Let`s celebrate again...this time with Strawberry chort cake!!



More happy news. A horse named Elizabeth Queen, who races in the Kansai area, just won her first race in 166 tries! She had lost 165 races in a row! That`s a lot of losing, a lot of disappoinment and misery!! But she didn`t give up, and finally, she came in first place!

And, last night the boxer Naito, defended his title and won with a knockout in the 10th round. But after his interview, he yelled into the microphone, "Sunday Japon!!", which is a tv show on Sundays which he appears on sometimes. I think he shouldn`t have said that, and I thought it was inappropriate. If he wants to advertise for the show, he should wear a tee-shirt or a baseball cap with the name "Sunday Japon" on it...Just my opinion, and NOT an important topic, so whatever!

And last but definitely not least, tomorrow Mr F will go night squid fishing with his friend in Fukui prefecture. He is very confident that he will catch over 100 squid, because recently fisherman don`t go out into the ocean as much as before because of the high fuel prices...And, he promised to give me some of the squid which he cathes, so on Saturday night I am looking forward to having some squid for dinner! Thanks Mr. F!!

Let`s Celebrate! with...ice cream!!

Today is definitely a day for ice cream! Today is a day for celebration. First, I got some good news from The Doctor today. He told me that yesterday his wife had a little baby boy! Congrats!

Second and much less important news, Ichiro reached a milestone today in America. He has now hit over 3000 hits in his career, a combined total of his hits while playing in Japan and in America. I read an article on the net which said that last year James Moyer, an older guy who used to be Ichiro`s teamate in Seattle and now picthes for my team the great Philadelphia Phillies, asked Ichiro "How long are you gonna play for kid?" Ichiro replied, "My goal is 45 years old, and my dream is 50."

I am gonna order a big vanilla (NOT Ba-nilla) ice cream with hot fudge and wet nuts and whip cream with a red cherry on top to celebrate today`s happy news.

New friends, Part 2

So, when I was hiking the other day, besides the father and son combo I met, I also met two other new friends. Two cats. One was brown and appeared gentle, and the other was grey and showed it`s teeth many times...like a tiger! I was honestly a little scared,and I thought "maybe it has rabis", because it was a wild cat. But fortunately, it didn`t bite me and I was OK and we became friends. Seriously, I was really surprised because I found them at a very high point on the mountain(Check out the photo below) Soemtimes I see wild boar in this mountains and at this point, but I have never seen any cats or dogs...How these two cats got so high, I can not imagine.!!

I wanted to take them home with me, but in my aprartment, cats a prohibitted, so I had to give up...It was frustrating and depressing, but I thought that I had no other choice. We spent about 20 minutes together, and eventually the grey cat warmed up to me. When I go back there, I want to bring them some delicious cat food!

Yesterday there was a fierce storm and some flooding in Western Japan. Today also, it is already raining, and the weather forecast for this afternoon, is for a storm again.

Don`t froget your umbrellas and be careful out there!!

"Good Luck" to My New Friends!
I met this father and son while I was hiking. They were already sitting at my favorite resting spot, and when I sat down and put my feet into the river, we began talking. The boy is ten years old, and I was a little surprised that he hiked so far in such hot weather. But he was playing with the stones in the river and didn`t seem to have a worry in the world. He said he is good at tennis, but isn`t good at studying. I said "That is enough." The father was a really nice guy! He is a driving instructor in a driving school in Tsukamoto. If I get a driver`s license one day in Japan, I want him to be my teacher! Anyway, it was great to meet them. The boy really liked the expression "Good Luck."

EEL DAY!

The below photo is of me Struggling with Udon-Gyoza...It is from a while back...

But today, I want to talk about today. It is EEl Day! This is one of my favorite days of the year! Because I love eel!!! Usually I eat eel every year on this day. I always order "eel over rice", one of my favorite dishes! And in the summer, to beat this unbeleivable heat, eel is great for stamina! And I NEED stamina. But I haven`t eaten if yet today, so I better hurry up if I want to eat it for lunch...Or maybe I will save this treat for dinner! Now I am thinking...

"Ponyo on the cliff by the sea"

This movie just started playing in Japan recently. Have you ever heard the theme song of this movie? It is great and I listen to it on the radio almost every morning! I haven`t seen this movie yet, and usually I do not see animation movies, but this movie is an exception! On the next "Movie Day," when the price drops from a whopping 1800 yen to 1000yen, I am definitely gonna go! I expect it to be a great "feel good movie!! I hope...

If you have seen the movie, please let me know what you thought of it and whether or not you recommend it or not!

To change the subject, below is an update from Indonesia and Mr. I! He has been enduring the heat and he told me that he got used to the spicey food in addition to many other things in Indonesai.

The pictures below, especially of Mr. I in that carriage? buggie?, whatever you call that, I have no idea. And check out the toilet and bath photo...Pass!! It looks like Mr. I is roughing it a little...Hang in there!!

3-day weekend...and Home-made Pizza

What are your plans for the 3-day weekend?
I hope to go for a long walk to my favorite waterfall, (clean it up again), maybe have a BBQ, watch a DVD, and just chill out.
Also, I am in the mood for pizza, so one of the three days I definitely want to order a pie or at least get myself a slice.

Have you all a good one!

What time is it?

It`s time for a beer! :) Just joking! It`s only 9:55am in the morning, too early for a beer!!

Well, according to the weatehr forecast, the temp will soar to 35 degress celsius today! That`s hot! A boiler! A scorcher!

I am very stobborn and refuse to use the air con in my house (that might be unfortunate for some people...) but in the classroom I always keep the air con on on full blast! However, the preferences of different people are quite interesting. Some people order strongly "Make it colder!!! 22 degrees!!!" Other people politely request "Could you make it a little cooler please." Others say "Please use the dry function", and until a few weeks ago, some people even said "Please turn off the air con and just open the windows." All interesting...How do you like the air con in your house? office?

(The time below: It is ten forty three and 34 seconds)

Hong Kong at Night

These night shot of Hong Kong are really spectacular! The contrast of the neon lights with the black sky...and the lights of the city...Truly Great!

As many of you already know, I like neon lights of the city, like Minami or Kita-shinchi of Osaka, very much. But recently I have not gone out so much, after work, I go straight home...

A few weeks ago, Ms. Y went to Hong Kong with her boyfriend. She said that they really had a good time, and only had one problem...On the way back to Japan, the taxi driver forgot to pick them up at the hotel to take them to the airport! Unbelievable! That would never happen in Japan!! In America, maybe :)

But all in all, she said the people were friendly, and the best part was the food! According to her, ALL of the food was delicious! So delicious that even since she came back to Japan, many time she has already gone to Chinese or Hong Kong restaurants around the Osaka area.

Hope everyone has a good week!
Thank you Ms. Y for the great pics!

Okayama

Ms. e went to Okayama on a one day trip last weekend. Also, I believe the Doctor went back to his hometown, Okayama, last weekend too. I have heard many times that Okayama is a beautiful place with a lot of wonderful nature! Sounds perfect for me. Actually I have been to Okayama once many years ago... Hopefully I can go again sometime soon too.

Have you ever been to Okayama?

About the photos below, please read the "comments" for e`s great explanation.

Thank you e!

Take your trash home!!

Good morning. The other day I had a "mixed-feelings" experience. Recently I go hiking in Nigawa Mountain. I have a favorite waterfall and little river, or creek, which I like to play in. When I went there the first time, there was also another couple there. They were wearing wet suits (like for scuba), which I thought was a little much=overdoing it. I was onyl wearing an orange bathing suit. However, I realized later that they were wearing this scuba gear because they were also picking up trash in the water. I thought Ah, that is very nice of them."

The next time I went to this spot was about 3 days later. I was really excited to go, but when arrived I was shocked...there was a ton of trash everwhere!! So, instead of playing like a fish in the water, I decided to also clean up. I found some plstic bags and afetr about an hour, I filled to medium sized plastic bags with all different types of trash...plastic bottles, chlidren`s scuba shoes, boxer trunks, fihsing rods, fishing nets, coffee cans, cartons of tea and coffee and corn soup...it was all disgusting and i was disgusted, but I really felt it was my duty to clean up my new favorite spot. But the whole time I was wondering..."Why do people just leave their trash?", "Is it really so difficult to throw away your trash in a trash can?" I was a little irritated and agitated, and disappointed...but it was worth it. Next time I go there, I am going to bring abig black trash bag, but I am also going to enjoy the beauty of nature!! Look at the pics below please.

My wish for the July 7th festival yesterday is: Please, let`s all, make effort to keep our playground, nature, clean!

Graffiti, World heritage Sites, fuel surcharges, July 4th, and more


In the news this week was a story about graffiti. I think it was in Italy, at some famous World Heritage Site, maybe a famous cathedral, some graffiti was written on the stone walls. The coulprits who were caught were some Japanese high school students. The wrote their FULL NAMES, and School names, and year of graduation class. That`s real intelligent!! Sometimes a little more common sense is needed!! In Japanese schools they do not teach "Common Sense 101," but I think they should! I often see a "lack of common sense" around me on the train, in a restaurant, on the streets etc. If any Principals of schools out there are looking for a teacher of "Common Sense 101," please give me a call!

In addition, a Japanese man who is a baseball manager of a strong high school baseball team, wrote graffiti on one of these sites three years ago on his honeymoon. He said "Some guys were selling pens outside the place and the gusy said that if you write your names on the wall, it is good luck and you can be together and happy forever." So he wrote his name and his wife`s name in a heart. Somehow, he also got caught, and just yesterday was fired for this action. He was fired! He lost his job! Of course I do not condone writing graffiti, and I have never written any graffiti in my life, but this punishment is a little too severe, strict I think...
(p.s. my baseball manager threw a water cooler through the windshield of the other teams`s palyer`s moving car, and he was only suspended for a year. Now 15 years later, he coaches in University.)

How about you?

My thoughts about World Heritage sites... Japanese people are really interested in World heritage sites all over the world. Many people want to visit as many of them as they can...
I almost never hear Americans say "I really want to go to ____ World Heritage site." Are Japanese people to interested in these sites? Or are Americans too NOT interested in them?

Because of the recent surge in oil prices, gasoline and also airplane fuel is really expensive! And I don`t think it is going to subside, get any better, any time soon....For people who like to travel, like me, this is a little bit of a dilemna and really hits the wallet hard! Guess I will have to use the train, my bicycle, and my legs for a while...(The reason I didn`t mention boats is that I hate rowing boats!!)

Tomorrow is July 4th, Independence day in America. I am gonna have a bbq and do fireworks this Sunday to celebrate! (That is, if the weather holds out...)

Below are photos from Spain. Mr. Yu went there a while back and took these pics. He visited some World heritage sites too, BUT NO graffiti OF COURSE!!

Palembang, Indonesia

That`s where Mr. Ino is on a 6 month business trip. It`s not exactly the beauiful green rice fields of Bali, but he said he will do his best. He also writes a blog so I will periodically borrow some of his pictures and tell of some of his adventures. This is his first time on a 6 month business trip. He said that most of the natives don`t even speak English, and he also doesn`t speak Indonesian, so he is doing his best to communicate with hand gestures and body language! The pictures below are from his first day off. He also told me before his departure that he doesn`t like hot weather and he doesn`t like hot=spicey food!
So, I said "Good Luck :)" and I think that he will probably lose a few pounds while he is away.

Recently I read the net a lot...
On the net today I read another interesting article...It was about Ice coffee.
Ice coffee is a popular drink in Japan in the summer! I read that the coffee shops around town can`t make enough of them! Once in a while I drink Ice coffee, but usually I oder a hot coffee, regular, black. Some people are real picky about the beans, what kind of beans, where they are from, blah blah blah, but for me, I drink instand coffee=Nestle Cafe Gold Blend every day, so basically anything is OK.

Have you drank any Ice coffee recently?

Today was a beautiful and NOT humid day. It was nice...

The beach...

That`s where I wanna go next. I want to see a blue sky and green water and orangish sunset just like the photos below from Maui. Have you ever been to Maui? It is one of the places which I want to head to the next time I have a vacation.

This is Ms. N`s tale about her recent Hawaii trip:
FIRST I BOUGHT A SWIMSUIT, BIKINI!! THEN I WENT TO HAWAII AND...I SWAM ON WAKIKI BEACH AND IN THE LUXURIOUS POOL AND...AH--, I ATE LOBSTER AND STEAK(=Surf and turf) AND...AH---DE, AND ANOTHER DAY I WENT TO A FAMOUS RESTAURANT, AND THE RESTAURANT`S NAME IS...AH--- "ROY`S"...IT IS LIKE A FRENCH RESTAURANT, AND A BIG PLATE FOR JAPANESE(=the portions are big for japanese people), AND I DRANK WHITE WHINE, VERY VERY DELICIOUS, AND NOT EXPENSIVE, REASONABLE PRICE, AND AH--, THE LOCATION, NEAR "ROY`S", A HILL, IT WAS(=got) DARK A LITTLE BY LITTLE, THERE WERE A LOT OF STARS, VERY ROMANTIC. I RECOMMEND IT FOR COUPLES.

ANOTHER DAY, I WENT TO HAWAII ISLAND, IT WAS A LOCAL CITY, MORE THAN OAFU? ISLAND (sorry, i don`t know how to spell that), THERE WERE ...I HAVE A BAD MEMORY TOO...MOUNTAINS WITH FIRE...IT IS ON THE TIP OF MY TONGUE...HOW DO YOU SAY "kazan"...tell me the first spell...letter...V....Volcano! THERE WAS A VOLCANO. IT WAS VERY FAMOUS...AND THE VOLCANO IS MOVING NOW(=the volcano is active now.) BUT HAWAII ISLAND...THERE WAS A LOT OF RAIN (=IT RAINED A LOT.)

THERE WAS A CANDY SHOP, I FORGOT THE NAME, BUT VERY VERY DELICIOUS, MAYB E WE CAN BUY CANDY FROM THAT SHOP ON THE INTERNET...I REALLY DON`T LIKE SWEETS SO MUCH, BUT I WANT TO TO EAT IT AGAIN.

Great Blog Ms. N!! Thanks!

TOEIC

Recently, I heard some good news. I know three people who recently took the TOEIC test. Two of them took the test on the same day, and another person took it about one month before them.

For Mr. S, it was his first time to ever take the test. He had no idea what to expect, but he studiend pretty hard for TOEIC for about 3 month before the test, and he got 710! That was a great score for his first time!

Concerning Mr. Hyo, he had taken TOEIC almost every time there was a test since last November. He really needed 730, because that was the borderline score necessary to get into the school he wants to go to. After taking the test 3 or 4 times, he finally improved his score by over 100 points, and did it! He got 730 exactly! When I heard the message he left on my answering machine to give me the news, I was really happy.

And last but not least, Ms. M, she took the test for the first time in a number of years. She also studied really hard, and I think she followed my advice the most about studying internet newpaper articles every day, about the same story...(if you want to know more of my advice for taking TOEIC, ask me personally, and IF i like you, maybe I will tell you :) And she got 810! She seemed thrilled in the email which she sent me on last Monday telling me this great news! It was a great way to start my week!

They all also had soemthing in common. They all set their goal, and worked towards that goal sincerely and earnestly. I was impressed! So to all three of them, you did it!! Great job!
Do you have any goals? If yes, are you working towards them every day, or at least sometimes?

Below are some pics from Ms. E, who just came back from Orlando for a 1--day seminar. Thank you.

Drinking with friends...


A few days ago, I went out with two lovely ladies. We went to a place just around the corner, a restaurant called, "UmiBozu". You can translate this into "The beach monk"~ a pretty cool name.

They treated me to dinner because it was my birthday! Haha...I am just joking! First, they didn`t treat me to dinner=I am NOT that lucky! And secondly, it wasn`t my birthday. My b-day is October 23rd...just in case anyone forgot. We ate a good amount, drank a little, and really had a good time that night. It was fun!



I read on the net today, that according to a survey in America, one out of every four people who are late to work make an excuse of some sort. 32% of the late-to-work people make an excuse about the traffic or public transportation syste; "I got stuck in traffic, " "The train was delayed," "My car broke down." 17% just blame their lateness on oversleeping; "I overslept," "My alarm didn`t work=My alarm didn`t go off."



How about you? What do you say/do when you are late for work?

We are Ten and Ran!

Hi, our names are Ten and Ran. Our mother picked our names from the Japanese characters related to the festival on July 7th every year. We live in Namba and we love when our mother takes us for a walk. Ran used to be a breeder dog, so she is the mother of many dogs around the neighborhood. Now Ran is enjoying retired life. If you go to Namba, please lookf for us!

Ultraman, McDonald`s, and talking in your sleep...

What a beautiful day!! And what a clutch putt!!! Did you see Tiger Wood`s 18th hole birdie putt to force a playoff in the U.S. Open...Unbelievable! I literally jumped out of my chair, yelled in excited, and got goose bumps! He is truly the greatest golf player ever...
And Momoko Ueda, my favorite Japanese athlete, finally won a tournament this year! She broke down in tears after she made the winning putt on the 18th hole. It must have been very emotional for her...

Please read the "comments" for the Doc`s thoughts about Ultraman. I don`t know so much about Ultraman, but he says it is a big part of Japanese culture...What do you think?

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about talking in one`s sleep. Recently I heard that a Japanese friend of mine often screams "Oh my god!!!" in her sleep...I wonder what she is dreaming about?!

And, about the McDonals`s menu. Did you know that you can say;
"I`d like a burger with no pickles"
"I`d like a Double Cheese burger. Hold the cheese please(=No cheese please)"
"I`d like a Cheese bruger. Hold the burger please(=No burger/meat please...just bread and ketchup and cheese and pickles and vegetables...)"
It`s true! You can order all of the above at McDees and the clerk will give it to you. Some people order these types of things because of religious reasons, some order because of diet, health, vegetarian reasons, and some just order because the are weird...

Hope everyone has a good week!!

That`s a good looking Lady!! and the guy next to her ain`t so bad himself... :)

(refers to photo below)

To continue on the Speedo suit news, the other day Kitajima, the already legendary Olympic medal swimmer in Japan, wore a tee-shirt that said "I AM SWIMMER" the other day at the Japan Championships. He broke the world record and looked really strong. Later he officially announced he will wear the Speedo suit and not wear the suit made by his sponsor Mizuno.

I spoke about this topic with two people last night. We all couldn`t figure out why the Japanese swimsuit makers couldn`t make a suit like the one Speedo made. To find out the reason, please read the "comments". Thanks for the interesting comments Mr. H!

Next time I am gonna talk about the "Secret?Strange menu of McDonald`s."

Enjoy the sunny afternoon!

As I have said before, I love sweatsuits, or jerseys as some people refer to them. Speaking of sports wear, recently there has been a bit of a controversey about what company`s swimming suits the members of the Japanese Olympic swimmming team will wear. I think the sponsors for the Japanese team are Mizuno, and Asics, and one more, but I forget. Some of the athletes also have individual contracts with the sponsor. But recently a new swim suit made by Speedo has been getting a lot of attention, and athletes all over the wolrd, including Japanese atletes, who wear this suit have been breaking many world and best records. So many Japanese athletes want to wear the suit made by Speedo regardless of the team`s sponsor...

More on this tomorrow or the next day. Also, I will writing about talking and walking in one`s sleep.

Have a good night.