My Special Yukiko

Right now Yukiko is hard at work while I get to stay at home. This is just to remind her that I love her. Keep working hard Yukiko, we need more YEN!!!

A big kiss,
Love Jason

Boot to the head

Well it's been an interesting week so far. My online linguistics course is going well. Lots of postings and a few interesting discussions. Quite a few of the students are teaching in Japan like me. For the first month or so I expect most of the work will entail me sitting at my computer reading and writing answers to various questions. And in the swelling humidity of Japan sitting in front of a computer, close to a fan, is not all that bad.
I went to my Jiu Jitsu class last night and spent the entire time practicing techniques with my friend Olivier. He is from France and he teaches French at the same private high school as I do. We were practicing a submission attack called a knee bar when he accidently hit me in the face with a good kick. I know that sounds pretty funny, how do you accidently kick someone in the face? Well I was lying on the ground and he was attempting to step over me when it happened. What really shocked me is how he managed to miss my nose but hit my cheek. My nose is usually very good at making it's presence felt, perhaps it was a little smarter than the rest of me and decided to get out of the way this time.
Besides having 2 small cuts on my cheek and being a little stunned I was fine. Unfortunately I didn't think of doing the Bruce Lee ceremony, tasting my own blood and then proceeding to kill everyone nearby in a blood-frenzy. Maybe next time.

Class is in session

Well my Masters in Applied Linguistics course starts today. It's a completely online course being offered from UNE in Australia. One of my textbooks is called 'English in Australia & New Zealand' and many of the text's examples are from Australian sources so I'm unfamiliar with some of the expressions. Hope my Antipodean friends don't mind me bugging them from time to time.
For 2 weeks in August I'll be doing an intensive Japanese course at my regular Japanese school. 2 hours a day for 10 days. Should be a good jumpstart for the exam in December. There's going to be 1 other student with me.
Yukiko and I finished watching the first season of 24 and Yukiko got really excited. I won't reveal any spoilers for those of you who haven't seen it yet. She was pretty shocked at the big revelations and sudden death. For a 2nd time viewer though I was finding that character really annoying so I was glad to see him/her go. It was like seeing Jeri get voted off during the first season of Survivor. Good riddance I say.
My friend Dan is gone to India for nearly 3 weeks escorting a group of Japanese students from his junior high school. Hmmm, 3 weeks in India with pay, plus nearly $1000 spending money. Now the last I heard India wasn't too expensive a place to go traveling so he is doing pretty well for himself. Just hope they don't make a stop in Kashmir.

The Greatest Blog Post Ever Written - Tribute

2 days ago I wrote an html epic.  Not only was it long but it contained all the necessary elements to make it an instant classic.  A subtle fusion of fact, fiction, comedy, romance and yes even a little horror were painstakingly crafted.  It was a real rollercoaster of thrills, spills and kills.  But as a jeweler or simple shoe shiner must polish everything, I attempted a final daring edit.  It was bravado at it's finest.  I could almost feel the cyberverse pause in anticipation as I pushed the 'back' button and then... it all collapsed like so many dominoes that were carefully lined up by a team of South Korean students only to all tumble at once as a gigantic earthquake opens a gaping fissure and swallows everything in one might gulp.  Yes, my post was deleted.  Lost, never to be seen again.  So this will be a tribute to what once was but will never again be.
Firstly, I'm hoping I've solved my picture problem.  Hopefully these pics will show up.

Double trouble.  My brand-spanking new niece & nephew.  The first pic is Yuka, the 2nd is John.
It's been quite a busy week so here's the lowdown.  On the weekend Yukiko & I went to Tokushima as I had a bunch of weddings to do.  On Saturday evening we went to our favourite restaurant there called Big Brother's.  It's a sandwich shop run by a couple of great foreigners; Norman and Brad.  It seems to be the Mecca for foreigners living in Tokushima although there are quite a few Japanese customers too.  I enjoy it for the delicious veggie sandwiches, Snapple, and seemingly unlimited supply of bad jokes these guys keep stashed behind the bar.
Afterwards Yukiko & I retired to our hotel.  I often take my PS2 with me on these weekend excursions so I can plug it into the hotel TV and watch some DVD's.  We watched 4 episodes from the 1st season of 24.  We're past the half way point and Yukiko really seems to enjoy it, or at least she's faking it pretty well. 
On the way home on Sunday we stopped off at a Japanese-run Vegan restaurant called VeggiSmile.  Apparently the owner, at 18, found out that he was allergic to both meat and dairy products.  So he went around the world studying various kinds of vegan cooking.  Luckily his trials and tribulations worked out perfectly for me.  Great food, big servings, cheap prices...  I'm in hog heaven. 
Back at home we watched the previous day's K-1 Asian Grand Prix tournament that I'd Tivo'd.  It was pretty disappointing as most of the matches were edited for time in order to show the complete Akebono match.  If you don't know Akebono he is a 500 lb Hawaiian, former Sumo champion who is now apparently so desperate for money he is trying to make it as a kickboxer.  Only problem is can't kick or box.  Oh did I mention he can't really move either?  He almost needs a full team of sherpas and oxygen just to finish his entrance and climb into the ring.  And while the show was billed as Akebono vs the Asian Kings he lost in the 1st round to an 18 year old kid from China that nobody had ever heard of.  Because they showed every mind-numbingly boring second of this fight I didn't get to see much of the other fights which looked very exciting in the highlights.  Luckily I got to see the highlight of a fighter I know from Vancouver, Denis Kang, getting viciously KO'd by a Muay Thai fighter who eventually won the whole tournament.
Monday was a holiday in Japan,   海の日 or Sea Day.  In the evening Yukiko & I went out to couple of friends' sayonara party in Namba.  We ended up at a Turkish restaurant and everyone had big course meals with lots of great Turkish beer to wash it down.  And of course no great dinner is complete without a belly dancing show in between dishes.  This one was no exception.  After a few songs the dancer invited all the diners to join her for some shaking and gyrating on the dance floor.  While she didn't say anything to me I'm pretty sure she was impressed by my fluid movements.  As I threw my hips back and swung my backside in a sweeping arc (nearly knocking over half the tables and chairs in the restaurant) I could hear a small giggle escape her lips.  A small giggle which seemed to say, "I'm just a nervous reaction to the fact that you are a far better dancer than me and I feel threatened."  I think I could have beaten her in many belly' related contests as well as she was quite thin.
Yukiko, Me, Dan, Cliff, Sara, Mary and Tomita Sensei

Afterwards we headed to a nearby karaoke parlour to croon until the wee hours.  Previously I mentioned my belly dancing prowess but now I'll have to admit that karaoke is not my strong point.  I think it's always telling when you can sing better in a foreign language than you can in your own.  Not that my Japanese singing is any good but my English singing is so very, very bad.  Very rarely do I have the pleasure of sharing a booth with someone as bad as me.  If 3 such people could sing with me I'm sure that we would then mount our horses and ride off to signal the apocalypse.  I do sing a mean version of 'U Can't Touch This' though.
Sara & Dan

On Tuesday Yukiko & I, her cousin Naoko and my friend Craig went to a secret Live in Osaka.  A new singer from the States, Keri Noble, is doing a promotional tour of Japan and Asia.  Yukiko and Naoko won 4 tickets from a local radio station for a 1 hour acoustical concert.  I'd never heard of her before but you can check out some of her songs on her website.  She has an amazing voice and the concert was great.  There were about 150 people in total and we were in the front row.  After the show everyone had the chance to meet her, get an autograph, shake her hand and say hi.  Being the opportunist that I am, always eager to rub shoulders with the culturally elite, I invited Keri and her producer/guitarist Jeff to join our merry little group for a drink afterwards.  They seemed into it but they had to do an interview first so we left them with our mobile number.  Alas they didn't phone.  Perhaps they thought we a little too stalkerish.  Oh well.

The Cycle of Life

For the last few months Yukiko & I have been celebrating the births of our siblings' babies. Yesterday, however, we were saddened to hear the news that Yukiko's grandfather had passed away. I'd only met him a few times but according to Yukiko he'd had quite a life. He was an avid outdoorsman, mountain climber, cycler and gardener. He'd been suffering from Alzheimers for the last few years though and had deteriorated quite a bit. Yukiko visited him in the hospital last week and said he looked very thin. He could no longer recognize his children. Yukiko's family had been expecting this for a while and are probably somewhat relieved because even breathing had become difficult for him lately. Yukiko is taking the next couple of days off from work to be with her family and to attend his cremation on Tuesday. I'm not going to the ceremony but I will be staying at Yukiko's uncle's house to babysit their dog Rin.

On Saturday I met up with 2 other students in my upcoming Linguistics program. It's quite bizarre that within this international program 2 other students live not 10 minutes away from me. Linda is from England and Brent is from Australia. We had a few beers and some food at a local Japan izakaya (pub) and chatted about lots of different things. Interestingly enough they both practice martial arts here. Brent is a member of a shootfighting gym in Kobe called Purebred that is pretty famous. Maybe I'll get to spar with him someday.

Time for an update

Well my first week of summer vacation has been very nice & relaxing. July 7th was Tanabata-no-hi in Japan which loosely translates as Star Festival. The festival is about 2 lovers that can only meet once a year, represented by 2 stars that only appear in the night sky together 1 time a year. Many Japanese also write down their wishes on small pieces of paper and tie them to tree branches in hopes that their wishes will be granted on this day. Because I'm such a romantic I skipped my jiu jitsu class and stayed home to make Yukiko a fabulous vegetarian chili dinner.
I was a bit less romantic after dinner as I settled in to watch the K-1 kickboxing tournament on TV. A really small Muay Thai fighter from Thailand beat up on everyone and swept the tournament. He was very impressive.
Even though my classes are finished I still had to go to school and calculate my students grades. I definitely don't like the way students are graded in Japan. Everyone is marked on the bell curve. Top marks only go to 1 or 2 students, and 1 or 2 are guranteed bottom marks. So in a class of geniuses half of the students will still get poor grades. In a class of idiots half the students will get excellent grades. The worst thing about this system is that it provides nearly no motivation for students to improve. If there is 1 really good student in a class then it is certain that she or he will get the lone top score. If you know you can't pass that student then there is no need to make any extra effort.
Last night Yukiko and I and my friend Dan went out for some dinner and to see the latest Harry Potter movie. We all enjoyed it but it's a little confusing if you haven't read the book, which Yukiko hasn't. So Dan and I were trying to remember the details in the book to answer her questions. A quick side note: after seeing all the adverts for this movie in Japan I learned the word and Chinese Kanji for prisoner. It's very easy to remember, it's the symbol of a man trapped in a box. I love user-friendly Japanese.

By the way, can anyone else see the pictures I'm posting? I can see them when I view my page from my computer, but Yukiko can't see them from work. When I use a computer at my school they just appear as red x's. I wonder if I'm doing something wrong.

Catching up with the Jasonses

This week's wrap-up:

Thursday: Happy belated Canada Day to everyone. It's a good time to celebrate our newly elected Minority Government before the next election is called. After my Japanese class my teacher and classmates joined me at The Hub, a local English pub, for a few drinks. Shockingly, there wasn't any indication of this important day to be seen. Oh Motherland, why has thou forsaken us?

Friday: Last day of classes whooh! Fittingly I gave my worst class their final quiz and I had to give 2 of the students 0's for cheating/misbehaving. Maybe they'll take my advice and try harder next term. Except for having to input students' grades into the computer at school I've got the next 2 months free... with salary... and a bonus. Now that's recouping.

Saturday: 3 weddings in Tokushima today. The first wedding was pretty emotional. The father of the bride was in a wheelchair because he has very bad legs. I was told he was going to accompany his daughter down the aisle but I just assumed he would be in his wheelchair. I was pretty blown away when the chapel's double doors opened and he was standing with his daughter. Slowly somewhat wobbly he escorted his daughter down the aisle. I don't think there was a dry eye in the room. It was quite a sight and it made the whole day feel special.

Sunday: No weddings this day so I spent the day in Osaka with Yukiko and her mum and sister. Her mum was shopping for a new watch and Yukiko & Keiko were acting as advisors/fashion consultants. As most of you know I have the fashion sense of a colour blind carrot stick so I wisely kept my mouth shut and just nodded in agreement with whatever was said.



This is a new shopping/green space project in downtown Osaka called Namba Parks. It's very Jurassic Park-ish.

Afterwards we went to Keiko and Seigo's apartment in Sakai City to have dinner and see their baby Yuka. She is slowly but surely getting bigger and seems pretty happy. It was hard to tell though as she was sleeping nearly the entire time. Talk about lazy.



Monday: Crashed at my friend Dan's place in order to get up at 3 AM to walk to a local bar to watch the finals of the European Cup soccer championship between Greece and Portugal. It was a pretty good game with lots of back and forth action. The tournament seemed a little lackluster though. I mean it can't really be considered a top tournament if Brazil isn't there. Wasn't that a convenient omission!