Yesterday I was reading a post about shoplifting and your rights if a store detains you. It reminded me of our trip to India, and how in every store you entered you had to check in any bags that you were carrying, and then check them out again when you left. If I recall correctly, it has happened before in some stores in the USA, and also in some of the European countries that we have visited.

The contrast to Japan is striking. Stores are less defined by walls and space – and it is perfectly OK to stray beyond the area of the store (especially grocery stores) with as yet unpaid for items. I still feel a little uncomfortable walking beyond the cash registers with stuff, but most people don’t really care, especially the store clerks. There is a lot more freedom to do what you want with the items, including walking around with alcohol, drinking it in public, having an open container, etc.

It’s just one of the small things that I enjoy about living here. They give you the chance (and they expect you) to do the right thing (i.e. not steal or act stupid) and the vast majority of people do it.

As the weather continues a steady cooling trend I’m getting pretty excited. Unlike Kuniko, I love the cold. The colder, the better as far as I’m concerned. I can sleep easily, enjoy hot coffee and tea, and forget about wiping away the sweat every few minutes. Last night we slept under the big blanket, and I’m guessing we’ll be using the electric blankets as soon as next month. Cold? Yes, please.

Yesterday at work I received a couple of visits from some VIPs as well as my regular students, and it seems like people are generally happy to see me teaching there. I’m starting to get comfortable working in my classroom, and I’m looking for ways to make the place my own, without making it look like I’m trying to make it my own. Anything I bring will have to be small, but I’m trying to figure out ways to personalize the classroom and office. Any ideas? I guess I’ll have to keep thinking on it…

Last night after work I was back at the tachinomi place, drinking with Bill, one of the inspectors at the factory. He is a regular at the place, so they seem to know what he will be drinking before he orders. Must be convenient. I had just a couple glasses of cheap Barolo that were pretty good, and spent most of the time catching up with Bill and his most recent news. It looks like he’ll be sticking around for at least another year or so, but right now his contract is up in the air and so he’s a little concerned. It must be hard not being able to settle down and relax – right now he’s kind of in limbo.

Since I have a security pass for the building where I work now, I can go in to work anytime I like. Previously I had to enter through the front entrance that opened at 8 am. Now, anytime I like I can enter and start work, so that gives me a lot more flexibility during the day. I just have to remember to wear the pass wherever I go. Yesterday I went in a little early to work on a lesson plan – and it was nice and quiet in my office.

During one of my group classes yesterday two members of the HR staff dropped in to watch me teaching the new students. This is pretty unusual, since I usually only teach one-on-one classes they never drop in because of the pressure on an individual student. But with a group of younger students I think they wanted to see how they are dealing with a class in all English. Luckily I was working on a quiet part of the lesson when they came in. It was good to know that they seemed to care about us, though. I hope we get more visits in the future.

I spent the majority of last weekend pretty much locked up at home, apparently on the road to recovery. I’m feeling a lot better today, and I think by Tuesday or Wednesday I should be back at 100%. Part of the decision to stay home had to do with heavy rain and thunderstorms on Saturday. The rain kept everything pretty much inside, and the thunder was the loudest I have ever heard in Japan or the U.S.

This week at work is another full week, but at the end I need to meet some friends and go to Osaka to start to plan a wedding party. It should be a busy weekend on top of that, so this week at work will probably be the slowest time of the week.

Tonight Kuniko is going out with a couple coworkers to check out a restaurant that they may use in December for a larger company party. The organizers of the party often go in advance to try out the food and the atmosphere of the restaurant. Called a 下見 (shitami), and I’m doing the same thing this Friday for the wedding party. As for my plans tonight, I’m torn between catching a beer at the tachinomi or coming home and working on leftovers. Hmm…

Can’t tell you how good it feels to pull into Friday. My body has somehow held together this week, thanks to Kuniko’s healthy dinners, and copious amounts of iodine gargle. Once I get through my classes today, I imagine I’ll go into total shutdown for the weekend. For the third weekend in a row, it’ll be raining, so I guess it is good timing.

For my birthday Kuniko got me a food processor, so last night I played around with it a little bit. I’m hoping that I can start making some salsas coming up soon. First I’ve got to figure out how to do it without losing a finger. I’m wondering whether it will be the kind of kitchen appliance you use all the time or just once or twice a year…

OK – checking out for now. Hopefully I’ll be back above 50% for next week.

Despite my precautions yesterday I still feel like I’m catching a cold. I don’t actually have a cold, just feeling like it will happen soon. I think all the stuff I’m doing (gargling, vitamins, juice, etc) is just putting off the inevitable. If I can get through two more days, then the wheels can go ahead and fall off the wagon, and I’ll be a mess this weekend. Ugh. Luckily the weather is helping out – this week has been sunny and warm, and this weekend should be rainy. So I’ll have no problems laying around in bed.

Since October 1st I have been working in a new office at work – moving from the second floor to the fourth floor. Until the last minute I wasn’t sure I would move, but finally I made the transition, and now I’m sitting pretty in a very spacious and clean classroom. Unfortunately, the two American inspectors that I occasionally drink with didn’t get the message, so they thought I had flat out disappeared. By chance I passed one on the street on the way home last night, and he was happy to hear that I’m still around. We’re going to try to get out for a beer or two next week when I’m feeling better.

That’s about it – I gotta get my stuff together and head out the door. At least it is a nice walk to work…

I was just talking to my dad the other day on the phone and I mentioned that I hadn’t had a cold in a long time.

Yeah, I know.

Starting from yesterday I started to get a tingle in my throat, so I got all over that with some iodine gargling, vitamin C, and I went to bed around 8:30. This morning I’m in pretty much the same condition – not better, not worse. I’m hoping I can survive today at work and fight this one off – now that I am teaching group lessons again I have to speak a little more often and a little louder in class.

So today I’ll be staying warm and staying rested, with my fingers firmly crossed. Teach me to put the whammy on.

Last night Kuniko killed a bunch of leftovers in one fell swoop – and I think it might be a household record for us. She turned half a gigantic eggplant, a head of broccoli, half a pound of ground beef, carmelized onions, an avocado, an a bottle of tomato sauce into a hamburg dish that was delicious. I watched most of the process, and I think the secret ingredient may be nutmeg. Now our refrigerator has been tamed, and we’ll start from (nearly) scratch tonight.

This week is pretty much just a full work week. I have no parties, no special events, and just a lunch on the weekend. I’m using the extra time to get work done for my classes, but it does feel nice to not have to go out drinking (and spending money) so much this week. I’ve got to save my money (and lose all my free time) once Skyrim comes out next month. I’m not so much into games, but when the right one comes along – it’s all over.

Yesterday afternoon we met up with some friends and attended the Sheraton Wine Tasting held at the Sheraton Hotel in Rokko Island. We’ve attended several times before, but because of the popularity there was a whole lot more people and quite a few more wines than usual. We walked into the ballroom, and the place was filled with people milling around tasting wines. About a quarter of the ballroom was dedicated to food, and the rest to local distributors showing their wines, which luckily came from all over the world.

This was the first time for our neighbors (Fukumi) to taste wine formally, so I gave them a few tips and sent them on their way. Everyone enjoyed the event, I think, and some of us went home with some bottles afterwards. The most unusual highlight was when some strange guy came by each table and ate the remaining foods off of the plates that were discarded, using his hands. Somewhat unexpected in the ballroom of the Sheraton hotel. They also had two ‘entertainment’ portions to the event. One was a duo playing live music, but the volume was so loud that nobody could talk to the people pouring and we couldn’t discuss the wines with each other. That lasted about 45 minutes, and after they finished their last song (We Are The World) we were able to get back to the business at hand.

Also they had a “wine tasting contest” which was apparently people guessing the vintage, variety, country and appellation of a mystery wine. They conducted the tasting on stage, but really there was nothing much to do for the audience. I felt bad for the emcee – whose idea was this? Had there been a bit more drama (maybe involving a live alligator or something) things might have been more entertaining.

Still, all in all we could taste a lot of wines for the first time, and I think everybody learned a lot about their taste in wines. Mission accomplished.

Yesterday I upgraded the operating of my iPhone 3GS to ios 5, smoothly and without any problems. My 3GS will probably be around for another month or so before I upgrade to the 4S, but in the meantime I’m enjoying playing with the new features of the new OS. There are still lots of things to explore, so I’ll play around with it and see what I can find today.

Interestingly enough, Kuniko’s old cellphone croaked at pretty much exactly the same time I finished my installation, meaning that she is without communication today. In Japan, that’s a big deal, so we’re going to drop into the cellphone shop today after work and see if we can get it repaired/replaced. Then back home for a relaxing weekend.

Sunday we’re going to a wine tasting at the Sheraton hotel with our neighbors and one of Kuniko’s good friends from college. I’m looking forward to getting to taste some interesting wines – the tastings there are always overwhelming but I seem to always find a new bottle that I like.

I came home after work last night pretty tired out. I had some extra lessons throughout the day, and also I had a conference with one of my ex-students who asked me to help organize his upcoming wedding second party. I think he had an image of me being some kind of goofy half-English half-Japanese speaking gaijin emcee that would bring down the house. I’m not sure I could pull that off. Maybe I better check out some old Academy Award broadcasts to pick up some tips. Anyway, this won’t be until the beginning of November, so I’ve got some time to think about it.

Last night we had leftovers for dinner – salmon and scallops as sashimi, and some leftover steak and beans for the BBQ the other night. Strangest surf and turf ever.

Today and tomorrow I’m trying out some new lessons with my students, so I’m hoping that they go over well. This morning I’m heading off to work a little early to do some last minute prep. Looking forward to that weekend already!

Yesterday was a pretty normal day at work – two group lessons and five one-on-one lessons. I’m really enjoying my students this term – plenty of energy and fun to talk to. They are still pretty nervous, so it’ll take a couple more weeks before they let their hair down. After work Kuniko and I worked on the leftovers from our Tex Mex BBQ on Monday. There was still plenty of steak, beans and rice, so we went ahead and made burritos and killed off the leftover guacamole. Yum.

After all the excitement of last weekend, I think this week and weekend should be much calmer. The highlight will be a winetasting with friends at the Sheraton hotel on Rokko Island this Sunday. They always do a nice wine tasting, and I usually come home with one or two rare bottles of vino.

Nice to have two days off during the middle of the week! It looks like Friday is here, and we’ve got a busy three day weekend planned. Tomorrow night we’ll go out to eat to celebrate my 40th birthday a little early, since my birthday falls on a school night this year. Sunday during the day we’ll go to a concert sponsored by my wife’s school, and then afterwards go visit Yoshi and family in Tarumi for dinner. Monday I’ll be doing some tex mex BBQ for Inoguchi sensei and his wife. Good times!

My classes are going really well with the new students, and so far I’m liking my new schedule. After this long weekend the schedule returns to normal for several weeks before we hit another couple of holidays. This fall schedule is looking pretty good!

I’m wrapping up a couple of mid-week days off thanks to some quirks in my schedule. The last two days I’ve been chilling out locally. Today was a rainy day, so I mainly stayed inside working on paperwork, reading books, listening to music, and cooking. Yesterday the weather was much better, and I spent almost an hour sitting at the beach in the sun enjoying the cool fall weather. Watching the ocean and hearing the waves hitting the shore (even small waves) is a pretty good way to recharge my batteries for the next course.

I’m pretty happy with my new classroom. They converted a big work area that was sitting empty, and even after they cut the area in half I still have a huge office and another big area to work with group students. I’m a little leery of having so much space. It is essentially a giant private office, and I am guessing that it is probably bigger than the company president’s office. While I am very happy with all the extra space – the last two years I’ve been teaching in a small windowless room on the second floor – I’m hoping that what they are getting out of the class justifies the setup. I’ve got to find a way to use the space up, otherwise it may disappear in the future…

As for my students, I met only a few of them on Monday but it looked like a good group so far. I can tell I’m going to enjoy the group lessons, but the preparation is going to be much more for them. I may go in to work early the next few weeks in order to spend time on some backup lesson plans and activities for them.