Wow, I have't submitted a journal entry in a long time; for that matter, I haven't uploaded anything new recently either, but there is a good reason for that.  I have been busy with "Real Life."  My job has been taking up a lot of my time, what with daily lesson planning, lecture writing, attending department meetings and researching for new, potential courses. (I am trying to develop a Business Japanese course that would be suitable for beginners--unfortunately 'beginner' and 'business Japanese' are mutually exclusive terms!)  I have also been keeping busy with the manuscript for my second book, which will be about the French writer Pierre Loti's image and depiction of Japan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.     I am also working on revising a few articles that I plan to submit to journals.  

I haven't had much time to update my own website either, except that I modified it back in October so that I could accommodate the learning resources that I plan to post there.

I was in Japan for 10 days for my cousin's wedding in March, then I came back and left for a conference in Toronto.  (Those of you who follow my Facebook feed know all about this!)  I did get a tone of pictures while in Japan (the cherry blossoms were in bloom!) and they are on my mem cards in my camera, on my iphone and my ipad--I have to offload them and go through them.  

I will also be participating in the city art show on June 1-2, with an artist reception on May 31.  I have been getting frames and mats for the new photos--and also reviving and repackaging some old favorites--and this year, I sprung for 2 display tables instead of just one.  (LOL!)

Stay tuned--the minute I get some free time, I will post some stuff.