Well, I didn't get any "giri choco"... *sob*... not a single piece. I think our office is too westernized on this particular issue... Still we are eigoTown.com, I suppose. Perhaps I should have sent some anonymous Valentine's Day cards as is the custom in England...I say it's the custom, but I only ever got one Valentine's card -- when I was about 17 -- and I'm pretty sure that it was from my mum...

Yesterday seemed quite peaceful compared to the days before, when we were working on eigoQuiz, Cinderella and the editorial test for our new dictionary. I even had time for a few games of table tennis with a couple of our staff here (whose names I won't say, to protect the easily embarrassed). I won every game, and I refuse to listen to those people who say they're letting me win because I'm the boss!

See you tomorrow. Feel free to write to me with any questions or comments.

Russell

P.S. OK... OK... On January 1st, 2006, after the Christmas and New Year's Eve festivities, I woke up and weighed myself. The scales didn't care that it was supposed to be a "Happy New Year" -- they told me the awful truth...123 kilos. Coughing, I vowed to go on a diet, give up sugar and refined carbohydrates, stop drinking and stop smoking for 90 days. It's day 46 now. So, how am I doing?

I'll let you know tomorrow!

sob - すすり泣き westernized - 西洋化した particular - 独特の、特別な anonymous - 匿名の custom - 習慣 embarrassed - 恥ずかしい、きまりの悪い refuse - 断る、拒絶する vowed - 誓った refined　carbohydrates- 精製炭水化物