I have returned from a fantastic vacation in the heart of SE Asia, away from the stresses of “modern life”. The time away from my “regular” routine has given me time to reflect on what’s important in life. The region I travelled through is well known for the widespread poverty. However, seeing and experiencing the locals living through each day with such energy and enjoyment made me realise that poverty does not mean a poor standard of living.

We in “the West” may have got used to computers, chocolate and convenience stores, but we tend to forget that those things are “luxuries”. The trip reminded me that one should really be grateful with the roof over our heads, the food on the table and the clothes on our backs… the only other ingredient in a fulfilling life would be “purpose”.

I was explaining to one of the locals the intricacies of my job; standing in the middle of a rice field in the heart of Cambodia, the whole conversation felt incredibly surreal.

Anyway, it made me wonder about my “purpose” in life – I’ve written entries about “ambition” and “dreams” before, and I think this follows a similar vein. We all have to set goals in life and strive to improve ourselves. I feel, purpose gives us the energy to wake up in the morning and provides the foundations of happiness. I guess “purpose” may not be the right word to describe it, but the combination of ambition, optimism and purpose is essential.

Having realised the shortfalls of our modern society – in my life, as well, as well as those people stuck in poverty – I started wondering what I could do. I mean, I’ve never believed that one man can change the world, but I do firmly believe that one man can make a difference. I think maybe on my next travels, I’d like to try out some volunteer work just to see if my mind is in line with my body. It is easier said than done. Actions speak louder than words. I can throw any idiom at this thought but the truth is, I have no idea what it’d be like until I give it a go. I also know that my conscience has been stirred and I know that I will have to make every effort to not let it slip back into “routine”.

Some people say that seeing the world can change you. I myself have even spoken those words on many an occasion. However, up until now, despite all my travels, I hadn’t truly felt I’d changed. Sometimes I’ve wondered what my place is in this world. Now I know that I can’t just wait for it to find me a place. The people I have crossed paths with over the past week or so, have given me great strength and determination to drive forward.

Despite the tough times we are all going through right now, I hope that each and every one of us can look back on these years with fond memories; I hope that I can look back on this period and say “yes, I stood up”. The world may be crumbling all around us, but it’s not how you fall that matters, it’s how you stand. ….hmm, not that I’ve been crumbling or anything.

I feel I have so much more to say, so much more to share. But, maybe it’s one of those things that you just have to experience yourself. I really do love travelling.

Work

We had an all-hands meeting last week with the head of our division. It was just for our section? / sub-division? … either way, one of the things the boss mentioned was that none of us go to work “because of the nice office”.

After spending a couple of days at the other office, I have realised that the office – location, facilities and atmosphere, are just as important as the people and the work you are doing. In an ideal world, all of the above would be a factor in deciding where to work. However, as the world these days is far ideal, not all of those factors can be taken in to account.

So, on reflection over the past few days, weeks and months, I have come to realise the importance of colleagues, the office and generally having a stable job! But the point of this blog entry is not the fact that I have a job. Far from it.

I actually wanted to talk about the difference in atmosphere between a Japanese office and a ‘Western’ office. Apart from all the physical differences of the office layout – rows of desks vs. cubicals and offices, language – Japanese vs English, and although not quite in the realms of being physical, the number of zeros on the monthly payslip, there’s a whole world of difference in terms of culture.

Japan is still heavily traditional in regards to the workplace. Endless meetings. Constantly printing stuff out. The continous need to get approval for everything. You will not believe some of the hoops we have to jump through day-by-day.

Anyway, it’s definitely a problem with the whole of business in Japan. It needs to not just modernise the technology but the basic concepts / framework / work-practices – call it what you will. Maybe it is just my bias and my internationalised viewpoint.

Hmm, this topic is more difficult to discuss than I would have thought. I think the best way to put it is, as I’ve always said, working in Japan requires a lot more energy than working abroad. Working in Japan means thinking about a lot more than just the work you do. Relationships with your superiors is important anywhere, but it is critical here.

I just hope that I’m able to make an impact in this environment, network with the right people and progress in my career.

Holiday

On the flip-side is that Japan has a lot of national holidays! Today is one of them. It is Showa Day today. We have our bi-annual five day weekend next week. A lot of people, including myself, have taken holiday tomorrow and friday to extend the holiday to a full week. Actually, as I’m taking an extended break, I volunteered for holiday support today, so I’m actually at work today. But yeah, it’s strange how every time I take vacation I feel like I shouldn’t. There is always a fear that I’ll miss something important whilst I’m away. Although the fear of being laid-off has receeded somewhat, there is also a fear of missing an opportunity or not being around to help out with issues/projects. Hmmm…

News

…and now, there’s also this fear of swine…

The fear of death, be it to someone in a far off distant country, to those around you, within your family, or even to yourself, is something that does not sit comfortably for anyone. After recent events, globally and personally, I feel that I may be reaching an age that I will have to face this natural ‘circle of life’ more frequently and more consciously than ever before. Death takes time to sink in. It’s not just the fact that they will no longer be around, or that you will never get a chance to see their face or hear their voice, it’s all of that plus, what that person represents. The number of deaths on the tv screen are not just numbers – each and every digit represents a plethora of lives, emotions and memories. One mustn’t forget that.

Work. Friends. Family. Self. Love. Life. still dreaming…

Ski Season

On a completely different note, we went on a day ski trip last Saturday. The first time I’ve been skiing in over a decade. It was also the first day ski trip, the first trip in Japan and believe it or not, the first ski session in a blizzard! Yes, the entire day there was incredibly blizzardy weather with 8m/s winds and minimal visibility! Considering the super bad weather, I had a lot of fun! The last run was especially fulfilling, for want of a better word, as we were the only people on the slopes at that point. Every run was a battle against the wind and snow though. At times it felt like I could just close my eyes and I could see just as well. It was slightly scary though, sometimes someone would appear out of the blue, or more accurately white, in front of you and you’d have to react quickly to avoid hitting them!

Anyway, more ski sessions coming up, yey!

Guilt

This week has been a hellish week of stress and fatigue.

The work load has suddenly increased substantially and suddenly; the quiet times seem to be over. But that’s the least of my troubles.

I booked some time off, taking a long weekend this weekend. Incredibly bad timing. My manager was definitely not happy about it and was on the verge of telling me to forget it if I hadn’t told him I’d paid for the trip already. Still, it has stressed me out the past week and I have a feeling that I won’t be able to enjoy the vacation as much as I would like with the disapproval of the management hanging over my head.

I’m grateful for now having work to do now, and although it may be slightly stressful at times, it is not nearly as bad as the thought that I can’t happily take this vacation without feeling as if 1. I’m letting the team down, 2. deeply marking my managers impression of me. Seriously, I feel as if I don’t have the right to take vacation or something.

Honestly, I have nothing against the management, and I truly understand the position we’re all in right now. However, I really do need a vacation considering I didn’t take one over the festive season, and I would rather take it without feeling guilty about it!

So, graduation week has come and gone, with me now firmly sitting back in my Tokyo apartment ruefully reminiscing the days gone by. A 2 week break would have been a lot more relaxing but unfortunately I don’t have the accrued days this year to do that.

Anyway, I can’t change the fact that I’m back; nor the fact that the weather in Tokyo seems just as bad as it was in London, except + a few degrees of warmth. It’s cold enough for me to wear a jumper. Then again, that could be because my body clock is screwed up and it can’t keep itself warm.

Graduation Day

Graduation day started off bright and early with an effort to beat the undoubted queues for collecting the gown and getting the official photographs taken. Unfortunately I misjudged the willingness of people to arrive early and found that after arriving at 8:30am, I was done by 9, leaving me with 2 hours to spare before the actual ceremony started!

It was fine though – it gave me a chance to speak to the multitude of friends and acquaintances that I ran across. Despite it only being two months since I had left the country, in some cases it had been a lot longer since I had seen them last. Now, I’m wondering when I’ll see some of these people again.

The ceremony itself was a somewhat dull affair with the Rector giving a slightly politically toned opening speech regarding the economy, research funding, university admissions and so forth. The speech was followed by a somewhat drawn out naming of each graduand as they walked up on stage to be officially turn in to a graduate with a handshake. There was approximately 1000 people graduating in the morning ceremony, with an equally large number in the afternoon ceremony. Thankfully, I was called up quite early on so any nervousness I may have had evaporated and I could “concentrate” on the magnificent day.

Post-ceremony was much the same as pre-ceremony with a lot of mingling and talking to various people. Photographs being taken and stories being swapped. Drinking featured throughout the day with the champagne reception and then a trip to our old haunt, the student Union.

The day did not creep into the night as much as some had envisaged with many people heading off with their families for dinner. A lot of us were too tired for them to return and the night to continue… another time perhaps?

Friday

Friday was a two part affair with the early afternoon spent with a couple of school friends down at the East India Club. We were all suited up, which was a slightly bizarre feeling considering we were just there to play snooker.

Anyway, the afternoon soon turned into evening, where I ran across London to meet up with my Japanese uni friends. One of them had never had fish and chips before so I insisted I take her to eat some. We went to George’s, which was not exactly the closest place but I vaguely remembered it being pretty good. I hope everyone wasn’t too annoyed by the long walk to and from the eating establishment! The food was soon chased down by drinks at first, one of my favourite pubs on Portobello Road and then a trip cross town to the Sports Cafe. Despite being semi-aware that my flight was the next day, I thoroughly enjoyed the night out although I should probably have been more restrained in the amount I drank.

The Flight

There was a couple of school groups on the flight back to Tokyo. They weren’t loud or annoying so they didn’t bother me too much. I was curious though… the distances these kids go now for school trips is unbelievable! The furthest I think I went with my school was Western Europe on a history trip!

Talking of trips. I went to see Blood Brothers, a musical tragedy, where over half the audience in the lower stalls were school kids! Lucky them! I do remember going to see Oliver! when I was at school though – we went to see one of our friends in that.

Parting Thoughts

Now that I may back in Tokyo – with the daunting prospect of heading in to work tomorrow. I can’t help compare the two great cities of East and West. Here are a few small things I’ve noticed:

Escalators: stand on the right, walk on the left vs. stand on the left, walk on the right
Toilet seats: A cold toilet seat really does wake you up in the morning, no heated seats in London!
Night Bus: 24hr system of London is superior to the lack of night time transport in Tokyo.
Culture: London has museums, theatres and history which can not be matched in Tokyo
Food: Tokyo has great food. In London, you have to pay a premium for that kind of luxury.
Smoking: Tokyo should really introduce the smoking ban, it makes a huge difference on a night out!
Friends: my social network in London will be difficult to surpass out here in Tokyo but I really do need to give it a shot!
Parents: they never do stop lecturing you and giving obvious advice whatever age you are!

So, the graduation photos are up on FB, with others to follow shortly. Now, to recover from jet lag as quickly as possible so this week is not too hellish!

Yesterday I played tennis for the first time in nearly a decade; I honestly can’t remember the last time I played but I’m sure it’s over 6 years ago so that rounds up to a decade! Anyway, the theme of the day was travel as I had to wake up super-early, 6am, to get to my friend’s place.

The Long and Winding Road

So, it was probably my first time experiencing the winding expressways of Tokyo properly; I think the only other times were in the Limousine Bus or possibly asleep in the back of the car. We talked about how London really cannot compare with Tokyo roads – there’s really no cross-city highway or complex raised junctions of spaghetti roads… hmm, that English didn’t make sense!

Anyway, the experience gave me a reason to sort out my driving licence – not to get stuck in traffic, but just to drive around, see the city and the area around Tokyo on the weekends. Obviously, I won’t be buying a car anytime soon but renting should be pretty simple… but first, the long road to actually getting the licence!

Tennis

So, tennis. I suck at it now… well, I sucked at it before, but I really want to get back to a decent level again. I’m writing off my serve but backhand etc, def needs more work! My right shoulder slightly aches today – I do enjoy that feeling of having done exercise though.

Rails

Anyway, I went to see my grandparents in the evening, which meant another long trip, this time in to the countryside. I ended up staying the night and here we sit on Sunday evening…. I don’t know where the afternoon went.

Air

I’m off back to London next weekend so I need to get some plans sorted. First thing is to find out when people are free. Actually, the first thing is to find out if people want anything from Japan. I did go slightly overboard this morning with the omiyage shopping though. I have to pack my suitcase to see how much more stuff I can take. I’m taking a big suitcase there but only a little one back meaning omiyage will make a big part of my luggage!

p.s. the map shows my journey over the last two days back and forth across Tokyo. The line to the south should stretch to my grandparents place. The central line-break is roughly where my house is.

I’m back from Peru. Actually, I’ve been back since Sunday morning, and technically I left Peru on Friday. I have so many stories to tell you about my time in Peru but as I don’t really know where to begin, I’ll start somewhere completely different.

The first time I sat in front of my computer when I got back, I felt extremely odd. I basically hadn’t really used it since pre-Vegas, with the few days prior to Peru not really making much impact. It was strange knowing that the only thing that I really needed to do was check my email, and even that wasn’t essential. I’m no longer a student, so all emails from the department aren’t important, and I’m not yet employed so there won’t really be anything there. When I find a spare moment from all the unpacking and packing I’ve been doing, I’ve found that there’s still a massive chunk of time that previously I won’t while away in front of the computer. Now, I’ve rediscovered the joy of reading. Books.

Books are a wonderful thing. I’ve pretty much read 3 novels in the past month, which I probably more than the last year as a whole. I mean, the initial reason was to pass the time on the plane and at the airport – there was a hell a lot of hours spent at airports – but now I seem to read whenever I can’t find something to do on my computer. I’m not sure how long it’ll last, the whole reading thing, but it’s a nice alternative to wasting away the hours watching tv eps on my comp. Hmm.

Another thing I’ve found is that my hair has barely grown since I left for Peru and probably Vegas. My hair grows at a phenomenal rate. Ok, maybe not phenomenal, but pretty quickly so I usually have to get it cut pretty often to keep it neat. Anyway, I did notice the lack of growth during my travels but thinking about it now, I think it’s pretty much down to me being totally stress free. It’s amazing.

Other things I’ve noticed is that tanning really does improve the skin. So smooth and lovely! But yes, even if I haven’t finished my pursuit of happiness, for the time being, I’m content with being free of any major stresses. There are still a couple of things on my mind like this whole moving to Japan thing but it’s fine.

Anyway, Peru? Peru was fantastic. Once you get away from the polluted, busy, stinky, dirty capital of Lima and head out to the hills, it’s just wonderful. Highlights include the Lares Hike, the high-altitude football and the comic moments we had with our tour group. I’m sure I’ll be mentioning these at some point. For now, I’ll leave you to peruse over the photos.

The Break

I’m back from Las Vegas. I guess you knew that as I’m sure you all use Facebook. The question to ask seems to be “how was it?” or “how much did you lose/win?”. At the start of the holiday I didn’t really know why I’d decided to tag along. I wasn’t really in the frame of mind to gamble any money, nor was I excited about being across the other side of the world. Las Vegas didn’t seem like the place to unwind and relax. I still don’t think it is.

I adjusted to the strange pace of life after a couple of days and I started to enjoy my time there. After a mini blip with the jet lag and air conditioning screwing up my body for a day, I played my first whirl of slots and the Mojito Magic started. I still had my moments, the hot weather, the ice cold mojitos and the pool-side tanning, washed away my stresses.

There aren’t really many highlights to talk about; I’m not saying the trip was rubbish, far from it. I’m saying, we did some walking, talking, swimming, drinking, eating and gambling. I guess the one thing worth mentioning is the Penn and Teller show at the Rio – thoroughly entertaining. Although some of the tricks were not that impressive, it still was a nice night out.

Although there were a few frustrating moments, some minor disagreements, some frayed tempers, those moments complement the many wonderful memories of my week in Las Vegas. I’m not sure when or if I’ll ever return to that strange city but I had a great time.

O, I only lost around 20 dollars

Jab

As many of you know I’m heading off to Peru for a couple of weeks in the summer. I’ve been delaying it for weeks but I finally booked an appointment with the nurse to get some vaccinations.

I was looking forward to being vaccinated against a wide range of scary diseases such as yellow fever and the nurse was slightly confused by my descriptions of where I was going. Anyway, once the confusion had cleared, we figured out that I was not going to the “extreme risk” regions of Jungle Peru and I was only given a single jab. The single jab, I believe, was for typhoid and hepA but having no written record of what my left arm is battling at the moment I can’t be 100% sure.

I’m not complaining that I’ve only one dead arm to deal with and nothing more serious, but having been told by the same nurse minutes earlier that it was recommended that I took a whole list of other vaccinations a single jab seemed somewhat an anti-climax! I believe the other vaccinations included rabies, tetanus, tb and diphtheria. Thinking about it now, I’ve probably had all those vaccinations before.

Anyway, you know how nurses and doctors always start up a conversation to try and distract you before injecting you with poison. I found today that it was more a case of the conversation drawing attention to the fact that I was going to have a needle stuck in me in a few minutes. I was perfectly calm and ready for the vaccination before the nurse started yapping about languages and culture! Also, do they really have to hold the needle upright and flick the needle right in front of your face!

Anyway, despite all it’s shortcomings, the NHS is awesome! I can get my drug fix on demand!

The pharmacist at Boots however is another matter. I needed to buy anti-malarial tablets for my trip and requested a couple of different types. The pharmacist decided that because they appeared to have only the one on the shelf, that that would be enough and persuaded me that it was one of those “combination” things. A second opinion at Superdrug proved her wrong…. meaning I need to find a pharmacy where they stock the other malarial tablets I need. Grr…

Having switched to the Calendar view in Thunderbird for the first time this week, I realised that the multi-week view now menacingly shows the final week of April. You all know what that means? There’s less than 3 weeks left – the first exam is looming.

I know I said I did not like to talk about this stuff at all but my life is, and will be for the next month, consumed by it so I don’t really have much else to talk about. Also, I have been known to be slightly hypercritical! Skip to after the break if you want to read about other stuff ^^

Student Life

So, I originally intended to only have two phases in my revision. The first phase being just a quick glance through everything to refresh my memory as to what I needed to learn, and the second phase being to actually learn it. Phase two has ended up becoming the “refresh”as the first phase contained a lot of stuff I hadn’t seen before!

I was thinking of doing a revision blog post a day on a random topic that I’d looked at during the day. I have no idea what I’d write about but maybe it’ll be a nice way to recap what I “learnt”. Actually, it probably won’t be helpful at all…

Anyway, so, despite the extensive hours I’ve put in so far I have actually yet to learn anything at all. Well, apart from what every student learns at this stage – there’s a Himalayan mountain range of stuff to learn and I’ve only worn a t-shirt.

I was thinking today that I should probably figure out exactly what I was going to do come the Summer. I know I’m already jetting off to Las Vegas for a week post-uni.