2:44 p.m. Once again, am fighting terrible sleepiness since have been up till morning last night. Had to find out the procedures to add the memory to my computer however, had already got rid of the ‘service assistant’ application in a desperate attempt to squeeze out more memory space, the application which turned out to include instructions and procedures on how to add memory. So had to reinstall it from the CD which took me nearly an hour, not unexpected, since it took me about the same when had unistalled it, update the application, then struggle with it for another hour to find out where exactly, the procedures were at. And the worst part was, that all this started from 1:30 this morning, because Obaba had complained that her TV broke and I was made to fix that before I started with my computer. How could she have broke the TV when she is only capable of using the on/off button and the channel buttons? Eventually found out that the TV wasn't actually broken, but had all the plugs pulled out somehow.

3:02 p.m. Cow just went out to pick up the memory that has arrived at a convenience store and came back. Goody, it's here! But in an unsuitably large box. Well, I've got it now, anyway. Must work on adding it to my computer tonight.

The End

Caterpillar

1:34 p.m. Extremely sleepy, again. I even felt dizzy last night because of little sleep, but hung on and finally completed my mission of adding the memory to my lap-top. As I had taken notes from the ‘service assistant manual’ which took me hours to reinstall and update it the other day, the mission was executed smoothly. Had to take off a pair of screws to get the keyboard off, but that wasn't much trouble. The biggest highlight was the attachment of the new memory. I inserted the memory oblique to the slot as it had said in the manual, and tried to push the other side down ‘gently until it clicks into place.’ Oooh, it was thrilling. Fighting fear that I might break the memory card, I pressed the edges of it feeling force against my fingers thinking that it was like a chichken race. After a few minutes that seemed like forever, I won the chicken race and had the memory card in the slot with a ‘click!’

2:14 p.m. Hoooorraaay! Memory of lap-top has increased from 256MB to 736MB (32MB are for VRAM)! Mission complete! Hope can sleep as much as I want to tonight...

The End

Caterpillar

7:00 p.m. Thursdays somehow turn out to be busy every week and today wasn't an exception. Had barely had time for a cigarette break, while Cow has been fighting on a virtual land called "the Methon Plains."

7:04 p.m. Meanwhile, the performance of my lap-top seems to have improved. Didn't think it made much difference when I launched after adding the memory a couple of days ago, but think it moved quicker last night when I took in songs from my CD to sync with my iPod. Well, ex-programmer Ogghy had said that he'd pay for the memory card if the PC performance didn't improve, which means that he was sure that it would. Personally don't think it has changed that drastically, though... Still, it's faster and I'm satisfied enough.

7:25 p.m. Oh. Must check out the members and post positions for the Yasuda Kinen (The final leg of the Asian Mile Challenge) before I go.

The End

Caterpillar

3:55 p.m. One of our clients brought in an iPad. She said she happened to pass by Ginza last Sunday where the Apple flagship store is located, and was holding an iPad before she knew she was. So Cow and I were unexpectedly blessed with a chance to see what iPad was like, only days after it was released in Japan which is very rare, since we don't usually follow the trends in mostly anything.

4:03 p.m. Hmmm. The videos are very clear and beautiful. It's like you've enlarged an iPod-touch to a notebook size, though it's a little heavier than a notebook because it weighs about 700 grams, but guess that won't be too heavy to carry around. I think the touch pad system enlarged to that size perhaps, may be easy-to-use for elderly people.

4:16 p.m. Our client was here for a meeting, but we were all so excited being carried away in fiddling with the brand new device, that we didn't do a stroke of work. Well, that happens.

The End

Caterpillar

5:01 p.m. Have started writing today's "Murmur" right now.

5:47 p.m. Have been thinking what to write, but cannot concentrate since Cow has been humming this tune over and over like a broken record... Wonder if everybody knows what a ‘record’ is.

5:59 p.m. Mr. N-jima just called to say that he has to give tomorrow's Yasuda Kinen (The final leg of the Asian Mile Challenge) a miss. Not unexpected, because of weak lineup. He must have lost interest in the race. But bright side is that I can sleep late tomorrow.

The End

Caterpillar

5:47 p.m. The Yasuda Kinen finished with Showa Modern winning his first grade one title, while Super Hornet, one of the few horses who has beaten that amazoness Vodka, slipped in second, and Smile Jack in third, which means I've lost again since had keyed Showa Modern for the third place.

6:03 p.m. Pulled myself together and decided to finish up work for the coming week. I opened my back pack to take out some documents, my notebook and my schedule book and gaped. There were none of these items. Where were my things? My memory flashed back to the dark office where I was putting things away, getting ready to go home while talking with Cow about, about... ah, yes! About the Yasuda Kinen, that JRA shouldn't have made the Victoria Mile when they already had a mile distance G1 race in the same spring season, the Yasuda Kinen. Because the Victoria Mile is limited only to mares, big names like Buena Vista or Red Desire would all run in the Victoria Mile instead of Yasuda Kinen, which eventually makes it a less interesting race with a weak lineup. I remembered putting my documents and notebooks piled neatly on the table, so I won't forget putting them in my bag and, and... Oh geez. They still must be left neatly piled up on the table of our office...

The End

Caterpillar

4:02 p.m. Sure enough, my documetns, notebook and schedule book sat neatly on the office table waiting to be packed, just as I had thought. Really, how could I always forget everything important and remember irrelevant tidbits like Lotteria (a hamburger chain) has released a new menu called ‘Tower Cheeseburger.’ You pay the basic price of an ordinary cheeseburger which is 160 yen, and an additional 100 yen per patty you want to add up to ten. If you order the full patties version, they'll give you a 70 yen discount and the price would be 990 yen. Mmm. Maybe some of you might like to try some time.

4:35 p.m. As for myself, haven't eaten burgers for quite a while since am trying to live on lower calories. Have brought a non-fried Shirasu (dried young sardines) Tempura for lunch today. Please don't hesitate to drop me a line and I can put the recipe on the message board if anyone is interested. They weren't as crunchy as the real fried Tempuras, but good enough as non-fried, I think.

The End

Caterpillar

3:12 p.m. Came in late today since have been to the Canadian embassy in Akasaka to see what the E.H. Norman library was like, and hopefully pick up some information on Surrey, Canada. Someone I know has a teen-aged daughter and this girl is going to Surrey for two weeks this summer, as one of the two representatives of her school for the international culture exchange program. Think will tell them that the library had an extensive lineup of books, brochures, CDs, DVDs, Videos and documents, when I see them this weekend.

3:46 p.m. Have picked up some free paper at the library. One of them titled ‘TOKYO families’ had an interesting article under the caption, ‘Ramblings of a Dad - Understanding what Mom means’ written by B.Drew."Fine: Use to end an argument when they are right, and you need to shut up. That's Okay: One of the most dangerous statements a woman can make to a man. ‘That's okay’ means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake. Whatever: A woman's way of saying ‘Get lost!’ Usually uttered after an argument about ‘nothing’ and before a ‘loud sigh’." Hmmm, interesting.. and educational.

The End

Caterpillar

2:51 p.m. Have cut my hair in a while. Maybe it's been years, am not quite sure when I last had my hair cut. Have been wearing hair long as passable but the weight was getting unbearable these days. Also realized that it costed me too much shampoo. So decided to have it cut short, or at least shorter.

3:00 p.m. Have been to one of those places that offer only haircuts and no stylings for a cheap price near where I live. Was going to have it real short since will probably not have it cut for another year or so however, the staff suggested I keep it long enough in order to prevent crisis of hair rolling out of control. She said that the weight of hair would keep it from sticking out in the back or sides of my head, which she was sure that I'd prefer since it would be much easier to handle, especially for someone who doesn't have a haircut for years like me. Very convincing.

3:34 p.m. Have took in her advice and left my hair long enough so it touches my shoulders. Pretty much satisfied as am freshened up now, and it only costed me 690 yen. That was certainly a bargain, advice included.

The End

Caterpillar

Hello, folks. It's Cow. I'd like to murmur a few words on behalf of JAXA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency... I've read an article on the space probe Hayabusa in the papers yesterday. It said Hayabusa was returning to Earth with samples from an asteroid. It is the first time to bring home samples from the surface of a celestial body, since the U.S. and the former Soviet Union brought moon rocks back to Earth. Bringing home samples from an asteroid is said to be the first-ever in our history. According to the article there are other ongoing missions besides this Hayabusa, involving the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo, or the space probe Akatsuki bound for Venus, which gave me a strong impression that JAXA has been working hard. But when I turn to the media... their achievements are hardly reported!!

Suddenly realized that I haven't looked up into the sky these days. Why not take this opportunity to look up at the sky again, like when we were children wondering what it would be in the future? Wish all the best for the safe return of Hayabusa on the 13th.

Sigh. I bet Caterpillar's going to complain again that I should've been more considerate about putting all this into English... Grrrr

The End

3:33 p.m. Cow is right. He should've been more considerate when writing "Murmurs" in Japanese, since it's ME who will be tortured, trying to figure out from his words what the writer really wanted to say, then forced into an endless quest searching for the appropriate expression in English.

4:09 p.m. Putting a non-English-speaking Japanese' words into English is a dreadful task for me, because they usually tend to leave out subjects or, combine two or more sentences leaving out the verb and expect me to ‘pick up what they mean.’ In that sense, I'm almost always impressed by people who work as interpreters. They are amazing. And am pretty much relieved that am not one of them. Phew.

The End

Caterpillar

5:44 p.m. The soccer World Cup has started in South Africa. Have watched the opening ceremony at home last night. I was looking forward to see Nelson Mandela former president of South Africa in the ceremony, but nearly jumped out of my skin when current president Zuma announced, that he will be absent because of the tragedy that hit the Mandela family. Oh, my God! What ever happened to the Mandela family? It can't possibly be that 91-year-old Nelson Mandela has..., no, surely not, I suppose?

6:01 p.m. Have found out later, that his great-granddaughter had been killed in a car crash. Oh, geez. May her soul rest in piece. I hope her family's grief will be relieved and consoled by the success of this tournament.

6:16 p.m. The already held first day games have both finished in a tie score, as foreshadowing this was going to be a tough tournament. Wonder what the outcome will be for the Japanese national team. I'd love to see them win and take those know-it-all critical media prats down.

The End

Caterpillar

3:01 p.m. Space probe Hayabusa is going to return to Earth today, after a long hard journey to and back from asteroid Itokawa. According to JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Hayabusa will seperate its capsule around 7:51 p.m. (Japan time) and is scheduled to re-enter the atmosphere about 10:51 p.m. however, the space probe itself will burn out when re-entering the atmosphere. A little heartbreaking, thinking about the many troubles JAXA and Hayabusa had to encounter through its 7-year trip, such as the in-flight enigine troubles or the communication cut off, which nearly turned the spacecraft into debirs.

6:15 p.m. Have just seen in the evening news that a group from Wakayama University is going to webcast the re-entering live from Australia on U-stream! Great! Must return from shopping for tomorrow's lunch before the streaming starts.

9:58 p.m. The streaming has just begun. They said they were now testing the cameras standing by for capturing the re-entering. The actual webcast seems to start from a few minutes before 10:30. Gee, this is EXCITINGGG!

10:34 p.m. The streaming had started again, but can only hear the sound chopped in staccato because my firewall has been bothering... Oh, God. Now of all times!

10:54 p.m. Have witnessed history. Hayabusa, shining, burning like a huge shooting star, lighted the sky for a moment, so bright you could see the clouds. Then the stream of light vanished, blending into the dark sky... Congrats to the Wakayama University team. Great job well done! And welcome home, Hayabusa.

The End

Caterpillar

3:05 p.m. Very impressed by the returning of Hayabusa. The Yomiuri Online reports that the capsule seperated from Hayabusa last night, has landed in Woomera Test Range, Australia, and the Australian Air Force had gained permission from the Aborigines this morning, to recover the capsule from their sacred land. The capsule which may contain sand samples from asteroid Itokawa, is said to arrive in Japan as early as 18th (this Friday) by a chartered plane. Whether or not the capsule conatains any samples still remain a mystery, though it will be opened and examined carefully in a JAXA facility and the answer to the question will be announced in September, if all goes well.

4:06 p.m. Don't really care whether the capsule contains anything or not. What grabbed many of our hearts (more than 37,000 people were watching yesterday's webcast!) was that the space probe had strived through and overcame all the unexpected difficulties to finally complete its mission, as well as the JAXA staff who never gave up hope which proved a miracle. It gave us faith and courage.

4:20 p.m. There's also another event coming up tonight, that will certainly give us faith and courage. The Japanese national soccer team is having their first game in South Africa. Must get home before the broadcast begins. Go Japan, go!

The End

5:55 p.m. Hooraaayyyy!!! They did it, THEY DID IIIITTTT! The national team has earned their first victory in South Africa! Have hurried home yesterady to sit in front of the TV, all set and ready to watch the game of Japan against Kameroon. I'm just a sports fan and not a soccer freak, but it seemed that Kameroon couldn't bring out its best performance. On the flip side, our national team coach Okada looks like he made a good decision on having Honda play as striker, since the only goal was made by Honda who had just had his 24th birthday on the very day before the game took place, making him boast to the press, "Motteru-na, (I've got somethin')" after the game.

6:09 p.m. Speaking of the press, they seem to have changed their attitude overnight. Despite of all the criticism and bashing they had been putting on, today's headlines were all in admiring tone... How could they change so easily? Do they happen to know the word ‘pride’ or ‘responsibility’? Well, they don't usually seem to have any principles, anyway.

The End

Caterpillar

2:43 p.m. Thinking about pride and responsibility, I remembered I had to carry out MY responsibility, which was preparing the documents for the meeting starting from.. 4:00p.m. I only have an hour and a bit to go, and have done nearly nothing! Aaaaarggh! Why is it that I'm always behind schedule though I'm trying my best to plan ahead? Why?

4:07 p.m. I barely made it on time, printing out the documents just as my client walked in, sat down and was putting things out on the table, getting ready for the meeting. Phew.

6:22 p.m. Cow came around to fiddle with the client's iPad and we all went in to chatting mode without much noticing. It was past six o'clock when the client left and I realized, that we had been talking about small things for more than an hour after our session had been over. Then as I'm writing this "Murmur," I suddenly remembered that I actually had a mountain of things left to do by tomorrow noon. Gosh. Why do I always remember things to do in the last minute? Though guess it's still better than not remebering them at all, until it's too late. But then again, sometimes feel like I might forget everything as well. Perhaps it won't hurt me that much as I fear?

The End

Caterpillar

6:53 p.m. Client has re-scheduled meeting for Saturday... Actually, it was scheduled on Saturday afternoon but he had asked me to change the schedule because something has come up. So I rescheduled it for Monday afternoon which was good for me, since I would be able to leave the office early on Saturday and get home before the soccer game started. Today, he's telling me that whatever the trouble, it has been taken care of so he wants me to re-schedule the meeting on the original date and time...�@Darn! I've been counting fingers since the beginning of this week, you know? Now that the meeting is re-scheduled on Saturday afternoon again, I'm not sure if I could make it home by 8:30 which means that I could most likely miss the first half of the game!

7:18 p.m. As I sat sulkily tapping the keyboard, I happened to dig up a new information on Hayabusa. The capsule is coming back to Japan as soon as early tomorrow morning. Great! Welcome home! Though the existence of ths sample from asteroid Itokawa still remains a mystery... Hmmm.

The End

Caterpillar

6:30 p.m. It has started raining from early afternoon but the temperature hasn't changed that much. The rainy season is here. Ugh. Though I know this season is crucial for farming in Japan, I hate it when it gets sticky. Thinking about sleeping in this stickiness is already a nightmare... doooooom.

6:59 p.m. Usually, the rainy season stays for about a month, sometimes longer, merely meaning that I have to bare this unpleasantness for such a long time, puffed up with frustration. Isn't there anything that can clear away this gloominess somehow?

7:05 p.m. Have just remembered that I have to go home in sandals wetting my feet... Ugh!

The End

Caterpillar

10:43 a.m. Was about to reach office when all of a sudden it started raining, though the sun was shining through the clouds. Damn rain. Was carrying a folding umbrella in my back pack, but made a stubborn stand not to take it out since it was only minutes to the office. Eventually, eneded up puling out the umbrella and putting it up because the rain got harder, making my clothes dappled with heavy raindrops...

5:05 p.m. Cow has been cross after lunch. Apparently because of the dentures that has been attached yesterday. "You can't taste food properly with this thing," he muttered. Well, guess he just has to grin and bare it since there's nothing that can be done about it, unless he's either going to spend the rest of his life without his back teeth, or have implants which according to him, costs four hundred thousand yen per tooth (implants are not covered by insurance in Japan).

5:43 p.m. Wish our national soccer team would blow off steam tonight. They're having the second game against... oh, gee, the Netherlands! They're one of the leading teams! Must make sure I get home to be in time for the 8:30 kick off. I'm counting on you, Oka-chan.

The End

Caterpillar

5:09 p.m. Japan has lost the game against the Netherlands. The fact that we lost was sort of a letdown, but then again, I was somehow filled with expectation for the next game against Denmark... Why? Wny?

5:16 p.m. Have been thinking overnight about last night's game. Obviously, things seem different from the last World Cup. Although from my layman's view, the national team seemed to wear themselves down playing defensively throughout the game four years ago however, Okada Japan is creating scoring opportunities through their defences. And yet, they did not allow so many break throughs, which is proved by the least loss of only one goal. Another impressive point is that every member of the team seems to understand what he's expected of, and is trying to play his part to win the game whereas, this was not seen in the former team four years ago.

6:11p.m. Have heard that the Nederlands' media had appreciated our team saying, "their defence was harder to break through than we thought," in the evening news. I guess what Oka-chan (national team coach, Okada) had been trying to do is finally getting somewhere.

The End

Caterpillar

10:32 a.m. Have been for a walk to a shrine about thirty minutes' walk from my house. At the shrine there was a big hoop made of twisted thatches displayed at the end of the approach, big enough that you can walk through it. Think it's for the Natsukoshi-no Harai (literally, ritual to get over the summer) which generally take place at the end of June, in shrines that are related to Izumo Tiasha (Izumo Shinto Shrine). The event is said to be done to drive away the evil of the past half year, and is believed to give long life if you go through the hoop reciting a mantra, "Minatsuki-no Natsukoshi-no Harai suru hito wa, Chitose-no inochi nobu-to yuh-nari (one who does the Minatsuki-no Harai will have his life extended by thousands of years)." Hmm, very intersting. I didn't walk through it though, since I don't need long life, not so long I mean. I'd rather give mine to people who need it more badly, leave out Obaba and JoOusama not to mention.

12:13 p.m. They were saying in the TV news that Ai Miyazato has won her 4th tournament this season, ShopRite LPGA Classic and is guaranteed to take over the 1st spot in the world ranking. Wow, great! But also a bit surprised. Didn't think she would, in such a short time. And she's only 25! My congrats to the young champion!

The End

Caterpillar

4:02 p.m. Cow's teenage nephew to whom I've been giving English lectures, has gone to Okinawa for his school trip. Yesterday, we received a box of Beni-imo tarts and another box of.. ICE CREEAAAMMM! What a nice boy! In a styrofoam box were ice cream cups of various kinds of flavors all related to Okinawa. Mmmm. Wonder which one to start with.

4:08 p.m. Cow took salt-Chinsuko flavor. Oooh, that sounds like a bit of a venture. I had the one that said ‘Bana-pa-co.’ What in the world is ‘Bana-pa-co’ falvor, anyway?

4:10 p.m. Cow's salt-Chinsuko turned out to be vanilla ice cream with bits of Chinsuko crunch in it, in Cookie-and-cream style, while my ‘Bana-pa-co’ tasted of.. a mixture of several flavors, assumingly pineapple, banana and coconut. Hmm, tastes pretty much South Asian. Can't wait to see what other flavors we've got.

The End

Caterpillar

8:27 a.m. Turned on the TV to check the result of South Korea vs. Nigeria. A morning tabloid show was on, so I waited, waited, waited... for the latest news, until the show host finally said, " And now, the latest news." But the first thing they said was, "Shuhei Shimada, a palmist and comedian, read the palms of our casts..." What sort of news is that? Aren't there more important things to say?

2:42 p.m. Have checked the result of the game on the Internet, just before I started to snooze. Oooh, they tied, 2-2. That means South Korea has made it to the last-16! It's encouraging to know before our game against Denmark. As I lit a cigarette to shake the sleepiness off, the radio host said something about the Maradona, that the national team coach had come down on the Argentine press to "apologize," which is absolutely hilarious - HA, ha-ha-ha-ha!

2:54 p.m. Anyway, must get myself in good condition as Japan's big match is going to start from 3:30 a.m., Friday.

The End

Caterpillar

3:57 p.m. Oh, God. What am I going to do? What am I going to dooo! The day has come for Japan's final match in the group league! Am getting nervous, though I know absolutely well that my getting nervous won't help the team at all... Am also worried if I can get up at 3 o'clock in the morning tomorrow. I'm planning to go home early, finish supper as quick as possible, and go to sleep ASAP, putting off everything I possibly can till tomorrow so as can wake up at three in the morning however, can't count on JoOusama to be cooperative...

4:07 p.m. Just remembered I had to take Obaba to the clinic tomorrow morning at 9:30. Aaaargh! Aaaargh! How could things happen all at once? I'm supposed to wake up at three in the morning in order to watch our big match against Denmark, and I can't get another sleep after that because I have to take that old lady to the clinic!? Oh,geez. Give me a break. But I have to get over it somehow. Have had enough of having nothing, and now all I want is everything.

The End

Caterpillar

3:17 p.m. addddddddddddddddd Oh, man. Did I just tap in one, two, three... lots of ‘d’s? Guess there must be many of you out there feeling sleepy as hell like me. I managed to wake up at 3:39 this morning with a blurred head, though I was wide awake after I'd seen Honda's free-kick. GOOooaaaaalll! Then, I made a difficult decision to go down to the kitchen to fix myself a cup of coffee. By the time I returned in front of the TV, Japan's lead had expanded into 2. Why? What happened? What did I miss? Not to say I later found out it was scored by Endo's beautiful free-kick. BEEaautifuuull! The Danes' had scored a goal from a penalty kick, but the third goal pushed in by Okazaki (one for all and all for one, eh, Honda?) decided the game. WE WOOOOOOONNN!

5:07 p.m. Think God will forgive my snoozing during the past hour. On behalf of the great boys of our national team, the team staff, and the coach, Oka-chan. Great job well done, but the most amazing part is that these guys seem to be getting better and better throughout this tournament! Now that they've earned themselves a ticket to the finals, think will wish them good luck and save my congrats for later. Go, get'em boys!

The End

Caterpillar

4:56 p.m. Our national soccer team is doing a great job. Now it's my turn to stir myself and get prepared for the last grade one race of this spring season, the Takaraduka Kinen. Let's take a look at the form. "Osim predicts Paraguay vs. Japan 0-0 PK And I won't be watching..." Aha-ha-ha-ha. Sorry. That was from the soccer page.

5:04 p.m. What happened to Red Desire? I thought she was running but her name isn't on the form. And Kopano-jingu seems to have been scratched. Buena Vista seems to be the favorite of 1 to 3 so far. Expected. Mmm, but what to do with Dream Journey and Forgettable? Dream Journey is last year's defending Champion of this race, while Forgettable has proved his potential in last year's Kikkasho. I have a hunch that I might forget to place bet on Forgettable since his name is Forgettable. Or perhaps might as well ‘forget’ the Forgettable on this occasion?

5:22 p.m. Cow has just called Mr. N-jima and got the newest info on the Hanshin race track, that it might be soft tomorrow. The forecast is telling it's going to rain hard late this evening around that area, and will keep raining till tomorrow morning... Mmm, what to do?

The End

Caterpillar

11:52 p.m. Juuss got back from Wiiinnnzz. Am veeeerry sleepyy. BurrI've gotta brrrush my teeth before I fall asleeep..

11:58 p.m. Where the hell is my toooothbbruuusshhh?

The End

Caterpillar

3:35 p.m. Don't know why but I was extremely sleepy last night. Couldn't stay up to do anything. Am not actually sure if I had brushed my teeth properly or not. All I remember was that Kamui Kobayashi had overtaken Alonso and Sutil or someone in the last 2 laps, while England had been beaten by Germany, oh geez, and my toothbrush was sticking out of my mouth before I knew it was.

3:56 p.m. As for the Takaraduka-kinen, I had lost again for the umph-teenth time this year, having keyed Earnestly and bought a wheel including Buena Vista, Jaguar Mail, Logi Universe, and Forgettable (I didn't forget him but it didn't matter anyway...). That automatically seems to point out that I've lost all the G1 races this spring season. Repulsive. I must do something to put myself back on course somehow. Not to say that I used to win a lot, though.

The End

Caterpillar

3:51 p.m. A little while ago, they were doing a virtual game of Japan vs. Paraguay on the radio, together with some not so important gossippy information on some of our players. It was hilarious, though.

4:23 p.m. In the virtual game, Japan has beaten Paraguay 1-0. However, the sports reporter who had predicted the outcome of the last three games of our national team perfectly so far, is now suspected by the listeners. He had called Japan vs. Kameroon 2-1, Japan vs. the Netherlands 1-2 and Japan vs. Denmark 4-3, and the wise listeners seem to think his score predictions should be accepted one point less. His outlook on tonight's card was Japan's win by 1-0. If I should subtract one point from Japan's score, then we'll tie with th Paraguays! What will it going to be? Will it tangle into PK? Eeeeeeehh! I can't stand so much strain.

The End

Caterpillar

5:29 p.m. Japan has lost the game against Paraguay in a pnalty shoot-out after a scorless draw. I'd have to say it broke my heart (now I truely understand what Osim had said) in a sense that we were so close to getting in the final 8, but the Samurais all tried so hard and that was enough to give us faith. I believe the players have experienced a lot throughout this tournament, and by the time they come back to Japan hopefully, they'll all have a fresh new sprout of faith growing in their hearts too. Keep your head up, Koma-kichi. It wasn't your fault or anyone else's. The team could not win a goal even with an additional extended time, and that's something we'll have to deal with from now on, to be able to achieve a higher goal in 2014.

6:10 p.m. Come to think of it, the predictions of the sports reporter I heard on the radio yeterday, had been right on the mark (relying on the ‘-1 point rule’)! Why don't you call the race for us, Mizu-uchi?

The End

Caterpillar