Most people must have thought that Vodka would win the autumn Tennou-shou (Emperor's Championship) including myself. However, halfway down the homestretch, she didn't bolt out like she usually did. Instead, she muddled through the field managing to retain third position. And the winner turned out to be... Company! It was true that Company was the horse who beat Vodka in the prep race Mainichi Oukan, but still I thought there was no chance of him winning in Tennou-shou since he was already 8 years old. Well, 8-year-old Company racing against 4 or 5-year-olds is equivalent to a human runner over thirty, competing against twenty to twenty-three-year-old runners. Who would think he'd win except his owner, trainer, and jockey?

It's pathetic that I had a triplet of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th horses. What's even more pathetic is that I also had a triplet of the horses that finished 1st, 3rd, and 4th in today's final race...

The End

Caterpillar

After the race, we settled down in the usual Izakaya to have some drinks, and the usual dull old man greeted us. This guy seemingly in his 50s, has been working in that Izakaya for at least five years now, but he always seems to get things wrong. He forgets putting through orders, he brings food to different tables, he's the kind of person who can't enter the customer's orders into his order terminals while taking orders at the same time. Obviously, he is not a very good worker though he seems to be trying his best.

When we asked him if we could borrow a marker to write our names on the bottle so we could leave it for the next time, he brought us a marker after a short while. But it was a yellow one... How does he expect us to write visible characters on the transparent glass of the bottle or, even on the creamy white label on the bottle in yellow ink? You'd better use your brains while you still can, old man.

The End

Caterpillar

There was a queen-sized bed in my room that JoOusama must have moved in from her bedroom while I was living apart, and I've been wanting to get rid of it since I wasn't using it and it was getting in my way taking too much space in the 6-Tatami-sized room. So I finally made up my mind and took action to throw it away. It was a task for the bed was big and heavy and I had to carry it downstairs, with JoOusama standing by my side only giving directions and complaining. Well, she helped a little, just to give her insurance so that she can protect herself with an affirmation that she DID help, though all she did was holding the edge of the bed while most of its weight fell heavy on me at the lower part of the stairs.

Anyway, I got over with it. Now, all I have to do is request the local garbage office to pick it up, and have JoOusama to pay for the bills. After all, it was HER bed. But that, I believe, must be an even harder task.

The End

Caterpillar

Vermilion seems to have won the Japan Breedingfarm's Cup Claasic known as the "JBC Classic" held yesterday at Nagoya, earning himself the eighth grade one title, breaking the Japanese racing record to exceed former champion horses Symboli Rudolph and T.M. Opera O who had won seven. He had also secured his third straight win in this race defeating Makoto Sparviero by a head. So it was Vermilion, not Vodka.

It's a historical win, I understand however, I personally don't think Vermilion's victories should be accepted at the same level as Symboli Rudolph or T.M. Opera O, since most of his wins were from local dirt courses, while the latter two horses earned their wins in JRA turf races. The ranks of the races are completely different, you see. Incidentally, Vermilion is a seven-year-old male...

The End

Caterpillar

They did it! The New York Yankees has won the World Series and become champion for the first time in nine years. I heard the news and was overjoyed. What made me even more happy was that Hideki Matsui has knocked in six out of seven scores, earning himself the MVP title. I've been worrying that this might be his last year as a Yankee, so his great performance and success in this last game of the season has doubled the happiness.

Gee, I'm really proud of you, Matsui. And I can't express how glad I am to hear that all your hard work and devotions have now been rewarded with the greatest honor. My best congrats to you, Hideki!

The End

Caterpillar

I've been trying to write this "Murmur" for an hour now. I've been trying so hard to come up with something and concentrate on writing so I can finish it before my meeting at 6:30 however, Cow has been watching a TV talk show on YouTube right next to me, and I've been having trouble setting my mind on thinking because of its noise... Now he's interrupted me that he's got the movie of yesterday's Japan Series and that I could see Ohmichi at the plate, but instead of showing the pitcher vs batter battle, the movie aaparently shooted as a home movie by one of the fans in the stand, only showed the moment when Ohmichi got a hit, throwing me down into terrible disappointment.

So I've wasted some more time, huh? As I'm desprately trying to get myself back to thinking and writing, Papa-Cow is making a fuss about buying heating oil or not behind me, and the phone is ringing but no one else besides me is getting that phone because Papa-Cow is busy talking while his son is now busy playing online games... Great.

The End

Caterpillar

We've been seeing a lizard-like creature from time to time, sticking on the kitchen window of Cow's house for several years now. But neither me nor Cow had been able to tell if it was an Imori (newts) or a Yamori (gecko lizards) since we weren't so sure how to distinguish the two. Today, Cow has witnessed it again, this time with a baby, and that motivated me to do some research to make it clear whether it was an Imori or a Yamori.

According to my research, Imoris are amphibians like frogs living mainly in water. Being toxic, they have red stomachs, and live by eating small insects around water which must be the reason why they are called Imori literally meaning "guardian of wells." On the other hand, Yamoris live on land often seen stuck on windows or walls, have yellowish skin as a whole, and eats moths and mosquitos. Therefore, they are called Yamori in Japanese, literally meaning "guardian of houses or homes". Resultingly, the one we've seen must have been Yamori.

The End

Caterpillar

It's unusually warm. A week has already passed since Halloween and I'm still comfortable in short sleeves and bare feet as long as I'm indoors. Though unfortunately, it seems like I've picked up a cold from JoOusama. I caught her coughing terribly Friday night, and asked her to wear a mask that is, as a part of MY risk management, but needless to say, she didn't wear them. And as a result, she gave me cold and I've got hoarse voice barely audible, after having several sessions at work yesterday. She brings so much trouble.

She's also refusing to pay the disposal fee of 1,900 yen for her old bed which the local garbage center is supposed to come for tomorrow morning. All right. If you want to put it that way, I'll accept it. But don't you come crying to me later on.

The End

Caterpillar

Eventually, I payed for the disposal fee, put the stickers on, and dragged the bed mattresses to the outside of our entrance all by myself for the garbage guy to pick it up. I had to wake up early in order to get them ready by eight o'clock this morning, since I was told beforehand by the garbage center to do so when I gave them a call to have them pick up the bulk.

I had a struggle before going to work, and while I was struggling that old JoOusama was still snoring in her sleep. I still can't understand why it had to be me doing all the hard work more over, paying when that cumbersome bed was obviously not mine.

The End

Caterpillar

Yeterday, Cow's mom had bought us two pieces of pizza, for snack, I guess. She's probably never come home empty-handed whenever she goes out, and Cow and I usually have them as snacks in our office mostly to make her happy. Yesterday, it was pizza. Well, it looked like pizza, and it did smell of oregano, though it didn't taste like one. As I took a bite a taste of mayonaise, instead of cheese, spread inside my mouth. So, what I thought must be cheese weren't cheese at all... And I couldn't taste a bit of tomato. It seemed that mama-Cow had bought it at a bakery as pizza, but this was definitely NOT pizza.

It was a pretty big disappointment to both me and Cow, and this disappointment has lighted a fire in our minds. WE WANT PIZZA! WE WANT REAL PIZZA!! Of course, we can order a delivery right away, but the problem is that neither of us is willing to pay for it.

The End

Caterpillar

I dropped by the usual 99 yen shop on my way home yesterday, to buy a pack of Harusame (bean-starch vermicelli) for today's lunch. There was a foreigner paying at the cash register when I got in line behind him. The checker guy said something to him which seemed to pull him back from another world. The foreigner now seemed to realize that he was holding a bag of bread under his arm that he hadn't paid for, and handed it to the checker in a flurry saying, "Shitsurei shimashita," literally meaning, excuse me for my discourteousness...

Wow, he speaks great Japanese! But isn't that expression too formal just to apologize for your absent-mindness? I think a lighter and more casual apology would have been enough and more suitable for this situation such as, "Otto, gomen-nasai (oops, sorry!) or A, suimasen. (oh, I'm sorry!)" But make sure the "A" part is pronounced in a short u sound, in order to make it sound like you are surprised to find yourself like that and you didn't intend to commit yourself into shoplifting the bread.

The End

Caterpillar

Speaking of unsuitable expressions, I've remembered the time when I stopped by a chain coffee shop to take a break the other day. The girl in front of me was wondering what to order. Abruptly, she popped a question, "What's the difference between a blend and an American?" Translating her words into comprehensible English, a "blend" was, of course a blend coffee, while an "American" stood for a generic term for weak coffee here in Japan. That's an easy question, I thought, until the shop staff girl who was probably a student part-timer, knocked me out saying, "A blend is a blend, an American is blend diluted with hot water."

Well, that may be true, but I think there's a better way to explain it to a customer, young lady. Eventually, the customer ordered a "blend." That's understandable.

The End

Caterpillar

I found a pile of English books and two thousand yen bills on top of it, at the door of my room a couple of days ago. I wondered what it was at first, but I soon figured it must have been JoOusama. So my silent pressure seems to have worked. Let me have this opportunity to announce here that JoOusama has at least, payed for her bed that's already been thrown away, for her reputation's sake. I hate to have to say it again and again, but why can't she simply say, "Thank you?"

Anyway, that'll give me enough money to get myself a new bottle of cold medicine. I've just run out of a bottle,�@though I'm still having terrible coughs from time to time and a hoarse voice. I feel like it's taking more time to recover compared to my early twenties... Well, I'm getting better, gradually.

The End

Caterpillar

NASA has announced that they found evidence of water on the moon. Wow, I guess that would invigorate space development. This news about the moon reminded me of the Leonid meteor shower. Maybe they got linked because they were both space-related news. Anyway, I thought I heard earlier, that we would be able to see the Leonid meteor shower in November, and it's already halfway past. I think I'll check out the date.

Okay, so here it is. The Leonid meteor shower is said to reach a peak on November 18th. That's next Wednesday! I'd better hurry up and pull out my down jacket. Bet it'll be cold by that time, though the high temprature has hit over twenty degrees celcius in Tokyo today.

The End

Caterpillar

The recent unexpected boosts of the aged horses have been untouchable since the eight-year-old Company has won the Tennou-sho (the Emperor's championship). Today the Erizabesu JoOu-hai(Queen Elizabeth Cup) was run, and Queen Spumante and TM Precure, respectively aged five and six, came in first and second, taking the lead from wire to wire without letting the young and ambitious 3-year-old, Buena Vista catch up with them.

The victory of the 5-year-old Queen Spumante perhaps was a predictable outcome as the pace was not that fast (though she was a 40 to 1 longshot) however, TM Precure was a mare aged six who was supposed to retire nearly an year ago. But her crew seemed to back down on their retirement plan, after she miraculously won her last race in a grade two, the second highest ranked category in Japanese horse race, at the beginning of this year. And today, she came in second in a grade one race. You'll never know what's going to happen.

The End

Caterpillar

They were saying something about mineral water a short while ago. And I heard that "Rokkou-no Oishi Mizu (mineral water from Rokkou)," one of the most popular products of House Foods Corporation was first sold in the 1980s, as chaser for Kareh-Raisu (steamed rice with curry sauce).

Wow, I didn't know that. And I didn't know that Kareh-Raisu needed chasers... Well, they're often accompanied by a glass of water in restaurants and fast food shops, but I never thought that glass of water was regarded as the same thing as the water we drink after a shot of whisky. Hmmn, that was very... educational.

The End

Caterpillar

It's raining today. They said it's going to rain all day on the forecast. But tonight is the night of the Leonid meteor shower! I've read in the papers that it may be small compared to the last one seen in 2001, and there might not be so many shooting stars visible, maybe even none, since the peak of the meteor shower is said to come around seven in the morning probably after sunrise. Additionally, there would be absolutely no chance of seeing it, if it kept raining like this until tomorrow morning...

I've checked a weather site right now, and it said that the rain won't stop until tonight in Tokyo, and there was only one star mark on the starry sky forecast. Will I be able to see the meteor shower? For those who are looking forward to take a bet on the slim chance, your best bet would be around five in the morning because the sunrise is said to be nine-teen past six. Try looking right above your head around that time. Good luck, everyone!

The End

Caterpillar

In sharp contrast with yesterday, today we had clear blue skies from morning. Though I've missed the Leonid meteor shower...

As a matter of fact, I did look up at the sky around twelve midnight last night, though it seemed too early and I couldn't see the meteor shower. Besides, there were some clouds still partly covering the sky. By three in the morning when I was about to sleep, the cloud had covered up the whole sky and nothing in the sky was actually visible. So I gave up on the meteor shower and went to sleep. So there was no way I could've woke up around five in the morning, and as a result, I missed the whole event. Well, that couldn't be helped.

The End

Caterpillar

There's one good news and one bad news for those who missed the Leonid meteor shower like myself. The good news is that the Geminids meteor shower is coming right up in the middle of December. That means we've got another chance. The bad news is however, the peak of this year's Geminids meteor shower is said to be from 9:00am to 4:00pm in Japan. That means they won't be visible because it's during day time...

But you don't have to be upset. The Geminids meteor shower is one of the biggest three meteor showers you can see annually, and if you're blessed with fair condition, you can even see as much as one hundred shooting stars in an hour. So although it's either before or after the peak, there's a great chance to see the Geminids from December 13th midnight to early morning the next day, or from around 9:00pm to midnight on December 14th. Let's cross our fingers and hope that we'll have clear skies on the 13th and 14th next month.

The End

Caterpillar

A package arrived from Cow's relatives. It was a box full of apples. But there was nobody around when the delivery man came, so I stamped a Hanko (Japanese personal seal) and received the box.

The delivery man complained a bit that he had come earlier but no one had answered, so I kept him company for a while to make up for it. He told me that less people are sending gifts and packages these days, and the boxes were also getting lighter and smaller, probably because of the recession. Well, Japanese have a custom, a sort of tradition, to send gifts to whom they've owed much thanks to, generally in late July and at year-ends, though I've never even imagined before that the decline of economy which started with the Lehman shock, would result in such a way. After all, I'm always in a personal recession, you see.

The End

Caterpillar

The refrigerator in Cow's house broke down. He said his family has been using it for nearly twenty years now. He'd better thank God it wasn't summer. Anyway, he went out to purchase a new fridge this morning and came back with a grumpy look on his face. As I asked him if he hadn't been able to get one, he answered, "No." What was the problem, then?

"I was looking for a small fridge but there weren't much of a choice. How come they only sell large fridges when the families are getting smaller and smaller?" Well, don't take it out on me...

The End

Caterpillar

Today's Mile Championship was the last race for the Tennou-shou winner, 8-year-old Company. Contrary to my expectation, Company who was the most favorite, sweeped the race bringing his career to thet most successful conclusion.

8-year-old Company again... It is not an easy task to win two grade one races in a row, especially the Tennou-shou and the Mile Championship and there had been few horses who accomplished it. Needless to say, they were all great horses, the regular faces in the grade one winning circle. But Company, he had just won the Tennnou-shou in his five years of trial! How can I expect him to win? Well, now he's joined the legend anyway... Congrats to the owner.

The End

Caterpillar

Because it was a public holiday, I had a whole free day today. But I didn't do anything... I had a long list of things to do, but somehow I felt so reluctant and not one on the list is crossed out yet, as of 6:00 pm. I got up way past noon, cooked myself a quick brunch, ate it, then lied down on my heating carpet, turned on the TV, and spent all afternoon (and part of the evening) just watching TV. Now, all of a sudden I'm feeling terribly guilty feeling that I've wasted my precious free time doing nothing... Well, I did wash my clothes and vacume my room though.

I've once heard one of the most hottest brain scientist in Japan today, Kenichiro Mogi, say that when you don't feel like doing something you have to, that's when your brain is sending a signal to take a break. I don't believe that everything he says is true, but it could be a little consolation for a person like me.

The End

Caterpillar

The newly introduced eco-points system has been causing me some trouble. Cow who had been boasting that he'll never be concerned about eco-points, has been given them for the new fridge he has purchased, and for recycling the old one. And he's been busy since last weekend, checking out the items he can exchange with it. Not to mention, he seems to have gone under a minute research trying not to screen himself from suffering any losses.

Well, I'm sorry my friend, but please don't ask me what I'd like to exchange those eco-points for if I were you. I'm busy enough with my own things to do, and besides, I'm not at all interested in that eco-point system. So will you please make your own decision yourself, leave me alone and do my job? Please?

The End

Caterpillar

Speaking of ecology, I've seen a news that some group is trying to spread doggy bags so as not to waste food, standing on the point of an earth-friendly concept. It was appalling to see those people from the group giving away designer's doggy bags (I don't know which brand it is) for free. What are they, crazy? Have they ever thought how much resource and energy that one single doggy bag would cost? It seems to me that they're only wasting something else before saving food. And they call that earth-friendly? Pooooh!!

Why don't they lecture to simply bring along some Tupperware whenever you eat out? After all, we did have an efficient tradition to bring our own bowls or pots to buy Tofu from a street Tofu vendor. And it's only about thirty or forty years ago, you know. That sounds more earth-friendly and down-to-earth to me.

The End

Caterpillar

I pass by a high school on my way to the second nearest station every day. Today I spotted a praying mantis on the concrete fence of that high school. The color of her body had turned beige already, as if to say that she was ready for winter to set in. I gently picked up her body that was leaning forward from the fence towards the road, and put her down inside the fence where the ground was soft and covered with fallen leaves.

Hang on little one, I will, too. I haven't been feeling much motivated all through the week, but this little creature has cheered me up a bit.

The End

Caterpillar

Cow's been playing another online game. And in that game, you can take off the girl character's clothes, make them run around in underwear... He told me that such functions as a matter of fact, are one of the main features of online games that grab the attraction of male players.

How different is that from playing with dress-up dolls and doll houses? I guess I can never understand why it raises people's spirits so much to see two-dimensional girls in underwear. Note, however, that Cow doesn't seem to care much about it. To his credit, just in case.

The End

Caterpillar

It's sunny and warm today. A perfect day to snooze in the sun. Wish I could... But they're saying it would be cold tomorrow, and it might rain. Might? Now that's a broad term. It's fairly important whether it will rain or not. At least to me, it is, since it could determine the winner of the Japan Cup coming up tomorrow. If it rains, the track condition would favor the front runners however, if the track is dry, that would give advantage to pace-stlakers with bolting speed.

I wish I could, but I can't mess with the weather. After all, I "might" lose anyway, whichever the weather turns out to be...

The End

Caterpillar

Vodka has won the Japan Cup. Vodka, Vodka, Vodka... Why does she keep getting in my way? I had the triplet of the second, third and fourth horse, without Vodka...

Well, I guess it must have been harder for the now world famous Yutaka Take. Eventually, Vodka's victory today, has proved that Christophe Lemaire rides the horse better.

The End

Caterpillar

When I came home yesterday, having been beaten by Vodka, I saw some black little pebble-like things scattered on the floor inside our front door. I wondered what it was, and bent down to take a closer look. They were shijimi clam (common fresh water clam). So sweet dear mom and dad must have had shijimi in their miso-shiru (miso soup) tonight. And one of them must have dropped the owan (lacquered soup bowl) either on their way or back to bring the bowl to or from the kitchen, spread out the shijimi clam shells all over, then pushed it aside out of his/her way with a foot or something...

My God, what's the problem with these people? How could they be so idle? And how come it's always me who pick up all the shijimi clam?

The End

Caterpillar