Archive for the ‘Video’ Category
On a hot hot HOT day in July (Saturday the 13th, to be exact), Luke and papa participated in the annual Yatsuo Triathlon. This was my 2nd time, having previously done it in 1999. Of course it was Luke’s first time. I did the “athletes” course, which consisted of a 750 meter swim in the pool (where Shinobu works), followed by a 16km bike ride on a hilly course, and finishing with a 5km run. Luke did the kid’s course: 100m swim, 2km bike, 1km run.
Oh, did I mention it was a VERY HOT & HUMID DAY?
The week before I practiced each day with Luke. His difficult point was riding a bike, especially with going up hills. Since there were a couple of inclines on the kid’s bike course, Shinobu and I were rather concerned. Using his old kiddy bike, there was no way he could ride up even a slight hill, so a few days before the race we ended up buying him a new bike! “It’s an early birthday present”, we told ourselves. This new bike had 5 speeds, so he was able to go up hills better, but would it be enough? We were worried…
Papa’s race started at 9 am. The swimming was very hectic. Since it was in a pool, each swimmer had to go down and back three times (150m), making sure to duck under the lane divider each length. The start was staggard, but since there was such a difference in ability, it wasn’t long before guys were passing and lapping each other. It was a nightmare ducking under the lane dividers, as there were often several swimmers pushing and shoving for position! I had to take care not to get kicked in the face.
After the swim, I ran outside and down to the bike changing area. I had my spot, and proceeded to change into bike mode. I wasn’t rushing, knowing it would take all I had and more just to survive the entire distance on the HOT HOT HOT day. Luke and Shinobu were cheering me on. When they saw I wasn’t rushing, they started teasing me: “Hurry up, Papa! You’re too slow!!!” they shouted. It was funny.
The bike course was a ride through the foothills of nearby Yamada village. The first part was this VERY LONG incline, and boy was it a killer. After that it got better, and the final bit was going down that long incline. That was fun!
The running course was thankfully flat and simple- just three laps from bridge to bridge on the Ida river, next to the pool. Still, it was HOT HOT HOT, so this part of the race was very difficult. Thankfully they had water stops, so I made sure to douse myself in ice cold water frequently. While cooling me off, this also made my socks and shoes very squishy and heavy! I shuffled along, leaving a trail of watery footsteps behind.
Finally I finished! I was very happy that I could make it. Immediately, however, I climbed up a hill to watch Luke come in on his bike. Shinobu and I cheered him on, as you can see in the video. We were really proud of him! He ended up with a gold medal for his trouble, a prize given to all the kids who finished. He’s only seven years old, and already he’s gaining a lot of great experience, not to mention health and fitness.
In the end we all had a good time despite the heat. We’re looking forward to doing the race again next year.
Here’s the video. Please leave a comment and let us know what you think.
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Wow! It’s been over one month since my last blog post! Ouch! Same old story- busy busy busy. My excuse this time is a PhD proposal I’m trying to write over the summer break. Anyway, a lot has happened in the past weeks, so I’ll redouble my efforts at getting you all caught up.
First, lets go back to early May- Luke has just started elementary school, and one of the first big events in the school calendar was soon upon him: Sports Day. What is Sports Day? Well, imagine the Olympics, only held within one school. The student body divides into 3 or 4 teams, each of a different color. They paint this elaborate mural of a team mascot, usually of some ferocious animal. Then, everyone practices practices practices for weeks leading up to the big day. There are “real” sports like relay sprints, and more game-like events such as chicken fights, an obstacle course, and tossing bean bags into a basket. It’s all rather surreal to my eyes. I managed to capture a bit of this experience and have edited together in a rather cheeky way. I hope you like it!
I have some more video projects nearing completion, so I hope it won’t be another month before I can post them! I also want to get you all caught up with family news, so I’ll be posting about that soon.
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Summer is here in Toyama, and it’s time to go into reruns! I’m really busy these days, so I thought I’d post an old video of a trip we made to Tokyo Disneyland in March 2006, before Max was born and only a few months after Shinobu was released from the hospital following her heart operation. I hope to get back with some more current video clips soon, but until I can manage that, I hope you enjoy watching some of our old stuff. This trip was the result of a promise Shinobu and I made to each other as she recovered in the hospital after her heart attack in the summer of 2005. We thought then, “boy, won’t it be great if we can take Luke to Tokyo Disneyland?” It was a happy thought that helped get us through a tough time. So, when the trip finally came to pass, it was extra special. Just seeing the excitement on Luke’s face brings back great memories!
OH! One error to correct: Shinobu’s birthday is March 12th, not the 11th. Opps! 
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For our next family video clip, this time we focus on our house, especially with our recent landscaping efforts. This spring Shinobu’s dad (a champion bonsai grower), has been helping us plant new shrubbery. We’ve been working hard each weekend on various little things, and the place is really beginning to shape up!
During the beginning of May we were browsing around a local garden store and happened on a great deal- a huge (4m) Japanese Maple tree for only about $400. We took one look and just knew, “that tree belongs in our front yard!” We hurried up and bought it before we could change our minds, and a few days later, on May 9th, the tree was delivered to our home and planted. I didn’t have to work that morning and captured the entire event on video. I hope you enjoy this little clip. It’s kind of cool to watch the guy plant the tree.
If you’d like to see a higher quality QuickTime version of this clip, just click here. If you right click on this link and choose “Save As”, you can download the file and watch it on your computer. Finally, all of our videos can be seen on the newly updated Videos page.
Don’t forget to leave a comment! Thanks.
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Hey! At long last, here is the video I promised that covers Luke’s entrance ceremony into elementary school. This took place on April 7th, 2008, and it was a big deal, as all these ceremonies are here. Parents came all dressed to the T, including many women who dolled themselves up with expensive haircuts and kimonos.
The ceremony was supposed to start at 9:30 am, but as you can guess, were were “late” again, like we were for Luke’s recent kindergarten graduation. Actually, we were half and hour “early”, but somehow managed to be the last ones to arrive! Oh well. 15 years in this country and you’d think I’d get the timing down one of these days…
I had my camera in hand, of course, and was able to take some good video. I hope you enjoy this little clip. I tried to keep all of the interesting parts (cultural things) and cut out the boring ones (overly long speeches).
Anyway, I’d appreciate a quick comment below if you can see it. I really like getting comments on our videos. It’s a fun way to stay in touch. For example, do you have any questions about Japanese customs after watching this? Or any observations on how they do things over here? I’d be very interested to know what you think. Finally, feel free to share this clip with anyone you think would be interested.
Bonus question: Can you find Luke in this picture?
Finally, as always, if you’d like to see a higher quality QuickTime version of this clip, just click here.
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Posted in Family News, Video | Comments (5)