Selfish??? Mean??? Who, me???

Mama and papa keep calling me mean and selfish now. It started yesterday at the dog run because I kept stealing the toys of other dogs. It's not my fault if they are too slow and can't protect their own toys. So then I started walking up to the other dogs and dropping the toys in front of them to taunt them and, as they moved to try to pick it up, I would snatch it myself and run away!!! It was so much fun because they were all so slow and dumb!!! I did that so many times and they never learned. Papa kept telling me to share the toys but I don't know what that word means...doesn't sound like a fun word though. I'm glad I don't understand some words. My favorite words are "me", "my", "I", "mine"...that's really all I know :-)

Mama and papa bought me a few new toys too! But I won't let them touch my toys. Any time they come near me, I grab my toy, snarl at them and run away under the table or sofa so they can't get my toys!!! I am so smart and fast!!! They call me mean and selfish but I don't care...what's mine is mine and no one can take them from me!!! Whenever they take a toy that I like, I go to where they put it away and then I jump around and bark. They still don't give me the toy but one day maybe I will drive them crazy enough to get what I want :-)

I heard today that despite his devastating and embarrassing loss, Prime Minister Abe does not intend to step down. He says that he will continue on with the mandate he was given and continue his reforms. Unfortunately, he has not initiated any real reforms to speak of and it seems to me that he was given a pretty strong mandate yesterday...a mandate to do the right thing and step down since he was never elected in the first place...he merely took office when Prime Minister Koizumi stepped down to leave politics. PM Abe is just prolonging the inevitable pain and runs the risk of becoming the Japanese version of George W. Bush or Paul Martin.

Hot Wheels!

We got our (my?) new car yesterday! Mama and papa picked it up and drove to visit mama's parents and brother for dinner. They really love the car and said that the navigation system is great. It speaks to them and even tells them when and where to turn, as well as which way they will turn after that so they can get into the proper lane. The air conditioner has separate temperature controls for the driver and passenger sides. The stereo features a hard disk drive that automatically records CDs that are played so that we don't have to bring the same ones ever again. It also plays DVDs and MP3s! The other thing that mama and papa didn't know is that the stereo/navigation system also has a TV built in. Papa thinks it is dangerous to have the TV playing while driving so he really doesn't like that feature.

Papa was pretty tired yesterday because he took the overnight flight back to Tokyo from Singapore on Friday night and landed at 7:30am yesterday morning. He was so tired that he slept until 11:30am this morning. After he finally woke up, mama and papa took me to an indoor dog run near where papa used to live in Musashi-koyama. There were a lot of dogs there to play with and I had a lot of fun stealing other dogs' toys. I was so yancha and mama and papa were so embarrassed that had to go buy me my own toy so that I wouldn't steal toys from the other dogs (but I still did!). I ran around for an hour and a half with almost no rest so I'm really tired now. I've been sleeping almost the whole time since we got home 4 hours ago. I think mama and papa are happy that I am not bothering them for a change :-) Papa was also embarrassed today because the poodles could run faster than me. Papa says I'm getting fat so I can't run like a Jack Russell. I wonder whose fault that is??? It's not my fault that papa gives me so many tasty treats! Of course I'm going to eat them!!! Anyhow, I have to go on a diet now :-(

Lately, my hair has been getting quite long. Mama and papa used to think I was a smooth coat Jack Russell and then, as my hair got longer, they thought I was a broken coat but they are now beginning to think I am a rough coat. Papa says I look like a homeless punk rocker.

Today is the mid-term senate election in Japan. Many think this is the equivalent of a confidence vote on Prime Minister Abe who has been in power since September of last year. If it is, then PM Abe is in deep trouble. Exit polls indicate that his party is about to get smoked. Bye bye Mr. Abe...

All this scratching's making me itch...

Another visit to the vet for me last week. It seems that I have an allergy and, as a result, had a breakout of red pimple-type things all over my back. The vet wasn't sure what the cause is, but thought it could be a reaction to either fleas and ticks, something from the doggie kindergarten I stayed at while mama and papa went to Hakone, or food. Mama and papa started giving me Science Diet Nature's Best recently so they think that could be the reason (papa is also highly suspicious of Will dog kindergarten since the allergy started a day after I came home). As for the food, when I was a baby, I was given Eukanuba but papa didn't think that food was healthy so I started getting Nutro and Science Diet Pro. Now mama and papa are quite worried about my health because of all the additives, preservatives and unknown animal parts in the brand name foods and also because of the scare about ingredients imported from China and added to American dog foods. They have spent the last few nights studying about dog food and searching for the best thing to feed me. They decided on Lotus as the dry food and are going to take classes about how to make homemade dog food from natural products and raw meat. They said that there is an excellent article at 4dogma.com about dog food and have sworn to only feed me holistic food or homemade food! Notice that in the article, all the foods they have fed me so far are on the list of foods that are not good for dogs. I'm glad they found this out now rather than years from now!!! I'd hate to have kidney problems...doesn't sound like much fun.

Papa is going to Singapore tomorrow morning on business and staying until Saturday morning. He is dreading how hot it is going to be there. I'm glad it's him and not me. The forecast is scattered thunderstorms most of the week.

Our (my???) new car is going to be ready for pick up on Saturday! Mama and papa are really excited about it! They are going to take me to a dog run on Sunday. Papa wanted to take us to the Mount Fuji area but because of my allergy it's not a good idea to go too far and for me to spend so much time in a crate in the car. I don't care where we go as long as it's fun!!!

Papa started reading the last Harry Potter book. It was delivered last Saturday from Amazon on the first day of release. It's called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Even the name sounds dark. The Harry Potter series has been getting increasingly darker as we've progressed through the story. In this, the final installment, papa is a little pessimistic and thinks that Harry will be killed. We'll see...he's reading slow this time though. Usually he gets through a new Harry Potter book in a day or 2.

箱根吟遊 - Hakone Ginyu

Mama and papa went to Hakone Ginyu onsen this weekend for 2 days. They took the Odakyu Romance Car train from Shinjuku to Hakone and then took a bus up the mountain to the onsen and hotel. The onsen was almost perfect. The staff were quite friendly and the atmosphere was so relaxing. The place itself is quite far up a mountain with a beautiful view overlooking a ravine that has a river cutting through its centre. The room was Japanese style with a tatami room for sleeping (futons, no beds). Beside the bedroom was a dining room with a large table and low, floor level chairs so guests can eat Japanese style. Attached to the dining area was the veranda which had a sofa, coffee table, a couple of cushions and an open-air bath!

Mama and papa got to the hotel at about 2:30 in the afternoon and went to the onsen after a quick walk around the hotel. The first onsen papa went to ended up being his favorite. It was called Tsukiyo and was on the 5th floor of the hotel. The bath was quite large and was covered by a roof but was an open-air bath. The water flowed over the outer edge. Papa was the only one in the onsen at the time so he had the whole place to himself.

Dinner was kaiseki ryori. It was delicious but there was far too much food. Dinner consisted of all kinds of vegetables, fish and meat. The beef was memorable because the staff brought out a heated stone and mama and papa cooked their Japanese beef and veggies on it themselves. It reminded mama of "Lost in Translation" where they pay so much money and have to cook themselves. The next morning for breakfast, again way too much food was served but it was also quite tasty.

Mama and papa went into the onsen about 5 times over the 24 hours they were at Hakone Ginyu. They tried all of them, including the one on their balcony. It was an open-air bath and was very relaxing. Papa went in at night and again the next morning but mama didn't go in at night because there were too many weird insects flying around. There were huge, ugly flying beetles that had really long antennae but they generally stayed near the lights and didn't go near the bath. Papa really loved sitting outside on the veranda looking out over the mountains.

As for me, well, I spent the weekend at a dog kindergarten in Naka-Meguro. It may not sound fun but I had a great time. The people were so much fun and there were 15 or 20 other dogs for me to play with. The staff there said I was a good puppy and very lively and fun. I ran around quite a lot and played with all the other dogs. I didn't even know mama and papa (who???) were gone!!! They came to pick me up after they returned from Hakone and I was really happy to see them. But once I got home, I was so tired from playing that I crashed and slept most of the evening. I just woke up now because of an earthquake. It was quite small but had mama and papa worried because there was a bigger earthquake earlier today in Niigata that had a magnitude of 6. I didn't even feel the earthquake, whatever the heck that is...

Typhoon #4

Typhoon #4 is coming! やばいやなー！It's raining pretty hard now and the wind is getting stronger. This is my first typhoon だからちょっと怖いやんか! I wonder if mama and papa will let me go outside. I guess it's not a good idea in case I blow away. Papa mentioned something about a dog named Toto and not being in Kansas anymore...I have no idea what he's talking about but I think it means that I might end up somewhere far away.

I graduated today from Beginner 2 puppy school! Mama and papa were so proud of me. I think they like puppy school more than me.

Today was my papa's mother's birthday! Happy Birthday, Nana!!!

While we're writing this blog, papa is listening to 80's music. He seems to really like it and says it's cool...like, yeah, whatever...
At least he doesn't listen to hip hop. It gives me a headache. It's like listening to the same thing over and over, it's repetitive, repeating itself, singing the same thing over and over and over, again and again and again, reiterating, recurring, replaying..........oh, no...I sound like a hip hop singer now...I sound like a hip hop singer now...I sound like a hip hop singer now...I sound like a hip hop singer now...I sound like a hip hop singer now...I sound like a hip hop singer now...

Today, after puppy school, we went to Will where I will stay tomorrow night while mama and papa go to the onsen. It was fun......fun, fun....fun...it was a lot of fun, it was fun, it was fun, it was fun, it was a lot of fun...(damn, I hate hip hop). Anyhow, I made a lot of friends and I'm looking forward to playing with my new friends again.

Boredom

I hate rainy season! It's been raining every day for the past week and I haven't been able to go out for walks very much. Papa took me for a long walk finally today and it was sooooo nice to get out of this house!!! Papa almost got us lost again but luckily I knew how to get home. Papa is NTB (Not Too Bright).

As you can see, I've been quite bored lately. Mama and papa have been busy and are buying a new car so I have no one to play with sometimes :-(

Tomorrow is my last day of Beginner 2 puppy school! I'm getting really smart now! Next week, I'll start the Step Up Course which is for advanced puppies like me.

I've found a new favorite place! I've decided that this is to be my new resting area. Mama and papa can sit on the floor because I've really come to love lounging around here while watching TV. I love watching Sumo and baseball! Hey, what can I say...I'm a guy!!! :-) Papa says that hockey is the best sport.

This weekend is a long weekend. Monday is Marine Day...whatever the heck that means. Mama and papa are going to an onsen in Hakone and leaving me at a puppy kindergarten called Will for the weekend. At least I'll be able to meet new friends and get away from mama and papa for a few days :-)