And relax...

It's pretty quiet on the Eastern front at the minute. Work today was quite good fun- it included a 30 minute interview with a potential new student, who had studied at Manchester University- so plenty of common ground to cover. I think she could well sign up- time will tell.

The last few days have been quiet by my standards. I watched the England game last Saturday, which was entertaining if only for the result. Over the weekend, I took in a number of familiar Gifu bars, as well as taking a trip to Sakae- Nagoya's entertainment area. It was ok, I guess, but I visited during the day and just had a coffee and watched the people go by (and go buy) while I read my book and drank copious amounts of coffee. It was fun.

A friend called me to tell me that Junichiro Koizumi (the Japanese premier, no less) was gracing little old Gifu with his presence. I hopped on a train back to my adopted hometown in time to see him rounding off a seemingly well received. He definitely has the effortless appearence of power- a good thing for someone who has been at the helm for some time, and who is expected to win the September 11th poll.

All in all, a genuinely pleasant evening. This weekend promises to be a little more hectic, starting with a night out tomorrow to celebrate the birthday of my Scottish co-worker. This will be repeated on Saturday, with a few more faces in tow, and then Sunday night I shinkansen over to Tokyo, which should be the most fun of all.