Plus Minus Equals

Signs that things are back to normal:

1. Bottled water is starting to reappear on shelves.

2. People (myself included) are bitching and moaning about stupid, pointless stuff again.

3. I went for a run tonight just bringing keys and my phone; no emergency water, no food, no radio, no torch. (Though the torch would actually have been kind of handy...)

Signs that things are still far from normal:

1. People are talking excitedly about finding sliced white bread in their local supermarket.

2. There are rumours going around that the power saving measures and rolling blackouts will have to continue for two years!!!

3. Companies like mine are having serious, long meetings about how to deal with working in Tokyo in summer with no air conditioning. You guys in Ireland might not be able to imagine, but it's a serious health and safety problem. Our office will easily break a humid 40 degrees in the height of summer, what with all the computers and human heat. Suggestions are on the table that I never thought I'd hear from a conservative company like mine: teleworking (blasphemy!); late-to-night shifts for office work (I like this one as I work late anyway and would get the mornings off!); and even temporarily moving offices. (So not a fan...I pay exorbitant rent to live near work and have no commute!)

Overall, I think it's fair to say that things remain abnormally normal.