End of the weekend

Slice of LifeLeave a Comment on End of the weekend
USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/7.1, 1/50 sec, ISO6400
 USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.

こんばんは！How’s it going? I had a good Sunday. Not ready for the weekend to end, but at least we are a bit closer to next weekend! (I know, I’m trying to stay positive 👍)

Today was fun, but it started out with my going into the office to work a couple of hours. I have been so busy lately that I needed to catch up so I don’t fall behind this coming week! I also got organized and reviewed my schedule to make sure things don’t get missed. Honestly, I think I will be putting in extra hours this week (and maybe February as well) but it’s fun and interesting, and I learn a lot… even at this stage in my career. Still, I am trying to keep that separation between home and work which is why I went into the office instead of working from home today.

In the afternoon, I had some fun throwing the baseball ⚾️ with Koa at the school. I’ve always enjoyed throwing and catching… my friend and I would throw the ball around even through our 20s. So I am happy that Koa enjoys it as well. My arm is still in pretty good shape although I have to take care not to throw it out and injure myself. Oyaji gotta be careful. 😆

For dinner this evening, we went to a new local brewery called Whitestone Brewery. It was pretty good! Mariko and I shared a flight of beers, and I also got a nice Porter. 🍺 There was a food truck there serving different kinds of grilled sandwiches so we got a few to munch on. We watched some of the football game and played some card games and generally had a good time, although our oldest son was extremely bored. By the way, the outside area is right next to the old train and they have some jumbo Jenga to play with! (See photo above)

So, it was a fun Sunday and although I am sad the weekend is over, I am anxious to get some serious work done this week. Let’s do our best!

おやすみなさい！

-B Barron Fujimoto

Ukulele day

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USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/125 sec, ISO500
 USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.

こんばんは！How are you doing? Keeping warm? It’s cold here in Texas, but at least it is not snowing like it is on the East Coast of the US! In fact, today was sunny and it was nice to go out for a bit to get some fresh air.

Right now, my fingers are really sore because I spent some time today playing my ukulele. 🎸 I haven’t played in a while but I decided to learn the theme song to Asa ga Kita. I can now play the chords, but I’d like to work some of the melody into the tune as well. Something to work on! It’s a lot of fun learning… I also learned some strumming patterns and things are making more sense to me now. 😆

Here’s a nice ukulele version of the theme song:

Today’s photo is of Koa’s lunch. Like I mentioned, the weather is cold, so a nice hot bowl of ramen looks good, doesn’t it?

Well, Saturday was good, but it’s almost over. Time to read my book and get some rest.

Take care and おやすみなさい！

-B Barron Fujimoto

Bachelor Summers

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"Time for a Drink" USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
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 Barron Fujimoto

This post was prompted by The Daily Post from WordPress.

Sunrise

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"Sunrise" USA. Texas. Austin. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/320 sec, ISO400
 “Sunrise” USA. Texas. Austin. 2016.

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”!

( YAWN ) What bores you?

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!

I’m going to get some rest. おやすみなさい！

-B Barron Fujimoto