Squeak, squeak

My bike used to squeak a bit. Before I left the pound, on Sunday, they gave it a quick once over, pumped the tyres a bit, oiled it, that kind of thing.

Yes, they oiled it for me.

Thing is, it now squeaks more than before. Maybe it didn't squeak enough before. Most Tokyo bikes seem to squeak.

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Spotted on the train: a girl with about 50 Hello Kitty keychains dangling from her phone. Insanity. I mean, I only have two on my phone right now, plus several at home. And besides, so many must weigh a TON!

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I've now also finished all of Season Two of Desperate Housewives. I LOVE this downloading game. Why didn't anyone tell me about it before?

P.S. I hope he's not dead. They're a cute couple. And SURELY Bree can't end up with ANOTHER psycho boyfriend, can she? And how long til weird woman foists off teenage daughter on them for good? In fact, is there anyone normal in the series? Gotta love it though!

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I have a question: how can housewives (without kids) be 'too busy' for anything? I'm serious. I mean, just how many hours do you spend every day cleaning your house and cooking? Really? Granted, if you have kids, and especially if they are young, then I expect you to be busy but otherwise? I mean, seriously. Especially given the size, or lack of, of the average Japanese house. Is 'busy' a euphemism for, as soon as my husband leaves for work I go back to bed for most of the day and then have to watch lots of crap daytime television, and maybe get a facial before a tea ceremony lesson and before I go shopping?

I don't get it. Really. I mean, in a kidless house, just HOW dirty can your house get in a day? Just how much ironing do you and your husband generate?

I'll put this down to one of those things I'll never understand and shouldn't try to. It's just the amount of housewife students who tell me how busy they are...

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Another student thing: there seems a lack of imagination here amongst the average Japanese person studying English. I've been told this, by the students ("I cannot imagination") several times, and I've seen in time and time again from exercises we've done. Yes, much of this is down to the school system, the way people are taught to think here, and so on, but it's real bash-head-against-wall stuff for me often.

Today, for example, for the first time, a student refused to try the homework I'd set her. It was a task that, in my opinion, should be a walk in the park for someone of her level. In the text book are various situations such as a woman asks her husband to give up smoking or someone is late for their wedding and tells the chauffer to hurry up. Hardly complex, and I asked the student to choose two from 12 and write up short simple dialogues from the situations. I even gave three examples. On the board. She freaked and refused saying it would take too long and it was too hard. Whatever. GAH!!! Sometimes I just get to the point where I've reassured and reassured and just can't be arsed any more. I gave her a grammar homework instead and she was happy. *sigh*