Golden Week

  • Trying To Kid Myself On Children’s Day

    Blessed with glorious weather and little wind, it was almost appropriate I spent the first part of Children’s Day trying to kid myself that I am something of a decent cyclist. I did manage to build up an almost acceptable pace considering the countless number of traffic lights I had to deal with on a quick trip in and out of central Tokyo. Blessed with a day off as part of the Golden Week series of holidays, I headed into town to attend a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous near Tokyo Tower. The group was filled with sanctimonious, pious souls, so I left feeling like I could speak in tongues, but…

  • Wake-Up Call

    For someone who usually wakes before 4 a.m. daily, the past couple of days have provided some pretty lousy wake-up calls. Professionally, there had been a job eating away at me over the Golden Week holidays and a check this morning revealed I had overdone it as I had suspected. Given a proper amount of time and no distractions, I could fix it up today. Still looking at a tough and demanding week ahead. Then, one of the great joys I’ve had this year has been watching the plants I’d grown from seed grow and start to flower. I was so proud of myself and it had provided me with…