Bob's Blog

Well well well... been almost 6 months. Time for an update.

I finally found a job about a month after my last post- and a decent one at that, working in Whisky. This comes after approaching 1458 companies with my resume between September 2008 to July 2009.

I also spent a great week with the daughter in the US last week! boy was it great to see everyone again!

And other than work, that's about all that's new. I just read an article today by a guy named John Scalzi. It's a bit old (2005)but inspired me to write something similar about my experiences being unemployed and broke in Japan.

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means only shopping at the discount supermarket at 9pm.

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means never setting foot in a Starbucks.

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means carrying a bag full of 10yen coins to pay for half the train fare at the starting station, half at the destination (since you can only put 20 coins in the ticket machine)just to get to an interview.

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means learning where they don't have cameras or a stationmaster window at each station... and learning how to crowd up close to the person entering/exiting when you've run out of 10 yen coins...

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means you get an ulcer thinking about whether to go to your minimum wage part-time job or another interview today.

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means working the jobs you went to college so you wouldn't have to do.

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means understanding that the part time/ low wage employees are forced to work 10 times harder than the permanent employees.

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means not making a stink about being turned down for a job explicitly because you're not ethnically Japanese because putting food on the table trumps your personal human rights, and you need to move on ASAP.

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means looking at ski masks and replica pistols as a possible future business investment.

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means buying your daughter toys at the 100yen store and thanking God she's still too young to care.

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means telling your daughter that the debt collectors knocking on the door at 3am is just the pizza man that came to the wrong apartment.

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means not having time nor luxury to get depressed about things.

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means not being able to care if your food comes from China.

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means drinking the broth of an instant ramen packet so the wife can have the noodles and the kid can have a regular meal.

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means being in even worse shape after getting a job, since you don't have the time to do a part-time job, and don't get your first paycheck until 2months from your start date.

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means having to explain to your wife that even though you now have a job, we will be getting even less money for the first 2 months... zero to be exact...

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means worrying your wife will leave you and being shit out of luck for a visa

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means having to go back to the friend that helped you out the month before you started the job... with your hand out again.

Being Unemployed and Broke With A Family In Japan means still struggling 6 months into getting hired, but coming out of it tougher than leather.

Any of these ring a bell for anyone? Might as well keep trying until you collapse since the second you quit your rejection rate skyrockets to 100%