Category: Well-being

Coffee, Books, and Running

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"New Books" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/50 sec, ISO3200
 “New Books” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

My Sunday was a super-relaxing day, and much welcomed! The highlight was getting a coffee at a friend’s coffee house which I had never been to before. It’s actually Sa-Tén’s second location, and it’s in the old Komé location. So it wasn’t the first time I’ve ever been in the building, just not as a coffee house. Anyways, the drink was yummy as I knew it would be.

After that, I stopped at Kinokuniya and treated myself to a couple of books that I’ve been wanting for a while now. They are both very inspiring and as I am still searching for a style of artwork that I enjoy creating, it’s fun to try new things. And art books are a great way to study techniques and styles. Much better than online, in my opinion.

"Coffee Time" Austin, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/30 sec, ISO3200
 “Coffee Time” Austin, 2018

After returning home, I went for a run around the neighborhood which was so stress-free. I mean, I had no time constraints, and I don’t push myself to keep running if I don’t feel like it. I just listen to my body, which mostly means paying attention to any kinds of aches or pains that might arise. But even if I am feeling good, I’ll walk for a while too since it’s a nice way to observe things around the neighborhood.

It’s funny to think about the different levels of interaction with the environment you can have while traveling. In a plane, you are pretty much cut off from the environment. In a train, you can see the land slipping past. In a car, you can go slower, and stop sometimes, but there’s still glass between you and the environment. On a motorcycle, you experience the sights more closely, the air and temperature changes, all the smells, plus the sound of the wind. On a bike, it’s similar but of course much slower so you can look around a lot more. Running is even slower and you concentrate more on your body condition. Then walking it when you are most connected to the environment and can observe things in a very calm time-frame. Like, you can see and hear everything, and when you watch that car going down the street, you know that the driver is insulated from the environment you are in. I know I am just rambling. But these are the types of things that go through my mind when I am running and walking. 🤷‍♂️

I hope you had a nice day, and thanks for sticking with this post until the end!

またね～

Appreciating Things That Can’t Be Seen

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"Anko" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/125 sec, ISO500
 “Anko” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

So today I was thinking that I turn off a lot of lights that are left on here at home. Turning off lights is just natural… we should conserve energy! When we leave a room, we should turn off the light, right? But sometimes I feel like I am the only one in the house that does it since I am constantly doing it. 😡

But then I thought that there are probably many times that everyone else turns off the lights, and I wouldn’t ever notice this since there is nothing to see. 🤔

So now I wonder about other things that I cannot see, for instance when others tidy up or put things away, I wouldn’t really notice it. I should try to recognize and appreciate when the house is clean because someone must have cleaned it… the house doesn’t clean itself, does it?

Sometimes when I’m on the other side of the equation, tidying up the house, closing cabinets, etc. and no one notices or says anything, I feel a little unappreciated. But you know, I shouldn’t mind not receiving recognition since it might be difficult for others to notice the things that cannot be seen. It’s enough to be satisfied with contributing to a healthy living space even without receiving praise. 😌

Anyways, that’s my “deep thought” for the day.

******************

"Fajita Taco" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/125 sec, ISO3200
 “Fajita Taco” Cedar Park, 2018

In other news, it’s National Taco Day today! 🌮 And as you can see from the photo above, we did partake. 😀

By coincidence, Mariko decided to make fajitas for dinner (she didn’t know about the occasion). Well, since it is taco day, we had to put the fajitas in tortillas. Respect the taco!

I hope you had a good Thursday. 😊

またね～

Sense of Place

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"Cloud" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: SONY NEX-6, 37mm, f/9, 1/1250 sec, ISO100
 “Cloud” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going? Today’s blog post will be a bit of a ramble, but hey, it’s my blog, so here goes.

I’ve been lucky so far that I have been able to travel for vacation, and also on rare occasion for work, and I now recognize certain distinct affinities I have for different places. For instance, when I traveled to Japan for the first time, I immediately felt like Japan was somewhere I wanted to live. So much so that I gave myself a deadline of 6 months before I moved there.

On the other hand, when I returned from trips to Morocco and Spain, I didn’t have that feeling at all. It was really fun to visit those places and experience a bit of the culture, but I never felt a deep connection. I’m sure it has to do with being Asian in a non-Asian country, although I haven’t thought too deeply about it yet. 🤔

The same can be said of my trips to Stockholm. I’ve visited twice and although I loved it there, felt safe and free, I was simply just a visitor. The thought of having a life there never crossed my mind. Nevermind the complications of having kids and a family… but even if I were single, I don’t think Europe would be on my list of places to live.

And how about my hometown of Torrance? I love visiting family there and am happy I grew up in Southern California, but I have no desire to live there. It’s just not interesting to me… and speaking about the USA, I’ve lived in Texas for almost 20 years now. Honestly, living in Austin never even occurred to me as a possibility before we moved here. It’s a wonderful place, and the people are so friendly and warm. But no, I have no real affection for, nor interest in, Texas and the moment we have the freedom to leave, I’ll be the first one on the plane. 😆

But back to places that I feel a real affinity for. Obviously, there’s Japan. Whenever I visit, I feel right at home, even though I can only understand maybe 25% of conversations. But I love it there. When I lived there I never considered leaving. It’s somewhere I want to live again. (My dream hasn’t died, haha)

Interestingly, I felt a similar feeling towards China when I visited there last month. After returning home, I felt that same blue feeling (could it be like homesickness?) that I felt after returning from Japan after my first visit there. That’s how I know I feel a real connection to a place – after returning, I have that melancholy feeling. It’s like I am living in a dream. 😌

Anyways, that’s pretty much what’s on my mind these past few days. Thinking about a connection to a sense of place I suppose. Although I live in Texas, I feel like it’s a temporary situation… just waiting to move on really. Someday. 🛫

I hope you had a nice day, and thanks for reading!

またね～

Willpower

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"Food Drive" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: SONY NEX-6, 16mm, f/9, 1/200 sec, ISO100
 “Food Drive” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

As you can see from the photo above, dinner was provided by In-n-Out. But even though I was the one who picked up the food, I skipped buying anything for myself. I had lunch at work and kind of felt like that was enough for the day. It’s funny, but on our China trip, we had so much food available, that it made me realize (or reinforce my realization) that I don’t really need to eat as much as I am accustomed to.

A few years back, I fasted for 3 or 4 days which changed my perception about food, and how much we really need. And that feeling of being hungry is not a bad feeling. I actually like having that hunger! Anyways, on the China trip I decided to eat mostly new-to-me and local foods, but not have too much, and generally try to skip or limit the foods that I’m familiar with, for instance, eggs, sausages, and bread. Instead, I had noodles, dim sum, rice porridge, pickled veggies, etc. It felt great!

So tonight I skipped the Double-double and just had my multi-vitamin. 😀

またね～

Run to Temple of the Sun

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"Temple of the Sun" Beijing, 2018
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/105 sec, ISO50
 “Temple of the Sun” Beijing, 2018

This morning I woke up extra-early due to jetlag and decided to go for a run. At 6 am, the streets of central Beijing were surprisingly empty. In fact, I could pretty much run in the middle of the streets if I wanted to! I guess most of the people were beginning their commutes outside of the city, so it wouldn’t get busy until they arrived.

Since I don’t know the city at all, I just ran with Google Maps on and I looked for interesting places and parks, which led me to the Temple of the Sun. It’s a cool little park which has a beautiful pond and other points of interest and is also very popular with runners and walkers. So I was totally at home running (more like jogging), walking, and stopping to take photos.

You know, I try to run in new places, like when I visited Stockholm for business. Running can get you to places really quickly, and since you can stop at any time to take in the sights, it’s a great way to get familiar with a new city. Especially if you can do it early in the morning. 😀

"Sunrise Over the City" Beijing, 2018
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/50 sec, ISO64
 “Sunrise Over the City” Beijing, 2018