Life is good now, and that’s not something I’ve been able to say easily, nor come to terms with, and the feeling is strangely and surprisingly spectacular! At the core of my contentment are the people in my life. I’ve always been surrounded by good people. Unfortunately, I rarely recognized it. My current colleagues are backed by a corporate culture that is clearly aimed at maximizing the abilities of every employee. One upside is that one of my greatest workplace motivators now is the thought of what actions I can take that enable my colleagues to excel and achieve a…
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I’m loving life enormously at the moment, and a workplace in Marunouchi is helping in that. Marunouchi is the literal heart of Tokyo, being the closest district to the Imperial Palace, which is the reason why the city is Japan’s capital. It’s a delight rolling up to the office and feeling the centuries-long history of the area and adjacent Nihonbashi seeping in. My first day in Tokyo involved sitting down outside Tokyo Station, located in Marunochi, people watching while I waited to be collected. I love being able to look down from my workplace and see that spot, now a…
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I’m not religious, but I thank God every day for giving me the amazing colleagues I get to work with. I’ve got to admit that apart from only two very short periods, extraordinary people have surrounded me throughout my working life. But the cooperation, support and elevation my current workmates give me is unprecedented for me through nigh on five decades in the workforce. I’m really having the time of my life trying to learn my way around my new role, and am brimming wit gratitude to both my employer and my colleagues for doing everything possible to help me…
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Work has resumed for 2025, so I am back at the grindstone. I love my company immensely, and my aim this year is to be a great co-worker in a team that contributes to fantastic results for our employer. My teammates are enormous in drawing out every skerrick of talent I may possess, and I hope to be able to do the same for the people I get to work with. And while I’m doing that, I want to enjoy every moment I get to spend on a bike, even if it is as dark and bloody freezing as it…
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The cycling gods have been active through 2024. Like all the gods of ancient times, there have been plenty of trials and tribulations and (so far) a happy ending. It’s no secret the period from about October 2021 to July 2024 was one of the most testing periods of my life, and riding my bike was probably the prime way I dealt with life experiences I couldn’t otherwise handle. Life conspired to drastically curtail my cyling this year. I’ve been sick, old, looked after dogs, had a faulty bike, struggled through a grueling bike build, lost cameras, crashed, and been…
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Today’s title is more than just a play on words to boast about the beautiful bicycle photos I have been able to take recently. It also refers to what’s going on in my life at the moment. I can’t stop pinching myself to check that I am really going through what’s happening. Essentially, it revolves around the various miracles that have occurred to get me into a great new company, where I am surrounded by extraordinarily talented people and working in an environment so supportive that it is difficult to believe. Hence the pinching. This has brought about such an…
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A long-time wish finally came true with a session around the Kawasaki Velodrome, and though I notched times that were the slowest of anyone on the day, my timing has been pretty fortunate over the past few months. All seemed lost and forlorn at the start of summer, but I was determined to hang on to my career for dear life to ensure that Mrs. Kangaeroo could fulfill one of her dreams. And the fates were on my side, with a new opening presenting itself at an absolutely perfect moment. And it has ushered in a halcyonic few weeks. On…
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All sorts of amazing things are happening at the moment, and I’m taking me time to let them settle in. Biggest is the new job, which is taking up most of my time at the moment and, naturally, has a huge impact on my life and that of those around me. We’ve had some pretty lousy weather recently, being humid, wet and dark, which has had an adverse impact on Kangaeroo Corner, effectively wiping out the kangaroo paw for this year, but also hurting most of the other Aussie plants, which generally like things to be dry and sunny, or…
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My job is over. Finished. Kaput. Ended. I am officially unemployed for the first time in 10 1/2 years. All ties to my former employer ended a few moments ago as I sent off the computer and periphery items I had used at home, where I worked from pretty much the outset of the pandemic. A brave new world awaits. I’m leaving with my former employer’s goodwill and best wishes. And I wish them all the best. I would have preferred things turned out a little different, but I think we may both be better off moving forward. I’ve got…
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I’ll never forget how I delighted I was a few decades ago now when I discovered the Japanese term madogiwazoku, literally meaning “the tribe beside the window.” It’s a derogatory term dating back to the country’s postwar economic miracle heyday and used to refer to the usually older workers who’ve been deemed to be beyond their serviceable peak for the company. But, either as a reward for services performed, or more likely strict labor laws that make it detrimental for employers to simply dump workers when they’ve outlived their usefulness, the window-side tribe seemed to have fallen by the wayside…