It`s been a while and I`ve had a few things on my mind. I`ve been reading some J-blogs and found that I`m not the only person who thinks there are many very unattentive Japanese people wandering the streets, driving cars and so on. I think the worst when a pack of people are spread out across the sidewalk shoulder to shoulder or handlebar to handlebar. Drives me fucking bonkers. I just hold my ground and stay the course. They move.
        I did try going around a drunken pedestrian and bumped him. See the "shit" post about that one. I don`t like stereotypes but as a friend said, they exist for a reason. Not everyone is completely absorbed in what they are doing but many are. Be careful out there.

Weddings

My wife`s cousin is getting married on Sunday. So, we`ll be getting up at the ass-crack of dawn to drive there. I`m not driving thankfully. We can only afford one of us going. What I mean is that people give money to help the bride and groom recoup the cost and the cousin chose a big fancy hotel to get married in and so we`re paying more than the standard \30,000 and paying \50,000 to them. So I`ll be wandering around Tokyo. Nice.

For those living in Japan

I found an interesting website. www.debito.org  check it out if you haven`t already. Lots of good info about living/surviving in Japan.

Shit

My paycheck this month will be about 190 dollars less than last month for no apparent reason. Fuck. On my way home I brushed/bumped a guy on my bike. He and 2 drunk buddies were spread out across the sidewalk as many Japanese people tend to do. He yelled and I was already pissed. I hit the breaks, he ran up to me.　ぶつかったんだよおめえ。。。すみません as I rolled my I eyes. おせんだようおめえ。。なまえまんだい。。。いらないだろう I said。。。。blablablah and kicked my bike as I rode away.  I wasn`t gonna risk my visa on a drunk asshole. I`m not saying I wasn`t in the wrong..... some fucking people.

Eating out

There are lots of good restaurants here in Japan. Many of them foreign. For example, I went to the Outback Steakhouse last night for dinner in Shibuya. It`s just like it is in the U.S..  I always get the bloomin onion. Terrible for my health, I know, but they are delish. Had steak and ribs. I should say we had steak and ribs because my wife and I were celebrating our wedding anniversary. Aaww, yeah, yeah. Before that we went to Ameyokocho in Ueno and had sashimidon. I had salmon and wife had toro. Again, delish. For \500 what a deal!
A lot of people either have no idea what Japanese people eat or they think everyone eats raw fish. Japanese folk love good food just like everyone else. You can get basically any kind of food that you want here in Japan. French and Italian are very popular as is Chinese. Vietnamese and Mexican not so much yet but seem to be increasing. Oh how I miss those two! Quality is usually very good. I love going to the grocery store and buying things that have been prepared there in the store because they are cheap and tasty. Here`s a tip, if you are grocery shopping in Japan, wait until an hour or so before closing time. They usually discount lots of items, especially meats, and you can get some really good deals.
Speaking of food, I`m hungry......

Another day

Well, let`s see.... Another day another yen. Had my only adult class today. Used some tongue twisters to practice pronunciation. "Roberta ran rings around Roman ruins" etc. Found a really good site with lots of them. www.uebersetzung.at/twister/en.htm

Work

Well, it`s been too long. I`m teaching teaching English at G***. Today was a little annoying. My second class of the day was really energetic. I tried going with it but they just took it to a whole new level. One kid gave me a good smack in the face. Another was bit listless but I guess I would be to if I was her. The boys think they are "Kamen Rider" a very famous Japanese super hero. Whatever. The 3rd was okay. 2 students hadn`t done their homework so I took them through it step by step. 15 minutes gone. Of course with 4 boys it`s often "poop" this and "penis" that. Last class was good. 2 very smart individuals.

Tomorrow I have to deal with a teacher quitting without sufficient notice. Fun. And another who was berated by the manager in front of parents/customers for being late. Once is enough stop beating a dead horse.