I’ve noticed a weird phenomenon these last few weeks – even though we get a lot of sleep at night, we’re still waking up tired in the morning.  I guess that it is probably related to the weather change and the season.  Later in the summer it will be easy to wake up and escape the sweaty conditions, but now it is very hard to get out of the warm bed.  Sometimes we’ve gone to bed as early as 8:30, which in theory would give us a solid eight hours of sleep.  But the end result is the same – sleepyheads in the morning.

Maybe it is time for a coffee machine…

This week I have the unusual opportunity to go to work with Kuniko by car, and it means a lot less exercise because of it.  I’ve tried to compensate at work by doing various stretches and exercises during my breaks.  However, it is very nice to relax in the car and spend some quiet time while Kuniko drives.  Not only did I get a ride to work yesterday, but by chance I got a ride back, since Kuniko was coming home at around the same time I was.

Today we’ll go in together, but she’ll be back later due to some issues at work that she has to deal with, so I’ll hurry back and make some enchiladas for dinner.  We’re working on some turkey from Costco, and the last two nights we’ve had turkey sandwiches.  Tonight we’ll shake it up a bit and stray into Mexico.  Can’t wait!

Kuniko is officially ramping up her new school year.  Yesterday she met her new homeroom students, who she will be guiding through graduation and college entrance next year, and I think she is still a little unsure how they’ll do.  Some of her students are students that have been in her homeroom the last four years, and some other students have transferred from another class.  I guess it’ll take awhile for them all to build their chemistry (teacher included).

Meanwhile my classes are going very well, and I’m impressed with my group this time around.  Some of them are better speakers than I originally thought, which is a relief, and others are warming up after getting to know me better.  Either way, good news.

This weekend we were stuck indoors.  As the weather service predicted, Saturday was raining all day and Sunday was a huge windstorm that kept blowing all day long.  All the time inside was pretty productive, however, and we got the house cleaned up, four loads of laundry finished, we watched three movies (Black Rain, Wreck-It Ralph, and Skyfall) and we cooked some yummy dishes, too.  On Saturday Kuniko made various kinds of spring rolls, stuffed with avocado, shrimp, smoked salmon, prosciutto, lettuce, cilantro, carrot, and even tomato in some of them.  Then last night at my request she made homemade pizzas from scratch, and her dough recipe passed the test with flying colors.  I think we’ve finally got pizza mastered.

This week should be a pretty normal week for me at work.  The classes are now starting to settle into a rhythm and the students are starting to hit the new material that I always start with.  Already I have had a few students changing class times and switching around, and that is always a good sign.  And I’ve got a party this Friday with an ex-student from a long time ago, so there is something interesting to look forward to at the end of the week.

We finally got under some cherry trees yesterday after work.  We managed to hit the blossoms at the peak, with every blossom open and none on the ground.  It was a gray, overcast day, but otherwise perfect for walking around and enjoying the blossoms.  In Akashi park there were quite a few hanami parties going on, but nowhere near as many as on the weekend.  Normally I’d say that this weekend the park will be packed with people, but we’ve got rain in the forecast.  Our timing turned out to be perfect.

Today I’m finishing up the first week of classes, and so far and very happy with how things are going.  My students seem to be getting used to the lessons quickly, and they also seem to be speaking out more than in previous years.  We’ll see how these first impressions hold up…

I’m at that weird stage where I feel 100%, but for some reason I can’t stop coughing now and then.  The little tickle in the back of my throat shows up when talking with students, resulting in lots of coughs during class.  Obviously that is not fun for me or my students.  An-noy-ing!

Other than the tickle things are going pretty well.  I’ve finished meeting all my new students but one, and I think I’ve put together some good ideas on coursework for each of them.  I’m pretty pleased with their abilities at this stage, and I can’t wait to see what they can do after a few months of class time.

Last night after work our timing wasn’t good and we couldn’t stop by Akashi park to see the cherry blossoms.  We ended up at the local yakitori instead, drinking beer and eating chicken on sticks.  Hopefully today we’ll get the timing right and head out there.  It really is our last chance to see cherry blossoms while they are still on the tree…

I’m almost finished at work meeting my new students.  Today is the last day of meeting new people, and so far I’m impressed with this term’s students. Actually one of my students this term will be one of our neighbors.  Mr. Kato lives three doors down from us and is also working at the same factory, so it’ll be a little strange to be teaching him this term.  Previously we’ve only spoken in Japanese, so I’m wondering if it will be a challenge to get him to speak only English in class.  We’ll see today.

Kuniko and I are trying to arrange a time after work this week to walk through the cherry blossoms in Akashi park, but her schedule is a little tricky.  I’m hoping today or tomorrow night we can pull it off.  I’d like to see a little bit more of the blossoms before everything turns green…

Well, my voice seems to have reported back for duty just in time to teach a full set of classes yesterday.  That is very good news.   Actually, it is a little shaky still, and sometimes I cough a few times during the conversation – but it is much better than before.

Yesterday I met three new students and four returning students, so it wasn’t all new faces.  Talking to the returning students I can see that they are very motivated.  The new students are hard to evaluate right now.  Hopefully they will get used to the environment and take advantage of the lessons, but it is too early to say.  Today I’ll meet another big group of new students and get to make a first impression.

I’m feeling much better after taking some time off this weekend to recuperate.  The coughing is much better, and there is a lot less congestion, too.  I’m going to need to be in tip top shape since I’m kicking off the new term today.  Nineteen students in total, but there are a few repeating students.  I can’t wait to get started.

Cherry blossoms should be at just about full bloom this week, which should make for some nice scenery going to and from work.  Unfortunately this year it looks like we won’t be able to have a proper sit down party under the blossoms because of the timing.  Hopefully we can pull it off next year.  That’s the thing with all these seasonal events – it isn’t long before it rolls around again.

How do you get rid of a cough?  Every night, after I get home, the coughs begin, and last well into the night.  Even after I go to bed, I wake up several times during the night with a dry hack.  I’m sure the neighbors are wondering when an old man moved into our house.  This cold is lasting forever!  Anyhow, tomorrow I’m taking a holiday from work to take care of some immigration stuff, so it is another chance to recuperate…

I had hoped that I’d be at 100% by now, but unfortunately I’m still coughing away, usually in the middle of the night. It is a vicious cycle – once I start coughing once or twice it makes it much more likely that I’ll cough again soon. My stomach and chest muscles are getting sore from the effort.

But enough about my health… Yesterday at work I had a full day without any classes. In my job free time is a luxury. Usually I have about an hour for lunch, and then about another hour chopped up into little pieces between classes throughout the day. That means I’m always “on” and there isn’t much time to take care of the little stuff, like paperwork piling up and textbooks to evaluate and new English learning apps online.

So this week is kind of a luxury for me, and as an added bonus, there is no need to speak during the day so my throat can work on getting better. Very, very nice.

On Friday I pushed as hard as I could and somehow got through the last classes of the term.  The last thing I wanted to do was postpone the classes because I was sick, and end up having to teach make-up classes this week.  I finished them last week, and classes are officially over.

But it was tough getting through those last classes.  I was coughing every minute or so, my voice was disappearing, and I’m sure I looked like a mess.  It was a hell of a last impression for my students.

This weekend has been only focused on recovery.  I didn’t do anything active – just resting in bed and on the sofa.   I’m still feeling under the weather, maybe about 65%, but a lot better than the 35% I was at on Friday after work.

In which our hero continues to wonder just how much mucus the human body can produce.  Or whether purchasing stock in Kleenex would be a wise choice at this point.

One more day of work, and then, full body shutdown.

Yesterday I struggled through the day, but I was able to attend the presentations of my group lesson students.  With only a few exceptions every student did a great job, and memorized all their English, delivered it nearly perfectly, and impressed the audience that had gathered.  I was very disappointed that some students had to bring notes with them to the stage (after I had forbid it), and then when they had trouble they looked at them with shaking hands (because once you bring the notes your mind will tell you that you can always peek once or twice).  The first time a student looked at his notes it got a laugh from the audience, but after they continued to look and read, it was met with a stony silence.  I think these students could tell that they fucked up that part, and I think that is probably punishment enough.

OK, one last day, and then it is radio silence from me for a while.

This morning as I write this I feel pretty much the same as yesterday.  Not good.  If today was a regular work day I would consider staying home, but we’ve got student presentations this afternoon, and they’ve been preparing for them for a whole month.  It’d be pretty lame if I missed them.

So I’m off to work with a big box of tissues, hourly handwashes and gargling, and just two more days left in this week.  … I think I can, I think I can …

For the first time in a year and a half I managed to catch a pretty serious cold. It started yesterday morning at work, and like an approaching subway train I could feel it coming long before it hit me. Ugh.

I did go ahead and follow through with the party with the Denya gang, but I just had a couple of drinks. It was great to see some old friends, and make some new ones. Luckily I was able to catch a ride with one of the members that wasn’t drinking, and I got home last night at a reasonable hour.

Today I’ve got six classes, so hopefully there won’t be too much talking and I can get through the