Sunday August 29, 12:55 p.m.

Typhoon 16 is making its presence felt here although to a far lesser degree than in the south and west. It's been raining steadily all day but we've been saved the gales. A lot of people were saying that this typhoon will mark the coming of Fall. Not according to the weather forecast. We still have a few more days of torrid heat coming up.

Yesterday was pretty quiet. Just went to see M + M at the Tea Room. Had a very nice chat about what everyone was up to. One of them said that she'd started driving lessons since she was approaching the big 4-0. Signs of a mid-life crisis? She needn't worry all that much...she still looks young for someone in their late 30s. For me, the only place I wanna be in a car is in the back.

The Olympics are winding down and most of the Japanese contingent are back home. I kinda wonder how that's gonna look to the rest of the Athens crowd during the closing ceremonies but then again as I recall, all the athletes just enter the stadium pell-mell regardless of nation anyways. Still, Japan has nothing to be ashamed about...the best ever results for the country in Olympic history and 5th overall in the medal standings. Lots of fodder for the wide shows for the next week.

With this rainy Sunday, I'll be getting some housework out of the way. I'll pack a couple of more boxes for the Anime King to be shipped out on Tuesday. Then, I'll start planning for lessons for tomorrow before getting the fixins for dinner.

Friday August 27, 10:39 p.m.

My chat with The Teacher produced some info that I could use for future travels to smaller Japanese-style ryokan. Perhaps, I may try for one more overnighter in the Fall in Sendai but seeing how my income is so far this month, maybe it'll have to wait until next year.

I met up with The Beauty Pair and their eccentric friend for karaoke tonight at the Urayasu Shidax. It was only my second time there, the first time being several years ago. It hasn't changed...still has that Disneyland look. When we got there, all of the customers were just teens probably enjoying their final days of freedom before returning to school next week. We got our little cubicle and spent 3 hours of singing and noshing...the food at the Shidax is a bit higher class than that of the other chains. I certainly got my money's worth of singing; I basically followed the pattern of alternating between English and Japanese. I was even able to tackle some songs that I hadn't done in years, and I realized that "Beyond the Sea" is gonna be one of my touchstones from now on. We also got some entertainment from our eccentric friend when he tried to blast through some Zeppelin with his fractured English.

After all that debauchery, I'm glad that I don't have anything until 4 p.m. tomorrow since the kids are still enjoying their vacation in Hawaii. And I'm now assuming that the mother of the Little Owl has dumped me since I haven't heard anything from her for over a month now. Hey, fine with me...I was never much for teaching kids anyways. I am a bit concerned about the weather since Typhoon 16 is just around the corner. Apparently, the storm may even make a sharp turn north towards us on Monday.

Being the Trekkie, it's with sadness that I heard about James "Scotty" Doohan's swan song appearance at the next Star Trek convention. I'd kept hearing about his final appearance for a number of months so I figured that the "Miracle Worker" was ailing. Indeed, he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's so he'll be walking down that inexorable road toward oblivion. That last appearance there may not even leave a Borg or a Vulcan dry-eyed.

Friday August 27, 9:32 a.m.

Just watching the Paula Zahn exclusive with the soldiers who were right there when all the Abu Ghraib abuses were going on. What was striking was how Peter Parker the accused looked and sounded. Just makes me wonder how many regular people could be in that situation and act any differently. I'm afraid I can't be that optimistic.

Another typhoon is on our doorstep...or a little off on the lawn, so to speak. Okinawa and southern Japan will get the brunt of it, but Tokyo may also get a bit sideswiped this weekend.

Thursday August 26, 10:20 p.m.

Looks like the Athens organizers can be happy that the arena was filled to overflowing for at least one night after a fellow countrywoman got the gold in the 400m hurdles.

Quiet day today. Just cleaned up the place just in case the Chipmunk visited which she didn't. I picked her up at the station and took her to the Japanese-style family restaurant a minute away from the apartment. I helped her out on a couple of English presentation she'll have to make next week overseas...the topic was on wince-inducing stuff such as urine bags and catheters. I managed not to scrunch my face too much. She treated me to dinner in thanks but I also gave her some of those New York bagels that I got from one of my students. I had one of them this morning...yup, it tastes like a bagel.

The Japanese equivalent of the FTC actually raided some of the big music companies like Sony and Avex Japan. It looks like there was some sort of unholy cartel among the big five to bar the other smaller outfits from reaping profits from the usage of original songs as in lieu of ring tones on cellphones. Amazing what happens here...

Well, I have my last class of a very slow week tomorrow. I've got The Teacher for her lesson. Then I meet the Beauty Pair for all-night karaoke.

Thursday August 26, 2:28 a.m.

Up somewhat late tonight so I might as well contribute something before I finally retire.

For the first time since the Athens Games began, Japan didn't earn a single medal on Tuesday. But it did get its bronze in baseball yesterday. So, now, Japan has passed its old record of 32 medals set back in LA 1984 to have its most successful Olympics. And the synchro swimming pair may actually get something today.

I met up with the ladies today. As usual, a lot of gab but they were happy. Also, I got some souvenirs from one of them in the form of bagels straight from the Big Apple. Looks like I won't be worrying about breakfast rolls for the next little while. And I also got a number of chocolates. Afterwards, I went up to Akihabara to see if the Anime King's latest request in the form of a soundtrack were there. No such luck. But I did see my favorite Doner Kebab truck nestled in one of the many side streets of the electronics district. Resistance was indeed futile so I grabbed myself some lunch.

Although it was too bad that the OL cancelled out last night, I was able to get home early and crash a bit before dinner. Dinner was a recipe from my trusty ol' Chinese cookbook that I'd bought all the way back in the late 80s. The recipe called for Hoisin Sauce. When my old buddy, the Iconoclast, dumped a lot of stuff on me, he left me several jars of various Chinese condiments. The Hoisin Sauce officially expired in 2002 so I was somewhat concerned. But aside from some gray scum to the side, the sauce worked out well. The wonders of refrigeration for you...

With a free Thursday, I'll be cleaning up the place again so that I can possibly entertain Chipmunk's arrival later tonight.

The last part of this is on a wistful note, but seeing that it is the middle of the night, I thought it would be appropos. For over a month, I've gotten no word from either Arwen or 99. I'd actually sent a message off to Arwen whose e-mail address I do have, but never got a reply back. I know that she has that new demanding job but I'd thought that she'd have some time to let me know how she's doing. The last time I saw the pair was at El Torito where they had a great time. I'm still 100% positive but I have the sad feeling that that Sunday night was perhaps the big kissoff to me. My lessons with them weren't exactly the most successful since they didn't seem to chime in with the text too well. I would have thought that Arwen would have at least given me some sort of lame excuse to forego our professional relationship but she hasn't sent word one. And I would've thought that at least our personal friendship was still intact but I'm now thinking that even that's non-existent as well. I don't think I offended them in any way or was that bad a teacher. It just hurts, that's all, especially because in the one year prior to their "disappearance", I'd thought that our little friendship had been one of my stronger ones. Just don't know...but I do know that in the very iffy case that I hear from either or both of them again, I don't think I'll be nearly as cordial.

I think what makes it even more galling for me is that Arwen isn't the first one. The Madam pulled a similar stunt earlier this year starting with that sudden cancellation from my Xmas dinner. I haven't totally forgiven her for that since I felt pretty rotten eating alone at the restaurant. Now I'm just afraid that I may have to be standoffish where students are concerned. I haven't bothered calling Skippy since I don't want to give the impression that I'm pushing. And I haven't sent any word over to my ex for the same and additional reasons. Frankly, I'm wondering if I'll have to live the life of a monk from now on with only Movie Buddy being the only person that I really trust here.

Tuesday August 24, 10:33 p.m.

Another sweaty day. Met Movie Buddy for Fahrenheit 911 at la Theatre Ginza. We noticed that the majority of the viewers were quite a bit older than us. The staff also had an interesting approach for getting the people in...kinda like boarding procedures for a plane. It was actually a full house...the first time since The Phantom Menace back in 1999 that I'd actually experienced that, although the theatre only held 150 people. The trailers also seemed to drag on for a long time before the main event.

Now as for Michael Moore's magnum opus: after all the hoopla and the Palme D'Or, I got to see what all the fuss was about. I'm just gonna state the obvious here, but it was a very heavily partisan attack on Bush and his administration...not just professionally but on a personal level as well. Despite that repeatedly played scene of Bush on vacation with the Go-Gos background music, 911 was definitely a lot more somber than Bowling for Columbine. I marveled at how Moore got access to some of that footage from Iraq; I'm sure that Bush's press team must have been slapping themselves upside the head at how some of those scenes got to Moore. Moore also wove an intricate web of conspiracy connecting Bush, Cheney and the Bin Ladens on a scale that matched The Lone Gunman and anything from the X-Files but I have to wonder how strong that web really is. Some of the footage was fairly humourous, especially on how Moore chose his BGM for his scenes (the theme from that ol' 80s show, "The Greatest American Hero" to back up Bush's now-criticized appearance on the aircraft carrier, for example), and harrowing when it came to the grisliness of the bombing victims and Mrs Pedersen's coming to terms with her son's death.

Will 911 actually sway the election? Maybe/maybe not. Anti-Bushers and pro-Bushers will remain in their respective camps, and the undecided bloc will only use the movie as a small touchstone to make their decisions. There are many more variables out there for those folks to think about. And in any case, it isn't a direct election. I couldn't say that I enjoyed the film...things were just too grim for that but I can say that Moore gave his viewpoint very clearly. Plus, it is the first documentary that I've seen in a theater for decades. My butt was starting to get awfully sore and therefore I was getting pretty restless by the time 911 finished 2 hours and 10 minutes later. There wasn't the usual buildup, climax and denouement of a regular escapist flick for me to time my comfort zone.

Afterwards, MB and I made a slow walk through Ginza which didn't exactly keep me cool. The theater also wasn't all that cool either so I was feeling distinctly moist. We were searching for a pizza buffet place that MB's girlfriend knows but to no avail, so we ended up having a late lunch at the Fujiya in Yurakucho. Surprisingly, we didn't really go into all that much analysis of 911. I guess Moore did that for us. We just did our usual chat on other movies before breaking up an hour later. I'm not sure when we'll be meeting next time. Perhaps it'll be when the Ballerina makes her next return to Tokyo in a couple of weeks.

I made my way back to Urayasu for my juku. My two classes were fairly spritely affairs. The Beauty Pair and I spent a few minutes talking about our next social meeting on Friday with their eccentric friend from a few weeks ago. Hopefully, he won't drop his pants at Urayasu Station like he did when he first entered the izakaya. It'll be a karaoke affair at the local SHIDAX. Good choice, since the chain has the best rep amongst the karaoke boxes. Also, the juku boss herself will be filling the slot vacated by that student who's now getting used to life in Kentucky. She'll need the work since her structure is all over the place. I'll be glad to keep that extra slot occupied for the income.

The Office Lady sent in a cancellation notice today. So I've just got the Class Act for the first time in a few weeks. It'll be nice seeing them again. I'll have to tell them about 911 since it was one of them who had given me the ticket. Plus, I'll be seeing the Chipmunk Thursday night to check her PowerPoint presentation. It'll be a working dinner near my place. Also, it looks like The Anime King has made another order with Sega. I got another note from Yamato. I don't mind helping out my friend but I just don't want to end up being a clearinghouse all the time.

The Olympics are starting to wind down as far as the Japanese contingent is concerned. The main engines for the national gold rush have come back home and had their press conferences. The women's volleyball team have finally been eliminated (a lot of soul-searching will be taking place for that group, I'm sure), the gymnastics are done, and the coach for the women's softball team has resigned. Plus, Japan is not much of a force in the remaining track n' field events. I think the last couple of hopes for gold are in the baseball and synchro. We may actually match, if not exceed, the best gold result by the time the Games wrap up.

Tuesday August 24, 8:04 a.m.

Another bittersweet night at the Olympics. There were no less than 4 women in wrestling up for gold. Half got their wish. However, the expected champion, Kyoko Hamaguchi, had to settle for bronze in a rather large upset. Her rather colourful father, "Animal" Hamaguchi - a former pro wrestler, raised the 9 Levels of Hell from the stands at the officiating. Before one makes the inevitable comparisons between Animal and the father of the Williams sisters, though, he really is a tough but tender father. However, I don't think any judge should approach the Animal anytime soon.

Yesterday, on my way to the company, I dropped off at a point between Ginza and Kyobashi to check out Le Ginza Theatre a day before Fahrenheit 911. It looks like I may have to head out a bit early this morning to get another ticket since the lady told me that yesterday's afternoon show got a full house. The theatre is next door to the Seiyo Hotel, that place that one of my Monday morning students told me about. It's a small, subtle but expensive-looking hotel; the two Benzs out in front made that point abundantly clear. Luckily, I was in more formal gear, otherwise I would've felt distinctly underdressed even just passing the Seiyo.

I read the latest issue of METROPOLIS. It certainly has bulked up on the human interest stories. First, the Fischer controversy and now an article on the mean streets of Tokyo and how the governor is cracking down on the sin via a page out of Rudy Giuliani's playbook. Hey, I'm all for that; however, I'm not sure if I can really believe seeing a Warner Bros. goods store in formerly gang-ridden Kabukicho.

Monday August 23, 9:02 a.m.

It's become a morning ritual. Go to sleep and then wake up to find out that Japan has gotten a few more medals. For the 2nd consecutive Olympics, a Japanese won the Women's Marathon. It certainly helped that her main rival, a British woman, crumpled in the heat and humidity. I'd say it was a testament as well as a miracle that the training and stamina could keep most of the competitors in the race, let alone actually finish, considering the aforementioned weather and the arduousness of the course. Along with the gold in the marathon, Murofushi got his silver in the hammer throw and there were another two bronzes. I think the winner in the marathon can look forward to having a lucrative career in TV ads if she follows her predecessor's lead. It was a good race for everyone...all 3 entrants from Japan placed in the top 10.

The weather does feel good outside. We'll also get some rain later on. Hopefully, a sign of things to come?

Sunday August 22, 7:57 p.m.

An interesting time with the Jazz Buddy today. I fulfilled her request for steak by setting the lesson in Shinagawa so that we could go to the Outback afterwards. She may be soft-spoken but she doesn't hesitate to reject something if she doesn't like it. We initially went to Anna Millers, that bastion of short-skirted waitresses and the target for millions of otaku everywhere on the Net, as a venue for the lesson. We had just sat down and looked at our menus when JB asked if we could move elsewhere. It wasn't because of the potentially sexually harassing atmosphere, though; she just felt the place was too stuffy and a bit too expensive for just coffee.

So we ended up at one of those trendy open cafes within a store in the WING shopping mall some metres down the way. The lesson went fairly well and then we went to the Outback. It was her first time there so she was looking forward to seeing what all the fuss was about when Gabby had told her about the group outing there a few weeks ago.

We both ordered pretty much the same thing: the Outback Special with relevant side items, complementary sourdough bread and a shared plate of chicken wings. She didn't seem to care much for the sourdough bread so I was quite happy to take it off her hands. During the order-taking, JB gave our amiable bilingual waitress a good grilling on the recommendations. I'm not very sure if she would've gotten as polite and friendly a response if she'd done the same sort of thing at an equivalent American eatery, though.

I gotta admit...for such a slim and somewhat pallid lady, JB has an appetite to rival mine. The lady was as relentless as the Borg in tackling her meal. In my past outings with various students over the years at the Outback, the ladies either shared one plate in pairs or crumbled under the weight of 225 grams individually. Not Jazz Buddy. She didn't devour her steak and sides with gusto or speed but she did devour it some 10 minutes with grim determination after I sped through my meal. Our conversation unsurprisingly centered on the theme of comparing Japanese vs. American cuisine. She would later thank me for introducing her to what American cuisine was like. I would also recall that she was the only one in our group outing at Fujimamas a couple of months ago that could polish off the entire humongous breakfast platter there.

She even decided to go for dessert so I immediately ordered the Chocolate Thunder from Down Under, a massive tower with a brownie foundation, a large scoop of vanilla ice cream, a towering penthouse of whipped cream and an intimidating amount of chocolate sauce pooling and covering the bottome of the plate. Both the waitress and I assumed it would be a shared eating opportunity so she brought 2 spoons. However, the symbolism of extra silverware was lost on JB who then proceeded to pull the entire dish towards her and again used her Borg powers to single-handedly shave down the sides of all the layers and mash it up before eating. Relentless and efficient...past challengers just attacked the Thunder anywhere which brought down the whole mess like a fallen redwood within the first 30 seconds of attack. The kicker was that all the time she was eating it solo, she just kept stating how overly sweet and undelicious it was. The lady's a machine. I didn't particularly mind not being included in the participation in dessert though I think I could've lessened her suffering if she'd asked me to help her out; I find that the Thunder has a pretty cloying Play-Doh aftertaste. I prefer the cheesecake but I didn't bothering ordering it since I knew I couldn't handle that all by myself...at least not anymore.

Well, back home now. Japan has further garnered some more medals. No golds in today's harvest but the folks in swimming, yachting and bicycling managed to fill up the silver and bronze ranks quite nicely.

My Monday will be fairly blank until my lone class at the company tomorrow night. I'll just clean up around the place and then do some recon for that theater in Ginza before Movie Buddy and I catch Fahrenheit 911 on Tuesday.

Saturday August 21, 8:31 p.m.

Spoke with Mom for the first time in a month. She and Dad plus their friends had a good time on their Alaskan cruise. Another one of those floating all-you-can-eat buffet ships. They got to see the tail ends of whales and one brown bear up in the tundra. They also got to meet the relatives in Vancouver.

Got over to the Grapevine a full half-hour before it started. Being the first one there, the old but kindly proprietor gave me a glass of beer. I had to sip slowly so that I didn't end up entertaining the masses a bit too much. The party was a smaller affair as is usually the case with the September grads but it was good. We had eight out of nine grads show up with six teachers: me, Movie Buddy, The Jester, The Rapper, The Shamrock and a new teacher, the High Roller. In previous years, we've had our grad parties at the Grapevine. My impression was not all that great of the place due to a subpar menu one time and the fact that it's a pretty old and dank place more suited for the streets of old Asakusa. However, the fried chicken, the beef stew (for which I got a doggie bag) and the other dishes worked out very well today. Plus, the owners were very nice people. And we got some special off-menu cakes for dessert. I may just take them up on their offer to dine there for dinner one night..that is, if I ever get a chance to teach at the school again.

I may have committed one faux pas when I mentioned that there would be a singing segment and I made a snarky crack about it. The Coordinator is big on singing at these parties, but I am most definitely not. I realize that she likes it so I should've just held my tongue. It doesn't look like there was any damage, though. One good thing about the smaller September graduation parties is that the speeches by the students are resultingly smaller in number.

Also the following parties for this group were also somewhat more subdued. This group of alumni consisted of a quieter lot so we just had some coffee before the karaoke box opened up next door. We spent the next couple of hours there with The Rapper taking the lead in the singing. We started out filling a couple of rooms but by the second hour, one of the rooms emptied out. I took care of the financial matters which were surprisingly inexpensive. And I also contributed my vocal cords; my impression of Satchmo on "What A Wonderful World" seemed to have wowed the masses. Everything broke up by 6:30 which was fine with me since I really needed to get a shower.

Before he took off, the Jester and I had a short talk on stuff. True to his moniker, he's been the life of every party that we've had over the past year. However, today, despite his usual jokes and antics, he told me that he was exhausted after a pretty sleepless week. It's darn admirable of him to keep the party going but he really doesn't need to stress himself out. He did mention that he'd like to try out the food museums at the Sunshine 60 Building someday in the near future. Unfortunately, his weekeday night schedule is booked up and the museums are crowded to the rafters during the weekend, so we may have to wait a while until he gets a better schedule.

The Ballerina left a message in response to mine. She's doing OK although she did mention that she had a small problem with her eye. She'll be coming back to Tokyo in a couple of weeks so we'll probably get together again in early September.

Well, got the lesson with Jazz Buddy tomorrow in Shinagawa followed by another steak dinner at the Outback.

Looks like the weather is starting to slow down in the heat pumps. Just going to 29 tomorrow. Maybe we'll start facing that inexorable slide into Fall.

Saturday August 21, 9:27 a.m.

Had the AC turned on as soon as I got up as has been the ritual since the summer began, only to be slightly embarrassed when I opened the window to get the laundry going. It actually felt drier and cooler. Looks like the typhoon is making up for yesterday's blast by giving us more reasonable weather.

Well, it's official now. Japan medal count just surpassed its Sydney count. It was a bumper crop yestereday with two more judo golds, a swimming gold and a swimming bronze. Definitely a good way to finish up the judo competition with that double gold. Of course, the media are sinking their teeth into this story.

A little bit more household stuff to do before heading out for the grad party. Gotta pick up a camera as well.

Friday August 20, 8:11 p.m.

The lesson with The Teacher turned out to be a gabfest. Kinda too bad since the material she brought with her was on David Cronenberg. Always good to read up on a fellow Canadian.

Afterwards, I headed out to Ginza in the blazing heat. The area is a solar conductor with all of the pavement and concrete holding and reflecting the heat and the tall buildings barring any winds from the bay. I just basically browsed through the CD stores, just buying a Premiere magazine.

Then, I headed up to the school. Looks like there have been improvements during my absence. There was a rather large library along the wall with basic reader versions of famous movies ranging from "My Fair Lady" to "Mrs. Doubtfire". I got there a couple of hours before the pizza party so I spent that time re-acquainting myself with the students. They were quite happy to see me after so long so we basically had a good chatfest before the pizzas arrived. When they asked me what I was back here for, I told them that I was there for the pizza and them....although I didn't give them the ratio. Saw The Jester and met the new addition to the crew.

The pizza party took care of my dietary needs for the day. With The Teacher paying for my coffee and sandwiches this morning, my food budget was at a rare minimum. Movie Buddy was the only other teacher to show up for the culinary feast. Of course, I'll see him and another such feast tomorrow at the grad party.

I just got home to see Japan crush Canada 9-1 in baseball, and now the track n' field events are starting up with the hammer throw. We got our local favourite, Murofushi, propping up the side here.

MB asked me about catching Fahrenheit 911 on Tuesday which is fine with me since I've got nothing until the juku. I found a theatre in Ginza which is showing the Michael Moore opus. Hopefully, the free tickets will be accepted there.

I got another delivery notice at the door. Looks like Anime King made another purchase from the boys at SEGA.

Not sure what it's gonna be like tomorrow weatherwise. With the typhoon north of us, we may get a drop in temps and some rain.

Friday July 20, 8:13 a.m.

Another Gold and Silver. A once-hard luck judoist on the Olympic mats finally got her medal in a big way, and a guy who last got a bronze way back at the Montreal Olympics got a silver in archery.

Paddy's contacted me. We'll be meeting up on the 4th for some brewskis at the Maple Leaf. I've also invited PH but she's iffy. May need to get the ol' Hotel ready once again.

Watching the Michael Jackson trial, I just reminisce when he was once admired and beloved for his music and the Moonwalk back in my high school days, He's now seen as a has-been freak by most of the States except for a group of extremely loyal fans. I'm frankly not sure if he's indeed a pedophile, but I think he is a sadly disturbed fellow who has Peter Pan Syndrome.

Thursday August 19, 9:49 p.m.

Don't mind me...I'm just broiling again. Another skin-searing day today in the Big Sushi. 35 degrees once more although there were probably areas such as concrete-and-glass bound Shinbashi which registered higher temps. And we're gonna face another hot one tomorrow as well. However, we are getting a bit of variety...we've got Typhoon 15 skirting us to the north which will dump a ton of rain on the northern frontier; ironically for that reason, we'll be getting hit with the heat wave for one more day. Then, about an hour ago, we got slightly rocked by a Shindo 3 tremor. The weatherman said that after Friday, the temperature will drop below 30 as the typhoon has a more sympathetic influence on us.

Had my haircut at the salon this morning. My regular stylist is just the most "up-with-people" type. Anything I say is given the utmost attention and enthusiasm. To be honest, I'm not sure if she's truly interested in what I have to say (preferably, I'd rather have my haircut in total silence but I also like to be considerate) but my ex told me that her personality really is switched to 11 and I can't believe anyone could maintain a veneer of enthusiasm for almost 2 years without going nuts. In any case, I'm less scraggly now.

Just had a bit of lunch and stuff at home for a few hours before heading out once more in the summer sun to see SR at the Tea Room. Recently, I found out that one of the waitresses there actually lived in my neighbourhood so today we had a bit of a chat and compared notes. She goes to all of my shopping places so it'll be inevitable that we'll catch each other now that she's put me on notice. I'll have to be on my best behaviour from now on.

Cooked up a mess of protein, carbohydrates and veg in one dish so that I'll be able to hold up just nicely until breakfast. The Olympic team had a bit of heartbreak today. Kosei Inoue, the heavyweight judoist and captain of the entire Japanese delegation, was upset by a Dutchman in the quarterfinals. And the Japanese didn't fare too well in the individual gymnastics category after getting that gold for the group. Still, we're doing pretty well.

It'll just be The Teacher so no planning needed there. And then, I'll probably head out to the school for the term-end pizza party. This will actually be the first time there in a month. And it'll be the first time that I didn't get a chance to teach the graduating class in their final week. I'm not too bothered by it, though, since my time with this current group wasn't too long. However, I'll be glad to see them tomorrow and then on graduation day on Saturday.

Wednesday August 18, 8:53 p.m.

5 hours of teaching today. It's been a while since I did that; as a result, I'm feeling pretty tapped out. I'm not even that hungry. I just had some chicken nuggets with some milk. Part of the problem was the remainder of the spaghetti I had for breakfast. That was pretty gnarly stuff. Next time, I won't throw in a ton of shredded cheese into my Spaghetti Pepperoncino...not a good mix. Cheese and Spaghetti Bolognese, that's the ticket.

I had my final class with the Biologist. Very pleasant. She pulled off her best presentations to date today. I wish her well.

Looks like we have another two finals to look forward to in judo. But the Men's baseball team just had their asses handed back to them by Australia of all countries.

Checked up on how ol' Canada was doing. Just one bronze medal. A bit early but I wonder if anyone in Sports Canada will be looking for a job afterwards.

Tuesday August 17, 11:50 p.m.

Looks like Japan is going through a gold rush of sorts. Almost 24 hours after the gymnastics team got its gold, another judoka, Tanimoto, got hers in dramatic fashion. I'm starting to remember how much I enjoyed watching judo in the first half of the Sydney Olympics. And Greece got its own gold in judo right now much to the joy of the local crowd. For Japan, though, it's 6 gold medals and counting.

Another blazing hot day. The humidity was really bad thanks to the rain tonight. It just sealed in the sweat that wanted to evaporate, so I felt like I was wearing a thin coat of moisture. Not pleasant. What's worse is that we'll be back up to 35 tomorrow and I've got a full slate on my plate. I've got the kids for a rare weekday class, the Biologist for her last lesson, and then the OL. Speaking of last lessons, I had the final class with my 9-10 student tonight before he takes off for his new life in the States. Best of luck to him.

Those Yokohama pics came in. They look pretty good. I'll be quite happy to post those in my album. Well, it's off to bed.

Tuesday August 17, 9:32 a.m.

It's Asahi Beer Time! Looks like this Japanese team has been providing a lot of thrills and heartbreak...what the Olympic experience is. We picked up another couple of medals. A bronze in swimming, but the big one was a gold in group gymnastics, the first one since Montreal. Of course, the media has been swarming all over the triumphant team like bees on an invading wasp.

It's one of the intriguing things about the Japanese coverage. Back Stateside, one network bids out of the four majors to become the sole broadcaster while the other three feed on relative scraps. Over here, NHK and all of the commercial networks share coverage so that at least two stations during prime broadcasts have their eye on different venues. Great idea. I only feel sorry for the winning athletes,though. If they especially win gold, they're pretty much required to attend every network's HQ in Athens for interviews. After all their work and tension, the media spotlight must be like going from the frying pan into the fire.

Monday August 16, 9:15 p.m.

Well, since my last entry, Japan grabbed another gold from swimming. Kosuke Kitajima is another Olympian hero. However, since then, the men's soccer team played themselves out of medal contention and the women's volleyball team lost another one, this time to Italy. Right now, I just saw a former member of that women's team and a former pro tennis player giving a bit of a scolding on air about how an Olympic team should play. I can only imagine that the coach must be vocally stripping the wallpaper off in the dressing room.

Back in the real world, we got back to the heat and humidity. My back and neck were all sticky and wet as I staggered up the stairs to the apartment and my AC is up and running once more after a day off. However, we may get another round of cooler (under 30) weather and rain tomorrow.

I made it over to City Hall and updated my gaijin card. Only took 5 minutes and then I was off to Shinjuku. I ended up having my coffee again at Andersens before teaching my company class. Man, that low student was really low today....completely on tree trunk mode. I've almost finished the text so I have to think about getting the next text for them. It'll have to be the Side by Side 2; there's no way any of them can handle anything harder. I don't even know if I'm gonna get renewed.

It'll be another day of nothing tomorrow until the juku classes. I'll go grab that rubdown and then make up a mess of pasta to use up all the remaining cheese. I just bought a big hamburger patty on rice and salad for dinner. I'm rather impressed at how much the Japanese love their Salisbury Steak. Back home, when one thinks of hamburgers, one thinks of the patty between two halves of a bun and an assortment of condiments. Over here, we of course have that but hamburger steaks are even more ubiquitious than probably in Salisbury, England. Every supermarket has them in the showcase. My supermarket has them either smothered in some sort of sauce, whether it be soy or Italian tomato, on a bed of rice. It's just too easy to pick one up for a quick dinner or lunch.

Sunday August 15, 11:09 p.m.

After 40 days and 40 nights of record-breaking heat wave, the Mt. Ararat of temperatures delivered us from oblivion, albeit temporarily. Thanks to a barrage of low pressure systems up north, Tokyo finally broke its hex and got a good dousing and a mere 22-degree high. It felt almost like Fall. However, we'll be back to mundane reality again from tomorrow.

After my kids yesterday, I went off to meet Movie Buddy in front of the Picadilly in Shinjuku to catch RIDDICK. It was just two of us as I'd expected. Well, what can I say about RIDDICK? I never caught PITCH BLACK but the sequel was pretty much stand alone despite some of the back references. It struck me as an entertaining B-movie. For that reason, I was surprised that Dame Judi Dench appeared in it. I guess the old age pension just isn't making ends meet for her. As for Vin Diesel, I'm wondering if he's gonna end up being an answer to a trivia question about early 21st-century Hollywood.

We did our usual kaffeeklastch after the flick before we headed back home and did our semi-annual DVD-a-thon. We grabbed some salad and drinks at the supermarket, and then ordered some pizzas from home. It's actually been several months since my last taste of pizza. Basically, the last time I had it was during the last time MB came over for DVDs.

The DVD-a-thon followed the mediocre path started by RIDDICK earlier in the day. The best of the weak lot was BAD BOYS 2. I actually enjoyed it a bit better than MB did; he just found it headthumpingly homophobic. I thought the same, but the action scenes were typically Michael Bay entertainment. Certainly, the extended car chase rivaled that of MATRIX RELOADED. However, I found Will Smith's character throughly unlikeable and even wished that Martin Lawrence actually went through his decision to break up the partnership. Some scenes also seemed to have been tacked on as an afterthought.

It was pretty much downhill from there. I SPY was another Eddie Murphy step into the sunset of his career. Something just didn't gel between him and Owen Wilson although individually both had some good zingers. MB liked it better than I did.

And last AND least, there was BULLETPROOF MONK. The title may have been fine for an obscure comic but all it did was just elicit a smirk as a title for a feature movie. Mind you, it was nice to see that all those English lessons Chow Yun Fat had taken didn't go to waste. And it was nice seeing all those Toronto scenes. Pity about the movie.

It's been a great weekend for the local sports fan here. There are the National High School Baseball Championships and the Olympics. Great start for Japan in Athens. During our DVD-a-thon, Ryoko Tani and one other fellow managed to grab two golds in judo. Mind you, those two may represent half of the medals Japan is gonna get but it's nice to see them explode right from the start. And it's looking pretty up for the gymnastics team. Continuing on the sports beat, the huge news comes from the Giants where the dictator owner of the team suddenly resigned to take responsibility for some sort of illegal scouting scandal. I think there's more to the story than has been shown so far. A guy like Tsuneo Watanabe wouldn't just give up the goat over some low underling's error...an error that probably occurs regularly in just about every other team.

Both MB and I had a good amount of sleep despite the fact that we hit the hay around 3 a.m. this morning. I kept the AC on for MB and then of course, the arriving coolness helped things out immensely. By the time, we got out of the apartment, it was already past noon so we ended up going to the nearby Skylark for a bit of lunch. We had a good ol' time talking up the movies.

We hit the subway and headed out to the city. MB was going back home all the way on the other side while I made a pit stop at Maruzen to pick a book for the kids. Then, it was off to Shinjuku to meet Jazz Buddy. I had an hour before she showed up so I just sat in the old plaza. It was a different feeling not sweating up fountains outside. When I went in, I saw JB sitting all the way in the back of the Starbucks. We could only do the first hour there since the place closed at 7 so we continued things at Bologne, a cafe in the Century Hyatt. We both had a very nice Steak on Rice set there and we chatted up on hitting the Outback after the lesson, so we've set up the lesson in Shinagawa next week.

Since I've got nothing until the company tomorrow night, I can wake up pretty leisurely although that will depend whether it will remain cool during the morning.

With all of the sports going on right now, the news that it's the 59th anniversary of the end of WWII for Japan has been largely smothered despite the NHK-televised ceremony at the Budokan today. Perhaps in a way, it's a good thing.

Hey, another two medals in judo.

Saturday August 14, 7:57 a.m.

Woke up at 6 and turned on the telly to see the highlights from the Opening Ceremonies. Yup, didn't miss all that much...just the usual idealistic images and the lighting of the torch. The Japanese team looked less goofy than they did at Sydney although I think the female athletes resembled a pyjama party contingent. A lot of people crab about how over-the-top the Americans are about their media coverage of their athletes. However, Japan is not really any different. Fuji-TV devoted 2 hours to just one athlete, a 15-year-old ping pong prodigy who used to cry up a storm whenever she lost a game. I hope her maturity has grown along with her talent. Every other station here has also devoted itself to some sort of Olympic cheerleading, complete with its own inspirational pop song.

I heard that these Olympics could be the dirtiest ever due to the drug infractions. Maybe the new motto could be: Higher, Stronger, Faster, Dopier?