Tuesday November 4, 4:30 p.m.

Well, it's Election Day in America. I gather that if this day were a movie, it would be an epic costing millions of dollars with plenty of twists and turns and a John Williams soundtrack. Basically, all of these things did happen, sans the soundtrack. And there was even a note of pathos this morning on hearing that Barack Obama's grandmother had passed away yesterday. It was sad to see Obama talk about the "rock" in his life and then tearing up a bit at the podium. However, starting from tonight Japan Standard Time, the final craziness begins, the American political equivalent of The Battle Over The Death Star. Is it gonna be tough-as-nails war hero John McCain, or the agent of change Barack Obama? The first exit polls shold be known tomorrow morning...again JST...at around 10 a.m. That's 15 minutes before I have to teach Grandma Tango. I have a feeling that I'll be checking CNN.com ad nauseum throughout the day. It's kinda too bad that I'll be missing out on watching Wolf, J.D., Anderson and John King with The Wall but it's just as well....I won't be able to catch any TV at home tomorrow anyways, since the cable guys will be installing their product....good grief...14 years to the day that I arrived in this country and now they're installing cable?! Go fig on that one...plus, the guys have to enter my apartment to make sure the plug-ins are holding.

Yesterday was Culture Day in Japan...a national holiday...which means that kendo was actually televised live on NHK. Otherwise, most folks here wouldn't remember what the holiday is. I made my way out into the city and bought a new text at Maruzen to keep Tully & The Coffeemaker occupied before heading over to Tower Records in Shibuya to contribute my money to Japanese culture and buying an enka DVD for my father.

I also was able to cook my minestrone soup...well, stew, actually...again it was a case of putting way too much starch in the form of pasta and potatoes...for the first time in 2 years. Rather surprised at how cheap I can get all the fixins for the soup...just 840 yen for all the veggies, including the whole tomatoes.

Today, I met up with The Beehive. Mrs. Perth was the first one there. She was back here from Sapporo for about a week. Sapporo is supposed to be getting its first snowfall today. Mrs. Jade and Mrs. Alp joined in. I brought in an article about Obama vs. McCain which provided lots of talk. I was glad that things went well today considering some of the moaning and groaning about how the class was going two weeks ago.

And it was my final lesson with 002. No particular emotional jags there. Some laughter and that was all she wrote. We wished each other well, and perhaps next year there'll be another nabe party at her place.

I've just got the two lessons at the juku tonight...Suzanne and then The Milds. I think The Traveler is gone for good. I'm still not quite sure if The Traveler's news of her manic depression is true or not, but she's not coming here. At least, I can get home early since I gotta leave early tomorrow morning.

Saturday November 1, 5:27 p.m.

Finished my marathon of students. Mr. TOEIC was gabby on cooking of all things, The Businesswoman talked on her trip to Germany, The PA spoke on the changing face of Ginza, The Dentist described about her various trips to the spa and the new kid on the block, Miss Pronounciation, had a good start. This teacher is now tired and ready for the weekend. Luckily, it's a long one...we've got Culture Day on Monday. But my week next week will be fairly hellish; got a bit of a log jam on Thursday especially. I've even had to hand off Mr. TOEIC over to Speedy to fit Miss Pronounciation for her request on that night.

Saturday November 1, 9:51 a.m.

Well, Halloween is over...costumes are being put away...some of the costumed have probably been put away as well. Out come the Xmas decorations. Tokyu Hands was already way ahead of the curve as of Thursday night. The lit-up trees were already using up the electricity; there was even a Halloween tree to provide a smooth transition between holidays. I could imagine that Hands is probably thinking of a Thanksgiving tree.

The Ace came in last night and took the word "carving" literally to make his Jack O'Lantern. He was hacking at the interior like an axeman...was rather relieved that he was able to get it done within the hour. As for The Restauranteur, she has definitely become one of my fans; she has been very grateful for the expressions I've been able to teach her. In my line of work, I have a few fans, a few obvious detractors but most of the rest are solidly in the middle.

I'm feeling pretty tired right now, and I've got five lessons right in front of me...like a freight train coming from the wrong direction. I've bought some goodies from La Vie Du France to help tide me over during the half-hour between Mr. TOEIC and The Businesswoman. After those two, I've got The PA, The Dentist and then Miss Pronounciation for her first lesson. I'll be ready to be poured into a bucket by 5 today...just like Odo.

I don't know what the staff situation will be like today. Speedy hasn't contacted me about who will be coming in. I gather that no news means that The Lab Tech will be in for her regular Saturday shift. Just hope that I won't be going totally solo.

We're into the final weekend before the biggest election in U.S. history (sorry about the hyperbole). Saw The Terminator himself give a rousing speech touting John McCain in Ohio this morning...I'm sure McCain is ruing the fact that he didn't use him earlier. May be a different situation if that had been the case. Apparently, Joe the Plumber has now hired his own publicity team...uh-oh, I sense a rather big fall for this guy. Obama is still leading in the national polls, but I still say that it'll come down right to the exit polls.

Anyways, gotta get back into it.

Friday October 31, 6:45 p.m.

It just seems like Winter is knocking down the doors trying to get in. The past couple of days have seen the temps just plummet (or at least feel like it). Saw quite a few commuters wearing their cold masks on the subways. Ray was looking distinctly kazegimi today at the school, just sniffling away. I was feeling pretty diminished myself as I got myself on the Tozai over to the juku...the consequences of not having anything to eat since breakfast.

It was providence then that I decided to stop off at the juku, before I headed for The Restauranteur's place. The timing was pretty good...the boss couldn't make heads nor tails about something on my pay sheet; I just pressed one button and it was all fixed, and I don't consider myself a computer expert by any means. In any case, she had no students til 8:30 so it was an easy thing for us to head over to my student's restaurant for dinner. Obviously, The Restauranteur hadn't been expecting us but her hard studying paid off and she was able to greet me in English. The boss was pleasantly surprised. She had the doria while I went for the famed garlic chicken in demiglasse sauce. Very fine dish...I could understand why the boss usually chose that one. In any case, she will be coming by for her 4th lesson in a couple of hours. Meanwhile, I've got The Ace for his pumpkin carving.

Looks like the boss also has another cat to go with Toonces. This one is Blackie and she made the official introductions between me and him after we got back from dinner.

Friday October 31, 3:25 p.m.

Like checking my messages. Just found out that Mild Jr. has cancelled out. Well, I can be a bit more leisurely about my dinner tonight.

Friday October 31, 2:45 p.m.

The Big Lug and I had an interesting session today. Instead of the usual book, he wanted me to explain some jokes that John McCain made at some black tie dinner a couple of weeks ago. Basically, I ended up talking about stuff like swing states, ACORN and that kerfuffle about McCain suspending his campaign to get that economy right. He brought out his iPod and played the coverage via "Larry King Live"; always love those out-of-the-box classes.

That must've been some moment for Doctor Who fans and the assembled audience at that British TV awards show when David Tennant gave that semi-bombshell news about him leaving the titular role next year. I saw the YouTube of it...and was that Sylar/new Spock himself giving the award? All the comments were of screaming and mourning. Just a show, folks.

Well done here and so I'll be taking off in a few minutes for the juku. I'll probably have my next meal at The Restauranteur's establishment since I haven't had lunch yet and she always provides large portions. I don't want to unduly give her a heart attack but I was interested to see how she handles a "live-fire" exercise. I've got Mild Jr and then that lone pumpkin carving with The Ace before The Restauranteur comes in to wrap up.

Tonight is indeed the witching hour although it's been more like Halloween Week with the timing of this year's holiday. A lot of the clubs and pubs have been holding their big parties all over Tokyo since last Saturday. Probably tonight will have all of the freaks and geeks out in force in Roppongi and Shibuya. The Carolinan is going to some shindig with a friend at a reserved suite in The Ritz-Carlton in Roppongi's Tokyo Midtown. I told her that she should do some observing at the main intersection.

For me, today is also the day of horrors for another reason...got a ton of bills to pay.

Friday October 31, 11:37 a.m.

Got those CDs on my points at HMV...Toko Furuuchi's latest in 3 years, and the best hits of Ego-Wrappin'. Just had a chance to look at Toko's extra DVD with her video and live appearance. Only managed to get through the first 30 seconds of the live part to realize that she shouldn't give up her studio job...terribly off-tune. The Carolinan, strangely enough, gave me some commentary on my purchases...that Toko has changed a bit; I just told her that she's gained a few kilograms....that's not a slam...I always thought she seemed a bit too thin at times. As for the lead singer of Ego-Wrappin', Yoshie Nakano, my student told me that she'd lived in the States for a time which might give some insight in her choice of lyrics and musical genre.

As for The Carolinan, we met at that Excelsior Caffee in Nishi-Shinjuku 7. It actually still exists despite its seeming persona non grata status on its website. It wasn't particularly empty but at least it didn't feel like having a lesson in a rush hour train. She's got a birthday coming up right on Election Day in the States. As usual, she and her sister, The New Yorker, will be having dinner at their favourite restaurant, the Hard Rock Cafe.

Before the lesson and the CD shopping, I had a very late lunch at Foo Foo, my old ramen haunt in JR Shinjuku. My old pai ko tan tan men was still there to be eaten; the soup is much less kotteri, more asari now. Not quite a pity. It just means that there is a slightly less chance of my arteries hardening immediately.

Got home to watch those Charlie Brown discs. "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" are two of the three crown jewels amongst the Peanuts animated specials. I noticed that the discs have been distributed by a variety of studios: Paramount, Warner Bros and even Fuji. Paramount is the newest one with the remastered versions. The Thanksgiving special was the one given that treatment with a 15-minute making-of show and a throw-in of one of the "This is America, Charlie Brown" slots about the Peanuts gang on the Mayflower. Having been done in the late 80s, Vince Guaraldi was long gone (a minus there) and the drawing was a lot more scattershot. Still, it was pretty genius for an American pop culture icon to teach history in its way. On the other hand, it was a bit jarring to see Charlie, Peppermint Patty and Linus talking about dying rather nonchalantly and looking like they were about to spew while on the ship. I was half-expecting to see Snoopy in desperation being forced to eat Woodstock. And I couldn't quite figure out why Lucy always had muddy bare feet.

Also listened to those way-out CDs of sci-fi tunes that The Trekkie had loaned me back on Monday. There was one entry called "Extremis" by some techno outfit that had an assist by Gillian Anderson of "The X-Files"; she was basically droning some sort of nonsense. I think the recording session had a bit of some weed going around at the time. And there was Geoff Love and his orchestra giving their cheesy disco versions of "UFO" and "Logan's Run". It would've been perfect if the guy just had added a "Mc" and an "-in" to his name.

Anyways, I've got The Big Lug in an hour followed by the juku crew tonight. I got a message from the boss last night that apparently Jolly had been in China for the past several days on business and that he would be heading off to India for another business trip. But he would be back on November 18th. Kinda nice to have him back but I wish he would be more considerate about letting us know about these things.

Thursday October 30, 2:40 p.m.

Almost finished for the day with The Yogist and Miss Sedona done. The Yogist had her final lesson for the next little while, at least. It could be late March before she come back...if she comes back. Miss Sedona has been writing an English diary to improve her skills. I've been reading a fair share of drama in her life involving, I'm assuming, her boyfriend and the fact that her thighs are a bit too big for short skirts.

All I've got is now The Carolinan. Apparently her branch of Excelsior is missing in the Nishi-Shinjuku neighbourhood. I'll be investigating and see if there might be another place to try.

Just heard that David Tennant has finally decided to leave the TARDIS for good after the 2009 round of specials. Good for him...it's always nice to have that periodic regeneration. Now, the sweepstakes have begun once again about who's gonna be the new Doctor Who. We've got quite a few people on the forums crying in their beer, though.

Thursday October 30, 9:19 a.m.

A bit of a traffic jam at the door just now. I finished up with The Smile and had to contend with the meeting of The Patent Attorney who had just ended his lesson with the bossman and also Grandma Dynamite who came through the door. I think the bossman probably wished every day and every hour were like that.

I've got some more prep work to do but I am grateful for the hour's respite before my turn with Grandma Dynamite.

Jennifer Hudson is going through hell right now after having coming across her murdered family a few days ago. I couldn't imagine what she's experiencing and hope I never have to...the Sympatico news page...about as smarmy as anything that a reality show could bring up had the cojones to actually ask the question "What next for Jennifer Hudson?" As if the massacre of her mother, brother and nephew were the next stepping stone in her career....disgusting.

Thursday October 30, 7:43 a.m.

Back here somewhat bleary-eyed but I did get my McBreakfast in. Overcast...and actually quite chilly...looks like that transition to Winter is coming. Plus, I saw quite a few commuters wearing the masks. All we need is the Xmas decorations...and I'm sure they will be up on Saturday.

Looked up that Excelsior Caffe where The Carolinan and I are supposed to meet for the lesson tonight but it may not exist. I also missed a bullet when I checked with Shard about his requests; it looks like my imagination caught up with me...he never asked for a Jo Hisaishi album (the fellow that is often behind all those Studio Ghibli soundtracks). But he still would like to borrow that ol' Yen Town Band album from over a decade ago.

Listened to that sci-fi hits compilation that The Trekkie had lent me last night. "Doctor Who", "The Outer Limits", "Blake's 7"...they were all in there. It sounded a bit strange to hear the jaunty theme from "Thunderbirds" at midnight, though.

Anyways, the gang is all here...Speedy and Ray are in for the early shift just like me.

Wednesday October 29, 9:27 a.m.

I'm done for the day. 001 and The Diver were fine although the latter was rather jittery over some pronounciation exercises. Methinks she could use a bit of practice with the "Fuzzy Wuzzy" limerick. As for 001, we almost made it through without needing the text for a 3rd week in a row but finally we had to touch upon something. Along with a few other students, she's also expressed some interest in the US elections next Wednesday morning (our time). Could be a doozy.

Just heard from The Carolinan. Since I finish up with Miss Sedona tomorrow in the early afternoon, I won't need to hang out at the school so I'll be meeting The Carolinan at an Excelsiors not too far away for the next lesson. I really hope that it's a whole lot less noisy than that Starbucks above JR Ichigaya.

Kinda top-loaded in the morning with The Smile, Grandma Dynamite, The Yogist and Miss Sedona. It'll be The Yogist's final lesson for the next 4 months at least....maybe forever. But then I've got some down time before The Carolinan. I'll be headed straight out in a few minutes; I need that extra sleep since I'll be out the door at 6 a.m. Yep, you heard me correctly.

Wednesday October 29, 4:29 p.m.

Finally had that lesson with The Class Act this morning. The Matron is continuing to enjoy her status as grandmother. Her husband finally met the in-laws, including his daughter-in-law and granddaughter after having disagreed vociferously to the marriage. However, he was pretty much putty after picking up his son's little girl. Men usually are. So, chalk one crisis averted.

The Lady informed me that this year's Xmas party will be later in December so I won't be able to attend. But then again, I wasn't really sure that I wanted to go again...certainly, after feeling a bit moochy for basically taking some of my posse there and just having repeated gos at the buffet table. I'm kinda wondering if my time with The Class Act may also be doing the slow fadeout; I only had the ladies once this month and I won't be able to see them until late next month. It wouldn't surprise me since I've had them for close to 5 years.

After The Class Act, I decided to build up on my HMV points some more before I start my Xmas shopping in earnest. I had been thinking of actually getting the presents right from today, starting with Shard but I just wanted to make sure I got his requests right. I did build my points up to a good level...got a couple of more Charlie Brown DVDs and even a compilation CD of The Singer's greatest hits. Still, even including the points on my Tower Records cards, I still won't get much of a discount off of all of the Xmas shopping I have to do.

I took the bus from Shibuya Station up to Speedy's. I could take the subway up here in arguably shorter time and 40 yen cheaper but I get more enjoyment from the view from the bus. It kinda provides an oasis while I see all of the chaos outside in the world's largest metropolis. As my transport passed NHK Studios between Shibuya and Yoyogi, I saw some of the trees changing colour; it still doesn't feel crisp out there although it's far more pleasant than the summer. I noticed that the old Volks Steakhouse has been replaced by a trendy-looking coffee-and-donut shop. Speaking of which, The Class Act was remarking how much Shibuya and Ginza were changing recently. Britain's H&M stores are invading into both areas. The Ginza branch has already opened to huge lineups (the Japanese and their love of queues...sigh) while Shibuya's store won't be open for another year. It's taking over a huge block of space just across from the venerable Tokyu Department Store...that area used to house a chic Viron coffeeshop and a Book 1st branch...hmmm, I always prefer an area that has a variety of stores rather than one massive megastore.

Ginza may be one of the world's most famous shopping streets but the way The Class Act was talking about it, it's starting to sound like it's becoming one big tourist trap... et tu, Times Square and Niagara Falls? In decades past, the area had this rather posh image befitting its cost of real estate with folks dressed up a bit more better for the stroll. Still, a lot of the restaurants and stores there will only have me pressing my nose up against the glass rather than entering them.

When I got to Speedy's, I found out that The Trekkie had not only returned my Brent Spiner CD but also lent me something of her own....a compilation of various TV sci-fi themes, including "Doctor Who" and "Logan's Run"...I hope I have a bit of time tonight to listen. Doubt it since I've got that really early start with The Smile tomorrow morning.

Tuesday October 28, 9:03 p.m.

Well, I managed to get the 3rd annual juku Pumpkin Carving Night done successfully yet again. I was able to get a bit of overlap between Suzanne's and The Milds' sessions. The Ace actually couldn't make it in due to a cold. He'll have to do his carving on Friday...gonna be a bit tricky since he's in between Mild Jr. and The Restauranteur. Speaking of Mild Jr., he actually came in with his parents tonight to help out. He even baked a chocolate cake with a bit of olive oil, of all things. It lent a very nice buttery flavour to the cake...without the calories.

Suzanne had a rollicking good time with her little pumpkin. Hers wasn't quite as accomplished as The Milds' efforts (that family must have artistic genes) but it was cute. She also made a friend in the form of a regular foreign customer at her supermarket, notably when she found out that said customer hailed from Orange County, California...the O.C. itself, the show that Suzanne is in thrall to at the moment. As I said, there was some overlap between her and The Milds who decided to come in at 7, so I made the introductions between the two classes. A pity she missed out on the chocolate cake. As for Mrs. Mild, she thoroughly enjoyed her time touring through the south of France. I even got some chocolae and a bar of soap from Marseilles.

The completed Jack O'Lanterns should make for a nice backdrop at the kids' Halloween party at the juku tomorrow. If the numbers are what the boss is guessing, it should be total mayhem. Luckily, I'll be kilometres away in either Shibuya or at Speedy's.

Speaking of whom, I found out that that pronounciation model lesson student will now be a bona fide student from this Saturday. The 1st will be a truly busy day. But every little bit of income I make between then and Xmas will be vital. As a bit of a pun, I guess my newest student will be Miss Pronounciation. Of course, she will never know this.

Pretty much finished here for tonight since Jolly is now off the roster. He never said goodbye or thanks. Not that I'm particularly bitter or anything...it's just part of the culture. A few entries ago, I was making a comparison between my adopted country and the West via the popularity of Charlie Brown and Snoopy. Back Stateside, Charlie Brown is beloved because people can empathize with his perpetual loser status, while here Snoopy is by far the most popular Peanuts character since he comes out as the perpetual winner. Well, another comparison can be made between the countries in terms of breaking off an informal business relationship. I emphasize informal since in formal situations, there are usually all sorts of written documents outlining the breakup. In any case, my image of the Western way of breaking off something is that the person who wants to leave the (student-teacher)relationship will be upfront and just say that this isn't working out. Usually, the other side will be a bit disappointed but will give the golden handshake and wish him/her well. All very honest. In fact, truth above all else...except honour. Over here, it seems like the big word in Japan is face above all else, including truth. Jolly has just ignored the phone calls from the juku boss and never called back...not a lie per se, but the message was pretty clear. In the past, The Temp, Seven and Miss Disney and some others have basically said that they've become "busy" of late and can no longer come for lessons....a pretty obvious lie that both parties can see right through but which is still stated. They don't want to be confrontational about the fact that the relationship is just not cutting it so they give in this reason to save face but still get out. It used to sting a lot for me since I resented the fact that they would "resort" to such bald subterfuge but the fact is that this is seen as probably the only correct way to go about it. It doesn't bother me as much now although my Western ways haven't been burned out of me quite yet.

In any case, I'm just about ready to head on back home with a considerably lighter bag since I no longer have to worry about pumpkins to lug. Not too busy tomorrow. Just the rescheduled Class Act, followed by 001 and The Diver at Speedy's. Thursday should be another Hump Day, though.

Basically another week before the longest campaign trail in world history, let alone American history, finally comes to its close. Obama still has a lead and perhaps McCain's window of last chances is closing fast, although I'm still thinking that a rabbit could be pulled out. In any case, over here, it's still Palin's Japanese-made glasses and the town called Obama that's probably creating the biggest effect from this election. Speaking of elections, PM Aso has still waffled on when he's gonna pull the trigger and dissolve Parliament. He wants to get the country out of this financial crisis so that his popularity rating can get out of the gutter but if he waits any longer, the decision may be taken out of his hands. In any case, it seems that the main Opposition in the form of the Japan Democratic Party may have started its putsch. On the way to the juku, there was a megaphone-laden car exhorting the masses to vote JDP. It would seem that the war has been declared.

Tuesday October 28, 4:30 p.m.

It's been a pretty decent day...cool but sunny. Had a bit of a meterological burp last night when the rains suddenly came on down with some thunder and lightning without any warning from the weatherfolks, so ended up with some damper than usual laundry on the line but by morning, they were all bone-dry.

Here at the juku, the pumpkins are ready to go...just waiting for the first of the carvers, Suzanne, to show up in 90 minutes. The Ace will be here and then The Milds. As for the rest of the roll call, it looks like my suspicions have been borne out. Jolly is now out of the picture; he hasn't called in for a few weeks and the boss has tried to make contact but to no avail. Not too badly put off by his defection since he was pretty faithful for a couple of years and at least I can go home a good 2 hours early now. The Traveler looks like she may be out as well, although again the cynic in me has me partially suspecting a little white lie here. The boss contacted her yesterday to find out that she's going through a cycle of depression. The Traveler in her short time at the juku was actually fitting in quite well with The Milds, something that I didn't think would happen. And I had no inkling that The Traveler was feeling so low. The boss told me that a lot of folks here in Japan are going through that, and I could believe it with all of those "personal emergencies" I hear on a daily basis on the JR and subways. Still, I have heard the sickness line from students who just were no longer interested in my services. I was a bit mystified when the boss said that she may or may not show up tonight. If she's that depressed, I would think that she wouldn't ever come back here.

The boss told me about her own little emergency. She went in for a checkup on Friday at St. Luke's and was told that she may have a bit of cancer in her stomach. She then wisely got a second opinion and that doctor told her it may just be an ulcer. Here's hoping that it's the latter.

In any case, the boss' student has come in annoyingly too early so I'm switching off for now.

Monday October 27, 7:21 p.m.

Managed to pick up The Full-Timer and teach her here at the school. There was a bit of a snafu on the schedule so Speedy has ended up teaching Mr. TOEIC instead of me. Not too bad...could use with a bit of a break.

Over the weekend, I did my Halloween purchases. After the session here at Speedy's on Saturday, I dropped by Omotesando and picked up some candy and Trick Or Treat bags. A ton of people massing the sidewalks and not a few of them were in costume mode. On Sunday, after the latest lesson with Tully & The Coffeemaker, I headed back down to Hiroo and picked up four orange pumpkins for carving at National Azabu Supermarket. There was also a distinctly Halloween atmosphere with a lot of bilingual kids in various costumes...there was also one adult in a Captain America outfit. Amongst the gourds, I picked up a can of Campbell's Chunky Soup...the marketers weren't kidding when they said that it ate like a meal...I'm sure my cholesterol count just hit the roof after ingesting that stuff.

I finally caught "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" in its entirety on Saturday night. In this age of stunning and CG-inspired animation (re: "WALL*E"), looking at Charlie's first foray into motion pictures was particularly retro and nostalgic. But the producers of this 39-year-old classic certainly tried to push the envelope in their presentation. Certain scenes looked like they were inspired by the folks behind "The Thomas Crown Affair", Expo 67 and even "2001: A Space Odyssey". That Schroeder tribute to Beethoven shouldn't be seen under the influence. The Rod McKuen songs were nothing really that special but Vince Guaraldi was the 10th player in the field with the score. For a movie that lasted under 90 minutes, it managed to bring out just about all of the characters' various tics...so it was probably a good hit for the Peanuts fans.

I did notice that the Japanese title was "Snoopy and Charlie". No real surprise there since the world's most anthropomorphic dog is also the most popular character in Peanuts here in Japan. The Japanese always prefer winners....the characters may have started out as losers and may have gone through the wringer (brutal coaches, spartan training, evil bullies) but as long as they come out on top, they'll always be loved. So, I couldn't really see Charlie and his human cohorts being all that popular. The Americans may love them as being reflections of themselves with all of their neuroses, but that philosophy doesn't fly here. They must finally win and Charlie Brown is the perpetual loser. On the other hand, Snoopy seems to be the most "with-it" of the gang.

I also went through the remastered edition of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (which is called "A Snoopy Christmas" here) and compared it with the addition of the far later "It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown". 27 years separate the two specials and they reflect different stages in the Peanuts saga. Whilst the 1965 special had the overall plot arc of Charlie Brown lamenting the commercialization of Christmas with his pal, Linus, the 1992 special was basically a series of vignettes covering a lot more characters...notably Peppermint Patty, Marcie and Rerun. All of the veterans were basically acting as special guest appearances right down to Charlie and Linus just watching the stage play instead of being in it.

My relatively busy day is now coming to a close with just The Medicine Man to teach in less than 2 hours. Then, I'm basically off tomorrow except for the pumpkin carving at the juku. When I called up the juku boss to ask about whether or not The Traveler was coming (something that I'd mentioned to her last Tuesday), she of course had completely forgotten about it.

Monday October 27, 5:57 p.m.

The rains are coming down, and noone told me. I've got my laundry on the line...not that I'm particularly miffed since I've experienced an unscheduled wash a number of times before. I think I was more miffed at my phone, actually, this morning. Apparently, it refused to cut the last line I was on and The Lady spent a lot of the early morning trying to reach me to dotakyan the lesson. I ended up heading over to the house for nothing but I was lucky to run into the woman on the way back to the station and get some cancellation money. However we did decide to re-schedule for this Wednesday.

So I ran back home to reset my phone and just ended up having lunch there. I got back and slammed the phone a few times in revenge. Then I went to meet SIL for the first time in a few weeks before heading back here to see The Nurse.

Gotta head out and pick up The Full-Timer.

Saturday October 25, 4:17 p.m.

Well, just been playing those computer games I've been obsessing over for the past several months. The Intellectual and The Publicist were fine. I even got a special coupon from the latter for the special preview of "Hellboy" for next Thursday, but I've got The Carolinan at that time, so I'll see if Mrs. Speedy would like another grab at greatness and meet Guillermo Del Toro in Akiba.

I had been wondering what was taking The Lab Tech so long to take her shift here when I got a call from Speedy just before The Intellectual's arrival. Apparently, The Tech was ailing and en route to a hospital for some meds when she called the bossman to cancel out. So, an old friend of Speedy's came in to assist. Apparently, she hadn't been to the office for several months; she was noticing how much everything had changed in the office.

Well, running late but I have to get to Omotesando to get those goodies from Kiddyland and maybe even get some pumpkins as well. But I'm feeling a bit peckish...maybe a little visit to The Golden Arches might be in order.

Saturday October 25, 11:29 a.m.

Had quite the rains last night. Still, I headed into Tokyo in the afternoon to take a browse around before meeting Miss Prim for dinner. Checked out Maruzen before braving the wet and going down to the two HMVs in Yurakucho. Ended up grabbing a couple of Charlie Brown discs. One was my second purchase of "A Charlie Brown Christmas"...the first one was bare-bones, no specials but this one did have the 15-minute special on the making of it. Like a lot of classics, Charles Schulz and his compadres really didn't have any inkling whether it would do well or not; in fact, they were pretty pessimistic about its chances. History certainly and happily proved them wrong. The disc also has another much more recent Xmas special with the Peanuts gang. And I also got "A Boy Named Charlie Brown", the first motion-picture foray for the round-headed kid. This was especially special for me since even though I'd seen it on TV a few times decades ago, CBS felt compelled to basically tear parts of it out, I assume, to fit it into the schedule...this is a movie that doesn't even hit the 90-minute mark. What?...Coca-Cola and Dolly Madison needed that much ad time? I only took a look at a few scenes of the movie so far since it had gotten pretty late last night. Finally did get to see Lucy, Violet and Patty do "The Failure Face" number for the very first time in my life...well, I finally got to see it. That's about as much impression as I got from it. Hey, maybe CBS was doing something right.

Also came across that Ego-Wrappin' disc that I'm starting to get that itch for. And I took a listen to a new album by sylph-like Toko Furuuchi . She was a singer who I really liked back in the 90s with her AOR mellowness. She's not so sylph-like anymore although she's far from Rubenesque; the tunes still sound very mellow and appealing.

Even took a stroll through Yamano Music just down the road...saw some Donald Fagen stuff that I'm also thinking about, and that Natalie Cole revisitation of "Unforgettable" is also on my mind.

The rains once again came down like domestic animals around 5 p.m. but I still took the long way back up to the Yaesu Book Center near Tokyo Station. It's quite an eclectic place since the escalators only go up as far as the 4th floor before the stairs and elevators take over from there up to the 8th floor. Ended up picking up the latest TIME issue on Presidential Temperament; it was an interesting read. Being the latent Trekkie, I've come to the realization that John McCain is Kirk while Barack Obama is Spock.

The reason I got the magazine was that I still had a good 90 minutes before meeting up with Miss Prim. I looked for some cafe but being a Friday night, just about all of the places where one could get some sort of nourishment were already packed to the rafters, and the urban area of Yurakucho/Tokyo Station isn't particularly sparse in terms of restaurants and cafes. I just ended up back on the 4th floor of Maruzen to read; luckily, they've got tables and chairs there to read away.

Miss Prim met me at 7:15 and we made that search for an eatery. Instead of going up like we did when The Flautist and the two of us had met for dinner a couple of weeks earlier, we went down underground in the mistaken belief that B1 wasn't a Friday night hotspot. Well, the places there were pretty filled, too, but we could find a table in a Chinese place just beside Com Pho, my favourite Vietnamese place. Prim had said before that she wasn't crazy about crowds, so we just stayed long enough for us to have dinner. She had veggies and meat in cornstarch on top of rice while I went for the fiery tan tan men. Then we did a brief walk...by that time, the rains had thankfully stopped...over to her favourite Excelsior Cafe branch. Not too crowded there since Friday nights in Tokyo at that time always meant mass migrations to the izakayas and pubs and restaurants instead of coffeehouses. There, she showed me her photos of her 9 months traveling through Canada along with her homestays. Like me, she also likes taking pictures of her food. She has a special love for the New York style of cheesecake...rich and tough as a brick. I told her that she just has to try the Zacher Torte that Starbucks brings out every winter. She'll sleep like a baby.

One of her residences while in Canada just happened to be Vulcan, Alberta...that UFO-friendly place. She even took a picture of the local Star Trek museum there. No idea whether she experienced Pon Farr. I could only imagine how The Trekkie would react if she ever found out about Miss Prim. She has a good eye with her camera. A lot of the shots were postcard-class quality. One of her hosts just happened to be a Mennonite family...which was great for her. She's far from anything remotely gyaru, and prefers her acquaintances to be serious and considerate. Not surprisingly, she doesn't ever head to Shibuya.

We headed back home on the Tozai Line from Nihombashi Station. I was never too keen on taking the subway from there since my line always gets packed like sardines around the night hour...and don't even ask me about Friday nights. But Prim and I got lucky for some reason, we couldn't sit down of course, but we actually didn't feel like we were breaking laws of physics when we got on. It was a good night and hopefully, we'll have more like them in the weeks to come.

In less than an hour, I've got The Intellectual and The Publicist in short order and then I'm off to Omotesando to pick up some Halloween candy for Tuesday's pumpkin carving at the juku. If I'm lucky, I may be able to get some of the gourds themselves at that flower shop nearby Kinokuniya Supermarket without having to head back to National Azabu in Hiroo after Tully & The Coffeemaker tomorrow. In any case, Halloween this year falls rather nicely on a Friday next week, so basically the next 7 days will be perfect justification for all of the nightclubs and bars to hold their annual parties in Roppongi and Shibuya.

Thursday October 23, 10:16 p.m.

Got through the biggest hurdle today...the model lesson. Luckily, my student was very accomodating. We worked on her flat delivery and gave it a bit more bounce and body (sounds like I'm talking like a hairstylist describing his latest improvement on a customer). Speedy did a wrap-up and he sounds optimistic; however, I'll only be convinced once she's sitting in front of me as a bona fide student. Still, I'm glad that the day's over.

Man, that Shatner-Takei feud has finally hit a warp core breach. Just read that Shatner has delivered a major hissy fit via the 21st-century version of the open plaza, Youtube...he basically attacked George for not inviting him to George's wedding. Takei just said that the Shat never RSVP'ed. If I believed that, I would be getting those Ferengi ears right now. George Takei has never been shy about his hatred for William Shatner...dunno why he's being coy about it now. As for Bill...why did he ever think that he would be invited by a guy who openly hates him?

Tomorrow, I've got the day off since the juku boss and I decided that this Friday would be the odd Friday out. I've gotta remind her that The Restauranteur should not come tomorrow night. Instead, I'll be heading on out to meet Miss Prim for dinner in Otemachi again. Kinda wonder if we will be able to find a table on a Friday night in downtown Tokyo.

Thursday October 23, 7:12 p.m.

Had lunch at the Ringer Hut champon restaurant before I had The Singer's lesson. Some guy beside me was chewing out a foreign-born waitress on how she took the order. He insisted in his blowhard way that he wasn't being a racist but he was just straightening her out on how to conduct herself properly, so that she wouldn't get a worse reaction from a really nasty customer. I can imagine that he may not have had racist leanings, but he was being one of those unlikeable obnoxious blowhards that just has to let everyone in the restaurant know his feelings on something or another. My old second back at NOVA all those years ago fit the profile to a T...so this guy is probably not a bad sort...just gets on everyone's nerves. If a similar guy had tried to do the same thing at a coffee shop back home, in all likelihood he would've gotten an "extra ingredient" in his drink. Over here, the wait staff could only bow down repeatedly and utter "Moushiwakegozaimasen."

As for The Singer, she was OK although she was a bit down in the dumps initially since one of her longtime band members decided to leave the band. But she was better by the end of class.

Afterwards, I decided to hang out at the nearby La Vie Du France for half an hour for a coffee and danish before I picked up The New Yorker at the station and brought her up to the school. Looks like she had an interesting day with her two buddies by going all the way from her home in Ibaraki Prefecture (north of Chiba) to the absolute western boundaries of Tokyo...Mt. Takao, about as natural as any place could get in the megalopolis....to find this Taiwanese fortune teller. They found her and they spent an hour having their auras (or should that be aurae?) read. Apparently, my student may be an ex-student sometime in the next 18 months since she was told to find her fortune working in another country. Of course, that would be great for boosting her English ability but I do wonder about putting my future goals in the hands of the supernatural. In any case, she was suffering from a major cold during the lesson so she was hitting the Kleenex hard. But she's having dinner tonight with those same buddies at a motsu nabe restaurant in Ebisu.

It's all quiet here at the school, but I've got that final lesson tonight in the form of a demo with that girl with the flat-as-urine-in-a-petri-dish (that line, by the way, can be cited to Bob Berry, former coach of the Montreal Canadiens) delivery. Hopefully, I can set her on her way to pronounciation excellence.

Thursday October 23, 9:49 a.m.

Fully into the morning. Fairly busy day coming up. Saw the Patent Attorney for the first time in about 3 weeks. Jovial chap, as usual. And Grandma Dynamite is in the house with Speedy for her first hour. Nice lady but glad that I'm not pulling another double shift with her.

Wednesday October 22, 9:21 p.m.

75% of the way there. Got through with Speedy's student, 001 and The Diver. The first two were basically gab sessions since the former is so into movies and pop culture, and the latter just hates the text. I was literally by-the-book with The Diver since she needs the structure. Now, it's just The Fashion Designer. She's pretty much either way.

My schedule tomorrow has gotten a bit busier with the addition of The Singer. Somehow, despite her own schedule, she's been able to fit in 8 classes with us...which makes the bossman very happy. Let's see...I've got Grandma Dynamite, Miss Sedona, The Singer, The New Yorker and that model lesson student. Pretty busy but not like the chaos of last Thursday.

Wednesday October 22, 1:20 p.m.

Yup, looks like Jolly may be out of the loop for good. Waited the requisite 10 minutes for the guy but never showed, never called in. Not complaining too much since that means I can get home 90 minutes early.

Just went down to Shibuya and got a belated birthday present for The Satyr with those gift certificates he gave me...a nice little tome about designing Japanese interiors. He had some connection with architecture some years back, and I figure that the book may come in handy in the future if he and Miss Ivory decide to do some interior decorating. Was tempted to buy some other stuff but I'll wait to see how much I can spare after the next money pack comes in.

Ended up having lunch at the Wendy's near The Madam's home. Hundreds of eateries in Shibuya and I just go to a fast food joint. Still, I went for what was comfortable for me. Then, I took the bus up here to Speedy's.

I've got four in a row from late this afternoon. I've got one of Speedy's since he'll be busy with the other side of the operation, and then it's the usual Wednesday night triplet of 001, The Diver and The Fashion Designer. Also gotta do the invoice for the latest translation project and send it off to The Corner, plus fashion something for that model lesson tomorrow night.

Tuesday October 21, 9:24 p.m.

It turned out to be just Mr. Mild tonight; The Traveler was mysteriously incommunicado. The boss left a message but this sort of thing usually doesn't bode well for any return engagements. Still, I had a good time with the lad. Apparently, on the same Saturday that I was enjoying imoni nabe with 002 and her gang, Mr. Mild went off to a Noh drama and kyogen performance somewhere in Urayasu. Apparently, he has an interest in the art form. Unlike kabuki which goes on for a marathon 4 hours, Noh is thankfully light on the butt. Still, unless I got free tickets (Mild's ticket for the front row cost him 5,000 yen), I probably wouldn't head out to see it.

It does look like The Milds will be showing up next week for pumpkin carving; so we're looking at 2-3 pumpkins at least (The Milds, Suzanne and The Ace) for next Tuesday. Gonna be doing some shopping this weekend.

I've been continuing the Starfleet correspondence with The Trekkie back at Speedy's. I guess I'll be seeing The Nurse next Monday between SIL and The Full-Timer. Surprisingly, she hasn't seen the new pics for "Star Trek XI" quite yet.

Completely different topic but it seems like that initial glow that Sarah Palin brought to the campaign over a month ago has pretty much gotten tarnished into an ugly reddish-brown. Whether it has been her flubbed interviews with the media bigwigs or the excessive winking at the camera during that lone debate, she's been getting her share of trash thrown at her about not having nearly enough clout or experience to be placed a heartbeat away from the Big Chair. Now CNN has started wondering aloud whether those Tina Fey appearances on "Saturday Night Live" have also been putting the kibbutz on the real Palin's chances. Still, Sarah has got a good sense of humour about it all by appearing on the show with her doppelganger. She even showed some decent bust-a-moves on "Weekend Update".

Well, Jolly isn't here and I'm just 4 minutes from heading out the door. It means something when even the insanely optimistic juku boss doesn't sound too cheerful about his chances. I've got a feeling when this potential purge of students happens, Jolly will have already gone far from the exit.

Tuesday October 21, 7:14 p.m.

Looks like the Boston Red Sox couldn't pull one more rabbit out of the hat after all. After that miracle comeback on Thursday night, the Bosox ended up getting hammered and so the Tampa Bay Rays are headed for The World Series against the Phillies. The only other folks besides the population of Boston to lament the loss are the media outlets who won't be gaining too much advertising revenue with this lineup for The Fall Classic. Still, Japan cna be happy that although Matsuzaka won't be in there, Iwamura will be.

That crime odyssey known as Kazuyoshi Miura has taken a bizarre turn, post-mortem. A LA pathologist says that he can prove that the now-dead suspect in a quarter-century murder was not the victim of suicide...but of murder. Kinda wonder if this pathologist has been watching too many episodes of "Quincy, M.E."

Well, so far, I've only got Mr. Mild and The Traveler coming up.

Tuesday October 21, 7:03 p.m.

Suzanne is the tonic after a not-so-happy day. We made quite a transition conversationally; all the way from "The O.C." to "The U.S....elections", that is. Not sure how we were able to go from Seth and Marissa to Barack and John, but that's the wonder of my business. Just gave her a brief glossing...glad that I didn't have to explain the vagaries of The Electoral College, although that could be coming up. But next Tuesday is pumpkin carving day, so I don't have to worry about that for another 2 weeks.

Got word from The Trekkie that The Nurse has cancelled her 2nd class back from hiatus tomorrow, so I don't start until 5 p.m. And then, I've got The Dentist back on November 1 in her regular afternoon slot. She did get the Brent Spiner CD and stylized my response as if we were Starfleet officers...how gay can I get?

The juku boss came in and told me that even she now believes that Jolly probably will or has flown the coop. She hasn't received any sort of call from him about last week's no-show. She's given me the OK to just take off if he doesn't show up by 9:40 tonight. Kinda glad that I haven't overstayed my welcome here yet.

Tuesday October 21, 4:16 p.m.

It has been a bit of an awkward day so far. First off, Mrs. Travel and Mrs. Alp, the only ones to show up today for the weekly Beehive session, had a bit of a heart-to-heart with me about the classes at the Beckers...our home for the past 18 months. Ms. Alp was a lot less harsh with me than she was all the way back in February when I had that cash crunch of my own, but she basically told me that things were getting a bit stale in the sessions and that I should be better managing the talking time amongst the ladies. In other words, they think I've been coasting by letting her and Travel gab away while quieter ones like Mrs. Jade and Mrs. Tee just sit there. I took my medicine like a man.

Mrs. Jade was notable by her absence. After last week's session, apparently the ladies had a bit of a powwow about the direction of the chatfests, and although Mrs Travel said that things were cordial, there was a distinct split in opinion between Travel and Alp on one side, and Jade on the other. Mrs. Jade feels that the lessons should be more teacher-centered while Travel and Alp feel (as do I) that they should be student-centered...especially since we're not exactly in very conducive surroundings for a proper English lesson...two tables in an often crowded cafe. However, I was hearing a lot of contradictions from them. They would like me to be a lot stricter on the reins and yet they don't want to be obligated to come u pwith a set topic for presentation on a regular basis. They would like things to be back to the way they were at the bowling alley, our old hangout, but Alp especially said that she would prefer to stay at the Beckers although I really can't be that effective as an actual teacher outside of being a moderator and checking in on any major errors. I, for one, would like to get back to a private room but apparently Beckers is the only place that's convenient for everyone...and yet they would like to increase their numbers...that ain't happening as long as we stay at a coffee shop. I was frankly left a bit gobsmacked and somewhat down after that, although our lunch at a Korean place was cordial enough.

In a way, though, the softly, softly talking-to that I got this morning did jolt me out of my complacency...one that has been a decade in the making. I'm kinda wondering if it's time to finally end my long era with The Beehive. It's been fun but I'm thinking whether I've just gotten a little too close to them. Periodcially, I've gotten the same little lecture from them whenever they think I've slacked on some sort of teacher-related protocol, but I think this time, the lecture hit a bit closer to home. I believe that as long as the ladies insist on keeping things at the coffee shop, things are just gonna end up as a kaffeeklatsch even if I draw on the reins for a short while. Well, the next few months will be contemplative ones for me. I won't make any major moves during this year, but I think I may decide to end things early next year.

Then, it was my penultimate session with 002. Unlike the fun of the party, the first 15 minutes of the lesson were serious. Basically, it was a polite but frank discussion about the kerfuffle of two weeks ago. However, it just seemed like a verbal reiteration of the e-mails that we had exchanged. 002 was obviously discomfited but I kept things on an even keel. Still, what needed to be said was said and hopefully, the talk has gotten everything out of our systems and that the last class will end on a happier note. In any case, 002 admitted that she wasn't crazy about the new text and she even wasn't all that thrilled with the last one as well.

Back at the juku, the boss told me that she'll have to be going in on Friday for a wonderful session with the gastric camera. She has my sympathies. Well, I've got Suzanne as usual and then just Mr. Mild...and maybe The Traveler. Mrs. Mild is off in France right now. Will Jolly show up? I'm thinking about suggesting to the boss that we should tell our wayward student to call us each time if he can come, instead of when he can't come.

Monday October 20, 8:54 p.m.

Just myself in the outer office. Speedy's teaching his Monday night regular. I've been getting some stuff ready for the coming week, including going over that taped rendition from that potential pronounciation student last week. A lot of stuff that needs overhauling...lack of rhythm, emphasis, contrast...you name it, she doesn't have much of it.

I heard that the acerbic Mr. Blackwell, he of that dreaded and hated Worst Dressed List, finally went to that fashion house in the sky. It's said that he died of intestinal complications; probably inhaled some lint from one of the dresses that he had savaged. I can imagine that at the funeral, all of the women he dissed will show up wearing anything but black and tasteful....just out of spite.

General Colin Powell has officially endoresd Barack Obama. I guess the general is off of McCain's Xmas Card list for this year. His endorsement probably won't change any of the minds of the converted, but the independents and fence-straddlers are probably hmmmming at this moment. I still say it's early to declare victory for Obama but this endorsement cannot help McCain.

Monday October 20, 7:49 p.m.

Smelling of cigarettes and coffee once again after my latest lesson with The Full-Timer at the local Doutor's. Looks like things have settled down a bit between her and her somewhat manic-depressive boss, but not quite out of the woods as of yet.

The Magician cancelled her lesson for the 29th and has shipped over to mid-November. Her job often creates these large gaps in her education. Whoops...now found out that she wants to come in earlier but neither Speedy and I are around.

Not even a month since it began, but the Aso administration seems to be slipping even further in the polls. At this rate, PM Aso may have no choice but to dissolve the Lower House...before it dissolves by itself.

Just found out through some sort of brochure that Captain Picard is indeed a captain of sorts; Patrick Stewart's the Chancellor of Huddersfield College in the UK. Wonder if The Trekkie is aware of this.

Monday October 20, 4:21 p.m.

Pretty busy socially this past weekend, so let's get started.

On Saturday, there was the party at 002's. So, just to add that little bit of oomph to it, I decided to head over to LaLaPort, Japan's very first megamall in Minami-Funabashi to see if I could actually buy a box of Krispy Kreme donuts. I actually had to take a taxi from Funabashi Station to get the place since buses apparently take their sweet time on the weekends. My wallet wasn't too badly dented by the ride. I was delighted to find out that the lineup into LaLaPort's Krispy Kreme was only a microscopic 5 minutes. Tons of people head over to the main hub of Shinjuku but luckily not too many bother with a small Chiba city. Saw the famed conveyor belt processing the donuts including the sheet curtain of icing raining down on them. Also got the traditional free donut from the staff. Ended up getting a dozen assorted for about 1,800 yen.

So with a box of donuts in one hand, and a pumpkin in the other, I made it to 002's place an hour later. Happily, there was none of that tension involving 002, Speedy and myself the week before. 002's husband was his usual happy-go-lucky self. Soon after 001 and 002's friend, the one who had wanted the crack at carving a Jack O'Lantern, arrived. Got ourselves well stuffed on the imoni-nabe, a hot pot filled with beef, green onions and other veggies in a rich soy-sauce based stock. The rest of the evening turned out to be a show-and-tell night via the laptop since everyone except me had gone overseas for various reasons. First off was 001's digital photos of her time in the Middle East; she and her buddies had even taken a dunk...a very shallow one...in The Dead Sea. Then, 002 and her hubby showed off their pics from the Maui Marathon. Finally, 002's friend gave us a marathon picture showing of his trip to Beijing and Tsingtao. His job apparently has something to do with trend spotting, so there were a lot of shots of people walking and a lot of the native culinary fare. I was kinda fading out at one point since the imoni started to digest on me. However, by pumpkin carving time, I was back helping out. The friend and the others enjoyed making the first Jack O'Lantern (at least, in my purview) of the season. And a lot of cellphones and digital cameras got busy taking pictures of the finished product out on the balcony. For a party that 002 had hoped to keep a bit shorter since she was worried about 001's commute all the way back to Sagamihara in Kanagawa Prefecture, it actually lasted a good 8 hours.

On Sunday, The Satyr, MB and I got together in Shinjuku to catch "Ironman". Y'know...maybe I'd subconsicously had my expectations a bit too high for this one or I'd just bought too much into the reviewers' hype (although, admittedly, they were also guardedly praising at best about their feelings about the movie), but I was a bit disappointed about this one. MB liked it somewhat more than I and The Satyr did. But I just thought "Ironman" was surprisingly flat for a hi-mech action movie. And Robert Downey, Jr. may have lifted the material according to the critics, but his glib, throwaway one-liners seemed to have been delivered subvocally; I needed to read the subtitles to find out what he'd said. Movie Buddy also agreed with me on that point, remarking that sound engineers often ramped up the bass for better sounding explosions but at the expense of lost dialogue. Plus, for some reason, unlike the origin stories for some of the other Marvel franchises like "Spiderman", the actual leadup to the formation of the superhero was not all that interesting, and there were a few too many "meet cute" scenes between Tony Stark and Pepper Potts to my liking. And we got one of the most effeminate military officer performances in cinematic history in the form of Terrance Howard...truly bizarre. Maybe it was just as well that he won't be returning in the sequel. For basically these reasons, I didn't think it really quite lived up to the hype although the Ironman vs. fighter jets scenes were the one saving grace.

After the movie, we caught up with The Sylph, Miss Ivory and Skippy, whom I hadn't seen in over a month at the Wald 9 complex since they decided to go distinctly women-and-weepy by catching "P.S. I Love You" with Gerald Butler and Hilary Swank. The ladies said that it was a four-hanky flick. On the way over to El Torito, the culinary destination for the evening, Skippy had said that despite an initial worry over how her new job at a recording studio was going, she was now well settled.

We had dinner at El Torito at the bottom of the Microsoft Building across from Takashimaya Times Square. Had ourselves the gamut of the menu and a good time although the screaming kid at the next table didn't enhance the experience. Me and The Satyr got an embarrassing load of birthday riches from Skippy and The Sylph. Even The Satyr, a birthday boy himself today, got me something in the form of music store gift certificates. I felt badly that I didn't have anything for him but frankly I'm never very prepared for what to get as a birthday present for anyone. However, I did get some clues via MB's gift of a Frank Lloyd Wright calendar and The Sylph's gift of a strange picture book of various shots of Tokyo. I even got a PASMO card from MB and The Sylph so now I'm now part of the commuting masses who just slap the card on the ticket gate sensors.

Today, I didn't have any classes in the morning and early afternoon so I decided to catch my second movie in as many days in Shinjuku. Instead of the Kabukicho plaza, my destination was the new-and-improved Picadilly. I ended up adding another card to my stressed-out wallet; along with the new PASMO, I now have a card for the Picadilly in which every 7th film I see at the place gets me in free. For a guy who watches his fair share of flicks, it was a good deal.

I caught "Get Smart". I actually felt I got more bang out of the buck from watching this than I did with "Ironman". The reviews for this one were lukewarm, and maybe that lowering of expectations was what helped me. Plus, I was a fan of the original series with Don Adams and the tasty Barbara Feldon. There was plenty of homage to spread around right from the opening titles to the various props and even to a couple of cameos. It was also the 2nd movie with Terence Stamp that I'd seen within a week; don't think I've done that since catching "Superman 2" multiple times over a quarter-century ago. I'd have to agree that the casting of the two leads was pretty near perfect. Steve Carell is probably the only actor who can do Maxwell Smart right now, and Anne Hathaway did a number of scenes as 99 which nearly seemed to channel Feldon's take. Unlike "Ironman", I would look forward to a sequel with "Get Smart".

Ended up having lunch at that Chinese buffet place in the shopping complex over JR Shinjuku. So, I'm pretty much stuffed for the rest of the day. Couldn't find anything for The Satyr at the Tower Records by the south exit, so I'll have to wait until Wednesday for my next opportunity. I did see a best hits collection by sometime-swinging unit Ego-Wrappin' at HMV; may get that by the end of the week but my priority is getting the gift for The Satyr.

I've only got The Full-Timer and then Medicine Man tonight. This week shouldn't be too bad. My Hump Days aren't nearly as nuts as they were last week, and at this point, I've got all of Friday off. Only meeting up with Prim on that night for dinner. Still, I gotta plan for that specialized model lesson for that student late on Thursday night.

Friday October 17, 10:43 p.m.

I've just finished the juku classes for the week. Mild Jr. and I just analyzed some of the Halloween songs they're playing at Tokyo Disneyland and gabbed on the origins on the former All Hallows Eve. Then an hour later, there was a bit of a scheduling swap; The Ace was running late so he saw me at 10 instead of 9. The Restauranteur actually led from the bottom of the hour; she's doing well but I'll probably be starting basic question intonation practice once we get all of the Restaurant English out of the way. The Ace was really kind; he was grateful that I could stay for that extra half-hour and got me a small packet of Lindt chocolates. Never a bad thing.

Well, I'm off for two. Got that dinner at 002's place tomorrow. Not sure how that's gonna go considering the kerfuffle from last week. But bringing over the pumpkin and 001's presence there will smooth things over, hopefully. Then on Sunday, it's "Iron Man" with the usual movie crowd.

Friday October 17, 4:41 p.m.

Back here at the juku...the boss is off somewhere; I had to jiggle the lock to get myself in. Dew the attention of Toonces the juku cat since he was there to greet me when I finally got the door open. Not sure but her husband might be in the living room downstairs...didn't bother to come to the door.

Went back down to Hiroo to get that pumpkin at National Azabu. Had lunch at KFC first; not exactly feeling too adventurous to try some of the more pricier stuff in the neighbourhood. The supermarket was bustling with gaijin and locals alike. There was a gaggle of kids in front of the Baskin-Robbins (simply called 31 here)...not surprisingly noisy at the thought of getting ice cream, no doubt. Found a nice-sized gourd for 980 yen and also got a Campbell's can of Creamy Chicken Soup...the Chunky stuff was much larger and more expensive. There were a few American women gabbing away in the middle of the aisle near the finger food; you may change the environment but some habits die hard.

It's clouded over considerably; I'm dreading that the weather forecasters have screwed up again. It wouldn't be the first time this year.

Not sure if it's the KFC lunch but I'm feeling pretty tired again. Maybe I'm still feeling the effects of yesterday. Tonight should be a walk in the park in comparison. Just have Mild Jr., The Ace and then The Restauranteur.

Friday October 17, 1:13 p.m.

Well, what a difference a few innings makes. In my last entry, the Boston Red Sox were getting hammered by the Tampa Bay Rays in Boston 5-0. That lead expanded to 7-0, but now as I type, it's the bottom of the 9th and the Bosox have actually tied it up at 7-7! Baseball is truly an American game.

Got a couple of more pages done up and ready for transmission to The Corner.

And the Bosox have pulled one right from the furnace...8-7! Friday morning over there on the Eastern Seaboard will probably have The Mother of All Watercooler Talks in all of those corporate towers.

As for me, it's time to get that pumpkin but I gotta get some grub first.

Friday October 17, 12:15 p.m.

The Nurse was in pretty high spirits today, after 2 months back. Her new house has been settled in...she even has a picture of her living room in her cellphone. She also gave me a small package of sweet potatoes cooked in honey and yuzu. Ray, the boss and I are currently sharing them; I'm not usually a big purveyor of yams since they tend to expand like a rubber boat in my stomach, but these are pretty good.

Well, gotta back to those translations...

Friday October 17, 10:26 a.m.

Well, back at the school again. I feel better after a deeper sleep than usual after that most marathon of sessions yesterday...not totally refreshed but I think it would take several sessions at a spa to get me feeling that good in any case.

Pretty laid-back feeling at Speedy's so far. It's just me and him, and he's watching what will probably be the last game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Bosox on the plasma screen. Matsuzaka and the Sox are getting their tails kicked right now 5-0. Speedy is saying that ESPN and the other sports outlets Stateside are probably gonna be crying in their beer since the World Series will consist of small-market teams. The Nurse will be here in about half an hour.

Afterwards, I've gotta do some more work on translation and maybe even start the strategizing for that model lesson for that potential pronounciation student next week, before I head on out to Hiroo again to pick up the pumpkin at National Azabu for 002's party tomorrow. I might even pick up a can of Campbell's Soup there. The regular supermarkets also stock Campbell's but apparently the management assumes that the Japanese can only handle Minestrone and Boston Clam Chowder. Me...I wanna go for that ol' style Barley and Beef or good ol' Chunky.

I'll have to get back relatively early to the juku since Mild Jr. will be coming in for what will be his semi-regular stint at 7 on Fridays.

As for those near-perpetual U.S. Elections, the networks seem to be thinking that Obama has got this one in the bag....an attitude that I'm sure Obama wants to quash like a bug. I just heard from The Anime King that with the Canadian Elections a few days ago, the polls had the Liberals with a 10% lead over the Conservatives. And guess what happened? The Torys still have their minority government. So all this talk about the Dems starting to put some more daylight between themselves and the trailing Republicans is just talk to me. 19 days away, anything can still happen. And frankly speaking, I think Barack is the first presidential candidate I've ever seen to start the accelerated aging process before November 4. CNN and all of the other networks like to do features from time to time to remind the viewers that being the leader of the free world exacts a physical toll. Well, of all the major candidates that had been in the running during the Primaries and now the General Election, Obama seems to have started looking grayer and slightly more saggier recently. Certainly, compared to that electric keynote address at the 2004 Democratic Convention and his own pronouncement to run back in early 2007, the Illinois Senator is looking somewhat less fresh. Will he manage to even survive his own Inauguration Day if he gets elected?

Well, in other news, I brought over that Brent Spiner "Ol' Yellow Eyes is Back" disc for The Trekkie. Not sure if she's much for standards sung by an android, but the kitsch factor should be amusing enough for her.

Thursday October 16, 10:41 p.m.

Finally, the Mother of All Hump Days has come to a quiet end. Rather incredible when I think about it....I taught 8 students through 8.5 hours and did survive fairly well. However, I will sleep pretty well, although it'll probably be just the 6 since I do have The Nurse back at 11 tomorrow. I think I can probably take anything now.

That model lesson student was a bit of a mumbly one...flat intonation and delivery. She can sure use the intensive pronounication programme. As for Medicine Man, he got the first question on the test but after that, he blazed through the rest fo a 98% score. Just hope that means a renewal in a month.

Saw the first few shots from the new "Star Trek" movie on the Internet. Hmmm....looks really day-glo, but I'm intrigued about the possibilities. I may give The Trekkie a heads-up on that one.

That final debate between McCain and Obama kinda showed the difference between what the regular folks and the professional pundits saw. The pundits were somewhat divided between the two combatants, but the viewers favoured Obama heavily. This is may be one time that McCain may not be able to pull one out of the fire, but still too early to say definitively.

In any case, time to mosey on home...

Thursday October 16, 7:41 p.m.

Well, I'm starting to feel my old bones but nothing too devastating. I've got two more to go before this Mother of All Hump Days comes to a welcome close. I dashed out to teach The Singer; fine as usual. Speedy takes over for the next few lessons but it looks like I'll be there to teach her in November...apparently, she's a glutton for punishment. Then, I dashed back to teach The Carolinan. She had already gotten there before me but just by a couple of minutes. Looks like she and The New Yorker remembered my b-day...got me some cookies from Alain LeComte and a lucky charm from their trip to Kyoto. She was rather thrilled when I noticed that she'd lost weight. She's been on that infernal banana diet which has taken Japan by the throat.

Now, I've got this model student in about 20 minutes to check her pronounciation. Then, finally, I have Medicine Man to see if he did OK on his big test. And I slink home. I'll be back tomorrow at a more reasonable time to teach The Nurse. She's returning after more than 2 months away since she's had that big move of hers. It'll be nice to catch up with her.

Thursday October 16, 2:34 p.m.

Miss Sedona is done for the day. And I'm feeling that I'm almost done. I'm almost regretting having to go and teach The Singer, but Speedy hasn't returned and I don't expect him to in the next 25 minutes. I will really need to hit the lunch and vitamin drinks before I head over to the studio. Four more to go.

Looks like the results from the final debate are much more mixed. But I think McCain really needed that knockout punch. I still think it's too early to make a final decision on who will get The White House but it's not looking for the Republicans right now.

Thursday October 16, 1:06 p.m.

Finished with The Yogist. Quite a force of nature, she is. She said that she was mastering the intermediate poses which involve a lot of handstands and making abstract art with her legs. She told me that the advanced poses can be nauseating to watch.

AK is back from her New York adventure. Got her fill of bagels but couldn't find places which served Egg Creams. Not that I would heavily recommend them or anything.

So far, I seem to be hanging in there...no big fatigue. And Miss Sedona is always good so I should be in good shape for the rest of the afternoon, at least.

Thursday October 16, 11:39 a.m.

Finished up the morning segment of lessons. The Smile did well; wished me a Happy Birthday and I wished her the same since today's her special day. As for Grandma Dynamite, we managed to survive the double lesson with our collective sanity intact. Got the next round with The Yogist and Miss Sedona in 20 minutes.

Thursday October 16, 7:46 a.m.

And thus it begins....the Mother of All Hump Days. Woke up this morning at the eye-blearingly early hour of 5 and was out by 5:50. Even at 6 a.m., the Tozai Line's seats are fully occupied although there is still plenty of space for standing. The Japanese as a population are morning people...although more by duty than choice. Even the suiciders get their ultimate acts done pretty early. There was already a "jinshin jiko" by the time I got to the Oedo Line.

Had my brekkie almost a full hour earlier than usual at McDonalds, so I'm pretty juiced up now. My lineup is as follows: The Smile, a double with Grandma Dynamite (I'll definitely be in need of sustenance by the end of that one), The Yogist, Miss Sedona, The Singer, The Carolinan, a guest cameo by a model lesson student for 15 minutes and then...finally...Medicine Man to wrap up this English conversation school version of "A Night of A Thousand Stars". Speedy kindly offered to take over The Singer's class if I get overwhelmed, but that was more of a token gesture than anything since he very much doubts that he'll get back from his outside business by the time I need to leave here. In any case, it'll be one for the record books. However, it is nice to know that all of the students are good folk.

Last night, 001 was her usual genki self. In fact, she was probably more genki than usual so I gather that 002 may not have filled her in on the little problem last week. She'll be there at 002's shindig on Saturday. And since I haven't heard from my soon-to-be former student, I guess I'm still on the invite list. Means that I'll be heading back to National Azabu Supermarket tomorrow afternoon to pick up that pumpkin for carving.

The Diver let go of a small bombshell last night. She's quit her job as a nurse. Didn't divulge her reasons (and I didn't press) but I gather that there was a conflict of personalities somewhere. May not be great for us since our renewals here depend on our students being gainfully employed.

My birthday was merely just a footnote but I did get my share of birthday wishes via the good platform of Facebook.

Wednesday October 15, 5:31 p.m.

Should be expecting 001 in about half an hour. Wonder if 002 had told her about last week's kerfuffle. Should know soon enough...001 doesn't exactly hide her feelings.

Taught The Magician earlier. Not exactly the most stable structure but she tries hard.

Looks like Stephen Harper got his minority government once more. McCain is probably wondering how a parliamentary form of government would work.

Wednesday October 15, 12:30 p.m.

Well, I've been given the round of birthday wishes from all sorts of folks: everyone from The Entrepreneur to The Ballerina. Don't think the age of 43 is particularly anything to celebrate about. And today is Hump Day 1. Not too bad, especially that The Fashion Designer cancelled tonight so I can try to get some shuteye before coming back here for The Mother of All Hump Days on Thursday.

Speaking of cancellations, Jolly did it again by not showing up last night. The juku boss and I were tsk-tsking about what to do with this guy. If he wants to quit, he should tell us soon.

Finished with Miss Honolulu...she's officially my student but I've only had her second lesson this morning since she usually comes in on Tuesdays, which are strictly my only-in-Chiba days. She's good and conversant but not too quick in terms of fluency.

It looks like the Conservatives will continue to take charge of Canada, according to early results. So, it'll still be Prime Minister Harper. Meanwhile, all that news about an early snap election announcement from PM Aso here has pretty much evaporated until things get settled financially.

The Trekkie left a little note concerning my own love for all things Trek. Of course, "Live long and prosper!" and "Resistance is futile!" all figured prominently in the message. I wasn't sure if this was because of my birthday. I may lend her my Brent Spiner CD. Ray has absolutely no idea what's being communicated between us.

Tuesday October 14, 9:21 p.m.

Finished off The Milds today. Actually, The Traveler couldn't make it due to cold...sign of the times. So, it was back to the old days again. We also got a surprise in the form of the juku boss bringing some imo yokan (sweet potato bean jelly...don't knock it til you try it) and barley tea for dessert. Mr. Mild has been having a good time in his retirement by taking some DIY classes; today, he was practicing installing plastic tiles on the floor.

Mrs. Mild will be off next on a trip to southern France with her buddies next week. When I remarked that Mr. Mild might be somewhat lonely, he just said that he may actually be lucky instead. I could see that knife being thrown by his wife any moment now.

As for that model lesson student, the kid didn't resemble anything like Seven or any typical Shibuya gyaru. In fact, she looked like a sweet little countryside girl...I'd say she looked like she belonged to the panoply of cute Disney characters, which is actually appropo since she works in one of the restaurants in Tokyo Disneyland Hotel as a waitress. The Milds were surprised at the coincidence since Mild Jr. is one of the security guys there. She's a bit on the shy side but has some latent ability. Looks like the lesson went pretty well for her, but she says she has to consult with her parents first...hmmm, as usual, being the cynic I am, it could be a hedge, but in her case, I wouldn't be surprised if she did check with the parentals for every little decision.

Well, waiting for Jolly since he hasn't called to dotakyan. But then he did no-show a couple of weeks back without making any sort of call.

The next couple of days may be the busiest of my entire time at Speedy's. I hope I don't end up thinking of homicide if he asks me to teach any more lessons.

Tuesday October 14, 6:51 p.m.

Just finished with Suzanne. Looks like she couldn't forget her summertime pal during her escapade in Australia earlier this year. She may be taking a little tour of Oz again in December...just has to figure out a way to tell the parentals gently. Now, I'm just waiting for this sudden model lesson student. The boss tells me that she may be like Seven...well, that's not too bad. Seven was a good egg.

Suzanne works in a supermarket. And occasionally, the odd foreigner does come in to ask questions. Today, she got one who was looking for a carton of egg whites. The lass was a bit flabbergasted. Even I hadn't been aware that cartons of just egg whites could exist, but I'm not surprised that such a thing could be sold in America. They probably would be bestsellers as well.

Tuesday October 14, 4:36 p.m.

Well, just looked up that guy who dissed the METROPOLIS Batman wannabe. The Hairy White Prince (couldn't make up that codename if I tried) definitely comes off as someone who's been in this country too long and has become really embittered with it all. His current page has pics of drunks and dweebs sleeping it off in all sorts of positions all over Tokyo with very disparaging captions. He doesn't even hold off on the women, either. To be honest, I think he's my id. Did also come across another site quoting him that his former English student, who was supposed to be in New York learning to become an actress, was outed as an S&M mistress who almost choked a university professor to death. A little beyond Sumiko Nishioka, I guess.

In somewhat more mundane news, CNN's been showing some happy pics of stockbrokers since in what is taking on Phoenix-like proportions, the stock market has been hitting the highs compared to the hellish lows it was plummeting to a week ago. Cue the "Star Wars" Coronation Scene music by John Williams. Oh, and by the way, oil just dropped to $98...

Tuesday October 14, 4:09 p.m.

Well, one of those things I do not really like. I got into the juku where the boss told me that I've got a model lesson right after Suzanne's lesson. I reacted levelheadedly but she knew I was a bit annoyed and offered to call the prospective student up to re-schedule. But I just waived it off and said to go ahead since according to the boss, the student is a 19-year-old who claims to be a lowbie. Man...a teen again...y'know, I want to be charitable but if I just blindly accepted everything that got thrown at me, the boss wouldn't know my limits. Anyways, she's gone back downstairs to practice her koto.

It'll be the usual clan otherwise. Suzanne, then The Milds & The Traveler. And again, I'll be on tenterhooks about Jolly. He said that he would be coming tonight when he'd called last Tuesday to cancel. We'll see. If he does come, it'll be another 90. Grrrrr....

A few weeks ago, there was The Last Word column in the weekly METROPOLIS in which the contributor just about verbally announced his intention to be The Dark Knight and go after all of the scummy pedophiles in Japan. Well, his manifesto of vigilantism got a couple of responses: one who called him a moron and told him to lower the paranoia dial (he even left his website address so he's more than willing to take him on in a flame war) while the other somewhat lauded him but pushed him exactly for details. As for me, the fellow struck me as someone who may have written the article after having drunk a few too many Red Bulls and watching the "Dirty Harry" DVD collection. Nice to know that he's righteously infuriated but y'know, going on the soapbox and promising to bash anyone who comes within 2 cm of molesting any child on the street doesn't exactly strike me as having the most normal behaviour. But I'll have to check out that website of that responder who cut the guy down to size.

Tuesday October 13, 1:39 p.m.

It's been a cloudy but rainless day so far, but we're expecting some precip tonight. Met up with The Beehive this morning. Mrs. Tee showed up for the first time in a few weeks. We went down to town on the local political vocab.

Yesterday, I headed down to the tony, embassy-ridden neighbourhood of Hiroo, just a couple of stations down from Roppongi on the Hibiya Line. It isn't exactly an entertainment area but I think the ex-pats who live down there like it that way. It comes off as nice residential area not too far from downtown. I wanted to check out National Azabu Supermarket, one of the most famous international supermarkets in Tokyo since I'm on the pumpkin hunt for this Saturday for 002's party (that is, if I'm still invited...I think things are perhaps a bit tense between us since that unpleasantness last week). Yup, the future Jack O'Lanterns were there selling for about 1400 yen. I also checked out the cosmetics section; they also had decent roll-on deodorant sticks. For some reason, most drugstores here still adhere to the old Ban spray or some really dinky-looking roll-ons with liquid. The Mennen Speed Sticks cost twice as much as they do back home. National Azabu did feel like going through a Canadian Loblaws. A lot of the foreign element were nattering back and forth. I'll probably be heading back on Friday to pick up a gourd.

Then it was off to Shibuya...on foot. It actually only took me a half-hour to get there from Hiroo. The walk was nice but there really wasn't anything spectacular on the way. I could've easily switched the view between Shibuya and Hiroo with a similar experience between Ichigaya and Shinjuku a few weeks ago. I met up with MB and The Satyr there to catch "Wanted". I remember reading an article about a guy who goes around pointing around illogical examples of physics in movies; well, he would have a field day with this one. I don't think I've seen so many bendy bullets and disaster-resistant cars in my life. I guess since it's been about a decade since the first "Matrix" movie, it was about time for another crazed special-effects extravaganza. However, since all of us are now totally inured to the various effects such as "Bullet Time", "Wanted" didn't exactly push any envelopes; it was just summer blockbuster mayhem that was worth its 1300 yen. MB, of course, poked all the holes in the writing logic.

We discovered that that mysterious Krispy Kreme #5 was located in the theatre lobby. It did have a sizable lineup since it was a holiday yesterday, but it was probably still nothing compared to the snake outside of #1. However, after the movie, the three of us didn't go for doughnuts. Instead, we just crossed the street and went to that all-chicken izakaya. I'd been there a number of times with Chip Guy in the past, and since MB is on a perpetual chicken-free existence due to his chicken-hating wife, I thought that was as good a place as any for dinner. There, we indulged in the Japanese-style chicken wings known as tebasaki, along with cheese-filled chicken fritters (a very Homer Simpson dish) and some other poultry-themed stuff. Meanwhile, we got into this discussion...or basically a ranting about the cookie-cutter approach to the local dramas on TV, and also about the most annoying talking heads. We all agreed that The Kabira Bros, foreign tarento Dave Spector and former tennis player Shuzo Matsuoka take the proverbial cake. Looks like next Sunday will also be a movie day for us since that's the day for "Iron Man". Strangely enough, Skippy is eager to catch that one with us; we'd always thought she had little interest in American superheroes. But I haven't seen her in over a month so it'll be good to see her once again.

The news has been continuing to fill up with the latest drama concering The Global Economic Crisis of 2008. However, Japan has also been occupied with a crime drama that reached a rather sudden and jarring end over the weekend. A fellow by the name of Kazu Miura (no connection to the soccer player of the same name) had been involved in the shooting death of his wife in Los Angeles over a quarter-century ago in 1981. He was later arrested some years later as a suspect but was found not guilty. Then, earlier this year, when Miura was in Saipan, the US cops got him there since he was in an American territory. After some back-and-forth in the courts concerning extradition, the news came last week that he could be taken back to LA for a court hearing. He was taken to a detention centre and then was found hanged with his T-shirt around his neck. He is dead and 27 years of mystery are finished. My question is if this guy was of so much importance even nearly after 3 decades, why was he allowed to commit suicide so easily?

Back to more mundane news, those two new apartment buildings in my neighbourhood are all ready to go. Well, one of them just across from an elementary school is virtually all filled up now with residents.

I've still been going through the oeuvre of Mariya Takeuchi's pop career via her "Expressions" 4-CD pack. I have even latched onto a new song that's already gotten a good amount of play from me. It's called "Plastic Love" from 1984. Had never heard it before, and what struck me about it was how atypical it is from her stuff at the time which was kinda along the lines of 50s bubblegum pop. At first, I thought it sounded more like someone else's tune...someone familiar. Then, I came to the realization, this was more Anri's type of tune: urban 80s R&B. In any case, it's been good listening.