RResidents in Japan

Weekly Praise Thread – 23 June 2023

It’s that time of the week again. Please boast and share about the good things that have happened to you this past week!

27 comments

  2. Been doing intermittent fasting for about a month and I’m already about 5kg down. I tried it before and the results were similar, but this time I’m actually not hating it and for the last week or two I’ve felt fresh in the morning. Also, I’m really enjoying eating again.

  3. Went to USJ for my first theme park visit in Japan, loved Super Nintendo World and all the cast interactions/waving/small talk throughout the whole park. Overall a great experience even going alone, plus single rider lines where applicable.

    Can’t wait for them to finish Donkey Kong land.

  4. Tricky business, waking two kids when it’s getting late in the morning. Go in hard, they start the day in a bad mood. Go in soft, they don’t wake up.

    So what do you do? Think laterally, cut Gordion’s Knot.

    I put on “Consequence Free” by Great Big Sea and started doing a dance that would make Carleton look cool. Noise and motion wakes the little one, who finds it hilarious and wakes up laughing.

    Big Mr. Hard Case, however, is still feigning sleep. Switch to a Kamen Rider song he likes, and he cracks an eye open. Busted. So I step out and toss a blanket on him. He latches on I reel him in, talking about having a big fish. He’s laughing and awake now.

    My wife watches all this and just smiles while shaking her head, the things that man of hers thinks up sometimes.

  5. I’m going to be promoted! I do have to submit an essay, but it’s mostly just a formality. women don’t seem to get promoted that quickly or that often in my company, so kudos to my manager (who probably just wanted an excuse to put me in charge of more of his work, but still) for recommending me, and to my boss for giving the go-ahead.

    the director in charge of our department swapped out my PC’s HDD while I was off on my business trip, and now it runs so much faster!! thank god he’s a nerdy former engineer who can use his abundant free time to update our slow-ass computers.

    weekly IT department update:
    they were so very pleased with my offering of Seattle coffee. the resident barista was going around bragging that I had brought him coffee that you could ONLY get in Seattle, which was cute (and he acted very shy when I gave it to him, also very cute). hopefully I have banked a lot of goodwill with them in case of any computer-related mishaps in the near future.

  6. Printing official documents at combini with my number card is fantastic and much faster than the ward office, let alone the commute.

  7. I managed to win an online auction getting myself a brand new 45mm Apple watch 8 for less than half of retail price. Seller basically couldn’t pair the device (probably wasn’t patient enough) and they sold it as junk. I got it- and paired it without problem and now have a brand new watch for a great price! Yahoo.

  8. Work may be rough on me because of my medial bullshit causing fatigue, bit at least the hours and workload are lower than a typical 9-5. I would have colitis flares every other week if I had a “””40-hour””” work week.

  9. a military friend got me into a special access facility (not on base). the restaurant was okay, i guess, but the highlight was being able to buy stuff from the shop that’s not sold in japan!

  12. Very happy with my 2yr old and her speakIng. She seems to be able to distinguish Japanese and English. Lately she keeps saying, for example – にんじん英語でcarrot! Today she said “butterfly英語でチョウチョウ! Almost, little one.

    MiL dropped by last night with a nice bottle of sake (Gangi) from her trip to Yamaguchi. Her excuse for giving it was that I’ve been working hard at the big garden. Hmm… either way, thanks MiL!

  14. People here talk about how great Workman is so I went to check it out and it is indeed great! I found a nice backpack for my friend and even picked up some nice hiking pants for myself. Apparently I’m a men’s XL in Japan, which is kind of hilarious 😆 (for reference, I’m a women’s medium back home)

  15. My dog now has two little outfits (and new toys!) that a kind person was giving away. And he’ll wear the clothes! It’s too warm to let him sit around in them but I’m so thrilled that he doesn’t seem to mind being dressed

  16. One of the TOTO washlet of our office’s toilets has been replaced. The previous one was sketchy and its water jet was not steady. It was a bit like “PFFT, PFFFFFFFFFFT,…. Stop.., PFFFFFT… Stop”.
    This one is a steady, reassuring water jet:
    “PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT.”
    It doesn’t take you by surprise, you can hear it activating “BZZZZZ. ~clonk” and “PFFFFFFFFFFFFFT”.
    It also has this funky adjustable angle features. By pressing buttons you can pin point exactly where you want the water to hit your anus. It is almost like military laser target marking.
    So overall, I am pretty happy about this change.

  17. Did some research for the boss on some potential clients for a thing.

    One of the clients has some pretty neat tech that I’m interested in.

    Boss man set up negotiations with said company. I’m sitting in. Stoked.

  18. I didn’t need a self-esteem boost, but holy hell, picking my kids up at school gave me one. First, late afternoon, so all remaining classes are mostly playing outside, especially the older kids. Second, as soon as the gate squeaks, they all look to see who’s coming to get whom.

    Well, it’s me. Getting hit by a swarm of kids. If you need a mental image, watch the official Hulk Hogan “I Am a Real American” video, minus the concern about those children being burned on the exhaust of a motorbike (safetry first, Hulkster!).

    (I’m responding to their Japanese with English.)

    “Ahhh! it’s miyagidan, your kid says you’re magic and can always find acorns!”

    – “That’s an exaggeration, those are a fall-through-winter thing. Now, here’s two, run along.”

    “You’re big!”

    – “Yes.”

    “Pick me up!”

    – “I’m going to say no for potential insurance reasons, can we settle for some high fives?”

    (partial success, kids are funny creatures, some started grabbing on my arms like I was the last chopper out of Saigon.)

    “I do English lessons! Speak some English!”

    – “I’ve been doing that for since you swarmed me, Hello, how are you?”

    “Aaaaaahhhh!”

    My son is over his shyness, so he runs and gets his bag. I go and get my daughter, closing the toddler class gate behind me. The teacher there can’t keep a smile off her face as she says “Oh, welcome! Didja close that to keep them out, or the little ones in?”

    So, swarm right outside of the gate, son with all his stuff waiting, little one in arms, what’s a fella supposed to do?

    You toss a rock you had in your suit pocket in a mortar arc, and say in a loud-but-not-quite-a shout voice (in Japanese, using son’s name) “I dropped the keys! We can’t get in to the house, have your friends help look!”

    Kids scatter looking, no little fingers that might get caught as you evac the toddler room to the outside. Venture into the maelstrom, and actually drop my house keys, pick them up and say “It’s okay, I found them! Orderly, backwards walk to the Main Gate!

    It was the most fun I’ve had in weeks. Two kids are great, but I’ll take ten!

  19. Finally, I applied for a Japanese language school after being a resident here for almost a year.

    I was studying at a pace that wasn’t enough for me. So I decided to drop everything (job included), and finally, I will focus on learning the language decently.

    Sometimes we must take risks to get something better, so here we go! PLUS: I went to the movies yesterday, and I was able to order a popcorn set without mistakes. I’m proud of myself.

    PS: Before anyone starts to say anything like ~oh, you’re awful coming here without the language~, I’ve never had the opportunity before. I’ve studied independently for years, but it’s not enough for me.

  20. I don’t post a lot, but thought I’d just praise Japan as a whole.
    I’m on a two-month long business trip to India and I’m starting to realize that the convenience and safety of Japan is something we all may take for granted from time to time.

    Obviously, no offense intended to those from India, but there are some parts of this culture that take a little time getting used to, especially when compared to the “catered tastes” of good ole Sunrise Land.

    Good job Japan. Though your little quirks sometimes get on our nerves, you ain’t that bad….

  21. Got a job offer for a new company that’s better in all regards basically!
    Higher salary, shorter commute, a 7.25 hour work day, and good opportunities for growth.

  22. After years of being underappreciated at his company, treated like a work horse and absolutely done dealing with his shithead company president my husband finally contacted a recruiter.

    Almost immediately he got several offers, interviews and accepted another job. A job with a fifteen minute commute, same pay, and no shithead president to deal with every day.

    Husband told his president he’ll be turning in his resignation and instead of getting angry he looked he was gonna cry.

    President:”Whaaat?? But, you can’t quit! If you quit we’d need to hire a couple more people to replace you! This will bankrupt the company! What if we give you a raise? What if we promise you only have to do (actual job) and not (other crap)? Would you reconsider?

    Husband: No. Your unacceptable behavior is causing a hostile work environment. I can’t work with you anymore.

    President: Oh…right. Ok.

    Husband is gonna take it easy and use his accrued paid leave to have a long break before the new job starts. Looking forward to seeing him without the weight on his shoulders. I think the short commute especially is going to do wonders.

  23. As opposed to the usual 日本語上手 I’ve been asked what ハーフ I am a lot recently despite clearly being Caucasian. A win in my book because I must have reached somewhere near fluency! Super happy!

    I also heard one of my Japanese friends talking about me behind my back to someone I didn’t know, telling him how great my Japanese was!

    I’m sure everyone in here has struggled learning Japanese at some point and can probably all agree it’s the best feeling knowing your hard work paid off! No matter what level of Japanese (or really any skill) you’re at, be proud of the effort you’re putting in!

  24. Got a bonus today, despite just starting this job last month!

    (Sure, it was only 30,000 yen, but I wasn’t expecting it!)

  25. * hearing back from the client yesterday was nice, of course, right after I posted in yesterday’s complaint thread
    * good workout session this morning: 1hr lifting, 1hr treadmill
    * finished the “Three Body Problem” series, all three books in about 4 days, looking forward to the Netflix adaptation next year. feels nice to finish some books after not really reading anything for almost 2 years
    * going out tonight with some friends i haven’t hung out with in years, should be fun

  27. Managed to land a part time job finally. A bit tricky since my tattoos but they allow arm covers. It’s labor work but it’s better than being a house husband. The pay is flat rate per day, so even if the work site only requires 3 hours we still get paid the full day rate 🥹. Coworkers are very supporting and the CEO is going beyond my expectations. Feels good to learn new skills after months of being unemployed.

Leave a Reply
— Previous article

Declining SHS teacher housing?
Next article —

any advice?

You May Also Like