It happened in...
NovemberSo this is (nearly) Christmas / Back to work
30 November
Hmm. December tomorrow. Time for some Christmas decorations, methinks...
27 November
I finally finished Gabriel García Márquez' One Hundred Years of Solitude. Never read a book like it. Never had to concentrate so hard. Aside from the fact that some 20-odd central characters share the same three names, every sentence is packed with meaty goodness, and not a word is wasted. It's been on my "List of Classics I must read" as long as I can remember, (and bearing in mind it came out in 1967, I've not exactly hurried) and it was worth the wait. Love in the Time of Cholera (which came out a mere 19 years ago) is next in the ever-growing pile of reading matter.
I say 'ever-growing' cos I was introduced to a marvellous bookshop this week. And while I rationed myself to the Japanese as a second Language section, I still came out with two more books, so my fitful language learning restarts for the nth time. This time, it's a general grammar and a guide to demystifying kanji (which might be promising a bit more than it's gonna deliver).
22 November
On your list of "Things I've always wanted!", it's probably up there with a Baghdad bus tour or a hole in your toilet paper. But here it is... the green KitKat, filling an oft-forgotten gap in the market for green chocolate. Don't all rush at once.
It's actually surprisingly tasty, reminds me of Caramac, but with a hint of green tea. Obviously.
21 November
Finally the leaves are beginning to change colour, so we headed down to Takachiho, and we spent a beautifully autumnal afternoon wandering through the gorge in the last of the sunshine, checking out the colours.
20 November
OK, I give in. After a week of sitting huddled and shivering in the living room, I'm finally prepared to admit the need to get the portable stove out of storage. In a house with neither heating nor insulation, I have gone into the garden to warm up more than once this week.
Well now the inside of the car stinks of paraffin. Nice one. Coming back from the petrol station, the tank fell over and leaked. Not my favoured choice of buzz.
Ah but it does take the chill off the place. That homely, heady aroma of burned paraffin is now with us until March.
15 November
The time has come to unearth one of Japan's national treasures - Matsuken.
The actor, Ken Matsudaira, appears (like this) in the TV series Abarenbo Shogun, a long running drama series. But his latest CD release, Matsuken Samba, sees the obvious blend of samurai style, samba beats and gold lamé. Want to hear it?
Of course you do.
10 November
No longer satisfied with being a kept woman, Mrs C has re-entered the workforce. She's now working at a craft and sewing shop just around the corner. Time for another celebratory slap-up dinner, methinks.
9 November
4 November
Woke up just after 3 o'clock to the house being shaken violently. Which was nice.
News later reported a mag. 4 quake in the north-west of the prefecture. Was probably only 2 or 3 out here, but was quite enough thank you. But no damage, no drama.
3 November
If you ain't got charisma, you ain't gettin' in.
Clinton got impeached and they still loved him. And at the last election, he laid the ball on for Al Gore who was 6 yards out from an open goal, and he still managed to let George get back and steal it from him. Why? Cos he was boring. And this time around there was Kerry, the policy wonk, intelligent but oh-so-dull. And in the country that gave you Forrest Gump as a hero, George may be dumber'n a stump, but his fans know it. And still love him.
And in the last four years, the chimp savant turned a record surplus into a record deficit, lost a record number of jobs, appointed America as the world's policeman, waged an illegal war, and alienated the entire country from most of the rest of the world.
And all of this while keeping one eye on the opinion polls.
And still he won. But of course, he can't stand in 2008, so the opinion polls don't matter a jot now. Just imagine what the Bush / Cheney / Rumsfeld / Ashcroft cabal might achieve in this second term...
Democrats, shame on you. If you really can't find anyone to beat Bush, then perhaps 4 more years of political obscurity is what you deserve.
2 November
So it's back to work and back into the routine. Not at all a bad thing
The leaves on the trees are still mostly green. So although the calendar says winter's approaching, we haven't really got autumn yet... And the sun's shining. Nnnice.
US Election day too. Well it's not actually, cos it's still yesterday afternoon there. And even then, we won't be getting any results until long after, so there won't be any UK-style staying up, getting excited and watching the results come in and being pored over by a hyperactive Peter Snow.
1 November
The start of November brings us not only new banknotes, pretty ones, with holograms, and special pink ink and stuff, virtually unforgeable, they are. (Uh-huh). But also a change in the law so that using a mobile phone while driving is now illegal. Hoorah. The unapologetically self-righteous part of me rejoices at this news. And a big Nelson Muntz-type "Ha ha!" to all the drivers who got (and will get) caught and fined.