Saturday February 20, 4:50 p.m.

Well, Japan can say that it now has 3 times the total number of medals won back in 2006. Daisuke Takahashi, male figure skater and potential future "An-An" model, got a Bronze for his efforts yesterday. He became the very male skater to actually hit the podium in Japanese Olympic history which makes it all the more sweeter for him. So, of course, he and the other two skaters have been serenaded by all of the TV stations for the past 24 hours.

Over in the rest of the world, everyone else was glued for about 10 minutes when Tiger Woods made his abject apology over all that kerfuffle over the last two months of 2009. Some of the folks on Twitter...or "twits" as I would call them...stated that Woods has no reason to apologize and we have no business in butting in this personal life. Well, yep, I would agree that if he were a normal person, he shouldn't have had to do what he did last night and we shouldn't have had to hear any of the sordidness. However, he is most definitely NOT a normal person, no matter how he or we would like him to be. He just happens to be the most talented golf player on the planet, he is a celeb, and he is a publicly known person. As much as he, and a lot of us, would wish that he didn't have to step up to the podium and basically dress himself down for his sins, being a public person means that, like it or not, he has to answer for things that the vast majority of us can relievedly sweep under the rug. I know it's not fair but it's frankly the price for fame and fortune.

In any case, I just had The Intellectual and The PA today. Pretty smooth going, and The PA aced her Final test for the textbook. She can go onto the next book, and it looks pretty good that she's gonna be renewing with us...which will make the bossman happy. Will be heading home in a few minutes to cook up some dinner.

Friday February 20, 4:35 p.m.

Yesterday, I continued to fulfill that one New Year's Resolution to try new things and go to new places. So, I decided to make the 65-minute train up to Saitama City where I could visit the world's only John Lennon Museum...placed right in Saitama Super Arena. Now, I've got no idea why a museum devoted to one of the 20th-century's premier singer-songwriters was installed in a gigantic soccer stadium. The area surrounding the arena and the closest train station, JR Saitama Shintoshin is an urban concrete jungle, right out of "Logan's Run"...nothing remotely resembling the Liverpudlian skyline. For that matter, I'm not sure why it was even built in the wilds of Saitama. When Lennon was alive, he, Yoko and Sean would head over to Japan on vacation, but to the resort area of Karuizawa (kinda like Banff, Alberta), not to a satellite town on the Keihin-Tohoku Line.

But I digress. I went into the arena where the museum was located. There was a collage of John's photos all the way from childhood to middle age while various Beatles tunes were playing over the speakers. I went up to the 4th floor where Reception was and gave my 1500 yen. Not too many people there but it was indeed a Friday morning. However, I also think that the museum has probably been rather starved of customers for some time now since the announcement was made late last year that the JLM would be closing its doors for the last time this September.

As part of the tour, me and the three other visitors had to sit on a 7-minute mini-bio concering the granny-glassed Beatle which quickly summed up Lennon's life, before we could start the walkabout through the museum. And then it was a pretty straightforward stroll going through the various phases of his life: sad childhood, Beatles, Yoko Ono, retired househusband and then his work on "Double Fantasy" before his untimely end in 1980. It was pretty interesting although I'm not a huge Beatles fan, let alone a fan of John Lennon. The museum itself has been running for about 10 years...a good run, to be sure. But I'm not surprised that the museum will finally be closing up shop...the exhibit was obviously professionally done and with love but, as I've said, it's a pretty straightforward telling. There's no real need to see it more than once, and I couldn't see anyone except for the most rabid of fans making their way across the Pacific, and I think those folks had already made the pilgrimage early on in the 21st century.

Thursday February 18, 3:33 p.m.

In the lull of a donut hole right now. I had Grandma FON earlier this morning...still tons of energy for a 78-year-old; peppered me with enough questions to last a whole class. And then later on tonight, I have Mr. TOEFL.

And therefore, I went down to Kinokuniya in Shinjuku Times Square to pick up yet another TOEFL text with accompanying CDs to sate his hunger for dry test runs. I finally got to use that much belated point card that the bookstore has finally gotten to undertake. Picked up the text, plus the issue of "Entertainment Weekly" covering the Oscars. The big question is whether any movie will trump "Avatar"; I just want to know if there will ever be an Oscar show that will be entertaining for 3 hours.

I also picked up a couple of cakes from New York's Gramercy in the depachika section of Takashimaya since both Ray and La Fille are celebrating birthdays...the latter one enjoying her big day today. I would've have already presented the sweets to the sweets, but they're both in a fairly serious meeting with the bossman right now.

Was rather surprised to wake up this morning to see a thin blanket of snow on the ground and roofs, and flurries blowing all over the place in my neighbourhood. Looks like Tokyo got an unprecedented 2nd accumulative snowfall in one season. It truly is an unusual Winter. However, pretty much all of it is gone now since the sun has come up.

The Olympics have settled into their daily groove. No more medals for Japan since they clinched a Silver and a Bronze from their Speed Skating force, but it looks like Bad Boy Kaz Kokubo may be making up for his supposed faux pas in the Snowboard Half-Pipe. Canada's picked up another Silver from their Women's Short Track.

Since I've got nada until the juku lessons tomorrow night, I'm thinking about visiting the John Lennon Musueum in Saitama...just for the heck of it, and because the place will be closing down after about a decade at the end of this year.

Wednesday February 17, 8:49 p.m.

Finished up with 001. Basically, it was just a comedy act between the two of us; no text whatsoever. I think sometimes that such classes make for a good palate cleanser. And yep, she's still addicted to Aiba-kun from Arashi. She'll be heading off for another ski pilgrimage up to Hokkaido this weekend. Must be nice to be loaded with time and money.

Got yet another belated Valentine's Day present from Grandma Dynamite. She apparently had come in during my lesson with 001 to drop off some Godiva's Chocolate. She won't be coming in for a long while this time....maybe after Golden Week in May since she has to tend to her ailing daughter. That list for White Day just keeps getting longer...

Droopy had her very first lesson with the bossman himself since I was busy (gratefully so) with 001. Looks like Speedy has the better touch with her since she apparently said that she actually enjoyed the lesson. I'll be very happy to tip my hat to the better teacher. And as it turns out, she'll be having Speedy on Tuesday next week...the day that I'm not here at the school.

And I am getting hungry since I haven't had dinner yet....best be off.

Wednesday February 17, 5:54 p.m.

The CEO was as vivacious as usual. Although the actual material isn't quite that engaging, the student herself helps things go along smoothly.

Got some further belated Valentine's Day stuff from Grandma Enka and Mrs. Speedy. Two more to add to the White Day list. At this rate, I can likely include diabetes as a reason for death.

I read that the Olivia Newton-John tune, "Physical" was rated as the sexiest song in history. Pure and chaste Olivia trumping Madonna and Lady Gaga? Well, not her perhaps but the song itself. Still it's a bit hard to believe that a 1981 pop song could outdo some of the racier stuff from recent years. Just remember my old high school buddies bringing over the album to my place and playing the record over and over again until I was ready to boycott the Aussie.

Wednesday February 17, 12:10 p.m.

Ironically, what was once a Hump Day during my week is now a pretty empty one. I've only got The CEO and 001 today...although The CEO will keep me on my toes. I also received a surprise phone call from none other than Swank...another high-level talker on the same level as The CEO. I haven't seen her since the early Fall but she wants to start up those Monday lessons in Roppongi Hills, although I'm pretty sure we won't be outside this time. It's been pretty chilly out there, and we even got some wet snow last night in Chiba.

Speedy has to teach that really Droopy lady I had the model lesson for nearly a couple of weeks back. I hope the bossman has better luck than I do. I will probably know what's happening by the loudness of the silence in the next room.

Actually now, my Mondays and Tuesdays will serve as the Hump Days....pretty logical considering they're at the beginning of the work week. Now that Swank is coming back into the fold, I'll end up teaching as much as 7 hours' worth of classes; Swank has asked for a 2.5-hour session! And my juku lessons have definitely gotten a lot busier since Mr. White has returned and with the addition of Sugar & Spice and Mr. Nice Guy to my evening slate. The thing is, though, The Ace will be finishing off his time with the juku at the end of this month since he'll be going onto new and better things. He and I had a good run...around 3 years.

I'm rather happy to exclaim that Japan managed to double its entire medal total of 2006 Turin in one event. Yesterday, two of the speed skaters grabbed Silver and Bronze behind the South Korean winner. Those South Koreans pretty much own the event.

I did want to catch the Women's Snowboard Cross this morning. I ended up waking up at the slightly more reasonable hour of 5 a.m. rather than 3 a.m. for the Men's Cross, but the Women's event was plagued by several holds due to fog, and a lot of the athletes were just tumbling all over the course. By the time things finally got settled, NHK had to veer away from live coverage to give the news. C'est dommage, but I'm pretty sure YouTube will help out in that cause later on.

Tuesday February 16, 1:49 p.m.

Being a child of two worlds (sorry, I did lift that from "Star Trek"), I'm rather lucky to say that I can cover all the angles by supporting both Canada and Japan. And it looks like Canada is holding up its end of the bargain after 4 full days of competition. Jennifer Heil got her Silver in Women's Moguls, a fellow by the name of Bilodeau got Gold for the Men's Moguls while we got another Silver in Snowboard Cross early this morning. And I believe there was a Bronze in there somewhere.

Meanwhile, Japan has still been trying to get a 2-ton gorilla off its back since the Turin Games of 2006 when its Olympic team could only manage to secure one Gold via Shizuka Arakawa in Women's Figure Skating. One of the country's big hopes, Aiko Uemura, was hoping to get any sort of medal after 4 tries, in Women's Moguls but just slipped into 4th place after the very final entrant from Canada got the Gold. And so far, Japan's splash into the Games has caused very few ripples so far. Looks like everyone's gonna be hoping for the two MAs: Miki Ando and Mao Asada in Figure Skating.

I guess even Japan is not immune to bad boys in sports. One dreadelocked and nose-pierced snowboarder by the name of Kazuhiro Kokubo has ruffled some major feathers, mostly within the media, by being himself. He landed in Vancouver wearing his official Olympic suit as if it were a high school uniform worn by a hip-hop punk, and managed to alienate the reporters by having that blase attitude that some celebs have taken during a press conference. Now, I've got no problems with him looking like Eddy Grant...after all, snowboarding is a hip-hop sport; but I think he needed to give a bit more respect to the Olympics. Having said that, the Japanese media has once again overreacted over a fellow who's not an evil dude. Yep, he needs some attitude readjustment...which I think he got a taste of via the JOC leader, former Olympian and current pol Seiko Hashimoto...but I think he just hasn't been exposed to public relations as of yet. He's been given some punishment by not being allowed into the Opening Ceremonies, but then I don't think he really cares about any of that pomp and circumstance. And if he manages to secure a medal later this week, then I think all of that media witchhunting will go out the window.

Tuesday February 16, 1:41 p.m.

Well, the Vancouver Games are finally here. I've been keeping up a steady viewership via NHK and the commercial stations. The opening ceremonies were in keeping with past openings...the happy entrance of the athletes, some fun moments, some boring ones, and some cheesy ones (hello, Nelly).

Have to admit that it was a fine moment to give that tribute and one-minute silence for that Georgian luger who had died so horrifically in the training accident.

As for the musical interludes, the official theme by Bryan Adams and Nelly Furtado was the usual "inspirational" pop pap and instantly forgettable. I much rather enjoyed hearing Joni Mitchell's softer version of "Both Sides Now" and K.D. Lang's take on "Hallelujah". Of course, NHK cut those two songs in the rerun and kept the Adams and Furtado thing....I swear that the latter was mincing on the stage as if she were charging 10 cents a dance.

And to see The Great One himself take the final torch pretty much ended any debate on who's the most beloved hockey player, Gretzky or Lemieux.

Friday February 12, 1:00 p.m.

Doing this...my 3301st entry...from the Kinko's in Shinjuku. Wouldn't do this usually because of the price but since I'll be away from a computer for 4 days, I felt I had to make sure I didn't get any sudden emergency requests from Cozy or The Corporation.

A happy birthday to my father...turning the big 73 today.

Well, I was all set to attend that do that The Bohemian had been itching me to go tomorrow with his Mixi crew...when I saw the price tag: 5,000 yen. Sorry, just a bit pricey for me right now, especially with guys I don't even know. Heck even with guys I do know well, I would be somewhat hesitant...but then my guys wouldn't go to such places in the first place. So, I've had to give my regrets, and I'm pretty sure The Bohemian will be calling me up tomorrow or tonight to change my mind. However, I did send The Bohemian a counter-proposal to just meet for drinks with his buddies in the future.

The Olympics officially launch tomorrow morning JST....still not sure about the weather there. Pretty darn balmy on the slopes...just wonder if that could translate into more wipeout conditions; not something the skiers will take too kindly to. Heck, Tokyo is experiencing more wintry weather than Vancouver. Some places in the Kanto got hit with snow again last night.

Saw The Carolinan yesterday at the Shinjuku Starbucks. She was back on an emotionally more even keel. She and her sister gave me the annual Valentine's Day tribute...which was probably why she wanted a lesson on a holiday. I'll be back there later on today to see The New Yorker and The Bow...and then I'll catch my usual Friday night folks at the juku. I saw The Bass earlier today in Funabashi. Strangely enough, this will end up being my busiest day this week. However, I'll be looking forward to a full weekend off from tomorrow.

Wednesday February 10, 4:56 p.m.

You gotta hand it to those food producers up in Hokkaido. They know how to market their products. Bay, before she left us for good, had left us a little present in the form of a plastic tube containing balls of Japanese purin (basically the bastardization of the word "pudding" but really custard); there they are right above the text. They resemble tiny version of those large clear sacks of mozzarella cheese that show up on The Food Network. They come in these little plastic sacks which you poke with a toothpick to release the globes of purin and then you put some caramel sauce on them.

Looks like the Valentine Day's parade is rolling on. I got my third package of chocolates via Miss Prissy today. I'd half-expected the gift since she did the same thing last year. So, I've got The Beehive, Sugar & Spice and Miss Prissy on my White Day list next month.

I realized that after today, I won't be coming into Speedy's for about 5 days due to the national holiday that noone remembers (it's actually Constitution Day...Japan's Birthday) tomorrow. To those who celebrate The 4th of July and Canada Day, it must sound rather shocking and unconscionable that this day is largely seen as merely a good excuse to sleep in by millions. However, when one considers the still-sore sticking point about Japan's Imperial past and how even the flag and national anthem are considered controversial, I think most people would just appreciate the holiday as a day to sack out.

Did catch an early Jude Law movie today by the title of "Immortality". It was an interesting flick about a vampire who looks anything but, just appearing in a relatively low-key mystery.

Wednesday February 10, 12:54 p.m.

Forgot to mention that we did have a 24-hour period of Spring yesterday. It went all the way up to 18 degrees C. I could doff off the heavy coat and longjohns, and sport a lighter jacket. Back to reality today...more on the order of 6 degrees, and in fact, we may even get some snow tomorrow...stuff that should really be heading over to Vancouver for this weekend.

The juku boss was somewhat less than her usual cheerful self last night when she greeted me at the door. Apparently, the accountant taking care of her taxes had given her a bit of a fire-and-brimstone lecture about her juku business being in the red and that the boss needs to shape up or ship out. Plus, the other teacher at the juku....the one that I hardly ever see...got rather cranky at her and a mother of one of the kids over some sort of matter.

The boss asked me what I thought, and I just answered by asking her whether she was operating her juku for money or for fun. As I thought, she answered the latter although she would like a bit of profit from the business that she's been running for almost a quarter of a century. Of course, that's fine with me, and so in that case, I would probably just throw out 90% of her accountant's advice. Accountants are supposed to give tally up the numbers and give advice when necessary, and they certainly don't like to hear their clients say that they just want to make just an teensy-weensy bit of money for what is supposed to be a fun side thing. The beancounters really just want to work with the serious entrepreneurs and regular corporate types, so I'm sure Miss Fire-and Brimstone was rolling her eyes back repeatedly during the boss' audit.

However, what brought the juku boss out of her funk and back to her happy-go-lucky mood was when I talked of Speedy. Like her, he had recently been given a royal chewing out by the school's two investors for not doing nearly enough to keep the school out of the financial tailspin it's currently in. So, she felt that she was not truly alone. And she isn't. Speedy and the juku boss are two of a kind...both of them want to have a business but not for the tons of net profit but just because they want to provide clients with a homey, happy service. And that's fine with me, and that's why I joined them.

Tuesday February 9, 1:36 p.m.

Should come up with a name for those two high school sisters at the juku. I guess Sugar & Spice will have to do. Sugar will be the younger while Spice is the older. Sugar is the one who plays the sax and has a slightly better hold on her English whereas Spice is holding down two jobs in a tonkatsu and ramen restaurant.

Tuesday February 9, 1:28 p.m.

Well, got word from The Croatian, my proofreading client in Eastern Europe, that he managed to get top honours in his test. He made sure that I would share some responsibility in his good forture which I appreciate. He even sent me some money....not a heck of a lot but still every little bit helps.

Read in this morning's "Japan Times" about how yesterday's Super Bowl is starting to shape up to be a modern classic with The New Orleans Saints finally shedding its "Aints" image. Would have loved to have seen the game although I'm not an NFL fan by any measure. I guess YouTube will have to suffice my curiosity.

Got my first Valentine's Day gift of the season from Mrs. Tee from The Beehive. It's chocolate-covered yuzu peels, and the bunch of us even shared a box of Godiva Chocolate Cookies. It was as sinfully delectable as I'd predicted. The chocolatiers on the street and in the depachika are working overtime this week as the 14th approaches.

I've got my expanded schedule at the juku tonight, although ironically, my veteran students, The Milds, will not be there. They're traveling off in Italy this week. However, I've got those high school students, Mr. White and the new guy, Mr. Nice Guy.

Monday February 8, 10:42 p.m.

Well, Mr. TOEFL showed up for another rousing battle with the time clock. He did pretty well this time around. But as for The Medicine Man...well, he just didn't show up. Ray called him a few times but has gotten no answer. He only has 4 lessons left on his current contract and since he is a highly-paid doctor, I'm wondering if he has decided to just forfeit the rest of his classes and call it a day. Believe me, considering how low key he is in class, I wouldn't be too surprised.

Anyways, I've sent off the translation to Cozy. And I'm ready to call it a day myself.

Monday February 8, 7:47 p.m.

Well, just 5 days away from the Vancouver Olympics. They've got the athletes, the facilities and the media...now if they could only get some snow. Yep, the ski hills are lacking snow. Could be embarrassing if all that white stuff they had to carry from 200 km away were to melt on Friday night. Still, I'm lucky in that I can root for two countries, my homeland of Canada and my adopted home of Japan. Of course, I would love to see Team Canada get another hockey gold like they did in 2002, and certainly, it would be nice if Japan can get more than 1 medal (although that was gold). After the news from the last week, the locals here can sure use some good stuff. Asashoryu leaves sumo in disgrace and Toyota has to recall its Prius (or should I say, "pry-us"(as in "pry us from this wreckage") in pretty much the same state.

I already feel like I went a few rounds with either Mike Tyson or the Kameda Bros. I've had to get stuff done up for some of the new students at the juku, take a last look-see at the latest translation for Cozy, get a bunch of stuff typed up for Mr. TOEFL and have to deal with some more red tape from The Corporation. I would be looking forward to the holiday Thursday except that I have to teach The Carolinan and she wasn't in a great mood last time.

Saturday February 6, 6:43 p.m.

Yep, still here. But won't be for long. I'm tired and hungry.

Man, did I have the toughest model lesson in recent memory. I had a young lady who just seemed to channel the essence of Droopy the Dog...just so slow and sullen and sad. I'd had prior warning from Ray about how the lesson could go, and sure enough, she is one of the lowest students Speedy has ever had. I pulled out the easiest lesson plan I had and even that exhausted her. Strangely enough, the bossman himself will be doing the very first lesson with her since I have 001 on that night. Surprisingly enough, she actually decided to join up, but only because I did use Japanese with her. Apparently, she needs the lessons if she is to have any hope of getting promoted in her company but doesn't particularly want to learn the language...and doesn't want homework. Hard case.

But I wasn't moping around after that since I had The Businesswoman afterward, and she was a tonic, especially after getting through the arduousness of that model lesson. It was good to actually have a lucid conversation.

Just glad that I'll have a free Saturday next week.

Friday February 5, 5:43 p.m.

Just about done here at Speedy's for today. We went for the second round of new burgers coming out at McDonalds, so it was once again Ray and I who went down to The Golden Arches to pick up the 2nd entry, The New York Burger, amongst other things. I found that this second burger was tastier than The Texas Burger, I gather, because the previous dish had an uncomfortable mix of BBQ sauce and mustard. The New York Burger was more straightforward with its Monterey Jack cheese and zesty mustard. The patty seemed meatier as well. The bossman felt that the burger would've been further improved if the cooks could do something about the bun; it seemed a bit too pedestrian for the fillings.

Bay and AK dropped by. Aside from La Fille who was off today, it was a veritable reunion of staffers. Bay came in for one more appearance before she moves to Seattle for good to join her husband; AK came to see her one more time and also pick up some back pay. She hasn't been around all that much since her work has been picking up as well.

I just had The German. Whenever I have her, it's basically nearly an hour of gab. I have to give her over to Speedy just so that she gets a proper education.

Anyways, I'm off to the juku in a few minutes.

Friday February 5, 1:05 p.m.

Hot time at Speedy's today. Speedy has a weekly 500-yen session for interested parties. Usually, it's just the one person but today there was a grand total of 7 ladies. Ray and I were joking around that with the bossman's usual fashion sense, he would've made a fine addition in a Shibuya host club. I bet he's wishing that the rest of the English program would be just as bustling.

Well, the analyses have started all over the media spectrum about now ex-yokozuna Asashoryu. Since he resigned from sumo over all the sturm und drang that he's pulled off over the years, he may not be eligible for any pension or further compensation from the sport that he's been involved with ever since his teenage years (he's 29). He could've just hung in there and weathered out the storm, and in all probability, he would've survived. However, there are two flies in the ointment. One was that perhaps even the "sweep-it-under-the-rug" policy of the Japan Sumo Association had its limits and Asashoryu was quickly approaching them, and two was the arrival of Takanohana amongst its ranks. Takanohana is Eliot Ness to Asashoryu's Al Capone and comes across as a straight arrow ready to sweep out the corruption from the JSA. The JSA would've had to contend with a mighty media storm presenting that showdown if Asashoryu had not resigned and stuck to his guns, and the elders in the association wouldn't have long stood for that. So, the very first Mongolian to win the highest title in the land is now history.

Just have The German today and then it's off to the juku.

Thursday February 4, 8:55 p.m.

Well, sumo's enfant terrible's past has finally caught up with him. Asashoryu has decided to hang up his loincloth (considering that it has soaked up so much DNA over the basho, it can probably hang all by itself, y'all). After picking fights with fellow sumo wrestlers and civilians, plus playing a most public hooky in his home country of Mongolia, he basically went to the Japan Sumo Association, muttered his apologies, and has left the dohyo for good. Of course, the media is going absolutely nuts on this, so I can imagine that just about every station is gonna be covering this for the next few days.

In other news, The Anime King and his Court will be making the big pilgrimage over to Tokyo, home of Maids, anime and all things Akiba, in April. Looks like it could be quite the gathering.

Thursday February 4, 5:52 p.m.

Last night, the snows once more came down on Tokyo, but this time it was more of the usual kind of non-accumulating wet stuff than the snow that had come down on Monday. Still, the past few days' meterological action was enough for everyone to call this Winter an unusual one.

I think the British would say "knackered". Had another good if intense round with Mr. TOEFL last night and then today I had my second class with The CEO. She's the ideal student in that a teacher would never need to prompt her to talk...just wind her up and go. And she had quite the story to tell as well...spent the first 15 minutes talking about her husband trying to get elected to some position in an occupational board and facing some pretty petty political maneuvering. Almost felt like I was listening to an audiotape of a suspense novel. In any case, The CEO has quite the aura about her....just imagine Grandma FON 40 years younger. Ray and LaFille were laughing me afterwards since I must've seemed like a limp dishrag.

Well, in any case, I'm relatively coasting now since I've only got The Music Man a little more than 3 hours from now, and he's pretty laid back about stuff.