Today’s the last working day of the year, at least in the company I work for. Can you feel my happiness? I've been waiting for the holidays! 😆
We didn’t have Christmas holidays here in Japan so while other people in other countries were celebrating, I was working hard smart. In Japan, we have the long holidays on the New Year and Year End (年末年始) and in our company, just like other Japanese companies, that will start tomorrow!
That means today is the last working day of the year. And we can even go home early!
That also means at work we need to clean our desks and if you’re free, the whole office. I already did a little bit of cleaning last week when I went to the office because I thought I wouldn’t be coming in today.
Today’s just mostly cleaning and a year end meeting with my teammates. We reminisced on the work we did for the year and it was really nostalgic. I mean some I didn’t even know that we did for this year, as they seem like they’ve been there for a long time. It made me feel good despite the challenges I’ve faced at work this year because I feel like I’ve done a lot and contributed a lot.
TBH I’m a bit tipsy while writing this as we had drinks at work today. It was 納会 (read as noukai) and in that celebration, we had few food and drinks. Nothing fancy, just canned beers or canned cocktail drinks, non alcoholic drinks, few pizzas, chips and sweets. All that in our small conference room (well it’s the biggest in our company) with my workmates - from the business team to the engineering team (where I belong).
納会 (noukai) translates to last meeting of the year or closing meeting. In Japanese companies like ours, we usually have this to end the working year. Some companies celebrate heavily but ours is always just a simple one. We gather, talk or catch up with each other (since we don’t often talk to each other non work related stuff) and after an hour or so, end it with a few memorable words from some people and then followed by one big clap called 一丁締め (read as itchojime). This clap is usually practiced by the Japanese and it symbolizes the conclusion of the drinking session (飲み会) or the celebration.
There was some leftover food and lots of drinks so I brought home one canned sour. 😉
After cleaning up the mess from the noukai, I noticed the ladies in the company were talking and still gathering in the conference room. I was about to head home but I stopped by to listen to their talk. It was all in Japanese, and if you ask me what they’re talking about, well I don’t remember and some of it, I didn’t really understand. 75% of the time I’m just pretending to understand every word they’re saying. 😂 An executive of our company told me my Japanese has improved a lot though, but I’m not sure about that. 😂
The ladies were saying I look stylish today, and another said I’m always fashionable. Well, it’s not all the time I go to the office so of course I want to look nice. When I’m working at home, I don’t even bother changing from pajama to normal clothes when working and with no makeup always 😂 I’m a mess at home.
Today’s a good day. I took these photos from the office, well that’s an advantage of sitting by the window. Everytime I go to office I would always appreciate this city view. But yeah it’s not all the time I go to office. 😅
The ladies were even asking me why I went to office last week and I just said I was hoping for an environment change. They were envious my going to office depends on my mood. 😂 How about you? Are you required to report to the office?
After the noukai, we can leave work already. I didn’t have anything planned and I’m also a bit tipsy so now I’m heading home. (I’m typing this on the train)
How about you? Has your work ended already for this year?
Thanks for reading!
See you around! じゃあ、またね！
With love,
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.