中１、セブで英語留学

英語学校についてはたくさんありますが、お調べ下さい。このサイトが便利かと思います。＞セブナビドットコム

マンツーマン授業がたくさんあるのが初心者には特にいいなぁと思うセブ英語留学。
中学生の甥っ子に体験させたい、と彼の父親から相談されたときに、調べてもよくわからなかったり、実際はこうだった、っていうことだけのメモ。誰かの役に立つかもしれないと思うのでアップロードしておきます。
まず、入国には保護者（父親、または母親）が同伴することが必須！
15歳未満の場合、父母ではない親族が付き添うとなると、様々な書類が必要ですが、それらをそろえたとしても何事もなくスルッと入国できる保証はありません。実際に聞いた話ですが、日本で大使館に行ったり膨大な時間と手間をかけて書類をそろえたのに、入国時に罰金的なものを払わないと入国させてくれなかった、ということがあります。※英語学校のジュニアキャンプなどご参加の場合は問題ないかと思います。
日本への帰国。これが調べても出てこなかったのです。ステイした英語学校でもわからない、保護者がいないとダメなんじゃないかと言われたり。
実際は15歳未満一人でもオッケーでした（2016年8月；これだって年が変わった今、100％大丈夫！とは言えませんが）。

マンツーマン授業がメインのセブ留学。大きな学校もたくさんあるけれど、甥がステイした学校は普通の（と言っても大きな）お家のようなところで、ホームステイ的な要素もあり、とても良かったと思います。日本人の生徒さんばかりだけれど、日本語絶対禁止！という環境。そして少人数なので講師の目や気配りが手厚く、セブアノのあったかいホスピタリティと日本人同士の団結力？のおかげで、シャイというより超絶マイペースで自分から積極的にオープンマインドにはならない甥も楽しく過ごせたようでした。ダントツで一番年下だったので、本当に可愛がっていただけて感謝してます。ほんの２週間でしたが、英語漬け、そして初めての海外、身の回りのことを自分ですべてやらなくてはならない、など、いい経験になったようです。

Blah Blah 'bout (e-)Books

What's wrong with burying my nose into books in public? (In fact I don't do that very often though; Only when I wait for my flight at the airport. I read most of the time in my room, in my futon;)
I was a bit surprised to find that reading in a corner has some stigma around it, some negative image. Ha! Reading a book is a way to retreat into yourself, to play in your mind, and to talk to the author or to yourself. I really appreciate it.
So I felt uncomfortable about the article I read this morning , which describes the way e-reading with devices like i-Pad helps eliminate the negative image and make "lone" bookworms "less alone". The few example mentioned say people talk to and give  questions to the person "reading" on i-Pad. Hmm. That isn't bad, people get connected more easily. But I wonder if such interaction deprives the pleasure of reading?
Well, I am an old type on an issue like this, the latest technology. I don't say I hate it, I'd say I wanna touch i-Pad or something like that;) But I am worried something subtle but important is vanishing along with increasing high-tech tools.

人ごみの中だろうと自分の部屋だろうと、本を読むという行為は自分の中にある意味引きこもること、自分の中で遊び、筆者や登場人物や自分と会話をすること、とにかく、その本の中の世界に入り込むことだろうと思う。それのどこが悪いか。そこに「恥/汚点」と言った感覚が伴うなんて、びっくり、というか、はぁ？と思わされたNYタイムズの記事でした（ふーん。社交的でないことはあっちではやっぱりネガティブに見られるのか）。今やi-Pad や Kindle なんかの最新デバイスのおかげで、本の虫ももはや孤独ではない、「i-Pad で読書してたら、人々が話しかけてくれるんだ」、しょーもな。
社交は社交、孤独は孤独、どっちも意義深いと思うんだけどな。独りでいること（を人に見られること）を極端に恐れる社会。日本の大学じゃ便所弁当？なんて現象も見られるなんて嘆いてたけど、案外アメリカでも大差ないのかしらん。

I've got a lot of pleasure in my room:) ; w/Polaroid SX-70 + 600film; june, '08


p.s. But I found this usage of i-Pad nice and beneficial:) 

murmur after dreaming

a morning (deja vu); from "loin mais près"

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I have been uploading photos from "loin mais près", my 2nd photo exhibition I held last month. It's still on the way, but you can check the photos clicking here:) Thanks.

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Had weird dreams and couldn't awake from it soon. I forgot what had happened in the dreams clearly; I just remember the impression of kind of fear. I have often seen fearful dreams; in which I am running away from someone or something, closing the door and trying to lock it, but having difficulty and that some person opening the door. That's it.  Other time a plane is flying low, and I expect it to be falling. Then it bursts and starts to fall burning. etc. etc.
But today's dream was not such. Something more verbal, something someone is saying  hurts and frightens me, I guess. I don't remember any details.
The photo has nothing to do with the dreams nor the writing in this post. I just want to soothe myself and choose this photo, perhaps.

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I've been very very sleepy for these 3 days. I was dying to sleep at 9 yesterday and fell asleep. Still I'm sleepy now in the morning. Well, I'm free today; my brothers went back to their home. (we had a family reunion because of it's "the oBon".) I hung the futons and sheets outside in the sun. I finished doing the dishes. Now I can go to sleep in this hot but breezy room. Yes, wind is flowing in softly through the open window.
So see you later. Have a nice Sunday:)

in the late afternoon

In my childhood and early teens, I used to go swimming in the nearby swimming pool or in the river. I loved the light and color of the air after swimming: it was about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. The color was just about the same as that in this picture. It invites me to feel sleepy and made my heart thump from kind of nostalgie. I was in between two thoughts: I have no home to come back and I could go anywhere I like; It's time to go home.

Now I love taking siesta, or catnap, in the afternoon in summer in this rather hot, humid room. I fall asleep reading something or just day dreaming. I wake up gradually mostly from weird feeling. I get up in full sweat, to regret having wasted my precious time, but at the same time I just love it: that moment reminds me of those childhood summer days which I mentioned above, memories not particularly special. That moment is also very alike that which I had during my school days. In the afternoon I couldn't resist sleepiness and fell asleep in the class, waking up feeling ennui and having no sense of where I was. I miss those old days sometimes, but not so enough to feel that I wish to go back, to be young again. Some odd steps led me where I am, to this pendent state where I can't call myself something concrete. Which seems just the same as this time of a summer day: at 3 or 4 in the late afternoon. I love it.

I just wanted to write about my favorite time, and I wandered around to lose the track. Well forgive me; it's my blog, my space for murmuring and letting out miscellaneous things that I have in mind.

I for ...

I? Ice? Ivory? hmmm, I don't think of many concrete things starting with "i". I could talk about ice, especially because it's high summer, but I will talk about "island".
Yes, i for island.
I can say I live in a big island named "Shikoku" and I can'T help longing for islands: I sometimes dream of traveling to vast, deserted land on a continent, but mainly I crave for going to or just seeing islands, small islands.
I prefer islands not sophisticated nor too artistically decorated, I mean islands where old things and tradition are cherished. I like islands with its own time flowing. I love islands where cats lead a harmonious life with the local people:) The ideal is that people in town be more generous, considerate as they used to be, but I feel the case is not always so. Perhaps it is because I expect such favorable characters of  island people.

シマが好き。いや、そりゃそうだけど、もとい、島が好き。「ものがたり」は別に好きなものについて語る（ぷ）カテゴリーじゃないのだけど、"i"で始まるもので具体的なもの、形をもつもの、というのが思いのほか少なくて、季節柄"ice"にしようかと思ったけど、思い入れの強さで"island"に。ほら、住んでるのも四国という大きな「島」だし。
だだっ広い、荒涼とした大陸的な場所に行ってみたい、と思うことも多々あるけれど、島に行きたい、の方が断然多い。行かなくても、対岸から、あるいは遠くから眺めるだけでもいい。小さな、輪郭のつかめそうな島ならなおよろし。わざとらしい手の加えられていない、打ち捨てられたような部分も大事に守られた伝統も残っている島の方がいい。そこ独特の時間が流れている（というより、時間を意識させない）島が好き。猫が人間とつかず離れずのんびり暮らす島は最高。町は世知辛くカサカサした部分が増えた（と聞く）せいで、なおさら島に寛大でのんびりした空気を求めてしまう。身勝手だけれど、せめて島にはそういうのがずっとあってほしい。

lento all day long; Syodosima Isle, Kagawa; May, 2007
w/LOMO LUBITEL 166U

G for gem

gem (n.)
1. (also gem stone) a beautiful stone that has been cut into a special shape, jewel
2. something that is very special or beautiful
3. very helpful or special person

I never seem to be inseparable from gem#1. I don't wear jewel or I don't buy one (nor does somebody given me one). I had 3 favorite gems: 2 of them were pendant, 1 was on a ring.
One pendant, my first genuine gem (diamond) on platinum necklace, was given by a neighbor as a gift for my getting into uni. The diamond was really very tiny, looking just like a stardust, so adorable. It was restrained and just right as a first jewel. But one day, after I stayed a night at a friend's room, I found the necklace missing. I didn't have the slightest idea where I had lost it. Maybe in her room, maybe on my way home. But it never came back to me.
The next gem, which I fell in love with at the first sight and bought for the first time, was a brand-name item. Which was also a pendant but I forgot what it was: I loved the design, but still can no longer describe what it was like. Because I lost it for the 2nd time I wore it. I remember I took it off before taking a shower, but after that I never saw it again.
And the 3rd and the last gem was a sapphire ring featuring an elephant, which I found in Bangkok and I really loved. I always wore the ring. It was kind of robust looking, so it suited my sturdy finger. But again, it' gone. At my brother's house, I let my nephew toy with the ring. After a while it's simply gone. The place was tidy so we thought we could find the ring soon, but however close we searched, the ring never showed up. Ha!! Then I gave up buying or having a gem. I always carry a limbo, or a black hole, around my right shoulder, and my favorite little tiny gems are supposed to be sucked into it. No doubt.

But I always know my cats are the gem#2 to me. They are a great deal more precious than gemstones! Far more beautiful!! No doubt about that:)

And I always appreciate your concern, gemmy friends:)) I am sometimes self-conscisous, dense, biased, slow, but you don't give up on me. You bring a breath of fresh air into me. Thank you.

宝石にはどうも全く縁がないみたいです。これまでのお気に入りが３つあって、２つは自分で気に入って買ったものだったけれど、どれもこれもすぐになくしてしまった。初めての宝石はいただきもの、星屑のようなダイヤモンドトップとプラチナのネックレス、控えめで気に入っていたのに、ある日友達の家に泊まりにいってなくしてしまった。どこでなくしたか全く分からなくて、気づいたら消えてた、という感じ。２つ目、自分で買ったあるブランドのネックレスはデザインが可愛くて初めて「えいや！」と勇気を出して買った（とはいえ一眼レフよりもずっと安い）。それも２回つけただけで行方不明。３つ目の象をデザインした、小さな小さなサファイヤのついたリング、半年弱は指にはまってたかな。ゴツいリングだったので骨太の私の指にも違和感なくてこれは一番気に入っていた。けれど、これまた甥っ子の家でおもちゃにさせてたらなくなってしまった。あの片付いていた家で、しかもまだハイハイしか出来なかったくらいの甥っ子の行動範囲を隈無く探したのに出てこないなんて。私の右肩あたりにブラックホールがいて飲み込んでしまったとしか思えない。他にも、きっと、いろいろなものを。

あれからは安もんのしか買わなくなり、いつしか１個のリングを除いて（アレルギーの起きないらしい金属で作られたもの）まったくつけなくなったので、アクセサリーを見て心揺れることもなくなった。人生残り３０年（もないな）、宝石を買うことはないだろう。

ウチノネコズが私の宝石。

それにこんな私につきあってくれる数少ない人々。本当にどうもありがとう。

gems: Polaroid SX-70 + 600 film (expired); 7/52 weeks project

F for farmers market

Yesterday I went another farmers market. I love farmers markets more and more---I used to love seeing and taking photos of local markets in strange places, communicating with local people there (without buying anything in almost all the case;p), enjoying the atmosphere there. But these days I also find shopping at local markets here enjoyable and lovely. You can get fresh veges & fruits, fish & meats in some places at a reasonable price. You can also find veges grown without any fertilizer or pesticide. They sometimes come with bugs but I'm no longer freaked out by them;) Rather they look kind of lovely... no, I can't go so far. But they are sign that the veges have been grown in totally natural environment.

At this time of the year I always buy Japanese radish, field mustard, napa cabbage, komatsuna or spinach, and broccoli. You can buy them really at a low price!:)) and they are yummy!!

産直ラヴ。前から旅行に行くと必ず地元の市場を覗いて写真を撮るのがマストコースだったけれど、このところ地元に産直市が増えるに連れて、産直依存度、産直好き度も高まっている。なんと言っても安いし、新鮮だし。雰囲気やディスプレイは海外のローカルマーケットに追いついていないけれど、スーパーに行くより断然楽しい。

この写真は昨日行った別の産直で撮ったのだけど（いつものとこよりフォトジェニック。笑）、安さ、品揃えはいつものところの方がいいかなー。ここはちょっとこじゃれたパンやスイーツはいろいろあるけれど、無農薬野菜とかの表示があまりなかったような・・・時間的に売り切れてしまってただけかな？

産直の魅力の一番大きいところは、無農薬・有機栽培、と言った野菜が安いこと。見てくれはよくなくても、虫がついていようと、気にしない（虫ももう慣れた。笑）。それに虫が食ってるのはおいしい証拠、最悪（？）の場合は虫も一緒に調理しちゃって食ってると思う。

しかしこの時期の大根・白菜のでかさと安さにはびっくりだ。キャベツもスーパーの半額以下だし。大好物の菜の花がめちゃ安いのも嬉しすぎて毎回買ってしまう。

adrenaline-rushing sight: Polaroid SX-70 + 600 film (expired); 4/52weeks project

E for egg

I tried to think of something starting with "e", but I could only find a few things around me. So I talk about "egg"; another food talk again;p

Eggs. I have one almost every day. Lovely round shape, tender colors of white and yellow. It all makes me smile:)) And eggs make various dishes delicious. What I love most of the dishes with eggs is "tamago kake gohan" rice with raw egg seasoned with soy sauce, I could say (wow! I never imagined this is on Wikipedia!;). OK, some do say it's not a dish, but it never matters to me. The moment of mixing egg with rice just makes me happy.

Still I haven't had any egg in my fridge for these 3 days! There are literally empty holes both in the fridge and in my heart! Don't laugh at me that I'm too serious, blowing up little things. Eggs are like the blanket of Linus to me (well I do have some other "Linus's blanket"). I ate castella which is made of a lot of egg, but the sight of eggs, the white round thing, is a must for me.

The photo is the only photo with eggs in my archives on flickr. Two eggs on bagel. Just lovely, huh?:D

p.s. I wanna go to this cafe with you again, tomily!;)

卵。名前がかわいい。姿形が可愛い。おいしい。大好き。

卵が入ると何もかもグンとおいしくなる、と言ってしまっても過言ではないかも。先日の皇室御用達カステラ、あれもおいしかった・・・。でも、あの卵の見た目、割ったときの黄身がホロンと盛り上がってる様子、とか。そういうのがなくちゃ。というわけで、最もシンプルにして最も大好きな卵料理は卵かけご飯。え？料理じゃない？？いやいや、ウィキペディアの英語ページにもちゃんと載ってる立派な料理！（ちなみに私はご飯の上に卵を割って醤油を掛けて崩し混ぜて食べるのが好き。）人生の最後に口にするとしたら・・・たらこ載せご飯か卵かけご飯か。ってくらい。

卵を切らして冷蔵庫の卵ラックがからっぽだと、心にもぽっかり穴が空いたような心地。

warm dream: @umie (cafe), Takamatsu, Kagawa; nov. 2008

D for dog

I used to be a dog girl as a kid. I still love dogs now, but I am rather a cat person now as you know. My life style matches cats better. Yet I love dogs and can't help smiling at them or if possible photographing and hugging them. I love large kinds, dogs that carry wolf features in size and looks. I kind of hesitate and feel afraid to touch or hug small dogs like chihuahua. They look too fragile, changed that much by human beings.

Anyway, I don' live with a dog, but the letter D makes me think above all of dogs.

When I was a kindergartner, a family (maybe rich family;) had a beautiful large collie dog and my top pleasure was touching and talking to the dog on my way home form kindergarten. It was through a fence; I never get into the site, I was on the path and the dog was in the garden. But I enjoyed it a lot. I loved the dog. And that contact made me love dogs, I can say, making me read almost all the books I found about dogs.

My parents never allowed me to have a dog but I was always playing with dogs in the neighborhood. Happily they never scared me so I believe "dogs are a human's best friends." Well, I mean they are one of the best friends:))

The photo is one of those I took at the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. I found many dogs stroll around there. It's so different from Japan where you rarely see stray dogs, because they are caught and ... I don't want to say what they end up with. I hear lately why there are so many stray dogs in Athens. The authority does catch the dogs but they don't kill them: The dogs caught get fixed and then just released:) They say the dogs won't be caught to be killed because people don't complain about them. They have the right to live free. I feel a bit unlucky to see more dogs and less cats than I had expected, but now I love Greece the more after I hear the story:))

a cool guard : CONTAX Aria + Planar 50/f1.4 ; the Parthenon, Athens, Greece; 18 March, 2009

Oita ~ Beppu#2

I have long loved strolling around back alleys. Maybe I got more into it when I went to Okinawa for the first time. Walking in tiny little streets, which are for the locals there, I greeted people and cats, photographed things old and rusty, some of which seem no longer used and you wouldn't have the slightest idea what they were for, having kind of mixed feeling of relaxation and calm excitement, and a little uneasiness. My photos from travels consist of such weird, unfamiliar, and at the same time common things so explaining to peolpe where I took those photos seems meaningless sometimes. Anyway I LOVE back alleys.

Just strolling in backstreets is fun, but if you have a chance, it's good experience to have a person guide you around who knows much about the history of the area and geography. Such people will take you to places outsiders usually don't go or even find, and knowing little stories and origins of old things and places adds to the pleasure of strolling even more!

After the lovely lunch we join "Meisters of backstreets in Beppu". They take us to and show us really funny things; for example parking lots no car seem to be able to enter, a very very narrow door, etc. And they guide us to tiny hotsprings where local people alone visit, old, western-style architectures and tell us of their history. Interesting! I almost forget that we are now in the downtown of a modern city: it seems as if we were walking in a town 50 years ago.

There are new buildings and houses around, but out-of time things in back alleys make a way back to old days. You can experience backward time travel on backstreets:)

window : @Axolotl, on a backstreet in Beppu / Oita

Oita ~ Beppu#1

After about 8 hours of drive, ferry, bus and train ride, I get to the station of Beppu, Oita. Getting out of the station I find this little "Beppu Onsen", which is a bath for soaking hands. Warm water welcomes me warmly, and makes me feel I am really in a Onsen town! Well, I need to take a bath first, so I start walking for local onsen. I have heard there is one special onsen, kind of landmark of Beppu. So I pass a lovely onsen (which has turned out to be another old onsen), walk to "Takekawara Onsen", which was rebuilt about 70 years ago, and is now popular both locals and tourists. Its very photogenic outside and inside. The water is rather hot and it does warm you up through to your body's core. My fatigue melts into the hot water...

Then I go back to the station to meet my friend, Kumi-san, eat at "Axolotl", kissaten which was originally an old Japanese inn in early Showa period. Their curry (mine is Indian curry) and coffee are good:)) Afterwards we just stay and relax; the time there feels like we were at grandma's house in the country in summer holidays.

Next we go for tiny-alleys stroll;)

petit relaxation : Hand Bath @ Beppu Station / Oita

C for ... cat (of course!)

You were always a wild kitten : Polaroid SX-70 + Time zero film, 2003 or 2004
Cats are my source of endless happiness, inspiration, and love. As you already know very well, I am a cat person. In fact I love all animals and I wanted to live with dogs when I was a kid, but as I grow older I get so committed to cats. Felines are now the most involving to me. They never cease to fascinate me. Their eyes, nose, mug, tongue, ears, paws, fur, tail (long or short), purring, playfulness, thoughtful look, appearance; all contribute to that lovely beautiful family:) But if you're a cat person like me or you contact with cats even a short while, you know the most attractive point about cats is their various characters; it's just like we humans or dogs are each unique and have a variety of feelings and expressions. For example, each my cats has her/ his own way of, say, expressing jealousy: Koma hides herself, keeps distance and stares at me accusingly, giving me a dark look; Yoda calls loud to draw my attention; Tabi jumps in my lap, purring; Sima just sits all alone, waiting for her turn. >
In the photo above, and in my memory, is Tengteng, aka Tengteco, who was always naughty, demanding, and adorable. She looked tough and independent but more lonely and needy than any cat else around. I'm worried if she is doing OK without me. Perhaps she is worried if I'm doing fine without her beside.



*There are many other things I'm interested in and love besides cats;)

秋空鱗雲

B for blue sky and
Originally uploaded by +akane+

It's autumn. The sky is high, clouds flow low. The look of the sky is unstable. I'm never tired of watching it. But because I look up to the sky night and day (you know, now is the best time for looking for Orinoiid meteor shower), my neck hurts a bit...

I love the sky in the daytime. I hate to watch the night sky in fact; it makes me think about the frame of the universe, which is awesome mystery for me for ever, how far the end of the universe or if there is "an end" to the universe at all, how we are exposed to the abysmal space and how vulnerable we are, etc. It's kind of horrifying to me, the whole thing about the universe.

So I love looking at the peaceful sky in the daylight.

秋の空。天は高く、雲は低く、表情の移ろいは速く（ウム、女心と・・・とはよく言うた！＞m＜）。見ていて飽きない。ついつい上を見る時間が多くなる今日この頃。そこへ持ってきて、夜の流星群。普段動かさない方向へばかり首を動かしているせいか、何だか違和感が・・・
昼の空はただもう色がきれいだ〜〜雲がかわいい〜〜、と愛でるばかりなのだけど、夜の空は、見られない。本当はあまり見たくない。果てがない、ってどういうこと？果てがあるとしたら、その向こうは？？考え始めるとあまりのおぼつかなさに怖くなる。大いなる創造主とやらがいて、その手の中で転がされてるだけ？その創造主がいる空間の輪郭はどうなってるの？？普段考えないようにしていても、夜の空を見るとそこは宇宙で、どうしても考えてしまう。

昼の空はいいなぁ。

B for ... book

piling up : Polaroid SX-70 + 600 film / 2007

Something I feel uncomfortable without, if I didn't see any around me I'd feel like something is missing, is a book. I am all right if I don't hear any music in everyday life. Of course I love listening to music and when I need it it's indispensable, but I love natural sounds like that of waves or birds much more indeed. But about books, even if I am not a bookworm literally and I don't read so much or check newest books earnestly, I'd say I love books and can't do without them.

I often forget what the ending was like of stories that I read before, and what is the worst, I once threw away old books I enjoyed during my early childhood... they were travel guide books my mother had bought. I really , really regret it. Nowadays old books are hard to get due to its high price or sometimes hard to find. It is often true of books (and magazines). So When I encounter books that interest me I buy them if they are affordable for me.

I love being with books. I love seeing them piled up (like in the photo;). I love lying reading flipping over the pages, falling asleep without even noticing. Books are a kind of sanctuary I can escape into; they are a medicine box for me as it were. (oh, I hate real medicine in fact!;D)

Other favorite things I think up starting with the letter b; Bread is fun to eat and to make myself, though I make just simple kinds. Breakfast, one of the greatest pleasures of traveling, I skip usually, though I had big breakfast every day. I'm not at all interested in brand-named bags, but I fall in love with some bags, most of which are rather large kind. Oh, I love basket and so do my cats;) My big basket-bag is very convenient and excellent both for carrying my cameras and for shopping groceries. Blankets are essential; in autumn and winter, I'm wrapped in one when I'm home. My favorite blue blanket is also loved by Yoda, so I have to use another blanket... Today the sky is so blue! I can hear voices of frolic children from the ground of a nearby primary school --- they are having athletic meet:) I can hear birds tweeting. I can feel the wind from the blue sky. They all beat the blues.

A for "あめちゃん(ame-chan)"

classical kurukuru candy : Polaroid SX-70 + 600 film / December, 2008

For a little practice of writing (both English & Japanese;) and thinking, I start blogging about things around me as the mood takes me.

Today's feature is "ame-chan", hard candy.

We, I mean people living in Kansai and its neighboring area, call it with "chan", which is used for calling close people. Usually we use "chan" for people, or animals in which case it sounds rather childish, though. But Kansai people, especially "okan (which means mama")" or "oba-chan (auntie or middle-aged woman)" call hard candy "ame-chan" and you might get some from those ladies when you walk around Osaka;) I love it. I don't like hard candy in particular, but when asked if I want "ame-chan", I can't help saying "Yes!"

There's something familiar and adorable about "ame-chan".

To me A is also for Aria (my first SLR camera by CONTAX:), Advocate (an old, classical beauty by ILFORD), airport (I'd love one near my house! ), ambience (something I place the greatest value taking photos), and apple. It's the best season of apples, but this year I don't find my favorite apple "紅玉 (ko-gyoku)", why? I love crispy, rich-flaovred apples. Sourness is a must: it's the key, especially to making confiture! (oh, which makes me realize that I don't like very much fruits that lack sourness. That explains why I don't like peaches, watermelon, and melons so much.)

And A is of course for "Akane", my name;)

ぬらり ひょん

というよりも、ぬらぬらしてる感じでした。まだ若干してます。きっと、夏が終わるのにうまく適応できなかったんやな、そういうことにしておこう。
もう９月も終わりだし、いつまでもモラトリアムじみたことしてる場合じゃない。立て直さないと！！

まずは完全に狂った腹時計・・・というか、食欲中枢を正常に戻しましょう。（夜中にスナックはやめるぞー！）
買ったまま放置の歪み矯正の本&DVDを開きましょう。（あれれ、２冊も買ってるし・・・）
郵便局に持って行くものを準備しましょう。（あ、その前にもう一度プリンタインストールしないと！）

※明日、やっと車検に出すことにしました・・・ぎりぎりです。いつものことだけど、なんでもそうだけど。


I've been, and still am, down all these days, about a month. Not that something happened to me; it's just I couldn't adjust to the summer ending. I miss summer too much.
Now September is going so I have to gather myself together!
First, get back to normal appetite: I won't eat a bag of snack food at/past midnight!
Second, open the book & DVD on body straightening; uh-oh, I've bought two of such books!!
Then, prepare stuff I wanna send by mail; before that I have to install the driver software for my printer.

Well I have a lot more things to do, but start from little things. It's the key, I guess.


missing : CONTAX Aria + Planar 50/1.4 ; Athens, Greece on 18 March, 2009

simple things

Being simple is important. Simple things do matter. Cause and effect, or rather just existence. I find key to some important secret in such things. I find pleasure in simplicity. I find power in being simple. The way cats live; their purring when caressed. Tender sparks when looking at each other. Seeping of oranges into gray at dawn. Etc., etc.

And the message from a close friend, pinned on the wall, "For being what you'll always be, A very special friend to me, I wish you happiness".
Just being yourself makes someone happy. It is the loveliest thing, isn't it?

Well, I'm rambling, not knowing where my mumble will take you. Sorry for my poor English. This blog is for my practice of my output in English, not only in Japanese. Wish you simple happiness and a lovely weekend:))


always / BessaFlexTM + Carl Zeiss MC Flektogon 35/2.4 + KODAK Elite Chrome 100 (cross processed)

memorandum

I bought some magazines; I had refrained from buying those similar magazines for a long while (well, you know, in bookstores there are piles of magazines similar to each other, especially magazines featuring "lovely natural life style!) , but nowadays I can't control myself reaching for magazines featuring places I wanna visit. I bought three magazines on Italy, two of which are not my taste, though. I got those two via online, so I couldn't check the contents, articles, and most important, photos. Ah, complete waste of money!! Now I've made up my mind again not to buy magazines except those I feel like keep for ever;)

Koma, one of my cats, is so big-eyed she really has a sharpest nose for her favorite foods. She weighs lighter than before, which is because she is old now: she is 16 years old. But I believe she is gaining weight from eating too often. I guess I'm not a good guardian for her: I'm too indulgent, spoiling her too much (and I'm not good at taking her lovely photos!). But qu'est-ce que c'est que ca, la douceur de vivre? When I think what is enjoyment in her life, I just can't deny her what she loves to eat.

cloudy greens/ I wanna show you this scenery in real, next time you come to shikoku, mikay-chan:))
camera: CONTAX Aria + Planar 50/1.4 + FUJI PRO 400H

memorandum

I ordered a book from amazon.com (I always order from amazon.co.jp but this time I can't find the book at amazon in Japan) and am worried to find that the international delivery will take more than a month! Will the book arrive safely? And the book I ordered is a used one so I'm concerned about the condition: they say the book is in "very good" condition, but is it really true? I sound too skeptical, do I? haha. Well, I just received an e-mail from the shop, so I'm a bit relieved now.

Summer days are still going on, but I feel little sign of the coming of autumn. It's most obvious in the late afternoon light and morning breeze. The former always makes me feel nostalgic somehow... I don't know why, but I'm convinced it has something to do with my very early childhood memories. I love summer, but I'm a bit relieved to have summer ending now: I have a sad memory in summer 2005; one of my loved cats went far away forever. Yesterday I found Koma, one of my cats, missing. The bad memory came to my mind again so I searced for her frantically. To my relief she was back home out of nowhere. I'm happy this summer is going with my cats doing fine, though a various things are up here and there in the world.

How are days in your place? How' re you doing?

photo: a typical summer lunch; barley tea & somen / camera: CONTAX Aria + Planar50/1.4 + KODAK Elite Chrome 100