Adventure on the (Over) Seas

That weekend in Niigata few weeks back really spoiled me. I read what my buddy wrote a few days ago about how he went out and had a stellar night but it didn't even compare to Niigata so it felt sub-par. I am feeling the same effects.
Last weekend though was not the stuff dreams are made from. On Friday night I just hung around my place and relaxed a little. You might read about my date with Harry... Saturday was a little more interesting as I met with Kae to go to one of my student's concerts. A whole stack of middle and high schools in Iwaki were playing a concert. I was invited and happy to go. I ended up meeting up with her whole family. In a family of 5 I teach three... Masao (father - conversation class), Kyosuke (brother - regular middle school class) and Misaki (I used to teach her conversation class. Misaki saw me before her performance and got quite nervous. I felt pretty bad about that. I sat on the second floor for the first performance but when Misaki hit the stage I hit the floor running for the front row seats. They were snagged by a bunch of youngsters, I think Kae's shorter legs slowed me down. I ended up third row and really enjoyed the performance. It was about 20 minutes long and surprisingly good. We left afterwards but the best part of my day was yet to come, it was the thank you e-mail from Misaki.
Sunday Kae and I were going to go snowboarding with some friends but she slept in. So I went with my buddies and really didn't have the greatest day because the hill was really small. I did manage to enjoy myself a little bit and we shut down the hill at 4:30 when the lifts closed. I can feel myself continuously improving but I am still a little weary of hitting big kickers cause I haven't bought a bucket for the melon yet. Still I hit some jumps and land them which is much better than I fare on a wake board...
While Kae stayed home that day she baked a cake to trade for highlights for me. She has a friend that does hair but just had a baby so she is off work. So Kae baked a cake and I got highlights. Its a beautiful world sometimes... It did take two doses though because the girls didn't believe me when I said the dye would have to stay in longer. So after two applications I am blond highlighted once again. Sadly not a single person noticed at work. I was really disappointed about that. Maybe I will shave and see if they notice that. I will just bring back the worm, well import it from Korea since I think I left it back there when I was there last...
Tuesday arrived and I had a great day at work. It passed by real quick and the new teacher who is replacing Nao (boo hoo) followed me around. She pretty much sat at the back of the class and took notes. I am not really a big fan of this because there are things that I do with my students that are fun but I don't like other teachers to copy. Like playing a clapping game at the end of class to see who gets to leave first. I clap my hands and so does everyone else but if I fake it and someone claps then they sit down. It goes until there is only one person left standing and they get to leave first. Its really fun and the kids get right into it. Its a fun game that only I do so that makes me enjoy it much more. Tuesday night I went to Karate and at the end of class we did squats with no weights. Sounds really easy until you get to about 50, then your legs start to burn real, real good. Then you get to the 6th set and your legs want to fall off!!! And on the 7th, you feel faint but don't want to look like a sissy so you press on. At home you collapse in your bed and cry... The worst part is waking up with a burning sensation in your legs that wasn't caused by a cheap woman...
So today my legs were feeling a little less than A1. Today was also the day that all of my students felt the need to sit on my legs... They must sense or smell when they are causing pain cause they bounced like tennis balls!!! My day went by quickly enough and it was time for Karate again. The office is starting to become a little enjoyable. I think its because Nao is sooo happy to be leaving. Her smile is brightening the whole office. In any event work is much more fun than usual these days. The office is filled with laughter which is a welcome change!
At Karate tonight I had a great time but the bruises on my body are telling a different story. Combined with the leg pain from yesterday, I am contemplating a ice bath. It was an awesome session though. I fought a couple of rounds with Hiroshi and Kenichiro and then I went from the challenger to the challenged. Essentially one person stays in the ring for most of the time while their opponents keep changing. Its a hard work out for the man constantly in the ring, tonight that man was me. If I ever had complaints about not enough sparring at practice they were laid to rest tonight. I was beat up! I loved almost every minute of it though. I like the feeling of pushing your body to extreme levels of exhaustion. It makes the beer taste so much better when you get home. I was really pleased with the quality of fighting I put out there. Like snowboarding I can feel myself improving. I have noticed though the past few practices that my upper body rarely sustains any injuries but my legs are usually quite sore, so the leg squats are going to become common practice around my house.
On the way home I finally caved after asking so many of my friends around here if they own the 5th Potter book in the series I bought it. I was having no luck and I want to continue reading them. I have the sixth but was waiting to find a free copy of the 5th installment. If any of you reading this have a copy shame on you for not getting it to me before I wasted $15!!!
Alright thats enough writing... I have a book to read and some legs to ice!!!