New Years Eve...

Well its new years eve. I can't believe Christmas is over and the holidays are almost over here in the US. Time flew but it was good. I had a good Christmas and holidays. I went skiing and saw a few movies. I even played some tennis outside when the temperature was 0c. So all in all good.

Today I will go to church and tonight I will just spend the night watching tv and maybe a dvd or two. I just went an picked a couple up. Really nothing special. Tomorrow is the last day of my holiday. So I don't really want to do anything. Tomorrow is the college football national championship. So I will watch that and just relax and try to prepare myself to return to work... YUCK!!

We haven't had a good snow storm in over a week now. Maybe this winter is going to be a little mild. The mountains are getting lots of snow but not the valley. I guess thats good. I can still play tennis outside.

I have to start getting ready to move to Japan also. I have many things to do for my house here. I am putting in some security lights this week. Then I need to figure out what things I need to pack and start shipping my stuff.

It should be a crazy January and an even crazier 2007.

Back from Japan..

Well I got back from Japan last night. I was dead tired. I was also supposed to go on ski patrol last night when I got back but I was too dead. So I didn't go... But I think everyone understood. I would not be any good working on the ski patrol if I was too tired to help anyone.

Today I woke up and went shopping all morning. I am finally finished with my Christmas shopping!! It really is a good feeling. But I am sure I forgot something and will end up going to the store tomorrow to pick up some last mintue gifts.... Christmas is just 3 days away. So maybe now I can just relax.

This afternoon I started to clean my house and thow away old clothes and things that I haven't touched in a while. This is also a good feeling to get rid of stuff I haven't used in a long time. My house looks more simple now and less clutter. I hate clutter!!

Well... I guess I will watch a move and drink a coke and relax the rest of the night.... I still have jet lag.

Back from Japan..

Well I got back from Japan last night. I was dead tired. I was also supposed to go on ski patrol last night when I got back but I was too dead. So I didn't go... But I think everyone understood. I would not be any good working on the ski patrol if I was too tired to help anyone.

Today I woke up and went shopping all morning. I am finally finished with my Christmas shopping!! It really is a good feeling. But I am sure I forgot something and will end up going to the store tomorrow to pick up some last mintue gifts.... Christmas is just 3 days away. So maybe now I can just relax.

This afternoon I started to clean my house and thow away old clothes and things that I haven't touched in a while. This is also a good feeling to get rid of stuff I haven't used in a long time. My house looks more simple now and less clutter. I hate clutter!!

Well... I guess I will watch a move and drink a coke and relax the rest of the night.... I still have jet lag.

Dead Tired!!

Well its Tuesday night. I am in my hotel room at the Marriott Hotel at Nagoya Station. I am dead tired. I have spent the last two days looking for a place to live and trying to arrange many things for me to move here next month. I have been all over this city the last couple days but finally found a place to live. I also found a tennis club which is good...hehe. I also had to go to my office today and have a meeting early tomorrow morning. So it has become a busy trip. I am ready to go home to Utah.

One thing I have noticed about Nagoya is that there seems to be a lot of police everywhere. In the other cities I have lived or visited in Japan I can't remember seeing so many police all over. This city is full of police. I guess that is a good thing. Maybe its just me but it really feels like there are cops everywhere. The weather has been really nice. Cold but sunny and nice. Tomorrow is my last day here. Its kind of a free day. I do not have any plans. So I will just wander around the city looking for places to shop and eat. Basically just go window shopping and sight seeing. Then Thursday I am finally going back home. Its been a good trip but I am always happy to go home. Home is where my heart is.

Hello Nagoya,,,,

Well its almost 6:00am. I have been up since about 4:00. I got here to Nagoya last night at around 10:30pm and couldn't sleep. The first night is always the worst.

So I am in Nagoya this week looking for a place to live. My company has transferred me. I will move here around the middle of next month. Am I happy about this???? Not really. I am happy to be in Japan but I know the working conditions and customs are very much different than the United States. I understand what I need to do here and so I understand it will be a little difficult. But I am happy to live here and learn more during the next few years. Also... eat good food!!!!! hehe.

So today I will go house hunting. If I can find a place to live today I will go to my office tomorrow and tell everyone hello (just for a minute). Then I will go check out a tennis club and start to prepare for all the things I need to live here.... (need a tv of coarse...hehe)

I will be here until Thursday and then return to Utah to hopefully relax and enjoy the Christmas holidays there. Then after New Years its back on a plane to Nagoya....

Let's Ski!!

Well the ski season has started for me. I have been a few times now and will leave in a few mintues to go do some night skiing. Actually I am on the ski patrol so I will be doing a lot of skiing this year. My muscles are sore this weekend from skiing. I have mostly snowboarded the last few years. But this year I felt it was time to get back on the skiis. Its a good feeling.

Utah is mostly famous for winter sports and skiing. I live about 40 minutes away from 6 resorts. So this is a very good and convient place to be if you like to ski or snowboard. I would recommend anyone to come here and try out the various resorts. This is the time when Utah is full of tourists coming to ski and enjoy the winter atsmophere.

Well.... I guess I will go get ready and hit the slopes!!! Being on the ski patrol is more work than play but still fun to be out on the hills.

Later!

Detroit:

It's Thursday night and I am in Detroit. I have some meetings here this week. I don't really like Detroit. Its a dirty city and not safe. But I also don't like this place because everytime I come here its for very tough and stressful meetings. So I am always looking forward to going home.

Tomorrow morning I have some tough meetings and then I am finished and can fly home. Its cold here and tomorrow will be windy with snow. Now I am just sitting in my hotel room wishing I was home and relaxing... but the weekend is almost here.

Tomorrow is the first day of December. I can't believe November is over. Where did it go?? Just a little over 3 weeks until Christmas. I think most of my shopping is done. I just need to pick-up a few more gifts and I am done. Usually I am not done until just a few days before Christmas but this year I am doing good.

Well tomorrow is Friday and I get to sleep in my own bed.....

Thanksgiving Holiday:

Well Thanksgiving is over. It was a good day. Basically I just went to my Aunts house to spend the day with some cousins and have the traditional dinner with turkey and everything. Then just watched football. It was nice to relax and not worry about work.

Yesterday was "Black Friday". This is the official starting day of the holiday shopping season. It is the busiest shopping day of the year. Many stores opened at midnight or 5 am. They usually have really good specials from 5am to 8am. So people wake up very early and go shopping. I did this last year but not this year. Its too crazy!! Too many people!! But you can find some good deals. I slept in and then went to a couple stores to see if there were any good deals left.

Today is Saturday. I will go to a sports store to see if there are any good deals then come back to my place and watch football. Today in Utah is the BYU and University of Utah rivalry football game. So most people in Utah are possibly going to watch this game. The University of Utah is my university so I am cheering for them. GO UTAH!

Thursday Night....

Where has the time gone?? I have been so busy since I returned to work these last couple weeks. Its been crazy!!! I have had so much to do. I have been going to the office early and coming home late... So this month is just flying....

Tonight is Thursday... I guess Thursday nights are kind of the nights I sit and watch TV. All my favorite shows are tonight. My top 2 shows are "The Office" and "ER". The office started a couple years ago and is basically about an office with a kind of crazy manager. It's filmed like a documentary. I really like this show and find it really funny. Here is a link to it. You can see what the show is. http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/

The other show is ER which has been around for a long long time. But I still watch it. So tonight I am just sitting in front of the TV. The office just got over and now ER will start...hehe.
Tomorrow is Friday... FINALLY TGIF!!

Elections.....

I went and voted yesterday. It was not the elections for a new president. But elections for congress and the senate. I am happy to say the republicans lost big last night. I was happy to watch the news. I watched the live coverage of the elections on the news until late last night. So the democrats gained power in the government. It is a good thing. The president will now have to work with the democrats to do anything. So he lost some of his power which I am really happy about. Now only 2 more years and we can vote for a new president. So I guess most unhappy Americans just need to hang in there for 2 more years...... The next elections can't come soon enough!! As you can guess from reading this I am not a big fan of Bush or his administration!

What a crazy week!!!! ... MONTH!!

Its been a crazy week. I went back to work and that was busy. But it was really good to get away for a while. Now its back to being really busy. But thats ok. I guess I feel a little refreshed.

Halloween was a couple days ago. I didn't get any good pictures. But below is a picture of my house at Halloween... at least my front door. I have a large Frankenstien holding a Pepsi standing next to the door. The kids love it.

I did also take a picture of my house with the mountains in the background. This was a couple weeks ago. The colors in the mountains were just about over. Still you can see a little red. But basically brown I guess. Now the tops are white with snow.

Then last month I went to Hokkaido. Below is a picture of Susukino... one of my favorite places to hang out. But I was alone so I didn't hang out. Just walked over to see if anything fun was going on. Also below is a picture of Otaru. I took this picture from the campus of Otaru University of Commerce. I studied at this school. Its up in the mountain and gives a great view of the city. I really missed living there and want to return someday!!!

So October was kind of a crazy but fun month for me. Still......there are some things that are not so fun...!! Going to Hokkaido for a few days again was good but also bad. Taking time off from work was good and bad also. But I got to see a lot of things during the month and refresh and refocus. So all in all not too bad. October and Novermber are my favorite months.... so I am looking forward to enjoying the Autumn season...

WOW SAPPORO!!!!!

Congratulations to all my friends in Sapporo. I am so happy for you all. It is a really exciting event for Sapporo to have a new champion!! I had many people ask me who I was going to cheer for. Many people know that the Dragons were my favorite Japanese team. But most all people know I lived in Hokkaido for a long time and love the city of Sapporo... So I thought about who I would cheer before the series.

Actually its complex. I kind of wanted Sapporo... BUT I am not a fan of Shinjo (Sorry to everyone who loves him.... almost everyone loves him I think...so don't hate me for saying this.) The reason I don't like Shinjo that much is because I watched him close while he played in the United States. I didn't think his play was very good. He seemed to be more about getting attention than about winning... so I was disappointed in him. But I don't hate him. I just think he is over-rated as a player. But of coarse he is a good player. So I am not a big Shinjo fan. Also, lately I am going to Nagoya very much. So I also kind of wanted the Dragons to win...

SO IN THE END.... I am very happy Sapporo won and I guess in my heart I wanted Sapporo...!! So thats my feelings... By the way my favorite Japanese player is Matsui.

Well,,, I finished by finals at school last night. I am really happy thats over. I did very well also and got better results than I thought I would. So I passed everything and have certified for basic. Now I will continue some training and get a higher certification next month. But the most difficult part is over for me. I am happy and very very relieved!!!

Its nice to be finished.

It's Juliana's Tokyo's Fault!!

I opened a box of old CDs I had. I have not seen these CDs for almost 10 years. So I was looking at all the music I haven't listened to in a long long time. I saw one CD of Juliana's Tokyo and thought..."Wow its been a long time... maybe I will put this in my car and listen to it while I drive to school today". So I did.
I got in my car and put in the CD. I started driving on the freeway and turned up the music loud. Its been a long time and I was remembering many things from that time in my life. I thought that the music sounded good and I am still not too old for this. I was happy and driving. Then all of a sudden.... I notice police lights behind me. I look down and notice I am speeding... really speeding... I couldn't believe it. I was listening to the music day dreaming and the fast music made me drive fast...!! So I got busted!! I pulled over and turned down the music. The policeman came and asked me why I was driving so fast... I didn't know what to say. So I told him I didn't know. I was just driving listening to music and found myself speeding.

Well the policeman looked at my license and then looked at me. He said, "Are you playing your music loud??" I said "yes a little I guess". He said, "Well turn it down and pay attention!! I will just give you a warning this time!!"

I was so happy to hear that. I didn't want a ticket... So the policeman left and I started again. I thought to myself, "This is all Juliana's Tokyo's fault!!!"

It was kind of funny but I did notice again later I was speeding still while listening to the music... I guess I need to put the CD away for another 10 years. By that time maybe I will feel too old to listen to it!!

Here is a nice halloween pic of this small vegtable stand with all the pumpkins...

I got back from school a few minutes ago. My classes are coming to a close and my finals are starting next week. So pressure time is here.

I have a 6 hour test next week on patient assessment and injury. The test will be a written and then hands-on practical test. Not really looking forward to it. Its going to be a long day. Then I have more practical tests coming up after that. Most of the book study is finished which is good. But now need to get some experience. So anyway I have been really busy studying for all this but its been interesting and I don't regret it. Since I graduated from high school I have found that I actually like to hit the books once in a while. I was a completely different person in high school... I guess a little wild...hehe.. But hey I had a good time in high school and don't regret that experience either.

Well... its Monday night and cold outside. Some stores are starting to actually prepare for Christmas... I can't believe it!!!

CONGRATULATIONS SAPPORO!!!

I was happy to hear about Nippon Ham Fighters in Sapporo. I think the people there must be so excited... Actually I am not a huge fan of Nippon Ham Fighters but of coarse I love Sapporo... so I have to cheer for them.... So I am really happy for everyone there.

On a sad note, my Yankees lost to Detroit in the Major League. So I was sad about that... I guess I have to say "There is always next year" again... I have been saying it for 4 years now...hehe..

At least football season is here and my Denver Broncos are looking good so far. Basketball is starting and I hope the Utah Jazz can have a better year... well its an exciting time for sports!!

Lovin the weather!!

I absolutely love this time of year. Its my favorite!!

Since coming back from Japan the weather is awsome. The fall air and changing leafs. I really love it. Yesterday I was surprised to look outside my office window and see how much the leafs have changed in a week. Here are the trees outside my office. It is peak season now to see the leafs. By next week the peak season will be over and the colors in the mountains will be gone. But October is by far my favorite month of the year!!

I am taking some time off work. I have been so busy and had so many things going on in my life that I will take some time off and relax and refresh. I am glad its happening this time of year. So I get a chance this month to enjoy the weather and all the sports. October is a busy time for professional sports also. We have professions baseball, football, basketball all going on this month!! So a good time to be outside and a good time to be in front of the TV....

Jet Lag Sunday

Well I got back last night from my business trip. My trip was absolutly hell. The worst trip I have ever had. I am really burned out today. Mentally and physically I am really dead. I wish I could have just stayed up in Hokkaido but I had to work too. Today is Sunday and I have jet lag. So I will just sit home and relax and be a couch potato. I am sure I will be sleeping on and off today.. I am about ready to fall asleep right now...hehe I have a lot of emails to catch up on so I will try to get some emails sent out also. So today I will just let down and watch some football and relax.

another day of fun...

Well its Thursday morning... I had some tough meetings yesterday with members of my own company here in our Japanese office. Some of the toughest negotiations are within your own company. Yesterday was tough and it was interesting to see cultures, ideas, and even values clash yesterday in my meetings with members from our Japanese offices. It wasn't very fun BUT very needed. Face to face meetings are truely the only way to get an understanding of what the other person is thinking.

So we met, we argued and then we went drinking and now life is good again...hehe. Today may be a little more of the same. But not as bad.

Its foggy here in Tsukuba this morning. It rained cats and dogs yesterday almost all day. Being the American that I am of coarse I don't have an umbrella...hehe.

Well here is a picture I just took of me here in my hotel.. I am now leaving for another day of fun.

jet lag...

Its 4:00am... I am wide awake and can't sleep. I got to Hokkaido on Sunday night. This is my second night here but I still have jet lag... This time seems worse than other times... So I guess I will start my day early now since I can't sleep. I am sure later today around 4:00 in the afternoon I will get sleepy again..hehe.

I came to Hokkaido for just a day and a half. But its been good. I just with I had more time here. I just love Hokkaido... I went to Otaru yesterday back to my school to visit my professors. It was really good and the weather was perfect! Today I will fly to Tokyo and go to Tsukuba. I have some meetings there the rest of the week... so it will get busy from now.... yuck!

what a day...what a week... what a life...

I am not sure how personal I should get in my blogs. I try to keep it conservative because of the different people who read this. But I have decided maybe I should just let go and let people learn a little more about me. I guess I have always been kind of private and not liked to talk about personal feelings so much in this blog. But it doesn't feel natural... so anyway... Maybe I should just open up... at least some of my friends think I should...

Today and this week have been hell... I am burned out on just about everything...hehe. I am positive of coarse but just kind of burned out... My secretary pretty much keeps me alive everyday. She is Japanese and from Japan. Much older than me but really works hard for me and makes sure I am ok everyday. She keeps the fridge in the office full of diet coke for me and knows when I am stressed. She always brings me a coke and some chocolate or something and makes me smile. I have never had anyone take care of me the way she does at work. So basically many times she is the bright spot of the day. I learned I have to indeed go to Japan next week for some urgent meetings. I am going to be dead. Between these meetings and drinking I think I will completely breakdown when I get back. I will leave a couple days early and go to Hokkaido. Hokkaido is another story but not a good one...but it will be good to just eat some good food and relax for a day before I go to hell again. But I am glad I can have these face to face meetings eventhough they are tough and stressful sometimes... life is good.... it could always be worse for everyone... thats for sure!

it snowed....

It snowed in the mountains just above my house last night. I woke up to see the snow and was surprised. But it is really cold today. So winter feels like its around the corner. I hope we have a nice fall season but today it looks and feels like late fall. Still, this is my favorite time of year.

So this morning I woke up early and went and bought a new pair of skis. Then came back home and now just sitting in my living room watching football next to my nice warm fire place... I guess I am strange... its cold but I am wearing shorts and a sweatshirt still next to my fire feeling cold with a blanket wrapped around me.... It's a nice day to let down. Especially since I have a lot of studying to do today...hehe.

Well,,, the weather in Utah is strange. Today it feels like winter but I am sure next week it will feel like mid-summer again...

September 10th

Well its the night before September 11th. This year is the 5th year or anniversary of the attacks on New York and Washington by the terrorists. Tonight on TV many stations are showing documentaries and news from that day. Basically its a little depressing and so I am not watching it. I am kind of sick of hearing about all that. But I still find myself very frustrated at our government (in particular our president) for the actions they took after 9/11. Instead of focusing on the terrorists who did this, he decided to have a war with Iraq. In doing so a lot of false information was given to the American people to convince them to support this war. Looking back now I am really troubled with what our country has done. Do I feel any safer since 9/11?? NO! Traveling in different countries I get many questions about how I feel about our government. I have also felt the hatred that many counties now have against the United States. Its too bad... So I don't feel safer and sometimes very embarrassed by the actions of our administration. Anyway, enough bitching about that. I can't believe its been 5 years. Time really flies!!! I guess tomorrow morning the news will tell us the country is on high alert. It's happened every year at this time since the attacks... I guess everything on TV tomorrow will be related to this terrible incident also... but we shouldn't forget what happened. We should look back and learn from this. But I wonder if our government really has..... who knows....
maybe we did learn something.

Here are a few other pictures from my trip to the US Open and New York below.

Last night I started school again.... can't believe it. I decided to get my OET and EMT certification. So I am hitting the medical books.... wow it seems like a long time since I have studied. But it feels good again to open some books and study. When I am finished I will possibly work on an ambulance part time or something. I have been interested in doing this for a while and decided to get it finished. But it won't take over my job. Its just an interest I have so more of a hobby to get these certifications... I guess I must be crazy.... but its kind of fun again to have homework...hehe

Andy Roddick

Strawberry Fields (John Lennon Memorial)

Ai Sugiyama

I got back from NY yesterday morning. I was a little tired but happy to be home. My trip was busy. I had a lot of things planned and it was fun. Basically I went to watch professional tennis at the US Open. But I did go to a New York Yankees game and did a lot of shopping too.

The weather in New York wasn't perfect. It was very cold compared to Utah. Now being back in Utah I feel like I am still in the middle of summer. Its still very hot and dry. New York was cool and humid. Actually it felt good there....

Below are some pictures of some players I saw. If you are a tennis fan I think you will know who they are. I watched Ai Sugiyama play also. She lost but hung in there. She did win her doubles match.

One of my all time favorite tennis players lost today and retired. Andre Agassi has been my favorite tennis player since I was in high school. I was sad to see him loose. His match today was the last of his career. He retired and no longer can keep the pace of the younger stronger players. But he has been the most exciting player to watch in my opinion. I guess time is flying and I am getting old too... he is my age.... so it makes me feel a little old as well.... but thats ok.. life goes on and we will all just keep getting older...hehe.

Nadal

Andy Roddick

Martina Hingis

Martina Navratilova

Rain Delay...,

There was a rain delay today. It rained all day. Tennis was delayed until tomorrow. So I spent the day shopping in Manhattan. It was fun to walk around and visit some stores and places to eat and get a drink. So a good day. I am in my hotel room now. I think the rain is over. So tomorrow should be a good day. I will be watching tennis all day tomorrow....

It seems like New York is becoming a cleaner more friendly city. I am not sure why. I was thinking today that San Francisco is more dirty and feels more unsafe than New York these days... But as the song goes... I left my heart in San Francisco.... I am anxious to move back.

More to come.....

U.S. Open 2006,

I am in New York now. I got here last night. Today I went to the U.S. Open. The tournament doesn't start until Monday. But today I had a pass to go see some players practice. I was able to watch most of the top mens players practice today which was awesome!

Some of the players I watched today were Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, James Blake, Rafeal Nadal, Fernando Gonzalez, and Michael Berrer. It was really exciting to watch them and it made me feel like I am really terrible at tennis. They make the sport look so easy and the power in their game is incredible!!

I also had a chance to see the ledgend Martina Navratilova practice. She is playing doubles and this is her last year to complete. I think she must be close to 50 by now. But she still plays young and looks good. I also watched Steffi Graf. She is retired and married to Andre but she was out on the court hitting balls. It was fun to see her.

So it was a great day and made me want to go practice harder. So when I return I have new fire to play... It will be a great week here I am looking forward to watching the tournament...

live from sapporo...

I am sitting here tonight watching the world basketball championships. The United States is playing Italy in Sapporo. I was surprised to hear some of the games are being played there. The United States is losing by only 1 point. But I know they will win this game so I am not worried. In fact I think they will win by about 20 or 30 points when it is finished. But its nice to see some live shots of Sapporo.

Tomorrow is Thursday but its my Friday. I am flying to New York on Friday to take a week vacation and go to the US Open Tennis Championship. So I am excited to get away from work for a week. But the vacation will end too soon and I will be back in the office trying to catch up... But thats life...hehe.

Go USA and hurry and win!!!

Monday's over.....

My Monday is over... its always a good feeling to have it over. I really hate Monday's. But I bitch about that a little too much...

I wasn't able to play tennis today. This is the first day in almost 2 weeks that I did not play. So I feel like I am really lazy today or something. But there is always tomorrow. I stayed up too late last night watching the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox baseball game so I was too tired tonight to go play. But the game last night was awsome. The Yankees won. (Actually I am a Boston and New York fan but I wanted the Red Sox to win.) Stil it was a great game to watch. Matsui is still hurt so he didn't play. It will be nice to have him back next month. The Yankees need him....

Well I guess I will go read a book and go to bed....

Yellowstone,

I drove up to Yellowstone a couple weeks ago and took some pictures. I have been there a few times but this is the first time I have seen hidden falls. It was absolutely beautiful!! So I took a few pictues.

Its Wednesday night now. I am a little tired. I just got back from playing some tennis . I am glad the week is more than half over now. Well the fall fashions are hitting the stores and football season is about ready to start. That means summer is winding down. Fall is getting close.... my favorite time of year!!! But it still feels like summer outside. I am heading back to New York next week. I hear its starting to feel like fall now there. So I am a little happy to be in some cooler weather hopefully. I am headed to the US Open for a week. So lots of tennis, sun, and excellent food!!!

My friend sent me this. I have tried to be a good dad in my own situation but this makes me really feel like a terrible father!!! I don't think there are many fathers like Dick Hoyt.... Actually this makes me feel like I really suck as a dad compared to him.

85 times he has pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a small boat while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day. Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike.

What has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life. This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.``He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an institution.''But the Hoyts would not believe the doctors. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.''"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain.

They hooked Rick up to a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. When he was hooked up he actually started to communicate. He told his dad he wanted to run. He wanted to race with his dad. How was Dick who was out or shape and never ran' more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles in a local charity race? Still, he tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore for two weeks.''That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''And that sentence changed Dick's life.

He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. But in 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year. Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon? ''How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried. Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii.

Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for "the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together. This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time'? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time. "No question about it,'' Rick types. "My dad is the Father of the Century". Dick got something else out of all this too.

Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. "If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' one doctor told him, "you probably would've died 15 years ago." 'So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

On Father's day rick buys his dad dinner. But the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy. "The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, "is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''
(Thanks ESPN for the heart warming story)

This video just really explains how the relationship between father and son should be!!! I guess as parents we need to evaluate our relationships with our children every once in a while. It doesn't matter if you live with your children or not. A parent is a parent.

jetlag........

Well I got back late Saturday night to my home. It was a smooth flight back with no problems. (But I hate going to LA Airport). I couldn't sleep Saturday night and slept a couple hours yesterday (Sunday). But last night I couldn't sleep again and now its Monday morning and I am ready to go to bed. One one problem its time to go to work... HA! So I guess I will chew some black-black gum and drink lots of coke today...

Anyway glad that trip is over.... But had some good experiences.

Driving the boss's car....

I had a funny experience today. We got a phone call from an executive we work with. He went drinking last night and left his car in the parking lot of our company. He doesn't work at our company. He is actually a customer. But a very important and powerful customer. He asked us to pick up his car at our company and take it to him.

Well..... he car is a brand new Lexus GS. Very nice!!! Very expensive!! We were happy to pick it up for him. We took it on the highway and testing the power and control of the car. We drove it around and had a good time. We basically drove on the kosoku as fast as we could which was exciting. So we finally took the car back to him and told him we went for a joy ride. He didn't seem to care and told us thats why he bought this car. So it was a funny experience to be driving his brand new expensive car. I took a quick picture of it.

My meetings are all over and now I am going to start packing. Tomorrow I finally get to go home but it looks like I will be back at the end of next month. So thats ok. I said before this has been the hardest business trip I have ever had. I can't believe how many meetings I had here this time. Crazy crazy!!

It will be nice to sleep in my own bed tomorrow night.

Friday Morning....

Wow the time flew... Its Friday morning. I have spent the last 3 days in meetings, on trains, in more meetings, on more trains and going out with colleagues and customers to dinner and drink. This has been the hardest business trip I have ever had. I have been so busy..... its been crazy. But so far its been a very successful trip which is good.

I really wanted to make some time to hopefully meet a few people I have taught English to. But I guess I will have to wait until next time. So I am disappointed about that. Also I wanted to go to Sapporo for a couple days but my schedule is just really too hard this time. But I will be back I guess in a couple months maybe even sooner. I am thinking about spending Christmas and New Years in Sapporo this year. So I will see if I can do that also.... But I will be back before then.

The weather in Nagoya isn't as hot this year. I keep waiting for some really hot and wet weather but it feels just really warm. Utah is sooooo hot this year it actually almost feels good here. But I don't like the humidity.

Well time to go to work.

Back to Nagoya....

Well I am in Nagoya now. I got here late late Monday night. Since then I have been so busy and have only a few hours of sleep. The weather is a little cooler than I thought it would be. But Utah has been so hot this year that I guess it may just feel cool I don't know.

One thing I am learning is that I must be getting older. Last night I had to go drinking with the company. Maybe I was just tired but I just didn't have energy. While I sat there last night I kept thinking to myself how much I really hate this custom now. I used to actually like it and look forward to it. But last night for some reason I thought it was a stupid way to waste 5 hours. I just wanted to get back to my room and sleep. It was kind of funny to walk down the street to the Subway with 25 drunk people. I myself didn't even drink. Maybe thats why I hated it....hehe. But really I just thought to myself that I would rather do so many things with my time than just drink and waste it away.

So I finally get back to my room and go to bed. Then I wake up and its 5:00am and I am not even tired. I only got a few hours sleep but feel ok. Its jet lag.... But tonight will be the same thing only with customers. So another late night.... But I guess its a part of the job. I often wonder if most people here in Japan look forward to this custom... The guys at my company sure seem to.

Tomorrow its off to Yokohama and then Tsukuba.

If I can just hang in there today and tonight.....

I need a coke.

Ahhh Friday Afternoon...

There is almost no better feeling than Friday afternoon around 4:00pm. The day is almost over and the weekend is here. This is the time my brain usually turns off for the week. So its that time right now and I am feeling good. Its been a long week as usual but a good week. Not as crazy as the last few weeks I have had. So now I am thinking about the weekend. I guess I will be playing tennis Saturday and Sunday morning. Then... I will take some friends shopping.

I have some friends from Tokyo staying at my house this week. Its been fun to see them. So I am their tour guide for the next few days which will be fun. They will fly back to Japan next week. I will be going also for business so kind of crazy.

The weather here is really really hot. As I said in my last post. But this year across the United States we have been having a heat wave. So Utah is not the only hot place around. Other areas are even hotter!! But it's still hot here and tomorrow will get even hotter. So that means lots of ice cream for me!!!

I have been in our cafeteria for the last 25 minutes watching a car chase on CNN. A guy robbed a bank and the police have been chasing him. We have been watching it live. Pretty exciting actually and now its finally over. I am glad no one got hurt. But the robber is going to be in prison a long time I think. He even shot at the police while driving. So that made my afternoon a little exciting...hehe.

Well its about my favorite time of the week... I guess I will enjoy it. Monday is here toooooooo sooooon....!!

Hotter than Hell!!!

It is hot!!! I really like summer but not when its 40 degrees everyday. We are having a major heat wave here now. No rain, no clouds, no wind, nothing. Just blue sky and heat!!! I played some tennis yesterday and today in this weather and it almost killed me. I was sweating so much and drinking so much water. But hey its better than snow right?? Anyway... its tough to do anything outside in this heat. Tennis is about all I can do. Also work in my garden. But thats it! After that its inside with the nice air conditioner. Oh yea and don't forget the ice cream!!!

But one problem is the mountain fires. Its so dry now that we are having a lot of fires in the mountains. My house is at the base some mountains and last week we had our first fire. There will be more. But this year seems early. Usually we don't get this hot weather until mid August... So its going to be a long summer I think!! A long hot summer!

Air Show:

I had a chance to go to an air show with my dad. He is retired military so we had VIP seating. It was really awsome to see the airplanes and military jets. Check out the video above of this air show taken.

Also here are some pics I took.


This is part of the crowd at the show. There were about 100,000 people who attended. I had front row!




Here is a picture of the famous F-16.

Here is a picture of a Japanese Zero Fighter from World War 2. There are only 4 left in the world that actually fly. This is one of them.

This is a piicture showing the history of Americal fighters.

Ok So I am sitting at work....totally stressed out when my friend sends me this video above. Its called "Where the hell is Matt"? I watch this at work and think...."WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING???" I mean here is a guy who quits his job and travels the globe. Even takes a cute little video of himself dancing in all the places he went....

So I am thinking... I should do that! Really I should! But I have one probem.... its called responsibility!! DAMN!!! But hey I am still young.... (kind of). So I will watch Matt dance. I will find some escape in the daily job by watching him... Then someday I may just do it...

But one thing... Mat now has to come back and find a new job and pay for this trip!!! Ahhhh I wish I was 20 again... But I did have some good adventures also!!! Plus.... I know there is much more on the way..

Dance Matt Dance!!! Thanks for the escape from my work day!!!

OUCH!!!

Well I watched the United States and Japan world cup matches today. I was actually working but was able to see these matches...

All I can say is "OUCH"!!! Japan got spanked!! The US lost also but we expected them to beat Ghana. So very disappointing !! Well I guess we have 4 years to try and improve the team. We also have another week to watch Brazil show the world how good they really are!!!!

Strange Night...

Last night I went to a baseball game with my dad. We got to our seats and sat down just before the game. Then some people came and sat down next to us. As I looked at these people I was shocked to see who it was. It was my old girlfriend. I couldn't believe it! It was kind of a strange feeling to see her and talk to her. We dated for about 4 years. We talked to each other and it was interesting to talk about what we both have been doing since we last met. But a really strange kind of feeling. Anyway, I was happy to see her and talk to her. Glad she is doing ok and we could talk. We never really formally broke up back then. I left for Japan and that kind of ended it...hehe. But we both have our lives now. Its always good to run into old friends.

Monday Morning.

Monday sucks!! Its Monday morning and I am wondering why the weekend went so fast again. I think thinking about going back to work is worse than actually going back...HA! But I don't think I am the only one who feels like this. Ahhh another week...

But at least I saw a little better play from the US team in the world cup. They tied Italy 1-1. They were actually lucky with their goal but they played aggressive and looked a lot better. Japan also played some decent defense but unfortunately couldn't score. So anyway at the end of these matches I think both teams are about in the same place they were before the match. They both need big wins in the last matches. Should be fun to watch.

Well the 4th of July holiday weekend is coming up in 2 weeks. If I can hang in there for another couple weeks I will finally have a couple days off to go fishing!!

later......

WHAT HAPPENED????

What happened to my teams in the World Cup??? Japan and the US both got killed!!! I was so bummed!! I had a hard time at work concentrating because of the matches. I spent most of my time in the cafeteria watching the matches on TV. Many people were there watching TV and not working.... I am glad my boss didn't see me...hehe.

But the games really stunk!! The US played with no emotion. I can't believe it!! I thought they would lose. But I thought they would play a little better with more fire. Japan started out with fire. But they quickly lost it. Well... I guess we will see what happens in the next match. I think Japan and the US had big expectations. Many people here in the US were upset even angry....!:( But thats life.

So I posted a video of one of my favorite bands "Coldplay". This is a great song so enjoy!! I am now going to go watch the professional basketball championship. Its a busy time for sports and TV!!!

later.

Diet Coke and Mentos.....

I really liked this video above. These guys were so clever!! So I guess mixing diet coke and mentos candy is not a good idea for your body. But it makes a great shower!!

I actually like mentos and everyone knows I believe that diet coke is the juice of the gods!!! Anyway.... I hope you enjoy this video. The music by audiobody is great too!!!

I have been playing so much tennis lately its been good. Today was too hot though. It was about 34C today. Really hot for June. Its going to be a long hot summer.....

Ahhhh June has come

June is here. I know this not because of the calendar but because of my allergies. June is usually my worst month for allergies and it has started. It drives me crazy!! hehe.. but I have been living with it all my life. At least I am not the only one. I know many people who have hayfever right now. So I take medicine which basically makes me tired all day. That doesn't help when I am up all night watching the French Open. But I can't miss that. Then the World cup is going to start and I will be up a nights watching that also. So I don't think I will get much sleep this month!!! So how do I do it????? Coke!! Lots of coke... well diet coke anyway. I was thinking last night that this week has been so busy there is no way I could do it without coke...

So this month I will be working late, watching sports all night and getting very little sleep while sneezing ...... ahhhh June!!!

Thank God its Friday again.....

This has maybe been the busiest week I have ever had in my life. I can't think of a time when I have been more busy. I have worked so much this week... I am completely burned out right now. I am damn glad its Friday!!! So now its Friday night. I am sitting here watching basketball while surfing the net. Very relaxing!!! Got my coke too!!! We also have a 3 day weekend too... FINALLY a day off!!!
I have also had a very stressful week worring about some family memebers health and found out yesterday my best friends mom who was kind of my mom also passed away. So its been a little tough. But life is tough sometimes... just have to stay positive... So tomorrow I will go to her funeral. I will meet many many old friends tomorrow so it will be good to see them all. So tomorrow will be kind of a somber day.
But do have good news too!!! Got my Yankee tickets and my US Open tickets this week. So I will be going to New York this summer and go see some professional baseball and tennis. Of coarse I will also go to a couple musicals on broadway. So thats a little exciting I guess. I am excited to go to the US Open this year. Thats about my only excitement these days...hehe. Other than that just working and dreaming...hehe.

Well... the basketball game is over. My team lost... :( I guess there is always the next game!!! Thank god its Friday!!

Where does the time go??

I can't believe we are almost in the middle of May. I have been so busy these last few weeks. I was thinking to myself where does the time go??? I have also been thinking I am too busy!! There has been one fire after another at my work. I have had so many problems to fix.... I am going crazy!!! Sometimes I wonder if its really worth it to work so hard. I see all these people who work 14 hour days. I have done this myself these last few weeks. It just isn't worth it to me. I am not one who thinks that staying in an office all day gives me a quality life. Unfortunately many people I work with and many customers of my company believe so I guess. They think that working long hours is a responsible thing to do. I guess I am lazy. I would rather play and have fun experiencing many things in life. But then again, I know I must work to get money to experience things and have a nice life. I guess I am just bitching a little. So I should stop now.

The weather here is excellent! But my hay fever has started. So my nose is starting to run and I am starting to sneeze. But the warm weather feels great. Today it was really hot. It felt like summer. So the hot and dry weather is around the corner. I did some yard work today and went to my parents house. Today is my mothers birthday. Tomorrow is Mothers Day. So my mom is going to have a good weekend I guess. We had a big family party tonight for her. Now I am dead tired. Tomorrow is another day. But Monday is around the corner.... I will try to stop complaining about work... I really like my job. I just wish I could make money doing nothing.

May Day,

Well its May Day. Nothing special here. Its also Monday morning and I hate Monday mornings.... Although I don't hate my job.... I don't really like working. I wish I could be paid to play...hehe. But thats life. Its back to work. I guess I have to work so I can play.

Today, many immigrants in the United States are not going to work. They are protesting immigrant laws and want to become legal citizens. There are many illegal immigrants in the United States and now they want to just be made citizens. I completely disagree with this. I don't care if people come to the United States to work and live. I also think its good to become a citizen. But I feel they need to follow the laws. I know many people who have come to this country legally. But a large number of people from Mexico here came illegally. To just give them citizenship is a mistake. They should go through all the legal steps as everyone. They are not special because they lived here for many years illegally. Why should they get rewarded for breaking the law??? I don't understand it. Its a huge problem in the United States.

So today they will not go to work. They will not go to school. They want to show how important they are to the US economy. Thats fine with me. They shouldn't be working anyway because they are not legal citizens and don't even have working visas. So let them stay home. Let them stay out of school. My taxes pay for their childrens school. I don't want to pay for their school. So let them stay home.... I guess I sound cold. But it upsets me they think they are more special than people who come here and follow all the laws.... Well I should stop complaining...hehe. Time for work...

BACK FROM MOAB....

Well I am back from Moab. It has taken a few days to post this because I also had to go out of town on some business. Anyway, Moab was a blast!! I had a really good time and the weather was awsome!! We had one night of some really strong winds. But other than that it was warm and sunny.

There were many many people there as always. A lot of nice jeeps and 4 wheel drive vehicles. I took two vehicles this year and did a lot of 4-wheeling. It has been a long time since I did so much 4-wheeling. At first I was a little cautious but after a couple hours I was back to being a little wild and not caring so much if I broke something. It was like old times!!! Oh yea... I did break some things too. But it was ok!! Fixing the car is also fun...hehe... but it costs too much money!! Anyway, check out my pics. The area is beautiful!!!

This first pic is my camp. You can see my jeep and tent trailer. We had about 30 people in my group. But this was where I camped. (The background is awsome!!)

Here is a picture of Steve and I. Steve is the big guy in the center. I am behind my jeep. Can you see me?? Anyway, we went on a safari this day. The rock behind is us called" tombstone rock".

Back on the trail. This is me finally getting to the bottom of the rock. It is much steeper than it looks.

I took this picture while returning back to camp. This is a very famous area used in many American Western Movies. It is really beautiful country!!!

Back to Moab....

It's 6:00AM and I am going back to Moab this morning for the 4 wheel drive festival. The time is finally here!!! So I am excited to finally take a few days off and go play. I need this break...hehe. But I am already thinking about all the things I have to do once I get back... no fun!! But at least I can relax for a few days and play on the hills.

I am taking 2 cars to Moab this year. Plus a trailer. One car is not completely mine. It is a very large jeep type car made for climbing rocks and steep mountains. The other is my jeep. I look forward to seeing how good this jeep can do. I have made many modifications on this jeep so now I will test it!!

Anyway, I will post some pics when I get back. Its time to go...

Sick of snow!

Well March has been the cold and snowy month! I can't believe it. I think we have had about a total of 5 days of sunshine this month. I am happy its almost over!
I talked to some friends in Hokkaido and they said they got a lot of snow recently also. But then some other friends in Tokyo tell me the cherry blossoms are out. So it really makes me jealous! But I know once spring is here then I have hayfever so I guess its not too bad. I wish I could skip spring and go to summer. This year it might happen because winter is really late.
The video above reminded me of ME! Its one of the same jeeps I have and there is still snow all over here!! So I posted it this week. I will replace it now and then with some others.
Well... its Wednesday night and I am tired. Tomorrow is another busy day... I have to take some customers snowboarding... I guess thats not too bad...hehe.. But I hope the sun shines....

Sweet Revenge ....

The headlines of the sports section today in our newspaper reads "Sweet Revenge for Japan". I think this is absolutely true. To think that Japan came back from the bad calls in the game against the United States and the tough loss to Korea to win the whole series is incredible!! I was surprised and happy for Japan.

So this is a great story and yes sweet revenge for a team that had to overcome some tough losses. But they played solid in the last two games against Korea and Cuba. I watched the game last night with my parents who generally don't care about baseball. But they were also caught up in the drama of the game and circumstance of Japan. So it was a great game. Congratulations Japan!!

Well the real season starts now. Somehow I am not so excited. It has been exciting and I really like the World Classic. So I guess I have to wait until October to get really excited about baseball again. But at least its spring so my tennis starts now!!

GOOD Game .... BAD Call

OK OK …. I was excited to watch Japan vs. USA in the World Baseball Series. This was an exciting game to see some of Japan’s stars play against the American stars.

First of all, let me say again this was a good game. Of coarse being from the United States I was cheering for my home team. So I was happy to see them win. BUT….. I agree there was a mistake made in the 8th inning. I thought the umpire made a terrible call and the Japanese player should have been able to score. This would have made the game 4 – 3 for Japan. BUT…. In my opinion, that doesn’t mean Japan would have automatically won the game. In fact, I believe they still would have lost. Especially after watching how strong the US was in the 9th inning.

I have been listening to news from Japan and hearing all the complaints. I agree. Japanese fans should be upset. I would be very upset. But I think some fans and even politicians have taken the game too far. I have actually heard comments like “America is not honest” or “America is not fair”…. Just recently in the news a comment from the Environment Minister Yuriko Koike which said, “I thought the United States was a country of baseball and fairness, but it seems that this is not so.”

So I guess its all of the United States fault that there was a bad call and Japan lost the game… I think comments like these are completely stupid! In fact immature! But I know the frustration… Still umpires make bad calls. They do it in the United States and they do it in Japan. It was a bad call. But would it have changed the game???? I don’t know. But I don’t think so.

Both the United States and Japan have very good teams. The level of play is very close. I think if they play again it will be very close. Who will win I don’t know. Either team could win on any day I think. Its just fun to watch… I know the teams represent our countries and some people feel very strongly about this… but remember… it’s just a game. Games are supposed to be fun and exciting… this one was even with a bad call. Good luck to Japan and the United States.

DAMN WIND!

Living in Utah is very interesting. Besides the different culture here, the weather also is interesting. Salt Lake City sits in the mountains about 1650 meters high. On the West side of the city is the Great Salt Lake. A large lake that is more salty than the ocean. Sometimes, the lake even looks like an ocean from the beach. But there are no fish in this lake because of the high salt content. However, there are small shrimp that do live in the lake.
On the West side of the city are the mountains. These mountains are filled with snow and ski resorts. There are about 10 ski resorts that are less then a 40 minute drive from downtown Salt Lake. The mountains are beautiful all year round. But one thing I hate about Salt Lake and the surrounding areas is the DAMN WIND.
Many times a year we have the “East Wind”. This is the wind that comes out of the East from the Mountains. These winds are very very strong. They sometimes cause a lot of damage to homes and other things. But one thing the East Winds almost always do is knock out our electric power to our homes. It’s very frustrating. This happened again the other night. I have never lived in a place where the power is out so much. It’s crazy. Sometimes I feel I am camping in my own home. So one thing I really hate about living in Utah is that the power goes out so often. But I guess it can’t be helped so much because of the climate and wind conditions here. Still, I wonder if other cities have so much trouble with power.
I lived in Hokkaido for many years with blizzards and the power never went out. But the East Winds in Utah are much stronger than any blizzard in Hokkaido. I had a very good friend who worked at Hokkaido Electric (Hokuden). She told me once that when the power goes out it is usually only out for a few minutes. The problem is quickly found and power is restored. Here… not quick. The power is usually out for hours. Last year it was even out for a couple days….. Not fun.

OSCARS BABY!!!

Well the Oscars are over. It was interesting to watch as usual. This year there was a lot of news about “Brokeback Mountain” possibly winning for best picture. But most people were surprised to hear that the movie “Crash” won. I was happy to see “Crash” win. I haven’t seen Brokeback Mountain. But I think the only reason why the movie got so much press was because of the content and story in the movie. Personally I wasn’t interested in the story. But I heard from some friends that the story was actually very good. So I may see it. However, I am not interested in a story about two gay cowboys….
But Crash was a good movie and I thought very deserving of the Oscar Award.

Now on to another award for the best Actress….. YES!!! Reese Witherspoon who is one of my favorite actresses won an Oscar for Best Actress. I thought that was great. I have liked just about every movie I have seen her in. So I was happy about that.

Anyway, the Oscars are always interesting to watch. I thought this year was not as exciting as other years. But fun to see all those people who seen to live in a completely different world than we do. I still haven’t seen any movie previews for this summer that excite me. I think it may be a dull year for movies. But we will see……

(I don’t have much time to see movies these days anyway……)

Congratulations Japan:

I watched the figure skating competition last night for the Winter Olympics. It was a very very good competition. Shizuka Arakawa did great!!! I was happy to see Japan got their first gold medal in figure skating. Also the first medal of this Olympics!! I think the country must be proud of her.
Here in the United States figure skating is a very very popular sport. Also very competitive. So it was very big news in the United States also. Sometimes I really think the Americans take the Olympics too seriously. I mean I watch our speed skating team and they were not even a team. There were members acting like spoiled little kids. Its almost embarrassing sometimes as an American. So I kind of wish the United States would have a little more fun and not act like winning a gold medal is the most important thing in the world. The media drives me crazy. This morning on the news they interview the American figure skater who took a silver medal behind Shizuka Arakawa. They asked her “what happened” and “are you disappointed about sivler”. I though those were the stupidest questions. People should be happy just to be a part of the Olympics. But our media and corporate sponsors have put so much importance on winning that it is sometimes no fun to watch. Don’t get me wrong. I cheer for the United States. But I love to watch the underdog win. Still, Arakawa wasn’t an underdog in my opinion. She is a solid technical skater with beautiful form!! Congratulations!!!!

Winter Olympics:

I have been watching the Olympics on TV everynight. I think the Winter Olympics are my favorite and I like them better than the summer. I think its because the Winter Olympics involve more extreme sports. I have seen some of the athletes I worked with in the 2002 Olympics. So far the Japanese snowboarders have been disappointing. I expected more from them. They were fairly strong in the 2002 games. But the games just started so let's see what happens in the coming days.
Turin is putting on some great games. Some of the people I worked with in Salt Lake went to Turin to work those games also. I think it would be cool to go there and work those games as well. But I don't see a lot of snow. I think the snow there isn't very good. Actually I think it sucks!! But that's the only downfall of the games in Turin so far. Here in Utah the ski season is awesome!! Tons of good snow. But thanks to the Olympics 4 years ago the prices have gone up. Its getting expensive to go skiing. When I was younger I used to go almost every week. But its too expensive now. Maybe I am just getting older. But now I am just looking forward to tennis. So I wish the weather would warm up soon!!!

Well it’s been a little while. I can’t believe January is over… Where does the time go?? This has been a really busy month for me. I have been on business trip after business trip. Then my brother in law had an accident and I have been busy helping the family out with the situation. I hope the rest of the year isn’t as crazy as this month as been.

The highlight of my month was attending the Detroit North American Auto Show. I love cars so this was the perfect place for me to be. All of the worlds automakers were there showing there latest cars and also future designs and ideas. It was great. Right now the American automakers are not doing good. I think most people know Asian automakers like Toyota and Honda are growing and being very successful. BUT I was surprised to see the good designs coming from the American Automakers this year. Actually, I thought they were much better than the Asian designs. I usually like the Asian designs better. However, this year my feelings have changed a little. Many American Automakers are going retro. That means they are making designs that kind of reflect the past but also look futuristic. I think they are going to start having some success with these designs.

Still, my 2 favorite cars at the auto show this year is the Toyota FJ Cruiser and the New Chevy Camaro. After I saw the Toyota I thought I need to sell my jeep and buy one. But I won’t. Not this year. I will wait and see how good it really is.

I am already looking forward to summer with the new cars coming out. Also the new motorcycles…. Hmmm…… I really think I need a new motorcycle…

This is called "Balancing Rock" This is because the rock looks like it is balancing and could fall off. But its been there for hundreds and hundreds of years... maybe someday it will fall off....

Also, a picture of the what some of the beautiful roads we can drive on.... and my car...heheh..

The Symbol of Utah...

This is called "Delicate Arch" It is the symbol of Utah. You will see a picture of this arch on almost all Utah license plates. The license plate on the back of all my cars has a picture of this. It is the most famous symbol in Utah. It is very large. If you look, you can see my friend Koji and Mika standing at the bottom.

Here is another picture of me and of Koji while he is taking my picture on top of Lion's Back.

Here is a pics of me standing on a rock cliff / hill called "Lions Back". Its hard to believe but I have climbed this in a jeep!!!

Fresh Air ~~~~~~~~~~

I took some friends to Arches National Park in Southern Utah during the holidays. We drove around and did some hiking. The air was fresh and the scenery was amazing!! I usually go there every spring to play in jeeps. This was my first time during winter. But it was awsome!! I think I want to make it some kind of tradition for myself to go there every year during the holidays. It was really nice to get away from all the people and shopping malls and the TV!!!!
I really didn't want to come back. But its only about a 4 hour drive from my house so I can go there often if I like. I will be going back in April for the Moab Jeep Safari (4 wheel festival) and do some hiking and biking as well... I am already starting to plan my trip. I am ready to go back!!! Check out my pics!!!