“When in doubt, quote Weird Al Yankovic.” – probably no one. Though I’ll admit the idea that there’s a Weird Al song relevant to any situation held some sway in my middle school years. Though I resent it when someone implies that Weird Al is something that one “grows out of”, I don’t listen to him much these days. Though with all of the long trips to far-flung, inaka (rural) schools here, I wouldn’t mind a bit of company for the drive. Ron White, Jim Gaffigan, and the Piano Guys have been shouldering the load so far, so if you have any suggestions, let me know.
While contrite is not a color that I prefer to wear often, there will be shades of it in what I’m about to say. The first two courses of my ESL endorsement went smoothly: lots of educational pedagogy (done it) and cultural responsiveness (done it) had me thinking that I’d glide through the endorsement coursework with the ease and grace of a penguin in water. The next class for me was introductory linguistics, which I’m struggling through with the ease and grace of a penguin on land. That is to say, bumpy, awkward, and amusing for anyone who is watching. What is this stuff?!? It’s trying to quantify words. It’s like word math! Ugh. Anyway, I begrudgingly offer some professional respect to my former ELA colleagues – I imagine you hacked through even more of this metaphorical vine-choked jungle than I did. Sidenote: professional respect from me has no cash value.
I’ve never been shy about flying my nerd flag, so let me detour for a second to highly recommend Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit. Yoshino and I watched it over the past couple of weeks, and it was one of the best dramas I’ve watched in years. Yes, it helps that Anya Taylor-Joy is quite nice to look at, but it’s also a really good story and has just enough chess talk to tap into the interest of those who have ever enjoyed it, while not scaring anyone else away. I’m not sure how long it’ll last, but I’ve actually started playing around with some computer chess and learning more about the current chess scene (Magnus Carlsen is a badass), and I imagine the drama has done a lot to popularize chess. It’s also really cool to pick up on some of the location references (Beth, the main character, grows up in Lexington) – seeing fictional versions of Henry Clay High School, downtown Lexington and hearing references to New Circle Road and the Herald-Leader. I’ve heard that it’s a novel was well, so I’m hoping to read it soon. I love video games and movies, sure, but it’s also nice to be inspired to return to such “analog” pastimes as chess, writing, and reading for pleasure.
I’ve been eating really well lately! Not only have I found a few more good burg places (seriously, I think I could make a Kagoshima Burger Week at this point), but the bakery in the local train station has some legit Western-style cinnamon rolls. These are big ‘uns, with lots of cinnamon, icing, and nuts. Seriously, I looked in my phone, realized I didn’t have a picture of one, and got quite upset – until I realized that meant I needed to buy another one to show here. Win-win! I have been a little disappointed not to see the crazy flavored Cokes this year – usually this is the time for apple, which is pretty OK. Someone told me COVID-19 affected the flavored Cokes, but I don’t see too much connection there.
So, this post was written a week ago, but I actually waited for a photo of the cinnamon buns before posting it. Worth it! 😊
Cinnamon buns of glory. 
The egg vending machine Yoshi and I found in the middle of nowhere. After 300 yen and cacophony of gear turning and screeching… 
… I kid you not. Some of the best eggs I’ve ever eaten. 
Newest burger place. Frozen fries, but… really good beef. 
Yeah, I’m enjoying it. 
Same burger, cuter consumer.
As this is likely to be my last post before the holidays, I want to wish everyone a cozy, pleasant, and relaxing holiday season. No matter which holiday you celebrate, my advice is – take a moment to block out the negative and focus instead on the big and small things for which we are blessed. Some things are already perfect just the way they are. As for the everything else, well, we have a better chance of effecting important, meaningful change starting from that point of view, anyway.
Satsumasendai, Sakurajima, and Spencer-sensei 