2008: The Soundtrack (now with annotations!)

For better or worse, this is the soundtrack for 2008. Old or new, these songs popped up on its own accord. All up, they can be traced to various moments and emotions that happened in 2008.

A lot of things happened this year as you may or may not have noticed. Fittingly, there are a lot of songs on this year's list. By pure coincidence (although not all too surprising) a lot of the songs that stood out this year share a similar theme: the city and home. I thought this was rather fitting.

Somehow, this year I went slightly overboard and wrote annotations for all the songs listed. I bought a couple of "best of" albums this year and I really enjoyed reading the little anecdotes and stories that were written in the CD booklet about the songs. I guess that has influenced me a bit here but it still seems a bit of a wank. But eh, what can you do?

Side A

Athlete - In Between 2 States
A nice instrumental track to open things up. The title sums up how I felt as I waited for Japan to happen. For a while, I was trying to simultaneously put my life on hold in one place and prepare for my life to begin in another. It's hard to live in the present and think about the future at the same time.

Eskimo Joe - New York
The lines "So where were you while we lay?/So drunk that we died..." was rather resonate for most of this year. I was lucky this year to have 2 awesome summers, in the southern and northern hemisphere, with even more awesome company. I think the people that drank away with me saved my sense of self.

Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight, Tonight
I went to the Smashing Pumpkins concert in March and I cried when they played this song. There are so many lines in this song that, if just read, would sound really lame and lifeless. But when you add it to the thunderous strings you will start to believe. "Believe, believe in me, tonight".

Yui - Laugh Away
The opening track to Yui's fourth Album "I Loved Yesterday", it is a cute guitar pop song which I'm always a sucker for. It feels like it has captured the essence of a bright summer's day with a cool gentle breeze blowing. Being in Japan makes that feeling more real.

Phantom Planet - California Fukushima
Or hereby forever known as "Fukushima". I wittily changed the title around when I first found out where I was going to be placed in Japan but I never knew that it would become some sort of anthem for me and the Aizu crew. As I belted it out numerous times in numerous karaokes with spilt drinks and smokey sofas, it brought everything together and gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside and brought a tear in the eye. Rumours abound that the song also made me do a bit of a wee in my pants but that's what they are: rumours. I can't imagine singing the name of my other home state, "New South Wales" with so much pride and passion.

Oasis - The Shock of the Lightning
The lead single from Oasis' latest album, "Dig Out Your Truth". I'm still mixed about the album but "The Shock of the Lightning" was the archetypal first single from Oasis. Which means it is jolly good.

Trial Kennedy - Neighbours
This was one of those songs that you randomly hear on the radio and you like it straight away. For me it happens every so often but the problem is I never manage to catch the name of the artist or they don't announce who the song is by. I end up having to repeat whatever bits of the lyrics I've caught, so not to forget it and Google it up. Trial Kennedy released their debut album just around the time I left Sydney and subsequently I missed a lot of their shows they played to promote the album. This song particularly soundtracks the time when I started to wrap up my life in Sydney for an indefinite amount of time. I also love the feeling it invokes of a grand night out with great company until the wee hours of the night. Or maybe it's only me.

Stereophonics - Maybe Tomorrow
I saw them play at the Metro (one of my favourite places in Sydney) and I was lucky to see such them play in such a small venue (they are huge in the UK and Europe). I remember this old guy was actually shocked to see the size of the Metro: "They're not putting on a covers band tonight, are they?" The acoustic version that was played that night just brought the melancholia of the song home: "Maybe tomorrow/I'll find my way, home". I knew I was going to Japan but not for how long and that line summed up where my hopes and fears were.

Yui - Love is All
Another song from Yui's "I Loved Yesterday" album. What gets me in this song is the hook at the start of the chorus. Japanese songs always have this one hook that...well hooks you right in. I don't know that much about music to figure out what they do but I know that I like it.

Foo Fighters - Everlong
I liked this song but I never liked it as much as the other Foo Fighters song, say, "My Hero", "Monkey Wrench" or "Breakout". The lines (which never did anything for me):

"And I wonder,
When I sing along with you
If everything could ever feel this real forever
If anything could ever be this good again"

summed up my fears of leaving Sydney: would everything that I have and putting down, would it all be the same when I come back? I knew I had a good thing going but it scared me to bits to let a good thing go. I wrote those lines in my farewell card to Alberta and I think I cried when I wrote it. Naturally she cried when she read it but in the middle of George street. How embarrassing.

Akiko Kobayashi - Fall in Love
My old student Yuki sang this once at karaoke and the song's sadness has haunted me throughout the whole year. Surprisingly, half the song is in English and as she stretches herself in English to plead her case, makes her plaintive cry "I'm just a woman/fall in love" for love even sadder. Damnit, why don't you just let her fall in love!

Arashi - Love So Sweet
The teachers performed this song during the school's festival. It's typical Japanese boyband surgary pop but it was one of the first things that I discovered in Japan, my new home. Like Yui's "Love is All", it also has one of those deadly hooks, which can be found in halfway through the chorus. For about a month (I didn't have internet initially) I had no idea who sang this song and I have no idea what they're going on about. But did that stop me from humming it most of the time?

Doves - Some Cities (Echoboy Remix)
"Some cities crush
Some cities heal
Some cities laugh
While other cities steal"

"Some Cities" is the opening track from Doves' rather bearing third album of the same name. One day, this song just suddenly popped into my head and stayed their most of the day. As I listened to it repeatedly, the chorus "Some cities crush/some cities heal/some cities laugh/while other cities steal" fitted in nicely with my then wondering of where I would be going to in Japan and my own relationship with Sydney. I've chosen the remix version of the song here. Remixes are hit and miss most times for most people but this remix hit with me.

Side B

Coldplay - Life in Technicolour
Another instrumental to open proceedings. This one just grabbed me the first time I played "Viva la Vida". It reminds a lot abot when I first landed in Tokyo many moons ago: just the feeling of a city buzzing with a million and different stories, the energy that surrounds it and the feeling of summer as its backdrop. An alternate edit can be found on the "Prospekt's March" EP. At first I was excited when I found out that there was another version with vocals on it. However, it's best to be avoided as it is rather lame and half-arsed.

Coldplay - Viva La Vida
This follows nicely after "Life in Technicolour". My fascination for the titular track from Coldplay's latest album has waned a bit since it has been overplayed everywhere. But you cannot deny that the thumping beat and the string riffs is rather catchy. Wait. What do you mean that it was a ripoff? Oh. Well, when the strings at the intro come shuushing through the speakers, I'm instantly taken back to my brief holiday at the Gold Coast just before I left Sydney. I was rather indulgently driving down the coast in my rented convertible and like Coldplay's approach at "writing" this song, I was not worrying about things that needed to be worried about. Ah, happy days.

Snow Patrol - Take Back the City
The lead single from Snow Patrol's "A Million Suns" album, "Take Back the City" came out during the time when I was assessing my relationship with my new home, Aizuwakamatsu. Initially, I was aloof to how I felt about the town: it was not to say that I didn't like it, I just hadn't experienced enough to form an opinion. But gradually I knew how I felt about the town. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not, but I grew to love the place through other people's envy about how good my situation in Aizuwakamatsu in terms of my housing, job and access to the town's amenities. Through their lamenting about their situation, I realised that things are indeed good here, not because others have it slightly worse in comparison, but because they are genuinely good.

It’s a mess
It’s a start
It’s a flawed work of art
Your city, your call
Every crack, every wall
Pick a side, pick a fight
Get your epitaph right
You can sing ‘til you drop
Cause the fun just never stops

I love this city tonight
I love this city always
It bears it’s teeth like a light
And spits me out after days
But we’re all gluttons for it
We know what’s wrong and it’s right
For every time it’s been hit
Take back the city tonight

The song was written by Gary Lightbody (that's such a cool surname) about Belfast. Whilst my enthusiasm for Aizuwakamatsu is not as strong as Lightbody's for Belfast, I know that it is growing. The town is flawed, but it treats me well and I will not deny that. It is "my city" now.

And, to a greater/lesser extent, the song also connected with my feelings for Tokyo. Tokyo is Tokyo and since I've heard this song, every time I'm down in Tokyo I can't help but sing the lines "I love this city tonight/I love this city always". As many flaws as Tokyo has, we're all still "gluttons for it". I mean, who can get enough of a STD-infested scrag, right?

Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire
I'm not a big Kings of Leon fan (oh boo yourself) but it seems 2008 was their year. "Sex on Fire" was unavoidable during my soccer weekend in Nagano. There's the theory that if you listen to a song numerous times then you'll start to like it, regardless if you liked the song initially or not. Well, I can use "Sex on Fire" as an example to prove that theory to be true. And anyway, having your sex being on fire sounds awfully painful...

Stereophonics - You're My Star
This came on one night whilst I was cooking and listening to Q Radio. I find silence makes me unproductive so having music on in the background gets me working. Compared to their early "whiskey rock" days, Stereophonics have become lazy and working on auto-pilot. This song has a lot of daft lyrics but you still can't deny Kelly Jones' voice and his hair. Especially the hair.

The Whitlams - I Make Hamburgers
The Whitlams, along with You Am I, always instantly remind me of Sydney. Both have so much of the city invoked in their history and their songs that it becomes a curse (that they aren't as popular outside of the country) and a blessing (that they still possess the same identity). This is such a fun song, with Tim Freedman's wit in full flow. And it does make you crave for a hamburger made at one those local milk bars (do they still exist besides the one in Canterbury?) or burger joints.

You Am I - Tuesday
Along with The Whitlams, I've never managed to catch You Am I perform live. Well, I did once You Am I supported Oasis but that doesn't really count. Another song that just randomly caught me off guard on the radio, the world-weary vocals and the trumpets which makes it different from most of You Am I's body of work. It makes you feel that you can face the world even with your all-day bed hair (that's balding as we speak). Or maybe not. I'm also glad that I discovered this song as it has allowed me to dig out some of You Am I's earlier stuff ("Tuesday" came from their 3rd album "Hourly, Daily").

Maroon 5 - Won't Go Home Without You
Ok, so this song was on my list for 2007. And it's Maroon 5. Freakin' Maroon 5. But it goes down too well (that's what she said) and somehow it was the song that got me and the current Aizu crew together as it got belted out over and over again at karaoke (man the middle-8 bit is high). Music, makes the people, come together...

Mr Children - Gift
As was explained to me the other day, the songs of Mr Children often get used whenever you need to whip up some tears or put a lump in your throat. Fittingly, this was used as theme song for the Beijing Olympics by the national broadcaster NHK. Mr Children does some soppy ballads and this is a prime example. But they do it too well so you can't really fault them. I liked Mr Children before I went to Japan so it gave me a kick to find some new stuff of theirs just as soon as I arrived in Japan. Dunno how you would read it, but it seemed like a good omen.

Switchfoot - This is Home
Everyone has a song that connects with them on a very intimate and personal level. For some, it hits so deep that they wonder if the song was personally written for them. Well, as crazy as it is, this is how I feel about "This is Home".

I've got my memories
They're always inside of me
But I can't go back
Back to how it was
I believe it now
I've seen too much
But I can't go back
Back to how it was
Created for a place I've never known...

This is home
Now I'm finally where I belong
Where I belong
Yeah, this is home
I've been searching for a place of my own
Now I've found it,
Yeah this is home
Yeah, this is home

Belief over misery
I've seen the enemy
And I won't go back
Back to how it was
And I've got my heart set on what happens next
I've got my eyes wide and it's not over yet
We are miracles
And we're not alone

And now after all my searching
After all my questions
I'm gonna call it home
I've got a brand new mindset
I can finally see the sunset
I'm gonna call it home

I first heard this song when I watched "Prince Caspian". It was the last film I saw at the cinemas in Sydney and I actually quite enjoyed the film (I haven't seen the first one) and the whole experience of watching a film at the cinemas. I got curious when I heard this song over the end-credits and later, when I heard it again, I knew this song was special. I had not left Sydney then but I knew this is how I would be feeling when I get to Aizuwakamatsu, my new home. This song brought on the first buds of optimism (not that I had doubts) I had about my new journey and from there it didn't stop. See, I'm always cautious before I start new things: I don't want to appear the fool when things go bad. But this song helped to bring a sense of hope and reassurance: that it's OK for me to leave Sydney and those special to me behind, and that it's OK to call my new town, my home. Let's not forget that this was before I had stepped foot in Japan and I was already feeling this. And when I saw my first sunset in Aizuwakamatsu, well what can I do but "call it home". Because this is home.



2007
2006
2005

TBTEⓒ: The Korean Edition

Coming over to Korea was a spur of the moment decision. Everyone had their respective and earlier-organised plans of home or warmer places to go to and I was one of the handful who had nothing planned by the start of December. On a quiet day at school (read, nearly every day) I did a rough check on my options and found out that travelling to Korea would be cheaper than travelling down to southern Japan (a result of a weaker Korean currency and cheaper flights due to a million connecting flights between Japan and Korea). Quite literally, I booked and finalised my ticket 10 days (which was the last day that I could have my ticket issued) before I planned to fly out.

So like that I'm here in Korea with no grander goals than a simple two:

1) to eat kimchee at least once a day; and
2) to meet up with some of my old students who are now back in Korea and cash in on their respect and reverance for their teacher.

Having it now down to an art form, I met up with 4 of my old students for a night out in Seoul.

So as we sat down for smelly but oh so delicious and sorely missed BBQ pork meat and lots of soju, we reminisced of days gone by.



For me, my old teaching job was a great job for many reasons. For my old students, it may have been a once in a lifetime break from their lives back at home. The chance to just drop everything and live abroad for a year is hard for most people but for most folks in Asia it is even harder, with work and family responsibilities higher than others. It is clearly obvious that the time that they spent in Australia has changed their lives a bit. What is even clearer is that a big part in their enjoyment of Australia was being in my class.





So as I sat their again mooching off the friendship and grace of my old students, I continue to realise how rewarding my last 2 and a bit years were. Especially since how, so far, every time said mooching involves a lot of good food, drinking and great company. I guess it's part of the deal in being TBTEⓒ


Jam Jam recreating how he felt when he was in my class.

Music In My Head: Mr Children - エソラ

As the dust settles

Round this time every year, it seems people are in a mad frenzy to leave work or town as soon as they can, less they have to hang around for one minute longer and maybe turn into a zombie or a vampire. Or something.

Well round here everyone has pretty much zoomed off into the sunsets. Most of the ALTs in town and the prefecture that I know of have gone every which way but here: to home or to warmer places. The Japanese teachers have started leaving in an orderly fashion (always orderly) heading to wherever their respective hometowns are. It's a tad strange to see the school population slowly dwindling day by day. Classes had finished on the 22nd and the students won't be back again until 5th. Or the 14th. Or the 12th. I forget which one. I really should check.

So this will be the first Christmas I'll be spending away from home: no Christmas service, no barbeques at home with lamb chops, prawn salad and mashed potatoes. That's not a problem (yet) but what seems to be strange is how I miss my new Aizu crew already. Somehow everyone is off to different places and it seems foreign, given that we did nearly everything together for the last 5 months. And whilst everyone is away for 10ish days at most, it still seems like we're parting for a longer period of time. This time, I know it's definitely only just me that's feeling like this.

This will probably be my last post before I hit Korea and cash in on my old students' respect and revere to me. Right now, I'm just waiting for my last day at work to finish. I've been at school for nearly a week with no classes to teach and no work to do: just wandering the halls like the ghost of Christmas past and writing belated Christmas cards. At least I'm out of the cold I guess. Tis been a strange year but it's been a long time coming. I've always kinda anticipated a change abroad would be happening and it happened this year. What happens next is completely unknown and unplanned, save for a couple of trips to here and there. So, come along for the ride, won't you?



I'll see you around.

School of scandal

I was meant to have my bonenkai party last Friday night. A bonenkai party serves the same purpose as a work Christmas party would except the focus is on celebrating or "forgetting" the year that is about to end. From what was planned, the bonenkai sounded like a smashing good time: buffet, all you can drink, crash overnight at an onsen hotel whilst partying the night away with more than 100 staff from school. Everything would have been covered from part of the ¥1,500 that we paid for coffee and tea every month. Fun times indeed and it sounded better than any work Christmas parties I had been to before (i.e., really crap). But then...

Wind back a couple of weeks before and I had a first period class on Thursday morning. I hate teaching in the first period for the fact that the students are generally not as awake as they usually are later in the day (i.e., not so much more). But more importantly, I'm not awake as well. Thursday's the only day that I have a class on in the first period which kinda makes the day sucky. But then it gets better because I get to teach one of my favourite classes so I guess it kinda works out. One Thursday though, the 3rd year class that I'm teaching is really dead, even for a first period. Fair enough. Tests are coming up and it's incredibly foggy outside so who would be awake and alert? Hell, I'd be half asleep too...wait, I am half asleep.

Anyway, I go through the lesson like the professional that I am and the lesson ends. It wasn't a walk through the mud but it wasn't a walk in the park, either. On the way back to my staffroom, I make chit-chat with my JTE (Japanese Teacher of English). It's a long hall way (100m +) and a bit of chit-chat is required. I comment that the students seemed more quiet than usual. Must be the tests, right?

"Uh...there's something I was asked to tell you about the 3rd years, John 先生.

"Uh...? Something...ha...uh...but that girl...that student...she promised not to tell anyone about our little secret..."

What in fact happened was this: the 3rd years had been busy applying for their respective university/college entrance exams. To my understanding, Japanese tertiary institutions hold their own entrance exams, unlike other countries such as Australia and the USA which has a uniform test for everyone and for every school. This means that these university entrance exams are designed by the universities and may vary from institution to institution. Depending on the prestige and demand of a university, some of these tests may be ridiculously hard or may be piss easy. I saw an entrance test for the university in town and it belonged in the former category: what the hell is "proxemics" and why is it coming up in a Japanese university's entrance exam (the English part of it) when most native speakers of English won't know what proxemics is?

So anyway, everyone has applied to different universities around the country and some have even done their tests. However, it seems that one of the girls in the class that I had just taught would not be doing a test for her university. It seems that an error had been made in her application form. Because of this, she had been automatically disqualified and would be required to sit the test in February. It was interesting to note that my JTE commented that, had the student actually sat the test, she would have passed since 99% of the people pass the test.

At this point, the actual details of things becomes a tad unclear: it is not me to ask about things that are bad news. But from what I've gathered (it is like me to ask other people about things that are bad news) the school and the student were at fault, though the school would never lay blame on the student. Quite what the mistake was is unclear to me. An "i" that was not dotted? A "t" that was not crossed"? A failure to mention that John 先生 is TBTEⓒ? Who knows? But for a society that likes things to be done properly, a mistake on a form may be a real big deal.

Well it seems that it was a really big deal. When I left my staff room the night before, one of the teachers that sits opposite me was watching the news on her mobile phone. I was about to ask if there was something important on the news, but didn't. It turns out that there was something important and local based: it seems that earlier in the day, the principal had held a press conference in regards to the mistake for the entrance exam. Soon enough, everyone knows, from other teachers in neightbouring schools (I got pumped for information from a teacher at another school that I had never met before) to folks living an hour and a half away who read in their morning paper. After all the explaining and apologising, it seems that the principal and one of the senior teachers got a yelling from someone representing the prefecture's board of education. Ouch.

So how does this affect me? Well, I had my possibly awesome year end party cancelled. Boo. How things go round here is that if something bad has happened round the end of the year, then the bonenkai gets cancelled so not to bring the party down. Fair enough I guess. Other people have had their respective year end party and they ranged from just a night out, to an over night stay at a hotel but at their own expenses. But from what I've heard they all sounded inferior to my planned bonenkai but were still smashingly fun. Double boo.

It seems strange to me that since the bonenkai literally means "forget the year party" then wouldn't it had been the most fitting opportunity to forget this incident and get on with the new year? But it seems that others didn't share the same thinking as me. Still, I did get something from it: since a lot of money had been collected from our monthly coffee/tea money throughout the year to fund for the bonenkai, we all got a refund of ¥10,000. It worked out even better for me since I've only been here for 5 months so I had received part of my predecessor's money. Easy money kinda makes up for all the mistakes, hushed gossiping and a girl's possibly disrupted dreams. But only just.

A year away

This photo was taken on my last day of teaching in 2007.



And this photo was taken on my last day of teaching in 2008.



I guess you can say things have improved. At least I'm wearing a shirt this time.

Model student

The other day I was asked to write a piece for the school's gradutation/year book. The school year ends in March or something and the senior 3rd graders will graduate from high school. I think I was ask to write because I'm a new teacher but I'm pretty sure it was the Japanese way of saying "we want you to write something because you're hot and awesome". Y'know how it is, the Japanese being indirect and all.

Anyway, here's some random thing I wrote about being in high school and somehow stumbling my way to becoming a teacher in Japan.

"When I think about my 6 years at junior and senior high school and nearly 7 years at university, I have fond memories of the things I have experienced and learnt. These things have become an important part of me which has helped me become who I am today.

For me, my high school days were a long time ago. When I started junior high school, there was no internet, cell phones or digital cameras. In Australia, we go to junior high school for four years. I went to an all-boys private junior high school called “St Thomas Boys High”. It was a small Catholic school and because it was small, everyone was friends with each other. St Thomas was around 1/5 the size of our school! Unlike Japan, Australian schools do not have compulsory club activities after school. As such, I did not play as much sports or music as I would have liked and I feel that the students here are incredibly lucky to have so many different club activities.

Although I did not know it then, I think my time at St Thomas helped me decide to become an English teacher. At St Thomas, my favorite and best subject was English. I enjoyed everything that was taught in my English classes: from the books we studied, the writing and the speaking activities that we had to do. Part of the reason why I enjoyed English so much was because of one of my English teachers. He was an excellent teacher but he also taught me about music, movies and books. In a way, he became a role model for me in how I want to be as a teacher.

After St Thomas, I went to Rosebank College for my senior high school. Rosebank was another private Catholic school but it was a bigger school than my junior high school. At the end of senior high school, everyone has to take a final exam. The score from the final exam and all the other exams and assignments that you do throughout the year is used to enter univeristy or other tertiary courses. I will be honest to say that I did not study hard (I am not a good student!). For me, I always knew that I had to go to university. My sister went to university, my friends all went to university and my parents expected me to go to university. However, I had no idea what course I wanted to study. I knew I was not talented enough to study architecture and had no interest in other courses such as science or economics. The only course which slightly interested me was Education. I did not know if it was the right choice, but I somehow knew it was.

In the end, I was lucky to get a mark of 80 out of 100 for my university entrance exam. I began my Education degree at the University of New South Wales, one of the biggest and best universities in Australia. At university, I majored in Education, English and Linguistics. Again, I was not the best student but I enjoyed most of the courses I studied and the lifestyle of being a university student. In Australia, university students have a lot of freedom in choosing what they want to do and how they spend their time. Whilst studying, I worked part time in a bookshop and was able enjoy a lot of my hobbies such as music and movies.

I graduated from university in 2005 after 6.5 years of studying (longer than most). I was sad to leave my university because I knew that I will never enjoy such freedom and lack of pressure ever again in my life. Studying was difficult (I once cried because I couldn't do an assignment!) but the opportunities and fun of being a university student only happens once in a lifetime. Like junior high school, the things I learnt and experienced in university have become an important part of my identity.

I guess the most important thing that I have learnt from my first day at junior high school, to graduating from university and beginning my first teaching job and to coming to Aizuwakamatsu and teaching at here is that things will always be ok. I never had an idea about what I wanted to become but somehow, everything ended up better than I had planned or expected. I feel incredibly blessed to be teaching at this school and even more so to be able to teach and know you all. May you enjoy every opportunity and experience that comes your way.

'The only thing that matters is just following your heart,
and eventually you'll finally get it right'."

I already know that come graduation time, I'll be a big suss and even maybe out-crying the Japanese girls. Which is no mean feat.

CD of the Week

CD #49: Coldplay - Prospekt's March



CD#50: Stereophonics - Decade in the Sun



CD #51: Mr Children - Supermarket Fantasy

The Year in Review Meme

The meme works like so: Go back in your journal and take the first sentence from your first post on the first day of the month (or closest to) for all 12 months of 2008. I kinda cheated this year and used some post titles to add a more poetic effect (read, zero).

January

I've been told by Ben that how you spend your New Years Eve kinda defines your following year.

February

I'll take you to Hong Kong and that's a guaranteed promise.

March

Right now I'm making my way through the undergrounds of Sydney as I make my way to the international airport (and not the "Ipod" like my Brazilian student likes to say it).

April

I'm currently still at school working.

May

Hey, did you know that this month is MayCDC?

June

And boom, goes the dynamite!

July

The Last Days of Pompeii

August

So...it's been a while, hasn't it?

September

From the sea...

October

Your sex is on fire.

November

Welcome Novemeber, my favourite month of the year.

December

I am the best teacher ever.

2007.
2006.

TBTEⓒ

In my utmost humbleness, may I say that I am indeed The Best Teacher Ever (hereby referred to as TBTEⓒ).

There is countless evidence (both factual and anecdotal) to prove this fact. We can be hear for days whilst we analyse such evidence. A tome-esque memoir can be produced or a trilogy of movies can be made to make an already entertaining tale even more entertaining. How that can be possible is beyond me because one can only stomach so much entertainment.

But let's just look at things bit by bit before we get drowned under by the big picture that I am TBTEⓒ. Let's just say, look at this weekend.

'Twas another weekend and I found myself in Tokyo again. Surprise surprise. Hitting Tokyo has become more frequent than I expected (and that of my bank balance as well). But, like other times, it was to see old friends who have braved the tyranny of distance and bad currency exchange rates to come to Japan. The very least I could do is to catch a 4 hour bus to catch up with those who shared many a time with me as we drank the night away believing that we were invincible.

This time it was to catch up with Tomo and Paolo. Both were my old students and the former end up being a colleague of mine.



Meeting them in Tokyo were some of my other students who had returned back to their respective parts of Japan to continue on with their lives.



So as we caught up with each others' lives over not enough beef, I realised how randomly connected everyone was. All these people had studied at the school I worked at at different times and in different classes. There we were and now here we are somehow able to sit down to share a meal together. And even more of a surprise, those who were strangers were able to hit off like they were old friends, all for the fact that they were one of my old students in the past.




Yuriko actually beat me in distance covered in travelling to Tokyo. She came down from Sapporo on an 1.5 hour flight.

In the midst of this, I was seeing the demonstration of a piece advice that a close family friend gave me before I started teaching. He was a well respected principal at a high school in Hong Kong and to him, teaching is about dealing and connecting with the people you teach to. There's only so much you can teach but there's so many things you can communicate.

So as my glass was topped up constantly through out the night (I have never been forced to drink so frequently!), guided from place to place to continue having my glass topped up and pushed and shoved into the right direction so as to not be swallowed by the hoards, the night wound itself up. I realised that I have followed that piece of advice rather well. Here I was in one of the most special cities in the world, receiving the friendship and grace of people in response to me teaching them grammar and giving them homework. Add to the fact that most of them live in or around Tokyo and offers of future visits (to Tokyo and Aizuwakamatsu) means there will be more mooching of friendship and grace. It's a fair deal I guess.

Guess that's part of the deal in being TBTEⓒ.



Coda:

When my old camera died on me at the beginning of last year, this was one of the last photos that it took:



With that, I am always hesitant when Yuriko gets drunk and demands that I take a photo of her.

CD of the week

CD #47: Yui - My Short Stories



CD #48: Mansun - Legacy

The Mikito

Prologue:

Daveo: Ya know what I'm gonna do, mate? I'm bloody gonna make a Mojito, right, but instead, I'm gonna make it all Japanese and shit and name it after you, mate. It's gonna be called "The Mikito" mate and it's gonna be for ya, mate".

This is Tokuyama Mikito, or Mick. He was born in Japan but has lived in Sweden and The Bahamas



Now, he can be found fixing cars and drinking all the Bundy and Cola he can get in Sydney.

This is "The Mikito".



Instead of using rum and lime that is normally used for a Mojito, I used sake and yuzu to make it more Japanese and transforming it into the Mikito.

Mikito promises to deliver alcohol filled and related good times with the potential for an odd shenanigan here and there.





The Mikito also promises to deliver alcohol filled and related good times whilst potentially refreshing you.



Mikito, the man, is classy and is a legend.



The Mikito, the drink, is a long way from being a legend. The bugs that can be found in the already washed mint leaves stop it from being anywhere near classy. Alas, it is a work in progress.



For relaxing times, make it Mikito time.