Looking back on the year
This is the second installment of our four-part "Looking Back on the Year" series.
In June, I said I didn't remember, but I kept telling myself that it was quite a lot, and there was one more important thing that happened.
Yes! That was the offer for this blog.
The first time was when I introduced myself, then the second and third times, and today is the 17th time.
In the beginning, I was given a theme, so it was easy to write. But now! I've reached a new stage where I have to come up with my own theme. So, I've decided to "Look back on the past year," although I'm not sure if anyone will be interested.
Now let's take a look back at July.
July 2020
In July, I worked overtime like I would at a black company.
If I say it this way, my company will be criticized, so I will make a strong excuse.
When launching a store or event, as the deadline approaches, the rush to complete the project begins.
When I watch videos of artists performing live, I feel the same way. The hardest part is before they even start. Even if you think you have perfect schedule management, things don't always go as planned, and all sorts of thoughts start popping up, like, "Huh? This is missing! We need this too! This would be nice too, wouldn't it?" and you end up wanting to make things better, and time runs out. I'm sure everyone has had that experience.
It brought back memories of preparing for the school festival in my student days, with my friends and I making costumes at my house every night.
Hmm? Maybe this is just my personality.
As for what has been launched, I'm very happy if some of you have noticed, but the e-commerce business I mentioned before was launched this July.
The opening day happened to be a staff member's birthday, making it an unforgettable date.
There is a cuckoo clock that is stored as a memory of the hard work I put in every night.
It is a cuckoo clock that chimes six times at six o'clock and once at six-thirty, repeating every hour.
We worked so hard that it looks like it will become a July habit to go home when the cuckoo clock chimes 11 times.
I can't go back to those days! I can assure you. Once is enough.
However, as a team, we are proud that we were able to work together in a fun way, without complaining or complaining, and with occasional laughs.
And today, the cuckoo clock of my memories continues to chirp cheerfully to tell the time.
August 2020
And then August.
As usual, it was really hot. It had been a while since I had experienced such heat in August. Warehouse City was the place where I felt the heat with my whole body.
Where I work, there is a warehouse at the back between two adjacent stores.
It is usually a place where customers' furniture is stored and repaired.
We organized and tidied up the warehouse like Tetris, pushing things aside to create space, and then held a clearance sale of all the items on display.
This is your chance to find a bargain!
It was extremely hot from the first day, and we had to maintain social distancing, so lines formed and people had to wait, which made it difficult for both customers and staff due to the heat.
I have had many customers very happy with my products at this warehouse market.
That was handing out cold tea. In this day and age, it's unclear whether this is the right thing to do, but handing out tea to customers in line wasn't something that had been decided upon, but something that the staff came up with and started doing after seeing the situation at the time.
This was met with joy and gratitude from every customer who visited the store.
It was an event that made me very happy to see that they were clearly acting with the customer's best interests in mind.
During this period, I sweated more than I had in a long time, and it was August and I felt like it was summer.
September 2020
September is the culmination of the semester, and it's also an opportunity to reflect on how much effort you've put in over the course of the semester.
We had a big event called the 20th anniversary celebration. It seems like you can understand how amazing it is that a company has been in business for 20 years, but the truth is, it's hard to understand just how amazing it is.
It's a miracle that it has survived for 20 years!
So I looked into it and was surprised by what I found.
Do you know the probability that a company will survive for 20 years?
First of all, the probability of it remaining in existence for 10 years is 6.3%.
I was surprised to find out that it was only 6.3% after 10 years!
So what is the probability that it will last for 20 years? A surprising 0.3%!
I was shocked!
In human terms, this is the age when you become an adult. I learned that it's much harder for a company to reach the age of 20 than I imagined.
I felt grateful that the place where I work has been secured for so many years, something I take for granted.
And I realized how amazing our president is. I feel like our president is a rare type of president.
He's an elusive person. But for some reason, he's good at capturing people's hearts. What is it about him? If I start talking about the president, it will become a long post, so I'll stop here for today.
September was a month in which I was grateful to the place where I work and to my boss.
Also, please look forward to the next "Looking Back on the Year" in October!
(text: Shimazaki)
SHIMAZAKI AYAKO
I loved redecorating and constantly rearranging my room as a child, and before I knew it, 12 years have passed since I started working in interior design. I am the manager of two different interior design shops, and I've recently started working in the e-commerce business. I'm a bundle of curiosity, and although I have a high level of concentration, my persistence is quite low, so I'm secretly worried about writing a blog.