I decided to try something a little more minimalist, so here it is. I hope it’s ok.

Yes, we lost the game this weekend. It sounded like a great game. I was really excited about it, but I realize now that these things are just a game, though. We did already win it all back in 1997, so I’m fine if that’s the end of it. But if we get another chance to play against Ohio State, that’s ok, too. It all seems to pale in comparison to what’s really important in life. And right now, for me, that seems to be what my real passion is (learning Japanese). And maybe, perhaps, someday, finding my significant other here. So close and yet so, so far.

Wow, I can’t believe this. Bo Schembechler has died, just the day before probably the biggest game he’d ever want to see. Unbelievable. There’s nothing else I can say.

Hmm, looks like I haven’t posted in a while, and yet there is a lot to talk about, isn’t there? First the bad news: both of my baseball teams were in the championship, and both of them lost. The Tigers lost to the Cardinals due to atrocious fielding by their pitchers. I listened to the games via mlb.tv and I’m convinced that it was that one factor that lost them the series. Man, it’s frustrating, but hey, I can’t complain about the season at all. No one could have predicted at the beginning of the season that the Tigers would make it that far. And besides, they put a beating on the Yankees, so I’m pretty much satisfied as far as that goes.

The Nippon Series is a different story. I was only able to watch the second game, but it seemed like the Dragons didn’t put in too much of an effort against the Nippon Ham Fighters. And now I really can’t stand that Shinjo guy. I mean, I was a little angry with him about his lack of effort for the San Francisco Giants a couple of years ago, but having to watch his smiling face after every single pitch, no matter who was up to bat, was really annoying.

OK, now up to the contest that really matters. Nice going America! Perhaps if you had realized two years ago that the Republicans needed to be kicked out, I would still be there by now! (But then I wouldn’t be in Japan, so I guess that’s ok).

とにかく、日本語を読む人へ：最近、たびたび私の日本語のブログで書きます。

Well done. Good luck this Tuesday, America.

  

今日、何をすべきか決定できなかったので、手当たりしだいJR線で駅を選んだ.そのように定光寺に行った.時間が短ったけど、色も地合いも美しかったそうだね.

I didn’t know what I wanted to do today, so randomly I picked a station on the JR line. That’s how I went to Joukouji today. I spent only a short time there, but the colors and textures were beautiful. As you can see, the leaves are only just starting to change colors. The full 紅葉 (kouyou, or autumn leaf colors) don’t start happening until mid-November, apparently. Also, there’s a temple there that I didn’t make it to, because it was getting kind of late.

  

先週の土曜日、イーオンの栄校のスタッフと生徒さんはハロウェーンパーティーがあって、とても楽しかったです。ここに、写真があります。

This weekend was the Nagoya Matsuri, or Nagoya Festival, a big celebration that honors three feudal lords who were heroes of Nagoya, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who were instrumental in help unifying Japan. In the parades (one each on Saturday and Sunday), a different department store (Meitetsu, Maruei, and Mitsukoshi) sponsored each lord.

Of course, being a festival, there were lots of food stalls. I was trying to resist them all, but I eventually succumbed to a Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki place - 500 yen a piece.

Also of note - I showed a few of the signs for sales in honor of the Dragons’ clinching of the Central League championship. Everyone seems to be pretty excited about the Dragons this year. However, when I ask my students if they’re excited about the championship, a common reply I heard was, “Yeah, I can’t wait to check out all the sales!” So, anyways, there you go.

Last Sunday, as all that great sports stuff was happening back in the states, (Detroit beat the Yankees, Michigan beat State) some of the staff at our school went up to Shirakawagou, in Gifu prefecture. It’s a world heritage site where you can see traditional houses with the steep, thick grass roofs. The weather was a little rainy and cool, but I loved it of course. It’s such a nice contrast from the sauna of the summer. It was a lot of fun, and a good chance to hang out with everyone outside of work. I took a lot of pictures, of course.

As you know, the Tigers just beat the Yankees decisively in the first round of the American League playoffs. And if you know me, you know that I couldn’t possibly be more pleased with this result. I mean, I really really really hate the Yankees. They are the pure antithesis of all that is good in the world. And, I love the Tigers. They have been my favorite team for years and years. Now, when they won the World Series back in 1984, I have to admit that I wasn’t all that big of a baseball fan. But as the years went on, I grew to love this team. Some of my most pleasant memories are working on a car as a teenager, listening to Ernie Harwell call the Tigers’ play-by-play. I feel fortunate that I was able to see a few games at the old Tiger stadium. Now that they have crushed the Yankees, I don’t think there’s anything else I need to make my life as a sports fan complete. I am, of course, really disappointed that I didn’t get to see these games (and they even black out the games on mlb.tv here - I mean come on!). Just thinking about it, I’ll be happy if they get to the World Series, but I don’t hate the A’s, so it wouldn’t be that much of a disappointment if they don’t. Yes, come to think of it, I do hate the Yankees even more than I love the Tigers.

Ever since I moved here, every Friday night I’ve been having a bowl of ramen at one of the local ramen joints (with only a few exceptions). Ramen is pretty great, and it has a lot of different views. For example, in the states, ramen is seen as a super cheap food that college students eat when they want to spend as little as possible. Here, it is still cheaper food, but it’s a hearty and extremely delicious meal you eat late at night after going out. Anyway, it’s not all that healthy, in any case. But in the gallery above, I’ve posted a bunch of photos from my forays for the past few months, all of them from my keitai. (And you might notice that the earlier pics are of lower quality, as I only later learned that I can get better quality photos by saving it to my mini-SD card instead of mailing it to my email account.) And I will continue to post in that gallery as I go on.

On an unrelated note, tonight I ran 10K for the first time in probably about two years. It felt great, as the conditions were perfect: cool early evening, full moon, beautiful sky, my Detroit Tigers had just blanked the Yankees 2-0 to go up 2-1 in the ALDS. As I said before, I still don’t enjoy running that much, but it keeps me healthy, and it’s a good stress relief from my loneliness.

On a related note, the Dragons have a magic number of 4, but they are now in danger of losing their Central League crown to the Hanshin Tigers. But they don’t have the luxury of a wild-card spot, like Detroit had. Come on Dragons, don’t blow this!