On Monday I went into work, enjoying the idea of no classes all day. I also had in the forefront of my mind the fact that they sprung me loose early on Friday because there were no classes, so I was considering the possibility that I might get another chance to bail out early.
As it worked out, though, I was at school all day. The principal walked by a couple times, but other than talking with me about this and that he didn’t feel the need to let me go. It was fine with me, though. I got a ton of studying and flashcards done.
A little before lunch the office manager Sato-san came over to my desk and said hello. She is going to be gone for the next three days, so she wanted to say goodbye to me now. I asked her why she was going to be gone, and she said that since she has worked for the school for 30 years, she gets three days paid time off. For thirty years you ought to get a gold watch or something – three days off seems a little weak to me. But in the Japanese work-all-the-time-and-forgo-vacations philosophy, maybe that’s a big deal. Enjoy your three days, Sato-san.
At four o’clock I headed home to straighten up the house a little since we were having some friends over. Yuri, a former ALT in Himeji, was back in Japan to visit her friends. She came over along with Tamura sensei and her boyfriend, Takuma. Originally we had offered to meet them at a restaurant of their choice, since we were tired out from entertaining the other night. Tamura sensei kind of invited everyone over to our house, so we had to think of something easy to make in an hour for five people. Kuniko did some pre-work Sunday night and made bruschetta, and I put together a big pot of spaghetti with a couple of different sauces and a simple salad.
It was an enjoyable night. We caught up with Yuri – she’s working in a bank in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. She’s dating a Mexican guy, and really enjoying life back in the United States.
Tamura sensei and Takuma were doing pretty well. We ate a lot of food and drank beer and wine while playing the Wii. Takuma is a young guy, just 21 years old, so I played boxing with him. He was pretty good, but soon he was covered in sweat. It is a really good workout using the Wii, especially if you’re not used to it.
Finally around eleven we walked them back to the station and said goodbye. We were totally exhausted heading home, and we didn’t have the energy to wash the big pile of dishes that was left after the party. We went straight to bed and conked out.
