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I just had parents observation.  It was a nightmare.  Frantic mothers picking at your every move in the class room.  Trying to control these children is tough enough but when their parents are right there it's even worse.  They told me that I should be more stern with their children.  I'm not going to shout or raise my voice to them.  It's just not my way of teaching.  Very tough though all the same.  How I love challenges.

Editorial: Laser Bowling.
Yes, laser bowling is big here in Japan.  We were invited out the other night to endure extremely loud music and obnoxious people on microphones screaming information about prizes in Japanese.  My first impression was Waco Texas when they used loud music 24 hours a day to try and get them  out of the compound.  I wanted to leave right away but as not to seem rude we stayed and paid the price, about 2,000 yen in total each, to play a couple of rounds of "laser bowling".  They turn off the lights periodically throughout the game and that's when the alleys aluminates to their designated florescent colors of blues, greens and reds.  You throw your bowling ball that also aluminates down the aluminating alley to the pins.   This is when they scream into their microphones about prizes and I really mean scream.  It reminded me of being on a bus in India, the ones with Bollywood Indian films playing and the volume is turned up so loud that it's distorted.  Ah, the memories.  After about 1 and a half hours I couldn't take it any more and we had to leave.  There you have it, laser bowling in Japan.

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Hello people and fellow hackers.  

Well life is good here.  The weather has perked up a bit and I'm ready to make some money babes.  That's what it is all about over here.  Money, money and more money.  I have currently decided to get into business for my self again and develop an English association.  Yes, that's correct.  I'm in the workings of it now.  Soon I should be working less hours and getting more pay.  It is a sound venture with little risk.  I'll keep you posted on my new self employment as it develops.  The reason for this new start is because I was working allot of hours here at Washington and there was a lot of hidden commitments in the contract that legally bonded me to working about 50 hours a week with little perks or incentives so thus the move.  I really liked working at the school but the hours were inconvenient.  My last day here will be the 28th of February.  

The person who is hacking into my site (Peter) is annoying the staff at Tripod and they have sent me an e-mail stating the address of the persons location.  I'd be advised not to carry on hacking from the same address.  You should move to another anonymous computer.  Remember that every computer has an IP.  Good luck though in your quest to get into Pontiffs` web site. ;)  Always nice to know that I have such devoted fans.

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Yo, I'm back online, with the living and all that net stuff.   What do you think of my new pad???  It's not much but It's home.  I had to get Corbis.com to come out and do a photo shoot.  Bill Gates came out personally and took the shot himself.  I hope I make money from the picture.  The heating bill is killing me!

It's still bloody cold over here.  Can't seem to wear my Speedo's out without stuff shrinking.  What can you do, I guess I'll just have to get some stuffing.  How I love wearing my Speedo's out of the house.  

We are getting used to being cold all the time.  At least back home you can huddle around the fire place.  Here we have a kutatsu.  A table with a heat lamp underneath it.  It's like being a burger at McDonalds.  You site under it with a curtain around the outside of the table to keep the warmth in.  They all have one over here.  

Since I got the scooter I haven't been riding my bike and I'm beginning to get fat.  Well, a belly anyways.  It sucks.  I have trouble bending over to tie my shoes up.  Ah, to see my feet without sucking in the gut.

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It turned out that my scooter may have been stolen.   I had to go through a bit of hell at the town hall to straighten the whole thing out but its all good now.  The scooter is running great and life here is good.

It snowed here yesterday.  Crazy!  I never thought that it would snow here.  I took a great photo of the scooter in an inch on snow.  I was amazed at how well prepared the Japanese were.  They put Victoria to shame.  Although there was about 68 accidents here in Kumamoto alone because people here don't know how to drive in the snow.  Do you remember when they had that great dump back in 98?  Victoria sold all but two of their snow plows and Victoria came to a stand still.  Here most people had chains and had prepared for the predicted snow fall by putting on chains and winter tires on their cars.

Our house is very cold at the moment too.  With no insulation and snow it sucks.  Not much has happened since my last letter.  Carmen and I have not been anywhere or done anything.  I did learn Katakana, something that I was dying to do for some time and now I'm learning Kanji.  Its not easy but it keeps me busy.  

Well not much to add so take care and enjoy the cold

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Last Monday I had a day off and some off the lovely staff here at Washington took me out around Kyushu.  First we went to Mt Aso.  This is an active volcano about an 1hrs drive from Kumamoto.  It was really cool to see an active volcano.  There was deadly gasses coming out of the top so we couldn't get too close to it, but I got lots of photos from the bottom which I will get scanned as soon as I get the hard drive off my brother.  

We then headed to a place called Yamaga and had 100 yen sushi, this was my first experience at a 100 yen sushi bar, some of the sushi was questionable but delicious all the same.  After sushi we headed to Higo-Kodai-No-Mori Park. This is where a bunch of Tombs were made by primitive man.  (no, not George Bush)  Because I was a foreigner they let me into one of the tombs.  I felt like a diplomat. It was really cool to be inside a tomb that was 1500 years old and only the lucky few get a chance to see.  In the museum the people that were depicted to be living there looked just like the American Indians back home.  It's a small planet.  

After the museum we headed back to Kumamoto and now I'm back at the grind.  What can you do.  Got to get paid.

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Happy New Year!!!

Carmen and I went to the Kumamoto Castle for the 21st century countdown. We hung out with an international crew from all walks of life drinking an array of alcohol from Champaign to shucho, a rice sprit that knocks your socks off.

After the countdown we headed into town along with everyone from Kumamoto and filtered into the bars. There we consumed even more amounts of alcohol. I played the conga's that were sitting in the corner of the bar to the techno music, no one seemed to mind. Then after we got even more hammered we walked home and passed out.

We spent New Years day hiking up Mt Kinbo, the tallest mountain in Kumamoto. Thanks to our new scooter we are not restricted to the town any more, thank the heavens! On the hike 10 minutes from the peak we got a phone call on our mobile phone from my brothers who were having a New Years party in Vancouver 30 minutes away from BC`s New Years. After talking to them and getting disconnected because of NHK`s radio towers we got another phone call from Carmen's mother in exactly the same spot on the trail that I got my brothers phone call but we had already gone to the top and looked around and were heading down the trail to go home. A crazy world I say!!!

Well would love to see you all and have a good chat in person but that's distance for you.

I have to make this short so I hope you all have an orgasmic millennium!

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Happy New Year all!!!!!

Carmen and I bought a Scooter yesterday. It's a 80cc Honda. I don't know the name of the actual scooter but it's exactly what we wanted. So far we have not gone on any road trips as yet due to the weather being so cold. I hate the cold. But we do plan on going to Mt Aso, a volcano that's about a hour drive away. Should be great.

The man we bought it off of was a real character. He and his wife live in this tiny room on the side of the highway. He builds and repairs scooters for a living. We managed to buy it without speaking a word of English. Our Japanese has improved a lot in the past little while, mainly because I'm taking lessons twice a week and Carmen is naturally gifted at learning languages. Any way, we walk into his house, of course we take our shoes off and bow accordingly, we were shocked when we saw a brand new 48 inch flat screen Panasonic TV in the center of the room. On it was a beautiful picture of Niagara Falls. There was a Japanese documentary on the crazy people that have gone over the falls in barrels. It was like an advert for Panasonic or something! Very wild stuff. His wife had no teeth and he was the same, a real bunch of characters.

The bike cost 30,000 yen. Which is about $400.00 Canadian. We got two helmets and a gaudy looking head that he gave us. He is truly a madman but you have to love the Japanese people. I'll try and find a picture of it. Just found one. Isn't just a beauty? Ya, I know. It's not the most glamorous of vehicles but when in Rome do what the Romans do, oh, and if you want a bit of reading to go with the bike check out this linkAero80 I guess this is more for me than for you but what the hay. All my biking friends back in the `old country` will like it. I'm expecting some good feedback for the bike.

So any ways there you have it. Hope you all had a great new years and I want to hear all about it!!!