When we recently went to NZ, my wife pointed out that many of the shops had changed in the short period of time, one year, since we had been there. What that shows to me, is that the café and restaurant business in Wellington is a tough one. Restaurants that I felt were excellent had […]

Just before I was at my uni's commencement ceremony, which is an event to mark the start of the school year. Well, when the grad students were giving their introductory remarks, one student commented on how wonderful it was that everyone standing with him was different in a number of ways; different nationality, different hometown, […]

I don't know why Japanese people feel the need to speak English to me. Most often they don't, but every once in a while I get some people who insist on speaking English to me even when I speak to them in Japanese. What I really want to know though, is how people who look […]

The only thing we know for certain, is that there are no certain things. Change is inevitable. That's why you have to be ready for it. If you aren't ready for it, you'll be left behind when things change. But why resist it? Certain is boring. When things become predictable, it takes the fun out […]

If something is interesting to you, is it interesting to me? Most likely no. (I should probably tell my wife this, but) Dreams are a good example. They seem interesting to you, but who likes to hear the dreams of other people? Besides maybe fortune tellers, no-one! I'm not a fortune teller, nor do I […]

Blindly following orders is almost as bad as not working. It breaks my heart seeing new recruits at Japanese companies lined up ready to begin work because I know that they are just going to do what they're told for the foreseeable future, plus I know they aren't going to get paid much too, depending […]

Work is a balance between you and your company. Companies need us, and we need them. When you provide more value than you’re paid, it’s good for the company, but you may be losing out. When you provide less value than you’re paid, don’t be surprised if you lose your job. This fine balance changes […]