Japanese – phonakins

Routine and Pacing – staying sane when you get a little off

Touch grass they say – but don’t repeatedly kick the same toe on things, it gets tiring after awhile, and it doesn’t give it a chance to heal and somehow you’re still hobbling weeks later.

So I got overloaded, took on too much mental load, spread myself too thin, so I’m cutting back on somethings, to make life sustainable.

I’m ensuring I follow my little routine, that includes meds and white hot chocolates, and winding down after dinner. This means I’ll be declining after 6pm meetings from now til the conference in June. I’ll be showered and onesied on time, meds around nine, white hot chocolate before that. Breakfast has gone back to porridge sachets for winter – except this week since my partner bought a dozen hot cross buns I’m trying to get through!

I’m going to go back to (close to) daily Japanese practice and streaming. Started on a new vocab game yesterday. So, the plan is an hour of practice followed by variety game streaming a few mornings a week, no real schedule it’ll depend on everything going on around me and of course it’s more about getting back into good habits that nourish me – and the Japanese language has always been that for me. Recommendations for websites and programs to use are more than welcome – I know Duolingo did that things with more AI use since I was last using it, so while I’ll probably tap into that a little, I’m all for a scattered approach. I’ll set up my second cam for colouring and kana practice, and perhaps my cheap graphics tablet if I can find a kanji program that would work well with pen input rather than mouse. There was a program I had on an emulator that I was going to use with that but then I did a system reinstall and it’s gone.

Also keen to fill this board with stuff – Amazon slips or pictures from frens or whatever may come. I’m pleased to say I’ve a couple of regular monthly supporters here, and it’s such a mood boost even though one’s for $1/month!

One Week til Xmas

Well that was a few weeks of hell, wasn’t it? Moving house, cleaning the old place, 40 degree days, hot nights, family stress. We’re slowly unpacking, I’ve lost and broken a few things, but we’ll get there. Been using my phone tethering for internet. Still not getting the connection til the 5th December, which I guess is slowly coming.

We were asked in Antabuse last week what our goals were for 2024, what we wanted to achieve. I really want to get back to doing my Japanese practice and streaming it and games. My new monitor didn’t survive the move, and my webcam was on its way out a month ago. I’ve ordered a cheap webcam and I’ll use my phone for the twitch chat screen until I can bring myself to getting another second monitor, or if one falls my way which sometimes happens. It’s a real shame that the bulk waste just gone was the last one, with people needing to book one from next year rather than having certain suburbs having it at a time. It’s great shopping! We didn’t pick up anything this time since we were mid move, though we did dump a lot.

The kids are moving back to their mums place, I hope that works out for them, so I’ll get started on my new little phona routines when I have internet, when everything goes back after new year breaks. I also ordered a meal planning and shopping list pad for the fridge so I can plan meals each week when I get my vege box and local butcher and fish shop meats as much as possible. Though discounted Aldi and IGA items are on the menu too. Pottering around. Finding my way around.

Took most of the moving boxes to the recycling at the tip yesterday, my can and bottle recycling to the closest return and earn today. It’s in a carpark so not as cool for Maxi, but we went to another park for a run later. Next time we’ll do the park run first, then return to recycling.

Yeah sorting out my brain. Slowly.

I made it! I Turned Forty!

OMG how did I make it through my 30s? It really wasn’t looking too optimistic there for awhile.

So, here’s a birthday photo dump, and some rambling and thought and whatever it may be.

Firstly, I got some AMAZING new cat ears handmade, hand felted, by Suzanne aka Satan Herself. She’s a wonderful Twitter friend who is trying to get herself out of the clutches of Centrelink by starting a felting art business, making all sorts of clothing and bits and pieces and SHOES and HATS and cat ears now. These are her prototype ears, and I LOVE them and will pimp them to death when she gets her shop set up!

a woman with purple hair, cat ears and glasses holding a glass of sparkling wine. She has a purple dress with chickens

I drank this lovely de-alcoholised Brown Brothers Prosecco I’d purchased from Sans Drinks for election night (but the order arrived a week after!). Lovely and light on the tongue, didn’t interfere with the Antabuse tablets either 🙂 Party!

Speaking of Antabuse, I stuck to my regular Friday morning routine, collecting OzHarvest fresh fruit and veg and assorted breads from the food bank to share with my sister – I’m glad I can eat gluten these days! There was also a bag of pies and sandwiches and the like. More importantly though, I’ve not had alcohol since Feb 2021, so I’m on a 17 month streak, with some good sober time over the last three and a half years. It feels good, and sobriety is working well for me. I get to be more useful and reliable and present and so on. It’s great. I have to say I’m looking forward to life and things again. Even without “real” red wine.

Bruce and I went to dinner at Mizumi (which I now know means “Lake”) here in Toronto. We ordered the usual takoyaki, and went for the Mizumi sashimi platter. OMG that was amazing! Fresh and tasty and noms. Only problem was that I prefer my sashimi after it’s warmed up a little, and this came as a ice basket as you’ll see in the photo. But AMAZING nonetheless.

How good is that?

(yes, I booked under Sienna, yes it’s because I phoned up and couldn’t be bothered correcting her when she said it back to me. Often get Sienna)

Another birthday present I got was the new phone I’ve been using for a month now. The Xiaomi 11 Lite 5GNE (that’s a lot of terms). Bruce ordered it for me at a super awesome price and I’ve been getting used to it, but here’s the first night mode photo I’ve taken because I’m slack and didn’t use the function til he nagged me the other night:

The beauty of Toronto Boulevarde by night…

So I had a lovely birthday, out in the real world. Plus, I also had a bit of a party on my Animal Crossing island!

My friend code for switch is SW-0541-2956-7407. Add me and come to my next shindig!

Saturday was my birthday party – lollies and cake and kids in the backyard 🙂 Such fun! Got a new Fitbit from my parents, the old one had a crack screen after 7 years, it was time. Spent the last of a few giftcards I had at woolies on lollies hehe

Still working our way through the cake – a $30 buy from Costco, with fluffy chocolate and rainbow icing!

Some of you internet sweethearts have spoiled me too with items from my wishlist and gift cards and birthday money through PayPal and buymeacoffee. Thank you so very much! I got the bread knife I needed and Diet Coke is always appreciated.

I have some onesies on the way from onesies downunder and a Shein order full of Care Bears stuff!!!

Thank you all for celebrating with me 💜

I am going to Japan

When, who with and how long it’ll take me to save are all a mystery, but I do declare, I will be going to Japan.

Screenshot form a bank app for an empty bank account

I am turning 40 in July, so I won’t declare I’ll be going for my fortieth. But sometime between 40 and 45. I have opened a separate saving account even though I don’t yet have money to put in it because I’m about to spend the last of my DSP backpay on car air-conditioning, after making the second last spend on get my hair re-purpled this week:

Purple hair

I got it done are Meraki Hair at Argenton – 02 49530800.

So, I’m not sure about a lot of things. I know I want to go. I know I want to get better at the language. I know I’m enjoying being back at face to face lessons even if they’re not where I’m doing most of my Japanese language learning and re-learning. Most of that is happening through Duolingo, and making a fool of myself streaming myself doing to lessons live on my Twitch channel, so I’m encouraged to read and reason out aloud, practice my pronunciation and celebrate my successes.

It was always the long term goal I pointed my efforts in therapy towards. This will mean I’ll have to look at getting some sort of income above my disability pension, again, I don’t know what or when or how. But it will be part of the journey. Maybe I’ll find a Twitch niche in Aussie girls pronouncing Japanese badly and get a following. Or I’ll pick up a few hours a week work doing something somewhere which will go to my fund but not stress me out too much, or maybe I’ll win one of those many competitions I enter and I’ll be there before I know it!

So, that’s where I’m at. Stumbling over my Japanese, dreaming of going. The borders aren’t even open to tourists in Japan since Covid, so I’m not missing out!

Bruce’s Birthday Dinner – Mizumi Japanese Toronto

We really don’t get to go out much for dinner, Covid put a huge halt on that too, so making an effort to go for something nice for birthdays has become very important. This year for Bruce’s birthday we finally dined in at Muzimu Toronto, after getting takeaway sushi and bento a few times.

We got the usual – a plate of salmon sashimi each – they also do a melt in your mouth tuna sashimi – and some takoyaki to share, then Bruce selected his main – Tenpura Donburi, and I asked for the Wagyu beef entree, but they didn’t have it so I went for something I haven’t had since probably high school – an Okonomiyaki.

I have fond memories of making Okonomiyaki in the tiny classroom we had our Japanese lessons in back in high school. This one was clearly better, and who doesn’t like the dancing flakes on top?!

Now I’m all inspired for going back to Japanese lessons on Monday! They were paid for by a lovely Tweep called Eric, and I’ve been doing my Japanese revision on Duolingo to try to get back in the swing. This week I started doing the lessons live on Twitch to encourage me to practice the pronunciations rather than very passively reading to myself.

MIZUMI Japanese Restaurant

2/58 The Boulevarde Toronto
NSW 2283 (02) 4049 2567