Crackdown...

We hear about more arrests and I really had to be careful about how to keep our profile low... we can't be cracked down as that will mean the closure of our office! We tried to get information through witnesses, but it's really hard with the mobile phones not reacting with too much people jamming the line... I could not report on what is going on, though if I were there to see it, there would be no problem about timely reporting! I have to calm down and try my best with the restrictions... Oh, how stressful could this be!


the mobile SMS system was completely dead...

PS
I think the Iranian team's chance to get to the World Cup is just over... they were winning 1-0 well into the second half, but a South Korean hero, Park Ji Sung's goal could have finished off any hopes... I heard Japan has lost its last game against Australia... not a good day to watch soccer!


he's finished off the Iranian team...

Finally getting my hands on...

I was finally able to get the pictures that was necesssary for my exclusive story. I had to wait a long time to be able to convince our friend to give us some time for filming and also I needed my staff who were engaging in other important coverages. I think the pictures were not enough for a really long story, but I hope it would be enough to satisfy Tokyo's requests!

PS
I was really happy to hear my colleagues were given a visa extension! I was so worried that the request could be rejected and they would have to leave after 10 days from their arrival that would be four days before the election day. I really clenched my fist in victory as I really felt relieved... phew...

PPS
Soccer seems to be more important than the election!


but Iran's in trouble!

Just like vacation... briefly...

As the plane from Amsterdam was scheduled at 5:30PM, and we had equipments for filming, we decided to enjoy our stay in The Hague. I really didn't care about the museums that the city fostered, and I went out one of the other "must see" spots!

The beach!

cold... but nice...

This part of the city has a name that any Japanese would think it's a joke... I know you don't pronounce it like... "Su-keh-beh-nin-gen" (I think it's actually "shu-feh-nin-gen"), but if you do, it would make any Japanese laugh!

the name is... Scheveningen!

signs saying Sheveningen everywhere!

on the small port...

hotel near the beach...
they say it's very expensive here!
of course, this is not where we stayed!

and the Heineken emblem everywhere!

Returning to the central part of the city... we took a stroll around to find a nice cafe to have lunch... Everything in the city looked "historical" and "European"...

nice tower...

trams running around the city...

even the pigeons look "European"!

Lunchtime!

found a nice cafe!

can't read the menu...

but got a nice sandwich!

After having lunch, we took the taxi together to Schipol and said good-bye to one of our elder correspondents and spent several hours at the airport. The Amsterdam Schipol Airport's terminal had many stores, and there were lots of stores to look around.

heading to Amsterdam!

found the "Miffy" corner... my wife's favorite!
I didn't know she's called "Nijntje" here!


and my favorite!

sushi, sushi, sushi! with can of Asahi Super Dry!

Leaving The Netherlands, we landed on Istanbul again and right before midnight, we went into the plane to say goodbye to Europe (if you'd say this is Europe... well, the Turkish football team is competing with the Europeans to qualify for the World Cup!)

people were gathering in front of the TV showing a match between Turkey and Spain!


need to fill up with coffee!


my favorite Caramel Macchiato!

Rushing out to wonderland!

I woke up at 6AM and finished recording my radio report and worked on my live coverage scripts. There was an international conference with Asian guests, but I had no time to cover it. I have to make decisions about which job is the priority... To be honest, I really was beginning to be a little skeptical about my trip to Dubai tonight that it may not be a real priority, but it was too late to reverse my decision, as there were so many important things waiting at the wonderland!

We went straight to the airport after my live coverage report.


saying good-bye to Milad tower... not focusing correctly... oops...

everybody was watching the soccer match between Iran and UAE! It would've been a challenge to go to Dubai if the Iranians had romped through their opponents, but it seems the game has ended in a tie! I saw the Japanese had scored first in their match against Qatar at Doha. Let's see how they've done after I reach Dubai!

Out of time...

I really didn't have time to waste. Sadly, things did not work out as scheduled. I had to even cancel a lunch meeting with someone I had to see as soon as possible.
It was the sudden live broadcast of a missile test that ruined everything. Of course I had to write something to fill in the news and it was probably the worst timing to be using my time on current events.
I also had to send some ideas about next week's event that could be connected to the economic crisis, but I had no time to gather information. Missile test at the best timing... What timing!?


missiles... missiles... studying them while having my only meal of the day...

PS
I was happy to see my favorite soccer club team become the Asian Champions. I see it's not easy to capture the top spot in the J-League, but it's an honor to be able to perform at the World Club Championship in the end of this year. Sadly I probably won't be able to watch it here. Well, I'm sure I'd be too busy to watch any match!

Trial and failure!

I couldn't get any appointments today and all I could do was get ready for tomorrow. I've had enough trial and errors here in India when I try to get somebody's attention and get them to meet me and have a conversation. But it's not an error anymore, rather a failure that I can't get things worked out!

Overnight, I had trouble sleeping as I had phlegms irritating my respiration and making me cough all night. I don't have any fever, so I don't think I'm having a cold, but I surely would like to sleep well as I have to go on location tomorrow!

I had some Chinese food tonight... some chicken fried rice and chicken with oyster sauce... not bad...

PS
I only could watch the Japanese national team win the soccer match against Oman on the computer...


oh they won... boring...

Rainy and cloudy...

Today's newspaper reported that Delhi's day temperature on Wednesday was 25.2 degrees Celcius, which is 16 degrees below normal and cooler than Novemeber. They also said that there was 36.9mm of rain in 24 hours which would be moderate in Japan, but the second highest in a decade here in Delhi! India Meterological Department's forecast is that the four-five days from today will stay cool. That's great! But since my room is always too cool for me even without the air conditioner I can control by myself, so I don't really mind it being just a little bit warmer...
Going out to an appointment in the morning, I did realize it would be much cooler than I was here last time, even cooler than Bangalore!

and my appetite was there with some curry and chicken with sweet lassy!

Last night, I fell asleep while I had the TV channel set on the CL final between the two English teams at Moscow. Maybe I wasn't that interested with only English teams battling, and I saw the recorded version in the afternoon in my room... It was quite an exciting ending though there were some red and yellow cards given out near the end, spoiling an exciting match!

the man in Blue missed the game winner PK!
and once again I saw the red team capture a title!

I skipped dinner as I had enough in lunch and worked on the computer in my room... I'm getting a little bit tired, but thinking about my colleagues fighting with disasters in the eastern parts of Asia, I find nothing of what I'm doing now painful or miserable!

Worse than ever...

It was one of those days I'd just want to forget about.
It's one of the worst days of this year again!

The start of the day was bad enough. As the drinking with my bosses and a younger colleague continued on till 3AM last night, being all drunk we had a clash of viewpoints that could have hurt my relationship with the elders.
That was enough to make it a lousy morning, but it was worse when I realized it was a day I must go to work and also finish off some of the laundry or I'll be short of clothes to wear!

While I was doing my laundry, completely giving up to make it to work on time, I accidentally slammed my left toe on a box on the floor...

oh, it really hurts when I walk with shoes...

Finally making it to my office, I was slow in progress with work, and to be honest, I had a very fruitless day...
I was watching the two J1 soccer matches while working, but as the Antlers were ready to win to bring the Reds down to the edge, Gamba in a different match was scored by Vissel at the last minute of the game in injury time knocking them out from the race for the championship... boo...

A D minus...

If I were to evaluate my achievements this week, my report card will be a D minus... way under average... I'm not doomed, so it wouldn't be an F, but without any progress, I'm on the edge of flunking!

I was wandering around the city, desperate to find something that will lead me to some success...

Iidabashi in the evening...

The least I can do tonight was to have dinner without alcohol...
And since I must attend a meeting that has nothing to do with international news tomorrow, I must raise my morale and realize that I only have less than a day this weekend to accomplish my mission!

P.S.
I think a lot of people were shocked to hear Mr. Osim had a stroke and hospitalized... the World Cup preliminaries are just around the corner... I hope he recovers!

Taking a rest

I know I had millions of things to do, but since I'm going to work on Sunday, I decided to take a rest today. I don't know how many hours I slept today, but it sure was more than 12 hours! And the rest of the time, I just watched TV... sports, serial dramas...

Watching...

my favorite team win a title too!

Slowly, but confidently, I must start from tomorrow!

When I got home, they were just about to start the second half.

they scored three goals in the first half, but the later half I saw was just shitty!

A long way to go to accomplish a historic three-peat!