Author Archives: MThomas

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About MThomas

Long ago, I gave up my high school dreams of becoming the next Carl Sagan and instead wound up working (in order) at McDonald's, a '60s-themed restaurant, a video rental store, a used bookstore, a computer seller, Kinko's, a Jewish newspaper company, and an HR firm. I eventually became a teacher of intercultural communication in Kyoto, where I vainly attempt to apply quantum mechanics to language teaching, practice martial arts and Zen Buddhism, and always keep one eye on the sky. And yes, I know my profile photo's backward. I just think it looks better this way.

Initial reactions (cont.)

Posted on December 3, 2009 by MThomas

In 1992, in what was widely publicized as the first incident of a man taking child care leave from a private company in Japan, Mutsumi Ota took 3 months off from his job and wrote about his experiences for Japan … Continue reading →

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Initial colleague reactions

Posted on December 3, 2009 by MThomas

Although I had already talked with the jinjigakaricho about child care leave, I resisted approaching the head of the English department, Professor K, until the middle of November. One reason was that I felt that waiting until a less stressful … Continue reading →

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The paperwork is in…but the Personnel Head is not

Posted on November 30, 2009 by MThomas

This morning, after the usual 25-minute walk to campus from the station, I headed straight for the General Affairs office (Soumu-ka). In my hands, a plastic sleeve folder containing the four pieces of paper so far required for the Child … Continue reading →

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