I Had An Epiphany!

 Yesterday I was trying to delete some of the web pages that I have marked over the last year or so. I was also trying to unsubscribe from some of the YouTube channels that I've subscribed to.

I noticed that a lot of these sites and channels were to do with making money online. About affiliate marketing, making digital products or writing an ebook. I have drafts of books that I've thought about writing and designs for gratitude journals that are just sitting on my computer.

I realised that I'm always collecting things or ideas!

I think I talked about this when I was writing about my Japanese study: how, instead of studying, I just look for more materials, new books, and YouTube channels for listening. Then I wonder why my Japanese doesn't improve.

I do the same with books. I have 1000s of books (physical books, not on my Kindle) that I've collected over the years; most I haven't read, but I still download books onto my Kindle almost every day. Last time I checked I have over 6000 books on my Kindle. Also, I have Everand, an app that I pay 1,000 yen a month for, where I have about 400 books saved to read later. I'll write a post another day about how I get free books, legally, for my Kindle.

Yesterday, while I was sitting, enjoying a cup of tea and listening to rain, I began to wonder why I do this. Why do I just collect things but don't use them? Why have I bookmarked so many sites and subscribed to so many channels but haven't done anything with the information?

I realised that, even though they are similar habits, the core emotion is different.

Collecting study materials and books makes me feel secure. Maybe a false security, as I know that a bad storm, fire or earthquake would destroy them, but when I see my books or open my Kindle and see all the books there, I feel relieved; I have something! Childish, maybe, but I went so many years without having books when I first came to Japan that I'm making up for it now!

The collecting of sites and YouTube channels and not using the information is rooted in fear!

Fear of failing. Fear of never getting out of the feeling of lack, of never being able to move forward in life because there isn't enough money.

I look at these ideas, things like making a colouring book to sell on KDP and feel that I could never make anything that good, even with AI. So, I don't bother.

I thought about writing a book about my life in Japan, the ups and downs, the truimphs and disasters, but then I think, nobody would want to read it! Even with AI's help it wouldn't be good enough.

I see all these cute T-shirts people have made to sell, promoting their web page or YouTube channel and I just know that I'd never be able to make anything that cute.

So, I sit and moan, I ask David to try out some of these ideas, he has more skills using the internet and AI, plus he is very good at drawing. I ask Hannah to make designs, again she is a very good artist.

I'm also stuck on the idea that the only way I can make money is to teach English. But I wonder if the whole idea of having a physical classroom and students coming has come to an end. I know some people are still doing well, but they are living in bigger cities, some have building that get a lot of foot traffic, so easy for people to join. 

Where we are living the population is really old and there are very few kids. There are five elementary schools in the area, the kids from these schools all go to the same junior high school. The city has decided to close these schools over the next five years and make one big elementary and junior high school. One closed this spring! That is rather shocking!

After a year of putting leaflets and no calls I think it's safe to say that  teaching here might not be possible.

During my reflection yesterday, I asked myself, "What is the worst thing that can happen if you try one of these online ideas?"

I realised that the worst thing would be wasting my time and maybe a few thousand yen.

So I took a leap of faith and went to Printify. I want to make T-shirts to sell; the theme is from my cat blog 81 Lives......Another Cat Blog

This is a blog about the chaos that my cats cause!

I found the process of designing the T-shirt easy enough.

This is the design I went with. I took off the black background so the colour of the T-shirt shows. And yes, it's AI-designed!

I've ordered one; I want to see what the quality of the T-shirts is first before making more designs. 

While I'm waiting for the T-shirt to come, I have to decide which is the best platform to sell on, either Shopify, which is popular in Japan or Etsy. I also want to see if I can sell them on my Ko-fi page!

I told Hannah what I was doing; she made a design as well. I think hers is really cute, as it shows our cats, but I don't know if it's good for a T-shirt!

These are Hannah's designs.

So I'm going to be trying a few new things: stop collecting and start doing! Time to face the fear!

I don't know if I'll make a lot of money or any money at all, but I do know that if I don't try, I'll never find out!

Wish me luck!

The Rainy Season

 The Japan Meteorological Agency announced that the rainy season, tsuyu, has started in northern Kyushu. I didn't need the announcement; just looking out of my window told me that the rainy season had started!

This video is from my window. All day it's been raining, nonstop!

The biggest problem for me is laundry! I usually do a load every day. I don't have a dryer; they are available here but are expensive to buy and run. Laundry is hung outside, which I like; when it's dry, it smells of sunshine! During the rainy season, it's a lot of planning to get the laundry done. Yesterday we ran out of clean bath towels because I hadn't done laundry for a couple of days due to the rain from the typhoon. David had to go a 24 hours discount store to buy some! At the moment, I have laundry hanging in the dining area with a fan blowing on it; I hope it dries!

Another thing is that the mould tends to grow a lot. Nothing dries out, ever! Even on the days it's not raining, it's humid, and everywhere feels damp! This is why good air conditioners are so important; the better ones have a dry mode. It doesn't cool down the room so much but does dry it out a lot. Today is rather cool, so it doesn't feel humid or damp. I hope the temperatures stay low for a while longer!

The rainy season is predicted to last until July 19th. That's a lot of rainy days! 

I like rainy days; they are days for reading, for just sitting and watching the rain, for a break before the brutal heat of summer starts. 

I hope the rain doesn't get too strong. Today it has been constant but not torrential. There is a thunderstorm advisory at the moment, but I don't think we will get a thunderstorm; at least I hope not!

Looks like I'm going into my summer schedule: get up early and do all the chores before 8 am. The rest of the day I'll be reading or studying!

If I read anything good, I'll let you know!

Typhoon 6

 The sixth typhoon of the year hit Okinawa on Monday. Heavy rain and strong winds hit the islands, causing power outages and downed trees. I was watching the news this morning; they were interviewing one resident. The reporter said that the resident was very well prepared for power cuts; he had battery-powered lamps and candles. The resident sounded rather resigned when he said that every time there was a typhoon, they lost power!

I watched this storm develop from last week, wondering how bad it would be if it hit here; I always worry about all the stuff that is outside. Here we aren't that close to our neighbours' houses, but I don't want our cars damaged by flying debris. On Saturday, Christopher managed to clean up a lot in front of the house. The big windows on the front of the house have shutters, which really helps to protect them.

We got lucky! The typhoon passed south of Kyushu. The storm area was so big that it covered the whole island. 

This video was from yesterday, driving to the other city to teach. Looks like a normal rainy day, a bit of wind but not really crazy!

The interesting thing was that once the rain stopped, the wind picked up. 

This is from the community centre where we were teaching. Actually, Mikey was teaching; neither of my students came!

I'm glad that it wasn't that bad. I do worry about these storms. My biggest worry is the cats! If we ever have to evacuate, what would we do with the cats? We have enough carriers for them, but I can't imagine having nine cats in an evacuation centre, in carriers. My cats really don't like the carriers; they just cry all the time!

Just a couple of photos from yesterday.

Very dramatic sky!

Traditional Japanese Seal, Inkan

 This morning, David was looking for an inkan, a traditional Japanese name seal. These are used on documents instead of a signature or in addition to a signature. 

A couple of the inkans that I have

The idea of using seals came to Japan through China and Korea. The oldest known Japanese seal is a gold seal given by the Chinese Han emperor in 57AD to a Kyushu ruler.

During the Edo period (1603 to 1868), merchants and some farmers began using them.  It wasn't until the Meiji era that the modern inkan system became formalised, and people were required to register personal seal for legal use. That system is still in place; you have to register your personal seal at the city hall. For some legal documents, you need a certificate, called "inkan shomeisho", to show that the inkan you are using is yours. This is required for certain loans, high-value purchases or legally binding transactions.

The inkan is seen as being more formal, trustworthy and serious. Many documents will have a circle where you are to place your stamp. 

I've never understood the need for inkan. I feel that a signature is a better way of showing your identity. It's harder to forge a signature than to steal an inkan. A few years ago, there was a spate of robberies near where we lived. In most cases, the person's bank books and inkan were stolen; with these, the robbers could get the money from the bank with no questions asked. If a signature was required as well as the inkan, it would have made it harder to get the money.

I have my inkan registered with the city hall. I did this after Hisao passed away. I wanted to change our bank account from our joint names to my name. I thought it would be easy: show Hisao's ID and death certificate and my ID. I forgot about the inkan that was used to open the account. I had to go back with the inkan, but I took the wrong one. The next day I went back with 10 different inkans; they all had our family name on them, but each one was slightly different. Of course, none of these inkans was the one used to open the account. In the end, it was easier to close that account, register a new inkan and make a new account! Since then, I have always carried my inkan with me!

May

 May felt long; it seemed to drag on.  I felt that the months from the new year until April went by very quickly, but May slowed down. Or maybe I slowed down.

The first few months of the year, I was really trying to get the house and garden sorted. I've been slowly decluttering, sorting the storage area and trying, with little success, to do the garden. The weather in May, however, put a halt to a lot of projects; it's been too hot. May is usually the last month before the heat and humidity set in; this year it has been unseasonably hot.  Today the high was 33℃, too hot to really do anything!

I'm still trying to clean every day. With nine cats, you have to sweep and vacuum every day; otherwise, the hair and dust just collect. I do what I can, then give orders to whoever is around. I think I'll have to start my summer schedule of cleaning in the early morning, before 8 am, and then spending the rest of the day in my room with the air conditioner on. Makes my life very small, but it's the only way to survive the summer. We are planning on getting an air conditioner for the kitchen/dining area, but Christopher has the credit card, and David knows which one is good, but their schedules haven't lined up as yet. I hope we can get one before the extreme heat sets in. I'm coping at the moment, but it isn't easy!

At the moment, I'm wondering if Typhoon 6 is going to hit here. I keep checking to see what course it's going to take, and so far it looks like it will pass south of here. We might get some heavy rain but not the wind. I hope it won't be too bad, as the blueberries are starting to grow. 

The blueberries!

Also, the Japanese plums are almost ready for picking; I don't want them to be blown down.

Last year I made a personal curriculum to finish the year; I'm thinking of doing that for the summer. I do need to learn more Japanese; also, I want to read more about Japanese history and study nutrition. I think the first few days of June I'll be putting together some books, webpages and videos to do that.

June is halfway through the year; I often reflect on what I've accomplished this far into the year and what I need to do to finish the year on top of things. 

If you made New Year's resolutions, have you stuck to them?

From Defeated to Determined

 I'm amazed at what a rest and a good night's sleep do for my mental health.

This morning I woke up feeling refreshed; my allergies are calmer, I feel a lot better mentally, not so down, so I determined not to be brought down by our money situation. I can't make any more, even though I want to; what I can do is cut waste to a minimum and find even more ways to save money.

I have subscriptions to Hulu and Netflix; one has to go. Netflix is the cheap subscription with ads, which don't bother me at all. Hulu, however, is more expensive, so that will have to be cancelled; I can always change back later. That will save just over 1,000 yen a month. 

Other things that are wasting money are buying drinks and something for dinner when we go to the other city to teach. 

On Tuesday, Christopher comes with Mikey and me; he makes sandwiches for us. But we still stop at a convenience store to buy drinks. I always buy water; I should get a flask and bring water from home. On Wednesday, when it's just Mikey and me, we buy something to eat, but I think that I should make some sandwiches or rice balls. I noticed that over the two days I spent about 4,000 yen; multiplying that by 4 weeks makes 16,000 yen, about £75, far too much to waste like that. Also, there isn't much choice in the stores and no real healthy choices!

Another area I'm looking at making changes in is our food shopping. I need to go back to making a week's menu and sticking to it. It's so easy to buy "bargains" but then not use them, therefore wasting money. A few times in the past I've planned out a week's menu and made shopping lists. I remember being able to save over 3,000 yen a week, about £15.

Just implementing those few changes could save me a lot of money. Takes discipline, though. But that's good for me. I need to stop being so lazy and make the effort!

I hope this determination lasts!

Yesterday, even though I rested a lot, I did make an effort to put away my very heavy winter clothes and put out my summer clothes.

A couple of things surprised me; one was that it didn't take as long as I thought it would, about 40 minutes altogether. Another nice surprise was that some clothes that I thought didn't fit actually fit now! I have two new outfits without shopping!

Today I cleaned out the fridge while making lunch. I wanted to roast some broccoli and potatoes; I parboil them first, otherwise they don't seem to cook through properly. While they were cooking, I decided to clean part of the fridge. I like cleaning the fridge when it's hot!

Today's lunch!

Hamburgers, roasted potatoes and broccoli, salad and miso soup. I did plan to make rice, but I forgot to turn on the rice cooker! Never mind! I'll use the rice for this evening's meal!

Feeling Defeated

 Maybe defeated is too strong a word, but definitely overwhelmed.

I would really like life to go more smoothly. I know that having problems is normal. 

I just wish my problems didn't happen all at once!

A perfect scenario would be to have a problem, solve it, next problem, solve that and keep on going like that. One problem at a time. But life is messy, and problems seem to occur in clusters.

Most of my problems are about money and my health!

June seems to be the month when a lot of taxes are due, the new national insurance starts for the year ahead, and we now have another city bill to pay that I really don't understand.

The new bill is about sewage removal. We already pay a bimonthly water bill, which includes sewage. This new bill is calculated based on the size of the land. Because the land we are on is large, the bill is high. The land measures about 1435m², and the house, from which the sewage is taken, is only 204m². We have to pay 149,060 yen, about £700. We can pay monthly, but I think I might go to the city hall and find out exactly what this is for. Our mains sewage is just for the water, not the toilet waste, which we still have to get fixed!

Then, of course, just the everyday price of things is getting to be crazy. I'm lucky that I have wonderful friends who send me stuff, a bag of rice that came just at the right time. Also, one of my students is a farmer; two or three times a month, she gives me some vegetables, which really helps. 

But it is really disheartening to go into a supermarket and see that, yet again, there is an increase in basic foods. It's not a lot, but these few yen add up quickly.  If I can get to the supermarket where Christopher works, with Christopher, he can get a 10% employee discount. We try to do that as much as possible.

My big health problem at the moment is allergies. I have no idea why they have suddenly flared up.  Yesterday was awful, my nose was like a tap, just dripping, and I had to teach. I took medicine, which helped a bit, but I still went through 4 packets of tissues. Today is a bit better, but I'm wiped out. I've slept most of the day, I didn't even make lunch, but I have a good dinner planned.

Then, just to add to things, I came home yesterday to find Christopher sick. He came home early from work with a fever and headache. I checked his fever last night, 39.5℃, very high. I gave him some painkillers and let him sleep. He's a lot better today, thankfully! I know he's an adult, but he's still my kid, and I worry! 

One of my friends reminds me to be grateful, something that I struggle with. I know that my problems aren't that bad, that a lot of people have harder lives, but I think it's normal to see your own problems as being overwhelming!

Three things that I'm grateful for.

1) Friends who help out, who keep it real for me and remind me that life is wonderful even when it feels so hard.

2)A house that is mine, no rent to pay, which does help.

3)Kids who are willing to help each other and me. They aren't selfish with their own money and are willing to lend money or buy things for each other without moaning!

I'm fighting the defeated feeling! Tomorrow is a new day, next week is a new month. I have to find energy to deal with these problems; lying in bed isn't helping!

Cats on the new cooling mat I bought.

It's getting hot, not every day but most days. I got this cooling mat from Daiso for 500 yen, about £2. These are for people, not pets; the pet ones cost about 2,000 yen, about £10. I'm thinking to but some for us to use on our beds.