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Broadcasting to an audience of three (and a goldfish)...
Comment, ramblings and musings... life through the eyes of a Japanologist...
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Friday, November 22, 2002 |
 Takedomi-kun checked our normal Friday night haunt- Mejiro- but it was full, so he came to Washibe and we went to Romantei instead. I have to say that I was happier about this- given that I was supposed to be at home sorting out my computer, it would have been very difficult to explain what I was doing biking to the centre of town, had I happened to have been seen by the chap who drove me home. Actually, drinking in Washibe has other advantages, too- for example, it's close to Poplar, which makes a post-alcohol Haagen-Dazs that much more convenient. Accordingly, we went to buy ice-cream, and then finished the evening off with a whisky at my house. I lent Takedomi-kun my bike so he didn't have to take a taxi home, and he also borrowed two DVDs. The DVDs aren't a problem, but I need my bike during the week, so I asked him to leave it at the office and give the key to the people on duty. I trust him to do this, but whether the key will find its way to me is another matter entirely...
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I'd left my keitai in my jacket pocket, so it was only when I got it out so I could take it to taiko with me that I found that two emails had arrived. One of them was from Takedomi-kun, with the title 'Tadaima!', or, in English, 'I'm back!'. The content of the mail was basically, 'I'm back, and I have some o-miyage for you, so if you're free, let's go for a drink.'
Hmmm. Taiko with people who might talk to me, but then again might not, or a pleasant pint with a good friend. A difficult decision, that. However, given that there were only five minutes until I had to be ready for taiko, I couldn't see any easy way of getting out of taiko and going for a drink instead. In the end, I decided that I could go to taiko and go for a drink, with just a little bit of cunning... I told the chap who takes me to taiko that my computer was acting oddly (serious case of tempting fate, there) and that I needed to sort it out before I went off to Matsuyama the following morning, so I needed to leave taiko early. I was prepared to take a taxi back from where we practice, but it turned out that he had to pick up his son- or something- at just the time I was planning to leave, so in the end he drove me all the way back home just after 8.30.
Yes. I do feel bad about having made excuses to get out of practice. Yes. I feel even worse about the fact that the chap who takes me to taiko was kind enough to drive me all the way back to Washibe. But it was a damn good pint in the end!
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I'd committed myself to going to taiko, a rarity for a Friday (I was under the impression that Takedomi-kun was away on training through the weekend, so wouldn't be available for our customary drink), but I had plenty of time before I had to be ready, so I used the time to make a few additions to the Breakfast Show blogroll, namely incorporating ActiveRenderer into the homepage. I think it'll take a bit of work until this is exactly how I want it, but even the initial results look very promising indeed. This really is an excellent addition to Radio.
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Having got the speech out of the way, I had nothing that desperately needed doing at work, so I took an hour off and went to get a haircut. It goes without saying that there were the same questions as ever...
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Well, the speech went better than I thought. It's not that difficult at all to speak for 25 minutes or so; in the end, not only did I speak without a full speech, I actually spoke without using my notes at all. I think that this was at least in part thanks to the fact that I knew my subject so well- after all, I was basically talking about what I do every day- but nevertheless, having been able to speak without notes has definitely given me more confidence. I don't think I'll ever positively look forward to speeches, but I'm gradually becoming able to approach them without particular nervousness or dread.
Before the speech was the normal Rotary meeting, which included lunch. I was amused to see that at the beginning of the meeting, everyone stood up and sang the Rotary song. In English. Words fail me. There was also a new member's induction... I was half expecting that he'd have to roll up his trouser leg and stick a compass point into his chest, or something along those lines, but in the end all that happened was that he was presented with a plaque and a badge. What a disappointment...
Anyway, after lunch (burger and chips, among other delicacies, in a lacquered lunch box...), I spoke on 'being a small town CIR', and then took questions. The questions, however, bore no relation to the speech (at least I didn't get 'Can you use chopsticks?', though- let's be grateful for small mercies). One chap seemed determined to talk about the racial differences between the Irish and the English, and to claim this difference as the sole reason for the troubles in Ireland. Dangerous ground...
All in all, though, not a bad experience, although I do wonder whether the choice of title was a good one. The man who asked me do the speech had said that everyone wanted to hear something connected to living and working here, but, judging by the questions I was asked after the speech, I get the feeling that he hadn't actually discussed the theme of the speech with the other members at all...
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Midday. One of the members of the Rotary Club is coming to pick me up; the meeting, somewhat oddly, is held at Izumi, the supermarket in Konan...
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Web articles worthy of mention...
An extraordinary article from the Electronic Telegraph about a recently unearthed manual on how to make one of the infamous British Rail sandwiches. Obviously whoever provides the sandwiches for the local convenience store here has seen this document...
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I'm also still on the lookout for sites at which to register the Breakfast Show. I found another two this morning. The first was Eatonweb, at which I registered straightaway. The second was Bloglinker, a blogroll manager, but with the added refinement of being set up so that if you link to another Bloglinker site, they automatically link back to you. This site could be a possible alternative to my Radio outliner-based blogroll, but I would have to abandon the categorisation I have at present, which is not something I really want to do. On the other hand, though, real-time updating sounds good...
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Web sites worthy of mention...
Oddly enough, because the speech is the only thing on my schedule today, I'm actually quite free. Free enough, in fact, to spend a few minutes surfing the Internet before buckling down to go through my notes. I found one particularly absorbing site- On-this-day- which gives details of births, deaths and notable events for every day of the year. Just three of today's entries are:
- 1906 - The International Radio Telegraphic Convention in Berlin adopted the SOS distress signal;
- 1977 - Regular passenger service on Concorde began between New York and Europe;
- 1990- Margaret Thatcher announced her resignation as Prime Minister.
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Today is the day of the Rotary Club speech. Normally I'm quite nervous before something like this, but this time I'm not really worried at all. I think that part of the reason is that it's short, and so it doesn't really feel like a 'real' speech.
In any case, the speech is at 12.30, so I have all morning to look through my notes. This is the first speech I've made in Japanese without using Japanese notes- instead, I made a simple list of what I wanted to say in English, as an aide-memoire. I can say what I want to say in Japanese without worrying about it- the topic is simple, and something I talk about often in general conversation- but the notes are useful for reminding me of the order in which I want to present my points, and for making sure that I don't forget to mention anything important. It'll be interesting to see how this way of giving a speech goes... I don't think that there's any chance it'll be a complete failure, but if it actually goes well, then it will make speeches in the future much easier to prepare for.
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© Copyright 2003 Nathan Duckworth.
Updated: 8/1/03; 8:56:43 pm.
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