Saturday March 27, 7:08 p.m.

Well, I have been here overtime. Ray left over an hour ago. I've just been able to complete 19 pages' worth of proofreading for The Corner's associate. Dunno what to name her...will wait until Monday or until I regain full use of my brain cells...whichever comes first. I need my sustenance right now. It may have to be Mickey D's once more, but there has to be more out there than Big Macs.

The proofreading wasn't too difficult but it was just long. At least, I won't have to go to the I-Cafe tomorrow. I've sent the whole kit and kaboodle back to her. She needs to know how to use quotes more judiciously. I had to muddle through whole series of conversations written like full paragraphs.

Looks like I've got Ms. HGL for my lone 2 hours on Wednesday. I was thinking of seeing the half-completed Tokyo Sky Tree up close and personal on that day; I can still do it though. But at least I've got most of the day off on Tuesday to get some nice duds for Paddy's big party the following Monday.

Saturday March 27, 12:05 p.m.

It was one of those busy commuting days yesterday. In Funabashi for The Bass, then over to Shinjuku to see The New Yorker and The Bow, and finally over to Urayasu for the juku students. The New Yorker managed to survive and even enjoy her time in San Francisco, although she did undergo the infamous 3rd-degree grilling of Customs and Immigration post 9-11. I took a look at her photos...yep, there is a reason that The City By The Bay is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. I even got a souvenir in the form of a package of Ghiradelli's Chocolate...shared those with the juku folks.

The Bow should've had her dinner with The Carolinan and four others in Tsukishima last night. The diner de jour was ankou nabe or angler hot pot. I've heard about this delicacy for years but one would have to pay me good money to get near that...I'm not into eating anything that looks like a cross between a fish and the Alien. And just the way the thing gets cut up into bits has never endeared me to it.

It was The Ace's last night at the juku...and at his company, for that matter. From April 1st, he'll be starting his new career via school and a part-time job as a care counselor. I guess, then, it was appropriate that we did spend an hour instead of his usual 30 minutes before he left us for good. It was quite a time for collecting goodies...the New Yorker with her Ghiradelli souvenir, and then The Ace with his goodbye gift of Japanese confections, and even the juku boss got me some snakcks made from soba flour. The Ace's departure was atypically good; usually, folks leave me awkwardly by just saying that they are "busy" (The Full-Timer) or by disappearing (The Coffemaker) and even on bad terms (The Jazz Buddy).

Today, I've just got The Publicity Agent and The Businesswoman for the first time in a month. There will probably be a lot of catching up. Plus, I'm on standby for a massive proofreading job from The Corner's former associate. I have to wait until 6 p.m....hopefully, the bossman doesn't show up today. In any case, I'll probably be in the Internet cafe for a few hours getting that job done.

Ray is back here in front of me. She isn't 100% yet but markedly better than on Thursday.

Rumor does have a certain destructive power. There was an incident yesterday on Takeshita-dori, the Harajuku street for teens that often has a population density of 1 million per square metre on the weekends. Well, a record may have been set unfortunately. There were false rumors on Friday that some famous tarento was in one of the myriad shops there which sent hundreds of kiddies on their Spring Vacation running. And then basically there was the Mother of All Scrums in which kids started falling dominoes. Miraculously, only 4 teens had to be taken to hospital.

Speaking of incidents, I was on the JR Sobu Line, heading from Funabashi to Shinjuku when the train got terminated at Suidobashi Station. Apparently, there was one of those jinshin jikou at Yotsuya Station. The line was forced to stop for a few hours, which usually means a jumper's guts had to be wiped off the tracks there. Just ended up having lunch at Mickey D's right across from Tokyo Dome and then walked the 10 minutes to the Toei Shinjuku Line.

Thursday March 25, 7:40 p.m.

Another one of those somewhat lackadaisical sessions with The Carolinan. She kinda had that mopey demeanor throughout. But when she greeted La Fille, she was all smiles and slightly chirpier. I guess The Carolinan and I have just known each other for so long that we've become the equivalent of an old couple...no need to put on airs. However, it's only half-working; I'm still the teacher...I think I still have to put on my game face for a student.

Well, just one more lesson with The Music Man. I'm thinking of grabbing something across the street but the weather is so miserable outside. However, hunger calls...

Thursday March 25, 4:05 p.m.

Well, this actor beside me must be wondering what he's in store for (although I think he must be admiring himself in the mirror here). Now, when one Googles "Matt Smith", there will always be the words "Doctor Who" beside his name. He's been basically typecast as the latest reincarnation of the Time Lord for about a year now, but I'm sure he's still wondering how everything is gonna go in a couple of weeks, when the entire sci-fi world will be tuning into his premiere. David Tennant must be googling his eyeballs, while he's twiddling his thumbs waiting whether or not his American sitcom, "Rex Is Not My Lawyer" will ever get the green light, as he watches all of the media hoopla surrounding his replacement's arrival. I don't ever recall the media blitz for him or Chris Eccleston ever being quite so intense. You'd think BBC has gone completely HOLLYWOOD. The trailers have become increasingly exciting with one scene of battling Spitfires in outer space harking back to the final battle scene in "Return of the Jedi".

And his new companion, Amy Pond, is getting a lot of attention and leg shown. In fact, some shrew is publicly complaining that "Doctor Who" should remain absolutely family-oriented. Uh-uh, lady....this is not your generation's "Doctor Who" and it hasn't been for years. Captain Jack's kissing both The Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler made sure of that.

In any case, I'm awaiting the first reviews, if not the first scenes. Unfortunately being here in Japan means several months of waiting.

Thursday March 25, 3:52 p.m.

Just when we old TV viewers were getting used to a world without Peter Graves, who had passed away last week, now I've just heard that Robert Culp of "I, Spy" fame has left this mortal coil. Over here, "I, Spy" never became the cult US hit that "Mission: Impossible" has been, but people could possibly remember him from his role on "The Greatest American Hero" or in his occasional villain roles on "Columbo". His partner on the show, Bill Cosby, has become the more high-profile celebrity over the decades, but there was still Culp's handsome good humour in what was a lighter spy series.

At this rate, Robert Vaughan might be getting a tad nervous. He's pretty much the only one left of all of the TV spy series stars of the 60s. Then, The Grim Reaper might start to go after the second bananas like Cosby, Landau and McCallum...and that last one has been enjoying a renaissance on "NCIS".

Thursday March 25, 3:16 p.m.

In a very long holding pattern right now. Ray left Speedy's a few hours ago since her cold was getting the worst of her. La Fille is filling in the time. Not that there is much to do...no students and the bossman is out on business and will be for the rest of the evening. In fact, The Carolinan is still 3 hours away and The Music Man is 6 hours from now. That's quite a hole in this Donut Day.

Did get confirmation that The New Yorker is back safe and sound from her trip to San Francisco last week. If only that translated into improved English ability.

Thursday March 25, 9:00 a.m.

Back in the saddle again. I'll be here for the next 13 hours, and yet I only have 2 official Speedy classes and one private. There'll be a lot of work on Farmville, Cafe World and Social City today, of course without having the boss notice too much.

It is downright wintry today. Getting home last night, the hand holding the umbrella almost fell off due to the icy winds. I actually had to dust off the longjohns and heavy winter coat to get to work today.

I received an interesting memo via Shard on some advice that profane writer David Mamet may or may not have written to the writers on the long-defunct show, "The Unit". It was a good read. Basically, any scene that has two characters talking about a third is "....a crock of s**t". Gee, I kinda wonder what he must have thought of "The West Wing".

A strange thing....I received e-mail from one of The Corner's associates, a woman who I had a small tangle with over procedure during the translation project for Japanese ceramics last summer. Basically, my relationship with The Corner ended after that. But she apparently has her own gig now, according to her e-mail address, and has asked me to proofread a ton of material over the weekend. She initially asked me to tear through 40,000 words, but I said that would be difficult and counterproposed half of that (which would still be quite an undertaking for the weekend). So, probably no weekend for me.

Wednesday March 24, 8:48 p.m.

I opened up the school this morning, and I'm gonna close it in a few minutes. Ray has gone home feeling rather miserable due to a headache and a potential cold. But the trouper that she is, she's coming in for the early shift tomorrow. I don't think I can really pull that off anymore.

001 came in for her usual 90. Barrel of laughs. She still has that major crush on Aiba-kun of Arashi. She was disappointed that one of the Arashi shows finished its run, much to her surprise and dismay, on Monday. I told her that it may be because NTV is prepping them for a prime-time series, especially since one of Fuji-TV's flagship programs "Smap x Smap" will be wrapping up 14 years next week.

Anyways, I gotta head on home so that I can come back here bright and early again.

Wednesday March 24, 5:54 p.m.

Back to the present. It's been a lousy cold day today although we have officially passed the First Day of Spring...which is why we had the national holiday on Monday. I think I even saw a flake or two fly by the window during Miss HGL's lesson.

It seems as if a few people around me have been suffering from the cold or something. HGL was feeling somewhat chilly today, and currently Ray is under the weather. Even The Milds were not feeling anywhere near 100% last night, although they were game enough to come to the class.

Well, President Obama managed to pull off that miracle. He got his Health Plan Bill passed which he signed into law yesterday. It doesn't necessarily mean that he's saved his presidency; half of the population will probably make sure of that. However, it does mean that he doesn't necessarily have a failed one.

It's been a fairly quiet day with just Grandma Fado (the bossman is off at a fair today), HGL and now 001. It should be about the same tomorrow...Grandma FON and Mr. TOEFL have canned their lessons which just leaves Miss Prissy in the morning, and then The Carolinan and The Music Man in the evening. That'll be one big Donut Day!

Wednesday March 24, 4:50 p.m.

Some hours before my date with destiny at Blue Note Tokyo, I had met up with The Lens and his wife once more in Myogadani. The neighbourhood is one of those well-to-do areas near Ikebukuro. The couple is staying with The Romantic and his wife who live there for the week. We ended up having lunch at an Italian place called La Croce just across from the station.

La Croce didn't have much in the way of pretension. It was just one of those neighbourhood restaurants that catered to the local folk. The five of us had the lunch specials with mine being on the upper right. My special came to about 1250 yen...a good bargain considering where we were. I'm basically of the opinion that outside of the source country itself, Japan has the best Italian.

Then, we took a bit of a walk deeper into Myogadani before we reached a recommended gelato place called Super Frutto. The Romantic's wife (when she wasn't sending some of her snarky comments at me....the two of us don't get along too well [I'm a retired otaku, she's an ambitious shrew]) is a big fan, and as it turned out, the gelato was a refreshing contrepoint for the heavier lunch.

Wednesday March 24, 4:35 p.m.

While Saturday night was made for listening and seeing The Manhattan Transfer, Sunday night was the time for "Sherlock Holmes". In between was the mother of all windstorms. Overnight, there were some fierce gale-force winds which beat down on the Kanto.

As for the World's Greatest Detective, the movie had come out originally in North America right on Christmas Day but only came out last Friday here in Japan. MB, The Sylph and Skippy came out to see Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. It ended up being a split decision. MB liked it but I wasn't all that impressed.

Whereas Basil Rathbone was the embodiment of deductive logic in his deerstalker cap, and Jeremy Brett was the effete Doctor Who version back on 80s BBC, Robert Downey Jr. went for a mix of Tony Stark and perhaps his dissipated character from one of his earliest films, "Less Than Zero". I don't know...the film just seemed as foggy as the stuff that rolled across that film's London. And I just got somewhat bored of it all. It just seemed narcolepsy-inducing. Strangely enough, MB and I didn't really discuss it at dinner...not much to discuss really.

Afterwards, the four of us went to another Skippy recommendation nearby in Shinjuku. Lately, the new flavor of the month has been this Korean dish called Sundubu, a piping hot bowl of kimchi, tofu and other stuff. Restaurants selling the stuff have been hitting the various city centres. We tried out this one place in the basement...pretty small place, too. My version was the spicy one...and it sure had its fair share of capsicum. But it was awfully tasty.

Skippy was able to land on her feet once more in terms of job search...well, this time, it took a little while longer at 3 months, but she's working for some medical supplies company; something that she's never tried so it was a pretty fast and hard week for her.

Wednesday March 24, 9:39 a.m.

A lot of stuff happened between Saturday and today, so I'll just segregate my entries. This one is on The Manhattan Transfer.

Yep, I finally entered the premier jazz joint in Tokyo to see one of the premier veteran jazz groups of the past century. Blue Note Tokyo is located in the appropriately swanky neighbourhood of Minami-Aoyama, the same area where I'd caught Ruiko Kurahashi back in December.

On entering Blue Note, it was kinda like entering an old-style theatre with a lot of the plush golds and browns. I went down to the basement where I gave my ticket and then got a paper disc with the number 38 denoting my place in the order of getting seated. I waited just half an hour before the count began.

When I heard my number called, the staffer led me further downstairs to the main hall where another staffer took me to my seat. He asked me nonchalantly whether I wanted to get a close-up view of the stage. I certainly did. And he escorted me to one of the tables. And that's one of the drawbacks of Blue Note that I'd heard about. The place is big but the non-reserved tables rather remind me of being in Economy Class on a plane. My image of a swanky jazz club has always been that of round tables with a certain discreet distance amongst them. However, the tables were all jammed up against each other as if we were in a cafeteria. So, I was all by myself between a couple and a group of middle-aged folk. And I had to make some yoga-like turns to face the stage, but then again, I was just 3 m away from it.

Also, came the fact that the food and beverages are pretty pricey. I would say that the food is overpriced. However, for the sake of being there, I ordered the Mas Que Nada cocktail for 1,000 yen....basically a tropical Shirley Temple. I definitely savored that drink at that price.

Then, came the Transfer. The radio-like announcer proudly introduced the group, and after being a fan for 35 years, I finally saw Tim Hauser, Alan Paul, Janis Siegel and Cheryl Bentyne in the flesh....3 metres away. At first, when they trundled up on stage, I became rather aware that they were no longer spring chickens. Alan looked like a retired hippie professor with a bit of a paunch showing on his otherwise still-lean frame, Janis had that motherly look with the glasses, Cheryl was showing a bit of wag in her arms, and Tim looked like my Dad in the Polo shirt and blazer...but then again, Tim has looked like my Dad for decades now. But when they opened their mouths, the glory days were back. It was just like listening to the CDs. They were not just old, but they were old pros.

Their raison d'etre for their current tour was to promote their latest album, "The Chick Corea Songbook", and the tunes were fine enough so that I'm thinking of buying my first original Transfer album in several years. But it was of course when they sang their hits such as "Route 66" and "Birdland" that the audience was just jumping. One fellow behind me believed that he was the secret 5th member and was just bopping and singing in the audience. Still, it was nice that the guys can still elicit this much love. It was almost eerie to see these four right in front of my eyes. They really brought the house down with "Trickle, Trickle".

The set itself was less than 90 minutes. But not too surprising considering their age and the fact that they have been pumping out 2 shows a night all over Japan at full blast.

Friday March 19, 4:44 p.m.

In this year of self-whimsiness, I decided this morning to head back to Shibamata. I say head back, since back in 1994 when I had first gotten here for my current tour of duty in Japan, I had stayed in this sleepy neighbourhood of Tokyo for about a month before moving into my apartment in Ichikawa. Since the move, I hadn't been back.

Shibamata is known for two things...one is the Taishakuten, the local temple. The other one has far more far-reaching appeal. It's also home for the legendary Japanese movie character, Tora-san from the "Otoko ga tsurai yo" series (It's Tough To Be A Man)...perhaps the longest running movie series in the world in terms of movies made if not in actual time elapsed (and yes, that includes the Bond series). The actor, Kiyoshi Atsumi, passed on nearly 15 years ago, but he's been immortalized in bronze in front of the station in his characteristic uniform of an itinerant peddler. But while he was still on this mortal coil, he managed to get out 47 films...all having the exact same plotline of him coming back home to Shibamata to his long-suffering family, then storming out after a huge fight, finding the girl of his dreams (or Madonna) somewhere in Japan, and then losing her once again. It probably had no chance to win any Japanese equivalent of an Academy Award, but for millions of Japanese of my generation and those of the previous, it was the cinematic version of comfort food.

Pretty much all of Shibamata can't help but be tied up with Tora-san. There's even a museum made in his honor, and unlike the John Lennon Museum, I was able to take shots inside. It was rather reminiscent of going to the Ramen Museum in Yokohama since there were mockups of old Shibamata of the 60s and 70s.

Thursday March 18, 7:09 p.m.

Haven't had a Donut Day in a long time...certainly since last year. Mr. TOEFL did an uncharacteristic cancellation of his lesson today, and so I only had Grandma FON this morning and only have The Music Man later tonight. Hopefully, his hay fever is much more under control than last week. Basically the big hole in between lessons has been spent alternately working on the latest translation from Cozy and having fun with the latest applications on Facebook. So, now with Farmville, I've also got to contend with Cafe Ville and Social City. Plus on Mixi, I've got the Aquarium.

I actually got word from The Lens suddenly last night that he and the missus are coming back to this side of the Pacific for about a week, so it's entirely possible that we'll be meeting up for lunch in Tokyo on Saturday several hours before I meet The Manhattan Transfer at The Blue Note.

Wednesday March 17, 11:35 a.m.

The hay fever is doing its thing. As soon as I woke up, my nose started twitching and my eyes soon followed suit. Down went the three tablets. I've got to get my next batch of masks.

Last night, it was just the juku crowd since The Beehive had the week off. The juku boss and I were talking a bit on my newest student, Mr. Nice Guy. Apparently, he'd had another English-language interview for a company, and the boss told me that he didn't even know the term, "earthquake" when the interviewer brought up the subject of the recent tremors hitting Japan. She kinda threw her head back in mock frustration, but she does have a certain point. Mr. Nice Guy is taking English so that he can get ready to take himself and his family over to Hawaii in what is amounting to be a start to a new life. However, he's going there with no guarantee whatsoever of a job...a bit of a quixotic journey that has the boss scratching her head. The guy isn't a blank slate by any means but his ability is nowhere near getting him that ace position at a company...I think he can just get away with being a better-than-average tourist. And although I think I'm a pretty decent teacher, I don't think even I can turbocharge this guy's linguistic levels within 3 months. Still, I just gotta do my best.

As for the Milds, both Milds showed up. This time, Mr. Mild was suffering from the ravages of a cold while Mrs. Mild was still in the recovery stages.

I've got Miss HGL in 15 minutes, followed by The CEO and then 001. I've got 001's belated White Day present. Should be good sessions with all of them. They're all talkers, although the challenge will be with The CEO since it's kinda hard to know what kind of material she'd like to do.

Monday March 15, 8:19 p.m.

The Ides of March indeed. And sorry to say that Peter Graves, the one and only Jim Phelps from the one and only "Mission: Impossible" has passed on. He and his brother, James Arness, aka Sheriff Matt Dillon from "Gunsmoke", provided literally decades of calm, gallant reassurance to television viewers. Jim was the ultimate spymaster while Matt was the finest lawman of the West.

I would light a torch for Mr. Phelps but I'd be afraid that a fuse may be set off.

Monday March 15, 4:53 p.m.

The cable guy never showed up yesterday. This kinda indicated to me that that notice I got in the mail last week was perhaps just a little bait for anyone who hadn't signed up to the service. Well, at least, the notice gave me incentive to clean up the place.

Had an unexpected late start to the week this morning. First off, Cozy had re-scheduled his lesson for tomorrow morning instead of today, and then Swank called me suddenly this morning, just 30 minutes before I was to leave, to say that she would have to cancel the lesson due to illness. So I had the morning to myself and to watch "Star Trek" for the fourth time on DVD. Still holds up in my estimation....but that's natural for a Trekkie like myself.

Got a call from The Cat out of the blue last night. My old friend way back from university is originally from Nagoya, got married to Paddy's buddy in Ibaraki, and now lives in Nagano. She asked me for some English phrases but her main topic was about whether I was going to Paddy's wedding party (actually a celebration of the happy couple's 10th anniversary of being together) on the 5th. Still don't know exactly where and when the party is gonna be. I did ask Skippy whether she would be my accompaniment but apparently she's secured a job starting from tomorrow so she's probably out of the loop.

Anyways, Speedy should be coming out any second so that I can take over as HGL's teacher.

Saturday March 13, 3:15 p.m.

Usually during Hay Fever season, I'm the one who has to do all of the apologizing for letting my nose drip like a faucet in front of the students. Not something that enhances a teacher's image. However, on Thursday night, it was The Music Man who was mightily ailing. He was just doing anything in his power to keep from sneezing or dripping liquid all over the desk. I swear he was twisting his body in all sorts of yogic positions to somehow will his nose and eyes from precipitating. Felt mighty sorry for him, especially since I've been there. I think for that night, I should've changed his name to The Misery Man.

As for my seasonal health, I've managed to stave off the runny nose by taking medicine every morning. At least, Hay Fever sends a warning shot across my bow; every morning, I get that itchiness in my eyes and nose which tells me to swallow a few pills, lest I end up disgusting some student. Still, I'm gonna be throwing my money to the pharmaceuticals, and after paying my taxes and rental lease renewal fee, I don't think I can really continue paying my hard-earned yen for drugs.

Yesterday was my day away from Speedy's. I just had The Bass and The Bow outside. Between lessons, I succumbed to my desires and went for the latest and last chapter in McDonalds Japan's "Big America" burger campaign. I had the California Burger which debuted yesterday. Like the first three, the patty was bigger than usual. And it had a red wine sauce, which was probably supposed to evoke the Napa Valley. I had heard rumors that an avocado would be put in, but there was no soft green mush there. Pretty nice, I would put the California Burger in 2nd place behind the New York Burger.

I've pretty much finished giving away all of those White Day chocolates this week. The Bow was the last one with my contribution from Hokkaido's Rokkatei shop of freeze-dried strawberries covered in white chocolate. I still have one more person in the form of 001 since she suddenly cancelled her lesson a few days ago.

Just had only The Intellectual for the lone lesson here at Speedy's today. But I also had to check over a translation for Cozy and some other paperwork. I'll be heading home in about another half-hour since I gotta clean things up for the cable guy tomorrow. He's supposed to be checking my lines due to some maintenance work, although I think he's also gonna try to sell some new package.

Thursday March 11, 5:44 p.m.

Yup, I hope whoever's reading this is neither a vegan nor on a meat-restricted diet. The consequences could be rather dire. These two photos are from the two yakiniku restauarants I went to back over the weekend. The one on the left is the far more expensive place in Futako-Tamagawa that I'd gone with The Jyuppies while the one on the right is the Takadanobaba eatery with the Korean staff. There were quite a few differences (as I'd mentioned in a previous blog entry) between the two places. The pictures show off one difference in terms of the meat. The Japanese shimofuri just about glistens its price while the Korean fatty pork looks like somewhat more heartier stick-to-the-ribs fare.

I'm halfway through my day now. I finished up with Miss Prissy, Grandma FON and Miss HGL. Just have another 40 minutes before The Carolinan arrives. I've got her chocolates to give her. Most likely, we'll be starting off with talk on her sister's takeoff for San Francisco next week.

Thursday March 11, 8:25 a.m.

Been a while since I actually got to Speedy's early. One reason is that Grandma Dynamite hasn't been in anytime this year due to some family problems. And it's been a while since I'd had a Sausage McMuffin Set at the Golden Arches. But I've got a full slate today with Miss Prissy heading off the list, followed by Grandma FON and Miss HGL. Then in the evening, it's The Carolinan, Mr. TOEFL and The Music Man. I heard via the staff that Mr. TOEFL finally got that needed pass on his eponymous test. He should be in a good mood tonight.

I had The New Yorker for her last class before she heads off to San Francisco for her very first solo vacation next week. I'm somewhat worried about her since her English is still nowhere fluent. I'll have to see what The Carolinan thinks. If we're all fortunate, one of the Carolinan's old friends may just be able to come up from San Jose to help The New Yorker out.

Had a Monday night off. And yesterday was also a night off since 001 cancelled her lesson. It was nice to watch some mindless game shows on TV. And I also caught another episode of "Burn Notice". It's a fine show to watch...the usual hour-long adventure with a touch of DIY espionage thrown in.