Sardines and Nuts

Aaaah stretching my legs and kicking back at a ramen place near my work! Guess what time it is? 9:30. D: damn those people work late! When I left almost everyone was still there. The boss man told me that they often work 10-10, sometimes including Saturdays! Isn't that crazy? Since they have a big meeting with a client next week, a lot of them are staying even later this week. The architecture world is nuts. Yesterday was my first day and I was so exhausted by the time I got back to my apartment at 10 that I passed out before I could do anything. Eat sleep work. Now I'm in a packed train bound for home. Speaking of which, this morning I went to work in a train, packed like a sardine. The door was literally a centimeter away from crushing me, and I saw a couple of other commuters get eaten by the doors. Their trains are super frequent, but each one is always full to capacity in the morning and at night (even at 10pm...)- it's kind of terrifying. My commute is about an hour long so hopefully I make it home before 11! There is some peach sake waiting for me in the fridge that I'd really like to kick back and enjoy before losing consciousness.

But anyway, more about work! (besides for the ridiculous hours) I arrived yesterday and awkwardly had to introduce myself to everyone. Kobayashi-san (the boss man) spent my first hour there filling my head with all the projects they had worked on recently, which of course resulted in me remembering absolutely nothing. Then my super nice co-worker, Matsui-san, gave me a run down of the place, and after a while invited me to go eat lunch with her and a few other people. We talked in a mix of broken English and Japanese while scarfing down some delicious Thai food at an adorably exotic and cozy little restaurant nearby. I was so awkward but they were so nice! That afternoon I met my project manager who is very architecture looking with his glasses and button-downs. I immediately liked him since he seemed to find everything that anyone said very hilarious. I found that hilarious. I spent the afternoon (and evening) building a topographic model of a valley in Bali where they are currently working on a project. For dinner (at 9, ha.) I stopped by a place in Shinjuku on my way home and ate some katsudon. @__@ 

Today I worked on my model for most of the 11 hours I was there lol. Kawada-san (project manager that laughs a lot) took me to a (hipster) cafe for lunch! Inoue-san (another co-worker) was already eating there so we joined him. Both of them are really good at English so i chatted away. Apparently Inoue-san had been in the states for 6 years...no wonder. Also Kawada-san has been with the company for something like 8 years! I mean, some people stick with a company for 40 (especially in Japan), but it's still kind of crazy to me, that kind of life commitment, especially since he seems relatively young. 8 years ago I was just graduating elementary school...

By the way, expect a lot more food pics now that I'm living alone and only look forward to meals...JK that's so pathetic sounding, but really, expect lots of beautiful food pics, I'm planning on trying out a billion restaurants! Anyway, tomorrow I am supposed to give a presentation on some of my old projects, so I better go take a nap before work (lol it's 6:23 am...) Peach sake still waiting for me....

KATSUDON. Has this awesome egg mixture on top that makes the whole thing melt in your mouth. Ramen from tonight! Camera-shy co-workers (one from the states, one from Taiwan) + thai food. Delicious chicken curry / egg / rice / salad / grapefruit juice at the (hipster) cafe that Kawada-san took me to, with a guest appearance by Inoue-san