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Tom's English Services | |||
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| Shoko | Home | Work | |
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For the past 11 years, I've been living on the shores of the Sea of Japan across from Korea in a town called Niigata, Japan. It's worlds away from my native Southern California; my hometown being San Diego. Now San Diego is a great place to visit. |
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S.D. has so many good things going for it. Of course the weather is perfect. You could probably live your whole life there without an umbrella, overcoat, or long johns. And what to do in such fine conditions? There's the world famous Zoo and Wild Animal Park, the space theater, the beach, shopping, great restaurants (even the little Mexican fast food restaurants are good); great views from La Jolla, Mt Soledad, Mission Bay, Pacific Beach, Coronado and Downtown; fun, leisure, study...and the list goes on... |
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I still have family and friends in San Diego, and I haven't forgotten about them. There are some friendships that have only gotten stronger over the years and miles. My family has grown up in a lot of ways, and I am learning to appreciate them as I get older. |
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I learned from my father the value of hard work. But not just the physical labor- he always says 'work smarter, not harder'. My father and I are always thinking. Many times that means too much logic and not of enough feelings. That's when mom comes in to balance things out. | ||||
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Mom, the social butterfly, appreciates nature and people. She helps dad remember the human side of the situation, not just the facts. She has her one moments though. She is a collector. Shoko was laughing at all the wooden boxes I have. That ended when mom said she wanted to take the big wooden tea crate back home... |
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| Mom also has a very strong sense of family and family responsibility. She does what she can to help take care of my grandparents, both suffering the effects of strokes... and then feels guilty for not doing more. |
Then there are my brothers-
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Dr.
Max has his own veterinarian practice, called Amazon. He must spend 90%
of his life there, but it is what he wants to do. In his remaining, if you
can call it "free" time, he is taking care of his pets at home. His house rivals the zoo. He's still a big six year old- count him in on the pokemon card trading and beanie babies crazes. He's also the collector extraordinaire. He's got mom's passion for collecting down to an art. From roses and orchids, to koi and guinea pigs, I always can hear him say "Oh, I'll take that!" |
| Darin is the talented artist in the family, and used to have the moody personality to prove it. His wife Emi keeps him well-grounded though. She has loyally supported him beyond all our expectations, helping him to grow into a responsible daddy. |  |
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Darin and Emi are blessed with a
little escape artist named Shota. He inherited the Hibi STUBBORN gene and
definitely has his own idea about life. Convincing him to do anything he doesn't want to do
takes a very serious discussion. Already he considers himself a
connoisseur, at the age of 18 mo. he could recognize HagenDaz in
the next room...
Yet with such a face, he's just too cute! |
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So in many ways, San Diego is still my home. After all, Home is where your heart is. But there's also too many people, too much pollution, and too much crime in San Diego. Things are too complicated in fast San Diego. But as for Niigata... |
