Gary's Boring Blog

Some Great News

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I have been very busy at work. I have also had something that I have been wanting to tell you, my faithful readers, but I needed to wait until the right time. Now is the right time.

Megumi and I found out a few weeks ago that she is pregnant. As you may be able to imagine, we are delighted and extremely excited. It was the early Christmas present we were both hoping and praying for. The baby is due next July, so we have a few months to try and prepare for having a new-born baby again. We are really looking forward to meeting Rosie's little brother or sister and showing him or her off to the world.

The news has given us the perfect end to a very difficult year. All the best to everyone in 2005.
G + M (+ Rosie angel + foetus)

Fire in Urawa Again

Just after I started blogging, there was a fire near our house, which razed 8 or 9 nearby properties to the ground and killed one lady. Luckily, we were fine. When I turned on the news this morning, I was shocked to see the local Don Quixote discount store had burned to the ground. Don Quixote is a chain of stores which sells, for want of a better phrase, cheap crap. They pile it up high, and there is dangerously little room to move in their stores. We shop there occasionally, and I bought Megumi an oven for Christmas there a few years ago.

Well, apparently their policy of opening until 2am has upset a few people, and some people living close to their stores have complained. Last night, in what appearsa to be a concerted series of arson attacks, 3 of their stores were set alight. I just saw on the news that 3 employees died in the fires, and all Don Quixote stores have closed today until they find out what happened. Sad news, and the fact that it was so close to home is somewhat worrying.

Yahoo story (will not stay at this url long)

MBA Blog

On a completely separate note, the fox-eyed among you (does anyone say fox-eyed, or did I just make it up?) may have noticed the new My MBA Blog on my links. I have set up a new blog, using different software, to track my progress in the Warwick MBA by Distance Learning.

There's not a lot of content yet, and I will be messing around withthe design, but take a look some time if you are interested in what constitutes Self-Inflicted Torture!

Kindness

I have written before about how amazed and grateful Megumi and I have been to have been surrounded by so many kind people in the past few months.

Most of us have jobs, and many of us think of our jobs as necessary evils, vital to get money to do the 'fun' things in life. This is just a note to say that the places we work can be much more than that. It is possible to build up strong relationships at work, even if you do not realize it at the time. The first example comes from my current employer, where one of my colleagues went out of her way to send us a nice email hoping that we had a good day yesterday on Rosie's birthday. Thanks, H-san.

The second example comes from a lady I used to work for, who I have seen in almost 3 years. She has never met Megumi, and never got a chance to meet Rosie either. She still went out of her way to send us flowers when Rosie passed away, and she also drew this picture for us. Thanks, H-san (no. 2).

1st Birthday

Today would have been Rosie's first birthday. Megumi and I are both, as you can imagine, a little emotional today.

We're sure she is watching over us, giving us strength. Wherever you are, say a quick prayer and raise a glass for our angel.

Rosie Kokoro Cup

Here's the cup. People will be coming from all over Japan (well, Saitama and Tokyo, anyway), to try and get their hands on this coveted trophy this afternoon.

Then, we're off to The Smuggler to play the video of the whole shebang back on the big screens they have there.

Blog is Word of the Year!!!

Ha ha ha. Lots of people who know me read the site, and, having never heard the word blog, think it is just something that I made up, or that is just used in Tokyo or something. Well, obviously, that's not the case, and to prove it, the American dictionary Merriam-Webster has declared that "blog" is the word ofthe year for 2004. Yeah, wooh, go bloggers!! (not sure if you can smell the irony of my tongue firmly in my cheek. Bizarre mixed metaphor that...)

Anyway, here's the site (link) for reference, and here is a history of blogs (link), courtesy of the wonderful Wikipedia.

(seen on Joi Ito's Web)

That Pretty Korean Fella

Bae (or Pae) Yong Jun is a Korean actor who is extremely popular with middle-aged Japanese women. The lucky man.
Quite why this man is so popular is beyond me. With his floppy, flicked hair and his perfect skin, he looks somewhat like a polished, attractive 40-year-old female high-school teacher.

Anyway, whether I like him or not is not the point of the post. The other day, there was a documentary about him on the TV. As we watched it, we learned that there were 3,500 women waiting for him at Narita airport when he arrived in Japan. There were also some 300 Japanese ladies who decided to take the flight to Korea before his, so they could be there to welcome him back to Korea when he landed in Seoul. Again, lucky man.

The most interesting and thought-provoking part of the show was about an incident when some of his fans got injured. Somehow, a group of around 1,000 women found out which hotel he was staying at, and waited around outside to catch a glimpse of their hero. He was due to go to an official event at Roppongi Hills, but didn't want to leave without saying hello to the adoring masses. The police informed him and the hotel management that they could not ensure that the fans would be safe, so attempting to greet his fans would be dangerous. Ther hotel management have to follow the police instructions, so they informed Yong Jun and his menagerie to use the rear exit, and NOT to drive past the waiting fans.

Well, Yong Jun and his minders decided to ignore the police and the hotel, and, after a representative pleaded with the waiting women to not rush forwards, he did a little drive-by in his car, waving and smiling. Inevitably, the fans all rushed towards the car, the few police who were there tried to hold them back, and some ladies at the front of the crowd got crushed underfoot. We were treated to a few pictures of a tearful Yong Jun looking very concerned (but still very pretty) later, and some policemen looking rather frustrated and angry.

Now, obviously no-one, least of all Yong Jun, wanted this women to get hurt. But let's just think about this incident for a minute.

This was not an official event. These ladies had decided, of their own free will, to stand outside a hotel for hours in the vain hope that they would be able to get a glimpse of a pretty-boy Korean TV star. No-one forced them. The police tried to prevent an accident, so they did their jobs. The hotel management are basically trained to follow police orders, so they did their job as well. However, in doing so, they basically infringed on the rights of one of their guests. A couple of the hotel guys actually tried to get in front of the Jun entourage and push and force them to use a different stairwell. They were easily brushed aside by a couple of beefy Korean bodyguards.

Ultimately, Bae Yong Jun tried to please his fans by greeting them, and a couple got hurt. But I don't really see how the responsibility for these injuries can be the fault of anyone but the fans themselves. No-one asked them to go there. The Yong Jun managers specifically asked them not to rush forwards in case someone got hurt. They didn't obey, got all excited and people got hurt in the crush. The police were upset, but what law was he breaking? Is there a law in Japan that says you can't greet your fans? Is there a law that says you cannot use the front door of the hotel you are staying at? Or one that says you cannot drive past fans in the car park of the hotel you are staying at? He may be goofy-looking, but I don't think Mr Yong Jun can be held responsible for the incident the other day. Rant over!