Checking My 2009 resolutions

1. Health
Take no day off due to catching a cold.
Concrete plan: I will go to my fitness club 1.5times a week on average. This frequency helped me keep in good condition last year.

result
I went to my fitness club 72 times, so I nearly achieved my goal. Unfortuynatelly I've caught a cold several times in 2009. So I consulted my personal doctor in the summer, and he priscribed me a tremendous amount of Vitamins (about three times of commercially available Vitamin pills). I caught few colds since the remedy.


2. Learn cooking more
Concrete plan: Learn how to cook meals suitable for a sick person.
Last year I increased my ordinary menu from two to five dishes to help my wife who looks after our one-year-old son. My wife appreciated that, but her imperative need is that I can cook meals for her when she is sick.

result
I learned how to cook rice gruel, udon (Japanese noodle which is easy to digest) with miso soup, and tofu miso soup.


3. Study and research for my family's future residence
Concrete plan: Making study sheet for as follows:
(1) Which is better, purchase or rent?
(2) What is the best plan to manage money for a residence for us?
(3) What are the important points for selecting a good residence for us?

result
(1) I made an Excel simulation sheet for comparing purchase vs. rent. If I live to be over 77 years old, purchasing is good moneywise.
(2) I selected a mortgage – the company which I work for supplies a part of its interest.
(3) My wife and I listed the important points for selecting a good residence for us. My list is as follows;
1. Its location is far from heavily trafficked roads: clean air is the most important
2. It takes under 20 minutes from the nearest railway station to Umeda (West Japan's biggest urban area)
3. It takes under 15 minutes from the residence to the nearest railway station by bicycle, without steep path.
4. It takes under 15 minutes from the residence to the nearest library and fitness club by bicycle.
5. 4LDK
6. A warm place in the Sun (In Japan, the house density is so high that it is rare that houses are open to the south side.)
7. My room is larger than 20 square meters.

So we found and purchased my house. It is now under construction. We will move in March.


4. Select one theme and study it for this year
This is Peter Drucker's method. I am learning his self-management method from my company's textbook, so I would like to bring in his good system.
What should I study? I want to know more about a theme which is concerned with politics. Last year, when I read a book (Robert B. Reich "Supercapitalism"), I thought that we should take part in politics more, in particular, the Japanese generation under 40, which includes me, politicians became less interested in their policies for younger citizens, because of the low voting rate of this generation.
I decided to study about tax system, one of the important parts of administration.
Concrete plan: I will make summary sheets of this study and show them to my friends (sorry, in Japanese)

result
I made an Excel sheet that you can use to calculate your taxes paid to Japanese and local governments and your taxes' use.


5. Be able to play a tune on the piano
Concrete plan: I will upload my playing to the web.
My ambitions through my life are improving my English and playing piano better. I got a TOEIC score of 825 last year, which I think it meant my English was a step up (even though I know my English is not advanced enough) . Next, I will turn to the piano, I will continue learning how to play the piano.

result
I entered a piano lesson club and I restarted lessons (the last lesson was in 1995 – 14 years ago). The tune I practice is Ryuichi Sakamoto's "aqua". Listen to this, even though it isn't completed...


6. Keep TOEIC score above 800
I would like to maintain my English ability, even though most of my free time will be taken up by some other studies and learning the piano.

result
My score in 2009 was 820.


7. Speak more slowly than now
Sometimes my Japanese speaking is too fast to understand.
Concrete plan: To begin speaking at a normal speed and for my friends to admit that in December.

result
Maybe I can't achieve this resolution. Anyway, I felt difficulty measuring for a non quantitative resolution like this.

Top tunes on my iPod in November, 2009

1. Paul McCartney / Getting Closer
2. Paul McCartney / Loveliest Thing
3. Elton John / I Want Love
4. Michael Jackson / Smooth Criminal
5. Stevie Wonder / Superstition
6. THE BLUE HEARTS / Jonetsu no Bara
7. Blur / Beetlebum
8. Falcom (Yuzo Kishiro) / Tower of the Shadow of the Death
9. Babaouo / Till the End of the Time
10. Bach, J.S. / Inventions No.12 in A-maj. BWV 783
11. THE BOOM / Shimauta
12. Cornelius / Music
13. Eminem / Lose Yourself (Soundtrack Version)
14. L<->R / Chokusen Cycling
15. Led Zeppelin / Whole Lotta Love
16. Mozart, W.A / Sonata For Piano No.11 In A Major (Turkischer Marsch) by Glenn Gould
17. Paul McCartney / Maybe I'm Amazed
18. XTC / Towers Of London
19. Ryuichi Sakamoto / intermezzo

1. and 2. are at the Top, because an amateur band whose members are my friends performed these excellent but not-so-popular songs! After that, I listened to these tunes time and again: while commuting and staying in the room of my flat. In addition, the band's brand new album contains 9. The song sounds quite like Paul McCartney, however, it is not an imitation.

3. is my most favorite of his songs which were released in these ten years. This song was performed at the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. 5.6.13.14 and 15. are my jogging songs this month. I feel that 7.'s charming point is its drowsy guitar riff. 16. is intriguing for Gould's playing style is like mocking Amadeus. 19. is very Brahms.

Top tunes on my iPod in October, 2009

1. Tetsuro Koyama + Ni! / Kanji-te goran 2
2. Perfume / Oneroom Diosco
3. Paul McCartney / You Gave Me The Answer
4. Radiohead / Creep
5. The Bangles / Manic Monday
6. The Beatles / Taxman (2009 Mono Remaster)
7. BOOM BOOM SATELLITES / UPSIDE DOWN
8. Falcom (Yuzo Koshiro) / The Morning Grow
9. Yes / Owner of a Lonely Heart
10. Ryuichi Sakamoto / to stanford (live_2009_3_28)
11. Ryuichi Sakamoto / bolerish (live_2009_3_28)

Writing proper sentences in Japanese, you have to learn nearly 100 phonograms and over 1,000 kanji(ideograms which originated in China)! Japanese elementary pupils in the second grade learn 160 kanji. No.1. is a unique song depending on its lyrics which consist of all the 160 kanji. And more, its melody, composition and performance are all charming for me. I envy the second grade pupils these days.

2. was in my heavy rotation after experiencing their live performance. 5. is my jogging music in this month. 6. is the result of listening to Beatles Mono Remasters again and again. My most favorite in their mono album is Revolver. 6. is the first song of the album. 8. was a video game music in the 80s. Despite poor music spec of PCs at that time, this tune featured an interesting gimmick: the bass line gradually changes the drum line. 9. is also an old 80s song and I couldn't understand their tunes. However, I understand its intrinsic value now because of my friend who lent me the album this month.

Top tunes on my iPod in September, 2009

1. The Beatles / Long Tall Sally
2. Beethoven, L.V. / Piano sonata No.30, 1st motive by Glenn Gould
3. CRAZY KEN BAND / Tenya Wanya Desuyo
4. Van Halen / You Really Got Me
5. L<->R / Chokusen Cycling
6. L<->R / Younger Than Yesterday
7. Elvis Costello / No Action
8. namco (Nobuyuki Ohnogi) / MAPPY
9. Oasis / Don't Look Back in Anger
10. The Beach Boys / God Only Knows (Stereo Mix)
11. Berg, A. / Piano sonata No.1 by Glenn Gould
12. L<->R / (I Wanna)Be With You
13. Monkeymind You Cube Band / Metaphor
14. Perfume / love the world
15. Radiohead / Everything In Its Right Place
16. Radiohead / Airbag
17. Ryuichi Sakamoto / opus

When I listened to music this September, the songs were almost all The Beatles' stereo remastered versions, which were released this month. But their play counts were dispersed, so only one Beatles song is in my chart, because they made many fabulous songs. As a result, the top tunes in my chart are my jogging music: 1,3,4,5,7,8,12and 16.

Visiting Lake Biwa(2)

When I woke up at 6:30, the sun was just rising.

After breakfast, I took a nap. I was not going to think about "the ladder" this day, but instead enjoy sight seeing. I had two aims for this sightseeing day. One of them was Chikubu-jima, which is located in the middle of Lake Biwa, and is called "Gods living island".



This is the ship that I boarded for Chikubujima from the hotel.



It took 20mins to get from the hotel to the island. When I saw the island, I felt that the forest was damaged so much. I discovered the reason why after landing the island (There is a guideboard which explains the damage of the trees). It is because of the river birds' (cormorants') excrement. The water quality of Lake Biwa has increased within the past 20 years, so the population of river birds has also increased. It makes damage to the trees worse. Though I know the reason of forest's damage, I still have a question. Why was there little damage in the past, despite the good water quality? If the forest had been damaged much like it is, the big trees seen in the above picture wouldn't exist.



Chikubu-jima island's circumference is only 2km (1.3miles). This island is surrounded by a steep cliff, so there is only one place which ships can reach. The location of the island is the deepest of Lake Biwa. This means that the island is a prominent cliff from the bottom of the lake. How was this cliff made?



This is a fountain, which was dug after an oracle was received by the shrine on a day of the 21st century.



climbing steep stone stairs...



It is Hogenji temple, which was established in the 8th Century. However, this building was reconstructed in 1942. This is a Buddhist temple.



and walking through a corridor...



reached Chikubushima shrine. It isn't a Buddhist temple, but another religion, It is a Shinto's shrine. In Japan, it is common for two different religions to co-exist in one location. This may be difficult to understand for those in monotheistic religious states.



This shrine has a unique praying system. A person writes his / her name and prayer on two little pottery dishes...



and throws them to the outside gate of shrine.

After 50mins had passed, I got in the ship to go back to the hotel. I dined at a all-you-can-eat buffet in the hotel, but I ate moderately. I had a second aim for this day, to eat a unique kind of Sushi, Funa-zushi, at another restaurant.

What is funa-zushi? It is a combination of rice and fermented Lake Biwa fish! Some people say that it smells awful but tastes terrific. Other people say that it isn't a food of human should eat. This town, Makino, has a famous funa-zushi restaurant, so I thought that it was a chance to challenge. The main restaurant course is expensive (lunch: from 8,000yen (80dollars, 60euros, 53 pounds)), therefore I went to a branch of the restaurant. The branch served Funa-zushi chazuke, which is Funa-zushi + green tea + rice for 1,200yen (12dollars, 9euros, 8pounds).



This is Funa-zushi chazuke. To tell the truth, it smells like rotten fish... But it is clearly different from the smell of fish bodies which I saw yesterday. I dared to put the fish up to my mouth... It tastes good because of its unique sour flavor and body, like cheese. I can't eat it everyday, but every once in a while, I can enjoy it. In addition, the combination of funa-zushi and chazuke (green tea + rice) is harmonious. It was a special dish.

A waitress asked me, "Are you OK? Some guests said that they can't eat..." I replied that it was very good, and the waitress breathed a sigh of relief.

Anyway, I admire the man who invented funa-zushi. (detail: http://homepage3.nifty.com/maryy/eng/funa.htm) for its unique preparation and taste.

With my satisfied mind, I got on a train. This time, it took 2 hours, to get back to my everyday life. I was headed down a turned-back road.

Next year, I will take a trip to Makino to check "How do I lean my ladder lean against the right wall?" and to feel the abundant nature. Maybe I will also eat funa-zushi. Though this trip was off the top of my head, I feel I will do it again. It was lucky, I think. In the rest of my life, how many places like Makino can I find? How many times can I visit such places? At the end of this trip, I thought about this.