So we finally finished printing and preparing the new year cards, and that is a load off our minds. We will have to do a second wave when we get back to Japan, but the first one is done, and we can breathe a little easier and focus on packing for the trip.

Even though today is only the 23rd we will be celebrating our “Japanese Christmas”. Kuniko has some time off today so she is cooking a Christmas feast (hold the KFC) for tonight. We will exchange presents here so we don’t need to take them to America, and just relax and enjoy a stress free evening. I’m looking forward to it! Just two more work days!

Last night we finally wrapped up our Xmas shopping despite starting a long, long time ago. It felt good to knock out that last present, and so to celebrate we decided to catch dinner on the way home from Kobe. I had the bright idea to try the food at D Wine Bar, since we only ever have a glass or two of wine and maybe some cheese when we are there. Kuniko agreed, and so off we went.

Wine bars in Japan are a lot like sushi bars, in that the main attraction doesn’t have a posted price. That can be a little intimidating, but there are some good points. I had three different glasses of wine, and he opened three different bottles to serve us. That meant that he would need to sell the remaining wine to other customers later that night – which may or may not be tough on a Tuesday night in Sannomiya.

He also knows that I like American wine, so he always keeps some in his cellar to serve me when I drop by, while he sells mostly French and Italian wines to other customers. Last night he opened a 2002 Pillar Rock Cabernet Sauvignon that was very nice. We also had an Italian Barbera (not so great) and a French Pinot Noir from Burgundy that was a little better than average. It is nice to have him open these bottles in front of you, and to explore some more rare wines in Japan.

The food turned out to be pretty good as well. We had a mixed plate of appetizers, a fettucini with gorgonzola sauce, and roast duck with pan fried foie gras. Very delicious, and he matched the foods with the wines nicely.

So that was how we found ourself walking home late Tuesday night with our bellies full and the excitement of the upcoming holiday in the air. Today Kuniko has a light day at work, and tomorrow she has the day off. I’ve got a normal work week, but in the evenings we’ll have to find the time to pack, finish off our New Year’s cards, and to clean the house before we leave it empty for 10 days.

Running late again this morning, so no time to post. It is a busy run up to the holidays I guess. Hopefully it’ll be a slower pace tomorrow for some posting.

Not much to report from our weekend except for plenty of shopping, and a chance to meet Antoine and Miwako’s new son Kazu. We met in Kobe, and it was good to see Antoine’s folks again. They are visiting Japan for the holidays, and they looked as lively and funny as ever.

As for Kazu, he was very cute. He quietly rode around in the stroller as we walked around, watched curiously as we took turns peeking in at him. He only got a little fussy while we were eating lunch, but Miwako deftly took him and walked him around a little bit and he was fine. Antoine was a very proud papa – and his parents looked just as happy.

Now it is the final week at work, and then we’re off to California. Can’t wait!

A post on the weekend? Pigs flying?

During our upcoming trip to the USA we’ll be having a small party at my parents’ house on the afternoon of December 28th. If you are in the area and would like to drop by send me an email and let me know. It might be the best chance to meet up during our very short trip to the USA…

Today we overslept a bit and so it was a rushed morning. I have just enough time to write this short note and I’m out the door. Because the temperature has dropped around here it is hard to get out of that nice warm bed in the morning. It is going to be a long winter – I can tell already.

Kuniko called me last night on her way to her final bonenkai to tell me that her parents were coming over to drop off some stuff to send to the USA for Christmas. Since she gave me the heads-up I picked up the house a bit before they arrived, and when they came they came bearing gifts not only for my family in America but for us as well. As usual we received big bags of fresh vegetables (mostly potatoes this time), some big bottles of sake, and plenty of other little goodies which will probably end up as tonight’s dinner.

This morning I was watching morning TV and the news program focused for a short time on some kids that are learning fencing. Ever since the Olympic games in China where a Japanese fencer did very well, the sport has enjoyed a bit more popularity. It is still very rare in Japan, but the exposure it got in the Olympics has helped a lot.

It was interesting to watch the kids practicing. I thought they’d show them doing drills and practices (and they did – very briefly), but they spent far more time on the segment showing the kids’ notebooks and memorization drills on what parts of the body are good to attack and what parts are not. Rote memorization wins again!

I’m off to face the cold morning commute – it has suddenly become winter in the last two days. I’m looking for the escape to the warmer climates of Northern CA.

Yesterday at work there was a semi-big event, meaning buses in the parking lot, and large crowds of people swarming my floor. At lunch break there was actually a line of people waiting to use the bathroom, and frequently during my classes 50 people would walk by outside my door. Every once in a while this happens, and it always reminds me what a big company I work for. Usually it is pretty quiet on my floor with plenty of meetings but usually between 2-6 people.

When I got home Kuniko had made spring rolls with shrimp and salmon for dinner. We’re trying to get rid of the vegetables in our fridge because we’ll want to leave it empty in a couple of weeks when we depart for the USA. The spring rolls were good – she’s getting very skilled at making them, so they were beautiful too.

Today is seven degrees (C) colder than yesterday, so it’ll be pretty cold on the way to and from work. I’ve got the night to myself as Kuniko attends her last end-of-year party, so I’ve got to decide what to make for dinner…

Last night walking home from the station Kuniko and I stopped at the local Lawson convenience store to pick up some stuff for the next day. The clerk that was working there was the same guy who always waves in the morning, and always slips little freebies into our bag. I’m always afraid one of these days he is going to get fired for pilfering junk food to gift to us, but apparently it is no problem. He’s still there, anyway.

After bagging our stuff this time he pulled out another bag and filled it with a big tray of cream puffs. Thanks, dude – just what my waistline needs. I think the things he gives to us are about to get thrown out because of their expiration date, so he is just helping us and helping the store at the same time (I guess). Still, the stuff he puts into our bag is getting slightly more substantial lately.

Lots of things to catch up on this weekend, starting with a small party I had with some ex-students in Sannomiya. We started at a yakiniku place near Tokyu Hands in Sannomiya. The place had a strange atmosphere, with bright fluorescent lights and kind of a warehouse feel, but the food was pretty good, and they did have an all-you-can-drink menu. We were with Mr. Minamimoto, who can eat and drink quite a bit. Each time he finished a drink he was nice enough to order one for everybody else, which resulted in a pretty quick pace.

By the time we left the restaurant we were all feeling pretty good, and next we went to Bar Mar for some wine and tapas. Kuniko ended up getting free from her work party, so she dropped by to see the train wreck in progress. The highlight (or lowlight, I guess) would be when I took Mr. Minamimoto over to a table with three older ladies to introduce him as an available bachelor. In my broken (and drunken) Japanese I could barely get his name out let alone introduce him properly. Mr. Minamimoto was whispering in my ear, “Abort, abort!” and in the end I think I managed to embarrass everyone but myself.

Saturday Kuniko and I spent the day in Sannomiya doing Christmas shopping. She had to attend a lecture, so I spent the three hours killing time in town, and then we went out for some currywurst at a restaurant that Kuniko had found a while back. Not bad currywurst, although the curry was a little sweet for our taste.

Finally yesterday we drove all the way to Kinosaki, in the north of Hyogo to have a crab lunch and soak in the hot springs. Kinosaki is all about crabs – every store had some kind of crab merchandise, and plenty of hot spring resorts to enjoy as well. We walked around the small town in a slight drizzle, and then went to the resort where they served our feast in a private room.

The food was great – we started with our own crab, then we had crab sashimi, grilled crab, crab nabe, crab chawanmushi, crab tempura, and some crab zousui to wrap things up. Delicious – and a very friendly staff made it a really enjoyable experience. Afterwards we were able to use the private bath filled with flowers and enjoy a hot soak while it rained outside. A very nice experience.

While my holiday season parties are now complete Kuniko has two more this week, so she’ll be home late tonight and Wednesday. And I’ve got just a few more Christmas presents to get and then we’ll be done with shopping – that’s a good feeling.

It is officially cold around here. Yesterday we definitely had to use the heated floor, the electric blanket, the works. And it is still only December.

Tonight after work Kuniko and I will attend separate year end parties, and this weekend I’ll try to burn off the calories from tonight. Probably I’ll end up burning it off by shopping.

Last night Kuniko cooked a dish from her cooking class, chikuzenni. Very Japanese, very healthy, and it hit the spot after walking home in the cold. I’m hoping we will have a chance to eat it again soon.

Last night I visited the Indian restaurant for some curry and nan. It was pretty busy in there, and I sat across from a couple of foreigners like me who were talking about their day at work teaching at local schools. There were a lot of Japanese folks in there as well, so I guess it is a popular restaurant. The server remembered me from last time and asked about Kuniko, so I guess we are gutting close to being regulars. Very happy about this place being in town.

I also got a few things for around the house from Saty, dropped off my dry cleaning and pretty much ran errands while Kuniko was off at cooking school. It worked out pretty well.

It looks like I may have a mini year end party with some students this Friday. One student just got back from Hong Kong and declared that we must do a party, so tomorrow looks like the day. I’m looking forward to it, actually. I’ve been a bit anti-social lately.

After work Kuniko will go to cooking class, so that means that I’m on my own after work. The last time I had a day on my own I went out and bought an iPad. So look out.

Actually, the plan is to do a little Xmas shopping, drop off the dry cleaning, and maybe have dinner at the Indian restaurant. I also have to buy some ink for our ink jet printer – we need the get cracking on our New Year’s cards. Because we are leaving Japan on December 25, that cuts down on time time we have to get them all printed, personalized and sent.

Yesterday at work I had my hands full explaining “air quotes” to a student. He was talking about how he has been spending so much time lately with his ex-girlfriend, and without thinking I asked him what he had planned for next weekend with his “air quote” EX “air quote” girlfriend. He had never seen the gesture before, and it was very hard to explain the meaning in simple English. I’m not sure I explained it well, but he enjoyed the gesture immensely, and I have a feeling I’ll be seeing other employees doing it on occasion as word spreads. I’m glad I could teach some “useful” English.

All quiet on the eastern front – we are continuing a Thai food marathon to kill off all the yummy fresh ingredients floating around the house. Last night was pad gkaprow with pork, and I ink tonight Kuniko is going to bust out the fresh lemongrass for a salmon dish. All about the food around here,

Students at work have been especially tired in class, because now is the season of the bonnenkai. Literally, “forget the year party”, people in Japan have a few of these every December. Each group that a person belongs to will have one, so it can add up to a lot of parties. For example, Kuniko will attend her school’s bonnenkai, one for second year teachers, one for female teachers, and one for English teachers. Unfortunately this year we can’t do one with her college friends, because a couple of key members are unavailable.

As for me, my company has been suspiciously silent about a bonnenkai. I’m guessing the budget is tight this year, so they may have decided to quietly skip it. That’s OK by me, actually. I can use the time and money for preparing for California.

We had a good time with the Fukumi’s on Saturday night. We ended up making all kinds of Thai food, including some that we had never tried before. All things considered it turned out pretty well. It was nice to catch up with them and talk about the holidays, and local events in Okubo. Turns out they are pretty regular customers of the Indian restaurant that we have been to a few times. What do you know?

One thing that we noticed while cooking together was that although we have plenty of space in the kitchen, and plenty of dishes to cook with, we don’t have enough computing power for the both of us. Between looking up recipes, playing music on the stereo, and surfing the web, one little EEEPC isn’t enough. So yesterday I went out and got an iPad. Now the training begins – but Kuniko ordered some stuff from Amazon on it last night, and it seemed to go off without a hitch. More tech toys – just what we need. Every time I try to simplify life around here one thing gets easier, but there are quietly two or three other things in the background that sneak into our consciousness.

OK, I’m off to work. Starting to count off the days till Xmas!