Summer is Here!

Saturday I played tennis with the Portopia Tennis Circle. After tennis we went to Coco's and I ate shaved ice. To me, summer hasn't started until I have had shaved ice. So now my summer is officially here! It was DELICIOUS!

The Day My Life Changed

June 1, 2005 (I think!!!!) is when I met Mr. Nakauchi for the first time. I came to the Portopia Hotel as a JET Conference assistant and asked to introduce myself to him when I was checking out. Coincidentally, it was the day June Kim arrived to start her internship, too! He invited us to lunch at Shukeien--how kind! ^_^

The House That Ruth Built

Today I went to see the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. This is the final year that the Yankees will play in the old stadium. The new stadium is being built right next to it.

It was an exciting game! This is Derek Jeter hitting a double. He later scored when A Rod hit a single. Jason Giambi also hit a home run. I paid $23 to sit in the upper level seats--it was worth it!!!!!! ^_^

New York, New York

Isn't this a nice view? My friend moved to Queens in May and she has a wonderful apartment!

I really enjoyed my short visit to Cornell, too. It was beautiful, but a bit warm and humid!
Statues of Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, the two men who founded Cornell University in 1865. I studied Latin and other subjects in this building (Goldwin Smith Hall). There are some more photos here.

Greetings from Los Angeles!

This is the night view of downtown Los Angeles from Dodger Stadium. I went to the baseball game on Friday, but I went again on Saturday because I wanted to see Hiroki Kuroda pitch!

This is the City Hall of Los Angeles. Los Angeles' sister city is Nagoya.

Here is Kuroda on the pitcher's mound. He pitched well, but the Dodgers didn't hit so well. His pitches were almost 70% in the strike zone.

Later Takashi Saito came in to pitch. He threw 2 strikeouts, but he hurt his right arm and had to leave the game. The Dodgers lost 3-5 in 11 innings. They also lost on Friday night 1-3. I feel like a bad luck charm!

There are more photos here.

Happy Tanabata

On July 4, I took the ferry from Kobe to Kansai International Airport. The ferry was comfortable and it was a nice ride.

At Kansai International, JAL asked passengers to write a wish and decorate the tanabata display. They will take everyone's wishes and deliver them to Sendai for the Tanabata festival.

This is the princess I hope to see once a year! My niece is wearing a blouse I bought for myself in Japan, but the blouse was too small in the shoulders (I was too lazy to try it on). It's a nice dress for her! She LOVES it!

A Heroine's Welcome Home

I thought Tammy was coming to the US to play World Team Tennis, but it looks like she decided to go home to Bangkok to rest her arm.

There were many people at the airport to welcome her back after her success at Wimbledon.

Video courtesy of The Nation reporter Lerpong Amsangiam. Kob khun mahk ka!

Here is a translation of her comments in the video:

In the crowd--photographers are yelling, "Mom, please hug Tammy." "Smile, smile, smile!"
"Dad, please kiss Tammy's cheek!"

Dad: "Is it going to be on the front page?" My dad, the joker...
Tammy: "1, 2, 3" and both her mom and my dad give her a kiss on each cheek.
Tammy and her mom flash victory signs at the videographer--it's cute to hear giggles coming from behind the camera!

Interview
Q: Is this homecoming different from the others?
A: Yes. I want to thank the airport officials and staff for the extra special welcome home. I'm very happy to be home and I will sleep really well tonight because it will be the first time in two months that I can sleep in my own bed!

Q: Do you have any message for the fans in Thailand who followed your greatest success so far in your career (via live TV coverage)?
A: I want to thank everyone for cheering me on and sending your strength and encouragement to me in Wimbledon. I did my best but Venus was so strong. I hope to further improve myself and have continued good results.
Note to Kobe Portopia Hotel friends--I'm sure Tammy's message of thanks was for your cheering, too!!!!!!! Hontou ni arigatou gozaimashita!

Q: Earlier this year, you said you want to go to Beijing, but your name was not on the Olympic announcement list. What are your on-going goals?
A: It's OK that I didn't make the Olympics. It is a bit of a shame that I didn't improve my rank in time to make the cut, but I'm very happy with my Wimbledon results. I think it is better to focus my training on the US Open and have even better results there.

Q: For dad, as Tammy's first coach, how long have you been waiting for this moment?
A: Since she was five! I'm very proud of Tammy and her independence and ability to take care of herself (alone on tour). She also listens respectfully to the advice from elders and I think she deserves praise for that. Losing (to Venus) is a normal thing but I am most impressed with her mental toughness. It was amazing!

Q: For mom, how do you feel about Tammy right now? Were you following her progress?
A: (Tammy)--She was coaching me from home. Mom: Yes, I told her that her angled shots are very good and that she should make her opponents run until they are tired out and then they will lose. I am very proud of her.

Tammy: Thank you all very much for coming.

Tanasugarn Still Going Strong at 31

LONDON, England - In her seventh appearance in the fourth round at Wimbledon she became the first Thai woman to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event, and at 31-years-old Tamarine Tanasugarn proved it's never too late to give it your all.

At Wimbledon she beat players at least eight years her junior, including world No.2 Jelena Jankovic. Facing four-time champion Venus Williams in the quarterfinals, Tanasugarn, a Buddhist, took a philosophical approach to the match which she ultimately lost, 64 63.

"Previously I had always been very disappointed that I hadn't made it to the quarterfinals because I made it through to the fourth round so many years before," Tanasugarn said. "But this year it's the only year that I haven't really expected to go further, which means I can just concentrate on my game.

"I'm happy to be in the fourth round and now in the quarterfinals. So whatever round I'm in, I'm happy. I won't be disappointed if I lose because I'm happy with the way I'm playing."

'Tammy' turned professional in 1994 and since then she's had her ups and downs, making her way through the ITF circuit and on to the Tour, reaching her first Tour singles final at Pattaya City in 1996. She finished runner-up in a series of tournaments, including Birmingham in 2000 and Canberra and Doha in 2002 - debuting into the Top 20 that year - and finally breaking through to win her first Tour singles title in Hyderabad, India in 2003.

But she began to struggle in 2005 and reaching the quarterfinals at Birmingham was her best result that year. In her late 20s it was never going to be easy to up her game, especially having to return to the ITF Circuit after taking a steep drop down the rankings to No.125. At the age of 27 most players might have thrown in the towel, and even Tanusugarn thought she was close to doing so.

"During that time it was tough; I was thinking to stop and two years ago at Wimbledon I had to play in qualifying, so I would just go out there and have fun," said Tanasugarn. "But suddenly, after the qualies I was back in the third round again and I felt like I was starting over, and at this kind of age you really have to take care of yourself; your body, your mind, a lot of things. Now I've learnt to take care of my body more and see how I'm feeling."

Since 2006 her game has shown steady improvements, proving that it's never too late to learn and improve. As a finalist at Bangkok in 2006 and after winning a series of tournaments on the ITF Circuit, Tanasugarn's fruits of labour paid off this year, winning the Ordina Open in the Netherlands as a qualifier, beating recent Roland Garros runner-up Dinara Safina in the final, rising up the rankings once again from No.85 to No.60. After Wimbledon she'll be back in the Top 40.

Her efforts over the years have been inspiring for tennis players worldwide and in particular for the Asian tennis scene, which has also spurred Zheng Jie from China into the latter rounds here at Wimbledon after shocking world No.1 Ana Ivanovic in the third round.

But as Tanasugarn prepares for her life beyond tennis - she's planning on studying a Masters in business at Bangkok University - she knows the world is her oyster.

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do. But if I try to help and improve tennis in Thailand I will love to do that. Or I would like to do something (different from) tennis also because I've been a tennis player for many years, and now I want to do something different like a normal people also."

You Did So Well, Tammy!!!!!!

Venus Williams was too strong for Tammy, but the quarterfinal match was still a good one with many exciting rallies. In the end, Tammy lost 4-6, 3-6. Some of Venus' serves were 127 MPH/203 KPH!!!!!!

Monday, July 7 is an important day because that's when the Beijing Olympics Women's Singles draw will be announced. Will Tammy be invited to play? I hope so!!!!!!

Good job, Tammy!

That's My Lucky Clover Hair Pin!

Tammy cries tears of joy after beating Jelena Jankovic on Monday.

You did well, Tammy! We're all SO PROUD of you!!!!!!!!