• Daily Life

    Many Happy Returns

    Don’t be fooled: This post has absolutely nothing to do with birthdays. It’s about doing things again for the first time in a while. The whole day was a series of events reminding me of the past. We started by cleaning the estate garden. We live in what is basically a retirement village that has cheap management fees, and they’re cheap because residents have to keep the common gardens and grounds maintained. When the cleaning was over, it was back on the bike. And I was back with a camera bag on my back for the first time in many…

  • Daily Life

    Flockin’ Wonderful Time

    All sorts of amazing things are happening at the moment, and I’m taking me time to let them settle in. Biggest is the new job, which is taking up most of my time at the moment and, naturally, has a huge impact on my life and that of those around me. We’ve had some pretty lousy weather recently, being humid, wet and dark, which has had an adverse impact on Kangaeroo Corner, effectively wiping out the kangaroo paw for this year, but also hurting most of the other Aussie plants, which generally like things to be dry and sunny, or…

  • Daily Life

    Doggone

    After a blissful stay with us of two weeks or so, Uyu the border collie is gone, having returned home to her mum and dad. It was sad to see her go as she had been our little angel and being with her was blissful. She brought enormous joy and we had great fun. But, as I had noted the last time she stayed her, the biggest lesson Uyu provided was to convey how clearly impossible it would be for us to own a dog, much as I would love to have one. I simply can’t care well enough for…

  • Daily Life

    In Dog We Trust

    Our time with Uyu the border collie is drawing to a close and it has been magnificent. We have complete conviction that our canine companion is a gift from the gods. But it has also been draining. All of us, Uyu included, were exhausted last night. The typhoon skirting by Tokyo and dumping bucketloads of rain on us has actually rendered some relief as it has prevented a long walk and confined us to indoor spaces today. That has meant playing with toys, which is also having an effect on my old frame. I can’t crawl around on the floor,…

  • Daily Life

    Doggedly Marching On

    Every bone in my body is aching, but I am not giving up and am adamantly moving ahead with our current schedule, but boy am I feeling it. Part of the problem might be that I have too much free time on my hands, which allows me to realize how sore I feel. It’s hard to keep busy as I’m trying to look after the dog, the dinosaur and the domicile, all at the same time. My body is feeling the pinch because Uyu and I have been walking about 15 km/day in the sapping heat, spreading the walks over…

  • Daily Life

    Big Brother Is Watching You

    Summer is sweltering again, turning the Kangaeroo Corner into a dustbowl, but this year is a little different because my every move is being watched by the untiring Uyu. We’ve been walking incessantly despite the heat, and the beautiful border collie had me worried because she looked exhausted and overheated when we returned home last night. Each day of her stay has exceeded 34 degrees Celsisus, with 80 percent-plus humidity, a searing sun and scorched asphalt. We’ve still walked at least 10 kilometers every day. I’m bushed. But loving it. Walking through the area has also taught me how beautiful…

  • Daily Life

    The Fat Lady Sang

    My job is over. Finished. Kaput. Ended. I am officially unemployed for the first time in 10 1/2 years. All ties to my former employer ended a few moments ago as I sent off the computer and periphery items I had used at home, where I worked from pretty much the outset of the pandemic. A brave new world awaits. I’m leaving with my former employer’s goodwill and best wishes. And I wish them all the best. I would have preferred things turned out a little different, but I think we may both be better off moving forward. I’ve got…

  • Daily Life

    Death Revival

    Today looks like it’s going to be all about Lazarus-like feats centered around reviving death in all sorts of ways. First there’s the Death Machine; the name I give to my recumbent bike because riding it always feels like it could be fatal with each ride. It needs a tune, new chain and brakes to get back to fighting fitness. Hopefully, this won’t lead to a chain-reaction effect requiring increasingly more parts and labor, as is often the case. That segues into dealing with another form of death: that of my career. I can’t find a job and it seems…

  • Daily Life

    Biking Biblically

    This morning’s sky was, for a brief instant at least, biblical, in the sense that rays of the rising sun briefly broke through the clouds of the overcast morning as though some majestic deity was bursting forth to greet the day. I’m not a believer, but I pray…almost constantly. Fear dominates my life. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. Never really works….always feel completely out of my depth, helpless and hopeless. I try to counter that by reminding myself of…

  • Daily Life - Strine - Strine Tucker - Strine Why Atorkin/Australian Methods of Speech/豪語の話し方

    Snot Block Odyssey

    Something was amiss with the start of the weekend when I was barely able to sleep, spending a restless night ahead of plans to head into central Tokyo to pick up some parts, but little did I know that a vanilla slice “snot block” was on the way to rescuing me. Using the restlessness to advantage, I got stuck into the garden, weeding and then being able to cut the lawn courtesy of a quiet push mower and getting down on my hands and knees to manually trim the edges. A quick clean of the Brommie, which has been squeaking…