Notes to Myself

Ferrero Rocher

A while back I was given a box of my favourite chocolates, Ferrero Rocher. In order to savour the experience I brought one a day to work which I carefully ate after lunch. I say carefully as obviously you have to eat the chocolate and nut coating first!

This behaviour struck my colleagues as odd but it would cause the usual fun of quoting the old TV adverts:

"The Ambassador's receptions are noted in society for their host's exquisite taste that captivates his guests"... "Monsieur, with these Rocher, you're really spoiling us."

After coming back from Japan I heard that one of my colleagues had searched for my stash of Ferrero Rocher but obviously hadn't found any.

I spoke to my colleague about the search and then thought nothing of it until he later returned from a trip to the shop across the road with a broad grin on his face. He pulled out a massive box of Ferrero Rocher and enjoyed getting his own back by handing them out to everyone but me. Even I had to admit it was pretty funny.

Dirty Keyboards

In the Metro this morning there was an article about how grimy computer keyboards can be. Here's a similar BBC article.

One of the keyboards tested in the survey was had more germs than one of the toilets tested! It certainly makes you think if you eat in front of your computer each day.

Although the keyboard I'm using at work is relatively new looking - not much falls out when I tip it upside down like the last one I had to use - I gave it a scrubbing with some washing up liquid. Don't get me started on the office phones...

Association

At work today I got out some sembei I brought back from Japan. They didn't go down so well with my colleagues but I love sembei!

Anyway, when I started biting into that crispy goodness I almost immediately felt the urge to have a cup of coffee. Why? Because every week I used to have coffee and sembei after calligraphy lesssons with my teacher in Japan.

Even after many years have past I imagine this associative thinking will still be present. It's such a powerful sensation. I imagine it's because it reinforces habitual behaviour, something familiar and comforting.

That reminds me, even though I make a cup of tea at work every morning I barely touch it. Why do I bother?

Back Home

Yesterday I arrived home safely, though at times I wondered if I'd ever arrive. This time the problems started before boarding the BA's 747.

A technical problem was announced. Just as on the journey to Japan there were announcements every half an hour promising we'd be boarding soon. They said there was a technical issue and that they had to find a spare part, replace the old one and perform tests.

Delays are hard enough to swallow but when you see the next BA flight take off before you when it was supposed to take off 3 after, you really get frustrated. That's two times in a row the earlier plane was the worse option.

A few hours later and the plane which was scheduled to use our departure gate arrived. In a stroke of genius, BA moved their plane out to another area of the airport. We had to walk to another gate, wait another half an hour and then get on buses to take us to the plane.

On arrival at Heathrow the pilot praised his staff and as if to seek thanks said that they were under no obligation to have been on our flight and had they not swapped with the crew from another flight our service may have been cancelled. I can't believe he even mentioned it.

That was one of the worst holidays in terms of pure bad luck. Here's hoping the next one will be better.

Kansai 2008

As tonight is my last night in Japan this time around it's time for a quick recap of the last couple of weeks. Well, let's start with the first week.

I arrived in Tokyo bagless thanks to BA and the fiasco at Heathrow's new Terminal 5 and had to rush around buying clothes and even tennis shoes before setting off for Kansai the following morning.

The shikansen took about four hours to arrive in Himeji. Apparently there isn't much to see except for the castle but that's the reason I went and despite the poor weather I wasn't disappointed. Although the castle itself is amazing - one of the best original castles left in Japan - I was more impressed by the castle grounds and the sakura which was in full bloom.

That night I met up with a friend in Kobe and we went to an izakaya. Man, I love izakaya! It was my first time to visit Kobe and I spent the following day seeing the sights. Taking a cable car to the top of the nearest chain of mountains, Rokkousan, proved a let down as the weather at the peak meant that you could barely see 30 metres in front of you, nevermind beautiful views over Kobe and Osaka.

At the sea-front there is an area preserved from the Kobe earthquake. You can see concrete which has been torn apart and lamp-posts at strange angles and it gives some impression as to the size and power of the earthquake.

On the way to Kyoto I stopped off to meet a tennis acquaintance in Osaka. I had to borrow his racket for a quick match as mine was still in my suitcase which was god knows where at the time. I have no excuses though as the racket he lent me was the same model as my own (technially I could moan about the strings but I played pretty well so I won't!) I lost pretty badly but as this guy has won the Osaka singles tournament before (I'm not sure at which level or age group) I didn't mind quite so much.

Though that night I stayed in Kyoto I went to Yoshino in Nara the next day, an area very famous for sakura. Although it was still a little early for the full bloom higher up the mountain, the lower areas were almost in full bloom. If you are in Japan around April time I suggest you pay Yoshino a visit. You get to see beautiful scenery on the train ride there alone, including mini bamboo forests that line the tracks.

On the last day I stayed in Kyoto and browsed a market near Shijyou which full of all sorts of weird and wonderful seafood. In the afternoon I went to Fushimi Inari, somewhere I have always wanted to visit. There are hundreds upon hundreds of red torii - the red gateways you find at shrines - lined up like dominos. The weather was awful but it still didn't spoil the experience. I didn't have time to see all the torii but next time!

I'll save the second week of my trip for next time.

Charged Up

When preparing to travel I often think how packing clothes takes little time compared to getting all of my electronics in order and charged up.

This is definitely overkill - time to leave a few bits behind.

Hot Water

The Easter weekend has brought strange weather to London. Yesterday we had hail in the morning but I decided to go to tennis anyway. The sky was blue by the time I arrived but after an hour we were playing tennis in the falling snow!

Needless to say, it's been a cold couple of days, just when you don't need your boiler to break down... My house was without hot water for two and a half days. Say goodbye to hot baths and warm radiators.

On Friday I filled a small bucket with boiling water from the kettle and washed myself with a cloth whilst sitting in the bath. People must have done this in times gone by, only without the electric kettle, I thought.

My mum grew up in the country in Ireland and I still can't believe it when she tells me that they had no running water! How we take things for granted.

Powerballs

Powerballs are quite popular at work and apparently we've got one of the UK's top record holders! I've recently joined in the fun by ordering my own Neon Powerball.

Basically, Powerballs are powerful gyroscopes which once started you accelerate using just your wrist. The interesting part is that the faster it spins the more force it exerts on your arm.

Supposedly, Powerballs can be used at low speeds to reduce the risk of RSI and I can see my powerball help to strengthen my forearm for tennis. To be honest though, most guys (including myself) are purely interested in hitting the highest speeds possible. Personally, I've only managed 10,700 RPM. As a point of reference the world record is 16,553 RPM!

JPLT Results (UK)

For some reason it didn't occur to me that the results might arrive on a Saturday, but there was the envelope waiting to be opened. My heart raced as I opened it and peered in.

I can't tell you the relief and joy of seeing not just the marks sheet but also an A4 certificate inside. A certificate for the Level 1 Japanese Language Proficiency Test with my name on it! Yes, a pass!

It may not have been the greatest passing mark in the world but it was well worth the effort I spent raising my grade by the 5% or so that it did since last year.

I was secretly hoping for a pass but even so, it's just unreal. It's still sinking in.

Thank you to all of you who have helped me towards this achievement, I really appreciate it.

Mishi Mishi

The last couple of times I've called home on the phone my dad has answered, 'Hello, mishi mishi.' He has taken quite an interest in Japan lately and must be getting a little eccentric in his old age. I don't have the heart to tell him that he should be saying, 'Moshi moshi...' which is how Japanese people answer the phone.

Where on earth did he learn that, anyway? Should I correct him or continue to pretend that I haven't noticed? I'm hoping he isn't answering the phone like that all the time!

Presentation

For the first time in quite a while I gave a presentation at work today. Well, I say presentation but it was more of a quick demo of the software enhancements I've been working on.

When I thought about it last night I wasn't all that concerned but I woke up a few times throughout the night so I guess it was actually playing on my mind.

Still, it was a good opportunity to practice talking to an audience and I had to remind myself that demoing some software to about ten people is far less daunting than leading a class of 150 Japanese primary school kids (that was acutally a whole 'year' rather than one class).

The presentation was a success in that everything worked as it was supposed to. On the downside, it prompted a discussion about certain points and it turned out that everything I've done will to be changed. Oh well, these things happen.

Lost Property

I jumped off the train and patted my right pocket. I was expecting to feel my Sony mp3 player next to my phone but it wasn't there. My heart sunk. It had taken me just two weeks to loose my latest gadget.

The train pulled off and all I could do was try to peer through the window at where I'd been sitting. A man seemed to turn around and see me - had he noticed what I'd left behind? I searching my bag pointlessly until I gave in to the truth: it was gone.

At that point a friend called me. After speaking for five minutes I made my way down to the ticket office. The member of staff on duty started making numerous phone calls once I'd explained my plight. It turned out that he was actually calling each and every station along the line and needless to say I was surprised by such an efficient and helpful service.

Shockingly, he paused while on the phone and leant forward, 'What does it look like?' It's been handed in? I couldn't believe it. No, hold on, contain your relief until you actually get it back! I described my mp3 player in an eloquent sentence, 'Small, thin, black, Sony.' To which he replied, 'It's been handed in at Chiswick Park Station.' Maximum relief! (Too much Crysis?)

When I eventually arrived at Chiswick Park the guy behind the window at the ticket office started playing games with me. Even after I'd explained what the mp3 player looked like he smiled and asked, 'Name some of the music on it.' I started blabbering on about Japanese music but eventually he said, 'It begins with 'e'?' 'Oh... Evanescence.' Ah, the greatest gym music on the planet, perhaps bar Rocky.

I'm eternally grateful to the kind soul who handed my mp3 player in. You could have kept it for yourself or even sold it, but you've made me believe there are still kind people in this world. Thank you!

Perfect Form

For a while now I've been in a quandary regarding tennis, though the subject concerns all sports. Should your goal be winning or trying to achieve perfect form?

Being a bit of a perfectionist, I do strive to play elegant tennis and I admire players with beautiful strokes. I also have to admit that I don't like losing to players with less than attractives strokes. I follow the school of thought that if you improve your strokes your game will also improve. It's not that simple, of course, as learning tactics and executing them etc. obviously contribute to development at being 'good'.

Is winning the be all and end all? I was speaking to a very good tennis player today and he thinks that winning is the ultimate goal. As he says, 'You can see somebody play and think that person is a great player. But are players with beautiful strokes and perfect form remembered or really recognised by their peers if they don't win any competitions.' A good point.

According to this new tennis aquantance being a skilled player and being a good player (my best translation at least) are two separate things. I asked whether he thought there were good players who weren't so skilled, or at least didn't have an 'attractive game'. Of course, I knew the answer but still don't like the answer!

Japan Results

I was reading a message board earlier today and found out that the JLPT results have been released in Japan. That's about a day or so earlier than last year.

I guess this means that those of us in the UK will have to wait until the end of the month until we find out our results just like last year. Fingers crossed the system will be faster this year - I don't want to wait any longer!

Spring Blossoms

Apparently today was to be the day that most people would call in to work sick. It's certainly a season when it's easy to feel low. It's cold and miserable, there's a lull after all the Christmas parties and everybody seems to be sick.

We all need something to look forward to and keep us driving forward. For me, that shining light on the horizon is Japan again. My saviour! I plan to visit in early April and hope to catch some of the cherry blossom season. I can't wait!

Tennis Sketch

Aussie Accent

I had a surprising conversation with a travel agent of which a small snippet is as follows:

'Will you be travelling with an Austalian passport?'
'...No. Do I sound Australian?' I replied, surprised.
'Yes, a little.'

What? How can I possibly sound Australian? Either my accent or changing or that travel agent has hearing issues.

Marathon Money

As I swivelled on my chair I was puzzled trying to work out who the guy standing beside my desk was. I'd seen him around but had never met or spoken to him before. He seemed to catch my puzzled look and held out a sheet of paper, announcing his intention to run the marathon.

The penny dropped - so he was after sponsorship. Talk about being put on the spot. Half the time I'm sure people sign away their money just out of courtesy. After all, it's hard to just say 'no' without feeling like a stingy uncharitable miser.

While I felt obliged to sign I have to say that I felt a bit irritated that somebody who didn't even know me was asking me for money. Isn't that a bit cheeky? Or is it normal to go around the whole office and ask for money from people you don't even know? Was I just being stingy?

I asked him to come back as I was just leaving for the gym. Hmm, what to say if he returns? 'No.'

Note to myself: If I ever get a place to run the marathon for charity I must remember not to put people I don't even know on the spot like that.

Head Hunter

'Darren, there's a call for you,' called my colleague. 'Strange, on my old number?' I thought, as I picked up the phone.

'Hi, is that Darren Cheng?'

This is where alarm bells started ringing. A while back the exact same thing happened - it wasn't somebody from work.

'Who's speaking?' I asked.
'Is that Darren.'
'Who's speaking.' I stubbornly repeated.

The guy on the other end of the line told me his name and company. He went on to explain that he was a head hunter and that he'd been told I was good at my job and wanted to talk to me.

I told him that I wasn't interested but he was predictably persistent and wouldn't give up. He asked for my number and e-mail but I said that if I'd never sent a CV to his company in the past that I wasn't willing to give out such information.

'How did you get this number?' I enquired.
'By a referral.'
'And you can't tell me who this person is?
'No, like I say, it's a referral.'

Other people would have just said, 'Sorry, I'm not interested. Thank you.' and hung up the phone, but I make a point of not doing that kind of thing. But this guy didn't know how to take a hint. I kept talking even if my patience was wearing very thin.

'Even if you are not interested now, you might be in a few months,' he protested.
'No, I don't think so.'
'So you want to work at your current company forever?'

For the last time I started to tell him I wasn't interested but mid-way through my sentence he hung up! He hung up on me! The cheek.

How do these people get your number? Doesn't it freak you out?

Dirty Minded

Do you think there is really much difference in the rate at which people's hair grows? Mine certainly seems to grow at an ultra-fast pace!

The Japanese say that people whose hair grows quickly are dirty minded. What do you make of that?

Wii Mii

Meet Mii Darren! What a good looking guy and already a Wii Sports 'pro' tennis player!

I haven't been able to create a fantastic likeness - the choice of beards/facial hair for a start was somewhat underwhelming. Then again, after joining the Mii Contest Channel I was amazed at the creativity of some people. Snoopy, Darth Vader and Mr T from the A-Team are particularly good. The most recent competition challenges Mii creators to make a Mii for 'someone who's just won the lottery.'

It's great how your Miis are accessible in games and how your friend's Miis can migrate and wonder into your Mii Channel. It makes games like Baseball in Wii Sports good when all family and friends' Wiis make up the line-up.

Xmas Horoscope

Every day this year I've been tearing a day off my little horoscope calendar. I haven't opened my presents yet but I wonder if I'll get one for 2008.

Today's Christmas horoscope is particulary vague and covers practically all eventualities with a typical get out clause, 'It could become clear'. Is it time to reassess the way I tackle goal accomplisment?

Oh yes, Merry Christmas, by the way! After some complex finger counting I've come to the realisation that this is my first Christmas in London for six years. Blimey.

Christmas Money

How are you all enjoying the run up to Christmas? Are your livers and wallets holding out?

I'm totally freaked out by how much Christmas is costing me, not just in terms of buying presents but all the Christmas parties. I never used to spend all that much on going out, even to restaurants, but I've noticed my bank balance dwindling particularly quickly of late.

Companies have been footing the bill, too, of course. Apparently last night was the peak for company Christmas parties. I have to wonder whether my company saved money by having their party on a Thursday.

Does everyone get their pay packets early in December? I can already feel January being a very long and money-sparse month. Plus no parties!

Wii Crazy

A year on from the Nintendo Wii's release in the UK and people are still facing the same situation. The Wii is sold out everywhere!

I'd expect this to happen with a new console, but come on, there have been problems sourcing Wiis since its release. Is this issue simply a case of console sales far outstripping what Nintendo had predicted? Surely this couldn't be a ploy to increase demand?

One of my colleagues managed to buy a Wii last year and has just sold it for £50 more than he bought it for on eBay. He played it for a year and still made a profit - madness!

Other people in the UK have cleverly cashed in on the situation by importing and selling on European Wiis. The laws of supply and demand are staggering.

Although I've never had a go on a Wii (isn't that amazing?), I wouldn't mind having one just for a laugh. When my parents said they were thinking of getting me one for Christmas it brought back memories of when they bought me a NES for Christmas. Time to think of another present this time, mum.

Christmas Spirit

Things have calmed down since the exam at the weekend and my brain is returning to normal. At last my cold is fading away and I'm feeling in much better spirits, much helped by progress at work and the fact that tomorrow brings the first of many Christmas parties. Let the drinks flow!

JLPT 2007

At last the day of this year's JLPT arrived and it was time to test our mettle. It was warmer than the past couple of years but the rain soon started to fall, casting an even gloomier atmosphere over the exam site. Still, a bit of rain never hurt anybody.

The exam papers were a really mixed bag full of tricks and surprises, some good, some bad. My vocab study really paid off and I actually had a good stab at the words/kanji paper. On the other hand, the 100+ homonyms I learnt in preparation for part of this paper proved fruitless!

Again the listening paper seemed harder than I was expecting - did I underestimate it? Part of is that I expect to score very heavily and a lapse of concentration for even a split second means you your chance of getting the right answer.

Finally, the reading and grammar paper surprised me. The grammar section was very easy compared to last year, not nearly as many little tricks and most of the grammar appeared to be from the standard lists (bar a couple of sneaky questions. To make up for this, I can't say for sure how I faired on the long reading passages. There was something about them... perhaps just the pressure? Last year they seemed difficult until I bought the paper mid-way through this year and tried the questions again.

All in all, I feel like it went better than last year, but it's very hard to tell. It all depends on the longer reading sections. Fingers crossed!

At the end of the test I got talking to the exam invidulator. He was an Italian guy with a strong accent. I can only imagine his Japanese accent - he told me that he studies Japanese at SOAS, where the exams were being held in London. The last thing he said was,

'I was looking at you guys' answer sheets and everyone gave different answers.'

I guess that goes to show that level one is no walk in the park. That reminds me, the guy next to me kept looking over at my desk - I got my revenge by blowing my nose ;). He was either finding things very tough going or a piece of cake. During the reading/grammar paper he finished remarkably early and was just staring at the walls. Come to think of it, this time around was the first time I finished the reading/grammar paper.

How did the rest of you fair? Only 3 or 4 months until the results come out and we all know for sure.

Cold War

For the past few days I've been at war with a cold which has been fighting to take control of my body. So far I'm losing the battle.

With just a few days left until the JLPT I was hoping to get in a decent amount of study this week, but that's all gone out of the window. Now my priority is recovering so that I'm well enough to make it to the test. I keep having images of being thrown out of the listening test for constantly blowing my nose.

I hope it doesn't get any worse. My snotty nose and heavy eyes are being pessimistic but they shall not break my resolve!

Marathon News

The Marathon News arrived on my doormat.

'Due to over-subscription your application to run the Flora London Marathon has been unsuccessful'.

At this rate I might get to five years of rejected applications and earn a guaranteed place.

Confident Speech

When I met a Japanese friend the other day he said that my Japanese had improved and that I sounded more confident. Maybe it was because I'd spend a couple of weeks in Japan, he guessed.

When I first arrived in Japan for on my latest trip my Japanese was pretty rusty. With speaking in particular, fluency can come down to confidence. There's no way that my Japanese could have improved that much in two weeks but when you start to feel more confident and cut down on hesistation, you start to speak more fluently and your Japanese sounds more natural.

Unfortunately for me, speaking doesn't feature as part of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). With exactly a week from today until the exam, there's not much time left to prepare. I'm going to stick to my study plan and see what happens.

Developer

After my internal move, my first week as a developer ended yesterday. How much development did I actually do? Well, in all honesty, not that much at all.

The first couple of days were taken up moving desks, swapping computers around, swapping them back again (long story) and setting up my new PC.

Then, the rest of the week was largely taken up by work from my previous department. On top of that people have been calling me about certain parts of support which I have the most experience in - still I like helping out and being involved. When moving internally there is no such thing as a clean exit.

It will take some time to settle in as obviously there are different people around me and the atmosphere is very different in development. It's definately easier to concentrate but there is less laughter whilst working. It's all pros and cons.

Appetite

My friends in Japan were shocked by how much I eat. Actually, most people who get to know me are shocked, initially at least. The thing is, I don't eat that much, I just need to eat regularly. That means at least three substantial meals a day plus some good healthy snacking in between.

I'm always surprised by how little some people eat and manage to carry on as normal. I can't imagine missing breakfast and being able to play half a round of golf before eating anything. Actually, whenever I play sports I notice the same pattern - I have to eat while I play to avoid hunger and the onset of a severe headache while others can go for hours without eating.

The other day I mentioned 'metabolic syndrome', which by all accounts is a polite way of saying you becoming overweight. My own metabolic syndrome is that my metabolism is just too darn fast. I must burn energy at a very high rate. What a waste!

Wheelie

My eagerness to get home got the better of me as I crossed a road and found myself on a particularly leaf covered pavement.

I paused for a second, wondering if the wheels on my case would take kindly to the leaves and twigs, then plouged on. Not fifteen metres on, I gave my case a good shunt to get it moving again and started to feel an increasing amount of resistance.

To my horror, when I looked down my case now had two wheels when a few minutes ago it was rolling happily along on its full complement of four!

I was tired, grumpy and it was too dark to see much, so I just kept on going. Though it was less than 10 degrees Celcius, by the time I got home my back was covered in sweat from dragging the case along. I say dragging because when I didn't get the angle exactly right when lifting the wheel-less side, the case scraped the ground with a horrible noise and stopped dead.

'I'll go back in the morning to look for the wheels,' I told myself. When I got there the following day the council had already been and there were three or four orange bin-bags full of leaves! When do the council ever do anything that efficiently? That is a prime case of Sod's law, if ever I've seen it.

After some hopeless stamping in the remaining leaves, amazingly I stumbled across one of the wheels. If I manage to fit it back on I'll end up with a Del Boy three wheeler!

End of Japan

For me it wasn't taking off or even landing in the UK that marked the end of my Japanese experience. Maybe it was even as far back as when I was waiting for the Narita Express, surrounded by other foreigners? But it really struck me that everything was decidedly non-Japanese once I had reached the airport.

You immediately notice characters like Mr Yahata. Even less extreme examples seem odd - when people at the check-in desks just start speaking in English like it's perfectly natural, for example.

Once I'd checked in and blazed through security, I had a good two or three hours to spare before my flight. In the duty free shops and Dotour I noticed the staff weren't upholding the normally high standards of Japanese service.

When buying a coffee and a sandwich the guy serving me didn't even bother telling me the price once I'd ordered. He simply pointed to the till. Staff in the shops nattered away in informal Japanese not even acknowledging the fact that some foreigners might understand them. I even started to miss people saying 'irasshai-mase' as I walked into the shop!

At the departure lounge I noticed two guys wearing jeans and smart blazers. 'Ahh, I'm almost back in England already,' I thought.

6-1 4-6 6-2

6-1 4-6 6-2! Against a very good player, L-san. Well chuffed!

Tennis can often come down to something simple: making the fewest mistakes. Shot choice is difficult, balancing consistent tennis with aggressive shot making in the right situations. When your opponent is bombing down serves and hitting heavy spin ground strokes things can get confusing very quickly.

At the beginning of the third set my strings broke, perfectly in the middle of the hoop! The cross strings in my hybrid set are Babolat Excel Premium and unsurprisingly they broke before my poly mains. The orange Signum Pro Poly Plasma mains were still in pretty good condition.

I've been trying various string hybrid combinations and tensions but so far Babolat Excel Premium at 54lbs on the crosses and Signum Pro Poly Plasma @ 56lbs on the mains has worked best. The Signum Pro strings are durable and have a certain soft elastic feel while the Babolat strings are good for spin and comfort.

A few months back I ordered a half set of natural gut. Incredibly gut is better in almost all regards (except durability) than synthetic strings. The difference in play is noticeable - more spin and more power. In fact, there is so much more power that stringing at the same tension as my Babolat strings prooved to be a big mistake. Unfortunately, I should have increased the tension to compensate for this extra power. I've wasted my first set of natural strings!

Death Awaits Us

Sadly, my calligraphy teacher's cat died earlier this year. He and his wife were telling me how they'd like another cat but wouldn't be getting another because it would be unfair should they pass away. What a sad thing to say. I found this shocking as my calligraphy teacher looks so young and still runs in marathons, yet it turns out that he'll be 70 next year! Although death could come at any minute for any of us, at what age do you really start to consider death? It never used to bother me but contemplating it freaked me out.

Hot Body

On the Yamanote line last night one of my friends said everybody must be wondering why I was wearing tennis clothes? I was puzzled until I realised that he meant why hadn't I changed? Come to think of it, must Japanese people I see carrying tennis gear are wearing their normal clothes. I often see girls wearing skirts and heels while lugging around their tennis bags - impressive effort. Is it so odd to leave your house already wearing shorts and a T-shirt?

My friend went on to say that the second thing that everyone must have been wondering was why I was wearing just a T-shirt and shorts. Because even though it was the evening it was still 16-18 degrees, that's why! I looked around and saw people wearing jumpers, jackets and even one high school kid wearing a scarf! I know I'm 'hot' even in London but compared to the Japanese I'm like the guy from the Fantastic 4. I do suffer in during the Japanese summer but must cope more easily with winter.

Not Just Me

The day had worn me out as I travelled home on the Tube. Try as I might to study, I realised that I was just staring at the Japanese in my notebook. At first I resisted. I put my notebook away and got out a textbook. That proved just as bad so I took out my electronic dictionary to look at my saved word lists. No good.

Just 10 minutes from my destination I packed up everything and slouched against the pane of glass beside me. I must have fallen asleep within a few seconds which is very unlike me.

A few stops later I opened my eyes and saw Japanese again. I was puzzled as I looked down at the 'Minna no Nihongo' (Everyone's Japanese) textbook beside me. The English bloke next to me was was studying Japanese! What a bizarre situation. I'm glad I didn't have my books out at the same time.

Hangin' Tough

New Kids on the Block - Hanging Tough (Amazon.com). Talk about a blast from the past!

My parents were going through the old videos on the shelf in the living room and came across this 80s classic.

It's taken me many years to come to terms with the fact that I was a fan back in primary school. Yes, I admit it. It must have been the great lyrics and those dance moves ("do the New Kids dance...").

It really brought back memories seeing the Hanging Tough Video. I thought I could face throwing the video away but now I'm not so sure...

> Wikipedia - New Kids on the Block

Student Life

Waking up yesterday at 2pm and today at midday I feel a little like I've returned to my student days. The only difference being that I am working on and off through the night.

In my department at work our on call night shifts are week long blocks where we don't have to go to the office during the day. When I hear of people working through the day and then being on call at night, I wonder just how they manage. But I'm sure the overtime pay would provide ample motivation.

You'd think I'd have more time to put in to studying Japanese with a week at home but for it hasn't worked out like that. My routine has gone out of the window and I find myself travelling almost for the sake of study. It's time to get my head down and cram those kanji!

Library Visit

For the first time in years I thought I'd see what it would be like to study in a library. Proud of my commitment to study, I wandered up to my local library only to find a heavy set of closed wooden doors.

Ok, so I was unfortunate to pick one of the days when the library closes at 5 o'clock but still, how irritating. Perhaps it was quite silly of me expecting it to be open at 6 in the evening, perhaps. Maybe I'll try tomorrow.

I didn't really mind though, it was another excuse to head off in search of coffee!

Night Shifts

S...o... T...i...r...e...d...

This week I'm on call working night shifts. I've had quite a few calls tonight and feel like death.

To Japan 2007

Did I mention that I'm off to Japan for a holiday at the end of the month? I can't wait! Plenty of all my favourite pastimes: seeing my friends, going to izakaya, playing tennis, a spot of photography and browsing the latest electronics and cameras!

I'm looking foward to some of my favourite Japanese(ish) foods. Tempura, katsu-don, yakitori, Japanese curry, yaki-niku (Korean?!) and let's not forget niku-man and pizza-man! Not all exactly traditional Japanese foods but that doesn't bother me.

This year I'm going before the JLPT and not after which is a bonus. No doubt the trip will provide a further incentive to study when I realise yet again how far my Japanese has to go. My goal is still unchanged: reaching native Japanese level, including the accent! A worthy goal, even if I do say so myself.

Back Pain

I've had back pain for a while now. Bad back pain comes and goes, particularly after lugging around my heavy tennis bag or pushing myself too hard on the crunch machine at the gym. In general though, it's gradually getting worse.

A couple of years back when I was in Japan I never suffered from back pain and always wondered what people were moaning about. Some time after returning to London though, I noticed a strange sensation in my back.

When learning to drive I found the seat uncomfortable and after driving for about half an hour my back would be in quite a bit of pain. In the end I had to bring a towel with me each time to roll up and support my lower back. I thought the seat was designed for much taller folk but perhaps my spine just isn't quite right.

On the way to work and back each day I can't get comfortable when sitting down, no matter what posture I try. Even if I shove myself right into the back of the seat to support my lower back I feel a feeling of discomfort growing. Not really pain but discomfort. This cannot be a good sign. Even when I sleep on my back I've noticed that I wake up with a sore back.

I tend to blame sitting down all day at work on an uncomfortable seat. I've tried everything to sit properly at at my desk though. I have a foot support, got my desk lowered, have a wrist rest and even use my mouse left handed to protect my tennis arm and shoulder.

At lunchtime today at the gym I thought I'd use the opportunity to stretch out and relax my back on a Swiss ball while doing some crunches. Tonight I realise this was a big mistake!

Or was it the running machine? Can running hurt your back? I always wonder when jogging whether to maintain an upright position or whether this is damaging. Anyone know about this?

Today I was reading how scientific studies show that acupuncture is one of the best methods for the treatment of back pain. It so happens that one of my tennis friends does acupuncture, so I might give it a shot. It's not cheap though.

Changing Jobs

Good news! I've been offered a new job!

While I'll be at the same company, some time in November I'll be moving from the sofware support department to one of the development teams.

My current role involves reading code on a daily basis and in some cases bug fixes. I've found this part of the job most satisfying and I've always wanted to try my hand at programming professionally, so I decided to apply for the internal vacancy.

We do work with legacy systems so the technology I'll be using won't be cutting-edge, but still, development is development. Plus, there will be some areas based on C. In the long term I see this transfer as being a good move.

I hadn't known for that long that I'd got the job before it was announced to the rest of my team. It feels a little awkward, but it's not the first time somebody's moved departments.

Besides, it's not like I'll be leaving support altogether. I'll still be on the weekly night-shift rota. On top of that, our developers come down to support on a rota basis, so I'll be periodically returning to support for some more adrenaline-inducing multi-tasking problem solving action!

Overtime

Today is a bank holiday in England and I worked overtime. I'm a bit disgruntled that the weather was so good - why couldn't it have rained!

Going to work was surreal. I got on the train to work and it was bliss. There were so few people and the District Line whizzed into the city in record time. Saying that, the lack of people made the littered subway at the station where two tramps were sleeping particularly creepy. Outside there was practially no traffic and no shops near my office were open whatsoever - no coffee!

Work itself wasn't too bad, pretty quiet all in all. The gym was also nice and peaceful at lunchtime. Tomorrow it will be back to normal and the noisy folk will be back at the office to distract me from my work.

If you are the UK I hope you enjoyed your long weekend.

Middle Finger

My middle finger has seen to much use and has started to hurt... Can you guess why? On second thoughts, I don't want to know. I think I've got RSI resulting from my mouse scroll wheel! Typing all day is not helping, either.

Pay Pal Policy

This isn't my first grumble regarding PayPal. Far enough, the service is convenient for buying on sites like eBay and makes it easy for individuals to receive money from auctions or even friends and family around the world.

Paying via PayPal once you have Direct Debits set up is quick and painless, but what about the other way around? Today I tried to transfer my PayPal balance to my bank account and I find it hard to believe that this will take 5-7 working days.

I know that standard banks typically take up to three business days to transfer money to different banks which is bad enough, but 5-7 days? Then there is the small charge for transfers under £50, encouraging users to leave their money with PayPal.

Is there a good reason for all of this, or is PayPal just making an extra week's interest from its users' money?

You Fell Over!

When you were in school and you tripped over, did people used to say, 'You fel'ooova!'?

I kept thinking about the phrase today because I couldn't seem to walk properly. On a few occasions I nearly twisted my ankle walking along the road. This was all really quite strange as I'm not normally a clumsy person.

At lunch I was stepping out onto the road from the curb. My ankle went and I ducked down to regain my balance and must have looked so stupid as I vanished from view between the cars either side of me.

On the train on the way home a guy was standing in front of me reading a paper. The train lurched forwards and the guy lost his balance and fell backwards badly, nearly flattening the woman sitting opposite me. He just about kept himself upright by slamming his left hand into the window behind the woman's head. As bad as it is, I felt pleased that my embarassments had clearly been eclipsed!

Was it just national Fall Over Day?

No Jet Lag

At this time of the morning I thought I'd be sound asleep but for some reason I'm wide awake. My week of night shifts has finally ended so it's back to a normal routine. I feel like I've got jet lag without having been anywhere. Actually, the week wasn't too bad and I did have the days to myself when I wasn't asleep.

I suppose I'll be moaning doing the hot crowded commute next week. The grass is always greener...

Ripped Off

'Is there any give in these jeans?' I asked myself, thinking they felt a little tight. I twisted this way and that in the changing room, then did a little squat to see if they'd stretch at all. As I did this I heard a horrible tearing noise!

As I pondered my predicament - how many of us would leave the jeans back and not say anything? - I took the jeans off to inspect the damage. But there was no rip; it had been my boxer shorts that ripped down the back!

Incidentally, I decided the jeans were a pretty good fit and bought them in the end. Time to shop for some new boxer shorts, then...