Diary

July 31, 2004 - Saturday

Went to Tokorozawa today. In the car. A short ride of three (3) hours. In normal conditions it should not take more than 50 or so minutes. At least I had the back seat by myself and a book to read. I mixed the reading with some sleeping.

In tokorozawa we went to a Japanese restaurant and had sashimi, some grilled pork, and grilled fresh corn. It was yummy.

July 30, 2004 - Friday

Mission accomplished. Yepp, today I saw the bug that has been making the noise from the trees. Well, of course it is not this particular bug that has been making all the noise. It would have been pretty busy then...

I saw it when I was walking to the office in the morning. Inside campus. I passed a tree and it was sitting... More like hanging on under one of the tree branches. I brought out my camera from my backpack, and was just about to capture it in one and zeros - it is a digital camera after all - when it flew away.

Still it was a bug with wings and it seemed like it was vibrating its tail to make the noise. Or perhaps it looked like it vibrated the tail when it actually was rubbing its legs together or something.

Maybe that is the next mission... To find out how it makes its noise. Or maybe not.

July 29, 2004 - Thursday

Something has been bothering me for a while now... Well, nothing serious like a bad illness or something. But from some trees here there is a sharp and loud noise from a bug or something. And that is what is bothering me... I don't know what it is!!! I mean, I don't know if it is a bug or something else that makes the noise.

It sounds like the noise from a cricket (syrsa) only much louder than what I am used from in Sweden. It is usually difficult to talk on the cellular phone under a tree with one of this noise things in it. So I have made myself a mission - like I have not enough things to do anyway - to find out what this noise thing is. I will do anything in my power - except climbing a tree so don't worry mom - to find it out.

July 28, 2004 - Wednesday

Todai is getting more and more empty by the day. The summer holiday is here and now only a few students are left. Most have gone back to their parents or traveling or just staying away from Todai. It is quite nice though, for the few of us that are still here.

July 27, 2004 - Tuesday

When I got home after the work today I finally finished my exam for the Japanese class. We don't have a real exam though. It is more a diagnostic test or something. We can check how much of what we have learned that we now. But it has to be checked by the teachers. I see it more as a way to repeat what we have learned and get a better understanding of it.

July 26, 2004 - Monday

It's a Monday again and not much happened. I kept itching at my cut in my head. A cut that I forgot to tell you about... So you can imagine how big it was.

After the trip to the beach on Saturday Chie and I stopped to buy some groceries. In the grocery store I run into a metallic cover over a vegetable counter. I am a little bit taller than the average Japanese so I guess most people here won't run into it. But I did. It didn't hurt so much physically as it was embarrassing. And I started to bleed too.

Liters and more... Not really, but I have to have a good reason for writing so much about it. Who am really writing lines and lines in a diary of a cut in the head that needs an electron microscope to be seen? Well, I am...

July 25, 2004 - Sunday

Last day of the weekend. Chie and I went to Hiro-o today to buy things for her new kitchen. We found a few things but not all. So we bought some ice cream at Baskin Robin instead. Yummy. We ate it and continued to Napoli. Another ice cream store. There we bought some more ice cream.

Now we felt pretty full with ice cream. We had enough energy to get on our way to Ginza where we bought some more things for Chie's new kitchen. Like a new rice cooking machine. Unfortunately we forgot to buy more ice cream.

July 24, 2004 - Saturday

Raised and shined early today. Chie and I had decided to go to the beach again. And so we did. Same beach. Better weather. And we stayed longer. I got like a tomato in the face. Or like an octopus. I used too little sun-screen. Again.

On the way home a drove... For a while. We stopped at a road stop where they had shops and things to eat. I bought a crepe filled with ice cream, banana, and cream. Chie bought a grilled octopus. It was not as red as I was. So I guess tomato is a better comparison.

July 23, 2004 - Friday

Friday again. As I was preparing to go home I got an e-mail from the secretary of the department. Some problems again with the money that I am supposed to get for the hotels and other expenses I had on my trip to Europe. It has taken such a long time and now I had to add some names of persons I visited and companies that I visited in order to get the money.

Kind of strange rules because I did not ask to go there, I was asked. And It has taken two months now or more and I have still not got the money. At least I am in no direct need of them. But what if I was a student???

July 22, 2004 - Thursday

When I went to Komaba today to pay my electric bill I was almost run over by a cat. Then the cat was almost run over by a truck.

I was walking a long a small road and was just turning around a corner to get to the gate of the Komaba campus where the Komaba lodge is. Then out of nowhere came a yellow cat running. It almost run straight into my legs but made a miraculous side step in the last second.

It continued running out into the road where a medium size truck came. It - I think - managed to not get hit by get its end sideways and sliding on the street. That was how I saw the cat on the other side of the street. Sliding on its end and under a gate and out of sight in a garden.

As I looked after the cat I almost walked into a couple of ladies that was standing watching the cat escape death. They were just standing there and saying 'heeeeeeeeeee' - Japanese for showing surprise. Then they said 'suggoi' to express that it was a moment of great emotion, I think. The rest of the day was nothing compared to this event in the morning.

July 21, 2004 - Wednesday

Another hot day. When I got home tonight I watched some Japanese news program. Not that I understand much but they displayed a board there comparing the temperature from before with now.

As I understood it, the temperature had been 36 something in 1994 for 8 days. But now it had been 39.5 degrees for 4 days and this was the hottest in Tokyo since a very long time.

Well, it really doesn't matter how hot it has been before. It is hot now. In the news studio they even had heaters on so that it was 40 degrees inside just to simulate the temperature outside. Anyway, it is too hot to think about anything else than how hot it is - as you have experienced reading my diary the last days i guess.

July 20, 2004 - Tuesday

39.5 degrees Celsius.

July 19, 2004 - Monday

Woke up and realized it was a national holiday today. No work :-) Instead Chie and I went to Shibuja. It was a mistake... This weekend was the start of the summer holidays for many schools. Now they were enjoying the summer break by crowding up in Shibuja.

Not only did you have to zig-zag between all the teenagers. It was also impossible to sit down and have something to eat, drink or whatever. So many people everywhere. And hot, hot, hot.

Chie and I agreed to never come back on a weekend as long as the schools were on a summer break. It is better to use to time in some less crowded area.

July 18, 2004 - Sunday

Tea ceremony day. That was about all that I can remember of today. I made tea two times. It is fun but hard work. Not only to remember all things to be done and in the right sequence and all. But also because we sit on our legs.

Yepp, the lower part is bent in under and that is what we sit on. After about 2 milliseconds it gets painful. After about 30 minutes the pain is slowly decreasing and a sort of numbness is settling in instead. Then when it is time to get up the legs are gone... Well, they are still there because I can see them but I cannot feel them. Which makes me like Bambi on a frozen lake - I sure hope you have seen that.

The rest of the day was more or less in a relaxing mode. Or perhaps I was working to get the kitchen set up and organized. Hmmm, anyway... Chie, me and Yoshiki-san went to Myondon for Koreean BBQ in the evening.

July 17, 2004 - Saturday

Went to the gym in the morning and then I had a meeting with Professor Kimura. Hmmm, I know it is a Saturday. But he is a busy man and sometimes the only chance to meet with him is at night or in weekends.

Anyway, I went with Chie to the movies afterwards. Virgin Cinema in Roppongi Hills. Harry Potter and the prisoner from Azakaban - or something. What can I say? What a disappointment! Not at l what I had hoped for. I did not like the character of Professor Lupin, or the fortune teller character. Or should I say I did not like the actors thy had chosen. They did not fit with the image I had of them from the book.

Besides the characters I also was missing so much from the books. I have always thought the Harry Potter movies felt kind of chopped up. Just a whole lot of too small scenes that did not reflect the books in the best way. Too much missing. This time too, but worse. Or perhaps it is just that this movie is the third one and now it is starting to repeat itself and that is quite boring.

After the movie we were too tired to do anything, including cooking dinner. We went to Red Pepper instead. Delicious.

July 16, 2004 - Friday

Not much happened today. I cannot even bring to memory what I had for lunch and dinner today. All I remember is that the kitchen was finished during the day. It looked much like yesterday. The difference was that now water and gas was installed as well. Now all that was remaining was organizing all the stuff again.

July 15, 2004 - Thursday

Weekend is coming closer... I can feel it. Tomorrow is Friday. I try to focus on that rather than that it is Thursday today. And this weekend will be a long one. Monday is a national holiday in Japan so that is a stay-home-day-doing-nothing day for me.

In the evening today I stopped thinking about that it is Friday tomorrow. I thought about food instead. I was hungry. I only had a sandwich for lunch. Before I could eat, though, I met with Chie and we visited a restaurant in Ginza. We had to check it out before a friend of Chie could use it for a business dinner.

It was a very nice restaurant called Daidaiya - if I can remember it right. A little bit outside of the main Ginza. Japanese style but in a modern setting inside.

After the visit to the restaurant we went to Bic Camera. I wanted to check some electronic dictionaries. And we checked some new refrigerators for Chie's new kitchen. I saw an Electrolux by Toshiba refrigerator.

Then we had something to eat from the Kentucky Fried Chicken. I had a chicken wrapped in a soft enchillada with some hot sauce and some original Kentucky Fried Chicken pieces.

July 14, 2004 - Wednesday

What happened today? Not much. Work, work... And some more work during the day. In the evening I met with Chie and we went to Shinjuku to visit a department store there.

After that we went to Yasaka in Meguro to have dinner. Today they were open. It seems like they are closed on Mondays. We tried to have a dinner here yesterday too but then it was full and we could not get a table. Today, though, it was no one there except us. Three people serving and two being served. What a luxury...

At home the kitchen had progressed since yesterday. All the cupboards were up now. And the stove and oven was there. As was the dish-washing machine too.

July 13, 2004 - Tuesday

Today they made it official. Who? The weather people. What? The rainy season is now over. The only thing that remains is a hot summer. But much less humid. And in the night I could really feel it. It seemed much cooler than before and still it was 27 or so degrees.

But before I went home I went to Ginza and bought a pair of Adidas shoes. ClimaCool with a lot of holes in them to make them less hot. I sure hope so.

When I got home the kitchen was still in the state it was yesterday. Or so it seemed. Not much had happened during the day. Some wood and some concrete had been added. I guess the concrete have to dry before it can be covered with cupboards. Maybe tomorrow.

July 12, 2004 - Monday

Japanese class in the morning. The last two weeks one or two of us, the students, have been doing a presentation after our tea break. It is getting to the end of the semester so we now have to make a presentation to show what we have learned I guess. Today was my turn.

I had done some research on the history of ice cream and now I was doing it in front of the class. I also brought some green tea ice cream that I made. We had the ice cream at the tea break before the presentations and it was a success. I was really surprised how everybody really liked the ice cream. But they did. And a few even wanted the recipe. That is a secret though...

Noop, just kidding. You can make green tea ice cream by mixing 1 spoon of green tea powder with hot water until you have a green tea liquid. Then you mix this with 2cc (dl) of cream and 2cc of milk. Try to mix it so that you have a smooth mix. Then add the yellow part of 4 eggs and mix it. Then add 90 grams of fine sugar. Pour the mix into an ice cream machine, or if you don't have one I guess you can put the mix in the freezer and then mix it regularly until it is frozen.

Then the only thing left is to enjoy the ice cream with friends... Or even better... Enjoy it alone because then you will have more for yourself.

In the night when I got back home I realized the kitchen was gone. During the day they had ripped all the things out and now it was just a big hole where the kitchen had been.

So Chie and I went out to a Japanese restaurant, the Wan Wan. At first we had a plan to go to Yasaka, but it was closed for some reason. And no sign or anything. But Wan Wan was nice too.

July 11, 2004 - Sunday

Early rise and shine this morning. Me and Chie was going to the beach if the weather was good. It was. So we bought some breakfast a nd lunch at 7-Eleven and off we went. It took us about one and a half hour to get there. Then we spent a few hours there. Reading and taking cold showers.

The beach was not a nice as the once we experienced in Kauai or in O'ahu, but still nice to get out of Tokyo and spend some time watching the ocean. I was actually surprised that there were not so many people there. I thought the beach would be crowded, but it was not.

When we had almost melted, after about 4 hours or so, some really dark clouds approached. We decided to leave. When we returned to the parked car it started to rain and in the distance we could see a thunderstorm. So we returned to Tokyo by driving along the coast. Stopping for lunch at Kentucky Fried Chicken.

When we returned home,a nd after dinner, we packed the last things in the kitchen and took a last look at the kitchen as it was. Tomorrow they start renovating it.

July 10, 2004 - Saturday

Today was a busy day. First I helped Chie clean out the kitchen because on Monday they start renovating her kitchen. Then all her kitchen utensils has to be somewhere else. So we packed them in boxes today. Because if the weather is good tomorrow, then we go to the beach.

In the evening I went to Pontus. He had a combined birthday party and farewell party. On Tuesday he is going back to Sweden. So he invited a lot of people, mainly Japanese, for meat balls and lingon berry jam, Jansson's temptation, and cake. It was quite a sight to see a Japanese in kimono eat 'Swedish' meat balls with chop sticks.

July 9, 2004 - Friday

Final day of the working week. A certain feeling grew as the end of the day approached. I felt happy and free, looking forward to the weekend. The bell rang and off I went... Home, home, home... Well, sometimes I just feel like a school kid waiting for the bell to ring. The bell that indicate the end of a class.

July 8, 2004 - Thursday

Another Thursday passed by. And nothing special happened. I was working as usual on my project. Maybe today I made a bigger progress than earlier.

July 7, 2004 - Wednesday

What can I say about today? It was hot, hot, hot. It was 27 degrees... And that was the low temperature. Most of the day it was 34 degrees. And up to 90% humidity. I have just one word for it and it is not even a word... Pheeeew!

July 6, 2004 - Tuesday

After work today I went to Ginza to get massage. First I stopped by at my favorite store, the Adidas store. Not far from the Adidas store was a traffic accident. An ambulance, and they were helping some guy that had just recently been on a bike. Now he was sitting next to his bike getting attention to his head. But he seemed quite OK.

And I had to get to the massage. Once again it was great. It is a mystery how you can feel so totally relaxed afterwards - well, it's not a totally mystery but it sounds better.

July 5, 2004 - Monday

I don't know why these days keep on turning up. Week after week. I am talking about Mondays. Why? The world would be much better without them. Just delete them from the calendar and put in a Wednesday instead... Or even better a Friday or a Saturday.

July 4, 2004 - Sunday

It was time to cut my hair today. But first I burned my nose. I spent a few hours in the sun reading a book. It was enough to make my nose shine like the nose of Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer. At least I won't be lost in the night. And I guess no airplanes will fly into me with my red beacon.

July 3, 2004 - Saturday

Had a dinner in Tokorozawa in the evening. Tempura and soba. Yummy.

July 2, 2004 - Friday

The only thing worth mentioning about today is that I made ice cream in the evening. As soon as I got back from work I started making ice cream. Well, almost as soon as I got back anyway. Some egg, some cream, some sugar, some vanilla, and a whole lot of love. Then the ice cream machine was doing its job for about 20 minutes or so. Then it was time to taste the vanilla ice cream... Yummy!!!

July 1, 2004 - Thursday

The first day of July 2004. And what a day. I got an ice cream machine from an angel. I swear it is true... She flew in through my window and gave me an ice cream machine. Then she said 'now, make great ice cream'. I swear, it is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Tomorrow night I will try it for the first time. Right now it is in the freezer to get ready to make its first ice cream. Tomorrow it will make vanilla ice cream. I think it is best to start simple and then advance to other flavors and also to experiment with flavors. I am thinking of making green tea and wasabi ice cream. And, of course, one of my favorite ice creams... Cinnamon (kanel). Yummy!!!