5:55 p.m. Looked at my watch to check the date and realized it was showing February 29. Hope it's not only me having a leap year...

5:57 p.m. I feel sorry for the victims of the enormous earthquake in Chile. Such a disaster when the earthquake in Haiti is still fresh in our memory. I wonder if there's something wrong with this planet we live on. Could she be getting tired? Could it be that her life is coming to an end? Arrrgh! Arrrgh! What a horrible thought!

6:03 p.m. Trying to think of something nice to get away from the hideous idea of our planet on the verge of collapsing. Um.., Ai-chan has won the tournament two weeks in a row (Great! What's happened to her?), the Japanese women's national team has won a silver medal for the first time in speedskating team pursuit, Cow is busy preparing for the tax payment due March 15th, everything is safe and sound except that my preparations for Wednesday is still untouched....

The End

Caterpillar

1:03 a.m. Obaba would not get up though she had ordered me to wake her up for her bath. Usually she takes a bath on the night before she goes to the daycare center (that's twice a week), and I somehow is in charge of preparing her a hot bath and wake her up when it's ready since she's mostly sleeping by the time I get home. Have tried to wake her up twice already, but she has not got up. Was going to go to bed early tonight, in order to start early tomorrow but my attempt is nearly failing at this point...

1:17 a.m. Obaba still asleep. Have launched up my lap-top to finish up some leftover work in the meantime, though cannot concentrate on it for have to be listening with alert on any signs of Obaba waking up.

1:24 a.m. Obaba just came out of her room to go to the bathroom. Thank God. Now I can go to sleep but will have to send a reply to a message...

3:17 a.m. Am finally in bed. How am I supposed to wake up at 6:30?

3:40 a.m. Oh man, have stomach pain cannot sleep. Grrrrrrr.

The End

Caterpillar

3:45 p.m. Man, am exhausted. Have been tapping away for hours now, try to make the documents in time for the presentation coming up later this afternoon. Though still have another full pgae to go with only fifteen minutes left... And why is there an error dialogue popping up? Why? Why?

3:55 p.m. Have finished tapping. All I have to do now is to print them out but the printing preview shows that the documents don't fit into A4 size paper. In state of panic.

4:00 p.m. Yesssss! Yessss! Have made it in the nick of time! Gave them to my client as nothing unusual has happened, when noticed the check boxes that were supposed to be on the left edge of the papers were not printed out properly. Oh, who cares.

The End

Caterpillar

4:09 p.m. Feeling empty. Have got tons of work to do but just can't seem to snap into it, though will have to anyway when my client comes at 4:40.

4:14 p.m. Wondering if my hollowness has come from the loss of my client that happened earlier this week, which turned out to be a bolt from out of the blue. Despite the good reason she gave me that her husband had recently fallen sick and she being unexpectedly busied looking after him, I am pretty depressed feeling I might hadn't done well enough. Need some inspiration, or, or some encouragement. Something that'd cheer me up... but what?

The End

Caterpillar

12:20 p.m. Noticed that Cow's right cheek was swollen. Why? What happened? "Toothache," he muttered. I knew he was suffering toothache from time to time over the years, but this was the first time had seen his face line deformed. Have been telling him over and over that he should go to the dentist before it gets too late, though he did not accept it until Tuesday and look what happened. Now one of his loose back teeth must be pulled out.

3:41 p.m. Cow's pain and dullness seems to be increasing since he's getting cranky. He seems to be having trouble not only in eating but also in speaking, because the s-words he speaks is hardly pronounced correctly. Unfortunately, his reservation is not until next Wednesday. Oooooh, poor Cow.

3:42 p.m. But then again, think it serves him right. After all, he's the one who had been putting off going to the dentist for years in spite of my good advice.

The End

Caterpillar

Yesterday, 6:38 p.m. Was coping with Cow arguing about teeth coming out when he suddenly came up with a question, "Do you remember all of the times when your baby teeth had come off?" Hmmm.. I do remember having a tooth come off when I was about eight years old, and think must have had several more times of the similar experience. Come to think of it, there must have been more than twenty times of such experiences considering that we human, usually have thirty-two teeth. But neither Cow nor I was able to recall all of the times when they had come off. Was it that we'd forgotten altough our teeth had come off thirty-two times?

7:04 p.m. Cow insisting on finding out the answer to our stupid question, has started to search on the Internet... He tapped in "baby teeth" "how many" and "come off" as query and hit the Enter key. Oh, man. Suppose this computer had a character like an AI and was a Tsundere (girls that reacts cold and strict at first or in public, but becomes all lovey-dovey when are alone with a male). I bet she'd have snapped at him, "All of them, you idiot!"

The End

Caterpillar

3:43 p.m. Talking to Cow on Skype. Says his swollen teeth (and face) has recovered now, and that he can eat without difficulty. Good, good. Now we don't have to worry our heads about how many baby teeth come off until they're replaced by permanent teeth.

5:30 p.m. Am working on documents again in order to avoid panic-stricken horrifying situation like last week, though it hasn't been making much progress. For me, preparations are crucial to keep things at least a little organized so that I am able to make decisions whenever something comes up. However, something unexpected will always pop up no matter how hard I prepare, with me usually ending up losing my nerve.

5:31 p.m. Then what is the point in preparing, anyway? Why don't I forget the whole idea and spend my precious time on something more like, like, like... what?

5:32 p.m. Guess I'll just stick to the documents. After all, I can't think of anything better to do... Why am I so pathetic?

The End

Caterpillar

3:10 p.m. Have just heard that "The Cove" has won the Academy Awards for the Best Documentary Film. Think it was a film about the fishery of dolphins in Wakayama, that was said to be secretly shot. I haven't seen the film but am afraid that it might lead to misapprehensions. Let me use this opportunity to tell you for those fishermen's sake, that these people DO NOT kill dolphins for plaesure. They kill them to eat them as a part of their distinctive and unique food culture that has been passed down for hundreds of years.

3:15 p.m. I mean, how is it different from killing turkeys only for Thanksgiving? Could those fishermen be labeled as barbarians and being accused because they're killing the world's all-time-favorite dolphins instead of a Thanksgiving dinner on two feet? Drrrrrr.

The End

Caterpillar

3:28 p.m. Was about to wrap up a meeting with my client when I heard something snap. Before I knew what was happening, something black shot down from above my head, nearly hit me while I swerved to the right to avoid what was coming my way. Man, that was close.

3:29 p.m. Discovered it was a, a, what's this? A speaker grill? How did this come off? We do have a set of Bose speakers in the top corners of our office but I've never imagined that one of them could attack me with its grill...

3:30 p.m. Stupid Cow. He laughed at me getting nearly hit saying, "HA-HA! Almost!" What does he mean, "Almost?" I haven't done anything wrong to be punished. How dare he say that? Laugh at me and you're next.

The End

Caterpillar

1:18 p.m. Cow's going to the dentist again. He's going to have his loose tooth drawn out today. Hah! Now that serves him right.

1:30 p.m. Was writing this "Murmur" feeling pretty good when unexpected work has come up from out of the blue.

2:52 p.m. Cow has been using this computer for more than an hour now and still using, though there were much work left to be done for me. Time is ticking, you know. Have been urging Cow secretly so that the client wouldn't notice, but so far he has shown no sign of finishing.... Think will call up the dentist and tell them to make it hurt.

The End

Caterpillar

8:30 a.m. Woke up earlier than usual so am going for a walk. Mmmm, what a fresh morning. Great weather with clear blue skies. It must have been a perfect start of a new day if it hadn't been for the wind. Looks like my pollen allergy has started..Aaachoo! Should've prepared the oil last Sun.. Aaaaccchooo! ..day..

9:32 a.m. Pulled out a pack of bread for toast. Oh, no. JoOusama has bought another dry bread... But it says Espoir on the tag. That's the name of the bakery that my calssmate's parents run. Hmmm, maybe it won't taste that bad after all.

9:40 a.m. Hurragh! My classmate's parents were excellent bakers! With crispy touch, soft and moist inside! Ideal bread for toast!

1:32 p.m. Found out that Cow's face was not swollen from dental extraction. Perhaps he has recovered in the past eighteen hours since I'd left him yesterday. Didn't the dentist get my meesage?

The End

Caterpillar

4:29 p.m. Cow has been struggling with movie files trying to convert them into different file types. The problem is that I am interrupted every time he bumps into some English dialogue box or error coments, since he is stubbornly refusing to learn English and cannot understand a word of what it says.

5:38 p.m. Am exhausted. Fed up with translating English descriptions. Haven't done stroke of work for the past hour. Wish he'd stop bugging me.

The End

Caterpillar

9:30 a.m. Dropped by the supermarket to buy my favorite Kare-pan (fried buns with curry filling). This supermarket wasn't usually open until 10:00 a.m. before, but they've extended the hours from February 16th this year, and are now opened from 9:30 every day. I skipped to the bakery corner delightedly, only to find that Kare-pan have not been laid out on the shelves yet... I took it for granted that opening from 9:30 meant "We're ready!" from 9:30:00. Or was it simply my misapprehension?

9:42 a.m. Settled for a Kare-man (steamed buns with curry filling) sold at 7-eleven. Was actually lucky, because there was only one Kare-man ready in the transparent steamer by the checker.

The End

Caterpillar

9:07 a.m. Tried hard and woke up early to get ready to go to the International Festival held by the Koto City Ward although it was a Sunday.

2:08 p.m. At the festival, there seemed to be more staff than the participants which mainly consisited of elderly people and young children, that my tiny hope of making some new English native friends crumbled away the second I walked into the space. They had an English table talk corner on a different floor, but this needed registery in advance which I didn't have and was also crowded with a bunch of elderly women. Wonder where and how everybody else make English native friends.

2:53 On my way home very hungry, unexpectedly found that they were having a local specialties fair at Shibuya Tokyu and there was the Raison Sand of Rokkatei (cookie and cream with raisons), one of my favorite sweets usually only sold in Hokkaido! Yippy! Think will get a box on the way to work tomorrow since Cow also loves them.

The End

Caterpillar

9:23 a.m. Ugh. Am not feeling well. Probably because JoOusama had somehow put her foot on fixing nine dishes for supper (or should I call it a dinner?)last night, although I've had a huge heap of tomato spaghetti only three hours ago. As a matter of fact, I have a quite sensitive digestive system despite my appearance which JoOusama certainly should know as a mother. Guess will just skip breakfast and fix something light and digestive for Obento (box lunch).

4:17 p.m. Feeling better now. Better pull myself together since was able to buy Rokkatei's Batah-sando (sorry, it wasn't Raison-sand, cookie and cream with raisons) on my way to work. Am going to consume it later as a little treat for another tough day. Mmmmm.

The End

Caterpillar

9:38 a.m. Was overwhelmed to find nothing on the shelf where we usually kept bread. Am quite sure there was a slice left last night, which only points out that someone, either JoOusama or Tono has eaten it before me.

9:39 a.m. As I examined the shelf once again hoping that this was a nightmare, found there actually was a slice left though it was unsavory bread that I had avoided, after mistaking it for the Espoir's ideal bread because it looked almost identical. A while ago, I kindly let JoOusama know of how good that bread from Espoir had tasted, and she had said that she'd get another pack again if it was so good. The very next day, I found a pack of bread looking alike the ones from Espoir, which turned out to be something totally different. So they had left me the unsavory one.

9:48 a.m. Decided to have only coffee rather than breakfast of unsavory toast. Wonder if JoOusama has recognized that the present bread is different from the one I told her about.

The End

Caterpillar

6:40 p.m. Am stuck in front of the computer while Cow has been taking so much time fiddling around with TuneBite, taking in videos and then getting completely lost on why the computer only plays the movie and not the sound. He's been doing this since 4:00 p.m., having me keep company.

7:41 p.m. Seems Cow has finally managed to take in the video properly, but now having trouble burning it on a DVD because the application has spat out an error dialogue saying something like he has to change some sort of settings to proceed. Man, this could take another hour...

7:49 p.m. Helped him out a bit on the settings and now am able to work on my "Murmur." Thank God it's over.

The End

Caterpillar

10:24 a.m. Have overslept. Was up till late to watch the last broadcast of "CBS 60 Minutes." I don't see the reason why it has to be ended. Why? Did the ratings fall? So what if they did? It was probably the only program on analog broadcasting that reports what was going on out there in the world. It's a pitty since I've always admired that CBS standpoint and their unique reporters.

4:25 p.m. The show hosts in the Japanese version of "60 Minutes" had said at the end of the program, that they were gathering signatures on the Internet to put it on air again. So I've been seeking for a chance to go on searching for that site however, Cow's been bothering me again, this time making me interpret the descriptions for firewall settings word for word because he doesn't want to see alert balloons popping up every time he launches his lap-top...

The End

Caterpillar

3:08 p.m. Have been wondering what to write when the radio played a new Japanese tune called, "Oyaji Datte Koi-wo Suru" (meaning something like, "big daddies fall in love, too"). It was sung by a Japanese dancer and comedian, Imoaraizaka-Kakaricho. It's a samba. Sounds a bit like "Matsu-ken Samba."

3:33 p.m. Have been goofing off the past half hour still not able to come up with what to write... As I was racking my brains, Cow suggested I write about this song to which I countered him with a question of how should I put that into English. "Couldn't the title be like, something something gentlemen?" he said. What an all-too-easy idea. Besides, I think that the Japanese term Oyaji is far from the English term, gentlemen.

3:47 p.m. Eventually settled down for Cow's idea though hate to admit I had to, since I couldn't bare wasting another half an hour doing nothing.

The End

Caterpillar

10:25 a.m. Just read the news of Akira Kanou capturing a gold medal in Alpine skiing super-G (sitting) at the Paralympics in Vancouver. Hurrah! God for you! I knew he had won a bronze in downhill a couple of days ago following Taiki Morii, who had earned himself a silver in the same race. He seemed so happy in the award ceremony after the downhill which he must have been, to win a medal together with Morii as he not only looks up to this guy as a senior but respects him as a rival. Saw the scene on TV feeling very happy for him. And now he's won himself a gold!

10:38 a.m. Feeling very good since have read the good news, though was annoyed by self-indulgent JoOusama up until then, messing around the kitchen and blocking my way everywhere I went when I was in a hurry. Couldn't go on a walk today, and also was a bit late to get to work, but feeling it's going to be a good day today. Hopefully...

The End

Caterpillar

2:35 p.m. Looking up on an online English dictionary, how to say Hanatake (literally, nose mushroom) in English. Yesterday afternoon, one of my clients had told me that her husband has been having medication for Hanatake, after consulting a doctor for cedar pollen allergy symptoms which seemed to be worse than the past few years, and for having difficulties in smelling things. He also seemed to be having a headache, but thought it was another migraine. So, what in the world is this Hanatake? Have never heard of it before.

2:57 p.m. Have now found out that the English term for Hanatake was... nasal polyps. Hmmm, nasal polyps. They are polyps that grow in your nasal sinuses, causing a variety of nose problems such as stuffy nose, runny nose, smelling problems, headaches and so on. The polyps are said to grow larger when left untreated, sometimes even peering out of your nostrils... Eeeeee! Terrifying. Fortunately, my client's husband is presently under medication to get rid of his Hanatake, so he won't be looking like some sort of alien that has come to take over our planet.

The End

Caterpillar

1:42 p.m. JoOusama has left for Amoy, China. She had been declaring that she was going on a trip since the beginning of this month, though when exactly I wasn't quite sure.

2:26 p.m. Thinking about the pros and cons of having JoOusama away for a week. Pros : radio noise during night would be limited to monoral from stereo; wouldn't have to cope with her remarks on my clothes, hair, the time I get up, the time I go to sleep, etc.; wouldn't have to get annoyed at her occupying the bath when I was just about to take a bath; wouldn't have to give up bath because of her; would be free to consume whatever I want for supper, or even wouldn't have to have supper when I'm not hungry. Cons : will have to take care of Obaba's meals which is practically impossible since am not home till late, and she refuses to learn to press one button to microwave her meals; will have to make sure Tono leaves the door chains loose so will not be locked out.

2:42 p.m. Wondering if there's even a slim chance of her admiring Amoy so much, that she suddenly decides to stay there the rest of her life.

The End

Caterpillar

4:45 p.m. Was sweating in my down jacket when I came to office, but now think I was right after all, since it's gettting chilly.

4:52 p.m. Think I'll practice guitar today. Have been skipping it to save some time though the video of Orianthi which I've seen on one of my client's iPod the other day, sort of inspired me pulling some trigger inside me, urging to get back to practice again. Belatedly, have downloaded and installed a free metronome software in my lap-top yesterday, after struggling helplessly to increase disk space and am now ready to practice. It's small in capacity and moving quite smoothly. Why didn't I get this much earlier? But the problem is that I have to launch my computer every time I practice, which is a task since it takes at least ten minutes with the firewalls in action. It also brings me down to have my left ear covered with a headphone connected to the amplifier, while an earhang from the lap-top barely hangs from my right ear sometimes even pulled out because the cord is too short.

The End

Caterpillar

12:45 p.m. On subway. The subway has suddenly stopped and there was an announcement saying that the operation has been suspended due to accident causing injury or death. Oh, no. Guess I'll have to take a different route but how?

1:15 p.m. Have been waiting with a crowd of other passengers to get a free pass from the station staff so as can go around on other lines, when he suddenly bolted off somewhere more than ten minutes ago and hasn't returned since. Think I'll walk instead of just waiting here doing nothing.

2:11 p.m. It was a terrible idea. Have walked nearly an hour in the rain just to get to the office, which covers the distance of merely two subway stations. Have almost given up the whole thought of going to work if not for my two appointments scheduled for 4:00 p.m. and 5:20 p.m., respectively. God, am exhausted. Wish someone would bring out whoever caused the accident in front of all of us passengers, so that we can each get a chance to hit that person.

The End

Caterpillar

3:25 p.m. Cow has left the office to go to the dentist again. Bet he is going to have one of those teeth brushing lectures you always get in Japanese dentists. It's good for him though, since he hadn't been listening to my lectures on how to take care of his teeth.

5:20 p.m. Cow's back and he's apparently been suggested by the dentist that he needs to attach Ireba (Japanese term for false teeth) where his pulled out teeth had once been. Wondering what Ireba could be in English, we looked it up on the online Japanese-English dictionary. It said, false teeth or dentures, so I told Cow it was dentures, when he said, "It sounds scary."

That's "dangerous," you silly.

Then he said, "It sounds like a name of some band, too."

That I suppose, must be "the Ventures..." Stupid Cow.

The End

Caterpillar

6:06 p.m. My brains have stopped functioning due to lack of sleep. I was going to sleep early last night, since had lots of work to finish before noon today but my attempt eventually failed, after finding out that "24" was somehow going to be on-aired from 2:25 in the morning, despite its regular slot which was early Sunday morning.

6:12 p.m. Am having a hard time concentrating on this present task of writing the "Murmur," trying my best to keep myself from getting carried away to dreamland, wheras pretty much enjoying the lovely dozes when I do get carried away. Mmmm...

The End

Caterpillar

6:45 a.m. Managed to drag self out from under my warm blankets into the icy cold morning air, since was having preparation crisis. Had my schedule for today filled up with meetings one after another. It's going to be hellish, today. Doooom.

7:00 a.m. Opened the fridge to take out carton of milk for a cup of Cafe au let, but froze as four cartons of milk neatly lined up in the door pocket loomed up before my sleepy eyes... Right. I had bought a carton on my way home last night since there were only half a carton left, only to find that Tono had already stocked two more in the fridge when I got home. He must have thought the "little rascals" would consume them on Saturday and Sunday. A tragedy caused by obvious lack of communication, though couldn't be helped because Tono refuses to speak or even answer my questions.

The End

Caterpillar

8:11 p.m. Have been to the library to pick up some books which I've made reservations for more than two months ago. Wonder what took them so long. Have got five more books reserved though they don't seem to be ready yet, since haven't received any messages from the library about them for a couple of months. Must settle for it, as am trying to read all those books free. Anyway, came home now, launched my lap-top, turned on my TV, but TV won't go on...

8:19 p.m. What? What's wrong with my TV? Nothing was wrong when I turned it off to leave for the library. Now it doesn't go on! It just stares back at me with a blank black screen with no sound, when I press the power button. Press ON, click, then it syas zooom, but shows nothing. Why? Why?

8:24 p.m. Have just checked the antenna outside but nothing seemed to be wrong. Besides, the TV downstairs seems to be working perfectly, so it couldn't be the antenna. Does that mean my TV suddenly went dead in the past two or three hours? How could this happen without any signs of happening? How am I supposed to live without TV?

The End

Caterpillar

9:38 a.m. Turned on the TV to watch the weather forecast. Have averted life-without-TV-crisis by pulling out both the power and the antenna plug, and then plugging them back in again. Pressed the power button, click, and my TV went on. Thank God.

1:51 p.m. Was out when it started raining. Unfortunately, have left my umbrella home so was waiting for it to stop, but the situation seemed to be getting worse. I made up my mind and left the station. Might be able to get to office before rain gets really heavy.

1:54 p.m. Was completely wrong about rain. Three minutes later, it got harder and I got wet from head to toe. Why am I always in the wrong place at the wrong time? Why?

2:04 p.m. In office now. And the rain has stopped as abruptly a it had started...

3:02 p.m. Making every minute count before my free-life-without-JoOusama will be put to an end when she gets back from Amoy tonight. Good-bye, freedom. Am definitely going to miss it.

The End

Caterpillar

4:30 p.m. Have just realized that the years on the dates of these "Murmurs" were still 2009... Went to check my site and sure enough. Yesterday's "Murmur" was dated, "Monday, March 29th, 2009." Aaaargh! Aaaargh! It's been nearly four months since the year has changed to 2010. How could I have not notice it until now? HOW COULD I BE SO STUPID?

4:40 p.m. It is a blessed relief that the "Murmurs from the past" didn't have years on them. It would have been like winning a long shot and then told that my winning ticket wasn't actually a winning ticket, because the race numbers had been mistakenly marked.

4:48 p.m. Though the fantastic thing about computers is that you can always correct your careless mistakes by using the Find and Replace feature. Fantasitic, indeed.

The End

Caterpillar

3:41 p.m. Have visited own site and confirmed the year date of yesterday's "Murmur"s; was 2010. There.

3:42 p.m. Though having a very uncomfortable time in office, since Cow has been pissed off from last evening about my having photocopied color documents outside with my own money, although I was told to use the photocopier in the office and not didn't bring in the receipt. He has been ignoring me since I came in...

3:52 p.m. Okay, okay. I didn't do as I was told, and I didn't get a receipt, I'm sorry. But it was only for about 300 yen. And I paid with my own money. What's so wrong about that? How could that be such a big problem to keep someone infuriated for more than a day? How come he always sweat the small stuff? And why, oh why, AM I ALWAYS BEING IGNORED in the office, at home, WHYYYY?? Am I so repulsive that no one wants to accept my existence?

The End

Caterpillar