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I received the number card of the upcoming Ryoma-Dappan Marathon(10km) today. I applied for the Ehime Marathon in July, which will be held next February, but I lost my seat. However, I can join the Shimonoseki Kaikyo Marathon (full marathon) in November, so this Ryoma-Dappan Marathon will be good training as the route is designed deep in the forest and has several slopes. I'll show you beautiful pictures taken along the route.
My wife made a funny suggestion that we had to hold a home party for a rescue team. Rescue team? I wasn't able to understand what she meant. She continued, "You are going to join a marathon in Shimonoseki, aren't you?", then "If you drop out of the race, who'll take you home?" I got her story finally at that time. "Rescue team" meant my marathon companions. She seemed to ask my friends to take care of me face to face. Anyway, as the pictures show, we had a wonderful time at my house.
Today is my birthday and Japan's official holiday also, but I'm staying in my office for inpatients. I have to remain inside just like a prisoner for a few more days. The following picture shows things sent in to me. The partner of my boss is Iranian and pistachio is from Iran. I like it a little roasted. Luckily, all the inpatients are in stable condition, so I'm going to read some books over beer.
The odometer of my car, SLK200, showed 88000km the other day. It seems that European cars tend to go wrong in various parts when their total mileage goes over 100000km. In addition to that, my car will have to get through an official maintenance four months later, which requires much money. Moreover, two front tires got dangerously worn. I had an option to replace them with new ones and continue to use the car until the delivery of the next car, a TESLA. But, I don't want to buy new tires for my car which I would part with in a few months, so I decided to give up my car now due to the dangerous tires before the delivery of the TESLA.
I've been fully satisfied with my car and want to keep it, but it's too luxurious for me to keep two high quality cars at the same time. I'll sell my car to a used car dealer today though I have to put up with a cheap small car until the arrival of the next car.
I drove my car for fun in the central region of Shikoku. This mountainous area has the biggest dam in Shikoku, which sustains the population of Kagawa Prefecture. Japan is listed as one of the industrial countries, but Japan is rich also in such rural scenery. I'm going to part with my Mercedes SLK200 soon and this will be the last long drive with it. When driving, an unfamiliar sound from the air suddenly caught my ear. My car was open at that time. I pulled up my car and looked up and found 3 or 4 ospreys were flying from south to north. I've seen more than 10 ospreys parked in the Futenma Air Station in Okinawa. I wish I could ride on them!
I visited a car dealer of Daihatsu to replace the battery of my second car of BOON, which was originally owned by my youngest daughter who is now studying in Oxford. It's a little small and my wife usually uses it, but it's my obligation to keep it in good condition during the daughter's absence.
The following picture shows the waiting room of the car dealer. The customers spend some time waiting for the maintenance work to finish. Non-alcoholic beverages and Wi-Fi are offered here for free. I like the relaxing atmosphere around here in contrast to the waiting room of the Mercedes dealer, where I get restless with its luxurious feel.
Japan has four distinct seasons and every season has its own amusement. One of the autumnal events in Ehime prefecture is "Imotaki" party. "Imo" means potato and "taki" means boiling. My colleagues and I ate a huge pot of hot and sweet soup with all kinds of root vegetables, including taro potato and chicken.
To tell the truth, and originally the party should be so, I wanted to enjoy them outside viewing the moon, but it was cloudy and chilly, so the party was held indoors. The party was also an annual event of my hospital and all the fee was paid by the company. That means, all the meals and drinks were free. The following first picture was shot when I went to the pot to take another helping. Everyone is smiling!
(Vocabulary)
taro 里芋
An international convention, J-CPAC, which was established to encourage people to develop an understanding for conservatism and liberalism in the fields of economics, politics, securities, and other issues by means of the cooperation of leaders in various fields. Its purpose is to create peace and prosperity in the Asian Pacific region.
I attended the conference yesterday and today. First of all, I wanted to check my English listening skills. I was handed a radio for listening to the simultaneous interpretation, but I dared not to use the radio. My self-check of the skills would be marked 60/100. Sara A. Cater, and several Congressmen were on the stage and I think I was able to understand 60% of their speech. My skills were not there,,, I remembered the saying "Rome was not built in a day." Discussion was interesting. The topics about China and the Koreas were really enlightening.
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