Darn + The Luck

Today started like most others where I needed to head to work with the slight caveat that breakfast is now included.  So instead of going to the place from Sunday morning, I decide to try The Top, a restaurant on the 40^th floor of a rotating section of the building that completes one revolution every hour.  The view was pretty spectacular along with the crowd.  The food?  Meh, the same as they served at the place yesterday with no choice of that vegetable juice.  Well, at least the view was worth the price of admission.

I head back to the room and get ready for work.  Today I am armed with a bit more information to solve some problems and I get one person completely set.  Although with the language barrier (on my part mainly) and the user’s relative inexperience with computers, I may be hearing from them after I leave.  I will be leaving detailed instructions with everyone and I hope they can manage to copy files to an external hard drive as a back up.  The other two I need to work with is either waiting for their computer to arrive that we ordered last week or they are moving to the office of the guy that is moving back to Rancho Bernardo used to occupy.  The move should be approved or disapproved tomorrow and also the computer may show up as well.  So it is possible the majority of my work will be completed by the end of tomorrow.  Today’s work was setting up the one person and then a detailed inventory of the equipment in the office.

Lunch was at an Indian curry place in the lobby and was very good.  I had the mixed seafood curry.  That naan was HUGE and you got as many refills on the naan as you wanted.  I did not partake of the refill as that was quite enough.  Right after lunch, we step into the Lawson’s right next door for part of my mission: to buy a sewing kit.  When I packed up Friday, I noticed that the hem on one of my pant legs had come undone.  I also needed toothpaste as I didn’t pack a full travel tube thinking I was going to be home already.  Mission accomplished, we head back up to the office.  On the way up, I ask the two ladies I’m with if they have heard of the fugu restaurant I saw last night.  They hadn’t.  One did say that you should go with someone and go to a more … “upscale” place.  When you’re talking about fugu, you should really make sure you’re at a reputable place.  I decide to pass on that particular place unless I can get someone to go with me so we make sure we are both OK afterwards.

Back in the office, I’m compiling my data from the inventory and get an email from the lead of the international team who is on the east coast.  It’s 1:40AM for him.  He says he’s helping someone in Saudi with some issues and it is difficult based on the work culture there (prayer times, etc.).  He also asked how I was doing, not with my work, but personally over here.  I say that I’m having a great time and that the Skyping with the wife really helps make the distance feel not so bad.  He then says that he’s heard from others that I’m doing well in the job and that since they like me in the office and I’m having a good time that he’s going to send me back here when I need to help the other half of the office with pretty much the same thing I’m doing right now.  So…. WOOHOO!  I think it will be sometime in 2015, but I’m good with coming back.  I hope it is during the first week of April in hopes of catching the cherry blossoms blooming.

So room 888, seeing multiple Joro Spiders, and other small fortunes continue with that bit of good news.  Now I can only hope it won’t ruin my chances of going to Australia also in early 2015 I believe.  I’m already used to the left-hand traffic so it won’t be too bad in that regard.  Nominally speaking the same language will help.

Speaking of language: on the way to dinner tonight, I caught my first word that I could read in Japanese after really only trying to learn hiragana starting late Friday with no practice on Saturday because of sumo, and on and off Sunday.  The word?  Udon.  I was walking quickly past the sign and as I walk I have been looking at signs and trying to read what I can.  That word was the first that I realized that the characters were all something I knew (no kanji mixed in).  With only a little pause to sound out each syllable as I saw each of the three characters: う(“u” as in dude), ど(“do” sounds like dough), ん(which is the “n” sound).  I then repeated them a little quicker to get “udon”.  Woohoo!  I’ll need to practice more for when I come out and learn what the words actually are after knowing how to read/write them.  Knowing it says “jinsokuna shi” is great, knowing that it means “quick death” is probably better.  The words before "udon" are "tempura" and "soba". =)

Dinner was at an awesome miso ramen house.  I got the deluxe Akasaka Miso with a spicy broth.  Holy crap, that was sooo good.  About half way through my slurping joy, another couple of guys come in and as they order in a heavy east coast accent and hearing the waiter have problems I’m glad I am making the effort to at least speak some of their language.  I also notice that there are five people in this small, 15 seat place and we’re all foreigners.  I hear the cooks mention gaijin.  I look up and he’s nodding proudly so probably was not being derogatory at all.  The guys behind me ordered a metric ass ton of food including gyoza.  Holy crap! I forgot about those!  Well, I’m way too full with my miso ramen to order some of those, but I will be back tomorrow for either lunch or dinner for six of those beautiful treasures and a bowl of rice.  It already sounds good and I’m still full from dinner!

After dinner, my goal was to browse all 10 floors of Bic Camera.  Wow… so many neat little gadgets from really cool looking refrigerators, couter-top dishwashers, cameras, laptops, DVDs, mobile phone accessories (they get their own floor), medicines, sporting equipment, toys, video games, and much, much more.  Including these:

That's right folks: $2,000 ear buds

Well, I need to get to darning my pants, shower, etc. and off to bed.

Mata ne!