Tonight after work I’m planning to head to Tsuchiyama to meet up with the Denya master and the other regulars for dinner.   For the master, Tuesday is the only night he has free all week, and for all the other members Wednesday is a national holiday.  Unfortunately for me, at my company it is just a regular work day.

That means no wild hi-jinks tonight, and instead, a quiet catch-up session with these guys.  It has been almost a year since I’ve seen some of them, so it’ll be good to hear what they are up to these days.  Should be fun!

At the end of last week and during the weekend I spent a lot of time working on my latest home project, setting up a home theater PC.  I bought a tiny little computer and installed it in a dark corner of our entertainment center, and now I’m tweaking and setting it up, installing this and that, and thoroughly enjoying myself.  Last night I even got some emulators working, which means I can play old games on the TV in our living room.  Still, there are a lot of tweaks left before I feel like it is ready for prime time.

On Sunday morning we drove north to visit Kinosaki.  It was the second time that I had been there, located on the north coast of Hyogo, and the weather was beautiful this time around.  We went to the same resort/hot spring as before, and ate a huge lunch of crab.  I think in the end we ate about three crabs each, in just about every variation you could imagine.  Raw, boiled, steamed, grilled, you name it.  Kuniko seems to be on her game these days and I think she is ready to join the workforce again this week.

In the evening we even had a surprise visit from Kuniko’s dad, who dropped off some vegetables and stayed for a cup of coffee. On the way home from Kinosaki we had stopped by their house to drop off some items and omiyage, but we had missed him so he came on over.  It was nice to talk to him again, and it sounded like he was still just as busy as usual these days.

This week at work I have no more group lessons, so that means an extra two hours of time each day that I can use to do planning and paperwork to wrap up this term and get ready for the next.  It feels like a luxury to have so much student-free time.  Let’s see what I can do with it.

The last couple of nights after I get home from work Kuniko and I have been hiking around Okubo at a very brisk pace to try to burn some calories from dinner, but more importantly to get her in a condition where she can walk all over her school and teach lots of classes all day.  She’s been in the hospital and resting at home for the last two weeks, but all that changes tomorrow.  She’ll go in to work in the afternoon to teach a few classes.  I guess all good things have to come to an end, and her stress-free lifestyle is due to end soon.

Yesterday I wrapped up my last group lesson with the same group that I started with.  Their practice for their final presentation went pretty well, though, and I think they will have no trouble at all next week at the meeting.

Tonight after work Kuniko and I will meet in Kobe to go see “Cloud Atlas”, which is only arriving in Japan today, and only in indie theaters.  It is not getting a major release here probably because of the lack of success in the USA, and probably because of the abstract theme.   I’ve been waiting months to see it, so I’m looking forward to this evening.

So today is a big day for Yuki Yamaji – he’s headed off to the airport to fly to San Francisco.  My folks are welcoming him at the gate and he’ll become an honorary Fredricks for three or four days before starting school in SF.  I’m sure he’s going to have a great time, and it’ll be a good chance for him to improve his English.  I have a feeling while he is gone we’ll get a lot more invites over to the Yamaji household – now they’ve got an empty nest.

At work yesterday I said goodbye to my top English class.  They are the ones that tried hard every class, kept speaking English even when I left the room, and had great chemistry.  I’m going to miss those guys!  Today I’ll wrap up my last group lesson of the term, and then the last time I’ll see everyone is during their final presentation next week.  I hope that goes well!

Finally, last night I received a package that I ordered from Amazon.  I set up a tiny computer underneath the TV, which over time will start to serve as a home theater PC.  I haven’t built a computer in a long time, but this was easy.  The hard part will be getting it to play nice with all the other equipment in the living room.

After writing about my student from hell last time, it was nice to work with some motivated students yesterday.   The classes that practiced presentations did much better than before, and I think we are probably in good shape for the final presentation next week.  I hope the students remember to study and practice.

Today and tomorrow I have the last two group lessons, so I’ll use the empty spaces in my schedule to start to do write-ups on each student and give feedback.  Lots of paperwork begins today.  Urgh.

Wrapping up the group lessons at work consists of a final exercise to review all the different skills and activities that the students learned over the course of the class.  In pairs they introduce themselves in a business style, make an appointment via telephone, give each other directions to places, and more.  I made a series of cards that they draw from, and then they have to do the activity with their partner.

Yesterday was the first class to do that review activity.  It went horribly.

Maybe that is overstating it.  One student put in zero effort, but the others did their best.  Often times they found that they had forgotten something, and so I urged them to go back to the text and review what they had forgotten.  But the zero effort student was terrible.  The card said, “Talk about your company for 30 seconds”, so he started talking one word every five seconds to try to avoid the assignment.  Another card said to talk about what is on your desk, and he pretended to not know what “on” meant.  Then he just drew the objects and made his partner actually say the English.

He was like this the whole term.  I can understand being shy, or the student not understanding how to say something or not remembering how to do some activity.  It is the lack of effort that really kills me.  Not even trying, avoiding speaking, and putting the load on someone else – that is just weak.  Thankfully it was my last class with him, and unfortunately for the other students in his class they had to deal with him for six months.  Hopefully he is a better student in the future.

It is officially on!  Saturday afternoon we went over to have a late lunch/early dinner BBQ party with the Yamajis.  Kuniko is still in recovery mode, and she took it easy.  We had a great time talking about Yuki’s upcoming trip, and eating lots of grilled foods.  Chicken, purokogi beef from Costco, and even locally caught sazae (turban shell).

We ended up staying longer than we had originally planned, and when Kuniko’s parents came over to drop off some vegetables they found us over there partying the night away.  Come on over – join the party!  The Yamajis were eager to meet Kuniko’s folks, and they had a good conversation (although I think Kuniko’s parents were a little overwhelmed/surprised).

Sunday we were both in recovery mode, and ended up spending all day watching movies on the sofa.  A storm came through and was blowing rain and wind everywhere, but luckily we could avoid it indoors.

Now I’m headed back to work, with a little bit of an unusual schedule this week.  I’m wrapping up my group lessons, and getting ready to wrap up my one on one classes the following week.  The six month term is coming to an end.

Finally it is Friday, and I can’t wait to get it over with.  For some reason this week seemed longer than usual – probably because Kuniko could stay home warm in bed while I got up every morning.

We are planning to maybe see a few movies this weekend, since we missed our chance previously.  Also we may visit the Yamajis on Saturday afternoon to bid our final farewells to Yuki as he is leaving for the USA soon.  They are holding a small party in the afternoon because the weather is supposed to be good.  There may be a BBQ involved, as well.

It  should be a relaxing, slow paced weekend.  And I’m ready!

One of the things that struck me while visiting with Kuniko at the hospital was the total lack of any kind of activity.  It was really boring, with only pay TV to serve as background noise to a quiet hospital room.  Kuniko said that she missed the music from our house, and that made me really think about how often we listen to music.  I think we’re listening to music pretty much all day.

That got me to thinking how I’ve been wanting to upgrade our audio system.  The subwoofer is actually also an amp, and works quite well now.  Unfortunately the fan that runs inside to cool the thing down has been getting slightly louder, and I can see the writing on the wall.  If that goes, the whole system will go down.  So I’m on the market for some separate equipment that will make any breakdowns less of a problem.

Meanwhile Kuniko seems to be doing a little better, but she’s still without a lot of energy, and she is spending most of each day recovering in bed.  Yesterday she got a few phone calls from friends, family and coworkers, and I think that made her feel better.    We are considering going out and seeing a movie Friday night as kind of a reward for the end of the week.  Other than that I’m hoping to do some yard work outside since spring seems to be making an appearance.  I’ve got to plant some herbs for the warmer season.

At work we are slowly progressing towards the end of the course for my students.  My group lessons for new employees will finish in the middle of next week, and my one on one classes will finish the week after that.  That means progressively fewer classes but also more paperwork as I wrap things up for each student.  But it is good news, and it means that we’re starting to recruit new students for the next term starting April 1st.

Kuniko spent the day at home yesterday, but when I arrived it was clear that she didn’t just lay around.  The house was spotless, the laundry was done, and dinner was ready.  I don’t think she has figured out the concept of convalescence quite yet.  I urged her to get some rest, but I’m not sure it is in her nature.

During our stay in Bali last winter I introduced Kuniko to the rules of chess.  We played a couple of games in Bali, and during her hospital stay we played again.  I left her the ipad so that she could play the computer, and I think she’s hooked.  It is a lot of fun to play chess with a real, live person instead of software.  Last night we played two games before bed, and I can’t help but be reminded of playing chess in college with my friend Chuck Hyde.   He was a damn good chess player, too.  I think it is just a matter of time before Kuniko starts beating me regularly as well.

Yesterday afternoon at the hospital Kuniko passed her final test, a CAT scan, with flying colors.  Her blood numbers were back to normal, and the doctor told her he’d like to keep her just one more night to be safe.

And Kuniko said, “No thanks.  I’d rather be home”.

So the doctor said, “Fine” and she was allowed to check out.  She was checking out about the time I got home, so  I drove over and picked her up, and let me tell you – Kuniko was very glad to be back.

She talked to her bosses at work and told them what the doctor told her, she should stay home and stay out of stressful situations for the time being.   I think she’ll be off work for the next couple of weeks, so hopefully she’ll be able to discover meditation, write the Great American Novel, or else think of some ways to keep her stress under control when she finally goes back to work.

One interesting point was the bill for the hospital.  The final bill out of pocket for her was about 40,000 yen (around $450) for three days stay in a double room (the other bed was empty the whole time), and all the antibiotics, lab work, and a CAT scan.  It seemed pretty reasonable to me, but I haven’t been in the hospital in the US so I have nothing to compare it with.  Still, not bad I think.

I’m off to work now, but I’m happy to know that she’ll be home in bed today convalescing.

When I last blogged Kuniko had taken a day off on Friday to make sure she was completely over the flu. I left for work as normal, and she was dozing away in bed. Turns out she only took a little time off and felt well enough to go in to work around 10 am. Unfortunately, she suddenly got the chills again, and felt feverish. She immediately went to a doctor, who gave her some medicine and sent her home to rest. She wasn’t satisfied with his diagnosis, however, and we made plans to take her to a kidney specialist, because of the intense pain in that area.

So Saturday morning I drove her to the doctor, who told her that there was absolutely no way that she would be able to get on the plane the next day and go to New Zealand as scheduled. I think he knew that putting Kuniko in the hospital would be the only way to keep her from going on the trip. She is determined to do whatever it takes to support and help her students, even if her body isn’t up to the task.

So the doctor ordered her to check into the hospital for several days (at least) to get antibiotics in her, and she had to call her school and tell them that she was officially out of action. After getting her to the hospital I was dispatched to her school to deliver some important materials and apologize for all the trouble we were causing. It turns out that Hakogi sensei will take Kuniko’s place on the trip, so I think that was a relief for everyone.

On the way back I stopped at the house to load up on supplies. By the time I got back to the hospital Kuniko was already assigned a room and she was tucked into bed with an IV dripping antibiotics. It was her first time in a hospital, so I did my best to cheer her up. Mainly she was concerned about her students and their trip, and she felt like she let everyone down.

I spent the rest of the day with her at the hospital, and then finally went home in the evening. The hospital is about a 20 minute walk from our place, so it is easy enough to go visit. The nurses seemed cool and said that we could ignore the visiting hours signs and that I could come and go as I pleased without having to check in.

So today I went back to the hospital with more supplies for Kuniko, and she seemed to be doing better. She was still worried about her students and their trip, but I guess she finally heard that everything was fine from her school, so that was a big relief. Her fever was back down to a low enough level that they allowed her to take a shower, and that really helped her to feel better as well.

We haven’t heard when she’ll be able to come home, but I think she is still pretty weak, so even if she comes home I think she’ll need some rest time around here. Hopefully she’ll be able to come back soon, because I think she’d be a lot more comfortable here than there. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that she’ll be free to go tomorrow!

Last night Kuniko we t out with some coworkers after work, had a glass of beer, and then suddenly felt cold chills all through her body. She begged off early, and came straight home. I tucked her under the electric blanket and checked her temperature, and she had a raging fever (39.7 C / 103 F). We kept her full of sports drink and soup, and she crashed out early.

That is your body on exhaustion shutdown.

Luckily this morning her temperature was normal – her fever had broken overnight. She’s taking the day off work today (which may be the first sick day in her life as far as I know). I think normally she’d go into work, but she’s very aware that on the day after tomorrow she needs to be on the plane to New Zealand taking care of her students. Hopefully the day off will be enough to get her back on her feet.

Last night’s dinner was just an excuse to kill off the rest of the carnitas, and it was easy enough to convert them to pulled pork for sandwiches.  Luckily I always have some Yoshida’s BBQ sauce on hand, and instant BBQ dinner.  I experimented a while back with a vegetarian version of pulled pork by using eringi mushrooms, and it came out great, but last night had all the pork fat, and it is hard to compete with that.

Tonight I’m on my own as Kuniko has dinner plans with an ex-coworker and a future co-worker.  I’ll do my best to continue the campaign to empty our fridge.

Yesterday evening the weather decided to give us a bit of rain on top of the cold that is still sticking around.  That made for a very cold trip back home.  I don’t mind the cold temperatures, but once you combine them with either wind or rain things start to get miserable fast.  Luckily, our house was warm and toasty by the time we arrived.

A couple of good things happened last night.  We booked two more hotels for our trip, and also the Honda dealer returned our car.  They had taken it overnight for a routine maintenance check (leaving us with another car) and they delivered it back to us last night.  The service of coming to your house to pick up the car and returning it the same way is very convenient, especially for us as we’re both working.  Thanks, Honda.

Yesterday at work I had a chance to go out on the factory floor to listen to one of my students explaining an important point of the new prototype Washington Metro cars that they are building.  The customer is in town to inspect them, and so some of my students have to do some explanations in English to the customer.  My role was to pretend to be the customer and help my student practice what he was going to say and show.  I think it went OK, actually.  And it was interesting to work around the brand new trains.

That’s about it – off to work again.