A Productive Five Day Weekend

This weekend has been a five-day break that has proven to be an incredibly productive use of my time. I haven't accomplished this much in... well... EVER. I tend to procrastinate just like most people, but every now and then I just have to make the effort to be slightly more than a couch potato on my day(s) off.

The academic year ends in mid-March, so at the moment Tokyo city schools are in the middle of final exams. Since my job is often defined (rather jokingly) as "a tape recorder with a pulse," there's really no need for me to be at school this week. I have one class on Thursday, and two classes on Friday, but other than that I'm a free man.

This morning I went to my company headquarters in Shibuya to sign my contract for the 2007-2008 academic year. Since they think I'm the man, they had already met all of my conditions without negotiating and had the contract ready to go when I walked in the door. The meeting started at 11:00, and I was out the door by 11:15. That's how I like to do business.

I then headed up to Shinjuku to City Bank to register my US bank accounts with City Japan, making overseas wire transfers possible via the internet. Hooray for modern technology! Boo for zero interest in Sushiland banks! I swear, the sooner I get my clams off this stinking island, the better. I'd like to retire some day, sheesh!

After lunch I headed up to Hombu and trained with Kobayashi sensei for this first time in months. He was so happy to see me that he pounded on me for a while and then made up his mind to use me for the next technique. He had me in ikkyo, poked his head under my arm and politely asked, "Can I use you for the next technique, Elvis? 'Cause you never know when you're going to come to my class again!" After class I noticed that my hakama has the beginnings of some nasty holes around the knees. Gotta get that patched up.

Did some iai tonight with The Bucho too. Spent the better part of an hour doing zagi (suwari waza), so now I'm dead....

On Sunday I bought a white cotton hakama for pretty cheap at a Mom-and-Pop budo store in Suidobashi. The posters on the walls and the display cases were discolored from years of going untouched and exposure to the sun. At least their products are new! There's something cool about the old, hole-in-the-wall budo shops around Tokyo. You can find really neat stuff that you couldn't find anywhere else. The only down side is the service. When I asked the old man who runs the place what kind of white hakamas he had, he literally grabbed the shelf of white hakamas and dumped them all over the floor. "You look like a size 25 or 26. Let me know when you find one you like."

Oh say can you see...?

By the dawn's early light...

Give me your tired... (after all that one WOULD be tired)

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me (hurray for equality!)

What so proudly we hail... As this weeks winner for best news story:

Cue ball, corner pocket

... not like I bothered to read this last one. Just thought that it was highly inappropriate given the content of the articles above.

The Tokyo Public Works Division: Bask in Its Absurdity!

Something strange is afoot at the Kuroda residence. Did the public service worker fall in? Or is the white line pointing to something... deeper? No pun intended. The Bucho has been standing there, by the way, for the past ten days. He says he won't sleep, eat, or break his silent vigil until someone tells him just what the hell is the point of this seemingly random white line. I have seen the line in it's mysterious glory too. I too have felt its power! But we want The Bucho to go back to work so that he can feed his baby daughter. Please let us know what you believe the secret of the white line is so that we can get a step closer to solving this mystery!

Tamachi and Asakusa for Valentine's Day

Gosoke has been leading a regular kata practice on Saturday mornings in Tamachi since the beginning of this month. So far, the practices have been just as he promised: nothing but the basics.

As far as my iai training goes, I tend to be manic depressive. I have a great practice one day and then the absolute worst practice imaginable the next time I show my ugly face in the dojo. This week was no exception. Tuesday night I went to help Mugaido Tencho Sakaguch sent up for his cutting practice. I cut about six rolls... poorly. Sure my gyakugesas land so cleanly at this point that the wara hardly moves (the video from the previous post withstanding), yet yoko-ichi has continued to perplex me. It's so damn SIMPLE though! I have the blade angle, but the mechanics of the cut still aren't right. Nuki-chi gyakugesa refuses to cooperate as well. I cut, and one layer of the roll is left. It's taken me over two years to get to this point. It's never taken me this long to learn anything before. I was so upset that I almost quit iai entirely. I did compromise, however, by making the leap to join Hataya Sensei's dojo in March.

This afternoon I went up to Asakusa for the first time in a while to look around. I ended up getting a flower arrangement stand hand-carved out of kiri ("paulowina" in English) for Kei for Valentine's Day. She just couldn't control herself with all the excitement of receiving roses - or any flower for that matter - for the first time (I'm the man) that she wasn't sure what to do with them. I took this picture just in time to stop her from devouring my romantic endeavor.