Asadachi!

So a day after my last somewhat unsettling post, I got a job. In the words of my partner's parents, "A good balance between working towards your future and staying in the moment helps you to just be" and how true that is. After having one of the hardest, most emotionally and physically demanding jobs I think anyone could ever have (wilderness therapy with juvies), it's been hard for me to just let go, take some time for myself, and relax without feeling worthless.

Before coming out here, I was proud to tell people that I was looking forward to bagging groceries. I think my job is a step up from that. I've never worked retail before, but I am now the proud employee of Surf N Sea, the oldest surf shop on the North Shore AND the only one right on the beach. I get free rentals for myself and a friend (that goes for surfboards, stand up paddle boards, kayaks, dive equipment, etc). I am also required to take surf lessons some of the best to break some bad habits, as well as being required to swim with sharks (from a cage, of course). After 3 months I'll get PADI certification (which is super expensive otherwise).


Anyway, even though it's retail and I'm quite anti-capitalist, I love my job. At least half of our customers are Japanese, so I've been trying to pick up phrases here and there. I can say things ranging from "yes you are very very skinny, but this will shrink in the wash" to "hello, you have nice morning wood!" thanks to an initiation prank played on me by my co-workers. If I do end up studying Japanese Politics in graduate school, this may or may not be of some use...

Working towards the future but staying in the moment... one embarrassed Japanese customer at a time.