今週末に開幕

３月に入り、レースシーズンもいよいよ今週末から再会ですね！今週末はブラジルでのインディカーの開幕戦に、バーレーンではF1の開幕戦。どっちも楽しみですね〜！！

We are finally starting to kick off the 2010 racing season this week end. There is the Indy Car season opener from Brazil and also the F1 race in Bahrain.

僕は水曜日にブラジルに出発し、今回もUS Racingのレポートで行ってきます。今回はブラジル初めてですが、ちょっぴり楽しみです。コロンビアには２００５年に行ったのですが、南米はご飯も美味しいですし、本当に楽しみです。でも、仕事で忙しくなりそうだから、エンジョイしている暇もなさそう・・・。（泣）

I will be leaving to Brazil on Tuesday and will be reporting for US Racing again. It will be my first time going to Brazil and am really looking forward to it. I've been to Colombia in 2005 and food and people are so great in S.America that I can't wait to get there. Having said that, sounds like I'll be real busy all week end so there may not be a lot of time for me to enjoy the stay much.

大根の葉

今朝は６時起き。なんだか、歳をとったせいか、時差ボケなのか、最近は起きる時間が徐々に早くなっています！？！もうオヤジだな・・・。（笑）

Woke up at 6am. I'm wondering if it's jet-lag or is it me getting older...as I keep waking up earlier by the day.

さて、朝っぱらから“食”についての話ですが、皆さん大根の葉っぱはどうしてますか？アメリカではなかなか質の良い大根が買えないのに、去年だったか日本のニュースで大根が大量に収穫しすぎて捨てている、と言うニュースを見た時はおったまげました！

Well...I'm going to talk about food although it's still early in the morning. Today's theme is about Daikon which is a Japanese radish. It's very hard to find a good quality daikon here in US and I was very surprised when I saw a news in Japan last year, that said the farmers were throwing away tons of Daikon because they have harvested a lot more than needed...

こちらの日系スーパーで大根を買う時は、あえて葉っぱが沢山付いていて鮮度が良さそうなのを選びます。んで、その葉っぱをどうするかと言うと、フライパンで煎って水分を飛ばし、鰹節と胡麻油をいれて、最後に醤油をかけて、「大根の葉ふりかけ」を作っています。

When I but Daikon here at the Japanese Super Market here in LA, I look for not only a fresh quality daikon, I also make sure that there is a lots of leaves on it. The reason why I choose the ones with lots of daikon leaves is because I love making daikon furikake, which you can make by pan frying the leaves and adding bonito flakes and some sesame oil and soy sauce.

このふりかけでご飯３杯はいけちゃいますよ〜！（笑）ぜひ葉っぱは、捨てずに食べましょ〜！

You can eat at least 3bowls of rice with the Daikon Leaves furikake! It's hard to explain how it tastes but definitely worth a try!!

もう３月

今日で３月に突入しましたね。あれっ、２月は何処に行ったんだ〜って感じです。（笑）
日本からアラバマに行き、２日間のテストを視察して、ようやくロスに戻ってきました。

I can't believe it's already March. Whatever happened to February?? The time just flew when I was back in Japan...than to Alabama to watch the Indy Car test...and finally glad to be back home in LA.

アラバマではテストを見ながら、原稿を書いたり、仕事の合間を縫ってチームと交渉したりで大忙しでした。インディ５００まであと２ヶ月と考えると、急ピッチで色んな交渉を進めないといけません。

The test in Alabama was real busy. Although I was not driving...I had to do a lot of media work while I talked to several team owners to discuss about the possibilities for the 500 and Indy Japan race. Month of May is coming in a hurry so I better up my pace on negotiations with my sponsor and teams.

今月は修羅場だな〜。って何時も修羅場ですが・・・。（笑）では、今月も全力で頑張っていきます！！

It's a tough time as always...but will be giving my best on trying to get secured as usual!!

今はアラバマにいます。

皆さん今日は。日本での滞在もあっと言う間に終わってしまい、今はアラバマ州にあるバーバーモータースポーツパークに来ています。今年はUS Racingのウェブサイトの仕事でIRLのレースを全戦回る事になったので、早速オープンテストにも来ています。現場にいる事によって、チームオーナーとの交渉もできますし、生の情報が入って来るので個人的には助かっています。

My trip to Japan went by real fast and I am back in US now. Actually...I am in Alabama as we speaking watching the IRL Open Test at Barber Motorsports Park. I am going to work with US Racing through out the season attending all the races which helps me to be at the track in order to talk to the team owners to get all the recent information as well as negotiation for the future races.

アラバマ州は異常気象で、今朝の温度はマイナス４℃・・・。日本より寒いので驚きです。

It is freezing cold here in Alabama. The temp was about 27 this morning...that is colder than when it was snowing in Tokyo last week!?!

今回のテストでは琢磨選手が初の合同テストに参加。ヒデキは移籍先のニューマンハースでのテストが開始します。今日はテスト２日目でまだ数時間残っていますが、琢磨は３位。ヒデキは５位につけていて、両日本人選手が活躍しています！

The test is going real well for both Japanese drivers. It is the first big test for Takuma and for Hideki with Newman Haas team. Although there is some time left in the session, Takuma is currently placed 3rd and Hideki is 5th.

インディカーシリーズは今年は日本でも盛り上がりそうですね！自分も何とか５００とモテギには参戦できるように頑張ります！応援して下さいね！！

Looks like these two drivers will raise the awareness of Indy Car Series in Japan this year by performing well which also helps me obtain sponsors. Never the less...whatching car is painful and hope I can get something lined up for the 500 and Motegi realX2 soon!!

滞在もあとちょっと

今週末はなんだか春を感じさせる天気でしたね。ちょっとだけ暖かくなってきて、ホッとしています。とは言っても、日本滞在もあと２日ですが・・・。今回はちょっと長めの滞在ですがあっと言う間に時間が経ってしまいました。

It was a pretty nice week end here in Japan. Definitely seems as if the Spring is approaching and I am relieved to see that since I don't like cold weather. Having said that, I am only here for another two days...and looking forward to heading home since it was a pretty lengthy stay.

先週は挨拶回りでかなり、ドタバタしていました。そして、金曜日に久しぶりに紅月に行ってきました。いや〜久しぶりに食べれてメチャ美味しかったです。しかも、裏メニューで頂いたサバの干物が絶品でした！

Last week was pretty busy visiting my sponsors. I finally had time on Friday to visit my favorite restaurant Kougetsu in Tokyo. The meal was astonishing especially the Dried Mackeral!!

土曜はお世話になっている富士見ラジエターへご挨拶。デイトナの報告と、今期のレース活動の予定をお伝えしに行ってきました。毎年１戦〜２戦しか参戦していないにも関わらず、僕をずっと支援し続けてくれているスポンサーの皆さんには、心から感謝です！もちろん、ファンの皆さんにも感謝しています！だからこそ、早く今年のインディ５００とインディジャパンの話も何とか決めたい所です。

On Saturday, I visited Fujimi Radiator, who is one of my personal sponsor to report what happened at Daytona and also to talk about my future plans. I have to thank all my supporters on being so kind to me even if I only race once or twice a year. I also appreciate the support from my fans as well!! Therefore, I better work really hard on getting a sponsorship deal lined up to race at the 500 or Indy Japan again this season!

明後日にロスに戻り、一泊だけして翌朝アラバマ州に飛んでバーバーで行われるテスとをレポートしに行きます！琢磨選手がどんな走りをするかが楽しみですね！

Well, I'm here for another two days, and back to LA for a day...and off to Alabama to watch the open test at Barber Motorsports Park. It will be interesting to see ho well Takuma Sato would do during the first test with all other drivers.

日本は寒いですね。

日本は寒いですね〜。カリフォルニア育ちの僕としては、寒さに弱いです・・・。と言うか、冬服あまりもっていません・・・。（泣）

Wow...it's freezing out here in Tokyo. Being a Californian... It's hard to handle this cold temperature. I also have to get more winter clothing to keep me warm...lol

日本では連日大忙しです。着いてすぐに鈴鹿に行き、フェデラルタイヤのテストを行いました。初めて鈴鹿のフルコースを走ったのですが、めちゃめちゃ面白いですね。天気は残念ながら雨でしたが。今度はぜひドライで走ってみたいです。

I have been real busy during the stay here. During the first couple of days, I went to Suzuka to test some tires for Federal Tire Company. It was the first time I ever drove at the Suzuka Circuit and that track is wicked! Unfortunately it was raining so I wasn't able to run at full speed but would love to have another try in the future when it's dry.

東京に戻ってきてからは、スポンサーへのご挨拶や、今年のインディジャパンと５００の営業活動でドタバタしています。今が修羅場ですからね！

Since when I got back from Tokyo, I have been busy visiting the sponsors as well as trying to put things together for the Indy 500 and Indy Japan race this year. This is the most crucial time because we are approaching the decision time for most companies who may be interested.

さて、昨日インディカーシリーズにとっては、ビッグなニュースがありましたね。なんと琢磨選手がKVレーシングからフル参戦する事になりました！どんな走りをするか、楽しみですね。

You all probably know already but there was a huge news yesterday here in Japan for the motorsports enthusiasts. Takuma Sato has announced that he will be driving for KV racing. It will be interesting to see how well he is going to run. I'm sure he will be strong on road coarses.

ちなみに、僕も全戦レースに行く事になりました（フル参戦？！？）。残念ながらドライバーとしてではなく、メディアとしての立場ですが・・・。しかしながら、引き続きインディ５００とインディジャパン参戦へ向けての活動は続けておりますので、応援宜しくお願い致します！

BTW. I will be attending all the Indy Car races this year. Unfortunately not as a driver...but will be there as a media. At the same time, I'm still trying to get things worked out for the Indy Japan and Indy 500 so that will be a wicked busy week end for me, talking, writing, and racing!lol... But as I said, it's good to be busy!!

これから日本です。

これから久しぶりに日本に戻ります。日本はめちゃんこ寒いみたいなので、ちょっとブルーですが・・・。今回はデイトナ２４時間のお礼はインディー参戦の為の活動等で大忙しになりそうです。

Getting ready to fly back to Japan this afternoon. Apparently it is freezing out there so I am not looking forward to that. I am going back there to thank the guys for all the support for the Daytona 24hr race as well as work on some prospects deal to run more Indy Car races this year.

着いたら翌日は、鈴鹿にメディアの仕事で行ってきます。冬場の日本行きのフライトは向かい風だから長いんですよね〜・・・。ん〜面白い映画がやってるといいけど。では、行ってきます！

When I land, I will need to head to Suzuka to do some media work for couple of days...it will probably be another busy trip. Well, the flights are long during the winter since we are going against the jet stream so I'll be able to watch quite a few movies. Hopefully something good is on to see!

ロスに戻ってきました。

デイトナ２４時間のレースも終わり、ロスに戻ってきました。既に結果はご存知だと思われますが、デイトナ２４時間レースは色々とあって、決勝に進出する事はできませんでした。レースに参戦するのは楽しみだったので、本当に残念です。

Just got back from Daytona. I'm sure most of you are aware of the results from the Daytona 24hr race but my race never even started. I was very upset about not being able to make the race since I was really looking forward to it.

今回フェラーリ４３０チャレンジでレースに参戦する事になったのですが、フェラーリのマシンがデイトナ２４時間のGTクラスに参戦するには、ルール上に適合する為に色々と改造をしなくてはいけません。どちらかと言うと、クルマをダウングレードする感じです。

We were due to race the Ferrari 430 Challenge car and to comply with the Grand Am GT rules, the team had to make several modification to the car in order to be eligible. More or less, it was about downgrading the car to level the playing field for all the manufactures that are involved in that series.

が、もはやそれが原因で今回は色んな改造パーツにトラブルに見舞われてしまいました。チームとしては、一生懸命頑張っていましたが、実際に走行テストをした上でレースに挑まないと危ないと、チームは判断したので今回はレースを棄権する事になってしまいました。

However, those modification that the team needed to do have created a huge complication and issue on the car when we hit the track. Unfortunately we needed to withdraw from the race since there was not a immediate solution to fix the car in time for the race.I would say it was the right decision from the team to keep the safety of the drivers and vehicle.

本当に泣きたくなるくらい、残念でした・・・。ま〜人生は経験ですね〜。今回の経験は来年のデイトナに活かせるように、またリベンジしにくるぞっ！！

Having said that, I was real gutted when I learnt that we we were not going to race. I suppose you live and learn but this was one of the toughest decision that the team had to make and hopefully we will come back much stronger for next year's race.

チームに支援をしてくれたスポンサーや、結果を楽しみにしていたファンの皆様には決勝に参戦できなくて本当に申し訳ないと思っています。今は次のレースに向けて、また色々と交渉活動を再開しています！ネバーギブアップ精神で今後も頑張りますので引き続き応援して下さい！！

I felt real bad for the team's sponsor and all my fans who were looking forward to the race results since we let all of you down. Nevertheless, I am already working on possibility to participate in the future race, whether in Indy Car or Sports Cars and hope to have something put together real soon. I'm not going to give up! That's for sure!!

デイトナ２４時間レースに参戦決定！

皆さん突然ですが、今週末に行われるデイトナ２４時間レースへの参戦が決まりました。今回はGTクラスにエントリーしているシーガルスポーツがメンテナンスするフェラーリ４３０でレースに出場します。チームのメインスポンサーには、2008年に僕がインディジャパンに参戦した時にスポンサーしてくれた、Interushがつくことになりました。

I am real happy to report you that I will be racing at the Daytona 24hr race coming up this week end. I will be driving the Sigal Sport Ferrari F-430 entry. The primary sponsor will be Interush who was also on my car during the 2008 Indy Japan race.

チームメートには、オーナーのジーン・シーガル、ラスティ・ウェストとフレッド・ポーダッドの４名で戦う事が決まっています。実はこの話はだいぶ前から交渉をしていたのですが、話が決まるまでは山あり谷ありで、レース直前にようやく纏まったので今はほっとしています。

My team mates will be the team owner Gene Sigal, Rusty West who owns the car, and Fred Poordad. I have been talking about this deal for a while, and it really was up and down until everything was sealed but I am happy now that we are all on the way and ready to race!

気がついたらレースはもう今週末なので、今は荷造りをしています。久しぶりのレースなので、忘れ物をしないように気をつけないと・・・。長いレースになると思いますが、ぜひ応援して下さいね！

Well, since the race is already this week end, I better pack my stuff since I am leaving tomorrow night on a red eye! Since I haven't done this for a while, I need to triple check everything in order not to forget any important items. It should be a fun race and I am really looking forward to racing again!

ハリウッドデビュー！？！

ハリウッドデビューしました！？！

I made it in to the Hollywood Film scenes!?!

先週とつぜんフェラーリチャレンジのチームから連絡があり、明日からダウンタウンでCSI NYと言う人気テレビドラマの撮影があるから、仕事を手伝ってくれないかと依頼があり、今は忙しいけどOKしました。

I got a call from my Ferrrari Challenge team and they have asked to work for them this past week to help them film the CSI NY episode here in downtown parking lot. Although I was going to be busy, I decided to take up the work since it was not to far from my place.

状況が良くわからなく撮影現場にいくと、ダウンタウンの駐車場がNYのストリートコースとなっていて、そこでレース中に起きた事件を捜査すると言うエピソードだそうです。

I had no idea what we were going to do, but when I got to the film location, I was amazed with the set. They have turned one of the parking lot into a street course in NY and the CSI episode was going to be featured around a race.

そこで登場するのはダニカなのです。最初はトランスポーターやレーシングカーのセットアップを手伝ってくれと言う事だったのですが、現場についたらいきなり、スタントのリザーブドライバーになっちゃったり、ダニカのクルーとしてエキストラ出演したりで・・・、脇役ですがハリウッドデビューしました。（笑）

Danica was one of the cast in the episode and I ended up being her team member!?!lol Initially, I was only supposed to help them set up the transporter and cars, but I ended up being their reserve stunt driver as well as extra cast on the set! Danica was obviously really surprised to see me but it was great working with her.

ま〜脇役ですが、今回は収録に３日間以上いたので、ハリウッドでキャスティングの仕事をする時に必要なSAGカードと言う、組合のカードをゲットする事ができます。このカードはブラッド・ピット等ほとんどの役者も持っているカードで、逆にこのカードがないとハリウッドで仕事を貰う事はできないのです。

I was on the set for more than 3days and now I qualify to apply for a SAG card. I think I will apply for the card so I can perhaps get more work for something like Car TV commercials and etc. Perhaps, I can also brag about having something common with Brad Pitt!?!lol

脇役での出演は微妙でしたが、SAGカードをゲットできるのでまっいいか！？！しかし、撮影隊の人達はタフですね〜・・・。やっぱレーシングドライバーでいるのが一番です！！

Well, being on the set as Extra was weird...but it might have been worth it because I now qualify for a SAG card. Overall, I will say that I rather be a race car driver though...

仕事始め

年が明けてから、あっと言う間に１週間が過ぎてしまいましたね。今週から仕事も始まり、心を入れ替えて全力で色々と頑張っております。

I can't believe that it's been a week already since we welcomed 2010. Everybody is back in the office working now with a fresh start to this season.

去年の末から話があがっていた、レース活動内容がようやく前進してきたので、近日中に皆さんに良いお知らせができると思います。

I've been negotiating on this deal for couple of weeks now for one of my racing plans for this season and hope to have some good news to deliver in the next few days.

にしても、なんとなくこの２〜３週間は山あり、谷ありの日々だったな。でも、年が明けてから今の所は色々と順調です。まだ始まったばかりだけど、今年は良い年にしないとなっ！頑張ります！！

It really was a roller coaster this couple of weeks to get this worked out but I'm happy that it is finally headed to the right direction. You never know what can happen until you are actually in the car driving...but so far 2010 has treated me well and I need to make it a fantastic year for me and my family and all my sponsors and fans who has been supporting me through out my career!

賀正

新年明けましておめでとうございます。
本年も宜しくお願い致します。

Happy New Year's to all my friends, family, and fans!

皆さんは年末年始どう過ごされましたか？

Hope you are all enjoying the Holiday Season.

僕はクリスマスが終わってからは、家の大掃除で大変でした。窓ふきやらブラインドのそうじやらで、１週間かけてなんとか大晦日の日にフィニッシュ。インディ５００に参戦する指輪も奇麗にして、ちゃっかり６個目のスペースも空けておきました。（笑）なので今年は絶対に５００に参戦するぞっ！！

I've been so busy after Christmas to clean my house. It's a full time job just to get the windows, windows blind dusted off, and cleaned. I've also cleaned all my Indy 500 rings and made some rooms for the 6th in my cabinet. Therefore, I definitely have to give it another go this year at it!

で大晦日の晩は友人の家で、皆でカウントダウンしました。本業は美容師さんなんですが、毎年NewYear'sパーティーではダウンタウンの市場から新鮮な魚を買って捌き、刺身＆寿司パーティーをやっています。手が器用なだけに、魚を切るのも板前並みです。

For the New Year's Eve, I was invited to my friends place for the Count Down Party. He is a hair stylist but has excellent skills on not only cutting hairs, but also some fish to make Sashimi and Sushi. The fish was all fresh as he purchased them from Fish Market directly where all the sushi restaurant goes to get their stuff.

０８年の年越しは体調がわるくて、年が明ける前に寝てしまいましたが、今年はしっかりカウントダウンもできて順調な滑り出しです。

During the 08 countdown, I wasn't feeling so well and went to sleep before the new year but this year, I was able to enjoy the night and count down with friends which is already a good start to 2010!

元旦の日は、お昼前にリトル東京にあるお寺で初詣。ここ数年は２日か３日に初詣に行っていたので、今年は元旦にいけてしっかり心も引き締まっている感じです！

On New Year's Day, I went to the temple with my family to pray for good health, and of course some luck in racing. I usually go to the temple on 2nd or 3rd day after the New Year so I am ahead of the game already in 2010!

で、おみくじもしっかり引いてきました。が、その時に息子にちょっとした事を改めて教えてもらいました。おみくじを引く時に、自分は躊躇しながら選び抜いた物をピックアップ。息子は一番上にあるくじを迷わず手に取りました。

At the temple, we decided to do the [Omikuji] to see our fortune for this season. When picking up the fortune paper from the draw box, I ended up learning something from my son. All the adults including my self will dip their hands deep into the box trying to find the best fortune, while my son without any hesitation went and picked up the top fortune roll.

その瞬間、“あっ、もしかした良いくじが欲しいと思う、大人の悪い欲がこういう所にでるのかも・・・”って思って、案の定お寺の外に行ってくじを開くと、僕は“吉”で息子は“大吉”！

We went out side and unrolled the paper to see our fortune, and with out any surprise, I've got "blessing" and my son's pick was "Great Blessing" for this year's fortune. It just showed that the fortune will come to you, if you don't become greedy and also not to hesitate,

と言う事で新年早々、初心に戻ると言うライフレッスンを３歳の息子から受けた感じでした。（笑）

A lesson from a 3yr old, but sometimes you have to go back to the beginner's mind in order to succeed!

メリークリスマス！

今日はクリスマスイブですね。皆さんメリークリスマス！日本は休日ではないので、ほとんどの人は仕事納めをしている頃かな・・・。

Merry Christmas! Hope you all are having a great holiday season. I assume people in Japan are still working since it's not an national holiday out there...

こちらはすっかり冬休みモードに入っています。まだ、クリスマスプレゼントを買っていないので、今朝ダッシュで買いに行かないとな・・・。子供にばれないようにタイミングを見計らって買うのは難しいですね〜。（笑）

In US, everyone is already in holiday spirit and I haven't even started my Christmas shopping. I better hit the store early this morning...It's so hard to get the presents for the kids without getting caught on what you intend to buy.

ではでは、これから急いでショッピング行ってきます。混んでないといいけど・・・。

Well...I hope people have already finished there Christmas shopping and the store is not so crowded...

娘の誕生日です。

今日は娘の１歳の誕生日。ちょうど１年前に産まれたんだ〜って考えるとなんだかビックリだな。ちなみに、息子を連れて自宅待機していたので、娘の出産の立ち会いにはあと１歩間に合わずと言う状況でした。

Today's my daughter's 1st B-Day. I can't believe she is already one years old. That means, I am not even going to think about what can happen in 20years... When she was born, since it was during middle of the night, I was at home with my son waiting for the phone call, but unfortunately we missed the delivery since she came out so fast.

そんな娘はしっかりでかくなり、今は一生懸命お兄ちゃんと張り合っています。神経の図太さからしたら、もしかしたらレーサー向き？！？（笑）今日は親父が日本から来ているので、家族でお祝い誕生会です！

She is real healthy and big for her age! Therefore, she is almost as strong as her big brother...she probably fits more in to the racing driver category from the characteristics stand point.lol Well, my dad is in town for her B-Day party today and will be celebrating her important day!!

もう金曜？！？

１週間はあっと言う間ですね。今週はやる事が沢山あって、本当にあっと言うまでした。が、今週中にと思っていた事が半分くらいしか達成できなくて、なんだかイライラ。まっ、一番重要な事はできたのでよしとするかな？！？（笑）

This week went by so fast. Can't believe it's already Fri. I had a lot of stuff to get done with this week and may be the time goes by faster when you are busy. I got half of what I needed to get accomplished but still have things to finish up. Having said that, I got the important things out of the way so am a bit relieved.

今日はこれから息子が幼稚園。今日は終業式で明日から冬休みに入ります。幼稚園が無いと、色々と外に遊びに連れて行かないとストレスが溜まるみたいなので、休みの間は大変だ〜・・・。

Today is my son's last day at pre-school for this year. It's tough during the holidays since you have to take your kids to places otherwise they get crazy if they stay home all day. Having said that, I hate crowded places and I'll turn crazy during the holiday season...

日曜は娘の１歳の誕生日です。クリスマスと日程が近いと親としては辛いですね・・・。（泣）盛大なパーティーをする予定はありませんが、沢山の幸せを届けてくれた事を、神様と娘に感謝して、祝ってあげる日ですね！！

This Sunday is my daughter's 1yr old B-Day. No big plans for a party but would like to celebrate her B-Day and thank her and god for giving us all the happiness!

もうちょいでクリスマス。

今日は月曜日。今週も張り切っていきましょ〜。今年もあと残りわずかですし・・・。アメリカは来週に入ったらクリスマスウィークなので、今週が勝負ですね。

I can't believe it's already Monday. The week end went by so fast! It's not raining anymore here in LA so at least a bright start to the week. I guess this will be the final week at work since it is going to be Christmas next week. I better pick up my pace and get all the work done this week.

しかし、週末もあっと言う間だったな〜。土曜は友人の誕生パーティーに行って，皆でわいわいガヤガヤ鍋をつっついて楽しみました。皆で食事すると美味しいですね〜！

On Saturday, I went to my B-Day party and celebrated with bunch of friends eating Shabu-Shabu Hot Pot. It's always fun to have dinner with friends and talk about silly stuff!lol

んで、今日は午前中に息子が幼稚園でクリスマス会です。去年に比べるとどのくらい成長したか楽しみです。

Well, this morning, I'm taking my son to preschool. They will have a Christmas Party at preschool today and should be fun!

ロスに戻ってきました。

無事にロスに帰宅しました。日本も寒かったけど、ロスも寒いです。雨もふっていて、ロスっぽくない天気です。

Made it back to LA safely. It was quite cold in Japan but it is just as bad here in LA and to make things worse...it is raining. This is so unLA....

前回は子供と一緒に帰国したので、時差ボケにそうとうやられましたが、今回は時差ボケはほとんどなさそうです。

I traveled back with my kids during previous trip to Japan,and the jet-lag was really bad but this time, since I was alone, the time adjustment was piece a cake.

が、今朝は４時半に起きてしまいました。ゴロゴロ寝ていても仕方がないので、起きて仕事をすませて早速これからジムに行ってきます。日本滞在中は色々と美味しい物を食べて呑んでしまったので、そのぶんのカロリーも燃焼しないと・・・。（泣）

Having said that, this morning, I woke up at 4:30am and since I had a lot of work to get done, rather than staying in bed...I jumped out and got some work done, and it is time to hit the gym. I ate so much great food and had good drinks that will need to burn off all the calories before Christmas!!

今日ロスに戻ります。

日本での１週間の滞在も超あっと言うまでした。週の始まりは家での仕事が多かったのですが、ここ２〜３日は挨拶回りで大忙しでした。短い期間に色々と良いお話ができて、なんとか無事に年は越せそうです。（笑）

1 week stay in Japan went by so fast. My week started off some what mellow but it really got busy this last couple of days meeting with people. Had good meetings and things are looking bright for next season. At least I hope...

ロスに戻ったら友人の誕生日、そして２０日は娘の誕生日。もう１歳だから驚いちゃますよね。そんで、もってクリスマス・・・。懐が寒くなる時期ですね。頑張らんと！

Once I return to LA, there is my buddy's B-Day party, than my daughter's 1year B-Day. Can't believe she is already one year old. Time just flies. Than Christmas...it's that time of the year when your wallet gets emptied.

寒いですね〜。

日本は寒いですね〜。でも、ロスも寒いみたいです。いったい地球温暖化はどうなっちゃってるのかな・・・？エコ対策が効いてるのかな・・・？？とにかく寒いのは苦手です。皆さんも風邪を引かない様に気をつけてくださいね。

It is way too cold here in Japan for me. Coming from LA, it feels like there was never an Autumn. Having said that, apparently it is also cold in LA. Whatever happened to the global warming?? Or are all the ECO strategy working out so far...?? Nevertheless, I hate being cold....

今夜は久しぶりに紅月に行きます。めちゃめちゃ楽しみだな〜。しかし、ロスに戻ったらがっつりトレーニングしないと、やばいかも。寒いと身体が動かないから嫌ですね〜。

I going to Kougetsu for dinner tonight. I am really looking forward to the meal, especially because it's cold today. However, I'm need to train real hard when I get back to LA to get back in racing shape.

さて、頑張るぞっ！

Well, time to meet people! See you guys later

日本にいるよ〜

先週はスーパー忙しかったです。LAオートショーが開幕して、プレスデー初日に現場に行き取材。締め切りの都合で、その日のうちに原稿の入稿があり、大忙し。ほぼ徹夜状態で違う仕事をこなし、飛行機の飛び乗り今は日本です。

It was a real busy week for me this past week. Went to the LA Auto Show Press Day and had to write an article that night to make the deadline for this Japanese Magazine. Than had more work to do that night before catching my flight back to Japan.

久しぶりの長旅で、エコノミーの席でもグッスリ寝ちゃいました。映画も観てフライとを満喫。

I was so tired, the 12hr flight felt so quick even in a economy seat. I was able to watch a movie and chilled.

土曜はモテギに行ってidler'sの３時間耐久レースに出場。実は夏に１２時間耐久に出た時は優勝してしまい、今回も出場し優勝狙ってました。“子供の喧嘩に大人がきてる・・・”と回りにいわれておりますが、久しぶりのサーキット走行をエンジョイ。

Yesterday, I was at Motegi again racing in this 3hr endurance race. I actually raced with same guys during the summer for the 12hr race which we ended up winning. Since it's more of a friendly race, I'm just out there having fun but some serious racers probably thought it wasn't fair for me to be out there...lol

レースは燃料ポンプのトラブルで、一時ストップ。なんとか修復して完走はしましたが、とりあえず久しぶりの走行で楽しめませた。それよりも、年明けに耐久レースに出場する可能性があるので、トレーニングになりました！（笑）

Nevertheless, we had a fuel pump issue during the race and was able to barely finish at the end. I have some plan on running a big endurance race at end of Jan, so it was a good training session after all. Any day on track is a good day!!

今回の日本滞在は金曜までです。短い滞在ですが、お仕事ミッチリ頑張らんと！！

Well, I'm only here till Friday so better get a lot of work done!!

長い週末。

皆さん、週末は如何過ごされましたか？アメリカはThanksGivingWeekEndで基本的には４連休。なんだか、ものすご〜く長い週末に感じます。

Hope all your Thanks Giving Week End was a great one. The 4 day week end is a bit too long for me trying to find something to do.

金曜日はブラックフライデーといい、様々な小売店が大特価セールをする日です。懐が寒くて、人ごみが嫌いな僕としては無縁な日です。（笑）なので、今週末は家でユックリでした。

The economy seemed to be better looking at all the shoppers on black Friday, but since my wallet is empty as well as I'm not a big fan of crowded places, I literally stayed home all 4 days.

しかし、アメリカのレースも全て終わってしまって、なんだかレースがない週末は暇ですね。

I hope the racing season will start soon because I am bored to death during the week end. Any other interesting news other than Tiger's crash??

Thanks Giving Day

うひゃ〜気がついたら、もう少しで１２月ですね。アメリカは明日はThanksGivingDayです。七面鳥をロースとして、ラズベリーソースとかをかけて食べるのが儀式ですが、家の妻は七面鳥がパサパサしていて好きではないので、あんまりビッグな行事ではありません。（泣）

Man...I can't believe it's almost Dec. It is going to be Thanks Giving tomorrow and since my wife is not a big fan of Turkey...or raspberry sauce, nor stuffing, we are not going to be celebrating big...

来週はLAオートショーがあります。東京モーターショーは不況のせいで、めちゃ寒かったと言う話は聞いていますが、ロスショーはどうなるんだろう・・・。今アメリカメーカーはかなり頑張っているので色々と車を見るのが楽しみです！！

I'm kinda looking forward to the LA Auto Show next week here in downtown LA. I heard that the Tokyo Motor Show was dead so hoping that there would be more manufacture involved in this show. The US manufacture is finally back to their feet and it is time to prove what they can make!

シーズンオフは嫌だな。

なんだか、１週間が経つのは本当に早い。ロスも完全に冬日和になってきて、朝お布団から出るのが大変な時期になってきました。日本はもう寒いのかな？

This week went by so fast! Can't even remember what I did this past week. It is turning in to winter here in LA and it's a bit chilly during the morning which makes it harder to get up. I'm wondering if it's already cold in Japan...since I am going to make another trip soon.

ここ最近は、来季のプランに関して色々と動いています。が、なかなか話が進まなくていらいらする日々が続きます。でも、慎重に尚かつひっつこく攻めないと話も進まないし。本当に髪の毛が薄くなる時期です。（笑）が、何事も持続が大切！引き続き頑張りますよ〜！！

I've been working real hard for next year's program but nothing seems to be moving forward at this time which is really frustrating... Having said that, I need to keep pushing on the deals and I'm sure something will come through if I try hard enough. It's that time of the year when I start losing some hair!?! Don't worry, I still have plenty so rogaine will not be needed!!lol

今週もがんばるぞい。

なんだかあっと言う間に１週間が過ぎてしまいましたね。最近は家の中で風邪が流行っていて、息子〜娘〜妻と交互の風邪を引いちゃっています。幸い季節風邪ですんでいますが・・・。が、やっぱりインフルエンザは怖いですね。

Last week went by so fast I can't even remember what I did. There are flu going around in my house between my son, daughter, and wife. Fortunately it's just a seasonal flu and not H1N1...but I have not time to be catching cold.

もう１１月半ばになってしまったと言う事で急ピッチで来季の話を進めないとやばいですね〜。時間が経つのは本当に早い。んでもって、来月は娘の誕生日、クリスマス、年越し・・・、で年が明けたら今度は息子の誕生日でイベント続きだ。また懐が究極に冷え込む時期がやってきましたね。

Since it's already mid-Nov, I really need to pick up the pace to get deals done for next season. Time just keeps flying. Speaking of time, my daughter would be 1yr old next month just before Christmas. And than there is new years and my son's 3rd B-Day in mid Jan. It's time of that year when my pocket goes empty...as usual!?! lol

そうそう、娘が早くも歩き始めました。あっちこっち言ってしまうので恐ろしいや〜。これからが大変な時期ですね。パパも頑張らんと〜！じゃ〜皆さん今週も頑張って行きましょ。

Speaking of my daughter, she started to walk already. I really need to put my attention on her now as she is fearless. Well, it's just keeps getting busier by the day!! But that's life I guess...

IZOD Indy Car Series

気がついたらあっと言う間に金曜日。日本から戻って２週間ちかく経ちますが、ようやく時差ボケがとれてきました。が、BSのF１撤退からはじまり、TOYOTAも撤退発表・・・。づいでに米失業率が１０％超えで暗いニュースが飛び立っていますね。

I can't believe it's already Fri. This week went by so fast. It's been almost two weeks since I got back from Japan and the jet-lag is finally gone. However, the news of the Bridgestone and Toyota's withdrawal as well as the US unemployment rate is not making our life any easier...

が、そんななか昨日インディカーが冠スポンサーにIZODと契約したニュースが発表されました。こんな不況の中でインディカーをマーケティングの基盤に使ってくれるなんて、本当に嬉しい話です！これでもっとインディカーもアメリカで盛り上がってくれると良いのですが・・・。

Meanwhile, Indy Car Series has just announced their partnership with IZOD to become the title sponsor of the series. It's great to have a partner that wants to use the series as the marketing platform and I'm sure there is more good things to come from the league over the winter.

来季のドライバーのシートも徐々にうまってきているみたいなので、自分もユックリしていられませんね。さて、今日も頑張るぞ〜！！

Some rumors has started to boil about driver and team negotiations and I better accelerate my pace on getting the deals together if I want to be in the car again next season!!

Toyota F1撤退。

お早うございま〜す。清々しい朝です。が、目覚めて一番最初のニュースはTOYOTA F1撤退。ずっと来季のドライバーを契約しない所をみると、怪しいなとは思っていましたが、発表を聞いて本当にがっかりです。

Good morning! Wonderful day here in LA. But woke up and the first news I saw was the Toyota's withdrawal from F1. I was suspecting something bad to happen when they haven't signed any driver yet...but am really bummed to see the news.

っていうか、撤退発表の時だけ大胆にニュースとして取り上げる、日本のメディアもどうなのかと思ってしまう今日この頃。だったら、普通にレース結果もニュースにしてくれぃ！！

Having said that, I not impressed with the major Japanese media outlet when they only cover bad news about F1. Why don't they at least show some race results! I'm sure that will give more attention to the people and might have changed the decision for Toyota's pullout.

いや〜しかし、レースを撤退するのは、経費節約もありますが、やはりエコマインド的の方が大きいのかな？TOYOTAはLexus LF−AやFT−８６コンセプトを発表したりして、スポーツカーには活気的に取り組んでいただけに今回のニュースは本当に残念。

As for Toyota, I'm sure that they needed to cut the costs/expense and had no choice. At the same time, I think all this eco-driven marketing strategy is not helping the racing world. Having said that, I was real impressed when Lexus has announced the LF-A and also the Toyota FT-86 concept at Tokyo Motor Show since they still looked enthusiastic about sports cars therefore I was really disappointed about the news.

それ以上に、今は日系のクルマメーカーがハイブリッド車に力を入れている事がメチャメチャ心配です。確かにエコ的な部分では大事なことですが、なんとなくハイブリは短期的な解決案にしかすぎないような気がしてしまいます。逆にハイブリッド車に専念している事によって、クルマが本来ある姿から離れていき、若者もクルマ＝足というイメージになっている所が本当に寂しい。

And as for Hybrid cars...I am not a big fan. I think it's just a short term solution for eco driven world. By making Hybrid cars, it is changing the dynamics of the car and I have yet to come across a hybrid car that was fun to drive. Most importantly people are started to think car as a tool to get around places, and are not looking at it as part of culture, fashion, identity. Especially the young people in Japan has no interest about cars anymore...and all they car is if it moves!?!

だからこそ、日系メーカーには頑張って欲しいなと思います！ドライブを楽しませてくれるクルマをもっと出して欲しいなと思う今日この頃です。

Therefore, I really hope that Nikkei Manufacture would step up the program and make a car that is fun and cool to drive!!

もう１１月だよ・・・。

時差ボケがようやく治りつつある今日この頃です。でも、今朝も６時前には目が覚め（子供に起こされ）、かなり健康的な生活を過ごしています。

Finally getting rid of the jet-lag. Having said that, I've been up since 6am since my kids were awake and been living a healthy life last couple of days.lol

気がついたらもう１１月ですね。一昨日まではアメリカのスーパーはハロウィーンモードだったのが、昨日の早朝に行ったら既にThanksGivingモードに入っていて、もうちょいしたらクリスマスになっちゃいますね。

I can't believe it's already Nov. The store was decorated with full of Halloween goods until two days ago, and it is all transferred to Thanksgiving stuff as of yesterday. Than to Christmas real soon....Time keeps flying!

そう考えると来季の話も急ピッチで話を進めないと、また今年の二の舞になってしまう・・・。だから頑張らないとっ！時差ボケなんかには負けてられないぞっ！！

Well that all means that I will need to pick up my pace on work process for next year's sponsors hunt. This week would be a important week for me just because I really need to get the balls rolling. So much for jet-lag and back to real work!!

まだまだ時差ボケ。

日本から戻って数日たちましたが、時差ボケが悪化しています！？！（笑）毎朝目が覚める時間が１時間ずつ早くなっています。この調子じゃ〜時差が治るまで、まだ２週間もかかりそう。（泣）いや〜辛いです。恐るべし、時差ボケ。

It's been couple of days since I've got back from Japan. Jet-lag is getting worse every day, and I've been waking up 1hr earlier every day!?! I guess that means it will take another two weeks to get back to the pacific time zone...going back to the regular time this Sunday doesn't really help I guess...fighting with jet-lag has never been this difficult.

今日は弁護士とミーティングです。別に悪い話ではなくて、妻のグリーンカードの件についてです。すでにグリーンカードはでているのですが、最初は２年間の期限のもので、その後からは４年間ものになるらしいです。が、毎回グリーンカードの延長申請をすると＄４００くらいかかるので、国はボロ儲けですね〜。でも、永住するのに年間＄１００って考えれば安いもんかな？！？

Today I have a meeting with a lawyer.Not in regards to anything bad...but to file a removal of conditional resident for my wide since it has been two years since she has been approved. I can't believe we have to pay $400 just to get the conditional residence status removed to a permanent residence. On top of that, we'll need to pay $400 every 4 years! I suppose National Home Land security figured out a way to make good profit out of foreigners who lives in US. Having said that, I guess it's not too bad if you can live in US for $100/year!?!

めちゃ時差ボケ。

ロスに戻ってきました。が、超時差ボケです。子供が完全に時差ボケっているので、ついつい自分も時差調整をするのが大変です。子供の方が時差調整をするのは大変なのかな・・・？でも、なんとなく２０代前半の時が一番時差なんてへっちゃらだったような気もする。

Made it back to LA safely. However, the whole family is struggling with jet-lag this time. I guess the time difference is harder on kids. It is getting harder for me each year, and I am guessing that you have the most energy in mid-20's because the jet-lag didn't affect me at all during those years!?!

ロスに戻って家族で普段の生活に戻り、なんとなくほっとしている今日この頃です。早く時差を治して、フル回転で仕事をしないと・・・。

Well,back to real life living at my home with my wife and kids, which is not a bad thing to get back to your ordinary life. Will need to recover from the time difference quickly to work on the plan for next season!

酸素カプセル＆紅月

昨日は午前中に隅田川テラスでジョギング。午後一でミーティングに行き、夕方はエアープレス上野に行き、酸素カプセルに入って疲労回復。色々と溜まっていた疲れがとれてスッキリ！

Went for a run near the river yesterday and had a quick lunch meeting. Than I was off to Air Press Ueno to spend some time in the hyperbaric chamber. It definitely was relaxing and refreshing!!

夜はO2 Styleの社長と、日本のトップドライバーでもある本山選手と、本山さんのマネージャーと紅月で食事しました。

Than off to dinner with the owner of O2 Style. I also met up with Satoshi Motoyama who is the top driver in Japan as well as his agent. We ended up going to Kougetsu which is my favorite restaurant as you may already know.

紅月は久しぶりでしたが、やっぱり美味いですね〜！本山さんとも色々と国内のレースの話から、プライベートの話ができて楽しかったです。

The food at Kougetsu was great as usual and had a good talk with Motoyama-san chatting about racing and private life.

今回は日曜日に戻ってしまうので、明日は辻堂の方へ行って子供達と合流します。今日が色々と活動できる最終日なので、午後は大忙しです！来季に繋がる話をしっかりできるように残り少ない時間を全力で頑張ります！

Well, I am going back to LA on Sunday so tonight will be the last night in order to meet with people in regards to next season. I have to use my time efficiently tonight and looking forward to catching up with my kids tomorrow!

富士見ラジエター

週末は子供達とユックリ凄し、今週はメチャ忙しのウィークです。昨日は立川に行って、USレーシングのスタッフとミーティング。スタッフとは今後の動向について話し合い、久しぶりにインディカーについて、語っていたらあっという間に時間が経ってしまいました。

Had a pretty good quite week end with my kids and off to work since Monday. I was meeting with the staff from US Racing yesterday afternoon and talked about my future plans. Haven't talked about racing for a while so it was a lengthy meeting.

話が一段落して、今度は富士見市に移動して、今回のレースで色々と応援して頂いた富士見ラジエターへご挨拶に行ってきました。社長やスタッフの皆さんがとても良くしてくれて、色んな話ができて楽しかったです！やっぱりビジネスに成功している方のビジョンが見れると僕自身としても勉強になる所が沢山あります！

Than off to Fujimi City to meet with my sponsors. The guys from Fujimi Radiator came on board as our partner just before the race and I really appreciate their support! The owner and the employees at the company are such a great people and I really admire the owner's vision on his business plans!

レースに応援して頂いて、今後も一緒に戦おうと思って頂ける事が本当に嬉しいです！今後も引き続き宜しくお願い致します！！

I am happy that they are willing to continue the relationship and I hope it will be a long relationship with them!!

今日も，夕方にミーティングがあり、夜は銀座でディナーです。美味しい物ばかり食べちゃって、気まずくて食べている内容が妻に言えない今日この頃です・・・。

Well, off to another meeting this afternoon and than to dinner in Ginza. I've been eating so much great food that I've been awful quite to my wife lately...lol

これから羽田です。

今日はこれから羽田に妻と子供達を迎えに行ってきます。久しぶりの再会なのでなんだか、どきどき。子供に無視をされたらどうしよう・・・。なんちゃって。（笑）

Going to pick up my wife and kids at the airport. I haven't seen them for a month so I am really looking forward to it. Hope my kids will remember my face...lol

いや〜しかし、１ヶ月近くも家族と離れると、家族と一緒にいる大切さがわかりますね〜。まっ、でももともと僕は一人暮らしが長いんですが・・・。歳をとるにつれて寂しがりやになるんですかね？！？

Well, being lonely for a month really reminded me how important it is to be together as a family. I used to live by my self since I was 15 so I always thought it was not a big deal. I guess you turn emotional as you get older and I was definitely feeling lonely by my self at home.

日本での滞在はあと7日か〜。滞在中はモテギでのお礼と来年の営業活動もしなくてはいけないけど、合間を縫って子供達が喜ぶ事もしてあげないとなって考えてしまうな。アメリカではできない事は日本には沢山ありますからね！

We have another week here in Japan. Will definitely need to stop by and thank all the sponsors as well as work on the program for next year. Meanwhile, I will need to bring the kids somewhere to experience stuff that you can't do in LA! It should be a busy but fun week!!

In ジャパン

無事に日本に戻ってきました。昨日のフライトではけっきょく、映画を３本くらい見ちゃったかな・・・？ずっと気になっていた、The Hangoverって言う映画が見れてメチャうけ！機内で微妙な笑みを抱いていたので、キャビンアテンダントに変態と思われなかったかな・・・？いや〜本当に面白かったです！

Made it back to Japan safely. Had a pretty good flight and was able to watch several films. I was happy to see The Hangover. That movie was hilarious and I hope the flight attendant didn't think I was a stranger smiling while watch the movie.

あ〜あと、Woody Allenが主演＆プロデュースした映画もタイトルは忘れちゃってけど、いがいと面白かった。途中でNYのユニクロもでてたし。（笑）

I also saw the movie that was produced by Woody Allen. I can't remember the title but was a good story and was impressed when UNIQLO store, one of the leading apparel brand of Japan was actually used for filming.

今回の日本の滞在は１０日間です。本当は月頭にすぐに戻ってきたかったのですが、まとめて２５日まで滞在する事に決めました。滞在中はインディジャパンのお礼＆ご挨拶。そして、来季に向けての活動等をする予定です。

Well, I'll be here for 10days. I was supposed to be back by first week of Oct but wanted to be able to stay here long enough so I can thank my sponsors as well as work on stuff for next year!

シーズンは終わったばかりですが、来季の話はもう始まっています。ユックリしてる暇はありませんね〜。

The season has just ended...but next year is just around the corner and there is no time to relax!

これから日本です。

およそ３週間のロスでの一人暮らしも今日でおしまいです。最初は一人でゆっくりできたものの、やっぱり子供に会えないのは寂しいですね。久しぶりに家族に会うのは楽しみです！

My life being single again for 3 weeks is just about to end. I sort of enjoyed the quite time for couple of days...but I think having a noise around the house is not a bad thing. I especially missed my kids...and looking forward to catching up with them,

さて、これから飛行機に乗って日本に帰りま〜す。ボン・ヴォヤージュ！？！（笑）

Well...I guess time to board already! Bon Voyage!?!lol

今週末は忙しい・・・？！？

さて、今週末は忙しくなりそうです！何故って、そりゃ〜僕のバースデーだからですよ！！って言うのは嘘です・・・。（笑）実は久しぶりに寂しいローンリーバースデーを凄しそうです。忙しい理由は、レース観戦でテレビに釘付けになりそうだからです！？！（苦笑）

It's going to be a busy week end for me! Why, because it is my Birthday tomorrow and I am expecting some surprises!! Just kidding...I think I am going to have a lonely and quite birthday which I haven't had for a while. The reason why I would be so busy is because there are so many races on TV to watch!!

まずは、インディカーの最終戦。GrandAmシリーズの最終戦。フォンタナで行われているNASCARとラグーナセカでやっているALMSの最終戦。完璧テレビをフル活用ですね！？！ん〜これでケーブル代金もモトは取れそうです。（笑）

Obviously I'll be watching the last race of Indy Car from Homestead but will start my day with the Grand Am race. And than will be checking out the ALMS race from Laguna Seca, as I will flip flop the channel watching the NASCAR race from Fontana. I will definitely get my month worth of subscription through my cable company!?!lol

んで、今夜の夕飯にはなかなか撤去できないモヤシちゃんをつかって、もやし炒め。揚げと豆腐も一緒にいれて、シンプルに作りました。いや〜これこそシンプルisベストって感じですね。

Well, for dinner, I needed to get rid of the bean sprouts in my fridge so decided to make a simple stir fried bean sprouts with Tofu. You call this simple is best...not bad for an appetizer.

メインには明太子スパゲッティー。実は明太子は何時も成田で買って来るのです。それも、「あごおとし」っていうブランド。これ、めちゃ美味いです。ちなみに、僕の明太スパゲッティーは、Aglio Olio Mentaiです。オリーブオイルにニンニク、そして明太子を入れて最後にシソをトッピングでのせます。やっぱクリームをいれる明太パスタは邪道だな・・・。何時もどおりに美味しかったです！！

Than off to the main course which is Mentai Spaghetti. It is a Spaghetti with spicy cod roe which I always get before catching my flight in Japan. The spicy cod roe is great with just plain white rice, but it goes well with the spaghetti. I actually make mine as Aglio Olio Spicy Cod Roe Spaghetti with some Shiso leafs on top. Some people like it with butter and cream, but I take it Italian Style since there must be some Italian blood in me somewhere...

ビーフカレー

今日は午前中にクルマのメンテナンスをだしに、ディーラーに持っていき、その間に色々と仕事をすませてお昼前に戻ってきました。ランチは近所にある、最近できたちょっとこ洒落たメキシカン料理屋さんでブリトーを買って、広場で食べちゃいました。

Took my car to the dealer to get it serviced. While I waited their, got some work done and came home just in time for lunch. I went to this new modern Mexican restaurant that opened couple of months ago. I ended up getting an Al Pastor Burrito and it was pretty good!

家に戻って色々と作業をして、夕方から夕飯の準備。今日はやたらカレーが食べて買ったので、カルビを使ったカレー。サウンドは微妙かもしれませんが、これなかなか美味いんですよね〜。今夜も一人で寂しくがっつきました。（笑）

Than came home and got more work done. The day went by so quick and it was time to be back in kitchen to make tonight's dinner. I was craving for Beef Curry tonight so ended up making a short rib Beef Curry. It was actually really good and I think I am going to finish off the bowl of curry tomorrow at lunch! I had enough of eating lonely though...

一人鍋

昨日は、久しぶりに焼き鳥を食べにいきました。ガーデナという地域にある、鳥松と言うお店です。新橋のお店で修行をした大将が焼いてくれる焼き鳥は、日本その物です。つくねに大根おろしを乗せて食べると美味いんですよね〜！

Went out to dinner last night to this Yakitori place in Gardena. The place is called Torimatsu, and it is the most authentic Yakitori place you can find in US. You would think cooking on a chicken on a grill doesn't take much skills, but wait till you try this place! There chicken balls are wicked good with the grained daikon on the side.

んで、今日は午前中にジムでトレーニング。午後は来季に向けてのミーティング。色々と良い話ができたので、だんだんエキサイトしてきましたよ！

For today, I worked out in the morning as usual, and went to a meeting in afternoon to talk about some plans for next season. Had a good meeting and I am definitely motivated to get something worked out soon!

夜は外食が続いていたので、今夜は自炊。ロスも少し肌寒くなったので、一人鍋をする事にしました。冷蔵庫にキャベツが残っていたので、あえて豚団子キャベツ鍋です。味はボチボチ。でも、鍋はやっぱり皆でつっつくから美味しいんだなと改めて実感。

As for dinner, since I have gone out two nights in a row, I decided to cook home tonight. Made a Pork Meat Ball Nabe. The flavor was good, but felt lonely making the nabe by my self since it is usually a family meal...

酒のつまみに、友人に美味しいよと薦められて今日スーパーで買った雲丹酒盗も食べちゃいました。サンタバーバラ産の雲丹の甘みがでててこれははまりますね！〆には、韓国インスタントラーメンをぶっ込んで、ちょっとピリ辛ラーメンを汗をかきながら、がっつきました。

I bought some Uni-Shuto at the market since I've been hearing good things about the product. It goes well with the Sake and Santa Barbara Sea Urchin is definitely sweet!! Than for the desert...I needed something to satisfy my stomach so I opted for the Korean Ramen noodle!?!lol It was good though...

所で皆さん台風は大丈夫でしたか？

I hope everyone is doing OK in Japan with that big typhoon...

寿司くったよ〜ん！

今日は午前中にミッチリジムでトレーニング。ついでに家の掃除もしてから、お家でランチ。なんだか、今日は涼しくて完全に秋になったって感じです。

Went to the gym in the morning and usual and cleaned the house including the cat litter... Than had a lunch at home. The weather was cooling in the morning and there is definitely some sign of autumn here in LA.

夕方まで家でがっつり仕事をしてから、夜は念願のお寿司を食べにいってきました！今夜たべに行ったお店は、いぜん僕のルームメート＆応援団長だったカズさんのお店です。ビバリーヒルズにあるお店で、江戸前＆創作寿司はメチャメチャ美味しいです！ロスに来られる際はぜひ立ち寄ってみて下さい！お店の名前はBoss Sushiです！

For dinner, I went to Boss Sushi which is one of my favorite sushi restaurant in LA. My buddy work their as Sushi Chef and his meal was fantastic.

んで、ご飯が始まり何時もの調子で写真をカシャ。プロの仕事は、やっぱり違いますね〜。うまいっ！！

Here is the pict of the appetizer he made for us! The food was phenomenal and the presentation is much different from my home made food...

この後にも色々と握りも含めて堪能したのですが、誘惑にまけて写真を撮る前にがっついちゃいました！カズさん、本当に美味かったです！ごっつぁんで〜す！！

As for the rest of the excellent nigiri...unfortunately it was down through my throat before I had any chance of take a photo of it...sorry! Thanks Kaz for the great meal!!

まったりデー。

今日は日曜なので、基本的には朝はユックリ。お昼前にちょこっと仕事をして、ランチを食べる前にジムに行ってランニング。お昼は昨晩の残りのスープを食べて、午後はNASCARのレースをテレビで観戦。ファン・パブロがオーバルレースでも活躍してて、今年はチャンピオン争いに食い込んでます。やっぱ凄いな〜。

Since it was Sunday...my day started a bit slow this morning.Went to my desk and got some work done and was off the the gym before lunch for some running. For lunch, I finished the Minestrone I made last night and was just about ready to become a couch potato and watch the NASCAR race. Juan Pablo is doing a such a great job in the chase that I certainly admire his talent!!

夜は、なんだかレイジーで何を作ろうか考えた結果、このあいだ作って冷凍をしといたハンバーグがあったので、ハンバーグデミグラスソースにしました。

Since I was so lazy today...I decided to make a quick fix for my dinner. I had some burgers that I put in the freezer couple a week a go, so I got the bun defrosted and made some mushroom demi-glaces sauce for it.

今夜は、
１）キュウリと大根のサラダ
２）ハンバーグ・デミグラスソース withマッシュルーム
３）白米と大根の味噌汁
でした。

The menu for the day was
1)Cucumber and Daikon Salad
2)Hamburger Steak with mushroom in Demi-Glaces Sauce
3)Rice and Miso Soup with Daikon.

そろそろ魚が食べたい気分・・・。実はうちにあった魚焼きグリル・・・収納場所がなくて、オーブンの中に収納していたら，間違えてオーブンを暖めている時に、魚屋機グリルを、グリルしちゃったんです・・・。そんな感じで、今は魚屋機グリルが無いから魚が焼けないのです。（泣）体がDHA欲しがってます・・・。

I think I had enough beef last couple of days...and craving for some fish now. Unfortunately, I broke my fish grill...well, to be exact, I ended up grilling the fish grill. We didn't have any storage space for the fish grill so we always stored the grill in the oven. One day when I was warming up the oven, I totally forgot about the fish grill and that was the end of the story for my fish life until I get a replacement... May be I'll go out for sushi. My body is in need for some DHA!!

今日は鈴鹿F1GP

今日はこれから、鈴鹿のF1GPをテレビで観戦します。そう言えば、色んなコースを走っているけど、実は鈴鹿のコースを走った事はないんですよね・・・。が、８７年に初めて鈴鹿に行った時に、お爺ちゃんと一緒にレースを見に行って、帰りは駅までの遠い道のりを歩いた記憶はあります。（笑）

Watched the F1 Qualifying last night. Some what a weird session with various incidents. I just realized that I never driven at Suzuka and definitely is one of the track I would like to drive before I retire... Although I still remember going to Suzuka in 1987 with my grandpa to watch the race. It was a long walk to the train station after the race...

いや〜しかし、テレビでレース観戦していると、ついつい自分も燃えて来ちゃいますね。今朝はジムでガッツリトレーニング。そして、午後は来季のインディ５００向けのプレゼン資料を集めたり、あっと言う間の一日でした。

Well...it definitely gets me motivated when I watch races on TV. I went to the gym in the morning and than gathered some info to make next year's Indy 500 proposal. Yep it's that time of the year already.

なんだか疲れがどっと出て，エアープレス上野に行って酸素カプセルに入ってリラックスしたい所です。実は今年のインディジャパンでは、酸素カプセルを貸して頂き、現場に持ち込んでいたんですよね！だから、毎晩カプセルに入ってました！

Well...I am kind of tired and wished if I can go to Air Press Ueno and hop in to a hyperbaric chamber. They actually loaned me a capsule for this year's Indy Japan race and was in it every night during my stay! It really got me prepped for the race!!

レース決勝日には、エアープレス上野で酸素カプセルに入っている、本山選手も応援に来てくれました！決勝前にワンショット！実は今回のレースではニスモで本山選手のエンジニアを務めている方が、サポートして頂いて本当に助かりました。

During the race day, the owner of Air Press Ueno came to watch the race with All Nippon GT and F.Nippon driver Satoshi Motoyama. He is a great guy and actually had his engineer help me out during the race week end. He was able to give me valuable information which certainly helped me during the race.

色々と作業が終わって、夕飯をどうしようかと冷蔵庫を開けた所、撤去に困っている材料はセロリ、パンチェッタ（イタリア風ベーコン）です。さて、何を作るかと考えた結果、スープスパゲッティーにしました。まっ、ようするにミネストローネスープを作ってスパゲッティーをぶっ込んだんですが、イタリア人はこれは納得いけないでしょうね・・・。（笑）

Well...time for dinner again. I opened up the fridge and learnt that I needed to get rid of celery and Pancetta real soon. After giving a hard thought...I decided to make a Soup Spaghetti. Well...basically a Minetrone Soup with Pasta in it. Obviously the Italians won't be happy but...what the heck...?!?

普段は固形のパルメザンチーズを削るのですが、今日は手抜きにクラフトのチーズ。逆にこれがあう！？！んで、サラダはルッコロとトマト＆コーンサラダ。サワードーのパンと赤ワインです。毎日うまいもん食えて幸せですね！！でも、一人の晩餐は寂しいの〜・・・。

I usually shave some fresh Parmesan for pasta but was lazy today and used the Kraft Cheese. Actually turned about to be perfect!! Also made some Arugola,Tomato and Corn Salad, and Sourdough Bread from La Brea Bakery. Not bad at all...except feeling lonely having the meal.Can't wait till my kids and wife are back from Japan...

テンション上げる為にこれからF1GP見ます！！

OK...time for the F1 race now!!

ステーキ丼ディナー

今週末は鈴鹿でF1ですね。IndyJapanが終わってからすぐに、F1って感じで、何だか日本のモータースポーツファンも大忙しですね。今日は天気も良さそうなので、これから予選をテレビで見るのが楽しみ！ちなみに、一人でロンリー観戦です・・・。（泣）

The Suzuka F1 GP is this week end and I am just about ready to watch the qualifying. The racing fans in Japan must be busy getting to the track because the Indy race was only about two weeks ago... Well, I'll be watching the race alone at home this week end.

さて、今日は夕飯にステーキ丼を作ってみました。昨日のステーキが半分残っていたので、和風にアレンジ。ステーキを焼くのには、ひっくり返すタイミングが重要ですよね！じっくり集中して、タイミングを見計らって、よっこらしょ〜！ナイスな感じです！！

In order to watch the qualifying, I needed to get done with dinner quickly. I had the other half of the steak from last night, so I decided to make a Japanese Style Steak Bowl. The hardest thing about cooking a steak is when to turn the meat around.I put all my focus on it...and it was perfectly done!!

んで、出来上がった今日のディナーは、
１）叩きキュウリwith鮪の削り節
２）ステーキ丼（海苔と韓国風ネギサラダ添え）
３）ふんわり卵スープwithコーン
でした。ついでに、今夜は昨日あけた白ワイン。親父に勧められてハマっている、スペイン産のAlbarino。コストパフォーマンス◎です！！

Here's my dinner for tonight.
1)Cucumber with Dried Tuna Flakes
2)Steak Bowl with Korean Style Green Onion and Rice bedded with Sea Weed
3)Egg Soup with Corn.
Dinner was fantastic! I also had a Spanish white wine that was recommended by my father. The Albarino is sooooOO cheap but good!! I think it beat's the CA Chardonnay!!

もう１０月です。

いや〜気がついたら、もう１０月ですね！と言う事は、あと１０日で誕生日。となると、今年で３２・・・。ん〜なんだか嬉しいんだか寂しいんだか・・・。

Can you believe it's already Oct?!? That means my B-Day is coming in a week...which means I'll be turning 32...should I be happy about this?!?

まっ、そんな事を考えても仕方ないので、若さを保つ為に今日も午前中にジムでトレーニング。体調はバッチリですよ！！ん〜でも、次のレースがまだだいぶ先だと思うと、なんだか寂しい・・・。

Well...so much for aging. Trying to stay young, I decided to hit the gym as usual. I'm feeling well but I just wished I was getting in any kind of car sometimes real soon...

昼は家で食べて、昼過ぎにスーパーに行って夕食の買い出し。今夜はどうしても、スパゲッティーカルボナーラとステーキが食べたかったので、ほんのちょっと奮発して買っちゃいました！

Had lunch at home and went to high end grocery store to buy some steak for dinner and planned to make Spaghetti Carbonara for the first plate.

カルボナーラは、本格的に卵黄オンリーと、パルメザンチーズ＆ブラックペッパーで作りました。初めての試みでしたが、なかなかシンプルなだけに難しい・・・。オーバルレースみたいですね！？！（笑）でも美味かった〜！

For Carbonara, I only used the egg yolk, parmesan cheese, and black pepper, which is the genuine ingredients in Italy. They actually don't put cream or milk in it...It is really simple to make, but it is really tough to make it perfect. Kind a like oval racing. Mt first carbonara attempt was successful though.

んで、メインにはステーキを焼いてスライスして、ルッコラとトマト＆コーンのサラダ添え。お肉は塩こしょうとオリーブオイルを馴染ませて、常温の状態でマリネート。がっつり焼いてから、アルミホイルに包んで３分間寝かしてからスライスしました。うみゃ〜！！でも、肉が半分残っちゃったから明日はステーキ丼かな？！？

As for main dish, I had Tagliata Steak with Rucola,Tomato, and Corn Salad. I marinated the steak with salt,black pepper, and olive oil...and let it sit at room temp for 1hr. Than on the grill and once it's cooked, wrapped it in a aluminum foil and let it rest for 3min. Sliced up the beef and on to the plate. Man this beef was addicting!! Well money spent!!! I still have the other half of the steak so may be I'll make Steak Bowl tomorrow night.

リベンジ of 豆板醤

昨日の激辛麻婆豆腐にやられて、朝起きたら胃がもんもんとしてました・・・。が、起きて早速コーヒーを入れて、フルーツを切って朝ご飯。ピットの散歩に行ってからメールチェックをして、ジムに行きました。これが基本的に日課です。

My stomach was not feeling all that great this morning from the super hot and spicy Mapo-Tofu that I made last night. Nevertheless, I needed to get my day started to cut some fruit and had a cup of coffee. Than checked some e-mails and off to the gym which is my routine for the AM.

お昼は、白米と納豆＆明太子と味噌汁。これだけでご飯が２杯いけちゃうから、我が輩はジャパニーズだと改めて実感。

Had lunch at home. Some Spicy Cod Roe, Natto, Rice and Miso Soup. Being able to eat 2 bowls of rice just with Natto and Spicy Cod Roe definitely shows that I have Japanese heritage in me.

午後は家で、０８年度のレシートの整理。来週中まで申告を済ませないといけないので、今週は大忙しです。ん〜・・・、何だか使ったお金の処理をするのは、寂しいもんですね〜。（泣）

In the PM, I needed to get all the receipts sorted for 08 TAX year. I am usually busy during April so ends up filing an extension every year...which is due in two weeks. It's always depressing to go through the money you've already spent...I guess I am not so good at looking behind but rather focus on what's in the future!?!

んで、夕飯は胃に易しいものと思い、先日テレビの料理番組で見た、トマきゅう卵に挑戦。が、レシピを確認したら、な〜んと昨日イタイ目にあった豆板醤が入っているじゃないですか・・・。でも、頭の中はトマきゅう卵になっていたので、今夜は豆板醤にリベンジ！？！

As for dinner...I wanted to make something veggie and light. Saw a recipe on TV with Tomato Cucumber and Eggs...which sounded good so decided to give that a try. However, while I was checking out the recipe, I learnt that I needed to put the same spicy sauce that I used last night...I guess I will be easy with that sauce tonight.

今夜の夕食は
１）めげずにセロリとトマトのサラダ（和風ドレッシング）
２）とろとろトマきゅう卵
３）白米＆茄子の味噌汁
あれっ、気がついたらサラダとメインディッシュが同じ色してるな・・・。まっ、いいか。いっただきま〜す。

Here's my dinner,
1)Yet again...Celery and Tomato Salad with Soy Dressing
2)Pan-Fried Tomato,Cucumber and Eggs
3)White Rice, Miso Soup with Eggplant

さて、今日アップするモテギの写真は、ダルマちゃんです！毎年ご家族で応援に来てくれているファンから頂きました！本当に有り難うございます！！チームメートのシェクターやコンウェイが羨ましがっていました。

I wanted to show you the Daruma I received from my fan at Motegi! I really appreciate their support and look forward to seeing them next year!! I'm sure my teammates Sheckter and Conway wanted get this as well!!

辛っ！

今日も午前中にジムでトレーニング。８km走って気分もスッキリ。午後は家で色々と書類の整理をして、夕方にスーパーに行ってきました。

Went to the gym in the morning and ran 5miles. I am ready to drive the car again anytime! In the afternoon, I needed to get a lot of paper work done at home.

モテギが終わってからもう２週間近く経つと考えると、何だかぞっとするな・・・。

I can't believe it's almost 2weeks since the Motegi race...time just keep flying.

そうそう、皆から沢山もらったモテギの思いで写真をちょこちょこアップしていきます！まず最初は毎年レースの時に、僕と同じスーツを着て応援に来てくれる兄弟です！何時も応援有り難うね！！

Speaking of Motegi, I am going to post some picture that I received from my fans. The first picture is two kids that comes to the race every year with the exact same suits that I wear! Aren't they cute!!

今日の夕飯は豆腐があまっていたので、麻婆豆腐を作りました。一人だと食材がなかなか減らなくてメニューに困っちゃいます。セロリもなかなか減ってくれないから、とりあえず食べまくってます。セロリはすきなんですが、嫌いになりそう・・・！？！（笑）

Well...getting back to real life, since I had a lot of tofu left in the fridge, I made some Mapo-Tofu for dinner. Since I'm alone...it's hard to get through all the ingredients when you cook just for your self. I'v been eating celery everyday...and the thing is still in the fridge! I love celery...but it definitely is getting old!?!

麻婆豆腐は豆板醤を入れすぎて激辛になっちゃいました！まだ、汗かいてます。（泣）でも、美味かった！今日は辛かったので、いつもよりゆっくりご飯を食べる事ができました。

As for my first venture of making Mapo-Tofu...It was real HOT! I am still sweating!! I think I put too much spice in it...however, I was able to eat it slowly and enjoy the flavor. It was pretty good, other than being just a bit too hot.

んで、今日の夕食は、
１）セロリ、ラディッシュ＆トマトのサラダ（和風おろしドレッシング）
２）単純に激辛麻婆豆腐
３）大根の味噌汁
でした。明日は何にしようかな〜。

Here's my meal for tonight.
1)Celery,Radish, and Tomato Salad with Japanese Style Dressing
2)Super Hot & Spicy Mapo-Tofu
3)Miso Soup with Daikon

グルメブログ？！？

今日は早目に起きて、まずはピットの散歩。なんだか気候は完全に秋って感じで清々しい朝でした。時差ボケもようやく治り、体調もバッチリです。

Woke up early today and went to walk Pit. The weather is much cooler in LA today and feels like autumn is here. I am fully recovered from the jet-lag now.

午前中にジムに行って、久しぶりにガッツリトレーニング。時差ボケが治ったからトレーニングにも気合いが入ります。

Went to the gym after having a quick breakfast. Trained really hard today. Good to be back on the right time zone since it was so hard to focus when your brain was not functioning right.

お昼はスーパーのフードコートにある山頭火でラーメンを食べて、夕飯の買い出し。ランチを食べながら、夕飯の献立を考えて、悩んだ結果ディナーはハンバーグにする事にしました。

Had lunch at Santouka Ramen place at the Japanese market and bought some grocery for dinner. I was thinking about dinner, while I had lunch, and my conclusion for dinner was to make hamburger steak.

午後は家で色々と作業をして、夕方から夕飯の仕込みを開始。和食は仕込みの時間がかかるから大変ですよね〜。いつも妻が作ってくれるからあまり考えてなかったけど、改めて一日３食を作る大変さを実感してます。

Got some work done in the afternoon and started to prep dinner just past 5. Japanese food in general takes so much time for preparation...that all the wife and mom should be awarded just to be cooking 3 times a day. It definitely is a full time job!!

で、今夜のメニューは
１）ルッコラ、セロリ、＆ラディッシュの山盛りサラダ（ドレッシングはオリーブオイル、レモン＆塩こしょう）
２）シャキシャキいんげんのお浸し
３）ストロガノフ風ハンバーグ
４）白米＆豆腐と油揚げの味噌汁
５）最近ハマっているスペイン産赤ワイン
でした。美味かった〜！これまた数分で食べ尽くしました。（笑）超贅沢だけど、ハンバーグに松茸をいれたら、よりベターだったかも・・・！？！

Well, here's my menu for the day
1)Arugola,Celery, and Radish Salad with Olive Oil+Lemon Dressing
2)Boiled Green Beans with Bonito Flakes
3)Hamburger Steak Stroganoff Style
4)Rice and Miso Soup with Tofu
5)Spanish Red Wine
I must say that the meal was really good!

しかし、最近はめっきりグルメブログになっちゃっててすいません。そうそう、さっき急にデンワがあって、来年のデイトナ２４時間の話に興味がある？？なんて話がでてきました。０７年に一度出たけど、あの時は納得のいく走りができなかったから、また来年にリベンジするかな？！？

I just realized that my blog is turning in to a gourmet blog...instead of racing. Speaking of racing, I got a call today about a possible interest at the Daytona 24hr next year. I raced the 24hr in 07, which I was really not satisfied with my drive and may worth another shot at it!! You never know what can happen but I am looking forward to being back in the car again real soon!!

Pupusa

今日は日曜だったので午前中は家でまったり。シンガポールGPをテレビで見てから、ついつい２度寝しちゃいました。（笑）起きて、軽くカップうどんを食べて、ピットをお風呂に居れてから、風呂場の掃除。

Since it was Sunday, had a slow morning and watched the Singapore GP on TV. And than went back to bed for more sleep. Woke up again, had a udon for breakfast, and bathed Pit before lunch.

２時過ぎになって、なんだかお腹がすいたので、近くの市場の中にあるエルサルバドル料理屋に行って、ププサをテイクアウトして食べました。最近ハマってるんですよね。これ、たぶん日本じゃ食べれませんね・・・。

I got done cleaning the bathroom at 2pm, and realized I was starving so decided to take a walk down the Grand Central Market for a snack. There is a famous Salvadorian joint there that apparently serves the best Pupusa's in town so I gave it a try.

なんだか、癖があるのですが、トウモロコシでできたトルティーヤの様な物の中にチーズや豆が入っている食べ物です。ついでに、上に塩漬けされたピリ辛キャベツとホットソースをのせて食べるとなかなか美味いんですよね〜！！おやつにはピッタリでした。

You definitely can't get Pupusas in Japan...The cabbage and the sauce, and the Pupusa was wicked good!! Good snack if you want to satisfy your hunger in the late afternoon.

それにしても、ププサって変な名前！？！

I still wonder...who cam up with the name Pupusa?!?

Red Bull Soap Box Race

今日は家の裏でやっている、RedBull Soap Box Raceを見に行ってきました！さすが、Red Bull。イベントをうつのが上手ですね〜。メチャメチャ面白かったです。

Went to the Red Bull Soap Box Race today. I was amazed and impressed with how many people that were out there! Red Bull really knows how to throw a good event and a party!!

イベントが始まる前に、家のビル前にある駐車場で腹ごしらえ。駐車場にフードスタンドになっていて、色んなケータリングトラックが来てましたよ。ちなみに、裏に見えるビルが家のビルです。

Just before the event, I stopped at the concession stands in parking lot front of my apartment.

ランチで食べたのは、さいきん話題になっているMarked5と言うトラックでトラックで販売しているライスバーガー。

I always wanted to try the Marked5 rice burgers and finally found an opportunity today.

僕が頼んだのはトンカツライスバーガー。味はボチボチ。モスバーガーにはかなわないな・・・。

I ordered the Tonkatsu Burger. It was alright...not as good as the Mos Burger from Japan.

イベントは徐々に盛り上がり、まずは国歌斉唱。それからスカイダーバーがダウンタウンのビルの間を縫って降りてきました。無事に着陸して盛大な拍手！

People started to get crazy as the event started with National Anthem, followed by the Red Bull Sky Divers coming down through the downtown buildings. Lots of cheers when they came down from the crowds!

そして、今度はNASCARのデモラン。これは、本当のNASCARですよ〜。石鹸箱ではありません・・・。（笑）ちゃんとドーナッツターンしてかなり盛り上げてました！！

There was a brief NASCAR demo run. Yes this is a real NASCAR and not a soap box car...and no S.Speed nor B.Vickers was not in this car!?!

いよいよソーブボックスレースが開始。最初に走ったのは、ホットソースのボトルの形をしたマシン。

Finally the Soap Box Race has started. The first run was by a Hot Sauce Bottle car.

次に出走したのは船の形をしたマシン。

And than a Boat...

ついでにバイクも。

And a Bike...

んでもって、ピアノ。

Piano also...

途中でクラッシュしたけど、無事に完走するマシンも。

Some wrecked machine...but made it to the finish line.

一言で言えばギャグで始まったイベントですが、なかなか笑えます。ギャグを理由に市街地を閉鎖してイベントできちゃう所がアメリカンですよね！？！日本でもこういうイベントやったら面白いかも！！

ピット＆生姜焼きディナー

今日は午前中にピットをピックアップ。久しぶりの会って大喜び！でも、いつも預かって頂いている、ご家族を離れるのは少し寂しそうだったな・・・。今日からピットとネコのマリモとの生活が始まります。（笑）

Went to pick up Pit in the morning. He was happy to see me, but I guess he is going to miss the family who takes care of him when we are away. The treat him like a king...but I guess he'll be getting good attention for the next couple of weeks since my kids aren't here.

夕飯には豚の生姜焼き定食を作りました。ついでに、インゲンのお浸しと、豆腐のお味噌汁。生姜焼きと一緒に山盛りキャベツの千切り。白米と一緒にがっついちゃいました！色々と試した結果、やっぱ定食屋風に作るのは、タマネギをすりおろすのがベストですね！！数分で完食。ごっちゃんです。

Made some pork ginger tonight with steamed green beans and miso soup with tofu. It was really good. I have a special recipe for pork ginger which I grind the onions down for the sauce instead of slicing them. It was a healthy dinner and was done with it in minutes! Yummy...

自炊

ロスに戻り、昨晩は爆睡！１２時間くらい寝ちゃいました。ここ数週間の、ストレスが一気にどっとでた感じですが、寝たらだいぶすっきりしました。昨日はあまりにも疲れていたので夕飯は宅配ピザ。

Slept for almost 12hrs last night. I definitely was able to catch up with all the sleepless nights during last month. I was so tired that I just ordered a pizza for dinner before hitting the bed.

今日はランチに素うどんを作ったのですが、ダシをしっかりとって作ったのに味はいまさん・・・。これじゃ〜いかんと思い夕飯は気合いを入れてパスタを作りました。ん〜、ボチボチだったかかな？

For today's lunch, I made some Udon. Made it properly by making some Dashi...but the flavor was not enough. I figured I really need to get on with my cooking program if I wanted to stay healthy and made some Pasta tonight. Dinner was alright.

夕飯はルッコラ＆トマトのサラダとトマトスパゲッティーでした。

I had Arugola and Tomato salad with Spaghetti with Tomato sauce.

とうぶんは、一人だから自炊頑張らないと！！妻がいなくなると改めて、毎日ご飯を作ってくれる有り難さがわかるな〜・・・。

I'll have to keep cooking for a month and hopefully I will not run out of recipes... I definitely missed my wife's cooking.

ロスに帰って来たよ！

今日のフライトでロスに戻ってきました。２週間の滞在もあっと言うまで、昨日までドタバタ忙しかったのが嘘みたいです。妻と子供達は実家に戻り（別居じゃないですよ！？！（笑））日本をもう少し堪能。僕はペットちゃんの世話をしに、自宅に戻ってきました。

Just got back to LA. The two weeks stay in Japan went really fast and it is hard to believe that my schedule was so hectic until yesterday. My wife and kids are staying in Japan for another month and I am already feeling somewhat lonely by my self. I needed to make sure that our pets were doing OK so I'll be here couple of weeks by my self.

しかしここ数ヶ月は本当にインディジャパン参戦に向けての、プレッシャー＆ストレスがあり、無事にレースが終わった事によって、色々と解放された気分ですが、次なる目標がだいぶ先だな〜って思うと何だかテンションが上がらないな〜。

Well, the last couple of weeks getting ready for Indy Japan was full of stress and pressure for me. It was great to be back in the car, but was a lot of work to get everything together for the race. I feel like off the hook now with all the stress...and very tough to stay motivated to the next race since it's at least good 6months away!?!

今回のレースは本当にしょぼい走りをしたら、最後だぞと言い聞かせて走り、レース前からも皆に“ずっと続けて下さいね！”って声をかけられて、メチャメチャモチベーションが上がりました。次のレースは既に来年になってしまうけど、明日からジムに行ってトレーニングするぞ！＆スポンサー活動も年中無休で頑張らないと！！

I was committed to make this my last race if I had a poor run. The result was not what we wanted...but I truly think I still have what it takes to hang in with all the guys out there and decided to give another try. Besides, all my fans kept asking me to come back again, so I will definitely need to stay motivated and hit the gym starting tomorrow!! And the sponsorship hunt which is an endless job for the racing drivers.

では、皆さん引き続き応援宜しくお願い致します！！

Well, I appreciate all your support and will see you soon at the track again!!

皆さん有り難うございました！

レースも終わり、無事に東京に戻って来た所です。

Done with raceing and just checked in to my hotel in Tokyo.

皆さん、インディジャパンでは最後まで応援有り難うございました。結果は２０位と決して胸を張って言えるリザルトではありませんが、個人的には納得のいく内容になったと思います。

I want to thank all my fans for coming out to the race and cheering for me. The 20th place finish is nothing to be proud of...but I had a great run at the end and I am somewhat satisfied with the overall run.

レース序盤戦にダンパーが壊れてしまい、ピットで修復作業をしたために、３０ラップ近くも遅れをとってしまいました。しかし、最後まで諦めずに頑張って走り、ラストスティントはAGR勢と同じペースで走る事ができてました。

My damper broke right after my first pit stops which put me down 30 laps. We were able to fix the car and go back out and the car was handling great! I was able to keep up with AGR boys during the last stint and it's a pity on what happened to my damper...since I think we had a top 10 car.

今日のレースは自分でもレースをしている感があって、とても楽しかったです。色々と大変でしたが、頑張ったかいがありました。ここまでこれたのも、応援してくれた皆様のお陰です。本当に色々と有り難うございました！！

I haven't raced for year and a half and my skill was still there so I guess I'll have to give another go at this! Nevertheless, I really want to thank all my sponsors,fans, friends, and family who was cheering for me and have made it possible for me to race this week end! Thank you guys!!

モテギに到着

いよいよモテギに入りました！いや〜色々とあった数日間でしたが、何とかここまで来れて一件落着。しかし、本当の勝負は明後日からです。明日はしっかり、その勝負に挑める様にチームと色々と話し合って体制を整えたいと思います！週末を通していっぱい応援して下さいね。

Just arrived at my hotel in Motegi. Was a real hectic weeks but I am so glad to be here!! The real work is going to start on Friday so I better get my head together and go through all the scenario for the race with my team tomorrow. Well, wish me luck guys at see you at the track!!

スーツ到着

皆さん。レースはいよいよ今週末ですね。だんだん緊張してきたぞ〜！さてさて、今日スーツが届きました。先週の金曜に発注して、月曜に到着！しかも、イタリアから。恐るべしAlpinestars。

Hey guys, I can't believe that the race is already this week end... I just received my suit! I ordered the suit on Friday and it is here on Monday from Italy. Isn't that amazing??

今まで色んなスーツ会社と取引してきましたが、これだけ早い対応には僕も驚きです！本当に有り難うございました！！

I have been dealing with Alpinestars for years and they are definitely one of the best on being able to get the suit made and delivered quickly. The quality is also top notch!

ご覧の通りにメーンスポンサーはまだ募集中です！！興味がある方はぜひご連絡ください！！

As you can see, we are still working on the primary sponsor. Whoever interested can send me a message and we can talk!! For time being, the deal is a steal!!

ロジャー安川応援ファンドの方も引き続き宜しくお願い致します！

もう来週レース

皆さん、ご無沙汰してます。本当に・・・。気がついたらもう、１週間でレースですね！既に，US Racingのコラムを読んで頂いていればご存知だと思われますが、この１ヶ月は本当に大変でした。ストレスが溜まりまくって、一時はどうしようとパニクっちゃいました。が、なんとか話を前に進める事ができて、マシンもモテギまで送ってもらえる事になりました！

Hi Guys...it's been a while since I last posted an update. I can't believe that the Indy Japan race is only a week away. It was a real hectic month for me since the sponsor we were talking to has pulled the plug and I had to look for an alternate sponsor to do this race. I was able to put everything together barely...and the team was kind enough to proceed with the program.

まさかの自体で最後になって土壇場のスポンサー集めでしたが、まだまだ油断できる状態ではないので、レース当日までは資金集めをしなくてはいけない状態です・・・。色々と大変ですが、最後まで頑張りたいと思います！

We are still short to make this in to something worthwhile so will have to keep pushing until the race day. It's not going to be easy...but can't give up until the race is over!

僕は日本に戻って来て、今はスポンサー活動＆トレーニングに連日励んでいます。残り少ない時間を大切に使わなくてはいけません。レースではファンの皆さんにお会いできるのが楽しみです！全力で頑張りますので、ぜひ最後まで応援して下さいね〜！！

I really want to thank my personal sponsors and fans for helping me out for this race! I am looking forward to seeing each fans and will do my absolute best to kick some axx during the race!!

NACK5 イベント　in 　越谷

皆さん、ご無沙汰しております。ついついツィッターしてると、ブログの更新をさぼってしまいます・・・。既にご存知だと思いますが、今は日本に居ます。インディジャパンへの資金集めで、連日飛び回っていました。

Hey guys. Sorry for not keeping up to date with my blog. Once you start tweeting...it's so hard to make a time to update your blog because it's all up there already. As you all know,I am back in Japan trying to scramble for last minute funding.

日本は８月なのに、なんだか秋日和ですね。このくらいレースの週末も涼しければ良いけど、逆にメチャ暑だったりして！？！日本には、火曜までの滞在です。それまでに全力で頑張って、色々な細かい事を決めないと。

It's still end of August but pretty cool here in Japan and almost feels like it's autumn. I hope the race week end would be just as cool, but it can turn out to be real hot & humid. I'll be staying here until Tuesday and have to get things nailed down in next few days. Keeping my fingers crossed.

これから越谷にあるNACK5のイベントに行ってきます。久しぶりのイベントだからちょっと緊張するな・・・。ご近所に住んでいる方はぜひ遊びにきてね〜！！

Well, I am off to an radio event in Koshigaya. I am really looking forward to meeting my fans!!

NAOKICK

皆さん、最近はめっきりブログをさぼっちゃっててごめんなさい・・・。ちゃんと Twitter の方でフォローしてくれてるかな？ Twitter は比較的ひんぱんにアップデートしているので、しっかりフォローして下さいね。

Sorry for not keeping up with my blog guys. Hope you guys have been following me on Twitter . I guess I have been doing OK posting comments on Twitter if you have checked!?!lol

さて、昨日は久しぶりに朝方まで起きてしまいました。その理由は親戚のキックボクサーの石川直生君の試合があったからです。前回の滞在でもトレーナーの方を紹介してくれたり、いろいろと格闘の話を聞いていてかなり過酷だなと刺激を受けただけに、昨日のトーナメントの結果は気になっちゃいました。

Well, last night, I was up until 5am. No, not because I partied but because I was concerned about my relative who was going to fight in a 60kg K-1 style tournament in Japan. Naoki Ishikawa is a All Japan Kick Boxing Super Featherlite Champion and I was chatting with him during my last stay in Japan and was very curious about today's fight.

直君が今回でているのは、Krushライト級GP2009。６０kg級がかなり盛り上がっているみたいで、なんどか試合を見に行かせてもらいましたが、メチャメチャ面白いです。

I actually went to couple of Naoki's fight before and it is really exciting. I guess the 60kg ranks are pretty hot right now in Japan because the Japanese can do pretty well in it obviously because it fits the average weight of a Japanese person.

その直君は、昨日は２試合ありました。両試合とも手強い相手だったようで、１ダウンをもらってからの逆転KO勝利を成し遂げました！結果を聞いた時は自分の事の様に嬉しかったです！

Naoki had to do two fights last night in order to advance in to the final tournament which will be held in October. During the two fights, he ended up getting down on both fights but was able to win in style with two knock outs in the last seconds.

試合内容を従兄弟から聞いてから、エクサイトしたまま寝て、朝起きたらトレーニングに気合いが入りました。身近に頑張っている人がいると、自分も気合いが入ります。モテギまであと１ヶ月、これからが追い込みだ〜！

I had my cousin text me with the latest updates and could not fall a sleep after hearing the news about the two fights! I am really proud and hope he wins the tournament in October. I went back to sleep for 2hrs, and was fully refreshed and pumped to hit the gym! I guess it's my turn now to show some power at Motegi!!

ロスに戻ってすでに１週間。

気がついたらロスに戻って、あっと言う間に１週間が過ぎてしまいました。日本での滞在もあっという間だったな〜。が、色々な人にあえて、良いミーティングが沢山できました。

I can't believe it's already been more than a week since I came back from Japan. The trip was real busy but went well and was able to have numerous meetings that could lead to something beneficial for the future.

今はインディジャパンの準備に向けてラストスパートです。レースはもう１ヶ月チョイだと考えるとクルマに乗るのがワクワクしてきます。する事はまだまだ沢山ありますが、頑張ります！！

Well...it's only about 5weeks away from the Indy Japan race and I really need to pick up the pace on getting things done. I can't wait to hop in the race car and it sounds like we will have a very competitive car there!!

エアープレス上野

日本の滞在はかなりドタバタで、気がついたらもう月曜で帰国です。滞在中には色々とお世話になっている方にあったり、スポンサー活動等で大忙しでしたが、今回の滞在はかなりプラスです！

It has been a real hectic week...having said that, it was a great stay since I was able to meet with various sponsors and prospects.

昨晩は紅月で、夕食。相変わらず美味しかったです！西麻布から骨董通りに移転しまして、雰囲気もめちゃめちゃいいですよ〜。昨日は久しぶりにUFCで戦う秋山選手にお会いして、色々とUFCの話を聞く事ができました。格闘選手は本当に大変ですね・・・。色んな意味で良い刺激になりました。

I went to dinner last night with a UFC fighter at Kougetsu. The food was great as usual and their new location is fantastic! There were a lot of celebs at the restaurant! After talking to the UFC fighter...I am so glad that I don't have to kick and punch other people for living...!?!

今日は、明日のレース（？）に備えてユックリしています。実は明日はモテギで行われるidlers主催の１２時間耐久レースに出場するのです！インディーに向けてのトレーニングですね。（笑）久しぶりのレースなので、楽しみです！！

Well, today was a quite day for me so I spent majority of the day relaxing and getting ready for tomorrow's race. Yes, I am racing tomorrow at Motegi in my buddy's car. It's going to be a 12hr endurance race and should be a lot of fun. Plus it should be good for my training!?!

１２時間耐久と言う事で、今日は疲労回復するためにエアープレス上野い行って、酸素カプセルに入り、ばっちりリラックス。O2 Styleも沢山もらって、レース中はばっちり酸素補強ができそうです！！酸素があると、集中力が増すので今では必需品です。まだ、試された事がない方はぜひ試してみて下さい！！

Since I needed to recover from a busy week, I went to Air Press Ueno and recharged my self with a lot of oxygen. I also stocked my self up with 12hr worth of O2 Style to keep me oxygenated during the race.Believe it or not, oxygen keeps your concentration level high during the race and it's a must for me to drink during the race as well as when I'm training.

では、残り少ない滞在をエンジョイさせて頂きます。

Well...I guess I'm going to enjoy my week end and back to work on Monday!

ロジャー安川応援ファンドの方も引き続き宜しくお願い致します！

JAPAN

昨日のフライトで、日本に戻ってきました。日本はやっぱり蒸し暑いですね・・・。さっき家の近所の隅田川テラスを走ってきました。汗がビチャビチャです・・・。（泣）

I am back in Japan now. Yep...it is hot and humid here. Just went for a 10km run and I sweated like crazy...Hope it doesn't get any hotter than this during my stay.

昨晩は従兄弟とおじさん、そして親戚のキックボクシングのチャンピオンの石川直生君と一緒にご飯に行ってきました。やっぱ色々と格闘家の話を聞くと刺激がありますね〜！自分も頑張らないと！では、今からメディアインタビューで６時間缶詰です・・・。楽しみ！？！（笑）

Last night I went to dinner with my uncle and cousins, as well as one of my relative who is the Kick Boxing Champ in Japan. His name is Naoki Ishikawa and it really amazes me every time I talk to martial artists. He is a heck of a fighter and has a match coming up next month. Well...I am off to a 6hr media interviews...oh yeah I am looking forward to that!!

優弥選手がトップ４入り！

昨日のK-1 World Maxの試合で、知人の山本優弥選手が勝ち、トーナメントトップ４入りが決定しました！優弥おめでとう！！今朝スタバで原稿を書いていたら従兄弟から報告があり、早速デンワで祝福させていただきました。しかし、日本人唯一のトップ８入りで、準決勝までいくのは本当に凄い！皆さん、準決勝と決勝トーナメントではぜひ応援しましょう！

I want to congratulate my buddy Yuya Yamamoto who won the fight last night to be in top 4 for the K-1 World Max Finals. My cousin called me while I was working this morning and told me the news while they were celebrating. I was able to chat with him for couple of minutes and congratulated him for his success. He is the only Japanese in the Top4 and all of Japan would be watching him during the final fight.

彼は本当に人柄が良くて、ビックリします！でも、努力が彼の強さなのだと改めて実感しました。自分もモテギに向けて全力で頑張らないと！！良い刺激になりました！！早速さっきジムでがっつりトレーニングしてきました。

Yuya is such a kind person that you will never think he will kick your butt. But he does spend a lot of time training and that's something I really admire. It certainly made me think twice about my training routine and I was quickly back in the gym getting more work out for the day!!

GM

日本はもう真夏日和みたいですね。来週から日本に戻る予定なので、じめじめしてるのは嫌だな〜・・・。ロスの家ではほとんど蚊がでないのに、昨晩はなぜか部屋に出没。寝ようとしているのに、耳障りの“ビッ〜〜〜〜〜〜〜”っと言う音にイライラしてぜんぜん寝れませんでした。

I am planning for a trip back to Japan next week and I heard it is stinking hot out there. I am not really looking forward to that although it would be a business trip for me...an I certainly have a lot of work to get done. Speaking of hot...there was a mosquito in my bed room last night and it was really annoying!! I spent 20min trying to kill that sucker....

さてさて、今日はGMが再生復帰したニュースがありましたね。破産申請からあっと言う間の復帰。もともと、GMもゼネラル・モータースと言うよりガヴァメント・モータースの略だと言われる程に国家企業になっているだけに、今後のうごきが楽しみです。良いクルマをぜひ作って欲しいですね。これで、いよいよアメリカの景気回復の兆しも見えて来た所かな・・・！？！

Well, it's good to hear that GM is back on there feet. Although GM still probably stands as Government Motors... It must be a sign of the economy to pick up in the near future. They certainly need to make a car that sells...but their ability to make an unique car can't be copied by the Japanese Auto Manufactures.

引き続きロジャー安川応援ファンドの方のご協力宜しくお願い致します！！

Well, it is already July and I better get everything sorted for the Motegi race in Sept.

ヒデキとトレーニング。

皆さんお久しぶりです。週末はフェラーリチャレンジのレースに行って、連日朝６時起きで９時までサーキットにいたので、ブログをアップする事はできませんでした。今はロスに戻ってようやく落ち着いた所です。

Hey guys, sorry for not updating my blog for a while. I figured you will all be in tuned through Twitter. I was real busy last week end at the Ferrari Challenge race week end and finally have some time for my self...

月曜から後輩のヒデキが家に来ているので、一緒にトレーニングをしました！ヒデキはアイオワでは３位、リッチモンドでは４位とかなりノリノリなレースが続いています！今週末のレースに向けて、リラックス＆猛トレーニングでレース後半戦に向けてパワーを蓄えています。プラス普段は独身で食べれない、家庭料理を家の妻に作ってもらい、がっつり食べてくれるヒデキの姿を見て、妻も大喜び！次は表彰台の頂点を目指してもらえる様に皆で応援しましょう！

My buddy Hideki is in town from Monday and we've been training together for the last two days. He finished 3rd at Iowa and 4th at Richmond so he is really in a good groove. I think he was able to relax and have some good home made food from my wife so I'm sure he will go to Watkins Glen this week end in much better shape!!

昨日はヒデキとUS Racingラジオで対談インタビュー。なかなか面白い内容なので、ぜひ聴いてみて下さい！

I did a quick radio interview with Hideki yesterday and it was kind of weird interviewing him as driver/interviewer stand point....

気がついたら７月ですね。モテギの準備も急ピッチに進めないと！
引き続きロジャー安川応援ファンドの方のご協力宜しくお願い致します！！

Well, it is already July and I better get everything sorted for the Motegi race in Sept.

ヒデキおめでとう！

昨日のアイオワのレースでヒデキが３位に入りましたね！２年連続の表彰台ゲットおめでとう！！昔から弟の様に可愛がっているだけあって、本当に嬉しかったな〜。この調子でこれからの４連戦も頑張ってもらいたい所です。

I was so happy to see my bro Hideki finish 3rd yesterday. He had a great run and seems like he is just hooked at Iowa since it is his second consecutive podium finish.

自分は数日間の間は親父が来ていたので、色々とモールに行ったり買い物にいったりでした。日曜は父の日だったので、家で妻がディナーを作りました。自分は息子から幼稚園で作成したプレゼントをもらい感動！Twitterでプレゼントの写真が見れますよ！！

Well...since it was father's day yesterday, we cooked some dinner for my dad who happened to be in town and took him around town picking up souvenirs. I was also able to get a gift from my son which made my day!!

気がついたらもう６月末にさしかかってます。急ピッチでモテギのプランを立てないと！

Well...I can't believe it's already end of June..Better pick up my pace to get things together for the Motegi race!

引き続きロジャー安川応援ファンドの方やUS Racingのコラムの方も宜しくお願い致します！

体調不良

ここんとこブログをさぼっちゃってごめんなさい・・・。ツィッターの方ばっかりやってしまって、ブログは手抜きになっちゃいました。ツィッターはつぶやきブログだから便利ですよね。なんか、日本では堀江元社長も始めたりけっこう話題になってるみたいです。

Sorry for not updating my blog for the last couple of days... I've been so in to Twitter recently and figured you will all know what I was going to be up to. Twitter is so nice because you can make it really short but frequent. Apparently it's finally getting around in Japan as well!!

さてさて、自分はここ数日間は風邪でダウンしてます。H1N1でない事は確かですが、身体が痺れてます・・・。息子が恐らく幼稚園でもらった風邪が、娘→妻→僕と言うパターンでうつり、完全にやられています。来週はフェラーリチャレンジの仕事でミルウォーキーだから早く復活しないと！！

Well...as for me, I have been sick for last couple of days. I think my son brought a cold from Preschool that was passed on to my daughter, wife, and my self. Good news is...it's not H1N1 Swine Flu. Bad news is...I am sore! Anyhow, I am off to Milwaukee next week for some Ferrari Challenge work so I better recover fast!!

トレーニング行ってきました。

今日はロスで久しぶりに雨が降っています。気象が激しく雷もなっていて、どうやら落雷事故で２人もなくなってしまったみたいです・・・。怖い怖い。天気が悪い日に外を歩くのは、レースよりも危ないですね！？！

I can't believe it's raining today here in LA. Apparently two people are dead being hit by the thunder...how scary! I guess it's more risky walking down the street than driving a race car at 220+!?!

天気が悪いとやるきがなくなりますが、さっき気合いを入れる為にジムでトレーニング。マラソンが終わってから１週間振りのトレーニングだったので、身体がたるんでました。こんな事じゃだめだ〜と言い聞かせ、気合いでやったきました！！

Well...when the weather is bad, it makes you feel lazy, but I decided to hit the gym to get refreshed. I haven't worked out since the LA Marathon and was in time to get back in to racing shape!! I feel good now and really want to drive a race car badly right now!!

もう６月。

気がついたらもう６月ですね。この１週間は車の試乗＆原稿の締め切りに追われて、かなりドタバタしていました。今日になって、ようやくユックリできました。

Well...I can't believe that it's already June. This week went by so fast for me since I had to test drive several car as well as finish up couple of articles at the same time. I finally had time to relax today.

今日はロスで最近はやっている、韓国風タコストラックが家の近くに来ていると言う情報をつかんだので、早速言ってみました。Kogis bbqと言う名前でやっていて、トラックで色んな所へ移動して韓国風タコスを販売しています。僕が最近はまってるTwitterで、その日に行く場所やスケジュールを教えてくれます。まさに口コミ情報ではやっているお店です。LAっ子だったら知らないと時代遅れと言われてしまう程のお店です！？！（笑）

Through Twitter, I have learned that there is a Korean Style Taco Truck called Kogi bbq that is really popular here in LA. They used Twitter to announce the place and time where they are going to serve that day and since they were just couple of blocks away from my house today, I figured I will need to give it a try!

場所に行ってみると、予想通りに長蛇の列。オーダーするまでに１時間かかりました。オーダーしたのは、カルビタコス、スパイシーボークタコス、そしてチキンタコス。どれもコチュジャンがまざったレタスや葱などにあえた野菜のトッピングが付き、以外と美味しい！皆が並んで食べるのが納得！！ぜひロスに来た時は、トラックの場所を突き止めて、行ってみて下さい！！ちなみに、あまりにもお腹が空いていたので写真を撮りそびれました・・・。ごめんなさい。

When I got there, the line was really long. It ended up being an 1hour wait. But I must tell you that it is worth the wait, I got the short ribs, Spicy Pork, and Chicken tacos. They were all good!! It was like mexican food refined with touch of Korean food and since I love them both, it was really tasty!! I can see why they have such a big following here in LA!! Since I was really starving after 1hr of waiting, I had to have my tacos while hot and was not able to take any pict...but you can see there meal on their website which can be found from my Twitter page!

Twitter

TWITTERこんな感じで見れますよ！皆もはじめてみると面白いですよ〜。

明日はいよいよ５００の決勝！

今日は午前中ロスアンゼルス・コンベンション・センターへ行き、マラソンの受付をしてきました。出走するとTシャツなど色んなグッヅが貰えます。本当はもっと前にゲットしておきたかったのですが、前回はしったマラソンからずっと同じシューズをトレーニングでも使用していたので、今日は新しいシューズをアシックスのブースでゲット。マラソンの準備はバッチリです。

Went to the LA Convention Center in the morning to pick up my bib and goodie bag after finishing up the registration procedure. I also ended up getting my new ASICS shoes since I've been wearing the same running shoes for more than two years. I think I am just about ready for the marathon.

明日はテレビに釘付けです。朝一で起きてモナコGPを見て、その後はIndy500。そして最後にCocaCola600です。総合すると最低１０時間はテレビを見てる事になります。しかし、インディー５００をテレビで見るのは何だか寂しいです・・・。が、レース前になると全米最大ネットワークのチャンネルでもある、ABCでばしばしCMをやっているので、イベントの偉大さを感じます。

Well, tomorrow would be a long day in front of the TV since I'll have to start early for the Monaco GP, than Indy 500....and finally the Coca Cola 600. I figured it's going to be at least more than 10hrs watching races. I hope my wife has given up on idea on having to share the TV for tomorrow... It's really sad to watch the 500 from home, but there's always next year!!

ツィッターの方で僕の最新情報をゲットしてね！
http://twitter.com/rogeryasukawa

You Can follow my day at http://twitter.com/rogeryasukawa !

茂木へ向けてのミーティング

今日は息子を幼稚園に連れて行き、午前中は茂木についてのミーティング。まだ、３ヶ月あるっていっても、時間はあっと言う間に経ってしまいますからね。さて、いよいよ今週末はIndy500決勝ですね。IndyCarにデビューしてから５００の決勝を家で見るのは初めてです。なんだか、切ないな〜・・・。（泣）

Took my son to Preschool in the morning and had a great meeting in the morning talking about some plans to add value through different events leading up to the Motegi race.I can disclose all the details yet but should be real fun if we can make it happen. The Indy Japan race is only about 3.5months away and time will fly!! Speaking of racing...it will be painful watching the 500 at home. This is my first time watching that race from home since I debuted in 2003!!

ツィッターの方も見に来て下さいね！ http://twitter.com/rogeryasukawa

You can follow me on http://twitter.com/rogeryasukawa !!

ジョギング

今日は子供を幼稚園に連れて行き、待っている間に公園に行きランニングをしてきました。２時間近く走ってストレッチ。久しぶりに外を２時間走ったら、けっこう足にきてますね〜・・・。月曜のLAマラソンは大丈夫かな？！？

What a nice day in LA. You can't beat the weather here in SoCal. Went to drop my son off at the PreSchool and than I was off to a long run at the near by park. I usually run on the treadmill so my legs are a bit tired today...Hopefully I can last the full marathon distance on Monday.

ツィッターけっこうはまってます。 http://twitter.com/rogeryasukawa 遊びにきてね！

You can follow me on http://twitter.com/rogeryasukawa !!

ロスに戻ってきました！

昨日ロスに戻ってきました。決勝までいたかったのですが、ホテル代等がかかってしまうので、ここは経費削減と言う事で一日でも早く家に戻って来るしかないですね・・・。

Came home yesterday. Wanted to stick around for the race, but the hotel bill and all the costs keeps adding up and decided to head home.

久しぶりに家に戻って、子供達に会ってなんだかほっとします。そうそう、今週末はロスマラソンがあるので、インディーにでれなかったストレス解消として走ってきます。

I'm real happy to see the kids as my son started to speak more now. Oh, by the way, since I wasn't able to race in the 500...I'll be shaking off all the stress by running the LA Marathon!!

それと、Twitter始めたので、遊びに来て下さいね！
http://twitter.com/rogeryasukawa

Also, I have finally started to Twitt! Come by http://twitter.com/rogeryasukawa

残念・・・。

今日は最後まで一生懸命ガレージで交渉を続けましたが、残念ながらシートを獲得する事ができませんでした。ずっと応援してくれていた方々には本当に申し訳ないと思っています。僕としても、悔しい気持ちでいっぱいです。しかし、そのぶんも茂木に向けて頑張りたいと思います！！

It was a long day today...walking between the media center, pit lane and the garage to tale to the team owners. Obviously, I could not get in the car and turn the wheel at all this month and very disappointed about that. However, the drama during the Bump Day was spectacular and made me more eager to get back in the car ASAP!! I'll definitely be back next year giving it another go!! See you guys at Motegi!!

ロジャー安川応援ファンドの方でも短い期間で、たくさんの支援を頂き本当に有り難うございます！茂木に向けて頑張りますので、引き続き応援宜しくお願い致します！！

Also, Thanks again for all your support for the Roger Yasukawa cheering funds through the US Racing website! The funds would be utilized for the Indy Japan race and am very confident that we will have a strong car there!!

厳しい〜・・・。

今日もサーキットで交渉。昨晩は色々と良い話があったのですが、朝サーキットに行ってみたらなかなか難しい状況です。タイムリミットは明日です・・・。かな〜り難しい状況ですが頑張ります！！

Was at the track again today. I thought I had something promising going yesterday but wasn't enough to strike the deal... The time limit is tomorrow but still haven't given up!! You never know in this world what can happen with in 24hrs!!! Good night.

ロジャー安川応援ファンドでは、クレジットカード決済もできる様にして頂けました。何度もお願いをして大変恐縮ですが、引き続き宜しくお願い致します！

前向き

今日は午前中はジムで１時間のランニング。お昼前にサーキットに行き、早速チームと交渉。日曜までは何が起きるのかわからないので、全力で頑張っています。御陰さまで、ロジャー安川応援ファンドの方からの資金も集まり、シートを獲得できる土台に立てるまであとちょっとの所まできています。日曜までは何が起きるかわかりませんが、全力で頑張りたいと思います！！協賛して頂いた皆様には心から感謝しております。ありがとうございます。

Got up early to hit the gym for an hour run. Came back and straight off to the speedway. I chatted with couple of teams offering for some help setting up the car and also about possibility on being able to get in the car perhaps by Sunday. I've got some funds put together through my Roger Yasukawa Cheering Funds and I am getting closer for the figure on what it would take to get a last minute deal. You never know what can happen on Sunday so I am crossing my fingers!!

夕飯は英紀と焼き肉を食べにいきました。同じサーキットに居るのに、ぜんぜん会わないんですよね・・・？！？（笑）

Went to dinner with my buddy Hideki and it's really weird not bumping in to each other for a week although being in the same track and garage area...he seems to be pretty happy with his car so I wish him luck.

それでは、ロジャー安川応援ファンド引き続き宜しくお願い致します！

スポンサー活動

今日もジムに行ってがっつりトレーニング。お昼からはスポンサー活動の資料や連絡の取り合いであっという間に一日が終わってしまいました。週末の間から交渉をしていた所との話はNGになってしまい、ちょっとがっくり・・・。が、まだまだ諦めませんよ〜！

Another day at the gym. Worked on a lot of proposal and on the phone for couple of hours trying to get some kind of deals out there. I'm sure there must be someone who may be interested...you never know. However, the guys we were negotiating over the week end fell through so we need to find another prospect and time is clicking....

ロジャー安川応援ファンド宜しくお願い致します。

ホテルの回りをランニング

今日はホテルの回りをジョギングしました。天気がメチャメチャよくて、トレーニング日和です。ジョギングを終えてからはジムに行って有酸素運動をして、ホテルに戻ってデンワでスポンサー活動の件に関して、色々と連絡を取り合いました。午後はサーキットでチームにご挨拶。みんな一生懸命仕事中の所をちょこちょこセッティングの情報を聞いたり、回りの動きに関して話を教えてくれるので助かります！

Woke up and went for a run around the hotel. The Weather is pretty nice today here in Indy and was a great for outdoor activity. I still went to the gym after the jog for more Cardio exercise, and came home for a quick conference call with an agency in Toronto. Went to the track in the afternoon to speak with some team members to gather the set up data as well as what other teams are doing. Those info would become valuable once I hop in to the car!!

ロジャー安川応援ファンドよろしくおねがいします！

ジムでトレーニング

今日は走行がないので、ホテルの側のジムでがっつりトレーニングをしました。スッキリです！色々と交渉事でストレスが溜まっていたので発散。午後はサーキットでガレージをうろうろして、チームと話しをしました。スポンサー獲得次第ですが、まだまだどうなるかわかりません。引き続き頑張ります！！

There were no track activity at the track today so I decided to go to the gym across a street from my hotel. I was somewhat frustrated with all the negotiations from last couple of days and was able to release my stress by having a good quality work out. Than off to the track again to talk to the teams. Still waiting to hear back from a prospect sponsor...but I need to keep doing what ever I can to make this happen!!

ロジャー安川応援ファンドよろしくおねがいします！

今日もサーキットで交渉

今日も一日中メディアーセンターでスポンサー候補と連絡をとりあったり、ガレージに行ってチームの交渉をしたり等であっと言う間に終わってしまいました。走行中には何人かのドライバーがクラッシュして、交渉しているチームとの状況が変わって来てしまうの困ったX2。まだまだどうなるか、わかりませんが全力で頑張っています！

It was a long day at the track again, working out of the media center talking to some prospect sponsors, as well as going through the garage and chatting with the team owners. There were some crashes on track today which changes the dynamic of what I have been discussing for the 2nd week program. I hope it's not going to affect the deal too much if something comes up...either way, I gotta keep pounding the pavement!!

引き続きロジャー安川応援ファンド宜しくお願い致します！

企画書

今日はポールデー。少し肌寒く＆風も強くてなんだから２００３年のポールデーを思い出します。今の所はペンスキー＆ガナッシ勢は上位を独占してます。頑張れ英紀！！

It is Pole Day already and it's chilly and windy here at the Speedway. It reminds me of 2003 Pole day which was a difficult day to set the car up. As usual Penske and Ganassi guys are up front but you never know what can happened at the end. I'm cheering for my buddy Hideki though...

時分は昨晩から作っている企画書の作業をメディアセンターで行い、色々とグラフィックの作業等でいっぱいいっぱいです。どうなるか、わからないけどビッグチャンスに繋がるかもしれないので！チャンスは掴むもので待っていてもなかなかやってきませんからね！！

I spent the majority of the day working on the proposal that needs to be out by tonight. I'm working on graphics as well....I'm not that great at it but it is good to learn about the software. It may pay off at the end but still a very long shot and being able to strike a deal. You can't wait for opportunities but you have to find it!! Hope I will get some good response by Monday.

引き続き頑張ります！！
Wish me luck guys!!

ロジャー安川応援ファンドよろしくおねがいいたします。

今日からサーキット入り

今日からサーキット入りしました。今にも雨が降りそうな一日でしたが、なんとかドライで走行は無事に終了。時分は１月にこれなかったので、インフィールドにあるメディカルセンターに行き、体力測定＆身体検査を行い無事にパス。ライセンスも獲得して何時でも車に乗る準備はできています。

Just arrived to the track today. It seemed like it was going to rain but it stayed away from us and the cars were on track through out the day. I had to get my license and physical done today so I can be ready to hop in the car anytime. Everything went well and I am clear to drive!

午後はガレージをうろちょろして、ピットレーンを歩き色々とチームの動きを観察。すると、以前からインディーに来ると噂をされている琢磨選手とばったり遭遇。ちょこっと立ち話をして、そのまま仕事に戻りチームとの交渉。あっと言う間に一日が終わってしまいました・・・。

In the afternoon, I was in the garage talking to the teams and waking around the pit lane. I bumped in to Takuma Sato who is rumored to be coming this way. It seems like he is interested and would look forward to having him in he series.

まだまだ、交渉はこれからです。しかし、１年振りにやってきたのにファンの人達に覚えてもらってた事はちょこっと嬉しかったな！（笑）

Well, I still have a lot of work to do and phone calls to make. Besides all that, I was very happy to get all the greetings from the fans who hasn't forgotten about me even after a year of not being in the car!!

それでは、引き続きロジャー安川応援ファンドを宜しくお願い致します！

Thanks again for all your support and would appreciate every little donations through the Roger Yasukawa Cheering Funds!!

インディーに到着

皆さん１週間の間もブログをさぼってしまって、すみません・・・。今はインディアナポリスにいますが、出発までにできる限りの事をLAでしようと、必死になっていましたら、インディーではあっと言う間に走行が開始してしまいました。今の時点ではまだ決まっているものはありませんが、何がおきるかわからないので、サーキットに行き交渉を続けたいと思います。

Sorry for not updating my info for a week. I've been real busy in LA trying to do as much as I can in order to raise funds as well as sending out offers to possible sponsors. There is nothing lined up at this point...but will have to wait to hear back from couple of other prospects. I just landed in Indy and will be going to the track from tomorrow morning.

しかし、１年振りのインディアナポリス。去年から１年経つと思うと、なんだか恐ろしい・・・。昨年は本当に苦い＆屈辱的な思いをしたので、なんとか今年はリベンジしたい所です！

I can't believe it's been almost an year since I was here last. The Bump Day last year must have been the worst day of my life...so far... And hope to be back here for a revenge.

すでに、皆さんはご存知かもしれませんが、最近コラムを書かせて頂いてるUS Racingのサイトでロジャー安川応援ファンドを立ち上げて頂きました！不況でスポンサー獲得に困難していますが、ぜひ応援して下さい！なんとかシート獲得できる様に全力で頑張ります！！詳しい内容に関しましては下記のサイトをご覧下さい。宜しくお願い致します。
http://www.us-racing.net/modules/weblog0/details.php?blog_id=2215

By the way, I have started to write a column in US Racing website although it is all in Japanese. They have set up a Roger Yasukawa Cheering Funds for me in order to get my deal a bit closer. I will be writing blogs and updating all my info through their website so please check it out!

http://www.us-racing.net/modules/weblog0/details.php?blog_id=2215

フェラーリチャレンジ＆友人の結婚

いや〜いよいよ５月に突入しましたね。僕はいまソノマに着ています。今週末は営業活動＆フェラーリチャレンジの仕事で大忙しです・・・。そんななか、昨日はワイハで友人が結婚をしました！ミラノ時代の友達で今はニューヨークに住んでいます。結婚式を行くつもりでいたのですが、未だに５００の話が進まないのでドタキャンをしてしまって本当に申し訳ない・・・。ワオウカイ君（友達のニックネーム）ごめんよ〜！！でも、結婚おめでと〜！！Indy500にでてNY遊びにいくからね〜〜！！

Well...Month of May is finally here. I am in Sonoma now working at the Ferrari Challenge Week End and have been super busy trying to get things done for the 500. As always, things are real difficult, but it's even tougher now with the economy taking a slump. Meanwhile, I was supposed to attend to a wedding this week end in Hawaii and I had to cancel out from that. I feel really bad for my buddy as I wanted to celebrate his special day... He is one of my best friend from my High School Days in Milan and lives in NY now. Well, I guess I just have to secure a deal for the 500 and visit him in NY before the race!!

もう４月末

いや〜週末もあっと言う間に終わってしまい、気がついたら４月末。もうインディー５００は目前ですね。今週はラストスパート＆２４時間態勢でインディーに向けてスポンサー活動やチームとの交渉。どこのチームもやはり不況のせいで、スポンサー獲得を困難のようで、その負担をドライバーで補おうとしているので、大変な状況です。
が、スポンサーを獲得しないと状況はかわらないので、全力で頑張ってます！！なんだか、毎日がどきどき。緊張感あり過ぎの今日このごろです。

Wow...the week end passed by so fast and we are approaching month of May in a hurry. This week would be a critical week for me since it can be a deal or no deal week for me with a sponsor that we are currently discussing. If things don't happen this week, I have to opt for Plan B which is trying to find a second week ride...which is obviously not ideal. Anyhow, I gotta keep trying!! Wish me luck guys!!

気がついたら週末

気がついたらあっと言う間に週末に入りましたね。昨日と今日はジムでがっつりトレーニングをしてから、家で色々とスポンサー活動の為の連絡の取り合いであったり、チームとの交渉。今の時点で凡そ３０台は確定していて、残りのレースに参戦できる枠は３台。エントリーしている枠もいれると８台ありますが、ちゃんとしたシートは残り３つくらいなので、早くスポンサーを決めてシートを獲得しないと。色々と大変でプレッシャーかかっています・・・。

I can't believe that we are already headed in to the week end. I was at the gym today and yesterday for majority of the day to get me well prepared for the 500. As I got back home, I was straight back on to my desk to get things moving forward for the 500 talking to possible sponsors and seeing what's out there for a possible ride. There are 30 driver/car combination now which leaves 3 more drivers to make the show. Realistically, there are 8 more cars that are entered in to the race of which 3 seats are with a pretty good team. Time is running out and I will have to raise enough funds real quickly in order to run in this year's 500. I'm stressed out this last couple of days, but will need to keep working hard at it as things are moving forward slowly but surely.

交渉ノンストップ

いや〜気がついたらもうちょっと５月ですね。いよいよやってきましたよ〜Month of Mayが！！自分にとっては年に一度の稼ぎ時のチャンス。色んなチームと交渉してシートを獲得して、良い体制で５００に参戦しないとって毎年必死に動いている時期です。

I can't believe it's time of the year again! Month of May!! Obviously it's the only time where I can depend on a decent income if I run the 500. Well...I should say more than decent!?! Well, it gets really busy during this time of the year in order to secure a seat for the race.

このトレーニングが終わると一日中、メールや電話でシートがありそうなチームと連絡の取り合い。その上に色んな口コミ情報で回りがどういう動きをしてるかって言うのもしっておかないといけないので、情報集めが大変です。しかし、今年は今まで以上にスポンサーを確保して、お土産をもってチームと交渉をしなくてはいけないので、大変ですが全力で頑張ります！！

This year will be even tougher because all the teams are expecting reasonable funds to go racing. In order to find a seat, it's a full time job being on the phone and exchanging e-mails with prospect sponsors, team owners, and etc.... And it is hardest part of racing. To find a ride is a lot harder than the actual race!?! Well, I really have some unfinished business at the 500 and I am going to give my best shot again for this year's race!!

ロスは暑いです！

今朝ロスに戻ってきました。飛行場についてターミナルからでたら、まず“暑っ”！！なんと、今日はレコードヒートで４０℃を超える猛暑でした。アトランタにいた時はどちらかというと肌寒かったので、体調を崩してしまいそうないきおいです・・・。

Just got back home from Atlanta. As I got out of the terminal, I couldn't believe how hot it is here in LA. The weather in Atlanta wasn't too bad and the tem difference is outrageous.

なんだか、日本から戻ってきてやっとほっと一息する事ができました。が、それも束の間で明日は原稿を書き、今週中はずっと５００に向けての交渉でかなり忙しくなりそうです。エントリーリストもでて、参戦決定組が２８台。残りの５台のシートを獲得しないと！！頑張るぞ〜〜！！

Well, I was able to get some rest today and play with my son.It seemed like everything was non-stop for the last 15days...and was finally able to get my own time today. I will need to get back to work tomorrow, as I have to finish up some article for the Japanese Media as well as work on couple of prospect sponsors for the 500. The entry list for the 500 is out and 28 driver is confirmed. I will definitely need to get in to the last 5 available slots to make the show!! It's not going to be easy but I'm going to give my best shot!!

アトランタに到着

さっきアトランタに着きました。昨日は午前中にミーティングがあり、午後は英紀が家に到着し、髪をカットしたいと言うので、知り合いの美容室にいき、夜は家でお好み焼きディナー。息子はかなり英紀になついて、喜んでました！

Just checked in to my hotel in Atlanta. It was a real busy day yesterday having a quick meeting in the morning and meeting up with my buddy Hideki Mutoh in the afternoon. Hideki wanted to cut his hair so I took him to the hair salon that I usually go to in Beverly Hills. Than back home for dinner with my family. My son really enjoyed having Hideki around!!

そして、今朝は早起きして午前中に一緒にジムにいきトレーニング。お昼前に空港に連れてってもらい、自分はアトランタに出発。短い時間ですが、久しぶりに弟の様に可愛がってる英紀と時間を過ごせて良かったです！今週末がんばれよっ！！僕はアトランタでお仕事頑張ります・・・。

This morning, I woke up early and took Hideki to my gym and worked out together. It's always good to have some on who you can compete with when your training and it was a great work out. Before lunch, I got Hideki to give me a ride to LAX and off to Atlanta. It was really nice to spend time with Hideki since he is like my little bro and I really hope he will have a successful week end at Long Beach while...I will be working in Atlanta!?!

まだ朝の５時です。

今は朝の５時です。バッチリ目が覚めてしまいました。今日もこれからジムに行き、御前中は明日からアトランタに行ってしまうので、家族の食料品をスーパーに行って買い、午後からは英紀が家に来る予定です。なんだか、今までは弟の様に可愛がっていて、今も弟の様に可愛がっていますが・・・、同じ舞台で戦っている事が未だに信じられないです。（笑）今週末のロングビーチではぜひ頑張って欲しいのですね！！

It's still 5am in the morning here in LA. I am just getting ready to hit the gym again, and will be off to the grocery store before lunch since I need to pick up a lot of stuff because I am going away again for a week. In the afternoon, my buddy Hideki is coming in town and will be staying at my place tonight. I've know Hideki since he was a little kid, and he is like my little bro. I still have hard time realizing that we are racing in the same league. Well, I wish him best of luck this week end at Long Beach!!

ロスに戻ってきました

昨日ロスに戻ってきました。飛行機の中では４時間くらい寝れたのですが、着陸寸前になって突然体調がわるくなり、挙げ句の果てには鼻血がでてきて・・・？！？家に戻っても体調がすぐれなかったので、そのままユックリしていました。が、息子と娘の顔を見るとだいぶ元気になりますね！！

I came home safely and am delighted to see my kids. I was able to sleep for about 4-5hrs...but as we came close to time to land, I started to feel ill, and for some reason my nose started to bleed. I got home and needed some rest so I ended up not doing anything yesterday afternoon which I felt bad for my son who was ready to go out somewhere to have fun.

今はバッチリ時差ボケで３時には目が覚めて、これからジムに行く所です。まだ朝の４時半ですが。どちらにしても、明後日からアトランタで東時間になっちゃうから、今のうちからならしておかないと。

Well...I am 100% jetlagged right now and was up from 3am. It's still 4:30am here but I figured I will hit the gym and mind as well get used to the east coast time since I am traveling out there in two days.

これからロスに戻ります。

１０日間の日本滞在もあっと言うまで今は空港にいます。チェックインしてからやたらたこ焼きが食べたくなったので、銀ダコに行って腹ごしらえをしてから、飛行機に搭乗。ロスに戻って久しぶりに子供に会うのが楽しみです。が、水曜からはアトランタに移動して、フェラーリチャレンジのレース・・・。ユックリしてる暇もなさそうです。

I am at the airport already getting ready to board my flight back to LAX. 10 days has passed by so fast... But I am looking forward to getting home and being able to see my kids. At the airport, I was starving...so I ate some Takoyaki which is Octopus Balls...which is very delicious. When I get back in LA, I will be there for 3 days and off to Atlanta again for the Ferrari Challenge Race. I guess I will not have much time to relax...

１０日の滞在もあっと言う間に終了

気がついたら１０日の滞在もあっと言う間に終了。今回の滞在はかなりドタバタしていて、ブログをアップする事ができませんでした・・・。ごめんなさい。が、先に繋がりそうな話が何個かできたので良かったです。５００はもう来月なので、後は一か八かと言う所ですが、最後まで全力で頑張らないと！！

I can't believe my 10 days stay is almost over. It was a real busy trip meeting people and I wasn't able to update my blog for a week. Sorry guys... However, the meeting went really well and I have good confident that it will lead to something. However, the time is ticking for the 500 and I will need to keep my fingers crossed in order to make something happen out there.

さてさて、滞在中は色んな美味しいご飯が食べれました！もちろん、出て来た物を速攻で食べてしまう僕は写真撮ってません・・・。ごめんなさい〜・・・。まず、一番最初に行ったのは、久しぶりに花籠味。和食の美味しさと、色んなレース話ができて本当に楽しかったです！！

Well...it was very busy during the day and I also had dinner meeting every night here in Tokyo. Thanks to all my sponsors, they always take me to great restaurants and it was a gourmet week for me. On Monday, I went to Kakomi which is a small Traditional Japanese Restaurant in Ginza. I haven't been there for a while and the owner Kakomi is a big fan of racing and we always talk about racing while having dinner. Even the Ross Brawn, who owns Brawn GP, the team who won the first 2 races of F1 this season goes there.

滞在中にちょっと花粉症がヤバく、疲れがたまって来たのでエアープレス上野に行って、酸素カプセルに入りリラックス！かなりリフレッシュして、またスポンサー活動を再開。

During my stay, I was pretty tired with jetlag as well as struggled with sinus allergy, so I decided to make a visit to Air Press Ueno.I was able to totally refresh my self, and I swear that adding more oxygen in your blood stream cures the sinus allergy...at least temporarily for me!!

水曜の夜には久しぶりに紅月に行ってきました。ここでは、マヨ嫌いの僕が伊勢エビマヨに挑戦。マヨ嫌いの僕でも食べれるくらいに、まろやかで美味しかったです。メインには贅沢にアワビのシャブシャブ。美味しい物を食べると元気がでますね！！

And than off to Kougetsu. I always stop by here and usual have Pork ShabuX2, but this time I tried Ise-Shrimp with Mayo(basically Lobster Mayo). I am not a big fan of Mayonnaise...in fact I hate it...but the Ise-Ebi Mayo was so mild and delicious. Got a give this try if you have chance in Japan!! The main course was Abalone Shabu Shabu.

そして、木曜の晩はずっとお世話になっているUp Startの社長夫妻と代官山でお食事。ここで食べたイタリアン・・・とくにウニのパスタがメチャ美味しかったです！！

On Thursday night, I visited Up Start a clothing company in Daikanyama district. They've been a part of my program for last couple of years and we talked about my future plans. Than off to dinner at this great Italian Restaurant. The Urchin Pasta was phenomenal here!!

金曜は地元の下町に戻り、昨晩はO2 Styleの社長と蔵前にある天婦羅いせやでお食事。やっぱり下町もアットホームでいい感じですね。ちなみに、いせやで天かすをお土産でもらい、ロスに戻ったら早速お好み＆焼きそばを作る予定です！！（笑）

Finally last night...I was back in downtown near my house. I was with the owner of O2 Style and went eat Tempura at Iseya in Kuramae. They've been serving Tempura for 100 years in downtown district of Tokyo. I picked up some Tempura Crumbs to go and will bring this back to LA so my wife can make some Yakisoba with it. Tempura Crumb is a secret ingredients on being able to make good Yakisoba.

そんなこんなで、日中は忙しく夜はグルメな滞在を過ごさせて頂きました。（笑）美味しい物を色々とご馳走してくれて皆さん本当に有り難うございます！！しか〜し、家に帰って妻に自慢するのは少し後ろめたい今日この頃です。なんとか、５００に出てしっかり稼いで家族にも美味しい物を食わせてあげるぞ〜！！

Well...it was a gourmet trip as much as a business but I really appreciate all the guys who took to me to these great restaurants. I kind of feel guilty telling my wife about all these great meals.... But I guess I am gonna have to race in the 500 and make some serious cash to take my family out to a great dinner after the race!!

結婚式

日本に戻ってきました！そして、昨晩はミラノ時代からの友人の結婚式に出席してきました！！久しぶりに友達と会って、友人の結婚を祝えて良かったです。やっぱり結婚式はいいですね〜〜、感動的で！！いや〜、Y君＆Yちゃんおめでとう！！末永くお幸せに！！桜満開のなかで結婚式を挙げれるのは本当に良かったです。

Got back to Japan on Friday and attended to my friends wedding last night. I haven't seen him for a while and it was great to reunite with all my friends from Milan. But more importantly we were all happy to celebrate my buddy's wedding. It's always great to attend to a wedding and it certainly was a long nigh in Tokyo because we only see each other every 2-3years.

そして、僕は明日からメチャメチャ忙しい日々が続きそうです。インディ−５００に参戦する為の予算集めとしてはラストチャンス。気合いを入れていかないと！！

Well...my stay is going to get real busy now since I have several meetings during this week on trying to finalize a deal raise some funds to run Indy!! Wish me luck guys!!

これから日本です。

今はロスの空港にいます。この間ロスに戻って来たばかりなのに、また今から日本に戻ります。今回は５００の前に最後に帰れるチャンスなので営業活動を気合い入れて頑張らないと！！

I am in LAX right now getting ready to board the flight back to Japan. Seems like I was there couple of days ago!?! This would be the last trip before Month of May so I really need to work hard to raise the funds in order to race in the 500 this year.

日本はもう暖かいのかな・・・？これから長いフライトが苦痛だな〜。まだ見えない映画が上映されているといいけど・・・。

I hope it's warm in Japan....I am not looking forward to the long flight and I hope the movie they are going to air today is not the one I have already watched.

明後日から日本です

今日は朝一でジムに行きトレーニング。午後は明後日から日本に行くので、色々と頼まれ物等をゲット。基本的には行きはスーツケースガラガラなのですが、帰りはお土産でパンパン。しかも、最近はスーツケースが２３kgまでに規制されているので、よく考えてパッキングしないと追加料金を取られてしまいます・・・。海外旅行をされる方は大きなスーツケースを一個よりも、中くらいのサイズを２つ持っている方が効率性良いですよ！！

Woke up early to go to the gym. Worked out all morning and got some work done in the afternoon as well as went to couple of stores to pick things up for my coming trip to Japan. I am leaving on Thursday and will be there for almost a week. I usually go there with an empty suits case and come back full of souvenir for my kids and wife. It is getting real strict with 23kg weight limit on the check in bags and it is almost better to have two medium size suits case rather than one large suit case to stay with in the limit. I will have to use my head when I'm packing to avoid those extra charges!!

朝食

昨晩は運動会で息子も疲れていたのか早く寝てしまい、今朝は７時前に起床。強引に起こされた自分も気合いでジムに行き１０kmのランニング。久しぶりの日曜をレース観戦しながら満喫する事ができました。

I guess my son was real tired last night and went to be early. The bad news for that is, he was up before 7am and obviously would do everything to wake me up. Since I was able to get up early, I went to the gym for 10km run and spend majority of the day watching the F1 and NASCAR race on TV.

最近はまっている物があります。それは朝食に食べる、山盛りフルーツ、プレーンヨーグルトに、グラノラをかける事です。さくさくと食感があって、全体的にヘルシー！！しかし、色んな所を転戦してきましたが、朝からサラダを食べるの習慣が日本にはあるのですかね！？！（笑）

Just before I hit the gym, I had my power breakfast which is a huge bowl of fruits, plain yogurt, and granola. I eat this every morning before I go to the gym and it gives me all the energy I need for the whole day!! On the other note, some people in Japan eats salad for breakfast but I am not a salad guy for breakfast!?!

運動会

今日は、息子が通う幼稚園で運動会がありました！息子がでる種目はリレー、親子と一緒にチキンダンス、そして親子でゲームリレーでした。ダンスは僕と似て不得意の様です・・・。

There was an Athletic event today at the pre-school where my son goes to. It's a Japanese tradition to host an athletic day once a year at the school and they make the kids dance and run sometimes together with the parents. My son participated in a sprint run, dance with your parents, and a game relay with your parents. Obviously my son didn't do so well in dancing...and I really know now that he has got my blood!?!

が、リレーは余裕でトップでゴール！しかも、親子と一緒のゲームリレーの前では妻から耳元にボソッと“気合いを入れて行けよ”と一言。（笑）そんな緊張感の高まる雰囲気のなか、息子は協議をみて集中力を高める。

However, he was really fast in the sprint run and beat all other kids!! He also had to do the Game Relay Run with me...and my wife just needed to add the extra pressure on us to win that event. Look how serious and concentrated my boy is before the run!?! Lol...

そして、ゲームリレーもブッチギリのトップでゴール！！とりあえず、運動能力は高そうなので男としては一安心です！！

Well...we came in first for the Game Relay as well!! I am relieved to know that his athletic ability is high but will need to work on his dancing skills if he wants to find a girl friend....may be in 15years!?!

いよいよF1開幕

今週末にいよいよF1が開幕しますね。今年はルールの変更で、車のデザインやKERSシステムの導入で何処がレースに勝つかわからないので、最初の何戦かは面白くなりそうですね。しかし、低くと大きいフロントウィングは気になりませんが、高くて細いリアウィングはなんだか違和感ありますね。後ろから見るとフォーミュラールノーが走ってるみたいで・・・。車載カメラを見る限りでは、車の操作が難しくなってそうですね。今からレースを見るのが楽しみです！！

Finally the F1 season is starting this week end in Australia. There were many rule changes over the winter and the cars are much different this year. The KERS System and the rear diffuser is causing a lot of controversy this week end and it is really hard to predict who will win the race. Also, the new front wings looks alright, but the tall and narrow rear wing is really ugly...it looks like bunch of Formula Renault going around the track!?! Well, it certainly is making the car more difficult to drive from looking at the in-car camera feed. It probably would be the most interesting season in many years!!

WBC

昨日は急遽WBCの決勝を見に行ってきました！ドジャーススタジアムから５分の所に住んでいるので、チケットを頂いて、いざ観戦へGo！！試合はかなり盛り上がっていました。が、韓国タウンが近い事もあって、雰囲気は完全にアウェーゲーム・・・。途中でヤバい雰囲気になりましたが、最後はやってくれましたね！！

I went to see the World Baseball Classic final last night. Japan was playing against Korea and it was a very good game. I had a seat all the way at the top so we had pretty good viewing. It must have felt like an away game for the Japan team with so many Korean's cheering for there country since K-Town is huge here in LA. Japan ended up winning and was able to hold on to their title. It certainly was worth going out there!! Well...off to the regular season now. I may stop by the stadium again to watch the Dodger's play since they may have a good year this season.

ロスに戻ってきました

長い週末がおわり、ようやくロスに戻ってきました。飛行機が１時間ディレイして、到着時間が遅れた為に、いくはずのミーティングは明日に延期・・・。家に戻って久しぶりに息子＆娘と遊んでいました。

My long week is finally over and I am back in LA. My flight was delayed one hour so I ended up missing a meeting that I was planning to attend to...but will have another one tomorrow at lunch time. I was able to get home and spend some quality time with my son and daughter who I missed seeing because I was pretty much away for two weeks.

マイアミにいる時は雨が降ったりやんだり。その合間に虹がでたので、スナップショット。なんだか、心が癒されますね。

While I was in Miami, it would rain and dry and rain and dry....I guess it's usual in Miami but was able to take a quick snap at a rainbow that popped up while we were packing up yesterday. Hopefully this is sign of good things to come!!

あち〜・・・。

今日のレースは、自分ドライバーは予選は６位。決勝は２ラップ目にラジエターが壊れてしまい、リタイヤ・・・。表彰台を狙っていたのに、残念です・・・。まっ、明日があるか。なんだか自分のレースの様に悔しいです。

It was not a great day for my driver today. We qualified 6th, and than DNF from the race after 2laps because of a radiator failure.We were hoping for a podium finish so I am gutted just as my driver.

しかし、今日のマイアミは暑い。しかも、湿気ているから、あまり清々しくはないですね・・・。早くロスに帰りたいっす。

It is pretty hot out here in Miami today although we are expecting some rain real soon...

エンジニアに昇格？！？

今日はホームステッドで走行２日目。本当はデータエンジニアの仕事をするはずが、突然ドライバーのコーチも掛け持ちでやってくれてお願いされて、仕事が増えてしまいました。同時に色々とセットアップの変更もしていたら、エンジニアの仕事までしはじめてしまい、完全にマルチタスク状態です。でも、自分のドライバーがチームの中でトップタイム。総合でも４位のタイムなのでまずまずのできでしょう！？！

Today is the second day at the Homestead Ferrari Challenge Race Week End. I was supposed only do the data logging but turned out to be a coach/data logger. Than as my driver picked up some speed, I started to engineer the car for him and I guess I am officially a Engineer/Coach/Dag guy for the team. The multi tasking thing is not what I want to do...but my driver ended up being the fastest in our team as well as 4th overall so not so bad day for us.

ドライバーをコーチしているとき以外の時間はPCのデータの管理と、セッティングを良くする為の研究でにらめっこです。ちなみに、こんな様なグラフをみてセッティングを考えます。

Here is a pict of what we look at when we download the data. We go through all the graphs to distinguish what the problem is, and how we can improve on the set up.

セットアップデー

今日はサーキットでセットアップデー。トランスポーターから荷物や車を降ろし、テントをはったりの作業です。以外とシステマチックになっているので、そんなに時間がかかるわけではありませんが、久しぶりの作業で疲れました。（笑）

It was a set up day today at the track. We needed to unload the car and the goods out of the transporter and put the tent up for the hospitality. Everything is systematic so it doesn't take a lot of time to get everything prepped...but it was definitely a lot of work...to get my hands dirty.

トランスポーターも今年カラーに塗り替えられていました。

The transporter has a new look this year and it definitely looks cool!

自分は無線機＆コンピューターのセットアップ担当。その他にも色々と頼まれて、仕事をしながらギャラアップを交渉！？！（笑）ま〜このご時世に仕事をもらえるだけでも感謝しないと。

I was in charge of the radios and the computer for the data logger. I was able to get things done pretty quickly and had to work on other stuff...may be I deserve a raise!?! Well, I guess I am fortunate to have a job with the way things are right now with the economy.

マイアミに着きました。

マイアミにつきました。フライトはロスから４時間半。音楽を聴きながらウトウトしていたらあっと言うまでした。マイアミは暑くもなく、寒くもなく緩って感じです。今回泊まるホテルはCoralGablesにあるブティックホテル。メカニックと一緒に部屋をシェアーしていますが、2ベッドルームにリビング付きなので苦痛ではありません。部屋もいい感じなので、とりあえずは寛げそうです！？！が、明日から仕事で忙しくなりそう・・・。

Just arrived to Miami. The flight from LA was about 4.5hrs. I got to sleep a bit and listened to some music and the flight seemed real short. The weather in Miami is OK...not too hot nor cold but sounds like we may get some shower here and there during the week end. The hotel we are staying is a boutique hotel in Coral Gables and it is pretty nice. I have to share a room with a mechanic but the room is a 2bd room with a living room so it is not all that bad.

ベランダからの景色とリビングルームです。

Here is a pict of the view from my room and the living room,

これからマイアミです。

昨日は４時に起床。今朝はなんと３時半に目が覚めしまい、今はマイアミに行く準備をしています。５時にはタクシーが迎えに来るのですが、完全に時差ボケ状態です！？！（笑）歳ですかね・・・？！？

I woke up at 4am yesterday and was up at 3:30AM this morning. Although I was supposed to get up at 4am since I am leaving to Miami this morning....I really didn't need an alarm because of the jet lag. My cab is going to pick me up at 5am so I am packing all my stuff now.

今日はマイアミへの移動日。チームスタッフと一緒ですが、なんとかんく団体行動が嫌いな自分・・・。ちょっと面倒だな。今回はフェラーリチャレンジのコーチの仕事で行ってきます。去年までは専属ドライバーがいましたが、今年はチームからの依頼でチームのドライバー全体の面倒を見なくてはいけないので、大変そうです。では、行ってきま〜す。アリベデルチ！！

I am traveling with the team today and I must admit that I don't really like traveling as a group because it takes so long to gather all the people to go anywhere. However, I guess I can't complain for having a job during this tough economic time. I will not be working with a particular driver this year but I will be doing some data logger/coaching this year for all team drivers so things would probably become busy during the race week end. Well...about time to leave now!! Arrivederci!!!

ロスに帰宅

さっき無事にロスに戻ってきました。今回の日本の滞在は本当にあっと言うまでしたが、休み暇もなく色んな人に会えて、とても貴重な時間が過ごせました。

Just got back from Japan. The stay was real quick but was able to spend some valuable time meeting people who may be able to help put things together for my race program.

滞在最終日には、親戚の石川直生君が出場した試合を後楽園ホールに見に行きました！全てK-1ルールでかなり面白い試合が続きました。残念ながら、直君は負けてしまいましたが、かなり不利な相手にメチャメチャ良い戦いをしていて、自分にとっても良い刺激となりました！！

During the last night of my stay, I went to see a Kick Boxing Match under the K-1 Rule since my relative Naoki Ishikawa was going to be in the main fight. Naoki(we call him Nao-kun) did well but unfortunately he lost the match. I would say it was not a fair match for him because his style really doesn't suit the K-1 rule...nevertheless, it was good to see him giving his best as I always get inspired by watching him fight!!

戻ってくる前には、久しぶりに美味しいお寿司を食べに連れてって頂きました！お茶の水にある誠鮨と言うお店ですが、お薦めです！！やはりお寿司を食べると日本に来た〜って感じです。とうぶんは、おいしいお寿司が食べれないので、次回までの我慢ですね・・・。

During my stay, I also went to this new Sushi Restaurant in Tokyo called Makoto Sushi, and the food there was great!! It will definitely be my must stop during my trip to Japan from now on.

紅月

気がついたらもう土曜日。滞在も明日までと、今回は本当にあっと言う間です。一昨日行われたIndyJapan記者発表会も無事に終わり、久しぶりのステージに若干緊張。後輩の英紀にもあえて、色々と話をしました。今年は自信たっぷりあふれているので、良い結果が期待できそうです！自分はひたすらIndy500参戦を目指して頑張らないと！！

I can't believe that it's already Saturday. Today is my last day here in Japan before I return to LA. The press conference that was held the other day went really well and I had lots of catching up to do with Hideki since I haven't seen him for a while. He looked pretty confident this year so I think he will deliver good results during the season. As for my self, now that most work is done for Indy Japan, I will have to focus on trying to get the 500 deal moving forward!!

一昨日の夜は久しぶりに紅月に行って豚シャブを食べてきました！！やっぱり美味しいですね〜！！そう言えばいつも、ご飯の写真を載せた方がよいなと思いつつ、撮る前に食べ終わってしまってまいます。（笑）

For dinner, I went to Kougetsu my favorite ShabuX2 joint in Nishiazabu. I always want to take the pict of the food but the food is so good that I end up finishing the plate before I take my camera out of the pocket...may be next time.

今日はIndyJapanの記者発表会

日本での滞在はかなりドタバタです。昨日は朝一から車の試乗、そして取材・・・、お昼にミーティング、そして夕方はエアープレス上野に、行き酸素カプセルに入ってきました。３日前は飛行機の中で寝れなくて、日本についてからの睡眠時間は４時間、一昨日の晩は時差ボケ＆花粉症で２時間しか寝れなかったので、メチャメチャ辛かったです。しか〜し、酸素カプセルに入ったら時差ボケも体調もすっかり治って、昨晩はバッチリ寝れました。とくに、カプセルから出た時の視界の良さにはビックリします！！まだ、トライをした事ない人はぜひお試しを！！

As usual, pretty hectic trip so far already in Japan. I had several media interviews yesterday with couple of sponsor meeting. I was so exhausted last night that I needed to make my way to Air Press Ueno to get my self in to the Oxygen Capsule.I only got 6hr of total sleep during the last 3 days so first of all, I needed some sleep...but also had a bad headache from the allergy which is pretty bad here in Japan from all the trees. Anyhow, I have fully recovered after spending 2hrs in the capsule and what amazes me the most is how clear you vision becomes after couple of hours in the capsule!

さてさて、今日はこれからIndyJapanの記者発表会があります。ちゃんとしたイベントに出席するのは久しぶりだからなんだか、緊張するな！？！（笑）

I am just off to the Indy Japan Press Conference now and looking forward to being up on the stage again!!

日本に到着！

さっき日本に着きました！サンフランからのフライトは以外と長かったです。機内では一睡もできず映画を５本も見てしまいました！？！（笑）一番気に入ったのは色んな部門でアカデミー賞を受賞したSlumdog Millionaireです。インドのスラムで育った子がミリオネアに出演すると言うストーリーでしたが、なかなか面白かったです。在米インド人には、賛否両論の評価で、インドのスラムはあんなに酷くないとコメントしている人もいましたが・・・。日本ではもう上映しているのかな？？

Just arrived to Japan. It was a pretty long flight from SFO. I couldn't sleep at all during the flight and ended up watching 5 movies. The best one was Slumdog Millionaire. I was curious about the film since it has won so many awards during the academy. I guess the people from India didn't really agree with how bad they expressed the slum...but in terms of the story it was pretty good. Anyhow, I have a pretty heavy task during next couple of days here in Japan so I better adjust to the time zone real quick!!

明日から日本です。

今日もスクールでの仕事は無事に終了。今はホテルに戻り、明日から日本なので日本での滞在中で使う書類等を作成。しかし、日本はまだ寒いのかな・・・？モントレーは天気はメチャメチャ良かったのですが、少し肌寒くて身体が冷えて風邪をひきそうなので、今はホテルの部屋に戻って暖房をつけちゃってます。いや〜明日の日本への１１時間フライトは苦痛だな・・・。面白い映画がやっているといいけど。

The second day at the school just finished and back to the hotel room now. The weather was really nice but it still is a bit chilly out here in Monterey and when I got back to my hotel room, I had to warm my self up with a nice hot shower. I hope the weather is nice in Japan... I need to get some work done tonight and in the plane to make sure all my meetings will go well during my stay. I am not really looking forward to the long flight and hope that they will air a movie that is decent enough to watch.

今はモントレー

皆さんご無沙汰しています。気がついたら１週間近くも書き込みをさぼっちゃいました・・・。ここ数日間はメチャ忙しかったです。で、今はモントレーに来ています。２日間だけでスクールの仕事をして、日曜のフライトで日本に戻ります。日本ではスポンサー活動や、メディアインタビュー、そして１２日に行われるIndyJapanの記者発表会に出席します。久しぶりの日本なので楽しみです！！

Hey guys, sorry for not updating my blog for couple of days. I was really tied up this week and I am in Monterey right now working at Laguna for couple of days. On Sunday, I will be traveling to Japan for a week and due to have several sponsor meeting as well as media interview. I am also attending the Indy Japan Press Conference and should be a real busy trip. I haven't been back to Japan for almost 6months now so am really looking forward to seeing my family there as well!

ロスで雪？

週末もあっと言う間に終わってしまって、気がついたら３月ですね。今月はメチャメチャ忙しいんですよね・・・。週末はラグーナセカで、中旬はずっとフェラーリチャレンジの仕事でマイアミに行かなくてはいけません・・・。

The weekend went by pretty fast and I didn't realize that we are already in March. I will be real busy this month going to Laguna this week end and than off to Miami middle of the month to work at Ferrari Challenge Race week end.

家族でユックリ過ごせる週末もとうぶんないので、今週末は息子となるべくいっぱい遊んで上げました。昨日は幼稚園のイベントで雪を敷地内に降らせてくれたので、なんとロスで雪遊び！？！息子が雪を触るのは初めてだったので大興奮。ずっと雪山を作っていました。（笑）

I figured that I may not be able to spend some time with my family for a while so I was home spending as much time as I can with my son during this week end. We actually went to his pre-school yesterday which they have hosted a snow event. It was my son's first encounter with the snow and seemed like he really enjoyed playing with it. We spent couple of hours there and made Mt.Blanc!?!

DRRが好調！

今ホームステッドでテスト２日目が終わった所ですね。タイムチャートを見ると茂木で走るDreyer&Reinboldのマイクが良いタイムを出してきましたね！テストとは言えども、最後にしっかり纏めて来た所を見ると、チームの戦闘力がアップしている所を感じます！！今から茂木が楽しみです！！

Just ended the second day of testing at Homestead. I was really surprised to see the DRR driver Mike Conway in 8th. I think the team has really stepped up during the winter and I can' wait to get back in to the car!!

去年走ったBECKは３Gと言うチーム名に変更して、ドライバーには知り合いのスタントンが走っています。最初のテストは無事に終わり、最下位に終わってしまいましたが、今後はどんどん伸びて行くでしょう。でも改めてエンジニアの力によってチーム力が変わる事を実感する一日でした。ここだけの話、去年は助っ人で日本から某GTチャンピオンチームのエンジニアがお手伝いに来てくれたのですが、もう一日あれば予選も余裕でクリアーできる車が作れたんですよね。そんな悔しい思いも今年のレースにぶつけるぞ〜！！

The team I drove last year Beck Motorsports is now called 3G Racing and my buddy Stanton is driving for them. They safely ended their two...or three days of testing and although they are at the bottom of the speed chart, I'm sure they will get better as he they get more acquainted with the car. It just shows how competitive the IRL is and how important the engineering staff is to the team. I actually had one of my buddy who is an engineer for the Best All Japan GT team in Japan come to the 500 last year day before the bump day. He has helped so much that I'm sure I would have made the field if we had another day. I guess that's an excuse for not making the field but I will just need to go out there again and prove that we can get the job done!!

テスト開始

ついにホームステッドでのオープンテストが始まりましたね！ながい、オフシーズンも終わりようやくスタートって感じです。で、自分もこのテストに足を運びたかったのですが、懐が寒い＆５００の営業活動に専念しなくてはいけなかったので、今回は断念・・・。

Finally the Indy Car season is on the way! I can't believe it's almost been 6 months since the Indy Car has been on track all at once. Very excited to see the car on track although I am not there physically... I really wanted to attend the test but decided not to since I have more work to do trying to put deals together for the 500.

でも、やっぱりインディーカーが動いているのを見ちゃうと身体がムズムズしちゃいますね！！しかも、IndyJapanを一緒に戦うDreyer&Reinboldのドライバーのマイクはボチボチの滑り出し！！できるだけ、現場に行ってチームの動きをみたいな〜・・・。（泣）

It's pretty interesting with all the shuffling of the drivers. I'm also happy to see that the DRR driver Mike Conway is doing well first time on the oval. I'm sure they are being some what conservative now since he is a rookie on an oval. I regret not being there watching the car on my computer monitor...but will have to give my best effort getting things moving forward for 500 since thing are real tough these days,...

山本優弥選手

昨日のIndyJapanの正式な参戦発表をしてから、沢山のファンからの応援メールが届いて朝から気合いが入ってしまいました！ジムに行ってがっつりトレーニングして体調もバッチリです。

After the the official announcement for the Indy Japan race, I started to receive tons of fan mails congratulating me for being able to get back in the car. It certainly makes me happy and was really hyped up when I hit the gym first thing in the morning!

昨日は日本でK-1 World Maxの試合が行われたみたいですね。僕の知っている山本優弥先週は決勝まで行き、最後は残念ながら小比類巻選手に負けてしまいましたが、かなりのガッツを感じました！！試合にいきたかったな〜！でも、知り合いが頑張っているのを見ると、良い意味で刺激されますね！！自分も改めて気合いが入りました！！

When I got home, I searched on line to see the results from the K-1 World Max tournament that was held last night. My buddy Yuya Yamamoto made to the final but lost the tournament to Kohiruimaki who has been around for a while... Obviously I was bummed to see the results but I think he really did great going in to the tournament as an underdog and to come out as vice champ! I will definitely look forward to seeing his next match!!

Indy Japan参戦決定！

皆さん、ようやく茂木の参戦が決定しました！去年の５００が終わってから、ず〜っと交渉してようやくIndyJapanの参戦は同意ができました。まだ５００の話はこれからで、茂木に向けてもする事は沢山ありますが、９月のレースに向けて早い時期に参戦がきまって何よりです！！

I finally have some great news for you guys!! I have been negotiating for a drive since after the 500 last year and we are finally signed a deal for the Indy Japan race in Sept. The 500 is coming up shortly and I still have a lot of work for the Indy Japan race but I am just really happy to secure a deal this early for a race later in the season.

去年は茂木＆５００両方とも悔しいレースの内容だったので、今年は楽しみです！参戦するチームは０５年と０７年に走ったDreyer&Reinbold。このチームとは仲も良くチームオーナーは自分に取ってインディアナポリスのパパみたいなもんです。今年はエンジニアリングスタッフも強化して、去年のIndyJapanで良い走りをみせていたVisionRacingのデータも持って来ているので、茂木は期待できると思います！！その前に５００があるので、ホッとしているのも束の間でまだまだする事がいっぱいあります！しかし、何よりも今年もファンの皆さんにお会いできるのが楽しみです！！

Since the results from last year was not what I was hoping for nor doesn't show my ability as a driver...I really wanted to go back with a competitive team this year and I am sooOO happy that I am back with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing who I drove for in 05 and 07. The team has strengthen the engineering staff over the winter and I think they will be pretty strong at Motegi since they have some good data from last year with the new engineer that is on board. I really want to thank Dennis Reinbold on being able to give me this opportunity and he is like my father in Indianapolis. Again, there are a yet a lot of work to be done before the race but I am really looking forward to being back in the car as well as getting things sorted for Month of May!!

辛っ！

今日は午前中はミーティング。午後はジムでトレーニング。家に戻って来て夕方まで色々と仕事をしていたらあっと言う間に一日が終わってしまいました。今は小腹がすいたので、母親が買ってきてくれたお煎餅を堪能。柿の種に唐辛子がまぶされていて、メチャ辛だけど、激ウマです！これ、お薦めです！！

I had a meeting in the morning to discuss about some future plans, and than came home and off to the gym after lunch. I needed to get some work done all afternoon and this week is already over...!?! I'm a bit hungry so decided to get a quick snack to satisfy my stomach. My mom brought me some rice cracker with chili powder and these are really hot but reallyX2 good!!

あとちょいです。

ず〜っと続けて来た交渉がようやく纏まりそうです。連日チームとの連絡を取り合い、ようやく細かい部分の話し合いまで前進しました。今の時点ではIndyJapanは纏まりあとは引き続き５００に向けての交渉＆スポンサー活動を続行しないと。が、まずIndyJapanの参戦については近日中に発表できそうです！今年もまた応援しに来て下さいね！！＆待ちに待った発表も楽しみにしてて下さい！！

Things are moving forward rapidly and I think we will have a good announcement to make by Monday. I have been in touch with the team the last couple of days working out the details and we are in the final touches. Indy Japan is looking good but still working on the 500 program and will have some serious work to do on that end. Nevertheless, I am very happy to get something on to the plate that we can proceed with. Well for now, stay tuned for my racing plans which will be announced shortly!!

ブログサボっちゃいました・・・。

３日前に朝起きてネットをしようとしたら、何故か繋がらない・・・。メールチェックをしても、アカウントがおかしい・・・。早速プロバイダーの電話番号を調べて電話をしようと思ったら、な〜んとプロバイダーのサイトがなくなったる〜！？！色々と調べて電話番号をゲットしても、回線が繋がらず夜逃げか〜と思いパニクり状態。が、翌日になるとネットは普通に回復してメールも使えるようになりました。あれは、いったいなんだったんだろう！？！ちなみにまだ、プロバイダーの電話は繋がりません。

I woke couple of days ago and the internet was down. I tried to check my e-mail and something was going crazy with my e-mail account. I went on line using my iPhone and tried to check the phone number for my internet provider and found out that their website was also down!?! I found their phone number and called them but the phone line was disconnected. For a second I though the company went belly up...but decided to wait a day to find out what was going on. Woke up the next day and the service was back up and their website is back up too...but the phone line still disconnected. I don't know what happened but am content for now for having the service back on.

と言う事を理由にここ数日間の間はブログをさぼってしまいました。が、色々と話は順調に進んでいます。でも、ネットがダウンすると本当に困りますね。仕事が進まなくなってしまうので。そろそろ、違う所と契約しようかな・・・？！？

Well, that is my excuse for not updating last couple of days. The good news is, all this time that I have been of the line, I managed to get things moving forward and I am really close on getting a deal secured. May be it's a good thing not to rely on internet so much huh?!?

交渉は順調

今日も朝一にジムでトレーニング。お昼は家で食べて、午後は電話でチームと連絡を取り合って、交渉はスムーズに進んでいます。が、今年はインディ−５００の方が先で茂木が後なので、今までとは違う形での話の進め方となるのでちょっと苦戦しています。が、話は前進しているので一安心です！

As usual, went to the gym in the morning for 2hr circuit training, and back home for lunch. I spent most of the afternoon on the phone talking and negotiating the race deal for this season. Since the Motegi race has been pushed back to Sept now...the dynamic has changed quite a bit on trying to make the 500 and Japan race as a package deal. However, things are moving forward smoothly and hope to be able to have things wrapped up in next 10 days!!

また冬？

１月中旬からは夏日和だったロスも、ここ数日間はメチャメチャ寒いです。今日も朝一でジムに行ってトレーニング。寒いとウォームアップをしっかりしないと怪我をしてしまうので、入念にウォームアップ。

Although we had great weather during Jan, it feels like we are back to winter again with the rain and the chilly weather during last couple of days. I guess the forecast is not so great during this week... The weather doesn't affect my excuse to be away from the gym and was there first thing in the morning. You really need to warm up well when it's cold because you can get injured from working out with out being ready!!

午後は息子を公園に連れて行き、スーパーによって帰宅。子供が寝ている間にガッツリ仕事をして、今から夕飯です！今夜はミーティングがあります・・・。２月もあっと言う間に終わってしまいそうなので、急ピッチで話を進めないと！！

Was back from the gym before lunch and went to the park with my son and picked up some groceries after lunch. While my son is napping, I had to get a lot of work done and off to a dinner meeting now. Seems like a real busy day...

ジムでトレーニング

週末からロスは天気が崩れて、今日も雨。珍しくジャケットを着ないと寒いくらいです・・・。今日は朝一でジムに行き１０kmのランニング。１月中のトレーニングはちょっとサボリ気味だったのですが、体調は良くて１０kmもあっと言う間に走りにいてしまいました。

The weather here in LA has been bad for last couple of days and it is still raining...well actually snowing in the higher elevation. I guess we needed some rain so that's a good thing for the city. Anyhow, I started my day early at the gym for a 10km run and came home just in time for lunch.

午後は試乗で借りていた日産マキシマを返却して家に戻って来てから仕事をしました。インディー５００と茂木参戦に向けて引き続き交渉をしていますが、ようやく茂木の方は具体化してきそうです。が、個人的には何が何でも５００の話をまとめなくてはいけないので、全力で頑張らないと！！

After lunch, I went to drop off the Nissam Maxima which I had over the week end for test drive to write an article which I had to finish last night. Once I got home, I started to make some phone calls to negotiate my deal for 500 and Motegi. Things for Motegi is looking great but I really need to lock the 500 in since it is just around the corner... It will take some work but I am 100% committed to race there again and hope to be able to lock something in real soon!!

イタリアン

この３日間は親父が来ていました。息子も大喜び。しかも、親父が来ると家でイタリア料理を作ってくれるので、美味しいご飯も沢山食べちゃいました。家の親父はイタリアン大好きで、以前GQの雑誌に年間３００日イタリアンを食べる男と特集された事もあります。（笑）でも、食べるだけではなくて美味しいレストラン並みに料理ができる所が凄いんです！！自分も最近は料理をしていないから、また久しぶりに包丁を持たないと感覚が鈍るな・・・。

My dad was in town for last 3days so I was pretty busy taking him around to get all his shopping done. He has 6 Grand Children now including my son and daughter so that keeps him busy going to the mall and buying all the clothing for the kids since they grow so fast. The best part of having my dad in town is that he cooks great Italian food for us while his stay. He loves Italian food so much that he got an interview from GQ Japan last year as a person who eats Italian 300days per year. I got some recipe from him while trying to cook Italian food and will need to return to the kitchen one of these days to horn my cooking skills!!

妻のグリーンカード

今日は長い一日でした。朝６時に起きて、８時から妻のグリーンカードの事についてオフィッスに行ってきました。１年前に申請のインタビューも終わり、グリーンカードを認可されたのにも関わらず、肝心なカードが１年経っても届かないので、いったいどうなっているのか確認に行ってきました。

It was a long day today. It started at 6am since we had to go to the Federal Building to get an update on my wife's Green Card. For some reason, we were approved a year a go but still waiting for the actual card and it was about time to see what was going on. I bet they lost all the paper work which is a common thing I hear. It is quite amazing to see how disorganized they are and they are really in need to for some budgets to update their system as well as people....

しかし、本当に政府のオフィッスはモタモタしていていらいらします。しかも、妻のケースに関してはどうなっているのか、向こうもわからないみたいで・・・。恐らく書類をなくしたんでしょうけど・・・、それを認めない所がまたムカッ！？！とりあえず、弾丸トークでどうにかしてくれと、頼み込み大至急チェックしてもらっています。いや〜しかし、２時間待たされて子供もイライラしてきて、自分もイライラしてきて精神的に疲れる１日でした。

Well...it was a real long wait and my son was frustrated and I was irritated and was a very very stressful day. On a good note, my dad is coming in town tomorrow so my son will have someone to play with!!

豆まき

今朝は息子を幼稚園におくりにいき、その時に今日は豆まきをする事を発覚。親も見学できるイベントで、妻に話をしたらぜひ見たいと言う事で、ダッシュで家に戻り妻と娘を連れて息子の豆まきを見学。大きな庭の真ん中で地味〜に豆まきをしていましたが、楽しんでいました。

Got up early in the morning and took my son to the pre-school. I found out that there was an event today at the school in which the parents can watch their child. I phoned my wife and she wanted to see my son so I had to drive all the way back to Downtown and back to Torrance to see my son throw beans at the devils. It's an event called Setsubun in which the kids gets to throw beans at the devils to wish an maintain good health.

午後は家に戻り仕事をし、夕方はジムでトレーニング。ここ数日間は日本からの、問い合わせで色々とサーチをしたり大変でしたがようやく話が落ち着きそうです。しかし、色んな所に電話をして交渉をするのは慣れているので、レースで鍛えられたノウハウは違う仕事でも活躍しています！？！（笑）

Came back home for the afternoon to get some work done. I have been searching for a car to export in Japan which has been taking up much of my work time lately. The negotiation tactics calling and talking to the teams has certainly helped me getting the deal done with the car dealers!?! I think the deal is done where I can put the project to rest now...

もう２月ですね。

うひゃー、気がついたら２月ですね。１月って何したっけ・・・？って思ってしまう程に時間が経つのは早い。しかも、週末はあっと言う間に終わってしまった〜・・・。（泣）

Wow...it's already Feb!?! Can you believe that?? It feels like there was no Jan.... The time just keeps flying huh?!? Well, may be that's what we need so the economy may pick up faster!!

今日はピットをお風呂にいれて、お風呂掃除をして午後はずっと息子と遊んであげました。大きくなるに連れてアクティブになり、体力もありあまっているので、沢山遊ばないとストレスがたまるみたいです。が、そうすると、なかなか仕事に手がつかないので大変・・・。子育てって大変ですね。

Today, I bathed Pit since it was about time and cleaned the Bathroom since my dad is coming in town this week. Through out the afternoon, I played with my son. As my son gets older and bigger, he is getting active and the play time seems to expand where it is turning out as an work out for me!?! It's great to spend some time with my son, but the downside is, it is hard to work especially if you are in middle of work....may be I need an office away from home soon!?!

デモ

いま家の回りが凄い事になっています。ロスの公立学区の教師のデモが行われています！いまカリフォルニア州は予算問題のニュースが毎日とりあがられていますが、その中でも学校の先生をカットしたり、教育予算を減らす方針になっていて、先生達がデモをしています。確かに将来の為を考えると、学問に予算カットをする前に他にカットした方が良い所はたくさんあるのでは・・・、と思ってしまいますが。

Downtown is going crazy right now! There is a demonstration going on I guess from the workers at Unified School District complaining about budget cuts... Obviously the stimulus package has been passed yesterday but the California needs to consider well on how to spend those funds.... Nevertheless, being around the world, I must say that California in general probably has the lowest level of standards in education and I don't think it would be a good idea to cut costs on education especially now that I will have to send my kids to school here in LAUSD.

自分は今日は家で仕事をして、夕方にジムに行ってトレーニング。最近はレースの交渉の話がずっと中断していたのですが、ここへきてまた再開。勢いが乗っている時に一挙に話を畳み込まないとって感じですね！！

Well, it was a busy day for me working out at the gym and getting work done at home. The negotiation for the racing part has been at halt for a little while but things are kicking back in. I really need to pick up the pace now since it is already Feb!!

1月ももう終わり・・・？

気がついたらもう１月末。あれっ、このあいだ年明け下ばっかりじゃないっけ・・・って感んじですね。今朝は息子と娘の検診。娘は至って順調。ミルクを飲み過ぎで少しぽっちゃりしてきました。（笑）とにかく健康で何より。

I can't believe it's already end of Jan. It feels like we were just celebrating the new years couple of days ago... This morning we took our son and daughter for a check up. They were both doing great and our new baby was growing rapidly and we will need to watch her weight since she is a girl...!?!

病院から戻って自分は原稿を、書いたり仕事で大忙しでした。昨晩は日本からスポンサー関連の話での連絡を取り合い、話がようやくまた前進してきました。しかし、この不況の中で話を決めるのは本当に大変です。が、諦めたらおしまい。なので、ひたすら頑張ります！！

For the afternoon, I had tons of things to get done between finishing writing up an article as well as getting the racing program moving forward. I had had some contacts with sponsor inquiry from Japan and hope to make things move forward real soon. The recession all over the world is certainly making things difficult but I gotta keep trying to lock things up! It may take a little more time than I anticipated but slowly and surely I feel like we are moving forward!!

極真空手

今日は知り合いがやっている極真空手のアメリカ大会に招待されて、見に行ってきました。久しぶりに格闘技を見て興奮しました！！息子も泊力にビックリ！！でも、息子には格闘はむいてないだろうな〜・・・。（笑）でも、身体と精神を鍛える為に空手か柔道はやるといいんでないかなと思っちゃいます。

Today, I was invited to the Kyokushin Karate N.American Championship. It was my first time seeing a Karate tournament and I was real impressed with it. Obviously it is a great way of training physically and mentally which could be good for racing as long as I don't get punched too many time...!?! My son really enjoyed seeing the fights but I don't think it's his kind of sports.

気がついたら週末もあっと言う間に終わってしまい、明日からはまた現実に戻り仕事で大忙しです。

Well, the week end is already over and back to real life from next week...

いよいよシーズン開幕

昨日まで妻のご両親がアメリカに来ていて、昨日のフライトで帰ってしまいました。息子は寂しがっていて、家もなんだか静かです・・・。

My parents in law was in town for a week and went back to Japan yesterday. My son definitely has missed them already and the house is pretty quite after having so many guests over the last couple of weeks.

さてさて、今日からデイトナ２４時間のレースがスタートし、レースシーズンも開幕しましたね！また毎週末レースを見れるのは楽しみ！！でも、自分の話を決めないとムズムズしてきちゃいます・・・。

The race season has officially started today with the Daytona 24hr. The race is still going on and would be interesting to see who wins the race. It's great to have something to watch over the week end but certainly makes me some what frustrated on not being able to secure the deal to be back in the car...

ミーティング

ここ数日間は、日本から来ている妻のご両親と一緒に色々な所に行ってきました。昨日はユニバーサルスタジオに行って息子も大はしゃぎ。やはり妻と二人で、連れてくるのは、なかなか大変なのでラッキーって感じでした。

Last couple of days have been busy taking my parents in law to all the places with my wife and kids. With 4 adults and 2 child on board, it certainly takes more time to move... Having said that, we went to the Universal Studio yesterday and my son really enjoyed the park. It was great since it is mutually impossible to take the kids there with just me and my wife....

今夜はこれからフェーラーリチャレンジに参戦しているドライバーとミーティングがあります。やはり不景気と言う事もあって、今年の参戦は悩んでいるみたいです・・・。早く景気が良くなる事を願う毎日です！（笑）って言ってもオバマ大統領が演説した様に、待ってるだけじゃ変わらないんですよね！！動かないと！！

I am off to dinner tonight with my driver from Ferrari Challenge. Thing has been tough and he has not committed to race yet...but I really hope he will since we have some unfinished business in that series as well.

息子の誕生会

今日は息子の誕生日です。産まれてから早２歳！時間が経つのは早いですね〜。昨日は夕方から家で息子の誕生会を行いました。沢山の友達が来てくれて、プレゼントももらい大喜びで息子は１２時過ぎまで興奮してました。大好きなバスケのミニゴールももらい、ずっとバスケの練習！!

Today is my son's Birthday. We held his 2nd B-Day part at our place last night and had a lot friends over in our small apartment... My son was really excited to open up all the presents and he was able to get his long waited mini basket ball goal. He was shooting ball until midnight and I finally managed to take the ball away from him.

そして、今日がバースデーなのですが、出産クラスで一緒だった友達の誕生会が行われているのでそちらの方に顔出し。バースデーパーティー続きでパパも疲れちゃいました。（笑）

For today, we went to my son's friend's Birthday Party. It's great to celebrate the kids B-Day but I think I just had enough of partying and will need to get back to work tomorrow...back to real life.

今週末は息子のパーティー

さっき、ニュースを見ていたらNYで飛行機が墜落したニュースを聞いてビックリ。幸いハドソン川に無事水着したので、ケガ人はいないみたいですが、乗ってた人は怖いでしょうね〜。今から妻の両親がアメリカに来ますが、このニュースを聞いたら飛行機に乗りたくないだろうな〜・・・。

I just saw the news about the US Scairways flight making an emergency landing on Hudson River. Fortunately no one was injured but it must have been pretty scary for the passenger. My parents in law are just about getting ready to board a plane from Japan and probably is better not to tell them about that incident.

今日は午前中はジムでトレーニング。午後は土曜日に家の息子の誕生会を行うので、その準備の為の買い出し。ずいぶんとドタバタした一日です。今夜はこれからお食事会／ミーティング。忙しいけど、天気も良くて暖かいから文句は言えないな！？！

Well, it was a busy day for me hitting the gym early in the morning and than doing some grocery shopping for my son's second B-Day party coming up this Saturday. My wife is probably more excited about the party than my son...but gotta keep her happy too...

iMIEV

今日はTOYOTAヴェンザと三菱iMIEVの試乗に行ってきました。ヴェンザは子供がいる家族にはピッタリな車かと思いました。去年のデトロイトショーで見た時よりもなんとかんく格好良く感じ、なかなか良かったです。

It was a busy day test driving the new Toyota Venza as well as the Mitsubishi iMIEV. The Venza was pretty nice especially if you have kids..which fits in to my needs right now. For some reason, I didn't like it so much when I saw the car first at the Detroit Show one year a go but it actually looks OK on the streets.

午後は場所を移動してiMIEVの試乗。EV車に乗ったのは初めてですが、以外とトルクもあってしっかり走るのでビックリしました。高速道路も問題なく走行して、これであれば十分に満足できます。走行距離をもう少し伸ばす事ができれば全く支障はないですね。が、車からエグゾーストサウンドが聴こえてこないのはなんだか寂しい感じもします。

In the afternoon, we drove down to Cypress and test drove the iMIEV. It was my first time driving an EV Vehicle and I was really impressed with the performance. The car runs great and I even took it out on to the 605FWY. It runs really well and only thing it needs now is a little more range in which I would think the technology of the battery will advance by the time everyone has an EV vehicle in there garage. However, it's kind of sad not hearing any exhaust sounds from the engine...

ようやく復帰

昨日からロスはメチャメチャ暖かく御陰さまでようやく体調が良くなってきました。まだ、夜になると咳はでますが日中は仕事＆トレーニングができるレベルまで復活。まだ、油断はできませんが・・・。

While it is freezing out in the Mid West...we have summer like weather here in LA. My health condition is much better today and I am only coughing during the night which allows me to get some work done during the day.

今日はインディアナポリスでセーフティーミーティング。自分も出席予定だったのですが、体調が悪かったのでデトロイトショーと引き続きキャンセル。とりあえず家で安静にしていました。が、インディーカーシリーズはシーズン開幕を前に色々と移籍話があって凄い事になってます。しかも、F1と同様チームのスポンサー獲得が困難で数人のトップドライバーはシートがない状態。世界中で大変な年になりそうですが、だからこそ頑張り時ですね！！

There was a safety meeting in Indianapolis today which I was supposed to attend. Unfortunately, I had to cancel the trip due to my health condition since I thought it was better not to spread the virus. I would have if it was couple of days before the race!?! Well, it sounds like the silly season is forming up and there are few drivers still up on air as well as some surprise announcement that were made today. It certainly is tough for everyone out there during this season but I am hoping to put things together real soon!!

Hyundai Genesis

日本は幕張でオートサロンが行われていますが、今日からデトロイトでオートショーが開催。自分は行く予定だったのですが、体調不良で断念・・・。だいぶ良くなって来た物の、まだ咳がとまらず大事をとって今年はオヤスミしてしまいました。

While the Tokyo Auto Salon is going on in Japan, the Detroit Auto Show has begun. I have attended both shows last year which was pretty hectic but I decided to stay home to recover from my health condition for this year's event. I am still coughing a bit and it has been hard to breath so have not gone back to the gym....

今朝は３週間の滞在もあっと言うまで母親が日本へ帰国。飛行場に家族で母親を送りに行って帰宅。母親を送る時は息子が物凄く寂しがって、口をへの字に曲げて泣きそうになっていました。しかし、母親には散々お世話になって本当に来てくれて助かりました。親の有り難みを実感。

It was the final day for my mom's 3weeks visit which went by so fast and we went to the airport to salute her. My son really enjoyed having his Grand Ma for weeks and he was about to cry when my mom passed through the security gate. I couldn't thank more to my Mom who helped us a lot while our stay. I will definitely need to get back to the gym now after eating all the great home made food cooked by my mom.

さてさて、今日から開催されたデトロイトショーを見ていたらビックリ！アメリカのカーオブザイヤーにHyundaiのGenesisが受賞！確かに最初にGenesisを見た時はスタイリングを含めて驚く物がありました。色んなメーカーのパクリちっくな部分もありましたが、このままだと日本メーカーも油断できないぞっと言う内容だったので、今回の受賞はある意味納得いくかもしれません。おめでとうHyundaiと言いたい所ですが、それ以上に頑張れ日本メーカーって感じです！！

Well, getting back to the Detroit Show, I was really surprised to see that the Hyundai Genesis being nominated for American Car Of the Year. I must say that they have done a great job making that car since the styling looks great although it looks like it is a little bit of every luxury car manufacture put together. Nevertheless, they have won the award and have put tremendous amount of pressure to the Japanese Manufacture! I think it will make the Japanese Manufacture even better trying to exceed there level of performance, quality, and design!! I hope the auto makers will continue to build high performance cars and not only focus on Hybrid cars for birds....

年始からやられちゃいました・・・。

年越しにひいた風邪がいったんは良くなった物の、３日からまた振り返してしまいずっと調子が悪くてゴロゴロしていました。咳が酷くて熱が上がったり下がったりという状況で、残念ながらデトロイトショーに行くのは断念してしまいました。いや〜しかし、体調が悪いと本当に辛いです。

I've been sick last couple of days and wasn't able to get anything done...I thought I recovered right after the new year but I must have gotten a different virus again..I keep coughing real bad and decided not to go to the Detroit show since my health condition is not so well... Probably better to stay in somewhat warm S.California.

こんな時に母親が居てくれて本当にラッキーでした。しかし、週末までには良くして復帰しないと！！する事がいっぱいあるから！！ん〜しかし咳がとまらず胸が痛いとトレーニングもできないからイライラする〜・・・。

I was lucky to have my mom in town to cook all the healthy food since my wife is busy feeding our new baby, I have a lot of work to do during this week end so I better recover by tomorrow. What is most frustrating is not being able to got to the gym for last few days....I hope I can get back to my normal training regime by this week end.

今日が初仕事

今日から仕事を開始しました。本当はトレーニングに行きたかったのですが、咳が止まらず、喉も痛かったのでジムはお預け。ま〜咳をしながらトレーニングをしたら回りにも顰蹙なので。

Today was the first day back at work since the new year. I wanted to go to the gym but I haven't fully recovered from my illness so I decided to wait a little more until I am back normal. I'm sure people at the gym wouldn't appreciate if I cough and trained at the same time trying to spread the virus...

ジムに行けない分、家ではチームと連絡を取り合ったり、原稿を書いたりで忙しい一日でした。そうそう、今書店で販売しているXaCarに出ていますよ〜！！機会があれば買って読んで下さいね。

Instead of going to the gym, I spent better part of the day at home getting a lot of work done as well as contacting the teams for this year's deal. I also had to finish up an article that I write weekly so the day went by so fast. Oh yeah, by the way, the new XaCar is out at the Japanese Book Store. Check it out if you have time!!

体調不良で寝正月

年越しに崩した体調が元旦の日は回復した物の、２日からまた振り返して、２００９年の穝所の３日間はダラダラ過ごす寝正月となってしまいました・・・。が、そろそろ気合いを入れて明日からはジムに行ってトレーニングして、体調も復帰しないと！！

How's your 2009 so far? Mine has been uneventful so far....I was able to recover from illness for a day and turned sick again for last two days so I stayed home and pretty much stayed in bed. I couldn't ask for a better timing to be sick because there isn't much going on this couple of days anyways...but I better hit the gym tomorrow and recover from my cold since I will have a lot to settle during next week.

明けましておめでとうございます！

新年あけましておめでとうございます！今年も宜しくお願い致します。

Happy New Years!

気がついたらもう０９年ですね〜。なんだか、０８年は色々とあった年で、娘が産まれた事以外は本当に大変な年でした。たぶん、一生忘れないだろうな〜・・・。でも、そんな年の最後に日に、いきなり体調を崩して９時から布団の入って寝てしまいました。

I can't believe, it's already 2009. Last year was a tough year for me especially as a racing stand point. I think I will remember the 08 year for rest of my life....but gotta move on and better things are to come. To put an end to one of my worst season....apart from having a baby girl, I was sick yesterday and decided to go to bed before 9PM and missed all the countdown stuff.

年を越して朝起きたらスッキリ！なんだか色んな意味での厄を振り払ってから年越しをできたような気がしましたので、ある意味良かったかな？！？今年は気合いを入れ直して頑張らないと！そして、皆さんにとっても良い年でありますように！！では、
改めて今年も宜しくお願い致します。

However, I woke up and felt real good! I must have got rid of all the evils in my body and let's hope for a much better 09 season on and off the track! Thanks again for all your support during the 08 season and let's all hope for an exciting and prosperous 09 season!! Enjoy rest of your holidays!!

いよいよ０９年

もう日本は大晦日ですね。ロスはまだ３０日ですが、今日は６時に起きてダウンタウンにある魚市場に母親とでかけ、お正月に食べる食材をゲット。家に戻り朝ご飯を食べてからジムに出かけ１０kmのランニング。家に戻ってランチを食べてから、家で仕事納め。

I had a early start this morning going to the Fish Market in Downtown with my Mom. We wanted to get some fish for the new year and you couldn't get any fresher fish than going to the Fish Market. After getting all our ingredients, my Mom started to prep the food while I went to the gym for 10km run. I came home and got some final work done for the year.

日本との交渉事は前向きに進んでいるのに対し、US再度は残念ながら話がうまくいかず、また毎年恒例の１歩進んで２歩下がる状態ですが、着実に前進しているので我が身値を進むべく頑張らないと！今年は色々と苦労した年だったから、来年は良い年にしないとな！では、皆さん良いお年を迎えて下さい！！

The negotiations for the Japan side went well over night, but things that was being negotiated here took a dive so that was a bad news... However, things are moving forward steadily and hope to have things locked up soon. It really was a tough year this year for me but I hope next season would be a great year for me and all my sponsors, family, and friends!!

今日も忙しかった〜！

今日もメチャメチャ忙しかった〜！朝はジムでガッツリトレーニング。今日は久しぶりのサーキットトレーニングで（走行をしたわけではないですよ！？！）、心拍数を上げまくりでヘトヘト・・・。年を越す前に気合いの入ったトレーニングができました。

It was a real busy day today. I went to the gym in the morning and did a real intensive circuit training. My heart rate was real high for almost one hour and was a good cardio work out as well! I am sooOOOO ready for 09 season and most importantly, I can't wait to get back in to the car!!

ジムから戻ってシャワーのついでにシャワー室の掃除。お昼は家で食べて、午後は母親と息子を連れて公園＆スーパーでお買い物。家に戻ってこれから来季の交渉で日本との連絡の取り合いです・・・。これこそまさに貧乏暇無し！でもこのご時世、暇でない事は良い事ですね！

After I was done with training, I came home and since I had to jump in the shower, I decided to clean the shower at the same time to use all the minutes and water efficiently!! Than took my son to the park and my Mom to the grocery store. I am finally home and will have to make several phone calls to Japan to finalize couple of deals for next season.

ランニング＆大掃除

今日も朝から大掃除。家の窓を拭いたりブラインドの掃除をしたり大変でした。手も荒れまくっています・・・。しかし、ブラインドの掃除は面倒くさいですね。何かブラインドの掃除がしやすいシステムはないんですかね・・・？！？

Woke up early this morning to start wiping the windows and blinds. It took ages to clean all the windows as well as going through all the dust on the blinds....There must be a tool or a system to clean the window blinds because I am on the verge of changing all the blinds to curtain next year just so I don't have to clean them again!?!

掃除が一段落した時点でジムに行き１０kmのランニング。家に戻ってランチを食べてからは母親とスーパーやターゲットに行き日用品等をゲッツ。なんだかノンストップな一日でしたが、年をユックリ迎えれる様に明日で何とか部屋中の掃除を終わらすぞ！！

Once I got all the windows finished, I went to the gym for 10km run. Came home for a quick lunch and was off to the store to get some grocery shopping as well as to Target. It just felt like an endless without any rest but I think I am just about ready to start a fresh new year!!

大掃除＆散髪

今日は午前中にジムに行き、トレーニング。お昼前に家の大掃除を開始。一日ですますのには、時間がかかるので今日はキッチン回りの掃除。明日はリビングのキャビネットのホコリをとらないと・・・。ヘルメットのディスプレイも汚れて来ているので奇麗に磨いたろう！！

Went to the gym in the morning and had a great work out. Than I started to clean the house as it is a Japanese tradition to clean and dust off the house before the new year. Since it was going to take me the whole day to do all the rooms...I decided to focus on the kitchen and part of the living room today. I will have to clean all my helmet cabinets tomorrow since it is getting pretty dusty in there. Last year...we were pretty lazy and decided to hire a molly maids...but this year I decided to take time to clean all my precious collections.

お昼を食べた後は年を越す前にすっきりしようと、息子と二人でヘアーサロンに行き散髪。息子の髪も自分の髪も伸びてボサボサだったので、がっつり切ってきました！息子はサーファー風なロンゲからキムタクカットにアレンジしてもらいました！！（笑）これで、スッキリ。家に帰る途中に公園によって、息子とバスケットボールをしてきました。って言っても息子はシュートを抱っこしてさせるかんじですが・・・。明日は残りの部分の掃除を終わらせれば無事に年を越せるぞ〜〜！！

After lunch, I went to cut my hair with my son since both of our hair was growing beyond our control. I trimmed my hair to the usual cut and my son got a surfer style hair cut. We had some time after the hair cut so decided to go to the park and play basket ball...although my son can't should the ball quite like Kobe yet.... Well...overall it was a good day and I just have to finish cleaning up the other part of the rooms tomorrow in order to be fully ready to begin an exciting 2009 season!!

今年もあとわずか。

クリスマスも終わり、今年もあとわずかですね。ロスのクリスマスはLAらしからぬ温度で冷え込み、クリスマスな雰囲気を満喫できました。昨日から母親が家に来てくれているので妻にとってもようやく産後の休みが取れる様です。

We had a pretty nice Christmas staying at home and having a great dinner.It was unusually chilly for LA standard which made it feel like a real Christmas. My mom have arrived yesterday in town to spend the new year with us and my wife can finally get some rest after delivering the baby.

年末年始は家でユックリするかなって感じですが、１０日からはデトロイトショーに行ったりまた忙しくなりそうなので、その時の為に体力を温存しておかないと。しかし、年末年始となると今までは“正月には酒が呑める、酒が呑めるぞ〜”なんてやっていましたが、さすがに子供ができると夜中に起きたりしなくてはいけないので、それどころではありませんね！？！（笑）でも、家族４人＋母親で過ごす年末をユックリ満期させて頂きます！！

I think I will stay quite for rest of the new year, but sounds like Jan would be another busy month for me having to go to Detroit as well as Indy and to Japan by end of the month. Usually, New year celebration in Japanese Style is all about drinking lots of Sake....but this year I think couple of beers would do it since I will most likely have to get up every couple of hours for our baby!?! Well, I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and best wishes for rest of the year and to 2009!!

メリークリスマス！

皆さんメリークリスマス！今日はクリスマスイブですね！！なんだか、ロスは珍しく寒くてクリスマスの雰囲気が出ています。僕は今日は黄疸のチェックをしに年の為に娘をまた病院に連れて行き、とりあえず問題はなさそうなので一安心。

Merry Christmas! It really feels like Christmas out here in LA with chilly weather which makes this night a little more moody. My day started with another trip to the hospital and making sure that our daughter was OK from Jaundice. Everything seems to be OK for now and we stopped by the Supermarket and came home to have some lunch.

家に戻ってランチをして、息子を連れてデパート＆オモチャ屋さんに行ってプレゼントを購入。娘の出産等で買い物に行くタイミングを逃してしまい、なんだかちょっと可哀想な形のプレゼントになってしまいました・・・。息子は満足げな顔でウキウキで歩いて帰って来ている途中にグッスリ寝てしまいましたが、こっそり買いに行って渡せなかった所は父親失格だな・・・と思ってしまいました。でも、素直に喜んでくれる子供は本当に純粋ですね！！

After lunch, I tool my son to the Toy Store to get him a Christmas present. Unfortunately, I didn't have time this past week end to pick something up for him since we were going back and forth to the hospital.... I still wanted to get something to him to see his smile. I really felt bad since I should have gotten something for him a lot earlier....but nevertheless, he was able to spend some good time at the store trying to pick his favorite toy!!

さてさて、それでは皆さんもクリスマスをエンジョイして下さい！！

Well, I hope you all enjoy your Christmas!! Happy Holidays!!

来季に向けて前向きな一日

今日はアメリカがクリスマス休暇に入る前日だったのでメチャメチャ忙しかったです。午前中は病院に行き、娘の検診。ちょっと黄疸の心配があるから、日光浴をさせなくてはいけないくらい、他は至って健康でした。

Since today was the last day before the Christmas Holiday...it was a real busy day for me. I had to take my daughter for a check up and she is doing real well so far. Everything seems so much smoother for the second child sine you seem know what to do already.

自分は家に戻り、お昼は色んなチームと連絡をとって、交渉を進めました。同時進行で日本から来季の活動の件で問い合わせが入ったり、色んな面で物事が前向きに進んでいます。この不況の中で協力してくれている方やスポンサーには本当に感謝です！気合いが入りまくって夕方はジムに行ってきました！！明日も午前中は日本と連絡を取り合わなくてはいけないので、今夜は早めに寝ようっと！！

For lunch I was at home making several phone calls. I was just updating things with several teams and things are going real well. It seems as if the world has turned around since my daughter was born and hopefully she is bringing a lot of luck to me!! Well...in reality, I have to thank my supporter as well as sponsor who has been part of my program and are willing to help in this economic state. Hopefully things will come through soon where I can make more exciting announcement as for racing program!! To make things happen, I have to get up early tomorrow morning to make some calls to Japan so I better get some good sleep tonight!!

ネーミング

赤ちゃんが産まれて、昨日のお昼に退院して、昨晩は家でユックリできました。今日は朝からジムに行って、ここ数日間の間は病院通いで動かしていなかった身体をがっつり鍛えてきました。

After spending couple of days going back and forth to the hospital, I finally got some time to hit the gym this morning and had a great work out! My wife was also able to relax being home with our daughter and son. Hospital is not exactly the best place to get some rest....

所で産まれて来て女の子の名前はCapri（香風里）ちゃんになりました。ミドルネームはKaede(楓）で決定。産まれる前からどうしようかと悩んでいましたが、息子の時は僕が名前を決める権限があったので、今回は妻が決めました。イタリアのカプリ島をイメージした名前で、漢字も友達のカメラマンの斉藤ヒロ君に相談して決定！実は息子の漢字も考えてくれたんです。命名は本当に悩みますよね。でも、子供は一生その名前の背負って生きていくので、しっかりと考えなくてはいけませんね。親として一番最初にすることですもんね。そうそう、日本は産後２週間以内に出生届を出せば宵みたいですが、アメリカは退院前に決めないと、出生届を作成してくれないんですよね！なので、アメリカで生む場合は事前に考えておく様に！？！（笑）

Well...after a lot of debate with my wife, we ended up naming our girl Capri and her middle name is Kaede. Since I got to chose the name for my son, my wife wanted to have the say this time and she liked the sounds of Capri as from the island in Italy. It was hard to come up with a Kanji Character to fit her name in Japanese but my friend gave us some thoughts and I was happy with her name after all! I actually chose Kaede for her middle name because I wanted something that was more Japanese with in her name to be proud of our heritage. Obviously naming a child is not exactly ease especially if you have to come up with something that suits in English as well as Japanese. Capri may be a bit uncommon as a name, but the meaning in Kanji would be "Bringing the odor of your country through the wind" which I thought it was pretty cool!!

ビッグニュース！

皆さん！突然ですがビッグニュースです！！１２月２０日の午前３：４２分になる女の子の赤ちゃんが産まれました！！息子とは二つは慣れた長女です。女の子が産まれて、かなり喜んでいます！!

I have a big announcement to make! We just had our second baby!! It was a girl and she was born on Dec 20 at about 3:42am!! I couldn't be a happier to see a healthy baby just in time for Christmas!!

予定日は２８日だったのですが、二人目なので早く産まれました。最初は金曜の検診で、恐らく先生がクリスマス休暇をとりたいから、促進剤を打って産ませるつもりだったっぽいのが、実際に入院したら陣痛がきてあっと言う間に産まれました！！

The due date was about the 28th, but we were expecting her earlier than that since it was our second child. I thought it would be just around Christmas but our doctor probably wanted to take a Christmas Vacation and suggested us to go to the hospital and opt for induced labor. We took his advice and went to the hospital on Friday and surprisingly, the contraction has started during that night.

残念ながら今回の出産は立ち会う事ができませんでした・・・。（泣）息子のお守りをしながら、まだ産まれる気配がないから家に戻って横になってたら、あっと言う間に赤ちゃんがおりて来て産まれたそうです。本当にあっと言うまでビックリ！！病院にダッシュしてギリギリセーフで間に合いませんでした！でも、無事に産まれて何よりです。

Unfortunately, I was not able to see the baby when she was coming out since I was home taking care of my son. Well...actually, I was at sleep since we all thought that she was going to be due sometime next day. We all guessed it wrong and the girl was ready to come out in a hurry! I got the call and I dashed to the hospital but just missed all the good part...however, I am real happy to see a healthy baby and a wife!

しかし、この数日間は息子の世話をしながら、食事＆洗濯などして、かな〜り主婦の辛さを実感しました。ある意味、男に産まれて良かったないう漢字です！が、やっぱり子供が産まれると言う事は良い事ですね！！今年は家族４人で年越しです！！

Well...the last couple of days was really tough taking care of my son, cleaning the house, making foods, while going to the hospital. I am relieved to have my wife back and couldn't be happier to be born as a man!! It was a great couple of days and I think we are going to enjoy our rather quite Holiday with a lot of happiness!!

今日は忙しい・・・。（泣）

今日はめちゃんこ忙しい一日でした。朝は早起きして、今日の午後に締め切りの原稿を書き上げました。今回は長めの原稿だったので苦労しました。ボキャブラのカズが少ない事になんだか、情けないなと思いつつ・・・、もっと色んな本を読んだりして勉強しなくてはと思う日でした。

It was a super busy day today! I got up early to finish up an article that was due this afternoon. It was a lengthy article so it took me some time to write the conclusion. It took me 3days to write the article but I think it came out pretty good. However, I realized that I will need to read more Japanese books to get my vocabulary up since I am running out of them when I write an article.

お昼には子供を幼稚園にピックアップして、今年は今日で終了なので明日からは冬休みです。いちおう、先生にご挨拶をして、家に戻り午後からはドタバタです。が、僕に取ってはかなりグッドニュースの出来事があり、明日か明後日までには報告できると思います！！と言う事で今夜は早めに寝ます！！zzzz

For lunch, I went to pick up my son who finished the last day of the pre-school today. He has matures so much by going to pre-school just in last two months and I am really proud of his growth as well as being healthy. The business kept going through rest of the day but I am really excited since I have something good to announce in next two days! Well...at least it is good and exciting for me!! So stay tuned guys!!

＄１＝¥８７

今朝起きて、日課になっている為替相場のチェック。するとな〜んと＄１＝８７円って、見て驚いちゃいました！しかも、８７円台で安定しちゃってるのでビックリ。ある意味、まだまだ今後の景気が怖いですね。この円相場だと、今月書いた原稿料を前倒しで欲しいなと思ってしまうくらいです！？！（笑）

Woke up this morning and did my routine Net Surfing checking the exchange rate. I was surprise to see it is down to 87Yen/Dollar. What's more shocking is that it is stabling at that range, It is scary because by all means, the economy in Japan is definitely getting worse but yet the Dollar keeps weakening versus the yen.I just wished if I was getting my check for the articles right now based on the exchange rate!?!

日本はもう忘年会シーズンですね。身体を壊さないように皆さん頑張りましょう！僕はおとなしくしっぽりやってます・・・！？！

Now, we are approaching the Holiday Season and feels like the whole city is just about ready for Christmas. For me...it will be a rather quite and busy holiday with some good news to come...at least hopefully!?!

ロスも寒いです

今日もロスは寒いです。冬とは言ってもこの寒さは異常気象かな・・・？家で一日中暖房を付けているのは珍しいくらいです。寒いからと思って朝は気合いを入れてジムに行って運動をしてきました。トレーニングをしていたらしっかり身体は温まり、絶好調。

It was a real cold day here in LA. It is a lot cooler than our average winter temp and we had the heater on all day which is unusual for our house...since my wife is not a big fan of AC. Well, to get me warmed up, I went to the gym and had a nice work out in the morning.

家に戻ってからは仕事や来季の交渉等も含めて色々と連絡の取り合い。もう来週でクリスマスに入ってしまうので、チームやアメリカサイドとの交渉先とはできる限り今週中に話を進めないとって感じです。アメリカはクリスマスから年越しまで休んでしまい、日本は逆に年越しから１週間の間が休みなので、この２週間が自分にとっては一番嫌な期間です・・・。

I came home for lunch and than got to work through out the afternoon. I had to negotiate with several prospects sponsors as well as teams since with the Christmas approaching, we really need to get things moving before next week. Unfortunately everything is at halt between Christmas and New Year here in US, and than Japan is in Holiday for a week after the New Year. Therefore, it is my least favorite time of the year since nothing really moves forward during those two weeks. Well, I just need to keep doing my job and hopefully good things will come soon!!

息子のクリスマス会

昨晩は夜中から大雨。しかも、急に寒くなって、改めて冬の到来を実感。今日は午前中に息子の幼稚園でクリスマス会があり、子供の出し物を見に行ってきました。しかし、息子の成長っぷりにビックリしました。

It is raining here in Cali. And really cold... At least it's not snowing but I rather see some snow if it's going to be this cold. Anyhow, we had a early start to the day because my wife and I needed to drop our son off to his pre-school and than wait couple of at nearby coffee shop to return to the school to watch the Christmas Party.

クリスマス会を見に行って、一番の心配は子供に見つかった時に泣いて寄ってくるのでは・・・と思っていたのですが、子供は知らないうちに成長しているんですね。出し物もしっかりとやって、あえて途中に勝手にアドリブでヒップホップ調のダンスをしていました！？！（笑）本人も楽しんでいたみたいで一安心。まだまだ、これからが大変なんでしょうが、子供がしっかりと成長している事ができホッとした一日でした。

Each class had their own play to do, and my son's class danced to Christmas songs. I was surprise how well my son did during the dance and he even had his own hip hop style moves that he learned by him self!?! Nevertheless, it was a good day for me to learn more about my son and how mature he has gotten...well he is still young... But I was happy to see him enjoy the class!! I guess I can't complain about the high tuition fee...!?!

息子のハコ乗り

今日は朝から天気が悪くてロスも本格的に冬になった感じです。自分は朝早めに起きて、ジムで１０kmのランニング。お昼は妻と一緒に韓国料理の豆腐チゲを食べにいき、帰りにスーパーによってきたく。

It really feels like winter even here in LA now. It was hard to get out of the nice & warm confy bed this morning but had to hit the gym early so got up and went for 10km run. Since it was cold, my wife and I decided to go to Korean Restaurant to eat some spicy tofu soup for lunch. It was really good and was actually sweating after the meal!!

そういえば、昨日たまたま試乗会で使用していたGT-Rをロスの業者に返しに行く時に息子をシートに座らせたら大喜びでハコ乗りしたいました！！車が好きそうで父親としてはちょっと安心です！？！（笑）

Here is a quick snap of my son a in the GT-R seat. I think he is ready to drive and started to practice "Hako-Nori" doughnuts driving style by him self!?!

LAに戻ってきました。

この数日間はメチャメチャ忙しくてブログの更新サボっちゃいました。と言うか、べガスで連日忙しくなりそうだったので、あえてコンピューターは持って行きませんでした・・・。

It was a real busy couple of days for me and was not able to update my blog. Well....I didn't plan to since I left my computer home knowing that things were going to be busy in Vegas.

さて、昨日まではべガスに行ってきました。今回はZの試乗会で自分は特別企画でGT-Rと３７０Zの比較対決を行いました。その内容に関しては今度販売されるXaCarを呼んで下さいね！！

Anyhow, the trip to Vegas was great and everything went well. The Media Event for Nissan 370Z was great and we actually spent most of the time early in the morning at the track testing out the GT-R VS the new Z. You can read the article in regards to this in the next XaCar issue...if you can read Japanese.

こんかいべガスで泊まったホテルは新しく建ったばかりのトランプタワー。べガスのストリップからは一本入った所ですが、静かでグッド。しかも、カジノがないので賭け事をしない僕としては煩くなくて良いかな？！？って言うかギャンプルしないんだったらべガスに行くなって話ですが・・・。（笑）

Well...we stayed at the newly built Trump Tower at Vegas thanks to Nissan, and the room was great. The hotel is located just a block behind the Strip and there is no casino so it is rather quite. But I don't gamble so I prefer not here the slot machines going crazy...

ホテルは新しかったので良かったです！部屋は広くて、プチキッチンもあり、一人で快適でした。お手洗いの鏡の中にはTVが内蔵されていてジャクジーバスに入りながら、テレビをみてゆっくり風呂につかっちゃいました！！

The room I stayed in had a small kitchen, Jacuzzi bath, and a built in TV in your bathroom mirror! My usual 5min shower time became 30min relaxing bath but needed that after long day of driving!!

しかも、３７０Zのイベントで部屋に奇麗にデコレーションされたチョコが用意されていました。写真を撮る前に一番右上のチョコは食べちゃいました！！

Than a quick bite of a chocolate to get my sugar level up before dinner!?!

トレーニング＆べガスに向けての準備

今日は早起きてして、午前中はジムでトレーニング。お昼は子供を幼稚園にピックアップに行き、ご飯を食べて戻って来て、午後はずっと家で仕事。明日からは１泊２日でべガスに行くので、その準備もしていました。

Woke up early today to hit the gym before it got crowded. I was able to make it back home before lunch and went to pick up my son at the pre-school. Went for a quick lunch and back home to get some work done before leaving to Vegas tomorrow.

今回のべガスはZの試乗会です。が、今回は特別企画でGT-RとZをサーキットで走ります。もちろんGT-Rの方が速い事は間違いないと思いますが、新しくなったZがサーキットではどんな走りをするかが楽しみです！！

I am going to Vegas this time to test drive the new Z at the track. I will also be comparing the Z against the GT-R at LVMS. Obviously the GT-R is probably going to be much quicker...but I am very curious how well the Z would do against more powerful GT-R! Should be a good fun day for me and it can't hurt to get paid for having fun!?!

週末もあっと言う間に終了。

気がついたらあっと言う間に週末が終わってしまいましたね。今週末は久しぶりに家でユックリする事ができました。来週は火曜日にまたべガスに行かなくてはいけないので、忙しくなりそうです。年末年始に向けて今週末はエネルギーを蓄える週末でした！！

It was a rather quite week end for me. I am going to Vegas again this Tuesday so I was happy to be able to spend some time with my family during the day. It would be my 5th trip to Vegas this year...but would like to take my family there sometime soon to have some fun. Well...time to get back to real life starting tomorrow!?!

HONDAのF1撤退

昨日の電撃ニュースはHONDAのF1撤退。アメリカでは朝から噂の報道がながれていましたが、夕方までには確実と聞いた時は本当に驚きました。このご時世メチャメチャ不景気だと言う事は間違いありませんが、やはり北米マーケットの販売台数が減った事は決断へと繋がったのかもしれませんね。とくに、来年からは北米でのF1レースはなくなってしまったので、予算の有効活用的にも色々と困難があったのかなと感じます。

I was really shocked to hear about the announcement of Honda F1 team pulling the plug immediately. The rumor was out yesterday morning and I thought they were going to put pressure on the team to find sponsors or else pulling a plug after next year but it certainly was a huge surprise when they announced that they will not even supply engines!! I'm sure the US economy didn't help as well as losing a race in N.America. At this point, I'm sure there is not much point for Honda America to help out the F1 Budget if we have IRL and ALMS in US.

しかし、色んな所で解雇のニュースばっかり報道されて、だんだん不況を改めて実感していきますね。今までは株の最安値だったり、ガソリン価格の高騰・・・って言うので不安要素はありましたが、こう続いて解雇が続くと今後の景気がさらに心配になります。だからこそ、自分は頑張って来年の話を決めて、少しはレース会に華やかなニュースをプレゼントしないと！！って勢いで頑張ります！！

Not only the Honda F1 program...the news in Japan is all about who is going to lay off people today!?! Which is a bad news for all the workers who has been putting there hard effort on to making great products. By now, there is now surprise that we are really in recession... It will be tough but I am going to keep working hard to strike my deal so at least there is some great news to talk about in Motorsports industry!!

だんだん寒くなってきました。

ロスもようやく冬らしい気候になってきて、朝と夕方は長袖の洋服を着ないと寒くなってきました。なんだか寒いと朝布団からでるのが嫌になりますよね・・・。そんな誘惑にも負けず、今朝も早起きしてジムでトレーニング。お昼は蕎麦を食べて、帰りにスーパーで買い物をして午後はずっと家で仕事。気がついたら明日はもう金曜だ〜！？！時間が経つのは本当に早いですね〜・・・。

It is getting cooler out here in LA and feels like the winter is here just in time for Christmas. As it gets cold over night, it is harder to get out of bed... But I got up early to go to the gym and had a good 10km run as usual. For lunch, we went to a Soba Noodle Restaurant and came home to do some more work. Looking at the calendar and I can't believe it's already Friday tomorrow!!

123

今日が１２月３日。１、２、３・・・・だっ〜って感じですね！？！すいません、最初から飛ばしてしまいました！？！（笑）今日も午前中はジムでトレーニング。お昼は家でご飯を食べて、吉野家で牛皿だけ買ってきて、ご飯に乗せて堪能。日本産のおいしいお米の上に乗せて食べると、旨いんだな〜！！午後はずっと家で仕事をして、夕方になってクローゼットに保管してある、クリスマスツリーを出してデコレーション。息子はなんだこれって驚いていました！！

Today is 12/3. It feels like start of something when you see 1...2...and 3 on the date. I was off to a good start hitting the gym early in the morning and doing my routine training. For lunch, I made some rice and went out and bought beef only at Yoshinoya. It actually tastes much better if you place the beef on the rice that you cooked your self. It turns out to be a gourmet beef bowl!?! After lunch, I got the Christmas Tree out and I decorated the tree with my son. My son seemed to enjoy decorating the tree but I just realized that it is about time to go out and shop some Christmas present for my son...

来年に向けての交渉

今日は比較的忙しい一日でした。朝一でジムに行き１０kmのランニングをして、すっきり朝のスタート！朝から原稿を書き、お昼は来季のついての事に関してミーティング。午後も色々と来年の活動について、スポンサーと連絡をとっていたらあっと言う間に一日が終わってしまいました。気がついたらクリスマスも終わってそうで怖いですね・・・。（笑）

It was another busy day for me today. I got off to a fresh start with a 10km run in the gym. Than came home to finish off the article I have been working on since yesterday. For lunch, I went to meet with couple of group of people who are interested on being part of my program for next season and came home to make more calls to my partners to discuss about how we can get things sorted for next year. It really is a difficult time of the year and I will probably start losing some hair again!?! It's scary to think that Christmas is already around the corner...

もう１２月

いよいよ１２月に入ってしまいましたね。今年も残すは後わずか・・・。１年が経つのは本当に早い。今日は午前中に息子が幼稚園に行っている間はジムで筋トレ＆ランニング。お昼に迎えに行って、帰りに日系スーパーの中に入ってるラーメン屋でランチ。息子はラーメンを食べ「ウマっX2]って大喜び！（笑）麺類が好きみたいです。自分は家に戻り、午後はずっと来季に活動についての連絡をしていました。今日もあっと言う間の一日だったな〜。

I can't believe that we are already in December. Time just keeps flying by as you get older. The weather was pretty nice today when we woke up and while my wife took our son to the pre-school, I hit the gym to do some weight training/running. As we picked up our son from the school just in time for lunch, we stopped at the super market to grab a quick bite at the ramen store. My son really loves noodle and he ended up eating most of my wife's ramen!! We were all stuffed and satisfied when we left the place and I was back at work contacting couple of people for next year's deal. It sounds like it would be a pretty busy week again for me.

今日もお家で仕事

今日も朝早く起きて、午前中はジムでランニング。僕がもくもくと走っていると、となりのトレックマシンで運動しているオッサンが妙にチラチラ見てきて、どうやらランニングマシンが使いたい様子。しかし、自分は１時間のランニングでまだ半分も終わっていない・・・。オッサンの視線のプレッシャーに負けずしっかりと１時間走りきって、自分はスッキリ！？！（笑）レース中をシュミレーとして性格の悪さを発揮しちゃいました！？！

As usual, I woke up at 7am and was in the gym by 9am after checking some e-mails. I was on the treadmill and planned to run for 1hr. As I reached the 30min point, the dude who was on the trekking machine kept staring at me and the machine. Obviously he wanted to use the running machine...I didn't like getting peaked at every 30sec...but I figured I can use this to simulate the race situation where you need to run with some pressure!?! I managed to hold him off for 30min and successfully ended my 1hr run!!!lol

午後は家で原稿を書いて、来週の締め切りに追い込まれない様にしっかりとお仕事。気がついたらもう６時であっと言う間に一日が終わってしまいました。

After eating lunch, I was back to work writing some articles again. Writing in Japanese is not as simple as writing in English and it takes a lot of time to think about using the right Kanji Character as well as how you want to phrase the sentence as you have to be polite...even when you write. Well, it's already 6pm and time to bath my son.

歯が痛い・・・。

今日も午前中はジムでトレーニング。午後はずっと家で原稿を書いていました。来週締め切りの原稿がけっこうあるので、早目に作業にとりかからないと・・・。って原稿を書いていたら夕方から歯が痛くて集中できず、やめました。そろそろ歯医者に行く頃かな？！？（泣）

Went to the gym in the morning and spend most of the afternoon writing articles that are due next week. It's always good to get a head start. However, just I was about to finish working...my tooth started to ache and I just couldn't concentrate anymore to finish up the article. I guess it's time for a dentist visit...which is my least favorite thing because it costs money and it hurts!?!

ランニング

昨晩はサンクスギビングだったので七面鳥を食べると思いきや、北京ダックをがっつり食べて感謝祭を祝いました！？！今日も基本的には４連休だったので、街は静かでした。BlackFridayと言い、クリスマス前のスーパーセールで沢山の人がショッピングをしていたみたいですが、例年に比べるとアメリカの景気が良くないので、控えてる家庭もいっぱいいるみたいです。勿論家は後者で今日はずっとお家に居ました。買い物できないストレスを解消する為に今日は１０kmのランニング。ストレス発散ですっきりな一日でした！！

Last night, we went to our friend's house to have the Thanks Giving Dinner. Well...we ended up eating Peking Duck instead of a Turkey...but what the heck...they are both birds right?!? Although the Black Friday is very attempting to go out and shop the sale merchandise getting ready for Christmas...we opted to stay home and avoid the chaos. Well, I guess there were less shoppers today because of the economy but we definitely need to stay in budget for the holiday season. Since we were home all day...I spent couple of hours at the gym and went for 10km run to shrug off some stress on not being able to spend money!?!

Thanks Giving Day

今日はサンクスギビングでアメリカは休日。今週末は長い週末になりそうです。自分はいつも通りに起きて、午前中はジムでトレーニング。午後は昨日のうちに原稿を仕上げる事ができたので、息子とユックリしていました。これから知り合いの家のパーティーに顔を出しに行って来ま〜す。

The Thanks Giving Day is here....and it was a quite day. It would be interesting to see how the consumer will react to the Black Friday with the way economy is. I was up for the usual routine going to the gym in the morning and than since I was able to get all my work done last night, I spent most of the afternoon just relaxing with my son. We will be off to our friend's party tonight and hopefully we will be getting some great meal there!!

LAは雨

LAでは珍しく昨晩から雨が降っています。１０月末には何時もちょこっと降るんですが、今年は春が終わってからほとんど雨がふらずようやく降ったって感じです。が、雨が降るとカリフォルニア州の人は本当に運転が下手で事故したり、渋滞だらけで最悪です。しかし、世界で一番雨の運転な下手な国って何処かな？ちなみに、カートのレースでは、昔はカリフォルニア州のレースで雨が降るとタイヤが無いので、中止って事もありましたが！？！雨の運転は練習しないと上手くなりませんからね・・・。（笑）

We are finally getting some rain here in Los Angeles. It seems like we had no rain in Summer and Autumn...and here comes the winter. I don't like driving in the rain here in California because people are pretty slow driving in the wet as well as traffic...and accidents...and it's just frustrating. I wonder where is the worst place to drive in the rain?? As from racing stand point, when I used to race Karts here in California...they used to cancel the race when it rained because no body had wet tires for Karts. I must say it takes a lot of practice to go fast in the wet which I learned when I lived in England for short period of time...and it is always wet there!!

今週末はThanks Giving

今週末アメリカはThanks Giving(感謝祭）で４連休の週末です。となると、明日までには色々な仕事をすませないと・・・。今日も親父が日本から頼まれた物の買い物で一日が過ぎてしまいました。冬が近づくと日が暮れるのも早いのでなんだか一日が早く終わってしまう気がしますね。

Since the Thanks Giving is coming up this week end...I didn't realize that tomorrow is kind of like Friday...I've been running around the town for my dad picking up all kind of stuff for his souvenirs for our family. It's kind of funny that we ask to get the clothes from Japan for our kids and my sister wants us to get them clothes from US. I don't think the kids don't mind but I think it's about satisfying the Mom's to make them think that they are diverse..!?!

今週末のThanks Givingデーは何をするのかな・・・？またフライドターキーかな？？

As we approach the winter, the day is getting shorter and shorter. We better plan things for Thanks Giving Day. Perhaps, we may attend to our friend's part for another Fried Turkey?!?

原稿におわれまくり・・・。

LAショーが終わってからちょっと落ち着くのかと思ったのも束の間で、昨日から親父がロスに来ていて、買い物ツアーをいきながら原稿の締め切りと格闘をしています！？！仕事があるのは嬉しい事ですけどね。しかし、気がついたらもうちょいで１２月！？！今年も終わっちゃいますね〜。怖い怖い・・・。

LA Auto Show is finally over but am busy again since my dad is in town for couple of days as well as having to finish up couple of articles that I was requested to write about just after the show. The deadline is coming up so I better pick up my pace!?! I will probably get some rest of over the Thanks Giving week end so I will have to stay full throttle till than.

ラスベガス＆ニューZ

ここ数日間はメチャメチャ忙しくて、久しぶりに数日間ブログをサボっちゃいました。LAショーの初日はショーの会場で色々と発表される車をみて、その日は夕方に家に戻り原稿を書き上げ、夜中のフライトでべガスに移動。木曜は一日中べガスでYOKOHAMAタイヤさんの試乗会で色んな車を運転して、夜にLAに戻り夜中まで毎年恒例の車業界の人達が集まる、Road&Trackの編集部に勤めるサムさんが主催するSam'sNightに出席。

It was a real busy week for me and didn't have any time to update my blog... It got real busy once the LA Auto Show started on Weds since I had to finish couple of articles that day by 9PM. I got everything done by 7PM and went to LAX to catch my flight to go to Vegas. On Thurs, I was at the Speedway all day giving hot laps to the Yokohama Tires clients who are introducing their new high performance tires. Than back to LA that night to join the get together of all the people from Japan who is in car business and that party is called Sam's night because it is hosted by Sam Mitani who is the Intl Editor at Road & Track.

昨日はショーの内容を纏めて夕方はミーティング。週末に入ってようやく落ち着いた所です。で、このあいだのZの写真です！写真より現物の方が格好いいですよ！！

Well...here is a pict of the new 370Z which I took on Thursday. I think it looks better in real life!!

370Z

今日でLAオートショーが開幕されました。ずっと記者発表会を回りまくって、夕方に家を戻り夜までに締め切りだった原稿をしあげて、今はラスベガスに向かう所です。明日はYOKOHAMAタイヤさんの試乗会でべガスのスピードウェイで走行しています！戻って来て落ち着いたらZの写真アップします。写真より現実の方が格好良いのですが、走りもレベルアップしています！！

Just got back from the LA Auto Show. I was pretty busy going through all the press conference and was back home by 4PM to finish the article on several cars that were announced today. I just had dinner and I am off to Vegas to do some hot laps tomorrow for Yokohama tires and their clients at LVMS. Good to be busy but was too busy the last couple of days...at least I will get to have some fun tomorrow!!

Acura TL & Mazda 6を試乗＆撮影

今日は朝一で子供を幼稚園に預け、自分はそのまま仕事に直行。今日はAcura TLとMazda 6の試乗＆撮影。６は既に乗っていたので、TLに乗るのは楽しみでした。同じ3.7Lのエンジンを積んでいて良い比較対象かなと思いつつも以外と違う内容なので比較が難しそう。しかし、結論からすると、TLの中身と6のルックスが欲しいなと言う感じです。

Got up early today and dropped off my son at the pre-school. Than I was off to work right away testing the new Acura TL and the Mazda 6. I already drove the 6 so I was looking forward to driving the new TL. They both have 3.7L engines and I thought it would be a good comparison but they both seems to be in a different class where it is relatively difficult to compare against each other. Having said that, I like both cars for sure. But would be ideal to have the looks of the 6 and the performance of the TL.

明日はな〜んとニューZを試乗する予定です。しかも、今夜はお食事会で、今週はLAショーもあるので連日大忙しになりそうです！

I am off to dinner meeting now but I am really looking forward to tomorrow since I get a sneak preview test drive on the new Nissan Z!

凄い山火事！

ここ数時間のLA郊外の山火事はまじでヤバいです！高速道路は閉鎖されて、今朝起きると空の色が夕方みたいで変な色してました。それに加え、夕方になったら今度は風向きが変わったのか、空から灰がふってきて車もホコリを被った様に汚れています。改めて、山火事の恐ろしさを感じますね。

I didn't realize how bad the wild fire was until I woke up this morning. I opened up the window and the color of the sky looked like as if it was already 3pm!?! In the afternoon, it seems as if the wind direction has shifted and my car got covered with ash when we went to the grocery store!?! I hope the fire is going to be put out real soon...

今日はNASCARの最終戦も終わり、マカオのF3のレースも終わり、これでいよいよレーシングシーズン終了ですね。それより、マカオでの国本選手の勝利には感心します。セッションのリザルト／タイムしか見ていないけど、彼の才能は凄いかもしれませんね！若手が頑張っている以上も自分も頑張らないと！！

The racing season is finally over with the Homestead NASCAR race and Macau race being over. I was real impressed with Carl Edwards spirit as a racing driver but was more impressed by Kunimoto who won the Macau F3 race. I think he is a natural talent that may become the first Japanese driver to win a F1 race. Although the season being over...I will have a lot of work to do to get things settled for next season and I better keep working at it!!

息子のイタズラ

最近になって家の息子はイタズラがエスカレート。色んなスペースに変な物をいれたがります。今日はビデオデッキの中に強引にテレビのリモコンを突っ込もうとし、入らない事に気がついたら、飽きてそのまま差し逃げ・・・。ま〜ビデオを見る事は最近はほとんどないので、壊れても良いかなと思ってしまいますが、頼むからDVDのデッキは壊さんでくれ〜！？！

My son learned a new trick today. He learned how to stick a remote in the the VCR!?! Obviously not what he needs to learn but seems like he is learning how to stick everything in to things that you are not supposed to do. I don't mind him playing with the VCR since we hardly use the machine but I just hope that he doesn't brake the DVD player!!

ピットの容態

ここの３日間ピットが元気がなくちょっと心配です。なんだか、抱きかかえる時に痛いみたいでジャンプするのも嫌がっています。足腰を触ったり身体を触っても痛がらないので、どこが悪いのか原因不明・・・。しかし、本当にブルーな感じでおとなしくしているので、ちょっと心配です。明日にでも病院に連れていいこうかな・・・。

My dog Pit isn't feeling so well this last three days. He doesn't seem be to be sick...but sounds like something is hurting. He doesn't want to jump on the bed but can walk and doesn't seem to hurt when I examine his legs an body... He may have a hip injury...but I am a bit concerned with his symptom and may be time to go for a medical check at the Vet....which I am not looking forward to because the medical bill seems more expensive then the human bills at the Veterinarians. Having said that, Pit's health is our priority so I better book an appointment as we speak.

Veteran's Day

今日はVeteran's Dayで、復員軍人の日です。いちおう祝日なのですが、会社はやっていたり、なんだか休みの様なそうじゃないような・・・。しかし、もともと復員軍人を称えるためのもので、自分が休む日ではないんですよね！？！

Since it was Veteran's Day today, the city was pretty quite although most of the business was still functioning. It felt like a Sat since it was such a slow day, but I suppose it is a day to honor the military veterans rather than getting us some rest.

が、街はなんだかガラ〜ンとしていて、土曜日みたいな感じでなんとなく気合いの入らない一日でした。

I still managed to spend good quality time in the gym today and back to work getting things prepared for next week's LA Auto Show.

トレーニング＆ミーティング

日曜はなんだか体調が悪くて家でユックリしていました。息子も鼻水をたらして、調子が悪そうだったので二人でゴロゴロ。今日は朝から元気に自分はジムへ、息子は幼稚園に行ってきました。幼稚園にはだいぶ慣れてきたみたいで、もう泣かなくなったみたいです。

I was not feeling so well yesterday and my son wasn't doing so well either so we both stayed quite in the house through out the day. I felt like a LAZY Boy but I guess we are allowed to do that on Sunday. I was back up full throttle this morning and off to the gym, My son was at pre-school today and he seems to understand the system and looks comfortable attending to the classes which is a bit of a relieve since I was worried about him not wanting to go to schools...!?!

自分はトレーニングを終えてから、お昼過ぎから来季に向けてへのミーティング。良い話ができて、あとは前進するのみ！！引き続きフル加速で頑張ります！！

Well, I had a great work out and had to go to meeting to talk about prospects for next season. I think the meeting went great and we just need to keep moving forward to make the deal happen!!

気がついたら週末

気がついたらもう週末。今週もあっと言う間に終わってしまったな〜。自分は原稿を書いたり、トレーニングしたりで、さっきは家でナスカーのレースを観戦していました。

This week went by so fast that I can't even remember what I did. Since it was Saturday...I slept in a bit this morning and took my son to the park. Came home, got some work done and watched the NASCAR Nationwide race from Phoenix.

お昼は相変わらず、家族でブームではまっている、フォーを食べに行きました。ダウンタウンにまた違うお店を発見！しかも、外から見た感じだと絶対に行かないな〜って感じの雰囲気ですが、中に入って食べるとメチャ美味！スープに入れる焦がしニンニクのチリソースがめちゃウマっ！！

As for lunch, my wife and I hit up another Pho joint in Chinatown. The place looks like a hole in a wall from outside...and it actually is even when you enter the restaurant. But the Pho is one of the best in town for sure!! It will probably be our weekly lunch spot since you can get the noodles and egg rolls for under $10!!

トレーニング

今日も朝はジムでトレーニング。筋トレ＆ランニングで家に着いた頃には腹ぺこ。最近は妻とベトナム料理のフォーにはまっていて、家の近くにベトナム料理を発見して早速トライ。以外とヒッピー＆モダン（ってどんな感じだよ？！？笑）な雰囲気のお店でフォーも、そこそこ美味しくて満足。家に帰って来てからは、仕事をして気がついたらもう５時半。一日が経つのは早いですね〜。

My wife and I have been craving Pho Noodles lately and I ended up finding a Vietnamese Restaurant just couple of blocks away from our building so we decided to give it a try for our lunch today. The Pho was pretty good as well as the Egg Rolls. And it is pretty cheap so you can beat the deal all around. I still must say that my favorite place is Golden Deli in Rosemead though...

来年からはオバマ大統領

いや〜ようやく大統領選挙も終わってしまいましたね。昨晩はずっとテレビに釘付け状態でしたが、オバマ氏の圧勝でしたね！個人的にはヴァージニア、オハイオ、フロリダを制した事にビックリ！！

Well, the election is finally over and it was an historical night last night with soon to be President Obama's victory.I was real surprised to see him win in Virginia, Ohio, and Florida. He literally dominated the election and I think the whole US is feeling much better now that it is over.

しかし何より、選挙が終わって良い所は、州のさまざまなPropisition（命題？）のCMをTVで見なくてすむのは本当に安心します。確かに同性愛の結婚についてなど、色んな重要な命題はありましたが、CMの内容がくだらなすぎて・・・、しかもそれを宣伝する莫大な予算もかかっていて、なんとなくあきれる毎日でした。（笑）

The best thing about the election being over is not having to watch all those silly TV commercials about Propositions. Sure they are all important issues...but it seems like they can resolve all that if they don't spend all that money advertising on TV!?!

いよいよ投票日

日本では小室哲哉氏のニュースで大騒ぎの中、アメリカではいよいよ大統領選挙の投票日がやってきました。ほとんど結果が見えている様なきもするなか、基本的には絶対数と言うより、どの州で勝つと言うのが投票システムなので、最後まで結果はわかりません。しかし、オバマ候補が当選されると歴史的瞬間となりますね！最後まで気になるので、今日はニュースに釘付けですね！！

While a famous music producer is getting arrested for allegedly unlawfully selling the copy rights to his music in Japan.... The biggest news here in US is the Presidential Campaign/Vote result. It seems as if the result is already out...you never know what can happen until we see the results from the battle ground states. If Obama wins, it will be a historical moment for the US History and the day it self can be a huge turning point for this country. Therefore, I am going to be watching the news until I see the confirmation on who ended up getting elected!!

カーグラ/YOKOHAMA DVD

気がついたら週末もあっと言う間に終わってしまいましたね。今日から息子が幼稚園に入園。名目上では幼稚園ですが、どちらかと言うと保育園かな？最初は泣いていたようですが、途中からは楽しんでいたみたいなので、一安心。しかし、次回からは置いて行かれると思い、嫌がらなければいいけど・・・。

I can't believe that the week end is over. Today was my son's first day at the pre-school. Apparently he was crying once he realized that my wife and I was no longer there...but seemed to enjoy the class once he made some friends. I'm just a bit worried for the next drop off since now he knows that he will have to attend the class by him self....

そう言えば、８月にモントレーで収録したYokohamaタイヤさんのDVDが１２月号のカーグラフィックに付録として入っています！本屋に行かれた際はぜひ、ゲットしてみて下さいね。しかし、今回はナビゲーター役を勤めたのが初めてで、本当に難しかったです・・・。逆に台本があると、緊張しちゃうタイプなので、最初の場面では噛みまくってしまいました！？！（笑）でも、個人的には物凄い楽しい時間が過ごせて、アメリカをさらに好きになる旅だったので機会があれば見て下さい！！

Speaking of November, the DVD that I filmed for Yokohama Tire in Monterey during the Historic Week End is out. You can see the DVD if you purchase the actual DVD or it comes in the latest(DEC issue) issue of Car Graphic magazine in Japan. It really was hard to host your own show since I am used to being the one who gets interviewed. I am more of a free talk guy rather than having to read scripts...but that trip was a lot of fun. If you ever happen to stop by a Japanese Book Store, don't forget to check it out!!

ブラジルGP

今日は早目に起きてブラジルGPをTV観戦。途中までは、淡々と行われているレースでしたが、最終ラップはドラマチックでしたね〜！予選から見ていると、エンジンが２レース目であまり負担をかけないように、走っている為に恐らくダウンフォースは少なめだったのかなと思い、雨が降り始めた時はちょっと心配でした。

I got up early this morning to watch the Brazilian GP. The race was just awesome at the end. It gored bored mid way through the race but the rain at the end made it totally unpredictable on who was going to win the title. I knew it was going to be tough for Lewis Hamilton since he seemed to be running less downforce to gain some straight speed in order to gain a bit from having to run under safe mode.

しかし、最後のラップは一瞬ひやっとしましたが、タイトルが取れて良かったですね〜！朝から興奮する一日でした！！

I thought he may loose the title, but fortunately he was able to finish 5th and win the title! It was an exciting start to my day！！

Angel's Flight

家のすぐ隣の公園に、世界最短距離の電車でAngel'sFlightと言う観光名所があります。この電車は５年前くらいに事故があり、その時から閉鎖されて線路だけ残っている形でしたが、今日は電車が乗せられ近い将来また運行が再開されるみたいです！ん〜でも、やっぱり乗るのは怖いかな・・・。実際どのくらいの距離かと言うと恐らく１００mくらいです。でも、急な坂（階段）を昇らずにすむので、オフィッスビルで働く人達は、便利なのかな？でも、１００mだったら歩いた方が早いですね！？！

The Angel's Flight is back! I live right next to it and they were installing the train today. I know there was a deadly accident couple of year's ago and the operation has been at halt since then but it is good to see Downtown attraction getting revived. I just hope that the train is going to be safe since my son would probably enjoy riding in it. Or at least watch the train go up and down.

ハロウィーンパーティー

昨晩は家のロビーで行われたハロウィーンパーティーに行ってきました。テーマはベネチアン仮面でしたが、家は完全に仮装パーティー状態で息子を連れていました！？！家の建物は１９２５年に経ったビルで、色々とデコレーションをされたら、本当にお化け屋敷みたいである意味こわいです！？！

There was a Halloween Party at the lobby area of my apartment building. The theme of the part was Masque but we attended the party with an usual Halloween costume. My building was built in 1925 and with the right decoration, it really looks like an haunted mansion!?!

一番人気にマスクはやはり、オバマ＆マケイン。オバマのマスクを被った人は、素振りまで練習したのか握手の仕方までそっくりでした！？！（笑）

The hottest masque of the party was definitely either one soon to be elected Obama/McCain! The guy with the Obama masque did a real good job imitating him!!

家の息子はスーパーマンの衣装を着て出席。なぜか最近は写真を撮る時にB-Boyチックなポーズを勝手にとります。（笑）

My son with Superman costume and posed B-Boy style....

明日はハロウィーン

明日はハロウィーン。あまりパーティー行事が得意でない僕ですが、息子の為には何かしないとって悩んでいる今日この頃です。所で最近息子がはまっている物は風船です。スーパーに行くとかならず風船をみて大騒ぎ！？！そして、買ってきた風船を持って、“お母さんと一緒”を見ながら風船がでてくるシーンになると、自分の風船を持ち出して同じダンスをしています。その姿を見て、家の息子は可愛いなと親ばかを発揮してしまいます！？！（笑）

Tomorrow is the Halloween night. I am not so excited about it and am not much of a party man...but will need to do something to keep my son happy...well perhaps my wife happy!?! Recently my son's favorite thing is balloon. I can't walk out of grocery store without purchasing a $4 balloon which adds up!?! I quickly figured out that he is trying to copy a scene from the TV show that he watches every morning. Some one needs to create a ever lasting balloon so I don't have to buy one every other day...

来月はLAオートショー

もうちょいで１１月ですね。来月は中旬にLAオートショーがあります。そこでは、日産が新型のZを公開します。もうすでに、写真はネットで公開されていますが、現物を見るのが楽しみ！！GT-Rとの区別をしっかりつけて、モデルチェンジをしているので、その辺のマーケティングは日産は上手だなと実感。LAオートショーは環境がテーマなのでそれ以外にも色んなエコカーの発表があると思います。今から行くのが楽しみです！！

I can't believe that Oct is almost over... And comes Nov. Speaking of November, the LA Auto Show is on during middle of the month. I am going to be busy interviewing the designers as well as finishing up articles on the new cars. One of the feature car that is going to be announced is the new Nissan Z. The picture of the car is already out and I think it looks pretty cool. Nissan did a great job differentiating the car from the GT-R and they have a good marketing strategy. Apart from the Z, the theme of the show is Environment/Green so we expect to see many environmentally friendly car being introduced at the show. I guess I will be busy but will try to give you guys some sneak peak before the actual show starts.

投票日まであと１週間

気がついたらあと１週間で大統領選挙の投票日ですね。今の所はオバマ有利な気もしますが、ヒラリー候補がいなくなってから、なんとなく話題性にかける要素になっていますが、アメリカの景気を見るとどちらになっても、なんとなく不安な今日この頃です。

I can't believe it just one week away from the presidential voting day. It seems as if with out Hilary running for president, the campaign is not as exciting anymore. I am not so sure if either one of the candidates would be able to turn the current economy around so I am rather concerned than excited about the situation...

所で、アメリカでの予備選挙などで言われるスーパーTuesdayも含め、なんで投票日は火曜日だかご存知ですか？それは、１８４５年に決まったらしいのですが、以外と単純な理由です。その頃は色んな所から集まって投票するのに、移動日だけで丸一日かかり、投票日も長い列に並ぶので、郊外に住む農民には最低でも２日がかりのプロセスだったそうです。そうなると、週末は休み＆教会にいかなくてはいかないのでNG。水曜日は市場の日だったのNG。と言う事で火曜日に決定したらしいです。休みの日を大事にするアメリカ人らしいエピソードですね。（笑）

Speaking of election date. I just found out why they chose Tuesday as the voting day. Apparently in 1845, it took the people a day to get to the county seat, a day to vote, and a day to get back. Obviously they needed to take the week end off to attend to the church as well as Wednesday since it was the Market day, that left Tuesday as there only option. Pretty simple back than...bust must have been a hassle just to vote. Now days, we have multiple ways of voting and people are still complaining about the process!?! Well...I guess at least it doesn't interfere with the Football game?!?

ジムにミーティング

今日は朝からドタバタな一日でした。朝は早めに起きて８時からジムでトレーニング。お昼前に息子をお遊戯クラスに連れて行き、自分はランチ前にミーティング。クラスが終わってから妻と息子をピックアップして家に戻り、午後は家で原稿の書き上げ。あっと言う間に一日が終わってしまいました。そう言えば今はMLBのワールドシリーズが行われていますね。今回はあえて岩村選手のいる、レイズに勝ってもらいたい物です！！

It was a busy day to start the week. I got up early so I can hit the gym before 8am. I was done by 10am and went to drop off my son and wife for Mommy and Me class. Than had a quick meeting before picking my family up and stopping by couple of stores to get things for my son's Pre-School items. When I finally got home, I was off finishing off couple of articles for Japanese media and I finally have some time for break. Hopefully I can watch the World Series and cheer for the Ray's who Iwamura plays for!!

ロックアウト

今日は日曜日なので、朝はユックリ。お昼前になってから、息子の幼稚園に通うグッヅを買いにスーパーに行ったのですが、その際に家のドアーを閉めた瞬間、鍵を持つのを忘れてショ〜ック！？！けっきょくロックアウトしてしまい、仕方なくロビーに行き部屋をあけてもらいました・・・。幸い、ロビーにいる２４時間態勢の警備スタッフが部屋をあけてくれるので、助かりましたがなんだかついてない一日でした・・・。

It was rather a quite Sunday. We went to get some school goods for my son since he is starting his pre-school in a week. As we walked out of the room, we realized that we forgot to bring the keys....I had to go downstairs and luckily we had the building manager open the door for us but was not a good start to our day. We managed to get all the stuff we needed for my son so we decided to go home and stay quietly since I didn't think it was my lucky day today...!?!

ピットのバースデイ

今日はピットの誕生日。今日で家のピットは５歳になりました。人間の歳でいくと、もうオッサンですね！！ピットが家にきてから５年と考えると、あっという間だったな〜。しかも、最初に来た時はメチャチビで、一緒に寝るのも怖いくらいでした。

Today is Pit's 5th B-Day. I can't believe he is already 5 years old. I guess he is older than me now relative to the human age. When he first came to our house, he was a tiny Chihuahua!!

それが、今は成長して息子の遊び友達！？！（何時もいじめられてますが・・・）なんだか、歳をとるにつれて頑固になってきてるのが心配ですが・・・。誕生日だと言う事だったので今日はお風呂にいれてあげて、さっぱりなピットでした。

Now he is a Giant Chihuahua....not!?! Still tiny but is a good boy. He certainly is turning in to a good playing mate for my son and happy to have him as part of our family!! For his B-Day present, I got a lengthy aroma therapy bath....which he didn't enjoy!?! But he is refreshed now and happy as usual.

本当に不景気・・・。

今日は朝起きてジムに行って、猛トレーニング。筋トレをがっつりして、１０km走ったので、終わって部屋に戻ったらクタクタ。が、一日はこれから。コンピューターで企画書の作業をして、お昼を食べてからTargetに行って日用品の買い物。息子が来月から保育園に通うので色々と、用意しなくてはいけないものもあるみたいで、家で大騒ぎ！？！

Went to the gym in the morning as usual and had a thorough work out. I did a lot of weight lifting today and finished off with a 10km run. I was pretty tired when I got home but the day is just starting!?! I had to work on couple of proposals and went to Target to get some stuff for my son who is going to Japanese Pre-School starting next month. It will be interesting to see how mature he may become after couple of classes.

しかし、Targetに行った時に人の少なさにビックリ！不景気さを感じましたわ・・・。金曜日なのにガラガラって事はいかに、消費者がセービングしてるかって事ですね。家も節約は頑張ってしていますが、家族を持つと出費は大変ですね・・・。そのぶん色んな仕事を頑張らないとっ！！

What surprised me today was the amount of people at Target. It felt like a National Holiday...the place was empty!! I guess that means all the consumers are being conservative. Well...it goes same with me since we are trying to save every penny to make all the payments. It sounds like we are going to go thorough some tough times for couple of months but I guess I am already used it after not making the field at Indy!?! Hopefully things will get better soon.

企画書の作成

今日は朝早くから、日本向けのスポンサー企画書を作成。気がついたら昼を過ぎていて、ビックリ。しかし、日本サイドで沢山の方が来季の活動に向けて応援してくれているので、僕も２００％の力をだして頑張らないと！！レースは本当にシート獲得までが大変です。（笑）実際に乗っている間は戦っていますが、あるいみバカンスですね！？！（笑）

Got up early in the morning today to finish up working on the sponsorship proposal for Japan. I really appreciate all my supporters in Japan helping me trying to put deals together. It is so hard to get a ride now days that all the work is done when you sign the deal. Once your in the car, it's like a vacation, although we're flat out all the time!!

昼過ぎは、まと日本への輸出へのアレンジの仕事でオフィッスに行き、色々とミーティング。今日も日中は暑かったのでピットはベッドでぐったり！？！明日も原稿を書いたり忙しい一日になりそうだ〜！！

After lunch, I was back in San Pedro area to meet in regards to the exporting goods that I am working on. I think my duty is finally done today...at least I hope. Well I will have another busy day tomorrow since I need to get couple of articles done.

インディアンサマー

週末はなんだか涼しかったのに、今日のLAはメチャ暑かったです。まさしくインディアーンサマーですね。この時期になると、サンタアナ・ウィンドと言う暖かい乾燥した風がふいて、空気は乾燥して山火事を起こすシーズンです。今日はレコードヒートに近づく暑さで、案の定この間スクールの仕事で行ったカリフォルニアスピードウェイの地域では山火事が起きているみたいです。しかし、１０年前と比べるとちょっと乾燥しただけですぐに、山火事がおきているのような気がするけど、これもやはり地球温暖化のせいなのかな・・・？

I can't believe how hot it was out here in LA. Definitely the Santa Ana wind is bringing the Indian Summer back considering it was some what cool over the week end. Obviously there were some wildfires over night near California Speedway where I was working last week. I don't recall getting so many wildfires 10 years ago and it must be due to the global warming...

子供のしつけ

今日も午前中はトレーニング。最近は毎日走り込んでいるので、足首にちょっと負担がかかっているような気もしますが、色々とストレスがあり走りまくってストレス解消ですね！？！

As usual, went to the gym in the morning and had a great work out. I've been running a lot lately and I think I may need to rest a bit for my ankle...I guess that is my weak point of my body.

午後は日本へ物を輸出のアレンジの依頼があるので、その仕事をしに行ってました。夕方は家に戻り、子供と遊んだりお風呂にいれたりしましたが、日に日に子供のしつけに関して悩まされました。もちろん怒る時は怒らなくてはいけないのですが、子供もかなり物心が付いて来ているので逆切れする時もあります！？！その辺は妻に似たのかな・・・？！？

For the afternoon, I was out arranging exporting some goods to Japan for my sponsor. I've been working on it for a couple of weeks and I can finally take that off my shoulder by end of this week end if all goes well. When I got home, I played with my son a bit since I didn't have much time to play with him lately. He has grown so much lately that he even started to show some anger if I get mad at him for doing something bad, He certainly acts like my wife when there is things that he doesn't like....!?!

ロスの夏も終わり・・・。

今日も朝はジムでトレーニング。ロスも夏も終わったかの様に、最近は朝目が覚めると少し肌寒いです。寝起きは悪い方ではありませんが、布団からでるのが嫌になってしまいますね！？！（笑）週末もあっと言う間に終わってしまったので、今日から気合いを入れ直してまた１週間頑張らないと！今週末のオーストラリアのレースでインディーは終わってしまいますが、自分は急ピッチで来季の話を進めないとっ！！

Got up early to go to the gym today since I had a quick meeting during lunch time. It is getting cool over night and into the morning lately which makes it harder to get out of the bed... Although I usually don't have a problem waking up as long as I set the alarm on right time. The week end went by so fast and we are on to another week. The Indy Car season will officially end this week at Australia but I better pick up my pace on getting the deals sorted for next season!!

家でトレーニング

今日は日曜日。午前中は家のジムでミッチリトレーニング。ナスカーのレースを見ながら、ランニングをしてもう少しでレースシーズンも終わっちゃうな〜と実感。そして、気がついたら再来週はハロウィーン。妻は息子のマミー＆ミーの教室で行われるパーティーに行くのにコスチュームを買わなきゃと大騒ぎ・・・。いい大人になってからクリスマスやハロウィーンの行事にはあまりノラナイ僕としては、また微妙な時期がやってきたなと実感・・・。が、息子の為を思うと何かしてやらないと・・・。

Went to the gym in the morning and worked out as I watched the NASCAR race from Matinsville on TV. I can't believe that the racing season is almost over... After lunch, my wife wanted to check out some Halloween costumes for my son since he is going to have a party next week at his Mommy & Me class. I am not a big fan of Halloween nor Christmas season since out of pocket expense is beyond my imagination once I became a family man... But I guess I will need to do something to keep my son and especially my wife happy!?!

パーキングメーター

最近ダウンタウン界隈の路駐用のパーキングメーターが全部故障しているなと、思ったら新しいメーターに交換している事が今日発覚。今まではなんだかレトロなメーターで、コインを入れるに連れて残り駐車時間が表示される、いかにもアメリカのパーキングメーターって感じですが、新しいタイプの物はなんだか普通・・・って感じですね。従来の物と一緒で、コインをいれるだけで駐車券が発行されますが、カードや携帯電話からの支払いも可能になりました。確かにコインが無い時は日本みたいに回りに、自動販売機等が少ないアメリカとしては困っていたのですが、これならだいぶ便利。

The city has been putting some new parking meter machines all over downtown area. I kind of prefer the looks of the old school ones but this new machine allows you to pay with Credit Card or even by calling in from your cell phone. Unlike Japan, it's hard to find a vending machine to get some change if you need some coins to park on the street here in US so it is a good idea on allowing to pay with credit cards. Having said that...with all the city's budget cuts...I wonder if this was really necessary to do since most of these street parking spaces are usually occupied by a car with handicap tag here in Downtown.

ついでだから、新しいマシンをiPhoneで撮ってアップで見たら・・・・マシンの後ろに人の頭が！？！心霊写真・・・？！？と思ったらたまたま後ろに走っていたバスの広告でした。（笑）

While I took a quick snap of the machine...and I just uploaded the pict on to my computer...the picture looks as if the machine is already haunted with a person's face in the background!?! Well, it happened to be the ad on the bus that was passing through but it was perfect timing for Halloween to have a scary story!?!

Infiniti FX35

今日は新しくなった、Infiniti FX35の試乗をしてきました。メチャメチャいい車ですね〜！SUVの中では見た目No.1だと以前から思っていましたが、モデルチェンジをしてさらに迫力のあるデザインになってます。日本には並行輸入でしか入っていない所が残念ですね・・・。

Today I was out test driving the new Infitniti FX35.The FX is one of my favorite SUV in terms of the design but this new ride is really sweet! I like the design but the it drives really nice and I think it certainly is a step up from the previous models. Too bad they don't sell these in Japan...

仕事も無事に終了

今日も朝５時起き。６時過ぎに家を出発。その際にたまたま息子が目覚めてドアまで一人で見送りに来てくれました。（妻は寝てましたが・・・。）そんな息子の姿を見て、なんだかハッピーな一日の始まり。フォンタナでの仕事も順調に終わり、さっき家に戻った所です。

Woke up at 5am again and headed out to Cal Speedway for the second day. As I was leaving the house, my son was up to say byeX2 and that alone made up my day!! It was pretty hot out at the track today but everything went smooth and I was able to get home by 6PM.

さて〜明日は少しユックリできるかなと思ったのも束の間で、明日も色々と車の試乗などありドタバタしちゃいそうです・・・。

I was hoping for some rest tomorrow but will have more car to test and shoot and will be busy until the week end...

山火事

今日はフォンタナでスクールの仕事があったので、５時起き・・・。朝から夕方までミッチリ仕事をしてやっと帰宅。早目にお風呂に入って寝たい所です。しかし、先週はメチャメチャ暑かったのが、いきなり涼しくなりメチャメチャ空気が乾燥して、また温度が上がったらあちらこちらで山火事が発生！？！今日もサーキットに向かう途中に山火事が見えて、自然の力は恐るべしですね。皆さん、この時期の火遊びや煙草のポイ捨ては本当に気をつけましょうね！

I was working out at Cal Speedway all day today. Got up at 5am and just got home...I am ready to take a shower and have a quick bite and off to sleep. I couldn't believe how dry it was out in the valley and no wonder we are getting all these wild fires. It was hot and humid last week and all the sudden it cooled off and turned really dry during the week end...and back to hot but very very dry which is a scary season if you live up in the mountains. Fortunately, I don't have to worry so much about wild fires around my place but feel bad for the guys living near the mountain areas....

車の試乗

今日は朝から車の試乗をしてきました。まずはHONDAのFit。アメリカ仕様は５MTのオプションがあって、久しぶりにコンパクト＆マニュアル車をエンジョイしました。ガソリンの価格と共にアメリカでも小さい車が増えてますからね〜。お昼からはMITSUBISHIランサー・ラリアート。こちらはスポーティーで、ランエボと比較してもかなりお買い得間の高い内容でビックリ！！

I was out all day today test driving the new Honda Fit as well as the Mitsubish Lancer Ralliart. Honda Fit is a fun car to drive with the 5MT gearbox and it actually is a lot sportier than it looks. Than I got in to the Lancer Ralliart which is a real sports car! That thing certainly is worth the money and I was surprised how close the performance was to the Evo. Obviously Mitsubishi is going to make sure that the performance level is high with any car that has a Ralliart badge on it.

明日からフォンタナでお仕事です・・・。明日の朝は早いので今夜は早めに寝ないと・・・。

Well...I am working at California Speedway tomorrow and will have to get up early so better get to bed now...

日本車旧車会

今日はロスアンゼルス郊外にあるIrvineで行われた、日本車のクラッシックカーショーに取材でいってきました。たくさんの日本の名車が並んでいて、多くの日本車ファンが集まり、想像していたい以上のイベントでした！とくにDATSUNファンがいっぱいいました！！今となると日本車はトヨタやHONDAというイメージが強いですが、アメリカで日本車のイメージを向上したDATSUNは本当にパイオニア的な存在ですね！！

I went to the Japanese Classic Car Show in Irvine today for some media work that I needed to do.I was surprised with the turn out as well as all the classic car that showed up to that event! Obviously I was amazed with all the great car that has been restored more nicely but was more surprised with some of the DATSUN enthusiasts! I must say that DATSUN certainly played a big role of the Japanese car manufacture in US market. I am already looking forward to attending the event again next year!!

B-Day Party

昨日でとうとう３１になってしまいました・・・。（泣）幸いロスの仲間が誕生日を祝ってくれ楽しい時間が過ごせました！久しぶりに中華料理を食べに行って、皆からもプレゼントを頂いて本当に嬉しかったです！！

I can't believe I am already 31 years old... Fortunately I had some friends celebrate my B-Day yesterday and I had great fun with them.

昨日もらったプレゼントはな〜んとマッサージクッション！マッサージ機をもらって嬉しいな〜って思うのはやっぱり歳なんですかね・・・。でも、このマシン色んな所に持ち歩けるのでいい感じです！！とうぶん妻と取り合いになりそう・・・！？！今日は妻の誕生日です。２日連続の外食は辛いので今夜は自分が腕を振る舞う番かな？！？

I got a portable massage cushion for my B-Day present.It works pretty good and I am sure I will be sitting on that cushion every day!! It makes you feel old when you appreciate a massage cushion!?! However, I have been having some back pain earlier this year and I was in need for one so I am very happy!! Today is actually my wife's B-Day so I think I am going to cook something for her tonight.

何処まで落ちるんだ〜

今日も午前中はジムでトレーニング。お昼はサンペドロと言う港町まで行き、頼まれている物を手配に行き、帰りがけに息子を公園に連れて少し遊ばせ戻って来た所です。しかし、今日も株価は落ちまくり・・・。ドルも１＄＝９８円台まで突入していますね〜。いや〜本当に今後の景気は怖い怖い・・・。とは言っても、明日は誕生日。ケーキを食べて景気付けよ〜・・・、ってオヤジへの第一歩ですね！？！（笑）

Went to the early in the morning and than had to go to San Pedro to arrange some stuff that I am helping out for business in Japan. I have been really busy arranging this matter and things were all finalized today which is good. Now, we just have to wait for the money!?! Speaking of money, the stocks just took another slump today and I don't know when this is going to end. Well...I guess I better not talk about this so much anymore but instead celebrate my B-Day tomorrow with my family and will be my wife's B-Day the following day. I thought it was great when we started to date...but not so much now since we really don't know who is being celebrated?!?

また真夏？！？

今日も午前中はジムでトレーニング。妻は息子を連れて幼稚園の面接に行ったのですが、いまいち気に入らず帰って来て、とりあえず今ウェイティングの幼稚園に行く事がほぼ決定。しかし、幼稚園探しとかも大変ですね〜。個人的にはなんでもかんでも独学派だった僕としては、何処でもいいんじゃないって・・・、って思ってしまう所もありますが、やはりちょっとでも良い地域で行かせたい気持ちもあり難しい所です。何よりもベビーラッシュだけあって何処のデイケアーセンターや、幼稚園も待たないと入れません・・・。子育ての大変さを改めて実感致しました。（泣）

Went to the gym in the morning and worked out for couple of hours. My wife took my son to check out the pre school in Torrance and apparently she didn't like the one she visited today. I really never relied anything from school and learned everything at home my self...so never prioritized going to school since racing has been a big part of my life but the situation is a bit different for my son. I would certainly like to have him go through a good school and pre-school but it seems like it is just as hard to be allowed to go there as much as finding a ride in Indy Cars!?! Well, I guess with the baby boom...the number of child is exceeding relative to the schools... So we better make a decision soon and put our names on the waiting list.

今週末は・・・

今週末は富士でF1GPですね。去年は雨で散々だったのを思い出しますが、今年の天候は如何かな・・・？そう言えば快走した富士には、実はまだ行った事がないんですよね！？！どんな施設なのか興味津々です。今週末はな〜んと自分のバースデイ・・・。気がついたら３１か〜。しかし、男はまだまだこれからと言う事で、格好いいオッチャン目指して頑張ります！！

The F1 race in Fuji, Japan is on this week end and will be interesting to see who ends up winning the race. Obviously it is the home race for Honda and Toyota boys so I'm sure they are upbeat about it but at the same time, I'm sure everyone in Japan is crossing there fingers for a great weather this week end since it down poured last year. Speaking of this week end...I am turning 31 on Fri...I hope it will be a fun week end for me.

１ドル１００円？！？

今朝起きて外貨レートを見たらビックリ！なんと、＄１＝１００円じゃないですか〜！？！景気が悪いのは承知していますが、ここまでドルが落ちるとは・・・。世界的に株価は落ちていますが、今日のアメリカの株価も先日の下落の記録を更新した日よりも最安値で終わっていて、本当に先行きが心配ですね。しか〜し、日本からアメリカに来る場合は、今がお得ですね！！と言う事は、レースのスポンサーさんもお得ですよ！！“今だったらフル参戦するとな〜んと１０％引き”って家電屋の営業みたいですね・・・。（笑）

I got up in the morning and checked the exchange rate and my jaw just dropped... Not from talking so much over the week end but from the dollar getting so week to the yen. The stock has fallen even more and it is pretty scary to think about the future with all the good things that was supposed to come after signing the bail out plan. I guess it takes time for things to settle... Well, the exchange rate works in to the favor for the tourists that are coming to US as well as the sponsors that are based out side of US. I guess it is almost like getting 10% discount on the deal if you sign and pay now!?! It's kind of like car sales after all...!?!

オートショーがやっと終了

今日の夕方にやっとオレンジカウンティーオートショーが終了しました。金曜から毎朝６時起きで出勤し、７時頃までづっと走りっぱなし・・・。かなりハードなスケジュールでした。おまけに車の内容も説明しなくてはいけないので、喋りっぱなしで顎が痛いです！？！もともと、喋るのは嫌いではないのですが、今週末は喋りすぎて今は“無”になりたいじょうきょうです・・・。

Finally the work at the Orange County Auto Show is over. It was a real busy 3 days...I was working 8-7PM every day and getting up before 6am each day. I was literally driving the customers around for the whole day and talking at the same time and my jaw actually hurts from talking so much. I think I am going to try to hibernate for a week and rest my jaw so I can talk again... Well hopefully I can get a day off tomorrow.

Mazda 6

今日からアナハイム（ディズニーランドの向かい）にあるコンベンションセンターでオートショーが始まり、そこで仕事をしています。今回はパリサロと日程が被っているので、目玉商品はありませんが、自分はニューMazda 6（日本ではアテンザ）の仕事を手伝っています。日本のオートサロンでは急遽アテンザのトークショーに飛び入り参加した事もあり、なんだかこの車とは縁があるな〜と思ってしまいます。ちなみに、新しくなったアテンザを初めて乗りましたが、メチャメチャ良くできてます。コストパフォーマンスはかなりグ〜ですね！！

I was at Anaheim all day today working for Mazda at the convention center. They have the Orange County Auto Show going on this week end and we are expected to see a lot of crowds...although the car sales are going down. I am helping giving rides in the new Mazda 6 which just hit the showroom recently and the car is really really nice! It certainly is worth the money and more and is a good buy!! Well, I am working out there all week end and have a early morning tomorrow so I better hit the bed soon...zzz

レコードヒート

いや〜今日もメチャ暑の一日でした。どうやら、今日の最高気温をロスアンゼルスの１０月１日の最高気温の記録タイだそうです・・・。どうりで暑い訳だ・・・。今日もジムに行ってトレーニング。今日は筋トレにフォーカス。

It was another hot day today here in LA. Apparently we tied the record heat of the day....no wonder it was so hot!! Being hot is a perfect scenario for me to train at the gym to simulate the actual heat in the cockpit. I mainly focused on the weight training today and I was done after 1.5hr of work out...

家に戻ってきて、週末にかけて行われるオレンジカウンティーオートショーでの仕事の為に色々と下準備・・・。週末は涼しくなってくれるみたいなので、唯一のすくいです。といっても、仕事はインドアーだから関係ないかな？！？

In the afternoon,I went through all the notes for this week end's work at the OC Auto Show. I am kind of looking forward to being there this week end to drive the new Mazda 6's. Well at least the weather is supposed to cool down a bit by the week end.

仕事ドタバタ〜

今日もしっかりジムに行って１０kmのランニング。日本に行って美味しい物を食べ過ぎて、ちょこっと増量したのがやっともとに戻りました。今シーズンはレースで走った距離が少なかった分も、シーズンオフはがっつりとトレーニングを続けないと。いや〜しかし、乗ってない時に体力を維持するのが本当に大変です。あるいみ、フル参戦で毎週の様にレースをしてる方がよっぽど楽ちんです。

Started off the day with a 10km run in the gym. After eating all the great food in Japan, it literally took me 3 weeks to get back to the shape I needed to be in... Tell you what, it's much easier racing full time since you need to work twice as hard in the gym to maintain your shape as well as fitness level.

家に戻ってからお昼（焼きそば）を食べて、夕方までは家で仕事。今週末は仕事が入ってるので、家でできる事は週末に入る前に終わらせないとって感じです。しかし、今日のロスはメチャメチャ暑かったですよ〜！！真夏日和でビックリです！！日本はもう涼しくなってるのかな？？

After lunch, I came home and had a lot of work to get done since I am away for the week end working in Orange County. It was a really hot day today here in LA! I was going to take my son to the park but thought better of it and decided not to since it was over 90! Hopefully it will cool off tomorrow otherwise I will need to take him to the pool!!

景気回復してくれるかな・・・？

いや〜今日はアメリカ景気にとっては、とてもさむ〜い日になりましたね。とくにNY株式市場には・・・。アメリカの金融安定化法案も否決されてしまい、今後の景気の行方が気になっていく所です。しかし、アメリカの銀行もどんどん破産していって、残るのはバンクオブアメリカだけだったりして・・・！？！でも、そう考えるとなおさら、金利は悪くなるのかな・・・・？！？

It was a cold day for the Wall Street today...Obviously the bail out plan was not approved and the stock just seemed to plunge today. It certainly is affecting the market globally and it really is a bad thing for all of us. It also seems as if all the banks are going bankrupt.... May be we will only have one Bank in 10years...!?! Well I'm certain that Bank of America will survive but who knows what can happen in this scary economy!?!

週末もあっと言う間に終了。

気がついたら、週末もあっと言う間に終わってしまいましたね・・・。しかし、今朝行われた、シンガポールでのナイトレースはメチャメチャ面白かったですね！！日本でも是非ストリート＆ナイトレースが行われるといいなとつくづく思います。シンガポールには空港だけは行った事があるのですが、市内には入った事がないので、来年はぜひ行ってみたいです。

I can't believe the week end is already over... The Night race in Singapore was spectacular to watch! I wish if I was there...I definitely think the night/street race is the way to go in Asia since the night life is pretty active through all the Asian countries. I have only been to the airport in Singapore so I hope to be able to make that trip sometimes next year.

ストーブリーグ

今日も午前中はジムでトレーニング。１０kmランニングしてから家に戻って来て仕事。ネットでニュースを見ていると、来季の体制が次々と決まっていって、まさにストーブリーグ真っ最中ですね。何よりも来月オーストラリアで行われるIndyCarのレースに向けて、沢山のチームが来年一緒に戦うドライバーとの参戦が発表されています。

As usual, went to the gym in the morning and went for a 10km run. Came home and had to get a lot of work done today since it was Friday. As I got some free time, I started to surf the net and I am very impressed with all the announcement that has been happening over the last couple of weeks.

まずは、Ganassiにダリオが戻って来て、Danがパンサーに移籍。シートを失ったVitorはフォイトに移籍。その上に今日は、茂木でスポンサーをしてくれたInterush Racingで知り合ったStantonがIRLに移籍する事を発表！アメリカの景気が悪い中、エントリー台数が増える事は物凄く良い事ですね！自分も負けずに早めに体制を決めれる様に頑張らないと！！ではでは、引き続き応援宜しくお願い致します！！

It must be a good thing in this economy to have more cars and drivers entering the series. I think having the Australia race is a bit weird because most of the team is using that to prepare for next year with their drivers that is going to be in the car next season. We will see a lot of changes with Dario in at Ganassi, Dan moving to Panther, and Vitor going to Foyt Enterprises. The big news today was that Stanton Barrett joining the Indy Car Series. I was able to meet him through Interush Racing and he is a great guy! I'm sure he would do well!! Speaking of racing, I better accelerate my pace on getting the deals together because the time is just flying by so fast!!

９月も終わり・・・？

さっき冷静に考えていたら、もう来週で１０月じゃないですか〜！？！９月はあっと言う間に終わってしまう感じですね・・・。夏も正式に終わって、もう秋ですね。１０月に入ると嬉しいのは、な〜んと自分の誕生日が１０日です。でも、３０を超えてからちっとも嬉しくなくなってきました・・・。（笑）今は来年の話を早く決めれる様に、ファイトですね！！

I was just thinking that September is almost over. I guess the summer is officially over and we are in to the fall season. I was always excited to welcome October since my birthday is on 10th...but not so much anymore once I turned 30. At this point, only thing for me to look forward is to get the deals done for next season and I hope to meet with couple of prospect sponsors that we have been working on in the next few weeks!!

ドタバタな一日

この２日間はなんだか、メチャメチャ忙しかったです。さっきようやく落ち着きましたが・・・。仕事が溜まっていたので、そのキャッチアップ。そうしたらエンジンがかかってしまい、だいぶ先の締め切りの仕事までやっちゃいました！！

I've been real busy the last two days trying to catch up with all the work as well as getting some last minute request on getting things done late Sunday night. I have finally got caught up and have some time to update my blog.

明日からはちょこっと落ち着くので、また息子と時間を過ごさないと。色々とネットで調べていたら、最近はインドアパークの様な子供の遊び場が流行っているみたいです。外の公園だと、知らない怪しい人がいたりしますが、インドアの施設だと安全って言うのもあるからかもしれませんが・・・。施設の設備もしっかりしていて、ネットで見る限りでは面白そうなので、今度連れて行ってみようかと考えています。

I wasn't able to spend much time with my son the last two days so I probably would need to take him somewhere before this week end. I have done some search on line and heard about indoor playground/park that seems like a place to take the kids now days. I guess most of the city parks are not so safe...especially in downtown area with strangers as well as the outdated amenities... And the new indoor places are actually pretty good although they charge minor entry fee. Apparently most of those places actually have PS3 and WII so I could probably spend the whole day there!!

ユックリサンデー

今日は日曜日だったので、朝は少し寝坊気味。９時前までベッドでゴロゴロしてしまいました。お昼前にはジムに行って、NASCARとRyder Cupのゴルフををモニターで見ながら１０kmのランニング。お昼過ぎは息子と家でゴロゴロゆっくりと凄しました。なんだか週末もあっと言う間に過ぎちゃったな〜・・・。

Since it was a Sunday, I slept in until close to 9am. Got up and had some fruits for breakfast and off to gym for 10km run. While at the gym, I watched the NASCAR race from Dover and flipping through Ryder Cup every other minutes. I wished if I can split the monitor while running... As for the afternoon, we decided to stay home and just kick back in order to store some energy for rest of the week.

家の前で撮影

今日は朝起きてピットの散歩で家の前の公園に行こうとしたら、な〜んと家の前で撮影を行っていました。恐らく何かのワンシーンって言う感じで、そんなに大掛かりな撮影ではありませんでしたが、リハーサル中に家をでてしまったので、ちょっと顰蹙かっちゃいました。撮影のスタッフさんごめんなさ〜いって感じで気まずく道を渡って散歩を続行。

Got up in the morning and took pit for a walk to the park in front of my apartments. As we were walking out of the apartment gate, our street was getting used to film a commercial or a movie and we happened to step out while they were rehearsing the scene... We had to wait until they finished filming so our long was longer than usual but I suppose Pit was satisfied from the extra walk!?!

あっと言う間に週末。

気がついたら金曜日であっと言う間に週末になってしまいましたね。今日も朝起きて昼前にジムでトレーニング。午後は家に戻って、車のインプレの原稿を書いていました。今日書いたインプレ原稿はLEXUS LX 570でこれからAcura RLの原稿に取りかかろうとしている所です。

I can't believe it's already Friday. As usual, my day started at the gym working out for couple of hours. I definitely need to burn off all the calories and fats from all the fast food that I had while my cousin was here... After the gym, I got home and had to finish up couple of articles on the car that I drove while a go. I had to write about the LX 570 and the Acura RL in which both cars were really nice!

週末の間も仕事漬けになりそうです・・・。夕方は子供を公園に連れていきました。息子はバスケが好きみたいで、他の人がバスケをプレーしてるコートに乱入したり、ボールを渡すと一生懸命バスケットの中にボールを入れようとしています。身長は高くなりそうなので、バスケの選手を目指すのかな・・・？！？

I probably will have a lot of catch up to do over the week end with desk work and will be busy. Once I got most of work done today, I tool my son to the park. He seems to like playing basket ball since he always try to join the big boys in the court and today since the park was empty, I handed him the ball and he was already trying to shoot at the hoop!! May be he is off to become a NBA star rather than a Race Car Driver....!?!

家のジム

日本は９月なのに台風がきてるみたいで、変な気象ですね・・・。アメリカの経済も不安定が続き今後はどうなる事やら。そんな事を考えながら今日も午前中にジムに行ってトレーニング。ジムでトレーニングをしながら、モニターでニュースを見たりしているので以外と家に居るより世界状勢には敏感になってしまいます！？！（笑）

It's already September but apparently they are still getting Typhoon in Japan...the weather pattern seems to be weird with global warming but the American economy is just as shaky as the stock keeps going up and down for last couple of days. Well...at least that is all they talk about on the news channel for the last couple of days. It doesn't help when the economy is down...but I think that is a sign of opportunity for things to get better. I must say...money doesn't disappear by it self and it must be going some where..right!?! Well, I guess I will be a genius if I can figure out where the money is at right now.,,,

所で何時もどんなジムでトレーニングしてるのかなと、思っている方へ今日は家のジムを大公開してしまいます！！と言ってもそんな豪華なジムではありませんが、必要な機材は揃っているのでとても便利です。

I spend a lot of time watching the news at the gym while on the treadmill. Therefore, I thought to give you guys a quick glance of the gym in my apartment building. I guess...it's a cozy gym!?! It's not fancy at all, but it has pretty much what I need to keep me fit and the best part is,there is now waiting or sharing machines like at the Bally's or 24hr Fitness that is not really opened 24hr!?!

結婚２周年！

今日は９月１７日で妻との結婚記念日です。結婚をしてからもう２年経つのかと思うと、驚きですね〜！結婚してから相変わらずこりずに、自分についてきてくれる妻には本当に感謝です。やっぱり家を空ける事が続くから、息子の世話だったり色々と苦労していると思いますが、本当に良く頑張ってくれてます。

Today is our wedding anniversary day. I can't believe it's been two years since we've been married. I must thank my wife for hanging with me through all the tough time and she certainly is doing a great job as a wife and a mom.

今日は何時もの様に午前中にジムに行って、家でランチ。お昼過ぎは色々と仕事をしたのですが、息子がチョコチョコ邪魔をしにきて、仕事が進みませんでした・・・。怒りたいけど、一緒に遊んであげたい自分もいて、複雑な状況でした。子育ては難しいですね〜。

As usual, I went to the gym in the AM and than had a quick lunch at home. I needed to get some work done afternoon but my son kept coming into the room asking me to play with him. It was frustrating because I wanted to get the work done, but yet spend some time with my son.... I thought twice and figured it would be best to keep my wife happy today so I ended up putting the work away until my son took a nap. Hopefully we can have a peaceful dinner to celebrate our anniversary.

車のメンテ

今日は午前中にジムでトレーニング。家でランチを食べてから、１時に車をディーラーに持って行ってもらって、オイル交換＆メンテナンス。１時間くらいで終わるとの事だったので、ディーラーで仕事をしながら待っていました。色々とショールームに飾られている車を見ていたら、だんだん欲しくなって来てしまいちゃかり試乗までしちゃいました！？！（笑）が、今は懐が寒いので断念・・・。ちくしょ〜色々と頑張って、近い将来ぜったいにゲットしてやる！！

Went to the gym in the morning and had a quick lunch before taking my car to service at the local dealer. I was going to wait at the dealer and get some work done...but started to check the cars out that was displayed on the show room. I am almost in time for a new car,...but I think I need to get my savings up before considering to get a new car... Nevertheless, I couldn't resist and had to take couple of vehicles for a spin!?!

大相撲

今日は従兄弟が日本に戻り、家も静かになってちょっと寂しい感じです。一番寂しがっているのは、沢山遊んでもらった息子みたいですが・・・。そう言えば色んな騒動があった中、大相撲の秋場所が始まりましたね。これから毎晩徹夜コースで見ないと！？！最近は規則正しい生活で１２時前に寝てしまうのでライブで見るのは辛そうです・・・。

My house turned quite today since my cousin went back to Japan this afternoon. It was great having him around because he would play a lot with my son and I'm sure my son will miss him a lot... I am finally back to real life and was able to get some work done this afternoon. I will have a lot of work to catch up this week so it would be busy for rest of the week.

フライドチキン

今日は従兄弟がLA滞在の最終日。日本では食べれないアメリカンな物を食べようと、今日はフライドチキンを食べに行きました。ケンチキだったら、日本にもあるので、ロスでも口コミで美味しいと有名なHoney's Kettle Fried Chickenに行ってきました！ここのフライドチキンはクリスピーで中はジューシュー。アメリカンって感じですが、以外とヤミツキになっちゃいます。本店はコンプトンと言うコンバット地域にあって行くのが怖いのですが、味的に場所的にもスリル満点ですね！？！（笑）

Today was the final day for my cousin's visit. He wanted to get some American Food today so I decided to take him to eat some Fried Chicken. I figured he can get KFC's in Japan so we went to the Honey's Kettle in Culver City. There original store is in Compton but I was not brave enough to go there.... The Fried Chicken was crispy on outside and juicy inside! One of the best fried chicken I ever had!! I think this place is going to turn in to a once a month place to hit for lunch!!

もう週末。

気がついたら、もう週末ですね。今日は午前中は家で軽くお仕事。お昼からは従兄弟と息子を連れてLA界隈でショッピング。今日は金曜で帰り道が混んでいたので家に戻って来たら疲れてしまいました。家に戻れてホッとしたものの、疲れが溜まっていて気を抜いたら寝込んでしまいそうです・・・。今夜は早めに寝とこ〜！？！

I can't believe it's already Fri! I got some work done this morning since I had a lot to catch up with and took my cousin to shopping in the afternoon. The traffic was bad on the way home since it was Friday afternoon...I'm just glad I am home now. Well...I will have to be a tour guide for another couple of days but should be able to have some time next week to relax which I am looking forward to!!

山羊が出没！？！

今朝起きてピットを散歩に連れて行くと、何時も行く公園が動物園状態になっていました！？！なんと、数十匹もの山羊を斜面に放牧し、枯れ木や雑草を食べてもらうと言うエコプロジェクト！！息子は沢山の山羊を見て大喜び！！そして、ピットはハッスルしてトイレのタイミングを逃していました・・・。（笑）

I got up and took Pit and my son for a walk to the park next door. All of the sudden the park has turned into a zoo!?! The have released some goats to clean up all the brush on the hills and I must say they have done a good job since there isn't anything else to eat from that park!?!

いや〜しかし、山羊が居ると家の窓からの景色もなんだか和みますね〜。ダウンタウンなのに・・・！？！

Having goats around was good for my son who was very excited to see them! I guess that must be a good sign for me to take him out to the zoo again because he didn't seem to interact much when he saw the animals at San Diego Zoo couple of months ago...

ロスに帰ってきました

昨日のフライトでロスに戻ってきました。今回の日本での滞在は少しハードでしたが、家に戻ってなんとなくホッとしました。息子とあって息子も大喜び。やっぱり１週間あわないと寂しいもんですね。

I am finally back in LA for good. The 1 week stay in Japan was pretty hectic and I am relieved to be back in LA and being able to spend some time with my son since I was out most of August.

今回は従兄弟がロスに遊びに来ていて一緒のフライトで戻ってきました。今週１週間は従兄弟のツアーガイドになりそうです・・・。８月中はずっと仕事で忙しかったので、今週はリラックスできそうです。

My cousin is in town for a week and I caught the same flight with him from Narita so he flight was pretty quick. I will probably be end up being a tour guide to my cousin this week but it would be good to get some relaxing time during the week end.

今日のフライトでアメリカに戻ります。

今回の滞在もあっと言う間で、今日のフライトでロスに戻ります。何時もよりちょっと短かったので、あまり満喫する事はできなかったです・・・。それ以上に時差が最後ボケが最後まで治らず、昨日は開き直ってこのままロス時間で帰ってやろうと決心して、昨晩は２時頃に寝たのに今朝は４時過ぎに目が覚めました・・・。（笑）今日はこれから朝一で挨拶回りがあり、お昼過ぎに成田に向かいます。

I can't believe my trip here in Japan is over. It was a busy trip but what made it really challenging was the jetlag. I was not able to adjust the time zone at all during this trip and as of yesterday, I decided to stay in LA time zone since there was no need to adjust time since I am already heading to the airport this afternoon. I will have several meetings this morning before heading to the airport and I'm sure I will be knocked out in the plane for the 9hr flight...

昨日は久しぶりにエアープレス上野に行き酸素カプセルに入ってきました！ランチタイムの時間に行って、がっつり９０分入ったので昼寝もできて、かなりリラックスできました！時差ボケ＆ドタバタの滞在で疲れが溜まっていたのですが、一挙に吹き飛んだ感じでした！！疲労回復にもぜひぜひお薦めです！！

Yesterday, I managed to sneak in some time to go to Air Press Ueno to go in to the Oxygen Capsule for 90 min. Since I was really tired, it was a good peaceful and relaxing 90 min to heal from the real world!! I really wished if I had one of those capsules in handy all the time so I can have my own 90 min every day!?!

滞在もあと２日

日本滞在もあと２日となってしまいました。１週間の滞在なので今回もドタバタです。先日は楽しみにしていた紅月に行ってきました！今回はピリ辛もつ鍋に挑戦！いや〜めちゃめちゃ美味しかったです！！アメリカに居る時からずっとホームページを見て気になっていたので、食べれて大満足でした！！

I can't believe there are only two days left to my visit this time. Since I am only here for a week, it has been really busy for the last couple of days. Meanwhile, I had a chance to go to my favorite restaurant Kougetsu. The food was as always "Excellent"!!

土曜は母親の誕生日だったので、皆でお祝い。９月と１０月は誕生日ラッシュです。ちなみに、親父の誕生日、自分の誕生日、そして妻の誕生日が連続で続きます。しかし、来月で３１と考えるとぞっとしますね・・・。

On Saturday, I went to see my mom since it was her B-Day. It is going to be a B-Day rush during the next month since I have my dad' B-Day, My B-Day, and my wife's B-Day all coming up in about month time... I can't believe I am going to turn 31 already...

日本に到着

日本に戻ってきました。昨日のフライトでは映画を見ていたら寝れなくなってしまい、けっきょく成田に着くまで一睡もできませんでした・・・。うわ〜時差ボケコースだと思いつつも家に戻ってすぐに爆睡。

Made it safely back to Japan. My flight was good but I started to watch various movies and could not sleep at all in the plane... I was so tired when I got home that I was knocked out right when I got to my bed room.

今朝はしっかり５時に目が覚めてしまい、朝一で隅田川のテラスをランニング。１０km近く走りましたが、日本は思った程には暑くないものの湿気が凄いので汗だくでランニング終了。今日はこれから挨拶回りに行ってきます！

I was up at 5am already and went for 10km jog by the Sumida River. It is not as hot as I thought it would be...but it certainly is humid out here and I sweated like crazy after the run. Well I am off to a busy couple of days meeting all my prospect sponsor for next season!!

今からフライトです。

今日も朝一でジムに行き飛行機に乗る前にガッツリトレーニング。ジムから戻って仕事をして、銀行に行きお昼前に家を出発。先月はほとんど家に居なかったのに、また１週間いなくなるのはなんだか寂しいです。

Woke up early this morning in order to hit the gym before leaving to Japan. Had a good work out, got some work done and went to the bank before heading to the airport. It was a busy morning but was able to get everything done before the departure.

今回の日本の滞在も１週間でドタバタしそうですが、来年の活動の為にも頑張らないと！！

I was almost away through out the month during August and it's sad to leave home for another week since I haven't been able to spend quality time with my son...Having said that, I will really need to get things moving forward for next year and I hope this trip to Japan will pay off!!

明日から日本

今日は朝一でジム。お昼までは家で仕事をして、午後は軽くビーチの側にある公園に行き子供と一緒に遊びました。今日はLaborDayでアメリカは３連休。夏休み最後の日曜日と言う事で海も混んでいました。今日はこれから仕事が山積みで、明日のフライトで日本に帰ります！！

Woke up and went to the gym first thing in the morning. Came home and got some work done before lunch and took my son and wife to the park near the beach after lunch. Since it was Labor Day week end as well as last week end during the summer vacation for the kids...the beach was packed! The weather was great and it was a good day for me all though I still have tons of work to do before heading to Japan tomorrow...

ロスに戻ってきました！

今日の仕事も２時までには終わり、７時過ぎにはロスに戻ってきました。久しぶりに息子とが自分を見かけたら大喜び！やっぱり息子の笑顔を見ると嬉しいですね！！しかし、明後日からまた日本に行ってしまうのでちょっと寂しいです・・・。

I was done working by 2pm today and was able to get home before 7pm. I was happy to see my son and he seemed to be excited when he saw me back at home. I spent some quality time playing with him and just about ready to hit the bed now...

明日はアメリカは休日。午前中はジムでがっつりトレーニングをしないと・・・。では、今日は疲れてるので早めに寝ま〜す。zzz

I will need to have a good work out tomorrow morning before heading to Japan on Tuesday. It will be another busy week for me but it looks like I will be able to relax for a while once I get back from Japan.

来週から日本

今日も８時前にサーキット入り。９時まで霧がかかっていたので、走行が開始できなかったものの、仕事は２時前に終了。ホテルに戻って原稿を書いたりしてました。突然ですが、来週の火曜から１週間の帰国が決定。前からプランをしていたのですが、９月の下旬に使用か悩んだんですが、来季の交渉も含めてあまり遅くなるのも良くないので来週帰る事を決断。しかし、飛行機代が高くて参っちゃいますね・・・。（泣）

I arrived at the track before 8am as usual and the fog was pretty dense until 9am. It was another easy day and was finished with all the session by 2pm. I came back to the hotel and worked on getting caught up with all the articles that I needed to finish by next week. I also got a head start on other stuff since I am going back to Japan next week and I will not be able to write anything while my stay in Japan. I was thinking about going to Japan end of this month instead...but I feel it's very important that I get back there ASAP and to start the talks early for next season.

今週末は楽ちん

今日は朝早くからサーキット入り。今週末はスクールではなく、MX-5のレースの講師＆監視員をしています。今日は３０分のセッションが４つあっただけだったので、３時前には仕事が終わったので早目にホテルに戻って仕事をしていました。

Went to track early and was done early today which was good for me since I wanted to get back to the hotel early to get some work done. I am not working on the school program this week and rather doing the observer for the MX-5 race week end. Since there were only two groups and 4 30min session, I was back at the hotel by 3PM.

明日も明後日も昼過ぎには終わりそうなので、ラッキーって感じです。が、日曜は５時間のドライブがありますが・・・。

It sounds like it will be an easy week end for us but I still will have the 5hr drive home on Sunday....

またまたモントレー。

今日は午前中は家で仕事を済ませて、午後はモントレーに向けて出発。さっきようやくホテルに着きました。途中で事故渋滞で１時間近くたらたら走る状態に落ち入りましたが、無事に着いて何より。明日からはラグーナで３日間のお仕事です。

I am back in Monterey....again. The drive was miserable today since I got stuck in couple of accident on 5fwy and 101fwy heading up. It ended up being almost a 6hr drive today and I am glad I am checked in to the hotel now.

今夜はホテルで妻の作ってくれたお弁当を食べて、早目に寝るかな・・・。

Since I am up here for 3days, my wife made me some Japanese Obento Box for dinner today so I will not have to eat out tonight. I think I am just going to pick up some drinks at the gas station and hit the bed early tonight since we start early tomorrow.

明日からまた移動

今日も午前中はジムでトレーニング。お昼はスーパーに買い物に行き、ランチはがっつりカツ丼を食べてしまいました。夕方は子供を公園に連れて行って、家に戻って仕事を終わらせてなんだかあっと言う間に１日が経ってしまいました・・・。

As usual, I went to the gym in the morning and came home just in time for lunch. We had Katsu-Don for lunch and it was pretty good. We also went to the store today since I am going away for the week end...and came back and got a lot of work done.

明日からまた移動です。しかも、５時間のドライブ・・・。今月はずっと運転してる感じがして、たまにはレーシングカーの様な緊張感をもったドライブがしたいです！！

I am not looking forward to the drive tomorrow since it feels like I am spending too much time in a car going 70mph this month... I wouldn't mind so much if we can drive a bit faster so it won't be as boring!?!

散髪

昨日は家に戻ったのが遅かったのですが、今朝も７時に起床。午前中はジムでトレーニングをしてから、お昼過ぎに髪を切りに行ってきました。前切ってから既に１ヶ月もたっているのですが、先週きったばかりな気がします。でも、暑いなかトレーニングで髪がモサモサしてるのも鬱陶しいので、何時もの様にバッサリ＆サッパリ切ってきました！！

Although I got home really late after dinner last night...I was up at 7am this morning and went to the gym before lunch so I can go cut my hair in the afternoon. My hair was just getting out of control and since I will be out of town for a while again...I figured today would be the only day to get that done. I will have more work to catch up tomorrow and will probably be a busy day for me....

大忙しな一日

今日は時差ボケで７時前に起きてしまいました。午前中はジムに行ってトレーニング。移動中はほとんどトレーニングできていなかったので、久しぶりにスッキリ運動する事ができました。お昼は息子と妻を連れてラーメンを食べにいき、昼過ぎからは家でお仕事。

Woke up before 7am this morning since I am still on East Coast time. I decided to hit the gym early since I haven't been working out with all the travel. I was able to have a good work out and took my son and wife to lunch to eat some Ramen Noodles in Little Tokyo.

車の試乗レポートや、請求書を作成したり色々とやっていたらあっと言う間に５時になってしまいました。今夜はこれからお食事会です・・・。寝不足で夜まで持つか不安です！？！（笑）

In the afternoon, I had to get a bunch of work done and I was on my computer for more than 4hrs finishing up car articles as well as making sure the invoices are going out for all the work I did. I am off to dinner meeting now and I am not sure if I can last beyond 10pm tonight...

そうそう、この間シャーロットでNASCARのチームに行った時の写真をアップします。NASCARのチームはほとんどが見学に行けて、こうやってチームの作業をしている所を見る事ができます。他のチームのスパイとかこないなか〜・・・？！？

Here is a pict from one our NASCAR team visit. I was very surprised to see that many teams will allow the fans to see the shop and watch the crew working on the cars. I guess all the secret is in the engine and anything beyond doesn't really matter because other teams can see the cars at the track and wouldn't do much sending a spy to the shop!?!

やっとこ帰宅

ようやく家に戻ってきました。モントレーから帰って来て１日だけ家に居ましたが、なんだか２週間ぶっ通しで戻ってない気がするので、家について息子＆妻にあってホッとしています。

Just got back from Charlotte. After being in Monterey for a week and back home for a day,,,than off to Charlotte for 5 days, it felt like I was away for more than two weeks. I was definitely relieved to see my wife and son.

今回のシャーロットの旅は収穫が沢山ありました。色んな人にあえて、自分のプログラムにスポンサー活動にむけて協力してくれそうです。しかし、今まではアメリカ南部の人達はアジア人に閉鎖的だろうなと思っていましたが、それはかなりの勘違いでした！NASCARでも日本のメーカーが入って行く時は、色んな所でバッシングもあったようですが、西海岸と変わらないくらいで既に日本メーカーの車が走っていました。改めて色んな所に行って、色んな物を見ないと駄目だな〜って思う１週間でした。

The trip to Charlotte turned out to be a great trip being able to meet a lot of great people who can give me wonderful advice for the future. What surprised me the most was the people from the South. They are really genuine and nice. I was just as surprised to see as many Japanese car in N. and S.Carolina as you see in here Cali. I would definitely like to make a trip out to Charlotte and Charleston in the near future again and perhaps be able to take my wife and son to see more about US History!!

今はチャールストン

今日は９時にホテルを出発して色々とNASCARのチームを回ってきました。思った以上にレベルが高くて、ビックリ！！ショップの大きさや、車のメンテの仕方はペンスキーとGanassiのインディーのチーム以外は顔負けですね・・・。

Left the hotel at 9am and went to visit couple of NASCAR teams in the morning. I was very impressed with the operation and I must say that only Penske in Ganassi can match the level of the quality on how they operate the team compare to Indy Cars.

お昼はなんと、もう既に引退されてしまいましたが、NASCARの大御所ドライバーのRicky Rudd選手とランチ。色々とアドバイスをもらえて物凄く良かったです！いや〜でもある意味あこがれのドライバーだったのでメチャメチャ嬉しかったです。しかも、引退の仕方も格好良かったし、その後の生活スタイルも格好いい！！レーシングドライバーの鏡です。でも、Rickyに会って色々と話をして、もっともっと頑張ろうと思いました！！シャーロットに来て良い収穫があったと思います。

For lunch, I was able to meet up with NASCAR legendary driver Ricky Rudd. I always admired him as a driver but after getting to know him even more and having an opportunity to speak with him, he is just a phenomenal. He is a real gentlemen but a true racer and couldn't thank more for him to make his time available to meet with me.This trip is valuable already just being able to meet and speak with Ricky!!

お昼を食べてからチャールストンに移動。明日はここでミーティングがあるので、今夜はチャールストンに泊まります。なんだか、ヨーロッパの様な南米の様な、アメリカの歴史を語る街って感じですが、明日の朝は早起きしてランニングをしながら観光でもしようかと考えています。

Well, after lunch we headed down to Charleston where we will have a lunch meeting tomorrow. It is my first time out here and I really like this town. It feels like Europe meets S.America but you can learn about the depths of the American History and I am glad that I was able to make it out here.

シャーロットに到着

無事にシャーロットに到着しました。深夜フライトでほとんど徹夜状態だったので今はメチャ眠いです。着いてから色々とナスカーチーム巡りをして、お昼はスタントン・バレット選手とランチをしました。スタントンはIndyJapanのレースでスポンサーをしてくれたInterush社のスポンサーを受けてNationwideSeriesに参戦しています。来季の話に関して、色々と話し合ってホテルに戻って一休み。

Arrived to Charlotte safely. Obviously the redeye flight was not so great being a full flight and only being able to sleep for couple of hours. When we landed, we picked up the rental car and did a quick tour looking at several NASCAR teams, and had a lunch with Stanton Barrett who is also sponsored by Interush who was our primary sponsor for the Indy Japan race. We talked about some prospects for next season and would be great if I can be his team mate. Stanton is a great driver and I admire him on what he does running his own team in NASCAR.

これからディナーをして、明日のお昼はチャールストンに移動します。実は長年アメリカに住んでいるのに、今回シャーロットに来るのが初めてです。色々と探索が楽しみです！

Well...I am just about ready to go to dinner and will head down to Charleston tomorrow morning.Although I have been living in US for over 20years...I have never been to Charlotte nor Charleston and I am looking forward to explore a new land!!

今からシャーロット

昨日やっと家に戻って来たのに、これからシャーロットに向けて出発します。シャーロットでは来季に向けての活動をしたいと思います。しかし、今日は久しぶりに深夜フライトで明日はお昼からミーティングがあります。辛いな〜・・・。

Although I just got back home last night, I am just getting ready to catch my flight going up to Charlotte. We will be having some meetings out there in regards to next year's program. I hope I will be able to catch some sleep in during the red eye flight...

今日は午前中に子供を検診に連れて行き、昼過ぎまでは家でずっと仕事をしていました。小児科の先生によると家の子は平均の子より身長が高くて１８０cm台まではいくのでは、と言われました。レーシングドライバーとしてはちょっとでかすぎるから、やっぱりゴルフかバスケの選手を目指してもらうのかな・・・？！？

It was a busy day for me today catching up with e-mails as well as making invoices for all the media work I just did recently. I also took my son to see the doctor to do his routine check up. Apparently he is pretty tall for his age and there is a good chance where he may get as tall as 5'9". Obviously not ideal for a race car driver if he gets any taller than that...therefore he may be better off to play golf perhaps?!?

やっと家に帰ってきました！

さっきやっと家に帰ってきました！久しぶりに家に戻って来たら息子が大喜びでちょっとホッとしました！いきなり、警戒されたら寂しいですもんね・・・。（笑）いや〜しかし、充実した１週間でしたが家に戻ったら疲れがドッとでたのか、今日はもうサクッと夕食を食べて寝たい所です。

I just got home couple of hours ago. I felt like a long trip although I certainly enjoyed the time filming the DVD with the crew. I was happy to see my son and wife when I got home and looking forward to some home made cooking food by my wife.

ユックリしたい所ですが、明日の夜からはシャーロットです・・・。（泣）できれば、日中は息子とユックリ遊んであげないと！？！

Although I want to relax for couple of days...I have to catch a flight to Charlotte tomorrow and will not have so much time to spend with my family for another couple of days...

撮影終了！

今日で無事に撮影が終了しました。優秀な撮影スタッフがいっぱい居てくれた事によって、スムーズに終了致しました！本当にスタッフの皆様には感謝です！！

We finally finished shooting the film for the DVD. I really appreciate all the film crew for being patient with me while the shoot and I think I learned a lot during this shoot how to speak in front of the camera.

今日はずっとペブルビーチで行われたコンクール・デレガンスの会場に行ってました！物凄いレアーな車が沢山並んでいて見ている僕もドキドキしてきます。って言っても半分以上は存在すら知らなかった車ですが、オーラでそれぞれの車の凄さを感じました。明日はいよいよロスに帰宅です。久しぶりに家に戻って日本食をガッツリ食べたい所です！！

We spent the whole day today at the Pebble Beach covering the Concours D'Elegance. It was real amazing to see all the historic cars that could cost easily over $1Mill... Although I couldn't recognize more than half of the car on display, I can still tell the effort,time, and money involved on restoring the cars. Well, I am just about ready to go home and see my wife and my son. I am also looking forward to go home and eat some of my wife's home made cooking food...

Monterey Historics

今回はYOKOHAMAタイヤさんのDVDの収録でモントレーに来ていて、今日はラグーナセカで行われているヒストリックレースの撮影に行ってきました。サーキットには超レアーなレーシングカーが沢山走っていてワクワクしてきちゃいます！

Still in Monterey shooting some footage for the Yokohama Tire Corp. It was a fun day for me being out at Laguna looking at all the historic race cars running around!

しかも、夕食の収録をしている時に、隣のテーブルにあの元F１ドライバーのアラン・ジョーンズさんが来ていて色々と話しちゃいました！いや〜やっぱレジェンドと言われるドライバーは違いますね！！でも、メチャメチャ話がしやすいいい人でした！！

We had a dinner shoot tonight and ended up sitting right next to the ex F1 Champ Alan Jones! He was a great person to speak with and I admire him a lot more since I got to know him more today.

今回のイベントで目にとまったのは、イベントブースに展示されていた飛行機の様なヘリコプターのような、折りたたみしき飛行機です！？！いがいと値段もセスナ機と変わらず、パイロットライセンスを取りに行きたいな〜と思っちゃいました・・・。（笑）

I had an opportunity to have a look at the vendor booth today just like a race fan and I saw a weird plane! It acts like a Heli and Cessna...but you can fold the wings and toe the plane...!?! I'm not so sure about the safety stand point but it made me want to obtain a pilot license!?!

Tour D'Elegance

今日は朝６時にホテルを出発して撮影スタート。ペブルビーチからスタートするTourD'eleganceに出走する車に同乗させて頂きました！しかもその車は１９３９年式のメルセデス！！詳しい内容はDVDが出るまで内密ですが、かなり感動です！！いや〜クラッシックカーもいいですね！！なんだか貫禄を感じました！！

We had a early start to the morning leaving the hotel at 6am today. I was able to ride with one of the car that was in the Tour D'Elegance! The car I had an opportunity to ride in was a 1939 Mercedes. I can't provide much info until the DVD is out...but it was a blast riding in that car!!

明日はラグーナセカのコースに行ってヒストリックレースの下見をしてきます！！

Well...I will have another early morning tomorrow going to Laguna Seca to check out all the historic race cars!!

モントレーに戻ってきました

さっきモントレーのホテルに到着しました！撮影で来ているので途中で色んなポイントでストップして、何時もより長旅でした。明日は朝一でトゥール・デレガンスに出走する車に同乗する予定なので楽しみです。おっともう１２時・・・明日は５時起きなのでそろそろ寝ますzzzz

Just arrived in Monterey. We had to stop at couple of venues on the way for filming so it took us a lot longer to get up here than my usual drive. Tomorrow, I will be riding in one of the classic car that will be in the Tour D'Elegance and since I don't have to drive....I am looking forward to it!?! Well...it is already 12am and since I need to get up by 5am...I think I will hit the bed ASAP!!

明日からまたラグーナ・・・？！？

今朝は８時までグッスリ寝てしまいました。午前中はジムに行ってガッツリトレーニング。オリンピックを見ながら運動していると自分も燃えてきますね〜！！１０kmのランニングもあっと言う間に終わってしまいました。

Woke up at 8am this morning and had a good night sleep. Went to the gym in the morning and worked out while watching the Olympic Games. I was amazed my Michael Phelps performance...no surprise with his results but he certainly is one of the best athlete in the world! It made my 10km run feel like nothing compare to what he does!?!

お昼過ぎに色々と、また１週間分の食料品を買いに行ってきました。明日から自分はまたモントレーに行き、家を空けるのでスーパーにあまり行かなくていい様にタップリ食材をゲット。妻も子供を連れて２人で買い物をするのは大変ですからね・・・。明日からモントレーに向かう為に撮影があるので今夜はこれから打ち合わせをしてきます。

After lunch, I had to go to the store to pick up a week worth of grocery. Since I am going out of town for a week again, my wife wanted me to get as much stuff so she doesn't have to make the trip with our son which can get real hectic since he wants to grab everything from the shelves. Well..I am just off to a meeting to discuss about the trip coming up to Monterey,

ようやく帰宅

今日はフェラーリチャレンジのレースがお昼に終わり、さっきようやく家に戻った所です。いや〜長い週末だった〜・・・。＆忙しかった・・・。最後のレースでは自分がコーチするドライバーはなんとか９位でトップ１０フィニッシュ。本当は表彰台に乗せてあげたかったので、それができなかった事は本当に残念です。また来年かな・・・？ではでは、今夜はメッチャ疲れているのでそろそろ寝ます。

Just got back from Monterey for the Ferrari Challenge week end. It turned out to be a pretty busy week end for me and we finished fairly well for the last race of the season. My driver brought the car home in 9th, one of his best finish of the season so we are all happy...but I really wanted him to finish on the podium and that will be our goal for next season. Well...I'm pretty tired after the 5hr drive and I think I am just about ready to hit the sack!!

明日から走行

今日は午前中はホテルで比較的ユックリ過ごして、お昼からサーキットに行きました。昼過ぎに僕のコーチするドライバーがプライベートジェットで到着。そして、夕方にスキップバーバーのMAXDA MX-5を借りてサーキットを走行。ラグーナは自分のホームコースでもあるので、まんべんなく秘密を教えてあげて終了。今週末のレースはぜひ頑張って欲しいですね！！

It was a slow morning today for me and spent most of the morning at the hotel room getting a lot of work done. Had a quick lunch with my wife and my son and headed to the track to meet my driver who just got in with his private jet. We were able to do some lapping in a Skip Barber MX-5 cars and was able to give out all my pointers since this is my home track. I really hope we are going to have a great week end since this will be the final race for my driver during this season.

さて、いよいおオリンピックが開幕しましたね。時差のせいで寝れない夜が続きそうです・・・。

Well...the Olympics Opening Ceremony is going on now and I'm sure I will have a lot of sleepless night during the games for couple of weeks.

モントレーに到着

さっき無事にモントレーに到着しました。今回のレースは自分のドライバーの今年の最終戦なので、自分の家族もモントレーに連れて来ております。車で普段は４時間半のドライブですが、今日は息子が長い間シートに座っているのが辛くて、ちょこちょこストップしたので５時間半コースでした。無事に着いてこれからカーメルで夕食を食べてきます！

Just arrived in Monterey. Since this will be the final race for my driver, I decided to bring my family up as well since I was driving rather than flying up. It usually takes me 4.5hrs to get here but today was a real long one since I had to stop every other hour to keep my son happy. I made it here just under 6hrs...and good things I left early to avoid traffic. Well...I am just about ready to go to dinner in Carmel!!

明日からラグーナセカ

今日は午前中にジムに行き、午後はピットを知り合いの所に預けに行ったり、洗車をしたりで大忙しでした・・・。明日からフェラーリチャレンジの仕事で、ラグーナセカに行きます。日曜の夜に戻ってまた来週もヒストリックスの週末に仕事が入ったのでラグーナに戻ります。今月は最後の週もラグーナに行かなくては行けないので、ラグーナ漬けになってしまいそうです！？！（笑）

Went to the gym in the AM and had to go drop Pit off to my friends since we are going out of town until Sunday. I will be working up at Laguna coaching my driver in the Ferrari Challenge. I will be home Sunday but back up at Laguna on Tuesday since I also have to work during the historic week end... I should almost get a place up there so I don't have to commute!?!

帰って来てからは来季に向けての企画書の最終段階の打ち合わせ。来年のスケジュールも発表されていよいよ形が整ったので、８月＆９月は営業活動で忙しくなりそうです！！

In the afternoon, I was going through all the proposal decks that we have been working on. The schedule was finally announced for next year and I think we have all the ingredients ready to start hitting up our target sponsors. I think August and September is going to be a real busy months for us but I am looking forward to working on deals for next year!!

原稿

昨日と今日は、車のインプレ原稿を書くのに大忙しでした！頭が回転してる時はどんどん表現も浮かんでくるのですが、いちど止まってしまうとなかなか進まなくなってしまうんですよね。でも、無事に締め切りに間に合って終了。

Yesterday and today was a busy day writing up all the car impression articles. Once you get going I can zip through the article real quick but if my brain stops working...I just can't think about what to write anymore. Fortunately I didn't run out of gas in order to make the dead line for the publisher....!?!

次号のXaCarに色々と載ってると思うのでチェックして下さいね〜！！

I think the article will come out pretty good and it will be on the next issue of the XaCar! And for those folks that lives here in US, you can check me out in the latest issue of the Road & Track!!

Getty Center

今日は日曜日。今月は毎週末サーキットに行ったり仕事が続くので、今日はユックリ過ごす事に決めました。なんだかんだで２度寝をして、９時頃までベッドでゴロゴロ。朝ご飯を食べて、息子と妻を連れてゲッティーセンターに連れて行く事にしました。

Since it was Sunday, I slept in until 9am. Had a late breakfast and headed to Getty Center with my wife and my son.

美術館があったり、庭園があったり、景色が良かったりで個人的には好きなスポットです。しかも、駐車場代の$8以外は入場料はなし。園内のレストランも以外と美味しいのでユックリと日曜を満喫できました。ロスに来る機会があればぜひ立ち寄ってみて下さい！！

It was a beautiful day again and the view from Getty Center was fantastic! Getty Center is amazing not only because of the building, museum, and the garden, but the fact that you can get in and see all that just for the parking fee of $8!! It was an overall good relaxing day before getting busy for rest of the month...

久しぶりのゴルフ

昨日は夜中まで車のインプレ記事を書いてました。夜になって友達から連絡があり、ゴルフに誘われたので、久しぶりに行く事にしました。ゴルフは茂木前にやったのが最後でずっと封印していたのですが、久しぶりにいいかなと思って行ってきました。

I was up late last night getting most of the car impression article that I had to get done by mid next week. I was asked to play golf today since one of their friends had to cancel...I thought twice about it and decided to enjoy beautiful weather being outdoor. Besides, I had a good excuse to go play since my wife was going out to lunch with her friends.

久しぶりにプレーしたわりには玉があたったのですが、やっぱり練習してないとぜんぜんだめですね・・・。１００切るのはまだまだって感じです・・・。でも、またこれから忙しくなりそうなのでとうぶんの間は練習できそうにありません。ん〜仕事が落ち着いたら猛練習をしてなんとか１００を切ってやる！！

I was a bit nervous since I hadn't hit the ball since before the Motegi race which is at least about 5months. I was able to hit the ball OK considering not playing for a while and it was a good day at the course if I can ignore the score. I had couple of good holes but obviously a lot of bad holes when I couldn't get things together...my score wasn't even close to hitting under 100...but the most important thing is that I had fun and good day at the course! Hopefully I can get my work to settle down a bit so I can practice more!!

節約

引っ越し騒動はなくなり、予定していた引っ越し代も浮いたとは言えども、妻と色々と話をして最近は節約をしようと二人で頑張っております。昨日はシュワ州知事がリストラ＆給料のカットの発表があり、今後は景気がどんどん悪くなりそうだから、ちゃんとお金の管理をしっかりしようという風に話は盛り上がりました。

Since I don't have to worry about moving anymore, I am happy that I didn't have to dig in to my savings for the movers. Having said that, after seeing the news yesterday about the state layoffs and wages cut that was signed by governor.... It started concern me and my wife on may be we should work harder to save our money especially thinking that the economy was going to get worse.

今まではスーパーにちょこちょこ行っていたのを、アメリカンスタイルで週１でガッツリまとめて必要な食材を買った方が安くあがるのでは・・・と言う事でチャレンジしてみました。やっぱりちょこちょこ行くと、あれだこれだと買ってしまいますからね。今月はどのくらい節約できるか、今から楽しみです！？！

Our first conclusion on trying to save our money is through grocery...we go to the supermarket every other day and we figured that we may be able to save some money by going American style and buy 1week worth of stuff rather than going to the market couple of times a week. Every time you go to the store, you end up picking up things that you don't really need and may be that will cut that habit at least for now. I'm not sure if this strategy will work but I guess at least I have to give it a try...plus it will save some costs of fuel for making multiple trips since we shop often in Gardena/Torrance area which is at least 15miles drive...

もう８月！

気がついたらもう８月！ビックリですね〜・・・。今日もジムでガッツリランニングをしてから、家に戻って軽くランチ。そのままHONDA米本社に行って新しいパイロットをピックアップ。カナダに行く前に試乗するチャンスがなかったので、来週まで締め切りの記事の為に車を借りて試乗しています。

I can't believe it's already August. As usual, I went for a 10km run in the morning and came home to do a quick lunch. Than I had to go to Honda US HQ to pick up the new Honda Pilot. I actually like the new model since it looks more robust!!

子供が居るとストローラーなど荷物が増えるので、大きいトランクスペースやゆったりした空間はいいんですね〜！！今度ゲットする車の候補としてはバッチリな車です！！日本では販売されないのは残念ですね。

I have to finish some article by tonight and will be working until midnight... Having said that, it's always easier to write about good cars and I must say that there are lots of good things to talk about in the New Honda Pilot. It's definitely on my list of cars I should get since we need more spaces as well as trunk spaces,..

来年のIndyJapanは９月

今日は２００９年のIndyCarのスケジュールが発表されましたね！その中でも気になるのが、IndyJapanの日程。噂では聞いていましたが、なんと来年は９月に行われるみたいです！！F1の日程に近いのは気になりますが、９月の方が年が明けてから準備の期間も増えるし、天候も良さそうなので今から楽しみです。レースに参戦できる様にしっかりと営業活動頑張らないといけませんが・・・。でも、スケジュールが早目に発表してくれた事によって、営業ツールもようやくできあがりそうなので、９月１０月は営業活動を全力で頑張ります！！

There was an announcement for the Indy Car 2009 Schedule this morning. I was surprised to see the Indy Japan date being moved to September. Obviously it concerns me a bit being relatively close to the F1 GP date, but I think it's a good thing overall for me since it gives me more time to prepare for the race as well as having a better weather for the race day especially after what happened this year. Now the schedule is set...I will have to focus getting all the funds in place so we can go racing. We are pretty close on getting the proposal plans worked out for next year and I am really looking forward to meeting our prospect partners for next year! Obviously I will have to hustle in September and October to really get my project moving forward!!

地震

今日は朝起きてジムでランニング。１０km走ってからクールダウンをしている最中に突然ドッカンという騒音＆いきなり１０cm近く下に落ちる感じに地面が揺れてビックリ！ロスから５０km離れた場所でマグニチュード５．８の地震が発生！！

Went to the gym in the morning and did my usual 10km run. As I was finishing up my cool down walk, all the sudden I heard a big "BOOM" and the building started to shake. Obviously we haven't had a big earthquake for a while and I couldn't believe it was only 5.8magunitude since it definitely felt big when it first came,

ランニングマシンで歩いていたのですが、こけそうになりました！最初はトラックがビルにぶつかったのかと思う程の音でビックリしました。ランニングが終わって、余震等の心配もあったので急いで自分の部屋に戻る事にしました。・・・、が、安全のためエレベーターはストップ！？！１０kmランニングした後に１１階まで駆け上がるのは辛かった〜！でも、いいトレーニングになりました！？！（笑）

Since I was done running, I rushed back to my room. However, because of the safety reason, the elevator was shut off and I had run up to 11th floors which was just as hard as running 10km!?! Everyone was safe but certainly caught our attention today. I guess we were due for a big one and I hope this was it...

引っ越し却下！

悩みに悩んで引っ越しは却下しました。色々と皆からアドバイスももらい、風水のサイトも行って色々と研究していたら、まず入る予定の部屋が風水上では玄関が最悪な向きに向いてるではないですか〜！？！それだけでも、却下の理由ですが昨日アパートのオフィッスと色々とごたごたあって対応の悪さを考えると、とりあえず縁がなかったんだとまとめて、今のアパートと再契約します。

After having a long thought about my apartment, we decided to stay where we are at. We had some issues with the new room where the agent has misunderstood the floor plans and the cabinet color in which the room we were supposed to get in was not we were looking for. On top of that, I had some advice from my fans as well as people around me and the entry to the new apartment room was facing the absolute wrong direction in Feng Shui. Obviously that gave me good enough reasons not to move although I am not too superstitious.

いちおう、入る予定だったアパートがもう一部屋見て欲しいとの事ですが、明日の午前中に行って一応見ておいて低調のお断りしてデポジットを返金してもらいに行く予定です。やっぱ引っ越しは大変ですね・・・。ただ、今のアパートに残る事になったら妻と話して気分を一新する為に８月の目標は整理・整頓＆節約です！！（笑）

Apparently there is another room that they want us to look at but I am pretty much committed to my current place and I will probably have a glance tomorrow and get my deposit check back. Obviously it never hurts to have a look around to see all your options and I am pretty happy with my decision!!

まだ悩んでます

今日はジムを休んで、子供のお守り。妻が髪を染めに行きたいと言って、日中は家に居なかったので自分は子供と遊んで、息子が昼寝をしている間にエドモントンで行われているインディーのレースをテレビで見ました。今年は本当にディックソンの年って感じですね！！

It was a day off for me from the gym. Not intentionally but I had to stay home since my wife wanted to go to the hair salon to get her hair done... I was able to spend some quality time with my son playing and while he was sleeping...I managed to watch the Indy race from Edmonton. It was a pretty good race and it seems like it is a year for Dixie!!

さてさて、まだ引っ越しをしような悩んでます。って言っても８割は決めていますが。明日までには今のアパートに結論を出す予定です。さ〜どうしよ〜！？！珍しく優柔不断な自分がなんだか納得いけない・・・。なんだか歳をとるにつれて、新しい環境ってものを嫌がるのは気のせいですかね・・・？！？昔は新しい所に行く事は常にウキウキだったのに。改めて歳をとったのかなと実感してしまいました。（笑）

Well...I haven't decided whether I am going to move or not...but I think I have decided 80% on it. I will have to let my current landlord know by tomorrow. It makes me angry not to be able to commit to this decision for days...but it's a hard choice. Having said that, it makes me feel old yet again not being too excited on going in to a new environment. I used to be exited about that all the time wanting to find and go to a new place. Well...I think this new place would be a start to another chapter for my life and it may after all be a good timing to move since I was thinking to move either this year or next year.

引っ越し？！？

今日もしっかり朝一で、ジムに行ってトレーニング。お昼からは子供を公園に連れて行って帰りがけに引っ越しを検討中のアパートに行ってとりあえず書類を提出。入居するのに、書類だけは先に済ませておこうと思ったら、速攻でOKがでました！！と、言う事で月曜までに引っ越しをするかどうかを決めなくてはいけません・・・。

As usual, went to work out in the morning! Had a great work out and was home before lunch. In the afternoon, I took my son to the park and went to drop off my application for at the place where we looked at yesterday. We just wanted to be ready if we decided to move out. We were approved in minutes and we definitely would need to make a decision by Monday whether if we want to move or not.

究極の決断ですね。なんだか、今の家には馴染みがあるからな〜。でも、冷静に考えるとここに引っ越してから色んな試練を乗り越える事になっている・・・。気分転換で引っ越すのも良いかもしれませんね！でも、以前と違ってやっぱり引っ越すにあたって一番気にするのは子供や妻の安全ですね。自分は家を出る事が多いのでその辺が引っ越しを決める重要なポイントです！とりあえず、月曜までに決めないと！

It's a hard decision to make since the place we are in right now is pretty nice. Having said that, since I moved here...I have been going through some rough time in my career and it may not be a bad thing to move to turn things around!?! Well...I better think real hard over the week end!! The most important thing more me is my wife and my son's safety while I'm not home. The place is pretty secured but I also have to think about Pit who needs to be walked everyday... Well...I guess I have 72hrs to think about it!!

またまた、アパート探し

今日も朝一でトレーニング。お昼は家で仕事をすませて、午後はまたアパートを探索。妻と子供を連れて昨日チラッと見たアパートに行ったらかなり気に入ってくれたので、引っ越しをしようか考え中です・・・。

Went to the gym in the morning and spent most of the afternoon searching for apartments. I decided to take my wife and son to the place I checked out yesterday and surprisingly my wife liked it more than I thought!!

今の家とはかんり雰囲気が違うのですが、近くには新しくできた公園があり、ダウンタウンを見渡す景色も悪くない・・・。ん〜悩むな〜〜。しかも、引っ越すと２ヶ月家賃が無料と言うのも引かれるポイントだ。とりあえず、一晩考える事にしました！

It's a different downtown area then where we are, but a new park was just opened last week right next to it and the environment isn't too bad...the best part about it is that you get 2 months free rent when you move in... I better think real hard about it tonight and make a decision by tomorrow morning!!

トレーニング

今日は起きてから朝一でジムに行ってきました。１週間ぶりの運動だったのでスッキリ！やっぱ１週間もトレーニングをあけてしまうと、ストレスが溜まって小さい事でもイライラしてきちゃいます・・・。

Woke up in the morning and went to the gym first thing in the morning. Since I was out of town for almost a week...it was frustrating not being able to put a good work out in. It always feel good after a good couple of hours of work out.

午後は会計士とミーティングがあり、夕方はアパート探索。実は今月で家のアパートの契約がきれるのですが、また引っ越しをしようか検討中。あまり、引っ越しはしたくないのですが、色々と検討せずに再契約もなんとなくすっきりしないので、とりあえずみるだけ見てみようと思って、明日も何件か見に行ってきます！

In the afternoon, I had a quick meeting and I started to search around a bit for a new apartment. My lease is up this month and I am trying to asses whether I should stay here or not. It's hard to find a place that will beet my current apartment but I thought it never hurts to look around!!

ラスベガス

日曜の夜中にミルウォーキーから戻ってから月曜に昼過ぎにべガスに移動。今日はべガスでスポンサーイベントがあり、LAに戻ってから食事会にも参加しなくてはいけなかったので、やっと家に戻って落ち着いた所です。

After getting back from Milwaukee on Sunday night..I was off to Vegas on Monday afternoon to do an appearance for my sponsor today. We were done with the event at 3pm and back to LA to do a dinner function and I finally came home.

いや〜なんだかドタバタで忙しい１週間でした。明日からはまた猛トレーニングですね！１週間近くジムをサボってしまったので、明日からガッツリやりますよ〜〜！！

I have about a week off but I am going to be busy at the gym trying to take off all the weight I gained by drinking nice wine and eating great meals in Mt.Tremblant and Vegas!?!

プライベートジェット

今日もメチャ長い一日でした・・・。朝６時半に起きて８時にホテルを出発。９時に予選がスタートして、予選はいまいちで２１位。しか〜し、決勝はドライバーが最後まで諦めず頑張ってくれました！あとちょっとでトップ１０と言う所でしたが１１位でゴール。自分もコーチングに熱くなって無線機でずっと“プッシュプッシュ！”と言いまくってドライバーを盛り上げちゃいました。最後まで諦めずに全力で走ってくれたので、見てて気持ち良いレースでした！

Today was another long day for me at the track. I was up at 6:30am and we checked out from the hotel at 8am to head to the track. The qualifying was underway at 9am and my driver qualified 21st. We were not able to maximize the new tires as well as the cool condition to improve on the time...but we were still able to do our fastest lap of the week end. However, He did excellent in the race and worked him self up to 11th. He kept charging until the end and I was really proud of him pushing all the way till the checkered flag!

レースが終わり３０分後にサーキットを出て、Mont-Tremblantの飛行場に到着。セキュリティーもなく飛行場に到着して５分後に離陸。ドライバーのお母さんをペンシルバニアに降ろしてからミルウォーキーに向けて出発。しかし、プライベートジェットを持ってる人の感覚は違いますね〜・・・。僕らが“駅前まで送って行くよ”って感覚で飛行機を飛ばしてますからね。

Well...30min after the race, we were out of the track and headed to Mont-Tremblant Airport to catch our flight. On the return flight, we had to drop my driver's mom in Harrisuburg, Pennsylvania and I had a fairly tight transit time driving from Racine,WI to the Milwaukee Airport.

さて、ペンシルバニアを出発しようと思ったらハプニングが発生！飛行場の回りが悪天候で急にグラウンドストップ。自分はミルウォーキーから８時のフライトに乗らなくてはいけなかったので、どうするかと大パニック！？！しかも、プライベートジェットはミルウォーキー郊外にある、自宅の側の飛行場に着陸予定で、そこから３０分かかるではないか・・・。すると、“ミルウォーキーの飛行場まで行って降ろしてあげるよ！”と、やっぱり億万長者がする事は違いますね！？！ちなみに、僕がコーチするドライバーはミルォーキーから自宅までも飛行機を飛ばして帰りました。距離にすると東京から横浜くらいかな・・・！？！（笑）

We got to Pennsylvania in 1hr and we were ready to head back up to Wisconsin when the storm started to head to our way and there was a ground stop from the control tower which stopped our plane from departing. I was really nervous since it definitely looked like I was going to miss my flight back to LAX. However, my driver was kind enough to divert the plane to Milwaukee Airport and had a car ready for me at the airport to take me to the terminal. My flight back to LA was at 8:30PM and I landed in Milwaukee at 8:05PM. I zipped through the security and I was already boarded on to the aircraft by 8:18PM. I made it safely on to my flight but I am back to real life from flying a luxurious private jet to going through security and sitting in coach class paying $5 for a beer.By the way, my driver obviously flew back to Racine,WI from Milwaukee which is a 15miles flight.....

長い一日

今日は長い一日だった〜・・・。午前中に行われた予選は、開始直後にクラッシュがあり、ガードレールを破損してしまった為に予選のセッションは中止。本来２時にレースをする予定が急遽スケジュール変更で２時に予選を行い、５時からのレース。

It turned out to be a long day today. The qualifying session started at 11am but it a crash brought a red flag situation and the session ended up getting cancelled due to a broken guard rail. However, they made some changes to the schedules, and the race time was changed to a qualifying session at 2pm and the race was postponed to 5pm.

自分がコーチするドライバーはいまいちリズムを掴めず、予選は１８位。決勝でポジションアップに期待・・・と思っていたらレース直前に大雨！？！大パニックでレースはウェットでスタートしたものの、途中で路面が乾き始めたのでレース中断しドライタイヤに変更！？！色々とあってとりあえずレースは１４位でゴール・・・。明日はもっと頑張ってもらわないと！！いや〜しかし本当に長い一日だった。

My driver didn't get the best run in qualifying and ended up 18th, We had a lot of catch up to do during the race and I was looking forward to the race. 5min before the race, it started to rain heavily and it started as a wet race. Half way in to the race, the sun came out and the track was drying so they stopped the race and made us all change to slick tires. Than the race restarted and was finally over by 6pm. My driver finished 14th...obviously not what we expected but we all had a good fun day so we just have to hope for a better finish tomorrow!!

今日は雨・・・。

今日はフリー走行初日。が、残念ながら一日中サーキットは雨。しかもレインタイヤは週末を通して１セットしかないと言う事で今日の練習は３ラップのみ・・・。何にもしないで待ち疲れてしまう一日でした。

Today was the first day on track but unfortunately it rained all day and we spend most of the day waiting around trying to decide whether to go out or not. We ended up doing 3laps but needed to conserve the tires for the weekend since they were the only wet tires we had...just 1set for two races so we decided to park the car after scrubbing them in.

早目にホテルに戻って来れたのでジムで軽く運動。そして、部屋のバスタブにユックリ入って、ベランダで湖を眺めてなんだかんだ、リゾートを満喫しちゃってます！？！（笑）

Since we were back at the hotel before 4PM,...I spent some time in the room exercising and was in the bath tub for a while. I was also able to spend some time in the patio looking at the lake doing nothing so it certainly was not too bad of a day for relaxing other than I feel guilty not doing anything all day...

Mont-Tremblant

今日はミルォーキーからカナダのMont-Tremblantに移動してきました。自分がコーチするドライバーのプライベートジェットに乗って１時間半で到着。冬はスキーリゾートで有名な所で、夏も日本で言えば軽井沢って感じで観光客が沢山集まる所です。

I am in Mont-Tremblant, Canada. I traveled with my driver on his private jet from Milwaukee and it was only 1.5hr flight. The beauty of the flight was that I didn't have to not only check in for the flight and go through the security...we mutually didn't have to go through the customs since all the paper work was done before the departure.

リゾート地だからホテルやレストランはいまさんだろうな〜・・・、って思っていたら大間違えでした。恐らく今まで泊まったリゾートの中でもトップランクのホテル＆レストランがあり関心し続けています！？！と言ってもレースに来ているのであまりリゾートを満喫する時間はありませんが・・・。ではでは、明日からの走行も早いのでそろそろ寝ま〜す。

I am amazed about the Mont-Tremblant resort. The hotel we are staying at is just fantastic and I would definitely love to come back here on my private vacation! The food is really good which is very had to imagine being far away from all the fish and produce market...but it was actually really really good!! I am looking forward to this week end but we definitely need to focus on racing in order to collect some points!!

ミルウォーキー

今日はミルウォーキーに移動。僕がコーチするドライバーの街へ移動してきて、明日プライベートジェットでカナダに移動します。ミルウォーキーまでは幸い直行便だったので、楽でした。

My day went by so fats doing nothing today. That's because I had to travel to Milwaukee today. I am going to catch a flight with my driver tomorrow on his private jet up to Canada and I decided to meet up with him tonight to talk about the strategy for this week end.

ミルウォーキーは２００２年にフォーミュラーアトランティックで優勝した街なので個人的には思い出深い所です。このレースで勝っていなかったら恐らくインディーカードライバーになる事もなかっただろうな〜って言うレースでした。色々と考えていたらまたハングリー精神がわいてきました！またレースしたいな〜〜！！

Milwaukee is a town that I feel is very important for me. That's not only because I like beer...but mainly because I won the F.Atlantic race here in 2002. I don't think I would have been racing in Indy Car Series if I didn't win that race. It's good to be back here and think about that moment in order to refocus on trying to improve my self even more and go racing some time real soon!!

明日から移動

今週末はカナダでフェラーリチャレンジの仕事があるので、明日からの移動です。移動前にトレーニングをがっつりしておきたかったので、今日は追い込みトレーニング。メチャメチャ疲れましたが、かなりスッキリ。

Since I will be working up at Canada this weekend for my Ferrari Challenge driver...I wanted to spend quality time at the gym today because it is tough to work out when you are on the road.

午後は移動前なので銀行に行ったり、必要な書類を揃えたりなどなど、あっと作業をしていたらあっと言う間に終わってしまいました。今週末のサーキットは自分も行った事がないので、ネット上でできるだけの知識を覚えて行かないと役たたず・・・、になってしまいますからね！？！（笑）

In the afternoon, I needed to make the run to the bank and get all the work done before my travel. I also needed to do a lot of searching for the track since I haven't been to the track we are at this week end. It is supposed to be a real nice track and I wished if I can drive on it...

車の試乗

今日は車の試乗＆撮影をしていました。今日乗った車は、Acura RL（時期レジェンド）とScion Xb。RLは以前ダウンタウンでCM撮影中のを見た事はありますが、乗ったのは初めてでした。Xbは一回り大きくなった感じで、久しぶりに今日はマニュアル車を運転しました。

It was a pretty busy day for me out driving and doing photo shoot all day. The two cars that I drove today was the new Acura RL and the Scion Xb. The RL was pretty impressive in a way that you enjoy the car the more you drive it. On the other hand, Xb was very spacious and with the 6 Speed Manual Transmission, it really made you feel like you were driving a CAR. They were both thumbs up from in opinion.

撮影もしていたらあっと言う間に夕方になってしまい、ダッシュで帰宅してピットの散歩。これから軽く仕事をして、子供を風呂にいれて夕食です。一日が経つのはあっと言う間ですね・・・。

After the photo shoot, I rushed home trying to avoid traffic and will need to get some work done tonight. The day went by so fast...I wished if I can get 2 more hours per day...

夏祭り

今日は、日本人街で夏祭りが行われました。妻と息子は友達とお祭りに遊びに行って、自分は家でトレーニング・・・。お祭りに行きたかったのですが、来週は移動が多くてガッツリトレーニングができそうにないので、今日は追い込みトレーニングしてきました！

There was a Summer Festival in Torrance area today which my wife and son went to with their friends. I didn't make it out since I wanted to go the gym and train hard. It will be a busy week for me traveling so I didn't want to get behind my training program since I had couple of days off already when I was in San Diego...

息子はお祭りは楽しんだみたいです。行く前に甚平を着せてピットに攻撃！？！（笑）自分は甚平が全く似合いませんが、息子には妙に似合ってたので良かったX2!?!

I think my son enjoyed being at the festival and we made him wear the "Jimbei" which is a kimono style clothes that you wear to summer festival(Omatsuri). He was definitely showing off the Jimbei to Pit!?!

家でNashvilleレース観戦。

今日は朝ジムに行ってトレーニング。お昼過ぎに髪を切りに行ってばっしり切ってきました！やっぱり短いとメンテが楽ですね。トレーニング中に髪が短い方が気にならなくて楽です。

As usual, went to the gym in the morning and had a pretty good work out. The only downside of the week end being at they gym is that I don't get to see "The View"...not that I care what they are talking about but it's far better than watching Power Rangers on the monitors on the treadmill....

髪を切ってから子供を公園に連れて行って遊ばせて夕方からはNashvilleのIndyのレースを観戦。なんだか淡々と行われてる感じで、雨が途中から降って終了・・・。レースを見るとやっぱり乗りて〜って気持ちでいっぱいになります。と言う事で明日もストレス発散の為にジムでガッツリトレーニングですね！

After lunch, I went to cut my hair since it was getting out of control. I get irritated training when my hair gets long and it was about time to trim my hair. I took my son to the park again to wear him out before I got home and watched the IRL Nashville race peacefully. The race was OK...just like all the fans...I don't really enjoy seeing Yellow/Red flag finishes whether in or out of the car.

もう週末・・・。

昨日の晩にサンディエゴから帰宅。リラックスした様な、疲れた様なって感じです。３日間の間も仕事をしていなかったので、今日は大忙し。トレーニングもさぼってしまったので、今日は朝からジムでトレーニング。

Came back from San Diego last night and was home by 8PM. It was a good trip for my wife and son...but wasn't quite relaxing for me since we walked around so much and had to chase my son all over the place at the Zoo.

午後からはミーティング。あっと言う間に一日が終わってしまった〜って感じです。と言うより、火曜から木曜まで休みを取るとなんだか１週間が空白状態になってしまう感じです・・・。来週はカナダに行くので忙しい１週間になりそうです。

Since I was away for 3days, I had lots of catching up to do with my work as well as at the gym today! The day went by so fast...well actually the week went by so fast being away during middle of week. I will be traveling to Canada next week and will be a busy couple of days again for me.

サンディエゴ

今サンディエゴに居ます。昨日はCoronadoIslandにあるホテルに泊まって、シーワールドに行ってきました。息子にはシーワールドはいまいちまだ早すぎたみたいで、あまり反応していませんでした！？！しかし、ホテルのプールに入れたら大喜び