Friday November 20, 2:11 p.m.

Well, had a good session with The Bass in terms of the new text. We're going rather analog with some old News Tapes stuff...so the next 6 months should be in check. The Bass is good that way; he's straight with what he wants but he's nice about it.

Had lunch at the Burger King across from JR Funabashi. I saw yet another foreigner behind the counter speaking very fluent Japanese while taking my order. Not that I mind it at all, but I also saw a Eastern European woman and a South Asian man doing the same thing back on Monday morning at McDonalds. It's amazing how things have changed in 15 years.

The Doctor Who community on Mixi has seen a considerable uptick in activity since David Tennant's 3rd-last episode in his tenure as The Tenth Doctor was shown a couple of days ago. Apparently, it's a pretty significant ep since it basically shows the good Doctor having a nervous breakdown, or the Time Lord equivalent of it. My DW friend and I had a good talk about what's to happen in the next few months for this programme.

Seems like the Japanese Miss Universe contestant has entered the world of Paris Hilton and Rob Lowe with her own sex tape with one other contestant and her boyfriend. Well, that is so 1990s. That woman from "Ugly Betty" beat her to the punch years ago when she was in the Miss America pageant.

Thursday November 19, 8:57 p.m.

An off-kilter day, all in all. The Nurse was fine...told me about all that all-you-can-eat tempura restaurant that she and her hubby had gone to a few weeks ago. I'll have to remember Tenta for future reference. However, things started going a bit pear-shaped when Grandma FON missed half the lesson since she had some sudden errands that needed to get done.

Had lunch at that Chinese eatery in the basement of the Maynds Tower for the first time in a while. Glad to see that the 950 yen for their lunch specials is still holding. Went upstairs to the Starbucks where I taught The Bow. Looks like she'll be staying with Dyson a little while longer than expected since her supervisor continues to need a stable hand while the company goes through a bit of turmoil with the delayed launch of their bladeless fan.

There was some further offing to my kilter in Ichigaya when I taught The New Yorker. She was rather out to lunch on the homework, and it didn't help that even the 5 o'clock slot had the Tully's crowded to the gills with folks. I was feeling a bit down at the fact that I've been teaching this one for close to 5 years and yet she can't pull together decent questions and answers. But the real disappointment came with Mr. TOEIC tonight. There's nothing more depressing when a student comes raring to go and then finds out that he flunked his test. That smile disappeared in a hurry, so I had to ease him down gently although I could still feel some tension from him at the end. Ironic since 24 hours earlier, The Music Man had just scored a perfect mark on his test.

Well, I'm done for the day but La Fille has some work that she has to get done, and since I'm the only one with the keys. I wasn't planning to head out immediately anyways since the evening rush hour is still going on.

The tough part will continue tomorrow with The Bass since we've completed the last text and we have to come up with a new curriculum. He still wants to work on Listening although since his lessons are cafe-based, it's not easy.

Thursday November 19, 9:11 a.m.

It's definitely looking like November out there today. Overcast, cold and gloomy...reminds me of a Toronto November day. But at least, they can get The Santa Claus Parade over there.

Fairly heavy lineup today. I've got The Nurse, Grandma FON and Mr. TOEIC here at Speedy's while I have to go outbound for The Bow and The New Yorker at two different cafes. I will definitely need my sleep tonight. However, there's always a chance that Mr. TOEIC could cancel out at the last minute, but even if he doesn't, I get to finish at 8:30 instead of last night's 11 p.m.

My entry on Xmas in Mixi certainly got a lot of happy responses from folks. I guess the Japanese are very sentimental about their adopted holiday. I always aims to please. Speaking of the Yuletide in Tokyo, I just read that after an absence of 11 years, Xmas illumination will be returning to Omotesando, which would be a real surprise since the reason that it had been taken down was that the humongous crowds just made it unbearable for the residents who actually lived there. I could understand their feeling. In my first Xmas in Tokyo in 1994, I went down with Chip Guy on Xmas Eve to see what all the fuss was about on Tokyo's widest promenade. Well, the fuss included thousands of young couples being herded down Omotesando like cattle to a slaughterhouse. And it was just as romantic. The cops were yelling at everyone to move along while Chip Guy and I were trapped in a sea of youth. Oh, so this is Christmas in the world's largest city. And of course, being December 24th, finding a restaurant to have dinner was kinda like finding a snowflake in a desert...pretty next to impossible. After creeping down the avenue for 45 minutes (the usual walk would have taken 10), we had to settle for hamburgers at the local Lotteria. Not quite sure what the return of Xmas lights to Omotesando will signify.

Wednesday November 18, 2:11 p.m.

It's been a relatively peaceful couple of days so far. My session with The Beehive yesterday was enhanced by Cozy's food analyst magazines. One of the features was on how to talk about sushi in English. The ladies mopped up on that vocabulary.

The rather fuzzy shot on the left is that of the LED-led Xmas illumination infiltrating Shinjuku. These rather electric blue trees can be found just across from Krispy Kreme #1. There was a 10-minute waiting line outside of the donut shop. Nothing says "Merry Xmas" more than loading up on empty calories.

As has been the case for the past few weeks, it was just The Milds at the juku last night. The boss told me that she had spoken to Mr. White's wife and that it was agreed that Mr. White will just take the rest of the year off to recuperate as best he can before he gives me another go. I can agree with that. As for The Milds, it was definitely Mr. Mild's show last night since he was rattling some of his diary at me followed by my giving him a copy of the Eiken 3 test and then lending him my book of idioms. He was looking at the book with an equal sense of wonder and dread...I guess awe would be the best word here.

The weather has finally gotten sunny after a few days of cold rain. I think the temperature only needed to go down a few more degrees before the whole thing would transform into a blizzard. And despite the fine day, the high is only gonna be around 14 today. That's pretty chilly for Tokyo.

I just have 001 and The Music Man, but I've been pretty busy with a bunch of errands. First off, I sent out some letters to some of my nengajo tomodachi....those "friends" who only make contact through the annual New Year's cards. As per custom whenever a relative passes on, I have to alert everyone that I won't be sending any cards and that the tomodachi should also refrain from sending any to me, lest bad karma hits all concerned. At the same time, I also finally got down to town on what to do about my mail during my absence. Since I no longer wanted to impose on folks like The Milds and the juku boss to pick up my mail over the Holidays, I checked with the neighbourhood post office. Fortunately, the night before, the boss was kind enough to write down what I should request for. And sure enough, I found out that Japan Post can actually hold mail for up to a month. All I had to do was fill out a form with just my name, address and the duration of my absence and that was all she wrote. Too easy! The postmaster there also asked me for some ID...he seemed a bit stern but that was understandable; it would be his head if there were any illegalities committed.

I headed over to Oazo in Otemachi once more. I had my pho at Com Pho. Found out that the place opened right from 9 a.m. Apparently, the salaried class around Tokyo Station don't mind searing their insides in the morning. I had the Spicy Pho with some added hot sauce. It didn't kill me but my mouth was rather numb for an hour or so. I got an early start to lunch at about 11, which was good since by noon, there was a sizable lineup outside the place.

I also went back into Maruzen to see if I could find a Listening-based book for The Bass. Found plenty of texts but nothing that would really challenge him. He was able to handle the intermediate stuff in his last text fairly well although he needed a few passes on the CD, but the material I found would just be insulting to him.

Then, it was one station over to Nihombashi to get a food gift for my newest Mixi friend. He had been kind enough to send over a burned CD of some Xmas music by Ruiko Kurahashi all the way back from 1991. Well, I couldn't just let that go unrewarded so I went into the depachika of Takashimaya and searched for something appropriate. I didn't want to overwhelm him by getting a 4,000-yen box of chocolates or a bottle of wine...when exchanging gifts in this country, parity is very important. So I got him a 1,000-yen bag of Shiseido Xmas chocolates and had it sent out by Yamato Express right from the booth. The Mixi friend left his return address on the envelope that the CD had come in, but I had to look up the postal number. Otherwise, it was clear sailing.

And looks like the Xmas party is a go with the Speedy bunch. It's gonna be held at a restaurant called Ken's Cafe in Shinjuku. According to the website, it looks pretty trendy and there is a not-unreasonable set.

Monday November 16, 7:01 p.m.

Yes, Xmas is in the air...or in the retail areas of Tokyo, at least. This tree is in the Oazo Mall just across from Tokyo Station. Japan is very much into the Xmas spirit. The nighttime illumination is also out in force in Shinjuku.

Yesterday, I had the second half of one of my MB weekends in Jiyugaoka. MB, me and The Sylph had breakfast in a new place called Cafe Copenhagen. Nice breakfast set: coffee, bagel with butter, and homemade yogurt with honey and nuts. I also had one of their slices of apple pie to seal the deal. It would've been perfect if only The Sylph and MB didn't get into an argument in front of me (to be accurate, The Sylph sniffily chewed MB out about something stupidly silly...the usual couple idiocies...you can see my views on marriage have remained unchanged). But the storm quickly dissipated as soon as it had appeared.

While The Sylph went out to meet her friends for lunch, MB and I just doodled around on his latest game purchase, Marvel Alliance II. I don't get to play games much so it was nice getting out some stress by doing some whup-ass as Ironman and Daredevil. Then, the two of us went over one station to Den'en-Chofu to try out a new culinary discovery called Katsukyu, a tonkatsu restaurant. Not exactly cheap at 2,400 yen but the hirekatsu set was very tasty and plentiful. Usually hire katsu is pretty lean and therefore there is a possibility of getting something a little too dry, but this one came out pretty juicy for a hire...almost ranked in as a rosu. And the de rigueur miso soup was made with aka (red) miso, always a sign of class in such an establishment. The two of us basically waddled our way back to the apartment. It was then another round of Marvel Alliance before I headed back home.

It was another early wake-up call this morning since I had Cozy in Toyocho. At the end of the lesson, he was kind enough to give me some of his food analyst magazines. Yep, you heard me. There are such people around...people who undergo through seminar-based training and restaurant-based experience to get qualification as food analysts. According to one of the magazines, these folks can help out in anything from food design to cuisine blogs and secret supermarket inspections. TV personality tarento Kaoru Manabe is the celeb representative; I usually see her hawking zit cream on TV. If her food credentials include chocolate ingesting, then she truly is a shrewd operator. In any case, Cozy's contribution goes back to our dinner with the juku boss a couple of months ago when he noticed me taking pictures of the dishes. Frankly, though I do like cuisine, I'm not sure if I would go the lengths to become a food analyst to know that I like the stuff.

Now, on another topic, I went down to that huge post office across from Tokyo Station to see if I could get some questions answered about Japan Post being able to hold onto my mail during my absence over the Holidays...only to find out that the big building is under demolition. Well, I guess I'll have to do more investigating via Internet then. I did some further walking around Ginza and then lunch before I headed to see SIL. SIL and I had a bonanza of stuff to talk about since last week was chock-full of news: Obama, Ichihashi, Akihito, etc. I think amongst all of my students, SIL is probably the most in-tune when it comes to Japanese pop culture, quite something considering that she's in her mid-50s, but then again a lot of her knowledge is based in the 60s/70s/80s, also my era.

...which reminds me when I was browsing around in the DVD area of Yamano Music. Recently, the various TV stations have been releasing box sets of some of the old shows. I came across a new set of a variety show that I'd watched pretty religiously 20 years back. The program, "Yamada Katsutenai Terebi", featured Kuniko Yamada, back then the Queen of Variety. The lantern-jawed comedienne was basically the Carol Burnett of Japan, and every Wednesday night on Fuji-TV back during my Gunma days, I turned on the telly at 9 p.m. to watch her and her Vicki, Lyle, Tim and Harvey....otherwise known as tarento Toru Watanabe, Hiroko Moriguchi, Hikaru Nishida and Tsutomu Sekine (the last one still quite active and now with a daughter, Mari, becoming a familiar face on contemporary primetime), horse about and showcasing some of the now-natsukashii singers who were hitting the top of the pops: Kan and Mariko Nagai. I feel rather tempted in getting the box set but, of course, 10,000 yen has to give me pause.

After SIL, I went over to Shinjuku to pick up the latest issue of "Hikaru no Go" at Kinokuniya and then browse around for a potential replacement text for The Bass. When I made my purchase, I found out that the bookstore has finally gotten onto the point card bandwagon. Sure enough, outside, there was plenty of LED Xmas illumination all over South Shinjuku.

Got over to Speedy's. The bossman finally got the Xmas party set for December 6th, a rare Sunday at a place called Ken's Cafe in Shinjuku. He and the missus tried to get in to check the place out but it had already been rented out for a wedding party. Perhaps a good sign.

Also found out that the last weekend of the month will be a very social one. On the 28th, I'm heading to a nabe party at the house of my old university friend, The Socialite, and then the next day, I've been invited indirectly by a probably-former student, Ms. Honolulu, to her apartment in Shinagawa. Apparently, my reputation has preceded me...Mrs. Speedy told me that Ms. Honolulu wants me to come over as early as possible to entertain her friends with my comedic regaling. Ay, ya!

I've got Medicine Man in a couple of hours. I just don't know what to do with that guy. Told me last class, he really doesn't want to talk about himself in class. Sheesh...why bother learning English then?

Sunday November 15, 1:23 a.m.

Went down to Shinjuku to meet up with MB, The Sylph and Frodo at the Picadilly. It'd been a while since we all met for a movie. And the movie was "Push", an emo-"X-Men" with Chris Evans (formerly the Human Torch from "The Fantastic Four") and a snarly, sweary Dakota Fanning (I guess this is her debut into more mature roles...just wish it had been in a better movie). Afterwards, the four of us agreed that it was a nice try with an interesting idea, but the execution didn't quite take. Although I liked the fact that it was entirely filmed on location in Hong Kong, the movie didn't move so much as it shuffled along like a sullen teenage slacker going to detention. The end was just telegraphing sequel but most likely if there is one, it'll be straight to DVD and most likely without any of the major lead actors.

We ended up having dinner at Erewan, a Thai restaurant chain in Shinjuku. The food was great, including one searingly hot plate of ground chicken and spices. The service was a bit inept but I gather that the waitresses were new, and they looked like they were trying hard.

The commute over to MB's place was typically packed on both the Yamanote and Toyoko Lines, but it is a tribute to Japanese society that despite the sardine-like nature of the subways, getting on and off was very smooth.

Everyone seemed pretty beat tonight....I guess dealing with a mediocre movie and very spicy & filling food conked just about everyone out. I'm the only guy still up but I'll be getting my shower and hitting the hay within the hour.

Saturday November 14, 2:09 p.m.

Hard to believe that we've already reached the middle of the penultimate month of the year. It's starting to feel quite wintry with the drop in temperatures.

Just had The Publicity Assistant right now. She hasn't been too busy as of late. She's always quite a good conversationalist. Found out that she was once in the top 10 one year amongst all elementary school students in Japan for her calligraphy.

Well, the most famous African-American in the world arrived in Tokyo without a whole lot of fanfare, but then the weather last night just didn't make it too hospitable for the folks to come out and greet him. Then again, it was all business with Barack Obama...no handshaking lines, no dinner outings to Ten-Ichi. He is here for another 24 hours before he takes off for Singapore tomorrow. It's a bit weird since PM Hatoyama has already left for the APEC meetings there. But on the off chance that he may drop into Shinjuku tonight, I have my digital camera ready to go.

Yup, after my lesson with The Businesswoman in 45 minutes, I'll be meeting with MB later tonight to catch "Push", which would be the poor-man's "X-Men". The rather harsh reviewer for METROPOLIS actually gave the flick a guarded thumbs-up, so as long as I don't have any high expectations, I shouldn't be too disappointed. And it'll be another MB weekend at his place; it's been a while.

I listened to that "Christmas Portrait" with The Carpenters. I bought it since I'd heard one track of it, "Merry Christmas, Darling" on one of their best compilations. The album itself wasn't too bad, but I think I have to be even more into the Xmas spirit to really appreciate it. The arrangement just seemed a bit too treacly for me....a bit on the DeVol side of things.

Friday November 13, 1:24 p.m.

Well, the witching day is here. A ferry turns 45 degrees the wrong way off the Pacific coast, and I go nuts on the purchases. Hopefully, the President has no problems on Air Force One. He should be arriving within the next few hours.

I picked up my new gaijin card...or should I be more politically correct and say Alien Registration Card? I feel like an immigrant from off-planet at MIB HQ whenever I say that. I went over to the branch office and sure enough, the reject from GLAY was there to take care of me. My card is now off-white with a few holo-stamps on it; my photo still screams "Do not approach...extremely dangerous!"

As I headed down to Shibuya, I did notice the increased presence of cops there. There were two officers on the platform at Shibuya Station, one on that yellow block as is often the case, as if he were saying loudly "I'M ON DUTY NOW!" And as I was heading up to Tower Records, three cops were encircling an ordinary woman; looks like she was getting the 3rd degree since she was hurriedly unloading an orange duffel bag in front of them. I couldn't imagine what kind of offensive weapons she could've been carrying....used tampons?

At Tower Records, I'm sure the staff was quite happy with me. I bought a couple of discs there, which positively screamed "ARAFO!" which is the Japlish transcription of "Around 40". One was an old Mariya Takeuchi album "Variety" from 1984 which has one of my favourite J-AOR songs, "Plastic Love" (yeah, no snickering). The other one is The Carpenters' Xmas album since that mood is starting to drop in on me like Pon Farr onto a Vulcan. But what increased my bill was finding the latest in the "The Original Peanuts" series on the shelf on the 7th floor.

After grabbing lunch at The Golden Arches, I just got onto the bus from Shibuya Station and headed back up to here at Speedy's. I've only got Miss Prissy here today and then I'll be heading on home before the juku classes.

It's definitely feeling a whole lot more like Winter now. There is that overcast gloominess to the sky while everyone is putting on the coats and scarves. It looks like the clouds may just unload some of the dry, fluffy stuff right on us.

Thursday November 12, 10:47 p.m.

Opened the place up this morning and now I'll be closing everything up tonight. Long day. But I got The Music Man through his review more or less intact and I'll be out the door in about 5 minutes.

Gotta head to the City Hall branch office in Gyotoku tomorrow morning to pick up my new gaijin card. I kinda wonder if that GLAY band member will be handling me as well. I'll have to say hello to Mr. Ichihashi.

I don't know how the traffic will be like tomorrow with all that security roaming the city in preparation for Barack Obama's arrival into town. I'm sure the morning wide shows will be having their full court press on the visit.

Thursday November 12, 8:29 p.m.

Just digesting my dinner (which included a wedge of Camembert on a Cracotte...thank heavens for the generosity of our senior students) before The Music Man comes in about 45 minutes. I guess it's been another long whole day here at Speedy's. Won't be nearly as present here tomorrow since I only have Miss Prissy in the afternoon, but I do have the juku folks since it will be Friday.

I had The Carolinan a couple of hours earlier. She told me that there was a definite heightened presence of the police everywhere in Tokyo, so I guess things are now in preparation for President Obama's visit tomorrow. The official celebration for The Emperor's and Empress' anniversary was held earlier in the afternoon. As for Obama, The Carolinan and I were speculating on where he and Michelle would be staying. The venerable Hotel Okura is one option since it is literally next door to the fortress known as the U.S. Embassy; the other place is the Akasaka Palace which was designed after one of the palaces in France. Wherever they stay, there'll be another media scrum although nothing compared to the bedlam that surrounded the arrest of Tatsuya Ichihashi a couple of nights ago. It may be the only time in Obama's presidency that Barack would be upstaged by a 30-year-old sociopath.

Thursday November 12, 5:20 p.m.

May have encountered some controversy on the "Star Trek" Mixi community via a question I posted. I realize that it was a bit of a fantastical question and the answer that I got was skeptical but polite so I'm not too worried yet. Ironically, I thought that that community would be the most welcoming but it seems that I've been getting the cold shoulder there for some reason. Some of the other communities have been quite good to me. However, after over 6 months being active on Mixi, I have to realize that when on a social networking site, it won't always be goodness and light all the time. Hopefully, I won't be getting any Channel 2 flame wars.

Thursday November 12, 12:32 p.m.

Well, got the first half of my lessons today done. I had the double with Grandma Dynamite earlier...worked on vowel pronounciation and the Past Continuous. Then with Grandma FON, we basically just talked about her pilgrimage to her lodge up in Nagano Prefecture. She was supposed to have come last week but she got snowed in up there. It's amazing that at the age of 78, she can handle the roads in her car with aplomb.

Now, it's just The Carolinan and The Music Man later tonight.

The next couple of days could see a lot of nervous breakdowns amongst the security types here. President Obama and The First Lady are due here tomorrow on Friday the 13th, and then apparently, the official celebrations happen today for the Golden Anniversary of the Emperor and Empress's wedding. Heck, perhaps even the media types might be reaching for the Bufferin.

Thursday November 12, 11:21 a.m.

The sturm und drang from yesterday has gone off into the distance, and Grandma FON has just arrived. Ah, more later...

Wednesday November 11, 9:28 p.m.

Had my two lessons with The German and 001 today. Both of them went happily swimmingly. The German and I always end up sidetracking massively...perhaps even more so than with 001. Which is kinda why I'm happy that she's scheduled her next lesson on a Tuesday, a day that I'm not available here at Speedy's. I think some of the bossman's ministrations would be good for her. As for 001, we kept it going quite well since we got onto the topic of Xmas celebration.

Speaking of the Holidays, I've got a bit of a dilemma. I was going to ask The Milds again for their help during my absence in terms of mail collection. But then I got second thoughts since I really don't want to impose on them. I'd heard that the post office could hold onto the mail while I'm gone but I'm not 100% certain of this so I've once again sent the question to my Mixi friends. Hopefully, they'll come to the rescue.

Tomorrow ought to be a busy day since I've got Grandmas Dynamite and FON in the morning, followed by The Carolinan and The Music Man in the evening.

Wednesday November 11, 3:29 p.m.

See that fellow on the left? His name is Tatsuya Ichihashi. As you may have guessed, despite the kanji, this is a wanted poster. Well, he's wanted no more. In what had to have been one of the biggest media feeding frenzies in recent Japanese memory, this guy was finally caught after nearly 3 years on the run for having allegedly killed a female British NOVA teacher in his apartment...just near my neighbourhood. Yup, he was living perhaps a stone's throw away from my neck of the woods. For the past 2 years and 7 months, I had become accustomed to seeing his face on posters all over the neighbourhood. At the very least, he is being charged with abandonment of a body...Lindsay Ann Hawker was found barely buried in a bathtub (!) filled with sand on his balcony. Police had a chance to grab him right then and there back in the Spring of 2007, but the man was just too fast for them and took off.

To be frankly honest, I'd thought he had committed suicide and was now residing at the bottom of Tokyo Bay. But then came the news a week ago that Ichihashi had undergone plastic surgery in Nagoya after being rejected at a clinic in Fukuoka. It is truly ironic that the man's attempt to further conceal himself ended up getting him captured. I had a feeling that once the man's (new) face got onto the screens again, it wouldn't be long. I guess in a way that his emergence to refreshed eyes finally sealed his fate.

I'd gotten home from the juku when I caught the news on NHK that the punk got nabbed waiting for a ferry for Okinawa. He didn't put up a fuss when the police confirmed who he was. However, the media just went hog wild. I thought that the scrum at Shin-Osaka Station where he had been put onto the Shinkansen was pretty wild. But his arrival at Tokyo Station at midnight was the stuff of legend. It was as if Michael Jackson's ghost had come back onto this plane of existence via a train platform. The police and Ichihashi were nearly consumed by dozens of cameramen and reporters; it was looking downright dangerous right from the platform and to the front of the station where the van was waiting for him. I don't think I'd ever witnessed this much of a scrum in my 15 years here...not even with Noriko Sakai, and not even with the arrest of the guru of Aum Shinrikyo, Shoko Asahara.

I watched the journey of the police van and various media motorcycles via helicopter camera as it went from Tokyo and into Chiba and into Ichikawa...about a 20-minute ride considering that it was past midnight. And then there was the scrum again (although it was more orderly than the chaos at Tokyo Station) at Gyotoku Police Station, perhaps just 20 minutes' walk away from my apartment. I could hear the news choppers overhead. And then Ichihashi's odyssey finally came to an end as he was escorted into the station.

Much of the time, Ichihashi's head had been covered with a coat but as he was dragged into the van in front of Tokyo Station, the coat was taken off. He had that typically sullen look of a criminal, but there was also that expression of resignation to his fate. Perhaps he is relieved that the run is finally over. I can only hope that the killer of that university student in Shimane Prefecture can be caught a whole lot sooner.

Monday November 9, 11:09 a.m.

Did what has become my new Monday morning routine which is to teach Cozy at the bleary-eyed time of 8 a.m. in Toyocho. And since apparently I won't be seeing Swank for a little while, I have come back here to the I-Cafe to relax until SIL's lesson at 2.

Yesterday was over to The Jyuppies. They're getting close to their moving day; they'll be heading over to new digs in Futako-Tamagawa which is slightly further west of their soon-to-be former Komazawa Park townhouse. In a way, it's a bit of a pity that they're moving to the allegedly tonier neighbourhood since I think K Park seems much more family-friendly. Earlier in the day, I went to Gaienmae to search for that shop where The Admin and her husband had been holding their exhibition, but after walking and looking around for the place for close to an hour, I had to abandon the search due to lack of time. So, I just ended up having lunch at the Omotesando Wendy's. It was a nice walk through Aoyama Cemetery again.

Newswise, the stations have been keeping watch on that grisly case of that murdered girl in Hiroshima Prefecture. Her head had been found in the mountains, and then yesterday, the police managed to find her torso some 80 m away. The clues are slowly starting to build up....forensics are saying that she may have been strangled. I'm hoping that there will be an arrest sometime this week.

Probably around 15 minutes ago, the verdict on Noriko Sakai was given...and I'm sure to a very attentive press. Just like my checkup results, there's probably no need to check. Prosecutors were asking for an 18-month sentence which will probably mean that she'll get that suspended for 5 years just like Manabu Oshio. Not sure if there was any full court press on what she was wearing in the courtroom.

Ended up watching another Kevin Kline movie last night....a much more fun outing than "De-Lovely". I first saw "Dave" at the theatres back in the hometown nearly 20 years ago. It was a very enjoyable and poignant take on "The Prisoner of Zenda" done against the backdrop of the White House. There was definitely a very Capraesque feel to the proceedings. "Dave" was directed by "Ghostbusters" boss Ivan Reitman; not sure if he also did it, but around the same time, there was "Groundhog Day", another whimsical fantasy grounded in the present day. Ah, I think that was Harold Ramis.

I kinda feel like I'm in that transitional seasonal phase. We're beyond Halloween and all that media talk on the seasonal foods such as ayu and matsutake, but we're not into the Xmas mood, despite all of the department store frills. It just feels rather November-ish.

In any case, I have that rare non-holiday Monday off...after SIL, that'll be it for me since Medicine Man won't be coming in today. I will enjoy today.

Saturday November 7, 3:18 p.m.

Finished the classes. No big problems there. I decided to try purchasing my concert ticket online but that verdammt "Verified By Visa" program has screwed me over again. For some reason, whenever I tried to input my code, the numbers wouldn't show up. Looks like I'll have to do it analog and buy it in Kanda.

Well, I'm gonna get out of here before tickets totally sell out.

Saturday November 7, 9:10 a.m.

Well, I had my first dinner at my old neighbourhood tonkatsu restaurant in a few months since I'd boycotted the place due to what I thought was reneging on a coupon. It was nice to have a mouthful of hire katsu once again.

When I got to the juku, the boss was once again mewling about her computer illiteracy. This time, it was about some "dreaded" message from Norton Security. All it turned out to be was an offer to upgrade her current software; obviously since her computer is brand new...there's no urgent need right now. On a somewhat more serious note, since I'm now down to just The Milds for one hour on Tuesdays, the boss has broached the topic of perhaps moving The Milds to Fridays from next year. Hmmm....it may be possible although I'm not sure whether the couple may be doing stuff on that night.

Today is relatively busy at Speedy's. I've got Mr. TOEIC in about an hour, followed in quick succession by The Intellectual and The Publicity Agent...basically, the usual Saturday crew. But I'll be done by 2 o'clock. I'm hoping to pick up that ticket for the Ruiko Kurahashi concert next month at the Ticket Pia machine in my local conbini. I guess on that note, convenience stores truly are what they say.

Newswise, I'm sure Hideki Matsui is basking in the glow of not only his team's World Series win, but also for getting the MVP title. Once all of the confetti and champagne have been washed out of his hair, he'll be arriving in Japan to a hero's welcome. I can imagine that Ichiro is just biting his chin stubble in absolute envy.

Ichihashi...that name is an unfortunate blast from the past. He's the young punk who murdered that English teacher, Lindsay Ann Hawker, near my neighbourhood a few years ago. I'd always thought he had killed himself, but apparently the police are now saying that he has undergone plastic surgery in Nagoya, and have now shown possible new looks. My question is how Ichihashi could not have been noticed by staffers who are supposedly trained to look at faces critically.

Then, just this morning, we got word that the head of a missing co-ed from Shimane Prefecture was found in the forest near Hiroshima. We may not have a lot of crime in this country, but a lot of what we go through is pretty grisly.

20 years ago, a Wall came down. But 40 years ago, a Street went up. Sesame Street, that is. Apparently, they're having their anniversary from next Tuesday. I think I still have the original record album somewhere back home. I'm still not sure about that Bert & Ernie cohabitation thing.

Friday November 6, 4:27 p.m.

Pretty quiet couple of days...almost feels like a weekend, especially since I often work on them. Case in point, I saw The Bow as my only student of the day yesterday in Shinjuku. Looks like since the launch of Dyson's Air Multiplier, there has been some blowback of sorts. The London Telegraph has dug up some stuff from years back stating that Toshiba may have come up with the idea of a bladeless fan some 28 years ago. And apparently, some of those famed Dyson vacuum cleaners have been literally burning customers due to some poorly insulated cording.

I did pick up a couple of discs from HMV and Tower Records. The former had me pick up the 8th DVD of Ken Burns' "Jazz"...mostly focusing on the birth of Be-Bop and Charlie Bird Parker. Watching this series kinda feels like getting the university-level education on the genre.
Then at Tower's, I got "Star Trek". The official release is today but Tower Records often starts selling awaited goods a day ahead of schedule, bless its red-and-yellow heart. I did love the gag reel in which apparently between takes, the Bridge served as an impromptu disco. And who'da thought that Zachary Quinto would be such a cut-up?

Nothing today until the juku classes tonight. Looks like my Tuesdays there are just shrinking; a few years ago, I could look forward to 4.5 hours of classes, but now it looks like I'll only have The Milds for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately but not surprisingly, Mr. White is pulling out for November. After seeing him in his emotional state over a week ago, I just couldn't see myself teaching him until he gets some serious help.

MB is once again itching to have DVD Night, and Skippy is itching to catch "Inglorious Basterds" which will come out later this month.

Wednesday November 4, 10:48 p.m.

After nearly 15 hours here at the school, I'm about ready to go home. I never thought I would be pulling these hours after a decade and a half in Japan. But hey, it's a living. Didn't eat dinner but didn't really need to, after engorging myself on free sushi and chocolates. Not exactly a healthy diet but it was great on my wallet. However, I've got a sneaking suspicion that my stomach may give me some rumbles by the time I hit home.

Good night!