Supporting my friend

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Japan has many historic places. One of them is Kawagoe. It is a very nice, calm town.   There are so many historic sites. One of them is Chabudai.   Chabudai is a nice guest house in Kawagoe. There is a small cafe/diner on the first floor. They hold different events every week. One of them is that you become a chef. On Saturday evening, my friend made her debut as a chef. Her cooking is very good. Another friend of ours went there to support her. Many people came as she cooked in the kitchen. Compared to a Western-style kitchen, this kitchen is small and open. She cooked and talked with her customers.                                            Of course, I ordered Kawagoe sake. It was very good. Next time, I would like to try it warm.   We ordered deep-fried pork cutlets and vegetables. For dessert, she made carrot cake with lemon cream cheese frosting.   Thi...
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Poor communication (and planning) but execution without a hitch

    So, it was a long Saturday. 

    In the morning, I had First-Aid training, which I wanted to attend to refresh my memory (I got certified last year). 

    A background story is needed here. 

    A few weeks ago, the person, whose position had only received a name makeover, wanted to have a training session without consulting anyone. That is fine. It is a good chance to learn from each other and discuss more about our programs. Then he sent an email about BBQ. In the beginning, everybody thought it was only for the staff, where we would casually hang out and get to know each other better. Then he sent another email saying that we are going to open up the BBQ to our students and their parents. It got escalated quickly because he decided he wanted to do it. Then he complained about the menu item, which he wanted to cook a burger. Also, he was second-guessing (or more like doubting) the lady who is working with him (to be fair, she is a good cook), asking her, "Can I trust your cooking skills?".  Oh, he complained about every single thing and verbalized things that can be brushed off.  The lady worked harder than he did, to be honest. Even her husband came and cooked for us. 

    Back to Saturday. 

    We had the training after my CPR training. It was very productive. I hoped that we would get together twice a year and exchange information and experience. Somehow, his answer disappointed me, which was once a year. 

    Then we had the BBQ. I was in charge of collecting the money. It was a nice atmosphere that we created despite the strong wind, and something flew off.

    It could have been a little better with more planning and asking everybody in advance to do something. There were a lot of people helping without any directions.  Things would have finished earlier if everybody knew what they were cleaning. This is just my opinion. 

    I am going on a little bit of a tangent. 

    Generally, he complains about every single thing he thinks is wrong. Yet, he doesn't do anything to change them. Then, when somebody fixes or takes care of the things he is complaining about, he complains that nobody asked him. SO F***ING WEIRD. To be fair, I respect him because of his age, the number of years he has worked, and the experiences he has accumulated and insights into teaching more effectively. However, I don't respect the part that he doesn't want to change, or his poor communication skills. I do understand that it is hard to change. It takes years before any changes can be seen. I guess it is more like I don't like his attitude not to change and make our workplace better. 

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