We had a very busy day: a visit to Appi jidokan, then lunch with Nick, then on to Midtown Park. We finished at Charlize's place, where the girls were doing ballet moves (in tutus and ballet pumps too) rather well. Julia is trying to rearrange the ballet lesson so that it is on Monday mornings and if she can then I think Emily would quite enjoy it, having seen her in action today.
At home, I gave her a present I had been holding back: a Thomas aquadoodle sheet. Almost immediately she wrote an 'E' and then with very little encouragement and no assistance she went on to complete her name. This is a milestone I have been anticipating with much pleasure (and impatience). A pretty good effort too, for the first time.
Nick got his bonus letter and it was rather disappointing, though if his boss is to be believed, he did better than most, year-on-year. The Japan office has performed abysmally so perhaps he was not lying about the bonus pool being severely depleted. I won't bang on about it though, as it is hardly a popular topic right now! His salary converts well into sterling at current rates, but it is the bonus that makes his incredibly tough hours and stress worth it, and a good income is necessary in the most expensive city in the world. Still, I know that there are plenty of more deserving people who work just as hard for much less reward. Well, we have a useful addition to our home-buying fund, if we can only get back to the UK and put it to use.
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