Mighty Hok Chronicles

Reflections

I'm back in Canada after living in Tokyo for the last 1.5 years. I’m on the West Coast in Vancouver where the mountains are surreal but the rain is always lurking around. I started this update months ago but the motivation to edit and actually send it out has been so slow. I've been dragging my feet during this in-between limbo period, feeling uncertain about where to live and what to do because the job market and overall economy is so turbulent.

Tokyo is a lovely place to live and Japan is one of the most unique countries in the world. I made new friendships at work and had the opportunity to travel and experience daily life there. It was hard not speaking the local language or sharing cultural norms so I had to be patient when navigating day-to-day things like receiving deliveries, paying bills, and making reservations. I’m thankful for my time there!

Now that I’m exposed to the North American way of life again, I’m feeling the aggressive and rapid change of technology (specifically AI) across companies resulting in structural changes to adopt AI and the imminent fear of layoffs. In Japan, I felt more protected from the chaos because the pace was slower. I've been mourning the simpler times a bit and accepting the new reality. Meanwhile, so much is stirring up around the world as every day brings news of wars and chaos. Everything is interconnected and what unsettles me is that I cannot predict what the consequences will be.