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Royal wedding...as it should be...

4/28/2011

I wish THIS was the royal wedding on TV tonight...

This is a TV commercial for the British mobile phone company T-Mobile and it has been the most popular of all their commercials.
A few years ago in the US a couple entered the church for their wedding and did a rap dance. The video of that was on YouTube, and now wedding entrance dances are very popular in many Western countries.
So this Tv commercial made everyone laugh. The actors are called "look-a-likes" and in the Uk many look-a-likes can work a lot in commercials/pop videos/supermarket opening ceremonies etc I think the Camilla look-alike is particularly good.
Nobody gets offended by this kind of commercial - and I am 100% sure the royal family enjoyed it themselves. Very different from Japan!

And here is a video about the making of the CM; interviews with the actors and director etc. It looks fun!

Me? Tonight? Watching the wedding on 4 hours of NHK?
No way! I think I'll go see a movie.

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Fainting!

4/26/2011

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Do you know this relaxing beauty treatment?

おがくず　in Japanese, maybe Wood Chip Sauna in English.

I love it. I started going about two years ago when my knee was injured and I hoped that the heat would help my knee joint AND that I would have a place to relax and escape home and family problems.

Usually I go to a salon in Odori called Sakura.

I used to go about once a week, but recently I was too busy.

Yesterday I slipped in for an hour of relaxation.

oh NO!

I stayed in the sauna my usual 20 minutes and had a face pack. I felt very hot, got hotter and hotter. In the shower I started feeling dizzy. In the changing room I sat down and the room started spinning.

I managed to walk to the reception desk and lounge - and told the staff "memai! memai!", and just as my legs felt really heavy...the staff pushed me into a massage chair and my eyesight and body felt crazy!!

I almost fainted/blacked out.

LOTS of cold, icy towels on my head and neck brought my body temperature down again and after 20 mins I was ok to stand. I came home very gently.

I think/hope it was just the heat. Woodchips create a lot of natural heat and maybe it was too much. I haven't fainted for years. If I faint again I will go to a doctor.

Have you ever fainted?

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Thankyou!

4/25/2011

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Thankyou for your donations to the Japan Red Cross Tohoku Appeal.
I took my Walkathon sponsor money to the post office - Y32,000!

I hope it makes a meaningful difference to people's lives in Tohohu.
Thankyou everyone.

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Walkathon success in the newspaper.

4/19/2011

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The sponsored walk I joined on Sunday, which raised over Y1,200,000 for the Japanese Red Cross, was featured in the Hokkaido Newspaper yesterday.

Our goal for the day was for everyone to walk enough kilometers to reach from Eniwa to Sendai, but we didn't quite reach that...maybe Iwate?

Here is the Hokkaido Shimbun story about the event.
Y1,200,000 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Amazing.

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ONE MILLION YEN FOR TOHOKU!

4/17/2011

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Walkathon - Eniwa to Sendai - made Y1,200,000 for the Japanese Red Cross!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thankyou!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

105 people walked
Aged 1- to 70 plus.
Longest distance by an adult - 30 km.
Longest distance by a child - 14 km - by a 7 and 10 year old.
Youngest child to walk 10 km - FOUR years old!!!
Youngest child to walk 6 km - SIX years old!
23 people walked 10 km!!!!

and sponsor promised money?
Y1,200,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AMAZING!

I did 2 km and the knee is ok. Yujiro did 10 km. It was a fun, fun day!
This is why sponsored events are a great idea - the efforts of 105 people, supported by hundreds of sponsors have raised an amazing amount of money!!!!

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THIS is why I am walking for Sendai...

4/14/2011

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This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.

This is why I am walking in the Walkathon on Sunday in Eniwa.

I've watched so many videos of the tsunami hitting towns on March 11th.　But this one is the most horrifying I've seen yet.

Please sponsor me and help victims of this terrible disaster.
All the money raised on Sunday will be given to the Japanese Red Cross. You can sponsor me per km or a total. I will only be trying to do 2 km, because my knee is not so strong.
I already have sponsors from England and Australia - and old students who read this blog or Okaasanandme blog.
Thankyou everyone.

This video is quite shocking because you can see people running for their lives and screaming.
Tsunami video

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Will you sponsor me?

4/5/2011

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"Will you sponsor me to walk 2 km in a charity event to raise money for Tohoku?"

Sunday April 17th I will be trying to walk 2 km on an indoor sports track in Eniwa.
If I successfully walk 2 km sponsors (you?!) will donate some money to the Japanese Red Cross for its disaster area work in Tohoku.
This is a very common charity event style in England. Sponsored walk. Sponsored swim. Sponsored parachute jump.
People set themselves a challenge, Friends and family, work colleagues etc promise to pay money if they are successful - and after the event they donate money to the named charity.

Vicky Kobayashi is a British teacher who lives in Eniwa. She had the idea for this event as a community way to raise funds for Tohoku.
April 17th we will all be meeting at a sports hall in Eniwa and many people will be walking different distances - the total is aiming to make 715 km which is the distance from Eniwa to Sendai.
Vicky's husband is a Self Defence Force Member working now in Sendai.

Here is the Walkathon website.
Do you want to join in?
I have Sponsor Papers and lots of information.

You can help in 2 ways:

1) Join the walk on April 17th, get a sponsor form from me, tell Vicky you are coming and start collecting sponsor names on your paper.
or
2) Sponsor me to do 2 km. You can choose to sponsor me per kilometer or for the total. e.g. Y300 per kilometer = 2 kilometers = Y600. Or Y600 if I do 2 km ok.

Of course YOU decide how much to sponsor. One friend in England is promising me Y2,000 per kilometer. Another person in Tokyo is promising Y500 per kilometer.

After a (hopefully!) complete the walk I will come and collect the money from you and send it all to the Red Cross for disaster relief work in Tohoku.

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First weekend off...and....

4/2/2011

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Aghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is my first official weekend off work for about 17 years.
And I home sick with a cold.

Not fair!
I have always worked Saturdays in Japan because it is a popular day for English classes. But after my illness last year I decided to rethink my life and give myself two days off together to really relax, meet friends, go away for the weekend etc etc.

So. I have asked the Saturday students to change to other days of the week. Imagine will now be open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

All great.
Until Thursday afternoon: the slight cough became a big cough and my temperature went crazy. I felt cold and hot all at the same time. I went home to bed.
Cancelled Friday classes. Stayed in bed. On the sofa. Back in bed. Ate a little. Drank water. Slept a lot.

Maybe...beginning to feel better now...maybe.....

I hope NEXT weekend is better!!

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