Wow its June..... I can`t believe .... time sure flies when you are having fun... Or maybe not having fun but just being busy.

Its been a crazy 3 weeks. I have been sick on and off since golden week. I can`t believe it. I got the stomach flu and got over that. Then got the flu and just got over that. Flu season should be over I thought. Anyway now I am feeling better. Last week was hell at work. I was too busy to even take a day off to try and get better. Instead I found myself going in at around 6 am everyday and getting home around 10:30 pm. I just can`t understand the working mentality here. I mean there are guys in my office who have kids that never see them. They act like its no big deal. Its like here you get a job and your only responsibility as a father or husband is to just work your ass off and bring home the money. Its very crazy. I talk to people all over the world in other parts of Asia and Europe and they all feel the same. Japan may be a really nice country but the work mentality is terrible. I love Japan. I love it here. But the environment of work has got to be the worst environment / culture I have ever experienced. Its funny because Japanese guys in my own office admit this fact and think its true. Yet in some other sense they are almost proud of it. Its just something no matter how long I live here I will ever become completely used to. But its not just the hours. Thats one thing. Everyone everywhere works overtime. Its the way of working I think most don`t understand. A country that thrives on technology still somehow thrives on processes and standards that are full of red tape and basically bogs down the employee into doing things that really at the end of the day just do not matter so much. I can`t count how many useless reports I have been asked to create which only get put in some file. Meanwhile the most important work becomes incomplete. Anyway I could go on and on. Many people tell me to stop complaining. I am not really complaining. I am happy I am here. This is where I want to be right now. I just feel like though its a real sacrifice of other interests and basically life in general at times. I have no time to do anything else which I don`t like because I am a person who likes to get out and experience many things. But working here gets you so bogged down its impossible. Yet I have worked for other companies in Japan which I guess were not so stressful. I think the Automotive industry in general is the cause. Its a very stressful industry to work for. Yet I love it. I love this industry because I guess I love cars....hehe. So in the end I like what I am doing.. just wish I had more "Todd Time"....hehe

The weather in Nagoya is getting very warm. My allergies have started up. So I am on all kinds of medication for my cold and allergies... kind of crazy. But nice to be able to open the windows and enjoy the fresh air.

Golden Week was Golden.....

Golden week has come and gone. I had a good time. Too good of a good time. I spent some time in Osaka, Hiroshima, Takayama, and then Hokkaido. Most of my time was up in Hokkaido. My parents came over to Japan and we traveled up there to see some old friends. I spent a couple days in Otaru and Sapporo. It was good and the food was EXCELLENT!!

I didn`t want to leave of coarse. But thats life. The weather was hot in Hokkaido. Really rare for this time of year. Well I got back to my home in Nagoya and the first night back started having some stomach pains. I ended up in bed for 2 days. I finally got some energy and went to see a doctor. Basically he told me I had been running around too much with too little sleep. Well he is right. I hardly slept and was going on a fast pace the whole 10 days during Golden week. My parents were on the same pace as me but they were fine. I guess I I drank too much coke and kind of played too hard. Anyway, so I spend 2 days dead in bed. I had to take some time off work when I got back. So today I finally was able to return to work and I was tired!! Its been too long away. It actually felt good being back in the office. I could kind of relax. My parents have returned home now and so things are quiet again. It was fun and golden as I said.....

Now I am ready for summer break!!