Still awake... oof.

So of course, I should be asleep right now, but it seems to be some sort of immutable cosmic law in my life that basically goes, "If you should be doing A, you'll probably end doing everything and anything besides A".

So almost a month ago, I came up with this list of goals / things to do. I guess it's time for a progress check...

---

1) Eat less junk food, chips, candy, etc

This has been going pretty well. I drink a lot of water now at work... but I think my meat intake has increased. My boss likes cooking steaks, and lately, I crave katsu at Miako's like all the time...

2) Keep reading books... Christian living, philosophy, winemaking, geeky tech stuff

I've been reading a little bit, but not as much as I should. I did pick up a travel guide of Japan from the library and I read it mostly for the background history / geographical information. New reading additions I should make: my company sent some recommendations for books to read about teaching ESL, cross-cultural teaching, and Japanese culture.

3) Brush up my Nihongo via old tapes, textbooks

Mai asa, watashi wa kuruma ni nihongo no tape wo kikimasu. Every morning, I listen to the tapes in my car. Certainly is an odd habit now during my commute to work / running errands.

4) Start running / jogging / bike riding again

Hmmm, not so good. Saturday, I rode my bike for an hour, but that was like the first time inawhile. Most exercise I get during a given day is walking up the 3 flights of stairs to work. My muscles have gone stealth... last time I saw them was at the Warm Beach retreat, playing Ultimate Frisbee with the kids. Brought out the speed, jukes, and fakes and the kids were like, "Whoa, the old guy still has some juice!" Too bad my stamina was only good for 45 consecutive minutes. hahaha...

But hey, at least my right pointer finger is in good shape from War-crack... heh...

5) drag my butt back to kendo

Haven't done this one yet either, but it's complicated. I should go to practice a few times though before I leave for Japan, at least out of respect.

---

Well, like I thought... 3 out of 5. I know myself too well. Some other misc. things that have occurred to me at this moment to do before I leave for Japan:

6) Renew my driver's license. It's gonna expire this year in December.
7) Re-stock supply of contact lenses. Gotta last me a year.
8) Update my will. Call me a pessimist, but you never know, especially considering international plane flights these days. Last time I updated my will was before I went to Brasil.
9) Write a mass letter to family/friends. Not everybody even knows yet I'm going to be gone for a year, haha... guess I should let people know.
10) Finish cleaning my room, store valuables like toys and books. Maybe I'll give my Predacons and Dinobots to the Ryan Ko Museum of Robotica for temporary loan and care.
11) Rip MP3s from favorite CDs. I can't take all my CDs to Japan.
12) Gather up some photos of friends/family/Seattle for a small scrapbook when I get homesick. Hmmm, this might be tough... I wasn't very good about taking pictures and saving them pre-digicam.

Hmmm, there's a ton of other things I know I gotta do, but the grey matter isn't fully functioning at 4:30 AM. I think I'm going to shoot to accomplish 4 of these 7 things this week. I hope.
posted by G at 4:29 AM   |

in?scrip?tion (n-skrip-shun)n.
1. The act or an instance of inscribing.
2. Something, such as the wording on a coin, medal, monument, or seal, that is inscribed.
3. A short, signed message in a book or on a photograph given as a gift.
4. The usually informal dedication of an artistic work.
5. Jeremiah 31:33