Sunday, August 26, 2007
I have posted some pictures from my recent trip to Rome. In Rome, we stayed at the "Yes Hotel", which as expected as a rather average hotel that is easily forgotten. We spent minimal time in the hotel anyway, though I had hoped for a better breakfast.
Our departure flight was from Milan, thus we ended up taking the train from Rome-Milan on July 19. This being Italy, the train was obviously delayed by close to 2 hours, but we still made it to Milan in time for a late dinner.
Since I wanted to stay near the Milan train station, I had booked a room at "Starhotels Splendido". This is an absolutely horrible hotel. Our aircondition did not work, and the guy who came to fix it just concurred that it was not working and left our room. The fool in the reception provided me incorrect information regarding the airport bus, but I luckily did not trust him and confirmed by myself that the information he had given was wrong. Also, their short beds will hardly satisfy even the shortest of midgets.
Jan Visits Rome - The Eternal City
Our departure flight was from Milan, thus we ended up taking the train from Rome-Milan on July 19. This being Italy, the train was obviously delayed by close to 2 hours, but we still made it to Milan in time for a late dinner.
Since I wanted to stay near the Milan train station, I had booked a room at "Starhotels Splendido". This is an absolutely horrible hotel. Our aircondition did not work, and the guy who came to fix it just concurred that it was not working and left our room. The fool in the reception provided me incorrect information regarding the airport bus, but I luckily did not trust him and confirmed by myself that the information he had given was wrong. Also, their short beds will hardly satisfy even the shortest of midgets.
Jan Visits Rome - The Eternal City
Friday, August 17, 2007
This video, which apparently is from Tokyo Summerland in Hachioji, pretty much illustrates what Tokyo is like these days. It is stinking hot. I went to the gym this evening, took a shower, walked the five minutes back to my apartment, and then I had to shower yet again. At least I am glad we have air condition.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Today, I felt somewhat good about myself. I went to the bank, and on top of the ATM counter, I found 100,000 JPY (close to $1000 USD) in crispy bills inside an envelope. While I could easily have taken the money, I did not even think about doing so and quickly handed the envelope in to one of the tellers.
I actually did not count or look inside the envelope before giving it to the teller, but he quickly counted the amount to be about 100,000 JPY. He did not thank me, and I quickly left. However, after my tiny brain had a chance to think about it, I wondered what would happen if no one would come to pick up the cash. If this were to happen, I certainly did not want the bank to have the money, so I quickly returned to the branch (the Shibuya branch of the Mitsui Sumitomo bank) and gave them my business card. "If no one comes to claim the money, let me know", I told the teller.
Much later in the day, I actually got a phone call from someone that had been to pick up the money. It seemed like a younger guy, and he was very happy (who would not be?). He insisted that he sends me something as a token of gratitude, though I refused. I was very happy that someone had come to pick up the money, and that was good enough for me.
However, to get down to philosophy or whatever you'd want to call it: Would I have acted the same way if the envelope had contained 1 million dollars? I certainly hope so, but when considering how little the 100,000 JPY would have meant to me, what I did today certainly does not qualify me as a great human being. Perhaps if a homeless and hungry person had found the money, if he had handed it in, then perhaps he would qualify as a fabulous human creature. Anyway, I felt good about myself for a little while, but now that feeling is gone. As the Economist points out this week, even charity is selfish. Perhaps I handed in the money today as the emotional gain of feeling great about myself would surpass the value of the cash potentially earned (with the potentially added feeling of guilt). It is hard to say. If someone wants to take this a bit further, please feel free to put an envelope containing a million bucks in my path.
I actually did not count or look inside the envelope before giving it to the teller, but he quickly counted the amount to be about 100,000 JPY. He did not thank me, and I quickly left. However, after my tiny brain had a chance to think about it, I wondered what would happen if no one would come to pick up the cash. If this were to happen, I certainly did not want the bank to have the money, so I quickly returned to the branch (the Shibuya branch of the Mitsui Sumitomo bank) and gave them my business card. "If no one comes to claim the money, let me know", I told the teller.
Much later in the day, I actually got a phone call from someone that had been to pick up the money. It seemed like a younger guy, and he was very happy (who would not be?). He insisted that he sends me something as a token of gratitude, though I refused. I was very happy that someone had come to pick up the money, and that was good enough for me.
However, to get down to philosophy or whatever you'd want to call it: Would I have acted the same way if the envelope had contained 1 million dollars? I certainly hope so, but when considering how little the 100,000 JPY would have meant to me, what I did today certainly does not qualify me as a great human being. Perhaps if a homeless and hungry person had found the money, if he had handed it in, then perhaps he would qualify as a fabulous human creature. Anyway, I felt good about myself for a little while, but now that feeling is gone. As the Economist points out this week, even charity is selfish. Perhaps I handed in the money today as the emotional gain of feeling great about myself would surpass the value of the cash potentially earned (with the potentially added feeling of guilt). It is hard to say. If someone wants to take this a bit further, please feel free to put an envelope containing a million bucks in my path.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
I have posted some pictures from my July trip to the Pulpit Rock.
Onjuku Beach
While the above homepage of Onjuku seems to be only in Japanese, if you read the language it should provide good instructions on how to get there. Yuka and I went to Onjuku beach today, and from Tokyo station it took just under 1.5 hours by express train. While there were lots of people on the beach, the sand is clean and the waves were great. I expect to return there later this summer.
Yesterday, we went to eat at Il Pozzo in Kami-Itabashi, one of my favourite Italian restaurants in Tokyo. While it is very much out of the way, I used to live nearby. Yuka and I have returned on a regular basis ever since thanks to the fantastic food. Add in great service and an unpretensious atmosphere, and you know where to eat next.
Onjuku Beach
While the above homepage of Onjuku seems to be only in Japanese, if you read the language it should provide good instructions on how to get there. Yuka and I went to Onjuku beach today, and from Tokyo station it took just under 1.5 hours by express train. While there were lots of people on the beach, the sand is clean and the waves were great. I expect to return there later this summer.
Yesterday, we went to eat at Il Pozzo in Kami-Itabashi, one of my favourite Italian restaurants in Tokyo. While it is very much out of the way, I used to live nearby. Yuka and I have returned on a regular basis ever since thanks to the fantastic food. Add in great service and an unpretensious atmosphere, and you know where to eat next.
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