This was part of our dinner at Komé. It was so delicious of course!
2013 Kouhaku Uta Gassen
On New Year’s Eve we watched the annual Kouhaku Uta Gassen NHK Red/White singing contest. It was pretty fun but I couldn’t believe the ending scores! The white team (men) totally destroyed the red team! Besides that, some highlights and lowlights were:
- +1 Kyary Pamyu Pamyu – Craziness as usual
- +1 Aiko – Classic Aiko with band! I love her! (original video)
- +1 Perfume – Cool video effects! (original video)
- +1 TM Revolution and his partner could really belt out a song
- +1 Ayase Haruka – A host who shows she is a real person
- +1 Miwa – Newcomer was pretty good!
- -1 Enka singers who need cute AKB girls so people won’t change the channel
- -2 Too many AKB, NMB, etc…
- -3 Too much Ama-chan
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō (ヨコハマ買い出し紀行)
Yesterday I started reading Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō on my tablet (via Manga Bird). So far it’s one of my favorite manga. Granted I have not ready hardly any manga, but this one is keeping my attention the most, which is strange because not a whole lot happens in it! But I love the simple style and the short vignettes have a certain charm to them. The manga started in 1994 and ended in 2006, which is interesting because the fashion that the characters wear is very ’90s. I am wondering if the belt-line on their pants will get lower as the manga progresses in years! One thing I really like about this one is that the main character rides a scooter. I guess that is why I liked Kino’s Journey (キノの旅) as well.
Freelensing photo of some New Year’s flowers
2013 Health
One of the changes that happened in my life this past year was general health improvement. There were basically three things that occurred:
- The big S: That would be Sugar. I am not talking about cutting out ALL sugar from my diet, but rather just the added sugary foods: candy, cookies, desserts, and sodas. This is probably the easiest healthy change for me to make since I never had a sweet-tooth to begin with. But I think this may have been the biggest benefit to my health. Once in a while I might have something sweet, but that is pretty much because of social pressure (how can I refuse a piece of birthday cake?). But the cool thing is that I don’t have any craving for sweets or sodas at all!
- Exercise: In January I joined a gym and have used it pretty regularly throughout the year. Overall, I’ve not really lost any weight, but instead replaced much of the fat with muscle. It’s kind of nice, but I think what I like most is that I have more energy and more endurance to do things like biking or throwing the football around with the kids. Speaking of biking, I’ve also been riding my bike a lot more during the year. We have some nice hike & bike trails nearby and it is good to take advantage of them. Also, exercise is a good stress reducer, and when I am finished exercising I feel a nice sense of accomplishment!
- Smoothies: In the summer, we bought a serious blender for making smoothies and other healthy foods. By serious, I mean one that cost a few hundred dollars. At this level, you have something that is the real deal. In our case, we got a Blentec model and it is fantastic! We are making “green” smoothies quite a bit now, and the nutrition and energy one of those drinks provides is great. The blender makes it so easy too (and cleanup is a snap). I have a base recipe I use, and then just add in different raw veggies, fruit, plus flax seed if we have it. They taste pretty good, and fill you up! The blender is one of my best purchases ever. Plus, it came with an 8-year warranty standard!
Lastly, I have to add one other simple change I have made: I drink a big glass of water as soon as I wake up. Besides re-hydrating my body, it helps to get the metabolism jump-started.
For 2014 I am going to continue these activities, but I am going to quit my gym membership. It is purely financial. But in lieu of going to the gym, I am going to bump up my running in the neighborhood. We’ll see how that goes!
