If you asked me what I’ve been doing the past few weeks, I’m not sure that I could really pinpoint anything interesting or new, other than the fact that I have started work. My job is interesting and enjoyable most of the time, but it is tiring. Even though my hours are quite short, it takes a long time on the train to get there and back. Here in Japan, no one thinks that an hour and a half commute is a long commute, but it is! Especially when I am only working for an hour and a half or two hours at a time... At least the pay is good, and my travel expenses are paid for.

I have the daytimes free as I am only working evenings at the moment, but I haven’t really been putting the time to good use. My excuse is that I don’t have a table! It’s really hard to do any typing or graphic design on a computer without a decent work environment. That means at least a desk and a chair for me. Fortunately, as of Sunday, I shall have these two things. Although then I won’t have an internet connection... Sometimes I feel as if life is simply a case of bouncing from one compromise to the next, never actually attaining perfection.

I bought another suit on Saturday. Of course, I wish that I didn’t have to wear a suit ever, but unfortunately I do, and one is not enough—my suit needs cleaning and pressing, which means that I need another one to wear while that happens. Anyway, I managed to find one that I like, that wasn’t too expensive, although I still feel bitter about spending that much money on something that doesn’t do anything. I need some more shirts too; I’ll see if I can find some more non-iron ones!

I went to visit my favourite location in Osaka again today, as I had a whole day free. I spent several hours wandering around Denden Town (where every shop is a computer shop) looking at all the stuff I would love to buy but can’t afford!

Anyway, I had intended to visit one particular shop that stocks electronic components—the only such shop I know around here—to buy the bits and pieces to make an extra battery for my notebook computer. But it was closed. Apparently Wednesday is their day off.

The battery in my notebook has a terminal case of the memory effect, and lasts a matter of a few minutes. The charging circuit seems to be to blame. My computer really is nearing the end of its life. I have had it for over three years, and used it as my main computer for two of those. In my case, that is a lot of use! The keys are worn smooth and shiny. I have upgraded the memory as high as it will go, changed the hard drive, and even replaced the top cover when it cracked near the hinges. I have done my best to keep it working and up-to-date, and it is still fast enough for most things I want to do. But it is probably not worth doing much more. The button on the trackpad broke yesterday—it still works, but rattles. The peripheral connectors like the USB and mouse sockets stop working randomly. However, at the moment, I can’t afford to get a new computer. Food and shelter are more important!