Just a couple of weeks after #22 slammed across Japan and we got hit by #23. Strongest typhoon yet, and with the ground still wet from the last typhoon, much of Japan, especially in the southwest, was a mess of landslides and overflowing rivers. HR told folks to leave work early, so last night I left at five. Coming out of the train station I was met with horizontal rain. My umbrella was totally useless; the wind was blowing so strongly the I felt like I was laying down under a shower. I basically gave up and trudged home through overflowing gutters. Good thing I had my boots on, though. At least my feet were dry.
Golly, I'm sure glad that there's no such thing as global warming, otherwise I'd suspect all these typhoons had some kind of meaning.
This morning it was a bit gray but the typhoon's gone off into the Pacific, and most of my neighborhood is still standing, so it wasn't a total loss.
good bad attitude
Paul Graham touches on the American-ness of the hacker ethic. He is spot on, and of course no reasonable government official, and especially not anyone in this fear-mongering White House, would even get it.
(un)health check
Not really much point in getting a health check if the doctor doesn't actually tell me anything helpful from the results, eh?
Turns out that I cannot escape genetics. The high bloodpressure from my mom's side rears its ugly head. I need to lose weight and cut salt as I am a classic case of prehypertension.
I've never been a big salt fan and now I have an excuse to demand lower salt. Hard to do though in Japan; a spot of soy sauce and it's all over!
Then again cardiac arrest is not an option, so no more second bowl of rice, no more post-dinner icecream, more fruits and veggies.
Turns out that I cannot escape genetics. The high bloodpressure from my mom's side rears its ugly head. I need to lose weight and cut salt as I am a classic case of prehypertension.
I've never been a big salt fan and now I have an excuse to demand lower salt. Hard to do though in Japan; a spot of soy sauce and it's all over!
Then again cardiac arrest is not an option, so no more second bowl of rice, no more post-dinner icecream, more fruits and veggies.
doughnuts!
It's not Krispy Kreme, but Doughnut Plant, NYC makes a damn fine cinnamon roll that puts Starbucks to shame. Hiroko and I found it yesterday walking back from Meguro after having lunch in Shinagawa and loaded up for breakfast. Don't think we can freeze them so we'll have eat them all in the next couple of days!
speakers
Hiroko's birthday present has finally come together. Got a 5.1 set of speakers from Axiom Audio, a Yamaha receiver, and bunch of speaker cable from Ivan. After playing with Conan for a while and checking out his house in Yutenji, I made a couple of trips to Bic Camera to get various necessary cableage and finally get the system wired up. Still need another D video cable to connect the TV output to the receiver, but in general it works.
Now if I can just figure out how to get all the remote controls consolidated...
Now if I can just figure out how to get all the remote controls consolidated...
konishi-sensei
Konishi-sensei came up last night and practiced at Honbu Dojo. Very interesting. The theory behind many of the kata are just different enough to make the kata quite different. And of course they don't 'cut', so most of the movements are practically unusable. Interesting, but not my thing and not the 'cutting iai' Mugairyu that we do and are used to.
music
Everything you ever wanted to know about electronic music. Mad snaps to Ishkur for not only mapping the genre and providing samples, but for summing up, in a simple, sarcastic paragraph, the essence of the music.
the political post
This will be my one, and hopefully only, political post. Just watched the 3rd and final debate. As an overseas citizen I have a simple agenda:
I have not lived in the US for a decade, and yet I pay taxes. ALOT of taxes. The US is one of a handful of nations that fully taxes its citizens overseas.
The president, in my humble opinion, should be neither a lawyer nor a statesman. He should be an accountant, or at the very least have an MBA. Because running the US is simply about economics, but the economics are not simple. You have some money (taxes) that you have to spend on stuff (roads, schools, killing brown people in the desert.)
Here's what you do:
A) Collect fewer taxes
B) Spend the the money you do have wisely. Intelligently. Efficiently.
The only other thing I really care about is you and your God telling me that the way I live my life is wrong.
To this I give Kerry credit. When asked about his faith, he basically said: "My faith guides me in what I do and why, but not how I legislate, because I cannot force my faith on others who may have a different faith."
Bush, on the other hand, said "God told me to spread freedom and democracy and to kill all the fetus-killing, liberal, terrorist, non-Christians."
Unforunately, as my esteemed father taught me a long time ago:
"The average American is average. And that's pretty fucking stupid."
So my prediction is: Bush wins. I stay in Japan indefintely, where the government is at least as screwed up, but as Douglas Adams summed up best, mostly harmless.
I have not lived in the US for a decade, and yet I pay taxes. ALOT of taxes. The US is one of a handful of nations that fully taxes its citizens overseas.
The president, in my humble opinion, should be neither a lawyer nor a statesman. He should be an accountant, or at the very least have an MBA. Because running the US is simply about economics, but the economics are not simple. You have some money (taxes) that you have to spend on stuff (roads, schools, killing brown people in the desert.)
Here's what you do:
A) Collect fewer taxes
B) Spend the the money you do have wisely. Intelligently. Efficiently.
The only other thing I really care about is you and your God telling me that the way I live my life is wrong.
To this I give Kerry credit. When asked about his faith, he basically said: "My faith guides me in what I do and why, but not how I legislate, because I cannot force my faith on others who may have a different faith."
Bush, on the other hand, said "God told me to spread freedom and democracy and to kill all the fetus-killing, liberal, terrorist, non-Christians."
Unforunately, as my esteemed father taught me a long time ago:
"The average American is average. And that's pretty fucking stupid."
So my prediction is: Bush wins. I stay in Japan indefintely, where the government is at least as screwed up, but as Douglas Adams summed up best, mostly harmless.
iPod + Sazae-san
Snarfed this from Chimi. For those who know the long-running Japanese cartoon Sazae-san, check out the iPod commercial.
health check results
Got my yearly health check results back:
Height: 169.3 cm (5'6")
Weight: 78.0 k (171.9 lbs)
BMI: 27.2
OK, I admit I've got a nice gut going on and can stand to lose some weight; my BMI is too high and my suggested BMI is 22.
But my suggest weight is 62.4 k (137.5 lbs.) So I'm supposed to lose 15.6 k (34.4 lbs)?! I guess if I cut off a leg or something...
Height: 169.3 cm (5'6")
Weight: 78.0 k (171.9 lbs)
BMI: 27.2
OK, I admit I've got a nice gut going on and can stand to lose some weight; my BMI is too high and my suggested BMI is 22.
But my suggest weight is 62.4 k (137.5 lbs.) So I'm supposed to lose 15.6 k (34.4 lbs)?! I guess if I cut off a leg or something...
mukayu
Just back from two nights and three days in Beniya Mukayu, the coolest hot springs hotel in Ishikawa Prefecture. Check it out.
Weren't sure if we'd even make it, because the typhoon on Saturday was bearing down hard. We headed to the airport expecting our flight to get cancelled at any minute. The other two flights after hours, and basically everything else after 5 pm, was cancalled, but we made it.
Very cool hotel; stylish modern design but traditional rooms. Stunning food. Wandered around the town during the day, checked out the local pottery (kutaniyaki) and historical sites, and made my own traditional paper postcards at the Arts & Crafts Experience Extravaganza that is Yunokuninomori.
Weren't sure if we'd even make it, because the typhoon on Saturday was bearing down hard. We headed to the airport expecting our flight to get cancelled at any minute. The other two flights after hours, and basically everything else after 5 pm, was cancalled, but we made it.
Very cool hotel; stylish modern design but traditional rooms. Stunning food. Wandered around the town during the day, checked out the local pottery (kutaniyaki) and historical sites, and made my own traditional paper postcards at the Arts & Crafts Experience Extravaganza that is Yunokuninomori.
tessen & jutte
Been teaching for the past few weeks every Wednesday, as a couple of beginners are consistently showing up for tessen and jutte practice. I don't really know the curriculum very well, but Niina-gosoke is always on hand to clarify and demonstrate, and then leaves me to it. Fun stuff, especially the distance and timing. Now if I could just remember all the kata...
freaky dream
Analyze this one, Hammer:
Hiroko and I are at the student union of UC Berkeley. We are being attacked by Alec Baldwin, who is a magic-wiedling wizard. Hiroko gets captured by black-suited warlocks. I grab a couple of flashlights and attack, knocking various bad guys down the outside staircase.
Hiroko and I are at the student union of UC Berkeley. We are being attacked by Alec Baldwin, who is a magic-wiedling wizard. Hiroko gets captured by black-suited warlocks. I grab a couple of flashlights and attack, knocking various bad guys down the outside staircase.
ben miller @ pink cow
Went to the Pink Cow for a Mobile Monday thingie. It was alright, as far as these things go. Met one interesting dude, and spent most of the time on the couch with Ben talking smack. Nina from HP Bazaar was cute, especially with that Nordic accent.
conan
Conan brought his dad Ivan and mom Mutsumi over for a BBQ. Went to UC Berkeley with Ivan, and he was in Kyushu with Stevie back in the day. So Amy brought Narumi and I and Don met Todd in Akihabara, checked out some toys, and then cruised home.
The men attempted and failed to light the BBQ. We went out for bbq fire starter and came back with Zippo lighter fuild and a case of beer. By then of course Hiroko already had a bunch of coals on the kitchen stove ready to go, so we threw them into the grill and that was that.
Ribs went first, then chicken, pork, steaks, salmon, shrimp...not to mention salad and potatoes and a huge apple pie with icecream for dessert.
Stevie and Eriko showed up just in time to eat, and we sat around bloated and in pain as Amy and Conan bounced around the floor.
stop the cycle of madness
So now Daboo is blogging and my blogging about his blogging of flickring about my blogging about flickring about blogging flickring blogging flickring blogging flickring when flickring blogging does flickring blogging it flickring blogging end flickring blogging flickring.
use debate to go fishin'
The upcoming presidential debates are anything but.
I remember debating in school. It was a structured exchange of ideas between participants in an attempt to woo one's opponent and the audience to accept your point of view. It was give-and-take, pointed, at times heated, and fun.
These presidential debates will be totally pointless for two reasons:
1) Absolutely nothing new will be spoken.
2) The candidates will not actually debate each other. They'll just respond in series to some softball questions.
Ah, American politics gets worse by the minute. SO glad I live in Japan, where politics is also lame but, thankfully, largely impotent and therefore irrelevant (in that it is rarely responsible for the deaths of thousands, for example.)
I remember debating in school. It was a structured exchange of ideas between participants in an attempt to woo one's opponent and the audience to accept your point of view. It was give-and-take, pointed, at times heated, and fun.
These presidential debates will be totally pointless for two reasons:
1) Absolutely nothing new will be spoken.
2) The candidates will not actually debate each other. They'll just respond in series to some softball questions.
Ah, American politics gets worse by the minute. SO glad I live in Japan, where politics is also lame but, thankfully, largely impotent and therefore irrelevant (in that it is rarely responsible for the deaths of thousands, for example.)
tessen & jutte
Some of the new guys have been coming to late Wednesday practice for a couple weeks, so I've been running them through the basics of tessen (metal fan) and jutte (sword catcher). Fun stuff, but really hard to get out of the way when someone's trying to kill you with a sword and all you have is a short piece of steel or two.
daboo flickr
freaky mobile sculptures
They're alive! Do NOT miss the videos. These are some wild, wind-powered art.
flickr? i don't even know her!
Been playing with flickr for a couple of days. Very neat, only because I can now effortlessly take photos with my camera and have them show up on GYM. Enjoy.
suzuki dental
Headed over to Hanzomon so that Dr. Suzuki could do some quickie tooth repair. Seems the receding gumline of a couple of my upper left teeth were leaving some sensitive toothness exposed. A quick coating of some magical protective goo and all is right with the world. The real test: I'll try drinking an icy-cool beverage and see if those teeth still give me The Twinge.
machida
Went down to Machida to drop off Tony's swords and they told me that Hataya-sensei and everyone was down at Tenmangu Shrine demoing. So I walked down to the shrine and got some festival munchies and waited for the afternoon session to start. Saw sensei and several other folks from Toyama-ryu, and then watched the cutting demos before heading back home.
Here are some videos.
Here are some videos.
health check
Yearly health check first thing in the morning. So I cruise over to the Ark Hills Clinic at 9:30am. Nice place. Chest X-Ray, pee in a cup, height/weight/eyesight...everything's going fine. And then it's time to take blood. Usually, they make me lie down when they take my blood. But this year would be different. New clinic, new nurses. No problem. So I sit down, put out my right arm, blood pressure check, close my eyes, and in goes the needle. Barely even felt it. No problem, I thought. The I open my eyes, and the nurse says "Hold here." And I sit there. "Hold here." she says again. And I sit there. And I think "I will not pass out. I will not pass out. I will not pass out." And then I start sliding to my left, and the ninja-nurse behind me catches my head just before I slam into the wall, and the other one grabs my shoulders and they straighten me out. "You ok?" They ask. I sort of sit there, and my hands and feet are numb and my head is feeling really, really, really light, and everything looks very, very, very far away. And I'm cold. Nurse grabs my wrist and goes "Woah, low blood pressure!" And they ask me again "You ok?" and I just say "Uh...no." and put my head down and wait for the spinning to stop.
After a couple of minutes, I try to stand up. Bad idea. I sit back down and give it a few more minutes until the blood starts flowing into all my limbs and my head doesn't feel so loopy.
After a couple of minutes, I try to stand up. Bad idea. I sit back down and give it a few more minutes until the blood starts flowing into all my limbs and my head doesn't feel so loopy.
jenn in akihabara
Jenn's in town doing hotel things, and she needed electronics, so we met in Akihabara. First stop: Sofmap. Had to sell my ancient Zip drive and CDRW. Cost I paid for hardware originally: $1000. Amount I got in points for used hardware: $20.
We checked out the cool MP3 players in Yamagiwa, saw the big Sony Vaio display with the new portable media players; cool but impractical like most of Sony' recent stuff. Ended up getting Jenn a bargain on a new Canon Wordtank before heading off to Roppongi Hills to bask in the glory of Mori's architecture. Then we headed to Lucky and met Hiroko for some much needed dinner before coming back home and checking out cool onsen magazines and giving Jenn a bunch of good travel tour ideas.
kevin & z' house
America is a great country when even Kevin and Zareen can buy a 4100 square foot house with jacuzzi and pool, his/her toilets in the master bedroom, and a rec room soon to home theater.
aftermath
It wasn't pretty. Hiroko and I got to the hotel to find a broken and miserable Tony crashed out in Neeley's room. He was wrecked. But he was doing better than some other folks, who got even more destroyed. Seems Roppongi was good to everyone last night. They danced at Castillo's, they drank at 911, they chatted up the Nigerian bosses and Russian prostitutes. They got back to the hotel about 4am.
First order of business was getting Colin's head shaved. Walked down to the 10 minutes/10 bucks QB haircut shop and it was all over soon. The young trainee was taking her time, carefully cutting lock after long, black lock, but the manager just told her "You're gonna just buzz it all off. Get to it!" Hair rained down and piled on the floor. Colin looked nervous, and slightly bummed, but to be totally honest, he looked good with a shaved head. At least, if he looked like a total moron, we'd let him know.
Got him in a cab to the airport, then went back to the hotel to rouse Tony. Fed him some super-powered healthy drinks (caffeine, aspirin, nicotinomide) and got him outta bed and in a cab to the airport bus. Neeley and Joanna and Keith (who walked the Dark Path last night and was paying for it with a hacking cough) went off to Kuroda-sensei's practice, so we bid them farewall and we trundled Tony into a cab.
After we got Tony on his way, Hiroko and I went to Ginza to buy the cool shoemaker's stool from Matsuya Department Store, but as karma would have it, they sold out of the little one! Should have bought it while we had the chance. We grabbed some lunch and then bussed home to watch silly television and prepare for work tomorrow.
First order of business was getting Colin's head shaved. Walked down to the 10 minutes/10 bucks QB haircut shop and it was all over soon. The young trainee was taking her time, carefully cutting lock after long, black lock, but the manager just told her "You're gonna just buzz it all off. Get to it!" Hair rained down and piled on the floor. Colin looked nervous, and slightly bummed, but to be totally honest, he looked good with a shaved head. At least, if he looked like a total moron, we'd let him know.
Got him in a cab to the airport, then went back to the hotel to rouse Tony. Fed him some super-powered healthy drinks (caffeine, aspirin, nicotinomide) and got him outta bed and in a cab to the airport bus. Neeley and Joanna and Keith (who walked the Dark Path last night and was paying for it with a hacking cough) went off to Kuroda-sensei's practice, so we bid them farewall and we trundled Tony into a cab.
After we got Tony on his way, Hiroko and I went to Ginza to buy the cool shoemaker's stool from Matsuya Department Store, but as karma would have it, they sold out of the little one! Should have bought it while we had the chance. We grabbed some lunch and then bussed home to watch silly television and prepare for work tomorrow.
taikai
Got everyone at the hotel, hit the 7-11 for lunch supplies, and trecked out to Meguro. Met Ishida-san on the train and we made it to the gym by 8:45am. Everyone changed, we got the place set up, and we were ready to go by 9:40am. Opening ceremonies, speeches and then we're off!
Started with 2dan division and Tony made it to 3rd place, despite his saya cracking, sending a piece of wood hurtling through space. Derek and Joanna and Colin all proceeded well, too, and I even managed to survive to face Tomonaga-san from Yamaguchi (last year's winner who beat Tanaka-sensei) for the finals.
Had lunch and Hiroko pulled out a huge bag of build-your-own fajitas parts, and then after lunch the Kanazawa-sensei demo'd karate, jo, tanjo, and sword.
In the afternoon we had the final rounds. John beat Colin (head shavin' time!), Tomonaga beat me, and everyone had fun.
After the closing ceremonies we headed back to the hotel before returning to Bloom Hall in Shibuya for the post-party. I was so fried I fell asleep during the party, but everyone was drinking and having a good time.
Hiroko finally took me home and the rest of the gang went to do Roppongi damage.
Started with 2dan division and Tony made it to 3rd place, despite his saya cracking, sending a piece of wood hurtling through space. Derek and Joanna and Colin all proceeded well, too, and I even managed to survive to face Tomonaga-san from Yamaguchi (last year's winner who beat Tanaka-sensei) for the finals.
Had lunch and Hiroko pulled out a huge bag of build-your-own fajitas parts, and then after lunch the Kanazawa-sensei demo'd karate, jo, tanjo, and sword.
In the afternoon we had the final rounds. John beat Colin (head shavin' time!), Tomonaga beat me, and everyone had fun.
After the closing ceremonies we headed back to the hotel before returning to Bloom Hall in Shibuya for the post-party. I was so fried I fell asleep during the party, but everyone was drinking and having a good time.
Hiroko finally took me home and the rest of the gang went to do Roppongi damage.
machida
Rallied the troops early in the AM and managed to get the group down to Machida by about 11. Checked out Hataya's shop;Neeley bought a great koto period spear head and Filthy got a great deal on a maezashi (long dagger.) Hataya-sensei took everyone to rotator sushi, and then we checked out the shrine where they practice before heading back to Namikawa Heibei. Bought a bunch of supplies and then got back to honbu dojo about 4pm. Ran a quick promotion exam and some folks did some last minute practice before heading home to get ready for dinner. Became a total stress case as we were late for dinner and everyone, specifically Konishi-sensei, was waiting for us. But the dinner was awesome and everyone had a good time.
narita airport
Was eating cheap rotator sushi in Shibuya when Colin called. He dead-headed on an early flight from San Francisco and was already in Narita. I told him I'd be there shortly and got up to the airport by about 4pm. Neeley came out next, and then Tony (no problem getting his swords through -- Hataya-sensei has much pull!) and then everyone else.
We humped down to the train station and grabbed the Narita Express to Tokyo Station, then commandered several cabs up to Sumisho hotel. Got everyone checked in with only minor issues, then hit the restaurant across the street for much needed dinner.
Headed home with Neeley and Tony in tow, in time to make a 9pm conference call. The joys of work!
We humped down to the train station and grabbed the Narita Express to Tokyo Station, then commandered several cabs up to Sumisho hotel. Got everyone checked in with only minor issues, then hit the restaurant across the street for much needed dinner.
Headed home with Neeley and Tony in tow, in time to make a 9pm conference call. The joys of work!
will & sachiko
Last saturday night when will & sachiko came over for dinner, will took some really silly photos.
needling pain!
My right should has always been bad. Well, not always, just ever since I dislocated in it college and didn't do anything to fix it.
Went to a shoulder specialist about 7 years ago who, after looking at x-rays of my should said "You are a very, very stupid man. Why didn't you go to the doctor when you did this? If you stress your shoulder seriously again, you will probably have to have surgery just to use your arm normally."
So, taking his advice like the genius I am, I continued to practice aikido and iaido.
Tonight at practice, whilst swinging the kilogram of razor-sharp steel that is my sword, I felt the most intense needle of pain bore through my shoulder. This was my body's way of telling me I shouldn't use arm strength to cut; very bad technique.
So I have a new motivation to pursue proper cutting technique; less important than the speed and fluidity of the movement is the desire to avoid putting too much strength into my shoulder which results in a red-hot nail of pain being driven from my shoulder into my very soul.
Went to a shoulder specialist about 7 years ago who, after looking at x-rays of my should said "You are a very, very stupid man. Why didn't you go to the doctor when you did this? If you stress your shoulder seriously again, you will probably have to have surgery just to use your arm normally."
So, taking his advice like the genius I am, I continued to practice aikido and iaido.
Tonight at practice, whilst swinging the kilogram of razor-sharp steel that is my sword, I felt the most intense needle of pain bore through my shoulder. This was my body's way of telling me I shouldn't use arm strength to cut; very bad technique.
So I have a new motivation to pursue proper cutting technique; less important than the speed and fluidity of the movement is the desire to avoid putting too much strength into my shoulder which results in a red-hot nail of pain being driven from my shoulder into my very soul.
ginza sunday
Somehow managed to wake up early enough to go to practice at Honbu. Spent most of the time working with Miyasawa-kun, showing him how to move his left and right hips independently, and extend the sword out without using any arm strength. After a couple of hours he started to get the hang of it, so I hope he keeps drilling.
Met Hiroko at home, had some turkey sandwiches for lunch, and then hit Ginza. Main street was blocked to traffic and it was nicely shaded from the tall buildings. Low humidity as well so it was a pleasant afternoon. We went to Camui to get the clip on her favorite black sandals fixed, then checked out the cool toys at Matsuya. We decided to buy a shoemaker's stool for the entrance hall but it was ¥18,000 so we figured we'd look on the web and find it for less. Surprise! Cheapest price on the web is ¥22,000 -- who would have thought a department store in Ginza would be the cheapest?
Met Hiroko at home, had some turkey sandwiches for lunch, and then hit Ginza. Main street was blocked to traffic and it was nicely shaded from the tall buildings. Low humidity as well so it was a pleasant afternoon. We went to Camui to get the clip on her favorite black sandals fixed, then checked out the cool toys at Matsuya. We decided to buy a shoemaker's stool for the entrance hall but it was ¥18,000 so we figured we'd look on the web and find it for less. Surprise! Cheapest price on the web is ¥22,000 -- who would have thought a department store in Ginza would be the cheapest?
nintendo joystick
How to use a Nintendo controller on your PC. Requires some soldering, but for playing all those keen Nintendo ROMs, it may be worth it!
haruka
Haruka is back in Hawaii after spending a couple weeks home in Japan. Here she is showing off her tan with me and Hiroko.
bbq
Drove up to Emy and Dolph's place in MA. Had a BBQ. Lay around in the yard and read. Finished Richard Morgan's Broken Angels. Liked it at more than Altered Carbon. This guy better keep cranking out quality sci-fi or I'm gonna have issues.
I taught Kieran a new smile:
I taught Kieran a new smile:
family time
So my brother Chris and his wife Sarah and her son Keiran are staying at my parent's house. Fun fun fun! I hooked up The K-man with some cool Naruto battle pencils, a Naruto headband, and various t-shirts. Mom got bunches of material to split with Aunt Em so that I can get some more cool quilts. Dad got neat Japanese towels for all that running he does. In typical fashion, the refrigerator was packed and the house was freezing cold.
Grandma came over for dinner, as did Charlie's family. And again, too much food, too much silliness. Grandma didn't stop talking the whole time.
Grandma came over for dinner, as did Charlie's family. And again, too much food, too much silliness. Grandma didn't stop talking the whole time.
lee & charity
Lee and I went to Soho for lunch and met up with Hiroko and Charity. Too bad we didn't get more time to spend with them, but at least we all got to see each other. 70's Steve came down as well and told us many tales of his the lunacy he calls his past.
in vizible
All day brain-storming with the Vizible team. Anthony stuns with his polygon prowess. Todd sells like it's 1997 at Netscape. Lee maneuvers the feeble-minded, and I explode in an IT storm of wit, wonder, and impatience.
After work we congregate down at the local Wall Street watering hole. A bucket of beers, Vicki comes down and (karma karma) is turns out to be friends with Burnett's sister. Hunger sets in, so Anthony, Todd and I head back to the hotel for late-night grubbing. Me and Anthony go back to his Diamond Suite to plot the downfall of Adobe, Macromedia, and Microsoft, and Todd joins Lee and the gang for an evening of live music and more beverages.
After work we congregate down at the local Wall Street watering hole. A bucket of beers, Vicki comes down and (karma karma) is turns out to be friends with Burnett's sister. Hunger sets in, so Anthony, Todd and I head back to the hotel for late-night grubbing. Me and Anthony go back to his Diamond Suite to plot the downfall of Adobe, Macromedia, and Microsoft, and Todd joins Lee and the gang for an evening of live music and more beverages.
Soho Grand
Actually did some work today. But enough about that. After work we went back to Messinger's hotel, the Soho Grand, for pre-dinner beverages. This is one of those incredibly trendy and cool hotels with a great interior and way too much air-conditioning. It was freezing. But the cocktail waitresses wore slick black evening gowns and cool hipsters wandered in and out of the bar all night.
We had dinner at a cool local Italian place that Lee picked, and wonder of wonders the French waiter was a dude he hung out with in Bora Bora on his honeymoon a few years ago.
Todd from Vizible, being the wine-freak, was in charge of ordering, but managed to pick to loser bottles. Anthony drilled him on that, but Todd was, as always, too jazzed on life and wine to care. And Anthony really is an MIT-grad, start-up Chief Architect GodDamn Genius.
We had dinner at a cool local Italian place that Lee picked, and wonder of wonders the French waiter was a dude he hung out with in Bora Bora on his honeymoon a few years ago.
Todd from Vizible, being the wine-freak, was in charge of ordering, but managed to pick to loser bottles. Anthony drilled him on that, but Todd was, as always, too jazzed on life and wine to care. And Anthony really is an MIT-grad, start-up Chief Architect GodDamn Genius.
security
Ex-marines make good building security, especially when dressed in Navy blue uniforms with combat boots and backed up by lotsa cops and the occasional M-16 toting National Reservist.
We had dinner at Five Points. Serious quality food. Steve from Barnett Consulting joined us. As Lee put it, the 70's were good to him. Brilliant guy. We shall do dangerous things together.
Lee in his element:
We had dinner at Five Points. Serious quality food. Steve from Barnett Consulting joined us. As Lee put it, the 70's were good to him. Brilliant guy. We shall do dangerous things together.
Lee in his element:
bob elder
After breakfast we cruised over to Bob Elder's martial arts supply shop. I learned how to hold a .45 and an AR-15, sold 2 wooden swords, looked at some neat antique blades, and talked lotsa smack.
We went back to the hotel for lunch and then I bummed a ride back to the airport, went to the wrong counter (American not United!) and got on my flight to LaGuardia.
Ah, domestic fliying from Orlando to New York. What a zoo. America is a great country in that anyone can afford to go to Disneyworld for the weekend. Even those who are, by definition, too stupid to be allowed to cross state lines.
The dude with the big hat. The woman in the wrong seat. Twice. Next to me. The guy eating apples. The old man offering his seat to his wife. While the plane is ascending after take off. Everyone on a cell phone. The crying baby. The screaming child.
And then there's LaGuardia. Won't even comment on the nightmare that is getting my luggage and out the airport and into a cab.
Got to the Millenium Hotel, directly in front of Ground Zero, about 9:30pm. Manhattan eerily quite. Too quite. Cops everywhere. And to top it all off, the only Chinese delivery place in the neighborhood decided to close early, forcing me to eat room service. Nice room, though; widescreen flat panel, slick modern furniture, Rhode Island Republican delegation down the hall.
We went back to the hotel for lunch and then I bummed a ride back to the airport, went to the wrong counter (American not United!) and got on my flight to LaGuardia.
Ah, domestic fliying from Orlando to New York. What a zoo. America is a great country in that anyone can afford to go to Disneyworld for the weekend. Even those who are, by definition, too stupid to be allowed to cross state lines.
The dude with the big hat. The woman in the wrong seat. Twice. Next to me. The guy eating apples. The old man offering his seat to his wife. While the plane is ascending after take off. Everyone on a cell phone. The crying baby. The screaming child.
And then there's LaGuardia. Won't even comment on the nightmare that is getting my luggage and out the airport and into a cab.
Got to the Millenium Hotel, directly in front of Ground Zero, about 9:30pm. Manhattan eerily quite. Too quite. Cops everywhere. And to top it all off, the only Chinese delivery place in the neighborhood decided to close early, forcing me to eat room service. Nice room, though; widescreen flat panel, slick modern furniture, Rhode Island Republican delegation down the hall.
senpokan dominates
Well, the judging is done, and Senpokan dominates once again. Swept 16 medals, and our boy Colin won the overall and got a new sword from Howard Clark, a free polish and handle, and fittings.
Niina-gosoke and Yamada-sensei's demonstration went really well, too. I even came in second for the cutting division I was roped into last second.
After the tournament we went back to the BBQ place, ate well, and waited forever for taxis to take us back to the hotel.
Niina-gosoke and Yamada-sensei's demonstration went really well, too. I even came in second for the cutting division I was roped into last second.
After the tournament we went back to the BBQ place, ate well, and waited forever for taxis to take us back to the hotel.
on carpet
In the afternoon we ran the Mugairyu seminar. All of the Senpokan folks showed up, as well as several others. After that I tried wakizashi cutting (neat! hard!) and then we did the seated cutting session.
After the sessions we had dinner at a local seafood joint. Niina-gosoke I and crashed, Neeley and BigTony took Yamada-sensei to the bar and pumped him full of scotch. Yamada-sensei made it back at a reasonable hour, but Neeley and Tony didn't roll in until 5am. The got a good hour of sleep and they're looking good for the tournament!
jet-lag
Feeling it now...head is sort of fluffy and everything sounds like it's filtered through earmuffs. Hotel is fine; nice big buffet breakfast and reasonable coffee. Niina-gosoke and Yamada-sensei are settled in nicely.
In the morning we borrowed the dojo and ran a promotion exam. Everyone passed, though we have a bunch to tune up as folks are getting sloppy.
Came back to the hotel and relaxed. Some seminars in the afternoon but we were just hanging out. Went to some lovely BBQ for dinner; stuffed ourselves silly on ribs and pulled pork and steaks (Yamada-sensei was about to explode) and Niina-gosoke had his traditional vanilla icecream for dessert.
In the morning we borrowed the dojo and ran a promotion exam. Everyone passed, though we have a bunch to tune up as folks are getting sloppy.
Came back to the hotel and relaxed. Some seminars in the afternoon but we were just hanging out. Went to some lovely BBQ for dinner; stuffed ourselves silly on ribs and pulled pork and steaks (Yamada-sensei was about to explode) and Niina-gosoke had his traditional vanilla icecream for dessert.
joys of travelling
Ah, international travel. Especially on a bankrupt airline. The flight wasn't bad; I was in business, bulkhead aisle with no one next to me, so besides the fact that they didn't give me my meal choice, it was fine. Actually managed to half-sleep for most of the time. After 13 hours, we landed in Chicago, went through immigration, got our bags, through customs, checked our bags back in, and went to our connecting Ted flight to Orlando.
Chicago airport was a zoo; storms up and down the midwest were delaying flights all over the place. We sat on the tarmac for an hour waiting for our turn to take off, and landed in Orlando a bit late. Our luggage, however, was more than a bit late.
Seems they forgot an entire truck of luggage on the tarmac. So our bags were coming on a later flight and would be arriving between midnight and 4am.
Chicago airport was a zoo; storms up and down the midwest were delaying flights all over the place. We sat on the tarmac for an hour waiting for our turn to take off, and landed in Orlando a bit late. Our luggage, however, was more than a bit late.
Seems they forgot an entire truck of luggage on the tarmac. So our bags were coming on a later flight and would be arriving between midnight and 4am.
oh, the toe!
Everyone crashed after the festival, so some time in the morning the pitter-patter, actually the romp-stomping, of Kairi's little feet shook the house and woke everyone up. Hiroko made french toast and we had a leisurely breakfast before heading over to National Azabu for some shopping.
By then the second little toe on my right foot was nicely purplish-red and hurt like hell. Obviously the nail that had been ripped in half left a lovely pocket of infection. Tried a couple of clinics but everything was closed on Sunday.
Scootered over to Honbu Dojo to send a package and clean up some files on the computer, then on my way home decided to stop by Hiroo Hospital's emergency room.
Doctor gave me the option of cutting and sucking out the nastiness, thereby making the toe much better much faster, or loading me up with drugs. We'll take the drugs please, thank you.
And then we finally watched the last couple of videos of KimmyMustDie, aka 24 Season 2. Unfortunately, Kimmy doesn't die. In fact, she gets away with murder.And kidnapping. And nearly killing a police officer. And losing Miguel's leg. And getting the liquor store owner killed. And a whole bunch of other things. Oh yeah, she is still really, really good at whining for daddy when he's in the middle of saving the planet. And like any good, single father, he indulges her.
But Kimmy is no match for Marie. The psycho little sister does a nice Hannibal impression, complete with backlighting and chains behind a clear plastic jail wall. She deserves her own show.
And Shapel is my hero. He's such a slimeball, I love it.
By then the second little toe on my right foot was nicely purplish-red and hurt like hell. Obviously the nail that had been ripped in half left a lovely pocket of infection. Tried a couple of clinics but everything was closed on Sunday.
Scootered over to Honbu Dojo to send a package and clean up some files on the computer, then on my way home decided to stop by Hiroo Hospital's emergency room.
Doctor gave me the option of cutting and sucking out the nastiness, thereby making the toe much better much faster, or loading me up with drugs. We'll take the drugs please, thank you.
And then we finally watched the last couple of videos of KimmyMustDie, aka 24 Season 2. Unfortunately, Kimmy doesn't die. In fact, she gets away with murder.And kidnapping. And nearly killing a police officer. And losing Miguel's leg. And getting the liquor store owner killed. And a whole bunch of other things. Oh yeah, she is still really, really good at whining for daddy when he's in the middle of saving the planet. And like any good, single father, he indulges her.
But Kimmy is no match for Marie. The psycho little sister does a nice Hannibal impression, complete with backlighting and chains behind a clear plastic jail wall. She deserves her own show.
And Shapel is my hero. He's such a slimeball, I love it.
azabu jyuban festival
Popped over to Suruga-isho to go over the final details of the custom cabinet they're building for the corner in the dining room before Amy, Todd, Narumi, Kairi, Ericka, Haruka, and Aki came over. Amy and Kairi bounced around the loft a bit before we headed over to the festival to load up on food. Kairi's dad came by and then then we dressed up and headed out again, seeking shaved ice. Thought the festival went until 10pm but it turns out it ends at 8:30, so we missed the shaved ice and ended up buying icecream at the Familymart. Same difference.
payday!
Got my final paycheck from Morgan Stanley today. Adding in final pension, substracting housing, etc. and the grand total comes to...just over 60 bucks.
But enough about the past. Worked a good, solid 12 hour day: started with an 8am conference call and put the finishing touches on a final video e-mail just after 8pm. Lotsa work, but it's nice to be getting relevant stuff done.
But enough about the past. Worked a good, solid 12 hour day: started with an 8am conference call and put the finishing touches on a final video e-mail just after 8pm. Lotsa work, but it's nice to be getting relevant stuff done.
eighty
Hot is one thing. And then there's humid. Hot & humid? That's a killer.
But tonight it was 80% humidity in the dojo. EIGHTY PERCENT.
That's basically underwater. It's not an issue of sweating -- sweating in the shower doesn't make you more wet. It was just...moist. Damp, wet, humid. Totally, thoroughly unpleasant. Humans are land-faring creatures with a tendency to build roofed shelters for a very good reason: wet sucks.
But tonight it was 80% humidity in the dojo. EIGHTY PERCENT.
That's basically underwater. It's not an issue of sweating -- sweating in the shower doesn't make you more wet. It was just...moist. Damp, wet, humid. Totally, thoroughly unpleasant. Humans are land-faring creatures with a tendency to build roofed shelters for a very good reason: wet sucks.
tully's in da house!
I'll admit it: I'm a Starbucks kinda guy. Given the choice, I'll take Starbucks over Tully's or Seattle's Best any day...then again, Tully's is INSIDE Deutsche, one floor below me. Starbucks is all the way down in the basement.
So, my traditional 10am caffeine infusion is now a Tully's soy latte with a flavor shot. Yesterday it was hazlenuts (sweet but not precocious). Today I tried strawberry. Big mistake. Too syrupy-fake-fruity, and goes not well with the tang of soy. Will have to try vanilla tomorrow...
So, my traditional 10am caffeine infusion is now a Tully's soy latte with a flavor shot. Yesterday it was hazlenuts (sweet but not precocious). Today I tried strawberry. Big mistake. Too syrupy-fake-fruity, and goes not well with the tang of soy. Will have to try vanilla tomorrow...
drug-induced dreams
Slept all day. A Nyquil-induced dream-state of high school friends, neighborhood pets, and random conversations. And colors. Lots and lots of colors. Modern medicine at its best! And I'm feeling considerably better, thanks, despite the fact that my feet fail to touch to earth.
need sleep
Felt a bit hazy all day at work. Went to practice, trained for five minutes and Niina-gosoke took one look at me and said "You look terrible. Go home and sleep."
So I changed and came home. I think he gave me and Kiyokawa his cold!
Need to sleep and get rested; cutting practice tomorrow afternoon, plus off to the states in less than two weeks.
So I changed and came home. I think he gave me and Kiyokawa his cold!
Need to sleep and get rested; cutting practice tomorrow afternoon, plus off to the states in less than two weeks.
i'm sick (of kimmy)
This whole "working" thing is starting to catch up with me. Had kind of a sore throat all day and feeling like I'm about to catch a cold, so I came home 'early' (before 8) and crashed on the couch. Hiroko made dinner and then we watched another episode of 24 Season 2. Ah, Kimmy...your idiocy knows no bounds! Let's recap, shall we? In this season alone (never mind last season) you've been charged with murder and kidnapping, caused an accident with a police vehicle in which both your boyfriend and the cop were seriously injured, got caught in a cougar trap while being hunted by a cougar, got stuck in a bomb shelter with a recluse in the woods, fired a gun at a guy who stopped to pick you up when you were hitch-hiking, didn't fire your gun at the wacko who almost choked the liquor store owner to death, and are now held hostage in said liquor store, trying to stop the bleeding of the gunshot wound caused by the lunatic who took your gun because you didn't shoot him. And the cops are outside. Kimmy, my dear, will you PLEASE just hurry up and get shot? It's too painful to watch you cry/get kidnapped/held hostage again.
crowded
Had seven people show up for class tonight. That's far too many for such a small dojo, but I hate turning people away when they want to train. So everyone got a mirror and we took our time working on the fundamentals, sharing ideas, and trying things. Was a good practice, but just too crowded. Next time I'll have to crack down and stick to the six people max rule. Even with six it's pretty tight.
fried
Haven't actually used my brain this much in a while. Worked all day on an initial technology strategy business plan, and then went to practice at Honbu. Did some kenjutsu with Kiyokawa but just couldn't focus and was getting clobbered. Taught Sekido-san a bit, and then we rolled cutting targets for the cutting practice on Saturday.
This working all day, training at night thing is gonna fry me.
This working all day, training at night thing is gonna fry me.
first day
My first day in the Deutsche Securities Limited, Tokyo Branch office.
Did some administrative stuff with HR, discovered a mild spelling mistake with my first name that prevented my email from working correctly, but other than that things went well.
I have a lovely office on the 20th floor, facing south-west. Beautiful view of Roppongi Hills, Mori Building, and several other nice high rises. I really do love the sprawling expanse of concrete and steel, especially when the hazy fingers of smog and humidity curl about the buildings like so many humid snakes.
My title (according to my business cards) is "Head of Video - Asia/Japan" for Equity Research. Basically I'm in charge of business strategy, planning, and implementation for video distribution and new technologies in Japan and Asia Pacific. That means using technology to push the business forward by lowering costs, increasing efficiency, and maybe even make some money.
Middle of earnings season so all the analysts are running about madly trying to get reports done this week. The research team here was nothing five years ago, and is now one of the top-ranked teams in the region. Lots of young bulls, several established #1's, and in a general a pretty cool attitude. Things are considerably more...chaotic, shall we say, than at Morgan Stanley. That can be bad, but can also be good, as my mandate is to shake things up.
After work I managed to get to Shibuya in time for practice and helped Kiyokawa teach, went home and had dinner with Hiroko, and watched another episode of 24 Season 2. So the nuclear bomb went off in the middle of the desert. As stupid as Kimmy is, George is (was) cool. Though I was really hoping he would put a bullet in Niina, right in front of Jack, just before dying. Sort of a last gift to Jack. But alas, he went out in a cool enough blaze of glory.
Did some administrative stuff with HR, discovered a mild spelling mistake with my first name that prevented my email from working correctly, but other than that things went well.
I have a lovely office on the 20th floor, facing south-west. Beautiful view of Roppongi Hills, Mori Building, and several other nice high rises. I really do love the sprawling expanse of concrete and steel, especially when the hazy fingers of smog and humidity curl about the buildings like so many humid snakes.
My title (according to my business cards) is "Head of Video - Asia/Japan" for Equity Research. Basically I'm in charge of business strategy, planning, and implementation for video distribution and new technologies in Japan and Asia Pacific. That means using technology to push the business forward by lowering costs, increasing efficiency, and maybe even make some money.
Middle of earnings season so all the analysts are running about madly trying to get reports done this week. The research team here was nothing five years ago, and is now one of the top-ranked teams in the region. Lots of young bulls, several established #1's, and in a general a pretty cool attitude. Things are considerably more...chaotic, shall we say, than at Morgan Stanley. That can be bad, but can also be good, as my mandate is to shake things up.
After work I managed to get to Shibuya in time for practice and helped Kiyokawa teach, went home and had dinner with Hiroko, and watched another episode of 24 Season 2. So the nuclear bomb went off in the middle of the desert. As stupid as Kimmy is, George is (was) cool. Though I was really hoping he would put a bullet in Niina, right in front of Jack, just before dying. Sort of a last gift to Jack. But alas, he went out in a cool enough blaze of glory.
last honbu
My last full day of practice before heading back into the slog that is an office drone salaryman.
Got up early and started practice at 10am. Trained with the college students until about 1pm, then we got some Italian for lunch and in the afternoon did tanjo and kenjutsu before calling it a day at 4pm.
Hiroko whipped up a hearty meal of meat and rice, which we ate while watching DVD #7 of 24 Season 2. I simply will not bring up how stupid Kimmy is. What is confusing is, they have no found the nuclear bomb...and there's five DVDs left to go! That's 10 hours, so I guess they REALLY take their time defusing the bomb? Or wait lemme guess: Kimmy gets kidnapped? Like, three times?
Got up early and started practice at 10am. Trained with the college students until about 1pm, then we got some Italian for lunch and in the afternoon did tanjo and kenjutsu before calling it a day at 4pm.
Hiroko whipped up a hearty meal of meat and rice, which we ate while watching DVD #7 of 24 Season 2. I simply will not bring up how stupid Kimmy is. What is confusing is, they have no found the nuclear bomb...and there's five DVDs left to go! That's 10 hours, so I guess they REALLY take their time defusing the bomb? Or wait lemme guess: Kimmy gets kidnapped? Like, three times?
shirogane festival
More Tokyu Hands shopping with Hiroko in Shibuya. Is there anything they DON'T sell? Then walked to Aoyama for some toy shopping, and headed home. It rained a bit in the evening, and once it stopped we darted across the street to Shirogane to stock up of festival foods before heading home to eat. Curry, grilled squid, meat-on-a-stick, chicken, scallops and shrimp...all the traditional goodies. Stuffed ourselves silly whilst watching a couple more episodes of Kimmy-Is-An-Idiot, er, I mean 24 Season 2.
cutting videos
Amazing how both Niina-gosoke and my dad are on the same wavelength. Both insist on seeing cutting videos. So this morning I met Kiyokawa and Ohtsuka at Tokiwamatsu Elementary School in Shibuya (we were hoping to be able to use their gym for Monday classes, but looks like only Tuesday is available), then we went to Azabujyuban, met Iwata-chan, had lunch and shaved ice with anko, and came home to cut.
I didn't soak the targets well enough, so we had a tough time cutting, but in the end we got some decent clips. So let's see them! I hear you ask...well Ohtsuka-san provided the camera but brought the wrong cable, so I couldn't download the clips onto my machine for web-posting. Gimme a couple more days.
In the evening Hiroko and I cruised to master's Kushimasu in Ichikawa (our old hangout) as Packy was in town. Been a long time since we've gotten out there. Meat-on-a-stick is still tasty as ever, and Hugh's son Toshiki is a monstrously big and vigorous 4! We played "Big Jump! Little Jump! BIG JUMP!" and "Up! Down! UP!!!" for a couple of hours, until he petted a passing poodle and was quickly perplexed by a precocious itching all over his person. Mom went "Oops. He's allergic to dogs...if only HE knew that!" and bundled him off to home for a shower and some skin cream. We chatted up Packs and the gang for a bit before hitting the route home. Nailed the schedule just right and made it back in almost exactly one hour.
I didn't soak the targets well enough, so we had a tough time cutting, but in the end we got some decent clips. So let's see them! I hear you ask...well Ohtsuka-san provided the camera but brought the wrong cable, so I couldn't download the clips onto my machine for web-posting. Gimme a couple more days.
In the evening Hiroko and I cruised to master's Kushimasu in Ichikawa (our old hangout) as Packy was in town. Been a long time since we've gotten out there. Meat-on-a-stick is still tasty as ever, and Hugh's son Toshiki is a monstrously big and vigorous 4! We played "Big Jump! Little Jump! BIG JUMP!" and "Up! Down! UP!!!" for a couple of hours, until he petted a passing poodle and was quickly perplexed by a precocious itching all over his person. Mom went "Oops. He's allergic to dogs...if only HE knew that!" and bundled him off to home for a shower and some skin cream. We chatted up Packs and the gang for a bit before hitting the route home. Nailed the schedule just right and made it back in almost exactly one hour.
tessen & jutte
Gosoke is teaching me all 23 kata for tessen and jutte. Gone through about half of them, plus the 12 uchidaryu tanjo and 24 isshinryu kusarigama. In the evening we had a meeting about the national tournament; getting busy but should be lotsa fun. Decided that the Saturday before the tournament we (me and all the folks coming from the U.S.) will go to Yoshida (Toyota's awesome restaurant) for a traditional million course Japanese meal.
basics
Otherwise known as kihon. No matter how much I practice, it's never enough. Cracking skulls in kenjutsu, and trying to jam 24 kata of tessen and jutte into my head in three days!
ouch
Monday morning. First practice of the day. Still sleepy. Minor slip in concentration. How not to do kenjutsu:
happy birthday to me
I am 32 today. Which is good because I still act like I'm 15, so at this rate when I'm 50 I'll act like I'm 25 or so. Works for me.
Got my haircut and then Hiroko and I went to Chai for the 90 minute Thai massage special. After having our bones turned into butter, we had too much Chinese food and walked home in the cool breeze to watch a couple more episodes of 24 Season 2. Kimi is still a complete moron. Her boyfriend Bruce "Miguel" Lee comes in a close second.
Got my haircut and then Hiroko and I went to Chai for the 90 minute Thai massage special. After having our bones turned into butter, we had too much Chinese food and walked home in the cool breeze to watch a couple more episodes of 24 Season 2. Kimi is still a complete moron. Her boyfriend Bruce "Miguel" Lee comes in a close second.
shibuya
Hiroko and I battled the heat to do some shopping in Shibuya. Hit the standard places: Loft, Muji, Tokyu Hands, Uniqlo. Bought a 1000 yen t-shirt made out of the same stuff that protects the space shuttle from cosmic radiation...or at least it feels like a soccer shirt and stays fairly dry even in sweaty summer.
Masa came over for watermelon and dinner, and we zoned out watching tv with the ceiling fan cranked.
Masa came over for watermelon and dinner, and we zoned out watching tv with the ceiling fan cranked.
anko power
Met Kiyokawa and Iwata-chan in Azabu-jyuban, had some shaved ice, and we all came back to my house to cut.
Unlike last week, Kiyokawa and I were in fine form; nailed just about every cut smooth as silk. Verdict: it's all about the anko. In the summer, anko and green tea flavoring on shaved ice, in the winter, anko-stuffed tai-yaki. Whatever the form, anko is the power that makes the sword cut!
In the evening we had class in Nihonbashi, and Tanaka-sensei showed up to basically grovel. Seems that without the Akabane students, there's no way they can even make enough money from monthly dues to run their own dojo. Niina-gosoke, out of the goodness of his own heart, decided to 'loan' Akabane to them for as long as necessary. Now ordinarily, if one of your top students goes to open his own dojo without your consultation or consent, you ask for him to kill himself and, if that's not possible, you send someone to see to it. However Niina-gosoke is considerably more forgiving, and knowing that Tanaka-sensei is not the brightest of bulbs, is doing everything he can to help out.
Unlike last week, Kiyokawa and I were in fine form; nailed just about every cut smooth as silk. Verdict: it's all about the anko. In the summer, anko and green tea flavoring on shaved ice, in the winter, anko-stuffed tai-yaki. Whatever the form, anko is the power that makes the sword cut!
In the evening we had class in Nihonbashi, and Tanaka-sensei showed up to basically grovel. Seems that without the Akabane students, there's no way they can even make enough money from monthly dues to run their own dojo. Niina-gosoke, out of the goodness of his own heart, decided to 'loan' Akabane to them for as long as necessary. Now ordinarily, if one of your top students goes to open his own dojo without your consultation or consent, you ask for him to kill himself and, if that's not possible, you send someone to see to it. However Niina-gosoke is considerably more forgiving, and knowing that Tanaka-sensei is not the brightest of bulbs, is doing everything he can to help out.
last iidabashi
Actually didn't teach at Iidabashi even though it was the last class, because we had an emergency meeting at Honbu to decide what to do about Tanaka-sensei and Miura-san leaving. Since they gave us no notice, we've got holes in Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday classes. Not very cool of them to give us no notice, but it could have been worse. Again, if only he talked to us first he could at least have kept Akabane on Saturday morning.
We also decided to continue battling the karate morons to get the Akihabara gym on Wednesdays. Since it's first come, first dibs on reserving, we used to go early in the morning to line up. Been using the same place for over a decade. But last month some karate morons are lining up since the night before and grabbing the gym for two nights a week. So we decided to escalate; we'll use a professional narabiya to line up for 12 hours, starting at 7pm the night before, to ensure that we're first in line. If the karate morons don't get the hint and line up even earlier...well we might have to have a good old-fashioned smack down.
We also decided to continue battling the karate morons to get the Akihabara gym on Wednesdays. Since it's first come, first dibs on reserving, we used to go early in the morning to line up. Been using the same place for over a decade. But last month some karate morons are lining up since the night before and grabbing the gym for two nights a week. So we decided to escalate; we'll use a professional narabiya to line up for 12 hours, starting at 7pm the night before, to ensure that we're first in line. If the karate morons don't get the hint and line up even earlier...well we might have to have a good old-fashioned smack down.
tanaka-sensei
Seems Tanaka-sensei has finally decided to open his own dojo. He and Miura-san will be teaching various Ryukyu (Okinawa) martial arts as well as iaido. The problem is he sent in his official notice of leaving and then asked if he could still teach at Akabane, and of course have all the students there. Naturally, we said no. He's a great martial artist, but kind of thick in the skull. If he asked BEFORE he decided to leave, we would have set him up as a shibu; the students and practice area are his, and he gets all the money, he just gives us a small membership fee every year per student. Oh well. Good luck Tanaka-sensei!
back from NY
Ojima-chan is back from New York. She went to the Big Apple, with a kimono, to see kabuki. Still can't figure out why she'd go all the way to NY and not see a Broadway Musical, but I guess she just needed any excuse to go.
She and Presley and Miyasawa and Matsushita-san all showed up for class tonight. Kiyokawa and Otsuka-san where on the other side of the dojo, but Gosoke called them and told them to go to Suidobashi for whatever reason, so after they left everyone had a mirror and plenty of space. We drilled on the basics the whole time, working on basic body movements. Feels funny to teach something I understand in theory but can't really do myself, but oh well.
My right arm is pretty sore from getting cracked by Kiyokawa during kumitachi practice, and my thumb is turning a nice rainbow of colors from when it got smacked yesterday, too.
She and Presley and Miyasawa and Matsushita-san all showed up for class tonight. Kiyokawa and Otsuka-san where on the other side of the dojo, but Gosoke called them and told them to go to Suidobashi for whatever reason, so after they left everyone had a mirror and plenty of space. We drilled on the basics the whole time, working on basic body movements. Feels funny to teach something I understand in theory but can't really do myself, but oh well.
My right arm is pretty sore from getting cracked by Kiyokawa during kumitachi practice, and my thumb is turning a nice rainbow of colors from when it got smacked yesterday, too.
rain...?
It rained! OK for only about 5 minutes, but still it helped a bit.
Spent the day in the dojo with Kiyokawa. Got kind of burnt in the afternoon and ended up getting my thumb crunched. Went home before going to Shibuya and helping teach, then came home and stuffed myself with pasta. Ahhh, but I love carbs!
Spent the day in the dojo with Kiyokawa. Got kind of burnt in the afternoon and ended up getting my thumb crunched. Went home before going to Shibuya and helping teach, then came home and stuffed myself with pasta. Ahhh, but I love carbs!
steamboy
Day 2 of Movie Weekend: Hiroko and I saw Steamboy. Pretty cool story about the use of steam-driven technology in the late 1800's (new super-cool high-pressure technology), with themes touching on corporate greed, innocent youth, purity of science, forgiveness, etc. Great animation and well-paced script, though at times it tended (typical of most Japanese anime) towards the long-winded soliloquy to explain motive.
clean your car
Met Kiyokawa at about 11am at the Moai statue in Shibuya and in the pressing heat and humidity we walked all over Shibuya looking for a bigger place for the monday practice. We finally got on the bus to Furukawabashi and had ramen for lunch at Doraichi before heading home to cut.
Today was a bad day for cutting, to say the least. Probably because we didn't have the traditional and requisite shaved ice, we couldn't cut for beans. After calling it a day and rolling a bunch of targets for next time, we took the bus up to Azabujyuban and had shaved ice before going to Honbu Dojo for practice.
Did a little bit of kenjutsu before practice, and then half-way through practice Gosoke took some photos for the webpage. Finally stopped at 9pm, the dojo a good 35°C, and went to grab some dinner.
After eating Ohtsuka-san dropped me off at Roppongi Hills and we made fun of his dirty car and talked smack most of the way.
I bought tickets for Shrek 2 (Sat) and Steamboy (Sun) before walking home at midnight.
Today was a bad day for cutting, to say the least. Probably because we didn't have the traditional and requisite shaved ice, we couldn't cut for beans. After calling it a day and rolling a bunch of targets for next time, we took the bus up to Azabujyuban and had shaved ice before going to Honbu Dojo for practice.
Did a little bit of kenjutsu before practice, and then half-way through practice Gosoke took some photos for the webpage. Finally stopped at 9pm, the dojo a good 35°C, and went to grab some dinner.
After eating Ohtsuka-san dropped me off at Roppongi Hills and we made fun of his dirty car and talked smack most of the way.
I bought tickets for Shrek 2 (Sat) and Steamboy (Sun) before walking home at midnight.
smooth
Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep last night, so when I got to Honbu I was pretty burnt. Took a bit of a nap before Kiyokawa showed up, and then we ran through the kenjutsu we've been doing. I had one inspiringly smooth move that made the day. The rest was typically sub-par.
After lunch I drove to Sakuraya to pick up my formal kimono with my family crest on it (need it for Florida in August) and then went to practice at Iidabashi. It was one-on-one with Takahashi-san the whole time. Kiyokawa practiced on his own while I drilled Takahashi-san through the basics and then a couple of forms for the national tournament in September.
Came home and could barely stay awake through dinner.
After lunch I drove to Sakuraya to pick up my formal kimono with my family crest on it (need it for Florida in August) and then went to practice at Iidabashi. It was one-on-one with Takahashi-san the whole time. Kiyokawa practiced on his own while I drilled Takahashi-san through the basics and then a couple of forms for the national tournament in September.
Came home and could barely stay awake through dinner.
late night
It was really, really hot and humid, so I was having a hard enough time falling asleep. About 1:30 am the doorbell rang and someone pounded on the front door. Nobody was there when I opened the door, so I grabbed my Surefire and my tanjo and went outside to see what was up.
Down the street, in front of the Iranian Embassy, a couple of drunk dudes were making noise and blocking traffic. So I called 119 and told them a couple of dudes were fighting in the street and causing a ruckus.
Then I went back to bed. 10 minutes later, the police called me back saying they got the message and would send someone out asap. 15 minutes later, they called me again saying they couldn't find anyone and could I please come out.
So I got out of bed, walked down the street and saw two ambulances, 15 rescue workers in full gear (helmet, jacket, gloves, etc.) and 5 cops. Actually not even cops -- keisatsu -- but officers from keishicho; the guys who guard all the embassies and government buildings. I guess they're like federal marshals or something. I told them what I saw and they asked me stupid questions like "Where they Japanese or foreigners?" (From 15 meters away at night, I have no idea) and "Did they have knives?" And then they told me "We looked all over and couldn't find anyone." as if I had made the whole thing up. What I wanted to say was "There were here 30 minutes ago when I called" but what I said was "Thanks anyway. I'm going back to bed now."
I feel so much safer.
Down the street, in front of the Iranian Embassy, a couple of drunk dudes were making noise and blocking traffic. So I called 119 and told them a couple of dudes were fighting in the street and causing a ruckus.
Then I went back to bed. 10 minutes later, the police called me back saying they got the message and would send someone out asap. 15 minutes later, they called me again saying they couldn't find anyone and could I please come out.
So I got out of bed, walked down the street and saw two ambulances, 15 rescue workers in full gear (helmet, jacket, gloves, etc.) and 5 cops. Actually not even cops -- keisatsu -- but officers from keishicho; the guys who guard all the embassies and government buildings. I guess they're like federal marshals or something. I told them what I saw and they asked me stupid questions like "Where they Japanese or foreigners?" (From 15 meters away at night, I have no idea) and "Did they have knives?" And then they told me "We looked all over and couldn't find anyone." as if I had made the whole thing up. What I wanted to say was "There were here 30 minutes ago when I called" but what I said was "Thanks anyway. I'm going back to bed now."
I feel so much safer.
shoes and socks
Got up fairly early, and for the first time in weeks, put on shoes and socks. I wasn't going to the dojo, I went to DB to talk to HR about the process of becoming an employee when I start working for them in August. Technically I'm still employed by MS and on vacation, so today was just a chat about procedure and trying to figure out what to do with my Japanese 401(k), etc.
Today was also the hottest goddamn day ever. It was almost 40°C and high humidity. My scooter seat was so hot I could barely sit on it. People were dropping like flies from heat stroke. And now that the rainy season is officially over (with barely any rain) I am really wondering if this isn't just global warming or something.
I had lunch with Hiroko and the LincMedia women, then went to Honbu Dojo, but it was so hot I spent most of the time in the air-conditioned office. Had a good turnout for evening class, but at 9pm it was still 35°C, and when I got home and went to bed it was still over 30°C.
Today was also the hottest goddamn day ever. It was almost 40°C and high humidity. My scooter seat was so hot I could barely sit on it. People were dropping like flies from heat stroke. And now that the rainy season is officially over (with barely any rain) I am really wondering if this isn't just global warming or something.
I had lunch with Hiroko and the LincMedia women, then went to Honbu Dojo, but it was so hot I spent most of the time in the air-conditioned office. Had a good turnout for evening class, but at 9pm it was still 35°C, and when I got home and went to bed it was still over 30°C.
spiderman 2
Hiroko and I walked around Roppongi Hills for a bit, grabbed deepFriedPork lunch in the basement, checked out the cool toys at Vanguard, and walked around some of the less-lame stores before hitting the 14:50 showing of Spiderman 2. Gotta say, Daboo got it right; a wonderfully entertaining summer flick. The CG spiderman flying around the city still looks so realistic he looks fake, but it's fast, fun, and thoroughly enjoyable. Especially when seen from row G of the screen 7.
amy and slinky
Amy came over with Todd and Narumi to play. It was too hot to bother going outside, so we stayed under the air-conditioner and munched potato chips. Amy was grumpy unless mom was holding her, so Todd and I stole her away to the basement, where she cried and cried...until we pulled out the slinky. Ah, the magical toy that is coil of metal; glittering, slithering slinky! Amy was immediately entranced and spent a good 30 minutes bouncing around the basement with the slinky all over the place. It stretches! It rolls! It walks down stairs! Amy would take the slinky, walk up to steps, sit down, put the slinky next to her, and then point and the slinky and look at me until I made it walk down the stairs. Then she'd squeal and go down and grab it and repeat.
After playing in the basement for a while we came back upstairs, had some more munchies, and then went out for a walk. I needed string to tie up cutting targets, so we walked over to the D2 home center and back. Getting to be about time for dinner, so we ordered some pizza and chicken from Pizza Salvatore Cuomo. After dinner Amy was starting to fade, and was soon asleep in mom's lap, so it was time to go.
After playing in the basement for a while we came back upstairs, had some more munchies, and then went out for a walk. I needed string to tie up cutting targets, so we walked over to the D2 home center and back. Getting to be about time for dinner, so we ordered some pizza and chicken from Pizza Salvatore Cuomo. After dinner Amy was starting to fade, and was soon asleep in mom's lap, so it was time to go.
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