Friday November 16, 8:17 p.m.

Now into my 2,001st entry, and I'm writing in a classroom that is currently empty. Jolly has failed to show up, but he did say last week that he may be able to come. Since he's usually on time when he does show up, I can assume that he will not do so tonight. So, it's just The Ace tonight.

Had my mess of hire (lean) tonkatsu and deep-fried oysters at the tonkatsu place tonight. That will tide me over til breakfast tomorrow quite nicely...of course, the mound of shredded cabbage ought to clean me out in the washroom before bedtime, if you know what I mean.

As I was eating away in the restaurant, the television was showing a live press conference of veteran actress, Yoshiko Mita, tearfully relating the announcement of her 2nd son's arrest due to drug possession...the third time that the 27-year-old has been caught for the same offense. It was interesting watching this since earlier today I'd been watching CNN's Larry King interview the Osmonds. There, Marie Osmond admitted that her 16-year-old son had just been taken into drug rehabilitation. Although Marie kinda misted up on telling this, her reaction was far more matter-of-fact than Mita's. Not to say that Mita was overly emotional at all...the comparison between the two was an interesting one of culture. Since Japanese society is one based on shame, it must've truly been wrenching for her to not only admit her son's crime a first time, but also a second time. And this was a full court press, not the interview type of setting that the Osmonds were in.
And yet, it was weird to see that even the angelic Osmonds weren't without sin.

Well, since Jolly is evidently not gonna show, I'll start thinking of my Santa list for the folks back home. I'll have to keep things pretty light due to my financial circumstances. Luckily, tomorrow will be a full day off...the first time in a couple of weeks that will happen...knock on wood. Maybe I'll be able to catch "The Bourne Supremacy" on DVD before I finally catch the newest flick.

Friday November 16, 4:04 p.m.

Well, 2000th entry...whoop-de-doo! But as always, any auspicious occasion in this blog carries a bit of bittersweetness.

One of the things that I've come to realize being in this profession of English teaching is that unlike a lot of other folks, I have to say goodbye a lot. It's kinda like being Doctor Who. Companions join him and have some frights and adventures for a little while and then they have to leave ultimately. In my case, I have students who do the same thing. In fact, in the last month or so, I've lost a few of them. There was Seven...although she may be coming back. Then, The Judge finished his time with me a few weeks ago. And of course, I've lost The Younger for which I have to face the final class this coming Sunday. And last night, I had to give my sudden farewells to B2, The Ballerina's former colleague and friend at her airline company.

B2 has been having a good run for the past few weeks. She found a new job with an airline company, one of the domestic carriers, for which she'll start 6 weeks of training in December. And she also found a new boyfriend, some fellow from her soon-to-be former company who's more in line with her age (mid-20s), unlike her old flame who was closer to me in age. And then her sister tied the knot just last week. It's been quite a change in outlook since I first met her back in February 2006. She apologized and said that she would try to consult me once training is over but I can't really see how she could do that regularly being a flight attendant again. Basically, I'll take her plea as a polite way of stopping her classes.

But before I drown myself in sorrow, it's important to note that despite the recent departures, I have gained some extra lessons. Mr. TOEIC has started a 2nd class with me, I have another student at Speedy's starting from December, The Yogist, and even The Admin has asked for my semi-regular help...away from the bossman's prying eyes. So as much as I have said goodbye in these past few weeks, I've also said my hellos as well.

However, I found out that my nearest convenience store, just 2 minutes around the corner, will be closing down for good on the 28th. UGH! It did fulfill its role as a convenient store for picking up bento and making photocopies but now I'll have to walk another 5 minutes to the second-nearest place. So, another goodbye there.

And yet another hello. As a new resident in the Facebook universe, I suddenly got a message from a grad from the ol' school. She's an old classmate of The Ballerina and Skippy. But I use "old" to mean former...the lass herself, Smurfette, is still in her early 20s...and a mother for the past four years. Apparently, there was an...ahem...accident between her and her boyfriend one day.

Speaking of Skippy, it looks like my 2nd visit to that celeb's house...the one whose son Skip is teaching...will be on the 25th. I'll be putting on my cap as human tape recorder again...it's something that I have a lot of experience as due to my days as a JET teacher.

In other news, I caught what I think is the last U.S. Democratic Candidates debate in Las Vegas this morning on CNN. Yep, Hillary is back and Barack is back down. And John got slapped down. Should be an interesting Primary season in January.
And there's no joy in Mudville...if Mudville were the entirety of Major League Baseball. Barry Bonds got indicted for perjury for that steroid thing. Amazing...he's the alleged home run king of baseball, and now he's one of the few players to get federal charges against him. Kinda makes the news on our rogue yokozuna here pale in comparison.

Just have the juku guys tonight, Jolly and The Ace. But the boss herself is having a vacation of sorts in Osaka tonight. So her mumbly husband will be downstairs while I teach upstairs. I'll be having tonkatsu before I head off to the juku, though. Last night it was ramen at that local place which is trying to get into the Guinness of World Records for the largest amount of garlic in one bowl of noodles. There was one angry drunk salaryman a few stools away from me who'd obviously had a bad day. He even cursed his cellphone e-mail but otherwise, he kept his dark thoughts to himself. The staff wasn't too concerned so I wasn't.

Also found out that the preparations for the arrival of "The Simpsons - The Movie" are in full throttle. All of the Japanese voice actors are famous local celebs. Bon vivant George Tokoro will be playing Homer while Marge is being played by loudmouthed, Sawajiri-hating, blues-singing legend, Akiko Wada. One half of the comedy duo London Boots will be voicing Bart and tarento darling Becky will be taking care of the Lisa duties.

And I guess, finally, it wouldn't be a 2000th blog entry without talking about the city that spawned the corruption scandal surrounding the rogue architect Aneha. My city...Ichikawa. Actually, it isn't really directly connected with the fallen designer. However, it has to do with a half-built condo complex which was supposed to be the shining light in Ichikawa...only to find out that most of the necessary supporting metal bars to hold the thing together during earthquakes haven't been put in due to some unbelievable oversight. As Homer would say, "D'oh!" Or as Wile E. Coyote would say, "Back to the drawing board."

Wednesday November 14, 5:47 p.m.

An uncharacteristically quiet hump day. I only have Mr. TOEIC at 8:30 tonight. 001 is off for the next 2 weeks and The Nurse had her lesson yesterday morning. It was fairly hopping yesterday since there was that grand commute from west of Shinjuku to Funabashi for 002's lesson. Had lunch at KFC near Moto-Yawata Station. I figure that since I'll probably be having the Colonel for Xmas dinner, I might as well get re-acclimated to greasy chicken again. I know I'll never go to a restaurant solo for Xmas since that rather uncomfortable experience at Fujimamas 2 years ago.
I got the OK from the juku boss for those two days off next month...Xmas Day and the 14th for the Lady's annual party. However, she still wants me to make up for Xmas Day since for all the Yuletide hoopla that's invaded these shores for decades, the 25th is still a regular day. I said that the 27th would be OK...as long as it was a bonenkai of sorts. I just don't think the span between Xmas and New Year's should be used for work. So, the Milds and The Siberian have been tipped off about it. Now, it's just what to do for such a party. I can hardly be magnanimous and put up the tab for a catered affair...

Despite the late class tonight, I did leave earlier today so that I could visit Maruzen and pick up something for B2. I only see her monthly so I'm not sure what good it'll do, but I bought an advanced reading text for which I'll be copying exercises for her. Plus, I copied down some TOEIC exercises as well. That should keep us hopping for tomorrow.

Speaking of bonenkai, Speedy's already got the place and date set. We're headed for someplace called Fungo in Nishi-Shinjuku. The grandmas have already made their reservations. I asked 001 and 002, but not surprisingly, they declined. 001 has to work overnight that day but I also think neither of them are really into the big parties...just like me. They prefer the more intimate ones like the ones that 002 has bimonthly.

I guess one more entry will put me into the 2,000s...

Tuesday November 13, 9:48 a.m.

A rare Tuesday appearance at Speedy's as The Nurse had decided to take her regular Wednesday morning lesson today due to the rigours of her schedule....which means that I'll be doing another crosstown commute to teach 002. However, I'll keep it within Chiba this time around since I'm just heading to the juku afterwards. I've just asked the boss if I could get the 14th and 25th of December off; the 14th is for the annual Xmas party at The Lady's, and of course, the 25th is for tradition only. I'm fairly confident that I can get both off although Xmas Day may be a bit problematic since the boss doesn't like to let go of a Tuesday easily for accounting purposes. Plus, there is the fact that by coincidence, Xmas Eve will actually be a national holiday since it will be compensating as The Emperor's Birthday on the 23rd. It should be a pretty busy weekend for parties.

Mr. TOEIC definitely showed how weak he is in grammar. I proofread his letter to his homestay family in Toronto. I don't think I used quite that much red ink on a single piece of writing in many a year. Glad that he's opted for a second class a week to devote solely on grammar. Still, it will be a long haul since he seems to have the retentive ability of an old sieve.

Monday November 12, 5:52 p.m.

Looks like the party season is starting up again. Speedy's setting up the school's year-ender pretty quick off the mark by dating it on December 1st at some Shinjuku eatery called Fungo; it's some French/Italian fusion thing. And today, The Lady gave the first sign for her annual Xmas shindig. It'll be about 2 weeks later. I've already sent word to Speedy (who was just frothing at the mouth the last time he was at the house) and Skippy (who was merely starstruck). I may even ask The Sisters of State and BC as well.

Yesterday, I ended up having just Tully for his regular lesson without his mate, The Coffeemaker, which was a bit of a switch. Usually, the latter had been the faithful one but this time around, the lass just tuckered herself out from work. It was a good session, though. He really enjoyed studying about the different ways to create interest in the beginning of a presentation. Hopefully, I'll have the duo again in a couple of weeks.

After Tully, I headed over to Shinjuku for lunch. The Maynds Building is a culinary godsend for those who would like to avoid the horrors of having to find any sort of table at a restaurant on a Sunday in the area. As long as one isn't too fussy about the quality, you could get Subway or a quick Chinese dish. I opted for the latter at my favourite eatery in the neighbourhood. For just 900 yen, I got myself an admittedly greasy dish of pork and veggies with unlimited amounts of rice, condiments and dumplings in uncrowded surroundings.
Of course, Krispy Kreme 1 had its perpetual line of 1h40min waiting. I just headed into Takashimaya Times Square. I saw that the latest volume in the epic "Complete Peanuts" series was there but I'm gonna hold off until closer to Xmas. I was actually there to see if I could find something useful for B2's lessons. She needs some work on TOEIC Reading and higher grammar. I did find a book for the latter but won't buy it until Wednesdays. As for the former, I'll probably grab something from one of the texts here at Speedy's. Since Xmas is relatively around the corner, Times Square was already filled with the decorations and the 2008 calendars were filling up the 3rd floor.

I took the Sobu Line to Akihabara where I was to meet The Anime Chamberlain at 3. I got there about a half-hour early so I did an early recce. As usual, the maids were at the Electric Town gates handing out flyers for their respective cafes. Despite the gloomy weather, the main street was closed off so the otaku masses were out there. I went to Akky, a so-called duty-free place, to pick up a bottle of cologne for 1,500 yen. All of the fare there smelled the same to me.
The Chamberlain showed up as expected and we took a look through the main streets for the usual performers and their otaku fans. Sure enough, there were the usual throngs of camera-holding, grubby jacket-wearing males surrounding diminuitive girls in sailor uniforms with high-pitched voices and tunelss singing. The Chamberlain pulled out his camera and vidcam and started rolling.
However, the really interesting performer was located at the northern end of the hokoten, usually dead space in terms of prancing and dancing. The two of us came across this really kooky girl (woman?) dressed up like a 1960s scooter babe...replete in sky blue one-piece dress, white go-go boots and helmet. She was just cooing and slinking about in a Betsy Boop voice some sort of gibberish and managing to stun/charm the gradually increasing audience around her. She was demanding people to dance with her...and actually managed to get a few saps to twirl. She even got a foreigner to banter with her and then when she found out that the lad could speak Japanese pretty fluently, she mockingly admonished him for not telling her sooner. Of course, The Anime Chamberlain got all this on tape and will get me a copy. I think TV is beckoning her.
The two of us then went through the side streets where The Chamberlain was looking through some equipment such as LED flashlights. There were some scruffy folks on the side selling some rather risque photos...such as young girls dressed up in gym outfits...don't the cops patrol these areas? We got back onto the main drag where we saw some nutbar dressed up in not all that much just nattering to himself. I also decided to show my companion up to the 5th floor of the Don Quixote building where the world's most famous Maid Cafe was...The At Home Cafe. There wasn't any performance that time but there was a pretty long lineup for the cafe itself. The distinguishing thing though, compared to the time that I'd taken The Satyr up there, was that the cafe was now populated by women along with the usual otaku guys. Looks like At Home has gone legit and touristy. We didn't bother going in.
It was back to the station via the bridge connecting the UDX Building with the large plaza at the back end of JR Akihabara. We were thinking about food but decided that we weren't quite that hungry yet so we took a look inside the building across from the station. We went to the 2nd floor where Sale, the foreign import DVD shop, was. We also went upstairs to K-Books; this was definitely a deep otaku's paradise. Tons of anime characters. There were collector cards with some of the female characters in.....well, I don't think I really should say here. Let's say, some of the stuff should be rated R-18. Frankly, I felt pretty dirty when I left.
We took a quick dip into Gamers, another popular otaku hangout, before we finally took the plunge and went to Yodobashi Akiba, that mammoth electronics store which has taken over the eastern end of Akihabara and went straight up to the 8th floor where the restaurants were. It took us a while but we finally opted for The Kanda Grill, a restaurant which featured teppan hamburg steaks and other grilled goods. The Anime King gallantly told me that I could use the money that he'd sent me for shipping (it was no longer really needed since his Court was taking home this year's goodies) as dinner fare. The Chamberlain ordered a mess of hamburg and deep-fried shrimp while I opted for kari kari toriniku...crispy chicken...it really wasn't crispy since it was slathered in gravy but I wasn't complaining. We even had some dessert on The King's coin.
By the time we got out, Akihabara was starting to close down for the night. Stores had shuttered up, and of course, the main street had been opened up for main traffic a few hours earlier. Had to admit that yesterday's foray into Akiba was one of the more interesting dips there.

It would've been another regular Monday except that I got a breathless call from The Full-Timer this morning asking to cancel another lesson. Last week, it was to visit her ailing grandmother. Today, it was to say that her grandma had passed away. So I had The Class Act and then SIL. SIL's always fun to gab with since she's more hep into the local entertainment scene than The Class Act. We were gabbing about the good and bad of the notorious actress, Erika Sawajiri.
Now, I'm just whiling away the time until Mr. TOEIC gets here in about 2 hours. I've already got everything planned. Mr. TOEIC has actually decided to expand his time to two nights a week. So, he'll be following 001. Only thing is that 001 will be gone for the next 2 weeks so Mr. TOEIC will be the only class on Wednesday. Nice guy, but to come all the way here for one lesson late at night...
Yup, actually, The Nurse will be having her early class tomorrow instead of her usual Wednesday. She was very lucky since The Beehive usually has the slot but is off tomorrow. Then, it'll be off to 002 at the other end of town before the juku. Lucky thing is that Jolly said that he couldn't make it out tomorrow night so I can head home at a somewhat more decent time.

"The Bourne Ultimatum" finally reared its head on this side of the Pacific on Saturday. The reviewer for METROPOLIS magazine, who is one of the more snarkier folks I've read, was just about fawning over Matt Damon's magnum opus as perhaps the best action movie ever. Considering the existence of "Die Hard", that's pretty high praise indeed. I've started reviewing the series by watching "The Bourne Identity" on DVD this past weekend. I'll see if I can catch "The Bourne Supremacy" sometime this week. I'm pretty sure that MB will be asking me about it sometime soon.

Saturday November 10, 1:42 p.m.

A miserable day out there...and it will probably extend itself to a miserable weekend. November is the autumn's February. Past Halloween but nowhere near the jollity of Xmas. A seasonal no-man's land.

BC is here for her first official day of training as a new temporary staffer at Speedy's. Strangely enough, that lousy model lesson actually did turn into a sign-up. No accounting for taste, is there?

After The Manhattanite and The Dentist, I've got a special with The Admin about some sort of English interview she has to undertake with an American official...kinda hush-hush, at least from the bossman.

Y'know you're becoming an old Canuck when you find out Eric Lindros is retiring. I remember when he was the junior wunderkind that all NHL teams were dying to get. And then, the erstwhile Quebec Nordiques claimed him in the draft only to have Lindros spit in their faces. I'm pretty sure that the NHL's newest retiree will still hesitate to go into La Belle Province after all these years.

And y'know you're becoming an old Trekkie when you find out that Winona Ryder has been cast as the new Spock's mother in the upcoming redux of "Star Trek". I just had to laugh at the writeup at StarTrek.com where it said that Ryder stole hearts during the 80s; she did some stealing of something else in the 00s. Then, I hear that Bruce Greenwood is gonna be the new Christopher Pike. Ever since "Thirteen Days" when he played JFK, Pike has been getting the soberly stolid leader roles. Pike would be a perfect fit for him.
One of those weird connections is starting to be formed between "Thirteen Days" and "Star Trek". There's the Greenwood casting. Then the actor who'd played RFK in the former movie was given a cutting-room-floor role as the new XO on the Enterprise-E, Commander Martin Maddox, in the alternate ending of the last TNG movie. Didn't see it? That's OK...very few did. It would be a troika if Kevin Costner got cast as Sarek. With all of these Hollywood stars dogpiling on the new Trek movie, I wouldn't be surprised.

Friday November 9, 1:22 p.m.

Yup, can actually say that the last 24 hours haven't been great ones for me. That model lesson didn't work out too well. Before it occurred, Speedy was bouncing off possible times and days that I could teach her since the impression he'd gotten was that she was ready to plonk down her yen. The student was nice...as I'd mentioned before, she's a yoga instructor. But as the lesson was going through, I got the impression that things weren't going to what she'd been expecting. And by the time I finished up an hour later, she told me that she would let us know in December since she was "really busy with appointments this month". "Really busy" here means "Don't call us, we'll call you".
Well, I quickly made a beeline straight for the door since I had to go off to teach The Carolinan and BC. Of course, the bossman made a beeline for me and asked about how I did. He could tell pretty quickly from my face that things hadn't gone according to plan. And since I didn't receive any messages on my machine last night informing me of her first class, I gather that the yoga teacher won't be plonking down her yen.
To be honest, I could see where I could've done better on some things but I also thought that there wasn't really big chemistry between us...not to say that I was trying to get a date with her or anything. But I meshed with 001 and 002 just fine during their model lessons, but the yoga instructor just wasn't it.

My lesson with The Carolinan was fine but my session with BC just quickly devolved into another joint commiseration about her life and just some of my little outbursts at Speedy's. Didn't feel good taking her money but at this point, I don't think I can afford to be too ethical considering my financial situation.

Met up with The Anime Duke today since he had to pick up the last of the King's boxes. He was quite taken with the fare at my neighbourhood tonkatsu place. He even remarked that the fare there was probably the best of the deep-fried pork cutlet he's had during his tour of foodie. He's off now to Akiba to meet up with the rest of the Court. As for me, I've just got Jolly tonight (provided that he doesn't dotakyan...it is Friday, y'know). Considering yesterday's failed attempt to get a new student, I went over my lesson plan with him with a fine-toothed comb.

Thursday November 8, 2:28 p.m.

Another rousing one with 001. However, she'll be away for the next 2 weeks due to other concerns. After that, I raced over to Shinjuku Station by the West gates where The Court of the Anime King was waiting amongst the flowing masses of commuters. The five of us ended up at Tsunahachi, one of a chain of fairly high-end tempura restaurants, several floors above the tracks. And accordingly, it wasn't too cheap though we were able to avoid having to wash dishes and the menu was written in very cursive Japanese. So, the Court left it to me to decipher the kanji and order stuff. Not one of my favourite tasks.
However, I was able to order up some deep-fried goodies such as tendon, the bunch of shrimp and other veggies on rice along with some one-offs such as various kinds of fish, eel and veggies. We knew we were in a pretty high-class establishment when we saw the platter containing four different kinds of salt for the tempura itself. And as expected, the tempura that came out was nice and light and crunchy on the outside, but tender and hot on the inside.
Meanwhile, The Anime Duke regaled us about the Court's travels through Japan all the way from Hokkaido to Okinawa over the last couple of weeks. These guys are definitely foodies. Their main aim was to try the various delicacies. They even went to Kobe to try the famous Kobe beef. They weren't disappointed although their wallets were definitely lighter. I think I heard the price 30,000 yen being quoted. Amongst some of the other goodies they tried were the freshest sea urchin (they were sold on it; I remain unconvinced), Genghis Khan and okonomiyaki (the stuff in Toronto is horrible, they say).
By the end of our 2 hours at Tsunahachi, we'd pretty much come to the level of talking about those vending machines in Kabukicho selling soiled girls' underpants, so it was time to to end our session. However, I gave one of them some suggestions about what kind of R&B J-Pop singers to give a listen to. The Anime Duke still has to make one more round over to my place to pick up the last of the packages for The King tomorrow, and The Chamberlain is asking for one more meeting with him before he takes off next week.

I just have a model lesson in a little over an hour. Could be interesting...she's apparently a yoga instructor. I met her briefly the other day...sounds a bit like The Chipmunk. Then, I gotta rush out to teach The Carolinan and BC. Incidentally, BC will be popping by on Saturday for a prelim training at Speedy's.

The saga playing out for erstwhile NOVA continues to take another turn...this time, maybe for the better. An education company from Nagoya is in talks to take over a fraction of the more successful branches although they won't pay for any lost wages or fees to teachers or students. Which means that the news means bupkiss for most of the lost teachers and students.

Wednesday November 7, 4:59 p.m.

Well, the parents of the Younger got back to me and agreed on my offer to resign my position. Didn't take them too long, did it? They asked me to come once more on the 18th...I frankly would rather have them fire me right out...hate goodbyes.

On happier notes, The Beehive was having another grand ol' time reminiscing about their Canada trip yesterday. Looks like the winner was the Madison Manor Hotel in downtown Toronto...so, if any of you young Japanese folk are looking for a place to stay near the University of Toronto and don't mind paying between $120-$150 CDN, look up the old Mad on the Net.
Looks like the 27th will be set aside for a reunion of the Beehive. Mrs. Perth will be coming down from Sapporo while Mrs. Potter will be coming up from Okayama. Most likely, the party will be held at Mrs. Travel's house.
The ladies came to a tentative decision to keep the smaller configuration, considering that they believe that trying to bring anyone into the tightly-knit group could be difficult. It would mean that I would be restricted to just 3 weeks out of the 4 for lessons but I was pretty much that way for several years anyways.
Afterwards, we made our way to the local Parco Department Store by JR Tsudanuma. We ended up having lunch at a bakery/restaurant called Baget on the 6th floor. The chefs whipped up 10 different kinds of breads, rolls and croissants for our all-you-can-eat pleasure when we order the lunch of the day. Pretty good stuff, although the ladies would have preferred the stuff more freshly baked. I didn't mind. The rolls were tasty enough to sop up the gravy from my burger plate. Definitely worth another visit.

My session with 002 was fun as usual. I actually received a gift of some Mandarin Oranges from her via her mother's orange tree. Yep, we are south enough to have those. The juku was shortened by a couple of hours since both The Siberian and Jolly cancelled out. So I just had the kids and Mrs. Mild. Kept the kids happy with a series of games. Although I missed out on the extra 6,400 yen, I was able to hit the hay much earlier. Actually got 7.5 hours of sleep...an amazing feat on a Wednesday morning when I have to head over to Speedy's to teach The Nurse. Speaking of whom, she was in a much better mood today...this despite giving her next take-home test.

Just before I went back into REM sleep last night, I got a call from The Anime Duke. Looks like he and his clan made it back to Tokyo, and we set up things for dinner tonight after my lesson with 001. The three of them are off to the Tokyo Motor Show in Makuhari Messe so they should be enjoying the new concept cars and campaign girls that go with them. The Duke and I separately contacted The Anime Chamberlain so that he could come by my place and check out that huge box of dollies that The Anime King had ordered so long ago.
And sure enough, at 1 p.m., he showed up at the station and we made a beeline for my place. I was amazed when he took a look at the huge crate and said that he could transport it as part of his check-in luggage. He even lugged most of The King's stuff with him back to the station! Mind you, he gave up a lot in sweat but he said that he had handled far worse. We did have some lunch at the neighbourhood Japanese-style family restaurant. I found out that he's quite the persnickety gourmand. He was trying out the specialties throughout the various areas in Japan from Hokkaido to Kyushu. The Chamberlain has always been rather sardonic and straight-to-the-point, and he didn't hold back on some of his comments about the more mediocre fare he had to engulf. But he did love the sea urchin sushi up in Hokkaido.
I wonder where I'll take the guys tonight in Shinjuku. I know a tonkatsu joint and Foo Foo in the station, but The Chamberlain tells me that the Anime Court is all ramen'ed out, so the latter choice is a no-go, and I'm not sure if the middle of the week is still pretty crowded in the restaurants.

For a while, I was all by my lonesone on my apartment floor. The clan of Filipinos in the one unit and my immediate misanthropic neighbour cleared out within a few days of each other. One has apparently moved into the apartment formerly occupied by the Filipino family but the other unit is still empty according to the green tape on the mailbox and the sheaf of papers hanging off of the door knob. I wouldn't mind if the place stayed empty for the rest of the year.

Well, NOVA President Sahashi has finally wormed out of the woodwork, although it's been via his lawyer. He has come clean on some of the illegalities that he'd perpetrated for years but has remained defiant on other aspects. I did have to laugh when I heard him maintain that his office...which looks like something out of Rich Dictators' Weekly...was merely apportioned to entertain foreign dignataries and show off one of NOVA's projects, Chanoma Ryugaku, the PC-based English lessons. I don't know of too many students' houses which have rooms filled with golden swords and furniture upholstered in rich Corinthian leather. Ricardo Montalban would swoon.

Monday November 5, 6:00 p.m.

It's been a weekend of some transitions. Ichiro Ozawa, leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, the official Opposition party, pulled a Shinzo Abe and suddenly decided to resign his position since he couldn't get the DPJ execs' approval to get the party into a grand coalition with the governing Liberal Democratic Party. Ozawa considered that snub a lack of confidence and so he held a late-afternoon press conference yesterday. A bit of a lame reason to resign...kinda like the previous Prime Minister's alibi for his resignation...ironically, Ozawa was the alleged reason for Abe to cry boo hoo.

The other transition is one of my own making. I've decided to give my own resignation to the parents of the Younger, after some thought. Yesterday, the parents and I had a brief chat. They didn't really come and say it and I'm not sure if they intentionally hinted at it, but I could get the feeling that there was writing coming onto that wall. The father, nice guy he is, also expressed some shock and dismay at his daughter's recent English test results. I made the argument that perhaps the Younger just had a bad day...not to save my own skin but just to reassure the folks that their girl wasn't ending up as a delinquent...but the father said that probably wasn't the case. The key point was when they mentioned the idea of having The Younger go to the juku specializing in English. She would get the push she needed. I'm not much of a pusher; again, I've always been reluctant to teach kids for the simple fact that they have to learn, not want to learn. I do well with those adults who are pretty keen and avid about language study.
Well, when the idea of a juku came up, I just thought that having that instruction plus her regular English classes at school and my thing on top of that would frankly be too redundant for her. Plus, she's busy with other stuff as well such as her volleyball, piano and singing practices. That was good enough for me. I sent in the e-mail an hour ago. Frankly after 3 years with the girls, and having the Younger screw up on some basic stuff while the Elder flees, I think it's time to save on that money and time I have to spend on getting all the way to their neck of the woods from Ichikawa.

While losing one long-term client, I may be regaining another one. On Friday night at my own juku, the boss informed me that Seven is indeed coming back...allegedly. In fact, the boss had been planning to visit her at the hospital on Sunday and therefore invited me. However, on Saturday, Seven was released so that rendered the matter moot.

On Saturday, I saw Tully and the Coffeemaker for their semi-regular. The Coffeemaker told me that she'd seen "2001: A Space Odyssey" for the first time. I then asked her if she'd seen it sober, especially for the last 20 minutes. She shook her head for NO and shook her head again since she couldn't really wrap her head around that psychedelic trip. I reassured her that most teetotaling folks couldn't and recommended that she watch the much more mundane sequel "2010: The Year We Made Contact".

After the somewhat awkward conversation between myself and the Younger's parents, I took the subway down to Shiodome on the Oedo Line. I had to grab yet another plaything for my niece since apparently Canada Post has been bogged down with a deluge of packages and therefore, my b-day present for her may now be inhabiting the 9th level of Postage Hell. Whoa betide the sorters and carriers when Xmas Card season starts in earnest in a few weeks. Since it was on the way, I had lunch at my favorite hot dog place, Hansens, in the NTV Plaza. Y'know, sitting outside on a cool but sunny November day while noshing on two franks with fries brought a small respite of contentedness that I hadn't felt in a long time.

I then made my way over to Hakuhinkan, the Tokyo equivalent of FAO Schwarz, and quickly bought a cute little Miffy bag with candy for the niece. Not surprisingly, the Xmas decorations were already up in the store and there were enough headache-inducing kids running around. Ginza was closed off to regular traffic as would be the case on sunny Sundays so I took a little stroll down the main street before heading off home.

Today, The Class Act was off so I started with SIL. However, before my first lesson, I went to Com Pho, the Vietnamese lunchery underneath Maruzen for an early lunch. I guess the Krispy Kreme Multiplier Effect has really expanded. Even though Com Pho was several hundred metres away from Itocia where KK No. 2 is located, the place was already getting crowded even though I got there just shortly after 11. I had the usual Bun Bi, that cold mix of pho, pork strips and veggies in that sour soup.
Went up to Maruzen's 4th floor to pick up the latest METROPOLIS issue and see if there were anything else worth picking up. I did notice that there were some "Doctor Who" novels in the shelves; I guess the good Gallifreyan is making inroads even into this country.
I walked down to Yurakucho from Otemachi. Walked past the ticket booth for that Marunouchi double-decker bus tour. Would be interested in trying that out someday. The fare is just 1,200 yen for adults...pretty good bargain for a pleasant hour's ride around downtown Tokyo. I would've asked The Madame but with the drama from last Thursday, I don't think that's an option anymore. I also went through the main plaza of the Tokyo International Forum where all the food trucks. Another thing I'd like to try, especially since one of the trucks is selling souvlaki. I dropped by BIC Camera to see how much a copy of MS Word would cost....uh, well, I guess I'll see if I can grab a copy of it somewhere. And then I went into Sukibayashi HMV. The latest Yuming album was playing on speakers...a bit strange hearing the old "Blizzard" since I've always considered HMV to be a bit too hip to play some of the cornball stuff.
Got to SIL's neck of the woods 45 minutes early so I ended up cooling my heels in the rooftop game centre of Matsuzakaya in Ueno-Hirokoji. There was mix of mothers, children, retired folk and lunching salaried types in the centre. As for SIL, NOVA didn't pop up in the talk but Ichiro Ozawa's stunt did. We also talked about Frank Nagai, an enka singer who had unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide some years ago, only to end up with the mind of a 6-year-old.

So, I'm here at Speedy's. Those of you who actually have been brave enough to stick through my blog all these years may be sharp enough to realize that I shouldn't be typing this right now. I should be teaching The Full-Timer. Well, The Full-Timer cancelled her lesson today on account that her grandmother is ailing. So, I've only got Mr. TOEIC to wait for. The bossman informed me I've got another model lesson coming up this Thursday with a woman to whom I was briefly introduced a few hours ago. Sounds pretty high....kinda reminds me of The Chipmunk. If everything works out, she'll be my Thursday afternoon regular. Might make up for the loss of income from losing The Younger.

The Anime Chamberlain is back in town apparently. Got a message from him...says that he can come up to the apartment this Wednesday to check on the packages. Well, the only inconvenience for me is that I'm stuck here at Speedy's between The Nurse and 001. Plus, he and The Anime Duke's clan will be headed for The Tokyo Motor Show in Makuhari Messe. So that may leave just Thursday morning. The Duke also hinted at dinner on Wednesday. Well, if it's in Shinjuku, it's doable although it'll have to be after 8:30.

I've also sent word to the folks at home that I probably won't be heading home this Xmas due to the actions of the Canadian dollar and my own dwindling money supply. Too bad but I had a feeling about this for some weeks now.

Friday November 2, 12:27 p.m.

And I was only making the remark as a joke. Apparently, the NOVA teachers are indeed putting up signs "Will Teach for Food". Yep, things are that bad. And to add to the brutal irony, the local media has put up pics of what kinda digs President Sahashi had as an office. It kinda puts the Imperial Palace to shame. No surprise that some rather shady business dealings between Sahashi and others have come to the fore.

But it's not just the English teachers that will be suffering. Prices for various things are gonna be jacked up: gasoline, foods, etc. Not a good end to the year.

However, at least Nagoya is feeling no pain right now. The Chunichi Dragons won The Japan Series 1-0 last night over The Nippon Ham Fighters from Hokkaido. It was a 53-year drought for the Dragons. Not exactly the Bambino's Curse on the Bosox but still a long time between championships. I'm sure the tenmusu and the miso katsu are flowing in the eateries of Aichi-ken right now.

Friday November 2, 11:33 a.m.

It was rather interesting yesterday during coffee with The Madame in the new mall, Itocia (the one with Krispy Kreme 2 and the accordingly ridiculous line-up), in Yurakucho. She asked about the English translation for the Japanese term, yuutsu. I first said "depression", but she countered that the condition wasn't quite that serious, so I suggested "melancholy" which got a positive response.
Melancholy was certainly the feeling I had by the end of our time together yesterday afternoon. We'd met up to have lunch at the new Vietnamese restaurant in the basement food floor of Itocia. Very good lunch special but definitely it was a good thing that we got there at 11. By 11:30, the place was full. I'm sure Japanese urban geographers will be starting to talk about the Krispy Kreme multiplier effect.
However, I digress. We ended up going upstairs to the 2nd floor for coffee in one of those old-style cafes with the Taisho-era (circa 1920s Japan) interior design and waitresses dressed in tuxes. We were in the middle of one of our talks when The Madame finally blurted out that she was getting engaged! Engage poker face!
I was rather surprised at how calmly I took the news. Deep down, I knew it would happen sooner or later...and women over here have a way of keeping even news of a relationship top secret from even the closest of friends. Still, part of me was still roiling inside when The Madame explained why she was getting married. One of her multiple omiai matches finally bore fruit earlier this year when she met a government drone. Apparently, the two had gone out on some dates when the man finally proposed to her in late September. She accepted on the basis that: 1)she wasn't getting any younger, 2) although she had zilch romantic interest in him, he would do and 3) she really wanted kids.
Well, for 3), I guess I couldn't blame her since her biological clock is ticking..but the other two reasons struck me as being pretty desperate and cynical. I think she may be making the worst decision in her life but she was pretty cheerfully fatalistic about it (being Russian in a Hello, Kitty way). I didn't tell her that last comment as such but I did question her on whether she was truly making the right decision. She was pretty committed (or ought to be, anyways).
She then went on to talk about her family's reaction to her engagement. In the past, The Madame mentioned that her father wasn't exactly the most stable of people. But from her explanation yesterday, it seems that almost all of her family have reacted in rather odd fashion. Her father has always been lambastingly critical of his daughter...of the fact that she was in her 30s and couldn't get married. Finally, she catches one but papa still isn't happy and apparently has banned his future son-in-law from ever entering the house. Her sister, for some reason, has also not given any sort of blessing either. Both have even gone on record that they wouldn't even attend the wedding. Only the mother has been on The Madame's side.
And then The Madame herself laughingly remarked that she's only told me and a couple of others about her engagement since she's not particularly proud of her long-sought achievement. Most likely, according to her, she and hubby will be just get married in Hawaii with no one in attendance and have just a small cocktail party in "celebration".
My feelings? WHAT THE F---?! That little idiot is just as screwy as her tyrant father. After some back & forth on the matter, I decided to end the conversation about 30 minutes early and walked her back to JR Yurakucho Station. She said that there was still some time left for talk before she had to go off to meet her mother, but I mumbled that I had to do some errands and quickly let her go. She has sent me a couple of e-mails happily thanking me for yesterday, so obviously she's none the wiser about how quickly I let her go home.

At this point, I'll just say that I've decided to terminate my end of this rather odd relationship. She'll figure it out later.

Well, I was feeling pretty lousy and...yuutsu...after that announcement. Some people guzzle down a ton of ice cream, others replace the shelf paper in their kitchens. I took a 10,000-yen note and went shopping for CDs. I bought the 2nd volume of J-Pop Queen Yuming's year-long opus, "Seasons, Colors". It was the Fall/Winter discs as contrasted to Volume 1's Spring/Summer. Being pretty much the only singer in Japan who's still relatively relevant after more than 30 years in the industry, listening to the various songs reflected the changes in musical tastes, instrumentation and her voice.
Along with two other discs, I also got Michael Buble's mini-album of Xmas faves. Slightly disappointed with this one. Aside from his live performance of "Let It Snow", the rest of the numbers had no brass. I think on that note, his fellow Canadian jazzbo, Diana Krall, beats him hands down.

I've started some embryonic efforts in trying to find a new place. It's surprising and nice to see that there are quite a few places that now offer apartments with no need of a guarantor, key money and the other robber baron tactics that real estate agencies here use to fleece new tenants. To be honest, I don't care about the key money so much but I would be happy not to rely on my uncle anymore for the guarantorship.

Well, aside from the search for delinquent NOVA ex-prez, Nozomu Sahashi, the only other big news is that the deadline for the continued re-fueling of coalition ships in the Indian Ocean came and went at midnight. So, the Japanese government called in the MSDF ship, Tokiwa, and any other vessels back home. Strike 1 for PM Fukuda. And now there are talks that there may be a Xmas dissolution of Parliament. Well, at least, the MPs may be home for their KFC on December 25th.

Just have The Ace for his class tonight...only for 45 minutes. He's actually requested to go down to 30 minutes but the boss told him that he's gotta make up some lessons thereby tacking on the extra 15 minutes to each class for the next 3 weeks.

Speaking of Xmas, most likely I won't be home for it. Just don't have the money right now.

Wednesday October 31, 2:53 p.m.

In the middle of the big temporal desert between classes. However, I've managed to keep myself busy. The Chef sent me her latest menus to be proofread...those I got done in about 40 minutes. I also went through the lesson plans for the three students tonight, including pushing the envelope via some handouts for the advanced EIC student. 002 called up to change her time by an hour for next Tuesday, and I had a couple of sandwiches thanks to one of the grandmas. Apparently, The Dentist will be by later on to give me some sort of confectionary (hopefully, not by Akafuku).

Not sure how the NOVA story is coming along. Things have been fairly quiet in the papers for the past couple of days. The ex-president is still missing in action...his face is on a WANTED poster at the Facebook NOVA forum. I'm still thinking Nozomu Sahashi is probably at the bottom of Tokyo Bay along with the body of Ichi the Killer, that deranged kid who'd murdered a NOVA teacher, Lindsay Ann Hawker, earlier this year. I did check the website where an English-language Q&A page has been posted by the lawyers. There were a lot of "I regret..." statements in it, so basically, the teachers have been hung out to dry. And to add insult to injury, the rates for both TEPCO and gas service will go up from the new year.

Well, and here I thought it was just the Hello Project girls who were going through some hard times. It looks like Johnny's Jimusho can now add one of their boytoys into the minus column. A former member of the pre-SMAP group, Hikaru Genji, some fellow named Akasaka, got busted for drug possession. He was looking pretty heroin chic in those recent videos....gaunt and pale. I'm sure the J-Pop forums are abuzz.

However, the big story here has been about the official questioning of that former Defense Ministry Vice Minister who may have been a bit too cozy with a defense contractor during his tenure. Same ol', same ol'...

Wednesday October 31, 12:02 p.m.

In a way, it's rather appropriate that Halloween would be a good day to address this issue since it is about all of the food horrors that Japanese society is going through. Earlier in the year, Fujiya, the leading confectioner of Japan, got suspended for several weeks after it was found out that it had been fudging (no pun intended) its best-by dates. Peko-chan was a truly sad little girl. Now that we're halfway through Autumn, it seems almost quaint and nearly forgotten that this little incident occurred considering what has now passed.
Meat Hope Inc., a meat distribution company, got nailed for passing ground up chicken, pork and what else was on hand doused in beef blood as pure ground beef; its pathetic president finally got arrested last week. The company responsible for one of Japan's most popular omiyage confection, Shiroi Koibito, along with two other major confectioners have also been busted for selling their wares beyond their best-by dates. And then, a chicken distributor has just been found out for selling substandard meat (foul fowl, if you like) as the best of the line; its president was just plunked back into civilization after having trying to commit suicide by exposing himself to the mercies of nature in a forest.
The articles and the news coverage have wailed far and wide about the seeming corruption of the Japanese food industry. However, strangely enough, none of the journos have talked about why this has been happening on such as systemic level. I think all of the companies have been victims of their own success. These aforementioned companies aren't poor entities. Fujiya and Shiroi Koibito are industry bellweathers. The Kyoto confectioner, Akafuku...also implicated in this sordid affair...was actually celebrating 300 years of operation this year. And yet, it decided to get into the muck and tried to get away with some shady practices. Why blow away centuries of reputation? Simple...the demand for all of these popular products was probably so great that the factories were under a lot of pressure to churn out the goods. And so, the cutting of corners began. And look where it has got them....somewhat humiliating (not sure if the management truly feels remorseful) deep bows in front of the flashing cameras and closed stores which has thrown out a lot of employees and disappointed a lot of customers.
But maybe there is hope (not meat hope, though). Fujiya re-opened some months ago and it looks like things are back to normal. Peko-chan is out in her witch hat and black cape. Perhaps a combination of careful production and the moving of the fickle media glare has given the first of the disgraced food manufacturers of 2007 a second chance.

Wednesday October 31, 11:32 a.m.

The Nurse was rather distracted today. She's never been the most robust personality but it looks like the reason that she was 2 minutes late (apparently a crime of Quel horreur! proportions in her family) was a spat between her and her hubby concerning the state of their kitchen. Her husband is apparently a bit of a Felix Unger. Still, she was very kind to give me a belated b-day present in the form of a DIY monaka set. Monaka is that local confection with a mass of bean paste filling a thin pastry shell. The Japanese versions of Haagen-Daas sell variations of monaka in the supermarkets and convenience stores.

Getting back to yesterday's developments, I had my pumpkin carving with the kids. Then, The Milds' son, Mild Jr., dropped in for a model lesson. His parents had told me that their son kinda resembled me in size. Well, I think he's a bit better-built, due to his judo and karate training. He works as a security officer/doorman for one of the hotels nearby, although with his build, I'd say that he would make an excellent doorman of a nightclub. His parents also underestimated his English skill stating initially that he had very little ability. Again, I'd say that he's more well-spoken than his parents. He's not gonna be too regular a student due to his schedule since he said that he only has time for his first lesson on November 27th and his December is filled up.
The Milds showed up...it was the usual somewhat awkward meeting between son and parents for a few minutes before Mild Jr. gallantly offered to head on home. As for the parents, we basically exchanged stories about our respective trips...I on Hong Kong while Mrs. Mild spoke on her travels through Sicily. Like The Beehive, she and her four buddies went there all by themselves...all the more remarkable since Mrs. Mild is nowhere near as good as The Bees in her English ability. According to her, Palermo was a little frightening due to the crazy traffic there and the ever-present threat of pickpockets although the Mafia didn't seem to figure very much. However, she and her friends came across sunnier folks and situations when they traveled through southern Sicily. Apparently, the Japanese tourist groups haven't yet infiltrated that area of the world which makes it a truly special place. I did get a small pack of olives as an omiyage while I gave The Milds a calendar of HK.
The Siberian dotakyaned...no surprise there. However, Jolly came in on a full head of steam. Seems he's pretty interested in learning English presentation techniques so despite the lateness of the hour, both of us got our respective second winds up and pulled off a pretty profitable hour.

I inquired lightly to the juku boss about a topic that she'd broached me about a few months ago about finding a new location that would not only house a new school but also new accomodations for me. I had kinda figured it would've been too good to be true, and sure enough, it looks like that avenue has been closed off. So I guess I'll have to start looking for new digs....provided that they don't require key money or a guarantor.

I got word from my brother that my b-day present for my niece never arrived. Looks like Doraemon has ended up in the black hole of Calcutta for post offices....i.e. some grubby postal handler on the other side of the Pacific. So I'll have to try again...probably after lunch with The Madame tomorrow, if she doesn't mind the little shopping detour.

It'll be another one of those Wednesdays with that big schedule hole in the time-space continuum. Between The Nurse and 001, I've got several hours of nothing. So, I'll have to whip up something for that final class for that way-too-advanced EIC student I've got after 001. The only reason she's taken up my trilogy of lessons is that she gets a member discount when she debuts in the kitchen next month. And....hopefully....The Judge will finally show up for his long-awaited lesson. It's his last assigned lesson before renewal so the stage will be set to see if he actually re-signs or resigns.

Wednesday October 31, 10:00 a.m.

It is supposed to be the witching hour tonight but I think virtually all of the major hijinks associated with Halloween happened last weekend. So aside from some kids' parties here and there, including one at the juku tonight, it should be fairly quiet. I'm not even sure if that supposedly annual "hijacking" of the Yamanote Line by the foreign element will be taking place.

Speaking of the juku, I had that annual pumpkin carving. Last year, it was with Seven (who's probably now fled us); this time, it was Chip N' Dale. We used those cute little mini-pumpkins instead of the big American ones...good call on my count as well. It took the kids about half an hour, their usual lesson time, to get everything done. Chip cut his thumb with the knife but I think the band-aid kept the blood flow in check.

Anyways, The Nurse has just arrived. She called up to say that she would be late. And she was...a whole 2 minutes. Gonna have to punish her for the malfeasance.

Monday October 29, 5:50 p.m.

Managed to print out a couple of Halloween pics for the kids to colour in tomorrow. The past weekend probably had the usual ton of similarly-themed parties in Roppongi and Shinjuku, and I gather that the hijinks will continue for the next couple of nights even though they are worknights. Maybe some of the foreign folks could come costumed as NOVA teachers (ooooh...that was nasty!). I don't think I'll be able to pull it off considering that I only have the kids for half an hour...barely enough time to carve out Jack O' Lanterns but I may even consider trying bobbing for apples.

I found out that Chaz Jankel, that mystery man from Ian Dury & The Blockheads fame, who came up with "Ai no Corrida" is finally coming out with a compilation of his best hits on actual solid CD in early November. For the past year, only those folks with an iPod could download his best stuff, but since I'm a 21st-century Luddite I've been out of luck. However, I could get my chance next month.

On the local pop cultural front, there is good news and bad news. On the good news side, old 80s Johnny Jimusho's dinosaur, Masahiko "Matchy" Kondo finally got his first kid at the ripe old age of 43. Man, took him long enough. And on the sad side, Hello Project's former Morning Musume's starlet, Maki Goto, has decided to leave the company in penance for her stupid brother's criminal activity. Not that it would matter all that much to the population at large.

Matt Damon will be showing up on SMAP X SMAP's Bistro SMAP's cooking segment. Yes, Kimutaku and the boys will be whipping up something for Jason Bourne. I only heard a bit of his Japanese, but Damon doesn't sound too bad stating "Matt Damon desu" and "Sugee oishii!" (Really delicious!) He may have a future in doing those Japanese commercials! Well, I could imagine if the dishes aren't to his liking, he can always pull off some of that Krav Maga on the guys. I say, kick Nakai-kun first.

Monday October 29, 5:13 p.m.

Well, news on the NOVA debacle has gone far beyond our borders here in Japan. Mom called me last night a week earlier than usual to ask me if I had any connection to the scandal. I reassured her that the last time I set foot in a NOVA school, let alone teach in one, was over 10 years ago. Even my brother sent me an article that popped up in the newspaper back home. Right now, there haven't been any major new developments aside that the British and Australian embassies are holding out a helping hand for their nationals who've ended up on the short end of the stick. SIL and I were wondering aloud about the whereabouts of former president and founder Nozomu Sahashi. I sardonically said that he may have found a perpetual hiding place at the bottom of Tokyo Bay.

I just found out that the Boston Red Sox swept the Colorado Rockies to grab The World Series. In the papers over here, that would probably read Daisuke Matsuzaka swept the Colorado Rockies to grab The World Series. He did earn his keep by being the first winning Japanese pitcher to open a World Series game, but is he worth $100 million? Nope...noone in any sport should be worth that much. Well, the Kamedas should be grateful to Dice-K, though. The victory should easily sweep their turmoil off the front pages for the next week at least. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a victory parade held in Matsuzaka's honour in a few days. Not much solace for the Rockies' Matsui, though.

I've just got The Full-Timer and that new EIC student from 6 p.m....uh, correction...The Full-Timer just called to say that she'll be 15 minutes late. Then, it'll be dinner for me. Kinda glad that I don't have The Beehive tomorrow. Can sleep in a bit before I see 002 and the juku crowd. I've got that pumpkin carving with Chip N' Dale first thing. Gotta get some Trick Or Treat candy for the kids.

The Madame said that she wants to check out Itocia on Thursday. I'm already way ahead of her on that since I visited the mall last Thursday. And I think I know the restaurant we'll try out. Since the two of us have nothing else to do that day, we can raspberry the folks lining up at Krispy Kreme No. 2.

Sunday October 28, 1:45 p.m.

Yesterday, Typhoon 20 made its presence known for several hours starting from the early afternoon to late evening. I had to send The Matron my regrets for not going to her daughter's orchestral event all the way up in Tsuchiura but considering the wind and rain plus the fact that the JR Joban Line is pretty dodgy in such weather, I just couldn't chance going up there and meeting up with MB and The Satyr for DVD night at my place.
As it was, bringing the guys back home was a small exercise in wind tunnel combat. Somehow, our umbrellas managed to stay intact. We did have to change into drier wear though when we got into my apartment, though.
It was the usual pizza-and-triple-DVD night. As a little shift, I went with the Domino's Deluxe instead of Giga Meat (I'll go back to Giga next time). As for the cinematic bill of fare, we started off with "Ghost Rider" with Nicholas Cage. Man, that was a lousy movie. It was basically Cage as Elvis again with a bit of Method tics such as Johnny Blaze's love for jellybeans and The Carpenters. The story and writing also seemed as if it'd been patterned after a badly-knitted quilt. And of course, Sam Elliott was there to provide his usual pitch as weathered cowboy. It's amazing to remember that he was a former "Mission: Impossible" spy.
Things got much better with "Sunshine". This was the sci-fi flick about a group of scientists on the way to re-start the sun. It had that "2001: A Space Odyssey"/"Alien" vibe about it; almost felt like calling "Hal" at some points. And I think that the lead guy, Cillian Murphy, can pretty much play anybody...may get an Oscar sometime in the future.
Finally, there was "Rocky Balboa". Just like the character, the movie was simple but wiser and good-hearted. There was no real attempt to put in some meaty irony into it...it was just the other bookend for the 1976 debut. And people can still root for the big lug.
As usual, The Satyr headed back for home while Movie Buddy crashed overnight. It was an early start to the day, though, since I had to teach The Younger in the morning. But we still had time to grab breakfast at the local Skylark. We made some preliminary plans to catch "The Bourne Ultimatum" when it hits these shores in a couple of weeks.

As for the Younger, her mother landed a professional bombshell when she told me that her daughter failed her English midterm last week. Urk! I was grateful that she didn't mop up the walls with my guts (that probably would've covered the entire interior)...she was very gracious, but I still took it personally. I've been pretty kid-gloves with The Younger since I'd assumed that she was doing pretty well in the subject like her haughty older sister. But I was wrong. Well, I'm gonna have to dig myself out of this hole.
It didn't help that I was feeling pretty rundown since I only got 5 hours of sleep so a bit of that depression was threatening to seep in. However, as Rocky said last night, "...it's about how much you get hit and still manage to keep going forward". And at least, I'm not affiliated with NOVA in any way.

Sunday October 28, 1:17 p.m.

"Nope...it'll never close down...it's too big to close down."


Famous last words....or first words, actually, since those are the words I'd heard from an Area Manager on the first day of training for me at NOVA's Tokyo HQ in Harajuku almost 13 years ago. And at that time, it certainly seemed that Japan's largest English-language school chain could do no wrong: not only did it have its schools scattered and multiplying like rabbits, but it also had its tentacles in software, real estate, and travel. It was a conglomerate unto itself.

Man, how times change. I was heading down to Omotesando to pick up those pumpkins for carving with Chip N' Dale on Friday afternoon when I saw a headline on a red & white banner at a subway kiosk: in romaji and kanji, it read "NOVA...BANKRUPT". I'd had no doubts about the fate of my former employer but the end still registered surprise in me. After I bought the small gourds at the flower shop, I decided to go up to the 3rd floor of a building where Omotesando NOVA was located. Sure enough, there was a closed door and a closure notice pasted on it.
The NOVA implosion (much more accurate than the headline of "NOVA goes SUPERNOVA!") was the top news story on NHK that night. All of the branches have closed up shop, 400,000 students are now teacherless and 4,500 teachers are now without jobs. NOVA went into receivership and has court-appointed lawyers to handle its uncertain future. They have a month to find some sponsors. I'm not hopeful. The day before the Sword of Damocles came down on NOVA Usagi (the second-last and most popular mascot), the NOVA board of directors officially ousted the founder and president, Nozomu Sahashi. Students and teachers have been demanding an explanation from him, but hey, the board basically let him escape by firing him. Sahashi may have a moral obligation to face his accusers but not a legal one. And of course, as has been the case with many a disgraced CEO, he chose to flee. Even the lawyers can't seem to track him down.

My own thoughts as a former NOVA teacher? Well, it was indeed the McDonalds of English Teaching. Students came in and out of the small glass cubicles while teachers taught so many of the same lessons that they'd memorized the entire text within 3 months. I and a lot of the other teachers even back in the glory days of the 90s knew that NOVA management was up to some dodginess. It always seemed to straddle the line of legality when it came to things such as following national holidays (one of NOVA's mantras was that it would stay open virtually every day of the year, except for New Year's), and the revolving door system was just as true for the teachers as they were for students. NOVA was basically seen as a stepping stone for most of the foreigners who were employed until that next big thing came along.
The actual schools ranged in size greatly. I had it made because I'd been assigned to a small school...great to cultivate a feeling of camaraderie and continuity amongst students, staff and teachers. Whilst the feeling was that an assignment to one of the honko, the base schools, such as Shinjuku or Ikebukuro with tons of students and teachers was akin to being punished.
There was a lot to criticize NOVA on, but it did provide one good thing to me. The training did instill a basic structure on how to conduct a class. My 1 year of TESL education back home has largely been forgotten but the NOVA training is still in my noggin.
I guess I made it out a good decade before the fall happened. I feel really sorry for the teachers who didn't, though. They've got to bear the brunt of living on no income in one of the most expensive cities on the planet. However, I can imagine that Sahashi and the directors that pulled off the coup d'etat are still quite well esconced in their million-yen manshons.