2021/6/7(月) ZOOM

Hi everyone!

Here are the minutes of the ZOOM meeting held on July 7. No photos were taken.

The attendees were SM K. Narisawa, SM Yo. Narisawa, SM Koizumi, SM Kakahata, SM Eda and SM Yamazaki.

In the chat at the beginning of the meeting, SM Yo. Narisawa said that it was the birthday of her husband, SM K. Narisawa. In connection with the birthday, some of the attendees provided us with delightful news of their son’s families expecting a baby!

And the members who showed up exchanged the information about one of the critical issues right now, booking for vaccinations against COVID-19. The couple of the members said that they successfully got reservations by just making phone calls, after trying about 20 times over four hours. The reservations were made within the vaccination framework for people over 65 years old. Other members said that they helped their family members and their old friends make reservations. One of the attendees expressed his surprise for the way of the successful reservations by just making phone call instead of using PC because the person realized that a vast majority of people find difficulties in securing reservations by making phone calls. The husband of the couple boastfully said that they will soon become invincible!

SM Takahata expressed her excitement about the news of a Japanese golf player Yuka Saso won the U.S. Women’s Open on Sunday, beating Nasa Hataoka in a three-hole playoff. With respect to this topic, SM K. Narisawa raised the phrase of sudden death and play off. SM Eda talked about gardening issue saying some flowers are in full bloom, others are not, attributing the quality of dirt for the cause of the problem. And he said that he had been busy with marking mid-term tests at his school. SM K. Narisawa also touched on his school work being busy with work, saying that he was dead tired every day after work. In his talk, he used the idiom of “nagging questions” and “you’ve got to be kidding me! ". SM Yamazaki talked about a singer-songwriter, who is 77 years old and is going to retire. which makes him truly sad because he was consoled by his songs when he was in his early 20s, he recalled. He also said that he feels old when he hears that someone has died or retired. During the ZOOM meeting, there was an accident in which a member had been struggling with the connection to the system. In mean time, SM. K. Narisawa managed to maintain the flow of the conversations by raising light issues to play for time.

Table Topics Speech

“What is or was your mother like?” (SM Eda)

The speaker said that his mother passed away 19 years ago, saying that his mother truly loved her kids. He still clearly remembered the time when he moved out to rent his apartment, with images of his mother waving her hand to send him off. In connection with the issue, SM Yamazaki talked about her mother who passed away a long time ago, 53 years ago, saying that she made a blunder in the thank-you party that was one of graduation ceremonies from his elementary school. In that event, she awkwardly tried to remove the paper tab from a glass of milk coffee, pushing strongly into the paper tab, resulting in scattering around the liquid. That event was truly embarrassing, he recalled.

“What is the most surprising thing you have seen in someone else's home?” (SM Yo. Narisawa)

The speaker talked about a very wealthy female friend who likes to collect expensive things, saying that she had an experience of wearing an expensive kimono, worth about one million yen, just one time and then leaving it in the closet to gather dust. SM K. Narisawa raised the words of “overshadowing bride” and “a kimono with flashy patterns”

“Are you a night owl or an early bird?” (SM Takahata)

The speaker said that she is definitely an early bird, saying she gets to sleep before 11 o’clock and is able to sleep well for at least six hours. Whereas, her husband is quite a short sleeper, saying that he usually stays up until late until two to three o’clock although she doesn’t know the reason why. He currently works in China. In connection with sleep, SM. K. Narisawa said that he is likely to rely on sleeping pills.

“What is something you have always wanted since you were a kid?” (SM Koizumi)

The speaker said that he had a dream of becoming a scientist such as Yukawa Hideki and he studied hard to enter a prestigious university. In the university, he majored in applied physics, he said.

“What music do you listen to lift your spirits when you're felling down?” (SM K. Narisawa)

At the beginning of his speech, he touched on his habit of having access to different kinds of Youtube programs, saying that he from time to time drifts into music site from English education programs. He stressed that soothing music is much more effective to lift his spirits rather than rock music when he is feeling down. He also raised one of his favorite songs, YORUNIKAKERU, describing that the song features melody complexity and the words of the song have an underlining reference to a double suicide. After his speech, the attendees exchanged their own music preferences. Of them, SM Eda and SM Takahata raised some of English songs such as the Carpenters' numbers, black music such as R&B respectively.

“What can you do today that you were not capable of a year ago?” (SM Yamazaki)

The speaker talked about his life back in the past one year, saying that he has been working remotely. With the change in the work environment, when it comes to think of handling his computer he learned a lot with the help of the internet site, he said. What’s more, he emphasized the sea change in communication tool instead of meeting in person, say Zoom meeting.

Next meeting

Seishin Community Center (9:30-11:59 am)

Coordinator: SM K. Narisawa, Lecturer: SM Yo. Narisawa

Reported by YAMAZAKI