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Fancy Boys

The crunch of the autumn leaves underfoot as I walk down these concrete steps is somehow pleasing and I don't know why. Maybe it's the crisp sound. Maybe it's the feeling that the seasons are changing and there's nothing we can do about it since we are insignificant in relation to the awesome power of nature and the universe.


Or maybe it's just the crunchy sound.

I've been experimenting with my daily routine to see if I can get better results, mostly mentally.


This morning I started my work day right after Eri and the boys left at 8:10, and saved my morning walk for a little bit later, after 9:00. Then I've had my coffee, messaged my team, prioritized my tasks, looked over my calendar and gotten a good idea of what the day's flow is gonna be, and adjusted my head into a place where I can confidently say I have a vision for today's success and now I'm gonna go walk, think, and strategize. 

It helps that no one was expecting me for meetings until 10 so I had leeway.

Or that's the goal. I do like to listen to podcasts while I walk, so there is not always explicit work-related strategizing. This morning I was catching up on more old episodes of a Japanese show I like. The host is this lady whose goal is to teach Japanese, but the content of her podcast is just regular conversations with her friends and acquaintances for the purpose of providing listeners like me exposure to authentic Japanese. I'm addicted to it. She talks a lot about life choices and intuition and following your heart, and it just happens to be in Japanese, so it's a double whammy of good nourishment.

Osamu had a meltdown when mama left for her career class this afternoon. Oh man. He is a world-class tantrum thrower. He really didn't want mama to go today. I had to restrain him and push Eri out the door.

That little guy sobbed himself into a deep, three-hour nap and when he woke up around 17:30 he was completely refreshed and renewed and ready for mischief.  

When I announced dinner was mama's special fishy rice with their favorite, red caviar, on top, they jumped up and cheered. Fancy boys.


Still working on taking nice pictures.


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