father's day

I almost forgot today was father's day. I should have sent a small gift like a book. Maybe next time...
I've just sent a message to my father like that, : I'm really grateful to you that let me have my own way. And thank you for giving me strict discipline with deep affection.

I though the message was a little bit childish. It was as if one say a big thankyou to parents after the graduation ceremony. But I wanted to say that because I haven't done anything to bother the police, like the guy who stabbed 17 innocents was arrested.


I think my father had a tough life. After my real mother died, he had to work hard while raising a six-month-old baby and a two-year-old boy.

Honestly speaking, I wanted to live with my grandma on mother's side longer than forever. When the end of summer vacation was approaching, I used to make a plan like involving a little car accident or something, to stay at my grandma's house even after summer vacation. (You might not believe that a 5-year-old girl thinks like that. That's the way I am.)


However, my father never thought to leave us in someone's hands for good.

My father all the time scolded my brother and me over small things, like "Don't place your shoes badly!" "Don't frown!" and so on. (I confess that I had thought my father must be a devil.)

But I knew all of that was because he loved us. Thank you, dad. I love you!

Thank you for reading.

thanks, my great-aunt

My great-aunt on the father's side passed away yesterday. And there was her funeral today. It was very sudden, I could not go back to our hometown, Hiroshima.

I met her when I attend a family function, but it was not so many times. But every time I meet her, she told me how nice my real mother was.

Because my real mother died about 6 months after I was born, I have no memories of her. So, I remember I felt awkward whenever my great-aunt started to talk about my real mother, and it was hard to reply.

She was a very talkative, cheerful and more tender-hearted person. I think it was three years ago when I met her last. At that time, she asked me why I didn't want to marry. I answered it was not true, I wanted to marry, but just I didn't have any chance to meet the man for me. She said "I can not die until I saw you be happy." And I said, "OK, I want you to live long, so I don't want to marry."

After that, the time to say goodbye, she let me grab 5,000yen in my palm, and said stroking my hand gently, "I'm sorry, I can not give you enough, I can not do anything for you."

it is hard to write. I can not write any more because I can't stop crying.

Hi, great-aunt, do you come and see me now? Can you see how I feel? Thank you for everything what you have done for me. I want to see you at least one more time to say thanks.

Thank you for reading.

rice cooker

It was my mother's birthday today. I sent two china bowls, a terra-cotta pot, and 10kg of rice.

Don't you think the last one is not suitable for birthday present? I think so, too.

In my year-end homecoming, my parents was talking about rice cooker over dinner. They was impressed by a different taste of rice which was steamed by new model rice cooker bought my mother's cousin. They wanted to buy one, but it cost over 100,000yen, so they've been still in two minds about that.

Although I wanted to buy it to my parents, I was unable to afford to. Then, I thought that it would be the same if grade of rice changed higher, instead of rice cooker. That's the reason I sent her the highest-quality rice.

I guess that she wasn't happy with the rice as she didn't know what I'd thought. But it's OK because rice never go to waste. I also sent a message to her cell phone: As you don't have to buy rice this month, you can buy something you want by the cost.


Apart from that, I am going to accomplish one of my assignments, planned to submit three days ago. I've not been able to concentrate recently, but thanks to a visitor of this blog, I've felt better now. He left me a message this morning, and I've visited his blog site. At the site, I read an article of the reason why he wanted to keep a diary in English. After I read it, I reread my first article which expressed my wishes. That reminded me that I've had some hopes.

I've borrowed three books from the library to write my overdue assignment. I'll get down to it now!

Thank you for reading.

a phone call

I got a phone call this morning from my father. He asked me whether he could offer to NEC to fix his PC without the guarantee card because his PC got a display trouble recently. After I gave him a note PC for his birthday present in 2005, the PC had broken within a year. But, he was not in trouble at that time, because NEC was famous for the greatest support in Japan, a staff came and checked the PC, and fixed completely.

I know if a PC had a hardware trouble within one year, the PC has a higher possibility of breakdown. So, I ordered extra 3 years guarantee after that. But I had NEC send the application form to my father's house, so I don't know the contract at all.

I said that I would e-mail him after checking my copy of the guarantee order form. However I could not log-in to NEC user site. If I was unable to log-in, I could not see the order information, so I decided to call to the support center at 9 a.m. sharp when it would be opened to request a new user-ID and password.

Although I called a toll-free phone number, the line was very very busy, so I was holding the phone over 15 minutes. But I felt good because the support was very functional system and the staff was kind. I said to him thanks a lot.

But, as I hung up the phone, I got an e-mail from my father like this.

"I found my guarantee card, I'm sorry for all the fuss, in spite of the early morning.

What??

Well, it will be nice that he can manage all of the trouble by himself. I'm glad to hear that.

the garden

I feel like talking about my family. I live in Tokyo by my own, and my parents and my sister are in Kure City in Hiroshima Prefecture. My parents are very happy with their garden which views are changes from season to season. Since my mother bought her own cell phone last year, my father borrow it, and become taking the garden pictures to send to me. To be honest, it is too small to seeing the beautiful blossoms. But I am glad that he think to want to let me see some of them.

I usually go home to my parents at the New Year Holiday season. So, I can enjoy blossoms of camellia every year. But I don't know how the garden change in another season, so I am looking forward to seeing another season's photos.

In this spring, my father has e-mailed me some photos which is blossoms of cherry and magnolia, and maple. I got the mayple's one today. He said he can enjoy red coloring of leaves not only in autumn but also in spring. Maybe my father will send me a picture of crape myrtle's blossoms in summer.

uniform

It is true that they say time flies like an arrow. I am really in rush finishing the bioethics report-1, but I just repeat writing and erasing again and again. I have to finish it today thinking as the dead line is tomorrow. Because I plan to take two short tests of psychiatric medicine on 15 April, so I need time to read and memorize the units.

Anyway, I had an e-mail from my sister. Unfortunately she can not wear her replica uniform this year. Because the back number of her uniform is Arai's who left the club. I wonder whether Arai had thought or not about his fans wearing the uniform with his back number when he decided to leave the club. If I were him, I could not have made a decision to let the fans down.She said she bought a sun-visor printed with the Carp logo. And she is going to go to the Hiroshima stadium with putting the sun-visor on. She also hope to go to the stadium, the Jingu stadium or the Tokyo dome when she came to Tokyo. I will gladly become her company.

small-market club

I feel like talking about a baseball today because my family send e-mail about it.

My sister is a die-hard Carp fan. The Carp is a small-market club whose owner is Matsuda Ford. And my father is a great fan of the Tigers which is a big-market club of a big railway company named Hankyu Hanshin Holdings. It seems the domestic conflict has been starting with start of the baseball season. It is not only a matter of winning or losing, but also a problem that the Carp is called farm team of the Tigers.

I'm not so keen to baseball but I like the Tigers rather than the Carp. Because I felt that the Tigers players were more attractive than the Carp when I was child. But I am going to cheer for the Carp (or the Carp fans) this year since I feel sorry for them.

Although the Carp is famous for developing great players from nowhere. But if they would become something, they depart from the nest via free agency. In the last off-season, a cleanup batter Arai and ace pitcher Kuroda declared their free agency from the Carp. Kuroda decided to try for the major leagues, and Arai was traded to the Tigers.

Another cleanup batter Kanemoto also had departed to the Tigers in past years, so the Arai's decision was extremely disappointing to the Carp fans. Kanemoto became a role model in the Tigers as well as in the Carp, then he developed younger members in the way of the Carp spirits in the Tigers. Also Arai longed for Kanemoto, that's way Arai wanted to be traded to the Tigers.

I know there's nothing wrong with the Tigers. However I can't stand the ones who betray his fans. I remember my sister asked me to make a booking for a replica uniform last year. I asked her which uniform number I had to choose, and she said both Arai's and Soegi's is better than other. So Arai must have been one of her favorite. Poor my sister.

I really hope that the Carp will win the games whenever she go to the home ground of the Carp.

U.S. dollar plunge

CNN reported: "Asian stocks plunged(decreased suddenly) and the dollar sank Monday after JPMorgan Chase said it would acquire troubled U.S. investment bank Bear Stearns, signaling to investors the depths(most serious part) of the credit crisis."

Did this news stun(made unconscious) investors? Oh dear... Is the great depression coming again? I hope NOT!
CNN reported the dollar plunged to 95.72 yen this morning. But, when I checked FX trading site early in the evening , US Dollar to the Japanese Yen currency exchange rate was 97.25yen. so it seems getting back slowly. And also CNN said that Japanese export industries such as automobile industry are concerned about high-yen recession. Yeah, it's true enough. However we've already been standing lasting recession for more than 10 years, so Japan would somehow withstand this economic shocks. I hope!

To tell you the trues, an appraisal(a judgement of the value) loss of my stock is slumping from last summer. If now I made it up in the red, my initial investment would be decreased by half. But,,, in spite of my finance crisis, somehow, I think like that "The future will take care of itself". I am a nonprofessional person about investment, so it would be best not to struggle in vain. As the proverb goes, "Haste makes waste." right?


Anyway. I wonder if this kind of crisis is related to my brother. I'm not sure, but he work for a big securities company as a manager of syndicate division. Although he and I were very close family until grown-up, we don't keep in touch. Of course, I'd like to call on him sometimes, but it is enough for me to cherish the days of our childhood. I don't want to bother him because he hardly even have enough time to chat with his wife.
I am sending him an e-mail tonight to say happy birthday. Although I know he won't reply, it's OK. This is just annual custom. Have a good fun dinner with your wife, my brother!

PS My brother e-mailed me at midnight. He just said that mind my own business. It was very my brother, and really true. I think he is still sarcastic but was glad to hear that.


CNN Business News : Asian markets, U.S. dollar plunge