As they say, time flies and it's already April again.

In Japan, April is a time for new beginnings such as the fiscal year, or the school terms. There's gonna be various sorts of changes going on here and there. Actually, there were some changes in my family too. Hime, my deary sister, has left her company by which she was formally employed (she was on administrarive leave for childbirth) at the end of March. Ahhhh. So she's finally made up her mind to concentratete on child care. But then again, looks like she's gonna start school from April... . What's she doing? The kids are going to be unattended as usual, huh?

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Well, Hime's not tending her children didn't just start today.

Her children has mainly been fed with ready-made box lunches or sandwiches. Her husband seems to cook sometimes, but that's a rare case. She drops by our place with the kids at least twice a week, usually to lie back on the sofa reading newspapers leaving her kids unattended. She has JoOusama at her fingertips, making her bring food or drink whenever she wants them. Since the beginning of this year, she's been landing her one-year-old son in the hospital because of pneumonia, while her daughter has been suffering from allergic rashes, the palm of her hands bleeding from too much scratching. And Hime still hasn't taken her to the doctor's... . What in the world is she doing?

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I don't know why, but my right sneaker keeps squeaking every time I take a step.

I wonder if there's a hole in the sole or something. As I was squeaking along the way, I recalled a memory of my jellies that JoOusama had bought me when I was a small child. You know, the ones that squeak when you walk with them on. I was overwhelmed with the unexpected gift of jellies, since I had never been on a scrounge as long as I can remeber. Not to mention, I went squeaking all over, ending up being yelled at by JoOusama, "Shuuut uuuuuppp!".

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I've been making a week's lunch at once on my day off recently. However, our kitchen often happens to be occupied with either Tono or JoOusama. (- -;) Well, thats all right. There's a dish I can cook on my electric carpet.

Put some diced Japanese radish together with some pork hash, a few slices of ginger, cooking Sake and soy sauce, into a small earthen pot and bring it to a boil on the burner. Then remove the pot from heat, wrap it in a blanket after wrapping it in a bunch of newspapers and set it on a heated electric carpet. Cover the pot (in bundles) with an additional blanket and leave it that way for about 5 hours. Now you've got yourself a delicious dish of radish and pork. (^-^) Though I know it's getting warm enough to put away those electric carpets.

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Last weekend, I saw the recap ep of a popular Korean drama "Dae Chang Um". And I remembered seeing a headline in a weekly magazine quite a while ago saying, "Ming Jung-Ho, Working Women's Prince Charming". (^ ^;)

Ming Jung-Ho is a male character who supports the variouos hardship-facing heroine in this drama, Chang-Um, both openly and behind the scenes, sometimes even risking his own life. Hmmn. Well, he sure is a character that should become popular among today's Japanese working women in their late 20s and the 30s.

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Maybe, many of the Japanese working women could be thinking, "isn't there a guy somewhere who would support me like Ming Jung-Ho?" However, after reviewing the drama once again I noticed in fact, that in many scenes of this drama, this guy Ming Jung-Ho was also supported or encouraged by Chang-Um.

Well, for those who dream for a prince Ming Jung-Ho, I guess he'd find you if you were a little bit more like Chang-Um... .

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When you take the same route going to and from work, you come to recognize that some of the faces you see, in fact, are seen almost every day.

In my case, I often see this girl (perhaps in early 20s) on my way home. This girl, I always think, has a great hairstyle. Her hair puffed up 3 times as large as her face, is covering her head from the top to the back. To make it simple, it looks like she's wearing a helmet covering her head from top to back. And because of the largeness of the helmet part of her hair, it makes me jump sometimes when I see her in the darkness ... .

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The member of the Japanese national judo team for the Beijing Olympics was announced on Sunday, April 6th. I was stunned by the announcement, though I knew that the same thing had happened for the formerly held World Championship. Why did they choose Ryouko Tani when she has been beated in the qualification match?! Moreover, why did they choose her and leave out Tadahiro Nomura?! What kind of standard did they refer to, huh?!

As a Japanese, I totally cannot accept this decision. If they're gonna get away with such hocus-pocus, they shouldn't have held the qualification match in the first place. Don't blame me if there'll be no one who'd want to become a judoist, or a judo fan. It won't be a fantasy if something like this could go on.

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On Monday, I happened to see a TV interview of Tdahiro Nomura, who failed to be selected as a member of the national judo team. It was the very next day the member announcement was made.

"I'm accepting the results as it is. I simply wasn't good enough at this moment," said Nomura. What a graceful and modest attitude. It made me feel fresh and crisp hearing such a coment. Of course, he must have been frustrated inside but I found his manner agreeable, trying to accept the situation calmly and objectively. He still seems undecided about whether or not to continue in the sport however, if he decides to challenge for the next olympics, I'm definitely going to respect and support this judoist called Tadahiro Nomura.

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In order to modify an article in this site, I've downloaded the data once and uploaded the modified version.

Then I remembered, oh yeah, I'd better back up this file before anything happens and it's too late. So I downloaded the file in its latest condition. Huh? How come the file data's been modified to the latest condition? I think I hadn't made a back up for a while... ah! I've just downloaded it to fix the article... . Seems like I'm going around the bend these days... .

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Well, my elevator not going all the way to the top didn't just start today, though. Yes, I've been doing such things pretty often, things as flat as such... .

The other day, I pulled out my mug to make myself a cup of Japanese green tea at home. I put some water in the kettle, brought it to a boil and poured it into the mug and almost drank it straight without the tea leaves... . All right, but at least I noticed before actually drinking it! Though it's nothing I should be confident with.

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I used to wake up with a terrible bedhead. So I've been drying my hair with a hair dryer before going to bed. But this handy-carrying small hair dryer that I've been using for about 4 years, somehow seemed to be gutless, ususally taking too much time to dry my hair completely.

Yesterday, I was about to dry my hair again with that gutless dryer when I noticed a small dial on the handle that said 240v and 120v. Hmn? Hmmnn?!! Does this mean that this dryer is made for oversea use, too?! I set the dial to 120v, plugged it on. ZOooomm, went the dryer, and it was powerful... . I can't believe myself not noticing it for 4 years.(;_;)

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I saw a young man at the station yesterday. He seemed to be having some fun.

He seemed to be doing some kind of a delivering job, and I was watching him push a loaded cart from behind. The cart though, had nothing like a handle to it looking more like a big skateboard. Then all of a sudden, that young man jumped onto the loaded cart and started sliding? skating? Ahh. It looks like fun! Gravitated, I automatically closed in on his back and have frightened him out of his wits... . Noticing that I was right behind, he jumped off the cart. Oh, I'm sorry to have interrupted all the fun, honestly I am.(^ ^;)

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Oukashou(the Japanese 1000 Guineas), was held at Hanshin race course (Osaka) as an opening of this year's classic season. It resulted in a wild race, with the winning trifecta paying over 7 million yen to 100 yen bet.

The winning jockey Komaki was in tears of joy during his interview, and it was a pretty touching scene. Though I've goofed again, not to mention. Well, he's finally won a G1 race after all the years (probably nearly ten) of hard work since he's transfered to the JRA. And his first title became a classic which even the great jockey Okabe couldn't achieve in his time. Congratulations, Komaki. By the way, how in the world could such a thing happen ... I'll have to hold an evaluation meeting for myself. You could have won 70 million yen (!!) if you've only placed 100 yen. I wonder if there was a winner.

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I went to a shop near my office that sells Maguro(tuna fish) by measure, since they gave me a coupon the first time I purchased there, and the date of that coupon was about to expire. This coupon was suposed to get me 100 grams of Maguro for free as long as it was valid, which I thought was a good deal.

Wow, I can get a pack free?! So I went to the shop, ordered 100 grams and handed the coupon to the staff. The staff put 2 packs of Maguro in a bag and said, "here you are, that comes to 300 yen." What?! Wasn't it supposed to be FREE? Sweat, sweat.. . Oh..? Oh...I got it. It was a "Buy One Get One Free" coupon... .(^ ^;)

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I usually ride near the door whenever I take the train, regarding that I could miss the chance to get off in the extremely crowded condition. As I was standing by the door the other day, a girl came on. She was holding a Pocky (Japanese chocolate snack) in her right hand nibbling at the stick snack, while she held an opened package in her left.

Eating inside a train car..hey, what happened to your manners? I went on observing her and she went on nibbling at her Pockies even after the doors had closed and the train had started running... . Perhaps she musn't have had proper food to eat. But that doesn't mean you could get away with eating Pockies in a packed train, you know... .(- -;)

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I've coincidentally seen a Japanese brain scientist on TV lately, saying that "it's good trainig for your brains to recall what happened the day before, right after you wake up in the morning, it makes you smarter." Oh really? So I decided to try that trainig right away. However.

I always seem to forget to do the trainig until night... . Oh well, it happens, I snapped out of it and tried to remember what had happened the day before. But I seemed to snap out of the remembering process too, forgetting about the training itself, thinking about something else... . How should a person like me train my brains? Oh, I want to get smarter ... .

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Many of us Japanese often seem to face trouble when we try to communicate in English, despite our long years of experience in English education. It said in a book that I've read recently, that such things happen not only because we haven't mastered the English language properly, but also because we haven't acquired specific skills for expression, something that should be achieved in an earlier stage.

Hmmmn, sounds interesting. I'd suggest this Japanese book "Gaikokugo wo Minitsukeru tameno Nihongo Lesson (by Yurika Sammori, Hakusuisha) to those who long to become a communicative person in the world. It's a book that you'll get the scales off of your eyes.

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We've run out of butter again. When I told JoOusama about it, she bit my head off, saying"it's not my fault, they just don't sell them in the stores any more."

So I dropped by the neares supermarket to check if there really wasn't any sold. And there they were, butter! Though it wasn't the same brand as the one we used to purchase. Ahh, so I see. That JoOusamma must have quit buying butter since the price was a little higher compared to the brand we had been buying. So she's not gonna buy this brand, huh? It's only 50 or 60 yen higher... . How could she always be so stingy?

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From April, a new medical-care system has come into operation in Japan, for elderly people over 75 years of age. Perhaps that could have effected. The clinic staff has told me that "we can't just prescribe medicines any more from April," when I went to the clinic to pick up Obaba's medicines. They told me that either the patient or whoever is in substitute had to see the doctor and be examined, in order to have any kind of medicine prescribed.

Get out of town.(^ ^;) I mean, what's that supposed to mean? What's the point in examining me instead of Obaba? As I had expected, the interview with the doctor was over in a second after a simple question and answer, "any changes?" "no, not really." So what's the use of this stupid interview, huh?

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Yuuki Yamazaki, a walker who raced in the men's 50-km walk in 2007 Osaka World Championship, but had been judged as a "drop out" due to the staff's misguidance, has earned his 5th straight win in the Japan Championship men's 50-km, blasting his previous national record nearly ensuring a berth for the Beijing Olympics.

After having been disgraced in an elite high school's track club by the coach's suggestion to leave the club because of poor results, where he entered longing to become an Ekiden(relay road race) runner, Yamazaki has become a walker and been overcoming various difficulties such as the breavement of his esteemed walking coach, or the misleading accident in the World Championships. And now he finally wrested in his hands, a ticket to Beijing. Congratulations! I'me really glad for you.(cry)

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I think it was last Tuesday.

As I stepped out of my room to go and take a bath, it smelled... . It's gas again. I've checked the burner when I did the dishes after supper just about 30 minutes ago, since there has been something like this before, and I'm sure it was turned off at that time. That means JoOusama who has been fixing some tea (for herself, of course) must have been the one who had left it on (without the fire coming out). Pleeeease... . Yes, I've become used to this than before, but couldn't she just quit poisoning me with carbon monoxide every 3 to 6 months (once in every season)? It's not supposed to be an annual event, after all.

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Another event called water stoppage awaited me on Wednesday, the next day after I've got slightly poisoned by gas.

The water was to be stopped from eleven that night, till six the next morning. So I tried and returned home earlier than usual, finished supper and the dishes and the cleaning earlier than usual, since I was informed in advance by a note. It was approximately 30 minutes before the stoppage. I was about to take a bath as usual when I opened the door and.. where did they all come from? Water-filled pails and buckets and basins, probabaly pulled out from all over the house, appeared covering the bathroom floor... . How am I supposed to take a bath? Besides, I think the water left in the bathtub would be enough to supply water during the stoppage... .

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I was exhausted. I have been busy preparing for my work, since a new fiscal year has started in April here in Japan. Not to mention, the additional beginning of the classic season (horse race) has been making me even busier.

I was fixing my Obento(box lunch) for tomorrow around midnight, when Obaba came out of her room and told me to "clip her nails". What, now?! There was a sort of agreement between me and Obaba, that she stays up until at least 9:00 p.m. however, when I dropped by her room around 8:30 p.m. on my day off, she was already sound asleep! And she's telling me NOW, on a WEEKDAY, to CLIP HER NAILS... . Has it ever occured to you Obaba, that I was tired and wanted to go to sleep as fast as possible?

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Recently, I've been hooked on drinking lactic beverage, since it's easier to take in lactic acid bacteria compared to yogurt, and also can be purchased for 104 yen with 5 or 6 small bottles in a package. So I've been keeping a pack in the fridge for the past couple of weeks, though somehow the bottles always seemed to be 1 or 2 more less than it's supposed to be. I was wondering why, when another similar pack appeared in the fridge one day, with JoOusama telling me as follows. "I've bought it because they were on sale, but I'm afraid I can't stand drinking such a sweet tasting drink."

Oh I bet you can't, your highness. Well, I don't think you would have bought it if you didn't like the taste. So she was the one who's been drinking from my pack after all.

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Thursday midnight, I saw a documentary of judoist Tadahiro Nomura on TV. He has been left out of the national judo team for the Beijing Olympics announced last week, and he was gaining attention of the media whether he was going to retire, or continue in his career aiming for the next Olympics. I have been concerned, too.

Consequences are, Tadahiro Nomura seems to have decided to continue his career. The program told that he was having his injured knee ligament surjery on the 25th. So he's gonna go on. I was glad to hear that. Needless to say, the road he has to follow would be tough. What lay ahead may not always be glory, but it may be the word "retirement" again. But Nomura, your decision gives me strength. For now, I'd like to pray for the success of his surjery.

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I think I've said this before, but I have been quite busy. And they're bugging me again... .

As I was fixing my Obento around midnight again, Obaba came up to me. Now what? She told me to "fix the clock" for her. Err, nothing seems to be wrong with the clock, it's working all right, I told her as she retorted, "but it was stopped a few minutes ago, so I want to have it fixed." Well, she just wants to be paid attention. Then, JoOusama barged in making the situation even worse. "I'll fill the tub if you're taking a bath," she said. Well, you only have to press a button to "fill the tub"! What kind of promotion is that!! It's time you learnt some Japanese style kindness. If you want to show kindness, do it without telling the whole world about it. You make sure you keep that in mind!

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Last year's Sprinter's Stake (G1) winner, Aston Machan has died. She was a daughter of my favorite horse Admire Cozzene. According to the announcement made by JRA(Japan Racing Association), she has developed X-colitis(what kind of disease is that?) and has been hospitalized having medical treatment at the race horse clinic in Ritto training center however, on April 21st, she ended her short life of acute heart failure. She was only 4 years of age. The best was yet to come. What a shame. Recent performances which seemed to be off her stroke, may have been because of her sickness, too. You've done a great job, Machan. God bless you. Tears.

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Although Super Aguri F1 was in danger of not being able to even participate in the race, the team with desperate efforts of all the people involved, managed to make it to the Spain GP broadcasted in Japan on Sunday. However, stories are told that it's still uncertain whether the team could compete in the championships coming up ahead.

Yet under such circumstances, driver Takuma Sato performed an exciting battle full of fighting spirit between Clouthard whose lap time was more than 2 seconds faster, drawing attention of the media and nailing the international TV cameras. See? Super Aguri's high performance despite the harsh condition they are facing, is coming to world attention. How's that, all you sponsors out there?

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I went to a convenience store in the neighborhood to make a copy of a document.

The document consisted of only 4 or 5 pages, but the machine ran out of paper before I finished them all.. . Something always comes up when you're in a hurry. You see, I had my client waiting in the office.

So I asked the staff to supply the A4 sized paper. And this young staff, seemingly a part-time teenager, comes back carrying a fresh pack of.. A3 sized paper, anyway you look at it. Excuse me, what I've asked you to supply earlier was A4 paper, not A3. Oh, of all times... . Now you, young man, should learn from this experience and learn to do the job well, all right? That should make your part-time job more meaningful.

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