4:13 p.m. Eventually, I overcame my obsessive thoughts about what will happen if I stopped the firewall. I had to do it otherwise I wouldn't know if the firewall was causing the trouble of not being able to view any websites. So I did.

I neutralized the firewall, and launched the browser in a hurry. My scale did tip on the side of stopping the firewall, but that didn't mean I wasn't afraid that something bad could happen. It took a couple of minutes but the browser showed a familiar screen of Google. So it WAS the firewall. I checked a few more other websites like JRA or Yahoo! and the browser was able to show all of them though the layout design had been completely ignored in some pages. Perhaps they're sending back data for mobile phones, I thought. But that wasn't such a major problem as long as I was able to view them to get the information I wanted. All of this took approximately three minutes and 42 seconds, to which I was getting nervous, so I reset the firewall so that it would provide protection again. Then I went to check the websites again, to make sure I can view it with the firewall. Perfect. Plus, nothing has been detected in the scan I did right after I'd closed the browser. Good, good.

The End

Caterpillar

2:57 p.m. I had a miserable time yesterday on my way home. I bought some food for today's lunch at a supermarket near the office, because it's usually cheaper there than in my neighborhood. Since I still had a long way home, I packed free ice at the packing counter, in plastic bags you can take for free if you shop. And I had doubled the plastic bag of ice before I put it in my tuckerbag, just to be on the safe side.

I don't think there were any holes in the plastic bags, however, the melted ice somehow seeped through the doubled bags, my tuckerbag, and my backpack, wetting my pants as if I'd pissed in them... I wasn't aware of the disaster until I felt my laps getting cold and wet while I held my backpack in front sitting on the seat of the subway. By the time I got off, the front of my pants, dangerously close to my crotch, were drenched with liquid. Can't tell you how embarrassed I was, though I had nothing to be ashamed of.

The End

Caterpillar

1:56 p.m. A little while ago, they were talking about Japanese who were the first to land on foreign countries, and I was surprided to hear an episode about a boy called Asajiro. He was thought to be the first Japanese to ever lay foot on New Zealand soil.

I couldn't quite catch the part about when this episode actually happened, but this boy called Asajiro, was seven years old. His father was a skilled boat-builder, and when they were invited for a party on board a huge ship from the British Empire for having done a superb job in repairing the ship, probably, somewhere around the 1800s. Feeling great joy as being honored, Asajiro's father went on the ship with his son. It seems that he'd fully enjoyed the party, he left the ship tipsy from too much drinking, not realizing that he had left his son on board. The very next day, the ship left Japan with Asajiro still on board...

Later, the British met a German ship and asked them to take Asajiro back to Japan, if they were stopping at Japan. The Germans took the boy, however, they somehow didn't stop at Japan. Having given up going back to his home country, Asajiro stayed on the German ship for ten years, until he left the sea behind to become the first Japanese to set foot on the South Island of New Zealand.

2:15 p.m. Amazing.

The End

Caterpillar

1:58 p.m. Fireworks display events are about to reach the prime season. I think it was Tuesday evening when I heard teh muffled booms through the glass door of our office, which I at first mistook for a distant rumble of thunder. Although some of the traditional events had been cancelled effected by the previous earthquake in Tohoku, still we couldn't bear to have them all called off. At least, they're having the annual fireworks display in Jingu this weekend, and the most well-known Sumidagawa Hanabi at the end of this month, on 28th.

2:08 p.m. That reminds me of seeing an unfamiliar object afloat on the Sumida River. As I was crossing one of the numerous the bridge hanging over the Sumida River on my way home, I spotted a strange object floating on the surface of the river. It was already dark at the time and all I could make out was the blurred outline of what seemed like a boat with two pipes jutting out toward the sky. Yesterday I had a chance to check the figure in daylight and, to my surprise, it seemed to be one of the rafts we use to shoot fireworks tied to a small tug boat. Have never seen a raft set at that part of the river before. Could it be that they're shooting fireworks from there this year? If so, perhaps we could get a good view from the bridge. But then, the bridge would be packed with people, I suppose...

The End

Caterpillar

4:52 p.m. As I was leaving the house this morning, I noticed a patrol car approaching with warnings blasting off their speaker. "..those who claim to be your sons and tell you to register their cell phone numbers because they've got a new cell phone, is almost always suspicious..." The sound receded as the car turned the corner and slowly drove away.

"Almost always suspicious," what was that supposed to mean? I surpressed a grin as I was passing by a stranger on the road. What a roundabout expression that is? It hardly sounds like a warning. Are the police sriously intending to send out alarming messages?

The End

Caterpillar

1:26 p.m. Several years ago, JoOusama had given me an unwanted English pronunciation text book. Thinking that perhaps I might make use of it some day when helping out some kids from the neighborhood with their English, I've kept it in my bookshelf. I was flipping through its pages today, wondering whether I should get rid of it since I couldn't imagine using it in the near future, and as I closed the book to take a look at its cover, my eyes captured a name vaguely familiar printed on the front cover.

1:33 p.m. Gees. Have just realized that one of the writers of that text book happened to have exactly the same name as my second grade teacher back in New York... Could it be...her? Of course, there's a fat chance that she could be a completely different person just having the same name as my teacher. But could I possibly be talking about a small world, here? My teacher would be around fifty-five or six now, assuming she was about twenty-three or four when I was in her class. I wonder what she's doing now.

The End

Caterpillar

6:28 p.m. Have just finished reading a thick paperback of Ken Follet. Am not much fond of the writer, but I read the book all the way through anyway, just because I'd started it. It was a book I picked up from my parents' dust-covered stack of English paperbacks waiting to be discarded, merely because it had the golden print of "#1 Best Seller of New York Times" on the top of its cover.

6:32 p.m. It took me nearly two weeks to finish it with a long story which am sure was over five hundred pages, focused on the lives of peasants, merchants, priors and nunns, earls and countesses, seen through the childhood relaionships of the four main characters who lived their lives of different social status in Kingsbridge in the 1300s. To me, the whole story wasn't very much appealing, since I never had much interest in the ups and downs of other peoples' lives, however, one thing I learned from the book was that life has bends and turns that you can never even imagine at the earlier stages, and it could lead to achievements that you at first thought was impossible. As they say, all is well that ends well, I figured that that should be the goal of my life. Whatever may happen in the future, I'd be glad if I'd be able to say at the end, "Well, that wasn't so bad after all, was it?"

7:01p.m. But I think I'll pick a Sydney Shelldon next time, or Sara Paretsky, or preferably, Dan Brown.

The End

Caterpillar

3:45 p.m. Have started a new book, "Rich Dad Poor Dad," though in Japanese version. Am desperate, not to mention.

Am about halfway through the book and am very much impressed. Why didn't I read it much earlier? Because I'd thought it was one of those books that say things artificially skirting around but never touching the core of how to make big money. But I was wrong. It was a book tellling you about cash flow, how our money system works, and why most of us must keep on working to pay and to live. Very convincing and educational. I'd never quite got it why I had to be driven by work and not the other way around, and I've been searching for an answer for the past decade or so, since I definitely wanted to get out of that loop of working for and to pay. Now that I've met this book, I got the answers in my hands. Am going to get out of this "rat race."

The End

Caterpillar

2:30 p.m. "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" has cast a light upon my future. I don't agree to everything the writer says, especially about becoming extremely rich. I don't want to be extremely rich. Rather the contrary, I just want to lead a modest life with money enough to make a living. However, currently am not living the life I've always wanted to, though I still don't have a specific vision of my future. Still, I've always been eager to change the situation, I just didn't know where and what to start with. The book has given me a lot of hints to get started, and am thinking of following its advice, learn more about financial management and get on moving with my life, now that I'm sure where I'm headed.

2:47 p.m. Ten years. Am gonna give myself ten years from now to clear the first step. Wait and see what happens.

The End

Caterpillar

2:24 p.m. Have been thinking... First of all, I have to go through my earnings and expenditure in the form of balance sheet, to get a picture of how much money is coming in and how much is spent. Then, must analyze my balance sheet, think through how I can restrain spending and increase income.

Meanwhile, I also have to search and learn more about Japanese tax laws. What exactly are the things that would be imposed tax? What exactly are allowable? As I'm already practically a partner with Cow who runs a business, there must be some other ways to save up or money or make money work.

2:35 p.m. Hmmm... This is getting interesting. I might be in narrow circumstances now, but I haven't given up the fight yet, you know.

The End

Caterpillar

1:50 p.m. The Perseids meteor shower is coming. Acccording to a news source, it is said to reach the peak around 3:00 p.m. of August 13th, that is, Saturday, and because the moon will be thirteen days old, the condition for observation is terrible. But do not despair yet. That is the time when the meteor shower reaches its peak. There are still chances of catching shooting stars from midnight to dawn of 12th and 14th, if you make sure you meet the following requirements and be patient. One, find a spacious open space with less light as possible. Two, observe the east sky turning your back to the west, in order to avoid moonlight. Three, bring an outdoor chair so you can sit down and relax.

2:03 p.m. Luckily, am having summer vacation from 13th, Saturday which means that I could spend some time looking up at the sky for shooting stars. But only if the skies are clear... OK. Let's start making shine-shine-shaven-heads.

The End

Caterpillar

4:11 p.m. My summer vacation is going to start from tomorrow. But why is it that am not happy? In fact, am not happy at all. There's no point in having vacation if you don't have anything to look forward to, and so far I don't have any places to go and refresh myself, not to mention that my parents' house is more like a jail to me than a relaxing home. That's why am not delighted with my vacation, I guess.

4:25 p.m. I wish I could leave all the troubles behind and just get away to some gorgeous condominium facing a beautiful beach. For free, of course, to savor the hot summer breeze and relax in the shade drinking cold beer and listening to nice music. Wow, wouldn't that be nice.

The End

Caterpillar

11:15 p.m. First day of summer vacation ending... Nothing special. Got up, ate toast, drank coffee, went to library to ponder what I could do to improve my quality of life because it's air conditioned. Got back in the hottest time of the day only to find I was too late to catch Cow on Skype! Read The Essential Drucker over again to find clues to somehow reorganize my life, though so far haven't found any solution to the problem. Ate supper, practiced guitar in extreme heat, too hot that am not sure whether even Prickly Heat can relieve the heat and the itchiness of expanding heat rash.

11:23 p.m. Gee. What a vacation... So enjoyable I feel like crying. Well, at least I should be grateful for being able to complain like this.

The End

Caterpillar

11:08 p.m. Day two of summer vacation... almost gone. Mostly the same as yesterday, nothing much going on except that I washed clothes today, which is my weekly task for Sundays. Why is it that I expect something special, just because am having a couple of days off? Can't I be satisfied by the mere fact that I don't have to go to work? Why am I so greedy?

11:26 p.m. Am gonna watch "Cold Case" that I've recorded to cheer me up a bit, and then go to sleep. Right. Good idea. I should be sleeping early when I can. Though it could be hard to sleep in this heat.

The End

Caterpillar

11:27 p.m. Day three almost gone. Just finished my guitar practice and am drenched with sweat. Ugh. But I've somehow made it to the twenty-second page of my training book, leaving four more training phrases to go before I could start Round Two, which is the second section of this training book that consists of four sections. That means I'm still struggling with the First Round which in this book is referred to as the ‘Warm-Up’ Section...

Can't believe it took me more than three years to get here, and am appalled at my slow progress, however, it's almost a miracle that am still hanging on without giving up over such a period of time. I've never been good at staying motivated. Maybe I just wanted to prove that even I could accomplish something once I set my mind to it.

The End

Caterpillar

11:52 p.m. Day four, ending. Have been complaining that my summer vacation so far has lacked excitement. It seems someone had saved them all for today, since a lot of things happened all at once today. I don't know why, but JoOusama suddenly decided to give me the money she had been saving up in an unknown postal savings account in my name (she must be losing her mind, is she going senile?), the one she had opened by tricking me into lending her my ID card, I found a perfect website where I can learn financial literacy from, had an answerphone message from the hospital which merely said that they're pulling out a tooth from Obaba (gees, what on earth happened?!), and finally, have just discovered that Sei-un Sky, one of my favorite Satsuki-sho and Kikka-sho winner has died in Hokkaido.

11:58 p.m. Some of you might not find such things equivalent to the term, excitement, but for me, it was an eventful day. Feel dizzy, though don't know whether it's from the excitement or from the unwaning heat.

The End

Caterpillar

7:26 p.m. Day five and the last day of summer vacation. About the time when Sazae-san starts on Sundays, and you start wishing that you didn't have to go to work tomorrow which is exactly what I'm feeling now. But the weather forecast is predicting some rain towards the end of the week which is GOOOOD, since we haven't had rain in Tokyo for a while and hopefully it could bring down the temperature a little.

7:46 p.m. The weekly forecast says that the high on Saturday would be twenty-eight degrees. Sure hope it becomes true. A high of tweny-eight is a relief, really, after all this heat.

The End

Caterpillar

2:11 p.m. Work has started. And it's HOT! Why is it that we have to record the season's highest temperature today, of all days? Why couldn't it be yesterday when I didn't have work? But on second thought it might have been good since our office is air conditioned, though my room is not.

2:15 p.m. Anyway, I've found a mystery spot in my own room during vacation. There's a spot about a foot away from the closet and eight inches above the carpeted floor, where the air in that spot is obviously cooler than other parts of my room. I found it by accident, and was surprised to find the air only in that spot as cool as inside a refrigerator... Have no idea why, but it's unmistakably cool. Drop me a line if anyone can think of a convincing reason as to why a certain spot in the air can become evidently cooler than the room temperature.

The End

Caterpillar

5:28 p.m. A couple of days ago, I received an email asking where exactly had I got Snake Brand's Prickly Heat in Tokyo. The title of the mail simply said "question," so I was about to delete it thinking it was another spam, but thought better of it and opened the mail to find out it was really a question. The writer must have been desperate to send me email. I sent back a reply explaining the location of Asia Superstore in Shinjuku, together with a link to their website.

5:32 p.m. Have been checking email for today and noticed that the questioner had sent me a ‘Thank you’ reply to my email. No problem. My pleasure to be able to help someone though it has suddenly besome so cool. But the forecast is predicting a high of over thirty degrees for the beginning of next week, so there may be a chance that Prickly Heat would become a must item again. Thanks to the questioner, it's always good to know someone is actually reading my contents.

The End

Caterpillar

12:34 p.m. Briefly released from heat after weeks of sweating buckets. The temperature in Tokyo now is twenty-three degrees. Invigorating. Must be careful, though. The rapid ups and downs in temperature could upset my health.

1:22 p.m. Have done a quick search on room temperature, by the way. What have learned is that room temperatures differ according to which part of the room the temperature has been recorded, and that the difference in temperature is deeply related to the moisture content. Places closer to the ceiling is likely to have higher temperature compared to the air near the floor, and that has something to do with the moisture the air contains. I got that much but am not sure it explains the cause of the mystery spot in my room. Need a more specific explanation.

The End

Caterpillar

10:44 p.m. Stayed home all day because it was cool enough to stay home. In the evening, I went out to the supermarket to get some Abura-age (deep-fried tofu pouch) for tomorrow's lunch.

10:49 p.m. Have been searching if there were any quick and easy way to open the tofu pouch without ripping them open, when I came across an article in CookPad telling exactly what I'd been looking for. According to the article, you will be able to open the pouch smoothly and easily, after you've microwaved the Abura-age for about a minute. But you must be careful not to heat them too much because if you do, the Abura-age would become hard. All you have to do is to put the Abura-age on a plate, put it in the micrwave and heat it for about a minute. When you see the middle of the pouch getting puffed up, that will be the sign to take them out. After that, cut the Abura-age in half from the middle and presto! You will get two Abura-age sacks! Unbelievable. Must see with my own eyes.

The End

Caterpillar

2:00 p.m. Last week I was watching NHK simply because it was on, and I happened to see a program introducing some movies from YouTube. Some of them were amazing. Thought you might want to take a look. So here's the link to those awsome movies. NHK Do-ga

6:09 p.m. I personally like the ‘Marble Machine.’ Those machines are wonderful. What's even more remarkable is that the submitter has had reactions from all over the world which started a whole new communication network.

The End

Caterpillar

2:16 p.m. Summer is back as have been expected...

2:56 p.m. Tokyo FM seems to be holding an event today, trying to light up the Tokyo tower with electricity made only by purpose-made bicycles. They've been featuring an earth-friendly project to make electricity by bicycles in a radio program called Synapse, having the guest artists (or their crew) pedal the bikes to make enough electricity to play their songs. Eventually, the project has developed into tonight's lighting of Tokyo tower.

3:06 p.m. Have heard on the radio a while ago, that some member of AKB48 is coming to the site of the project at the foot of Tokyo tower, to pedal the bikes and help make electricity. Wonder what would happen if Atchan came... Would her fans rush to the site too? Would they pedal the bikes? Surely, they would fight over the bike that she'd pedaled?

The End

Caterpillar

1:36 p.m. It seems Tokyo FM has succeeded in lighting up the Tokyo tower only by man power for twenty minutes last night. I heard it in the NHK radio news this morning. Wow, they really did it. It's amazing how much we human can do, if we put our strengths together. Yama-chan, the show host of the radio program Synapse, had done a great job. The lighted up Tokyo tower must have given hope to a lot of people.

1:40 p.m. Just discovered on Yahoo! News that there had been a comparatively large earthquake on the eastern coast of the United States, including large cities as New York or Washington D.C. It said there had been some confusion. Hope there aren't any injuries... Is everybody OK?

The End

Caterpillar

12:51 p.m. No serious injuries reported so far, related to the earthquake that hit Virginia. Am relieved. Have learned that New York had put together an evacuation system after 9/11 and with that actually put to use, the workers in lower Manhattan have systematically been evacuated to local parks by the police officers. It is a blessed relief to know that New York has not only risen up from that painful incident, but also learned things from it.

1:02 p.m. Meantime, the World Judo Championship is reaching the climax in France. Would like to congratulate Misato Makamura for becoming a champion again in women's 52kg class, and also to Aiko Sato who overcame her ligament rupture to win the gold medal in women's 57kg class. She proved that you could achieve your goal, even if it seemed impossible at times, if you kept trying and didn't give up. Am so happy for her.

The End

Caterpillar

1:50 p.m. Have just read a message posted on some famous question board, from a mother asking for advice. The questioner has a daughter who wants get married to a man that she obviously does not approve because she thinks he's not suitable for the family. The mother has been disapproving the marriage with her husband for a year, saying that the daughter should listen to them and give up the marriage, because parents know their daughters best. There were other family business to keep the mother busy enough, so the daughter kept quiet sensing her mother's worries, but seeing things have sttled down, she brought up the marriage again, confessing about the hard times she's had in her younger days and that parents actually did not know everything. The mother had posted a question asking whether she should permit the marriage or not.

2:03 p.m. Why does it sound so familiar?

The End

Caterpillar

2:04 p.m. The Sumida River Fireworks Display is going to be held this evening, a month late than usual, due to the Tohoku earthquake effects. It's not raining right now, but the sky is cloudy. Hope the weather will hold. Perhaps I'll be able to catch a glimpse from Kiyosu-bashi?

2:10 p.m. On the other hand, I should not watch the display to the end, since the subway would probably be packed when the display is over. Must check the hours.

The End

Caterpillar

6:05 p.m. Forgot to check the hours of the fireworks display but guessed it would start around seven after sunset, and dropped by Kiyosu Bridge on my way home. I got there around six forty-five and by seven, a small crowd had gathered on the bridge. Yes, I was able to see the fireworks, but to my disappointment, only the top half of the fireworks were visible since they were shot lower than last year (they looked like the sun emerging from the atmosphere at dawn showing only the top half), probably because they had to shoot from somewhere different from the usual launching spot. Still, the fireworks were much larger than the ones I've seen last summer, from over a further bridge and was happy about that. Maybe I'll try the same spot again next summer.

6:12 p.m. Have just been to the supermarket and discovered that hot spring water of my favored brand has finally been lined up on the shelf. It took so long after the earthquake, actially more than five months, that I thought I'll never see them on the shelf again. But now they're back and am very relieved.

The End

Caterpillar

4:39 p.m. Had tried to take pictures of the fireworks but unfortunately, ran out of batteries after taking only one picture. Have put new batteries in now, to check if the only picture taken could miraculously be a perfect shot.

4:41 p.m. Oh, nooo. The picture was completely blurred, even on the small screen on my digital camera. Can easily imagine how terrible it would look on a larger screen... It was the only shot I got. Was thinking of sending nice picture of fireworks to friends, but that'll have to wait. Maybe next year.

The End

Caterpillar

2:08 p.m. Hammer thrower and gold medalist of the Athens Olympics, Koji Murofushi, has won a gold medal in the World Athletic Championship held in Daegu, Korea. It seems he's done a lot of trunk muscle training. His last two throws both recorded more than eighty meters, especially the last throw recording his best of the season. Hope this victory would serve him as a spur towards the London Olympics coming up next year.

2:17 p.m. Feeling happy for Murofushi, have just been to the toilet and discovered that the front zipper of my cut pants had been left open... I hadn't touched it since I put them on, that means it must have been open all this time, while I transferred trains at Shibuya, walked from the nearest station in broad day light to this office. How embarrassing.

The End

Caterpillar

1:59 p.m. Have slept over... Had to run furiously from station to office since had a 10:30 meeting with client. Luckily, made it just in time to see my client about to pull open the office door. But have wasted first five to ten minutes catching my breath and wiping off buckets of sweat.

2:14p.m. My shirt which has been soaked nearly to the point of dripping, is now hanging from a clothes hanger in the corner, left to dry by the time I'll have to wer it again to go home. It's been almost four hours since I barely got here, but my leg muscles still keep quivering, having suddenly been forced into full power. Feel am getting old.

The End

Caterpillar