My New Boss

I met my new boss this week, and I found him a very genuine and interesting guy. He is very nice and sincere, but I think the emphasis has to be on 'interesting'. Our initial meeting provides a good example. I was scheduled to go to two classes with him in Oogaki, a town in the next prefecture to the north. I went to meet Mark at a train station in Ichinomiya, which is about half way to Oogaki. After our first introductions on the train, one of our earliest conversations went like this...
Mark tells me his karma is a bit out of whack, so I ask what he means.
He replies, "Well, I had mice invading my home and, you know, man...I've got a kid, right? So I can't have mice running around my house, can I?"
"Of course not," I agreed.
He continued, "Its not just that the mice were in the house, you know, its that they were so bold...I mean it was really rude, man. They just ran around the kitchen right in front of me! They didn't even have the common courtesy to wait until I was asleep!"
After a reflective pause he continued, "I had to kill them last night. But, you know, I warned them first. I mean, I told them I was going to declare war on them. I said, 'Be out of my house by tonight or I am going to declare war on you!"
"Well," I told him, "you did warn them. That seems fair enough."
But with a dejected look he added, "Yeah, but they're Japanese mice and I warned them in English. Why would a Japanese mouse understand English?"
I am still unclear about the seriousness of his thoughts on the subject, but Mark gave me no indication that he was joking. Either way, I think this story illustrations what an interesting fellow I have fallen in with in Japan.