i live directly above a bar which is directly above a drug store
my apartment is a mere 159 square feet (14.8 m^2)
change trains twice a day at shinjuku station, the busiest train station in the world
on clear days (rare in tokyo) i can see mt fuji from the office windows
miss being around people i can understand in a city i enjoy
i hear every train that passes through the station outside my apartment window
not going home before 8pm is rewarded by free (sometimes sushi) dinner in the office
getting to write code and playing with bank-related gadgets all day is a pleasure
home is where the heart is; mine seems to have never left boston
on the first floor of my office building is a tasty little coffee shop
my business card is in japanese on one side and english on the other
employed by a company employed by a bank
started wearing a jacket to work just last week
old drunk people on the street can be funny no matter what language they slur their words in
on my first week my manager called a meeting to tell us that no one can work only 8 hour days
nearing the end of my journey and excited about the next one

a typical weekday for me (and some weekends as well) goes something like this.

__before work__
i wake up around 6:45-ish, usually after my third alarm goes off. i shower, maybe eat some boring yogurt, do a couple of sit-ups, and then commute to work. it takes about an hour from my door to the office due to 15 mins of walking, 10 mins of waiting for trains, and the rest of the time riding said trains. i usually review japanese flash cards on my way to and from work.

__at work__
when i finally make it through the (multiple) security guards and security card scanners, i get to sit down at my desk around 8:30am - and thats when the real fun starts! gadgets that are currently chilling on my desk right now just waiting to be played with include:

• * an atm card reader
• * a couple of fake atm cards
• * a laptop
• * a high-end tablet
• * a thin client computer

each of these have different security settings and most are even on separate networks. it is my job to play with these devices and to write the code so that they all communicate to each other securely and correctly. most of the code im writing these days is actionscript for front end adobe air applications and java for back end jboss services. personally, the work im doing is really interesting, and professionally, i think the experience here will greatly help me grow as a software developer.

__after work__
despite the fun projects i get to do on the job, the hours are pretty atrocious and make it difficult to have a life outside of work. on an average day, i might leave work around 8:30pm or so. its hard to complain about the 10-12 hour days to any of my coworkers though, because most of them arrive before me and leave after me. after the commute back to my apartment, im usually pretty drained. ill have just enough energy to talk to some friends online, eat something japanese and tasty, and chill a bit before i fall asleep.