This is old news, but the day before yesterday (Monday Aug. 30) the Cleveland Indians beat the New York Yankees 22-0.  That was good news because I like to see the Yankees lose big. I wonder if the Red Sox have it in them to overtake the Yankees this season.  Regardless, it looks like even if the Yankees don't win the division, they'd be the wild-card entrants into the playoffs.  Let's hope that (along with the Red Sox) a team in the AL West gets hot. Go Red Sox!  Go At...

Recently, my wife and I have been watching a Japanese television drama called "Ace wo Nerae."  I have only seen one Japanese TV drama from beginning-to-end so far.  This one is pretty enjoyable to watch. "Ace no Nerae" is a live-action drama based on a famous comic.  It is about a first year high school student (a girl named Hiromi) who takes up tennis.  The story deals with: conflicts between players, jealousy, the coach's personal struggles, the main character's drive...

Last night my fantasy football league held its draft.  It was my first time at a draft since I moved to Japan in 1996.  Since then I haven't followed much football, and I am not quite knowledgable about the sport and the players.  I haven't seen many games since I have returned to the US in 2001. Because of this, I asked my friend Andy to come with me to the draft in order to help me pick the best players possible.  I think that we did pretty well.  Here is what w...

Hello there. I am at home now.  My legs are a bit sore and my body is a bit tired, but I am in good spirits.  Today my parents came with my wife, my son, and I to the Minnesota State Fair. We ate all sorts of yummy fair food, and we saw all of the fair sites.  It was a happy day. As I am a bit tired from my day, I will let the following three pictures do a bit of my communication for me: Kenny had a happy time.  He likes looking at crowds of people.  Babies t...

In the school district where I work, the kids will come back to school next Wednesday, and the teachers have been back since yesterday. Before going into work yesterday I was a little sad because I wasn't ready for my summer vacation to be over.  I had such a nice time relaxing with family and friends.  I wasn't looking forward to getting back into the daily grind. Returning yesterday, I was greeted by the of happy faces of colleagues who welcomed me back to work.  Ever...

I have heard from three individuals (who aren't JU members) that they are unable to post comments on my articles.  Have I inadvertantly changed a setting, or are outside comments no longer allowed?

When I came back from Japan, I was really looking forward to seeing how my garden had progressed while I was gone. On first inspection I found that I have many many tomatoes (perhaps 100s), and a big pile of green beans.  Upon further inspection, I have found a number of ripening giant- and regular- cucumbers, as well as some green peppers.  (I think that I will even have a few jalapenos before long.) I picked two cucumbers and a green pepper today.  The green pepper wa...

I lived in two different apartments when I was working in Japan from 1996-2001.  Each apartment was located near a McDonald's restaurant. The McDonald's at the first location was located inside of a department store, so I was unable to enjoy McDonald's breakfast (known in Japan as "Asa-Makku.")  At my second abode, I was happy to learn that I would be living by a McDonald's which served breakfast. I like to treat myself with McDonald's breakfast on lazy weekend (or holi...

Hello there friends!  I hope that all of you are having a nice day. I am enjoying my last Friday of this year's summer vacation at home with my wife and my son.  Sadly, my wife is in bed sick with a sore throat and fever; so it will be my job to keep the baby entertained for the day.  (I'll do my best!) The first thing that we did this morning was to go in to the doctor for Kenny's 9-month check-up.  He is 29.5 inches (75cm) long, and he weighs 21 (9.545 kg)pounds. ...

Hello there. It is eight o'clock in the morning, and I have already had quite a day.  My wife, my, son, and I all woke up at around 4:15 this morning.  (It is our first evening back after an extended trip to Japan, so our schedules are all messed-up.)  We decided to go to a family restaurant for breakfast. After breakfast, we relaxed a bit at home.  As soon as the sun rose, we went outside to look at my garden (I have a TON of beans and tomatoes!)  After assessing ...

Our little baby is nine months old.  He is a pretty active little boy, and he really enjoys getting into things. Today I was thinking about the fact that even though he has access to plenty of toys, he prefers playing with things which aren't intended to be toys.  I was wondering about if he were to "fill up his own toybox", how many things would he choose before picking an actual toy. Before toys, I figure that he'd choose: 1- A remote control 2- A full box of tissues...

A few weeks ago, my family and I went to see sumo in Nagoya.  (That was a really fun day!) As we were entering the venue, I met three wrestlers (rikishi) and asked them to take a picture with my son.  (I hear that if you do that, your son will be strong.  That's a bonus.) Here is the result.  I really like this picture:

Hi there! Sunday night.  Whew...we had a very fun (but tiring) weekend. On Saturday, my family took a train from Toyokawa to Nishio.  We met some of my old students at an Italian restaurant Saizeria near the station.  (The kids have grown so much!)  As I was leaving, I ran into another former student.  It was nice to see her too.  (It seems that every time I go to Saizeria, I run into someone I know.) After lunch, Kazuko did some shopping for clo...

Last night we visited a really nice restaurant. It was the same restaurant that my wife's family brought my family to before our wedding.  It is a fantastic place.  The name is Ban-Ya ”Ô‰®B  It is really good. For me, tonight's best food was the crab tempura, and the steak! I also enjoyed snapper grilled in salt.  I always enjoy fancy Japanese food.  It is no surprise that I gain weight here! Kenny and his cousin Daiki have become really good friends.  I ...

My father-in-law recently purchased a small (50 cc) motorbike.  He and five of his buddies from the Lions' Club each bought identical bikes.  He said they're like an "Old Guys Bike Club."  (It sounds funnier in Japanese.) Yesterday he let me ride it around the neighborhood.  (Apparently he doesn't let anyone ride it.  I was touched.) I drove around the fields and farms in the neighborhood.  Eventually, I found our house and I came back home.(Roads are really conf...