Here We Are

Well, as some of you know, Ema recently had the mumps. You can see for yourselves that it was a fairly serious case.

It's a bit late here, but I thought I really should stop making excuses to myself and throw on a quick post, with a promise of more soon.

Keiko and Ema are fine. Ema is loving the second year of yochien and already sounds like a miniature high school girl when she gets on the phone with one of her friends. Emiko, Keiko's mother, is doing great right now and makes you think that maybe having a long, complicated surgical procedure isn't really a big deal.

The school year is underway and it's going to be a great one, I think. I'm pretty happy with my new English Course classroom, and the 9th grade girls are the nicest year group I've seen since I've been here. Possibly in part because I've taught many of them since they were 12 years old, and was able to trick their little brains into forging happy, laughing neural pathways all leading to a big goopy brainpic of me falling on the floor and writhing like a snake to teach the word 'snake.'

I'm not doing much writing for the website right this moment, but there will be another big batch coming in about a week or so. Like I told mom, I have some real reservations about the way they're approaching this, but as long as they keep depositing fat plugs of cash into my bank account I'll try not to get too emotionally involved. Also, having your name listed as the lead writer for a project that's funded in part by JTB and the government ministry overseeing tourism looks pretty good on a resume. I also just had two poems taken for publication in the summer issue of the Kyoto Journal. No money in poetry, of course, but it makes my scalp gleam. Next submissions will be to American publications, but KJ is a Pushcart Prize winner so I'm pretty pleased with the credit. It's not like appearing in The Drear Carrionflower Review or some such, sold only in the printer/publisher's vegan coffeehouse and artspace. Though that would be cool in a way too. With poetry, there's something sweet, snug and toasty about aiming low.

Anyway, that's my news for now. One more picture of Ema, from a couple weeks ago, doing the Brando impersonation.