After the hiatus

My apologies: I think three weeks is the longest I have ever gone without posting something and it is a record I am in no rush to break. The past 21 days have been a tad busy in the same way that the Titanic is a tad submerged. We have had Cian's birthday, his school play, a trip to Hong King, a national election, snowstorms and, well, just 'stuff to do'. This blog was part of that 'stuff' but unfortunately it fell into the 'undone' category. However, I am still determined to at least reach 80 posts before the year is out - I was gunning for the ton, but I'm afraid that landmark will just have to wait until next year. Along with the above topics, I will also be regaling you with my as of yet not-very-together-thoughts on:
Our Christmas tree
Japan's demographics (again)
The year in film
The year in books
The year in music
The year in haberdashery
Cram schools (Juku)
When golfers go bad
Japanese pensions - the country for old men
And some other stuff.
The above is a kind of ongoing checklist of potential blog topics. These usually occur to me when I am walking up to the university in the morning and the combination of breakfast fruits and fresh air stimulate all sorts of insightful thinking about all sorts of interesting things. By mid morning my blood sugars plunge and the morning's insights have been dissipated, to be replaced for the rest of the day by an overpowering need to stay warm. 
It was -5 today with a biting wind. That sort of cold seeps into your bones and withers your will to stay conscious. Should this cold spell continue (and it looks like it will last right through the festive season - we may yet have to burn the Christmas tree), then the 80 target may well be cast aside in favour of hibernation.