Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

On this second day after turning 31, I want to belatedly celebrate the beginning of the tenth year of keeping up with this blog. In hard numbers, what started a place to jot down my random thoughts straight out of college has gained 200,000 pageviews from 95,000 visitors. It really is not that much and much more can be done, I would admit, to attract more visitors and readers. Pictures to go along with the text would certainly be nice, and a consistent theme that keeps people coming back for more information would certainly be a great source for additional pageviews.

"I see you have done many different things in your 20s, but there is nothing further after Ph.D., so this particular job search will really be key for you," the recruiter was absolutely spot on when hearing about my desire to look for a long-term job at age 30. Just as much as going back to school for further studies hurt the prospects of landing a high-paying job afterward , years of jumping around different parts of the world doing what many think are odd jobs also make getting the next job only that much tougher. When the initial curiosity over an international resume ends, recruiters only have a bunch of questions left about motivation.

Nostalgia is a big marketing ploy in contemporary Japan. The nation's media spend lengths glorifying the heady days of the Showa era (lasting until 1989, marked by high economic growth, increasing materialism, and then the wealth of the stock market bubble), as a time of national optimism not seen today. Shops, restaurants, and even amusement parks play up the nostalgia factor with old-fashioned indoor decorations and menu items, attracting both the old seeking to revisit a slice of their youths and the youths seeking out an idealized version of the past.