Tuesday, February 28, 2006 Cloudy and then rainy.

　Driving my wife to work, making coffee for the son, going to the sign language circle, and then to the Korean language school-these are the things I did today, today being a day off. But there was one call from a student who failed to come see me at the appointed time, standing me up.

Monday, February 27, 2006 Fair

　Oh, what a hectic day! Today I took the place of our Korean teacher and taught for about 30 minutes. He asked me to do so all of a sudden because he had urgent business. There was a conference to decide who are eligible to graduate. It took about one hour and a half. Then took care of two students, and sent mail to graduating students, informing them of the date and time of their commencement.

Sunday, February 26, 2006 Rainy

　Spent all day watching Korean dramas with my wife. We are both big fans of Korean dramas. "Hojun" has been the best drama so far. Other Korean dramas, too, are really worth watching, I assure you. Today we saw "Hojun", "The Stairway to Heaven", "Rondo(TV)", etc.

Saturday, February 25, 2005 Fair

　Sometimes the tip of my tongue gets sore. Is it because my teeth are not well aligned? Or because of stress? Today there is everything in Japanese society but hope. It is a very stressful society, and the local community has collapsed. The late Michael Ende talked about nothingness and restlessness in modern society in his works, such as "Never-ending Story" and "Momo." He prophesied the coming of a ruthless world like ours. Maybe people are not well aligned, either. And under such stress. To live is to eat, and you are what you eat. By eating we take in and accept the world. And now edible birds are in danger. Our species is doomed now? After all we are one of those living things. Extinction ...

Friday, February 24, 2006 Cloudy

　At last the Reading "reports" for the first term of this next academic year are ready. Next week I will have them printed. Just one student came to sign up. Another who promised to come did not show up. I called, but the phone number was no longer in use. Began filling in the school records today. Made some phone calls to some students and took care of one makeup. Also wrote to two students.

Thursday, February 23, 2006 Cloudy

　My wife is thinking of changing jobs. She is looking for a nearer place of work because our second son is going to work from April on, driving our family car to and back from work and also because we will not have to pay his tuition. . I am not perfect, but I cannot understand why some people can do such sloppy work.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006 Cloudy and then rainy.

　Now making coffee for our second son. He will leave for work shortly. He must have come back home well past midnight last night. I did not hear the frond door open. I was fast asleep. At work big problems happened one after another. Misfortunes never come singly. Why do I have to take responsibility for someone else's carelessness? But that is life.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006 Cloudy

　Our first son is still here at home. His gum has stopped bleeding, but he says it still hurts. The dentist sewed up the wound with two stitches after taking out the wisdom teeth. The wound was twice the normal size. Poor son! My wife returned home tired, so I fixed something to eat for her. I was also tired because I got up earlier than usual to drive her to work. On my way to the Korean language school this afternoon, I dozed and leaned onto the person sitting next to me. I apologized. According to my wife, yesterday I came back home totally exhausted. Went to the sign language circle for the first time in three weeks.

Monday, February 20, 2006 Rainy

　Writing this in the morning. The weather is gloomy today, and going to work, too. But work is work. I cannot put my personal feelings too much into work. If I do, it complicates matters. I would rather not. Busy working all day today. Our Korean teacher is sick now. There is something wrong with his neck. I partially took his place at work. Hope he will get well soon. 　

Sunday, February 19, 2006 Cloudy

　The first day of the sign-up assistance period is over. Although 17 students were supposed to come see me, only five came. Later on I tried to contact those who did not come. Two phone numbers were no longer used. Some did not answer the telephone though I kept calling. I kind of expected this, but this was so much hassle. If it was not part of my work, I would never do that. This is the most tiring time of year for us correspondence school teachers.

Saturday, February 18, 2006 Fair

　Driving my wife to work as usual, I went to the neighborhood English conversation school to have a chat in English. In March I will not be able to join them because there is a commencement on the first Saturday. There was a big-scale landslide in the Philippines. It is said that more than 1.000 villagers were buried to death. What a disaster! In Japan, too, two kindergarten kids were murdered by another kindergarten kid's mother, a Chinese woman who is married to a Japanese. What a tragedy! Fact is stranger than fiction. And life still goes on...

Friday, February 17, 2006 Fair

　Our first-born son came over to go to the dentist. He had his tooth taken out today. Still coughing this morning, I cancelled my appointment with the dentist today. The sky cleared up, and I hung the washing out to dry. Went to the Korean language classroom this afternoon and had fun speaking Korean. At work one retest to take care of and also other odds and ends to attend to.

Thursday, February 16, 2006 Rainy, occasionally cloudy.

　I still keep coughing. It tires me a lot. And today's weather is chilly. Tomorrow will be even colder, the weatherman says. Today was the deadline for the first input of the final grades into the computers. Tomorrow the printout will be ready, and based on that the teachers will have to prepare for the sign-up assistance period..I hope not many students will be with more than four 'pending' subjects.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006 Cloudy and then rainy.

　I really have a cold. I cough a lot and feel tired now. I asked my wife to listen to me breathe with her stethoscope. .So she did and said that there was no serious problem. I took some cough medicine and antibiotics, too, anyway. At work I waited and waited for a student, who eventually did not show up. I made more than ten phone calls, too, though.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006 Cloudy, occasionally rainy.

　Looks like I have caught cold. I do not run a fever, but I cough and phlegm keeps coming out. Well, got to rest well. Today at work there was an anticrime drill. Things have changed now in Japan, too. The good old days were peaceful. If we get some things, we must lose some things. That is life. Hit the sack and sleep well. Sweet dreams.

Monday, February 13, 2006 Fair

　My shoes, for some reason or other, squeak as I walk. So when it is not too noisy, sometimes a person walking ahead of me turns around. This happened today. At work I made one phone call after another to students who need to be informed about how they are doing in their schoolwork. I will still have to make more phone calls. I put necessary papers into the envelopes of those students who are to sign up for this next academic year.

Sunday, February 12, 2006 Cloudy and a bit snowy.

　Worked half the day. On my way to work, while walking to my workplace from the nearest station, almost half the way from both places I felt I had to go to the bathroom, but I had nowhere to go near by then, so I hurried, screaming inside in agony. When my school came into view, I ran into the convenience store I usually go to, asking the clerk to let me use the toilet. I had a close call. Today's work schedule wrecked my biorhythm. Hence this sudden call of nature. 　

Saturday, February 11, 2006 Fair

　Went out just to go shopping for pet food, toilet rolls, etc. Our first son is coming home from Kobe, riding his motorcycle to dine here. He is now tutoring a high school kid somewhere in Osaka-his part-time job. These days I watch "Kui-tan" on channel 10 and "Rondo" on channel 4. This afternoon there was a "gate-crasher." I had a bit of an awkward time like getting my territory invaded. Tomorrow is a workday-makeups in English.

Friday, February 10, 2006 Fair

　I am always ready to help my students with their English if they really want to study English, but some of them just want to get their credits in English without studying for themselves. I am afraid such students are increasing. What is worse, they do so by using the ability of others. It is unfair and wrong, and I cannot approve of it. To them, maybe the end justifies the means. It is a shame not to enjoy the process of learning. Learning can be fun.

Thursday, February 9, 2006 Fair

　There is a saying which goes "A rolling stone gathers no moss."("Even on a rock, three years.") Three years have not passed yet since I started this online diary. In seven years' time I will be retiring, and I have no idea how much longer I am going to live. Disasters will happen. Life is really precarious. Who knows what tomorrow has in store for you? Really tomorrow is another day. We all come and go, just traveling through this tangible world. So travel merrily...

Wednesday, February 8, 2006 Cloudy and cold.

　For nearly two and a half years I have kept a diary online, writing this and that each day, but there seems to be more to it than that. I seem to be in a rut now. What is the good of keeping a diary like this? Just not to forget English? I really do not know why I have such an attachment for English. To me, English is no longer what it used to be, though. What should I do now?

Tuesday, February 7, 2005 Rainy and then cloudy.

　Went to the dentist this morning. There was another bad tooth. It was taken care of. Unable to go to the sign language circle's weekly meeting. Went to the Korean language school in the afternoon. Our teacher was beautiful as usual. Now she speaks more Korean in class than before. My wife took a day off today because she felt tired after working on the night shift on Sunday.

Monday, February 6, 2006 Rainy and then cloudy.

　Marked the rest of the exam sheets and sent them to the students today. There are still makeups and retests, though. Invigilated the Reading exam. They were good students. Left the school with my Korean teacher. I wish I had a good Korean friend to talk with. As soon as I got home, I did the dishes, did the cleaning, and hung out the washing to dry. It took over 30 minutes. Yes, I am a housemaid. They take it for granted that I do household chores.

Sunday, February 5, 2006 Cloudy

　Finished marking the English �Texam papers and sent them back to the students. Had to do this quickly so that some of the students could study for their retest. I am hoping all the graduating students of my homeroom class will pass their exams and graduate. I will have to see how they are doing with their exams. On the way home, dropped by a hoka-ben shop to buy two portions of "sukiyaki-Benton with noodles."

Saturday, February 4, 2006 Cloudy

　On the day I converse in English in this classroom, I always feel it is not your ability in English but your knowledge in something specific that counts. Each person has his or her style and it is hard to change it. By the time we meet the week after next, I wonder if I can change my style somewhat for the better. What is that change like? I am somewhat in a rut.

Friday, February 3, 2006 Cloudy

　Early this morning fell down and almost broke my right thumb. Went to the hospital and had it X-rayed. The bone was O.K. There are only a few students left whose past grades I will have to check. This is really tiring. I had so many "reports" to check. Took care of one exam. This year students do not study very hard in English �T.

Thursday, February 2, 2006 Cloudy

　Going over the first Korean textbook for beginners I bought, I can understand almost all of it. I should review it over and over again. Today's teachers' meeting was not too long. I am still preparing for the sign-up assistance period. Made makeups for Reading.

Wednesday, February 1, 2006 Rainy, occasionally cloudy.

　Studying Korean in the morning, I thought to myself that there might be another group of hurdles to clear ahead of me-more difficult vocabulary. I will take my time because it does take time to break in such words. At work going back to the originals of their school records, I checked the past grades of two students who are signing up for the next school year. This, too, is very time-consuming. Made makeups for English �T. Got to make ones for Reading as well. The gloomy weather really makes everything depressing. Really we are part of nature although we are constantly damaging and wrecking it-and that at the expense of other forms of life.