End of April '09 News

Taka talked me into joining him in one more tennis tournament.
Mixed doubles.
I didn't want to play in a tournament again. In Japan I was in many tournaments, and finally acknowledged that I just don't practice seriously enough to warrant entry.
In the States, there's the WTA and you have to be a paying member to take part in tournaments. You also have to register your LEVEL.
Well, Taka is Level 4 and he thinks I'm 3.5
In any case. the mixed doubles group we played with, there were only four pairs.
And to make a sort of long story short, we won second place, and these nice bottles of wine.
I still don't want to play in a tournament again!
If you'd like to hear the longer story, leave a comment for it. I'd love to "bore" you! xoxoxo


Here's a recent photo of the front of Zen's High School.
We've been having some difficulties, and considering whether to have Zen change schools.
It's been complicated.
But "ON THE SURFACE" it looks lovely, doesn't it? Zen doesn't really want to transfer~ but things are still up in the air.

Complicated.
I'm tired!!

BJ!!!! and David and Dylan visited!

BJ, my dear Santa Cruzian friend from our old college days!
BJ who lived and worked for my english school New Age Connection in Japan for half a year or so almost twenty years ago!















We went by the ocean~
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I love all those cosmic circles on this one photo around Dylan

















Grandmom was so cute, when I showed her how my computer can photograph with the Photo Booth, and
3...2...1 our shot was taken!

Zen's Basketball in Oakland CA. 4/3-4/4/09

With the camera I have, I can set it to take three shots in a row. Nice, but sometimes I miss the final basket!















These three shots, not nicely focused but....

















I really liked all the arms and legs in here! ; )




























Zen's playing on a "new" team. He was invited to join an AAU team, called the Cagers, that has some nice players from other schools.




















































Ah, and very good Coaching by the Coach!













































































This was my favorite photo from this tournament.
Click on the picture for a close up, Zen's sneakers are all shiny and cosmic looking!
And his 'mate Mitch has this cool spirit circle following him on his ankle~~

My old teacher and friend came by!! MISA!!! (remember Misa? She taught at NAC what year?)

Misa came and visted, from Burlingame where her mom's living!

Well, came from Ashiya Japan, for just a week or so.

Oh, yes, Zen IS that tall! He's not standing on anything other than his own two feet!

We got to hang out on the last day she was here, and she and I went out on the wharf for lunch.

Check out the well posed Seagulls on the the frame!

There are still funky cars around, not like in the "old" days- One I didn't get a photo of was a car with bumper stickers ALL over the car saying OBAMA.
But this van was outside the bank I was in.


REMEMBER- click on the photo- you can see a close up.
Now is that Japanese or Chinese written on there?!
What does it say?! (no of course I can't read it- even after 22 years in Japan!!)