It happened in...
SeptemberIt's a bit windy / Preparing for the Royal Visit
30 September
Bit of a dab hand at the ol' typhoon predicting game, me. Typhoon 21 drops a heap of rain on us, but does us little damage. My super roof repair holds up to the intense scrutiny too. The roads are littered with greenery, and some of the rice fields have been a little flattened, but generally we seem to have got away with it.
Today is also the last day of Mrs C's
Let us also not forget that tonight is also the first U.S. Presidential Debate. In the Incumbent Corner, the chimp that they've shaved and taught to speak, (did you know that chimpanzee DNA is only 2% different from human DNA?) it's George "1%" Bush. In the Pinko Commie Liberal fag bedwetters Corner, it's America's very own Jimmy Hill-a-like, Senator John "Kharisma" Kerry.
Politics doesn't get much more entertaining than this, folks.
28 September
I've been tracking Typhoon 21 (Meari) for a few days, and it's due to hit tomorrow. It looks, though, like we're going to get the weaker western side of it (Songda hit us with the more powerful eastern side) so it shouldn't be too bad.
26 September
The temperature's back up in the mid 80s again. Not that that matters, of course, because our new car (YES, our New Car!) has air conditioning. And enough room to kip in. And a TV. All it needs now is a state of the art sound system and we're sorted.
Who could resist a face like that?
25 September
Been up on the roof today. It rained for 2 days, and most of it found its way into the house. Glancing out of the window today, noticed that this was probably down to the fact that about a dozen tiles had been shifted out of place by the last typhoon. And seeing as Typhoon Meari is forecast to hit on Wednesday, and be just as hectic as the last one, the repair is timely.
23 September
It's the second national holiday of the week today - shubun no hi, Autumn Equinox Day.
Monday was keiro no hi, Respect for the Aged Day. I noticed that there were little notices in the trams wishing continued long life and health for the ojiisan (grandpas) and obaasan (grandmas) of Kumamoto, and thanking them for everything they've done.
It was also the final day of the three day Autumn Festival. The day's carnival parade starts at the Fujisaki Hachiman shrine and takes to the streets at around 5 in the morning, with drums, bells, whistles, horns and ornately decorated horses. (One of my students, who has two small children, lives very near the starting point, and was dreading it...) The folks in these photos have been on the march all day (and it was in the low 30s), so there were also frequent bursts of ambulance sirens to accompany the drumming.
The festival was originally a commemoration of an attack on Korea, so some locals are deeply opposed to the celebratory nature of the festival. It used to be called Boshita Matsuri, but the name was changed to try to alter the emphasis of the festival.
19 September
From the Sports Desk: LATEST NEWS
RYDER CUP, Oakland Hills: USA 9½ Europe 18½
Europe retain the Ryder Cup! Great news! Though there's been no coverage on the TV here, I've been following it on the internet,
and the Europeans seemed relentless. Saturday morning's foursomes seem to have been the closest the US team came to clawing it back
but with 3 wins in the afternoon Europe finish the day 11-5 up.
And then on Sunday, the man whose tee shot started the 35th Ryder Cup
on Friday sinks the putt to win the match for Europe, with the biggest margin of victory the Europeans (or
GB & Ireland before them) have ever recorded over the Americans.
16 September
It's nothing really. But a lovely evening. On the way back from work, I noticed the inside of the tram was decorated with pictures drawn by local schoolkids, as part of what seemed like a Save Water campaign, with their names and classes on a paper plaque underneath. They were really good paintings, too. And then when I got to the car, parked in the car park at the park (!), this fella was guarding the driver's door. Which was good of him. Anyway I ushered him off, and off he went, clickety-clickety-click.
And then I drove home with Røyksopp blaring, after rediscovering Melody A.M. the other day. Mrs C is already a convert, and sees this as "the acceptable side of dance music".
She will be assimilated. Stage one is complete. It's only a matter of time now.
15 September
Japanese mosquitoes. If mosquitoes are the delinquents of the insect world, then Japanese mozzies are the Begbies. They wait outside for you, and the moment you open that door, they drop their bottles of meths and home drunkenly in on you. These bad boys are hard as nails and seem quite partial to the insect repellant that we thought would see them off. They lap it up. My plan is to use Mrs C as a human shield if I need to go out into the garden.
And while I'm having a moan, let me mention the local drivers. Whether it's a JP thing, or just a local thing, I don't know, but some people seem to drive with their eyes closed. Rules of the road here seem to be mere recommendations, only if you've got time, and if you like. I thought the idea was that "your actions on the road should never cause another road-user to change speed or direction." HAHA! Braking distance? You can fit another 3 cars in there! And while my indicators are a warning to others that I'm going to do something, for most drivers here, the tick-tock and the flashing green lights on the dash are merely an audio-visual accompaniment to a manoeuvre they're already halfway through. I'm hyperventilating...
14 September
With my first proper pay cheque, took Mrs C to a Korean barbecue place last night - the sort of place with a grill in the middle of the table and you do your own cooking. And they bring plates upon plates of meat - pure carnivore heaven. When we finished, there was no livestock left on the island, and the air ambulance had to be called into action again.
13 September
The rice survived the typhoon, thankfully. Apparently the years of selective breeding have given rise to a tough old stick of rice that can survive a mere tropical cyclone. So what we're talking about is genetically modified rice. Scary-looking, don't you think? Makes we wonder about those who bleat on about GM like it's a new and untested phenomenon. Where do they think domestic dogs came from? Let's call it 'selective breeding' shall we? There, not so frightening now, is it.
The heads of the rice stalks are heavy, and are going to turn a light brown colour before it's harvested towards the end of the month.
8 September
Went into town to take Mrs C to work, and I was shocked at the extent of the damage I saw. All the roads were littered with debris, mainly tile pieces, leaves and branches. There were lots of trees uprooted, signs blown away, even one wooden outbuilding was completely overturned. But the mopping up has already started and everyone just gets on with it.
7 September
Typhoon Songda was a different beast entirely from Chaba. This one rattled the house for hours. The house was shaking like in an earthquake, water was coming in everywhere. I was running around putting down bowls and towels, and replacing them every ten minutes as they filled or soaked through.
I decide against standing near any windows when the ones in the bedroom are nearly sucked out and the mosquito net frame flies off into the neighbours garden. The ceiling light is swaying alarmingly.
When it's all blown over, the tree in the back garden has been broken in half, the garden plants are mostly flattened, but no windows or roof tiles are broken, so we're lucky. The TV is saying that this was the worst Kumamoto's been affected for about 15 years.
6 September
My payslip arrives, and I'm rich! Haha! Rich! Beyond my wildest dreams!
Figures in Yen can make you feel that good, oh yes. Time to start looking at buying a car, we decide. (Hold on, why did we decide this on my payday?)
There's a typhoon forecast for tomorrow. Got a day off for the last one, last week (Chaba), but it was no more than a blustery day really. This one's not even forecast to hit us full on.
5 September
We both have the day off today so we head south and just see where the road takes us. In the evening we go down to Yabe, where there is a festival at Tsuujunkyou, and fireworks in the evening. Yabe is a lovely old place, and the whole of the main street was decorated with lanterns, and most of the houses open directly onto the main road so all the locals are involved.
Ten minutes before the fireworks are due to start, the heavens open. Fortunately, we're not just pretty faces, and brought an umbrella with us. Some of the townsfolk are only pretty faces, and get soaked. The girls who had come dressed in yukata, beautifully made up, with lovely hair-dos, now look like drowned rats.
But we huddle under our umbrella and brave the driving rain to see the fireworks. Can't say as I've ever watched them from under an umbrella before, but great fun.
1 September
September starts with the realisation that I haven't had a day off for 5 weeks. Whilst I'm not working all day every day, it's still a bit much, and indicates I may have overstretched myself. So I reorganise my week, so that Sunday is now my day of rest.