I can't understand people

Today's paper had an article in it about a guy who had a suicide website. He has been arrested for murdering a 21 year old girl who he met through his site. I just can't understand this...
I guess the girl paid him to kill her... what the hell?!?!! At 21 years old the world may seem like a dark place but let me tell you it gets better... We'll not very quickly. You have to work at it. Sometimes you have to do alot of things you do like but it will get better if you keep working. I can't understand people who want to give up.
I have said for many year that my goal is to live to 130. I would like to think that technology is getting to the point where we can live to 130... Think of all the carp that can happen in that amount of time... 21 years is not much... even now.. 21 years is a very short time...
If you are feeling bumbed send me an email.... we can talk or post a thought here. If you are in Japan, you could post a note on my site www.japan.survival-links.com if you would like.
Let's hear what is bugging you...

Christmas in Japan

Well now it is starting to get cold and feeling more and more like fall. Now I have the feeling that American football should be on TV. But here in Yokohama that's not going to happen. But what does feel like home is that most all of the stores have their Christmas decorations up. If you are interested in getting decorations for you house or tree in Yokohama or even Tokyo. You should first try COSTCO then Tokyu Hands. You can get some nice decorations there. If you are looking for something that is not off the shelf then try the Christmas Museum. I'm going to look up some survival-links for Christmas in Japan. If you have some links that you think should be here feel free to post a note or send me an email.

Not Much

Well there is not much happening here in Yokohama. Or at least in my world. I'm in the same routine. Get up in the morning go to school and come home. In the news .... humm I have not been able to keep up recently but I'm going to try and get back on top of stuff here.

If you have anything interesting please let me know..haha

Suicide in Japan

32,863 Japanese and foreigners committed suicide in Japan　（2003）...
皆さんこれはじさつのデータです。　これはしんじゃれないです。
このトピクはなしたいです。わたしたちはかんじよめない、それからカタカナとひらがなよろしくおねがいします。


***もし、あなたは危極とうつ病をもている。このこのグルプはえる、そして友達いぱいみつける。自殺しないでねー

This is the data for the 2003 suicide rates in Japan. This number is too high and unbelievable. I would like to talk about this topic.

***If you are thinking about suicide don't do it. You should just post a message here and you will find many people who would like to be your friends.

The culture festival is over

Well if you have not been to a high school culture festival ( Bunkasai festival ) in Japan, you should. The high school students put many kinds of events. There are many Japanese cultural events. Such as the Japanese musical instrument called a Koto. It is a very interesting instrument. Also you can see then students do the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. There is the traditional calligraphy called Shodo. There are other events like band performances, everything from brass band groups to rock bands. My club is the English club. We did a play in English (Cinderella). The students were very nervous but they did a great job.
There are also many games and little restaurants set up in the classrooms. If you have children they would really enjoy going to Bunkasai.

School DAZE

Now we are doing the grades for report cards. And things are getting a little crazy because we are preparing for bunkasai (School [culture] festival). It is very interesting because the classrooms are filled with painted banners or giant posters. So the smell of paint gives me flash backs to stranger days. It is kind of scary, because the kids are inhaling paint fumes all day.
The paint fumes cause a problem because now in (Yokohama) Japan it is getting colder so the kids don't want to open the windows in the classroom. So I have to try to make them understand that paint fumes kill brain cells and it is a good idea to keep some of them alive until at least graduation.

Other than that not much happening here.

The long weekend

This weekend seems very long. I have had a mountain of papers to grade, play taxi, Mr. Fix-it. And on top of this, my normal weekend routine. It has been a busy weekend but I have enjoyed it. I just would like some time to get other stuff done.
We are finished with exam week. If you are an English teacher in Japan at a high school then you know that sometimes exam week is nice and sometimes a pain in the butt. This week was a good week for me. I got to stay home one day before my exam. That was nice but my wife wanted me to leave because I through off her daily routine...haha
On Friday I went to school to pick up the last of my test to grade. The Japanese English teachers are kind enough to grade half of the test for me... I feel very very lucky. I hate grading papers because it makes me sleepy. So I usually grade for an hour or so and take a walk then grade some more and repeat this routine until I finish.
Grading at home is difficult because my wife wants me to take her shopping, pickup the dry cleaning, pickup my son after swimming practice... you get the idea. And she always says "If you are not busy, could you...?" So I take a break and do what she asks.
Thursday I believe it was, I found a very large spider on the wall in our dinning room. It was about the size of my hand. It was the biggest spider I have ever seen. I have seen Tarantulas, but this guy was not hairy at all. It was kind of cool at a distance. I didn't want to get close to it but, my wife was chanting kill it, kill it. So I had to get close to catch him. We ended up chasing it for about an hour. Then we gave up for a while. Then sure enough he came out into the open again. So I got my son's net he uses to catch Japanese beetles called Kabutomushi and caught the large spider and took him a ways from my house and let him go.
That is just one even in my weekend. It pretty much went like that most of the weekend.

Transformers

Well Yesterday I got a surprise in the mail. It seems that the company that owns the restaurant LAST knows how to smooth over problems. They company is American House and I guess my wife was pretty upset when she called them. Anyway they sent my son a transformer from the movie and some free movie tickets. I was pretty impressed that the person put that much thought in to it. It was a simple way to make an unhappy customer happy again. I was touched, but I don't know if I will go back to the restaurant.

Thoughts comments?

Last Summer outing

Last night I took my son out to see Transformers last night in Sakuragicho. The movie was really great! But... dinner was a nightmare. We went to the American style restaurant LAST on the 5th floor, same floor as the Maycal Warner movie theater.
We were seated near a small wall that separated us from a small set of stairs that the servers use to bring out the food. That was not to bad because I had a nice view of Landmark Tower.
So after we were seated I was looking at the menu and trying to decide what we should order. I have been bringing my family to this same restaurant for about 8 years. Or From the time it opened. I have noticed that the number of menu items has been getting shorter and shorter every time we visit. Anyway I ordered the half chicken for me and my son. I also decided to try some jalapeño poppers.
After we waited long enough for my son to start wanting to walk around, we received our jalapeño poppers. The were just breaded sliced jalapeño that had been deep fried. I just said oh well this is after all Japan. So I was looking at the Transformers booklet buy son bought and snacking on the jalapeño. That is when I our outing we horribly wrong.
As I was reading the booklet (looking at the pictures, I can't read Japanese) from the top of the wall comes a wave of ice tea. It hit me on the top of the head and ran down my face, shirt. Tea landed on the booklet and the table. I was shocked... really. Then I hear the waiter on the other side of the wall saying in Japanese it was an accident, excuse me. He did look over the wall to see if anyone had been hit by the tea... I sat there for a few moments and then stood up and told one of the waitresses who came to help clean up the mess to give me a towel. I was so angry I could not see straight...
I am known for having a short temper but I believe that I had a right to be angry. The staff didn't even look at me standing there soaked in tea until I said something then I had to ask for a damn towel! I was fuming. I told the waitress that brought the towel that she owe me 600 yen for the book and we went to the front counter. I told the manger that the service here at last was horrible and it was the last time I would come. The only thing he said was I'm sorry...

I understand that it was an accident. Of course but they never check our table! I had to stand up and then while they were running around cleaning up the floor I had to wait for a towel.... that I asked for! A good restaurant (in any country) would have checked to see if any customers nearby were ok. Then they would have helped the customer first! Get them a towel and clean the table and chairs. Not make them wait or ask for a damn towel!

Anyway I was so angry that I threw the 600 yen on the floor and walked out... I got a short way from the restaurant and took a few deep breaths and went back and got the money.

My son and I went back to the theater and bought a new booklet. I walked out to the parking area in my tea soaked shirt and shopping bag that was on the back of the chair at the time of the spill. I was still fuming... so I called my wife and told her what had happened. She called restaurant and told them that we have been coming there for 8 years and that the service and food were getting worse and worse with every visit. Anyway I not really sure what all she said but the manager came and found my son and I on the third floor. We were going down to the food court on the first floor. He apologized and bought me a T-shirt, I chose a levi's T-shirt that was on sale. The manager apologized many times... I told him that I know it was an accident, that was not what made me angry. It is the fact that they never checked our table, then I had to ask for a towel. And even after that no one came to clean our table... he apologized again and gave me a 3000 yen discount for the next visit.

I don't think we will visit there for a very long time.
Here are some other reasons why...
The service is slow... slow
... you have to even wait a while for drinks.
...I ordered some kind of chicken it took for ever. I asked my wife to ask the waitress if they were waiting for the chicken to die. She said she would check our order. She came back and told us that the order was forgotten at the waitress station... And asked if we would mind waiting just a little longer. (Nothing compensated, no free appetizer or drink or discount ) We would have left but I was very hungry and asked my wife to wait.

The number of menu items are about half of what they were when they opened. And they are much more expensive. Now with TGI Fridays so close to Sakuragicho Station, with many of the same items and cheaper price there is no reason to eat at Last again.

Summer time

Well this summer was pretty busy.
My family went to the river to swim and barbecue. That was pretty fun but there were other thing I had to do. At my in-laws house I changed the kitchen sink facet and had to fix a toilet water leak. That kept me busy for about three days.
Now about the car. I have looked at so many cars I'm tired of looking. I think I have found a car that will work well for my family. But it is used. I was thinking about a new car but I didn't find one that fit my family and the price I was looking for. So it looks like I'll get a Toyota Nadia.
Soon school will start and I have to start getting ready. I'm kind of looking forward to the normal routine.

Heat, Pool, and a Car

Well this summer has finally dried out. Now I would like a little rain. Today we setup my son's kiddie pool. It was a nice way to beat the heat.
My wife and I are thinking about buying a car here in Japan... I have a house but now I need a car... anyone out there bought a car in Japan before?

The summer heat!

Wow! It has been pretty hot and humid here in Yokohama. Not that I'm complaining it's just that I wish it was a little less humid. To beat the heat I have been taking my son to Negishi pool. He likes too swim, but it is very crowded there.
Today we loaded up the in-laws and went to a little barbecue place by a small river. It was very nice and not too crowded. The price was not too high either. We stayed most of the day and the total was about 4 thousand yen (about 40 dollars). That included wood for the grill and picknick table and grill. Also in that was 2 fish my son caught in a little stocked pond for 300 yen each. It was a fun day playing in the river and barbecuing. But the drive home was kind of long. We ran into beach traffic on the way home. But all in all not a bad day.

The Headline from BBC News

"Ex-Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori has failed in his bid to win a seat in the upper house of Japan's parliament."(BBC NEWS)
I am very happy to see that the Japanese people can not be fooled by this suspected criminal. This was a good day. I also think that he is finished with Japan because he said that his feelings towards Japan have not changed, "It was a good experience." I hope that this means that he will stay out of Japanese politics. Things get strange enough here with out the likes of this guy.

Thunder and Lightening

Well I guess the summer storms have arrived in Japan. The cooler weather is welcome. I like the light show but I would prefer summer fireworks.
The elections were held yesterday so we will soon know how things turned out. I have not checked the results yet. But I don't think Fujimori made it. It is just a feeling.

Nigata Earthquake

When I first heard the nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture had a small leak after the 6.8 earthquake that happened last week, I knew it was much worse than reported. Now they say that they lost the quake damage report data. Also Tokyo Electric has shut the reactor down. All of this put together makes for a darker picture of the leakage and damage than we are being told. I don't think the public will ever be told the true extent of damage or leakage at the nuclear power plant.

Measles at school

We are supposed to go to school until Friday this week but now school has been canceled for three days. One of our students has come down with a case of measles. Our school building is old and doesn't have good ventilation in the classrooms, so I can understand canceling classes. I guess that the US and Japan both stopped requiring children to be get a measles shot before starting school. Now we are seeing that it was not a good idea. I have to go back to school on Friday but it feels like I'm already on summer vacation.

The Chapionship Game

The American Football World Cup finials were held in Kawasaki (Japan) today. It was a very good game and went into sudden death with the score 17-17. Japan and America both played their best but the USA walked away the winners. The finial score was 23-20.
It was a strange day. This morning I woke up watching to see if there would even be a game because of the typhoon that was heading our way. Then about 10:30 or so it headed out away from main land Japan. The sky was pretty clear for the 3:00 kick off and stayed a little misty all through the game. That made ball handling very difficult for both teams. It was a good game!

Alberto Fujimori

The article starts, "Disgraced Peruvian ex-president Alberto Fujimori..." again. But it seems that he is closer than before to getting into office in Japan. I can not believe it. If people really vote...
I can can think of many reasons why they should not vote for him.
He is Peruvian.
He has never lived in Japan(before fleeing Peru for his life and/or to avoid going to jail. ) so he doesn't understand the government system.
He is not a resident.
What could he do for Japan?


I think that the politicians in Japan are good at stealing money with out him teaching them.

Hello again

Well I guess that the American team will go to Sundays game unless something terrible happens. Because they have shown that the rain is no real problem for them. I was thinking that would be an interesting factor. Maybe for the other teams but the US team seems to have it together.

One more week of school till summer vacation!!

World Cup American Football-Update

Well it seems that the previous champions are starting off strong.

On Saturday night Japan (two-time defending champions) stomped France 48-0 to show them how much they wanted a third title.

Also not to be underestimated is Germany (one championship cup). With their 32 - 2 victory over Korea I think they really would like to have another title.

It seems like the finial game is going to be a good one. I'm just wondering how playing back-to-back games like this will affect the finial game.

The Weekend

Well here we are at the end of another weekend. Yesterday was an easy day, just taking care of my yard and garden. This morning I woke up early and went fishing with my son and in-laws. It all went well but no fish. We went to Hakkone, Lake Ashinoko. It is near Odawara. I wanted to do some trout fishing so we tried bank fishing. Well it works better if there is a bank to fish from. If you plan to go fishing at Ashinoko then plan on rowing out to the place you want to fish. Unless you have a license for using a motorized boat. There are ways to get your license in English here in Japan but I have not found out how yet. What I do know is that it costs about 75000 yen. The old guy at the boat docks told me that. If any one know more about this please post a messages.

Newspapers

Recently I have been reading both the Japan Times and the Daily Yomiuri newspapers. I have started to gain more interest in the Daily Yomiuri. I like the editorials, they focus on Japan and international events. I don't know if I going to change papers or not.
Tonight I came home from my late class and just watched a little TV. Not much happening in my world.

Nova English School

I find that it hard to believe that Nova English school is still in business. That have many student complaints and teacher complaints. Todays newspaper said that H.I.S. Travel is thinking about helping the company out now that the government has stepped in and made them stop cheating people for a few months.
This is a company that has been in the news and on television because they were famous for cheating their foreign teachers out of money and time off. If they got frequent flyer miles for court time they would be able to fly to Europe and back to Japan for free. I would bet more than once. The General Union has sued them and won many times. Nova is also on the General Union Black List. But this fails to discourage teachers. Because it is one of the easiest places to get a job. So many people just work there long enough to find a normal job or a better English teaching job. I guess that the Japanese people thought it was ok as long as the students were not being screwed.
Now we are finding out that's no true. Over the past several years Nova has had hundreds of complaints made against them by students. The government has known about the problem for more than a year and failed to do any thing about it. They started looking in to Nova but never got past looking. But I guess some bells started going off some where because Nova alone had 53% of all complaints filed against English language schools in Japan.
The only thing I have to say to potential students and teachers alike is, "Laugh at their TV commercials, take the free tissues they pass out on the streets and keep walking!" If you join the Nova crew and get screwed the only thing I can say is, unless you live in a cave and cannot read English or Japanese there is no way you can say you didn't see it coming.
I'm tired of hearing about Nova...

Monday

Well it feels like a Monday. I couldn't sleep well because I worked in mｙ garden all day yesterday. So my body still aches. Today it rained and was a pretty gloomy day. My students did well all things considered.
Todays news paper talked about Hong Kong's 10th year under China's rule. Mostly the articles had the standard lip service. The Daily Yomiuri had two articles. One front page (lip service) and one more buried to around page 5 or so that talked about the protests that were held in Hong Kong. That was interesting.

The Japan Times

The article starts, "Disgraced Peruvian ex-president Alberto Fujimori will run for...election next month."
He is suspected of having death squads kill the people who opposed him and of stealing money from the Peruvian government. Is this a man Japanese people want in their government, no matter how small the post? I hope not.
In an interview he stated, "...members are convinced that the style...of my government in solving problems can be transferred...to Japan."If he is talking about killing people,I don't think he is talking about a government post AND I don't think the Yakuza bosses are elected by the public.

Good Evening

Well I don't know about you but I have my American Football World Cup championship tickets! I wonder who will be in the finial game? Germany won the last one and they made it to the finials again. Japan won the first cup in '98 I believe, and they are in the finials. Also, the USA decided to field a team this year and they made it to the finials. So with so many possibilities it is hard to tell, but I'm hoping for a USA vs. Japan match up. And I hope that Japan wins. Why you ask, me being American and all?
Well I love American football and I would like to share this great sport with my students but I can't. I'm hoping that with a win against the USA, it would make my school think a little harder about having an American football team.

American Football Worldcup in Japan

World Cup finials will be held in Kawasaki (Japan). It will be held from July 7-15. This is a very exciting time for the Japanese football team. As the 1st American Football World Cup champions many people are expecting a very exciting event.

July 5th

THU

Arrival of overseas teams (FRA, GER, SWE, USA)

July 6th

FRI

Arrival of teams from same continent(Korea)

July 7th

SAT

Game Day 1: Pool 1: Japan vs. France 18:10

July 8th

SUN

Game Day 2: Pool 2: Germany vs. Korea 17:00

July 9th

MON

Rest and Practice Day

July 10th

TUE

Game Day 3: Pool 1: France vs. Sweden 15:00, Pool 2: Korea vs. USA 19:00

July 11th

WED

Rest and Practice Day

July 12th

THU

Game Day 4: Pool 2: USA vs. Germany 15:00, Pool 1: Sweden vs. Japan 19:00

July 13th

FRI

Rest and Practice Day

July 14th

SAT

Final Games 1: Game Place 5 15:00, Bronze Medal Game 19:00

July 15th

SUN

Final Games 2: Championships Game 15:10

July 16th

MON

Departure of all teams

Click Here for Ticket Information

Good Evening.

It has started to rain....

At my school I would like to have a (American) football team. Needless to say the teachers are aginst it for a few good reasons and some poor excuses.
There is no space for it. (poor)
The only teacher who has played football before is too busy.(weak)
It costs too much to have a team. (lame, but ok)
None of our students want to play football. (lame)
It is too dangerous. (lame, but ok)
American football is not popular in Japan. (weak)

My reply too these points.

First let me say that the reason I would like to see American Football at my school is because of the students. Every year I see the big boys being left out of every sport. Those who do play on a team are never starters. In Football very player is important, big, small, short and tall can play and be good at it. Also it is a good way for the big boys to get scholarships for college.

In Japan every free open space owned by the city can be used by the public many times for free. There is city land near our school that is large enough to practice on. Games can be scheduled and played on our soccer field.

The teacher who played college football doesn't have to be there every moment. Other sports function just fine with out a Japanese teacher coaching them. My Japanese is not that bad.

The startup cost for football is a little expensive but the pads and helmets can be used for a long time if they are serviced correctly.

The statement that our students don't want to play football is weak because the students don't have a choice to play, and they have never been asked. I have students every year ask me about football. Given the choices of some players to ride the bench in other sports I believe that they would be will to play football.
Also in our school district there are 13 high school football teams. That is plenty to keep a team busy. I don't think that our school is the only one where the boys don't want to play. I think that this answer also can apply to the statement that American football is not popular in Japan.

It is not too dangerous to play football if the students are in good shape and stretch well and learn how to tackle and hit correctly.

I think that I have a pretty good argument myself. It is all about the students. Show the kids who don't get to play that they can be a productive member of a team. And this is Japan after all, so being apart of a team is important.

Good Morning.

I guess all of Japan knows NOVA is not a good English school now. Yesterday there were some current and former teachers interviewed on national televison.
It started out with the answering questions about how the company cheats students out of money, then they let everyone know that the teachers are also taken advantage of.
Now maybe now potential students and teachers will think twice about going to NOVA.

Good Morning.

I have been very busy lately. At school we had exams. I was up to my neck in papers. Now that it's over grades are due soon.
This past weekend I BBQed at my house. The weather was very good. And the food was too!
またねー

Good Morning.

Recently I have been thinking about the lady who was raped on the an express train. This was in the paper the day before yesterday.
The hard thing to believe is that it was the man sitting next to her who raped her.
When he was dragging her to the bathroom no one tried to stop him. The paper said he threatened the people around him. And no one helped this poor woman even so much as telling the conductor what was happening.

Where is the honor the Japanese are famous for?

Virginia Tec - Guns?

With the recent tragic events at Virginia Tec the easy accessibility to guns is once again out in the open. People are spending alot of time trying to understand how a person is capable of doing such a thing. Instead of tying to understand why, we should ask ourselves how is it still possible for something like this to happen. The people who are defending gun laws have been throwing billions of dollars at government officials to keep the issure out of the spotlight. But now I believe that it is possible and a time for change.

The people who own guns do so because they see it as a right guaranteed by the US constitution. When the forefathers gave us the right to bare arms, they did so to protect our land and homes from, bands of outlaws, indian raiding parties, wolves, and other threats to our families safety. They were also thinking that when the call came to gather the local militia to fight it would be cheaper if they brought their own weapons. As far as I know there have not been any reports of bands of outlaws, indian raiding parties, wolves, and other threats that require automatic or high caliber firearms.

Nowadays people mostly use their guns for hunting and for shooting ranges. If people want to own firearms then there are many solutions that would allow them to keep their weapons and keep the public safe.
One idea would be that gun clubs be required to secure people's guns until they are going to be used. Because most people want to use guns at shooting ranges this would be a convenience for the owners. At the time of use, the guns are checked out and do not leave the grounds of the gun club.
Local police stations could serve the same in the same capacity for hunters. When a person checks out a weapon they must return it with in a set amount of time.
This would also work with the sale of guns. They could only be purchased through gun clubs that are licensed. If it were illegal to have a gun unless a person is a law enforcement officer. This would allow people to keep their guns and keep the community safe. In this way guns could be controlled.

I'm not foolish enough to think that this would work overnight, but it would be a good workable start.

The first full day of classes.

Well I made it to school on time this morning. That was not too unusual but what was not normal was I couldn't sleep last night. I don't have any idea what time I finally feel asleep but I went to bed after midnight.
Class was fun. The students this year are not very shy about speaking English as a whole. But there are always some shy students in a class of 38.

New School Year

Well I start my first full day of classes tomorrow. It will be very interesting. I just can't believe how fast time goes by.

A Reply from Angela Jeffs

Well I was just about to go to dinner when I checked my email and found the reply from Angela Jeffs. Here it is:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Angela Jeffs / Ken Joseph
show details
5:42 pm

Dear Truly Disgusted,
Thankyou for the information about Japanese dentists. I live to learn.
Daniel Babu is a herbalist, but he is a nutritionist first and
foremost.
I note that you think there are better gifts than a traditional
celebratory banner, even though you could not come up with a single
example.
As to suggesting I take money from businesses for information
passed on, this is not simply laughable (me being me) but libelous.
AJ

PS You might like to know that "dubble" is spelled double.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of her email.

Here is my reply.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dear Angela Jeffs,

Thank you for your quick reply and correcting my spelling.
I can think of many gifts that are better than a banner. Anything that
is made with indigo dye. curtains, a jinbei and any Japanese pottery.
At the time I wrote that email I was very disgusted with your articles.
I hope you research your topics a little farther and explain yourself.

For your information I have posted my first email and I'll post this one on my
blog. http://japan-survivalist.blogspot.com/

Thank you for your email,
Dennis
Yokohama, Kanagawa

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of my email.


Now I'm going to dinner with my wife. When I come back I will write more.
I think this is interesting...haha

Spring Break

It has been awhile since my last post because I have been on spring break. Lots of family service. I have not had too much to post. I have been doing alot of work to my website www.japan.survival-links.com . I have added some cams that are from around Japan.
In the news there have been a few things but today there is a special one. Another JAL plane has made an emergency landing. The news is still coming, but I don't believe anyone was injured. But again... I am speechless.

Surfing the net

Today was a pretty productive day. I spent the morning with my family and the afternoon surfing the net looking for some useful information.
After my wife and son left it was just me and the PC and the internet. So much information and junk it is easy to kill one day. (I think that space will be like the internet we people start colonizing space.) Lots of junk but every now and then you find a gem. Today I found one!
I have been in Japan for a long time and I have been looking for a train schedule site for mobile phones (cellphones) for a very long time. And today I finally found one. Click Here
to visit my web site for the information. I also stumbled across a list of Prefecture government web pages. That is pretty much all that happened today.
The newspaper was not too interesting.

Enough Is Enough

I just sent a flaming email to the Japan Times about their advice column Lifelines with Angela Jeffs. The lady could not give advice on how to tie your shoes. Her advice is baffling, if you have ever read one of her columns then you know what I mean. Here is the letter.

Dear Sirs,

I'm writing to you about your advice column with Angela Jeffs. Ms. Jeffs I hope you receive a copy of this email.

In the 20 plus years I have been reading the newspaper and there have been many, good and bad. Ms Jeffs colum is the worst advice column I have ever read. In referance to this weeks column (March 20th) Ms. Jeffs writes a reply about the French lady whose dentist told her to find a new dentist because of the column. She said the dentist was confused, I was confused by Ms. Jeffs column! I showed that article to my coworker and he was just as confused.

The correct answer to the lady's question should have been.
That Japanese dentists have a set of rules from the Japanese health insurance system. When you have your teeth cleaned it has to be done it two treatments. Unlike western dentist where you go in to get your teeth cleaned and they do the upper and lower at the same time. In Japan they are not allowed to bill the insurance company that way. I think most dentist who treat foreigners at one time just fix the paper work and have them pay dubble, because it is easier than explaining why the can only do half at a time.

The advice this lady gives is not only bad but at times ridiculous.
She told a woman who could get her child to eat meals but only wanted snacks to take the child to a herbalist! What?!?

Every time she writes I wonder what in the heck she is talking about.
This week she recommended a flag to a lady who wanted to give, "something truly Japanese" as a wedding gift! I have no doubt that the flag is nice but a wedding gift!!
Why not a traditional Japanese wedding gift. At this time I don't know what that would be, but I could google an answer in 2 minutes.
In her advice column she ALWAYS recommends a shop or service that people have to pay for. It makes me wonder if she receives money from these businesses for her moronic advice.

Here is my EMAIL ADDRESS PLEASE REPLY!!!!
*****@gmail.com

Truly Disgusted,
Dennis ****
Yokohama, Kanagawa

**I removed my last name and email address. If you wish to know that information please ask :)

I'm wondering if anyone will reply. I just could not take it anymore. That email is the first time I have ever sent an email or letter to a newspaper.

My Weekend

Well on Saturday I read in the newspaper that Horie (Livedoor) got 2 1/2 years. I wounder how much time he will do in jail. Normally in Japan company executives don't do jail time. Horie just made some of the Old Boy Network mad. He was making too much money, too fast.

I think 99 percent of Japanese companies do the same things he did. But he made the mistake of taking advantage of the lose rules companies have to follow. Because of Horie maybe the government will close the loopholes that many companies use too make money or make it seem they are making when they are losing alot.
A good example is the stock trading company Nikko (I believe that is the name) they were raided by the police but then later the charges were dropped because of lack of evidence... Yeah right. They were about to be bought by an American company. That didn't set will with the Old Boy Network, so someone pull the strings and had the case dropped. But it may be too late.

Anyway...
In my world not much happening. It seems I going to be the owner of a K-car. It is pretty nice. I have given in to the powers of my wife. She has been wanting one for a very long time. Now that we bought a house in the Burbs of Yokohama she makes many good points. I just did want to buy a car in Japan yet. It will only get driven on the weekends. But I think it will be nice not having to go by bus everywhere. Other than that not much happening here.

If you would like to post a comment to my posts, please feel free.

Matane... Dennis

From my cellphone

Well I made it to school and got most every thing done. Now I'm going home from my night job. It's 10 pm.I'm on the train. I sit in a seat a the people next to me look up set, they now have less space...they will get over it. Now train is not full and some sleeping guy fell over. I got a pic. I tried to wake him up at the last stop before I got off the train.
＿〆(。。)

Bus Schedules

Today I was going to go to school and I missed my bus... not a real big deal. But after I checked the time schedule I found that the next bus was coming in 30 minutes. That was troubling. Anyway to kill time I decided to add a few posts to the bulletin board on my website(www.japan.survival-links.com). I added one about Japanese money. I added it because yesterday I ran into a young sailor who has only been in Japan six months. I ran into him at a ramen shop that I like to go to. It is near Yokosuka base. Anyway we were both leaving at about the same time and when we went to the cashier he was short cash. Not because he didn't have money but because somewhere he had picked up a 500 won (that is Korean money) coin. Which made him come up about 100 yen short. I gave him the 100 yen. It was no big deal, if you think that about the fact that he had to sit an listen to me ramble on about my website. :)
Anyway back to the point. While I was writing that in the bulletin board... I miss the bus again.
Oh, what a day.

Ok. So there was all kinds of stupid stuff to talk about in the newspaper today. First was the Sex Slaves issue. I think that Japanese government officials need to learn how to be more politically correct when they talk about issues such as this.

What a week

It was a busy day in the news today.
One man died trying to rescue a whale that wondered in to the shallow part of a bay. I was reading on a news web page (Japan Today) about the accident. They allow readers to post comments there. Some of the people got offensive about the man who died. But I didn't see a post that was negative. I guess we all see things differently.

In another story an airplane crashed landed safely... anytime something goes wrong with the plane there is a possibility for disaster. Last week we saw what happened in Indonesia. This pilot did his best all things considered. I agree with one of the quotes from the Japan Today forum.

"...the accident has occurred due to the ground maintenance failure. And neither pilot nor aircraft manufacturer/designer are responsible for the crash landing..."

I think that the Japanese government needs to be stricter with the laws on maintenance inspections. This is not the first time a problem has happened with a Japanese airplane. These people should be held responsible for their mistakes, even if there were no injuries. I think the TV news programs should focus on that point not that the plane landed well nose first.... come on people.

Ok. In my little world.
I have been working on my grades off and on most of the day. I just finished all that I need to get done tonight. The grades will be done tomorrow at school so that I can give the other teachers their classes. I can't think of anything else to say, I'll call it a night.

Hello Everyone!

I would just like to introduce myself first. My name is Dennis and I am an American living in Japan. I live here in Japan with my wife and son. In 1999 we came to Japan. I have been teaching in the same high school for the last 5 years. At this time I can not see changing schools.

The purpose of this blog is to let me put my experiences here in Japan down in writing. I have had some very interesting things happen to me. So I built a website (www.japan.survival-links.com) to help foreign people coming to or living in Japan.
Little by little, I will try to catch you up on all of the things that are currently going on in my little world.