• Morning Run
    Head wasnโ€™t into todayโ€™s run, but you shouldnโ€™t listen to that guy.
  • The Week #170

    • ๐Ÿ’ I watched Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring with Leo over two sittings. Perhaps not the wisest parenting decision, as there is a fair bit of violence, but no worse than him playing Zelda, I reckon. I figured he'd get bored sooner than he did, but as it reminded him of Zelda, he was able to get stuck in. The last time I watched this was during the pandemic when I needed a bit of an escape. It still holds up all these years later.
    • ๐Ÿ“š Looking to read a book that isn't non-fiction, I bought the the Fellowship of the Ring book, so I can read it on my kindle. It was less than ยฅ1,000 on Kobo, so why not? I'm horrible at reading fiction, so we'll see if I can get through it.
    • ๐ŸŽ‚ I mentioned it in other posts this week, but I turned 38. I took the day off work, which was my first one in far too long. They're usually a "day off" (day off in quotes because they're usually me taking the day so I can watch Leo because pre-school is closed, which is far more work than actually working).ย 

      For my birthday dinner, I made some fajitas, some killer guacamole, and some pico de gallo. Cake-wise, we've taken to getting 3 individual slices of cake rather than a whole small cake as most people do. That way we can can all get the flavor that we want and there's no left overs tempting you. I went with chocolate mouse, Leo with the usual strawberry short cake, where he eats the cake and I eat the strawberries, and Yumi got a pumpkin tart.
    • ๐Ÿ‘ฎโ€โ™€๏ธ During the day on my birthday I went th to the police station to renew my license. Before submitting my application, I went to the building next door and got my photo taken and paid for the renewal. Upon submitting my application with the fresh photo, the police officer look at my photo and asked me twice when I took it as it looked nearly identical to my previous one. We both had a good laugh. He says that sometimes people have a nice photo that they try to re-use, but I'm no so vain. Though I did make an effort to shave that morning.
    • โ˜•๏ธ After that I went to Kita-Kamakura and went to Verve Coffee Roasters for coffee and lunch. I ate a hummus and eggplant pressed-sandwich which was killer. It reminded me that I need more hummus in my life. While there I made up and wrote my ode to overnight oats.ย 
    • ๐Ÿซ“ Speaking of hummus, on Sunday I didn't eat any meat, which I'd like to do more of. Breakfast was (you guessed it) overnight oats. For lunch I whipped up some couscous, a ratatouille-like dish with eggplant (including the last one from the garden), red/green bell pepper, onion, and garlic, some pita and a quick hummus. Dinner was rice, miso soup, salad, and atsu-age (fried tofu). I need more days like this. It makes me feel better.
  • Morning Run
    Autumn returns ๐Ÿ‚
  • Bookmark of CO2 Journeys: Eco-conscious Travel Across Japan | NHK WORLD-JAPAN On Demand

    Keeping track of CO2 emissions can give travelers a new perspective. Can a 1,250km journey from Kyoto Prefecture to Shiretoko in Hokkaido Prefecture be done in just two days, with emissions limited to just 100kg? If our travelers make their goal, they'll be rewarded with a nature experience in a Natural World Heritage site. But if they exceed the set CO2 limit at any point during their journey, they'll be sent home immediately. Two students with very different views on the environment use various means of transport to make their way to their goal, facing unexpected obstacles and problems along the way. A 21st-century travel show that grapples with the global problem of CO2!
    Really enjoyed this travel show where the participants had to take their CO2 emissions into consideration when traveling.
  • Checkin to Komeda's Coffee (ใ‚ณใƒกใƒ€็ˆ็ฒๅบ—)

    in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
    Trying to decide if itโ€™s time to get stuck in to reading the lord of the rings (finally) while Leoโ€™s at robot school.
  • 38 minutes for 38 years ๐Ÿฅณ
    Got me thinking about 100 minutes at 100 years. Letโ€™s do it ๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿป
  • Overnight Oats Philosophy

    We all have booms in our life. Periods where we get really into something. My current boom is overnight oats. "Ugh, an entire blog post aboutย  oats, pass!", I hear you say, but stay with me.

    Why overnight oats? They're easy for one. I spend 2 minutes each night and breakfast is ready in the morning. Buying some pop-tarts would be even quicker, so it's not about the time. It's more than that.ย 

    Overnight oats perfectly encapsulate some life tenants.

    Take it Slow

    You can't make overnight oats without time. It's right there in the name. Life is the same. All around us โ€“ society, the media, entertainment, they all encourage us to rush. Don't miss out! Final sale! Getย  yours before it's all gone.

    But I don't care. Embrace "missing out". Final sale? They've had a "going out of business" sale for the last 3 years. Takin' a while, innit? They got theirs? Good for them. I didn't need or want it anyways.

    Keep it easy

    Overnight oats are easy. Put some oats and milk into a container, cover it, and whack it into the fridge. Done. Life should be the same โ€“ keep it easy. This doesn't mean to be lazy and don't challenge yourself. Rather, take those hard things, put systems so they become your default and easy.

    It's hard to keep trim (still working on that) when you have a house full of unhealthy snacks tempting you. Easy is stocking healthy foods in a way so they're accessible when you need a snack.

    Make healthy easy and healthy will become your default.

    Keep it whole

    Making oats I'm able to control and pick exactly what goes into them. Organic oats, (almond) milk, organic chia seeds, organic cacao, some honey or (real) maple syrup. All things that our bodies have been eating for hundreds of years. As much as possible, we should prefer food to be as whole as possible.ย 

    It's not a breakfast cereal or supermarket bread with gums and pastes and powders to make it ship and store well on a shelf. It's not a lie.

    For my 38th revolution around the earth I hope to continue being like my overnight oats: Slow, easy, and whole.
  • Checkin to Verve Coffee Roasters

    in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan
    Enjoying a birthday coffee time at Verve. Smells amazing as theyโ€™re roasting coffee in house. ๐Ÿ˜‹ โ˜•๏ธ (Ice for me as itโ€™s 33 out)
  • Response to London Sunrise

    This weekend, I attended the State of the Browser conference in London, an event run by the London Web Standards community. I stayed in the city for a few days to attend the event. One of the highlights of my trip, aside from the delightful and engaging
    London sunrises are something else. I enjoyed them running in London a while back. Especially near Big Ben.
  • Morning Run
    20 degrees out. Now thatโ€™s what Iโ€™m talking about. Went for a run rather than fix a bug in Tanzawa.
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