Hidemi's Rambling No.78 Jan 1, 2010

A Happy New Year! It is said in Japan, 'New Year's Day sums up the new year'. To make the new year happy, I need to spend today happily. Yet, I can't feel pressured. Whatever I do today, it's supposed to be repeated all year long. So, no pressure. Just be happy. I wish you a wonderful, happy New Year.

Hidemi's Rambling No.77 Dec 30, 2009

Many stores in Japan hand out a free calender for customers at the end of a year. When I was a child, my family never needed to buy a calender for a new year because we got amply for free. Some stores offer free-to-take calenders in front of the entrance at this time of year. I went rambling down the street near the train station to get some. There are many shops and I got a lot of calenders for free last year. This year, the recession was obvious here and I couldn't find one. A store put up a sign which said, 'Buy one and get a free calender'. It's not my option. The era of a free calender has passed...

Hidemi's Rambling No.76 Dec 29, 2009

The Christmas card my mother sent me shows her character properly. My parents sent me a Christmas present of wine prior to the cards.They usually send in their joint names, but this time there was only my father's name on the box. I thought he sent it by himself. It made sense considering how she had snubbed me last time we met. On her Christmas card which came later, she added with pretense of being casual, 'Cheers with wine!'. She apparently had to imply that she had chipped in the present...

Hidemi's Rambling No.75 Dec 27, 2009

A clothing store in the mall is going to close for good and I went there today for the closing sale. I often get a surprisingly discounted item when a store is closing. It has helped me save much money. Recently, more and more stores have gone out of business in the area I live, and the mall I went today has also had less and less shops. As a new shop hasn't opened, they put tables and chairs for customers to rest where the old store used to be. Now the mall has the break areas everywhere. While I enjoy a sale, I lose a store to shop one after another around me...

Hidemi's Rambling No.74 Dec 26, 2009

My mother's hobby is drawing. She drew a Christmas tree on her Christmas card that I received yesterday. Over the years, she has gotten influenced by me for a Christmas card which she didn't have a custom of sending. This year, she wrote 'Merry Xmas' in English baldly and decoratively across the tree. It must have been a big challenge for her who is not used to writing English. Sadly, she misspelled 'merry' and wrote 'Marry Xmas!' instead. For years, she has kept urging me to marry, and it finally got her. A word 'marry' automatically pops up in her brain when she tries to communicate with me...

Hidemi's Rambling No.73 Dec 25, 2009

Merry Christmas! How are you spending Christmas Day? I am having rotisserie chicken, pasta and pizza at my apartment with my partner. A box was delivered from my parents. It was a Christmas present of wine. My parents usually enclose an attacking message to deny what I do and I prepared myself for it. To my surprise, they didn't do so for once. No attacking words from my parents. That can be considered as a miracle to me. I wish each one of you a peaceful, joyful Christmas. Happy Holidays.

Hidemi's Rambling No.72 Dec 24, 2009

Eve has come. Only one day to Christmas. To a person like me who anticipate Christmas too much, the rest of the year is just a sideshow. As an athlete prepares for the Olympics, I condition myself for Christmas. You should do everything in moderation though, otherwise you would end up like me who feel sad thinking Christmas is over tomorrow while feeling extremely happy to have it at last. My consolation is a concept of 'Twelve Days of Christmas'. I cheer up myself saying that Christmas Day is the beginning of the twelve days of Christmas, not the end of it. Well, how can I soothe this infantile myself twelve days later? Let's say just 11 months to go again...

Hidemi's Rambling No.71 Dec 23, 2009

To avoid a crowded store, I did the grocery shopping online today for my holiday meals. In this way, I could enjoy shopping calmly and comfortably, sitting in front of a computer and sipping a cup of coffee. I was in a good mood adding sale items to a shopping cart one by one. And I found something wrong with the total amount. As I was taking time to shop around, the prices of the sale items were returning to their list prices. I didn't know that they were time limit offers because nothing mentioned. I guessed the quantity for a sale was limited, thus first come, first served. Now my relaxing shopping had changed into a battle. I shopped as fast as I could, sweating and hunching over a computer. and was done shopping exhausted. Even at home, the hustle and bustle catches you at this time of year...

Hidemi's Rambling No.70 Dec 22, 2009

Mt. Fuji is regarded as a symbol of good luck. Looking out the window of my apartment, I can barely see the top of Mt. Fuji far away after the leaves fall off from the trees nearby. It's a season I can see it, but I haven't been able to find it this year where it's supposed to be. My partner told me that he has seen it for some time. I looked and looked for the unique shape of Mt. Fuji which was hardly overlooked. Then I noticed that the branches of the trees near my apartment had stretched upward. They block Mt. Fuji at my eye level but not at my partner's who is much taller than I am. No matter how hard I jump, I can't see the top. Starting this year, I am too short for good luck...

Hidemi's Rambling No.69 Dec 20, 2009

The finals of an annual comic tournament is going to be held this evening, in 30 minutes actually. It decides the best comic in Japan among both professionals and amateurs and is broadcast live on TV. I have been looking forward to this event for a whole year, predicting who would win this year. I have zest for comedy shows and it's like the Super Bowl to me. Every year I cheer and laugh excitingly in front of TV. But today, for some reason, I haven't been feeling well since this morning. This year I will watch the finals feebly after the yearlong excitement...

Hidemi's Rambling No.68 Dec 19, 2009

In spite of my bad horoscope of the day that everything I do would backfire, I dared to do my holiday shopping anyway. Only I changed the place to shop. On my way to the mall, I had a snack at IKEA. They had an all-you-can-drink bar for soft drinks only at 55 cents at the cafeteria. The selection was coffee, tea and soda. Because I'm cheap, I challenged to drink to my limits even for 55 cents. I was fully content and beginning to think that it wasn't such a bad day as my horoscope had said. I arrived at the mall in a good mood. But then I started to feel queasy. It seemed I had too much drink. I ended up doing my holiday shopping this year with fending off the sick feeling all the way. I bought this difficulty for 55 cents. Backfire...

Hidemi's Rambling No.67 Dec 18, 2009

Today is my holiday shopping day. I have planned and looked forward it for some time. My plan is near perfect - what to get as a Christmas present for my partner, where to go, what to wear. First thing in the morning, I checked my horoscope on TV. Mine was the worst of all. It even elaborated carefully how bad it would be. According to it, everything I do today backfires, and I should spend the day quietly. I still don't want to think of myself a superstitious person, but how can I enjoy the holiday shopping bearing that negative information in mind? A trivial piece of a horoscope easily shattered my whole joyful plan...

Hidemi's Rambling Dec 17, 2009

I took a test of translating an English article into Japanese, again. Last time I took one, I got 'C'. That didn't make sense to me at all. I was deeply offended enough to take a test again. Although I know so well that revenge never works, it seems I never learn my lesson. The result came today and it was 'C'. AGAIN. A grading comment said that I misunderstood the article. What's that supposed to mean? The article was such a simple one that I thought it was almost a joke. If I misunderstand those easy sentences, what do I not misunderstand? Perhaps I have misunderstood the whole thing in this world all my life up to now. Oh, by the way, do you kindly understand what I wrote? As a 'C' holder, my English can be misunderstood...

Hidemi's Rambling Dec 16, 2009

People in Japan are everyday gourmets. They fuss over food all the time. Too sweet, too salty, too stringy or too dry. Even not so wealthy people are keen on taste. The TV shows on food are rampant all day long. People are willing to wait in line for hours in front of a small noodle restaurant. The shelf of prepared foods at grocery stores and supermarkets has a huge selection. Western, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Korean, you name it. As for me, my tongue seems to appreciate pretty much anything. But ironically, I can't get as much as I like because I watch my weight. Before a splendid view of a wide variety of prepared foods, I bear a grudge against myself who is so easy to gain weight...

Hidemi's Rambling Dec 15, 2009

I went to a grocery store in a mall connected to the train station, aiming at half-price prepared foods. I have enough knowledge about the times they put on half-price stickers to what remain unsold according to stores. For this store, it is usually past 8:30 p.m. I arrived at the store at 8:45 p.m., the perfect timing. The shelf was full of half-price items. At the same time, I saw a notice about a liquidation sale of a different store in the mall. The sale was up to 50% off for everything but the store was closing for the day at 9 p.m. Two stores of a half-price sale for only one of me. I often shop without finding any sale items but when I find them, they come all at once. A mystery. I need one more me for sale shopping...

Hidemi's Rambling Dec 13, 2009

At a discount store, I found cans of soda on sale at five yen each - about six cents. Only six of them were left. My partner was pushing a shopping cart on the different aisle, and I had to secure the six cans lest anyone got them. After holding them in my arms, I walked toward my partner. He noticed me and for an instant, he seemed alarmed. He mistook me for a thief by my appearance. For fear of the flu, I usually put on a medical mask where people gather. Also in this case, I was holding goodies, hunched over, with a wicked smile in my eyes, somehow tiptoeing toward him. Maybe the deal was too good and made me feel like a thief...

Hidemi's Rambling Dec 12, 2009

A coffee company send me a newsletter once a week. They assigned a number to each member upon sign-up, and pick a winning number for the prize of two thousand dollars every week. When I checked email today, I saw my number on the newsletter. I screamed with surprise and joy. My heart beat weirdly, sweat poured off. As I fixed my eyes, the newsletter showed my number as a reminder, not as a winning number. I didn't win, of course. I buy a lottery ticket every week that you can win up to four million dollars. I learned today that I couldn't survive if I won that kind of money, because two thousand dollars was enough to almost kill me...

Hidemi's Rambling Dec 11, 2009

It's the season for a year-end party in Japan. It's called 'Bonenkai' which means 'a party to forget this year'. Too negative. During the course of a year, there should be something good to remember, at least a couple. So, my partner and I adapted a new party with a different concept. My partner even created a new word for its name. We call it 'Obonenkai' which means 'a party to remember this year'. We threw it today. I found other different aspects in our party than the name. People have a 'Bonenkai' party with many colleagues and friends, over an expensive meal. Ours is just two of us, over half-price prepared foods that are left unsold at a grocery store. It's just like my style- or let's say, 'Hidemish'...

Hidemi's Rambling Dec 10, 2009

I finished sending out my Christmas cards. Japanese people don't have a custom to send them. Instead, they send New Year post cards. I prefer a Christmas card though because a New Year card has some restrictions. For instance, it has to be arrived on New Year's Day, or, you can't send nor receive it when someone related to you has died the previous year because it is regarded as bad luck. I don't make it time-consuming but once I start writing a Christmas card, I tend to take time decorating the card with stamps or stickers. Mostly, I would send them to my grandparents on both my father's and mother's sides. One by one I lost them and I have sent the cards fewer and fewer. In September, my grandmother on my mother's side passed away. She was the last grandparent of mine. Now I have no grandparents and the number of Christmas cards I send is so small...

Hidemi's Rambling Dec 9, 2009

It was my long-awaited day of half-price takeout pizzas. Up to this time, I had missed the opportunity every month for various reasons, and I had to get one this month. It was a very cold evening with an icy wind blowing. From my place to the pizza store is a twenty-minute walk. I was determined enough to endure the cold for a half-price pizza. The place was tiny and packed with customers. I plowed through to the order counter, where the clerks were busy taking orders for delivery by phone. The phone kept ringing one after another and they prioritized delivery orders because they were for list prices. I held on there for ten minutes, waiting for the clerks to hang up the phone and take my order. That moment never came. I overheard that it would take two hours to receive a pizza. Other customers were waiting that long standing in a crammed store, doing nothing. I don't have that kind of patience. I left the store empty-handed and walked back home in the cold for another twenty minutes. Getting a pizza at half price is such a hard attempt. My patience isn't qualified for it...

Hidemi's Rambling Dec 7, 2009

I love Christmas. So much. I am anxiously counting down to Christmas all year long, every year. At long last, the holiday season has come. I decorated the tree and my apartment joyfully. After the decorations were all put up, I got grabbed by a feeling of melancholy. Being in the holiday season means that it will be over soon. Even before Christmas Day comes, I lament for it to be over. How many days are there left to celebrate Christmas? Very few! A negative countdown has started...

Hidemi's Rambling Dec 6, 2009

After shopping, I had dinner at Starbucks. Their subs are my favorite, but the main reason to dine there is that restaurants in Japan are full of housewives who take noisy, ill-behaved kids along. They don't pick a time and place. From an expensive restaurant to even a bar, kids are there. Some Japanese bars have a play room for kids. There is even a baby at a bar at night. Crazy. The safest place for me was a cafe. But, they came. When I enjoyed a sub and a holiday cake with a quiet, relaxing atmosphere listening to holiday music in the background, this kid invaded the place. His loud babbling and shrieking filled Starbucks and ruined everything. Starbucks was my last resort and finally, I have no place to dine in Japan...

Hidemi's Rambling Dec 5, 2009

I did the shopping at the mall and bought a summer dress. To save money, I get summer clothes in winter and winter ones in summer because they cut the price drastically for what remains unsold during the season. The summer dress with a cardigan cost only 350 yen, which was about $4. Ideal shopping, but on the flip side, I can't wear them right away. Usually I need to wait for half a year until the suitable season arrives. And sometimes, I forget about having bought them by the time to wear in season. Am I really saving money...?

Hidemi's Rambling Dec 3, 2009

One of the biggest disadvantages to live in Japan is that you can't watch the TV shows of US. Some of them are available but at least one year behind. The saddest thing is a sitcom. They are too unpopular to be broadcast. So are animations such as 'The Simpsons' and 'Family Guy'. Online broadcasting doesn't allow access from outside US. 'LOST' Season 5 was on cable and just finished. Even on cable, it was one year behind and the season 6 will be here next summer. I will have to fret about what is going on there until then. In US, it has already started and they know how the hydrogen bomb went. Went off? Or what? I am left in this craving...

Hidemi's Rambling Dec 2, 2009

The season finale of 'Lost' Season 5 was on air in Japan. Since my partner remarked that I resembled Ben Linus, I have felt an affinity with him. I even mastered to do an impression of him. In the season finale, there was a scene that Ben confronted Jacob. I was deeply moved to tears by that scene because what Ben said to Jacob was exactly what I have had in my mind for a long time. I completely understood how Ben felt. Does that mean I resemble him not only in appearance but also in character? Ben is a bad guy. What about me?...

Hidemi's Rambling Dec 1, 2009

I have just come back from a grocery store now. They had a great one-day sale today. Since I couldn't go out for it last week, this one was kind of revenge. I arrived at the store and guess what. The sale items were all sold out already. Revenge never works. I got completely upset and was involuntarily scribbling a complaint on a comment sheet at the store. It was a totally compulsive move and when I came to myself, I submitted it to the box. As I cooled down, I realized something. I got up at 12:30 p.m. this afternoon, had lunch, and by the time I was at the store, it was past 4 p.m. Maybe my lifestyle is a problem, not the store...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 29, 2009

I had a visitor for the first time in years. I seldom have one and so I was very nervous. Beforehand, I cleaned up my apartment thoroughly. As I went on cleaning, I got carried away and felt some pain in my back when finished. Back in May, I rearranged the furniture in the dining area of my apartment, and I hurt my back while moving a fridge. It hindered every move I made for a few days. When the pain subsided, I lifted my old albums and did it again. Since then, I had been careful for my back and it had gotten better. But I was less careful this time. I still feel a mild pain in my back today. I am afraid of living with my backache like this for the rest of my life. I definitely hope not...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 28, 2009

My partner felt unfair about the way Epson dealt with the recall of my computer. After a series of phone calls to complain and negotiate, he got a satisfactory solution. A free repair will be completed much more quickly than I expected, therefore, my complicated data and configurations for our new song are intact. Just in case, I made more backups. During the work, I couldn't stop smelling smoke. Of course it was imaginary smoke, which came from my fear that the computer might catch a fire at any moment. What a small, nervous human being I am...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 27, 2009

On an online flier, I found a great one-day only sale at a nearby grocery store. They had cans of tuna, jars of simmered seaweed, and packs of instant miso soup at the lowest prices I'd ever seen. They are about 35 cents each. I couldn't miss it, but unfortunately, I didn't feel well with a mild headache and dizziness. So, I turned to my partner but it was his working day. As a result, I utterly missed this golden opportunity. At least I tried to copy the edited TV shows on a DVD and that ended in an error. It was one of those days that everything went amiss...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 26, 2009

My parents live in my hometown, Kyoto, which is located in the western part of Japan. They hate my life as a musician. They wouldn't accept who I am or what I do, and simply keep denying me. Any contact with them, such as a visit, a phone call, a letter all of which I make every effort to avoid, is never done without quarrel. A few days ago, they sent me a box of persimmons. I was delighted to open it, but of course, there was a note of an attacking message between the persimmons. They never miss a chance to bash me. So, I am thankful for being able to continue music nonetheless. Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it. I hope you get together with your family peacefully...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 25, 2009

An explosive sound woke me up at 6 a.m. I thought a war broke out nearby. But it turned out to be firecrackers. It was the day that locals of this area celebrated a festival every seven years to bless their indigenous god, who preserved the area. My hometown, which is far away from here, has a similar god and festival but they never use firecrackers. For some crazy reason, locals here cracked them every hour on the hour all day long, and I jumped at the loud noise each time. I believe the indigenous god also jumped for disturbance rather than for joy...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 24, 2009

I came to the conclusion that it would be impossible to comply with the recall of my computer. Our new song is near completion and has become a big project with lots of detailed configurations and complicated data. I have the backups of course, but there is a possibility that the song wouldn't be restored and played exactly as it's supposed to be. I can't take that risk in this final stage. So, the question is which comes first, the song is finished or a fire breaks out from the computer. Now that I accepted going into the next year for this song, a race against 2009 is over. And here, a deadly, daring race has begun...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 22, 2009

I reviewed my work plan, because its schedule has been disrupted in many ways such as by my fall from the bathroom scale or my bad condition from a sudden drop in temperature. Even as a slow worker myself, I didn't want to drag this work for our new song into 2010. I've already spent six years on this song. But now, it's clear that the work won't be done by the end of this year. Come to think of it, what is the difference between 2009 and 2010? What's the point to finish work within 2009? Days just continue. I just visualize some kind of a big wall standing between them and feel a great deal of pressure to put every work of this year inside the nonexistent wall...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 21, 2009

A letter came from Epson yesterday. I use a desk top PC of Epson exclusively to work for my music because the CPU load and the size of data are huge. The letter told me to stop using my computer right now, or it would cause a fire. Yes. It is recall. I've using the computer with no trouble at all for six years. As I've written here before, our new song is about to be completed. The rest of work is to record chorus and to mix down. And now, they told me to disconnect the computer and send it to the factory. Why now? What's this? A joke?

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 20, 2009

The temperature has dropped unusually sharply to the one of January in Japan. Just two weeks ago, I was walking around with a T-shirt. The season passed from summer to winter skipping the comfortable autumn this year. Although I love winter, a sudden change in temperature makes me queasy or gives me a headache as low-pressure does. Today I was planning to go to the area where Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea are located. There are many hotels, restaurants and shops around the theme parks so that I look around for the Disney goods for Christmas without entering the park itself. And sure enough, I began to feel slightly sick while preparing to go out. I was afraid that it would get worse and gave up going there today. All because of the January temperature in the middle of November. Bizarre weather...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 19, 2009

I bought a desk top PC in May to use it as a TV set. I record TV shows on its HDD and watch them on its monitor. It came with a remote, but didn't respond. I thought it wasn't a model controllable by a remote. Yesterday, I watched DVDs of Mickey Mouse's classic films and of 'South Park'. I usually watch DVDs on my lap top, but tried on the desk top for the first time. While I haven't minded watching recorded programs without a remote, it was cumbersome to watch DVDs without it. I studied the desk top closely, and found a tiny sensor on the front, which was blocked by a slender leg of the coffee table. That reminded me of a mysterious object that also came with the desk top. I rummaged it out. It turns out to be an external receiver for a remote. With one simple action, it was set up and the remote began to work. So convenient. I haven't used this essential item for six months. One leg of a table plays a big role...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 18, 2009

Happy Birthday, Mickey! Today is Mickey Mouse's 81st birthday. He is my best friend. We became friends when I visited Tokyo Disneyland for the first time twenty three years ago. Since then, he has taught me a lot and made my life a fun ride, which is otherwise a bumpy one. He has also helped me to big decisions such as to live in Anaheim, California and to purchase a time share at Walt Disney World in long-term, numerous installments. Feeling so grateful, I threw a party today with cheese cake and Okonomi Yaki -sort of a Japanese version of pizza. The thing is, today is the day that his first movie was released, not that he was actually born. So, I only celebrate the day of his debut on screen every year. After all, when is his birthday...?

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 17, 2009

Yesterday, I received a package from Amazon, which contained the complete season DVDs of 'Seinfeld'. I ordered them online as I found a great sale for them. It cost only $15 each. In Japan, 'Seinfeld' isn't on air and its DVDs are three times costly. It used to be on cable for a brief period of time, but was terminated because of unpopularity -Can you believe it? Anyway, for that reason, the deal is almost unreal for me as a 'Seinfeld' freak. I already have its DVDs up to the season 4 and I jumped at the sale to complete the whole seasons. To save money, I ordered by a standard international shipping that takes time. But Amazon sent part of my order by air for the quick service. I opened the package dancing with joy to have received them much faster than I had expected. But, that arrived part of order didn't include the season 6. I will be able to watch the season 5 right away, but wait for the season 6 although I have the rest of the seasons at hand. According to Amazon, the other part of my order is going to arrive on December 29th. Japan is too far away...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 15, 2009

A storm hit here yesterday with a gusting wind and rain. When I was about to go to bed, TV was out again. It happened last month too, on the day of a typhoon and cost me one episode of 'Prison Break' that I had recorded for years without missing a single episode until then. There were several shows for which I had set the timers to record yesterday. One of them was 'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles'. I couldn't afford any more missing episode thus a broken series as a collector, and I complained to the super right away. I went to sleep worrying if it would be fixed before the show started. To my joy, TV was back on today, and the show had been safely recorded. TV and cable are often out here when the weather is bad. Each time it happens only in this building I live in. Of all the apartments, why does a person like me, who loves recording TV programs so much, live in this particular one...?

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 14, 2009

I adore recording TV shows and movies. So much so that I love everything related to recording, such as selecting shows and movies to be recorded, setting timers, editing, and saving. Probably I like recording better than actually watching them. While the recorded programs have kept piling up on HDDs, viewing doesn't quite catch up. Today, I watched the movie, 'Batman Begins'. When I recorded it, I was so excited because it was a premiere program on a premium cable channel. That was three years ago. By the time I finally got to watch it, it's no longer new and of value as it was. I have a large number of similar programs standing by for years...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 13, 2009

Thankfully, my pain subsided. I couldn't sleep soundly though, because I awoke every time my knee touched the bed when tossing. It still hurts when my knee brushes inside my jeans. Less pain gave me room to think about why my fall had happened. Everything happens for a reason, right? Before I fell, I was thinking about work of the day. Because of the fall and the consequent pain, I couldn't work. That means, I deduce, I have been going forward my work too fast and I should hold it up. It took two years to record vocals alone and six years have passed altogether since I started to work on this song. How can I possibly work any more slowly? Which means there is a different reason? Only thing I came up with was to change the place where I put the bathroom scale that I fell from...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 12, 2009

Yesterday's accident gave me pain and took away my working time. I couldn't possibly concentrate on working with that kind of pain. I postponed the work and spent the day quietly just scrubbing the kitchen sink. Today, I felt much less pain in my knee and elbow that I hit on the floor. But, the muscles of my arm ached. I was worried about that I may have hurt my arm when I fell. Then, an idea suddenly struck me. Come to think of it, I ate a persimmon three days in a row, that I seldom do. I fear a knife too, and when I peel fruit I am under extreme tension. The muscle ache appears to result from it. Peeling fruit inflicts more pain on me than falling...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 11, 2009

Everyday I weigh myself on the bathroom scale first thing in the morning. This morning, I lost my balance and fell hitting hard my knee and elbow on the floor. By the way, I am very timid. I fear pretty much everything in the world, and breaking bones or feeling pain is one of the worst fears. To be honest, I thought I was dead at first. Then, I found myself alive with pain. And, I thought I broke somewhere. I was lying on the floor gulped by the fear for a while. But thank God, really, nothing was broken in spite of the great pain. As it turned out, I got only faint bruises. Did my extreme fear boost the pain? It was such a horrible, painful experience. It still hurts...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 10, 2009

As some of you, who have kindly followed my blog, already noticed, I am money-conscious -in other words, cheap. I have constantly hunted for the discount stuff. Yesterday, I came up with a brilliant idea of a shoe cupboard which would cost nothing. When I proudly presented the idea, my partner didn't rain down praises on me as I had expected, but instead, he begged me not to materialize it. He told me that I went too far and he couldn't let anyone see the miserable shoe cupboard sitting in the doorway. I was carried away thinking I was a genius, and oblivious of how shabby it would look. That has happened to me so many times, in so many directions...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 9, 2009

My chorus recording update -I was determined to finish it by the end of the day. But I accidentally stayed up late on the previous day and got up with lack of sleep. I got down to work hurriedly, even without washing my face, because of the cutoff time I have written about. Somehow, the recording didn't go smoothly due to lack of sleep. I made a wrong configuration to the chorus tracks by mistake and had to record all over again. Then, soon came the cutoff time. I couldn't finish it after all, yet again...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 8, 2009

My first blog post was about the monthly half-off pizza day. It is applicable only for takeout, but last month, the day was hit by a typhoon and I couldn't go out for it. It was exasperating enough to drive me to start my blog. I waited for a whole month, and here came the 7th, the day of half-off takeout pizzas! What happened yesterday was simple. It was my working day and I had no time to spare. By the time I finished working for the day, the pizza store was closed. Yes, I missed it again by the irony of fate. Another month lies ahead for the half-off pizza. It just keeps slipping through my fingers...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 7, 2009

Yesterday, my blog suddenly got ten times as many views as it usually does. While I was jumping with joy, my partner calmly suggested that it might have to do with Hideki Matsui of New York Yankees, who won the MVP of the World Series. In his theory, people searched Hideki Matsui and they clicked Hidemi instead, because it looked similar. The sudden surge of my blog viewing was merely by a series of mistakes? That sadly makes much more sense...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 6, 2009

I recorded chorus parts for our new song. I do all the recording in my apartment, and as the soundproofing is not perfect, I need to be careful about the timing. It's no-go when windy or rainy. Noisy kids or a car vendor around the building balk the recording. And I set a cutoff time for the nighttime because the wall to my next-door neighbor is too thin. I was going to finish recording the chorus in one day, but when I woke up, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon. I was absorbed in recording, but soon it reached my cutoff time. I couldn't finish it. Still a long way to complete the song...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 5, 2009

Now that I completed a binding two-year contract of my cell phone, I started to receive new offers for the connection rate, by getting a new model. A letter came from the phone company saying that I am entitled to a special discount for a new model with this letter. My heart thrilled at the offer and I rushed to the store. I was excited how much lower the price would be than the price tag. When asked, a salesperson told me that the tag showed the price after discount. I visited another store which boasted the lowest prices in business, and the price was the same. I have seen the same price online, too. In any case, I would end up paying more than what I am paying now. So I decided not to get a new model. Walking back home, I remembered as a good old memory how thrilled I had been on my way to. My cell phone sticks to me with less and less service to be available...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 4, 2009

Two years have passed since I got my first ever cell phone. I needed it as a contact tool when I am abroad. Here, my main usage is to receive discount coupons for restaurants via text messaging. Other than that, I keep data of the lowest prices sorted by items and stores, and my schedule, which are few. I hate phone calls, so I don't make them nor get them. To sum up, my cell phone is just a bunch of coupons. But recently, I am often denied to receive coupons. According to the senders, the reason is that my cell phone model is too old to be applied. It is as shiny as new, still with a wrapper on a display. Yet, it is becoming simply a notebook, only very expensive kind...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 3, 2009

I have a large body bubble -you know. the space you feel comfortable between yourself and someone next to you. It seems people have much smaller bubbles around them because they keep sticking to me. Yesterday, it happened again at a grocery store. I was paying at the checkout counter and a woman next to me was waiting for her turn sticking to me. I tried to make space, but she closed up the space right away. I did it again, so did she. We repeated this. Nobody was behind her and she had large room on her opposite side. Yet she kept standing right beside me. She was a sidler. Eventually I had to reach out to a cashier because by then she was the one who stood in front of my basket. She completely pushed me out without touching, but with violating my body bubble. Even grocery shopping is a big challenge for me...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 2, 2009

Ironic to what I wrote yesterday, the temperature has dropped all of a sudden today. In the evening, a nearby grocery store sells deli foods leaving unsold at half prices. I felt like having them tonight, and went out. It was cold and a north wind was blowing. I walked for ten minutes in that trying condition. After getting successfully half-price foods, I headed home walking as fast as I could. On top of being cold and windy, raindrops started to fall. I walked faster and faster and in the end I was virtually running. It is such an ordeal to get things at half prices...

Hidemi's Rambling Nov 1, 2009

Sweet November! To me, summer ends with beginning of November. The reason I hate summer is because I have a strong phobia about bugs. When I see one, I almost have a heart attack. It's my version of 'Alien' in which I battle frantically with a spray, while crying, screaming with fear. For the defense, I put two electrical bug repellers and many herbal bug repellers in my tiny room. Usually, I turn off the electrical repellers, which make clicking noise, when November starts, and get back quiet nights. But for some reason, we had a hot October in Japan this year and I still use the air conditioner. In this situation, I have no courage to turn the repellers off. Summer still prevails for me...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 31, 2009

Happy Halloween, everyone! -I mean, everyone who celebrates Halloween! To me, the holiday season officially starts from Halloween and I had been waiting for it for a whole year. I threw a party with my partner but spent all day accompanied by a mild headache. Probably it is because I spent too much time on a computer yesterday. I keep a journal, and found out that I had a headache on Halloween three years in a row. Is it some sort of a Halloween trick? Could it be? Now, I'm scared...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 30, 2009

I was going to do some last-minute Halloween shopping at the nearby shopping mall, because they usually had a discount sale for Halloween items around this time of year. And I noticed it was the 30th today. The mall has a discount sale on the 20th and the 30th every month, exclusively for the customers who have the mall-issued credit card. So, the place is packed with shoppers on those two days like weekends. For my entire adult life, I have avoided crowded places because I can't stand a jam. As a result, I had no choice other than giving up going there. Besides the jam, I am not even the card holder. Why? I am not qualified on account of lack of a steady income...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 29, 2009

After some twists and turns, we changed our band name to 88th Planet. I am happy to announce it here. Meanwhile, it lead to extra work - changing domain names or account names and so on. Above all, our profile page and my blog page moved to here, that means URLs have changed. Although I haven't had so many readers yet, I sense some of you read my blog regularly. You never know how happy you make me feel. I do hope you follow the changes...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 28, 2009

Last night, I finished reading 'It' by Stephen King. I have been reading books by King exclusively over fifteen years. What I like about them is that I can look into the depth of human nature through his stories. Of course they are scary, superficially. Still, I read a book by King every night in bed before going to sleep. Is there any worse choice for a bedside book than a Stephen King? And that has been one of my daily routines for years. Something IS wrong with me...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 27, 2009

What is the sweetest sound for you? Mine is the sound of a credit card having been successfully processed and of a slot machine ringing for a win. I watched 'Ocean's Thirteen' today and heard the latter in the last scene. I have never been to Vegas, but have been to the casino in Montreal. Every time, I lose. For consolation, I persuade myself that the money is deposited for a future jackpot. While keep depositing, I doubt if the day I withdraw from that account ever comes...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 26, 2009

Whom do your friends say you look like? In my case, it's almost always cartoon characters. But recently, there have been new entries. My partner says I very much look like a Terminator's skull, which is blown out by Sarah Connor, or Benjamin Linus from 'LOST'. I strongly object. I'm not that thin, nor my eyes can't be that bulging...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 25, 2009

I get a tiny teeny amount of pocket money from online survey sites. Yesterday, I answered a survey on how to spend a week. That happened to tell me a shocking fact. I spend 40% of one week on sleep. On the other hand, only 3% is spent on work. So I need this side income...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 24, 2009

My palm lines are quite unique and different from others. A man read a comedian's palm on TV today, and the comedian's lines happened to be similar to me. According to the reader, only 5% of people have this kind of lines. No wonder I had never seen the similar lines on others before. A person with those lines has no sense to care the mood or atmosphere for others, the reader said. Somehow I am deeply convinced...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 23, 2009

For our annual Octoberfest party, I was going to go to a restaurant with my partner. We check our horoscopes every morning for fun. My partner's one said that any kind of trouble would await you outside your home. So, we couldn't go out. At first, it was supposed to be fun, but now we are completely bound by a horoscope. I know I am too superstitious, but I can't help it...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 22, 2009

I found cans of ZIMA on sale at a discount store near my home. The price was low enough to jump at, as I enjoy drinking. I have had ZIMA before, but I don't know exactly what ZIMA is. Is it beer? Cocktail? The label doesn't say much. After I came home, I looked up in their website. Though the site was lively with information, even on a Halloween bottle, they didn't tell the essential material. I had a can of ZIMA today, still not knowing what it is. Just what's ZIMA!?

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 21, 2009

I cleaned up the windowsill in my room thoroughly, that I hadn't done for years. There were stains and they wouldn't come off no matter how hard I scrubbed. I had expected to feel refreshed by cleaning. Instead, I felt gloomy thinking that I would have to pay for that when I move out here. Some reward for cleaning...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 20, 2009

It was windy today and yellow sand from China was blown into the area I live in. I was nervous about going out, because I dreaded that yellow sand would cause any kind of sickness by being inhaled. Yet I went to the grocery store where they occasionally had the time sale for meat. But they didn't have it today. So I just inhaled yellow sand and came back...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 19, 2009

While having lunch today, I was struck by an idea of a new song. It doesn't happen so often. I felt exhilarated, but sadly, that feeling got replaced right away by the fact I am a slow worker. It's likely after ten years from now to get it materialized. Besides, I have been working on a song, which I wrote six years ago...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 18, 2009

Next to the building I live in is a parking lot. One of the cars plays the car stereo explosively loud and disturbs my sleep from time to time. Last night, the car played it in a low hum all night and my sleep disrupted all the way. As soon as I got up this morning, I rushed out to the parking lot to locate the car. No car. The lot was silent. I took noise of traffic on the far road for the low car stereo. I may well have paranoia...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 17, 2009

I did grocery shopping this morning. The store has the morning sale on weekends and it was very crowded. I got the sale items, feeling satisfied, and joined a long line of a checkout counter. The counter number 7, which I thought I was at, takes a credit card. But when I checked out, I ended up paying with cash. The sign saying 7 above my head was for the next counter. As you know, cash is cash, while a credit card gives you some sort of points. After having me wait in a long line, points escaped from me...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 16, 2009

This summer, I took a test, which required to translate an English article into Japanese. I had almost forgotten about it. Today, the result arrived and I remembered. It wasn't difficult at all, and I expected 'A' with full marks. But the grade I got was 'C'. What??

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 15, 2009

I worked at Tokyo Disneyland long time ago. One of the workers at McDonald's near my home looks like my then supervisor. This morning I went there and I saw her again. Her face looks so familiar to me. Is she her or not? I can't ask her as I don't remember her name..

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 14, 2009

While taking a bath or a shower, I listen to a CD on a shuffle mode. I can't help feeling my most favorite song is most seldom played. The least favorites are always selected. Does a player sense my taste and play a trick? Have you ever felt that way, or just me?

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 13, 2009

After work, I dined out. I haven't done that as often as I used to, because restaurants are filled with noisy kids and housewives. Kids are my regular enemies. Today, the place was empty as it had just opened for the day. But as the time went on, more and more kids came in, and soon I got besieged by them. Only move I could take was to retreat, as usual. I sincerely wish kids-free environment would prevail someday...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 12, 2009

At the cafe I wrote about yesterday, I ordered two American coffees and a German Dog. The clerk repeated my order ' Two Blend coffees and a Lettuce Dog.' I am a Japanese native and so is he. What's wrong with my Japanese!?

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 11, 2009

It was a bit chilly in the early morning and I pulled on my sweater and gloves. I headed to a cafe. On my way there, I found a one-yen coin - a Japanese version of a penny - on the ground. I made an enough effort to take off my gloves, squat, and when my fingers were just about touching the coin, I realized it was a discarded battery. On my way back home, I found a coin on the ground again. I made the same effort again, and when my fingers were just about touching the coin, I realized it was the very same discarded battery I had tried on my way to the cafe. I still can't believe I fell for the same trap twice...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 10, 2009

I complained to the super and TV is back on after 36 hours. It seems that I am the only one who watches TV in this building. One of my hobbies is to collect TV dramas and comedy shows on DVDs or HDD. I have recorded religiously every single episode of 'Prison Break' for years now. Its final season is now on air once a week in my area, and I missed an episode because of the typhoon. Although the goal was right there, my collection is incomplete lacking one episode. Can you imagine how annoying it is for a collector? Gahhhhh!

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 9, 2009

The typhoon did more harm to me than a headache. TV is out. It robbed me of three comedy shows, one episode of 'Prison Break', one 'Columbo', and a financial news show. I wonder when it comes back on...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 8, 2009

Quite often, low pressure gives me a headache. The typhoon, which hit here this morning, brought me an excruciating headache. My partner suggests that I got punished for lingering on the half-off priced pizza I missed yesterday. Could it be? To avoid such accusation, I need to make my head low pressure-resistant...

Hidemi's Rambling Oct 7, 2009

Once a month, the pizza delivery store has half off prices for takeouts. Today was the half off day. As a pizza lover, I have counted down to this day since last month. A typhoon hit the area I live in, on the very day of the half off, and swept away a pizza. Sigh...