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Over the last few days I've been so tired it's been really hard to concentrate at work. On the way home I crash out on the train but it doesn't really seem to make me feel much better. I've tried getting an early night but that didn't work out. Then I tried taking a nap after work but couldn't sleep due to the noise outside. I just want to shut off for a week and return refreshed!
It seems to me that for an English company at lot of people at work are interested in Japan. Of course, there is me, having lived in Japan and studied Japanese. But there are others who share this interest, too.
Six months back another ex-JET joined my department (actually we went to the same university too!). He took the JLPT back in December, but to be honest wasn't really your typical 'otaku.' I think he took part on the JET programme for the experience more than the country in particular.
One of the developers I know is very into all things Japanese. After hearing that I spoke some Japanese he impressed me by spouting out some phrases. Actually, today I complimented his Japanese as he held open a door for me and said in Japanese, 'After you...' I've seen him with Japanese foods like Miso soup at work.
Last week I went to the floor above mine to talk to someone and noticed he had the Japanese phonetic alphabets stuck to his monitor! Then there are others who know a few phrases from anime.
I wonder whether this kind of interest in Japan is normal for a typical software company?
Now this is what I call a brave way to clean windows. There were about four guys hanging from ropes cleaning the building opposite to our office today. The first guy was well practised. He maneuvered with ease, finishing each window quickly before absailing down to the next.
Some of the others however, were less skilled, shall we say. The guy pictured to the right was clearly a beginner. Most of the people on my office floor were in maneuver were in stitches watching him as he grasped onto any piece of brickwork he could in order to steady himself. I wonder if it was his first and last day?
There are always a number of online petitions at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk. While they are normally quite sensible here are some a friend sent to me to have a look at:
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Micetravelfree/
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Invasion/
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/TheATeam/
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/badger/
Every morning I find myself with a copy of City AM, a free business newspaper given out at stations in the City. A few minutes later I find myself at work with no time to read it so it often ends up in the bin.
The guy who hands these out looks always looks tired and depressed. On top of this I'm sure he recognises me each morning. As I don't want to suddenly start blanking him I say good morning and therefore feel obliged take the City AM he is holding. I'm too soft.
Have you heard of Markdown? It's supposed to be a simpler way of formatting your text, which then gets converted into HTML for you. This functionality has now been built into TypePad.
A couple of examples which I'll copy and paste here are:
*italic* or _italic_
**bold** or __bold__
***bold and italics*** or
___bold and italics___
The * and _ characters are basically your 'tags' but look a little simpler. There are other types of syntax in Markdown such as simple ways to create links, lists and block text.
It's an interesting idea, but I wonder if it will take off. Although this could be useful for new bloggers who don't know HTML I have a feeling it might just start confusing people who dare to look at their code.
Since building my new computer and installing Windows XP SP2 everything has been running pretty well. There is one strange thing which happens, however, when I click on mailto links. My computer appears to freeze for a few seconds before opening about 40-50 Internet Explorer windows, all of which are blank! Have you ever had this problem before? I suspect my default mail application settings aren't quite right...
Are you a member of Face Book?
Face Book seems to be the latest craze on the Internet. 'There are just so many people on it.' 'The design is great.' 'Are you going to sign up?' Everyone is talking about it at work.
Through Face Book people have discovered interesting things about fellow colleagues. Pictures, links to videos... Is this a good thing? How long do you think it will all last?
A few years ago I did sign up to a couple of similar sites such as High 5 but I wasn't all that impressed.
I do, however, still use Mixi, a Japanese social community site. It's quite slick and I've met interesting people through it, such as tennis partners.
It has occured to me that I nearly always have a bag with me when going to work. Typically I'll be carrying most of the following items:
Pencil case - haven't shaken the school/uni habit!
Nintendo DS Lite
Headphones
Electronic Japanese-English dictionary
English book (currently Richard Branson's autobiography)
Japanese book + English translation
Japanese newspaper
Diary/Schedule
Gym clothes,
Bottle of water...
...the list goes on! Do I really need so much stuff? How much do you carry with you on a daily basis?
What do you think of Sudoku? Personally, I could never see the point in it, nor any entertainment value. 'Why do so many people on the train seem to enjoy it?' I often thought.
Now, I'm hooked too! I had noticed there was a Sudoku mode on a Nintendo DS game I've been playing to death, The Brain Training Game. Having grown a little tired of some of the training games, I tried Sudoku and have been playing on and off ever since.
It seems ridiculous that I'm using my Nintendo DS for Sudoku when I could be playing something like Mario Kart, New Super Mario Bros. or Elite Beat Agents. It's really quite addictive once you get into it.
The Easter weekend brought a welcome break from work. Four days seemed like an age compared to a normal weekend.
But don't you find that you are so used to working, used to being busy, that after a while you start to feel strange having so much time off? You wonder what to do with yourself if you have no plans, even for half a day?
The thing I like about work is that it gives your life a structure, a kind of frame to work around. Sometimes I even like the commute to work, seeing different people and feeling like part of the city. But when I'm working I want more time off.
I've come to the conclusion that people, or myself at least, don't stay content for long in any situation. Why is that? If you could have the perfect balance between work and play would you be content in the long run?
A colleague at work was talking about Zen and how it says you shouldn't think too much. Live in the moment and be content. When I asked about making future plans she said that Zen says you should simply know what to do. But what if you are forced to make a decision before your Zen-self had mapped out the right thing to do?
It had to happen some time and it happened this morning.
I walked into the office wearing my trainers as normal, the most comfortable pair of shoes I've ever owned (credit to Asics running shoes). I got to my desk and then it struck me: I'd worn my smart shoes home on the last day of work last week and forgotten to put them in my bag!
So I was shoeless all day - yes disgusting as it may be, I even had to pop to the loo in my socks. I opted out of an optional presentation as it would have been a tough choice between socks or trainers. Luckily for me, I don't meet company clients and it's not uncommon for people to walk around the office in their socks.
Last year I took out an NS&I ISA, which has one of the best interest rates, at 5.80%.
In case you don't know about ISAs, they are basically untaxed UK savings accounts. With a Mini Cash ISA you can deposit up to £3,000 per tax year.
In the run up to the new financial year I was expecting some kind of letter describing what would happen with regards to renewing the ISA or about how to start using another provider's product. However, I have received no information and cannot find it on the website.
Though I've submitted a query, maybe one of you know how this works - if so, please tell me. If I pay into my NS&I account will my ISA provider for this year automatically become NS&I? If I would like to use another provider for this year do I need to inform NS&I first or simply apply elsewhere?
London has been treated to a glorious warm spell for the Easter bank holiday season. It feels like summer has arrived!
Down at the tennis courts I couldn't really take it. Who would have though I used to play in 30+ degrees in Japan?
Despite applying ample amounts of sun block I still got burnt. Damn it, I'm on fire!
Along with countless others I jumped onto a Central Line train at rush hour. We all got crammed in and I ended up standing behind a guy with a rucksack on his back. As always when I see this I thought how vunerable this poor guy was to being pick-pocketed.
I also quickly noticed, however, that the guy's bag was open. Had somebody already rummaged around in there? I was going to tap the guy on the shoulder and tell him that his bag was open but for some reason I hesitated.
The train started moving and it suddenly I seemed to be past the point where I could say anything. I started to worry about whether the people around would notice the open bag right in front of me. Maybe I worry too much, but what if somebody noticed and accused me of taking something? How awkward would that be.
I stood motionless for the two stops until my destination and was very relieved to get off!
Have you heard of sites like Quidco which offer cashback on internet shopping?
The theory is that if you become a member of Quidco and they have an affiliation with a site you want to purchase from, you click through Quidco and then the referral fee is returned to you. Depending on the site you are ordering from you might expect something like 1-3% cashback.
In return, if your cashback balance is high enough you will be charged a five pounds fee for the year. When you get paid the remaining balance depends on your settings but the money can be transferred to your bank account or PayPal account.
I first used Quidco a couple of months back when I was ordering lots of computer components. I have finally received a mail detailing my first payment. After the yearly deduction I will only get about five pounds sent to my PayPal account.
Unless you do a very large amount of shopping on the Web I'm not sure how worthwhile Quidco is, but it's worth a try if you are counting all the pennies!
Having applied a couple of weeks back my re-newed gym membership came into effect starting today. Although I get a heavily discounted membership through work, it's still a lot of money if you stop going to the gym. Must continue!
Since starting at the gym I've noticed a slow but definite improvement in strength, but a much slower rate of weight/muscle gain. In order to put on some weight I was toying with the idea of protein supplements, though from what I've heard, they can be quite expensive.
One great thing about the gym is that if you pop along at lunchtime for a quick workout, you really get your heart going and it can really freshen your mind after a long morning poring over code.
So, no excuses - regular gym visits!
