Life is totally unfair... Completely devastated

Just as Dondon was getting better, there was a minor problem when the doctor was trying to feed him and the food got stuck in his throat. He later died today. I am in a complete loss of words. Now I know life is unfair. I had to deal with death 4 years ago, and now I have to deal with it again, and this time with my best friend. His 4th birthday was coming up (Nov 19th) too. God why?!?! Again? Not Dondon... he only gave people happiness... why do you have to take him away???

I found out about the complication when I was at the office. I was called and was told that his heart beat was getting lower. The phone was put next to Dondon's ear and I spent 20 minutes at the office yelling "Don't die.. you can do it .. please survive for us" Actually his heart beat did come up but atlas his body could not hold up anymore. I completely lost it and broke down in tears. Some coworkers tried to comfort me, but I had to pick myself up and quickly take the trains to go see my now dead best friend. It hurts even more after I was told he would get better. Man.. life is unfair. Honestly, Dondon was my everything, I can't believe he was taken away from my family in 3 days. This was just like my mom. I miss you Dondon. You were the best dog.. no... you were the best friend I ever had. Thank you for your happiness. I am completed shocked and stunned that you are gone. I will never forget you.




2005/11/19 - 2009/09/28

ドンドン、がんばって！

What a horrible weekend. On Friday, my dog, who is also my bestest friend in the whole world had an accident. He jumped and missed and landed on his head. I didn't see the whole thing, but I just heard him fall and when I looked at him he didn't move at all. I never seen him like that, because he has made a similar jump hundreds of times and when he falls he always gets right back up. We rushed to the animal hospital and on the way there Dondon became less and less responsive. It was really scary. We kept shouting and trying our hardest to get him conscious again. Luckily the animal hospital wasn't too far away and my illegal driving got us there fairly quickly. The doctor told us that he landed on his head/neck and he experienced atlantoaxial instability/dislocation in his neck. He also said that Dondon was lucky because if we had not brought him in so quick he could have died since the trauma severely slowed Dondon's heartbeat and breathing. The doctor added he has seen worse conditions with other dogs but he can't say if Dondon will make a full recovery. Luckily it seemed he did not fracture his skull or any part of his spine from the x-rays. The worst part of all this was seeing my best friend in pain and in a helpless condition. I honestly had the same feelings of what happened with my mom 4 years ago. It was and is still really difficult to handle. Right now, Dondon is still in the hospital getting 24/7 treatment. The doctor has said he is doing a bit better but it could be at least 5 - 6 weeks before he can even start to walk again. This is such a nightmare but I have faith in my little buddy. I am not religious at all but everyday I have and will continue to pray that he will come back 120% better!!! Dondon Ganbatte!!!

Silver week and autumn festivals

Its another time of the year where holidays coincidentally fall consecutively next to each other forming another holiday period called "Silver Week". This was the first time I heard of such a week and I was later told the next time I would see this happen again is 5 years from now. Unfortunately, my silver week will be spent in front of my work laptop. I am sort of jealous of the rest of my co workers getting to go travel and have a relaxing time but at the same time, traveling now is hell. All over the news they mentioned how backed up the highways were due to traffic jams. I already experienced driving through traffic and it is not fun. I'd actually rather pay extra to ride the shinkansen or fly to a destination. One place I really want to go to that I haven't been before in Japan is Hokkaido. I really want to eat the seafood and relax in the hot springs there. Hopefully I can take my own silver week in the near future.

Finally, with the summer festivals coming to an end, it seems that the autumn ones are coming out in full swing. Going through Shinjuku this weekend, I saw a bunch of people prepping for a festival.





I didn't stick around too long for it to start but I am hoping that an autumn festival will pop up near my neighborhood soon.

Welcome back NFL

I'm so excited that football season has officially started. Dallas Cowboys did well today against Tampa Bay. I was a bit concerned during the first half, but the team pulled together in the second. I hope the Boys will do well this season and not choke at the end like they have been doing for the past few years.

As for active sports, yesterday I was out on the basketball court for over 5 hours. 5 hours?!? Needless to say, my legs are really sore now. I have to go to the office today, and that 1.5 km walk from the station to the office is not going to be pleasant. The executive staff from the U.S. will be at the office today so there will be a beer party at the end of the day. I don't want to stay at work too late as the last episode of Buzzer Beat is on tonight. A Japanese drama about basketball... its perfect for me. :)

Weekend Recap

The past weekend was pretty good. Unfortunately I didn't have Monday off, but I had limited exposure with work during the weekend. On Saturday, I went to shoot some pool in Shinjuku. The place was crowded as always. While going there, I was supposed to meet up with a friend in front of Studio Alta, but it seems everyone in Shinjuku was meeting up there so we had to ad lib and meet at the next closest landmark that we both knew. After the meet up confusion we headed to Bagus for some drinks and pool. My friend is pretty good and consistent with his shots which as a result I have rarely beaten him. So, I came up with a strategy to increase my winning percentage. We usually order drinks here and there while we play, but I was going to speed drink him to get him intoxicated, however the plan backfired and I did the walk of shame again leaving the pool hall. After the pool massacre we headed to an izakaya for dinner. On Sunday, I had the opportunity to hang out with the basketball leader. He came over with his wife. I introduced them to Costco and picked up some cheese and wine and brought it back to my place. They stayed over for like almost 7 hours. It was chill. Conversations were good but my Japanese was seriously struggling. We ended the night by going to a good ramen restaurant they recommended.

Be careful of new sandwiches

After the gym, I hit up KFC. I don't usually go to fast food restaurants but for some reason I was craving something fried. I saw that they were promoting a new sandwich. I have no idea what it was called, but it looked like a spicy chicken sandwich of sorts. My naive thoughts started to kick in thinking with a poster of the new sandwich that big, it must be good. It also looked a lot healthier than some of the other sandwiches, so I ordered it. When I got the sandwich, it literally smelled like my dirty gym socks ... or maybe it was because my gym bag with all my nasty clothes was next to me. Anyways, the sandwich was a big disappointment. It tasted like Korean Bulgogi gone bad, but they tried to cover up the funkiness with some less funky lettuce mix. I finished it because I was starving, and honestly during those times I eat just about anything that is in front of me. After the horrid sandwich, I was left definitely unsatisfied. This prompted me to go back to the cashier and order something I know I'd love, boneless chicken tenders. That thing was finger lickin' good and it hit the spot but as far as my junk food intake was concerned, it was a big no no. I don't think I'll go to KFC for a while, but the next time I'll make sure to stick with the classics.