-
by JamesLunch Run
Running faster does not make the clock tick faster, but 3rd fastest 5km. :not-bad-Obama:5.0km
30.8min
25.4m climbed
151.2avg bpm
-
The Week #244
by James- ๐๏ธ We had true spring weather over the weekend: clear blue skies and nearing 20 degrees. It's back to winter now. But we took full advantage of the weather and went to Enoshima, starting from the Monorail station.
Looking over the harbor
There were a lot of people, but manageable.ย I was surprised by the number of foreign tourists there these days. Pre-covid, I'd only see a few here or there, but now they're everywhere. Which is good for the economy and explains how the offerings are changing. Slowly the old seafood houses are getting replaced with pizza and hip cafes. On one hand, the showa vibes are rapid disappearing makes me miss an era I never experienced in Japan, but it's for the best to remain relevant.Walking down the main drag
On the island we found (definitely not showa!) a robot cotton candy machine where you can select amongst 6 different shapes with varying colors in a single candy. It was great and it memorized all the kids walking past.
On the way back to get a coffee and head home we stopped by the beach for 20 minutes, letting Leo throw rocks into the ocean. Surprisingly he listened to us and did not wet, which is good as we did not have a change of clothes with us. - ๐ถโโ๏ธWhen we got home from Enoshima, I realized this trip marked a huge milestone for Leo. He walked the entire 3~km there and back without me carrying him or putting him on my shoulders once. He didn't even mention it. It used to be we'd barely walk 100m and he'd want up on my shoulders. Or any crowd at all and up he'd climb. I was mentally prepared for it at some point going back, but nope. ๐ I'm proud, but also a little sad because I know the last shoulder ride is closer than I realized.
- ๐ฅ I watched this video about this couple's low tech eco living apartment in Paris. It's incredible how they've made the entire place an ecosystem, from growing 120 different kinds of plants inside, harvesting mushrooms, to growing their own protein (๐ฆ). It's all a bit too much for me, but I love their dedication. The way we make humans live in a more sustainable manner isn't through growing mushrooms in your shower, but though making sustainable choices cheaper and better. Solar, wind, batteries, EVs are a good first step because EVs and heatpumps are, even if you ignore how they're powered, a better experience than petrol cars and gas-based heaters. The future is solarpunk.
- ๐๏ธ We had true spring weather over the weekend: clear blue skies and nearing 20 degrees. It's back to winter now. But we took full advantage of the weather and went to Enoshima, starting from the Monorail station.
-
Checkin to Tully's Coffee
A cuppa before heading home from Enoshima. As is tradition. Feels like spring out today.๐ -
by James๐ธ Warm Blossom Run
First run in just shorts and a shirt in months. Feels great. But also my irregular running as of late is becoming apparent when Iโm out. Gotta fix that.4.5km
30.1min
24.4m climbed
160.9avg bpm
-
The Week #243
by James- ๐ฎ I managed to get out to dinner with just myself and Yumi. We ended up going to a nice Mexican restaurant where we had margaritas, guacamole, tacos, and picadillo chilaquiles, which were all really good. As is common when ordering guacamole in Japan, they rolled up a cart, let us pick an avocado, and made our guac at the table. Our seat, perhaps the best in the restaurant, was at the curve in a long J-shaped sofa and had large pillows to lean on so you could relax. Also, zero kids in the entire place.
- ๐โโ๏ธ The cold has made it hard for me to continue running consistently. Then I remembered some advise I watched (and probably wrote about) where in the lulls with a hobby to buy some gear to motivate you, so you switch between internal and external motivations. The gear I bought this week to help me get back into the swing of things are some running socks to replace my current pairs, which have developed some holes.
Related, I was checking out some simple black pants from New Balance online. They cost about 10,000 yen. Happy surprise when I went to my local big-box sports store to buy some running socks, they had them in the clearance section for half-off! Sold! - ๐ธ As part of my Japanese taxes, each year I need to collect / report each trade I make in my brokerage accounts in the US, including exchange rates / price in yen. (Americans are effectively locked out of investing anywhere except the US due to onerous reporting and taxation rules whereby most things (besides single stocks?) are considered fall under PFIC (passive foreign investment company) rules. If this wasn't the case, I could sign up with a local broker and all of this work wouldn't be necessary, but I digress).ย
For the past few years I've had a nice excel sheet and a nice sheet of exchange rates, and I'd look it up and fill them in to do the calculations for me. This year I finally decided to automate it a bit more so my reporting sheet automatically findsย the correct exchange from a sheet that lists them all for each day of the year. Next year's prep should take me about 10, maybe 15 minutes and be mostly copy and pasting data.
-
Checkin to Starbucks
Sometimes to keep the habit, youโve got to buy related things to keep you going. -
by James80โs Japanese Hits Run
Doesnโt get much better when tootling around the neighborhood.4.5km
30.1min
32.2m climbed
152.6avg bpm
-
Checkin to ๅ่ฎๅฑ ๆนๅๅฐๅบ
Restocking beans and enjoying a cuppa -
The Week #242
by James- ๐ฅณ Boyo turned 7 years old. It amazes me how quick he's growing up. It feels like just yesterday we were in the US celebrating his 5th birthday and here he is closing in on the end of his first year of primary school.
Looking back on this past year for Leo and he's really starting to mature. He's getting better about eating various things, he's having fewer meltdowns, he's trying his best in all of his endeavors, his thinking is becoming sharper. It's exciting.
He was adamant about not having a cake and instead had a scoop of his favorite flavor of ice-cream with whip and sprinkles. Yumi picked us up a slice of cake each. For dinner we had hamburg, fries, and steamed veg. - ๐ฅ For the first time (I think?) we went out for dinner with a neighbor/friend/Leo's friend. As the emoji suggests, we got Indian. I can't remember the last time I spent 2 hours in any restaurant, but it was a lot of fun. I hope we can do it again.
Even better, we all rode bikes to the restaurant. I always enjoy a night ride and I should do them more. - ๐ On Sunday we took advantage of the warm-ish weather and barbequed in the front of the house. After having the grill for a long time, this was the first time we've used it at our house (I've always been a bit cautious because I don't want to make my neighbors laundry smell like smoke). Food turned out good and I think I will start using it on a more regular basis. It is quite nice to just sit outside, cook, and eat. Or at least use it one more time before the weather turns 30 degrees from 6am hot.
- ๐ 8 months ago I started writing down all of my work in a notebook (Leuchtturm 1917, dot grid, blue) that I'd had for years and never got into the habit of writing in. I ordered a replacement a couple of months ago (same, but yellow), unsure if I'd start it in January and stop my blue notebook at 2024. I continued to use my blue notebook (continuity work for the week is easier), and while it's nearing full, my yellow notebook remained unused, until this week.
After watching this video, I decided to give a go at building a daily tracker. I backfilled best I could from memory from the start of Feb. I'm still undecided if this will remain a purely personal notebook, in which I journal, or if it will be an everything notebook where I journal and also track my notes for work. I reckon it will remain separate until I finished my blue notebook, at which point my work notes will start becoming interspersed.
- ๐ฅณ Boyo turned 7 years old. It amazes me how quick he's growing up. It feels like just yesterday we were in the US celebrating his 5th birthday and here he is closing in on the end of his first year of primary school.
-
by James๐ฌ๏ธ Afternoon Run
No matter the direction, headwind.4.4km
30.4min
24.8m climbed
154.7avg bpm
