International Business Machine

I had a final interview this morning with IBM and was offered a position in the Asia Pacific Headquarters finance department. Since my schedule was open today they asked me to stay and begin training. I'm being trained by a close friend of mine, who introduced me to the position and who through another close friend, is going to be starting a new job in investment banking. We discussed over dinner how much things have changed for us in the past few months. We shared our concerns and at the same time expressed our confidences in each others abilities. There's a lot to learn and little room for error. Effort, discipline and ambition, will be the keys to our further success.

I'm excited about the opportunities for the future and at the same time, grateful for the past experiences I've had. I really enjoyed working in the schools and having the chance to learn about Japanese culture first hand. I will miss the smiles and energy of the kids I've been teaching and will always be thankful for the realization of the great responsibility we have for future generations.

Thanksgiving

I've been off the blog for over a month, so there's a lot to catch up on. My aunt, uncle, cousin, brother and his girlfriend came to visit Japan. Since my family is Japanese, they stayed with family here. My brother and his girlfriend took the opportunity to travel and got to see some great places, that I have yet to see. It was great to have my brother here, especially when we got to visit family together.


Halloween has passed and although it was hectic because of the crowds, my friends and I had a lot of fun.



Thanksgiving fell on a Japanese holiday this year, so I had dinner with some close friends at a restaurant near my house. The restaurant is owned by a family that I have become close friends with since arriving in Japan. I will be staying with with them for a short time, while I search for an apartment.

I have an interview Monday morning with IBM. I'll post an update if all goes well...

Updates

Family is coming to Japan tomorrow
Made some great new friends
Finished season 5 of 24
Kissed a pretty girl
Made a pretty girl mad
Studied hard for a job interview
Turned the job down
Cut my hair
Still allergic to cats
Looking for a new place to live
Wondering how everyone back home is
Need to connect with old friends

Hope all is well in your life.

Daisuke and Hiroshi

A wonderful friend of mine from Hawaii, sent me an email saying that her little brother and his best friend would be visiting Tokyo this month. We arranged to meet up on a Monday and ended up spending the next week and a half together. Meet Daisuke (aka: Brent) and Hiroshi (Robert). They received their Japanese names from their high school Japanese teacher. I started by showing them around Tokyo to various popular and famous locations. We went to festivals, kararoke, partying at clubs and had lots of good laughs and interesting experiences.

We took a trip to Mt. Fuji, along with some friends. It was surprisingly difficult and the girls got altitude sickness.
The views from top were enlightening, breathtaking and justifiably indescribable.

Here's a pic of us at the top, Daisuke was especially delirious. When we returned to Tokyo, my good friend Ken's son, gave us some fresh mackerel that he had caught that same evening. We cut it and made our own nigiri sushi dinner. It was crazy delicious. Ken drew this picture of the three of us:I was really glad to meet these two great guys, become friends and have a chance to experience Japan as a tourist with them.

Tadaima

I've been back in Japan for less than a week now and have already had a lot of great experiences. On my first night back, we celebrated my wonderful roommate's birthday at our favorite local restaurant "Gaucho".
I went to meet a friend from Chicago at a great Izakaya, we made new friends and saw an impressive at the table magic show. I've made some great friends since living in Japan, I went with one of my closest to check out a festival in Yokokama. It was like a team dance competition, with amazing costumes.





We went to check out a bartending "flare" competition on Sunday. I spent a few years bartending in Hawaii, NYC and Chicago, so it was a lot of fun to watch these guys doing crazy tricks. Our friend's boyfriend won the event and will be going to the world championship competition!

Going Home

I returned a few days ago, from a one month visit to my hometown, USA. After having lived in Japan for one year, I was expecting a little culture shock on my return. Fortunately my heathen upbringing, leaves me shocked at almost nothing. I am fortunate to have a large, wonderful and often non-disfunctional family. When I see them, I am reminded of what was, is and always will be the most important aspect of my life. We had multiple "get togethers" at my parents house upon my return, with several welcomed additions to the always changing family tree. Having Japanese family in the United States as well as Japan, gives us a nice blend of culture and food!












My daily activities on my one month heiatus included relaxing, playing with my much missed dog, hanging out with family, running "errands" for my parents and visiting close friends.


















I had the opportunity to fly an ultralight airplane, it's been a goal of mine for quite a while. I felt right at home in the sky and I knew that I had found a new passion in my life. I'm hoping to get a sport pilots license next time I return to the US.