itsumo nihon ni tsuite shabeteiru
'tis the season of the JET Programme's interviews for the next infantry of eigo no senseis to spread their native-english-ness across the unsuspecting japanese masses.

being retired from that brigade, i've suddenly become a person of popularity as all the hopefuls seek my experience and wisdom about the flouride-free land of japan. not even kidding, since the beginning of the year, i've been solicited by 7 different people to talk about it... which is fine, because hey, i like to talk. but at this rate, if i ever get my book published, no one will need to read it!

hmmm... rethinking my strategies here...

on a personal note of japanese progress, i actually initiated a conversation in japanese to a native speaker... which is HUGE considering the shade of red my face becomes when i speak, mostly due to lack of confidence in my skills. but she was delighted, and didn't mind my deer-in-the-headlights-look and exclamations of "whoa! way too fast!". plus she's queen-mama of a j-restaurant, so this daring could come in handy. satomi-san, yoroshiku!