VS Final Day

Facing the final day of this year, the first thing I have to do is to go back to my hometown, Kyoto. But, unfortunately, because I drunk wine a little last night, I haven't even gotten a train yet. I told my father that I would come to his house around lunch time. But, my lunch would be around dinner time.
On 31th December, most people look back to this year and remember many things. To me, I don't have to remember anything. I just read old articles in this blog. It's very easy. But, Past is Past. My thinking has already been walking toward the future.
Next year would be the big changing year for me. I have worked for almost twelve years in the publishing world. 12 years is long. This much experience can give me a lot of chances. And, actually, I have already gotten some new missions from my company. I can't write the detail because it's confidential. But, you can know that making new things is exciting.
My Aeon life will be ten years old in 2008. It is also long.(too long?) Because Haruka will leave Aeon, an era will finish. I don't know how the school's atomosphere will change, but change might be always needed in our life. My English must change, too.
My sufing life will be two yaers old. "When surfing, we can see the God." I started to surf after hearing of it. But, I have never met the God yet. Maybe it's not because I am not a religious man, but because my training for surfing is less. My sufing skill have to be better the next year.
For love, the life has not been born. So, I have nothing to comment here now.

I hope you and I have a great happy exciting beautiful sexy peaceful dramatic funny new year!

VS Pakistan

After happy Christmas, Japanese shift thier attention to the coming new year. We have winter vacation around then. Some will go for a trip. Some will spend relaxing time in their hometown. Basically we can have very peaceful time now.
In the famous tournament for Japanese comedians(M-1 grand prix), Sandwich Man won.
You don't have to know who Sandwich man is. You should only know that it is Japanese concern in this season who the most interesing comedian is.
That's why, the worst news, Bhutto's death in Pakistan was shocking for me.
Someone kill someone, in order to reach their poitical purpose. I thought such a crazy thinking has almost gone in the world. Because it can't be a good method to get political success. But the thinking is still alive.
We know they are crazy. And, they also know they themselves are crazy.
It can be the right to be crazy? I don't know.
Now, I think, it is clear that Pakistan is not the country we can trust well, for coorparating together with many world-wide problems.
Next year, soon, it will become a big political issue in tha Japanese Diet which Japanese self-defense should support Pakistan's navy fighting for Iraq war again, or not. Because I don't think Pakistan can afford to think about Iraq, I don't think Japanese self-defense have to support them.
For the group who killed Bhutto, my opinion is welcome, because their purpose is to destroy the order made by America and its friends. However, for eternal order, the power to make self-order is needed. Pakistani have to try to get the power for themselves now. SO, we must encourage their concern to focus on the issue for themselves.

VS Very Merry Christmas

The conversation in Japanese needs enough time and experience to understand it well enough.
If "I will think about it." is the answer to "How about a dinner with me on X'mas day?", 80% of what it means seems to be "No." in Japanese.

Only 20% is left now.
Although I am not sure whether this percentage is high or low, compared with the possibility that I can get Christmas present from Santa Claus, it is 100% certain that Japanese language is difficult to study like a woman's heart.

VS Business School

Some students studying in American business school came to my company recently, in order to reseach Japanese company. I and my coworkers had the meeting with them. It was our first experience to help students to study the business in Japan, but we enjoyed it very much.

Their theme was to study how international companies mamange their business in Japan. Some foreign companies can make a success in Japan. Some can not. What is the key point for success? What is the diffrence between Japan and other countries?
The theme is too big to answer smoothly, of course. So, the students asked us for a lot of things for our daily working.

Unfortunately I don't have the experience to work in foreign companies, so I can not compare Japanese company with other countries', but I think Japan is special.
Because Japanese market is big and matured, it has their own rules, diffrent from the world. That's why many foreign companies are comfused when they try their business in Japan.
One of my company's business partners introduced the students to us, so they came to my company. The business partner is an american company, but only Japanese staffs are hired in their Tokyo office. For their success, it seems to be the easiest way that Japanese sells something to Japanese.

Before the meeting, we thougt we should give them a souvenir. We prepared a coffee cup with my company's logo.
At the beginning of the meeting, after the introducing each other, the student told us that they had a souvenir for us. It was a coffee cup.
As you know, the exchanging same items is one of the worst happenings in a party.
Please understand how unhappy our feeling was when getting their kind gift.

Anyhow, I hope they can successfuly finish their study after coming back to America.

VS Beach Clean

I took part in Beach Clean on Enoshima beach, by chance. Even though two years has passed since I started to surf on the beach, I had never joined such an event. Because I didn't know how to join it.
One of surf shop staffs invited me to participate in it, when I went to surf on the day. That's why I tried to keep the beach clean for the first time.

Beach Clean is a relaxing event. An organizer of the event gives us trush bags. Then, we start to walk on the beach. Some walk with chatting. Some walk with dogs. If you find artificial things on the beach, you can get them and put them into the bag. That's all. After a while, you can feel it is fun to collect the trash.
"More trash! More trash!" was the feeling of me on the day.
But, fortunately or unfortunately, the beach was clean on the day. Comepared with summer season, not so msny people come to the beach. So, it can be clean to some exrent.
Thus, I think I couldn't contribute to cleaning the beach enough well on the day, but my dirty mind might be cleaned due to joining the nice event.