Tag: life

Never a Dull Day

It’s certainly been an interesting one today, with a meeting in Starbucks, another at the Foreign Correspondents Club, another in a pizza restaurant and another by a bench outside a supermarket near home. There were revelations, probing questions as well as frustration, outrage, big decisions, action steps …and a dead rat. I got a phone […]

Ritz-Carlton Tokyo project: Suta-to!

Today was a very good day. It started off as most Monday’s do – volunteer work at city hall. I went extra early today, in order to finish early and meet George an hour before our lunchtime appointment at the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo re. Japan Podshow – George and I deserve a break at the end […]

Another week in the life of Joseph Tame

Yes indeed. The world’s first Moled space flight. Captured on the Hibiya subway line. So, it’s been a pretty full-on week this week. The day job has been hectic as we’ve had a lot of new contracts starting, and I’ll be out of the office most of next week teaching at a major electronics manufacturer. […]

End of week thinkings

(Today’s photo was taken on our trip to Yamaki Organic Soy farm last month) Morning. You find me on the train to work. It’s a Saturday. About 8am. Not too crowded. I got a seat. It’s 30 minutes to my stop from here, no changes. It’s been a challenging week. It started with my working […]

Saying RAAAAAA to life

A week between Mumbles…. how about that?! I think Twitter‘s to blame. I wonder what the global impact of Twitter has been upon blogging? If my performance is anything to go by it’s not insubstantial. Is this a good thing? I’m inclined to think it is, and it isn’t. The nature of Twitter means it […]

Firing on all cylinders

My running the Tokyo quarter marathon whilst streaming live video seems to have caught people’s attention, with two major US websites now offering to promote it, and another Japan-based media organisation interested in interviewing me tomorrow. I’m raising money for Oxfam Japan. This has all come out of the blue. I think the idea was […]

A new bird feeder

Following on from my last post: having packed my rucksack with Macbook, clothes and shoes for work, water and stuff for my Japanese lesson, I realised it would be daft to try and run like that. Carrying so much weight would not be easy, and would probably leave me with mightily sore shoulders. So, instead, […]

Woken by the warmth of the sun

Not a great photo, but one of the first blossoms I saw this year. It’s been a super-productive day today. It started on a really positive note, with the warm sun streaming through the trees, through the glass doors that make up a whole wall of our bedroom, and onto my face. It made me […]

Volunteering, earthquakes and my dream house

As I mentioned on Twitter, *Twinkle’s* come down with a nasty itchy rash covering her whole body. It’s pretty spectacular. What’s equally spectacular is how quickly it appeared, and how much it’s faded following a night of rest. She’s still not 100% though, so is taking the day off, and is as snug as an […]

Valentines Day 2009

After work last night, I came home to find the house stinking of rancid steamed broccoli – we’d forgotten to put a dish of it away in the fridge before heading off to Saitama the previous day, and what with these spring-like temperatures it had rapidly deteriorated. Windows open, air purifier on full blast …soon […]

Picking it up again

Another of my favourites from Tokyo – the little pink-hat girl rides high above the crowds (Shibuya’s Hachiko crossing). Posts / pages, pages / posts… Ah, the complexities of the English language. Apologies to those of you who received an ‘About the Tame’ post via my feed, my mistake when attempting to transfer some of […]

Hello to a fresh start

To mark the fresh start, I’ve finally said goodbye to Blogger.com, and the blue-theme of The Daily Mumble – my personal blog that on Tuesday will be celebrating its 7th birthday. As a result of the move, the new-look Mumble can now be found at http://www.tamegoeswild.com/words. Please update your bookmarks. If you are reading this […]

Time to grow up?

Changing the bogeys – crossing the border from Russia to Belarus, Sep 2007. Photo taken from an adjoining carriage that’s also jacked right up. Listening to Branson’s autobiography again today has really hit me hard. That, and talk with my colleague George (who is rapidly becoming an entrepreneur extraordinaire) regarding several ideas for ventures here […]

The thrill that is life

Feeling really gripped by life at the moment. The feeling of adventure is almost tangible. My desire to make the most of every moment has resulted in my feeling like I’m sitting in the front car of a rollercoaster. It’s a fantastic ride – what will the next corner bring? Excitement as we persevere in […]

Earthquakes and iPhoto09

Random image: me at Zietal, the highest monastery in Europe (nr Savognin, Switzerland), age 10-ish. I was in a real strop that day, running off ahead and refusing to speak to mum and dad! Earthquakes really do give me the jeepers. I think the fact that I’m currently listening to Bill Bryson’s A Short History […]

Taking positive action to bring about change

As many of you may know, I’m an audiobook junkie. Due to my attitude towards the use of time, reading physical paper and ink books is difficult. I feel uncomfortable using my time in that way. If friends give me books, I start to read them, but usually by the time I reach page twenty […]

A new study set-up

My old study-setup I’m very much an advocate of taking action to change one’s surroundings should they not be conducive to feeling at ease. For example, a friend of mine has been having issues at work involving smoke from an adjoining (smoking) room filling her office, but rather than just complain about it she went […]

No Foreigners

Yesterday was a pretty good day. My MacBook was returned after its third major operation, and late in the afternoon I was able to spend a couple of hours on the roof of the 53-storey Mori Tower in Roppongi, watching the sun set. It was marred by two things though, the first of which was […]

Gaijin Bubble – Being a good husband – Taking action

Sunset from our front door The intense feeling of ‘being a foreigner’ is starting to fade. These past few weeks there have been several occasions when I’ve been out and about, and completely forgotten that I’m a member of the 2%(ish) minority population of non-Japanese residents in Japan. Upon arrival back in Japan last September […]

Plans for 2009

George and I at work Just one more day of work at the office remains this year. Whilst I usually work alone on Saturdays, taking calls from those students of mine who are unable to call during the week, tomorrow the rest of the office crew will join me. They’ll be turning up in their […]

Thought on New Years resolutions

Ri-kun on the tatamiI finished reading Obama’s “The Audacity of Hope” this evening. [Wikipedia] [official site]. The New York Times accurately described it as “much more of a political document. Portions of the volume read like outtakes from a stump speech, and the bulk of it is devoted to laying out Mr. Obama’s policy positions […]

Purpose

My sister Jessie (left) and I, age: quite young Personally, I’m yet to feel the effects of the global economic slowdown. I’ve not been made redundant, my salary has not been cut, overtime is still allowed. But I can feel it’s just around the corner. Local redundancies are being announced on a daily basis, and […]

Mumbai, my job, and babymaking

I don’t think I could ever get bored with life. There’s just too much going on. For a start, there’s events in the news. I don’t follow the news religiously, but I have recently subscribed to the Guardian feed on my iPhone – I scroll through the headlines on my way home to keep abreast […]

Chasing Bubbles all weekend

It’s been a great weekend. A bit manic at times, but thoroughly enjoyable, and productive too. I’ve had two private lessons, spent a couple of hours taking over 300 photos in Yoyogi park (the vast majority of which I’ve yet to develop – will save that treat for later in the week – photos in […]

This and that all over the place

As usual, this post will probably be all over the place. There’s so many things I’ve wanted to write about, each wanting it’s own mumble, but I can’t see that happening for a while. Here’s what’s on my mind tonight in any case. ANKI My learning is taking off all over again with Anki – […]

Overly content?

A reoccurring theme for discussion in my head is one that revolves around being content. You see, I believe that it is important to be content with today’s life, because there is no tomorrow. And thus, I generally feel very content. Yet, I can feel that this feeling of contentness is perhaps holding me back, […]

Laser eyes, the work, the friends and the MCs

You find me sitting in the waiting room at the Shinagawa Laser Eye Clinic in central Tokyo. …feeling queasy. *Twinkle* has just been taken up to the 15th floor to have her eyes done, leaving me in the big waiting room on the floor below, stuck in front of a TV showing an instructional video […]

Photos from the local area, Saucepan Scenario and our Big Issue Friend

Woke up early feeling a little sad today. I wasn’t sure why, but I was sure I didn’t want to feel sad for the rest of the day, so I quietly snuck out as *Twinkle* slept, and wandered the surrounding streets, camera in hand. Here’s a few of the shots, interspersed with tales from today. […]

Meeting with my past

It was good to see my brother and his partner in Devon. There hadn’t really been time to catch up at the wedding; it was important we do that before I leave. I’m so glad I made the trip down there. Likewise with my older sister, whom I met up with here in Bristol at […]

An Amazing Adventure

Amazing day. A true adventure. Following 20 hours of non-stop activity I am pretty out of it, but I’d like to note down a few things from today that really struck me as pretty damn wonderful. It all started at 6am, I’m up to drive to the kitchen at the community centre where the sushi […]

life purpose

I feel a great responsibility to make the most of my life. I’ve been blessed with good health. I’ve been blessed with a loving family.I’ve been blessed with a wife who is love and light.I’ve been blessed with many true friends. I frequently find myself feeling like this. Feeling almost overwhelmed by fortune. When this happens […]

A CELTA weekend, and Family Planning

So this is what a CELTA weekend is like then: study, study and more study (and a very enjoyable 3-hour trip out to the Peak District to see friends – thank you!) It’s been fun though. You know, I think I’m actually starting to get my head around English grammatical terms, after 30 years of […]

The night before my wedding

It’s now ten minutes to midnight on the night before my wedding day. I dropped *Twinkle* back to the cottage we’ve rented for her parents, where she will spend her last night before she becomes my wife. It’s been an amazing day. Thinking back over the last 16 hours I feel tearful – we have […]

Hurray it’s Monday :-)

WARNING! THIS IS WHAT YOU MIGHT LOOK LIKE IF YOU HOLD ONTO LOTS OF BALLOONSBeen a bloomin fantabulous week this. The conference, the completion of the website (will give you the link soon), the people, the coaching course, the friendship… just grand. So much to smile about. I’m really excited that it’s Monday again. That […]

From the train: Nuclear Drivers and Being the Change

I’m on the train back to Sheffield. It’s been a pretty easy journey, relaxing. For the first leg I was on a rail-relacement bus. I sat at the front as I often do on buses, provided they have seat-belts. Next to me was a chap in his 40s. Pretty scruffy, stinking of cigarettes. “This bus […]

Post-student life begins

So yes, the change from student to non-student is going well. Having got rid of much of my coursework last night (I would have kept it had I been staying in the UK), I then advertised my last few books on Amazon – they were sold within hours and are in the post to their […]

The challenges of a long distance relationship

A misunderstanding this week between *Twinkle* and myself has led me to realise that, after 5 months apart, we’ve started to lose touch with one another’s realities. Whilst we do communicate regularly via email (just over 2,500 messages since we saw one another in January), these cannot give us a true picture of the daily […]

IBL Staff-Student Symposium

Full day of work today, from 8.30am to 4.30pm. I say ‘work’, but it was more like hanging out with friends. CILASS friends. Today was the 2nd CILASS Inquiry Based Learning Staff-Student Symposium. Some people may remember me talking about giving a presentation via Skype from Tokyo at last year’s event – well, this time […]

Final assignment received

Things are happening. We were given our final assignment today. A translation piece. Thus, all I have to do now is that story (by the end of May), finish my dissertation (by mid-May), perform a drama (Thursday), take an exam (4th June). I feel pretty motivated and will work hard to get these done as […]

Wondering what’s around the corner

I’m about a third of a way through the 27-hour audio version Murakami’s The Wind-up Bird Chronicles. Murakami is the first fiction author whose books I’ve read more than one of – this is my third (following Kafka on the Shore & Norwegian Wood). I’m finding this one as involving as the previous two, and […]

Total Success Institute

Great day today. Got that video submitted to the competition – I’ve had that lingering on my to do list for several months now. Then, it was wedding planning. Phone calls made, meetings arranged, all very exciting! Following that it was congrats to my *Twinkle*, who in the month of March saw sales in excess […]

Yet another way to easily save someone’s life today

A couple of days ago I blogged about signing up to become an organ donor, something I did last week. My conscience had been pricked by the results of research I’d carried out in preparation for a presentation in our Japanese language class. We’d been given three topics to choose from: organ donation, blood donation, […]