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  07.13.01
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When I examine my site usage logs, I am always
surprised by the fact that pictures of people's
shoes on the train always seem to get a lot
of hits. Now I know why.
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What NOT to buy your pregnant wife for Christmas.
 07.11.01
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It's hot like you wouldn't believe here in
Tokyo today -- you could fry a sushi on the
asphalt. I've been sluggish all day at work,
so I decided to go for a walk and clear my
head, do a little shopping, take a few pictures,
when who should I bump into but Amanda, my old friend and coworker. A really nice
surprise.
We stopped and had a coffee, I brought her
up to date on office gossip, and eventually
took her back to the new office and gave
her a tour. She invited Karen and I to a
"Beer Garden" farewell party next
week, though I'm not sure if we'll be able
to make it, what with bringing a new life
into the world and all.
Amanda's going back to grad school in the
States pretty soon, a very prestigious program,
so until then she has decided to become a
"lady of leisure" (as I call it),
and I've got to say, I'm envious. It's not
like she doesn't deserve it, she been working
for years, and she's going back to school
in the fall, and I was a "gentleman
of leisure"(aka. grad school bum) for
years myself, and got totally sick of it,
but you know how it is -- the grass is always
greener.
Anyway, here's to hot days and old friends.
 07.09.01
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It looks like 'Dexter' is gaining on 'Jack'
in the baby-boy's name survey. 'Flint' has
also made a surprisingly strong showing.
This is all good, because Karen went to the
doctor today and she said that the baby could
come at any time now -- actually, I believe
the word the doctor used for Karen's condition
was "ripe". Ripe! I mean, what
are we having here, a child or a tomato?
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Some of you may know that I love to play
the guitar -- Country blues finger pick'n
to be precise. Well, a new affliction, preying
solely on guitarists, has come to my attention,
and I'm worried.
 07.05.01
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Today I went to my very first corporate business
proposal presentation -- complete with powerpoint
slide presentation, leather chairs, and nervous
jokes.
My company (Internet incubation/Site creation)
is trying to land a deal to make the Japanese
website for a large, American luxury hotel
chain. The entire proposal and presentation
had to be in English, hence the involvement
of me, a lowly programmer. All of the VPs
of our various departments -- design, technology
development, marketing -- had to do their
parts, and I was the general coordinator,
editor, and language coach.
It was a good opportunity for me to meet
the higher-ups in my company, and also to
learn what it's like to participate in a
multi million dollar business deal. I felt
like Tom Cruise in some movie based on a
Michael Crichton novel -- "A story of
power and intrigue woven from the dark web
of corporate Japan's new economy..."
It seems like only yesterday I was digging
ditches in some bland Ontario municipality.
Sometimes I shock myself when I stop to think
about where I am and what I'm doing. Japan,
if nothing else, is the land where semi-skilled
people can go a long way based on their native
English language ability. I'm living proof
of that.
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