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Turning Japanese! (Part 2)

Amanda — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 15:30:20 +0000

Sunday was sight-seeing – we took a train that required reservations (which we didn’t have) from the Hon-Kawaoge station, transferred to another train, and finally made it to the subway and then in to Tokyo. We started in where we visited a Buddhist temple, which was WAY cool. I bought a fortune and left it tied to a rack, which is supposed to make your good fortune even better. The little street that leads up to the temple was basically a big open air market where I got some nifty souvenirs.

From Asakusa we took the subway to the Tsukiji district which is known for its fish market. The fish market wasn’t open since it was Sunday, but we walked around a little and found a really good sushi place for lunch. SO GOOD. Have I mentioned how fantastic the food was? On the way to the fish market we walked by another Buddhist temple, but this one was built using Indian architecture. Pretty cool…

We had talked about shopping in the Harajuku district, but since I needed to visit a Hello Kitty store and had Googled the one in the Ginza shopping district, we ended up taking the subway to Ginza. We lost one of our party after the visit to Hello Kitty – he’d had enough shopping for one day, plus it was about a bajillion degrees, so he decided to leave the girls to it and head back to Kawagoe. I found lots of souvenirs for Wia and Emma, and then we walked back to the subway. We visited a couple of the high end stores, but I wasn’t in the market for $1000 handbags, and we had places to go.

The highlight of the trip was the visit to the Oedo onsen – a hot spring bath near Tokyo Bay. We took the subway, and then had to catch a bus that took us directly to the onsen, driving us over the Rainbow Bridge… officially the largest bridge I’ve ever been on. It was definitely an experience – shoes off when you get in the door, then you check in and pick out your yukata. From there you go change into it, then into the common area, and from there into the changing room before the baths. I thought I’d feel awkward, but not so much… no one was really looking at anyone else. It was… odd.

Monday was no big deal, until we went to dinner that night. A different Korean barbecue place, which was so much better than the first one. I noticed while I was sitting there that my feet were kind of hurting, but didn’t realize until I got back to the hotel room that my legs and ankles were pretty swollen. I guess walking around in the heat for two days was more than my system could handle! I’ve never been so swollen, and it was only a little better Tuesday morning. I ended up knocking off early on Tuesday so I could relax in my hotel room for a while with my legs propped up, and then I walked around the Crea Mall in Kawagoe to pick up some souvenirs. NOBODY DOES CUTE LIKE JAPAN. All of the women carry what I initially thought were umbrellas, but turned out to be parasols… I had to have one, and ended up with five. FIVE parasols! I found this little guy at one of the stores, and got a cute tote bag, a bookmark, and a pen. I could have shopped and spent tons more, but my legs needed another break, and I needed to pack for my early morning bus ride to the airport.

6:30 AM, bus ride from Kawagoe to Narita airport… even though my flight wasn’t until 11. I did some shopping, picking up Sirotan in a bunny suit, along with some other small souvenirs. The Japanese certainly do love their cellphone charms… I also got some snacks for the flight, for which, by the way, I had been upgraded to Business Class. WOOHOO! I had a giant seat that folded out into a bed, and a much better movie screen. Champagne at takeoff, and a great meal (I opted for the Japanese meal, figuring it would be my last chance in a while to eat anything even close to good Japanese food), plus ice cream whenever I wanted. I actually managed to sleep about 5 hours on the flight! Which was good, because my arrival in Chicago left me pretty well stranded.

Apparently, American Airlines routinely cancels their commuter flights to Indianapolis – but of course, they didn’t cancel it immediately. They bumped it an hour, and then two more hours before finally canceling it. I decided to rent a car to drive home, but first waited around for hours for my bags and got only one of them before I had to pick up the car or lose the reservation. GAH! No worries, they said at the baggage counter. Your bag will just be on a later flight tonight – it will probably get to Indianapolis before you do. Needless to say that was NOT the case… it was another 24 hours before it finally showed up, and I had to go pick it up, or wait yet another day for it to be delivered. American Airlines officially sucks, and I will never fly them again if I can help it. Blech.

So, that was my magical trip to the Far East. Good times, good food, good people… I’m ready to pack up and head off again!

Turning Japanese! (Part 1)

Amanda — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 02:21:07 +0000

So, I alluded in an earlier post that I might be traveling for work this year… and now I’m writing about it. I got to visit Japan at the end of July… and it is now at the top of my list of one of THE coolest places I will ever visit. I keep telling people, Asia in general has never been high on my list of places to visit, but now that I’ve been, I really want to go back.

I arrived in Tokyo on a Tuesday afternoon – I flew Japan Airlines in economy class, and have to say that it wasn’t as bad as you would think a 13-hour flight in economy might be. The plane was hot, the airport was hot, it was hot outside, and the highway bus from Tokyo to Kawagoe was hot. I very nearly lost my lunch, until I realized that part of the problem was that I hadn’t had any lunch. I downed half a granola bar, did some deep breathing, and managed to survive until I got to the hotel.

I met up Wednesday morning with two of the nicest Singaporean women I imagine I’ll ever meet. They work in the lab at our Singapore location, and just made me feel included from the start. The hotel had this great breakfast buffet that was included in the room rate… they had both Western and Japanese breakfast, but I stuck with Western food. Eggs, pancakes, yogurt, corn flakes, and the best apple juice I’ve ever had! We got the bus to work, where I managed to stick it out until the 6:45 bus. We met again around 10:30 for dinner with one of my co-workers from the US – we went to what I can only describe as a Korean barbecue just down a side street from the hotel, where we were discouraged, as foreigners, from ordering internal organs. We settled for beef heart, cheeks, and neck, none of which I’d had before. And beer. I was so tired by the end of the meal they practically had to prop me up.

Thursday and Friday weren’t remarkable, except for the food. Thursday night was ramen, with some dumplings, fried rice, and miso soup on the side. I thought it was kind of funny to have soup and… more soup, for dinner. Friday night’s dinner was more notable for the fact that we left work early enough to hit a sushi restaurant that closes earlier than most others nearby. It was a straight shot from the hotel, and it was delicious! I had eel, which I’ve never had before, and it was fantastic. An older couple came in and ate, and they seemed especially interested in us. They even bought us a small bottle of sake, which was okay. They serve it in tiny glasses, and you NEVER pour your own. Actually, I don’t think you ever pour your own anything.

Work again on Saturday, but we left after lunch. We walked to the Matoba train station and took the train to Kawagoe station, which was my first train ride of the trip. Kawagoe had set up Friday night and Saturday morning for their weekend festival, the Million Lights Summer Festival. We ate lunch at Rakeru, which I gather is sort of a Cracker Barrel in Japan. I had an omurice, which is basically an omelet stuffed with rice, covered and surrounded by some type of gravy. Most of the meals in Japan come as a set, and as always I ended up ordering a bigger set than anyone else in our party. I tried to share dessert, which was a smallish belgian waffle with ice cream, but no one seemed very excited about that idea. It was probably a huge faux pas on my part to offer, but I was the only one eating dessert, for pete’s sake! After lunch we watched the parade that kicked off the festival – I found it hilarious that the parade was kicked off by 5 or 6 high school bands, and then Boy and Girl Scout troops! It was like a little bit of America, which was weird.

We walked around old Kawagoe for several hours, stopping at a shento temple to ring a giant jingle bell and pray. It was freaking hot and humid, and thankfully the vendors were passing out free fans. After some ice cream, we decided to take a train to Asaka to see a fireworks show. Japanese fireworks are like nothing I’ve ever seen! They were absolutely spectacular, and lasted 65 minutes. By the time they were done it was about 9, and we had to walk back through a huge mass of people to the very crowded train station. I think we got back to Kawagoe about 10:30, and then we found a place to sit and eat. Shoes off! We planned Sunday’s trip into Tokyo, and I think I got to bed about 2.

I have SO much more to tell, but this post is already long enough… stay tuned.

If at first you don’t succeed…

Amanda — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 03:14:26 +0000

Talk about a hiatus! I think my last post was in January – how sad is that? I think of things to write about, funny little things that happen or random sights to share, and then I just… don’t log in. I’m SUCH a blog loser.

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Work is good, but home is so much better. I’m working on a BIG project that will require TRAVEL!! Outside the US!! To JAPAN!! I’m very excited about the prospect of international travel, especially since the company will be paying for the majority of it. The downside is that I’m beginning to feel overwhelmed by all the things that need to be done before I leave. Lots and lots of things. Coordinating with other people, making sure things are set up correctly for testing… it’s A LOT. Not to mention the preparations at home! I’m working on getting a pet/house sitter to come and stay with the animals – I don’t want to board Moses for two weeks, and she’s experienced with bunnies and piggies, so I think it’ll work out well.

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My brother moved his family back to Savannah this month. It’s going to be a better situation for their family; no more overnight babysitters needed! It sucks for me, though. As over the whole “spending the night twice a week” thing as I have been, I wouldn’t trade that time with my girls for anything in the world. NOT A THING.

They left a week ago last Thursday, and came back this last week for a wedding, leaving again Saturday night. When I hugged Emma goodbye, she said “But I’ll miss you…” – GAH. Three year olds do say the darndest things, don’t they?

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Off to bed, hopefully for a peaceful, storm-free night. It’s definitely summer in Indiana!

More of “the cute”

Amanda — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:09:10 +0000

This is normally the type of thing I would have called to tell my mom, probably lastnight before bed. Instead, you get to read all about it.

The girls have been using the rattiest, nastiest sippy cups for about the last two years. Neither of them should really still be using a sippy cup, but I’ll admit to the convenience, especially since Emma still wings hers around like it’s a toy, flipping it upside down and tossing it on the floor. I can’t imagine what she’d do with a cup that had no lid. Anyway, yesterday when I stopped to get bunny greens, I noticed sippy cups with straws, and decided that my big girls needed big girl cups. They were a huge hit… Wia said “Thank you for my new cup!” And Emma… well, she was too cute. She kept offering me a drink, but she would put her hand on my cheek, or under my chin. At first I thought she was just being sweet, but then it occurred to me that we adults put our hands under her chin to catch drips when she drinks out of our glasses or water bottles. It just tickled me that she would do the same, even though I was drinking out of a straw. It was just too, too much.

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And now, a note to the colleague two cubicles down and across the aisle:
I like Sinatra, too, but not at the volume you like to listen to. There are other people here doing work, too, you know. It’s an office, not a concert hall.

Also, your ringtone is annoying. No one’s cellphone should whistle.

Bad girl

Amanda — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:22:44 +0000

I’ve been kind of bad lately. Like, I know I’m doing something I shouldn’t, but I do it anyway. Today, for example, I decided to take an afternoon break. 1) I did not take a lunch break, but rather brought my veggie pizza back to my desk and checked and answered emails while I ate; and 2) I very rarely, if ever, take a break – no addiction compels me to leave my desk two or three times a day (yes, I’m looking at YOU, smokers), and so I end up working through my mornings and afternoons without so much as looking away from my monitor. So today, I took my book, my gummi bears, and a dollar for a bottle of Dr. Pepper down to the cafeteria at 3:30. Where I sat, blissfully reading, until 4:45. HAH! It was great! By the time I got back to my desk, I had just enough time to write a weekly status report, call one of my users to answer a question she left on voicemail, and log out.

The bad part is that this kind of behavior – this slacking off of work, if you will – is becoming more and more frequent. I don’t feel the responsibility I used to when I think about work; I don’t think about the downstream effects of my actions. This really started last year, probably about mid-fall, with no real rhyme or reason. I find myself very apathetic about work… I actually told someone last week that I DON’T CARE IF I GET A RAISE THIS YEAR. Wha??? I should care. I need that money… my car is eventually going to die, my water heater will go out, my washer will kick the proverbial bucket, and I have no emergency fund. Without that measly two percent (minimum) pay increase, I won’t be able to save as much as I’d hoped. Kiss those hardwood floors goodbye. Adopt a dog? How about adopt a plant. But my apathy, my bad behavior, directly impacts my year-end review, which directly impacts my “merit” increase. I’ve even talked about this with my co-workers, who are feeling similar feelings… we finally decided that we probably shouldn’t talk about it anymore because we were totally bringing each other down.

I think what it boils down to is that I’m burned out. I’m tired of seeing other people rewarded for doing their day-to-day job, and yet not getting the same treatment from my “manager”. It’s degrading and demoralizing to be constantly told that you’re wrong. To be asked to be something you’re not, and then made to feel bad for not living up to unrealistic expectations. I keep thinking I should look for something else, insist on better or more, but I just can’t bring myself to care about it that much. I don’t work to feel fulfilled, and this is not a career. It’s a job. It’s the thing I do to make money. Maybe someday I’ll figure out a way to do the thing that brings me real joy and not live in total poverty so I don’t have to worry about feeling like this anymore. What is clear, though, is that I need to make a change. Something’s got to give… there’s got to be some way to make things bearable again. Right?

I got nothin’

Amanda — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 04:33:18 +0000

I’m tapped out tonight – it’s been a stressful day, and trying to think of something interesting to write is the very last thing I want to do right now. My pillow is calling my name…

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Silly me… when I filled out my timesheet at work this week (we have to track our hours every week for planning and resource management), I put the actual hours I worked, which was only 34. You know, I figured it was better to be honest, since I totally did not plan to use vacation hours for the other 6. My manager rejected it. Despite the fact it was a holiday week and I was one of maybe 10 people in the entire department, and at least I bothered to come into the office (my coworker didn’t even bother to send an email Tuesday or Wednesday to let us know she was working from home). Ugh. I’m just really, really tired of everything being about whether or not I’m in the office or not, taking up space, breathing the air. I don’t like feeling like I’m just there to fill a seat… shouldn’t it be about whether or not I’m producing the desired results? Plllblllbltttt. I don’t wanna talk about work anymore. Blech.

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I made a sugar cream pie for my birthday. I baked it Monday night, and it wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but it was good enough to eat. It used to be my favorite, but that sour cream apple pie I made for Thanksgiving and again at Christmas is coming up a mighty close second… it might just overtake the current numero uno.

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And that’s… it. I’m out for tonight. You stay classy, America.

Ten days

Amanda — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 06:56:34 +0000

How has it been ten whole days since I last posted? Sheesh.

Well, I evidently have not won any of the HP Magic Giveaway contests I entered. Bummer. I must be doing something wrong… I enter just about every sweepstakes and contest I come across online, and I have yet to win anything. I guess I’ll just keep trying. Can’t win if you don’t play, right?

Speaking of winning… we had our annual Christmas pitch-in today at work. After the “town hall” meeting where the boss congratulated everyone on a decent year and told us to “sharpen the saw” over the holidays (he actually said “take time to reconnect with your families if you need to” – it totally came out wrong and was HILARIOUS), about sixteen of us participated in a little competition. Someone found these puzzles, and the first person to finish correctly would win a prize. Now, let me say right now I didn’t finish it alone. One of my co-workers came over and helped me… I could not have finished it without her. But finish it we did, and first! We won a $50 Mastercard gift card, which I offered to split and she turned down, so I won it. I WON SOMETHING!! Whoopee! So exciting.

Twitter. I am terrible at it. I go days without posting an update, and then I post two or three in a row. It seems like I could just, oh, I don’t know, blog it instead? I may quit, I just haven’t decided yet. I’ll give it until after the holidays, I guess.

Weiner? You decide.

Amanda — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:25:09 +0000

So, I mentioned the HP Magic Giveaway in my last post. As I said, I first found out about the contest from Moosh in Indy about a week or so ago, and I’m entering at several different sites – I realize it’s highly unlikely I’ll win, but you can’t win if you don’t play, right?

One thing most of these contests have in common is the request that the winner share the $6000 worth of technology with someone/thing/entity less fortunate or more worthy. I had to really think… if I won four computers, a printer, a media center thingy, some Windows software, and a couple of other extras, who would I share it with? I’d love to say family and friends, but they don’t really need it. We all have jobs that we’re not in danger of losing, we can all provide for our families without relying on the charity of others or public assistance. That left me with strangers. But how would I find these strangers?

Each year, my coworkers in our mid-sized IT department sponsor at least one family through the United Christmas Service. These are families who can’t afford the most basic of things – cookware, clothing, winter coats/mittens/hats – and are immensely grateful for the things they have. This year our department is sponsoring three families, and I’d be willing to bet that none of them have access to technology like this in their homes. Sure, they can probably use a computer at the local library, and I’m sure the kids can use them at school, but wouldn’t it be great if they could do anything and everything they need from the comfort of their home? If I won this prize package, I would donate ~~three of the computers~~ the three notebooks to these families. Would I like to keep all of the prize package for myself? Honestly? Yes. Who wouldn’t want more geekery and gadgets than they could ever need? But it would feel awfully good to share it with others who could really, really use it.

I would keep the TouchSmart and the printer to replace my 7 year old desktop, which would also be donated to a charitable organization. The one piece of hardware I wasn’t sure about was the MediaConnect Media Center… I don’t really have use for it, so I would donate it to fundraising efforts for the JDRF. The company I work for does a lot of fundraising for this organization throughout the year, and I think the MediaConnect would make a great item for the next raffle or silent auction, don’t you?
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7-Dec, ETA: Added a link above to Merlot Mom. I could retype the same post over and over again, but I’d rather just keep adding links.
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11-Dec, ETA: Added a link above to Stop, Drop and Blog. I’ve also added a little to the post… I’ve had time to think some more about what I’d do with this package…

Sleep is for the weak

Amanda — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 03:23:01 +0000

One of the unfortunate side effects of spending one or more nights at my brother’s each week is that even if I remember my laptop, I usually forget to write a post. See, I’m not one of those disciplined people that write posts ahead and set them to publish later… I’m more of a just-in-time kind of girl.

That’s true everywhere in my life, but nowhere more than my attitude about sleep. I am not an early bird in any way, shape, or form. I hate the alarm clock – in fact, the only thing I like about my alarm clock is the snooze button. I keep thinking I should try one of those clocks that wakes you with light, becoming brighter as the minutes click by. Not that it would help… it’s not that I can’t wake up in the morning, it’s more like my mind just can’t see the purpose in it, and my body is happy to comply.

Unfortunately, I have one of those jobs working for one of those people who sort of expects you to be there at 8am. I’ve been coming to work at 9am for several years now… lately, it’s actually been sliding closer to 9:30. And at the beginning, I felt guilty. I worried about the ramifications of coming in late. I even bought this book. Apparently, there really aren’t any negative ramifications for showing up late… yet. I guess I’m silently rebelling against the 8-5 mentality, and hoping the fact that I still work 40 hours or more a week is more meaningful than what time I actually get to work. All of this is one of the reasons that the ROWE appeals to me so much. I’d love to work somewhere where the results of my work are more important to my manager than the hours I worked to obtain them.

It’s a frustrating work environment for me, for sure. I wish I didn’t feel so stuck where I am… but until ROWE becomes widespread, I suppose I’ll live with it. At least I have a job, right?

Environmentally friendly

Amanda — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 02:57:42 +0000

I love it when Big Business tries to do the right thing… there just always seems to be something a little bit off in the execution. This year, the company I work for decided to start a green initiative, and to kick it off, everyone in our 1200-employee facility got a tote bag and a travel mug. Which would have been great, except the travel mug was made in China, and I highly doubt it’s phthalate- or BPA-free. I threw it away – it wasn’t even recyclable! They could have done better, I think – even Nalgene bottles would have been better.

The bags are also made in China, but at least they fold up to a small, portable size – I’ve already taken mine to the grocery along with my Envirosax.

Now if we could just get them to buy into telecommuting as part of this green initiative…