When someone says "time flies . . .

. . . so fast" I always wonder what they compare time to. You see, they compare time to something that is not time, wonder what it is . . . is it sensory time? Or interval between events? Funny that so many people are in the habit of saying this strange expression.

Just one song can sound both slow when we are excited and very fast when in a daze after waking up . . . various kinds of things will pass through my body like that, again in 2004! All right, bring it on, year 2004!

Well before that . . . there's still one thing I left out this year . . . that's "some about Mr. Kazuo Matsui"!

Back a while ago, Kiriya-kun and I were watching TV in Tokyo and saw Mr. Matsui having an interview in a news program. Then hearing the announcer said like "Matsui Kazuo so-and-so . . ." I was surprised and said "Eh? Isn't he called Idaten san?".

As I got a strange reaction from him, I again asked him: "Huh? What? Isn't he supposed to be called Matsui Idaten san?" And . . .

. . . then Kiriya-kun stared at me with a look I've never seen before, saying "Ehhhhhhhhhhhh?????? What did you say??? What??? What the heck does Matsui Idaten mean???". He told me so with a look like he saw an alien.

I was ashamed enough to wish I were an alien from Mars when explained that the full name of Mr. Matui was not "Matsui Idaten" but "Matsui Kazuo" . . .

Errrrr I really had no idea about that---! I'd been thinking "Matsui Idaten" san was an interesting name from long ago---! What's wrong---! Wonder if I remembered it so under the impression of written words by inputting the word "" I glanced at in a telop some years ago and the word "Idaten" I heard at that time into my brain at the same time . . . it's like, Idaten is written as "" by kanji characters and stands for the person who is swift of foot . . . thanks to my misunderstanding I learned a new word this time!!!

That's all of my silly short story.

Am I supposed to complete year 2003 this way!? (lol)
Ciao - ! (*gets desperate*)




Oh well, I should complete it in a little better manner!

It was good I could again live through this year!
Thank you for all your support during this past year.

Lately it's been on my mind that nobody can tell what will happen in one's life. No one knows what's gonna happen . . . it means, not that we are powerless but we are free, I believe!

See you!

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas, or Happy Hanukah, or just a Happy End-of-the-year-2003! I'd also like to say Happy Birthday to people whose birthdays happen to get all mixed up with this busy holiday season.

(repeat of the words above, in Japanese)

How are you getting along during these year-end days? I've been in the studio, as ever. Even the studio was closed on the 25th of December . . . Aaaargh, gosh they closed it while I desperately wanted as much time for work as possible, even just one more day! Lemme do my work please!! - I begged for it yelling like that at the gate in the snow - No, I didn't do that (it wasn't snowing either, by the way) and actually I held a small party at my friend's new house.

Most of the people outside on this day are tourists cause it's the day basically everyone wants to spend with family, no matter if Christian or not. Those who gathered had various backgrounds like: Christian with no family living nearby, Hebrew, person who doesn't believe in any religion and such; so anyway the party went like "Happy 25th December" and we enjoyed it very much. It was good that I could spend one whole day without work. It's been a long time since I last contacted human beings other than my place of work-!

I don't know why but I've been listening to Prince as my background music for these couple of days! (Yeah I know I'm getting deep!) The Greatest Hits one! What a surprise, I noticed that I didn't have even one original album of his, so I'll drop into the CD store open past midnight on my way home as I'm getting to feel like I desperately want one. Ciao. Ops, I usually never say words like Ciao! Somehow I wrote it and it's just OK for me, I'll leave it as it is. (lol)


********************
(NOTE by Nuuk)
The first paragraph(Italic) is quoted from the original message and not the translation. "Hanukah" is a Hebrew word and in English it is spelled as "Hanukkah." There are more Hebrew words to express this holiday.

What's goin' on in here!

How come the NEWS section here has been updated like this in a row, I wonder if I'm dreaming! (lol)

For the last couple of days I hadn't been able to grasp the timing to do the Internet thing, and I was surprised myself to see this flood of announcements when I checked this site after a long time! I was taken aback for a moment . . . then I consider it calmly and was relieved to notice that the magazines thing and postscript for "Project X" were just waiting for coming public releases and I'd already finished those works. Come on Hikaru, don't get confused by the information you yourself provided!

Over the past two months I've worked on various things, like flying to Mure Town in Shikoku region for the article of Casa BRUTUS and having a talk session with Sakurai Kazutoshi san. I was very lucky that I could participate in the wonderful works like these, when I thought it was about time for a change in the midst of the long-lasting album production. It was more like a spiritual support and stimulation than work. Mure, I'd like to visit there again . . . I saw so many white things there! Cars, stones, many kinds of thing looked white. At first I wondered why there were so many white things which looked so remarkable, and by the time I left there I saw the reason why . . . It's because the air was amazingly clean! Cities like Tokyo and NY are no match for there. "The whiteness" was truly outstanding! (Do I sound like a detergent Ad?!) If only I could once sing in the open-air, where the air is that clean. Oh, I missed a chance to chow Udon noodles there. Oops, my wording was a little vulgar. Pardon me

This is not only applicable to the album thing: I think to complete a long-term project is something like "this is not a race but I'll promise someone to swim 1,500 meters and carry it out!" Pacing is still important though you don't go into a time trial thing, cause without it you may be dog-tired or meet with troubles, or just become lazy even if you swim very very slowly, right? Working on my 5th album (including Cubic U one) now I'm getting to know what pace I cannot maintain myself rather than what pace I can, and I find it very good. That is, you've got to ride big waves to catch the big game, man! Heh.

Andwhat'sgreataboutthisisthatIcanmanageit! ( If a book like "Japanese words that don't sound Japanese" were to be published I'd definitely like to get these words on it(lol)) I guess the reason why I can manage it is because I can see something over it. It's something like, if I swim 1,500 meters then I'll tell it to that person; I'll eat my fill of delicious rice; or I'll take part in the swimming competition next month! - for me right now, "Hikaru no 5" and making my next piece of work are exactly something like that.

That will be one's last, unknown motive power I suppose. Hm, is that what's called "to live"?!

Usually I add one more twist before finishing the message, but argh, I'm starving! I'm gonna go get something to eat! That's all.


********************
(NOTES by Nuuk)
"postscript for 'Project X'" ... she wrote the postscript for the volume 2 of "Project X Challengers - Backstage to Resurrection," the book version of the famous Japanese TV documentary series "Project X."
"Casa BRUTUS" ... a Japanese magazine: she went Mure Town to visit the Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum Japan for this magazine's interview article.
"Sakurai Kazutoshi san" ... vocalist/guitarist of "Mr. Children," a Japanese band.

Eep

Oooops, it was 4 months ago I approached Zanecchi with the live things! Not in April! I read Dad's message wrong and wrote it as it was. Oh shucks.

I'll write some about Mr. Kazuo Matsui later, and . . .

Today I did aerobic exercise on the treadmill for 45 minutes, glancing at Mr. Kazuo Matsui's introductory Mets press conference on TV and listening to the karaoke version of "Hikaru no 5" set list in order using my iPod with headphones.

Doh, what an unintelligible sentence! Too much information in it! It's as complicated as the introduction page of how to get live tickets!! (lol) But that one came up as a result of the staff's deep consideration to find a way as equal and safe for all as possible. Please forgive us.

As written in Zanecchi's diary, it was around last April that I suggested the Budokan live concert this time. I'm so glad that it came true and we managed to get here. Ugh, these words sound too serious . . . but I'm really happy more than words can say. Now I'm feeling like, "Yeah! Now is the time to sing---!!"

You might be surprised as it came out of the blue and you thought "How come??". Going back to the past I remember the whole schedule was upset by the operation I had last year. I managed to finish the production of DEEP RIVER, but every kind of schedule - from TV/magazine appearances and video clip shootings to the production of my American album - fell apart once and that made a lot of people disappointed and wait; my condition and confidence couldn't easily be stable, which made me even more irritated, and the possibility of tours or live concerts had been almost zero for the time being. Then I made COLORS, got to work on my American album . . . Doh, it shouldn't go this way!! I've got Deep River, traveling, Can You Keep A Secret?, and much more songs I wanna sing live right away! Is it impossible to carry out due to the schedule, as the start of the production in America has been delayed this long from its original schedule promised in the contract? At least I can ask the staff if there is a possibility . . . this is how the feelings flowed over me.

About one month later in Tokyo, I went out together with a close childhood friend to do karaoke after a long time. Both of us didn't know the latest hit songs at all and found it hard to find the songs we could sing, so we sang some old songs of Morning-Musume and my own medley just for kidding, saying like "Hey what the heck is this unbelievable way of linking songs-! Even I myself can't sing it cause it changes too suddenly!(lol)" Then she made a song request for Deep River to me . . . Thinking it's been a long time since I last seriously sang in front of the people(actually in front of one person, though) I started singing, and I found her crying when I finished singing. Somehow I cried too, since both of us had experienced a lot in these one or two years. She told me "I'm looking forward to your album, so just go for it!" and after we hugged and parted, I again thought "I wanna do a live show even just for one day, if the tour is impossible. I've got to do it."

Sort of a cute story, huh! So how come it's called "Hikaru no 5," are you joking! (lol) - for all of you who thought like this . . . The day before yesterday, thanks to all of you I marked the 5th anniversary of my debut! Thanks for you all who gave me congrats. I happened to be able to hold 5 live shows right after I marked the 5th anniversary, and also it sounds good as it reminds us of THAT popular manga! (So it's a joke, isnt it? (lol)) And you know, the number 5, is deeply concerned with the human body and life, isn't it? Five senses, Five bodies("Gotai" in Japanese, stands for the whole body), Five fingers, and besides Five solid organs and six hollow organs("Gozou Roppu" in Japanese)! So that's why "Hikaru no 5" came up!

It's really a pity this time I can't do a round tour all over Japan for like a couple of months though the band and staff are called and huge stage-set is going to be built, but I'll surely do my best to make each live concert something that can satisfy everyone who comes from a distance. I'm so sorry to all of you who live too far away from Tokyo to come. I'll do the round tour next time, all over the country!!

Hmm I've got too much to tell you. I wrote too much, so that's all for today!

O, O, O,

Omatase Shimashita! (Thank you for waiting!) Here comes the renewal!

Omatase Shimasita! Here comes the live concert----!!!

(This sure is out of the blue, isn't it)

In coming February!
At Budokan!
5-Days Live Concerts!
That's
[Hikaru-no-5(go)]!

Wow, I finally announced it, for sure!

I just was dying to tell you about this!

The live concerts, by contrast with all the quiet works I've been doing . . . Now I'm expecting a lot from it, with the thoughts of the set list and how to behave on stage!

For more details please check the special page made with the efforts of Toshiba-EMI staff

So it does go analog, huh??

It wasn't renewed at 0:00 AM prompt. (lol)
I got like two emails telling me that they stayed up just for this. Errrrrr, I'm sorry. The staff might be desperately tampering with the PC at Toshiba(-EMI) Head Office possibly right now . . . or did they just sleep through the update on their desks? - I don't think so!!

I'm not notified at what time the update is done, but I do suggest you go to sleep if you feel sleepy! Tomorrow is Monday and you'll get up early, right?

I really wonder when it's renewed . . . *throb throb*

Wooow only a few minutes to go till the renewal!!

Up until now I've never witnessed the moment of this site's renewal so I have no idea, but will it be changed, like at the exact moment of 0:00 AM?? Or like around the time when the morning papers are delivered. Why do we have to be that analog in this case. (lol)

I mean, it's almost 0:00 AM midnight! I'm gonna keep watch on it

Well, the renewal . . . Gwahahahahahahah!!! Gwaaaaah-ha-ha-ha!

Ah, er, sorry, see you later!

Aaaaaagh! God I hope it was a dream!

I overslept and missed Kiriya-kun's chat event-!
He held an event where he joined the chat room on his site and I was like "I'll check it for sure! What if I join it with a fake name" but I slept through it all.

Bwahahah!!! What a silly wife!

I suppose it's OK, maybe next time

Thank God it was just a dream

The due date is now added to the (website's) renewal notice! 8th, it's the 8th. Heh-heh, I'm looking forward to it(Tanoshimi da wa).

Oh no, using "~yo" or "~wa" at the end of the words doesn't go with me . . . I mean, I just wanted to see it myself how incompatible I would feel if I used it. (lol) It's sort of weird. But wait a minute! Probably it's rare to see the people who can manage that way of speaking, isn't it?? We often find it in the subtitles of movies or something, though.

I wonder who would be the best person to ask the translation of English lyrics into Japanese this time. Doing it myself will be the best as a result, but the pressure would change if you were going to evaluate it as "lyrics." I mean, I can convey its meaning properly but it's too hard to make the lyrics something that can be considered as good on sight, and it's likely I would keep up myself too much as Utada Hikaru even if I translated it in a businesslike way. Hmm, I may try it if I have time . . . that's part of what I've been thinking of lately. It's about time to decide.


By the way, at first the renewal date of this site was supposed to be the 1st! But we changed it to the 8th as we realized that the 8th would meet the condition better and we'd be all set to reopen by that day as well. However!! I've just accessed this site some time ago and found the photo at the top page has already changed though we've fixed the due date on the 8th!! Besides it's a weird photo! Way too weird! I don't remember approving it! I haven't taken it first of all! What's going on!
. . . I saw a dream like that, getting worried.

Thank God it was just a *dream* It's wonderful cause I somehow felt very good