The Sandwiches were Good But...

I did some part-time company lessons in Temmabashi on Thursday morning. I got to the office at 10:00 am, and didn’t leave until after 2:00 pm – I was starving! [“Starving” means dying because you haven’t eaten any food for a long time. We often say “I’m starving!” as a joking way of saying “I’m very, very hungry!”]

It was a warm spring day so I ate some sandwiches in a park. After lunch, as I was walking to the subway station, I passed a restaurant whose name made me laugh out loud.

I took a photo of the restaurant’s sign and e-mailed it to my wife with the following message:

The sandwiches were good but the coffee tasted like…

In English “Pee” means “Oshiko!”

In the movie “Forest Gump,” Tom Hank’s character is always saying “I’ve gotta [got to] pee!” He even says it to JFK when they meet at the White House.

This is a special entry for Kyoko, one of the students in Thursday’s class and a regular reader of this Blog. She complained that I haven’t been keeping my New Year's resolution of making at least one new entry every week. I’m sorry, Kyoko! Come back soon – I promise I’ll catch up!

Saint Patrick's Day

Today is Saint Patrick’s Day, a popular holiday all over the world. Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. From about 1845 to 1849, there was a great famine [a time when there was no food] in Ireland. About 3,000,000 people died. Also, many people left Ireland looking for a better life in other countries like England, America, & Australia. Today, about 40 million people in America (including Bill Clinton) are descendents of Irish immigrants [people whose grand parents, great-grand parents, and so on originally came from Ireland]. That’s one of the reasons Saint Patrick’s Day is so popular all over the world.

The main way to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day is to drink beer – that’s one of the other reasons that Saint Patrick’s Day is so popular!

Drinking green beer & Guinness at Murphy's Irish Pub, in Shinsaibashi, last Saint Patrick’s Day. Green is the colour of Ireland. If you visit an Irish pub on Saint Patrick’s Day, you should try a green beer and a Guinness. Green beer is just draft beer with food colouring in it. If you have to choose between the green beer & the Guinness, you should choose the Guinness!

There are two really good Irish bars in Osaka. In Umeda, you should go to The Blarney Stone (click on the name for information and a map). In Shinsaibashi, you should check out Murphy's Irish Pub (once again, click on the name for information and a map)

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Inner Sky – Saturday, March 10th

Every month our friend Simon hosts Inner Sky, a live concert, at Covent Garden, a really relaxed and friendly bar in Kita Horie.

Simon rocks!

The next Inner Sky is this Saturday. I’m planning to go. Would you like to come? You can meet me at the school at 7:20 pm (Don’t be late!) or just go straight to the bar any time after 8:00 pm.

There’s a door charge of 1,000 yen, that includes one drink. After that, you pay for all drinks & food as you order.

Of course, you are welcome to bring friends!

Go there hungry – they make great hamburgers!

Hope to see you there!

Click here for Covent Garden’s discount coupon, map, & address

Goofy [Funny in a Strange Way]

Oops! Where did the last 2 weeks go? I’ve been flat out like a lizard drinking! Again!

No, honestly! I’ve been so busy, I haven't had time to scratch myself! [This is a commonly used expression] I haven’t even had time to watch movies – and you know how much I love movies! Luckily, I know a place where you can watch an entire [whole] movie in just 30 seconds. No, really! To see what I’m talking about, check out 30-Second Movies - With Bunnies! It’s a goofy [funny in a strange way] idea, but it gets boring really quickly so choose your movie carefully!

Star War – with Bunnies! Just one of the many choices at 30-Second Movies - With Bunnies!

In class over the last week or so, I’ve been talking about the origin of Superman (both the character & the comic books). Click on Super-Bunny to watch the bunny version of that story.