The Monday Read: Back on Track

The weather and the cherry blossoms have been glorious.

Classes started at my wife’s school without too many incidents, I finally managed to book a flight to see my friends and family in Europe, after two decades of trying I finally have official ID with just my kanji alias on it (kokumin kenkou hoken card), and I am signed up to take the FP3 test on May 28th.

In possibly related news, I accomplished both my goals this week so do not have to pay a penalty. Momentum truly is a powerful thing 🙂

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Metrics

Jiu-jitsu training sessions: 3 (pass)
YouTube videos: 1 (pass)

Consequences: none. Incentives matter 🙂

The Forum

The Forum is doing well (26,902 posts so far). Here are the latest active threads:

This week’s books

Started reading Steven Pressfield’s memoir, Government Cheese, this week. Really enjoying it so far.

This week’s links

  1. This sounds so necessary. I used to ask my (elite-ish) university students what they wanted to do in a future, and fewer than 1% said start a company… New Technical High School to Teach Future Entrepreneurs Opens in Japan
  2. 3 in 4 positive is pretty good: The Good & Bad of Investing in the Stock Market
  3. Japan even has a fourth: geothermal. But still building coal plants and using old nuclear reactors: We don’t need ‘miracle’ technologies to fix the climate. We have the tools now
  4. I like that the electric car was the economically better option in this scenario, regardless of the environmental advantages: Millionaires Don’t Buy New Cars
  5. This seems good: young bureaucrats in Japan are quitting to go to the private sector. Japan Reality Check #6: Elite on the Move
  6. Good news from Europe too: Europe’s Energy Crisis That Isn’t
  7. The million dollar question: When can I retire?
  8. Enjoyed this and may grudgingly try to stop caffeine as a trial (YouTube): The Brain Doctor & Therapist To The World’s Top Superstars

What do you think? Anything interesting in there?

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9 Responses

  1. Ben、

    I weaned myself off caffeine about a year ago. It took several months to gradually reduce the amount and not have withdrawal headaches. Now, I drink decaffeinated as a habit.

    I feel amazing. I sleep better, wake up naturally and very easily, have reduced my anxiety loads, and lost weight.

    You should go for it!!

    1. Argh, I hesitate because I thought coffee was my one bad habit, and a fairly healthy one too (don’t drink or smoke any more).

      But I definitely think it is worth trying at least. Sigh.

  2. Tell us more about the kanji alias, please. Does it sound like your name or is the reading totally different? Did you take your wife’s family name?
    What advantage do you see in having a kanji alias? I personally have different names in romaji and katakana at different institutions and it’s never been a big problem. For example, the tax office doesn’t use or insist I use my middle name on my tax forms, just first and last in romaji. I have a bank account so old that my name is in katakana. I think that recently foreigners, especially Americans, are asked to use their full romaji names on bank accounts, including the cumbersome middle name(s). I’m interested to hear why you wanted a kanji name, what the obstacles/objections were and how you overcame them.

    1. Ha, ha, you might regret getting me started 😉

      I first registered my kanji alias after I got married and realised that was an option (instead of registering katakana which is the default). I used my wife’s surname and 勉, which is a common name in Japan as Tsutomu and less common as Ben.

      I mainly got it because my stepkids had that name and it was easier to deal with their school etc. if I had the same name. I got it on a bank account, on my alien registration card, and on my driving license, but only alongside my alphabet name.

      Zairyu cards automatically include the alias now, and when I switched to kokumin kenko hoken (from the uni kyosai, who refused to use my alias for anything) they automatically used the alias. It’s also on my pension, etc.

      If I naturalise (been thinking about it for a while) that is the name I will use, so this is kind of preparing for it.

      I like using it. Makes it very easy to book things like restaurants, and people tend to be slightly surprised in a good way when they see it. Haven’t had any negative reactions.

      1. Thanks, very informative.
        I did register an alias in katakana a year or so ago, but I don’t think I understood all of options at the time and included my middle name. Now I think I should go and get an alias in katakana without the middle name.
        I also didn’t know the Zairyu card shows the alias, since I had added an alias since my last zairyu card update. Now I really want to cut my middle name from my alias and then get my Zairyu card updated.

        1. Sorry, my mistake. Zairyu cards DON’T show alias, I was very upset when they changed it. My Number cards show the alias.

  3. “If I naturalise (been thinking about it for a while)…”

    Oh, please let us know when you actually start the process, maybe in a separate blog space ?
    I’ve been playing with that thought as well, especially during the 3 years in home office, but hesitate due to the language challenges (writing and for some part reading)