I’m in the middle of a little bit of trauma with my handheld computer. I’ve used this little iPAQ computer for the last two years or so doing flashcard drills of Japanese language. Lately, though, it is starting to show it’s age. Things are happening slower and slower, the backlight flickers unpredictably, and it seems like I should start looking for a backup plan. If this thing dies, I lose a major study tool. I generally use it about two hours a day.
I found a suitable replacement, and I ordered it through Amazon, but I got a mail from them a couple of days later saying that they did not in fact have the product, and so now I’m back to square one. I feel like I’m holding a time bomb everytime I use the old one – I hope it lasts until I can find a replacement.
School was fun today. I had the last four classes of the day, and the students seemed pretty energetic for a Monday. They talked to me between classes, and in one of my classes the teacher had to leave for an emergency and I ran the class for about thirty minutes until she came back. It reminded me of the good old days at Takanan when I taught a couple of classes a week solo.
Also, we had a new teacher come in today. She’ll be at the school for the next three days in kind of an orientation. She passed the teacher’s exam for junior high school, and so she’ll officially start next April as the new social studies teacher. She made a big impression in the staff room during the morning introduction – she is really good looking, and she had the principal tripping over his words and four or five male teachers helping her set up her desk. I noticed with some amusement that her temporary desk was set up right in front of the vice principal – instead of the usual place with other temporary teachers sat. I didn’t really get a chance to say hello today because I was busy, but there is a definite change in atmosphere among the female teachers.
I’m back at home now waiting on Kuniko. Dinner is on standby, and I’m just relaxing and thinking about opening up an Anchor Steam beer that we bought from IY. More stories from the trenches tomorrow…
