Another step forward in life.

In life, there will always be changes. I just hope this change is for the better.

Round two cleared.

It was actually quite a good round, talking about what I have been doing and what I have wanted to do. Let's see if I do get a chance to do what I want to do.

Round three coming up.

Round two

Round two of interview coming up in less than two weeks.

I wonder if this is a place where they can accept me as who I am. Especially since it is a research agency, and I am probably the least academically-qualified applicant (no masters or PhD). But I am looking forward to being able to continue research in this field which I once dabbled in. Probably got to brush the dust off my programming skills, though.

Half a year

It's been half a year since I moved to Japan. Most of the time was spent adjusting to a new living environment. Now that half a year is over, it is time to think about how to live, beyond adjusting.

The search continues.

Welcoming the Year of the Monkey

Happy Lunar New Year! It is once again the Year of the Monkey. Hope it will be a good year ahead!

The search for myself

I have more or less adjusted to life in Japan. So the next step is, what do I want to do from here?

I have been doing full-time translation (as a freelancer) for quite a while now. It pays enough to sustain a living, but is that what I really want to do? No doubt I learn a lot on the job, reading widely (yes, translation forces you to read widely so that you can translate accurately) and gaining a lot of knowledge even as I get paid. And I can see myself contributing to society, by allowing more people to read and gain information that they would otherwise not have access to (due to language barriers).

I know I definitely will continue to study up on Japanese labour and administrative laws, as I want to be able to help foreigners in Japan with legal issues. Probably volunteer some time at some NPOs once I get my certifications. But that will be some time in the future; I need to study first, and pass the exams towards the second half of this year.

Do I continue to be a freelancer, contributing in small ways to society, while enjoying the rest of the time doing what I want? Or do I aim for something bigger, to better contribute to society, at the expense of losing some personal time?

Deep down, am "I" more important, or is "society" more important?

With 18 years of serving in the military, I think deep down, my values place society before self.

The question is, what can I do beyond translating to benefit society? I really want to go into research, to find new knowledge that can benefit society. But what field? Maybe I can find something that merges computer simulations with social science, the two fields that most interest me.

And so, the search for myself begins.

Why do people even set up companies?

Some recent articles that got me thinking...

On how English teachers (non-Japanese) are treated in Japan.

On how part-timers are being treated in Japan.

On a recent tour bus crash in Japan that killed 12 students.

On Asahi Kasei's piling scandal.

What is common is that all these are related to companies in Japan. And some of them are big names.

There are laws and regulations in place to protect people from being exploited, as well as to maintain certain standards (of which safety is an important one). We talk about corporate social responsibility and corporate ethics, yet how far are companies going to actually fulfill such responsibilities, beyond what is written in the books, if they even follow the books in the first place?

JW Marriott said it best: If you take care of your people, your people will take care of your customers and your business will take care of itself.

But it seems companies cannot resist the temptation of exploiting their employees as one of the means for cutting costs, thereby increasing profits (or maintaining profits when revenue drops). But cutting costs to increase/maintain profit is very short-sighted, I think.

Long long ago, I learnt that the difference between the worker and the entrepreneur is that the entrepreneur bears risk, and profit is the reward for bearing risk. Businesses don't always go as planned, there are market fluctuations and other factors that affect costs and revenues. The entrepreneur bears the risks associated with these factors, and is rewarded by profit for this risk-bearing. Workers don't bear the risk, which is why they get paid a fixed wage, in principle.

Exploitation of workers usually lead to breaches in safety, as people cut corners, take short cuts, or are simply overworked and tired. This spells disaster, in the end, as slips, lapses, and mistakes are made. Some may be financial losses, but some can lead to loss of lives and limbs too.

This is one of the motivations behind me picking up the textbooks and starting to study up on Japanese labour laws. Hopefully, with this knowledge, I can help those being exploited to fight for their rights, especially those in a foreign land who do not understand this foreign language, much less say these foreign laws.

Which brings me back to the main question: why do people even set up companies?

Are companies set up solely for individuals to profit? Or are they set up because they can benefit society more than the sum of their individuals? If companies are set up for the benefits/values they bring to society and not solely for individual profit, then those running companies need to rethink what they are doing to earn profits, to see if they are in a win-win situation with society, or if society is losing at their expense.

For example, are English language schools set up because they can help improve the level of English beyond what individual English teachers can do? I would like to think that this is the case. But the low standard of English among Japanese people and the exploitation of teachers at such English language schools seem to imply not.

Is the construction company there to provide better housing for other people? Is the tour company set up to provide better tours instead of everyone coming up with their own vacation plans? Are they here to make things better? Or to exploit society's needs for their own profits?

I think for a company to survive and prosper, it needs to think long-term. What is its value to society? How does it keep itself valuable (relevant, ready, responsive) so that society continues to want it around? Being too fixated on short-term returns may eventually lead the company towards not having any long-term anyway...

Food for thought for anyone who runs a company, or thinking about setting one up.

First snow this winter

It snowed today! The forecast was for rain, but it turned out to be snow when I woke up this morning. Something unusual since this area rarely snows at all, and even when it snows, it hardly accumulates.

Snow is beautiful, but in an area not used to snow, snow causes lots of problems. Cars slip and trains get delayed. Good thing I wasn't going anywhere today.

Replying too fast

I was once told by my boss that I replied to work emails too quickly.

"Don't reply so fast. People will think you are very free."

Well, I wasn't. But I don't like to keep people waiting. So I always tried my best to give a reply as soon as I could. If I didn't have the full answer, at least give something so that they knew I was working on it.

That habit has carried over even though I am on a new job. Good or bad, I am known as someone who replies to work emails quickly.

The Force has awakened... but who did it wake?

Star Wars Episode VII "The Force Awakens" has been in the movie for weeks now. I managed to catch it on the second day of airing in Japan. The special effects were fantastic. After all, this movie was made with current day state-of-the-art technology. The special effects are of course much much better than those used 30 years ago.

The movie brought back memories (scenes?) from the original series, such as a planet-killing weapon of massive dimension (this time, planet-size); spaceships attacking this massive weapon (such as the X-wing attack on the Death Star); the father-son light-side/dark-side relationship; desert planet; icy planet; and so on.

So how did the movie fare? Did it gain new fans? Or lose old ones? It is probably still too early to say.

For me, I was hoping that Disney would have taken the underlying theme (aka the hero's journey) behind the original Star Wars, and used it to come up with a new story with new twists. Instead of portraying the struggle between light and dark to gain control of Anakin, the prequel trilogy (Episodes I, II, and III) portrayed Anakin in such a way that his fall into darkness was imminent. Episode VII is like reliving an old tale (from Episodes IV, V, and VI) with many similar twists. The hero's journey (or in this case, the heroine's journey) is still there; that theme remains intact. But as a sequel, there are just too many things that remain unclear.

A prequel needs to lead up to the story. A sequel needs to continue that story. Episodes I, II, and III managed to somehow lead up to the story (although not in the best way, see this article). I just hope that Episodes VII, VIII, and IX can somehow bring about something new that is built upon the foundation of the original story. I hope this sequel trilogy doesn't turn out to be one of those "just the same old thing" sequels, or one of those "nothing to do with the original" sequels.

Only time will tell. We shall see in a few years.

Another year... so what's next?

So 2015 has gone and 2016 has arrived.

So what's next?

2015 has been a year of change, leaving a job after 18 years, moving to a different country, taking on a different job. A big leap out of my comfort zone and into the great unknown. A different way of life. New things to learn for the job. New things to learn in order to live in a different country. New rules to follow. New friends. New environment. New rhythm. Lots of new things.

But some things remain the same. I am still the same old me.

So what will 2016 be like? What will 2016 bring?

I look forward to finding out!

Watching "The Little Prince" (movie)

Finally managed to watch this movie, The Little Prince, the other day.

I think the key message is similar to the book. "What is essential is invisible to the eye." Of course, the movie takes place after the book, with the aviator talking about the little prince. But the story really resonates with me. I can relate to the little girl's experiences. Following a strict time-table (okay, I didn't really follow mine that well), trying to get into good schools so that she can then move up into the corporate world. Our obsession with success, being narrowly defined as getting a high-paying job. And the narrow path that leads there.

Do we have the courage to soar off into the sunset in a biplane? Or do we simply follow the paths that others have tread?

One week to Star Wars 7

They say it is the most anticipated movie of the year.

Well, with 6 episodes before this, spanning more than 30 years, and a uncountable number of fans... what can you expect? Especially when the story was made to appeal to young boys (and as no boy really grows up, that means about half the human population...), the year-end holiday season might just as well start next week.

A lot of questions... who are all these characters? How are they related to past characters? And for hardcore fans... how far is Disney moving away from the established Star Wars universe? After all, the Star Wars story has been extended generations before and after what has been depicted in movies. So placing Star Wars 7 where it is (30 years after Star Wars 6) means something has already been established. But how much of that will Disney follow? Will there be any contradictions?

Will Star Wars 7 help Disney gain new Star Wars fans? Or lose old ones? Probably a mix of both, just how much.

Whatever it is, I am looking forward to watching it. Let's see if I can get seats for one of the first few screenings at the nearby cinema.

Enjoying my own time

It has been a while since I moved to Japan and became a full-time freelance translator. While the income is not great, it is enough to make ends meet, and what is especially great for me is that it allows me to have time for other things. I have more time to help out at home, take care of the kid, and practise taiji and calligraphy.

So when talk about an offer for a full-time job came in, what came to mind was whether I wanted to give up this freedom for better income. I kept thinking about what I wrote about the pursuit of money. Do I pursue my dreams? Or do I look for means to provide my family with a better material life (assuming that is what they want in the first place)?

It is a difficult choice. Between what I want for myself, and what I think my family wants (and I could be wrong...)

Guess I will take some more time to think through this. Meanwhile, I should continue to enjoy my own time.

The Force is awakening in Japan

Halloween is coming.
There are Star Wars costumes on sale everywhere. You can be Darth Vader for ¥108,000 (there are cheaper versions, though... but lightsabers not included) or stormtroopers, or be a Wookie or Master Yoda.

And there are corners in book stores selling Star Wars books. There are even English readers for those interested in learning English through the Star Wars story (Episodes 1 to 6).

Star Wars is also in toy stores. Lightsabers, masks, toys, Lego, collectibles...

And tickets for the upcoming Episode VII "The Force Awakens" is already on sale!

The Force is awakening in Japan!