Notes of Doubt

It's rather typical problem here in Japan. Taking holiday is a sin thing. You either take only a day off, get sick suddenly on the second day morning if you want two days off, or you go back to work half day to show your guilt and loyalty at the same time, if not the whole bunch of idiots will like call you on your mobile or email you some exclusively "important" things, for my case, "where is the file?" or "how to connect the computer?" thing. My ex-supervisor emailed me on my holiday while I went back to Malaysia. She asked about where the file was, which I had not idea about. I suggested she looked into the backup server. Later she replied, forget it and enjoy your holiday! Forget it? How? Use your head, if not, use your leg. So, have you searched for it, and did you find them? Not a word.

Another time, I took 2 days off in the middle of the week because someone came in to Japan and needed my assistance on a business talk. Another call from another management idiot, recorded her "missing file" on my house's answering machine for more than 1 minute (so long!), tried to explain to me how important the file she passed it to me on when and on which project and so on some time ago, and she wanted to know where it was, on my holiday. The file was a reference that always on the shelf. Because it's very important, so reply soonest possible. I only got to know about the important message at night. The next day after I returned to the office, sorry sorry I have found the file, she said to me. These idiots are just trying to be funny and emotional. Show them you feel guilty is the best way to soothe them.

I have like about more than 40 days of annual leave per year in hand after working a couple of years. It means I will have to take at least 3 days per month off in order to really enjoy the benefits, not counting that I am off on Saturday and Sunday. In reality, it is not real though to consume them.

Let's say if you don't use up your holiday, or you want to "exchange" the holiday for salary because you are working for the company (part of it can be carry forward though), and the answer is a big no. There is a rule where the company is not supposed to "buy" your leave because you are "encouraged" to take holiday. I think this part is almost the same in any country.

By law, you are encouraged to take breaks, by culture, you are not. When you take long leave, you are stamped as a sinful, guilty, unfaithful employee. Long means like two weeks. Additionally, if you are a foreigner, most of the time you are treated like an idiot that you never understand Japanese culture. The boss can start the whole working culture lesson for you. He knows so many things except that he doesn't know that I know what he knows, and more than what he supposed to know. Some of the Japanese management staff will hint you that you are supposed to be responsible for your job anytime. The best thing is, most of the so-called emergency calls just make you laugh. Where is the file? If you need the file, and if you know I'm on holiday, why don't you ask beforehand? You can't manage such a simple thing?

I don't know where the original idea of holiday Japan gets from, but it's so funny that I forgot to laugh.

In the Edo period (1603—1867), either you were born in the high class family, you might be drinking sake in day time and enjoyed kabuki theater (even female), or else like the other working class, you worked 365 days a year. Farmers work without holiday till today. So I would say, the concept of holiday is rather new.

Lots of Japanese are lousy in management. They either get the whole village to manage a problem, or they pretend there isn't such issue. Ignorance. Japan might need another 100 years to be able to respect the concept of holiday. Or respect individual.

Call the whole village out for meeting and meeting and meeting and meeting, and at the end, the conclusion has been made that, a campaign is needed. What you need is just make sure the management staff can do the management by simply don't call your employee on a holiday, that's all the management skill they need.

Or perhaps they need some stickers and posters to say, "Let's holiday!" with a footnote, please refrain from causing trouble to the people around when you take leave, and try to take leave on an off season of ones company when everyone is not busy (isn't it my holiday?), and make sure that you don't take too long leave. Arh. Refrain the footnote.

Well, I am just saying.

I was on my assignment to the AICHI EXPO a couple months ago, and early morning one of my Japanese colleagues who wasn't a management staff, cc-ed me some so important email she sent to the client to my personal mobile instead of the company's email. Another time, she cc-ed again on my holiday, TO MY PERSONAL MOBILE. I asked her why are you sending this to my personal email? I didn't expect her to write back. I just wanted her to think about if the action she did make any sense. She replied but I deleted it before I opened it, and banned her email address on my mobile.

So to the normal Japanese, this is not the problem of management apparently, even nonmanagement staff wants to be responsible. When you are on holidays, it means you are just out of the office. How very interesting of its concept of responsibility. When you are employed, you work 24 hours for them, spiritually and physically. Then why there is a difference in salary? They just don't think. Royalty counts? Count the capital per head and your head. Don't relate this to the old samurai, these are two totally different things. The new royalty is the cause of mass education I think. Keep the formality, keep inline when queue, keep the peace in groups. And be save, no risk. You can't expect a teacher who has 30 to 40 students in a class shouting at them, everybody, speak up your mind. When you hear a whistle, just keep your mouth shut.

You know what? Around 60 years ago, about 90% of the working population were self-employed in Japan. Today, more than 70% are employees. It means more than half of the working nation have no sense of responsibility for individual. Not that they don't know, but they have had lost it, I would say. And just a reminder, selfishness and individualism, to some of the Japanese, are synonymous.

Just recently, I found this gaijin has the exactly same problem on taking leave with the school he is teaching.

      

At Neil Gaiman's Journal dated 05/07/06, his impression about Singaporean.

In the meantime I signed lots of things, and have decided that the people of Singapore I've encountered so far are, on the whole, friendly, funny, smart, literate, culturally diverse, and extremely keen on making sure I've eaten. Eaten lots, and eaten well and eaten locally. (And incidentally, you have to try some of this. I've given you a bag of it for later.)

      

I just found some grammar mistake in my previous posts, so corrected it. Nothing new actually, just some grammatical corrections.

While one is absent from the net and still someone out there think of you and remind you that you have been doing great, what are you going to do? Keep writing, what else? Thanks, Commander Rogers.

I have sent in my resignation letter. So, I will be leaving the present company by end of the month. People have been wondering where am I going to. I told them honestly I am not going anywhere. Did I have lots of saving? It can't be. Or have I won a lucky lottery? Don't day dream. But, I got something that I want to make it real, that's why I am working on it. Hey, but you got 3 kids waiting for you to feed them, what are you going to do? That's why I got to work it out.

Thing's going to be tough? It is from the first place, but we all seem to have forgotten about it, I think. Just a little change (of life?) to remind myself. That's all.

Let's see how thing goes.

      

I actually got to know about the news from this site (Occult News for Nerds, Truth is Out There!).

Eight-year-old Samiun Ahmad was a happy lad when he caught four palm-sized ikan puyu (climbing perch) two days ago.

But today, he choked to death after one of the freshwater fish leapt into his mouth and lodged in his throat in a freak accident in Kampung Belakang Kompleks Salleh Khan here.

Samiun’s rubber-tapper father Ahmad Johari, 43, said Samiun, the third of four children, was holding the fish when it slipped out of his hands and leapt into his mouth. [more...]