2007 Year in Review
Man I am glad this year is over. There was some good stuff, some bad stuff and some truly horrible stuff.
Eric and Satomi moved from Gotemba to Tokyo into a big house where we all live together. This is probably my first memory of the year. I can only say that it hasn't been easy. Eric is as wild as I was at 6 and he doesn't have a brother or sister to play with so after a hard day of work he can be quite difficult to deal with. Satomi also has a... different idea about what she wants out of life in Tokyo. It mostly seems to involve watching more TV. Either way we are sorting it out and things seem to be getting better.
Around the same time I heard my mom was sick and Eric and I went back to see her. They told me she was sick but getting better. When I arrived I saw that they had been lieing to me. She looked horrible. I was upset but there was nothing I could do. I new she was in pretty horrible position so I did what I could while I was there to make her feel better. I tried to read one of her books to her, but it was a little too steamy for me to be reading to my mom.
The trip for Eric was really bad. There was other stuff going on and he was not the normal center of attention that he usually is. I can understand that getting dragged around in the back of a car to and from the hospital is not the funnest thing for a 5 year old, so I tried to cut him as much slack as my patience would allow.
My sister Mary and I never really got along GREAT but we really bonded on that trip as she helped me keep my constant frustration with my father, Eric and the hospital by helping out with all three.
Finally a few days after I went back my mom passed. So I flew back a few days later and my dad picked up the tab on that. Thanks Dad. The funeral was terrible.... as if any of them are any good. Father En Rique a true Irish Catholic presided. Enough said. Funerals suck.
A couple days later I went back to Tokyo. I tried to forget the whole deal. I started going to rugby practice and committed to getting in better shape for upcoming matches.
Eric and I made it our Sunday routine. Get up ride our bikes to the station and take the train to wherever. I was only getting 5 or 10 minutes of playing time every game but as I got my game together and got more fit I started to get more time.
In July the team had a tour to Sudagaira. The trip was possibly the highlight of my summer. Eric and I rode up with a team mate Murray his family. I had a torn calf muscle but I played 3 10's matches and a full game the following day. We did not do well but it was one of my best memories from last year.
Rugby carried on through the summer and into the fall where the team under the coaching of Joe Fisher, leadership of Captain Al Nimo and Management of Joffa Harris. We went undefeated in the Shuto League and had some other success along the way.
At this years Christmas party I received the Managers Award for all the work I did to help the team like getting the socks and some other stuff but the award was mostly for all the work I did on the teams website. check it out www.tokyogaijin.com .
Some time during the heat of the summer Patrick got me some new tenets and ripped the old porch off of my house and replaced it with a brand new one. The amount of work he has done I do not think I could ever repay. There is so much I want to say about the house and Patrick, but I think that Thank you, will have to suffice any thing would sound crappy.
I noticed that Dad was not dealing with moms death well so I invited him to come stay with me in Japan. I kinda half planed it and half winged it. Dad had some down time to walk around town and check it out on his own and there were other days I took off work and we did some stuff together.
We golfed at 2 nice mountain courses and had a pretty good time. He bought us a dinning room table and it has been put to great use. I think that he had a good time in spite of some of our disagreements.
It was good to see my dad. Seeing him though showed me how much I have changed from that little wild kid that Eric is now. I think it is important to never forget where your from, but you also need to look ahead to what you can be.
Work in 2007 was well work. I have pretty much settled into my job and I know what is gonna be OK and what is not. I like my job for allot of reasons but mostly when I shake my fist and raise my voice, like your typical scary gaijin...... people listen at least a little. In 2007 I moved us off of proprietary software/hardware systems to be the first of the GMO ISPs to use ClamAV and Amivisd. This move alone saved us almost 10 thousand dollars a MONTH.
I find my job easier than other jobs I have a unique understanding that some others seem to miss. Uptime. It is that simple. Customers pay us for our services so they have to be up... ALL THE TIME. We make mistakes and things get broken, but getting them back up quick as possible is what we do and we do it well.
All and all 2007 was a bad year, but looking ahead to 2008. I am going to go all out to make 3 things happen.
Save my own money
Pass the level 3 Japanese Test
Start my own server virtualization business.
Get my motorcycle license
These four things will be paramount but also included in that will be continuing to do the following
Be a better Dad
Keep on top of my work and personal life not to let anything get out of hand.
Stay fit for Rugby and understand the game better.
Eric and Satomi moved from Gotemba to Tokyo into a big house where we all live together. This is probably my first memory of the year. I can only say that it hasn't been easy. Eric is as wild as I was at 6 and he doesn't have a brother or sister to play with so after a hard day of work he can be quite difficult to deal with. Satomi also has a... different idea about what she wants out of life in Tokyo. It mostly seems to involve watching more TV. Either way we are sorting it out and things seem to be getting better.
Around the same time I heard my mom was sick and Eric and I went back to see her. They told me she was sick but getting better. When I arrived I saw that they had been lieing to me. She looked horrible. I was upset but there was nothing I could do. I new she was in pretty horrible position so I did what I could while I was there to make her feel better. I tried to read one of her books to her, but it was a little too steamy for me to be reading to my mom.
The trip for Eric was really bad. There was other stuff going on and he was not the normal center of attention that he usually is. I can understand that getting dragged around in the back of a car to and from the hospital is not the funnest thing for a 5 year old, so I tried to cut him as much slack as my patience would allow.
My sister Mary and I never really got along GREAT but we really bonded on that trip as she helped me keep my constant frustration with my father, Eric and the hospital by helping out with all three.
Finally a few days after I went back my mom passed. So I flew back a few days later and my dad picked up the tab on that. Thanks Dad. The funeral was terrible.... as if any of them are any good. Father En Rique a true Irish Catholic presided. Enough said. Funerals suck.
A couple days later I went back to Tokyo. I tried to forget the whole deal. I started going to rugby practice and committed to getting in better shape for upcoming matches.
Eric and I made it our Sunday routine. Get up ride our bikes to the station and take the train to wherever. I was only getting 5 or 10 minutes of playing time every game but as I got my game together and got more fit I started to get more time.
In July the team had a tour to Sudagaira. The trip was possibly the highlight of my summer. Eric and I rode up with a team mate Murray his family. I had a torn calf muscle but I played 3 10's matches and a full game the following day. We did not do well but it was one of my best memories from last year.
Rugby carried on through the summer and into the fall where the team under the coaching of Joe Fisher, leadership of Captain Al Nimo and Management of Joffa Harris. We went undefeated in the Shuto League and had some other success along the way.
At this years Christmas party I received the Managers Award for all the work I did to help the team like getting the socks and some other stuff but the award was mostly for all the work I did on the teams website. check it out www.tokyogaijin.com .
Some time during the heat of the summer Patrick got me some new tenets and ripped the old porch off of my house and replaced it with a brand new one. The amount of work he has done I do not think I could ever repay. There is so much I want to say about the house and Patrick, but I think that Thank you, will have to suffice any thing would sound crappy.
I noticed that Dad was not dealing with moms death well so I invited him to come stay with me in Japan. I kinda half planed it and half winged it. Dad had some down time to walk around town and check it out on his own and there were other days I took off work and we did some stuff together.
We golfed at 2 nice mountain courses and had a pretty good time. He bought us a dinning room table and it has been put to great use. I think that he had a good time in spite of some of our disagreements.
It was good to see my dad. Seeing him though showed me how much I have changed from that little wild kid that Eric is now. I think it is important to never forget where your from, but you also need to look ahead to what you can be.
Work in 2007 was well work. I have pretty much settled into my job and I know what is gonna be OK and what is not. I like my job for allot of reasons but mostly when I shake my fist and raise my voice, like your typical scary gaijin...... people listen at least a little. In 2007 I moved us off of proprietary software/hardware systems to be the first of the GMO ISPs to use ClamAV and Amivisd. This move alone saved us almost 10 thousand dollars a MONTH.
I find my job easier than other jobs I have a unique understanding that some others seem to miss. Uptime. It is that simple. Customers pay us for our services so they have to be up... ALL THE TIME. We make mistakes and things get broken, but getting them back up quick as possible is what we do and we do it well.
All and all 2007 was a bad year, but looking ahead to 2008. I am going to go all out to make 3 things happen.
Save my own money
Pass the level 3 Japanese Test
Start my own server virtualization business.
Get my motorcycle license
These four things will be paramount but also included in that will be continuing to do the following
Be a better Dad
Keep on top of my work and personal life not to let anything get out of hand.
Stay fit for Rugby and understand the game better.