h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

G'day Taamyu, For some reason I've lost my old home page. I have not yet worked out what I did wrong but I have no access to it at all! I have re-registered and my new name is still lugworm, to re establish our thread of conversations I think you will have to go to "Who's online" and get in touch with the "new' lugworm also change the old lugworm to the new lugworm in your list of friends. I think! Can you understand that? I will add you to my list of friends at my new site, in fact you will be the first.

Hello Lugworm.
Lovely to hear from you again!
As I've been worring of you very much, I felt very safe whe I've got your new message.
We have to be careful when we use computer. It sometimes give lots of trouble which we don't know how to deal with it all at once.
Yep, I've re-added you(new lugworm ) to my friends' list
So, you can't read our previous conversaion, can you?
I have a good idea, if you want to read our story, 1. you can just access my page and find the title which you named 'Language. (Be careful when you access our thread as there is similar title 'the Langage thing' on the list, please)' so that you will find or can remember what you and I were talking about. I wrote lots of apologises in the thread during you were not here. or... 2. I'll paste our last story here.
I hope this will make you feel safe and will help you.
Speak to you soon.
Taamyu

Good, I was concerned for a while, I must go to bed now as 4:am is my time to get out of bed on Sundays, which is market day for my herbs. I will continue my story about Newcastle next time I write. Bye!

G'day Taamyu, back again, at last, and more about my home town.The city of Newcastle, although at the mouth of the Hunter River, is not spread evenly on both sides of the river. Most of the city is on the southern side of the river with only one suburb, Stockton, on the northern side. Stockton can be reached by road or by ferry. There is a large island in the Hunter River, Kooragang Island, this island is mostly reclaimed land and is used mainly for industrial purposes, although it is a recognized site for migrating birds. A bridge onto this island, Tourle Street Bridge, about 6km. of road and then the Stockton Bridge off the island, another couple of kms. by road and one is in Stockton quite a long journey. The ferry takes less than 5mins! Stockton has a very long white-sand beach and is popular as a holiday destination for, mostly, Australian holidaymakers. From this side of the river, the city centre of Newcastle, which is built on the side of a hill, offers good views. The Anglican Cathedral dominates the view! European settlement in Australia was only a couple of hundred years ago so our buildings are relatively new. Not like your country where you have really old buildings! Likewise our culture and traditions are still young, although the culture of the original Australians goes back many thousands of years

Hello Lugworm,
How are you? Did you have a good weekend? I had quite quiet weekend as usual
Well, I’ll tell you a little about Osaka city as I don’t know much about my current town, Kawachinagano. Of course, I’ll try to tell you about this city after I finish talking about Osaka and Sakai-shi (Sakai City) where I was born and grow up. Like the Hunter River, there is a river which crosses the centre of Osaka. It’s called ‘the Yodo River’ and it runs to the Osaka bay running to the Pacific Ocean. I think the Yodo River is the biggest river in Osaka. The Lake Biwa, the biggest lake in Japan, is its source. 3 smaller rivers, the River Kizu, the River Uji and and the River Katura which is running through Kyoto Prefecture from Lake Biwa (Shiga Prefecture) to the River Yodo and those rivers are jointed at the border of Osaka and Kyoto, then become the river Yodo. Lake Biwa is the most important water resource in “Kinki Area” (Hyogo Prefecture (capital City is Kobe), Shiga-Prefecture (capital city is Shiga), Kyoto Prefecture (capital city is Kyoto), Nara Prefecture (capital city is Nara) and our city, Osaka Prefecture. So, the River Yodo is the important water resource to Osaka. We have one more big river called the River Yamato which is running through the Southern Osaka. While the source of the Yodo River is the Lake Biwa, the source of the Yamato is, I think, Mt. Katsuragi in Nara Prefecture. Sakai City, my hometown is very close to this river not to the Yodo River where is in the Northern Osaka. And the River Yamato is another important water resource to Osaka people, too. Once both rivers was polluted and very dirty, but people try to purify them and nowadays, they are much clearer than they were used to be. The Yamato River is also spread into the Osaka Bay (Southern Area, not at the same spot with the River Yodo.) Apart from the River Yodo, there are so many strings/streams running through the centre of Osaka City, so the centre of Osaka was used to be known as ‘the city built on water’ like Venice in Italy, as well as the merchant city.
Well, you will enjoy this story concerning with river in Osaka.
Speak to you soon.
Taamyu

Taamyu G'day, thanks for the river info sounds like a very big place. You reminded me when you mentioned Kobe,it was one of the places I visited, I think in 1962. Saturday and Sunday were warm about 35C. and a thunderstorm last night. Very cool today, I don't know when summer will come! I can't write much now I have things I must attend to, I just logged on to say G,day, I will write more tomorrow. Bye for now.

Hello Lugwarm
I'm sorry that I didn't write andy story, as I had a horrible histeria fit and I needed time to calm down. Now, I'm fine

Well, brief story aobut Osaka City and the tragedy concerning to River Yodo
According to elementary pupil’s text:
Osaka ‘City’ (not as a prefecture) is about 220 square kilometres in area. And around 260,000,000 habitants live there
There are about 10 bridges over the river. There are sad old story about One of it called “Nagae-bashi (Nagae Bridge)” In past (around Meiji period after Edo period) the river flood and they had everlasting water damage to people, government (people) chose a unmarried girl as a human sacrifice. There is a small memorial tower for her. Not now, Lugworm. We have such kind of tragedy in past and remind as story.
No more human sacrifice here in Japan at all!
I'll tell you about Kobe, next time though I don't much about Kobe.
See you soon.
Take Care
Taamyu

G’day, Taamyu, Wow! That’s one very big city. Our total population for the whole of the country is less than 20 million and our landmass is about 18 times greater than Japan. Do you ever feel crowded? I like the open feeling of Newcastle, lots of green park areas and many, many trees. Has Osaka got lots of parks and open public areas? Each suburb of Newcastle has at least one sports oval; oval refers to sports field no matter what it’s shape or the sport played there. Australians love sport! On Saturday and Sunday of each week sport takes up most of the airtime of television and radio. Some sports are played in the summertime and others in the winter. We have a sport for each season. I’m afraid I do not have a ‘sporting bone’ in my body and find them all boring! How about you, do you enjoy sports? It’s been a horrible day today, rain from morning to night, after my three days in bed I had hoped to spend today in the sun, maybe tomorrow!

Lugworm
I made a BIG MISTAKE!!!
There is 2,600,000 habitants in Osaka City, not 260,000,000.
Osaka Ciity would be burst with 260,000,000 habitants.
I got confused with huge number...
I think this should be Japanese population in Japan..
Well I'll keep my story, next time.
In a haste.
I'm very sorry for my stupid mistake.

Hello Lugworm,
It's 10.17 in the morning of the 25th (I think we have 1 hour time difference.)
As I have to go out soon to teach my friend's kids English, I can't write today's story.
But I'll keep my story as much as I can.
Please keep your story, too.
Hope you are fine and have a lovely day.
See you soon, Lugworm.
Taamyu

Hello Lugworm
It seems that our stroies have a rest at the moment...

Well, I read your message at the 'conjunction' thread. And I left my message there, but in case you can read both, I'll paste what I wrote on the thead.
I'm really sorry for confusing you with my English
**********************
Lugworm.
I'm sorry for confusing you.
I dno't know how I explain you...
I'll be more careful when I leave message otherwise everybody confuse with my English.
(Michel is an American woman and she told me that if she left her opinion about conjunction, I might be confused so that she would not post. But I asked her to post her message. As you may know, American English and British English sometimes has different expressions, meaning...)
I hope that you don't feel uncomfortable with this message.
Taamyu.
****************
This is what I left at that thread.
I think Aussie has own conjunction, too, don't you?
I'm not sure how many similar expression in English speaker's countries and how many different ones each other.
I hope you can understand my poor English.
Taamyu

Hello Lugworm
How are you?
Thank you very much for all your help on my journal. It's very kind of you to leave your message on my journal, too.

Well I've not been in good mental condition for last (about)2 weeks I went to clinic to have a regular counceling with my doctor(every second Monday), and I feel better now
I wonder if I told you about my illness??? It's very complicated and long story, so I'll tell you when I have a chance , but it's a boring story Anyway, I'm getting better than before
*************************
Also I've been busy writings piles of 'Japanese Mourning Greeting
Cards (I finished almost all, only to write their address)' as our custom(I think, Budhhism, no-- our culture, I guess) before people post me their New Year's Cards which will reach me on the first day of the new Year(1st of Jan.). Because my father died this Spring, we are on the mourning time until the end of this year. And I can't send Japanese New Year Cards nor I won't receive any New Year's Cards from my Japanese friends, teachers... (I'LL SEND XMAS CARDS TO MY OVERSEAS FRIENDS.., BUT I HAVEN'T PREPARED FOR IT YET.. ) II hope you'll understand what I mean. I'm okay, though I'm with my calligraphy... Recently, people print out them, but the numbers which I'll send are not so many so the cost for printing will be more expensive than I write by myself

I tell you this story as this is also one of our country's traditional custom

But recently we enjoy Christmas, too.
This is an aspect of our nationalities.
We don't have not so strict religious concern. I'll try to explain about this next time.
(We go to shrine(Shinto) on the New Year's day, we have funeral in Buddhism way...(of course not all Japanese is like that. Some of them are very strict Shinto believer, or Buddhist...))

I hope you enjoy this story as well
Now, I'll go back to write 'address' in a rash

Taamyu

Lugworm, I'll tell you about this again, if possible, as I think my explanation is not enough because I wrote without any checking.

G'day Taamyu,
I understand. You are better than you judge yourself. Give yourself a bit more credit!

We have had a visitor out from the U.K. so I have been unable to spend as much time as I would like ‘lurking’. I have been ‘flat strap’ = very busy.

Further to Mickey Mouse thread ‘grouse’ in Australia means good, as in ‘I’ve got a good car, it’s real grouse’. To improve on ‘real grouse’, we say ‘real grouse Mickey Mouse’, a bit of rhyming slang involved with that one, I think.

If a person thinks he/she is better than he/she really is or has a high opinion of him/herself we say ‘he/she has tickets on him/herself’.

I will get back to the city story soon. Good luck!

Hello Lugworm
for your compliment on my English
I'm always happy that you can understand my English.

Such a busy month December is !
I hope you'll enjoy your guest

I'm very much interested in the meaning of 'Mickcy Mouse'
There are so many phrases, meanings concerning with micky mouse. I'll write them down on my notebook

As for me, I've not been in good mood, mental condition for a week, so that I'm really uneasy at the moment which makes me very lazy But don't worry, I'm okay as far as this condition is concerened.
As for my illness, it's very complicated, so I'll mail you as it's a bit delicate matter. I hope you'll keep in touch with me after reading my story

Now... I finally finished sending Japanese Mournign Greeting to my Japanese teachers,friends.. (As my father died this spring, we have to send this greeting cards to Japanese friends, teachers, colleagues so that they won't send New years card to us which usually arrive on the first day of the New Year)
And.. all I have to do is to go to some shops to buy xmas cards, gifts and write cards, send them(my foreign friends).... I can't send them in time.

It's 19.52 of the 5th. The night has come.
But it was a lovely day today , I hope it will be fine day tonight, too

Take Care & Enjoy Yourself

Taamyu

Hello Lugworm
How are you? I hope you are fine
Well, well, as you can see, I'm okay now
Thank you for your good thoughts.
I sometimes feel depressed very much, and at that time I need medication . But I feel better than last year
I think I've become better since I joined h2g2. That's why I decided to stay here unless nobody contact me lol.

I'm having quite a quiet weekend as usual
It's getting colder and colder in Osaka As I have an allergy for the cold air, my nose turns into like red nose in winter I can't stop sneezing and sniffling especially early in the morning

I wonder what kind of Chiristmas in Summer...
I'd like to know how to spend Christams in Newcastle.

I haven't sent any Christmas cards to my overseas friends yet, so I have to send them by next Tuesday , otherwise they will reach my friends after New Year...

I'll have a quiet Chrismas at home alone Very peaceful time lol. But I'll meet my friend for dinner when we have a spare time soon.

Well Take Care Lugworm.

Have a jolly lovely weekend

See you soon.
Taamyu

Taamyu! glad you are still here and I am pleased to hear from you again and to hear that you are a bit better. Life can be a bugger at times! Our Christmas would be a lot different to yours in Osaka. Most of the people in Australia have some kind of oudoor living area; a covered patio or a varandah and that is where we usually celebrate Christmas. Some people, especially those with children may spend their Christmas day at the beach. Sometimes we have a barbeque other times we have cold meat and salad; it's to hot for the traditional feast one normally associates with Christmas. The heat makes it good drinking weather! No fears of a white Christmas!

Hello Lugworm,
It sounds very strange and new to know CHRISTMAS IN SUMMER!
It's a lovely day today.
No at all. But as the weaher forecast, it will snow on the 25th I hope it won't be soooo cold.
After Christmas, we are much busier to PREPARE FOR THE NEW YEAR in Japan. We usually celebrate the New Years Day, not Christmas. We were used to have very quiet and nice time on the first 3 New Years Day. But recently people go out on the New Year's Day more often than the past.

Well,
I Wish You


A VERY MERRY JOLLY LOVELY FUNNY GROOVY HAPPY CHRISTMAS

and

A WONDERFUL PEACEFUL LOVELY NEW YEAR 2004


I'm very happy that I met you here

I hope we will keep in touch next year as well!!!

Taamyu

Hello Lugworm.
I miss you
How are you? Did you have a lovely Christmas time?
As for me, I had a quiet Christmas alone at flat.
But I enjoyed myself alot

Lugworm, thank you very much for talking with me this year.
I do hope we'll keep in touch next year, too.

Speak soon

Taamyu

G'day Taamyu,
Yes nice Christmas, too much to eat and drink but good. Nice and warm and sunny here at the moment and good for enjoying a rest or as we say in Australia 'a bludge'. I don't go back to work until monday so I will make the most of it. I suppose you are feeling the cold in Japan at the moment; I don't like the cold. The thing I like most about Newcastle is that it never gets really cold. Yes, I hope we can continue our converations in the coming year. Good luck!

Hello Lugworm.
Finally I can reply you I hope our story will continue this year too
It's been lovely day since New Year's Day in Osaka, though it's bit cold now
I had a very quiet time from the end of last year to last week. In our (old) calender we have still on the 'New Year Week(s)(or Period)' called 'Matsu no uchi(in New Year Pine Decoration)' By 18th of Japanuary we called it Matsu no Uchi. Now people start working earlier than this(5th this year) But you can see the New Year Pine decoration(car(small ornament), on front door...) by 18th January if you come to Jpaan.

I feel better than last week

We have a 'festival(feast)' called 'Ebessan(difficult for you to prouounce)'from 9th to 11th Jan. in Japan. 9th is the 'pre-festival day', 10th is main tomorrow, and 11th is the 'post-feast'. 'Ebessan' is a nickname of 'Ebisu', the God of Wealth. This festival is for him, and is to make us lots of wealth. It's very famous festival as a 'merchants' festival'(hope you can understand me). Many merchants go to shrine and pray for prosperity of their business. Ebis God is a Happy God It's very important festival for Osaka people, as I told you Osaka has been famous for merchant in Japan for years and years. Osaka people LOVE this festival, though it's become less popluar as it was used to be
('pre-festival day(9th of Jan)' is my birthday lol. A bit happy day today)

Hope you'll enjoy my story

See you soon
Taamyu

Oooops, we have a lovely phrase on Ebessan festival
*cough*
SHOBAI(business) HANJOH-SHITE(prosper)<>, SASA(bamboo-grass) MOT(T)E KOI(bring us/me)<>