Counselor Blog

Choice Theory

2006-10-11T23:56:00.000-04:00

Choice Theory Book

I am about finish reading this book. This book gives me a lot of different thoughts for counseling. The basic idea of the choice theory is that all humans have choice regardless with situations. The choice does not have to mean to be physical, but it can be psychological. You can choose to be happy, sad, irony, and so on. It is up to you what kind of feeling you have. According to Dr. Glasser, people just do not realize they have choice, and keep blaming on something. Learning choice theory means to start controlling your own life.

I know this book long time. Sometimes, my college professors talked about and whenever I visited their office, the book was always there. I simply did not have time to read it. I was crazy at studying something else and working. In Japan, I can find more reading time than before. It is because, I use train a lot and wait people a lot.

Dr. Glasser has been working on fixing a lot of couples' relationship issue by this theory. Also, he applied it to the public school education, which became the best school in the U.S later. If you have time and are looking for a book to read, please pick this one. You will be able to change your thought and life. I guarantee it!

Phone Call

2006-10-03T20:27:00.000-04:00

New Phone

From today, my office's (my room) phone number is changed. New phone number is 049-227-9760. I used to use cell phone number for this business so that some clients had hesitated to call me. However, from now on, they do not have to :)

I am so so appreciated many clients call me these days. But, I feel so sorry for saying that the date and time which they wanted to make reservation have already reserved. Sometimes, I could not pick up the phone any reason when they called. I know that they have much hesitation before calling me. Making reservation for counseling is not easy since there is stereotype around that counseling is only for weak people. But, he finally did, and none answered or he could not make the reservation the date and time when he would be available.

My counseling room is just opened. And, I do not have much money to spend for this business yet. Therefore, so many things are inconvenient. For example, if I have a secretary, I will not miss your phone call. If I have another counselor working with me, I will be able to give various cares. In the future, I will make more convenient system, but now, please be patient :(

Now, I got new phone number and answering machine. Therefore, the clients can make phone call easier than they used to and I will not miss your call anymore. Please, do not hesitate to leave your message. I will return your call, promise! By the way, the phone line is "Hikari." Therefore, the phone charge is much less than regular phone line. :)

DreamWeaver

2006-09-27T04:28:00.000-04:00

DreamWeaver

Today, I updated my site a lot, because I am going to offer "Yahoo! Directory Registered Campaign." From next month till the end of Nov, all counseling prices will be 50 % off! If you are planning to get my counseling, you will not miss it!

Here is secret. This information is only for you who can understand my English. I will do another campaign, which will be called KNH Mental Health Clinic 2 year anniversary campaign, after this. Then, New Year campaign is going to be started. Therefore, if you miss this time, next a half year, the counseling price will be a half. Now, I can tell you, "You can miss it!" :)

Anyway, I changed several parts of my web page, but I had a lot of trouble. Things that I wanted my Dream Weaver to do did not work. For example, if I tried to make words red and bold, the words have shown small and black. How this could happen! I have made a lot of webpage and have experience to use several different soft wears, but I have never seen this kind of strange. I had stayed with my computer almost all day to fix this problem. I finally could! But, if you know why this happened, let me know. I almost pulled my hair!

Tokyo Tour

2006-09-23T08:18:00.000-04:00

Tokyo

Yesterday, I went to Tokyo tour with my American friend and her son. I have never gone to Tokyo tour in my life. It is simply, because I have visited Tokyo so many times. Therefore, I thought that I already know pretty much everything about the city. However, I was wrong. So many places I have never been, and so many histories in Tokyo, I have never heard.

The son plays Karate and he wants to see Japanese style, so I took them to Kyokushin Kaikan in Shinjuku after the tour end. People in dojo were extremely nice. They were helpful and taught him their style with much detail. He did not only watch, but they allowed him to participate their practice. He and his mom were so excited.

Thank you everybody whom we met yesterday. I could only show them good part of Japan. They said they love Japan and want to come back soon!

Yahoo! Final

2006-09-20T11:38:00.000-04:00

Today, I got letter from Yahoo!. It said that my site will be in their category! I am so glad that I did not waste my time and money. Within next 2 days, you will find my site in Yahoo! Japan category. I am not sure which one and what description of my site they wrote. If you have time, please type my web site address http://www.knhclinic.com in their search engine. You will see it.

Moment of Truth

2006-09-18T11:36:00.000-04:00

Tomorroy, I will finally try to register my site to Yahoo! In the previous blog, I told how expensive it is, but one more time, the cost will be over 50000 yen!! These days, I have fixed a lot of parts of my site to pass their evaluation. Now, I hope it is better looking, and I feel it is ready. Moment of truth. Please, take it, Yahoo! I cannot get good sleep next couple of days until I hear a good news.

Good news from U.S

2006-09-16T08:27:00.000-04:00

My previous co-worker is going to visit in Japan with her son. I am so excited about it. I have millions of questions to ask her what is going on with our school and students. Of course, I will not keep her only for answering my damn questions. I will try hard for them to have a good experience. Where should I take them? But, the problems is, can I still speak English?

All day

2006-09-12T13:17:00.000-04:00

All day long, I sit down in fron of computer for working on updating homepage and doing on-line counseling. When will I be released from this? I would like to do counseling in my counseling room...

Site renewal!

2006-09-11T05:55:00.000-04:00

I have been renewing my website, because I am planning to register for Yahoo! I know it will be hard and expensive (it will cost me 52000 yen since my web site is designed for business purpose.), but hopefully, if my website passes their evaluation, it will be a big benefit for me and my career.

In next couple of days, you will see a lot of difference in my web site. These are just minor thing, but after everything done, my site looks more business like.

School Counselor

2006-09-08T22:15:00.000-04:00

I have been looking for a school counselor position. I do not mind where. Since this is my profession area, I would like to become it again. I applied several. These are far from my home town. Therefore, if I get the position, my counseling room will be moved. By the way, I do not want to advertise which province has school counselor vacancy. If I tell you, the position will be competitive. :)

Parcels

2006-09-07T03:04:00.000-04:00

I have been getting back my parcels that I sent them from the U.S. The first one came long time ago. After that, others had not come back yet until yesterday. Therefore, I thought that my parcels were missing. For now, it is just one more to go. Before, I got them back, my mind had still been in the U.S. I felt that I would go back there soon. Each time, when I get them back, my mind can realize the reality. By the way, there is no space, I can put these stuff in my room...

Certification

2006-09-04T11:53:00.000-04:00

I am thinking to get a Japanese counselor certification or license. There are so many certificates out there. I am so confused which one I should get, and all the certificates are so expensive to get. The cheapest one is still about 60000 yen! In the U.S, if you have LPC, you can use it almost anywhere. But, the rule does not apply in Japan. Well… the clinical psychologist is probably the one, but I do not have right to take the test to get it (Because, so many strange rules are going on). For now, I am thinking to be a member of an organization. However, there are still so many organizations out there...

Company

2006-09-02T12:29:00.000-04:00

I updated my webpage a lot these days, because I added several services and found new SEO techniques. I have to think so many things since I run my own counseling company (?). Advertisement, SEO, Fee, and etc... When do I have time to study for improving my counseling skill? Probably, next couple of weeks, I do not have time to do something extra other than counseling and business.

Counselor Net Work

2006-08-31T12:11:00.000-04:00

I would like to make a counselor net work. If you have

- Master's in Counseling, Psychology (Clinical), or related field
- More than 1 year counseling experience

Benefit of the net work is

- I will introduce you to my clients if they live near you.
- Your website address will be linked on my top page (which has more than 50 accesses per day. In MSN search, my website will be hit on 10th (First page) by key word, "Counseling" (in Japanese))

If you meet these criteria and have interested in it, please e-mail me at admin@knhclinic.com

Study or Job

2006-08-29T11:52:00.000-04:00

I have been busy. Today, all day long, I sit down in front of computer. I did not work only couple of days, but these days kills me now... My webpage got more accesses than before. I got my own counseling room, and I am thinking to run group counseling soon. I do not have time for studying. These days, I am thinking why I should go back to the U.S if my job becomes stable. Now, I do what I want and will want to do. If I go back, I may do everything all over again. Is it smart idea? However, I still want to get a ph.D. Therefore, I try to make time for studying everyday. But...

For a while

2006-08-28T10:42:00.000-04:00

I was busy these couple of days, so I could not update my homepage. Today, I found that my homepage is hit on the tenth in MSN search by word of "counseling." What has happened while I am out?

Today, I went to Nihonbashi to see a rental office. The office was very nice and cheap, so I have decided to use it for my counseling office. The rental office building also has group meeting room. Now, I will be able to run group counseling!

In addition to the things that I did in this week, I advertised my website to a company, met my old friends, played soccer and so on. So many enjoyable things I did! I refreshed my mind. Now, I have a good motivation for this week!

(But, I could not get English teaching job...(I took the interview the other day.))

Free Counseling

2006-08-24T12:23:00.000-04:00

You believe or not. In Japan, many counselors are counseling for free, and companies and clients expect counselors to do counseling for free too. If people are looking for free, why would they not ask old neighbors to do counseling. I cannot do counseling for free, because I want to keep myself as a professional. If I do, I will not be able to motivate myself and give up taking care of clients. I may misdirect my clients and give responsibility away. (On my website, I offer free counseling, but only for a client who takes my counseling frist time.)

Rental Office

2006-08-23T03:16:00.000-04:00

Next week, I might officially announce on my web page, but I will have my own counseling room! Of course, I will not buy the room, but I will rent it. There are several rental offices in Tokyo area, and they have a very good deal. I will only rent it once or twice a month and if I have more than 2 clients on the same day. This is not final decision. I should go and see the room before announce it, because I still worry about their policy and noise. If they do not allow me to do counseling using the office and/or others can hear our conversation easily, I will not go for it. I will check it out on Sunday or Monday. I have been exciting so much! If I have my own room, I will not only be able to do individual counseling, but I will also be able to do group counseling and so on.

Speaking

2006-08-21T11:26:00.000-04:00

Today, I had to call to the U.S for billing problem. The conversation was very short with customer service, and the problem was not big. During the conversation, I found that I lost my English accent a lot. My English becomes Japanese tongue. Words were still coming through my mouth fluently, but I know this will not be a long too. I should find English speaking job as soon as possible!

Media Image

2006-08-20T12:26:00.000-04:00

I went to an event to see a famous Japanese professional wrestler, Masahiro Chouno. When he showed up, I thought that he was smaller and shorter than what I expected. He was a very polite man too. On TV, he seemed a big, tough, and unruly guy. Now, I feel that we cannot trust media a lot. They always make image and give us information that they want us to have. I took several his pictures by my cell phone camera, but it does not have code to hook up with my computer. I wish I could show you his picture in this blog. Sorry!

Like each other, love each other

2006-08-18T10:46:00.000-04:00

The other day, I got an e-mail from my elementary school co-worker. She often tells me what has happened in the school since I came back to Japan. I had appreciated her job until the last e-mail. According to her most recent mail, some teachers have talked about me. I e-mailed to the school the other day to say, "Hello!" She said that I should better not do that anymore, because they do not take my mail as a positive. Otherwise, I just give them resource of their gossip and entertain them. I told her that she should not tell me that! If I do not know this kind of information, I only can keep good memory, but since I know it, I will hesitate to e-mail them from next time. She does not like the school, so I know that she just tries to get more people in her side. However, she should know that I am not the staff of the school anymore, and I just want to have a good memory of the school and relationship with the staff. I do not want to play her game.

Strong

2006-08-17T12:33:00.000-04:00

Who is strong person?

If you beat anyone up, will you call yourself strong?

If you carry heavy stuff that no one can do, will you call yourself strong?

If you can do things that no one can do, will you call yourself strong?

I think that strong person accepts himself and is comfortable being own.

Strong person never gives up and always challenges.

Strong person contributes anything what he has.

Strong person cares himself as well as others.

Strong person cries, laughs and mad.

Strong person does anything what he wants to do.

But, the problem is

The society does not allow strong person to exist.

Cheer Up!

2006-08-16T13:04:00.000-04:00

Your child can do.

Your child knows how to do.

Your child makes you happy.

But, you should know how to treat your child before expecting him.

Adults make child bad, not child make himself bad.

Please, trust your child.

Because, he is your child.

Own Counseling Room

2006-08-15T12:30:00.000-04:00

These days, I have been willing to have own counseling room. If I have it, I will be able to do individual and group counseling. My most interest is group counseling. The group dynamic makes counseling effectiveness greater. One day, I circulated all the cost... I found that it is still dream...

Publication

2006-08-12T05:48:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned in the previous blog, I have registered the company's waiting list as a juku teacher. The other day, the company emailed me that they want to introduce my activities as the teacher and the counselor. This is very honorable. Therefore, I said, "Please!"

I already emailed my answers for their interview questions with several pictures. I will announce in this blog and my website when it comes up. Since next week is bon-yasumi (holidays), it will be publicized a week after next.

Complaint

2006-08-11T00:24:00.000-04:00

Not for my website, but I saw a client's comment, "Paying 4000 yen for just listening is too expensive!" I have really disappointed after I read this comment. There are still counselors who are only listening and believe that it is the best way of counseling. They might call them as "Rogerlian counseling." I like Rogers. He is one of my favorite counselors. However, doing person-centered counseling is very difficult than they think it is. Probably, Rogers was only one who could do it. Also, the clients of him already knew Rogers's way of counseling before coming to his session. Normally, we do not have this kind of agreement with the clients. Therefore, if the counselors only listen, the clients will not think it is worth for pay. Counselors! Please understand you are not Carl Rogers.

Tel chat

2006-08-08T11:09:00.000-04:00

Before one of my clients asked me to use tel chat for the phone counseling. At that time, I did not have a device. Since I thought it was a good idea, I bought it. Today, I tried to use it with my friend, and it worked well. Now, I can provide free call service for the phone counseling!

Sushi

2006-08-07T12:15:00.000-04:00

Today, I went to sushi bar with my friend. Sushi was so tasty! I have not eaten them pretty for a while. Before, I told my American students that Japanese people eat raw fish. They think we are people with bizarre tastes in food... They have never seen any food other than beef or chicken though.

Indoor Soccer

2006-08-06T13:32:00.000-04:00

Today, I played indoor soccer with my old mutual friends. It was our first time to meet each other after I came back. As soon as they saw me, they said, "You have gained weight!" :( The soccer was fun. I have only played with other races in the U.S, so it was fresh for me to play with Japanese people. On October, we will join in a tournament. We should keep practice hard!

Last Day of Teaching

2006-08-05T11:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was my last day of teaching. Since many students have gone to international schools in their countries, their English level was high. Sometimes, I had difficulty with answering their questions :( I enjoyed talking with them. They have a lot of unique experiences. Their experiences and ideas were inspired me well. I could motivate to study again and get back strong desire to go back to the U.S for working toward the ph.D degree.

Last Year

2006-08-03T10:29:00.000-04:00

These days, I often remember what I did last year. Around this time in the last year, I was preparing my guidance room, and had waited students coming. I had a dream, future, and worry. Probably, it was so exciting moment which I had never experienced in my life. My life was gracefully fulfilled.

It was not easy for me to speak second language and work with people who have different value and custom from mine everyday. In fact, I had a lot of problems in the first couple of months with my job, but I had slowly adjusted new environment. I never forget that process of adjustment. The experience is my treasure. I got such experience so that I can be patient any kind of circumstance. I know if I believe myself, I will definitely make any situation!

After I came back to Japan, everything becomes so easy. I speak my own language, so I can communicate with anyone. My mom cooks for me or I can find good restaurant easily, so I do not have to cook. Finding jobs are not too hard as what I experience in the U.S. I have been losing energy to create my own future which I used to feel inside the body. This is very disappointed.

Teaching

2006-08-01T11:53:00.000-04:00

Only this week, I teach at Juku. Today was my second day. When I was a student, I hated teachers, because they were always authoritative and demanded. In some reason, I have been teacher or some kind of teaching related jobs for couple of years. I try not to be the old day authoritative teacher, because I believe this is not the way how people treat others.

End of supervising

2006-07-31T11:37:00.000-04:00

I used to get supervising from one Japanese counselor. By today, I quit to get it, because there are many reasons. His website is always shown first two pages in search engines. Therefore, my home page had got a lot of benefits from it, but not anymore. I worry about number of accesses of my web page and reducing numbers of counseling jobs through my web page.

Yahoo!

2006-07-30T10:59:00.000-04:00

Since many books mentions worth for registering website to Yahoo!, I am thinking to do it. However, it costs 52000yen. What a heck! It used to be free. Now, they charge if the website is some kinds of business related. Do you think it is worth it? Actually, the cost does not guarantee to register. It is guaranteed for Yahoo! staff to come checking my website and let me know whether it could be or not. Advertising is very important so that I will do it, but not right now...

School Counseling

2006-07-29T11:03:00.000-04:00

When I was an elementary school student, we did not have school counselor. Counseling was unknown field at that time. However, today, the school counseling has recognized well and almost all public schools have at least a school counselor or a mental support staff. However, they have not done a good job. Many of them just stay in the office and believe that the students are coming to them if they have something trouble, because THEY ARE COUNSELORS. This is ridiculous thought. What kind of people talk about their problems to unknown people.

Previously, I had a chance to talk to Japanese school counselor. He asked me first, "What is your theoretical background to do the school counseling? Jung? Carl Rodgers?" I was like, "Got! This guy does not know anything about the school counseling. " This is not the field that sit down and talk. This is the field walking around the building and talking to the students as many students as possible per day. So, I told him, "My theoretical background is the school counseling when I do the school counseling."

Driving

2006-07-27T12:26:00.000-04:00

I could get insurance finally, so I am able to drive in Japan with my international license. I thought, "I have been driving for 7 years, so I do not have any problems at all!" This was not true. Road in Japan is very narrow. So many times, I felt could hit something when I was driving around my house. Also, my mom and dad keep pressure on me. Please, be quiet and let me concentrate! Driving is one of my best skills, I thought... But, not anymore...

Attacking

2006-07-26T10:50:00.000-04:00

These days, I get many complaints from someone whom I have never known by e-mail mostly. If they are my clients or any relatives, I will be able to accept it. However, since I have never known them, how can I trust what they say? Why can they not ignore? Why do they want to hurt someone? I do not understand. They may think that I have been making good money from this job, which I do not... I heard before that getting complaints are signs for being famous. I would like to believe so.

Best Friend

2006-07-25T15:47:00.000-04:00

I met my best friend. We have been friends since elementary school. Whenever I come back to Japan, we call each other and hung out. He has been working right after graduating high-school, so he pays all the cost every time! Making new friends are important, but keeping a good friendship with old friends are more important to me.

Shopping

2006-07-24T12:02:00.000-04:00

Since I left Japan long time, I needed to buy some stuff. Today, I went shopping. In Japan, we have everything that we want to buy. When I lived in the U.S, I was sometimes frustrated, because I could not find things that I had in Japan. If I could not find, I would give up, chose something similar or made the stuff. I felt utilized a lot of creativity there. Probably, my creativity has develped because of the environment. If I live here long, I may just maintain it or lose it.

Getting Started

2006-07-23T11:31:00.000-04:00

Today, I went to the public library for studying. However, study room was filled by jukensei. Therefore, I was studying at public area and used small cabinet as the study desk. There were several desks available, but those were only for reading. Why should I have hard time for studying? Studying supposed to be hard, not finding a location for.

Greeting from Japan

2006-07-22T11:46:00.000-04:00

I came back to my home safely.

I have been busy, so I had not had time to update my blog. Now, everything becomes settled. Therefore, I may be able to do it again.

I realize that my body shape is American size! In the U.S, I did not realize that I had become such big, but in Japan, I feel that everything is very small for me. I started doing exercise. I cannot meet anyone unless my body becomes Japanese size. But, I drink, which is not good... Japanese beer is taste good though!

Last Moment in the U.S

2006-07-19T06:19:00.000-04:00

I tried to update my blog last night. However, my homepage had been down for couple of hours. Now, I am at the air port and try to leave from the U.S. Yes. I have internet connection at the airport. Technology has been developing faster than I think it is. Some day in the future, we will be able to access to the internet from the air plane.

In the last night, I was chatting with couple of my friends and remembering my history of living in the U.S. Did I have a good time in the U.S.? Yes! Definitely, I did. When I came, I was only thinking to get a B.A, but I changed my mind, so I got a M.A's. Then, I wanted to have some work experience and I got! I have still been disappointed since I am forcefully kicked out from the states. However, overall, I am satisfied what I have been doing.

Many of you who are reading this blog are probably staying in the U.S as a student or a employee. Please do anything what you can do and when you leave this country, you will be able to say, "I had a great experience!"

I will see you all in Japan.

Counseling

2006-07-17T23:57:00.000-04:00

I have been working as a counselor in the website which is called "Kokoromu." In the website, we use chat softwear to make conversation with clients. Yesterday, one client asked me to counsel him, and I accepted. However, in some reason, the softwear did not work well, so we could not make communication at all. Because of that, I got pretty bad evaluation from him.

Before, I claimed to the site coordinater regarding the evaluation systm. Evaluation from the client is a good idea, but it should not be shown to other clients, because this kind of issue could happen. Once, we get a poor evaluation, it will seriously hurt our jobs. So, we should be so sensitive at. He said that he will think about it. But, things already happened! I do not want to lose other clients' trust, so I will not access to the website until they fix my poor evaluation. I will accept any kind of evaluation if I did something poor. In this case, I did not do anything, so I cannot take it!

Nothing

2006-07-17T01:35:00.000-04:00

My friend came to my apartment and took all the stuff, including my car, today. So, I do not have anything in my apartment except computer and soccer ball. How can I survive next couple of days?

I was lifting the soccer ball in out side. Then, one guy came and asked me to kick the ball together. After we started it, more people (kids) came and joined in. We did not talk. We just kicked the ball together for couple of hours. However, I felt that we made great conversation. Communication does not have to use words all the time. Sometimes, just to do something together works better than talking.

Last Drive

2006-07-15T23:52:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow, I will sell my car to my ex-coworker. Today was my last drive, but nothing different. Only different place where I went was Car Max which is a famous car dealer. I drive 89 Toyota Carolla GT-S, so I expected this could be very cheap value. After they test drove, they told me that the car is $500 value. This price is actually more than what I expected. However, because I love the car and spent a lot of money for fixing, I was a little disappointed.

After that, I went to Starbacks as usual for reading a book. In some reason, I was out of mind, so I ordered a hot caffe mocha! When I realized my mistake, it was too late. I had to drink the hot caffe mocha under southern hot climate! But, that is alright. Everything will be a good experience. I will stay in the U.S only 3 more days so...

Study or Reading

2006-07-15T01:52:00.000-04:00

I know that I should forget about reading books and studying English. But, I will go to Ph.D, so I need to acquire knowledge too. These days, I spend more time on reading books than studying English. I should do both, but I need to be prepared for going back. In Japan, I may be busy at working. Will I really be able to pass GRE and so on?

Selling Books

2006-07-14T00:40:00.000-04:00

I hate it, but I should. Today, I sold some of my books which I have been collecting since graduate school. I tried to send them all to Japan, but it is too expensive, so I needed to pick and chose. The shop where I went could not buy text type of books so that I had to bring many books back with me. I got about $40 for selling books. I was alike, "Alright!" But, the casher just gave me a trading coupon. They would not give me cash instead giving me that! That sucks! I challenged, but of course, it did not work. I gave up and looked around the store. There were several books I found that I would like to read. So, I gloved them and tried to bring them to the casher. Wait a minute! I have tried to clean up my room to prepare for going back to Japan. I am better not buying anymore stuff. But, how about the coupon? Should I just through it away? That is not worth it! These kinds of thoughts are going through in my mind. And, finally, I have decided not buying...

Zidane

2006-07-13T02:04:00.000-04:00

Many of you already know what happened the World Cup Soccer final match. I am a big fun of Zidane, so I want to believe what he explained on the TV. However, hurting someone is not a good idea. Eventhough, he believes that should be right. This is the way how we have been acting in the world. Someone says something, we hit. Some country says something, the country attacks to there. Say something is not good, but attacking is still unacceptable. He had a chance to say something after the game over. Why could he not wait 10 more min? We do not wait and be patient, so there is still violence out there. Just a few minutes, but it makes life different.

Good Trip

2006-07-12T01:02:00.000-04:00

I just came back today from WV. I really had a good time. Most of the time in WV, I was with my friends. We talked, played soccer and baseball, drunk, and did BBQ. Because we will be separated, we are no longer to be able to have that kind of fun time. However, I hope our friendship continues.
Also, I could meet my professors, bosses and coworkers. I was so happy since they all remember me and they told me that they have been missing me. I realize that I had a great time in there with them when I lived. Hopefully, I can make such environment in Japan and in the future school.

Out of Town

2006-07-07T08:29:00.000-04:00

I will be out of town until next week on Wed. Therefore, this blog will not be updated till then. I'm so sorry for people who enjoy reading this blog.

Clients

2006-07-05T23:14:00.000-04:00

These days, I have been getting more clients than used to. I am appreciated. Today, I have been emailing to my clients almost all day. Number of clients is not enough to keep me alive yet, but I am so glad to know that some people need me and want to get my help even though they need to pay. I have been counseling people couple of years. When I was a student, my counseling should be free service. As a school counselor, the salary was already settled so that it does not matter that I did great or poor job (Of course, I always do my best at each clients). Now, I have been getting pay directly from the clients. It is completely up to my skill and dedication. If I do poor, they will be gone and never come back. Being a professional is such a hard, but I feel being a responsible counselor day by day after I started this business.

E-Mail

2006-07-05T01:06:00.000-04:00

I have been e-mailing all over the places these days. I e-mail people who have been taking care of me since I came to the U.S. I e-mail people who have been my friends long time. E-mail is very easy way to communicate with people. Once upon a time when we did not have such a great computer system, we communicate each other by letters. Writing letters are not easy as writing e-mail. Therefore, we did not send alot. Indeed, we maintain communication with people than used to. But, why do we think that we have been independent and alone more than past decades?

Hide

2006-07-03T22:49:00.000-04:00

One of the most famous Japanese soccer players, Hidetoshi Nakata, is retired today. He is only 29 years old, but he occasionally mentions to be retired before age of 30. The time came, just came...

I used to play soccer at a park with internationals. And, I was usually called as "Nakata." Of course, I am not such a good player. They called me like this, because Nakata is the only famous soccer player in Japan at that time. So, he definitely led history of Japanese soccer.

Because of living in out side of Japan, I haven't had much chance to watch his play. I was excited going back to Japan and watch his play. Now, I am so disappointed that I will never and ever have chance to watch it.

Of course, I cannot make someone to do something. I respect his decision for retirement and wish his best luck for next career.

Friends

2006-07-02T17:49:00.000-04:00

I have been contacting to my friends in Japan. They are very welcomed me to come back. I am very appreiative their kindness and being my friend long time. Although I have not called and talked to them alot since I came to the U.S, whenever I go back to there for vacation, they always call each others and make a home party for me. Today, I read a book and it mentions if the person is being alone, no social support, they will have high possibility to become depression. According to the statement, I will not be depressed since I have such a wonderful friend in my life. However, the problem is most of them do not have stable jobs...

Reading

2006-07-01T20:04:00.000-04:00

Since I have decided to go to ph.D program, I try to increase studying hours. Today, I have read book while was walking and waiting in a line. Of course, I could not concentrate as reading in my home and read a lot, but I acutally like it! It makes me feel reading with relax and reflesh mind. I will try more days and see how I will feel. Surely, I should watch out people around. (Today, I almost hit people and objects several times...)

Soccer

2006-07-01T00:38:00.000-04:00

Finally, I found a place to play pick-up soccer game. This is too late! I am about going back to Japan. I have been looking for a place to play since I moved to SC, but no one knows it. I like to play soccer, because this is the sports that only one person cannot do anything. All 11 players need to help and play together for win. This is like a life. Only one person cannot do anything, but we help, argue, encourage and praise, then move on. We always pass a ball daily. We just cannot see it. We communicate. This is like a passing the ball right? If you do not give others' turn to speak, they will never be able to make commuinication with you. Then, you may lose their trust! Sometimes, the ball goes wrong way, but we try so hard to get the ball back. We should do this in the actual life too. We just do not realize that the soccer is reflecting human life!

Back to Japan

2006-06-29T23:48:00.000-04:00

I have heard a very bad news in this morning. The district will be unable to sponsor for my visa since so many applicants are waiting on their list. Yes. That's it! Today, I got a ticket for going back to Japan. It is still very hard for me to accept my 8 years living experience over like this. However, I should... I keep encouraging myself, "Just for a while. I will be back here near future for ph.D." I will try hard studying, counseling, and working in Japan. This is a promise for myself.

License

2006-06-28T21:47:00.000-04:00

I got bad news today (not about job). I will not even be qulified to take test for a counselor license in Japan without 2 years counseling experience in "Japan." That is so disgusting! Counseling clients who have different culture and life experience background is much harder than counseling same race clients! Do they think that counselor who are from Japan, but counsel only American clients cannot do well as much as counselors who have only been counseling Japanese clients?

Haven't heard yet

2006-06-27T22:21:00.000-04:00

I haven't heard anything yet. I hope everything will work out.

I would like to introduce reality of counseling in Japan. In Japan, everybody can become counselor if they call themselves as. It does not matter whether they got training, because there is no law that sets specific criteria for the counselor. Although they have gotten some kind of counselor training, most of them do not have masters'. They got training from somewhere schools (Not university or college). There are so many conseling schools and each school issue different certification and license. This makes clients to confuse which licensed or certified counselor is most dependable.

There are so many different types of psycho therapies that the counselors advertise as their professional use. However, interestingly, I have not heard counselors who can professionaly use cognitive behavioral therapy alot, which most common counseling style and theory in the world. Many conseling offices are looking for counselors who can utilize the theory and therapy. What do they do? Hypnotherapy (which is my profession too, but...), reiki, fortunetelling, etc.

Exiting!

2006-06-26T22:50:00.000-04:00

Today, I had such an exiting day!

I got a call from Gadsden Elementary school to hire me as a guidance counselor in this morning! If you read this blog edge to edge, you might think, "Where are you?" Yes, I am still in the U.S. I was pretty positive to go back to Japan. Therefore, I had written alike living in Japan.

Unfortunately, I cannnot take the position yet since I need to have working visa for legally authorized to work in the U.S. Finding sponsor for the visa is the hardest part for us as internationals. I met a HR person after I got the call, and she told me that she cannot gurantee to become a sponsor since many guidance counselor candidates are looking for jobs, but she will ask the superintendent. If the big man says, "Yes", I will get the job! I don't have any God to pray, but I feel that want to pray something for this matter.

First Blog!

2006-06-25T19:17:00.000-04:00

Hello!!

My name is kaz (I have linked this site from my homepage, so some of you already know my full name). Before start, I hate to say, but the language of this blog is only used in English, because the main purpose of this blog is for me to keep and practice English ability. Therefore, if you have difficulty with reading English, please find another interesting blog. There are tons of blogs out there!

Comment, fixing my English grammer or any kinds of your response are welcomed!! Your response are very valuable for me, so please do not hesitate to share your thought. Although I asked you to fix my grammer and sentence structure, you do not have to worry about yours. It does not matter to me how much you understand English. If you are willing to use English keenly, you will be treated as a valuable reader. So, do not hesitate to leave your comment!

Before finishing today's writing, I would like to say that Portugal and Netherland game sucks (World Cup)! Netherland players should know that Portugal players always good at making people upset and killing time. That's their strategy for win! If you play their game, you will lose. So, the result was expected. Tomorrow, we have another exciting world cup soccer match. I cannot do anything until this event over!