Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

Somehow, my previous post about getting an acceptance letter from LSE became one of the most popularly read blog post of today (I kid you not, that post was at one point ranked #45 GLOBALLY in a real-time blog post access ranking...well, for a few seconds, but still, quite amazing). But all the attention I am already getting just make the pressure even worse...Now everyone is sort of assuming that I definitely will attend since, after all, it is the London School of Economics. But the more I think about how I HAVE to attend the program I am accepted into, the more I feel worried about my future. Last time, I already mentioned the financial woes of having to pay for all of the expenses out of my own pocket. I spent close to the entire afternoon today seeking opportunistic (i.e. not too competitive) sources for funding, but with only the highly competitive Fulbright and Marshall (both of which award about a dozen a year out of how many thousands of applicants...) mentioned, the sou...

A sudden new mail completely broke the "silence" of a quiet Friday night. "Dear Xiaochen, I am pleased to make you this unconditional offer of admission to the MSc in International Political Economy for the 2011/12 session as a full-time student..." the mechanical-sounding email from the Admissions Office sounds, just like it perhaps does to many others receiving around the same time (midnight last night for me, in fact). And many of those people are probably just for joy...even now. After all, it is one of the world's premier social science institutions, the London School of Economics (LSE). So it is probably not news anymore that I have been working hard for the past few months to find a way out of my current career, primarily through graduate school applications...And few months later, despite that incredibly (in fact, the most, by far) popular post on this blog about how Yale is overrated and just an empty shell beyond its hyped up reputation , it seems ...

While Japan and indeed, most of East Asia , is being anxious as the number of dead from the Quake continues to mount and the prospects of abnormal nuclear radiation become more and more realistic , on the other side of the world, the long-brewing political changes in the Middle East is overtly taking a turn for "globalization." Specifically, as demands for gasoline gets distorted in Japan because of fear-driven hoarding, perhaps it is also at the same time relevant to take a look the events on the other side of the globe that can easily distort supplies.... Last time I really paid attention to the developments in the Middle East , the riots are just beginning to gather stem in Libya, Bahrain, and Yemen after success in overthrowing long-time strongmen in Egypt and Tunisia. But when I was riding the train (I am surprised just how much stuff I come across while riding trains in this country) the other day, I was jolted by the news that allied forces led by US, UK, and Franc...

The crowds on Mt. Takao could not have been any different from those on any other weekend. The hikers on this iconic peak in western suburbs of Tokyo laughed and joked as they trudged upwards, not showing any sign that the bad news up north shown continuously on TV were taking a mental toll on them. But listen closely and the impression would change. Many hikers, many of them foreign in origin, just cannot stop mentioning that unmentionable doomsday scenario predicted by many professionals and amateurs alike regarding nuclear radiation . Indeed, as time goes on, the nuclear crisis has become an international event, not just a Japanese domestic concern. The fear generated by the nuclear radiation in Japan probably has just as big of a mental impact on the citizens of China and Korea, two of the nations geographically closest to Japan and thus has the greatest potential to be hurt by spreading radiation from Fukushima. And ironically speaking, the panic occurring in those countrie...

The common people are never expected to know the truth and will easily believe any form of the "truth" supplied by information sources that they trust. The media, of all countries and ideologies, act on the belief that its loyal constituents will follow them 100% when they post news articles that present the on-the-ground facts in certain perspectives so that even the most "facts-only" pieces somehow contain sharp and twisted opinions of the editors. The inability of the common people to obtain the truth is exactly why the media can think in this particular way with confident impunity, and it is why governments and political groups seek to control and mange the information as released by the media to the public . But, in times of extraordinary events, even the most trusted and seemingly benign sources come under serious scrutiny, casting a doubt upon their true intentions for portraying certain events only in certain ways. The Quake and its aftermath in Japan has ...

The blood donation center was a sight that could have brought a man to tears. People, with absolutely nothing to gain other than pain and physical weakness braved hour-long waits to have thick needles stuck in their arms. But all of them still managed to put on smiles on their unnaturally whitish faces after 400ml were ruthlessly sucked out from them by a shaking, noisy machine that only made the experience seem more cold-hearted... So I decided to spent this morning at a blood donation center in downtown Tokyo. The building the center was situated is home to both the blood donation center on the 6th floor and a Japanese passport application and processing center on the 2nd floor. Interesting enough, the lines at both of those centers were equally long, with people patiently waiting more than an hour to do what they went there to do. Of course, the news on the TV in both of those places were equally grim. The fear of nuclear disaster is escalating as doubts about whether Tokyo El...

Yesterday, work abruptly ended before noon. In Sales Development, the original plan to deal with inbound calls from customers and shop owners (expected to be many as none of the goods are really be shipped) for the entire day was suddenly scrapped after the 部長 came in and informed us that were are going to be "waiting/working at home" (自宅待機/勤務) until further notice. When somebody actually gathered enough guts to ask what does it mean by 自宅待機/勤務, the awkward answer that came back was something along the lines of "think about how Rakuten can improve services"...

The Japanese and the Chinese often refer to a concept of 国民性 (roughly translated as "national character), which states that citizens (and long-time residents) of a particular country share certain similarities in behavior because they have been residing in that particular country for a long time. This concept tends to be much broader than that of "customs" used in the West to denote practices shared by people of a particular culture. The Chinese and Japanese have such a strong faith in this concept of 国民性 that in attempts to find it out about other countries, their "research" often border racism in their incessant desires to generalize the patterns and trends of different people of one country into a formulaic one-fits-all stereotype. For example, just after meeting a few Indians in the company, some Japanese colleagues made no hesitation to talk about "those Indians ALWAYS do..." But perhaps the one instance when this idea of 国民性 actually does make...

A Japanese politician making irresponsible comments is definitely not a rare sight, partly helping to explaining why many of them at the top level get kicked out so shortly after being elected . But the newest fiasco perhaps tops them all, especially considering that it is directly about the current national crisis. Mr. Ishihara, the Governor of Tokyo, recently remarked (and later retracted) that the Quake was a "heavenly punishment" for Japan. Never mind the superstitious nature of the comment completing unfitting with the rather "modern" image of Japanese democracy, or how absurd and unusual that such comment can come out of a right-wing ultra-nationalistic politician, the most hurting thing about the comment is perhaps that it is...actually true on some levels. Now, before you starting jumping to conclusions and call me a racist, let me explain why I think in such a fashion. A stroll in town at night shows why the emotional national unity the country displayed...

The media is trying hard to not let any of us loosen up our nerves even one tiny bit. After reporting explosions at the Unit 1 and 3 of the Fukushima nuclear power plant , it made sure to scare the people even more with news on the most recent explosion, this time at Unit 2. There is rumors (reported ones, unfortunately), that the radiation level, even here in Tokyo, is going to reach 25 times the normal level. Heeding the cautions about staying in Japan issued by various embassies, the foreigners are starting to put into practice their plans for departing the country for a short period of time . Even those with no plans (or tickets, most likely) to leave the country are prompted by the fearful news to head west toward Kansai and Kyushu areas. And with some (actually, most) companies reducing the number of workers temporarily to deal with the power cuts, the mass movement of people is officially under way. But as for myself, I am seriously feeling that my conscience would not allow...

The 100th post of my blog could not have come at a more opportune and interesting time. In a tech-savvy Japan suddenly devoid of its extensive cellphone connections in much of the disaster struck areas and other parts of the network jammed by massive volumes of calls, the Internet once again proved itself to be the life-saving technological innovation putting in touch people in Japan with their worried friends and families both inside and outside the country. Yet, the power of the Internet would not have been so important at such times of disaster if its ability to allow for nearly instant social communications and sharing of information was not so well developed and utilized by large numbers of users. SNS, especially Facebook, by breaking down the dangerous anonymous nature of cyber-populace , has allowed us to easily and quickly identify our loved ones affected by the disaster. And then there is the consumer-generated media (CGM). Whether it be a simple status update on Facebook...

The crowds of the Tokyo Immigration Bureau was perhaps the most chaotic scene I have witnessed in this otherwise calm and orderly atmosphere after the Quake . Thousands of foreigners, students and professionals alike, rushed to obtain the permits for reentering Japan before heading back their respective native countries. The noises of complaints about slow processing mixed with immigration personnel's unending apologies for inefficiently handling the "unprecedented crowds" (certainly no exaggeration there). Also heard among the crowds were frequent phone calls, those from faraway families checking on the conditions of the receivers of the calls, but more frequently, those in the endless queues for permits confirming their plane tickets back home. In all this noise and crowds, I, for the first time in the past few days, finally felt, physically rather than just mentally , that Tokyo, hundreds of miles from the disaster areas, is really going through something unusual an...

"The earthquake made me feel that my life can end at any moment, so I should just enjoy it to the max right now..." These were the spoken words of a colleague as we walked through the streets of our neighborhood, slowly filling back with people after two days of being deserted. Shops are opening back up and some are boldly trying to convey a romantic atmosphere to the passer-by. Yes, the first "holiday" since the quake was in, and people, in their defiance to the power of nature , are going to enjoy it to the fullest. This highly commercialized "holiday" is called White Day, a unique concept only in Japan and Korea when males who received chocolates from females on Valentine's (exactly a month ago) are supposed to give back certain gifts. The extensive social hierarchy means that often (rather, mostly), the gifts on both sides were given as social obligations rather than actual liking, and the social burden is especially on the guys to give back ...

With emergency meetings still under way in Rakuten , and some missing employees still unaccounted for, the short-term future of the company should surely be in the mind of every employee at the company. But just as it is important for Rakuten to help the employees (and the shop owners) in a top-down fashion , conversely, the employees, at their own individual levels, should be thinking of how best to support their own company through this massive physical and economic calamity.

With the explosion up north at the nuclear plant in Fukushima (which I briefly mentioned in my last post ) confirmed to be one that tore apart the outer layers of the nuclear facility, the public's nerves suddenly made a switch to a potentially more damaging problem, both short- and long-term, of extensive nuclear radiations in the nearby areas. Already, a 20km radius of the affected nuclear plant has been evacuated, leaving the people and the media to worry if actual situation is being hidden from public view and a more devastating second disaster is in waiting. The mental stress from the quake is still building up. More and more are seemed to be feeling "phantom quakes," or acknowledgment of the ground trembling even though no quake has occurred. The vast number of "phantom quakes" and actual aftershocks felt even now has led many to live through a couple of completely sleepless nights. Physical tiredness can surely only make the fragility of the mind mor...

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...

"A magnitude 8.8 quake hit the ocean 80 miles from the Japanese coast, sending 10 meter waves toward the shores..." so read the calm news broadcaster as silence feel across the workplace. Forced smiles of optimism turned into stoic acceptance of reality while the mind of every person remained 100% occupied by mentally preparing for the next aftershock...and the next aftershock came, stopped, and came again....even now, as I write these words. Friday March 11th, 2011: recorded as the most seismically active day in a country known for being one of the most seismically active places on Earth. All trains, ships, and planes come to a halt in a place where public transport is pretty much the norm for everyday life , throwing everyone into the streets, packed with cars and pedestrians in a way reminiscent of my recreational travels in urban China. The power of Mother Earth is once again proven to be unparalleled. And some humans have tried their best to protect Her and keep Her ...

Perhaps the only thing happening at Rakuten today scarier than having the Tower swaying for more than a minute continuously is a limited exposure of what really happened at Rakuten Books over the past week. For those of you who have not heard, please check this short little bland apology posted on the Books site (sorry, only in Japanese, it seems). It appears that Rakuten Books had a few delayed shipments with movements to new logistics system.

The month of March 2011 officially marks the 6th month of Oct 2010 new grads' entry into Rakuten. Since then, from feeling a slight discomfort from seeing a emotional separation of the Japanese and foreign employees , we have been growing more and more used to seeing the "foreign" being sacrificed to make way for the "Japanese." Yes, it is true: we did take an oath to make a debut as Japanese 社会人, and I guess our bosses are taking our words from some last year quite seriously.

The near civil war conditions of Tripoli cannot be further away from the little train station in Tokyo on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Just myself and the elderly station master staring at that calm cloudless blue sky. The slow train to the ocean slowly pulls into the station, silhouetted by the golden rays of sunlight, and music announces the arrival of that beautiful metallic shine from the bustling yet orderly metropolis to the north... But that poetic sight was nowhere in my mind. Bullets flew, blood splashed, and the fearful yet determined shouts of protesters seemed to echo through the empty platform, bypassing everyone who alighted yet giving me an almost unnatural adrenaline rush that perhaps shifted the usual stares of my fellow passengers from cold and emotionless to puzzled and questioning. Like the cliche goes: the silence in the train was absolutely deafening... My ears felt painful; I was tempted to turn down the silence, but what would I be except an outsider in this ...