Autumn Traveler

Dow 11,000 eh? It seems that the equities markets have now completely lost their minds. As much as I wish for a recovery, this is simply not a sustainable solution. A few weeks back we were afraid of bad news, and almost as if someone flipped a switch, everyone is now praying for more bad ( economic) news. Why? So that qe2 can get underway. This corresponds with my “pain management” theory. This country is simply looking for more painkillers, and is largely uninterested in solving any issues at the fundamental level.

Now, part of me is hoping for a complete 360 from bernanke, such that we’ll actually tighten monetary policy and blow all these overzealous morons out of the water. Oh wait, that includes me too.

Something else I’ve been playing with is the relationship between the Chinese stimulus circa 2009, china’s infrastructure/high speed rail spend, and the demand picture for related commodities like iron ore/steel and aluminum. I’m wondering if it is a good idea to shrink the timeline for any macro plays on iron ore and coking coal, to minimize the effects of a possible drop off in demand from China. Still have to wrestle this out, but it’ll probably be my next project.

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From Drop Box

Blah blah

well, not that i expect anyone to be actually reading this (after all, it is my fault for not updating in the last 7 weeks)
but i’m trying to be more proactive about this.

so in the last two weeks i went to see my homestay parents, hung out with K+gang almost every weekend, got addicted to medallion games, got drunk for the first time in my life, and injured my foot.

the last two happened on the same night, unsurprisingly.

oh, and i stood next to a tranny on the subway train last week. that was really awkward, because he wasn’t very convincing.

anyways, the conference is getting closer and i have no idea what to do. i feel a little better, because neither does anyone else, and they’re scared shitless too. which means that people at least share in some of my pain. that’s right. i’m an evil person.

i think the last two months have been really interesting. i have to admit that i’m still scared of heading out into the workforce, but after this experience i have less to fear. somehow i always treated entering the working world as some kind of transformation by which i turn into some sort of corporate zombie. now i realize that’s only *partially* true. i think that at this point [for me], the worlds of school and work melt into each other, without any clear, distinguishing line.

why do i say that? well, for one it’s okay to still act like a kid sometimes. working is just entering the next grade up for me. which means after my senior year i’ll be like a…17th grader. only at work, there’s probably also another 30 or 40 grades after that. which of course means lots of bullying. but that’s alright. i’ve never been bullied in my life.

well, first week officially over.

let’s review. my coworkers are great. [almost] everyone speaks perfect english, so i officially get 0 opportunity to use japanese in the workplace. last night i had dinner and drinks with the president of a major company. (can’t violate non-disclosure agreement). yeah, it’s getting hawt. and i love feeling physically exhausted every day.

 aaah. 疲れた

Ramen on left, Curry on right. Homemade, baby.

my lovely workplace (inside is not as cool)

First corporate party last night. Made the mistake of revealing I’d never been drunk around fellow interns.

 Met my boss; he tried to psych me out. Succeeded. But the coworkers are very nice. Presentation today in front of all the managers.

I never knew that sitting for 9 hours could be so tiring. Well, actually I do know. Like sitting on a plane. But at least on the plane I could select my preference of entertainment options. At work, on the first day, I only had one channel: corporate presentations. Corporate finance, asset management, etc. blah blah blah…

Anyways the people seem sorta cool. We’re all living in one place, for the most part.

I got my bank card today. Total savings: 0 yen. Payday is 2 weeks away.

The coordinator also pressured me to get a cell phone. Only problem is, I can’t apply for one as a foreigner. I’ve got less rights in Japan than Dredd Scott in 1854. Did I get the year wrong? I apologize for that.

I’m making some progress. By 8pm last night I was tired as fuck. I woke up an hour later than the night before. 3.15am. That’s just great.

What the hell is it with movie titles? I’ve been thinking nonstop about movie titles ever since I saw that annoying ad on the T about “how many titles* live and let die another day…” blah blah can you think of?”

How many movie inspired blog post titles can I relate my life to?

3 something AM. So maybe it’s the jetlag, but somehow I feel that I’ve written another blog post with this same title. Then again, I did watch Deja Vu on the plane. AMAZING service. out of nowhere I was offered a thoroughly frozen Haagen Dazs. mmmm. Besides Deja Vu I watched Stranger than Fiction and The Holiday. (by the end the selection was getting low – it was either a romantic comedy or [shudder] foreign films). What the hell is up all these new avant garde, emo/ white-audience movies? You know, the kind that SG at UCSC likes? You know the kind I’m talking about… Little Miss Sunshine, Garden State, Napoleon Dynamite, now Stranger than Fiction? I feel like slitting my wrists by the end.

I am totally not working right now. I should be learning about finance basics, but I’m not.

24 hours in Tokyo, and I am quickly burning through my first 20000 yen.
[sigh]
oh well. at least i get my own pad this time.
i tried my hand at cooking something “fresh”.

…and i fell asleep while writing this. so now it’s over 24 hours. I hate this gd japanese keyboard.

Anyways this morning I bought a commuter pass and went to scout out Uchisaiwaicho. Apparently Maya was right; there actually is a secret passageway to Shinsei underground. For future reference, it seems to stem from the A6 exit of the station.

More later. Including pics of my glorious noodles!