ahhh sunday... Its been a crazy 2 days. I had 8 boys sleep over at my house on Friday night. Andy and a bunch of friends. I decided to be the cool dad and take them all bowling and pick up a bunch of food for them. We then came back and they watched movies and played video games until 4am... THEN... we had to get up at 6am to be at a baseball game at 7am... So the team played with only a coupld hours of sleep. I am sure the could loved that!! hehe. But it wore me out. Yesterday I basically just layed around and slept on and off. Watched a couple of movies and ended up being a couch potatoe. But I needed that I guess. I watched the movies Fanboyz and also The rocker. Both good shows and had me laughing. But both of them are actually so stupid they are funny.

Today is finally Sunday. I am still a little dead. Its been a while since I was a teenager. When I was in high school I was up all night on the weekends. I hit the partys and had a good time. Andy now at that age makes me feel I have really become an old man...hehe. But hey I still like to party and my son and his friends think I am still young and cool. At least I have them believing...hehe. We were bowling and they were all looking at the girls. They would ask me if I though this girl was cute or that girl was cute. I told them I could not say. But I know they all have good taste..hehe. Well time for some more sleep...

October is here!!

My favorite month of the year. I love October!! I love the fall season. Why?? Too many reasons but here are some.

- Football season is here!! - Go Broncos!!
- Baseball Playoffs - Go Yankees!!
- Basketball season starts - Go Utah Jazz!!
- The food in autumn is awesome!! I love fall food... especially pumpkins and corn
- The weather is awesome!! I love a little cooler air and nice fall weather. Perfect for enjoying outside.
- The fall colors are awesome!! Fall is a great place to enjoy the mountains and autumn leafs.

I could go on and on. I think fall is the best month of the year. Good sports, food, weather, and even fall clothes!!

Here in Japan I call it "Pirate Season". The Japanese girls love to wear boots that look like they came off a pirate...hehe. Actually its a very cute look but kind of funny. I mean as soon as October hits it seems many of the women and girls are wearing the same outfits. But its a good look I must say. As for me I guess I am the same. I love to put on the hoody sweat shirt...

Another reason why I love fall this year is because my buddies are back!!



Show opens today!! Wish I was back in the states I missed those guys... But soon enough.

Well 2010 is coming to a close. Its been a crazy year for sure. But for now I am loving this weather in Nagoya!!

Nozomi 100.... Its my ride every Wednesday morning. The bullet train from Nagoya to Tokyo. I get on this thing almost every Wednesday at 7:15am... Then sometimes on the Fresh Hitachi at 9:30 am to Tsuchiura.... Wednesdays are crazy for me.

So now I sit on the Fresh Hitachi listening to some good music typing this blog. The weather is excellent here still much better than Nagoya. The air is a little cool and crisp. Love fall!!

Last week I did a hike in Mie. It was a good one that took all day. I was dead when I got home but felt great. From the top of the mountains I could see Nagoya and the ocean. Also ran into some monkeys along the way. Next weekend its the North Alpst. I have been studying this for a few weeks now. The area has a lot of trekking trails. So I am going to hit it this weekend and also go back next weekend. The autumn leaves are out there and its going to get cold. So I think I only have the next couple of weeks.

So I guess my life lately has been work on the weekdays and hike on the weekends... Japan has a lot of beautiful country. So I guess I want to get out and see as much as possible. Tennis has taken a back seat for me the last month. Next month I will be back at it. Andy of coarse is still playing daily and getting ready for a tournament here in Aiichi. He gets frustrated playing in Japanese tournaments but its good for him because the play seems a little different here. So life is busy and the scenery is beautiful!!!

Ok... revenge is finished...

Last Saturday, Andy and I climbed Mt. Fuji again. This time we started climbing at 12:00 am (midnight). We climbed all night and reached the top in the morning. We didn`t make the top to see the sunrise. We were at the 9.5 stage but close enough. Andy was dead. We didn`t get any sleep and we basically hiked and rested here and there all night. But the weather was beautiful. Although the climbing season is over, there were still a lot of people and the parking lot was full. But it was a great climb and we were dead when we reached the top.

Here is the sunrise at 5:30am from 9.5 stage.. almost at the top..



Andy on the top...


We had a good time and it really felt good to get out and work my body hard. I felt like I cleaned my body and head at the same time. It was refreshing. But after we got down I had a hard time driving back to Nagoya. I was dead tired. Andy was asleep next to me of coarse. So I had the music loud and drank Pepsi the whole time driving back... we got home and sleep the rest of the day... It was a good day..

Because I have been playing tennis and riding my mountain bike pretty hard during the week I felt I was in good shape....So that was good... Next on our list now we will go to the Japan Northern Alps at the end of this month for a couple of days of trekking. So we are excited to go see some other scenery and I hear its beautiful this time of year...

Well tomorrow its back to work... good thing we have the weekends to play...

I`M BACK!!

Wow the month flew by. Where do I start???

I took a quick trip to Hokkaido for a drive. This was really needed as I
was starting to feel pretty stressed and tired from my work. I needed to
get away. So I took a weekend and went up there and listened to music and
just drove and enjoyed the fresh air. It was beautiful and the air was
good!!

The next weekend I flew to America. It was interesting. I was stopped at
the Airport in Nagoya. My passport didn`t have a Japanese return permit. I
got a new visa but forgot the return permit. So immigration at the airport
wouldn`t let me fly. I was shocked. I talked to immigration and they said
if someone in my family was dying or some kind of emergency then I would
qualify to fly home without it this time. But this was not the case. I was
a little stressed because I was going to a concert that night I get to
Utah. So I was thinking I will miss the concert. Immigration asked me if
there was any other reason why I needed to fly home today. I told them I
had a concert to go to. It was funny. They thought I was giving a concert
when I told them. They asked what kind of music. I said Rock. So they
started thinking I was in a rock band or something and was going to miss a
concert in Utah. Well I didn`t tell them that was not the case. I could see
they were now thinking to let me go. So I just let them think I was some
rock star. They said ok and I paid my \3000 to get the emergency return
permit and was able to go. It was so funny...

So I flew to Utah and had enough time to shower and go to the concert. I
spent 1 week in Utah. It was so nice to be at my home and in my bed. It was
fun to play with my toys too....I missed driving my toys... I had to do a
lot of yard work though. But I cleaned my place up pretty good. I went to 2
concerts in Utah and I think I saw maybe 3 or 4 movies. So it was a busy
week. I saw my favorite band Rush and also went to "Dave Mathews Band"
which is another of my favortie groups. It was good to get outside and
party with friends and good music.



I had really good seats at the Rush concert....


I took a drive above my house in the mountains...


This is the view just above my house.... down there is my house...


After a week I flew down to California to be with my son. He was at
Stanford training in the US Junior Nationals. I watched him play his final
tournement of the season. He did really well. He took 4th place at the
tournament. This was a very big one and he looked good. But I was very
stressed out watching him. I can`t watch him play because I get too
involved in the game and too worried about his play. So I am more stressed
and nervious than he is. But it was fun and he did good and learned a lot.
But he was worn out. He has been playing so hard and training so hard. His
body was just worn down. So he needs a break too.

After California I was on a business trip then back to Japan. I arrived in
Japan and just a couple days later went and climbed Mt. Fuji... I was
dead!! But the bad thing is I was with some friends who all got tired and
sore at the 8th stage. They all gave up. I was feeling ok and ready to go
to the top. But at the 8th stage everyone voted to retire. I couldn`t
believe it....hehe. So I spent the day climbing and never got to the top...
SOOOOOO... I decided I am going again this weekend. I will take my son who
came home with me. We are going to climb Friday night in order to see the
sunrise on Saturday morning... I hope the weather is good and we make it...
this story is to be
continued ............................................................................................

August is here...

The month of my birth... Last weekend I took a quick trip up to Hokkaido for a drive. It was a very quiet weekend. It was just me driving and enjoying the fresh air. I went down around Toyako lake and over to Muroran. This was the first city I came to when I first visited Japan. It always has a special place in my heart. I lived there for about 6 months and loved it. I have been back often but its been a few years so I decided to go and see some of my favorite places. I bumped into some old friends as well. Then headed up to Noboribetsu onsen. There I relaxed in the hot springs and just walked around and enjoyed the atmosphere. It was really needed. The weekend was fast but really good. I have decided I need that more often.

Well tomorrow now I am back on a plane to Utah. I will go back to the United States and have a very busy schedule. I will go to my house in Utah. I look forward to seeing my place and toys. Also to sleep in my bed in a much cooler house. After about a week there I will head down to California to see Andy. Then my trip is over and its back to work. But the next 2 weeks at least I hope to be able to relax. At least next week I can because Japan is basically shut down. But the week after that Japan is back in business so I am sure there is going to be some fire I have to deal with. At least for the next couple days I am not going to think about work... it should feel good....

Isn`t life just interesting??? I mean really... its pretty interesting...
People are pretty interesting too..... this week has been a pretty bad week for me. Generally I don`t share my feelings when I am having a bad week. But hey everyone has bad days right?? So I have had mine. Its a little crazy. The last 10 years of my life have been very interesting. I have made a lot of changes in my life the last 10 years. The changes have not been easy. Actually very difficult. But I did it because I had a dream and hoped things would work out. I did it because my heart knew it was right. But the stress of the changes were tough on me and those special people it affected. In fact the person I wanted to protect got hurt the worst in the changes.

Its strange. I mean I have always tried to do the right thing. I am a person who continually changes. I believe you have to change your life before your life changes you. I know people who are afraid of change. Change is tough and its scary. But for me its always been what I do. I change. I was never the type of person who could just sit around and have the same life day after day. I am not saying thats bad. I am saying I am different. I was referred to as a "hunter" last fall by a friend. He told me I am a hunter because I am always needing to hunt for something. I didn`t really understand but do now. I guess in a way I always hunt for change. But when it comes to things that are important to my heart, I never change. So I can`t understand I guess when other peoples hearts do. But I understand my changes and the stress involved in the changes made other people change and gave them stress. But I also believe it forgiveness and 2nd chances. Especially when something is so right and so true, I believe you have to fight for it and never give up. I can`t understand people who quit fighting. I guess they become tired. They become too stressed. I can understand that. But I never wanted to do that. Anyway,,,,,, this week someone in my life basically just threw me in a fire. I have tried for years to get this person to understand some important things. I have tried and apologized over and over again for my mistakes. But it appears this person will never give me a chance to make things right. Especially when I spent the last 10 years of my life slowly trying to make things right. Then, when everything is perfect..... boom!! I get thrown in the fire... like I said... isn`t life interesting?? I love it!!!..... all the drinks in the world can`t make me feel better this week... But thats life I guess. Some people make life harder than it needs to be I guess. Anyway, I guess I am glad I have people in my life who are a little more understanding and forgiving. Although it hurts... I guess its those people who really matter in the end. Thank you Mizuho!!!

On the positive side of my week I got a video from Andy`s coach. I guess they take daily video and train as well. So this was the video of his first day in a few light shots. Still was good to see him and I am looking forward to seeing him in a couple of weeks... For friends you can see the video below. For those who don`t know this is my son who is 13 years old. He loves tennis, long hair, AC/DC, sushi, and now getting to the age where girls are starting to look good as well.....




So anyway it was good to see him. Well its Thursday. This hell week is almost over. Tomorrow its work and then I am headed to Hokkaido for a drive. That I really need. But wished it could be a little different. I had other plans for a drive but that idea got thrown on the fire too.... too much fire this week... I guess next week may be better. We all have bad days right?? Just like those guys in the video I posted a while ago..