9:46 p.m. Phew. Got over annual family ritual of getting together over Osechi (New Yewar's feast), and came back up to the safety of my room. And look what's on Tokyo MX! Billy Joel! Why? Why? Apparently it's his concert from the late seventies or early eighties, because the band members are the same with the guys on the Glass House album, and Billy's young, not to mention.

Copyright BBC, 1978. Bingo. Very good start for a new year. Especially good after depressing family gathering.

The End

Caterpillar

Over the last week of 2012, I read "What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20" by Tina Seelig. Dr. Tina Seelig is the executive diredtor for STVP (Stanford Technology Ventures Program) the entrepreneurship center at Stanford University. I've seen her lectures on NHK, and have been fascinated ever since. I was finally able to buy her best-selling book which I had been wanting to buy for months, and having read it, was both inspired and encouraged. The biggest message I received from it was to challenge assumptions without being afraid of making mistakes.

11:44 p.m. As a new challenge, I spent the whole day mending my ripped jeans. I've learned that it wasn't an easy job, rather tedious, exhausting and time-consuming, but figured I can mend it successfully in the course of a couple of days. Am confident now, that this experience would eventually lead me to the success of mending my coat which I had been passed down from Obaba. Hope to enjoy the challenging spirit this year.

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Caterpillar

11:27 p.m. Oh my god. Cannot believe another day has flew past already. Have been stripping off Velcro tapes from the down jacket which was another heritage of Obaba, and replacing it with a zipper I bought at Daiso. The forecast said it's going to be cold tomorrow though am planning to go for a Hatsu-moude (first visit to the shrines), and am going to wear this down jacket to keep myself warm enough.

It took me more than had expected, but the down jacket is finished now and can zip it up and down. Hmmm. Very much satisfied with my work.

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Caterpillar

7:12 p.m. Have been to Katori Jinja (Katori shrine) near Kameido. It said on a map for shrine visitors that the place was known for bringing good fortune with money, but it turned out that the shrine was appealing good luck for sports and culture.

Anyway, I prayed for health and peace and drew a sue-kichi(future blessing) omikuji. Sigh. It's been years since I drew Dai-kichi. How much longer does god expect me to keep working hard? Cow drew a dai-kichi(great blessing) which backed up his good fortune for this year. How come it's always Cow who gets all the goodies? Never mind. I'll ask Santa for a nice little Arima-kinen victory this year.

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Caterpillar

5:00 p.m. Totally defeated by Kinpai. Have been looking forward to this day and called the two races enthusiastically, but my devotion turned out fruitless. A year's blank has thrown me completely out of range. Not that I was tuned before. And the sad thing is that just like Arima-kinen, I'll have to wait another year to get another shot at Kinpai.

9:34 p.m. Realize that my winter vacation is coming to an end, and yet not much has changed since last year. My room is still helplessly lost in confusion, my coat still not mended, things I'd planned to do during these presious day-offs, mostly untouched and undone. There must have been some things that got done, though cannot recall anything for now. Was imagining reborn self glowing with pride and eagerness at the beginning of a new year when the last day of 2012 was about to be over, however, the truth is, you can't change that easily.

The End

Caterpillar

9:34 p.m. Only a little left of winter vacation since work starts tomorrow. Not much have been achieved, but I've enjoyed every moment of it. And I think that's what counts.

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Caterpillar

1:55 p.m. Work has started though I don't feel like working. As you might already know, this happens every time I get back to work from vacations.

I wish there was a miracle cure for it. The only way I know how to break away from this curse is to get up and start doing something. So don't just sit here and lament about it, get moving.

The End

Caterpillar

2:43 p.m. I stopped by a stationary store yesterday, on my way home, to buy some black ink cartridges for the whiteboard markers we use at the office. The markers are designed to replace the ink cartridges with refills, so you don't have to buy new markers every time the ink dries up. I've always liked this design because it helps to keep the cost low.

There were red, blue, green, orange ink cartridges neatly lined up in boxes, but the black box was empty. How could they have run out of black? Isn't black the most used color when writing on whiteboards? Then how come there's no black cartridge left in stock while all the other colors are there?

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Caterpillar

2:06 p.m. Some of you might think I was simply met with bad luck, and I'd probably accepted it the same way before. But lately I came to think that there is no such thing as luck as Lincoln Rhyme (god, am obsessed with Lincoln Rhyme) says. The fact that I couldn't buy black ink refills for my markers was not caused by pure luck, it was a consequence of the store staffs' negligence. They could have easily guessed that black ink could sell out and, considering the holiday shift of the manufacturer and its sales reps, could have ordered more than they actually had, which apparently, they didn't.

Therefore, have decided to stop by this stationary store every day until those black ink refills show up on the shelf. For your information, the black ink cartridge box was still empty as of yesterday. Wonder how long it will take them to restock.

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Caterpillar

3:36 p.m. Day 3 of going without black ink cartridge. No sign or obvious attempt to restock them so far. Have asked Cow to print out some files though my files are nowhere to be seen.

I wonder what is wrong with these people.

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Caterpillar

3:38 p.m. Day 4 without cartridge. Don't know how much longer I can hold out without black. Don't they ever check stock-outs, by the way? I thought it was one of the most important tasks of daily operations in retailing businesses.

Have decided to be generous and give them a week to store the cartridges, but I might as well start looking for other retailers.

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Caterpillar

2:22 p.m. Was going to write Day 5 without cartridge, but I didn't go to check the store yesterday. I do have other places to go, you know. I bet there weren't any cartridges yet, anyway.

2:25 p.m. One of Cow's client has gone home to get his USB Flash memory. He lives within two minutes' walk's distance. He's been gone for over twenty minutes now. Hope he won't be found under a pile of rubbish tomorrow.

2:36 p.m. Thank god, he's back.

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Caterpillar

7:25 p.m. To my surprise, the stationary store has retsocked black refill cartridges for whiteboard markers in the last minute. It was Day 6 yesterday, since I started counting, only a day before the 7th X-Day when I was going to swipe the store out of my ‘regulars’ list. They must have heard the rumor somewhere and called up the manufacturer in a rush.

Lee San, the Korean drama is going to have a grand finale with the broadcasting of tonight's last episode. Must see that. I've forgot to record From Up On Poppy Hill aired Friday night, as well as the annual observation of the Quadrantids on January 4th. I can't stand to forget any more.

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Caterpillar

11:02 a.m. Oh, no it's snowing. Thought it would be rain because the temperature wouldn't be that low.

Just remembered that it'd snow even in this temperature as long it was dry. No, no, it's piling up. No wonder the afternoon races had all been cancelled at Nakayama race tracks. It'd be very dangerous racing in this snow. Besides, you won't be able to tell which horse is which. All the horses would look like gray.

5:10 p.m. Still snowing. Am worried about tomorrow's transportatin. It's not hard to assume that the trains wouldn't be running on schedule.

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Caterpillar

2:37 p.m. The train and subway both got delayed as expected. I left twenty minutes earlier than usual, but the delay had eaten up my advantage and barely made it in time for my morning meeting.

Despite of the worries I had, my tattered rain boots had managed to keep my socks dry from the snow-piled streets, thanks to the nail top coat. Still, top coat is made to apply on nails, not cracked boots. I noticed it coming off miserably when I pored over my boots before lunch. It might not hold until I get home.

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Caterpillar

1:55 p.m. Nail top coat seemed to have held out longer than have imagined. True, my left toe was a little wet when I got home, but my right foot was miraculously dry.

Starting to feel that maybe I could manage a couple more years with these boots. Though I have a hunch they won't be able to stand rainfall, especially when it comes down full force.

The End

Caterpillar

5:14 p.m. I came across the name Edward de Bono, known as the father of lateral thinking (whatever that is), while I've been searching for some lecture video of Tina Seelig. A little more searching led me to one of his books in the library, so I've signed it out and am now reading a book called "Letters to Thinkers," which seems to be a collective version of serial essays in the papers.

He has a unique perspective which I found very interesting, and the often used drawings describing them from a physical approach are also interesting. The drawings are helpful, too, as am struggling to comprehend at some parts, due to my lack of English skills.

By now I know for a fact and feel strongly, the need to improve my English skills, vocabulary included. I just don't know what exactly I should do to improve it.

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Caterpillar

3:36 p.m. I haven't been just sitting around whining about my lack of English skills, though. I'd started watching English TV dramas from last spring (probably around April), however, to my dismay, I discovered that I couldn't keep up with the conversation in the drama although I could understand the gist of the episodes.

So I've started downloading short speeches from TED around last November, I think. I sync them to my iPod, and do shadowing while I walk to the station on my way home from work (I don't have the courage to do it in broad daylight).

I don't feel any drastic differences after I've started the shadowing exercise, but I think am getting a little better at following the conversations that take part in the drama. I can catch most of what the actors are saying if I focus on it. Wonder if that could be called an improvement.

The End

Caterpillar

2:50 p.m. The temperature has gone below zero this morning, even here in Tokyo. Brrrrr. And because of this low temperature, there are still piles of Monday's snow left on the side of the streets. As a matter of fact, alleys around my neighborhood are still mostly frozen.

Our roof veranda wasn't an exception to this, but it hadn't occurred to me when I got out on it to have a smoke last night. I stepped on a frozen puddle and well, my sandals got stuck to the ice. It was dark and I didn't realize that my sandals have stuck to the ice, so I lifted my foot to start for a less colder safety of my room. RIP! came the tearing sound from my foot while off came the top half of my left sandal. Oh, no.

I've been debating whether I should buy an adhesive that costs about 600 yen, hesitating because I'd already poured in the same amount of money to mend my rain boots, but I guess I'll have to buy it now.

The End

Caterpillar

7:39 p.m. The forecast in the evening news said it would start snowing from late evening tomorrow until around noon of Tuesday. As I've said, alleys in my neighborhood and the road I take on my commuting route is still partly covered with frozen snow from last Monday. What is going to happen if snow piles on top of it? How long would it take to melt back into the original form? I really think residents along these roads should clear away the snow.

And there's also the problem of my leaking boots. Haven't bought the adhesive yet. It hurts me to just imagine spending 600 more yen for those boots. Am thinking of applying nail top coat again on the seemingly leaking places, though am not sure if that could get me through this week.

The End

Caterpillar

3:42 p.m. Have checked out rain cloud prediction animation a few hours ago, but there seemed to be no sign of rain nor snow at the time. At least until 6:00 p.m.

Good, good. Hope the sky holds till I get home since I saved up my boots today and wore my fake Converse instead, to prepare them for the coming rain or snow, whichever it would be. I've applied a fresh new layer of nail top coat last night, watching Dong Yi, the new drama broadcasted after Lee San had finished. Surely, the new coat needs some time to dry off completely as to offer enough protection against rain or snow.

The End

Caterpillar

2:48 p.m. It turns out that the predicted snow had turned into rain. Understandable, since I remember thinking it was too warm to snow last night.

I wore THE rainboots today, which seemed to have kept my socks dry until I got to the office, but it has stopped raining by noon, so I couldn't see for sure if the new layer of top coat has really worked in stopping the leak.

Also, a problem has come up with the new layer. Part of it is already coming off. I'd might have applied it too thick from fear of not putting enough to stop the leak. Noted. Must be careful next time.

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Caterpillar

5:11 p.m. Something in what I've said has triggered my client's memory about British comedy, Red Dwarf. From then, the whole session turned into trivia talk about Red Dwarf, ending up with Cow searching on YouTube.

It was fun to watch and I remember I'd enjoyed it, but unfortunately, I'm too busy watching Glee and Sherlock now that I can't spare time to watch Red Dwarf. Maybe some time in the future. Though I know that some time would probably never come.

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Caterpillar

3:55 p.m. Who said it was going to snow today? I've made and brought Kasu-jiru(Sake cake stew) for lunch because I thought it'd be real cold. And it's not either snowy or that cold.

Well, I enjoyed the Kasu-jiru, anyway. Besides the enjoyable taste of Kasu-jiru, Sake-kasu(Sake cake) is known as healthy food. Who knows? It might even cure my pultosis.

The End

Caterpillar

3:15 p.m. Am getting confused. Have been reading Edward De Bono's Letters to Thinkers, which I found both inspiring and interesting. It's a book full of approaches, advice and exercises to think better.

But I don't know how to apply the precious information in this book to my real life. There are tons of problems I'd lilke to solve, but am not sure how exactly I should tackle them. It might be more important to start tackling them rather than worrying about the outcome or the procedures. But what exactly should I do first? Should I start juggling all the problems at once or should I tackle them one at a time? What are the specific tools I can use to solve them and how should I put them to use in order to make the best out of it?

The End

Caterpillar

1:33 p.m. I felt I had to do something to get out of my confused state. So I took some sheets of paper and a pen, and started writing out the things that occupied my head. It's strange, but somehow the task of writing things on paper has always cleared my head, so it might have been quite natural that I turned to this familiar method.

I wrote out how I felt at the time, describing as best I could in words. Then I started thinking why I felt that way, writing out the things which I thought had caused that feeling.

By the time I had filled out the sheets of paper with scribbles, my head was cleared and I was able to look at what caused the confusion from an objective point of view. I thought it was as good time as any, so I also took this opportunity to sort out the current problems I face, and tried seeking for solutions. Perhaps I was under influence of Edward De Bono too much, just as I'm usually easily influenced by books and dramas, but the thinking has eventually lead me to solutions I'd never realized before.

The End

Caterpillar

9:20 p.m. Have just learned on the TV weather report that it's going to snow again. Oh, no, no, no, no, noooooo!

They said it would only snow for several hours but it could pile up 1 or 2 centimeters in the Kanto area, with a possibility of roads freezing again. Am terrified that there would be delays in public transportation. The last time it snowed, I left the house with a twenty minute gain though the delay had eaten it all up. Oh, I hate it when I have to leave early.

The End

Caterpillar

2:02 p.m. I didn't have to worry after all. It seems it did snow but most of it had melted away by the time I got up.

And there's also good news involving the weather. According to the long term forecast of the next three months, February is going to be warmer than usual. That's a big relief. February is annually one of the toughest month to survive with low temperature, dryness, and the notorious cedar pollen.

The End

Caterpillar

1:35 p.m. I was asked to help someone with the TOEIC test. Unexpected offers seem to pop up from nowhere. Apparently, the person who's applying for the test wants to gain at least 100 points.

So I've been searching and thinking, what I can do to help. Personally, I think TOEIC isn't a pratical test to measure one's English skill, because it only tests the skill in listening and reading, apart from the Bridge test. Those are all input. So I don't think it's a very reliable test when it comes to how effective one is in using English as a second language.

It's been five years since I took the test myself, and I'm not sure what I can do since my case is a little different from an average Japanese. Think I'll start from learning more about TOEIC.

The End

Caterpillar

2:52 p.m. A shocking banner hanging from a kiosk rack was telling that JRA jockey, Katsumi Ando as known as An-Katsu was retiring.

Well, it wasn't so shocking, come to think of it. He's fifty-two, getting close to the age when Okabe had retired at fifty-three or fifty-four. I haven't seen him race, moreover win a grade one race in a while. It reminded me that nothing can stop time.

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Caterpillar

4:27 p.m. A cat called Sam seems to be gaining attraction on instagram. What's special about him is that he's got eyebrows that makes him look, well, worried. Here's a link for those who want to check out how he looks. Sam Has Eyebrows.

Such eyebrows are called "Hachi-mayu(literally, eight eyebrows)" in Japanese slang, because they resemble the form of the Kanji numeral representing eight. Cow's got a pair. I never thought I'd see them on a cat's face, though.

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Caterpillar