Here’s a non-interesting fact about me: I rarely put ice in my water. My body tends to get cold very easily and drinking cold water makes it unbearable. I cannot sit still when I am cold like that, so whenever I have water, I skip the ice. In fact, I prefer drinking water that is room temperature, which I feel just goes down easier and hydrates me more quickly. I am not sure there are health benefits to drinking warmer water, but some of the theories are interesting! And I think, in a small way, reducing the demand on ice saves on energy and resources.
The only time I will drink ice-water is if it is served to me at a restaurant or if I need to cool down on a hot summer day, but other than that, room-temperature is best!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5, 1/10 sec, ISO400 Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！ Hello! How was Monday?
Mine was super busy… not only with work, but I had to take my car to the shop to get the starter replaced. Of course they found several other things that needed to be fixed, but I declined on all of them. They weren’t super-critical so I will look for a mechanic who can do the job for cheaper. Anyways, that was an unexpected expense and caused me quite a bit of stress.
Also adding to the stress level is my workload, which is pretty high. The highest ever for me. I inadvertently took on a huge multi-month project which started out as one simple task but then mushroomed into several large projects. It is crazy how it just got out of control, but it has pretty much become a full-time job. And then I have my regular work to do, and then my workload from another group, which is pretty crazy. It’s like in the past year, my workload went from one full-time job, to 1.5x, then a few months ago, it went up to 2.5x. Needless to say, I haven’t been able to do my primary job… these other tasks have tight deadlines and honestly, who else is going to do them? It’s pretty ridiculous.
But, like I said before, it’s mostly fun work… there is just too much of it! I guess I am having too much fun? Wait… that’s not right!
Haha, anyways, it’s so out-of-control I just have to laugh sometimes. And this project will end this month (yeah, right) and I should go back to my 1.5x workload, and then hopefully manage it down to a regular level.
But when it comes down to it, my life is pretty good, you know? I have a lot to be grateful for.
And speaking of good, tonight’s photo is of our dinner table. Mariko made a delicious Japanese curry, with yummy steak. You can see the kids reaching for the meat! It was awesome!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/10 sec, ISO400 Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！ Hello!
Wow, my body is exhausted… yesterday we received 1 cubic yard of dirt to use in our front and backyards, so today I shoveled it all into the wheelbarrow and distributed it around our lawns, to fill in low spots. We get heavy rains sometimes and it washes away a lot of dirt. So once in a while, it is good to replenish! But it’s a lot of hard work and my arms are so sore. Plus the mosquitoes are in full-force in Central Texas, so it wasn’t a relaxing bit of work. But it all got done, and I have a good feeling of accomplishment!
In other news, we bought a couple new fish for our aquarium, plus I asked the store for several Malaysian Trumpet Snails. Our tank has developed a lot of brown algae, and these snails are supposed to help keep everything clean. Right after I dumped them into our tank they got straight to work! I wonder how good a job they’ll do, and how long it will take to see any progress. It will be fun to see!
Today’s photo is of Koa, eating dinner using chopsticks while riding the exercise bike and watching television. He can multi-task like a pro!
Well, I need to sleep early… my body needs rest. 😄
Today Koa celebrated his birthday 🎂 with his friends at “The Main Event” which is an entertainment space that has bowling, glow golf, laser tag, indoor rock climbing, arcade games, billiards, shuffleboard, etc. It was our first time hosting a birthday party there, and it turned out great. The facility has several different birthday packages, and the one we chose was for tweens and teens and included an hour of bowling on two lanes, light dinner, one session of laser tag, and ten $10 game cards for the arcade.
There was a host who coordinated the bowling and food portion of the party, and the whole thing cost about $200. It really is a bargain for hosting 10 kids (we actually had 9 kids attend, but the minimum is 10). At first, I thought that it was really expensive, but after adding up the normal price of game cards ($100), two lanes for an hour ($72), one laser tag session for 10 kids ($86), and food (~$90), the party package is quite a good deal!
Besides the financial aspect of it, the kids had A LOT of fun! I’m so happy that they all got along great and totally enjoyed themselves. And Mariko and I got to relax and enjoy a beer 🍺 and pizza 🍕 while we watched the Dodgers beat the Giants in extra innings. 🎉 (There are many big screens around the facility showing sports of all kinds)
If you want a no-fuss, high-enjoyment-factor party, I’d recommend The Main Event.
It’s Saturday night, and getting late, but the nice thing is that this is the one night of the week where I don’t feel like I have to get to bed because I need to wake up early! Yay! But of course I will probably be up at my normal time tomorrow. 😜
An outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems.
and
Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality.
This is pretty much where I am, and where I have always been. I think it’s a healthy place to be.
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My camera & photos
I use a Fujifilm X-series camera for most of the photos on this site and my Instagram. Why not pick one up for yourself?
