DJ Gig

This is something interesting to post about (even though I have known about it for awhile); Seeing as I was such a big success last time, I have been invited back to DJ in Shikaoi this Saturday Oct 27th at the Pure Malt Clubhouse - coincidentally, located across the street from me. Perhaps more of a coincidence - especially for my parents - is that the party neatly coincides with my birthday, at least if I want to carry on after midnight. This flyer has been hanging around town. It says it's for Sound Festival '07. I attended the previous two at the Pure Malt and they were great. This year I will be contributing. It happens I took this shot in front of the 7-11. (My name in the flyer maybe hard to spot: ブレア.) This means most people I deal with on a daily basis know about the gig, leading to a variety of questions, normally the funniest come from my students, who are shocked to learn I have a life outside school. I don't just go home and get into a coffin at 5:30 you know. I will be playing lots of funky beats hoping to raise the dead before Halloween and represent quality Canadian Hip hop. Details to follow!

A list of good news

With my birthday less than a week away, this arrived at the office for me. A custom-made Japanese tube-based headphone amplifier. I don't have time to detail its sound or how it has radically changed my life at the moment, let alone start to explain why I need an amp can only be used for headphones, but I do promise to write more about it in the future. In person, it's a real thing of beauty; a great example of Japanese engineering too.


At long last another live-saving, breakfast-giving shipment of kraft extra smooth peanut better. Compliments, as written, from my mother, and also my poor Japanese friends that travelled back from Stony Plain with it this month. I'm starting to forget a period existed where peanut butter grew on trees; where one didn't need to carefully ration peanut butter; where one could just go into a store and buy it. This present shipment should happily leave me set until after christmas.

My last bit of good news is also a wish: I'm not sick (at present)! My schools have been turned into fields of zombies with sick kids and teachers everywhere. Lets hope I stay that way. Strong wind today.

Halloween Events

Being an English teacher throughout the different seasons I get kind of bored talking about the same Western holidays over and over again to all my different classes. However, yesterday's special event consumed so much time and energy over the weekend it's worth mention here. As part of a PTA sponsored day, 100 elementary students visited the high school where older students had organized activities. I'm grasping for words here because we really don't have any such events in Canada. I find it akin to a large all day baby-sitting service but from the Japanese perspective it is an opportunity to have children from different classes and schools get to know each other and have older students learn leadership and organizational skills in a well supervised environment. With that as background, the English teachers were invited to be part of the day to run a Halloween theme room (complete with terrified small children). Here we had costumes and face painting, pumpkin carving and games. We also did the activity where you blindly put your hand into boxes labeled "Zombie brains" and "Eyeballs" etc. as the mind plays tricks on you with completely normal grocery textures. Some of the best facial expressions and quotes come from that station. Luckily we were horribly over staffed (11 teachers) for only 10 kids at a time. It made the hours and hours of volunteering fun. Lots and lots of good news today: normally I try to leave such posts toward the end of the week but I will share it with my readers tomorrow.

Grey Skies

Friday night - because I'm such a bundle of fun - I went to bed early because I was tired. My bed was calling me. Consequently, I was up too early this morning (much refreshed mind you). It was a blessing in disguise because the world had changed overnight into the Scottish Isles; complete with grey skies and chilly rain. I lay in bed, hoping to fall back asleep, too much on my mind, listening to the downpour. Including the picture above, I had also washed the dishes and cleaned the bathroom by 8AM. Running by 9AM and an afternoon of preparation in preparation for tomorrow. Not to worry; pictures to follow.

Ah Thursday: The only thing better than pesto pasta is leftover pesto pasta.

Arts and Crafts

Out of the deep freeze

Nothing to much to report from this side of the world. My students remain healthy and happy. Since before the bird incident temperatures have been falling; autumn returning with a blast of cold weather. Earlier in the week I had been cold wherever I was; outside and especially inside. I couldn't warm up. No amount of sweaters at work or at home could abate the coldness I felt throughout the day. Rain for most of Wednesday did nothing to help execpt freeze me to the bone. Even my students started to complain their hands were cold. Gratification today as my office finally turned on the heat. It's quiet a process in Hokkaido since old fashion boilers or space heaters are still used, not forced air systems, and so the system has to be slowly turned on. This week's cold snap also added to my worries about an animal in my gas heater since I would be needing it this week, espeically in the mornings, or else I would never have the will to get out of bed.

Seen in 7-11 today, three new flavors of Pringles potato chips: Tandori chicken, ethnic spice and potato gratin. Who is eating these things? Pringles aren't my favorite potato chip to begin with but thoughts of the chemical magic that was wrought to create those flavors will keep me away.

Never a dull Tuesday afternoon in Japan

I feel like I became a real home owner today. I went home after school to quickly change pants because my kids had got something sticky on them - coming from Arts and Crafts to English and all - however, I never even got to that point. From the next room I heard the unmistakable sounds of something alive in my gas heater. Movement. Rustling. I didn't have enough information at that point to know exactly what it was but I knew a dirty job lie ahead.

I quickly ran back to my office and asked if there was any protocol I was supposed to be following. It’s the town’s house and there is a big sticker on the heater not to open it without proper training. The office was mostly empty with some big meeting going on upstairs and I was given an apathetic go head. This was a change from last time when my door lock was broken in which the cavalry was called in. However, this story ends well: No one is having roast bird tonight. Being the well-organized forward-looking person I am, I collected the materials I would need to effectively open the gas heater; vacuum, towels, tools, flashlight. After checking a couple of easy areas first I came to the chimney vent itself. After detaching the pipe from the heater, I cautiously peered in; not immediately recognizing anything in its sooty depths. Zoom! Whoosh! Out comes a small terrified bird. Yeah! Short of options, I stood there for a second, sighed, and lifted my eyes toward heaven; now have a disoriented, sooty, injured bird loose in my house. A distinctly bird-shaped black outline was left on my kitchen cabinets after collision. Excited but not panicked, I slowly cornered the bird behind the couch and caught it softly in a towel. Released out the front door, it showed great strength and resilience quickly flying toward the nearest tree. The bird being so black makes definite identification impossible but I would have say it was something like a sparrow or a chickadee. And here I was worried I would have nothing to blog about today! Ha!

Writing about Japanese Paper

Paper has a long history in Japan, or rather, more precisely, fine paper products have a long history in Japan. I've seen great examples of this oft overlooked art. Japanese view paper as almost an element in its own right. The character of paper intersects deeply at the heart of Japanese culture; something about paper's ability to be both light and flexible or strong in any given situation. Japan's native Shinto religion uses plain white paper to mark sacred sites. Distinctly folded lightening bolt looking strips are seen universally across the country. Paper plays a role in Buddhism too; used both decoratively and in religious rituals. In everyday life, one is normally only an arm's length away from a great example, whether it be for covering doors and windows or writing. One of the areas where paper is not often seen is burning; my guessing is that because so much of Japan has been built of wood and paper that a strong aversion to fire exists. However, this hasn't stopped certain Japanese festivals from harnessing fire to dramatic and symbolic effect.

Rainy Night In Shikaoi But the Air Is Fresh.