Friday
Clear and sunny, then torrential rain and thunderstorms.
Today was good. I got up and watched the news, then quickly switched over to The Sopranos. It was really good today, in a bad way. I've only been watching the show for a year or so, but it's so darn good. Not for the faint hearted though.
I showered then watched yesterday's CSI. As the weather was good I decided that I could stay a little late at home today and watch today's CSI, so that's what I did. It was a good one. I've seen all of these ones however.
I rode to work and it was just nice to be able to ride my bike again. It frees my time up so very much. I didn't have to do any shovelling when I got there. Hurray for that. I kicked a bit of my snowpile to loosen it up and hopefully melt more of it. It's a lot smaller now than it was. I went into the school and finished getting ready for today's classes.
Basically today's classes were fine. They weren't great, but they were okay. Some days everything just clicks, the students get the target and I feel that it all went well, but today not quite. My middle student was fine though. We started by talking about her eventful business trip last weekend, then seguewayed into a business idiom quiz. Nice conversation.
After work I cleaned up and Fumihiko sent me a message to see if I was done. I wasn't at first, but by the time he arrived, I was.
We went for dinner to Togashi, the yakiniku place. We had planned to go to M's Dining, but Fumihiko suggested we change places as we were driving into the M's Dining parking lot! They are close by, so no big deal. We had a fabulous meal there. They have really great yakiniku.
We came home and it was a quiet night for both of us at home. I do have to get up and go to work fairly early for me tomorrow, so I can't stay up much later. Sigh. Still, The Stand is done, so I can get my beauty sleep again! And with that, I'll bid you all adieu. Night!
Showing posts with label February 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label February 2008. Show all posts
February 28, 2008
Thursday
Sunny and not too cold.
Today was a pretty good day. I got up at a reasonable time and watched the news, same ol', same ol'. I had a good morning, doing things that I can't remember now.
I did a bit of housework today too! I vacuumed the apartment and the filters on the heater and the dehumidifier.
In the afternoon I took a quick nap on the couch. I had one of those "I can't keep my eyes open" moments and thought I can nap if I want to. Ten minutes into my nap Fumihiko sent me a text. When my alarm went off I got up, and cooked lunch. Today I had an omelette and it was good. I've been using real cheese and it's nice to have instead of cheese slices that taste a bit like plastic cheese. When I did the dishes after eating I washed the dish strainer first before putting the dishes in it.
I walked to the school today, but realized that I could have ridden my bike. The snow has retreated a lot since Tuesday. Still, I got to the school and did a tiny bit of snow shovelling. I cleared the front entrance and the walkway to the parking space. I also tried to work on the entrance to the parking lot, but decided that I really couldn't do much by myself.
I had gone quite early to the school as I was afraid I'd have to shovel snow, but it wasn't necessary. Instead, I did some prep work. I planned two classes for next week.
My first class went well for the most part. The students hadn't done their homework and they didn't really understand that it was to be done at home, not at my school. Sigh. They'd also learned the song that we were going to learn in class, but that wasn't too bad. The only thing is that I don't want them to learn bad pronunciation. At the end of their lesson their mother came into the school but the class wasn't quite over. I asked her to wait a minute, but I didn't realize at first that something was wrong. She'd driven in the wrong parking lot gate and had gotten stuck, in someone else's space. Oops. We all trooped out to the parking lot and I and my next student (luckily friends with the mum!) did a bit of pushing and a bit of advising on how to get out, and it finally worked. Whew.
My next class wasn't nearly as exciting, I'm happy to say. As most of my break time had been taken up, I got myself a drink and brought it into class. I don't mind if my students partake of my drink bar, but I don't usually do it. Still, I had a bit of oolong tea and kept it off to the side, so no matter. The student asked me at the end of class about a point of English and we chatted about it for a while. It was about the levels of politeness in English and using the comparative "not as......as" . I gave her the example of my sister and I. I said someone comparing the two of us might say that I'm shorter than my sister if they didn't mind hurting my feelings, but saying that I'm not as tall as my sister just sounded a little more polite. Seemed to work.
I cleaned up after she left and then I called Fumihiko. He told me that he'd misplaced his license and was going to go to the restaurant to see if it was there and then would pick me up. So, I had a few minutes to relax.
When he visited me, he didn't have his license. Honestly. Where does he put things and why can't he remember? We went home and he found it somewhere in our apartment. Oh yes, it was in the shirt he wore yesterday.
I cooked dinner and it was quite nice. We had fettucine carbonara with shiso daikon salad and a pork chop. Fumihiko thought it was good and did the dishes. Tomorrow I think we'll be going out as I'm working late. If hubby wants to cook he's welcome to it!
The evening was very quiet. I think Fumihiko's back is still giving him grief. He was in bed quite early for a change. Instead of doing my blogging and then reading I decided to read first. So, I finally finished it. The Stand. Done. It was good. I think I remember some differences from the old version, but I'd really have to see a copy of the original book.
I'll go to bed soon and hopefully sleep well. If it doesn't snow overnight I think I can ride my bike to work tomorrow. That'll be a nice treat for me.
Gotta go. Night night.
Sunny and not too cold.
Today was a pretty good day. I got up at a reasonable time and watched the news, same ol', same ol'. I had a good morning, doing things that I can't remember now.
I did a bit of housework today too! I vacuumed the apartment and the filters on the heater and the dehumidifier.
In the afternoon I took a quick nap on the couch. I had one of those "I can't keep my eyes open" moments and thought I can nap if I want to. Ten minutes into my nap Fumihiko sent me a text. When my alarm went off I got up, and cooked lunch. Today I had an omelette and it was good. I've been using real cheese and it's nice to have instead of cheese slices that taste a bit like plastic cheese. When I did the dishes after eating I washed the dish strainer first before putting the dishes in it.
I walked to the school today, but realized that I could have ridden my bike. The snow has retreated a lot since Tuesday. Still, I got to the school and did a tiny bit of snow shovelling. I cleared the front entrance and the walkway to the parking space. I also tried to work on the entrance to the parking lot, but decided that I really couldn't do much by myself.
I had gone quite early to the school as I was afraid I'd have to shovel snow, but it wasn't necessary. Instead, I did some prep work. I planned two classes for next week.
My first class went well for the most part. The students hadn't done their homework and they didn't really understand that it was to be done at home, not at my school. Sigh. They'd also learned the song that we were going to learn in class, but that wasn't too bad. The only thing is that I don't want them to learn bad pronunciation. At the end of their lesson their mother came into the school but the class wasn't quite over. I asked her to wait a minute, but I didn't realize at first that something was wrong. She'd driven in the wrong parking lot gate and had gotten stuck, in someone else's space. Oops. We all trooped out to the parking lot and I and my next student (luckily friends with the mum!) did a bit of pushing and a bit of advising on how to get out, and it finally worked. Whew.
My next class wasn't nearly as exciting, I'm happy to say. As most of my break time had been taken up, I got myself a drink and brought it into class. I don't mind if my students partake of my drink bar, but I don't usually do it. Still, I had a bit of oolong tea and kept it off to the side, so no matter. The student asked me at the end of class about a point of English and we chatted about it for a while. It was about the levels of politeness in English and using the comparative "not as......as" . I gave her the example of my sister and I. I said someone comparing the two of us might say that I'm shorter than my sister if they didn't mind hurting my feelings, but saying that I'm not as tall as my sister just sounded a little more polite. Seemed to work.
I cleaned up after she left and then I called Fumihiko. He told me that he'd misplaced his license and was going to go to the restaurant to see if it was there and then would pick me up. So, I had a few minutes to relax.
When he visited me, he didn't have his license. Honestly. Where does he put things and why can't he remember? We went home and he found it somewhere in our apartment. Oh yes, it was in the shirt he wore yesterday.
I cooked dinner and it was quite nice. We had fettucine carbonara with shiso daikon salad and a pork chop. Fumihiko thought it was good and did the dishes. Tomorrow I think we'll be going out as I'm working late. If hubby wants to cook he's welcome to it!
The evening was very quiet. I think Fumihiko's back is still giving him grief. He was in bed quite early for a change. Instead of doing my blogging and then reading I decided to read first. So, I finally finished it. The Stand. Done. It was good. I think I remember some differences from the old version, but I'd really have to see a copy of the original book.
I'll go to bed soon and hopefully sleep well. If it doesn't snow overnight I think I can ride my bike to work tomorrow. That'll be a nice treat for me.
Gotta go. Night night.
February 27, 2008
Wednesday
Drizzle, sun and then snow again.
Today was a very quiet day really. I had a nice morning at home, but I didn't have an omelette for lunch. I had grilled cheese. Yum.
I went out around 3:15 or so to my hairdresser. When I got there she was out, but her mother told me that she'd be back in about half an hour. I said I'd come back and took myself off to the mall. I walked around a little, bought some mints and then went back. My hairdresser still wasn't back but was expected soon, so I waited.
I've often gone on on my blogs about how good my hairdresser is, so I'll spare you today. Just know that I got a haircut that's a little different than usual and I think it looks great! When she finished and I paid, I went back to the mall and sent Fumihiko a message. It was after 5:30 so I was sure he'd be finished work. He called me back, and I told him where I was. He wanted to go to his massage therapy place so he said he'd drive me home (yay!) and then go. He'd be able to pick me up in about 10 minutes. I quickly did a tour of the hundred yen shop, bought my stuff and then met him downstairs. I only had to wait a couple of minutes. Hurray.
At home I wasted time on my computer and then after a while Fumihiko came home. His back is really bothering him today.
We had a nice dinner at Cocos tonight. We had a bit of a chat there, but when he's in pain it's really hard to get a conversation going with him. Still, it was okay. After dinner, we drove across the street to the grocery store there and I bought a few necessities, plus the fixings for tomorrow's dinner. We're going to have fettucine carbonara, pork chops and salad. I'm thinking it should be good.
We stopped by my school to drop off a big bottle of oolong tea for me, and to let me set my heater. It's an oil heater so it takes a long time to heat the school up. I was also really sad to see that the door to my school was covered in snow, as was the walkway. It looks like I'll be shovelling snow tomorrow. Sigh. I guess I'll have to go early. Bleck.
We came home and had some quiet time. Fumihiko took an early bath and I started watching Desperate Housewives alone. He came back and we finished it together. Yay. Looks like someone is having a happy ending...for now! After the show I found out what happened with his back. He was shovelling snow at work. I told him that he has to stop that, or, at the very least slow down and use his arms more than his back. I told him he should just say that he can't do it. He's in so much pain, all the time. Sigh. Please tell me that the snow won't last very much longer. Please!
So that's about it for now. I'm still reading The Stand, I'm now at page 956 or so, so I think I've read about 200 pages since my last entry. Give or take a little.
Talk to you tomorrow night. Night night.
February 26, 2008
Tuesday
Rainy most of the day, then snowy at night.
An okay day. I got up and watched the news, then fell asleep on the couch. Staying up late reading The Stand is not good for my beauty sleep. Still, I'm on page 787 now, only 400 or so to go. Whew.
I did a lot of my usual things during the day, and left for work a little bit after 3. I walked today as the weekend's snow was still everywhere, and the rain made it nasty to be out. I stopped off at the grocery store today, and the bank machine they have there to make a deposit to my school's account.
I got to my school and checked the parking space. It was still clear, but the path from the space to the apartment needed a bit of work. I cleared it, then went in and got ready. I was listening to a CBC podcast again, so I wasn't as speedy as I should have been. Still, everything got done! Yay me.
Classes were fine today and I used the time between them to prepare for Thursday's classes and also for next week for one of them. After class, I did a quick clean up and then called Fumihiko. He came and got me and we came home.
Tonight my sweetie had done the cooking, so we had nabe and sashimi. It was very nice. Because he did all the hard work, I did the dishes. There weren't too many for a change because he'd washed a lot of them already.
And that was it. Really was a quiet evening here at home, but nice. Fumihiko has been busy actually planning something for our Golden Week. He rarely plans things, but when he does, he's like a pit bull and won't let go of it until he's done!
I'm back. We were just talking about my school's anniversary party. I'm not big on throwing parties because it's difficult for me, but Fumihiko came up with good idea that I can't share right now. It might not work out so I'd hate to disappoint anyone.
So, I'm off now. I hope to get in a few more pages of my book before I go to sleep. Night night!
February 25, 2008
Monday
Cold and a little snowy.
Today was an okay day really. I got up, poured myself some coffee, did lots of laundry and prepared myself for the Academy Awards. It was a long show as usual, but it didn't seem too long for a change. I mostly enjoyed it. Sadly, because films take so long to come to Japan, there were very few in the major categories that I had seen, so I didn't really have favourites. I hoped that Johnny Depp would win for best actor, but knew that he probably wouldn't. He didn't. One thing that I did like was when Jon Stewart brought out the woman who wrote the Song of the Year and let her make her thank you speech. Her songwriting partner took all the time, and then just as she was going up to the microphone, the music swelled and she backed off. It's a stupid rule I think.
I stayed home all day. I didn't do much really, but that's because it was Oscar day today.
When Fumihiko came home we chatted for a while, then went out for dinner. Tonight he'd suggested going to Bronco so that's what we did. I had pasta with a hamburger patty, Fumihiko had yakiniku. It was nice. After that, we drove to my school. Fumihiko shovelled my snow for me (which I really didn't want him to do) and I set the heater for tomorrow. I had taken a few things over to the school too, so that I didn't have to carry them tomorrow. I think I'm back to walking.
We came home after the school, and watched Scary Movie 4. I'd taped it from WOWOW last night. It was incredibly silly. It was a little funny, but not hysterical. It had a riff on Japanese horror movies (the girl and the ghost speaking nonsensical Japanese words was really funny....the kind of thing that I do when I want to crack my husband up), crossed with Saw, The Village and War of the Worlds. Very silly.
Ugly Betty came on after and I watched it, but Fumihiko decided to take a bath. Sad for him. It was good tonight. Betty and the other Administrative Assistants went to a "Merry Olde Englande" restaurant.
That's about it for me. Today is always a sad day for me because it's the anniversary of the day my mum died. She was a rather large Scottish lady who told wonderful stories of her childhood, sewed up a storm, knitted beautifully, cooked amazing meals when there wasn't much to cook and loved my sister and I. More than twenty years after she died, I still miss her more than I can ever say.
Cold and a little snowy.
Today was an okay day really. I got up, poured myself some coffee, did lots of laundry and prepared myself for the Academy Awards. It was a long show as usual, but it didn't seem too long for a change. I mostly enjoyed it. Sadly, because films take so long to come to Japan, there were very few in the major categories that I had seen, so I didn't really have favourites. I hoped that Johnny Depp would win for best actor, but knew that he probably wouldn't. He didn't. One thing that I did like was when Jon Stewart brought out the woman who wrote the Song of the Year and let her make her thank you speech. Her songwriting partner took all the time, and then just as she was going up to the microphone, the music swelled and she backed off. It's a stupid rule I think.
I stayed home all day. I didn't do much really, but that's because it was Oscar day today.
When Fumihiko came home we chatted for a while, then went out for dinner. Tonight he'd suggested going to Bronco so that's what we did. I had pasta with a hamburger patty, Fumihiko had yakiniku. It was nice. After that, we drove to my school. Fumihiko shovelled my snow for me (which I really didn't want him to do) and I set the heater for tomorrow. I had taken a few things over to the school too, so that I didn't have to carry them tomorrow. I think I'm back to walking.
We came home after the school, and watched Scary Movie 4. I'd taped it from WOWOW last night. It was incredibly silly. It was a little funny, but not hysterical. It had a riff on Japanese horror movies (the girl and the ghost speaking nonsensical Japanese words was really funny....the kind of thing that I do when I want to crack my husband up), crossed with Saw, The Village and War of the Worlds. Very silly.
Ugly Betty came on after and I watched it, but Fumihiko decided to take a bath. Sad for him. It was good tonight. Betty and the other Administrative Assistants went to a "Merry Olde Englande" restaurant.
That's about it for me. Today is always a sad day for me because it's the anniversary of the day my mum died. She was a rather large Scottish lady who told wonderful stories of her childhood, sewed up a storm, knitted beautifully, cooked amazing meals when there wasn't much to cook and loved my sister and I. More than twenty years after she died, I still miss her more than I can ever say.
February 24, 2008
Sunday
Snowy, windy day.
I stayed up too late last night, blogging and then reading. So, when I woke up this morning I was a bit surprised to realize that I was alone in the apartment. I checked email quickly and then went back to bed and slept a bit more. Fumihiko came back just before 12 (he'd been to his wrestling club), but I fell back asleep. It was around 1 before I got myself out of dreamland. I grabbed a cup of coffee and went back to bed for a while and read more of my book. I'm really into this one!
We went to Gusto finally for a late lunch and decided what to do with ourselves. I suggested either karaoke or a movie. Fumihiko chose movie, so I asked that we go home for me to check the movie listings and also change my footwear. I was wearing rubber boots which just aren't comfortable for a long time. He said it was okay, so home we went. At home I discovered that The Golden Compass was playing at 6:50, so we spent a few minutes at home relaxing, then went on to Mikawa.
We parked at the mall and then Fumihiko said he wanted to go to the hundred yen shop. Problem is that the mall doesn't have one. There's a hundred yen shop in the complex behind the mall. We zoomed over there and got a few things, then came back to the mall. We went in the mall and as we had an hour before our movie I asked Fumihiko what he'd like to do. He said he'd like to look at the electronics shop. Huh? There isn't one there. There was one near the 100 yen shop. I suggested Jusco, so we went there after snagging a brochure for a trip we're thinking of taking. In Jusco's electronic's area I found a neat thing, a cover for my iPod. It has a neck strap and a belt loop, so I decided to get it. Fumihiko bought it for me though. I was really surprised! Then, since we were near the household goods area, I suggested looking at frypans. Fumihiko set my frypan on fire a few months ago and it's never been the same. Certainly not non-stick anymore. We got a frypan, and since he was in an agreeable mood to replace things he broke, I got a new knife for the kitchen too. He also picked up a tempura pan, as he says he's going to make tempura. We took everything to the car and then went up to the theater.
I rather enjoyed the movie. I haven't read the original book, so I can't say how it related to it, but as a movie I found it quite exciting. I liked the ideas it had too.
After the movie, we came back to Tsuruoka and had dinner at M's Dining. It was busy tonight, but we had a nice meal. The snow came back with great gusto while we were eating.
Our evening at home was very quiet. I watched Bobby, the Emilio Estevez film. It was okay. I'm not quite old enough to remember Bobby Kennedy, so I didn't get the big deal. I did like the ensemble cast though. There were a lot of great actors in the movie, but overall, found that it dragged at the end. I was more interested in what happened after Kennedy was killed.
And that's it, basically. I'm hoping to post this soon and then get in a few pages of The Stand before I go to bed. Tomorrow is my Starstruck Pilgrimage day...yes, it's the Academy Awards. I plan to lock all the doors, take the phone off the hook, and park myself on the chesterfield for a few hours. Wish me luck!
Snowy, windy day.
I stayed up too late last night, blogging and then reading. So, when I woke up this morning I was a bit surprised to realize that I was alone in the apartment. I checked email quickly and then went back to bed and slept a bit more. Fumihiko came back just before 12 (he'd been to his wrestling club), but I fell back asleep. It was around 1 before I got myself out of dreamland. I grabbed a cup of coffee and went back to bed for a while and read more of my book. I'm really into this one!
We went to Gusto finally for a late lunch and decided what to do with ourselves. I suggested either karaoke or a movie. Fumihiko chose movie, so I asked that we go home for me to check the movie listings and also change my footwear. I was wearing rubber boots which just aren't comfortable for a long time. He said it was okay, so home we went. At home I discovered that The Golden Compass was playing at 6:50, so we spent a few minutes at home relaxing, then went on to Mikawa.
We parked at the mall and then Fumihiko said he wanted to go to the hundred yen shop. Problem is that the mall doesn't have one. There's a hundred yen shop in the complex behind the mall. We zoomed over there and got a few things, then came back to the mall. We went in the mall and as we had an hour before our movie I asked Fumihiko what he'd like to do. He said he'd like to look at the electronics shop. Huh? There isn't one there. There was one near the 100 yen shop. I suggested Jusco, so we went there after snagging a brochure for a trip we're thinking of taking. In Jusco's electronic's area I found a neat thing, a cover for my iPod. It has a neck strap and a belt loop, so I decided to get it. Fumihiko bought it for me though. I was really surprised! Then, since we were near the household goods area, I suggested looking at frypans. Fumihiko set my frypan on fire a few months ago and it's never been the same. Certainly not non-stick anymore. We got a frypan, and since he was in an agreeable mood to replace things he broke, I got a new knife for the kitchen too. He also picked up a tempura pan, as he says he's going to make tempura. We took everything to the car and then went up to the theater.
I rather enjoyed the movie. I haven't read the original book, so I can't say how it related to it, but as a movie I found it quite exciting. I liked the ideas it had too.
After the movie, we came back to Tsuruoka and had dinner at M's Dining. It was busy tonight, but we had a nice meal. The snow came back with great gusto while we were eating.
Our evening at home was very quiet. I watched Bobby, the Emilio Estevez film. It was okay. I'm not quite old enough to remember Bobby Kennedy, so I didn't get the big deal. I did like the ensemble cast though. There were a lot of great actors in the movie, but overall, found that it dragged at the end. I was more interested in what happened after Kennedy was killed.
And that's it, basically. I'm hoping to post this soon and then get in a few pages of The Stand before I go to bed. Tomorrow is my Starstruck Pilgrimage day...yes, it's the Academy Awards. I plan to lock all the doors, take the phone off the hook, and park myself on the chesterfield for a few hours. Wish me luck!
February 23, 2008
Saturday
Rainy, then snowy and windy.
A pretty good day really. I had an average Saturday. I got up in the morning and showered. I made coffee for Fumihiko and I so that we could have some before we went out for breakfast. It was nice. Fumihiko was at the doctor's but came back while I was watching Criminal Minds. Today was quite disturbing. Three high school friends were kidnapped and told that one of them had to die for the others to live. The girls had to kill the one they chose. A horrid situation.
We had an okay lunch in Marumatsu, which was a nice change from Gusto. I like Gusto, but it's a good idea to try other things right?
At the school I didn't have to do any snow shovelling, which was great. I was able to get set up for my first class quickly. When my student came she gave me a late birthday present. How sweet! I got some coloured pens, which is a cool present for a teacher.
My other lesson was fine today too. The kids have been away for a while but still did very well.They're fun children and I enjoy working with them.
I had just finished my paper work and cleaning up when Fumihiko arrived to whisk me away. We went....home! I wanted to read more of my book.
Around 7:30 we went out for dinner. We went over to Cafe Frambois and both had a nice meal of chicken. I had mine with herbed bread crumbs, Fumihiko had his with cheese. It was delicious.
We came home afterwards and watched a little TV. Okay, a lot of TV! It was fun though. I've got Fumihiko hooked on Grey's Anatomy and we both watched Project Runway tonight. It's funny, even though Fumihiko has always said he didn't know anything about fashion, we both picked the same dress to win. We were wrong of course, we didn't pick the winner, but we liked the runner up. Yay us.
Fumihiko's off to sleep now and if I'm smart, I'll go along soon too. I'm not sure I'm so smart. I'm watching Charlie's Angels and thinking about reading a few more pages of The Stand.
That's it for me for tonight. Gotta go. Night.
Rainy, then snowy and windy.
A pretty good day really. I had an average Saturday. I got up in the morning and showered. I made coffee for Fumihiko and I so that we could have some before we went out for breakfast. It was nice. Fumihiko was at the doctor's but came back while I was watching Criminal Minds. Today was quite disturbing. Three high school friends were kidnapped and told that one of them had to die for the others to live. The girls had to kill the one they chose. A horrid situation.
We had an okay lunch in Marumatsu, which was a nice change from Gusto. I like Gusto, but it's a good idea to try other things right?
At the school I didn't have to do any snow shovelling, which was great. I was able to get set up for my first class quickly. When my student came she gave me a late birthday present. How sweet! I got some coloured pens, which is a cool present for a teacher.
My other lesson was fine today too. The kids have been away for a while but still did very well.They're fun children and I enjoy working with them.
I had just finished my paper work and cleaning up when Fumihiko arrived to whisk me away. We went....home! I wanted to read more of my book.
Around 7:30 we went out for dinner. We went over to Cafe Frambois and both had a nice meal of chicken. I had mine with herbed bread crumbs, Fumihiko had his with cheese. It was delicious.
We came home afterwards and watched a little TV. Okay, a lot of TV! It was fun though. I've got Fumihiko hooked on Grey's Anatomy and we both watched Project Runway tonight. It's funny, even though Fumihiko has always said he didn't know anything about fashion, we both picked the same dress to win. We were wrong of course, we didn't pick the winner, but we liked the runner up. Yay us.
Fumihiko's off to sleep now and if I'm smart, I'll go along soon too. I'm not sure I'm so smart. I'm watching Charlie's Angels and thinking about reading a few more pages of The Stand.
That's it for me for tonight. Gotta go. Night.
February 22, 2008
Friday
Rainy, then sunny and warm. Colder at night.
I overcompensated today for sleeping in yesterday. I got up earlier than I usually do today, before 9:00 am. Poor me! Not really. I read, watched the news and did my usual stuff until 1:30 or so.
Around 1:30 I went out to the post office to pay for my book orders. I rode my bike, which wasn't too bad except in the driveway of the apartment complex we live in. (Are two buildings enough for a complex?) When I got to the post office I used the automated teller machine to pay my bill. It was a bit tough because I think some of the buttons might be new, but I did it. I paid two bills successfully.
When I finished I visited a convenience store for some food for lunch. I didn't feel like cooking! I came home again. It was raining a little bit at this point, but it wasn't bad. I even wore my cute pink raincoat.
I came back home, ate my food and then watched CSI at 3:00. Cold Case is done for now. CSI was particularily slimy so it was a good thing I'd already finished eating! I left for work as soon as it ended, so around 3:40 or so.
I rode to work, and it was mostly fine today. I did have to get off my bike and walk a bit, but not even as much as I did yesterday. I went straight to my school today, and when I parked my bike, was overjoyed to see that NO snow shovelling was necessary. Hurray. Hurray.
I went in, finished my set up, and checked everything. My student came at his time and we had a pretty good lesson. I think he understands everything. His pronunciation is terrible, but this time last year I didn't think he was paying attention, so it's really nice to know that he was! I'd much rather praise the kid than scold him, I tend to believe in positive reinforcements.
After his class, I had an hour break which I used to check tomorrow's classes. They should be fine. I had a bit of card shuffling to do, but other than that, no problem. My hour break turned into two hours when my second student of the day told me she couldn't come. Sigh.
My last class came and we had quite a good class. We're talking about families and relationships. I think he's getting it.
After classes I put things away quickly and did paperwork quickly too. I'd done much of it earlier anyway. Fumihiko called me about 2 minutes before I was going to call him, so he came to get me.
We went to Moku-Moku for dinner. It was really nice tonight. They had a dinner special offer. You could get a meat dish or a pasta dish, plus soup bar, salad, dessert and coffee for 1300 yen. Fumihiko had ginger pork and I had salmon cream spaghetti. We also received some mussels as appetizers. I wasn't too sure about them. I've not been a big fan of mussels since I got terrible food poisoning in Canada from a dish with mussels. They seemed to be fine though.
After dinner we did a really quick run though of MaxValu to get a few necessities for the apartment, then came home. We spent a very quiet evening together. I hope to do a bit of reading of The Stand before I get to bed. You know, I realized that if that story was written today, the internet would have the story so fast, and also many people would have cellphones so the government wouldn't be able to keep such a tight lid on "Captain Trip."
Anyway, that's it for me for tonight. I'll catch you tomorrow most likely! Night night.
Rainy, then sunny and warm. Colder at night.
I overcompensated today for sleeping in yesterday. I got up earlier than I usually do today, before 9:00 am. Poor me! Not really. I read, watched the news and did my usual stuff until 1:30 or so.
Around 1:30 I went out to the post office to pay for my book orders. I rode my bike, which wasn't too bad except in the driveway of the apartment complex we live in. (Are two buildings enough for a complex?) When I got to the post office I used the automated teller machine to pay my bill. It was a bit tough because I think some of the buttons might be new, but I did it. I paid two bills successfully.
When I finished I visited a convenience store for some food for lunch. I didn't feel like cooking! I came home again. It was raining a little bit at this point, but it wasn't bad. I even wore my cute pink raincoat.
I came back home, ate my food and then watched CSI at 3:00. Cold Case is done for now. CSI was particularily slimy so it was a good thing I'd already finished eating! I left for work as soon as it ended, so around 3:40 or so.
I rode to work, and it was mostly fine today. I did have to get off my bike and walk a bit, but not even as much as I did yesterday. I went straight to my school today, and when I parked my bike, was overjoyed to see that NO snow shovelling was necessary. Hurray. Hurray.
I went in, finished my set up, and checked everything. My student came at his time and we had a pretty good lesson. I think he understands everything. His pronunciation is terrible, but this time last year I didn't think he was paying attention, so it's really nice to know that he was! I'd much rather praise the kid than scold him, I tend to believe in positive reinforcements.
After his class, I had an hour break which I used to check tomorrow's classes. They should be fine. I had a bit of card shuffling to do, but other than that, no problem. My hour break turned into two hours when my second student of the day told me she couldn't come. Sigh.
My last class came and we had quite a good class. We're talking about families and relationships. I think he's getting it.
After classes I put things away quickly and did paperwork quickly too. I'd done much of it earlier anyway. Fumihiko called me about 2 minutes before I was going to call him, so he came to get me.
We went to Moku-Moku for dinner. It was really nice tonight. They had a dinner special offer. You could get a meat dish or a pasta dish, plus soup bar, salad, dessert and coffee for 1300 yen. Fumihiko had ginger pork and I had salmon cream spaghetti. We also received some mussels as appetizers. I wasn't too sure about them. I've not been a big fan of mussels since I got terrible food poisoning in Canada from a dish with mussels. They seemed to be fine though.
After dinner we did a really quick run though of MaxValu to get a few necessities for the apartment, then came home. We spent a very quiet evening together. I hope to do a bit of reading of The Stand before I get to bed. You know, I realized that if that story was written today, the internet would have the story so fast, and also many people would have cellphones so the government wouldn't be able to keep such a tight lid on "Captain Trip."
Anyway, that's it for me for tonight. I'll catch you tomorrow most likely! Night night.
February 21, 2008
Thursday
Snowy, then rainy, then finally clear.
I overslept today! Obviously I stayed up too late last night reading my big book. May curses be heaped upon you Mr. King for writing such a hard to put down book!
I did oversleep, so instead of playing around on my computer for a while and then taking a shower, I took the shower first. I had a nice quiet afternoon by myself at home.
Around 3 I took myself off to work by bicycle. What a treat. I had to walk a bit on some of the sidewalks, but I could ride most of the way. I stopped off at a drugstore to get some hand cream and breath mints. At my school, I parked my bike and grabbed my snow shovel. I didn't really have to do very much. Most of my parking space was clear, so I just neatened the path to the building and checked the entrance to the parking area.
I came in and did final preparations for my class. I had a sneaking suspicion that my new students would be early, and they were. Sigh. I really dislike it when students are more than 5 minutes early. There's nowhere to wait in my school, except my classroom and then I feel like I'm giving students extra time. However, the first class went quite well. I've taught this lesson before, but always with only one student, so it was really nice to have 2 students. They could have conversations with each other. Hurray. Their mother came in after the class to pay and to see how things went.
I had a quick classroom clean up and get ready before my next student came. We had a good class too, did a bit of talking about future plans and ideas for her.
After class, I cleaned up and prepared for tomorrow's class. Luckily most things were done, but I had to find the cards. Ack. I hate those blooming things! When I was going to start the dishes I gave Fumihiko a call and he came to get me.
When we got home, he unloaded my bike from the car and we went into the apartment. He told me that he'd been watching Saving Private Ryan, so while I cooked dinner, he went back to the movie. Now, I've never seen Saving Private Ryan, and I am not sure that I want to. I don't like war movies and [SPOILER ALERT] I especially don't like war movies where everyone dies. I didn't watch the end of the movie on purpose.
Tonight's dinner was fried chicken with egg rolls and shu mei and salad. The last three items were bought from the grocery store. I didn't get that creative in the kitchen. Still, they were pretty good. Fumihiko seemed to enjoy everything.
We had a quiet evening here. Fumihiko had the TV on, so at 11pm The 4400 came on and I watched it for the first time in two or three weeks. I feel so lost! Oh well.
That's about it for me for today. I'd like to do a bit more reading tonight, and also get to bed a little earlier than I did last night. I also have to finish getting the plastic garbage ready for the morning. I did some of it earlier in the week so it shouldn't be too bad, hopefully.
I'm done! Tomorrow I'm busy at the school, and also if I have time, would like to go to the post office to pay for my textbooks that I've just gotten for students.
Talk to you tomorrow, I hope. Night.
Snowy, then rainy, then finally clear.
I overslept today! Obviously I stayed up too late last night reading my big book. May curses be heaped upon you Mr. King for writing such a hard to put down book!
I did oversleep, so instead of playing around on my computer for a while and then taking a shower, I took the shower first. I had a nice quiet afternoon by myself at home.
Around 3 I took myself off to work by bicycle. What a treat. I had to walk a bit on some of the sidewalks, but I could ride most of the way. I stopped off at a drugstore to get some hand cream and breath mints. At my school, I parked my bike and grabbed my snow shovel. I didn't really have to do very much. Most of my parking space was clear, so I just neatened the path to the building and checked the entrance to the parking area.
I came in and did final preparations for my class. I had a sneaking suspicion that my new students would be early, and they were. Sigh. I really dislike it when students are more than 5 minutes early. There's nowhere to wait in my school, except my classroom and then I feel like I'm giving students extra time. However, the first class went quite well. I've taught this lesson before, but always with only one student, so it was really nice to have 2 students. They could have conversations with each other. Hurray. Their mother came in after the class to pay and to see how things went.
I had a quick classroom clean up and get ready before my next student came. We had a good class too, did a bit of talking about future plans and ideas for her.
After class, I cleaned up and prepared for tomorrow's class. Luckily most things were done, but I had to find the cards. Ack. I hate those blooming things! When I was going to start the dishes I gave Fumihiko a call and he came to get me.
When we got home, he unloaded my bike from the car and we went into the apartment. He told me that he'd been watching Saving Private Ryan, so while I cooked dinner, he went back to the movie. Now, I've never seen Saving Private Ryan, and I am not sure that I want to. I don't like war movies and [SPOILER ALERT] I especially don't like war movies where everyone dies. I didn't watch the end of the movie on purpose.
Tonight's dinner was fried chicken with egg rolls and shu mei and salad. The last three items were bought from the grocery store. I didn't get that creative in the kitchen. Still, they were pretty good. Fumihiko seemed to enjoy everything.
We had a quiet evening here. Fumihiko had the TV on, so at 11pm The 4400 came on and I watched it for the first time in two or three weeks. I feel so lost! Oh well.
That's about it for me for today. I'd like to do a bit more reading tonight, and also get to bed a little earlier than I did last night. I also have to finish getting the plastic garbage ready for the morning. I did some of it earlier in the week so it shouldn't be too bad, hopefully.
I'm done! Tomorrow I'm busy at the school, and also if I have time, would like to go to the post office to pay for my textbooks that I've just gotten for students.
Talk to you tomorrow, I hope. Night.
February 20, 2008
Wednesday
Rainy and finally snowy.
It's 1:30 am, and I just sat back down at my computer to start blogging for this evening. While I was up, I got the burnable garbage ready to go out in the morning, then set up the coffeemaker for Fumihiko's morning coffee. I'm listening to the Grey's Anatomy theme song on my iPod. I'm trying to run down the battery enough so it's worth recharging it, and half of my brain is thinking about The Stand, which I just started today.
All that, and you'd be forgiven if you thought I had a busy day. I didn't. I got up early and toyed with the idea of going out and getting my hair cut, but when I looked out it was pouring with rain.
I got quite into The Stand. I'm at what, page 70 now. Only 1000+ to go! I read it before, I think when I was in high school. I read a lot of Stephen King back then, and also when I was in college. I still do to a certain extent.
I had a quiet afternoon at home. I watched Cold Case and Medium today. I'd forgotten just how cute the guy is who plays her husband on Medium! Then, because it was on I started watching some movie set during the second world war..Molly something, American Girl. It wasn't bad at all. The girl's mother was played by Molly Ringwald....I thought that was an interesting coincidence because she was in the TV miniseries of The Stand! Fumihiko came home in the middle of the show and got to see me tearing up. What is wrong with me these days? I cry at anything! It was kind of touching at the end. I checked it out on IMDb and the "all American Girl"....played by a Canadian!
We went out around 7:00 pm tonight to buy kerosene, have dinner and then set the heater in my school. We had dinner at Jiro, not too far from here. It was good as usual. I had carbonara and it was really good. Very filling.
We picked up groceries for tomorrow's dinner. We're going to have chicken and a couple of other dishes, plus salad. I think it'll be good.
In the evening I actually shut down my computer for a bit to sit on the couch and read The Stand. Then, at 11:00pm it was books closed, and pay attention to the TV time. We watched Desperate Housewives of course. It was good tonight. Really funny.
Fumihiko took his bath and then after a bit went to bed. He doesn't have to go to work as early tomorrow as he did today, but might have to do snow shovelling in the morning. Poor thing. I may have to shovel at the school again. Poor ME!
Anyway, I do want to end this, and get back to my book. What's it called again? I forget.
Gotta go, good night all.
Rainy and finally snowy.
It's 1:30 am, and I just sat back down at my computer to start blogging for this evening. While I was up, I got the burnable garbage ready to go out in the morning, then set up the coffeemaker for Fumihiko's morning coffee. I'm listening to the Grey's Anatomy theme song on my iPod. I'm trying to run down the battery enough so it's worth recharging it, and half of my brain is thinking about The Stand, which I just started today.
All that, and you'd be forgiven if you thought I had a busy day. I didn't. I got up early and toyed with the idea of going out and getting my hair cut, but when I looked out it was pouring with rain.
I got quite into The Stand. I'm at what, page 70 now. Only 1000+ to go! I read it before, I think when I was in high school. I read a lot of Stephen King back then, and also when I was in college. I still do to a certain extent.
I had a quiet afternoon at home. I watched Cold Case and Medium today. I'd forgotten just how cute the guy is who plays her husband on Medium! Then, because it was on I started watching some movie set during the second world war..Molly something, American Girl. It wasn't bad at all. The girl's mother was played by Molly Ringwald....I thought that was an interesting coincidence because she was in the TV miniseries of The Stand! Fumihiko came home in the middle of the show and got to see me tearing up. What is wrong with me these days? I cry at anything! It was kind of touching at the end. I checked it out on IMDb and the "all American Girl"....played by a Canadian!
We went out around 7:00 pm tonight to buy kerosene, have dinner and then set the heater in my school. We had dinner at Jiro, not too far from here. It was good as usual. I had carbonara and it was really good. Very filling.
We picked up groceries for tomorrow's dinner. We're going to have chicken and a couple of other dishes, plus salad. I think it'll be good.
In the evening I actually shut down my computer for a bit to sit on the couch and read The Stand. Then, at 11:00pm it was books closed, and pay attention to the TV time. We watched Desperate Housewives of course. It was good tonight. Really funny.
Fumihiko took his bath and then after a bit went to bed. He doesn't have to go to work as early tomorrow as he did today, but might have to do snow shovelling in the morning. Poor thing. I may have to shovel at the school again. Poor ME!
Anyway, I do want to end this, and get back to my book. What's it called again? I forget.
Gotta go, good night all.
February 19, 2008
Tuesday
A bit of snow overnight, warmish and sunny.
Today was a good day. I got up early enough to watch the news, then showered. I had a quiet but restful early part of the day. I also finally finished Atonement. It was....deep. Very beautifully written. I think you'll just have to see my book page to get my thoughts on it.
In the afternoon I made my lunch and then went to the school. The walk wasn't bad, but it wasn't easy either. The snow in many places has the consistency of sand, which makes it hard to walk on. At one spot on the way I saw a nail on the ground. It was bright and shiny, one of those short ones with a twist along the shank. It was in a place that my husband always drives so I thought I'd grab it in case hubby or someone else got a flat tire from it.
I did a very little bit of snow-shovelling at my school. I was lucky. There wasn't much to do, so I could go into the school. I got quite busy once I was in there. I did vacuuming, cleaning, putting stuff away and taking things out. My classes went well today, both of them. We had fun in them, and the time went by very quickly. In fact, my last one went overtime because the students were enjoying themselves so much.
After the last class I set up my new first class on Thursday. It's a new children's class. I'm a little nervous because there's quite an age gap between the two children. Hopefully it'll work out. I had to do a lot of paperwork too.
I finally called Fumihiko around 9 pm and he came and picked me up. We came home.
Tonight we had dinner at home. We both worked on setting the table, but he did more work than me. He got the eggplant sliced and put out the veggies on the table. I put out dishes and chopsticks. We had a great meal and we both enjoyed our yakiniku. I did the dishes afterwards and then we had a quiet night in.
Fumihiko worked on a sort of invoice for me to give students at the end of successful interviews to let them know the cost of their textbooks and lessons. He's not quite done. I was trying to get him to leave it for the night, but he didn't want to. He does have to be up early tomorrow though.
That's it for my day. I should really get myself to bed soon. I'm a bit tired. Night night!
A bit of snow overnight, warmish and sunny.
Today was a good day. I got up early enough to watch the news, then showered. I had a quiet but restful early part of the day. I also finally finished Atonement. It was....deep. Very beautifully written. I think you'll just have to see my book page to get my thoughts on it.
In the afternoon I made my lunch and then went to the school. The walk wasn't bad, but it wasn't easy either. The snow in many places has the consistency of sand, which makes it hard to walk on. At one spot on the way I saw a nail on the ground. It was bright and shiny, one of those short ones with a twist along the shank. It was in a place that my husband always drives so I thought I'd grab it in case hubby or someone else got a flat tire from it.
I did a very little bit of snow-shovelling at my school. I was lucky. There wasn't much to do, so I could go into the school. I got quite busy once I was in there. I did vacuuming, cleaning, putting stuff away and taking things out. My classes went well today, both of them. We had fun in them, and the time went by very quickly. In fact, my last one went overtime because the students were enjoying themselves so much.
After the last class I set up my new first class on Thursday. It's a new children's class. I'm a little nervous because there's quite an age gap between the two children. Hopefully it'll work out. I had to do a lot of paperwork too.
I finally called Fumihiko around 9 pm and he came and picked me up. We came home.
Tonight we had dinner at home. We both worked on setting the table, but he did more work than me. He got the eggplant sliced and put out the veggies on the table. I put out dishes and chopsticks. We had a great meal and we both enjoyed our yakiniku. I did the dishes afterwards and then we had a quiet night in.
Fumihiko worked on a sort of invoice for me to give students at the end of successful interviews to let them know the cost of their textbooks and lessons. He's not quite done. I was trying to get him to leave it for the night, but he didn't want to. He does have to be up early tomorrow though.
That's it for my day. I should really get myself to bed soon. I'm a bit tired. Night night!
February 18, 2008
Monday
Sunny, a bit of snow in the evening.
Today was a quiet day. It really was. I got up at a reasonable time, didn't watch news as it wasn't on, and just relaxed! I rewatched Project Runway and enjoyed it, although I have decided that there isn't anybody on this show that is as interesting as in season 1 or 2. They tried to make Angela the baddie, but really I don't think that she is.
I watched the TV I taped on Saturday and enjoyed it. Then, I did something a little unusual for me. I went out. It was a lovely sunny day, and I wanted to be out in it. I did a miniscule amount of shovelling at our parking space. I was using "borrowed" equipment and didn't want to be responsible for breaking it, so couldn't chop at the ice the way I wanted to. Still, I moved a bit of snow. Then, I walked to McDonalds! I wanted a quick and easy lunch. I had a wrap sandwich, and one of their "shaky-shaky" chicken things. Not bad. I wouldn't want it every day but okay for a once in a while deal.
I came home, spent time on my computer, and Fumihiko came home around 6. We chatted for a while, we weren't ready to go to out to eat quite yet, so I had a bit of a nap. I was tired.
Around 7 we went out and ran a few errands. Fumihiko needed money, so he hit up a bank machine, then we went to a drugstore for me. I wanted "stuff". Next we visited the self service gas station, my school to drop off some things and check the snow situation in the parking lot, then to Cocos for dinner. It was okay. We both had the same thing, stirfried beef with drink bar.
On the way home, we visited a convenience store to pay a bill and then the grocery store to pick up supplies for dinner. It looks like it'll be yakiniku tomorrow night. Yum.
We came home and had a quiet night. Ugly Betty was on, but it started late. Still, it was very good. There were all kinds of things going on. [Spoiler alert] It's ending on quite a cliffhanger though....Betty's dad may have to go back to Mexico. Ack.
That was it for my day. I did do a bit of reading of Atonement today. It was a little hard to read because the subject matter was difficult. One of the characters is a trainee nurse and is working in a hospital during the war. She was dealing with patients that were delirious and dying. Not fun stuff. I do tend to like happier books, but this story is compelling. It's taking me ages to read it though. I am wondering if I need to get myself glasses. I just haven't felt like reading much at all for a while.
Anyway, tomorrow I'm back at work. I'll talk to you tomorrow night. Night night!
Sunny, a bit of snow in the evening.
Today was a quiet day. It really was. I got up at a reasonable time, didn't watch news as it wasn't on, and just relaxed! I rewatched Project Runway and enjoyed it, although I have decided that there isn't anybody on this show that is as interesting as in season 1 or 2. They tried to make Angela the baddie, but really I don't think that she is.
I watched the TV I taped on Saturday and enjoyed it. Then, I did something a little unusual for me. I went out. It was a lovely sunny day, and I wanted to be out in it. I did a miniscule amount of shovelling at our parking space. I was using "borrowed" equipment and didn't want to be responsible for breaking it, so couldn't chop at the ice the way I wanted to. Still, I moved a bit of snow. Then, I walked to McDonalds! I wanted a quick and easy lunch. I had a wrap sandwich, and one of their "shaky-shaky" chicken things. Not bad. I wouldn't want it every day but okay for a once in a while deal.
I came home, spent time on my computer, and Fumihiko came home around 6. We chatted for a while, we weren't ready to go to out to eat quite yet, so I had a bit of a nap. I was tired.
Around 7 we went out and ran a few errands. Fumihiko needed money, so he hit up a bank machine, then we went to a drugstore for me. I wanted "stuff". Next we visited the self service gas station, my school to drop off some things and check the snow situation in the parking lot, then to Cocos for dinner. It was okay. We both had the same thing, stirfried beef with drink bar.
On the way home, we visited a convenience store to pay a bill and then the grocery store to pick up supplies for dinner. It looks like it'll be yakiniku tomorrow night. Yum.
We came home and had a quiet night. Ugly Betty was on, but it started late. Still, it was very good. There were all kinds of things going on. [Spoiler alert] It's ending on quite a cliffhanger though....Betty's dad may have to go back to Mexico. Ack.
That was it for my day. I did do a bit of reading of Atonement today. It was a little hard to read because the subject matter was difficult. One of the characters is a trainee nurse and is working in a hospital during the war. She was dealing with patients that were delirious and dying. Not fun stuff. I do tend to like happier books, but this story is compelling. It's taking me ages to read it though. I am wondering if I need to get myself glasses. I just haven't felt like reading much at all for a while.
Anyway, tomorrow I'm back at work. I'll talk to you tomorrow night. Night night!
February 17, 2008
Sunday
A little bit of snow.
Today was a quiet, lovely day. We stayed home for most of it too, which was good.
I went to bed very late, and slept quite well. In the morning Fumihiko got up, but wasn't feeling well, so decided to skip his wrestling club again. He watched TV for a while, but I stayed in bed. Around 12 I thought about getting up, but Fumihiko came back to bed for a cuddle. (This is a PG-13 blog...it really was just a cuddle!) We slept for a while.
I got up around 2 and dressed. After a while I decided to cook brunch for us. I sliced the leftover pork roast from Friday, toasted bagels, and made sort of hash browns for us. I took the leftover potatoes from the roast, mashed them, chopped up some of the onions and mushrooms too, and mixed them with the potatoes plus an egg. I fried the whole thing up. It didn't stick together like a pancake (I sort of hoped it would) but it was good! I think Fumihiko was impressed to have brunch at home. I was anyway!
We had a lazy afternoon. I'm not even sure what we did. I sent some email, Fumihiko fed me chocolate...it was nice and peaceful. In the evening we decided to go out for dinner. We planned to go to Togashi, the yakiniku place, but it was closed. Instead we went to M's Dining which is close to Togashi's. We had a nice meal. We had hamburgers.
We came home and relaxed more. Fumihiko watched something on TV, so I put on my headphones and watched something on my computer...Dexter. The show is disturbing but so good.
And that was it. Fumihiko is back to work in the morning. I'm hoping that his back will feel better soon. I'm at home. I may go out if the weather isn't too bad, but then again, I may just stay home and do the couch potato thing!
Got to go. Night night!
A little bit of snow.
Today was a quiet, lovely day. We stayed home for most of it too, which was good.
I went to bed very late, and slept quite well. In the morning Fumihiko got up, but wasn't feeling well, so decided to skip his wrestling club again. He watched TV for a while, but I stayed in bed. Around 12 I thought about getting up, but Fumihiko came back to bed for a cuddle. (This is a PG-13 blog...it really was just a cuddle!) We slept for a while.
I got up around 2 and dressed. After a while I decided to cook brunch for us. I sliced the leftover pork roast from Friday, toasted bagels, and made sort of hash browns for us. I took the leftover potatoes from the roast, mashed them, chopped up some of the onions and mushrooms too, and mixed them with the potatoes plus an egg. I fried the whole thing up. It didn't stick together like a pancake (I sort of hoped it would) but it was good! I think Fumihiko was impressed to have brunch at home. I was anyway!
We had a lazy afternoon. I'm not even sure what we did. I sent some email, Fumihiko fed me chocolate...it was nice and peaceful. In the evening we decided to go out for dinner. We planned to go to Togashi, the yakiniku place, but it was closed. Instead we went to M's Dining which is close to Togashi's. We had a nice meal. We had hamburgers.
We came home and relaxed more. Fumihiko watched something on TV, so I put on my headphones and watched something on my computer...Dexter. The show is disturbing but so good.
And that was it. Fumihiko is back to work in the morning. I'm hoping that his back will feel better soon. I'm at home. I may go out if the weather isn't too bad, but then again, I may just stay home and do the couch potato thing!
Got to go. Night night!
February 16, 2008
Saturday
Clear and cold, quite a bit of snow overnight.
A busy day today. I did my usual Saturday stuff, with one exception. I didn't make the bed today! Fumihiko did that. He stayed in bed quite a bit later than me. I watched the show and then we went out for brunch.
Fumihiko dropped me off at the school's front entrance, then he went round to the parking space to help me clear it out. I did a lot of cleaning along the front of the apartments, while he did my space. I came over to thank him and say goodbye, when I heard a sound in the background. A snowplough. Oh, good grief. The last time it was in the area, it totally blocked my school's entrance. I told Fumihiko I was worried about it and he graciously agreed to stay for a while and keep an eye on the situation. After all, if my students can't park, they can't take my lessons as there is nowhere else to park in the area. I went into the school, got ready, and just a few minutes before my class went out again (without a coat) to check on things. The snowplough had blocked the entrance and my dear husband had opened it up again for me. What a sweetie! Just then we saw my student's family car come up the street so Fumihiko had to get out of the way! Just in time.
My classes today went well. I wasn't sure how they'd be, but not too bad. I got a nice break in the middle too so I was happy about that. When my classes finished, I had to do a bit of a quick clean up and prepare for my interview. It went quite well, and I think I'll have a new student next month. Yay.
We finished up, Fumihiko was nice enough to do my dishes for me, and then we left. We went to S-Mall . My watch stopped working during the day and I wanted to get a new battery. I bought Fumihiko a cup of coffee while we waited. We went back to the jewelry store and they told me that there was something else wrong with my watch. It needed to be re-oiled or something. It's going to be gone for 2 to 3 weeks. Oh no!
We had dinner at the tonkatsu restaurant tonight and it was really good. After we came home and and watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It was fun and I really enjoyed it.
The rest of the evening was quiet. We watched Grey's Anatomy and then after Fumihiko went to bed I watched Project Runway. It was fun. I'm now watching Charlie's Angels and thinking about getting myself off to bed. Hopefully I will soon!
Night night.
Clear and cold, quite a bit of snow overnight.
A busy day today. I did my usual Saturday stuff, with one exception. I didn't make the bed today! Fumihiko did that. He stayed in bed quite a bit later than me. I watched the show and then we went out for brunch.
Fumihiko dropped me off at the school's front entrance, then he went round to the parking space to help me clear it out. I did a lot of cleaning along the front of the apartments, while he did my space. I came over to thank him and say goodbye, when I heard a sound in the background. A snowplough. Oh, good grief. The last time it was in the area, it totally blocked my school's entrance. I told Fumihiko I was worried about it and he graciously agreed to stay for a while and keep an eye on the situation. After all, if my students can't park, they can't take my lessons as there is nowhere else to park in the area. I went into the school, got ready, and just a few minutes before my class went out again (without a coat) to check on things. The snowplough had blocked the entrance and my dear husband had opened it up again for me. What a sweetie! Just then we saw my student's family car come up the street so Fumihiko had to get out of the way! Just in time.
My classes today went well. I wasn't sure how they'd be, but not too bad. I got a nice break in the middle too so I was happy about that. When my classes finished, I had to do a bit of a quick clean up and prepare for my interview. It went quite well, and I think I'll have a new student next month. Yay.
We finished up, Fumihiko was nice enough to do my dishes for me, and then we left. We went to S-Mall . My watch stopped working during the day and I wanted to get a new battery. I bought Fumihiko a cup of coffee while we waited. We went back to the jewelry store and they told me that there was something else wrong with my watch. It needed to be re-oiled or something. It's going to be gone for 2 to 3 weeks. Oh no!
We had dinner at the tonkatsu restaurant tonight and it was really good. After we came home and and watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It was fun and I really enjoyed it.
The rest of the evening was quiet. We watched Grey's Anatomy and then after Fumihiko went to bed I watched Project Runway. It was fun. I'm now watching Charlie's Angels and thinking about getting myself off to bed. Hopefully I will soon!
Night night.
February 15, 2008
Friday
Cold, windy and a little snowy.
Ah, the weather. It's so lovely these days. NOT. Anyway, on with the update.
In the morning after I got up I watched the news as usual. After that though, I got started on dinner. I peeled some potatoes and put them into my slow cooker without turning it on. I decided to leave the other vegetables for later as my roast was small, and I wouldn't be home until late tonight. I didn't want them to turn into total mush by starting to cook so early.
I did my usual computer stuff and then in the early afternoon, came back to my slow cooker. I browned the roast and then put it on top of the potatoes. I added some onions and shiitake mushrooms, then poured one reconstituted cube of maggi over everything. Around 2 I turned on the slow cooker.
I had a lovely lunch of omelette, sausages and a bagel with avocado and wasabi on it. It was really nice. I finished up a bit later than I wanted to, but got out the door before 3:30.
The walk to school today wasn't bad in most places. The problem is that in many areas there are no sidewalks and then when you walk on the road, they are quite slippery. Also, with all of the pushed up snow, they are a little narrower than usual. It can be scary when a car is going by. I listened to a podcast of The 6 O'clock Evening News from CBC. It was really interesting.
When I got to the school I dumped my backpack, then went out to shovel snow. Around the apartments was bad again. I cleared it, then went to my space. The snow wasn't deep in my parking space, so I cleared it out quickly, and then went back in and got ready for my class.
The student wasn't too bad tonight and I was really surprised to see that he seems to be reading quite well. He has problems with a few words of course, but he really impressed me. He'd also basically memorized the song that we've done at the start of class for a couple of weeks. Hurray for perseverance! This time last year I nearly threw the towel in on this kid.
After his class I had a little break, but halfway through I had to check the parking space again. It needed just a little shovelling.
My last two classes went well. The students and I seem to do quite well together. After a clean-up and a bit of prep, I called Fumihiko and he came to get me.
We made a quick stop at the grocery store, then home. At home, I was busy serving dinner. We had pork roast with potatoes, onions and mushrooms, plus salad and a kind of gravy! It was nice. The meat was very very tender. I did feel a bit worried as Fumihiko didn't seem to be feeling all that well today. He didn't even ask for seconds on dinner!
He did give me more Valentine's Day presents though. I got an amethyst sample in a geology type book, plus two little books. One is Hans Christian Anderson tales, and the other is a Japanese story in English called "Gon, the Little Fox". I'm looking forward to reading them both.
Basically, that's it for my day. It wasn't bad. Tomorrow I'll be quite busy at work. I've got 3 lessons and then an interview. Wish me luck! Night night.
Cold, windy and a little snowy.
Ah, the weather. It's so lovely these days. NOT. Anyway, on with the update.
In the morning after I got up I watched the news as usual. After that though, I got started on dinner. I peeled some potatoes and put them into my slow cooker without turning it on. I decided to leave the other vegetables for later as my roast was small, and I wouldn't be home until late tonight. I didn't want them to turn into total mush by starting to cook so early.
I did my usual computer stuff and then in the early afternoon, came back to my slow cooker. I browned the roast and then put it on top of the potatoes. I added some onions and shiitake mushrooms, then poured one reconstituted cube of maggi over everything. Around 2 I turned on the slow cooker.
I had a lovely lunch of omelette, sausages and a bagel with avocado and wasabi on it. It was really nice. I finished up a bit later than I wanted to, but got out the door before 3:30.
The walk to school today wasn't bad in most places. The problem is that in many areas there are no sidewalks and then when you walk on the road, they are quite slippery. Also, with all of the pushed up snow, they are a little narrower than usual. It can be scary when a car is going by. I listened to a podcast of The 6 O'clock Evening News from CBC. It was really interesting.
When I got to the school I dumped my backpack, then went out to shovel snow. Around the apartments was bad again. I cleared it, then went to my space. The snow wasn't deep in my parking space, so I cleared it out quickly, and then went back in and got ready for my class.
The student wasn't too bad tonight and I was really surprised to see that he seems to be reading quite well. He has problems with a few words of course, but he really impressed me. He'd also basically memorized the song that we've done at the start of class for a couple of weeks. Hurray for perseverance! This time last year I nearly threw the towel in on this kid.
After his class I had a little break, but halfway through I had to check the parking space again. It needed just a little shovelling.
My last two classes went well. The students and I seem to do quite well together. After a clean-up and a bit of prep, I called Fumihiko and he came to get me.
We made a quick stop at the grocery store, then home. At home, I was busy serving dinner. We had pork roast with potatoes, onions and mushrooms, plus salad and a kind of gravy! It was nice. The meat was very very tender. I did feel a bit worried as Fumihiko didn't seem to be feeling all that well today. He didn't even ask for seconds on dinner!
He did give me more Valentine's Day presents though. I got an amethyst sample in a geology type book, plus two little books. One is Hans Christian Anderson tales, and the other is a Japanese story in English called "Gon, the Little Fox". I'm looking forward to reading them both.
Basically, that's it for my day. It wasn't bad. Tomorrow I'll be quite busy at work. I've got 3 lessons and then an interview. Wish me luck! Night night.
February 14, 2008
Thursday - Happy Valentine's Day!
Cold, windy with a little snow.
Today was a pretty good day really. It shouldn't have been, but it was. I went to bed at 2 am last night after giving Fumihiko his Valentine's Day present. He got Royce Chocolate Disks. I used to bring them to him from Hokkaido during our engagement, as my omiyage. He thought that I'd run off to Sapporo during my days in Sendai! I went to bed even before hubby. He came soon after and we had a cuddle before falling asleep.
In the morning I felt quite good. As though I'd slept enough! I got up, watched the news and drank coffee, my usual. It was nice really. I had a long slow morning. I kept one eye on the weather. It looked really horrid outside for a long time.
I watched a bit of TV, then made my lunch. Today I had half an avocado for the first time in ages. Then, I girded myself for the cold trip to my school. I think I was wearing four layers on top, I had two pairs of socks on, a neck warmer, a hat and a hood. I was protected! I also did something a little unusual for me. I took my new iPod. I listened to a couple of podcasts from Canada on my way to work. I only listened with one ear, as I wanted to make sure I could hear any cars. It's funny, but when I was IN Canada I wouldn't be caught dead listening to CBC radio, but now I love the podcasts. I listened to one on Little Sisters Bookstore in Vancouver, and then one about a couple who were surrogate parents for another couple.
At the school, I dumped my backpack and then grabbed my shovel. I went out. The walkway from my apartment to the parking lot was covered in snow. Nice person that I am, I cleared the pathway, then went to my parking space. I got off lucky. There wasn't much there. I think the fact that it was so windy meant that a lot of snow just kept blowing off. I cleared the space, but by the time I finished there was a light dusting again. I vowed to come back before my class to check it again.
When I went back in I got to work. I cleaned, changed, prepared two lessons for my new Saturday student, and checked on today's lesson. I changed my mind and decided to do something on Valentine's Day. Around 6:30 I went out again to check my parking space. It wasn't bad. It took a couple of minutes to clean it and then I went back inside.
My student came and we had a good lesson. We reviewed a take home test, did some work on reading, then started talking about Valentine's Day. It went quite well.
After class, I cleaned up, checked on lessons for tomorrow and put on all of my outdoors stuff again, and left my school. It was clear outside, and very quiet. I did the one ear iPod listening again. This time I listened to a podcast about hockey. I'm not a big hockey fan, but this was really interesting. Part of it was about the "Maritime Coloured Players League". Apparently, in the Maritimes in the 1900's there was a very popular league of hockey for the descendants of runaway slaves. I had never heard of it. Sadly, racism seems to have brought an end to it, and also buried most of the information about it.
I hit the grocery store to buy a few things for tomorrow night's dinner, and also me, then went to Marumatsu for dinner. It was okay. Just after I ordered I got a call from Fumihiko. He'd finished his party and was outside our apartment. He thought I was inside! I told him I wasn't there, and where I was. He was quite inebriated! I told him that I'd be home a bit after I finished my dinner.
I walked home. It had started to blow again, so wasn't quite as nice, but it was okay. The roads were quiet because of the time of night.
I got home, and spent a quiet evening at home. Fumihiko gave me a present for Valentine's Day. I'm not sure if it really is my Valentine's Day present for real, but it was quite cool. It was a bento box style thing of melba toast and cheese. There were all sorts of cheese. There was blue cheese, camembert, and I'm sure I had some brie too. It was nice. I didn't finish it all yet.
So that's it. Tomorrow I'm cooking in my slow cooker. Wish me luck. I'm not sure whether to throw everything in and hope for the best, or follow a recipe. I'll sleep on it! Night night.
Cold, windy with a little snow.
Today was a pretty good day really. It shouldn't have been, but it was. I went to bed at 2 am last night after giving Fumihiko his Valentine's Day present. He got Royce Chocolate Disks. I used to bring them to him from Hokkaido during our engagement, as my omiyage. He thought that I'd run off to Sapporo during my days in Sendai! I went to bed even before hubby. He came soon after and we had a cuddle before falling asleep.
In the morning I felt quite good. As though I'd slept enough! I got up, watched the news and drank coffee, my usual. It was nice really. I had a long slow morning. I kept one eye on the weather. It looked really horrid outside for a long time.
I watched a bit of TV, then made my lunch. Today I had half an avocado for the first time in ages. Then, I girded myself for the cold trip to my school. I think I was wearing four layers on top, I had two pairs of socks on, a neck warmer, a hat and a hood. I was protected! I also did something a little unusual for me. I took my new iPod. I listened to a couple of podcasts from Canada on my way to work. I only listened with one ear, as I wanted to make sure I could hear any cars. It's funny, but when I was IN Canada I wouldn't be caught dead listening to CBC radio, but now I love the podcasts. I listened to one on Little Sisters Bookstore in Vancouver, and then one about a couple who were surrogate parents for another couple.
At the school, I dumped my backpack and then grabbed my shovel. I went out. The walkway from my apartment to the parking lot was covered in snow. Nice person that I am, I cleared the pathway, then went to my parking space. I got off lucky. There wasn't much there. I think the fact that it was so windy meant that a lot of snow just kept blowing off. I cleared the space, but by the time I finished there was a light dusting again. I vowed to come back before my class to check it again.
When I went back in I got to work. I cleaned, changed, prepared two lessons for my new Saturday student, and checked on today's lesson. I changed my mind and decided to do something on Valentine's Day. Around 6:30 I went out again to check my parking space. It wasn't bad. It took a couple of minutes to clean it and then I went back inside.
My student came and we had a good lesson. We reviewed a take home test, did some work on reading, then started talking about Valentine's Day. It went quite well.
After class, I cleaned up, checked on lessons for tomorrow and put on all of my outdoors stuff again, and left my school. It was clear outside, and very quiet. I did the one ear iPod listening again. This time I listened to a podcast about hockey. I'm not a big hockey fan, but this was really interesting. Part of it was about the "Maritime Coloured Players League". Apparently, in the Maritimes in the 1900's there was a very popular league of hockey for the descendants of runaway slaves. I had never heard of it. Sadly, racism seems to have brought an end to it, and also buried most of the information about it.
I hit the grocery store to buy a few things for tomorrow night's dinner, and also me, then went to Marumatsu for dinner. It was okay. Just after I ordered I got a call from Fumihiko. He'd finished his party and was outside our apartment. He thought I was inside! I told him I wasn't there, and where I was. He was quite inebriated! I told him that I'd be home a bit after I finished my dinner.
I walked home. It had started to blow again, so wasn't quite as nice, but it was okay. The roads were quiet because of the time of night.
I got home, and spent a quiet evening at home. Fumihiko gave me a present for Valentine's Day. I'm not sure if it really is my Valentine's Day present for real, but it was quite cool. It was a bento box style thing of melba toast and cheese. There were all sorts of cheese. There was blue cheese, camembert, and I'm sure I had some brie too. It was nice. I didn't finish it all yet.
So that's it. Tomorrow I'm cooking in my slow cooker. Wish me luck. I'm not sure whether to throw everything in and hope for the best, or follow a recipe. I'll sleep on it! Night night.
February 13, 2008
Wednesday
Snowy, cold, and windy. Horrible weather.
The day didn't start well, but got a bit better over the day. We did accomplish a few things today. We got my taxes done. Hurray for that. I also picked up more revenue stamps for the school and paid for my water and those same taxes.
We had lunch then came home. We had more words on the way home and at home, things weren't that good, but finally calmed down.
I cooked dinner, what we should have had last night. It was quite nice. The veggies I stir-fried came packed with a sesame sauce. I used it and we both liked it. We also had some "made in Japan" Chinese Dumplings. They were rather nice.
We had a quiet evening until 10 ish. We went over to my school to set the heater and get some papers copied and so forth. We came home via the grocery store.
When we came home, Fumihiko made us some soba, but said it wasn't good! We also watched Desperate Housewives. Oh the things those ladies get up to!
That's pretty much it. We're just chilling out now, watching Romeo and Juliet. I'm tempted to say the original one, but it isn't, it's the one with Leonard Whiting (where is he anyway?) and Olivia Hussey. There's also the extremely feline Michael York. I wanted to go to bed early...why would NHK run such a good movie so late at night?
Tomorrow I have to get to and from the school by myself as hubby has a party to go to. Can you imagine? A bunch of men sitting around drinking on Valentine's Day?
Anyway, I'm out of here. I didn't sleep well last night so I should get to bed soon. Night night.
Snowy, cold, and windy. Horrible weather.
The day didn't start well, but got a bit better over the day. We did accomplish a few things today. We got my taxes done. Hurray for that. I also picked up more revenue stamps for the school and paid for my water and those same taxes.
We had lunch then came home. We had more words on the way home and at home, things weren't that good, but finally calmed down.
I cooked dinner, what we should have had last night. It was quite nice. The veggies I stir-fried came packed with a sesame sauce. I used it and we both liked it. We also had some "made in Japan" Chinese Dumplings. They were rather nice.
We had a quiet evening until 10 ish. We went over to my school to set the heater and get some papers copied and so forth. We came home via the grocery store.
When we came home, Fumihiko made us some soba, but said it wasn't good! We also watched Desperate Housewives. Oh the things those ladies get up to!
That's pretty much it. We're just chilling out now, watching Romeo and Juliet. I'm tempted to say the original one, but it isn't, it's the one with Leonard Whiting (where is he anyway?) and Olivia Hussey. There's also the extremely feline Michael York. I wanted to go to bed early...why would NHK run such a good movie so late at night?
Tomorrow I have to get to and from the school by myself as hubby has a party to go to. Can you imagine? A bunch of men sitting around drinking on Valentine's Day?
Anyway, I'm out of here. I didn't sleep well last night so I should get to bed soon. Night night.
February 12, 2008 - Tuesday
Rainy in the daytime, snowy at night.
A strange day, and I don't just mean the weather!
Morning happened, like it usually does, except before the news came on I started a load of my laundry. Then, when the news was on, the doorbell rang. I debated not answering it, but finally did. It was a man from the post office, delivering my birthday present from my sister. I finished watching the news and opened the box up. It had been opened by Japanese Customs....colour me so surprised! I got a new tube of deodorant (not a present, a request!), a pair of pants and a new skirt. I was a bit leary about the skirt, as I almost never wear them anymore, but it fitted well, and I think looked rather cute! I also got a bunch of envelopes from my bank in Canada.
I continued doing laundry for most of the morning/early afternoon. I had a lot to do. I watched some of the TV I taped when I was in Sendai, and enjoyed it. Then, I made my lunch and got ready for work.
It had rained a bit today which had cleared a lot of the snow. I was a bit worried that it might be too slippery to ride, but it wasn't. I walked a bit of our driveway, but then was able to ride most of the way to the drugstore, and then my school. At the school I had to do a bit of shovelling. Some of the snow that my husband had put down last night to melt didn't.
I had a lot to do before class today. I had to fold the clean towels, unpack the order of books I received, clean the room a little, change my clothes, set up the coffee machine (for hot water), and put away any stray teaching or personal materials. Whew. I did it, just.
The first lesson went well. The student is a dream to teach. We were learning actions today and it was fun. I trust this student quite a bit, so we used realia and it was much more interesting for him. He left a couple of minutes late and then the doorbell rang.
I checked the monitor and it was a man in a uniform. A police officer to be exact. Oh boy. Now what? I went to the door and we tried to have a conversation, but it was difficult. It was really cold outside, snow was blowing and he was trying to give me some paper to fill out. I invited him in, so he came and stood in my genkan. We had a half English/half Japanese conversation. I think he was just checking who lived in the apartments. Well, I don't live there! Through the use of my gaijin card (I offered, he didn't ask for it) and my business card, I think he understood that I don't live there, I just work there. He seemed happy, gave me a paper with his name and a phone number for his police station and left.
The rest of my hour was filled by doing things like setting up for my other class, and doing paperwork. I was going to go out and check the parking space, but I didn't have time.
My students came and we all had a good class. It was fun and my students had to work hard to satisfy me!
After class, they left and I cleaned up. I did dishes, checked next lesson stuff and also more paperwork. There's never an end to it! I called my husband and asked him to come and get me. I also made the mistake of telling him about the police officer's visit.
When he arrived, he basically wanted to know what the policeman wanted. I told him, but for some reason he wanted to go charging into the police station. I told him that if he wanted to do that, he could, but please drop me off at home. At home, I started to prepare for dinner, but someone got on his high horse, refused dinner and then stormed out. He returned an hour or so later, only to give me the silent treatment before shutting himself in the bedroom. I am not sure what he's on about. The police officer was fine. Husband keeps saying things like "If someone asks for your school, they should be able to tell them." Huh? Who on earth would ask the police about an English School?
For some reason, husband isn't going to work tomorrow so I'll likely have a grumpy-grouch playing couch potato all day. I thought he was going to take my stuff to the tax department but I have no idea if that will happen anymore or not.
Anyway, that's it for me. Think good thoughts for me for tomorrow. Night night!
A strange day, and I don't just mean the weather!
Morning happened, like it usually does, except before the news came on I started a load of my laundry. Then, when the news was on, the doorbell rang. I debated not answering it, but finally did. It was a man from the post office, delivering my birthday present from my sister. I finished watching the news and opened the box up. It had been opened by Japanese Customs....colour me so surprised! I got a new tube of deodorant (not a present, a request!), a pair of pants and a new skirt. I was a bit leary about the skirt, as I almost never wear them anymore, but it fitted well, and I think looked rather cute! I also got a bunch of envelopes from my bank in Canada.
I continued doing laundry for most of the morning/early afternoon. I had a lot to do. I watched some of the TV I taped when I was in Sendai, and enjoyed it. Then, I made my lunch and got ready for work.
It had rained a bit today which had cleared a lot of the snow. I was a bit worried that it might be too slippery to ride, but it wasn't. I walked a bit of our driveway, but then was able to ride most of the way to the drugstore, and then my school. At the school I had to do a bit of shovelling. Some of the snow that my husband had put down last night to melt didn't.
I had a lot to do before class today. I had to fold the clean towels, unpack the order of books I received, clean the room a little, change my clothes, set up the coffee machine (for hot water), and put away any stray teaching or personal materials. Whew. I did it, just.
The first lesson went well. The student is a dream to teach. We were learning actions today and it was fun. I trust this student quite a bit, so we used realia and it was much more interesting for him. He left a couple of minutes late and then the doorbell rang.
I checked the monitor and it was a man in a uniform. A police officer to be exact. Oh boy. Now what? I went to the door and we tried to have a conversation, but it was difficult. It was really cold outside, snow was blowing and he was trying to give me some paper to fill out. I invited him in, so he came and stood in my genkan. We had a half English/half Japanese conversation. I think he was just checking who lived in the apartments. Well, I don't live there! Through the use of my gaijin card (I offered, he didn't ask for it) and my business card, I think he understood that I don't live there, I just work there. He seemed happy, gave me a paper with his name and a phone number for his police station and left.
The rest of my hour was filled by doing things like setting up for my other class, and doing paperwork. I was going to go out and check the parking space, but I didn't have time.
My students came and we all had a good class. It was fun and my students had to work hard to satisfy me!
After class, they left and I cleaned up. I did dishes, checked next lesson stuff and also more paperwork. There's never an end to it! I called my husband and asked him to come and get me. I also made the mistake of telling him about the police officer's visit.
When he arrived, he basically wanted to know what the policeman wanted. I told him, but for some reason he wanted to go charging into the police station. I told him that if he wanted to do that, he could, but please drop me off at home. At home, I started to prepare for dinner, but someone got on his high horse, refused dinner and then stormed out. He returned an hour or so later, only to give me the silent treatment before shutting himself in the bedroom. I am not sure what he's on about. The police officer was fine. Husband keeps saying things like "If someone asks for your school, they should be able to tell them." Huh? Who on earth would ask the police about an English School?
For some reason, husband isn't going to work tomorrow so I'll likely have a grumpy-grouch playing couch potato all day. I thought he was going to take my stuff to the tax department but I have no idea if that will happen anymore or not.
Anyway, that's it for me. Think good thoughts for me for tomorrow. Night night!
February 11, 2008 - Monday
Sunny and warmish.
Not a bad day really. We both slept in rather late this morning. That was a nice change. When we got up we decided to go for lunch to Jiro, our local favourite, but it looked busy. Instead, we went to the Grande Elson, the place where we got married! They have a nice restaurant there. We had pork with soup, salad and bread. The meal was quite reasonable in price, and very delicious.
After that, we went to S-mall to look at chocolates. I'm going to give my students chocolates for Valentine's Day. Yesterday, I printed off a few cute Valentine's Day cards so I'll write them up for each student and give them a chocolate too. Aren't I nice? Just a little. I also got some tea and some coffee creamer for my school. Yay me. At the 100 yen store I got a few more things for the school. I needed some tape nori...it's like Scotch tape, but it's sticky on both sides and comes in a small dispenser, and I needed some file folders. I went through the checkout and one of the ladies took my stuff out of the basket, then bagged it. When it was my turn at the register she'd forgotten how many items I had, so she did a quick count and got it wrong. I was in La-la land for a minute, realized that she'd said the wrong amount of things at the same time she did a better recount, so we both said "Yon-ten" at the same time! I don't know if she thought I'd let the extra item slip or what, or if I'd get mad at the accurate count. Anyway, she thanked me quite nicely!
We got kerosene finally, we came home for a while. We had a quiet afternoon, except that Fumihiko was looking over my taxes AGAIN. Argh. Enough already!
We had dinner at the Evil Place tonight and both of us ate way too much. He'd wanted to go to a Japanese restaurant that he likes a lot, but I don't. I'd said no, because I'd already had fish once this weekend, and didn't want more. I'm not sure why I don't like the place he wants to go...it just isn't a place I want to go very often.
We bought groceries for dinner tomorrow night. It's been a very very long time since I've cooked anything. I also got a fairly decent sized roast. I'm going to try and do it in my slow cooker I think. I'll have to find a recipe first though. I haven't really done a regular roast. This one seems to have a lot of meat, the ones I occasionally do are quite fatty.
We came home and had a quiet evening, except for watching Ugly Betty. It was cute. I also watched a bit of The Grammy's. I didn't see it all, but I did like seeing John Fogerty with Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. That was neat. Also, Vince Gill getting an award from Ringo Starr. He said to the audience, "I just got an award from a Beatle!" He just seemed to be a total fanboy at that moment.
Fumihiko had his bath and went straight to bed. He barely said goodnight, so I went in to check on him. He's fine, just tired and a bit full still.
And that was my day. It was okay for a national holiday. Tomorrow I'm back to work and I HAVE to do my laundry. I hate doing it when hubby's around!
Night night!
Sunny and warmish.
Not a bad day really. We both slept in rather late this morning. That was a nice change. When we got up we decided to go for lunch to Jiro, our local favourite, but it looked busy. Instead, we went to the Grande Elson, the place where we got married! They have a nice restaurant there. We had pork with soup, salad and bread. The meal was quite reasonable in price, and very delicious.
After that, we went to S-mall to look at chocolates. I'm going to give my students chocolates for Valentine's Day. Yesterday, I printed off a few cute Valentine's Day cards so I'll write them up for each student and give them a chocolate too. Aren't I nice? Just a little. I also got some tea and some coffee creamer for my school. Yay me. At the 100 yen store I got a few more things for the school. I needed some tape nori...it's like Scotch tape, but it's sticky on both sides and comes in a small dispenser, and I needed some file folders. I went through the checkout and one of the ladies took my stuff out of the basket, then bagged it. When it was my turn at the register she'd forgotten how many items I had, so she did a quick count and got it wrong. I was in La-la land for a minute, realized that she'd said the wrong amount of things at the same time she did a better recount, so we both said "Yon-ten" at the same time! I don't know if she thought I'd let the extra item slip or what, or if I'd get mad at the accurate count. Anyway, she thanked me quite nicely!
We got kerosene finally, we came home for a while. We had a quiet afternoon, except that Fumihiko was looking over my taxes AGAIN. Argh. Enough already!
We had dinner at the Evil Place tonight and both of us ate way too much. He'd wanted to go to a Japanese restaurant that he likes a lot, but I don't. I'd said no, because I'd already had fish once this weekend, and didn't want more. I'm not sure why I don't like the place he wants to go...it just isn't a place I want to go very often.
We bought groceries for dinner tomorrow night. It's been a very very long time since I've cooked anything. I also got a fairly decent sized roast. I'm going to try and do it in my slow cooker I think. I'll have to find a recipe first though. I haven't really done a regular roast. This one seems to have a lot of meat, the ones I occasionally do are quite fatty.
We came home and had a quiet evening, except for watching Ugly Betty. It was cute. I also watched a bit of The Grammy's. I didn't see it all, but I did like seeing John Fogerty with Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. That was neat. Also, Vince Gill getting an award from Ringo Starr. He said to the audience, "I just got an award from a Beatle!" He just seemed to be a total fanboy at that moment.
Fumihiko had his bath and went straight to bed. He barely said goodnight, so I went in to check on him. He's fine, just tired and a bit full still.
And that was my day. It was okay for a national holiday. Tomorrow I'm back to work and I HAVE to do my laundry. I hate doing it when hubby's around!
Night night!
February 10, 2008 - Sunday
Sunny and warm.
Today was quite nice. I got up very late this morning. Okay, it wasn't morning when I got up. I thought it was, but I was confused. I couldn't see the clock as Fumihiko had closed the door to let me sleep.
He was working on my taxes again. It looks like I will have to pay something, but it's a small amount. When I think about it, it's not that bad. I was a little worried at first, but really it should be fine. Then I can say that I'm a taxpayer again. Oh what joy!
We had a late late lunch at Moku-Moku. I had pasta, Fumihiko had curry. Then we went to Yamaya, the foreign foods/alcohol place. I wasn't there for the alcohol although someone in my family was...I was there for the mayo. I got some, as well as a couple of bags of sunflower seeds and some taco sauce too.
We came home quickly because Fumihiko had bought some frozen meat and we wanted to put it in the freezer. While he put it away I checked the movie listings again and we discovered that at 5:50 The Water Horse would start. It was 5:23 at the moment. Fumihiko said that we could make it, so we quickly went back out to the car and drove off to the mall. We made it...just!
I bought some popcorn and the drinks while Fumihiko got the tickets. We went in and just missed the advertisements (darn!) and a bit of the previews. I really enjoyed the film. I've lived in Scotland and parts of the film were exactly right. The Loch looked wonderful. I realize that parts of the film were done in New Zealand, but it had a very Scottish flavour about the film. I kept looking at one of the actors trying to decide if he was Ben Chaplin or not. It's been a few years since I've seen him in anything. It was Ben Chaplin. He's aged a little, but it looks good on him. He went from a boyish man to a man. (He was in one of my favourite films, The Truth About Cats and Dogs.)
After the movie, Fumihiko and I had a drink then did a little window shopping around the mall. We didn't buy anything. The Seattle's Best Coffee is still closed. They still have a sign on the curtain around the store saying that they will renovate and reopen soon, but from the outside we can see that the chairs and tables are still there, and nothing has been moved. What is going on there?
We drove back to Tsuruoka and then had dinner at Bronco. It was okay. We came home afterwards. We were both surprised to realize that we still haven't bought any kerosene. Fumihiko filled up the canister in the heater yesterday, with the last of what we had. Sigh.
We watched a really silly movie on WOWOW, DOA, about a martial arts tournament. It was silly, but it was quite entertaining too. There was an attempt to give the thing a story.
And that was about that. I'm heading off to bed soon as I'm quite tired and really need to get some sleep. I don't want to stay in bed as late as I did today.
Gotta go, night night!
Sunny and warm.
Today was quite nice. I got up very late this morning. Okay, it wasn't morning when I got up. I thought it was, but I was confused. I couldn't see the clock as Fumihiko had closed the door to let me sleep.
He was working on my taxes again. It looks like I will have to pay something, but it's a small amount. When I think about it, it's not that bad. I was a little worried at first, but really it should be fine. Then I can say that I'm a taxpayer again. Oh what joy!
We had a late late lunch at Moku-Moku. I had pasta, Fumihiko had curry. Then we went to Yamaya, the foreign foods/alcohol place. I wasn't there for the alcohol although someone in my family was...I was there for the mayo. I got some, as well as a couple of bags of sunflower seeds and some taco sauce too.
We came home quickly because Fumihiko had bought some frozen meat and we wanted to put it in the freezer. While he put it away I checked the movie listings again and we discovered that at 5:50 The Water Horse would start. It was 5:23 at the moment. Fumihiko said that we could make it, so we quickly went back out to the car and drove off to the mall. We made it...just!
I bought some popcorn and the drinks while Fumihiko got the tickets. We went in and just missed the advertisements (darn!) and a bit of the previews. I really enjoyed the film. I've lived in Scotland and parts of the film were exactly right. The Loch looked wonderful. I realize that parts of the film were done in New Zealand, but it had a very Scottish flavour about the film. I kept looking at one of the actors trying to decide if he was Ben Chaplin or not. It's been a few years since I've seen him in anything. It was Ben Chaplin. He's aged a little, but it looks good on him. He went from a boyish man to a man. (He was in one of my favourite films, The Truth About Cats and Dogs.)
After the movie, Fumihiko and I had a drink then did a little window shopping around the mall. We didn't buy anything. The Seattle's Best Coffee is still closed. They still have a sign on the curtain around the store saying that they will renovate and reopen soon, but from the outside we can see that the chairs and tables are still there, and nothing has been moved. What is going on there?
We drove back to Tsuruoka and then had dinner at Bronco. It was okay. We came home afterwards. We were both surprised to realize that we still haven't bought any kerosene. Fumihiko filled up the canister in the heater yesterday, with the last of what we had. Sigh.
We watched a really silly movie on WOWOW, DOA, about a martial arts tournament. It was silly, but it was quite entertaining too. There was an attempt to give the thing a story.
And that was about that. I'm heading off to bed soon as I'm quite tired and really need to get some sleep. I don't want to stay in bed as late as I did today.
Gotta go, night night!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)