March 27, 2008 - Thursday

Sunny but cool.

Today was okay. I got up when my alarm first rang rather than hitting the snooze buttons like always. However, I just put some kerosene in the heater, turned it on and promptly fell asleep on the couch! Silly me. I woke up for the news but fell asleep on it.

I had a quiet morning and afternoon at home today. I did laundry and I watched some TV. No big deal.

The ride to work today went okay, but the bike still wasn't right. Still, I got to the school in one piece!

My classes went quite well today. I had the kids class students laughing so I think they were understanding a bit. The adult class we talked a lot and did a lot of reading too.

I finished up quite quickly after work and then called Fumihiko. He offered to pick me up, but I suggested meeting him at the grocery store. So, that's what we arranged. I finished washing the dishes and then left the school. I got to my bike, unlocked it, and discovered that the light, which I had checked two days ago, didn't work. Luckily I had spare batteries in my school so I relocked the bike, took the light back inside and put in the new batteries. They worked fine. I came back out to my bike and tried to unlock my lock. For some reason it didn't work. I fiddled with it for about 5 minutes, and it finally came undone. I don't know what I'd done! I slotted the light back on the bike and set off. I made pretty good time to the grocery store. It was a bit chilly riding, but not terrible.

When I got to the store Fumihiko was waiting for me. I think he was a little worried. I told him that I still wasn't happy with the height of the saddle, so he adjusted it up for me. Then, we went in the store. We did our usual grocery shopping and got some soy bagels, then came out. I told Fumihiko that I was going to ride home. The grocery store isn't too far from our apartment, so it seemed silly to get him to break the bike down and load it in the car. Anyway, when I got on the bike to ride off I was pleasantly surprised. The new saddle height is just about perfect. What an improvement! I may have to raise the handlebars again, but I can extend my legs now. Yay.

I came home as fast as I could, and reflected that the bike is much better for me at this height. I might get used to the bouncing effect now too!

At home we had yakiniku. It was really good. Fumihiko had been a dear and cut all the vegetables for us already, and set most of the table. He'd also even made coffee. I got a few more things out of the fridge and then we ate. We had the gyutan that I brought back from Sendai, plus some really nice meat from the grocery store that we bought last night. It was reduced to half price, but was really good.

Afterwards, I did the dishes. Fumihiko had turned on a Japanese TV program, so I thought I'd put on my iPod and listen to some good tunes while I washed up. I have to tell you that the first songs I listened to were perfect for cheering me up and making a miserable job a bit more fun. I was dancing around the kitchen to:

1. Not Ready to Make Nice - Dixie Chicks


2. Calling Baton Rouge - Garth Brooks


3. Hold on Tight - ELO


4. Perfect 10 - The Beautiful South


5. What A Good Boy - Barenaked Ladies

Those songs, especially the first 3 were really great for getting the jobs done. I did have to be a little careful that I didn't break anything. I almost didn't want to finish, I was having so much fun!


The rest of the evening was quiet, except for the time when I watched something on YouTube. A friend had sent me a link to a sketch by The Two Ronnies. I was laughing so hard at it that Fumihiko asked if he should take me to the hospital. It was a riot. It was so funny that I sent the link to hubby and he laughed too. There were no subtitles for him and it was British humor so the fact that he thought it was funny, proves that it was. I also watched the wonderful Swedish Lesson sketch. Oh dearie me. What a hoot!

And!!! One last little thing. I finished The Amber Spyglass today, which is the last of the Golden Compass novels. It was great. The last book was a little different from the others but still really good. I finished while I was eating lunch and got cream cheese or something all over one of the pages. Sigh. Silly me.

Okay, I'm done. Night night!