On my previous article, I said, "I have a large repetoire of songs." But truth be told, I don't have so much repetoire especially in the field of Western songs. When I leaf through the pages of those karaoke books, I rarely come across songs I'm familiar with.

But that's not so bad. You don't have so many songs to sing that it doesn't take a long time to decide what to sing. You can sing your favorite song soon. You can sing that song over and over again.

I really love sound of English language, English pronunciation. That's why I want to sing Western songs in English. I believe singing a lot of songs in English will improve my skills of pronunciation.
If you go to karaoke alone, you can practice singing English songs without minding your BAD & POOR pronunciation. This is the real pleasure & merit of going to karaoke alone, I think.

What kind of songs do you think I always sing? I will give you a couple of examples.
Well, I sing the songs of Madonna. I think her songs are easy to sing; relatively, I mean.
I sing ♪Yeah, you made me feel... Shiny and 'nu'...♪ (Yes, I always say Nu York instead of New York. Is that cool? Or...)

I'm so ashamed to sing My Heart Will Go On in front of my friends, but I can sing it alone.
♪You're here, there's nothing I fear
And I know that my heart will go on...♪

I've heard that Celine's first language is French. So she might speak or sing English with a French accent, but I don't care.
I love the climax of this song. I can't explain my feelings well, but I always feel that sound of YOU is so DEEP. I think Celine puts her deep love & emotion into the word 'you', which touched me deeply.

Although I didn't expect this at all, the other day, I found my favorite song of recent date in a karaoke book. Do you wanna know what the song is? I - will - not - tell - you. That's is a so passionate love song that I feel a little bit awkward to name it. Believe it or not, I am shyer than you expected, seriously.

I love karaoke （カラオケ）. I love to sing a song. When I feel depressed, I can release my stress by singing many songs in a loud voice. (Do you sometimes wanna shout out loud, huh?)
So I don't need any audience. Or rather, it would be better if there was no audience. When I sing alone, I don't have to care about others' reaction or feelings. I can sing only my favorite songs one after another without intermission. Wow, how happy I am!

Come to think about it, this kind of woman is called 'Ohitorisama' （おひとりさま）, right? Some people might say that going to karaoke alone （一人カラオケ） is so pathetic. But I don't think so.
I can enjoy time alone to the fullest and know how to take full advantage of free time. I could be respected as an independent woman with a strong will. (lol)

I don't mean to brag, and I wonder if it is regarded as some brag, I have a large repetoire of songs, ranging from J-pop, anime songs to Western music.
Among J-pop, Mikazuki by Ayaka and Flavor Of Life by Hikaru Utada are my favorites in these days. Oh, I also like WINDING ROAD by Ayaka*Kobukuro. Those songs are so great, aren't they?

Among anime songs... oh, I won't talk about this category. I'm so sure you must realize how geeky I am if I mention the titiles of anime songs I always sing. I'd like to stay an ordinary housewife at least on the net... Ha ha.

Speaking of Western songs... I'll talk about it later. See you then, bye!

I am not in good condition. My throat still hurts. I eat candies all the time, which might create tooth decay, I'm afraid. I tried to take some Ryukakusan （龍角散）. That's not bad. It works. Ryukakusan soothed soreness in my throat. But that tastes bitter, and looks like ash.

It's been raining today. I don't like the rainy season, because...

1. I can't hang the laundry up to dry in the sun.
Fortunately, I have a dryer in my house. But if you take the laundry out of the dryer, all of the clothes have a full of wrinkles. Even if you iron the clothes, those wrinkles wouldn't go.
I really like the smell of the laundry when dryed under the bright glaring sunlight.
During the rainy season, I have to fold the clothes which don't smell fresh. It's no fun.

2. I can't open the windows to ventilate a room.
Especially now, when my daughter and I have a cold, I really want to air our bedroom. But I can't. If I open the windows, the room will get damp. Humidity makes us more uncomfortable.

3. My son can't play around in the park.
He wants to play soccer or baseball with his friends in the near park. But when it rains or the ground is wet, they can't play anything there. If it pours, no one visits him. He looks so bored...


A while ago, my son came back home from school. He said, "I promised my friend to meet him at the park in front of his house at 4 o'clock. Can I?"
"But it's still raining. Why today? Why don't you meet him on Saturday or Sunday?"
"Because I want to hand him my drawing. I drew a Pokemon for him. Today's his birthday. I want to give it to him as a birthday present from me."
What a beautiful friendship! As the mother of him, I think he drew the picture so well. But I wonder if his friend will be pleased with his present. I hope so.

BTW, my son always says he wants to be a painter（絵描き） in the future. I don't know if he has such a talent for painting, but I think it is good for him to have a dream.
Don't give up your dream, my boy! If you become a famous painter, the value of your drawing will increase, which will please your friend also in the future. (Of course, I'm just kidding, honey!)

I guess I caught a cold. I might've got it from my daughter.
She didn't go to kindergarten today. In this morning, we went to the doctor. He examined each of us in the same way he always does, and the pharmacist gave us the same medicine again.
After taking prescribed dosage of medicine, my daughter fell asleep. She's still sleeping in the next room. I often go to the next room and I feel relieved that she is sleeping restfully & peacefully. I hope she'll get back to normal ASAP.

When my children are frolicking around and in high spirits, I feel a little tired. I always shout, "Be quiet! Calm down! Or you'll get hurt!" However, when they stay in bed quietly during an illness, I don't want to see those 'quiet' faces anymore.

Last night, she seemed to feel bad and she was just crying for nothing. I know, honey, if you don't feel good, you feel like taking it out on something, right? I don't feel good either right now, I totally understand how you feel. I really feel like getting angry at someone. You guys should go away from me soon.

In this season, when you sleep at night, it's so hot that you can't sleep well. At the break of dawn, you feel a little cold because you've kicked your blanket off during a wakeful night. It's so hard to adjust yourselves to the changes of temperature in this season. That's why we catch a cold easily.

Be careful not to catch a cold, you guys. I don't think my cold will go away soon. If I have a sore throat, I can't sing my favorite songs to my heart's content in the kitchen. That's so sad!

P.S. I feel a little dizzy and I can't think clearly now. So if you find something obscure in this piece, just ignore them. I attribute all of my mistakes to my darn cold.

I talked about the animation 'MAJOR'（メジャー） on the previous article.
The leading character Goro had one misfortune after another.
But this disaster didn't discourage him from playing baseball.

His kindergarten teacher Momoko decided to adopt and raise him. Thanks to her selfless affection toward him, Goro became a straightforward & acitve boy. Later, his mother Momoko got married to Hideki Shigeno, who is a famous professional baseball player and a best friend of Goro's real father. Goro's adopted parents, Hideki & Momoko, are really respectable. I'm sure they must be a good role model for every parent.

Goro really loves baseball. Everyone calls him 'natural-born baseball boy' (天然野球小僧). He just loves playing baseball and he's thinking about baseball all the time. He feels happy when he has a great baseball player as an opponent.
Although he was admitted to Kaido high school, which is a prestige school in baseball, he decided to drop out. JUST because he wanted to play a match against great players in Kaido high school. What a passion he has!

His passion is so infectious. His attitude toward baseball always have a positive impact on people around him.

Recently, it is said that many people in Japan don't have a desire for something. It seems that they can't find something to live for and they just lead a dull life without finding their own dream.
However, whenever I watch Goro enjoy playing baseball to the fullest, I feel like doing anything I can do right here right now. I don't care how old I am! The point is whether I have a passion like his or not.

FYI:
Goro pitches straight fastballs (about 150 km/h). Some people insist that he pitches the mysterious magical fastball 'Gyroball'（ジャイロボール）.
Speaking of the Gyroball, many Americans discuss the mystery of the Gyroball when talking about Dice-K, right?
I don't have a good knowledge of baseball, but only the word 'Gyroball' excites me.
Goro likes straightforward approach not only in the games but also in every other situation. He always reminds me of something I forgot in my monotonous life.
I'll keep watching him as long as he keeps going. If you are interested, check it out!

Do you know the animation 'MAJOR'（メジャー）? The program is broadcasted every Saturday at 6pm on NHK educational channel.
NHKアニメワールド メジャー MAJOR

On this Saturday, the 24th episode of season 3 is being broadcasted. (The 26th episode is supposed to be the closer of season 3.) I'm also interested in the special program 'All New York for 72 hours' （ニューヨークまるごと72時間）, which is being broadcasted in the same time-slot on NHK BS. But I don't wanna miss the next episode of MAJOR. This program is really exciting.

BTW, they use the word 'season' when categorizing episodes. Furthermore, between seasons, they rerun all episodes of the previous season. I think they broadcast this program really American-style. Cool.

The leading character is Goro Shigeno (original family name is Honda). When he was a little child, his mother died from a disease. When he was a kindergarterner, his father Shigeharu Honda, who was a famous professional baseball player, was hit by a pitched ball. The ball was thrown by a MLB super star Joe Gibson. And the following day, Shigeharu died from the serious injury.
Oh, how disastrous his life is! But serial tragedies are not the main theme of this drama.

Well, I'll talk about it more later. Meet me here on Friday.

The other day, I talked about my stubborn daughter on this blog. That isn't the whole story.

She wants to do everything by herself, saying, "I'll do it myself!"（自分でする！）
She hates to be helped by someone.
She wants to turn on/off the light, open the door, put on & take off her clothes. She doesn't care at all if we are in a hurry or not.
When she tries to do everything by herself, it takes three times as long as usual. I sometimes feel irritated at her behavior, but try not to help her. I have to make her learn how to do everything by herself. That's one of parent's important jobs. I have to be patient, yes, patience is part being a mother, maybe.

Several days ago, I heard her "I'll do it myself!" for the hundredth time. I was amazed at her stubbornness and said, "She's really stubborn. I don't know why she's that stubborn. I might've raised her wrong."
My husband laughed and said, "This is not the matter of raising children. She is stubborn 'by nature'. Like someone."
"Someone? Who?"
"Do I have to say who it is?"
He just smirked at me. I didn't say any more.

My mother used to say this;
"You wanted to do everything by yourself. One day, on the very cold day, after taking a bath, I tried to dress you, but you refused my offer. You said, "I'll do it myself!"
I said, "But you have to wear pajamas soon, otherwise you'll catch a cold." I dressed you in pajamas by force and buttoned them. Then you got angry and you started to 'unbutton' your pajamas with tears, saying, "I'll do it myself! I'll do it myself!"
I shouted, "If you stay naked after a bath, you'll catch a cold! Do you want to get sick and lie down on the bed for days?!" "

When I was a child, I always said "I'll do it myself." And after 35 years later, my daughter says "I'll do it myself." every day.
What kind of DNA did she inherit from me? I'm so sure there must be a DNA or a genome which is in charge of stubbornness.
I keenly feel the wonders of ties of blood. I guess I am held responsible for my daughter's behavior. Yes, that responsibility might be called Product Liability, I think.

My daughter is so stubborn. She wouldn't change her mind so easily. She really likes doing everything as planned.

Every morning, she is supposed to wake up her father. When she can wake him up successfully, she is so satisfied, but if she can't wake him up...

One day, she asked me, "What time is it now, Mom?" "It's 7:40. It's time for Dad to wake up. Go to the bedroom and wake him up, honey," I replied.
"Sure!" She rushed into the bedroom but she freezed. After a few second, she cried, "Dad is not lying on the bed!"
Contrary to his normal custom, he'd already got up that morning. He was changing his clothes in the walk-in closet.

When she saw him changing his clothes, her shoulders started to be shaken with sobs. She cried and said, "I was going to wake him up. I was supposed to shake his belly, kiss his cheek and say, "The time is 7:40. You have to get up, Dad! You'll be late for work!" But I couldn't... I AM SO SAD!!"

Her father is so weak in her tearful entreaty. He had to lie down on his bed again with his suits on. I said under my breath, "You spoil your daughter with indulgence! Don't you know the proverb "Spare the rod and spoil the child." Huh?"

In fact, my husband & I know that she is overacting too much. Actually, she is not so sad & depressed as she appears to be. She can cry so easily. It doesn't take any more than a few pico-seconds to see her tears. About 20% of her tears is made of her sorrow, but other part is just H2O, I suppose.

She is just an actress. An actress with excellent acting skills. (Sometimes I think every woman is a natural-born actress, though.)

Is there any possibility that she'll become a child star...? Just kidding. Forget my nonsense.
But it's not such a bad idea to live as a stage mother in the later stage of my life.

Let's resume where we left off. This entry is continued from the article How come boys love beetles?

The task was... to nip a long horn of a Hercules beetle (ヘラクレスオオカブト) with the fingers of your left hand, and at the same time, to wrap a big larva of a Hercules beetle in the palm of your right hand.
Both the adult beetle and the larva were incredibly big! I was afraid my son might hesitate to do it. But contrary to my expectation, my son was brave, really brave. He tried it without hesitation and completed his task successfully.
And surprisingly, my daughter, who is a 3-year-old girl (!), wanted to do the same thing that her brother did. And MORE surprisingly, she completed her task, too!

"Now, you are a master of Beetle-logy. I have nothing to teach you," Dr. Beetle said. My son & daughter looked so proud of themselves. I was so prond of my children, of course. Well done, my dears!!

When we started to leave, Dr. Beetle said, "Moms & Dads also have to take the final exam. You adults have to wrap a big larva in each palm, which means that you have two larvae in both hands!"
I couldn't believe what he said. But I had to show "parent's dignity" to our children. I was between a rock and a hard place. Or rather, in this case, I was between a larva and a soft-and-gooey place. (Oh, God!)
My husband and I timidly & reluctantly did the task Dr. Beetle gave to us. To my surprise, my husband said to me, "I really love adult beetles but I don't like larvae so much. 'Cause those are so gooey and I feel uncomfortable." Until then, until when I saw him frown, I had known nothing about the fact that he is weak in touching larvae.

When we completed our tasks, my son said, "You did it! I knew you could do it!" I was relieved & satisfied, and get a little bit interested in those beetles... maybe.