Wow 100 days have already come and gone in 2015, and there's a lot to update since my last post.
It's really amazing the ebb and flow of time, sometimes you can go for months without thinking any time has passed, without taking a break, without changing one's routine, and all of a sudden it's April and baseball season has just started.
1.) As tax day is just a few days away, let me be the first to say how psychologically and financially uplifting it is to get a tax refund instead of have to pay the government back more money.
2.) Baseball season is upon us! One week's already in the books and although nothing spectacular's happened so far like Emilio Bonifacio's Week of Glory to start 2014, 2015 started with a 5-homer week by Adrian Gonzalez (3 in one game), a 7-steal week for Billy Hamilton, renaissance starts for Aaron Harang and Ubaldo Jimenez, the impending retirment of LaTroy Hawkins, and noticeable exception of Kris Bryant from the major leagues. Baseball is back!
3.) Don't eat suspicious-looking meat, tuna, or salmon before a skiing trip. Could ruin the whole trip as it did for me, luckily only for a weekend back in February. Spent most of the trip in the bathroom and laid up in bed, did not enjoy the snowy slopes or the cozy cabin conditions of Colorado.
4.) Back up your Iphone before you do anything. There's this thing called the Icloud now (no, not the kind that rain comes out of) that allows you to back up everything quickly and efficiently, as long as you don't forget. I forgot. I now have less memories and less pictures (and I'm someone who doesn't take many pictures) than I had before.
4a.) Back up your computer files every few weeks. Never know when your computer just breaks down and you lose everything.
5.) Watch "Date," a Japanese drama/comedy. I find myself making hyperbolic statements often enough that I probably can't be taken seriously anymore, but probably one of the best shows I have ever seen, period. (any language) And obviously, I'm in the dating phase now so the subject matter appeals to me as well.
6.) Game of Thrones is back! Season 5, diversions from the book, more dragons, what will happen after Tywin Lannister is gone, O no! The first episode predictably......was slow and developing, nothing really interesting happening. But much like baseball, we have so much to look forward to!
7.) I think I'm addicted to learning Japanese. Seriously, it's an intellectual challenge that appeals to me, that constantly gives me new things to study but also gives me small gratifying moments along the way where I learn a new nugget, like getting a token for some small arcade game achievement. Japanese culture is also vastly interesting with specific terms like aijin (mistress), izakaya (drinking pub), Narita rikon (shotgun wedding), Freeta (job hopper) and so much more. It's like a new way of life, and for someone like me who readily absorbs and enjoys new things, it is like a breath of fresh air.....every day. And helps me stay motivated to study more.
So the topic on my mind is the concept of office romance, or 社内恋愛, a term the Japanese have developed to describe this type of relationship. I personally have never had a Shanai renai because I've never had a renai/ relationship/ been in love, so I wouldn't know. However, it's natural that this sort of thing happens: co-workers spend at least 40 hours of the week together, and you get to know one another, pass by each other, develop bonds and go through the same things together. That's probably where the concept of a "work spouse" originates too: there's just some people at work that you spend more time than even one's own spouse, who you get along with in a certain way.
Shanai renai, of course, comes with some special challenges that normal dating couples don't have. Spending all that time together is a double-edged sword. The couple has already spent so much time together during the work week, does it make sense to go out and see each other MORE after work? Lack of space, getting sick of one another, those kinds of issues can arise. There's also colleagues and built up stress at work carrying over outside of work, the possibility that the company goes kaput or the project ends and both members of the relationship are out of work (it's kind of like having your top 2 hitters on a fantasy baseball team be on the same team and go through the same hitting slump together). Well, this would be actually much much worse, a very serious lack of diversification.
But with all the challenges of a workplace romance, a lot of people in the history of the world have done it. I know people who have done it. Jim and Pam from "The Office" did it. It can definitely work out. There's a lot of good things that can come from it: shared experiences, same circle of friends/ support groups, and not ever having the issue of "you don't spend enough time with me" or "we don't see each other often enough." As I grow older and closer to that magic number of 30, I realize that I really do want to be with someone, and as much as dodgeball, traveling, fantasy baseball, and having alone time can satisfy me pretty well, I do desire being with someone and falling in love, and going through the turmoils and delights of a relationship, the ups and downs. But I'm never going to get that unless I put myself out there and give it a shot. But in order to get started on a solid relationship (at least for Japanese people), I have to go through the dreaded kokuhaku (告白), confessing my like/love for someone. O gosh. That is NOT my strong suite. Anyway I can skip this? Sigh.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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