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�