good one compared to the somewhat off-kilter one last week. In between classes, I had a chance to have lunch at my neighbourhood kaiten sushi place. Not too good today. The fish seemed rather dry on the edges...not a good sign at all. Then I went downtown to the Ginza to check out the CDs and see if there were any Michael Buble CDs which contained the Spiderman theme. Apparently in Japan, Buble's discography only goes as far as late last year. His take on Spiderman came out all the way back in 2002.
We had a small squall when I came out of the station. but that quickly passed. It was still so hot that the rain and resulting humidity made the outside feel like a sauna.
During my lesson with SR, we touched upon the Jenkins story. It's starting to look more probable that the deserter will be taking up Koizumi's offer to come to Japan for that medical treatment. However, I'm still suspecting that there is a certain "spider-to-the-fly" ominousness to the invitation. Of course, the US has warned that it will ask for their old citizen back. To be honest, I'm happy that at least the State Department has been upfront about their request.SR and I thought that Jenkins would already be on his way up here but since I haven't seen any major bulletins on NHK, I gather that he is still thinking about it.
Well, I got a message from Arwen stating that she'll be taking up DTE's invitation to head out to Yokohama on Sunday to catch the fireworks. Power to her. But not surprisingly she won't be asking me to teach that lesson to her after all tomorrow. So I've got 6 hours to while away between my lesson with the kid and her father and the dinner with the Engineer. What to do? Well, I guess I can always head down to Shibuya and continue my search for the Buble CD. There are a few places there which may contain some imported discs. I also sent off a missive to Jazz Buddy to see if we're still up for Monday. JB isn't one of those people who answers on the first ring, so to speak.
Gotta get ready for the little one's lesson tomorrow.
9 months and 2 protest letters to Thunder Bay later, that little piece of stiff paper which has prevented me from traveling outside of Japan for almost 2 years finally arrived. My birth certificate, this thin 3x5 slip, came in this huge Purolator envelope literally stuffing my mailbox tonight.
Now that unnecessary odyssey is over, now I've got to start up the process for renewing my passport, so I have to look over my dusty pile of instructions from the Embassy and then try to find some time next week to head over there. I think most likely it'll be Wednesday or Thursday.
Also on the bureaucratic angle, this time from this country, I received my payment schedule for my National Health Insurance. The only thing is that I never got the card to go with it. It usually comes in at the end of March but when it never arrived, I just assumed that being just a part-timer meant that my coverage had been abruptly cut off. Well, obviously that's not true. My premiums are quite a lot smaller now since I'm no longer earning that much money. I'm not too worried if I don't get a card, though, since the last time I really needed the card was 5 years ago when I busted my ankle, and that had happened during work so my school actually paid the medical fees out of the company policy.
My lesson with The Teacher went quite well since we were on more friendly ground with a movie article...An Interview With A Vampire. And the lesson with SR was also quite smooth. This past week has been a good one compared to the somewhat off-kilter one last week. In between classes, I had a chance to have lunch at my neighbourhood kaiten sushi place. Not too good today. The fish seemed rather dry on the edges...not a good sign at all. Then I went downtown to the Ginza to check out the CDs and see if there were any Michael Buble CDs which contained the Spiderman theme. Apparently in Japan, Buble's discography only goes as far as late last year. His take on Spiderman came out all the way back in 2002.
We had a small squall when I came out of the station. but that quickly passed. It was still so hot that the rain and resulting humidity made the outside feel like a sauna.
During my lesson with SR, we touched upon the Jenkins story. It's starting to look more probable that the deserter will be taking up Koizumi's offer to come to Japan for that medical treatment. However, I'm still suspecting that there is a certain "spider-to-the-fly" ominousness to the invitation. Of course, the US has warned that it will ask for their old citizen back. To be honest, I'm happy that at least the State Department has been upfront about their request.SR and I thought that Jenkins would already be on his way up here but since I haven't seen any major bulletins on NHK, I gather that he is still thinking about it.
Well, I got a message from Arwen stating that she'll be taking up DTE's invitation to head out to Yokohama on Sunday to catch the fireworks. Power to her. But not surprisingly she won't be asking me to teach that lesson to her after all tomorrow. So I've got 6 hours to while away between my lesson with the kid and her father and the dinner with the Engineer. What to do? Well, I guess I can always head down to Shibuya and continue my search for the Buble CD. There are a few places there which may contain some imported discs. I also sent off a missive to Jazz Buddy to see if we're still up for Monday. JB isn't one of those people who answers on the first ring, so to speak.
Gotta get ready for the little one's lesson tomorrow.
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Friday July 16, 9:00 a.m.
Well, that threatening thunderstorm never came to pass last night...thank heavens. However, the Curry Master wasn't exactly on full power due to her intense classes during the day. But we managed to get through the class. SE was his usual diligent self.
It'll be another hot one here. Nothing too different today. I've just got the Teacher and then SR later on today. The Engineer set up a time and place to meet for Saturday but I've sent in my regrets to DTE for the Yokohama Fireworks Festival. The meeting time has even been put one hour later to 7 p.m. Now, there's absolutely no way that I can do that and be lucid for Jazz Buddy's class on Monday.
I see that the Martha will be sentenced later today. Well, whichever prison she goes to, I'm sure that it'll be left looking far better and more tasteful.
Well, that threatening thunderstorm never came to pass last night...thank heavens. However, the Curry Master wasn't exactly on full power due to her intense classes during the day. But we managed to get through the class. SE was his usual diligent self.
It'll be another hot one here. Nothing too different today. I've just got the Teacher and then SR later on today. The Engineer set up a time and place to meet for Saturday but I've sent in my regrets to DTE for the Yokohama Fireworks Festival. The meeting time has even been put one hour later to 7 p.m. Now, there's absolutely no way that I can do that and be lucid for Jazz Buddy's class on Monday.
I see that the Martha will be sentenced later today. Well, whichever prison she goes to, I'm sure that it'll be left looking far better and more tasteful.
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Thursday July 15, 3:42 p.m.
Looks like we've got a major thunderstorm coming our way out there. It was a furnace outside; probably the hottest I've felt this year. Hopefully, the downpour cools things a bit. Strangely, while we've been baking here in the Big Sushi, it seems like everywhere else has been getting majorly flooded. The news has even managed to register a blip on CNN.
Well, on the good side, I managed to save quite a bit the past month but on the flip side, I only got a pittance from the school this month so things may be a bit lean going into August since several of the students will be going off on their usual travels next month.
The Biologist was quite good yesterday if a bit nervous. I have to remember that for all her maturity, she's still very young. She gave her brief presentations and I just advised her on delivery and structure.
DTE sent me a change in plans for the upcoming get-together on Sunday, much to my chagrin. They've decided to catch the annual Yokohama Fireworks Festival and then head out to drink. I almost forgot that it was once again the season to fire off those things. Well, I'll probably skip that; I'm not really into broiling outside with thousands of others while watching a mere hour of pyrotechnics only to spend the next two or three squishing myself in a train. I've gone through that Hell enough times. There have also been a fair share of crushing accidents in the past during the rush home. Wouldn't be surprised if there were instances of "road rage" as well.
I got the Curry Master in a few hours plus the SE. Hopefully, if there are any pyrotechnics of the natural kind, they'll sweep by in the next hour. I have no desire to get drenched on the way over to her place.
Looks like we've got a major thunderstorm coming our way out there. It was a furnace outside; probably the hottest I've felt this year. Hopefully, the downpour cools things a bit. Strangely, while we've been baking here in the Big Sushi, it seems like everywhere else has been getting majorly flooded. The news has even managed to register a blip on CNN.
Well, on the good side, I managed to save quite a bit the past month but on the flip side, I only got a pittance from the school this month so things may be a bit lean going into August since several of the students will be going off on their usual travels next month.
The Biologist was quite good yesterday if a bit nervous. I have to remember that for all her maturity, she's still very young. She gave her brief presentations and I just advised her on delivery and structure.
DTE sent me a change in plans for the upcoming get-together on Sunday, much to my chagrin. They've decided to catch the annual Yokohama Fireworks Festival and then head out to drink. I almost forgot that it was once again the season to fire off those things. Well, I'll probably skip that; I'm not really into broiling outside with thousands of others while watching a mere hour of pyrotechnics only to spend the next two or three squishing myself in a train. I've gone through that Hell enough times. There have also been a fair share of crushing accidents in the past during the rush home. Wouldn't be surprised if there were instances of "road rage" as well.
I got the Curry Master in a few hours plus the SE. Hopefully, if there are any pyrotechnics of the natural kind, they'll sweep by in the next hour. I have no desire to get drenched on the way over to her place.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Wednesday July 14, 8:50 a.m.
It's amazing how temperatures can change within a few hours. On the way to the juku, I was sweating a fountain's worth of water. Four hours later, it felt like an early spring evening.
The Engineer has contacted a whole bunch of us for dinner on Saturday. It looks like it'll be in his usual haunt of Ikebukuro. I invited Arwen and indirectly 77, but I kinda doubt that they'll take the bait. After that slight fiasco the last time he met them and because there is that party for DTE the next day, I think they'll probably be just happy with the lesson. In fact, I'm not even sure if Arwen will even make it at all for anything this weekend considering her job from Hell.
As the baseball All-Star Games are getting underway on both sides of the Pacific, there may be a crisis brewing here. Last week, the group of baseball team owners got together and decided that there may be another merger between two teams to go with the probable one between the now-Ichiro-less Orix Blue Wave and another team. Well, the players and the public didn't take that too well and so the players' union have not only asked the owners to reconsider their decision but they even hinted at going on strike.
It's amazing how temperatures can change within a few hours. On the way to the juku, I was sweating a fountain's worth of water. Four hours later, it felt like an early spring evening.
The Engineer has contacted a whole bunch of us for dinner on Saturday. It looks like it'll be in his usual haunt of Ikebukuro. I invited Arwen and indirectly 77, but I kinda doubt that they'll take the bait. After that slight fiasco the last time he met them and because there is that party for DTE the next day, I think they'll probably be just happy with the lesson. In fact, I'm not even sure if Arwen will even make it at all for anything this weekend considering her job from Hell.
As the baseball All-Star Games are getting underway on both sides of the Pacific, there may be a crisis brewing here. Last week, the group of baseball team owners got together and decided that there may be another merger between two teams to go with the probable one between the now-Ichiro-less Orix Blue Wave and another team. Well, the players and the public didn't take that too well and so the players' union have not only asked the owners to reconsider their decision but they even hinted at going on strike.
Monday, July 12, 2004
Tuesday July 13, 9:32 a.m.
It's gonna be another scorcher today. Back to 35 degrees! Ugh!
Well, I did actually get a reply from Arwen. It looks like that stupid rule of leaving only after the boss leaves is pretty much the rule there at her new company. As a result, she's not too sure about whether she can make it for DTE's party which is a shame. However, she and 77 have asked whether I'm available for a lesson on Saturday. It's possible, but I thought she said that she wouldn't be sure about her plans until the weekend. Hmmm...
Still haven't gotten any reply from the Scheduler about any classes this week, so I take it as a given that I'm gonna be free all day until juku time. One thing about the Scheduler...a lot of the teachers over the years have complained about her iciness which thaws only briefly when she needs something. However, at least her sociopathic tendencies are dependable.
Not too sure about what I'm gonna make for early dinner. I've got some odds and ends in the fridge that I need to take care of.
It's gonna be another scorcher today. Back to 35 degrees! Ugh!
Well, I did actually get a reply from Arwen. It looks like that stupid rule of leaving only after the boss leaves is pretty much the rule there at her new company. As a result, she's not too sure about whether she can make it for DTE's party which is a shame. However, she and 77 have asked whether I'm available for a lesson on Saturday. It's possible, but I thought she said that she wouldn't be sure about her plans until the weekend. Hmmm...
Still haven't gotten any reply from the Scheduler about any classes this week, so I take it as a given that I'm gonna be free all day until juku time. One thing about the Scheduler...a lot of the teachers over the years have complained about her iciness which thaws only briefly when she needs something. However, at least her sociopathic tendencies are dependable.
Not too sure about what I'm gonna make for early dinner. I've got some odds and ends in the fridge that I need to take care of.
Monday July 12, 10:28 p.m.
Looks like the week has gotten off to a good start, knock on wood. I only had one of my Monday morning students (the other had to attend to some family business. But they both got me some summer presents (we do have that summer and winter gift giving season). The one who couldn't make it today gave me a bottle of Italian wine; knowing her, she probably got me something that I would have to pay on the installment plan. And then, my other student got me some jellies to go with my yogurt. She also tipped me about this old restaurant in Nishi-Ogikubo which has very cheap and very filling Western food. I doubt that I'll ever be in the area but I passed on the info to Skippy who so loved the Outback last night.
Then it was off to the Andersens in Shinjuku to meet up with Jazz Buddy. Happily, I think it was the first class with her that was actually quite successful. I managed to copy a whole bunch of telephone dialogues so we pretty much spent the two hours on that. We'll probably be making next week's class a bit of a special one in terms of venue since next Monday is Marine Day. Perhaps, it may be the Keio Plaza buffet.
The class with the company went well enough. It was the first time in a month that everyone was present. The performance wasn't too bad but it's still a low crowd
But boy, three classes and lugging around the wine and the jellies along with my usual bag of books in the hot summer took its toll on me. I'm pretty exhausted right now. I'm just glad that the coordinator didn't call me in for tomorrow so that I have absolutely nothing until the juku classes tomorrow night. The last e-mail call was her last chance to get me to come in. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm not called in at all this week since I heard from DTE that there is a new full-timer who just started which probably means that he'll be getting the year course students as part of his training.
Speaking of DTE, it looks like her party is being set up by two of the receptionists at the school. I've tried to relay the message to Arwen and 77 since DTE can't seem to get her messages to go across to their servers. Well, it looks like my attempts have failed, too. But the addresses I've got for them were their cellphone ones so I've sent another one to Arwen's home computer.
So what shall I do for most of tomorrow? Well, I wish I could just lay around the apartment but I do have to do a bit of prep work for my newest student, The Biologist, which means another trip to Maruzen. And I'm gonna that rubdown at the clinic. Lugging those two bags have pretty much ossified my shoulders.
I had a bit of a small debate with The Doctor over the e-mail today concerning Spidey 2 and the Sgt. Jenkins situation. Doc wasn't too impressed with the first Spidey but I held up my end. He also felt that Sgt. Jenkins should be keelhauled before a Military Court of Inquiry. I agreed with him that the 64-year-old deserter has to face up to his crime but before we drop the Sword of Damocles upon him, we should consider about his family. No, they weren't involved with him when he defected to North Korea, but they are part and parcel of his life and he is also of theirs. It will be a lot more complicated. One part of me wishes that the US will grant him amnesty or some other way for him to pay his penalty without forcing him to be separated from his family.
The Engineer called me 20 minutes after the deadline I had set for him. He got my message concerning my schedule so I'll leave it to him about his whereabouts on Saturday. Also, the Big Guy contacted me to see if I could make it out for his buddy's birthday party. Well, I've already got DTE's shindig to go to so I had to decline.
Looks like the week has gotten off to a good start, knock on wood. I only had one of my Monday morning students (the other had to attend to some family business. But they both got me some summer presents (we do have that summer and winter gift giving season). The one who couldn't make it today gave me a bottle of Italian wine; knowing her, she probably got me something that I would have to pay on the installment plan. And then, my other student got me some jellies to go with my yogurt. She also tipped me about this old restaurant in Nishi-Ogikubo which has very cheap and very filling Western food. I doubt that I'll ever be in the area but I passed on the info to Skippy who so loved the Outback last night.
Then it was off to the Andersens in Shinjuku to meet up with Jazz Buddy. Happily, I think it was the first class with her that was actually quite successful. I managed to copy a whole bunch of telephone dialogues so we pretty much spent the two hours on that. We'll probably be making next week's class a bit of a special one in terms of venue since next Monday is Marine Day. Perhaps, it may be the Keio Plaza buffet.
The class with the company went well enough. It was the first time in a month that everyone was present. The performance wasn't too bad but it's still a low crowd
But boy, three classes and lugging around the wine and the jellies along with my usual bag of books in the hot summer took its toll on me. I'm pretty exhausted right now. I'm just glad that the coordinator didn't call me in for tomorrow so that I have absolutely nothing until the juku classes tomorrow night. The last e-mail call was her last chance to get me to come in. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm not called in at all this week since I heard from DTE that there is a new full-timer who just started which probably means that he'll be getting the year course students as part of his training.
Speaking of DTE, it looks like her party is being set up by two of the receptionists at the school. I've tried to relay the message to Arwen and 77 since DTE can't seem to get her messages to go across to their servers. Well, it looks like my attempts have failed, too. But the addresses I've got for them were their cellphone ones so I've sent another one to Arwen's home computer.
So what shall I do for most of tomorrow? Well, I wish I could just lay around the apartment but I do have to do a bit of prep work for my newest student, The Biologist, which means another trip to Maruzen. And I'm gonna that rubdown at the clinic. Lugging those two bags have pretty much ossified my shoulders.
I had a bit of a small debate with The Doctor over the e-mail today concerning Spidey 2 and the Sgt. Jenkins situation. Doc wasn't too impressed with the first Spidey but I held up my end. He also felt that Sgt. Jenkins should be keelhauled before a Military Court of Inquiry. I agreed with him that the 64-year-old deserter has to face up to his crime but before we drop the Sword of Damocles upon him, we should consider about his family. No, they weren't involved with him when he defected to North Korea, but they are part and parcel of his life and he is also of theirs. It will be a lot more complicated. One part of me wishes that the US will grant him amnesty or some other way for him to pay his penalty without forcing him to be separated from his family.
The Engineer called me 20 minutes after the deadline I had set for him. He got my message concerning my schedule so I'll leave it to him about his whereabouts on Saturday. Also, the Big Guy contacted me to see if I could make it out for his buddy's birthday party. Well, I've already got DTE's shindig to go to so I had to decline.
Sunday, July 11, 2004
Sunday July 11, 11:30 p.m.
I recall over a year ago writing a diatribe against Matrix:Unloaded. Well, I'm happy to say that a year later, I'm once again writing about a much-anticipated sequel to a blockbuster movie and it's a good review this time.
Yup, caught Spiderman 2 today down in Odaiba with Movie Buddy. Pretty much since Chris Reeve's Superman back in 1978, we've been getting these big-budget, symphonically-scored superhero epics especially within the last decade. I can probably say that S2 is arguably the best one I've seen so far. For me, the acid test was being able to root for Peter Parker the regular nebbish and not just for his alter ego. As much as I enjoyed X2 and despite the fact that the X-Men was the Marvel Comic that I had collected the most, I couldn't really connect with the mutants as much as I could with the Webhead. I felt sorry for him in the first several minutes of the film when he got all sorts of abuse heaped upon him from all sides including Mary Jane. I felt happy for him when he had that brief giddy freedom from being Spiderman. And I felt for him..period...when he admitted to Aunt May the events that led to Uncle Ben's murder. I really wasn't sure how she was going to react.
But the big money shot for me wasn't the spectacular battle on the subway although that was great. It was seeing Mary Jane's face when she finally discovered what Peter Parker had been really doing for the past two years. She could've melted the heart of Mr. Spock with that look.
I thought Spiderman 2 was also superior to the first outing in that it just came out more evenly. The first half of the first movie which dealt with the origin was handled expertly but the second half didn't hold things as well since it was hard to take the Green Goblin's outfit too seriously as a US Army battle prototype although Willem DaFoe made a great villain. This time, all of the main characters came out on top. Doc Ock was a tragic villain born out of one simple moment of arrogance while the future villain, Harry Osborn, has gone down a more gradual path of self-destruction.
There was just that one moment of hokiness back on the subway where the passengers took care of their unmasked hero and promised not to tell anyone. Uh,yeah, right...I would've expected such promises from any midwestern village whose name ended in "-ville", not the Big Apple.
All in all, a great movie and it basically foreshadowed the entire premise for Spiderman 3. The ending also looked suitably enigmatic as would befit a middle movie.
Since I'm also somewhat interested in the soundtrack, I enjoyed the familiar Danny Elfman suite and even the strange insertion of B.J. Thomas' "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head". And it was only just 30 seconds' worth at the tail end of the closing credits but Michael Buble put out a fun big band version of the Spiderman theme. I will definitely be on the lookout for that although it wasn't on the official soundtrack CD.
Well, after all that, Movie Buddy and I headed out to Shinagawa where we spent an hour at Anna Millers, that Mecca for the otaku who love their short-skirted uniforms. I told MB about it but he didn't seem too perked up by that. In fact, the two of us spend most of that hour just perusing reading material: I was looking through his edition of the Japan Times and he was reading through my EMPIRE magazine. It all seemed so domestic.
Then, we met up with Skippy, The Maid, DTE and The Kid just under Anna Millers to head up to the Outback. It's safe to say that everyone had a pretty good time there. Skippy was just going through a major orgasm delighting in the tastes of her steak and her dessert. Gabby joined us a bit later although she was suffering from a toothache. After dinner, The Kid had to take off but the rest of us went down to the front of the Wing Mall for a bit of coffee outside. It looks like Skippy is looking forward to the next outing. It looks possible that we may be trying out that Grand Central Station oyster bar in Shinagawa Station next month.
During the events of tonight, Movie Buddy informed me about the Hawaiian, my former private student of several months ago. Unfortunately but not surprisingly, her father did pass away. She and the rest of the family seem to be taking things pretty well considering, though.
When I got home, I got a message from The Engineer. He is indeed here so I did send him a message but I won't be able to see him for his two days here. He's headed out to the boonies on business for the rest of the week but I did tell him that I'd be able to catch him on Saturday.
I recall over a year ago writing a diatribe against Matrix:Unloaded. Well, I'm happy to say that a year later, I'm once again writing about a much-anticipated sequel to a blockbuster movie and it's a good review this time.
Yup, caught Spiderman 2 today down in Odaiba with Movie Buddy. Pretty much since Chris Reeve's Superman back in 1978, we've been getting these big-budget, symphonically-scored superhero epics especially within the last decade. I can probably say that S2 is arguably the best one I've seen so far. For me, the acid test was being able to root for Peter Parker the regular nebbish and not just for his alter ego. As much as I enjoyed X2 and despite the fact that the X-Men was the Marvel Comic that I had collected the most, I couldn't really connect with the mutants as much as I could with the Webhead. I felt sorry for him in the first several minutes of the film when he got all sorts of abuse heaped upon him from all sides including Mary Jane. I felt happy for him when he had that brief giddy freedom from being Spiderman. And I felt for him..period...when he admitted to Aunt May the events that led to Uncle Ben's murder. I really wasn't sure how she was going to react.
But the big money shot for me wasn't the spectacular battle on the subway although that was great. It was seeing Mary Jane's face when she finally discovered what Peter Parker had been really doing for the past two years. She could've melted the heart of Mr. Spock with that look.
I thought Spiderman 2 was also superior to the first outing in that it just came out more evenly. The first half of the first movie which dealt with the origin was handled expertly but the second half didn't hold things as well since it was hard to take the Green Goblin's outfit too seriously as a US Army battle prototype although Willem DaFoe made a great villain. This time, all of the main characters came out on top. Doc Ock was a tragic villain born out of one simple moment of arrogance while the future villain, Harry Osborn, has gone down a more gradual path of self-destruction.
There was just that one moment of hokiness back on the subway where the passengers took care of their unmasked hero and promised not to tell anyone. Uh,yeah, right...I would've expected such promises from any midwestern village whose name ended in "-ville", not the Big Apple.
All in all, a great movie and it basically foreshadowed the entire premise for Spiderman 3. The ending also looked suitably enigmatic as would befit a middle movie.
Since I'm also somewhat interested in the soundtrack, I enjoyed the familiar Danny Elfman suite and even the strange insertion of B.J. Thomas' "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head". And it was only just 30 seconds' worth at the tail end of the closing credits but Michael Buble put out a fun big band version of the Spiderman theme. I will definitely be on the lookout for that although it wasn't on the official soundtrack CD.
Well, after all that, Movie Buddy and I headed out to Shinagawa where we spent an hour at Anna Millers, that Mecca for the otaku who love their short-skirted uniforms. I told MB about it but he didn't seem too perked up by that. In fact, the two of us spend most of that hour just perusing reading material: I was looking through his edition of the Japan Times and he was reading through my EMPIRE magazine. It all seemed so domestic.
Then, we met up with Skippy, The Maid, DTE and The Kid just under Anna Millers to head up to the Outback. It's safe to say that everyone had a pretty good time there. Skippy was just going through a major orgasm delighting in the tastes of her steak and her dessert. Gabby joined us a bit later although she was suffering from a toothache. After dinner, The Kid had to take off but the rest of us went down to the front of the Wing Mall for a bit of coffee outside. It looks like Skippy is looking forward to the next outing. It looks possible that we may be trying out that Grand Central Station oyster bar in Shinagawa Station next month.
During the events of tonight, Movie Buddy informed me about the Hawaiian, my former private student of several months ago. Unfortunately but not surprisingly, her father did pass away. She and the rest of the family seem to be taking things pretty well considering, though.
When I got home, I got a message from The Engineer. He is indeed here so I did send him a message but I won't be able to see him for his two days here. He's headed out to the boonies on business for the rest of the week but I did tell him that I'd be able to catch him on Saturday.
Saturday, July 10, 2004
Sunday July 11, 8:31 a.m.
It's the first time in a number of days that I didn't rush to put on the air conditioner in the morning. In fact, there was no need for me to put on the fan all night. It is a good sign. Tokyo was basically saved from yet another deluge which washed across a lot of the country yesterday. It was surreal to see massive rivers flushing through the streets of the countryside while Tokyo remained relatively dry.
Well, in about 90 minutes, I'll be out to Odaiba to catch Spiderman 2 with Movie Buddy. So far, I haven't received any messages of cancellations or requests for additions from the others for the Outback, something that's pretty rare.
The Engineer contacted me with his schedule about his next business trip. Apparently, he'll be here today but there's no way that I'll be able to catch him until the next weekend. Chip Guy is also coming here the week of the 19th; it'll also be a bit tight in terms of scheduling.
It's the first time in a number of days that I didn't rush to put on the air conditioner in the morning. In fact, there was no need for me to put on the fan all night. It is a good sign. Tokyo was basically saved from yet another deluge which washed across a lot of the country yesterday. It was surreal to see massive rivers flushing through the streets of the countryside while Tokyo remained relatively dry.
Well, in about 90 minutes, I'll be out to Odaiba to catch Spiderman 2 with Movie Buddy. So far, I haven't received any messages of cancellations or requests for additions from the others for the Outback, something that's pretty rare.
The Engineer contacted me with his schedule about his next business trip. Apparently, he'll be here today but there's no way that I'll be able to catch him until the next weekend. Chip Guy is also coming here the week of the 19th; it'll also be a bit tight in terms of scheduling.