first snow of the year

my dog woke me up at 5.30am. needed to go out. somehow managed to get down 2 flights of stairs, into the garage and out in the open to discover that, just as the weather forecast had predicted, there was a good 7cm of snow out there. don't think it's ever come down so early before. anyway, had to rethink my wake up time so i could incorporate some serious snow shoveling. my car is parked in a garage 100m from the 'main' road, so that getting out can be a bit of a problem in winter, as our lane is only ever cleared in the latter part of the day (say, about now, 3pm - the snow plough's just arrived) - they must think we don't need to get out.

anyway, spent 5 mns looking for the snow shovel, only to give up (not enough light), and use a normal shovel, which worked just as well, if not better, which is a) strange and b) annoying. then, thanks to my dad having changed the tyres to, not just snow tyres, but actual 'nailed' tyres, i got out all right and was on time at the bus stop. the bus wasn't. it was 25 mns late. i still got to work on time, and all my students showed up, which i thought was quite amazing. well done everyone, for getting through the snow.

going to Nikko

on this cold, blustery day, i'm reminded of the grandeur of Nikko. in itself a tiny place, i was really impressed by this wall. i felt like i was on a movie set...

Nikko perspective

Joyeux Noel/Merry Christmas

no, i'm not early on the wishes. it's the title of this franco-anglo-germanico-roman-dutch (i think) movie that i saw last night. it was amazing. about the first Xmas during the first world war, when Germans, French and Scots celebrated Xmas eve together, then played football, cards, and basically enjoyed each other's company on Xmas day, and it goes on. it was really good. but it makes me so angry the way people twist reality (heads of state/church, for instance), to make people do what they want. really angry.

animal rescue

so, there i was, happily having lunch in the kitchen, when i heard this really weird noise, like something falling. but everything was in place. then heard some scratching. something seemed to be caught in the vent. a sparrow, i saw, as it looked out of the grille separating it from the room. i called my father, who refused to believe me, as the bird had disappeared from view when he got there. it took another 20 mns or so before he believed me, when he, too, heard the noise. we closed the doors and took off the grille. after about 5 mns, there it was, unsure of where to go from there. it flew down into a corner, where i slowly went to get hold of it. it took a bit of work, but i finally managed. we opened the window and out it flew. :) a nice happy moment.

the language of flowers

i was walking through our local open-air market, yesterday, when i passed a stall selling flowers. the woman in charge was trying to entice the male customers with these well chosen words:
'Come to see me, gentlemen, and guarantee yourselves a good weekend!'

what do you get when you cross a T-Rex with a crocodile?

a Dakosaurus Andiniensis, a type of dinosaur that's just been discovered. Godzilla is a myth no more!

check out http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9993914/ for more info.

matchmaking

ok, so, after having thought long and hard about it, i've taken THE step.

being single has taken its toll, and i know things are going wrong when i start thinking too much about students i get along well with, so i've joined a dating site. there.

so, 4 days into it, 8 guys have 'seen' me (without picture, though, as that's still uploading), and one has 'really liked' me. not bad. we'll see what happens...

stressed??

no, not at all. absolutely not. not even a tiny little bit.

sarcasm, sarcasm, sarcasm...

if i were in Japan right now...

i might be drinking one of these. if i drank shochu, that is. which i don't. but after this brisk walk outside, in this still amazing autumn, it would really do it for me. just this once.

3 types of shochu, straight from southern Kyushu

bliss

i've got to say that the last 2 weeks have been blissful, work-wise. i've got this high-level group with 7 students, one of whom has to make some kind of joke every 5 mns, and, surprisingly, his jokes ARE funny. not only that, but then everyone gets into the swing of things and we spend most of the lessons laughing. it's quite hilarious. i must say, i'm really enjoying working with them, so i really hope they stay on for a while..