I Eat Everyday

  It was a weird week.      It started as normal . My normal working schedule has been back in place since the second week of April . I needed a little adjusting, but otherwise, it was pretty normal.      A friend of mine stayed for two days before going to South Korea.      Toward the end of the week, I checked my upcoming flight information . I have a transfer at Daegu International Airport . There was a notation saying "I need a transit visa." So, as a rational person, I went on to the embassy website to check and get the list of materials I would need.      That is where I encountered the website language can be set to either Japanese or Korean, not English . The website is designed for Japanese and Korean people . For people like myself, who can converse comfortably, but hard time reading Kanjis, the website doesn't service . So , I went to different countries (USA, Singapore, and Mongolia) embassy websites ...

     So many things happened in a week.       We are waiting for a business visa for my dad because he established a company in Japan. We have been waiting for a year. Yet, we still have to file for taxes and even pay local city taxes.       I know it is weird to pay tax on a company that cannot operate because the person who established the company hasn't gotten his visa, yet. We cannot open even a company bank account because Japanese banks ask for the owner's residence card. There is no residence card if you don't have a business visa.       In Japan, if you are a business owner, you must file for taxes 3 times. First, it is the national tax. You or an accountant prepare the financial statements and you go to the national tax office for tax filing. You may or may not pay taxes because it will depend on whether you had a good year or a bad one. Second, it is the city tax. It is the tax you pay where you have yo...

     I have been teaching English where I worked part-time as a student. I accepted a position at another company where I worked (part-time, of course) during the pandemic before moving to my current employer (non-profit organization).       For a couple of years in the beginning, I learned a lot. It is a set of skills for navigating tantrums, conflicts with a toy, or whatever the situation may be. The skill set you have relied on might not work on the next kid. You have to update and refine the skills constantly.       Don't get me wrong, it is rewarding to work with kids, and I am humbled (thankful for their trust) by the fact that the parents are leaving their kids in my care (there are other teachers, of course). However, after a while, once you have gotten the basics of child care and development, everything you are (I am) doing becomes routine. That's where I struggle.       Last week, I had a meeting with ...

       It has been a busy week. My parents went home after a sudden trip to Japan. A friend and I helped a co-worker move (which they forgot to get me lunch when I said get me something on the way back). It had been a long tiring week. This week is going to be a busy one as well. However, my friend from Australia and I are gonna catch up when she visits.       It had been a few weeks since I last checked my weight and BGL. However, everything that I am eating is sugar-free. From next week, I am cutting out flour.       Finally, my foot feels like my foot. My calf muscle hurt so much this week. My thinking is that my leg is starting to relearn how much I move. Also, the shittiest part of recovering from a foot injury is that your toenail will bother you so much which it hurt so much this week.       On the positive side, I swam 4 times a week and I didn't snack much. Yesterday, I had a big bowl of salad for d...

     For as long as I can remember, Mongolia celebrated March 8th. In my teenage years, I found out that it was the International Women's Day. The day that women fought for their rights, today my rights.       On a personal level, I don't care much for celebrations. Basically, I treat them as any normal day.       In Mongolia, celebrations are on different levels. That celebration always means excessive drinking. If the celebrations are about women, that means women expecting, more like demanding, some kind of gifts from their significant others. I find that whole thing bizarre.       Yesterday, my dad was reading the news and pointed out that in Mongolia more than 700 women spent the night in a place we call, eruuljuuleh tub or sobering up centers (roughly translating into English). Based on that, I am amazed at how low Mongolian people get.       It is not just this day. The majority of cele...

     Getting home on Sunday evening from our Lunar New Year celebration, I started to feel sick. The funny thing is that I know what I ate that made me ill. It was the good old lamb meat.       Living in Japan, I mostly eat beef, pork, and chicken. Sometimes, I cook internal organs such as the liver or heart.       For the celebration, my cousin and his girlfriend cooked some lamb meat. I had a few pieces along with the famous buuz. Halfway through the dinner, my stomach started to bloat, and it began to feel very uncomfortable. Right then, I knew I was going to be sick.       I got home fine and started to continue working on the small gifts that I was making for my students, who were graduating in a couple of weeks. Slowly, my stomach started to act up. My visits to the toilet increased and I felt sick every time I sat in front of the toilet ready to vomit. After a couple of hours, it happened, everything that ...

     Like many Asian countries, Mongolians celebrate the Lunar New Year or we call it Tsagaan Sar.      We put an elaborate centerpiece, aka tavag, which consists of long-shaped fried dough with engraving. The number of layers depends on the household head or the elder. For example: If the head of the household is in their 30s, the layer would be three. If the person is in their 40s, the number of layers would be five. If the person is elderly, then the number would be nine. The centerpiece layer number cannot end in an even number. That is also reflected in the gifts that the guests receive, hence the guests would receive usually 3 pieces of things. On top, we put candies, aaruul (my favorite snack made from milk), and anything (people usually put white edible things).       Another thing we put on the table is an almost whole sheep, obviously cooking either steam or smoking. The "almost whole sheep" means that the front portion of the ...

     I made pumpkin soup and froze some for future me.       Thursday was a super annoying day ( I am writing this as I feel it). At work, everybody wanted something (I mean kids want something all the time) it was super annoying to remedy small situations between two small children or somebody coming to me wanting something that was nowhere to be seen. On top of that, my supervisor added another fifteen minutes to my time and didn’t say anything. One, I could have checked or two, she could have mentioned. After I finished covering my time, it gave me about 30 minutes to eat my lunch and get ready for my classes which I have 3.       I forgot to weigh myself, but my BGL was normal.      I am finally getting the hang of the quick turn when I swim. Finally, I finished a yoga session without thinking about my foot (maybe I thought about it twice?). Before, I always felt a little scared thinking what if I hurt it again. N...

       On Monday, I made Chicken Tikka Masala using the spices my friend gave me before she moved to another country. Unfortunately, I added too much chili powder, making it quite spicy. Nevertheless, it turned out delicious.       The other day, I visited a halal store and was thrilled to find large tortillas. I also bought frozen chapati but noticed that it contained a little bit of sugar. Next time, I will buy frozen naan instead.       Throughout the week, love was in the air, with chocolates everywhere. In previous years, I might have been tempted to buy some for myself and others. However, this year, I haven't felt inclined towards anything sugary.       As the weekend approached, I experienced some gas and was farting quite a bit (which was a bit embarrassing, but it's a normal occurrence). I had yakisoba, and I think that might have contributed to my discomfort.       Interestingl...

  One of my Health goals for the year is to decrease and eventually quit sugar. Pretty much everybody knows that sugar is not good for our health or we don't need to stay healthy.  Even before starting the challenge, I gave away everything that had sugar in them.  Last Sunday, I went for grocery shopping. That was the day I totally (to a degree) quit sugar. In the supermarket, it felt weird. It was strange not to buy any snacks that I usually buy. The whole feeling was that I wasn't following the usual rules of grocery shopping. Till now, when I went shopping, I would start by putting some veggies in my cart, some protein, and dairy, then I go to the middle aisles to put some snacks in my cart.  Before going into the supermarket, I reminded (like two people in my head started having a conversation) myself, that I was starting a new challenge. The challenge is to decrease and eventually sugar which means to snacks. So, I purchased what I needed plus a bunch of...

    Hello to the dear reader, and Happy New Year to you.      I wanted to thank you for reading this blog. I am so happy you find my writing interesting.       In January, several things happened. I turned 35, my sink tap broke off, and my family stayed with me until the mid-January. It was a busy month, and I couldn't get a moment for myself. Now, that I am alone in my apartment, I can do some thinking.       I watched some self-improvement videos and wrote down a few goals for the year.       In previous years, I would write down many things but never really accomplish them. Then, I would self-blame because I didn't achieve those things.       This year, I wrote down at most 3 things for each category on propose. I have five categories: Work, Health, Relationships, Brain, and Takes Time. As the name suggests, work, health, and relationships are straightforward. Under the Brain cate...

     Well, it is officially Christmas month.     I checked my blood glucose level this morning, it is within the normal range.      I started to rewatch Dr. Mindy Pelz. I love how she describes fasting and food. I stumbled upon Glucose Revolution . Dr.  Jessie Inchauspé explains how glucose works and when to eat.     Oh, I made this for my friend's daughter.     It is magnetic seasons. She can place the flowers, leaves and snow on the background. Hoping that she will like it and use it. I think that is it for now. See you in the next one.

    Since the last incident on the train with a lady falling on my injured foot, everything has been normal for the most part.       I had my regular physical therapist sessions and x-ray appointments. I had my last x-ray last Monday and the doctor said everything looks good. Also, I resumed my swimming. It felt SO GOOD just to be in the pool. Of course, I cannot do flip-turns or use full force, yet. Still, it is so nice to move in the water.         My father came to visit me while I was using one crutch. He helped with carrying things. It was nice to have my father with me for a little over a week. A week after my father left, my fridge broke down. I don't know the reason. All of a sudden, it stopped working. I cleaned the back of the refrigerator and left it unplugged for a day, no use. It is broken. My cousins suggested calling a handyman or ordering freon. I told them I don't know anything about it so you have to figure it out....

    I think today is Day 30.         It has been a while. The highlight of the last 10 days or so was somebody falling on my right foot on the train.   I had my health check-up and am still waiting for the result.  I don't think I have eaten any meat until yesterday when I had sausages.  Oh, I am using a foot mask right now. 

     It has been a minute.     I realized after a while if I am writing pretty much identical things such as "I am walking faster than yesterday or It was a good day", it will get boring for me. So, I stopped posting anything if I felt like the days had a mundane daily routine which was my weekdays.      On Sunday (10/13), I met up with my beautiful ladies. One couldn't make it due to a fever. Nevertheless, it was refreshing to go out and have coffee and lunch. We went to  Bondi Cafe Hiroo . I had coffee. We all had green curry with two types of fries. It was nice to eat out after almost two months of limited travel areas (hospital, home, work). I would have taken a photo to share here, but my mouth was so busy talking and catching up with my friends. Well, the internet has plenty of pictures of the place and food.       On Monday (10/14), as usual, I weighed myself and BGL. Both didn't change. Also, I finished my...

    These two days were rainy. I had to be extra careful because when the bottoms of the crutches get wet, they get pretty slippery. Since I cannot walk 100% on my own, it becomes scary. However, I managed to go to work using taxis when necessary.  On top of that, I became so hungry when I came home. So, on both occasions, I had cheese, almonds, and some yogurt.   I am eating in the morning and have something, if there is any, before 3 pm. Then my fast starts. Well, that didn't happen for the last two days, but it is okay. :)  Because of the weather, I want to wear closed-toed shoes. Unfortunately, my foot is still swollen and my shoes won't fit. Hoping that I can wear one in a couple of days. Fingers crossed. 

     So, I weighed myself this morning. I have lost 3.5 kilograms this week. However, my blood glucose level was higher. Well, I contribute that for bread with jam. Then I tried some of my clothes and they are starting to get loose. In this case, "loose" is a tiny bit of room.         Then, I had to leave for my x-ray appointment and physical therapy. I walked so much. I was so thankful that I was not in so much pain. It hurts sometimes but it doesn't last long.         I had another bread with jam before 3pm. I realized that I don' feel hunger after 3 pm. I think my body is getting used to it. Now, I can vary my fasting durations. There are specifics that I forgot. I read them in "Fast Like a Girl" by Dr. Mindy Pelz. I loved the book and learned so much. Also, she has tons of informative videos on her YouTube channel.         That is it for today. See you.

     It is my first day off. I didn't do anything at all.      I did make lamb vegetable stew with Mongolian flatbread. It was good. However, it has been so long since I had lamb, so it made my stomach upset my stomach towards the evening. So, I had hot green tea.      See you tomorrow. 

       It was rainy all day. Thankfully it didn't rain much in the morning. I am so grateful that I got ride from my colleague and cousin to and from the station.      After I got home, I was so hungry. So I ate soba noodle with three hard-boiled eggs. See I wanted to have regular instant noodle but I thought it is night soba was a wiser choice.      Then I relaxed and watched a couple of movies; Twister and Dante's Peak .       This morning I made chai from scratch (my friend taught me how to make an authentic chai). 

      Physical therapy went well. The therapist said "I am doing well" and taught me some exercises for at home. Then I went to work. It was a short day. The train rides were smooth yesterday. Many people said "Get well soon" which was very pleasant to hear.      After I got home yesterday, I ate some cheese, almonds, and milk tea (no sugar). See, sometimes I give in. Before this, I probably would have eaten something sugary or salty. This time I ate pretty much exactly what I ate in the morning.   I bumped into my swimming teacher. I desperately want to swim, but I have to wait for my doctor's approval. I don't think I can practice flip turns or any turns that require foot strength. At least, I can swim.   Today, I am leaving for work pretty early cause my class starts at 10:30 am. I am going to get ready. See you all tomorrow.