Position Assumed

That's it -- term over, all done. I finished tying up all the term-ending loose ends today, and hope to not set foot in my office for at least another 3 1/2 weeks or so. Hope someone waters my plants. As you can see, I've set aside my 'no drink during the week' semi-rule in observation of this happy day. Chieko and I also splurged on a big steak dinner tonight as a late Valentine's Day/We're done with work!! feast. Actually, we were hoping to pay for it with the slew of pre-paid debit cards we've managed to accumulate over the past year or so, but when the cashier went a'swiping, they wouldn't work for some reason. Will have to inquire before eating next time, obviously.

We've got a busy week though, despite not having work. We're heading to Niigata to visit Chieko's parents on Wednesday. On Thursday I'm heading to Tokyo to beat the living hell out of my liver for the weekend, accompanied by frequent guitar playing. I'll head back to Niigata on Sunday and, depending on whether I am a functioning human being or not, we'll head back to Kanazawa Sunday evening or Monday morning.

After that we'll get ready for Australia, where we fly to on the 6th (I think...really need to nail that down).

Things have been a bit silent around here lately but given all the impending action, look for the (albeit faint) pulse to return to this blog over the next few weeks (maybe). OK, beer to drink, guitar to play, Australian visas to acquire. Good night.