Mike. :) I wakatted! I love the way you dance! It was like a commedy sketch we both each other, wasn't it!But you were skilled like a Charie Chapplin! How did you get your style? I act as I feel into rhythms and beats and developped my free style! Not minding how I look and judged by others. Actually, you were there and I could be spunky as I am. It was a fabious weekend! Waa! :o Eri
You too Mike! Definiately eye catching you were amongst everyones were dancing patterned! You have a lot of stories into music desne.:-> Found you the best dance mate for the first time! At first I didn't have brave to get minggled up with you and you gave an ice break by jumping at me! Haha! I used to have complex not being able to dance like other sexy women bouncing tits and blowing their long hair cool ways. I developped my original way to enjoy myself going many times! Recently I had been retired from club scenes getting tired with my patterns. You are certainly much more skilled and various than me thus I got stimulated to compete with you! I am happy that we could entertain people there I reckon! So you got here recently? Now happy with your new hair, Mike? I am visiting London in April and may call on into a club, Blue Note. I would enjoy dance the best if could find a funny dancer like you, Mike! So let's occupy dance stage for developping our next dance show too! Yeah! Bang! Bang! Eri
Why you hate your hair style? You got shaved it all? I think your curry hair was smart and fashionable enough for work and conferences! Who would your curry hair judge not tidy? I have short spiky hair by hair gum or wax and yesterday the hat made my hair style naff! So when the hat escaped I screamed! Kyaaaa! You were kind to my hat! Haha!
ENGENEERING '9-5'?YEARS?? MICHIGAN'S CAPITAL CITY IS DETROYD! SO YOU WERE A CAR ENGENEER!AND YOU WERE A MEMBER OF A ROCKE'N ROLL AMATURE BAND, MIKE?
So your days now ぼうけん and とてもたのしい？I am just back home. Been out since last evening staying at Aki's! You keep your self warm zipping up your jamper, Mike! Not opening jacket busy like last night! Haha! Hot bath for me! またね☆ Eri
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
kids trainers SOS
The following is an actual email to my support staff in osaka:
[ dear kids trainers, it looks like i just wrote you a book - please consider my situation and offer me whatever support and advice you can. * first, on a business note, i have MK, A, B, and C level pre-lessons next week!! i have the materials you sent for A, and B, but was alerted today that MK (and maybe C) level pre-lessons are not standard issue. we've sold these classes and i'm expected to teach them. please save me! ]
i got a marvelous good look at my ass today as it was being handed to me on a silver platter by a room full of darling children..
i had my first kids lesson today and it was a triple-fat model-lesson with major sales potential. i had plenty of advanced notice and took special care to be as prepared as possible. i flipped through the KEW teacher's handbook this week as a review and committed my three lesson plans to memory. i had seen trainer john do something not unlike this a few weeks ago and it didn't look like anything i couldn't handle.
i arrived early and found my wonderful staff girls making the room ready - they had already pulled my materials and made photocopies for me (they are so great). my director asked me to entertain/distract the kids while she took their parents money and i cheerfully agreed.
my first lesson was an AL, just 2 kids - twins in fact, and identically dressed. they were shy in the lobby, but max helped break the ice a little bit. when we stepped into the room and got started, the girls would have nothing to do with me. thing 1 was totally lost in space, unreceptive to any outside stimulus. thing 2, bless her heart, had it in for me. throughout the hello song and head,shoulders,etc., she screamed and wiggled refusing to compromise my survival! mom and grandma did everything they could.. she wasn't going to have it. she finally brightened up at the prospect of throwing a giant die at me for 5 min, though touching her nose was clearly asking too much. she ran out of breath for teddy bear and fumed silently. thing 1 just lay there like a slug.
then the strangest thing happened.. the pair of them were completely captivated by the damn alpha mats. each paired with a guardian, they were touching, understanding, and saying the names of the letters as prompted. i couldn't believe it! things deteriorated again as i intro-ed the good bye song, the girls reverting to their stunned and militant prior states, respectively.
[thing 1 personality i can handle - she eventually snapped out of it and joined the class as i hoped she would. thing 2, however.. - i mean, what can you do when a toddler screams at you for 10 min? her mom's right there and can't stop it.. ]
so, things didn't go so well.. i just hope their mother understands.. i walked out to the lobby with them and grandma seemed to have things under control, allowing mom to talk business.
next was MK - i had 17 min. i quickly set to throwing my outline up on the board and switching tapes only to receive a stiff reminder that i was asked to watch the kids - now a lobby of nearly 6 of them. i walked around but only frightened the children that weren't already face-buried in their mothers. legos were everywhere thanks to my new best friend (and we all know him well), yusuke.
[ i now recognize the dire importance of warming up to the students in the lobby before class, but find i'm at a total loss for words when it comes to kid's lobby talk and mom-side manner. i got "what's your name/age?" - but i could use some pointers here. ]
my new class fell into their student rolls as i pre-taught "let's have fun". on my right, dream child - a fabulously bright and outgoing little girl - followed along and repeated everything i said with boisterous laughter! yusuke followed along to a degree, but made it clear that he would only do so if he could have free run of the room and was occasionally allowed to open and close the classroom sliding door. his mom seemed to agree to these conditions, but was rather red-faced that she couldn't control him in the least. next was a small round boy who preferred to be a permanent fixture on his mother's lap, teetering on the edge of sleep. finally was a hand puppet of 15 months.. clearly just there for the exposure.
things went.. ok. the kids weren't nearly as hypnotized by the video as they should have been (personalities carrying them as they had at the beginning of class). the parachute was a big hit. i struggled to include the guardians and the two children that resembled furniture, but was betrayed by obscured nametags.
i'm not sure what kind impression/sale i made. i did, however, keep the kids in my room for the 20 min interim period, as to give the staff a chance to make said sale. well, that is, i attempted to keep them in my room.. anyway, i was able to get my next lesson plan on the board under elephant fire (yusuke has at least learned the word "catch"), but wasn't allowed a lobby opportunity to warm up to the my next three AM's.
I started out AM breaking in 2 shy kids with some commando. a third lurked outside struggling to crawl back into his mother's whom. my 2 kids responded ok and i did eventually elicit 5 fruit names from each. the third eventually made it into the room but opted to spend his lesson in the corner with his face in a cushion. every time i so much as looked in his direction, he flinched as if from an incoming blow to the head. i offered him fruit, feely-bag, you name it. my efforts were hopeless, my attention just made it worse. when i pulled the table out, he did huddle up to check us out revealing a full-grown una-brow.. likely the cause of all his dramatic embarrassment.
[ in retrospect, i should have invited mom in to coddle lil' una-brow.. but things went ok with the other 2. i did botch the timing a little (due to a small class and failing interest) but extended color time and covered for it ok. ]
so, i had a talk with my staff. they seem to be a little let down that i'm not so naturally talented at teaching kids as i am at everything else (hehe). the worst part is: i think their perception of my performance came directly from parent perceptions - eek. i was able to explain to them why lobby time was proving to be technically difficult, as i do need some of that 20 min. to prepare.
i'm not happy with the way things went today. i clearly lack experience in teaching kids (and experience with kids in general). i'm sure i would improve over time, but my situation here in okayama does not permit such a luxury. i have pre-lessons next week and it's time for me to shine! i've got more model lessons coming up and it's imperative that i do an outstanding job and do my part to sell this program!
now that i've at least done these lessons once, i'm hoping to spend more of my available brain power on classroom management issues. i will read what we've got on this, though (and you know) it can be more difficult to implement these theories in the actual classroom. of course, the pre-lessons are all new to me and will require some working memory allocation to the task at hand, time management, etc.
thanks so much, kids trainers, for hanging with my situation here in okayama. if you were closer, i would have insisted we have this conversation over beers.. but an obscenely long email will have to do. please again * note my pre-lesson requirement stated at the beginning of this email. hear from you soon. -mike!
ECC岡山の Michael Josiah Solo
[ dear kids trainers, it looks like i just wrote you a book - please consider my situation and offer me whatever support and advice you can. * first, on a business note, i have MK, A, B, and C level pre-lessons next week!! i have the materials you sent for A, and B, but was alerted today that MK (and maybe C) level pre-lessons are not standard issue. we've sold these classes and i'm expected to teach them. please save me! ]
i got a marvelous good look at my ass today as it was being handed to me on a silver platter by a room full of darling children..
i had my first kids lesson today and it was a triple-fat model-lesson with major sales potential. i had plenty of advanced notice and took special care to be as prepared as possible. i flipped through the KEW teacher's handbook this week as a review and committed my three lesson plans to memory. i had seen trainer john do something not unlike this a few weeks ago and it didn't look like anything i couldn't handle.
i arrived early and found my wonderful staff girls making the room ready - they had already pulled my materials and made photocopies for me (they are so great). my director asked me to entertain/distract the kids while she took their parents money and i cheerfully agreed.
my first lesson was an AL, just 2 kids - twins in fact, and identically dressed. they were shy in the lobby, but max helped break the ice a little bit. when we stepped into the room and got started, the girls would have nothing to do with me. thing 1 was totally lost in space, unreceptive to any outside stimulus. thing 2, bless her heart, had it in for me. throughout the hello song and head,shoulders,etc., she screamed and wiggled refusing to compromise my survival! mom and grandma did everything they could.. she wasn't going to have it. she finally brightened up at the prospect of throwing a giant die at me for 5 min, though touching her nose was clearly asking too much. she ran out of breath for teddy bear and fumed silently. thing 1 just lay there like a slug.
then the strangest thing happened.. the pair of them were completely captivated by the damn alpha mats. each paired with a guardian, they were touching, understanding, and saying the names of the letters as prompted. i couldn't believe it! things deteriorated again as i intro-ed the good bye song, the girls reverting to their stunned and militant prior states, respectively.
[thing 1 personality i can handle - she eventually snapped out of it and joined the class as i hoped she would. thing 2, however.. - i mean, what can you do when a toddler screams at you for 10 min? her mom's right there and can't stop it.. ]
so, things didn't go so well.. i just hope their mother understands.. i walked out to the lobby with them and grandma seemed to have things under control, allowing mom to talk business.
next was MK - i had 17 min. i quickly set to throwing my outline up on the board and switching tapes only to receive a stiff reminder that i was asked to watch the kids - now a lobby of nearly 6 of them. i walked around but only frightened the children that weren't already face-buried in their mothers. legos were everywhere thanks to my new best friend (and we all know him well), yusuke.
[ i now recognize the dire importance of warming up to the students in the lobby before class, but find i'm at a total loss for words when it comes to kid's lobby talk and mom-side manner. i got "what's your name/age?" - but i could use some pointers here. ]
my new class fell into their student rolls as i pre-taught "let's have fun". on my right, dream child - a fabulously bright and outgoing little girl - followed along and repeated everything i said with boisterous laughter! yusuke followed along to a degree, but made it clear that he would only do so if he could have free run of the room and was occasionally allowed to open and close the classroom sliding door. his mom seemed to agree to these conditions, but was rather red-faced that she couldn't control him in the least. next was a small round boy who preferred to be a permanent fixture on his mother's lap, teetering on the edge of sleep. finally was a hand puppet of 15 months.. clearly just there for the exposure.
things went.. ok. the kids weren't nearly as hypnotized by the video as they should have been (personalities carrying them as they had at the beginning of class). the parachute was a big hit. i struggled to include the guardians and the two children that resembled furniture, but was betrayed by obscured nametags.
i'm not sure what kind impression/sale i made. i did, however, keep the kids in my room for the 20 min interim period, as to give the staff a chance to make said sale. well, that is, i attempted to keep them in my room.. anyway, i was able to get my next lesson plan on the board under elephant fire (yusuke has at least learned the word "catch"), but wasn't allowed a lobby opportunity to warm up to the my next three AM's.
I started out AM breaking in 2 shy kids with some commando. a third lurked outside struggling to crawl back into his mother's whom. my 2 kids responded ok and i did eventually elicit 5 fruit names from each. the third eventually made it into the room but opted to spend his lesson in the corner with his face in a cushion. every time i so much as looked in his direction, he flinched as if from an incoming blow to the head. i offered him fruit, feely-bag, you name it. my efforts were hopeless, my attention just made it worse. when i pulled the table out, he did huddle up to check us out revealing a full-grown una-brow.. likely the cause of all his dramatic embarrassment.
[ in retrospect, i should have invited mom in to coddle lil' una-brow.. but things went ok with the other 2. i did botch the timing a little (due to a small class and failing interest) but extended color time and covered for it ok. ]
so, i had a talk with my staff. they seem to be a little let down that i'm not so naturally talented at teaching kids as i am at everything else (hehe). the worst part is: i think their perception of my performance came directly from parent perceptions - eek. i was able to explain to them why lobby time was proving to be technically difficult, as i do need some of that 20 min. to prepare.
i'm not happy with the way things went today. i clearly lack experience in teaching kids (and experience with kids in general). i'm sure i would improve over time, but my situation here in okayama does not permit such a luxury. i have pre-lessons next week and it's time for me to shine! i've got more model lessons coming up and it's imperative that i do an outstanding job and do my part to sell this program!
now that i've at least done these lessons once, i'm hoping to spend more of my available brain power on classroom management issues. i will read what we've got on this, though (and you know) it can be more difficult to implement these theories in the actual classroom. of course, the pre-lessons are all new to me and will require some working memory allocation to the task at hand, time management, etc.
thanks so much, kids trainers, for hanging with my situation here in okayama. if you were closer, i would have insisted we have this conversation over beers.. but an obscenely long email will have to do. please again * note my pre-lesson requirement stated at the beginning of this email. hear from you soon. -mike!
ECC岡山の Michael Josiah Solo
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
frozen friends '05
i returned to okayama to find her streets empty – my friends driven inside by the biting cold. i was sure i would find megumi, still braving the bitterest in the shortest of skirts, but the post-card poet was nowhere to be found. i can't imagine what horrible cold finally broke her, but clearly no one dared stay in it after she'd gone.
my heater had also broken, and it had become too cold in my apartment to pretend otherwise. i spent my evenings camped-out in a coffee shop; lesson planning, pondering, and studying japanese - all undertakings newly motivated by "resolution list '05".
indeed, i was hitting the books. the structured learning was providing a much needed backbone for my otherwise protozoaic proficiency in the language. but then the weekend rolled round and i decided i deserved a break. with my usual avenues of social and solitary distraction frozen, i became reacquainted with an acquaintance of mine; miss america.
i met liberty on the first day of our japanese class. she had already been in okayama for several months but somehow hadn't sunk in any deeper than "air-i-gato" - her meek, questioning tone betraying her to her insecurities and fragile sense of self-worth. a week later i had advanced a level and she had given up, opting instead to spend her thursday noon’s enjoying the familiarity of flannel pajama pants and macaroni and cheese. i had seen her one time since then, walking the well worn path between mcdonald's and "the big daikon", huddled in the warmth and safety of her gaijin friends. i'm sure it was the riddling guilt that she had somehow hurt my feelings by not emailing me that brought her to emailing me. "wana try this new pizza place?"
despite liberty's shortcomings in matters of assimilation, she’s a lot of fun and has managed to fall in with a pretty great little crowd of japanese and foreigners that i am now fortunate enough to call friends. we're even tentatively planning a trip to a local ski hill!
***
now my heater's fixed and i'm warm and safe in a whole new social situation. in fact, i'm getting this warm and fuzzy, no-place-like-home feeling just being back in okayama and back at work. more than ever, i'm looking forward to the challenge and experience this year will bring!
my heater had also broken, and it had become too cold in my apartment to pretend otherwise. i spent my evenings camped-out in a coffee shop; lesson planning, pondering, and studying japanese - all undertakings newly motivated by "resolution list '05".
indeed, i was hitting the books. the structured learning was providing a much needed backbone for my otherwise protozoaic proficiency in the language. but then the weekend rolled round and i decided i deserved a break. with my usual avenues of social and solitary distraction frozen, i became reacquainted with an acquaintance of mine; miss america.
i met liberty on the first day of our japanese class. she had already been in okayama for several months but somehow hadn't sunk in any deeper than "air-i-gato" - her meek, questioning tone betraying her to her insecurities and fragile sense of self-worth. a week later i had advanced a level and she had given up, opting instead to spend her thursday noon’s enjoying the familiarity of flannel pajama pants and macaroni and cheese. i had seen her one time since then, walking the well worn path between mcdonald's and "the big daikon", huddled in the warmth and safety of her gaijin friends. i'm sure it was the riddling guilt that she had somehow hurt my feelings by not emailing me that brought her to emailing me. "wana try this new pizza place?"
despite liberty's shortcomings in matters of assimilation, she’s a lot of fun and has managed to fall in with a pretty great little crowd of japanese and foreigners that i am now fortunate enough to call friends. we're even tentatively planning a trip to a local ski hill!
***
now my heater's fixed and i'm warm and safe in a whole new social situation. in fact, i'm getting this warm and fuzzy, no-place-like-home feeling just being back in okayama and back at work. more than ever, i'm looking forward to the challenge and experience this year will bring!
Thursday, January 06, 2005
another epically long flight back to japan.. and only a week later. what day is this?
i was happy to see taku waiting for me at the airport! i could have navigated the trains through the greater tokyo metropolitan, but wasn't in any condition to do so smiling. when we got back to his place i pretty much just passed out - and right in the middle of the pride fight too!
on the first we got up and did a little bit of city exploring. we were both surprised to find most of the city on shut-down for the holiday. we did eventually find a crowd of people in harajuku and blindly followed them past the most amazing street food and right through the gates of the famous meiji shrine! we ended up there completely by mistake, but even i know that meiji shrine is the single most popular (and therefore best) place in japan to wish/pry for good luck on the first of the year! the long walk through the woods was serenely zen-ful despite our sharing it with a few million people. of course, i have no great understanding or faith in shinto practices, but i followed suite and threw 5 en just in case it brings me some luck this year. it couldn't hurt, right?
we got home around beer o'clock - and because taku's mom was regretfully away (helping her father at their family shrine) - the guys headed out in search of refreshment. we found an izakaiya near the train station that was open and we all shuffled in. taku's brother manned the touch-screen menu controller and dad paid for everything! the food was great and it became clear that taku's heart-and-soul appreciation/enjoyment of good food and drink runs in his bloodline! sadly this indulgence would be our undoing - taku and i drank too much and sang karaoke too long into the night. we managed to waste the 2nd and the 3rd due to hangovers that could not be cured with ramen alone.
when taku's mom returned, she was finally able to resurrect us with her fabulous omochi new-years cooking extravaganza! but by the time we were aliveist, it was time for me to head home. taku's mom is the sweetest lady to bless this half of the planet and was so sad to see me go. she gave me cute new year's good luck charms and even forced some cash on me with tears in her eyes.
i loved to spending time with the aihara's and had a very japanese new year. now i feel like I have a family here, and though they're still not close, they're closer.
i was happy to see taku waiting for me at the airport! i could have navigated the trains through the greater tokyo metropolitan, but wasn't in any condition to do so smiling. when we got back to his place i pretty much just passed out - and right in the middle of the pride fight too!
on the first we got up and did a little bit of city exploring. we were both surprised to find most of the city on shut-down for the holiday. we did eventually find a crowd of people in harajuku and blindly followed them past the most amazing street food and right through the gates of the famous meiji shrine! we ended up there completely by mistake, but even i know that meiji shrine is the single most popular (and therefore best) place in japan to wish/pry for good luck on the first of the year! the long walk through the woods was serenely zen-ful despite our sharing it with a few million people. of course, i have no great understanding or faith in shinto practices, but i followed suite and threw 5 en just in case it brings me some luck this year. it couldn't hurt, right?
we got home around beer o'clock - and because taku's mom was regretfully away (helping her father at their family shrine) - the guys headed out in search of refreshment. we found an izakaiya near the train station that was open and we all shuffled in. taku's brother manned the touch-screen menu controller and dad paid for everything! the food was great and it became clear that taku's heart-and-soul appreciation/enjoyment of good food and drink runs in his bloodline! sadly this indulgence would be our undoing - taku and i drank too much and sang karaoke too long into the night. we managed to waste the 2nd and the 3rd due to hangovers that could not be cured with ramen alone.
when taku's mom returned, she was finally able to resurrect us with her fabulous omochi new-years cooking extravaganza! but by the time we were aliveist, it was time for me to head home. taku's mom is the sweetest lady to bless this half of the planet and was so sad to see me go. she gave me cute new year's good luck charms and even forced some cash on me with tears in her eyes.
i loved to spending time with the aihara's and had a very japanese new year. now i feel like I have a family here, and though they're still not close, they're closer.
a week of record-setting rain appropriately set the stage for my week in los angeles. it wasn't bright smiling sunshine, but it still beat the hell out of a tsunami wiping the city off the face of the earth.
i was so happy to find my grandfather spirited and himself despite the clockwork of medication and hospitalization that has become his life. he even made a request for okonomiyaki, the cabbage pancake he had been eager to try since my blog description weeks ago. his positive attitude made my family forget every reason we had to be sad and we were able to relax and enjoy our time together - we even visited the happiest place on earth!
being back in america gave me a chance to catch up with some old friends - namely, "the burnt tortilla", "lucille's smokehouse bar.b.que", and "roscoe's house of chicken 'n waffles". i was happy to see them all again, but i seem to have lost my ability to disappear even a half-rack of beef ribs, well.. at least when their served with corn on the cob, garlic mashed potatoes, salad, and fresh backed biscuits. oh yeah..
i spent the week weather-effected, jet-lagged, and food-coma-ed, still it was wonderful to see my family and see poppies smiling and himself!
here's a rare sight - a rainbow on cloudy hermosa beach:
i was so happy to find my grandfather spirited and himself despite the clockwork of medication and hospitalization that has become his life. he even made a request for okonomiyaki, the cabbage pancake he had been eager to try since my blog description weeks ago. his positive attitude made my family forget every reason we had to be sad and we were able to relax and enjoy our time together - we even visited the happiest place on earth!
being back in america gave me a chance to catch up with some old friends - namely, "the burnt tortilla", "lucille's smokehouse bar.b.que", and "roscoe's house of chicken 'n waffles". i was happy to see them all again, but i seem to have lost my ability to disappear even a half-rack of beef ribs, well.. at least when their served with corn on the cob, garlic mashed potatoes, salad, and fresh backed biscuits. oh yeah..
i spent the week weather-effected, jet-lagged, and food-coma-ed, still it was wonderful to see my family and see poppies smiling and himself!
here's a rare sight - a rainbow on cloudy hermosa beach:
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