Work and Work

Work like usual. In the afternoon I headed to UFJ, the bank we work with. Since we do a lot of business with them they wanted to give us something in return so I filled out the forms needed to apply for a Gold Card. I don't really need or want a credit card but it's a sign of status in Japan so it's kinda cool. From the bank I stopped back at the office and then headed off to Tamachi.

Work and McDonald's

Headed to work like usual. I don't know why but I really wanted to eat a big mac today. I guess cause off all the advertising I've been seeing recently. Anyhow a couple months ago McDonald's started redesigning the insides of all the McDonald's in Japan. The inside has a much more upscale look to it and even the images of the food on the menu have been redone to give a higher quality image of the food. It's pretty nice. I think I might have had the wrong mode selected which is why the pictures didn't quite come out like they were supposed to, but you get the idea.

Work

Work like usual. Today I made some calls to people in Africa. The phone system in the countries I called was pretty bad. The volume would fade in and out through out the calls and sometimes just drop the call all together. It's a little frustrating but makes you appreciate the systems we have here in Japan or in the US.

Work

Had work like usual today. I'm still learning a lot of new things and I'm developing a training guide for any new people which should help to eliminate mistakes and save money.

Work and Walking around

Had work like usual. In the evening I met up with Momoko for dinner since she lives in Shinjuku and then I headed home.

Wedding, work, and out

This morning I headed to Dai Shiba shrine in Hamamatsucho for my friend Ryu's wedding. There are a lot of rules associated with weddings here in Japan. Typical dress for guys attending the wedding is a suit with a white tie. When you write a card you are supposed to buy a special card with a string wrapped around it that has a knot that is hard to untie symbolizing a lasting relationship. On the card it self you should not use a regular pen because the thin ink doesn't look as strong so it's recommended that you use a felt tip ink pen. Typically guests give $300 or more as a gift. The money should always be new bills symbolizing a new relationship and the amount should always be odd so it can't be easily divided also in support of a lasting relationship. By western standards $300 may seem like a lot of money but a large part of that goes toward paying for the wedding and also the guests typically receive a gift for coming as well.

Anyhow, after the ceremony everyone took a taxi to Gonpachi which is a famous restaurant where George Bush ate with the former Prime Minister of Japan and other famous people have dined. The food was great and Ryu and his wife changed into more a suit and Kimono respectively and then later the wife changed into a western style wedding dress. It was a lot of fun and it was great to meet the families. Ryu also dressed up as a sushi chef and served sushi to the guests.

Another cool thing with Japanese weddings is that there is usually a slide show with a history of each person telling what they did through out their lives and explaining how they met.
After the wedding I headed to work in Yoga for a meeting and then to Shinjuku where I met up with Momoko for dinner.

Work and out

Headed to work like usual and then went out in the evening with some friends for dinner.

Work and another Winston ad

Work like usual today. Had to do some running around today and saw a new Winston cigarette ad with the muscle guy which is almost as dumb as the original.

Work

Today I contacted a few customers and called a couple local places try and help one guy. In the afternoon I went to Shibuya to pick up three new laptops for work and then spent the rest of the day getting them configured properly and loading the needed software.

Work and a good commercial

Headed to work like usual. I worked with our site and contacted some more customers. In the evening we met with a programmer and went over all the changes we wanted made to our database. He was a good guy and also had some ideas that he contributed that we hadn't thought of.

This is one of my current favorite commercials for a Nisshinbo which is a company that helps develop Eco friendly products. The bear is shaving cause it's too hot from global warming. If this video isn't viewable for you try using vtunnel to watch it at work. The popups are a little annoying but it's safe for work.

Work

Today we had a meeting and looked at ways we can improve the software we use and also talked about any potential problems that could arise with the new business model and how to handle them. It was pretty fun.

Work and out

Work like usual. In the evening I met up with Momoko and we grabbed dinner and picked up some stuff at Donki before heading home.

Work and Onsen

Headed to work like usual. In the evening I met up with my old host family in Daiba and we all headed to the Onsen. It has been a while since I was last there and it felt super relaxing.

Workin' and beauty products for men?

Work like usual today. Today I worked with some customers via E-mail and learned more about how the business is run. In the evening I headed out to Suidobashi and met up with a client before heading home.
On the train today I saw an add for Mascara with a guy pictured. Usually for a mascara ad you'd expect a picture of a girl but aparently this girly looking guy is popular among girls who this product is targeted at.

Work

Headed to Studio 246 named after Route 246 nearby. I got there around 11:00 and ate some food. After getting hair and makeup done I tried on the tux. Although they had my measurements to make the tux with the pants were a little tight. From there I headed up to the set which was another red carpet. The main talent today was Aya Ueto. She is one of the bigger stars in Japan and was the main actress in some of the movies I've seen here. They did the voice clip of her saying the brand and then another escort guy and I walked a bit behind her. The whole shoot was really well organized and finished ahead of schedule which was great. Aya's birthday is on the 14th but the crew got a birthday cake for today however they spelled birthday wrong somehow. So after the shoot we all sang and celebrated her birthday with her.

At night I headed out to Tokyo and met up with Momoko for dinner and then headed home.

Work and train manners

Today was my first full day at SAS3. I'm still learning a lot but it's pretty fun and at night my boss A.J. bought everyone dinner which was cool.

It is the start of a new month and the new train manners poster is out. This one is about sitting close to other people so there is space for others. Unfortunately, with the introduction of McDonald's and other western food here in Japan the amount of fat people is slowly increasing so even if the person is sitting in one seat it can still be uncomfortable to sit next to them.

Work

Work like usual and then work in Tamachi. Non stop!

Work

Headed to work in Yoga. For those of you that don't know Yoga is the name of the station not a class for streaching. In the evening I headed to Tamachi and had dinner at TotoDon. I'm gonna miss that place after the Tamachi office closes.

Work

Headed to work in Shinjuku and then home.

Birthday

Today was my birthday. I turn 28 on the 28th on the 8th month of the year and was born in 1982. Guess I should buy a lotto ticket today. Anyhow I kinda forgot about my birthday till a couple days ago so I worked in the afternoon like usual. In the evening some work friends and I headed out to Shinjuku and had chinese food at a restaurant there. After I met up with John and some other friends at a house party a few stops away. It was pretty cool cause the room had access to the roof with a pool and a view of the city. I managed to make the last train home and went to bed.

Work about out

Headed to work like usual and then after meeting up with my client in Suidobashi I met up with Momoko in Tokyo. We went to Kua'aina in the Marubiru and then walked around the Tokyo area before heading home. Tokyo on the Marunouchi side is probably my favorite part of Tokyo. It's just so cool.

Work'

Headed to work like usual and back to Tamachi for work at night. Some people complain that my blog isn't very interesting cause I work. If you are one of those people and you'd like to pay me for walking around the city and taking pictures of things and talking about it. I'm sure we can come to an agreement.

Workin'

Headed to work like usual and then worked in Shinagawa at night again.

Work

Work like usual during the day and worked in Shinagawa at night.

Work and work

Headed to work like usual and then work in Mita after.

Workin'

Headed to work in Shinjuku today. It was really hot today. I can't wait for summer to end!

Work

Work like usual and then home.

Work, work, and out with friends

Headed to work in Yoga. Today I did some more paper work and took some documents to Jimbocho and then after they we stamped and the manager gave me a bottle of sake for being such a great customer I headed to Toranomon to get approval on the papers before returning to the office.

In the evening I headed to Suidobashi where I met up with a client for an hour. It's a cool area cause it is where Tokyo Dome is and some other fun places.

From there I went to Tameike-sanno where I met up with five friends at Dubliners. I wound up missing the last train and crashing at a friend's house.

Check out

Headed back to my old apartment and met up with the apartment guy who checked the room and helped me get the last of my things out. I had a couple shelves that I didn't want anymore and offered them to him as a joke and he enthusiastically accepted which was great for me cause I didn't want to have to move them or find a way to throw them out.

Movin'

Today I took almost all my stuff packed it into a car and moved to a new house. It was a lot of work and it was hot outside making the moving experience less fun.