Expectations

There is sumo wrestling on my TV right now. Tee hee.

I keep wanting to blog about what it's like to work at a japanese game company. The problem is while I would be running to work, or bowing with everybody in the morning saying 'yoroshiku onegaishimasu', clever anecdotal phrases would come to mind. Of course these all dissapear the instant I have time to write about them.

Anyways. The best part about working at a game company is mostly the nerdy benefits. These include
1)The ability to talk about the latest games to your coworkers
2) Boss bringing in a big stack of his favorite xbox games to lend out
3) If you're bored and done with your work (or at a lull), we're encouraged to play the online games our company has made, to get a 'sense of the product'. So far I've only gotten as far as making an account, but... good to know.

Also we can wear whatever, but most people are pretty fashionable. So I am reading the dress code as informal yet fasion conscious. Which is actually much harder than just business wear. Especially in Tokyo! Takeshi noticed me looking at fashion magazines for help, since I normally avoid them like the plague. But I needed a reference manual. Tokyo fashion is so hard!!

But it's of course, not all fun and games. For all the fun the product offers, the company itself takes itself very seriously and has strict rules. Example of Random Rule: greet each other in the halls as you pass with a bow and a 'otsukaresama desu'.(this basically means 'thanks for the hard work'). This is not just a courtesy, it's a RULE! They sent an email out about how to do it properly!!

I guess I was imagining a kind of funky vibe like you see on the DVD bonus features on 'Making a Pixar Movie!' But no, it's very serious. Once I was two minutes late and was taken aside and given a talking to. Compared with my position in NY where you could come pretty much whenever you wanted provided it was before 11, and even then your never get 'in trouble', it will take some getting used to. I often end up running from the station, in heels.

There are a lot of cool, creative people here though. Too bad my team, the Systems team, is segregated from them. We work in a small room in the back with lots of cables and cardboard boxes all over the place. But luckily when we went out for drinks as a welcome party of sorts, I got to know some of the people from other departments. My coworkers are all very nice, funny people.. once they've had a drink in them. ;)

So on the whole, so far so good. But not quite what I was expecting. :)

Obama Win Fuels Hope for Democracy, Metric System

As the United States of America's 44th president gears up for his first term, nations around the globe are expressing hope for a return to 'sensible' values.

"Here in Europe, we have for most of the last century enjoyed basic rights that Americans have simply been too stubborn to accept, such as universal health care, and measuring things in base 10. Maybe now that Obama will be president, he truly will bring about change. We'll see." quoted Eidman Lodderbump, a sceptical Swede.

The previous eight years have seen an unending war in Iraq, the worst deficit in the history of the nation, and plummeting house prices, but most feel that with a new leader comes a new era of hope and measurement units.

There have been previous attepmts to bring the metric system to the US, most recently in the late 70's, but the sensible plan never caught on. Most people blame "Reaganomics". When asked for opinions, it was found that Democrats favor adopting the metric system a full 3 percentage points above the Republican party.

"What's this? Kilograms?! Here on my farm we use *rocks* to measure things, and it's been good enough for my grandpappy and my old man. Sure as heck it's good enough for me!" Cried staunch McCain supporter Juffy McBigbritches.

Whether or not the Obama administration will adopt the long overlooked measurement system, this reporter is fervently hoping it will at least become an item on the party ticket.

...can you tell I have been reading too much of "The Onion"? ;)