The Monday Read: Influenza

That’s when I knew I messed up

Last Sunday I got back to Japan after the tiring and very stressful study abroad trip to The Philippines. Finally I could relax.

Big mistake.

On Tuesday my granddaughter was crying in the morning. I asked her what was wrong but she didn’t answer. We checked her temperature. She had a fever.

On Wednesday she went to the doctor with her mum. She had A-type influenza. That evening I had a fever.

My wife had some home testing kits for flu and covid, so I did the nasal swab thing again. Positive for flu, negative for covid thankfully.

This was a big problem, as it would be very dangerous for my wife to get flu at the moment. I grabbed some stuff and went to my office. I have been there ever since.

I’d only ever had flu once before, and it didn’t affect me all that much (low fever), but this time was pretty rough. Just sat around completely unable to concentrate for most of the time. High fever, hot and cold flushes, aching joints.

Not what I meant when I said I wanted to sleep for a week after the trip!

Seems to be getting better now. Will definitely be getting flu vaccines in the future to protect my wife if nothing else.

Stay safe out there!

Japan needs you (Derek’s call)

I remain in awe of Derek Wessman. You should follow his blog if you live in Japan.

This post about the merits of becoming a volunteer firefighter, and of being an active member of your community in Japan, is wonderful.

I have been interested in doing that for a while, so maybe 2025 is the year I will get started.

Your First Ten Million Yen

The 2025 Your First Ten Million Yen course is now live. You can sign up now until we run out of places. If you have any friends who might be interested please tell them about the course -it could well change their life completely.

The course will run in February and the first two weeks of March.

RetireJapan TV S3E03

The next RJTV episode will be on January 20th, same bat-time, same bat-channel (from 20:00 on YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn).

Join us live to ask questions, join in the discussion, or just hang out while we talk about personal finance, investing, retirement, and life in Japan.

YouTube

Thank you for your support of the RetireJapan YouTube channel.

This was a really pleasant surprise. Check out this panel discussion about saving/investing for retirement. https://youtu.be/tVtBNn6u62s?si=LEqVAlACZXedhQev

The Forum

Speaking of which, the Forum is doing well (39,473 posts so far). The forum rules are here. In essence, they are:

1. Be nice
2. Ask any question you like
3. Only answer questions when you have relevant knowledge or experience

Here are the latest active threads:

This week’s books

I jumped back into Slow Productivity, by Cal Newport. Get a feeling I need to implement these concepts this year.

Also reread Pump Six and Other Stories, a collection of short stories by Paolo Bacigalupi. Basically near future environmental apocalypse sci-fi stuff. He’s very good at it.

This week’s links

1. Martin’s new year post: 2025 – Snakes and elephants
2. Some interesting predictions in there: Japan Surprises 2025
3. This book sounds interesting: The Purpose Code (review)
4. Excellent: Coffee drinkers reap health boost – but only if they do it in the morning
5. I broadly agree: Japan’s well-intended ‘hometown tax’ system is deeply flawed
6. This seems a bit much: Japan convenience stores filling role as local safety refuges as police presence declines
7. I think everyone should have the same legal protections: Editorial: Japan must build society respecting various lifestyles as family types diversify
8. The best corner of Reddit just published their 2024 Annual Report
9. Found it quite hard to relate to the Reddit post: Unexpected difficulty with HENRY expat life in Tokyo
10. So it’s more about distance than the screen: Are smartphones worse for eyes than books? Japan study closes in on distance factor
11. I always enjoy Vitaliy’s writing: Vitaliy’s Article Almanac 2024
12. Sketchy real estate agent practices in Japan: Crimes of commission
13. The photos in this made me hungry: Japanese Foodies Gobble up a $1.3 Million Tuna for New Year’s
14. This is really good, especially #3. Definitely applies to Japanese too (YouTube): 7 Tips to learn Thai
15. I like this: Situational spending
16. Love looking at this thing every year: Updating My Favorite Performance Chart For 2024
17. I now have some Bitcoin, but still don’t really trust it: Crypto is for Criming
18. An example of unexpected rule changes (UK pension taxation). Don’t assume things will stay the same in the future: Pensions and Inheritance Tax: Rugged by Reeves
19. Fantastic essay on bubbles -are we in one now? On Bubble Watch
20. The dystopian sci-fi future is now: California’s Fires Show How Climate Will Destabilize Our Politics and Daily Life
    

What do you think? Anything interesting in there?

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