An end (almost) t a busy week

My, it certainly has been a busy week for me. Even though we had a public holiday on the Monday, I packed in my usual schedule, work wise, into the remaining 5 days, so it's been quite exhausting.
I was able to fit in a couple of runs during this time, not including the usual Sunday morning scamper around the palace, but was unable to get to the gym. This'll be rectified tomorrow, where I'm hoping to fit in a long 2 hour session.
A really great exercise out of the gym has been pull ups, which I've been doing in the little park next to our mansion. Three variations, of overhand, underhand and parallelhand gives my upper body a really good workout. This I combine with press-ups, squats and sit ups, which can all be done on the little multi-slide, climbing structure for kids. As it's usually early in the morning, I'm not taking up any space that the kids would want to be on, so it's ideal.
Also, for some hamstring work, I do some high kicks to the front, whilst walking forward, which is good for stretching and flexibility, as well as coordination.
This Sunday, we're going to try for a 15km run around the palace, and Joseph has a new app for his iphone, which will hopefully more accurately monitor our progress, and give us some much needed feedback on how we're doing (previous attempts have been disrupted by what I can only guess as my frequency disruptors, which I emit around electronic devices!)

A new year in life

Well, I've now passed into the final year of my 30s, with little fanfare but with renwed hope and a desire to do more. Yesterday itself was fairly stressful, as I hate interviews, so I was feeling very nervous before hand. As it turned out, it wasn't bad at all, and I even question why they bothered. I was in a room with an old, urbane Japanese man, who spoke flawless, Oxford inflected English, and a rather pretty young woman who would act as my mock trainee. It lasted 30 minutes, and for that time I spent about 10 minutes doing a trial lesson on Introductions and small talk, and the remaining 20 minutes was mostly taken up with the old man seeming to luxuriate in the fact that he could speak jolly nicely, and so will do so, thank you very much! I mean, surely it would have been more cost effective to invite all of the potential trainers for some sort of seminar type affair, rather than spreading it over the whole day, and tying up not only the old don and his colleague, but also one of our Account Executives in the next room, who's job was to come down stairs and collect us from reception, then bring us to the interview room and then go sit in the room next door (he was completely bored out if his head, he said). Mind you, I think this kind of thing goes on a lot in Japanese corporations. The process is far more important than whether or not it's the most efficient or effective way of doing things.
Anyway, that was my birthday. In the evening, Miyu had cooked me a yummy leg of pork, and had bought me Jamie Oliver's new cookbook, which I'm really looking forward to trying out.

Exhausted

It's been an exhausting day. 12 hours of work, plus various bits of editing work afterwards. I've also had to prepare for the upcoming interview with the major Japanese trader on Thursday, where now they're demanding we be completely familiar with 136 pages of training materials so that we can randomly demonstrate any part of it on the day. We were given the materials yesterday, so I've been trying to memorize as much as possible, but will probably have to wing it on the day. I think it's pretty unreasonable to expect us to be fully prepared with this, and it seems there must be a gap between what the Account Executives from our company are promising (the earth), and what can be reasonably delivered by us in such a short time frame. Our CEO yesterday said just so much yesterday, but that economic circumstances means we are in a weaker position, so must try and fit to what clients demand.
With all this work, I'm trying to figure out a way to also fit in the necessary training for the 10km next year. I've tried getting up a bit earlier, but it's been a struggle, truth be told, although the Sunday runs are much easier with the added obligation of working as a team. I'm also finding it difficult to fit in any gym time, which is something I'm really missing. Ideally, it would be great to have a home gym, but at present there's not enough space : (
Phew, I'm knacked. Off to bed!

Autumnal day

A really lovely day today, with the leaves cascading down from the trees lining the Meguro river providing a splendid backdrop for my mid-afternoon run.
For one reason or another, we couldn't make it to the Lasik clinic yesterday, so will have to wait for another opportunity to go have my eyes tested to see if they're suitable for the operation. Actually, it gave me an opportunity to check out some others on-line, and I may go to another one I've located in Shinjuku, as it's cheaper. anyway, we'll see.
The economic downturn hasn't as yet bitten into my workload, thankfully, and I'm currently very busy. Must go see a major Japanese trader on Thursday for an interview and demo, to see whether they will give our company a big contract. It seems we're competing against a much smaller operation, who have been bad mouthing us at every opportunity. Hopefully, they'll see the quality we can bring to their training needs, and go with us.
My parents are going to be arriving in Japan in less than a month, and will be here for the Christmas and New Year festivities. Had planned to go to Hakone for some onsen action, but it seems all the major hotels are already booked up for Christmas week. For some reason Miyu doesn't want to stay in a Japanese style inn, preferring something more Western. I'm not too bothered either way, so the search continues.
Did I say I got into the Tokyo Marathon? Pretty impressive, as it was hugely over subscribed, with only a 1:17 chance of getting a place. I reckon it was because I put down I was British, as I know 3 Japanese who didn't get a place. Anyway, it gives Jopesh and I a real focus now, and a training plan is taking root.

Lasik

Having worn glasses for the best part of my life, it is with some trpidation that I go soon to have my eyes lasered, and hopefully corrected. It's all rather exciting, and I can't quite imagine what it'll be like. For anybody that knows me, I'm half blind - extremely short sighted, and whenever anybody with good eye sight tries on my glasses they feel dizzy and soon get a headache - I kid you not! I reckon it'll be the little things that I notice most, like waking up in the morning and not having to flap around looking for my glasses, or actually being able to see clearly when I'm having a shower or bath. And going to an onsen is going to be so cool, as I'll be able to fully appreciate the beauty around me, and not be in some blurred world of my own. I wonder if it'll change me in any way, as far as my character is concerned? Will it affect my stature nd my confidence?
Well, the test is on Sunday to establish whether or not I can actually have the operation, so I'll wait until then to really start wondering how it's going to affect me.

Beautiful day

It's a gorgeous day out, and Fuji san is in full splendor with its peak snow capped for just that photo perfect effect.
Jay's come down with a rather nasty cold, which has him coughing like an old man. He's a bit cranky, but still manages to smile away and sit in his little push cart playing with our old mobile phones. Recently, he's been experimenting with walking with his eyes closed, which is a bit scary to look at, especially as he a approaches obstacles, but it's a positive sign that he's developing his spatial awareness. He also manages now to walk backwards and has really got into getting us to read to him, often the same book over and over again!
I was really saddened and disgusted about the news regarding baby P, the 18 month baby who was brutally murdered in London. Seems like a systemic failure on the part of the care system and the various hospitals that saw him. A broken back, 8 broken ribs and multiple contusions and bruising which makes you wonder how anybody could have missed seeing the abuse he was subjected to. However, the blame of course lies squarely with the mother and two men who were convicted of this appalling crime. They deserve to be put away for the rest of their lives. How anybody could inflict such pain and suffering on an innocent child is completely beyond me, and leaves me with a hollow feeling inside. When I first heard the news, I was repulsed and was racked with nausea, anger and tears. Why, why why?

The long weekend

Yay! It's a long weekend for us Nipponese and I'm just getting ready for my early morning run with Joseph in Komazawa Park. After doing a few kms, I'm off to the gym with Tomo, our neighbour, for a work out. After that, I'll probably be so exhausted I'll need a nap!