So, this weekend. Saturday was that Sports Festival at Chuo. As has been my MO for the past week, I was practically asleep for the whole thing. I guess to be fair to myself, it was really hot and sunny, which always makes me want to pass out, and I had already been to a Sport festival a week earlier. But mostly I am still just down. And out of it. There was a teacher relay team that I was running on, but I didn't even notice that the race had started until somebody old me and I ran directly out in front of the lady bringing the baton to me. I felt like ran even slower than the week before, although a number of people said that I ran fast and that I looked cool. I didn't even notice that the college girls who were there as volunteer nurses were hitting on me until several hours later when I thought back on the day. The high point of the day was that I ran into a former student who graduated from Chuo the last time I was there, so I got to hang out with her and her mom the whole day. And actually, the events that they run at Chuo are much cooler than the ones at any of the other Sports Festivals I have been to. They have this one event where three kids carry on their shoulders a fourth kid who is swinging around a ball on the end of a rope, and he or she has to knock over all these water bottles with it. It was pretty interesting but I couldn't stop yawning through it.

One funny thing happened though. I got stuck in this relay event with the PTA where you are supposed to dribble a basketball around a cone and back, and then pass it off to the next person in line. But you can pass any time after you've rounded the cone, which was about 15 feet away because these old ladies couldn't dribble or anything. But of course, I was totally spaced out and gave a regular pass from the cone. The ball bounced off the first lady's bony chest with this bass drum kinda thud and knocked the first three old ladies in line over. So, yeah, we didn't win.

The day after that, I had another Judo tournament. This one was even worse than the last one, although I was trying for the same belt and could be expected to have progressed some in my training. But in fact, if anything I have gotten worse, and I didn't win any matches at all. Aside from still sucking at judo because I don't get to practice but once a week, I just wasn't really up for it at all. I had no will, no fight, no drive. I just didn't care that much. Although thankfully I didn't get injured this time; then I would have been really pissed off. I went home with a bunch of kids who live near my house. They are junior high school students now, but they knew me from when they were in elementary school. We ended up eating lunch together, at McDonald's of all places. They were all very impressed that I got a salad instead of fries in my set and so I feel like I have been a good example for them. It's kinda funny; Japanese people never jaywalk for example, but I don't feel any pressure o conform to that rule and I doubt anyone would be surprised if I didn't. But I almost never jaywalk, because I know all my kids are lurking around every corner. Maybe I kinda know how Chares Barkley felt. Actually, I accidently rode my bike too close to Higashi the other day, and ended up with a bunch of kids running down the street after me with cameras. That was a crazy experience.