Oh Cool.

We all survived another Thursday. Thanks to a couple of absences and a bit more preparation on the parts of us "adults", we came out ahead. Not by a lot, but we squeezed on through. We had 7 kids stay through lunch too, so it was a hectic morning. It's one thing when you are going through song, dance, and snack time with them... it's another entirely when you have to help several of the little buggers eat a satisfactory amount of their lunches without spilling, minimizing the damage when (not if) they do, and make sure they stay seated until they finish... WHILE trying to get a satisfactory amount of your own lunch down before you have to go run around again. I just don't have enough arms! But like I said, (sigh) we did come out relatively unscathed today and "M" chan from last week only bit two people, only one of which was another child (the other was a teacher) so I guess it's safe to say we are all improving.

I'm really begining to look forward to my Nano novel. Very roughly (because that's all I've got), I am planning to write about a foreign, American woman (ahem! cough!) who takes on Japan's 100 famous mountain circuit. I've climbed 8 or 9 of them (and Fuji twice), but it's a whole big deal for mountaineers/hikers here. After some helpful brainstorming with my faithful editor (Mom), I'm dreaming up all the challenges of hiking but also the time she spends traveling between mountains- the youth hostels, kind old aunties in the inns, taking the local trains, etc. etc. And of course, she'll meet all kinds of crazy hikers out there. Though I still don't have it all planned out and have a serious lack of characters, I am still getting excited about working on it come November. I even went out and bought some maps so I can get an overview of the terrain. I am toying with the idea of posting chapters on the web as I finish them. If I did it would probably be a password-protected site so not just anyone can read my drivel. :) I'll keep you posted.

Cheers!