PS
I was very happy to hear my favorite team won!

sadly, I can only watch some of the plays through the web...

PPS
Another nice dish prepared by my wife!

grilled beef...

eating it Korean style...

with another type of Iranian cola...
hmm... Zam Zam Cola is better...

No relief...

We went out to have some kyababs today at the restaurant, but I really had no room to be enjoying my dinner. I was thinking about all of the pressures I still have on my shoulders and there was no way of being optimistic with still many things to do with only one week left... Actually we don't even have a week for the special report I have to give out next Sunday and I have to do more than just pray that things will work out.
Today, I also made some mistakes and wasted some of the very precious time. It's really hurting me when I can't make the right decisions and I must be strong and confident I can take the right decisions quickly and accurately.

One of my colleagues was suffering from a cold...

I didn't hesitate to hand him all the medicine I had...
he was especially suffering from throat pains...
I had the same problems months ago, but luckily I hadn't had a cold for years!

For lunch...

Sinbad??

a nice chicken fast food meal!

PS
It was the first time in years I missed the Game...

oh, now the Steelers are the team with the most Super Bowl titles!
my favorite team is now second... got to catch up next year with a new coach!

The momentum

I saw the highlight of the Monday Night Football match between my favorite 49ers and the wobbly Cardinals on CNN International, and I saw they were just one yard short of a victory with the interim coach in his second game. Just looking at the conclusion, it's easy to blame any stupid mistake the team had made would have changed the winner. I really doubt that. If it weren't for the crisis mode in the red zone, under the less than a minute situation, it probably didn't become a one yard game, and if they had more time to execute the last play, I'm sure they would've made another mistake like commiting a penalty. It's the same situation for the Tigers who gave up a 13 game lead in the pennant race and handing the throne to the greedy but ambitious Giants, but if they didn't have that crazily overpowering lead, the Tigers probably would have had a different outcome, perhaps even winning the pennant much earlier. The 2cm win by Vodka at the Emperor's Cup is another example. With Daiwa Scarlet returning from a seven month rest, Vodka was ready to run after losing the race three weeks before running the race as the forth runner but losing only by inches to a horse without much pressure.
All of these results were altered by the momentum. Once the spirit is lost, the result will never be positive, but once you find the magical touch you will overcome the great wall literally by inches.
It was the Cardinals that still holds the momentum winning four in a row at home and the 49ers losing six games in a row. Even if the undefeated Titans are winning 9 in a row, if they lose the last game of the regular season, I doubt that they would even make it to the Super Bowl. They'd rather lose one soon and win the rest. Then I'm sure they'll win until the end.
Now I don't have the momentum. Right now nothing seems to be going in the right direction and I can't find the spirit that will get me rolling again; that would give me a natural smile when I interact with anyone.
I want the momentum again so I can feel comfortable and awaken the magic inside me. I really don't need any overwhelming power. I just want the confidence that will give me the last inch I need to succeed!

New York, New York...

Everything didn't feel right from the start.
I thought the Air France flight was going to fly out of Tehran at 2:20, but even though we did confirm that the time change will not alter the time, the bulletin was saying 1:20!

Luckily, I got to the airport earlier than expected but had only 15 minutes to enjoy...

one cup of coffee...

my first time ever to ride an Air France plane?

Inside the plane, it was freezing and though I was wearing a jacket expecting this, I think I was inches away of catching a cold... I was a little feverish and my stomach was in its worst condition in weeks... I tried to enjoy the flight watching Indiana Jones and taking a rest, but it really didn't help...
A brief stop at Charles De Gaulle did not make the situation better and it was a painful 8 hour flight to JFK...


a boring airport...

well maybe it's because...
c'est six heures du matin!

and you have to pay to use the internet!

well let's hurry up and fly!

I finally arrived in New York after 18 hours leaving Tehran, and it really felt lengthy and extensively backbreaking! But it was the first time in exactly 7 years I returned to New York City, and some of the scenery of one of the greatest cities made me nostalgic. Our office was quite different compared to those days, but as it was still residing in the same building, many memories returned to my mind.
911 was special to me only to the fact that I had developed so many skills as a correspondent. I also would like to do the same this time!
But unfortunately, the hurdles remains to be tough as I'm getting no help from the representatives of the country I am trying to follow. So still, everything doesn't feel right.

right when you see the passport control area you see the American flag!



ah... first look of Manhattan...


walking through the Grand Central...

I went through the media accreditation, but it took me nearly two hours to get a pass!

at UN... where I'd be working for the next 7 days...

PS
After 5PM, I was so sleepy that I could have gone to sleep while walking the streets of Manhattan...
For dinner, my colleagues from the bureau took me to the Korean territory of the city and we enjoyed a nice Asian meal...

a Korean dinner!

I was happy I could see American football (though I can't watch it for a long time as I'm here to do work!), and the New Yorkers are surely happy to see their Giants secure a 3-0 start beating the Bengals in overtime. The bigger news for them was the last MLB game at Yankee Stadium and the media were repeatedly reporting about the game at the evening news.

the Giants won a thriller...

I was happy to hear the 49ers nail the Lions for a 2-1 start and hearing the offense is back on track with a NFL migrant QB as their new starter!

Leaving Tokyo...

At Haneda, I spent my last hour to relax at the lounge using my own credit card. When I return, I hope I will be smiling, with the best condition like the football team in New York.

at the lounge waiting for the flight to Kansai Int'l to head for Dubai...

See ya Tokyo!


my last dinner in Tokyo... sashimi!

I was very fortunate I was able to finish watching the great game at my office!

When I turned on the channel, the Giants were leading, but easily lost the lead with a Brady-Moss hotline TD. But the dramatic drive by Eli Manning wrapped up one of the most stunning upsets of all time!

they win!!

I was a New Yorker a long time ago, but never a Bostonian, so it was quite natural for me to root for the Giants, but I never would have forecasted this ending!
Too bad for the Bostonians, as they won the World Series and are doing very well at NBA, and they just needed a Super Bowl victory to monopolize American sports, but they could not secure the most wanted title!


the snow turned to ice, was still on the streets!
with four baggages I had to be really careful not to slip!


if I die... I have to ask someone to clean up this room...
oh, I'll do anything to live!

I woke up punctually at 8:30AM, and in my bed I turned on my TV as the perfect record Patriots were about to kick off the football to the underdog Giants.

I have to get ready to leave this room... but yes, it's really tough with the most entertaining event of the year (perhaps more than the Olympic Games!) is on the air LIVE!

Oh, my time's running up...

I don't know if I can update my diary during my trip, but this time with my personal notebook PC, I could try on my time off!

The bad part...

I acknowledge the breaking news so quickly as I sit in my shift to watch and check all the major wire services. I'm one of the earliest to receive the first words of news all over the world whether I like it or not.
The undefeated Pats and Colts match for the title of a perfect record was an event I was so anxious to watch at today's late-night broadcasting, but with all the wire agencies reporting New England's victory, my enthusiasm drooped drastically more than ten hours before the recorded broadcast of the match.
There's merits and demerits to be in the forefront of the media network, but it could be greatly unappreciative to a fan of sportcasting, especially of major sports abroad... like me!

yes, yes... I know.... the Pats won right!?

SSS: Start of the second semester!

A lot of things started today in Japan.
And... there were so many news to cover, making the news about Burma underrated...

Mr. Prime Minister on stage, Japan Post Group is born, and the earthquake early warning system sees the light of day...
bunch of sports news with the great Brett Favre breaking all time NFL record of TDs, and Mr. Iguchi clinching division title again in a different team, the Phiiies, and in Japan, the Tigers finally clinch playoff berth...

I finally got my hands on my favorite sport!

watching the opener! they're ready for a back to back championship... but... my favorite team in the west is ready for their payback season!!