K
So lately I’ve been thinking about how I’ve created a Japanese version of my American life.
C
So does that make your Japanese life or
K
my American life? So the longer we live in Japan, the more American my life becomes, okay, the less Japanese my life becomes. But American in a Japanese context. My Yeah, it’s sort of like American Japanese fusion. I think I’m more fused.
C
Yeah, I think like the honeymoon period is over. We’re married to Japan, we go together.
K
I’ve never had a honeymoon period with Japan. When we came around vacation, I sort of bed. But I think when we crossed over than that,
C
but I think when we first moved here, both of us were trying to fit in. I was certainly trying to fit in. I was working at a Japanese company trying to be like Japanese.
K
I’ve never tried to fit in. Ever. That’s not my thing. I don’t ever try to fit in.
C
You stand out everywhere you go.
K
I don’t try to stand out. I’m just kidding. Amazing. Yeah. No, I’m just I my personality isn’t one of adaptation. So I’m not going to adopt customs. Because for me, that’s, it’s my perfectionism. I don’t think that I could ever be culturally Japanese in a way that’s perfect. And so like, I’ll never use chopsticks perfectly no matter if I have mastered it. And I went and studied with a master of chapstick, makers and users. The fact that I’m foreign, a Japanese national will never see me as Japanese. And they will never see the way I handled chopsticks as being correct. Right. I will never be part of the Japanese, I will always be other. And in the United States. I’m always other. So everywhere I go, and everywhere I’ve been I’ve always been other. And so I find it just easier. Instead of like lamenting and having that be like a big heavy thing. Just have it be I’m Christopher. So of course I’m unique.
C
Yeah. I have found that I am not unique. From afar. But personality wise, I think I’m unique.
K
But your your appearance has always been quite strikingly different.
C
Yeah, I guess so. Because you noticed me while we met?
K
I did. So you’re, you’ve always been physically quite striking, different, and completely oblivious of it? Yes. And so your perception and feeling of fitting in is so different than mine. Because I’m completely aware of people think clocking me being different. Yeah. But this is a is not like, a bad thing for me. So isn’t this like nothing heavy? So for me, what I think is so strange, is how many businesses? I’m starting in Japan. So like in the United States, I obsessively started businesses, is it? Yeah, it’s like my thing is to start businesses. And I never thought I would be in a place in Japan. I was starting multiple businesses. But I am like, I’m on business. Number three, I’m about to start business now. No business number for that to start business number five in Japan. And I just I can’t stop myself. I might compulsively
C
say you’ve always been to me, though. Because when I met you were running two businesses. Yes. And there’s a like, there’s a difference between, you know, this is what I do to make money. And I’m turning it into a business. And this is an officially registered business. So yeah, but you did turn your tutoring business into like, a Delaware Corp. Like, yes, a big thing.
K
So I’m doing the same thing in Japan. And I didn’t think that I would do that, because I still have my third practice adjustment guidance, which I’m going to reinvent but keep the name because of search engine optimization. And I’m so excited I have, I’m going to reinvent this company, because I’m bored of the other company. And it doesn’t work for my physicality. So I’m going to turn it into something completely new. And then I have cinnabar moth publishing. And then I have cinnabar moth literary collections. And we had route five which we sense closed down because our partners retired and
C
it just by programming was a software company. Yeah, I was working
K
for and then we have the music notes Corporation. Yeah. And so we have all these companies and my so I just want guidance is still up and going. The music notes is still up and going cinnabar moth publishing is still up and going and cinnabar moth literary collections is still up and going and I’m involved is
C
obviously time to start something new.
K
Right. That was totally what I was thinking because they’re up in Running.
C
Okay, this is the capitalist dream, right? You use your capital to start some companies. And in your case, it’s always been hard work has been your capital. Yeah. And then once things are going smoothly, you do it again.
K
Yeah, I’m I’m worried that people are going to be upset that I’m going to step away and just read stories. And that’d be the only thing I do as cinnabar moth,
C
I think that they’re not gonna be upset. I think that what I what I have seen is that everybody loves you. But you make people nervous when they feel like you’re hovering and lately you’ve gotten things moving so slowly, so smoothly, better. That it feels like hovering. But maybe that’s just me, because I’m like, Hey, if you’re gonna hover, give me some of the give me the, give me a smack and lips. Come on.
K
So when one big difference is that in the United States, Foster was a little person? Yes. And he was a child. Yeah, he was, you know, five and stuff. So he didn’t want to take over a company. Slacker.
C
Okay. What? Succession?
K
Right, come on. Um, so now he’s 27. And I feel like he can take over cinnabar moth publishing. Because the teams in place the team solidified, the team respects and they all have working together. It’s really like a group of peers hanging out.
C
And he has all the necessary skills or knows how to hire them. So
K
yeah, he does. He does. That’s an important thing. And I have this, this quirk, that specific to me that you find super offensive. And in the United States, it’s super offensive, except for among small business owners. All the small business owners we’ve known have agreed with me on this thing. If you’re a small business owner, you need to be able to run your business if every employee walks out the door.
C
Yes, I feel like that’s to highest standard, like every employee. I feel like and my context is, I’m a manager at a company with about 100 employees.
K
So there’s only one thing I cinnabar moth that I can’t do, and that’s edit, because I’m dyslexic. Yeah. And there’s like so many editing companies that I could like, send the book out and get it back today. Right. So if I wanted to do that
C
thing is that if everybody walked out a smaller than very small business, that would be like newsworthy, like if 500 People walked out of a company that we don’t have any 500 We don’t have 500 employees. Now we don’t, we don’t. So I’m ready for people to move on in their career, like by resigning as a matter of the ordinary course of business. Yeah. And I think you are, too. Yeah, like, one at a time. But you stay ready for everybody to move on?
K
Yes, I do. I stay ready for every single person and every single writer to pull their books. I’m ready. I know exactly how long it takes me to write a book. And, once if, so once we have the manuscript, good luck. Once we have a cover, and good luck, um, you’re so
C
good luck, because we have contracts. So because it’s not like the work is
K
the music in Japan, not the writers triangle. This is Christopher Wright. And me saying, I we keep it 100 Over here. Like I’m so much nicer on the writers triangle than I am on the music in Japan. And I’m saying good luck. I have your book, I own your book, I bought your book, I paid for your book, I paid for a cover for your book, I paid for a narration of your book, your book will be published with us. Yeah. And you can drag it and not promote it. Because we’ve had that experience. We’ve had the experience where an author like actively reached out to people and told them not to buy their book from stores. But to buy their book from them. Personally, we’ve had to two different authors do that. And I’m like, have at it, I don’t care. I don’t care. And the reason I don’t care is because we have enough manuscripts now to get through 2020 jail. And so for me at six months, if I don’t have six months worth of manuscripts, then I will start writing a book. Because it’ll take me six months to write a book. At most. I think I could write a book in three months, because I’ve written the length of a book you have I’ve written that many words you definitely takes about three months. So I’m not saying it’s gonna be a good book. I’m not saying it’s gonna be a person it’s gonna be a thing anybody wants to read that if we have to slap something on the shelf, we can slap something on the shelf and Rasta can write and this is so tripping me out. Everybody all the reviewers hate Ross’s book. But it’s selling like hotcakes. So unlike Riddle me this Batman. Why is our lowest review book One of our best selling books.
C
I mean, 50 Shades of Grey does not have great reviews. It does it? No, it’s got horrendous reviews, but it sells.
K
So yeah, I’m thinking like, no review is a bad review. I said that before. And I’m like, This is proof of concept, proof of concept. So for me, and it’s odd to me that the longer we’re in Japan, the more like living in the United States my life becomes. So I house a smaller so that’s a Japanese context, right, a smaller space. I still think it’s too big for just us. It was the right size for raising a teenager. And how much space roster needed Roslin into two rooms. Ross has always needed two rooms. But very much, Ross is very much like his parents. We both need two rooms. Yeah. So I think roster kind of got that from our culture, we’ve always add. So we share one of our rooms, we share our bedroom. And then you have your office and I have my dressing room. And then we have the Tommy room and roster, sort of which share your roster shared your office space for a while, right? And then roster got smushed down to one room. And then he moved out. Yeah. And he moved into a two room apartment. And he’s getting ready to move again and to another two room apartment that’s bigger and better laid out and nicer. It’s an upgrade.
C
Yeah. And it’s very small by American standards.
K
Yeah. But so like, I find it interesting that we’re all just becoming more and more of ourselves, the more we’re here, I think we’re having so much more freedom. It feels like post permanent residency, I feel like okay, I know where I’m gonna be. Yeah, so let’s do that.
C
Unleashed. And I feel like some of it is better availability of things because of the internet. But some of it is we said, Okay, I mentally said, Okay, I’m gonna be here probably for the rest of my life. Yeah. And that’s probably going to be decades, not months. Yeah, me too. We did things like rent a forwarding of a forwarding service in the United States, so that if we were to things that only go to the United States, we can still get them here in Japan.
K
Yeah. For our personal selves, right.
C
And we have an American phone number through
K
one of the we have American phone numbers, we do have one business and one personal,
C
yeah. Through the voice over IP numbers. Yeah. So I feel like a lot of this stuff has really been facilitated by being able to connect via internet stuff.
K
I feel like that internet connection was there when we moved.
C
That’s why I’m saying like, knowing that we’re going to be here long term, we’ve set up stuff that we had not set up before that we had said, that looks like it’s a trouble to set up. Yeah. And like bank transfers, it was people were telling me for years, like set up with this company. And it makes the bank transfers much easier. I was like, Yeah, but I only make one bank transfer every three years. Yeah. And now that we do regular exchange between the US and Japan. Okay, yeah, I’ve set up that service.
K
Yeah. So that is something that was new, because that wasn’t available when we first moved here. For me, I think it has a lot to do with stepping away from adjustment guidance and not doing not being a therapist for about 910 months, almost a year. And thinking about Was I happy with the practice that I had. And in the United States when I wasn’t happy with the business, we would sell it. Yeah. And so my thing is, I build a business and then I sell it. And I’m not selling adjustment guidance, because search engine optimization, I like the name. I’m not selling my client list because I confidentiality is
C
Yeah. Yeah, I am. Horrifying.
K
Yeah. So in the United States, when I sold my therapy practice, the thing was that they already knew all my clients. And a lot of my clients were their former clients, because everybody wants to owner. And then and you weren’t strangers? Yeah, I was shifting them back to a lot of them back to their original therapist, right? And saying, you know, and other saying you can stay with the practice or move on, but I’m moving on, right. And then there was a period of transition where I was seeing people in the United States while I was here in Japan, and winding that down. So for me, when I started the practice in Japan, it felt very much like I was just reverse engineering.
C
What had made the previous one work and what you had and haven’t liked about it.
K
Yeah, and it started the Same way, almost. And
C
I feel like sometimes your businesses take off so quick that you’re like, I’m on a runaway train. I don’t know if I like the train. Yeah. And so I feel like adjustment guidance, your therapy practice now has kind of come to the top of the hill, where it’s still a train.
K
It was like, there was a point in time. And I didn’t realize how many hours I was working. Yeah. And like you were constantly telling me, I was there. So with therapy, you’re not supposed to do more than 20 to 30 client hours per week.
C
Yeah, last time that you and I read it together, the APA guidance was no more than 28 client hours a week.
K
Yeah. And I was doing sometimes over 40 hours a week. And that’s because I would take on a lot of high risk clients. I mean, you take on a lot of high risk. In crisis clients, then you do a lot of in crisis sessions. And I was also doing families. And I know that families are labor intensive, and families are usually the first thing whenever I want to reinvent myself as a therapist I stopped working with, right, because they’re so complex, and you do end up working with every member of the family. Because there’s this illusion that if one member of the family is sick, the entire family isn’t sick. And that’s not true. That’s not been my lived experience. And so if you are a parent of a child that has mental health issues, you should be talking to their therapist on a regular basis, you should be doing family therapy with them on a regular basis. Because here’s what I tell parents, even if you’re the best parent in the world, and none of this is your fault, is about your child’s perception and about giving them the freedom and safety to say I think this is your fault, and trusting and knowing that therapists well enough to know, I had a young, a young client once wanted to be funny. That’s all they wanted to be. And they said it was their parents fault that they were not funny, and they hated their parents. And they were feeling suicidal. I was eight years old. I told their parents, I need to talk to you need to come in. I need to get to know you. And they said why? And I said I need to get to know whether or not you’re funny. And like why you need to get no dice. Sometimes they’ve child’s life. Yeah. And that right there, that dynamic will lead to a 12 hour day. Yeah, of working with one family. Because when you have a child that’s suicidal, the world stops the world for me, as a therapist, the world stops, there’s nothing that’s more important than saving that child’s life. So for me, I’m thinking, do I want to be a Crisis Therapist anymore? And the answer is, I don’t think I’m able.
C
Yeah. And I think even if you aren’t doing crisis, the family thing. There’s so many dynamics, like I was sick as a kid, I had severe asthma and all kinds of other stuff. And even if my parents had done perfect, which neither of them was even close, that would have changed the dynamic because there’s not a lot of good role models for what it looks like to be a sick kid with a healthy, like with a good family dynamic.
K
Yeah. And to in Japan, the child that I was talking about wanted to be funny in Japanese. And so one parents spoke Japanese. They’re both parents were foreign nationals. One parent spoke Japanese, other parents didn’t. And so they couldn’t test out their jokes in Japanese. And their jokes in Japanese weren’t funny. And then, you know, Ross is bilingual, bicultural, and so roster worked with a child to teach them how to be funny in Japanese, because Japanese humor is different.
C
I’m funny in Japanese, for example. Yeah, you’re
K
very different. Japanese people tell you all the time you’re not. They do the rude ones. Yeah, the honest ones. I said, because they have your back and they care. And I tell them you have to tell him because they told me and I’m like, You have to tell him and he will laugh when you tell them they’re like No, Chad won’t laugh at not being funny. He will think it’s so funny that you don’t get how funny it is. Right? And they’re like, that’s impossible. So for me I feel like I’m kind of spreading out and kind of relaxing and another level of that is the apartment that Roscoe lives in now. We picked out for him Yeah, we did. Like I went picked it out and I was then showed it to him and I literally asked him can you live here? Not do you want to live here? Can you live here? Can you make this work? Yeah, because rosters really from the outside looking in. He doesn’t seem like Chaos Walking. roster is Chaos Walking and I’m Chaos Walking and you’re Chaos Walking. We just don’t look like it from the outside in. And so for me to wake up literally two weeks ago and pitch a new business idea. That’s chaotic as
C
Spock, that’s very Christopher.
K
Yes. And you are like the best partner ever for that. Because you get so like you feed off of my excitement. I’m like, babe, I’ve got this amazing business idea. And you’re like, what is it? Like, as soon as I say that you’re like, Tell me about it. And we literally spent all day talking about my new business idea. And you’re like, This is the bomb.
C
Yeah. And I feel like strategizing. I feel like I’ve seen you successfully get into a lot of different things. And they have common themes. Yeah, I feel like adjustment guidance was a runaway train.
K
And it really took me places I was not expecting to go. And it’s
C
come to the top of a hill where you have to give it a slight nudge and start back again. But it also gives you time to inspect the train and decide, or the things you want to change about how this train runs
K
well into I’m just not, I’m not able, like I could suck it up and do a 12 hour session at the drop of a hat to save someone’s life. Yeah. And I would always be able to do that. But here’s the thing, just the way adjustment guidance was set up. It wasn’t originally set up to do that, right? Or to be that. And then it became that and once you start doing crisis therapy, it word spreads really fast in the community, because everybody’s looking for somebody who is not afraid. And in the United States, I did not do crisis therapy. But I went through that arc in the United States, right? The same road where I was doing families, I was doing children and families and I was like, I really want to work with people who can make their own decisions. Yeah. And that means working with adults. And so then I would transition to working with primarily adults and I had almost transitioned. I don’t think I have had any I think I had maybe one family left I was working with. But then when I when I had the one COVID hit that one family was like, it doesn’t work for kids. Yeah, it doesn’t like teams it works for and I was still don’t mind the online thing. Yeah. So I think I had maybe four or five families. Because I was cycling out my teens. My teens were getting ready to leave my teens were graduating high school. Yeah, um, I call them my teens. I’m not their parent. So for me, I was talking to you. Before COVID, I was talking to you about needing to reinvent, right? Adjustment guidance and having it be something else. And then you’re like, hey, I think it’s time for us to launch launch the press since you’re feeling entrepreneurial. Right. And I thought that was gonna be a five year process. And it turned out to be one year. Yeah. So it’s like, I think it’s gonna be like 18 months total to have. It’s been like 14 months now. Yeah, I think it’s like an 18 month project. That’ll be ready to be handed over to Ross. Because Ross has been there from the beginning. And Ross did to our pride his parents did buy in Ross is one of the founding owners did invest. And y’all know me about money. If you don’t invest, you don’t get the title. But lots of good investors buy in. And I feel like, okay, then, you know, let him have it. And let him have cinnabar moth literary collections, which was my baby and my dream that he didn’t want that I’m just gonna give them because I’m his mother. Okay. And I can do that. To him. Take care of my mom’s cousin. Yes. Take care of this. I can start something else. It’s gonna be awesome. Yeah. And so I have this business idea. And I don’t talk about the business until it’s launched. And up and successful.
C
People will try to copy you in advance, be like, you have good ideas. So I’m going to do it. Like, it’s all about the execution.
K
I do the thing in Japan is you can’t start businesses without the right visa. That’s true. Yeah. So I could talk about it. And if they did in the United States, I wouldn’t affect me. But if I put it on blast, and then it fails, that’s embarrassing. Yeah. So one is the rebranding of cinnabar. No, not adjustment, rebranding of adjustment guidance, and changing the direction of adjustment guidance. And I think that’s going to happen before starting any other businesses. Yeah. And I feel like real talk adjustment guidance is a moneymaker and adjustment guidance, paid for cinnabar moth and adjust my guidance, it will pay for the next thing I want to do. So stay tuned on that. That’s kind of how this works. Yeah. So you too, are an entrepreneur but you You don’t want to be responsible for thinking of any of the businesses. I don’t want to be called an entrepreneur. Yeah. Cuz I said to you’re like, I’m not a risk taker.
C
Well, entrepreneur means a person who starts things and I feel like I will finish it.
K
I think you’re an awesome entrepreneur, you support the hell out of me?
C
I do. But I feel like I’ve transitioned to being more execution focused at my current job. Yeah. But I’m, I’ve always been very analytical, like, I will look at the situation and give you advice. And then you could take it or not, but that’s you taking or not my advice. my track record. Yeah. I’m still not as comfortable with the doing things part as the analyzing things part.
K
What does that even mean? Analyzing is doing something that’s the analysis comes before you take any action.
C
Yeah, but I like to step away after I’ve done the analysis and say, okay, somebody else can take the action.
K
No, give me give me an example that does not involve a website. See, I like to step away. It’s a dead end. Y’all caught that? It would have been dead air on the mic. Like nothing on the mic. I know you like you like to come in and tinker. Yeah. You’d like to tell me how I’m doing it wrong.
C
Yes. I’m like an efficiency expert.
K
There you go. That’s what we’re calling it.
C
That’s what we’re calling. Yeah, we’ll
K
call you the efficiency expert. Yes. I feel like in the United States, you didn’t do that. I felt like in the United States. Because I think that the entrepreneurship when we first I think this is something that’s changed. based on age, we’re always talking on a podcast. Is it age, or is it Japan?
C
Yeah. Cuz I think this is both age and education. Because I finished my bachelor’s just before we move to Japan. Yeah. And then I finished my master’s, my PC while we’re here. So my education level has gotten my finish high school.
K
I finished my bachelor’s and my master’s here. I’m not sure. Yeah. So I was starting businesses with no education. And that was tripping you out? It was because you believe that you had to have all this stuff. And I said, all you need is like a business plan. Right? Like
C
I knew, you know, obviously, because we’re married. It’s kind of strange for us to you know, yeah.
K
But before we were mad, you’re like, Why do you have so many businesses?
C
Right? Like, you’ve got a GED, which you weren’t you never been ashamed. Tell me that. I’m super proud of my GED. And I was like, but I’ve always been told you need a high school degree. For what? Now? I wouldn’t have done anything different with the information cuz I turned 16, like, six months before I graduated. Yeah. So and that in Alaska, that’s the earliest you can drop out. Fast. The earliest you can earn your GED. So yeah. But like, why didn’t somebody tell me you got to have a high school education for this? You don’t? You’ve just got to, like, know how to,
K
you know how to do a business plan is not for everybody. But for me. Yeah. So I’m an impossible thing in the United States. And I’m an impossible thing, here in Japan. And I think that entrepreneurship is so misunderstood. And when we first met, you were like, I don’t understand how you’re starting all of these businesses and how you’re deciding who to trust, right? And how you’re deciding who to employ. That was the biggest thing for you. How do you decide who to employ? And how do you decide when to sell? And how do you sell it?
C
And how do you recover? Because neither of us has always been right about who to employ? Yeah, no. But like, how you recover?
K
Well, yeah. fire people. Yeah, I know you do. Obviously. Enjoy it,
C
mentally. That’s the part I think you enjoy it. And for me, it’s devastating. I’m like, I have crushed all their hopes and dreams.
K
No, I don’t view see I don’t view it that way. So I hired my so I worked for a company that did that was applied behavior consultants, horrible company didn’t know then what I know now. And my, a really good friend of mine at the time, was working there. And then started working for me as a tutor, and did a great job in the tutoring business. And then I sold the tutoring business and rolled that I sold one aspect of it rolled the other aspects into another business. They did were not a good fit for the other business, right? And I talked to him about it. And I told you, they were like, thank you so much for finding me because I love you too much to quit, but this is such a bad fit for me and I’m so uncomfortable. I’m so unhappy. Yeah, and I’m like baby if it’s okay, sweetie, like that. This is life. Right?
C
Well, and I guess my current job I haven’t fired anybody and nobody who works, as reports me is at risk of being fired. But at my current company, I would view it as being a favor like it wouldn’t be a all of a sudden it would be, look, this isn’t working. Let’s plan your exit. Let’s get you set up for your next thing. Yes. Let’s set you free from this so that you can move on to a better thing. Absolutely. Very much like selling a business, I guess. Yes.
K
And so for me, I always look at like that, to me, it’s so much better to sit down and say, This isn’t working for me. Is it working for you? Because if it’s working for you, let’s talk about how we can make it work for me. Right? And let’s see if you can get there. And if you can’t get there, then let’s move you on to something else. Yeah. And we had that with the adjustment guidance with the Jasmine guidance employees. Yeah, we did. And you saw other business owners that wanted to be folded into adjustment guidance. And I don’t think your business is a good fit for that, right. But we can give it a try. And we had somebody who had an up and coming business and really felt like their business could get my business could get their business to the next level. And I said, you’re partnering with the wrong people go partner with these people instead. They’re like, but they intimidate me. So I said, right on, let’s partner together so that you can be under my umbrella. Right? And then I will help you transition to the better fit. And they moved on. And then sold their business. Like, they sold their business to the other company. And they were like, that was so cool.
C
And I think that’s the entrepreneurial bug is when you’re like, you know, I’m I’m not feeling running this business every day. Yeah. And people step up like with your tutoring company, you’re bought out by by the employees. Yes. Who formed a co op? That’s thing that was the best thing. That’s my favorite. Yeah.
K
So I like to hire entrepreneurs, people with an entrepreneurial spirit. And then I’d like to mentor them. And then I like to sell them the business and move on because I get bored of the business. But I always have my one mainstay that that gets my pocket. Yeah. And I feel like adjustment guidance is my mainstay that gets my pocket and lets me do outrageous things like open a press.
C
That’s ridiculous. It does give freedom and I think permanent resident Yeah,
K
mid opening a press. That’s ridiculous. It is. And then opening a magazine.
C
Right. But it’s the same thing as a press turned out not to be
K
well, I know authors. That’s That’s what I said. I know authors, and they they want to they want me to publish a lot of stories. And yeah, no, I don’t have any place to put them. Yes. I’m so sorry. I slurped as Jean Chatzky to get me more water. It’s bad. It’s a bad bad habit.
C
I’m gonna reveal the secret so much. So a big customer held out the glass to me afterward.
K
Yes. And I grabbed it and pulled it back. Because like, as I’m slurping, I tilt the glass. Pull a straw that isn’t even the full slurp that I do. And then I was like, Would you like some water, honey? And I’m like, Yes, I would. How did you know?
C
I’m your psychic friend?
K
Yes. How did you even know. So it’s really an exciting time. And I find it would be remiss if we didn’t talk a little bit about the holidays. Okay, and what the holidays are for me, I think of them as maximum Chad time.
C
Yes, you do think about the maximum chat time. So it’s important to align because my holidays don’t always match your holidays.
K
No, they don’t I work more during your holidays. You do? Because I have maximum chat? Yes, you do. And because I have you to bounce ideas off of like, is this a good idea is a bad idea?
C
What are our sleep patterns mean that sometimes you’re like, Hey, it’s 5am.
K
And I asked them like, Hey, can you change your sleep schedule so that you’re up at 5am? So I can talk to you? Yeah, because I’m waking up at 2am. And that those three hours are hard. hours, I suppose if I want to do something I don’t know how to do yet. And I can’t google my way into figuring it out. And that’s usually when I want to program something. Yes. And I don’t know how to write code something. As a dyslexic. There is the Dyslexic sky to to writing code and there are dyslexic coders. I’m not one of them. Yeah. And I don’t jive with that. And so like
C
when I get up, I can find a programmer and like figure out how to hire them and all that.
K
So I think everybody at cinnabar moth publishing is going to be shocked because I’m doing a revamp over the break and And the team knows in January that I may have changed everything, you over their holiday, you’re
C
generally pretty nice about work expectations. So I I’d be surprised if their actual working day changed very much.
K
Yeah, no, they’re working day won’t change. But the way that cinnabar moth is presented will change, I’m going to go in and change everything right. And what it is, is getting ready for a handover. And I think that people are going to freak out. That is being handed over. Because one thing they know with me at the helm, that it there’s a rigidity, but that rigidity creates consistency. Yes. But, you know, I, I love cinnabar moth publishing, I’m still going to do the twitter i i love doing cinnabar moth publishing Twitter, I’m still going to be involved in the company, I’m just not going to be as involved because I need to make room to do some other stuff. Yeah. And during the holiday break, I’m going to figure out how to make that room. And that’s very much hot was in the United States.
C
Yeah. And I think has a physical component to st make your room because people know, I think if you listen to previous episodes, you know, our building has been under construction, which thankfully now is like, nearly over there’s supposed to be gone by Friday.
K
So yes, their permit expires. So they’re working Saturday and Sunday. But
C
we took advantage of the construction at the start. They said, Hey, we’re going to have dumpsters or skips or whatever.
K
To get rid of some stuff that we we did a huge purge
C
that we weren’t using anymore that we had inquired, and nobody wanted to buy or even take for free. Yeah. And it just gave us more room to work. And I feel like business can be the same way. You don’t want to throw it in a dumpster. You want to pass it on to somebody who’s earned it or have somebody buy it or something. Yeah, but clearing up that mental space gives you room to work.
K
Yeah. And so for me, I don’t let go of the personal relationships. Like I know, there’s some opposite and say what I prefer working with you are going to be other authors that Oh, thank goodness, I’m not working with you. And that’s natural in business and right, it’s going to be some authors that, wait a minute, you’re not fully cooked. And you have to stay with me because you’re not fully cooked. And I finished projects out and and so the there’s like
C
some, ya know, that things hang on. Like I was tutoring during my PhD. Yeah. And there’s
K
one tutoring during your time at your previous employer.
C
I’m saying I’ve been tutoring since then. Yeah. Um, there’s one recently tutored someone. Yes, I have. Yeah. But there’s one client. I was tutoring during my PhD. That roster now has been tutoring for almost 10 years. Yes. Because we don’t burn people in relationships. And I think that’s one of the things that I like about how you do business is that you don’t you do your best to not burn people. Yes. Like if people come in toxic and poisonous on fire, you’re gonna like put them out and send them on their way. Yes. But people that you have a good relationship with that relationship doesn’t end just because you are moving on from day to day running the business.
K
So it’s something that I’d love about Japan, that I don’t like about the United States. So there was an if y’all follow cinnabar moth on Twitter, then you or the music’s, if you follow us on Twitter, you know that there’s been beef with authors, right. And there was one author who quit and laughed and wanted nothing to do with us. And then went around trying to get every author to leave us because they were unhappy. And they cast it differently. They can tell their own story. In Japan, that doesn’t happen. Because even if it’s true, if you say it, I can sue you. And you have to pay my lawyer fees, you’ll have to pay my court fees, and you will have to put out a public letter of apology, you will have to retract what you said. Yeah,
C
the quick way to say it is that in Japan, slander and libel, truth is not a defense.
K
Correct. So I do miss that. But I I do wish that was everywhere. But I so have zero fucks to give about what someone says about me. Because if I believe one of two things will happen. One You either believe what that person says you were negatively primed against me and you have no interest in getting to know me or two. So I guess three or two you will get to know me too. And you have your own original experience with me because you value knowing your own version of the truth. and your own understanding of what went down. And then three, you know me?
C
Yeah. And I think there’s also four, I think there’s that you know that the dynamics between two people are different than the people themselves. Yes, there can be to perfectly nice people who have a terrible dynamic between
K
them. Yes. And so I find it interesting the, because there’s a group of people who have taken the other person’s side, and there’s a group people who have taken my side. And I didn’t ask anybody to take sides. And
C
the whole thing about taking sides so when we met, you said, if you ever asked me to take sides between you and somebody else, I’m gonna choose them because whoever asked me to take sides, yeah, not on their side.
K
Yes, I guess they’re not on my side.
C
I think you told me that within like five minutes of meeting you. Like ham Christopher as like, I’m Chad used to take sides is not you
K
know, once I liked you, you as a person, like once I like someone as a person, I on a personal level, I tell them, like, especially in friend groups, like if y’all have beef, y’all have beef, that has nothing to do with me. That’s not my, that’s not my relationship with you. And there’s a really beautiful person in my life that’s really close to the person that I’m talking about. Yeah. And they’re so beautiful, that they’re keeping that relationship and they’re keeping their relationship with me. And they’re, they know that there’s two different things. Now, I know that the other person still talks about me. I don’t talk about them ever, except for here and where they can’t know who I’m talking about. And I know it never comes up with the person and I know that their friends, I don’t ask about them. I’m not curious. I know that dynamic exists. And my view is, if I like you shouldn’t I want and I care about you? Shouldn’t I want you to have as much positivity in your life as possible. And if that person is toxic, isn’t that your responsibility to get them out of your life? So I’m not your therapist, and our friend, I’m not trying to limit you or control you.
C
And sometimes the dynamic is what’s toxic and rather than aimed at people, I, I’ve seen you and I don’t know which came first the skill of of keeping these things separate? Or the therapy part but I feel like they played off of each other very well. Yeah. Because you so compartmentalize people and their relationships to you, rather than saying who they are. You say who they are to you. And so with the therapy practice, you never talked about your clients. And sometimes they would come to me, like, I would know them social. Yeah. And they would tell me how Christopher has been working, you know, over the last five years as far as like helping turn what? Like you didn’t know kisser was my therapist.
K
No reason to idea. No reason to competence. Yeah, is my bread and butter. So I feel like for you. I feel like you’ve actually come more into your own in Japan. But I think that has to do with age.
C
I do think that you were 23 when I’m yeah, when we that I was 23
K
and I’ll say it today, but only for today. Okay, you’re 46
C
I am 46 I’m double the age I was when we met.
K
Yes. So seeing you have been with me for over half of your life. Yes. Every time that comes up, I have to be like cannibalistic or monster. Like that’s my monster voice. I feel like it’s not my vampire voice. It’s my monster voice
C
See, I wasn’t gonna say vampire voice. I was gonna say your nose for Ratu voice.
K
And you know going to be with this new. I am a cannibalistic monster, but I am not in the vampiric family.
C
You’re like a ghoul?
K
Yes, I’m very ghoulish. I’m a ghoul sucking away your youth. I told you. I’m like, whatever those things are in Dark Crystal.
C
This galaxy?
K
Yeah. Let’s get to anger. gelfling. Yeah. And like anybody who’s seen you over, our relationship knows I have sucked away all of your youth.
C
I know. I look like 20 years older than me and that it’s wild.
K
You had over 20 years. You look over 20 years older. We’ve been together for more than a little so this has been a wild ramble about just me being hyper and energetic. And I know. Yeah. And I know I price that a lot without saying anything. And well just know all about me
C
and just know that my vacation has started for the end of the year. So Kisstopher’s had maximum Chad for a couple of days.
K
Yes, I’ve got the redness is what we call it. And I think that since the main episode was completely all about kiss for if you want to know all about tagging to false on over to the tape too. And we’re going to talk about What Chad does for cinnabar moth polishing, because I think the things that you’re stepping into are helping me step away. Yeah, I think as well because you’re going to be supporting more. And that helps. So we love all of our beautiful music notes. And thank you so much for listening and making us in the top 10 I’m Claire FM’s for podcasts about Japan. And we hope that you have an amazing holiday and if you don’t celebrate the holiday, we hope that you have an amazing day and that you are feeling loved and feeling safe and feeling chairs not an easy time of year and we hope that you’re staying safe. Bye bye
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