You may remember reading a blog entry from last year in which I participated in a park golf competition for the school workers in this district. I didn't really try hard, but still came fourth. If you don't remember, well... I didn't try hard and still came fourth.

This year's competition was held a few months earlier because of the great weather. At the start of summer I bought my own club and ball, which means I can use the local course anytime I want, free of charge. So, I've had a chance to practice a little. Living near the top of the world has some advantages in summer including an average of about 18 hours of daylight. Recently I've been having a bit of a hit after school or after dinner.

So, last Friday was the 2007 tournament. About 40 people showed up to play (a little less than last year, I think). The weather was not great, it was overcast and looked like it would rain, but fortunately the rain held off. The local course actually has 6 courses of 9 holes. The tournament was played over 18 holes, and the easiest pair of the six courses were chosen. There was a team competition and an individual competition, with every placed into teams of four or five. My team actually turned out to be pretty good, with three decent members and one who 'tried hard'. My team played well and I had a very solid round. By solid, I mean that I didn't hit any particularly magnificent shots, but I don't think I hit an especially poor shot all day. We turned in our scorecard and the results were kept secret until the official announcement at the after-match dinner. Some people were obviously pleased with their scores, some were pretty disappointed, but everyone seemed to have a good time. There were even whispers that someone shot a score in the 40s, which is pretty damn good considering par is 66.

After the game we went off to the town hall to have some drinks and dinner. The purpose of the event was for school workers to get to know the workers from other schools in the area (eg. the high school teachers meet the elementary school teachers). Some teachers have contact with teachers from other schools, but some have no contact. I go to all the schools so I know everyone already. Anyway, there were some speeches (typical Japanese style) and everyone had to introduce themselves, tell a joke about themselves or a colleague etc. After that came the official results. My team came an admirable third out of 8. Our average score was below par, which is pretty good, and it was good enough for a prize (the top three get prizes). Our prize was a tissue and wet cloth set (boring...). For the individual competition I was pretty confident I was in the top few. The MC introduced third place, second place and then first place. Fortunately for me the rumors of a score in the 40s turned out to be false (someone can't add up properly, which is kind of scary considering they're supposed to be teachers), so my 52 (14 under) was good enough for first place. My teammates already knew my score, but I hadn't told anyone else, so everyone was pretty surprised when I was announced. For my prize, I got a mini thermos (which is actually quite useful). On the way back to my chair I had a good laugh at one of my workmates who had been telling me for quite a while that there was no way I could beat him at park golf. Hah hah... he wasn't even close.

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I had to change the timing belt in my car last weekend. I really hate paying lots of money to change something that isn't even broken, but I guess its better than have the belt snap while I'm driving and having my engine explode (maybe that is a slight exaggeration...). My car runs a little smoother now. Just a little. You would never notice the change unless you drive it everyday, and even then I'm pretty sure many people wouldn't notice. The guys at Subaru cleaned and waxed my car for free as well, so now it glows. I hadn't cleaned it for quite a while when I took it in. I don't really have the motivation to clean it because I spend a lot of time on dirty dusty insect-infested roads. If I wash it, 2 days later it'll be covered in squished bugs and dirt. But it's nice to have someone wash it for me.

I went to the movies last weekend for the first time since January. I saw Die Hard 4. Die Hard 4 is a typical Die Hard movie. Fun and easy to watch. There were a few interesting scenes in the movie that I'd really like to know how they came up with. I'm assuming that their pre-production meeting went something like this:

A: "We need some new ideas for this Die Hard movie. We want some action scenes that no one has ever seen before."

B: "How about we have McClane single-handedly take out a helicopter."

A: "Good... but lacking something...."

C: "How about we have him take out a helicopter with a car!"

A: "Perfect! Next..."

B: "How about we have McClane fight a crazy Asian woman in an elevator shaft."

A: "Hmmm... sounds ok...."

C: "How about we have McClane fight a crazy Asian woman inside a smashed up car hanging inside an elevator shaft!"

A: "I like it! One more..."

B: "How about we have McClane fall out the back of a massive semi-tralier."

A: "Ok... keep going...."

C: "How about we have McClane fall out the back of a massive semi-trailer onto a fighter plane in midair that has no pilot!"

A: "Brilliant. Now, everyone, you job is to write a screenplay that connects these three scenes. Got it? Get to work!"


Yep... that's pretty much what the movie is like.