“I thought I should learn about investment, and I looked around UK online brokers, but the commissions are very expensive...
Minimum is 6.95 pounds, but you have to make around 10 deals a month.
I asked a British friend of mine advice, but he was also taught by his lecturer that US market was more attractive...
Some stocks in UK are very attractive for me now, but it's a bit difficult anyway.
I think it might be difficult for beginners.
It's a British film about its young culture.
The story was not so bad, and personally the exciting scene was the rap battle.
Actually their English during the battle was very fast, so I couldn’t understand most of them, but the atmosphere was interesting.
It reminded me of “call” battles in Japan.
“Call” has a special meaning in Japan. Sometimes, especially among young people like university students, people sing for forcing someone to drink alcohol, above all it’s a bottoms’ up, it was no so cool like the rap battle though (but too funny!!!).
I went to see “X-files I want to believe”.
Several days have already passed, so the cinema was not busy.
Before I went there, I looked up the website for the preparation, and I was surprised when I found the first season was 1993!! It’s 15 years ago!!
The story is not bad, and Scully is not young but still cute, but I didn’t know she already quit FBI…
I saw an ad of a sequel of “The Terminator”… It’s already typical but I think Hollywood should be too defensive… but actually I’m looking forward to the sequel of Star Trek.
Since I came to London, How much I eat is dramatically decreased.
When I was in Japan, I worked as a sales person, so eating lunch with colleagues is a kind of a part of work, and usually went out to eat, but in London I usually eat in my place and the amount is not a lot. Sometimes I am really starving and feel bad, but I might get used to it, one day I felt good when I was heavily hungry.
Recently I have thought that you don’t need to eat a lot. Many advertisement and some TV programs recommend to have sufficient nutrition, but I think sometimes it is too much. It might kind of strategies of food industry.
I went to a restaurant in hotel in the early morning.
I thought I should not be late, so I left my place earlier, but it was too early, so I arrived there almost 20 minutes in advance, but already most of the staff were there.
I changed my clothes and shoes, then went to the kitchen.
The manager explained to me about the place, but it was really quick so it was difficult to understand.
I was not clearly sure about what I should do, but one girl was in charge of helping me and taught a lot of things during working. I made a lot of mistakes anyway. For example, waiter should not put a plate for gathering dishes on table, but I didn’t know so I did, and I shouldn’t have collected milk pots, butter dishes, which are basic stuff on tables and so on to the kitchen, but I did, and I shouldn’t have took customers’ coffee cups before they left their seat, but I did. I had no experience to do that, so it was really good experience for me to learn a lot, I am really not confident about whether I could get the job or not.
Last evening, I've got a call from a hotel in which I apply for a part-time job.
They asked me to come the next morning,and I accepted it, but actually I didn't know well how to work in a restaurant in a hotel.
At the time I was in a book store, so I looked for a book which introduced how to do it, but I counldn't find it.
I went back to home and googled some websites about it, and I found interesting movies on Youtube.
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=MCIxgRnshmk&feature=dir
It was a kind of a series of lessons for how to be a good waiter, it was too sophisticated for me though.
Then I found another series of movies, which is about how to make cocktails.
It was more interesting for me, and I wanted to become a bartender.
It must be difficult, and if I start it as an amateur, the tools are a lot and a bit expensive, and if you do it personally in your kitchen, how to prepare ice should be a problem, because they use a lot of ice without the least regret.
At any rate, how to make cocktails is very interesting.
I went to a short films event again.
In my opinion, it was better than last time.
I think funny films fit short films more than some serious films, because building serious emotion would take longer time than funny feelings.
This event and place are really nice.
When I go back to Tokyo, I would like to make the same kind of place.
When I left my place, I was caught in a shower.
In Japan, usually I prepared to bring an umbrella, but I didn’t in London, because the rain in London is usually not so strong, and many people don’t use an umbrella, but it was a mistake for today.
The shower was gone soon, so I might have been ought to wait for a few minutes.
I met a friend of mine at central and headed to Korean restaurant. I wanted to bring her smartly, but I lost my way, we could find it soon though. I have been there a lot of time, so I didn’t check where it is before I came, but I should have. Idleness is the devil’s workshop.
We just talked about our flats, our works, and so on.
She is a native English speaker, so sometimes I lost her. Fast speaking is still difficult for me to understand. I usually wonder how I should improve my listening skill, which is my weakest point, but it might takes a lot of time…
I had a dinner with some friends of mine in their flat.
That flat and flatmates were really nice and very comfortable, so we usually had a dinner there, but this time some flatmates didn’t join us.
Friends who joined last night told us they had trouble about flat sharing, such as how to share spaces, daily costs and so on. They looked got along with each other very well, it was a bit surprising. Some of them ware friends who has known each other before they started flat-sharing, but because of this trouble their friendship might be broken. It would be very sad.
Fortunately, I haven’t got any trouble with my flatmates, but many friends had some trouble actually. The worse cases are, like a example above, that sometimes friendships also disappear. Sharing a flat with old friends must be very fun, but you should not forget that it includes risks of the end of friendships. Anyway, if you decide to share a flat, it might be a better move to be generous even if you are right.
It is a big event in London as well.
Why am I not in Asia at this time? On top of that, I’m not sure I will still be in London when the next Olympic games come here…
I didn’t see well the opening ceremony, but many friends of mine told me it was really good.
Honestly I’m not excited though.
I don’t know the reason, but actually I’m not excited.
Is it because it’s so far?
Actually my life style is not fit with watching TV. I don’t see TV a lot. Maybe that is the biggest reason.
In addition, I think the Olympics are connected with a kind of nationalism, so I guess I need to be in Japan or with some Japanese to be excited. It is difficult to feel such kind of emotion in London as a foreigner maybe.
This time China team must be very strong.
I’m afraid how Asian economy changes after the Olympic games, because I think many people are optimistic about that because until the end of Beijing Olympic games the growth of economy should be stable.
This year is China’s year, but what is next?
Europe again, or the third world?
It must be a interesting theme.
My agent called and asked me to introduce my course of the last year to a girl who were interested in it, so I went to their office with my works.
I’m really not sure whether she felt she wanted to enter the course or not, but at least she was a little interested in it.
She just quit her job in Tokyo, then came to London to study Design and Art. She attends a basic course for them.
My agent told us that Japan is not good for designers, but London is very generous to them, so many graduate students of Japanese don’t want to go back to Japan. One of them, he also said, went to Japan and found a job as a designer, but her holiday was just three days in New Year’s holiday in the first three years!! On top of that, it’s not special in Japan, because she actually got three offers from some companies, but that was the best and the others would gave no holiday…
Actually the status of designers might be low in Japan. I would like to improve it, because I think Japan have to change the industrial structure from labor-intensive to knowledge-based.
A friend of mine was leaving London by Euro Star from St. Pancras to Paris, so I went to send her off at the station.
The station was very clean and tidy, and I felt as if it were not in London:)
We had a cup of tea at "The Champagne Bar" in the station.
Actually we would like to have a glass of champagne, but it was too expensive for us…
One of them was about 500 pounds for 750ml!!
Anyway, the mood was really nice and relaxed.
New feature is added to Google Map in Japan.
The name is "Street View".
You can feel as if you actually were there.
http://maps.google.co.jp/maps?f=q&hl=ja&geocode=&q=%E6%96%B0%E5%AE%BF%E9%A7%85&layer=c&ie=UTF8&ll=35.693631,139.701258&spn=0.00589,0.005815&z=17&cbll=35.691968,139.700896&panoid=RzTc9CX102wdfqcLHoQjkg&cbp=1,0,,0,5
I really want it to be added to the UK version.
A friend of mine asked me to go to short films’ event together, so I went to Brick Lane.
The place was a bar named “1001”. The atmosphere was really good, a bit dark, and there were a lot of good furniture. The friend bought chips and it was really cheap, one portion was really huge, but just 1.5 pounds.
The films themselves were also very interesting. They were from all over the world form Russia to Korea.
This summer's Pavilion is designed by Frank Ghery.
When a friend of mine saw the drawings of Frank Ghery, she said, "What? He must be an artist..."
The quality is so high that we couldn't believe it was a temporary building.
The wood work is really nice. It has some small spaces which are a little bit higher than other floor.
We could see only the appearance in day time, but we feel it must be beautiful in lighting of night.
This kinds of events should be held more, especially in Japan, because they have to renew buildings for avoiding a tragedy of earthquake, so temporary buildings fit the geography of Japan.
In my opinion, the character of the buildings is double layers.
The inside is not special, but the color lights are characteristic.
The next building covered with glasses is also designed by Herzog & de Meuron.
The curved mirrors on the roof are interesting and it makes a special inpression.
The other reports:
http://a-to-a.blogspot.com/2008/07/switzerland-report03-rheinfall.html
http://a-to-a.blogspot.com/2008/07/switzerland-report02-used-design-shop.html
http://a-to-a.blogspot.com/2008/07/switzerland-report01-freitag.html
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