Well,

Technically it`s the day after Christmas, but for most of you it is
still Christmas, so even though I`m late, maybe I`m just in the nick
of time.  Thanks for all the Christmas E-mails, they really cheered me
up.  Christmas is a strange event in Japan.  Christmas eve for most is
the celebration and it is more for couples to go out and have dinner.
For me it sucked because I had to work late Christmas Eve, early on
Christmas, early today, and early tomorrow.  But as of Thursday I`m
off work until the 6th of january, so I am looking forward to the end
of work tomorrow.  I did get one Christmas present today, which is
that I`m off probation, so now I can take vacation, swap shifts with
other teachers, apply for overtime (not gonna happen, I`ve been doing
enough as is), and also level up students.  Ahh, but the best part is
that I make more money now.  Hopefully everyone has a good Christmas.
On a side note, not being around friends or family and having to work
on Christmas, really changes your perspective on it.  So enjoy it.

dan