I’ve decided that you can only say you’re ‘too busy’ when you can’t even find the time to write to friends. After watching so many of you go through phases of silence, I guess I finally passed that point. It’s coming up on 3 months since I wrote and I think it will have to… Continue reading Trek
Category: Countries
Trek
Their packs were small. I wondered how they would fit tents and sleeping bags in them and started to panic, thinking Honda-san had stuffed up again. He was the experienced one among the Japanese, hiking up to five times each year, but he’d failed miserably when he went to Australia. Before he left, he asked… Continue reading Trek
Music
I felt very out of place for half an hour, sitting at the back of the hall with a bunch of kids, but when the band came on, I forgot about that. They started with ‘sayonara no hi,’ goodbye day, a song bouncing with percussion that brought the audience to their feet – figuratively. There… Continue reading Music
Customer Service
“Captain on the bridge.” The words weren’t actually said, but I could hear echoes of them whenever I approached. Every technician would stop what he was doing and stand ready, as if waiting for new orders. “Don’t let me interrupt. Continue what you were doing.” No movement. “Kasamatsu-san, I just wanted to see how things… Continue reading Customer Service
Parties
Well, once again I revert to writing this when I’m at work in obscure hours. This time I might as well call it ‘what I did on other people’s holidays’. The sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky. It’s about 20C on a perfect Spring day. At least that’s what I see on… Continue reading Parties
Flower Viewing
“mita? sakura ga saita,” said each person as they came in, tones reverent. Did you see? The cherry flowers blossomed. All day, the office buzzed with a peculiar mix of anticipation, serenity and excitement, and wandering around the city that evening, I felt the same atmosphere on every street corner. In my head, I saw… Continue reading Flower Viewing
Sex
I had no reason not to gawk however, and did so keenly. A man in a doctor’s coat stood beside a gorgeous young woman, naked but for a large area of pixelation stretching from hip to hip. Display of pubic hair is illegal in Japan, rendering the whole erotic industry impotent to achieve its objective.… Continue reading Sex
Christmas New Year
Hi all. I hope you all had a great holiday. I did, and it seems I’ve been on the road ever since. I’ve just come back from Singapore where I picked up my 4th active project. The additional work must be in an effort to get me to stay as late as everyone else. I’m… Continue reading Christmas New Year
Equality
I’m sure I’m not the only person who’s never received a Valentine’s Day Card. I’m not the only one who, the next day, either had to admit it, or concoct a story of some secret admirer and make it sound so hot that I couldn’t show anyone. In the west, that’s something you deal with.… Continue reading Equality
Meeting
I stood in the snow for two hours waiting to meet George at the appointed time and place but he, it turns out, had slept in and was having a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. While I tried to track him down and started calling the vendors to delay the meeting and to make arrangements… Continue reading Meeting