Happy New Year! It`s hard to believe that it`s already the year 2005... and that in just two years (actually less) I will be turning the big 3-0!! haha Well, I hope that everyone had a good and safe Christmas and New Year`s. We certainly enjoyed ourselves in Taiwan. For the most part, we hung around the Taipei area and only got away for three nights out of the twenty, but it was still really good to be in Taiwan again. Farah`s family is super nice so it`s always a pleasure to see them. And every time I see them I have to give myself a kick in the pants for not studying more Chinese! Maybe that`ll be one of my New Year`s resolutions this year! Maybe is the operative word here. So we`re apart for five weeks now with only four left to go. Farah stayed in Taiwan to take care of some things and also to spend time with her family during Chinese New Year in February. Since coming back to Japan, I have spent most of my time indoors because it`s just too cold to go out. Waking up in the morning is always the worst... Anyway, I think that`s about it for now. I have to get back to class! ;)

It's cold!!! For the past two days it has been cold and rainy, and I think that it might snow tonight. Yesterday, I went to the grocery store and bought everything I needed so that I wouldn't have to leave the house today. Now I'm starting to feel like a prisoner in my home; I really need to get out!!!

I`m so bored at school today, or for that matter, this week, this month, this year! I just want something to do--it`s as plain and simple as that. I`ve done enough on my own in an attempt to keep myself busy and try to better the school, but nothing I do seems to make a difference. Somebody, please give me some work to do! It`s been quite some time since I`ve had any classes, and spending all day doing nothing is really beginning to tire me out! For now, I guess that I`ll stay on the computer until some work comes my way. And if there is anybody out there who can send me some cool links or something to make me laugh, or if you have any ideas for a photo series or anything at all, please, help me: corysensei@yahoo.com :)

I miss you, Farah. Please come back soon! ;)

It`s Friday and it`s almost time to go home! One of this nicest things about working in Kasukabe is the awesome schedule that we have: Monday through Thursday we work nine hour days and Friday we work ONLY THREE HOURS!! So here I am, it`s just about eleven in the morning and I am less than thirty minutes away from starting my weekend! Yes!!!!

Yesterday, I went to the mountains with some friends of mine: Uji, Koji, Ani, and Egopi. It was about a two hour drive from Kasukabe until we saw snow and about thirty minutes from there that we decided not to continue driving up the mountain because it was too dangerous; we didn`t have chains and it was pretty slushy... But the mountain air was fresh and the scenery beautiful! We had a really nice time and it was so good to get out of the house for a full day of fun!

Okay. So it`s been a while since my last entry. What`s been going on? Well, let`s see. Hmm... The biggest news trickles down to two major events: number one, Farah is coming back on this Saturday (5:45 PM)!!! Need I say more? And although I am very excited for this as is she, let`s talk about the other big news, something that has already happened! Yes! Number two, the digital camera upgrade that I have been itching for, well, let`s just say that it is no longer a scratch! ;) Last Saturday, I bought myself a Nikon D70 and it`s a beaut!! I`m soooooooooo happy with it! To say the very least, it`s awesome! And yes, it was very expensive!!! But that`s what private lessons are for, right! (I teach private English lessons on Tuesday and Wednesday nights) I`ll post some pics taken with the new camera sometime soon. But anyway, I had better get going to class!

Farah is coming back today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So many things are happening at all once. I`ve been super busy with work and private/ community lessons lately, and also in my (our) personal life, making BIG, life-changing decisions!!! :) So you`ll have to forgive my temporary leave of absence. And there will be more on our life-changing event in the near future. :) But for now we`ll talk about things close to home. A couples of weeks ago, Farah and I won these free passes for the local hot springs in a drawing at our favorite (and cheap) yakiniku restaurant, and today is the perfect day to go! We`re both really tired and are in desperate need of some time to relax in a tub! I think that the hot springs will give us exactly what we need today! It`s going to be soooooooo nice!!!

It`s Monday, and just as the teacher who sits across from my desk says, "Don`t ever buy a car made on a Monday," a statement that couldn`t better describe the lack of motivation and general grogginess of most people on Monday mornings, applies ever so much to all here--students and faculty--at Kaskabe Junior high school. Everybody seems so tired today but I, on the otherhand, am feeling quite good! Thank you. :) We had a really nice weekend! We went to the hot springs and soaked in the baths for an hour or so, which was everything I had hoped it would be--lots of rest, lots of relaxation. We then took shelter from the cold and watched half of season two of 24, and somehow ended up going to a Pride match (professional fighting similar to kick-boxing) yesterday, which was surprisingly fun! I`ll have to talk more about that later... Anyway, I am feeling good and I`m ready for another week!!

It was the strangest expereince I have ever had at a sporting event. The crowd was silent! And, I mean, silent! We watched all ten fights--each kick and punch of the fighters reverberating throughout the arena--being able to listen to a conversation that was taking place four or five rows back from where we were sitting, if that gives you an idea of just how quiet (creepy) it was in the Saitama Super Arena on Sunday. And at one point, one of the fighters grabbed a mic and reprimanded the crowd for their silence, saying that, "These matches are boring without your support. Don't just sit there. Make some noise!" And after reminding myself that I was indeed a spectator at a professional sports event, my final thoughts were, "Only in Japan..." ;)

We're both sick today!!!!

It's been a long and busy week. So much has happened that we'ld love to talk about but can't right now... :) Other than that, we've been sick for the entire week. I've been sporting my fashionable cold mask to prevent the spread of disease in my school, just as most self-weary people do here during the cold season in Japan, and both Farah and I have been busy popping pills three times a day going on one week now! We're starting to feel better but aren't quite there yet. We really need to get out of the house!!!!

Today is "White Day" in Japan. No, it has nothing to do with white supremacy so settle down, folks--thank god--but is the designated day in which men, I guess you could say, return the favor from a month earlier. Women typically give homemade chocolate or candy to express their love on Valentine`s Day, and exactly one month later on March 14, respectively, "White Day," men will give an array of gifts ranging from candy, flowers, taking the girl on a nice dinner date, or like a somewhat materialistic friend of ours said, "...a Louis Vuitton bag or whatever it may be, something with a brandname on it!!" $$$$ Lucky for me, Farah is not so materialistic and won`t be requiring a new Christian Dior purse of Kate whatever-her-name-is bag (not that she would want one anyway), and most importantly, we already celebrated Valentine`s Day as we know it in the West--giving both ways, spontaneous and nice! But I don`t want Farah to feel left out so maybe I should get her a little something to remind her that she is loved. When in Japan, do as the Japanese do, right? ;)

p.s. We went to Yokohama over the weekend at it was SO NICE to get away!!!

I don't remember graduation in junior high being such a big deal like it was here at my school. For starters, it lasted for THREE HOURS! So not only was it literally a pain in the butt but--two buts in a row there--it was, in the words that describe it best, morbid, dispiriting, and so overly exaggerated! I can understand how saying good-bye to friends can be emotional but there is by all means a very fine line between crying and weeping, and it was just too much to see three-hundred kids ball their eyes out in unison for more than an hour. It was so much like a funeral. Really! And as a teacher at my school said, summing things up for us, "There are two days a year that I feel glad to be a teacher and graduation day is definitely one of them!" I guess that the teachers get the students all worked up emotionally to feel good about the high demands of their jobs. (This is not only my impression but something that other teachers have told me) Being a prisoner at work, getting only a couple of days off a year--literally, because most teachers work on Satudays and Sundays--and watching your children grow up from a distance because you aren't able to spend time with them since you are always at work, all of this seems worthwhile in the end. The idea is to just put a band-aid over it and cover it up on graduation day. To say the least, it was simply pathetic to watch. I felt sorry for the kids and then just pity for the teachers. What a sad way to live life!

It`s been a couple of weeks of madness with all that`s been happening around here. But after conquering over an inch thick of paperwork, one of our major sources of stress is temporarily out of sight (but not out of mind) and we move on to what`s between step one and two of this three step process (I know that I am being extremely vague. Please forgive me. The cat will be out of the bag soon!): a visit from my parents! Yes, they`re coming to town tomorrow and we`re hoping that they`ll bring the sunshine with them because it`s been kind of cold and rainy lately. But either way, whether it be rain or shine, we`re really looking forward to seeing them. We`ll be doing all of the typical tourist stuff over the next ten days as well as trying to relax at home, as long as my parents are able to sleep on the tatami floor! Things should be interesting! Interesting and so nice!! :)