June 27, 2005
Jets Break Nearly-Men Jinx
Some of my longer-term readers will be happy to know that the Saitama Jets have finally broken their jinx of losing heroically in finals or semi-finals of JET/ALT football tournaments.
Yup, this time, we changed tactics completely, and decided to bomb out horribly in the quarter-finals at Nagano, to a Gunma team we thumped 3-1 just a couple of months ago. This saved us the heartache of losing on penalties again.
Gunma got all the way to the final, where they presumably lost to Sala (Chiba), but we didn't stick around to see the game. We did stay to watch our old mates from Niigata lose in the semi-finals.
(if anyone from Niigata is reading, is there nothing you can do about the man with the dreads? Are there no therapists in Niigata?)
On a serious note, we went to try and win the competition, and should have got at least to the final. The fact that we went with 20 players did not really help us. It was extremely difficult to decide who to play and for how long, and this was even with two of us organizing things. If we want to do better next time, in October, we need to seriously consider our approach to the tournament.
June 24, 2005
Preparing for the New Addition
With the baby due at the end of July, Megumi and I (well, Megumi really!) have been getting ready. Megumi has prepared the baby's cot, and has also been organizing clothing. We'll be able to use some of Rosie's clothing, and we have also bought a few simple new things. Obviously, it will be the height of summer when the baby is born, so the inner clothing needs to be a lot lighter than Rosie's.
In order to buy baby clothing, and also a few bits and pieces for Megumi, we have had to go to 'baby shops'. In the UK, we would probably be visiting Mothercare, or Babies R Us, but here, it's Akachan-Hompo, a large, warehouse-like place filled with all a young family will ever need and more.
I have a confession to make: I don't like going 'baby shopping'. It's not that I don't want nice things for the baby, and it's not even because Megumi would happily spend a whole weekend pondering over what shape baby bath to buy. It's just that there are so many little kids there. There are families with new-borns, and families with slightly bigger babies, maybe 6 or 8 months old, and there are little toddlers of 1 year or 18-months old. Seeing so many small children in one place, I can't help but think about Rosie, and wonder why she is not there with us, looking forward to the arrival of her brother or sister. I know it's not a positive way to look at things, and I'm sure that when little Garner arrives, it will help our healing process. I just can't help it. Seeing lots of babies makes me sad. Sometimes I wonder if it always will...
June 22, 2005
Trading Standards
They tore down all the buildings on the east side of our station, in order to make a "better, more beautiful town". Not sure when the project will be completed, but there is a wall around the construction area now.
As you can see, the picture on the wall indicates a park-like space, with a nice big football pitch in the middle. Perfect!
What they are actually going to build, however, is a shopping centre complex. Just what Japan needs!!! More shops!!! Of course we don't want any of that nasty, uncontrollable green stuff in the middle of our towns.
In the UK, misrepresenting goods or services gets you in trouble with the Trading Standards Authority. I guess there is no TSA in Saitama?
June 16, 2005
Just to straighten the page out...
The page goes strange when I don't post for a while. I wonder if this will fix it...