http://en.bloguru.com/nano eng http://en.bloguru.com/nano/137436/united-airline-lounge It has been a while since I used this space.

I noticed there are pieces of black tapes on the floor here and there as I walked in the lounge. There are not one, not two, not ten, but more than that, pieces on the floor. Then I realized that they used these black shipping tapes to repair the worn carpets!

I cannot believe United Airline using black tapes in the lounge to repair the carpet! I know things are tough with airlines but are they that broke? This looks like a very poor and cheap airline. Although it is only on the floor, it gives an impression of the lower quality & poor company image as a brand!

Are you that broke, United Airline?
Can't a CEO give in a bit on his bonus to repair the carpet properly instead of using black shipping tape! You really got to be kidding, right?]]> 2012-03-08T19:18:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/137405/leaving-tokyo 2012-03-08T15:29:52-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/137021/raining-in-tokyo 2012-03-05T14:53:59-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/136913/almost-a-year-since-march-11
Many of them I met, who survived the disaster, say "My life is given" when I talked to them. What a perspective of life they have. They are trying to figure out why they are the ones who survived and not the others.

We are sponsoring to bring kids from these regions this summer. I am getting lots of support from many of the companies we know. We truly appreciate the support we are getting to carry on with this program. You can visit our online page to see all of the supporters we have: http://www.pspinc.com/eng/page/japan-relief/.

This is a picture of Minami Sanriku cho I took last November.
I shall return to visit them all sometime this year again.]]> 2012-03-04T15:46:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/134448/struggling-with-the-technology
I asked Robyne to save my calendar on paper, while I work on the solutions. I saw that on my phone, the calendar was displayed correctly so I knew iCloud was fine. It must be my iCal then...

It took me a courage to delete my current iCal events, which emptied my entire schedules, but then I have added my iCloud account - no luck getting the calendar synced entirely.

I repeated the same thing 3 times - delete the account, setup the account again, and sync the data.

Who said the third time is a charm - it finally worked on the third try!

I don't know what happened but it seems to me that the software on iPhone is better than the software on Mac. What a frustrating afternoon it was...]]> 2012-02-07T16:50:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/132647/can-i-go-home-tomorrow
I hope everyone in Seattle are safe and staying warm.]]> 2012-01-19T11:41:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/132464/will-it-snow-really
I am heading to SeaTac Airport soon to catch my flight to LA - yes, where there is no snow!]]> 2012-01-17T14:14:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/132364/i-need-to-get-to-the-airport
I got tons of snow around my house.]]> 2012-01-16T15:09:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/132272/really-snowing
I even cleared the deck for my puppies to be able to go out. I think there is at least 4 inches of snow now.

In spite my effort to keep my puppies dry, Nano decided to take another route into snow to take care of the business... She came back all soaked wet with snow all over.

I don't know if I can get down the hill from here tomorrow morning to get to the office. Let's see how long it will keep snowing like this. This reminds of me the winter 3 years ago, when we got 5 days of snowing straight!]]> 2012-01-15T13:43:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/131902/snow-really 2012-01-11T06:57:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/131768/nano-on-diet She has been having more vegetable with a little bit of chicken and she has lost so far 0.5lbs - a third of our goal met in a month. At this pase, she will loose 1.5 lbs in two more month.

It is hard to achieve all the way but if consistently work on it, reaching the goal a step at a time, we can reach the ambitious and bigger goals. A lesson learned from Nano's diet - PSP business also needs to take a step at a time to achieve our goals in the long run.

It is our goal this year to gain more hosting customers, one at a time.]]> 2012-01-09T21:38:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/131300/its-all-about-attitude
It is OK not to have an answer to all the things I ask but I wish the person think;

"Hum... Why is Mayumi asking this question? What does she really want? How can I find the answer for her?"

That is all depends on the attitude of the person.
If she or he thinks this way, then he or she might say "Sorry I don't know but let me find out" and that would be the right attitude.

If you are a team member, participate, and have a right attitude.
Because it is after all about attitude.

The picture is Nano sleeping. She sleeps a lot and I think I am having hard time trying to have her loose weight because she keeps sleeping. She needs to be more active to lose weight. Here again, it is all about attitude - she first needs to have a positive attitude towards loosing weight.]]> 2012-01-05T19:03:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/131263/jonathan-ives-speech-at-apple
]]> 2012-01-05T06:42:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/131211/goodtogo-a-good-or-bad-idea Twice it was $2.20, and once it was $3.50 with the Good-to-Go pass.
I see many people avoiding 520 bridge being jammed in traffic on other areas. For me, having less traffic on 520 at $3.50 is worth it. I can save my time of travel and I like how light the traffic is on the bridge so far.

But for some, yes it is $7 per day for just to commute.
It is not a small amount to cross to work or to go to schools. Only had we had a choice to choose other means other than driving like buses, then it may be worth for those who wish to drive.

Some of the fees proposed or announced this last year or so are straight silly. Like Verizon Wireless for charging people to pay online for $2!!! That is penalizing your customers for the inefficiency of the service provider!

Or doubling the fees at Netflix, I just think they got too greedy about their business.

There is always a lesson to be learned - don't charge customers for no values to be added. But if the value is there, the customers will pay to get it.
]]> 2012-01-04T20:13:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/131122/psp-first-day-of-work This coming July, we will mark our 25th anniversary. And it is always an anniversary for me personally on January 3 because I started working for PSP today 19 years ago. This is my 20th year starting at PSP - oh, boy, I am at least 20 years old now... *smile*

We always meet twice for our company wide meetings - at the beginning of the year and the first Monday in July. Every January, I always remind all my employees regarding our values.

Our values are the guides to all the decisions - small or large - that we as PSP employees make everyday at work. It is always good to remind ourselves of these and I had a chance to talk to my team about them:

PSP - Our Values

Creativity:
We are here to be creative and innovative so we will stay ahead of our competitions.

Professionalism:
Customers seek our advice because we are the pros. So let’s be a pro and act as a pro.

Simplicity:
Let’s not confuse customers or ourselves. Simplicity can provide efficiency.

Considerate:
Put ourselves in others’ shoes; that will give us guidance.

Excellence:
Always seek improvement. Never compromise.

- - - - - -

At PSP, we provide a creative solutions and deliver them as a pro to our customers. We make things simple for the customers and for ourselves, with considerations to our customers and others. Don't give up - because I ask all my staff to be better everyday for an excellence.

This picture is of our ad that we placed in Japanese Seattle Telephone guide. I think we had a pretty good placement next to Union Bank this year.]]> 2012-01-03T18:13:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/130562/apple-or-google
It is an interesting war on smart phones / tablet devices.]]> 2011-12-28T10:59:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/130412/submarine-cables They are the cables connecting continents under the sea for our voice and data needs. One of my staff asked me about trans Pacific cabling so I looked up online about the submarine cables.

Did you know the very first submarine cable in commission was put in 1850 to connect England and France? Isn't that amazing!?

Today the technology changed from copper to fiber cables but we still rely on those cables heavily.

One of my staff found the map of world's submarine cables. It is interesting to see how we are physically connected.

http://www.cablemap.info/]]> 2011-12-26T14:29:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/129995/all-nippon-airways-is-coming-to-seattle
I did meet the president of ANA in November, and I did ask him for this to happen. I don't think I made any difference because many people and the Port of Seattle was already requesting to ANA many time, this announcement made me feel somewhat happy because it was only a month ago for me to have a chance to meet the President and ask for this to happen!]]> 2011-12-21T07:01:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/128455/pom-pom-trying-for-new-ring-tones

Pom Pom is trying very hard to figure out which ring tone works the best... really cute.]]> 2011-12-01T21:29:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/128172/back-in-the-states
I met many incredible people in Tohoku during my last trip.
Each one had their stories about what happened on March 11. But can you imagine what happened to these people from this picture? These are the teachers and members of the school board (they are also ex-teachers) at the dinner we had together the night I arrived.

Can you tell that there are three teachers here who lot their houses by Tsunami? Can you tell which teacher went to each evaluation center to make sure the children from his elementary school were all safe? Can you tell who spent nights with 450 others in cold and dark in the school gym without even any blankets?

I learned how strong we all human are.
I went to Tohoku thinking that PSP can do something to these people. But in reality, I gained lots more from them about courage and wills. I thank all the people who spent time with me during my visit, and I hope to see you all soon.]]> 2011-11-28T18:26:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/128072/leaving-japan-in-the-evening
This picture was taken on the way to one of the meetings in Hokuriku during my stay. There are many places like this where piles of cars were kept. I heard they still don't know what to do with these metals.

We tend to be sorry for what we don't have regardless of what we have or how much we have. People of Hokuriku taught me that people are strong and can live without stuff as long as we have family and friends around us.

I hope to visit Hokuriku some day soon again. I made new friends to share stories. I hope I get to tell you all what I heard when I return to Seattle.]]> 2011-11-27T15:34:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/127942/a-story-to-share
The hotel we stayed is Hotel Boyo.
We met the owner and his wife, Mr. & Mrs. Kato, and had a chance to get to know each other as we checked in late at night. We got a chance to talk to each other and they found out why we were there in Kesennuma from Seattle.

Kato san invited us for breakfast at their living quarter, which is right next to the checkin counter of the inn in the lobby becuase their house was damaged by Tsunami and later burned down with the fire.

We went to the lobby at 7:30am as we promised the night before. They had our breakfast ready. There we spent about 45 minutes and they fed us their breakfast at the table. Their story is just so incredible that I want to share it here with you.

The story is about Mr. and Mrs. Kato of Hotel Boyo, located in Kesennuma.

On March 11, they rushed home but the house was already on the fire by the time they were able to reach. At the location where they remembered having their living room they saw two other houses on top. The only thing they were able to save was their dog.

But they did not have a time to be sorry about themselves at first because people who lost their houses started to pour into their inn, hungry, wet, mesirable, and all scared. They let 150 people into the inn where there was no water, power, or heat. They all spent nights there.

As people started to move to their temporary houses, Kato san's family made the decision to discontinue their business because there was no way that they could run the inn the same way they used to from the damages from the earthquake without any visitors in the area. Then a minivan pulled into their parking one day.

It was reporters from CNN France, who came to cover the story about the story on April 11, on one month annivesary. After their coverage, they came to Kato san and asked to see if they can get some rooms to sleep because there were no other places. Kato san hesitatedly said to the crew if it was all right to charge them 5,000 yen per night per person, and the crew said yes!

By then, they fired all the staff so Kato san, his wife, his mother, and his son all took care of the rooms to be prepared for the crew.

This was the beginning of thier business being rebuilt.

They made the decision to open the inn, not to the visitors like in the past with groumet dinners, but to all the volunteers and vendors who needed the place to stay for their recovery process. They cut their price into a third, re-hiring some people so they can not only have the clean places to stay for these people but also be able to feed with meals. They refuse all the customers who are visiting Kesennuma for sightseeing because that is no longer the vision of their business.

Kato san shared their tears with me. Kato san's wife said that she thought they would not live through the disaster but all these volunteers and people from the world started to show up in front of their inn, and started to help. They now have a new vision and mission in life. Kato san says everyone is his family and welcome to his family. They asked me to share their story to people in Seattle, handed me the book of the pictures about the earthquake and tsunami.

I thank Kato san for sharing his story and the breakfast. They didn't know me until last night. I now have a new goal in life and reasons to appreciate what I have.

Kato san's wife hugged me crying as I was getting ready to leave, and she asked me to come back to visit them, while thanking us for staying at their inn.

I just happened to meet them in Kesennuma. But we now share the vision and hope.
I hope you will also be able to share their vision and hope by reading this blog.]]> 2011-11-25T13:51:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/127842/very-busy-day
I met a few teachers who lost their houses but stayed at school to help the people who evacuated. I met an elementary teacher who went to every evacuation centers so he could make sure all the students were safe. And I am spending a night at Hotel Boyo, a Japanese inn, which survived the tsunami by a few feet although it is standing on top of the hill.

I met with the owner family members of the hotel as we checked in. They lost everything because their house was damaged by Tsunami and then burned down. They now live in the inn they run, and they said they had no idea what would happen to them because their inn turned into a evaluation center, helping 150 people who evacuated so they did not know if they can run the inn as their business ever again.

They now have their family living room right by the hotel lobby. They invited us to join them for breakfast in their living room. They told me that after the disaster, they welcome anyone and everyone. I thank Mr. and Mrs. Kato for their warmth welcome to us.

This picture shows the land where there used to be a town called Minami Sanriku cho. The Tsunami hit as high as 29 meters. Too many lives were lost here also.]]> 2011-11-24T05:53:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/127708/day-3-arrived-in-kesennuma-in-tohoku
The train station is on the hill and I could not even tell that the earthquake hit this area because there are so little damages from the earthquake. We walked down the hill for about 15 minutes and turned one corner, and there we saw the devastating scenes near ports.

Majority of the buildings totally damaged are now being taken down so there are many open spots. We even saw some houses that are already rebuilt. Most of the ships we saw on the news that ended up on land were removed except a few.

Temporary buildings are being built for businesses, stores, restaurants, and residents. I walked through this small temporary malls (they are not fancy ones but more like trailers), and everyone welcomes people who came to see the area.

This picture was taken in the hardest hit area of Shishiori in Kesennuma city. This house used to be three stories, but its second floor was smashed when the tsunami hit. We saw piles of smashed cars and a few ships on the land in the same area. But if we pass one freeway, then there we saw no damages. It has been 8 and a half months since the earthquake and tsunami, but the town will need lots more help in getting all these cleaned up and rebuilt.]]> 2011-11-22T23:33:00-08:00 http://en.bloguru.com/nano/127488/day-1-in-japan 12 hour flight is a long flight for me. I wish they fly from Seattle to Tokyo!

This is the picture of Tokyo - sunny and bit cool in 50's.
I only have 2 days in Tokyo this time, and then will head to Tohoku, the area hit by Tsunami on Wednesday morning in Japan.]]> 2011-11-20T16:06:00-08:00