Bon Voyage and Have a safe flight, and Good luck in Vancouver!

Yesterday was the first day of October. My birthday is in October, so basically I like this month. And, if anyone wants to get me a little b-day present, and if you don't know my birthday, please just ask me and I will be happy to tell you when it is. ;) Just joking!!

In October, it begins to get a little cooler so I can't wear shorts and tee-shirts anymore and I have to wear jeans/pants every day, the baseball playoffs begin in both America and Japan, a bunch of typhoons often hit Japan...what other things happen in October? Think about it and lemme know your thoughts.

And, Today, October 2nd, is Mr. O's departure date. He will depart Kansai Airport and fly to Vancouver via Soeul. or maybe it was some Chinese city. I can't remember if he is flying Korean Air or Chinese Air, but I know that he has a long flight, with a long layover...I don't like long layovers (=stopovers, connections.) I like my flights and layovers to be short and sweet because travelling makes me tired and I am scared of flying. But when all is said and done, Mr. O will arrive in Vancouver and head directly to his homestay family. And then the true adventure will begin...

Below is a photo of us in the classroom and I will also post his email to me.

"Hello, Glenn.
I read the article of Danjiri festival in your blog today.
I love this festival as I have grown hearing Danjiri's drum sound every year since I was a baby.
I am very glad that you enjoyed Danjiri festival.
All of my family say that they had a very good time with you.
We will welcome you if you come to Kishiwada next year’s festival.

The date of my departure for Vancouver is coming up.
I worry whether I can have some good friends in Vancouver.
At the same time, I believe everything will work out.

See you again when I come back.
I look forward to treating me to Ichiba sushi! Go, Giants!

P.S. We all had a photo taken at Kishiwada Castle but did not show up in the photo unluckily.
So I do not have a photo which we all show up.
I send you a picture which we took at last class."

Hope everyone has a good weekend!!

Kishiwada's Danjiri Festival, and Mr. O

I went to the Danjiri festival, in Kishiwada, the other day. It was my first time. And quite honestly, I loved it. It was very exciting and itneresting. And the partipants of the festival, many of them pulling the heavy danjiri(carriages) were so passionate. I could feel their emotion, and actually got a little choked up once or twice. (choked up=almost cry.) However, I could not have had such a good time if it wasn't for Mr. O. He and his wife met me and gave me a "special tour" all around Kishiwada. I went to the wonderful Kishiwada castle, and also could go to the famous "S spot" to view the danjiri. At the S-spot, the danjiri reach high speeds and have to make two shapr turns. If they make a mistake they crash into the wall of a house or restaurant. Luckily, all the danjiri which I watched made the turns safely and no one was injured. In addition, he invited me to his house and I could meet his mother, a housewife, his father, retired and now an avid fan of cycling, and also his brother, a train conductor. His mother made and served a lot of delicious food, including crab, which is always eaten in Kishiwada during this festival. Did you know that? While eating and drinking a little beer, we could all talk a lot and have a good time.
And, for Mr. O, this was one of his last times to eat Japanese food for a while, because on this Saturday he will go to Canada for 6 months to study English. He has guts! Maybe he was born with those guts in Kishiwada, because Kishiwada is a tought town!! He resigned from his job and decided to make a new start, a new beginning. He will go to Canada by himself and go to school and do a homestay...I am very excited for him! And I am very much looking forward to see him when he gets back to Japan...It won't be easy, and it will take a lot of sweat and tears and bravery to overcome the challenges of living in a foreign country and speaking a foreign language every day, but I know his English and his confidence about English will be amazing at that time! I can't wait!!! Mr. O, thanks a lot, and truly Good luck and safe travels!!

below is a picture of a different friend of mine, who i ran into by chance at the Kishiwada Danjiri festival. Mr. N. He kept his promise of a few years ago and treated me a beer.

Welcome back!

I am sure today is going to be busy for most of you, because it is your first day back to work after 4 or 5 days off. So I will be short and sweet.

My vacation was fantastic. Pure R & R!! Some of the little highlights were:

-went to Kishiwada's famous Danjiri Festival (I will write more about this later. Thanks Mr. O!)
-had a BBQ(I will write more about this later too...thanks T.D.) and also ate sushi(of course hand-rolled, NOT turntable!)
-went jogging(twice) and swimming (once)
-went to the spa and sauna(once)
-splurged and went out to eat to a really nice restaurant (If you are interested to know where, please ask me in person, and I will tell you the name of the restaurant. it was really good!)
-read some books and watched a couple DVD's (the best DVD was "The Grand Torino." I really liked it. BUT if you do NOT like a little dark story, ending, PLEASE do NOT watch it!!)
-spent a lot of time outside

...that's about it. I know it doesn't sound too exciting, but it was really good!

What did you do over the Silver Week Vacation?

The race for the 3rd spot in the playoffs is heating up. My two favorite teams, THE TIGERS and THE EAGLES are hanging in there!!

Below are some "behind the scenes" shots from Koshien. (Koshien Food)

Water event

There is a big event along Yodogawa river now. I think it is called "Suito," but I am not certain about that.
I don't know exactly when it began, but I heard that it will be held for a couple of months. I know many people who have gone there, and the reviews are mixed. The jury is still out on this one...Some people like it a lot, and others don't. If I have time over the Silver Week vacation, I might check it out.

Speaking of Silver Week (the naming of this vacation, 5 days off in a row, is funny I think. It is a play on words of the yearly vacation in the spring "Golden Week."), what are you plans?
Do you have any exciting plans? Any trips or small excursions planned?
I have a few things planned, but I am not totally decided yet. Some things might not materialize. So after the vacation I will let you know the highlights and lowlights of my vacation.

Hope everyone has a safe and good vacation!!

Below are photos from the "Suito" event

Drinks

What is your favorite drink?
What do you drink every morning?
How about at night?
What do you drink when you are tired? feeling sluggish?

I like drinks and I drink a variety of things...If I had to choose my favorite, I would probably say beer or water. It is a tought choice.
Every morning I drink coffee. Usually two cups of Instant Nes Cafe Gold Blend. It is the begging of the day and wakes me up, my mind and my body. While drinking coffee, I like to read the newspaper or surf the net.
After that, all day I usually drink water or tea. About tea, hot tea or cold tea, green tea or English tea or flavored tea, bascially I don't care. Anything is OK. I drink a lot of fluids every day. In the summer, I drink more than 2 liters of water/tea every day for sure.
At night, with dinner, I usually drink water. Speaking of water, the other day I tried sparkling water, Pelligrino, for the first time. To my surprise, I liked it very much and felt it was healthy, and I am scared that I will get hooked on it because Pelligrino is a little expensive...Have you ever drank Pelligrino? If not, I recommend you try it.
And, do you drink sparkling water?
About 2 times a week I drink alcohol. Beer is my beverage of choice, followed by shochu (on the rocks,) and also wine. I like both red and white wine. About red wine, sometimes red wine is served chilled in Japan. It is always served at room temperature in the States and in Europe. At first I hated chilled red wine...but recently I got used to it and actually developed a liking for it.
I rarely drink Japanese sake...maybe about twice a year at a sushi restaurant for a special occassion. I used to like the hot type, but recently I prefer a high quality cold one. And, whiskey also, about twice a year. I used to hate whiskey when I was younger, but my tongue must have changed because now I actually like it.

Below is the Doctor7s favorite ginger ale. Have you ever seen this brand before? It was my first time. I only drink ginger ale on an airplane. It is one of the many rules which I have.

Hope everyone has a good week!

Nine eleven ...and Ireland in Osaka

9.11
Do you remember 9.11? Where were you? What were you doing when you heard about the terrorism?
I wrote about my experience on that day on past blogs of September, so if you are interested, please check them. For those of you who have already read them, I don't want to repeat myself... Just click on "September 08"
"September 07"..etc. You can find it if you try!


On to another topic, a few years ago I went to Ireland. It was my first time to Europe, and I really had a rgeat time and learned a lot. Since then, I always like to look for a new Irish bar or restaurant in the neighborhood. And, the other day, I found one. (Look at the photos below)

Speaking of Ireland, that reminds me of an article I read a while back.
Check this out: Green beer in Hokkaido
http://www.japantoday.com/category/new-products/view/green-beer

To change the topic, how do you feel about Prime Minister Aso being kicked out of power?
Please write your opinion and and show me in class.
For reference, read below for the opinions of others:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/fl20090908vf.html

This weather this week, the second week of September, had been gorgeous. Cool in the morning and evening, and gorgeous in the afternoon. Perfect! I wish the weather was like this all year!! I think typhoons will start hitting Kyushu and Okinawa, and other parts of Japan too, soon. Please watch out and hope everyone has a good weekend!

Free Cafe's English Home Page

This is the English version of the Free Cafe right around the corner. It is a very informative and interesting English page, with info not only related to the company and management concept/system, but also to solving various environmental problems. For general knowledge, as well as for English study/practice, I recommend that you check it out.

http://www.harimayahonten.co.jp/pc_english/index.html

Below are more sunflower photos from Mr. M

Ichiro gets 2000, and Sunflowers

Read all about it here:
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/10032452/Ichiro-second-fastest-to-2,000-hits

What did you do over the weekend? I ran into some friends by chance on Saturday night, and we had a few drinks and chatted together. After that, my friend got me a reservation at a very popular and crowded restaurant, which is really difficult to get into on the weekends. But he has connections, so we were lucky! It was a good way to finish up the summer. Ah-, maybe I forgot to mention that this year I was also very luck to be able to go to the Obon dancing festival, not only once, but twice. It was really relaxing and fun both times.

To enjoy the last days of his summer, Mr. M went to a sunflower field the other day and took many pictures with the new camera which he bought.
Sunflowers are my favorite flower. Did you know that?What is your favorite flower?

Hope everyone enjoys the week!

Koshien and September

Below are some of the best photos I have ever seen from Koshien. On Wednesday, Ms. A went to Koshien. She loves the Tigers and every year buys tickets for one game each month during the season. So, Wednesday, the 2nd of September, will be her last game this year...BUT if the Tigers make the playoffs...there is still a slim, slight, chance that they can make the playoffs. If you don't know about the Japanese baseball playoff system, basically here it is: presently the Tigers are about 5 games behind the third place team, the Yakult Swallows. In order to make the playoffs in Japan, you must finish in first, second, or third place in your division. So Ms. A, keep your fingers crossed...It's not over yet!! Go Tigers!

The other day I wrote about Ms. e's thoughts about September. Now I would like to say some of my own thoughts...

I don't love September, but I don't hate it. In recent years, for various reasons, actually I like September more and more. In America, September is the start of the school year...elementary school, junior high school, and high school, and Univeristy and Graduate School. So, September
has a feeling of "a new beginning," "a new change."
Also, for many Americans who are die-hard football fans, September marks the beginning of the NFL (National Football League) season. Have you ever watched a football game? It's pretty exciting IF you understand the rules...
I am a big Philadelphia Eagles fan. So Go Eagles!!!

and this is Ms. Y's thoughts about that ALL FREE CAFE:
Hi.
I took your class after that I went to free rice cracker café.
I could drink a cup of coffee or tea or juice and eat one plate rice cracker.
It was beautiful.
I recommend it.
I will go there again next week.
And I will talk to my friends about that cafe.
She work at Yodoyabashi.
She will go there too.

Ehime and a FREE CAFE in Honmachi!!

Nature, nature, nature...I really love it...
So, the other day when I got this email from Ms. K, I was really jealous. Her hometown is deep in nature, in Ehime. I don't know much about Ehime, other than that it is famous for oranges and fishing, and fresh fish. One day I want to go to Ehime and pick oranges...


Below are Ms. K's email and photo:
"Hi,Glenn.How are you today?I'm fine.I have 5days off since yesterday.So,I went back to my hometown from yesterday.My parents and grand mother lives a country in Ehime.There is only nature in this place,but here is very nice place. Can you see a picture in your PC mail?I took this picture in front of my house. I'm reraxing here. Have a nice day!"

And yes, it's true, a free cafe in Honmachi. Yes, I am serious. It is FREE. 100% FREE!!! No strings attached. And it is clean and convenient. They have coffee, tea, and orange juice. They may have a few more drinks but that is all that I saw. And they also have rice crackers. Many delicious rice crackers!!! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the place...so I had to go in. And it wasn't a lie. Everything is FREE. You have to check it out. It is on Midosuji street in Honmachi, next to Shinseibank, or about across the street from Risona Bank. The name of the place is "FREE CAFE HARIMAYA STATION." You have to check it out!!!

Have a good rest of the week!

Welcome to September!

Do you have a message for the new Prime Minister? If yes, please voice your opinion and speak up like the people did in the below link:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/fl20090901vf.html

You should speak loudly, and strongly, so the new Prime Minister can hear you.
For example:
"Mr. Prime Minister, I want you to______________________"
"Mr. Prime Minister, I insist that you_____________________"
"Mr. Prime Minister, I urge you to_______________________"

Try to make a few sentences of your own.

Today is a beautiful day...Sunny and blue skies. The first day of September. What do you think about September? Some people like this month, and some people don't.

This is what Ms. e thinks about September:
"What's up ? August is almost end..I don't like crazy hot summer these days, so I'm happy but I don't likeSeptember,Because it is not summer but not autumn and I feel a loneliness a little.When I was a student,I always had finished summer homework until thebegging ofa new school term,so it is not the reason that I don't like September !"

Personally, September is not my favorite month, but it is also not my least favorite month. It is OK. And this year is extra good because there is Silver Week, a 5 day vacation in the middle of the month. What do you think about that? I am pretty happy about it, and even though I don't have any big plans, I wanna chill out and take it easy again, just like Obon Vacation.

A small tidbit: Yesterday was the first day since summer began that I wore a long sleeve shirt in the morning...It means summer is definitely over. Recently it is a little chilly in the mornings and evenings, so I am sure I will be wearing pants or jeans, not shorts like I have been wearing, soon too...

Below is a message and some photos from Mr. T. He is in Montreal to study Law at University for about a year. The photo of his apartment and the one of the classroom and the squirrel are pretty cool.

"It has been more than two weeks since I came to Montreal.Everything is going well. The weather is nice, although it is sometimes hot and humid here.The student of McGill buddy program took me to the tour of the Facutly of Law. The other day, I played tennis with him. He is a sincere and nice guy. My mother is leaning English through the notebook with your memo. Now I am preparing blog( in Japanese!), so I will let you know when it is completed."

Change

Yesterday was a historical day in Japanese political history. Did you voice your opinion and vote?

Read all about DPJ's Victory below.

"DPJ takes power in Landslide win"
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200908300210.html

And try counting all those votes with the abacus below.
p.s. Can you use an abacus?
I can not.

Sports, Obon Dance, Election, What if...and Malta 2

TGIF, Thank god it's Friday. Really, thank god!! This weekend is the last weekend of August...It's a wrap. Summer is officially over.

So instead of getting depressed about this thought, I want to be optomistic! So today I will begin with sports.

First, Matsui for the Yankees is HOT! I mean sizzling! He hit an abnormal number of home runs and rbi's (runs batted in) in August.

Ichiro, who reportedly dreamed about Bolt the other day, injured his calf and is listed as "day-to-day." For Ichiro, who stays very fit and has a vigorous work ethic, to have an injury is really quite unusual, because basically he has been blessed with an injury-free career. Probably next week he will be back hitting singles at an abnormal pace...I hope.

Ozaki, Japan's new female marathon hope, really did a fantastic job in the Berlin World Track and Field Championship Marathon race. I watched the latter part of the race on tv and it was exciting to watch her battle with the runner from Chinese and Kenya. I look forward to watching her again in the Olympics.

Chukyo-dao-chukyo. High School Baseball's summer tournament chamionship. What a team! Some of the players are reall ybig and look like they are on steroids!! But actually, according to an article I read in the newspaper the other day, they just follow a very rigid weight training regimen and strict diet. Diet, I am not sure is the right word. Basically, the eat a lot!!! That was the best offensive baseball team I have seen in while. And they didn't bunt!! I only saw them try one bunt! (Maybe they tried more, but I only saw one...) I don't like that Japanese High school teams bunt so much! Swing! swing! swing!! You only live once, and life is short!!!

Ah-, the next topic. Tonight is the second and last day of the Minami-mido Obon Dance festival! It is a truly fabulous event! If you have time, check it out!

On this Sunday, the 30th, there is a big election. I do not have the right to vote in Japan, so for me this means: NOTHING is on TV Sunday night. ALL shows are related to the election, and counting votes. It is BORING! So I must get a good DVD to watch that night. Any recommendations?

And for all you Japanese people, it is your right and duty to vote! So don't forget to go to the voting booths and cast your ballot!

What would you do if you were Prime Minister of Japan?
Please read below for the answers of some people:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/fl20090825vf.html

And to finish up, some more great pics of the town in Malta. Thanks again Ms. K.

Hope you all have a good weekend!

Malta

Do you know where Malta is? I didn't. That was until I met Ms. K. She informed me it is a small island off of Italy and it is about the size of Awajishima. I forget what she said the popluation was...but maybe something like 40,000 people (I may be wrong.) And she said there were MANY, thousands of cats on the island. Not pets, stray cats.

About her purpose there, she studied English for 2 months there. She told me that it was a wonderful place, and highly recommended it for everyone, espcecially me because I love the sea. And, she showed me her album from her trip. From her pictures, I could tell that she wasn't lying. The photos of the scenery were beautiful. It's difficult to explain, but it was close to my image of a Greek Island. And, after seeing the pics and hearing her stories, Malta is officially on my list of "want to go" places. Thanks Ms. K!
Below is one of Ms. K's emails about her trip.

And I'm glad you are interested in Malta.Malta is famous for resort island in europe. A friend ofmine who I met Malta said "It's like Hawai."I've never been to Hawai, but I was imagining that place,(Hawai is like Malta... so It must be comfortable andrelaxing place!) I have a lot of memories of Malta, almost good, and I wantto talk their so much. I think Mediterranean sea is one of most impressive bluethat the earth has.

Some recommendations, thoughts, and more...

Recently, in the morning and at night, it is a little cool. This is good and comfortable, but also a little sad for me. Because I love summer...so getting cool means that the summer is coming to an end...

Usually I do not do this, but today I want to write about some places, things,products, events which I recommend. First, right around the corner is a new coffee shop, Komeda Coffee. (Please look at the pics below for Komeda's specialities) It opened about 6 months ago. Literally, it is about a 30 second sprint from the classroom door, down the staairs and across the street to it. If you are Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter who it he world record holder in the 100m dash, maybe you can make it in about 20 seconds.

Oh yeah, speaking of Bolt. The other day, after I watched him on tv set a new world record in the 100m dash, 9.58 seconds, I went to the park and got out a tape measure and stop watch, and made a course. On your marks, get set, BANG!! I ran very fast. My time was 11.1 seconds. Then I woke up ;)

From Monday of this week, I have been drinking "Healthy-ya" every day. It is a new drink. You can find it in almost any convenience store. It is made by Kao. My friend Mr. F recommended it to me. He said "Since I began drinking Healthy-ya, I don't have a hangover every day." (fyi: he drinks about 4 or 5 glasses of shochu, plus a beer or two every day. Too much!!!) I only drink a little, 2 or 3 times a week, but I was feeling a little sluggish from the summer heat and humidity, so I decided to give it a try. There are a few different types of Healthy-ya drinks. The regular type which is a little bitter, the "mild type", the "green tea" type, and one grapefruit and one plum sports drink, and also a lemonie carbonated drink. I have tried them all. I like the regular type and the grapefruit sports drink the best. The others are all OK too, but I don't need the carbonated one. Anyway, it is a little expensive, about 198 yen for only 350 ml, but so far I like it.

Oh yeah, before I forget, one of my favorite festivals in Japan, the Minami-mido Obon Dance festival will be held next week. It is just down the street and I try to go to it every year. It is very festive, special, and a really good time! This year, as always, I am looking forward to it! But before that, there is also a good Obon Dance festival at Kita-mido, which is also just stone's throw away. It is just a little smaller than the one at Minami-mido. Actually, it was held last night, but it will also be held tonight too. Last night I walked by there on my way home. It looked fun. If you have time, I recommend that you check it out!! (Sorry for the late notice.)

One last recommendation is an Italian restaurant, La Laterna, which I went to a few weeks ago. The owner is Italian and so is some of the staff. It is the first Italien restaurant which I have ever been to in Japan which I really thought was authentic, "real Italian." Also, all of the bottles of wine are only 2000yen. That's a bargain!! However, the food is a little pricey, so it all evens out. It is located in Umeda, and if you are interested, please search for it on the net. Maybe you can find it. But if you can't find it, please feel free to ask me and I will draw a map for you and explain where it is. It's easy to find.

Anyway, that's all for now. Have a good weekend!

Summer Vacation and New York

Hey, I am back. Did you miss me? Unfortunately, maybe no... ;(

How was your Summer Vacation?
Mine? Thanks for asking.

My vacation was very low-key. But at the same time, it was fabulous!!!
To be honest, I didn't do anything. I really did Nothing, with a capital N!
I didn't go anywhere, just laid around my place all day, each day.
Maybe that is why my 4-day vacation was so great...
To re-cap, on Thursday, actually I just remembered...I did go to one place. I went to Koshien Stadium to watch High School baseball.
I was lucky and could watch a great game, Kumamoto-ko versus Mieko. It was a close game, a real sea-saw battle, and in extra innings Mieko came out on top. What a game! And to make it even better, I could sit in the second row. Other than that, I basically just chilled every day...watched some DVD's, ate out, went to the gym, swam, jogged, lifted some weights, sweat...took a long bath at the spa, and also sat in the sauna watching high school baseball for a while. And, oh yeah, I almost forgot, slept a lot. It was nothing exciting, but it was good!

Below is Ms. J's comments and pictures from her trip to New York. Please read it. It is interesting...after seeing the pic of the food, I remembered how big the portions are in the U.S. And, actually, even though I am from Philadelphia which is pretty close to New York City, and even though I have been to New York a bunch of times, I have never been to the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State building...Do you think that's strange? After i read and heard about her trip, I thought "Ah~~, I can't wait to get back to New York too!!"

From today, I have 4 OBON-holidays.
I'm happy! but, I already spent much money ; actualy I paid by credit car,
but, I don't pay yet; I can't go to anywhere, but I can enjoy see many NY pictures.

I want to send you some pictures, but I can't choose only one !
It's difficult.

These 2 photos are this time NY, 3rd one is last time NY.
From this time, I chose big pan cakes plate ; It was my breakfast.
And this landskape is from the Empirestate building.

I can see The Statue of Liberty, but I can't see WTC. It's too sad.
And a big pan cakes phote,in fact, pan cakes are 3 peices ! but, I ate all! wooops!

Last photo is also The Statue of Liberty, but I took from Brooklyn bridge,
and I love this phote most !

Can you see all photos?

I already think about next travel, and maybe I'll go to NY soon!

Some thoughts, Summer Vacation...Fireworks! ! !

So, this is the last blog I will write before summer vacation begins (for me, in a few minutes...) First, I think that last week's news and heavy coverage about that famous female idol and drugs (if you don't know what I am talking about then you must not live in Japan, because everyone in Japan knows) really overshadowed a more important news. The news which I am referring to relates to Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and war, and nuclear weapons. There were some articles in the newspaper about these topics, but not as much as in years past. I really wish more media focused on these issues, which make us remember and think about the past, which also making use think about now and the future. These issues are simply more important.

Next, it was ungodly hot last week. The high temps reached over 35 degrees celcius in some places. And then, from Sunday it rained and was cloudy for a few days. On Tuesday, in Hyogo prefecture, not so far from here, a big typhoon hit and many people were injured, and even worse some people died. Then yesterday, there was a big earthquake in a different part of Japan. The weather, Nature, is recently unpredictable and not so kind....we all must be careful...

About summer vacation, I have no big plans. Just R&R! (rest and relaxation) Sometimes doing nothing is better than doing something. That is my motto for the next few days.

Talk to ya again next week, so in the meantime, please take care!

Below are pics from the Yodogawa Fireworks. Thanks Ms. Y. Magnificent! Unfortunately I couldn't go... but maybe next year!

*** SWEET PEPPER = PAPRIKA ***

The price of vegetables rises recently beacuse weather is bad. The photo is many SISITOU( = a variety of green pepper) harvested in this summer. My parents plant many vegetables every year. For example, It is a cucumber, a tomato, a mini-tomato etc. A SISITOU was the second challenge. Did you know a red color SISITOU. Surprisingly! the taste was sweet. A red color is fully-ripened SISITOU changed the name a paprika. Of course this is not right.

Thanks for the interesting blog and great picture Reiko. Personally, I love green, red, and yellow peppers and eat them often because I love salad. Usually, I don't even use dressing because the peppers have so much natural sweet flavor. Since I was a child, I always eat a big salad AFTER every meal. This is my style. Do you like vegetable? Do you eat salad often? Well, if you don't, you really should! Vegetables are the best, and very healthy!!

Ah, speaking of a vegatable, did you hear about the new watermelon diet? (yes, actually watermelon is techinically a vegetable, not a fruit! did you know that?) Yes, just like the infamous natto(fermented soy beans) and banana diet, there is now a new watermelon diet. So, for all those watermelon lovers out there, you better stock up on watermelon this weekend, because by next week all of the watermelon might be sold out!!

It's hot!!!

Recently it is very hot... really hot. I am managing, but it is tough. And, because I don't use the air-condioner in my place, it is sometimes difficult to sleep...

But in order to stat cool, I go to the gym and swim. And the other day, at the pool, a funny thing happened. So, I will tell you. I was doing my normal 1 km plus a little swim. Before I used to swim constantly and never stop and the pace was slow. But recently I changed my style, and I spring about 50 or 100 meters, then I take a break for a minute or so, then sprint again. In all, I swim the same distance as the long slow swim, about 1km or so. So, let's get to the story. I was swimming, and after my 100m sprint, when I was taking a break in the water, another regular of the pool, an older guy about 50yrs old with a big gut, but a semi-fast swimmer, said "Have you taken a swimming lesson?" I said "Nah." He said, "Well you really should. Because your form is absolutely terrible! You are big, and if you take a lesson or two, your swimming will get so much better." I was shocked!!! Speechless!!! To be honest, recently I think my speed has gotten better, faster, much faster than one year ago!!! So now I am thinking about taking a lesson, or buying a new swimming suit(one that will help me swim faster just like all the pros wear!) But, I don't know...I am thinking...

Below is the the Kanemoto Bento which is exclusively sold only at Koshien Stadium. If I eat one, do you think I can swim faster?

Have a good weekend, or beginning of summer vacation for some!

p.s. below is also some more "Tough English." Give it a try and let me know if you understand or not.

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) We must polish the Polish furniture.
4) They were too close to the door to close it.
5) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
6) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

"UP"

IF YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ALL OF THE BELOW USAGES OF "UP," YOU ARE PRETTY GOOD. GIVE IT A SHOT!

You lovers of the English language might enjoy this. There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than anyother two-letter word, and that is 'UP' It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top ofthe list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and whyare the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary towrite UP a report ? We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polishUP the silver; we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. Welock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times thelittle word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special. And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP atnight. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP. To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In adesk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you migh ttry building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP alot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with ahundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP... When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP ... When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP. When itdoesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP,so........it is time to shut UP ! Oh . . . one more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night? U-P

GET IT?

Which beer gets your vote?

Many of you know my answer, but if you don't, then my answer is at the bottom of this blog. If you are interested, please look. Which is your favorite beer?
For all you beer lovers, this link is a must read!!
http://www.japantoday.com/category/have-your-say/view/which-brand-gets-your-vote-for-the-best-beer#show_all_comments

By far, my number one, favorite, beer is.......................................................................

Kirin Lager