The weather the last three days has been warming up, and for the first time in months I can go to work without wearing gloves. Actually, this post really just serves as a reference for next year when I’m freezing my ass off and wondering when it will warm up.
Because of the warmer weather more people are out and about, especially in the evenings, and last night coming home from work I bumped into a lot of the neighbors who had previously been hiding away in their warm houses. I’m sure the cold isn’t over – we’ve got another week or two of cool weather, but I’m hoping things will steadily warm up in March, and we can turn our thoughts to cherry blossoms.
I continue to be in negotiations with my staffing company about the details of my return to Kawasaki for another term or two. We are working out boring stuff like insurance and pension, as well as more interesting stuff like holidays for the year, and based on this information I can start to make solid travel plans. I should have everything nailed down in the next few weeks. There is a kind of gap between the current term and the next one, with me working some half days to cover classes, but other days not working at all. My company asked me if I wanted to fill in somewhere else to make some money, but I voted for the time off – I could use the refresh time more right now. So the first two weeks of April are kind of strange days for me, and since Kuniko’s holidays don’t quite match up we’ll be staying local during that time. Still, there is at least one three day weekend in there, and I’d like to figure out something fun to do. Even if it is just sitting under the cherry trees sipping sake.
Yesterday for a change I went across the street to a restaurant that I patronize occasionally, and they serve pretty traditional Japanese lunches. The owner is a really friendly guy, and he understands that by treating his customers well, they are likely to pass the word at Kawasaki and bring in more business. He is always very friendly to me, and it may be my imagination but I think my lunch order always moves to the front of the queue.
His wife dresses in a kimono and serves as the hospitality chief as well as serving tea, and she always spends a lot of time chatting with the customers. The old guys in the shop love it, and the interactions remind me of the strange “snack” phenomenon that is so popular here – old guys paying big money for a woman to admire and listen to them. Here she is always very attentive, and she also recognizes the power of a satisfied customer for business. Treating a customer well may seem like common sense where I come from, but in Japan it is surprisingly rare. Part of that is the sense of professionalism that many Japanese workers share – it is better to be polite and out of the way than to stick around and try to be friendly (I talked a little about this in my Lawson post).
Anyway, everyone is very friendly to me as well, sometimes a little more than is absolutely necessary, and I think I am approaching “regular” status, even though I eat there only once every 1-2 months. They’ve already memorized my name, so they must figure I’m in for the long haul.
Last night was leftover night (for the second night in a row) and we made a small salad for dinner. Tonight is another leftover night trying to kill the taco meat and beans, and finally Thursday we should be able to finish off the leftovers with a simple kimchee meal with white rice. Big refrigerators come with big responsibility, I guess.