Dear loyal reader: I'm not dead. And the date is 05/05/05 on the 5th day of the week (Thu). How rare is that?
It's been a busy spring so far, with a lot of things happening/happened. Let's gloss over the highlights:
• Said a solemn sayonara to my elementary school and a polite good rittins to the JHS at the end of March.
• Due to shady company drama, I was forced to seek employment with new company. New employment acquired. Same job, different employer, different city of work.
• Went cherry blossom-viewing, domestically bka “O-hanami.” Stunningly gorgeous for a whole two weeks.
• Celebrated another birthday. Yay! Birthday booty: a brand new box spring mattress, courtesy of my girl. The spinal-misaligning futon era comes to an end (Hurray!).
• Started work in new city, new school system. Now teaching at 3 elementary schools (no JHS). 3 schools, 50 classes, 1400 students, working with 50 different homeroom teachers, teaching 21-25 periods out of a 30 period week, not to mention planning and almost completely running every class in English and Japanese, even though I’m actually an “assistant” teacher by title (ha!), have assumed double the responsibility and workload of my previous schools, however with no increase in pay (argh). Also discovered that most Japanese kids under 15 don't know who Michael Jordan is (yikes!).
• Historic commuter train wreck in Hyogo prefecture leaves over 100 dead, hundreds more injured (I was not one of them-- different prefect.)
• Brand-new Apple computer tragically and mysteriously suffers roughly $900 US worth of damage, leaving me devastated.
• Brand-new Apple computer triumphantly and miraculously is repaired out of good faith by local Apple Store (after much perseverance, politicking and pleading).
• Enjoying beautiful weather during the Golden Week national holidays!
