This funky image is my request for paid time-off (pto) for my time in Japan. I work full-time, but I don’t have 8 hours-a-day worth of pto saved up, so I guess I’m working part-time during April.

So to speak.

I find it hard to believe so many Americans do not use their pto. It speaks, in different ways, how awful corporate and retail life can be. What’s the point of a job that doesn’t lead to an enjoyment of life? My job is physically taxing; it involves endless interactions with strangers, which is mentally tolling on me, anxious introvert that I am; and I do not get paid enough.

But I also do not waste my money on a car (and gas and insurance and parking and…) or take-out or streaming or lots of other expensive nonsense. I do “waste” some, but it’s on things that make me happy or at least help me get through my working life. I am able to save lots of money, however. This is the second year in a row I’m going to Japan; if I owned a car, I probably would not have gone yet.

Anyway, I used up all my pto for last year’s trip, and I’ve taken a bit since then. But I do not earn enough pto in a year to pay for this trip. (Thankfully, vacation pto and sick time are separate in our company; I find that useful.)

Oh, TF is my weekend. Today, Friday (金曜日) is my Sunday (日曜日).