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LinkedIn Business Networking Event in JPN

Heading to tonight's business networking event in Tokyo. I passed on the word about the event to a few of my colleagues. Hopefully the gathering will be both productive and enjoyable. I'll get a chance to see some of my former colleagues and possibly meet up with some future ones as well.

I'll snap a few fotos of tonight and post them here and elsewhere. If you are in Tokyo tonight, drop on by.

Overseas: Biz Trip

Business trips are never easy. Especially when they are trips abroad.

Been taking lots of pictures. I'll post them later. Tomorrow, I will lug my suitcase to the train station and head off to the next city. I hope I don't get too lost. Must bring a map.

University Admissions Office Contact

The postgraduate admin office contacted me late last night/early this morning to confirm that my application was received. "Wow" on two counts. My application was despatched by EMS (express mail) on the 8th. They received it in London on the 11th. The 2nd wow is they took the time to contact me. Let's hope the Admin Officer signs off on my application and I can undertake my studies this spring.

Day 001 - First Day Back at Office

Clocked in at 06h10. Clocked out at 21h00. Not a good way to start the new year. Got home at 22h20. I felt guilty about leaving the office early; I had at least another 2-3 hours of work to do. Instead of working until midnight, I will go to the office early again. My first meeting is at 08h45 but, I need to put in at least a good hour and a half before that meeting. I shouldn't complain. When I left the office tonight, there were still a lot of people working. I guess we all felt guilty about having being away from the office for the New Year Holiday Break.

Tomorrow is Last Day of the New Year Break

Only one more day of rest before the first work day of the year. I am glad that I was allowed to take 9 days off over the break. Nine days to stay at home and play with and take care of my son. I'll go out on Sunday and get a hair cut. I want to make a good impression on the bosses on my first day back in the office.

I need to be at the office before 06h00 on Monday: I expect up around 1,000 emails waiting for me in my mailbox. Not too happy about it. With a 07h00 staff meeting, I only have under one hour to process those emails.

I'll also send out my application and documents to the Admissions Office for the LLM programme. I can't wait to get started. It has been close to 6 years since I finished my last graduate degree proramme. I spend a couple of hours this past week organizing, cleaning and clearing space for the upcoming school term. I bought an additional monitor to help with the studies. I can use the extra monitor to access the various legal databases and use my laptop to compile notes and organize my study outline.

New Apple Laptop

When will AAPL release their next generation laptop? I sure hope that they do it by the end of the year. With most Apple fans anxiously waiting for the release of Apple TV and iPhone, I hope that Steve will add one more product to 2007: new laptop.

I am looking at buying a new laptop; one that is more portable and less painful to carry on long business trips. I am currently lugging around by G4 15" laptop. After a long, cross-Pacific trip, my shoulder sure takes a beating. I'd love to see the next laptop weigh less than 1kg with a full-size keyboard. I hope they keep the titanium look. Very classy.

Steve: I have some money to burn and I really want to buy a new laptop this year. So, please hurry up and announce the next generation of laptops, will you?

It's been a long time...

I must get back to blogging on this site. I had planned on shutting down this blog and only blog on my namesake blog but now, I think I will keep this one active. Or at least - I will try. Maybe I will spruce it up a little during the year-end holiday break.

Right now, with 60+ hour work weeks and taking care of my son, I have very little time to do any blogging let alone two blog sites. But, I will do my best!

New Blog Started

Well, it is about time. I have finally launched a new blog under my own name. I will try to maintain this blog for the remainder of the year but, I suspect that due to time constraints I will shut down this blog by the end of the year.

If you want to read my other (new) blog, send me an email to my Gmail account.

See you all on the other side.

What's today's date?

Where am I? Who am I? What year is it?

Sometimes, I feel lost. I have been putting in way too many hours at the office lately. It feels like I am on this unstoppable amusement park ride: At the beginning it is all fun and laughter but, after 20 hours, you begin screaming for it to stop!

Luckily, the Japanese Golden Week Holidays are about one month away. I may take one extra day off and thus, gain a full six days off in a row. It'll be heaven! I won't even answer my phone. Nor will I check my email.

Too Tired to Think

Very few hours of sleep. Lack of REM. Interrupted sleep. Lack of food. Lack of ....... Boy - life as a father of a newborn is sure fun and tiring.

Sick and In Bed

It hit me like a ton of bricks on Wednesday night. I got sick. The entire week has been hard. I have been getting little sleep because of Jr. He likes to wake up at the oddest times. Last week, I had been getting about 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep. On Wednesday, my body went 'kerplunk'. Crash. I woke up Thursday very sick. Thinking hurts. My body hurts. The lack of sleep and the early morning telephone conference calls are finally taking their toll on me.

I decided to take Monday off. With my personal holiday on Monday, I now have a four-day weekend. Tuesday is a national holiday here in Japan. Lucky me!

Not to feel bad about my extra day off, I brought home about 300 pages of reading. Gotta complete a report for the powers-to-be straight away. Hopefully, I can find a few hours each day to bang out the report. That is a few hours here and there after I have looked after Jr. No matter what, family comes first. Job and career comes second.

I decided that I will return to university should I earn and save enough money in the next few years. I really would like to further my studies in the area of behavioral finance. I just ordered Volume II of Richard Thaler's edited works under that same titile. All I have to do is get to Chicago GSB and get on with my life. Academia sounds a wee bit more attractive than working 14 to 16 hours a day. Wouldn't you agree?

Are you overworked!

YES!  I was happy to receive in my email in box a link to an article in CFO.com. (Article)

I have been putting in way too many hours. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. When I finish one assignment, the bosses dump another wheel barrow full of things to do. Is there no end to this 'rat race'?

I have to admit that there was a time when I wanted to work more and work longer hours. Why? Well, I thought by putting in outrageous hours and forgetting about my family, I would end up much richer in the end. After accumulating much wealth, I could turn to my family and spend more time with them. Well, let me say this: it is not happening.

First, there were 2 hours of overtime per day. Then, overtime somehow stretched out to 5 or 6 hours per day. And worse off, I have to work on weekends now. With an office in the USA, I have to work not only our hours in Tokyo but New York time zone as well. I think there is a law against this type of overloaded work but I have not yet found it. Nor do I think many companies care about having their workers put in way too many hours.

I have found that I try to get to the office by 07:30am each morning. This way, I can work with our US-based team for a couple of hours before they head home for the evening. Mind you, our work hours at the office are from 09:30 to 18:30. So, with working under two time zones, I tend to be at the office much longer. As an old friend you to say to me, "This too shall pass". My only reply to that statement is this: "Are you freaking sure it'll pass?"

If God takes pity upon me, will he let me win the lottery and retire? Or will he keep me at the grindstone - hard work builds character, right?

First Days of Fatherhood

Right off, let me tell you this: babies are so tiny and fragile that one is scared to break them. The first bottle feeding. The first diaper changing. And yet more frightening, the first bath. All in all the first 96 hours of Jr's life at home is filled with so much happiness and worry that I am so afraid of going to sleep. I want to be there to help him. Protect him. Feed him. The first night I slept only 2 hours. The second night I slept 4 hours. And the third night I slept 5 hours. At least now,  I am back to my regular schedule of 5 hours of sleep a night.

My wife and I plan on opening up a bank account for him this month. I had better start funding his future educational needs. I want Jr. to have the best opportunities for schooling possible. Shouldn't children be better educated than their parents? University education is only going to get more expensive so I had better sock away as much money as possible.

Brought Junior Home. Here comes Fatherhood.

Fatherhood. Life doesn't get any better than this right now. I will spend the day at home and helping my wife with Junior. With so many paid holidays banked, this is a good time to start using them. Usually, I just let them lapse and die. In Japan, we can carry over our paid holidays for one year and after than, they expire. I normally take between 20% and 30% of my paid holidays. The rest I donate to the trash bin.

Day 4: Jr Boy - Apple Laptop?

Spent the day shopping for Jr. I wanted to go out and buy him something nice and cool. Unfortunately, the weather in Tokyo was miserable. Rain. Rain. Rain. Wind. Wind. Wind. Not a great day for shopping. I think I will try again next weekend. Gotta go out and buy him some nice toys for the crib. I wonder if Apple makes a small computer for babies. And if not, why not? Take a memo: write letter to Steve Jobs and ask him to begin design work on a keyboard small enough for a baby.

Underpaid: Doctors and Nurses

The last twenty-four hours have provided me with a profound understanding of how much doctors and nurses are the servants of God. And no money or glory is enough to pay them for their hard work. Devotion to life. Devotion to people. Devotion to bringing good into the world.

As the doctors rushed my wife into surgery, all I could do was stand 'helplessly' and watched as the surgery room bay doors closed. Then, the nurse told us to go to the waiting room. I don't know how much time passed by. The prior twelve hours were hard. No sleep. When the nurse approached, she called my name. I was asleep or at least, half delirious. When I looked into your eyes. I did not know if the best was to come or the worse. When she opened up her mouth and began to speak, I nearly fainted.

Her words, "twenty-nine hundred and thirty-eight grams. Both mother and son are doing fine."

And thus, the Angels of Life brought Jr. into this world and helped usher in a new era in my life.

No matter how much we pay doctors and nurses, it is not enough. It will never be enough.

Very Soon - just a few more days

It's very exciting. Jr.

Stop the Earth!

Quick. Someone call God. Stop the planet. We're going too fast. I'm going to fall off. I want to step off and slow down. Not enough sleep. Need more sleep.

The Dreaded Phone Call

Each person dreads that one phone call they receive. For some people, it may be the loss of a loved one. Or for others, it might be the call from the auto mechanic: You've blown the engine of your BMW. Don't laugh - it happened to me. Out thousands of dollars. Shit - why me? But I digress.

Others dread that phone call from the university admissions office - your application was rejected. Happened to me a few times. Didn't get into law school. Oh well - I'm a much better person for heading to Japan instead. And for others, it may be the call from the doctor's office. We mixed up some lab results - either you are some incurable disease or you're going to be fine. Sorry, it has never happened to me.

No - my dreaded phone call usually comes on the weekend. Either it is a call asking me to drop everything and come into work asap. Or then, it might be a call asking me to recall what was said/covered in a meeting. But, the one I dread the most is the one that just happened: Come to work super duper early on Monday morning. Whenever this happens, I have to get up right before 04:00am and run to the train station to catch the first or second train leaving the station. If I am late, I am not going to make it to work on time. Not showing for an early morning meeting is a 'BIG NO NO'. You show up or else. Death.

Not showing up for an early morning meeting is equivalent to 'taking a dump in the front row in church'. You can do it but, God is not going to forgive you for it. As such, I have to get to bed very soon. Or at least before 20:30. Need at least 7 hours of sleep nowadays. Get as much sleep before Junior comes. After Jr. is here, there is no telling when I can get a full 7 hours of sleep again. Maybe when he turns 3 or 4 years old.

Early Riser - Bloodshot Eyes

Got into the office at 05:35am. Taxi driver got lost. I had to explain how to get to my office building. Gee. Lots to do on the first business day of the year. Hope today is not an indication of how the rest of the year is going to go. If it is, I need to increase my lottery ticket purchases each week.

January 2nd, 2006

It's raining now. Temperature is hovering around 5 degrees Centrigrade. My plans of heading out to do some shopping has been put on hold. I don't want to get any sicker than I am right now. Plus I don't want Jr. to get sick. The day is only saved because of three things: (1) food in the fridge, (2) bottle of Coca Cola, and (3) 12 episodes of West Wing Season #1 on Sky PerfecTV.

I have yet to purchase the DVD sets of Season #1 and #2 so whenever I can watch episodes from those two seasons I am a happy camper. Sky PerfecTV is broadcasting Season #2 soon.

I spent last night watching episodes from the TV series, Nip/Tuck. Not a bad show. At first, I wasn't too interested in watching people getting bigger boobs, nose jobs, flatter tummies. That's what I thought the show was all about. Much to my surprise, the series is about much more than that.

I just might continue watching the series when it resumes with Season #2 later this year.

Oh yeah, Sky PerfecTV is broadcasting the television series, Without a Trace. Great show. I make an effort to watch the show whenever I am in the US on business. Which brings me to my last question for this blog: When am I heading back to the USA? Let's hope I don't have to go back until March; after Jr is born.

Happy New Year!

May all your dreams come true this year. Another year has passed and a new year has begun. I have not made any major resolutions yet. The one promise I will make is to spend as much time as possible with Jr. once he arrives. I guess the one wish I have is to win a couple of million dollars. With some green in the bank, I would retire and spend the next five years helping to raise Jr. Many parents tell me that the first five years go so quickly. The first step. The first words. The first smaile. The first misstep. I don't want to miss any of them. I wonder if I won the Japanese Lottery. The Grand Prize is $4M bucks. I guess I can try to survive on just four million buckaroos. Or can I? Is four enough? Or do I need a couple of billion buckaroos to be REALLY happy??? I know what my wife would say, "1% of 1% of the entire world......"

I will try to keep up my studies. Lest I become a dummy. I wonder if there is a book on Amazon titled, "Dummies for Dummies".

Wherever you are in the world, I hope 2006 is a good one for you. I do hope that God blesses each and every day of your life and He keep you and your loved ones safe and happy.

On another note for those people I HATE! Well, I don't want my good wishes to go out (1) terrorists, (2) communists, (3) North Korean military leadership, (4) evil-doers, (5) corrupt politicians and (6) rat race fucks. The only wish I have for you is this: "A pox on all of you!" Enjoy your time in HELL.

Boxing Day in Japan: NOT

No. The Japanese do not recognize the 26th of December as Boxing Day. So, I had to drag my butt out of bed and head off to the office. But, wait. I had something more pressing to do before I headed to the office: Extension of my Japanese visa.

As anyone who lives in a foreign country can understand, the renewal or extension of one's visa is never a fun chore. The Japanese government, probably like all others, likes to make the renewal process not a fun one. Normally, I head down to the Immigration Office in Shinagawa (aka. "A Living Hell"). Today, I opted to go to the office in Tachikawa City. While it was not 'fun', it was a painless one. Why? Not so many disgruntled, overpaid, over-skilled, pompous asses in the office. If you live or work in Japan, you'll quickly understand which foreigners to whom I am referring.

If you ever come to Tokyo, you can find many of these foreigners in the Roppongi area. Roppongi is a nice place to work but come sundown, the place turns into a scene out of Dante's Inferno. When I leave the office, I make a quick b-line for the tube. I want to get the hell out of Dodge. When the gunslingers come into town, they literally are pulling out their pistols and aiming them at all the gals. Stick around Roppongi and you might get caught in all the gun fire.

Getting back to my day at the Tokyo Immigration Office, most of the 'gunslingers' were probably off on their overpriced winter holidays. Holidaying in Thailand, Vietnam, Bali and, even perhaps, South Korea. And for those super-duper rich guys, they are probably back in their home countries wreaking havoc in their own backyards. Thank God. Lest they stay in Tokyo over the holiday period and break numerous laws. Laws such as urinating in public, accosting some damsels in distress, or my favourite, beating the shit out of the natives. The year-end break is often my most favourite time in Tokyo. I can ride the trains and subways without needing to hide from the 'evildoers'. And that is why I chose to go to Tokyo Immigration today. The room was filled with hard-working, honest people. Thank God for small miracles.

The West Wing: Season Five DVD

Still waiting for the DVD set to arrive. I ordered it on the 6th of December. It had better arrive here in Tokyo soon or I am going to write up a long complaint letter to the E-tailer. They claim to offer International Priority Shipping - but in actuality, what does that mean? IPS means "two weeks"? WTF? I sure hope the company pulls their heads out from their collective butts.

Strange Day: Hotel

Here's how the conversation went at the hotel.

(Knock. Knock.)

Me: Yes?
Room service: I'm here to restock the mini-bar.
Me: There's a mini-bar in here?
Room service: Of course, there's a mini-bar in every room.
Me: I don't think so. (I allowed the hotel worker into the room.)
Room service: Yes, the mini-bar is here. (Worker opens up cabinet.) See it's here...
Me: Where?
Room service: Oh. There's no fridge here. What happened to it?
Me: There was no mini-bar here when I got here.
Room service: That's right. The mini-bar for this room is being repaired.

Commments: WHAT THE F*CK??? Am I in the twilight zone???

Outbound to New York City

Heading to the airport in about seven hours. I have to catch a morning flight to JFK. Not too sure if the hotel on the other side will have internet-access enabled rooms. If not, blogging will be a little sparse over the next few days. But, if I have access, I'll definitely post a few snapshots of life on the other side of the ocean and on the other side of the continent.

A shopping I will go,
A shopping I will go,
Hi-Ho-the merry-oh,
A spending I will go.

Tokyo Disney Resort: Christmas 2005

Heading out to Tokyo Disneyland tomorrow. Haven't been able to visit Mickey & Minnie since my wife became pregnant. This will be the last visit until after Jr. comes into the world. Can't wait to take Jr. to see Mickey in 2006. Oh - I completely forgot: I need to buy a video camera at the end of the year. Hopefully, I can get a good deal on one. Gotta start checking out the various ecommerce sites and find a great bargain.

What the world needs now is ....

The picture sums it up completely: the world needs more love and fewer assholes.

New York City Here I Come

I'm heading back to NYC next week. During my visit, I want to do some more shopping. Last week, I finally got around and visited FAO Schwarz. I brought home a small polar bear. He is a very cool guy. I am going to give him to the new baby. Hope the baby won't rip his arms and legs off.  If you look really closely at the photo, you can see some polar bears.

If you ever get a chance to visit NYC, make sure you shop at FAO.

Back from New York City

Had my first travel experience on the Upper Deck of the JAL JFK-NRT flight. I was surprised that the upper deck was much smaller than previously thought. The one positive aspect of travelling in the upper deck was that there were no other passengers in my row of seats. For the first time in a long time, I could sleep on an airplane. While I did have to pull up my legs on the last seat, I could sleep comfortably. The last time I could do that was a flight from Narita to Cairns.

From this point forward, I'll fly out on NH (All NIppon Airways) and return on top of a JAL (Japan Airlines) bird.

Don't expect to fly back to the states until the 2nd week in December.

Bound for the USA - AGAIN

I'm jumping onto a plane tomorrow afternoon for yet another trip to the US. I sure hope that Boeing will build a supersonic plane that can get me from Narita Airport to JFK in 2 hours. If they could cut down the transit time from 12 hours to 2 hours, I would gladly commute to New York to work. Until then, I'll stay on this side of the Pacific Ocean for now.

Heading Back to the USA

I am flying back to the US this weekend. More meetings on the East Coast. I wonder when my company will ask me to move to the US instead of having me shuttle back and forth between Tokyo and New York. By the end of the first week of November, I will have spent 16 days of the previous 30 days in the USA.

I guess the positive side of moving to the US is that I will be that much closer to my family back in Canuckland. Also, I have some friends who are living in Ontario and the Maritimes. Being back in North America will give me a chance to catch up with all my old friends after a 15 years absence.

Gee, has it been that long since I last lived in N.A.?

Jackie Chan's Star

I really hope more and more Asian actors and actresses make it 'big' in Hollywood. Here's Jackie Chan's Hollywood Star.

My Trip to Los Angeles

I really recommend that you stay at the LA Standard Downtown. What a great place to stay. Look at the photo - yes, that is a bathtub in the middle of the room.

No Computer Access in LA

Decided to leave my computer at home this trip. So, they will be no blogging while in LA. This is my first real trip to LA. I have been there twice before but it was for one of those business trips: fly down from SFO and stay two hours in LA, then, fly back to Narita.

I'll be in LA for a couple of days to visit some colleagues. While on the ground, I want to do some shopping in Beverly Hills. Definitely gotta walk down Rodeo Drive.

If I get a chance, I would love to visit UCLA. I once thought I would attend school there to do some grad work. Instead I choose to do my grad work out of London. London sounds more impressive. UCLA is fine but London is definitely a bit better.

Hopefully, I can find a Blockbusters Video Store near the hotel. I want to pick up some previewed DVD movies. It is so hard to find good movies out in Japan. It is much better to get movies in the US and play them on my G4. I converted the DVD player to Region 1.

Narita Airport: Yahoo Cafee

Got to the airport very early. I had wanted to get a good seat on my flight to LAX. No such luck. I am stuck next to the window and with my luck, the two people in the other seats will be huge people and I will be pressed against the window for the entire flight.

Do airlines truly care about the customer experience? Or are airline so determined to make passengers hate flying that they stay at home? Is it any wonder why most airlines are going bankrupt? If any other service industry treated customers with the same disregard and distain, you can bet that customers would never return again.

As airline are the only game in town (international travel service providers), they will continue to 'screw the customer' and then, cry for money handouts from government. And guess what? The taxpayer is the one who must cough up more bucks to keep the airline head honchos living the high life of limousine service, hookers, booze at the office, and all the penicilin they can ingest.

With more and  more LCCs emerging, I hope that they put all the former government airline carriers out of business. Life is too short to allow airline company management run their respective companies into the ground.

Headed Back to the USA

Narita Airport is calling my name again. I'll be flying back to the US on Monday and returning on Thursday. I hope this time I can spend some time shopping and relaxing. Unlike last week's trip to the US. Rush. Rush. Rush. Rush. No sleep. No sleep. No sleep. Work. Work. Work. Work.

This time I have got to bring my camera and take some photos of the scenery. This way, I can prove to everyone that I did actually leave the country.

Public Holiday

Stuck at home today. Did go out to do some grocery shopping but returned soon thereafter. Gotta begin catching up on my paperwork left from one-week absence last week. There is not enough hours in the day to finish all those tasks needed doing.

Back in Japan

What a long flight out of SFO. I was among the last of the passengers to get ticketed. I was last going through the security screening. My name was being screamed over the PA system: "Get your butt down here now or we're going to leave it here." I did an OJ run through the terminal and ran to the gate just in time for them to hit my butt with the cabin door. Thanks. And to top it off - I was stuck in the middle seat. Thanks very much - I hate flying "Economy" class. What made the flight experience a living hell was the guy sitting next to me. He refused to move when anyone wanted to get up and go to the bathroom or walk around. So, I and the other guy sitting on the window side had to step onto the airplane seats and jump over the 'ASSHOLE' and land in the aisle.

Can you believe the fuC*ing nerve of some lazy, no-good-for-nothing business slobs??? I wish the damn flight attendants would have tossed this guy's sorry ass onto the tarmac where it belonged.

Now that I am back in Japan, I find myself only about 2 weeks beyond on work. Great. Thanks. I have to work all weekend long. Life is a bowl of cherries - "Some jerk ate up all the cherries and left the pits for me."

I gotta win myself the lottery soon.

Heading Back to the US

Going back to the US next week on business. While I love travelling to the States for business, I hate the long flights. Unless there are some good in-flight movies, I get very bored just sitting there watching people move about the cabin. Or when I have to read that 'horrible In-Flight Entertainment magazine' for the umpteenth time.

I was thinking about buying some special headphones for cutting out all the extraneous noise. I have had my eyes on the Sony MDR-NC6 or the ones from Bose. Paying about $350-400 for decent sleep might be what the doctor ordered. Guess if I calculate the approximate 6-8 overseas trips I do a year, the high purchase price might be justified. Sleeping on those long haul flights might be possible with a nice set of headphones.

Easy-going Guy

I'm so tired. I have put in way too many hours this week at the office... and it is only Wednesday!!! Since Sunday, I have put in 45 hours. Tomorrow will be another day of 15 hours. My only question to God is this: When are you going to stop the world from spinning so I can jump off??

Saturday at the Office II

Just another day at the office.... on my day off. Life is getting way too predictable. I had to check on some email from the day before. As Friday was a public holiday, I had to get out the replies PDQ. I'll spend my Sunday crunching some more numbers and then, get to bed by 20:00. Gotta get up at 04:00 and head out at 04:30 and catch the first train bound for Tokyo. Monday is going to be one long day.

Let me make this perfectly clear...

I am so tired that I could sleep for a week and then, wake up tired again. I need to dump some of my memory from brain storage as I am getting filled with way too many legal and financial documents. Is mankind created like a massive storage facility? There has got to be some way of dumping useless information from the brain easily.

Long Weekend!!

Yippee! I have the next 3 days off and I am going to do nothing but watch television and rent dvds and eat lots of junk food and go shopping.

What a crazy life!

Oops I forgot I need to study.

AAPL: New Products & Higher Share Price

I read a report that AAPL may hit $65.00 in the near term. I sure hope so. I bought AAPL at $38.43. With a new line of products and a healthy appetite for new gizmos out of Cupertino, I can see the share price hitting $100 by the summer of 2006. As the design engineers at Apple begin toying with new ideas (thinner laptops, new media devices), you can rest assured that the young generation will eat up any new product with the Apple logo on it.

Sleepy...

Just got back from a business trip to the USA. My brain is fried. My eyes are tired. My body aches. When is Christmas? I need about 96 hours of straight sleep time...

Not Enough Hours in the Day

Got up at 05:00AM on Monday. Left for work at 05:30. got home at 23:00PM. Life is getting way too busy to enjoy. My brain is fried this morning. I need a brain reset by noon today or I will be crashing all day long. Ctrl+Alt+Del.

YAISU: Yet Another Internet Start Up

I left the office at 18:30 tonight. It was very quiet at work as many people had taken their summer holidays. I walked into my apartment just as the thunderstorm was raising up a fuss over our heads. I was in a hurry to get home tonight and forgot to bring my umbrella. I left it under my desk and never thought about grabbing it as I was running out the door. Lucky for me!

I'm sure there be many traffic accidents this evening. Many families are on their way back from their annual summer visits to their hometowns. With the added slick highways, there will be a highly number of fender benders. Let's hope that there are no fatalities.

On my way home as I rode the train home, I was thinking or brainstorming about doing my own Internet start-up. Heck, I know I am a wee bit late to the Internet Party but, I believe there is still room for another grand idea. I don't want to start up my own company to become a gazillionaire so I am not too worried about 100% CAGR over a 10-year period. Nor am I worried about attaining $50M in EBITDA so so I-banker can sell me on giving up my baby for a basketful of cash. I-bankers love to upsell the idea of selling one's company at 14X EBITDA. I just want to run my own little company and invite my pals to join. I'll have to give it some serious thought over the next year or so. It's either start my own company or go back to university and get another degree.

Egads! Forgot to Blog Yesterday

Gee, after a long day at the office (in at 06:55 and out at 20:45), I completely forgot to blog my thoughts for the day.

Right now, I am only thinking of surviving this year. Nothing else really matters. Getting in only 3-4 hours of sleep a night on average is taking a serious toll on my weakened body. I don't know know whether it is age or the lack of extreme motivation that I am lacking. I guess the days of waking up with 'fire in my belly', 'ready to bite the head off a live chicken', 'ready to run into a burning building' and 'working non-stop for a boss I cannot understand' are gone.

I used to thrive on challenges. I used to love the chance to earn top dollar at what I did. No more.

The only constant in life is my family. I want to earn enough money so that I can withdraw from a life of 70-plus-hour weeks and get back to enjoying life. The rat race won. I lost.

I must take a step back and think about turning my life into a new direction. Perhaps a few more years in school and another diploma may get me onto the right track.

Finished Work at 12:30AM

Yesterday, or rather 'this morning', I finished work at 12:30am. I missed the last train heading out of Tokyo and needed to get a lift from someone. I felt really bad getting the ride home: It took about 35 minutes to drive me home. If I had brought a change of clothing, I would have camped out at the office. But, since I was wearing a suit, I did not want to wake up in wrinkled clothing to start a brand new day.

Tonight, I finished work before 20:00. Actually, I escaped from the office before anymore work could be piled on my desk. Last night I got about 3 hours of sleep. Tonight, I hope to put in a decent 7.5 hours of sleep. As for the weekend, I'll be sleeping the two days away.