Days til I'm home!: 7
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Daily excerpt from The Paranoid's Pocket Guide:
Sulfur-based preservatives used legally to enhace the colors and crispness of certain vegetables found in salad bars can cause life-threatening allergic reactions.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Woke up at: 0645
Mood: Koo koo
Listening to: Elevation by Zion I
Weather Report: Sunny but frickin' COLD!!!
Japanese Word/Phrase/Food of the Day: hatari = talks out of his/her ass (figure of speech)
Japan News: TOKYO - A Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) plane on Wednesday sighted a Chinese navy submarine traveling on the surface of the high seas off Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, MSDF officials said. It was the first time that a Chinese submarine was spotted on the sea surface in waters around Japan, they said. A P3-C surveillance plane sighted the Ming-class sub around 8 a.m. heading west in the Pacific some 40 kilometers east of Cape Sata off the southern tip of Kyushu.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fantasy Football Update (as of 11.13.03):
Record: 6-3-1
Me: 74 - Tri: 40
Well...like I said, Tri had no chance. Culpepper and Wilkins came thru for me yo!
Other news to note: Dropped Rod Smith and picked up Tryone Calico.
Week 11 matchup: Macs Silver & Black (James)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fantasy Basketball Update (as of 11.13.03):
Record: 12-7-1
RESULTS
Week 1: 6-4 W, japanimal (Kotaro)
Week 2: 6-3 W, Dribblin' Balls (Jookie)
Week 3 Matchup - Scruffs Thugz (Don)
As of right now, I'm up 6-3.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japan Women's National Volleyball Team: (as of 11.13.03)
Record: 6-3
Next opponent: Cuba
With the loss to Brazil (which was straight sets), Japan drops to the 6th. (/-\)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current Book Status:
Cryptonomicon
The Best American Short Stories 1999: pg 15 Sorry Ha chan, but that book was kinda wack yo!
Count Zero: pg 20
Haven't had much time to read lately.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
News:
- Microsoft moves into chip world with Xbox. The software giant will more actively participate in the creation of the chips that go inside the next version of its Xbox gaming console. Read more here.
- Kasparov Draws First Game Vs 'X3D Fritz' Computer. World No. 1 chess player Garry Kasparov was held to a draw on Tuesday in the first game of his latest match against a computer and admitted having difficulty with the program's virtual reality component. Read here for more.
- Angel Berrora wins AL Rookie of the Year, Dontrelle Willis wins NL Rookie of the Year, Roy Halladay wins AL Cy Young, wins NL Cy Young
Hmmm...not sure bout Berrora, I think that Matsui deserved it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
School, Volleyball & Setsu's Sayonara Party, Yaki Niku
11.10
Man...it's frickin' cold today! The rain ain't helpin the situation either.
School was school today. Nothing really exciting. Had kind of a stomach ache earlier in the day.
Went to MatsuKiyo for groceries for dinner. Made some slammin' penne pasta with eggplant, onions, mushrooms & ground beef in a tomato sauce
Came home, got some mail from Photo.com that my pic, Mukurikaike, might be published in their Endless Journeys book. It was from the time I climbed Mt. Tateyama w/Takeuchi sensei.
Japan's national team was playin' again, this time against Poland. Poland has one of the most strongest hitters in the tournament by the name of Glinka. As for Japan's team, the hype is all around the two 19 year old swing hitters, Oyama & Kurihara and the veteran middle blocker & team captain, Yoshihara. But, after seeing a handful of games and analyzing many situations, I've come to the unbiased conclusion that when in doubt, set Takahashi. She's the 6th leading scorer, 5th leading spiker, 9th best server and 4th best passer in the tournament...all that mere height of 5'7"! When Japan needed her most, that being in the 5th game tie break with Poland, Takeshita knew who to set...Takahashi. She couldn't be stopped. I compare her hitting style with Bob Ctvrtlik, the king of tooling the block. I think that she hits huts and reds the best. So after Japan overcame Poland in a dramatic game 5, the announcer couldn't hold keep his composure, so guess who comes out to take over for him...none other than Takahashi! She's a comedian too!
11.11
Man...it's frickin' colder today! And it's been raining from morning to evening!
Today is Pockey no Hi (Pockey Day) because it's November 11th = 1111
Taught only 2 7th grade classes today. During 3rd and 4th period, prepared the cards for the 9th grade elective game. The class went well, but kinda unfair because of Okabe-san and Matsuzaka-san. They're English level is way above the other students. Matsuzaka almost sneaked one by me.
While I was waiting for the train, I realized, after readin' all the advertisements, that I missed my dentist appointment yesterday. Aaarrgghhh. I called Nakamura-san and she said it was all good and not to trip.
Met up with Kazue @ the office and headed to their favorite bar in this small 'ol alley in downtown Funabashi. Saw Oshima san leaving. When we got to the place, it's pretty small but there was tons of food there. I think this is the place where my dad told me about. Since I had to pay (about $50), I was definitely goin' to get my money's worth. I was eating constantly for 3 hours! They sure make their drinks strong there too! Can't believe this little 'ol place has 3 hostesses. 2 were cute but there was one who was kinda old. She told me that she knew my dad. There were so many people that showed up: Uro san, Atsuko san, Katsuta san, Ono san, Iwai san, Inoue san, Mitani san, Kawasaki san, Nishiguchi san, a lot of other people as well as the old mayor, Ohashi san and his wife. Of course, Tajima san and Kazue san was there too. Atsuko san gave me a hard time for not being in contact with her lately. It's funny how I can totally understand Atsuko's nihongo. Atsuko san no nihongo o wakariyasui yo Mitani san kept on talkin' to me in his funny/broken English while constantly trying to pour me more to drink. @ around 2200ish, the mic was passed around so that everyone could introduce themselves and say something bout Setsu. Ono san, Mitani san and Tajima san were all comedians! The former mayor Ohashi san gave this long old monologue which reminded me of one of his sister city speeches. He got all philosophical and stuff. When it was my turn, I introduced myself and made sure that everyone knew that I was Sakamoto's son. I tried to speak as much Japanese as I could, with the help of Tajima, Atsuko san and Mitani san. I got what I had to say out but then Setsu overwhelmed me with a hug and kiss. Hehehe...
11.12
Wow! The sun has finally come out!!!
Kinda boring day today. Only had 3 classes. Played a game with Seri sensei's class and they did aite. Played it with the 8th grade elective class, didn't turn out so well. At lunchtime, Iwase-kun is still buggin' me bout takin' him to go eat some miso ramen. The last class was 1-5 aka. The Jungle. I feel sorry for some of the students who really want to learn in there. There are so many distractive kids, it's gotten to the point where it's out of hand and nothing we do can change that. It might be the fact that the homeroom teacher is Abiru sensei.
Played bball. I was able to last all throughout the warm up drills. However, when it came to the 2-man and 3-man drills, Ryo (9th grader) and I took turns with Yumie and Mika (the 9th grade stars of the girls team). Abiru sensei was showing Ryo different ways to create off the first step. Abiru sensei asked me to guard him, he actually took me a couple of times! I was totally surprised!! During the 3-on-3 scrimmage drill, I had Ryo and Saeki kun (7th grader) on my team and Ryo kept on turning the ball over. I was givin' him a hard time bout it but he knew I was jokin'. Towards the end of practice, the other 9th grade girls showed up and I taught Shoko's sister how to shoot one-handed shot. It's awkward to see girls shoot with one hand other than layups. After practice, I saw that I had 3 missed calls from Suga. I was supposed to hang out with Yu, but he had a job interview the next day so we postponed the festivities til after I come back from Cali. So I call Suga up, he tells me that he decided to go eat yakiniku again and wanted to see if I can come. I met up with him and saw Takushi and 2 other Korean people that I know from before but forget their names. It's always interesting to talk with Takun because he always be switchin' from Japanese to English then to Korean then back to English then some more Japanese then more Korean and so on...you get the picture. I'm slowly learning a little bit of Korean everytime I go out to eat with Suga and the crew. We ate some grubbin' food and chatted til about 2230ish and then called it a night. For the record, I didn't have a sip of alcohol. ;p
11.13
Woke up and got an IM from Don sayin' that there might be a chance that he's coming out to Japan THIS WEEKEND! When I replied, he never responded back...so I don' t know any details.
Got to school just in time for the teacher's meeting. Had 4 classes today, but it actually was only 2 full classes because the other 2 had dental check ups, so that took about half the period.
Lunch was grubbin' as usual.
Since tomorrow is the music festival for our school, all the classes are gettin' their final singing practice in. I got to observe Seri sensei's class. It's amazing to see how these young 7th graders take on responsibility and facilitate the practice in an orderly fashion. This could never happen back home.
Man...just when Takahashi is on fire...in the third game, when given the opportunity, she hasn't come through. I still think that if the 19 year olds didn't miss all their serves, Japan wouldn't had a better chance. But hey, they're playin' the 3rd best team in the tournament.
Cut my hair, ate some curry for dinner and chatted with Mark.
Tomorrow is gonna be a long day, gotta be ready by 0730 cuz Takahashi sensei is pickin' me up for our school's chorus competition. Then it's drinkin' with the teachers and following that up with an all nighter in Roppongi.
BTW...only one more week til I'm back home!!!
Kaz out...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daily excerpt from The Paranoid's Pocket Guide:
Sulfur-based preservatives used legally to enhace the colors and crispness of certain vegetables found in salad bars can cause life-threatening allergic reactions.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Woke up at: 0645
Mood: Koo koo
Listening to: Elevation by Zion I
Weather Report: Sunny but frickin' COLD!!!
Japanese Word/Phrase/Food of the Day: hatari = talks out of his/her ass (figure of speech)
Japan News: TOKYO - A Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) plane on Wednesday sighted a Chinese navy submarine traveling on the surface of the high seas off Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, MSDF officials said. It was the first time that a Chinese submarine was spotted on the sea surface in waters around Japan, they said. A P3-C surveillance plane sighted the Ming-class sub around 8 a.m. heading west in the Pacific some 40 kilometers east of Cape Sata off the southern tip of Kyushu.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fantasy Football Update (as of 11.13.03):
Record: 6-3-1
Me: 74 - Tri: 40
Well...like I said, Tri had no chance. Culpepper and Wilkins came thru for me yo!
Other news to note: Dropped Rod Smith and picked up Tryone Calico.
Week 11 matchup: Macs Silver & Black (James)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fantasy Basketball Update (as of 11.13.03):
Record: 12-7-1
RESULTS
Week 1: 6-4 W, japanimal (Kotaro)
Week 2: 6-3 W, Dribblin' Balls (Jookie)
Week 3 Matchup - Scruffs Thugz (Don)
As of right now, I'm up 6-3.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japan Women's National Volleyball Team: (as of 11.13.03)
Record: 6-3
Next opponent: Cuba
With the loss to Brazil (which was straight sets), Japan drops to the 6th. (/-\)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current Book Status:
Count Zero: pg 20
Haven't had much time to read lately.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
News:
- Microsoft moves into chip world with Xbox. The software giant will more actively participate in the creation of the chips that go inside the next version of its Xbox gaming console. Read more here.
- Kasparov Draws First Game Vs 'X3D Fritz' Computer. World No. 1 chess player Garry Kasparov was held to a draw on Tuesday in the first game of his latest match against a computer and admitted having difficulty with the program's virtual reality component. Read here for more.
- Angel Berrora wins AL Rookie of the Year, Dontrelle Willis wins NL Rookie of the Year, Roy Halladay wins AL Cy Young, wins NL Cy Young
Hmmm...not sure bout Berrora, I think that Matsui deserved it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
School, Volleyball & Setsu's Sayonara Party, Yaki Niku
11.10
Man...it's frickin' cold today! The rain ain't helpin the situation either.
School was school today. Nothing really exciting. Had kind of a stomach ache earlier in the day.
Went to MatsuKiyo for groceries for dinner. Made some slammin' penne pasta with eggplant, onions, mushrooms & ground beef in a tomato sauce
Came home, got some mail from Photo.com that my pic, Mukurikaike, might be published in their Endless Journeys book. It was from the time I climbed Mt. Tateyama w/Takeuchi sensei.
Japan's national team was playin' again, this time against Poland. Poland has one of the most strongest hitters in the tournament by the name of Glinka. As for Japan's team, the hype is all around the two 19 year old swing hitters, Oyama & Kurihara and the veteran middle blocker & team captain, Yoshihara. But, after seeing a handful of games and analyzing many situations, I've come to the unbiased conclusion that when in doubt, set Takahashi. She's the 6th leading scorer, 5th leading spiker, 9th best server and 4th best passer in the tournament...all that mere height of 5'7"! When Japan needed her most, that being in the 5th game tie break with Poland, Takeshita knew who to set...Takahashi. She couldn't be stopped. I compare her hitting style with Bob Ctvrtlik, the king of tooling the block. I think that she hits huts and reds the best. So after Japan overcame Poland in a dramatic game 5, the announcer couldn't hold keep his composure, so guess who comes out to take over for him...none other than Takahashi! She's a comedian too!
11.11
Man...it's frickin' colder today! And it's been raining from morning to evening!
Today is Pockey no Hi (Pockey Day) because it's November 11th = 1111
Taught only 2 7th grade classes today. During 3rd and 4th period, prepared the cards for the 9th grade elective game. The class went well, but kinda unfair because of Okabe-san and Matsuzaka-san. They're English level is way above the other students. Matsuzaka almost sneaked one by me.
While I was waiting for the train, I realized, after readin' all the advertisements, that I missed my dentist appointment yesterday. Aaarrgghhh. I called Nakamura-san and she said it was all good and not to trip.
Met up with Kazue @ the office and headed to their favorite bar in this small 'ol alley in downtown Funabashi. Saw Oshima san leaving. When we got to the place, it's pretty small but there was tons of food there. I think this is the place where my dad told me about. Since I had to pay (about $50), I was definitely goin' to get my money's worth. I was eating constantly for 3 hours! They sure make their drinks strong there too! Can't believe this little 'ol place has 3 hostesses. 2 were cute but there was one who was kinda old. She told me that she knew my dad. There were so many people that showed up: Uro san, Atsuko san, Katsuta san, Ono san, Iwai san, Inoue san, Mitani san, Kawasaki san, Nishiguchi san, a lot of other people as well as the old mayor, Ohashi san and his wife. Of course, Tajima san and Kazue san was there too. Atsuko san gave me a hard time for not being in contact with her lately. It's funny how I can totally understand Atsuko's nihongo. Atsuko san no nihongo o wakariyasui yo Mitani san kept on talkin' to me in his funny/broken English while constantly trying to pour me more to drink. @ around 2200ish, the mic was passed around so that everyone could introduce themselves and say something bout Setsu. Ono san, Mitani san and Tajima san were all comedians! The former mayor Ohashi san gave this long old monologue which reminded me of one of his sister city speeches. He got all philosophical and stuff. When it was my turn, I introduced myself and made sure that everyone knew that I was Sakamoto's son. I tried to speak as much Japanese as I could, with the help of Tajima, Atsuko san and Mitani san. I got what I had to say out but then Setsu overwhelmed me with a hug and kiss. Hehehe...
11.12
Wow! The sun has finally come out!!!
Kinda boring day today. Only had 3 classes. Played a game with Seri sensei's class and they did aite. Played it with the 8th grade elective class, didn't turn out so well. At lunchtime, Iwase-kun is still buggin' me bout takin' him to go eat some miso ramen. The last class was 1-5 aka. The Jungle. I feel sorry for some of the students who really want to learn in there. There are so many distractive kids, it's gotten to the point where it's out of hand and nothing we do can change that. It might be the fact that the homeroom teacher is Abiru sensei.
Played bball. I was able to last all throughout the warm up drills. However, when it came to the 2-man and 3-man drills, Ryo (9th grader) and I took turns with Yumie and Mika (the 9th grade stars of the girls team). Abiru sensei was showing Ryo different ways to create off the first step. Abiru sensei asked me to guard him, he actually took me a couple of times! I was totally surprised!! During the 3-on-3 scrimmage drill, I had Ryo and Saeki kun (7th grader) on my team and Ryo kept on turning the ball over. I was givin' him a hard time bout it but he knew I was jokin'. Towards the end of practice, the other 9th grade girls showed up and I taught Shoko's sister how to shoot one-handed shot. It's awkward to see girls shoot with one hand other than layups. After practice, I saw that I had 3 missed calls from Suga. I was supposed to hang out with Yu, but he had a job interview the next day so we postponed the festivities til after I come back from Cali. So I call Suga up, he tells me that he decided to go eat yakiniku again and wanted to see if I can come. I met up with him and saw Takushi and 2 other Korean people that I know from before but forget their names. It's always interesting to talk with Takun because he always be switchin' from Japanese to English then to Korean then back to English then some more Japanese then more Korean and so on...you get the picture. I'm slowly learning a little bit of Korean everytime I go out to eat with Suga and the crew. We ate some grubbin' food and chatted til about 2230ish and then called it a night. For the record, I didn't have a sip of alcohol. ;p
11.13
Woke up and got an IM from Don sayin' that there might be a chance that he's coming out to Japan THIS WEEKEND! When I replied, he never responded back...so I don' t know any details.
Got to school just in time for the teacher's meeting. Had 4 classes today, but it actually was only 2 full classes because the other 2 had dental check ups, so that took about half the period.
Lunch was grubbin' as usual.
Since tomorrow is the music festival for our school, all the classes are gettin' their final singing practice in. I got to observe Seri sensei's class. It's amazing to see how these young 7th graders take on responsibility and facilitate the practice in an orderly fashion. This could never happen back home.
Man...just when Takahashi is on fire...in the third game, when given the opportunity, she hasn't come through. I still think that if the 19 year olds didn't miss all their serves, Japan wouldn't had a better chance. But hey, they're playin' the 3rd best team in the tournament.
Cut my hair, ate some curry for dinner and chatted with Mark.
Tomorrow is gonna be a long day, gotta be ready by 0730 cuz Takahashi sensei is pickin' me up for our school's chorus competition. Then it's drinkin' with the teachers and following that up with an all nighter in Roppongi.
BTW...only one more week til I'm back home!!!
Kaz out...
This entry was posted by kaz, on
木曜日, 11月 13, 2003.
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