もう８月・・・？！？

やばいです！明後日でもう８月ではないですか〜・・・？！？いや〜本当に年が経つに連れて時間が過ぎるのがメチャ早い！！早すぎます！！！そう考えるとあっという間に家の子供も６ヶ月になっちゃうような〜。そうそう、昨日は歩行器デビューをさせました。もちろん、まだ経ったり歩く事はできませんが、座ってオモチャと遊びながらニコニコしています！！（笑）とりあえず、キックは得意としているみたいなので、後ろ方向に進む事はできますが・・・。しかし、そろそろ家を赤ちゃん対策しないと、なんでもかんでも口に入れたり触ったりするので心配です。アメリカではBaby Safe the houseって言いますが、本当に何か起きる前に家の安全対策をとらないと。

I can't believe that we will be in Aug in two days. Time just goes by so fast as you get older... but I guess no wonder I will already be 30 in two months time. My baby is already 6months old and in a hurry he will start walking and put everything in his mouth. I think it's about time to baby safe the house and I should definately get it done before it's too late. I guess I will have to make a trip over to Babie's R Us to get all the baby safe merchandise in store!?!

今日は午前中でミッチリジムでトレーニング。１週間もずっと移動でしっかりジムでトレーニングができなかったので、メチャメチャスッキリです！！今週はずっと家にいますが、１週間空けていた分のお仕事でかなりドタバタしそう・・・。

Well, I finally got to go to the gym in the morning. Since I was away all week, I wasn't able to burn enough calories and was really getting frustrated. Nothing feels better than having a great meal and a beer after a hard sweaty work out!!

家でユックリ

今日は日曜日。１週間の疲れをリカバーする為に今日は家でユックリしてました。お昼からはIndianapolisで行われてる、NASCARのレースを観戦。夕方はSanJoseで行われたChampCarのレースを観戦。一日レース三昧でした！！しかし、あとちょっとでJuanPabloオーバルNASCAR初優勝でしたね！！テレビの中継をみたらますます、IndianapolisでNASCARのレースもしたくなってきました・・・。

Since it was a Sun...I turned to a couch potato to recover from the hectic week I just had. I saw the NASCAR race at the Brickyard, and than whatched the Champ Car race from San Jose. Both were good race and I really was rooting for Juan Pablo to win the Brickyard 400 since that would be his maiden win on an oval in NASCAR. After seeing the race there, it made me eager to race those car at Indy!!

夕方はダウンタウンに新しくできたRalphsのスーパーに行ってきました。今までは近所にはリトル東京にある日系のスーパーしかなかったのでできてかなり嬉しいです。ワインセクションを覗いたら、品ぞろいも安くて意外と安い！！シャトームートンが＄４００で売ってるのは安い！！が、懐が寒いので勿論ボトルに拝んで帰ってきました・・・。（泣）

After the race, I went to the new Ralph's store that just opened last week here in Downtown. Since the Mituwa Market in Little Tokyo was the only supermarket around my house, I am pretty excited about this store!! I went to check the wine section and they really had some good stuff!! The Chateau Mouton was going for $400...which is a great deal...I was just going to reach over my hands and quit when I saw a scary face from my wife...!?! I hope that bottle will still be there when I win my next race....

やっと帰宅

今日はスクール最終日。５時には仕事が終わり、５時半にサーキットを出発。今日もかな〜り日焼けをして、かなり疲れましたが５時間のドライブも順調！１０時過ぎには家に着く事ができました。久しぶりに息子の顔をみたら、なんだか男前になった感じ！！まだ寝顔しか見てませんが・・・。（笑）ピットも大喜びで、帰宅してとりあえず一安心。これから夕飯を食べてバタンキュ〜で寝ちゃいそうです。本当に忙しい一週間だったな〜・・・。

Just got home from being in Monterey. The last day of the racing school went really smooth and I was able to leave the track just after 5pm. The drive wasn't too bad, but I was really tired after a full day of work. Since I have been out of town pretty much for the whole week, I immediately went to check my baby when I got home. His face has matured just in one week and I was really suprised to see that!! I think I better dedicate some time for my wife and the baby tomorrow...and perhaps get some rest!! It really was a hectic week.

スクール２日目

スクール２日目も無事に終了。午前中は少し霧がでて肌寒かったのですが、午後になったらメチャ暑くて思いっきり日焼けをしてしまいました。サングラスをかけていたので、またパンダ化してます・・・！？！明日でLAに帰るのが楽しみです！！今週はずっと家に戻ってない感じがするので、早く家に戻ってユックリしたい所です。が・・・、家に戻っても色々とドタバタする事があって忙しくなりそうです。

Just got done with 2nd day of the school and everything went smoothly. It was a bit foggy and chilly in the morning but things cleared up for the afternoon and ended up getting a mega sun tanned and turning me in to a Panda, since I was wearing my Ray-Ban sunglass all day. I can't wait to get home tomorrow since I've been out of my house for the whole week. Having said that, I will have a lot of work to do once I get home though... Anyhow, I am just looking forward to getting home tomorrow and have a nice meal and get some good rest on my bed!!

MX-5 Cup School

今日はスクール初日。６時に起きてスタバによってから、７時頃にサーキット入り。何時もはフォミューラーカーのスクールのインストラクターをしていますが、今回はSkipBarberRacingSchoolの新しいメニューでもある、MX-5 Cup School。MazdaのMX-5を使用して、内容はフォミューラーカーと同じカリキュラム。お昼にMX-5のCup Carを運転するチャンスがありましたが、意外と面白いです！！けっこう滑らしたり、乗ってて楽しい車です！！アメリカではMX-5Cupのレースはアマチュアレベルで人気なのでこのスクールもけっこう忙しくなるのでは・・・って感じです。今回は始まったばかりなので１０人だけのクラスですが、コンパクトでやりやすいです。今はホテルに戻ってきて、これからサンホゼに向かったる斎藤カメラマンが途中にモントレーに立ち寄ってくれる事になったので、一緒に夕食を食べてきま〜す！！

Just got done with the first day working up here. I was assigned towards the Mazda MX-5 Cup School. This new school was just introduced recently and obviously it uses the MX-5 Cup car and running the same curriculum as the Formula school. I got to drive those MX-5 Cup cars during lunch time and it is actually a fun car to drive since you can't slide and throw the car around as you like and being under control. Since the MX-5Cup race being so popular in US...I think this school can become a hit!! Well...just got out of the shower and off to dinner. I will be having dinner with my buddy Hiro Saito who is heading to San Jose for the Champ Car race this week end.

ロングドライブ

昨日は夜に家に戻って、ほぼ寝不足だったので朝９時まで爆睡！午前中は家で仕事をして、お昼を食べてから３時頃にLagunaSecaに向けて出発！出た瞬間さっそくダウンタウンから３０分の渋滞・・・。先が長くなるような渋滞でした。しかも頭にくることに、渋滞の原因は反対車線の事故見物渋滞！！ヤジ馬するのはいいけど、減速するな〜〜〜ってマジ切れ寸前でした。ウトウトし、眠いのを我慢してなんとか５時間半でLagunaに到着。妻に作ってもらった弁当をホテルで食べて今夜は早めに寝ます。zzzzz

Since I got home after a busy trip...I slept in until 9am this morning. Got up and did some catching up with e-mails in the morning and had lunch before I headed to Monterey. I left the house at about 3pm and immediately had to go through some traffic on 101fwy. What really got me frustrated was the cause of the traffic was an accident on other lane which had nothing to do with the direction I was heading! I don't mind people peeking in to the accident...but I don't get all those people who slows down to see the incident because that is just like asking for another one....getting hit from behind!?! Nevertheless, I was in Monterey in 5.5hrs. Took me 30min more the usual.... Just checked into the hotel and since my wife made me an Obento dinner, I was able to eat in the room and hit the bed pretty soon!!

乗り換え中

昨日は夜遅くまでインディープロに参戦する武藤英紀と話をして、挙げ句の果てに時差ボケでなかなか寝に付けなかったのに、６時半で今朝はメチャメチャ眠かったです！英紀には最終戦でのインディーデビュー戦にも頑張って欲しいと思い、色々とできる限りのアドバイスをして、喋りすぎてテンションが上がって寝れなかったのかな？！？（笑）朝起きてからは８時にインディアナポリスに本社がある、モータースポーツのマーケティング会社では世界一と言われる所と自分の今後の事でミーティング。なかなか良い方向に話が進んでると思います。

I had a lengthy chat with my buddy Hideki Mutoh last night who races in the Indy Pro Series last night. I think I got really excited talking about Indy Car racing in general...that I couldn't fall a sleep until late and had to get up at 6:30am. It really was tough getting up since it was like 3:30am LA time... However, I was able to have good meeting with one of the biggest motorosport marketing firm out of Indianapolis which may lead to something in the future.

そこから、Dreyer&ReinboldRacingのショップに顔を出して、スタッフの皆さんに挨拶。そこから、Dreyer&Reinboldのオナーが経営してるInfinitiのディーラーに行ってオーナーとミーティング。お昼は今年のIndyでサポートしてもらったWellman-Corbier Custom Homesの社長とランチを今後のプランを検討。お昼後はMilkaDuno選手を走らせる、SAMAX Motorsportsに顔をだして簡単にミーティング。飛行機がギリギリだったので、ダッシュで飛行場に向かいなんとか飛行機に乗る事ができて、今はシカゴで乗り換え中・・・。いや〜本当にめちゃめちゃ忙しい一日でしたが、内容がつまった良いミーティングが沢山できたと思います。

After the fist meeting, I stopped by the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing shop to say hello to the staff, and went over to the Dreyer & Reinbold Infiniti to talk with the owner about future propect busuiness. Than I had a lunch with Derek Wellman who owns Wellman-Corbier Custom Homes, who supported me for this year's Indy 500 and we were able to talk about the plans for next year. After the lunch, I had a quick meeting at SAMAX Motorsports before heading to the airport to make my flight. It was a real busy day, but I think I was able to get a lot done today and made this trip worhwhile!!

それよりも、時間がギリギリでガソリンをレンタカーに入れずに返してしまったので、ガソリン代として＄１５も取られてしまった〜・・・。せっかく経費削減で＄２５でレンタカーを借りたのにもったいない事をしてしまったので反戦・・・！？！

Since I was runnuing late for the plane...I couldn't refill the tank for my rental car(although I didn't use too much fuel), I was charged $15 just for 3gallons of fuel!! Obviously I was not able to maximize the great rental rate that I was able to get from my friend and will need to plan things better for the next trip. Nevertheless, it may have costed me $15 extra, the trip still was a success!!

インディーに到着

さっき無事にインディーに到着！LAからの飛行機が１時間も遅れてシカゴでの乗り換えに間に合うかどうかヒヤヒヤでしたが、なんとかオンタイムに着く事ができました。飛行場についてから、去年のIndy500でPRを努めてくれた友達に電話をしてNationalレンタカーでの特別レートの交渉！？！なんとか一日＄２５でレンタカーできることができました！！もつものは友達ですね〜！？！今回の滞在では友達のインディープロシリーズに参戦する武藤英紀の家にも泊まらせてもらえるし、色んな意味で経費を削減できてラッキ〜！！

Just landed in Indianapolis. As soon as I got off the plane, I called my buddy who was the PR assistant for the team I drove for last year and he hooked me up with great rate at National Rent-a-car. I am really greatful of getting an excellent rate!! I will be staying with my buddy who races in Indy Pro Series, Hideki Mutoh who kindly let me stay over night so this trip ended up being economical for me!?! It's great to have cool friends...but you have to make sure that you pay them back when they are in your town which I obviously will be looking to see both of them in the near future!!

しかし、明日は８時（LA時間は５時）からのミーティングで、３時のフライトまでミーティングが３つ・・・。忙しい一日になりそうです！！

Well...I got a 8am meeting tomorrow which is 5am LA time...I hope my head will be awake. I will have 3 meetings in the morning tomorrow so I should probably get to bed early tonight!!

明日からはインディー

今日は朝起きてF1のレースをテレビ観戦。雨が降ったりで、ひっちゃかめっちゃかのレースで意外と面白い内容でしたね！！最終ラップのアロンソのバトルも燃えましたね〜〜！！レースが終わってからはジムに行って１０kmのランニングをしながら、ジムのモニターでIRLのMid-Ohioのレース観戦。スタートでAGR同士のクラッシュがおきましたが、それ以外の内容はどちらかと言うと淡々としていて、Dixonの３連勝。最近のロードのレースの中では一番面白かったかもしれませんが・・・。

Got up in the morning and see the F1 race. It was a bit of a disaster with rain and etc...but that all made it interesting to watch. It also was a great win for Fenando Alonso with the late pass at end of the race. After the F1 race, I went to the gym and saw the IRL race on the treadmill monitor. I must say that it was a usual IRL race on road course with Dixon & Franchitti dominating...but the start was intersting when Tony ran in to Danica. It would be interesting to hear what Danica had to say...especially after the misshap in the pits at Kansas race with Tony and Danica.

レースが終わってからは、ガーデナの喫茶店に子供と妻と行ってランチ。そこで、大人げないランチで洋風のカツ＆ハンバーグを食べちゃいました！！帰りにTargetによって日用品を買って、日系のスーパーに行って食料品も購入して家に戻ってきました。明日からはインディアナポリスです。１日だけの滞在で翌晩に戻ってきたら、水曜からLaguna Secaです。忙しい１週間なりますがお仕事頑張ってきま〜す！！

After seeing the race, I went to lunch with my wife and the baby. We stopped by Target and the grocery store to stock up for the week. I will be going to Indy tomorrow for a day, but will be going to Laguna as soon as I get back so definately needed to be well stocked to make my wife's life easier. I guess it's going to be a busy week for me....

Mid-Ohio

今日は午前中にジムでトレーニング。午後からは美容室に行って、髪をばっさり切ってもらいサッパリ！ついでに、帰りにセルフの洗車屋によって、車をピカピカにして戻ってきました！！夕方からは妻が友人に会いに行くので、サッカーのChelsea VS LA Galaxy戦（ベッカムのデビュー戦）を見ながら子供のお守り。

Went to the gym in the AM and was done before lunch. I didn't have time to eat lunch and went straight to cut my hair. I also stopped by the car wash place and got my car cleaned. I just got home and since my wife is going out with her friend this afternoon, I will be whatching the Chelsea VS LA Galaxy soccer game with my baby tonight.

しかし、今日のMid-Ohioの予選は面白かった。ずっとPCのモニターで見ていましたが、まずはダニカがかなり頑張っていました！！２位ですもんね！！トニーにもダリオにもマルコもを上回ったのは凄いです。そして、今回から参戦するシモンズの変わりに急遽レイホールに乗ってるRyan Hunter-ReayはF.Altlantic時代の友達でもあり友人でもあるので、ぜひ頑張って欲しいですね！！そして、何よりものビッグニュースは武藤英紀が最終戦に参戦する事です！！来季に向けてよい経験になるとは思いますが、デビュー戦でも良い結果がでるように、弟分としてはなんとか協力してあげたいなと思う所です。って人の事の前に自分の事も頑張らないと〜〜！！月曜に色々とミーティングがあるので、頑張ってきま〜す！！

The qualifying was really exciting today from Mid-Ohio. I am really impressed with Danica qualifying 2nd beating all of her teammates including Kannan, Marco, and Franchitti. I was also happy to see my ex-teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay get the ride for Rahal Letterman Racing after Simmons was let go. I hope he does well in the race too. And finally I am happy for my buddy Hideki who races in Indy Pro Series to get a ride for the ultimate race in Chicago with Panther. I think he will do good and I am just hoping to be able to assist him in any ways to make that transition smoother. There are many things that you have to learn by your self as a driver but any sources of info will help from experienced driver as a coach. If you think about it...even the pro golf players have a coach who looks after the swing to keep the player on the right track on daily basis. And I truly believe that racing is the same way if you want to make it to the top.

来季に向けてのミーティング

今日は午前中に来季に向けての活動に関してのミーティング。良い方向に話を進める事ができた気はしますが、話を決めるまでにはまだまだこれからです。引き続き頑張らないと！！

I had a meeting in regards to the future program this morning and I think it turned out be a good meeting. It may still take a lot of time to proceed but you gotta start somewhere and I want to thank all the guys who made the time available for me to talk about my program. I just need to keep pedalling until the deal is done!!

それよりも、さっき子供をお風呂に入れてお風呂上がりで髪を見たらふと気がついたのは白髪が生えてる〜〜！！ショ〜〜〜〜っク！！インディー前も白髪が２〜３本はえてましたが、あらためて発見すると寂しいです。ストレス・・・、それともただの老化か・・・？！？明日は美容室でカットしてもらうので、カラーするか悩み中です。

I have a shocking news...I just got out of bathing my baby and I looked in to the mirror and just found couple of grey hairs!! Stress...or just getting old...?!? I had several grey hair before Indy but I hope I don't turn all grey before I land my next ride!! Speaking of hair, I am going to the salon tomorrow so may be I should consider coloring my hair.

怖っ・・・。

今日は朝起きて午前中にトレーニング。体調ももとに戻り、ばっちりでした！！ランニング中にニュースを見ていたら、上海からサンフランシスコに着いた飛行機の車輪の所に死体が発見と言うニュースを目撃。しかも何時も使っているユナイテッド航空。どうやら上海からアメリカに逃げてこようと試みた人が亡くなってしまったんだろうが、離陸中もランディングギアにしがみついていたのか七不思議。いや〜でも、ユナイテッドのジャンボに乗るのはなんだか嫌だな・・・！？！

Got up in the morning and went to the gym. Since I had a day off from the gym yesterday, my body has fully recovered and was able to get a good work out in. As I was on the treadmill whatching the news...I saw a news about body found on United Airline landing gear on a flight from Shanghai-SFO. Obviously it was a dead body...but he must of had real gutts to even attempt to try what he has done. It has nothing to do with the airline...but I guess I am not too keen on flying with United's 747...after hearing the news.

しかし、今日もナイスな天気。もう夏ですね〜！！日本はもう梅雨明けしたのかな？？
It was a nother beutiful day here in LA. Speaking of weather, I hope the rain season is over in Japan since after the big earthquake...the rain will definately not help the situation with mudslide etc...

来週のスケジュール

今日は午前中は家でお仕事。なんだか、今日は体調不良だったのでトレーニングはオヤスミ・・・。朝から電話で色々とコンフェランスコールをして、午後は来週のスケジューリング。来週は忙しくなりそうです！まず、月曜にIndianapolisに行って火曜の早朝にミーティング。火曜の夕方のフライトでロスに戻って、水曜のお昼に車を運転してLagunaSecaに向かい土曜までお仕事。ん〜貧乏暇なしってこの事ですかね・・・！？！

Since I wasn't feeling all that well today, I had to skip the trainig and worked out of my house pretty much through out the day. I had to do a conference call in the morning for possible sponsorship hunt/deals and needed to plan some stuff for next week. I will need to fly to Indianapolis next monday for a meeting on Tuesday, and back on plane to return to LA that afternoon. Than I will drive to Monterey on Weds to work for Skip Barber Racing School until Sat. It's better to be busy than not....as long as you keep earning some $$$.

赤ちゃん検診

今日は朝に赤ちゃん検診。６ヶ月検診で、久しぶりに病院に一緒に動向しました。順調に育っていて、身長もアメリカ人の平均。大きい子になりそうです。しか〜し、注射を２本打って夜は不機嫌になりそう・・・。でも、注射を打っても泣かなかったので偉い！！“さすが我が子”って感じでバカ親ぶりを発揮してます！？！そうそう、今週末はLagunaSecaでMotoGPのレースですネ！！行きたかったな〜・・・。とりあえず、週末はテレビで玉やんを応援する事になりそうです！！

I had to take my baby to the hospital for check up. He is doing really well and I think he is going to become a tall boy! He had to take 2shots today but didn't cry at all and was a really good boy. However, I think he will not be too happy about it tonight...

There is a Moto GP race this week end in Laguna. I really wished if I could have gone to cheer for my buddy Tamayan, but I will have to whatch the race from home...

車の試乗

今日は車の試乗があったので、午前中はジムでトレーニング。と、思いきや１０時の約束を前日の電話で１２時と聞き間違えて、トレーニング中に“いまどこ〜”って電話が入りダッシュで現場に向かいました。今日はずいぶんユックリスタートだな〜って思っていた自分の勘違いでした・・・。（泣）

I had to work today to test drive several cars and since I thought the meeting time was noon...I went to the gym in the morning. As I was working out...I got a call and figured out that the meeting time was 10am rather than 12pm.... Obviously I ran out of the gym and went straight to Gardena to test drive the cars.

さて、今日は３台の車を試乗しました。最初に乗ったのはSCIONのXd。その後にImprezzaの４ドアと５ドア。とくに新しくなったImprezzaに乗るのは楽しみでした。新しい車の試乗のお仕事は、ディーラーで販売される前に乗れるからかなりラッキーですよね！！車の詳しい詳細に関しては記事を楽しみにしててくださいね！！

I drove 3 cars today in which I was looking forward to drive the 2 Imprezza's. I drove the 4door and the 5door Imprezza. I also drove the new SCION Xd. They were all good cars although I expected a bit more from the Imprezza. However, it's always cool to drive new cars that aren't even in the showroom!!

夕方に家に戻って、さっき赤ちゃんをお風呂に入れて夕飯を食べる前に軽くお仕事です・・・。

I got home, bathed my baby...and back to work on my computer before supper time.

のんびりサンデー

昨日のIRLのレースが雨で延期になったので、今日は朝起きて１０時から延期になったレースをテレビ観戦。レースは色々とあったけど、最近のIRLの中では面白い方だったかな・・・。しかし、コウスケがSimmonsのミスに絡まれてくラッシュしてかわいそう・・・！？！なんだか今年は本当についてないな〜って感じですね。ずっと応援してる英紀も今回のレースでは車のバランスがいまいちで６位。気がついたら最終戦のシカゴが最後のオーバルになっちゃうのかな？！？ん〜なんとか、オーバルでの勝利に協力してあげたいなと思い、家で一人でムズムズ・・・！？！

Since the Nashville race got rained out last night...I woke up in the morning and went straight on ESPN to whatch the IRL race. The race it self wasn't bad for recent IRL showing...and I felt pretty bad for Kousuke who got hit by Simmons. It was 3rd incident this year where they got in to eachother and I'm sure Kousuke wasn't too happy about the situation either. The IPS race result was also interesting, however, my buddy Hideki only managed to finish 6th. I talked to him before the race and didn't seem like the car balance was there...but I really hope he can win on an oval in the near future. I coud only wish if I can assist him at the track in order for him to perform better....

レースはお昼前に終わり、妻と一緒にランチをしてスーパーで買い物をして帰宅。日曜だったので、今日はずっと家でユックリしてました。週末もあっと言う間に終わってしまい、明日からも１週間頑張らないと〜〜！！

After the race, I went to lunch with my wife and baby and stopped by the grocery store to pick up some food. Got home and relaxed for the rest of the evening. I can't believe the week end is already over!!

Buschレースを見ながらトレーニング

昨日も早く寝てしまい、今朝は早朝に起床。完全に老人生活になってます・・・。健康的で良いのですが。午前中は家でお仕事。お昼に家でサンドウィッチを食べて、昼過ぎからジムでトレーニング。ランニングしながら、NASCAR Buschのレースを見てしまいました。いや〜NASCARのレースも最初から最後まで見ると面白いんですよね〜〜！！でも、何よりもアメリカのTVの解説や実況の人のクレバーな説明には感心します。経験者が語るって感じで納得いけますからね！！でも、グラフィックを使ってわかりやすく説明するので無知のファンの人も理解しやすいと思います。夕方は早めにピットの散歩に行ってこれからIRL NashvilleのレースをTV観戦します！！

Since I went to be early last night...got up early like an old man. It's healthly living but I think I'm still too young for that!?! I did a lot of work in the morning and went to the gym in the afternoon. I whatched the NASCAR Busch race on TV as I was running on the treadmill. I'm really impressed with the NASCAR TV broadcast where they always have good coverage with right people talking about the race. They have ex-drivers as guest and tried to be precise as they can on how to explaing turbulence...and etc. I think it really is good for the fan and even I enjoy it my self since a lot of things are new to me compare to open wheel racing. Well...I have just got out of showere and ready to whatch the IRL race from Nashville on TV.

来季に向けて

今日も午前中にジムに行ってトレーニング。お昼過ぎから家でIRLナッシュビル戦の予選をライブタイミングでチラ見しながら、仕事の続きを終わらせてから来季の活動に向けてのプラニング。もう年の半分も終わってしまった事だし、来年に向けて今から動き出さないとスポンサーも取れませんからね〜〜！！今年もまだ終わった訳ではありませんが、残りの時間は来年に繋がるプログラムを組まないとって感じです！！が、色んな所から話がでてきてるので、これからしっかり具体化していかないと・・・。気がついたらあっと言う間に週末ですね〜！！では、皆さんも良い週末を！！と言っても日本は梅雨で大変そうですね・・・！？！

Just like yesterday...went to the gym in the AM and came home and sat in front of the computer to whatch IRL live timing from Nashville. Nothing seems exciting as you see the usual guys up front. Than I got on working some stuff for next season. Pretty much half the season is over and I really have to start pushing on trying to settle the deal for next season. Nothing firm yet...but there are many talks that may lead in to something and I just need to kee pushing on every prospect!! Well...I hope you all have a great week end!!

書類の整理

今日は朝起きて、午前中はジムでトレーニング。ガッツリトレーニングをして、お昼はサンドイッチを食べて、Targetに行き日用品の買い出し。家に戻ってからは色々と書類の整理・・・。インディーが終わってホッと落ち着いた物の色々と整理しないと行けない物が沢山あって大変です。気がついたら明日はもう金曜日でもう週末ですね！本当に１週間が経つのは早いな〜〜！？！今週末はNASHVILLEでのナイトレース。自分は家でまたTV観戦かな？そろそろ久しぶりに現場にも顔を出さないと・・・。

Got up in the morning and went straight to the gym and had a good work out. Came home and had sandwich for lunch and went to Target to buy some stuff. I got home and needed to sort out a lots of paper work... After Indy, I finally have some time to go through everything but it will definately take me several days to get through everything. I can't believe it's already Fri tomorrow!! A week goes by so quick.... I guess I will be whatch the IRL race at Nashville on TV again. I really need to start thinking about popping back in to one of these races thinking about getting deals for next season.

7党党首討論会

昨日は寝る前に、７党党首討論会を見てしまいました。ちらっと見ましたが、内容にイライラ・・・。政治の事に関しては僕もよくわからないけど、討論会とは言えどもほとんどの党首が総理のバッシングをするのはどうよ・・・、って思ってしまいました。ま〜アメリカの政治家も完璧とは言えませんが、少なくとも“あなたの政治は間違ってる！”って言う討論ではなくて、“わたしの考え方が正しい”って言い方をするので、少なくとも説得力はありますね。ま〜今の政治の内容じゃ〜国民年金のトラブルが出てもおかしくないですね・・・。それに色々と改善しなくてはいけない事が沢山あるとは言っても、個人的には国会でヤジをとばすスタンスから変えなくては、根本的には何も変わらないのではと思っちゃいますね。って、党首討論会を見て、色々とつぶやくなんて、自分も親父になったな〜って思う今日この頃でした！？！（笑）

I watched the Japan's 7 political parties debate last night on TV. It was really frustrating to whatch. All the political leader was just trying to bash on Mr.Abe(Primeminister) and half of the stuff there were going for was all non sense. It's really dissapointing to see that kind of debate since I really don't think it will resolve all the problem Japan is facing right now. Obviously, I am not an expert on polics by all means...but I can clearly feel that there needs to be a serious change in Japan in order to get better. Yes the economy is picking up...but I really hope there is a change for good that will allow the economy to boom even more so it may become a bit easier to obtain sponsor to go racing!! Well so much for the politics...I guess I must be getting old to see political debate on TV and not just SPEED TV anymore!?!

年末のレースに向けての交渉

今日は午前中に色々と家でお仕事。年内中にもう１レース参戦できるように、色々とチームと交渉を開始。そう簡単には話を決めるのは難しそうですが、とにかくトライし続けます！！諦めたらそこでおしまいですからね。しかし、また毎日ひっつこくチームに電話＆メールをする日々が続きそう・・・。けっこう大変なプロセスなんですよね〜！？！

Got up in the morning and still had to do some desk work that needed to be done. Since I am working on a deal to race before the end of the season, I started to do some research and called some teams to talk about it. It really is a tough and frustrating process...unless if you have sponsor lined up, but you still need to keep working hard at it as we all know, nothing will come to you for free. However, I think I was able to get some valuable information and hopefully I can proceed from here.

ランチは斎藤ヒロ君と一緒にガーデナでハンバークカレーを食べて、帰りにスーパーによって帰宅。夕方にミッチリトレーニングして完全に頭も身体もレースモードに戻ってます！！あ〜早く車に乗りたいな〜〜！！夕方IndyProに参戦する武藤英紀と話をして色々とできる限りのアドバイスもしたつもりですが、残りのレースをガンガン勝って欲しい所ですね！！って人の心配する以上に自分も全力で頑張らないと！！

Than I went to lunch with my buddy Hiro and had Hanburger Curry. I know you all think "YUK"....but it's actually pretty good! Should definitely try it if you at a casual Japanese Restaurants especially for lunch. Than I came home and went straight to the gym. More and more I think about the race, I am eager to get back in to the car, and I feel I am mentally and physically ready to get back in anytime!!

年末のレースに向けての交渉

今日は午前中に色々と家でお仕事。年内中にもう１レース参戦できるように、色々とチームと交渉を開始。そう簡単には話を決めるのは難しそうですが、とにかくトライし続けます！！諦めたらそこでおしまいですからね。しかし、また毎日ひっつこくチームに電話＆メールをする日々が続きそう・・・。けっこう大変なプロセスなんですよね〜！？！

Got up in the morning and still had to do some desk work that needed to be done. Since I am working on a deal to race before the end of the season, I started to do some research and called some teams to talk about it. It really is a tough and frustrating process...unless if you have sponsor lined up, but you still need to keep working hard at it as we all know, nothing will come to you for free. However, I think I was able to get some valuable information and hopefully I can proceed from here.

ランチは斎藤ヒロ君と一緒にガーデナでハンバークカレーを食べて、帰りにスーパーによって帰宅。夕方にミッチリトレーニングして完全に頭も身体もレースモードに戻ってます！！あ〜早く車に乗りたいな〜〜！！夕方IndyProに参戦する武藤英紀と話をして色々とできる限りのアドバイスもしたつもりですが、残りのレースをガンガン勝って欲しい所ですね！！って人の心配する以上に自分も全力で頑張らないと！！

Than I went to lunch with my buddy Hiro and had Hanburger Curry. I know you all think "YUK"....but it's actually pretty good! Should definitely try it if you at a casual Japanese Restaurants especially for lunch. Than I came home and went straight to the gym. More and more I think about the race, I am eager to get back in to the car, and I feel I am mentally and physically ready to get back in anytime!!

お家でリラックス

昨日は家に帰って１２時過ぎには爆睡！ご飯を食べながら頭がボ〜ッとしてて、かなり疲れてたみたいです。が、朝は７時頃までには目が覚めてしまい、なんだか寝た気がしませんでした・・・。今日は午前中は家で色んな書類のお仕事。かなり溜まってて大忙しです。お昼に妻と子供を連れてランチして午後は家でリラックスしてました。明日からはまたトレーニングモードに戻らないと！！

Since I was so tired last night....I went to bed right after midnight. I was a bit dizzy while eating dinner...so I must have been tired. However, I got up at 7am and didn't feel like I slept that well. Nevertheless, I needed to get up and do some work at home this morning so I went into my office room and started the work. I got half of the stuff done, and went to lunch with my wife and baby. Than came home to relax for a little while....but I have to go back to work again. All these desk work is making me frustrated and I think I need to go back to my training mode and shake some stress out of me!!

LAに帰宅

今日はスクール最終日があり、無事に終わりさっき家に戻ってきました。ドライブは途中まではスムーズだったのに、LA近郊で渋滞・・・。今週末はIndependenceDayから連休を取ってる人も多く、バカンスからの帰りで渋滞してたみたいです。朝からずっと仕事をした上の５時間越えのドライブは辛かった〜・・・。とりあえず、今から夕飯を食べてそっこう寝ちゃいそうです！！zzzzz

Just got home. The last day of instructing went well and we were done by 5pm. I headed straight home and I was hoping to get home by 10pm...but as I got closer to LA, I ran into some traffic. I guess it was an extended week end from July 4th, and many people were driving back from holiday. I was stuck in traffic for 30min but I got home and I am just about ready to eat something and hit the bed ASAP!!

スクール２日目

今日はスクール２日目。朝６時に起きて、スタバによってからサーキット入り。昨日は暖かってので、今日は短パンだな〜って余裕こいて短パンで行ったら今日はずっと曇りで少し肌寒い一日でした・・・。が、ずっと外にいるので変に日焼けしないですんだのでとりあえずラッキーかな？！？が、明日は天気はよくなって欲しいな。今日は仕事が終わってから軽くトレーニング。これから夕飯を食べて早めに寝ないと。３日間はあっと言う間ですが、早くLAに戻って赤ちゃんの顔を見るのが楽しみだな〜〜。

Today was the 2nd day of the Skip Barber School. As usual...got up at 6am and stopped by Starbuks to get a cup of coffee and went straight to the track. Since the weather was so nice, I put my shorts on today anticipating the weather being nice like yesterday. My prediction was wrong and it was a cloudy overcast cool day....definately too cool for shorts. At least I didn't get any sun tanned....but I hope the weather will get better tomorrow. Tomorrow will be the finaly day here...I am looking forward to getting back to LA and seeing my baby although I am not looking forward to the 5hr drive home tomorrow!!

スクール初日

今日は朝６時に起きて、スタバによってコーヒーをゲットしてから７時にサーキット入り。８時からクラスは開始して、５時半までミッチリお仕事！！長い一日でした〜。しかも、天気も良くてバッチリ路肩焼け・・・。仕事が終わってからなんと、便利な事にゴルフコースがサーキットの隣にあり、ついでにゴルフバックもトランクに入れっぱなし！？！こんな偶然があっていいのか〜〜って感じで、ゴルフレンジで軽く練習してホテルに戻ってきました！ホテルに戻ったらネットで仕事をして、色々とレースの結果チェック。今週末はF1,Indy,ChampCarと気になるレースがたくさんありますね〜〜！！ライブで見れないのは残念・・・。

Got up at 6am and went to the track at 7am. Stopped by Starbucks to get my daily coffee. The Skip Barber Racing School classes starts at 8am and I was working until 5:30PM today. Pretty long day out on the track. The weather was gorgeous though!! After work, it was such a coincidence with golf course right next to the track...and my golf bags in the trunk... I had to stop by and practice hitting balls at the range. Just got back to the hotel and ready to take a shower and have a quick bite before going to bed early.

Lagunaに到着

さっき無事にLagunaSecaに到着しました。久しぶりのロングドライブはかなり疲れました。一番驚いたのは、途中で給油した時の街の温度です。なんと華氏で１１３°F（４５℃）です！乾燥してるから普通にカラッと暑いのかなと思ったら大間違い！！もうサウナに入ってるくらい、ボワ〜ってメチャメチャ暑かったです！！が、LagunaSecaに着いたら今度は５８°F（１４℃）・・・、今日経験した最高気温から半分です。この温度変化はさすがに具合が悪くなりそう。Lagunaは気候が良くて今週末の天気も良さそうなので、仕事も快適にできそうです！！ではでは、明日からミッチリお仕事してきま〜す！！

Just arrived in Monterey. The drive wasn’t too bad and I was able to get here in 5hr. When I refueled the car at mid-point, the temp was 113°F! It was definitely stinking HOT!! It was like being in sauna… However, when I arrived here in Monterey, the temp was down to 58°F which is almost too cool. The weather here is pretty nice this time of the year so I don’t think I can’t complain. Well…I gotta work pretty hard for next three days so I can play more golf when I get back in town!?!

やっぱり・・・。

今日はお昼からゴルフ。昨日はバッチリ練習したのでかなり期待できそうで、向かう途中はワクワクでした！しか〜し、世の中はそんなに甘くない・・・。昨日から満振りで振るスィングは実際にコースにでるとなかなかうまくいかず・・・。しかも、今日のコースはFonatanaの側にあるOak Quarryと言う少し難しめなコース。　ほとんど砂漠ちたいにある、メチャメチャ暑いコースで、華氏で１００°Fはは超えてたのでは？と言う事でコースに向かうまではスコアーの方が上か、温度の方が上かなんて偉そうな事を言ってましたが、終わってみたらぜんぜんスコアーの方が上ですね。当たった時はボチボチですが、それ以外は内容＆過程がひどすぎて公開できるようなスコアーではありませんでした。でも、今日は奇麗なコースでユックリできて楽しかったです！！明日からはLagunaSecaでお仕事・・・。今週は遊んだ分もしっかり稼いでこないと・・・今日なくしたゴルフボールをかえませんからね！？！（笑）

Went to golf in the afternoon. Since I practiced well yesterday...I thought I would do well today. We went to Oak Quarry Golf Course in Riverside today. It was really hot today and I believe we were in triple digit temp. I was hoping at least for my score to be under triple digit... However, all my practice didn't pay off as much as I thought. Although it was a difficult course, I am too embarassed to say my score so I will keep it confidential. I still think I got much better and just need more experience! Well...I am off to Laguna Seca tomorrow...after all that playing, I will need to work hard to earn some money to buy all the golf balls I lost today!?!

景色の奇麗な１４番ホールです！
The signature 14th hole!

ゴルフ復活！？！

明日はIndependence Dayでお休みなので、カメラマンの斎藤ヒロ君と竹内さんとゴルフに行ってきます！最後に日本で回った時はボロボロだったので、明日行く前にレッスンプロに見てもらいました！！スィングした瞬間に早速“あ〜・・・・”っと言うコメント。スィングが病気にかかってますね〜〜って言われちゃいました！？！が、色々と話を聞いてると問題は恐れ恐れスィングしているからだとの結論！！レースと一緒ですね。ビビって走っていると、とくにIndianapolisとかでは全開で走らないと車が安定しないのと一緒で、中途半端にアクセルを抜くと逆にフラフラ走ってしまう感じで、ゴルフも中途半端なスィングをするからボールにあたらなかったり、真っすぐ飛ばなくなるのだなと言う事でした！！んで、満振りをしてみたら、ビックリ！！！飛ぶじゃ〜ないですか〜〜。まっ、これからしっかりまとめてこなくては、スコアーは上がりそうにありませんが、とりあえずゴルフを楽しみながらできそうです。そんなこんなで明日は楽しみ！！今夜は妻はお友達とお食事会なので自分は家で赤ちゃんのお守。最近はインゲンのお浸しにはまってますが、夕飯は冷やし中華です！！

Since it's 4th of July tomorrow and a day off...I am going to play gold with my friends. I had a louzy round last time in Japan and I really lost all my condidence in my swing, I took a quick lesson the other day. My conclusion was...just like racing at Indianapolis, youv'e got to be flat all the time!?! Basically what that mean is that at Indy...if you are not up to the right speed and probably being flat, the car is not going to be stable because it is set up to be driven that way. When you lift, the car becomes unstable and it's no fun. I found out that the gold was the same way. When you start wimping with your swing, you don't actually hit the ball right and ends up slicing or hooking...or shanking. Therefore, after the lesson, I started to swing really hard but most importantly knowing when to applicate the power!! I think I still need the consistancy to get a good score but at least I feel like I am playing golf now!! Well...we will see how I do tomorrow!!

引っ越し・・・。

昨日は１０時半に寝てしまい、今朝は朝早く目が覚めてしまいました・・・。歳ですね。起きてまずはピットの散歩。それからスーパーに買い物に行って、戻ってきてからは家のオフィッスに行って家賃の交渉。が、マネージャーがいないので、仕方ないのでメールを送って明日までに返答を待つのみ。しか〜し、返事を待つだけではなんだか落ち着かないので、新しいアパートをネットで検索。するとPasadena地域に気になる所を発見！！善は急げと言う事でさっそく見に行ってきました！場所は最高で部屋もま〜ま〜ですが、今の家よりも面積が狭い所が少し難点。が、最初の２ヶ月は家賃が無料と言う所に心が動かされてしまいそう・・・。ん〜明日の返事次第ですが、急に引っ越しが決まりそう！？！

Since I went to sleep at 10:30PM last night...I was up really early this morning. Must be getting old... It was another nice sunny & hot day here in LA. I took my dog to a walk, than went to my apartment management office to speak with the manager. Unfortunately the manager was out today so I decided to e-mail him my situation. Hopefully I will get a good reply from him tomorrow. Meanwhile, I couldn't resisit from searching for a new place so I went on line and found a good place in Pasadena. I thought "sooner the better" in terms of viewing the place so I went straight to see the unit. The place was great but the only downside was that the actual size is smaller than my current place. Otherwise, they had a great offer...as free 2month rent!! Well, at this point...it will all depend on what my manager will decide on what to day with my new price but I may have to do a real quick turn around to pack this up!?!

平和な一日

昨日は散々な一日でしたが、今日はとくに何もなく平和でした。とりあえず、日曜だったので朝起きて妻と赤ちゃんとPasadena方面でランチ。ついでにずっと気になってたアパートの物件があったのでチェックしてきました！！場所は最高の所で、隣にドッグラン付きの公園だったり、色んなレストランやカフェまで歩いてすぐだったり、子供が大きくなった時の事も考えて色んな意味で良い環境だなと思いました。しか〜し、部屋の中はなんとなくなっとくいけずに結論の無いまま家に戻ってきてしまいました。明日は家の大家と交渉で値段次第では引っ越しを真面目に考えないと・・・。いや〜しかし、今の物件より良い所を探すのは本当に難しそうだな！？！

Since it was a miserable day for me yesterday...I was hoping it will just be an oridnary day for me today. Since it was a beutiful Sunday, I went to Brunch with my wife and baby to a cozy restaurant in Pasadena. The food was great and since there was no cilantro involved in my meal...I was pretty happy. Than we went to look at this apartment in Pasadena which I always wanted to see. The place is really cool with a park next to the building and just a block away from old town Pasadena where all the cool caffe and restaurants are. However, we were not really impress with the room settings although the price was some what attractive. I guess it will all depend on how my negotiation will go with my current building manager whether we will end up moving or not. I still have to say that it will be hard to find a better place than my current apartment....

ついてない一日・・・。

今日は本当についてない一日でした・・・。朝起きて、天気も良かったので妻と息子とベニスビーチに行って、ランチをしてプラプラとショップ巡りをしようと思い、ベニスビーチに向かいました。が、ランチしようと思っていたお店は何故かやってなくて、近所のローズカフェでランチ。そこで、BBQ Steak Sandwichを頼んだのですが、なぜか意味不明にサンドの中にパクチーが入っててマジ切れ！とりあえず、食わず嫌いなのかなと思い改めてチャレンジしてみましたが、やっぱり嫌いでした・・・。家に戻る前にスーパーで買い物をして、駐車場から出ようと車を動かしたら斜め横から完全に見てない車にどか〜んとぶつけられ、軽い事故・・・。止まってるような速度だったので、自分の車には全くダメージはありませんでしたが、パクチーでイライラしていたのに、ついに爆発寸前。なんとか頭に来る気持ちを最大限に押さえて帰宅したのに、スーパーで買った物の方付けをしていたら、飲み物類が入っていたビニール袋がやぶれてウーロン茶が足の上に落下！さらに、冷蔵庫を明けたら今度は納豆が落下・・・。（怒）もう今日は何もしない方が良いなと言う結論にたし、今はビールを片手にリッチモンドで行われてるIRLのレースを見てます。

It was a very frustrating day today.... I went to lunch with my wife and baby to Venice Beach. The place I was thinking about to have lunch was closed so we decided to go to Rose Caffe. I ordered BBQ Steak Sandwich since it was today's special but I was not impressed with Cilantro in the sandwich. I really hate cilantro...and who would put cilantro in a BBQ Sandwich!?! I was so hungry and didn't want to make a big issue about it so I decided to eat the food and get going. We stopped by the super market on the way home...than we got hit by another car in parking lot!! Fortunately it was at slow speed so there was no damage to my car...but I was really pXXsed off especially after the cilantro in my sandwich!! Since I am a father now.....I needed to be calm and made sure to take care of this issue calmly. I got home and started to put all the groceries in the fridge. And to make things worse, the plastic bags ripped and the bottle of Oolong tea just dropped on my toes!! Yap...I was really pXXsed but I still maitained my temper. But when I opened the fridge...I had things fall on my toe again...and that's when I decided not to do anything today anymore!! I guess it's one of those days...