stuff...

Hello All -

Random happenings with me...

** With the help of my friend, Kazuki, I was able to get box seat tickets for the next Sumo tournament in Osaka in March. Slowly, but surely, I've turned into the biggest fan of Sumo. I really love it and my world gets put on hold practically for two weeks every other month while I watch the new tourney.
I'm excited to be seeing it live again for the first time since late 2005 - my goal is visit all 4 Sumo arenas before I leave Japan - so after March, it'll be two down and two to go (Tokyo and Nagoya).
I'll be joined by 5 other Shimane ALTs - so it should be a fun trip! Pictures and a report for sure in April. :)

** Been busy lately teaching myself how to use iMovie on my Apple laptop. I'm trying to make a mini-movie for my 9th graders for their farewell ceremony the week before graduation. I have so, so many pictures of them from the past 2 years, but they only alloted me 6 minutes, so I've had to whittle my selection down to about 100 pictures or so. But with iMovie, I'm able to add cool transitions, effects, title cards and music. Kinda like a Power Point presentation, but a level up - and you save it as a Quick Time movie - it's been really fun, but a lot more work than I thought it would be - of course, I want it to be great - and I think it will be - gonna work more on it tonight. And I'll eventually upload it to my YouTube site.

** Random observation - I'm fat. Yeah - no surprise there, but I think I've gained back any weight I lost after I first arrived in Japan. I gotta get out and start to exercise again - start going to kendo practice again and try to lose a few of these pounds.

** In case I haven't told you personally, I decided to sign up for one more year on the JET Programme. So that means I'll be here in Taisha, doing the same job, until July of 2008. Which means that the kids that graduate next March, in 2008, will have been my students since they were in Elementary school! Wow! My kids truly are wonderful human beings and they make my job so much fun.

** Two goals for 2007 - I'd like to improve my Japanese, which basically stalled in its progress about a year ago, and work more at trying to find a companion to share some of my time with - pretty lonely out here in the inaka after 2 1/2 years. Maybe that whole "lose some weight" thing will help, as well as being better able to sling the Nihongo. :P

** New Spider-Man movie at theatres in two months!!!!

** I am so hooked on American TV right now. After first moving here, and having access to NO American shows, I now regularly watch 7 shows and watch even others on DVD. My niece lent me the Season One box set for The OC, and now I'm hooked on that show too. My favorite show of the moment has got to be "Heroes." So GOOD!!

Hope all is well with you!

-Jason