Gray Days

最近は曇り日が多いね。そんな日に子供の時の曲を思い出す。
It's been kind of cloudy lately. On those kind of days I always remember a song from my childhood.

It's a rainy day, it's a rainy day
It's wet outside and I can't go out and play.
anyway...

「雨の日、雨の日
外はウェットで、遊びに行けない」
な感じです。

私の仕事の友達は最近子供が生まれたので毎日毎日
「なんとかの子供の曲を思い出すの？」
かわいいね。

One of the guys from work just had a baby and everyday he asks me if I remember different childrens' songs. It's kind of cute.

皆さん、自分の一番好きな子供の曲は何ですか。
What is your favorite childrens' song?

私のは
Mine is

Run, run as fast as you can
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!

Kirsten

Maid blood donation clinics!?!?!?!?!?

メイド献血センターがあるんだ！

３月２４日のDaily　Yomiuri　Shimbunを読みながら、あきばのメイド献血センターを見つけました。 あそこでメイドさんは手のマッサージサービスをします。気もしわる意だね。メイドカフェはひどいけどメイド献血センターはちょっと非論理的だと思います。セックスと献血が混ざらないだと思います。理由があって、１９９３年に献血者は７２１万人だって、２００３年に５６２万人になりますた。日本は少子高年齢化で重大な問題けど献血者を増すのためにセックシーな事をするのはちょっと。。。

I was perusing the March 24th edition of The Daily Yomiuri Shimbun (Newspaper) when I came accross something that makes me question ethics. I don't know if you have heard of maid cafes in Akihabara in Tokyo. Here is a link to one of the websites. In maid cafes the waitresses are all young and cute and wearing french maid uniforms. They greet the customers as a husband who has just returned home. That itself is a little distubing to me. But a blood donation clinic in the tech-geek capital of Tokyo, Akihabara, has started having "maids" who give hand massages to encourage the tech geeks to donate blood. Should they be using sex to get blood for needy people? Imagine all the lewd looks the girls drawing blood get. One word DIRTY! They have a reason for doing so. In 1993 the number of blood donors was 7,210,000 but in 2003 the number had fallen to 5,620,000. In a rapidly aging society that is serious trouble. But using sex to encourage people to donate blood?!?!?!?

Kirsten