Friday September 17, 8:42 p.m.
Well, finally paid the hunk of money and I'm now a member of NAS Sports Club. Seeing that I haven't received any schedule from the school for any classes, it looks like my first outing to the club will be on Tuesday afternoon. The coordinator told me the details about the welcome party for the 25th so I responded with a shot across the bow about what my status at the school will be. But back to NAS, my nervousness was showing when I signed up, I forgot to take my change and forgot to take my package of materials with me. I'm sure the staff must think me a bit of an idiot.
With The Teacher off with her cold and SR too busy today, I had a totally free day so just did some shopping and cleaning up. Cooked up that curry udon that the juku boss had given me back on Tuesday. She said that she didn't put any meat into the curry since she's not a big fan of the stuff. Well I am an unrepentant omnivore so I added some chicken and some remaining veggies to give it a bit of a lift. Worked out well.
We're still waiting here for the final word from the Japanese baseball negotiations whether there will be indeed be a weekend strike. The guys have delayed their decision twice already.
Actually, I received e-mail from DTE for the first time in a while. Apparently, she'll also be joining Movie Buddy's party next week. I also asked her about the fate of Arwen and 99 since she was also close to them. Carolina also contacted me to see if she could move up her next class to the holiday Thursday next week. Since I'm teaching Jazz Buddy on that day, I said that I could do that. Only problem is that the Tea Room closes early on national holidays so we'll need an alternate venue. I'm waiting myself for what the kids' mother wants me to do tomorrow. I still don't know whether I'll be teaching the older daughter or "teaching" the parents.
Well, gotta pack for my trip to Karuizawa tomorrow afternoon. I assume that Paddy is already up there. I'll give the bath another try to see if I can endure my stay there better with my bath radio.
Oh, news flash...the strike is on. Baseball is taking an unscheduled holiday for the first time in history in Japan.
Just a place to deposit my thoughts on life here in the Kanto and about anything else that sticks to my walls.
Friday, September 17, 2004
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Thursday September 16, 11:02 p.m.
I guess the theme of this entry can be considered to be of the explosive kind, both figuratively and physically. Let's get the latter kind out of the way first since it is, fortunately, the shortest. It looks like my destination for Saturday, Karuizawa, had its first ashfall of the season thanks to some grumblings from nearby Mt. Asama, that formerly vacant volcano along the Nagano/Gunma border tonight. Apparently, some towns as far south as Saitama Prefecture which borders the northern edge of Tokyo got a bit of the white stuff. My friend up in Karuizawa did tell me to bring a jacket for the trip since it drops to about 4 C at night. Now, I wonder if I should make sure that it has an asbestos lining. Well, it should make for interesting traveling.
The second bombshell could be rather beneficial for Japanese baseball, especially with the grave news of the Sword of Damocles threatening to fall upon the weekend games again. Two corporations, Livedoor and Rakuten, will be applying to set up new baseball teams. This is very welcome news and probably the only thing that management and the players' union have agreed upon. Apparently, Livedoor is interested in setting up shop in Miyagi Prefecture, which is located between Hokkaido and Tokyo. Good move considering that the closest team to the Hokkaido franchise is in my neck of the woods....the Chiba Lotte Marines. However, Rakuten may face a bit of a battle since the president wants to establish the team in his hometown of Kobe. The snag involves the president of the to-be-merged Orix Blue Wave, also based in Kobe, who believes that two is a crowd.
Explosion No. 3 is of the criminal variety although it has been foreordained. The second body of those two kids who were killed by their father's brutal roomie was found today in a river. The heinousnous of the crime was further amplified when the suspect admitted that he had thrown the kids into the river alive. And then there is the case of that woman and her three kids who had been stabbed and bludgeoned several times in their sleep before being torched to death. Since no valuables were taken, the police are now looking at a revenge motive. I truly, truly hope that the psycho who perpetrated this abomination is found soon.
The last bombshell came in the form of an article forwarded to me by the Doctor. The article talks about some lady Stateside by the name of Malkin who is loudly proclaiming that the internment of Japanese-Americans was fully justified and feels that the ethnic group is a bunch of whiners who secretly abetted spies against the US government during WWII. I rarely give long oratory responses to anyone over e-mail but I did for this one. However, it wasn't of the fire and brimstone variety since I believe that people like her and Pauline Hansen of Australia may make a big splash initially but relatively quickly fade away into bitter obscurity against time, facts and vigilance.
Now that I got the theme for this entry out of the way, I can talk about my day. My lesson with the Jazz Buddy turned out to be mostly a chat session. I don't think the girl minded too much, though. She certainly didn't seem to retain much information on the Conditionals that we had worked on a couple of weeks back...which makes me wonder if I should even emphasize the grammar component all that much anymore. At one point in our dialogue, she said that she wanted to talk about stuff that would be relevant to her. Perhaps, grammar (although I think she still needs work there) doesn't qualify. Well, I've known that she's cheerfully mercurial so I wasn't too put out.
I made my way down to that new mall I talked about in my last entry. Oazo. It just skirts the northern edge of Tokyo Station and is basically a number of cute trendy shops and eateries surrounding the new and improved flagship branch of the Maruzen Bookstore. And as with all new openings in their first week, there was a ton of people walking through...mostly of the older variety. Man, that new Maruzen sure puts the dying Nihonbashi branch out of its misery and that's considering the makeover that it went through a few years ago. Basically the new store got the Barnes and Nobles treatment. Ivy League College decor, silver signs done up in large New York Times font and glass walls overlooking the station characterize this baby. It rather reminds me of the Chapters bookstores back in ol' Toronto. When I bought my usual book of crosswords, I noticed that each cashier now had a flatscreen display on the customer side of the counter to show every little detail that the cashier punches up.
Basically, the Oazo resembles the other megacomplexes of Roppongi Hills, Shiodome and that new one in Nihombashi in that there are restaurants sandwiching the rest of the mall on top and bottom. I was starting to get a bit famished (certainly my stomach has been growling a lot more since I made my latest start to a diet) but didn't really find anything there which appealed to me so I traipsed through the underground of JR Tokyo and went to that possibly-soon-to-be forgotten faded glory known as the Maru Biru just a quarter of a kilometre away. Not to be outdone by the grand opening of a potential rival, the Maru Biru folks had signs proclaiming its 2nd anniversary. Or should they be best seen as signs of desperation? It's a bit odd that the Maruzen flagship has been set up where it is since Maru Biru also has a Maruzen branch which is far smaller and less grand. I wonder if it will close up shop in the near future. I went up to the 6th floor where one of my fave eateries, Akai no Noren, is located. I noticed that there was hardly anyone there on the restaurant floor but then again, not to alarm anyone in Maru Biru management, most of the eateries there go on afternoon hiatus. Not Akai no Noren...I still got my Hakata style ramen course with kimchi rice, gyoza and an amaretto creme dessert (yup, you read that dessert right...what a contrast).
After my little exploration of the new Tokyo Station area, I went crazy. Crazy for CD and book shopping, that is. Then again when I have point cards screaming to be redeemed and special coupons demanding to be used, I am no match. Tower Records and HMV should be kowtowing to me for a week after my purchases. It was quite an eclectic set of purchases as well. I got a couple of jazz discs in the form of Basie and Darin, a YMO techno tribute, two albums by rockabilly/jazz unit Ego-Wrappin and even a compilation of ol' 80s ballads. Look out, Foreigner, Chaka Khan and The Jets. I even picked up that report from the 9/11 Commission. Just from browsing through a few pages of it, it just reads like a Tom Clancy novel. All too true, though.
Finally, my long shopping spree came to an end and I went up to the Tea Room and had that preliminary with my newest student, Carolina. She's a friend of SR's and another old student who's now living in LA. Her English ability is pretty good but has patches and rust which I'll need to work on. I heard from SR that she was pretty disappointed with the inconsistency of the teachers at her last school so I hope I can come through with the goods.
The e-mail has been interesting. Not only did I get that article from The Doctor, but I also heard from The SE and the coordinator from the school, two people that have largely been missing in my life for a little while. I'm not sure if it had been the somewhat dismissive response I sent to the Curry Master concerning my erstwhile lessons with her and the SE, but I actually got my first e-mail from the SE himself asking if I were available in November. I replied politely that I could be available for him. As for the coordinator, she just sent me the invitation for the welcome party for the new folks on the 25th. Does this mean I'm still wanted to teach classes? I didn't whine to her on that matter and just said that I could make it. The 25th is also the day for Movie Buddy's party to herald his good friend's wedding, but that should be taking place in the evening. I even got word from Skippy about the latest outing on the 26th for ribs at Tony Romas. Looks like it'll be a joint project...no indirect pun intended. My life will be complete if Arwen ever decides to contact me again.
Ah, The Teacher also informed me that she has to cancel her class tomorrow due to sickness. This means that I'm free and clear all day. I'll probably head up to that sports club again and see if I can join up now that the bank situation is resolved. And I have to think about securing that ticket for the trip home during Xmas.
Man, that was the longest entry I've ever made in my short life as a blogger. I hope the publishing doesn't get too overwhelmed.
I guess the theme of this entry can be considered to be of the explosive kind, both figuratively and physically. Let's get the latter kind out of the way first since it is, fortunately, the shortest. It looks like my destination for Saturday, Karuizawa, had its first ashfall of the season thanks to some grumblings from nearby Mt. Asama, that formerly vacant volcano along the Nagano/Gunma border tonight. Apparently, some towns as far south as Saitama Prefecture which borders the northern edge of Tokyo got a bit of the white stuff. My friend up in Karuizawa did tell me to bring a jacket for the trip since it drops to about 4 C at night. Now, I wonder if I should make sure that it has an asbestos lining. Well, it should make for interesting traveling.
The second bombshell could be rather beneficial for Japanese baseball, especially with the grave news of the Sword of Damocles threatening to fall upon the weekend games again. Two corporations, Livedoor and Rakuten, will be applying to set up new baseball teams. This is very welcome news and probably the only thing that management and the players' union have agreed upon. Apparently, Livedoor is interested in setting up shop in Miyagi Prefecture, which is located between Hokkaido and Tokyo. Good move considering that the closest team to the Hokkaido franchise is in my neck of the woods....the Chiba Lotte Marines. However, Rakuten may face a bit of a battle since the president wants to establish the team in his hometown of Kobe. The snag involves the president of the to-be-merged Orix Blue Wave, also based in Kobe, who believes that two is a crowd.
Explosion No. 3 is of the criminal variety although it has been foreordained. The second body of those two kids who were killed by their father's brutal roomie was found today in a river. The heinousnous of the crime was further amplified when the suspect admitted that he had thrown the kids into the river alive. And then there is the case of that woman and her three kids who had been stabbed and bludgeoned several times in their sleep before being torched to death. Since no valuables were taken, the police are now looking at a revenge motive. I truly, truly hope that the psycho who perpetrated this abomination is found soon.
The last bombshell came in the form of an article forwarded to me by the Doctor. The article talks about some lady Stateside by the name of Malkin who is loudly proclaiming that the internment of Japanese-Americans was fully justified and feels that the ethnic group is a bunch of whiners who secretly abetted spies against the US government during WWII. I rarely give long oratory responses to anyone over e-mail but I did for this one. However, it wasn't of the fire and brimstone variety since I believe that people like her and Pauline Hansen of Australia may make a big splash initially but relatively quickly fade away into bitter obscurity against time, facts and vigilance.
Now that I got the theme for this entry out of the way, I can talk about my day. My lesson with the Jazz Buddy turned out to be mostly a chat session. I don't think the girl minded too much, though. She certainly didn't seem to retain much information on the Conditionals that we had worked on a couple of weeks back...which makes me wonder if I should even emphasize the grammar component all that much anymore. At one point in our dialogue, she said that she wanted to talk about stuff that would be relevant to her. Perhaps, grammar (although I think she still needs work there) doesn't qualify. Well, I've known that she's cheerfully mercurial so I wasn't too put out.
I made my way down to that new mall I talked about in my last entry. Oazo. It just skirts the northern edge of Tokyo Station and is basically a number of cute trendy shops and eateries surrounding the new and improved flagship branch of the Maruzen Bookstore. And as with all new openings in their first week, there was a ton of people walking through...mostly of the older variety. Man, that new Maruzen sure puts the dying Nihonbashi branch out of its misery and that's considering the makeover that it went through a few years ago. Basically the new store got the Barnes and Nobles treatment. Ivy League College decor, silver signs done up in large New York Times font and glass walls overlooking the station characterize this baby. It rather reminds me of the Chapters bookstores back in ol' Toronto. When I bought my usual book of crosswords, I noticed that each cashier now had a flatscreen display on the customer side of the counter to show every little detail that the cashier punches up.
Basically, the Oazo resembles the other megacomplexes of Roppongi Hills, Shiodome and that new one in Nihombashi in that there are restaurants sandwiching the rest of the mall on top and bottom. I was starting to get a bit famished (certainly my stomach has been growling a lot more since I made my latest start to a diet) but didn't really find anything there which appealed to me so I traipsed through the underground of JR Tokyo and went to that possibly-soon-to-be forgotten faded glory known as the Maru Biru just a quarter of a kilometre away. Not to be outdone by the grand opening of a potential rival, the Maru Biru folks had signs proclaiming its 2nd anniversary. Or should they be best seen as signs of desperation? It's a bit odd that the Maruzen flagship has been set up where it is since Maru Biru also has a Maruzen branch which is far smaller and less grand. I wonder if it will close up shop in the near future. I went up to the 6th floor where one of my fave eateries, Akai no Noren, is located. I noticed that there was hardly anyone there on the restaurant floor but then again, not to alarm anyone in Maru Biru management, most of the eateries there go on afternoon hiatus. Not Akai no Noren...I still got my Hakata style ramen course with kimchi rice, gyoza and an amaretto creme dessert (yup, you read that dessert right...what a contrast).
After my little exploration of the new Tokyo Station area, I went crazy. Crazy for CD and book shopping, that is. Then again when I have point cards screaming to be redeemed and special coupons demanding to be used, I am no match. Tower Records and HMV should be kowtowing to me for a week after my purchases. It was quite an eclectic set of purchases as well. I got a couple of jazz discs in the form of Basie and Darin, a YMO techno tribute, two albums by rockabilly/jazz unit Ego-Wrappin and even a compilation of ol' 80s ballads. Look out, Foreigner, Chaka Khan and The Jets. I even picked up that report from the 9/11 Commission. Just from browsing through a few pages of it, it just reads like a Tom Clancy novel. All too true, though.
Finally, my long shopping spree came to an end and I went up to the Tea Room and had that preliminary with my newest student, Carolina. She's a friend of SR's and another old student who's now living in LA. Her English ability is pretty good but has patches and rust which I'll need to work on. I heard from SR that she was pretty disappointed with the inconsistency of the teachers at her last school so I hope I can come through with the goods.
The e-mail has been interesting. Not only did I get that article from The Doctor, but I also heard from The SE and the coordinator from the school, two people that have largely been missing in my life for a little while. I'm not sure if it had been the somewhat dismissive response I sent to the Curry Master concerning my erstwhile lessons with her and the SE, but I actually got my first e-mail from the SE himself asking if I were available in November. I replied politely that I could be available for him. As for the coordinator, she just sent me the invitation for the welcome party for the new folks on the 25th. Does this mean I'm still wanted to teach classes? I didn't whine to her on that matter and just said that I could make it. The 25th is also the day for Movie Buddy's party to herald his good friend's wedding, but that should be taking place in the evening. I even got word from Skippy about the latest outing on the 26th for ribs at Tony Romas. Looks like it'll be a joint project...no indirect pun intended. My life will be complete if Arwen ever decides to contact me again.
Ah, The Teacher also informed me that she has to cancel her class tomorrow due to sickness. This means that I'm free and clear all day. I'll probably head up to that sports club again and see if I can join up now that the bank situation is resolved. And I have to think about securing that ticket for the trip home during Xmas.
Man, that was the longest entry I've ever made in my short life as a blogger. I hope the publishing doesn't get too overwhelmed.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Thursday September 16, 8:19 a.m.
Well, we're still wondering if there will be baseball here this weekend. However, back in ol' Canada, the NHL decided to lock out its players. I'm sure there will be a lot of fans crying in their Molsons this week.
Nice to wake up in cool surroundings once again after the hellish summer. In fact, I even had to wrap a blanket around me. I got word from my friend in Karuizawa...it gets down to 4 degrees C at night there. Definitely jacket weather.
I've got the Jazz Buddy for her usual lesson then I have my newest student for her inaugural. In between, I'll be checking out Tokyo's newest mall. Called Oaso, it's named after the Esperanto word for "oasis". Well, this must be the linguistic equivalent of winning the lottery. One Esperanto word will now become a household one. In any case, I now know where the ol' Maruzen Bookstore has headed. It will be closing in Nihombashi but it's new HQ will be in that mall where it's said that it will be one of the largest bookstores in Japan. Gotta check that out. I'm quite relieved, actually. It's one of the few bookstores here that sells my favourite brand of crossword puzzles.
Well, we're still wondering if there will be baseball here this weekend. However, back in ol' Canada, the NHL decided to lock out its players. I'm sure there will be a lot of fans crying in their Molsons this week.
Nice to wake up in cool surroundings once again after the hellish summer. In fact, I even had to wrap a blanket around me. I got word from my friend in Karuizawa...it gets down to 4 degrees C at night there. Definitely jacket weather.
I've got the Jazz Buddy for her usual lesson then I have my newest student for her inaugural. In between, I'll be checking out Tokyo's newest mall. Called Oaso, it's named after the Esperanto word for "oasis". Well, this must be the linguistic equivalent of winning the lottery. One Esperanto word will now become a household one. In any case, I now know where the ol' Maruzen Bookstore has headed. It will be closing in Nihombashi but it's new HQ will be in that mall where it's said that it will be one of the largest bookstores in Japan. Gotta check that out. I'm quite relieved, actually. It's one of the few bookstores here that sells my favourite brand of crossword puzzles.
Wednesday September 15, 10:03 p.m.
Well, I went to my UFJ branch and found out that I actually did open my account by signing it and not by using the stamp. So I'm free and clear to sign up for the sports club. Mind you, I missed out on the deal. Not quite sure when I'll sign up. Perhaps I'll do so after my lesson with The Teacher on Friday.
My lessons with The Hawaiian and the OL went OK. The OL seemed somewhat distracted though since she was rather off tonight. She's entering a rather busy time at work so I won't see her for the next few weeks. At least for next week, I can't see her in any event since I'm seeing the old oil company students.
I lucked out on the budget for the past month. Surprisingly, I actually made a very small profit. However, I'm not sure what this coming month will hold since I didn't get any classes at the school.
The news has focused once again on the psychos who kill. A few days ago, a middle-aged man murdered the two toddler sons of his roomie after abusing them. The shocker was that the father of the dead boys had left the murderer's home once previously because he had been thought a danger to the kids only to return to the fold. What could the fool have been thinking?!
This story perked up the ears of the media to go digging back into some of the other sociopaths of the recent past. A nutcase who went on a killing spree a few years ago in an elementary school in Osaka finally got his richly deserved fate via the gallows a few days ago. He didn't show any remorse...he just asked to be killed ASAP since he felt that he was just gonna spin his wheels anyways in jail. It's interesting to note that he was executed within a year of his sentencing. Over here, that's a major miracle. Usually years pass after the final verdict and before that final march to the noose.
Then there was that girl who slashed her classmate to death back in June. The murder made the papers while I was up in Hokkaido. It was decided that she would be put into solitary for the next couple of years since she couldn't function safely in society.
Well, on the way back home, I noticed how cool it felt tonight. It felt like mid-October. Man, I hope that this is now the trend for the rest of the Fall.
Well, I went to my UFJ branch and found out that I actually did open my account by signing it and not by using the stamp. So I'm free and clear to sign up for the sports club. Mind you, I missed out on the deal. Not quite sure when I'll sign up. Perhaps I'll do so after my lesson with The Teacher on Friday.
My lessons with The Hawaiian and the OL went OK. The OL seemed somewhat distracted though since she was rather off tonight. She's entering a rather busy time at work so I won't see her for the next few weeks. At least for next week, I can't see her in any event since I'm seeing the old oil company students.
I lucked out on the budget for the past month. Surprisingly, I actually made a very small profit. However, I'm not sure what this coming month will hold since I didn't get any classes at the school.
The news has focused once again on the psychos who kill. A few days ago, a middle-aged man murdered the two toddler sons of his roomie after abusing them. The shocker was that the father of the dead boys had left the murderer's home once previously because he had been thought a danger to the kids only to return to the fold. What could the fool have been thinking?!
This story perked up the ears of the media to go digging back into some of the other sociopaths of the recent past. A nutcase who went on a killing spree a few years ago in an elementary school in Osaka finally got his richly deserved fate via the gallows a few days ago. He didn't show any remorse...he just asked to be killed ASAP since he felt that he was just gonna spin his wheels anyways in jail. It's interesting to note that he was executed within a year of his sentencing. Over here, that's a major miracle. Usually years pass after the final verdict and before that final march to the noose.
Then there was that girl who slashed her classmate to death back in June. The murder made the papers while I was up in Hokkaido. It was decided that she would be put into solitary for the next couple of years since she couldn't function safely in society.
Well, on the way back home, I noticed how cool it felt tonight. It felt like mid-October. Man, I hope that this is now the trend for the rest of the Fall.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Wednesday September 15, 8:17 a.m.
It's of course the middle of the month. I'm happy to say that while the days are still fairly steamy, the nights are much more pleasant. Hopefully by the end of September, the other half of the equation will catch up.
My rubdown yesterday garnered the usual comment from the masseuse of likening my shoulders to geological formations. Well, that's why I do my biweekly sessions.
On the way to work, I dropped by that gym near the station. True to my luck, looks like I'm not gonna get in on the first try. The lady there needed a "hanko" along with my bankbook to start the automatic withdrawals of payment from my account. However, I lost that little stamp years ago and have managed to do well without it. Since I think I started my account by using that hanko, I'll need it again. Well, I'll be heading down to my branch to see if that is indeed the case. Plus, I won't be able to take advantage of that 75% offer since I had to start working out there by today to get the deal. I think the way the conversation with the lady went, she must have assumed that I was trying to pull a fishing expedition with her. However, she was cordial enough and gave me some information. Hmmm...well, if do need that hanko, I can get one made but if it costs a ton of money (as the official ones do), I just have to wonder if it's worth it to pay that to get a piece of wood so that I can enter a place that I have to pay even more money.
But I am fully aware that I've gained a good bit of weight even with the increased amount of salad. At the juku last night, when I was leaning over the table, I just felt that spare tire as if there really were a spare tire around my girth. I'm just wondering if I should just skip food altogether....especially after seeing Phil Mahre's rant about the slow poisoning of the American public on Larry King yesterday.
Speaking of the juku, I had my first official class with the boss. As I figured, she talked a mile a minute. She didn't sidetrack too badly though but the non-stop stream managed to take us several minutes past the end time of 10 p.m. much to her surprise. She was so shocked that she decided to pay me for the extra 30 minutes...heck, if she's gonna do that, I'll be very willing to listen to her.
I listened to my latest two purchases yesterday. Yup, the reviewer was right about that Anita Baker CD. No real blockbusters there but I don't think she's really come up with any super hits since her second album, and yet I've remained a loyal fan. Despite the decade's absence, she sounds as if she never left.
Skippy contacted me. Looks like I, ROBOT is out...at least with her, but she did mention that there was going to be a special anniversary at Tony Roma's that day with the according discounts. Looks like I've become her herald since I sent out the messages to everyone at her request (or behest).
I even got a message from my ex concerning the impending change in my e-mail address. She gave me a polite standing invitation for our occasional tonkatsu lunch near her company. It's interesting how announcing one's change in Internet protocols brings out people from the woodwork. I even got e-mail from the Curry Master. As was assumed, she told me that she couldn't really say when she and the SE would be available for future lessons so I just let her off the hook by telling her that the two of them really don't need my help.
It's of course the middle of the month. I'm happy to say that while the days are still fairly steamy, the nights are much more pleasant. Hopefully by the end of September, the other half of the equation will catch up.
My rubdown yesterday garnered the usual comment from the masseuse of likening my shoulders to geological formations. Well, that's why I do my biweekly sessions.
On the way to work, I dropped by that gym near the station. True to my luck, looks like I'm not gonna get in on the first try. The lady there needed a "hanko" along with my bankbook to start the automatic withdrawals of payment from my account. However, I lost that little stamp years ago and have managed to do well without it. Since I think I started my account by using that hanko, I'll need it again. Well, I'll be heading down to my branch to see if that is indeed the case. Plus, I won't be able to take advantage of that 75% offer since I had to start working out there by today to get the deal. I think the way the conversation with the lady went, she must have assumed that I was trying to pull a fishing expedition with her. However, she was cordial enough and gave me some information. Hmmm...well, if do need that hanko, I can get one made but if it costs a ton of money (as the official ones do), I just have to wonder if it's worth it to pay that to get a piece of wood so that I can enter a place that I have to pay even more money.
But I am fully aware that I've gained a good bit of weight even with the increased amount of salad. At the juku last night, when I was leaning over the table, I just felt that spare tire as if there really were a spare tire around my girth. I'm just wondering if I should just skip food altogether....especially after seeing Phil Mahre's rant about the slow poisoning of the American public on Larry King yesterday.
Speaking of the juku, I had my first official class with the boss. As I figured, she talked a mile a minute. She didn't sidetrack too badly though but the non-stop stream managed to take us several minutes past the end time of 10 p.m. much to her surprise. She was so shocked that she decided to pay me for the extra 30 minutes...heck, if she's gonna do that, I'll be very willing to listen to her.
I listened to my latest two purchases yesterday. Yup, the reviewer was right about that Anita Baker CD. No real blockbusters there but I don't think she's really come up with any super hits since her second album, and yet I've remained a loyal fan. Despite the decade's absence, she sounds as if she never left.
Skippy contacted me. Looks like I, ROBOT is out...at least with her, but she did mention that there was going to be a special anniversary at Tony Roma's that day with the according discounts. Looks like I've become her herald since I sent out the messages to everyone at her request (or behest).
I even got a message from my ex concerning the impending change in my e-mail address. She gave me a polite standing invitation for our occasional tonkatsu lunch near her company. It's interesting how announcing one's change in Internet protocols brings out people from the woodwork. I even got e-mail from the Curry Master. As was assumed, she told me that she couldn't really say when she and the SE would be available for future lessons so I just let her off the hook by telling her that the two of them really don't need my help.
Monday, September 13, 2004
Monday September 13, 9:46 p.m.
Classes went amiably enough today. My morning class was another chat fest and my class at the Company actually showed some good diligence from the two students. Felt quite energized, actually. Enough to whip up some rare Monday night cooking in the form of pork kimchi.
In between classes, I bought that bath radio at the Shibuya Tokyu Hands. Actually I was fortunate enough to get a radio which was only half as much as the one I'd seen at the Shinjuku branch. Then, I had lunch at TGIFridays since I had a 500 yen coupon. Last year, I vowed that I wouldn't go there for lunch since I had a rather bad experience with their chicken dish. However, a coupon is a coupon so I decided to take the risk. Luckily, I had a much better dish. It was chicken again but only a few cooked sticks in a large salad. It was the first time that I'd ever had veggies as a main dish. However, to ensure that I wasn't going entirely healthy, I had French Fries on the side.
I also hit pay dirt at Towers as well. A couple of beloved singers who had largely disappeared from the public scene have come back with new releases. One is Anita Baker who hasn't put out an album in 10 years. I took a listen to it there and found it worthy. The reviewer in Entertainment Weekly said that the new release doesn't have a bombshell hit like "Sweet Love" but hey, even a merely good Baker album is well worth the yen. The other is by Ruiko Kurahashi, a local singer here whom most Japanese wouldn't remember or recognize aside from those who were REALLY into the 80s pop scene.
Well, I did my usual stop off at the Andersens cafe in that Shinjuku Plaza for an hour of tea, crosswords and nodding off. Geez, that really starts to age me. Maybe my new impending lifestyle as a fitness nut will relieve my narcolepsy.
In other news, after all the Olympics and Iraq and the US election, we've come back to the plight of Sgt. Jenkins after his 40-year defection to North Korea. He has apparently reported for duty for the first time since the 60s at Camp Zama...perhaps for his court martial. Also, speaking of North Korea, Japan has been rather worried about that big explosion near the N. Korean-Chinese border last night. Anything that involves Kimland and explosions tend to bring that feeling of dread. What's distressing everyone is that the explosion came about in the form of a mushroom cloud. Uh-oh.
Well, I'm waiting for a call from Paddy concerning part of that personal improvement project. I did send him an e-mail giving him a report on my progress. If he calls soon enough, I can actually take a bath and test out that radio.
As expected, the summer heat wave refuses to go quietly. We've got another 32-degree day tomorrow. I thought I would have to use the yogurt machine this time, but I guess just leaving the milk and starter outside in the usual bucket will suffice just nicely.
Classes went amiably enough today. My morning class was another chat fest and my class at the Company actually showed some good diligence from the two students. Felt quite energized, actually. Enough to whip up some rare Monday night cooking in the form of pork kimchi.
In between classes, I bought that bath radio at the Shibuya Tokyu Hands. Actually I was fortunate enough to get a radio which was only half as much as the one I'd seen at the Shinjuku branch. Then, I had lunch at TGIFridays since I had a 500 yen coupon. Last year, I vowed that I wouldn't go there for lunch since I had a rather bad experience with their chicken dish. However, a coupon is a coupon so I decided to take the risk. Luckily, I had a much better dish. It was chicken again but only a few cooked sticks in a large salad. It was the first time that I'd ever had veggies as a main dish. However, to ensure that I wasn't going entirely healthy, I had French Fries on the side.
I also hit pay dirt at Towers as well. A couple of beloved singers who had largely disappeared from the public scene have come back with new releases. One is Anita Baker who hasn't put out an album in 10 years. I took a listen to it there and found it worthy. The reviewer in Entertainment Weekly said that the new release doesn't have a bombshell hit like "Sweet Love" but hey, even a merely good Baker album is well worth the yen. The other is by Ruiko Kurahashi, a local singer here whom most Japanese wouldn't remember or recognize aside from those who were REALLY into the 80s pop scene.
Well, I did my usual stop off at the Andersens cafe in that Shinjuku Plaza for an hour of tea, crosswords and nodding off. Geez, that really starts to age me. Maybe my new impending lifestyle as a fitness nut will relieve my narcolepsy.
In other news, after all the Olympics and Iraq and the US election, we've come back to the plight of Sgt. Jenkins after his 40-year defection to North Korea. He has apparently reported for duty for the first time since the 60s at Camp Zama...perhaps for his court martial. Also, speaking of North Korea, Japan has been rather worried about that big explosion near the N. Korean-Chinese border last night. Anything that involves Kimland and explosions tend to bring that feeling of dread. What's distressing everyone is that the explosion came about in the form of a mushroom cloud. Uh-oh.
Well, I'm waiting for a call from Paddy concerning part of that personal improvement project. I did send him an e-mail giving him a report on my progress. If he calls soon enough, I can actually take a bath and test out that radio.
As expected, the summer heat wave refuses to go quietly. We've got another 32-degree day tomorrow. I thought I would have to use the yogurt machine this time, but I guess just leaving the milk and starter outside in the usual bucket will suffice just nicely.
Saturday, September 11, 2004
Sunday September 12, 1:29 p.m.
My lesson with the kids yesterday was the usual. The younger sister was playful if not all that interested in picking up English. The older sister was another exercise in slackerdom. Mind you, she did have a good excuse this time in that she'd just come back from a volleyball practice and then had to take off for her juku. I was merely a 30-minute filler.
The strange thing was that just a few minutes before I was to leave for the kids' place, the mother of The Little Owl called me up out of the blue. She was asking me if I could teach her daughter that afternoon. Hell of a time to call just a few hours beforehand. However, at least I have some inkling that I'm still wanted. As for the kids' family, it's possible that I may end up "teaching" the two parents instead since the younger one is off to camp next week and the other one...has stuff to do. I'd frankly would prefer just to have the class canceled since I could then head up to Karuizawa with Paddy much earlier than expected but professionalism has to rear its ugly head.
Took off for Ryogoku after the class. It was just a straight line on the Oedo Line there where I met Paddy and we headed off to Shrek's apartment just 5 minutes away. Shrek and his wife are pretty lucky in that they live on the 8th floor of a building which only has one other residential occupant and a couple of offices. The party was a reunion of sorts for the old university club. From my era, it was Shrek, Paddy and the Chipmunk with a whole bunch of others from later years. Paddy fit into the party mode quite well with his talent as a raconteur. A couple of the ladies there were just as talkative while we engorged ourselves on BBQ chicken and other fixins.
It would 8 hours before we finally left the place. Paddy crashed at my place again. Here, he got started on another personal improvement project, namely me. Before we hit bed, we got started on making the gradual transition of changing Internet providers since one can ADSL here for as low as 700 yen a month. So I sent in the cancellation notice to my provider for the past few years and then contacted everyone else about the impending changes.
Once we awoke this morning, Paddy then got started on checking out what happened with my dead Fuji-Xerox printer. I guess he had an investment into it since it was his fiancee's mother who got it for me. Basically once we re-activated the driver, we found out that the feeder was broken. Well, am I gonna blow away 5000 yen on something that I've gotten used to not using anymore? Probably not. During the printer mini-project, Paddy found a way to get back all of my fonts. He just took the computer into Safe Mode, threw away the default cache of fonts and then rebooted. Now I am getting overwhelmed with the wonders of COPPERPLATE and GOTHIC once more.
We went off to the Japanese-style family restaurant, Yume-An, for an early lunch. There, the personal improvement project took on a more esoteric nature. It was threefold: 1) to check on my visa situation since I basically have little more than a year left on my current visa, 2) to see about getting me back on the dating circuit and 3) to get me back into shape since I've been out of it for years.
As for 1), it's pretty much a longshot. Mom contacted me this morning to inform me that my name is indeed not listed on the ancestral family register. I kinda figured that would've been the case. However, Paddy is still encouraging me to getting that form to change my citizenship. I'm pretty loath to change it since I feel that I'm here because I'm NOT Japanese. But practically speaking, I have been here for a decade.
As for 2), this is also a bit of a longshot. Paddy is trying to get me to contact one of the women at the party last night. To be honest, the young lady was pretty nice and she has had a similar career past. However, after she downed virtually all of the expensive wine I'd brought to Shrek's last night and started getting a bit overexcited, I kinda wonder if she'd be my type in any case. That didn't deter Paddy. He just then told me to see if any of my former students would be interested.
The last thing seems to be the most promising. Paddy said he was worried about my health and suggested I go to a gym. I countered by saying that if he could find one near my place, then I would join up. Sure enough, after I'd gotten back from my shopping he left a message saying that he found one on the top of the Seiyu Department Store next to Urayasu Station. Well, I guess I'm committed then (or at least I should be committed). Not too bad pricewise, either. If I join up in the next couple of days, my first month will be 75% off and the weekdays are more inexpensive than the weekends. Paddy will even throw in a training program.
As I mentioned, after I saw Paddy off at the station, I went over to Daiei and pick up a couple of presents for those mutual friends that we're gonna see next Saturday up in Karuizawa. Then, I bought a small tape recorder for taping some assignments for the Hawaiian.
It's been a hot but manageable day. The fan has sufficed for now, but I may be tempted to try out the AC again.
My lesson with the kids yesterday was the usual. The younger sister was playful if not all that interested in picking up English. The older sister was another exercise in slackerdom. Mind you, she did have a good excuse this time in that she'd just come back from a volleyball practice and then had to take off for her juku. I was merely a 30-minute filler.
The strange thing was that just a few minutes before I was to leave for the kids' place, the mother of The Little Owl called me up out of the blue. She was asking me if I could teach her daughter that afternoon. Hell of a time to call just a few hours beforehand. However, at least I have some inkling that I'm still wanted. As for the kids' family, it's possible that I may end up "teaching" the two parents instead since the younger one is off to camp next week and the other one...has stuff to do. I'd frankly would prefer just to have the class canceled since I could then head up to Karuizawa with Paddy much earlier than expected but professionalism has to rear its ugly head.
Took off for Ryogoku after the class. It was just a straight line on the Oedo Line there where I met Paddy and we headed off to Shrek's apartment just 5 minutes away. Shrek and his wife are pretty lucky in that they live on the 8th floor of a building which only has one other residential occupant and a couple of offices. The party was a reunion of sorts for the old university club. From my era, it was Shrek, Paddy and the Chipmunk with a whole bunch of others from later years. Paddy fit into the party mode quite well with his talent as a raconteur. A couple of the ladies there were just as talkative while we engorged ourselves on BBQ chicken and other fixins.
It would 8 hours before we finally left the place. Paddy crashed at my place again. Here, he got started on another personal improvement project, namely me. Before we hit bed, we got started on making the gradual transition of changing Internet providers since one can ADSL here for as low as 700 yen a month. So I sent in the cancellation notice to my provider for the past few years and then contacted everyone else about the impending changes.
Once we awoke this morning, Paddy then got started on checking out what happened with my dead Fuji-Xerox printer. I guess he had an investment into it since it was his fiancee's mother who got it for me. Basically once we re-activated the driver, we found out that the feeder was broken. Well, am I gonna blow away 5000 yen on something that I've gotten used to not using anymore? Probably not. During the printer mini-project, Paddy found a way to get back all of my fonts. He just took the computer into Safe Mode, threw away the default cache of fonts and then rebooted. Now I am getting overwhelmed with the wonders of COPPERPLATE and GOTHIC once more.
We went off to the Japanese-style family restaurant, Yume-An, for an early lunch. There, the personal improvement project took on a more esoteric nature. It was threefold: 1) to check on my visa situation since I basically have little more than a year left on my current visa, 2) to see about getting me back on the dating circuit and 3) to get me back into shape since I've been out of it for years.
As for 1), it's pretty much a longshot. Mom contacted me this morning to inform me that my name is indeed not listed on the ancestral family register. I kinda figured that would've been the case. However, Paddy is still encouraging me to getting that form to change my citizenship. I'm pretty loath to change it since I feel that I'm here because I'm NOT Japanese. But practically speaking, I have been here for a decade.
As for 2), this is also a bit of a longshot. Paddy is trying to get me to contact one of the women at the party last night. To be honest, the young lady was pretty nice and she has had a similar career past. However, after she downed virtually all of the expensive wine I'd brought to Shrek's last night and started getting a bit overexcited, I kinda wonder if she'd be my type in any case. That didn't deter Paddy. He just then told me to see if any of my former students would be interested.
The last thing seems to be the most promising. Paddy said he was worried about my health and suggested I go to a gym. I countered by saying that if he could find one near my place, then I would join up. Sure enough, after I'd gotten back from my shopping he left a message saying that he found one on the top of the Seiyu Department Store next to Urayasu Station. Well, I guess I'm committed then (or at least I should be committed). Not too bad pricewise, either. If I join up in the next couple of days, my first month will be 75% off and the weekdays are more inexpensive than the weekends. Paddy will even throw in a training program.
As I mentioned, after I saw Paddy off at the station, I went over to Daiei and pick up a couple of presents for those mutual friends that we're gonna see next Saturday up in Karuizawa. Then, I bought a small tape recorder for taping some assignments for the Hawaiian.
It's been a hot but manageable day. The fan has sufficed for now, but I may be tempted to try out the AC again.
Friday, September 10, 2004
Saturday September 11, 7:25 a.m.
Cloudy and cool...just the way I like it, especially after this summer. And no threat of typhoons anywhere. Quite a shift for a weekend.
Paddy contacted me. Looks like he will be joining me for the party. He's also asked for another stay at Hotel H. I've never been great at taking these sudden reservations.
Cloudy and cool...just the way I like it, especially after this summer. And no threat of typhoons anywhere. Quite a shift for a weekend.
Paddy contacted me. Looks like he will be joining me for the party. He's also asked for another stay at Hotel H. I've never been great at taking these sudden reservations.
Friday September 10, 8:15 p.m.
My lesson with The Teacher this morning initially was a bit of a heart-pouring exercise. It looks like the family underwent one of those parent-teenager blowups last night...hey, happens to everybody. Noone has ever said that teens were the most secure of people. I think she even teared up a bit.
Went out to Maruzen to see if I could pick up a new text for the older sister. I was rather surprised to see that the 4th floor which has all the English-language books was missing half of itself. One half of it has been replaced by an art exhibition. I found out that the closing of the store has been slated for Sept. 25th so they're pushing out their merchandise. Too bad they threw out the stuff I wanted.
So, grumblingly, I headed out to Tokyo Station to check out the schedule for the Nagano Shinkansen when I head out to Karuizawa next weekend...that is, as long as Mt. Asama doesn't blow its top again. Then, I went up to street level and went to the Yaesu Book Centre. Really strange setup there. Escalators take care of the bottom four floors then I have to hoof it up by staircase to reach the 7th floor with its English-language book selection. The elevator, which also starts from 4, decided to take a day off.
I got a quick bite at Wendys,noticing that the skies looked very gray. However, nothing really came of it except for a bit of a spritzer. That's much better than the Typhoon 19 that the weather folks had been threatening us with last week before T19 shrank into a lowly depression.
I made it up to the Tea Room for the first time in 2 weeks where I saw SR for the first time in a few weeks. She had a good time in Korea and even got me a bottle of Korean sesame oil which packs quite a punch compared to its Japanese equivalent. I'll be looking forward to using it on Sunday night.
Well, I gotta load of ironing to do before making some final touches on the kids' lessons tomorrow. Tomorrow's the party at Shrek's new digs. I'll probably bring that wine that one of the Class Act gave me.
Looks like that feared baseball strike here has been averted for at least a week. However,the sword is still hanging over the Japanese majors, getting ready to drop if things don't get resolved by next Friday at 5 p.m.
I see that the much talked about sequel to FRIENDS got off the ground last night. I never got into the show although I have used a few of the episodes in my lessons back at the school for the basic reason that I've spent most of their heyday here in Japan. FRIENDS has been showing here through video and TV but the TV telecast is on late at night and I'm not a video renter.
And tomorrow is the anniversary for 9/11. There will be the special ceremonies but it seems as if the big events at Ground Zero have become a thing of the past.
My lesson with The Teacher this morning initially was a bit of a heart-pouring exercise. It looks like the family underwent one of those parent-teenager blowups last night...hey, happens to everybody. Noone has ever said that teens were the most secure of people. I think she even teared up a bit.
Went out to Maruzen to see if I could pick up a new text for the older sister. I was rather surprised to see that the 4th floor which has all the English-language books was missing half of itself. One half of it has been replaced by an art exhibition. I found out that the closing of the store has been slated for Sept. 25th so they're pushing out their merchandise. Too bad they threw out the stuff I wanted.
So, grumblingly, I headed out to Tokyo Station to check out the schedule for the Nagano Shinkansen when I head out to Karuizawa next weekend...that is, as long as Mt. Asama doesn't blow its top again. Then, I went up to street level and went to the Yaesu Book Centre. Really strange setup there. Escalators take care of the bottom four floors then I have to hoof it up by staircase to reach the 7th floor with its English-language book selection. The elevator, which also starts from 4, decided to take a day off.
I got a quick bite at Wendys,noticing that the skies looked very gray. However, nothing really came of it except for a bit of a spritzer. That's much better than the Typhoon 19 that the weather folks had been threatening us with last week before T19 shrank into a lowly depression.
I made it up to the Tea Room for the first time in 2 weeks where I saw SR for the first time in a few weeks. She had a good time in Korea and even got me a bottle of Korean sesame oil which packs quite a punch compared to its Japanese equivalent. I'll be looking forward to using it on Sunday night.
Well, I gotta load of ironing to do before making some final touches on the kids' lessons tomorrow. Tomorrow's the party at Shrek's new digs. I'll probably bring that wine that one of the Class Act gave me.
Looks like that feared baseball strike here has been averted for at least a week. However,the sword is still hanging over the Japanese majors, getting ready to drop if things don't get resolved by next Friday at 5 p.m.
I see that the much talked about sequel to FRIENDS got off the ground last night. I never got into the show although I have used a few of the episodes in my lessons back at the school for the basic reason that I've spent most of their heyday here in Japan. FRIENDS has been showing here through video and TV but the TV telecast is on late at night and I'm not a video renter.
And tomorrow is the anniversary for 9/11. There will be the special ceremonies but it seems as if the big events at Ground Zero have become a thing of the past.
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Thursday September 9, 8:53 p.m.
Just met Jazz Buddy for her usual lesson up in Shinjuku. Then I had my occasional lunch at Foo Foo. It was the second time in as many visits that the young staff screwed up my order. And it was for the same lunch set...this time, I did remind the waitress through my preprinted receipt what I had ordered and they set it right.
Afterwards, I did my usual rounds of the CD stores and took a look into Tokyu Hands for a bath radio after one of my students suggested I get one so that I can endure the bath a lot longer. I did find one for the reasonable price of 3100 yen. But I held off to give it some more thought. I think I'll get it next week, though. I could use the radio just in case The Big One does hit the Kanto and the power goes out.
Just came straight home after that. I only had a measly salad and peach for dinner since the Foo Foo lunch filled up all my culinary needs. Goes to show how much I've mellowed over the years.
Just met Jazz Buddy for her usual lesson up in Shinjuku. Then I had my occasional lunch at Foo Foo. It was the second time in as many visits that the young staff screwed up my order. And it was for the same lunch set...this time, I did remind the waitress through my preprinted receipt what I had ordered and they set it right.
Afterwards, I did my usual rounds of the CD stores and took a look into Tokyu Hands for a bath radio after one of my students suggested I get one so that I can endure the bath a lot longer. I did find one for the reasonable price of 3100 yen. But I held off to give it some more thought. I think I'll get it next week, though. I could use the radio just in case The Big One does hit the Kanto and the power goes out.
Just came straight home after that. I only had a measly salad and peach for dinner since the Foo Foo lunch filled up all my culinary needs. Goes to show how much I've mellowed over the years.
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
Wednesday September 8, 10:13 p.m.
Sent another package off to the Anime King. It's good that I have an acquaintance working at the post office since she was able to save me a good bit of money by letting me know that I could sent the rather light box through the much more inexpensive "small packet" than the usual Surface Air Lift.
The weather today was hot but not too humid...at least not initially. Still, we are counting our lucky stars here in Tokyo especially after how Typhoon 18 skipped us and struck Hokkaido with record-making force. The same serene Sapporo that I had visited 3 months ago was a wind tunnel. Panels were blown off the TV Tower and a number of those poplar trees that I had passed during my visit to Hokkaido University were blown down. But the really sad thing is that a lot of the apple and pear crops are now kaput due to the storm. Ironic, really, since the rice harvest will probably be one of the best in history.
I met The Hawaiian for the first time in several months at our old meeting place. She didn't look too worse for wear...in fact, I think she was wearing a bit more makeup than usual. Looks like she just wants to keep her English ability up in various ways so I'll be happy to oblige her.
Then it was off to Toranomon for The Office Lady. On the way down there, I took a pit stop at the WAVE CD shop in Shiodome. Some more CDs on my wish list now. I also noticed that American debut CD of Hikaru Utada which has been released a few weeks earlier here. I really don't know how she'll do in her native States. A number of Japanese artists have tried to break into the American market via genres like R&B and heavy metal with little success. Puffy Amiyumi and Shonen Knife could be said to be two of the luckier acts but I can't really say that they have reached mainstream success. Basically, Utada would have to hit the equivalent of a grand slam to pick up any notice. She may be really big in Japan but in the States she'd probably be seen more as a gimmick.
Got back home tonight and just had a dinner of Spam, rice and salad. I'll probably have to stay up until 1 at least just so that I can digest my meal properly.
Looks like that baseball strike may be headed our way as of Friday night. The owners gave the go-ahead to the merger between the Orix and the Buffaloes. Now the owners are striking back by saying that if the players go on the picket lines, they'll sue their employess for breach of contract. So far, the voices have been quite tempered but the results may be ugly. It'll be the very first time that Japanese baseball has ever gone on strike.
Sent another package off to the Anime King. It's good that I have an acquaintance working at the post office since she was able to save me a good bit of money by letting me know that I could sent the rather light box through the much more inexpensive "small packet" than the usual Surface Air Lift.
The weather today was hot but not too humid...at least not initially. Still, we are counting our lucky stars here in Tokyo especially after how Typhoon 18 skipped us and struck Hokkaido with record-making force. The same serene Sapporo that I had visited 3 months ago was a wind tunnel. Panels were blown off the TV Tower and a number of those poplar trees that I had passed during my visit to Hokkaido University were blown down. But the really sad thing is that a lot of the apple and pear crops are now kaput due to the storm. Ironic, really, since the rice harvest will probably be one of the best in history.
I met The Hawaiian for the first time in several months at our old meeting place. She didn't look too worse for wear...in fact, I think she was wearing a bit more makeup than usual. Looks like she just wants to keep her English ability up in various ways so I'll be happy to oblige her.
Then it was off to Toranomon for The Office Lady. On the way down there, I took a pit stop at the WAVE CD shop in Shiodome. Some more CDs on my wish list now. I also noticed that American debut CD of Hikaru Utada which has been released a few weeks earlier here. I really don't know how she'll do in her native States. A number of Japanese artists have tried to break into the American market via genres like R&B and heavy metal with little success. Puffy Amiyumi and Shonen Knife could be said to be two of the luckier acts but I can't really say that they have reached mainstream success. Basically, Utada would have to hit the equivalent of a grand slam to pick up any notice. She may be really big in Japan but in the States she'd probably be seen more as a gimmick.
Got back home tonight and just had a dinner of Spam, rice and salad. I'll probably have to stay up until 1 at least just so that I can digest my meal properly.
Looks like that baseball strike may be headed our way as of Friday night. The owners gave the go-ahead to the merger between the Orix and the Buffaloes. Now the owners are striking back by saying that if the players go on the picket lines, they'll sue their employess for breach of contract. So far, the voices have been quite tempered but the results may be ugly. It'll be the very first time that Japanese baseball has ever gone on strike.
Wednesday September 8, 10:13 p.m.
Sent another package off to the Anime King. It's good that I have an acquaintance working at the post office since she was able to save me a good bit of money by letting me know that I could sent the rather light box through the much more inexpensive "small packet" than the usual Surface Air Lift.
The weather today was hot but not too humid...at least not initially. Still, we are counting our lucky stars here in Tokyo especially after how Typhoon 18 skipped us and struck Hokkaido with record-making force. The same serene Sapporo that I had visited 3 months ago was a wind tunnel. Panels were blown off the TV Tower and a number of those poplar trees that I had passed during my visit to Hokkaido University were blown down. But the really sad thing is that a lot of the apple and pear crops are now kaput due to the storm. Ironic, really, since the rice harvest will probably be one of the best in history.
I met The Hawaiian for the first time in several months at our old meeting place. She didn't look too worse for wear...in fact, I think she was wearing a bit more makeup than usual. Looks like she just wants to keep her English ability up in various ways so I'll be happy to oblige her.
Then it was off to Toranomon for The Office Lady. On the way down there, I took a pit stop at the WAVE CD shop in Shiodome. Some more CDs on my wish list now. I also noticed that American debut CD of Hikaru Utada which has been released a few weeks earlier here. I really don't know how she'll do in her native States. A number of Japanese artists have tried to break into the American market via genres like R&B and heavy metal with little success. Puffy Amiyumi and Shonen Knife could be said to be two of the luckier acts but I can't really say that they have reached mainstream success. Basically, Utada would have to hit the equivalent of a grand slam to pick up any notice. She may be really big in Japan but in the States she'd probably be seen more as a gimmick.
Got back home tonight and just had a dinner of Spam, rice and salad. I'll probably have to stay up until 1 at least just so that I can digest my meal properly.
Looks like that baseball strike may be headed our way as of Friday night. The owners gave the go-ahead to the merger between the Orix and the Buffaloes. Now the owners are striking back by saying that if the players go on the picket lines, they'll sue their employess for breach of contract. So far, the voices have been quite tempered but the results may be ugly. It'll be the very first time that Japanese baseball has ever gone on strike.
Sent another package off to the Anime King. It's good that I have an acquaintance working at the post office since she was able to save me a good bit of money by letting me know that I could sent the rather light box through the much more inexpensive "small packet" than the usual Surface Air Lift.
The weather today was hot but not too humid...at least not initially. Still, we are counting our lucky stars here in Tokyo especially after how Typhoon 18 skipped us and struck Hokkaido with record-making force. The same serene Sapporo that I had visited 3 months ago was a wind tunnel. Panels were blown off the TV Tower and a number of those poplar trees that I had passed during my visit to Hokkaido University were blown down. But the really sad thing is that a lot of the apple and pear crops are now kaput due to the storm. Ironic, really, since the rice harvest will probably be one of the best in history.
I met The Hawaiian for the first time in several months at our old meeting place. She didn't look too worse for wear...in fact, I think she was wearing a bit more makeup than usual. Looks like she just wants to keep her English ability up in various ways so I'll be happy to oblige her.
Then it was off to Toranomon for The Office Lady. On the way down there, I took a pit stop at the WAVE CD shop in Shiodome. Some more CDs on my wish list now. I also noticed that American debut CD of Hikaru Utada which has been released a few weeks earlier here. I really don't know how she'll do in her native States. A number of Japanese artists have tried to break into the American market via genres like R&B and heavy metal with little success. Puffy Amiyumi and Shonen Knife could be said to be two of the luckier acts but I can't really say that they have reached mainstream success. Basically, Utada would have to hit the equivalent of a grand slam to pick up any notice. She may be really big in Japan but in the States she'd probably be seen more as a gimmick.
Got back home tonight and just had a dinner of Spam, rice and salad. I'll probably have to stay up until 1 at least just so that I can digest my meal properly.
Looks like that baseball strike may be headed our way as of Friday night. The owners gave the go-ahead to the merger between the Orix and the Buffaloes. Now the owners are striking back by saying that if the players go on the picket lines, they'll sue their employess for breach of contract. So far, the voices have been quite tempered but the results may be ugly. It'll be the very first time that Japanese baseball has ever gone on strike.
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Wednesday September 8, 10:08 a.m.
Another good spate of useful e-mail from the buddies. From The Doctor, I found out that Paramount is ready to unleash a massive online Trek game. The way it sounds, it's gonna be a Trekkie's wet dream. For me, I don't really get into games so even a Trek online enterprise wouldn't attract me. Plus with my dialup connection, I'd probably end up just being able to roll the dice within the hour. In addition, I heard that the players cannot take on any of the major characters from at least the Classic series. I'm sure that Shatner and Nimoy wouldn't deign to have their egos violated.
Paddy sent me and one other old fellow from the club our instructions for Karuizawa next week. We'll be staying in a cottage which suits my image of the place. I'm still wondering about whether I should get a reserved ticket on the Bullet. Paddy says that getting a non-reserved ticket should suffice but the next weekend is a long one and I could see most of Tokyo heading out to the hills then. And standing in the Bullet Train is a whole lot less comfy than even standing in the subway. I'll see if I can get a reserved ticket in between lessons on Friday.
Caught Andersen Cooper this morning. Apparently for his Nth Degree segment, he reported on a letter that he'd received from some girl in the "Kochi University Association" in which she and her classmates are willing to be spanked for charity. He snarkingly wondered if this were a hoax. Knowing some of the underbelly of Japanese pop culture, I'd say it was true. However, I'll scour around the Net for proof. Speaking of Andersen and Japan, I wonder what happened with his weekly obsession with the "SEAMANSHIP" SDF commercial.
Riffing a bit on my life here...I've been living in my little apartment for nearly a decade. For the gaijin, that's a bit of a record-setter. A lot of my fellow ex-pats do their share of moving over the years but I've just stayed here. For one thing, my neighbourhood is a good one: a nice mix of young/more established families, single folks and senior citizens plus foreigners within a very residentially-minded area with its schools and restaurants and convenience stores. The other thing is that I see moving in this country as an even more onerous chore than in North America...mostly in procuring that new place. What with all of the bias against foreigners at the real estate agencies, the guarantor hassles and finally the hefty payments of key money, I am far more motivated in keeping this little place.
I live in a 2K which stands for 2 rooms plus kitchen. And I've got a unit bath which is just a plastic modular bathroom with the usual toilet, sink and deep bathtub just like in the West. However, a lot of the locals here rather balk at the thought of having a toilet share space with a bathtub...kinda like a conservative's view on mixed marriages. Toilets should have their own space and the rest of the bathroom is elsewhere.
I'm sure that there are people who wonder how I could spend most of my time in a 6 square metre living room. Those Tom Cruise types could step into my place and smarmingly remark how quaint it was that there could be a building devoted to walk-in closets. Well, my answer is that it's not that bad. I actually have two sofas, a coffee table, a large bookshelf, a stereo and TV, this computer and all sorts of other paraphernalia stuffed into here. And certainly, I've collected my share of stuff over the past 10 years. However, I can survive quite well and believe it or not, there are several things that I actually have to stand up and walk a few steps to get. One educational thing is that thanks to Paddy, I've learned how to rearrange things in a confined space. Having said that, it is a revelation whenever I get back home and realize how spacious my family's home is.
Another good spate of useful e-mail from the buddies. From The Doctor, I found out that Paramount is ready to unleash a massive online Trek game. The way it sounds, it's gonna be a Trekkie's wet dream. For me, I don't really get into games so even a Trek online enterprise wouldn't attract me. Plus with my dialup connection, I'd probably end up just being able to roll the dice within the hour. In addition, I heard that the players cannot take on any of the major characters from at least the Classic series. I'm sure that Shatner and Nimoy wouldn't deign to have their egos violated.
Paddy sent me and one other old fellow from the club our instructions for Karuizawa next week. We'll be staying in a cottage which suits my image of the place. I'm still wondering about whether I should get a reserved ticket on the Bullet. Paddy says that getting a non-reserved ticket should suffice but the next weekend is a long one and I could see most of Tokyo heading out to the hills then. And standing in the Bullet Train is a whole lot less comfy than even standing in the subway. I'll see if I can get a reserved ticket in between lessons on Friday.
Caught Andersen Cooper this morning. Apparently for his Nth Degree segment, he reported on a letter that he'd received from some girl in the "Kochi University Association" in which she and her classmates are willing to be spanked for charity. He snarkingly wondered if this were a hoax. Knowing some of the underbelly of Japanese pop culture, I'd say it was true. However, I'll scour around the Net for proof. Speaking of Andersen and Japan, I wonder what happened with his weekly obsession with the "SEAMANSHIP" SDF commercial.
Riffing a bit on my life here...I've been living in my little apartment for nearly a decade. For the gaijin, that's a bit of a record-setter. A lot of my fellow ex-pats do their share of moving over the years but I've just stayed here. For one thing, my neighbourhood is a good one: a nice mix of young/more established families, single folks and senior citizens plus foreigners within a very residentially-minded area with its schools and restaurants and convenience stores. The other thing is that I see moving in this country as an even more onerous chore than in North America...mostly in procuring that new place. What with all of the bias against foreigners at the real estate agencies, the guarantor hassles and finally the hefty payments of key money, I am far more motivated in keeping this little place.
I live in a 2K which stands for 2 rooms plus kitchen. And I've got a unit bath which is just a plastic modular bathroom with the usual toilet, sink and deep bathtub just like in the West. However, a lot of the locals here rather balk at the thought of having a toilet share space with a bathtub...kinda like a conservative's view on mixed marriages. Toilets should have their own space and the rest of the bathroom is elsewhere.
I'm sure that there are people who wonder how I could spend most of my time in a 6 square metre living room. Those Tom Cruise types could step into my place and smarmingly remark how quaint it was that there could be a building devoted to walk-in closets. Well, my answer is that it's not that bad. I actually have two sofas, a coffee table, a large bookshelf, a stereo and TV, this computer and all sorts of other paraphernalia stuffed into here. And certainly, I've collected my share of stuff over the past 10 years. However, I can survive quite well and believe it or not, there are several things that I actually have to stand up and walk a few steps to get. One educational thing is that thanks to Paddy, I've learned how to rearrange things in a confined space. Having said that, it is a revelation whenever I get back home and realize how spacious my family's home is.
Tuesday September 7, 11:14 p.m.
For a typhoon that's supposed to be bypassing the Kanto, we're getting some pretty noisy winds here. No rain, though. I've taken in the laundry poles just in case. My major meterological gripe for tonight is that despite the cool winds blowing out there, it's still annoyingly humid. I felt like I was wearing moist tissues on the way home.
I had the juku boss for her prelim lesson. Well, it was really a level check. She's one of those special cases in that she certainly has a lot of the basics under her hat but her structure is pretty hole-y. Well, I was able to pinpoint them down so it'll be a matter of troubleshooting each weak point.
Also I realized how tight my schedule is in terms of accomodating students. I thought I could fit in a new junior high school student at the juku only to find out that I only have Wednesday mornings and alternating Thursday evenings free. The juku boss was pretty disappointed. Ah well.
It also seems that the Beauty Pair and I are gonna have another one of those karaoke nights later this month since Mr. Eccentric is pretty gung-ho on the idea. In fact, he's been escalating things a bit by suggesting a trip to an onsen. The Pair seem to be balking at that idea as do I.
For a typhoon that's supposed to be bypassing the Kanto, we're getting some pretty noisy winds here. No rain, though. I've taken in the laundry poles just in case. My major meterological gripe for tonight is that despite the cool winds blowing out there, it's still annoyingly humid. I felt like I was wearing moist tissues on the way home.
I had the juku boss for her prelim lesson. Well, it was really a level check. She's one of those special cases in that she certainly has a lot of the basics under her hat but her structure is pretty hole-y. Well, I was able to pinpoint them down so it'll be a matter of troubleshooting each weak point.
Also I realized how tight my schedule is in terms of accomodating students. I thought I could fit in a new junior high school student at the juku only to find out that I only have Wednesday mornings and alternating Thursday evenings free. The juku boss was pretty disappointed. Ah well.
It also seems that the Beauty Pair and I are gonna have another one of those karaoke nights later this month since Mr. Eccentric is pretty gung-ho on the idea. In fact, he's been escalating things a bit by suggesting a trip to an onsen. The Pair seem to be balking at that idea as do I.
Monday, September 06, 2004
Tuesday September 7, 12:20 p.m.
Well, NHK has devoted the morning to Typhoon 18. It just hit Kyushu and dumping a whole world of hurt on the area. However, it looks like it'll skip the Kanto entirely. In fact, we're currently sunny and hot here. The bad news is that Typhoon 19 will not be as forgiving. Its trajectory will bring it straight on us by the end of the week. Kinda wonder how the lessons will go on Friday.
Taking it easy on the food intake after last night's binge. Just had breakfast right now so I'm not in any need for food for a few hours at least although I'll have something before my classes tonight. I'll just get ready for my lessons over the next couple of days.
Looks like the Japanese baseball players are getting closer to a strike after getting rather miffed over the impending merger between the Orix Blue Wave and the Kintetsu Buffaloes. Not that I'm a baseball fan, but it couldn't happen at a worst time considering the windup to the playoffs. But in better news, Ichiro just continues to approach legendary status with his hitting record.
Well, NHK has devoted the morning to Typhoon 18. It just hit Kyushu and dumping a whole world of hurt on the area. However, it looks like it'll skip the Kanto entirely. In fact, we're currently sunny and hot here. The bad news is that Typhoon 19 will not be as forgiving. Its trajectory will bring it straight on us by the end of the week. Kinda wonder how the lessons will go on Friday.
Taking it easy on the food intake after last night's binge. Just had breakfast right now so I'm not in any need for food for a few hours at least although I'll have something before my classes tonight. I'll just get ready for my lessons over the next couple of days.
Looks like the Japanese baseball players are getting closer to a strike after getting rather miffed over the impending merger between the Orix Blue Wave and the Kintetsu Buffaloes. Not that I'm a baseball fan, but it couldn't happen at a worst time considering the windup to the playoffs. But in better news, Ichiro just continues to approach legendary status with his hitting record.
Tuesday September 7, 12:25 a.m.
Came home with a layer of grunge. It was a meterologically frustrating day today as the temps were reasonable but the humidity was still oppressive so the air acted like a pressure seal on any attempts for my sweat to evaporate to cool me down. I'm not sure what the next few days will be like considering that the typhoon is also upon us.
My first lesson went pretty well. We just did some major gabbing since they seem to have lost interest in the materials...uh-oh. But on the good side, we may be concocting a plan to try another steakhouse, the New York Grill, at the top of the Park Hyatt hotel in Shinjuku. It's the same hotel where "Lost In Translation" was filmed. It'll be another lunch thing again since one has to make dinner reservations there months in advance.
Afterwards, I walked through Shibuya when one of the roving McDonalds employees gave me a one-day-only coupon. I had to laugh when I looked at it; after all I had heard and discussed about "Super Size Me", the coupon was for supersizing my fries and Coke if I visited the Big M on that day. Well, resistance was futile so my lunch plan was set. But I did make a pit stop at Tower Records. Oh boy...it looks like I may be targeting a number of CDs for purchase. Plus my point card is starting to fill up. It'll be very tempting to get it completely filled to get that 3000 yen discount. I helped out in that endeavour a bit by purchasing the latest TIME issue. It's the one on Bush and the Republicans. Should make interesting reading.
I also stopped off at UNIQLO...a great place for cheap but sturdy clothes. I bought a couple of trousers...my size...for just 5000 yen. That is a bargain. A similar single pair at Eddie Bauer sets me back over 7000 yen. You do the math.
Finally, I stopped off at the McDs to get that supersize meal. Not too bad. I was eating the fries long after I had polished off the Mac.
Then it was off to Shinjuku again. Looks like someone had a bit of a medical problem at the station as he was being transported off in a stretcher. I went to Andersens again for the next couple of hours. Then, I had my company class. Once again it was that lone student but he did get a lot of practice today and I gave out the new texts. I just hope that the other two (or at least one...since the other is virtually hopeless) do return. One other bonus is that the Prez was in the office so that he actually paid me for 4 weeks' work and he reimbursed me for the texts.
Not only that but he once again took me out to dinner at that same izakaya in Yoyogi where we'd had dinner several months before. Boy, do I regret having eaten that Supersize meal. The Prez just ordered so many dishes starting with S: sashimi, salmon, soup, etc. By the time we finished 90 minutes later, I was feeling distinctly 9 months pregnant. I was so bloated that I decided to take the long route on the Oedo Line since it was basically a loop. I needed the extra sitting time to digest the stuff. So the train ride took an illogical 42 minutes instead of the logical 12 and then I had to transfer to my regular line just to get home. However it was worth it. I felt considerably less bloated by the time I reached home.
I sure got the lion's share of mail tonight. Instead of the usual 1% in my real/spam mail ratio that I'd been getting recently, I got a whopping 15%. The Wild Thing is starting to settle into his new life in Vancouver, my old Tea Room ladies are trying to get another reunion together, I'll be seeing the Hawaiian again for the first time in several months, Paddy's gotten back to me about the broadband thing and the Entrepreneur and I are having a good dialogue about life back in T.O. He's told me that Chip Guy actually got that widescreen TV. And finally, I've gotten the assignments off to SR for completion this Friday. Looks like my work week is slowly coming back.
Came home with a layer of grunge. It was a meterologically frustrating day today as the temps were reasonable but the humidity was still oppressive so the air acted like a pressure seal on any attempts for my sweat to evaporate to cool me down. I'm not sure what the next few days will be like considering that the typhoon is also upon us.
My first lesson went pretty well. We just did some major gabbing since they seem to have lost interest in the materials...uh-oh. But on the good side, we may be concocting a plan to try another steakhouse, the New York Grill, at the top of the Park Hyatt hotel in Shinjuku. It's the same hotel where "Lost In Translation" was filmed. It'll be another lunch thing again since one has to make dinner reservations there months in advance.
Afterwards, I walked through Shibuya when one of the roving McDonalds employees gave me a one-day-only coupon. I had to laugh when I looked at it; after all I had heard and discussed about "Super Size Me", the coupon was for supersizing my fries and Coke if I visited the Big M on that day. Well, resistance was futile so my lunch plan was set. But I did make a pit stop at Tower Records. Oh boy...it looks like I may be targeting a number of CDs for purchase. Plus my point card is starting to fill up. It'll be very tempting to get it completely filled to get that 3000 yen discount. I helped out in that endeavour a bit by purchasing the latest TIME issue. It's the one on Bush and the Republicans. Should make interesting reading.
I also stopped off at UNIQLO...a great place for cheap but sturdy clothes. I bought a couple of trousers...my size...for just 5000 yen. That is a bargain. A similar single pair at Eddie Bauer sets me back over 7000 yen. You do the math.
Finally, I stopped off at the McDs to get that supersize meal. Not too bad. I was eating the fries long after I had polished off the Mac.
Then it was off to Shinjuku again. Looks like someone had a bit of a medical problem at the station as he was being transported off in a stretcher. I went to Andersens again for the next couple of hours. Then, I had my company class. Once again it was that lone student but he did get a lot of practice today and I gave out the new texts. I just hope that the other two (or at least one...since the other is virtually hopeless) do return. One other bonus is that the Prez was in the office so that he actually paid me for 4 weeks' work and he reimbursed me for the texts.
Not only that but he once again took me out to dinner at that same izakaya in Yoyogi where we'd had dinner several months before. Boy, do I regret having eaten that Supersize meal. The Prez just ordered so many dishes starting with S: sashimi, salmon, soup, etc. By the time we finished 90 minutes later, I was feeling distinctly 9 months pregnant. I was so bloated that I decided to take the long route on the Oedo Line since it was basically a loop. I needed the extra sitting time to digest the stuff. So the train ride took an illogical 42 minutes instead of the logical 12 and then I had to transfer to my regular line just to get home. However it was worth it. I felt considerably less bloated by the time I reached home.
I sure got the lion's share of mail tonight. Instead of the usual 1% in my real/spam mail ratio that I'd been getting recently, I got a whopping 15%. The Wild Thing is starting to settle into his new life in Vancouver, my old Tea Room ladies are trying to get another reunion together, I'll be seeing the Hawaiian again for the first time in several months, Paddy's gotten back to me about the broadband thing and the Entrepreneur and I are having a good dialogue about life back in T.O. He's told me that Chip Guy actually got that widescreen TV. And finally, I've gotten the assignments off to SR for completion this Friday. Looks like my work week is slowly coming back.
Sunday, September 05, 2004
Monday September 6, 8:06 a.m.
Looks like that quake had a stronger bigger brother. At around midnight, a M7.3 struck the same area giving some of those NHK cameras a very good shake. Even Tokyo got some echoes of that one. Then the tsunami warnings came in repeatedly for a majority of the Pacific coast. I'm not too cognizant on the physics of tsunamis but it was rather difficult for me to take the warnings that seriously when I hear of tsunami heights of just 66 cm and see cute little waves rolling in. However, everyone was warned to head immediately for higher ground.
GC sent in a reply from his area of Owase which was heavily featured on the news since it seems to be the focus for a lot of bad weather. He was in an electronics shop at the time of the first quake. At first, he thought it was the usual terrestrial hiccup except that it started getting longer and longer. I'm looking forward to his report on the second one. A university professor stated that Japan will probably have to look forward to similar aftershocks or tremors for the next week to 10 days.
Still feeling pretty drowsy but I've got my two classes to head out to. The weather is looking pretty cloudy out there but there's no rain forecast for today. However, I'm still wondering about the next couple of days with that typhoon.
CNN's just reported the 2 earthquakes. But the only accurate footage they had was the NHK camera just above Wakayama. The rest of it was actually on the typhoon so now probably a lot of people think all those horrible floods are due to the tsunami. Two completely different animals, CNN.
Looks like that quake had a stronger bigger brother. At around midnight, a M7.3 struck the same area giving some of those NHK cameras a very good shake. Even Tokyo got some echoes of that one. Then the tsunami warnings came in repeatedly for a majority of the Pacific coast. I'm not too cognizant on the physics of tsunamis but it was rather difficult for me to take the warnings that seriously when I hear of tsunami heights of just 66 cm and see cute little waves rolling in. However, everyone was warned to head immediately for higher ground.
GC sent in a reply from his area of Owase which was heavily featured on the news since it seems to be the focus for a lot of bad weather. He was in an electronics shop at the time of the first quake. At first, he thought it was the usual terrestrial hiccup except that it started getting longer and longer. I'm looking forward to his report on the second one. A university professor stated that Japan will probably have to look forward to similar aftershocks or tremors for the next week to 10 days.
Still feeling pretty drowsy but I've got my two classes to head out to. The weather is looking pretty cloudy out there but there's no rain forecast for today. However, I'm still wondering about the next couple of days with that typhoon.
CNN's just reported the 2 earthquakes. But the only accurate footage they had was the NHK camera just above Wakayama. The rest of it was actually on the typhoon so now probably a lot of people think all those horrible floods are due to the tsunami. Two completely different animals, CNN.
Sunday September 5, 9:12 p.m.
Japan's going through a triple threat of natural disaster. Typhoon 18 is following the same path as its predecessor. It'll probably skirt my area Wednesday morning. Then around 7 tonight, my apartment got slightly rocked by a tremor. The NHK report then went into an extended bulletin about a quake that's rocked the Kinki region around Osaka, Nara and Wakayama...pretty big tremor, about M6.8. Now, the last of the three is a tsunami generated by the quake which threatens a good chunk of the Pacific coastline. I may give CG a line asking if he's doing OK since his town was featured on the news as one of the danger spots.
Japan's going through a triple threat of natural disaster. Typhoon 18 is following the same path as its predecessor. It'll probably skirt my area Wednesday morning. Then around 7 tonight, my apartment got slightly rocked by a tremor. The NHK report then went into an extended bulletin about a quake that's rocked the Kinki region around Osaka, Nara and Wakayama...pretty big tremor, about M6.8. Now, the last of the three is a tsunami generated by the quake which threatens a good chunk of the Pacific coastline. I may give CG a line asking if he's doing OK since his town was featured on the news as one of the danger spots.
Sunday September 5, 4:03 p.m.
Yesterday's lesson with the lone sister was another one of those teeth-pulling sessions. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that the little sister is starting to take on some of her sibling's attributes. However, her mother was vivacious as always.
I made the trip down to Hachiko where I met Paddy for the first time in a couple of years. And then PH came riding up. We all went to the Maple Leaf where Paddy tucked into a plate of poutine while I indulged in my usual burger plate. The place was once again pretty empty since it was early in the afternoon. The ML doesn't get packed until the evening when the sports telecasts start up.
We then went to the wholesaler market across from Shibuya Station where we picked up some of the fixins for another PH feast at her apartment. It was a pretty heavy load of veggies that I had to help drag over to her place. The temps weren't too high yesterday but the humidity was still oppressive.
Since PH had the bike, she rode it back to her place while Paddy and I went by Yamanote Line and walked it up the 10 minutes. We beat her by about 5 minutes. While PH got busy in the kitchen, Paddy and I went into her large balcony and jabbered on movies and stuff for the next hour to hour and a half. One of the movie topics was on the Spielberg oeuvre. Paddy feels that the director is far overrated. I said that Spielberg has made some stinkers over his career (e.g. 1941, A.I., etc) but he's still a very accomplished director.
A couple of hours after our arrival, the rains came pouring down with a lightning show. All 3 of us wondered how her colleagues would be able to make it in that weather. The four of them finally made it 45 minutes late and fairly drenched. In fact one of them managed to do a flip on the slippery floor outside.
It would be another hour before dinner was truly ready so the six of us non-cooking folk gabbed on legal affairs since everyone except me were either paralegals or full-fledged lawyers. But once PH gave the all-clear, we started tucking into lasagna, roast chicken with mashed potatoes & gravy, salad, steamed veggies and shrimp cocktail. It was another typical feast by our hostess. The guests were suitably impressed. The Quarterback and his fiancee's timing was just perfect since they arrived only 5 minutes after the dinner bell sounded. The rains kept pounding the pavement but the rest of us enjoyed a pleasant dinner. By the time we scoured through dessert, all of us were quite stuffed.
Paddy and I finally left for home at about 11 p.m.while the rest of PH's buddies stayed over. I was initially thinking about grabbing a tazi part way home since I knew that the Tozai Line had a tendency to get packed even on a Saturday night. But as it turned out, it wasn't too crowded after all although we had to stand.
It'd been a few years since his last visit to my neighbourhood so he was surprised by some of the technological improvements to the station such as escalators and elevators. We took a quick peek into the convenience store before deciding that we just too full to think about food. Once we got home, Paddy soon nodded off on the sofa while I was able to last one more hour to take a shower.
We crashed for about 8 hours. I still felt sloggy despite the long sleep but I woke up to see Paddy watching TV. As usual, he got into his interior decorating mode and proceeded to rearrange the wiring for my AV/stereo setup so that everything was now hooked through one amp which had been just sitting up against the wall for the past couple of years. I'm self-secure enough to say that I am no tech wizard so I never bothered to do anything about it. Luckily, Paddy is the expert in all things electronic so he knew how to cross and uncross the wires wisely. We were missing a couple of things though so it was a hop over to the nearby Yamada Denki electronics shop to pick another set of speaker cables and some batteries. Paddy is quite the lethal advisor, though, with his legal training and his work experience. He encouraged me to get Yahoo Broadband since I'm still on the primitive dial-up and he said he'd check my options concerning my visa once it expires next year.
We made it back to the station again to have a very late breakfast at the local tonkatsu shop. It was about as busy as I've ever seen the place and it's been around since I've been there. A couple of old ladies puttered about serving a full house. It was a wonder that neither of them didn't collapse from a heart attack. As we ate our lunch, the two of us talked about my status as a single guy and gave me some advice about women. He said it was time to go out on the hunt again. Well, I'm still rather gun-shy so it'll be a while yet.
He finally took off but he'd keep in contact over the next couple of weeks to get back to me on some of those issues. Plus, he may join me to head over to a housewarming next week.
As for me, I headed home and have given the new audo setup a workout. I'm feeling pretty drowsy right now. I may take a nap before getting my week's lessons ready.
Yesterday's lesson with the lone sister was another one of those teeth-pulling sessions. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that the little sister is starting to take on some of her sibling's attributes. However, her mother was vivacious as always.
I made the trip down to Hachiko where I met Paddy for the first time in a couple of years. And then PH came riding up. We all went to the Maple Leaf where Paddy tucked into a plate of poutine while I indulged in my usual burger plate. The place was once again pretty empty since it was early in the afternoon. The ML doesn't get packed until the evening when the sports telecasts start up.
We then went to the wholesaler market across from Shibuya Station where we picked up some of the fixins for another PH feast at her apartment. It was a pretty heavy load of veggies that I had to help drag over to her place. The temps weren't too high yesterday but the humidity was still oppressive.
Since PH had the bike, she rode it back to her place while Paddy and I went by Yamanote Line and walked it up the 10 minutes. We beat her by about 5 minutes. While PH got busy in the kitchen, Paddy and I went into her large balcony and jabbered on movies and stuff for the next hour to hour and a half. One of the movie topics was on the Spielberg oeuvre. Paddy feels that the director is far overrated. I said that Spielberg has made some stinkers over his career (e.g. 1941, A.I., etc) but he's still a very accomplished director.
A couple of hours after our arrival, the rains came pouring down with a lightning show. All 3 of us wondered how her colleagues would be able to make it in that weather. The four of them finally made it 45 minutes late and fairly drenched. In fact one of them managed to do a flip on the slippery floor outside.
It would be another hour before dinner was truly ready so the six of us non-cooking folk gabbed on legal affairs since everyone except me were either paralegals or full-fledged lawyers. But once PH gave the all-clear, we started tucking into lasagna, roast chicken with mashed potatoes & gravy, salad, steamed veggies and shrimp cocktail. It was another typical feast by our hostess. The guests were suitably impressed. The Quarterback and his fiancee's timing was just perfect since they arrived only 5 minutes after the dinner bell sounded. The rains kept pounding the pavement but the rest of us enjoyed a pleasant dinner. By the time we scoured through dessert, all of us were quite stuffed.
Paddy and I finally left for home at about 11 p.m.while the rest of PH's buddies stayed over. I was initially thinking about grabbing a tazi part way home since I knew that the Tozai Line had a tendency to get packed even on a Saturday night. But as it turned out, it wasn't too crowded after all although we had to stand.
It'd been a few years since his last visit to my neighbourhood so he was surprised by some of the technological improvements to the station such as escalators and elevators. We took a quick peek into the convenience store before deciding that we just too full to think about food. Once we got home, Paddy soon nodded off on the sofa while I was able to last one more hour to take a shower.
We crashed for about 8 hours. I still felt sloggy despite the long sleep but I woke up to see Paddy watching TV. As usual, he got into his interior decorating mode and proceeded to rearrange the wiring for my AV/stereo setup so that everything was now hooked through one amp which had been just sitting up against the wall for the past couple of years. I'm self-secure enough to say that I am no tech wizard so I never bothered to do anything about it. Luckily, Paddy is the expert in all things electronic so he knew how to cross and uncross the wires wisely. We were missing a couple of things though so it was a hop over to the nearby Yamada Denki electronics shop to pick another set of speaker cables and some batteries. Paddy is quite the lethal advisor, though, with his legal training and his work experience. He encouraged me to get Yahoo Broadband since I'm still on the primitive dial-up and he said he'd check my options concerning my visa once it expires next year.
We made it back to the station again to have a very late breakfast at the local tonkatsu shop. It was about as busy as I've ever seen the place and it's been around since I've been there. A couple of old ladies puttered about serving a full house. It was a wonder that neither of them didn't collapse from a heart attack. As we ate our lunch, the two of us talked about my status as a single guy and gave me some advice about women. He said it was time to go out on the hunt again. Well, I'm still rather gun-shy so it'll be a while yet.
He finally took off but he'd keep in contact over the next couple of weeks to get back to me on some of those issues. Plus, he may join me to head over to a housewarming next week.
As for me, I headed home and have given the new audo setup a workout. I'm feeling pretty drowsy right now. I may take a nap before getting my week's lessons ready.
Friday, September 03, 2004
Saturday September 4, 6:31 a.m.
We had a bit of a light show overnight when some unscheduled thunder and lightning and heavy rain fell upon us. The rest of the day should be suitably gloomy but the temps will be a bit more moderate. Having said that, I've got the fan on.
Well, the place is just about ready for Paddy. Just some finishing touches to take care of before I head off to see the kids. Then I meet Paddy at Hachiko. Still not 100% sure what we're gonna be doing after our initial stop at the Maple Leaf. However, I think we're more than likely to head out to PH's place for that BBQ. It's not as if it's even the regular gang that I hardly talk to...it's a bunch of PH's work buddies. I'm not even sure if the Quarterback will drop by.
It was basically Beslan that made up most of my TV viewing last night. However, as I woke up this morning, the story was finally taken off "BREAKING NEWS" status. It was a bloodbath...at least 200 dead, 600 shot. Most of the terrorists have been either caught or killed, mostly the latter. Still, with the two planes being bombed out of the sky 2 weeks ago, the Moscow subway bombing early this week and now this horror. Not to be too cliche but I think Russia is going through its own "9/11".
We had a bit of a light show overnight when some unscheduled thunder and lightning and heavy rain fell upon us. The rest of the day should be suitably gloomy but the temps will be a bit more moderate. Having said that, I've got the fan on.
Well, the place is just about ready for Paddy. Just some finishing touches to take care of before I head off to see the kids. Then I meet Paddy at Hachiko. Still not 100% sure what we're gonna be doing after our initial stop at the Maple Leaf. However, I think we're more than likely to head out to PH's place for that BBQ. It's not as if it's even the regular gang that I hardly talk to...it's a bunch of PH's work buddies. I'm not even sure if the Quarterback will drop by.
It was basically Beslan that made up most of my TV viewing last night. However, as I woke up this morning, the story was finally taken off "BREAKING NEWS" status. It was a bloodbath...at least 200 dead, 600 shot. Most of the terrorists have been either caught or killed, mostly the latter. Still, with the two planes being bombed out of the sky 2 weeks ago, the Moscow subway bombing early this week and now this horror. Not to be too cliche but I think Russia is going through its own "9/11".