Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

The disaster just does not seem to end. Another magnitude-3 aftershock struck up north, shaking Tokyo a bit, while the rumors of nuclear radiation up north somehow got upgraded to a rumor about potential meltdowns at the nuclear power plants as unusually high temperatures and unusual "sounds of explosion" circulate the media. The grave news are sure to test the fragility of the already scared and scarred residents of Japan many times more. But I, being safe and sound in my one-room apartment, deprived of the willingness and the ability, not to mention the destinations and means, to travel , and not particularly willing to put in more time for grad school and job applications when disasters are still about, is having a rather boring time at home. So, I am going to continuing focusing on developing my thoughts in my blog by composing the fourth post regarding the ongoing earthquake, tsunamis, and nuclear disaster. This time, I will introduce a game-changer: the (short) pos

The impact of the big earthquake yesterday no longer requires any further elaboration. Emergency team was created at the company to assess the damage done while employees got together to comfort and support each other . But as the seas returned to their usual calmness and the ground ends its seemingly endless tremors, perhaps it is a time for me to look ahead, at least at my personal level, what this quake will mean for us and the company. As I mentioned in my personal blog, this quake proved the weakness of human intelligence in the face of nature's power , but at the same time revealed the unifying quality of human emotions . But either way, the quake, at the ground level here in Japan, was and still is an entirely human experience. For Japan, and Rakuten, to stand back to her feet under the shocks will depend on whether her workers can stand back up. In this way, the quake attributes a whole new level of meaning to the company slogan「人は財なり」(roughly translated, "humans

Hope, unfortunately, has been on the decline. As efforts to seek out those lost in the tsunamis are undertaken, the only results are more dead bodies, more economic damages, and more tears from families and friends. Lost lives are unavoidable in a calamity of such a size, and a national humanitarian emergency is not only logically justified but rationally necessary and imminent. In her responses to the cries of help from the people, Japan, both at the government and private levels, shined and showed the world a fine example of disaster relief. At the government level, immediate efforts are taken by national and municipal levels to open up facilities for those stranded far away from home. Food and blankets were provided for free while government officials did their best to tally those who are missing and assist with people's desires to communicate with their loved ones. The efficiency, the transparency, and the passion with which the government bureaucracy that contrast sharply

Man, it is no exaggeration to say that our company is being hit with a series of crises lately. First Project King gets canceled, then Rakuten Books goes haywire , and now major earthquakes throws the entire country , not to mention this company, into brief chaos. All outbound calls at Sales Development(営開, Eikai) came to a halt completely, and I heard DU is trying their best to check on the servers to make sure they are continuously up and running.

To call it "the morning after" is probably an understatement. The earthquakes after that big big one last night are just not stopping, period. Magnitudes 4-5 quakes seemed to come all over northern Japan throughout the night, scaring even those who managed to walk home (such long walks are certainly good training for the legs... glad I was prepared from before ). TVs are reporting the latest quakes nonstop, while people dashed to the nearest places they can find to stock up on food and water for who knows whats going to happen next. The economic damages are bound to happen. Besides the restaurants and convenience stores that are emptying out their inventories to meet demands, every other sector cannot possibly expect anything positive out of this. Employees are missing, facilities are damaged, and fragile mental state cannot possibly improve efficiency for days, weeks, and even months after the ground really does settle down and stop moving. As the death tolls pile up t