i am still jetlagged. i was working on my top ten list, but my eyes cannot stay awake. it’ll be ready tomorrow. until then, goodnight even though it’s not even 8pm yet on the west coast.
eat that frog
so strange how quickly i’ve fallen back into my old routine in just my first day back in the states: wake up, turn on my laptop, make a breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast and coffee, check email and facebook, check the news, check facebook, check email, check facebook, think about going to exercise, check facebook…
i thought this was a new year dude! got to break these awful habits. speaking of which, i was reading theater bay area magazine and — as if the gods have resolved to help me with my apathy — there was an advice column about this exact topic. an actor wrote in saying how he hates new year’s resolutions because they never work out. he suffers from the worst plague of all — procrastination — and though time quickly passes, he has no accomplishments to show for it. the columnist had a few suggestions, but the one that stuck out the most is to “Eat That Frog”:
Brian Tracy wrote a little book on procrastination called Eat That Frog based on the old saying, “If the first thing you do when you wake up is eat a live frog, nothing worse can happen to you for the rest of the day.” Your “frog” is the most difficult task on your to-do list–the one you are most likely to procrastinate about. If you look at your to-do list, circle the “frog” and “eat” it first, it will give you energy and confidence to power through whatever else you need to do for the rest of the day. But if you let it sit there looking at you all day while you do a hundred other less important things, it will slowly sap your energy, and at the end of the day the thing you most needed to do still isn’t done. I have found this image helpful. When I find myself butterflying between different tasks, circling around things and not really getting anything done, I just say, “Oh come on, Velina! Eat the frog!”
my frog is writing so instead of my usual bacon, eggs, toast, and coffee, i’m going to have me a big ol’ helping of words each morning from now on. wish me luck!
where do you look?
just wondering because this has happened to me twice already on this trip: when speaking with someone with one lazy eye, which eye do you look into?
a week in tokyo
[note: i began this post yesterday, but a.l. came home and i got distracted. now, i’m sitting on the heated toilet (with bidet!) pulling double duty.]
here i am in japan sitting across from n.i. in her apartment. our feet resting under a heated kotatsu (not to be confused with tonkatsu). a bottle of sake sits on the table with two empty glasses and a watermelon-flavored suika-soda next to it. she’s playing tetris while watching desperate houswives while i try to think of something to say on this blog. this is the quietest it’s been in the last week that i’ve been here and i’m grateful for the respite.
tokyo is a madhouse. walking down the streets is a game of frogger. you’ve got to dodge rushing human torpedoes, screaming vendors, and blaring billboards and advertisements that attack you from anywhere and everywhere. while new york might possess the same frenetic energy and crowds, there’s something about tokyo that makes me think this whole city is on crack and redbull ’cause damn i get tired from just standing on the street corner.
n.i. and a.l. live in a suburb not too far from the central transportation hub shinjuku. it’s a two story home owned by n.i.’s uncle. my favorite feature has got to be the combination shower and soaking tub. i’ve got to figure out a way to install one in our bathroom in sf.
n.i. and a.l. have been insanely amazing hosts and i’m not writing that just cause i know n.i. reads this wink wink. they’ve taken me to some out-of-this-world eats and sites and have been trying to teach me basic japanese etiquette and phrases, how to use the metro system, and the glory of vending machines and 7/11s. if not for them, i would seriously be … are you ready? … LOST IN TRANSLATION. i haven’t really missed the u.s. yet. perhaps it’s because home is where the heart is and where your friends are, there is your heart. it’s so great to see them and to know that no amount of time or distance can break these obie/bx bonds.
things i’ve learned so far from my travels:
– asking for help is not the worst thing one can do in the world;
– when an employee at a major tourist destination gives you directions, they’re probably right;
– good eats do exist at 7/11… when you’re not in the states;
– signs tell you where to go.
human blockades
whenever i head home to nyc, i’m reminded of the intense pace of life there. everything must be done now and quickly. seconds are precious because there’s always someone there before you to beat you and get the job even though you’re definitely more talented and handsome and way over-qualified for the position anyway and who cares if you’re not a graduate of a prestigious program because you’re still worth it, right?
but i digress.
i love walking in most parts of nyc except places like midtown which are way too tourist-dense and reminds me too much walking in san francisco. why is it that i can go at like 100 miles per hour in nyc and not so much as brush another person (specifically, another new yorker)? yet here, i am forced to walk at 5 mph because the idiot in front of me is walking directly in the middle of the street and won’t hurry up and doesn’t hear you even after you’ve said, “excuse me” seven times — and STILL manages to bump into me?
you know: i shouldn’t even have to say, “excuse me.” people need to learn to just pick a side of the street and walk! it’s as if though san franciscans have a sonar system that guides them IN your way versus out.
i can’t hate too much though. we’ve all been in someone’s way at some point in our lives – consciously or subconsciously, physically or emotionally, willingly or unwillingly. i’ve been feeling a bit like that recently though it’s more akin to being a big ol’ blockade that’s just waiting for the war to end so i can be knocked down and lugged away. meanwhile, i’m just static and observing passerbys. occasionally someone will sit on or take a piss on me. sometimes they’ll like me so much they’ll chip away at my stones and take a bit of me home for show and tell. other folks find a way to climb on top, take in the view, then jump down on the other side and i never see them again. bastards.
asia countdown: 10 DAYS.
Will Dao 