| 12/1 |
[Yamada Electric appliance store to plan selling
iMiEV electric cars]
Woke up at 5:30am. it was cold in the morning around 7C but today seems to be a bit warmer, the
national averages are near the beginning of November, a news says. Took a
while before heading out, and stopped by at an affiliate facility to drop
off many PET bottle caps, I am not sure of the number but took almost 10
minutes to unload. Spent another day at work, this is going to be my last
week at work so I do not have much stuffs left to do. Left the office,
walked back home. Went to bed around 11:00pm |
| 12/2 |
Woke up at 5:30am, stretched my body, checked
emails before walking out from the apartment at 7:30am. I had to take a big
bag to Kuroneko, to ship it to home. I still need to prepare packages to the
U.S., which I plan to do tonight. While I was watching TV, it reported a
small earthquake in Hokkaido. The sky looked clear but soon it could turn to
rain over the day.
Stayed at office until 5:30pm and walked back to apartment and started to
clean up the room.
Rain started as I cleaned the room, and courier service came to picked up
the futon.
Had to take my cloth to dryer around 8:00pm and came back to the apartment.
I packed up items and walked out, arriving at the hotel after 10:00pm. On
the news, the weather might get rough overnight, I went to bed around 11:00pm
 It
looked nice in the morning... |
| 12/3 |
[Move out day, and last day at training]
Woke up at 5:30am, looks like it's already around 15C. Had breakfast then
walked back to the apartment to packed two more boxes and get a taxi to take
them to a post office at Akashi. I paid about 12,000Yen for international,
and 2,000Yen for domestic. Called dad and chat a bit. It looks like a humid
morning maybe due to the rain over the night but I know there will be
another wave in the afternoon. I had to take a train to work today, so I
caught one leaving Akashi at 8:02am, arrived at work at 8:20am. For today, I
had to wrap up for the week. Around 11:30am, the outside suddenly get dark
and strong wind then rained pretty hard. Over the lunch time, I get together with my coworkers,
and they give me a wrist watch, among a card.
Left the work at 7:00pm, and took a train back. First I stopped at the
hotel, then walked to the apartment for the last time. I had to give up some
items, like cups, and desk light to keep the volume low. While I was
cleaning up the room, I got a call from a friend who is eating dinner with
other friends I know for early end of the year party.
Left the apartment after locking up the building after 8:00pm, then walking
toward the hotel. It's windy outside. I gave up on going to watch Kobe Luminarie at this point. I think it will be very tired.
Bought dinner at Lotteria, and I walked to JR ticketing counter to buy the
ticket for tomorrow, and walked back to the hotel room.
I had to work on my PC to type up emails, went to bed around midnight.
 Getting
stormy all of the sudden |
| 12/4 |
[Japan's bullet train system extended to Aomori
today]
Woke up at 5:30am, stretched my body and get ready for the day. I ate
breakfast, took shower then left hotel at 6:30am. I started to walk toward
Nishi-Akashi station for the last time.
I passed through the gate and took an elevator to the platform. Getting on
Hikari 460 departed at 6:48am. The train stopped at all stations on the way
to Nagoya, I wanted complain but have no other choice. When it arrived at
Shin-Kobe, I could see the sun is just out from the horizon, and I enjoyed
the view until arriving to Shin-Osaka From Osaka to Nagoya, I could
see the mountains showing the color change for the fall, but the north side
looked a bit stormy. The train arrived on time at 8:23am, then I walked to a
bus stop nearby to catch one to home. Arrived home at 9:00am. Unpacked and
repack for the returning trip tomorrow. I reserved a taxi for tomorrow
morning also.
Had lunch with my dad, and
then started to working on yard to help my dad. My brother came to pick up books
at second floor.
We don't have to keep them anymore since no one reads them. I also took care
of another bag full of newspaper articles of mom's collections. I worked outside until 4:30pm when the outside is getting dark. I never
thought that time of sunlight get limited so short. Went to brother's home
to have dinner together. Looks like whole family there is catching cold. My
dad brought a bunch of nuts to play them on a toy. Had pasta and rice. Took a bus back home around 8:40pm, went to bed at
10:00pm tonight. Tomorrow, I will leave Japan again.
Hikari 460 
Approaching to Osaka |
| 12/5 |
Coming back to the U.S.
AA176 at Narita International Airport |
| |
|
| 12/6 |
Woke up at 3:00am, nice try since I went to bed
around 9:00pm last night. I tried to do a laundry, but I realize there is no
quarter in handy. Checking out from the hotel and getting off to work at 7:00am, drove to the office and
spent morning checking on emails, opening envelopes to process last six
months worth of letters and extra stuffs. I walked out from the office at 9:30am, stopped by at an apartment to make
a reservation for a room. As I came out, I stopped by at Kroger to get a flu shot.
I needed it since I will be traveling a lot. Came back to the office, and
get ready for another trip starting tomorrow. It took long so I missed
opportunity to have dinner with my boss. Left the office around 7:30pm and
started to drive toward the hotel by the airport. I tried to find a place to
eat, but I only saw a McDonald's so I ordered 10 pcs McNuggets. Arrived at the hotel around 8:30pm,
had dinner. Going to bed at 10:00pm. |
| 12/7 |
Woke up around 1:00am. I left the hotel at
6:00am, it was a chilly morning and I had to remove dews from the window
before I can go. Returned the car and getting on a shuttle to terminal at
6:22am. Passed the security, and get on a flight to Florida at 7:30am.
Arrived at Tampa, went for a tour for a while.
Got a call as I drive around for approval for apartment lease. Came back to the airport
to pick up two coworkers from Japan, too them to a hotel to check in, they
get rested, and went to eat pasta at Macaroni Grill for the evening. Had
meeting in the evening then went to bed around 10:00pm.
 Looking at
east side while waiting for a shuttle bus to the airport terminal. |
| 12/8 |
[Elizabeth Edwards, ]
Woke up at 6:00am. Stretched my body and took shower. Came downstairs to
have a breakfast around 8:00am. Took off to meet customer around 9:30am, and
visited them for whole day. Today is chilly but totally sunny so I could
feel my skin is burning a bit. Took coworkers to BBQ place for lunch, and
finished up the visit around 3:30pm. We came back to the hotel and rested
until 6:00pm. Left to grab dinner so I had to drive around. Today was at
Chinese buffet.
Stepped out from the restaurant 8:00pm, went to Target for shopping, came back to the hotel. I made change on flight
for three people, so we can come home early. Went to bed around midnight. |
| 12/9 |
Woke up at 6:00am, went down to get breakfast.
Left around 8:30am and drove around town to check out the place.
Get to the airport around 10:00am and checked in. The flight to Houston was
on time and had no problem. I was quite tired so I was taking naps. I have
to drive again. Landed at Houston and then rented a CTS for the ride. I took
them to Denny's for lunch then moved to the field for inspection. Drove back
to the office around 5:30pm, took them to hotel around 9:00pm and came back
to the hotel, went to bed around 11:00pm. |
| 12/10 |
Woke up around 1:00am again. Stayed in bed until
5:00am and get readied for the day. Drove to the hotel around 8:30am to pick
up two others to the office. After the meeting, we stayed until 11:00am and
then took off to have lunch at Hot Dog place around noon. I drove around the
town, then went to NASA around 3:00pm then left around 5:00pm.
Took them to a steak house around 6:30pm. I made a reservation but because
today was a Friday, we had to seat outside. It was a nice place, and my
coworkers enjoyed since it was okay to smoke... Anyways, I drove to a grocery store
to let them have a chance to buy gifts to their friends. Drove to a hotel at airport
and dropped them off.
Drove back to hotel. Went to bed around midnight.
 T-38s
displayed at NASA Johnson Space Center |
| 12/11 |
[Move in day]
Woke up at 6:00am, good to know that I don't have to take care of anyone but
me today. The day started from 60s and expecting a great drop in the
temperature on Sunday night. Called home to talk with my dad a bit in the
morning. I drove to the office in the morning to take care of few items then
to the apartment around 11:00am for move in process. I dropped off the first
load then drove to Souper Salad for lunch. I did two round trips between the
apartment and storage unit. Around 3:00pm, I drove up to the airport to return the CTS to Hertz, then re-rent a Chevy Aveo for my personal use. Drove
back to the storage for another loads, and before going for the last load for the day, I started to do laundry.
After picking up bedding frame at the storage around 6:00pm, drove to a Boston
Market to buy dinner. Arrived to the apartment to do another load of laundry
and also to eat dinner.
Came back to the hotel around 8:00pm. Finally I get to write some part of
blogs, went to bed around 11:00pm. |
| 12/12 |
Woke up at 6:00am, another sunny morning but I
can see it is clearly windy. Started the day with checking out from the
hotel, and went to the apartment to do the move in check. I found some
issues so I made sure I wrote them down. I left once around 10:00am and
drove to Japanese grocery store to buy rice and K-mart for grocery and
bedding items shopping around 10:30am. I came home, cooked noodle for lunch.
After that, I dropped off my check sheet and filed maintenance requests. I
drove to the office and stayed until 5:00pm, taking care of company stuffs.
Left there and headed to storage place. The outside is getting dark and also
cold. I quickly loaded boxes and headed out. Did a little shopping before
coming home, arrived around 6:00pm and started to cook dinner. I made a
curry and rice. Relaxed for the evening making calls to my friends. This is
very much first time talking them since I left to Japan. Sounds like it's
going to be very cold in Kansas tonight. Went to bed around 10:00pm. |
| |
|
| 12/13 |
Woke up at 6:00am. It's very chilly in the
morning around 30F. Get ready for the day and headed to work. There was an
accident on the way so I had to drive around for extra 4 miles, I hate where
there is no other road to pick... Spent whole morning at office, then
stepped out to go buy a new monitor for myself. In the afternoon, I was
quite busy until 7:00pm then I left office. I stopped by at a store to buy a
new chair for myself, then came home. Cooked fried rice and it was already
9:00pm when I started to work on my blog. I have so much to catch up this
week. Going to bed around 10:00pm. |
| 12/14 |
Woke up at 6:00am, it is not chilly as
yesterday. Drove to work without a hitch today but forgot to bring my
keyboard and mouse. Stayed whole day at office since I bought my lunch, and
spent most of the time working on my projects, and also needed to talk with
coworkers, as well as moving to a new room. Left the office around 7:00pm
and drove home. I had dinner, relaxed, then went to bed around 10:00pm. |
| 12/15 |
Woke up at 6:00am, the car windows were covered
with dews, so I had to remove them. Drove to work but stopped by at
drycleaner to drop off cloths. Spent whole day working on projects. I have
to say today is such a busy day and took whole day until 7:30pm to take care
of assignments. Driving home, had dinner, relaxed in the evening then went
to bed around 10:00pm. |
| 12/16 |
Woke up at 6:00am, another day with dews on the
car windows. Drove to work as usual. Felt weather changing in the morning
but turned out to be a warm day. Went to a Honda dealer to look for a car
after 10:00am. I tried on a used 2009 Civic, it was something I like but I
felt the price is too high. So, I walked in to a new car dealer to look for
a 2010 model, which need to be sold soon. They had 50 cars in stock, I can
see how bad the economy is... I think I found something I could take it, and
I negotiated with the price, they finally gave me the car at invoice price.
Signed a contract on purchasing a car, paid down $3000 first then went home
to bring a check to pay the rest. I stopped by at an insurance agency to get
a policy, which was quite expensive since I am new to Texas. Oh well. Came
back to the office, worked on my projects. Stayed at office until 8:00pm,
thought about going to workout at gym but gave up and drove home straight.
Cooked dinner, and spent evening thinking about what to put on this year's
greeting cards. Went to bed around 11:00pm. |
| 12/17 |
Woke up at 6:00am, it's Friday and I am so ready
to finish the week. Since my home phone will be set up today, I left home
early to stop by storage before going to work. I arrived at work at 7:30am,
so early that I could take care of a lot of stuffs before 8:00am. Worked on
my projects and assignments, had lunch with a coworker who just returned
from Japan, and when I come back to the office, I got a phone call that the
AT&T has to get in my apartment to do the work so I had to drive home in
hurry, finished up and returned to work around 3:00pm then stayed until
8:00pm to finish up, then drive to LTF to get my membership reactivated. I
only paid $30, since they prorated for me. Worked out for 30 minutes then
drive home. Went to bed around 11:00pm. |
| 12/18 |
Woke up at 6:00am, I forgot to bring my cell
phone near the bed so I had to get up in cold air and walked to living to
turn it off. I used heater in the morning. Finally get done with updating my
iPhone to OS4.2 then headed to work out at LTF for 30 minutes. I stopped by
at a mail drop box to drop off mails but both two boxes outside the post
office were full. I then went to a barber to get my hair cut. The place was
busy because it was right before the holidays and I had to wait until
11:00am for my turn. When I came home, it was almost noon so I decided just
buy my lunch at McDonald's. Left home around 12:50pm to San Antonio, which
was an easy drive under sunny sky for about three hours. I arrive the at
3:10pm, walked to Hard Rock cafe to buy a bunch of pins, left there at
3:30pm and came home around 6:30pm it was already dark then. The road was
getting busy. At home did two loads of laundry, and cooked dinner. Worked on
my blog for a while. Went to bed around 10:00pm. |
| 12/19 |
Woke up at 6:00am, another chilly morning
require me to turn the heater on. While eating breakfast, I sent out email
to my dad, then headed to swim at LTF. I did not do well, but it was a good
start. Drove around the town, then finally get to Sears to buy myself a
replacement jeans which I need three, but they only carried one pair at the
store so I guess I have to go there again in some other time. Drove to
Target to buy grocery before heading back to my apartment. Cooked lunch then
headed out to storage and office. I picked up a couple of boxes and an iron
board, stayed at the office until 6:00pm then drove home. Had dinner, get
ready for the new week. Went to bed around midnight. |
| |
|
| 12/20 |
Woke up at 6:00am but stayed in the bed until
7:00am, I was a bit tired from the weekend. Drove to work then went to a car
dealer to pick my car up. It took almost two hours and then I came back to
the office just in time for Christmas luncheon. Stayed at office until
4:00pm then drove to airport to return my rental car. Took taxi back to
office, which was not so bad. Stayed
at the office until 9:00pm, I did get to eat the second meal from the
lunch plates. Drove home, went to bed around 11:00pm. I
am getting sore throat, I hope I won't be sick over the holidays... |
| 12/21 |
Woke up at 6:00am, drove to
work under cloudy sky but very warm with 66F. There are still some meals
left from yesterday so I had salad, and extra piece of cake. Get sunny in
the afternoon. Stepped out around 3:00pm to drop off mails. That about the
time when people starts gathering at the post office. I had to line up for a
while. Stayed at the office until 7:00pm then headed home. Packed for the
trip from tomorrow, then went to bed around 11:00pm. |
| 12/22 - 28 |
Japan Trip
Sakae, Nagoya's downtown |
| |
|
| 12/29 |
Woke up around 2:00am, I could not go back to
sleep so I decided to get up around 3:00am, worked on taking care of items
left before the Japan trip, then booked for a couple of more trips for next
month, and the parking by the airport. Drove to gym in the morning around 6:30am and worked out.
When I stepped out from the building, rain stared slightly, but it
really started falling hard later in the morning, I could hear thunder occasionally. The
rain seems never ends, but finally finishing up around 5:00pm but mostly
cloudy still. Left office around 7:00pm and drove home. On the way back, a
couple of intersections were out of power. Had dinner, went to bed at
10:00pm. Two more days of work. |
| 12/30 |
[Chinese began testing a stealth plane looks
like F-22?]
Woke up at 3:00am, keep staring at the clock...
For today, there won't be any rain until the evening. Get out around 6:00am
again to work out at gym, then drove to work under misty sky. Stepped out
around 2:30pm to make a contributions on my IRA, then went to chiropractics
to get my back realigned. It was a while ago I get my back taken take of, so
I felt refreshed when I was done. Stayed at the office until 7:30pm then
headed home. The road back was not so bad, I could come home without any
problem, cooked dinner, called friend to let them know about my plan in New
Year's, then relaxed until 10:00pm. |
| 12/31 |
[A failed bank robbery in Houston]
I guess going to chiropractics worked pretty good, I did not wake up until
6:00am so I went to gym in the evening instead of morning. It was cloudy sky
as I drive to work, with very few traffic. Stayed at the office most of the
time, but went out to eat lunch at a Japanese restaurant. Besides that, I
stayed at work until 6:00pm then headed to gym. The surroundings of the gym
was packed with cars and people, I guess they are enjoying New Year's eve
dinner. I had a canned soup I need to eat to replace with new ones for
dinner, with some crackers and sides. Called home to say happy New Year to
my dad, then relaxed for the evening. Went to bed around 10:00pm. |