The sun comes out

Blimey, I haven't posted in nearly two weeks. Yes, I'm crap, and I apologise - the usual excuses, I am very very busy right now with academic work and a shedload of other things to sort out. I will do better in future, etc etc etc.

Anyway, it's been absolutely appalling weather here over the last ten days or so, it literally rained pretty much for a straight week. I don't mind that so much - except on Thursday when I got absolutely soaked, and had to sit through an Edo lit seminar in sopping wet shoes - as the no fewer than six people in one day who asked me if it reminded me of home. We all have our crosses to bear, I suppose, and this is mine. Ironically, as it happens Cambridge is one of the driest places in Western Europe, with an annual rainfall roughly on a par with Israel. But it's the image that counts...

My Dad came to visit for a brief while as well last weekend, dropping in while he's in the US mainly visiting his brother (my uncle) up in Boston, or more specifically Cambridge, MA. So as the more observant of you will have no doubt noticed, we have family branches in the Cambridges on either side of the Atlantic.

It was, of course, a pleasure to see him - neither of my parents were able to come out to visit in Japan, though my brother did, and it was great to be able to show him around the Columbia campus, have dinner and a chat generally and do a bit of sightseeing. We went to the Met, which was free like the MOMA, and also to the Museum of Natural History, which wasn't, but is still very cool indeed and worth a visit, if only for their awesome dioramas depicting all sorts of wildlife and ethnic groups...go take a look, if you're in the area.

One amusing incident downtown...I had originally booked my Dad into a hotel in Times Square known as the Hotel Carter. Found it on the web, it seemed alright - big mistake. Ladies and Gentlemen, stay the hell away from this place. It was, in retrospect as both Dad and I agreed, actually funny. The place was almost literally an American version of Fawlty Towers. It took a while to check in because, as we later discovered, about half the people in front of us had checked in, seen their rooms, and come straight back down to check out. We finally did get to check in, went up to the room and found it was still being cleaned (this was at 5 p.m.). Realising this wasn't going to work we went back downstairs and got our money back. We weren't the only ones - the guy behind us was complaining loudly that his room "looked like a crime scene". The manager had more or less just given up in despair...he was assailed constantly by a stream of people complaining. God knows how he managed to keep his sanity. In due course I was able to find somewhere else for Dad to stay, but let this be a lesson - don't trust bookings made over the internet!

Anyway, things roll on much as they ever did. My Mum is coming to visit next Friday for a week, and Nina's husband Matt is also going to be in town on Thursday, so dinner downtown is on the cards, I think. Stay tuned...