Over the worst of it

The conference has now wrapped up, taking with it the last of my workload for the year (touch wood). This seems to have ushered in a weird twilight at work, where half of the office just seem to not show up and those who do consider me part of the furniture. I'm half expecting to discover I was actually crushed under a pile of participant booklets on Wednesday and have since been haunting the office in an exceptionally uninteresting way. I've requested the last of my leave now so we'll see whether they approve it or just shiver and close the windows.

And four beers, thanks

I don't know if it was the daily beers, the constant meals out, no-money poisoning or all of the above, but I am mentally all over the road at the moment; I find my mind drifting constantly. Japan is well and truly Narnia-like, I said to myself as I drifted off last night. The only problem is that rather than grand adventuring with Aslan, I seem content to sit on the couch and drink cups of tea - I tut and draw the curtains on all the centaurs and magic. Is this amazing world behind the wardrobe that few people ever discover wasted on me? Probably. Now get out of the way, I can't see the TV.

Ships passing in the night

Birthdays are a bit of a blessing I think - they hold some currency in people's increasingly crowded social lives and book you a spot to catch up with them properly. Like mine a couple of months ago (has it been that long?) and Lisa's on Friday, people seem to make room in their calendar and awfully nice nights come together. We're stuck on the wrong side of the summer holidays and kind of lost in the work wilderness now; it's starting to feel like December is hurtling towards us faster than we can finish the things we want to do. In what sounds like the plot of a very depressing movie, I'm finding myself heading out to work before Lis is up and coming home as she's leaving. It was nice to have an excuse to get dressed up and go out for a proper meal.

The plastic tablecloths, not so much.

Like the back of the Batmobile

After all my posturing, I actually managed to last an entire week of not eating or spending outrageously. Granted, I was helped along a bit by a bout of what I'm convinced was cholera and spending the better part of a week with literally 40 yen to my name, but credit where credit is due. Some would consider this a terrible way to spend the last days of your summer holiday but after the past few weeks, limitless guilt-free vegetation is just what the doctor ordered.

Well, that and some antibiotics maybe.

The dumpling king, a tale in 2 parts (Part 2)

We left off our tale "last week" with Dave having just arrived, me wondering how I was going to last the week without squeaking to a halt like an unoiled tin-man and you unsure as to what "the dumpling king" refers to. Now that the lads have finished their whirlwind trip (Dave having bid farewell and left for Tokyo this morning), I'm sitting in what now seems to be a very empty, lonely apartment; it seems like a good time to conclude the tale. Theirs weren't the only goodbyes this week, as you will see.

Berocca, drugs and rock 'n' roll

I have very little of interest to say to you this week, particularly compared to last week's bonanza; in the interests of keeping the rhythm going I'm just going to chuck something up. Possibly literally, if this doom flu I have gets as bad as I imagine. Through the twin miracles of infection and sleep deprivation, I currently have the sensation of controlling myself remotely. At the press of a button, my unfeeling arms click into position; I peer at this unfamiliar world through a camera. Sternly.

I think I should probably be in what you humans call "bed".

Like the Beatles but hairier

The "big weekend" has come and gone, a true salute to the phrase "when it rains, it pours". I've been trying to work out how to put it into words for a good couple of days now; I'm not entirely sure I've got it right but I'll give it a shot anyway. Needless to say, this is going to be a long post.

The story begins somewhat uninterestingly early last week where one of my Deputy Principals asks if I can shift my working schedule around a bit and come to their Culture Festival. It ends somewhat ridiculously in Kobe with handstands, fake moustaches and beer through a straw. Like a hamburger with too many patties, it's the bit in between that might make things a bit unwieldy.

Hi ho, hi ho

My brain really didn't want to admit that the break was over, and that there's now an almost uninterrupted 10 week slog to summer holidays. I'm sure once I get into the swing of it I'll be fine and I'll hardly realise the weekend is gone before there's another one. For now though, I'm going to crossly get out of bed and frown all the way on the train to work. So long holidays, and thanks for all the fish.

For Queen and Country

I hadn't heard too much of Saint George to be honest, much less the day named after him, beyond the little picture of him on the side of my beer bottle. I still don't really, aside from the fact that he makes for a mean excuse to run around Kobe with a camera looking for creative interpretations of the word "corgi".

The sweet taste of victory

As far as the weekend goes, this post is exactly what it says on the tin. We won a pub quiz. We ate a lot of desserty things the next day. This is about as clever as I can be on a Tuesday morning. I may still be suffering from the aftershock of my sugar crash.

A snapshot of our torrid lives

If you ever find yourself thinking "What are Mike and Lisa doing in Kobe right this second?", wonder no more. We're probably eating something like this or this, or winning any one of these things. I'm awfully proud of the hat.

Proper update tomorrow!

Another year over, 35 days after it started

Exam time has now officially started in chilly Kobe (and the rest of Japan, for that matter), which means it's a month of no classes followed by end-of-year holidays. I've just had Aussie summer holidays and my natural rhythm had me primed and prepped for another full year, which makes things very confusing. I started the marathon 200m from the finish line and now I'm staring at my winner's trophy with a very strange expression on my face.

On quiet days and unrelated photos

Some strange photos are appearing in my photostream and this won't be the last time - I need to take photos of mundane things for my other blog (http://hyogoexchange.blogspot.com/ - wear your safety goggles, it's educational) so bear with me. Unless you like pictures of vending machines and sports fields, in which case enjoy.

I also don't have much to talk about, I'm just posting because I imagine legions of people visiting every day and frowning that I haven't updated the page. So, for all my loyal fans: an exclusive portrait of me, done on commission by one of my students.

Photos

They're like a pie made of wow. There should be previews at the top of the page and you can click the link to my Flickr page to see them proper big.

Internet should be installed at our place this Friday, then I can start updating properly without having to dig holes under my desk and smuggle bandwidth in the legs of my pants.

In short: everything is great at the moment but I'll be very glad when I've finished my millions of self introductions to each class. Gather round children, I'll tell you all about Cottesloe Beach and glare at my watch every few minutes.