Thursday, January 24, 2008

New Laptop

new laptop
[Notice:注意]
The English edition doesn't necessarily correspond to the Japanese one.
必ずしも英語版と日本語版は、一致しません。(^^♪

Since I'm very busy at the factory and preparation for a new English school that's going to be opened in March. So, I decided to buy a new laptop because the previous one died last year, in order to make some documents in my factory's office when I have some spare time. To be honest, I wanted to buy a "MacBook Air", but I couldn't wait for the release, so I couldn't help but to get a Windows laptop instead. Actually, it was my first time to use Windows Vista. How short today's diary is.....

工場だけでなく、3月開校予定の新しい英会話スクールのための準備で忙しいです。なので、工場での空いた時間に、ドキュメント作成をするべく、新しいノートPCを買うことを来ました。前のノートPCは去年壊れたから・・・ほんとのところは、MacBook Airが欲しかったのですが、発売を待てませんないので、代わりに、WindowsのノートPCを買わざるを得なかった。実は、Windows Vistaを使うのは、これが初めてです。(^^♪ あぁ、なんて短い日記・・・

Sunday, January 20, 2008

English Friend Comes to my favorite bar

I have some foreign friends who we got to know each other in mixi, the most famous SNS in Japan. Yesterday an English friend of mine came to Izumisano city to meet me in person. Actually, it was my first to meet my foreign friend in mixi. Then we went to the bar I often go to in front of Izumisano station. Some of my Japanese friends and an American friend also came there. I had a really great time thanks to them. The English guy took a lot of pictures in the bar, such as the mistress and us. He looked younger than 30 years old to me but apparently older than 30. Anyway, it's the most exciting thing for me to meet interesting people all over the world. That's exactly why I study English now!

mixi(日本で最も有名なSNS)で知り合った外国人が何人かいます。昨日イギリス人の友人が、実際に私と対面するために、泉佐野にやってきました。そして、いつも私が行くバーへ。何人かの日本人の友人とアメリカ人の友人もそのバーに来ました。彼らのおかげで、本当に楽しかったです。(^^♪ イギリス人の友人は、めっちゃ沢山の写真をバーで撮っていました。例えば、バーの女性主人とか私達とか。彼は30歳より若く見えたのですが、どうやら30歳を超えているみたいです。とにかく、世界中の興味深い人達と会うのは、めっちゃ面白い!まさに、それが、今、私が英語を勉強している理由なんや!

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Charger

Since I often use my cell phone very often these days, the battery sometimes dies. Actually, I often check emails send to my PC email address with my cell phone and access mixi, the most famous and popular SNS in Japan, when I'm out. That's why it sometimes dies, besides I use it as not only a phone but also a dictionary once in a while as well. So, I bought a charger to bring the battery alive anytime anywhere. I can use the charger with two size AA batteries. It sounds convenient, huh?

最近、しょっちゅう携帯電話を使うので、バッテリがすぐに無くなります。実は、外出しているときは、自宅のPCのメールアドレスに届いた電子メールを携帯電話でチェックしたり、mixi(日本で最も有名で人気のあるSNS)にアクセスしたりするからです。だから、ときどきバッテリが無くなるんですよね。さらに、携帯電話を辞書としても使うときも、たまにあります。そこで、どこでも、いつでもバッテリを充電するために、充電器を買いました。単三乾電池二つで、充電できます。便利でしょ?(^^♪

charger

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Telephone Call

My wife got a phone call from a convenience store near my house yesterday. Apparently, my eldest son did something wrong there. As I mentioned before, he has ADHD, so he often act strangely. The staff of the store said that he had been reading some adult books there and trying to tear a couple of pages. Since he is already a 14 years old, it can't be helped to have such a strong desire as many young boys have. :D
Anyway, my wife rushed to the store and apologized to the store manager. The son did a great job the other day, the victory on the "GO competition", but he screwed it up by himself. When I got home and heard that news, I said to him like, "What you did is like what athletes win gold medals in Olympic games by taking illegal drugs, I mean, even though you did a terrific job, bad behavior makes a mess of the good result."

I'm rooted... X(


妻が昨日、コンビニエンスストアから電話を受けたそうです。どうやら、長男が何かしたらしい。前にも言ったことがありますが、彼はADHDなので、よく変な行動をします。店員が言うには、変な本を読んでいて、ページを破ろうとしていたらしい。まぁ、14歳の男の子ですから、そういう欲求があるのは仕方のないことなのですが。(笑)
とにかく、妻は店に飛んでいって、店長に謝罪したそうです。長男は先日、偉業を達成しました(囲碁大会で優勝)が、自分自身でそれを台無しにしてしまいましたね。私が帰宅して、そのことを聞いたとき、彼に言ってあげました。『お前のしたことは、運動選手が薬を使って、金メダルを取るようなものだ。つまり、良いことをしても、後で悪いことしたら、意味ないでしょ?』と・・・。

めっちゃ疲れた。(ToT)

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Quit Subscribing to English Newspaper

[Notice:注意]
The English edition doesn't necessarily correspond to the Japanese one.
必ずしも英語版と日本語版は、一致しません。(^^♪

Since I'm very busy at work these days, I don't have enough spare time weekdays. So, I can't help but to cut down the time to study English everyday, but I'll NEVER cut down the time to drink. Honestly, I like study English, but doing something too much is stressful even though I like it, especially when I'm busy at work.
I mean, I've just decided to call off subscribing to a weekly English newspaper, which is called "Weekly ST." Plus, I changed my this year's aim to focusing on conversation skills, especially fluency. Let me write my diary colloquially as far as possible this year, most of the contents were already written that way though. :p

By the way, I don't know why I can't fall asleep tonight. As a matter of fact, I often don't have a good sleep after I became 40 years old. I really don't know why... However, I'm used to working with lack of sleep, so I think it's OK. Speaking of "lack", it's quite difficult for me to pronounce "lack", "luck" and "rack" correctly. There are also so many tough words in English to pronounce correctly - such as "low", "law", "raw", "row" and "roe." X(


この頃、仕事がすごく忙しいので、平日に十分な自由時間が無い。それで、毎日の英語の勉強時間を減らすことにした。でも、酒を飲む時間を減らすつもりは無い!(笑) 英語を勉強するのは、好きなのだが、たとえ好きなことでも、やりすぎるのはストレスが溜まる。とくに仕事が忙しい時は。
つまり、英字新聞(週間ST)を購読するのをやめることにした。さらに、今年の目標を、会話スキル(特に流暢さ)に集中することに変更。今年は、できるだけ口語調で日記を書いていこうと思う。既にほとんどの日記は、その方法で書かれているけどね。(^^♪

ところで、今夜は何故か眠れない。実際、40歳を超えてから、熟睡できないことが多い。何故だろ? でも、寝不足で働くことには慣れているから、大丈夫だろう。"lack"と言えば、"lack", "luck", "rack"を正確に発音するのは、すごく難しい。英語にはたくさんの発音が難しい単語がある。例えば、"low", "law", "raw", "row" "roe"など。(ToT)

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Private VOICE on Weeknight

[Notice:注意]
The English edition doesn't necessarily correspond to the Japanese one.
必ずしも英語版と日本語版は、一致しません。(^^♪

Since some people want to take private VOICE lessons on weeknights, I asked a friend, who owns a studio that we sometimes have the lessens in, whether or not it's OK with him to use the studio as a VOICE room on weeknights. He willingly allowed me to host VOICE classes on every weeknight, so I decided to try to hold a young American guy's VOICE on the 21st. I'm not sure that many people are coming, though. Plus, I probably won't be able to make it on the day. If there aren't enough students, I'll have to call the plan off.

何人か平日の夜のプライベートVOICE(英会話喫茶)開催を希望しているので、スタジオオーナーに使わせてもらえるかどうか聞いてみました。彼は快く、スタジオの使用を許可してくれたので、21日に若いアメリカ人のVOICEにトライしてみようと思います。沢山の生徒さんが集まってくれるかどうか、わからないけど・・・さらに、私は恐らく参加できない。もし、十分な生徒さんが来なければ、中止にしなくちゃ。

Monday, January 14, 2008

Son Wins Go Competition

trophy

[Notice:注意]
The English edition doesn't necessarily correspond to the Japanese one.
必ずしも英語版と日本語版は、一致しません。(^^♪

My eldest son is really crazy about "Go" and "Syogi", so he belongs to the Go and Syogi club in his junior high school. As far as I know, he is the strongest student of the club members. The advisory teacher of the club recommended the other day that he take part in the competition held in Wakayama prefecture yesterday. Of course, he took part in it and won the tournament! I knew he could do it! As soon as he got home yesterday, he showed my wife and me the trophy. We are really glad and complimented him on his victory, of course.

Actually, he has ADHD as some of my friends know. ADHD stands for "attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder". Therefore, it's sometimes tough for us to deal with him. Even though he has it, he did very well. That's one of the reasons my wife and I were really happy to hear that he had won the match.

私の長男は、碁と将棋が大好き。だから、中学校で『囲碁・将棋クラブ』に所属してます。私が知る限りでは、彼が一番強いそうです。先日、顧問の先生が和歌山で開催される大会に参加するように薦めてくれました。もちろん、彼は大会に参加して、優勝しました!さすが!彼は帰宅するとすぐに、嫁さんと私に優勝トロフィーを見せてくれました。もちろん、めっちゃ嬉しくて、彼を褒めてあげましたよ。(^^♪

実は、友人の何人かはご存知でしょうけど、彼はADHDなのです。ADHDは、『注意欠陥多動性症候群』の略です。それゆえに、時々、彼を扱うのは難しい・・・。にも関わらず、彼はよくやりました。まぁ、それが嬉しかった一つの理由ですね。(^^♪

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Correcting My Diary

[Notice:注意]
The English edition doesn't necessarily correspond to the Japanese one.
必ずしも英語版と日本語版は、一致しません。(^^♪

I went to NOVA to take four regular lessons yesterday. Actually, all of them are lucky one-on-one lessons! I'm sooooo lucky! I asked the first two teachers to give me ZONE-F lessons, which I took when I was a level-4 student.(I'm a level-3 student now, therefore basically I can take only ZONE-G lessons.) Since I had to work 14 hours the day before yesterday, it was very tough for me to take four lessons in a row because of the fatigue. After I took the first lessons, I decided to ask the other teachers to correct my English diary whether or not the journals are grammatically correct. Speaking of "correct", it's quite difficult for me to pronounce "correct" and "collect" correctly. (^^; Anyway, two teachers corrected them and told me that my diary is 90% correct. Can I have confidence? When they were correcting them, I found out some mistakes by myself after I read them aloud. One of the teachers recommended that I read them aloud because it's a good way to find mistakes out by myself.

To change the subject, after I ate out last night with my family, I went to the bar I often go get a drink. After I left the bar, I ran into a young girl who used to be a NOVA student. Of course I let her know about the private VOICE lessons I sometimes host. I'm so lucky!

昨日は、NOVAで4レッスン。全て、ラッキーマンツーマン!ツイてるなぁ、俺。(^^♪ 最初の二つは、ZONE-Fレッスンを御願いしました。(今は、レベル3なので、基本的にはZONE-Gしか取れない) 一昨日は14時間働いたので、4レッスン続けてとるのは、きつかったです。なので、残りの二つのレッスンは、先生に、私の英語日記の添削(correct)を御願いしました。"correct"と言えば、"correct"と"collect"を正しく発音するのは、難しい。(ToT)先生が言うには、90%正しいとのことです。自信持っていいのかな?先生が添削しているとき、自分で声を出して日記を読んでいたら、いくつかの間違いを自分自身で発見しました。先生が言うには、音読するのは、自分で間違いに気付く良い方法らしいです。

話は変わって、家族と一緒に夕食を外で食べたあと、いつも行くバーへ。そのバーからの帰り道、バッタリと昔の勉強仲間(若い女性の元NOVAの生徒さん) もちろん、英会話喫茶のことを伝えました。ツイてるなぁ、俺。(^^♪

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Paper Tiger

The newspaper says that the largest opposition party "Democratic Party of Japan(DPJ)" rejected the measure to send Japanese self-defense force to Indian Ocean in the House of Councilors the other day. However, the bill has been passed later in the House of Representatives by the ruling coalition. I don't know why DPJ decided to refuse it because it's an important mission for international contributions. The party looked energetic and powerful when they won the latest House of Councilors election, but now they look like a paper tiger. Actually there's a a Japanese idiom "張子の虎" similar to "paper tiger". The meaning of "張子の虎" is totally the same as "paper tiger." What a coincidence! :D

新聞で見たのですが、最大野党である『民主党』は参議院で、自衛隊をインド洋に送る法案を先日否決したそうです。けれども、その法案は、後で、連立与党によって、衆議院で可決されました。なぜ、民主党が、その法案を否決することにしたのか、よくわかりません。直近の参議院選挙で彼らが勝ったときは、エネルギッシュでパワフルに見えたのですが、今は"paper tiger"のようです。実は、日本語の表現で、『張子の虎』というのがあります。その意味は、"paper tiger"と全く同じ!なんという偶然。(^^♪

Friday, January 11, 2008

New Gadget

I got a new electronic dictionary at an Internet shopping site after I had checked out the price on the website of Kakaku.com. It's a sort of birthday present to myself, so to speak. (^^; This one has a variety of functions actually. It allows me to listen to native English speakers' pronunciation. Besides you can use it as a TV to watch one-segment broadcasting programs and a MP3 player as well! Terrific! On the other hand, I don't have a confidence to use all of the functions though. :p
Does anyone want my old electronic dictionary?

新しい電子辞書を買いました。価格ドットコムで値段をチェックした後、インターネットショップで。まぁ、言うなれば、自分自身への誕生日プレゼントみたいなもん。(笑) この電子辞書は、多様な機能を持ってます。ネイティヴの発音を聞くことができて、おまけに、ワンセグのTVとしても、MP3プレイヤーとしても使えます。すごい!でも、全部の機能を使いこなす自信はありませんけど。(爆)
誰か、私が使ってた古い電子辞書、欲しいですか?

my new dictionary

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Knitting & USB memory

[Notice:注意] The English edition doesn't necessarily correspond to the Japanese one. 必ずしも英語版と日本語版は、一致しません。(^^♪

Since yesterday was my birthday, I expected someone got me something nice. But, unfortunately nobody gave me any presents. (ToT) There was just a cute thing when I was having dinner alone after work. My six-year-old daughter was knitting something, so I asked her what she had been knitting. She replied to me that it was a muffler. As soon as she replied, of course I asked her again who she was going to give it. I wanted her to said like, "Of course, I'm giving Dad this!" However... no reply.... (ToT) I wonder when I can get a muffler that she knitted by hand....

To change the subject, I bought a USB flash memory at an Internet shopping site, to use it as a virtual memory. As you know, most operating systems, such as Windows XP and UNIX, support virtual storage access method. A friend recommended the other day that I should install a USB memory to use my PC comfortably, because the speed of accessing USB flash memories is much faster than that of accessing hard disk drives. It doesn't seem to run faster than I expected so far tough. :p


昨日は私の誕生日。誰か、なんかプレゼントくれるかなぁ、と期待してたけど、誰もくれませんでした。(ToT) ただ、夕食を食べていたときに、かわいい出来事がありました。6歳になる娘が、何か編んでいる!『何を編んでるの?』と聞くと、『マフラー』との答え。『誰にあげるの?』とさらに質問。『もちろん、お父さん!』という返事を期待していたけど・・・返事なし。(ToT) いつ、娘が編んだマフラーをもらえるのかなぁ・・・

話題は変わって、ネットショップでUSBメモリを買いました。仮想メモリとして使うために。ご存知のように、ほとんどのOS(例えば、Windows XPとか、UNIX)は、仮想記憶アクセス方式をサポートしています。友人が先日、PCを快適に使うために、USBメモリを使うように薦めてくれたのです。USBメモリのアクセス速度は、ハードディスクよりもはるかに速いから。今のところ、期待したほど速いようには見えませんけどね。(^^♪

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Unhappy day

[Notice:注意]
The English edition doesn't necessarily correspond to the Japanese one.
必ずしも英語版と日本語版は、一致しません。(^^♪

I'm so tired that I could sleep for a month... Honestly, I'm really "beat" because of the long holiday. As anyone who took a long vacation for the New Year, it's quite tough for me to work very hard this week. I'm worn out, exhausted, wiped out, super tired, and "dead beat". haha... Actually I just wanted to use the adjective "beat", that I've studied recently on the Internet. According to my dictionary, that's an informal word that has the same meaning as "exhausted."
By the way, do you know what day today is? A super great Japanese guy was born 45 years ago today! So he had been said that he was already on the wrong side of 40, but he will have to say like, "I'm on the right side of 50.", from now on. X(

めっちゃ疲れてます・・・ほんまに、長い休みの後の仕事はキツイわ。まぁ、誰でもそうでしょうけど。しんどい、疲れた、だるい、けだるい、どえらい疲れてる・・・(笑) 実は、ネットで知った新しい単語(形容詞)"beat"を使って日記を書きたかっただけ。(^^♪ 私の辞書によれば、非公式な単語(スラング?)で、"exhausted"と同じ意味らしいです。
ところで、今日って何の日か知ってます?超偉大なる日本人が、45年前の今日に生まれました。(爆) 今まで、彼は『40歳過ぎてます』と言ってましたが、これからは『50歳前です』と言わなくちゃいけませんねぇ。(>_<)

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Fixed Charge for i-mode

[Notice:注意]
The English edition doesn't necessarily correspond to the Japanese one.
必ずしも英語版と日本語版は、一致しません。(^^♪

As some of my friends know, I often host private English conversation classes, like NOVA's VOICE, from the end of last year. For that purpose, I have to use my cell phone more often than before, especially i-mode, which is the packet-switching service presented by NTT-Docomo and which allows users to connect the Web.
This month I decided to change my way of payment to fixed charge, that's called "Pake Hodai" and that costs about 4000 yen, in order to surf the Internet anytime anywhere without worrying about the charge. Since I bought the current cell phone about two years ago, it might be about time to get a new one.

Speaking of my cell phone, I saw a new word for me, that didn't look a new word at first, in an email newsletter with the gadget when working in my factory yesterday. The word is "stationary", that's an adjective. I knew a noun similar to it, that's "stationery". Then I emailed my PC's email address about those words to check them out after I get home. Actually, I often send emails to myself with the phone while I'm out, so that I don't forget things to do later. Anyway, I studied them with my dictionary after yesterday's dinner. Holy cow! The pronunciations of those words sound exactly the same, but the meanings are totally different! (ToT)


友人の何人かは、ご承知でしょうけど、昨年末から、英会話喫茶(NOVEのVOICEのようなもの)を開催しております。そのため、以前よりも携帯電話を使うことが多いです、特にiモードを。
今月あら、支払いプランを『パケホーダイ』に変更しました。これで、料金を気にすることなく、いつでもどこでも、ネットに接続することができます。(^^♪ そういや、携帯電話も2年前に買ったのだから、そろそろ変え時かな?最近、調子悪いし・・・・

携帯電話と言えば、昨日仕事している時に、新しい単語(というか、最初は新しい単語とは思えなかった)を携帯電話で読んでいるメールマガジンで見ました。それは、"stationary"という形容詞。それによく似た"stationery"という名詞は知っていたのですが・・・帰宅してから、ゆっくり調べようと思って、それらの単語について、私のパソコンのメールアドレスに、携帯電話からメール送信。実は、後でやらなくちゃいけないことを忘れないように、外出先で自分自身に、しばしばメールを送るんです。とにかく、昨日の夕食の後、それらの単語を辞書で調べてみました。なにぃ!発音は全く同じやんけぇ!!!でも、意味は全く違う。(ToT)

Monday, January 07, 2008

MUST work!

[Notice:注意]
The English edition doesn't necessarily correspond to the Japanese one.
必ずしも英語版と日本語版は、一致しません。(^^♪

I have to work in my factory from today, but unfortunately my wife hasn't woken up yet. She seems to be still in the New Year holiday. I mean, I have to be off to work without having breakfast. Holy shit!
I can't complain because I work for her, I mean, I don't work for my kids and global environment. Since my factory belongs to a kind of recycling industries, I can't work too hard for the earth. I'm proud of my work as a way to fight against global warming.
Umm... today's journal is too short, isn't it? (^^)

今日から、仕事に行きます。でも・・・嫁さんは未だ起きてこない。寝てるし・・・どうやら、まだ新年の休暇中と思ってるみたいやね。つまり、朝ごはん無しで、仕事に出かけなくちゃいけないってこと。なんてこったい・・・(ToT)
まぁ、不平を言うことはできませんね。ヤツのために働いてるんじゃないから。ワシは、子供のため、そして地球環境のために働いているのです。私の工場は、リサイクル産業の一種で、地球のためにどんなに働いても、働きすぎということはないのです。地球温暖化と戦う一つの手段として、私は私の仕事を誇りに思います。
う~む・・・今日の日記は、短すぎるな。(笑)

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Party, Karaoke, Busy Cell Phone

[Notice:注意]
The English edition doesn't necessarily correspond to the Japanese one.
必ずしも英語版と日本語版は、一致しません。(^^♪

As I posted an article here, I had a New Year party with my friends, including a couple of foreigners, in my female friend's house yesterday. That was really great, especially the Karaoke! Actually, I hadn't sung songs in karaoke for about two years, but fortunately I guess I did it very well. Everyone laughed loudly as soon as I started singing because of my strange high-tone voice. (^^) I usually speak both English and Japanese in a low key, but on the other hand I tend to sing in a high voice, as some of my friends know. However, most of the friends who I had the party with yesterday didn't know my high-tone singing style. That would be why they burst out laughing at that time. (^^; Anyway, it's my pleasure to be laughed because I'm an Osaka person. Basically, Osaka people tend to like not only cracking people up (making people laugh) but also being laughed because of their nature.
A female friend and I went to the bar that we often visit for a drink after the party. My cell phone was very busy in the bar while we were drinking. The gadget rang one after another because of so many calls from some of my other female friends. :) She looked like feeling jealousy a little, though she and they aren't my girlfriends. Anyway, don't get me wrong! I swear I'm a serious Japanese man! Could be...LOL

昨日、ブログに書いたように、女性の友人宅で、2名の外国人を含む友人達と新年会しておりました。とても面白かったです。特に、カラオケ!実は、カラオケなんて2年くらいやってなかったのですが、たぶんうまく歌えたと思います。皆、俺が歌い出すと大笑い!知っている人は知ってますけど、いつもは、低い声で話す私なのですが、歌うときは高い声を出すんですね。だから、彼らは大笑いしたのでしょう。とにかく、人に笑われるのは私の喜びであります。だって、私、大阪人ですから。大阪人って、笑わせるだけでなく笑ってもらうことが好きな傾向があるんですねぇ。
パーティの後、女性の友人一人と私は、いつも行くバーへ。そのバーで飲んでいるとき、携帯電話がバンバン鳴ってました。他の女性友達からの電話で・・・・(笑) 彼女は、ちょっと焼きもちを焼いているようでした。でも、彼女らは、私の恋人ではありません。とにかく、誤解しないでくださいね。誓って、私は真面目な日本人男性ですっ!..... かもね。(笑)

Saturday, January 05, 2008

First Lessons and Party

[Notice:注意]
The English edition doesn't necessarily correspond to the Japanese one.
必ずしも英語版と日本語版は、一致しません。(^^♪


Actually I expected to go out somewhere alone yesterday, but after all I spent most of my free time surfing the Internet at home all the day in order to collect information regarding the places suitable for English cafe. Some public community halls seem like good places as far as I searched on the Net. After that, I emailed one of the management centers some questions-such as whether or not it's OK to hold English conversation classes there.

And now I'm going to NOVA this morning to take some English lessons for the first time this year. And then, I'm going to visit my female friend's house this afternoon to have a new year party together. Don't get me wrong! Some foreign guys and a Japanese lady are also going to come! Not only her and me! Besides she is too nice for me.... haha... It's kind of flattery. :-P
If have time, I'd like to see off my American friend at Kansai international airport, who gets back to the United States this evening. How busy I am! :D


実は、昨日、結局どこにも出かけずに、自宅でインターネットを使って、英会話喫茶開催の場所に関する情報収集をしていました。探し回った範囲では、いくつかの公民館が良さそう・・・。その後、そのうちの一つの管理センターに、質問を電子メールで送信-例えば、公民館で英会話クラスを開催しても良いのかどうか、など。

さて、今朝はNOVAで今年初めてのレッスンを受けます。そして、午後は女友達の家に行って新年会です。誤解しないでください!数名の外国人や、日本人女性がもう一人来ます!彼女と私だけじゃないのです!それに、彼女は私には素敵すぎます・・・なんちゃって・・(笑) ちょっとお世辞っぽいかな?(^^♪
もし、時間があれば、夕方、関西空港に行ってアメリカに帰る友人を見送りたいのだが・・・なんて忙しいのだ、俺って!(^_^;

Friday, January 04, 2008

Lucky or Unlucky?

Last night I had a really great time with the whole gang of my friends, including some foreign guys, in the party held for the American guy I mentioned yesterday. Actually, I know my English skills, especially speaking skills, are still not good enough to do business with foreigners, but I'd like to do that someday. On the other hand, I often have a chat with non-Japanese in English, that's to say, I'm a little good only at casual talking, and so I'd like to master particularly polite and business English this year.

Now, I'm thinking how I should spend my free time today. I wasn't going out today until this morning but my wife recommended that I go away tonight. She seems to want to relax at home without me because she doesn't have to prepare anything to eat for me when I'm out. Could it be that I'm a kind of nuisance for her? X( By the way, "nuisance" means a person or thing is in the way of someone, right? Anyway, I can go out alone tonight and spend my free time doing something nice. However, I wonder if I'm lucky to be able to go out freely or not...LOL

昨夜、数人の外国人を含む大勢の友人達と、昨日述べたアメリカ人のために開かれたパーティで、すごく楽しい時間を過ごせました。実は、私の英語の能力、特に話す能力は、外国人と仕事するレベルには十分ではないのですが、いつかそういう仕事をしてみたいのです。一方で、外国人と英語で、しばしば、おしゃべりをすることがあります。つまり、カジュアルな会話だったら、ちょっとだけ得意ってこと。それで、今年は特に、丁寧な英語と、ビジネス英語を修得したいのです。

さて、今日の自由時間をどう使おうか考えています。今朝までは、今日は外出しないつもりだったのですが、嫁さんが私に今夜出掛けることを薦めるのです。どうやら、私抜きで、家でリラックスしたいみたい。だって、私が外出するときは、何も食べ物を用意する必要ないからね。ひょっとして、私は妻にとって邪魔ものなのでしょうか?(>_<) ところで、"nuisance"というのは、人の行く手を遮る邪魔者という意味ですよね?とにかく、今夜は一人で出掛けて、自由に時間を使うことができる。けれども、自由に出掛けることができるのが、はたしてラッキーなのかどうなのか・・・(笑)

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Visit Temple for New Year

My family and I went to Negoro Temple in Wakayama prefecture today as this year's first visit to shrines or temples. The custom is one of famous Japanese traditional events during new year seasons, and so, most Japanese people visit a shrine or temple during the time to make a wish for happy things that they hope will happen this year.
I prayed for good business results and a little more hair on my head. As a matter of fact, I lose my hair year after year. I can no longer allow myself to lose my hair, otherwise I'll go bald completely someday....(ToT)

To change the subject, I have to go to a bar in Izumisano city tonight, in order to attend the party that is held for an American guy, who came back to Japan at the end of last year and goes back to the United States this weekend. The party must be crazy because of many funny guys including me. :-P

今日は、家族を連れて、和歌山にある根来寺に初詣に行って来ました。この習慣は、新年における日本の有名な伝統行事の一つで、ほとんどの日本人がこの時期に神社やお寺を訪れ、今年に期待する願い事をします。
私は、商売繁盛と、もう少し髪の毛が生えてくれるように祈りました。実際のところ、年々私の髪の毛は薄くなっていってます。もはや、これ以上髪の毛が薄くなるわけにはいかない。さもなくば、いつか完璧にハゲてしまう・・・(ToT)

話題は変わって、今夜は泉佐野のバーに行かなくちゃいけません。某アメリカ人(去年の暮れに日本にやってきて、今週末アメリカに帰ってしまうのです)のために開かれるパーティに参加するために。面白い奴ら(俺を含めて)が来るから、クレイジーなパーティになるやろうなぁ・・・

Negoro Temple

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Sink into Drinking

This afternoon I'm going to my wife's hometown to greet my parents-in-law for the new year. That's a kind of tradition that I have to do every new year season. They always prepare nice meal and a large amount of alcohol for us. Besides I have to go to Umeda, a northern part of Osaka city, tonight in order to have a reunion with my old friends, who work for the computer company I used to work for. Of course we are going to drink a lot there. I MUST get fat during the new year season because of tons of nice meal and a huge amount of booze. :)

今日の午後、義父母に新年の挨拶をするために、嫁さんの実家に行きます。毎年新年の恒例みたいなもんです。いつも彼らは、ナイスな食事と沢山の酒を用意してくれます。さらに、今夜、私は梅田(大阪市の北部)で旧友と再会します。彼らは、以前、私が勤めていたコンピュータ会社に勤務しています。もちろん、沢山飲むことになりそう。この正月シーズンで、大量の旨い食事と酒で、太ってしまうに違いない。(笑)

expensive Japanese sake

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Happy New Year

a new year card

Happy New Year. Be counting on you this year!
May the new year bring you health, happiness and prosperity.

Let me try to go on writing my diary here in both English and Japanese as long as I can this year!

あけましておめでとうございます!今年もよろしく!
新しい年があなたに健康と幸福と繁栄をもたらしますように。

今年も出来る限り、ここに英語と日本語両方で日記を書き続けるように挑戦します!