Golden Week Vacation...

GW Vacation is just around the corner. Do you have any plans?As of now, I plan to go hiking one day. Except for that, I will chill out the rest of the time. I might also meet some friends for dinner or something a night or two, but I haven't decided yet. I am looking forward to spending a lot of time outside jogging, walking, cycling, sleeping, and more.

To change the subject, yesterday morning there was sudden storm in the morning. When I walked to the classroom in the morning, the sky was blue. And then, while teaching, I heard loud thunder and then saw some lightening. When I looked outside, it was dark and seconds later it began pouring. I looked out of the window and saw many frantically people holding newspapers over their heads while running towards their offices. Maybe the didn't expect it to rain.

Anyway, this week is a short week. Hope everyone enjoys it!

p.s. Last week an old friend of mine Mr. B.D. sent me an email with some photos from an excursion he went on the other day day. I hadn't spoke to him in a while so it was nice to get a note from him. He said the cherry blossoms and river and mountains and spa, and everything were great! Can you tell from the photos below where he went? If not, guess!! And ask me for the correct answer when you see me.

Trail Running

This morning I went for a jog and stretched a little. Only about 5km, but it was nice. And I was lucky, cause right after I finished running, it began to rain.

Then, on my way to the classroom, I stopped at The Big Issue office in Dojima, and donated two bags of clothes. For those of you who don't know, The Big Issue is an Organization which publishes and sells a magazine called "The Big Issue" to support homeless people. Here is the conversation at the office.
Staff Member: Hello. Can I help you?
Glenn: Yes, last year I came here and donated some clothes. I'd like to do the same today.
Staff member: Oh really?! Thank you very much. Do you read The Big Issue Magazine?
Glenn: Yes, I buy every issue. It's interesting. Anyway, there are pants and sweaters, all clean, and there is no underwear or socks in the bags. Is that alright?
Staff member: Yes, that's fine. I will distribute them to the guys.
Glenn: Thank you.

And, then this afternoon, I got a great email from Mr. K. Read it for yourself.

"Hi Glenn. I ran Hiraodai trail running race 40km on April 17th.I completed the full distance. But my upper legs was cramped at the 30km point... Hiraodai is a beautiful mountain in Kitakyushu. The mountain scenery on Hiraodai is amazing. I felt great while running in Hiraodai. For details, please visit the following my blog's article. You can see the beautiful photos in Hiraodai. Enjoy my photos and race report. Best Regards, K"

I love nature, and walking, hiking, running. And I also like Kyushu. I am very jealous of Mr. K. But more importantly, Congratulations to Mr. K for finishing this great race!! It is a triumph!

Tokyo Report

Two weeks ago, Luis went to Tokyo for a job interview. When he came back, he gave me the low-down. Here it is. Tokyo was dark. Many of the train stations and convenience stores and shops keep many of the lights off, or only use half of the lights. There wasn't any water on the shelves in the convenient stores. Business was as usual, and there were many people walking around. But the people seems a little tense, and tired. Maybe this is because of dealing with and thinking about the blackouts, the many smaller earthquakes, and the radioactivity.

Have you been to Tokyo, on business or for pleasure, recently? If yes, what did you think? If not, do you have any plans to go to Tokyo in the near future?

Who is that shadow lady?!

The answer: Ms. F in San Francisco. She loves it there and lived there for about ten years. Some day, one day in the future, it is her dream to go back and live there. I hope her dream comes true...

Housework (blog by Luis)

Do you like it? I don't recall anyone saying they enjoy doing it. I am no exception either. However, lately I find myself doing many chores around the house. With the exception of cooking, which I do occasionally, I do the following tasks regularly; laundry, dishwashing, cleaning, vacuuming, and throwing away the trash. This may sound a bit odd to most Japanese, but not so much for Americans and Europeans. Nowadays, couples in America and Europe tend to split the housework. About 50-50. They both share the responsibility of housework. One of the reasons for this tendency is that many women work full time now. When I was a child, my parents taught me to clean up my room and help out cleaning the house every weekend. Then in University I lived with so friends in a flat so we couldn't rely on our parents to do the housework! We had to do everything by ourselves!! When I was 18, I moved out of my parents house. Since then, I have always lived on my own, with friends, by myself, or now with my wife. This experience made me more independent and resourceful, not only with cleaning, but also with fixing stuff at home. And now, because I am a student again, I have more time than my wife who has a full-time job. Thus, I don't mind taking care of our flat. But, to be honest, I really hate doing the dishes! How about your place? Who does most of the housework?

Below are some cherry blossom photos courtesy of Ms. e. Thank you.

"Diet Challenge," and Cherry Blossoms

In January I decided to participate in my gym's "Diet Challenge." The rules were the following: 1. You have to be weighed at the gym by a staff member in January. 2. Three months after this "weigh-in day," you have to be weighed at the gym again. 3. For every 1 kg that you lose, the gym will give you a 500yen gift certificate which must be used at the gym. That's it. It was a no brainer!! And an easy win and easy money! On Jan. 7th, I was 82.15kg. On April 8th, I was 77.45. That is a difference of 4.7 kilograms, and when rounded up, 5kg! That's right, in 3 months I lose 5 kg!! How did I do it? Well, that is a secret!!! But if you ask me directly, I will be happy to tell you. And 5kg X 500yen=2500yen! I already used one of the 500yen gift certificates. I bought some exercise drinks. The expiration date of the certificates is in October, so there is plenty of time to use them. I am looking forward to it.

Speaking of gift certificates, I used 5000yen of my eco-point gift certificates and bought stuff for a cherry blossom picnic with the Mrs. last Sunday in Shukugawa. It was my first time to Shukugawa, and I was really impressed. It was crowded, but it wasn't too crowded, and we got a great spot under one of the pink trees, and ate and drank and "people-watched" a lot, and talked a little. The blossoms and the area were really beautiful!! It was a great day!!

TV and AC

I like TV. Usually when I get home, I watch the news while eating dinner. In the morning, I don't watch tv. Instead, I listen to the radio, usually ABC Radio. On Sunday, I usually wake up early and watch a talk-show or a news program while drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. After that, I usually go for a run or walk. In the afternoon or at night, I like to watch various sports, some variety-type comedy shows. If there is nothing good on tv, I pop in a DVD. Do you like TV? If yes, what kind of shows do you like? not like?

Speaking of TV, I know all of you have seen those commercials. You know the ones I am talking about, the ONLY ones on TV now after the terrible earthquake-tsunami-nuclear accident disaster. The "AC" commercials. (Not Air Conditioner!!) I didn't know what AC stands for, or why ONLY AC commercials were on TV, so I googled it. Here is what I found.

The following is from From The Japan Times Online

"CM of the week: Advertising Council Japan- When commercial stations returned to partial normalcy Monday they started airing adverts again, but except for an occasional spot from the part-book publisher DeAgostini, the majority of traffic has been taken up by Advertising Council Japan (AC), a nonprofit organization that coordinates the production of public service announcements with major advertising companies on a volunteer basis. Several of the spots focus on specific campaigns, such as the one featuring former Japan national soccer team coach Ivica Osim about the importance of receiving medical attention quickly following signs of a stroke; or the message from actress Akiko Nishina and her daughter advocating checkups for cancer of the breast and cervix. However, most of the AC spots promote positive social values, such as respect for the elderly, the pursuit of knowledge and common courtesy. The subtlest message, and the most beautiful, is a series of "echoed" statements taken from a poem by Misuzu Kaneko that represent the special relationship between a brother and sister. The purpose is to encourage people to speak to one another in a kinder fashion."