i am a liar. i am telling you the truth.

Dear Reader,

I have no idea how you are reading this. Either Blogger has linked my page randomly or it popped up as a search result on Google, or it has been linked to you by the one friend who knows that this exists. It doesn't matter. You're here, I'm here, so let's get comfortable!

Allow me to explain myself. Here are some lies about myself:

My name is Nathan Hamasaki.

I live in San Francisco.

I am twenty-six years old.

I am a consultant for a very prestigious management consulting firm.

This last "lie" is more like a half-truth. But, it is also the reason why I was coerced into abandoning my original blog and online presence.

You see, in the finance world, the names of companies and the names of its workers are inextricably linked - the farther the worker bee advances in their organization, the greater visibility he/she attains - the greater visibility he/she attains, the greater scrutiny he/she is subjected to by the organization. As such, I was recently informed by my up and ups that I was developing a "bad-boy" reputation for myself. It was made clear to me that failing to correct this image would be a "career-limiting move." So, I had to commit online harakiri and take down anything that was remotely objectionable. I was angry about it, but I thought about starting anew, writing anonymously.

I've always been wary of anonymous writers. Writing anonymously is a way of protecting oneself while making everyone else vulnerable, thereby escaping accountability for one's potentially dangerous actions (kind of like a terrorist). I assure you, I'm not here to embarass or discredit anyone. As such, I will also be changing certain details to protect myself and those involved (it's only fair). My sole intention is to write without restraint.

Ironically, I think that by going anonymous, I will finally be able to talk openly about my life and how I think and feel about our world. There's so much welled up inside of me that couldn't be shared with the world without hurting or offending a lot of people...I can finally give a full picture of what my life is like. The drawback of anonymity is that none of my close friends will be able to read any of this. I'd like to think someday I can remove the mask and say, Hey, it's me! Until then, I lie and say that I've stopped writing completely. Again, I note that it is a bit ironic that these lies allow me to be more truthful than ever before.

I can't promise that everything I say will be interesting or worth reading, but I'll try my best not to disappoint. There's a lot of flux going on in my life right now; I hope I can capture some of that here. I have a bad habit of sounding melodramatic; I'll do my best to write simply and leave the flowery language for the college kids. Be seeing you.