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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Things to Mention

(1) I'm currently watching a TV show teaching me Chinese.  I know all the Chinese already and none of the Japanese they use to explain the Chinese.  It makes for a very interesting experience, especially as they teach the Beijing huar.

(2) This weekend, I saw a group of people in Sendai protesting the nuclear power in Japan.  This weekend, on the news, I saw a group of people in Okinawa protesting the Opsrey helicopter.  One hundred thousand people showed up for the protest against the helicopter - staggering numbers, right?

(3) What is it with Japan and stray cats?  Not that I mind, since it usually means that whenever I go to the convenience store near my lab, I run into 20 somethings men who all get down on the ground with the stray cat that hangs out there to pet it and play with it and coo at it.  It's kind of adorable to realize how much they forget themselves in their love for the kitties.  But I was just wondering. 

(4) Today, Japan won against Iraq in a World Cup qualifier game.  I spent most of the game on pins and needles and I had to keep myself from yelling too much at the TV since the walls of my apartment are thin.  Maeda scored the winning goal, with a great assist from Okazaki. 

(5) On Saturday, I went on a long run (for me) and realized that I was running the exact same path that I had gotten lost on two months ago.  This time, I knew exactly where I was.  I patted myself on the back. 

Yesterday, I had plans to go on a short (1 hour) run.  I needed to be back to attend a course online in Virginia.  Somehow, instead, I got really lost.  I got so lost that at the intersections with the pedestrian bridges, I would climb to the top and then walk around all of the sides so I could figure out the best way to get back home.  I was gone for 2 hours and missed the course entirely.  Oops.

(6) Today, at work, what should have only taken a few minutes of setting up and checking the camera turned into several hours of work.  I realized in the process that my colleagues for this round of experiments are really fun to work with even when things get frustrating.  This is a good thing since, as they tell me, running the experiments always has its share of headaches and problems. 

(7) On Sunday, I watched some of the Paralympics and I was hooked. I watched nervously as Kunieda-san fought his way to a gold in single men's wheelchair tennis.  Kunieda-san actually is the men's Grand Slam Champion in wheelchair tennis for like 4 years running or something.  The only time he's lost in the past several years was his first competition back after an elbow surgery.

 Then I watched men's high jump with Suzuki-san.  Suzuki-san ended up fourth but I found out that not only did he compete in high jump but also in the 4x100m relay which impressed me since those two events are very different.  To add to that, it turns out that Suzuki-san is actually a handball coach (and a motivational speaker).  How he is so involved in so many different sports just amazes me. 

Realizing that I only watched two events and two different but inspiring stories, it made me wish that I paid more attention earlier. 

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