Thursday March 19, 10:34 p.m.

Well, the night went off without a hitch. And made what was probably the easiest 7,000 yen in recent memory. Speedy had me and the other teacher, The Avid (she's very keen on the profession), host a dinner party/dress rehearsal/special lesson at a nearby Chinese restaurant for his young charges of insurance company staffers before they on out for the real thing in the States later this year. It wasn't all just talking and eating, though. The Avid and myself had to supervise some exercises in socialization for the students. Still, I've had far more arduous classes to earn my money.

The Music Man was my last guy up. He's doing well and he was a good one to finish the week on.

Will be heading home pretty soon. Tomorrow is the national holiday known as the Vernal Equinox. For most people, it means that we have a long weekend. Ironically, I'll probably be waking up relatively early and heading on out to Odaiba to see if I can get into Tokyo Big Sight for the 7th Tokyo Anime Fair. I'm not huge into the art form anymore but I just wanna see if I can get some pics to show the home crowd and perhaps I may even see some old Reiji Matsumoto paraphernalia or stuff from Tatsunoko Productions. If I can't, I'll just be happy getting some shots of the neighbourhood. I'm pretty sure though that there will be some cosplay folks getting their kicks being exhibitionists, despite the rules against them.

Thursday March 19, 1:59 p.m.

Just finished with Miss Sedona. As it turned out, she was the first lesson of the day. As I was heading out the door last night after another semi-tortuous (self-inflicted, I assure you) session with The Diver, Speedy was reminded that Grandma Dynamite had to cancel the morning's lesson today, so there was no need for the early wake-up. I headed on home and ended up having a late dinner at McD's in my neck of the woods....no, not the wisest gastronomic action at my age but what use is a temptation if you're not going to act on it.

As a result, I could take my time this morning which included dropping off at Takashimaya Department Store in Nihombashi on the way to work to buy the final White Day present of the year for Miss Sedona. It was a bunch of Yoku Moku cigares...always dependable. As for the lass herself, she got the good news that she will get her working-holiday visa for Canada, so a major hurdle has been overcome, so her days with us are now officially numbered.

Now, it'll be a few hours of translation time for me as I tackle the latest website from The Corner.

Wednesday March 18, 9:34 p.m.

Finished for the day. 001 was fun as usual. We actually had a good gab on digital cameras. As for The Diver, we ended up spending nearly half the period trying to translate one story. That's one very focused lady.

Well, hope to be out of here within the next 5 minutes and get an extra amount of sleep before coming back here for Grandma Dynamite.

Tuesday March 17, 7:45 p.m.

Finished off two of my students tonight. Suzanne is on the poetry kick. We analyzed Max Ehrmann's "Desiderata"; it was a good workout for both of us. She prefers going through vocab via poems instead of the usual vocab books since she feels that the words come more alive in literature. She has a point there. Then I had The Traveler; the lesson was far simpler but still it was a good workout for her, too. Just have The Milds to go.

I heard from The Entrepreneur that he'd caught "Watchmen" with Chip Guy the other night. Not surprisingly, he didn't mention the wife. He gave it a thumbs-up but not a raving one, though. I'm still not deterred, though. I should enjoy it for what it is. I think the DVD of "Ironman" is coming out here tomorrow. After I saw part of it at The Anime King's house over the Holidays, I really need to pick it up.

Toonces The juku cat was doing his usual hijinks during my lesson. At one point, he was digging through my extra handouts on the covered piano. I was afraid that he was thinking of taking a dump on them. Hard to believe that he was such a tiny fellow 3 years ago. The juku boss was thinking of just giving it to someone else, but he's now part of the family.

Tuesday March 17, 1:10 p.m.

Just in time for Spring: Spring weather. It's supposed to be hitting 20 C today. The laundry should be bone dry by now...and covered in pollen. My washing machine, after 14 years of faithful service, is finally showing its age. For the past few months, it's been leaking in a couple of places and now I have to turn off the water supply once the wash and spin cycles begin, lest my 2nd-floor neighbour gets some very local showers.

It was an even smaller turnout at The Beehive session today; just Travel and Tee. Jade was a no-show and Alp is busy taking some relatives out somewhere. Travel was just raving about some rustic izakaya her friend had taken her out to Kanda. It's right up Tee's alley since one of her buildings is located in the area and she has a great love of drink.

I took a look at some more pages on the Tokyo Anime Fair which is supposed to start tomorrow, although the public won't be able to get inside Tokyo Big Sight until Friday. The pictures that Danny Choo took of last year's affair look pretty enticing. I can now understand why the cosplay otaku have never been allowed...it's sponsored by The Man...i.e. Governor Shintaro Ishihara. It's a legit event. Apparently, the controversial bigot used his creation to tongue-lash the folks there in its very first year for not being Japanese enough, and he majorly dissed Mickey Mouse. I think "His Honour" really isn't into anime but just wanted to get on the "Yokoso Japan" bandwagon.

Finally got the security info I needed from The Corner to get access to those web pages. They don't look too, too difficult. Still haven't heard from MB's friend about the venue for tomorrow's model lesson, although I'm to meet him at the same rendezvous point as last week.

Monday March 16, 9:06 p.m.

Now I know I'm getting old...probably one of the best gauges in this country is that now-12-year-old unit, Morning Musume. They were the subject of a Japan Times interview, and the two longest-serving members in MM history, Ai Takahashi and Risa Niigaki, had been two of the littlest munchkins when they first appeared. Now they're a couple of years into official adulthood. And then there is the so-called Fallen Musume, Ai Kago, who has now probably gotten a lot of middle-aged salarymen swooning (and I'm using the term very loosely), due to her contribution to a pictorial magazine series that features various pinup girls and even actresses in as little clothing as possible.

I kinda wonder how the original leader, Yuko Nakazawa, must be feeling. Mind you, she recently popped up in a TV Tokyo travelogue program...and TV Tokyo usually appeals to the middle-aged folks. Then again, the same channel used to have the Morning Musume Sunday show.

Monday March 16, 7:54 p.m.

A slightly off-synch night so far. My session with The Full-Timer was a bit tense, though it wasn't that The Full-Timer was angry at me or anything. The entire lesson was based on correcting and discussing her resume since she'll be leaving soon. She was slightly twisting herself in knots about the arrangement and any additions or deletions...perfectly understandable. However, near the end...she seemed to dawdle a bit and then asked about how she would say goodbye to everyone at her company. Not sure if she were thinking of including me in that statement. Well, it's been over 3 years now...

And then I got the beginning of that huge translation project from The Corner...only to find out that I can't access any of the pages without prior authorization. Having only 6 days to do 6 pages isn't exactly easy with this sort of delay.

Well, let's see what Medicine Man brings to the equation...

I listened to that Art of Noise album last night in bed. It's their first release, "Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise?" Yup, the first 4 tracks got me fired up but then "Moments in Love" came along and lulled me straight to sleep....lovely thing, ambient is.

Monday March 16, 5:10 p.m.

It was a pretty miserable day yesterday for my hay fever. My nose was filling up like Hoover Dam after a major rainfall and my eyes were tearing up something awful. Still, I braved the outside to head out to Maruzen to find a suitable book for MB's friend on Wednesday. Found one. It's called "Face The Issues" which contains excerpts from NPR. It's an Intermediate level book, and although MB's friend was using an Advanced book from the Headway series, he did say he was having difficult with listening to native speech, and this text has got the raw stuff...no listening exercises purposely made for English textbooks. I hope it works out for him...just gotta ask him if he would mind burning the CD onto an empty disc. Actually, I lucked out on that part. Usually, the accompanying CDs cost a ridiculous amount of money...more than twice as much as the text. But this one is about the same price. Still, I've yet to hear from him about a venue.

There was a special interview show with the ever-unpopular Prime Minister Taro Aso yesterday on NHK with a team of reporters and acerbic commentator Terry Ito. He was the guy who kinda blasted the late Ai Iijima for "causing" so much grief to her still-living friends for dying on them. Still, Ito is the guy to have to really give a "Hardtalk" type of interview to the famous. And he didn't hold back, but Aso seemed to bat the questions back with the skill of a Romulan. I've got a feeling that Ito wasn't too satisfied, though. And I'm not satisfied with the fact that Aso refused to answer the question when he would hold general elections.

I'd tried out those Hokkaido pork-and-potato dumplings that The Restauranteur had been raving about and had given packages to me and the juku boss. Yes, they were quite good...kinda reminded me of Hong Kong soup dumplings or sho ron po. In fact, I kept the broth that came with the package and used it to make my own little soup last night.

It's been another good day weatherwise, although I'm sure the pollen has been flying. I've got the meds inside me and the mask on me. In the morning, I went down to the Azabu-Juban branch of my bank to find out what the kerfuffle was concerning the inability of my cable company to start up the furikomi for my bills. The lady that had been manning the foreign customers' help desk ever since I came to this country was still faithfully there. She checked things out and said that the cable company hasn't registered at all on their computers. Odd...I'll resend my application.

Speaking of cable, it looks like I've found a good nostalgia channel called Channel Ginga. It's been broadcasting a lot of old Japanese, British and American shows. Heck, it's even airing "The Andy Williams Show" late on Sunday nights...last night's episode was all the way from 1962, a good three years before I arrived on this Earth. Betty Grable and Lawrence Welk were the guests. My parents were near-religious viewers of "The Lawrence Welk Show", so I recognized Bobby The Dancer (although his regular partner, Cissy, from the show) wasn't his dance partner on Andy last night. Still, it was a hilarious blast seeing the two hoofers doing the foxtrot, the twist and the watusi when they were the hottest dance craze. It was just hilarious watching an old NBC variety show reflecting a wholly different era. It's not all 50s and 60s stuff; they're showing episodes from "Moonlighting" (which in Japanese is called "The Blue Moon Detectives"). Unfortunately, I'm out of the house during their showtimes. I told SIL today about it, and she was pretty intrigued. Well, if they put on any "Laugh-In", I'm there.

After the visit to the bank, I walked it up from Azabu-Juban up to Roppongi...only 10 minutes. It was too bad that I hadn't brought my camera with me. It was a nice day out there and the prettier side of Roppongi with Roppongi Hills and Tokyo Midtown are very camera-friendly. However, the restaurants in the area aren't price-friendly, so I just had lunch at the underground Wendy's by the station. The classy Aoyama Book Store beside the police station had some sort of outlet store sale on the 2nd floor for the past month (ending tomorrow), so I just took a look-see. It was one of those situations where I was the only one in there with the cashier looking expectantly at me so I felt I was obliged to pick up a book (mind you, the paperbacks all cost 500 yen), so I decided to buy a "Star Trek" novel concerning the brooding Captain Pike...the original one by Jeffrey Hunter.

When I walked around Tokyo Midtown, I'd completely forgotten about the Food Court in the Galleria basement. I went inside and found out that although it was the peak of lunch hour, there were some empty tables. The entrees there were more expensive than the Wendy's meal, but I would still like to give it a try sometime.

SIL was the second-last student for whom I got a belated White Day present (she'd given me something back on Valentine's Day). I bought her some cookies from a confectionary shop called Antenor for 682 yen...tasteful but cheap. I still have to get one more present for Miss Sedona when she comes in on Thursday.

Getting back to Speedy's, I found out from Bay that there were two e-mails sent for me. One was from The Bostonian stating that she got through the presentation although the computer was giving her conniptions. The other was from The Nurse who has yet to show up for a lesson since this year has begun. Apparently, her mother had been seriously ill, but is now on the mend. It'll be good to have her back. Also found out that Mr. Pronounciation is pulling out of his lessons; kinda figured that he was gonna do that since he was cancelling on me all the time. Guess things weren't working out.

Will be heading over to Doutor's in about 10 minutes to teach The Full-Timer. I was shocked to learn the other day while I passed the cafe that it's gonna be splitting the place into smoking and non-smoking sections. I really hope that it just doesn't mean putting up signs like in the Ichigaya branch. Still, there is hope that I won't come back to the school smelling like an ashtray. I wonder what The Full-Timer's future with me will be like. She'll be leaving her company in a couple of weeks; not sure if she's gonna be able to continue at this rate.

The Tokyo Anime Fair will be starting up later this week. I'm thinking about heading down to Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba to shoot some pics, but when I took a look at the website, the powers-that-be said that no cosplay will be allowed. Sure...take all the fun out of it. It only costs 1000 yen to get in but I'm not sure if I'll physically be able to enter with the crowds coming in on a holiday Friday. Still, I'm hoping for some rebellious types who'll put on the Evangelion or Ranma garb.

Monday March 16, 4:36 p.m.

While I was reading Howard Schultz's de facto autobiography on his time with the world's most famous coffee shop, I came across the story of his launch of Japan's first Starbucks over a decade ago. And here it is, just south and east of Ginza's main intersection. He mentioned how much he was wilting under Tokyo's notorious summer heat and humidity when he got it started, and he also talked about the huge lineup. I do remember that; I guess it was the Krispy Kreme Japan of its day. Now, it's just crowded inside during the weekends, but I have been able to get inside a few times to grab a latte and dessert. I'm almost finished with the book.

Saturday March 14, 1:20 p.m.

Ah, the wonders of Baum Kuchen. Yes, that picture is not one of grilling doner kebab from Turkey, but of the German iced roll cake. I took this shot back on Sunday where this thing was rolling in the show window of the Ginza department store, Matsuzakaya. I kinda think that some of the boys must be giving chunks of BK to their GF today on White Day.

Unfortunately, today should be rightly called Gray Day since that is the meterological tone outside. The rain and gale-force winds started just before The Ace showed up for his lesson last night...mostly the latter, thankfully. Didn't want to have to contribute to the various skeletal remains of busted umbrellas that littered the streets.

I guess the maxim is right that those who give will receive. After being Choco Claus for a week, I ended up getting stuff for a change from my two juku students last night. The Ace managed to smuggle some Columbia Supremo (I want to stress that this is coffee I'm talking about), two bags' worth of light and dark roast. And then, The Restauranteur, as promised, brought over a frozen box of these dumplings called jagabuta (literally translated as "tater pig"). Stuff that Homer Simpson would love. I'm gonna give it a shot tonight.

The gales continued onto this morning, which affected the Tozai Line schedule but luckily by the time I got outside, the winds largely subsided so that it was only rain. The sun is supposed to come out later today, but I'm not getting any indication of it all so far.

I heard from my two potential students over e-mail. MB's buddy was generous enough to let Thursday's meet-and-greet slide and so the Wednesday class will be going on as scheduled. Then, The Carolinan's friend, who will be laid off next week and will therefore have plenty of time for English lessons, has also contacted me for lessons. I'm glad for the business but I feel sorry for her.

Found out from Ichikawa TV that our cash handouts won't be headed our way until mid-May at the earliest. Not that I'm all that put out...12,000 yen isn't a huge amount. Of course, there were the warnings of being aware of the various conmen who'll try to grab the cash.

Speaking of The Ace, we both found out how small our world is. The Ace works at a food additives company nearby. The company used to be owned and operated by Grandma FON's late husband. I jokingly said that if I ever got those two together, The Ace would be the most powerful employee by association. He half-jokingly asked me not to go through with the plan.

Anyways, I've got just The Publicity Agent in about 45 minutes and then that's it for me. I still have to head on out to Kinokuniya to find a textbook for MB's friend.

Friday March 13, 7:25 p.m.

Apparently, there are gonna be some meterological fireworks going on later tonight; perhaps just after I get home. Perfectly appropriate considering the date today. Just wonder what it's gonna look like tomorrow. I've only got the one class tomorrow at Speedy's...The Publicity Assistant.

After my lone stint there with Prissy, I went down to Shinjuku, over to Mylord to see how the Platinum Buffet was for lunch. Yep, it was cheaper than the dinner but being the noon hour, it was packed to the gills and so were the other restaurants which occupied the three floors of the complex. So I quickly eschewed that thought and just went all the way down to the basement level where my beloved Foo Foo was and had my usual tan tan men. My point card was filled to the brim so I got 50% off my lunch. Afterwards, I checked out the Starbucks in the Maynds Building over the Oedo Line part of Shinjuku Station as a bit of recompense to MB's friend for perhaps not giving the best impression yesterday. I think for the time we're looking at, that branch of Howard Schultz's favourite coffeehouse should do OK. I'll have to let him know tomorrow...that is, if he hasn't already ditched me. By chance, I ran into Mrs Speedy since she works in the same building. Speaking of Schultz, I've been reading his book on how he took this little Seattle coffee distributor and made it into the global cafe that it is today. His account isn't nearly quite as creepily cultish as that other book I'd read a few weeks ago, but I sometimes think his agent must've advised him to embellish or adopt an "It's A Wonderful Life" tone to it. For a page or so, he even had his own evil Mr. Potter to go with his George Bailey. Kinda weird reading this Starbucks history inside an actual Starbucks.

Then I met The New Yorker in Ichigaya as usual and gave her the latest White Day box of chocolates. It was a good day for me in terms of having point cards. I not only got my 50% discount for filling up my point card at Foo Foo but I reached 20 stamps on my Tully's point card which got me a free Honey Milk Latte. The New Yorker wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders but she was excited about heading to The Big Apple in less than 2 weeks by herself. We're gonna squeeze in one more lesson before she takes off.

I hit Urayasu a number of hours early before the juku lessons, so I ended up walking for over an hour down the main street where the Restauranteur's establishment was, and just walked straight towards where Tokyo Disneyland is supposed to be although things started getting rather deserted before I decided to turn back. I had my second dinner at the Italian place in the past month. This time, I did go for the hefty Sauteed Chicken, though not as massive as that pasta I had a couple of weeks earlier. The Restauranteur was more than happy to banter with me in English in front of her other customers. I remarked that my so-called curse as the ameotoko (Rain Man) was finally broken since I wasn't carrying an umbrella with me today, but she countered that she'd heard the news that rain was on the way at 11 tonight. I hadn't been aware that there was an non-presence clause in the contract. During dinner, I leafed through the latest TokyoWalker that was in the magazine rack and discouvered that Tokyo will not only be exploding with cherry blossoms in the next few weeks but there will also be a ton of new store and mall openings including a major underground facility in JR Ikebukuro and a huge glass tower where the original Kinokuniya Supermarket used to be in Omoteasando. Even Omotesando Hills, which couldn't have been built more than 3 years ago, is apparently undergoing a renewal of sorts. That's Tokyo for you...ever-changing. Maybe calling it The Big Sushi isn't quite the word for the world's largest metropolis...perhaps it should be known as the world's Doctor Who. I bet Skippy is just salivating at the possibilities right now. The Restauranteur, by the way, said that she would be bringing something called jaga buta or pork & potatoes, from a Hokkaido retailer.

Satisfyingly stuffed, I ambled to the juku where the boss told me about that kid she'd been teaching on Tuesday nights. Surprisingly enough, she told me that she had let him go. Apparently, the kid's just hasn't been getting with the program and has been giving my boss a bit of surliness. Usually, she would have brushed this off and given him some tough love, but she realized that since her serious operation back in December, she hasn't been quite at full power, hence the heave-ho. I listened to her since she needed someone to listen whether she'd done the right thing. I told her that she did since it was obvious that things weren't working out and there was no need for her to suffer physically because of a kid who was going through a phase that could last a few years at the very least. It sounds like he's gonna go through his teen angst and get out of it, or he'll end up stabbing people at a shopping mall. But he's no longer welcome here. In a way, it was somewhat reassuring to know that not even the juku boss can win everyone over.

I've gone through my fourth cup of caffeine and sugar today, thanks to Starbucks, Tully's, The Restauranteur's place and now the juku. It's definitely gotten my insides churning a bit (I had to take a brief respite from this entry for a much-needed washroom break).

I did get that payment from Cozy for those February translations. Quite a relief.

Friday March 13, 11:59 a.m.

Just about ready to go. I finished up with Prissy; also gave her her White Day present since she was kind enough to give me a Valentine's Day gift last month. And I gave the staff White Day contribution to Ray. It was a workout for Prissy since she got hung up on pronouncing liaisons.

I'll be heading off to see if I can try some lunch at the Platinum Buffet, although I know that the place will probably be packed to the gills with hungry folk. Still, if it doesn't work out, there's always Foo Foo. And I plan on trying to check out the Starbucks in the Maynds Building as a possible site for MB's friend; that is, if he still intends on using my services. I'm still stinging a bit about how that meet-and-greet went. But I kinda think now that perhaps our personalities may not mesh all that well...he's a hard-rock drummer, while I'm strictly a jazz/J-Pop man.

Friday March 13, 9:00 a.m.

Another early one here. Saw quite a few folks with the masks on...I've got mine on as well, and Speedy seems to be suffering mightily from hay fever. In fact, he sent a missive to everyone about asking students to hang their coats up in the outer office instead of in the classroom to minimize the pollen spread.

The Bostonian last night did quite well with her presentation. I'm hoping that all goes well with her in a few hours when she gives her magnum opus.

Figured out how to upload photos from the digital camera...gotta be careful about how big these photos get, though. I think the computer may have torn a muscle lugging one of my shots to Skippy. So as my test bed, I've uploaded Kripsy Kreme #1 in Shinjuku....even it is starting to feel the economic pinch...the lineup is just a measly 15 minutes now...my, what times have befallen us.

Thursday March 12, 7:12 p.m.

It's been an interesting day...somewhat bipolar. From the high energy of the Grandmas, I've gone into a funk about what may have been a less-than-stellar sales job with MB's buddy, and then The Carolinan got into a slightly depressed state about her job future and some of the things she's had to do to save money. At one point, I thought she was going to burst into tears like BC. Still, she and I managed to hold on through. But yes, this economy here hasn't been too good to us this year. All I need is The Bostonian to show up to say that she got axed and this night's fate will be complete.

Thursday March 12, 4:37 p.m.

Came back from meeting up with MB's friend in Shinjuku. Not sure if I made that good an impression on him. I was feeling a bit weird after 5 hours of sleep plus a double espresso within me. It never occurred to me to take notes as I was talking to him; it would've at least given an impression that I was serious but frankly I didn't think I really needed to do so in any case. He's a fluent fellow who sounds natural (though not perfect) with only a few structural errors. He's probably one of those guys who's gonna be a challenge to keep motivated. In any case, I sent him an apology and a thank you for today.

I did pick up the White Day chocolates for the female staffers at Speedy's. The bossman was worried that the chocolates may not last til Monday. However, I think the ones that I bought should be ample; their best-by date is February 201o.

I guess I'm coming down from that double espresso high; I'm feeling pretty worn out now, and I still have The Carolinan and The Bostonian to teach.

Thursday March 12, 12:45 p.m.

Both Grandmas were cooking with propane today. Grandma Dynamite has gotten her groove back, and Grandma FON was going off a mile a minute about her upcoming trip to Yakushima, a World Heritage Site which is a 10-hour ferry ride from Kobe. FON has got gumption...I'll give her that. She's gonna try to trek through the rugged terrain despite having to use a cane to get around in Tokyo.

Bay told me that she could see Mt. Fuji outside the kitchen window. I could second that observation. It's quite rare to see the most aesthetically beautiful mountain in the world from Tokyo usually due to the smog, but it's been exceedingly clear today. I quickly made a wish to get some money...most likely, it'll come in the form of the government handout.

Well, I'll be heading out in a few minutes for lunch and then to meet MB's friend for that initial meet-and-greet at JR Shinjuku.

Thursday March 12, 10:28 a.m.

My lack of sleep is starting to catch up with me. Have that feeling of droopiness. Still, it was nice to have Grandma Dynamite since she's gotten her mojo back. The review went quite well and she even gave a recipe of some sort of fruit jam for which she'll make a sample for me next week. And who says English teaching is a thankless job.

I've been hearing about these spree killings all over the globe over the past couple of days. Japan seemed to have cornered the market on that last year all on its own but we've been spared that bit of psychopathy this year so far.

Thursday March 12, 8:09 a.m.

An "unprecedented" 2nd sunny day in a row; may have to get that lottery ticket. However, that also means the pollen is probably flying out there today. Last night, The Fashion Designer was suffering mightily during the lesson with her hay fever. It's a wonder that she got through it at all.

I've got five in all today...the busiest day this week. I've got the Grandmas in the morning, then MB's buddy as a potential student, followed by The Carolinan and The Bostonian in the evening. I could be properly chuffed by the time I finish tonight. Thankfully, The Bostonian will be finished by 9 p.m.

Wednesday March 11, 5:49 p.m.

Well, the good news is that The Carolinan got back to me and said that her friend would be available during the daytime so that opens up a whole world of possibilities for us. The bad news is that Speedy received word that he won't be getting nearly as much as he had hoped for in his latest bank loan. I've been reading another book on the Starbucks phenomenon; this one written by the president himself, Howard Schultz, in which he states that trying to keep a company afloat on loans isn't the best way to go. Perhaps, the bossman may want to re-read his book again since it came from the school bookshelf.

I just tried to help Bay with some English description in terms of where Hackettstown, New Jersey is located. We had to download the Google Earth map of the area to get the best view. Never a dull moment in this job.

001 should be here pretty soon.

Wednesday March 11, 4:38 p.m.

Feeling pretty full from the buffet, I tried to walk some of it off by heading eastward toward the Yaesu Bookstore near Tokyo Station. I realized that at the intersection just before the bookstore, I saw the 100% Chocolate Cafe just down the street. After doing a quick browse at Yaesu, I decided to get the goodies for The Sisters of State and for The Bostonian there. Instead of the smaller pieces I got on Sunday, I went for a slightly larger package for each of them. The Carolinan, by the way, had asked me if I would be willing to teach one of her colleagues. I responded that my weeknights were all filled up but if she were interested in a Saturday night, I could oblige her.

I walked down the main street over into Ginza once more and went into Yamano Music. When I got into the basement where all of the Western CDs were sold, I heard what sounded like one of my favourite J-Pop bands, Sing Like Talking, but it was actually a new unit called Wagner Love. It was uncanny how similar the band and lead singer sounded like SLT and Chikuzen Sato; so much so that I made the impulse buy of their disc from a lady with a pretty face but a terrible manicure (she was a nailbiter, to be sure).

I listened to the first couple of tracks from that Dip In The Pool CD I got from bargain basement Recomints. It was one of their later efforts, "KM 93.11". Yup, Miyako Koda has an ethereal but earthy voice, and the tunes sound somewhat European, perhaps in a Shibuya-kei way. From what I've gleaned from the Net, it seems like a lot of their albums are now out of print so I'll have to rely on stuff I can find at places like Recomints, Otokichi and Liberty.

When I got into Speedy's, Ray told me that one of our old staffers, Marcie, will be coming into the fold after a few months in Europe taking care of the affairs of her recently departed mother-in-law. That should ease things for the bossman and Ray since both AK and Bay will be off on holidays.

Heard from one of my old buddies at the ol' school, The Captain. He's just gotten onto the Facebook bandwagon so we've had that usual Facebook welcome chat.