3:00 p.m. Some people are having nine consecutive day-offs for the so-called Golden Week this year, though workers on the lower part of the social ladder like myself, cannot enjoy the luxury of taking today and tomorrow off.

So here I am, driven by a mountain of things to do. Can't help thinking it could've been better if it had been a normal weekend.

The End

Caterpillar

5:09 p.m. Finishing up work before the holidays. Have been skimming through Google news when my eyes stopped on a hyper-linked headline in the sports column. It said, "Women's Handball Starts Practice."

Is that news? I mean, it must be news to some people, especially for enthusiastic handball fans, but is it so important as to make the headlines on Google news?

The End

Caterpillar

2:17 p.m. There had been rainstorm warnings since yesterday and sure enough, it's been raining cats and dogs until a while ago but the worst seems to be over.

4:51 p.m. Finally had the chance to review Tennou-sho's video. Orfevre was approximately thirty lengths behind the front runner when they were at the backstretch. The gap was shortened to approximately ten lengths by the time Beat Black hit the wire, so that means Orfevre has closed the gap by twenty lengths in the last six furlongs. That wasn't such a bad performance, after all. If he'd positioned himself ten lengths ahead, it might even have been possible for him to win. Therefore, it is natural to think Orfevre will make a come back in the near future.

The End

Caterpillar

6:50 p.m. It's been a couple of weeks since I last touched my Python program, last time being quite satisfied, having nearly finished a simple script I'd been working on. Think I'll just add a few more lines to finish it up.

11:50 p.m. Program is not behaving properly after I've added a couple more lines... Why? What did I do?

The End

Caterpillar

2:58 p.m. It's a beautiful sunny day with warm breeze flowing and I'm sitting at home fiddling with my lap-top, trying to catch up on my left-over work. Sounds miserable, though actually am feeling pretty good, probably because of the weather.

Okay, let's take a look at the NHK Mile Cup. Hmmm. Mount Shasta looks good. Experiencing 1800m at Hashin would be an advantage, I figured that out last spring. Considering the rivals he's been racing against, it won't be a surprise if he performed well in Tokyo mile (G1). Curren Black Hill is the most favored as of this afternoon, however, don't think I should go against him since his race style fits the current track condition of Tokyo perfectly. A third horse, if I'm to name one, would be Hana's Goal. So far, it seems to me that these three horses are the closest to winning. By the way, what happened to Historical?

The End

Caterpillar

3:15 p.m. Oh, god. It's raining like crazy down in Tokyo race tracks. That means it won't be long before it hits our neighborhood.

3:23 p.m. Here it cooomes! Eeee! Cannot hear the sound of TV because of the rain hitting against our windows. Hope it won't break the glass.

3:50 p.m. Curren Black Hill has took the lead and held on to it to earn the grade one title. There seemed to have been an accident at the homestretch, and I can see the jockey rolling on the turf.

3:56 p.m. Oh, god. My key horse Mount Shasta has been disqualified due to obstructing the path of Shigeru Sudachi, who stumbled and eventually threw off its jockey. Why does Ikee Stable always have to raise a fuss? Anyway, what a wild race.

The End

Caterpillar

1:43 p.m. Back to work again. I've had my personal goals for the holidays, though it turns out that haven't achieved anything, ANYTHING. I had four days, that's ninety-six hours. Putting aside time for meals and sleep, still I had at least fifty hours of free time. And there's not one thing I've achieved over the holidays.

I haven't caught up on work, most of it remains untouched, have started writing new Python script but am totally stuck with it, haven't cleaned my room, haven't reviewed NHK Mile, have finished NOTHING. What was I doing all this time? Am completely incompetent.

The End

Caterpillar

2:02 p.m. I've got a sort of rash on my both of my palms. It appeared at the stem of my thumbs a couple of weeks ago, I think, and it's been there ever since. It gets itchy sometimes, though not so much as to distract my attention. Think it's time I found out about it, so I'll go search.

Turned out that it's called "pustulosis of palms and soles," and is defined as "a chronic recurrent pustular dermatosis localized on the palms and soles only, characterized histologically by intraepidermal vesicles filled with neutrophils," whatever that means. Anyway, have done some research and concluded that my staying up late must have triggered a disorder in my immune system. That explains this pustulosis and the toothache that suddenly struck me at the beginning of Golden Week. I definitely need some rest.

The End

Caterpillar

2:59 p.m. Have read that pustulosis of palms and soles is caused when the balance of intestinal bacterium breaks down for some reason.

Oh no. Did I eat too much Natto(fermented soya beans)?

The End

Caterpillar

2:02 p.m. Rain has started to fall. There was no sign of rain just half an hour ago, but then it suddenly started getting dark about ten minutes ago. Here it comes.

2:04 p.m. Have just seen a streak of lightning flash. One, two, three, four, counting... five, six, thunder rumbling. Thundercloud approximately eighteen kilometers away, roughly calculating?

There had been warnings of sudden rainstorm, thunder, and tornado all day, so have been on alert. Although had told Cow to go shopping before the storm hit, he had been lingering on too long that rain had started falling in huge drops by the time he left.

2:20 p.m. Stupid Cow has returned wet. Apparently, umbrella turned out useless. Proves his misconduct.

The End

Caterpillar

2:57 p.m. I'd bought a copy of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol before Golden Week, as a treat for my winning Satsuki-sho. I've finished reading it last week and as usual, was immediately influenced by it.

There is a part in the lyrics of Let It Be that goes, "mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom let it be," which suddenly occured to me that the term "speaking words of wisdom" could be supporting the idea that the Bible contained encrypted words of lost wisdom. Awe. Perhaps John Lennon knew about it?

The End

Caterpillar

2:09 p.m. Have just picked up a lip-dub of Kelly Clarkso's song, "Stronger," made by the patients on the hemnocology floor of Seattle Children's Hospital. I suggest you see it before saying anything. Stronger

There were critical comments posted on YouTube and unfortunately my pal Cow didn't seem to appreciate it as much as I did, probably because he couldn't understand the English lyrics of the song, but I was touched. It made me feel ashamed of my laziness when these little people and their family, doctors, nurses are fighting fierce battles.

Fake or not fake, intended to gather money or not, think it's a time when a submitted video on YouTube can make a difference. No matter what people say, at least here's one person who was inspired to feel ‘Stronger’.

The End

Caterpillar

11:40 a.m. eating brunch. Have stayed up till late reading a Val McDermid novel I'd signed out at the library. Thus the brunch. Must start calling the race. It's the Victoria Mile today.

2:38 p.m. Marcelina seems promising. The performance of All That Jazz in the prep race has caught my eye, so I decided to go for a triplet keying Marcelina and All That Jazz on a wheel of Apapane, Fumino Imagine, Apricot Fizz and Whale Capture.

4:00 p.m. All That Jazz sank in 16th place after helplessly staggering in the back against Fumino Imagie. Although I'd analyzed last week's NHK Mile dutifully and made a mental note to cut out the horses which have already run more than three races, over the distance of 1800 meters since the beginning of this year, I'd forgotten completely about it.

The End

Caterpillar

2:21 p.m. Right. Will go over results of Oaks going back ten years by the end of the week, write out what I must be careful about on Post-its and stick it on my calendar, which I've finally torn off three pages and caught up with the current date. That will be a good reminder when I call the race next Sunday.

Since I was rejected of my presents by my own mother when I was twenty-one, I haven't cared about Mother's Day. As for most of you, it must be a good chance to show some thankfulness and love. Although it's a day late for Mother's Day, here's a clip that could inspire you a bit. Thank You Mom

Okay, everyone. Let's run home and say thanks to our mom.

The End

Caterpillar

2:49 p.m. Cow is playing Carpenters on his lap-top.

2:54 p.m. Now the song has moved on to the opening theme of Claymore. Don't know the title of the song but have heard it so many times that I can sing the melody with no trouble. Not a very good choice for a suddenly extraordinarily cool and gloomy day, anyway.

The End

Caterpillar

2:05 p.m. Cow and I saw a submitted video titled "One Hungry Fish" yesterday, in which a poor duckling paddling on the surface of a river or a pond, to our horror and surprise, gets swallowed up by some fish. Aaaaaarrrrgh!!

We sat there shocked, as Cow absent-mindedly scrolled down to view the comments. One of them quoted from a children's song called "Hina no Uta," a well known song from NHK's 5-minute program, Minnna-no Uta.

The quoted part of the lyrics, when put to English, said, "1, 2, 3, 4, little ducklings; 5, 4, 3, 2, they've disappeared." Aaaaaaarrrrghhhh!! The shock was too much for us and we both started laughing stupidly. We just sort of snapped, I guess.

Since then, the song has been spinning around in my head. Very frightening. Can't believe that some children's songs have such cruel lyrics, which definitely seems unsuitable for children's songs.

The End

Caterpillar

2:33 p.m. Have started taking over-the-counter antiflatulent tablets called Miyarisan. It is supposed to contain butyric acid bacterium, which produces proper balance of intestinal bacterium.

Am not sure if it's effective, though the pain in my neck and shoulder blade seems to have subsided slightly. The pustulosis on my palm also seems to have subsided a bit. At least I haven't found any new ones erupting. Am going to stay on it for a couple of days and see what happens.

The End

Caterpillar

2:44 p.m. Had learned from the previous Internet search, that my pustulosis seem to come from lack of a sort of vitamin called biotin. Have also read some journals written by ex-patients which all said something about severe pain in the neck or back. The pain in my neck wasn't that bad, but I shuddered at the thought of it getting worse until it was actually severe.

In order to supply enough biotin to the normal level, it said on the Internet, that it was better to take them in supplement, since you had to consume about a ton of beef liver every day to take in enough bitotin from food, according to a website article.

As I had some time, I stopped by a bookstore on my way home yesterday, to check a food composition table just to make sure about the biotin thing. Acording to the newest table supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the rough amount of biotin you need to take in per day is fifty micro grams, which is roughly equivalent to a stick of liver Yakitori, five egg yolks, or ninety peanuts.

So much for Internet searching.

The End

Caterpillar

2:26 p.m. I was too caught up in worrying about my pustulosis and, at work, of course, that I haven't done any preparations for Oaks yet, though I had been determined to finish it by the end of the week.

I'm looking at the online racing form in a hurry since have a meeting from 3:30. Haven't looked at it in detail so cannot assure you, but think the horses that improved their performances when their race distance has been extended in their short career up until now, would be the ones to keep an eye on. Those running more than three races in the past five months, especially if the distances were over 1800m, should be of no concern because they might not have enough stamina left to win tomorrow. Must keep that in mind, since have already screwed up twice because of it. Can't afford to make the same mistake three times.

The End

Caterpillar

5:43 p.m. Unbelievable. Oaks has finished with Ouka-sho's first and second horse sliding into the same position and Kiseno-sato has missed his one-in-a-million chance to win the Ozumo summer tournament.

There were times when Ouka-sho winners also became Oaks winners, but the second horse in Ouka-sho coming in second in Oaks is something I've never seen before. Perhaps the late-comers from Floral Stakes or Sweetpea Stakes simply weren't fast nor tough enough to beat the Ouka-sho pair. Wonder if the situation could also be applied to Japanese D'erby.

The End

Caterpillar

2:18 p.m. Ozumo and Oaks were not the only unbelievable things that happened yesterday. My jaws dropped, as I got out of bath and opened the fridge to drink my Yakult(a kind of lactic acid bacteria drink) that I'd saved for this occasion. They had vanished into thin air.

It was Friday when I got four free sample bottles of special Yakult from a Yakult sales lady. They were special drinks that were not sold in stores, but hand-delivered to customers by Yakult ladies. I'd given a bottle to Mama-Cow, and decided to save the rest until later because I was on Miyarisan at the time.

Last night they had completely disappeared. Come to think of it, think I've heard JoOusama babbling something about not having any straws, some time around three yeterday afternoon. That must have been the time when she'd given away my Yakult to my sister's kids without even asking me.

It didn't start today, but why couldn't she ask? How could she give my things away without even asking my permission? How selfish and irresponsible.

The End

Caterpillar

2:02 p.m. Forecast says that the temperature today, is as same as around the end of March, though it would rocket up tomorrow, to that of around the end of July. Just to remind you, it's May now. Do they really know what they're saying?

Think it's been a couple of years since we started experiencing this rapid ups and downs in temperature, especially at the turn of the season. Unfortunately, we haven't got used to it, in fact, we're getting fed up with it thrown about this way and that, every time the temperature shots up or drops down.

Well, actually there's a victim of this climate change sitting next to me, coughing, blowing his nose. Must be careful not to pick it up.

The End

Caterpillar

2:21 p.m. It transpired that the horse I'd keyed on my wheel for the Japanese Oaks Midsummer Fair, had damaged the ligament in her left foreleg, according to today's Yahoo! JAPAN News. It is uncertain if she'd hurt it during the race, but the trainer has announced to give her a long rest.

No wonder she sank in 13th place. Should be aware though, that the injury suggest that she could have been overworked or tired. The idea might actually help me in calling the Japanese D'erby.

The End

Caterpillar

2:37 p.m. Came in late today. I just couldn't get up.

Don't know what's got me, but something has been eating me up these days. Can't stay away from books or TV. Feel like I can't call it a day unless I read or watch TV and once I start, can't stop till I've read or watched for at least an hour.

Have been trying to get out of my night-owl routine after I've been bothered with that pustulosis on my palms and the pain in my neck and shoulder blade however, the obsession with reading or watching TV has been dragging me back to my nocturnal life. Feel must do something. But what?

The End

Caterpillar

3:20 p.m. Have picked up great idea from a cooking program on TV yesterday, on how to make tender juicy boiled pork. I remembered having boiled pork when JoOusama cooked it for New Year, though it was far from juicy, rather stiff and flaky. If I could cook just as the instructor in the program had said, perhaps I could make a juicy boiled pork.

I tried right away as suggested on TV, and brought it for lunch today. Mmmm. Tender and juicy.

So here's how to make a juicy boiled pork. Put a chunk of pork loin with green onion and a clove of ginger into a pot, then put enough water in it so that it covers the top of the pork. Bring to a boil and remove foam from top. Cook over low heat for forty minutes. And here comes the tip. When finished cooking, leave the pork to cool down in the cooked water. That way, it will prevent the moisutre from evaporating and keep the pork tender and juicy.

The End

Caterpillar

1:20 p.m. Okay. The Japanese D'erby. These are the horses am thinking of betting on so far; Gold Ship, World Ace, Fenomeno and Grandezza.

Have done my homework this week, though am thinking of giving it a good pondering later after work, than sleep on it and make my final decision tomorrow. Hope I could win. It will be the second crown for me if I do, since have won Satsuki-sho this season. Wish me luck.

The End

Caterpillar

10:24 p.m. Am down. After a good deal of consideration, have cut out Grandezza and bought World Ace, Fenomeno, Historical and Cosmo Ozora instead, on a trio wheel keying Gold Ship.

The result, as you might already know, was a disaster. The horses from Satsuki-sho didn't make it up to the top 3 except for Deep Brillante, which I'd daringly cut out without a moment's hesitation. I thought that Satsuki-sho was a higher level race than Japanese D'erby prep races, especially after I'd seen Japanese Oaks. But I was wrong. Terribly wrong.

The End

Caterpillar

3:35 p.m. Perhaps the results might have been different if Gold Ship had raced more up front, but then, you never know how the jockey is going to lead his horse until the race is actually run.

We're having Yasuda Kinen this weekend, though I just don't feel like I could win.

3:40 p.m. Huge raidrops started falling with the sound of rolling thunder. Sudden storm again. Save me.

The End

Caterpillar

3:43 p.m. Have been totally discouraged by the Japanese D'erby, that I think I need a break to restore my faith. I wish I could take a sick leave or something.

That is luxury beyond imagination in my current circumstance, because I have no money, no time and no place to go. Sounds so pathetic, tears, tears.

Well, thankfully, it's till Tuesday. Give it a little time and maybe I'll pull myself together. Who knows, something good might turn up by weekend.

The End

Caterpillar

1:52 p.m. Lately, the news of Japanese junior high schools starting to teach dancing as part of their P.E. curriculum has been making the headlines. Have even read about P.E. teachers taking special dance lessons for the purpose in the papers.

This is absolutely ridiculous. I think dancing, as well as music, art, or language, cannot be taught. I mean, they're something you learn through your experience, skills not techniques. Techniques can be passed on or taught, but skills must be learned by its performer. When parts of your body start moving to a melody or a rhythm, I'd say you're already dancing. Dance, music, art and language are all a manner of expression.

I wonder if Japanese kids from junior highs will be dancing unison like a bunch of backup dancers when they're asked to dance? Are we trying to mass-produce robots or what?

The End

Caterpillar

3:44 p.m. Might have caught cold again. Have managed to recover from previous cold only before Golden Week and now I'm catching another one. Twice in two months with pustulosis in between seems to point out that my immune system is down. Won't be surprised if I had more serious disease that I'm not yet aware of.

Since I've been having a series of health problems recently, have belatedly started drinking vegetable juice every morning. Have always been aware my diet lacked vitamins, thanks to JoOusama's nutritiously unbalanced meals, so I researched a couple of supermarkets and come up with this vegetable juice called Bitamin Yasai, a product of a Japanese beverage manufacturer, Itoen.

Bitamin Yasai, is a small carton of 100& vegetable and fruit juice (consisting of 50& of each), also containing biotin (known as vitamin B7) and niacin, I think, both of which typical Japanese diet tend to lack, together with 1000mg of vitamin C. I figured it would be perfect for my current condition. And they only cost 68 yen a carton (200ml) at the nearest supermarket.

The End

Caterpillar