October 2001

Tuesday 2nd October 2001

This evening I've been playing football. I had this great idea recently, that by buying a decent pair of cushioned sole trainers, I could spend less money running at the gym. I thought I would get these expensive, slightly odd looking shoes, and run around the streets instead. So far, I have been out once, and that was on the first day of our holiday in the Philippines! Therefore getting back into five-a-side is not a bad thing. Especially as I can see the second chin re-emerging!

Sunday 7th October 2001

David Beckham went a long way last night towards earning forgiveness for his disastrous display at the 1998 World Cup Finals. His superb performance and last minute free kick have assured England of a place in the competition in Japan and Korea next year. The pubs showing the game live were packed, but the atmosphere was very tense, with England having to come back twice from a one goal deficit against Greece. Well done boys! I hope now that England will be based in Japan, but the chances of seeing any tickets are virtually zero.

One of my mates back in England has decided to get married next June. How could he? That's World Cup month! It also happens to be a month before I'll be going home for good. Another friend of ours is a FIFA qualified linesman, and if things go well for him, and with a bit of luck, he'll also be in Asia in June, officiating. Now how do I persuade him that August is a much nicer time to marry?

Wednesday 10th October 2001

On Sunday evening I went to my mate Lee and Yuki's wedding reception (seems everyone is dating or married to a girl called Yuki). It took place in the Black Lion in Meguro. My little contribution was to produce some poster-sized pictures of the couple to put on the walls. I made them by sticking together sixteen sheets of A4, and although I say it myself, they were very good. You had to get pretty close to see they were not one big piece of paper. In fact I got a couple of requests to do the same for other people who wanted to buy themselves one!

The party was great. There was an Irish band, karaoke machine, and as much booze as you could drink. For some reason people were trying to keep me away from the karaoke machine. Can't figure out why. Paul Anka would be proud of me - in fact he might even feel threatened! "You Are My Destiny" suits my quarter octave range perfectly!

It looks likely that I'll be going on a business trip to Finland and England next Sunday. With the United States and Britain now attacking the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden's Al-Qaeda terrorist network in Afghanistan, I am a little concerned about flying, and am trying to avoid flying on any US or UK based airlines. It is a serious concern, but should I put my life and work on hold, or not... Difficult decision.

Sunday 14th October 2001

Last Thursday I played five-a-side football with some colleagues and people from other companies, something I'm doing regularly now. The odd thing about last week though, was the fact that we played in a swimming pool! In the winter months (remember the Japanese are cold as soon as it drops below twenty five degrees celcius) this outdoor pool is drained and lined with astro-turf. It's actually a great way to use the pool when swimming is not atracting people. It certainly seems strange though, climbing up and down to the pitch!

It's four sixteen PM. Flight NH201 to Heathrow. I'm on my way to Finland and England for a week on business. I was not too happy to fly right now with the current terrorist threat situation. I had to pay forty two thousand yen toward my flight cost in order to fly on my preferred dates without using BA. As it has turned out, my Finnair flights between London and Helsinki will be on BA anyway, due to their code share arrangement.

Being of mixed Asian and British parentage myself, I feel to some extent that the other passengers are (at least in the back of their minds) uneasy about me being on their flight. I can understand this, especially as the guy in the window seat, just across from the empty middle seat, is another British Asian from Edinburgh. The terrorists have threatened to hijack more planes. Let's hope they don't.

I've not told my family I'm coming home. Partly because they'd worry and partly because I love surprising people! The danger is, they could be away from home when I turn up!

Tuesday 23rd October 2001

Arrived back in Tokyo yesterday unscathed. My business in Finland went well and I enjoyed a weekend in the UK catching up with friends and playing a little golf. I'm not really a golfer, but did quite well considering, being beaten by Keith by a mere single stroke! One friend I visited I had not seen for fifteen years, and then only once in the last twenty five! We got back in touch through a website where people can register what schools they attended and when (friendsreunited.com).

Yuki and I went to a restaurant for dinner yesterday evening, and for the first time I saw where Japan's "Scientific research" whale meat was being sold. I didn't order it. The irony is, although Japan and Norway continue to hunt whales in the name of research, the otherwise worldwide ban, insists that the meat be sold, to avoid it being a complete waste. If that's not encouragement for more "Research", I don't know what is!

Wednesday 31st October 2001

On Saturday evening we went to a party at Yukiko's house. It was a leaving party for Jerry, a guy from my company. As usual there was a lot of booze and food to go around, but as I was suffering slightly from a particularly senseless Friday night, I took things easy. Jerry is an American, married to a Japanese girl. They have a very cute little toddler called Tyger. I always find it fascinating to see western/Japanese babies. It makes me wonder what (God permitting) our baby will look like. Yuki thinks Tyger is incredibly kawaii (cute), but we're planning to wait until we're in the UK before we produce our own!