I've been trying to think of ways to get my digs in at the "System" while I'm still in Japan. I think that as an outsider, I have a better vantage point from which to see the terrible morass which is the Japanese Way. Why for example, is it necessary to have jump suited men at standing in places where a simple traffic cone would do the job? When I ask this question to my students, I can't seem to make it sound like anything other than an attack on a ridiculous waste of time and energy (which it is). While I want to let rip at the nightmare of futility and wasted energy which is the Japanese education system, I can't bring myself to do so for fear of alienating all of the people who grew up with the system and knew no other way. When your student is the owner of your company, you can't exactly bitch about the manager he hired, even if the guy spends his time mastering solitaire and watching us work. I guess that's where the ol blog comes in handy, letting off steam so that I don't flip out on the co-workers.