Movie Night

I went to the movies Sunday night and I saw the film "Inside Man" directed by Spike Lee. If you have not heard of Spike Lee, he is a famous African-American director of such award winning films like "Do the Right Thing" and "Jungle Fever." I like Spike Lee's work, but this film was only OK. It was about a bank robbery and it had a lot of "stars" like Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster and Clive Owen. I like Owen a lot and I wish he did more in the film. I guess I would recommend Japanese to wait until this film is at the local video store and not waste your money at the theater. I remember paying a lot of money in Fukushima City to see a movie. Maybe it was 3,000 yen? I don't remember. But I also had to take a three hour train ride to get there from Tajima! That cost a lot of money also. I think it was around 10,000 yen to take the train, buy a ticket and food and go back home. Too much money to see a film like this! What was the last film you saw in the theater?

New Isa picture!

It snowed on the first day of Spring in many parts of the midwest this week. My sister lives in Indiana and got a few inches. Here is a picture of her dog Isa who never played in snow before. Enjoy!

Monday Blues

OK, it is Monday and I have the blues. There is not much going on here at work so I thought I would crank out a short blog update. My interview went well but I don't think the job is for me. I enjoy the international aspect of my position more than I would have enjoyed the extra money. Also I want to be able to travel more to Asia and Europe and all over the world. As for the interview itself, it lasted about 90 minutes and I talked to two different interviewers. There was not time where I embarrassed myself so I would not be too surprised if they offer me the job. Then again, I don't think that I looked like I would take the job so they might not. I'm not worried either way. There is always a chance I could move back to Japan if the job was right. Should I be more worried about money? I'm getting old and need to think about the future more, no? I have a meeting so I have to go.

Job Interview Today

I have a job interview with a company that has little to do with international activities. I would be teaching computer technology to government workers around the country. Technical Trainer is the title I believe and I interview for this new job in less than an hour from now. Many of you who read this blog are thinking about or have already applied for business schools in Japan and here in the U.S. An interview at a job is a lot like an interview at a business. You have to convince the interviewer that you will be an asset to the company and that they will benefit as much as you will if hired. I'm wearing a black and gray suite but the jacket is a little wrinkled. It's too late to worry about that right now. I just need to try an relax and make sure I ask the right questions. "What are your benefits?" "What are my avenues for advancement in the company?" "What kind of hours will I need to put in on a day to day basis." I want to make sure that this is not a 12 hour a day job. It will only pay a little more than $5,500 more a year so I have to make sure it is the right move for me and that I will not become too much a salaryman!

What do you guys think? Let me know! Please enjoy the latest podcast and tell me what you think about that one as well.

TGIF!

Thank God It's Friday!

Ok, this has been one super long week and I am glad that I have tomorrow off. Do I have it completely off? No, I have to go back to Washington D.C. so I can attend a meeting for the Cherry Blossom festival. The Washington D.C. Cherry Blossom festival is a lot of fun and this will be my fourth year in a row volunteering for it. Last year I was in charge of checking photo IDs at the beer tent. That was fun and I got to meet a lot of people. In America you can not drink beer until you are 21. This year I'm not sure what I will be doing but I think it has something to do with martial arts. I might wear my judo uniform. Maybe. It could be very cold in the morning. Tomorrow I will walk about the site and make sure I know where everything is. The festival is in April so I have less than a month to prepare. I'll take a lot of pictures if I can get a digital camera.

My sister's dog, Isa!

I got this picture of my sister's dog today. The dog's name is Isa and she is almost 6 months old. How cute!

My Podcast

Please check out the latest podcast here and tell me what you think.
ありがとございます

マイケル

Welcome to the GEC Blog

Here you can download the latest podcasts and submit you own pictures and questions. I hope everyone can use this site to help their English needs. Let me know if I can add something to make it more interesting or fun.

Michael