月別アーカイブ：2017年4月

Some people believe that the day of the week you were born can say a lot about who you are. Fortune-telling by days of birth is different in many parts of the world with astrology being the most popular.
One that I can vaguely recall is a nursery rhyme. I can’t remember which version of the rhyme I learnt so this is the traditional rhyme I found online.

Monday’s child is fair of face,
Tuesday’s child is full of grace,
Wednesday’s child is full of woe,
Thursday’s child has far to go,
Friday’s child is loving and giving,
Saturday’s child works hard for a living,
But the child who is born on the Sabbath day
Is bonnie and blithe and good and gay.

It may ring true for some people, but I don’t take it too seriously. Just enjoy it for its lightheartedness.

There is a saying that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”, a great many people do not eat it though! During my late teens and early twenties, I did not eat breakfast very often. I found that I had little time in the mornings and was too rushed going to school and later to work. Most of the time that I was at university I would eat breakfast, it becoming one of the only times that all of my flatmates were in the same place. We would enjoy catching up with each other as each of us ate different things. On special occasions we would indulge in a large cooked breakfast, a fruit salad and coffee.
I rarely have such a big breakfast these days! I adapt my regular breakfast to the country that I am living in. In the UK I would often eat porridge, in Thailand I would eat egg and rice and in Japan I usually have Miso soup. It really is delicious!
What do you eat for breakfast?

Caffeine is a big one. Most of us know not to drink coffee when bedtime nears. That’s because caffeine can stay in your bloodstream, actively inhibiting sleep, for six hours or more depending on your sensitivity. Caffeine is found in several foods and beverages, including tea, sodas, chocolate, and even some pain relievers.

Smoking is another sleep stealer. Like caffeine, nicotine is a stimulant that can make it hard to fall asleep or can also deliver a less restful sleep. So that’s another reason to quit smoking.

Alcohol before bed can also create problems. While alcohol might help you fall asleep, your increased blood sugar can actually cause you to wake up and make it more difficult to go back to sleep. Alcohol eliminates REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, which occurs in the second half of the night. In other words, drinking will make you wake up very early and not get back to sleep. The general recommendation for alcohol use is no more than one drink a day for women and no more than two for men.
Eating too much or too heavy of a meal before bed or going to sleep hungry can disrupt your sleep as well.
And of course, while staying hydrated is a good thing, drinking too much water before bed will undoubtedly lead to waking up in the middle of the night for a bathroom run. This is especially the case as we get older. Aging is associated with decreases in both slow wave sleep and REM sleep, and the biggest culprit is our need to urinate in the middle of the night. So although you don’t want to go to bed thirsty, you might choose to suck on an ice cube rather than drink a whole glass of water in the hours before bedtime.

Golden Week is quickly approaching but I don’t have any big travel plans. It may sound funny but actually I couldn’t be happier. Typically, vacation brings to mind something a bit more exciting than staying at home for a week, but in my case I couldn’t imagine anything better right now. I have many personal goals for this break that I can only achieve alone so I will be busy in a different way than most others I assume. Of course, I do love traveling (and I will later this year), but a bit of solitude in the Iyo countryside is all I need at this time in my life.

Joe

Have you ever heard of a bunyip or a yowie?
When I was in primary school we were taught about Aboriginal mythical creatures. The bunyip is a large swamp creature and the yowie a giant, ape-like creature. Having quite an imagination at that age, I believed in the tooth fairy, mermaids and unicorns. So, it wasn’t hard for me to believe the stories I was being told.
Recently, I’ve heard stories about drop bears. It is a vicious, flesh-eating koala (which in fact is not a bear, I might add) that weighs over 100 kilograms. Waiting in the tree tops, they attack people walking below by dropping on them.
Like other urban myths, such as Bigfoot and The Lochness Monster, the drop bear is a modern hoax designed to scare and amuse. Australian Geographic even ran a piece on April Fool’s Day claiming that drop bears preffered to attack people who didn’t have an Aussie accent.
So, if you ever decide to go to Australia and camp in the bush, you should protect yourself by smothering Vegemite all over your body…and don’t forget to look up!