I’m writing just a short entry today – I was busy making French bread this morning and had no leisure time to write up a proper entry. Tonight after work I’m meeting Inoguchi sensei for dinner in Kobe and because of that, I wouldn’t have had time to play with the dough this evening. So instead, a little early morning breadmaking. Hopefully I’ll have plenty of time to write tomorrow…

Recently we’ve been doing a lot of experimental cooking on the weekends. This weekend, we’ll be hosting Kuniko’s parents to celebrate Niro’s birthday, so I thought maybe I’d try to bake some French bread. The poolish has started, and I’ll spend the next three days tweaking it until it turns out OK. We’re also going to cook a roast on the grill (since he is a serious carnivore) and Kuniko is going to make some risotto. Can’t wait!

The days are continuing to warm up, and the trip in to work is becoming more and more pleasant. The cherry blossoms will start to wrap up in the next few days, and then it is time to enjoy spring. It really is one of the best times to be in Japan – spring and fall are the seasons that I enjoy most because they lie between the two extremes of summer and winter. Just the idea of opening up the house and letting the breeze come through is exciting. Unfortunately for my neighbors that means they can probably hear my daily musical selections.

The last few nights Kuniko has had to work late, so I’ve been cooking. Although we had leftovers last night, I’m going to have to be in charge again tonight. What to cook… I’ll probably spend half the day just thinking about that – how screwed up are my priorities?

Today is “unburnable trash day” here in Okubo. Twice a month we gather all the trash that we couldn’t otherwise recycle or put with the burnable trash, and take it out to the curb. A peek into our bag reveals a strange assortment of objects. Metal candle holders, an Anpanman portable electric fan, some CDs, and some batteries. I think the most popular items I see on unburnable trash day are umbrellas – broken and twisted from a gust of wind at the wrong time.

Classes with my new students seem to be going pretty well. They are starting to warm up to the style of the class, and after another week or so will start to wonder if their skills are increasing or not because the classes seem more like entertainment than work. Based on the student, this period of warm-up will continue for a few more sessions, a few more months, or the rest of the course.

Recently I downloaded a new app for the iPad called “Discovr”, which despite a missing vowel does a good job of finding new music related to what you already like. Although I already have more than enough music to listen to, I can’t resist searching out new stuff. After just 15 minutes with the application I found three new artists that I like. I guess that will my application recommendation of the week….

OK, off to work!

Last night after work some heavy winds came into town, bringing cold air and much lower temperatures. Walking home in the chill I decided to change my menu and made tortilla soup for dinner.

Tortilla soup is simple to make, yet Kuniko always gives it rave reviews. Luckily I had corn tortillas and cilantro stems in the freezer, cotija cheese in the fridge, and I used tofu as a meat substitute. It turned out great, and I made enough to keep us warm through Wednesday.

I’m not sure why Mexican food hasn’t caught on here in Japan, but someday I’m sure people will figure it out. Until that happens, it’s gotta be Casa de Fredricks for our south of the border cravings.

Last weekend had enough beautiful weather that the cherry blossoms decided to open up completely, and so we along with pretty much everyone in Japan went out and sat under the blossoms.

One slight variation this time around was that we walked to Akashi instead of taking the train. We figured we might as well get our weekend exercise along the way. As we figured, there were lots of people around Akashi station. We bought a bento lunch at the usual place inside the station, and then got a couple of beers and went into Akashi park. It was packed with people, but after searching near the northeast part of the park we found a bench under a cherry tree and set up shop. It was great to see so many people out and about enjoying the blossoms. Because of the strange weather this year we weren’t sure if we’d be able to catch them, but luckily the timing worked out for us.

After a little while we packed up our stuff and headed back to the station to do some shopping and head home. Most of the rest of the weekend was just lounging around the house. We went out for Indian food at Swaad on Saturday night – and I think every time we go there we leave ready to award some Michelin stars. Probably we’ll be visiting more often in the future – it is rapidly turning into our go-to place.

Another highlight from the weekend was seeing Mark, Susan and Charlie via Skype. They look like they are doing well, and Charlie was pretty much a blur of energy on the video screen. Hard to believe she is getting ready to start walking around!

I was chatting with a student yesterday in class, and he casually mentioned that his boss knows me. “Really?” I asked. “What’s his name?”

He told me, but I didn’t recognize it at all. Turns out, his boss also lives in Okubo and has seen me walking around. My student said that his boss often stands next to me on the train going and coming from work.

That’s kind of weird. Now I feel like everywhere I go, somebody could be watching. It’s a strange feeling – that’s for sure.

Today is Friday, and we’re looking forward to wine and cheese and some homemade French bread that Kuniko baked for dinner tonight. It should be a relatively easy day at work for both of us, but it’ll be nice to relax over a bottle of Malbec and get ready for the weekend.

Have you ever heard of Bear Grylls? Until last year, I hadn’t. Apparently he is the host of an extreme adventure show on the Discovery channel.

Because many of my students are working on an American project, they are required by the project contract to fly using American airlines (doesn’t matter which one, as long as it is a US company). Because of all this flying on US airlines, they apparently are getting a lot of exposure to American television shows (which I think is great for their English) and especially there is a lot of Bear Grylls in the in-flight entertainment.

Luckily I had a chance to fly United at the end of last year and see what all the hype was about. The guy does all kinds of nutty things with a straight face, and demonstrates survival techniques in the process.

So naturally, my students are wondering how much of these activities I regularly participate in… after all, we are both Americans. I tried to explain that this was simply entertainment, and that most Americans rarely are forced to drink their own urine (although Bud Light is pretty close I think).

It is interesting the impressions that people receive from television. But I guess I’m glad that they aren’t watching some other reality TV shows that I can think of.

Last evening, for the first time my presence was specifically requested at the tachinomi bar after work to help one of the regular customers plan his trip to New York city. He likes to travel, speaks pretty good English, and was looking for some inside information about where to go and what to do.

Between me and the two inspectors we were giving all sorts of good (and probably bad) advice about what to do. Eat a hot dog! Visit the Empire State Building! Go to ground zero! Try heroin! Probably a bad idea to ask a bunch of guys drinking after work for completely serious recommendations. I think there was enough genuine information in there for him to have a good trip.

After a few drinks I headed home and made it back in time to catch Kuniko and have a proper dinner, share a hot bath, and then go to bed early. Not much free time yesterday, but I should be able to catch up on that the rest of the week.

Since last Friday on the way to work you can’t help but notice lots of young people in suits. In a custom that is still completely strange to me, young Japanese people hired more than a year ago while they were still studying in college are now heading to their chosen companies to get trained in how to work.

April 1st is the start of the fiscal year for every company in Japan, and it makes sense to bring in the new hires now. Men wear the standard “salaryman suit”, women wear black business suits (no other color, please). It is in sharp contrast to the self-promotion and year-round hiring/firing/job changes that I’m used to in the USA.

Yesterday morning there was a new receptionist at the reception desk, and one of the regular receptionists introduced me and explained that I can go in without credentials. The new receptionist gave me a big smile and said greeted me in Japanese, and you could immediately see the energy and excitement that comes with the first day of your career.

As for my students, every day I am meeting more and more new students. By Wednesday of this week I should have met just about everyone, and this week I’m thinking about teaching plans and curriculum for the course. Lots of stuff to think about.

The last two days Kuniko and I had plenty of time off to relax and take care of things around the house. Kuniko had a rare two days off in a row, too. We called off our trip to Costco because our party was called off on Saturday, but looking around the house it seems like we’ll need to go again soon. Last night we defrosted and grilled two huge steaks from Costco, and they turned out great. It’s amazing how good a big thick steak can taste. These had been in our freezer for almost a year, and they were awesome. I give full credit to my parents for sending the BBQ over from America.

While I was busy grilling, Kuniko was busy baking. She made homemade bagels which serve as the base for our lunch today – prosciutto, sprouts and cream cheese bagel sandwiches – and also some anko stuffed bread that we had for dessert last night and breakfast today.

This week looks like a pretty normal one. Cherry blossoms are still at least a week from full bloom – maybe next weekend we’ll get out and enjoy them. I guess the biggest event of this week is my payday on Friday. I get a bonus this time based on completing last year’s contract without a hitch, so the big question is how to use it. My long-standing policy on bonuses is that you should use it for something fun, but I’m a little torn on what to use it on this time. Any suggestions?

Today is Friday, and I’m headed to work for the third time this week. I’ll have a chance to meet my new students face to face today, and although I always enjoy the first lesson it is safe to say that my students rarely do. They have a stressful meeting with a person they’ve never met in a language that they rarely use, and on top of that there is an interview test that we record for reference. We’ll see how people do today.

The last three days have been great. I whittled down my to-do list to just one or two items left, cleaned the house, relaxed a lot, got a replacement netbook for the increasingly loud and tempermental one that we’ve been using for the last few years. I went into work just once on Wednesday to help with an orientation for the new students, and after that I was on my own again. Easy days.

Tonight we will receive some Jerry’s Pies via delivery from Kyoto. I originally had ordered them as an accent for Saturday’s party with Mr. Tojo, but last night Mr. Tojo was sent to New York for a while so the party is off. Hopefully Jerry’s Pies will freeze OK.

I’m off to work – today feels like a Monday for me, but actually it is the end of the work week for everyone. I guess I like the feeling.

Yesterday was officially my last class with the last of my students, and it was (as always) a little sad to say goodbye and send them out there to (hopefully) continue their studies on their own. Actually I am available for them as a resource, and each day I have a little time at the end of the day – call them ‘office hours’ – for them to drop by and ask questions or just practice speaking. So it isn’t a permanent goodbye, anyway.

So thus begins a couple of days of rest for me. Today and Thursday I have off completely, and Wednesday I have most of the afternoon off. I plan on spending most of the time working through a huge to-do list that has built up. I’ll just take it line by line and see how much I can get done today.

We’re planning on hosting Mr. Tojo and his wife this Saturday. The original plan was to go and make a Costco run in the morning, and since we’re there we’ll pick up something yummy to grill for dinner if the weather is good. We wanted to welcome them to the neighborhood – they just moved in and maybe they are a little unsure of everything right now.

OK, off to work on the to-do list. It starts with lugging three garbage bags out to the curb this morning. Ugh.

Friday night after work I went out with the salesman and the account supervisor for the job I’m working on now. We started out in Sannomiya, but realized that without a reservation it was going to be impossible to get a table. Luckily the salesman took us towards Motomachi to a place that he knew, and we were able to get in and get fed. We talked for a while about this and that, but the purpose of the dinner was to celebrate the start of another contract.

After dinner (paid for by the company, thanks!) we decided to take off and go our separate ways. I wanted to do just a little bit more drinking before heading home, so I went to “D” – the wine bar in Sannomiya that we like. I shared the elevator going up with a young woman, and she got off on the floor right below “D”. That floor is kind of a “girl’s bar” – a hostess club that has mostly younger women as hosts. As the door opened the lady walked inside to go to work, and inside I could see the receptionist dressed up in a playboy bunny costume smiling and hoping that I would get off as well. It looked like quite a place, but I maintained my resolve and continued up the elevator to “D”.

The master smiled and said “welcome back” as if he was waiting for you to walk in – he’s good at greetings. Right away he went for a bottle of wine that he must have been saving for me – a 2001 St. Francis Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. He was curious about the winery and the label, so we talked about it while sipping the wine. The wine was pretty good, although maybe just about peaked. The place was pretty busy, but I stayed for a couple of glasses of wine and a little bit of cheese, and then called it a night. I guess I’ll save the bunnies for another time.

Saturday was a relaxed day at home, but I did bump into one of my former students shopping at the local shopping center. He introduced his wife and daughter, and they seemed like very nice people. I was dressed like a homeless guy so I probably didn’t leave a great impression.

Sunday at noon we went over to the Yamaji’s house for lunch. It turned out to be quite a party – they had invited their friend who is a sushi chef, a friend that runs a liquor shop, and another friend that is a sommelier. So the conversations turned out to be quite interesting. Yuuki cooked some homemade dishes for us – braised beef and spaghetti with meat sauce (that was great), and Ana was there with her boyfriend, who happened to have the same last name as Kuniko. What started as lunch turned into an eating and drinking marathon – we finally left after 6 pm because we had to drop off something with Mr. Tojo down the street. I think we did some major damage to our livers this weekend.

Today is Monday for me, and also Friday. Tuesday and Thursday are off, and Wednesday is only a half day at work, so things should be pretty easy this week. Friday I’ll kick off classes with my new students. Today Kuniko has an extra day off, so I’m sure she’ll spend the day relaxing and recharging her batteries for the upcoming work week.

It is the end of the week and I’m feeling pretty good about that. Last night Kuniko had a party after work, so after a dinner of 皿うどん (saraudon) I settled in to watch Survivor, listen to music and read the news. It was a pretty relaxing evening. Tonight after work I’m meeting with my OTC contacts to kick off the next year contract at KHI. I’m not predicting a wild night.

This weekend should also be pretty mild. We are going over to the Yamaji’s for lunch on Sunday to say welcome back to Yuuki and farewell to Ana, who is going to leave home to live on her own. It should be a good time.

That’s all the news that’s fit to print – maybe another post this weekend…

Last night Kuniko got home early and cooked up a really good dinner Рnikumaki onigiri. We had one at a festival a long time ago and she pretty much nailed the taste. Take a small rice ball, wrap it in raw beef and some flower stems and the saut̩ it in sauce until it contracts and forms what looks like a giant steak meatball. The sauce is intense and soaks into the rice inside. Yummy.

At work I’ve been saying goodbye to some students. With just three more days of classes, there are a lot of farewells on the horizon. Luckily I’ll be sticking around, so there is a good chance of bumping into them again in the future. My students seem pretty optimistic about studying in the future – that’s good to see. I think it means that I did my job.

In disaster news on the TV and in the newspapers everywhere you see people pitching in and helping to move supplies, organize cleanup crews, and donating things to help people in the affected areas. There is a lot of work going on, and every day more and more trains are running in Tokyo. My students are attending meetings again in Tokyo (and bringing toilet paper and batteries for their families and friends) so it seems like things are getting a little bit closer to normal.

In another sign of normalcy, the high school baseball tournament is starting on schedule at Koshien. Kuniko’s students were participating yesterday, singing songs at the stadium. The coverage of the baseball tournament will be a big boost for people’s spirits, I think. The image of crying teenage boys seems to be a popular one this time of year.