So after the last update I posted I thought it might be good to try and write a bit more about what I want this site to become and my other writing plans.

With 2020 being a year that has seen almost everything normal being turned upside down, including our lives, I thought it might be high time for me to make good use of the free time I find myself with and get around to some spring-cleaning on the site. So hopefully I can give a brief update on how things have been for me so far in 2020 and how I’m hoping the site evolves in the foreseeable future. So let’s get started shall we.

One of the few posts I get around to writing regularly, other than my countless Hobonichi planner posts, is my yearly recap and outlook for the year that passed and the year to come. This year though, things have been rather… interesting to put it lightly.

I’ve taken some time in the past to try to reflect on how my year is been and what the upcoming year holds in store. So with New Year just having passed us by I think it’s time to take stock of how things were in 2018 and how I hope they’ll be in 2019.

The coldness of winter is now a reality and my mornings see me desperately clinging to my blanket and wishing that I never have to leave from its warm embrace. Having recently visited my friend Bill down in Kagoshima where I spent a glorious three years teaching, I was shocked at just how disparate the temperature was between there and Nagano.

Another long break between updates to the site! That must mean that the intervening time has been chock full of awesome and ventures and exciting tales right? Wrong!

A couple of weeks ago I had to go into a local hospital for a small operation and the entire experience reminded me why I am so in love with the Japanese healthcare system.

I’m a huge fan of the Tom Bihn company, in fact almost all the bags I use are from their Seattle factory!

Seeing that it’s Friday and that I’ve finished teaching my classes for the day I thought that it might be a good chance for me to post some quick updates on what I’ve been up to the last few weeks.

A few weeks ago I could feel the first onset of a cold, which was not surprising as this is the time of year that my body decides to just give up any semblance of defending me from the onslaught of viruses and bacteria and let me succumb to their illnesses and ailments. The winters here in Nagano kill me.