(Saturday, July 3, 2010)I have tried a lot of things to change my softball team, but nothing really worked. I know they like playing with a softball. But playing with a softball is quite different from playing softball. During the practice they often stop the play and laugh, but that couldn't happen in the club activities. I now notice that they're just killing their time by pretending to be on the softball team.
　They say they would like to take part in the summer championship tournament, but as a manager, I don't want to wear the uniform. If they really try to be good players, I'd be glad to be their manager, but that couldn't be possible.

(Sunday, July 4, 2010)In my blog I wrote about my softball team, which made some parents upset. Late last night the vice Principal gave me a phone call telling that my blog had been in the center of interest and I should do something about it. I erased all the writing about my team, but I thought something was wrong with the incident. It is true that the 9th graders have been behaving pretty bad and I, who's in charge of them, should let them know how wrong they have been. This should have been done by the parents, but they are no longer out of power. Do the kids listen to the parents to be really good again? It's quite impossible. If it could have been done, they're not like what they are today.
　Some people would say that there might be some other ways to lead them to the better way. But if so please let me know. Saying is quite easy, but finding a better way is not so easy. Once they have grown to be someone who doesn't listen to us, we can't do anything about it. Can you let them go back to three years ago?

(Monday, July 5, 2010)I went to school as usual this mrning, but after talking to the vice Principal and the Princpal for one hour and a half, I asked the Principal to let me go to the hospital in Chigasaki. I was so sick this morning. I've been suffering from bi-polar disorder for more than 15 years, but the doctors at first thought that I had just depression. Depression and bi-polar disorder are quite different from each other. If the medicine for depression is given to those who have bi-polar disorder, it will cause a serious side-effect. I was given medicine for depression for about 10 years, which made my bi-polar disorder quite worse. Will I be healed completely? I'm not sure. But the only thing I can do is just take the medicine, a lot of it, every day. Today my doctor added two more pills to my medicine, which will help stabilize my mental condition. I quess it's been working well, but I don't know what will happen tomorrow. I don't want to let my wife worry about me. She's also working very hard and she herself is so tired. Please, God, give her a good night sleep.

(Tuesday, July 6, 2010)After finishing all the three classes in the morning, I asked the vice Principal to let me leave school for the doctor. In the afternoon there was an elective lesson for the 8th graders, but I had to ask the leader of the 2nd-year section to take care of them. I was sorry for that, but I needed to see the doctor. I now take about ten pills at one time, which is a little too much for one person, the doctor insisted. But I can't omit any of the pills, so we concluded that I should do more exercises to get my diabetes better. Maybe for the next few days I might feel dizzy, but that couldn't be helped.
　By the way, children these days are treated too gently, don't you think so? Even school teachers seldom scold them, or yell at them. "Please don't do that, little girl." They sound like psychiatrists. And the kids are like babies who don't know how to behave. Is this OK? Shouldn't we decipline kids? Recently we often hear the words "the rights of children." OK, you can give them lots of rights in you like. However, you have to be responsible for what happens after that―complete chaos.

(Wednesday, July 7, 2010)Oh, I didn't know today was the Star Festival. But for me there was nothing special. In my school, on the second, third, and fourth floors, there are big bamboo trees attached to the floors, but I didn't put any paper strips on the trees.
　At about 8 o'clock in the evening, the meeting of mothers of the softball team was held in the meeting room. There at the meeting was the Principal, the vice Principal, and me. The problem was that I wrote about their daughters in my blog in quite bad a manner. Both the kids and the parents got angry about that and appeal to the Principal. Writing in the blog itself was obviously my fault, but there were so many faults of their daughters', which they don't seem to understand.
　Whether I will be with the kids as the manager in the tournament on July 17 or not is not yet decided. The Principal said that it's his decision to make, but I'm not willing to be the manager any longer.
　Well, I'm writing about the same problem in this English diary. However nobody blames me for it. Is this because nobody can understand what is written in English here? Or nobody is interested in reading English diary with a dictionary? I don't care, though.

(Thursday, July 8, 2010)Writing English is like Speaking it, so writing diary in English every day will surely help you improve your speaking ability. If you have to stay in Japan, having no chance to live abroad, you have to find some effective way to brush up your English. Do you have a native speaker around you all the time? Do you have a lot of English CD's or DVD's? But even if you don't have anything special but a pen or a computer, you can keep an English diary. It's worth while trying. Try it!
　I argued with the Principal today about the softball team. I understand his point of view, but he should also try to understand my point of view. He can't urge me to do anything in his own way. I want to take care of the seventh graders, but I'm not willing to be in charge of the 9th graders. The reason is not so difficult. The parents don't want me. The kids don't want me either. If you're not needed, would you like to be the leader of the group? The Principal said it's my duty, but I didn't think so. What should I do? Sooner or later I'll have to obey the Principal? It's not fair.It's not what a gentleman should do.

(Friday, July 9, 2010)It was such a tough work to do to renew my webpage in a large scale. It took me about three hours, which makes me a little dizzy now. I left school earlier than usual because I was not fine today, so it might have been a crazy idea to finish this work tonight. However I'll have to do a lot more things to do tomorrow and I had to make it tonight. Anyway everyting has been completed and I feel relieved.
　Today I told the Principal that I had decided to be in charge of the softball team officially. There was no one else in school and I didn't want to bother the Principal any more. Quitting what I had been doing is also no good for myself and the 9th-grade players. That's why I decided to make it to the very end. I'm not sure we'll win how many games, but I have to try my best to lead the team to a happy ending.

(Saturday, July 10, 2010)This morning I took Ryoma to the vet to get vaccinated for five diseases. It was not such a terrible shot that Rhoma almost didn't notice he had a shot. But on the couch he looked nurvous enough to be able to jump into my arms at any time. The vet checked everything and we found out that he was in complete good health. I was quite happy to hear that.
　After coming back home, he looked so tired. While he was taking a nap, I went down to the small Chinese restaurant to eat ramen and fried rice. When I came back, he was waiting for me at the hall. The nurse told me to see if there was anything wrong with Ryoma for a few days, but as for today he is quite OK. He's still sleeping at the bed, though.

(Sunday, July 11, 2010)Today is the Election Day for the House of Representatives. This is a very difficult choice for us to make, because so-call each party's manifesto can't be believed, as we were betrayed by the former manifesto of the Democratic Party of Japan. Saying in one thing, but putting it together is quite another. In thie election, raise in the consumption tax("sales tax" in some countries) is in the center of interest. Is it really necesarry to rase the rate? Or is there another way to solve the financial problem? I think raise in the consumption tax is too easy a way to take. For example, income of the public servant is too high, especially retired statesmen get too much money from the companies they seldom go to.
　Anyway my wife and I will go to vote toward the evening when the rain stops falling. This time we will never vote for the "Minshuto" or the Democratic Partu of Japan. We might vote for the Communist Party for the first time in our lives, because we're sure they are the cleanest statesmen of all.
　I changed my mind not to vote for the election today, and my wife went to the voting place alone. I din't feel like voting for anyone or any party at all. I know what I did was wrong.

(Monday, July 12, 2010)Spain won the World Cup. But the final game between Spain and the Netherland was quite exciting and thrilling. It was so impressive. Everybody wonders why Spain has never won the championship for such a long time. The game has surely increased the number of succer fans.
　Today a new table has been delivered to our house. We have been using a low table until today, so it is quite convenient and comfortable. My wife has had pain in her waist, so especially for her nothing is more grateful. However for our dog Ryoma, it's not something he can welcome. Because he can no longer see the food we're eating on the table. He showed his strong rejection by barking shortly for many times. He usually doesn't bark inside our house, which means his sense of rejection was so strong. I hope he won't bite the legs of the new table as he did when he was a little boy.

(Tuesday, July 13, 2010)From today through Friday, Mr. Kurt Jackson, our school's assistant language teacher, visits our school. I asked him if he watched the World Cup soccer games, his answer was negative. In Canada soccer is not so popular as here in Japan. There ice hockey is by far the most popular of all the sports. He himself likes ice hockey.
　By the way, my mother-in-law cooked special food for Ryoma using cabbage and gizzards. A dog breeder who she met while walking Ryoma once told her how to cook the special menu. He told her that it would help a dog to have a good condition in its stomach. What a gourmet he is!

(Thursday, July 15, 2010)It's been such a hot and humid day today. It's going to be like this tomorrow, too. The weather report says that in Amami the rainy season has come to an end. I hear this year the ending weathers of the rainy season is quite unusual. In fact we've had too much rain during this rainy season.
　My wife's father caught a cold a few days ago and had a fever. He's still not in good health, but every morning he's kind enough to come and visit our home to take our dog for a morning walk. He's so tough, I'm sure. He often takes him for an evening walk, too. However, for the time being, my wife thinks she won't let him do that. I could come home earlier than my wife, so I think I should take him for an evening walk instead of her.
　Did you see tonight's moon? It's a very beautiful crescent moon. I think I haven't tried to see the moon for a few months. I've been too busy and tired. Now that I can feel the beauty of the moon, I'm not very tired any more. As a matter of fact, this afternoon in the crazy heat of summer, I could run around the school, very slowly, though.

(Friday, July 16, 2010)It was really hot this afternoon, too. Our softball exercises continued for about two hours, which were good enough to tire the players on my team. We're going to have a official game tomorrow afternoon in Yokohama. The game will start at 2:50 p.m. We'll have to be careful about drinking enough water so as not to have heat exhaustion.
　Our dog Ryoma has not been in good shape for these few days. He usually sleeps on tatami without any blanket on his stomach, which might have caused his stomach trouble. Wind goes through our rooms so well that we also have to be careful of our own health when we go to sleep with only a few clothes on. Especially I feel hot more often than my wife. A few days ago, I woke up to find myself having diarrhea. My stomach trouble lasted all through that morning. It was too bad.

(Saturday, July 17, 2010)Today my softball team had an official game for this summer. This is going to be their last championship tournament and it was a real close game we had today. The other team got three runs at the top of the first inning, and the three runs were great pressure for us for the first half of the game. But our pitcher did a great job and she struck out many batters. Then she herself hit a three-run homerun, and in the last inning our clean-up made a goodbye hit. It was like a drama and we won the game.

(Sunday, July 18, 2010)My softball team practiced during this morning. It was so hot that it was almost impossible to continue practicing for over 40 minutes at a time. They had to drink a lot of water, so one of the player's mother was kind enough to prepare a container filled with special drink.
　Tomorrow my girls are meeting at Nakada Station at 6:40. We're going to play the first game with Maioka Junior High School, which was one of the eight strongest teams in Yokohama in the spring tournament. They might say that my team has no chance to beat them, but nobody can predict what will happen druing the game, especially for the summer tournament. I hope something interesting will happen tomorrow.

(Tuesday, July 20, 2010)It was the last day before the summer vacation. But the children had to stay at school until about 12:30 p.m. I was supposed to take care of the softball team but decided not to. I had been under the heat of the summer for three successive days and was tired out. Tomorrow I'll go to school to teach them softball during the morning. They're all beginners and there are a lot of things for them to learn by the time when they play their first offical game at the end of the summer vacation. Also I'll have to take our dog Ryoma for a walk tomorrow morning before leaving home for school. I have to go to bed now.

(Thursday, July 22, 2010)The heat that roasted us today was extraordinary. The radio news said that the same unusual heat was attacking Russia too, killing about 2,000 people. The weather forecast tells us that it will rain on coming Sunday, but we're not sure. Toward the evening, a nice breeze started blowing and we felt a little bit comfortable, but still it's so humid we'll have a hard night tonight too. The humid weather makes me pretty tired and not it's quite difficult to express my idea in English smoothly. Usually I write English as fluently as I do with Japanese, but it's a hard job to do now. My brain must be so tired.

(Friday, July 23, 2010)There are very hot days in Japan's summer and the days whose temperature is equal to or more than 30 degrees Celcius are called "manatsubi" or mid-summer days and the days whose temperature is equal to or more than 35 degrees Celcius are called "moshobi" or extraordinarily hot days. Today in Tokyo they had extraordinarily hot day. This unusual weather has, of course, something to do
with global warming. There are some very hot places on the earth, but in other places they have very cold weather. More than five years ago a movie entitled "The Day After Tomorrow" was released and many people were scared that it was going to happen to the real world. Most of the scientists denied that, but who can be so sure of the results of global warming?

(Saturday, July 24, 2010)About a month ago, a couple of swallows made a nest on the light box of the stairs in our apartment building. They had three baby birds and all of them left the nest about two weeks ago. However, recently some swallows are showing up to check out the old nest again. Are they the same swallows that had babies their? Are they going to mate again? We're looing forward to seeing them stay there and have cute babies. I hope they are bringing us good luck and hapiness.

(Sunday, July 25, 2010)We expected heavy rain this evening, but it didn't rain at all, which was against the weather forecast. This evening there's not much wind blowing, so we have to be careful not to have heat exhaustion. I think I'll let the fan work all night for both my wife and me.
　Today we let our dog Ryoma take a shower after about three weeks from the last bath. He looked so refreshed that his eyes were wide open. Soon he started to sleep by the time he went for an evening walk around 6 o'clock. The sky was dreadfully dark and it seemed to start raining soon. The weather forecast told us that it was going to rain suddenly and heavily this evening, but it didn't.

(Friday, July 30, 2010)Today my wife's parents, my wife, and I went to eat charbroiled eel for lunch. It was not a big shop, but the eel it served was extremely delicious. We were so impressed that we kept on talking about the eel on our way back home. The shopowner told us that they had used eels which came from Mie Prefecture. When you eat broiled eel, you usually eat liver soup which sometimes tastes bitter. But today's soup was not bitter at all. The liver itself tasted very delicious. It was her second time for my wife to try broiled eel, so I was a little bit afraid that she could not enjoy the lunch. However, I was wrong. She enjoyed eating broiled eel. She could even eat the liver soup. My parents-in-law looked so happy that I thought we should have a chance like this from time to time.

(Saturday, July 31, 2010)We haven't been swimming at Southern Beach Chigasaki this year. Actually we won't swim there because the water is not clean at all. When I was a little boy, the water at the beach was so clean and shallow until more than meters off the coast. But today it has completely changed. The beaches are so narrow that they are no good for little kids to play on.
　Talking of the beach, the vocalist of the Southern All Stars, Kuwata Keisuke, has made public that he has got esophagus cancer and that he was going to cancel the live tour which was supposed to start this October. His new album will be released later than schedule. My wife's mother has also been suffering from esophagus cancer, but she's now getting rid of it. I hope Mr. Kuwata will also get better after having an operation.

(Sunday, August 1, 2010)We have just got into August, into the middle of the summer. "Taisho" or the hottest day of the year has already gone, but the real heat of the summer is still waiting for us. Especiallly the voice (noise in English) of the cicada makes this seasen even hotter. When their voices are over, the hottest season in Japan is also gone. We don't like hot weathers, but interestingly we miss hot days. As a matter of fact, when the summer is over, most people feel a kind of pain in their hearts.
　There will be a fireworks display in Yokohama tonight. We've been planning to go see the festival, but we decided not to, because when I take too much water, I'd have to go to the bathroom so often. That's because of the diabetes I've been suffering from since the start of last year or for a longer time. I'm sorry for my wife. I hope I'll be able to get rid of the disease by the beginning of next summer and that I'll go to the fireworks with my wife without worrying about bathrooms.

(Monday, August 2, 2010)It was not sunny this morning, but was very humid. It's going to be very hot tomorrow too, the weather forecast says. If it's sunny tomorrow, we need to wear caps when we go outside.
　It seems that Ryoma has got a cold. He seems to have a stomachache, seeing that he doesn't have a good appetite. Usually at night he sleeps with his stomach upside, which sometimes causes his stomach troubles. Again this time? I also didn't feel well this afternoon. Then he came near to me and licked my face. He must have been worried about my health. Dogs can smell it when you're not in good shape. They're so smart.

(Wednesday, August 4, 2010)When you come across a dog taking a walk with its owner, do you feel like touching it? If so, please be careful not to reach out your hand to stroke the dog. You might be bitten by the hand, which will make you have to go to see a doctor. Because there's a lot of virus in the mouse of a dog, which can cause you a serious infectious disease. If you're bitten by a dog, you have to go to the hospital as soon as possible. My wife was bitten twice and she went to see a doctor each time. It took her more than a few months before she stopped going to the hospital.
　Fisrt time she was bitten by a big dog was when Ryoma was about to be attacked by the dangerous dog. In a flash she held up Ryoma in her arms and the crazy dog bit her leg instead. Too bad. When I came home, my wife was cleaning the wound. She said she was OK, but I was really angry. I called the owner of the crazy dog and told her that it was not such an easy case. We soon went to the hospital and the owner and her daughter also visited us at the hospital later. Second time she was bitten was when she saw a cute dog which was walking with its owner. She spoke to the dog and tried to stroke it, but it was not a good idea. She is usually liked by dogs, but this time she was not. Anyway it's very important not to be too friendly to dogs you don't know well.

(Thursday, August 5, 2010)A Shiba-dog is said to be as smart as a three-year old human child. Our dog Ryoma often use tactics to make us behave in the way he likes. Every evening after going for an evening walk, he, my wife, and I visit my wife's parents apartment house. He usually eats dinner there. Today he didn't eat all of the dinner, but left some and pretended not to be interested in the food any more. It was his tactic. My wife's mother gave him some cheese, which he wanted to get. Again he started to eat the dinner he had left and ate all of it with the cheese. How smart he is! We were all surprised at his smartness.

(Friday, August 6, 2010)65 years ago today, an atomic bomb called "Little Boy" was dropped on Hiroshima early in the morning and killed nearly 100,000 people in a flash. Did the U.S. government really need to drop the bomb to bring an end to the war? Or was it just a tool to threaten Russia which was, at that time, growing bigger like America? Anyway the fact is that many people have still been suffering from the aftereffect of the bomb. I think it's no different from Nazi's massacre. When the Second World War was over, the western countries blamed Germany of killing millions of innocent Jewish people. However, they didn't blame themselves of also killing millions of innocent civilians in Asia. In that sense I would say that the western countries in those days were hypocrites.

(Saturday, August 7, 2010)There's going to be fireworks at the Southern Beach Chigasaki tonight. They are setting off about 3,000 fireworks, which are not so many if compared with Yokosuka Fireworks or Sumida Fireworks. Now we're in economic recession, so not many people try to give money for the festival. However, my wife's mother, my wife, and I are planning to go to the beach after taking Ryoma for an evening walk.

(Sunday, August 8, 2010)Last night we decided not to go to the fireworks, because my wife's mother and I were too tired to feel like walking to the beach. But luckily we could enjoy the fireworks through the windows of our apartment house. We called my wife's mother to come and join us, and she came to visit us soon. Next year we'll have to try to take my wife to the beach for her.
　I had a slight headache this morning. I was afraid that I had heat exhaustion, so I asked my wife to bring a cold sheet to cool me down. I'm OK now.

(Monday, August 9, 2010)It's so cool today. It's been drizzling since this morning, but it stopped raining early in the afternoon. Then a cool wind started to come in through the windows.
　In Tibet of China there were great floods, killing more than hundreds of people. They say the number of people killed in the floods will be increasing. The Premier of the country soon visited the devastated area and encouraged some people under debris. In Japan, for example, when an big earthquake occurs, the Prime Minister would never go to the damaged site. Why is that? Not in Kobe, not in Nigata either. People will be very much encouraged if the Prime Minister soon makes a move and visits their places.

(Tuesday, August 10, 2010)No one knew that two little kids were starving. They were dead at last. Their young mother intentionally left them home alone so that they would be dead without anything to eat. How dare she could do such an evil thing! After divorcing her husband, she lost her interest in taking care of her children and wanted more time to play around. That could be the reason to kill her little kids? The tow kids must have believed in their mother and expected she would surely come back to save them. I sincerely wish the kids' happiness in heaven.
　Yesterday when I was walking with Ryoma, I heard a scream of a little girl. "Don't do that! It hurts!" she cried out. Then followed a crazy shout of a mother. "It's your fault, not mine!" I was so upset that I kept gazing into the direction their voices were coming from. Soon the scream and the shout went out. Maybe the mother noticed some people were listening to them. I think I should have called the police.

(Thursday, August 12, 2010)My wife and I went to eat Hokkaido ramen in Totsuka Ward in Yokohama. Of course Ryoma was with us. He likes driving so much that he looked very happy to look out of the car windows. Both of us ate miso ramen and my wife like it so much. I was glad my wife liked the ramen, which I sometimes eat for lunch before going back home.
　After coming home, I thought of the numbers for Loto 6 and went to the chance center to buy a lottery ticket for 1,000 yen. And I made it! I've got the 4th prize, which was 6,300 yen. Step by step for the next better prize. I'll keep on trying for it.

(Friday, August 13, 2010)There's a food court on the third floor of JUSCO in Chigasaki. We ate bukkake udon (cool udon) for lunch there. After eating udon, we ate icecream at 31 Icecream Shop next to the Udon Shop. There were so many people including many kids and young boys and girls.
　When we came back to our car, it was a little warm inside. It must have been uncomfortable for Ryama to wait for us. I soon start the engine and turn on the air conditioner strongly. It soon became cooler and cooler inside the car and Ryoma looked happy about that.
　Yesterday and today also, my wife and I visited our late father in the graveyard. We washed the tomb and put some incense sticks at the foot of the tomb. My wife has been so nice to my father even after his death. I felt my father say "Thank you" to both of us.

(Saturday, August 14, 2010)Around noon my wife and I went to a pizza parlor to eat pizza and spaghetti. The spaghetti was so so, but the pizza was extremely good. With the pizza I drank some glasses of fruit tea, which tasted so fantastic. Recently I've gained weight, so tea is good for my health, burning fat on my body.
　Before going to the pizza parlor, I went to my school in Yokohama to do a very important job. I should have finished it before my bon holiday, which started on August 12. There were no other teachers except for the baseball bays and the coach. He's a very enthusiastic coach and makes a very good team every year. I sometimes envy him his energy about teaching baseball. I also used to be such an energetic coach and made a good softball team, but now I'm half the man I used to be. I'll do my best, though.

(Sunday, August 15, 2010)Today is a very special day for Japan. It's the 65th anniversary of the end of World War �U. My father passed away four years ago at the age of 80 years old. When he was still alive, he often told me about the war. He was just waiting for the day to leave Japan to fight in the war. But the war ended before he was sent abroad. He was a very smart boy, so he must have wanted to study a lot more. However, he was not allowed to do so, spending most of his time working in a factory to make weapons. They were such terrible days. We should not be involved in war again in the future. I sometimes wonder if those young people killed in the war had not been dead to build Japan's future. There should have been lots of intelligent people, so Japan would have incredibly progressed. Now we're in a critical situation and no one can think of a good solution. They lived in wartime and did their very best. We live in peace and can't do anything to make things better. What does that mean?

(Monday, August 16, 2010)The bon holiday is over and some people start working today. I still have two more holidays, but my wife has to go to work today. Workers for private companies have hard time with less holidays than public workers. I'm a school teacher and I can have a-week bon holiday. My wife could have only three holidays. I'm very sorry for her about that.
　These days news about child abuse is often heard on TV news. The young mother in Osaka is a quite terrible case. She left her two kids locked in the apartment house and tried to make them starve. The news saied that the two kids didn't have food for about a month. They were betrayed by the person they believed in most. It's easy to have a baby, but it's quite difficult to become a mother. I'd like to say this strongly to all the young women today. If you think you're stupid, don't have a baby.
　By the way, it was really humid last night. We usually don't use an air conditioner, but last night it was almost impossible for us to go to sleep without cool air from the air conditioner. It was our second time to switch on the air conditioner. It was so comfortable, but we have to be careful not to be in the cool air for too long a time. Cool air is as dangerous as too much heat.

(Tuesday, August 17, 2010)It's about midnight now. Again it's so humid that I turn on the air conditioner. Our dog Ryoma looks very happy now. Yesterday in Saitama Prefecture, an old man died from heat exhaustion. He has liven on pension for about ten years with his son, who also has no work to do, and couldn't use electricity for as long. When he got sick, the only thing his son could do was cool his body with ice. They couldn't turn on the air conditioner. We can use the air conditioner, but they couldn't. I'm very sorry for the dead old man. What a world we live in!
　Let me change the subject. My wife and I are going to take my wife's parents to the eel shop this afternoon. I know that we're so lucky to eat such expensive fish that we have to thank God for that. I wish eating eel will give our parents enough energy to survive the heat of late summer
　By the way, most of the cases in which people die from heat exhaustion occurs inside the houses. In order for you not to get seriously sick, you have to drink a glass of water before going to bed, you need to use the air conditioner, and you should put an iced pack under your head. Let's do that.

(Wednesday, August 18, 2010"Necchusho," a sickness which comes from being exposed to too much heat, is "heat exhaustion" in English, I thought. But today I found a technical term "heat stroke" in the English newspaper. In this sense, English newspaper is so convenient and helpful. I often tried to find an English newspaper at convenience stores, but there weren't any. But today I found one in a convenience store near my school. I was so lucky.

(Saturday, August 21, 2010)I was away from this diary for two days. I have to try not to be away from this page so often. Well, these days there are many incidents that happen in the water. For example, today two middle-aged men, who were canoeing down a river in Hokkaido, couldn't make it all right and died. It's already toward the end of August, but we still have to be careful we we enjoy water sports.
　My wife and I usually take our dog Ryoma for an evening walk together. After coming home from the walk, she starts cooking for dinner, which seems quite tiring. So I say that she doesn't come with us, but she says it's fun to go for a walk together. I think women are really great. We men often come home from work and just relat, saying, "Oh, I'm really tired. It's been a tough day." However, women also have the same tough day and get very much tired.

(Monday, August 23, 2010)When I came home, Ryoma welcomed me with his tail wagging hard. Most of the day he spends all by himself, so when my wife or I come home, he is happy with all his heart. When he's with us, he likes to stay away from us. But by nature he hates to be alone.
　This morning when I was on the Yokohama Subway Blueline, an old man got on the train. On the Blueline every seat should be given to old people, pregnant women, or handicapped people. But today no one moved to give him a seat. It was a disappointing scene. Japan is such a sad country today.

(Tuesday, August 24, 2010)Today there was a quite surprising thing happened in the softball club. Two of the girls argued with me about how to practice. I told them to run around the diamond 40 times when I found they were doing a dull job. I usually do that when they're no good, but today they made too many mistakes and they had to run endlessly around the diamond. Then suddenly they stopped running and one of them told me that she was not going to run any more. She also said it was nonsense. I had never heard a student tell the teacher that something was nonsense. I said, "I have never heard such a stupid word from a student, and you are really stupid! If you don't like my way, leave soon." Most of the members came to me and asked me to let them keep on practicing, but I told all of them to go home soon. I went back to the teachers' room, took my back, went downstairs, changed my clothes, and went to my car. There were still 11 members around my car, but I told them gently that they should not practice any more. I really think children have changed a lot. How could they use a word "nonsense" about what the teacher does? There are words "monster parents." There should also be words "monster children." What a world!

(Thursday, August 26, 2010)Every midnight, a crazy motorbike runs about with an incredible noise. There is a police box near my apartment house. Why don't they chase those crazy riders? Sometimes a trembling noise from a crazy car surprises and wakens us after midnight. Why don't they understand they're disturbing other people? They're already old enough to contribute to the society. If I had a gun, I would like to shoot their tires.

(Sunday, August 29, 2010)I didn't write in this diary for two days. It's very important to keep on doing it every day. I have to try my best.
　In Yokohama school started on August 27, which I think is a little too early. We used to try to have more and more hoidays in order for the kids to stay out of school. Everybody thought that there should be a lot to learn from the society surrounding school. However, when we noticed that the standard of the children were getting lower, we suddenly changed our mind to lessen the number of holidays. That's why their summer vacation has becoom shorter. Is it really effective or not? No one knows. But in my opinion, the lower standard of children has nothing to do with the number of holidays, but it is in large related to their poor skill in reading. Reading skill is quite important in learning any subject. I hope the board of education will take this into great consideration.

(Wednesday, September 1, 2010)Sports Day is just around the corner and the students have to practice for it almost every day under the great heat of late summer. It's not so easy to do exercises for about 100 minutes when it's extremely hot outside. Maybe the temperature was around 35 degrees Celcius.
　How about letting them swim after the exercises? There are no shower rooms for the students to use in our school, so it's a good idea, isn't it? Who would like to study after sweating a lot on the hot schoolground?

(Saturday, September 11, 2010)It's been a long time since I wrote in this diary last. I said to myself that I should try to write every day, but I couldn't. It's been very busy days so far. I had to make the terminal test, check the students' workbooks in a very short period of time. However it was all my fault. I should have made the test during the summer vacation. I knew I had to, but I didn't feel like doing that. Next week I'm going to check the students' notebooks. This time I think I'm going to do it effectively.
　The weather forecast said the great heat of mid-summer would continue until the end of September. But the cool breeze of fall has started to blow, which makes the weather a little cooler. I hope this cool weather will go on for days and we'll be able to go into fall naturally. We're having Sports Day on the 18th of this month. The great heat won't come back on that day, I really hope.

(Sunday, September 12, 2010)These days there are more and more dangerous drivers in the city. Why do they dare to drive so carelessly? Once they have a car accident, they might kill innocent people and bare a serious burden for the rest of their lives. Why are they in such a hurry? Going slow and steady makes all the people happy. When you see the yellow traffic light, do you try to stop your car? Or you try to go through the intersection hastily? To go or not to go, that's a serious question.
　It's been humid today again. It seems difficult for the fall to take the place of the humid summer. Usually at my house, we don't use the air conditioner so often, because both my wife and our dog hate cool air. But tonight my wife proposed that we turn on the air conditioner. It's that hot and humid tonigh. I hope they won't get a cold. A cold you get in the summer is hard to cure, they say.

(Sunday, September 19, 2010)Yesterday we had Sports Day in my school. Most of the teachers and some students came to school much earlier than usual and prepared for the event. I went to school around ten minutes past seven and prepared broadcasting system for the day. It was tough for me to take care of the machines, but there wasn't almost any troubles yesterday, which really made me feel relieved. The students in charge of the broadcasting section worked really hard and the success was actually up to them. This year I don't have my own class, so I didn't have to be crazy about the results of each program. I was happy or not, I'm not sure.
　By the way it was such a hot day. I was surprised to see most of the kids performed in a very excellent way. I often hear that our school is very peaceful and especially on Sports Day I myself feel exactly the same way.

(Monday, September 20, 2010)Today was Respect-for-the-Aged Day, but I went to school for the practice of the softball team. After that I ate lunch I had already bought on my way to school and started checking the students' English notebooks. I'm in charge of 85 students and this afternoon I checked about 30 notebooks. Now that everything is done, I feel really relieved.
　I came home around half past three. Then with my wife I went to my family's grave to talk to my dead father. He must have been quite happy, because he liked my wife very much. My wife also liked him and took good care of him. I really think she's such a nice woman.

(Thursday, September 23, 2010)Today's the Autumn Equinox Day, which is one of the two times in a year when night and day are of equal length. And in Japan it's in the middle of the special week in fall when we pay respect to our dead people. Tonight we're going to have the full moon, but unfortunately it's been raining since this morning.
　It's very cold today too. Yesterday it was a mid-summer day and it was so hot that most of the people didn't feel like working at all. And the next day―I mean teday―it's such a cold day and we can't go out without wearing something over the short-sleeved shirt. Can you bear a big difference like this? We had so many mid-summer days this year that we'll have very beautiful colored leaves next month, the weather forecast tells us. We're not sure if it is true or not. But if it is true, the beautiful colored leaves will be welcomed.

(Friday, September 24, 2010)My wife, Ryoma, and I drove to the Shonan-daira Heights. Ryoma stayed in the car, and my wife and I went up to the observation deck. It was so cold up there that we couldn't stay outside for a long time. I'm afraid of height, but I tried to climb to the top deck with my wife. I was so scared that I couldn't stay there for more than 30 seconds. Anyway it was a good try of mine.
　From the observation deck we could see the Shinkansens both going up to Tokyo and coming down to Odawara. From the deck they seemed to move very slowly. We were very surprised that through the telescope we could see the tip of the Miura Peninsula, the Jogashima Island. We thought we'd like to visit the Shonan-daira Heights again on a beautiful fall day.

(Sunday, September 26, 2010)Yesterday I took Ryoma for a little drive. When I was about to go our for shopping at Jusco, Ryoma came to me and asked for a ride. He really likes to go for a drive. When I'm driving the car, he puts his head out of the window and seems to enjoy the wind blowing against his face. We guess the reason why he has come to love a ride is that he often went to the vet when he was a puppy. First he didn't like to be in my car, because it meant he had to see the vet. But soon he got used to it and now he's crazy about going for a drive. Is it possible for me to take him to Kyoto by my car? I'm not accustomed to going for a very long drive. If it's possible I'd like to walk with him along the Kamogawa River. My wife agrees with me. I hope the Shinkansen will allow us all to get on board together, though.
　Among the photo files of my computer, I found one which was taken by my wife and her mother between March 15 and 17, 2007. They went to Kyoto together then. It was a little too early for cherry blossoms but was just in time for plum flowers. There are many beautiful pictures, so I think I'd like to make a special page for their trip in my website.

(Monday, September 27, 2010)It's been such a cold day today. We had our Sports Day about 10 days ago. It was a mid-summer day and it was quite hard for everyone to stand in the burning sunshine. What's the great difference in such a short period of time? The weather forecast tells that the fall this year will be very short and that the winter will be surprisingly cold. Hey, give me a break! I hate cold days. When it's very cold, I don't feel like going outside to teach softball to the girls on my team. Especially on a very cold morning, it's really hard for me to get out of bed. Both my wife and Ryoma hate the cold weather, too. In that sense, we're in the same boat. So this winter we'll make the best use of our air conditioner.

(Friday, October 1, 2010)Why does it rain so much now that we're in October? The temperature is much lower than it was two weeks ago. I'd like the warm weather to come back here again before getting into the cold winter.
　Yesterday when I was just walk by a supermarket, a man next to me was stopped by a middle-aged woman. She was saying to him, "Anyway let's get back into the shop." again and again. The man finally listened to her and went into the shop together. I understood that it was an arresting scene. He must have shoplifted and the woman should have been a store detective. I felt I saw a TV scene. I wonder what will happen to the man. He looked in his thirties.

(Saturday, October 2, 2010)Each season has its own smell. Now it smells like the fall. We can also feel the cool breeze of the fall. It's getting harder to wear a short-sleeved shirt. This morning TV news showed the City of Kyoto from the sky. The leaves of trees are still green and it dosn't seem they're going to have colored leaves at the end of this month. Maybe it's because of the great heat of this summer.
　Our dog Ryoma doesn't like cold weathers. These days he sneaks under the futon to keep warm. Sometimes he sticks his nose out of futon, which makes him look so cute.

(Sunday, October 3, 2010)The Senkaku Islands problem has been causing the mutual relations between Japan and China get worse and worse. The Chinese government insists the islands belong to China, however the Japanese government insists they belong to Japan. Even if they sit at a talking table, there will never be any solutions, because they had a miserable past which especially China can never forget. It seems that the Japanese government is not willing to apologize for what Japanese military forces did to Chinese people during the war. If we were in the contrary positions, are we going to be friendly to them and talk about the Senkaku Islands? There's something we should do before we propose we talk about the islands.

(Monday, October 4, 2010)I'm sorry for a lot of stray cats and dogs. They have no homes and have to walk around in town to look for food. What if it rains hard (=cats and dogs)? The only thing they can do would just cry, cry, and cry. Even if they cry for help, no one would come to them. Would you like to be born like them?
　Once they might have had their owners to take care of them. But those owners gradually lost interest in them and decided to let them go away from home. From that day on, they had to spend the cold nights outside and keep walking with hunger.
　Some people might say, "They're just cats and dogs. You don't have to think too much of them. They can live without your help." Is that true? Don't you think that human life is equal to their life? If you go on abusing cats and dogs, someday you will ignore weak people around you.

(Tuesday, October 5, 2010)Are you interested in buying lottery tickets? Every week I buy a Mini-Loto ticket and a Loto 6 ticket. It's very hard to get the first prize in either of them. But I'll have to keep on buying them because I'd like to buy a house with the first-prize money. I'm a school teacher who can not earn a lot each month. How can I buy a house with just working steadily every day?
　I want a dog to live much longer. I feel it was just yesterday when Ryoma came to us. Actually more than six years have passed since he became a member of our family. Now he is six years and eight months old. Usually a Shiba-dog can live as long as 15 years or so. I want him to live more than 20 years. For us he is not just a dog. He is our son. He is my wife's parents' grandchild. May he live much much longer than a usual Shiba-dog!

(Wednesday, October 6, 2010)These days kids are hard to understand. We may also be hard for them to understand. Why so? Even if it seems that they sincerely listen to us, it doesn't mean they really understand what we are talking about. Do they understand how other people feel? When some kids bully a certain kid, it is quite difficult to let them understand it's something they shouldn't do. They keep on bullying the kid and the victim might commit suicide someday.
　If you are a school teacher and have more than 35 kids in your class, it'll be so hard to control them. They think and feel in different ways. You might think they're monster kids

(Saturday, October 9, 2010)Yesterday was the end-of-term day and there was an term-end ceremony. The principal told the students that they should not only pay attention to their grade but also to the words given by the homeroom teacher and other subject teachers. In Chigasaki City the fall holiday starts today and it will last until Wednesday, October 13. But in Yokohama City they don't have any special holidays. Can the school system be so different from each other in the same prefecture? I think the Prefectural Board of Education should discuss the problem and do something to make the difference smaller.
　We've been having cold rain since this morning. Are we getting into the cold winter so soon? Please let us enjoy the cool weather of fall a little longer.

(Sunday, October 10, 2010)Walking our dog Ryoma is such a lot of fun, and at the same time sometimes a tough job to do. Especially when it is raining hard, it's not an easy job to take him for a walk and let him do his business. Because when he is wearing a raincoat in the rain, he is hardly willing to do it. Sometimes we have to walk for more than an hour and a half hours.
　Usually my father-in-law takes Ryoma for a walk early in the morning. He comes to our house around 5:00 a.m. It's surprisingly early, isn't it? Even when it's raining cats and dogs, he is sure to come and take care of our dog. We really have to thank him for regarding Ryoma as his grandson.
　I usually leave school around 6:00 p.m., so it's hard for me to join my wife in taking Ryoma for an evening walk. That means I have almost nothing to do as for taking care of Ryoma. I'm really sorry.

(Monday, October 11, 2010)Late in the morning, my wife and I went shopping at two department stores with Ryoma. While we were away from the car, Ryoma stayed inside very calmly. Interestingly the roads were not so busy. We didn't know why. Maybe most of the people have gone driving in some remote places.
　At one of the stores, I saw a woman who was going to clean the bathroom. She was wearing a uniform which meant she was a cleaner. The uniform looked a little dirty, which told that she had been working hard. I don't think she earns a lot of money by doing the business. Why is that? She is doing a job that nobody would like to do. Naturally she has to get a lot of money. Japan is not a fair society, I guess.
　I'm a school teacher and I get a lot of money. But the woman's job or my wife's job is much tougher than mine, I suppose. I hope that a society would come when people can earn money according to the toughness of their jobs.

(Tuesday, October 12, 2010The prices of the cigarettes have been greatly raised, but I couldn't quit smoking. Is that what other smokers did? They couldn't quit smoking? They have to go on paying a lot of money for the expensive cigarettes? I myself have diabetes and smoking is not good for the disease. Sooner or later I'll have to quit smoking in order to keep myself in better health.

(Wednesday, October 13, 2010)34-year-old parents have been sentenced to 4 years in prison by the Nagoya District Court. They didn't give enough food to their oldest daughter, which caused her to be in the state of a vegitable. According to the radio news, she's still out of consciousness. How could a human being do such a cruelty to someone to be loved. Will the girl someday get awake and be able to live a normal life? Will she remember that she was abused by her own parents? What a pity! My wife and I don't have any kids, so we take good care of our dog as our son. Those who are lucky to have their own kids should know better. Kids are beings given by God. We should never look down on them.

(Thursday, October 14, 2010)Tonight my wife and I went to the revolving sushi bar next to our house. At the back of me were a family with two little girls. One of the girls took tuna from their own plate and put it back to the plate immediately. It was something that we should not do at such a sushi bar. Once you touch the sushi on a plate, you have to eat it. Although the girl broke the rule, their parents didn't say anything about what she had done. How can you educate your kids without saying anything when your kids have done something wrong? Children will get older in this way to become young people who don't know how to behave correctly. You don't have to have children if you can't put into practice what you should do as a parent. Having a baby is such an easy job to do, but being a good parent is quite another.

(Friday, October 15, 2010)The average income of young women aged under 30 is estimated to be around 210,000 yen per month. The news says that the sum has become more than that of men's. I suppose more and more women are going to lead a single life from now on.
　I'm a school teacher, but my income in not so much as usual people expect. That's because I was away from the public job for about 5 years. I don't understand why my income is lower than my last income I got as a school teacher about 7 years ago. How I wish I could have succeeded as a book writer!
　Earning money is such a hard job to do. We live in a world where getting a job is really hard. If you have a job and get a stable income, you have to think that you're one of the most lucky ones.

(Saturday, October 16, 2010)October 18 is my wife's 44th birthday. Today was a good day called "taian," so my parents-in-law, my wife, and I went to have a birthday lunch at the Nandoki Bokujo in Hagizono by my car. It was a buffet lunch and it tasted so nice that everyone like it very much. Of course my wife loved it to her heart's content.
　Tonight I'm going to take my wife to our favorite jewelry shop to buy a platinum ring for her birthday present. She always works very hard and so the expensive ring deserves her. She's now looking forward to visiting the shop at night. I'll be also glad to see her happy smiles, of course.

(Sunday, October 17, 2010)When I was away from school working in language schools, I was paid per hour. So when the lesson was suddenly canceled, I couldn't get any money for the lesson. I often wondered why, because the school got monthly tuition fees from the students. I should have been paid for the lesson even if it was suddenly canceled. However part-time teachers can't complain about the situation, because the owner of the school would just say, "If you don't like it, you can leave at any time. We have many other teachers who would like to work here."
　Now I'm back in a public school and paid monthly. It's a very stable job and I don't have to worry about sudden cancellations. I have to think how lucky I am to be able to work as a school teacher. There are so many part-time workers in Today's Japan. I'm sorry for them when I think that they're having a hard time earning money. I hope they'll soon be respected as important workers also.

(Wednesday, October 20, 2010)It's been so cold today. I was absent from school, because I haven't been in good shape these few days. It must be because of my diabetes. Around 10 o'clock in the morning I start to feel dizzy. It may be caused by the pills I take every morning, which help the blood sugar level go down. Anyway I'll have to see the doctor tomorrow afternoon.
　An elementary school teacher had a car accident just in front of his school, in which five children were injured. One of the children had broken her thighbone. The teacher was not driving fast, but he didn't pay much attention to the children ahead. When a schoolteacher makes this kind of accident, the rules for us teachers to use cars will be tighter and tighter. We teachers all have to be very careful especially when we are driving around our schools.

(Friday, October 22, 2010)Today was Culture Festival of our school. We all went to the Prefectural Music Hall in the morning and had a good time until around 3:00 in the afternoon. First the school band showed us their brilliant performances and after eating lunch each class sang their own songs. We don't give prizes to certain classes chosen by judges, which makes it fun to enjoy singing together. Giving prizes is not a bad way of stimulating students, but very often it puts too much stress on each class and the homeroom teachers. So I think our school should keep its own way.
　It's getting cooler and cooler. We really feel the fall has come. The weather forecast said that we were not going to have the fall this year, but it was wrong. However I also hear that the coldness of the winter will soon come and visit us.

(Saturday, October 23, 2010)It's so warm today, completely different from yesterday. Many people may go on a trip by car. My wife's mother is now traveling in Nikko. She must be enjoying the beautiful colored leaves there. There are four seasons in Japan and the differeces are quite vivid, which makes us so interested in each season.
　I myself don't like cold season, but when I was young I used to enjoy skiing. I have been to Hokkaido a few times and enjoyed the delicious food there too. I mean the winter is not always the worst season for me.
　I went to see my diabetes doctor this moring. I went to the clinic very early, so I was the first patient. My blood sugar level was still high. The doctor told me that he was trying to add another pill in order to put the level down. I hope it will work.

(Sunday, October 24, 2010)The weather forecast said that it was going to be a beautiful fall day today, but actually it's a cold cloudy day today. A Japanese saying goes that the weather in fall varies so often as a woman's mind. I don't know well about a woman's mind, but it's really true as to the weather in fall. My mother-in-law came back from Nikko late last night. I was sure that she had enjoyed beautiful colored leaves there, but she said that it had been a little too early for the leaves' most beautiful season.
　My wife and I are planning to visit Kyoto again in the middle of December. According to some web pages the most beautiful season of colored leaves in Kyoto will last until December. This year everywhere in Japan the peak of the beautiful colored leaves comes later than usual. I hope we'll be able to enjoy most beautiful red leaves in Kyoto in the coldness of Kyoto. This time it's going to be a one-night-two-day trip.

(Monday, October 25, 2010)Women are so great, aren't they? For example, my wife Kayoko is such a hard-working woman. Every morning she gets up early to wait for her father to come and take Ryoma for a morning walk. Then she prepare for my breakfast and again wait for her father and Ryoma to come back. Then she does the laundry and hungs it out to dry. After I leave home, she cleans the house and goes out to her own working place.
　I know she's not the only one who spends busy days. That's why I think women are so great. We men have to think of something to console them. In my case, taking my wife for a trip is one of the ways. Yes, of course, I sometimes help her with the dishes. She says just a little help can make her very happy.

(Tuesday, October 26, 2010There are two kinds of beings in this world. One is protected carefully, and the other is not. There are people and animals that can live in warm houses and eat warm meals. On the other hand, there are people and animals that have to sleep outside and eat something left by others. I don't think it's fair, but there's nothing I can do about that.
　Some people say that they can become happy because they make a lot of efforts. Poor people have failed to do what they have to do. Is it true? Isn't it that happy people are just lucky to be so? This is a very difficult problem.

(Wednesday, October 27, 2010)Almost every day, news about a crazy school teacher is heard on TV. Yesterday there was news about an elementary school teacher who made a special sexual harassment die. He said that he was not going to shock his children, but actually many of them didn't like his strange die. When there are some crazy school teachers, all the teachers in Japan are regarded as someone very dangerous. I hope there will be no more strange teachers appearing in the TV news.
　My wife and I were going out for dinner tonight. I said, "We're going out for dinner, but you have to stay home, Ryoma." He looked very much surprised and didn't stay away from me. He knew that if he try hard to stay with me, I will give him a ride. He won this time again. I had to hold him down the stairs into my car. He looked so happy. Before going to the food court, we went to say hello to my dead father. Today's his birthday. It was my wife's idea. My father should have been very glad to have our surprise visit.

(Friday, October 29, 2010)I was absent from school today. I guess I have a cold. This morning when I woke up, I felt quite tired and didn't feel like moving. I don't think it had something to do with my diabetes, but it might have had something to do with my bipolar disorder. Anyway I'm going to go to see the doctor tomorrow morning.
　It's been pretty cold these few days. There a phrase "mid-summer day." Then there should also be a phrase "mid-winter day." Today's been a mid-winter day. The weather forecast says that there will be warmer days in November. Is it true? If it continues to be very cold, we won't be able to adjust our bodies to the changeable weather.

(Saturday, October 30, 2010)My wife and I both know that our dog Ryoma really understand what we are talking about. Especially when we're about to go out, he listens to us very carefully and knows if we're going out or not. When he knows that we're going out, he jumps at me saying, "Don't leave me alone. Take me for a drive too." If I say, "You have to stay home. We'll soon be back," he looks very sad and stops jumping at me. It is often said that a Shiba dog is as smart as a three-year-old human child. I think they're smarter. And emotionally they're much greater than human beings. They're very gentle and thoughtful.

(Sunday, October 31, 2010)When my wife and I were walking our dog Ryoma, I made a mistake and he ran away from us. Especially my wife paincked and cried out for help. I myself didn't know what to do. He sometimes came close to us, but soon ran away. Just then a man who was riding a bike came by and soon understood our situation to help us. Eventually the man went after Ryoma and he went into the nearby schoolground. My wife got there and closed the gate from inside. There was a woman teacher there and told the man and my wife that she wanted them to leave soon. What a mean bitch! I really hate that type of a woman teacher. If I had been there, I would have yelled at her.
　Anyway we were so lucky to have Ryoma safely back again. We really thank the man for helping us.

(Monday, November 1, 2010)It's already November now. It was incredibly cold during the last few days of December, but today it's been pretty warm. As the weather forecast says, we may have relatively warm days during November, I hope. However, it also says that we're going to have a pretty cold December after that. Nobody can be sure about the weather. Let's stop talking about it.
　Both my wife and I had a headache today. Maybe it's because of the "Ryoma Incident" which happened yesterday evening. The fact that he ran away and was in danger of being hit by a car was so shocking that we couldn't forget the incident. My wife still has a headache and has already gone to bed with Ryoma. She says that when she can't feel Ryoma near her, she has to wake up all of a sudden. "Where's Ryoma?" she cries to herself. I understand how she feels. Please, Ryoma, don't go away any more.

(Tuesday, November 2, 2010)It's very difficult to think of what other people think. When you're selfish and thoughtless, you say something that hurts other people. And you don't know what you have done to others. I know a man who often says something very cruel to other people. His words sound quite thoughtless, but he himself doesn't understand that. He's in his fifties, so nobody tries to argue with him. Is it that he thinks he's the most intelligent guy in our working place? I don't intend to argue with him too, but I'm not going to do what he tells me to.

(Thursday, November 4, 2010)I went to visit an elementary school with an ALT today. We taught two 5th-grade classes. I was surprised to know they were so energetic and curious. When we introduced a song of the Beatles', they got so excited that some of them started to dance to the music. They were so active that the homeroom teacher tooked quite busy letting them stay where they were. Elementary school teachers should be paid a lot more than we junior high school teachers are. Yes, of course, we do have a lot of work to do too.
　I myself don't want to work at an elementary school. I don't know how to handle little kids. They are angels, and at the same time they are monsters. But as far as today's lessons are concerned, we had a really enjoyable time.

(Sunday, November 7, 2010)My wife and I have bought digital cameras online. If you go to an electronic shop and try to buy the same cameras, they will cost you twice as much as we paid for them. They are so good and we're very much satisfied with them. We're going to visit Kyoto next month. I'm sure they will help us fully enjoy the trip. But before that we have to read the handbook of each camera.

(Tuesday, November 9, 2010)Speaking English is such a difficult job to do. If you live in an English-speaking country, it should be a piece of cake. But when you live in your own country and try to be a good English speaker, you'll find it quite difficult. I often try to watch English movies in order to get used to spoken English, but it doesn't always help me speak good English. I'll keep on trying that way, though.

(Wednesday, November 17, 2010)It's been freezing cold today. Winter is just around here now. When my wife and I go to Kyoto next month, how cold will it be? Too cold to walk around the city? Too walk to go out without wearing a thick overcoat? Or incredibly warm for the season? No one can tell what the weather will be like in the future. Anyway I hope the city will still be covered with colored leaves. According to the website, the limit of the colored leaves in Kyoto will be in the middle of December.
　Just two months ago, we had mid-summer days. Now we're suddenly in mid-winter days. People are busy preparing winter clothes to keep warm. I hear thick overcoat are now very popular among women. They're called P-coats. Shop keepers must be so happy to have a lot of women coming in to buy the coats.

(Thursday, November 18, 2010)This afternoon I went to see my doctor and was vaccinated against the seasonal flu, because the flu is now spreading all over Japan. We shouldn't underestimate the power of the flu. Actually some people are reported to have been dead because of the disease.
　The vaccination cost me ￥3,000. I wish the Democratic Party of Japan would made it free of charge instead of giving certain sum of money to those who have children.

(Saturday, November 27, 2010)I've been so lazy about writing in this English diary for more than a week. I really think it's difficult to keep on doing something.
　Soon we'll get into December. As the weather forecast told us, it's still a little bit warmer than usual now. It also told that it's getting aufully cold in December. If it's true, the leaves will be more and more colored at the beginning of next month. I hope the leaves will stay vivid red when we visit Kyoto toward the middle of December. And also I hope that we'll be in good shape around that time.

(Wednesday, December 1, 2010)Tonight when my wife and I were about to finish Ryoma's evening walk, we met a delivery man who stopped the engine of his motorbike and started to walk along the pedestrian walkway. Most motorbike riders go up and down the walkway without stopping the engine. We were very glad to see his polite attitude. When we looked at his motorbike very carefully, we noticed it was a sign of "Pizzala." My wife said, "Why don't we order pizza from Pizzala?" It was a very nice idea, I thought.

(Saturday, December 4, 2010This evening when I came home from an evening walk with Ryoma, I saw a car coming out of the parking lot to our apartment building. I thought we should stay away from the car and so we did. But when I looked at the driver, I got really pissed off. He was talking on the cell phone and grabbing the steering wheel with just one hand. I yelled at the back of the car, but it disappeared from my sight quickly. Of course it's against the law to drive while talking on the cell phone. But so many people are against the rule and never pay attention to the danger of the deed.

(Sunday, December 5, 2010)Ryoma is a Shiba dog. It's regarded as a middle-sized dog, which will live about 13 to 20 years. A bigger dog will live a shorter life. He's now 6 years and 10 months old. When he came to us, he was just three-month-old baby. It's been more than 6 years since then. Time really flies.
　For my wife and me, he is just like a human son. He understands us very well and he can also express his feelings. He's very gentle and mischievous at the same time. Now it's winter and very cold at night. When he is cold and lonely, he sneaks into my wife's futon. It makes my wife's space smaller, but she is happy with her "son" closer with her. Please God give Ryoma as long a life as possible.

(Monday, December 6, 2010)Recently we don't hear cheerful greetings very often: "Good morning," "Hello," "Thank you," "See you later," and so on. We used to exchange greetings with somebody we didn't know, but today it seems that people think it's waste of time or energy to greet other people. Greeting is such an easy job to do, but many people don't like to do the job.
　In Japan, greeting is regarded as the beginning to everything. If you don't say hello to each other, no further relations will develop. Let's make the whole world brighter by doing the easy job.

(Wednesday, December 8, 2010)When Japan was in a good economic condition, most workers could get a bonus twice a year. But these days the sum of bonus payment is getting less and less. Many people even have no bonus. I'm a public worker and can expect a good year-end bonus on December 10. I think we teachers should think we're lucky people.
　Most people work very hard from day to day. I think all the people who work hard should be equally treated. But the real world is not fair. My wife works as a part-time worker and she can't get any bonus at all. She's a hard-working woman, so she deserves a good sum of money. However the money she gets per hour is less than a thousand yen. Something is wrong with the economic system of our country. Instead I'm going to give her a lot of money on my bonus day.

(Thursday, December 9, 2010)Something is wrong with the kids these days. They have been losing respect for other people. They have lost respect for older people. Why is that? Because they themselves are not respected by their family members? A famous child-raising book goes that children raised in a circumstance without respect will grow to be people who would never respect others.
　There was once an incident in which a homeless man was killed by a group of kids. They didn't feel that the man's life was as important as their own lives. What a world we live in!

(Friday, December 10, 2010)It seems that Ryoma knows my wife and I are leaving for Kyoto tomorrow morning. Usually he wakes up to play with us, but tonight he's sleeping in a lonely manner. He's very sensitive and always knows what we're going to do. This time also he knows he can't come with us, which means he has to stay home with my wife's parents. Maybe my mother-in-law comes to our house to sleep with him. She loves Ryoma as much as we do.
　By the way, we're lucky enough to be able to enjoy beautifully colored leaves in Kyoto. Most of the places have lost their leaves, but some places still keep the leaves. The greatest spot will be the Shimogamo shirine. It's the shrine my wife and I visited before we got married.

(Monday, December 13, 2010)While we were in Kyoto, my wife's parents were looking after Ryoma. On the morning of our departure, my father-in-law left Ryoma at his apartment house because Ryoma would be sad to say goodbye to us. We thanked him for doing that for us.
　On the first night my mother-in-law came to our house to stay with Ryoma. She later told us that Ryoma understood we were not at home and that it seemed he didn't know what to do. She loves Ryoma so much that she enjoyed staying with Ryoma. The next night when we were coming back from Kyoto, Ryoma was so sad that he didn't want her to leave home. She stayed with him by half past eleven. We really have to thank her, because she herself is not in good health.
　Ryoma is such a happy dog. He is loved by so many people around him.

(Tuesday, December 14, 2010)Recently I seldom walk Ryoma. Instead of me, my wife goes for an evening walk with Ryoma, because I can't come home early. I'm sorry for my wife, because she's also tired after coming home from work. However she never complains about what she has to do. I think I really have to thank her for what she does for me.
　She wakes up very early every morning. That's because my father-in-law comes to our apartment house around 6 o'clock every morning in order to take Ryoma for a morning walk. After that she prepares breakfast for me. During that time I keep sleeping. She wants me to sleep as longer as possible. After I leave home for school, she starts doing the laundry and cleaning the house. When everything is done, she herself leaves home for work. She's such a busy woman, but, as I said, she never complains about that.

(Thursday, December 16, 2010)It's very important today to stabilize the dangerous situation of the Korean Peninsula. North Korea says that there might be a nuclear war when the situation goes worse. To threaten them or not to threaten them; that is a problem. There is a famous Japanese saying that goes that a mouse in a critical situation will even attack a cat. If we exert pressure on them, we don't know what they will do to take it away because they have nothing more to lose.
　When the Korean War came to an end, North Korea was supposed to be supported by the Soviet Union and China. However, both or them gradually became interested in their own internal affairs and North Korea had to seek its own way to become a rich country. South Korea, which was backed by the United States succeeded in becoming a economical superpower. Can we really blame North Korea to be a dangerous country threatening other peaceful nations?

(Sunday, December 19, 2010)It's not so easy to renew a webpage. Now I have to make a new page on our trip to Kyoto from December 11 to 12. There are two things to do. First I have to write a story about the trip, then I have to choose good photos for the story. It'll take me more than four hours to complete those two tasks. Maybe I'll work on it during the winter holidays.
　Now it's past the middle of December and the weather is like an early spring. According to the weather forecast, the temperature tomorrow will go up to 17 degrees Celcius. Is the winter a cold winter or a warm one? It's sometimes freezing cold and the the next day it's a warm beautiful day. So this winter can be called a changeable winter.

(Monday, December 20, 2010)This evening I went to see my doctor at his clinic. In the waiting room there were so many people and among them was a young mother and her sons. The older boy went around the room with some leaflets, but the mother was not interested in him and kept on looking at her cell phone. This is the scene I often see these days. In this case she has to tell the boy not to walk around in the waiting room and teach him how to behave in the clinic. Discipline is very important when the kids are very small. If you forget to teach kids how to behave, you'll have a very big problem when they grow up. That's what is happeninig here and there in Japan today.

(Tuesday, December 21, 2010)It started raining toward this evening. It's a very cold rain. I hope it will stop raining by tomorrow morning when my father-in-law comes to take Ryoma for a morning walk.
　Tomorrow night I'm going to go to the year-end party of our school. To tell the truth, I don't want to go, but I can't always be away from the occasion like that. There is one problem. I'm going to go to work by car tomorrow morning, Should I drink or not? If I drink, I can't come home by car, which means I'll have to park my car at school for one night. When should I go to school to take my car back? The best idea is not to drink at the party and go back to school after the party ends. For me who have diabetes, drinking too much alcohol. In that sense also, it will be better not to drink.

(Friday, December 24, 2010)Tonight's Christmas Eve. In western countries, Christmas is the time for all the families to get together. They enjoy dinner together and have a good time. However in Japan, it's time for people to go out and enjoy themselves outside. Couples have a wonderful time in a restaurant. I'm going to have fried chicken with my wife and my wife's parents.
　I was absent from school today and the day before yesterday. I don't know if it comes from my diabetes or bipolar disorder. My blood sugar level is still too high, which is very dangerous, and my doctor told me that I should be in the hospital for a week or so to get a special treatment. I'll have to get a insulin shot every day while I'm in the hostpital in order to let my blood sugar level go down rapidly.

(Saturday, December 25, 2010)First thing this morning I went to the hospital to talk to my doctor. I told him what kind of problems I had had these few days. He doubted my medication was good enough and eliminated one of the three kinds of pills that I'd been taking. I hope it will work.
　Today's Christmas Day. I'm not interested in celebrating the day here in Japan, but it's good for all the family members to go out for lunch or dinner together.However how about the illumination made around houses? My wife likes it, but I think it's too much. This is not a Christian country.
　Giving presents to someone important or you love is not so bad. I'm paradoxical, aren't I? I already gave my wife diamond and platinum earrings. Well, Christmas is a very complicated day here in Japan, isn't it?

(Sunday, December 26, 2010)Last night we were going to eat dinner at Kentucky Fried Chicken. But it was so crowded that the shop itself was not open to diners. Only those who had already ordered chicken for Christmas could get a hot bag of food. Those who hadn't made an order had to buy a cold bag of food and take it back home to warm it. I knew I had to order chicken beforehand, but I failed to do it. It was a big mistake of mine. Instead we went to a family restaurant by the side of the beach.
　It's a sunny but cold day today. The wind coming from the direction of Mt. Fuji is so cold that you need an overcoat when you go out. It's very warm inside the house, though.

(Monday, December 27, 2010)Girls are very hard to deal with. Why do they try to make groups and fight each other? When they stop being friendly to one another, bullying will start. A strong one starts to make a group and make other people afraid of joining the other weak group. That's so ridiculous, isn't it?
　Usually the strongest boss of the group stays at the back and her members try to protect the group. Before the more strong power, they pretend to be peaceful, but actually they're not.
　I'm in charge of the girls' softball team. The same situation really exists there. It seems to me that there's nothing to worry about, but actually there's a very big problem. What should I do?

(Tuesday, December 28, 2010)I went to the graveyard of my father this afternoon. My wife asked me to clean the gravestone and the area around. I wished my father and all my ancestors a happy new year. Later I went to the graveyard again with my wife and Ryoma. My father must have been very glad to see us all at the end of the year.
　Last night and tonight also, I watched a very impressive drama called "Jin." It was a very strange drama which dealt with time travel to the past. It was one of the most impressive dramas that I had ever seen.

(Wednesday, Decomber 29, 2010)It's a very warm day today, too. It's not like a winter day. We believe that we're going to have really cold winter days at the end of January or in February. Will it snow this winter? When the extremely hot summer was over, the weather forecast told that this winter was going to be really cold. Then how about these warm days? Anything wrong with the weather system again?
　I finished working yesterday. School teachers have three days off at the end of the year and another three days off at the beginning of the New Year. But my wife still works today. Tomorrow will be the last day of her job. I don't think it's fair at all. I think every worker has the same number of holidays.

(Thursday, December 30, 2010)This morning I drove my wife to her workplace with Ryoma. After that we went to a computer shop in Tsujido, which is next to our city. I was surprised to see a line of people waiting for the shop to open. It was 10 o'clock on the morning of December 30. It seemed that most of the people wanted to buy bargain goods. I wanted to look for Homepage Builder 14, but there were only Homepage Builder 15, which is too heavy for my two laptops. Instead I bought a 4GB stick-type memory in order to protect the homepage data. That's what I can do now. You can't say that machines are 100% reliable. They may be out of order all of a sudden. If you want to protect important information, you have to make a copy in a different device. If you don't, you might someday be shocked to lose all your data.

(Friday, December 31, 2010)Last night the 2010 Record Award was given to Exile. I was afraid the award was going to be given to AKB 48, who are now so popular among young people all over Japan. I would have nothing to say if the award is given to someone who is so good at singing. For example, Kobukuro deserved the award because they were great singers and they influenced people so much.
　The Best New Singer's Award was given to a group of four Japanese girls. I didn't understand why they got the prize, because they were poor singers. They were just kids who didn't deserve the award. I thought the Korean girls should get the prize. They couldn't get the prize because they were Koreans?
　I hope more and more good singers will appear next year. I'm tired of a group of just pretty young girls with short skirts. I'd like to hear really good songs.
　Anyway this is the last day of this year. Let me wish you a happy New Year!