I feel my energy growing as my appreciation grows. I’m going to try to keep this up!

I feel it's important not just to appreciate my favorite things but also things I might feel or boring or even the positive aspects of the things I dislike. It doesn't mean I pretend to like things I don't. It just means that after acknowledging the parts or effects I don't like, I can spend some time with the positive aspects too.

#1

I am currently sitting in a “family restaurant” which is basically a chain store that serves various kinds of Japanese and Western and sometimes other food. They are a bit pricey and more importantly, I’m a huge proponent of supporting local businesses, so I try to avoid these kinds of places if I can....but most local shops close from 2pm to 5pm and I always seem to miss them for lunch because of my irregular schedule.

I love how family restaurants have an all-you-can-drink drink bar for around 250 yen (currently $1.80 USD, wow!) and you can sit as long as you like. The food is always slightly above average and they have people from all walks of life so it’s really fun to glimpse into their different habits.

I also loves people watching in them which brings me to...

#2

Japan is an extremely homogenous place in comparison to almost any country. Of course there is different culture in different areas of Japan, but it feels like there is less variation in ideas and lifestyle than almost anywhere I’ve been before, especially in the suburbs.

That being said, it’s still really diverse! Everyone THINKS they are normal or that they understand normal. But when no one is looking everyone has their own unique way of eating and passing time and talking to their friends or partners. There are some very distinct differences between generations as with anywhere, and the differences are only getting more pronounced.

I love learning the nuance in how different settings and upbringings can lead to different lifestyles, even in a relatively homogenous place. I've learned that there are differences in the culture of those who work for local companies vs. foreign companies and even differences between people who subscribe to Amazon those who subscribe to Netflix.

For a while I thought that Japan changed way more than it actually had. Then I realized that my students were all people still interested in learning English and trying to improve themselves and that was a specific subset of people. I also went through a time after that thinking it was slower to change than it actually was because I didn't know any kids or university students.

So much nuance and variety in life :-D

#3

Speaking of that $1.80 drink bar...it used to be a $3 drink bar. The value of the yen is plummeting. There are certainly negative implications to this, but I am trying to find the positive.

Japan used to feel soooo expensive. It still does when I look at what I earn per month in yen, but when compared to my Hive earnings, or compared to my potential to earn a little more from my work online, it feels like things might start looking up if I keep working on multiple fronts.

If bitcoin manages to recover before the yen does, I could even buy a house and start a more ambitious kind of business than I originally planned.

It may also increase the amount of foreigners who come to Japan, hopefully leading to more long-stays where people aren't just taking pictures but actually getting to know the culture. This flow of people could make Japan much more interesting and could also bring a lot more opportunities.

Me with hair in 2010

#4

Bear markets aren't really fun when you aren't fully establish in the world. That being said, I feel like I grow exponentially during them. I am force to keep looking for ways to improve myself and go out of my comfort zone.

I learn so many new things during these times and double down on the skills that I tend to get lazy about, whether it's playing guitar, speaking a language, public speaking, managing social media, or my own inner peace.

I hope this crypto bear market ends soon, but I plan on making the most of it until it does.

#5

As much as I can complain about traditional social media, I still feel like it's a net positive. I may prefer the decentralized platforms but the grind of social media really has me exploring myself these days.

I feel like there is a nice back and forth between this blog and Hive communities on one hand, and Twitter and Youtube on the other.

Last week I got 4400 views on Youtube, mostly on 2 specific shorts. I was pretty amazed, and I've been studying the analytics to understand not only what people want but how this whole world functions.

I used to get angry at the fact that the algorithms were never on my side, but now I am using them to try and understand how to "work the system". At the same time, I feel like success for me on social media will be a success for decentralization since I have 0 plans to quit Hive.

The internet in general has created so many new neural connections in the collective consciousness and I can't wait to see where it leads. At times it seems like the echo chambers are just a hellscape that no one would want to navigate, but talking about using the algorithms, if you don't engage with angry people, you don't really see many of them. Instead I am able to encounter tons of people with similar interests.

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