Update – 3rd Quarter 2018

This school year (from April) I have reduced my workload.  In fact, we have hired a great guy to teach at Crown English (Doc) and he has also taken over my old YMCA classes.

The old schedule was just too stressful, running from school to school with almost no time to spare.  Now I have much more free time and I can enjoy things like my new Netflix membership.  I’m doing more exercise these days, which is great, but I’d like to play more tennis (but don’t have a partner).

Most recently, we just got back from a vacation in the States.  It was the first time all 5 of us went together since 2012.  We had a great trip!  We visited CA, AZ, UT & NV and ended with 3 days on Catalina Island for a family reunion and Grobbi memorial.  (Grobbi is what we called my grandmother, Barbara Jane.  She passed away last summer at 101 years old!)

 

Update – March 2017

Time sure does fly!  My oldest, Kanoa, has graduated from elementary school!  Big changes are coming for him.

 

Update – Feb 2017

As a family we were very busy for the last quarter of 2016.

In October we were practicing as much as possible for Kasou Taishou, known in some circles as “Masquerade” in English.  It’s basically a costume & short skit contest.   We made it all the way to Tokyo 3 years ago (the first time we tried!), but couldn’t make the cut in 2015 or 2016.  To make a long story short, we made it again.  It was a great family experience and we were fortunate enough to be on national TV, with over 10,000,000 viewers twice now!

This picture of our TV screen is from the show, broadcast on Jan 21st.  I’m proud of all my family, especially Kate.  She did great!  She was very happy to get a medal.  (15 points or more gets a medal…. We got 20 points – top score!)

At about the same time as KT, we were lucky to be offered the possibility of being on another popular Japanese TV show called Hajimete no Otsukai.  This is called “First Errand” in English.  It is a cute show, featuring young kids going on errands alone for the first time.  They often face challenges and have to muster up the courage to complete their tasks.

They film many kids each year, but only 10 or so make it to the actual show.  Kate made it through the process and actually had the longest segment on the show, broadcast on Jan 9th (a national holiday).  All of us were shown for some time, but Kate was the star.  Also, the filming was done in and around my small English school in Shin-Nagata, so that exposure was an extra bonus!

 

Then for Christmas and New Year’s, Kate & I went to California to visit my 101-year-old grandmother and to Florida to spend a second Christmas & New Year’s with family.  (My parents, older brother & his family, and my younger brother & his family).  I was a great, relaxing trip!

Now I’m back to the work routine, but it’s a little more relaxed than usual as one of my jobs doesn’t start back until the new school year in April.

Also, I have a new business venture about to start, having to do with  investing.  See BUSINESS for more about that.