Changing Work Hours

I work in downtown Tokyo, meaning that I have a 30-minute commute from where I live. Depending on the time of day, the trains can be packed, as they were yesterday when I rode in at about 7:15AM, or quite pleasant going in, as I expect them to be when I check in for work today at 11 AM. Even with flex-time allowing employees to stagger their hours and come in an hour or two later, the trains are still quite crowded on weekdays. I can see how people could grow tired of this, especially if there commutes are an hour or so, or more!

People obviously come up with coping strategies for the long ride in, which could (depending on the situation) be spent mostly standing up. But that's a topic for another entry.

This week has been a little bit odd as I've had to readjust my internal clock not once, but twice, as the place where I work is short on staff just this week, and so I've had to straddle the time slots where the other staff members work: one works the mornings and the other the evenings, and I've sort of been the relief pitcher in the middle. Well, only in a matter of speaking.

On Monday it was late hours, 11AM to 8PM, then the next day from 8AM to 5PM, and then back today (Thursday) to 11AM to 8PM. Working late will have its perks: as this is company results reporting season, meaning that analysts and their dedicated (I mean that seriously, not sarcastically!?) support staff will be working around the clock, the company may be serving meals during the night (although I will have to see this for myself to believe it!)

Although my room is bright and as a consquence it's hard to stay in bed until late, I still prefer working the evenings because that means I can take the mornings slowly and give my body some time to adjust ... and evenings are not so rushed either, since I know that I can wake up at a decent hour the following day.

A week ago when I first moved into my new apartment, I was skeptical that I would feel at home. But after a long day in the office, staring at a computer monitor and using my brain all the time (translating is taxing!), it's nice to come back to a space that is complete yours, swhip something up in the kitchen, and then take a shower in a unit bathroom (i.e., bath, toilet sink all in one prefabricated room) that has good water pressure ...