Right on schedule

 To keep myself occupied, I have a daily schedule now.  I made it on Sunday afternoon.  It's broken down by the hour.  I'm not super regimented about it because that's not healthy.  However, knowing that after I finish this post I'll spend some time playing the ukulele followed by studying Japanese helps.  Yesterday was the first day of the schedule.  It was also the first day I managed to stay up past 9:30 without feeling dead tired.  Progress.

I ate ramen for lunch.  The very bottom row of text, last 4 characters.  Those are katakana for ramen.  The sort of backwards "c" with the bar over it is "ra."  The horizontal line indicates you hold the "a" sound for an extra beat.  The next character is "me" with the last being "n."  The red characters read "Miso First Place."  This is the only cup noodle I have had that has the laurels on it. The little TRY at the top says "Tokyo Ramen of the Year."  Given the things we compete over in the US, I am in no way surprised there is an award for ramen.

It was good.  There were two kinds of meat.  They tasted like beef.  One was thin slices about the size of a nickel, and the other was little bits of fried ground pieces.  The sauce that came with this was perfectly clear and somewhat spicy.  Very oily.  Mixed in, though, it gave everything a sort of mellow heat.  But just enough that you can taste it.  

I'm also getting better at holding my chopsticks properly.  Nearly every variety show features eating.  Some number of people eat something, and others watch remotely and talk about it.  I noticed everyone who eats with chopsticks holds their hand the same way.  I learned to use chopsticks with my ring and little fingers curled in - like a fist.

 That, it turns out, is considered rude.  It seems you are supposed to hold your hand like this.

 

Also, the chopsticks should not cross.  The things I'm learning from reading in my spare time.

I can now fold a crane without using a table, and I can make the circular box I showed previously from memory.  Once I'm done with the ukulele I'll look up instructions for some other animal and practice folding that.  The most valuable lesson I am learning while in quarantine is just how much time I waste avoiding doing things.  I have no doubts I'll fall back into that habit, but I'm going to try to maintain this sense of "just do the thing you're wanting to do."  With a bit of persistence I'll strike a better life balance.

Look at me, all growing and changing.  It would be adorable if I weren't a 44 year old man.