Saturday October 1, 11:42 a.m.
October has started a lot more appropriately than September did. That is to say, the temps are much more acceptable today. I got a knock from an artificially high-voiced fellow doing the census. Yup, today, October 1, is National Census Day (just gives you the tingles, doesn't it?). It's the quintennial day in which national census takers find out how many people fill out censuses. Apparently, one of them is now me. Anyways, I got that out of the way within 5 minutes so I'm just waiting for the guy to come back at about noon to pick up the form. I was gonna put down "rabbit hutch" under the category of size of apartment but since the space would only accept a numerical figure...
Gonna be pretty busy today with a lot of errand-running and Immigration stuff to handle. I actually got some good news for a change on that front. Paddy was able to score a triple if not a homer with me getting my koseki from my mother's hometown. He said that if I could send a fax of my birth certificate over to the town hall there, that will suffice. Hmm...I have the certificate with me but I'm just not sure if it will be acceptable enough for the officials there. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. On the other side, my uncle called me up and told me that he's sending over his contribution of documents today. Again, fingers are crossed.
Now, back to the Wonderful World of Haruhiko in Taiwan...
TAIWAN -DAY 3
Our final full day in Taiwan. It was a bit rainy out there. After our usual breakfast in the basement ballroom, we met up with Mr. J once more in the lobby of our hotel. Unlike Day 2's full crew, it was gonna be another "just us" tour with Mr. J and the driver so it was back to the minivan. And a pretty nice minivan it was, too....a state-of-the-art Volkswagen with GPS.
The day's voyage would be a mix of country and city climaxing with an ascent up to the 89th floor of the world's tallest building, Taipei 101. However, the morning would have us traveling for an hour out of the city and into the mountainous areas over winding roads. There were a couple of sites which caught our collective eye. One was a whole bunch of cute little houses popping up like mushrooms on one side of a hill. Mr. J told us they were actually very ornate tombs. The Madame kinda shivered at that point...she scares rather easily, as would later be confirmed during lunch. The other site was while we were traveling through an old industrial town which definitely has seen better days. We saw these glowing flourescent tubes pointing out from buildings like spokes of a bicycle wheel. Mr. J told us that those buildings were basically brothels. Truck drivers need their own rest and relaxation so they often stop off at these places, allegedly to pick up a stick of pep-up gum (and you can actually get those, too). The buildings have large front windows in which a girl dressed up in a miniskirt and not much else just sat at a desk waiting for prospective customers to drive up.
Finally, we got to our destination which was a former gold mine area by the northeastern coast of the island. We had to go up some a hill via some winding road which made me slightly queasy but I was still able to hold in my breakfast. There was an inadvertent joke which made me do a double-take. Mr. J, in his usual repetitive way, was describing the historical significance of the area when he suddenly pointed that there it was...right by the 7-11. Well, next to the historically significant 7-11, was this narrow alley lined with various shops of various products and aromas which we were to traverse for a good 500 metres or so. We saw places making confectionaries, making blobby meat buns and producing various wares. And then we came to the end which was this ledge overlooking the cove. It was quite a beautiful site so of course, we unsheathed our cameras. Then, Mr. J took us back on the road heading back to the 7-11 when we made a left down a steep staircase. There was one instance of incongruous architecture in the form of a Russian tea house. Next to it was our tea and then lunch spot.
To enter the restaurant, we had to go through a very low stone tunnel for which even The Madame had to bow her head to manage. Then it was up a couple of steps and into this three-storey wooden building or teahouse. We went up to the 2nd floor and onto the balcony with another panoramic view of the cove. A rather sullen waitress took care of the tea part for the first half hour with the usual techniques already shown in the previous tea seminars. However, nothing was sold at the restaurant, thank heavens. Then, we ended up having lunch at the same table. It was another gorgeous feast of various dishes including juicy prawn, stewed pork with limp sliced bamboo whose texture and taste resembled that of stroganoff noodles. , and ma bo do fu. We almost had a perfect time there until some hungry wasp decided to butt in and try to suck the juices out of some of the prawn shells. That got The Madame vacating her seat very quickly. What got her and me a bit nervous was the fact that the little buzzer was doing quite a bit of flying around our heads as well as getting back to his bountiful feast. The Madame had to call up Mr. J for a rescue although he just reassured her that the wasp was really just interested in the prawn. And showing his flair for salesmanship, he iterated that the food must be good if even wasps were willing to go for it. However, the nice thing was that the sullen waitress actually gave us a beaming smile and a "Shie-shie" when I complimented her on the meal in my fractured Mandarin. Nice to know that the adage "You can't tell a book by its cover" still holds sway in the 21st-century.
We were back on the road again...this time, to a railroad station. Mr. J got us our tickets and then took us on a train ride for half an hour to a small village. There was only one track so when the train reached the village, that village was the final stop, and so the train just reversed and headed back. We walked along the old buildings and noticed that a lot of them were just plain empty or housed with with the very young or the very old. Mr. J remarked that all of those in-between fled to bigger cities for work. We finally reached a place which specialized in paper lanterns. The old woman there spoke in semi-fluent Japanese and invited us in to make our own huge paper lantern so we wrote down our wishes in English and Japanese on this sturdy crepe paper of a rather large size. And then she attached it to this wire frame. We went outside where we held onto it while she lit some kindling in a small basket underneath the lantern. It resembled a miniature version of a hot-air balloon. And then once she got it lit, she gave the word and we let it go. The pink lantern just shot up in the air like a rocket and then disappeared into the clouds. The Madame wondered if it would make it all the way back to Japan. I just thought it would probably end up in the Pacific somewhere and devoured by sharks.
The minivan was back so we hopped on in and our next stop was Taiwan's answer to Niagara Falls. The brochure and other material kept comparing these waterfalls to the world's most famous ones...ones that I proudly acknowledge as belonging to my country so I silently scoffed. We had to navigate our way down some rocky slope. Of course, with my Bobby Orr knees, I was the last one to make it down. The Madame asked me how I was which was a bit of a verbal emasculation. The falls themselves were shaped very closely to the Canadian Falls which made me wonder if these waterfalls were natural or man-made. However, The Madame enjoyed it for the nature and the negative ions given off, so that was good enough for me.
After several minutes enjoying the fresh air, we made our way up and back into the van. It was back to the long journey into Taipei. I think the two of us had a small nap..I know I did. When I woke up, we were back in a sunny downtown and back to....where else? Duty-free shopping. Like the shopping in the basement of that ritzy hotel the day before, this shop was also on the high end of things. I kept the hovering staff happy by buying a few things here and there but The Madame and I tried to keep them at bay by not staying at any one place in the shop too long. We also had an extended stay in the washrooms which helped.
When we got back to the van, Mr. J suggested to us about a massage since there were still a few hours before dinner at our last restaurant for our trek. We quickly demurred on the massage still remembering the painful experiences from the night before. However, the two of us wanted to go for the real bubble tea. Mr. J, being the hardened veteran he was, had his driver look up the info on the GPS. Sure enough, there was a place near the Taipei 101. It was a nice little trendy cafe: lots of large windows to let the light and scenery in, and a lot of young staff and customers. Hmph...the two of us were probably the oldest ones there with the exception of Mr. J. The Madame was still a bit skittish of having cold bubble tea due to the tap water so we ordered hot bubble tea. At first, I wondered how we were gonna be able to drink hot bubble tea without having our tongues scalded. Well, the tea came with spoons and not straws so that resolved that issue. It was great tea, though. Definitely worth a second visit.
Then we were off to this local restaurant with the Japanese name, Aoba. The two of us were a bit apprehensive about it since the day before, Ms. S castigated it as being just expensive and not very good quality-wise. Well, we were quite happy with it, actually. Again, all the food came out in one big invasion on our table. And once again, there was so much of it that we couldn't finish it off. Well, after that delightful culinary surprise, The Madame came to the decision that Ms. S would definitely not be on the request list for any future trip to Taipei. She much rather preferred ol' repetitive Mr. J. I had to admit that the old man, despite my reservations about the guy when we had first arrived, was a good ol' tour conductor and someone that I would heartily recommend to any friends or students heading for a similar tour to Taipei.
Finally, it was the visit to our tour's piece de resistance, Taipei 101. By the time we got there, it had already gotten dark so the tower was already lit up like a glowing bamboo stalk which it was supposed to resemble. In fact, the entire area was probably the most modern I had seen in my three nights in Taipei. The first 5 floors of the complex represented a shopping mall reminiscent of Roppongi Hills. And then we came to the elevator taking us to the 89th floor. Mr. J bought us our tickets and we just jetted off on the fastest lift ride in the world. Our ears popping like corn kernels attested to that fact. Our guide bantered to us...very rapidly, since, well, it was the fastest lift ride in the world...in Mandarin, Japanese and English. Once we got out, the floor reminded me in decor and setup of the main observation deck for the CN Tower, so I wasn't duly overwhelmed. However, the night view was quite nice although one side just overlooked basically nothing but a sea of black. There was still the main part of downtown which just glittered so I took pictures of that. It was just the two of us up there; I'm sure Mr. J had been up the tower plenty of times already so that he probably treated the experience just like I treated any trip to Niagara Falls...with a yawn (but I'm still proud that the better looking Falls are on the Canadian side). Once we got our cameras shot up we made it back down to the 5th floor about 10 minutes before the appointed meeting time. I was surprised to find out that most of the tower is still unoccupied; quite a waste of energy and money to keep something like this up without the tenants to finance it. There must've been a lot of fistfights in the Taiwanese Parliament to get this tower up and running several months ago.
Mr. J picked us up and we took one picture with him since The Madame was totally taken with him and we made our final drive back to the hotel after a very long but happy day. Going through downtown in the van, I was just impressed by the energy of the stores, people and neon just blazing. I can't say that the Ginza has that type of juice anymore although I could be seeing Tokyo's most expensive avenue through 10 years of living here.
We got to our hotel, took our showers and tried to see if the basement ballroom was open for coffee without having to be greeted by that portly snarl queen. We got to B1 to see that the place was dark. Well, so much for the 24-hour cafe. So we ended up gabbing for a while in my room. The two of us came to the conclusion that our trip was gonna be a life-long memorable one. The Madame was sorry to see the end of it come so soon but the next day was the day we went back home.
Just a place to deposit my thoughts on life here in the Kanto and about anything else that sticks to my walls.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Friday September 30, 10:33 p.m.
Well, my first full day back in Japan had me on a wild goose chase at Speedy's. That demo lesson student pulled an AWOL. I had a rather fishy sense about her when she had first come in to talk with Speedy. My thinking is that she was a spy from one of the rival companies such as NOVA or AEON on a fishing tour. In any case, I was still able to be the omiyage Santa Claus and bring my first gift of 20-year-old Pu'arh tea. I rather felt sorry for Speedy, though, since he didn't sound too happy when I left the office.
I actually hit the gym for the first time since I got back. I did a full workout. I felt silly though wearing my good shoes with my sweaty outfit home since I wanted to take the shower here rather than at the gym. I got home and had an early dinner consisting of salad and a box lunch. Then, perhaps it was Taiwan that did it, but I took a nap which went into the evening. I ended up on the futon for five hours before finally getting up a half hour ago just to do this blog.
And back to our main feature...
TAIWAN -DAY 2
I woke up on Tuesday morning...in fact, I woke up and drifted back to sleep several times during my first night in Taipei. So much for no jet lag. But it really shouldn't have happened since we only went back one hour during the plane ride. I guess it must've been the excitement of being in another country. The Madame also mentioned that she didn't sleep too well either; she's rather a light sleeper, I gather.
Breakfast consisted of a buffet in the B1 of the hotel. It was in this faded windowless ballroom with a couple of adjoining smaller rooms. The place was already packed when The Madame and I came in at about 7:00 a.m. but luckily one of the waitresses saw our plight and led us to one of the empty rooms. It didn't stay empty for long, though, as other Japanese tourists came to share our table. The buffet itself was OK as buffets go: the usual pork bits and scrambled eggs with a little Chinese stuff warming over the sterno.
At 8:40, we came down to the lobby to start our first full long day of touring. Unlike the previous day, we had a full bus tour crew consisting of members from yesterday's pickup and some other Japanese couples. It wasn't Mr. J this time but Ms. S, a youngish/oldish woman of seemingly no-nonsense military precision. She did a roll call in a very loud voice and got everyone hustled onto a large tour bus.
The theme of the day was a full tour within the city itself. We certainly got the subtheme of the journey when Ms. S started to pepper her nonstop explanations with a lot of monetary figures which kinda turned my traveling companion off. Our first stop was a temple. We stayed there for about 20 minutes during which we took the usual pics and witnessed a large group of acolytes in either black robes or street clothing chanting and praying. We also made our own wishes. The chanting was so loud that even Ms. S' voluminous vocal cords couldn't penetrate it.
Then we took the bus over to what I think was the Memorial Hall for Chiang Kai-Shek, the father of the country himself. It was an impressively massive structure whose gleaming white walls just gleamed in the sun. The setup resembled that of the Imperial Palace here in Otemachi. Inside, we were privy to see the leader's old Pontiac limo from decades ago before going up the elevator to a higher floor. Once we got off, a lot of us dropped our jaws in awe when we entered the huge chamber containing the gigantic bronze statue of the man himself sitting peacefully. It easily dwarfed the statue of Abraham Lincoln in Washington. Ms. S informed us that the room was open to the sun only for a few hours everyday and then it was sealed with only a couple of guards on duty. She also said that temps in the chamber got mighty high in the sealed room.
After taking some more pics, we clambered down 88 steps from the memorial and then walked another hundred metres or so into a small park where there was a small path pebbled with jutting rocks. Beside it was a stone slate facing us which had carvings of the right and left feet. The path was a reflexology tester and the slate showed us which parts of the feet reflected certain parts of the body. I didn't but everyone else including The Madame took off their shoes and/or socks and tried to negotiate through the path. Heard quite a few ouches and ughs from the madding crowd. There was one old guy in a wheelchair having his feet massaged by a tech nearby.
The next stop on the tour was to another tea seminar. Hm...repetition seemed to be another underlying theme, I thought. However, the lady who did this seminar enthralled the female university students with the advice that wiping wet tea leaves on the skin acted as a rejuvenator. It would seem even just out of post-pubescence, women were very aware of the ravages of aging. Me? I just enjoyed sipping the various kinds of Pu'arh, Oolong and Jasmine that came my way with the sweets. Afterwards, I bought what would be my biggest round of purchases in the form of various teas. Man, the students had better be grateful.
It was back to the bus and a ride to where else? Another duty-free shop. We were given 40 minutes to carouse. I took that opportunity to buy some more souvenirs in the form of pineapple cake. Once again, the staff were on us like flies to honey trying to pawn off their wares. The Madame wasn't too impressed with the jewelry, stating that the stones weren't cut too well and that the surrounding stuff was too gaudy for her tastes.
After all that touring and shopping, it was time for lunch. And lunch was at the famed sho ron po dumpling restaurant, "Din Dai Fong". There are a couple of branches here in Tokyo as well which always attracts long lineups at lunch.Well, we were lucky enough to go to the flagship restaurant in downtown Taipei. Not surprisingly, the place had a sizable lineup outside despite it having four floors. There was a digital counter outside reading off the numbers off of tickets that waiting customers had to get into the place. Fortunately for us, the tour planners had already gotten us in to the fourth floor so it was just a case of navigating the tight corridors and crowds to the 4th floor. We had to be separated into two groups.
The food came at us like a storm. Having brought up in dim sum-crazy Toronto, I was accustomed to having my food brought out all at once but my traveling companions were caught a little off-stride when all of the steamers containing not only the world-famous dumplings but also various other examples of dim sum fare were unleashed in one wave. Ms. S efficiently rattled out that we were on a clock, people and that we had to get back downstairs a half-hour later. A tall order, to be sure. There were four guys with us in the room who struck me as being rejects from indie bands so they were getting a bit snarly with this overparental authority. But luckily, no other major fireworks occurred. And we were all pretty famished so the food did go quickly. We didn't quite make the half-hour record but Ms. S wasn't unduly put out.
Back on the bus. It was another hour's ride out to the boonies where Ms. S confided that she had a son in the army (!) which made me and The Madame wonder how old she really was. The afternoon segment of our journey started with a visit to, and I'm paraphrasing Ms. S here, the Yasukuni Shrine of Taiwan (I never caught the original name of the place). Well, that's a pretty ironic way to describe a place. And unlike the Shrine in Tokyo which has caused so much controversy throughout all of Asia, the Taiwanese version had a couple of guards out front sweltering in their uniforms but standing rigidly at attention by the gates like the Beefeaters at Buckingham Palace. And there was a changing of the guard, a very slow and majestic march to the shrine itself. Some ominous looking minders of the shrine silently but clearly told some of our parasol-sporting members to shut them down in deference (there was a sign that stated that all hats must be taken off once inside the grounds).
A half-hour later, the bus took us to the famed Royal Museum where we spent a full 90 minutes making a quick tour. The Madame and I along with a few other women tagged along with Ms. S and she provided us with an informative account of the various exhibits which included some impossibly intricate jade sculptures. Not surprisingly, the four L'Arc-En-Ciel wannabes were nowhere to be found. They probably went behind the museum to smoke some spliffs. About two-thirds of the tour in, Ms. S left us on our own and The Madame and I made a beeline to the souvenir shop and I got some more stuff for the students and family.
Our next stop was yet another souvenir shop. Unlike the previous one though, this one was a cut above. It was nestled underneath a huge modern hotel and boasted a lot of the brand names. Of course, I didn't bother getting any stuff from Chanel or Ferragamo.
By the time we finished things off there, The Madame and I were noticing that there was gonna be a breakup of sorts in our large group. A few of the members had signed up for full-body massages, and several others opted for the famous (or notorious) foot massages. The Madame and I had thought about getting one although it wasn't part of our tour package but then Ms. S spoke to us directly for the very first time and offered to include us with the rest of the younger group. She told us that it would be a few more hours before our table would be ready for dinner and since we wouldn't be heading back to the hotel, she figured that we might as well get our money's worth. So we decided to go for it for 900 yuan.
As Ms. S would repeatedly tell us, the reflexology salon was one frequented by Japanese celebs like comedian Ken Shimura and actress Keiko Matsuzaka. The place itself had the look of a well-worn shop in the inner city unlike those very fancy-schmancy spas in Tokyo. But then again, these places in Taiwan were just like sento (neighbourhood bathhouses) in Japan....places to relax and enjoy banter. At the front, we all had to doff off our shoes and socks and then we were taken all the way to the back of the shop, past two rows of settees where techs were already hard (and I do mean hard) at work pummeling soles and kneading toes. There were several wash basins in which a couple of techs put in some hot but not scalding water and then some brown powder. We had to put our feet into the solution and soak for 5 minutes. The powder had an effect which made our tootsies heat up and tingle.
Then we were all brought to the next shop beside the main salon where there was another room full of settees and waiting masseurs. I hopped on mine while The Madame lay down on the one to the right of me. Then, the ride began. My guy started using his knuckles to dig a path through my sole. It didn't particularly hurt and in a way it was rather soothing. I was a bit worried about my rather large corns but his kneading didn't bring any pain there either. However, the screams started emanating from my traveling companion, and for that matter, from some of the other members. The young lady to the left of me was alternately grimacing and reveling in the feelings of her massage so that I was wondering silently if she would have a lucrative future career in S&M movies. As for me, the pain started coming when my guy started gong at my toes. There was one part of my big toe which objected to the attention of the masseur's rather pointy fingers. I didn't yell or scream out but my face conveyed varying emotions to which he said to me in Japanese "shoulders". Ahhh...I reacted. We had been given pamphlets on which were illustrated maps of feet with the corresponding body parts. I was checking off the parts to which I registered pain. It looked like there was something to this reflexology after all. All of the painful parts of my feet registered with the parts of my body that I usually complain about: shoulders, neck and eyes.
However, during this so-called "relaxation", there came really the only down part of our entire trip. Ladies came by to do a hard-sell on The Madame and my moaning neighbour to my left to get them to buy these huge bottles of pills to take care of those aches and pains that registered from our feet. I suppose that the women were no different than the duty-free shop staffers. But they had come during a time that was supposed to be relaxing (it wasn't) and it wasn't as if we could just get up and leave easily. I think that vulnerabililty irked the Madame and my neighbour. I didn't even let my lady get through the "front door", so to speak. I just looked at the bottles of pills, conveniently located on the other side of the foot maps, rather uninterestedly and just nodded non-committally before slowly turning back to the foot maps. That short-circuited her spiel. I was glad for the experience and just as glad that I probably won't do it ever again.
The Madame and I finally got separated from the rest of the group. For some logistical reason, the bus couldn't come in time to pick us up for dinner so Ms. S hailed us a cab and drove with us shotgun to the restaurant. The Madame and Ms. S had a short harmless tete-a-tete about the efficiency of that foot massage (The Madame complained of a sore back due to the session right up to the next morning). Our dinner for the 2nd night was a more down-at-home affair. The dish du soir was a bowl of ramen but actually the ramen wasn't all that impressive compared to the so-called supporting dishes. We had some stewed fatty pork called kakuni (which is also quite famous in Okinawa, a place that's just a stone's-throw away from Taiwan), some greens with some mincemeat on top, juicy boiled prawn and some other stuff. It was great stuff but even I couldn't finish everything. I was able to finally put that phrasebook to good use. I told the waitress "hao-ch" or "It was delicious" for which I got a smile back. I'm not sure if the smile indicated that my tones were so horribly off or if I were on target but I assumed that I'd said it properly enough.
Finally, after a long day, we got back to our hotel. It was the usual nighttime routine. We took our showers and waited to see if we would be still energized enough to get together for a chat. Despite the heavier schedule of the day, The Madame did take up my invitation and we headed downstairs. I'd initially read that the Paradise boasted a 24-hour cafe. Well, we got to the cafe and it was half-dark. When we approached the lone matron behind the counter, she gave us a flash evil eye before she calmed down enough to show us the menu. We ordered a couple of hot milk teas and gabbed for half an hour before the matron started turning off all the lights, save one. My, that was an awfully big hint! The Madame was aghast at the service of this portly woman. As it turned out, this so-called 24-hour operation finished at 10:30 which it was when the woman started shutting down. And I reminded my friend and former student about what Ms. S had said at one point during the tour: Taiwanese society, unlike Japanese society, does not place good service high on the priority list. It's everyone to himself and herself in this country. Her very direct statement also reflected another latent truth about traveling in Taiwan. It was a good call by The Madame to go on a full tour. We had been insulated in a warm blanket of carefully trained natives who knew how to handle Japanese tourists. We would've probably been snarled at as interlopers or annoyances unless our Chinese language skills were on top if we had gone the individual traveling route.
The second day was over.
Well, my first full day back in Japan had me on a wild goose chase at Speedy's. That demo lesson student pulled an AWOL. I had a rather fishy sense about her when she had first come in to talk with Speedy. My thinking is that she was a spy from one of the rival companies such as NOVA or AEON on a fishing tour. In any case, I was still able to be the omiyage Santa Claus and bring my first gift of 20-year-old Pu'arh tea. I rather felt sorry for Speedy, though, since he didn't sound too happy when I left the office.
I actually hit the gym for the first time since I got back. I did a full workout. I felt silly though wearing my good shoes with my sweaty outfit home since I wanted to take the shower here rather than at the gym. I got home and had an early dinner consisting of salad and a box lunch. Then, perhaps it was Taiwan that did it, but I took a nap which went into the evening. I ended up on the futon for five hours before finally getting up a half hour ago just to do this blog.
And back to our main feature...
TAIWAN -DAY 2
I woke up on Tuesday morning...in fact, I woke up and drifted back to sleep several times during my first night in Taipei. So much for no jet lag. But it really shouldn't have happened since we only went back one hour during the plane ride. I guess it must've been the excitement of being in another country. The Madame also mentioned that she didn't sleep too well either; she's rather a light sleeper, I gather.
Breakfast consisted of a buffet in the B1 of the hotel. It was in this faded windowless ballroom with a couple of adjoining smaller rooms. The place was already packed when The Madame and I came in at about 7:00 a.m. but luckily one of the waitresses saw our plight and led us to one of the empty rooms. It didn't stay empty for long, though, as other Japanese tourists came to share our table. The buffet itself was OK as buffets go: the usual pork bits and scrambled eggs with a little Chinese stuff warming over the sterno.
At 8:40, we came down to the lobby to start our first full long day of touring. Unlike the previous day, we had a full bus tour crew consisting of members from yesterday's pickup and some other Japanese couples. It wasn't Mr. J this time but Ms. S, a youngish/oldish woman of seemingly no-nonsense military precision. She did a roll call in a very loud voice and got everyone hustled onto a large tour bus.
The theme of the day was a full tour within the city itself. We certainly got the subtheme of the journey when Ms. S started to pepper her nonstop explanations with a lot of monetary figures which kinda turned my traveling companion off. Our first stop was a temple. We stayed there for about 20 minutes during which we took the usual pics and witnessed a large group of acolytes in either black robes or street clothing chanting and praying. We also made our own wishes. The chanting was so loud that even Ms. S' voluminous vocal cords couldn't penetrate it.
Then we took the bus over to what I think was the Memorial Hall for Chiang Kai-Shek, the father of the country himself. It was an impressively massive structure whose gleaming white walls just gleamed in the sun. The setup resembled that of the Imperial Palace here in Otemachi. Inside, we were privy to see the leader's old Pontiac limo from decades ago before going up the elevator to a higher floor. Once we got off, a lot of us dropped our jaws in awe when we entered the huge chamber containing the gigantic bronze statue of the man himself sitting peacefully. It easily dwarfed the statue of Abraham Lincoln in Washington. Ms. S informed us that the room was open to the sun only for a few hours everyday and then it was sealed with only a couple of guards on duty. She also said that temps in the chamber got mighty high in the sealed room.
After taking some more pics, we clambered down 88 steps from the memorial and then walked another hundred metres or so into a small park where there was a small path pebbled with jutting rocks. Beside it was a stone slate facing us which had carvings of the right and left feet. The path was a reflexology tester and the slate showed us which parts of the feet reflected certain parts of the body. I didn't but everyone else including The Madame took off their shoes and/or socks and tried to negotiate through the path. Heard quite a few ouches and ughs from the madding crowd. There was one old guy in a wheelchair having his feet massaged by a tech nearby.
The next stop on the tour was to another tea seminar. Hm...repetition seemed to be another underlying theme, I thought. However, the lady who did this seminar enthralled the female university students with the advice that wiping wet tea leaves on the skin acted as a rejuvenator. It would seem even just out of post-pubescence, women were very aware of the ravages of aging. Me? I just enjoyed sipping the various kinds of Pu'arh, Oolong and Jasmine that came my way with the sweets. Afterwards, I bought what would be my biggest round of purchases in the form of various teas. Man, the students had better be grateful.
It was back to the bus and a ride to where else? Another duty-free shop. We were given 40 minutes to carouse. I took that opportunity to buy some more souvenirs in the form of pineapple cake. Once again, the staff were on us like flies to honey trying to pawn off their wares. The Madame wasn't too impressed with the jewelry, stating that the stones weren't cut too well and that the surrounding stuff was too gaudy for her tastes.
After all that touring and shopping, it was time for lunch. And lunch was at the famed sho ron po dumpling restaurant, "Din Dai Fong". There are a couple of branches here in Tokyo as well which always attracts long lineups at lunch.Well, we were lucky enough to go to the flagship restaurant in downtown Taipei. Not surprisingly, the place had a sizable lineup outside despite it having four floors. There was a digital counter outside reading off the numbers off of tickets that waiting customers had to get into the place. Fortunately for us, the tour planners had already gotten us in to the fourth floor so it was just a case of navigating the tight corridors and crowds to the 4th floor. We had to be separated into two groups.
The food came at us like a storm. Having brought up in dim sum-crazy Toronto, I was accustomed to having my food brought out all at once but my traveling companions were caught a little off-stride when all of the steamers containing not only the world-famous dumplings but also various other examples of dim sum fare were unleashed in one wave. Ms. S efficiently rattled out that we were on a clock, people and that we had to get back downstairs a half-hour later. A tall order, to be sure. There were four guys with us in the room who struck me as being rejects from indie bands so they were getting a bit snarly with this overparental authority. But luckily, no other major fireworks occurred. And we were all pretty famished so the food did go quickly. We didn't quite make the half-hour record but Ms. S wasn't unduly put out.
Back on the bus. It was another hour's ride out to the boonies where Ms. S confided that she had a son in the army (!) which made me and The Madame wonder how old she really was. The afternoon segment of our journey started with a visit to, and I'm paraphrasing Ms. S here, the Yasukuni Shrine of Taiwan (I never caught the original name of the place). Well, that's a pretty ironic way to describe a place. And unlike the Shrine in Tokyo which has caused so much controversy throughout all of Asia, the Taiwanese version had a couple of guards out front sweltering in their uniforms but standing rigidly at attention by the gates like the Beefeaters at Buckingham Palace. And there was a changing of the guard, a very slow and majestic march to the shrine itself. Some ominous looking minders of the shrine silently but clearly told some of our parasol-sporting members to shut them down in deference (there was a sign that stated that all hats must be taken off once inside the grounds).
A half-hour later, the bus took us to the famed Royal Museum where we spent a full 90 minutes making a quick tour. The Madame and I along with a few other women tagged along with Ms. S and she provided us with an informative account of the various exhibits which included some impossibly intricate jade sculptures. Not surprisingly, the four L'Arc-En-Ciel wannabes were nowhere to be found. They probably went behind the museum to smoke some spliffs. About two-thirds of the tour in, Ms. S left us on our own and The Madame and I made a beeline to the souvenir shop and I got some more stuff for the students and family.
Our next stop was yet another souvenir shop. Unlike the previous one though, this one was a cut above. It was nestled underneath a huge modern hotel and boasted a lot of the brand names. Of course, I didn't bother getting any stuff from Chanel or Ferragamo.
By the time we finished things off there, The Madame and I were noticing that there was gonna be a breakup of sorts in our large group. A few of the members had signed up for full-body massages, and several others opted for the famous (or notorious) foot massages. The Madame and I had thought about getting one although it wasn't part of our tour package but then Ms. S spoke to us directly for the very first time and offered to include us with the rest of the younger group. She told us that it would be a few more hours before our table would be ready for dinner and since we wouldn't be heading back to the hotel, she figured that we might as well get our money's worth. So we decided to go for it for 900 yuan.
As Ms. S would repeatedly tell us, the reflexology salon was one frequented by Japanese celebs like comedian Ken Shimura and actress Keiko Matsuzaka. The place itself had the look of a well-worn shop in the inner city unlike those very fancy-schmancy spas in Tokyo. But then again, these places in Taiwan were just like sento (neighbourhood bathhouses) in Japan....places to relax and enjoy banter. At the front, we all had to doff off our shoes and socks and then we were taken all the way to the back of the shop, past two rows of settees where techs were already hard (and I do mean hard) at work pummeling soles and kneading toes. There were several wash basins in which a couple of techs put in some hot but not scalding water and then some brown powder. We had to put our feet into the solution and soak for 5 minutes. The powder had an effect which made our tootsies heat up and tingle.
Then we were all brought to the next shop beside the main salon where there was another room full of settees and waiting masseurs. I hopped on mine while The Madame lay down on the one to the right of me. Then, the ride began. My guy started using his knuckles to dig a path through my sole. It didn't particularly hurt and in a way it was rather soothing. I was a bit worried about my rather large corns but his kneading didn't bring any pain there either. However, the screams started emanating from my traveling companion, and for that matter, from some of the other members. The young lady to the left of me was alternately grimacing and reveling in the feelings of her massage so that I was wondering silently if she would have a lucrative future career in S&M movies. As for me, the pain started coming when my guy started gong at my toes. There was one part of my big toe which objected to the attention of the masseur's rather pointy fingers. I didn't yell or scream out but my face conveyed varying emotions to which he said to me in Japanese "shoulders". Ahhh...I reacted. We had been given pamphlets on which were illustrated maps of feet with the corresponding body parts. I was checking off the parts to which I registered pain. It looked like there was something to this reflexology after all. All of the painful parts of my feet registered with the parts of my body that I usually complain about: shoulders, neck and eyes.
However, during this so-called "relaxation", there came really the only down part of our entire trip. Ladies came by to do a hard-sell on The Madame and my moaning neighbour to my left to get them to buy these huge bottles of pills to take care of those aches and pains that registered from our feet. I suppose that the women were no different than the duty-free shop staffers. But they had come during a time that was supposed to be relaxing (it wasn't) and it wasn't as if we could just get up and leave easily. I think that vulnerabililty irked the Madame and my neighbour. I didn't even let my lady get through the "front door", so to speak. I just looked at the bottles of pills, conveniently located on the other side of the foot maps, rather uninterestedly and just nodded non-committally before slowly turning back to the foot maps. That short-circuited her spiel. I was glad for the experience and just as glad that I probably won't do it ever again.
The Madame and I finally got separated from the rest of the group. For some logistical reason, the bus couldn't come in time to pick us up for dinner so Ms. S hailed us a cab and drove with us shotgun to the restaurant. The Madame and Ms. S had a short harmless tete-a-tete about the efficiency of that foot massage (The Madame complained of a sore back due to the session right up to the next morning). Our dinner for the 2nd night was a more down-at-home affair. The dish du soir was a bowl of ramen but actually the ramen wasn't all that impressive compared to the so-called supporting dishes. We had some stewed fatty pork called kakuni (which is also quite famous in Okinawa, a place that's just a stone's-throw away from Taiwan), some greens with some mincemeat on top, juicy boiled prawn and some other stuff. It was great stuff but even I couldn't finish everything. I was able to finally put that phrasebook to good use. I told the waitress "hao-ch" or "It was delicious" for which I got a smile back. I'm not sure if the smile indicated that my tones were so horribly off or if I were on target but I assumed that I'd said it properly enough.
Finally, after a long day, we got back to our hotel. It was the usual nighttime routine. We took our showers and waited to see if we would be still energized enough to get together for a chat. Despite the heavier schedule of the day, The Madame did take up my invitation and we headed downstairs. I'd initially read that the Paradise boasted a 24-hour cafe. Well, we got to the cafe and it was half-dark. When we approached the lone matron behind the counter, she gave us a flash evil eye before she calmed down enough to show us the menu. We ordered a couple of hot milk teas and gabbed for half an hour before the matron started turning off all the lights, save one. My, that was an awfully big hint! The Madame was aghast at the service of this portly woman. As it turned out, this so-called 24-hour operation finished at 10:30 which it was when the woman started shutting down. And I reminded my friend and former student about what Ms. S had said at one point during the tour: Taiwanese society, unlike Japanese society, does not place good service high on the priority list. It's everyone to himself and herself in this country. Her very direct statement also reflected another latent truth about traveling in Taiwan. It was a good call by The Madame to go on a full tour. We had been insulated in a warm blanket of carefully trained natives who knew how to handle Japanese tourists. We would've probably been snarled at as interlopers or annoyances unless our Chinese language skills were on top if we had gone the individual traveling route.
The second day was over.
Friday September 30, 4:49 p.m.
Continuing on with Day One of the Taiwan trip: after all of the shopping at the duty-free shop, we were finally taken to our respective hotels. Luckily for the Madame and me, our hotel was the first stop. It's called The Paradise on Hsin Kuang Rd, a bit of an inner city type of area which reminded me of Shimbashi or Ueno here in Tokyo. Mr. J took the two of us in for check-in. The front desk staff was also conversant in Japanese. The lobby was fit for a small city hotel but it seemed to be crammed with a fountain which deserved to be in a larger, more ornate establishment.
Our hotel rooms faced each other on the 7th floor. The Paradise, true to its 3-star rating, seemed like a Holiday Day Inn. My room was the usual double bed affair with two chairs, a desk, a functional bathroom, TV, fridge and closet. But no minibar. However, I was quite impressed at how many channels the TV could get. It was well over a hundred of them: a mix of the international news channels, CNN and BBC, movie channels and a lot of different Chinese-language stations. Over here, an average hotel TV will just get you the 7 basic channels, a few movie channels and...well...um, porn. Not a porn channel to be seen anywhere on this TV.
After unwinding for about an hour, Mr. J called us down to the lobby because it was time for the dinner segment. This time, it was just the two of us so the old guy took us personally to another part of the downtown to a restaurant. As we were being taken there, I noticed how much of the traffic is just clogged with scooters. They were just weaving in and out through the nooks and crannies made by the larger automobiles like X-wing fighters around Imperial Star Destroyers. It was amazing the dexterity of these scooter drivers. Mr. J, with a slight lament, talked about the headaches these guys could induce in a regular auto driver.
Finally, we got to this restaurant which specialized in shark's-fin soup and abalone, something that was specifically written on our itineraries. While Mr. J sat at another table with his co-horts, The Madame and I were seated a few tables in what was a fairly trendily appointed place, decor-wise: black leather chairs and black tables set against white stucco walls. The music was smooth jazz. True to the insular nature of our tour, the majority of customers was Japanese tourists. I made my first faux pas when I, unthinkingly, took a sip of the water which came to us in glasses. Realizing it too late after all the talk of not drinking tap water, The Madame got worried and asked about it to Mr. J. I had images of me spending all night on the "throne" in the bathroom or heaving out the other end. Mr. J and the waitress reassured her that everything was OK and that the water was safe. She relented but wasn't too assuaged since her feeling was that although the natives may be used to the stuff, the local water may not be to the tourists' liking. I told her with some false bravado that I was sure everything would be OK. But I ordered a Taiwan beer for an extra 88 yuan.
Both the shark's-fin soup and abalone came in bubbling pots filled with a thick soup of what I thought was oyster sauce, cornstarch, soy sauce and what-have-you. Very delicious but The Madame, with her appetite of a hummingbird, had to give the remaining half of her abalone over to me...not that I was complaining, mind you.
After the both of us were thoroughly stuffed, Mr. J and his driver took us further into the downtown area. In his repetitive style, he gave us a description of the various areas including the local jail, the Akihabara-like electronics area and the famous Night Market. The man certainly knew how to handle his Japanese guests since he used a lot of Tokyo name places to analogize the various areas in Taipei. While we were heading to the Night Market, I noticed how much of Taipei resembled a mix of Tokyo and Toronto. I swore that one neighbourhood was almost a dead ringer for Yonge St. north of Bloor.
Mr. J dropped us off at the opening of the Night Market, a long strip which reminded me of Harajuku. I had originally thought the area would be just a large mass of corrugated-tin roofed open shacks sellling all sorts of food that would best fit that infamous dinner scene in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom". However, at least the part we saw was a lot trendier with lots of boutiques and a few stalls selling goodies. Mr. J wisely let us explore our own way down the street for about 40 minutes before meeting him at a designated store. The Madame took a look at some accessories shops while I ended up buying a pair of baggy short pants for 288 yuan as loungewear in my hotel room since I couldn't bring along my pyjamas. Once again, I noticed just how much all the surrounding neon and architecture struck me as being so much like Toronto's Chinatown.
Mr. J drove us back to the hotel around 8:30. When we got back to our respective hotel rooms, I proposed that we could meet up again after our showers and chat. But The Madame seemed a bit tired after the exertions of the day so I gave her an out by suggesting that if she didn't knock on my door 45 minutes later, then it would be assumed that she decided to retire early. Sure enough, after my shower (interesting at how high the bathtub walls were...I had to stretch to get my legs over, and the bathroom floor was so high that my head peeked over the curtains), I waited til 9:15 but no knock. And I ended up hitting the bed at about 10. I guess it was a good thing that we both decided to knock ourselves out. It was a bit of a tough start to our trip in Taiwan but it ended quite nicely.
Continuing on with Day One of the Taiwan trip: after all of the shopping at the duty-free shop, we were finally taken to our respective hotels. Luckily for the Madame and me, our hotel was the first stop. It's called The Paradise on Hsin Kuang Rd, a bit of an inner city type of area which reminded me of Shimbashi or Ueno here in Tokyo. Mr. J took the two of us in for check-in. The front desk staff was also conversant in Japanese. The lobby was fit for a small city hotel but it seemed to be crammed with a fountain which deserved to be in a larger, more ornate establishment.
Our hotel rooms faced each other on the 7th floor. The Paradise, true to its 3-star rating, seemed like a Holiday Day Inn. My room was the usual double bed affair with two chairs, a desk, a functional bathroom, TV, fridge and closet. But no minibar. However, I was quite impressed at how many channels the TV could get. It was well over a hundred of them: a mix of the international news channels, CNN and BBC, movie channels and a lot of different Chinese-language stations. Over here, an average hotel TV will just get you the 7 basic channels, a few movie channels and...well...um, porn. Not a porn channel to be seen anywhere on this TV.
After unwinding for about an hour, Mr. J called us down to the lobby because it was time for the dinner segment. This time, it was just the two of us so the old guy took us personally to another part of the downtown to a restaurant. As we were being taken there, I noticed how much of the traffic is just clogged with scooters. They were just weaving in and out through the nooks and crannies made by the larger automobiles like X-wing fighters around Imperial Star Destroyers. It was amazing the dexterity of these scooter drivers. Mr. J, with a slight lament, talked about the headaches these guys could induce in a regular auto driver.
Finally, we got to this restaurant which specialized in shark's-fin soup and abalone, something that was specifically written on our itineraries. While Mr. J sat at another table with his co-horts, The Madame and I were seated a few tables in what was a fairly trendily appointed place, decor-wise: black leather chairs and black tables set against white stucco walls. The music was smooth jazz. True to the insular nature of our tour, the majority of customers was Japanese tourists. I made my first faux pas when I, unthinkingly, took a sip of the water which came to us in glasses. Realizing it too late after all the talk of not drinking tap water, The Madame got worried and asked about it to Mr. J. I had images of me spending all night on the "throne" in the bathroom or heaving out the other end. Mr. J and the waitress reassured her that everything was OK and that the water was safe. She relented but wasn't too assuaged since her feeling was that although the natives may be used to the stuff, the local water may not be to the tourists' liking. I told her with some false bravado that I was sure everything would be OK. But I ordered a Taiwan beer for an extra 88 yuan.
Both the shark's-fin soup and abalone came in bubbling pots filled with a thick soup of what I thought was oyster sauce, cornstarch, soy sauce and what-have-you. Very delicious but The Madame, with her appetite of a hummingbird, had to give the remaining half of her abalone over to me...not that I was complaining, mind you.
After the both of us were thoroughly stuffed, Mr. J and his driver took us further into the downtown area. In his repetitive style, he gave us a description of the various areas including the local jail, the Akihabara-like electronics area and the famous Night Market. The man certainly knew how to handle his Japanese guests since he used a lot of Tokyo name places to analogize the various areas in Taipei. While we were heading to the Night Market, I noticed how much of Taipei resembled a mix of Tokyo and Toronto. I swore that one neighbourhood was almost a dead ringer for Yonge St. north of Bloor.
Mr. J dropped us off at the opening of the Night Market, a long strip which reminded me of Harajuku. I had originally thought the area would be just a large mass of corrugated-tin roofed open shacks sellling all sorts of food that would best fit that infamous dinner scene in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom". However, at least the part we saw was a lot trendier with lots of boutiques and a few stalls selling goodies. Mr. J wisely let us explore our own way down the street for about 40 minutes before meeting him at a designated store. The Madame took a look at some accessories shops while I ended up buying a pair of baggy short pants for 288 yuan as loungewear in my hotel room since I couldn't bring along my pyjamas. Once again, I noticed just how much all the surrounding neon and architecture struck me as being so much like Toronto's Chinatown.
Mr. J drove us back to the hotel around 8:30. When we got back to our respective hotel rooms, I proposed that we could meet up again after our showers and chat. But The Madame seemed a bit tired after the exertions of the day so I gave her an out by suggesting that if she didn't knock on my door 45 minutes later, then it would be assumed that she decided to retire early. Sure enough, after my shower (interesting at how high the bathtub walls were...I had to stretch to get my legs over, and the bathroom floor was so high that my head peeked over the curtains), I waited til 9:15 but no knock. And I ended up hitting the bed at about 10. I guess it was a good thing that we both decided to knock ourselves out. It was a bit of a tough start to our trip in Taiwan but it ended quite nicely.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Friday September 30, 6:30 a.m.
The day after the big trip to Taiwan. It certainly has gotten colder, not just cooler, in my short absence from Japan. Almost froze to death in my futon last night.
DAY ONE
Back on Monday, it was still fairly warmer although not like the heat wave of earlier September. It also wasn't the most auspicious start of my first trip to another Asian country. I had been expecting that my trip from my apartment bright and early to Narita Airport would be a cakewalk since I was gonna go against traffic. Completely struck out on that one. Not only was the Keisei Line packed to the gills with commuting students and beladen travelers but I missed the last express to the airport that would be seen for half an hour. When I did get the express, I was fuming mightily inside as I held on for dear life to the straps so that I wouldn't be crushed by the ongoing masses inside the train. I sent my traveling partner, The Madame, a warning call to her cell that I would just make it to the meeting place at the designated time of 8. As it turned out, even with my simulated act of running between the final stop and the Departures floor, I was 5 minutes late. And then I couldn't find The Madame at the designated meeting place.
Luckily, The Madame found me sweating in the long line just to get past the security checkpoint into the check-in section. It turned out that the meeting place was switched at the last moment. And I was indeed fortunate that the only one who had been affected by my late arrival was just her. I had been worried that there would be some sort of officiously huffy tour coordinator waiting to admonish me and a group of other travelers giving me the evil eye. But as it turned out, we were the only people there. Any sign of a tour wouldn't show up until we arrived in Taipei.
The 3-hour flight from Tokyo to Taipei was happily uneventful although The Madame was suffering from some pressure within her ears which almost gave her a headache. I speculated it was due to the age of the plane.
There was a good sign that the bad luck from the morning was continuing into the day. When we got to Chiang Kai-Shek Airport, the two of us had decided to make a quick pit stop into the washrooms on the way to the immigration checkpoint. We were both surprised to find out that the toilets were pretty modern. All those horror stories about paperless stalls with holes in the ground were unfounded but then again we were in a modern airport. But I digress. Because of out stopover, we ended up at the end of a very long slow line which took well over an hour until we finally got ourselves checked. Since I was one of the few folks without a Japanese passport, the immigration officer asked me a few questions in English...most likely for both personal and professional curiosity. The Madame had gone through without being asked anything. Then came another long spate while The Madame searched for several minutes for her suitcase when it wouldn't show up on the carousel. Instead, it was found all by itself in the middle of the floor. It was obvious that it had been opened up but fortunately nothing was taken.
So basically after almost 2 hours since leaving the plane, we finally got outside. Our tour conductor was a native Taiwanese man by the name of Mr. J. He was on the better side of 70, a kind of cheerful Yoda type. In a heavily Chinese accented Japanese, he repeatedly cheerfully told us that he'd been waiting for us for a long time. His tendency to repeat phrases over and over again would become one of his charming points but at the time I was in a bit of a surly mood due to the annoyances of the trip so far so I initially had a rather negative view of the man and was disappointed that we didn't get the typically self-effacing Japanese conductor. Then, Mr. J had the gall to tell us to head over all the way to one end of the area to hand in our ticket stub at this desk so that we can take our chances at a "Welcome to Taiwan" raffle. I thought, "Just take us to our damn hotel!" but The Madame and I dutifully walked down to the desk and got some free traveling bags for our trouble. When we got back, we saw that there were a few couples with Mr. J. All I could think was how they must've thought of us keeping them waiting for almost 90 minutes.
The outside was hot although thankfully not too humid when we got into the minibus. As soon as we started the hour's drive into downtown Taipei, Mr. J got into his quick, oft-repetitous patter about our schedules. It turned out that the folks on the bus would be having different itineraries for our stay so The Madame and I had to scramble for our pens to write down meeting times on each day of our journey.
Our drive on the highway was our first chance to see what Taiwan looked like. It was driving through the Japanese Alps. There were lots of verdant hills lining the highway with a few huge colourful temples and lots of tall massive apartment complexes sprouting here and there. We were no longer in Kanto, Toto.
When we finally got into the city, it struck me as being a bit of a grimier Tokyo. Despite Taiwan being just as earthquake-prone as Japan, the buildings seemed more courageously taller if grayer and a bit more dilapidated than their counterparts in this country. Well, our first stop wasn't our respective hotels as it turned out but a souvenir shop which specialized in tea. Souvenir shopping would be the running gag of our 3-night, 4-day journey. There, our weary group got to sit in front of a woman who spoke to us in Japanese and performed a tea service with various blends. We were also given some snacks such as dried mangoes and nuts. We were also impressed by her usage of a rather unique teapot in which the hole was at the bottom of the pot. And yet no water came out when she turned it right-side up. While we were being mesmerized, the staff took care of our currency exchange concerns and quietly returned our money in the form of Taiwanese dollars in small packets. Ahh...I realized....what a good way to keep us distracted from the mundane aspects of traveling. And it certainly didn't hurt their cause that all of the ingredients in the tea service were on sale just a few metres behind us. Another running gag that would become prominent in our time there was how good these souvenir shop folks were in their salesmanship. The ladies, and all of the salespeople at the various duty-free shops were ladies, would just softly bludgeon us in their accented Japanese at how wonderful these items would make as omiyage. Well, they got me to quickly buy up some of their wares. I bought a few boxes of oolong tea and pineapple cake, a particular favourite on the island.
While The Madame was doing her own shopping, my mood had lightened considerably since our arrival at Chiang Kai-shek so I decided to graciously apologize to Mr. J for our very late exit through the gates (despite it not being our fault). He just as graciously waved it off as being no problem....the first sign that Yoda could be a nice guy after all.
To be continued...
The day after the big trip to Taiwan. It certainly has gotten colder, not just cooler, in my short absence from Japan. Almost froze to death in my futon last night.
DAY ONE
Back on Monday, it was still fairly warmer although not like the heat wave of earlier September. It also wasn't the most auspicious start of my first trip to another Asian country. I had been expecting that my trip from my apartment bright and early to Narita Airport would be a cakewalk since I was gonna go against traffic. Completely struck out on that one. Not only was the Keisei Line packed to the gills with commuting students and beladen travelers but I missed the last express to the airport that would be seen for half an hour. When I did get the express, I was fuming mightily inside as I held on for dear life to the straps so that I wouldn't be crushed by the ongoing masses inside the train. I sent my traveling partner, The Madame, a warning call to her cell that I would just make it to the meeting place at the designated time of 8. As it turned out, even with my simulated act of running between the final stop and the Departures floor, I was 5 minutes late. And then I couldn't find The Madame at the designated meeting place.
Luckily, The Madame found me sweating in the long line just to get past the security checkpoint into the check-in section. It turned out that the meeting place was switched at the last moment. And I was indeed fortunate that the only one who had been affected by my late arrival was just her. I had been worried that there would be some sort of officiously huffy tour coordinator waiting to admonish me and a group of other travelers giving me the evil eye. But as it turned out, we were the only people there. Any sign of a tour wouldn't show up until we arrived in Taipei.
The 3-hour flight from Tokyo to Taipei was happily uneventful although The Madame was suffering from some pressure within her ears which almost gave her a headache. I speculated it was due to the age of the plane.
There was a good sign that the bad luck from the morning was continuing into the day. When we got to Chiang Kai-Shek Airport, the two of us had decided to make a quick pit stop into the washrooms on the way to the immigration checkpoint. We were both surprised to find out that the toilets were pretty modern. All those horror stories about paperless stalls with holes in the ground were unfounded but then again we were in a modern airport. But I digress. Because of out stopover, we ended up at the end of a very long slow line which took well over an hour until we finally got ourselves checked. Since I was one of the few folks without a Japanese passport, the immigration officer asked me a few questions in English...most likely for both personal and professional curiosity. The Madame had gone through without being asked anything. Then came another long spate while The Madame searched for several minutes for her suitcase when it wouldn't show up on the carousel. Instead, it was found all by itself in the middle of the floor. It was obvious that it had been opened up but fortunately nothing was taken.
So basically after almost 2 hours since leaving the plane, we finally got outside. Our tour conductor was a native Taiwanese man by the name of Mr. J. He was on the better side of 70, a kind of cheerful Yoda type. In a heavily Chinese accented Japanese, he repeatedly cheerfully told us that he'd been waiting for us for a long time. His tendency to repeat phrases over and over again would become one of his charming points but at the time I was in a bit of a surly mood due to the annoyances of the trip so far so I initially had a rather negative view of the man and was disappointed that we didn't get the typically self-effacing Japanese conductor. Then, Mr. J had the gall to tell us to head over all the way to one end of the area to hand in our ticket stub at this desk so that we can take our chances at a "Welcome to Taiwan" raffle. I thought, "Just take us to our damn hotel!" but The Madame and I dutifully walked down to the desk and got some free traveling bags for our trouble. When we got back, we saw that there were a few couples with Mr. J. All I could think was how they must've thought of us keeping them waiting for almost 90 minutes.
The outside was hot although thankfully not too humid when we got into the minibus. As soon as we started the hour's drive into downtown Taipei, Mr. J got into his quick, oft-repetitous patter about our schedules. It turned out that the folks on the bus would be having different itineraries for our stay so The Madame and I had to scramble for our pens to write down meeting times on each day of our journey.
Our drive on the highway was our first chance to see what Taiwan looked like. It was driving through the Japanese Alps. There were lots of verdant hills lining the highway with a few huge colourful temples and lots of tall massive apartment complexes sprouting here and there. We were no longer in Kanto, Toto.
When we finally got into the city, it struck me as being a bit of a grimier Tokyo. Despite Taiwan being just as earthquake-prone as Japan, the buildings seemed more courageously taller if grayer and a bit more dilapidated than their counterparts in this country. Well, our first stop wasn't our respective hotels as it turned out but a souvenir shop which specialized in tea. Souvenir shopping would be the running gag of our 3-night, 4-day journey. There, our weary group got to sit in front of a woman who spoke to us in Japanese and performed a tea service with various blends. We were also given some snacks such as dried mangoes and nuts. We were also impressed by her usage of a rather unique teapot in which the hole was at the bottom of the pot. And yet no water came out when she turned it right-side up. While we were being mesmerized, the staff took care of our currency exchange concerns and quietly returned our money in the form of Taiwanese dollars in small packets. Ahh...I realized....what a good way to keep us distracted from the mundane aspects of traveling. And it certainly didn't hurt their cause that all of the ingredients in the tea service were on sale just a few metres behind us. Another running gag that would become prominent in our time there was how good these souvenir shop folks were in their salesmanship. The ladies, and all of the salespeople at the various duty-free shops were ladies, would just softly bludgeon us in their accented Japanese at how wonderful these items would make as omiyage. Well, they got me to quickly buy up some of their wares. I bought a few boxes of oolong tea and pineapple cake, a particular favourite on the island.
While The Madame was doing her own shopping, my mood had lightened considerably since our arrival at Chiang Kai-shek so I decided to graciously apologize to Mr. J for our very late exit through the gates (despite it not being our fault). He just as graciously waved it off as being no problem....the first sign that Yoda could be a nice guy after all.
To be continued...
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Sunday September 25, 2:54 p.m.
Well, that typhoon seems to have decided to pass us by here in the Kanto. Thank the heavens! And it looks like Taipei will be merely partly cloudy tomorrow if somewhat hot. I've been spending about a couple of hours just browsing through the package info. I found out that we cannot exchange yen into yuan at Narita...probably for geopolitical reasons; we gotta do it in Taipei. I've been reading some more info on our hotel. Looks like we've got a winner here but it's hard to imagine a Japanese tourist agency getting us bum accomodations even on economy.
I've gotta head on out in another hour to pick up some supplies for the trip and of course, the cash. I'll be keeping my dinner fairly simple tonight so that I don't end up with any bad gastric problems before departure. And yet, I'm gonna try out those Libby beans. Wish me luck!
Well, that typhoon seems to have decided to pass us by here in the Kanto. Thank the heavens! And it looks like Taipei will be merely partly cloudy tomorrow if somewhat hot. I've been spending about a couple of hours just browsing through the package info. I found out that we cannot exchange yen into yuan at Narita...probably for geopolitical reasons; we gotta do it in Taipei. I've been reading some more info on our hotel. Looks like we've got a winner here but it's hard to imagine a Japanese tourist agency getting us bum accomodations even on economy.
I've gotta head on out in another hour to pick up some supplies for the trip and of course, the cash. I'll be keeping my dinner fairly simple tonight so that I don't end up with any bad gastric problems before departure. And yet, I'm gonna try out those Libby beans. Wish me luck!
Sunday September 25, 12:55 a.m.
Well, so far we haven't heard much from this Typhoon 18 although the pavement has remained wet all day. I ended up holding The Manager's lesson at the juice bar across from the Starbucks since it was packed there. No particular problems despite some sudden gusts outside (I held the lesson al fresco) and a dead tape recorder. As for MK, the two of us tracked her down in a somewhat emptier Starbucks.
Met up with Movie Buddy and Sam in Shinjuku. The rain was merely spitting so life in Shinjuku was as bustling as ever. We had a small beerklastsch at a Pronto cafe close to the Shinjuku Bunka Theatre. Then it was off to see "The Fantastic Four". Unlike the horrified reaction, the guys gave "Revenge of the Sith" weeks ago, MB and Sam gave the flick a thumbs up which again went against conventional critical reaction. To be honest, my expectations for FF were scraping bottom due to the reviews I'd read, so I was also quite surprised at how entertained I was. Not to say that "The Fantastic Four" was a stupendous shoo-in for Oscar gold. Far from it. It reminded me of the first "X-Men" in that it came off as a warm-up act for the main feature which may or may not be FF 2. The story was as light as a feather and everything else followed suit. And perhaps that was also its strength. It didn't take itself too seriously, and as a former reader of the comic book there were times that it also took the piss out of itself. I think the ideal viewers would be casual comic book readers and people who just want to spend 90 minutes forgetting about the world (basically the fans of the very first "Star Wars" before the mythology buried it). Hardcore fans would probably have been mortified at the light touch it was given.
After having a few laughs about the film, the three of us went to the nearby Samrat for dinner. Of course, I didn't pass up the chance to have the big thali meal and a strawberry lassi. As usual, the talk was mostly on various movies.
Well, so far we haven't heard much from this Typhoon 18 although the pavement has remained wet all day. I ended up holding The Manager's lesson at the juice bar across from the Starbucks since it was packed there. No particular problems despite some sudden gusts outside (I held the lesson al fresco) and a dead tape recorder. As for MK, the two of us tracked her down in a somewhat emptier Starbucks.
Met up with Movie Buddy and Sam in Shinjuku. The rain was merely spitting so life in Shinjuku was as bustling as ever. We had a small beerklastsch at a Pronto cafe close to the Shinjuku Bunka Theatre. Then it was off to see "The Fantastic Four". Unlike the horrified reaction, the guys gave "Revenge of the Sith" weeks ago, MB and Sam gave the flick a thumbs up which again went against conventional critical reaction. To be honest, my expectations for FF were scraping bottom due to the reviews I'd read, so I was also quite surprised at how entertained I was. Not to say that "The Fantastic Four" was a stupendous shoo-in for Oscar gold. Far from it. It reminded me of the first "X-Men" in that it came off as a warm-up act for the main feature which may or may not be FF 2. The story was as light as a feather and everything else followed suit. And perhaps that was also its strength. It didn't take itself too seriously, and as a former reader of the comic book there were times that it also took the piss out of itself. I think the ideal viewers would be casual comic book readers and people who just want to spend 90 minutes forgetting about the world (basically the fans of the very first "Star Wars" before the mythology buried it). Hardcore fans would probably have been mortified at the light touch it was given.
After having a few laughs about the film, the three of us went to the nearby Samrat for dinner. Of course, I didn't pass up the chance to have the big thali meal and a strawberry lassi. As usual, the talk was mostly on various movies.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Saturday September 24, 9:01 a.m.
You know that Hurricane Rita is one major storm when NHK provides more coverage on it than Typhoon 18 which is on our doorstep. As I was rousing out of REM sleep, I heard all this crashing of water on my balcony which kept coming in short intense bursts. It's calm now so I'm getting some laundry out of the way. Of course, it'll be drying inside my apartment today which will not help the humidity here.
Speaking of that other storm, it looks like a new word has entered the journalistic jargon, courtesy of CNN. It's "overtop", a verb denoting excess water coming over and overwhelming a levee. You can be sure that if any more of these hurricanes (or hypercanes) come to the Gulf Coast in the next decade, "overtop" will become a part of the Oxford Dictionary in no time. And CNN will be there. And Anderson Cooper is there...again...braving those winds in Texas, wearing that bright orange slicker. I even saw Carol Costello out there in her blue slicker. I wonder if the "plum" assignment is for that little shouting match on-air between her and "severe weather expert" Chad Myers. I'm sorry...I'm sure Myers is an expert in his field, but let's call him a meterologist or weatherman, please.
My uncle called me to acknowledge that he did get the application forms from me and to say that he'll be calling Immigration first thing on Monday to confirm some things on the form. Lucky I was already up for about half an hour. I'm very grateful.
Movie Buddy confirmed that Sam is coming for "Fantastic Four" tonight. Still gonna be worried about this storm.
You know that Hurricane Rita is one major storm when NHK provides more coverage on it than Typhoon 18 which is on our doorstep. As I was rousing out of REM sleep, I heard all this crashing of water on my balcony which kept coming in short intense bursts. It's calm now so I'm getting some laundry out of the way. Of course, it'll be drying inside my apartment today which will not help the humidity here.
Speaking of that other storm, it looks like a new word has entered the journalistic jargon, courtesy of CNN. It's "overtop", a verb denoting excess water coming over and overwhelming a levee. You can be sure that if any more of these hurricanes (or hypercanes) come to the Gulf Coast in the next decade, "overtop" will become a part of the Oxford Dictionary in no time. And CNN will be there. And Anderson Cooper is there...again...braving those winds in Texas, wearing that bright orange slicker. I even saw Carol Costello out there in her blue slicker. I wonder if the "plum" assignment is for that little shouting match on-air between her and "severe weather expert" Chad Myers. I'm sorry...I'm sure Myers is an expert in his field, but let's call him a meterologist or weatherman, please.
My uncle called me to acknowledge that he did get the application forms from me and to say that he'll be calling Immigration first thing on Monday to confirm some things on the form. Lucky I was already up for about half an hour. I'm very grateful.
Movie Buddy confirmed that Sam is coming for "Fantastic Four" tonight. Still gonna be worried about this storm.
Friday September 22, 11:25 p.m.
The kids were better today. But I had worked harder than usual on the lesson plans the night before.
Afterwards, I went off to Kinokuniya to find some sort of Mandarin phrasebook for Taiwan. I bought a Berlitz book with accompanying tape for 2500 yen. Not exactly the most fitting resource for me; I think I prefer my language learning in a much more structured way instead of getting all sorts of phrases flung at me. However, at least the tape provides some audio context to the pronunciation. And again, being on a Japanese tour, I'll probably be very well insulated.
Then I headed over to Akihabara. For the first day of Fall, it was still a hot one today. As expected, the main strip there was closed off to traffic as it's usually done on a Sunday. Saw quite a few of the rucksack-toting, plaid shirt-wearing otaku walking the street. Nope, I didn't see any of them draped in Hermes-sporting woman a la "Densha Otoko". And for that matter, I didn't see any of those dancing costumed girls either. I guess the police have been making their rounds.
But I did see the new Akihabara sprouting beside the old one. It's just like seeing Roppongi Hills beside old Roppongi or the Shiodome complex beside the hoary Shinbashi. Just off several dozen metres from the main strip, there was the new humongous Yodobashi Camera. It's been open a week and I guess with the holiday, the customers and curiosity-seekers (of which I was one) just packed the place. There was a lineup for the escalators! So my voyage into the new flagship store was limited to just a quick look-see on the first floor. From the floor guide, I could see that the top of the place had some pretty fancy restaurants for an electronics shop. Just off the main entrance, there was an escalator descending into the new Tsukuba Express. So I went down the several metres underground to see a whole horde of commuters lining up in front of the ticket machines. I guess the interest for that place has also not worn off.
Well, feeling pretty ragged, I went home and decided to have dinner at the neighbourhood tonkatsu restaurant. I hadn't been there for a few months so it was due for a visit. I had one of their specials: two small medallions of deep-fried pork, fried chicken and fried fish (you can tell there is a pattern) along with all the rice, shredded cabbage and pork soup you can ask repeatedly for. All for 880 yen. Can't be beat. I guess Mrs. Tulip's cans of beans will have to wait until Sunday night. Why Sunday night? Well, Movie Buddy contacted me just now and confirmed for "Fantastic Four" tomorrow night. I'll be going although I'm a little worried about the weather since Typhoon 18 is gonna be approaching. There is rain in the forecast. But I'm still committed to those two lovebirds, The Manager and MK, for Saturday afternoon.
The kids were better today. But I had worked harder than usual on the lesson plans the night before.
Afterwards, I went off to Kinokuniya to find some sort of Mandarin phrasebook for Taiwan. I bought a Berlitz book with accompanying tape for 2500 yen. Not exactly the most fitting resource for me; I think I prefer my language learning in a much more structured way instead of getting all sorts of phrases flung at me. However, at least the tape provides some audio context to the pronunciation. And again, being on a Japanese tour, I'll probably be very well insulated.
Then I headed over to Akihabara. For the first day of Fall, it was still a hot one today. As expected, the main strip there was closed off to traffic as it's usually done on a Sunday. Saw quite a few of the rucksack-toting, plaid shirt-wearing otaku walking the street. Nope, I didn't see any of them draped in Hermes-sporting woman a la "Densha Otoko". And for that matter, I didn't see any of those dancing costumed girls either. I guess the police have been making their rounds.
But I did see the new Akihabara sprouting beside the old one. It's just like seeing Roppongi Hills beside old Roppongi or the Shiodome complex beside the hoary Shinbashi. Just off several dozen metres from the main strip, there was the new humongous Yodobashi Camera. It's been open a week and I guess with the holiday, the customers and curiosity-seekers (of which I was one) just packed the place. There was a lineup for the escalators! So my voyage into the new flagship store was limited to just a quick look-see on the first floor. From the floor guide, I could see that the top of the place had some pretty fancy restaurants for an electronics shop. Just off the main entrance, there was an escalator descending into the new Tsukuba Express. So I went down the several metres underground to see a whole horde of commuters lining up in front of the ticket machines. I guess the interest for that place has also not worn off.
Well, feeling pretty ragged, I went home and decided to have dinner at the neighbourhood tonkatsu restaurant. I hadn't been there for a few months so it was due for a visit. I had one of their specials: two small medallions of deep-fried pork, fried chicken and fried fish (you can tell there is a pattern) along with all the rice, shredded cabbage and pork soup you can ask repeatedly for. All for 880 yen. Can't be beat. I guess Mrs. Tulip's cans of beans will have to wait until Sunday night. Why Sunday night? Well, Movie Buddy contacted me just now and confirmed for "Fantastic Four" tomorrow night. I'll be going although I'm a little worried about the weather since Typhoon 18 is gonna be approaching. There is rain in the forecast. But I'm still committed to those two lovebirds, The Manager and MK, for Saturday afternoon.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Friday September 22, 7:07 a.m.
The official first day of Fall but the temps should be up a bit. It was quite chilly last night...not that I'm complaining.
Looks like I'll be hitting home running after Taiwan. I've got a demo lesson at Speedy's the next day and then a couple of days later, I have to meet up with that former student to help her out on her interviews.
Just before I hit the hay last night, I caught the last 10 minutes of the drama "Densha Otoko" (Train Man), the Cinderella-like fantasy of an otaku who actually not only knows what a girl looks like but gets her heart (figuratively, not literally). Virtually all of those minutes were spent as the lead otaku and his fellow otaku who have helped him on his romantic journey bid a tearful farewell via e-mail as they all approached the maximum 1000-letter point of their string. I could have just stuck my two fingers down my throat and gotten the same reaction far sooner. In any case, this new urban legend from Channel 2-turned film-turned drama series has probably become one of the buzzwords for this year. Wouldn't it be absolutely sublime if this phenomenon actually got well-heeled girls to fall in love with the Akihabara nerds?
The official first day of Fall but the temps should be up a bit. It was quite chilly last night...not that I'm complaining.
Looks like I'll be hitting home running after Taiwan. I've got a demo lesson at Speedy's the next day and then a couple of days later, I have to meet up with that former student to help her out on her interviews.
Just before I hit the hay last night, I caught the last 10 minutes of the drama "Densha Otoko" (Train Man), the Cinderella-like fantasy of an otaku who actually not only knows what a girl looks like but gets her heart (figuratively, not literally). Virtually all of those minutes were spent as the lead otaku and his fellow otaku who have helped him on his romantic journey bid a tearful farewell via e-mail as they all approached the maximum 1000-letter point of their string. I could have just stuck my two fingers down my throat and gotten the same reaction far sooner. In any case, this new urban legend from Channel 2-turned film-turned drama series has probably become one of the buzzwords for this year. Wouldn't it be absolutely sublime if this phenomenon actually got well-heeled girls to fall in love with the Akihabara nerds?
Thursday September 22, 10:08 p.m.
My gym outing was greatly truncated since I had this rather itching paranoid feeling that I may have had made an error in the time to meet The New Yorker. I was wondering if I had meant 4 p.m. instead of 6 p.m. With the exception of my usual 10 minutes on the stationary bike, I practically whizzed through some of the machines and skipped my 30 minutes on the treadmill altogether.
In any case, I got to the Tea Room at 4:15. My paranoid feeling was just that...paranoid. There was no sign of my trendily manicured student anywhere. However, I've always had these feelings for a reason. Perhaps, it was to get me out of the gym ASAP. Perhaps, minutes after I got out, there was an incident of some sort at the gym. Who knows?
The New Yorker did show up...at her originally scheduled 6 p.m. She did pick up her game a notch. Her listening comprehension was quite good and she was more willing to answer in English, albeit fractured. I think the fact that she now has to commute considerably longer from her parents' home instead of her former boyfriend's place may have put a little more incentive into her.
Well, gotta get some final touch-ups done on the sisters' lesson plans before I hit bed. Tomorrow is another national holiday but I have to see them at 10. At least, the subways shouldn't be all that busy unless there's a massive vistitation to Tokyo Disneyland. Movie Buddy asked whether anyone was game for "Fantastic Four" this weekend. I made a counter-proposal of Saturday evening.
My gym outing was greatly truncated since I had this rather itching paranoid feeling that I may have had made an error in the time to meet The New Yorker. I was wondering if I had meant 4 p.m. instead of 6 p.m. With the exception of my usual 10 minutes on the stationary bike, I practically whizzed through some of the machines and skipped my 30 minutes on the treadmill altogether.
In any case, I got to the Tea Room at 4:15. My paranoid feeling was just that...paranoid. There was no sign of my trendily manicured student anywhere. However, I've always had these feelings for a reason. Perhaps, it was to get me out of the gym ASAP. Perhaps, minutes after I got out, there was an incident of some sort at the gym. Who knows?
The New Yorker did show up...at her originally scheduled 6 p.m. She did pick up her game a notch. Her listening comprehension was quite good and she was more willing to answer in English, albeit fractured. I think the fact that she now has to commute considerably longer from her parents' home instead of her former boyfriend's place may have put a little more incentive into her.
Well, gotta get some final touch-ups done on the sisters' lesson plans before I hit bed. Tomorrow is another national holiday but I have to see them at 10. At least, the subways shouldn't be all that busy unless there's a massive vistitation to Tokyo Disneyland. Movie Buddy asked whether anyone was game for "Fantastic Four" this weekend. I made a counter-proposal of Saturday evening.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Thursday September 22, 11:34 a.m.
Looking pretty gray and dark with some spitting rain out there. I checked the long-range forecast in Taiwan on the Net. Apparently, there may be the odd thunderstorm over Taipei on Monday but the next couple of days were symbolized by a black cloud. That doesn't look good but then again we will already be on the ground so at least the tour can continue...unless that black cloud means typhoons. Just hope that The Madame and I don't suffer a bad surprise when we hit Narita.
Quite the news night in the States. The third-most powerful hurricane in recorded history bearing down on Galveston, a tornado touching down near Minneapolis and a plane scare (thankfully safely resolved) over LAX.
I managed to get the lesson plans done for not just The New Yorker and the Carolinan tonight but also for the other pair of sisters I teach tomorrow. I'll have to get a bit of shopping done for some cheap cue cards.
I've been hearing all about this Kate Moss scandale with these pics of her snorting drugs. The only thing that surprises me is that this is actually news. Kate Moss? Cocaine? Quel horreur! It rather reminds me of Captain Renault yelling in mock indignation that Rick's Cafe Americain holds gambling while the corrupt man himself collects his winnings. Well, it looks like the fashion houses are dropping her like a used syringe only because of the media spotlight which only now just decided to shine on her. It does send a message but that won't be enough, of course. One model who was being preened when the reporter shoved a mike in her face just wondered aloud why the attention was being shone on Moss now. This is old news, folks.
Looking pretty gray and dark with some spitting rain out there. I checked the long-range forecast in Taiwan on the Net. Apparently, there may be the odd thunderstorm over Taipei on Monday but the next couple of days were symbolized by a black cloud. That doesn't look good but then again we will already be on the ground so at least the tour can continue...unless that black cloud means typhoons. Just hope that The Madame and I don't suffer a bad surprise when we hit Narita.
Quite the news night in the States. The third-most powerful hurricane in recorded history bearing down on Galveston, a tornado touching down near Minneapolis and a plane scare (thankfully safely resolved) over LAX.
I managed to get the lesson plans done for not just The New Yorker and the Carolinan tonight but also for the other pair of sisters I teach tomorrow. I'll have to get a bit of shopping done for some cheap cue cards.
I've been hearing all about this Kate Moss scandale with these pics of her snorting drugs. The only thing that surprises me is that this is actually news. Kate Moss? Cocaine? Quel horreur! It rather reminds me of Captain Renault yelling in mock indignation that Rick's Cafe Americain holds gambling while the corrupt man himself collects his winnings. Well, it looks like the fashion houses are dropping her like a used syringe only because of the media spotlight which only now just decided to shine on her. It does send a message but that won't be enough, of course. One model who was being preened when the reporter shoved a mike in her face just wondered aloud why the attention was being shone on Moss now. This is old news, folks.
Wednesday September 21, 11:10 p.m.
Another long day comes to an end. I had my usual Monday morning and afternoon students, The Class Act and SIL, this morning due to the national holiday a couple of days ago. Literally the classes at The Lady's house were back-to-back since they were scrunched up next to my lessons at Speedy's. Thankfully, the whole kit and kaboodle was liberally peppered with good humour so the time went pretty quickly. The Class Act went well and The Matron kindly took copies of all the immigration stuff I had collected to show to her hubby. If everything works out, I'll be meeting the man in a couple of weeks. Speaking of immigration, Paddy will be giving that town hall a call and see if his power of attorney will loosen the red tape.
SIL suffered a bit of an accident over the weekend. She had the misfortune of slipping on a zabuton on bare flooring which resulted in a cracked tailbone. OUCH! Fortunately or unfortunately, my own cracks...jokes, that is...were breaking her up at the cost of causing some pain for her tailbone.
001 and 002 were fine as usual. Speedy hopes that 002 will give up her other school, a nationally famous institution that isn't NOVA, to come over to our motley operation. The way I've been keeping her in stitches while educating her at the same time bodes well. Speedy also told me of this party on the holiday Friday at the Foreign Correspondents' Club for English teachers and students. His mission is mainly to go fishing for new students. He wanted me to come along since going alone is no fun but after looking at the website, I thought the whole affair was more of another human swap meet. And since he didn't seem all that enthused to go otherwise, I'm pretty much of a no-thanks. As it turns out, The OL cancelled her lesson for Friday, but I'll just be happy to get home after my lessons with the kids in the morning.
Chip Guy finally popped in the e-mail after an absence of several months. Looks like he had his own experience in Taiwan just the other day. Although his business trip was pretty much trains, planes and automobiles, he had enough time to go up the Taipei 101 Building and laud it. 002 also told me that she envied my upcoming trip since she enjoyed her two trips there herself. Looks promising.
I also got e-mail from that former student-turned-airline crew member. Looks like she wants some help in interviews since she's interested in moving onto another airline. I proposed October 2nd.
Now that I finally got replies from The Matron and my brother, the only other AWOL correspondent is SR. I'm not sure what's happened with her after the news that her company, an American airline, went bankrupt.
Another long day comes to an end. I had my usual Monday morning and afternoon students, The Class Act and SIL, this morning due to the national holiday a couple of days ago. Literally the classes at The Lady's house were back-to-back since they were scrunched up next to my lessons at Speedy's. Thankfully, the whole kit and kaboodle was liberally peppered with good humour so the time went pretty quickly. The Class Act went well and The Matron kindly took copies of all the immigration stuff I had collected to show to her hubby. If everything works out, I'll be meeting the man in a couple of weeks. Speaking of immigration, Paddy will be giving that town hall a call and see if his power of attorney will loosen the red tape.
SIL suffered a bit of an accident over the weekend. She had the misfortune of slipping on a zabuton on bare flooring which resulted in a cracked tailbone. OUCH! Fortunately or unfortunately, my own cracks...jokes, that is...were breaking her up at the cost of causing some pain for her tailbone.
001 and 002 were fine as usual. Speedy hopes that 002 will give up her other school, a nationally famous institution that isn't NOVA, to come over to our motley operation. The way I've been keeping her in stitches while educating her at the same time bodes well. Speedy also told me of this party on the holiday Friday at the Foreign Correspondents' Club for English teachers and students. His mission is mainly to go fishing for new students. He wanted me to come along since going alone is no fun but after looking at the website, I thought the whole affair was more of another human swap meet. And since he didn't seem all that enthused to go otherwise, I'm pretty much of a no-thanks. As it turns out, The OL cancelled her lesson for Friday, but I'll just be happy to get home after my lessons with the kids in the morning.
Chip Guy finally popped in the e-mail after an absence of several months. Looks like he had his own experience in Taiwan just the other day. Although his business trip was pretty much trains, planes and automobiles, he had enough time to go up the Taipei 101 Building and laud it. 002 also told me that she envied my upcoming trip since she enjoyed her two trips there herself. Looks promising.
I also got e-mail from that former student-turned-airline crew member. Looks like she wants some help in interviews since she's interested in moving onto another airline. I proposed October 2nd.
Now that I finally got replies from The Matron and my brother, the only other AWOL correspondent is SR. I'm not sure what's happened with her after the news that her company, an American airline, went bankrupt.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Wednesday September 21, 8:22 p.m.
The traditional first day of Fall. Not quite sure though what the temps are or will be out there. My room has a tendency to show season lag since I still need at least a fan to keep cool.
It was a mixed bag at the juku. The boss is still praying that I will be able to stay with the juku. The New Kid was alright although it was plainly obvious that he needed a shower. He's still a kid so it'll be a few years yet before he's vain enough to need cologne or deodorant. The Beauty Pair was OK although Kei seemed a bit bored. I only had Mrs. Mild since Mr. Mild was too busy at work and McGirl had some other teenage plan. As for The Siberian, things were a bit smoother since we were able to lock onto a topic that he showed some interest in...the wonderful world of fortune telling.
I finally got word from my brother. He's been strangely unresponsive to my e-mail for a while so there was a little worry whether I'd offended him or not, but he's usually very straight with me. Looks like everything is OK but he didn't show any reaction about my visa plans.
I just got a call from my mother's town hall concerning that request for the documentation. The lady is very polite but it was another example of red tape. I'm gonna have to let Paddy know. I don't think he will be able to sweet talk her into doing anything about it...even with his skills as a lawyer. And I'm hoping that The Matron has some good news for me today. She never responded to my e-mail about her initial proposal.
The traditional first day of Fall. Not quite sure though what the temps are or will be out there. My room has a tendency to show season lag since I still need at least a fan to keep cool.
It was a mixed bag at the juku. The boss is still praying that I will be able to stay with the juku. The New Kid was alright although it was plainly obvious that he needed a shower. He's still a kid so it'll be a few years yet before he's vain enough to need cologne or deodorant. The Beauty Pair was OK although Kei seemed a bit bored. I only had Mrs. Mild since Mr. Mild was too busy at work and McGirl had some other teenage plan. As for The Siberian, things were a bit smoother since we were able to lock onto a topic that he showed some interest in...the wonderful world of fortune telling.
I finally got word from my brother. He's been strangely unresponsive to my e-mail for a while so there was a little worry whether I'd offended him or not, but he's usually very straight with me. Looks like everything is OK but he didn't show any reaction about my visa plans.
I just got a call from my mother's town hall concerning that request for the documentation. The lady is very polite but it was another example of red tape. I'm gonna have to let Paddy know. I don't think he will be able to sweet talk her into doing anything about it...even with his skills as a lawyer. And I'm hoping that The Matron has some good news for me today. She never responded to my e-mail about her initial proposal.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Tuesday September 19, 1:23 p.m.
Pretty unsettled out there right now. Just overcast with bits of sun peeking through. Despite the forecast temperature of 26, it still feels humid out there.
Just had The Beehive. The usual chattiness. Got a couple of tins of baked beans from Mrs. Tulip. They're the Libby's variety, apparently from California or Texas according to the double label of English and Spanish. I'll have them but it won't be today. It just won't do getting gas during the juku classes tonight.
Also sent out a couple of envelopes. One was to my uncle with my request for his help in my immigration matter. The other was to Shard; he'd requested me to send over a local pamphlet of Pizza Hut since he got a kick from seeing these rather bizarre pizzas such as Potato and Mayonnaise. Yup, I can see where he would be intrigued by our choices in pizza.
Pretty unsettled out there right now. Just overcast with bits of sun peeking through. Despite the forecast temperature of 26, it still feels humid out there.
Just had The Beehive. The usual chattiness. Got a couple of tins of baked beans from Mrs. Tulip. They're the Libby's variety, apparently from California or Texas according to the double label of English and Spanish. I'll have them but it won't be today. It just won't do getting gas during the juku classes tonight.
Also sent out a couple of envelopes. One was to my uncle with my request for his help in my immigration matter. The other was to Shard; he'd requested me to send over a local pamphlet of Pizza Hut since he got a kick from seeing these rather bizarre pizzas such as Potato and Mayonnaise. Yup, I can see where he would be intrigued by our choices in pizza.
Monday September 19, 10:58 p.m.
It's been a quiet day. Pretty warm, though. However, the temps will be falling by quite a bit tomorrow. Only up to 26 C. Made up some dinner and then proceeded to write a letter in Japanese to my uncle in respect with my immigration plans. It took me the better of an hour to write up three-quarters of a page of kanji and hiragana when I combined the actual pigeon prints along with looks through the dictionaries. I'm proud to say that I got the task done.
During this time, there was a lallapalooza of a special on TBS tonight called "Doors". I guess we're in that transition time between the Summer and Fall dramas once again. This four-hour extravaganza was basically the Japanese version of "Battle of the Network Stars" (remember that old chestnut from America?). However, all of the battlers were from shows within the TBS family. One thing I have to admire about the Japanese when it comes to these epic game shows is the elaborate games they come up with. They really come up with some big-ass obstacle courses which take up the room of an entire warehouse. I can't even describe some of these games which wouldn't look out of place in a typical Tim Burton movie. The preliminary course had celebs slide down a ramp via a sled and across a small pool; if they were lucky enough to cross over successfully, then they had to face 3 huge falling doors with holes in them. If they managed to stand in the right spot so that the holes fell over them, then they had to negotiate through three rotating spindles over another pond before trying to shoot a ball through five swinging axes to a target. And that was the easiest one to describe. The very final course which only had group left was trying to ride a bicycle across a very teetery footbridge. Noone made it across without falling off (of course, everyone was tethered to a bungee cord) so in effect, there was no winner this year.
The news was pretty good internationally for Japan. The 6-nation talks concerning North Korea's nuclear capability finally came off successfully. North Korea promises to scrap its nuclear program in return for a promise from the United States not to attack or invade the country and some material stuff. So I gather that the Kim-dom will play nice...for now.
Also, the founder of the large Daiei department store chain, Mr. Nakauchi, passed away today.
Time to take a shower and then watch one more game show before bedtime.
It's been a quiet day. Pretty warm, though. However, the temps will be falling by quite a bit tomorrow. Only up to 26 C. Made up some dinner and then proceeded to write a letter in Japanese to my uncle in respect with my immigration plans. It took me the better of an hour to write up three-quarters of a page of kanji and hiragana when I combined the actual pigeon prints along with looks through the dictionaries. I'm proud to say that I got the task done.
During this time, there was a lallapalooza of a special on TBS tonight called "Doors". I guess we're in that transition time between the Summer and Fall dramas once again. This four-hour extravaganza was basically the Japanese version of "Battle of the Network Stars" (remember that old chestnut from America?). However, all of the battlers were from shows within the TBS family. One thing I have to admire about the Japanese when it comes to these epic game shows is the elaborate games they come up with. They really come up with some big-ass obstacle courses which take up the room of an entire warehouse. I can't even describe some of these games which wouldn't look out of place in a typical Tim Burton movie. The preliminary course had celebs slide down a ramp via a sled and across a small pool; if they were lucky enough to cross over successfully, then they had to face 3 huge falling doors with holes in them. If they managed to stand in the right spot so that the holes fell over them, then they had to negotiate through three rotating spindles over another pond before trying to shoot a ball through five swinging axes to a target. And that was the easiest one to describe. The very final course which only had group left was trying to ride a bicycle across a very teetery footbridge. Noone made it across without falling off (of course, everyone was tethered to a bungee cord) so in effect, there was no winner this year.
The news was pretty good internationally for Japan. The 6-nation talks concerning North Korea's nuclear capability finally came off successfully. North Korea promises to scrap its nuclear program in return for a promise from the United States not to attack or invade the country and some material stuff. So I gather that the Kim-dom will play nice...for now.
Also, the founder of the large Daiei department store chain, Mr. Nakauchi, passed away today.
Time to take a shower and then watch one more game show before bedtime.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Monday September 19, 12:13 p.m.
Got to wake up much later than usual...even in comparison to a regular Sunday. It's the beginning of a strange week in which the Monday and Friday are national holidays bracketing a 3-day work week. Well, it won't really work out that way for me since I'll be teaching the kids and The OL on Friday. For your information, today is Respect-For-The-Aged Day. I can certainly use some of that respect since I'm aching all over. Perhaps those massages were more of a workout than a relaxation session.
I'd forgotten to mention that before "Cinderella Man" came on, there was a trailer for "Sayuri". Well, "Sayuri" is the Japanese title for the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha", the best-selling book about how a poor country girl became the most sought-after professional lady in Kyoto. The transition from book to movie took quite a while with the project being batted around all the major directors.
It was interesting to see all these Japanese actors, people who I've seen all the time on the telly in various dramas and commercials such as Koji Yakusho from "Shall We Dance?", Momoi Kaori and Ken Watanabe from "Batman Begins" rattling off their lines in English. But the big thing was watching Ziyi Zhang as the titular character. Now I have nothing against her being cast as a Japanese woman...when it comes to the business of casting a major motion picture, things such as ability, fame and the all important quality of putting butts in seats will always take financial precedence over nationalistic accuracy (can anyone name a Japanese actress right now who has the worldwide fame of Zhang? No, thought not.). In this movie, Zhang is the star. And boy, does she stand out....and speak English.
Still, after watching this trailer, I couldn't help but get that feeling of "Bugsy Malone" about this movie. For all those who don't know what I'm talking about, "Bugsy Malone" was this bizarro flick from the mid-70s starring just kids dressed up as gangsters and molls from the 20s while mouthing obviously lip-synched songs. The most notable thing was that Scott Baio and Jodie Foster were the two leads. With all of these Japanese folks spouting English and a Chinese actress playing a geisha, there's a part of me afraid that the gimmick will just stick out a bit too much. I hope the story does hold up but frankly I'm always a bit skeptical of any Hollywood project that comes to Japan. And that still includes "The Last Samurai".
Well, time to clean out the apartment.
Got to wake up much later than usual...even in comparison to a regular Sunday. It's the beginning of a strange week in which the Monday and Friday are national holidays bracketing a 3-day work week. Well, it won't really work out that way for me since I'll be teaching the kids and The OL on Friday. For your information, today is Respect-For-The-Aged Day. I can certainly use some of that respect since I'm aching all over. Perhaps those massages were more of a workout than a relaxation session.
I'd forgotten to mention that before "Cinderella Man" came on, there was a trailer for "Sayuri". Well, "Sayuri" is the Japanese title for the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha", the best-selling book about how a poor country girl became the most sought-after professional lady in Kyoto. The transition from book to movie took quite a while with the project being batted around all the major directors.
It was interesting to see all these Japanese actors, people who I've seen all the time on the telly in various dramas and commercials such as Koji Yakusho from "Shall We Dance?", Momoi Kaori and Ken Watanabe from "Batman Begins" rattling off their lines in English. But the big thing was watching Ziyi Zhang as the titular character. Now I have nothing against her being cast as a Japanese woman...when it comes to the business of casting a major motion picture, things such as ability, fame and the all important quality of putting butts in seats will always take financial precedence over nationalistic accuracy (can anyone name a Japanese actress right now who has the worldwide fame of Zhang? No, thought not.). In this movie, Zhang is the star. And boy, does she stand out....and speak English.
Still, after watching this trailer, I couldn't help but get that feeling of "Bugsy Malone" about this movie. For all those who don't know what I'm talking about, "Bugsy Malone" was this bizarro flick from the mid-70s starring just kids dressed up as gangsters and molls from the 20s while mouthing obviously lip-synched songs. The most notable thing was that Scott Baio and Jodie Foster were the two leads. With all of these Japanese folks spouting English and a Chinese actress playing a geisha, there's a part of me afraid that the gimmick will just stick out a bit too much. I hope the story does hold up but frankly I'm always a bit skeptical of any Hollywood project that comes to Japan. And that still includes "The Last Samurai".
Well, time to clean out the apartment.
Sunday September 18, 8:50 p.m.
Aaaaah....The Beauty Pair and I underwent a very relaxing experience at Riraku no Mori, the new massage emporium in Namjatown. Yep, the entire town was busy as expected for a middle day of a long weekend. However, we were able to get appointments with a couple of places: one was a Asian massage salon and the other was for a place specializing in Indian head massage. Both places were already packed to the gills so the appointments were for later in the day. In the meantime, I took the Pair, who had never visited the wonders of the various food museums, to the Gyoza Museum. Quite a few lineups to endure this time around. My past visits there were on very slow days like Thursdays. Not this time. However, all of us managed to sample most of the various kinds of gyoza for sale. That's a good ton of garlice, minced meat and cabbage in us today.
As for the massages, Yuri and I went to the Asian massage place while Kei visited another place. The salon had that atmosphere of Southeast Asia in its scents and decor. I had a young man for my masseur. The massage was for half an hour. It was basically a softer and longer version of what I usually get at my neighbourhood clinic so I wasn't duly impressed although I thought it was quite good. And the last 5 minutes, he had flip over on my back so he could give a brisk rubdown of my scalp which was the highlight. Yuri enjoyed her rubdown. Kei was already at the meeting point of the table area in the Gyoza Museum with a new sample of gyoza; she related that her experience was fine if a bit painful.
There were 3 hours until the next appointment so we just did Phase 2 of our scourging of the Museum. And then we waddled our way up to Ice Cream City. It was also crowded but not nearly as bad as the earlier reconnaisance effort during the O-Bon holiday. There, we gave two parlours a shot. One was a place whose claim to fame was a rose-flavoured ice cream sundae, I kid you not. And the other was a place which has become quite famous on the variety shows here. The staff work their magic "kneading" plain vanilla ice cream with paddles on a frigid metal platter while mixing it with plenty of fresh fruits and chocolate items such as Snickers bars or Smarties. The three of us shared a concoction called "Strawberry Fields" which mixed in fresh berries, some shaved almonds and Special K (that stuff which always helps a Japanese sundae).
We also took a tour of the Puff Pastry Exhibit but didn't bother getting anything there since we were all pretty stuffed. After a brief respite on a bench, the three hours managed to fly by. And thus we headed for our last stop, Dhora Vilas, the Indian head massage parlor. That was most definitely the highlight of our day. That salon was even dimmer than the other place. Luckily the seats where we were to get rubbed down were so light-coloured. The masseuses were all dressed up in saris. My masseuse asked me to take off my glasses and watch. She put on some rather warm pads on my shoulders and then scrubbed my head with a damp towel. She then asked me if I had any particular problems today. So I answered that my eyes were feeling quite tired. She replied that she would mix up a concoction of oils that would help alleviate my eyestrain.
I was sitting in the near-dark faced away from the masseuse (in fact, I didn't see her for the entire session) but I could hear some clattering of bowls which presumably was the mixing of oils. At first, I thought I was going to get an Ayurvedic treatment (getting the oil dripped slowly onto your forehead). Instead I had the oil massaged into my scalp rather briskly. And then I got a pretty hectic shoulder massage. There wasn't any of the shiatsu that I was familiar with but the first part was fairly intense in that that the masseuse was smacking my body pretty hard and then doing a lot of picking up of my shoulder muscles. But after that storm came some blissful arm kneading and the slow descent into slumberland began. Once she started to rub my earlobes, I was hers. I could actually understand how a Ferengi felt. I barely remember getting the back of my neck and scalp rubbed before my pilot light went out. When I did regain consciousness, the massage was over. I only remember 6 minutes....one-fifth of the massage! Now that's one relaxing session. It's definitely worth another visit but I will truly try to stay awake if it means ingesting a couple of Cokes. Yuri also mentioned that she went into La-La Land and was afraid that she started snoring. All of us were buzzing about Dhora Vilas. The two half-hour sessions came to a grand total of 6000 yen...no, not cheap but occasionally worth the visit. However, I'll come for another Indian head massage.
After that wonderful time, we all decided to head on home since we were all feeling quite contemplative and peaceful. I was quite content to let The Pair gab between themselves. And I was glad that the two enjoyed themselves eating and getting rubbed down.
However, my culinary feast wasn't over. For some reason (massage? long weekend?), I got this craving for ramen so I stopped off at the station ramen shop for a big bowl of chashu men before heading home. Yep, I think I topped off my garlic quota for the month. And I'm gonna have to load up on plenty of veggies and fruits tomorrow to compensate for all of the meat and grease that I devoured today.
That lunch with The Madame is now off the schedule. Although she denied it, I think I did push her into it...gahhh, when will I ever learn? Well, at least I'll meet her at the airport. The Anime King also called up to confirm that I shouldn't drink one drop of tap water in Taipei. Besides, he says, why would I ever want to drink polluted tap water when I could have glorious bubble tea anytime and anywhere? Also, the engagement parade continues around me taunting me. He just announced his engagement.
That glorious massage also did more than generate a craving for ramen. Now, I want to actually take a bath.
Aaaaah....The Beauty Pair and I underwent a very relaxing experience at Riraku no Mori, the new massage emporium in Namjatown. Yep, the entire town was busy as expected for a middle day of a long weekend. However, we were able to get appointments with a couple of places: one was a Asian massage salon and the other was for a place specializing in Indian head massage. Both places were already packed to the gills so the appointments were for later in the day. In the meantime, I took the Pair, who had never visited the wonders of the various food museums, to the Gyoza Museum. Quite a few lineups to endure this time around. My past visits there were on very slow days like Thursdays. Not this time. However, all of us managed to sample most of the various kinds of gyoza for sale. That's a good ton of garlice, minced meat and cabbage in us today.
As for the massages, Yuri and I went to the Asian massage place while Kei visited another place. The salon had that atmosphere of Southeast Asia in its scents and decor. I had a young man for my masseur. The massage was for half an hour. It was basically a softer and longer version of what I usually get at my neighbourhood clinic so I wasn't duly impressed although I thought it was quite good. And the last 5 minutes, he had flip over on my back so he could give a brisk rubdown of my scalp which was the highlight. Yuri enjoyed her rubdown. Kei was already at the meeting point of the table area in the Gyoza Museum with a new sample of gyoza; she related that her experience was fine if a bit painful.
There were 3 hours until the next appointment so we just did Phase 2 of our scourging of the Museum. And then we waddled our way up to Ice Cream City. It was also crowded but not nearly as bad as the earlier reconnaisance effort during the O-Bon holiday. There, we gave two parlours a shot. One was a place whose claim to fame was a rose-flavoured ice cream sundae, I kid you not. And the other was a place which has become quite famous on the variety shows here. The staff work their magic "kneading" plain vanilla ice cream with paddles on a frigid metal platter while mixing it with plenty of fresh fruits and chocolate items such as Snickers bars or Smarties. The three of us shared a concoction called "Strawberry Fields" which mixed in fresh berries, some shaved almonds and Special K (that stuff which always helps a Japanese sundae).
We also took a tour of the Puff Pastry Exhibit but didn't bother getting anything there since we were all pretty stuffed. After a brief respite on a bench, the three hours managed to fly by. And thus we headed for our last stop, Dhora Vilas, the Indian head massage parlor. That was most definitely the highlight of our day. That salon was even dimmer than the other place. Luckily the seats where we were to get rubbed down were so light-coloured. The masseuses were all dressed up in saris. My masseuse asked me to take off my glasses and watch. She put on some rather warm pads on my shoulders and then scrubbed my head with a damp towel. She then asked me if I had any particular problems today. So I answered that my eyes were feeling quite tired. She replied that she would mix up a concoction of oils that would help alleviate my eyestrain.
I was sitting in the near-dark faced away from the masseuse (in fact, I didn't see her for the entire session) but I could hear some clattering of bowls which presumably was the mixing of oils. At first, I thought I was going to get an Ayurvedic treatment (getting the oil dripped slowly onto your forehead). Instead I had the oil massaged into my scalp rather briskly. And then I got a pretty hectic shoulder massage. There wasn't any of the shiatsu that I was familiar with but the first part was fairly intense in that that the masseuse was smacking my body pretty hard and then doing a lot of picking up of my shoulder muscles. But after that storm came some blissful arm kneading and the slow descent into slumberland began. Once she started to rub my earlobes, I was hers. I could actually understand how a Ferengi felt. I barely remember getting the back of my neck and scalp rubbed before my pilot light went out. When I did regain consciousness, the massage was over. I only remember 6 minutes....one-fifth of the massage! Now that's one relaxing session. It's definitely worth another visit but I will truly try to stay awake if it means ingesting a couple of Cokes. Yuri also mentioned that she went into La-La Land and was afraid that she started snoring. All of us were buzzing about Dhora Vilas. The two half-hour sessions came to a grand total of 6000 yen...no, not cheap but occasionally worth the visit. However, I'll come for another Indian head massage.
After that wonderful time, we all decided to head on home since we were all feeling quite contemplative and peaceful. I was quite content to let The Pair gab between themselves. And I was glad that the two enjoyed themselves eating and getting rubbed down.
However, my culinary feast wasn't over. For some reason (massage? long weekend?), I got this craving for ramen so I stopped off at the station ramen shop for a big bowl of chashu men before heading home. Yep, I think I topped off my garlic quota for the month. And I'm gonna have to load up on plenty of veggies and fruits tomorrow to compensate for all of the meat and grease that I devoured today.
That lunch with The Madame is now off the schedule. Although she denied it, I think I did push her into it...gahhh, when will I ever learn? Well, at least I'll meet her at the airport. The Anime King also called up to confirm that I shouldn't drink one drop of tap water in Taipei. Besides, he says, why would I ever want to drink polluted tap water when I could have glorious bubble tea anytime and anywhere? Also, the engagement parade continues around me taunting me. He just announced his engagement.
That glorious massage also did more than generate a craving for ramen. Now, I want to actually take a bath.
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Sunday September 18, 9:58 a.m.
Thought I wasn't going to make an entry until after coming back from Namjatown. But then my curiosity on our hotel in Taipei got the better of me so I decided to do a bit of research. I saw a number of sites which showed the Paradise Hotel with photos and the usual description of services and amenities. I was rather surprised to see how much the hotel had considering the very spartan description on the document that I'd gotten from the Tobu Travel Guy. Then again, I am going to be on a Japanese tour; there probably won't be any time to enjoy any of those things. The hotel boasts the most luxuriously appointed in-house karaoke suite in Taipei. I also read a review dated 2003 in which the fellow said that the Paradise was a decent hotel but the rooms were dark and humid. Cave dwelling? Hopefully, things have improved since the prehistoric days of the early 21st century.
Speaking of humidity, it's feeling pretty sweaty in my own place right now. I gather that means it'll be another hot one out there.
Thought I wasn't going to make an entry until after coming back from Namjatown. But then my curiosity on our hotel in Taipei got the better of me so I decided to do a bit of research. I saw a number of sites which showed the Paradise Hotel with photos and the usual description of services and amenities. I was rather surprised to see how much the hotel had considering the very spartan description on the document that I'd gotten from the Tobu Travel Guy. Then again, I am going to be on a Japanese tour; there probably won't be any time to enjoy any of those things. The hotel boasts the most luxuriously appointed in-house karaoke suite in Taipei. I also read a review dated 2003 in which the fellow said that the Paradise was a decent hotel but the rooms were dark and humid. Cave dwelling? Hopefully, things have improved since the prehistoric days of the early 21st century.
Speaking of humidity, it's feeling pretty sweaty in my own place right now. I gather that means it'll be another hot one out there.
Sunday September 18, 1:26 a.m.
Yep, home after a long day. I think Tokyo is in Festival mode this long weekend. The Kiba mall usually has some sort of street performer in front of the Starbucks I teach at, but today there was a jazz combo belting out Dixieland. Not surprisingly, it was all for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Would've loved to have taken digital pics of that and sent them into CNN. Japan cares! JJ was her usual happy self.
I joined up with The Madame at Ikebukuro afterwards to get the itineraries for Taiwan in 10 days. The guy there did confirm that it would be better to not drink the tap water and stick to the Evian instead. What we take for granted... I paid the incidental costs for insurance, fuel and all that in what turned out to be quite an expensive day for me.
We had a bit of a small lunch to eat at the upstairs Fujiya on the restaurant floor of the Tobu Department Store. The Madame was right when she said that the old family restaurant franchise had improved its cuisine. The salad and pasta were quite good. The latter was even al dente. The Madame and I basically talked somewhat on her long interest in spiritual matters such as remote viewing. I'm keeping an open mind about it despite my healthy skepticism about things like that. In fact, what she told me about it rather reminded me of the premise behind "Orion's Arm", that epic sci-fi website I've been visiting lately.
Raced down to the Shinjuku Picadilly to meet Speedy. That woman who had drunkenly tried to pick me up on the cruise a couple of weeks ago was there. I was a bit worried at first that she was quite cool to me but she was OK although her outgoing nature was definitely more tempered last night than the first time I'd met her during my first Speedy Movie Night. There was one more woman from the other night as well but that was it. Just five of us. And we had a bit of a surprise in that "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" was practically sold out. There was only standing room available. Even the discount ticket shop behind the theatre had sold all of its tickets for that movie. So we made a quick decision to watch "Cinderella Man" instead. Yesterday was its premiere but it got a far smaller audience. From what I'd heard of its performance in the States, it seems like Russell Crowe's latest may also be quite anemic here.
And that would be a pity that I wouldn't understand since it was a pretty good flick. It was a Ron Howard movie so the story direction was predictable: hero on top of the world at first, then hits bottom before crawling up the heap to victory again. It basically followed "Apollo 13" almost to a tee. But once again, "heart" came through. Crowe played a thoroughly decent guy and the other characters were very sympathetic...that is, with the exception of the near-sociopathic Max Baer. Didn't realize that Jethro's father was such a jerk. Or maybe that was just a bit of hyperbole on the part of the writers. Certainly, I don't think Baer's descendants would like how he was portrayed on film. But I digress. I think the movie succeeded, for me anyways, because all that 20s and 30s atmosphere wasn't allowed to overwhelm the core story. And I think Crowe's performance is deserving of a possible Oscar nom if only because his James Braddock made us forget for 2 hours what a jerk he can be in real life. I swear that Russell Crowe may be paralleling William Shatner's career, albeit Crowe has more talent. Crowe's last role as Captain Aubrey in "Master and Commander" just reminded me so much of Captain Kirk, and now the Crowe/Braddock dichotomy can compare to Shatner/Kirk. As I paraphrase the late James Doohan...Doohan would be very happy to follow the iconic Kirk to the ends of the universe but he would leave the vain and pompous Shatner in the dust.
But back to the review. Along with the performances, I also enjoyed watching the thrilling fight scenes and how the trainers simultaneously coached their charges. There were also a few standout dramatic scenes such as the first tearjerking one in which the once-proud Braddock goes literally hat in hand to get some cash from some of his old minders. The other was seeing how Braddock handled his son's stealing incident. One wouldn't be blamed if he thought the boxer would wallop his errant son. And yet, Braddock gave his son one of the most gentlest and wisest admonishments that would easily rival any disciplining that Charles Ingalls would give his kids on "Little House on the Prairie". Finally, I would have to say that despite the similar setting, Renee Zellwegger made us forget Roxy from "Chicago" and in fact made us forget her more iconic role as Bridget Jones. What didn't work was a superfluous subplot involving the Braddocks' neighbours in crisis, the Joneses. I couldn't really see any point to their inclusion except to emphasize the angelic decency of Braddock. Mind you, that subplot did educate me about what Central Park was like during The Great Depression.
The movie worked its magic on The Madame. She was tearing up at the end so I gave her my tissue. However, her love for Adonis physiques continues as she confessed that the really loved Craig Bierko as Max Baer. She even had me spell out his name on her cellphone screen for further reference. Well, for her information, we both underestimated his age. He's even older than me. At least one of the other ladies also confessed to some lacrymal activity but both women said that they felt more exhausted after watching the brutal scenes of pugilism. I told them that Rocky Balboa looked far worse in his first movie.
I'm not quite sure why "Cinderella Man" failed to make a big impact in the States and didn't do all that much in its first night here. I mean over here, the story would be perfect for Japanese viewers: the tale of a protagonist who has to go through Hell and Earth to reach final victory and vindication. But then again, Russell Crowe, although he's a known face here, doesn't hold a candle to Johnny Depp's flawless visage. And perhaps with the exception of "Gladiator" half a decade ago, his films haven't really caught fire here. As for its disappointing performance in the States, you got me. Perhaps Crowe's antics outside of the film have turned moviegoers off; perhaps, moviegoers have finally tired of boxing films going straight for Oscar greatness after "Million Dollar Baby" and "Ali".
Two final points about "Cinderella Man". Once again, Ron Howard brought in his brother-as-filmic trademark. Clint Howard came in as the referee in the first match. And I was rather tickled during the end credits when I saw that Ron Howard and Penny Marshall had produced the movie. Can you imagine that? Richie Cunningham and Laverne DeFazio putting up a movie. Or if you wanna go even further...Opie Taylor and Myrna Turner. Who would have thought that 30 years after their heydays on "Happy Days"?
After the flick, The Madame had to rush home but I decided in what wasn't the most sound of ideas financially to accompany Speedy and his two mates to a Thai restaurant, Erewan, not too far away. It was just as well that The Madame took off. The food was pretty darn spicy and I know that her tongue is far from asbestos-lined. I ended up paying 5000 yen for dinner tonight. Well, the food and surroundings were good, and besides, this movie night thing is more a monthly deal anyways.
It was the usual massive scrum at Shinjuku Station for the trains. My long experience and good twisty right knee, though, cut me through the horde like a knife through butter. I did envy my dinner companions, though, since they only had to take the Marunouchi Line a couple of stations west before they were home. On the Tozai Line, I had to contend with another one of those young thuggish types sitting beside me and trying to muscle as much space away from me. I held my own though and he just had to make do sullenly. I was thinking some very evil thoughts about his future all the way back home.
In any case, I've been at this for more than an hour. It's time for bed since I gotta head on out again for what could be a futile trip with The Beauty Pair to Namjatown.
Yep, home after a long day. I think Tokyo is in Festival mode this long weekend. The Kiba mall usually has some sort of street performer in front of the Starbucks I teach at, but today there was a jazz combo belting out Dixieland. Not surprisingly, it was all for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Would've loved to have taken digital pics of that and sent them into CNN. Japan cares! JJ was her usual happy self.
I joined up with The Madame at Ikebukuro afterwards to get the itineraries for Taiwan in 10 days. The guy there did confirm that it would be better to not drink the tap water and stick to the Evian instead. What we take for granted... I paid the incidental costs for insurance, fuel and all that in what turned out to be quite an expensive day for me.
We had a bit of a small lunch to eat at the upstairs Fujiya on the restaurant floor of the Tobu Department Store. The Madame was right when she said that the old family restaurant franchise had improved its cuisine. The salad and pasta were quite good. The latter was even al dente. The Madame and I basically talked somewhat on her long interest in spiritual matters such as remote viewing. I'm keeping an open mind about it despite my healthy skepticism about things like that. In fact, what she told me about it rather reminded me of the premise behind "Orion's Arm", that epic sci-fi website I've been visiting lately.
Raced down to the Shinjuku Picadilly to meet Speedy. That woman who had drunkenly tried to pick me up on the cruise a couple of weeks ago was there. I was a bit worried at first that she was quite cool to me but she was OK although her outgoing nature was definitely more tempered last night than the first time I'd met her during my first Speedy Movie Night. There was one more woman from the other night as well but that was it. Just five of us. And we had a bit of a surprise in that "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" was practically sold out. There was only standing room available. Even the discount ticket shop behind the theatre had sold all of its tickets for that movie. So we made a quick decision to watch "Cinderella Man" instead. Yesterday was its premiere but it got a far smaller audience. From what I'd heard of its performance in the States, it seems like Russell Crowe's latest may also be quite anemic here.
And that would be a pity that I wouldn't understand since it was a pretty good flick. It was a Ron Howard movie so the story direction was predictable: hero on top of the world at first, then hits bottom before crawling up the heap to victory again. It basically followed "Apollo 13" almost to a tee. But once again, "heart" came through. Crowe played a thoroughly decent guy and the other characters were very sympathetic...that is, with the exception of the near-sociopathic Max Baer. Didn't realize that Jethro's father was such a jerk. Or maybe that was just a bit of hyperbole on the part of the writers. Certainly, I don't think Baer's descendants would like how he was portrayed on film. But I digress. I think the movie succeeded, for me anyways, because all that 20s and 30s atmosphere wasn't allowed to overwhelm the core story. And I think Crowe's performance is deserving of a possible Oscar nom if only because his James Braddock made us forget for 2 hours what a jerk he can be in real life. I swear that Russell Crowe may be paralleling William Shatner's career, albeit Crowe has more talent. Crowe's last role as Captain Aubrey in "Master and Commander" just reminded me so much of Captain Kirk, and now the Crowe/Braddock dichotomy can compare to Shatner/Kirk. As I paraphrase the late James Doohan...Doohan would be very happy to follow the iconic Kirk to the ends of the universe but he would leave the vain and pompous Shatner in the dust.
But back to the review. Along with the performances, I also enjoyed watching the thrilling fight scenes and how the trainers simultaneously coached their charges. There were also a few standout dramatic scenes such as the first tearjerking one in which the once-proud Braddock goes literally hat in hand to get some cash from some of his old minders. The other was seeing how Braddock handled his son's stealing incident. One wouldn't be blamed if he thought the boxer would wallop his errant son. And yet, Braddock gave his son one of the most gentlest and wisest admonishments that would easily rival any disciplining that Charles Ingalls would give his kids on "Little House on the Prairie". Finally, I would have to say that despite the similar setting, Renee Zellwegger made us forget Roxy from "Chicago" and in fact made us forget her more iconic role as Bridget Jones. What didn't work was a superfluous subplot involving the Braddocks' neighbours in crisis, the Joneses. I couldn't really see any point to their inclusion except to emphasize the angelic decency of Braddock. Mind you, that subplot did educate me about what Central Park was like during The Great Depression.
The movie worked its magic on The Madame. She was tearing up at the end so I gave her my tissue. However, her love for Adonis physiques continues as she confessed that the really loved Craig Bierko as Max Baer. She even had me spell out his name on her cellphone screen for further reference. Well, for her information, we both underestimated his age. He's even older than me. At least one of the other ladies also confessed to some lacrymal activity but both women said that they felt more exhausted after watching the brutal scenes of pugilism. I told them that Rocky Balboa looked far worse in his first movie.
I'm not quite sure why "Cinderella Man" failed to make a big impact in the States and didn't do all that much in its first night here. I mean over here, the story would be perfect for Japanese viewers: the tale of a protagonist who has to go through Hell and Earth to reach final victory and vindication. But then again, Russell Crowe, although he's a known face here, doesn't hold a candle to Johnny Depp's flawless visage. And perhaps with the exception of "Gladiator" half a decade ago, his films haven't really caught fire here. As for its disappointing performance in the States, you got me. Perhaps Crowe's antics outside of the film have turned moviegoers off; perhaps, moviegoers have finally tired of boxing films going straight for Oscar greatness after "Million Dollar Baby" and "Ali".
Two final points about "Cinderella Man". Once again, Ron Howard brought in his brother-as-filmic trademark. Clint Howard came in as the referee in the first match. And I was rather tickled during the end credits when I saw that Ron Howard and Penny Marshall had produced the movie. Can you imagine that? Richie Cunningham and Laverne DeFazio putting up a movie. Or if you wanna go even further...Opie Taylor and Myrna Turner. Who would have thought that 30 years after their heydays on "Happy Days"?
After the flick, The Madame had to rush home but I decided in what wasn't the most sound of ideas financially to accompany Speedy and his two mates to a Thai restaurant, Erewan, not too far away. It was just as well that The Madame took off. The food was pretty darn spicy and I know that her tongue is far from asbestos-lined. I ended up paying 5000 yen for dinner tonight. Well, the food and surroundings were good, and besides, this movie night thing is more a monthly deal anyways.
It was the usual massive scrum at Shinjuku Station for the trains. My long experience and good twisty right knee, though, cut me through the horde like a knife through butter. I did envy my dinner companions, though, since they only had to take the Marunouchi Line a couple of stations west before they were home. On the Tozai Line, I had to contend with another one of those young thuggish types sitting beside me and trying to muscle as much space away from me. I held my own though and he just had to make do sullenly. I was thinking some very evil thoughts about his future all the way back home.
In any case, I've been at this for more than an hour. It's time for bed since I gotta head on out again for what could be a futile trip with The Beauty Pair to Namjatown.
Friday, September 16, 2005
Saturday September 17, 11:51 a.m.
In a word...lovely. The weather is looking that way outside: not too cool, not too warm, sunny with plenty of fluffy white cumulus clouds. Couldn't ask for a better day. In homage, I'll be wearing something a bit more casual for work and then meeting up with the Madame. Ah yes, not only did she agree to an earlier spot of coffee before Speedy's Movie Night but she recommended that we meet up to pay some of those incidentals at the travel agency and get our itineraries for Taiwan.
I just heard that Renee Zellwegger and her hubby have called it quits after just 4 months. She was just in Japan not too long ago to plug "Cinderella Man" which opens either today or next Saturday. There was a welcoming committee at Narita asking about and congratulating her on her marriage. Hmmm...something we said?
In a word...lovely. The weather is looking that way outside: not too cool, not too warm, sunny with plenty of fluffy white cumulus clouds. Couldn't ask for a better day. In homage, I'll be wearing something a bit more casual for work and then meeting up with the Madame. Ah yes, not only did she agree to an earlier spot of coffee before Speedy's Movie Night but she recommended that we meet up to pay some of those incidentals at the travel agency and get our itineraries for Taiwan.
I just heard that Renee Zellwegger and her hubby have called it quits after just 4 months. She was just in Japan not too long ago to plug "Cinderella Man" which opens either today or next Saturday. There was a welcoming committee at Narita asking about and congratulating her on her marriage. Hmmm...something we said?
Friday September 16, 10:22 p.m.
Another week gone by without too much incident. The weather has become cooler here but it feels like my apartment has a bit of catching up to do. I have to have the AC on to cool things down.
After The Teacher's lesson, I made my way down to Immigration. The process had that "across the bridge, over the hill, to Grandma's house we go" type of vibe to it. But in this case, it was two subways, a JR train and a bus. Not surprisingly, the place was rather packed with waiting visa holders or aspirers of various nationalities. I wanted to pick up the "Extension of Visa" application form but they were no longer placed on the writing desks littered all over the 2nd floor. I had to go pick it up at a central desk on the 1st floor. There was an older couple taking care of things behind the counter in a most C-3POesque if polite way. It was kinda like watching the Japanese "Ozzie and Harriet" or "Ricky and Lucy" or "Archie or Edith". There was one woman ahead of me who seemed to be having a lot of trouble about her form and was therefore pelting the both of them with tons of questions. Luckily, the female half of the comical duo was able to wean herself out and get me that form in a few seconds.
Once I got out of there (including the round trip bus ride, the entire odyssey at Immigration took 45 minutes), I decided to have lunch at Hansens again. Yup, Shinagawa Station has its own version of the restaurant at the swanky new Konan Exit side. Unlike at the two other branches I've had hot dogs in Shinjuku and Omotesando, the Shinagawa branch, trying to match in with the upscale surroundings, was a sit-down restaurant replete with suited maitre d' and bloused waitresses (who looked like they hang out in Shibuya in their spare time despite the uniforms). Imagine that...a chi-chi sit-down hot dog restaurant. Well, I guess if it works for burgers... Apparently, this Hansens didn't have a Philly Steak sandwich on the menu. C'est domage! So I opted for the Cheese Dog set and one more plain hot dog on the side. The Cheese Dog was OK but I think I prefer having the cheese slices rather than the cheese sauce that I got smeared on the dog. Just a bit too gooey for me. The other dog came with plain potato chips.
Afterwards, I took the Yamanote Line again and headed for Shibuya. I actually made it to Tower Records after an absence of several weeks. I succumbed to my latent fever for 80s music and bought yet another compilation. Plus, I got the latest issue of TIME dealing with who dropped the ball on Katrina.. I also did a bit of browsing about Taiwan. I read one of those Lonely Planet books. I was rather intrigued by the fact that it recommended that we only drink bottled water there and there was a good chance of getting dengue fever unless one plastered on the insect repellent. Aye...that didn't sound too welcoming so I've sent an inquiry to The Anime King for confirmation. I also told him about what was happening to Akihabara.
After taking a brief scour of HMV since it was on the way back to the station, I hopped the Ginza Line and got off at Toranomon to my old Starbucks. Yup, the staff still remembers me. The manager and one barista gave me a healthy "Konnichiwa!", and the former asked what had happened to The OL and me. I just responded that things had gotten a bit busy for my student. Hm...I'm kinda wondering if I should try to groom the same relationship with them that I've had with the Tea Room all these years. I don't take these relationships for granted. I really do appreciate being welcomed. I just wish my old school staff had had the same amount of respect. But then again, if they'd had done so, I wouldn't be in my current circumstances.
The OL came in a few hours later. She's still not too happy with her job and the long absence from the lessons have taken a slight toll on her. Her listening wasn't too hot today but she definitely got in her two yen. Fortunately, she will see me next Friday on the national holiday (her company doesn't observe them...rather reminds me of NOVA). The Starbucks in Toranomon does observe them so we'll be meeting instead at the Canadian version called Blenz in Omotesando. Not quite sure what the crowds will be like next Friday. Since it will be the first day of a long weekend, perhaps a lot of people will be fleeing the metropolis or they'll just head for the cafes and restaurants in Tokyo. But since I'll be in town anyways teaching the kids in the morning, I figure that I can just grab a table a couple of hours in advance and just while away the time doing crosswords.
I got word from JJ that she'd like to advance the lesson time tomorrow to 2. No problems here. I just sent The Madame a proposal of meeting her earlier for coffee since I don't think 45 minutes will do us justice. I got signalled that a reply has come back from her. If she doesn't take the bait, well, I can always scour the CD shops or bookstores in Shinjuku until it's time.
Another week gone by without too much incident. The weather has become cooler here but it feels like my apartment has a bit of catching up to do. I have to have the AC on to cool things down.
After The Teacher's lesson, I made my way down to Immigration. The process had that "across the bridge, over the hill, to Grandma's house we go" type of vibe to it. But in this case, it was two subways, a JR train and a bus. Not surprisingly, the place was rather packed with waiting visa holders or aspirers of various nationalities. I wanted to pick up the "Extension of Visa" application form but they were no longer placed on the writing desks littered all over the 2nd floor. I had to go pick it up at a central desk on the 1st floor. There was an older couple taking care of things behind the counter in a most C-3POesque if polite way. It was kinda like watching the Japanese "Ozzie and Harriet" or "Ricky and Lucy" or "Archie or Edith". There was one woman ahead of me who seemed to be having a lot of trouble about her form and was therefore pelting the both of them with tons of questions. Luckily, the female half of the comical duo was able to wean herself out and get me that form in a few seconds.
Once I got out of there (including the round trip bus ride, the entire odyssey at Immigration took 45 minutes), I decided to have lunch at Hansens again. Yup, Shinagawa Station has its own version of the restaurant at the swanky new Konan Exit side. Unlike at the two other branches I've had hot dogs in Shinjuku and Omotesando, the Shinagawa branch, trying to match in with the upscale surroundings, was a sit-down restaurant replete with suited maitre d' and bloused waitresses (who looked like they hang out in Shibuya in their spare time despite the uniforms). Imagine that...a chi-chi sit-down hot dog restaurant. Well, I guess if it works for burgers... Apparently, this Hansens didn't have a Philly Steak sandwich on the menu. C'est domage! So I opted for the Cheese Dog set and one more plain hot dog on the side. The Cheese Dog was OK but I think I prefer having the cheese slices rather than the cheese sauce that I got smeared on the dog. Just a bit too gooey for me. The other dog came with plain potato chips.
Afterwards, I took the Yamanote Line again and headed for Shibuya. I actually made it to Tower Records after an absence of several weeks. I succumbed to my latent fever for 80s music and bought yet another compilation. Plus, I got the latest issue of TIME dealing with who dropped the ball on Katrina.. I also did a bit of browsing about Taiwan. I read one of those Lonely Planet books. I was rather intrigued by the fact that it recommended that we only drink bottled water there and there was a good chance of getting dengue fever unless one plastered on the insect repellent. Aye...that didn't sound too welcoming so I've sent an inquiry to The Anime King for confirmation. I also told him about what was happening to Akihabara.
After taking a brief scour of HMV since it was on the way back to the station, I hopped the Ginza Line and got off at Toranomon to my old Starbucks. Yup, the staff still remembers me. The manager and one barista gave me a healthy "Konnichiwa!", and the former asked what had happened to The OL and me. I just responded that things had gotten a bit busy for my student. Hm...I'm kinda wondering if I should try to groom the same relationship with them that I've had with the Tea Room all these years. I don't take these relationships for granted. I really do appreciate being welcomed. I just wish my old school staff had had the same amount of respect. But then again, if they'd had done so, I wouldn't be in my current circumstances.
The OL came in a few hours later. She's still not too happy with her job and the long absence from the lessons have taken a slight toll on her. Her listening wasn't too hot today but she definitely got in her two yen. Fortunately, she will see me next Friday on the national holiday (her company doesn't observe them...rather reminds me of NOVA). The Starbucks in Toranomon does observe them so we'll be meeting instead at the Canadian version called Blenz in Omotesando. Not quite sure what the crowds will be like next Friday. Since it will be the first day of a long weekend, perhaps a lot of people will be fleeing the metropolis or they'll just head for the cafes and restaurants in Tokyo. But since I'll be in town anyways teaching the kids in the morning, I figure that I can just grab a table a couple of hours in advance and just while away the time doing crosswords.
I got word from JJ that she'd like to advance the lesson time tomorrow to 2. No problems here. I just sent The Madame a proposal of meeting her earlier for coffee since I don't think 45 minutes will do us justice. I got signalled that a reply has come back from her. If she doesn't take the bait, well, I can always scour the CD shops or bookstores in Shinjuku until it's time.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Friday September 16, 8:05 a.m.
My shoulders feel as hard as granite, I've got a slight rasp in my throat and it's much cooler outside. I hope this means that Fall is finally on its way. After the heat and humidity of earlier this week, I'm feeling practically giddy with my physical ailments.
Well, I've got my teaching mixed in with some Immigration today. Gotta send that envelope to my mother's hometown town hall for some documents to help my Permanent Residency bid and then between The Teacher and The OL, I've gotta run down to the Immigration Centre and pick up an application form to extend my current visa. Man, I'm lucky that I have several hours between lessons but to go that circuituous way just to pick up a piece of paper...gahh! It's the commuter's version of bureaurcracy. I've yet to hear from The Matron of an update on her hubby's kind proposal. I know it's early but I hope she does come through.
The news hasn't been all that compelling here since the avalanche win of PM Koizumi. Just another report on how all the Japanese Major League ballplayers were doing, another bad police officer getting busted for copping (ouch!) a feel off a woman. However, I did see the televised chew out of the leadership of the Democratic Party of Japan by its members for its big meltdown on Sunday. The members seemed to take the opportunity as a practice session for future campaign speeches.
My shoulders feel as hard as granite, I've got a slight rasp in my throat and it's much cooler outside. I hope this means that Fall is finally on its way. After the heat and humidity of earlier this week, I'm feeling practically giddy with my physical ailments.
Well, I've got my teaching mixed in with some Immigration today. Gotta send that envelope to my mother's hometown town hall for some documents to help my Permanent Residency bid and then between The Teacher and The OL, I've gotta run down to the Immigration Centre and pick up an application form to extend my current visa. Man, I'm lucky that I have several hours between lessons but to go that circuituous way just to pick up a piece of paper...gahh! It's the commuter's version of bureaurcracy. I've yet to hear from The Matron of an update on her hubby's kind proposal. I know it's early but I hope she does come through.
The news hasn't been all that compelling here since the avalanche win of PM Koizumi. Just another report on how all the Japanese Major League ballplayers were doing, another bad police officer getting busted for copping (ouch!) a feel off a woman. However, I did see the televised chew out of the leadership of the Democratic Party of Japan by its members for its big meltdown on Sunday. The members seemed to take the opportunity as a practice session for future campaign speeches.
Thursday September 15, 9:32 p.m.
Strangely enough, it seems like this month, more than June, is the time for engagements and weddings...at least in my sphere of influence. Not only has Yumi Adachi tied the knot...mind you, it was an Oops! wedding...but I heard that Movie Buddy's buddy, Sam, and his live-in, made it official a couple of days ago. And now the two students I had tonight announced to me that they're engaged. Yep, MK and the Manager are now one step away from matrimonial bliss. My congratulations to them.
Kept my first gym workout in a couple of weeks pretty light so as not to overtax my atrophied musculature, and for the blunt reason that I just wasn't feeling particularly into working out. But I am paying my money to the gym so I'm obliged to not waste it.
Still have some stuff to do before I hit bed tonight. I got my weekly pile of ironing to get through, get ready for The Teacher and the OL and then get ready to send out some key letters.
Strangely enough, it seems like this month, more than June, is the time for engagements and weddings...at least in my sphere of influence. Not only has Yumi Adachi tied the knot...mind you, it was an Oops! wedding...but I heard that Movie Buddy's buddy, Sam, and his live-in, made it official a couple of days ago. And now the two students I had tonight announced to me that they're engaged. Yep, MK and the Manager are now one step away from matrimonial bliss. My congratulations to them.
Kept my first gym workout in a couple of weeks pretty light so as not to overtax my atrophied musculature, and for the blunt reason that I just wasn't feeling particularly into working out. But I am paying my money to the gym so I'm obliged to not waste it.
Still have some stuff to do before I hit bed tonight. I got my weekly pile of ironing to get through, get ready for The Teacher and the OL and then get ready to send out some key letters.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Thursday September 15, 8:29 a.m.
Well, what do you know? The temperature did drop. I actually felt a little chilly with my electric fan going on. It's only going up to 27 today. Very relieved. I'm hoping that this day signifies more than the fact that it's the middle of the month.
However, I am feeling signficantly older. I read on the site of local celeb, Eriko Sato, that former child star, Yumi Adachi, has gotten married. When I first arrived in Japan a decade ago, this little girl, this Japanese reincarnation of Shirley Temple, was all over the airwaves as this sweet-smiling but snarly-mouthed urchin who would twist anyone's sympathies to survive in this drama called "Ienaki Ko" (A Homeless Child). Her big catchphrase: "If you love me, give me money!" Hm..charming. Now this morning, I checked the wide show and found out that this young adult who still looks like she needs to be carded has not only gotten married with some comedian but has got a bun in the oven. Oy vey!
I even have a secondhand reminiscence about little Yumi. One of my minders in NOVA told me that she had been her student for a short time at the Okachimachi school (a note to all Yumi otaku: don't bother looking for it; it was closed down years ago). Adachi never got past the lowest rank due to the rigours of her work. However, some of her rabid fans got wind of what she was doing and proceeded to mob the little branch. Well, Yumi quickly got out of her English-teaching hobby after that incident. My old trainer hadn't even realized how famous she was, at least not until the siege.
Well, gotta get those plans done up for MK and The Manager. It's been a while since I've seen those folks. Then I gotta get some more work done for the project.
Well, what do you know? The temperature did drop. I actually felt a little chilly with my electric fan going on. It's only going up to 27 today. Very relieved. I'm hoping that this day signifies more than the fact that it's the middle of the month.
However, I am feeling signficantly older. I read on the site of local celeb, Eriko Sato, that former child star, Yumi Adachi, has gotten married. When I first arrived in Japan a decade ago, this little girl, this Japanese reincarnation of Shirley Temple, was all over the airwaves as this sweet-smiling but snarly-mouthed urchin who would twist anyone's sympathies to survive in this drama called "Ienaki Ko" (A Homeless Child). Her big catchphrase: "If you love me, give me money!" Hm..charming. Now this morning, I checked the wide show and found out that this young adult who still looks like she needs to be carded has not only gotten married with some comedian but has got a bun in the oven. Oy vey!
I even have a secondhand reminiscence about little Yumi. One of my minders in NOVA told me that she had been her student for a short time at the Okachimachi school (a note to all Yumi otaku: don't bother looking for it; it was closed down years ago). Adachi never got past the lowest rank due to the rigours of her work. However, some of her rabid fans got wind of what she was doing and proceeded to mob the little branch. Well, Yumi quickly got out of her English-teaching hobby after that incident. My old trainer hadn't even realized how famous she was, at least not until the siege.
Well, gotta get those plans done up for MK and The Manager. It's been a while since I've seen those folks. Then I gotta get some more work done for the project.
Wednesday September 14, 11:33 p.m.
I feel not unlike a warmed-over Cinnabon. It was another blazer here in The Big Sushi. But apparently today will be the last of the great hot ones for at least this week. It should be dropping to a relatively frigid 30 degrees tomorrow.
Well, that trip over to Kinshicho was a wild goose chase. The optical store that The Teacher had recommended couldn't install existing lenses into new frames so that was that. Still, I could finally take a look at this centre briefly. With the atypical (for Tokyo) grid-like pattern of its streets and the cubic buildings jutting out into the sky, it felt more like walking through Sapporo than the nation's capital.
I hopped onto the Sobu again and ended up in Shinjuku. I walked over to have lunch at Hansen's, that transplanted hot dog emporium. Since it was the latter half of lunch hour, the place was pretty packed but a very happy, smiley staffperson eagerly told me that he saved me a table in the back. Man, THAT is service with a smile! Since I didn't want to get into that confusion of ordering a double-dog set since I've come to the conclusion that Hansen's has canned that idea, I ordered a Philly Cheese Steak set with an added hot dog on the side. Of course, the crinkle-cut fries were still there. The Philly was quite good but could've used more cheese. No complaints about the dog though.
Then it was off to the Starbucks nearest The Company since I got to the area a full hour before my scheduled drop-in at The Company to pick up my pay. When I did get there, it was a pretty quick chat with the Prez. Just a few words with him while I took in the yen and gave him the receipts and then I was off again to Speedy's.
Speedy had a rather bad day technologically. Apparently, a virus managed to infiltrate the school system and wipe out a month's worth of work. To add insult to injury, a fix-it man will have to repair the damage for a cool 70,000 yen. Still, I was able to get access to the Internet. 001 and 002 were fine as usual but I was quite sleepy. It took some pretty superhuman strength to get through the day but I also noticed 001 stifling yawns during the lounge session.
I spent about an extra hour getting stuff done for the great Immigration project. I didn't intend to stay at the school that long but when I checked my e-mail, Paddy was kind enough to do a lot of the legwork when it came to paperwork and so all I had to do was print it out and put my stamp on it. This past week has been interesting. My project is twin-pronged: Paddy and The Scrivener have been helping me with the Permanent Residency end of things while The Matron and my old friend from NOVA have been tackling the extension of my current visa. I'll be so happy, though, when things finally clear.
Skippy has given me some new addresses to replace her old ones since one of them was getting spammed big time. She's still confirmed for not coming to the Saturday movie night with Speedy. I told her it was just as well since it looks like it'll just be him, me and The Madame for "Charlie". The Barmaiden sent me a progress report on her first few days in Toronto. Looks like she's been having a good time so far. I told her and 002 about the wonders of The Madison Avenue Pub near U of T. Luckily, there was a website to refer them to.
I was hungry when I got back to my station. Serves me right for buying a chocolate eclair and a packet of peach jelly and calling it dinner. I couldn't get anything substantial at this late hour at the risk of waking up nauseous but my stomach was pretty adamant that I just had to throw something into it, so I ended up ingesting a small bag of peanuts and rice crackers while downing it with a Calpis Water. It ought to do the trick.
I feel not unlike a warmed-over Cinnabon. It was another blazer here in The Big Sushi. But apparently today will be the last of the great hot ones for at least this week. It should be dropping to a relatively frigid 30 degrees tomorrow.
Well, that trip over to Kinshicho was a wild goose chase. The optical store that The Teacher had recommended couldn't install existing lenses into new frames so that was that. Still, I could finally take a look at this centre briefly. With the atypical (for Tokyo) grid-like pattern of its streets and the cubic buildings jutting out into the sky, it felt more like walking through Sapporo than the nation's capital.
I hopped onto the Sobu again and ended up in Shinjuku. I walked over to have lunch at Hansen's, that transplanted hot dog emporium. Since it was the latter half of lunch hour, the place was pretty packed but a very happy, smiley staffperson eagerly told me that he saved me a table in the back. Man, THAT is service with a smile! Since I didn't want to get into that confusion of ordering a double-dog set since I've come to the conclusion that Hansen's has canned that idea, I ordered a Philly Cheese Steak set with an added hot dog on the side. Of course, the crinkle-cut fries were still there. The Philly was quite good but could've used more cheese. No complaints about the dog though.
Then it was off to the Starbucks nearest The Company since I got to the area a full hour before my scheduled drop-in at The Company to pick up my pay. When I did get there, it was a pretty quick chat with the Prez. Just a few words with him while I took in the yen and gave him the receipts and then I was off again to Speedy's.
Speedy had a rather bad day technologically. Apparently, a virus managed to infiltrate the school system and wipe out a month's worth of work. To add insult to injury, a fix-it man will have to repair the damage for a cool 70,000 yen. Still, I was able to get access to the Internet. 001 and 002 were fine as usual but I was quite sleepy. It took some pretty superhuman strength to get through the day but I also noticed 001 stifling yawns during the lounge session.
I spent about an extra hour getting stuff done for the great Immigration project. I didn't intend to stay at the school that long but when I checked my e-mail, Paddy was kind enough to do a lot of the legwork when it came to paperwork and so all I had to do was print it out and put my stamp on it. This past week has been interesting. My project is twin-pronged: Paddy and The Scrivener have been helping me with the Permanent Residency end of things while The Matron and my old friend from NOVA have been tackling the extension of my current visa. I'll be so happy, though, when things finally clear.
Skippy has given me some new addresses to replace her old ones since one of them was getting spammed big time. She's still confirmed for not coming to the Saturday movie night with Speedy. I told her it was just as well since it looks like it'll just be him, me and The Madame for "Charlie". The Barmaiden sent me a progress report on her first few days in Toronto. Looks like she's been having a good time so far. I told her and 002 about the wonders of The Madison Avenue Pub near U of T. Luckily, there was a website to refer them to.
I was hungry when I got back to my station. Serves me right for buying a chocolate eclair and a packet of peach jelly and calling it dinner. I couldn't get anything substantial at this late hour at the risk of waking up nauseous but my stomach was pretty adamant that I just had to throw something into it, so I ended up ingesting a small bag of peanuts and rice crackers while downing it with a Calpis Water. It ought to do the trick.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Wednesday September 14, 8:28 a.m.
Another scorcher today. At least, it won't get any hotter but 34 degrees is still 34 degrees. I think I'm gonna have to take another shower.
Although at this time I start teaching at 4, it'll probably be a long day since I gotta do some errand-running. Get some new frames for my glasses and then pick up some money from The Prez. I would have stopped at Akihabara to see if this metamorphosis were really true but I don't think I'm gonna have time. Besides, Wednesday isn't the day to visit to get the full effect. Sunday's the day but then again, I'm meeting up with The Beauty Pair on that day. Perhaps once I get the money, I'll treat myself to Hansens, that transplanted hot dog chain. I was talking about it with The New Kid so my culinary memory has been sparked.
Well, gotta get that lesson planning going.
Another scorcher today. At least, it won't get any hotter but 34 degrees is still 34 degrees. I think I'm gonna have to take another shower.
Although at this time I start teaching at 4, it'll probably be a long day since I gotta do some errand-running. Get some new frames for my glasses and then pick up some money from The Prez. I would have stopped at Akihabara to see if this metamorphosis were really true but I don't think I'm gonna have time. Besides, Wednesday isn't the day to visit to get the full effect. Sunday's the day but then again, I'm meeting up with The Beauty Pair on that day. Perhaps once I get the money, I'll treat myself to Hansens, that transplanted hot dog chain. I was talking about it with The New Kid so my culinary memory has been sparked.
Well, gotta get that lesson planning going.
Tuesday September 13, 11:25 p.m.
The heat was down a good deal when I left for the juku this afternoon. The climate may not be too disciplined but I can always depend on the seasonal angle of the sun to bring the temps down.
It was an interesting start to my night at the juku. When I got to the house, it was totally devoid of life. I had to go upstairs to switch on all the lights and the air conditioning. Man, was it a sauna there! The paranoid part of me thought that the boss took my notice too seriously and just wanted to escape from my sight. I was already into my class with The New Kid when she finally came back home. She burst into my room to tell me that her mother had needed some emergency surgery on her eye and so left in quite a hurry. But it looks like her Mom is on the mend.
The other two lessons, The Beauty Pair and The Milds with McGirl, went quite swimmingly. Much better balance in the latter class. I was also quite relieved that The Siberian had cancelled his lesson today. Still not sure what to do with that guy. Instead, I used the hour vacated by him to have a heart-to-heart with the boss about my situation. It was quite heartening to hear how much she wanted me to stay on with the juku since both she and I feel that if I were to go, my entire group of students would quit their classes. That would be a pity. So it looks like all of us are depending on The Matron to rescue me. As for The Beauty Pair, I'll be meeting them on Sunday to head over to check out all those massage places in Riraku no Mori in Namjatown. I hope we can get in. It is a Sunday after all, and not only that, it is also the middle day in the first 3-day weekend of the month.
Well, it looks like The Prez will be in the office tomorrow so I can pick up my pay. It would be nice to get my balance up above the million mark again. I'll probably head on over to The Company once I get my new frames in Kinshicho. At the very least, it'll be interesting visiting the area.
I actually got two replies back from The Coordinator. She says she'll try and help me. I'm not too hopeful for a response...quick or otherwise.
I need another shower badly.
The heat was down a good deal when I left for the juku this afternoon. The climate may not be too disciplined but I can always depend on the seasonal angle of the sun to bring the temps down.
It was an interesting start to my night at the juku. When I got to the house, it was totally devoid of life. I had to go upstairs to switch on all the lights and the air conditioning. Man, was it a sauna there! The paranoid part of me thought that the boss took my notice too seriously and just wanted to escape from my sight. I was already into my class with The New Kid when she finally came back home. She burst into my room to tell me that her mother had needed some emergency surgery on her eye and so left in quite a hurry. But it looks like her Mom is on the mend.
The other two lessons, The Beauty Pair and The Milds with McGirl, went quite swimmingly. Much better balance in the latter class. I was also quite relieved that The Siberian had cancelled his lesson today. Still not sure what to do with that guy. Instead, I used the hour vacated by him to have a heart-to-heart with the boss about my situation. It was quite heartening to hear how much she wanted me to stay on with the juku since both she and I feel that if I were to go, my entire group of students would quit their classes. That would be a pity. So it looks like all of us are depending on The Matron to rescue me. As for The Beauty Pair, I'll be meeting them on Sunday to head over to check out all those massage places in Riraku no Mori in Namjatown. I hope we can get in. It is a Sunday after all, and not only that, it is also the middle day in the first 3-day weekend of the month.
Well, it looks like The Prez will be in the office tomorrow so I can pick up my pay. It would be nice to get my balance up above the million mark again. I'll probably head on over to The Company once I get my new frames in Kinshicho. At the very least, it'll be interesting visiting the area.
I actually got two replies back from The Coordinator. She says she'll try and help me. I'm not too hopeful for a response...quick or otherwise.
I need another shower badly.
Tuesday September 13, 4:17 p.m.
Well, I've spent most of the afternoon just planning lessons and listening to old music...a bit of a calm in what has been the small maelstrom of my visa. The curtains are drawn and the air conditioner has been on for a few hours so things have a pleasntly cool vibe. I've also been reading through the much-belated (it was printed before the debut of the new Doctor Who) issue of SFX highlighting all of the good Doctor. From reading through it, I've come to the realization that with the exception of the new and improved series with Chris Eccleston, the only saving graces that this series had had in its classic form were the characters themselves and the idea. It certainly could not have been the special effects (well, the TARDIS interior always looked good).
Skippy called to say that she won't be coming out for Speedy's Movie Night after all due to other plans. I kinda wonder if the old boyfriend decided to make an appointment with her instead. The Madame is all good for a bit of coffee before the main event though. M+M have set their next date with me. It'll be all the way on Halloween weekend. Should have plenty to talk about by then. I've yet to hear anything about my requests for assistance from my old school. Not that I'm really expecting any answer from them. I've burned quite a few bridges there but then again, the majority of the staff deserved a bit of demolition.
I've just gone through an entire bowl of pork kimchi on rice, daikon salad and fried chicken. And I drank it all down with oolong tea. Well, my insides ought to be getting a good cleaning by now. But I do have to get ready to get going to the juku within the next half-hour. Hopefully, the heat's come down somewhat.
Well, I've spent most of the afternoon just planning lessons and listening to old music...a bit of a calm in what has been the small maelstrom of my visa. The curtains are drawn and the air conditioner has been on for a few hours so things have a pleasntly cool vibe. I've also been reading through the much-belated (it was printed before the debut of the new Doctor Who) issue of SFX highlighting all of the good Doctor. From reading through it, I've come to the realization that with the exception of the new and improved series with Chris Eccleston, the only saving graces that this series had had in its classic form were the characters themselves and the idea. It certainly could not have been the special effects (well, the TARDIS interior always looked good).
Skippy called to say that she won't be coming out for Speedy's Movie Night after all due to other plans. I kinda wonder if the old boyfriend decided to make an appointment with her instead. The Madame is all good for a bit of coffee before the main event though. M+M have set their next date with me. It'll be all the way on Halloween weekend. Should have plenty to talk about by then. I've yet to hear anything about my requests for assistance from my old school. Not that I'm really expecting any answer from them. I've burned quite a few bridges there but then again, the majority of the staff deserved a bit of demolition.
I've just gone through an entire bowl of pork kimchi on rice, daikon salad and fried chicken. And I drank it all down with oolong tea. Well, my insides ought to be getting a good cleaning by now. But I do have to get ready to get going to the juku within the next half-hour. Hopefully, the heat's come down somewhat.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Tuesday September 13, 1:29 p.m.
I will be so glad when scientists come up with artificial time limits on seasons. This summer has already worn out its welcome with me. Just way too hot out there! I'm gonna have to sacrifice the shirt I'm wearing to the washing machine. It's already soaked with sweat.
Well, the announcement to the Beehive didn't go as badly as I had feared, especially since I did dangle that little piece of hope in the form of that proposal by The Matron's husband. Still, I did feel like a guy giving a press conference in front of an eager group of journalists with the ladies pelting questions at me. They did get a kick out of the news that soon-to-be-former Princess Nori may be living at the perhaps-newly-posh address of Akihabara.
I've started getting replies to my announcement on Sunday. So far, the reaction has been pretty muted which kinda signifies that perhaps I'm making an emotional mountain out of a molehill. I am anxious to find out something from The Matron, though.
Gotta get the lesson plans done for tonight's outing at the juku. Got word from The Madame that I still gotta pay some incidental fees sometime in the next week for Taiwan. I'll be meeting her for coffee before Speedy's movie on Saturday.
I found out from "Dark Horizons", the movie website, that there is a new sci-fi show on the horizon called "Threshold" oddly enough (horizon...threshold, get it?). What struck my eye was that it starred Charles S. Dutton and Brent "Data" Spiner. According to the cast bios, Spiner will be playing a very mercurial and confrontational NASA microbiologist. I guess he's still trying to shake off his landmark role. It rather sounds like a 21st-century version of "The X-Files" so I'm kinda holding back any praise despite the accolades, deserved or not, it's already getting.
I will be so glad when scientists come up with artificial time limits on seasons. This summer has already worn out its welcome with me. Just way too hot out there! I'm gonna have to sacrifice the shirt I'm wearing to the washing machine. It's already soaked with sweat.
Well, the announcement to the Beehive didn't go as badly as I had feared, especially since I did dangle that little piece of hope in the form of that proposal by The Matron's husband. Still, I did feel like a guy giving a press conference in front of an eager group of journalists with the ladies pelting questions at me. They did get a kick out of the news that soon-to-be-former Princess Nori may be living at the perhaps-newly-posh address of Akihabara.
I've started getting replies to my announcement on Sunday. So far, the reaction has been pretty muted which kinda signifies that perhaps I'm making an emotional mountain out of a molehill. I am anxious to find out something from The Matron, though.
Gotta get the lesson plans done for tonight's outing at the juku. Got word from The Madame that I still gotta pay some incidental fees sometime in the next week for Taiwan. I'll be meeting her for coffee before Speedy's movie on Saturday.
I found out from "Dark Horizons", the movie website, that there is a new sci-fi show on the horizon called "Threshold" oddly enough (horizon...threshold, get it?). What struck my eye was that it starred Charles S. Dutton and Brent "Data" Spiner. According to the cast bios, Spiner will be playing a very mercurial and confrontational NASA microbiologist. I guess he's still trying to shake off his landmark role. It rather sounds like a 21st-century version of "The X-Files" so I'm kinda holding back any praise despite the accolades, deserved or not, it's already getting.
Monday September 12, 11:48 p.m.
Well, it's been a day and night. I had The Class Act as usual. After having sent my rather sad notice last night, one of them offered to help out. It's been an interesting exercise today. I've got help coming out from all angles. It almost feels like running a company. Perhaps watching "The Apprentice" would have helped.
The Madame sent me a so-called emergency message to pay the rest of that money for the Taiwan trip. Apparently, she found out that there were no less than 3 contradictory pieces of information concerning when to pay up. I did wire that money in although it was a bit depressing seeing my bank account dip into the six-digit range for the first time in a few years (remember I'm being paid in yen). Ah, well. Mind you, I do have quite a bit of money owed me by The Company. I may have to drop into the place during a non-teaching day to get my money since I won't be seeing those guys until October. The Prez hasn't been in whenever I've been there for the past few weeks.
Speaking of the Company, once again I just had that one guy who's been coming relentlessly for the past several weeks. Junior just can't or won't show up. I think it's becoming clear that his attendance will be moot. I'm now considering whether it would just be an easy thing simply to drop the class since his classmate is just studying stuff that he probably won't ever use. And it was just another struggle today with the listening segment. However, he and I usually have some good chats in Japanese at the end of the class. One was about that article with The Teacher concerning the fate of Akihabara. He certainly doesn't sound too disappointed about the gentrification of the area. And he dropped a bit of a bombshell....he said that he'd heard that one of those two Gundam legs will possibly end up being the building housing the soon-to-be married Princess Nori and her husband. Since marrying a commoner will mean the loss of her royal status, the two will be living in just a regular condo. But what an address!
I was feeling pretty exhausted after The Company. But I still had one more house call. But it wasn't The Poppy. Instead, I went over to meet the juku boss' friend over at Nishi-Kasai Station to help him get through the oodles of English legalese for some contract. We went over to his apartment and pored over the pages of the contract. I managed to keep it focused on just the English language although at a couple of points, he threatened to swing thngs into legal territory for which I'm obviously woefully ill-prepared for. He even had me go through the entire book of the contract just to give it a once-over. Well, all I could possibly was scan it and then just focus on a few areas to make sure the English was in good form. But I got my pay for my troubles. Not sure if I really did help him. The boss apparently informed him of my visa situation. I'm gonna have to sit down with her tomorrow and update her on the movements of this past day.
I'm plenty tired since it was one of those energy-sapping humid days. I didn't even bother eating any dinner. I just had one of those rice crackers that the juku boss' friend's wife so kindly gave me as further compensation for my hour there. At least, it'll keep the grumblies away until morning.
I'm gonna be talking turkey with the Beehive first thing since I sent a fax over to Mrs Alps this morning. Could be an interesting start. But all I'm interested right now is a hot shower and sleep.
Well, it's been a day and night. I had The Class Act as usual. After having sent my rather sad notice last night, one of them offered to help out. It's been an interesting exercise today. I've got help coming out from all angles. It almost feels like running a company. Perhaps watching "The Apprentice" would have helped.
The Madame sent me a so-called emergency message to pay the rest of that money for the Taiwan trip. Apparently, she found out that there were no less than 3 contradictory pieces of information concerning when to pay up. I did wire that money in although it was a bit depressing seeing my bank account dip into the six-digit range for the first time in a few years (remember I'm being paid in yen). Ah, well. Mind you, I do have quite a bit of money owed me by The Company. I may have to drop into the place during a non-teaching day to get my money since I won't be seeing those guys until October. The Prez hasn't been in whenever I've been there for the past few weeks.
Speaking of the Company, once again I just had that one guy who's been coming relentlessly for the past several weeks. Junior just can't or won't show up. I think it's becoming clear that his attendance will be moot. I'm now considering whether it would just be an easy thing simply to drop the class since his classmate is just studying stuff that he probably won't ever use. And it was just another struggle today with the listening segment. However, he and I usually have some good chats in Japanese at the end of the class. One was about that article with The Teacher concerning the fate of Akihabara. He certainly doesn't sound too disappointed about the gentrification of the area. And he dropped a bit of a bombshell....he said that he'd heard that one of those two Gundam legs will possibly end up being the building housing the soon-to-be married Princess Nori and her husband. Since marrying a commoner will mean the loss of her royal status, the two will be living in just a regular condo. But what an address!
I was feeling pretty exhausted after The Company. But I still had one more house call. But it wasn't The Poppy. Instead, I went over to meet the juku boss' friend over at Nishi-Kasai Station to help him get through the oodles of English legalese for some contract. We went over to his apartment and pored over the pages of the contract. I managed to keep it focused on just the English language although at a couple of points, he threatened to swing thngs into legal territory for which I'm obviously woefully ill-prepared for. He even had me go through the entire book of the contract just to give it a once-over. Well, all I could possibly was scan it and then just focus on a few areas to make sure the English was in good form. But I got my pay for my troubles. Not sure if I really did help him. The boss apparently informed him of my visa situation. I'm gonna have to sit down with her tomorrow and update her on the movements of this past day.
I'm plenty tired since it was one of those energy-sapping humid days. I didn't even bother eating any dinner. I just had one of those rice crackers that the juku boss' friend's wife so kindly gave me as further compensation for my hour there. At least, it'll keep the grumblies away until morning.
I'm gonna be talking turkey with the Beehive first thing since I sent a fax over to Mrs Alps this morning. Could be an interesting start. But all I'm interested right now is a hot shower and sleep.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Monday September 12, 7:19 a.m.
So far, I haven't gotten any fallout about my big announcement last night. I did get a response from The Madame, though, to ask me to pay the rest of the cost for the Taiwan trip ASAP since she read something in the contract which contradicted what the woman at the travel agency had told us. Ahhh...the wonders of bureaucratic confusion. I think there has been a lot of news on that lately.
Well, Mr. Koizumi is savoring his landslide victory. The others are verbally licking their wounds, much to the glee of the LDP faithful. Of course, the elections were seen worldwide. China, Korea and presumably much of Asia aren't too thrilled while the US is quite happy.
So far, I haven't gotten any fallout about my big announcement last night. I did get a response from The Madame, though, to ask me to pay the rest of the cost for the Taiwan trip ASAP since she read something in the contract which contradicted what the woman at the travel agency had told us. Ahhh...the wonders of bureaucratic confusion. I think there has been a lot of news on that lately.
Well, Mr. Koizumi is savoring his landslide victory. The others are verbally licking their wounds, much to the glee of the LDP faithful. Of course, the elections were seen worldwide. China, Korea and presumably much of Asia aren't too thrilled while the US is quite happy.
Sunday September 11, 9:52 p.m.
Well, I've started the ball rolling on informing my private students about the changes that will occur in about a little over a month. I've contacted folks like The OL, SIL and the like. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, but it wasn't a pleasant thing either. I have to come up with Japanese messages for The Prez and the New Yorker since their English isn't quite up to reading speed. I've also gotta inform The Beehive. This one will be, by far, the most difficult group to announce this to. I just mentioned last Tuesday that this was the beginning of our 7th year together. I don't want to shock the folks by just blurting it out in person this Tuesday so I'll send a fax to Mrs. Travel's house tomorrow morning.
It was a good thing that I did the laundry early this morning. As I was checking out "Orion's Arm" earlier this afternoon, I noticed things outside darkening dramatically. In fact, I just saw this massive great wall of gray-black rolling in with sounds of thunder. I quickly brought in the dried clothing and closed the windows. Man, it got so dark that I thought a total eclipse was coming overhead. Then, I heard these very distinctive pings hitting the balcony railing. Initially, I thought that we were actually gonna get hailed on. They turned out to be very big drops of rain thrown down from the heavens at high speed. For about 30 minutes, the deluge was on. Fuji-TV's regular Sunday broadcast of live horseracing showed a racetrack just a few stations away from me getting absolutely doused. It was basically a re-enactment of last Sunday night after the cruise.
Beyond 8 tonight, it's been pretty much the Lower House Elections on all of the channels. It looks like Koizumi will easily get his mandate. However, I think this will mean political deadlock as usual. The people may have given The Lionmaned One his mandate but his big raison d'etre of privatizing the postal system will just continue to be kicked about in Parliament. The guys who broke away from the LDP in protest against the privatization attempts and made their own parties have only scored a paltry 5 seats so far. I'm not sure if what those politicians are wiping off their faces would best be served scrambled or sunny side up.
It was rather hilarious watching the coverage on Fuji-TV. The producers there have labeled their show, "Senkyo Wars" (Election Wars) and the opening minutes had wall-to-wall John Williams music from a certain sci-fi movie while the newscasters chatted away. I think they quickly did away with that idea since I don't hear it now. I think the music was blocking out a lot of what the talking heads were saying. However, I've been keeping it mostly to NHK since it's the only channel with English dubbing.
Between 8:30 and 9, I was switching between NHK and CNN where "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart was playing. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure how Stewart would handle the Katrina affair but boy, did he hit another one out of the park. Mind you, picking on FEMA and Bush hasn't been new since last week but he even knocked Larry King for a bit of inappropriateness during a talk with a sobbing Celine Dion. Then again, I've known that King is hardly in Ted Koppel's league when it comes to interviews.
Well, I gotta make that fax up for Mrs. Travel. Gad, I'm gonna hate this.
Well, I've started the ball rolling on informing my private students about the changes that will occur in about a little over a month. I've contacted folks like The OL, SIL and the like. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, but it wasn't a pleasant thing either. I have to come up with Japanese messages for The Prez and the New Yorker since their English isn't quite up to reading speed. I've also gotta inform The Beehive. This one will be, by far, the most difficult group to announce this to. I just mentioned last Tuesday that this was the beginning of our 7th year together. I don't want to shock the folks by just blurting it out in person this Tuesday so I'll send a fax to Mrs. Travel's house tomorrow morning.
It was a good thing that I did the laundry early this morning. As I was checking out "Orion's Arm" earlier this afternoon, I noticed things outside darkening dramatically. In fact, I just saw this massive great wall of gray-black rolling in with sounds of thunder. I quickly brought in the dried clothing and closed the windows. Man, it got so dark that I thought a total eclipse was coming overhead. Then, I heard these very distinctive pings hitting the balcony railing. Initially, I thought that we were actually gonna get hailed on. They turned out to be very big drops of rain thrown down from the heavens at high speed. For about 30 minutes, the deluge was on. Fuji-TV's regular Sunday broadcast of live horseracing showed a racetrack just a few stations away from me getting absolutely doused. It was basically a re-enactment of last Sunday night after the cruise.
Beyond 8 tonight, it's been pretty much the Lower House Elections on all of the channels. It looks like Koizumi will easily get his mandate. However, I think this will mean political deadlock as usual. The people may have given The Lionmaned One his mandate but his big raison d'etre of privatizing the postal system will just continue to be kicked about in Parliament. The guys who broke away from the LDP in protest against the privatization attempts and made their own parties have only scored a paltry 5 seats so far. I'm not sure if what those politicians are wiping off their faces would best be served scrambled or sunny side up.
It was rather hilarious watching the coverage on Fuji-TV. The producers there have labeled their show, "Senkyo Wars" (Election Wars) and the opening minutes had wall-to-wall John Williams music from a certain sci-fi movie while the newscasters chatted away. I think they quickly did away with that idea since I don't hear it now. I think the music was blocking out a lot of what the talking heads were saying. However, I've been keeping it mostly to NHK since it's the only channel with English dubbing.
Between 8:30 and 9, I was switching between NHK and CNN where "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart was playing. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure how Stewart would handle the Katrina affair but boy, did he hit another one out of the park. Mind you, picking on FEMA and Bush hasn't been new since last week but he even knocked Larry King for a bit of inappropriateness during a talk with a sobbing Celine Dion. Then again, I've known that King is hardly in Ted Koppel's league when it comes to interviews.
Well, I gotta make that fax up for Mrs. Travel. Gad, I'm gonna hate this.