Saturday July 18, 1:20 p.m.

Well, just a couple of weeks after Michael Jackson's passing, another legend, this time in the broadcasting industry, has died. Good ol' Walter Cronkite has just gone to that anchorman's desk in the sky. He's been pretty much out of the spotlight for the past decade or so but I'm sure all of the news shows right now in the States are giving a full court tribute to Uncle Walter, The Most Trusted Man in America.

Some 6 weeks after I got onto this Japanese ceramics project, I finally got that last kanji translated and sent over to The Cornerette yesterday afternoon. Like with any relationship, there were some ups and downs, and The Cornerette was getting fidgety about when I would finally get everything in. Well, it's in now, and I just have to now tackle the arduous task of tallying up the cost.

Got a long weekend, although I did that one lesson today with The Publicity Agent and then I have two with The Jyuppies tomorrow afternoon. Found out that she'll be putting in her hours this weekend, too. Has to do some filming with the comedy team known as Kyaiin tomorrow. And I found out that her uncle got himself into the Guinness Book for being to fold a rice grain into an origami crane.

Thursday July 16, 12:39 p.m.

Just two more topics away from finally doing away with that mammoth translation, and I just couldn't have enough time to do it. Well, looks like there will be a Part C. However, I did send Part B to the Cornerette. She'll have to wait til tomorrow to get the whole thing.

Just a few minutes away from Miss Sedona's lesson. Speedy is counselling her on that trip to Canada.

My apartment agency has been leaving messages on my machine about something. They left two yesterday...didn't say what it was about so I wasn't particularly enthused about calling them back since I had that problem with them early last year. Finally, I got that third message this morning. Apparently, they want to put in a chain lock on my door and just wanted to confirm a day and time, the workman can come on over. Could be a bit dicey but it's looking like the holiday Monday will be the only one close by.

Wednesday July 15, 7:17 p.m.

Yup, plenty hot out there. I was crazy enough to walk down from Nakano-Sakaue to Shinjuku in blazing 30-degree-plus heat after meeting up with The Admin and then lunch. But the weather was kind to throw in some stiff winds to cool us down. I ended up browsing at the Book First branch in the Coccoon Tower for a while before I took off for Ichigaya to teach The New Yorker. Actually, had three different people come and leave beside us while we had our class; I think that's a personal best for me. Not many people can stand sipping coffee next to an English lesson.

Heading back home on Monday night strangely felt like a Friday night in that I witnessed a rather nasty set of fisticuffs in Iidabashi Station (one guy flipped the other a la judo) and there was a drunk salaryman splayed out on one seat on the Tozai Line home. Of course, the surrounding people didn't disturb him. If this had been in New York City, the poor fool would've been missing several things, including teeth and limbs.

I seem to be making good progress on this last article for The Cornerette. I don't think I'll finish the whole thing off by tonight but I can probably send half of it to The Cornerette to appease her further. But I still have The Music Man's lesson at 9:15.

Wednesday July 15, 8:51 a.m.

Still plowing away at the translations; I've just got one more article to do. Luckily, 001 has cancelled her lesson for today, so after The New Yorker, I've got several hours to bash that into shape.

Last night, the juku boss showed me some of that endearing scatterbraininess that she's often famed for. She had a talk over the weekend with a potential substitute English teacher for the kids whenever I head off for home. Apparently, he's just a 20-year-old greenhorn from Hungary who's pretty much into the Japanese language. The boss was so impressed with his Japanese abilities that she didn't even bother checking into the most important attribute...can the guy speak English?

Mr. White's second class went off without a hitch. As for The Milds, we kept it nice and light. They're still not masters of Past Continuous/Simple Past contrast but after two weeks and several exercises, I don't think they're gonna get any better. On to Present Perfect next week.

I don't have The Admin until 11 today but made the trek over to Speedy's as if I had an early lesson since those translations and The Cornerette have been breathing down my neck. Afterwards, I've got The New Yorker and then it'll be The Music Man for the last one tonight.

I actually have got another O-chugen package from The Matron (remember her?) coming to me. It's now been three months since I last saw The Class Act, but I still get the little cakes. Still not sure whether The Class Act will ever get together.

Monday July 13, 10:50 p.m.

Well, finished with Medicine Man...my sole student of the entire day. Still feeling a bit down about what all of those weeks of trying to translate the ceramics website have culminated to. I never had this much trouble with hot springs, contracts and even tax lingo. But ceramics has thrown me for a loop with all of that arcane language. I've sent the message out to her...didn't give any excuses to her. So the ball's in her court.

Time to head on home.

Monday July 13, 8:57 p.m.

Well, it took a while but it looks like I finally got that e-mail of exasperation from The Cornerette just now about how long it has taken me to get through those translations. At least, I think I got one...it's hard to tell since her English is not nearly as good as The Corner's. I sent over an apology letter. I don't think it's gonna get the translations done any faster. I informed her that I wasn't a professional translator and certainly wasn't a ceramicist; I just hope that Paddy didn't pad his recommendation of me when I was first introduced to The Corner over a year ago. Well, I figure that I'll probably be no longer contacted by The Cornerette or The Corner once this assignment is truly over...hopefully by the end of this week. Ach...it was a good gig while it lasted.

Monday July 13, 3:56 p.m.

The first truly summer day has arrived. I woke up sweating...a sure sign, and yet I'm holding off the first official usage of my dinosaur of an air conditioner until tomorrow. Yep, it was about 31 C in my living room but wasn't sweating too profusely...more like a skin-shield of sweat. I've certainly gotten accustomed to the infamous Tokyo summers over the years. Another sign of that was back on Friday when The Lens and I had met in Akiba. He's far more healthier than me, thanks to his long years of kendo training, and yet he said he was mightily wilting under the sun. And the last sign that the dog days of summer have arrived: my first of two showers of the day.

I went down to my branch of the bank to transfer some funds over to the parentals. The lady who's helped me ever since I first arrived in Japan was busy with another guy, so I got a native who had a fair-to-middling ability with the language. First, she told me that I didn't need to deal with her and that I could actually go to the ATMs and get it done there. Well, quite a change, I thought...only to find out I couldn't get access to any Canadian banks on the machines. I caught the lady's eye again and told her about my predicament, and after shooting up some question marks over her head, she realized that she hadn't told me enough information....about the special bank transfer booth across from the regular ATMS.

After going through the process, I kinda wondered what was actually easier....just getting the transfer done the old way with that American employee who's been at my branch longer than probably Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama combined or this newfangled way. I sat into the booth which reminded me of my regular visits to the I-Cafe and had that other lady looking over my shoulder while another bank employee showed up on cameraphone to take my order. As I took the receiver, the new lady instructed me to put that piece of paper on which I'd jotted down the info for my parents' bank account (and boy was I lucky I'd had the foresight to do that) and put into the scanner right in front of me. Then came about 10 minutes of digital data taking before the money was on its way. This lady's English was somewhat better than the first person, but I could hear a bit of tension underneath the professional voice of reason. Wasn't sure if she were nervous about handling my order in English or if she were terrified of my face. My default expression isn't very pretty and unless people get to know me well, they usually think I'm in a ticked-off mood....which I was, slightly. However, she assured me that the data is now a part of record, and that if I ever needed to do the same thing again, I just had to press one number and the whole structure would pop up again automatically so that I would just need to press "Confirm" and then how much I money I would send. I'm sure she was quite relieved.

Got out of there and walked up to Roppongi. Ended up having lunch at the local Wendy's. It was up to 32 C by that time and it had only passed 11 o'clock. Still, walking up the rebuilt area of Roppongi Hills, the presence of trees made a big difference in cooling things down, in contrast with the mostly concrete of Old Roppongi. Took some shots of the area.

Then, I took the Metro up to Ginza. Ginza is all concrete so the temperature was definitely closer to 40 C with all of the juicy air to boot. Took a look in both HMVs and Yamano Music for the better part of an hour there. All places were playing Michael Jackson on speakers. Next, I went inside the whale skeleton that made up the Tokyo International Forum; just aching for pictures. Then I went up to the Yaesu Book Centre across from Tokyo Station. Was surprised that I could survive all that walking in that heat. But I kept myself hydrated, thanks to the vending machines.

The week's looking pretty light for me. Just have Medicine Man tonight...yep, one 9:30 class will make up my entire work output for the day. Still, I've got translations to do. The Cornerette asked...politely...about when the last of those translations will get in. I answered...politely...that they'll be in by the end of the week (although I left out the word, "hopefully"). Basically, the only really busy day will be Wednesday...which I guess is appropriate since that was Hump Day, but even then, it's just 4 classes with plenty of space in between. Thursday (and I am keeping my fingers crossed here) may just have me having 2 classes in the afternoon: Miss Sedona and The Bow.

I got home from the latest stint at the I-Cafe last night and turned on NHK to see how those Tokyo Assembly Elections were going. And sure enough, the Liberal Democratic Party was getting trounced. I'd say it was like Hannibal Lecter sinking his teeth into those hapless guards in "Silence of the Lambs". The Democratic Party of Japan was just mauling Taro Aso's party all night, and by the end of the assault, the DPJ became the No. 1 party in Tokyo for the first time in 40 years and also got an outright majority for the first time in many years. I'm sure there was a party at DPJ headquarters. Meanwhile, the LDP could only start to lick its wounds. It took its national partner, the Komeito Party, to somehow make things from looking totally disastrous.

And the vulture was looking at Taro Aso, as it had for ex-PM Abe and Yasuo Fukuda before him. Sure enough, I saw the newspaper kiosks in the subways screaming out the headlines of the announcement of the dissolution of the Diet next week with a general election to be held in August. So, I think the country's highest manga lover will hang on and himself at the bitter end, since there is really noone there to take over. The media has apparently been doing the LDP's thinking for them and throwing out names such as Yoichi Masuzoe, the Minister of Labour, and Governor Higashikokubaru of Miyazaki Prefecture, since both have relative popularity. But Masuzoe has always gotten increasingly grayer over the months since he took over his post, thanks to that pension scandal, so I'm not sure if he could literally survive the top post, and as for current comedian-in-chief Higashikokubaru, I'm frankly not sure if CNN and the rest of the international media could survive pronouncing his name on a regular basis. Plus, Japan would wince mightily if Higashikokubaru actually got the top job and started telling President Obama to just call him Sonomama Higashi, his old comedian pseudonym. In any case, politically speaking, it's gonna be a blazing summer here.

Sunday July 12, 8:38 p.m.



Another weekend is coming to an end. Did another round at MB's place. And this time, The Satyr showed up as well and we got to see a DVD. We watched "Hot Fuzz", the latest movie with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, the British Laurel and Hardy of the 21st century. It was chock filled with a lot of the latest Brit thesps (Timothy Dalton, Paddy Considine, Bill Nighy, etc.) who've made their way across the ocean to Hollywood, and even one Aussie, a disguised cameo by Cate Blanchett. MB and I had been hoping to watch it for several months, and I guess we had our expectations ratcheted up a bit too high. After the first 15 minutes, there was nary a laugh out of the three of us, and I started to think whether we had picked up a dud. Things finally got going in the 2nd half so it wasn't a total loss, but I think "Shaun of the Dead" still wins out by a good margin. However, I think the big casting shocker was portly old Edward Woodward...yep, "The Equalizer" himself...playing a seemingly cordial Neighbourhood Watch commander.



MB did get that huge screen and has been enjoying his games online and off. I must admit that although I'm absolutely a putz when it comes to playing them, it's still pretty enjoyable. Still don't think I'll dust off my Playstation 1, though.



My session with Mrs Jyuppie was fine but Mr. Jyuppie basically put me into counselor mode once more. Apparently, he's gone into a mid-life crisis almost a decade too early. He's been wondering about how satisfied he's been with his career and the fact that he's gotten a couple of potentially good but risky opportunities. Hmmm....I listened and then referred him to "What Color is your Parachute?"



Today is the Tokyo City Council Elections...a bellweather vote in terms of the health of the governing party. It'll be interesting for me to look

Thursday July 9, 7:39 p.m.

Another pretty quiet night. Grandma FON and I had another good session. She'll be heading off to her dacha out in the wilds of Nagano Prefecture from next week so we may or may not see her again for about 6 weeks, at least. The Nurse came by...pretty lackadaiscal...I'm kinda wondering if she'll be taking off if things get anymore lax. And then, The Carolinan. She seemed slightly moody tonight....couldn't really tell why until she told me at the end that the president of her company, an alcoholic beverage retailer that's fallen on some hard times, had announced a big meeting with everyone at a major hotel tomorrow. She thinks, being somewhat pessimistic, that the big meeting will really be the excuse to bring down the axe on a lot of folks. Hopefully, everything will work out for her.

Just have The Music Man in about 90 minutes. Still slogging away at the remaining stubborn article to be translated. I got in touch with The Lens' wife just now to say that I'll meeting them for lunch in Akiba tomorrow.

The campaign trucks have once again been assaulting our ears since the Tokyo Assembly elections are on for this Sunday. I think we've had about 4 or 5 pols waving their white-gloved (oh, the irony) hands while using their megaphones like a secret weapon. The media will be keeping their eyes and ears peeled as to how the LDP fares. If the LDP bombs, as many expect they will, then PM Aso may just hold off on that call for a general election until more stable times come again.

Thursday July 9, 11:16 a.m.

Another one of those warm and humid days. Not quite the moushoubi, or torrid days, characteristic of summer in the Kanto, but we're making the transition. It'll be a somewhat middlingly busy day today. Not particularly a Hump Day but I have enough on my plate to keep things going. I've got Grandma FON in another 10 minutes, and then it'll be The Nurse a few hours, The Carolinan a few hours after that, followed by The Music Man in the last slot tonight.

I've been reading that somewhat forgotten sitcom stars from the 70s have been getting back into the limelight...but not in the most positive of ways. Eddie (Carmine) Mekka of "Laverne & Shirley" and Joyce (Janet) DeWitt from "Three's Company" have been busted for DUI in the last couple of days. I'd say that Conrad Janis, Pam Dawber and Donna Pescow better think twice about that last drink.

Well, I've yet to hear from The Lens about where we're supposed to be meeting for lunch tomorrow afternoon. I've got that day cleared for he and his wife before I have my sole classes at the juku on Friday night.

Wednesday July 8, 9:12 p.m.

Quiet ending to the night. Just waiting for The Fashion Designer to show up in about 15 minutes. 001 had one of those rollicking classes; I knew things were going to be fun when she pointed at her tummy and said in all seriousness, "I had a headache". Loved to whomp her on that one.

Well, I am quite impressed with Kinokuniya. Not less than a week after I'd ordered that CD for Mr. White's textbook, I got a call from them stating that the discs have arrived. Far better than those 2 months waiting for the DVD at Maruzen. Don't think I'll have a chance to pick it up tomorrow due to the schedule. If I'm lucky, it may be Friday before I meet up with The Lens for lunch. Most likely, it'll be Monday morning.

Wednesday July 8, 4:11 p.m.

I may only have three lessons here at Speedy, plus that private one with The Admin, but it's still feeling like Hump Day since I still have those translations above my head like a Sword of Damocles. Well, I managed to overcome another hurdle by getting another batch off to the Cornerette. Strangely enough, I haven't heard from her for a couple of days; not sure if she's run off screaming like a banshee. I still have that rather large bundle that I've let slide since the others that have come since then had higher priority. In any case, this latest assignment has been the toughest I've ever had.

The family restaurant was really bustling when The Admin and I got there. I think the lunch crowd doesn't exactly head back to work right at 1 anymore. I brought over the will of Michael Jackson that I'd downloaded from CNN.com a few days ago for a conversation piece. The Admin had seen more of the funeral than I did, and just remarked on the spectacle of it all, which is the word that I would also use to describe The King of Pop's final farewell.

Had Miss Prissy earlier in the morning so I've just got 001 and The Fashion Designer later tonight. I had a small chat with Ray who's just come back from a week vacationing in Paris. She had a good time in The City of Lights although she didn't bother going out at night due to security issues. I got a tin of mints as a souvenir.

Wednesday July 8, 8:13 a.m.

Well, the funeral of the century came and went. I let this world event pass me by as I slumbered overnight (it happened at 2 a.m. JST). Ordinarily, I would've watched it but since I do have an early class today which meant an early departure from home, I'd decided that I wouldn't risk the embarrassment of collapsing in front of Miss Prissy just for the chance of watching Michael Jackson's casket.

I think people get the funerals they deserve. I don't remember the services that John Lennon or Elvis Presley got, but I do remember Princess Diana's from 12 years ago. It was grand and laden with celebs. Terry Fox also received a fine sendoff in a church with the Canadian flag. As for Michael Jackson, from what few highlights I'd seen and the stuff I'd read on CNN.com, his funeral was as spectacular and as telegenic as any of his concert extravaganzas. I don't think I'll have to worry about missing it; I'm almost positive that it'll get repeat airing and perhaps even a DVD deal is in the works. I'm not sure if that would be something that MJ would appreciate, but entertainment is a business.

I was also drawn to yesterday's tirade by Congressman Peter King about the media's lionization of Michael Jackson. I think it was more of a venting than anything else by the politician. Nothing's gonna change about the viewing of Jackson because of one pol's dislike of The King of Pop. However, I'd have to disagree with him about his statement that Jackson did nothing good, although I can't say that I'm a fervent fan. At the very least, Jackson entertained and perhaps inspired a lot of people to do things. In the last few years of his life, he may have shown some incredible lack of judgment but if he managed to keep people happy, then that's not a bad legacy at all.

Monday July 6, 8:45 p.m.

Those translations just keep dragging on and on. I've just said the heck with it and I'm gonna shut down the translating for tonight. I've already sent in my contribution for today anyways.

Got to see SIL for the first time in a few weeks. Of course, Michael Jackson was the hot topic on the menu today. We made a comparative study between him and her idol of Elvis Presley. It'll be another 3 weeks before I meet SIL again since she and her family are on Obon holiday (for certain folks here, the Obon holiday is celebrated in July, not in August).

Met up with The Full-Timer. She's still doing the rounds of interviews with her temp company. She's been getting rather exhausted from all of the speaking in English and stuff, but she is sounding more fluent.

The Spaniard, one of our other teachers here at Speedy's, contributed some suits to me and the bossman tonight. Not quite sure if I'll be able to fit into the trousers but the blazers are hopeful. In any case, they'll all need a good pressing.

With all of the Michael Jackson news and that crisis in Honduras, it's easy to overlook what's been happening in my backyard. And what is happening in my backyard is that it's looking more and more likely that the Prime Ministerial revolving door will be turning once more in the next month or so. After a slight blip of hope a few months ago with that small scandal in the Democratic Party of Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party is once again sinking. There was a gubernatorial election in Shizuoka last night with the LDP being ousted there which can't be good news for PM Aso. And there are the Tokyo councillor elections this coming Sunday which the LDP can't afford to lose.

Sunday July 5, 2:28 p.m.

Yep, another session at the I-Cafe...trying to get most of those translations done today. Watched Episode 7 of Ken Burns' documentary on "Jazz". It dealt with the transition from swing to be-bop; for some reason, the narrator never mentions the word in the whole 2 hours although much of it deals with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. I thought it was interesting how be-bop was to swing jazz as rock was to regular pop standards in the 50s. Would like to get the whole series...but then, I got my premium schedule for NHI. I haven't looked at it yet but I know it's gonna hurt.

Well, off to the salt mines.

Saturday July 4, 12:55 p.m.

Spent another 3 hours on what is supposed to be my first full weekend in a month just hacking away at translations. I may be able to finish it all off tomorrow although the I-Cafe staff wonder if they ought to consider giving me mileage for all of the times I've been coming here recently.

The juku boss freaked out last night during The Restauranteur's session since some kinda virus may have jammed up her Outlook Express. She kept asking me the same questions and apologizing over and over again like a really bad deja vu scene. I remarked...kindly....that it is time to get a new OS. The current one is older than most long-lived dogs.

Some domestic American news has managed to penetrate the wall that is Michael Jackson. Sarah Palin has decided to call it quits from being governor of Alaska just a few years into her first term. Not sure what she's planning to do but the pundits are just calling her an idiot...which means that she may be onto something....or just on something.

The local music video channels have gone onto heavy Michael mode. MTV Japan has even re-broadcast the coverage during the night of his death. I always enjoyed his old videos from the early 80s but some of his later ones just got a bit too maudlin for me.

Friday July 3, 6:41 p.m.

Steady day. No classes at Speedy today. I had The Bass and The Bow plus I've got the Friday night juku pair. Note that I said "pair" and not a "trio". Yes, I think the boss may pull out tonight; when she said she may not be able to come for her half-hour, I gestured toward my stomach, thinking that she may have had another relapse from her operation. Instead, she jerked her head toward the hubby in the living room. Ah.Yup, he's gotta be fed.

Although The Bass is still on, The Bow may be pulling out altogether since she may have squared a full-time position according to an interview she had the other day. Ahhh...just as well. At least, I can keep things in the neighbourhood on alternating Fridays. Between The Bass and The Bow, I sped off toward Shinjuku, and hit Kinokuniya where I got the text for Mr. White's inaugural class next week. Of course, there was no accompanying CD so I ordered one. The lady said that it would take about 10 days so I'm holding them to that promise. At the same time, I also got "The Otaku Encyclopedia -- An Insider's Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan". I'd read the review of it in "The Japan Times" the other day, and decided to pick up a copy. It was written by Patrick W. Galbraith, who has often been seen in Akihabara dressed up as one of the main characters from "Dragonball" who often gives his fellow foreigners a tour of the area. I've only read the first several pages so far...as it is an encyclopedia, there are the various expressions defined very fully as only a true otaku could. But through the first couple of interviews and some of his own insights, he's quite honest about the lot of the Japanese geeks. A few years ago, they were seemingly the toast of Tokyo in an Elephant Man sort of way due to the efforts of that movie, "Densha Otoko". However, Galbraith points out that otaku are still very much ridiculed and have as much social eptitude as a comatose patient. An interview with one anime director by the name of Yutaka Yamamoto was quite revealing; Yamamoto comes off as being a walking and talking paradox...he slags his fellow otaku for their rudeness while admitting that he's one himself with the seeming personality requirements, and nearly has a debate with himself on the concept of moe. Yup, frankly not a guy I want to socialize with.

The bizarro sight of the week was catching the cover of one of the big fancy magazines. The cover showed Bruce Willis with his new wife (!) I guess ol' Bruno had enough of seeing his ex gallivanting with Mr. Punk'd and decided to answer his midlife crisis by wedding with a model two decades his junior. No problems here, Mr. Willis. Robbing the cradle in this country is virtually a national institution. Anyways, the bizarre part was seeing Bullethead and Emma in some weird psychosexual poses while Bruce had red nail polish on his toenails. Glad I had my Burger King way ahead.

Went up to HMV. Yup, Michael Jackson was playing on the speakers. I was thinking of buying his best album but on seeing the list, it didn't seem complete enough. I already have "Thriller". I was looking for "Off The Wall" but couldn't find it, so I've decided to hold off. Instead, I just bought one of the Ken Burns' series on jazz at nearby Tower Records. Speaking of Jackson, I hear that the big memorial will now be held next Tuesday at the Staples Center in LA. So, instead of having perhaps the largest funeral in pop cultural history in a Neverland, far away from the city, the size of Chiyoda Ward, the powers-that-be will have the big sendoff in an arena that only holds 20,000. Doesn't make much sense but I can understand the neighbours balking at having the event literally next door; they probably remember all too well when Jackson had won that court case a decade ago. However, I can see a lot of problems happening downtown next week.

Ended up having dinner at The Restauranteur's. Damn fine Beef Stroganoff. Tons of cholesterol but comfort food nonetheless. And not exactly the cheapest item, but I figure if I had to choose between gnashing my teeth about which cheapo place to eat at or eating at a slightly pricey place with good food, friendliness and service, I would know my answer.

Thursday July 2, 5:06 p.m.

Well, you can add another celeb to the obituary list: Karl Malden, dead at 97. At least, he passed away peacefully in his sleep without any major horrible ending, unlike Jackson, Fawcett and McMahon. Of course, he's known for his roles in "Patton" and "On The Waterfront", but I associate him most with "The Streets of San Francisco" back in the late 70s, when he was partnered with a young Michael Douglas...and of course, his American Express commercials. The last time I saw him was on "The West Wing" when he played a priest and showed up in the Oval Office with President Bartlett. Malden always played those very reassuring, father-type roles.

I guess it made for a very appropriate coda for my last time at Maruzen today. After 2 months of having to wait for a DVD for Mr. Jyuppie because of goofs at both ends of the distribution scene, I went to pick it up after I finally got word and an apology that it had finally reached these shores. When I reached the counter, I gave the young kid behind it the slip I'd been carrying since before Golden Week. I didn't make any trouble, even when the kid started to sweat because he was seeming to have trouble finding the disc; I just hoped that it was there so that I could just get it and go. Luckily...for that moment, it was and he gave it to me. Then, the punchline. This DVD for my Oxford "Effective Presentations" book costs a whopping 18,000 yen! I waited a sixth of a year to pay nearly 2 man for a DVD that should star Sir Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson for the price I've just paid. Well, speaking of American Express, I had to pull out my rarely-used credit card since I didn't have enough cash on hand. I had kinda figured that I would be using the plastic to pay for my air ticket home; well, it got the warmup today. Goodbye, Maruzen.

Furthermore on the segue of ironic bad twists....all those frenetic Michael Jackson fans who have been amassing in front of Neverland, thinking that they were going to be taking part in history's largest public viewing of a dead celeb, got O Henry'ed when they found out that the ceremony wouldn't be taking place there after all. Apparently, the neighbours weren't too keen on having a mass of humanity the size of a small city showing up in their backyards to sing, moonwalk and mourn at the death of their hero. I think the security guy who had blabbed the rumour in the first place is probably going to be transferred to walk the beat in Watts during the graveyard shift.

Wednesday July 1, 7:52 p.m.

I've been grinding through the translations from The Cornerette, and she threw me some more stuff to tackle...due by the 5th. Take a number.

I listened to the latest Shena Ringo album...forgot what the title was...basically it's notable for the fact that J-Pop's scariest songstresss is apparently just wearing a pink silk sheet and a frown on the cover. Compared to her last album, which was more jazz-based and had me fully awake in bed, Ringo has gone back to her old raunchiness although she's definitely multi-genre. I think I picked up chanson, rock, jazz and funk at least.

Wednesday July 1, 11:02 a.m.

Well, early Happy Canada Day. I realize that it's still 10 p.m. Tuesday evening back in Toronto. No big plans here in The Big Sushi. Maybe I'll light a jar of maple syrup in tribute. Certainly would give the apartment a much needed nicer fragrance. However, the big BBQ at Shrek's this Saturday has been called off due to heat...mostly from his kids who are undergoing a fever of sorts.

It'll be a calm day, unusual for midweek, especially since this was Hump Day earlier this year. 001 isn't in today, The Diver is now gone, and The Fashion Designer won't be in until her usual 9:30 slot...that is, if she doesn't dotakyan again. I've got Grandma Enka for her monthly chitchat with me and then The Admin at the usual place; hopefully, we won't have any bothersome intrusions by low-level chinpira like last time.