A while back I had my annual health check at the company, and they gave me the usual warnings about gaining weight, the chance of increased cholesterol, and other effects of cruising past forty years old.

Usually I am out on the trail a lot, but recently for some reason it seems like I’m not out there as much.  I don’t have much free time these days, but I figured I should use what I have to make sure that I don’t bulge out any more than I already am.

So I bought an exercise bike on Amazon Japan.  It showed up the evening of the very next day, and last night I took it for its first spin.  It has been a long time since I’ve used an exercise bike, but it brought back good memories of my grandparents’ house, where I fooled around on one as a kid.  This one is quiet, not too heavy to move around, and does what it is supposed to – I was sweating within a few minutes.

Tonight I rode for 30 minutes, and hopefully I can get on the bike a couple of times a week to try to keep the sweat flowing.  One year from now I’m hoping to surprise the medical staff.

This week has been flying by, and we’re looking forward to a three day weekend for “Culture Day”.  Tomorrow night I’ll head to Osaka to meet an ex-coworker (postponed from last week due to the typhoon) and Sunday we’ll have Kuniko’s college friends over for dinner.  It’s going to take a long time on the bike to burn off the calories from that dinner…

It has been a long time between posts! It’s time to get up to date on the blogging.

We had a really nice weekend, with a little more excitement than usual. Friday night I met Kuniko after work and we went out to try a new burger restaurant in Kobe. I’m always looking for the next great burger place. This wasn’t it, but it came close. The meat was excellent, and if you double the price they’ll make the patty out of Kobe beef. Unfortunately the thing was tiny – the bun seemed even smaller than a McDonald’s bun. The atmosphere was a strange combination of 50’s diner and hip hop lounge, and the beer selection was also odd – Guinness, Corona, or Heineken. Too bad.

After dinner we went and tried some other new places. Down the street we found a tiny shop that specialized in champagne, and so we enjoyed a glass there with a sliver of quiche. Next we went to a “Spanish” place, but it was a little too Japanized for us (and only one Spanish wine on the list!). It was a fun night to blow off some steam after the work week.

Kuniko had to work on Saturday, but she got home just in time to head over with me to the Fukumi’s to enjoy dinner. We spent the evening with them and the Yamajis, enjoying Sayaka’s cooking. We had lots of great wines and good conversation. The big topic was the upcoming baby in December. Sayaka sounded a little nervous but Koki looked thrilled. They still haven’t figured out their living arrangements after the baby arrives. That should be interesting to see what they work out. At the end of the evening they brought out a birthday cake for me, which was very kind of them. It was a fun night, and the food kept me full well into Sunday.

On Monday I had a health check at work. They do this every year, but it was only my second time. I thought it went much more smoothly, mainly because I know the procedure now. They gave me a clean bill of health, but they want me to try to keep my weight down. I’ll get the results from the blood check in a month or so, and then I’ll be able to see what my cholesterol levels are up to. I also had to drink the dreaded barium milkshake, but it was a piece of cake. The real trick is to get it all flushed out of your system during the rest of the day. Luckily I have fewer classes on Monday.

It’s a great idea to have a mandatory health check yearly. It is something I didn’t do enough on my own, and it’s pretty good motivation for keeping track of your own health day to day. Just another benefit of working for a big company, I guess.

This week is a pretty standard week for us. We’ve got a Costco trip planned, and Friday I’ll go into Osaka to have a drink with an ex-coworker, so there are a couple of things to look forward to. Kuniko has to work both days next weekend, and there’s a typhoon or two floating around on the horizon, so who knows how things will shake out.

The nice thing about a long weekend is that you get a nice short week afterwards.   Yesterday the Kansai area dodged a bullet and (possibly) the biggest typhoon of the year missed us to the south.  It went on to hit Tokyo directly and cause a little bit of havoc, but we just had some heavy winds and rain on and off.  No problem!

I’m getting used to teaching my new students in the group lessons, and they are starting to get more comfortable with each other.  As they relax, the learning seems to come a little easier.  One of the big changes this term is that I outlawed work phones in the classroom, and it has made a huge difference.  Last time we had students running in and out which was a distraction.

I’m already looking forward to the weekend.  We’ll go do a little shopping on Friday after work, and then on Saturday we’re going to head over to the Fukumi’s place for dinner.  It’ll be good to see them – it seems like ages since we’ve seen them around.

This past Friday I turned 42 years old.  It was a really nice day, actually.  My work schedule was a little busier than usual, but after work I was able to meet up with Kuniko in Kobe and then head to our favorite sushi place, Nadaya over in Nada ward.

As usual the meal was wonderful.  I made a few requests this time on top of the omakse course, and the master was happy to oblige.  We had sushi with a really nice sake served cold and refreshing.  I really enjoyed the crab sushi – the sushi master knows that we love it, and kept them coming.

Saturday I had most of the day to myself.  I walked around town to do some shopping, and noticed that there were a lot more people in Okubo than normal.  Turns out this weekend is the local festival.  I couldn’t resist heading out to the shrine to see the turnout, and it was bigger than I had expected.  It used to be a pretty small affair, but the population of Okubo continues to build, and one of the benefits is a bigger matsuri crowd.  I don’t mind at all.   I bumped into the master of Red Spanky, who told me that he bought the place off the previous owner, and is now the master and owner.  He renamed it “Paddy” which is nowhere near as catchy a name, but I’ll have to go over there sometime and took a look around.

The rest of this three day weekend will probably be spent mainly at home, letting Kuniko get some rest, and taking in some movies. I’ve been doing enough walking around the past couple of days that a little time at home couldn’t hurt.

Things are cranking along at work, and I’m enjoying teaching the new students.  Starting tomorrow I’ll begin teaching my group lessons, and I’m interested in seeing how those turn out.  The first few classes are really important to set the tone for the whole term, so hopefully the chemistry between the students is good.

Today I had to teach a lesson to the production employees, and the lesson was in the usual place – the training center in the south part of the factory.   I like teaching there because I can see a lot of new faces, and also they keep the room air conditioned and comfortable.  Unfortunately today it was really hot (is this really October?) and they have kind of policy of not using the air conditioner once summer is over.  And summer is over in October.   All the windows were open, which helped, but outside they were pounding away on steel, driving forklifts and it was pretty hard to communicate through the sweat and heat.

Mentally I had moved on past summer time.  I guess it wasn’t quite ready to go yet.

Another big typhoon is coming our way, but I have a feeling this one is going to miss us.  Apparently it will come closest to us on Wednesday, so it may be a little dicey getting to and from work.  The last time this happened I ended up coming in late – I hope it doesn’t happen again.

One of the best parts of starting a new term is getting to know my new students.  I’m really pleased with this term’s batch.  They are highly motivated, slightly nervous, and exceptionally intelligent.  In the past I’ve found this combination to be especially conducive to English speaking improvement.

We are coasting into the weekend, and I’m happy to be here.  From next week things at work will get much busier, so I’m looking forward to the weekend to rest up.  Tomorrow night Kuniko is forgoing a party with her coworkers to have a party with me at home, so we’re trying to think up what to have for dinner.  Garlic?  No problem.  Too much alcohol?  Probably.  I’m not sure yet what we’ll have but I’m sure it will be decadent.

So far this week I’ve been enjoying getting to know my new students and catching up with some repeating students. This week involves a lot of planning for the start of the new employee group lessons next week.

Kuniko has definitely got a wicked cold, and seeing her walk around the house coughing like an old man is a little disconcerting. Every morning she says she feels better. I hope it doesn’t last much longer – she’s got precious few holidays this month to recover.

Tonight after work I’ll meet up with some of the inspectors from the factory along with Neil Meyer, who works at KHI as a technical translator. Neil wanted to catch up with me about our summer trip, and the other guys will sort of tag along. It should be fun!

As usual, Kuniko had a busy schedule last weekend. She had to work on Saturday during her school’s culture festival, and then she had a club event on Sunday that she couldn’t get out of. As a double bonus she has also caught a cold, so she’s not doing so hot these days.

As for me, I had plenty of free time this weekend to try to make Mai Tai’s, read books, and sit on the beach. I’m glad I have all the free time on my weekends, and I’m trying to take advantage of it!

This week at work I’ll be wrapping up the last classes for the previous term, and starting from Tuesday I’ll begin teaching new students. I always look forward to meeting new students – especially hearing about their backgrounds and what they do professionally.

Should be a fun week at work!

This week has been a little odd. First, it is only four days long, because of the national holiday we enjoyed on Monday. Secondly, I’m using this week as a kind of equalizer to wrap up all my classes with students having about the same number of class-hours. This means some days have a few classes, some days have only one or two classes. Today I only have an orientation. This is good for me, since I can start planning for next term, but it is weird to have so much freedom.

Last night Kuniko had a party, so I spent the evening eating leftovers and playing GTA. The game is huge. I’m sure it’ll take at least a year to play it through. This weekend Kuniko has to work both days, so if there is a chance I’ll play some more. I’m also hoping to get some hiking in.

Japan has come a long way since I first arrived ten years ago. Things like imported food, the iPhone, American wine, Costco, even large shirt sizes are now easily available to make my life better.

Unfortunately there is one thing that still hasn’t made it to Japan – deodorant. Every time I go to the US I stock up on the Sure deodorant – sometimes up to 20 sticks. I can live with the weird looks at the register to keep my underarms dry during these brutal Japanese summers.

The bad news is that it looks like my stockpile is running low. The good news is that it seems like summer is pretty much over, so maybe it won’t be a problem to go light on the deodorant until we head out to the USA in December.

Fingers (and arms) are crossed.

It was a long, relaxing weekend. Friday night kicked it off with dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant with Yoshi and his family.

It was their first time at Mikaen, and I think they liked it. We ordered all kinds of food – especially the spicy stuff. It was good to see Yoshi’s son Akira. He is getting pretty tall and he still eats a lot. We spent most of our time talking about our recent travels. Yoshi had gone to France and England on a solo journey, and Mamiko had gone back to Taiwan to take in the entertainment culture there. We are considering a short trip to Taiwan in the future, so we’ll be sure to ask her for advice.

The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet. We spent time watching movies, organizing our pantry (which is a big job), doing laundry, hiking to Akashi, and we even squeezed in a trip to Swaad for yummy Indian food.

This week should be odd. It’s only a four day work week, and I have an unusual schedule with some classes and some holes. I need to concentrate on wrapping up the previous term, and starting to plan the next term. This week I’ll hold an orientation for new one-on-one students, and their course will start next week. I’m looking forward to meeting my new students!

Tuesday night after work I downloaded the latest open world game to suck up all my time – Grand Theft Auto 5. I played Skyrim for almost a year solid, but since then there hasn’t been any big open world games worth playing.

My first impression is that there is plenty to see and do in the game, and it looks like it’ll keep me busy for a long time. The last few nights Kuniko has gotten home pretty late, so it is a perfect way to wile away the time until she gets back.

Luckily there is a 3-day weekend coming up, so I can get some more playing time in.

Back in the real world, the weather is cooling down enough so that hiking is back on the weekend agenda. We’re thinking about a short hike around Suma. Also, we’re meeting up with Yoshi and family tomorrow at our favorite Chinese restaurant. It should be a pretty good weekend!

Saturday night we had the Tojos over for dinner.  It started a little on the late side, but since they live just down the street we don’t have to worry about last trains or anything like that.

TJ and his wife brought over a bottle of wine they bought in Florence, and also they gave us a beautiful souvenir – a handcrafted glass wine stopper from Venice.  We gave them some olives from Greece and some Turkish delight from Istanbul, but I think we made out better in the souvenir department.

Dinner turned out to be a big success.  I loved the montadillos and Kuniko made little tartlets, and tons of other finger foods to enjoy while we talked about our trips and other news.  TJ likes to talk about the company and his projects, but I don’t really have a lot of interest in talking shop, especially in front of two people who don’t really know anything about what is going on at our work.

We ended up drinking quite a lot, which is a surprise to pretty much nobody.  It was a great time, and I think we ended up sending them packing after 1 am.

The next day we could sleep in late, and we took advantage of it.  The weather was getting progressively worse as the morning wore on, and we realized that there was a typhoon on its way.  Luckily, the bulk of the typhoon passed to the south of us, but we had a full day of rain on Sunday.  We spent the day curled up on the sofa watching movies and working on the leftovers from the party.  It was a restful day, and something we both needed.

All through the night the wind howled and the rain smacked against every window of our house.  I was sorry to see that it was still raining cats and dogs when I woke up the next morning at 4:30 am.  Kuniko was nice enough to drive me to the Okubo station on her day off, which helped me keep my socks dry.

I waited at the station for the first train, scheduled at 5:30 am.  Believe it or not, the first train didn’t leave until about 10 am.  I didn’t wait around until then, though.  I bumped into a former student who was waiting just like I was, and together we devised a plot to get to the Sanyo train line, and take alternate transportation to work.  It still took a long time, and I ended up arriving late to work for the first time in my life.  Luckily I wasn’t the only one – two of my students were gone for the whole morning and they missed my class.  Still, it is amazing the havoc that a typhoon can create.  Some of the images of the flooding in Kyoto and Shiga were pretty shocking – it was a wet one.

When I left at the end of the day the typhoon had passed on, and it was just sunshine and blue skies.  Hard to believe anything happened at all!  Kuniko had made up a big bowl of spaghetti and meatballs and some potent garlic bread to go with a green salad.  Yum!  I’ve got to admit it is nice to come home to a hot meal now and then.

Tomorrow after work we’re going to make our first Costco run in several months.  Time to stock up on wine, beer, cheese, and other supplies to keep us in business through my birthday.   I’m hoping they have some goodies to buy for our dinner tomorrow night.  We’re going to come home exhausted, and maybe cook a few items for the upcoming pinxtos party.

I’m sure we’re both going to sleep well on Sunday.  I think Kuniko may not get out of bed, actually.

I’ve been on the same pattern at work for the past three years.  I teach six month terms – the first term runs from April through September, and it is comprised of only one-on-one classes.  The next term begins in October, and it has some classes for new employees in a group format, and the rest of my time is filled out with one-on-one classes.  Since I’ve been following the format for so long, I kind of figured that it would stay that way.  As usual, just when you expect things to be the same, something changes.

As I mentioned before, I heard that they were considering other formats for the class, and suddenly all the balls are in the air.   I heard that perhaps next week we’ll find out where the balls landed and what exactly I’ll be teaching in two weeks’ time.   I made some suggestions recently, and here’s hoping that they pan out!

Kuniko is running on fumes these days.  She had to work last weekend, and she’s been exceptionally busy at work recently.  Often she returns around 10 pm, and then it is a quick dinner, a quick recap of her day, and then we have to head to bed to catch what sleep we can before our alarm goes off at 4:30 am the next day.  Luckily she’s got a three day weekend coming up…