I bought a new refrigerator with my wife this weekend.
The current one is almost 12 years old, and a bit too small to use with a family of 4.
The new one is 1.5 times spacious.

This time, I bought it from the electronics retailer, Bic Camera.
Usually, I use internet shopping as it’s convenient and cheaper in most cases.

But a refrigerator is a kind of big appliance. There are several things to consider, and it’s a lot to handle by myself.
I just feel like maybe we can consult with the seller first.
Actually, the experience was good. Also, the price they suggested is competitive, even compared with internet shops.

The price was 29M yen, but with a 10-year warranty.
I’m looking forward to using it. A bigger freezer will be super useful.

This time, my company’s performance indicator for bonus was better than average. It’s 1.08.

My personal performance indicator is 1.28. This is good, though it’s not exceptional.
The top performer will have 1.35-1.45, though there are lots of politics and unique reasons that determine the numbers.

As usual, the sales and the profit were OK, and that’s the reason for the company’s performance indicator, but I got no merit increase.

Holistically, I’m satisfied as I got RSU again, so it’s 6 consecutive times, every 6 months.

One good news is that my team has 2 people promoted, even with the very restricted budget.
I’m a bit disappointed that the person promoted is not me, but anyway, it’s a good sign.
It also means the path to promotion for me is not blocked.

Embarassingly, I have a bad habit: Nail biting since I was a child.
I almost gave up trying to stop the habit, but I bought a super-bitter manicure this time, and it worked like a charm.
On the 1st day, I still bit my nail without noticing it, but the bitter taste hit me.
Then, from the 2nd day, I was able to recognize the movement of my hand.

This is one amazing fact.
We can change ourselves even for a 30-year-old habit.
So anything can change.

Nothing new except for this.
The bonus was good, but my company has quite a stringent budget for merit increase and promotion this time.
But today, my manager gave me a letter including RSU. That’s really good and relieving.

I read the book by Shintaro Ishihara recently, which is a kind of autobiography.
Actually, I don’t like him, so I was reading it criticizingly, but the reading experience itself was somewhat interesting and valuable.
What he repeatedly wrote was miserable, but I just felt I might be able to like him once I met with him in person. but not able to confirm this thought.

I’ve been in my current role at my company for 4.5 years, and I’ve adjusted quite well to the circumstances.

Getting used to something inevitably brings a sense of boredom.
I’m wondering if there’s a more exciting opportunity for me internally or externally.

At the end of the day, money matters.
If I can get the same or more money with a job that’s less demanding and has a better work-life balance, that will be good.
I know that’s probably asking too much.

“At forty, I had no delusions.” is a famous phrase, but I doubt it, at least for me.
I’m still motivated, but my motivation is fading drastically.
It feels like I’m pressing the gas and the brake at the same time.

I don’t have time to elaborate, but family is also difficult.
I have delusions at 42.

I’ve always been interested in writing a novel, but I’m not very good at sticking with it. I also know I don’t have a talent for creating plots and stories. When we read sentences that only have plain meaning, we can get bored easily.

Something interesting or exciting is mandatory to include in sentences. It also takes knowledge to describe or depict something in writing. Time and passion to focus on it are also essential.

Tonight, I installed VS Code and the Novel-Writer extension. Even though I was toying with it, I still feel like I won’t be a good writer. But I still believe this could be interesting.

My summer vacation is about to end.
I forgot how to work.
I have lost my passion and motivation for the work.
I’m looking forward to having a year-end vacation.

My father-in-law is over 70, and gradually, he looks to have some indication of a major neurocognitive disorder.
It’s very concerning.

We must anticipate some bad turning points in our lives.
No one can live permanently, and our health is going to deteriorate.
I want to live with my family forever together with good health, but it’s not possible.

Summer is already over halfway through. Half of August is gone.
And so is my summer vacation.

My submission for Cisco Live was declined this time.
I have mixed feelings about it. I don’t have to spend a lot of time preparing anymore, but at the same time, I missed an opportunity to work abroad for a short period.

Cisco’s stock price has dropped significantly.
Still, I believe things will be fine. At least, the company’s performance factor being used for bonus calculation has been better than average over the last 10 years.

The 40s are a tough time.
The situation feels like it’s gradually heading in a downward direction. At least, there are signs that it could be getting worse.
I’m not in short supply of anything, but it takes effort to maintain my happiness. It’s important to clearly define what happiness means to me.

I recently took my first trip to Mito and Fukushima prefectures, which was a completely new experience for me. I stayed one night at the Dormy Inn in Mito, and then we headed to Spa Resort Hawaiians bright and early the next morning. It was a unique kind of getaway we don’t usually have, so it felt really refreshing.

To be honest, the experience at Hawaiians wasn’t entirely perfect since it was high season and quite crowded with people enjoying the water. However, seeing my daughter happily playing in the “lazy river” made the trip a success. This opportunity was particularly precious because my older daughter is usually busy with private tutoring every weekend, preparing for her junior high school entrance exam next February.

While the trip meant giving up my weekend, it was undeniably filled with joy and precious family time.

Got a new MacBook Air! It’s got a JIS keyboard, which isn’t ideal since I prefer the US layout for easier ” ‘ ” input. Still, the experience is fantastic: beautiful screen, great sound, powerful processor, and amazing battery life.

My only real disappointment is that I can’t use it for remote desktop to my company’s VPN-connected PC. If that were possible, this MacBook Air could control both my personal desktop and work PC via VNC or remote desktop.

I initially tried to buy it with “Visa e gift#” from my company’s Connected Recognition points (sort of thanks card points)
However, it took 4-5 days to activate, so I just used my credit card instead.
I could buy the laptop, but it turns out, I received 20 separate virtual credit cards instead of one consolidated 20M yen card. I ended up converting all 20 into Amazon gift cards, gaining no benefits or points, which was a time-consuming hassle due to my misunderstanding.

I’m running low on cash. This is mainly due to RSU and ESPP, which are considered part of my salary, but aren’t liquid cash until I sell them. Currently, two-thirds of my income is RSU/ESPP, so my available money is decreasing continuously.

The estimated tax prepayment is approaching, and I need to credit 60 million JPY to my bank account by
July 31st. To do this, I need to sell my stocks.

I’m not a good investor, so I invested 1 million JPY in an individual stock, but the performance has not been good. Just around 5% return in this 1 year, including dividends.

A significant portion of my assets is my company’s stock, but selling it bothers me because I need to complete all the necessary tasks for next year’s tax return.

All this is due to not having enough liquidity.