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....