Diary

November 30, 2004 - Tuesday

Japanese class in the morning. Besides that not much happened.

Hmmm... Of course I forgot to write about the big happening yesterday. Raiders won at the three mile high stadium against Broncos. Broncos is the leader of the group and Raiders is the last. Raiders had not won at the three mile high since... Well, it was a long time since they won there. Now they beat them big time with 25-24 - OK, so what(?), I over exaggerated a bit but still they won.

November 29, 2004 - Monday

The Hongo campus is sparkling with colors right now. All the trees are yellow, or red, or orange, or maroon, or... Well, some are still the normal green. The days are getting colder, and shorter. But not like in Sweden... or Hokkaido for that sake

And I just realized today that yesterday was a special Sunday in Sweden. The first of Advent - or the start of four weeks before Christmas. In my home town Gävle that meant that the big Christmas billy-goat made of hay. It is usually 10-15 meters high and is burned down almost every years since the tradition of putting it up started in 1966. It is only a handful of years that it has survived, and only a few years that it was not put up.

November 28, 2004 - Sunday

Went to Ginza for some shopping today; me, chie, and her mother. After the shopping we continued to Ebisu for a dinner at Sushi restaurant we usually go to. This time I had - among other things - aji, iwashi, buri, ebi, and otoro. Well, do you now what? It was yummy!

November 27, 2004 - Saturday

Moving day. Went to buy some plastic boxes around noon. In the afternoon I and Chie went to Komaba to move all my and her stuff from my room there. I've been in Japan now almost a year and I could only have to room at Komaba for one year. So now is the time to find something else to store my things in.

It took about an hour and a half to clean out the room. Chie's car was full. And now it is just waiting time to get a storage room. I have already applied for it and it is just formalities left. Signing of contracts and so on.

November 26, 2004 - Friday

Another Friday passed by. As usual I had Japanese in the morning. However, this class was a little bit different from other classes. Of course we go through new things every class. So we did today as well.

I usually read through the chapter we are supposed to go through the day before. So this morning I was surprised to be totally lost. The teacher explained - in Japanese - totally different grammar from what I read through yesterday. It felt like I checked the wrong chapter.

Then after about ten minutes the teacher checks her book, fall to her knees, and starts to say gomenasai, gomenasai, sensei wa dame desu, and so on... Basically I am so sorry, your teacher is such a bad teacher... After about five minutes of excuses and the teacher almost starting to cry she finally continues by explaining that she usually don't do this class and that is why she explained it the wrong way.

After this little mishap I recognize the explanations from yesterday. Phew, I am not totally stupid anyway. Just a little bit.

November 25, 2004 - Thursday

Autumn has arrived in Japan and it is wrapped in red. Along the Meguro river the cherry trees that blossom in pink in the spring are now dressed in a red coat.

It was a long day at the office today. At least it felt like a long day. I think I am felt some jet lag. In the night I had trouble keeping my eyes open. Well, guess what... I went early to bed.

November 24, 2004 - Wednesday

...Basically a guy decided to show what happens with you when you eat only junk food. So he started to eat only McDonald's for 30 days. Mixed with him eating everything from McMuffin to Big Mac was interviews with experts on food related diseases, ordinary people of what they thought of fast food, statistics of food related diseases in USA, etc. Quite scary that over 60 percent of USA is fat or overweight. And that food related diseases have already resulted in an increase of liver diseases, diabetes, artery diseases, strokes, and much more.

The estimations for how many that would need liver transplantation in 2010 was huge. Makes it worthwhile to consider gene manipulation so that you grow a few extra that you can sell to those needy ones.

The most stupid - and funny - thing that they reported in the movie was that people even had sued McDonalds for making them fat. I think there is a free choice to eat it or not. And it is common sense that if you it junk you become junk.

Another funny thing was the movie maker getting into his car a going for a drive through at McD. He had previously show experts talk abut how all the fast food chains have moved from the one size of a meal to small - the old normal size - medium, large, extra large, and super size. So now he ordered a super size everything. And forced himself to eat it all. 10 minutes after the meal he said that now it started... The McStomach... It started to McGurgle and he had a lot of McGas.

He was still not finished with his meal so he continued to eat. Then suddenly the color of his face changed. He had to lean out of his car window and throw up. It was quite funny and not such a great commercial for McD. But funny.

After 5 of his 30 days he went to his doctors - he got three to supervise the research - and weighed himself. Compared to when he started the research 5 days earlier he now had gained weight. He was now 5 percent heavier. In only 5 days. Then I had to quit watching and return the headsets before the landing.

At the airport we got our bags and then said goodbye to Mash-san. Then Chie and I took a bus back to Tokyo. We were pretty tired now, with almost no sleep during the flight. So for dinner we went to Yasaka. Then shower and bed.

November 23, 2004 - Tuesday

Woke up early and checked out of the hotel. Drove to the airport without incident. Just missed the exit of the freeway so we took the next one. It worked out fine, and we arrived to check our bags in time - we already checked in on the Internet yesterday.

It is not much to say about the flight. It doesn't really matter where you fly from to where. the flights are pretty much the same. Quite boring. Watched a lot of movies like Bourne Supremacy, Little Black Book, and the really stupid Anchorman. The last one that I could not finish - because we were about to arrive at narita - was scary, sad, and funny in some dark way, but most scary and sad. Super Size Me. About Americans eating them self to death. And the rest of the world is following...

November 22, 2004 - Monday

MNF - Monday Night Football - was the main event this day. We had made a plan to go to a sports bar in San Francisco at watch the game between Patriots and Chiefs. And since Chiefs is in the same conference as Raiders we all hoped that they would get beaten big time.

But before we went to the sports bar we had some time to go shopping. First we went to Union Square in San Fracisco downtown. San Francisco is a quite nice city - for an American city that is. Still you see a lot of homeless people and there are areas which look really scary, even in the day time. However, Union Square is not one of these areas.

We walked around here and went to Albercrombie and Fitch - or something like that; I always have problems remembering their name. I wanted to find a pair of pants that I seen in one of their catalogs. But when I did they were not what I thought they were. Instead of me buying something there Mash-san and Chie found some things that they bought.

After Alberquerqy and Pitch - if I try different names all the time my chances for making it right increases - we continued to one of the department stores to look for Juicy Couture clothes. We found the jacket Chie had been looking for but not the size. Well, we found the right size but only in pink color. Maybe not the right one for that kind of jacket.

Next stop after Union Square was Raider Image at Hayward Mall - me and names are not compatible so this may most likely be wrong too, but at least something similar. Here we continued shopping Raiders things.

Then our quest for okaimono - Japanese word for shopping or shopping things - continued. Now that we were finished with the most important things we started to look for the Stanford Mall to find the Juicy Couture jacket for Chie. We were told they had the right jacket, the right size, and the right color there. And I am sure they did... We just could not find the mall without a map - guess it was quite stupid of us to try without a map, but we had time so why not.

After some driving and searching we gave up on finding the Stanford Mall and headed for the hotel instead. We had scheduled to meet with Power-san there at 5 pm in order to get to the sports bar by 6 pm. We tried the Knuckle's sports bar. They had tables available so we watched the game there and had a dinner. Yepp, American dinner which means just about so tasty but at least you get a lot of it - it seems to me that the average American look for quantity before quality and I guess that is why they chose Bush who has a lot to say, but what comes out is without much quality.

Then it was back to the hotel and packing for the flight back home to Japan early tomorrow.

November 21, 2004 - Sunday

Game day. We bought the food we bought yesterday. But not BBQ. Japanese noodles, and snacks of different kinds. We arrived at the stadium just after 9 am. Had tail gate party until noon. And then it was game time.

This was a must win game for the Raiders and they started out bad. Chargers scored TD but missed the extra point on their first drive. While Raiders could not do anything. When the game was in beginning of the second quarter Chargers had abot 150 total yards whereas Raiders had 16 yards. Yes, 16. That is like... Nothing.

In the end of the first half and in the second half Raiders played better. They scored field goals and a TD. In the end WR Curry almost caught a long pass when he was open. He dropped it. But if he would have caught it he would have scored a TD and Raiders would have won the game. So close to be a hero... And now some people were shouting 'Hey Curry, catch this... You suck.' Very funny... Not. Anyone can make mistakes.

So you might have guessed it... Raiders lost. And the season is most likely over already. So instead of celebrating at Ricky's after the game we kind of felt sad. However, Ricky - yepp the owner of the Ricky's - made us feel a little bit better. Drinks were on the house the first round for Raider Nation Japan - I had a chocolate milk-shake. Then we eat, talked, and watched Green Bay at Texans.

Ricky gave us some Raiders glasses and buttons and t-shirts also. And then took a picture of us before we left. He wanted to put Raider Nation Japan on his homepage. And he promised to tell Raiders about Mash-sans homepage also, because it is a meeting place for many Raiders' fans in Japan.

The other thing that happened at Ricky's was that we met Snowman. He was the BIG guy that was the bodyguard in the Tuxedo with Jackie Chan. He was quite big in real life too. But friendly. And he posed with us for a picture. Then we went back to the hotel. to rest and to go to bed.

November 20, 2004 - Saturday

Going to California. More specific to San Francisco. Chie and I took a new way to Narita airport in the morning. JR train from Meguro to Nippori. From Nippori a train to Narita airport. Half the price compared to Narita Express but only about 30 minutes more travel. And we could meet with Mash-san in Nippori too.

The flight over to San Francisco took too long. I could not sleep well. Only about an hour. The rest of the time I spent watching I, Robot and some other movies. I knew I had to sleep since if I did not it was going to be a loooooong day. We landed in San Francisco on Saturday morning. That is, the same day that we left Tokyo.

The first we did was to get the rental car. Then drive to our hotel in San Francisco, Pacific Heights Inn. It is the same hotel as when we went to a Raiders game last year. It turned out we got the same rooms as last time as well.

After checking in at the hotel we rested for a while and then we went to Berkeley. It was tricky to find the way there. And when we finally found Berkeley it was tricky to find a parking place. But finally we found it and we got on the bus to the stadium. Funny thing was that the bus was free of charge and had Beat Stanford where normal busses have a number.

Then it was game time. The first live game of this season. Only college football but Berkeley is ranked number four (4) right now so they are pretty good. But they did not show much of it in the first half of the game. They came strong in the end though and could win by 6-41 or something like that. We went a little bit early since the game was already over and we were pretty tired.

After the game we went to Whole Food Mart to buy groceries for the tail gate party tomorrow. The big boys game. NFL. Chargers at Raiders. It must be party before. All real fans meet with friends on the parking place and bring meet and grills and they have BBQ.

November 19, 2004 - Friday

In the morning I had Japanese. On Fridays the classes are quite difficult since the sensei - or teacher - only speaks Japanese. It is tricky for her to explain complicated grammar and words only using a language that we - the students - try to learn. Sometimes leading to explanations of words she used to explain another word, and so on.

But it is fun almost all the time and interesting. Even though some students seems to have dropped out of the class. today we were only five people. It did not do anything because I had brought Japanese sweets to the class. Few people means more sweets for us who were there.

In the night Chie and I went to get some massage. Painful but leaves you with a great feeling afterwards. The body full of chemicals - relatives to morphine and the like -that your body creates when it is in pain.

After the massage we went to our favorite Korean restaurant. We just did not have the strength to do any cooking. Besides, we did not want to leave any food at home since we are going to San Francisco tomorrow and will not be back until Wednesday next week.

November 18, 2004 - Thursday

Had to go to Komaba during the lunch to pay the electric bill. I thought it would have come by Monday, but when I got there on Monday it was not ready yet. So today I really thought it would be ready. It was not. So I arranged to pay it by November 29 so I don't have to go there next week.

On my way back to the office I saw a really cool guy at the subway. At least he looked like he thought he was sooooooo cool. Sunglasses in the subway. Big headphones. Pants at his knees. Big jacket. Loose fitting shirt. Just cool.

Then he put his hand in the bag... And took out a cassette tape. Brought out his old Walkman - though it was not a Sony but Aiwa or something like that - and changed the tape. I think maybe this is the new thing. Cassette tapes.

And today I also had a terrible experience. I saw this new Kit Kat - chocolate bar. Well, the Kit Kat is not new but the flavor. Green tea. I guess I can only blame myself for it. I just wanted to try it. The bars were poison green. And tasted worse than poison - some poison don't even taste anything, which would be preferable for the Kit Kat Green Tea. Yuck.

November 17, 2004 - Wednesday

The sun raised this morning too. I just wanted to let you know that you can expect it to raise in Sweden, and everywhere else, later on today.

In the evening we did some preparations for the San Francisco trip. And I also went out running. Took a shower. Brushed my teeth. Put on my pajamas. And went to bed.

November 16, 2004 - Tuesday

Japanese class in the morning. It seems like people are dropping out. Today we were only four attending the class. Maybe they are busy, or maybe they just have given up. I will keep on fighting, even though it is a slow progress. The words doesn't seem to stay in my head. Just passing through it. I can feel the wind as they do it.

Sent a summary of my result so far to KTH/DKT today. A start for some collaboration perhaps. Or a start for more questions about what I am doing. I will just answer them as I always do... I don't know!

November 15, 2004 - Monday

Monday again. I've said it before but I don't know why I don't like Mondays. It's just something about them. At lest it is less than a week until San Francisco.

November 14, 2004 - Sunday

Tea ceremony day. Today was the first time we had the winter setting for the tea ceremony. This means that all the things are arranged a little bit different. Mainly the procedure is the same. Just a little bit different at some places. First sensei made tea so that we all could watch. Then I made tea. I think I managed quite well with the new setting.

After the tea ceremony Chie and I went to Shibuya to do some window shopping. Well, maybe we had planned to buy something before we went but we could not find anything. So, at the end, it was pure window shopping.

November 13, 2004 - Saturday

Happy Birthday Chie... Chie and I went to Walnuts in the evening to have a dinner and celebrate Chie's birthday. We had sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, salad, oyster gratin, grilled tuna in americana - I think it was - sauce, and some other dishes. The deserts were also great, chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and hazel nut cake with black tea ice cream. Yummy.

After the dinner we took the car back home and continued celebrating.

The whole week I had been using my lunch breaks to check for a birthday present for Chie. She had been talking about a jacket so I tried to find it. But it turned out that the place where she first saw the jacket did not have it anymore. Actually the whole brand was no longer available at that department store. So I tried Roppongi Hills. Then I went to this brands homepage and was referred to Mitsui & Co in Otemachi. But when I got there it was only an office. Phew, I gave up. Hopefully we can find the jacket in San Francisco next week.

November 12, 2004 - Friday

Friday again. Chie and I celebrated it by going to the Yasaka again. The food was delicious again. Yummy.

November 11, 2004 - Thursday

Not much happened today. Except that I spent the morning at the immigrations in Shinagawa. I had to apply for a new re-entry permit. I already had one but it was for the old visa and since I got an extension a month ago or so I now needed a new re-entry permit.

November 10, 2004 - Wednesday

LicoPro project meeting. I made a presentation again and this time I think they started to understand. I guess I am not so good at describe what I am doing, but I also think that most of the member do not know much about modeling. In this case UML-modeling.

November 9, 2004 - Tuesday

Japanese class. I got there late because I was supposed to have a meeting with Professor Kimura. We rescheduled the meeting for the afternoon instead. So I could go to the Japanese class. A little late.

After an hour or so of the class we had a break for tea, coffee, or what ever you want. We usually have this break. Today, however, we went to a shrine outside of the campus. To watch chrysanthemums. This shrine is well known for the flower arrangements. And they were spectacular, but totally fake. I mean not natural arranged - I guess no arrangement is natural - but twisted and twirled into a not natural shape. It is not my taste, but many Japanese like it.

Unfortunately I cannot show any pictures because the batteries was not charged. I tried to take some pictures but... Sorry.

November 8, 2004 - Monday

Back to the office and another start of another week. In the morning we had a research meeting. One Japanese and one German. After that I had lunch outside. Bought a lunch box at Hokka Hokka and ate it outside in the Hongo campus. It was a nice weather around 20 degrees. Quite enjoyable.

November 7, 2004 - Sunday

Sunday... Mainly a rest day. The weather was nice. Around 21 degrees and sunny most of the day. Spent some time outside in the garden and running errands. In the night we had Chinese dishes for dinner and then we went back to Tokyo. Me driving.

November 6, 2004 - Saturday

Went to Tokorozawa today to get a haircut. My hair got... Shorter. And I now look decent again. Presentable you could say. During the haircut I spoke with the guy cutting my hair. About football, trekking - he told me he had seen two bears, one time from a car and one time while fishing - and other things. Quite limited conversation since my Japanese is not good enough for advanced topics.

In the evening we had sushi and sashimi at home. The sushi we made were hand rolls. And the fish was octopus, salmon, tuna, fatty tuna, squid, and shrimp. Yummy.

November 5, 2004 - Friday

Friday again. Finished work at about the usual time. Then I went home and got out running for a while. The knee still feels good. Which is good.

November 4, 2004 - Thursday

Aaaaaaaaaaaaa, the nightmare became the reality... Bush won the election in USA. What can I say? The general American did not do what I hoped they would do, use common sense and put their vote on anybody but Bush.

But I guess the general American is as bright as Bush is. And believes that the world is really a safer place since they invaded any country that they claim is a threat to America and the free world.

Yepp, sure, America is the most free and democratic - ooops, obviously not - country in the world. Prisoners are not allowed to vote. Since Bush became president they have implemented the Patriotic Act. You are free... To have all your private life scrutinized by the authorities based on no evidence at all just because you might be a terrorist. Yepp, you are free... To have all the guns you need to protect yourself.

I think I have to stop now before I get too angry. But I guess Kerry would not be much better either, but at least he could not have been worse. In Sweden we have a saying when choosing between two bad things that it is like choosing between the plague and cholera. I guess that's what the Americans had to do.

November 3, 2004 - Wednesday

National holiday. And Japanese are kind enough to give me a holiday too, even though I am not of Japanese nationality. Spent the day watching some football, watching the American election, going to Komaba, and shopping groceries.

November 2, 2004 - Tuesday

Worked hard today. Could do that since I knew it is a national holiday tomorrow. Which means no work tomorrow. A stay-in-bed-as-long-as-you-want day. After work I met with Chie and Mina-san to have dinner at Butaya. Which translate into English the house of pork, or the home of pork.

By the name you get the hint that they serve only pork. Well, I mean that the have a menu of pork dishes... Not that they only serve customers that are pork or pigs. And the pork is yummy.

November 1, 2004 - Monday

Research meeting again. Two hours. Same comments again for both the persons. I think there is a big miscommunication between the professor and these to persons that made the two progress reports today. Both are from China. And both do not speak English, or Japanese, very well.

The strange thing is that many times when they get a comment they say 'yes, yes...'. Just like if they understood. The next time they make a progress report it is clear they did not understand because they still have not corrected the things they got comments on.

It think it must be quite frustrating to be a professor. How can you deal with communication problems that are due to that you do not have a common language that both of you speak well enough in order to communicate on the necessary level.