Sunday, July 23, 2006 Cloudy and rainy.

　Although today was not a workday, I went to school to give some students a makeup in English, but the attendance was not good at all. After the makeup, I marked the exam sheets and inputted the results. I was supposed to work for four hours. On the way back, got three box lunches for my wife, our son, and myself, but our son had gone to work before I knew it.

Saturday, July 22, 2006 Fair

　Tried going to Tenri University. It was a long way away from home. So hot and dehydrated from walking a lot. Bought a one-month train pass. My summer Korean language course starts the day after tomorrow at the university. On the way home we bought box suppers.

Friday, July 21, 2006 Rainy

　My wife stayed up all night, working on a crossword. In the morning I gave her a hand and she succeeded in solving it. Today two " Boxer Slim Suits" arrived. My wife ordered them. They help us perspire a lot and lose weight. I hope they will work. She also bought me a face pillow so that I can take a short nap at my desk at work. I hope it will come in handy.

Thursday, July 20, 2006 Rainy and cloudy.

　Our son is now taking his exams. Unless he passes them, he cannot graduate from his university. His graduation was delayed because he was a couple of credits short. He miscalculated, but anyway he got employed. He now mainly works and goes to school when he has to take his exams. I am afraid he may not make it. His university is so mercenary although its founder was a great Christian. I do not like this school.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006 Rainy and cloudy.

　A Korean study meeting in the morning as usual. Ate lunch at the usual restaurant. Put dozens of exam papers into envelopes. Inputted the exam results. Corrected some 'reports', and marked some exam sheets. Invigilated one exam. Busy doing this and that at work all day. .

Tuesday, July 18, 2006 Cloudy

　Went to the sign language circle and the Korean language school as usual. On the way back from my Korean class, bought two box lunches ( suppers ) at a department store. Took a nap until midnight. At midnight saw the Korean drama on TV for two hours. And resumed my sleep.

Monday, July 17, 2006 Rainy

　Only early in the morning it was not raining. I did some weeding and pruning in the backyard then, perspiring a lot. Then took a shower. Went to the supermarket in the neighborhood to discard some empty plastic bottles and beer cans and did a little shopping. Also cleaned the desk and the space around it. Cleaned the balcony, too. I was doing household chores all day. My wife was in bed almost all day. She had a headache.

Sunday, July 16, 2006 Fair and a shower for a while.

　Sunday but a workday. Had a full day, invigilating, correcting 'reports', and marking exam papers. For lunch bought a box lunch at the convenience store near the school−the kind of box lunch I usually eat. The teachers' room is so well air-conditioned I get cold working in there. So, I wear a thin jacket; even so, it is so cold.My autonomous nervous system may get dysfunctional. One of the bosses told me to hand in a certain paper. I am certain I did hand it in, but anyway I resubmitted it. This happened last year, too. I was right then, too. I put a check in my pocket calendar.
　

Saturday, July 15, 2006 Fair

　Went to my English conversation school and spent two hours or so speaking in English. Bought okonomiyaki on the way home and ate it for lunch. Solved the crossword for the latter half of this month. Took an afternoon nap. In the evening there was a condo board meeting, which lasted for about two hours.

Friday, July 14, 2006 Fair and extremely hot.

　So hot and humid people collapsed here and there because of heat stroke. In this kind of weather your body loses its fluid balance easily. Hence heat stroke. I have been under the weather these days, so I feel languid. My right back teeth ache, too, maybe because I have a stiff neck. Otherwise I need to go see the dentist. Handed in my summer schedule to the bosses.

Thursday, July 13, 2006 Fair and as hot as yesterday.

　Taught introductory Korean in the morning. Had lunch in a Korean food restaurant with some friends. I had fun eating and chatting together. Took a half day off. On my way back, I did a little shopping. Today was our 26th wedding anniversary. About the way I study Korean, I made a big mistake. I have not long carried my small dictionary with me. I will resume the habit of having it with me all the time, for it seems the only way to enrich my vocabulary.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006 Fair and too hot.

　A Korean study meeting in the morning for one and a half hours, and then to lunch at the cafeteria on the sixth floor of the ward hall. On gate duty in the everting. Then invigilated one exam. So hot I drank beer when I got home. The heat and this busyness really get me.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006 Fair but so very hot.

　Went to the sign language circle in the morning. A man from the fire station was explaining resuscitation. Today was a workday. I had a substitute half day off. The teachers' rooms were deserted. At night saw the Korean drama "Thousand Years' Love."

Monday, July 10, 2006 Cloudy

　While I am walking to the station on my way to work, a high-rise condo complex under construction is in view. When completed, it will be 100 meters tall. It seems a sign of the times to me and reminds me of the Tower of Babel. Day one of the 1st-term exams.

Sunday, July 9, 2006 Fair

　There was a STEP interview test. I interviewed around 40 examinees. I have been a STEP interview examiner for 25 years or so. The interview test used to be a lot simpler. Now the procedure is complicated. Well, things have changed. Went shopping at Konan and Joshin for cat food and batteries.

Saturday, July 8, 2006 Cloudy

　Stayed all day at home, doing nothing in particular but watch TV or listen to the radio. Watching a Todai professor and Bakushomondai talk on an NHK program, I got the impression that the former lacks imagination. It is said that knowledge is power, and Tadai is the place where people with lots of knowledge gather. Knowledge may give you power, but imagination is something different that makes life more artistic and more human and also more moving...

Friday, July 7, 2006 Cloudy

　The first-term exams are starting next week, so we did the cleaning. I cleaned the study hall. Corrected some 'reports.' Studied Korean a little. Murders committed by college kids stand out these days. College kids today are said to be immature and have little experience of overcoming friction and discord caused by human relations. Experience does count, but it hurts, too.

Thursday, July 6, 2006 Cloudy, occasionally rainy.

　Taught a couple of colleagues introductory Korean in the morning as usual. Then went out to eat lunch at the usual restaurant. Corrected ten 'reports' or so. There were two staff meetings. Sent out mail to students, which took less than 30 minutes because there was not much to put in envelopes. Now a survey of keys to desks and rooms is being carried out, but this survey seems to be going too far because it is a typically managerial way of thinking, taking advantage of this opportunity. Just rigid. 　

Wednesday, July 5, 2006 Cloudy, occasionally rainy.

　North Korea test-launched missiles onto the Sea of Japan in spite of warnings from Japan and other countries. Economic sanctions against the country are sure to be taken this time. Two Korean study meetings −one in the morning and the other in the evening. Our instructor was out on business in the morning, so we did it on our own. Corrected around 30 'reports.' Got another DVD movie with the same title with English subtitles.

Tuesday, July 4, 2006 Cloudy

　Finished watching the Korean drama "Glass Shoes." There were 40 episodes, but I could not see a couple of them because my computer froze every time I played that particular CD. Bough a DVD movie whose title was "The Thief of Baghdad", but this had no English subtitles. Too Bad.

Monday, July 3, 2006 Rainy and then cloudy.

　Changing trains and hurrying onto the next train on my way back at night, I was out of breath. Aging is showing, especially in this hot weather. I have been watching this Korean drama "Glass Shoes" for the past 10 days or so. Maybe fatigue must have piled up, too.

Sunday, July 2, 2006 Cloudy

　"Out of the mouth comes evil," is a well-know saying my mother used to quote to me when I was a little boy, and we Japanese tend to think that silence is golden., often concluding that it is better to leave it unsaid. A fight between husband and wife often happens because the wife's words hit home with the husband. It can be a vicious cycle often. Breaking out of it seems hard.

Saturday, July 1, 2006 Cloudy

　Drove over to my parents' place. A student loan paper of my first-born son's was defective, so I had it rewritten by my sister, who stood security for his debt ( loan). Japanese scholarships are no scholarships, but they are just loans. Some get scholarships and play with the money instead of studying. Some do not apply for scholarships but try to make a living on their own, studying. Money never seems to be used appropriately in this country. Money talks for those who do not deserve it.