Starting things back up again

So after the drought of posts, I figured enough is happening that I really should get down blogwise. My apologies in advance if anyone is actually reading. All 2 of you anyway, Hi Mom!

Well, let's see.
Life has had it's ups and downs this year and has otherwise been, well, life.

Ran and completed Tokyo Marathon in February. It snowed, was cold, and very very fun. I also got into Tokyo 2011, so training has been starting back up again.

Clover and horsetail tempura for my birthday in Ueno was delicious and I still grin thinking of celebrating my birthday with Kyoko and Leon with nice wine, assorted foods, and good cake after a nice walk in the park.

Cherry Blossom viewing with Kuri and her gang was overly pink in many ways, and it really doesn't matter. The view is, for lack of a better word, incredible. I think I will make an attempt to go next year again at Shinjuku Gyoen.

Family pictures with Miwako's family and cherry blossoms in Kyoto has effected me deeper than words will ever explain.

Rach came out for her graduation trip to visit. Aside from me being a grouch for having to work over half the time she was here, we hit up Kawaguchiko, Disney Sea, and Kyoto, and I think had a relatively good time. Meiji Jingu Iris path is incredible in Mid to Late June. I'm just saying.

Other than that, Climbing Mt. Fuji with 6 of the craziest friends and acquaintances I have. After a relatively sleepless night in the mountain shack, we barely made it to the top to one of the most amazing sunrises I have ever seen... though that may be the delusion from lack of sleep. Thank GOD we had dramamine.

Visiting with Lorelei and Janice both during the one day I was able to take was incredible, though I still don't know if I have the words to describe the terror of the responsibility for driving her around in the front seat without crashing. On the plus side, it would have been hard for Janice to kill me if I came down with a sudden case of... mortality. Teaching her how to roller skate while seeing Steph and Tesa was incredible as well, though it was a pointed reminder how much of her childhood I am missing by being over here.

Oh, and that is another thing. They made me a Producer (or more like Asst. Producer, but they call me a producer anyway) on Dragon Age and another Co-Pro with America this year. Actually, they have pulled me off the bulk of DA's translation and handling stuff since we recently have started adding a 3rd Co-Pro, mostly at my behest, or so they remind me. There is something to be said when the executive producer comes straight out and tells you, "A sane producer does one production a year. An experienced one... maybe two. If you do three, you're going to end up in the hospital." And I finally got pulled off the International Division in September. My workload got to the point where I worked 2 months of weekends and finally had to ask for help. Alas, I still do some of the International Division stuff I did before as there is no one to replace the hole in the ranks both in Tokyo and in the US, but hopefully the woman they hired in to handle the US and Europe will be able to pick up the reins soon. Admittedly, I would have been happier if another bilingual had been hired, and the amount of times she says, "I can't do it" in a day worries me, but again, each person has their own method of handling things. And I doubt I would have had the guts to hire into a Japanese company where only 10% of the people could speak English. Especially after only 1 interview and a job offer in my mailbox in less than a week. Yeah... anyone else think they rushed this one just a tad?
They've tapped an English speaking friend to help with the communication issues and with the amount of sheer crap that is about to be flung at the Intl. Production division (me and 2 other guys). I suspect she will start taking over for the Intl. Sales side of things as well. I admit, between being pulled off DA and off sales within a 4 week period is kind of a psychological wrench. I am happy to be given the opportunity to work on the two productions with an amazing team of people, but the knowledge that I can't go home (the initial plan was to go and open a US office within 2 years. Between visiting studios and dealing with production, that just isn't practical in this job), or at least, I can't until these two at least are finished... in 2012. I'm enjoying the chaos of things so far, but as they keep reminding me, we haven't even reached the hard part yet. So this might take some serious thinking... especially when I remember that something like this means only seeing close family once a year for a week. I don't know. Is it worth it? I hope so. Though I figure if not here, I'd be in the same or worse situation in the states. At least here I have an income.

Other than that, I got carded yesterday by an undercover cop enroute to work at Ebisu. The scary part is that, after seeing his badge, I didn't ask questions, just handed it over for his inspection. I mean, he let me go on my merry way, but in the states, something like that is more or less illegal without reasonable cause. Even in Japan they have to have reasonable cause to search you like that... and no, being foreign doesn't justify it. So why didn't I argue or make his job more difficult? Probably because I was focused on getting to work ASAP. Or maybe because he too was doing his job. But it did have a 1984 feel to it. I mean, of ALL THE FOREIGN ELEMENT that goes through Ebisu every day, he chooses me? I mean, come on. How menacing can a 5 foot tall red-head be.... Oh... red head.... right. I withdraw the question.