久しぶりだね！
So now I have even more materials to post about. So much so that I’m only gonna sum up for now and will try to upload a few pix in the near future… We managed to move in our new flat at the beginning of the month and did not even have to rob a bank or sell any non-vital organ for that. Although we were quite close: we showed up at the real-estate place in the morning with about just enough to pay rent and deposit and transportation for two days… Pretty much had to beg for our meals at friends’ places during three days.But I guess as usual, in retrospect, it was all in good fun… I now live in Shin-Nakano (新中野), which is less than a thirty minute walk away from Shinjuku (7 minute by train)… so we can say it’s quite centrally located, and at the same time, the apartment is located in a rather nice little neighborhoud, so I guess we are getting the best of both worlds. I’ll try and take some pix to upload this WE (I know, promises, promises…). Job is good too, maybe even a little too good: had to eventually start refusing some stuff and even what’s left has been enough to keep me busy most days and nights ever since I got back in Tokyo.
I must use the occasion to mention that I can now add to my ever-growing list of professional activities: Playstation Game Tester!
well, translator would be more accurate, as it is rather about proofreading and heavily rewriting hundreds of text files containing such fascinating snippets as “Life level 1”, “Life level 2”, “tournament of the dragon” etc. more than it is about actually playing the game. Still: I work as an onsite freelancer (what they call アルバイト, or arubaito, in a very strange recycling of an infamous German word) for a major game company based in Yokohama.
The job in itself is only mildly fascinating, except for the fact the previous translator seemed to have a very loose grasp of both English and French grammar (no comments please), which gives for a lot of hilarious sentences.
Well, I also end up testing each game I worked on for a week or two, and I get paid for it (rather miserably, it must be said). All in all, it was kinda interesting working there, especially since it was my first time in an authentic 会社 (Kaisha: Japanese corporation… I should probably do a kanji special entry some time)… For it must be pointed out that, even if they are in the business of selling fun to the masses, the company spirit is most definitely your typically austere Japanese work environment. But I will probably work there increasingly less, as I’m way busy enough right now, and the pay is pretty pathetic (I guess there are plenty of avid candidates to choose from for this kind of job, provided you are not too regarding on their native language skills). Other jobs include doing all kind of computer stuff for two related environmental companies. Tasks are nothing extraordinarily fascinating, but their field (environmental audit and prevention) is interesting. Tokyo is starting, expectedly, to feel a little bit more like home. It helps that I am now able to understand locals to some level and even sometimes keep a conversation (being drunk or otherwise altered, oddly enough, helps a lot). It’s starting to be cold again, but I think I should be much better prepared for the freezing Tokyoite winter this time around (and we have heaters in our new place)… My friend Kristy also christened our brand new flat by staying here last week in between two trips… She was coming back from this organic farm near mount Fuji where she volunteered in exchange for food and lodging for about a week, but eventually decided to retreat to some warmer grounds for the time being. The place is cool though, they have a nice little hostel and they even throw big rave parties every once in a while. Definitely a good place to stop at on the way to Mount Fuji… Although I’d probably wait until Spring. Ok, that should be it for the quarterly update… I’ll try to post some more stuff about life around here tomorrow.