Happiness

So the British government just spent 2 million pounds on a survey to find out that being happy makes you live longer. D'ya think? I could have told them that, and I would have spent the 2 million on way more fun stuff than those scientists, I can tell you. I would have my own personal sushi chef, for starters. And shoes. Lots and lots of shoes.

Anyway, what other amazing advice did they have?

Limit caffeine and sugar, the crash you get afterwards apparently depresses you. But I don't get that, because ice cream actually makes me happy. And just the sight of those cute Mr Donut rabbit donuts makes me smile. Even if I don't eat them very often. Well, not that often. Ok, so define often.

Be grateful for what you have. Really? They needed to research that? My Mum's been telling me that for years. It usually accompanied that "there are starving children in Africa" rant almost everyone I know was subjected to every time they didn't want to eat their greens. Maybe my Mum was the researcher and they gave her the 2 million. I'd better be nicer to her.

Be a glass half full kind of person. If you're not, watch a DVD or sitcom to laugh yourself to happiness. Actually, I believe this one too. Peter Kay has should be prescribed by the NHS. Who's Peter Kay? Watch this.

Do you feel happier for watching that? I do hope so. He's good, isn't he?

Well, this research might have been common sense for most of us, especially at a time when Britain should really be spending money more carefully, but at least it made me search a Peter Kay video and have a giggle. I wonder if that is actually better than watching the international swimming championships. which is what I abandoned when I decided to look for videos.

No loss?

If you read any news from the UK at all, then you would have read this week about the sad death of Amy Whitehouse. If you don't know who she was, check out this video.

Sadly, after this video was made, Amy became a heroin addict and an alcoholic (yes, please don't think no one has noticed the irony of the title.) She died last weekend at the age of 27.

I can't say I was a fan as such. It's hard to be a fan of someone who releases a couple of great albums and then becames more famous for being drunk and lost in the streets of Camden. But, whatever else she did, the girl had a great voice.

I guess your reaction to her death largely depends on your attitude to addiction. Amy wasted her talent on an addiction. An addiction that I would say is a disease. For all the success stories of rehab programs and new leaves there are so many others of people lost to their need to have more drugs, more alcohol, more whatever. Maybe some would say addicts are just weak minded, but, really, isn't it just a case of "there by the grace of God"? I don't know what it is that causes addiction, I leave that to the experts, but, coming from a country where being drunk is a perfectly acceptable Saturday night activity, I count myself lucky not to have wound up in some clinic, drying out.

Living abroad means reading news from home online, which also means seeing the comments underneath. Some are interesting, some are thought provoking, some may even bring a tear to the eye, but the ones that never cease to amaze me are the ones saying "it's no loss. She was a junkie"

Like I say, I wouldn't say I was a fan of Amy Winehouse, and her death doesn't affect my day to day life in any way. But to say that someone dying at 27 is "no loss" is an awful thing to say. It's a loss to her family, for whom it must have been horrific watching their loved one in the grips of a heroin addiction. It's a loss to the people she worked with, who have been making tributes all week to her (Read this tribute by Russell Brand. It's made me wonder if maybe the eejit persona is just an act). It's a loss of a human life, and, as far as I'm concerned, all human life is sacred, even if the person blessed with that life doesn't always feel so.

I can't help but wonder what people will say about these commentees when they pass. I hope no one will say, "it's no loss. He was a malicious, nasty man who like to leave poisonous comments on the internet." Because no one deserves that.

The "woo hoo" aerobics class

I've been going to the gym for a few months now, and, at first, I thought it was a one off, a mere blip in my otherwise happy gym existence. But, I've noticed it in a few classes, and the time has come to say something.

It's the whooping. In a few of the aerobics classes I've been going to, there are people whooping. And in one class, the teacher even encourages it.

Well, I'm sorry, but I think my British upbringing (Irish household not withstanding) means I can't whoop without feeling a total plank. All that woohooing makes me very uncomfortable. I just can't bring myself to join in.

I know that makes me sound all repressed and stuff, but, well, I don't care. I just not a whooper. At least not a public one.

Please tell me I'm not alone. Are there any secret aerobics whoopers out there?

An unlikely runner

Some might say reposting is lazy. To them I say "nonsense" in my best Mary Poppins voice. I was faffing around in my archives and came across this post from September 2009. It sort of explains why running Kobe Marathon in November is going to be kind of a big deal for me, and why I feel the need to go on about it so much.

An unlikely runnerA few years ago, I took up running. It sort of happened by accident. As my 30th birthday approached, I subconsciously embarked on a new health regime. I say subconsciously because, at the time, I didn't connect it with my increasing age and all the panic that goes with it, I just didn't want to buy new trousers and the ones I had just didn't fit me any more. Plus, I live in Japan, surrounded by teeny tiny Japanese ladies and couldn't actually have bought bigger trousers even if I wasn't so tight with my cash. As an aside, while looking for new running clothes last week in Fukuoka I noticed that a UK size 8 is a Japanese medium (!), so I never really had a hope of finding anything to fit, unless I ventured into the furniture store and bought a sofa cover...

So anyway, I joined a gym and set to my new health regime. I also reduced my chocolate intake which was akin to going cold turkey. I seriously started to wonder if there was some kind of support group I could join, then realised we call it "Weight Watchers". I'm not sure I'm able for Japanese Weight Watchers. The whole adventure started to get tough, I lost about a stone in weight but was so bored of the same routine at the gym, I felt in danger of losing the will to diet. Not good.

But, like a fairy Godmother, my friend (who I will refer to as "Fairy Godmother" just because I'm not sure how she feels about being publicised on the interwebs, plus it's cuter than her real name) suggested I join a "marathon" with her and some other friends. At this point, I think it should be noted that in Japan, any kind of running event is called a "marathon", although they are often more like fun runs. It another reason why I love Japan, I can sound like a proper runner without the trouble of a full marathon. Crikey, I keep getting distracted, how many "anyways" am I going to need in one post?

Anyway, I decided to join and loved it. I had a lovely day with great people, throw in a huge sense of achievement for running 5kms without a bar of chocolate to get me through, and you've got an event. I was hooked. The more I run, the more I enjoy it. I'm not a particularly good runner, I'm undoing years of exercise allergy, after all. I try to run at least twice a week and I join a "marathon" as often as I can. Running is a funny sport- it's an individual sport and, for most people, there is no need to compete with other runners, and yet, it's a hugely sociable sport. It's amazing at how talkative people are after running 5, 10 or more kilometres. I've met some great people and always look forward to meeting them, not to mention high fiving them when I finish running. (I wouldn't be seen dead high fiving anyone in any other situation unless it was in a ironic manner, by the way. I wouldn't want to give the false impression that I'm one of those people. Good Lord, no) I'm probably the least likely runner you'll ever meet. For starters I have massive breasts- not the best running accessory- that need to be practically strapped down with the best bras sportswear engineers can produce. I'm also prone to getting inexplicably angry with the Nike+ lady when she wrongly measures my distance. I may be a slow runner but even I don't take an hour to run 3kms, but it's best not to get me started. Add in my naturally lazy disposition, a still quite large body and an unsettling need for a daily chocolate fix, and you have arguably the least likely marathon runner in the world.

Maybe that's why I like it. Being such an unlikely runner leaves me free to make my own goals and reach them quietly without pressure from others. Every time I finish a race, I get huge pleasure from the surprise of those around me. I may be fat, but my fat rugby player legs carry me further than I ever thought possible. And if that isn't a good reason to celebrate with a big bar of chocolate, I don't know what is

Welcome to Japan

A while back I told you about Arashi, and how popular they are. Well, they have got together with the Japan tourist board and made this video.

I'm a little put out that they didn't include Shikoku (Should Arashi need a tour guide in Shikoku, to get to know the good places for the next commercial, I'm readily available. Offer also extends to SMAP), but I still think it's a cute ad.

I wonder if it's going to work?

PS: Today is my Big Bro's birthday. He's officially 104! OK, no, he's not, but I actually can't remember how old he is, and calculating it forces me to think about how old I am, and you're not allowed to do that on Ocean Day. There are rules on that, somewhere, maybe. Anyway,Kieron, have a lovely day, be spoiled (not by me, that's not how I roll, you know that) and most important, relax!

By 'eck. It's a scorcher!

If this was England, and we were perusing the red top headlines, The Sun would be trying to distract us from the hacking scandal with a "Ohh What a scorcher!" type headline. Because, it is, indeed scorching hot. As in 35c of hot. Aren't you sweating just thinking about it?

I knew it was going to be hot, and I knew trying to run in that is like sending heat stroke a written invitation to drop by any time. so I made the dubious decision to head out for my morning run around 7ish. I say dubious, because that's not much before I go to work on an average day, and I know it's crazy hot then because I have to stand in front of the fan in a most attractive manner when I get to work. So, what was I thinking? Anyway, I headed out, planning to do about 10k in just over an hour (I'm slow, but I figure now is not the time to be trying to be fast, I just need to be able to get through the distance). In the end, I threw in the towel, or should that be running shoe?, after 6km. It was insanely hot and that extra 4k was going to be a killer.

I came home and watched Ugly Betty instead. Yeah, I know it finished ages ago, but I still love it and the Mark/Amanda combo always gets a laugh from me. I'm not sure if laughing exactly counts as marathon training, but I'm also not sure that I care.

The rest of the day was spent meeting friends, popping into shops, a J-Pop dance class (I basically go to feel better about the fact that I can't dance, because neither can anyone else in the room, it's awesome) and having a read of the book I got from the library (The Hole We're In by Gabrielle Zevin. It was OK, quite interesting). It really feels like summer is here, even if my work schedule doesn't know it yet.

Tomorrow is a trip to the shopping centre with one, or maybe two, of the women from work. My workplace divides it's social activities much like I suspect they did in the 50s. The boys go drinking and the girls go shopping. It's a stereotype, but one that works for me. I like a drink as much as the next person, but I will always choose shopping over the Gaijin bar dives my male colleagues seem to enjoy drinking at. Seriously, what's wrong with a few chairs and a table I don't have to wipe before I put anything on it, assuming there is a table?

And, hurrah! Monday is Ocean day (海の日）so no work. I don't think I'll hit the beach, I'll leave that to the rest of Ehime. I'm hoping roomie will stick to our vague mention of going to the river to go swimming, but it was so vague, I really can't be sure. If not, it'll be the pool at the gym. Which really isn't the same thing, is it?

I have a few more weeks before I go back home for the summer, and I can't wait! I must be the only person in the world hanging out for an English summer...

Even if I have to hobble, I will get the the finish line

After a bit of swearing and cursing, going away for a bit, coming back the next day and trying again, I managed to pay my entry fee for Kobe Marathon. And I had thought the training was going to be the hard part, who knew navigating the webpage would be my first obstacle?

I felt slightly like I had been fleeced, 11,000yen is a lot of money, after all, but I realised this is where being a bit of a skinflint comes in handy. See, I've parted with my hard-earned cash now, so, come hell or high water, I'm determined to get the most of my day. That 11,000 yen is the price I'm going to have to pay for being able to drop my amazing marathon running skills into conversation.

"Oh, you're going to Kobe? I ran a marathon there once. Yes, full marathon. Yes, that's very far. I know, I AM amazing aren't I? And a little fat for a marathon runner, you say? Oh. Must have been the cheesecakes I ate on the train on the way home after I ran so far. Anyway, enough about me. Tell me, have you run any marathons?"

Yup, I'm going to be THAT person at every party. The one everyone carefully circles around to avoid hearing the same story fifty million times. And I don't even care!

There's one small glitch in my plan for becoming possibly the least popular Gaijin in Japan (and I ahve a lot of competition!!), I have to actually get myself to the point where I can run the marathon. So, I had to stop thinking about running, takling about running and surfing the internet looking at the cute clothes I'll be bale to wear after all this training transforms me into an actual model  running shoes that I maintain will make me run faster by looking really cool training programs and actually set foot outside the house.

I did 5k yesterday morning, nice and comfortable, and was pretty pleased with that, until I got to work and my colleagues pointed out that I needed to run more than 8 times that distance. Ok, thanks for that. Well, tonight I managed 7k, so stick that in your pipe and smoke it. I only need to multiply that by, like 6 or so, so ha! Admitedly, one of them just did a triathlon the other day, so he has main bragging rights at the moment, so my little running expeditions are nothing for him, but, meh, I'm allowed my moments of pride.

So, this weekend, there is more running, I'm going to try 12k on Sunday, which in this heat means getting out before 7. On a weekend. Ouch. That's where being slightly insane helps.

And then, after a nap, I need to check out those cool running shoes.

What have you got planned for this weekend?

Some days

I saw this on this blog and thought it was a great idea. So I decided to do my own version. Imitation is the best form of flattery, you know. Or something like that.

Some days, I arrive at work fragrant and well-dressed, ready to educate the youth of Japan. Most days, I arrive sweaty and a bit crumpled, needing a good ten minutes to cool off before I can even think about making photocopies.

Some days, I cook and eat three balanced meals every day, with a varied weekly diet. Most days, I end up grabbing a snack at some point in the day because I've run out of time to cook. The snack usually has chocolate in it.

Some days, I go for a run in the early morning, as per my training schedule. Most days, I think about going running, and I keep meaning to make a proper schedule but don't quite get to it.

Some days, I make sure my room is clean and tidy before I go to sleep. Most days, I clear a space among the junk to put my futon down and promise myself I'll sort it out tomorrow.

Some days, I use my time wisely and make the best of each day. Most days, I waste the whole evening on the internet or watching trash on TV and the mental to-do list gets steadily longer. I don't actually write to-do lists except in my imaginary, organised life.

The last of the June pictures- are you excited?

My roommate's lunch. She makes something like this every day. I'm always thrilled when she offers to make me one.

This was my study menu. 100yen drink and a McFlurry. I guess now I'm marathon training, I'll have to give these up. Sigh.

Standard sunset picture, no explanation needed

I went to this cafe in Dogo a few weeks ago. It was a restored house from the Meiji era, I think, and the gardens were lovely. I must have walked past it a million times and never thought it would be all that. Very wrong.

Cold noodles should taste rotten, but they're actually really good, especially when its 34c.

I've been meaning to post this for ages. It's the outside wall of a live music venue that I cycle past on the way to town. No one here has ever commented on it, so apparently soft porn really enhances the neighbourhood and no one minds.

Bit quiet

I keep telling myself to hurry up and put a new post up before you all give up on me, only I don't really have much to say at the moment.

Yesterday's JLPT didn't go so well, I pretty much guessed every answer and I know I'll have to take it again. Mind you the Chinese kid behind me told me he has taken it 6 times, so I can relax about needing to take it 4 times. He was also super friendly until he clocked my date of birth on my test voucher. I guess he didn't realise I was almost old enough to be his mother. Should I be flattered?

I am looking for a decent marathon training programe at the moment. I've always used the ones on Nike Plus before now, but then, I usually ignore them. I have a couple of uncles ( I seriously have a lot of uncles, in a big Irish family you'll usually find someone who will know about whaterver it is you have planned) who have run marathons and one of them emailed me today to find out what my training plan was. I figure if I can get out for a run at least 3 times a week, with the cross training at the gym, I should be OK within 5 months... Maybe.

I planned to look for one tonight but then we left the windows open. The heavens opened right into our kitchen and bathroom. Once I finished up, I was way top grumpy to anything useful. I ended up watching a strange show where they went to Saitama to find "ikemen", which are just "cool guys", apparently. My roommate felt the need to apologise to me for the state of Japanese TV.

 I have the last few photos from June to upload, but the camera battery is dead so I'm charging it now. You'll be waiting with baited breath for those I'm sure.

So, other than that, not so much doing. Feel free to brag about your cool lives in the comment section.