What I need is...

Self confidence is the key to success. The key to self confidence is preparation.

Twilight

The sun sets late these days.

A great day

It was truly an awesome day!

After inoculation of bacteria in the morning I went out to Tenjin to buy some stuff. I found a nice pen case and good color pens and then I looked for a dermatological clinic. It was not like I made up my mind after careful consideration, but I just dropped by in that clinic. I had my ears pierced there!! I was afraid of pain, and almost went back just after I came in to that waiting room.

It took less than 5 minutes. The nurse marked the location of piercing, and then I heard the snap. It was painful at that moment, but bearable. The second one was more painful because you already know that the pain will come once again and get nervous. I tried not to look at the equipment that she was holding, but I should have observed it more carefully (but it looked like a stapler).

My first earrings are with green stones, made of titanium, which is thought to cause little metal allergy. Even though it still feels strange in my ears and it is difficult to wash my hair, I am really excited and happy. Thinking what kind of earrings will look good on me... I now have much much more choice compared when I had some non-pierced earrings.

Coming back to the lab, I finished preparing the competent cells at 10:30. I encountered 2 friends when we were in high school. I was very surprised because I do not see them so often (almost not at all). They looked fine and busy.

It was a long day, but still very very nice.

Purchasing a car

Before I start working, I have to buy a car because my workplace is located in a super-country. I spent a lot of time browsing websites of car companies.

To make my ends meet, I consider the fuel efficiency very important. I'm thinking about buying a yellow plate because the automobile tax, safety inspection fee and car insurance premiums are less expensive than those of white plates. However, yellow plates are not so durable or powerful compared to white plates.

It is not a good idea to start working with a lot of debts so I will probably buy a second hand car. Hopefully I want to have a pale green, good looking (like "beelte" of VW) car with great fuel efficiency and durability. I want the driver's seat and the passenger's seat to be connected so that the car looks more spacious.

英語でしゃべらナイト

昨日、NHKの英語でしゃべらナイトの公開収録が病院キャンパスで行われたので研究室の8人で参加した。抽選だったけど、4人当たって私も観に行くことができた！　パックンや押切もえさんを肉眼で見られてよかった。英語は…おまけみたいな感じで、そこまで重視されてないかもしれない…バラエティ番組に近い気がする。でも、面白かった。ずっと笑っていた。3月19日夜10:45から放送だったと思います。

クイズの正解数が多かった人5人が、ステージに上がって英語で自己紹介をしていた！すごい経験…。英語で自己紹介って…簡単なようで難しい。単に所属と名前を述べるだけではなくて、ひとを惹きつけないといけないから。友達と会うときなのか、公的な場なのかによって挨拶を使い分ける必要もあるなぁ。

公開収録の前に、一時間ほど大学生10人とNHK広報部の人たちが話し合う「ふれあいミーティング」というのにも参加した。これは内内のもので、NHKの視聴率を確保するために若者にどうやってNHKの番組の魅力をアピールすればよいか、どのような番組を作ればいいか、というテーマだった。出た意見で大半のものはやはり、テレビがインターネットに凌駕されつつあるという実情だ。NHKの人も仰っていたが、人々はインターネットで動画を見るようになっているのであって、映像離れが進んでいるわけではない。テレビ離れが進んでいるのだ。それは私も同感である。インターネットのほうが、画像も豊富だし、見たいものを見たいときに見られるし、録画などしなくても何度でも見られる。CNNのニュースなど海外放送は、インターネットでないと見られない。はっきりいってしまえば、テレビよりインターネットのほうがよっぽど便利だ。

だからといってNHKの存在意義が薄まるかといえばそうではない。民間放送局に比べてNHKの番組は質が良いし、根拠も明確で信頼性が高い。教養番組や語学、教育番組など民間放送では採算の取れないものでも放送できる。緊急時に頼りにするのもやはりNHKである。どのスポンサーにも左右されない公共放送NHKは、なくてはならない。したがって、その財源となる受信料は支払わなければならない。見ると見ないとにかかわらず。税金みたいなものだ、と私は思う。

だから、国民が税金の使い道を厳しく監視するように、支払われた受信料がちゃんと自分たちのニーズを満たす番組になっているかを監視することも必要である。その指標が視聴率なのだから、NHKの視聴率の低下は由々しきことである。若者に見てもらうにはどうしたら良いのか…。私はもっとドキュメンタリーや語学番組を増やしてほしい。ドキュメンタリーは毎日決まった時間にあるわけではないので、いつどんな内容の番組があるのかよくわからず、機会を逸してしまう。語学番組はもう少し内容豊富でレベルの高いものがほしい。それこそ、CNNのニュースや番組を流すだけでも十分だ。あとは海外ドラマがもっと観たい。フルハウスは大好きだったのに…。その時歴史は動いたも好きだったのに。などと思う。

あまり、若者目線を意識しすぎると50代以上の視聴者に受けがよくないのだそうだ。NHKは竜馬の宣伝ばかりして！と言われるらしい。だから、そのような絶対に見てくれる人の気持ちも大事にしないといけない。実に難しいだろうなと思う。その上、テレビを見ない若者に訴えかけるためにはテレビ以外の広告媒体を考えなければいけない。しかしながら、受信料は広告を出すために集めているのではなく、そんな余裕はない。大きなジレンマである。

いろいろ考えさせられたふれあいミーティングでした…。

The problem is...

I'm a bit sad seeing other undergrads setting the roles they will be in charge of next year and I won't be with them.... It is not the only thing, though.

I love my study now and found that my advisee is one of the pioneer of this GBAP field we are working on. It was so fortunate for me to get the opportunity to work for him and to be taught by him. He and many ex-students publish a lot of articles year after year and it seems that I would probably also be able to publish something if I continue this work for 2 more years.

Pathogenicity-related diseases attracts me much more than studies of alcohol or bio fermentation. But it took me almost a year to like the field of my current research. I need changes some time, and I love them, but it is also true that it takes some time to get used to it and start to like it.

It would be a great honor if I could get some results (actually I think we are almost there) and contribute to sum up the findings into an article. I simply wonder... did I throw away a big chance?

It might have been a little bit early to make the decision to start working even though I was tired of being a university student, financially dependent on my parents. When the time I decided to start job-hunting, I was wondering what I was doing. I attended classes every day where some teachers are not so good at teaching and had experimental classes, wrote some papers, took exams and had 2-month-holiday twice a year. I thought I was wasting one third of a year and I felt sorry for my parents paying the tuition every semester. It just seemed to be the time to start working, doing something with what I have learned.

But now, things have changed. I have plenty of chances to do something with the knowledge I have got (still fighting, though). I have my own reserch objective which nobody else are doing. It is hard, but quite worth trying and worth dedicating myself. If only I had a little more patience, I would have chosen to proceed to the masters' course. I'm not saying that I'm going to waste 2 months from now on because of the shortage of time, but... I only wish, though.

Nobody knows, however, what the future would be. I really have to establish something wherever I am. I want some working experience, which will help me to be a better scientist, a microbiologist (fluent in English of course). I know I should stick to my first decision setting aside my emotions. I think I have got cold feet. Just taking to myself.

Fingerprints

One of my friends is going to apply for the Internet connection and I helped him a little bit. While faxing some document we just had a short talk about security (since his passport caught my attention).

When a foreigner enters Japan, s/he must provide his fingerprint of his both hand and photograph of his face. Some people are against it because it is discriminative and it means somewhat you are treated or considered to be a potential criminal. I asked him if it is OK for him and how he feels about it. He said it is alright because security is the priority and it is helpful to keep the flights safe.

I have the same opinion with him too. In terms of security, it is reasonable to offer fingerprints and a photograph. I did the same thing when I enter the US and I did not feel bad about it. I prefer to have my trip safe. At present for many complicated reasons it is important to secure entry to the country so we have no choice.

"No problem as long as they are not laughing at my face in the picture", he added, shrugging his shoulders.

Snow again

I have just started wondering... am I really in Fukuoka? Southern part of Japan? It was a great opportunity of practicing photography. It is really fun to choose which one to take and how to get it in the frame.

Snowfall

We had snowstorm in Fukuoka, and it was soooo cold outside. Even so, we were still very excited and went out to enjoy.

Santa from Hokkaido

Here came Santa today! One of the researchers in our lab, who is from Hokkaido, came back with his Boston bag filled with souvenirs. It was literally piles of souvenirs. He gave us 3 boxes of potatoes in Autumn and this time he brought expensive sweets... All of them looked so nice and it took a lot of time to distribute them to everybody. We thank him a lot!

I want to visit Hokkaido some day...

BBQ

We also grilled some seafood on the grilling net in a small house with a built-in heath. Turban shells, crab meat, mochi, sweet potatoes... Everything was so hot and so nice! I didn't expect that we can actually enjoy BBQ in winter.

Dinner in Oita

During the winter holiday, my family prepared a lot of dishes. One of the interesting one is the meat of wild boar that my grandfather shot in the mountain. The meat is rather oily because it has a thick layer of fat that protects it against the cold weather. The texture of the muscle is harder than that of domesticated pigs. My sister likes it so much that she ate it every time for dinner.

2010

2010 has just begun and it is a good time to make a new year's resolution.

I watched the CNN video featuring on "How to keep the new year's resolution throughout the year". According to the experts, three out of four people who make new year's resolutions will eventually break them. Here are some tips to keep it.

1. Set a small, specific goals.

2. Write down your resolutions and the strategy to keep them.

3. Spread the words. Let the people know what you want to achieve so that they can help you.

They also recommended to stick the notes somewhere for example to the fridge so that you can see it on a regular bases.

I have also made a few personal commitment for this year and will write them down so that I can keep them.

1. Get my ears pierced in February

2. Start preparing earlier when doing work

3. Read (or get, at least) 5 books a month

I would like my friends to ask me "Are you still keeping your new year's resolution?"

Wish you a great year ahead.