You know what?

Do you know what's frustrating about having a blog?  Not having reliable access to it.  Over one year in Japan, and after being informed that the necessary wiring (phone, cable, or fiber optic) was not only missing but that the company was unwilling to install it, I still hop online every here and there by tethering my jailbroken iPhone to my laptop by a fickle connection.  Joy.

In other news, I'd like to quickly note three things before I run off to work.

First, I've continued running and swimming, despite the lack of Facebook posts and posts over here.  My energy levels have dropped quite a lot, however, and so I've taken to a lower frequency but maintained my distances in running, and swimming has sadly taken more of a supportive role.  I think my initial surge into this was optimism-fueled while the real world was waiting to tell me that I need to build up slowly.

Second, I've been contemplating the purchase of a set of carbon wheels for my bike.  They're a high-quality set, but like anything made of CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced polymer), they aren't cheap.  The set is also used, but gently so.  The price is the driving point: just under 45% of the original price.  I'd have to get a new cassette body (since the current one is for Campagnolo), tires, tubes, and brakes pads, to those are other expenses to keep in mind.

Third, I've been writing.  I promise.  About two weeks ago, my mother called to chat, and I found myself cleaning up while in the process.  What I found was a dozen pages of hand-written things I had composed at work, none of which had been typed.  Proof: the following was written on September 20th.

In some ways I'm sure it's preferable to being in class, but it's easy to see that the horse and pony show portion of this undoukai practice  isn't the least bit interesting to anyone, let alone the students.  The kids march in time to songs clearly not meant to be part of a parade as one of the teachers musters his best drill sergeant voice, holding out parts of his words and snapping others short.  But amid the purpose, boredom, structure, and mild heat, I found humor in watching a few hundred kids march to the tune of AKB 48's "Heavy Rotation" while obeying the verbal commands of what sounds like Hitler.

Undoukai is a yearly event in Japanese elementary schools, this year falling on September 22nd (a Saturday), that involves running races, dancing (like a mix of cheer and pop), odd games (like passing a gaint, 5 foot diameter ball overhead down a row of 100 students in a race), a little bit of stretching, and a whole lot of ceremony.  The workings of this effort are run through on a daily basis for over two solid weeks, each time taking between one and two and a half hours, displacing class.  When the day arrives, I'm not sure if only the parents show up, but I hope a lot of people watch.  After all, seeing so many students march in time (and on the same foot!) is itself an accomplishment.

Today, now that I sit at lunch, has been a pretty good day.  I only had one class, and to say that I nailed both planning and execution would be an understatement.  My previous notes for this class indicated that they are difficult to elicit participation from.  Of course, I know this class since it's 6th grade and I teach them every week.  But, back to lunch, and the respectable stack of edamame (beans) I just finished.

Look up "Heavy Rotation" on YouTube, and you'll understand why hearing an instrumental version to Hitler's marching commands can be both inappropriate to say (because I'm comparing my co-worker to Hitler) and humorous to witness.

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No time for quotes or humor this morning.  Sorry.