Some deelightful street art in Harajuku.

Haven't been doing much midweek posting of late but today was a significant day for a number of reasons and all them worth posting about.

Firstly, my friend and school-teaching colleague Andy was hit by a car as he was cycling home to his wife and twin girls. He is in intensive care with a badly broken jaw and bleeding on the brain. The perils of cycling with headphones on, 'ay. He is such a great teacher and a fun workbuddy, I really hope he recovers without too much trauma. We're all very worried.

So there I was planning a leisurely day at home (my second such day this week) before heading into Shibuya for the evening shift at the factory school I have come to despise so totally.... when Yosh, my cooler-than-cool rock guitarist High School boss called with a really worried tone in his voice.

He told me about Andy, we commiserated for a minute then asked me if I would be interested in teaching ALL his classes for the first term, on top of my existing schedule planned from April. I made the walk into school and had an emergency meeting with all of the English Department heads and administrators.

In the end, we decided to cancel my scheduled 8 team-teaching lessons (there will be no team teaching for the first term - or at least until Andy gets back to work) and I would pick up his 16 lessons, which includes 2 x Grade 11 Creative English classes with returnees (kids who lived in English speaking countries and can speak English pretty much fluently).

These 2 classes, on top of the other 4 special English Conversation classes with returnees I already had scheduled are going to be really cool. I'm gonna be a REAL High School English Teacher, you know - like Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society. I'm terrified. It's such a grown-up job. And I have absolutely no formal training. How I love the opportunities Japan can offer you.

Actually, speaking of training, I have seriously started look into distance ESL courses, maybe get an EFL MA - or at least a Dip. of TEFL/TESOL. My Aunt Ann will be over the moon when she reads this bit.

Secondly, my flatmate Tsubana left for Thailand today. She'll be gone for a week. I have a lot to say about this odd girl I live with. But another time, or else I'll never get to play with my "thirdly" point. But let me just say that with her gone the apartment suddenly seems much bigger in the so many aspects that "space" can mean. I've moved the computer and stereo to the kitchen table and have spread my stuff out everywhere. Small apartments + odd flatmates = domestic disatisfaction. Must remedy this when she gets back.

Thirdly, I finally bought a Logicool QCam Pro 4000 webcam. My Dad and Bro and I are planning three way Skype or MSNmessenger web/audio calls, and also, my lovely student Aiko is off around the country for the next month for work. She doesn't want to miss her English lessons so we're going to try to do webcam lessons together. Oh god, I'm becoming such a damn geek. If any of my friends or family read this and want to get involved in the geekery, please drop me an email so we can hook up.