I've wrote about how to preserve Daikon (Japanese radish) before. Today, I'd like to report the result on whether this frozen Daikon really has become a tasty stewed Daikon or not, after being cooked over heat.

Well, I emptied the whole frozen block of Daikon together with the seasoned broth into a saucer, and put it on moderate fire for about 15 minutes. As I checked the taste, it sure was soaked and seaoned. Actually, seasoned too heavy... Result:Be sure to make the broth light seasoned! You can always add some later if it isn't enough.

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Caterpillar

There was another thing I've discovered after cooking the frozen Daikon myself. It takes pretty much time before the Daikon becomes soft enough, when put over heat in a frozen chunk. After cooking 10 or 15 minutes, all you will get is thawed Daikon...

So here's the result:Do not throw the frozen chunk into the sauce pan right away. Defrost it in the microwave! Or you can simply put it in the fridge the night before to let it thaw. Then, take out the Daikon (Japanese radish, since it's already seaoned. You can use the broth for coking other vegetables, too.), wrap them in a plastic kitchen wrap and microwave it for a minute! This way, you can cook yourself a soft delicious stewed Daikon in less than 10 minutes.

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Caterpillar

On my way to work, I took an escalater down to transfer. Perhaps because that escalater gets so crowded, people who aren't in such a hurry gets on the left side, while others pass them by walking down the right side. I usually get on the right side and go down just like I do with the stairs.

This morning, as I was going down on the right side as usual, I noticed a middle-aged woman with a stroller on the left side, straddling 2 steps. How could she do such a thing during this rush hour... It musn't be a welcomed situation for the baby either, I thought, and took a quick glance at the stroller. And my eyes met a pair of... a white miniature poodle's... a dog?!

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Caterpillar

Just a little while ago, I had a coffee break. Yes, I like coffee. And I enjoy having coffee at least 4 times a day; at breakfast, before I begin a day's work, for an evening break, and after supper.

So I've just had my evening coffee break, and I also had some rusks that someone had brought me as a gift. One sesame flavored, and one plain sugar. They were both good. As I opened the last pack and threw the rusks into my mouth, I suddenly realized that this one had a different flavor. It was salt and garlic... Gee, it tastes garlic all over... I should have thought about the orders.

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Caterpillar

It was exceptionally warm as a December morning today, though the temperature seems to have dropped since the thunder showers later in the afternoon. Welcome back to the normal December coldness, I've spent the rest of the day shivering.

Speaking of coldness, JoOusama has been sick from a couple of days ago. She seems to have caught cold. It's her life and I don't give a damn if she catches cold or whatever. But I do wish her to at least put her hand over her mouth when coughing. Or wear a mask. I can't stand her coughing and spreading germs all over the house. Besides, I certainly wouldn't want to catch cold.

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Caterpillar

While I've been shuffling with my daily routines, the time has come already for the Japan Cup Dirt (G1) coming up tomorrow. It's the top-level dirt race annually been held in a 2100-meter distance at Tokyo Race Course. However.

This year, I find it being held at Hanshin Race Course in a 1800-meter distance!! Why? Why 1800 meters of Hanshin Race Course all of a sudden?? That damn JRA. Who in this whole wide world do they think would allow such an outrage...

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Caterpillar

I've bought the papers out of sheer habit, but I found myself having completely no idea which horse to bet on... After swaying back and forth between placing my bet and not doing so, I finally decided not to bet today. Perhaps it would be nice to just sit back and watch the race sometimes.

And then something unbelievable happened. The winning horse turned out to be Kanehikili, a horse who had suffered from tendinitis! I don't think there was any other horse who won a G1 race after suffering tendinitis, as far as I know. Phew, it was good I didn't place my bet today. If I had, there's no way I could have won.

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Caterpillar

On my way to work this morning, I saw this foreign old man with long white beard and a red beret perched on top of his white hair. I happened to stop at a crosswalk to wait for the signals to change, and he too, seemed to be there for the same reason, only across the street on the other side. It maybe because of the season. I couldn't help thinking if that old man could be Santa Claus himself. Well, I'm sure that's what he must have been aiming at.

Anyway, since I've seen a Santa Claus from the morning, I hoped for something nice to happen though nothing has actually occured up till now... as of 6:38 pm.

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Caterpillar

I owe you viewers an apology for not modifying this "Murmur" since Decmber 8th, Monday. I've been having cold from the morning of the very next day. Well, to be precise, I was awakened by sickness and the reeling and rolling and tossing and turning from that sickness, went on for more than a whole day after that. Oh boy, it was terrible. Added to that I had work on Tuesday so I went to work almost crawling, and tumbled and tossed in the office. And because I had an appointment with my client, I went to a clinic for the first time in 6 years to get some medicine. Though it didn't have much meaning after all, since I threw them all up...

Well now, thank God, the worst is over and I'm back again. Sorry and thanks to you all. m(_ _)m

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Caterpillar

On the night before I went to the clinic in 6 years, I happened to see the horoscope on the evening paper that said, "Tomorrow is your lucky day. A word from a friend will be your salvation." I don't remember having such a friend who should bring me salvation, well not in my office. There's only Cow there. But when I went desperately to the clinic, and the doctor said, "What? You woke up in sickness? That's terrible, huh?! Eh?! You came to work today?! Oh gee, that must've been a struggle." And although I wondered why he was talking to me like an old friend, it felt like my pain that no one would ever understand somehow got through to him, and I was saved, even if it had been a lie.

Well of course, I wanted to hear such words from the mouth of someone else, not some clinic doctor that I met for the first time in my life. Are you listening, Cow?

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Caterpillar

It's been pretty chilly today. They said the temperature around midday Tokyo was 5 degrees (Celsius), so it was cold. Well, December has already come half the way. Maybe it should be cold. As for me, I'm just recovering from cold so I'd better be careful not to catch it again.

There was a G1 race run again this weekend even in this coldness, the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (I still feel like biting my tongue whenever I try to say this name in Japanese;). Woh, I won. I sure would like to keep this until the year-end Arimakinen. Though I know things don't work out like you've planned...

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Caterpillar

When I was in the States, I used to drink orange juice at home. It was a 100 percent from-concentrate orange juice that came chilled in plastic? packages. You buy 'em chilled, bring it home, open it out in a jar, add some water, shakeit well, then leave it to thaw in the fridge and you'll get a fresh orange juice ready to drink the next morning. It was pretty cool and I liked it.

I've been searching for the same kind of product here in Japan since I came back, and although it's been quite a while, unfortunately I haven't found one like it yet. Is there any place that sells them? If there's anybody who knows a shop that handles them, do me a favor and let me know.

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Caterpillar

Actually, the story about orange juice didn't have to be written in such a hurry. Now I've remembered that I had something else to write about, though I had forgotten about that completely. I guess it just slipped out of my mind. Perhaps because of my age, I've been forgetting things so often these days. It's been troubling me quite often. I do have things to say, but I seem to forget what I was going to say while I do something else...

Uh-oh. Looks like I forgot again, that I was going to write about it today... Hope I can remember this until tomorrow.

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Caterpillar

I will write today. Well, I saw a shooting star on Sunday night. Actually, it's pretty exceptional being able to catch even a glimpse of a shooting star with your bare eyes in Tokyo. I don't exactly remember what day it was, but I've read in the papers that a meteor shower would be seen sometime during December. And if my memory is correct, it was expected to be seen from December 12th to 13th, and on the 22nd.

Sunday night. I was enjoying a smoke after supper on the balcony and I thught I saw a stretch of light moving across the sky. It was December 14th, so I was thinking that it must be too late for the meteor shower, when I noticed a bright shooting star whizzing above the right shoulder of the Orion. Wow. I hope it's a sign before something nice.

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Caterpillar

In my life of a couple or so decades, there had been 4 times that I've seen shooting stars. The first time was when I had been to the Izumo Taisha (Izumo Shrine) while I was still a student. As I looked to the sky full of stars near the place I was staying at, I saw countless shooting stars. I didn't know until then that there were so many stars shooting through the sky. The second time was the night when a horse named Tamurocherry had won the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies. I think it was the Leonid meteor shower. That was the night I had won big odds for the firs time in my life. The third time I think, was here at my parent's house when I saw the Delta Cancrids. And the latest was my fourth time.

By the way, what was the neame of the last meteor shower?

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Caterpillar

I might get complaints for being persistent, so I'm going to finish this meteor shower story today. It's just that it got stuck in my mind so I searched a bit about it. And found out that the name of it was the Geminid meteor shower. It said they can be observed annually. Wow. I knew that. It seemed that it was the best time to see shooting stars from midnight 13th to the dawn of 14th, though it was the night of 14th when I had seen one.

As for the meteor shower which I thought I've read in the papers to be seen on the 22nd, looks like it was the Ursids meteor shower (not the Geminid). This also is said to be seen annually, and this year it's supposed to appear on the 22nd in the northeast sky (underneath the Big Dipper) around 5:00 pm. That means I've got one more chance this year.

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Caterpillar

A plan has come up to go to Karaoke with some Japanese who are presently learning English as a second language. The idea of going to Karaoke and having some fun came up while one of them and I were drinking at Yamashiroya. And since that person was studying English, I suggested why not sing English songs? Later, a couple of other English learners have told me that they're willing to join in. Well, I already am able to sing English songs, so I've told some of them that it might be fun to give me some odds, making me sing songs in other languages besides English.

As they say, "Borrowed garments never fit well". I realized that there's only one song I can sing in a foreign language besides English at the moment... What am I going to do?!

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Caterpillar

A while ago, they were saying in the evening news that today was Touji(winter soltice). Oh already. I don't actually feel like such time of season has come for after all, we've had a pretty warm day today here in Tokyo. Touji is the day when the time of day becomes the shortest througout the year. That means, the time of darkness becomes the longest. And since evil spirits and creatures were believed to come out under cover of darkness, Japanese ancestors are said to have been terrified of this day. Additionally, a custom is still left in Japan to eat pumpkins on Touji to protect themselves from the evil.

Pumpkins and night, doesn't that sound a little like Halloween?

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Caterpillar

I've been looking forward to seeing the Ursids meteor shower, but unfortunately, it has started to rain here around my office in Tokyo from later this afternoon. As of 6:00 pm, the rain has turned lighter however, the skies are still covered with thick layers of clouds, and we might not be able to see shooting stars this evening. Though the rain has also brought along strong wind, so there still may be a chance to see them if this wind blows off the clouds. So hang in there and keep the faith y'all!

By the way, what was the name of the weatherman who said that "there'll only be some slight rainshower"?

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Caterpillar

I've heard on the radio yesterday, that recently, Japanese Ramen (noodle in soup) is gaining attraction among New Yorkers. It seems that dining in a Japanese restaurant generally tend to cost about 40 to 50 dollars, which seems a little too much to spend for a meal. Ramen seems to be getting popular because of its reasonable price which is about 1,500 yen a bowl, comparatively higher than the price in Japan. Still, its popularity seems to prove that urban senses has chosen reasonable meals than paying for a gorgeous dinner. The soup flavor varies from Tonkotsu (pork broth), to Miso (bean paste), Shouyu (soy sauce) just like in Japan.

I find it pretty ironic that people are cueing today, for quarter pounders in Osaka, Japan.

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Caterpillar

Printing next year's Nengajou(New Year greeting card) has finally started. We've been making greeting cards on our own on an assembly line, with me drawing illustraions and Cow taking that in with the scanner and printing them on postcards. This year, Cow who thinks all this is so bothersome and hates to write himself has insisted on printing the addresses too, so I've been leaving it all up to him and now he's telling me that mine won't be ready until tomorrow...I have to post it by the 25th in order to make them reach on New Year's Day. How am I supposed to make that happen, huh? I'm all booked up tomorrow you know? What am I gonna do?! And it's the 24th already, wouldn't I know that!!

Oh yeah, it was Christmas Eve today. Well, it's Christmas Eve for them...

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Caterpillar

Christmas, Christmas. I walked up to the register on my way home to pay for the ground coffee beans I was asked to buy from Cow, and told the checker that I needed a receipt. Just as I did, a businessman who got in line behind me let out a large sigh for the whole world to hear... Excuse me, mister. You may be having some nice party with those 3 bottles of fake champaign you're paying for, but I think you should've known that there are some people living in this same world who have to expense off-priced coffee beans.

I returned home sulkily and found that a Christmas card has arrived from a friend. Oh, isn't it a nice little Christmas present, I thought, and flipped the card only to find that it was written in German... It's gibberish.

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Caterpillar

The year end is coming close and tomorrow would be the last day of work. That means my holiday starts from the day after. And becasue my holiday is closing in, I spent the whole day awfully busy. The business seems to be driving me out of my mind. I'm not even sure what I'm writing... Though there's still work left over on top of other things and it's creating a pyramid...

Tomorrow is the last day. Tomorrow is the last day. I tell myself like some magic spell.

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Caterpillar

And so here I am on the last day of work this year. Needless to say, there's still tons of work left... Moreover, there's the big cleaning waiting. Well, to finish the cleaning today was meant to be sort of a bail-out plan, in order to avoid coming again on Monday only for the cleaning. Though I still feel reluctant about starting wet work after sunset when the air's gone cold.

But that can't be helped I guess. I got to get over it one way or another. By the way, tomorrow I'm going down to the tracks in a while to see Arimakinen (the year-end Grand Prix race) 'cause my friend is coming up from Takarazuka. It's the last G1 race this year. Hope I can win. Additionally, my favorite is Daiwa Scarlet. She's a safe winner.

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Caterpillar

So the Arima Kinen. Yes, yes, yes, it's the Daiwa Scarlet! She finished as a runaway leader leaving all the others behind. Of course, I've bet on Daiwa as I've announced yesterday. But why, oh why, did she have to bring those two 7-year-olds together!! There were 11 more horses besides them and of all of 'em, it had to be the oldest 2 horses...

As we were drinking at an Izakaya looking back on the race, Mr. N-jima threw a question, "So what time shall we meet tomorrow?" Sorry? "Oh don't tell me you're not going. This guy came all the way from Takarazuka, we can't let him go on right home yet." All right, all right. Tomorrow we're going to the Tokyo Dai Shouten.

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Caterpillar

I marched into the Ohi race track, completely protected from coldness with bundles of scarves, gloves, and a nice warm pair of warm-ups, since I almost freezed in the snow when I came here several years ago. Though there wasn't a cloud in the sky just as yesterday and it was warmer... Oh, no. I bet on race 8 to gain the money I had spent on the Arima Kinen, for if I didn't win, I wouldn't have much left to bet on the main race, Tokyo Dai Shouten. However, I've lost within just a couple of minutes. And what's worse, I ended up losing the trifecta of the main race, which everybody knew that it was going to be a match between Vermillion, Kane Hikili, and Success Brocken...

All's well that ends well. I wanted to finish this year well, but now my luck seems to be chipped away.

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Caterpillar

There's only 2 more days left to go for this year. It's about time for my annual event looking back on my goals for this year and think them over once again. So what were my goals for this year? They were as follows :
1.Extending from last year, increase guitar skill level.
2.Extending from last year, make this site more massive.
3.Extending from last year, become a better caterpillar.
4.Write sentences short and concise.
5.Listen to what people say.
Have I been able to achieve them?

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Caterpillar

First, about this site. I had to put more weight on my job this year, and I know damn well myself that it was apparently less modified. I feel regretful. So this one I must say wasn't achieved. About my becoming a better caterpillar, I'm afraid I can't judge this myself. Personally, I think I've become a little better than last year ... Listening to what people say, I think has been done a little better than before too. I've tried to stay calm as I can though not always. My guitar skills are.. well, I think it's extremely slow but improving. And about my writings. I'm not sure about the "concise" part, though I think it's alright to give myself a passing mark.

What would everyone say to that?

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Caterpillar