I have long wanted to retire entirely when I turn 60 and I turned 60 this year. But I decided to continue to work next year. Two reasons; money and obligation. I feel it safer to have income for another year, considering the volatile econo…

The house I live now has almost no insulator in the walls. The windows have only a single sheet of glass which, in this season, are fully beaded with condensed water from heated air in the room, trickling down, growing bigger while collect…

Finally it's become like December. I did not want to leave my cozy, warm bed this morning. But, come to think, getting up for me used to be harder. Was it because I was young? or was it because the winter was colder? Perhaps both. When you…

Went with my wife to a showroom of lamps. It was a big one with an incredible number of ceiling lamps, down lights, spot lights, pendant lamps, chandeliers with brilliant colors and fashionable shades. I felt tired already even before a la…

I got a near-clean bill of health at medical check-up. I said "near" because a value of my "neutral fat(中性脂肪)" in my blood is a bit over the limit. The doctor suggested more exercise. "I think I am doing enough exercise for may age, be…

Good morning. Yesterday, it was one of those days which an American would call Indian-summer. Today the sky is heavy and leaden. A little colder than yesterday. Weather is just a meteorological phenomenon, but it seems to have strong relat…

Shanghai +25%, India +10%, US +10%, Britain +10%, Brazil +14% Japan -10% Those percentages are the average stock price increase or decrease in 3 months time. They show how Japan is depreciated when compared with all the developed and devel…

At last here is the signboard that lets neighbors know we are building our house. It should sit there for a month before the designer turns in application papers for the house-building plan to the local authority to get the approval. That'…

Got a fever yesterday. Went to see a doctor. It was not swine flue. But the white blood cell increased a lot. The doc prescribed antibiotics. It hasn't worked yet. This morning the temperature is still 38C. I have to lie in the bed all day…

I haven't spoken English for awhile. I used to talk a lot with two guys, from US and India, in my client's office but before I know they are gone. One was laid off and the other went back to US office. No good news around us these days. Th…

Working on the worldly things in planning the new house, smeared with vulgar, secular and mundane lust and vanity I sometimes feel an irresistible urge for throwing all it away. It seems like draining what little energy I reserve for think…

Mornings and evenings are getting colder these days. You can see how much in the picture below. This is the roundest animal I have ever seen since I saw an armadillo in a zoo. She's our pet. She is getting old and can't hear well; she's al…

I'm busy these days writing a blog in Japanese. It is a kind of house-building log. When I was planning and designing our house, I was really grateful to diaries and web logs for a lot of useful information. So this is my turn to pay it ba…

Up at six. 6-hour-sleep may not be bad. It feels even a bit chilly this morning. Sometimes I wake up with a distant roar of an airplane, flying over my house perhaps from Haneda airport to somewhere. I wonder if it used to be like this. Fr…

Feel a lot better this morning. Getting up on the bed took less time than yesterday. Now at last I'm on the right track of healing. I certainly feel! I haven't been to my office for two weeks. Though I gave them instructions about their wo…

Woke with a slight headache. Not bad but it feels heavy and deep. Hope it will not get worse. I already have enough problem in the back. I have only two ways to live now; lying or sitting. Yesterday, I taught English sitting on a reclining…

Feel better today. My back is still dull but not like yesterday. I need some exercise. I'd been spending too much time on the bed. But I must be careful. I'd underestimated my back pain when I first felt it, which aggravated the problem. I…

Ninety trillion yen? That's ridiculous. Why is our national budget always so big? Did DPJ say it would make the budget from scratch? I think I know how hard it is to reduce the budget from my own experience when I managed the research budg…

Feel slightly better this morning. Or should I say "better for a morning"? It's always the worst in the morning. We can put up with pain if we know it will be cured some time in the future, no matter how unbearable it may be or how long it…

Up at 5. Still dark. Dull pain in the back. Hope it got better today. Reading books on the bed with intermittent TV watching all day yesterday, I feel weak. Today I wish to go out and take some walk to see, smell and feel something autumna…

My back was so painful when I tried to get up. Last night, when I was teaching English to students and just seated still, I felt an acute pain in my back. Since then it has got worse. A back problem is not easy to understand logically or c…

I feel even cold this morning. Becoming my favorite season. "One word from him. Another from me. The autumn is deepening." The haiku I like. "彼一語、我一語、秋深みかも".

Another beautiful morning. On such a good autumn day, we need to do something suitable for the value of the day. Going on a hike? Not bad seeing autumn leaves tinged bloody red or shining yellow. No, no. Everyone must think the same. Every…

Persistent back pain. Especially right after I get up. Perhaps my body got used to the lying position too long while I was asleep. It was even worse yesterday when I, with my wife and mother, went to the house builder's office and discusse…

What a clear sky! Refreshing breeze, singing of birds, typical ideal autumn morning, like a day in a juvenile novel. From the window I see a part of the mountain range that should form a sharp panoramic skyline. Due to the roof of the next…

Another rainy day. With a stormy wind. Is the typhoon coming? or has it passed already? I like typhoons. I feel thrilled when I see all the rage of nature. When I was young, I used sometimes to drive to see ocean right before a big typhoon…

What is this? Is it a typhoon? Still raining. Yesterday, I okayed the contract terms with the house builder. Now the three-quarter-year house-building project has finally started. It's going to be a long and tough job for everyone of us. I…

Woke at six. Could not fall back to sleep. Still dark. Switched on the bedside lamp. Began reading a book for a sleeping pill. No good. Chilly morning. The sound of cars splashing water. Raining... Without my notice, the autumn is deepenin…

He picked up the chopsticks placed in front of him, slipped them out from the paper packet, and cradled them between his fingers like a surgeon wielding a knife before an impending surgery. We sat in the companionable awkwardness. I watche…

If you rebuild your house you must demolish your current house first thing. It costs you something. And this "something" is really something. It is very close to \3 million just to destroy things. It's partly because of the regulation that…