a perfect flyer day

• 6:05 am Alarm clock goes off
• 6:07 am I get up. It`s a perfect flyer day. Nice weather, not to hot. The target location　Kintetsu Yao (近鉄八尾駅） of today is perfect. Bag is packed, flyers prepared. A small pack of old ones and a full pack of new ones freshly delivered. Even if it`s still very early, my mood rises considerably. I might make a new personal record in flyer numbers today. Lets promote our English Conversation School!
• 6:15 am Even better mood. A clean shave, o-bento packed, finishing touches on dressing and still well in time for leaving the house a 6:25 to be in time in Yao(八尾）. Enough time left for a short breakfast (a banana) before I go.

• 6:16 am My son (1year and 10 month) also has thought that it is a perfect day   – to play with his dad his favorite picture card game. He comes to my room and shows me his apple cards, taking my finger and drags me off to our living room leaving me hardly enough time to buckle my trousers.  I slowly start to realise that my early morning start in Kintetsu Yao (近鉄八尾駅） is in immediate danger, and thus the new personal record in flyer numbers per morning.
• 6:50 am After playing with my son for a while arranging all the picture cards (eggplant last),  I get hungry and start eating the banana my wife prepared for me as breakfast.
• 6:55 am After he has eaten my banana, my son goes for a serving of freshly cooked rice to continue with some spaghetti left overs we found in the fridge. Daddy is happy that his son eats so well in the morning but still hungry.  I also start to wonder at what time I will be able to leave the house. The new personal record in flyers is highly endangered.
• 7:05 am Finally I manage to leave the house. My wife has gotten up and taken care of our son. My flyer mood rises again.
• 7:25 am By cycling as fast as possible I manage to arrive in Kintetsu Yao (近鉄八尾駅） with still plenty of time left to pass on a fair amount of flyers.
• 7:29 am Mood slightly taunted by the presence of members of the communist party rallying for the coming election. As cold war times are but a story in the history books now, we exchange friendly greetings. Mild interest in our Smith`s school of English Eikaiwa (スミス英会話）school in Fuse, HigashiOsaka(東大阪、布施). I take up position at the prime spot next to the escalator.
• 7:45 am Modest progress in flyer handouts as it is to be expected when working next to political parties rallying for the coming election. New personal record in flyer numbers is out of question now.
• 7:50 am Some beautiful young ladies in cosplay outfit from a nearby pachinko parlour with nice, soft tissues arrive at the location. We exchange friendly greetings. Very friendly smile. The one with the friendliest smile takes up position next to me, as it is the prime spot.
• 7:55 am My flyer rate deteriorates considerably. Against young, beautiful ladies in cosplay outfit and friendly smile equipped with soft, prime quality tissues I stand a poor chance. I bravely hold my position and continue.
• 8:05 am Got one more flyer. I start to wonder if I should better have stayed home and played with my son.
• 8:07 am I decide to make the best out of the situation at hand. I concentrate to get as many smiles on the faces of the people as I can, as they all seem to look a little bit stressed after passing rows of communists and pachinko parlour girls, and pass on the eventual flyer. In the end, it is quality that counts and not quantity, as we believe at Smith Eikaiwa(スミス英会話）.
• 8:10 am A second pachinko parlour with tissues arrives at the scene. No cosplay, but younger ladies. Something close to a battle of advertisement erupts between the two pachiko parlour groups. Oncoming pedestrians get suffocated in tissues. We are now three persons at the prime location.   I hold the position.
• 8:12 am I really start to enjoy myself. My “a smile for a smile campaign” starts to pay of, at least in smiles and tissues from the pachinko ladies.
• 8:15 am Members of the communist party in the station proper seem to be lost. Again it seems that communist ideals stand no chance against the aggressive capitalistic marketing strategy which successfully  “buys” the simple people by handing out free, soft prime quality tissues. History repeats itself.
• 8:20 am The communist leave the battlefield.
• 8:30 am The first pachinko parlour group is finished and leaves.
• 8:35 am My flyer rate has risen considerably. I doubt that I will by able to pass on all of the old flyers.
• 8:55 am The second pachinko parlour group is finished, too. I am left alone.
• 9:01 am Against all odds I pass on the last of the old flyers!

Accomplishments of the day:

1. Passing on a fair amount of flyers against all odds.
2. Two nice packs of soft, prime quality tissues.
3. At least a hundred smiles.