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  12.25.03
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Merry Christmas from Tokyo. Thanks for all your well wishes.
 12.23.03
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My parents are here. Everything is
going
well.
We took them around the neighborhood this
afternoon, and this evening we went to a
yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurant in Ueno.
The restaurant was good, but Jack was acting
kind of wild. I had to leave mid meal to
take him for a walk because he was so full
of energy. I guess that's why they call it
the terrible twos.
My dad and I managed to get away to a pub
afterwards for a few pints. I caught up on
the family gossip and crap like that. It
was nice.
They're going to be here for two weeks, so
we should be pretty busy for the next little
while. I'll try to keep you posted on what
we're up to.
 12.19.03
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We've all heard the admonition, "Don't
take candy from strangers." Well, whoever
coined that expression certainly never spent
much time in Tokyo.
It seems like every other time I take Jack
on the train some little old lady or a mom
with kids or a businessman in a suit is reaching
into their pocket, pulling out a piece of
hard candy, and sticking it in Jack's hands.
It goes without saying that Jack is in love
with this particular Japanese tradition.
Strangers giving Jack candy used to bother
me at first, just because it seemed odd and
was intrusive, but I must admit that I kind
of like it now. It's sweet -- pun intended.
It's indicative of a society with a strong
social contract. I'm guessing that people
just aren't living under the constant fear
that every stranger they meet is the potential
abductor of their child, or that taking food
from a stranger is like asking to be poisoned.
I won't be handing out candy myself any time
soon, just to be on the safe side. It's just
pleasing to know that I'm living in a city
where it's okay to give candy to children.
 12.15.03
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Tomorrow I'll be giving a two-hour lecture
on 'business English' to our main editing
client, an executive search firm, the one
who agreed to sign a work contract so that
Karen could apply for a new visa. They made
a special request; I've never done this for
any of our other clients.
It took me a long time to put the presentation
together. I felt like I was on a two-minute
shopping spree at Walmart, running around
with one of those big carts: The problem
was deciding what to leave out, not deciding
what to include. The first hour is going
to consist of general advice regarding composition
and style, and the second hour will focus
on particular problems that occur in the
documents that they send to us for editing.
All of the consultants at our client's office
already speak great English, so the presentation
will be pitched at a more or less high level.
In other news, I got a fax from my wedding
company the other day and it looks like they're
going to take me back. I just need to go
in and talk to the President, a distant figure
who I met only once before briefly, and apologize.
If all goes well I should be able to get
back behind the altar by January. However,
January is a slow month, and I'm guessing
that they'll only give me a few weddings
to do initially, that is until I can work
my way back up the ladder again.
Also, my parents are coming for a Christmas
visit next Monday. It will be my dad's first
time in Asia, and my mom's second (she came
when Jack was born). I'm really looking forward
to showing them around. It's going to be
good.
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