Past me that made single-serve lasagnes to freeze was awesome and I appreciate her efforts very much right now.
pictures to come, more of a reflection
Good morning all. I hope Melb is not too hot.
During these first few days in Japan, I’ve focused on just orienting myself around and spending time with my friend (and her friend who has tagged along). We haven’t done anything substantial in terms of sight seeing. First day was pretty much just getting off the plane and eating.
Yesterday I first went to TeamLab Planets, which was cool, and then it was pretty much just a shopping day. I told myself I wasn’t going to buy much, as I’m typically not a big shopper. I only brought two changes of clothes, so I kind of went ham. I don’t really have any winter clothes at home either. Also brought some snacks from Muji for people, which we probably have in Australia upon second thought. I will find some Kit Kats maybe tonight. My poor friend has been grabbing all of my bags and carrying them for me, including the suitcase, insisting on doing so. She knows that I have zero spatial awareness so maybe that’s partly why.
Anyway, yesterday I tried quite a few new foods. We went to some place in Shibuya and there was an option to get mixed skewers. They asked us if we were fine with pork rectum and guts, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to order that option. So we got that, and I don’t know if I ended up eating it, but there were a few really tough skewers that might have been the rectum. The rest of the food was good though. Mackerel is wonderful, eel is alright. Tried shark cartilage marinated in plum which was interesting. We also saw the Hachiko statue which was cool. Shibuya is a lot less seedy than Shinjuku and I probably wouldn’t stay here again. Overall, it’s been fun but scary. Today I will try the konbini. Within walking distance, there are at least five that I’ve seen.
Don't forget the

Also to add, its a rare opportunity to try real wasabi

👀
That sounds great. I hear Muji is good, you’re going to have some nice winter clothes!
yeah nah, I wouldn’t be eating that
I was having a lovely snooze in bed and got a cramp in my calf. I remembered seeing someone recently saying you should stand up and put weight on that leg when you get a cramp, so I tried that and the cramp just went away instantly. For 50 years my approach to those cramps has been rolling around in agony as the cramp gets worse and worst and there is a quick easy fix that I didn’t know about. I’m thrilled to know this, but also a bit disgruntled about how much pain I have endured over my life that I didn’t need to.
Athletes use pickle juice. By the time you stagger to the fridge for a slug the cramp will probably be gone anyway.
Alcoholics use Martinis.
Two birds one stone.
Didn’t work for me the other night. My calf was so cramped I could only stand on tippy toe. Almost fell over trying to stand up. Stupid blood and it’s stupid lack of nutrients.
I’m going to try this next time I get a cramp.
I’m addicted to a game called Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.
Soooooo good.
I heard that’s the highpoint of the Paper Mario series. What are you playing it on? It’s on my shortlist of games to emulate through Dolphin when I get around to it
It’s really really good.
I’m playing it on switch and had no issues with the rom. And there are some great mods you can run on a modded switch for it as well.
Currently playing Mario Galaxy 2 but this is next on my list!
It is absolutely incredible. I haven’t picked up a game and been this hooked in a really long time.
The piggies will be leaving us tomorrow. I don’t have a box to accommodate such travel. Was wondering if a picnic basket would be appropriate?

Farewell, little piggies. You will be missed!
a piggienic basket
Hahaha. Yes!
YL wasn’t convinced until I pointed out “what would you prefer to be delivered in a cardboard box or a Rolls Royce?”
They are cute!
It’s hard to believe the one on the left is a biter.
With that hairdo, I’m not surprised!
Sturdy cardboard box might do better. I’m thinking maybe the waxed cardboard boxes that greengrocers get bananas etc in. Maybe your supermarket has these or the local health food shop. These come with a lid that fits closely over the base box - and have good ventilation. And being waxed would be fairly leakproof too with some newspaper, hay or an old towel over the bottom.
they are so cute
and surprisingly strong, they will chew through things so choose a carrier carefully
Not my basket therefore not my problem.
good night everyone
sweet dreams 😘
I actually don’t mind going back to work tomorrow. I say that now, but still. I like my routine to a degree.
I sort of wanted to go back but now I’ve done a week I’m ready for another holiday. Even when it’s not that bad, work is still work
You make a valid point. Grass is always greener…
I also wanted to check some analytics to see how things I set live right before the break went. I certainly wasn’t going to login and check in my own time and it was the one thing I was looking forward to so i didn’t want to ruin the anticipation
How did it go?
Everything went great, pretty much as expected. These were the ads I made to look like marketplace listings, they absolutely popped off. They’re also what gave me the idea to upgrade good ads to lead collection so we can get more out of them
Excellent!
I have a question about ads I’ll DM you later this week. I’m about to launch our marketing campaign.
Feel free to message whenever. We could even book in time to have a ‘meeting’ and I can show you the results behind the scenes
I thought that this exact time last week - you can wait to go back haha
I do get what you mean though with needing a routine again.
It’s good to know what to expect in a couple of days lol
I’ve fallen into vegetable mode the last 8ish or so days. It’s like I need some discomfort to snap back to life lol
Do you tell your partner where you’re taking them when you’ve made dinner plans?
I booked dinner for my girlfriend’s birthday last night and she was asking me his much she should dress up, how far away it is, etc. I felt like I wasn’t supposed to tell her but I wanted to just say where because it was a pub nearby, not super out of the way and extravagant but a nice place.
Maybe for the big special occasions you can keep it a surprise but sometimes I just want to say “I booked here, you can look it up and check the menu if you’d like.”
I want to be told where I’m going. I don’t like surprises. I especially don’t like “I have a surprise for you but you have to wait”.
This is part of it, I think she wants to keep it a bit of a surprise. So I think it’s also about balancing out what she wants from the experience as well
Everyone is different. What’s helpful is - we’re going to the pub, nice pub, restaurant, nice restaurant etc. What’s not helpful is - just look nice, you always look nice anyway, wear whatever.
Those sorts of indicators make sense. Essentially saying what the place is without giving away the name
Personally, I’m not a fan of not being told where we’re going, if my partner has booked a place. Unless it was a really fancy restaurant or show and they booked it as a present, I would prefer to be told what the venue is.
I get too anxious when I know something is happening, but not precisely what 😂
That’s how i felt about this time. Even though it was for her birthday it wasn’t anywhere super fancy. I have a place in mind for valentines day I’d keep as a surprise. For this one I kind of wanted to tell her but I think she wanted it to be a surprise
Unless it’s meant to be a big surprise of course.
and dress for the people not the place, is my motto, birthday dinner with sweetheart means dress nice.
curls up like a pillbug
Chipping away at Mt Washmore and later tonight I tackle Mt Dishmore. I emptied the bins and the air seems nicer out there today, clear and fresh enough to crack the doors for a breeze.
I hope this means good news around the fires
calligraphy practice done, much gardening done, cooked dinner, now for some reading 😊
Beach was cold and windy, I wore a jumper!


Beep Beep 🚚
🍏🍎🍐🍊🍋🍈🫐🍓🍇🍉🍌🍒🍑🥭🍍🥥🥦🥑🫛🍆🍅🥝🥬🥒🌽🥕🥐🍠🫚🥔🧅🥯🍞🥖🥨🧀🧇🥞🧈🍳🥚🥓🥩🍗🍖🫓🍕🍟🍔🌭🥙🧆🌮🌯🥗🍲🍜🍝🥘🍛🍣🍱🥟🦪🍥🍘🍚🍙🐠🍤🪼🦀🐙 🍗🥮🍢🍡🍧🍰🧁🥧🍦🍨🎂🍮🍭🍬🍫🥜🌰🍪🍿🍯🥛☕️🍵🍺🍶🥤🧋🧃🥂🍷🥃🍸🍹🧉🔋Salmon and avocado sushi and a skinny iced latte please chef
🐟🥑🍣🧊🥛☕️
Morning chef. A hot dog with mustard, a cup of coffee and about 30mm of rain please.
🌭🍯☕️🌧️🌧️🌧️
Thanks.
just a cup of tea and some more sleep please
☕️🛏️
beach then home for some art work 😊
The Aldi ‘light touch’ face sunscreen is not great. After applying it to my inner elbow twice to test for allergy I used it on my face. There’s no strong perfume, a faint initial sting, a white cast that fades, but it’s extremely greasy and shiny. Like an oil slick.
I’ll use it in an emergency rather than have no sunscreen but that level of oiliness definitely looks weird. It’s a shame because the price is very good and it hasn’t given me a reaction (yet).
I have been astounded to find that a Japanese sunscreen far outstrips just about any AU one I’ve found. Unfortunately I only bought enough to use on my face, but it sinks in beautifully, no residue, doesn’t sting my eyes after being in water and while my shoulders and chest got HELLA burnt from using an AU sunscreen, my face remained fine. Wish I had enough to lather my whole body, I chose to protect my face!
Yeah, face sunscreen is definitely more expensive and more so if it’s a special brand. I’ve heard good things about Japanese sunscreen














