Hideaki

My fellow student passed away.

It was one e-mail from the principal that announced this unexpected tragedy caused by a sudden ill. It is very hard to believe it. He was so young and lively.

He was learning Japanese. He was staying in Japan as an intern. He had had future to explore.

He had a lot of friends because he was always kind to everyone around him. Many of us who were studying American business also had deep friendship with him. I cannot imagine how deeply shocked they were.

An Expensive Lesson

I mistook the time of the bus to San Francisco. The price was expensive.

I somehow believed that the departure time of Amtrak bus was 4:45 while it was actually 4:25. When I noticed it at 4:35, a Greyhound bus for Reno arrived at the bus depot.

It was a difficult moment for me. Amtrak bus for San Francisco might have delayed. I could have got in the bus safely just by waiting a little more. However, I found no people waiting. Amtrak ticket office was already closed. If I have missed the bus for Reno, I could have had to stay at the station. If I take that bus, I can go to the city with an international airport. The airport will have flight to San Francisco. That’s exactly what I thought at the moment. I jumped in the bus. I do not know whether or not this was the right decision.

I was just in time for the last flight to San Francisco. But the ticket was expensive to the last minute customer like me. The security check was also strict, maybe because I did not give them time to check beforehand.

I was miserable when I sat down in the jet. But when I had arrived at the station, I had been very happy. Maybe, I was too happy to keep an eye on schedule. The lesson of today is that I have to be very careful when I am very happy.

Here is the story of what made me so happy.

The Lake

Just after I got up, I went to the lake. The air was pure. I could see Sierra Mountains clearly. I sat down at the outside table and enjoyed picnic breakfast.

The River

I went to a bike shop to rent a bike. I started cycling in the bike trail along the river. The trail was famous for its beautiful scenery. I enjoyed clear water and beautiful forest. The valley was lively in the morning air. After a while, the trail separated from the river and went into a valley with a beautiful meadow.

The Mountain

The trail ended in front of a rocky mountain. From there, I took a cable car to go to the top. After enjoying the view of the lake there, I started hiking.

I found snow along the trail. A peaceful small lake appeared from forest. I took a rest. Then, I climbed down to the valley enjoying the dynamic view of the valley.

The Beach

I went to the beach of Lake Tahoe. A bike trail enabled me to access the beach directly. Water of the lake was clear as if it were the water of a creek. I jumped into the lake. Cold water cooled down my feet that were overheated in cycling and hiking.

The Talk in the Bus

Lake Tahoe has a bus system connecting major points. The name is TART, slightly different from BART. It made me possible to access the lake shore from the train station. The bus is, off course, bike friendly.

I got on the bus for the station. The driver was the same person as yesterday. She remembered me. We started a talk and enjoyed it all the way to the station. We talked about many things. But it was mainly about cross cultural experience. She had visited countryside of China and had experienced a lot of discovery. That may be why she understood my feelings.

I was very happy when I arrived at the station. The talk, the lake, and the cycling and hiking were all exciting. You know the rest of the story.

At a Window of Transcontinental Railway

I enjoyed a train trip to Lake Tahoe.

You may find that it is good for me to experience a railway trip once in my stay, if you consider what company I am from. The company, Fujitsu, is indeed famous for a popular TV program, “The View from Railways Windows in the World”.

This time, the view was from Amtrak’s Transcontinental Railway. The train travels from San Francisco to Chicago, going over Rocky Mountains. A complete trip takes three days. What I enjoyed today was the first six hours of this trip. My destination was Lake Tahoe, a quiet lake surrounded by High Sierras Mountains.

The Train

The train left San Francisco one hour behind the schedule. It went slowly. It went so slowly that even BART went ahead of us. But it was no problem. The aim was to enjoy the view from a window, not to get to the destination quickly.

I reserved a compartment for this trip. However, I spent most of the time in a Lounge Car. It had big windows and san-roof to enjoy the view.

The view started from that of a bay, then changed to a big plain. AIDA soundtrack, which I brought with my PC, added my fun. When three hours has passed, the train began to climb up Sierra Mountains. The view changed to clear creeks, deep valleys, and big lakes. Trees were so close to the train that I felt like hiking. Thanks to the slow speed, I enjoyed the close view of trees without becoming dizzy.

Lunch time came. Lunch was served at the Dining Car. All meals were free for compartment guests. But the system was a bit confusing because price was displayed on the menu. Everything was actually free. I should have learned this earlier to order more than a hamburger, a Pepsi, and a chocolate cake.

After a while, a train attendant came to me with an orange juice. He let me know the new schedule. The train was one hour and thirty minutes delayed. I allowed one hour and forty five minutes for Amtrak delay. So the delay was barely within the range. The train finally arrived at the station. I had just enough time to stretch myself and get into a bus to Tahoe City, where my inn was located.

The Lake

The Tahoe City was a tiny and peaceful town by Lake Tahoe. I could find my inn easily. After checking in, I walked to the lake. It was beautiful. I was so impressed that I stayed there until the sun set completely. The full moon came from the mountain ridge after the last sun light went out.

By the way, this trip with Transcontinental Railway cost only $133. It included transportation fee, complete lunch at the Dining Car, the use of Lounge Car, and first class service such as drink delivery to the room, notifying the arrival time, and carrying the baggage down. However, as far as I know, Amtrak seems not to be appealing this to people.

Feeling the Ocean

Today, San Francisco was sunny. I found no clouds as far as my eye could reach. We do not have such weather every day. That’s why I changed my plan to do laundry right after work. I would do the laundry after cycling. Thus, I went to the ocean with my bike.

I started from Daly City, about 15km south of the city center. I used BART again, the train system of San Francisco that I used to go to the airport. Without BART, I could not have gone that far from the city center for a weekday cycling.

First, I went along a peaceful lake. After a while, I climbed up a gentle slope to the ocean. At the top, the wide ocean view came into my eyes. That was the head of an ocean-view bike path. Going along the path, I enjoyed sunshine in the early evening. Finally, I arrived at a park on a hilltop. The park was a good place to see buildings in the city center. When I arrived, it was just twilight and those buildings were shinning in the last sun light. The view was terrific. I stayed there for a while. Then, I went down to the Hayes Valley to enjoy an Italian dinner.

At office, I finished the project that I struggled this week. I implemented all the functions requested by the CEO. However, some problems are still not solved. I will work on them with the CEO next week.

Informative Talk

I had a language partner session today. This was the second session in my life.

Today’s café was a lively place with many guests. We talked at a table in a courtyard of the cafe. The courtyard reminded me of a European café. I enjoyed the atmosphere.

I also enjoyed the talk with my partner. My partner was a gentleman. No wonder that he was a knowledgeable person because he was an experienced writer. I learned not only English language, but also about America and even about Japan. He was also interested in various kinds of topics. Our topics ranged form American president and safety issue to Japanese literature and history. I did not notice that more than two hours has passed until we finished the session.

In the workplace, I am still fighting with my project that I have started this week. I have four objectives in this project. The first is the size. The second is the friendly interface. The third is the speed. And the last is the stability. Three of four has already cleared, but the last one is hard.

The page size became one fifth. The user interface was improved. But the speed was hard to tackle. At last, it became fast enough because the CEO gave me a nice idea. These three are what I cleared. But the last one, stability, remains. The “Post Back” phenomenon makes the behavior management very difficult. Specifically, I made link buttons dynamically. However, the computer seems to forget these buttons right after it was created. I have no idea why this happens and what I can do. But tomorrow, I will finish this project anyhow.

Starting New

Starting new had been always challenging for me. But thanks to my friends, it became easy and fun.

I had three reasons why starting new was challenging. First of all, I suspected that might be not for me. In addition, I doubted that I might fail. Finally, I had no idea what I could do.

However, I am enjoying some new things thanks to my friends. They told me how wonderful experiences they got with those. They set up my first experience so that those surely became wonderful for me. They even advised me what I could do to continue those by myself.

T took me to the baseball game. His commentary during the game motivated me to enjoy the game. M.Y. and Daiji told me their experiences in musical theaters. They also arranged the best musical in NY. I share their feeling now. I am planning to go to musical by myself in San Francisco. Funa helped me to find language partners. I could never get started without his support because my anxiety was especially big. He told me that people who he found on the Net were not dangerous at all. He showed me that his experiences were full of fun. He gave me techniques to attract the right people on the Net. He continued to encourage me while I was searching partners.

So, the challenge was not challenging anymore. I felt no pain, which many people may have felt in the first time. I was always happy.

My friends told me their wonderful experiences and advised me how to share their joy. I was truly motivated. But many people seem to do differently to get others motivated. When you turn on TV in Japan, you will find critics saying “You had better do (something) because this is the only way to survive.” Indeed, we love the word “survival” when it comes to convincing others. But I am not clear if this truly convinces and motivates us.

"Beneath the Lamp is the darkest Place"

A Japanese proverb says that beneath the lamp is the darkest place. The lesson is that we should always keep looking around because we tend to overlook important things at hand. The proverb proved itself two times a day.

I met my language partner after work. I have been searching a person to talk with in English. I found my partner on the Internet (craigslist), who was seeking a partner to exercise Japanese. She was a lawyer. She has lived in Japan for years before she became the lawyer. She visited many places in Japan for sightseeing. Today, we met at a nice Italian café in the city center where she knew. Locals know good places.

Her impression of Japan was different from mine. She thought that Japanese people were kind and open to foreigners. She said that Japanese talked to her warmly and helped her many times. I had believed that Japanese were not so friendly to foreigners (“gaijin” or alien). Her story surprised me a lot. It reminded me of “beneath the lamp”.

I spnt a good time. This was the first time in my life to experience a language partnership. I am shy. I could never move forward without encouragement and help from Funa, who has already experienced sessions with many partners in NY.

After the session, I went to Haynes Valley, a neighbor of my accommodation. I wanted to know the place of a café for the next session beforehand. Indeed, I will have another session with a gentleman on Thursday. The café was a chic place. Around the café, I found galleries, a musical theater, and nice restaurants. Haynes Valley was a great place. Even though the place was only five minutes from my accommodation, I have never visited there. This was another “beneath the lamp”. I went into one of many restaurants. I enjoyed dinner with a table with a rose, a candle, and a cloth napkin.

An Application that forgets Information

I was grappling with programming all day.

The module that I was making was exactly the CEO and I discussed the last week. I originally planned to finish the module today. It did not look so difficult. I had a nice sample which the CEO found on the Net. However, the reality was that I was shrugging even after nine thirty. The following is what I was struggling with today.

I was struggling because my Web program forgot all information I put in. This is bad. Information should be retained according to an information scope. An information scope is a kind of commitment by the computer that it will hold the information for clear period. We need such a commitment. What happens if a computer erases information arbitrary? Information scope for programmers is as important as project scope for project managers.

However, in Web programming, such a commitment seems to be valid no more. An application can clear all information at once. People call this phenomenon a “Post Back”. I spent time to understand and to cope with "Post Back".

Here is what I did. I used a lethal method. It is called a “global information scope”. This scope is an exceptional scope. When a computer receives this request, it has to keep the information for ever. This technique resembles to a drug. It is easy to write, it looks convenient, but it can destroy the program. A scope with too wide range is difficult to manage. Specialists advise us to avoid the global scope.

What is happening to the programming world? I have observed the development of programming technology as an amateur programmer. I believed that the development was all about improving scope management. There must be a reason for Web application to forget information. But what came to my mind is that this situation can be an opportunity for software companies. How much money could a person earn if he has found a solution to the scope problem?

By the way, this story is only for programmers. You do not have to worry about Amazon.com forgetting your credit number. Expert Web programmers know the way to cope with.

Hiking in Yosemite (2)

I enjoyed hiking from the Glacier Point, which is known as a spectacular place. The place is a head of three hiking trails. My package included Glacier Point tour. I cancelled return trip and enjoyed hiking to the valley.

Tour Bus

The bus driver’s talk was informative. She talked about John Muir, who contributed to preserve Yosemite. I was interested in him because John Muir Trail was the name of the over-300km trail where I walked yesterday. Her talk reflected her view and her experience. Farmer used to say that serving to audiences’ interest and showing our own experience is the key to make a presentation interesting. This is also true for bus guides’ talk.

Glacier Point

The view showed me clearly that Yosemite was once under a glacier. That view covered wide area. I saw the two falls where I visited yesterday. It was fun to sit there and imagine what it would be like if I could have walked all places I saw.

The Trail

I walked down to the valley. I walked slowly to enjoy the panoramic view. However, this view was only for hikers. I feel sorry that most visitors to Glacier Point leave there without seeing that view.

The Valley Again

I came back to the valley. In a meadow, grasses were rustling in a gentle wind that was blowing in the valley. I was refreshing to feel the wind.

This is the story why I changed my evaluation toward packaged tours. Tour released me from hotel and transportation headache. It did not limit my hiking freedom too much. The drawback may be expense. The trip was expensive. As a matter of fact, T also visited Yosemite this weekend. He used his car. I think that he did not have to spend money so much.

Hiking in Yosemite (1)

I spent this weekend in Yosemite.

Yosemite is one of the most beautiful natural park in the US. Yosemite is a good place for hiking with trails everywhere among clear rivers, peaceful meadows, and panoramic mountains. I was happy to know that Yosemite was only five hours from San Francisco by bus.

I used a packaged tour this time. That was the only way to stay in Yosemite because rooms for individual travelers were sold out. I was worrying that the tour would have restricted my hiking freedom. However, it turned out that the tour was not so bad. Here is the story.

Cable Car

I went to the pick-up point by cable car. In the car, I tried a “step ride”. I stood on the step of the car hanging on to a handrail. Cool wind in morning was refreshing. The view from the head of the car was great. I could position myself at the head because passengers were few early in the morning.

Tour Bus

The bus did not come on time. I felt uneasy. After a while, a man talked to me. He also looked uneasy. He was also a tourist. We had no idea what happened to the bus. But in the end, the bus came fifteen minutes behind the schedule. One good thing about this: I talked with him even after the bus came. A crisis builds a relationship.

I sat with him at the right head side of the bus. Passengers were only he and his family and me at that time. From the next stop, people came in and the bus became full. The position turned out to be good after the bus went into the Yosemite. I enjoyed the view of Yosemite well thanks to this position.

By the way, I followed advices from a Japanese guide book and a Japanese web site. In fact, I did not have to use a cable car because the bus stopped near to my accommodation. But waking up earlier and going to the first stop rewarded me.

The bus driver told us that the best way to spend time in Yosemite is to walk. So, he is my friend. He passed us lunch box before arrival so that we could start walking as soon as possible. We dropped by “Tunnel View”, a famous place for its spectacular view. But we spent no more than ten minutes. We directly headed for the Yosemite lodge, my accommodation, after that.

The Valley
Check-in was smooth thanks to the tour company. Trails started just behind the lodge. I enjoyed flowers, meadows, and water in the valley surrounded by huge steep rock walls.

The First Fall
I came to the trail head. The trail head was actually the head of a trail over 300km. Today, I went for the first 5 km of this trail to visit two water falls. I walked in a deep valley, enjoying strangely shaped rocks above. The big drop made the view from the top of the fall dynamic.

The Second Fall
I climbed up the trail to the top of the second fall. Steep valley ended there. It was a place like a picture with a clear creek and peaceful hills. I really wanted to go more. But it was past five and I did not have equipments to spend night in mountain. I took upper-side trail for return trip to enjoy panorama view of the valley.

The Valley in Dawn
When I returned to the valley, it was beginning to become dark. I strolled back to the lodge enjoying the nature. The nature actually becomes the most beautiful in dawn.

I went back to the room. I took a long bath to finish this long but happy day.

Animals
Yosemite was a heaven for animals. I encountered birds, dears, a fox, and three kinds of squirrels. Some of them allowed me to take a picture.

A Great Evening

I spent a great evening with the CEO’s family.

We had dinner together at a restaurant. I met the CEO’s wife, his one-year-old daughter, and a Swiss girl who was staying at his home. They were warm and friendly. Hopefully, I meet them again.

The CEO’s wife was wonderful. I felt relaxed and became talkative thanks to her. She guessed my intension of phrases accurately, even though I could not complete my phrases many times. She has a keen listening ability.

The Swiss girl came here to learn English. Her English was good. She sometimes used native-like expressions. She mentioned that her English improved a lot in her four week stay at a language school in Marta. I know schools in Marta are great. Daiji said the same thing before. But I guess that it was the CEO’s wife who contributed most to her English ability.

The baby was lovely. She seemed to be interested in anything she saw. She observed them, tried them, and dropped them if she found unnecessary. This process may look simple. But at least for me, it is not. Shame, fear, and tardiness keep me from doing so. If I continuously imitate her, I may be able to enlarge myself without limit.

The CEO? He was helping his baby with her process. He helped her pick up and dispose things. He knows the importance of the process.

After the dinner, he took us to a small trip. Today’s theme was house. I saw biggest and most beautiful houses in San Francisco, including the Oracle CEO’s house. He also showed me good restaurants around my accommodation. He thinks that I am wasting time by going to the Panda Express every evening. I will try some of new restaurants soon.

By the way, today was the day to submit the progress report to JAIMS. The CEO and I had a feedback session in the office.

Clouds of San Francisco

Clouds are beautiful in San Francisco.

I spent about one month here, about half of which was cloudy. To be honest, I did not expect this. I used to think that San Francisco was a sunny city. I had an image of San Francisco. In the image, a cable car was climbing up a hill from a bay, which was shining under the straight sun. This image is not an illusion. You can see exactly the same scene if you go to the right place in the right timing. But cable cars are usually running under clouds.

I came to like clouds. Clouds make sky different every day. Even though we have only one word to describe the weather with clouds, “cloudy”, the same “cloudy” can be totally different in San Francisco. Sometimes clouds are thick and dark. Other time, it is thin and light. We also experience different thickness in the same day.

I especially like the border between cloudy and sunny. The view of small clouds moving just above me is fantastic. I also like cloud climbing up the hill and spilling over from the edge. But among many beautiful scenes, the best for me is the edge of cloud shining under evening sun. When I see this on my way home, I remember when I was a child, when I was day dreaming looking at cloud.

By the way, I had a chance to talk with the CEO in the morning. Indeed, he read my e-mail. He showed me his idea. We did some brainstorming, too. Now I know his intension of the next project. That project is a hard one, but looks very interesting.

My Goal is to know the Goal.

In a movie trailer, I saw a guy shouting “my dream is to have a dream!” Audiences laughed because they took it as a joke. But was it really a joke? Now, I seriously believe that my goal is to know the goal.

Today, a module that I wrote turned out not to meet the project expectation. I confess that I wrote this without knowing well about the goal. Indeed, I wrote it with my own guess.

“Goal” may be a vague word. I wondered exactly what I should have known. Two things came acorss my mind. First, I did not have a clear image of who would become happy with the module. Next, I did not have that image of how either. So, I did not know the intension of the project. Unfortunately, it seems that I have the same problem for some other projects.

This is not the rare case for me. I have experienced similar situations in Japan. I am actually a person of passion and emotion. I can work best by sharing those of others. But the reality is that I tend to have difficulty in doing so.

I wonder what Carolyn may say. She may say that my experience is the typical symptom of a person who should move to share project objectives. But how? In fact, I have been trying to talk about this for two or three days. But proper expressions did not come to my mouth. To be honest, talk is not my best communication channel. Other than that, the CEO is busy. He takes care of many other projects. He seems to meet people every day.

E-mail sounds good to me. He can read my message when he has time. Even when he has no time, I can explain it more efficiently if I have writing. Now, I can start thinking about what I want to do with him exactly to share the project goal. I have no idea if this action will work. But who knows? Anyway, this will become an exercise of communication.

Two Troubles in One Day

Do you know how to dial a cell phone number from a pay phone? I found that I did not know.

I went to a game of Giants with T and M. This is the second time. This time, we wanted to sit as close to batters as possible. So, I went to the ticket office directly from my office. I negotiated well with the clerk thanks to T’s area map with the number of priority. The trouble came next. I called T. But my dial was denied. I tried many possible combinations and also asked for help at stadium information. But the result was all negative. So, I had no way but to wait in front of the stadium until they came. The view of the bay was beautiful. But I did not enjoy it so much.

Having said so, I met them in the end and enjoyed the game. The seat was indeed close to batters. The game was exciting. It was so exciting that people around me were making noise all the time. They gave cheers to Giants not only when they hit, but also when they were hit. People were happy maybe because a Giants player caught the ball and minimized the damage. But they also gave cheers with seemingly no reason. A love can move people without reason.

But this was not the end of the day. A trouble was waiting at home. I found that I lost connection to the Net. Again, I tried everything. But this time, I found the cause in the midnight. It was anti-virus software. Once I deleted the software, the computer connected to the Net again. Indeed, this kind of trouble is not first for me. I have encountered a firewall software that refused all access to the Net, anti-virus software that marked all Excel files as virus, and anti-spam software that deleted an important mail. Work harder, software people!

Some Thought over Time

Time is a interesting subject. Measuring time is especially interesting. A watch tell little about time. The same one hour is sometimes short but sometimes very long depending on situations. As a matter of fact, many JAIMS students say that they feel the same amount of time differently in JAIMS and in internship from their previous careers.

I am one of them. In my case, speed of time became slower. Total period of full JAIMS program is six months. In the past, six months were merely a flashing time. I sometimes found that six months had passed without even knowing it. In such times, I felt the day six months ago like yesterday. But now, I recall the Monday of five months ago, exactly my first day in JAIMS, as if it were five years ago. Experiences in Hawaii and San Francisco separate today and that day clearly.

I believed that the speed of time could become faster, but never become slower. Time passed very slowly when I was five years old. But as I got older, time increased its speed. I remember what my grandmother used to say, “Oh my god, my time is now flying like a bullet train.” How true it would be for her.

However, it seems that I slowed down my time. But how? I sense the key is new experiences. For example, I got new experiences in New York this weekend. And my weekend was long. So how about this hypothesis?: Length of subjective time is in proportion to the number of new experiences. If this is true, you can increase your life span by doing something new.

Strolling in New York

I was a bit tired but very happy when I got up at eight. I went for a morning walk to Central Park with my roommate Jun and Koko. On our way back, we stopped by a restaurant near Carnegie Hall and ordered breakfast of organic bread, cold vegetable soup, and coffee. The place was comfortable with warm light up and classical music. Maybe, we were a little pretentious. But NY is the place to pretend.

We joined others after breakfast. Because I became a musical admirer overnight, I wanted to see one more before I went back. This might be the last opportunity in my life. Fellow students were kind to come to the ticket office. M.Y. helped me to select the good show and buy the right ticket. M.Y. has her passion in musical. Her passion made her work for a broadways company as an intern. Anyway, thanks to her, I waited not long and obtained a seat near the stage.

Funa had a plan to glance deeper New York for today. First, we went to a bayside view point. We enjoyed the view of core area. Wall Street buildings, Statue of Liberty, and Brooklyn Bridge were all in sight. We not only looked at the bridge, but also walked on it. It was a nice walk on wooden board. Arriving at the opposite bank, we headed for Wall Street. We strolled in this world famous street and reached New York Stock Exchange. But the building looked tiny among skyscrapers. The end of the street was Ground Zero. It already became a construction site. So today, we saw both the center of power and the center of tragedy. But only from the appearance, it is not easy to imagine what they really are.

The time for the musical was coming. I said good bye there. Today’s show was Mamma Mia! which was as famous as AIDA. I was happy that I enjoyed NY musical two times in this short stay.

The end of the journey was reaching. I rejoined Koko and headed for the airport. The departure time was almost the same, so we shared a taxi. We arrived at the airport just one hour before. I had just enough time to check in and walk into the plane. In the plane, I had an opportunity to talk with a man and his wife the next seat. The man was working for Verizon Wireless. He was a specialist of next generation standard. This reminded me of Mr. Lee and our team assignment in JAIMS. I remembered JAIMS as if I left there long time ago… Anyway, they asked me what I was writing so much in the plane. Indeed, I was writing this blog. I told him about it. I wonder if he had a chance to glance this.

My weekend in New York was great thanks to warm support by fellow students. Thank you very much. I found that Funa and M.Y. loved and were enjoying NY. NY is really the right place for them.

Shaken by New York Musical

I will not forget the experience I got today in New York.

I arrived at the New York JFK airport at seven in the morning. I took an airport shuttle to the city. The moment I got off the shuttle, I found New York surrounding 360 degree around me. Behind me were tall buildings. They were fifty-storied or seemingly even a hundred storied buildings. In front of me were gaudy advertisements moving and flushing on the wall. And that smell in the air… It was really the New York.

I joined Jun, Daiji, and Koko, who came for today from their internship places: Nevada, Florida, and Ohio. The New Yorkers, Funa and M.Y. joined us, too. They helped us a lot to enjoy New York. M.Y. arranged the Mets game in the evening. Funa gave us an introduction to multi-cultural dining in NY. He took us to an Afghanistan restaurant for lunch, a students’ restaurant for NY University for dinner, and an American-Japanese bar for midnight drinking. The bar served Japanese food arranged for Americans.

I enjoyed all of these. But the most unforgettable experience was the musical AIDA. It shook my heart in the magnitude that I had never experienced last 10 years. I am still in the middle of the shock wave. It will take me some time to find proper words to express such an unusual experience exactly. But I want to try it now, anyway.

I have many reasons to say AIDA is great. But if I limit myself in only one, it must be the story. The story contrasted tragic settings with love, hope and will. On one hand, the story was about tragedy. Wars, slavery, and conspiracy in ancient Egypt threw the lovers into disaster. Toward the end, the story became really tragic. On the other hand, the story was actually about love, hope, and will. The positive tone was clear even in the most tragic moment. This contrast gave me a strong impression. But you don’t know how moving AIDA is until you see it by yourself. For now, I like to mention some aspects.

The heroine, AIDA, was played by Deborah A. Cox. Her song was sometimes gentle, sometimes fierce, but always breathtaking. Daiji told me that her voice came from her professional experience as a singer. The background music was by Elton Jones, the world famous composer. The main theme and ancient drum part came one after another, making a kind of wave. This wave overwhelmed me. It is no wonder that Daiji obtained the soundtrack right after the show. Dance was gorgeous and stage effects made the last scene unforgettable.

I thank M.Y., Daiji, and Funa who arranged this great experience. If you have an opportunity to go to NY, I recommend you to go to a musical no matter what.

At the Airport

Civic Center is a convenient place. When I left the company, it was already around five, but I was already at the San Francisco International Airport at six. BART made it possible for me. I love BART, a commuter train system of San Francisco. It is safe, frequently coming, and off course, bike-friendly.

Thanks to BART, I arrived at the airport too early. In the departure lounge, I found that I was trapped. Somehow, the lounge of my airline company was isolated from the other part of the airport. I could not go out from the lounge, which had nothing but a small snack bar. I had more than three hours in that small place.

That’s why I am writing this now at the Airport. Maybe, this is a good time to review this week. First, I had an opportunity to write a new module from scratch. This was a wonderful experience. Last week, I was writing maintenance code most of the time. Maybe I moved forward a bit this week.

However, my skill was not still adequate. I was writing codes while I was looking for information on the Net and experimenting on it in my computer. This took time. But let me excuse about it a bit here. I did have some experience in database programming. But programming scheme has changed dramatically. Five years ago, all we had to know was Visual Basic. Database was integrated to VB seamlessly (this wonderful function was called DAO). Operating database was easy. But now, I need SQL, HTML, and ASP to write a simple Web database program. Worse than that, those languages cannot do the task alone. I have to use them at the same time in one program. It is like speaking Japanese, Chinese, and English in the same meeting. Simply speaking, it is confusing. Microsoft advertises that their new developing environment is wonderful, but I doubt it.

Other than my skill, I think I can do more to improve my listening and speaking skill. I do not have to speak English so frequently. In fact, I spoke rarely when I was concentrating on my programming.

But now, the departure time has come. I will write about it more sometime soon. Anyway, I did not get boring for waiting.

My accommodation

My accommodation is a hotel for long-term visitors. It is located near Civic Center. The room is $950 a month with a private bath.

I found a heater in my room. The heater sometimes become active at night. Nights in San Francisco are sometimes cool even in summer. The hotel has a central heating system and turns it on when it becomes too cool. Temperature of this city is at around 15-20 degrees Celsius in the daytime throughout a year.

It was surprising for me that Japanese was not the majority here. Somehow, the majority is French. To be honest, I do not know whether or not they are really French. What I know is that they are white who speak unknown language that can be heard like “suwa uwa”. Anyway, they are talkative and sociable. When I go breakfast, I always find them talking in French. My neighbor frequently invites other French till midnight. However, I do not feel very happy about these. They are always speaking in their language within their group. I feel as if I have no chance to become acquainted with them. Come to think of it, I spoke a lot of Japanese in JAIMS. Students from other countries may have felt the same thing. Sorry, C, E, M, T, and P.

The location, Civic Center, is famous for a museum and an opera house. But this place is classified as “dangerous area” by Japanese guide books. Indeed, most people on the sidewalk at nearby Market Street become homeless on holidays. Even though I have never felt real danger here, a bike is indispensable for my safe.

Having said so, this is still a nice place. Here is the center of San Francisco, so I can go to any place of the city easily. On top of that, here is also the hub of city cycling roads. I can find a cycling path to here anywhere in the city.

This may not be the best place for everyone, but this is a nice place for me for the most part. I will stay here until the end of my stay.

Tomorrow, I am going to New York by the overnight flight. I will meet my fellow students there. In fact, many fellow students come to New York at once this weekend.

My Work Environment

My office is a relaxing place. Subtle background music is played most of the time. A living room is available whenever I want a rest. People leave the office early. In fact, no one stay in the office after 7:00p.m.

But these facts do not necessarily mean that people work less. For example, they work at home. Today, I asked the CEO when he was writing codes. I was wondering how he could come up with new codes every day. He seemed to be working on other things. His replay was that he allocated his time for writing codes at home. This work style is different from that in Japan, where people stay in the office till late, but just relax at home.

My developing environment is awesome. First of all, our software is Windows Server 2003, Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Edition, and SQL Server 2000. This is indeed the latest and the most powerful environment that Microsoft can offer. In addition, our hardware is powerful. I can run our big Web application with no stress. Lastly, our application utilizes the latest programming technology such as DHTML, SQL, VB.NET, and ASP.NET.

When I was searching my position, I did not expect this because my background in professional software development is almost zero. Maybe, I am experiencing an opportunity once in a life time. I must enjoy this.

By the way, I found that the number of my projects increased today. I counted them in the screen. The number turned out to be 28.

I stayed in the office till 9:00pm today. This is my record here. I was a bit nervous when I was going back because my Japanese guide book recommended avoiding going out after dark. But fortunately, I got to my home safely.

My Projects

I have new projects this week.

More than five “projects” were waiting for me when I came to the office on Monday. For those who learned project management, I have to say that the definition of the project is a bit different here. All independent work units with a deliverable are called “project” in my company. Anyway, I found those new “projects” in the project management system. And that system is a part of the Web application that I am working on. This means that I am working on the system that I am using. I am a programmer and a user at the same time.

The goal of one project is to add a new page to that application. This is challenging because I have no idea about how. But adding a brand new function is exciting. I am willing to learn how I can do that. The goal of other project I am now working is to add codes to the core part of the application. The amount of change is small, but such change will remain after I leave the company. This is great.

The CEO gives me helps every day. Indeed, if it comes to the amount of time spent with the CEO, I am the No.1. I feel happy to work with him everyday. But this fact is ironical. He has no choice but help me because my skill is not enough to accomplish the project. In fact, I cannot move forward by myself for now. Of course, I know that my mission here is to help him, not be helped by him. I am wondering how I can acquire the skill needed as soon as possible.

Commuter Bike

I used to dream how nice it would be if I could use a bike for commuting. Now, I am realizing my dream every morning. The trip is safe, smooth, and comfortable thanks to exclusive bike lanes. It takes about fifteen minuts to the company.

San Francisco people also use bikes for commuting. I see them every day in lanes. Not only students but also business people use bikes.

San Francisco city is kind to bike travelers. What you will find here is not only bike lanes. You will also find a guiding pole at every corner, a bike parking at every destination, and trains and ferries in the outskirt of the city that welcome bikes. You may think as if the entire city is encouraging you to use bikes.

Living here, I cannot stop thinking about Japan. Japanese city municipals are not so kind to bikes. Bike lanes and bike parking are rare. Bike-and-train is out of question. People also are not so kind. “Bad manners of bike travelers” is a pet peeve in news papers. But unfortunately, no one think that such “bad manners” may stem from lack of bike lanes and bike parking. The strange thing is that even in that situation, magazines are full of articles about ultra expensive mountain bikes from good branded manufacturers. Indeed, “bike buying” is somehow trendy in Japan.

A Ballet Concert among Trees

I went to a Ballet Concert.

A free concert is being performed every Sunday in Stern Grove Park (Stern Grove Festival). You can see from Jazz to opera if you go there every week. The program of this week was ballet.

I have never gone to a Ballet concert because I have never wanted to. But cycling becomes more fun if I have a destination. Stern Grove Park was a good destination. When I arrived at the park, it was only five minutes before. But I could secure a place to sit in the forest. The place was a bit far from the stage, but it turned out to be a nice place. The smell of cedar trees was great. I experienced both ballet and forest bathing at a same time.

First, I was surprised by the quality. The performer was San Francisco ballet, a world class ballet company, according to the announcement. They spent two hours with three intermissions to show both traditional and contemporary ballet to us. The music by a full orchestra was dynamic.

But I was surprised the most by finding that the ballet was interesting to me. I confess that I do not like art. Especially, I tend to avoid people who talk about art to show off their status. They love to show that they “understand” Mahler. But I never felt a need to show that I “understand” Muir Woods Trail. The gap between us is too deep.

But the Stern Grove Park in San Francisco required no “understanding”. They allowed us to enjoy art in the way we want. Indeed, many people including me were lying on the ground or eating hamburger. Such an atmosphere made us enjoy art as it is.

In general, American people do not worship formality. They do not worship the “understanding” of status people either. They value their own feeling. They seem not hesitate to ask why if their feeling is different from the "understanjding" of status people. I believe this made America so lively. And I love such America very much.

Thinking in Muir Woods

I went cycling to Muir Woods, a national park that is famous for huge trees. I enjoyed hiking there.

While I was walking in the forest, I was asking to myself why I was so happy then. People sometimes ask me why I love becoming dirty in hiking and cycling. Packaged tours can provide the same experience with less sweat and less time. In fact, Muir Woods is a famous destination for packaged tours. I have never successfully answered to the question. That’s why I was thinking in the forest.

I found that the reason was simple. I could gain experience only by hiking and cycling. A packaged tour does not give me “true” experience. The experience from the packaged tours is like the one from watching a travel show on TV. While I can see the same beautiful spot of TV shows in tours, I can never go beyond the border that the tour conductor set. The experience is strictly standardized for mass consumption. Such an experience does not stay in my mind for long. On the other hand, if I walk around and bike around the place, the experience becomes MY experience. That individual elements give me the feeling of the ownership to the experience. Then, I remember it with happiness for a long time.

Did it make sense for you? I am planning to try this explanation the next time I am asked. Anyway, I got a great personal experience in Muir Woods today.

I started my cycling enjoying view of beautiful houses of San Francisco.

The bridge was foggy. My sight was less than 10 meters.

But beyond the bridge was sunny. I went down a valley behind the bridge to the bay.

The bay was shinning reflecting sun.

Then, I came to a beautiful local town. I decided to spend time there when I came back.

A wide cycling trail started right behind the town. I increased the speed.

After a while I went into a hilly trail.

The view from the hill was nice.

Finally I reached the Muir Woods. It took three and a half hours. I parked my bike and started hiking.

Woods were really huge.

I went beyond the border for bus tourists. The trail was great. I saw the Pacific Ocean covered with fog.

I took other route when I returned.

I went down to the Muir Beach. The beach seemed to be covered with fog all the time.

I returned to the town and enjoyed strolling with a big ice cream in one hand, a Coke in the other hand.

I used a ferry to go back to San Francisco. They allowed bikes with no additional charge.

Soon after departure, the ferry was surrounded by deep fog. The temperature went down suddenly and the wind became strong. After a while, the city of San Francisco appeared in the fog. That scene was unbelievably beautiful. Strangely enough, the fog became pale and finally disappeared when the ferry arrived at the pier. It was as if the city was protected by the fog. But the battery ability of my camera didn’t allow me to take the picture of this scene.

Sightseeing with CEO

I went to short trip in the city with the CEO after work.

It was a happy surprise. Luckily enough, no cloud was covering the city at that moment. The city was shining under the evening sun. It was really beautiful. We stopped at the Lombard Street. Then, he showed me some nice restaurants so that I could enjoy dinner other than Chinese food at Panda Express. Finally, he and I said good bye in front of the Italian restaurant that is one of his favorites. He had to go home where his wife was waiting. I was sorry. But I could enjoy the rest of the trip as a cycling because he did not forget to bring my bike in his car.

The restaurant was a cozy place with many local guests. I seated next to a warm looking man and wife. Surprisingly, they talked to me. We started a short talk. They were good at leading the conversation, so I was comfortable even though I was not good at speaking. At last, we exchanged our name cards.

Generally speaking, Americans are good at having a conversation with new people. Many of them never become nervous in such situations. Come to think of it, today, the CEO also talked with a person he had never met. He talked with an engineer of other company in the elevator when we headed for his car. I found these conversations are full of questions. Questions are indeed important to build a new human relationship.

Power of a Question

Making a question is indispensable for effective communication.

My English and programming skill have big room to improve. At least once a day, I encounter the situation in which I cannot see the CEO’s instruction. In such situation, I tend to show just my confusion. He is kind, so he starts the whole story once again, using easier words. But it takes time. If I made a good question, he could spend less time and I could understnad easier.

There must be a good question. Such a question will show not only what you need to understand, but also what you know already. This will help your partner make a strategy for an effective explanation to you.

Indeed, questions are important in any kinds of communication in the US. I hear many questions when I talk with American. They are good at getting information by them. They also build relationship by them. Questions are the key of communication. So, I like to exercise making effective questions when I receive instructions.

By the way, when I went out of the office for lunch, I saw a strange thing. A train was moving in the road in front of the office. It was not a streetcar but a full scale train. Here is the photo.

A brand new Computer

My computer at work is replaced to a new one.

Running Web applications is a heavy task to computers. Until yesterday, I had to wait frequently to do my task. Now, our Web application is running as if it is a small and old program. I found that the computer is more powerful than the CEO’s one. I'm sorry. However, the most distinctive feature is not its power, but its appearance. It has a dark black front panel and a transparent side cover. Inside the cover is a fan illuminated in several colors. It is especially beautiful in dark. The computer must be designed to fit to the modern atmosphere of the office.

After work, I went to see a baseball game with T. He happened to get free tickets for the game of San Francisco giants. The ticket included a cushion, a cap, and a $10 pre-paid eating ticket. Silicon Valley companies are really generous. We went to the stadium by walk. The stadium was a comfortable place with the view of bay bridge, city center, and the bay. The game was also exciting. We saw more than four homeruns. The score between two teams was very close. People shouted, clapped, and booed all the time. And I could understand what was happening in the game thanks to T. He explained to me during the game.

Geisha and Anime

Japan's culture is known in two fields in San Francisco. One is Geisha. I have seen Geisha exhibition posters everywhere in the city. They are on street poles and body of buses. The other is Anime. Japantown is a mecca for anime. Indeed, walls of the Japanese-Western restaurant where we fellow students enjoyed supageti were covered with big anime posters.

San Francisco people seem to feel close to Japan. But they do so in the different way we expect. They may like Japan because Japan is the country of Geisha and anime, not because that of Mt. Fuji and cherry blossom. I’ve heard that Japanese government was struggling to attract foreign travelers. Then, why don’t they begin Geisha week and Otaku festival? The best way to attract people is to reach them with their interest.

By the way, I spent today for debagging the Web application with the CEO. Today was a hard day for me because I had no idea what I could do for the most of the time. I like to get the trick of team debagging soon.

In the evening, T came to my room. He will stay in San Francisco for two days to pitch products for his company. He told me about his exciting experience in the first day.

My Workplace

Every morning, I walk in a big entrance hall. That hall looks like what you see in Japanese trendy dramas. But I won’t fit the scene because I am with a knapsack in my back, a bag on my waist, and a bike helmet on my hand. Anyway, I proceed to my office on the second floor. The office has a brick wall, a high sealing and an art object. In other word, the room has modern atmosphere. Today, my new bike was added among them. The CEO suggested kindly that I could park my bike next to the object.

I am now helping to create the Web version of his back office software. I changed the structure of the database and am now working on converting, testing, and modifying the database so that it works well in the Web environment. My boss is CEO. He gives me my tasks everyday. The same is true for other three interns.

I like to be acquainted with other interns. But in reality, I have not talked a lot with them. I am too shy. In addition, I can do my tasks without talking to them. The reason is that I am the only member of that Web project. I remember Cogan gave us a technique that ensures a successful small talk. Maybe now is the time to use it.

By the way, it was sunny today after work. Today was the precious day to enjoy cycling with the sun. I set my destination Twin Peaks. The trail was a bit hilly but it was fun. Air was cool, shades of trees were nice, and houses were beautiful. The top of the hill was Twin Peaks. Whole San Francisco was there. With office buildings in the center, wharfs, bridges, hills, and beautiful houses were located with a perfect balance. No more, no less. The view was indeed breathtaking. The city must be the one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I am sorry that my poor camera skill didn’t allow me to keep the scene precisely in a photo. After staying at the top for a while, I went back home slowly enjoying scenery. However, it was still light when I got home, thanks to summer time.

The Uglier, the Better

There are several things I can do to prevent further bike thefts.

San Francisco Bike Coalition mentions three things to prevent a theft. The first is locks. Strong locks discourage thieves. So I bought a lock with thick coil. But this is not perfect. Thieves here steal parts. Therefore, I have to consider the second factor, location. Now that I know thieves can work safely in the place I parked before, I should find other place to keep my bike. The last is appearance. New bikes are appealing to thieves. Unfortunately, my bike is brand new. That’s why I did graffiti on my bike. Graffiti is a good way to diminish thing’s economic value to zero without hurting its functions. I will lose an opportunity to sell my bike. But that should be no problem if I can keep my bike until I go home. So I wrote my name on every part of my bike so that I can prevent a parts theft. I hope this idea will work.

This morning, T, M, and I went to Fisherman’s Wharf to taste clam chowder with crab, the specialty of San Francisco. Then, we went for a short drive beyond the golden gate bridge. It was cloudy in San Francisco as usual, but soon after passing the bridge, it got sunny. I found beautiful villages under sun shine. I’ll go there again with my new bike.

After saying good-bye to them, I went to a movie theater in Japantown. I saw “Anchorman” this time. It was a good movie. Other than that, audiences looked nicer and warmer than people in Metreon, the theater I went last time. I will come here again.