11:18 a.m. Got up late. I wrote yesterday, that it's been a while since the Tennou-sho was run with eighteen horses however, as I pulled out lthe racing forms of last year and the year before the last, I realized they were both run with eighteen horses... Well, the members were not so impressive, I guess.

1:15 p.m. Have been doing some searching on some of the horses running in the Tennou-sho. Most of them have already won either a grade three or a grade two race. As for grade one winners, there's only one leaving out the 3-year-olds' grade one winners. Seems it's not going to be a high leveled race today. Am also concerened about the track condition. I fear it may be softer than I imagine because of the rain in Kyoto where the race is going to be run.

10:32 p.m. Am back from WINS. Hiruno d'Amour, my key horse has won the race. But To the Glory, my prospective second place had sunk in 13th, together with Rose Kingdom in 11th... Have got mixed emotions since I was half right and half wrong. But then, things don't always work out like you planned.

The End

Caterpillar

2:37 p.m. I've got work today. It's Golden Week and some of you might be enjoying a vacation, but we're working according to the calendar, so today I've got to be in. Looks like the librarys are also working according to the calendar, so I dropped by to sign out some English books to read during the holidays.

Actually, I have been trying to make reservations for some books online, though the log-in screen had been returned error logs saying that either my ID number or password must be wrong. I've tried at least ten times not to say, with different passwords but in vain. So I was going to ask the librarian if there could be something wrong with the system, after all we've had an earthquake and it could be effected.

As I handed my card to the librarian with a bunch of books, the librarian timidly asked me to give her a ‘Chiyoda-ku’ library card. I wondered what she was saying. I WAS handing her a... Oh, no. It was a Chuou-ku library card... Could that mean that I've been punching in Chuou-ku's card number on the log-in screen instead of Chiyoda-ku's all the time?

The End

Caterpillar

11:26 p.m. First day of consecutive holidays. Constitutional Memorial Day, I think. But it's almost over...and I'm dreading to go visit Obaba tomorrow.

Obaba has been moved to a hospital that specializes in rehabilitation early last month, though from the information I picked up from JoOusama, dear granny seems to be refusing rehabilitation training...

Wish tomorrow never came.

The End

Caterpillar

6:33 p.m. Second day of consecutive holidays. Have just been back from the hospital. It took me an hour and a half to get there, and another hour and a half to get back.

I had a chance to stay and watch Obaba's speech therapy and physical treatment, and my, she was uncooperative. She was sleeping when I arrived and when I tried to wake her up, she refused to give up her sleep... Am not sure if she recognized me or not. I tried to encourage her throughout her therapy and treatment, to which she defiantly gave up once. I had to spend some time soothing and convincing her to try again.

There seemed to be a some serious problems affecting Obaba's motivation, but the biggest problem, I think, was that the therapists were not only so young but also inexperienced in life that they weren't sure how to treat stubborn old people like Obaba. They also seemed to be a bit too reserved, even intimidated, under the power of some stupid doctor who blames Obaba for not improving. As stupid as he was, the doctor wasn't around today, probably taking a couple of days off because it's the Golden Week.

The End

Caterpillar

11:16 p.m. Children's Day, the third and last day of consecutive holidays. Going and almost gone.

Have spent all day catching up on work I've been putting aside since had prioritized Mr. N-jima's project. Wonder if there wasn't a better, nicer way to spend this short vacation and realize should have done the thinking much earlier because it's getting closer to the end...

When will I ever get to check the video of Satsuki-sho?

The End

Caterpillar

5:08 p.m. Work started. But the whole nation still seems to be in holiday mode. They were saying on the radio that the latter half of Golden Week has started.

Am racking my brains, trying hard to come up with something, though have been squeezing out words all day for the N-jima project and there seems to be nothing left in my puny little brain. Evern worse, Cow is urging me to finish this up. Aaaargh, aaaaarrrrrghh!

The End

Caterpillar

2:49 p.m. Am very frustrated, with Obaba refusing to do her therapies and a mountain of work still untouched, waiting all piled up and waiting to be finished. Why, oh why, do I have to worry myself with everything?

2:58 p.m. Cow just told me that emitting sound, voice, air, tear, whatever that comes out of your body, is good for reducing stress. In that sense, actions such as crying, laughing, singing, playing sports, talking, even excreting is good to take off the load a bit.

3:07 p.m. Suddenly realize I haven't had a potty break since morning.

The End

Caterpillar

6:29 p.m. Have called the NHK Mile Cup with good thinking, though the race has finished with an uninteresting result with the top three favored horses dominating the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. Could not undesrtand how a race could lead to such an unappealing result and, have quickly lost interest in it to fall asleep after I've changed the channel of the TV.

Have been wondering what to do about the old lady who's lost interest in living for some time, and have finally come up with an answer. I'll pay her another visit to confirm what she might have in mind. It will not be easy since she's either unable to speak, or has given up on speaking. But I must find out how she wants to spend the rest of her life before doing anything. It's her life, after all. Then, I'll prepare myself in case she needs the kick in the butt, trying to be careful not to bite off more than I can chew and get overloaded with it. I'll just do what I can do.

And if the old lady wants to give up on her life and have someone take care of her, then that's that. There's no way I can make her live like I want her to. It's her life. She has to make her own decisions as long as she lives.

The End

Caterpillar

6:19 p.m. Which one would win the Victoria Mile, Buena Vista or Apapane? Have been thinking about it all day.

The two mares will compete in the Victoria Mile coming up this weekend. Yes, we're having five grade one races in a row, starting from the NHK Mile Cup which already finished without a breeze. The Victoria Mile would be much more interesting, with two of the best mares running against each other. Already excited about it though have no idea which would win. But then, they may both lose... Am getting confused.

The End

Caterpillar

1:41 p.m. Warm wind has blown in from the south last night, bringing muggy air to Tokyo. Thick clouds hanging low and rain is expected in the afternoon. More worse, the forecast says the rain is gonna stay for the next two days. It may be the first of the extending rainy days of Tsuyu, the rainy season. Getting real gloomy here.

Well, better get used to it becasue we're having gloomy weather for the whole coming month. Ugh. That sounds so depressing...

1:54 p.m. They were just saying on the radio that thundershowers are predicted for Tokyo, from late afternoon to midnight. Oh, please. I had decided this morning to wear my suede boots instead of rain boots, since sunshine seemed to emerge from between the clouds. Ooh, I hate walking in wet boots. Certainly hope it won't rain that hard.

The End

Caterpillar

1:53 p.m. Luckily, the rain was light and my suede boots didn't get soaked like I feared. And I don't need to worry about getting my feet wet today becaouse I've worn my rain boots. HAh!

The temperature has dropped more than ten degrees, though. Why is it that temperatures are either going up or down in such rapid manner? The rises or the drops in temperature are so sharp that I'm having a hard time keeping up my condition. As a matter of fact, I've had a cold. I felt soreness in my throat when I got up Monday morning, so I took some over-the-counter drug and went to sleep early. The soreness was gone the next day, but it still feels scratchy around my throat eventually causing a cough or two and, my nose is blocked. I hate to speak in this nasal voice...

The End

Caterpillar

1:56 p.m. Third rainy day in a row. Surely, the rainy season hasn't started yet? And the high temperature today is, nineteen degrees, though tomorrow it's expected to jump up again to thirty degrees. There must be many of you out there catching cold just like me, while I'm still snuffling.

As for the rain, they say we're going to have thundershowers on the Pacific coast (again), probably around this evening. But don't worry be happy because have worn my rainboots again, HAh! Hah!

Whatever the weather, as slow as it can be I'm recovering and am not gonna have a setback. Especially when the weekend is right around the corner. Have vowed to sleep early tonight. Speaking of weekends, the barrier draw of the Victoria Mile should be loaded onto JRA's site by now. Wonder what it's like.

The End

Caterpillar

1:43 p.m. The sun is peering from the clouds after three consecutive days of rain and the temperature is rising as I write. Personally, I like it better than the gloomy rainy days, though.

We had another meeting with Mr. N-jima yesterday evening. The meeting had finished with an agreement and as Mr. N-jima was walking out the door, he left some mysterious words saying, "Forget Buena Vista," as if he'd suddenly remembered to deliver us some important information.

What?! Why? Why? I cried after him in alarm but he was already out the door, walking in the rain with big strides towards his car. He likes to do this. Leaving only a small piece of information while the ones with that little clue rack their brains desperately, wondering what it was that he might have had in mind. Mr. N-jima's words have been bothering me since then, which is exactly what he aimed to do, probably just for fun, and although I had vowed to sleep early last night, actually I failed to do so. Must go and check the barrier draw anyhow.

The End

Caterpillar

11:33 a.m. My nose is finally getting through. Ahh, how refreshing. What's not refreshing at all is, the fact that my Taspo card hasn't been delivered yet.

It was April 27th when I dropped the application form into the post box, if my memory is correct, so it's been more than two weeks, sixteen days to be exact. And I'm sure it said on the application form that the card would be delivered in two weeks, give or take a few days. Perhaps it's delayed because there was the consecutive holidays of Golden Week however, there were ten working days though they might have been between holidays. Aren't ten days enough to accept an application form by regular mail, get over with some paper work which probably should not be much work using computers, process a card and send it back by regular mail? Am pretty sure I can get it done within five days. What's taking them so long?

The End

Caterpillar

1:57 p.m. Really, I can't see why the Taspo Supporter's Club or whatever they call it, can't get this task over in ten days, while they processed a Taspo card in a just few hours at the counter of a rented office-like space, when this whole Taspo nonesense had started and some curious smokers were applying for it. And why did they close this Taspo service counter, anyway?

1:59 p.m. Have just remembered I hadn't handicapped the horses for Victoria Mile yet. So after some searching and studying the barrier draw, have narrowed down my choices to a trio wheel of En Ciel Bleu, Shoryu Moon, Buena Vista and Apapane, keying Lady Alba Rosa. Well, I didn't have the nerve to buy a triplet or key either Buena or Apapane, considering those mysterious words Mr. N-jima had left, although there were many times he had been wrong.

4:19 p.m. It was breathtaking when Apapane came wooshing down the home stretch like a missile with Buena in tow. The two finest mares hit the wire almost side by side, but Apapane was just a neck faster. With Lady Alba Rosa in third, I won the second G1 this season though it didn't pay out much because it was the most favored trio.

The End

Caterpillar

1:55 p.m. Hmmm... There were seven G1 races so far but I didn't bet on the February Stakes, so that makes two wins out of six. That's equivalent to .300 in batting average. I'm doing pretty good, thanks to the break away from the "M Rule," though I think I'd have been better off if I'd given it up much earlier.

However, at the same time I don't think that my ten years or so were simply put to waste, because there were some things I've learnt from the "M Rule" which could be applied to my original handicapping method. And I think it's working out real good so far.

2:06 p.m. Am not flattering myself, though. I mean, who told me I could win ALL the races? I might end up winning only two races out of twenty at the end of this year.

The End

Caterpillar

1:47 p.m. As I settled down on the chair in our dining room to have supper, I noticed a sheet of paper stuck on the top of the TV screen with a tape. On it were handwritten letters in black markers saying, "OUT OF ORDER." It must be Tono. I've seen that sign before, on the fluorescent light over the kitchen sink, and I had wondered at the time, what could be wrong with it apart from the glow starter which nearly went dead when I turned it on a few days earlier.

I guessed that something similar was happening to the TV, so after confirming that it didn't seem to be receiving TV broadcasts, I tried resetting the receive option setting. Looked like it worked, and was able to watch TV as usual, so I stripped off the "OUT OF ORDER" paper off and threw it in the garbage pail, only to find another new one stuck on the TV screen this morning... What does it take Tono to realize that our TV is not OUT OF ORDER in any way?

The End

Caterpillar

2:18 p.m. The "OUT OF ORDER" paper was taken off when I got home yesterday. Thank God. But Tono seemed to have locked JoOusama out this morning and I had to rush out of the bathroom to open the lock for her, since she went banging on the door like a mad woman.

Actually, it wasn't the first time that JoOusama got locked out and I don't blame her for being furious about it however, there were also times when she'd locked ME out while she was in her room with her radio blasting out as usual. Luckily, there was an unlocked window in Obaba's room at the time, which I eventually crawled through, but since then I've been taking my keys with me whenever I have to leave the house even for a short time. But Tono and JoOusama, they never seem to learn. God bless these people.

The End

Caterpillar

6:20 p.m. Ooooh! Cow has bought Usagi-san (bunny) roll! Yipppeeee!

Usagi-san roll is a thin roll cake manufactured by Ymazaki-pan (Yamazaki Baking Co., Ltd). The rolled sponge cake is so soft with whipped cream filling in the middle. Plain sponge and cream but not too sweet. And it's only about 130 yen! Mmmmm.

6:32 p.m. Very much satisfied with Usagi-san roll and iced coffee. Have seen Kirin-san (giraffe) roll and Kuma-san (bear) roll before, which are custard and chocolate flavor respectively, and would like to try them too some time. Wonder what they taste like, though they also must be good considering the Usagi-san roll.

The End

Caterpillar

2:39 p.m. Still no sign of my Taspo card being delivered. It's been three weeks now, since have dropped the envelope containing my application form.

It's getting un acceptable. I reckoned my Taspo card would arrive by the end of this week when I realized last Friday, that it had been two weeks and a day after I'd sent my application form, considering that the lazy staff at the Taspo support center might have took ten consecutive days off for their Golden Week holidays. Another fruitless week has past since then, and I'm getting tired of being kept waiting until who knows when?

Don't mean to be authoritative, I just want to get it straight but I think I deserve to have the right to receive more prompt action, much more prompt in that sense, as I've been paying cigarette taxes dutifully every month for the past twenty years.

The End

Caterpillar

11:32 a.m. It's getting hot. No doubt that summer is approaching but then, we still have to go through the gloomy season of Tsuyu (the rainy season).

Talking of gloomy, that reminds me of seeing Camel, Cow's favorite cigarette brand, on the list of JT's production stoppage. JT (Japan Tobacco) has released a list of cigarrette brands that they are stopping production due to the effects of the Touhoku earthquake, and unfortunately, Camel was on the list among other favored brands. Neither of us were surprised to see the list but still, Cow must be in dismay more or less. After all, Cow had favored Camel because of its taste and Marlboro, beside its fine quality, was merely an alternative. Feel sorry for Cow and all the other Camel lovers. Wonder if there's no possibility in having the brand reproduced some day?

The End

Caterpillar

9:53 p.m. Just been back from WINS. My triplet wasn't even close to winning since one of my two key horses, Marcellina, has sunk in 4th place, although the other key horse Whale Capture, had secured third place. Well, I was pretty much lost, uncertain which horses to bet on because of the rain that had started falling just before the race.

We all lost the main race which was the Japanese Oaks, but Mr. N-jima has hit a jackpot for the final race, winning himself a payout of 129,000 yen, I think. I always admire him in awe whenever he wins big money, though he never forgets to remind me that he's been spending just as much.

The End

Caterpillar

3:34 p.m. Gee, am confused. Have received email that seem to have something to do with licensing of this website's name, "bite-japan" however, I have no knowledge in licensing whatsoever, and don't know what to do about it. I turned to Cow for help to which he answered, "The best thing to do is to ignore it."

To ignore the email is one way, but wouldn't it be insincere to ignore someone's email especially when they're letting you know something before going into action? But then, why would anyone send email to an unknown person unless it didn't give them some sort of advantage or the sender is payed to send email? Perhaps it was meant just as a notice, not something I should send replies to.

3:51 p.m. Have decided to sleep on the email for a few days, maybe a week. For the meantime, I can go ask someone else besides Cow about what I should do.

The End

Caterpillar

1:56 p.m. JoOusama has left for Ishinomaki this morning. She's going to visit her sister who couldn't be contacted for three weeks after the Touhoku earthquake. JoOusama's younger brother has visited her twice already, and this time he is going with JoOusama and his other sister, though JoOusama and her sister is traveling by train because they both get carsick.

Thanks to my uncle, I am blessed with a brief freedom of three days. Yaaaaaayyyy! How nice it would be to sleep in silence without the radio! How nice it would be to have a clean kitchen! How nice it would be to be free from all the complaints and bickering! Oh, how nice, how nice! Am filled with so much hope that I feel like am going to skip all the way home.

The End

Caterpillar

1:58 p.m. I was wrong... As I got home tired after work, I found the kitchen in a mess as usual. Tono had messed it up while I was gone. Ahhh. Remembered that I had to cope with another monster in order to make myself a little more comfortable in that house, even with Obaba away at rehab and JoOusama in Ishinomaki.

Don't mind cooking and cleaning for myself since I've been doing all that while I was living on my own, which has become a faint and distant memory now. However, I cannot understand nor accept the fact that I have to clean up the mess someone else had made. Why me all the time?

By the way, my Taspo card still hasn't arrived after nearly a month. Who said it's going to arrive in two weeks? Irrespopnsibility of these people are beyond my understanding. They should learn how frustrated I am because I'm beginning to itch all over with rashes again.

The End

Caterpillar

6:02 p.m. JoOusama is coming home tonight. As a matter of fact, I thought she won't be home until late because she'd said so, but unfortunately, she seems to have arrived home earlier, much earlier than neither she nor I had expected. Having restrained herself in the past three days she spent with her brother and sisters, perhaps JoOusama couldn't wait to restrict someone else. She called me at the office a little while ago, just to tell me to come back for supper instead of eating outside...

Oooh no, I won't. I won't be tricked. Why would I want to waste my few chances of freedom? I'd go wherever I want to, eat and drink whatever I want to, enjoy myself since I know I won't get another chance so easily.

The End

Caterpillar

2:06 p.m. It's been announced that Tsuyu (the rainy season) has started in Kanto area. So the weather's going to be gloomy for a while. Until when, is the question. Like the nuclear plant issue or the everyday life of the earthquake victims, it makes us weary when the end is not in sight. Same thing happens for the rainy season, I think. We get so fed up and so tired of rainy days because we don't know when it will end. Now, I just hope it will be over earlier than usual, since it started twelve days earlier than usual.

6:06 p.m. Speaking of being fed up, I found a delivery notice from Taspo when I got home last night, after enjoying a wonderful meal (my last moments of freedom) at Salvatore Cuomo, a casual Italian restaurant. Hmmm... Might finally get that Taspo card when I get home today, though I doubt JoOusama would have it delivered again.

The End

Caterpillar

11:43 a.m. A client has brought us a souvenir from Bali. She and her husband has been to Bali to attend their daughter's wedding ceremony, thus the souvenir. She bought us an exotic cat doll couple, one green and the other orange, very light because they're probably made of paper clay. Hmmm, I like it. Wonder where or what they're looking at, sitting on the power strip on the counter.

As for the delivery notice from Taspo, JoOusama had not called the post office to redeliver although she had her luggage redelivered. Just as I thought. But I convinced her to have my Taspo card redelivered, so think I'll be able to get it tonight. Hopefully, that is.

The End

Caterpillar

10:30 p.m. Am tired. This year's Japanese Derby finished with expectations for another triple crown winner since Deep Impact. Orfevre, the Satsuki-sho winner, pulled away his rivals in the soft, almost muddy track condition and became the 78th Japanese Derby horse. No objection about that, actually, I keyed him on my triplet and trio. I'd have won the race if it weren't for Win Variation and Belshazzar who came in second and third.

I was secretly wishing I could win the Japanese Derby so I could still have a chance to win the Kikka-sho to earn myself a triple crown. Again, that was my wishful thinking.

The End

Caterpillar

3:35 p.m. The rain has finally stopped, and my Taspo card has finally arrived. As I've said before, I dropped my application form into a post box on April 27th. That sums up to a month and a day for a simple card to be processed and delivered. Looking at the card in my hand now, I think it's pretty dimestore compared to the bankcard I'd obtained earlier.

And although there was the Golden Week holidays, a month is too long to get such a card processed. Library cards which I think are not much different in quality except for the photo, are usually processed and handed right at the spot. How could a Taspo card take so long to process? The only reason I can think of is negligence.

The End

Caterpillar

5:20 p.m. Have ran out of bottled mineral water again, so dropped by Kaldi Coffee (imported food chain) to buy a bottle. I've been buying a particular brand until the bottles disappeared from the store shelves due to the Touhoku earthquake effects. Since then, I've done a good deal of searching to settle on another brand that I happened to find stacked up in boxes at Kaldi.

As I scraped through shelves of canned food wondering where they'd shoved back the bottles that were displayed at the front of the store just a month ago, I felt a twinge of horror that they might have sold out. To my relief, I finally found it in the back corner however, my relief didn't last long. There was a slit of paper taped to the box where the bottles of mineral water were kept saying, "AS-IS."

Now I've got to find another brand which can be safely consumed by people who have hypersensitive skin like myself, until my favored brand would be back on the shelves again...

The End

Caterpillar