(Sunday, September 4, 2005)
　The number of victims of Hurricane Katrina is estimated to be more than 10,000 now. Many Americans has started to blame President Bush of not having done effective actions to rescue the sufferers especially in Lousiana State. It is said that the U.S. president has spent too much money on war in Iraq. That's why the government doesn't have enough money left to put the rescue action into practice soon after the disaster. Was it just propaganda that Mr.Bush appeared on TV claiming that Louisiana State was in an emergency situation. He promised to do everything possible to help the sufferers. Were they just a statesman's sweet words?
　The two bodies found in Afganistan have been proved to be the missing couple. On TV both the students and the teachers of their school are reported to be sorry for their deaths. Is that true? They should have known that they were getting into a very dangerous area and their possible deaths might affect the relations between Afganistan and Japan.

(Monday, September 5, 2005)
　What the hell is going on in the world? This year we've seen too many natural disasters all around the world. After Hurricane Katrina comes Typhoon Nabi(200514), which is coming north to make landfall somewhere between the Kyushu and Shikoku regions. It might go straight up to the Tohoku District to go back to the Pacific Ocean again. The Meteorological Agency predicts that it will bring us lots of rain and strong winds. People living in Shikoku regions might be the only ones who welcome a big typhoon, because they have been suffering from lack of water for a long time.
　When I look at the index page of this website of mine, I realize that it's gradually becoming like a zoo, which has too many departments to keep quiet atomosphere. Maybe someday I'll have to rebuild the index page for the visitors to enjoy their "site"seeing tour.

(Tuesday, September 6, 2005)
　This is the third major typhoon coming to Japan. The typhoon called "Nabi" has been making lots and lots of rainfall especially in Kyushu District. Is is just a coincidence that a big typhoon attacked Japan just after a great hurricane attacked the Louisiana State? So far about 25 people are reported to have been killed or unfound. When we see some victims on TV who just stand on the place where their houses were build not knowing what to do, we feel very sorry for them. We can't do anything about natural disasters. Is it true that the global warming affects the generating system of big storms on the earth? I hope Mr.Koizumi will pay a visit to those suffering areas even if he's so busy preparing for the 9.11 general election, which might help him get more voters for the LDP.

(Wednesday, September 7, 2005)
　In some area of the Kyushu District, they had about 1,500 mm of rainfall, which is equivalent to the yearly amout of rainfall in Tokyo. Most streets changed into rivers running so fast and many houses looked as if they had been built in muddy ponds. So much rainwater attacked their places much faster than they expected it would. That's why they didn't have any time to take important belongings out of their houses. Now the water is gone, but their houses are no longer in good condition for them to live in. They might have to rebuild new houses. How do they make money to do so? Can the government do someting effective to help the victims restart their daily lives?

(Thursday, September 8, 2005)
　Recently I often drop in at the kiosk at Fujisawa Station to get an English newspaper "The Japan Times." It really helps me a lot enlarge my English vocabulary. It's important for you not to just read it, but to read it aloud as if you were making a speech. I always respect those writers who finish an interesting article in English every day. I once asked my Canadian friend if the Enlgish written in the Japan Times was good enough, then he said it was quite OK.
　By the way, I once declared I had quit playing pachinko, but to tell the truth, I still sometimes pay a short visit to a pachinko hall. When I make a great hit, I feel the adrenalin start flowing through my body. I like the gay atomosphere of the pachinko hall. I hate the smell of cigarettes, though. But you have to be careful not to go there too many times, because if you go there every day you can surely be nothing but a loser. There will be no money left in your wallet. More than 90 percent of the pachinko players are losers. Only a few people can be lucky winners. But most people only remember the moment when they made a lot of money, which makes them keep going to the pachinko hall. It's like a large bank with lots of money we can't take out.

(Friday, September 9, 2005)
　I teach Japanese to an exchange student from Australia. Her name is Jeniffer. She's a high school student. She's been learning Japanese for only 8 months, but she can understand Japanese so well. Every time I talk with her, I feel Japanese high school students are much more childish than those in other countries. Most of young Japanese spend their days on almost nothing beneficial, but for something very cheap. Why does this happen in Japan? Is that because we can live in peace without any efforts?
　I wonder what will happen when they come to play the leading roles in the future. Can they love their own country? Will they be able to keep their country in peace? Will they have any good ideas to help both older people and the younger generations? I believe it's important for them to learn what it's like to be responsible for something very important.

(Saturday, September 10, 2005)
　Today is the last day when all the candidates can demonstrate their own ideas. Have they done their best in doing that? No, I don't think so. Because we still don't understand the clear difference between the ideas given by each party. Postal privatization is the only issue to be solved immediately? No way! There're many other important issues to be solved here in Japan.
　I feel in a sense Mr.Koizumi is similar to Asahara Shoko, former leader of the religious cult group, in that he's been trying to brainwash as many Japanese people as possible. In the TV commercial he lookes determined, but actually he's only interested in getting more votes than before. He's not interested in the welfare of us Japanese people. It is obvious when we remember the fact that he received about 6-million-yen bonus last year. The sum of money is equivalent to that of the average yearly income of businessmen. If he had rejected to receive the bonus, I could have believed in him. But actually he received it without any hesitation. That's him! He'll never do anything to save us from our poor daily lives.

(Sunday, September 11, 2005)
　Finally the day has come. My wife and I have just been to a nearby junior high school gym to vote for the general election. I'm very much looking forward to watching the special live program that is supposed to be on air this evening. Who will win the election? Which party will win the hearts of most supporters? Gee, I almost can't wait for the results!
　What's this? The LDP won the election by getting as many as 296 seats, which is good enough to becoming the ruling party by itself. Mr.Koizumi was excellent in making speeches in a very clearly understandable way. He asked us if we were for or against the postal privatization, if we really wanted political reforms. It was really a simple question which most people would answer yes to. Now I know that he was much wiser than he seemed to be.

(Monday, September 12, 2005)
　The general election is over just like a summer festival. But this is only the beginning of the new political situation that they have to go through from now on. There're lots of problems to be solved in today's Japan. Let's see how they could handle those difficult issues.
　As you know I've been publishing a mail magazine for about half a year. The biggest job I have to do at present is put some advertisements on the magazine. Those who asked me to put their advertisement on my magazine are automatically registered as regular readers. But these days many of those people cancel the registration even before the magazine on which their advertisements are put is made public. How dare they can do such a rude thing? Most of them are eager to make great success in the Iinternet business, but I don't think they'll be able to make it. Those who don't understand what other people feel about their deeds cannot be successful business people. Business in a sense is making good relationship with customers. If they don't know what their customers want, how can they succeed in running the business itself? They should know better.

(Tuesday, September 13, 2005)
　Tomorrow will be the first day of my teaching at the Odawara Nursery School. I'm looking forward to seeing the nurses-to-be studying there. I hear many of them are no good at studying English. If that is the case, I'm more willing to teach English there. I have to prepare for tomorrow's class now, so loet me finish writing here tonight.

(Wednesday, September 14, 2005)
　I was very much impressed by the cute students at the Odawara Nursery School. I should not use the word "cute," because they're form 19 years old to around 22. But for me, they looked as if they had been my junior high school students. I hear most of them are unwilling to learn English, but I think it's up to how I teach them. The school itself was located at the foot of Ashigara mountains. Ashigara is one of my favorite places. My wife also loves that area. There is a very wonderful temple called "Saijoji" in the middle of the mountins, which gives a similar atomosphere to that of Ohara in Kyoto. My wife wants me to drive her to the school someday. Of course it's not the school but the full-of-nature area that she's interested in.

(Thursday, September 15, 2005)
　One-seat District winner Seiko Noda said in a press conference that she would change her mind and that she would agree with Mr.Koizumi's postal praivatizaton bills. I wonder why she had to polish Mr.Koizumi's boots after winning the election. If she's so worried about her career as a politician, she should not have voted against the bills. But actually she did. Why does she have to change her determined mind? Mr.Takebe told the press that the LDP would never forgive those who were rude enough to rebel. Of course Seiko Noda is no exception.

(Friday, September 16, 2005)
　This evening I had a lesson with Jennifer who's an exchange student from Melbourne, Australia. She came to Japan in January this year, and she'll stay here until next January. I've been teaching Japanese to her for about 5 months, so I'm sure I'll miss her if she goes back to her home country next year,
　She gives me lots of up-to-date information about modern English. They don't use the word "kind" any more. Instead they use the word "nice" when they talk about a person who's always thinking about others. They always use the word "good-looking" instead of "handsome." In Australia math is spelled "maths." In America they have rather long break after a p.e. class, but in Australia they have only 5-minutes break even after a p.e. class. Those tips of information cannot be learned from books.
　Every time I come across a new piece of information from Jenny, I feel that the English language is actually alive. I wish I could live in an English-speaking country for a few years.

(Saturday, September 17, 2005)
　The STEP, or the Society for Testing English Proficiency, was founded in April, 1963. It was a year before the Olympic Games were held in Tokyo. You can easily understand that the improvement of Japanese people's English capacity was needed when we were about to hold an international athletic meet the next year.
　The test has been supported by the Ministry of Education and Science since then. But now it's in danger of losing its officil title given by the MES in the sense that the government should not support a particular private association. I don't understand why they have to change their policy. If they do, they should support all the English language tests widely known here in Japan.
　The recent trend of cutting the relationship between the government and private organizations is supported by many people, but I don't necessarily agree to the idea. If the relationship helps promote something beneficial, they should not cut it easily.

(Sunday, September 18, 2005)
　These days less and less people are willing to make new relationship with other people. When I'm walking my pet dog Ryoma, I often pass by similar owners of dogs. Everytime I have such occasions, I make it a rule to say hello in a natural manner. But surprisingly there are some who never answer me. It seems that they don't want to make friends with other people living in the same area of the city.
　I understand that it is sometimes dangerous to talk to strangers today. Actually not a few accidents in which friendly people are killed by strangers do happen. But are those people who are kind enough to walk their dogs too dangerous to talk to? Have we lost all the instincts that wild animals used to have long time ago? Is it impossible for us to sniff out someone dangerous instinctively?
　Interestingly enough, dogs that are walked by such unfriendly owners have also unfriendly personality themselves. I'm really sorry for them, not the owners of course, but the their dogs. What do you think, everyone?

(Monday, September 19, 2005)
　Tonight I'm going to go out for a drinking party with some mothers of my previous class at Hagisono Junior High School. They've been very nice to me and helped and encouraged me a lot. I'll have to take about 10 copies of my second and third books. One of them works at a hair salon that her husband owns. I'd like to ask her to put some leaflets of my newly published books at their salon, so that many people would be able to know about my books.
　I haven't drunk alcohol for such a long time. It's not good with the pills I've been taking abainst depression. But I'm looking forward to singing along karaoke music.

(Tuesday, September 20, 2005)
　These days I'm too busy working on computer work. I publish e-mail magazines almost every day. I also make it a rule to renew my website every day. It takes me about three to four hours to finish all the computer work I have to do. When can I study English myself? I must try my best to prepare for the coming TOEIC test. This time I'll have to get more than 940 points. That's probably not an easy job to do. Let's hustle!
　Now I think I must stop writing in my diary and go to bed soon, because I'm having an English lesson at Odawara Nursery School tomorrow morning.

(Wednesday, September 21, 2005)
　I asked one of the staff at Odawara Nursery School why the students were so well-behaved. She told me that the school thought of it as the most important to let them learn how to behave like a good citizen. I agreed with her. The average age of the students I teach English to is around 20 years old. They're much better than usual 20-year-old people spending a dull life in the city.
　Ashigara is a small station on the Odakyu Line. In a sense it gives us a lonley atomosphere. But the area is blessed with lots of nature. It's also the area which many scientists point out to be one of the most dangerous place for a great earthquake to happen. I hope it won't occur while I'm working there.

(Thursday, September 22, 2005)
　I went to the ECC Shinjuku to take a four-hour training session. These days it smells like piss around Shinjuku Station. The air there is obviously kind of polluted. I like the small shops around the station, but I don't feel like staying there for a long time.
　On my way back home, there was a train accident between Ofuna Station and Fujisawa Station on the JR Tokaido Line. According to the announcement someone was hurt in the accident. My train stopped at Totsuka Station for a while, when a stupid quarrel between a drunk middle-aged man and a woman. The man was keep yelling at other people around him. JR staff couldn't do anything to stop that. Finally two police officers were called to settle the quarrel. They were so crazy! All of them.
　The Tokaido Line was resumed after one and a half hours' halt. It was some minutes after twelve midnight when I reached home. It was a real crazy night.

(Friday, September 23, 2005)
　Again a baby died in a closed car because of the heat. The baby's parents were crazy about playing mahjong and went to see the little life's safety only once in nine hours. How dare they played around without thinking anything of their baby. The baby did not actuaoly die, but was killed by the parents.
　It's so ironical that those couples who are eager to have babies are not blessed with babies and that those who are irresponsible for taking care of children are allowed to have babies. Japan is now having a critical age in which we have less and less children year by year. We have to take good care of little cute lives who have been sent to this world by God.

(Saturday, September 24, 2005)
　What's going on here on this planet? Just after Hurricane Katrina gave lots and lots of damage to the people in the Louisiana State, Hurricane Rita is now coming to the same area to be estimated to give again a great damage to the people in both the Louisiana State and the Texas States.
　Not to change the subject, I've decided to abolish my e-mail magazine. I'm rapidly getting busier and busier day by day thanks to the increasing number of classes I'm in charge of. So far I've got as many as 5,800 readers. When I come to think about that, I feel a little sad to say goodbye to this Internet Business world.

(Sunday, September 25, 2005)
　When I was teaching in the Pre-1st Grade STEP test class, I intentionally started to speak all in English. Most of the students in the class are returnees from the United States. They suddenly became so positive that they also started to speak in English just as native speakers. As for English pronunciation, they're much better than me. I was very much surprised to know they were really great. I thought returnees would be of great help in the future when our country try to build a stabler bridge across the Pacific Ocean.
　This evening I walked our dog Ryoma. In a few minutes after I left home, he suddenly slipped away from his harness and started to run away. He looked so happy that he was jumping around and that he didn't seem to come back to me. Soon I called my wife who had just arrived home and asked her to come and help me catch Ryoma. It took us about 10 minutes to have him back again. I understood how he felt when he was freed, but it was dangerous for a pet dog to run around in the city. They might be hit by a car at any time.

(Sunday, September 25, 2005)
　"Why in such a hurry in this small country of Japan?" This is a popular catchphrase which has been used for a long period of time. And of course it is true. There's no use driving in a hurry here in Japan.
　However, recently so many hasty drivers are often seen here and there. Serious car accidents could happen at any time. Yesterday when I was crossing the street, a car rushed toward me honking a car horn. He should have slow down when he saw me crossing the street, because I was walking on the crosswalk. In the driving school you'll learn you have to let the pedestrians walk across the street when you see them waiting at the end of the crosswalk.
　Actually I don't feel safe when I'm riding my motorcycle. It's not because of lack of my driving skills, but because of so many careless drivers who pay no attention to other vehicles. I don't want to be involved in a crazy car accident.
　I think bikeriders also have to respect the traffic rules more sincerely. It seems that they don't think nothing of the traffic lights. The colors of the traffic lights don't seem to bother them. Red or green, they would go their own ways. Don't they know that they are obliged to keep the traffic rules just as car drivers or motor bike riders? I don't care they might be killed in an accident, but I don't want them to make me the killer.

(Monday, September 26, 2005)
　When I was a little boy, baseball and sumo were by far the most popular sports in our country. But what's happened to both of them? Today less and less people are interested in those sports. Who has to be blamed? Who can do what to make them popular again?
　The Yomiuri Giants are said to have decided to invite Mr.Hara, former slugger of the team, to be the manager again next year. It's always the case with Yomiuri that when they come across a big problem, they easily change someone in question with somebody else who has a good reputation. They have never tried to solve the problem within the staff. When the team was no good at batting, they invited a famous slugger from another team in exchange for indredibly great sum of money. Is it true that Manager Horiuchi is to be blamed for this season's miserable results? I think they should change some of the top managing staff including Mr.Watanabe who is notorious for his selfish and aggressive personality.

(Tuesday, September 27, 2005)
　In the long history of these one hundred years, the United States changed its political policy and threw away its traditional isolationism. The U.S. government used to intervene with other countries' affairs. But how about today's Bush Administration? It's nothing but an expantionism.
　Those countries who can make their own decisions are called "sovereign countries." Why don't we permit Iraq or the North Korea to become sovereign countries. Many countries belonging to the Americanized group are always watching what they try to do carefully. If they are dealt with in the same way, wouldn't they complain about what other countries say against their own countries?
　I think President Bush pay more attention to domestic affairs, which is the same as the most American citizens' opinions. They think their tax should not be used to destroy other countries, but to protect themselves. They're right in saying that, I'm sure.

(Wednesday, September 28, 2005)
　One of the classes I've been in charge of has been getting smaller and smaller, which all the staff and I have always been worried about. But today 6 out of 7 students in that class came to take the lesson. No one could imagine how happy I was to see them together after a long absence. This was the first class to have a drinking party in the first semester. In those days I was a little bit nervous, but the members of that class encouraged me so much. Anyway I thought it was a new starting of the class.
　Why don't the members of other parties ban Mr.Koizumi for making fun of them with a ridiculous speech? After all Mr.Koizumi is better in making a speech than anyone in the political scene. Here comes the new dictator! Any difference from Hitler?

(Thursday, September 29, 2005)
　Mr.Tsunoda was my instructor when I was in Shorin Junior High as a student teacher. After I started working in Chigasaki City, he always said to me, "Look back on yourslf before you ban other people." These days I've been banning some teachers I worked with when I was a school teacher. I'm a little bit ashamed of myself.
　Mr.Tsunoda was to be the Superintendent of schools in Chigasaki City. But the city congress denied his getting the top position of the board of education. He was an honest man, so everyone was afraid that he was doing some structural reforms. After the unreasonable denial by the city congress, he never complained about that. He just did what he had to do, and now he's back in his hometown in Kumamoto Prefecture.
　He's also famous as a baseball coach when the Chunichi Dragons ace pitcher Mr.Yamamot was on his team. Even a great guy like him was rejected by the conservative idiots in our city. When I come to think about his case, my problem seems to be a tiny one. I think I should forget all about my case and always look forward to make my future as bright as possible. That's what he wants me to do, I know.

(Friday, September 30, 2005)
　Kansai people have been crazy all night since the Hanshin Tigers won the title of the Central League Championship last night. The police was taking every measure to prevent some enthusiastic fans from jumping into the Dotonbori River, though in vain. The team won the title for the fifth time. What made the winning more exciting was that the opposite team that had made them win the championship was the Yomiuri Giants. I'm very sorry for Manager Horiuchi who's supposed to resign at the end of this season. Is it really the manager's fault that the team didn't make satisfactory results? Or the players' fault?

　These days there are not a few people who keep starange animals as pets. Scorpions that are not native to Japan and some poisonous spiders have been found for the last two weeks somewhere in Japan. A python was lost while the stupid owner was taking a nap during a walk in the park. Those animals are not suitable as pets. Why don't they understand such simple facts that even a child can understand? Poor animals!

(Saturday, October 1, 2005)
　The LDP newface Sugimura made a stupid remark and was banned by many citizens. The LDP top leaders let him stay in a hotel to teach him how to behave like a member of the House of Representatives. He is said to have talked about a BMW he was planning to buy with the first pay for the Lower House members. How could he win the position? Is there anything he can do for our country? I think it's just a waste of our money.
　
　We didn't have any regular classes at the KGC, but I had to give children the STEP lessons from 1:10p.m. to 6:45p.m. without any breaks. After the last class I was exhausted. I know I have to thank the principal of the KGC for letting me take care of so many important classes, but I need a little more time for rest between each class.

　At the KGC I met an Australian who had been teaching at the KGC until the end of this March. His name is David. He married a Japanese lady who was staying in Australia to study in a university there. He told me that international marriage was interesting. So I told him that he might be one of the lucky guys without any troubles. When we left the school, he shook hands with me tightly.

(Sunday, October 2, 2005)
　According to the TV news, there was a terror in Indonesia again. Was it caused by a religious reason? Or is it just part of a series of actions against the United States? 22 predious lives including a Japanese man were lost in the terror. What a pity!

　I was just in time for the interview of Mr.Noguchi who had been trained in Houston and went up into the outer space as a member of the Space Shuttle Discovery. All the other members on the mission came all the way to Chigasaki City to make a parade, which we should be very proud of for as long as possible. I should have been there much earlier to see them from a short distance. Anyway I was lucky enough to take some photoes of them. If you're interested, the photos are shown on page 6 of the Photo Gallery.

(Monday, October 3, 2005)
　I'm now reading a book about the JAL plane crash which happened 20 years ago. Later the crash site was called "Osutaka Ridge." Still there remains a big question as to why they didn't discover the crash site soon after the jumbo jet crashed into the mountin in Gunma Prefecture. It is said that the first people to find the crash site were the U.S. soldiers who was ordered to leave the site by some top people. Some specialists insist that it was too early for the JAL to admit the cause of the crash to have been careless repair by the employees of the company. They doubt there must have been another serious cause of the accident.

　This evening Ryoma and I started for an evening walk earlier than usual. We met so many dogs as we had expected. Some of them met Ryoma for the first time and became good friends with him. Dogs are so good at making friendly relations with each other. They are much smarter than crazy young guys who drive their car so fast as bullets on a narrow street. I don't see any bright future that would be built by those brainless guys.

(Tuesday, October 4, 2005)
　The Indonesian Police Department has decided that the simultaneous terrors had been caused by three suicide bombers of the most dangerous Muslim group. A young woman tourist who was planning to stay there for a month said in an interview that she was goingo to change her schedule and that she was leaving the Bali Island soon. The once popular tourism resort would be sure to get a lot of damage by the decrease of visitors.

　My wife's been having a bad cold for more than a week now. She doesn't have a good appetite. I want her to take some medicine, but she's allergic to certain types of medicine. That's why she doesn't try to easily take medicines on sale. I think I should have taken her to the hospital before her cold got so bad.

(Wednesday, October 5, 2005)
　There seems to be no progress in the talks between China and Japan. The Chinese government thinks little of what the Japanese government insists. Does that come from the difference of military power between the two countries? If Japan comes to have much stronger military forces, would they change their attitude and listen to us more sincerely? The ditch that lies between the two counries is so deep that it will take a long time to fill in it. Or it might be impossible forever because of the miserable past that could not be made up for by people living at present.

　This morning I went to Ashigara to teach at the Odawara Nursery School. Everytime I went there the students looked so active from that early in the morning. Today I let them listen to "Karma Chameleon" by the Culture Club. I was a little bit surprised that some of them had known the song. It was released about 22 years ago. How old is the vocalist Boy George now? He must be near 50 years old now.

(Thursday, October 6, 2005)
　We have a new teacher from Scotland at the KGC. He graduated from university last September and was a bank clerk for about a year. I have no idea what has brought him to Japan, but this is my first chance to have a Scotish friend. First his English was a little difficult for me to catch, but soon I learned to understand what he was talking about. I feel Scotish English sounds clearer than the standard British English.

　From last night I started English conversation to junior high school students at the KGC. Of course more than 80% of the lesson is done in English. It's fun for me to handle the class all in English, because I'm used to the method at the ECC. I have to thank the principal of the KGC for offering me the chance.

　More than one third of the Hanshin Electric Railroad Company stocks have been purchased by the Murakami Fund. The president of the aggressive trading company, Mr.Murakami, was once spotlit when the Livedoor tried to purchase the Fuji TV. Most of the Hanshin Tigers fans are against his plan to list the pro-baseball team for the first time in history. The Hanshin ERC has said in an interview that it has no intention of listing its baseball team. Is it really beneficial to the Tigers fans as Mr.Murakami insists?

(Friday, October 7, 2005)
　I was at the scene at the KGC when the new Scotish teacher met an American teacher whe had been working there longer than me. They just exchanged a few words and became friends with each other in about 5 seconds. Just 5 seconds was enough for them to get to know each other. I was so impressed to witness a real international first meeting.
　
　It is said that the Fujisawa Social Insurance Center will be closed within five years as part of Mr.Koizumi's structural reforms. The center is now a popular place for older people to gather together for communication. If the government is really planning to close the center, I don't think it's a good idea. They should maintain some places for older citizens to get together.

(Saturday, October 8, 2005)
　It seems that I've got rid of my bad cold. I have such a hard schedule that no one can substitute for my lessons. Even if I'm seriously sick, I cannot but go and take care of the lessons by myself. I think I can't be too careful with my physical condition.

　Something seems to be wrong with the global climate this year. Just after Hurricane Rita came Hurricane Stan, which is also giving lots of great damage to the coastal areas of the Southern America. They have only four more names of Hurricane this year. After all the 24 names will come the Greek Alphabet names like Alfa, Beta, etc.

　In Pakistan an earthquake at the scale of Magnitude 7.6 occurred and killed at least 3,000 people including two Japanese tourists. It seems that the earth's angry.

(Sunday, October 9, 2005)
　It's been raining since this morning because of the cold front staying over Japan. But thanks to the High Pressure coming from the northeast Asia, the weather is getting better soon, although the Kanto District will not be blessed with fine weather this week.

　Recently Ryoma carries many kinds of things which somteimes surprises us. This afternoon my wife and I found him carrying a sweet potato. He must have taken one from a vinyl bag on the kitchen floor. What was he going to do with the big piece of sweet potato? I could understand his action if it had been cooked.

　Last night I saw some people handing out leaflets for a Communist candidate fot the Upper House election to be held at the end of this month. They were shouting for reserving the world-famous Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution. Is it really Ok that the Self-Defense Forces can only carry out its forces when attacked by some other countries? If we have the article as it is now, even if we are sure that the North Korea is attacking Tokyo Metropolitan Area with some chemical bombs, we can't do anything until we're actually attacked and get serious damages. I'm against the idea that Japan should also have nuclear weapons, but I agree to the LDP's idea of rewriting the Article 9.

(Monday, October 10, 2005)
　I'm happy that the New York Yankees won the fouth game and now came up with the Angels by 2 games to 2. Tomorrow there going to be the final game which will decide the team going on to the next stage.

　It's quite general that language schools never hire Japanese instructors as regular emplyees. That's mainly because they don't want to pay for their social insurances. But for us so-called part-time workers, the most irritating thing is that there're too many holidays when we have no lessons. We're paid for the number of lessons we actually take care of per month, so holidays are not welcome. I hope the school will hire us as members of staff. Or we will leave the school to find a better place which will offer more pay at any time we like. They have no rights to make us stay for a certain period, because we're just part-time workers whose positions are not officially guarranteed by them.

　I myself am thinking of opening my own language school after working for the two famouse language schools to know how to handle the classes effectively. When I decide I'm good enough to manage a school, I will not hesitate to leave those two schools.

(Tuesday, October 11, 2005)
　Today more and more people choose strange animals as their pets; reptililes, raptorials, and so on. Why does an iguana has to be kept in an apartment room walking slowly around in a narrow space? I'm sure it wants to live a wild life on the Galapagos Islands or in the desert of Mexico.

　The biggest problem those strange pets maniacs have is that some of them release the animals when they lose interest in them. Recently some strange reptiles have been found in a park or some unexpected places to surprise many people living nearby. If they have decided to keep those tropical animal as pets, they have to be responsible for those pets until they die. Or when they think they can no longer keep them, they should look for someone or some place which would take care of them instead.

　It's quite easy to say, "Wow, it's so cute! I want to keep it." But practically keeping it as a pet is another question. It's not so easy to let them live a healthy life in Japan where they are not supposed to live. You should think more than twice when you decide to keep some strange animals as pets.

　Not to change the subject, the victims of the earthquake in Pakistan are estimated to be more than 40,000 people. There are still some children buried under the crashed school buildings in the northern part of the country. Lots of rescue teams from many countries are arriving there, who I hope will help save lots of lives crying for help.

(Wednesday, October 12, 2005)
　Did you watch the last night's TV program in which London Hearts planned to carry out a fashion show called "Hobo" Paris Collection? I couldn't but laugh at Sayaka Aoki's cute but somewhat funny performances. I really thought Sayaka Aoki was such a great actress and comedian as well. I've been looking for her photo book which was also produced by London Hearts first as part of a joke. But the completed photo album itself was a wonderful masterpiece which Sayaka Aoki should be proud of so much.

　Does everybody remember the end of the 20th century when we were afraid of something terrible that Michel de Nostredame had predicted to happen long time ago? However nothing had happened and we all felt relieved. But is it true that we had nothing terrible? Isn't it being proceeding secretly? Because there have been too many natural disasters all around the world this year. Both Hurricanes and Typhoons killed lots of people. So did the great earthquake in Pakistan. I really wonder what's going on in this world. Aren't we on our way to extinction? And that's why some U.S. scientists hurriedly study how to live on Mars? We've gone so far, and there's no way going back.

　From today on I'm going to take care of another lesson for a high school student who wants to study English grammar from the very beginning. I hope I'll be of some help of his expectation.

(Thursday, October 13, 2005)
　We ate spaghetti for dinner last night. I ate a plate before going to work and ate another two plates after coming back from work. I know I ate too much. The smell of mincemeat contained in the meat sauce attracted Ryoma who followed me when I put the heated sauce on the pasta. Secretly I gave him a few small pieces of mincemeat, which made him crazier about the food. In that case Ryoma always tries to look me in the eyes, which unables me to stop feeding him. I must not do that if I really want him to live long.

　As you know I have two pay days each month, but the total sum of money I make per month never goes over 200,000 yen. When I was a school teacher two years ago, I made at least 450,000 yen per month. Now I'm much better as an English teacher, but my income is less than half the money I used to make. I don't understand why. Why could a public schoo teacher get such a big money doing almost nothing? Just staying at school from 8:30a.m. to 5:00 p.m.―that's all they've got to do. Even if they have no classes and spend the day drinking coffee and reading magazines in a air-conditioned teachers' room, they are reagrded as have worked harder than I do now. That's nonsense! But I'll never give up. I'll go on my own way and someday I'll let them envy me.

(Friday, October 14, 2005)
　Late last night there was a shocking news saying that Mr.Mikitani, President of Rakuten, had told the press he had become the biggest shareholder of the TBS Broadcasting Company. It was just after the surprising news of Mr.Murakami's holding more than one third of the Hanshin Electronic Railroad stocks. Was it just a coincidence?

　The Postal Privatization Bills have passed the Upper House as easily as expected. Those who had voted against the bills before the 9.11 general election voted for the same bills just because they were afraid of being terminated from the political world. How dare they could do such dishonest thing publicly? Now it is quite obvious that most of the politicians cannot be trusted. The most important thing for them is to protect themselves, not us.

(Saturday, October 15, 2005)
　The U.S. TV drama "LOST" received this year's Emmy Awards. Now it's on air here in Japan. If you can see the cable TV, turn the channel to 39, the AXN TV. It's about the mysterious things which followed after the plane crash into an tropical island. I'm looking forward to getting the DVD version of the drama, which is not yet available at present.

　Why does most men become dishonest when in power? I don't trust any men in power in today's world. The only thing they're interested in is protect themselves. What does it mean to be a leader? What does it mean to be a boss? Those who don't think much of their men will lose everything when they really need it. Nobody will stay with them. If I ever get a position in power, I would try not to be like them. There're a lot more things to write about this, but I think I should shut my mouth here. It's very dangerous today to show my true color. Anyone can come and visit my website.

(Sunday, October 16. 2005)
　Cold rain has been falling since early this morning. The weather forecast said last night that it was going to be sunny today, which didn't hit the target, though. An popular Japanese proverb goes like this: The fall weather is as changeable as women's minds. I'm not sure if women's minds are so changeable or not, because these days there're only a few men who are decisive enough to be "a man." It may be nonsense to talk about the difference between men and women today when gender-free movements are so popular. I agree that women have equal rights and abilities to men, but I don't think there're no differences between what men can do and what women can do. For a very long time here in Japan many people have believed that women should do every housework while their husbands are working outside. Today most people know it's an old-fashioned idea. But we also have to admit that denying the old Japanese idea led to lack of responsibility for the taking care of children. Who has to be responsible?

【Notice】I'm looking for an English-speaking woman who would like to become frineds with a 20-year-old Japanese girl. She's one of my students at the Odawara Nursery Vocational School. She stayed in the United States for a year when she was a high school girl. She wants a native speaker, man or woman, who would like to enjoy talking to her in English. If you have any information available, please let me know by e-mail. My mail address is down here. I'd appreciate it if you help me with this.
　　hitoshi-ishiyama@msj.biglobe.ne.jp　　or　　dollar-box@lucky.memail.jp
　
(Monday, October 17, 2005)
　When I start eating something, Ryoma is by my side before I know. He has a keen sense of smell, so everywhere there seems to be some food, he always has to be there. His weapon is his innocent eyes looking directly into my eyes. But I can't give him human food because I want him to live as long as he can. I'm sorry, Ryoma. I'll try to eat while you're sleeping.

　Last night I went to the Pachinko House near Fujisawa Station. It was a Sunday night, so I though I would be able to get some extra income. It was too late when I noticed that I was wrong. Maybe on Sundays they let the visiter win during the daytime, but after that they try to get the money back from those who still stay in the shop. I went there at the wrong time. Now only a little money is left in my purse, I can't pay another visit to get my money back from the Bank of Pachinko.

　Tonight I'm having a conversation class at the ECC after an interval of two weeks. I feel the ECC has too many holidays. Regular lessons are given only once a week. Then I think they should gurantee the precious lessons as much as possible. Last week the students had mid-term tests. After the tests there was no lesson at all. Why not? In the learning of English conversation what is the most important is practice the language every day. I hope in the next school year, there might be some reforms in the lesson schedule.

(Tuesday, October 18, 2005)
　It's been 60 years since the terrible second world war ended, but there's still unclearable misunderstanding between the Chinese and Korean people and the Japanese people. It's not a tiny problem for Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi to have visited the Yasukuni Shrine yesterday from verious points of view, but how can both the Chinese people and the Korean people be so upset about the question. It's in a sense an intervention with Japan's internal affairs. I understand why they got so angry about Mr.Koizumi's crazy idea of visiting the shrine in question at this very time when the relations between some Asian countries and Japan are in critical situation. But I also want them to look back on their own history and ask themselves if their countries have always been honest to other countries. Haven't they done similar mistakes? I don't think it's fair for them to blame only Japan for the big mistake it made 60 years ago. What do you think?

(Wednesday, October 19, 2005)
　Now the ECC is very busy recommending the present students to continue studying in the following school year which will start in next April. Of course I have to cooperate the staff with the advertisement activities, but at the same time I feel a little sorry for the students who will have to pay more than 260,000 yen as a yearly fee. It's such a big sum of money that I can't easily tell them to keep on studying at the ECC. It's true that the ECC offers a reliable standard of education nad it's worth that sum of money. But frankly speaking if I were a student studying at the ECC, I'd like the yearly fee to go under 200,000 yen.

　Yesterday was my wife's 39th birthday. Time flies like an arrow. When she came to my house as my wife, she was still 36 years old. "This is going to be your last year in your thirties," I said to her. Then she said, "I hope it's going to be a year full of lucky things." So I said, "You might have a lucky meeting with a nice guy." Then she looked very happy. She was kidding me around. I couldn't say anything about that, because I almost forgot that yesterday was her birthday. My poor memory!

　Today in the class of the Odawara Nursery Vocational School, we saw the movie "I Am Sam" starring Sean Penn and Dakota Fanning. The students there are going to be nurses some day, so the movie seemed quite impressive for them. Sean Penn acted very well as a role of a mentally hadicapped father, which would make many people believe he is an actual hadicapped person. Dakota Fanning is one of the post talented actress children in the United States today. She also appeared in such popular U.S. dramas as ER, CSI, and so on.

　

(Thursday, October 20, 2005)
　Did you notice the earthquake that had happened around 9:00p.m. last night? Maybe I was moving to my relative's house. I didn't feel anything at all. A few days ago the top of Mt.Fuji was covered with snow for the first time after this summer. According to the newspaer article, it was still ten days later than usual. But it's suddenly become cold these days. I can't ride my motorbike without wearing an overcoat.

　Human relations are very hard to make. We don't know who we can believe in and who we can't. I'm used to be betrayed by those who I have never doubted, but when it happens so many times I feel very much disappointed. As I wrote in my books, I was betrayed by the pricipal and the board of education when I got physical with two of my students at Hagisono Junior High school. I did so to save the girl who had been bullied for about two years at that time. I was afraid she might commit suicide. She was more often absent from school then. But the bullying itself was not in question and I was disciplinary punished by the Prefectural Board of Education for having hit the boys. After that no investigation was made about the bullying case that they promised me to do.
　I quit the job because I couldn't believe almost anyone working together, but outside of school many similar cases happen. As Billy Joel sang in one of his song, "honesty" is such a lonely word today.

(Friday, October 21, 2005)
　I've had a few dissappoining things for the last week, which has made me so much irritated, but Ryomas cute deeds have taken all the bad feelings away from me. Animals are such great gifts that God has given us.

　Last night my wife found a leaflet of Peare Fujisawa delivered together with the newspaper and noticed my name was not on the instructors' list there. I was also surprised to find another Japanese instructor's name there who had been teaching English conversation until I started teaching at the KGC. I thought he was coming back to take my place again. This morning I called the KGC to ask about that. Soon the girl at the desk calloed back to tell me that it was just a mistake. She was kind enough to have contact with the principal to assure the information. I was relieved to get her phone call. For me the mother students at Peare Fujisawa were really important. I've been enjoying teaching them English conversation since this April.

(Saturday, October 22, 2005)
　Time really flies, doesn't it? I'm taking the United Nations English test on November 6. It's just around the corner. There're so many things to learn about the United Nations. I have to hustle.

　I'm afraid Hurricane Wilma will give a great damage to Florida. It might be the biggest hurricane that the U.S. have had this year. Katrina, Rita, and Wilma...something terrible is happening on the earth. We should do something before it's too late.

　I really enjoyed watching Japanese pro baseball game after a very long interval. The first game of the Japan Series was so exciting. Players showed us lots of skillful plays that we've long wanted to see. I didn't think the Lotte Marines would knock down the Softbank Hawks. But after watching some good plays, I knew the Lotte Marines waw such a great team strong enough to beat the Oh-led Hawks.

(Sunday, October 23, 2005)
　Last night my wife and I took Ryoma for a walk together. He looked so happy walking with both of us. He really likes staying close to us. When we dine, we find him lying under the table. When we are taking a rest on the sofa, he also tries to jump on the sofa to sleep there. My wife says that he's just like an only child and feels lonely when there's nobody around him. I agree with her. Have we loved him too deeply? Our love has been blind?

　We had two softball games today. The first game started around 9:00 in the morning. I hit three out of four batting chances. We won the first game easily and went on to the final game against Takada Softball Team. Unfortunately we lost the final game, but we really enjoyed playing. Today we had three women players in our team who played surprisingly well. One of them had played in the Hitachi Software Softball team after graduating from Atsugi Commericial High School. She was so great!

(Monday, October 24, 2005)
　I read an e-mail my wife had sent to me on October 18. I seldom use the e-mail function of my cell phone. In the mail she said that she had been disappointed on her birthday. I forgot that the day was her birthday. But I usually think of her so deeply. So last night I told her why I was so bad on the day. To tell the truth I had a very big problem at that time, and I had a hard time solving getting rid of the headache. But I think I could have got her a bunch of flowers. I know I had been so stupid, but she understood me.

　When I was just eating lunch, I got a phone call from my mother who went to the Tokushukai Hospital to accompany my father. He was carried to the hospital because he had broken his thigh bone, which could be recovered more easily when he got operation. But the doctor had to consult the family as to whether the operation should be done or not. He's too old and physically weak to be operated. But according to the doctor's explanation, it was not going to be a difficult operation which would take only about an hour. So my mother and I asked him to do it. Tomorrow afternoon he's supposed to get the operation in which both side of the broken part of the thigh bone would be connected by using titanium bridge. The bridge itself won't need to be removed.

　This might be too much to say, but I think those who work in any kind of shop can't be too nice to customers. Those who can't smile at the visitors should not work in a place like that. Everyone whose job is to offer certain service to other people should be good at making smiles on his/her faces. I know there're not a few customers who behave in a rude manner, but even at them service-offering workers have to smile without revealing their true feelings. Then they can be called professionals.

(Tuesday, October 25, 2005)
　According to the TV news last night, Hurricane Wilma made a landfall on Florida. The power was weakened to be Category 3, but the wind and rain was so strong that the FEMA was ready for possible rescue missions. Wilma was the third hurricane to attack the mailand of the U.S. with the power of Category 3, following Katrina and Rita. Let's hope there will be no more victims in that area.

　It's difficult under this economical depression to run a language school. Every school wants to realize the students' needs, but sometimes it's impossible because of a financial reason. But we English instructors should not forget that we can earn our living thanks to the students who come to language school every day after paying such a large sum of money. I think I'm going to do anything I can do for my students. If we should disappoint them, we would be no different from public school English teachers who are not good at teaching colloquial English.

(Wednesday, October 26, 2005)
　This afternoon my father got an operation on the broken thigh bone, which ended in success. It took about two hours. My mother looked so exhausted. She was waiting for the operation to be finished in the hospital. I hope no more trouble would happen to my father and that he'll be able to go back to the Miyazawa Hospital in a week or so.

　Whether we should have the Emperor or the Empress is in question at present. Why do they have to worry about the question for such a long time? This is the age of gender-free. We should not refer to any position as for men only. Most of us would be happy when Aiko-chan becomes the Empress in the future. They should change the regulation as soon as they can. There's no room for discussion.

　The exchange student from Australia, who was learning Japanese from me, gave me a hand-made greeting card and an ball point pen made in Australia. Jenny is an 18-year-old Australian girl who dreams of becoming an architect in France. Her mother is a French teacher and she has been to France once. The period when I taught Japanese to her was only about half a year, but I learned lots of things from her. She was such an important student to me. She's going to go back to her home country at the end of next January. I'm sure I'll miss her. I'd like to wish every good luck on her bright future.

(Thursday, October 27, 2005)
　Some of the students at ECC has been sending me e-mails in which they try to write English sentences in their own English. One of them has already sent me more than 40 e-mails so far. I hope their efforts will help them improve their English ability.

　It's been a chilly morning. We're having a cold rain. Such a depressing weather, isn't it? My mother was complaining about the weather, because it's her job to walk Ryoma every morning. She has been told by her doctor that if she gains weight she might have diabetes. That's why she has decided to take a morning walk with Ryoma, rain or shine. But when it rains heavily, it's a little bit tiring to take the dog for a walk. Ryoma himself doesn't like walking in the rain, though he wears a special raincoat. It seems that he hates muddy ground or the wet roads. He's so to speak a noble dog.

　What a changeable weather! When I finished my morning class from 10:30a.m. to 12:55p.m., it has already stopped raining and the sun has shown up. Yes, I know that the weather in fall changes from day to day, but this year it changes too quickly. Of course I welcom the sunny weather even if it's against the weather forcast.

(Friday, October 28, 2005)
　One of my colleagues at the ECC is an Australian named Scott who's from Nara, Gold Coast in Australia. His hometown has the same spelling as the Japanese famous old city Nara. I checked it up at the website and knew that Nara is Australia's greatest beach resort. Scott told me that it's about two hours' ride in a car from Sydney. Scott is one of the most popular netive teachers at the ECC Fujisawa. He's a cheerful guy who's always smiling at anybody he meets. He was the first native teacher I met at the ECC.

　I had a Introductory English Conversation class at Peare Fujisawa from 3:00p.m. to 4:30p.m. Today we had four observers who might apply for the next-term class. We had two men and two women. The two men were at the class until the very end. They seemed to be in their fifties. I'll welcome men because we had only women in my class.

(Saturday, October 29, 2005)
　I'm taking the U.N. English Proficiency Test on the 6th next month. I was worried about the candidate card which hadn't been sent to me. I sent an e-mail to ask about that and I got the answer mail last night telling that the card would be sent to each candidate at the beginning of next week. I sometimes do something wrong about important matters, so I felt relieved to get the answer.

　I've had plenty of time to prepare for the U.N. English Proficiency Test and the TOEIC test which I'm going to take at the end of next month, but I didn't do anything special. I think I should have made a specific studying plan. It's too late to regret about that any more. Anyway I'll try my best during the coming week.

(Sunday, October 30, 2005)
　The LDP has decided the punishment for those who rebelled against Mr.Koizumi's proposal of postal privatization. Did they really have to do that? What does the party name "Liberal Democratic Party" mean? Isn't the punishment they decided to give against the name of their own party? I can no longer believe in the LDP. Frankly speaking, I don't find any political party that I think I can trust at present.

　According to the TV news late last night, there was a train accident in southern India killing up to 150 people. In the country about 1,500 people were killed in the last big earthquake that happened a few weeks ago. Fatal accidents will happen, and they happen in a row. Is it because India has the second largest population in the world? Some natural power tries to decrease the number of people living there?

　It was a warm morning and I could hear junior high school girls playing softball in the schoolground of nearby Shorin Junior High. This is the last official tournament in the year 2005. Perhaps with the certainty of 99% Hagisono Junior High will win the championship again. Anyway I hope they will enjoy playing softball to their heart's content.
　Now the games are over. The miraculous 1% acutually happened. When I was going to drive my wife and her mother to the station, Hagisono was having a game against Umeda, which was one of the semi-final games. I wanted to take some photos of Hagisono players, but I was sure I would be able to do that job in the final game. But when I went to the schoolground the final game was being fought by Shorin and Umeda. I couldn't find the red uniforms that I had introduced about 10 years ago anywhere. I asked one of my acquaintances who were watching the final game what had happend to Hagisono, when I knew they had lost the semi-final game against Umeda. I was so shocked to hear that. I could happen, but it would happen with the 1% possibility. Some other people told me that Hagisono was making too many errors that should have come from their lack of concentration. They were too proud of their good result in the previous Prefectural Tournament and thought too little of Umeda. I hope it'll be a good lesson for them.

(Monday, October 31, 2005)
　It's just after 12 midnight, and Ryoma seems to be so tired that he has fallen into his deep sleep, lying under the curtain. Maybe soon he will come into my mother's bed when he feels cold without any blanket over his body. He's so sensitive to coldness.

　The TV news says that the two terrors that had happened in New Delhi, the capital of India, were caused by some Muslim extremists. It's a scary situation because there will be no end to a religious conflict.

　The new members of the Koizumi Cabinet were made public late in the afternoon. It seemed that everyone who had been expected to be pointed our to be a cabinet member was licking Mr.Koizumi's boots. It was such a funny drama, wasn't it? Mr.Koizumi publicly declared that one of the new cabinet members would follow his footsteps to become the next Prime Minister of Japan. They are just like horses running after delicious-looking carrots before them. Poor people!

(Tuesday, November 1, 2005)
　It's already November. We have only two months left this year. Time flies, doesn't it? But interestingly when we get into November, the weather seems to have been calmed down. We're having a beautiful warm morning like in spring.

　It seems that I've got a cold. I've had a cough for these few days and I feel a little tired. I have to be careful not to let the cold get worse.

　One of the new cabinet member Ms.Inomata used too many English words in the press conference held tonight. I don't know why she did that, but many people may have felt something unusual about her speech. If you want to stay clever, you should not pretend to be smarter than other people. It's great wisdom.

(Wednesday, November 2, 2005)
　When I was trying to solve the private junior high school's entrance exams for returnees, I came across a difficult one. Just then there was an American teacher in the same room, so I asked him to tell me the answer. He read the sentence times and times again and told me that the sentence didn't make any sense to him. He told me that it might be a special use in the U.K. Later I found the answer sheet I had wrote in a week before. I forgot that I had already checked up the idiom used in that sentence. I told the answer to the American co-worker, but he said he didn't understand the meaning. As he told me, the idiom was only used in the United Kingdom. Then how can an elementary school kids solve the question? The American teacher also told me that if he had been involved in making the exam he would have cut off the question from the test. What should I do?

　I wonder what foreign people think about Mr.Koizumi's reshuffled Cabinet. In Japan Today the media has made some funny-sounding words "Koizumi's Children." Those were the words given to those who had been elected to be members of the Lower House for the first time. Mr.Koizumi doesn't let them belong to any "habatsu" or political faction, which means they practically belong to the Koizumi Faction. These days I've come to understand how easily dictatorship could be accepted by the people of one country.
　Now that many people support the LDP, during the next few years the increase of the consumption tax, the rewriting of the Japanese Constitution, and possibly the re-starting of the draft will be put into practice. Many of us will say no to those changes, which will be too late. Are you sure our country's going on its right way? I don't think so.

(Friday, November 4, 2005)
　One of my students at the ECC has sent me as many as 51 e-mails in English. They started sending me English e-mails to be checked. When you learn English, composition will be the most difficult task to do. But if you become a good writer of English, you will also become a good speaker of the language. I hope more and more students will try to start sending me English e-mails. I told them that I would answer their e-mails within 5 minutes after reading them.

　I don't like the eyes of people who are too much devoted to certain religions. In the TV news this morning appeared a young woman who is said to have come back from North Korea. She's a member of the notorious Ohmu Shinri-kyo Cult Group. She has those crazy eyes that I hate most. Who could believe what she's talking about?

　I was told by the principal of the KGC to come to school at least 5 minutes before the lesson. I'm usually very punctual and I used to go to KGC 30 minutes before the lesson. But I stopped doing that for some reason I couldn't tell anybody. Anyway I was so sorry to hear his words which meant he didn't understand me at all. I'll start going to KGC about 30 minutes before the first lesson although I still don't want to.

(Saturday, November 5, 2005)
　These days I feel a little tired after having been running at my maximum speed. I think I should slow down to regain enough energy to continue working for both ECC and KGC.

　By the way what would you do if you were the owner of the English language school? I'd offer high-quality lessons for cheaper fee. If you off too many private lessons, it would be difficult to pay enough money for instructors. So I'd make classes of 5 to 10 students. Poeple usually think that 10 people are too many to learn conversation, but it's not true. If you introduce a good method to teach a group of people, it will be possible to let the students feel satisfied with the group lessons. But the most important factor is honesty. You should not forget to be honest with the students who have chosen your school. You should always try to introduce a better way of teaching, and you should try not to stay in one stable place for a long time. If you stop improving yourself, your students will be sure to lose their interest in your school little by little. What do you think? Do you think I could become a good owner of the language school? Or would I just be a loser again?

(Sunday, November 6, 2005)
　Yesterday's Japan Times reported that Governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, had said that if a war would happen between the United States and China, there would be no chances for the U.S. to win the war. According to his theory, China would think nothing of losing lots of young lives, while the U.S. citizens would be afraid of losing their young soldiers lives. In fact the loss of about 2,000 soldiers who have been killed in Iraq after the Iraqi war had come to an end became a great problem.
　I asked my Canadian co-worker if the possible war between the two countries would be extended to become a global war. He answered that it would be a regional war even if some nuclear weapons should be used against each other and that the war would start by Chaina's invasion of Chinese Taipei. Of course the "regional" war would involve our country too. Because we have some U.S. military bases, those facilities would be good targets of Chinese nuclear missiles. He predicts that China might take some action just after the Beijing Olympic games in 2008.

　What a surprise! The last question of the U.N. English Proficiency Test was about China. Our task was to make a short essay about the subject: Should EU lift the arms embargo to China?" I was just thinking about the sudden increase in China's military power which most of us are worried about. I was so lucky. I have to thank God.

(Monday, November 7, 2005)
　It's quite warm this morning. We can't predict what the weather will be like at this season of the year. A Japanese old saying goes as follows; The weather in fall is as changeable as women's minds. I shouldn't tell anything about women's minds, but changeable weathers are not always disgusting. They let us enjoy various scenes here in our countries. I hate sudden heavy rain, though.

　Before going to ECC I took Ryoma for an evening walk. On the way he stopped at a fence to stand on his two backlegs trying to smell something. A few seconds later in my flashlight appeared a cat snarling at Ryoma. Cats are sometimes very dangerous for dogs, because when they feel they're in great danger, they instinctively scratch the eyes of dogs. I didn't want Ryoma to get that hurt, so I pulled him away from the angry cat.
　In our country it has been said that dogs and monkeys are no friendly to each other, but it should go that dogs and cats are born to be enemies. Maybe cats are jealous of dogs' being one of the twelve animals of the year.

(Tuesday, November 8, 2005)
　At my wife's workplace, there's a weird middle-aged woman who's been pushing any young co-workers out of the workplace. She calls herself a once gangster member, but my wife says she's fake. Why certain type of women try to get rid of any woman who seems to be better than them, I don't understand. Women are such vulgar creatures?

　It was so warm this morning that I took Ryoma out in the garden and brushed him for a while. This is the season that dogs lose their hair so much. Summer hair changes into winter hair. Being brushed, he looked so happy. He licked my face, which was his special way of expressing his gratitude. Now he looks a little skim.

　Recently I find it quite interesting to read English newspapers. It is true that it's become easier for me to read English articles little by little. I now fully understand the old saying which goes, "Practice makes perfect." When you make it a rule to read English articles, it becomes an easier job to get various kinds of information from the paper, which of course helps you improve your English ability.

(Wednesday, November 9, 2005)
　When my wife and I sit on the sofa side by side, Ryoma tries to come in between us. He seems to feel jealous when he see us being together without him. In that case my wife tries to talk to him gently and make him understand that we're not trying to get him away from us. He must understand he is surely one of us. When he looks lonely, I cannot but feel sorry for him, because he can't express himself with words.
　He likes to be with us so much that he looks so sad when he has to see my wife or me off in the morning. He knows when we're going to work, which means he can't come with us. The dog is such a sensitive creature, even more sensitive than us human beings.

　When I came home from work late this evening, he welcomed me with his tail wagging so hapily. I secretly gave him four pieces of "shumai" or Chinese meat balls, which is not one of "must nots" in our family. Am I spoiling him?

　My mother has gone to Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture, to attend the funeral of her step mother. My wife Kayoko went to Chigasaki Station with my mother and helped her buy a ticket to Tateyama. She went down on the platform to see if my mother got on the right rapid train for Tokyo. After that Kayoko went to the Tokushukai Hospital to visit my father who took a surgery operation about a week ago. I owe so much to my wife. She's as gentle as an angel. I'm so lucky to have a wife like her. It's a pity she can't understand what is written here.

(Thursday, November 10, 2005)
　At ECC we're now promoting a special discount entry to the next school year's classes. Some of the students who have been learning English conversation at ECC have become too busy at work to continue learning at our school next year. But most of them have decided to keep on coming to ECC next year. We must be thankful for their early decision. Now that there are more and more language schools around Fujisawa Station, it's getting quite difficult to invite many students to our school. It is true that an increasing number of people are interested in learning English, but without effective advertisement we won't be successful in getting students. Perhaps many students first think of the famous language school whose CM you'll often see on TV. However TV commercial costs a lot, which finally leads to an increase of teaching fees that the students have to pay.
　The average sum of money that the students must pay for our school is about 270,000 yean per year. It's not too expensive, but not very cheap either.

(Friday, November 11, 2005)
　Again simultaneous terrors were carried out in Jordan this time. Also in an Iraqi
restaurant there was an explosion probably caused by a suicide bomber, killing at least 35 people. I hear most of the victims were Iraqi police officers. In the Jordan terrors three hotels were attacked. At one of them a wedding reception was being held and the two fathers of the newly wed couple were both killed by the bombing. All the four terrors were reportedly done by an Al-Qaida related group, which declared its responsibility for the terrors themselves on the Internet. I'm really sorry for most innocent Muslim people who must be banned for the barbarious deeds they aren't responsible for at all.

　It is obvious that the terrorists would never stop doing this till all of them are terminated. What should we do to prevent them from continue killing innocent people? If the situation goes on like this, I suppose there will be some belligerent opinions that all the Muslim people should be erased from this world. What do you think?

(Saturday, November 12, 2005)
　The dreadful bird flu is now on its way to wider areas of the world. It is firmly believed that the medicine called Tamiflu works for bird flu. But the medicine is only produced by a pharmaceutical company in Switzerland that has the patent for producing the medicine. According to a medical specialist, one person needs at least 10 capsuls of Tamiflu to recover from the sickness. The Japanese government has got stock of Tamiflu only enough for about 400,000 people. If our country is attacked by the bird flu, more than one million people are estimated to die from the disease. What can we do in order not to get the disease? I'm very much worried about the serious situation we are in today.

(Sunday, November 13, 2005)
　It's a very warm morning, isn't it? I thought we were going to have a softball game today, but I might have been wrong. I called the manager early this morning. His wife answered my call and told me he was already out but that not for a softball game. I was kind of looking forward to playing today, so I felt a little disappointed. Maybe I've been working too hard these days and God tells me to take a rest.

　Late in the afternoon, I went to the Pachinko House in Fujisawa where I sometimes go to get some pocket money. To tell the truth, I can't always make it, as you already imagine. But tonight I was lucky enough to get as manyh as 9 boxes full of Pachinko balls. I got about 60,000 yen, which was enough for my pocket money.

(Monday, November 14, 2005)
　Yesterday morning one of the fathers whose children go to Hagisono Junior High School sent me an e-mail. His youngest daughter is now a student there, but she can't go to school at present. The father has often visited the principal to ask about his daughter, but he felt the shcool was not interested in her at all. The Principal, Ms.Kosugi, has been so dull about the school problems. She is obviously incapable of handling matters at school. The biggest thing she is only interested in is whether she'll be able to retire without any problems, which means she'll get her full retirement allowance. She's s--t!

　Every day somewhere in this small country terrible car accidents are happening. Of course pedestrians have to be careful when they are about to cross the streets. These days traffic lights have alomost no meanings. Even if the light turns green, it never means you're completely safe. A dangerous driver might hit you by accident.
　It is widely known that more than 10,000 people are killed in traffic accidents every year. That means you can't be too careful when you walk in the city.

(Tuesday, November 15, 2005)
　Yesterday's Japan Times said that some 42 Vietnamese died from bird flu and that the virus could have mutated to new one that could be infected from human to human. We're getting into a very serious situation.
　My Canadian colleague toled me that at this time of the year some people suffered from alergy caused by "Gold Rod." I tired to find the words on the website, but I didn't make it. But this morning one of my American colleagues told me that the exact name of the flower was not "Gold Rod," but "Golden Rod." And I've finally found the website telling about the alergy-causing flower. The website goes as follows:
　I had never heard about the alergy caused by the Golden Rod. But now I know that some of the people who believe they've caught a bad cold actually are alergic to Golden Rod.

Goldenrod is a perennial weed often found along roadsides and in open fields with single woody stems that grow to heights of 0.8 - 2 m. It may be grown as an ornamental plant. The leaves at the base of the plant are bright green, oval shaped drawing to a point, while the leaves on the flower stem are smaller and oval in shape. The leaves alternate between toothed and smooth edges.

The stems produce scented, spikes of simple golden yellow flowers, which have clusters of stamens, from mid- to late summer (August and September). The ornamental Goldenrod is smaller, growing to 0.6m and in flower from July to October. The flowers are small (6mm) and are produced in profuse clusters. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). Although Goldenrod is insect pollinated, the pollen grains are much heavier than those of ragweed and other plants that have airborne pollens associated with allergic symptoms. The plant is also self-fertile. The seeds ripen from August to October.

Goldenrod is found along roadsides, in open fields, dry woods, grasslands, hedge banks and dunes.

Goldenrod has been used as a herbal medication, topically for wound healing, and by American Indians as a salve for rattlesnake bites. Tea can be made from the leaves.

(Wednesday, November 16, 2005)
　I wrote that the bird flu virus had mutated in to a dangerous form, but actually it is not yet certain that it's got to make human-to-human infection. The most scary thing about it is it's an airborne disease. So you might be smart enough to wear a mask to prevent the virus coming into your body through your nose or mouth. Of course you should not forget to gargle and wash your hands well when you come home from outside.
　I believe it's a kind of natural selection. Because we have too many people on the earth, some natural system is trying to decrease the population with some tough diseases coming one after another. AIDS, SARS, BSE, and this Bird Flue are all those diseases for natural selection. Even if we succeed in pushing away the bird flu, another tough one will be sure to attack us until the population goes down to a certain level. Is this too much to say? I'm not a scientist. If you're afraid, you can forget all about what I've written above.
　
　I don't like to ban school systems every time I deal with the topic, but there are too many problems that I can't take for granted. Today a junior high school boy got seriously injured with a bamboo stick stuck deep into one of his eyes. The principal of his school said to the press that he was very much worried about the mental stability of the students. It seemed that he didn't feel very sorry about the accident. I don't think the school is the only one to be blamed for not having done any effective measures to prevent such an accident from happening, but the school teachers should feel some sense of responsibility. I now feel happy that I don't have to call them my colleagues any longer.

(Thursday, November 17, 2005)
　I hear that Hagisono Junior High School is planning to have a meeting with parents whose children have been refusing to go to school. Is it that the school try to think carefully of those students who can't find the way out of their dark long tunnels? Of course not. They just want to leave the fact that they have tried their best for the students who refuse to attend school. What a pity! They're just like people working for a public office. Do they really love children? Are they willing to help those children in trouble? I don't believe whatever they say about taking care of children, because I know they're most interested in theirselves. I hate them more than anyone else in this world.

(Friday, November 18, 2005)
　Many people suffer from a bad cold. So does my mother. She suddenly had a figh fever this afternoon and the daughter of her friend's was kind enough to go to the drug store to buy her a fever reducer. She's not young any longer, which means she has to be very careful not to get a flu. She is an old type of a Japanese woman who are apt to overwork very often. I hope she'll take a good rest not only for herself but also for her only son.
　Some young people today put on a strange make-up. They paint their face as if they were ready for a ritual rite. It's OK unless they don't bother others, but I feel a little embarrassed to see those easy-going people. Maybe they don't understand there are many people in this world who have a really hard time living the day. I hope, if possible, many people will notice themselves that they should not waste their young energy, because they could be of great help of those in trouble.

(Saturday, November 19, 2005)
　Do you sometimes feel like shouting at other people? I do. I think that's because I'm mentally so much tired. Since I started teaching at two language schools, I've been working too hard to take a break. I've done everything I could, and still I'm trying to do my best to manage every possible class that is offered to me. I should also try to find some time to refresh myself, say going to the beach just lying there for a while.
　I really wish I could visit Kyoto with my wife. It's very beautiful especially at this time of the year. You could enjoy colored trees. Toward the end of November is the best time to visit the old Japanese city. Recently most of the hotels are having trouble getting guests and they offer cheap rooms. I really have to think of finding chances to do that, which will surelly make my wife happy who's crazy about Kyoto.
　Tomorrow about 30 children studying at KGC will visit the Tokyo Disneyland in a package tour organized by school. I'm not going because I'm taking the TOEIC test again next Sunday. I'll have to prepare for it. I hope it'll be a beautiful day for the kids.

(Sunday, November 20, 2005)
　This morning in one of the TV programs a cat called "Hacchan" was in the spotlight. She used to be a stray cat taken care of by volunteer people, but now she belongs to a young phtographers couple. They took lots of pictures of their cat and published some photo books of "Hacchan" and they put some of the photos, especially ones of sleeping "Hacchan" in her unique styles, on a website, which has become so popular now. The website gets more than three hundred thousand accesses from the people all over Japan.
　It is true that "Hacchan" looks so charming, but I also think our "Ryoma" looks as cute as the popular cat. I hope someday someone very influencial will pay attention to my website and enjoy looking at Ryoma's photes. I'm sure he'll be loved by hundreds of thousands of people in Japan. "Hacchan" has smart sharp eyes, and so does "Ryoma."

　Naoko Takahashi has made it! After two years of being lost in a dark tunnel, Naoko Takahashi, whose nickname is well-known as "Q-chan," returned to the marathon world by winning the Tokyo International Women's Marathon with the second runner far behind her. All the people cheering for Q-chan, including me of course, would like to say form the bottom of their heart, "Congratulations! And welcome back!" I think she is a good person as well as a great athlete. I hope she'll have the luck to take part in the Beijing Olympic Games which will be held in China in 2008.

(Monday, November 21, 2005)
　Last night when I was walking our dog Ryoma, I met a young man also walking his Siberian Husky. I greeted him but he didn't answer and walked away. Why do so many people today try to prevent cantacting others? What do they think of the community they belong to? In case of emergency we'd have to cooperate to help each other.

　It's so cold this morning. It's freezing cold as if we were in a refrigerator or a fridge. We live in a rather warm place called "Shonan District" and we're not used to cold weathers. Whe it suddenly snows a lot, people around here panic and all the tirechains are gone from every gas station. I myself always carry a rubber tirebelt in the trunk(BrE boot) of my car, but I don't know how to attach them to the tires. I have to read the direction carefully.

　This afternoon I took care of the returnees from the ages of 5 to 8. Usually the class is managed by David from Canada, who has been in Hawaii since last week now. We talked about animals in the world and also about dinosaurs. All the kids said they thought dinosaurs were scary, but I though they themselves were as scary as dinosaurs in a sense.

(Tuesday, November 22, 2005)
　The Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. They talked about the Northern Territories issue, but they didn't agree with each other. For the leader of Russia, giving back all the four islands might affect his popularity in his own country. There seems to be a long way to go until the problem is solved.
　Some specialists point out that Russia is now buliding a closer relationship with China and it is economicaly growing rapidly. It is true that Russia wants closer ties with Japan in terms of economy, but it might think the Northern Territories issue would not affect the close ties they want with Japan. Here I have a very basic question. Did all the four islands really belong to our country? Is there any proof? In order to solve the territorial problems, there should be a win-win situation between the two countries.

(Wednesday, November 23, 2005)
　The suspected architect Aneha doesn't show any sense of sin when he answers questions from TV roporters. He says, "It's a common sense that we try to reduce budget to construct buildings." But they should not threaten people's lives They have bulit or are building less expensive buildings in exchange for safety, which is the most important element when they do their work construction work. One of the real estate companies has promised the buyers to give back all the money they had paied for the defective apartments. But another company told the press that they had no intention to compensate for the buyers losses. I hope the government will intervene in the matter.

　An aweful murder happened again this time in Hiroshima. An elementary school girl was missing on her way back home, and she was later found dead in a small cardboard box in the neighborhood. According to the police, she was obviously choked to death somewhere else and her body was carried there in some way or other. It happened during the daytime, which threatens all the parents whose children go to the same school as the murdered girl. After notorious murderer Miyazaki came kinky Kobayashi and the one we still don't know. What can we do to prevent those terrible crimes from happening?

(Thursday, November 24, 2005)
　I was so busy today. I had two English classes at Odawara Nursery School from 9:10a.m. to 12:20p.m. After the classes I waited for an important envelope to be handed to me, and soon started the engine of my car. I got home around 1:35p.m. I changed the textbooks in may bag and soon rode my motorbike to KGC. I reached the school a few minutes late at 1:53p.m. I was supposed to have a private lesson from 1:50p.m. to 3:30p.m. I almost had no time to take my lunch. In the evening from 6:30p.m. to 9:20p.m. I had two classes at ECC. This morning I left home about 7:00a.m., so my total working hours today were more than 14 hours including intermission. Too heavy a schedule, isn't it?

　I unexpectedly met a mother of the student in my homeroom class four years ago at Hagisono Junior High School. She said she had started to learn English at ECC this fall. I wonder why she recognized me, because I was talking to my students in the lesson room. Did she recognize my voice? If that had really happened, it had been such a great thing. Anyway I was so glad that she herself spoked to me at the door. I hope she'll be able to get what she wants here at ECC.

(Friday, November 25, 2005)
　When I was talking to my Scotish colleague about the Japanese politics, I said that the possible war would be fought between China and Japan. Then he interrupted by saying "Likely, sorry." He meant that he was sorry to say that my use of the word "possible" was not proper adn that it should be replaced by the word "likely." Of course I smiled at him and said again, "The likely war would be ...." He was so polite to add "sorry" when he pointed out my mistake. I liked his honest personality. Other than politics we talked about the Japanese Emperor system, which seemed to interest him so much. I really enjoyed talking to him. Not to be too proud, I noticed that I had become a much better speaker of English. Practice makes perfect, doesn't it?

　In the morning, before going to the KGC, I dropped in at one of my student's home to hand her an e-dictionary which she had bought from me. I usually sell e-dictionaries for just 15,000 yen especially to students I'm in charge of. It's an incredible price which brings me no profits. Of course it cost me more thn that to obtain those dictionaries. So this is what I call a voluntary sale.

(Saturday, November 26, 2005)
　Tonight I tried talking to Ryoma in English. Surprisingly enough he seemed to understand what I was talking about. Maybe he was an American dog in his former life. Once my wife told me that when she gave Ryoma English orders like "Turn right/left." he could understand. At that time I didn't believe her. But now I feel she was right in saying that. Ryoma could understand English! What a great smart dog!

　Tomorrow I'm going to take the TOEIC test at the Shonan University of Technology about ten minutes' walk from JR Tsujido Station. If possible, I'll go there on my motorbike. If not I'll have to use my wife's bike. It's OK, because riding a bike is good exercise. The problem is whether my listening ability has improved since I look the test last time in July. I haven't done anything special to train my English ears. Let's see what will happen.

(Sunday, November 27, 2005)
　This time I also had difficulty in taking the listening comprehension test. How can I be so poor at listening? Because this time I might get full 495 score in the reading test. I could really enjoy the reading test, perhaps because I've been reading the English newspapers these days. I have to do a short-term intensive listening training myself.

　After the TOEIC test, I had a headache. I soon rode my motorbike home and lied on the sofa. I slept there for a while, which took my headache away. I think it was because of lack of sleep. Next time I take the TOEIC test, I think I'll have to have enough sleep during the night before. Is it an excuse? It might be.

(Monday, November 28, 2005)
　This morning I had the last lesson of one-month intensive English conversation course. The lady seemed to be so impressed to know that the English language was not so difficult to learn as she expected it would be. Most of the English learners have hard time understanding English grammar. But the grammar itself is not so difficult to understand.What should be blamed is the way they learned the English grammar. Most of the Japanese teachers of English are not good at English grammar. Of course they don't know how to teach the grammar effectively. They depend too much on a grammar book. I believe they should write their own English grammar books.
　I myself collected lots of information about the English grammar in every possible way. So my way of teaching the English grammar is quite different from other teachers. My information has always been updated in order to offer useful knowledge about the language. It's our job to let the students feel the English grammar is interesting to learn.

(Tuesday, November 29, 2005)
　Last night at ECC a middle-aged lady came to observe my English conversation class to see if she could get what she wants by studying at ECC. After the lesson I talked to her for about half an hour and she decided to start studying at ECC. I felt relieved to have done a good job about her decision. I sincerely thanked her for understanding what we were going to do at ECC. Welcome again to ECC!

　What kind of person is HUSER LTD. President Susumu Ojima? It's obvious that he's been deeply involved in the contstruction scandal in which they built buildings intentionally using the falisified quake-proofing data made up by Hidetsugu Aneha. Some architects say that they feel a little bit sorry for him, because he couldn't stand the pressure by the construction companies to ask for faked quake-resistence data.
　I'm sorry for those who have paid more than 40 million yen for a illeagally constructed apartment. Will they have to give up getting back all the money they paid for the garbage? But I'm against the idea of the government's compensating for their losses, becuase it means our tax will be used to solve the problem.

　This afternoon there was questioning about this scandal at the congress. Thos who are thought to be involved in this scandal were called to the questioning except for Mr.Aneha who was absent from the questioning because of mental instability. Is it OK for a very important person, who actually made up faked data for construction, absent himself from the also important questioning? During the questioning there was a scene in which Susumu Ojima shouted at the questioner. The chairperson warned the weired president that he should not be too emotional when answering the questions given. I was so surprised to see him get excited at a holy occasion like that. He's so incredible.
　Around 4:10 in the afternoon, President Ojima of HUSER shouted at President Fujita of eHomes while he was answering the questions. How could he be so rude? This is such a big problem that they should try to tell the truth. The two tops disagree with each other. It is certain that one of them is telling lies. Which one? There's no doubt.

(Wednesday, November 30, 2005)
　Today is the last day of November. Do you know that next year is the year of the dog? I was born in the year of the dog. It's my year. It's easy for us to print the New Year's cards because we've got lots of Ryoma's photos in my laptop. My wife has started to wonder which photo she's going to use,...well more exactly, she's going to let me use for printing. It's alwasys my job to print New Years cards for my wife, my mother, my parents-in-law, and myself. I don't care, though. It's really a piece of cake!

　Early this morning a 30-year-old Peruvian man was arrested as a suspected murderer of the elementary school girl in Hiroshima. On the day of the murder the Peruvian was seen talking to a girl just in front of his apartment house. It's been only 7 months since he came to Japan. The victimized girl's family have also been here for only three months. Everybody wants to know why he had to kill the little girl. Did he do it just to satisfy his sexsual appetite? Now is the time when the relations between Peru and Japan has been frozen because of the ex-President Fujimori's incident. I can easily imagine that the Peru Government is totally at a loss what to do about this merciless murder case.