10 best things about summer in Japan

Okay, this is a bit country-specific, but since I'm right in the middle of a sweltering summer, without wife and kids, here in Japan, I thought I'd take some stock. It's a great place to spend summer, if it weren't for the damnned heat.

10. Festivals. Right. "Matsuri" are everywhere, yet these "parties in the street" can be further broken down, and in fact account for quite a bit of Japanese summer goodness. For instance:

9. Fireworks shows. These things are amazing. Go on for what seems like hours. One thing they could lose? The "sponsorship announcements" before each blast.

8. Girls wearing Yukata. The cotton "kimono" is of course less formal than its silk cousin. Fun. Easy on the eyes, too.

7. High school baseball. Right, seems strange, right? Imagine "March Madness" in August. In Osaka. With young high school guys going for it, giving their all, then crying at the end. Crack open an Asahi and turn on the Koshien tournament.

6. Iced Coffee. I swear. This is, aside from beer (and water with a lemon squeeze) the best summer drink around. In Japan you can buy it in cans ("Georgia" or "Boss") cartons, plastic bottles. But perhaps the best way is prepared by your favorite Kissaten (coffee shop) master. In Japan they have "gum syrup" to pour into your iced coffee so you don't have the problem of undissolved sugar crystals in the bottom of your glass. Actually, I kind of like that part. Another best part? The sound of the ice tinking in your glass as you take the first sip...

5. And now that were half way home, and have broken into the food/beverage category, I'd like to submit: SUIKA BARS! Suika (Watermelon) is of course a summertime treat. Leave it to the geniuses at Lotte to come up with a frozen ice candy version, which includes chocolate seeds! Definitely top 5. Maybe higher.

4. It will end. Right. One of the best things about experiencing the hot, swealtering humidity of Japanese summers is remembering that October is now just around the corner, with blue skies, cool air, colored leaves and feasts of the harvest. It's coming. I promise.

3. School's out! Well, yeah, for just about a month. And the schools give mountains of homework. Then you've got the semi-mandatory (read: "socially enforced") Radio Calisthenics starting at 6:30 every morning in the local parks. So yes, there's room for improvement, but summer vacation is still SUMMER VACATION!7

2. Music Festivals: Fuji Rock, Kodo, etc, etc, etc. Get sweaty grooving with strangers.

1. Did I miss anything? Kingyo sukui (goldfish scooping)? So-men (child thin wheat noodles in sauce)? Fu-rin (little wind chimes to make the breezes seem breezier)? Summer vegetables? Those puffy, summery cumulus clouds? Cicada catching? Swimming in the pool?

Let me know what makes your list for the best things of summer in Japan.

10 more for Wednesday

10. Yuki called today to say he was sick with a cold and would take the day off. That, by itself, is not a good thing. It does, however, open the day up to other possibilities.

9. Getting Things Done: Family car needed to go in for "Shaken," the bi-annual check up, registration, oil change and tax bilking. Never cheap, at about $1000 US. But the car got in, and out, without much fuss. Check 'er off.

8. Ayumi the Volunteer continues to comunicate her feelings, thoughts, concerns. All while helping fill out a grant application. I think this girl, "raised" at I CAN since 15 years ago, is a keeper!

7. Getting Things Done (II): with 40 free minutes before 5:00, I thought I could sneak in a trip to the mall (JASCO) to submit our grant application. All recepts put in the "I CAN" box on the 11th of each month are totaled, and 5 percent is given as a voucher to spend as we like. Great for printer ink, games and toys for I CAN. Though the man in charge of the program was not in, it felt good to have the application out of my hands and into theirs full weeks before the deadline. I also snuck in a visit to the Board of Education with a similar result: the man whom I promised to bring Free School data from the Tokyo conference was not in, however, one more pile of paper moves from my desk to his. Promise fulfilled.

6. Pick up kids and dinner together! Dinner together is (sadly!) a rare event in our house. Emiko's stewed hamburger steaks were excellent, to boot.

5. Show me the Money!: When I tried to make an airline reservation in the morning, the representative said, "OK, fine, please deposit your money by Friday." After a flurry of phone calls, 3 people came by to give me wads of cash. Excellent!

4. One of the homestay participant mothers is a native of Kumamoto, and knows the actual island where I CAN is trying to set up a support school system. Dolphins galore, she says. New consultant?

3. Asking Emiko for help getting the kids ready for bed. While not a "best 10" item, this exchange colored the evening for us: When I requested she postpone her blogging till after the kids were asleep, she exploded with "After all I do around here!" noise. She is not feeling herself lately, and work issues and childcare issues are not easily dismissed for her. Anyway, asking for help had this benefit:

2. Kids in bed a bit earlier. This has been an issue because the next morning is determined by what happens at bedtime. This has helped.

1. My own bedtime more reasonable, a rare 11:pm futon entry. Alarms set for 7:am.

Discipline (self-)

Here we start another set of consecutive blog posts. I wrote here earlier that "Powers of Ten" are important and valuable because that number, that nice, round, 2 digit number 10, is just enough items to make us stretch...just a little. So here are my 10 best from yesterday:

10. Good poo-poo in the morning. Yes, showing my age as an old(er) fart. However, as starts of the day go, this and a hot shower make for a pretty good one.

9. Smooth, non-demanding Monday at work. This week, for me, started slow...which was about the pace I needed.

8. Winter Olympics on TV. A nice change from the usual silly Japanese "comedy" that otherwise would be blaring.

7. Deepening friendships. My Canadian friend, B, is a giant of a man who has been living here in Japan for about as long as I have. J-wife, 3 "half and half" kids. We kind of pass each other in the office between English lessons, but we had a first real conversation today. First, messaging via Facebook, then in real life. Seems he has decided to send his kid on our I CAN's homestay program this year. (see #1)

6. Good conversation with Y at our English school. Spending an extra hour there, instead of just rushing in and out for lessons only, leads to better communication, better relationships between staff, better English lessons and school overall. (Duh.)

5. Winning a game of backgammon. Not a biggie, but better than losing! Doubles rule.

4. Getting home before 9:pm. This means 1) I kept a promise to my son -- when in fact there were chances to break it. I was glad to have the chance to test my keeping of boundaries, and glad to pass the test. 2) More time at home: more hugs with kids and conversation with wife (see #2)

3. Nibble from I CAN potential member. We will be graduating our last, best member this spring, so I am "requiring" 3-4-5-6 new members for our free school in the spring. I still love it when the phone rings with these kinds of calls. "I found your website..." she said.

2. Good practice of spousal listening! Wife E. had a crappy day today, and wanted to vent about it. Sure, the Olympics were on. My "impulse" was to grunt agreement/condolence while my eyes were on snowboarding, but I suspected that this was important. I made a conscious effort to keep eye contact, to listen to her story to the end (hint: it was not short). Result: she felt listened to, and even said thanks!

1. Along with Canadian B. above, a late night phone call led to two more homestay participants meaning: at present we have 6 members, meaning the trip is a "GO!" I will close the applications this evening, but there still may be 2 or 3 or 4 more coming. AMAZING how much energy I got from that call. Hell, I was washing a sink full of dishing literally singing a tune when E. came in and said, "Are you OK?" Made for a great end to an excellent day, and good payoff for 2 months of hard promotion work.

10 Ways to Feel Better

Tupelo and Janey are two
Law of Attraction proponents AND folk musicians.

What they put in my mailbox today was too good not to share:

**
Thanks to Iain Legg for these common-sense tips:

1. DON'T give away your power to people. Take responsibility for
your life. If things aren't going as hoped in your life, re examine
your deepest beliefs. Swap limiting beliefs for empowering ones.

2. DO get a pet! According to Power vs. Force, a purring cat
vibrates at 500 (anything over 200 is good..) . . . Janey's cat,
Pooder, must vibrate at least 800 - so fast, it makes his hair fall
out!

3. DON'T watch movies that drag you down. According to Power vs.
Force, this is most films. Watch movies that will make you feel
good. Listen to music that fills you with positive emotions. Read
books that empower you. (Control the input to your brain, and
you'll control your output).

4. DO focus on what you want in your life, not what you don't
want - remember the law of attraction... You have the power to
create the life of your dreams - even if the world around you seems
messed up, don't lose focus...

5. DO imagine that what you dream of is in your life now, and
feel grateful for it now ...and after that think of 10 more things
to be grateful for.

6. DO have fun. Life is about being happy. Don't wait until you
have this, or that... Don't put off happiness. Live now. Enjoy now.

7. DO seek to discover the truth about the meaning of your life.
The answers are there if you look for them. Awareness and peace of
mind are high vibrations.

8. DON'T watch the news on television. It is filled with
negativity which lowers your vibrations. (Why is 95% of all news
all the time focused on bad news? Hint: It's about marketing and
control.) If you want to keep abreast of current affairs search the
internet for independent, unbiased news. Seek the truth. Trust your
intuition. This will also help you give you a much more balanced
view of reality. There's lots of good news
out there if you're looking for it...

9. DO help other people. Forgiveness, compassion
and understanding are good vibrations.

10. DO use tools and strategies to help you achieve higher
levels of consciousness, such as meditation and the free Alpha
audio you can get here . . .

http://www.InspiredOnPurpose.com/appreciates/FreeAlphaAudio

(Hint: The direct link is in the P.S.)

There are lots of other powerful tools available there, so look
around.


Celebrate Life,
Tupelo and Janey
Laughing Bird

Visit my blog for other inspiring articles:
http://www.TupeloKenyon.com

Visit our website for uplifting music:
http://www.LaughingBirdMusic.com

To see Laughing Bird's current tour schedule, go to:
http://www.LaughingBirdMusic.com/Tour.html

Don't reply to this email since it won't be seen.
To send us a message, go to:
http://www.TupeloKenyon.com/contact

To recommend a friend to receive "Inspired on Purpose,"
and 7 free bonuses, go to:
http://www.InspiredOnPurpose.com

10 easy lists to create health, wealth, wisdom

List your 10 favorite sports. Do one, by yourself or with a friend!

List your 10 favorite places in your town. Visit one this weekend.

List your 10 favorite qualities of yourself. Then list 10 more.

List your 10 best friends. Do you have their phone numbers? Call one now. No texting!

What 10 things could you do today to SAVE money? Do one now.

Do you have 10 ideas to MAKE money? What is one thing you could do this weekend to put $100 (10 times 10) in your pocket?

What 10 countries will you visit while on this planet?

Make a list of ten things you eat too much of.

Next, make a list of 10 foods you love that will also nourish you.

Write down 10 ways to say, “I love you.”

Top 10 Things I like about My Job

In my efforts to combat the negative tone of "this blasted economy" I probably shouldn't even contribute to the noise that is already out there. But, it's topical, I am feeling grateful, and actually, my job is pretty good. So here are the top 10 reasons I like my job:

1. Got one

2. It allows me tremendous freedom and I am not bound to a desk. Today was a "desk work" day at the freeschool, which means that I am free in the mornings to network, build business, research or surf the web for hours on end. Today, for example I ended up visiting the non-profit support center, dropped by the "movie cafe" to get advice on a movie screening we are hoping to set up, visited with an old I CAN member who dropped by, call a donor, go to the bank, etc, etc.

3. Good psychic rewards. Helping troubled kids is my job. Sounds so much better than "raping the rain forest" or "moving money around" or the ever-popular, "something with computers."

4. Actually, my job is to play around with kids! On its best days, I CAN, our freeschool, is like my own personal cafe, or Cheers. I brew a pot of coffee, kids I like come over to hang out, we play chess, go outside for soccer, play cards, laugh, write, read, hang out, clean up and go home. Cool.

5. My job as an English teacher supports my job at I CAN. That kind of sounds like I'm working so I can go to work, but I prefer to look at it like this: I help out at the English school, and
in exchange, I have the freedom to experiment, take chances, try new business ideas at I CAN. Without the fear of "having everything riding on it," I know that there is a minimum amount of financial support coming in every month from the English School.

6. I also get to work with cool adults. The members of our board are mostly successful businessmen, with a college professor and a prefectural representative as our top man. I have a mastermind at my beck and call, all willing to help I CAN (and me) succeed

7. I like where I live. Joetsu, in Niigata Japan, is very community oriented, and very supportive of non-profit groups. I visit regularly (see #1, above) the NPO support center often, just 5 minutes from my desk (and upstairs from the English school where I work). Whenever you want to start a project, Joetsu is just the right size of town to be not intimidating, yet you can get supporters interested in your vision easily.

8. I learn something everyday. Finances? Balance Sheets? Blogging? Membership Campaigning? Trust Games? Recreation Activities? Cooking Recipes? Communication Skills? Networking? Japanese Language? It's amazing when you count up the things I've learned since I've been here

9. I like my co-workers. Right now there is only me. It gives me peace and solitude and time to think, as well as freedom. I think I work best alone....However, I am under no illusions that we need to be staffed to be effective. I need to like MORE co-workers, too.

10. We get great support. From old friends and new, even from strangers. This job has taught me a lot about gratitude, because we rely on donations for about one-seventh of our income. I know the services we provide are needed and valuable, but because we are supported by our community, we can continue to serve.

Yup. Not a bad place at all. Swing on by?

10 ways to fight off a cold

In the interest of fairness, and with flu epidemic scares on the news, and under the "I already knew that" column, I present the following Powerful 10:

10 Ways to Fight Off, Prevent, Cure a Cold or Flu

1. Go to sleep. Sleep more. Get more rest. Duh.

2. Eat your veggies. Mom's advice, and hard to take when you are exhausted and a trip to the drive thru could fill your gut simply enough. Suggestion: Make a huge batch of vegetable soup which will last you the duration of the cold. Just warm and serve!

3. Garlic cloves! When I feel a cold coming on, I roast a whole garlic root (many cloves together) in the oven or even toaster oven. Then, when the cloves are softened, I squeeze them out of their "shell" directly onto toast, or even directly into my mouth. Tastes good, and usually my cold is gone by the next day. Kisses not so pleasant for the receiver, but with a cold or flu, you shouldn't be kissing, anyway.

4. Hot Bath. Really hot and steamy, for as long as you can stand it, or as long as the water stays really hot. Upon exiting, dry quickly, put on sweats, go to sleep (see #1)

5. Take a sick day off from work (see #1)

6. Breathe!! Breathe deeply as you can, slowly and with consciousness. When I get sick, it is always because I haven't done the things we humans must do to survive: breathe, drink water, sleep, eat good food. Once these four are in balance, so usually is your health.

7. Drink! Water is best. Hot or Cold.

8. (for in-Japan cold sufferers) Drink a bottle of Zena, the energy drink, before bed right after your hot bath. I swear this and a garlic treatment will usually do the trick. Unfortunately, those tiny bottles of Zena are about 20 dollars a pop. Try to buy them in four-packs, or even a less expensive brand.

9. (for in Japan cold sufferers...or not) Tamago-zake. This is a raw egg broken into a glass of tall, hot Japanese Sake. This, too, has stopped a cold in its tracks more than once for me. Medically, it seems more like a folk remedy, but a tasty one at that.

10. Think healthy thoughts. Really. Once you say to yourself, "I feel like I'm getting sick," guess what happens? When I feel a sniffle or sore throat coming on, I tell myself, in a hot steaming shower, breathing deeply, "I am healthy! I am whole! I feel good!" Yes, it's possible to talk yourself out of a cold.

**No, not professional medical advice, and no intent is made as such. Just friendly advice. But you already knew that.