It's occasionally concerning that I'm signing up for a career in which I hate a pretty good proportion of the people I meet. People angling for million dollar salaries irk me badly; sadly, so do self-righteous do-gooders. Before you ask, I am the perfect mix: I plan to become self-righteous about a million dollar salary.

No? Fine, I'll just ratchet up the self loathing.

Anyway. It strikes me that this man is someone to respect. He's not chasing the cash, and appears willing to take horrendous beatings for a cause most people simply do not give a shit about.

In other news, I met a very nice woman last night, and instead of deploying the charm offensive, I appear to have spoken to her about litigation. Smooth. Nothing woos a woman quite as effectively as chatting about Lipke v The Queen. It appears three solid years of not dating isn't the best preparation for this kind of thing.

Also, Nova's dead. I hear Sahaishi is missing, possibly with huge piles of loot and the most attractive staff members. Hands up who feels pleased to have jumped ship earlier?

I have generally tried to avoid looking at "wacky Japan" stories, if only because they bring me down and remind me that I am unlikely to wander into a convenience store and find a jelly drink made of processed bees any time soon. In case you were wondering, the wings were crunchy, but it was actually quite tasty.

Still. I have to mention this. Because I want one. Sure, at a law firm this might look a little incongruous. My flash of insight: a filing cabinet. A tie that folds out into a filing cabinet. Don't tell me that won't work.

Like a million, million other ex-Nova teachers, I am going to mention its imminent demise on the internet.

Poor Nova. It was a company that stood out for pure evil even amongst other English teaching schools. Which isn't easy to do, you know. I say that having worked at a place in Australia that specialised in monthly contracts and holding over pay for two months. Work that one out if you can. Anyway, Nova. Impressive in its dedication to screwing over absolutely everyone who became involved with it. Instructors, overcharged for accomodation and endlessly jerked around in schedules and transfers. Students, gulled into paying upfront in bulk when they had no idea what was coming. Which was generally a series of shitty English lessons delivered by hungover/insane/self-obsessed sadsacks running from their problems back home. Or at least, when they had me for a teacher they did. Even the staff, exploited and unionless for all practical purposes, working too hard and under too much pressure for shit pay. You have to respect the company on a visceral level, the same way you kind of have to grudgingly give it up with that one guy who hits on every woman in the bar. That is, not much, and with a solid overtone of disgust.

I feel bad for everyone. The only bright spot is the moderate hilarity which is going to ensue from the addicts and corporate suckholes as they try to cling to just a little bit more of that Nova goodness. Here's a tip: if you made AT, there was something actually wrong with you. Sorry.

And as a thousand gormless, self-deluded ("Hey, maybe I AM cool, after all! Thanks, Japan!") ex-teachers come stumbling back into the country, at least I'll have someone to drink with and listen to my stories.

Still. Vale, right?