Oh, How Time Flies

Well, over a month has passed now as I continue to settle into my new life here in Tokyo. Saying that I realize that in reality I may never be able to say that I feel settled here. I know that I won’t be here permanently and will never "fit in" seeing as I am a "gaijin" (foreigner) but I must say that I have adjusted to the fact that I am in Japan. Turn the T.V. on and I would be surprised to hear English, little things like that are my gauge I guess.

Anyways, a lot has changed since my last post. I have moved into my own apartment ("Nakamurabashi" lat=35.7411194779, lon=139.632812038 if your a google earthling) and it is only 45 minutes from work!! But that means no more Hina or beers with host dad or care packages from the old people around the neighborhood. I must now fend for myself and make plans for food or starve. Our local grocer "Seiyu" is the only real option in the neighborhood and it is located directed at the exit of my new train stop. They have all of the staple foods at outrageous prices of course, so I find myself wandering the aisles almost daily in search of the daily specials.

My apartment is what is called a guesthouse. I live with 6 other people in a two-story house and it is for the most part similar to anything you would expect in a college house. Two of my roommates are German; there is one Frenchman, a Swedish girl, another American and a mystery guest. There is sadly only one shower and it is located between the stove and fridge... I don’t even want to go there. The kitchen is shared by four of us seeing as two of the rooms are partial apartments meaning they have kitchens. The three who I share the kitchen with are not the cooking type. I basically have the kitchen to myself and I enjoy cooking up a storm. My room itself is your average sized room, brand new tatami floors, which still carry the smell of freshly cut grass which depending on my mood can be quite pleasant. I like my new place.

There is also a new addition to Japan life. My girlfriend Rebecca moved over here November 11th (just in time for my birthday). She has loved it here so far. She lucked out and got a fantastic job at a really nice international school in a really nice part of town. They love her and after she designed a stunning winter art scene for the kids in her first week they have asked her to be the art teacher. Although being a teacher comes at a cost... germs. She came home sick on Friday and has been pretty sick all weekend. Hopefully she will get back to her happy and healthy self and can continue to wow the teachers and students at school on Tuesday. Its now 7pm and she is still very sick... I don’t think getting out of bed at 5am tomorrow is going to happen for her.

My job continues to be interesting and challenging. I spend a large portion of my day on the phone calling companies trying to locate their top employees so I can meet them in hopes of someday placing them at a client company. I also spend a large portion of time interviewing people and researching changes in the market place and its effects on companies that are associated with my clients in the case that there may be sudden growth in the company or down sizing in which case I will scout out all those laid off... not exactly top drawer guys, but candidates none the less. No matter how you look at it I am learning a lot about the business world, it is a great experience for me, I get to speak a lot of Japanese, and at the end of the day I am getting paid.

The hardest thing is adjusting to full time work. Being a student was so much fun... Why didn’t I enjoy it more? Such an obvious thing and so many people tell you to enjoy your student life but you don’t really think about it until you are sitting there in your little career capsule 9-7 all day dreaming about taking the after noon off to have a tub of beer for $1.25 with your friends at the campus bar. But you know its hopeless because you have "targets" that "must be met" because "competitors are struggling right now" and we have to "take over". AAAAHHHHHHHH
I secretly love it though because I know I wont be doing this forever, and I am sure there will be a day that I look back with a smile at the days of East West Consulting and Tokyo life...

I’m going to go and get some more ice cubes for Rebecca so she doesn’t dehydrate. Miss all of you and hope that every is going well in your own worlds.