Fish meal

Tasted "Kinilaw" (marinated fish with vinegar) and "Tinola" (Fish soup) for the first time. It was delicious!! We used horse mackerel to prepare Kinilaw, and sea bream for Tinola. Kinilaw was sour because it is marinated with vinegar. The red pepper was so hot that my lips were burning. Tinola was like Japanese "suimono", a kind of soup which contains the head and bones of fish. It was slightly sour and so delicious. Fish meat is a bit difficult to eat because of the bones and scales but healthy and tasty. I want to be better at separating meat and bones. We also had paksiw, but forgot to take the photo!

Working environment

Several companies are introducing a new system where their female workers can get transferred to a branch office in a different place when their husbands’ workplace is changed.

They have established this new system so that more women do not have to quit when they get married or give birth to a child because it is now considered imperative for firms to hold their female workers as the birth rate and therefore the labor force decline.

Transferring married employees to different workplaces is impressive, and more employees would be allowed and encouraged to start a family more easily. However, it might cause another problem; when a worker gets married and therefore he/she gets transferred to a distant place where their spouse lives, a single worker may also get transferred as a replacement of the just-married. So single workers have greater possibility of having to change their workplace and it might hamper their development of skills and experience in a certain field. If the single worker has a lover, a long-distance relationship may start due to the exchange.

This type of personnel changes, however, can be employed only by big companies which have many branch offices all over the country. Workers in small firms with a few branches seem to have no choice.

At last!

I have finished the big "task" which required me to stay in the company until 9 pm every single day. Little feeling of achievement but it's OK... It's finally over. sigh. So stressful.

Lost my voice!

声がかれた！ハスキー（bawwaw）　
出せる音域が広くなる…はず！

The key to be friendly

The lab members had sports festival and a party today. They said that there was a alcohol-free time from 5 to 7 pm so that Muslim students can also join and enjoy. I found it a innovative and generous idea. Muslim people used to go straight home before the party begins because they do not attend parties or any gatherings if alcohol is served there. So non-Muslim students had little time to mingle with them in previous parties.

But this time, they served halal food (permissible food in Islamic law) during the alcohol-free time so that Muslim students can also eat and have fun talking with others at least from 5 to 7 pm. They seemed to have a good time. It was really touching. Finally all the lab members were able to sit at one table.

When I was in the lab, I kind of took it for granted that Muslim people cannot join parties because they do not drink and I did not try to think any ways to deal with that problem. I wonder why I didn't come up with the idea so that everybody will have a chance to participate even though I knew that they do not drink.

Fluency in English is important, but just to be kind so that everyone can be at the party is also very important. It's essential to consider other people's feelings, especially when they have different cultural backgrounds. Difference can be minimized and sometimes overcome with a small consideration and it makes a very big difference.

New bag

It was the most expensive thing that I have ever bought. But it's ok.. I should treat myself sometimes!

irate

and people say bluntly that there is nothing we can do about it, or, that's the hardship that everybody went through. But neither of them are helpful; giving up things or justifying it saying that "Because everybody did that" are not the solution.

"Everybody did that" means that the malicious customs are still there without being done away with. It means that nothing has been done to tackle with the problem.

Things are forced; there is no choice. And they ask "Do you have any problems?" as if they care about us and then they slash the issue we have as "Everybody-did" and "No-choice".

The circumstances are not the same as they were ten years ago and still they are going conservative and keeping everything they did before. And the conclusion is: "That's your fault."

You may not understand what I am talking about. But the day will come when you understand, I hope not, though.

Why is it not changing with many people wanting to change it? Don't want to see anyone suffering or stressed out because of the job that is not originally that individual's job.

sigh....

I sometimes wonder "Am I living to work or working to live?"