New Best Work
February 27, 2003
Wasn’t it like two weeks ago or less that I had the best day of work? Well today beat that day. Four scheduled lessons again, except this time one of them was a no-show. Another one also came five minutes late. So today, I actually worked 1 hour and 55 minutes. And how much do I get paid??? Who cares!
Last night, while trying to sleep (alone), I was thinking about Eri. She was to have an x-ray taken because she is going to have her wisdom teeth removed in a week or so. I started thinking about the anaesthetics she would have. I started thinking about the remote chance that she could not wake up because they overdose on the gas or something. I started thinking about how horrific life would be if I were in Japan and she were in a coma and I can’t even ask the doctor on her situation. It was 3am and I was worrying myself dead. I wanted to wake up and email her just to let her know how much I love her while I had the chance. It was a long night. I don’t even know why I freaked out like that suddenly. Anyway, I found out she’s not gonna get gassed, she’s gonna get needled. The worst that can happen is they hit a nerve or something and she won’t feel in a small area in her gums. I can live with that.
Starcontrol 2 rules over every game ever made. Ta!
Fun Day
February 25, 2003
Today I saw The Two Towers finally. I really liked it! Actually, I really liked the siege scenes at Helmsgate. It was one of the best siege scenes ever. Can’t wait for the next one. Can’t wait for the Matrix too, and, the other Matrix too. And, Dennis and I downloaded the remake of Starcontrol 2, possibly the best computer game that I’ve ever played. I loaded it up and it ran like I was running a DOS machine - flawlessly. It seems to be missing the intro (which was awesome) but now there are live speeches during alien encounters instead of only the text. I don’t want to start playing it yet - I want to finish GTA 3 first. Top that off with a new Strong Bad email. The cherry of it all, I finally bought a USB hub. I finally felt I had enough USB devices to warrant a hub. I wish I could get another hub actually. It has been a fun day.
Hey Yo
February 22, 2003
Jonathan is the first of our group to have a three way no-show. He and I take the same subway line home but I usually never see him on the train because I like to make a dash for it after work and take the 10:48. He doesn’t like the rush and takes his time and usually takes the next train after that. Tonight though, I saw him in the elevator so I asked him why he was so early… “I had a three way no show today,” he says, with a big grin on his face. I started questioning him, “Really? You’re sure? You sure it wasn’t a two way? Or a one way?” Of course, there really weren’t any other possibilties. That bum. He only had four lessons tonight and one of them turned out to be a holy grail. I had five today with a one way no show but now I just feel cheated.
I guess my update everyday thing fell apart shortly after Dennis stopped. I just ran out of things to say. I’m (re)playing Grand Theft Auto 3 now and I’m trying to find every bonus and secret thing this time. Actually, I never made it to the second part of the game the first time I played. And I’m out of things to say.
Strong Sad!
February 17, 2003
One of the joys of living on the other side of the planet is that while everyone is sleeping, I’m wide awake in time to check the Strong Bad Email! This week’s issue is excellent. Poor Strong Sad though. Oh and The Cheat hoodies??? How much better can it get?
Ok, I won’t spoil anything else for you people, which, I’m guessing would only be Dennis because I’m not sure if anyone else is hooked on that webpage like us.
On a side note, Utada Hikaru looks completely different now than when she first became famous with that hideously overplayed song. I guess marrying a guy ten years your senior will do that to you.
Holiday
February 16, 2003
Day 1 of my four day weekend. Today I listened to a whole bunch of the ghost show that I used to listen to in Vancouver. The recent ones suck because they don’t record the whole show, only certain segments which are purely fictional. I also played a bit of old super nintendo games. Then as I was talking to Dennis about stuff, I was trying to think of a design for a webpage. The ones in my files are just not quite right to use.
I had a dream a few nights ago where I was in the same band as Dennis. I remember seeing about 6 or 7 people in this band. The band was great, I remember being very successful in this band. However the dream kind of sucked because I was having an argument with Dennis over what kind of music we should play. I don’t really remember how the argument ended because the dream phased into a new situation - this time I was a thief and I broke into some family’s house and stole a blue skateboard and a boardgame.
2 More To Go…
February 15, 2003
Here I am, in booth 479, waiting for an intermediate student to show up for a vocabulary lesson about The Media. It’s four minutes into the lesson and no trace of him has surfaced. Maybe though, I will hear the static-like crackling of background noise that always precedes the student’s entrance.
The event horizon is about seven or eight minutes. If they don’t show up within this time, chances are they won’t show up at all. Before this time though, no light can escape the fact that they might pop up and force you to teach.
It is eight minutes and 30 seconds… NOW!
I’m in the pseudo-safe zone but still I fear. I fear he will break the intensive statistical analysis done by me and other’s before me. This set of vocabulary lessons, for example, has a 10% no-show rate. This rule of thumb has held true for me. In fact, my numbers have even outperformed the norm.
11 minutes…
I breathe a heavy sigh. It’s too late to do a complete lesson for most students now. By rational logic, this student would not come because he doesn’t want an unfinished lesson. Yet I have learned that our world isn’t always rational and logical.
15 minutes…
“Don’t be an idiot,” my brain whispers, “Don’t let your guard down just yet.” Others before have gone mad when their student(s) show up at this point. Even normal curves provide room for outliers. Judging by his profile, he doesn’t quite fit in the area between 2, maybe even 3 standard deviations.
20 minutes…
I’m half through now. Luck or fate has helped me this far. Please don’t forsake me now. Many a teacher have been abandonned by Prima Donna Luck. In their valiant crusade to secure the coveted Three-Way-No-Show, it’s when all 3 students don’t show up, one student will almost inevitably show up. I myself only have had a 7 minute, Three-Way-No-Show. I almost tasted divinity. We have all heard the legends of the forefathers who have felt this glory. The new and therefore naive young ones look forward to one every new day. I personally have gone beyond despair for one. No. Not for me. Not today.
25 minutes…
I begin to see a small, white light at the end of this proverbial tunnel. I’m on the home stretch now but it has been known that shit can happen. They could show up. They have the ability to do so. They paid for this right, this right to torment us. Fire feels like the finest down and brimstone tastes like the sweetest fruit compared to this anxiety, nay, this agony of The Wait.
30 minutes…
The naive would’ve taken off their headsets: our lance and shield at this point. Not I. I have fought off enough foes to know that they attack when you are weakest. These naive fools would be surprise-attacked. They will scramble to equip their lance and shield as the cunning foe launches waves and waves of broken English.
35 minutes…
I’m taking a big risk. I checked off the no-show box. It’s equivalent to planting your flag in the enemy’s backyard. They could show up now and you’d have to unplant your flag and uncheck the box like the coward and fool you are. It takes balls to check it now. Only a few minutes remain. The light in the tunnel is filling most of the darkness.
40 minutes…
The familiar bell sounds. It trumpets a triumph that will ring for all evening. I had a No-Show. Score one for the white knights.
—
Thus is the life of an English teacher.
Phew
February 14, 2003
With 26 minutes left in this day, I make it in the nick of the time to update
So what is this business, this Valentines Day they speak of? What matter is it to the daily running of humanity? Nothing says I. In Japan, they have an interesting custom on this day - the women give chocolate to men. Only. Women are “supposed” to give giri-choco to men they work around, especially bosses. There’s no meaning to this - it’s just you do it. And then to the man of their dreams, they give honmei-choco. Men just sit back and watch the chocolates roll in. Before you men all immigrate over here for the gratuitous chocolate samples, a month later, on March 14, is White Day. This is when it’s the men’s turn to reciprocate and give gifts back to women. It’s like they invented another consumer spending day
So this year, I told Eri not to get me anything. I don’t want to let a candy replace true feelings of love which this day is supposed to stand for anyway
Eep. This update was quite short but I hope it proves to be educational.
Quarter Life Crisis
February 13, 2003
Here I am on a Thursday afternoon waiting for a student to show up for a lesson. She will not show up. As a result, I now write this update to be blogged on later today. It’s kind of like a time capsule in a sad, boring way.
Reading Dennis’ update got me thinking about what I want in the next years ahead. Having a meaningless, non-technical degree severely limits my options. Firstly, my marks are nowhere near the level needed to score an accounting job. I’ve tried scores of firms, from mega-size to mom ‘n’ pop partnerships. I thought I had secured a position last year because the dude invited me up to the office for a tour and you don’t do that to people you don’t hire. Alas, no callback so screw him. A possibility would be to venture to Hong Kong or mainland China to see what accounting positions are available but I really don’t want to.
The truth is that accounting does not interest me. That may explain my lacklustre marks in my core accounting classes while I pull A’s in my other more ‘general business’ courses. I have come to a conclusion that I don’t want to apply myself to one area of business but instead to smear myself across the whole spectrum.
This makes starting my own business very appealing as I would be on my hands and knees doing the dirty work and at the same time reap the rewards (less taxes of course). The big problems here are of course I have no practical business experience and I have no idea what business to dive into.
I really don’t want a 9-5 job to eat my life away because it just won’t be worth it, no matter what the latest bonus plan or shiny incentive may be. I am sea-green with envy when I see people doing what they love and also doing something for their community or even this world. Unfortunately for me, there isn’t anyone around who will pay me to do the things I love.
Still life goes on with or without me and in the end: I choose to live it, for better or for worse.
Weekend
February 11, 2003
I don’t remember if I complained about this before but today is my first day off since January 29 because I traded my weekend last week for a coworker’s weekend. She was going on some sort of vacation and needed the extra time. I, being a coward, was unable to say no to her so I idiotically filled in the shift swap request form. So I just worked 12 days straight. It wasn’t all bad actually because since now my “priority” level for lessons is not as high and they also brought in a whole pack of new people (suckers, that is). The last week was rather nice - I was complimented on my being a “good teacher” by about 4 or 5 students and one even went as far as, and I quote, “you’re the best teacher I’ve ever had.” These are the sort of things that increase job satisfaction without the company’s interference and I could write a novel about the horrors the company subjects us to. Oh, what am I getting in return for working 12 days straight? Well, today (Tues) and tomorrow is my normal weekend. I then work Thurs, Fri, Sat. In return for my good heart, I will get Sun through Wed off.
I remember writing awhile back about my four lesson work day that would be hard to top. Last night, I beat it. I started the day with 5 lessons. I teach the first two and refresh my schedule again, (think F5, F5, F5, F5) and much to my shagrin, they removed two lessons. Normally, whenever they take someone away, they will in the next 30 seconds put another back in so I wasn’t too excited yet but by the time the lesson bell rang, I knew I was in the clear. I used the next to blocks talking and drinking canned coffee. Then I had a nice lunch which Eri made for me. I checked my sched again thinking they’ll have probably filled up the latter half by now - NO! I got the next three blocks free and finally finished off with a lesson and went home. 3 lesson. Breaking it down: 1 grammar lesson which are actually fun to teach, a 3 student lesson made of very advanced students - the topic being, Conspiracy Theories, and finally a private lesson with a man who had neglected lessons for 5 months (I failed him, that poor, nervous wreck). It will be a day to be remembered.
Enough about work.
I just finished reading, You Damn Kid, a very funny comic that had me bursting out in laughter in the middle of the night. It will be linked up soon enough. You should read it if you like funnies.
Also, there is a new webcam pic. Eri and I were in the middle of beating the shit out of each other or tickling each other or something when she suddenly screams and points at the top of the sliding doors. I keep a few animals up there (by tape) and one is a pair of bears that hold each other. I had taped them up to look like they were floating angel bears or something but one of the bears must’ve been too heavy and broke free from the tape. Their hands have velcro sewed on and I fastened them together before taping them up. So the other bear, in his infinite love for the falling bear, would not let go of the otherwise, doomed bear. Here are two pics to illustrate this great struggle out of love. By the way, the bears were untouched in anyway. I quickly plugged in the webcam and captured it before they fell. The third pic is after I fixed the falling bear. this is what they’re supposed to look like.
Fear Me!
February 08, 2003
Which Colossal Death Robot Are You?
Total Body Haircut
February 06, 2003
Today I had my first ever haircut in Japan. In fact, it’s the first hair cut outside of Vancouver. Eri found this place on the web that was very close to work, in the mall-like hallway between two train stations. From the outside, we saw that all the staff were fairly old. This wasn’t a promising sign because if any of you guys out there have ever been to the barbers in Chinatown - they’re so old their hands shake when they’re cutting your hair. They almost never do a good job. It is so not worth going to those places even though they’re dirt cheap. So anyway, when I saw the average of the staff exceeded my weight in kilograms, I was a bit scared. But, I had just finished working and I was tired and in desperate need of a cut so what the hell. Eri quickly explained that I was a foreigner who didn’t speak the language and briskly told this dude what I needed. He led me to a swivel chair only it looked really advanced and was made of plastic and other stuff. You could tell there were gizmos and electronics underneath because there were some buttons and displays. Cool I thought
I was scared that these dudes would make a debauchery of my hair and I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. Instead, the guy was super skilled in the scissor arts and really quickly cut my hair. He didn’t even use the shaver thingy that my usual places in Vancouver use. He only used a simple pair of scissors. It was amazing how fast he could pick up a lock of hair, make a precision cut, and then pick up another lock. I was slightly mesmerized by this. After the cut, he opened this contraption in front of me. I could only describe it as a sink with a few buttons and places to hold warmed up, mixed shampoo. He lathered up and made me bend my head over the now functional sink and proceeded to wash. After that, he applied I think 2 other things to my hair - I suppose one was conditioner but I have no idea what the other thing was. It smelled nice though, kinda like spring time fresh with coconut or something.
After that, he did some massaging on my head which felt really nice. Then he dried the hair a bit and applied some more stuff. I thought this was weird, he was putting in a lot more hair products than I was used to. Then he started massaging my neck and shoulder muscles. That’s a nice surprise, what good service. He then brings out some machine the size of an iron and plugs it in. He presses it to my legs. Oh! It’s a handheld massager but why is he massaging my legs? He essentially massages my whole body save my ass and privates. It felt very nice on my shoulders because I’ve always had a problem with tense shoulder muscles.
Oh yeah, he asked me if I wanted a shave by pointing to my 5 o clock shadow. I said no and also no to shaving my eyebrows but then he went and shaved my forehead. I never even realized I had folicles there in the first place. My forehead is now nice and reflective
I thought by now that he would charge me extra for all the other stuff but when we got to the pay counter, the price was still the same, about $30. Shit I thought, I came in for a haircut and pretty much got a total body relaxation package. Sweet deal. I am definitely going back there next time and I will get the shave because I now trust this dude. For the record, I’m guessing he was about 50ish years old. I am now such a hottie even I can’t believe it.
Webcam
February 03, 2003
Wow. I haven’t changed it in more than a month. So there’s a new pic up. It’s of my apartment at night. The light is a kitchen light. If it were off, you would see the scary hallway light.
Edit - 2002/09/22
I was referring to this picture.
Oh Man
February 01, 2003
The Columbia shuttle has lost contact on its landing. Debris was seen falling from it as it flew by. Doesn’t sound good. Yahoo! News. Wasn’t it near the end of Jan in 1986 when the Challenger blew up? That’s almost 17 years exactly.
