Reno F Posted September 10, 2016 Author Posted September 10, 2016 How cold does it get over there? In winter, maybe the average is around 2ºC (sorry, can't remember the conversion factor to ºF). Seems not much, but to me is bloody cold, like freeeeezing cold. The worst is that Japanese houses are not insulated. I don't get it, I reckon it is something related to earthquakes. You have to rely on having your heater on if you don't want to feel cold. But the good thing is that winter doesn't last long very long as in maybe Canada, Russia and Northern Europe.
Reno F Posted September 10, 2016 Author Posted September 10, 2016 Today wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. I had low energy and and questioned myself as the day went by. Why I felt like that is what I'm trying to figure out. Perhaps is the lack of social interactions I had this week. I only left home to work, and I don't have anyone to talk to here in Kyoto, like, on the phone. It gets more difficult to make new friends if you don't see the same people often enough. Socializing is indeed a basic need of human nature.Anyway, I realize that those days come and go and I should come up with a strategy to get by them and make them last shot. Should I just focus on getting my dailies done? Maybe I'm also lacking action. I have some plans but I don't seem to make the first step, so it gets me depressed. Another big factor is that I'm not having enough fun lately. I believe it is an inside-out issue so I must be aware of it next time I feel blue.Writing a journal make me reflect on those things and it helps me to come out with a way around it.
JSmith Posted September 10, 2016 Posted September 10, 2016 (edited) How cold does it get over there? In winter, maybe the average is around 2ºC (sorry, can't remember the conversion factor to ºF). Seems not much, but to me is bloody cold, like freeeeezing cold. The worst is that Japanese houses are not insulated. I don't get it, I reckon it is something related to earthquakes. You have to rely on having your heater on if you don't want to feel cold. But the good thing is that winter doesn't last long very long as in maybe Canada, Russia and Northern Europe.On campus where I live it can get as low as -28 C with wind chills (it's very windy here) so that's wonderful haha. I can see the insulation issue as being annoying though. Can't wait to get the hell out of here after I graduate. Edited September 10, 2016 by JSmith
Cam Adair Posted September 10, 2016 Posted September 10, 2016 -28C just gave me flashbacks to growing up in Calgary. I think I still have PTSD from it all.
Reno F Posted September 13, 2016 Author Posted September 13, 2016 (edited) Woke up at 6:30, got up at 7:30, feeling sleepy, had a shower, then BAM! - What a great day to be alive! Love this sudden changes of mood!I had 3 students today, gave one of the best classes, but two hours later, I had my worst class ever! I still can't understand this certain student well, I just wanted to open the door and run away as fast as I could. Next time I'll be better prepared (with my running shoes).I'm about to finish reading "You are not so smart", by David McRaney. It is a good read, rather long, but you get to be aware of numerous innate behaviours of the human race. My only complain is that it destroyed completely the magic beyond "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. What a killjoy. Sometimes, ignorance is really bliss.I'v been thinking of my strategy to get out of comfort by starting a conversation with a stranger. This is quite chalenging to me now, as I'm only talking to cashiers, ha. So, I'm changing it to paying a compliment to a stranger. Sounds easier and it helps me thinking positive and "always look on the bright side of life".I think I might get the solo of "you shook me all night long" earlier than I though, but unfortunately I don't have an mic input to record it. I'll check my wife's laptop later. I can't believe I'm playing my first solo ever. Can't wait to start improvising.Achievements:Jogging 3x / week - CheckMorning pages - not there yetWriting practice - not there yetGuitar practice - checkJapanese study - checkBusiness work - not there yetEveryday journaling - CheckWorkout - Check, I guess. Skipped yesterday. Starting it now so I don't skip today as well. Edited September 13, 2016 by Reno F
Cam Adair Posted September 14, 2016 Posted September 14, 2016 You can hold two conflicting ideas at the same time. I like You Are Not So Smart, and I like The Alchemist. NEither is "the answer" but neither is as well.
Reno F Posted September 15, 2016 Author Posted September 15, 2016 Two days at home in a row, but this time I didn't feel bad about it. Well, yea, yesterday I spent too much time with my eyes on bright screens, so by the end of the day I was having a headache. Because of that I skipped my exercises (again). On the other hand, I'm on a +2weeks streak on my japanese studies.The Art of War The War of Art is just my type of book: smart, concise and to the point. Great book so far, perhaps a must read, and I'm only at the first part. Thanks for the recommendation, Cam!I think I've got the song right now, gotta keep practicing for the next days and try to record it. If I think it is good enough, I'll post it here. My first solo ever is an Angus Young solo! Gotta keep in mind to not skip scale and improvisation practice.Writing is still difficult, especially when you set yourself a goal. Yesterday I wrote maybe 100 words and today I wrote more 200. And this is all one post of my roleplay, which I'll finish tomorrow. Also, creating content is way even harder. But I think I'm on the right path.I've just came back from jogging. I can feel the improvements from last week. I can still only run for 1 minute, but I can start running again after 5 or 6 minutes, 3 or 4 minutes less than last week. Or would it be 1 or 2? Whatever, who cares!
Reno F Posted September 19, 2016 Author Posted September 19, 2016 Are you going to play us some AC/DC?You bet!Day 67I'm writing today in an unusual time. YesterdayI spent the whole day in a music festival. It rained all day long and the last show had to be cancelled because of the weather. Although I've been living here for almost 4 years, it is still amazes me how the weather can be dangerous. It is like the opposite of my homecountry, where weather is safe but people are dangerous, haha.Anyway, I didn't get anything done yesterday, so I woke up kind of early today and did half of my dailies already. It is nice to have habits - even when you don't plan your day, you have stuff to do that keeps you busy and moving forward. I have a class later after lunch and then I'm going to spend some time cleaning the house. My goal for today is to set an online advertisement to sell my old japanese books. It serves for two purposes: 1 - make space in my room; 2 - get experience and momentum. 1XP > 0XP.I couldn't keep up with the writing of morning pages yet. I don't want to start the day using the computer, and I also don't want to spend 30min to 1 hour writing in the morning. I've seen online a "five minutes journal" and I liked the idea very much. Still thinking on a way to adapt it to my routine. I also have over 12 affirmations that I should spread through the house so I can read the without putting effort to it.
Piotr Posted September 20, 2016 Posted September 20, 2016 It's good that you're going well on your detox.I recommend those yellow sticky notes for spreading affirmations across your house. Watch out though. At some point my house looked like the one from films about psychos. Covered in quotes. It is really helpfull though.Greetings, Piotr.
Reno F Posted September 20, 2016 Author Posted September 20, 2016 I have little to write today. I had more free time than I expected, but I didn't use it wisely. Now I'm in a rush to not have another day without exercise. I still don't have the book advertisement I said I would put the other day. But I will have it at some point. Noticed that I haven't moved forward on some aspects. To do list is getting bigger. Wish I had spent more time here instead of youtube today. Tomorrow will be another day. Thanks for reading! You are awesome!
Cam Adair Posted September 20, 2016 Posted September 20, 2016 Cross something off your list! Let that momentum begin to build once again!
Reno F Posted September 22, 2016 Author Posted September 22, 2016 Had one of those days thinking about the future again. I still have no destination in mind.I crossed some stuff from the list and put up the advertisement I planned. Next step is to sell the books. When I think about what I'm writing now, I can't help but laugh. How can something as simple as selling a book can become a goal to achieve? Yea, let that ego be beaten to the ground again. That's all it's been doing since I came to Japan.Anyway, rainy day today, messed with my plans to go sightseeing in the afternoon and running in the evening. Instead, I did some workout and studied a little longer.Gotta have a second source of income very soon or I'll go crazy. I can think about future while working for someone now.The solo is sounding better, perhaps I can already start thinking about recording something.Things I'm grateful (yea, kind of random, but I feel I need to think of something right now):1. for having good health;2. (2 minutes later) being alive;3. being Reno;
Reno F Posted September 23, 2016 Author Posted September 23, 2016 Dear Journal,How are you today?I'm better than yesterday, thank you. Last week I was about to reach my goal for putting on weight, but this week I slacked a bit on diet and lost some grams. Today I ate well and I'm ready to get where I want to be next week, maybe sooner. This week I didn't go for a run outside a single time. Summer is about to end, feeling a bit lazy. Let's make a deal and ban this word from the vocabulary.Good news on guitar practice. I finally found a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to improvising. After today's practice I could se the path to be walked on. I haven't forgot the debt I have with you (and myself) to record one music. Let's work on that next week.In order to relieve the stress from yesterday, I sent out two application forms to jobs as part time English teacher. I'll be looking for more chances so I can focus better on more important things.One last thought for today, I'm thinking of writing the journal in the mornings after waking up instead of nights before sleep (actually, before working out muscles). It is one more reason to wake up earlier. Right now I'm getting up around 7:30, and I want to make it before 7.Gotta go now. See you next time.
Cam Adair Posted September 23, 2016 Posted September 23, 2016 When you aren't sure about a long-term goal, try and focus on shorter ones. Use that momentum to find a bigger one. Goals evolve over time. The key is to just get started. You're doing better than you may be giving yourself credit for, so make sure you're proud of the action you are taking.
Mad Pharmacist Posted September 23, 2016 Posted September 23, 2016 Hello Reno!What kind of diet are you using to put on weight?Tell me a bit about it and about all results.If you did it already in this journal, then tell me on which page, so I'll read it all. Greetings, Mad Pharmacist
Reno F Posted September 25, 2016 Author Posted September 25, 2016 When you aren't sure about a long-term goal, try and focus on shorter ones. Use that momentum to find a bigger one. Goals evolve over time. The key is to just get started. You're doing better than you may be giving yourself credit for, so make sure you're proud of the action you are taking.I can see why you're a coach. Thanks, Cam.Hello Reno!What kind of diet are you using to put on weight?Tell me a bit about it and about all results.If you did it already in this journal, then tell me on which page, so I'll read it all. Greetings, Mad Pharmacist Hi, Pharmacist! When I say diet, I mean "eating habits" only. What I try to do is pretty simple: eat over 1500 calories per day and over 100g of proteins. I avoid meat and fat, but the reason for that it is totally unrelated to diet. As for results, I put on 3 to 4kg on the last 3 months, and they didn't come to my belly. I need one more kg to beat my record and to set up a new target. For the record, I used to weight 56kg on average, but I had been 54 sometimes. I'm now 59 and some grams and my goal is to wake up with 60kg. I'm 178cm tall.Day "can't be bothered to count but not 90 yet"I spent the day out sightseeing and hiking. I'm very tired now, but I wanted to write some before going to bed.Things I could do, in spite of spending the day out: reading a book, exercising, studying Japanese (not enough, but still better than no study).Things I'd like to have had done: speaking with strangers while outside (so many foreigners around, i really should have been more friendly), practiced improvisation on guitar (I was exhausted, but that is no excuse), writing.I think today was a tie between high me and the low me. My quest is not against gaming anymore. It hasn't been for a while, I think. That's good.Yesterday morning I put on an old Bon Jovi record and remembered the days of school/summer love. And then I went to youtube and watched Liv Tyler on Aerosmith's Crazy videclip. Enjoy while you're single, guys!
JSmith Posted September 26, 2016 Posted September 26, 2016 WHAT IS THERE TO ENJOY ABOUT BEING SINGLE????
Reno F Posted September 26, 2016 Author Posted September 26, 2016 WHAT IS THERE TO ENJOY ABOUT BEING SINGLE????Don't take me serious on that one. But I do remember one quote of Joey from Friends that helped me once when I was single and heartbroke: "Grab a Spoon".Another day bites the dust.Days have became a routine to me. I sent one more application today, after having a good class in the afternoon. This student really helps being interested in learning - I'm gonna have to work a little more for this class, as the student grasps the content pretty fast.I have finished reading a novel yesterday. It was nice, but I'll avoid novels for a while. Still have two books to study before I move on to others.Things I could have done to have a better day: 1 - Write more. I wrote 3 paragraphs today, it took me about one hour to write them, but I wish I could have written more. 2 - Exercised earlier. 3 - Record something with the guitar. Still haven't checked whether my equipment is good enough.Things that made my day great: 1 - English class; 2 - Reading The War of Art; 3 - Chat with the school receptionist; 4 - Being aware of my productivity
Cam Adair Posted September 26, 2016 Posted September 26, 2016 This student really helps being interested in learningApproach your studies with curiosity.
Reno F Posted September 28, 2016 Author Posted September 28, 2016 Day 7XLet me start with what I've managed to get done today. After getting ready for the day at 8:30, I started woking on the roleplaying game I play eventually with my mates through Skype (not videogame). I try to keep the preparation to a minimum so I can work on improvising through the game session. So from around 10 I was already on my Japanese book and dictionary, on which I stayed for over one hour.I started practicing the guitar on a back track, and it reminded me that playing with other instruments/people is a completely different experience. I could play through the whole music, though, but there is still much space for improvement. I also checked my wife's laptop and it has a mic input so I might be able to record my guitar directly. I've also found a free recording software and did some tests. It looks promising, although I didn't plug the guitar yet.On the afternoon, I listened to Pat Flynn's podcast, which I've been listening often on the last few weeks. I wonder if I lack ideas or guts to start something online right now. It is still not clear. I also studied a little bit more of Japanese. I think I should diversify my studies, right now I'm focused on my weakest skill, which is reading, but I also want to learn vocabulary faster and speak better. Gotta give some thought on this subject later.From next week I'll be in charge of cooking for at least two days/week. Time to study new recipies. Speaking of cooking, I should review my diet, as I can't cross the 60kg mark on my scale in the mornings.That's all for today. Stay cool.
lilX Posted September 28, 2016 Posted September 28, 2016 (edited) Looks like you are using your time productively. Edited September 28, 2016 by LilChenChen
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