Tag: Mount Fuji

Daily Life

Life Gets In The Way

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I’ve never been good at dealing with life on life’s terms, and being a selfish and spoiled type, easily get down when I don’t get what I want.

I got to experience that side of me again this week.

My boss finally pushed through the severe pay cut she has been aiming at for the past couple of years. I’m now down to about 60% of the wage I was hired at a decade ago, with less than half the paid vacation, a much-reduced medical plan, no allowances and footing the bill for the company to produce the work it sells at a huge markup.

I’m sure this situation is aimed at pushing me out of the company rather than have it face sanction for driving people away.

I ain’t leaving anytime soon, though. I got old and useless and decrepit. Combined with a scandal that any employer doing due diligence will immediately discount me from their possible candidates, I don’t have anywhere to go.

I feel hurt, ashamed and disheartened. I worked hard, and doubly so to be a constructive presence for our team and my boss. I am angry, resentful and disgusted at the company for allowing her to push through with the cut. Of course, this should spur me to seek greener pastures. Fear, mostly of rejection, is playing havoc with my mind. And it’s not an unrealistic fear, either.

Anyway, I should have been feeling better. The mornings this week were simply glorious. I got to set magnificent sunrises as I rode down to the river, then plenty of wonderful views as the sun rose into the late summer clouds.

On Friday, the setting full moon was simply glorious as it accompanied me as I cycled upriver. Even the notoriously shy Mount Fuji of the summer was showing herself in full.

If I had to be humiliated, there were worse times that it could have happened, and the opportunity to cycle and be rewarded with such beauty did much to soothe my soul.

Now, I am trying to turn my mind to being grateful to have a job. Of course, I also have to torture myself or I wouldn’t be on brand, so I am gonna get stuck into the garden, too.

Summer decimated our once lush lawn. It has broken my heart and I have thrown everything but the kitchen sink at it to try and work out a fix. Nothing has worked so far. It has cooled noticeably in the early mornings and evenings. I am hoping this will give the lawn the break it needs.

In the meantime, I’m sure the kangaroo paw and tree fern will give me more than enough to worry about, and if they don’t do it, then there will be something else for sure.

Strine Sports

Trekking Up Takao

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For the last day of the 2023 new year’s break, Kangaeroo and Co. headed up to the delightful Mount Takao in Hachioji.

Leaving late in the morning, a short trip by bus and train had us at the foot of the mountain.

A healthy walk of little over an hour had Kangaeroo at the peak.

Normally, Mount Takao affords an amazing view of Mount Fuji.

But this time, the clouds that frequently cover the iconic Japanese mountain won the day, but the view was still magnificent.

A bowl of soba noodles on the top of the mountain, then back down the hill, this time catching a chairlift.

And also copping a view of Kangaeroo Corner (perhaps?) from up on high.

Went shopping and was still home before the sun went down.

Didn’t stop an anxious night of worry about how I am going to be harassed after going back to work.

Strine Biz

Harbor City Coathangered! Sydney Opera House Among World Heritage List’s ‘Three Great Disappointments’

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Sydney Lights - AustraliaSydney Opera House is undoubtedly a symbol of Australia around the world, but is regarded by many Japanese as one of the “Three Great Disappointments” among World Heritage Listed sites, according to Japanese AllAbout.com.
It’s been common for centuries for the Japanese to rank lots of tourism-related sites — look at Katsushika Hokusai‘s famous Unfortunately for Australia’s Harbor City, the Sydney Opera House is generally regarded as one of the most disappointing World Heritage Sites, joining other disappointments such as the Eiffel Tower (Tokyo has a bigger replica of its own) and Mannekin Pis (which Tokyo also has its own version of).
Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji as an example — and there are literally hundreds of sites within and outside the country that the order-obsessed have graded, particularly in terms of Top Three lists.

It’s unlikely disappointment with the Opera House is connected with the drastic drop in Japanese tourist numbers to Australia, which have more than halved in the decade since 2003, and many critics acknowledge that the symbol of Australia’s biggest city located on Bennelong Point is delightful when viewed from a distance, especially when the view encompasses the Coathanger, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, another icon of the city.
Just in case anybody gets their nose out of joint at the “best seen from a distance” complaint about Sydney Opera House from among many Japanese, it’s worth noting that an identical sentiment is almost universal regarding Mount Fuji, a sacred and highly revered site, which should put the view into, er, perspective.