Astronaut

In 1969 I remember sitting on the couch next to my father watching TV. I was only four years old, but I remember. We only had a very small black and white TV, but I remember. The image was very snowy, but I remember.

Why do I remember? Because it was the first time a man walked on the moon. I was very excited. I decided I wanted to be an astronaut. Although I never became an astronaut, I will always have the desire to adventure.

I always want to go to new places, see new things and learn more.

Are you an adventurer?

Lugging About

In Japan there is a custom of carrying portable shrines during festivals. The portable shrines are often quite large. In October, I will help carry a portable shrine in Tsu. We will have about 30 people carrying the shrine. It is very big and heavy.

In Japanese we use a special verb for carrying a shrine because it is heavy. In English we also have a special verb ‘lug’. We lug things that are very awkward or heavy.

Living in Japan, I have moved four times. Each time, I have lugged many books around with me.

Everyday I carry many teaching supplies, my Japanese dictionary, a thermos of tea, and a few other things. My bag is heavy, but I lug it everywhere with me.

We often refer to heavy suitcases as luggage.

Have you lugged a shrine? Do you lug anything heavy around?

Home Repair

Yesterday a typhoon passed through our area. We had a lot of rain and strong wind, but little damage.

We moved to a new house less than a week earlier. When the wind was blowing, I noticed that one of the doors is loose. It rattles when the wind blows.

Tomorrow I have a day off work, so I will get some thin foam rubber pads to fix the door.

I really like peace and quiet; especially when I am studying. It is much easier to relax and concentrate when it is not noisy. Also, my work place is noisy, so when I come home I want to refresh in a peaceful place.

Does anything rattle at your home? Will you fix it or just accept it as it is?

Swimming

When I was three years old we moved to a new home. There was a swimming pool in the neighborhood. Every summer we took swimming lessons. When I was very young I could swim well.

When I meet teenagers or adults who can’t swim, I am very surprised. In my mind, I have an image that everyone can swim. Of course this isn’t true. Many people don’t have the chance to learn. I was very fortunate to have a pool nearby.

One friend grew up in Liberia. They considered the ocean very dangerous. If his mother found out he went swimming, she would beat him. Naturally, he can’t swim.

Can you swim? How young did you start?

No More Beef

I love vegetables. I want to eat vegetables with every meal. I enjoy eating lots of vegetables.

Some people think I should be a vegetarian, since I eat so many vegetables. I don’t think that is a good idea. I like to eat some meat with my vegetables: fish, pork, seafood, chicken or beef. Of course, I don’t like to eat too much meat. I want more vegetables than meat.

Recently I noticed that I eat less beef every year. I almost never eat beef now. I didn’t make a decision to stop eating beef. It just happened naturally.

I really love fish, seafood and pork. I still eat them almost every day.

Do you eat beef? Do you like fish? Do you like vegetables? Have you considered becoming a vegetarian?

Long Toilet Paper

When I first moved to Japan, I was surprised by the toilet paper. Rolls of Japanese toilet paper are the same width as American toilet paper, but one piece of American toilet paper is almost square. One piece of Japanese toilet paper is much longer. It is rectangular. It is almost twice the size.

Of course it is easy to use either kind, but because it is something we use every day, we have to get use to it.

Have you visted another country? Was there a simple thing that was different?

Busy Day

I had a very busy day. In the morning I went to the doctor’s office for a cancer test. I went as soon as the office opened. They found no sign of cancer.

I went straight to work from the doctor’s office. Work wasn’t very busy, but some of the students were behaving poorly. If the students are misbehaving, work feels busy.

After work, I went to our new home to help with cleaning. My wife wants the new house perfectly clean before we move on Saturday. Today we washed every window and the sliding glass doors.

In the evening, I went to the photo society meeting. I thought I had a good photo, but I only got 8th place in our contest. Afterward, we ate late dinner and I caught the last train home.

How was your day? I hope it was good.

Neighbor Cat

Adjacent to my apartment building is a beautiful garden. Cheetah, a large gray tabby, lives in the garden. I often talk to Cheetah, but I never pet him. He is a friendly cat, but likes to keep his distance. Today I called him to me and he came. I was very surprised. He let me pet him a little. I was very happy.

Maybe you can tell that I love cats.

Do you like cats? Do you own cats? Are they timid?

Summer Swimming

My family moved to Redmond when I was three years old. Our neighborhood had a swimming pool. Every summer the pool was open for lessons, playing, and swim meets.

Just before my 4th birthday I joined swimming lessons. When I was a child, I would get up early every morning during the summer and walk or run to swimming lessons. After lessons I would come home, eat breakfast, and watch TV. As soon as all the lessons were done for the day, we would run back to the pool for play time.

We also swam in the local lakes a lot. Sometimes we would drive to the ocean and play at the beach. I really like swimming in the ocean.

Did you learn to swim as a child? Do you like swimming? Do you like the ocean?

Hiring Movers

Yesterday we had representatives from three moving companies visit our apartment. Each person gave us an estimate for moving our belongings from the apartment to our new home.

In Japan many things happen at the end of March and beginning of April. School years end and start at that time. Companies hire new staff at that time. Older employees retire at that time. Because of this, moving companies are very busy during March and April.

We are moving in September. It is not a busy time for the movers, so we could negotiate the price. The third company to visit our home gave us a very cheap offer. We accepted the offer.

Have you moved recently? Was it during the peak season?