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03.13.02
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Since there has been a lot of discussion
in Monday's comments about working here in
Japan, and also because the experience is
still fresh in the minds of many hunkabutta
readers, I am posting some pictures of the
office that I worked in while in Osaka.
The pictures above are of the second office
we used. We moved there after we outgrew
the first one, and even though it looks like
we're pretty crammed in there, it was actually
a big improvement from the first place. I
think that I told you about the cramped conditions
of the first office in an earlier post.
The thing that really seems odd in these
pictures is that everyone is using notebook
computers. There wasn't a single monitor
and box on the project. I'm not sure exactly
why this is, but I can make a few guesses.
The team was hastily put together and a lot
of people just brought their own personal
notebooks along from the regular employer's
office. Also, notebooks save space. They're
easy to rent and transport. Finally, they're
just plain popular in Japan because they're
small and most people use them at home. A
lot of people don't have the space at home
for a desk with a monitor, box and keyboard.
A laptop can be put away in the cupboard
when it's not in use.
I don't want to give you the wrong
impression
about my working conditions. My regular
office,
at Netyear, is quite spacious and modern,
and my schedule is generally fairly
reasonable.
The project in Osaka was just an interesting
exception, but one that I thought some of
you might be interested in.
03.11.02
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Today's pictures were all taken yesterday
when I spent the afternoon showing my friend
Davy around Tokyo. I worked with Davy while
in Osaka. Among various other charges, he
functioned for a brief period as de facto
project lead and was a welcome bastion of
information and organization in a sea of
Japanese allusions and partial explanations.
Davy had to leave the project last week to
return to Europe (he's from Belgium), but
he managed to find a few days before his
departure date (which is today) to tour around
Japan a bit. He spent some time in Kyoto
first, and this past weekend he came to Tokyo.
I got back from Osaka Saturday night, so
I only got a chance to show him around a
bit on Sunday afternoon. Sunday evening he
had to return to Osaka to meet some people
and to catch his flight.
Davy and I, and his local office colleague
Asako, walked all around the busy streets
of Shibuya, up through Harajuku where we
stopped for lunch at the sunny, open-aired
Cafe 326. After lunch we went for a pint
at Scruffy Murphy's pub, where, incidentally,
I found out about a new open mic jam session
that I'll definitely be going to. After leaving
the pub we visited a student art gallery
which is in one of the funkiest buildings
in Tokyo (Spray painted neon colours and
capped with rows of red road cones), then
up through the chaotic teenager shopping
street Takeshita dori (street), on through
to Meiji Shrine nestled deep in it's own
little forest, and finally to Yoyogi Koen
(park) to see the dancing rockabilly troupe
and sundry fashion freaks who put themselves
on display for photographers.
I think that he had a pretty good time
considering
that it was only one afternoon. We
really
packed a lot in.
Maybe the pictures will give you a
sense
of what we did that afternoon, or at
least
I hope they will.
Enjoy.
03.09.02
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Just got back in to Tokyo.
They wanted me to stay on in Osaka
but I
told them that I couldn't. Jack and
Karen
will be back in a couple of days --
Yay!
Very sleepy now, so off to bed.
03.07.02
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You know what? We totally missed Hunkbutta's
one year birthday. It was on February 26th.
I was so busy here in Osaka that it totally
slipped my mind. That's too bad because I
had a few things planned for the occasion.
Maybe when I get back to Tokyo I'll do a
'Favorite Photos From the First Year' gallery.
Do you have any favorite Hunkabutta photos
that you'd like to see in a best of Hunkabutta
gallery? If you do, let us know about it
in the comments.
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