Dance party

こちらトーランス市のリクリエーション・センター。年に数回、市が市内の全ミドルスクールの学生のために、ダンス・パーティーを開催してくれる。この金曜日がその日。息子も１週間前から楽しみにしたのだけど、当日になり、サイエンスの宿題に提出し忘れがあるうえ、翌日土曜の日本語学校の宿題もテスト勉強も終わっていないことが判明し、あわや外出不可令が出そうだったけれど、パーティー開始寸前に父上さまより辛うじて許可がおり、7:30に友達と会場に向かう。会場前は長蛇の列。15ドルの入場料で9:30まで。楽しいのだろうねえ。

This is the recreation center of city of Torrance. Every couple months, the city throws a dance party for students in the middle schools throughout the city. This Friday they had it. My son has been looking forward to it for a week, but it turned out on this day that he has a missing science assignment and also is not done with the Japanese School assignment for the next day. He was almost banned from the party by his dad. He barely got the permission to go at the dad's mercy 30 minutes before the party started, I dropped him and his friend at the venue. There was already a long waiting line to get in. $15 admission. Big excitement...

After school incident

学校が終わってお迎えのとき、いつものごとくお母さんたちと立ち話。子どもたちは校庭を走り回って遊んでいた。ところがいつの間にかモメごとに発展したらしい、ものすごい形相で逃げてくる娘。それをこれまたものすごい形相で追う男の子。男の子はものすごく怒っていて、私の前に逃げ込んだ娘を羽交い絞めにする。苦しかったらしくすごい勢いで泣き始めた娘。とりあえず引き離そうと思い、大泣きの娘の手を引いて帰宅。話を聞いてみれば、ジャケットを振り回して遊んでいた娘に男の子が近づき、ジャケットの端が当たったらしい。かなり痛かったのだろう。わざとやったと思ったらしい。結局双方とも家に戻って親が話をきき、双方ともに反省し、男の子がわざわざあやまりにきてくれた。きっと言いたくなかったのだろう、腹話術師のように唇をうごかさないで「ごめん」　娘も「ごめん」　ということで一件落着だけど、しかしながらあのすごい形相で逃げてきたときの娘の顔。あんな顔はじめてみたけど、あの切羽つまった顔は、、、まぎれもなくおじいちゃん（主人のほうの）の顔！10年ほど前に、旅館で腕時計が盗まれたと大騒ぎして探し回っていたときの切羽詰ったおじいちゃんの顔を思い出す（結局、腕時計はおじいちゃんが自分で金庫にしまったのを忘れていた）。血は争えないねえ。

After school at pick-up time, we mothers got into chatting as usual. Kids were running around on the grass as usual. Somehow they got into an incident however, and I saw my daughter running toward me. She seemed really scared and desperate. After her was this boy, who also looked desperate and angry, running like crazy. She fell on the ground at my feet and he truckled her with his arms around her shoulders. She bursted out crying. Without knowing exactly what happened, I took her hand and headed home, since that choice seems the best at the moment. After she calmed down, she started to explain. She was spinning with her jacket and the tip of it hit the boy. It must have been really painful, because he was really mad. His mother also talked to him at home, and he came over afterwords to apologize. He apologized, and so did she, and now things are cool. But after all this ordeal, I was thinking of something else. That is the desperate look on her face when she was running away. The face reminded me exactly.... of her grand father (on my husband's side). That expression on her face was exactly the one I remember when the grandpa was desperately looking for his watch that he believed he got stolen in a hotel room during the family vacation almost 10 years ago (the watch was later found in a safe in the room, which he put there himself).

I need iron.

昨日は一日貧血気味で伏しておりました。血が足りないとはよく言ったもので、貧血だと体がたる～くて眠~くて何もする気にならない。数年前に大きな手術をして随分輸血を受けたのだけど、それ以来時折貧血になることがありまして。。。ずっと鉄剤を飲んでいたのだけど、手持ちが切れてからこのところ飲まないでいたのがよくなかった。この鉄剤、パパが薬局に走って買ってきてくれました。

I was in bed all day yesterday. I knew it was anemia because I felt soo00 tired and sleepy as I usually do when anemic. I had a pretty big surgery a few years ago, and since then I have these symptoms once in a while. I was on iron supplement, but it's been a while since I ran out of the last package. My husband ran to a nearby drugstore and got this bottle for me. I should be feeling ok in a day or two.

Stolen bike

学校帰りに息子がお友達のうちに遊びに行った。息子の自転車にお友達が乗りアパートに着いたとき、ちゃんとチェーンロックを掛けて置いておいたのに、いざ帰るときになったら自転車もロックもヘルメットもきれいさっぱりなくなっていた。何日か歩きで通学していたけれども、あまりに時間がかかるのでいやだという。仕方なくパパの自転車で通学する息子。写真を撮るよといっているのに、さっさと言ってしまうんだから。。パパの自転車はひとまわり大きいはずだったのに、いつの間にか乗れるようになっていたよ。

When our son went to his frined's house after school the other day, he got his bike stolen. His friend rode it to the apartment, locked it with the key chain and left it on the lot. When our son came down to the lot to go home, the bike, lock and even helmet were nowhere to be seen. He thus walked to school for a couple days after the incident, but decided it took so long (30 minutes one way). So he decided to ride his dad's bike. I tried to take a picture with him on it, but he of course did not pose for me. Dad's bike is a bit bigger than his, but he has grown to be the right size for the bike.

Peach tree

裏庭にオレンジの木とキンカンの木があるのは知っていたのだけど、最近なにやらまた違った実がなっているのを発見。この真ん中の木。

We knew that we have an orange tree and a kumquat tree in the backyard, but recently found another fruit tree. It's the middle one in the picture.



これは桃？さわってみたらまだちょっと硬いのでそのままにしておいた。もうちょっとしたら食べてみよう。

It seems like a peach tree. It is not completely ripe yet, so we will make the harvest sometime next week.

New tires

車のタイヤを換えました。去年引越しで大陸横断して以来すいぶんと擦り減っていたので、いつか換えようと思いつつはや10ヶ月。便利な世の中で、オンラインで車種と年を入力すると該当のタイヤがずらっと出てきて、気に入ったタイヤを選んで、来店の日時を指定すると、あとは行くだけ。一本157ドル。交換代が一本15ドル。古いタイヤの廃棄代が７ドル。

My car got new tires. I have been thinking of changing tires since we drove across the continent last year for the big move. It's been already 10 months, ha! I found this site online, entered the car make and the year, and it returns all the tires that work on my car. I select the tire I like and made the appointment by selecting the date and time on the same site. Then you just go. In one hour, you are done. I paid $157 per tire and $15 installation each. It wasn't bad.

Bee sting

放課後、学校の校庭で遊んでいた娘が「ギャー!」　何かと思えばハチに刺されたのだそう。本当によくハチに刺される子で、これでさされるのは５回目。２年に１回のペースでさされていることになる。90歳まで生きるとすると45回さされるわけ？？すぐ針をとってあげようと思うのに、いつものことで「痛いから触るな」というので、そのまま家に帰ってくる。帰る道でずっと針を観察していた彼女、結局ピンセットで自分で針を抜きました。

I heard her scream, when my daughter and her friend were playing in the school yard after school. It turned out to be that she got a bee sting. She is a bee kind of person, and this is her 5th bee sting. It translates one every two years. So if she lives to be 90, she will be stung 45 times total! I tried to get the needle out on the spot but she refused in panic as usual. She came home with it and took it out with a tweezers herself at home.