This isn't something I'm proud of, but might prove interesting to those who have never seen me lose my temper.
As the end draws near, Nick's endurance begins to falter...
The following is a countdown of the days until my departure on Monday the 26th February (I haven't had to check that date as I sit at my computer, it's forever etched into my memory as the Day of Freedom).
A normal work day, in compensation for the public holday last Friday. No exceptions for foreigners (as apparently distinct from humans) who actually have nothing to do at work except sit at an empty desk. To not show up would be to fail to show solidarity for the 1000+ person "team". Immediately after my "shamefully" early exit at 6.15pm, I catch a bus (1 hour, 1100Y) and train (1 hour, 1200Y) to Kobe.
I run a 5-hour Reception Planning workshop, arguably one of my greatest achievements to date (which may reveal how low my standards are) to help KBLC arrange an effective reception for Wojcieck (or Porando-jin ("Poland Man") as I have taken to calling him), the next trainee, arriving in three weeks.
That evening I take a train (1 hour, 1200Y) and bus (1 hour, 1100Y) back to Youkaichi. No time to cook dinner, just collapse in to bed.
Work again. Ooe, my boss, gives me a special "assignment" for the day. I have to go to the factory junkyard, find a particular pipe joint (he gives me a picture) and measure its various dimensions. It takes me about an hour (we're not just talking height and width here, there are all sorts of sockets for smaller pipes, about 40 things to measure in total). I show him the measurements. He checks the first one and says it is wrong and sends me back to the junk yard (incidentally, the pipe joint is too heavy for me to bring back to the office). I measure again and get a new reading about .001% off the original. Now he's happy. He goes to the second measurement and says it's wrong, and sends me back to the junkyard again. I get the same reading as before, but give it to 4 decimal places instead of rounding to 3. Now he's happy. He checks the third measurement and tells me it's wrong, sends me back to the junkyard...
Anyway, you get the idea
4 hours later, he is satisfied with all the measurements, but embarks on an hour long lecture on how important it is to do things "thoroughly". He somehow links this to the importance of keeping the factory toilets clean, and reminds me that it is my turn again on Wednesday (due to his attempts to speak in English, this reminding takes another hour).