Wow, has it really been over a month since I wrote anything here! Time flies doesn`t it!

Anyway, I just finished my workout at the gym, completing yet another pretty usual day for me at the minute. My new job is going pretty well - fifteen days done and dusted and a lot learned (but an awful lot still to learn). Overall I made a good decision to take the job and I am enjoying it. So far I have been refreshing my memorty of accounting and tax rules and stuff like that as well as learning some new IT systems and of course, trying to remember the names of the people in my office (although you might think that shouldn`t be a problem as I had to do it almost every week when I was teaching!) - its strange but for the Japanese we usually say "surname san" eg, Nakamura san, and for the Westerners "first name" only, eg John! Its a little weird but thats how it is. If you unsure as to what I am exaclty doing in my new job, then you can check our website at: www.strataworks.co.jp

It`s great for me actually as I can also walk to work inside twenty minutes (reminds me of when I lived in London) and the actual job is much better and more interesting than what I did before and I am starting to feel like I can at last start to make a contribution after a couple of weeks of feeling a bit overwhelmed. A new challenge is good though and I am enjoying it so far. Actually having a regular 9 to 6 job again feels pretty good and the office banter and social side of things that goes with it is nice to have again after my recent teaching job in which I sometimes felt a little lost and lonelty as I was teaching in many different companies and offices around Tokyo and seldom met any of my coworkers. The only hard thing to get used to is sitting at a desk all day again using a computer, but as least I have a desktop and a big monitor this time instead of a laptop with a small screen that`s hard to focus on!

On a more social note, once again its cherry blossom (or sakura) time in Tokyo again - and the time when you know spring has definitely arrived. People really get into the cherry blossom thing here and make an effort to enjoy it while it lasts! Its usually come and gone within 10 days so we have to make the most of it! I guess next weekend I will go to a hanami (cherry blossom viewing) party somewhere in Tokyo - its basically a good excuse to meet friends and drink alcohol while sitting under beautiful cherry blossom trees and having a good time. I will take some pictures and put them on the next entry - whenever that is.

I don`t really have much else to say - I`ve just been concentrating on work and trying to get into shape, so I have been hitting the gym as much as possible recently and I can definitely feel - and see - the difference. If I had the energy or motivation, I would wake up early and be in the gym for seven in the morning for a pre-work workout instead of going late in the evening but I can`t quite find the motivation to get up at about quarter past six in the morning nor to go to bed earlier for that matter so I guess I will just maintain the status quo for the time being - its working just fine so far!

I will sign off now, and bid you goodnight. Take care and hope to write again soon,

Kevin