3:29 p.m. And I've got one of those body cooling powder! It says "Snake brand's Prickly Heat Cooling Powder" on a square can about five inches tall, and there are small holes on the top of the can where the powder comes out when you remove the lid and shake the can. According to the description on the can, "Snake Brand Prickly Heat Cooling Powder is the original cooling, refreshing and soothing powder which is effective in relieving itching, prickly heat rash and skin irritation from hot weather. Contains flower extract from elderflower, rose, jasmine, daisy and cherry blossom that help retained moisture and soften skin. Suitable for daily use."

3:39 p.m. I'm gonna try it immediately.

The End

Caterpillar

11:40 p.m. So I've tried. And it's cooooool. Especially when wind blows. I can feel the heat rising from my skin being taken away, leaving only the icy coolness on the surface. This sure is refreshing. Perhaps because of the coolness, I don't think I feel the itchiness of my heat rash. This is GOOD!

I believe there actually are similar products in Japan, too, like the bath powder that makes you feel cool after you get out, or body lotion with a refreshing cooling effect. However, this Prickly Heat body powder does more than just cooling and refreshing. It has this floral fragrant that can replace deodorants, it has some antiperspirant effect, and it's main material is said to be talc, according to the information I picked up on the Net, which has a certain level of effect on cutting off UV (also information from the Net). This is amazing. Think I found hope to get over this summer heat.

The End

Caterpillar

12:50 p.m. Am sitting on the counter of a cafe. Have come out to check if I can get access to a free wireless accesspoint. I've actually connected to a FON accesspoint, though that wasn't exactly what I wanted. I wanted to get a connection to "Freespot" however, although I had worked dutifully to get email verification to the network system beforehand, I couldn't find an accesspoint from this cafe.

12:55 p.m. Maybe there weren't any close enough. I'll see about that later. Meantime, I'll have to pack up and go home since the battery is running out pretty rapidly... God, I didn't know it wears out so fast.

The End

Caterpillar

2:41 p.m. 34 degrees today. A weathermann was saying on TV this morning, that the rainy season might be over by the end of this week at the earliest. Really? I'm glad to leave the rain behind, but did we have enough rain to get over this summer? I don't remember any rainy days this season. If we haven't had enough rain, that would obviously cause another problem on top of our electricity shortage.

Uh-oh. Have dozed off again. Think I've had enough sleep last night, or wasn't it enough? But then, it's extremely hot and perhaps I'm exhausting myself more than I think. So I won't blame myself for nodding off, but wetting my clothes with dribble is another thing. It is awful. Must learn to sleep with my mouth shut.

The End

Caterpillar

3:33 p.m. The sky is blue with puffy white clouds. The sun is beating down. Am sure the end of the rainy season would be announced in a couple of days.

3:36 p.m. Have been searching for solutions since have encountered a problem with my lap-top at home on Sunday. I had made a new folder to put files in though I hadn't named it. Thought I could change the folder name later. I made some documents on notepad, and saved them in that ‘new folder.’ Then, I changed the name of the folder. Later, when I made some more documents and tried to save them in the same folder, Windows returned an error log saying, "the computer may be referring to the hard drive or the network, so check if you have a disc properly inserted or if you are properly connected to the network and try again. If you still can't find the place to save your documents, it may have been moved to a different place." Needless to say, I had not moved the folder anywhere. In fact, I could see the folder (with the new name) on the browser. And yet I cannot save my files. How so?

The End

Caterpillar

1:53 p.m. I didn't get much inforamtion as a result of my searching. But I found a similar case. It said that the problem is caused by Windows 7 because it remembers the previous location of the folder, though the previous folder itself does not exist since the folder name has been changed. In order to recover from the situation, it said, to save on one layer above where the folder icon is shown.

2:27 p.m. Could not understand what it said completely, but the point is, I think, that the computer is showing an icon of the folder which virtually does not exist, based on the location record of the old one. If so, would it be OK if I took out the files in it, put it aside on the desktop, delete the folder, then make a new folder with the correct name and put the files back in there, and then save my remaining files there? It should be, since in this way, I'm making a new folder instead of just changing the name. That would not leave confusing traces, I think.

The End

Caterpillar

4:00 p.m. It's Tanabata (the star festival) today. It's been long since most of us stopped decorating bamboos for Tanabata at our homes, though the media are creating a riot over the event. They're probably keen to link the event to some sort of commercial act, I guess. See our Seasonal Calendar of July page for detail about Tanabata.

4:10 p.m. One of my client who lives nearby has decorated a bamboo branch for Tanabata. She likes to decorate for annual events. She's even offered me and Cow a Tanzaku (slit of rectangular paper to write wishes on and hang on the bamboo) each, and assured us that she'd hang them on her decoration together with her family's. Am going out to get a picture of the decoration.

4:14 p.m. Unfortunately, the forecast is predicting cloudy skies tonight with partial rain, but I hope it clears.

The End

Caterpillar

2:22 p.m. Too bad it was cloudy last night. Tanabata nights annually seems to have bad weather.

2:43 p.m. Have been reading a book by Peter Drucker, influenced by the recent Drucker boom in Japan. Have always been interested in management, but it seemed hard to call on so I thought I'd start with "The Essential Drucker." This book is supposed to be somewhat both a digest and introduction to Drucker's "Management," a pretty good place to start, or so I thought.

2:50 p.m. As expected, am struggling with my poor vocabulary and have only finished half of the book after signing it out more than a week ago. Though I found it very informative. Have realized that I have been feeling the same way about some of the concepts introduced in the book, just that I couldn't put it down in words (needless to say, because of my poor vocabulary) as Drucker had. Very interesting. Can learn a lot from this book. Maybe I should ask for an extension.

The End

Caterpillar

1:41 p.m. The end of the rainy season has been officially announced for Tokyo. It ended eight days earlier than last year, according to the announcement. See. I thought so.

1:45 p.m. They say the temperature has hit 34.5 degrees in Nerima before noon. Is it because it's too hot that I tend to fall asleep in the middle of the day without even knowing? And is it because it's too hot that I tend to dribble while am sleeping? It's pretty embarrassing, as a grown-up, to suddenly notice that I was sleeping without knowing it myself, more over, to find an unfamiliar smudge on my shirt which can only be explained logically, as a clear proof that I must have been dribbling... And the shocking truth is that I can't seem to help it... What's happening to me? Is it just that I'm getting old? Is it because of the heat?

1:53 p.m. I have been holding up so far today.

The End

Caterpillar

11:27 a.m. It's HOT. There's nothing else to it, it's simply hot.

11:48 a.m. Just remembered I saw on TV that it would be cooler if you freeze water in a PET bottle and put it in front of the fan. Think I'll try that.

2:57 p.m. Think the bottle is ready. Let's see what happens. Turn on the fan and... it's not cool AT ALL. Perhaps because the bottle was too small? The one in the TV was a two liter PET bottle, but mine was a five hundred milliliter. What happened was that it just melted in the heat failing completely to generate cool invigorating wind whic I had hoped for. Oh, well. Maybe I'll try with a bigger bottle next time. At least, there's the whole summer ahead to try again.

The End

Caterpillar

3:27 p.m. My mouth is dry. Have nearly emptied my thermos bottle containing 500ml of Mugi-cha (cold barley tea, typical summer drink in Japanese homes), but my mouth is still dry. Could I possibly be dehydrated? Wonder how long this heat is going to stay. Will I be able to survive this summer?

3:35 p.m. While I have been wimpy, Nadeshiko Japan, our national women's soccer team has won the quarter finals against the host country, Germany. My God, the girls stopped the Germans' six-teen wins in a row. Now that Nadeshiko is in the top four, I think the next game would be their touchstone. If the girls could beat the Swede, they might go all the way to the top. And the key, I think, is Miyama and Sawa. If these two can formulate a good strategy, getting out the best from each of them, then put it into action, I think it could happen. Go girls! Let the world see what you've got!

The End

Caterpillar

2:27 p.m. Have made a guaranteed reservation phone call for Def Leppard's concert ticket. 9,500 yen, to be honest, is a blow to my financial situation, but I've learned from last year's Bon Jovi's concert that I should not hold back my desires. Thus, the call.

2:32 p.m. Think the way we set our salary have been wrong in the first place. We should work to earn the money to buy the things we want, not refrain from buying things to make ends meet within small salary.

2:43 p.m. I've got a ticket. Now all I have to do is pay before it will be deducted in September. No problem because the money for the Mr. N-jima project would be paid into our bank account in a month or so. Where is Kokusai Forum Hall A, by the way?

The End

Caterpillar

1:58 p.m. Last night I was out on our veranda for a smoke and there was something I noticed. It was cool. I mean, it was cooler than last summer. Last summer, as I recall, was really hot just like this one and, extremely muggy even long after the sun had set. I remember complaining in this "Murmur" that the temperature was still thirty-something degrees around 9:00P.M. when I was going home. But this year, it's different.

2:03 p.m. I've been thinking about this for some time. Surely, there were nights I couldn't sleep because it was too hot last year, but this year haven't had such a night so far. And it's unmistakably cooler when am out on the veranda at night. Why?

2:08 p.m. It must be the emission from the air conditioner units. Tokyo has been suffering from heat-island effect for the recent summers however, this year there must be less hot air from the emission of air conditioner units, thanks to the electricity saving. We must take advantage of this opportunity to realize that we can actually stop the heat-island effect if we only try.

The End

Caterpillar

2:02 p.m. Have been scanning today's sports news. Though it's my umpteenth time, it's always nice to read the great news of Nadeshiko Japan's victory. Yesss, the girls are taking us to the Women's World Cup Final! I recorded the game on my hard disk recorder, so am going to savor the moment of joy tonight. Can't wait.

2:07 p.m. Some of the media oversees seem to be surprised by our Nadeshiko's performance. But believe me folks, I think the girls know what they're doing. And they could beat the U.S. Yes, we haven't won against the U.S. Yes, our FIFA ranking is lower. But nothing stays the same. And Nadeshiko Japan is gonna make it history on July 18th.

The End

Caterpillar

2:42 p.m. Security software has been behaving in a strange way. Hope nothing happens.

2:44 p.m. Cow has just picked up information about ex-Kyokushin karateka Willy Williams, also known as "Willy the Bear Fighter," that he is living a quiet and peaceful life as a bus driver somewhere in the U.S. I double-checked Cow, "You mean that Willie who fought a wild bear?" Yes, came the answer. Wow. I didn't know that.

3:00 p.m. Willie's fight against a wild bear had stirred up Karate fans in the late seventies, splitting us into two groups; man-that-guy-is-great-group and the-bear-must-have-been-a-tame-group. Personally, I've always thought that Willie might have been taken advantage of as propaganda for Kyokushin, and felt sorry for him because he might have gone through a lot of pain behind the spotlights. Am glad to know that he's now leading a peaceful life.

The End

Caterpillar

1:40 p.m. Hot, as usual, but another beautiful day today. A boy from the neighborhood who is my client's son has told me that he and his family were going on a trip this weekend. Oh, yes. Monday was a holiday. I guessed that his working mom was able to get a couple of days off and asked him where he was going, though after a some thinking he answered, "I forgot."

1:44 p.m. Have finished reading Drucker, by the way. I had to tackle the book with all the English skill I had, and it wasn't easy, but I finished it. As I flipped through the first several pages to go through it again, I realized I had a better understanding than the first time I read that part. Hmm... Good books are for keeps. Maybe I should buy myself a copy.

The End

Caterpillar

5:16 p.m. Day off today but don't have much to do except work. Must prepare for Tuesday meeting but can do that later. Instead, must get plenty of rest and get ready to stay up late tonight since TV Fuji is going to air the final of Women's World Cup, Nadeshiko against the U.S.

Have slept late for the game in the first place.

11:11 p.m. 4 hours and 34 minutes to go. What to do? Am too excited to concentrate on anything...

The End

Caterpillar

6:37 a.m. Yeeeesss! They did it! Nadeshiko Japan has beat the U.S. and become the champion! I can't believe it, it's amazing!

5:15 p.m. After all these hours, I still can't believe we've actually won. We knew it was going to be a tough game before it even started since we've never won a single game from the U.S. national team. But the Nadeshikos hung on. They finished the first half in a scoreless draw. The Americans were pushing, though. There were many scenes they could have scored. In fact, we were saved by the goal post once. In the later half, however, the U.S. scored a goal from a counter attack and reality hit me, that the U.S. were much more powerful and fast than I had imagined. But then, Miyama nudged in a golden goal and Nadeshiko flung the game right back to the start. Tied 1 to 1, the game went into extension. A brilliant game enough to be called the final.

In the first half of the extension, Wanbach, although Nadeshiko had been alarmed and worked so hard to stop, scored a beautiful heading goal, which proved her to be the super player the world believed. That goal hurt. I was about to give up hope when things went unchanged and time was running out with only three minutes left. And then, a miracle. Sawa, how did she end up on that very spot I'll never know, touched the cross ball from Miyama's corner kick to score a big, big, big goal. And the PK... My, Kaihori must have had something. She saved three goals. And we won.

5:35 p.m. It still feels like a miracle. Japan winning the World Cup... Nadeshiko, the girls, they did a great job. Can't tell how many of us have been deeply touched and encouraged by their performance. Thanks, girls, from the bottom of my heart. And to the many people who supported the team. I am gratified to be able to share this moment.

The End

Caterpillar

2:36 p.m. Am fighting back terrible sleepiness. Think many of you must also be in the same situation, since the viewing rating for the funal game of the women's Soccer Wold Cup was reported to be 21.8 percent, despite the time it was broadcasted. Must reset my sleep clock again.

3:02 p.m. Ahh. It's not just because of the final. The typhoon. A large and powerful typhoon is approaching Tokyo inching up the Pacific coast of Shikoku now. I was sleeping with my windows open in extreme humidity this morning when suddenly, was disturbed by the battering rain and wind. I looked around with my sleepy head barely recognizing what was happening, but somehow managed to shut the window and turned on the fan. Not to mention I had a bad sleep after that, wriggling in uncomfortableness like a whale dragged out on land. No wonder am attacked with terrible sleepiness now.

The End

Caterpillar

2:24 p.m. The typhoon is moving unexpectedly slow. Radio news has reported a while ago that it is still moving along the Pacific coast of the Kii peninsula. She hasn't moved much since yesterday... Weather news had predicted earlier, that she would move up north along the coast, changing course eastbound near the coast of Chiba however, it seems there was a change in course. According to the latest typhoon information on Yahoo!, she is predicted to move away to the east, and will be out on the Pacific by midnight.

2:37 p.m. Guess the fierce heat will be back tomorrow. Though cannot find an answer to the question, which would be better, a scorching sunny day or a cloudy sauna.

The End

Caterpillar

1:53 p.m. It was suddenly unbelievably cool last night. The typhoon had probably brought cool wind. But I'm sure the heat will be back tomorrow, because the typhoon is getting furhter and further away from Tokyo.

2:01 p.m. I couldn't sleep well last night. I am not good at adjusting to sudden changes in temperature, so I spend sleepless nights whenever the season changes. Last night's coolness has brought me another one.

2:05 p.m. Have had a morning session with a client who brought along her two daughters, six years old and two, respectively, and I'm already weary having had to talk with their mother, while the two-year-old was yelling hysterically to catch her mommy's attention. Gee, I admire the mother's patience.

The End

Caterpillar

3:23 p.m. Have just got a meeting appointment for a new project. Something new always sounds so exciting. Though I'll be dent with anxiety in a while...

3:37 p.m. Let's look at the bright side. A new project means additional income, that means I won't have to worry about making the ends meet every month, perhaps it might even lead to a bright future; my own apartment. No, no. It's not about money, I mean, not just money. I'm looking at a chance, opportunity, to meet new people, discover a whole new world of who knows what? That would be exciting. And besides, it's always nice to know, or at least feel like you can be of some help to somebody.

The End

Caterpillar

1:31 p.m. Cow has been complaining about the mouse he's benn using for some time, that the scroll roller doesn't work properly. He said he remembered seeing a cheap one in a do-it-yourself store near our office, and told me to get one there on my way to work. And Cow, as usual, has demanded a lot of small things : a) not too big or not too small, it has to be the perfect size, b) it has to have three buttons including a scroll button, c) it has to be less than 1,000 yen, d) do not buy if it didn't meet these requirements.

1:41 p.m. So I satisfied his demands getting him a new mouse for 880 yen. He was pleased. For a while. But then a little later, he started complaining that the old mouse has suddenly started to work properly. Well, what's the complaint for, then?

The End

Caterpillar

11:28 p.m. Analog TV broadcasting service has finished, or is supposed to have finished today, except for three Touhoku prefectures that fell victim to the 3.11 earthquake. That means we cannot watch TV unless we have a digital antenna connected to a digital tuner or, have cable TV.

11:31 p.m. Good thing I got my HDD recorder. It would have been a joke if I didn't have a tuner while I had a TV and an antenna on our veranda.

11:34 p.m. What time exactly did the analog broadcasting finish, by the way? What was it like, I wonder? Did the TVs go out abruptly when the broadcasting sevice ended at something o'clock zero zero minutes? Just simple curiosity.

The End

Caterpillar

1:41 p.m. It was midnight when an announcer said nonchalantly that analog broadcasting would be finished at the tone of midnight, thank you so much for watching analog broadcasting. What!? Is that all? After all the fuss of transforming into digital broadcasting, it seemed a rather unspectacular ending for analog broadcasting service which entertained so many viewers after the second World War and throughout the Showa era.

1:49 p.m. Digital broadcasting service was introduced, or forced on us more likely, in the first place, to expand capacity for the coming increase in digital traffic. Let's see how it turns out.

The End

Caterpillar

2:38 p.m. Around this time yesterday, have discovered the news that Amy Winehouse had suddenly died. I was shocked, but then it wasn't unexpected to tell the truth, for she was notorious for her problems with drugs and alcohol. Though she was too young.

2:42 p.m. Every time I hear about the deaths of young artists or musicians, I can't help thinking about their mental condition. Michael Jackosn, Kurt Cobern, Janis Joplin, and now Amy Winehouse, they were all great musicians, artists, I believe. What I assume is that these people must have had very sensitive hearts, sensitive enough to feel things that we usually just pass by without noticing, and those sensitive hearts had created music that felt to us, so comfortable, yet new and exciting. Unfortunately, those sensitive hearts must have also been exposed to things like unimaginable amount of pressure, greed, things we possess inside but not so beautiful to look at, and their hearts, I fear, couldn't have been able to bear the pain.

2:53 p.m. Such a loss of talent... I pray now that her sould rests in peace.

The End

Caterpillar

2:03 p.m. Cow is mumbling that the scroll button on his mouse is not working. The time has come to switch to the new mouse.

2:04 p.m. Changed to new mouse. So how do you like it?

2:05 p.m. Cow says it's nice and smooth. Good. Won't have to cope with this matter any more. Case closed.

The End

Caterpillar

1:52 p.m. The hygrometer in this room has been pointing to ninety. That means the humidity in this room is ninety percent... Unbelievable.

1:54 p.m. Most of us have learned in school that Japan has a moderately moist climate, though things seem to be a little different these days. This is way past moist. Has the climate of Japan changed to somewhat a more tropical one? Wonder what they teach in school now. Anyway, don't remember living in a jungle. Nor have I intended to live in a rainforest, especially not a rainforest with buildings and concrete instead of forests. I'd rather welcome rain than stay in such humidity for a whole day.

The End

Caterpillar

3:35 p.m. Cow has asked me if I had some time so I said YES. This usually meant trouble, but I try to make time unless I have something urgent.

3:43 p.m. He's just showed me a video clip from Kara Payer, his favorite web site. I think he checks it every day. The video's title was "Plot Device." It was a short film about a young man who had added a "Plot Device," merely from simple curiosity, to his cart while shopping at Amazon.com. The " device" arrives in a couple of days, and the man finds out this device, a metal box with a push-button switch, was actually a device to trasport you to other different worlds. It was an awesome film, and some of the scenes seemed to be a parody, reminding me of famous films like "Lethal Weapon," "Independence Day," or "Platoon." Wonder if the person who made this film is already making a real movie?

The End

Caterpillar

1:24 p.m. Another celebrity has left this world. Hideki Irabu, ex-New York Yankees pitcher has committed suicide. He was forty-two. He must have been another lonely soul who had suffered a great deal. He must have been feeling his physical performance waning despite his passion for baseball after he'd left the Yankees.

Personally, I don't think he was a great pitcher, but his fastball was "fast," no doubt about that. And he also was an exceptional person, unafraid to snap at people with power unlike most Japanese who would conceal their feelings in order not to endanger their positions, especially when met with power. In that sense he was amusing. I wish there'd been something or someone that could have consoled or comforted his pain, because I believe there were still much more he could have contributed to the world of baseball besides his role as a player. Rest in peace, Irabu, now that you're released from the pain and sorrow of this world. Lotte fans will always remember you as the "king Irabu" you used to be.

The End

Caterpillar

6:29 p.m. To my disappointment, I have been failing to get Internet access from a public space (like cafes) for the past couple of times somehow, and I've been wondering what was it that I'd done wrong. It's really quite embarrasing to admit that I've been fumbling with the simple task of connecting to the Internet for nearly a month now, where people take only seconds. The frustrating thing is, that I can't try out and see how things work right away even if I came up with a probable solution, because the only time I can spend on these things are Sundays, and I had been sleeping off most of it. Besides, I have to go out to a cafe that has an accesspoint, the nearest one happening to be 25 minutes away on foot.

Last week, it seemed that I was able to get connection, but the computer failed to show any website and I thought, it must have been blocked by the firewall. But in order to find out if it was the firewall that caused the problem, I have to shut it down which meant that my computer would be left vulnerable, although for a short time. What if someone sneeks into my computer in that short time? Wouldn't I look like a juicy hare or a fat goose or similar to those who'd want a peek into someone else's computer? What if he or she tries to dominate my computer? What am I to do?

The End

Caterpillar