Once upon a time...Posted on 2008/11/03 15:28:55 (November 2008). [Monday 3rd November 2008]
Life is strange. Coming back to Japan always makes me feel at home from one side and quite alone on the other. Especially when I meet new people there is much talks on the whys and hows of my Japanese language.
I cannot hide a lot of pride in telling what I have done, on the other side remembering those years is also quite painful because they were rather magnificent and they went away.
On the other side I am in a new job, new company, new colleagues and new problems to face. I look at the challenges that are ahead with a bit more experience, and I can see that unless the company is willing to invest heavily in this market there will be little chances to make things better.
But in a moment like this, who sane of mind will risk a lot of money in a strange market like Japan? A place where companies ask for custom made products, a level of quality that is virtually impossible, low prices and more than anything small quantities?
It used to be a similar problem in the previous experiences, I start thinking that all other sectors of business in Japan are the same!
Well, I should not bash the Japanese system all that much, China and other places have their own peculiarities too. But here I feel that I have to make a difference, and I am a bit puzzled on what can I do to get better figures. Pressure from expectations? Probably. I am not the cocky guy that thinks that can do it all. Not the usual salesman, uh?
I still remember that when I was around 15 I started developing this thing that I was sure that whatever life had planned for me I would never travel by myself.
Look at me now. I mean the EXACT CONTRARY!! Not just plain "different", from black to white! This teaches that whatever you want to do or plan to is completely useless because the path that we walk is too unpredictable to plan it ahead.
Do I like the job? Yes, it has a lot of positive sides, I am not denying it. I probably would miss my nights at the Century Hyatt in Tokyo (now Regency Hyatt after a huge refurbishment), but I also miss Florence and a normal life, less by myself and more together with the people I want.
And then I think that when I am there I feel bored, so in a way I am never happy! It's really a shit feeling this one, I wonder if it's just me or if it's society that thought us about that you DESERVE "better, faster, more" in any given situation...
And so I think back when life was simpler indeed, when my Japanese mum was taking me out for groceries shopping and the problem was to understand what she meant by "rinjin" when she asked me to pick things for her (by the way it's "carrots"), or when the Kanji test was about to arrive and I didn't know any of those! Or when a girl refused you, or when you had to think where to take the one that accepted your date...
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