Day 186, 5 Jul 2017: Other days...

Day 186: ...it might be written in the clouds

Peak rainy season, sans rain. That is a problem. Actually the problem is relying on the weather forecast at this time of year. Yesterday a typhoon made its way through the archipelago; it passed through faster than expected. 

This morning it appeared to have cleared and forecasts suggested it would be fine, clear and without rain. OK, back to this strange rainy season. Until late arvo when the dark clouds came over...

Feeling frazzled around the edges

The clouds owned the sky this morning

Stopped, pondering, which direction?...(I know the feeling)

Full power

The bridge in the dark, the far shore in the light

And over it came

And the little plane raced all the way to the airport

And yes, of course it poured for the last few hundred metres between the bus stop and the house. Of course. 

Tomorrow should be fine, apparently. 

[Camera : Lumix TZ-85, 12.13pm, 5.20pm; iPhone6S, 9.16am, 10.51pm, 5.35pm; 5 July 2017] 

Day 185, 4 Jul 2017: Some days...

Day 185: ...it is written in the steps

Now how did the day pass so quickly? Somehow, I got to work and just got stuck into it. And before I knew it, it was time to get to the gym for the regular self-flagellation. Why do we do these things?

If I'm honest, my knees are feeling much better for it and the rest of the body is following along I think. 

I admired the students in the quadrangle today, getting their exercise in in a much more sensible way. 

But there is this impression on the stairs on the way to the gym that has puzzled me for a little while...

Frisbee in the quad

Impressionable

...today I took a pic. To me it looks like Groucho Marx with his cigar and yet it is just a wad of gum (or similar) that has landed on the step and has worked its way into a pattern. 

Oh well, I guess stranger days, there have been a few. 

[Camera : Lumix TZ-85, 4.07pm; iPhone6S, 6.08pm; 4 July 2017]

Day 184, 2 Jul 2017: See the heat...

Day 184: ...just an ordinary day at the office

In our rainy season that isn't (in Tokyo at least, it has rained rather heavily in other regions), the humidity hit quite heavily today. It is that sort of humidity you can 'see' as it hangs in the air. 

Still, the work must go on as it did today with meetings and the rest. High on the list was some analysis of yesterday's election and the fallout for the winners and losers. Such is my work. 

And on the port, as much as you could see through the haze, things went on as usual too. 

The wheel turns

Cranes looking like cranes

Warehouses

Heavy lifters

Out of the mouths of...ships

Running on empty

And then at the end of the day, an almost empty port...there's always something a little surprising about a port with no ships. 

[Camera : Lumix TZ-85, 4.49pm-4.50pm, 5.36pm; 3 July 2017] 

Day 183, 2 Jul 2017: How a walk by the Bay...

Day 183: ...turns into work...

It wasn't supposed to be like that of course. I planned a pleasant afternoon somewhere, anywhere while I awaited the election results tonight at 8.00pm. For sheer convenience, I just hopped on the train at the local station and headed to Yokohama, Minato Mirai, more specifically. The train goes all the way there, no changes, rather convenient. 

So I was strolling along the footpath towards the famous red brick warehouses which have been converted to shops and restaurants (a bit like the Brisbane River revival for those dear readers in Brisbane) when I spied the migration museum...happened to have an exhibition of Japanese migration to the Americas around the era I happen to be researching with regard to Australia...hmm, I shall return. 

Then it was on to the warehouses, the park, the wheel, the stroll...

Let us out!

The looming wheel 

Reaching for the sky

Roller

Immigrants' suitcases

...and some of the contents

Yokohama Bridge

Red brick warehouses in the distance

...with hint of moon

Revamped

Seated, watching

getting a pic

Old and new

Mood

Awning

Flower garden

with ants

Red Bricks and hydrangeas

Busy B

Hydrangeas

Afternoon light

Sunset wheel 

Partial rainbow

Fun park

Lift off

Yokohama Cosmo

Woodstock was here

...home again to watch the election results unfold. A big win for Governor Koike and her new party. Much grist for the research mill. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. 

[Camera : Lumix TZ-85, 4.16pm*-7.21pm; 2 July 2017; 
*which means either the clock on the wheel or the date stamp on my camera is wrong... ]

Day 182, 1 Jul 2017: Politics indoors...

Day 182: ...politics outdoors...

Politics everywhere. Good thing it is my day job. Today I attended a workshop on Japanese politics and security issues. It was also the last day of campaigning for the Tokyo Metropolitan election on tomorrow. 

Normally I would have been out and about collecting research and teaching materials--this election has turned out to be a rather fiercely contested election (for reasons I won't go into here, it is not that type of blog, but normally local elections fly under the radar)--but I was at the workshop instead.

At my station however, the local Liberal Democratic Party candidate was blasting a last appeal to the voters. And being Saturday evening, just as everyone is returning home, seemed to draw a crowd. This is the party of the Prime Minister Mr Abe whose popularity has taken a pummelling recently...for reasons I won't go into here, it is not that type of blog... 

The view from above

All listening

Putting his name out there

Lining the stairs

Last appeal

Thank you

I await with interest the results tomorrow. Much is at stake for quite a few politicians and their reputations. But I won't go into that here...


[Camera : Lumix TZ-85, 7.27pm-7.31pm; 1 July 2017] 

Day 181, 30 Jun 2017: Here we are...

Day 181: ...halfway through the year

The end of June, six months of the year up, done and dusted. And what do I have to show for it? Well, 181 days of posts I suppose. But really, how does time go so fast?

Anyway, today is the busier day of the two teaching days this term, same number of hours but two different classes requiring quite different preparation. It is a case of lying low and getting through for much of the day...

...before preparations for the weekend, which were going on below. Looks like a run of sorts on this weekend. Not for me though. I'm off for another weekend conference...

Preparations for a race

Swing low...

...sweet chariots

Very low to the ground water

Then there was a bigger one

And of course the tent

Now there's an idea

...which is all very well but I think I'd rather being heading out on the Friday afternoon weekend cruiser. 

Who knows, I just might do so one day.

[Camera : Lumix TZ-85, 2.47pm-3.42pm, 5.10pm; 30 June 2017]