Just Another Day – Our days our organized around numerous small actions we repeat over and over. What’s your favorite daily ritual?
This is a daily prompt subject that I have answered already back in 2014, but I thought it would be good to think about it again and see if anything has changed. Although I still enjoy reading at night, I don’t do it every evening, so my new favorite ritual is something that happens in the morning: having the first cup of coffee. ☕
But before I can enjoy drinking it, there is the ritual of making the coffee. First, I’ll heat up 5 cups of water in the microwave. This is not to drink, but to get the semi-airtight carafe nice and hot. This is the key to keeping the coffee nice and hot for hours. After I fill the carafe with the boiling water and screw on the lid, I’ll fill up the kettle with filtered water, then get that going on the stove. I’ll set the kitchen timer for 7 minutes.
While the water is heating up I’ll get a paper coffee filter and put it in the ceramic filter holder, then rinse the filter under cold water. I’ll also put the coffee beans in the Coffee Grinder. When there is about a minute left on the timer, I’ll grind the beans, then put them in the Bee House Ceramic Coffee Dripper.
Just before the water in the kettle comes to a boil, I’ll empty the hot water out of the carafe, then put the ground coffee and filter holder above the carafe. Next, the water from the kettle is poured over the grounds… and soon, I’ll have perfect coffee for myself and Mariko! And that coffee stays hot for a long time in the carafe!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/125 sec, ISO2000 USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
こんばんは！Hello everyone, how’s it going? Hump day is over!
Today was a super-busy day again at work, but thankfully I enjoy my work quite a bit. As I go about my day, I try to make a mental note of the new things I am learning. It’s surprising the things I pick up, or how the way I work evolves. For instance, my organizational skills have improved quite a bit (out of sheer necessity). I have so many task and projects to do, so I spend the first part of the day planning out what tasks I will focus on and the priorities of those tasks. Then at the end of the day, I set aside time to regroup on what I accomplished and think about what I will do the next day. Basically, I review things so that when I leave the office, I don’t mentally take work projects home. I can rest assured that I’ve taken care of what I need to take care of and can hit the morning fresh. That work/home separation is important and makes my time at home focused on family. (and I sleep with a more relaxed mind 😴)
Okay, that was quite a bit of rambling about work… and I rarely blog about work! But there’s a first for everything, isn’t there? 😆
Today’s Daily Prompt was another fun one. They are on a roll! Here goes:
Quote Me – Do you have a favorite quote that you return to again and again? What is it, and why does it move you?
“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” – Dr. Seuss
I don’t return to quotes again and again (like how do you do that?) but I do remember several quotes, and this one by Dr. Seuss is one of my favorites. At the end of vacations I used to always be sad that they were over. I would wish that I could turn back the clock to the beginning of the vacation. But I learned to instead be thankful that we were able to take vacation and make some good memories. It helps to drive the blues away and actually gets me looking forward to the next opportunity to enjoy good times, whether that be an upcoming vacation, or simply the next weekend. It’s nice how positivity leads to more positivity!
Today’s photo is of some homemade bread that my wife Mariko made. I guess she is getting ready for Valentine’s Day! As a guy, I often forget about this holiday coming up. I guess this is a not-so-subtle reminder isn’t it? 💘
Well, I think I’ll read a bit before going to bed. Take care of yourselves and have a great Thursday!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/90 sec, ISO6400 “Dry Curry” USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
こんばんは！How are you? I’m well, but not 100%. My body is a little sore. Maybe because I threw the baseball with Koa for two days in a row, or maybe I slept in a strange position last night. I’m not sure, but I hope to feel better tomorrow. 😄
Today’s photo is of a “Dry curry” that Mariko made us for dinner. It was delicious of course! There are so many different kinds of curry, and I cannot choose my favorite. When I was growing up, we used to have “curry hamburger” which was simply ground beef, curry powder, and frozen veggies cooked on the stove-top, then eaten over rice. It was yummy! These days, we have Japanese curry every couple of months, but I also enjoy Indian curry, and I LOVE Thai curry. So good! I think I will ask Mariko to make some Thai curry next time. We are truly spoiled by her every day. 🍛
And now, on to today’s question:
Life After Blogs – Your life without a computer: what does it look like?
I am not sure if the question is asking what I do when I don’t have access to a computer, or if there was an alternate reality in which computers don’t exist, what would I be doing? I think the latter question is more intriguing, so here goes. Since I have been interested in the arts before computers were commonplace, I suppose I would be doing something in that field. Perhaps I’d still be painting 🎨, or maybe I’d be working in a museum. There was a time in my life where I wanted to be a museum curator. I even was a “preparator” at a museum for a short time. I helped out with moving artwork, cleaning sculptures, and assisting the restoration artists. It was very interesting! But then I got interested in computers and multimedia and the rest is history. Or… maybe I would be a full-time photographer! I was into photography back in college and to this day, I love making photos. I could see myself continuing with photography as a hobby well into my future, even if it were just film and not digital. 📷
It’s fun to think about what your alternate history might have been, isn’t it? But what is cool is that I think it is possible to change your life’s focus any time if you really want to.
Well, today’s weather got grey and chilly again here where I live. ☁️ I hope it is not too cold wherever you are! Take care of yourselves.
おやすみなさい！
-B
This post was prompted by The Daily Post from WordPress.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/950 sec, ISO400 USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
こんばんは！Good evening! How are you doing? Did you have a nice Monday? Yes, I know the start of the week can be tough… it was a busy one for me too. Today’s photo is of the sky from our backyard. The trees are reaching for the clouds! Even they are trying their best. It was a beautiful day. ⛅
Today’s Daily Prompt is an interesting one:
Key Takeaway – Give your newer sisters and brothers-in-WordPress one piece of advice based on your experiences blogging.
So, I’ve been blogging for quite a while now, and my intention has always been just to write about whatever comes to mind, and not have a monetary objective. It’s all about having an outlet, although I didn’t realize that when I first began. But it is something that keeps my brain active. And I think the secret to why I have been able to keep blogging for so long is that I don’t have expectations of gaining recognition or monetary gain. I don’t stress out about those things. So unless you are looking to try to make money with your blog, just have fun, don’t worry about how many views you get, and keep at it! Also, it’s okay to take time off. It would be easy to burn out on blogging if you pressure yourself to write every day. Don’t commit to a post per day. If you fall behind, it’s easy to get discouraged and give up blogging altogether. So make sure to tell yourself that it’s fine to take a break. Also, if you have ideas but they aren’t fully thought-out yet, just create drafts for each idea. I have about 20 drafts like that… and some may never be posted. That’s fine, though. If I decide to work on one of those drafts, it will happen naturally. I don’t force it. That wouldn’t be fun, and I think blogging should be fun! 😄
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO6400 “Time for a Drink” USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
こんばんは！How are you doing today? Have you already started the weekend?
As you can see from today’s photo, we had a couple of drinks this evening. Do you know shōchū? It’s a drink popular in Japan, stronger than saké but not as strong as hard liquor. It’s got an ok taste… I prefer saké, but I’ll pretty much drink anything!
Earlier today, I went out to lunch with my friend and coworker to a pizza place that serves Chicago-style pizza. It was so good, but I ate so much that I skipped dinner. I often skip meals, but I think it is ok to do so if you are getting enough nutrition. (my nutrition intake is questionable, however!) But I do enjoy fasting too. I believe the longest I fasted was about three days. Once you get over the initial hunger (which hits me in the afternoon of the first day), I think it is pretty easy to fast for two days. And you really do feel good and alert, although maybe a bit weak as well.
Well, on to today’s question:
My Favorite– What’s the most time you’ve ever spent apart from your favorite person? Tell us about it.
This one is an easy question to answer. My favorite person(s) are my wife and kids and they usually go to Japan in the summer to visit my wife’s family. So, for at least a month I am apart from them. I believe the longest time apart has been 6 weeks!
During that time, I have my “Bachelor Summer” which is a term that my friends who are married to Japanese wives use. Each summer there are a few of us temporary bachelors who will get together for barbecues, to watch a ballgame, or celebrate the 4th of July. 🎆 It’s a time when I eat no-so-healthy foods, but I also exercise a lot more since I have plenty of free time. And I also have time to go on day-long motorcycle rides, which is so fun!
But I do miss my family of course. It’s nice when they return – absence really does make the heart grow fonder!
Well, I have to wake up early again tomorrow, so I’ll end this post here. Please stay warm, especially if you are in the Eastern part of the US! ❄️
おやすみなさい！
-バロン
This post was prompted by The Daily Post from WordPress.
こんばんは！How are you? Today’s photo is of the sun just rising above the clouds. I took it from my office this morning. I usually arrive early to work which is nice because I can really get a lot done in the hour or two before meetings start. I really am a “morning person”!
This question (from WordPress’ Daily Prompt) is a tough one to answer for me… I can’t think of anything that really bores me! My kids often will come to me and say, “I’m bored”. This happens towards the end of long weekends or vacations when they get tired of their video games or computers. Luckily school will start soon for them!
I guess I used to get bored sometimes when having a conversation with someone, and the subject matter is just not interesting to me, or if I’ve heard the story before. (I feel a little bad about saying that!) But that was ages ago! If the subject of the conversation is not so interesting, I focus on the way the person is saying what they are saying, their conversational style, or imagine the reasons why they are sharing the information with me. Sometimes I will try to pinpoint the interesting things about that person (there’s always at least one thing!). I believe that you can learn something from anyone or any situation, so I am always trying to find value. If there isn’t something to learn externally, I try to internally observe what I am currently feeling and maybe I can improve myself in some way.
But back to the original question… I honestly cannot remember myself every saying, “I’m bored”. It’s really odd… I have a hard time imagining what boredom feels like. It’s like the part of my brain that activates the boredom emotion is just not there anymore. (insert joke here!)
By the way, I haven’t written anything from a Daily Prompt in a loooong time now, but it’s fun! I guess I might start doing it again every so often. You can go back and read my other Daily Prompts by sorting on the category if you are interested.
Well, Friday is almost here! I hope you have a good one!
An Ounce of Home – You’re embarking on a yearlong round-the-world adventure, and can take only one small object with you to remind you of home. What do you bring along for the trip?
This is an easy question for me to answer – I would take along my ugly doll that my wife made for me. In fact, it’s already in my daily bag! I like to pack light and my ugly doll probably doesn’t even weigh an ounce, but it would remind me of home, or more specifically, of my family.
I’ve lived in several different places, and it’s hard to really know which place I would call “home”. I’m thinking that there is more meaning to “home” than just where you return to every night. I like to think that “home” is equal to a happy place, and that happy place would be where my loved-ones are. Hopefully they would be with me for the round-the-world trip, but if not, this homemade ugly doll would remind me of them.
There’s a song by Everything But the Girl (one of my favorite bands since 1984) that this Daily Prompt reminds me of. It’s called “One Place” and one of the lines in the song is, “In the end if you take care, you can be happy or unhappy anywhere.” I really believe this is true. I guess the saying “Happiness comes from within” has some truth to it. It isn’t the external situation that causes happiness (or unhappiness), but the determining factor is your interpretation and reaction to that situation. With that in mind, I’ve been trying to look for happiness and a positive angle no matter what situation I am in at the time. Is this part of “living in the moment”?
Homemade Ugly Doll
This post was prompted by The Daily Post from WordPress.
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