Congratulations on the 3rd year!
Haruka Baba is happy to be praised for the things she likes

Just as children celebrate milestones, this corner features portrait photos of Monosus members celebrating their continued work together.

This time, we will introduce the conversation we had on the day, along with photos of Baba, who has become firmly established as a marionette puppeteer while still working as a director.

The photographer who photographed Baba in Yoyogi, Tokyo was Kawase Kazue.

-What kind of work do you do on a daily basis, Mr. Baba?

Coding. I work for a company that I'm based at, so I do the work there and also help out with other projects when asked.

- You started this job without any coding experience. How are you doing these days?

Coding requires a lot of organization, but I'm not very good at it. My head is always messy, and sometimes I lose track of where things are on my computer.

I try to stay calm and solve each problem one by one, without letting things get messy. By doing this, I started to receive more and more gratitude from clients, and I started to feel a bit more confident that things were going well.

I love it when people praise me for doing what I love. But when I get praised for my coding work, I sometimes feel uncomfortable. I sometimes feel like I'm not good enough yet.

- It feels like it's not yet something that can be praised.

Yes. I am struggling and getting help from many people.

- When you say doing what you love, do you mean Porta (the marionette)? You're still updating it every day, aren't you?

Yes. I often have to think about what to do today, but it's a lot of fun. When I'm busy at work, I make him work overtime.

- Ah, the post on Porta about working overtime and being busy is when Baba himself is also busy.

yes.

- What do you enjoy about it?

When I move, I find that I have unexpectedly strong feelings about how things should be. For example, I notice that my eyes are looking in the wrong direction, or that my walking style is like that of a drunk person. There are times when I end up looking awkward, so I have to reshoot the shot many times.

I still lack the necessary skills, so I sometimes have to compromise, but I think there are some minimum standards that I won't compromise on.

On the other hand, sometimes something unexpected makes me laugh so much that I decide to post it.

- It's clear from your Instagram that you're having fun. Besides Porta, is there anything else at Monosus that left an impression on you?

I think that end-of-year parties and anniversary events are great. When we eat a meal together, have a lot of conversation, and then when I get home, I feel really warm inside and think, "Wow, today was a really fun day."

Also, a while ago we had a meeting where we all thought about the workplace. It was refreshing to know that we could think about where we work. Monosus is very free, and I think that's what's interesting about it.

- I like the feeling of being involved.

Yes. When we were talking about the workplace, I mentioned that I wanted to arrange some plants in the courtyard, and the people around me said it was a good idea, and now they're allowed to touch the plants as they please.

Even though I'm just maintaining the courtyard because I love it, I feel like I'm participating in the company, and I'm surprised when people at work express their gratitude to me. It's great to be able to do something I love and make them happy.

Now, while working as a coder, Baba has also started studying gardening again.

I look forward to seeing more of Baba's work as he continues to take on new challenges.

Please enlarge the photo to see it.