Tokyo visit, Yotsuya, Asakusa, and Shinjuku at night

Last week me and my girlfriend Yuuki spent time in Tokyo enjoying the nice weather, shopping, and reminiscing about the past. First we headed to Yotsuya and Akasaka, to see Sophia University where I had studied back in 2001 and 2002. I had wanted to go visit my old neighborhood of Yotsuya for a while to take some pictures. I had been unable to take many pictures during my time there in 2001 and 2002 thanks to my camera breaking. But I also had wanted to visit some old areas around there that I hadn't been to in a long while.

Yotsuya is pretty much the same as it was 7 years ago, however Sophia is no where close to looking the same as it had. The dorm I lived in has been gone for years, replaced with an empty space waiting to be developed. The new building that was just starting to be built as I left, is not only completed but joined by other new buildings. In many ways, the Sophia I knew is gone forever. And yet the memories I had then came flooding back as I walked the roads around the university, and on the way to Akasaka. It was a hard trip for me emotionally, but I kept it together. In the end it was fun to see the old places again. I'll post more pictures of it soon. In a way while the Sophia I remember is no longer there, I'm OK with that, as its an experience that only could exist for a short time I think. And anyway the memories will always be close to my heart where they are most needed.

After that me and Yuuki spent some time in Akasaka, and then shopping in the Ginza. We then headed to Asakusa to see Sensoji Temple and to shop for some Christmas gifts. Asakusa is a touristy place in many ways, lots of old gift shops selling toys and gifts foreigners and others would love to take home. Its a nice place of town, but kind of crowded. The reason people come there is because of an important building. The Buddhist temple there, Sensoji Temple, is very stunning and a great place to visit.

As you can see the place was very busy. This being a Sunday, and a beautiful day at that, it was packed with many people from all over Japan as well as many foreigners. Many came to pray, others just to view an important and famous building, and others came to shop the many old style shops along the road to the temple. It had a feel of classical Japan to it.

Unfortunately the main building of the temple was under renovation. While we could inside we couldn't see its exterior of course. At least they were able to put up a very nice banner to cover it with. I bought many gifts for my family for Christmas in Asakusa. It was quite funny traveling there, almost 8 years to the day that I had gone before to get gifts for my family the first time I went there. I felt a sense of remembrance very similar to when I was in Yotsuya earlier in the day.

At this point we headed to Akihabara for some quick video game and anime shopping, as well as a nice stop into a Burger King store. Funny story about that, someone brought their pet rabbits to the resturant and left them outside while they ate inside. Every customer who left was quite surprised at the site. We then headed to Shinjuku to go look for books in a book store I love to go to many times when I lived there. When we got there we found a wonderful Christmas decoration exhibit that had gone up in the last few weeks. It was a wonderful site seeing all the trees lit up nicely.

Above is a picture of Yuuki, my girlfriend sitting next to one of the trees lit up. We both had a fantastic time. Its always great to go back to Tokyo for a visit. While I love Yamanashi so much and am so glad I live here, I still consider Tokyo to be my Japanese hometown in many ways. So its really a pleasure to see everything again. In the next few days I'll post a few more pics of my visit.

Medical Problems Galore

The last month and a half has been a frustrating time for me health wise. Its times like this that I am very thankful for the insurance plan I have with the government. Many foreigners complain about it, but its really been a big help for me the past year, and especially this month. The day after my birthday I unfortunately had a small but nasty little bicycle accident. To make a long story short, I was trying to bike on the sidewalks here, but they tend to disappear out of no where and end in big cement blocks. Since it was at night and my light on my bike was not working well, I couldn't see this at all and I hit it. I ended up falling off the bike and landing on the cement block wall. My hand had a large deep cut in it and my leg had a gigantic bump on it and it was impossible to walk.

Thankfully I was able to get to the hospital thanks to the help of my girlfriend. But we had a hard time finding one that would accept me. Since it wasn't a major emergency I had to go to a smaller one. Thankfully once we got there we found out nothing was broken and they taped up my hand real well. I couldn't walk well for days and my hand has a nice scar now. Also I had to dig deep into my savings, something I just started doing, and buy a new bike. At the request of my friends and coworkers, I bought an expensive road bike. This as they suggested, would be better for me as it would be stronger. However its a bit inconvenient as it doesn't have a kickstand, lock, or a basket. I still have my old bike but its not the best shape so I rarely use it.

So after that I spent time healing and I thought things would get better, I ended up catching a very nasty cold. Unlike the one I got this summer, this one ended up including a very high fever that lasted a week. The worst part about it was that it was making my asthma very bad as well. At the same time the swine flu had hit my school and many of my students had caught the virus. Because of this I had to make sure about my condition. I went to the doctor and after taking a test I was told I didn't have the virus, and that it was just a nasty cold. I have to say if that was a cold, I'm afraid of what the swine flu would be like for me as that cold was terrible.

In between those two events, mostly I have been trying to relax and prepare for the upcoming end of the year break. I did celebrate Halloween this year and made a costume for the first time in a long time. I went as the character "Tomodachi" from the manga "20th Century Boys." I will post a picture of the costume soon. I also have been going out to eat a lot at some nice restaurants with my girlfriend Yuuki. Those trips are always a lot of fun.

With December just a few days a way I really am starting to get excited for my big vacation. I'm hoping to go do a lot this year, from parties, to sight seeing, to spending time with Yuuki, and some relaxation at home with Final Fantasy XIII. It will be a ton of fun. Also I have plans for a visit to Tokyo in a week. And sometime soon I'm going to go to Tokyo Disneyland and Matsumoto. It will be a blast!

31 and one last look at my old Sophia website

Today was my 31st birthday, and without a doubt it was the best I've experienced. I had been waiting for weeks for it and today my waiting was well rewarded. I spent the day with my girlfriend who helped make the day very special. Not only did she get me a wonderful strawberry and chocolate cake, but a brand new watch. I've been needing one for a very long time. I also got some new clothes for the winter, which is something I've really needed. The day then ended with a special dinner. I was taken to a very nice restaurant, izakaya style, on the top floor of one of the nice restaurants in Kofu. We were given a nice window view of the city at night from 13 floors up. We had a wonderful dinner, having shabu shabu beef, some sashimi, and noodles. I even was given flowers and a special picture for my birthday as part of the meal.

It really was a great day for me. The last couple of years in Yamanashi my birthday had been a disappointing day, especially two years ago with the fall of NOVA just days away from occurring. To finally have such a special day as today with such a special person, made me very very happy.

One last thing for today. In just one week, my old website, which has been online for 13 years now, will go offline thanks to Geocities being closed. My pictures and words of my time at Sophia university in Tokyo will then be taken offline. I hope to have them back online as soon as I can, but until then it would be good to have one last look at my old website.

http://www.geocities.com/bebopcowboy

Picture time

Today has been a bad day. I cut my face real bad this afternoon. I'm OK now but at the time I thought I would need stitches. Thankfully there was no need. But enough of my problems, time for some pictures! Here are a few from some of my recent trips:

First a picture of me near the unique Fuji TV building in Odaiba.

This picture is from the ferris wheel in Odaiba. If you look real closely to the left, you can see the Gundam statue.

Another picture of the Fuji TV building from he opposite side.

Here is a picture of the rainbow bridge connecting Odaiba to the rest of Tokyo. In the background is Tokyo Tower.

One of the main lakes surrounding Mt. Fuji. This is from my camping trip.

This picture is of Mt. Fuji covered in clouds. Two years in a row this has happened for the camping trip.

A nice small waterfall from the campgrounds.

A smiling sunflower from a place near my home.

Picture taken from Ryuo station. This is the small town of Kai City, where I live. Nice view of Mt. Fuji and many other mountains.

I will have more pictures to post later tonight.

Back to writing after a much needed rest

Well its been two months since I last posted something on the blog. To be honest I needed time away as life has been pretty busy as of late. Whether its the continued frustration of work, to lots of fun at home, I just haven't had the time to write as much. Most of the last two months have been just very busy. I had to go to camp for a few days, long nights at work, and weekends where my schedule was packed. But at least I haven't gotten too sick yet.

For fun I've done many things. I went to a place called Kiyosato which has a nice scenic view to it. Lots of wonderful mountain views. I will try to post some pictures soon. I also went to Tokyo for some shopping a few times, and of course camp near Mt. Fuji. Sadly the days we went there was a torrential rainstorm which caused problems for everyone.

In August there was a one week vacation for the Japanese holiday of Obon. During that week I spent the majority of it with my girlfriend, having fun and relaxing. I also ended up playing more Dragon Quest IX. I finally beat the main quest last night, but I still have hours upon hours of post main game fun to play.

September has been a quiet month. Its good for me though as I want to relax more, and save some money for once. Thankfully I have lots of things to keep me busy. My backlog of games, dvds, manga, books, and so on can keep me busy for probably a year. Hopefully I can get through a lot of them the next few months.

I am already looking forward to next month. My birthday will be then and it looks like it will be a very special one this year. I can't wait!

Videos of the Gundam in Odaiba

Here are some videos I took of the Gundam in Odaiba. If you click on them you can watch them in HD.

This first one shows some of the special effects that went on during a short performance. You can see steam coming from its engines and its head move.

Here you can get an idea how big it is compared to those viewing it, as well as to see a little bit of how big the crowd was. It was very crowded.

New Camera, Dragon Quest IX, Tokyo, and Gundam

Last week was a very eventful week for me. Being that I had payday this week, it was time for me to enjoy life and have fun. My first plan was to finally buy a new camera. I actually haven't had a real camera in a very long time. A few months back I chose a digital camera that I liked, the Panasonic Lumix Fx40. Its a nice, small camera, that has a lot of features. One of my favorites is being able to record HD videos. So on Friday I picked one up at the store. At the same time I was finally able to pick up the DS game "Infinite Space," which I had been unable to get a week ago due to it selling out.

The next day however an even bigger game was going on sale, Dragon Quest IX. Dragon Quest is one of the biggest video game series in all of Japan, and whenever one goes on sale its an event. Or at least its supposed to be. This time with so many stores having pre orders, including just about every connivence store in the country, there were no lines. But when I went to buy it at lunch on that Saturday at the local 7/11 run supermarket, there were loads of people buying it. I have been playing it over the weekend and its really a lot of fun, just like all Dragon Quest games.

Then on Sunday me and my girlfriend headed to Tokyo for some more sightseeing and shopping. One of the main reasons for going this time was to head to Odaiba, a island in Tokyo bay famous for being the location of the Fuji TV building. But it also has many shops and a huge convenction center. But now it is also the home, for the next two months, of an unique exhibit. A full scale replica of the original Gundam giant robot. This 1/1 scale momenument has been the talk of everyone in Japan, and has even made the news outside Japan as well. It officially opened to the public on Saturday, so I was seeing it on its 2nd official day. We had to walk quite a far way to get to the exhibit. It was pretty funny as we got closer and could see the head peaking through the top of the parks' trees.

When we reached the exhibit, there were a ton of people there, all of course taking pictures of the giant robot. It really was pretty huge. When we got there a nice show had begun, where the Gundam started to move its head, and steam started to come from its thrusters and engines. Everyone in the crowd went "owwwwww" at the site. What was surprising was that we were allowed to go up to the Gundam, walk under it, and even touch it. It was an awesome sight!

And surrounding it was of course many temporary shops selling so many things. As well as a nice view of Tokyo Bay, and the Rainbow bridge. Both me and my girlfriend had a great time. We then headed to the ferris wheel on the island. This was the first time I had ever ridden a ferris wheel in my life. It was quite nice and gave a nice view of the bay. You could even see the Gundam from the wheel, even at its far distance. We then went shopping for clothes in Odaiba and Shinjuku, and a little shopping in Akihabara, and then came home. Sadly I seem to have caught a cold in Tokyo as I'm not feeling well now. Hopefully it goes away soon.

In the end, it was a great weekend! I bought a lot of things including some Xbox games from America (I can't wait to get through Ghostbusters!), Dragon Quest, the Gundam, lots of great time with my girlfriend, and no stress. And best of all. Lots of pictures. I'll post a lot of them in the coming days!

How are my 2009 goals coming along?

Six months ago I made a list of goals I had for 2009. I decided this week to look back at them and see how I have progressed. Heres an update:

1. Visit Kyoto and Osaka - Not yet. Plans are being thought up for a trip this year still, but timing and other matters have caused me not to go yet. But I will hopefully soon.

2. Go skiing - Failed. I had planned on going skiing in the winter, but couldn't get anyone to come along with me. Plus other life matters got in the way. There's a chance I could go in December, but its looking more like a 2010 goal now.

3. Improve my Japanese and take the JLPT - Some success. My Japanese has improved a little I've been told, thanks to practice. But I missed out on the summer JLPT test. Maybe Ill take the fall test, but I haven't decided yet.

4. Concerts - Success. I saw Hamasaki Ayumi is a fantastic concert, and I plan on seeing a couple of more this year. But the one great concert makes this goal a success.

5. See my old friends from Sophia more - Failure so far. Again life in Kofu has made this sadly not happen. Its especially sad for me lately as I've started to think about my old friends there again a lot more.

6. Climb Mt. Fuji - Failed before it had a chance. With my knee problems and my asthma this summer, there is no way I'll be able to climb Mt. Fuji this year. A pity as I really want to try.

7. Make more friends, especially Japanese friends - Major success. Last year I made many new friends, but unfortunately I've lost touch with many of them. That made me sad, so I wanted to make sure that didn't happen again this year. And thankfully it hasn't. Especially since I have met my true new special friend, my girlfriend. I'm so happy about that, and I know Ill be even more successful with this goal in the next six months.

While there have been some failures, there have been lots of success too. While these are my main goals I do have other ones. For example, be a better teacher, get healthier, save money, catch up on things, and more. Hopefully I can succeed at everything.

Plans for the week

Last week thankfully was a very nice quiet one for me. Work was lacking the amount of stress that had been bugging me the past few weeks. My hope is that it continues that way for me this week but chances are that wont happen since work is going to be getting a little more difficult in the next few weeks. Camp is coming up and while I am looking forward to it, I also can't wait for it to be over.

With pay day coming up this week, I'm thinking of finally picking up a digital camera. I've had one picked out for a few months now but I've had other things that had to be paid for before I could get one. Hopefully I can post some real good pics and videos soon. Also I really want to go to Tokyo soon. The official unveiling of the life size Gundam is this week, so I want to go see it myself.

Evangelion 2.0 and the end of a terrible week at work

Well Saturday has come and gone and thankfully so has my week of observations at work, and after the terrible morning I had, I'm glad I won't have to worry about them again for a long time. I had thought that I had made some steps in the right direction, but that feeling came to a halt immediately after my first two classes when instead of having lunch I received a nice long chat with a co worker about my classes. It wasn't an experience I want to relive nor do I want to explain here. It was so bad, every other worker at my job came to me afterwords seriously concerned about my feeling. I got through the day, but I was pretty sad as I left work.

Thankfully tonight I had a great dinner with my girlfriend, who really cheered me up so much, and I got to see the brand new Evangelion movie! It opened today in Japan and even here in Kofu there were long lines to see the film. Of course only one theater is showing it in Kofu, but thats better than when the first new film came out in 2007, when it premiered in Kofu over a month after its showings in Tokyo. The film was pretty good, but it made major changes to the story from the original. In many ways, its like the new Star Trek film. The characters are similar, some of the look and scenes are similar, but the story has major differences from the original. There was one scene in particular that will shock some fans of the show in its change, and the ending of the film takes a particular important and memorable scene from the series and makes it even more important, and speeds up the story itself. There's even a brand new character in the film that confused me more than anything.

In the end, just like the first of the new Evangelion films, the film was a blast. Great animation, great music, a interesting new look at the Evangelion universe, and more. I can't wait for the Bluray disk of the film to come out, and hopefully movie three won't take two years to come out like movie one did.

Doctors visit, aka how I finally had my knee looked at

Well after worrying for a few weeks I finally went to the doctor today. It was quite a strange morning as I woke up to the news of the death of Michael Jackson. Quite a shock to wake up to that news. After that me and my girlfriend headed to one of the local clinics, one that focused on injuries. I had a x-ray and an examination and was told that my injury was one that many people get when they are young and do lots of sports. This is how I originally hurt my knee when I was young. I was told that unfortunately that its a permanent injury and that at this point all I can do is try to treat the injury and the pain as best as I can. However if the swelling in the knee gets bigger again, which it sometimes does, I'll have to have surgery on it in the future.

The doctor visit finished with a strange electronic message of my knee, that was quite weird. Afterwords I got some medicine and a knee supporter to wear when I walk and ride a bicycle. I wore it today and it was hard at first to walk, but it got better. Sadly my knee still is very sore at the moment, but I know what the problem is now and I know what I need to do to fix it.

In other things in life, I have now finished four days of parent observation classes. Day three was not the best day I've had, lots of mistakes and worries. Today was better however. I think the nerves of going to the doctor had a lot to do with yesterdays mistakes, as today was much better. Tomorrow is my last day of observations, and I can't wait for them to end. They are very difficult and stressful, but once they are over, I always feel so much better.

Tomorrow night after work I'm going to the movies to see the new Evangelion film. It will be nice to check out some anime. Its been too long since I've watched any new anime. I just hope work goes by fast tomorrow.

Observation days, 2 down, 3 to go. Plus a doctor visit

The difficult week known as parent observation week is off and running for me. Two days are down, and so far its been a mixture of very good and the usual. Day one was good as I was able to show off the work I've done to improve my lessons and my problems. Even my coordinator felt there was improvement. But I still have a ways to go. Day two was much harder and I made many mistakes, but I'm sure I'm doing better than I was. Days three and four will be pretty good I believe, and day five will be the hard one, but I'm sure I can do it. I have this weird burst of energy this week. I feel more comfortable in classes and I think its showing.

I'm a little worried about Friday however. On that day I'll be going to the doctor to have my knee looked at. I hurt my knee way back in middle school, and its always caused me trouble. Ever since them its been about two times the normal size. The pain comes and goes, but since sports day a few weeks ago, the pain has been pretty large. Now that things are going well and I have good medical insurance, I'm going to have it looked at. My hope is it can be treated simply.

Something weird for tonight. Since I had a super long day, I decided to relax to some classic entertainment. For me that means re-watching the Sakura Taisen live show that I went to in 2002 on DVD. Its been a while since I've watched it and I've always enjoyed. Its brought a nice smile to my face tonight.

Making a big mistake

I have made many mistakes in my life. I'm a very clumsy person. Lately I made a big mistake that has hurt a friend. A mistake I didn't mean to make, and one I feel horrible about. Today this mistake became even bigger and now I worry I have made things beyond fixable. I feel so terrible about it, I feel so terrible that I hurt my friends. I hope they are reading this, because even though I've tried to say it already, I want to say it again, Im very very sorry.

Observation week three

This week I get ready for another week of observation classes. This will be the third time I do these at my school, and the first time with most of my classes for the year. While many of the parents know me, some do not, and they will want to see how classes are going. There will be the added stress of my coordinators being in the room at the same time, which will mean lots of "constructive feedback." I have been told that I am expected to correct many of my mistakes by the end of the month, something I have worked very hard to do. My feelings have been that I have been, and will succeed at this goal for the month. However I do worry if that will occur as I know I make more mistakes than everyone and I tend to be too nervous at all times. My mistakes are embarrassing, and my attempts to fix them have been a struggle, but I have never given up and continue to try and get better. That is something I wish I could convey more to everyone at work, the fact that I do work hard, that I do everything I can to improve, and that I care about my classes so much.

The funny thing is that while I will be a bit nervous, I'm not as nervous as I was the last two times I did these lessons. I feel much more relaxed this time, and much more confident in my abilities. While I do have things I need to improve, there are lots of things I am doing better now I feel than I did before. Not only that, I have received a lot of great encouragement and support from everyone outside of work, which makes me very happy. And lately spending lots of time with my girlfriend and friends have helped me feel very happy again and regain my confidence.

My hope is that by next Saturday night, I will be celebrating a job well done! Good luck to me!

A wonderful Sunday in Tokyo

This past Sunday was one of the best I've had in quite a long time. Me and my girlfriend headed off to Tokyo for a day of shopping, having fun, and relaxing. It was quite nice to go back to my Japanese hometown as I call it and to get my mind off of the stresses of life. We went to many different places during our day there, and I even experienced some new things on this trip.

First we headed off to Harajuku to pay a visit to Meiji shrine and Yoyogi park. Going back to both always brings back memories as both places were important to me during my time at Sophia University. Afterwords we went shopping for clothes at some of the very fashionable and popular stores in Harajuku. This was a new experience for me and one that I found quite interesting. Many of the stores were quite packed with a festival like atmosphere that I had seen only on tv in shows about Christmas shopping or popular stores in places like LA and New York. After going to many of these stores, and enjoying the sites and sounds of Harajuku, we decided to go a little American for lunch and stopped by Burger King in Shibuya. This was the first time since coming to Japan that I had been to Burger King, so it was nice to have a Whopper again. Afterwords on our way to the train station we did some more clothes shopping and enjoyed the views.

Afterwords we headed to Akihabara to do some sightseeing and shopping. Sadly the thing I had come to buy there was sold out at every store in the area, and even sold out everywhere else I searched later that day. Disappointing, but it was still nice showing off the area to my girlfriend. We then headed to Shinjuku to do more shopping for tea and books. By this time the rain had started to pour down in Tokyo, and since we had no umbrella and it was getting late, we ran to catch the next train. Luckily we made it thanks to an accident at another station causing all departures to be delayed. It was a great day, and we both had a great time together! Even though we couldn't go everywhere or buy everything, we had the best time, and already we are planning our next trip there for next month. I can't wait.

There was one unfortunate thing however, my pain in my knee started to bug me again. Its been an issue for a long time, and after all the walking yesterday it was really a problem. I'm thinking of going to the doctor about it, but I'm worried they will say I need surgery.

Tomorrow I go back to work. Another week that I'm sure will be hard. I hope it at least goes smoothly. But even if its hard, I'm so happy right now to be in love!

Mostly recovered from last weekend, Tokyo countdown t-minus 2 days!

Its been a few days since my sports day and my body has finally gotten back to normal for the most part. The soreness is gone, although my chest is still giving me some issues. There's very little I can do about it however as I just have to wait for the bruising to go away. Luckily its almost gone. Work has been hard this week but I'm now at the end of the week so it should go much more smoother.

I'm personally looking very forward to Sunday. I will be spending the entire day in Tokyo with my girlfriend. I haven't been to Tokyo since February so I know I will have a fantastic time. We plan on going early and going around all our favorite areas of the town. It will be very nice to get out and have some fun. I need to since lately life has been very tough with so many things to do and so many stresses. I can't wait.

I hope this weekend to be able to take a lot of pictures. However I still only have my cell phone camera, which isn't the best. I hope I can get a new camera soon by next month, but I'm not sure if that will be possible. I guess I'll just have to wait and see on my next payday.

Recovering from sports day

Yesterday my school held its annual sports day. Just like the usual school field days in America, sports days are meant to give the kids a chance to have fun and play games. For me its a difficult event as it tests my asthma. Last year there were moments where I could barely breathe. This year I had planned on taking it easy, but as I've learned over the years, my plans tend to not go well.

The event was split into two parts, one for the younger kids, and a second for the older students. The idea of the event was for everyone to have fun, and of course use some English as well, since it is an English school. The first event was very hard. I ended up being a semi group leader, which meant making sure the kids were in their right teams. And of course I would play some of the games with the kids. We had an obstacle course that the parents could join in with the kids. I stood in for one kid's parent since they couldn't come. Running the course took a lot out of me, but the next event, tag, caused me considerable trouble as I started having chest pains in my lung area. Thankfully I got a rest and was able to drink a lot of water. That helped me a lot. We then played some dodgeball, and finished up with a treasure hunt for the kids. It was a fun morning, but it was only half way done.

After lunch the older kids came in. This time we started off with a dodgeball tournament. My team that afternoon really enjoyed it. A group of girls in the team kept wanting to talk and play with me, especially arm wrestling as they were strong! We then had a big treasure hunt and followed it up with my most hated game, duck duck goose. This is where everyone decided to bully me and kept choosing me. I had said before the event that I would sit out this game, but I decided to tough it out and try to do my best. It wasn't good for my asthma but I survived and the kids seemed to love my effort as they kept cheering me on.. We finished the day with a relay and some extra playtime.

Overall I had a great time, and it seemed to me that the kids also had a great time too. Myself and my coworkers worked very hard and did a great job. However after coming home the damage I did to my body was very apparent. My asthma had been activated and has been bugging me since. I can breathe OK but I feel ill. My muscles are also sore, especially my hurt knee. But hopefully I'll be healed soon. It was a fun event but I am glad its over.

Star Trek in Japan and other things

Last Saturday I went to the theaters to see Star Trek on its opening weekend in Japan. The extra wait that movies get here from their releases in America can range from a few days to months and even years! Luckily Star Trek came out only a few weeks after its release in the US so I didn't have to wait too long. Me and my girlfriend went to the film together and I was quite surprised that the local theater was jammed packed with people. Lately the theater, the main one in the Kofu area, hadn't seen much excitement, but this past Saturday it seemed everyone wanted to go see a movie. Most went to see a movie based on a popular manga that opened the same weekend, but the theater was packed for Trek as well.

Quick review, it was awesome! It was everything I expected in watching a new Star Trek movie and more. The battles were exciting, the story was great, and the actors were great bringing the classic characters back to life. It was a fun movie, and me and my girlfriend both enjoyed it. And I also ended up picking up a nice extra at the theater by buying a nice little souvenir book for the film. These are quite common in Japan and I try to buy one for most of the films I see as they end up being quite nice. I want to see the film again, but I'll wait for the Blu-ray release as going to the movies in Japan is too expensive for multiple visits to one movie.

In other happenings this week, the swine flu has come to my prefecture. No one is panicking, as it seems people in Japan have finally come to the same realization the rest of the world has on the truth of this flu. But today I went to the local used item store and noticed they were asking in a big pamphlet outside for people to sale them their unused flu masks. Kind of strange, but I guess they want to make a bit of money from the situation. And I have also found a wonderful solution to relaxing after the frustrations of the past few weeks, and thats revisiting listening to my old anime songs. Most of the week when I get home I've been turning on my computer and listening to lots of old anime soundtracks to cheer me up. Its really helped a lot. Makes me wish my ipod wasn't busted.

And lastly this week I got my city taxes bill for the year. Thankfully I pay in four installments, which is good as they went up a lot this year as this was the first year I worked a full year and didn't have the problems I did in 2007.

This weekend will be hard for me. Sunday is sports day for my school. Sports day was fun last year, but also hard considering I have asthma. My hope this year is that I won't have any asthma problems, but I'm a little worried about it. But if anything bad happens, I will sit out some activities. I'm not supposed to run for the most part anyway, and luckily the people at work have said its OK so I will do what I can. And on the 14th I get to go to Tokyo for a day of shopping, relaxing, and having fun. I can't wait!

Another week, more frustration from work

Before I go back to talking about the cool things in life, I wanted to take a moment to comment about work. The school year is now two months in and the best word to describe this time would be, frustration. My goal at the beginning of the year was to take this opportunity of having new classes to refocus on my mistakes and do my best to fix them as quickly as possible as well as improve as a teacher. Unfortunately it hasn't been as simple as I had hoped.

Two weeks ago I was asked to prepare for a demo lesson, where the staff and teachers would pretend to be students, and I would give a lesson to them just as I would my kid students. Honestly this is one of the most nerve racking moments I have at my job. I tend to be more nervous and make more mistakes during these demos. It was made worse by the fact that I ended up getting sick for three days missing work, and so my demo lesson was delayed to this week. And at the top of the bad news, I would have two of these this week.

Basically to explain as simply as possible, the demo lessons were short and focused on the first parts of my lessons. Things like intros, homework, etc. I tried as hard as I could to do my best, but my nerves tended to get in the way. I also tried to use it as a chance to show my problems in a way that maybe I could get some good feedback. The hardest part of it is each "student" is given a role that is pretty much the most extreme caricature of every student, from perfect little princess to brat from the seventh layer of hell. So it was a real challenge. In the end the results of the demo lessons were hard to take. I did many things well, many really good, but lots of nitpicking, lots of things I missed, and things that I need to fix immediately.

I tried my best between demos one and two to improve, and things got better on the second one, but again it still wasn't my best performance. I felt very disappointed all week from this and even expressed that in my meetings after words. The important thing I need to focus on is improving on the base of the teaching system we use at my school. Its pretty complicated, but I have most of it down I was told. But now I need to quickly make the necessary improvements to bring me up to that level.

Lastly the hardest thing I have to do is find a balance within myself in being able to be more strict with the kids, and show who is boss. I've never been able to show any sense of anger to a child, and even a raised voice is hard for me to do. Most classes I don't have to worry about this but others I have kids that do not always respect the classroom. Finding the best way to handle it has been difficult, and my trying to be nice and caring only is not working. Of course you have to be careful on both sides of the issue, but hopefully I can find some nice ways of dealing with it which not only makes the classes better, but also are comfortable to me.

Now that I've gotten all that frustration off my chest, back to the good things to talk about! More post with lots of good things shortly!

The Ayumi Hamasaki Concert

One of the most interesting moments of my Golden Week vacation actually occurred a few days after the end of my official vacation time. On May 10th I got to see the famous JPOP singer Ayumi Hamasaki in concert. Everyone who knows me knows that I am a huge fan of JPOP music, and Ayumi Hamasaki (Ayu for short) is one of my favorite singers. I have wanted to see her in concert almost ten years. in 2001 when I came to Japan the first time as a study abroad student in Tokyo, I wanted to go see her in one of her big dome stadium shows. But unfortunately it was pretty difficult to get a ticket considering her huge popularity, so I was unable to see her concert. So after returning to Japan I had made it my goal to finally see one of her shows. In February I was lucky enough to have my pre-order chosen for one of her arena shows in Yokohama. I would finally get to see the concert I had been dreaming of!

I headed for the concert early as I wanted to do some shopping before hand. Concerts in Japan always have people selling souvenirs around the stadium, both official and not. I ended up picking up a lot of things outside the stadium. All of the so called "goods" were expensive, but worth it. I ended up buying a T-shirt, program, figure, concert scarf, a bag, poster, and Ayu's latest album.

By this time the arena was surrounded by fans, mostly young girls with their boyfriends. There were a few foreigners around too, more so than when I had saw Morning Musume in concert in 2002 (I didn't see any that day). Eventually the gates were opened and I found my seat, which was located in the lower section seats on the halfway line of a basketball court. This was great as the stage had a walkaway extension to the center of the arena and I ended up being very close to it.

The show began at 4 o'clock with the arena a glow of blue lights and lasers. Ayu opened the concert by appearing from the floor in the center section. Everyone was cheering, dancing, it was a blast! The show was very emotional and elaborate, with lots of great sets, dance numbers, unique costumes, and great music. I was really surprised by how many songs were sung during the concert, and hearing Ayu sing live in person was a real treat. You could tell she was just as talented as she appears on tv. Most of the songs she sung came from her new CD that had just been released a few weeks before, but she also dug in deep and sang many of her classic hits. After almost two hours the grand show seem to come to a end, but of course there would be an encore. This encore ended up being a real treat for three reasons. One she sang some more of her old hits which I really loved. Two, she added a nice little Japanese variety show style segment that was fun and enjoyable to watch. And finally, it was long! The encore was well over a hour, and the concert ended up being just over three hours. It was exciting and very enjoyable. It was more than worth the wait!

Interestingly I had been worried the concert might get canceled because of the Swine Flu scare in Japan. Thankfully that did not happen, but ironically just a week later many of the Ayu concerts on the tour were canceled for that exact reason. I guess I was lucky my concert happened before the outbreak.

So in conclusion, the wait was worth it, and I hope I can see her again in concert in the future. It was certainly the best concert I have been too, and well worth the hassle and money it took to get a ticket.

Catching the worse cold during the Swine Flu outbreak in Japan

So I haven't posted anything over the last few weeks due to two main reasons. First I have been very busy. With Golden Week, work, the Ayu concert and more, life has been so busy for me. I plan on posting about that time in the next few days, and it was a vacation that I'll never forget.

But the second reason I haven't posted is that I have unfortunately caught a very bad cold. I have been feeling bad for over a week, but I really started feeling sick last Tuesday. It was so bad I ended up in the doctors office being tested for the flu. The timing of my cold was interesting as the major swine flu outbreak in Japan has just started a few days before. Thankfully I didn't have the flu, after going through a extremely painful test to prove it. However I ended up missing three days of work, and even today I am still not 100% well yet. Its the first time I've been really sick in over 2 1/2 years, and I hope I feel better soon.

But like I said, other than that, Its been a truly magical time in my life. So many wonderful things have happened, things I have hoped for for a very long time. I'll talk about those very soon.

Golden Week is unofficially here for me!

While officially Golden Week doesn't begin until next Tuesday, as of this moment I consider my vacation has begun. While I have to work on Tuesday, I don't expect it to be that big of a problem, and for the next 10 out of 11 days, I am off. I have been looking forward to this break for a very long time. While I plan on spending most of the time relaxing at home, I will try to go out when I can. Today in the Kofu area a new gigantic shopping center opened that I may go to tomorrow. I'm thinking of going hiking too, but I don't know really where to go, especially on my tight budget for the month. I could go bicycling around town, but my bike is giving me trouble again. I guess a lot of the time will be spent watching movies and playing games with friends. Of course that is always fun.

Right now I am watching Mecha Mecha Iketeru on Fuji TV, a popular variety show. Tonight Tom Cruise is trying to guess what movies a bunch of comedians dressed as Marilyn Monroe are pantomiming too. Its pretty silly. I love Japanese TV.

Giant TVs and Work Frustration Again

This has been one of those weeks where it was filled with excitement and lots of frustration. The frustration came from work where once again I found myself unable to understand why my attempts at improving myself have been failing. It seems that no matter what I do I can't seem to combat the mistakes, and even my responses are never accepted with any sense of understanding. I realize that my company takes pride in its expectations and its quality, but I wonder what the truth is about my teaching techniques are because I get such different comments from people that I truly do not know how I am doing. Everyone reminds me to keep doing it and work hard, but I really have gotten to the point of absolute frustration at times.

But in better news I finally got my new TV. After months of planning, saving, and some help from friends, I got a gigantic TV! It was delivered on Wednesday and while I had seen it in a electronics store, I wasn't prepared for just how big it really would be. 52" is easy to measure, but when you finally see it in your house its much bigger than you expect. But after a half hour of the delivery people putting it together and setting it up, I finally had my own little home theater. Its already been a nice thing to come home to after a long day at work.

Golden week is now just one week away! I still have no major plans but I know that I will just relax a whole bunch, and hopefully invite a lot of friends over to watch the TV! Already I have had some people come check it out and they are amazed by it. My one complaint about Golden Week this year though is that the schedule this year prevents us from having a uninterrupted break. Next weekend I get off on Sunday and Monday as usual, then I work on Tuesday. And then I get the next 8 days off. I can live with working that one day, but its just kinda silly that we have to. Then again its better than at NOVA where we had to work on Golden Week.

So this week, I guess I just got to find the key to improving and showing my improvement at work. If I can do that then maybe I can feel better about things again.

Takeda Shingen Festival and a new TV

This has been a very up and down week for me. Work for the most part was down, although my continued attempts at improving are being attempted. But there is nothing I really want to mention about my job this week, instead I want to talk about more important and enjoyable things.

This past Saturday there was a big festival in Kofu celebrating the areas history and one of the most famous former leaders in Japan, Takeda Shingen. He was a famous feudal lord during the waring states period of Japan's history (1500's). Every year Kofu has a big festival celebrating him and his history. The past two years I had been unable to go to the festival, but this year thanks to some friends who wanted to go, I was able to make it. There was a big parade in the center of Kofu where people in costumes of the area marched toward the old castle grounds. There the festival took on a usual Japanese festival flare of booths full of food, toys, and lots of fun. Also at the festival they performed a ceremony where everyday people performed the roles of the famous people of Takeda Shingen's era. But the biggest surprise was that the main role was played by a very famous Japanese athlete from the past. A man named Yasuhiro Yamashita. He is a very famous judoist who won a gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. I actually knew of him from seeing a documentary on the LA Olympics way back when I was a little kid, so seeing him in person was a real treat. I took many pictures of the event and hopefully I can post them soon. It was a very nice night, and thankfully the weather was very enjoyable too.

On that same day I also bought something I've always wanted, a big screen tv! Thanks to a few of my old friends here in Yamanashi, as well as a long period of saving, I was able to buy a new 52" hdtv. I'm waiting for it to be delivered but from what I've seen of it at the electronic store, its huge! I can't wait to watch movies and play games on that, and of course anime and Japanese tv! The only problem with buying a new tv is that I need to rearrange my apartment. Thankfully since its spring, its perfect time for spring cleaning.

This week should be a good one. I get my tv on Wednesday, and now that classes have been going on a couple of weeks, things should go more smoothly again. I hope.

New classes, saving, and a missile over the country

This week, as every first week of April most likely is in Japan, was very hectic. It seemed like no matter what, there was something big, important, or nerve-wracking that came up this week. First off was the whole issue with the fact that my school was beginning its new school year. This meant that I had to begin teaching practically all new classes. I would say that 95% of my kids classes were new to me particularly. This means learning about 80 new kids names, their homework, class styles, and more. The first week has been mostly positive with myself having lots of fun teaching. However it wasn't all smooth sailing. There were some hiccups, especially with some people thinking that I had not learned from my mistakes last year. I'm trying so hard to improve on all my weak-points, but I wonder if I can ever achieve some of the benchmarks that some of my coworkers are setting for me, even if I improve 1000 percent. As always I will "ganbare" and do my best, but I really get down after class sometimes.

There was also some worries by many here over the whole North Korea missile test launch that occurred yesterday. Many people were concerned about what could happen, although I found many didn't really care. I wasn't so worried about it as I felt only a horrible horrible accident would cause anything to happen, and the chances of that were slim. So when the missile was launched yesterday the news and everyone were concerned of course, but by mid afternoon life was back to normal, like nothing had happened.

I continue to save for a big purchase and for future travels. I'm getting very excited about my trip to Yokohama in a month for the Ayu concert, and I'm starting to think about what I will do for Golden Week the week before. Chances are I'll be doing a lot of spring cleaning but I hope I can have some fun around town and hang out with people. I also need to work on studying my Japanese a bit soon, and explore the local area.

Thankfully this week should finally be back to normal after many weeks of hard work at school and at home. I certainly can use that time right now. I can't wait for my next vacation.

Goodbye party and hello to the new school year

Tonight my school held a goodbye party at a local izakaya for the teachers and staff that are leaving our school this week. Goodbye parties are always sad moments for everyone as you never want to say goodbye to friends and see them go, but you are glad to see them and have fun with them one more time before they leave. There was laughter, tears, and lots of drinks. It was a lot of fun.

Tomorrow is April 1st, the traditional beginning of the school year in Japan. For me it means new classes and new students. I'm very excited but also nervous at all the new classes I'll be taking over for this year. I have a good feeling this will be a much better year than last year, and hopefully will be less stressful than the 2008 school year was.

One bad thing however is I am still fighting my cold, but hopefully I will be better shortly.

Sickness out of nowhere!

If there is one thing I hate its getting sick all of a sudden for no reason at all. That has happened to me once again this weekend. Saturday I biked home feeling extremely exhausted and tired. The next thing I knew I was in bed at 7pm! I ended up waking up at 1am and couldn't sleep as I started to feel sick. At the weekend has gone on, I have gotten worse and worse. Now its Monday afternoon and I feel so bad I am surprised I am able to get out of bed. And worst still, the weekend is almost up, and this week will be a busy week of early schedules at work, to get ready for the new year beginning next week. I wonder why I'm not feeling well. Perhaps I caught a cold from a student, or the weather changes has effected my body. Whatever it is, I know I'll feel miserable for the next few days.

"Dragonball: Evolution" and "Yattaman"

Today was another holiday in Japan. This time it was "Shunbun no Hi" or the Vernal Equinox. From what I know many people visit the graves of their ancestors on this day. But for me, it was a chance to relax and go out and have fun. It looked like it was going to not be a good day as all week the weather forecast had been for rain, but luckily that rain moved off pretty quickly, and it ended up being a very nice and warm day. So being that it was a nice day, a holiday, and men's day at the theater, I decided to check out a couple of movies at the local cinema.

Since I love anime, and bad films, I decided to watch the two big live action anime movies at the moment, "Dragonball: Evolution" and "Yattaman." "Dragonball" was a weird film. First its a American production, and two it was released in Japan a month before it was in America. In fact it still isn't out back in the states. But I would say no one is missing anything by not having it. Its a disappointing film on all levels, which is what I had expected it to be. Its a quick 90 minute movie that barely covers any of the material, has no character development, no explanations for any of the plot, bad acting, bad story, just about everything in it is bad. I was particularly annoyed by the fact that major plot point were never explained. For example, the main villain Piccolo was imprisoned 2000 years before after a attempt to take over Earth. Yet in the film, he just appears out of no where, no explanation is given to how he escaped at all! In summary, the film was a disaster, a true mess, and one of the worst films I've seen at the theater. But just like past worst films I've seen at the theater, like "Masters of the Universe," I loved how bad it was. Still its not a good film and I would not recommend it to anyone.

"Yattaman" however I would recommend, for its not only a much closer adaptation to its source material, but also a fun little movie that had me really enjoying every moment and every scene. "Yattaman" was originally an old 1970s kids anime series from the studio Tatsunoko, about a group of villains, headed by the beautiful Doronjo, who are out to find pieces of a stone that once put together will show the location of the largest deposit of gold in the world. But they antics are always stopped by the heros, the Yattaman team, a boy and a girl dressed in strange mechanics outfits and with their giant mecha dog Yatta Wan and their robot sidekick Omochama, always saves the day. The show has recently returned with a brand new remake that has aired since last year, and now a new movie by Takashi Miike. This time the story has the stone granting the dreams of the person that brings it together. This film was very enjoyable! It doesn't hide behind that fact its based on a cartoon, it embraces it. You can tell the actors all are having fun in the film, and the story was both enjoyable and funny. Even when it gets a tiny bit serious, it never seems bad. The movie was a blast, and even though it was a kids movie, it had moments where they would add jokes that adults could enjoy. In fact many of the jokes were quite perverted, and very funny!

So in the end, my movie day was a lot of fun. I certainly want to see "Yattaman" again, and will be buying that on Blu-Ray once its released. "Dragonball" was a huge disaster, but as a bad movie, I enjoyed it for what it was. No matter what, getting out and enjoying some movies helped relieved some stress.

In one last bit of news, yesterday I said goodbye to some of my classes, but also to some students who were leaving the school. One surprised me by announcing before class she was moving and this was her last day. I was liked that student and was disappointed by her leaving. At the end of the day as we said our goodbyes, she opened her bag and pulled out a gift and said "Thank you for everything you have done for me this year!" I was so surprised, I literally cried after that. Its moments like that, when all the difficult parts of my job become easier to handle, because thats when you know you are doing something good and wonderful!

Its starting to feel like Spring!

It seems the push towards Spring is finally happening. The weather this weekend has been gorgeous. Very nice and getting warmer. Today was a very beautiful day. I took a nice walk to pick up my bike from the train station, where I had parked it a few nights back when I headed to Kofu for a party, and it was very nice. The only bad thing was the haze in the air kept Mt. Fuji from showing its full brilliance.

On Saturday I went to a party with some friends in downtown Kofu. There I saw some of my old students again, met new friends, and also saw one of my old bosses from NOVA. I ended up making a few too many "I'm mad at NOVA" comments, but thankfully he didn't mind and he understood how I felt. We ended up at a izakaya having lots to drink and a nice dinner, and then headed to a Jazz bar near my old workplace. I had never been to a jazz club before, so it was a unique experience. Lots of good music and a nice atmosphere. Hearing the music reminded me of my grandfather and hearing him play the saxophone when I was younger. It was a nice day.

This week is going to be a interesting one. First off, it will be one year ago this week that I started teaching at my current school. Its been a extremely difficult and humbling year for me there. I have learned a lot there, and I hope to learn even more this year about teaching English. Since this is also the end of the school year, I'll be teaching some kids for the last time this week. Hopefully it will be all smiles and very few mistakes. Thankfully also there is a national holiday on Friday, which means a nice day off before the difficult Saturday classes I have. But I'm not worried. I'm not going to worry about work like I have in the past. I'm going to go into work now with a renewed sense of vision, and try my best. I'm not going to allow anyone to drag me down anymore, and I'm going to work my hardest to improve any way I can.

I'm also very excited about the next many weeks. Sakura season will be a nice time for lots of bike rides around the city. Golden week is also coming up, and I plan to relax a lot that week. And then on May 10th, the Hamasaki Ayumi concert in Yokohama. But not only that, I plan on making a major purchase that weekend as well. Its going to be huge!

Hard work, hard results

Just yesterday I wrote about my big activity class that I had did last week at my school. My feelings about the class were that it was a major improvement over the last activity class I had made, and that I had really done a good job. I wasn't perfect and I could see areas where I could do better, but overall I felt very happy about the situation. My only concern was how did the people at work feel about it? Today I got the answer.

The word I got from others at work today was that while there was improvement from the last event, there were still many things they felt I had not done as well as I could've. There was even a mention that there was confusion over my choices of films for the night. We then went over what they felt I didn't do well and what I should do to improve in this and all the classes. This was the second meeting like this for me this week, and both were difficult as they were very straight forward and focused on mistakes mostly, and not the good points of my work.

The sad thing about it is I wish I could show everyone how hard I work. I spent so much time and effort on that event, and all my classes. Yet I seem to be unable to do that. With the new school year coming up, and some new helpful tips I've received, I'm hoping to turn things around fairly quickly. But still, It's always sad for me to see myself make mistakes, even though we all make them.

Lately to cheer myself up from the disappointments, I've been relaxing at home playing lots of video games. Many nights its really nice to come home and just lie back and turn on a quick game to rest and get my mind off of things. I'm also starting to watch some of the backlogged anime I have on DVD. Its nice to finally get to it, as its both enjoyable and helpful to me with my Japanese studying. This weekend I even plan on going to a good old Japanese style party with some friends, and maybe afterwords go see "Dragonball" at the theaters. There's a lot to smile about even with the disappointment. And soon Spring will be here, and with it things will be even better! I can't wait for cherry blossom season to begin!

Movie night is a success! Or was it?!?!?!

So last Friday was the moment that I had been working for three weeks to prepare for. It was the night of my big movie night event at my school. A few weeks before I had tried a night using the Wii as a basis for having fun and learning some English. However the event didn't go as well as I had hoped, even though everyone had fun, and there was much concern about me doing another event that would be much harder than that one.

I decided that the night would be broken up into three parts. The first part would be a quick basic movie culture segment, where I could teach some words and talk about the differences of seeing a movie in Japan and America. This went OK, but the time wasn't there and I felt that it wasn't a good chance for English conversation. But I tried my best to get the students to talk.

The second activity was a bit of a experiment doing something I had done in my childhood, taking a movie without sound and putting a dub to it. This was done in groups, and surprisingly the groups did a good job. However the clip I had chosen was a bit too long so it was a difficult activity.

The final part was watching a short movie, an old Three Stooges short called "Malice in the Palace." I was nervous about my choice, and spent weeks coming up with it, but in the end it was a hit with a lot of laughs and the students enjoyed it.

At the end of the night I felt very good. I thought the students had fun, they enjoyed it and learned something from the night. It certainly was a major improvement over my Wii night event, and I think I proved that I could do it. At least thats how I felt at first. But since that night I have found the opinions of those that viewed the event from the school side were mixed. Mostly praise, but a lot of questions of why I did one thing over another. I haven't had a chance top get a full assessment of the night yet from my coordinator who viewed the entire event, but I hope to soon. But I also worry about it.

In other news, thankfully as of today I can finally put NOVA behind me once and for all, as the terrible G Com, a company I am still angry with to this day, finally responded to my e-mails and sent me my tax papers. So I no longer have to deal with them anymore. Thank goodness for that! I also last week received my Hamasaki Ayumi concert ticket in the mail. According to the seating chart, it looks like I got a nice seat too, so I am very happy. The concert is in two months and I cant wait for it!

The weather in the Kofu area is finally starting to get warmer. Its still pretty chilly at night, and the wind is as strong as ever, but the temperatures during the day are starting to get to Spring levels. As much as I like winter time, I am ready to say goodbye to this cold season.

Other than that, since I am saving money at the moment, I am spending lots of free time relaxing at home, playing some games and watching movies. But I'm thinking of taking some bike trips on the weekends once the weather gets warmer. I think that will be nice to do.

Has it been two years already?

I just realized this weekend that I have been back in Japan now for two years. I guess the anniversary passed by unnoticed as its also the anniversary of all the NOVA finality from last year, but as I look back now I'm truly amazed at all the things I've been through these two years. I had expected coming back to Japan would make everything easy, but its been really hard dealing with all the problems. Thankfully I'm happier today than I was three years ago when I wasn't sure I would ever get back to Japan. Today I have so much more than I had then, and even though work and life are incredibly hard, I have so much to be thankful for.

Tonight I decided to finally watch last years NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen. The program is a famous song contest that airs live every New Years Eve which has two teams of singers singing the biggest songs in Japan over the past year. I had planned on watching it live as I usually do, but I ended up being invited to a party at the last minute that day, and I just never had time to watch it until today. Its a pretty interesting show as it combines jpop stars with those of the enka world. Enka is kind of similar to country music in the US. Its a very enjoyable show, although some of the enthusiasm is pushed a little too much at times.

The picture above by the way is from my trip to Shosenkyo last October. This is the waterfall at the top of the climb of the gorge. The pic was taken from my cell phone so its not the best quality but I wanted to post it here to show a little of the area I live near.

This week I have to get ready for another special lesson for my adult classes. This time I'm doing a movie activity lesson. I think I will be much more prepared for this one then my Wii night back in February. The only problem is, what to show? I'm thinking of showing a old "Three Stooges" short, but that could be both a good thing and a bad one one. We will find out soon how it goes.

Not much else is going on. Since its a busy time right now, I'm just resting and playing games. It's good though, as it doesn't cost me any money, and its good to save now. And hopefully this week at work will be a good one. I need a good week.

Finally got the concert ticket I always wanted!

The last week or so I've noticed a renewed sense of excitement. Things have been quite stressful the last two months with all the things happening at work, but lately things have slowly been getting better. I'm starting to think maybe my luck is finally changing for the better again. 

One really good thing thats happened lately is that finally, after many years of waiting, I'll finally be able to see one of my favorite JPOP singers in concert. I have for many years wanted to see Hamasaki Ayumi in concert. I had tried to get a ticket in 2002 while I was ay Sophia University, but the ticket prices were too high and it was very hard to get a ticket. Luckily this past week I was able to finally get a ticket to one of her concerts on her next tour. I'm pretty excited, and its interesting seeing the reactions of other people I tell. Some are very happy for me, and others laugh about it. I guess they find it silly that I am a fan, but I am and I am pretty happy about finally being able to go.

I am also interestingly starting to rebuild my interest in the game of "go." I used to love to play it on the computer, and I've always wanted to pick it up again. I bought a cheap board at a toy shop last year, but I have not been able to play with anyone. Recently I was watching the anime "Hikaru no Go" again, and its gotten me interested in playing again. Maybe I can teach some of the foreigners I work with the game sometime.

The one bad thing that continues to bug me however is my asthma. Lately the weather has been pretty cold and very windy, which makes it hard for me getting to and from work on my bike. Thankfully the large amount of weight I've lost in the past two years have helped me deal with my asthma. Its not easy, but its manageable. 

Not much more to say this week. Its the usual, lots of work. But there will be lots of fun soon too!

2 trips to Tokyo, Valentine's Day in Japan, and yet Alone Again Naturally

As the temperature has kept rising in Japan to unseasonably high levels, it seems that my life has become just as crazy. Work has been the usual roller coaster of highs and lows for me. Last week I gave a special activity class for my school. These new adult activity classes are meant to bring more fun and variety to the school. I was first up and it was suggested that there should be a Wii night. Since I'm the video game expert at my work place I was asked to set it up. I must admit that I found the experience quite daunting and difficult as the activity night ended up being more difficult and different than I expected. While everyone had a blast, I was nervous and things didn't go as well as they could. I had a lot of talks about that class afterwords which were disappointing to me, but I'm sure that for my next class, things will go more smoothly. 

This week there was an official and non official holiday in Japan. Wednesday was National Foundation Day or kenkoku kinenbi. A kind of Japanese Independence day Im told. I decided to go to Tokyo on that day, as I got a holiday, and do some window shopping. I ended up spending most of the day in Akihabara looking around and buying some role play books. Going to Akihabara still to this day cheers me up greatly. There is something about that place that makes me smile. 

And of course Saturday was Valentine's Day, which is very different in Japan. In Japan Valentine's day is a day where women give men chocolate to the people they like. Men then return the favor one month later during White Day. Sadly once again this year, while I did receive the usual nice friend chocolate from a few students and friends, I did not receive a real Valentine. It was a bit disappointing as I actually had a date this year on Valentine's weekend in Tokyo, that ended in disappointment. So my live continues to go as that one classic Maison Ikkoku song goes, Alone Again, Naturally. 

But I'm looking up to the future. I have a good feeling about the next few weeks. I've had a lot of downs since 2009 started, but I'm sure the year will get better for me shortly. 

Its Tuesday again already?

Another week down, and a lot of work done. Unlike the last couple of weeks which were filled with tons of meetings and critiques on my work progress, this past week was much easier.  I actually felt I improved a lot in my work, and some of the comments I got back from parents this week were very encouraging. But I have to admit the stress has caught up with me. I've been dealing with lots of headaches this weekend and a ton of asthma related coughing. I need lots of rest but I'm not getting enough right now. Kind of disappointing. 

In other news, in the shock of the week, my Xbox360 was returned to me in just three days! Considering that the Xbox is not anywhere near as popular here as it is in America, I should not be surprised. However it was very nice that that happened. Being able to play that again has been fun and helped my stress a bit.

I've decided to take a trip to Tokyo on February 15th. I'm going there to meet up with a friend, as well as to have some fun and take a rest away from home again. Going back to my old Japan home always refreshes me and brings a smile to my face. 

And yesterday I watched the Super Bowl twice. Great game, although its still weird watching the game so early in the morning here in Japan. Thankfully the broadcast is good, but I miss watching the commercials during the game. 

What a difference a weekend makes

So a few days ago I write how sad I was at how things went during my observation week, and how I felt I could've done a whole lot better. I must admit that I was very nervous about even going to work this week. Well yesterday I go in and the feeling is completely different. Everyone gives me nothing but positive motivation, smiles, and even some "good job Matt" comments to some of the things I did last week. I even did some demo work that while nerve wracking, I did well in. So I guess maybe things will be OK after all this week. 

In other news, later today a delivery company will be picking up my Xbox 360 to be sent to Microsoft for repairs. I'm hoping that the repairs won't take too long, but I don't know how long it takes versus the US repair time, which I hear can be long. But I got plenty of PS3, PSP, and DS games I can play while I wait for my system to return. Plus I'm just glad Microsoft Japan will fix my US 360. Still I hate how this happens just when one of the games I've been waiting ages to play finally comes out. 

One cool thing I found the other day. Coco's, a big curry restaurant chain here, now has internet ordering for delivery. I ordered some Monday night and had a nice hot curry meal, without the hassle of biking to the place, which is hard when its freezing cold outside. I'm going to have to do that some more soon. 

Observation week at work, stressful and sad

This week I had to go through the difficult task known as parents observation week at work. During this week the parents of my kids students, which make up 90% of my students, are invited to watch the class and give feedback on it. Its a stressful week, but its a good chance to show the parents not only how the classes are going, but how the students are improving. Unfortunately, this week was not a simple week of me. Instead it was very stressful and in many ways quite depressing. 

The reason for the stress and depression is that it was decided to make this a week to give me feedback, advice, and a complete impression of my teaching abilities and classes by not only the parents, but by my coworkers at work. I started the week with a major meeting where myself and my managers critiqued one of my classes that had been videotaped. While I did receive some positive feedback from my class, I received a lot of suggestions, as well as lots of negative feedback. All of it was done to help me with my teaching of course, but as the week went on, I kept hearing the same words said to me by many coworkers, disappointment. Everyone was disappointed that many of the mistakes I was making at the beginning I was still making now. It was very embarrassing, and as the week went on, it just kept getting worse. 

Today I finished my final day of observations, and as I look at my notes from the five previous days, and think back to the long and difficult discussions I had the last few days, I wonder what I can do to improve. I'm always told its OK to make mistakes, in fact its expected. But I guess I worry about what I can do to improve my abilities, my classes, and to bring myself up to everyones expectations. I want to improve myself and my students, so I will do whatever it takes to do it. Still, tonight I feel quite sad at how things have gone this week. 

Other than that, the week has been just normal. Quiet at home, and lonely. Hopefully next week will be much better, and that I can improve at work.