Where have you gone?

Time, money, sleep, waistline, self control...
Just a start to the list.

First of all, hisashiburi (long time no see) to my blog!

It has been ages since I've last written, and though I know it seems to be a poor excuse, I have had NO TIME! I used to update my blog at work during a lazy, boring spell. Apparently I don't deserve those anymore, and (sigh) they have finally seen at work that I am competent and have been giving me more and more to do. The great part is, according to a chat with my boss after my 3 month probation period ended, he thinks that if I keep going at this rate I'll be moving up through the company quite quickly relative to everyone else. More specifically, he compared me to M, who moved up 4 positions and tripled her salary in 5 years. So, if I want to stay with this company and stay in Tokyo, I guess that could be me (without the red hair and sweet Scottish accent...)! Anyway, this is good to know because it keeps me hard at work, and I am enjoying it, so I guess now it's all about learning as quickly as I can and putting in the time...

Aside from work, which has been keeping me extremely busy, the social life has gone on an upswing as well. Of the past 10 nights, I have been out 9 of them... dinners, bars, movies, parties, karaoke, you name it. And let me tell you, my body, my brain, and my wallet are all EXHAUSTED! Good thing Hawaii is in 2 days or I might have had to climb to the top of Mt. Fuji and camp there for the winter by myself! Of course it's fabulous going out every night and having tons of good food and drinks, and being with friends, but all of the little things suddenly escape you. Christmas gifts to buy, birthday gifts to buy, laundry to do, letters to write... it all just slowly creeps up on you and then makes you jump with a tap on the shoulder when you least expect it.

Tokyo is a playground, and more than that, a playground within a bubble. And even more than that, it has some sort of suction function inside that just keeps nagging at you, and if you're not careful you'll be sucked into the abyss and transformed into a Tokyo ex-pat version of a Stepford Wife.

Anyway, the vacation should do me some good, though I hear that all of Japan is following me to Hawaii for the holidays. Won't it be funny to think I'll be missing out on one of the only times Tokyo is empty... Then I'm off to Toyota to visit my host family for the new year.
Let's hope that some sun, family time and relaxation will rejuvenate me for my return back to the playground...