Capital Letters (because this post was originally a group email before I remembered that I don't do that anymore, and I'm too lazy to change them)

Would it kill me to write an email now an then? No, it wouldn't. Is it too much effort or somehow illogical? Not at all. Am I still alive, having a good time, eating well, safe and learning Japanese? Yes, all these things apply. Is it for lack of challenge, story or excitement? No, not entirely.

So what's with the silent treatment? I think mainly that I refrain from writing to you all because I am keeping a blog. Or was, at least, until things got busy and/or normal-like and I found that sending an update just didn't make the priority list. And for this, as you all know, I am regualrly guilty. With a heavy heart, I request your attention at this latest posting.

Another reason might have to do with the fact that because I have regular access to the internet. I don't normally pass an internet cafe and consider popping in to let everyone know what the other side of the world is like. I'm somehow taking the internet for granted now that I have it and, ironically, use it less for sending home emails than I would if I had to go to a local internet cafe to pay for it.

So, where was I? The Asian autumn flew by in droves of colours. Classes went on as usual and the kids grew more and more demanding of my card tricks in class that I began to dedicate long periods to getting something new right before having to see them again. Fortunately I never have to see the same students more than once a month. To keep from getting rusty in that period I would flash a few at a bar for the sole purpose of hearing the recognizable sounds of Japanese surprise. Of the people I've met here, no one reacts to surprise more vividly than the locals at an izakaya after a few drinks.

In November I was the M.C. at my friend Kelley's wedding and then that month crept steadily along. Much of my time was consumed planning my then-pending trip back to Canada to surprise the family for Christmas and by not logging it day to day I've managed to forget a lot of what I was doing in the time. Fortunately, I have a few month's worth of keitai (cellphone) email history to try and jog the memory. Let's go through it together now, shall we?

Ah yes, here's a message about Kelley forgetting his sweater at my house after a boisterous night of drinking during his stag. The party was very low-key because in Japan, from what I understand, they typically throw the party after the wedding and there is a high probabilty that both karaoke and nudity will make an appearance, although not usually in a sexy kind of way. Kelley's party featured neither nudity nor karaoke; for a stint the bartender was nice enough to track down some adult-oriented Japanese material without being asked, complete with all the naughty bits censored out in behind a digital mosaic. C'mon now. You were curious.

Here's another entry completely in Japanese. And not in the child-like need-based village-idiot Japanese that I use on a daily basis. This is some craziness here. How did all that happen? Apparently I was signed up to help the Hyogo-Ken University conduct a map survey with other students. I'm entirely sure how they found out about my closet obsession with cartography and topography, but I have to be sure to high-five their investigative department. Unfortunately, they signed me up to help out while I was at work and thus went missing from the project. Surely in a panic over my safety, I received four or five more emails in lengthy "actual" Japanese that I was unable to decipher beyond the "from" address line. Oh, life is silly.

Ah yes, and here's the email to one of my supervisors about (deep breath) how my bicycle was stolen from right outside of the classroom, and how my house-key was with it and that I know I'm an idiot but will I really have to pay another ¥20,000 (about $200) for a replacement house-key when the landlady shows up in heels and "changes the locks" without the aid of tools of any kind and still demands that I return the old key if I recover it? Yes Christian. You will. Don't lose the key again.

Looking over this post, I realize that I've been extremely long-winded and we haven't even gotten to the 6th day in November when Kelley actually got married. That being said, I'll bring you to the present and post something or other about returning to Canada* at a future date. This evening I'm glad to be back and with a few friends we're hitting up Osaka so that hopefully I can lose all of my belongings only to find all of them still together - again. For this journey to be a success, I must surely wash myself off and get changed. Please be sure to tune in again next time. I promise that the network didn't cancel us. The producers are just foolish.

*Note from Christian: I went back to Canada for Christmas and it was one of the greatest times in my life because I was immediately reminded of all the great things we have and of all the people I love. The entire return trip home was a big surprise set-up by me and my mother, so I didn't advertise that I was home even once I had arrived. As a result, I didn't get to see a lot of the people I really wanted to and if you're still reading at this point and have it in your heart to forgive me for not calling or letting you know I was in town, then I'm really sorry about it. Next time. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year anyway.