Random musings on a Sunday

Hope this finds everyone well. just a couple quick notes since i haven't posted in a while. first off, for those of you who don't know, we play on Monday night (tomorrow) to kick off our season. it's been a while since we've been on MNF so there is definitely a lot of excitement right now. if you don't have anything going on, kickoff is at 7:15...wish us luck...if you want to keep up to date on my work life, go to 49ers.com as they do a good job of adding content, including some pretty funny video stuff on a daily basis.

on another note, a friend of mine moved to Switzerland for a few months for work and introduced me to a pretty cool website/application and i thought i'd put it out there for anyone that might be interested. She showed me a website called Skype (some of you may have heard about it). if you download the free software, you can IM or call a person computer to computer (given you have a mic and speakers) for free. it also allows you to conference call in the same fashion. i just thought it might be a convenient way to speak directly and to multiple people on the cheap. (may be handy when planning for next year's challenge?) if you are really into the 21st century, you can also utilize your video camera and see each other while speaking. i can also call my friends' land line in Switzerland for $.02 / minute which beats AT&T. we tried it out last night with another friend in SF and the quality and clarity was very good. anyway, just a thought. if any of you are interested check out skype.com or let me know. i may travel w/ my laptop when we hit the road to utilize this service and save minutes on my cell phone. btw, i'm not trying to shill for the company or anything...i don't get anything if other people sign up or anything like that.

on a final note, i was able to leave work a little early yesterday and made it to Bob's memorial service/celebration. just wanted to let you know the elder cousin did a great job sharing some special memories of Bob and all he meant to us as far as the extended family. it really dawned on me when she was speaking what a nice and special guy Bob has been through the years. i mean, i think we all knew it, but i'm embarrassed to say i may have taken it a bit for granted. she was right in pointing out supportive and interested he was in all my activities/school/career too and i should have appreciated that more. the service was really nice and it was great to see a lot of the extended yotsuyas. i didn't make it to the 'Lock for uncle kenji's party so i'm glad i made it to see him this time. not trying to sound naive, but it is another wake up call for me as these are happening w/ more frequency among our "niseis" and that has given me more reason to reflect and appreciate.

on an upbeat note, i went to the giants game on friday and met up w/ one of the asst athletic trainers for them and we grabbed some beers after. i was waiting for him outside their clubhouse and at one point the ushers started saying "move to the side please". i did with everyone else and here comes willie mccovey being driven in a golf cart. it was pretty cool...i was waiting for a while, emailing on my blackberry and at one point when i looked up bonds was walking past. i've never seen him in person up close and i was bummed b/c i didn't get a chance to see if he really did look juiced (large head, etc.) oh well...

bee & bri - i'm looking forward to a report and photos from paris; rod & esther - same for nashville...take care everyone

j