tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60806722009-11-18T23:09:44.914+09:00Asian AlienAn former English teacher in Asia...but still in AsiaAAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.comBlogger165125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-3084640419870770552008-05-06T08:54:00.008+09:002008-12-09T06:35:17.131+09:00Ladies and Gentlemen, The Teacher Has Left The Building...And Thank God! Actually I finished up my last day at the Hills school yesterday - not pictured above. Hills was by far the best English teaching job I have ever had and by extension the best job I have ever had. Unfortunately, it was only part-time. Nonetheless, I am thoroughly happy to be out of the teaching racket. Although I never AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-39080496772168982442008-04-30T11:50:00.004+09:002008-04-30T12:00:05.689+09:00Well, here goes my monthly update. In a bizarre twist on a bizarre situation working for a bizarre company... I gave a month's notice to G-Nova that I was going to resign. Now, the company is spiraling toward disaster as it is hugely understaffed with no viable means of recruitment. Even so, the crazy manager saw fit to put me on standby for the better part of the month. So paid vacation forAAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-91755155798658975822008-03-25T09:05:00.003+09:002008-03-25T09:15:14.705+09:00My poor blog.I neglect it like a red-headed stepchild. Actually, I was ready with some real vitriol aimed at my current employer, but I thought it wise to wait until I landed a new job before spewing forth. Well, I got the new job. I start in May. I must simply finish up 5 weeks in what has become one of the worst jobs of my life. I would still elect the hardware store I worked at for one AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-86937388002664205302008-01-25T10:14:00.001+09:002008-12-09T06:35:17.364+09:00Teenage Sweet Mullet indeed!...from the cover of a Thai magazine in case you were interested. It seems Sweet Mullet is a rock band.In other news, although I haven't gotten around to repairing the computer keyboard, I did buy an external one with the annoying Japanese layout, which makes finding the correct punctation difficult. Such is life...A more thorough update on work will be forthcoming.AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-65000700266029769532007-12-31T10:43:00.001+09:002008-12-09T06:35:17.538+09:00Not only is it a bargain sale, but also price down and limited saleAAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-13467070997712179252007-12-14T10:13:00.001+09:002007-12-14T10:23:37.486+09:00Having fried the keyboard on my new computer, it's with great appreciation that I welcome back the Captain's creative genius.Dear Mr G****,I am writing regarding your complaint concerning the application process for positions vacant in the R/D department of the Kyushu Tuna Farm Feasibility Project.As I am sure you are aware we protect the confidentiality of all applications and take the issue ofAAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-84833627510781893792007-12-04T11:49:00.000+09:002008-12-09T06:35:17.776+09:00For your consumptionWith all my attention focused on the plight of Nova and its teachers I failed to dedicate much page space to the students. In order to rectify this, Niles P. Witherspoon III was sent on assignment to get a feel for how the students are enduring life without their regular fix of communication with the foreign countries people.Hironobu Ogura is a former Nova student of five AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-59759870742329380592007-12-01T08:57:00.001+09:002008-12-09T06:35:17.945+09:00The Devil Is In The DetailThis is a shot of a an enka performance held in front of the station where I've started back to work. Enka is a form of Japanese music that predates J-pop. It's heavy on vocals with a muzak accompaniment. Think cat strangulation in an elevator. AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-86966521159845066882007-11-28T09:52:00.000+09:002008-12-09T06:35:18.093+09:00This is a pondI started work yesterday for G-Nova. To clarify Nova is a school name that is owned by G-Communication and seemingly overseen by G-Education, a subsidiary of G-Communication. To the best of my understanding Nova is not a company owned by G-Communications in so far as we will be receiving our wages directly through G-Communications which owns G-Education, which in turn is running AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-25371999868528018692007-11-24T11:15:00.000+09:002008-12-09T06:35:18.277+09:00All the lights are on, but no one's homeI taught a private lesson yesterday at the shopping center where one of my old branches was located. A now notorious 'satellite' school that was part of the recipe for disaster,this branch never had more than one teacher at any given time and often the students (if there were any) got lucky man to man lessons. In short,the place was hemorrhaging money. AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-68529429420649320102007-11-23T12:21:00.001+09:002008-12-09T06:35:18.578+09:00(Mis)Communication is leaving a lot of people out in the cold. They have some pretty big shoes to fill as they are taking on the most scandalous English outfit in Japan, if not the whole of Asia. It seems they are up to the challenge, however. G-String, as they will be known henceforth due to the fact they are already stringing along employees, has begun operations predicated on the insincere AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-71229192596155235482007-11-20T10:17:00.000+09:002008-12-09T06:35:18.753+09:00A Financially Solvent English SchoolPictured right is the Hills English School, the only job left me. What's the secret of its success? The experience of its teachers? The cozy ambiance? Its location next to a mid-size train station? The fact that one of its main competitors is bankrupt? If you answered with any of the preceding, you wouldn't be far off. However, the true secret of Hills' AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-44195483117117488182007-11-17T15:01:00.000+09:002008-12-09T06:35:18.880+09:00In order to get a clearer picture of what the life of an average, unemployed Nova teacher is like I have dispatched Asian Alien correspondent Nigel P. Witherspoon III to interview one. What follows is from Niles' report.I sat down last evening in a dimly lit apartment to speak to 'Joe' about his life in recent times that I might glean a sense of what these unemployed Nova teachers are going AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-92001029565949399512007-11-16T10:28:00.000+09:002008-12-09T06:35:18.985+09:00Times must be tough when you receive rejection letters to jobs that you never applied for. I got both of these just yesterday.The first is from the Iwate Takamori Kokuritsukoen, a national park that sits on 2.5 sprawling acres between several housing developments and a highway in Iwate prefecture.Dear Mr G****,Thank you for your request for information regarding positions vacant at the Iwate AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-15278934454076265262007-11-15T09:53:00.000+09:002008-12-09T06:35:19.304+09:00Home Alone Waiting By The PhoneTo judge from what is being posted in forums at Facebook, Gaijinpot and Let'sJapan, there are a lot of nervous, Nova teachers sitting by the phone just waiting for it to ring. After being promised employment we were then told to wait for a call. This whole episode must remind people of what it was like to start dating in High School. Does G-Comm like me? Will G AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-18172624800890169682007-11-13T12:37:00.000+09:002008-12-09T06:35:19.320+09:00All's quiet on the Eastern FrontSo G-Communications is now in the business of finding keys. Evidently this must be slow going as the only indication of branches re-opening that I've heard of is one in Nagoya, coincidentally in the same city that their head office is located. Guess they must be in good with the local locksmiths. Last week we were hearing that the Golden 30 might be up and AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-84797132160283786222007-11-11T11:23:00.001+09:002008-12-09T06:35:19.425+09:00G's In Da' HouseThis grainy image that I snapped on my cell phone is of an informational meeting that was held in Nova's head office yesterday. It was one of two identical sessions held in Tokyo. Another two were held in Osaka, as well as several out of the way branches for those in the sticks. To be honest, there wasn't a lot of content that hadn't already been posted somewhere on the net. AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-83505612698075156242007-10-16T11:38:00.000+09:002007-10-16T12:22:47.420+09:00A pictureless post! Somewhat dark days are upon us here in Japanland. Unfortunately, it now appears that Nova is unsalvageable. The Japanese staff will not have been paid for a month and our payday has, for the first time in my 8 years with the company, been pushed back from the 15th to the 19th, though I hold little hope that we will be paid on the 19th. I have been in touch with Phil at AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-30566899467131799922007-10-03T10:35:00.000+09:002008-12-09T06:35:19.605+09:00Where bladders are bursting and bowels are bulging...Where mere mortals search in vain for a vestibule of relief...Where last night's burrito and the morning coffee collide...Where happy hour drinks plead for an exit...One man stands alone against all odds...One man guides the urgently needy to an oasis of comfort...That man is...Toilet Man!AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-46924296298591870092007-09-25T13:45:00.000+09:002008-12-09T06:35:19.702+09:00This blog haunts me. Not that I post frequently, but it does linger somewhere in the back of my head whispering, post, post, post you lazy son-of-a-bitch. I have been posting pictures and though that makes for a pleasant read, it's really difficult constantly coming up with a relevant image and half the time I end up posting with the picture as a starting point rather than just posting . With AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-22876238456212994422007-07-17T12:23:00.001+09:002008-12-09T06:35:19.885+09:00My supposed weekly posts have now become monthly - shame on me. My mother visited in June and we had a lovely time seeking out the several unspoilt vistas in Japan in front of which a decent picture can be snapped. Here Mom and Pocky pose with a student of mine who pays for my time by laboring at a Japanese restaurant that coincidentally happens to find itself next to a Japanese garden. AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-74014254587797310732007-05-08T13:34:00.000+09:002008-12-09T06:35:19.964+09:00What's Cooking?Almost always something good around here. Take a look at what the wife whipped up the other night - not quite sure what it is , but it certainly was good. The combo of living in Japan with a Thai wife (who is a fantastic cook) puts me into the culinary sweet spot of Asia. Now if I could just incorporate a Chinese neighbor and Korean landlady into the mix - I might never leave. AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-32595613508489111152007-04-18T11:25:00.000+09:002008-12-09T06:35:20.085+09:00Phil at Ajarn.com, a site devoted to teaching in Thailand, has again put me on the hotseat, an interview section where I answer question about teaching in Japan. Rather than outline what I said, I'll just include the link here.AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-86467300840690909412007-03-20T11:29:00.000+09:002008-12-09T06:35:20.212+09:00One of the interesting aspects of working in the Eikaiwa industry is observing employers inventive attempts at grabbing more market share. Several years ago the idea of classes for 2 year-olds accompanied by a guardian was introduced. I have no stats to back me up, but I get the impression that this market share was just too thin and exclusive (most parents just want to dump their kids and AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080672.post-8548591526761635592007-03-07T11:11:00.000+09:002008-12-09T06:35:20.355+09:00Money Money Money Money...moneyInteresting days for yen holders. The yen/dollar exchange rate has gone from 120 yen to the dollar down to 115 in the course of several days. I am not displeased at this turn of events as I send a lot of money back to the US to pay back debt and make investments. The Economist has a take on the currency situation here for anyone as boring as I am. One issue that AAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01442910298409995901noreply@blogger.com0