Snowman Japan WEB LOG

www.snowmanjapan.net

Asahikawa American English Conversation School

Snowman Japan Web Log

for August 2006

NOTE: The OBJECTIVE of this BLOG is to help my students with their study of English.

AND

For all of you, out there, around the world to;

SEE HOKKAIDO

2006 August 31 Thursday.

It's a little bit warmer today, but it has been cooling down rapidly during the past week. I love this season. Hot sunshine and a cool breeze. Also, lightning storms and all the good water that comes with it. Talk about ionized water, Yikes!!! Bolts of lighting, at millions of volts, crackling all around millions and billions of rain drops. Next time, I'm gonna put a bucket outside and fill 'er up. Experiments with water. Check out the massively cool HADO website by clicking here. Anyway, after my lessons were all finished for the day, I went outside to capture, one more male cricket. It didn't take long. He was chirping away in the open air garden, that can be entered from several windows in the hallway, right outside of my classroom door. See the photo on the left for details. When I came back into the classroom, I threw the little critter into the blue plastic cage with the lone female. I was pleased to discover that I had captured a Billy Buck of a male cricket. At first, the female was still buried under the wood chip mat, that covers the plastic floor of the cage. The male started walking around and checking out his new, and very small home. It didn't take long for the female cricket to crawl out of her hiding place, and make her presence known. Then they just stood there for the longest time, not moving, but checking each other out, via vibrations. The male didn't even make a sound. A few hours later, all hell broke loose, and the young buck cricket played it long and loud. It went on all night long and well into the next morning. I did manage to get some sleep however. This is what I had been looking for, and I was happy to watch and listen to it. In fact now, I have a two ring circus. The black cage contains 2 males and 1 female. Boy Oh Boy, do those two guys get into it from time to time. Some times the fighting is a bit playful, but at other times, they are head to head, and genuinely trying to kill each other! The Law of Nature is a harsh master. Of course the very big female cricket has to run around all over the place, in order to keep the two male crickets from pestering her 24 hours a day. If you think human TV Dramas are fun to watch, you should gaze upon Cricketville Junction from time to time. The show lasts until about the middle of November, when all of the actors die of old age. That's a Bug's Life for ya. Short and sweet. Less than one year! They are living each day as if it could be their last day. And it could be. That's just the way life is. Learn to Love Living it without fear. What happens happens. Be aware, but never afraid. And if you really want to do something, Do it now. 今を生きる。

2006 August 30 Wednesday.

Every week on this day at 15:00, a little guy and his mother come to my classroom for his practice in spoken American English. Tomorrow will be his 8th birthday. Of course, I sent him a custom made B'day Card, a few days ago. This family used to live in Houston Texas for about 3 years. When they moved to Asahikawa, the mother brought her only son to my classroom, so he wouldn't forget how to speak English. That was about 3 years ago. The little kid is making good progress, and I am also teaching him how to read and write, Real English. His father is a medical doctor at the the college hospital, and his mother speaks English very well, also. Speaking of Houston Texas, I got a telephone call from there on August 16, from a man who is seriously thinking about moving to Hokkaido, with his Japanese wife and their two kids, to live and work here for the long term. Why did he call me? He found this blog while doing an internet search for information on Hokkaido. It's nice to hear from people around the world. Actually, I didn't talk directly with the guy, he left a voice message on my answering machine, telling me his phone number and email address. I sent him an email, and encouraged him to ask me any questions he wanted to about being an American, with a Japanese wife, and living and working in Hokkaido. I will be looking forward to his email reply, and I'll answer his questions the best I can. I mean, think about it for a moment. A family of 4 has to sell almost everything they have, and make a big lifestyle changing move, to a place were it snows a lot for 5 months of every year. It doesn't snow in Houston Texas.

2006 August 29 Tuesday.

No classes this morning. Asahikawa University gets back into full swing starting September 12. I'm looking forward to it. Today's class schedule started at 15:00 with Mr. T., the retired high school English teacher. When I first saw him again today, after a period of about 4 or 5 weeks, I noticed right away, that he had lost a lot of weight. In a good way. His former protruding belly, was almost flat. Mine hasn't changed much. I said; "My god! You've slimed down! What is your secret?" He said that he was doing a lot of walking and slow jogging. An exercise we describe as Jogwalking. This word does not appear in any dictionary. Mr. T and I just made it up today. I asked him if he had quit smoking, and he said no. The last time Mr. T. quit smoking, he gained a lot of weight, and was starting to have an enormous beer belly, just like I do. Learning from his story, I started smoking again during my summer vacation. I have smoked off and on since before junior high school, but I have never liked it that much. It is very easy for me to quit smoking. And that is what I did just before the end of summer vacation. The point is, I didn't lose much weight. I figured that the nasty smoke wasn't worth the low return in weight reduction, so I put it in the trash can. I don't smoke now. At least, not until next summer vacation, when I will try it again. Cycles. Anyway, Mr. T. and I talked about a lot of things, including the Battle of Iwo Jima. He mentioned that there is a new movie directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Ken Watanabe, that shows the battle from both sides of the frontlines, and not just one side's view. We decided to go and see the movie together when it comes to Asahikawa. I have an especially close feeling towards this ugly little 8 square miles wide island, located some 700 miles south of Tokyo. I lived there for 11 months from January 1976 until late December of that same year. I know this island well. Too well. It was truly a Cosmic Experience living there, and walking all around the place, many many times. I am currently writing a very long essay about my thoughts and experiences while living on that tropical island as a 19 year old Coastie. Third Class Petty Officer. In a word, it was phuckin' excellent. More about that later.

2006 August 28 Monday.

My first gig of the day was at the Chestnut Tree Kindergarten くりの木幼稚園 in Nagayama starting at 10:00. As usual, the kids were lively and noisy. Today, I talked about summer vacation activities among other things. We even did a dance together. When that was finished at about 11:00, I drove back to my classroom and got ready for my next class at the Kagura Public Hall 神楽公民館 which starts at 13:00. Today, I brought a loaf of bread with me to show the students. You can see a photo of it on the left. I bought this bread in late May or early June, I can't remember the exact date, but it was on an occasion of my going out into the mountains for a one night sleep over in my van. I probably went to Fukiage Onsen 吹上温泉 or some place like that. On such occasions, I eat bread, cheese, ham and other items which I don't need to cook by myself. Last week, while I was cleaning up my van, I discovered this loaf of 6 slices of bread, still sitting in my van. It had not been opened, but the expiration date, which you can clearly see, is 2006 June 6. That is almost 3 months ago. The bread was inside my van the whole time, during the entirety of the hot and humid summer. The thing that I really took notice of is the fact that the bread had absolutely no mold カビ anywhere, on any of the 6 slices of the bread!!! I don't think that I have ever seen anything like this before. Bread that doesn't mold after more that 2 or 3 weeks??? What kind of preservatives 防腐剤　are they using on this stuff? Read the label, if you can. When I showed this bread to the members of the English Conversation Circle, they were as surprised as I was. One of the ladies even opened up the plastic bag, took a sniff, and then put a small piece of bread in her mouth! I asked her; "How does it taste?" She said; "Not too bad. A little bit sour." She asked me if I wanted to try some and I said; "No Thank You." Another woman in the group said; "I feed this to my husband all the time, but I don't eat it myself." My comment was; "Your husband will turn into a mummy ミーラ, just like the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. Everybody laughed at this, but it may be true. In this modern world, it is becoming harder and harder to find RAW NATURAL FOOD. And it is so important to have access to it. Another issue that relates to this is the controversy surrounding Genetically Modified (GM) foods. That is a whole 'nother story, but in summary I would like to say; 'It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature.' The Laws of the Cosmos are the same yesterday, today and forever. Observe nature. Learn what you need to know to live in peace with the natural rhythms that surround you. Maybe we don't know everything. I certainly don't. How about you?

2006 August 27 Sunday.

A very warm and sunny day again today. The thermometer said 30C, but it really didn't feel that hot, because there was a cool autumn breeze in the air. It felt nice. My wife and I went for a short drive to take care of some shopping in the Nagayama District of Asahikawa, and then came back home. When I checked my email today, I got a message from my wife's younger sister, who lives in Tokyo. As I mentioned before, we are having something of an email war over a couple of stuffed bears. Hers is small and ugly, mine is big and handsome. She said in her email, that she has been listening to the music of KISS, from the 1980's, so I made another fake album cover, to look like Paul Stanley, the guitarist in the band. Personally, I don't like the music of KISS very much, but I do remember a few songs that were popular while I was in high school. I liked Aerosmith much better. When I was a high school student, I didn't study much. I spent most of my free time playing the guitar, and chasing girls. I wasn't very good at either one of those pursuits. It is amazing that I was able to graduate. Anyway, later on today, at about 20:30, I walked over to the Seikyo supermarket to see what food items they had at half price. I found a few things that looked good, bought them, and walked back home. As I was crossing the street, I saw about 3 or 4 crickets on the sidewalk. I spotted one that looked like a male, although I couldn't really see all that well in the dark, and I grabbed it with my free hand. When I got home, I threw it into the cage with the male cricket I already have. To my surprise, I had picked up another female. While I was hoping that she wouldn't kill and eat the male cricket, the male cricket started chirping like crazy. Maybe this was his dream girl. I watched them dance around each other and do what comes natural. Later on, I found another cricket on my classroom floor. I'm not sure how it got there, but I noticed that it was also a male, so I picked it up and threw it into the cage with the one male and one female cricket. The fighting started almost immediately, as the two males tried to monopolize the female. Talk about a night at the fights, Yikes! I watched for some time with much interest. So far, all of them are still alive. What will tomorrow bring? Don't know yet.

2006 August 26 Saturday.

Getting hot and sunny again. The good news is that the humidity is way down, and there is a cool autumn breeze. This is my favorite season in Hokkaido. Wish you were here. I had a private lesson at 11:00 with a high school girl who will be graduating next March. I asked her what she intended to do after her high school graduation, and she said that she would like to go to a Personal Computer Technical School, and learn more about IT. I was very pleased to hear this, because I too, depend upon PCs for many things, including the printing of my textbooks and of course, this website, among many other things. As an extension to the human brain, the PC is a wonderful tool. It can be used for good, and it can be used for evil. It's your choice. The point is, the means (technology) is here. Here now and getting better, everyday. Are we as humans smart enough to use it wisely and not completely destroy ourselves in the process??? Do you remember the fad of building bomb shelters during the 1960s and 1970s?? I clearly do. DUCK AND COVER. Do you really think that will save your arse? Think again. And again. And always for ever more.

2006 August 25 Friday.

My first gig of the day started at 9:00 at the Hokkaido Prefecture Nursing Academy of Asahikawa 北海道立旭川高等看護学院. Today, instead of just one class, there were two, back to back. No problem for me, I know what needs to be done. There were a lot of students absent today. Something that never happens at the JA Kosei Nursing School were I also have a class. Too say the least, the management style at these two schools is very different. Kosei is by far the best. Anyway, after 3 hours of fun and games with the students, while speaking mostly English, I got into a taxi and came back to my classroom to eat lunch and get ready for a private lesson with the two lovely ladies who come every week at 13:30 on Fridays. The last time I saw them was on August 5, when Mrs. M., invited me and my wife to come over for a garden party. It was very nice. Today's lesson was also very nice. A real pleasure. After that, it was straight lessons from 15:00 until 20:00. Wow! My first full week back to work and I made it through alive. Fully alive. Time for some all malt beer. What label? Sapporo Classic, available only in Hokkaido. What else goes good with beer? MUSIC! Yeah, let's rock the house. So, I turned on my CD player with The B-52s, and their best album ever, COSMIC THING. You know what I'm talkin' about. I also pulled out my Fender Telecaster to play along unplugged. I could have used the amp with wireless headphones, but today I did it raw. And it sounded good. After about 2 and a half hours of the same album, over and over again, I decided to call it a day and retire. I haven't seriously played the six string electric for a long time, because I like to pluck the bass guitar better nowadays, but it felt good to get back into 6 string mode and play those twangy leads and funky rhythm licks. I need to do that again in the near future. I also like country and western music very dearly. The Fender Telecaster is the best sounding guitar to use for C&W. I can't play C&W nearly as well as I would like to, but maybe someday I will have the true motivation to sit down and learn how to do it. What an awesome groove that is. The B-52s stuff is relatively easy to play. I mean they are the world's best party band. Simple and to the point. But, real good country music requires a much higher skill level than that. An that requires hours and hours of diligent guitar practice, until the playing becomes completely automatic. I would love to be there some day.

2006 August 24 Thursday.

My first class of the day started at 15:00 with 4 young girls who are in elementary school. This group of students, is very enthusiastic and they learn fast. A real pleasure to teach. After that, I had straight classes until 20:00. When all classes were finished for the day, I walked over to HOMAC to buy another plastic bug cage, and then walked over to The Local Products Exhibition Center 地場産センター to capture some more crickets, which were chirping away like crazy, all around the exterior of the building. I spent about 20 minutes, looking around with a small flashlight, and captured 6 crickets. When I brought them home, I discovered that I had a collection of 4 females and 2 males. The four females had wasted no time in attacking the males. In fact, one of the males was already dead and half eaten. The other one was still alive, but his right rear jumping leg was missing. I immediately used plastic tongs to pull the females out of the cage and let them go. I also discarded the carcass of the dead male. I was left with only one male cricket. And he only chirped twice. He has been silent ever since. I guess I need to go out on another hunting expedition. Next time I will try to be more careful, not to capture the deadly females. The law of nature gives no quarter. Live and Let Die. Also, don't forget about Buddy Holly and the Crickets. A blast from the past.

2006 August 23 Wednesday.

Cool and rainy again today. What a relief! Humidity is way up, but the temperature is low enough to make it comfortable. Every year, at about this time, you can here the chirping sounds of crickets, all around this town. A sound that I dearly love. In years past, I have captured and kept crickets as pets. This year is no exception. I heard crickets strumming their combs, right outside my door, so I went out to catch one. With a small flashlight, and a plastic bug cage in hand, it only took me about 2 minutes to locate and arrest one of the little critters. I only took one, because they have a tendency to fight each other when confined to a small space. Apparently I took the wrong one. A female. I wanted to capture a male, because only males can make the chirping sound. Females can't, because they do not have the necessary body parts to make it happen. In other words, I have a boring pet. I think I'll let her go tomorrow, and get a male instead. Or, I'll buy another small plastic cage, and put the male in that one. Then, they can live in the same neighborhood. Maybe the guy will turn his stereo up real loud, and I can enjoy the concert too. Let's hope so.

2006 August 22 Tuesday.

No classes in the morning today, but I did have straight classes from 16:00 until 20:00. It was nice to see everybody again after a period of about one month. One thing that I failed to mention in yesterday's blog, was the fact that the Tomakomai Hokkado team didn't win their 3rd consecutive victory yesterday. They were defeated by the Waseda Jitsugyo High School baseball team. It was their first national championship. Congratulations guys. Well done. The final score was 4 to 3. It was another very exciting game. Emotions ran high on both sides, with players on both the losing team and the winning team shedding tears of frustration or tears of joy. It was a beautiful thing to see. Well, Tomakomai Hokkaido, there is always next year to try again. I mean you have already been to the big game 4 times and won it twice. That is very very good. Nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing at all.

2006 August 21 Monday.

Well, it's back to work. THANK GOD. Although I appreciate my free time, and use it to my best advantage, most of the time, I do like to meet familiar people and talk with them face to face, about what they want to talk about. It is interesting for me, and it's stimulating for them, as well. My first gig of the day started at 10:00 at the Mebae Kindergarten in Kamui. The little kids were happy to see me, and I was happy to see them. It's a win/win situation. I didn't bring my folk guitar today, but instead used big colorful laminated flash cards that I have made in the past to talk about summer vacation activities. I use 90% English, but sometimes I need to make a point clear by speaking Japanese. When that was all finished at about 11:30, I came back to my classroom to eat lunch and get ready for my next gig that starts at 13:00 at the Kagura Citizens' Hall 神楽公民館. I didn't write about it yesterday, but Sunday was the final championship game for the 甲子園, the All Japan High School Baseball Playoffs. Again this year, as with the past three years in a row, a team from Tomakomai Hokkaido 駒澤大学付属苫小牧高等学校, was in the final game. The Tomakomai Hokkaido team has won the championship twice before, and they were going for their 3rd Victory again this year. However, the game yesterday went into extra innings with a tie score of 1 to 1. It stayed that way until the bottom of the 15th inning, when the game was called a draw because of the rules. What happens next? They must play the same game over again today!!! Can you image how damn tired the players must feel after yesterday's 4 hour contest in 30 plus degrees heat and high humidity??? Not to mention the fact that family members and other fans from Hokkaido had to plan for an extra night's stay in Osaka, on the spur of the moment! Oh my God!! What a mess!!! Anyway, today's rematch, which resulted from yesterday's tie game, started at 13:00. 'I wonder how many people will be at today's English Circle?' I said to myself as I walked slowly towards the building. When I got there, I discovered that it was only 5, including one new person. As soon as I walked in the door, I said in mock surprise; "What are you doing here??? There is a very important high school baseball game on TV right now!" Everyone laughed, because they were all well aware of the situation. As it turned out, we all sat around in the very hot and humid classroom chatting about various things until about 14:15, then we decided to walk over to the nearby SeiKyo supermarket to watch the remainder of the ball game on the big TV there. We weren't the only ones who had the same idea. When we got there the score was 4 to 1, with Tomakomai Hokkaido on the losing end of the deal, at the top of the 8th inning. Damn, we need the blessings of ICHIRO. So, I started to rub furiously on my Navy Blue plastic ICHIRO 51 key holder which is always hanging from the side of my book bag. In my opinion, ICHIRO IS THE BEST ALL AROUND BASEBALL PLAYER, OF ALL TIME, EVER, UP TO NOW. I fully realized this again, when I saw the high school baseball players, on both teams, not have enough strength or experience to pull-off a play, and get an out, in tough situations. 'If it was ICHIRO, he would have made the throw from far left field, to home plate, in time to stop the runner from scoring another point. If it was ICHIRO, he would have run faster, and beat the throw to first base, on a sloppy infield hit. If it was ICHIRO, he would have run back to third base on the bunt of another batter, and not get thrown out at the bag.' It is easy for me, a big fat old fart, to sit here in my armchair and criticize these young bucks, but it did make me fully realize, just how good of a baseball player, ICHIRO really is. A good role model for the kids. And some of the kids I watched today and yesterday, will indeed go on to become professional baseball players in Japan. Maybe even all around the world. Be like ICHIRO. PLAY FROM THE HEART.

2006 August 20 Sunday.

Oh no! It's the last day of my one-month summer vacation, and none too soon. I was getting bored. I had intended to go camping at least one more time, but it was raining on those days that I had thought of going so, I never went. We have a couple of three day weekends in September, so maybe then I can get back outdoors for an overnight stay under the big starry sky. By the way, the photo on the left is of me with a three week old beard. A beard? Yeah, it's a beard. The first time I have grown a beard in more than 25 years. Why? Well, I don't really like having a beard, and most men in Japan do not wear them either so,... It was just an experiment to see what I would look like with a beard at the age of 50. The last time I grew a beard I was 24 years old, just out of the U.S. Coast Guard, and a freshman at WSU. The reason I grew a beard at that time is because during the last 2 and one half years that I was a Coastie, I was also a crew member, radioman/navigator, aboard the HC-130 aircraft based at Air Station Kodiak, Alaska. Crew members of fixed-wing aircraft are not allowed to wear full beards, because it will hinder the fit of an oxygen mask, in case of an emergency. In other words, the rubber seal of the face mask will not be airtight on the face of a bearded crew member. Even 26 years ago when I last had a beard, I didn't keep it for very long. After I took the photo on the left, I got into the shower and shaved the hairy thing off of my face. It took more than 10 minutes to remove it. What a mess for the drainpipe. Besides that, my first gig for tomorrow, is at the Young Buds Kindergarten めばえ幼稚園 in Kamui, starting at 10:00 so I don't want to scare the little kids, who might not fully recognize me with a face full of hair. Another safety precaution, so to speak. As a band member, a beard might look OK on me, but I haven't played in a band for almost one year, so that is irrelevant at this point. By the way, the bass guitar I am holding is an exact copy of a Fender Jazz Bass, called a Squire Jazz Bass. It only cost about $350 instead of almost $2,000 for a "real one". Why is that? Well, it is Made in China!!! That's why. How is the quality of the instrument? Excellent. It is easy to play, and it sounds great. The only problem is that it's rather heavy, so if you have to play it for more than 2 hours, it gets to be a pain in your left shoulder. That's why I have an even cheaper and much lighter Yamaha practice bass guitar. You can see it in the photograph for August 16th's blog. How does the Yamaha bass sound? Not so good. Most of the time, I play it unplugged while listening to CDs at low volume. If I really do play the bass plugged in, I need to use headphones, because I live in an apartment building where low frequency sounds carry a long way. I don't want to disturb my neighbors.

2006 August 19 Saturday.

The clouds have parted and the sun is out again. With a vengeance. An old fan that I use in my classroom, has finally kicked the bucket. I've had it for about 13 years and it worked fine until recently, when it started making a lot of noise. So, yesterday I took the fan apart and vacuumed out all of the dust and lint, then I lubricated the moving parts with WD-40, and put it all back together again. I was so proud of myself because it didn't make any more noise. Until this morning, when it started acting up again. Knowing that I needed to buy a new fan in a hurry, I went over to the Kagura HOMAC to buy one. To my surprise, they had already removed them from the store shelves. It's still a little early for that, isn't it? You just lost at least one sale. Later we drove over to Yamada Denki, and they still had a large selection in stock. Yeah! I selected another cheap $20 fan, just like the one I had used before for about 13 years. It's good enough. I mean, what is a fan anyway? It is a motor that goes round and round. That's all. Some models have remote controls, and a minus ion producing component, and a lot of other nonsense. But, some people do buy them. That's good for the manufacturers. Made in Japan? Or, made in China? Check the label for details.

2006 August 18 Friday.

The rainy weather continues from last night. The lightning show last night was excellent, by the way. The thunder wasn't so loud though. The good news is that the temperature has dropped from 30C to just above 20C. Of course the humidity is way up, but the nasty heat is gone for now. It's starting to feel more like Hokkaido again.

2006 August 17 Thursday.

Ikuko had today off from her part time job at HOMAC, so we mostly stayed indoors until about 17:00, when we decided to go for a rather long walk on the cycling roads along the Biei River. It was hot and humid, and the sky was very dark on the horizon. Another thunder and lighting storm is coming, that's for sure. When will it strike here? Not sure. Along the way, we stopped at a small store to get some beer, and then continued walking until we reached a small park. We sat on the wooden benches around the wooden table, and talked about various things while wetting our whistles. The table and bench area has a simple roof built on four pillars, to protect people if it rains. It didn't rain while we were there, but what I did observe was a HUGE SPIDER, busy at work, building a huge web. While Ikuko was doing most of the talking, I sat there and watched in awe as the little critter moved in regular patterns, over and over again, building her web. Obviously, this little animal has intelligence. The same universal intelligence that we are all tapped into as well. Take a moment from your busy life, and observe it once in a while. After about 45 minutes of drinking, talking and watching the world go round, we walked on over to a nice little YakiTori restaurant in Kamui called とりせん. One of my favorite places. The place has an all female staff, and the flavor is A-1. They have a type of deep fried chicken, called ZanGi in Hokkaido, that is crisp on the outside and oh so juicy on the inside. I highly recommend it. After eating enough to feel less hungry, we walked back to our home. About 5 minutes after we got home, the thunder and lightning storm started with lots of rain. Good timing. Are you tuned in?

2006 August 16 Wednesday.

Another hot and humid day. A good day to stay mostly indoors with the AC set at about 20C. I mean what else can I do, walk around outdoors and sweat a lot? Yeah, I could do that but,..... I think I'll have some fun with PhotoDraw. And that's what I did. You may remember the stuffed bear that my wife won during a BINGO game at a spa resort hotel at Lake Toya on July 28. Well, now that stuffed bear has a new mission in life. He has become the, not so skillful, base guitar player for a brand new band. See the poster on the left for more details than you would normally care to know about. Of course this is all BS, but it is still somewhat mentally stimulating to play around with CG software. Certainly much better than watching 馬鹿テレビ. The real reason I made this fake poster, is because I am having something of an email war, with my wife's younger sister who lives in Tokyo. She also has a stuffed bear, but it is small and ugly. So, I told her so, and even doctored a photo of the little rag doll, using PhotoDraw, to make it look even dumber. She replied with her own attempt at CG, and I was less than impressed. So, I sent a photo of the bogus poster which you can see on the left. By the way, I think she is going to South Korea within the next few days or so for a 4 day 3 nights vacation, or something like that. I wonder if she has learned how to read HanGul by now? Have a nice trip. Don't forget to buy me some Kankoku Nori and very hot Kimchi as a souvenir!!! Love from Normie.

2006 August 15 Tuesday.

Oooooh Maaaaan!!! Why is it sooooo hot and humid again today??? Because it is the middle of August in the Kamikawa Basin, that's why. No big surprise there. Well, let's see, nowhere in particular that I must go today, so,....... I think I will crank up the AC and get web smarter little by little. As I was doing so, I also decided to put the polishing touches on the English speech for the junior high school girl, who lives very nearby. I used WORD to finish it off and then sent it as an attachment to an email. She will receive it within a few seconds. Any questions about pronunciation and intonation can be cleared up at your next lesson, about 10 days from now. See ya then.

2006 August 14 Monday.

Every year on this day, the city district of Kagura, holds their annual Big Fireworks Display. It has gotten progressively better every year, and people from all over the city gather here to watch it. Some years, I watch it from my veranda while BBQing, but this year I am going down to the riverline with 7 other people. Basically, my adoptive Japanese Family. Four ladies, and 3 guys. Plus me. Even though we got there a full 50 minutes before launch time, it was already very crowded, and we were just lucky enough to get the last area by the riverside, that can seat 8 people in folding chairs. Yeah, we all brought folding chairs. We will be here for a while so, let's pass the time in comfort. By the way, the photo on the left was taken at a different event, but who would ever know? This year, there was even a group of Taiko Drummers from California who performed on stage, just before the first launch of the rockets. Welcome to Asahikawa. It snows a lot here. How about California? The magnificent fireworks display lasted almost one hour. In addition to the usual high-altitude bursts, they also had a lot of low altitude bursts backed up by fountains of sparks shooting up from the waterline. It was really awe inspiring. The bad news is that people who drove their cars to this event, are now faced with a traffic jam of immense proportions. I live right next door to the staging area, so this is never a problem for me. In fact, it is a pleasure to sit on my second floor balcony and do some serious people watching. The Hokkaido Police are here for traffic control, and everything flows smoothly, albeit slowly. Especially for drivers. Please come again next year!!!

2006 August 13 Sunday.

The junior high school girl finally sent me her speech, written in Japanese for me to translate into English, by email today. After reading the speech I thought to myself, "This young lady has grasped the essence of how to learn a foreign language, smoothly and easily. Being very happy to see this, I went to work translating her words into their American English equivalents. Not a direct translation, a translation that conveys the same feelings intended by the author. This process takes some time. No problem, I'm on summer vacation right now. I have more free time now than at any other time of the year. It's your lucky day my fair young lady. Now it's up to you to learn, memorize and practice speaking the speech out loud as much as possible. You need to know it so well, that you just can't wait to get up on stage and do your thing. Getting to that point also takes some time. Do your best.

2006 August 12 Saturday.

Finally, some clouds and rain. It increases the humidity, but it also lowers the temperature. Lowers it enough so that I can go take a walk along the riverside cycling roads. And that's what I did. I was even able to get a few interesting photos along the way. On the left, is a rather nice view of downtown Asahikawa taken from the Old Kagura Bashi. I especially enjoy watching the cloud formations flow and change. When they built the New Kagura Bashi just recently, they did not tear down the old bridge. Instead, they dressed it up and turned it into a cycling road and pedestrian walkway. See photo on right. A very nice touch if I may say so myself. Of course, the new, much much larger bridge looms over the old bridge like some kind of big brother. The old bridge is even illuminated at night, and they are almost finished building a new park on the other side of it. A lot of people I know say that all these new bridges and other riverside concrete construction projects are unnecessary and a waste of taxpayers' money. My response is always the same. "Well that may be so, but it's a helluva lot better than building Weapons of Mass Destruction, isn't it. Everyone here seems to agree with me on that. Besides, it makes the city so much more beautiful and easy to use. Let's build even more parks and bridges!!! Yeah, and while yer at it, we need more new businesses along Kaimono Koen. The center of the city is almost like a ghost town these days.

2006 August 11 Friday.

The heat and humidity continue, big time. Where am I living? Luuuuzyana? My kingdom for a cool breeze! Actually, I do have a cool breeze thanks to my AC unit being on 24/7. How much will it cost to run it? Who cares, it will cost a lot more in downed production time not to have it on. When I have to go outside, I am immediately hit by a heavy, moist, blast of heat. I start walking real slow, like a porcupine. Gimme some ice!

2006 August 10 Thursday.

I got a message on my answering machine today, from a junior high school girl who comes to my classroom every week, asking me to translate a short speech she had written in Japanese. It was about her experience at overcoming the Wall of Language during her 10 day home stay in BN Ill USA. She wanted to come over to my classroom, but that's not possible now, because the classroom is being used as a storage room for camping equipment. I told her to type it up in a WORD document, and send it to me by email. She will probably be finished by sometime tomorrow. Do your best with the speech, and get web smart at the same time.

2006 August 9 Wednesday.

Another hot and humid day. Maybe I should turn on the air conditioning in my classroom for the first time this year. Sometimes, even Hokkaido gets hot and muggy. But I am sure that it isn't anywhere near as hot as it was in Nagasaki on this day in 1945. It's so easy to forget, isn't it. Let's go over a few of the horrible facts of that day sixty some years ago. More that 73,000 people of all ages were killed in a flash, along with the heat wave and the radiation fall out that immediately followed. The second Pandora's Box had been opened, leading straight to the gates of hell. Could it ever happen again? Yer damn right it could. In fact there are literally thousands and thousands of military planners, getting ready to do it again and again, right now. As you read this blog. Where will the next targets be??? You will have to ask them. It's almost impossible to believe, isn't it. How so many people can make a living by figuring out more efficient and more clever ways to kill the living. Does that make any sense to you? If you want to read more about the Big BBQ at Nagasaki, please click on the photo of the mushroom cloud on the left. It will take you the the BBC website, where they have an excellent recap of that days events. Don't forget history. Learn about it before it is completely rewritten. The Ministry of Truth is now accepting job applications.

2006 August 8 Tuesday.

Well that was fun. It was windy and misty all night long, but everyone got some sleep. Unfortunately, this morning is also windy and misty. Not a real good day to go for a swim. We decided to pack up and get back on the road again, going south. Maybe the sun would come out along the way, and we could get some swimming into the program. We stopped in Haboro, looked at the rose garden and seabirds museum, and then had brunch at a seafood restaurant. As we got back on the road again, the sun came out, and we drove along the highway looking at various swimming spots, until we decided on one near Obira. There weren't any waves to ride, but it was safe for the kids. We spent about 3 hours there, and I even cooked a late lunch in the parking lot. It was plenty hot and sunny for the rest of the day. When we got back to Rumoi, my oldest nephew had to stop at the HOMAC and buy a plastic home for his new-found pet. The beetle. Keeping insects as pets is quite common in Japan, and every summer, the stores stock up on the essential supplies for bug enthusiasts who practice their hobbies. I myself catch a cricket every year and listen to it chirp away in its plastic cage until about mid-November when it finally kicks the bucket. After our brief stop at the HOMAC in Rumoi, we drove inland towards Asahikawa, making one stop in Chippubetsu to take a very nice bath at Yuu and Yu Chippubetsu. For 500 yen you can use all of the soap, shampoo hot and cold water that you little heart desires. And that's what we all did. Especially the ladies. The boys we all done in between 20 to 60 minutes. The two ladies took their sweet time and made us boys wait for a full extra hour. I used the free time to pull out a plastic lawn chair, and lay back watching the colors of the sunset play upon the clouds. Finally, the ladies with their never satisfied desire to become young again, returned to the van. Now we can drive the rest of the way to Asahikawa and have some dinner. I am starved.

2006 August 7 Monday.

Ready for a road trip??? I am. Everything everybody needs in terms of camping equipment is packed in the van. Now we have to drive over to Chuwa and pick up the other three passengers. We got there just before 9:00 and packed up the rest of the luggage. It almost blocked my line of sight from the rear view mirror. We got on the road and headed towards Rumoi. At Rumoi we made a pit stop at the MaxValu to buy food and drinks for use at the campsite in ShoSanBetsu. You can see 4 members our gang of 5 in the photo on the left. I'm the cameraman, driver, navigator, and overall responsible guy for the safety of these camping amateurs. They should pay me to do this!!! We drove from Rumoi along the ocean highway through Obira, Tomamae, Haboro, and finally on to ShoSanBetsu. The weather was windy, and a light mist turning to light rain and then back again to a misty fog, was not ideal for camping, but we are going to do it anyway. The biggest problem was the wind, but it was not cold at all. Just after we arrived at about 13:00, I pulled all of the camping gear out of the van and we set it up. Next step, light the BBQ. We have enough food and drink to last for about 3 separate meals. Those two little guys EAT A LOT!!! Maybe I should use this opportunity to go on a liquid diet. After the first BBQ, everybody except me walked on over to the Onsen Hotel to take a hot bath. I was ready to lay down on a plastic lawn chair and take a nap. And that is what we did. At about 19:00, after the FAB FOUR came back from a very nice bathing session, I fired up the BBQ again, and we all had dinner. During that time, my oldest nephew found a huge stag beetle wandering around on the campground roads. I gave him a plastic tumbler to use as a temporary cage for the insect. I must say it is a beauty. Well worth keeping as a pet. He was a lucky guy to find it. Finally everybody went to bed at about 11:30. Those four in the tent, and me in the HOTEL NOAH. My usual lodging for the night, when I'm on the road. It's a great way to see Hokkaido.

2006 August 6 Sunday.

Another hot and humid day. In fact, it was so humid (about 80%) that there was a foggy mist hanging in the air and low to the ground. That's August in Hokkaido for ya. I makes you forget the fact that this place is covered in snow and ice for five months of the year, every year. Weather such as today's, only lasts for about a week or two. Maybe three or four if your lucky. Lucky? It depends on what kind of weather makes you feel the most comfortable. Personally, I like it a bit cooler, with lower humidity. Tomorrow I'm going camping with my wife, her elder sister, and her elder sister's 2 children. Both boys. One is a 2nd year student in junior high school, and the other is a 5th grader in elementary school. These kids have never been camping before. Therefore, I must pack up a lot of extra stuff to take with us so that their "camping experience" is enjoyable and comfortable. That's what I spent most of the day and night doing. When I go camping by myself, it's real simple. But this time, I need to think for 5 people instead of just one.

2006 August 5 Saturday.

Baby. it's hot today!!! Really good weather for an evening BBQ Party. Fortunately for Ikuko and I, we were invited to just such a party at a home in Nishi Kagura, about 10 kilometers from where we live. The house belongs to one of the two lovely ladies who come to my classroom every Friday at 13:30 for their private lesson. We have talked about having a BBQ Party for a few years now, and today it is finally happening. I wouldn't mind having such a party at my place, but my balcony, although quite large compared to other balconies on this building, is only big enough for about 4 or 5 people to really enjoy a party. Today, there were 9 people and 2 Golden Retriever dogs at the BBQ Party. It could only be held there in Nishi Kagura. Ikuko and I took a taxi to the spot and arrived at about 18:00. I brought a cooler box full of Sapporo Classic All Malt Beer and my special recipe of chunks of chicken breast meat marinated in a mixture of; lemon juice, soy sauce, salt and pepper, hot India Curry Paste and crushed dried mint leaves. Everybody at the party said they liked the flavor. Even the two dogs showed their approval. As it got darker, a waxing moon became more and more visible just above the horizon. Also, the owner of the house, brought out a big jug of ShoChu ビッグマン焼酎, and I started getting very drunk from drinking that along with my beer. Fortunately, Ikuko stopped me before I turned into a total asshole, and we got into a taxi again at about 12:00 midnight for the ride back home. Thank you for inviting us to your party!!! We had a very good time.

2006 August 4 Friday.

Lots to write about today, but no time to write it. SORRY.

2006 August 3 Thursday.

Lots to write about today, but no time to write it. SORRY.

2006 August 2 Wednesday.

Lots to write about today, but no time to write it. SORRY.

2006 August 1 Tuesday.

Lots to write about today, but no time to write it. SORRY.