I took a quick look into the tableware cabinet glass to see if Riri was there. She wasn’t. Afraid of mom, I guess.
Dad staggered into the living room, said good morning. He didn’t say much after that. He just sat there, ate his breakfast quickly. Riku and I didn’t bother to ask him whether he’d like to play or do stuff with us. We knew he’d say “not now kids.” Anyway, just like on most Sundays, dad went right back to the bedroom after breakfast.
I took my time eating the fish, rice, miso soup and everything else that was served.
Riku finished his food dumped the dishes in the sink and fled the house. Through the window I could see the weather outside was dreamlike gorgeous. I have no doubt Riku was heading to Masaya Motoyama’s house where he’d meet up with a bunch of other kids from his class. They’d ride their bikes along the river and probably try to catch some fish or crabs. I wish I could go with them, but that wouldn’t happen. They wouldn’t want to hang out with a fourth grade chick. That’s what they call us.
stagger よろよろする
dump (中身)を放り出す、(不要なもの)を投げ捨てる
flee 〜から逃げる
hang out つるむ、ぶらぶらする、遊ぶ
I threw the mirror in the general direction of Riku’s bed and ran downstairs. I just couldn’t take any more of what Riri was telling me. “Good morning mom.” I said. Mom was setting the table for breakfast. Riku was watching TV still in his jammies. “Give me a hand Mari chan, will you?” Mom said, handing me a little wooden box full of pairs of chopsticks. She wanted me to place a pair of chopsticks by the miso soup bowls she’d already set on the table. “You’re not getting a scrap of this delicious breakfast before you change from your pajamas. I’d go change and brush my teeth this very minute if I were you,” mom said to Riku. Riku obliged after a few minutes. He flew upstairs and he was back to the dining area ready for the first meal of the day in what appeared to be three or four minutes! I don’t know how he does it but Riku is pretty fast at changing form one set of clothes into another. Could be because he carelessly drops whatever he’s been wearing on the floor.
couldn’t take 聞けなかった
give someone a hand (人) に手を貸す、手伝う
a scrap of (否定文で) わずかの〜
oblige 願いを聞き入れる
carelessly 不注意に、ぞんざいに
Hi everyone, as I may have mentioned once or twice I’m trying to get people interested in joining the Fukuoka Marathon with me and so far we have 10 people taking part.
皆さんどうも。1度か2度触れたかもしれませんが、私、皆さんに一緒に福岡マラソンに参加するのに興味を持っていただこうとしているところでして、今までのところ10名の方に参加いただくことになっています。
Of course taking on a full marathon is a big commitment, so if you think that is too much why not try the fun run instead?
I will of course be training by myself so if anyone ever feels like joining me at 6:30 by Muromi river let me know but I won’t be holding my breath. I thought it would be nice if we could get some group training on the go too so I will be in Ohori park this Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m for anyone who is interested. My schedule is pretty full but I’ll always let you know in advance when I can make some time at the weekends.
もちろん、フルマラソンへの参加はとても大変なことです。なので、もしあまりにも大変だとお思いでしたら、代わりにファンランへの参加はいかがでしょう？
無論私は自分で練習をするつもりでして、室見川そば、 (午前) 6時30分からの私の練習に、もしどなたか加わりたければお知らせを、まあ、私が黙ってはいないでしょうけど。グループでの練習もいつもできたらいいなと思いますので、今週は土曜午前11時30分、大濠公園に私はいます。興味のある方はどなたでも加わって下さいね。私のスケジュールはかなりぎっしりですけれど、週末に時間が取れるときは必ず前もってお知らせします。
Of course you don’t have to join the marathon to come and train in the park with us, if you just feel like shedding a few kilos or getting in shape for the summer you are of course more than welcome.
もちろん、一緒に練習しに来るためには、必ずしもマラソンに参加する必要はなく、ただ何キロか体重を落としたい、あるいは夏に向けて体型を整えたいとお思いの方も大歓迎です。
For anyone who is really thinking of running the marathon in November I’d like it if we were connected by the Nike running application which you can download for free on your smartphone. That way we can chart each other’s progress and as I learned from last year competition (namely Tim) is a great motivator.
11月のマラソンで走ることを本気でお考えの方とは、スマートフォンに無料ダウンロードできる、ナイキのランナー用アプリでつながれたらいいなと思います。そうすれば互いの上達をグラフで見ることができ、去年の競争 (つまりティムと) で学べたんですが、これはすごくいい動機づけになります。
It may seem early but it took me ages to get in shape last year so I think the sooner the better. The application period is from the 18th of April to the 23rd of May.
まだ早いように思われるかもしれませんが、去年は体作りをするのにかなり長い時間がかかりましたので、早いに越したことはないと思います。お申し込みの受け付けは、4月18日から5月23日までです。
So if you have any questions please get in touch.
ということで、もしご質問があれば、どうぞご連絡を。
A few years back when I was thinking of my professional future, I realised that since I’ll probably never work full time for a Japanese company (for various reasons), I’d probably have to start my own business, if I wanted to have any chance of earning a semi-good living.
自分の将来のキャリア像を模索していた遡ること数年前、自分はおそらく日本企業で正社員として働くことは絶対にないだろうから (理由はいろいろありますが)、もしそこそこの暮らしを何とかしていきたいなら、多分起業しないといけないだろうな、ということに気づきました。
One of my not so fantastic ideas was to buy a big fish tank and start breeding lobsters because….hmmm… everyone loves lobsters. My initial plan was to buy two lobsters, a male and a female and once they mate, they’ll probably have millions of babies and when their babies grow up, worst case scenario, I can be eating lobsters for the rest of my life.
大してイケてないビジネスのアイデアとして1つ思いついたのは、大きな水槽を買ってロブスターを繁殖させることで、というのは…えーっと、みんなロブスターが大好きだからです。最初は、オスとメス2匹のロブスターを買って、つがいになればおそらく子供がたくさん生まれて、それが成長したら、最悪ひょっとすると一生ロブスターを食べることになるかも…という計画でした。
Before getting my great new business started, I started doing some research on lobsters. My initial research entailed asking all my students if they know how long it takes for lobsters to mate; for which I mostly received blank stares from lovely people probably thinking. “Mate, we are here to study English and not answer to your stupid questions!!”
この素晴らしくイケてる (?) ビジネスを始めるにあたり、ロブスターに関する調査から取りかかりました。まず、私の生徒全員に、ロブスターがつがいになるにはどのくらいの時間がかかるか知っているか、と尋ねることになりましたが、たいていぽかんとした眼差しが返ってきまして、おそらく素敵な皆さんはこう考えていたのだと思います。「おい、私らは英語の勉強をしに来てるのであって、あなたのアホな質問に答えに来てるわけじゃないんですけど!!」
After doing some actual research I found out that they eat each other (So do hamsters!!) which is one reason that breeding is not very profitable. Thus, it is unfortunately very unlikely that my dream of a “Kensington Lobster Farm” will ever come to fruition.
ちゃんと実際に調査を進めた後で分かったのは、ロブスターは共食いをし (ハムスターもですけどね!!) 、そういうこともあって、繁殖させてもあまりもうからないということです。ゆえに、残念ながら、夢の「ケンジントン・ロブスター養殖場」実現の可能性はかなり低いということになりました。
In any case, here are some other fun facts regarding lobsters.
いちおう、ロブスターに関するその他おもしろい事実をここで紹介しましょう。
1. Lobsters aren’t red. They turn red when cooked, but in nature they can be green or yellow or even bright blue.
ロブスターの体は赤くありません。火を通すと赤くなりますが、基本、体の色は緑や黄色、あるいは鮮やかな青でさえあったりします。
2. Lobsters can grow up to four feet long and weigh as much as 40 pounds.
ロブスターは4フィート (約1.2m)・40ポンド (約18kg) にまで育つものもあります。
3. It is believed that lobsters can live as long as 100 years.
ロブスターの寿命は100年にもなることがあると推定されます。
4. They taste with their legs.
ロブスターは脚に味覚器官があります。
5. Once upon a time, they were the go-to prison food as they were cheap, too plentiful, and considered “tasteless.” Aaah, good times to be a criminal.
かつてロブスターは、安価で有り余るほど多く、かつ「味気ない」ものと思われていたため、獄中で供される食べ物的な扱いでした。いやー、犯罪者にはいい時代でしたね。
Here is a cool Lobster fighting video.
イケてる「闘ロブスター」の動画はこちら。
I pulled the drawer to get a comb but the first thing I reached for was the small mirror. I didn’t suppose that the girl in the bathroom mirror would also be in this small hand mirror that I keep in my vanity drawer by my bed. When I looked into the mirror, my face stared back at me. Nothing out of the ordinary. I relaxed but felt a little disappointed at the same time. I put the mirror down but I picked it up again after a couple of minutes. Nothing had changed and then… suddenly, my image vanished! I couldn’t see myself in the small hand held mirror. “Here we go again!” I said to myself. I got really nervous that I decided to put the mirror down on my bed and walked over to the window to look at the world outside the window. That world was smiling in the Sunday morning sunshine. The flowers, trees and houses in the neighborhood looked exceedingly beautiful. I wanted to quickly run downstairs to say good morning to my mom without taking another look at the mirror lying on my bed. But I found myself unable to do anything else before taking another peek at the mirror.
I nervously picked up the mirror and…Riri was there! “There you’re again.” I said after a few minutes of silence. “Looks like you’re in all the mirrors in this house. Are you stalking me?” “May be you’re the one stalking me, Mari chan,” said Riri in the mirror. Strangely we both laughed though a little nervously. I tried to relax but I couldn’t get myself to calm down. I had aheap of questions for this girl called Riri in the mirror. “Did you say you don’t live in the mirror, Riri? Are you real?” I asked. “What do you mean real? She said, not smiling this time. I’m REAL! Look she moved a little out of the way to show me “her” room. This is my room and this is my stuff.” The room looked exactly like our bedroom but without Riku’s bed. “Do you know Riku?” I asked. “Of course I know him. He’s my young brother. He’s watching TV downstairs,” she answered. “Now don’t try to be funny, Riri. I’m not amused. It appears you’ve been stalking me. You know everything about me, so you’re pretending to be me.” Riri was getting more and more upsetting. “Well, mirror girl, I said. Do you have a dad? What does he do?” “Yes, Mari chan, the mirror girl said. I have a dad. He’s a salesman and he’s sleeping right now. He usually sleeps in on Sundays. I got a mom too, if you want to know. She can be a big pain sometimes but she loves us and really takes care of the family. She’s now downstairs making breakfast.”
out of the ordinary 通常でない
disappointed がっかりした
nervous どぎまぎした
exceedingly ものすごく
a heap of 山のようにたくさんの
exactly 正確に、寸分違わずに
amused 楽しんだ、おもしろがった
pretend to … 〜しているふりをする
sleep in 朝遅くまで寝る
