Long Weekend

October has been, and promises to be, a busy month. Despite the busy schedule, I have found myself taking pleasure in the cooler autumn days and have started to amble around Tokyo at a more sedate pace.

I've been unable to see Clara over the last couple of weeks, so it was great to have her stay at my place on Sunday night. I always clean my flat before she visits as I want to make her feel completely at home. When she arrived, we treated ourselves to some snacks, exchanged some stories, and then Clara settled in front on my laptop to watch Pokemon programmes from Hulu.com.

Clara proudly told me that she recently had to entertain and translate for a visiting English teacher in her school. I'm glad she is starting to realise what an advantage she has over her monolingual peers. Clara also mentioned that English fluency should help her career prospects in the future. Good luck, Clara!

A big event on Sunday was the publication of an article in a Japanese mainstream newspaper called The Mainichi Shimbun. The article highlighted extreme working conditions within Weathernews Inc which led to suicide. This is an issue which several Weathernews employees have been concerned about for some time. Hopefully the public shaming which the article has brought will force Weathernews Inc to treat their employees as valuable assets, and not as a perishable resource which can be used up and then replenished whenever it suits them.

After lunch on Monday, a Japanese national holiday called Sports Day, I walked Clara home before I headed off to the gym for a short workout. When we said our farewells, I saw a small tear in her eye and her face lose a little composure. I guess it's still difficult for her not to see me as regularly as she used to. Don't worry Clara, the feeling is mutual. Still, we'll both make sure that the time we spend together is quality time. I'm sure we'll have many happy days together this year and in subsequent years.

October and November promise to be busy and interesting months. I'll really have to carefully juggle my time and ensure I am able to sleep and exercise sufficiently. Then, I guess, there'll be a lull over the Christmas and New year period. Towards the end of December, Clara will be 12!