OMG! I’m writing another blog? I AM writing another blog. AHH!

And I won’t be writing a blog next week. Yeppers. No more blogs after this week. Why? Um, duh! No one (besides you, of course) reads this crap. And I decided I want to make better use of my time, and that means spending my Fridays doing something more productive than blabbering nonsense to utter silence. Except for pins dropping. I drop so many pins. Ever heard a pin drop? SO. GODDAMN. LOUD.

Don’t worry, though – I got other creative endeavors in mind, some that will take up WAY MORE time than this. Well, if they ever come to fruition. Who needs free time (I do!)? Not me (I don’t?). But I do need more time to adapt to life here (that we can agree on!). In the short time I’ve been here, I’ve noticed myself slowly shedding some of my American sensibilities in favor of some Japanese ones. Let’s get into it!

Living in a foreign country is weird. Living in Japan is weird x weird. Which equals? God, I dunno. Math is hard, man. Figurative math? Impossible – sense + confusion = corgis. That equation pretty sums up my life here in Japan: corgis. I smile a lot. Stick my tongue out. Bounce up and down. And generally have ZERO clue what’s going on. Which is an attribute you just gotta accept living here. Luckily, I’m really good at it.

I’m also good at adapting. Because I put myself in situations where I have no choice. For example, here’s a few situations I’ve adapted to:

Weather 

I grew up in Texas. It’s hot in Texas. I should be able to handle the heat, right? Nope. OK, well, let’s try this again: I went to college in Brooklyn. It’s hot and humid and in New York. I should be able to handle the humidity, right? Double nope. Uh-oh. Alright, one last time: I now live in Tokyo. It’s HOT in Tokyo. And it’s HUMID. So… I should handle complaining, right? Oh hell yeah! I’m ready.

HOT ‘N HUMID WEATHER SUCKS!!!!!

But, as much as I’m dreading the summers, I’m already adapting far more than I did back home. For instance, I now wear SHORTS. No biggie, right? No! Yes biggie! A big ol’ bag o’ biggie! Y’see, I haven’t worn shorts in DECADES. But now I do. Because I ain’t got no choice. Not melting > fashion.

Speaking of not melting, I also breakout my UMBRELLA in the heat. As a male. In a society where mostly females carry parsols. Do I care? HELL. NO. Gotta admit: I was a little apprehensive the first time I broke out my umbrella. I felt a little weird walking by people, especially foreigners. But then I asked myself something:

WHO. 

THE. 

FUCK. 

CARES? 

My answer: NOT ME. Now I breakout my umbrella and rock that shit proud, because I couldn’t care less if people think I look like a dork. Oh, you think I look stupid? Cool, HAVE FUN MELTING, WICKED WITCH. I’ll be here chillin’ like a villain under my umbrella rocking my sweet shorts.

Running a Business 

Spoiler, y’all: Running your own business is kinda hard. Running your own business in a foreign country? Kinda challenging. Running your own business in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language? Kinda insane. Of course, I knew this going in. Didn’t make it any easier adjusting. Especially from my cushy lifestyle back home. But like NOT MELTING, I had no choice but to figure out a way not to die. Spoiler alert x 2: STILL NOT DEAD. So I guess I’m doing something right.

Here’s my 3 main takeaways from doing my own thang: 1) Never stop learning. 2) Never stop adjusting. 3) Never stop improving.  I pretty much do at least 1 (or more) of these things almost every day. Maybe not always as fast as I’d like, but I’m doing my best I can to not suck. Which has made me become WAY MORE flexible with my life. Something I desperately needed. But, at the same time, I feel like I’m becoming so free that I need to bring back some order and routine back in my life to ground me. Which will (hopefully) create the best compromise between the 2.

Being Humble 

I went from a lifestyle where I had a stupid amount of disposable income. I never questioned a purchase. If I wanted something, I pretty much got it. Now? I ponder EVERY SINGLE PURCHASE I MAKE. To the point where I haven’t done things I would have EASILY done back home, like replace my busted iPhone. Now I live a life where I value experiences more than items. And I appreciate everything I get, even the littlest of things. Like SHORTS.

Being Alone 

I think this one was the toughest, only because I was so used to mucking it up with folks back home, mostly at work. So to go from constant communication to going literal weeks without speaking to anyone was a tough transition. But I’ve accepted it. And I’m using it as a motivator. Although I like being a loner most of the time, I am reaching the point where I want to put myself out there. And I can’t do that unless I learn Japanese. Which means I gotta stop wasting time barfing endless blabber on here and focus my energy on learning how to barf endless blabber… IN JAPANESE.

With that said, until I figure out a way to kickstart the thing I wanna do, peace out, cub scouts!