Monthly Archives: December 2010

Back to Holidays

Posted on December 31, 2010 by Muravej

I worked all night with Maya-san till morning. Katya drove me and Maya-san to Shimosuwa.  We had a walk around Lake Suwa. Maya-san stays with my parents.  Katya and I arrived at Karuizawa Mura Hotel. We are going out to town in the evening.  We will stay in Karuizawa for a couple of days.

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Report for my ex-student finished

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Muravej

I worked in the morning and finished with a report for the products my ex-student’s company produces.  Their technology is based on a historical, steady one, and they modified it in a modern chemical manner. I understood the importance and prepared the report with a scientific view point as well as with an up-to-date engineering technology.  Important products can be only fabricated with their methodology. I sent it right now!

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Slow Holiday

Posted on December 29, 2010 by Muravej

We stayed up late.  Katya still had a cold.  I took Maya-san for a walk, and Katya and I went out to take breakfast at Gusto. Maya-san enjoyed a trash party while we were out. Then I was working and Katya took a rest. For a late lunch, we went to Bamiyan, a Chinese restaurant. Maya-san enjoyed a trash party while we were out.  She was scolded twice in one day. Maya-san is the one who really wants to enjoy the holiday together.

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Moped

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Muravej

I noticed the existence of “a motor bike with pedals” first time in my life in a French movie, “Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain“.  Many people like the movie; for me, the movie was not that fascinating (I did not like the camera angles), but I liked the motor bike, which I thought had been annihilated.  I found the motor bike is called “moped”. We used to make a lot of mopeds in Japan, too, but they are not manufactured any more. When I arrived in Kofu four years ago, I saw one moped in a Vespa shop.  The moped, Piaggio Ciao,  looked very nice, and I bought it.  It … Continue reading →

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Work again before another break

Posted on December 27, 2010 by Muravej

Officially, I am on vacation, but I started working again. It is good to work on a holiday, because tasks are not increasing but only decreasing. And no meetings.  I am less stressed today. I will now start preparing a document of the products fabricated in my ex-student’s firm.  It is an enjoyable work.

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First Ski This Season

Posted on December 26, 2010 by Muravej

We had a buffet breakfast. Then we checked out the hotel and went out for skiing at “Pilatus Tateshina Ski Resort“.  This is our first ski this season. Katya skied down the hill only once because of the icy slope.  I did four times. We came back to my parents’ to meet Maya-san.  She welcomed us. I drove Smart to Kofu. Maya-san is happy on the legless chair in our apartment.

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Christmas in Tateshina

Posted on December 25, 2010 by Muravej

After leaving Maya-san at my parents’ in Shimosuwa, Katya and I headed for Tateshina.  It was snowing, and on the way to the hotel, I had to put chains on the front tires. We arrived at XIV Tateshina, our favorite hotel, at 4 PM. Room was large enough for two of us. It was snowing quietly. In the room, we had a bottle of French cidre. I then took a natural spa, while Katya was taking a rest. In the evening, we went out for a Chinese restaurant in the hotel, Suiyo,  around 8 PM (Katya took the photo). It was a fancy Chinese menu. Katya did not take the … Continue reading →

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Christmas Eve – Sort of

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Muravej

Katya is Orthodox, whose Christmas is January 7th, and I am not Christian.  Besides, today is not a holiday in Japan. It was (officially) the last day before the holidays in our institute, so all the members, professors, researchers, students, and office workers, cleaned rooms, buildings, yards, parking lots, and so on.  This is the common way of ending a year in offices in Japan after the Year-End party. For dinner, Katya made Borscht. She used Sauerkraut for the first time in Japan. Katya did not care about Borscht, but she said she felt like making it on a winter day like today. My colleague brought us a typical Hawaiian … Continue reading →

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Christmas Cards

Posted on December 23, 2010 by Muravej

Today’s Emperor’s Birthday.  In the afternoon, I came back home from the office and took Maya-san for a walk with Katya to Takeda Shrine. Trees are naked. Maya-san started to dig a hole.  Shadows were long even at 2:30 PM. In the evening, we went out to play tennis. We wanted to try a clay court, but we found out they are out of order till next year.  So we went to play on the omni court again,  this time from 7 to 9 PM.  The temperature was about 10 C.  Light was bright. It was a good condition for tennis. Two Christmas cards have arrived: one from Russia from … Continue reading →

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Year-End Party

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Muravej

Before the winter vacation comes, we had a year-end party this evening of all the members of the institute, namely 90 members including teachers, researchers, students, and office workers.  Everybody got together. The party was held in a banquet room in a hotel. A bus was reserved from the institute to the hotel, although I rode my Lamborghini. It was a big dinner over drinks; the general idea of the party is forget bad things that happened during the year. I have not told anybody about my blog except the American professor, so I just show you foods served, not people present. Many students were there, so the quantity was … Continue reading →

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