European work-life balance

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Mr. N invited me to the December sales conference again. I felt more useful than in the previous years because of the project. There was also the office Christmas party, […]

An avuncular mentorship

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Mr. N was known in the company as a difficult person. The men suspected Mr. N must be hiding critical information from the HQ for his gain. My impression was […]

New deal

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Mr. Hirao kept me busy as he always had me prepare different kinds of data for his analysis. “Get me the revenue data of past five years by region.” “What […]

New wave

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I noticed the tide was shifting in the office as more ex-automotive company-men disappeared and more men from the construction industry joined. While the ex-automotive company-men labored at fulfilling orders […]

Biz trip to Europe – part 5

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I went into the Frankfurt office the following morning. Though I felt weak, I couldn’t waste my trip that the men back in Japan sneered at as recreational. Mr. N […]

Biz trip to Europe – part 4

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I woke up with a start. I had no sense of how long I had been gone, but the bathwater was cold. The moment I got up, I threw up […]

Biz trip to Europe – part 3

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The day after we arrived in London, Charlie, the head of the UK office, picked us up in the hotel lobby and drove to the office. We spent the morning […]

Impermanence

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Noah and I met up to see a show at the Blue Note sometime in December. It was the last time we’d see each other before he flew to the […]

End of Noah

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I didn’t hear from Noah for a long time after that drunken night. When I emailed him, he would reply but never asked me to see him. After a time, […]

Animal in me

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Another significant whatever-ship had ended around the same time. Noah had two friends, Jamie and Ned. Jamie was a tall, blond, and blue-eyed investment banker, but his appearance was far […]