My Most Memorable Days of 2019
Happy New Year
2020 Is Here
2019 was a pretty intense year for me. One of the major events being the death of my father Edward Collymore. Another was me pretty much getting my "Green card" or permanent residency in Japan.
The following were my most popular blog posts in 2019:
- My Drone Flew away/My Father's Death - April 2019 (480 hits)
- Highlights of 2018 - January 2019 (389 hits)
- Father's Funeral/Happy Reiwa - May 2019 (389 hits)
So yes my blog viewership has been dwindling since the end of 2018 I noticed. A very sudden and curious drop from a consistent over or close to 1000 hits for about 5 years or so, to something like a consistent 100 - 400ish since the end of 2018.
I think it's one of 2 things or a combination of both:
1) I heard facebook has been pushing for people to pay for advertising or else they will limit who sees your posts.
2) The soar in popularity of Instagram and the like, with the new generation just opting not to read as much.
In either case, I've been doing this since day 1 in 2008 because I like doing it and been doing it in the beginning with only like 2 or 3 readers who were my friends. So I will just continue as I was.
Anyway, on to my most memorable days of 2019:
January
Day 3853 (Family Lunch)
Tues, January 1, 2019
Had lunch and dinner with my in-laws in Utsunomiya, Tochigi.
Day 3855 (Drone Flew Away)
Thrs, January 3, 2019
The new drone I bought for my Christmas present, flew away over the highway. I had to make it do an emergency landing in an apartment complex. It was scary.
February
Day 3897 (Valentine's Parfait)
Thrs, February 14, 2019
Had parfait with my wife for valentine's day, not too far from where we live.
March
Days 3913-3914 (Lunch at Friend's House)
Sat/Sun, March 2-3, 2019
Had lunch with others at my church brother's house.
Day 3923 (Dad Died)
Tues, March 12, 2019
Heard from one of my sisters that my dad died. He was 89.
Days 3937-3942 (Back to Jamaica)
Tues-Sun, March 26-31, 2019
Started heading back to Jamaica in order to attend my Father's funeral. In, Jamaica, met a couple of friends and relatives.
The funeral went well, even met a few family members that I didn't know about.
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April
Days 3943-3957 (Sad but fun times in Jamaica)
Mon-Mon, April 1-15, 2019
Spent about a week at resort hotels in Jamaica to free my mind with my wife. And another week with family and seeing friends.
Day 3996/3997 (Dinner with Friends and Jamaica Festival)
Fri/Sat, May 24/25, 2019
Had dinner with some friends in Ginza, Tokyo. Then the following day went to a Jamaican festival in Yoyogi park. There has been mixed reviews about it. I enjoyed it especially just seeing friends and having a good laugh.
June
Day 4004(Surprise Party for my Wife)
Sat, June 1, 2019
Had a surprise party for my wife at arguably her favorite restaurant in Yokohama, Sizzlers.
Day 4024(Summer 2019 Jamaican Dinner)
Fri, June 21, 2019
Kept my yearly Summer Jamaican dinner event with people from my office at the Good Wood Terrace, Jamaican restaurant in Shibuya, Tokyo. About 14 people came.
Day 4025(Big Party at our House)
Sat, June 22, 2019
We had like 23 people over house for lunch. I think this is the largest amount we have had over. Good times.
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July
Day 4039(Funeral for young Church Brother)
Sat, July 6, 2019
Went to the funeral of a younger church brother today. It was really sad with many people weeping.
Day 4046(Yearly Performance on the Beach)
Sat, July 13, 2019
Performed 2 poems on the beach today, which has been a yearly tradition since the summer of 2016 maybe. They call it "Jamaica Day" Where they have Jamaican-type performances also by non-Jamaicans.
Day 4053(More Home Party)
Sat, July 20, 2019
Went to another church member's house for lunch with several others.
Day 4060(Community Festival Near my House)
Sat, July 27, 2019
I am on the local area community with responsibilities to plan cultural and sports events with this other guy. Almost everyone around my community is 65 and older with the exception of a very minor few. I was given responsibility to barbecue chicken!!!
Even with the threat of a typhoon looming, they didn't want to cancel the event.
Day 4062(Kamakura Tour)
Mon, July 29, 2019
Went for a tour around Kamakura, an old capital of Japan which is not too far from where we live. We spent a couple hours in the area.
Day 4063(JET Welcome at Jamaican Embassy)
Tues, July 30, 2019
Went to an event at the Jamaican embassy to welcome new JETs (a government programme for teaching English in Japan) in Japan.
August
Day 4072(Jamaicans in Japan BBQ)
Sat, Aug 10, 2019
Had a Jamaicans in Japan Barbecue, endorsed by the Jamaican embassy. Over 30 people came.
Day 4086(On a Famous Japanese TV Program for a few seconds)
Sat, Aug 24, 2019
Was on a pretty famous TV program in Japan called Taikukai TV, for a few seconds. This program sometimes have athletes like football greats, Messi, and NBA players like Stefhan Curry coming to Japan and featured on it.
September
Day 4098(Keikyu Train Accident)
Thr, Sept 5, 2019
Got a call from my wife while I was at work. She said there was a big accident on the train line we use to get home. I had to go home and go to work the following morning via another route.
Day 4100(Meetup and Harajuku Tour)
Sat, Sept 7, 2019
Met up with my friend who I haven't seen since like 2003 and his girlfriend as well as a couple other friends. First we went to a festival then we walked around Harajuku, a popular part of Tokyo.
Day 4102(Typhoon #15)
Mon, Sept 9, 2019
A really powerful typhoon hit Japan around 1 am after midnight. It had our house shaking. The aftermath had certain areas of a nearby prefecture, Chiba in ruins and out of electricity for hours.
But guess what? After the typhoon, you are expected to be back at work in the morning, as long as the trains are running. This is Japan!
Days 4110-4115(Birthday Trip to Atami, Permanent Residency, Sleepover at friend's house)
Tues-Sun, Sept 17-22, 2019
Over these few days I went to Atami, Shizuoka with my wife and her family, we stayed at a Japanese style hotel.
After this, my wife surprised me and we stayed at a popular western style hotel near where we live, for my birthday.
I then picked up a form to collect my permanent residency card.
The following day, I had dinner with some old friends who I met when I just came to Japan.
And the following day after this, me and my wife stayed at our friend's house and had some amazing food.
Day 4121(Watoto from Uganda again in Japan )
Mon, Sept 29, 2019
Me and my wife went to Lifehouse Tokyo church to watch Watoto, from Uganda, perform there. It was pretty amazing. We also decided to start sponsoring babies in Uganda.
October
Day 4134(Typhoon #19)
Sat, Oct 12, 2019
Another huge typhoon hit Japan, but this one had more rain, while the previous one had more wind. So this one brought widespread flooding in several areas, even in the prefecture where my wife is from.
Day 4148(Cup Noodles Museum with Church Friends)
Sat, Oct 26, 2019
Went to the famous Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama today with a family from our church. It was quite interesting.
November
Day 4162(Zoorasia with Church Friends)
Sat, Nov 9, 2019
Went to a zoo in Yokohama with some friends from our church.
Days 4163-4165(Business Trip to Fukuoka)
Sun-Tues, Nov 10-12, 2019
Went on a business trip to a southern prefecture called Fukuoka. It is one of my favorite cities in Japan.
Mon-Tues, Nov 18-19, 2019
Had another business trip, this time to Nagoya.
December
Day 4189(4th Jamaican Winter Dinner)
Fri, Dec 6, 2019
Had Dinner with some members from my office today. About 18 of them came. It's always entertaining.
Day 4191(Yearly Christmas Party)
Sun, Dec 8, 2019
My former students' parents always have been inviting me to their Family Christmas party since 2012. Their grandparents even came to our wedding in 2015.
Day 4196(Prime Minister of Jamaica Visits Japan)
Friday, Dec 13, 2019
The Most Honorable Andrew Holness, visited Japan this week. First to meet with the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, then to meet with us, Jamaicans living in Japan.
Day 4198(Soccer after almost 3 years)
Sunday, Dec 15, 2019
Played some really fun soccer today. The Last time I played was back in February 2017.
Day 4202(4 Years Wedding Anniversary)
Thrs, Dec 19, 2019
Had dinner with my lovely wife for our 4th Anniversary at Fridays, the place where we first met back in July 2015.
Day 4211(MC for Company Event)
Sat, Dec 28, 2019
Was asked to MC my company's end of year meeting, which usually have upwards of 200 co-workers. It went well but I was seriously nervous at the start.
All the best for 2020, It's gonna be FABULOUS!
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