Time to have some fun!

After attending a press conference in the afternoon, there was nothing to do but to wait for some fun in the night! Yes, my staff and I were all invited a dinner at our friends home!

near the holy place...

kabab time!
the smell was great with the smoke of charcoal combined with the juicy chickens with sauce!

the other meals were great too!

my staff were singing and dancing... the women did not have to wear their scarfs inside the room... just having a great time!

PS
I had some fresh melon juice in the afternoon... very soothing in a hot day!

at the juice shop...

fresh icy tasty juice!

And I went to the cafe for the first time...

to have a mocha in their style!

Lucky or not...

Last night after 2AM, I bumped into my old colleagues and I continued drinking with them until 3:30AM. That was a mistake when I think about all the work I still have to do and my physical condition, but it was something I just thought that was lucky as there was no way I can have a drink with them until I leave Tokyo.

having a soba with drinks... too much drinking... but who cares!

After returning home after another desperate but failed preview of our documentary, I returned home to continue cleaning up my room, but I made a mistake of sleeping for two hours before going on...
I only had about 3 hours to do my best and it was really painful to find out that I couldn't finish the work...



did I make it!? I don't think so...

Then, I had to go to my last overnight shift, and with all the worries and dizziness attacking me, it surely seems to be a painful shift coming up!

Cleaning up more!

I'm really in trouble!
Last night, adjusting the plot of the documentary continued till 3:30AM and it was really my fault that I watched the recording of the TV serial drama... It was dawn already and though I went right to bed I couldn't wake up early enough... oh, it's my fault!

In the afternoon, I met my friend at Nerima and had lunch and coffee. I had to change my mobile phone to a new one that has the international use service and I'd asked my friend to help me with the procedures.

My new phone!

the cheapest one... a NOKIA!
I don't need the "one-seg" and e-cash functions so this is good enough! and it's light just like my old Sony-Ericsson phone!

having lunch at a tonkatsu restaurant with my friend!

Back at home, I was fighting with my room again. From time to time, I was stuck as I couldn't judge which part of the room I should clean with limited space to lay out the boxes.
It was really hard to keep my calmness and I sometimes had to hum an exciting song to keep my body moving and even dance a bit to keep on going.
I only have two more days... oh, I'm doomed...

just before the day ended... I was so hungry I rushed to a McDonald's drive thru!
(the pics a little blurry... filming while driving with a mobile phone ain't easy!)

Splendid, but scary...

I had to clean up my room, but there are things that are more important than that... To spend time with who you really care about and you want to be together with.

I was very tired after overnight duty, but it was still my pleasure to spend my time wisely. And it is always a splendid moment to spare when I know the time I spent is priceless!

In the evening, I couldn't meet my mom visiting Tokyo, but I went out to Shibuya to meet my old friends from my days in the Bay Area of the States.
It always gives me a peace of mind when I share time with my friends and I'm not sad at all to go far away as I know where my friends are!


having pork and raw fish that I would not see at my next destination!

ho I'll miss these "kakuni"s!

rice with ume toppings with Japanese tea to wrap it up!

And...

it was a very hot day in Tokyo today!

On the horns of a dilemma!

I can't return but go forward. Every information I get is relentless and all I could do is stay calm and not panic.
Having a drink with my elder collegues from my Kobe years and a fellow worker I've known from our examination process to enter our organization cooled me down a little. They all say there's so many expectations, but it will make me proud when I can hear how happy they would be when I do a great job. Well, I don't want to let them down, so all I could do is overcome any dilemmas I have at the moment!


eating a Kansai dish... okonomiyaki!

In the morning, I went to the American embassy heavily guarded by the police. There were so many visa applicants and I had to wait for hours just to get a very brief interview...

near the heavily guarded area...

Feeling restless...

I still had to attend the training session, but my mind was not calm at all as the countdown is starting and the clock is ticking while I'm spending my time without doing anything to prepare for my long trip...

After the session, I headed to Kichijoji and then joined two elders who have helped me covering news about disaster prevention. I was invited to a small but luxurious home party and I had another great time!
I don't know when I can join the party here, but I surely would like to when I return to Japan three years later!




having great food.... as always...
I've always been lucky to be able to have great time here!

Bad news? Good news?

I had to attend another training session for three days.
I don't know if this session will help me but since it's a necessity to attend, I can't withstand the orders as I'm just an employee of an organization.

After the session, I rushed to Shinjuku and had a pleasant time with my friends from my college years. We had a Kyoto style course dinner which was quite appropriate as the former capital was where we all met!

Just before I attended the party, I received news that my entry visa could be issued earlier than expected. I panicked when I heard this as I was thinking that I could leave at around the end of next month! I still have so many things to do!! It's of course better than receiving news that I won't get the visa for months, but oh, is this good news or bad news!?


dessert and green tea... woops! I forgot to film the other tasty meals!

In the rain....

I hurried to my office in the morning, but it wasn't raining. I thought the rain will fade out by the evening... but it didn't.

the water level in this small river was the highest in months from the rain overnight!

I went out to drink with seven of my old friends from my junior high and high school years in the Bay Area. Yeah, we're back to the old days and just having a good time... just about 20 years older!

we found out we had a birthday boy today! Happy Birthday to you!

Using time wisely!

It was a weekend of overnight duty, but I had to use my free time as wise as possible. But I slept till it was 3PM. Usually, a big mistake...

I'm invited to a home party tonight, but before I go, I had to finish off a very important job.

making "kanchu mimai hagaki"s ("winter greetings postcards")!!

Since I missed sending "nengajo"s ("New Year's Greeting Cards") this year, my only chance to say hello is by sending these cards. But they have to be sent before the first day of spring in the traditional Japanese calendar, which is the 4th of February this year. I think I need to write at least 200 cards this year keeping the numbers the lowest as possible and I'm running out of time!

I rushed to the party and had a great time with mouthwatering food with delightful wine and champagne. But I had no time to fool around with Moët-chan, I always look forward to meet (this is how she looks: http://hide3diary.blogspot.com/2006/05/again.html yeah, beautiful girl isn't she?).

I was a little drunk, but was sober enough to work. Good thing I did sleep for about 11 hours. It wasn't a mistake after all!

Is this a dream?

Waking up at a ryokan (Japanese style hotel) in Kyoto with my friends...

we saw a rainbow... what a great start!

We went to the periphery of our college and had lunch. We also skirted around the familiar building of the School of Law and after having some coffee, we rushed to the hotel in Osaka where the wedding ceremony will be held.

good-bye for now my alma mater...

It was a great wedding ceremony and reception!

Live happily ever my friend! Congratulations!

I knew this was not a dream, but as we took the shinkansen back and when I reached Tokyo, I really felt I'm back to reality... something close to a nightmare and horror... But I must clear this mission to go on with my career! And I can't fail!!

The last weekend off...

I gave up working last night at around 1AM. But after I went home I was up till 3:30AM continuing on with my work...

Knowing this will be my last weekend off in more than 5 weeks, I woke up at 8:30AM to meet with whom I had to before I will be gone... In the afternoon, I jumped on to a shinkansen towards Kyoto, as I arrived just a minute and a half before the train leaves the platform of Tokyo Station...
I just made it on time to an advance celebration of the one getting married along with eight of my friends from my days in college.

We ate...

kamo nabe (hot pot with wild duck meat)!
it was unquestionably delicious!

We also walked around the familiar places where we've walked for hundreds of times years ago but couldn't find the bars that were there 12 years ago... but we had drinks at a new bar, because that's the best way to spend time at our favorite spots in Kyoto!

Starting my laborious quest...

タイトル：骨の折れる冒険の始まり…

An awfully surprising start...
First thing in the morning...

a decision of 'not guilty' was given out at the court!
former prez of a of a listed real estate company was declared innocent of taking over a building in Shinjuku suspected of conspiring with gangsters...

In the afternoon, I started my laborious battle with the Livedoor trials with only a month or so till Horiemon's judgment on March 16th. I already had a head start in the three-day weekend, but time's up to be fiddling with the time I have left!

とってもびっくりする始まり…
朝一番に…
写真：裁判所で「無罪」の判決が出された１
暴力団と共謀して新宿のビルを乗っ取ったという疑いがあった、不動産上場会社の元代表取締役が無罪を言い渡された…
午後に入って、３月１６日とあと１か月ちょっとに出されるホリエモンの判決に向けて、ライブドア裁判との骨の折れる戦いに着手した。３連休で少し始めていたが、もううだうだする時間も無くなってきたし！

At night, with tremendous amount of stress on my shoulders, I went out to Shinjuku to meet my old friend visiting Tokyo, who I graduated high school together with, and missed each other for over a decade! I spent a very pleasant time, perhaps for the first time in weeks to relax, filling up our time we have long been away from each other. How nice that we can see how we have grown up once in a while!

夜になって、自分の肩に大量のストレスが乗っかかった状態で、東京を訪れている古い友人に会いに新宿に出掛けた。一緒に高校を卒業したあと、１０年以上も会ってなかったんだ！かなり楽しい時間を過ごしたが、ここ数週間で初めてリラックスできたかも。お互い会ってなかった間の積もる話をした。年を取ってからもこうやって会えるのは本当に良いことだね！