What Ever Happened To Jim?

In June of 1994, I moved from Los Angeles to San Diego. I figured I should tell people about this, so I planned to send out New Year cards and include this information as part of my joyous greetings. But it was not to happen. I couldn't find any (Japanese) New Year cards in San Diego and by the time I got to Los Angeles at the end of December, every store I tried was already sold out.

Not to worry. I decided to send out this news in the form of a Valentine's Day greeting. Then it slipped to White Day (March 14). For reasons beyond my control (laziness, forgetfulness), this deadline too soon passed.

Now it is almost July and my postal service forwarding order and telephone company number referral have expired, and many people still don't know I moved. Combine this with the fact that I have been pretty bad at keeping in touch lately, and I decided that nothing short of a short newsletter would suffice to express my regret at the situation that has developed.

The businesses I am involved with have been based in San Diego for the past several years. Both my business partners lived there and had been urging me to make the move. I resisted for a while, but finally gave in and decided to do it. I always urge people to take chances and not be afraid of trying new things and moving to new places, and here I was living in the same city for most of my life. In short, I was a hypocrite and it was time to take some of my own advice.

I have to say that I have been pleasantly surprised. I miss the diversity of ethnic food available in Los Angeles, but otherwise, the quality of life is definitely higher. I was worried that there wouldn't be much to do here, and while there certainly is less going on than in L.A., I find that I actually get out more here in San Diego, due largely to easy accessibility.

That was just over a year ago and just as I get around to telling everyone about this momentous change in my life (it took over two hours to drive from my old city to my new one), it is time for more change.

As of September 1, I am resigning my position in most of the companies with which I am affiliated. My partner John is leaving to go to business school and I saw this as a good opportunity to leave, after being in the same industry for the past ten years. My partner Todd will be taking over the businesses. I will, however, still be involved with Info Connections, which runs the services in Japan and Los Angeles.

Thanks for asking! Good question. I don't know. I'll be on the lookout for opportunities to learn and do something new and exciting. No sense in doing something just for the money and being miserable. Possibilities include project work, temporary assignments in other cities/countries, and charity work. I will try to keep my computer skills current so that I am always marketable.

During Fall and Spring quarters, I took beginning Spanish classes at UCSD. Class met every day, precluding me from doing much else in my free time. I also participated in the UCSD Wilderness Club and the campus Japanese Animation Club. At the beginning of June, I went to Tokyo on business for one week, returned to San Diego for a few days, then took off to Europe for three weeks in France, Spain, and Switzerland with Lucie, and a chance to try out my Spanish and remember my French. After many trips to Asia and a few other assorted locales, this was my (and Lucie's) first time to Europe. It was pretty nifty; I think I'll try it again sometime.

Concerts attended in the past year include Loreena McKennitt (my current favorite artist), Tish Hinojosa, Kirsty MacColl, and Shawn Colvin. I'm still waiting for the opportunity to see Cheryl Wheeler live. I often go to coffeehouses to listen to local musicians. When I'm not listening to NPR, my radio listening tends toward KKOS and KSCA (both AAA stations) or Digital Cable Radio's "Eclectic Rock" channel, though I do keep one of my car presets on a Tijuana station, lest I forget everything I learned in class. Talk radio (though not the Hate Radio variety) also attracts a good portion of my listening time. I just have to admit that I am an information junkie. Ooh, that reminds me: I need to renew my subscription to The Economist.

I'm not sure where life will take me from here, but I will do my best to keep in touch. In the meantime, here is my current contact information:

                    Tel: +1 619 364 6912
                    Fax: +1 858 274 8181
                                     
           E-mail: jimmy _at_ tokyojim dot com

           URL: http://TokyoJim.com/