Friday, December 31, 2004 Rainy and very cold.
It snowed in the morning. The Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami death
toll is now over 120,000. Just too much to bear. I am back on the Net now,
but while I am browsing, the PC often freezes. Maybe the system resource
is unstable. The new TV set is now on its rack..
Thursday, December 30, 2004 Rainy
Fdisked the HDD of my PC as it began to freeze while I was on the Internet.
It ended all right, but getting back on the Internet was quite a hassle.
My wife is good at that but she had a hard time anyway. The new liquid
crystal display TV set came today with its rack.
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
The death toll of Sumatra's earthquake is still on the rise. Right now
almost 70,000. The earth must now be going through a new phase of movement
of the crust. So many natural anomalies, such as too many typhoons in a
year, are happening. But maybe all these are a mere prelude to greater
catastrophes that are to come. What an age we are living in now!
Tuesday, December 28, 2004 Fair
One of the websites I daily visit has closed down all of a sudden. There
was no sign at all of this happening. A bolt from the blue. Moved the bookcases
from the living room to another room all for myself. Still in the process
of putting the books in place, though. What a hassle!
Monday, December 27, 2004 Fair
Yesterday a very big eathquake occurred in Indonesia, killing more than
20,000 people. It is said to be the biggest one in 40 years−its energy
being about1.600 times that of the Great Hanshin Earthquake. I can do nothing
but cower. This year has been full of disasters. And now this catastrophe!
Sunday, December 26, 2004 Fair
Got rid of the long-legged wasp nest which I had found in summer this
year. It was in a plastic box on the balcony. I thought I would wait until
winter came. Even in winter, however, they could move a little, although
they could not fly. There were dozens of them.
Saturday, December 25, 2004 Fair
Woke up early, did the raido exercises, and listended to the radio Korean
program. Sat at the desk and did a lot of work. Also did some household
chores, such as washing the dishes, cleaning the floor, and taking in the
washing. One of the two cats is in heat and is very noisy now, chasing
ME! I wish she were a human being. Actually, we are different species.
Friday, December 24, 2004 Fair
Had to go see a doctor in the morning. Had a couple of students come
over for a makeup and a retest. Called one student to make an appointment.
A very rude student called some other teacher who was absent and I took
the message. My wife was trying very hard to install the new DVD recorder.
Thursday, December 23, 2004 Fair
To buy a conventional VCR, my wife and I drove to Joshin, but we ended
up buying a DVD player and a crystal liquid display TV, costing us a lot
of money. The TV will come in January. At night, printed around 30 New
Year's cards, using my wife's PC.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004 Fair
Marked some retest papers and inputted the results. Cleaned my desk at
work. Studied Korean a little bit. There was a year-end party for members
of the teachers' union I belong to. There were ten of us present this evening.
My colleague Korean teacher is now down with a cold, running a fever. I
had a mail from him.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004 Fair
Went to the sign language circle in the morning. In the afternoon, attended
the Korean language class. Today I was in no mood to do anything. I felt
I was in poor health. Actually, something bad happened to my body. I hit
the sack very early. I needed some rest.
Monday, December 20, 2004 Cloudy
Spend most of the afternoon proofreading the school's periodical. It
took around four hours, working with another colleague. As soon as this
was done, I had a class to teach, and then gave retests and a makeup to
some students, which took two hours or so. The book I had ordered online
from Amazon came today.
Sunday, December 19, 2004 Fair
I had one of my two bosses visit my class today. He commented on my teaching
later on. Gave makeups and retests to some students. My rucksack, which
I have been using to and back from work, is no longer usable. The faster
broke and there is a rip, too. I will have to buy a new one.
Saturday, December 18, 2004 Fair and then cloudy.
Just back from my daily constitutional. Walked for more than an hour
in the neighborhood at night. While taking a walk, tried to memorize some
Korean words. In the morning, spent two hours or so conversing in English.
Took a nap in the afternoon. Tomorrow is a workday.
Friday, December 17, 2004 Fair
Last night I was wondering if I could use Korean on my PC so that I could
write Korean, so I tampered with the control panel of the PC. As a result,
my webpage got garbled, and it took me some time to locate the cause and
correct it. As it turned out, I had chosen German for the language of my
PC by mistake.
Thursday, December 16, 2004 Fair, occasionally cloudy.
I cannot get over fatigue, so I have decided to take a day off tomorrow.
Today there was just one conference to attend. Studied Korean a little.
Did the household chores as usual. Our first-born son will be coming home
tonight after working part-time in Osaka. I want to see the Korean movie
"Old Boy." I may go see it this weekend.
Wednesday, December 15, 2004 Fair
At night I took a walk and dropped by the usual bookstore. I bought two
books and paid the money by book coupon card. The clerk at the cash register
never seemed to give me back the card, so I asked her for it. Then she
said that she had already given it back to me. I emptied my wallet and
my pockets, but I could not find it. After some time, another clerk found
it near the cash register. This female clerk, to begin with, had no manners,
not to mention, brain.
Tuesday, December 14, 2004 Fair
Today the sign language circle had a Christmas party, but I could not
join them because I had to go to the Korean language class. Anyway I helped
out a little, ushering members into the building where the party was to
be given. In the Korean classroom were 14 women and four men learning how
to count in Korean today. That WAS hard!
Monday, December 13, 2004 Cloudy
It has been a long day. I woke up early this morning and worked all day.
The president of the printing company came over for the manuscripts of
the school's next periodical, and I explained where those manuscripts should
go for an hour or so. I studied Korean a lot. When I got out of the warm
room and walked up from the 4th floor to the 7th floor, I felt a chest
pain and sick. The temperature dropped suddenly outside at night. I have
to watch out for the temperature difference.
Sunday, December 12, 2004 Cloudy and then rainy.
The school festival was held today. I was busy all day helping my club
members and teacher sell curry noodles. They sold about 100 portions of
curry noodles. One bowl was 200 yen. The taste was very good, and the price
was reasonable. The cook was excellent. At first, they did not sell well,
but as the other eating places sold out, customers came along and we sold
out, too.
Saturday, December 11, 2004 Fair
Had my right ingrown toenail treated, which cost me 6.300 yen. This was
my second time. It is done every two months and continues for one year
to one and a half years. But I hear this may often recur. There seems to
have been something wrong with the tooth I had treated two years ago. Aging
brings one trouble after another, doesn't it?
Friday, December 10, 2004 Cloudy
Viewed most of the drama "Kaikyo wo watru baiorin"( the violin
which crosses the strait). I think I will see the last part late tonight.
Talking to my Korean teacher at school, I made a simple mistake in Korean,
but I learned a lot from the mistake. I don't mind making mistakes because
it is fun to communicate in Korean.
Thursday, December 9, 2004 Cloudy
Another long conference. It lasted for around five hours. I do not like
conferences, especially long ones, but 'democracy' is really tedious. Asked
about the department I belong to, I could not explain because I myself
was not convinced of the status quo. There is something wrong, but nothing
can be done about it.
Wednesday, December 8, 2004 Fair
It was very warm today, too. At work I could go without a sweater, with only an undershirt and a bit thick shirt on during the day. Finished laying out the school's periodical . Finished seeing the Korean drama "Sandglass" ("More Shige" in Korean), which turned out to be a masterpiece, although, at first, I thought it was a gloomy drama..
Tuesday, December 7, 2004 Fair
The sign language circle in the morning and the Korean language lesson
in the afternoon. Pretty busy. Picked up my wife and ate out in the evening.
Almost the usual routine. Viewed a Korean drama-"Sandglass."
Felt a bit tired and went to bed early. Yesterday called my parents and
talked on the phone. Dad's really gotten old.
Monday, December 6, 2004 Fair
Still in the process of laying out the school's periodical. The section
I belong to had a conference, reaching no conclusion because everyone was
noncommittal. The atmosphere felt ice-cold. I long for the former workplace
where we had meetings over a cup of coffee. My first-born son now seems
to be struggling with his graduation thesis.
Sunday, December 5, 2004 Cloudy
I had diarrhea this morning. I felt tired and was afraid I would not
feel up to work today, but anyway I left home for work. And here I am at
home back from work after a full workday. On the way back, I did a little
shopping at the usual supermarket. Today I had a very delicious okonimiyaki for lunch. The price was so reasonable, too.
Saturday, December 4, 2004 Cloudy and then rainy.
Spent two hours or so conversing in English at the usual place. Called
Mom and found that she had been in poor health. Our second son is having
an overnight study session under his professor. New down futon arrived
today. There are four of them, costing us around 100, 000 yen. Finished
watching a serial Korean drama ( "Teman" ) on video. Worked on
my webpage a little.
Friday, December 3, 2004 Cloudy.
I had a full day. I am going to be busy laying out the school's next
periodical next week. My wife must have been tired because she was fast
asleep when I got back from work. Only the cats kept me company. The living
room was so quiet. A small earthquake happened a few times this morning
in Hyogo Prefecture.
Thursday, December 2, 2004 Cloudy and suddenly cold.
It is as though it has suddenly become winter. Toward the evening, my
Japanese teacher of Korean and I went to Osaka's Korea Town by bike and
I bought 600 yen's worth of kimchi there. Last time I went there, I took
some students with me. Now I know a little Korean, so I could understand
a Korean word or two today.
Wednesday, December 1, 2004 Cloudy
It is already December, but it is too warm for winter. The weather is
not normal this year− just like today's world maybe. I am in charge of
our school's next periodical. This is my first time to do it, but I will
have to do it on my own. This is the way things are done at this place
of work. I will ask around for info anyway. Ask, and it shall be given
you.