Tales of the Shokuinshitsu (Volume 2)

Tales of the Shokuinshitsu

Vol 2: Edged Out

     In this edition we take a look at what will be one of the more infamous examples of y's relentless enmity towards me. Last Friday, after class, I was signing yearbooks. Many of the 3rd year girls were asking the teachers in the staff room to write something and I was happy to do so upon request. Very quickly though, a brief aside. These are the kids that I have spent the most time around and become the most familiar with. If you asked me right now, I could name every single one by their given name, and about 80% of their surnames as well. We've been through a lot together. A handful of these students are ones that I've worked with very closely when it came to studying for Eiken, speech contests, and other English related things. Some of them just bonded with me apropos of nothing owing to their own friendly disposition and kindheartedness.
     My point is that I had a lot to say for some of these kids. So, I said it. One of my girls in particular earned a very lengthy message because of how much I admired her curiosity about everything, never failing to ask questions, and unbelievably hard-working nature. She was the only student who participated in three back to back speech contests during my time here. We talked a lot outside of class; she made note of the things I put on my English board, and I even gave her some music occasionally.
     Whilst I was working on this girl's yearbook y came over and started commenting on how long of a message I was writing. This caused me to look at her message on the previous page. There were three sentences, the last of which was in English with the amazing line, "You were a good girl," followed by her signature at the end. Her annoying commentary filled the silence and gap in my writing.
     "Oh wow, Joshua! So much!" and, "You are writing many things!" or, "Sugoi, Joshua-sensei!" along with basically every variation therein you could think of. She didn't stop talking the whole time she was looking over my shoulder at what I was writing. So common is this practice that I wasn't annoyed by the lean as it's just a thing now. Furthermore, I wasn't embarrassed about anything or any of the praise I was writing for my student.
     At a certain point (still commenting on how much I was writing) she leaves to go grab a pen and comes back. Then, with the swiftness and furtive qualities afforded only to the most cunning of woodland creatures, she placed her right arm down on the yearbook and started adding to her message. The message she finished and signed. I'm left handed, so it was never going to work. She bumped my arm out of the way, in order to write more, without saying anything to me. I literally had to stop writing my heartfelt message so she could finish the measly attempt at her own. Classic y.

-J

The Inevitable Sequel

Episode 02 - Milk Tea Pt 2

This week starts off with a few random observations but soon after we dive right into the the meat, picking up where last week left off. We cover the day of her surgery and the following day, neither of which Mitsuko remembers much at all. We also listen to some of the wacky things I recorded Mitsuko saying while she was surfing the Fentanyl wave. Show notes down below!

UPDATE: The show is now hosted on Soundcloud and can also be found on iTunes.

Show Notes 

-First off, I understand that NSAIDs such as Ibuprofen or Naproxen (found in Aleve) are classified as analgesics, but I was referring to opioid pain killers in the show.

-No commentary on the baby in the car, it was merely a stray observation. But seriously people, don't leave your baby in the car because this happens.

-Maybe he was just a train fan!

-Read up about Bermuda: http://bermuda.invertmouse.com/ and vote for it on Steam Greenlight!

-Picture time!

Heading in to surgery

Good stuff on tap

Post surgery nap

 -As an added bonus here's the Xrays I had taken Monday when I saw the dentist.

Thoughts, suggestions, comments, ideas for future episodes?!

Send them to CultureCafeCast@gmail.com

-J