The Monday Read: Arcs
Found a great new board game I ordered a copy of Arcs a while back after seeing some enthusiastic YouTube videos about it. It arrived last week, and I finally managed to play half a game with my granddaughter. Wonderfully nuanced. I got the gameplay completely wrong in this first game, instinctively trying to dominate […]
The Monday Read: Getting Away From It All
A change of air can be as good as a change in circumstances Sometimes it’s good to get away. For my wife and me, a quick trip to the edge of Miyagi, just past Ishinamaki and opposite the holy island of Kinkasan, is our favourite way to do that. What’s your favourite staycation? YouTube Thank […]
The Monday Read: Mental Models
You need to update them from time to time I was in the supermarket the other day and noticed something curious: the two items in the basket have almost the same number of calories -the cinammon roll has slightly more! I would not have thought that before I went on a diet this year (since […]
The Monday Read: Shrines in Japan
A constant theme in Japanese life This is Shiogama Shrine. It is over 1200 years old and one of the most important shrines in Tohoku. It’s just down the road from us. I got married there. We go there a couple of times a year, for life events and to get blessings. We were there […]
The Monday Read: Glorious Autumn
My favourite season in Japan by far Spent today at one of Miyagi’s 自然の家s. These are public facilities for schools, groups, families, and others to spend time in, learn about, and enjoy nature. They are wonderful. The one we visited was quite old, but well maintained. It has dorm rooms for about a hundred and […]
The Monday Read: Do the thing, then get motivated
It’s not the other way around Fans of the YouTube channel (yes, all three of you) may have noticed we haven’t published any videos since mid-July or so. My excuse for this is layered. First I got busy trying to hire a new teacher for my wife’s school. Then I took a trip to Europe. […]
The Monday Read: Japan is a high trust society
It’s one of the best things about living here Last Saturday I realised I didn’t have my wallet. Looked for it everywhere. Didn’t find it. Was calm at first but the longer I looked the less calm I felt. It had some cash in it (meh). My cashcard (yikes). A credit card (not sure which […]
The Monday Read: Uninvited Guests
Time for a little autumn cleaning perhaps The shift in the weather caught me off guard this week. We went from AC on to “hmmm, might need a light jacket” in what seemed like minutes. Very welcome though, especially if that was the end of the humidity. Found this fine fellow in my office today. […]
The Monday Read: The Paradox of Aging
The better you get, the less time you have left I’m almost 50 (which seems completely unbelievable to me), and I recently started training jiu-jitsu again somewhat regularly. I’m a mediocre blue belt in jiu-jitsu. I foolishly started at the age of forty, and got pretty into it before I knew what I was doing, […]
The Monday Read: Hospitalised
Japanese Health Care is Accessible at Least I’ve had a bit more experience with the health care system in Japan than I would like, mainly due to my taking up jiu-jitsu at the unwise age of 40. It’s not perfect. There seem to be a lot of doctors who aren’t quite as good as you […]