Work Life Balance

Since last post, I took action. I decided rather than saying I wanted a better work/life balance, I decided to actually do something about it.

I realised I needed to reign in the workload. I realised that if I didn't speak up, nothing was going to change.

So I spoke up.

And I found that after I did, I felt a whole lot better. It's amazing how powerful talking can be. Letting things out rather than keeping them in.

Today, I went about things with a much more positive attitude. Ok, the chocolate-coated coffee beans a colleague shared with me may have had something to do with it. But on the whole, I felt better. My mind felt more at ease and I took on the day's challenges much more confidently.

And then, I left the office at 730pm.

And didn't bring work home.

By 930pm, I was bathed and fed. And had no idea what to do with myself.

I loved it.

I am loving it.

I am on the way to getting this work/life balance thing back.

More.

So I don't usually make New Year resolutions. It's not because I have tried and failed in the past. It's not because I don't think people should set goals for themselves. It's because, well, I'm really just not into setting New Year resolutions.

This year, however, I thought I would give it a go.

Eat out more.

Experience Tokyo (and Japan) more.

Try harder to find that seemingly-elusive work/life balance.

Travel more.

Eat healthier.

Maybe (maybe) exercise more.

And blog. (I can't add "more" after that.)

And it is with that last item on the list that I re-commence blogging. I don't know if it will be a daily thing. Maybe I should set time aside each day to write something here.

But you know, with Facebook and Instagram and Twitter and Google+ and LinkedIn, it's all a bit daunting. I am connected to the same people on multiple SNS. I post the same content across each platform, with the touch of one button.

So I need to find a voice for this blog. A voice that is different from other content I choose to publicly broadcast.

Who knows what that voice will be.

But I guess there is only one way to find out.

And that is to blog. More.

...And starting again.

I really want to be a good blogger. And by that I don't mean a famous one that people follow religiously  Or one who gets asked to blog for brands and is quoted in media. By a good blogger I mean one who actually posts updates on his blog. It shouldn't be that difficult, right? Let's see.

More than a year has passed since we landed in Japan, and therefore since I started working. My advertising career in Japan is now a reality. I can be one of those people who returns to the Mother Country one day, telling stories of Ad-land life in faraway lands. Very exciting stuff.

I think most people who might see this know what I have been up to, but a trip to LA for shoot and working with iLuminate has definitely been the highlight of my work life here so far.

Although today, I was on the other side of the lens in a photoshoot. Not sure exactly when and where the images will be used, but there was mention about Point Of Sale advertising so will need to keep an eye out for that.

Nearly time for another meeting so will leave it there for now. 

I will do my best to keep this thing updated and become a good blogger.

GB

銀行口座を作った！

今日、携帯と外国人登録証明書を持ってもう一回新生銀行のファイナンシャルセンターに行った。30分の以内に銀行口座を作った。すごく簡単だった。

新生銀行で銀行口座を作る時にキャッシュカードの色を42の色の中から選べる。でも、すぐ欲しかったら7の色しか選べない。僕は僕だから、今日キャッシュカードが欲しかったので、その7の色の中から「オレンジジュース」という色をGETした。

それで、昨日の三つのミッションが出来た！


I opened a bank account!

Today, with my new phone and my Alien Card in hand, I went back to the Shinsei Bank Financial Centre to open a bank account. Within 30min, it was done. Too easy.

At Shinsei Bank, when you open a bank account, you get to choose the colour of your cash card - from a selection of 42 different colours. However, if you want your card that same day, you are limited to only 7 colours. Me being me, I wanted mine today so I chose the "Orange Juice" coloured card. 

And with that, all three missions from yesterday are complete!

A day of firsts

I know I said I was going to write my blog in both English and Japanese but I'm not sure how to say everything in Japanese I need to say. I might have a go at updating this post a bit later in Japanese, but for the time being here is the English version.

We were on a triple mission this morning:
1) Collect Alien Card
2) Open a bank account
3) Get a phone

Mission 1: Alien Card
So our first port of call was the Shinjuku City Office to collect our Alien Registration cards. No real issues there - just a bit of a wait. And the fact that mine says I was born in Potts Point, Forbes. Not a biggie.

Then, just as we were about to leave, an American guy came and sat next to me, asking me if I speak English. When I said yes, he told me he had a small favour to ask. He was there to marry his fiancee (also an American but who was born in Japan) and they needed two witnesses to sign the papers. So Pat and I were the lucky candidates to witness their wedding. We were offered bottles of scotch as a thank you but said that it wasn't necessary. So instead, the new bride handed over her business card - she is cabin crew for United, and told us that if we ever need to get back to Australia quickly, or if we just want to be pampered on our flight, to let her know. All a bit random really. 

Mission 2: Bank Account
We had decided that we wanted to bank with Mizuho bank so after bidding farewell to the happy couple, we went straight to the Shinjuku branch. The stock-standard questions "Do you have your Alien Card?" "Do you have your name stamp?" Tick and tick. But when we showed them our Alien Card, our service lady kindly said "Sorry you don't have a job and you haven't been here for more than 6 months. Please come back then." Right. Now I had heard that this sometimes happens at Mizuho, and for that reason, a lot of foreigners bank at Shinsei Bank. I was prepared for this situation and had researched where the closest Shinsei branch was and we headed there.

After checking with the clerk and her checking our Alien Cards she said we were fine to open a bank account. Awesome. Then came her next question "Do you have a Japanese mobile phone?" Our answer was no - we needed to open the bank account to get a mobile phone so we could pay by direct debit payments. A little bit of teeth sucking before going and checking with someone else. "Sorry, you need to have your Alien Card and a phone in order to open the bank account." This presented a slight hitch in our morning plan. We knew that we could get a phone using our Australian credit card but didn't want to do that. However, knowing that we would hit similar obstacles at other banks, we decided to park Mission 2 and move on to Mission 3.

Mission 3: Mobile Phone
We had done quite a bit of research already on the phones we wanted to get so today was just the formality of going in and making the purchase. Or so we thought.

While the process was relatively simple, it took over an hour to complete. Pat was running late for an interview so we had to rush his paperwork through so that he could go, leaving me to complete everything. An hour of solid Japanese, talking through contracts, what you can do, what you can't do, the options that come with the plan which you can cancel later but can't cancel up front, the fact that phones in Japan don't come with chargers anymore and you need to buy them separately, the fact that Android phones are susceptible to viruses and we should purchase a better security application than what is offered by the provider...

BUT - now we are mobile. And the bill will be coming off our Australian credit cards until we go and change it to direct debit from our Japanese bank account, which I am hoping we can open tomorrow. I don't have the mental strength to go through that today. Besides, banks close at 3pm here.

On the way home, I was waiting at the lights to cross the street near our house and two police officers just happened to be standing there too. The young one started speaking to me, and then I realised, for the first time ever, a police officer was asking me for my Alien Registration card. In the 3 years I had lived here previously, not once was I asked at random to produce it. And today - of all days - to be asked that question. Lucky we had completed Mission 1: Alien Card.

So tomorrow, we will revert to Misson 2: Bank Account. Will let you know how it goes.

さくらがまんかい！

今日花見をするために靖国神社に行ってきた。初めてそのところで花見して、すごくきれいだった。人数が多くってチョーさむかったので短い時間だけ花見したけど楽しかった。

パットは何枚の写真を撮った。見てください！

明日、群馬県館林市に行ってもう一回花見する。でも今回、桜の下に友達とビールを飲むよ。楽しみに！

The Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom!

Today we went to Yasukuni Shrine to look at the sakura (cherry blossoms). This was my first time to go to this shrine to look at the sakura, and they were amazing. There were heaps of people there, and it was absolutely freezing, so we only stayed for a short time but it was really good fun. 

Pat took a number of photos - check them out!

Tomorrow we are heading up to Tatebayashi in Gunma for a Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) party. But this time, we will spend some time sitting underneath the Sakura drinking beer with friends. Can't wait!

ブラッドピットじゃねぇーよ！

For the third time in my life, last night I was told I look like Brad Pitt. Each time I have been told this, it has been by a Japanese person. I don't see the resemblance myself. Must be the white skin.

Separated at birth?

But had a good time last night, starting out at TGIF for some food and drinks with friends before moving onto Zawatami - an Izakaya - for more drinks, including a Singapore Sling and some other drinks that took over an hour to arrive. Slight confrontation with the staff over the delay saw us receive some free sponge cake covered in cream and green tea powder.

Was good to meet new people and have a night out. Oh and Pat got to celebrate his birthday at TGIF. It seems that at TGIF, a birthday lasts a month, and he just scraped in. He had the restaurant sing him Happy Birthday and received a free massive dessert plus a free photo of our table. Happy Birthday again Pat!

The drink that took an hour to arrive.